Harry Potter and company belong to the great JKR! I am just borrowing them for a while! This story and other charactors all belong to me! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Four

Trust and a Promise

The next morning Taylor was awake before any of the other girls in her dorm. The sun was just starting to come up over the Forbidden Forest. Taylor reached over and picked up her glasses from her nightstand. She preferred to watch the sunrise when she could see it properly. She rose silently and went over to the window. The scenery that stretched out before her was simply amazing. The lake that they had come across the night before was as still as a mirror. The grounds, still shaded by the forest, were lush with grass and foliage. Taylor could see birds, owls she assumed, flying to and from another tower off to the left. She could just make out the roof of a building with smoke curling from its chimney right down by the edge of the forest. Taylor breathed deeply and closed her eyes. This place felt like she had come home at last. She was starting to wonder what today's classes were going to be like when she could hear the other girls starting to stir. Hermione was the first one up and she had a book already with her when she went to the washroom. Taylor smiled as she dressed in her school robes. It would be great rooming with Hermione if she was as smart as she was enthusiastic.

Taylor followed the rest of the girls down to the common room and out through the portal. There was some discussion then as to which way they should go until an older girl came out and they followed her down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Taylor was seated in the Great Hall when she first saw Harry; the first thing she noticed was the pointing and whispering of the other students as he went by and took a seat almost opposite her. She looked down at the bowl of cereal in front of her and decided then and there that she was not going to be one of those gawking at him as if he were a monkey on display at a zoo.

Magic, Taylor learned quickly was not just waving a wand and saying 'abracadabra'. She had Charms with a little Professor Flitwick; Herbology with Professor Sprout out in the greenhouses; Astronomy up in one of the highest towers at night; History of Magic taught by a ghost, Professor Binns; Defence Against the Dark Arts with a turban-wearing Professor Quirrell; and Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Before every class, Taylor always looked for Harry, never really staring at him. She just wanted to make sure he made it to class, or so she told herself.

The worst class though, was Potions. Not because of what potions were, but because of the teacher; a greasy-haired, hooked nose teacher by the name of Professor Snape. In the first class he had picked on Harry something awful, and the way he had looked at Taylor when he had called her name… with black eyes full of hate. It was a wonder that she even got through that class. It was only having Hermione beside her whispering under her breath, "Just ignore it. He's only trying to get a rise out of you." that got her through. Taylor had never thought it possible to hate someone so quickly. She had never encountered such hostility before, especially from a teacher. It was unheard of in the tiny school she had come from out on the prairies.

Taylor couldn't remember ever being so glad that it was Friday afternoon. She was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Hermione, Lavender and the girls from her dorm, supposedly to do homework.

Lavender, however, was asking Parvati Patil about her and her twin. Taylor was only half listening as she tried to do her Transfiguration essay.

"So, Taylor, what about your family? Are you from a wizarding family or muggle born?" asked Lavender.

"Huh?" asked Taylor as she looked up from the paper she had been writing on, her quill still resting on the parchment making a small ink blob.

"Well, I don't think it matters which you are," Hermione spoke up. "My parents are both muggles, however, Percy told me that Penelope Clearwater from Ravenclaw is a muggle born and she is a prefect." She finished with her know-it–all voice, as if that settled it.

"Ah, well," Taylor began. She really didn't know what to say. "I was raised by my aunt and uncle. I didn't know he was a wizard until he died last month. My aunt was a muggle. I was told after he was gone. I don't know anything about my parents except that they died when I was just a little baby. I guess they may have been muggles." Taylor really didn't want to talk about her Uncle; it was all still too painful. She picked up her Transfiguration book and tried to read but her thoughts kept returning to her uncle and how little she actually knew about her past. Before he had died, it still hurt to think about that, she had asked him different times who her parents were and how they had died, but he always had found a way around answering the question. He would either make her laugh with one of his silly tales or change the topic altogether. At the time, she would just go along with him and drop the subject, thinking that there would be another time to ask again. A scary thought came to her. What if Uncle Herbert hadn't known who her parents were? Don't be silly she thought angrily, Aunt Helen was probably the one related to her parents and if so, maybe Uncle Herbert hadn't known them very well, she reasoned. Then they would be muggles, because that was what Aunt Helen was, a muggle. That's what Mr. Nelson had told her after Uncle Herbert had died anyway. Maybe that is why he never told me I was a witch, because he didn't know, and that was the reason he didn't tell me he was a wizard. Taylor sat with her mouth open, her Transfiguration book hanging loosely from her hands. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

"Taylor, are you alright?" asked Parvati, looking at her with concern.

"Huh, oh, ah, yeah," Taylor said. "I've got to, ah go, ah... get a book from the library," she stammered, needing desperately to be alone. She grabbed her books off the table and stuffed them into her schoolbag, then rushed out through the porthole and down a set of stairs, along a corridor, down more stairs, until when she finally stopped and slid down the wall, tears rolling down her checks, she was lost. She didn't care at the moment, all she could think about was how lost she felt, not in the school, but in life. She didn't know who she was. Dammit Uncle Herbert, she thought, as a fresh set of tears ran down her face and fell onto her knees that were drawn up tight to her chest. Why couldn't you have told me who I was before…

What if he didn't know, said a small voice in the back of her mind. But he had to have known, if he didn't, then no one knew. The thought was so overwhelming that she felt as if she were drowning in it. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest and began rocking back and forth, trying desperately to break free of the stranglehold it had on her.

Taylor didn't know how long she sat huddled on the floor in the deserted corridor. It might have been five minutes, a half hour, or several hours. Soon, though, she realized she wasn't alone anymore. She opened her tear-swollen eyes to see a pair of pale blue slippers peeking out under bright blue robes. Her breath caught in her throat. She recognized those robes, how long had he been standing there? Taylor's eyes slowly and fearfully traveled up the robes to the white beard tucked into the belt, up to the bright blue eyes peering over the half moon spectacles.

"Why, hello, Miss Porter. May I be so bold as to ask you why it is that you are huddled on the floor outside my office?" Professor Dumbledore asked. His voice was soft and gentle, his eyes filled with concern as he gazed down at Taylor.

"I, ah, I didn't realize I was outside your office, sir," Taylor said trying to think of a way to explain herself.

"Yes, well, you see that stone gargoyle over there?" Professor Dumbledore asked pointing just down the hall. Taylor nodded. Somehow she hadn't noticed it before. "That is the entrance to my office."

"Oh," said Taylor. She was trying to get up but her body was so stiff from sitting in that cramped position for so long. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, fear gripping her. What was he going to do?

Professor Dumbledore put a steadying hand on Taylor's elbow as she made it unsteadily to her feet. He could see the fear in her eyes and how upset she was. "Why don't you come up to my office for a moment and we shall talk," he said turning towards the stone gargoyle.

Taylor felt like running away, but Professor Dumbledore still had hold of her elbow, as if he had sensed that she would run from him. Together they approached the gargoyle and Dumbledore said, "Chocolate covered cherries", and the stone gargoyle sprang into action and slowly started turning, winding a set of stairs upwards. As they stepped onto the stairs, Taylor was sure this was not going to end well. Why would the headmaster take her to his office if not to punish her? What sort of punishment did wizard headmasters dole out anyway?

When they reached the top of the revolving stairs, Professor Dumbledore opened the big wooden door with a brass knocker on it and stepped through, obviously expecting Taylor to follow. She hesitated for a split second but she could hear a voice saying in her mind "and courage too", so she stepped through the door. Her eyes wandered around but quickly settled on the Sorting Hat that was on a shelf above the big oak desk, behind which Professor Dumbledore was having a seat.

Taylor pulled her gaze away from the battered old hat to look at Professor Dumbledore who was quietly watching her, his eyes filled with concern. "Now, Miss Porter, I must again ask you what is wrong?" his voice was gentle and filled with concern.

Taylor took a deep breath and felt her fear leave her. She couldn't imagine, looking into those blue eyes, why she should ever fear him. "I, ah, well sir, ah," she stammered even though she wasn't afraid, would he understand why she felt so lost?

"I am afraid that you are going to have to say more than that Miss Porter," said Professor Dumbledore but his eyes had a twinkle to them. Then they darkened a bit and he asked with heavy concern in his voice, "I hope the problem is not that you do not want to be here at Hogwarts."

"Oh, no, Professor, Sir. That is definitely not the reason I was so… so," again Taylor was not sure how to tell him.

"Upset, might perhaps, be the word you were looking for," again his voice was full of concern but the twinkle was back in his eyes.

"Yeah, upset would cover most of it, Sir. Well I was, ah, upset because Sir, I don't know who my parents were, or where I'm from, or… or if they were muggles or not." Taylor finished in a rush, suddenly glad she had told someone.

"Uh huh, I see, and is that all?" Professor Dumbledore asked, his voice still full of concern and something else that Taylor couldn't quite identify, worry perhaps?

Taylor met his eyes again and after a moment's hesitation, told him everything that had been on her mind all afternoon, about her uncle and aunt being gone, and the problems she'd had trying to get answers from her uncle about her parents. When she finished she was looking at the floor, feeling suddenly very vulnerable for having spoken so openly with such a stranger, especially when that person happened to be the headmaster of a wizarding school. I've really done it this time, she thought. I've opened my mouth and put both my feet in up to my knees, another saying of Uncle Herbert's ringing out loudly in her mind.

Professor Dumbledore was silent for a minute or two after she had finished speaking. His mouth was drawn into a line, his eyes sharper, as if he was calculating just how he should respond. When he did speak, his voice, although just as filled with concern, had that edge to it again as if he were worried about something. "Miss Porter, I can understand how very important it is to you to know who your parents were, but I think that sometimes the things we think are important to us can be a grave burden once we find out the truth. So I am going to ask you to not go looking for these answers but to trust me enough that when I feel you are ready, I will see to it that all your questions about your parents are answered to the best of my knowledge; and if I might say so, that is a considerable amount." his eyes took on that twinkle again as he said the last part.

Taylor stood perfectly still, looking at Dumbledore, trying to grasp just what he had said. Questions exploded in her mind. Did he just imply that he knew her parents? Why is it so important that she not know? And a hundred others like them.

Unable to stop herself she blurted out, "Professor, Sir, did you know my parents?"

Professor Dumbledore sighed and said, "Taylor were you not listening to me?"

That he had used her first name got her complete attention. All the questions died as she met those piercing blue eyes. "Yes, sir, I was listening. I just don't understand. Why is it such a secret who my parents were?" Taylor replied as she continued to look into those eyes.

"Taylor, do you trust me?" asked Dumbledore softly, never breaking eye contact.

"Yes, Sir," she said confidently. Somehow she just knew she could trust him.

"Then I must ask you to please not go looking for these answers. I promise I shall let you know when the time is right." said Dumbledore. Taylor could tell by the tone of his voice that this was the end of their conversation on the matter. "I think you should be getting along now Miss Porter. The tables in the Great Hall should be groaning beneath the weight of the food by now; don't you think?" the twinkle in his eye and the answering growl in her stomach settled it.

Taylor was filled with a million questions as she tried to find her way down to the Great Hall for supper, but that crushing feeling of being lost and not knowing who she was, was gone. She couldn't explain it but just knowing that someone knew the answers made her feel OK again, like when Uncle Herbert was alive. Maybe that wasn't right, but that was how she felt. So as she entered the Great Hall to find most of the students already eating, she felt even better. It had only taken her twenty minutes to get there. Harry, she noted with a smile, was already starting his dessert.

Professor Dumbledore sat listening to the sound of the stone stairway until long after it had ceased to make any sound. When he had come along the corridor and had seen a tiny bundle huddled against the wall he was concerned that someone had been jinxed in some way, until he noticed that it was rocking slightly back and forth. It was nothing though, compared to the worry that he felt when he recognized the student, Miss Taylor Porter. It was the next thing to fear. He had stood and watched her for several minutes, wondering just what was wrong and how he was going to deal with it if Miss Porter wanted to leave Hogwarts. He had been very relieved to find out that she didn't want to leave the school. However he was deeply troubled to hear her asking the questions about her parents that he could not answer; not now, she was too young. So much depended on the Potter children, and they were just children after all. Dumbledore stood up and paced his office long into the night, pondering yet again if he had made the right decision for the wrong reasons.

A/N And here is another chapter! There is only one more short chapter to get the back ground for my story out of the way and then the true story will begin, so please bear with me!

Thank you to those of you who have put this story in their alerts! But I would so Love to hear your oppinion on it! A review would be so greatly appreciated! This is after all my 'baby' that I have been working on for 4 years! I think I am being very brave putting it out there for anyone to read! So if you have any questions or comments, likes or dislikes I would very much like to hear them! All reviews will recieve a response!

Thank you to my bata barbc!

So until next time, cytpotter