If I owned Harry Potter I would be able to afford a better computer! So nope I don't! Just this crappy old clunker that can still be called a computer!

Chapter Fifty-nine

Caught Unprepared

Taylor closed her eyes. How had she become such an open book? How was it that this Hufflepuff could read her so easily? Could he also see her pain? How terrified she was for her brother and friends?

An unbidden thought whispered, what if she lost her brother? And Hermione. And Ron. And Ginny. What if she couldn't get her wand back? Terrible images passed by her closed eyes causing unwanted tears to leak out from under her eyelashes.

"Hey, it's going to be alright," the Head Boy whispered as he brushed a tear from his witch's face, before gathering her in his arms and holding her tight. He could feel the sobs as they wracked his witch's body and his heart constricted in his chest. It hurt to see his brave witch like this. Normally so fearless and bold, he had seen the fear that lurked in her hazel eyes at times today, and the pain in her hands that she tried so hard to hide.

"Shh," he whispered as he sensed that it was more then just fear for her safety that was upsetting her, but fear for the other Gryffindors in the hospital as well, a fear that had lurked in her eyes the past two days. "They're going to be alright Taylor, they are." He knew he was right as his witch held on tightly and cried harder.

Greg didn't know how long his witch cried, but soon the sobs that had wracked her body subsided and she stood quietly in his arms, though she still held him tightly with her arms, carefully keeping her hands away.

"Hey, look at me," Greg said softly after a while, as he looked down at the witch in his arms. Slowly she lifted her head to look up at him and he saw her tear stained face and he was struck by how vulnerable she looked. "It's going to be okay. Harry and the others are going to be okay. You're going to be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

He watched as raw emotions played in her hazel eyes, before she closed them again. Bending his head down, he kissed her gently on the forehead. "I love you, Gryffindor. We'll make it through this. You'll see." He slid his hands up and tenderly cupped her face in his hands as he lowered his head to brush his lips over hers softly, tasting the salty tears as well as the essence of his witch as he deepened the kiss. With a shuddering sigh his witch kissed him back.

A few minutes later, breathing heavily, he leaned his forehead against hers. He'd have loved to keep kissing her all night but he knew that at any moment some witch could walk into the bathroom and find them.

"Come on, we'd better get going. Madame Pomfrey will be waiting. We can eat there if you want."

Taylor shook her head. She couldn't let her fear rule her. Just like she hadn't let the fear of the dark keep her prisoner, neither would she let her fear that something might happen rule her. "No, I'll eat in the Great Hall." She wished her voice hadn't sounded quite so watery but the Hufflepuff smiled at her and nodded.

A half hour later, the two walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Well, it's about time Greg! Do you know how hard it's been keeping Derek from eating all your favorite pickles?" Sally-Anne asked as they sat down.

Taylor watched as the Head Boy bantered back and forth with the other Hufflepuffs easily. She found it hard not to smile when he looked at her and winked before covertly levitating a pickle off Derek's plate and onto hers. The ensuing magical tug of war by both seventh years over the pickle had her rolling her eyes and laughing.

"So Taylor, are you going to come to study with us tonight or what?" Sally-Anne asked a little while later.

Taylor hesitated. She really hadn't thought about it.

"I think that's a great idea. I have late patrol tonight so I can take you back before I go on patrol if you want." The Head Boy suggested as he smiled encouragingly.

"Well, with an offer like that how could I refuse?" Taylor asked.

So after the Hufflepuffs and lone Gryffindor witch finished their supper they all got up and headed out of the Great Hall.

"Hey Porter!"

At the sound of her name being called Taylor turned and saw Dean, Seamus and Neville walking towards her. "Hi guys." She offered as greeting.

"What have ya done? Switched houses on us?" Seamus asked teasingly.

Taylor shook her head as she held up her bandaged hands. "Not switched houses, just been demoted to hanging with the Head Boy until I get my dukes back."

"I heard that Gryffindor!" Greg teased lightly. "Though I'd say you've been elevated not demoted. Why there're plenty of witches that would die for a chance to be stuck with me!"

Taylor just rolled her eyes.

"Well the common room just ain't the same without you all. I hear the others are doing better?" Dean asked sincerely.

Taylor nodded and forced a smile as she said, "Yeah they are. Harry and Ginny are both doing much better and Ron and Hermione should be awake in another day or two." Taylor felt the Head Boy's hand as he put it on her back reassuringly.

"Well that's good, really good." Neville said shyly.

A few minutes later Taylor watched as the three seventh year Gryffindor boys walked across the Entrance Hall and up the marble staircase. A funny feeling in her stomach. Was what she was doing seen by others as switching houses? Before she could dwell on it the Hufflepuff beside her asked if she was ready to go and then guided her toward the other side of the Entrance Hall and the corridor leading to his common room.

"I think Sally-Anne and the others are in here." The Head Boy said when he came to the Hufflepuff study and opened the door.

Taylor nodded and went in to find the Hufflepuff witch and the others with their books opened already. For a while Taylor contented herself with helping the Head Boy with a potions essay that they had due this Friday.

"Taylor? Could you show me that wand movement again?" Sally-Anne asked a little while later.

Taylor nodded and showed the witch again by slowly moving her hand through the air. It wasn't long before Macmillan asked her about it and one thing led to another and soon she had a half dozen Hufflepuffs practicing disarming spells. Taylor became absorbed in helping them and it didn't seem like very long before the Head Boy had to leave for his patrol.

"You have a natural ability to teach you know. Quite like Potter when he was doing it in our fifth year. You're a whole lot prettier though." Greg said lightly as they walked up through the castle.

"Gee thanks Hufflepuff. I'll be sure to tell him that when he wakes up." Taylor said sarcastically and heard the wizard chuckle.

They walked for a while in silence. As they reached the fourth floor Taylor's steps faltered and she stopped.

"What's wrong?" Greg asked as he glanced around.

Taylor looked down the hallway toward the Hospital Wing.

"You know it's alright if you want to go see them," the Head Boy said softly, and putting his arm around her shoulders he added, "Come on, let's go."

A half hour later Taylor knelt on the floor, alone, between her brother and Ginny as they lay in their hospital beds. She knew she could have asked the Hufflepuff to conjure a chair for her before he left but she couldn't bring herself to ask. Not for something so simple that she should be able to do herself.

She was trying to be brave like her brother always was, but she had let her fear get the better of her yet again, when she had gone to Madame Pomfrey just a few minutes ago and asked if she could spend the night here instead of in her dorm room. The cowardice of it galled her but not as much as the fear of being alone there, without her friends and brother.

"Minerva do you really think it was wise to let Miss Porter go back to class today? I understand that she went with the Head Boy and while he is a decent enough boy, with what we know did you believe it was safe?" Lupin stood in the Head Mistress' office alone with her.

"Remus, I fear sometimes what I think is safe and what Miss Porter does are two very different things!" the Head Mistress said in a tight voice. "The last two weeks are clear evidence of that! Besides as Madame Pomfrey pointed out to me there was nothing more she could do for Miss Porter and that the distraction might even help her deal with the pain better. I also had someone from the Order keeping a close watch on her as you well know."

Remus sighed. He had been watching James' daughter on her way from the greenhouses and had seen her fall. He'd nearly lost her too when she had stormed off but then he'd heard her crying in the girl's lavatory… He'd wanted to check on her but he knew the Head Boy was there with her… He could see how she was beginning to trust the Hufflepuff, something so dangerous in these times.

"I do believe that Miss Porter will be safe enough with Mr. Hunter as long as we keep an eye on her." Dumbledore's voice said from his painting on the wall. "If I'm not mistaken, a fair number of other Hufflepuffs seem to have gathered around the Gryffindor as well."

"She is walking around completely helpless! She doesn't even have a wand to try and protect herself! Do you really think a bunch of Hufflepuffs stand a chance if Voldemort were to try something?" Remus asked angrily.

"Are the Hufflepuffs any different than the bunch of Gryffindors she usually hangs around with, if indeed Voldemort should try something, as you put it?" Dumbledore's painting asked curiously.

"You know what I mean!" Remus muttered, unwilling to get drawn into a debate like that with the Head Master's painting.

"That is beside the point. What concerns me the most is what Miss Porter and the others are going to get up to next! She met with a Death Eater, blew up Honeydukes and landed herself and the others in the hospital in little over a week!" McGonagall said in a firm tone. "I had a very difficult time you know convincing Arthur Weasley that this was some kind of accident."

"I'm afraid, Minerva, that is exactly what it was; a very unfortunate, unforeseeable, accident." Dumbledore's tone was very somber.

"Albus how can you be so sure? I have let both Porter and Potter have a lot of leeway this year on your suggestion but if the Ministry or Board of Governors should come investigating…"

"You are going to have to trust me on this Minerva. Things rarely happen for no reason. In time I hope to be able to answer your questions, for now it is just too dangerous." The Painting said solemnly, the painted blue eyes piercing as they regarded his replacement in this office.

Remus had excused himself a few minutes later, and he was left with the same feeling he always was when he talked with Dumbledore, whether it was his painting or when he was alive, the wizard knew more then he was telling and he had a plan. Somehow the great wizard was reaching beyond his grave and influencing what was going on. He had his doubts at times, but he trusted Dumbledore, so he would continue to do as the great wizard asked.

Remus met the Head Boy on his way down through the castle and after inquiring as to Miss Porter's whereabouts, headed for the Hospital Wing. He was just about to the door to the hospital, when his over-sensitive ears picked up the voice, soft and pained. Stepping into the hospital quietly, he saw the Gryffindor witch, on her knees beside her brother's bed, head bowed as if she were praying.

"What am I going to do, Harry? I am so scared. I've never been brave like you. I even bawled all over Greg earlier today. I just feel so alone, so helpless… It hurts so much to see you, and Ginny, and Hermione, and Ron all lying here while I… Pomfrey tried giving me pain potion, but it didn't work. She's too afraid to give me the sleep potion you guys have, in case… well you know. The last few days have been so hard. I don't know what I would have done without Greg. I know you don't like him but Harry he's been here for me when I've been all alone. He's been so kind and understanding. I love you, I'll always love you, but it's like my heart is getting bigger and every day I love that Hufflepuff just a bit more. It's scary and exciting all at the same time… I miss you though, I miss you so much…"

Silently backing out of the door to the hospital, Remus turned and walked away. This was a private conversation that only his ears, with only one day left until the full moon, could hear.

The next morning, Taylor was up and with Madame Pomfrey's help, ready and waiting for the Head Boy when he came by the hospital to get her for breakfast. He had offered to stay the night with her, like he had each night prior, but she had said no. She was okay and he needed his sleep. He hadn't said a thing about her staying in the hospital with her brother and friends instead of returning to her dorm like she should have. Just another thing that endeared the Head Boy in her heart. She could have sworn he even somehow sensed her reason for staying.

After breakfast the Head Boy had Care of Magical Creatures out on the grounds near Hagrid's hut. The Hufflepuff draped a heavy winter cloak around her shoulders and tied his scarf around her neck before pointing his wand at her and levitating her a few inches off the floor.

"What, may I ask, are you doing Hufflepuff?" Taylor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Making sure you don't fall," he answered with a smug smile as he put his arm around her back and floated her out of the castle and across the snowy grounds.

"You are enjoying this way too much, you know!" Taylor griped half-heartedly.

Professor Hagrid greeted them with a big smile before starting his lesson.

This was another class Taylor would have loved to have kept taking if… Giving her head a little shake, she listened as Hagrid explained the differences between the deadly Chimaera, equally deadly Manticore, as well the lethal Nundu. Taylor was fascinated and despite herself ended up asking a few questions. At the end of class Hagrid assigned a one foot long essay due Friday before dismissing them.

"Feelin' a bit bett'er ar' ya, Taylor?"

Taylor looked up at the huge professor and nodded.

"How's Harry an' the others doin'?"

"Better. Ron and Hermione will hopefully be awake tomorrow or the next day. Harry and Ginny… they're doing better too." Taylor answered as she looked away from him uncomfortably.

"Well, tha's good to hear. You enjoyed me class did ya? Never did understand why ya gave it up." Taylor could hear a bit of hurt in his voice as she looked down at the ground.

"I dunno. When in Rome, you know." Taylor mumbled. It hadn't been her idea to give up Care of Magical Creatures. She brightened as she glanced up at Hagrid and said. "I really did enjoy your class though. I thought it was fascinating! Imagine one hundred wizards to bring down just one Nundu!"

Hagrid smiled at her as his beard twitched. "Yeah, James Potter never took much interest in Care of Magical Creatures either. Though it was a different story for Miss Evans. I always did think Harry took after his mum more than that though." Taylor stared at the huge professor for a few seconds. 'Well, ya bett'er be off. Don' want to be late for your next class!"

Giving her head a little shake, she turned to see a confused look on the Head Boy's face but he gave his wand a wave and levitated her again and they set off up across the grounds towards the castle.

"What was that all about?" the Head Boy asked curiously when they were halfway to the castle.

"Oh, Ha… er Professor Hagrid has always been a really good friend of Harry's and when he dropped Care of Magical Creatures after fifth year… Professor Hagrid was a little hurt I think." Taylor answered.

"So why didn't you continue with it if you enjoyed it so much? Just because Potter dropped it didn't mean you had to." The Head Boy looked at her quizzically.

Taylor shrugged her shoulders, "Well you know when in Rome…"

"Yeah, that might be so but we are at Hogwarts. Besides what difference does it make what Potter's parents did in school?" The Head Boy asked as his eyes narrowed curiously.

"You ask a lot of questions Hufflepuff." Taylor said lightly.

"And you are one big mystery Gryffindor," Greg replied as his eyes searched her face before she looked away out over the grounds.

Their next class was Transfiguration and even without her wand Taylor could see that the Hufflepuff was better at it then she was.

After lunch they had Charms and then a study period.

Taylor was just sitting down in front of the fire in the Hufflepuff study room when Sally-Anne came in and asked Taylor to help her with her defense wand work again. By the time the bell went to end the last class of the day, Taylor had four Hufflepuffs that she was helping with defensive spells, including the Head Boy.

Wednesday was much like the two previous days. The Head Boy barely left her side, except for at night when she stayed in the hospital with her brother and friends.

Thursday morning, when the nurse checked Taylor's bandages, she said that her hands were finally starting to heal and although her right hand was still heavily bandaged, her left had the tips of her fingers sticking out and the pain was finally receding to a dull throb. When the Head Boy came by to pick her up, she met him with an easy grin.

"Hey beautiful, you're looking happier today." Greg said as he kissed her on the forehead.

"You still need glasses Hufflepuff, but yeah I do feel better this morning. I finally have a few fingers back!" Taylor answered showing him her fingertips and wiggling them.

"Ah, most definitely progress. I was thoroughly enjoying scratching all your itches though. I'll miss that." The Hufflepuff pouted making the witch roll her eyes.

After breakfast, where Taylor picked up a few bits of toast to feed herself, though she had to allow the Hufflepuff to help her with most of it still, they had double Charms and then double Herbology.

They were just heading back to the castle in a group, the Head Boy letting his witch walk after the sun had melted most of the snow and ice the day before. The Hufflepuffs were discussing the essay they just had been assigned, a nasty three foot long one on the different properties of the plants they had looked at that week. Taylor was listening, as Ernie gave his take on one of the plant's medicinal properties, when movement caught her eye and she turned her head to look.

Directly down across the grounds, just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, almost hidden in the trees was a dark shape. Taylor stopped walking to get a better look.

"Hey Porter!" a cold voice called softly.

Taylor whipped her head in the other direction, instinctively flicking her wrist to palm her wand, only she had no wand. Greg had stopped beside her but the other Hufflepuffs had kept walking, caught up in their conversation and were still moving away from them unaware of what was happening behind them. The Head Boy shifted so he was in front of her, but she had recognized the voice immediately. It was Parkinson's.

"Oh poor Mudblood. Did you lose your wand?" Parkinson called, just as softly from behind a bush that they had been walking by.

The first spell hit Greg with a jelly legs jinx, but it hadn't come from Parkinson. Taylor dove sideways as several spells hit where she had been standing. Rolling she heard the startled yells from the other Hufflepuffs. There was no cover for her to roll behind so leaping to her feet she ran towards the group of Hufflepuffs. She could see that several had their wands out and were firing spells of their own. It only took a few seconds to reach the safety of the group but it felt like a lot longer as she weaved this way and that trying to avoid being hit by spells from behind her.

It was over as fast as it had started. Once Taylor reached the safety of the group of Hufflepuffs, the Slytherins took off.

"Taylor, are you all right?" Sally-Anne asked as soon as she saw the Slytherins hightail it.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Taylor bit out, as anger replaced the fear and her hands throbbed painfully. She'd let her guard down, become lax and the Slytherins had exploited it. Berating herself for not paying more attention, she hurried back to the Head Boy. "Greg, are you all right?" She asked as he performed the counter jinx to stop his legs from jerking out of control.

"Yeah, fine." The Head Boy said as he stood up, anger evident in his voice and face. "Are you okay? Did you get hit?" He could see his witch's hands trembling slightly and knew they were paining again.

Taylor snorted but before she could say anything, a voice called across the grounds as a witch raced towards them. It was Tonks.

"Taylor, are you okay? What happened?" The older witch demanded as she stopped in front of them breathing hard.

"Parkinson and a couple of others decided it'd be funny to make the muggle-born run!" Taylor said in a cold, hard voice ignoring her hands.

"It was Parkinson? Are you sure?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah I'm sure, but I can't prove it." Taylor said as she met the older witch's eye.

"Here, I'll dry you off." And waving his wand Greg dried the Gryffindor off, as well as vanished the mud off her robes and hair, before he repeated the spell on himself.

"Okay, let's go you lot. I'll walk back to the castle with you," Tonks ordered as she waved for them to start walking.

"So let me guess. Parkinson gets off free again?" Greg said but it really wasn't a question. His blue eyes were like chips of ice.

Tonks sighed, "There's not much I can do. I just caught sight of the end of it and I couldn't see any of them from where I was. You were in a better position than I, Hunter. You can always deduct some house points." The auror suggested.

Greg ran his hand through his hair in agitation. There wasn't much he could do either. Though he was fairly sure it had been Parkinson's voice, he hadn't seen the Slytherin witch or any of her friends. The jelly legs had pretty much assured the Slytherins that he would be incapacitated, unable to help his witch or likely to get a good look at them. By now he knew they would be holed up with a bunch of other Slytherins all ready to swear that Parkinson and the others had been with them for hours. "It's not house points I'd like to take from them." He growled in a low menacing voice as they reached the castle doors.

Taylor glanced at the Head Boy and admitted he looked fairly intimidating when he was pissed. "No? Well at least it is something." She offered.

All through lunch, the Hufflepuffs sent dirty looks over at the Slytherin table, but Taylor didn't pay much attention, she was thinking. As soon as the Head Boy finished his soup Taylor asked, "Care for a little stroll before next class?" She saw his eyes narrow a little but he nodded. Getting up they walked out of the Great Hall.

"So what's your next class?" Taylor asked.

The Hufflepuff raised his eyebrow as he answered, "Ancient Runes, why?"

"Oh good, we won't be late if we hurry." Taylor said as she set off up through the castle, taking every short cut that she knew, until puffing she arrived at the Fat Lady with the Head Boy right behind her.

"Kneazle whiskers!" Taylor said and then climbed through the portal when the portrait swung open.

"Taylor would you please tell me what we are doing in Gryffindor Tower?" The Hufflepuff asked as he followed his witch in.

"I need to get something. You wait here. I'll be right back down." Taylor called over her shoulder as she headed up the staircase on the right. She was at the top when she heard…

"That's the boy's dormitories!" The Hufflepuff yelled surprised and bounded up the steps after his witch.

Using her left hand, Taylor opened the door to the seventh year boy's room and headed straight for her brother's bed and the trunk sitting at the end of it. Dropping to her knees she opened the trunk as she heard the Hufflepuff enter the dorm room.

"May I ask what you are doing in a boy's dormitory?" The Hufflepuff asked, a little perturbed.

"I told you, getting something." Taylor said as she looked through her brother's trunk.

"Taylor, that's not your stuff! You can't take somebody else's things!" The Head Boy cried in an astonished voice.

"It's fine. He won't mind," Taylor said from inside the trunk as she mumbled about how messy the trunk was.

"Hold on. Is that Potter's trunk?" The Hufflepuff demanded.

"Ah here they are," Taylor said, as she found the small bag of things she was looking for and thankful her brother hadn't decided to put them back into Hermione's handbag. Without her wand she wouldn't have been able to get them out of it. Sitting back on her heels she pushed the things back into the trunk and shut the cover.

"Taylor!"

Looking up she could see a muscle twitching in the Hufflepuff's jaw as his eyes snapped in anger. Holding up the small bag Taylor explained. "In here are some things from the Weasley twin's joke shop, or more precisely from their line of defensive products. You know darkness powder, smoke bombs, and exploding rocks, stuff like that. It won't help me in a duel, but it should help give me a better chance to get away when the Slytherins try something again."

"But that isn't yours!" The Hufflepuff said in a hard voice.

Taylor glanced at the trunk beside her. She'd been borrowing stuff from her brother for over a year. "Harry won't mind. We bought this stuff way back in the summer in case we needed it. He just keeps it in his trunk along with the invisibility cloak and other stuff."

"The invisibility cloak is his too?"

Taylor sighed. She couldn't very well tell the angry Hufflepuff that it was her brother's and as such hers too. "He lets me borrow it. Look if he were awake he'd be mad if I didn't have these. I should have come got them sooner. I'm not stealing them Greg, if that's what you think."

"So Potter just let's you waltz right up here and get whatever you want, whenever you want it?" There was steel in his voice.

Taylor sighed again. Ginny got that there was nothing between Harry and her, why couldn't the Hufflepuff? "Look Hufflepuff, it's not like that at all. If I need something of Harry's I usually ask for it, but I can't right now. What happened earlier was too close for comfort for me. Another few feet and I wouldn't have made it to the others. You might not have noticed but they were not firing jelly legs jinxes at me." Taylor got to her feet so she could look the Hufflepuff in the eye better, as the bell to end lunch rang. "Right now I am defenseless. It's a very uncomfortable feeling and running scared is not something I do well. These won't protect me, but at least they might give me a fighting chance to get someplace safe. I might not be as lucky to have a whole group of Hufflepuffs to run and hide behind next time!"

Greg was not impressed with the ease that his witch had walked into a boy's room and rummaged through Potter's stuff. It smacked of a familiarity that made him uneasy. Still though, he heard the anger and disgust in his witch's voice, not directed at him but at what had happened earlier. With an effort he concentrated on what she had said.

"You think they will try to attack you again?"

"Do Hippogriffs fly?" Taylor asked.

A/N So Taylor had another run in with Parkinson... That witch was just really fun to pick on! ;) Taylor got to go to Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid... something that I myself would of taken given the chance! :) Also we heard from McGonagall about her thoughts and some from Dumbledore... It is Dumbledore's influence that had McGonagall giving Taylor the punishments and seemingly light ones that she did.

Thank you to all of you who reviewed! Alerted or Favorited or just read this far! As well thanks to my beta barbc! Until next time, cytpotter.