Hey! Thanks for all the reviews as always! This chapter is coming to you from the open road! *cheers* Ah, the open road.. No Internet, fast food, and lots of reading. What could be better? So, in this chapter, there's another unexpected visitor to Hogwarts, one that shakes up Harry's world. Who could it be? Read on to find out. Disclaimer: JKR is the wonderful owner of Harry Potter, not me. Unless she wants to give it to me, which I highly doubt.

After Tess and Harry's Defense exam, everyone gathered in the Great Hall for lunch. The meal was just the professors and Dumbledore with the addition of Sirius and Remus. Harry breathed a sigh of relief at this. He was used to the noise and bustle of a lot of people, but he felt his guard go up when he was around the Order. Some of them were the same type of people Ralph had warned him against. "Don't trust anyone with a severe moral compass," the older guy had told him. "In the end, they'll turn against you for the "greater good." When Harry had asked if there was a greater good, out of mild curiosity, Ralph had simply replied, "If there is, it's none of your business. Your first concern is always yourself." It was a lesson he took to heart, a lesson he had always known. Growing up with the Dursleys, he had to think that. Thinking anything else would've ended up killing him. Harry was trying to get along with these people for Tess's sake and only her sake. He knew that, more than anything, the brunette wanted a home. He couldn't say he didn't wish the same sometimes, but he also knew that he'd lost the only home he'd ever known.

The food was excellent as usual for Hogwarts. Harry and Tess were still both having a hard time adjusting to this. They'd been on the run so long they'd forgotten what a real meal was like. Usually lunch consisted of bread and cheese and maybe something else if one of them had gone and bartered at a local village. The portions had been small, split between five people, but everyone always had enough. Tess took a bite of the sandwich on her plate, trying to savor it. Harry was tempted to laugh but knew he was doing the same thing.

The professors as well as Sirius and Remus noticed this odd habit. It was something they noticed with sadness. Tess and Harry tended to look at food like it was a miracle, like they were luckily to have something on their plate. Sirius wondered how Harry was able to survive the streets at six. Of course, he knew his godson hadn't been completely alone, but still. How do a little boy and girl manage to stay alive out there? He was sorely tempted to ask, but when he'd mentioned it to Remus, the werewolf said it wasn't a good idea. Remus reminded him that the girl in the memory seemed to be a sore spot and that Harry wasn't supposed to know they saw the memory.

Tess put down her sandwich and turned to Harry. "How do you think Sean is doing?" she asked quietly.

Harry sighed. This conversation always went around in circles. "I'm sure he's fine," the dark-haired boy replied. "Old Mam's probably fattening him up as we speak."

Tess laughed, but it was hallow. "He looked so awful," she whispered.

Harry shrugged, but it wasn't a relaxed shrug. It was a 'I can't think of anything to say because I agree with you shrug.' "That's what Azakban does to you," he stated bluntly. Sirius perked up. Who do they knew who escaped from Azakban?

"It's all my fault," she murmured. Harry grabbed her wrist and forced her to look into his eyes. Tess always felt safe looking at Harry's eyes. They were reassuring, like no evil could ever occur while he was around.

"It's not your fault," he repeated softly for what seemed like the millionth time. "There was nothing you could do." His voice suddenly got more venomous. "If anything, it's her fault," he hissed. Everyone in the room was caught off guard by the sudden hate in Harry's eyes. It consumed him to the point where he looked like the tough street kid he was.

"You know that's not true," she admonished. "Delia did what any of us would've done."

Harry's eyes flashed with something no one could recognize. "You would've suspected your friend, a guy who's practically your brother, of turning to the other side? You would've just stood there while some Aurors," he practically spit out the word, "came and took him to Azakban? You would've just let him rot in that hellhole?" Harry's voice became gentler, but his eyes were just as fierce. "Because, you see, I wouldn't. I could never just sit by and let one of my friends rot in that place, traitor or not. We have to trust each other, Paws. Otherwise, we're no better than Death Eaters. That's why our family works."

"Well, good to know you have such a strict moral code. Funny coming from the guy who's stolen from nearly every store in Diagon Alley," a voice from behind stated. Harry's face went rigid. In a matter of seconds, he went back to the angry, sullen teenager Amelia Bones had brought to Hogwarts. Tess looked more shocked than anything else.

Before anyone could see the person's face, a little girl came streaking through the Great Hall and straight to Harry. "Arry!" she shouted happily. Harry's sullen expression melted only to be replaced by a genuine smile. It was quite striking on him, most of the room noticed. He picked the little girl up.

"Hey, Daisy," he greeted. "You been practicing the trick I showed you?" The little girl nodded furiously. "Let's see it then." Harry transfigured one of the forks into a coin and handed it to the little girl.

Daisy scrunched up her adorable face in concentration. She had honey blonde hair and warm hazel eyes. She reminded Dumbledore of the little girl in Tess's memory. "It's here," she stated, holding the coin between her fingers. "Then gone." The coin suddenly vanished. She reached to Harry's ear and pulled out the coin. "Then in you' ear!" she finished happily. Harry laughed.

"Very good, young grasshopper," he praised.

"You've been watching too many samurai movies," the voice stated yet again. The girl stepped forward. She was strikingly beautiful, same blonde hair as the little girl but with warm chocolate eyes. Harry's face lost the smile.

Tess ran up to the girl and hugged her. The girl hugged her back. After a while, Tess pulled away. "What happened? Why are you here? How did you get here?" Delia had to smile. Tess never changed.

"Yes, please tell us why you gave us the delight of your appearance." Harry's voice was dripping sarcasm.

Delia didn't seem fazed. "Oh Harry, your whores on Vertic Alley wanted me to say hi for them," she shot back. The Hogwarts staff was impressed. The girl shot back exactly what she was given.

Harry just smirked. "Why, did you catch them in bed with your boyfriend again?" Sirius and Remus were both somewhat amused. They knew this kind of bickering. It was the kind that James and Lily had, the kind that led to love if it hadn't already. Despite his harsh words, Harry seemed to be looking at the girl with a hunger, as if it had been too long since he'd seen her.

Tess bit back a groan. Delia and Harry could probably go back and forth like this for hours. "What's going on?" she repeated forcefully.

Delia tore her eyes off of Harry. (And damn, did he look good.) "One of the safe houses has been attacked," she explained. "We had to evacuate." The look on Tess's face was one of great fear, and Harry's jaw tightened.

"And?" he demanded impatiently.

"No one died," Delia reassured him. "A couple people had some minor injuries, but Stephanie will have them fixed up in no time."

He nodded. "I'm going to the Alley," he said abruptly, standing up and taking out Phin's old pocket watch.

"Harry…" Tess complained.

"I just have a little business to attend to," he replied, kissing the top of Daisy's head before turning back to his friend.

"No fights," Tess reminded him.

Harry smirked. "Yes, Mum." Winding the watch, he murmured the words, "Knockturn Alley" and was immediately gone.

Tess sighed. "He's going to get into a fight, isn't he?" she asked Delia, but the blonde girl didn't answer.

"He really hates me now, doesn't he?" she whispered sadly. Tess sighed. This was hard for her. She knew Harry didn't hate Delia. He loved her too much. Sadly, Harry was very stubborn.

"He doesn't hate you. He could never hate you," she comforted. "He loves you. That's why it hurts so much."

Delia snorted. "He doesn't love me. He doesn't love anyone."

Tess gave her old friend a look. "Don't let all that bullshit blind you, Del. Harry has a heart, and you know it. People who don't have hearts don't rescue little girls off the streets and give them a place to go," she emphasized. Tess knew Harry had a heart, knew it better than anyone else. It was hard for other people to understand, people who hadn't known the old Harry. But Tess remembered. She remembered the little black-haired boy who had rescued her, the boy who had brought her into a house full of laughter and love. She remembered the little boy who could name all the constellations in the sky, the one who looked at Bea with stars in his eyes. More than anything, she remembered the day that little boy broke, remembered how Phin had to hold him back as he screamed and thrashed and begged for it to be him. "Things will get better," she reassured Delia. They had to get better. She didn't think any of them could go on like this.

"I hope so," Delia sighed.

"Are you going to stay?" Tess asked eagerly.

"If you'll have me," the blonde stated, locking eyes with the headmaster.

"It would be a delight to have you at me school, Miss…"

"Grove," Delia finished. "Delia Grove. And that's my little sister, Daisy. She would have to stay as well."

The little girl looked up at the old man. "You' beard funny!" she crowed. Sirius and Remus both burst out laughing. Dumbledore himself smiled.

"Thank you," he said back to the little girl.

Tess, noticing how tired her friend looked, suggested, "Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap? I'll watch Daisy."

Delia looked relieved. "Thanks," she mumbled, kissing her little sister's forehead before she went.

Once the blonde disappeared, Dumbledore turned to Tess. "Explanation, Miss McKinnon?"

"Ready to see another memory?" Tess shot back. The headmaster nodded and went off to alert the Order members to come. She sighed. Harry was going to kill her.