Disclaimer: Nope.
Author's Note: Hey everyone, and thank you for the awesome reviews! I'm so glad you all enjoyed what I revealed at the end of the chapter, of exactly who is going to help Harry if Dumbledore asks him to go back to the Dursleys.
And speaking of Dumbledore, I absolutely adore the theory one of my reviewers came up with, but it's honestly not the case. Dumbledore isn't using Polyjuice Potion and disguising himself as Professor Giddens, but I really loved that guess.
As for Amos Diggory, many authors write him in different ways, but he's not at all prejudiced towards Harry in this fic. I admit, I think he acted like a jerk in Goblet of Fire, but that was before Cedric was killed. Remember, when Harry talks to him and Cedric's mother in canon, they're both really nice to him. In my version, they're even nicer to him than in canon. Mr. Diggory is filled with guilt over how he treated Harry before Cedric died. He's certainly going to be on Eileen's side when it comes to helping Harry now.
Yellow 14, oh my goodness. Another spin-off by the end of the month? That's totally amazing. You are the absolute best!
And this chapter is dedicated to you. It's entirely about your two characters and the part they will play in the story. I hope everyone else enjoys it too. The fact that you wrote that story, Yellow 14, has made these characters beloved to me - in my head, they're canon now.
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It had been an extremely difficult week in Hufflepuff House.
Rebecca Hardman snorted as she waited in the empty classroom that had become so familiar to her. She sat down at one of the desks and put her head in her hands, exhaustion consuming every part of her body. The thought she'd just had was the understatement of the century.
It was now Sunday, and the first week of classes had been excruciating. Her house was divided, and she despised it. She couldn't even escape it in her own dormitory - one of the girls, Amy, had believed firmly that Harry Potter was guilty of Cedric's murder and that he was at fault for all of it. Now, she couldn't even admit that she'd been wrong. Two of her other roommates, Nancy and Louise, believed that Harry had never been guilty, but his being at Hogwarts had gotten Cedric killed. It was her best friend, Sarah, that had been Rebecca's saving grace - both girls were incredibly angry at the turn of events, at the fact that Harry was being used as a scapegoat.
And there was something else that had been terribly wrong this week - Matthew, the boy she loved, had not been there because a horrific, brutal tragedy had hit him and his family hard. His aunt, uncle, and cousin were all dead.
She would never forget September 1, 1995 for as long as she lived. She had woken up that morning, already dreading the prospect of returning to school and to her dormitory, which had been frought with tension since the end of October of the previous year, when Harry Potter's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire. Amy had believed that he'd cheated and put his name in on purpose. Nancy and Louise weren't sure what the situation was, but they were furious on Cedric's behalf that Harry had, in their words, stolen his thunder. Sarah and Rebecca, however, had been worried. They'd paid attention to the way Harry acted if they saw him in the corridors - and he certainly wasn't behaving like someone who wanted to be Hogwarts champion. Something was going on and they didn't like it. And when Amy began wearing those stupid "Potter Stinks", badges and she'd gotten Louise and Nancy to wear them as well, Rebecca and Sarah stayed out of the dormitory as much as they possibly could.
Now, things were far worse. Rebecca did not want to get on the Hogwarts Express, where all anyone would be talking about was the fact that the school governors were taking Jeffrey Bushman seriously and Harry Potter wasn't coming back to Hogwarts. She didn't want to discuss Cornelius Fudge's trial, which she and her family had attended, along with Matthew and his. She still had nightmares of Cedric's lifeless body falling to the ground. She still woke up shaking after seeing You-Know-Who, snakelike and grotesque, slither out of the cauldron. That high, cold voice sent spikes of fear through her entire body.
But she knew she had to buck up and be strong. There was something very important that she was going to do this month, and she had to put one foot in front of the other and do it. She had spoken with several people at the end of last year, right after Harry had escaped into hiding and Dumbledore was arrested. Over the summer, there had been more conversations and more plans made. And now was the time for action.
As she'd gotten dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, Matthew's face entered her mind. He had been her rock after Cedric's death - Rebecca hadn't been very close to him, but he was always very friendly to her, smiling at her in the common room and always asking how she was doing. He was the embodiment of what a truly nice person was. He was Hufflepuff's inspiration and what they all strove to be.
Matthew had been there for her and comforted her as she sobbed over the cruelty and unfairness of it all. The loss of such a young, vibrant person with his entire life ahead of him - it was so completely senseless. She'd known the instant she'd seen his unmoving body, that terrified expression frozen upon his handsome face, that his life had been taken intentionally. Those warm, gray eyes that had held so much honesty and caring were horribly vacant. Rebecca had gazed at him, transfixed. Sarah was shaking and sobbing and Rebecca followed suit - it was the worst night of her life. Sarah and Matthew had literally been the only things in her world that had held her up during that time.
So, on September 1, she'd been sitting at the breakfast table when she heard her big sister, Anna, who was nineteen, wander downstairs as well. She was a healer trainee at Saint Mungo's, and would have to leave for work soon. As soon as Rebecca saw her face, she knew something was horribly wrong.
"What?" she'd asked. "What is it?"
In answer, Anna simply walked to the living room to retrieve something. As she walked back into the kitchen, Rebecca could see that she was holding the Daily Prophet. "Becca," she said quietly. "There's something you should know."
Horror. That was what filled Rebecca's veins as she read the article on the front page about the terrible massacre that had taken place overnight. And three of the people killed had been ... oh, Merlin.
Anna had placed a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she murmured, stricken.
Rebecca was rooted to the spot in numb shock. What could she do? What should she do? She just wanted to hug him and comfort him. Matthew. Her Matthew. His Aunt Emily. His Uncle Henry. And Elizabeth - sweet Elizabeth who was supposed to start Hogwarts today.
Her heart raced in her chest and ice flooded through her body. She didn't know what to do. She truly didn't know what to do.
And it was then that the living room fireplace roared to life. Her body suddenly jolting into action, Rebecca bolted up from the kitchen table and ran into the room to see a white-faced Matthew spinning out of the fireplace. "Becca." His voice contained so much horror and anger and grief, and Rebecca ran to him without even a blink.
"I ... I had to see you." Matthew murmured into her hair, his entire body shaking. In the nine months they'd been dating, Rebecca had never seen him so undone. "I ... I'm sorry. I'm not going to be at school this week."
This was not at all a surprise to Rebecca - obviously, he would be staying with his family to help plan and attend the funeral. Anna had slipped quietly up to her room to let the couple be alone. Thank Merlin her parents were still asleep.
Matthew had only stayed for five minutes. His parents hadn't been very happy that he had stopped by - Rebecca got the feeling they didn't like her very much. They'd been very grudging about the couple seeing each other over the summer. Matthew had reassured her that it wasn't her they didn't like - it was more the fact that they wanted him to concentrate on his schoolwork and not dabble in romantic dealings. The disgusted look he'd worn on his face when uttering that phrase earlier that summer had made Rebecca laugh, and he couldn't help but join her.
Rebecca was ashamed to admit that she'd shed a few tears when saying goodbye to him - she was going to miss him terribly and felt extraordinarily selfish for it. Matthew was truly one of the only things she had been looking forward to about returning to Hogwarts. But he and his family were going through something horrific and of course he needed to be there with them. Matthew, though, seemed to understand. "I'll be back soon," he'd reassured her quietly. "We'll keep in touch by owl, okay?" He seemed just as unwilling to let Rebecca go as she was.
And so, several hours later, a guilt-stricken, devastated Rebecca boarded the Hogwarts Express, her heart feeling like a lump of ice. She felt like the most terrible girlfriend in the world. How was she supposed to help the boy she loved through something this terrible? She was missing him, but she would see him again. But he would never see his aunt, uncle, and cousin again. They had been murdered by a pack of monsters in the middle of the night. Matthew had been the strong one, helping her through Cedric's death. And Rebecca knew she was supposed to return the favor and be strong for him now - but she didn't know how.
Matthew had assured her that she didn't need to do anything except owl him, and he had clung to her when she'd held him close, seeming to take enormous comfort in it. But she'd never forget his white face, his shaking hands, the way he'd murmured the names of his family over and over again, especially Elizabeth's.
And what had made it worse all week was the constant comments and stares Rebecca got. People either came up to her in the corridors and expressed their sympathies, asking her whether she'd heard from him and how he was holding up. That was bad enough, but it was the other things that were said that made her blood feel like it was being cooked in oil.
Nancy, her own damned roommate, had cornered her when she'd slipped into the dorm to retrieve one of her schoolbooks. "Merlin, you look terrible," she said, but Rebecca hadn't liked the frosty tone to her voice.
"Thanks a lot," she replied, turning around and beginning to walk out of the dorm.
Nancy's next words had stopped her in her tracks. "I suppose you're thinking about your slimy Slytherin boyfriend," she sneered. "That whole family who was killed ... it's just horrible. I just hope it makes him rethink about joining You-Know-Who and his band of sycophants like all the other slimy, self-serving snakes. I never understood what you see in him anyway. Move on with your life, Rebecca. He's a Slytherin."
The Sorting Hat had told Rebecca that Hufflepuff was the best fit for her, but it could also have put her in Gryffindor. It made sense, as she was sometimes known to be extremely impulsive and would dive into a situation headfirst without thinking about the consequences. And that had been one of those moments - Rebecca had reared back and punched Nancy in the nose, her throat raw and burning as she screamed obscenities, words that her parents would ground her for saying if they ever found out.
That had earned Rebecca four nights' worth of detention, as Amy had walked in and Nancy had told her exactly what had happened. Amy had told Professor Sprout, but of course, she didn't tell her exactly what was said. All the professor knew was that Rebecca Hardman had gone off the deep end when Nancy Drelmer said something that riled her up.
The lecture Rebecca had gotten from Professor Sprout certainly wasn't pleasant. "Your behavior was completely unbecoming of a Prefect," she'd said sternly. "If you ever do something like this again, your Prefect badge will be removed. Do you understand me?"
Rebecca had nodded, but felt absolutely no remorse for her actions. She'd act shame-faced in front of Professor Sprout, but she truly wasn't sorry at all - she'd do it again in a heartbeat.
But she'd nodded demurely, and Professor Sprout had softened then. "I know this is a very hard time for you, dear," she'd said quietly. "But lashing out is not the way to handle the situation. If you need to talk to anyone, my door is always open." She'd looked at her kindly, causing Rebecca's throat to constrict. She'd patted her shoulder gently, and Rebecca had fought back tears.
And the next thing she knew, Professor Sprout was embracing her. Professors honestly weren't supposed to be affectionate like this with students, but Sprout seemed to make a lot of exceptions to that. Rebecca had heard that Professor Flitwick did the same for some of his Ravenclaws if they needed it. "I am so sorry, dear," she'd soothed as Rebecca had released the sobs she'd been holding back since she got on the Hogwarts Express without Matthew. "Have you been in touch with him?"
"We've owled," Rebecca sniffled. "The funeral is Saturday. He says he's coming back to school on Sunday afternoon."
Professor Sprout had then made a cup of tea for both of them, and Rebecca couldn't help herself. She confided in Professor Sprout and told her exactly why she'd punched Nancy in the nose.
Professor Sprout had not looked happy at all with Nancy's behavior, and had expressed as much to Rebecca. "Still," she said quietly, "your actions were wrong, too. You never respond to words with a physical confrontation."
Deep down, Rebecca knew she was wrong to do what she'd done, but she still wasn't sorry. She apologized to Professor Sprout, but couldn't honestly make herself feel any regret. But she was exceedingly grateful for Professor Sprout - their conversation had truly been a lifesaver.
And now, it was Sunday. Her need to see Matthew was overwhelming. The last time she'd received an owl from him had been two days ago. I'll meet you at our spot at three o'clock on Sunday afternoon, it had said. I can't wait to see you.
It was two fifty-five, and Rebecca's heart was racing. It had been a week from hell and only Matthew could make things right again. It wasn't like others hadn't tried to make her feel better - Sarah hadn't left her side the entire week. They'd done homework together, walked outside on the grounds together, gone to the kitchens together to drink some hot chocolate and eat some delicious snacks that the house-elves were all too happy to provide. But the entire time, Rebecca's heart hadn't been in any of it; it had been with Matthew, who was grieving the loss of three people, all at the same time.
The seconds ticked by, and Rebecca continued to hold her head in her hands. Would Matthew really be here soon, or would he decide to stay home for longer? If he did show up, what could she do to help him? How could she help him work past the anger he must feel at the senseless tragedy that had befallen him and his family?
She didn't know how long she sat with her head in her hands, her mind consumed with worried thoughts. All she knew was that suddenly, a gentle hand was laid upon her shoulder. She knew that touch. Slowly, she lifted her head from her hands to see a pair of loving brown eyes gazing down upon her. He had snorted with laughter when she'd once told him his eyes looked like melted chocolate - but it was true. They pulled her into their depths; she'd always been able to get lost in them.
"Becca?" Oh, that voice - that voice that she'd missed so dreadfully, the voice that was warmth and comfort and love all rolled into one.
"Matthew." Rebecca couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his hair. Merlin, how could anyone's hair possibly be that soft, and smell that good? "Oh, Matthew."
There were so many things she wanted to say at that moment. How are you? How's your family? I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you. I didn't know what to do to help you, and still don't. This is so cruel and unfair.
But words didn't seem to fit this moment. All they needed was to hold each other again. Rebecca felt Matthew, solid and alive, against her, and she closed her eyes. He was back.
Finally, when they let each other go, Matthew took her hand. "Are you all right?" he asked gently. "You don't look well."
Rebecca almost laughed. If only Nancy could see him now - so much for a self-serving, slimy Slytherin. "I'm ... I'm fine," she choked, ashamed of losing control of her emotions when she should be the one staying strong for him. "I should be asking you that question. The funeral ... how was ..."
Matthew looked deeply into her eyes. "Don't ask." His voice was suddenly dull and hoarse. "It was ... it was ..."
Horrible. Brutal. Heartbreaking. Soul-crushing. Devastating. Matthew didn't say any of those words, but Rebecca could see them in his eyes. "I ... I've been a horrible girlfriend," she admitted softly, the guilt almost overpowering.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say, Becca, and I've heard you say some pretty ludicrous things." Rebecca couldn't help the relief she felt that his sense of humor was still intact. "How, pray tell, have you been a horrible girlfriend?"
"Because I didn't know what to do for you," Rebecca said, blinking back tears. "You're going through something truly awful, and I've been so incredibly selfish." She looked down, unable to look her boyfriend in the eye. "This week has been terrible and some of my roommates have been driving me insane. All everyone can talk about is the missing students and You-Know-Who making his presence known. And Jeffrey's still been crowing about how the school governors listened to him and thank Merlin Harry Potter hasn't caused the death of any other students. And I've been missing you terribly and wanting you to come back."
There was silence for several seconds, until Matthew took a hold of Rebecca's chin and tilted it up so he could look into her teary eyes. The smile he gave her was an incredibly sad one. "Maybe you were being selfish, but if so, I'm just as guilty as you," he admitted quietly. "I spent the entire week just being so ... angry at everyone. My parents were planning the funeral, and they were barely coping. And I was furious with them, because all I wanted in the world was to have you by my side and they wouldn't let you come. I tried to get them to write to Headmistress McGonagall so she could let you out of Hogwarts for the day so you could attend the funeral. It was yesterday for Merlin's sake, and yesterday was Saturday. But they wouldn't let you come."
"You wanted me there?" Rebecca whispered. "Really?"
"There you are, being silly again." Matthew squeezed her hand. "Of course I did. I'm sure I missed you just as much as you missed me. When it comes to each other, I think we're both guilty of being selfish."
Rebecca's heart lightened a little as the brown eyes she loved so much looked at her with tenderness. "Maybe so." She laughed sadly. "After all, those Prefect patrols last year turned into snogging sessions pretty quickly. We weren't thinking about our responsibilities at all. I don't think the teachers would have been pleased if they'd caught us."
"Yeah. Imagine the wrongdoers we didn't catch because we were too busy with other ... activities." Matthew smirked.
There was another comfortable silence between them until Matthew spoke again. "What's been going on, then?" he asked. "You said you've had a horrible week. What happened?"
Rebecca sighed as she gave him a rundown of the week. She felt sick at the prospect of telling him about what Nancy had said, so she left that part out. Unfortunately, Matthew could tell that there was something she wasn't saying. "What trouble did you land yourself in, Becca?" he asked. "What injustice did you battle?" The look in his eyes was teasing, but there was an incredible pride there, too. He knew her too well - her sense of fairness, her incredible urges to fight every bit of injustice she saw, could cause her to react in ways that had landed her in trouble over the years.
"Nothing." Rebecca looked down again. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Becca." Matthew forced her to look at him again. "Tell me what happened." His voice was uncompromising.
Rebecca's heart hurt as she admitted quietly, "Nancy said something really nasty about you. I got detention for four nights because I punched her in the nose. And I'm not sorry for what I did, Matt. I could never be sorry. I'd do it again."
Matthew's expression was a mix of fondness and exasperation. "You punched Nancy? You actually punched her? Merlin, Becca, what could she possibly have said to rile you up so much?" Matthew knew that Rebecca was likely to scream herself hoarse when she saw a situation that made her ire rise, but to punch someone ... that was rare.
"You don't want to know." Rebecca whispered. "It was something about Slytherin House, okay?" Merlin, why couldn't Matthew leave it alone?
"Let me guess." Matthew's face had gone stony. "Maybe I won't be one of those Slytherins who licks You-Know-Who's boots now because I lost three family members. Is that it?"
Rebecca's devastated countenance was all the confirmation Matthew needed. He took several deep breaths before speaking again. "That's par for the course, I'm afraid." His tone was so resigned that it made Rebecca want to scream. "People are going to say things like that. The Slytherin prejudice in this school ... I blame the dark wanker and his slimy scum for all of it. There are quite a few of us who don't want to bow and scrape and crawl and grovel at the feet of a megolomaniac and do all his bidding. Quite a few of us don't want all the Muggle-borns purged from the school. Quite a few of us have better things to do with our lives than murder everyone who deigns to disagree with us." He sighed, his eyes suddenly haunted. "They buried her in her school uniform, Becca." His voice was a whisper. "Elizabeth. She was so excited. She couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts. She annoyed me something awful this summer with her constant questions. Merlin, I was sick and tired of it. On and on and on and on. We went to Diagon Alley just two weeks ago, and she just wouldn't shut up." His eyes sparkled with a fierce anger. "And now she'll never get to go, because they bloody BURIED HER in her school uniform."
"Oh, Matt." His face was twisted in grief and rage and Rebecca took him into her arms. His whole body shook with sadness and hatred and he was breathing hard.
"Now, I'd give anything just to hear her ask another ridiculous question," he whispered hoarsely. "I just want to be thoroughly annoyed by her, just one more time. And You-Know-Who did that. He killed her, snuffed out her life like it was nothing. And you know what the worst part of it is?"
"What?" Rebecca whispered, her arms tightening around him.
"I'm so bloody angry with Aunt Emily," he admitted, his voice colored by shame. "Because she spoke out against him. I know it was the right thing to do. Maybe my Slytherin nature is showing through. Maybe I am a self-serving piece of shit just like Nancy thinks. I'm so bloody angry because she had an eleven-year-old daughter and she sentenced her to death by speaking out against You-Know-Who. It's stupid, I know. Bloody selfish of me. But she was buried in her Hogwarts uniform."
And then, his shoulders were shaking and Matthew Banner was actually crying. And Rebecca couldn't help but cry with him. Through all the sadness and rage she felt, an incredibly powerful love was mixed with it. He must really trust her, to let himself be vulnerable in front of her. This was very unusual for someone like him.
After several minutes, Matthew stopped crying, and Rebecca wiped her own eyes. "Look, I understand why you're angry," she said softly. "I understand completely. But I think your Aunt Emily was only trying to make a better world for Elizabeth. She certainly didn't know that any of them would pay with their lives."
Matthew nodded. "Logically, I know that," he said quietly. "But I ... I can't help how I feel. But you know me. Slimy Slytherin snake and all."
"Don't you dare." Rebecca's eyes suddenly flashed as she faced him. "Don't you dare speak about yourself like that. Yes, you are a Slytherin. But slimy? And you talk about me saying ludicrous things. You're being pretty stupid, yourself."
She took Matthew's hand again. "You know, I used to judge Slytherins, too," she admitted ashamedly. "I believed in the stereotypes, too. Slytherins were a bunch of cowards who never wanted to help anyone and only wanted to hurt people. I was right there with everyone when we all booed you at Quidditch matches no matter which team you were playing. I celebrated when I saw that points had been taken away from your hourglass in the entrance hall. And you know what? I was an absolute idiot. A complete fool. An incredible dunderhead, as Professor Snape has always said."
Matthew listened quietly to her confession, never letting go of her hand. "What changed your mind?" he asked, honestly curious.
"You." The single word was uttered in a whisper. "When we became Prefects last year and we were made to patrol together. I realized that I was being a dunce and that you were actually a human being. You didn't want to hurt anyone. You were like me. You just wanted to go to school and do your work and do well on your OWL's. You weren't some evil monster waiting to curse me at every turn." She smiled softly at him.
"And now, you want to make everyone else see the truth." Matthew smiled back at her. "Well, all I ask is that you don't go about it by punching people in the nose." For the first time that day, his brown eyes twinkled with humor. "But thank you, kind lady, for fighting for my honor. I know I can always count on you for that."
"You're most welcome, kind sir." Their eyes connected, and they both laughed. Rebecca sobered quickly, however, and continued, "Really, Matt. I won't do that again. After all, if I get more detentions, I'll have my Prefect badge removed and I won't get to patrol with you anymore."
Matthew smiled. "There are other ways of fighting injustice, you know." He took her hand again, his eyes very serious. "Tomorrow?" he asked quietly.
"Tomorrow." Rebecca nodded resolutely. "I've been able to talk discreetly with several of the students who have been on board this whole time. Harry's closest friends - Weasley and Granger - they don't know about it. They're too close to the situation. It'll have more of an impact on the governors if it comes from people who aren't close to him."
"Agreed." Matthew nodded. "Will we do it after classes tomorrow?"
Rebecca smiled and nodded, her eyes bright with conviction. The counterpetition she and Matthew had worked on this summer had borne fruit - many students had signed it already, and they'd done so without their other classmates knowing about it. If it was the last thing Rebecca Hardman did, she would make sure that Harry Potter returned to Hogwarts.
"This isn't going to be easy," Matthew warned, his voice somber. "We might have a fight on our hands. That's the thing about fighting injustice, Becca. It doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes, it takes a long, long time." His eyes darkened, that terrible sadness lurking behind them. "And sometimes, it costs lives," he whispered, and Rebecca knew he was once again thinking about Elizabeth, and the fact that she had only been able to wear her Hogwarts robes once - at her burial.
"I know." Rebecca embraced him softly. "I ... Matt, I honestly don't know what to say. Tell me what to do, to help you through this."
Matthew kissed her forehead. "This is enough. You don't have to do any more than this." He rested his head on her shoulder, and she held him close, once again allowing him to show vulnerability in front of her.
"Aunt Emily did the right thing. I know that. Deep down, I know that." Matthew spoke softly into her ear. "And I know that one day, I'll stop being angry with her. Because if anyone has taught me that fighting injustice is the right thing to do, it's you."
Rebecca felt her heart constrict. "I love you, Matt," she whispered. "We'll fight together, won't we?"
"Of course." Matthew nodded against her. "We'll always fight together. I love you, too."
And when their lips met, Rebecca Hardman knew that anything was possible.