A/N: Oh good lord, I am SOOO sorry you guys! I've just been so busy every night of the week and when I WOULD have time I would mysteriously get into "trouble". But, sadly, I received no reviews in my absence, but because it's been basically a year, I'll put up two chapters. But I NEED reviews you guys. Please. And, again, I'm so sorry this is WAY late. Hopefully you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created.

Chapter Sixteen

Diagon Alley: Where the Truth Comes Out

After I left the Marauders, Lily, and Tonks, I ran to the Ravenclaw dormitory. The only reason I knew it was their dormitory was because there was a huge raven statue, and when I stood to look at it, it spoke in a voice that sounded like stone sliding on stone,

"You throw away the outside and cook the inside; then you eat the outside and then throw away the inside. What did you eat?"

"What?"I asked it sharply. What kind of password was this?

"You throw away the outside—"

"Yes! I heard you! I don't know what you mean," I told the statue, exasperated.

"Answer the riddle," it said. Oh. So the Ravenclaws had to answer a riddle to get into their dorms. Go figure. Curse their overly smart brains.

So I thought and thought and thought and thought, but the more I thought about it, the more confused I became. So I sat in front of it, staring it down, continuing my deep thinking.

The statue just stood there, its stone eyes staring at me with patience.

"Nike?" a careful voice asked from behind me. I turned and saw a thin, sandy-haired boy with freckles that dotted the top of his nose and underneath his eyes. He had brown eyes and was average height for a guy of about fifteen. I'd never seen him before.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I, um, need to talk to someone," I said, making me seem even less smart than I was. I was great at making a fool of myself in front of Ravenclaws.

He grinned. "You can't figure out the answer?"

"Obviously not."

"Think about it. From what I've heard about you, you're pretty smart."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Austin Cargile."

"I don't know many people from other Houses," I apologized.

"You will. Just wait 'til Quidditch starts."

"Do you play?" I asked, my interest rising.

"Sadly, no. I'm not very good. However I'm rather good at helping the team captain out whenever he needs me." The mention of Gary brought me back to why I was here. I turned my attention back to the raven. It repeated the riddle.

"Why is this so complicated?" I asked furiously.

"I can't give you the password, but I can help you figure it out," Austin offered.

"Can't or won't?" I questioned.

"Both," he said, grinning.

"Okay. Help me then."

"Okay then. To eat it, you've got to throw away the outside first, got it?"

"Yeah."

"Then you eat the outside after that's done, but after you're done with the outside, you've got to throw away the inside, because like the outer-outside, it's no good to eat." I gave it some serious thought, and then I thought of something.

"An ear of corn?"

Austin grinned widely, but the statue answered by moving up in the air, revealing the passageway into their common room.

"Either that or a chicken," Austin commented.

"A chicken?"

"You have to take the feathers off, then you eat the meat, but you don't eat the bone."

"Oh."

"After you," he said, bowing to me.

"What a nice young man," I said sweetly, smiling crookedly. He smirked and then followed me into their common room.

Their common room was quite different from ours. It, too, had a huge common room, but theirs was filled from floor to ceiling with huge bookshelves overstuffed with books. There were tons of tables spread out here and there, meant for homework or whatever else the brainiacs did in their spare time. There were some comfortable couches and chairs and such, but they were colored a dark blue and black, where-as ours were maroon and gold. There was a hallway on the left that had a statue of this woman that, although I didn't know how I knew, was the Ravenclaw's founder.

She was a small woman that had long, dark, flowing hair, beautiful dark round eyes, and she wore a long dress that fit her perfectly. The hallway on the right just had a stone bookshelf with, of course, stone books covering every surface. It was close to curfew, therefore there was close to all of the occupants of the House in the common room, all giving me weird looks.

"Come on," Austin murmured, putting a hand on my shoulder and guiding me towards the hallway with the stone bookcase. I tore my eyes away from all the Ravenclaws and glanced at Austin, and then at the stone bookcase. A book flew off the shelf and opened itself in front of us, allowing us to read what it said.

"'I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky; I can swim in the ocean, and yet remain dry.'" I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

Austin took out a quill and wrote quickly, trying unsuccessfully to hide the answer from me.

A shadow.

The book flew back onto the shelf and the shelf slid to the right, revealing yet another lit passageway. Austin led the way, and I soon saw that the passageway was lined with doors. He stopped in front the very last door at the end of the hallway on the left.

"No sooner spoken then broken," Austin said to the door.

"Oh that's easy," I scoffed. "It's a secret. Or silence."

"Secret. Silence," the door mirrored me softly, so no one else could hear.

Austin opened the door and I stepped inside. It was a room similar to the Marauders, except it had more, you guessed it, bookshelves. But that was the only difference. This room too had Quidditch stuff all over the walls, as well as some personal pictures on bedside tables.

I looked over at one of the tables and saw a familiar figure sitting there, bent over a piece of parchment, doing work.

"'Ey mate, you got company," Austin said into the silence.

Gary looked up from his work and looked at Austin confused, and then he saw me and gave me a small smile.

"Hey Keep." He looked at me closer. "Is everything alright?"

I glanced at Austin, and then back at Gary. Austin and Gary both seemed to get the message.

"I'll be right back," Austin said. "I've got to go grab something out of the common room. See ya in a bit." And with that he left the room, leaving me and Gary alone.

"You trust him, don't you?" I asked.

Gary pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit down, looking at me with a concerned look. Strange how we'd just recently become friends, yet he was there for me already. None of my friendships had yet formed this fast and been so secure. Here I'd been thinking it'd take awhile to become close. Yet, here I was, telling him everything that I hadn't yet dared breathe a word to Lily, Tonks, or the Marauders.

"Yeah. He's my best mate since first year. He's completely loyal. He reminds me of you, actually. He was orphaned too. He lives with me."

"Practically brothers, huh?"

"I'd trust him with my life."

I nodded slowly, sitting in the seat next to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It was Weasley."

"What?"

"It was Weasley who betrayed me. He turned into Xylekaon. He's an Auror and an ÆnIml-shifter. He…I've trusted him so far, and it was all him that brought this upon me!" I glared up at the ceiling, kicking myself for ever getting close to the professor.

"Is it really as bad as it was before?" he asked carefully.

"Yes! No… I don't know!" I yelled. "It's not bad being here…but it is bad that he could so easily lie to me like that! He…I knew he was good! How could I have been wrong?"

"You weren't wrong. He is good."

"How do you know?"

"Nike…I've known Mark forever, his parents are friends with my dad and step-mum. I think you should talk to him about it before you jump to conclusions."

"You know something I don't," I said, reading him easily.

"What happened happened for the best, Nike," he said softly. "You won't understand that for quite awhile, but you'll understand soon."

Strangely enough, I felt better.

"Thanks Gary."

"No problem. You can come to me anytime."

"Good night."

"Good night and good luck tomorrow." I looked at him questioningly, wondering how he knew about me leaving to go get a wand, but he just smiled mischievously and turned back to his work.

"The sooner you change Mr. Malfoy back, the sooner you may leave," Professor McGonagall said the next day. "Maybe a day out of Hogwarts will do you some good."

"It isn't good for your mental health to be locked up in all this madness," I agreed.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling and said, "You have a way with words."

"Yes ma'am. Yes I do."

"Do I even have to tell you to corporate with Professor Weasley?"

"No."

"I trust you two can keep the other in line."

"Sure."

"Good."

Just then the headmaster walked in carrying a baby Malfoy with Weasley right behind them.

Professor Vera set Malfoy on the table and turned to me. "Change him now."

"Sorry, but last time I checked, you were on diaper duty."

He just glared, his face turning red and his hand itching for his wand.

"But then you wouldn't know how to change a diaper now would you 'cause that's way too much for your brain to handle. Also, you're so inexperienced on how to handle a child, seeing as you're unfit to even be in a family, let alone be a father."

"Nike, that's enough," Professor McGonagall murmured.

"You know what's wrong with you people? You don't appreciate the good things in life, like this right here," I continued my rant at the headmaster.

He stepped forward until he was directly in front of me. Deepening his voice, he said quietly but clearly,

"I don't know who or what you are, or what your problem is, but you don't have everyone fooled like you think you do. Your charm isn't invincible. Watch your back, because I swear if you mess up one more time, your life here is going to be miserable."

I smiled even though I knew he was completely serious. "Good luck with that. My life already is a living hell when you're in it." I winked at him and then added as an after-thought, "Oh, and by the way, I have absolutely no charm and haven't fooled anyone, not even the stupidest person alive."

He glared and was probably about to curse me when Weasley stepped forward.

"Do we have a problem Headmaster? Surely the boy should be back to normal by now." The headmaster backed off but the look he gave me said "We're not done here."

I glanced at Malfoy and pictured him as his normal self in my head and thought, Turn back into your usual idiotic self. The baby Malfoy turned into the teenage Malfoy, who looked like he was ready to throw another temper-tantrum and start bawling his eyes out.

"Get her away from me!" he wailed, scooting back along the desk, which apparently wasn't there any longer because he fell to the floor with a loud crash, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Take her now Mark," Professor McGonagall said quietly.

Weasley offered me his hand and I laughed (probably sounding mad).

"You honestly think I'm going to Apparate with you again? You're completely mental!"

Weasley smiled and took my hand anyways. "Thank you," he said, and we disappeared.

This time I had enough sense to not let go. The trip wasn't as nauseating, but it was still a bit odd.

"I think I'm getting better at this," I said after we landed.

"Just wait until you're seventeen and you can do this on your own," he agreed. He gestured around us. "This is Diagon Alley, the place where every witch and wizard gets their things for their day to day activities."

I looked around, seeing different shaped and sized stores attached to each other going on down the street. The street was made of cobblestone and dirt. It was a nice homely place, you could say. There weren't too awfully many people, and the select few I did see were all adults.

"Is there a shop for Auror supplies?" I asked crisply, regaining my bad mood towards him.

"No, we don't really need much, and the stuff we do comes from…" he trailed off, looking at me closely. "How did you know?"

"It's not that hard, considering you're pretty popular among these people. Tell me, what's your favorite form? A cat? A bear? Oh! I know! How 'bout a lyger?"

"Nike—"

"What's wrong with you people? Do you not have any decency? Do you practice betrayal?"

"No! It's not like that!"

"Then why did you become my best friend, mind you, the only friend I'd ever had, and betray me like that?"

"It was my—"

"How long were you Xylekaon?"

"About a month," Weasley said quietly.

"Then you should know he was the only one I ever trusted! When he–you–betrayed me to the Ministry of all things, how do you think that made me feel? What do you think that did to me?" It was nice to get the truth, anger, and hurt out. Sure, my talk with Gary had been enough to calm me for the night, but it was nothing compared to this closure.

"I'm sorry Nike. I truly am. But I was only doing my job."

"Some things are more important than that! Why would you even listen to the Minister? He was a Death Eater! With Voldemort coming back—" Weasley shoved me against one of the walls and covered my mouth with his hand.

"I understand that you're angry. You have every right to be. But you can't go around talking about Voldemort openly. Not now." I just glared at him. He moved his hand and leaned against the wall next to me. "The Minister…it wasn't exactly him."

"What do you mean?"

"Luna, Professor Lovegood, she contacted me. She's stayed in touch with her old friends' families, even after they all died. She saw you and told me I had to bring you to Hogwarts. She told me what I needed to know, but she didn't tell me everything she'd seen. Eventually the Minister caught word of what I'd been up to, and after he learned Luna had sent me, he sent the other Aurors to search their way while I searched mine. Luna Lovegood is the most respected woman in our world right now; no one questions her."

I was quiet for a minute, thinking. "So this is all Luna's fault?"

"You would say that. But you're happy here now." It wasn't a question.

"How can you be sure of that?"

"I'm sure you know how to escape by now."

"You're referring to the guys."

"Yeah. Why the change of heart? Surely it's not warming up some?"

"I've found friends. Human friends."

"So you trust people now?"

"I did trust you. A lot."

He looked away, ashamed. "Hopefully I can earn it back."

"You're not like the others, Weasley," I said finally. I knew he knew by 'others' I was referring to the Aurors.

"My family's different from the others'. And most of my kind are…"

"More thoughtful? The good ones at least." I offered.

"You know a great deal about shape-shifters. You're one of the brightest students I have." He glanced at me quizzically. "Did you know that shape-shifters can sense others of their kind?"

"I had guessed."

"I've been thinking ever since I met you…are you one? I get the same feeling when I'm around you as when I'm around other 'shifters, but you're…different. Unlike the other groups."

"What's that mean?"

"I'm certain that you are a 'shifter, just not sure what kind." He shook his head. "Anyways, we should probably get going."

Eventually we came to this normal sized building that had a sign that read: Ollivanders. Inside it was dark; the only light came from a small lamp on a desk. Rows and rows of shelves filled the whole room, stretching from floor to ceiling, and each shelf was filled with long rectangular boxes. You had to watch your footing because there was barely any part of the floor that wasn't covered. The shop was also completely empty.

"Mr. Ollivander?" Weasley called into the silence.

There was no answer.

"Mr. Ollivander?" Weasley tried again.

"I'm right here," said a voice from behind us, making Weasley jump. "No need to yell. I'm not deaf. Yet," he added as an afterthought.

I turned around and there stood the oldest man I'd ever seen. He was small and had thinning white hair that stuck up at odd angles, as if he had just been electrocuted. I couldn't see any possible way that he could sneak up on us like that, surprising us.

"Well? What can I do for you today Mark?" the man asked.

"This is Nike—"

"Ah. The special case." Mr. Ollivander was nodding.

"Why does everyone keep referring to me as 'special'? I'm going to start feeling insulted," I said in exasperation. But no one seemed to hear me.

"She—"

"Yes, I know. No need to explain. One look at her and I could tell."

"Umm…should I be offended by that?" I asked, louder than I was before.

The old man laughed. "Not at all. It's a good thing. Very good. Come this way." He walked over to one of the thousands of shelves and took his wand out, said some words, and a box flew into his hands. He opened it and held it out to me. I picked up the short, plain, light brown wand and waited.

The two men just stared at me.

"So, now what?"

"Point it at that vase and flick it," Mr. Ollivander said calmly. He must've got this reaction more than once.

I did as he said (feeling foolish) and nothing happened. He clucked his tongue and disappeared.

"What's supposed to happen?" I asked.

"If I told you," came his voice, "we'd never know which wand truly belongs to you." He reappeared with another one, which was really long and the color was kind of a mix between red and dark brown, which had swirl designs going around it.

I took it, and as before, nothing happened.

And so began the hour process of me trying wand after wand after wand. This went on for about an hour and thirty minutes before Mr. Ollivander stood in front of us, hands on his hips, frustrated.

"I've had thousands, maybe even millions, no, probably billions, of witches and wizards here in my time, and you are the most difficult of all."

"Wouldn't want to be anything else," I said, trying to lighten his mood. He was taking this way too seriously it seemed. Maybe that was his job.

"Which is good on some occasions, but not at this moment. At the rate this is going, we'll be here for a day or two. I don't know what to do to make this quicker and easier."

"She's good in my class, Transfiguration, Potions, Divination, Adda's cla—" Weasley started to say.

"If you had said 'Every single subject' that would suffice," Mr. Ollivander replied. "Let me think…that eliminates, oh, about…thirty-three wands not including the ones we just tried."

"We're getting somewhere!" I said sarcastically.

Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Lovely, isn't it?"

"Very much so."

"I'm no expert…" Weasley said. "…but can she try and find it herself?"

Brightening up some, Mr. Ollivander seemed lost in his thoughts, musing aloud. "I suppose the odd way would work for the odd one…"

"Now I'm odd?" I asked Weasley. "Looks like I'm learning a whole bunch about myself today."

"That's good. You need to expand that tiny brain of yours," he replied.

"Not everyone loves a big brain," I shot back.

"Yeah, well not everyone loves a small brain," he protested.

"Well maybe I do."

"Is it because that's the size of Sirius'?"

"Yeah, his is quite—hey!"

"Oh so that's the reason huh?"

"Not you too! This is happening way too much today!"

"I'm not the first huh? Maybe you two should take the hint."

"You are not lecturing me about guys, are you Weasley?"

"Someone has to do it, and I'm that one because it seems no one else is stupid enough to attempt it."

"Except Sirius himself."

"Of course. No one is as dim-witted as Sirius Black."

"I agree with you for once."

"What about Gary? I've seen you two together when you're not with Lily, Tonks, or the others. I've watched you two practice Quidditch, as well has Adda. She agrees you two are a good match, in more ways than one."

"Gary?"

"Ooo first name basis now! You're getting somewhere!" I punched him for that and he laughed.

I rolled my eyes but answered anyways. "He's…I don't know. Way different then Sirius. Nicer, sweeter, understanding. He's a good guy."

"So which one is it?"

"Weasley, I really don't want to talk about guys. Especially not with my father figure."

"Aw thanks Nik. I'm glad you see me as that."

"Do you and Adda have any kids?"

Weasley reddened some. "No. She's only nineteen. I'm twenty. We got married when she got out of Hogwarts."

"Oh. It looks like it's been longer. Even though you two look the age you are."

"So now you are talking to me about my love life?" Weasley teased.

"Trade for a trade."

"I suppose that's only fair."

"Well come on! Snip snip! Hurry up! I'm anxious here!" Mr. Ollivander cut in.

"Oh alright! Be patient," I said. "Actually, forget I said that. I know I hate being told to be patient, so who am I to tell others to do the same?" Before I set off on my search, I turned and walked backwards, pointing to Weasley and telling him, "This discussion: it's not over."

"I didn't expect it to be," he replied with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and then walked off down one of the narrow aisles between two of the shelves. I didn't know what to look for exactly, but I didn't want to seem even more clueless, so I just kept my mind open and walked aimlessly. By the time I had walked past all the shelves on the downstairs level, I was getting impatient. This was going to take all year.

Spotting a tiny cupboard cleverly hidden behind one smaller shelf, I felt drawn to it. I had to go inside, just to see what was there. Using all my strength, I pushed the shelf aside without knocking anything over and tried to open the door.

It was locked.

I sighed and blew a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. Let's see…how was I going to get in there? Magic, you idiot, I thought. Right. I had forgotten. Oh Merlin. I was turning into Sirius.

I placed my hand on the doorknob and muttered, "Open." Immediately I heard the door click and it swung forward slowly, creaking quietly. I stepped inside cautiously and looked around. Dust covered the floors, walls, bookshelves, and one single table located on the far wall. Curious, I walked towards it and found there was a single black box on it that had a cross with a loop at the top engraved in dark blue on the center on the lid. I pulled back the lid carefully and peeked inside, finding a dark blue wand that had flames carved in black all along it. The wand seemed about ten and a half inches long, and when I picked it up, it felt nice and sturdy in my hand, making me feel more powerful. As soon as it made contact with my skin I felt this warm, glowing feeling. I could've sworn both the wand and I were radiating light.

If this wand isn't mine, then I don't know which other one could be, I thought to myself in wonder. I stuck the box in the pockets on the inside of my robes and walked back to Weasley and Mr. Ollivander after I had recovered the door.

"Found one," I said, holding it out for them to see.

"Very nice," Weasley said, observing it.

Mr. Ollivander just stood there and stared at it, as if he were confused.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Nothing… It's just…I don't recall ever seeing this one before. Never in my long life have I seen anything like it."

"Sorry?"

"May I?" He reached attentively for my wand, his hand shaking. Shrugging, I handed it over. "It's…very ancient. Dating back to…well, the beginning of our time. Where did you find this?"

"In a secret room behind a smaller shelf."

Mr. Ollivander was shaking his head by the time I said the word secret. "There are no secret compartments. I've been all over this shop, and there's nothing like that here."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure my dear. But nonetheless, if it chose you, it is yours." Weasley tried to give Mr. Ollivander the coins that the Minster had given him, but he wouldn't take them. "No. Not this time Mark. It's on me."

"Thank you Mr. Ollivander," Weasley said, not looking sure.

"Good-bye!" I called over my shoulder as we walked out the door.

"Good-bye Nike! I hope to see you again!" he replied. I smiled to myself. I was quite fond of the old man. I hoped I'd see him again, too.

"Well, that took longer than I had hoped," Weasley said as we started down the street again. "Hopefully you'll find a broom quicker than you found your wand."

"It's not my fault I'm difficult."

"I suppose not. But it's almost dark, so we've got to get back to the school soon."

"Weasley, do you know anything about Quidditch?"

"My wife is a Quidditch fanatic and used to be a Seeker for Gryffindor, and is now the ref. I used to be a Beater for Gryffindor too, so I'd say I know a little. Actually, I was wanted on one of the professional teams, as was Adda."

"Really? Why didn't you and Adda?"

"I know you won't like my answer, but my goal was to become an Auror. I wanted to help out as best as I could. For her it was the same."

"Adda's an Auror?"

"Yeah. She's been one since the end of her seventh year."

I frowned. Maybe they were both there because of me. "Oh. Anyways, why don't you pick out my broom? I don't have the slightest clue about any of this stuff except for the things the team has explained to me."

"Sure." He hesitated. "Do you know what the true job of an Auror is?"

"They follow the orders of the Minister, and in this case, that's a bad thing."

"Not really. It's our job to capture the evil witches and wizards and the Death Eaters and bring them to Azkaban. Some of us work undercover, but every Auror has to be able to think like the ones we go after. That's usually why we're not trusted and feared. It's one of the hardest jobs to get, and there's not that many of us. There's only thirteen at the moment, and," He lowered his voice as we passed a couple. "With Voldemort returning, we're going to need more help. Sure, we may listen to the Minister every once and awhile, but it's not our job to. He normally doesn't even control us. Truthfully Nike, you may think we Aurors are evil and cruel, and part of us are because of what our job demands from us, but we care just as much as any normal person."

"Why were all the other Aurors sent after me too?"

"The Minister…tweaked…the story some. He said you were a Death Eater who was a Persone-shifter, and that you were highly dangerous. It took me some time to explain to my comrades that that wasn't the case. And of course it was me, their head Auror they believed, not the Minister."

"You're the head Auror? I thought Dubois was!"

"No. I am."

"Oh. So I guess you think I owe you Aurors an apology?"

"No, you don't. I'm just glad you think of us differently than before."

"Weasley?"

"Yes?"

"One of the Aurors at the meeting said that I might become one of you one day."

"You do have great potential."

"I've heard all that before. But is that it?"

"No and yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, that's not it, but yes, it's it for your ears for now."

"I'm so happy we're being truthful and straightforward with each other," I said sarcastically.

"As am I," he replied, smiling.

A/N: I loved this chapter! More-so, the part when they went to Diagon Alley then the beginning. I love writing when Weasley is involved…he's one of my favorites. Not to mention you get more information on him and Adda, as well as the Aurors. He also brings out a different side to Nike. I think of him as her parental figure. Do you?

Yes, I realize that Mr. Ollivander paid for Nike's wand when the Minister said he himself would, but that just means Weasley gets to keep his money (hahahahahaha!), so lucky him.

I loved the riddles, by the way. I mean, when I first heard them, I don't think I figured them out so fast. I'm quite good at such things, but, I'm sad to say, my reaction was the same as Nike's for both of the riddles. Did you know the answers? Or were you like her? (It's okay, don't be ashamed…you can admit it if you didn't do too well…) I also have tons more that I thought were both easier and definitely a lot harder for future references. I can't wait.

Let's see…what else? Hmm…well, Nike's lightened up her attitude towards the Aurors now, and let's just say they will become more frequent characters in this story later on. At least, Add and Weasley in their roles as Aurors will be.

Next chapter: Oh, how do I say this without giving anything away?

Poor Padfoot and Prongs…

R&R please!

Nike