I would just like to take a moment and say that I give two thumbs up! to the Deathly Hallows part 2! I think it was very well done and with but a couple of little things the movie was WOW! A must see in my oppinion! I will say no more incase you haven't seen it yet! :) Now on to the next chapter!

No I am not JK Rowling! Cause if I was Harry would of kissed Ginny more often! :)

Maybe I'm a little blood thirsty but this chapter almost wrote itself. As you will most likely find out if you keep reading I am not a writter who writes a whole lot of filler chapters and this one is no exception! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen

A Brother's Blood

When the eastern sky began to lighten to a dark gray, the heavy overcast sky was threatening rain. Taylor got up and stretched. It had been a long night. She had talked to Dumbledore and listened to Harry's soft snores. The nightmare, although still fresh in her memory, wasn't causing her to tremble anymore. She was almost back to her old self. She went over to wake Harry and then to get something out of her backpack for them to eat.

The painting of Dumbledore asked while they were eating what they had planned for today.

"Well, I was thinking of looking around here some more this morning then, I don't know, maybe going to Diagon Alley?" Harry said as he finished eating the dry biscuits Taylor had given him.

"I see this is a well thought out plan of action," Dumbledore said, with a twinkle in his eye, but he continued, "I think it would maybe be a good idea to visit Diagon Alley and I think Weasley's Wizard Wheezes too, where you can leave a message for the Order with Mr. and Mr. Weasley."

"Yeah, I can think of a couple of things we could pick up in there that might come in handy, Harry," Taylor said nodding her head and making a mental note of them. "Oh, and plus we are going to need some more supplies so we don't starve to death before we get back."

The painting of Dumbledore nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, I do not doubt that Fred and George Weasley have come up with at least a couple of things that could be useful."

They spent the morning looking again around the remains of the house. It had started to rain shortly after they finished eating and by the time Harry was done trying a couple of different magic detection spells, they were soaked. Of course the painting of Dumbledore was protected by a water repelling charm, as he had informed them when Harry mentioned about the painting getting wet.

Shortly before noon they packed up their stuff, soaked as it was, and Apparated to Diagon Alley. They had decided that it would be safest to Apparate right behind Fred and George's joke shop, as they were less likely to be seen there. As soon as they got there they put the hoods up on their cloaks and made their way around to the front and into the shop. It was raining very hard and the joke shop had only two other customers. They happened to be at the counter paying for their items when Harry and Taylor entered. They went to look at some things on a shelf by the wall until the other two customers left.

"Could I help you with something?" Fred asked as he wearily approached the two-cloaked people with their hoods up.

"I don't suppose you have anything that will dry a wizard off and warm him up, do you?" Harry asked taking his hood down, grinning. Taylor followed suit.

The next half hour they spent in Fred and George's office drinking a hot Butterbeer and talking about what had happened after Harry left the Order meeting. How Fred and George had almost had to jinx Bill to calm him down, he was so mad at them for letting Harry go off by himself. Bill it seemed wasn't the only one really angry, but he was the one who had said he would dangle Fred and George in their knickers, upside down, from the tallest tree around!

Taylor could tell that Fred and George were fishing for a clue as to where she and Harry had gone off to. Harry avoided the bait with questions of his own. One being, how were Ron and Hermione? They were fine; Ron was working it for all he could get, Fred said.

Taylor sensed that Fred and George were a little suspicious as to why Harry had gone off with her. They kept glancing at her when Harry wasn't looking. Taylor didn't say anything but she was getting really tired of it, when there was a noise at the window. It was Hedwig.

George opened the window and the snowy white owl flew over and landed on Harry's shoulder cooing softly in greeting. Harry took the letter off of her leg and stroked her wet head. He then opened the letter and began to read it.

Dear H.

We hope you are ok. After you left things got very interesting for awhile.

Mum was very upset about you know what. We need to talk.

See you on September 1st. Be careful say hi to T.

Ron

Harry smiled. I wonder what makes them think I will see them on the 1st? He wasn't sure how to write back to Ron and Hermione. And Ginny… the creature in his chest moved around restlessly as he thought of her. He missed Ginny.

Harry was sitting with his arms resting on the table at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, the house Sirius had left him, with a cup of tea that had gone cold. It was August 31st, a little over a fortnight since Taylor and he had received the letter at Fred and George's joke shop. That night they had eaten with Fred and George, gotten some supplies, food and a few useful items from the joke shop. They had left a message with Fred and George for the Order like the painting of Dumbledore had suggested, plus written back to Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

When they had left the joke shop they had gone to Ollivander's wand shop to look around. Mr. Ollivander had gone missing last year and Taylor thought it was a good idea to have a look around. Harry had suggested they should go to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. It had been a good call, as they were able to get back a few things Mundungus had stolen from Sirius' house last year. One had been Sirius' other magic mirror, when he gave it to Ron they would be able to talk freely to each other.

Next they had gone to so many places Harry couldn't even remember most of them. Caves and graveyards, rock cliffs and wooded areas, but not once, though they searched and searched, did they come up with one clue to a Horcrux. Harry was beginning to wonder if the painting of Dumbledore wasn't purposely sending them on wild goose chases. Harry was tired. They had been sleeping on the ground, usually in some cave without a fire. And it had rained every day.

Taylor glanced over at Harry, she could see the exhaustion in his face. She turned back to the soup she was making on the fire in the fireplace. This would be the first night since they left the Burrow that they would be sleeping in a house, such as it was. Taylor hated this house. It had been bad enough the few times she had been here before, when the Order was using it for their headquarters. At least then it had looked like someone was attempting to live in it. Now it was just dank and cold. Taylor had decided she was going to sleep on the floor in the kitchen.

When the soup was ready she filled two bowls and took them over to the table. It wasn't much of a soup, a bit of beef bouillon and a few vegetables they had been able to scavenge, but it was hot. She put one in front of Harry and sat down with the other one. Harry had been quiet most of the day. They usually didn't talk a whole lot but he hadn't said a word since they had entered this house two hours ago.

Harry looked up at Taylor when she set the soup in front of him and nodded his thanks. He was very frustrated. He didn't know where to go next. He started to eat the soup. It wasn't very good, but he couldn't blame Taylor. She had been doing the cooking the whole time they had been on this crazy search and they hadn't starved. Suddenly he thought of the tables of food at Hogwarts for the welcoming feast tomorrow night and his stomach growled. Should he go back? Taylor hadn't even brought it up, but he was sure she was thinking about it. When he finished his soup he got up and carried it over to the sink so he wouldn't have to tell her he didn't want any more. A flick of his wand, the bowl and spoon were clean, and he put them away noting the chip and pitting on them were the only reasons they were left at all. He felt his anger surge at the thought of what Mundungus had taken from Sirius' house.

He then went over and took out the picture frame of Dumbledore's. It was almost eleven o'clock at night and Dumbledore could usually come anytime after eleven. He had told them that he didn't want to be gone from his frame in the Headmistress' office too often when Professor McGonagall was there, as it might draw attention to the fact he was going elsewhere. Thank goodness she liked to retire early to bed, he had said with a smile, unlike when I was Headmaster, and the painting had chuckled at this.

"Ah I see you are at Grimmauld Place, good. So Harry, have you found anything of interest today?" asked Dumbledore with a slight smile as if he knew the answer already.

Harry looked at the painting of his Headmaster and snorted "Yeah right."

Dumbledore didn't seem upset at all over this cheek. On the contrary he just nodded his head and said, "Sometimes Harry, it is through failure that we find knowledge. What have you learned these past three weeks of searching?"

The stormy expression on Harry's face was a sign that what he was going to say wasn't going to be nice, "I've learned that you aren't telling us to look in the right places and I've just about had it with these cryptic messages you keep spewing out. I've had it up to here with this bullshit you've been feeding us about finding a piece of information in the most unlikely of places, and I'm tired of this hiding and I'm sick of this shitty food!" Harry bellowed, smashing the cup of tea that he hadn't drunk and sending a chair crashing against a wall. He was angry. Dumbledore was sending them to bogus places where there wasn't even a trace of a Horcrux and he was through with being fed this crap.

Taylor watched as Harry yelled at Dumbledore. She had to admit that she had suspected as much. His mood had been growing darker and darker over the past week, with every place they went not turning up a single clue. She was getting frustrated with it too. The put down about her food didn't really bother her. How could you make something good in a cold camp and with only meager supplies?

"Well, I can see you are upset, Harry," Dumbledore said, his voice calm, almost bored. Harry snorted in disgust and glared at the painting of Dumbledore. The painting continued, "I, contrary to what you just said, am not sending you to the wrong places. I'm sending you to some of the more remote places that I was not able to search. Harry it took me over a year to track down the Horcrux in the ring. It is not going to be easy to find the others. As far as finding something in an unlikely place, that is just where it is going to be. Voldemort took great care to hide these Horcruxes. He did not just leave them lying around and the clues to finding them are going to be just as elusive. I am not, however, going to send you with only Taylor here to help you, into places where I know there are Death Eaters about. You just turned of age and Taylor here is still underage. How do you think you would hold up? I know you don't want to hear this but I think your best course of action is to go back to Hogwarts for your seventh year. Harry, you are not ready to face these dangers. Voldemort wants to kill you and if you go against him, alone, without more experience that is exactly what will happen."

"Voldemort has been trying to kill me my whole life!" Yelled Harry. "What in Merlin's name is different now?"

Dumbledore's voice was so soft when he spoke again that Taylor and Harry leaned down closer to the painting so they could hear. "Because, Harry, now there is no one whom Voldemort fears."

Harry stared at the tiny picture frame, his throat constricting as he tried to swallow. The pain of losing Dumbledore came crashing down on him. He knew in that instant that he had allowed himself to become comforted by Dumbledore's voice of wisdom, but there was no longer any of the great magic that had served to help protect him in the past. The realization was almost like losing Dumbledore again. Harry couldn't say anything.

The painting sighed and said, "Harry, I'm sorry that I can not help you in the way that you so desperately want, and need, but maybe I can help you with some of the finer points of how and where to look for the Horcruxes. If you go back to Hogwarts, the training that you so desperately need and even some protection, can be provided."

Harry nodded his head. How could he argue with Dumbledore on those points? He looked over at Taylor. She hadn't made a sound through all of this, but her face was so full of hope. She turned away when she noticed he was watching her and she remained silent. The decision was his to make. "Do you think we should go on the Hogwarts Express or Apparate right to the gates outside of the school?" Harry asked.

"I think it might be wise to go straight to Hogwarts. I believe that the Death Eaters will be watching the train, in case you go on it. Send your Patronus to Moody to let him know of your plans and to pick up your school supplies. Taylor I believe you already have yours? Just send an owl to Mrs. Briggs to send your trunk to the school. I want you to tell no one, except Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley of course, about this painting; not even the Order. I will come to talk as often as I can. If there is an emergency and you need to speak with me right away, send your Patronus." The painting said with a slight smile.

Harry nodded his head as Dumbledore spoke. When he glanced at Taylor he could see that she was smiling, the first smile he had seen on her face in weeks, ever since that night at Godric's Hollow. She had followed him everywhere he went these past weeks not once complaining about a single thing, as if as long as she was with him the rest didn't matter. Maybe it didn't for her, he thought.

Taylor couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when she heard they were going back to Hogwarts. She so wanted to see Hermione and Ginny and Ron too. To sleep in a bed and have a shower, sounded so good. Maybe not in that order though, Taylor thought as she sniffed at herself. Almost three weeks without a proper shower, she smelled as bad as Sirius when he had been living as a dog in Hogsmeade. She was sure that Mrs. Briggs would send her school stuff, but she had hoped to show Harry and the painting of Dumbledore the books in the secret bookshelf, the ones about Dark Magic. Maybe Christmas break would be a better time, she thought. Harry's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Taylor, when did you get your school supplies?" Harry was asking, but he wasn't annoyed. In fact her smile was infectious, he could feel one growing on his face. He was going to see Ginny tomorrow night. The creature in his chest stirred restlessly, it had been too long.

"Oh, I got them before the wedding. Mrs. Briggs likes to get things done right away, so when I got my school letter, we went right to Diagon Alley. I got your birthday present that day too." Taylor replied with a smile. Taylor watched as Harry conjured and sent his Patronus to Moody telling him that they would be arriving at the school around three tomorrow, and that he would need some school supplies and his trunk from the Burrow. They talked for some time about how to let Ron and Hermione know what was happening, but they decided an owl was too risky, so they trusted to the fact that Ron's last owl had mentioned seeing them on the 1st and left it at that. It was getting very late. Taylor got her cloak out and went and laid on the floor by the fire.

"You know Taylor there are beds upstairs," Harry said shaking his head.

Taylor looked at Harry then past him towards the door that led out of the kitchen to the rest of the dark house. A shiver ran down her back. "No thanks, I think right here is fine." She pulled the cloak up around her neck and curled into a ball. One more night on a hard floor wasn't going to hurt her.

It was a long wait the next day for three o'clock to arrive so they could Apparate to the gates at Hogwarts. They had discussed going to the Burrow early that morning to see Ron but had decided against it. They couldn't be sure that Ron would be there. So they waited. Just before eleven they even talked about going to Platform 9 and ¾ and getting on the train. By one, they had the fire in the fireplace put out, their stuff packed and were sitting at the table watching the clock.

Taylor was thinking that they should have told Moody an earlier time and she said as much. "Next time that we decide to meet someone, let's meet them earlier instead of later! Ok?" Taylor had thought of mentioning about going to see the Dark Magic books at Mrs. Briggs but had decided against that because they had promised the painting of Dumbledore they wouldn't go anywhere except Hogwarts at three.

They sat in silence for a long time each with their own thoughts, until…

"I wonder who they got to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts? With everything that is going on I think that might be the best class to take," Taylor wondered aloud.

"Don't know. It will probably be hard to get new teachers now. I wonder how many students will be back," Harry said.

"Have you thought about what classes you are going to take?" Taylor knew as soon as she said this that it was the wrong thing to say. Harry's eyes grew cold and angry and he got up abruptly.

"I am not going to pretend to go to a bunch of classes just to appease a teacher. I'm going back to find out if there are any Horcruxes there and that will be about it!" Harry growled at Taylor.

"Look Harry, Dumbledore thinks that it will help to go back to school, not just back to Hogwarts the grounds, and I agree with him. Mum and Dad finished school and they would want us to, as well. There's so much we don't know yet. You haven't perfected the soundless spells and we've seen how important they are when dueling." Taylor reasoned, thinking back to the duel they had witnessed at the Ministry when Sirius had died.

"Don't go bringing up Mum and Dad or Sirius," Harry practically snarled at Taylor, he had guessed who Taylor was thinking about when she had mentioned dueling. He put his hands on the table and leaned over it glaring at Taylor. "You don't know what you are talking about!"

"Yeah, is that what you think. Well I'm not scared of you Harry James Potter, so don't you try that stance with me!" Taylor said her voice growing quiet but deadly, as she got to her feet and squared off with Harry.

Suddenly all the frustration that had been building inside of Harry for the last couple of weeks had found an outlet, "So you think you have all the answers do you! Well you don't know the first thing about being scared! What do you know about Mum and Dad anyway. You didn't even know who they were until a year ago," Harry didn't care right then how much his words hurt. He just wanted to strike out and get rid of some of the hurt he felt.

"Oh, I forgot I'm talking to the great Harry Potter who can do no wrong," Taylor hissed at him, dark anger taking a hold of her, and she let it take over. "Potter you are an arrogant, self centered, egotistical ass who likes to strut around as if he is above everyone else," Taylor finished with a satisfied smirk on her face. The words, so similar to what Snape had so often said, hitting their mark.

Harry saw red, "Right, and the only one who thought he knew who your parents really were is dead! You ever wonder if the reason you were kept a secret wasn't to protect you, but because Mum and Dad were ashamed?" Harry knew he had gone too far but he couldn't seem to stop. Taylor's eyes turned almost black with rage.

"Yeah, Brother I have thought about that a good many times. I…" but a soft oily laugh came from the door way to their left and Taylor never finished what she was about to say.

"Well, isn't this a nice Family picture, I always thought you looked too much like Lily Evans to be a coincidence, Porter or should I say Miss Potter." The greasy haired Snape said as he stepped into the kitchen from the doorway that led to the rest of the house.

"Snape!" Harry snarled, his lip curling as he said it. His anger at Taylor disappearing at the sight of Snape. I'm going to kill him, Harry thought, just like he killed Dumbledore.

"Now, now. Dumbledore wouldn't approve of his precious Potter thinking such dark things," Snape's oily voice mocked.

"How dare you say his name!" Harry roared. He squared his shoulders around so that he faced Snape, his wand clamped in his hand, was going to…

Taylor recovered quickly from the shock of seeing Snape in the doorway. She didn't dare look at Harry, but she could tell from the sound of his voice and what she could see out of the corner of her eye that he was about to curse Snape. The table separated her from Harry, but also from Snape as he was at the end of it. Taylor took a chance and stepped sideways away from the table so that Snape couldn't cover them both with his wand at the same time.

Snape's eyes flickered to Porter as she moved sideways away from the table but the inhale of Potter's breath and the sudden movement of his wand arm made him refocus on the young wizard instead. Snape's wand flashed as he flung his silent spell at Potter.

Taylor reacted as soon as she seen Snape's wand move towards Harry.

"Expelliarmus!" Taylor bellowed.

"Scept…AHH!" yelled Harry as Snape's spell hit him and knocked him onto the floor.

Snape knew he had made a huge mistake discounting Porter, as his wand flew from his fingers and straight into her hand.

"Hold still, Snape," Taylor said not daring to take her eyes off of him to see if Harry was all right.

"And just what do you think you are going to do with me? Do you really think that I'm going to let myself be captured by you?" Snape said his voice full of loathing.

Harry moaned but he still hadn't moved. Taylor knew Snape was dangerous even without a wand. She was going to have to restrain him.

"Do you really think ropes are going to hold me? Porter I would have thought that even as dull as you are, that you would have thought of something better then that," Snape was taunting her.

Taylor took a deep breath, cleared all her thoughts from her mind and let a strange calm settle over her and when she met Snape's eyes, it was he who sucked in his breath and fear jumped into his black eyes.

Snape couldn't believe the coldness that he saw when he looked into the Porter girl's eyes. He had only ever looked into one other set of eyes that were that cold and unfeeling. It unsettled him right to his core.

Taylor's wand slashed the air and the black ribbon that flew out of it wrapped it self around Snape, like a snake slowly squeezing him. His eyes widened with surprise and he tried to struggle. The ribbon enveloped his whole body, like a rope mummy and he toppled to the floor. His scream was cut short as the ribbon covered his mouth; then his fear filled eyes.

Taylor blinked as if she had come out of a trance. She stepped forward to look down at Snape. The remnants of the black ribbon were just fading from sight, but Snape was staring blankly into space. She hadn't intended to use another spell from one of those Dark Magic books, but when the thought that he knew her secret crossed her mind, all she could think of was to protect Harry at all costs. She reached for the pendant that hung around her neck. It almost burned her fingers when she took hold of it.

Harry moaned again and Taylor hurried around the table to see if he was alright. She couldn't believe her eyes when she could finally see him. There was blood pooling on the floor and Harry's chest was soaked with it.

"Ohmigod!" Taylor cried as she fell on her knees beside him. She knew Snape had used the same spell Harry had been going to use himself. Sectumsempra.

She had to stop the blood flow. Taylor jumped up and grabbed her backpack off of the table, where she had put it while she was waiting until it was time to go to Hogwarts. She opened it up and pulled out her spare shirt, she put it on Harry's chest to try to stop the blood. He moaned. There was so much blood, Taylor's hands were soaked with it; her cloak was too.

Taylor looked around desperately, but there was no one to help her here in this empty house. She could feel panic starting to set in. What was she going to do? She couldn't leave him to go get help. I'll have to do a side along Apparition she decided. But it wasn't going to be easy. She had never taken anyone in a side along before, and she was going to have to hold Harry up to do it. That is, if she could even lift him off of the floor to begin with. She glanced at her watch. It was quarter after three. What if she got to the gates at Hogwarts and no one was waiting there for them? Should she try to go to St. Mungo's wizard hospital? No, she decided it had to be Hogwarts. It was the safest place. She glanced at Snape, anger stirred deep in her chest. I should use a couple more of those spells on him. She shook her head. That was not helping, but she would have to come back and get him too, after she got Harry the help he needed.

Taylor stuffed Snape's wand into Harry's bag. Maybe she should try to reach Dumbledore? She pressed harder with one hand on the blood soaked shirt she had put on Harry's chest, took out the painting with the other and yelled Dumbledore's name. There was no answer, fear was now almost choking Taylor as she pushed the bloody frame back into Harry's bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Taylor's bloody hand slipped a bit on her wand as she pointed it at Harry. "Wingardium Leviosa!" she cried and Harry's body rose up off of the floor, but when Taylor tried to wrap Harry's arm around her shoulder so that she could do a side-along, the levitating spell broke and Harry fell back onto the floor with a grunt.

Taylor's strangled cry filled the empty kitchen. Frustrated and scared she stuffed her wand into her back pocket. Then she bent down and put her arms around Harry's chest under his arms and lifted, her blood soaked hands slipped and she dropped him back down onto the floor, again. Harry only moaned weakly. He was so much bigger than her. She tried again; this time she pulled him to a sitting position then got behind him and heaved with all her might. She had gotten him to his feet. She quickly ducked under his arm and took the full weight of him on her shoulders. Her knees started to sag under the load. It's now or never; she knew she would never have the strength to get him back up if she let him fall again.

Taylor emptied her mind and fixed the gates at Hogwarts firmly in her minds eye, her arms tightened around Harry, and she spun…

A/N well there you have the first cliff hanger! (evil laugh!) Well what did you think? A nice long chapter! Though many of the coming chapters are this long and longer! What did you think of the fight between brother and sister? What about Snape? Things are really starting to heat up!

I want to remind you that this was also written before Deathly Hallows was published.

I would very much love to hear what you think of this story so far! All reviews will be answered! Maybe I should wait for a review or two before I post another chapter! mwha ha ha!

Thank you to my wonderful bata barbc! As well as to those you you who have add this story to your alert and favorite lists!

Until next time, cytpotter