Taking Chances and Making Changes

Disclaimer – I do not own anything from Harry Potter. Than honour goes to JK Rowling. I only own the ideas and any OC's. Anything you recognise does not belong to me.

Hayley (POV)

The first few weeks of school were absolute hell, to say the least. I didn't think anything could be worse than how I was treated during the first half of the tournament last year, but I was wrong. There were numerous news articles slandering myself and Dumbledore in almost every edition of the Daily Prophet and there was also the hate and extreme distrust from classmates and former friends. All this I could just about handle. I had the support from my family and friends, so it wasn't too bad. What tipped it all over the edge for me was the torturous detention with Umbridge. It was as if she got some kind of satisfaction seeing me in pain. It was the only logical reason for how often she was giving me these detentions. In the first three weeks since school began, she was giving me detention about two or three times a week for the smallest and pettiest things. The only reason I was able to remain a prefect is because McGonnagall and Dumbledore both seemed to be aware that Umbridge clearly had something against me.

It was in my last class of the week, when Professor Snape asked me to stay behind after double potions, so he could speak to me privately. I frowned and gave a slightly confused nod before getting on with my potion that Neville and I were working on. I spent the rest of the lesson confused, wondering what he wanted to talk about. I knew it couldn't be regarding the training sessions, as we had already arranged them. They took place on Saturdays before lunch, followed by Quidditch practice, and if they ever had to change he would send a note with Hedwig letting me know. When class ended, I gathered up my things and stayed behind while everyone else left. I slowly headed over to his desk, where he gestured for me to take a seat.

"Hayley, I asked you to stay behind because over the past few weeks I've noticed that you have been finding the work fairly easy, and I feel that you are not being challenged enough. So I have received permission from the Headmaster to use two of your free periods during the week to give you private lessons, in which you will be taught a more advanced curriculum." he said.

I stared in shock for a few moments before I was able to process the information enough to think of something to say. "You really think that I'm ready to start learning advanced Potions, sir?"

"Of course you are. You are much brighter than anyone gives you credit for, and that includes yourself. You can achieve anything when you set your mind to it. So from now on, the free period that you have on a Monday and a Thursday will be your advanced Potions classes, and Saturdays will remain as our training sessions." he explained.

I nodded, still trying to process everything. "Okay, that's fine, Professor." I said.

He allowed me to go after that, and I headed to the Common Room to meet up with everyone else, as they were no doubt curious about what Professor Snape had wanted to talk to me about. I was bombarded with questions almost as soon as I walked through the door.

"Hey, so what did Snape want?" Ron asked as I sat down.

"He said that starting next week, two of my free periods will be used for extra classes where he will be teaching me advanced Potions." I explained.

"Why?" Neville asked, confused.

"Well, he said that it was because he felt I wasn't being challenged enough, but I have a feeling there's more to it than that. I know part of it will be linked to my training, but I think that he's taking on a mentor kind of role. Obviously I've been losing trust in Dumbledore for a while, but at the moment, I trust him about as far as I could throw him and that's not far. Snape knows that Dumbledore was kind of a mentor for me to begin with and he's trying to fill that gap. As for why he's doing that, I don't know." I explained, sighing slightly.

I was on my rounds after dinner that evening. It was shortly before curfew, so there was only a few people about that were on their way back to there common rooms. I was doing the rounds by the library when I came across a group of three third year Slytherins picking on two first year Gryffindors. When I got closer, I noticed it was Cassandra and Todd, who had moved from America with the rest of their siblings, and were transfers from Ilvermorny. Once I was close enough, it was clear that the Slytherins were harassing the twins because they were muggle born. One of the Slytherins was in the middle of calling them Mudbloods when I stepped in.

"Hey, that's enough. You might want to think twice before you finish that sentence." I said, standing behind the group.

The group turned around and were obviously about to say something, when they saw who they were talking to and immediately shut up.

"That's what I thought. Now if I were you, I would apologise and then move along to your Common Room. Unless you want a detention for both bullying other students and being out past curfew?" I said, raising my eyebrow slightly.

I smirked slightly as the group reluctantly apologised and headed off towards the Slytherin Common Room.

"Thank you." Cassandra said as I turned around to face them. Her brother was still quiet and I guessed that she was the more outgoing of the two of them.

"Don't worry about it. I don't like bullies." I say. "Now, let's get you two back to the Common Room. Also, if either of you ever need to talk about anything, you can come to me." I said with a reassuring smile.

I escorted them back to the Common Room before continuing with my rounds. About two hours later, I finished my rounds and headed to the Common Room and went straight to bed.

It was a few days later, and I was on my way back up to the castle after Quidditch practice when I was stopped by the twins' older sister, Kyla.

"Hi. You're Hayley Potter, aren't you?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I am. Can I help you with something?"

"No, I just wanted to thank you. Cassandra and Todd told me how you helped them out yesterday." she explained.

I smiled. "It was no trouble. It's my job as Prefect. Besides even if it wasn't, I still would have helped out. I don't like bullies."

"Either way, thank you. I just wish I was able to look out for them more." she sighed.

"Being in different houses to your siblings must be tough. But i'll make sure to watch out for them." I said.

"Thank you so much. Knowing they have someone in the same house looking out for them is a relief." She smiled.

We continued talking as we headed up to the castle, and eventually went our separate ways. I headed back up to the Common Room and changed before going down to the library to meet up with Draco and Blaise to do some homework.

(Time Skip)

It was about a month later, and I had started the first steps in becoming an Animagus. In the book that Sirius had given to me, it had said that the first steps were to read up on both Transfiguration and Potions, and once I had felt somewhat comfortable with my knowledge, I moved onto the second step. The second step was to keep a single mandrake leaf in my mouth for the entire month. Specifically from full moon to full moon. The full moon was on the 19th so I used a sticking charm to stick the leaf to the roof of my mouth to eliminate the chance of me accidentally swallowing it and having to start it over again.

Halloween was in a few days, and while everyone else was getting excited for it, and more importantly the feast, I was in a miserable mood, which thankfully my friends understood the reason why. The day of Halloween was the worst. I even refused to go to classes that day; I had told Hermione that morning that I didn't want to go, and surprisingly she didn't push the issue. She just nodded and said that she would tell the professors that I wasn't feeling well. I spent the day in the Common Room and Dobby brought me some food up to make sure that I ate something. It was just after lunch when I was lounging across one of the couches in the common room, when Dobby popped in saying that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see me in his office.

I sighed and slowly pulled on my hoodie and shoes before heading to his office. I purposefully took my time getting there. I eventually got there, gave the password and headed up the staircase. I sighed, knocked, and heard him tell me to come in. Once inside, I took a seat opposite him, declining a lemon drop.

"Miss Potter, your teachers tell me you haven't been in classes this morning as you weren't feeling well. May I say i'm glad that you seem to feeling better." he said with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Are we really going to do this? I get that we've had our issues lately, but surely you can understand why today of all days I wouldn't want to deal with anything, let alone classes." I said with a sigh, not having the energy to deal with his games.

"I do understand and so do the other professors. Which is why you're not in trouble. I merely wanted to see how you were doing?" He said.

I was an expert at reading people and being able to tell when people were lying or hiding things from me, especially Dumbledore. He had told me so many lies and kept so many secrets that I could instantly tell whether he was being honest or not. This time, I could tell he was being completely genuine. I hesitated but I decided to be honest with him. If he was trying, the least I could do was try, too.

I frowned and sighed slightly. "If i'm being completely honest, I don't know how I'm feeling. Obviously, I'm sad and I say that I miss them, but I'm not entirely sure if that's true. I mean how can I miss people that I don't even remember?"

He let me go soon after and I headed back to the dorms to relax. It was a few hours later, and everyone was returning to the Common Room when Hermione said that Professor McGonnagall had told her that she wanted me to go to her office just before the feast. I spent the next few hours wondering what it is she wanted to see me about. Part of me thought it might be about some homework or something I had missed in class, but it didn't make sense, considering she would have just sent it back with Hermione. I left with everyone else, and when they headed down to the Great Hall for the feast, I said that I would join them later. I knocked on her office door and went in when she told me to.

When I went inside, I noticed that she was dressed differently. Instead of her usual robes, she was dressed in muggle clothes. I frowned as I took a seat opposite her desk. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"

"Yes, I did. I know that today will have been difficult for you, and after speaking with Professor Dumbledore, we decided that it might be good for you to visit Godric's Hollow. If you would like to, we could visit your parents' graves and lay some flowers down"She explained with a small smile.

I paused momentarily, processing it before taking a shaky breath as I tried to find the right words to say. "I don't know what to say. Are you sure? I mean, what about the feast? I wouldn't want you to miss it."

"The feast doesn't matter, Hayley. When you've taught here as long as I have, the feasts tend to get rather boring after a while. Besides, I really think this will be good for you." she said.

We walked from the castle to the grounds, where we would be able to apparate from, as you weren't able to apparate from within Hogwarts itself. Once we landed in one of the alleyways in Godric's Hollow, I took a few moments to recompose myself. I hated the feeling of apparition and wasn't sure I would ever like it. We walked slowly from the alley to the graveyard. I took a breath as I eventually reached their grave stone. I noticed that Professor McGonnagall walked a short distance to give me some privacy. I gulped slightly as I knelt down and gently brushed my fingers over the top of the stone, trying to think of what to say.

"Hi, mom, dad. I don't really know what to say. I really wish you were here right now, god that would make everything so much easier." I said, feeling the tears start to build. "You gave up everything to save me, i'm supposed to be worth all the sacrifices and I can't escape the constant feeling that I'm letting you both down. I just wish you were here to hold me and tell me that everything is going to be okay." I said.

The tears quickly started falling and I soon lost track of time as I broke down sobbing. I wasn't aware of how long it had been when Professor McGonnagall knelt down next to me and wrapped her arms around me, holding me as I cried.

I eventually stopped crying and was able to compose myself enough to stand up. I took a few calming breaths and wiped my face free of tears with a tissue that Professor McGonnagall conjured for me. I watched her as she knelt down and conjured a bouquet of flowers containing both lilies and roses and set it down on their grave. We stayed for a little longer, standing in silence, before we eventually left and started walking back to the alleyway to apparate back to Hogwarts.

Author's Note – Hi, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A lot of emotions in this one and I had a good time writing it. I have some really fun and interesting ideas coming up in the next few chapters and I can't wait for you to read them. The next chapter should be up on August 29th.