H. J. Potter

Chapter 9

Part 1

It was either very late or extremely early when Hari made her way back to Ravenclaw Tower after her discussion with the Headmaster and Sirius that night. She had many new things to think about, most of which were rather unpleasant. The revelation that Voldemort had created Horcruxes, soul anchors created by use of cold blooded murder and a foul ritual, was bad enough but to think think Hari had been carrying one around with her for so long was worse. On the other hand, if Dumbledore's theory was correct, Lily Potter may just have created the first shield that could block the Unforgivable Curses. Then there was the prophecy that had been made about Hari before she was born and how she would be the one to face Voldemort at the end and she would either have to kill him or be killed, well that did not leave her feeling positive about her future.

Entering her room she found all her friends sleeping on the floor, both beds had been pushed to the side of the room to make room for them all. At the center lay Fleur, a small empty space next to her evidently reserved for Hari when she arrived. Quietly she tiptoed through the tangle of sleeping girls on her way to her bathroom to clean up for bed. Once finished and not really caring at this point who saw her naked, she stripped out of her robes and clothes before making her way to Fleur's side. Trying not to wake her sleeping girlfriend, Hari snuggled up next to her and was surprised when the French blonde wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Where were you?" Fleur whispered, pulling the covers up around them.

"Sirius and Dumbledore wanted to talk with me about some things," Hari explained as she snuggled up with her girlfriend. "I'll tell you all about it when we don't have so many Nosey Nancy's listening in."

"In my defense," Ginny said, scooting over closer, "you stepped on my foot and woke me up."

Daphne snorted, now scooting up behind Fleur. "You got lucky, she kicked me in the boob."

"Sorry," Hari said with a blush.

"No worries," Daphne said with a soft giggle, "Astoria got it worse."

"Hush, you," groaned Astoria, now moving to up behind her sister. "Don't worry, Hari, you just caught my thigh with your foot."

"No, I believe you whined, 'my poor little pussy,'" countered Luna, moving her pillow and blankets so she could lay at the head of the girls.

"Fine, you kicked me in the puss, happy now, Luna?"

"You okay, Stori?" Hari asked, reaching over Fleur to pat the younger girl's arm.

"I'm good," Astoria replied, patting Hari's hand.

Padma, who was now scooted over behind Ginny with her chin resting on the redhead's back and looking at Hari, reached over to pat Hari's shoulder. "You look a mess, Hari. Was it really bad? Are you in trouble for something?"

Hari shook her head, brushing her cheek against Padma's hand to show her thanks. "No, I'm not in trouble or anything, I just learned some dark truths about my mother."

Now playing with Hari's hair, Luna suddenly asked, "Why do I think I knew more about your mother and you than I do right now?"

"Me as well," Fleur agreed after a moments thought.

"You did and if you ask my father, he will tell you all about it," Hari explained to both girls. "He and Dumbledore decided that the information about my mother, some parts of my history, and some other things were so important that they needed to be hidden."

"They used the Fidelius to hide the secret, didn't they?" Daphne asked, now sitting up on one elbow to look at Hari in the dim light of the room.

Hari nodded, then shuddered. "Do you know what it's like to suddenly forget large parts of your life until some tells you the secret? Trust me, it wasn't pleasant. Sirius is the secret keeper, so he has to be the one to explain it. I can't even really tell you more than that because it's all covered under the Fidelius."

"Thank you for at least trusting us with the details you did share," Astoria said, giving a cute little yawn. "Oh, Tracey wanted to stay, but she headed back to Slytherin in case any of the younger years needed looking after while you weren't available."

"Lavender and Parvati did the same for Gryffindor," Ginny said, now resting her head against Hari's back and starting to doze back off. "Same with Susan and Hannah."

"I'll make sure to thank them all tomorrow," Hari said with a smile, starting to feel safe again after what she had learned that night. "Come on, let's get some sleep. Holiday starts tomorrow, so we've got plenty of time to talk later."

It was midmorning before the various girls started rousing from their sleep. Hari and Fleur were the last to wake, with the rest of the girls making a run to the kitchen to gather snacks and drinks aplenty. By the time Hari opened her eyes the next morning she had been levitated over to her bed with Fleur still holding her tightly. Waking up was a little embarrassing when Hari realized she was naked under the sheets, not that anyone seemed to care.

"Hari, hate to break it to you," Luna pointed out with a smirk, "but the only one here that hasn't already seen you naked is… Oh, wait, we've all seen you naked. It's not like you've made a secret of the fact you don't like knickers, clothing, anything too tight, or spinach."

"How does does the last one fit in with Hari's habit of running around starkers in her room?" asked Ginny, who as was her usual behavior when in Hari's room, was raiding Hari's wardrobe.

Luna shrugged, as she started raiding Hari's wardrobe as well. "It doesn't really, but everyone knows when listing things you should always make it an even numbered list. Besides, it distracted Hari long enough for Fleur to sneak into the bathroom first."

"Damn the injustice," Hari deadpanned, then grabbed the happi coat Padma held out for her. "You guys make it sound like I'm an exhibitionist or something."

"Oh! I'll take this one!" shouted Astoria as she finished using some of Hari's makeup. "Let's see, exhibitionist? No. Tease? Big time! You have the longest legs in school, even the seventh year girls are jealous, and you wear super short skirts with nothing under them except an obscuring charm. A charm, by the way, that is driving every male who has reached puberty mad trying to figure out how to cancel it without you knowing."

Ginny nodded, trying on one of the skirts in question and twirling in front of the mirror. "There's a school wide betting pool amongst the males, very hush hush so Lavender found out about it within minutes, as to whether or not the rug matches the curtains, or if you prefer hardwood floor."

Hari was blushing, promising herself to start using more than one layer of obscuring charms. "You're joking, right?"

"No," replied every girl in the room.

Daphne giggled, leaning back on a pile of pillows as she munched on some leftover toast. "Pansy Parkinson evidently spent a night in the Hospital Wing after deciding she could get Draco's attention if she shaved all her pubes. Problem is she mispronounced the spell and set them on fire instead. I'm told Madame Pomfrey called Pansy's mother and embarrassed the hell out of the poor girl."

"Ouch," Hari hissed with a wince, matched by most of the other girls. "Changing topics, quickly, anything going on in the houses we should know about?"

Astoria, who was now wearing a pair of Hari's stiletto heels answered, "Draco is out to woo you. He's convinced himself if he can't get the Potter and Black money through his father's schemes, he'll seduce you at the Ball." She took turned around to look at her butt and legs in the mirror, evidently liking the results if her smile was any indication. "He's bragging to anyone that will listen as to the fact he will sweep you off your feet once you see him in his formal robes at the Ball."

"Yeah, right," scoffed Hari, finally getting up to help Ginny pick out a top that would flatter her hair. "The amazing bouncing ferret, the one good thing Moody has done this year, doesn't stand a chance."

Daphne nodded, finishing her toast and fluffing up her pillows again. "Everyone in Slytherin knows that, even Crabbe and Goyle, but Draco thinks if he just pours on his dubious charm and massive quantities of cologne you'll roll right over for him. I would be careful about drinking anything you let out of your sight if he's around."

"I'll practice my poison and potion detecting skills," Hari said with a frown.

Fleur, having finished freshening up in the bathroom walked back in the room wearing nothing but a pair of little white socks before flopping down on the bed to lay on her stomach. "I will be checking as well."

"If you aren't going to wear clothes, why bother with socks?" asked Daphne, looking confused.

"My feet get cold," replied Fleur as if it was the most logical thing she had ever said.

Astoria meanwhile was looking back and forth between the reflection of her bum in the mirror and Fleur's, finally muttering, "That's what you're supposed to look like," she said looking at her bum in the mirror.

All the girls were soon laughing and happy just to be able to spend time with their friends. Fleur only finally covered up when Lizzie and Aggie showed up and asked if they could come in. Soon the two younger girls were happily learning new hair and makeup tips. It was a wonderful first day of the holidays and Hari hoped that they could keep doing things like it for the rest of the year. It was such a radical difference to her previous years at Hogwarts, what with the lack of life threatening situations and the addition of a wonderful girlfriend, Hari found it hard to wipe the smile from her face. This was exactly what she wanted for all the years she had been trapped, to be a girl and enjoy the things she had always been denied.

Over the course of the next few days Hari and her friends turned her room into "girl central," as Aggie called it. A whole two days was devoted to hair and makeup, not to mention manicures and pedicures, for the girls attending the ball. It was fun to hear who the various girls were attending the ball with and Hari couldn't wait to see how the boys reacted to their dates. Luna had accepted an invitation from Dean Thomas, Hari's old roommate, and seemed rather happy about it. On the other hand Parvati was attending with a Durmstrang boy named Fredrick Knapf, though she didn't seem to happy about it. Padma had accepted an invitation from another Durmstrang boy named Alejandro de la Vega, the roommate of Parvati's date and an extremely charming young man. Daphne would be attending as the date of one of the few Beauxbatons boys, Frank Moore, who was actually from England and attended the French school because his family wanted him to. Cho was going with Cedric, something that had her dancing around Ravenclaw like she was in heaven. Susan and Hannah had decided to go stag after they were unimpressed with the quality of boys asking them out, but that didn't mean they didn't have a long list of dance requests for the night.

Ginny was the one that was the most excited to be attending the ball. As a third year she had not really expected to attend the ball and hadn't even brought a dress for the event. Much to her surprise, and excitement from the volume of her delighted squeal, Neville had asked her to be his date the day after he learned about the dance. Immediately Ginny had run to Hari and Fleur to see if they had anything she could wear to the event. They hadn't, but that didn't mean they didn't have ideas. Soon Ginny was stripped, measured, and color coordinated before Fleur sent off a missive to her mother with money from Hari's purse to see to it the girl got a beautiful dress. Ginny had protested at first, but Hari dismissed her worries and after writing a note to Molly telling her the details, the request was sent. The very next morning Hari got a letter from Molly thanking her for helping Ginny to have a wonderful time, though asking that the dress not be "too revealing." Dinner that night saw several owls delivering the dress and Ginny vibrating with excitement as she drug Fleur and Hari back to their room.

"Oh wow!" Ginny exclaimed when she tried the dress on for the first time and saw her reflection.

The dress, a dark green satin creation with matching shoes looked beautiful on the young redhead. The dress left her shoulders bare, but wide straps covered her upper arms while the neckline dipped just enough to give a hint of cleavage, but nothing inappropriate for a girl Ginny's age. Gathering under her chest and fitting snuggly till it reached her waist, the dress then flared out slightly and fell to her ankles, with the front having a slight split and allowed a tantalizing peek at her legs bellow the knees. With the pumps Fleur's mother had picked out, they had a modest two inch heal, Ginny said she felt "all grown up."

"You look beautiful, Gin," Hari said hugging the girl gently so as not to crumple her dress.

"Thank you, Hari," Ginny replied, spinning around and hugging the older girl tightly. "I love my mum, but if she had picked out my dress it would have made me look like a little girl playing dress up. Now, with this dress, I really understand what you mean about being a confident young woman."

"You've always been that, Gin, you just needed something to prove it to yourself," Hari assured her with a smile and a kiss to the forehead. "Now, we need to talk hair and makeup."

Over the remaining days before the ball Hari reveled in planning the hair and makeup of all the girls around her, including her own. After pulling Fleur, Luna, and Neville aside to show them the note written by Sirius containing the truth that she had formerly been Harry Potter, she admitted to them all as a group that being "girly" was always something she dreamed about. Now, helping to prepare several young women for the ball, she had gotten her fondest wish and considered it the best Christmas present she had ever gotten.

Christmas Eve finally arrived and all the girls gathered once more in Hari and Fleur's room for yet another slumber party. The real reason for the slumber party was to make it easier to get an early start getting ready for the ball. With such a large number of girls attending and all of them volunteering to help the other's prepare, the whole day was dedicated to the task. Waking up at Hari's normal time, gifts were quickly exchanged before a quick trip down to the Great Hall for a massive breakfast, seeing as most of them would not be eating again until that night. Lizzie and Aggie had volunteered to act as runners for the day, meaning they ran to get anything that might be needed by the older girls on the condition that they got to learn some of the spells that would be in use.

A little before noon they returned to Ravenclaw tower and the preparations began. Each girl started with a manicure and pedicure, followed by removal of any unwanted hair, and lastly a shower before they started on hair and makeup. Lavender and Parvati were responsible for the pedicures and manicures, Hari took care of the hair removal, and Fleur gave each of the girls trims as needed before Aggie and Lizzie would escort the girl to the shower with any needed lotions or perfumes. The process repeated over and over again until Hari and Fleur finally had their turn. Then it was time for makeup, fingernail and toenail polish, and knickers as needed. Aggie and Lizzie were running around non stop getting drinks for the older girls, but both were learning an amazing amount of new spells, which weren't just limited to beauty spells.

Once the girls were "beautified," as Aggie called it, they started on the dressing and final styling of hair. It was Aggie and Lizzie's responsibility to help the girls get dressed, which most entailed helping them get into their dresses without smudging anything. Once in the dresses, and after debating the best positioning, the breast support spell was used for the optimal support and positioning before the dresses were resized for the final time. Each girl then moved over to Fleur and Hari for the final styling of their hair and the addition of final touches like perfume and jewelry, most of which was borrowed from Hari's collection. Once they were done, Hari added cushioning charms to the girls' shoes, a spell to repel dirt and spills from the dresses, and finally a warming charm or cooling charm as needed depending on the placement or design of the dress. Hari and Fleur were the last two girls to dress, with Hari wearing her cobalt blue gown and Fleur going with a shimmering silver dress that fit her like a glove. When asked what the secret was behind her dress fitting so well, Fleur had giggled and explained the secret was not wearing anything under it, something that had Hari grinning as she admired her girlfriend in the dress.

Surprisingly, they managed to get everything wrapped up in plenty of time for the ball and with the girls' various date being informed to collect their dates outside Ravenclaw. Two first year Ravenclaw boys had volunteered to act as doormen for the night, even wearing little suits that Fleur had transfigured for them. As the dates for the various girl's arrived, the one of the boys would announce them while the other escorted the young woman out for her date. Colin Creevey had also been hired for the night to take pictures of the girls and their date, one copy for the girls, another for their families, and a final optional one for the young gentleman if he wanted. The elder Creevey brother was thrilled to be making money with what he loved doing and Hari thought it was a nice touch.

"Are we ready for this?" asked Hari once the other girls were gone?

"But of course, 'Ari," Fleur replied with a smile, reaching out and taking the younger girl's hand in her's. "Prepare for a night full of fun!"

"Um, Miss Black?" one of the young doormen suddenly said, sticking his head through the door. "There some people out here to see you?"

"Who is it, Geoffrey?" asked Hari, curious as to who might be calling on her now right before the ball was to start.

"It's Mister Bagman," Geoffrey said with a frown, "and two boys he says are your dates for the night."

"Dates?" asked Fleur, not looking happy.

Hari immediately led Fleur towards the door, never letting go of Fleur's hand as the two girls stepped out into the hallway. Standing there with a rather pleased look on his face was Bagman, but at his side were two boys Hari had no interest in seeing. The first was Roger Davies, a rather smug seventh year Ravenclaw who had tried several times to convince Fleur she was making a mistake by dating Hari. It wasn't that he was against the two girls dating each other, he just felt he was a much better match for the beautiful French witch and had no problems telling everyone this. Fleur had of course laughed at him ever time he attempted to charm her with his rather dubious dating skills, not to mention the boy seemed to be unaware of how to brush his teeth and his breath reeked of garbage.

Standing on Bagman's other side was another unwelcome face, Draco Malfoy. Like Davies, the fourth year Slytherin looked rather smug as he stared hungrily at Hari. Even before opening the door to Ravenclaw Tower Hari had smelled something foul, reminding her of a cross between vinegar and rotting vegetables. Now standing so close to Malfoy she could tell it was coming from him and Hari was trying her best not to gag from the stench. Evidently Malfoy was convinced that bathing was an inconvenience that could be overlooked with the application of enough cologne. Right now, Hari could almost see the haze of said cologne as it evaporated off the boy's skin, or that could just be his normal stench wafting into the air.

"Ah, Misses Black and Delacour!" Bagman exclaimed, clapping his hands together and looking at the two girls with less than innocent eyes. "When I found out the two of you had been unable to find dates to the Ball I immediately set out to find you suitable company for the night. I am still unsure how two lovely young ladies were unable to find dates, but fortunately young Misters Malfoy and Davies volunteered to be your escorts for the night."

"Mister Bagman, who was it that told you we didn't have dates tonight?" Hari asked, scowling at the man and ignoring the two boys at his side. "I assure you, whomever it was lied to you. We do in fact have dates tonight."

"Oui, 'Ari eez my date and I am 'er's," Fleur stated firmly stepping closer to Hari's side. "We 'ave no need for escorts."

Bagman looked shocked at this and started stuttering, "But you can't go together. Who will you have the opening dance with, Miss Delacour, if you don't have a proper date."

"I do 'ave ze proper date, Monsieur," Fleur nearly growled, "and I shall dance wiz my girlfriend, zank you very much."

"Don't be foolish, Black," Malfoy said, leering at Hari with his eyes never leaving her cleavage, "I will allow you to grace my arm tonight, so you have no need to associate with this French… girl."

Davies was nodding, taking a step toward Fleur with an outstretched hand, "See, Fleur, you don't need to take pity on Black anymore and can finally accept my gracious offer to be your escort tonight. I'm sure you are delighted."

Hari and Fleur glanced at each other, then started laughing before brushing past the three fools and heading for the Great Hall. Bagman, Malfoy, and Davies rushed to catch up with the two younger fools each trying to grab hold of the hands of the two laughing young women. By the time they reached the Great Hall Malfoy was furious because Hari had completely ignored him each time he tried to talk to her. Davies was in much the same frame of mind, only he was a little battered and bruised from running into several walls because Fleur had blasted him with her allure. It was only when Hari and Fleur stepped up to Professor McGonagall that they said anything to their unwelcome shadows.

"Now, if you three will excuse us, we have a Ball to attend," Hari said as Professor McGonagall motioned for them to enter.

"Where do you two think you are going?" asked McGonagall as she stopped Davies and Malfoy from entering the Hall. "As you were informed, you needed to be in the Great Hall prior to the last Champion entering or else you would not be allowed to attend the Ball. Now that Miss Delacour and her date have entered, you are too late."

"No, we're their dates!" Malfoy shouted as Bagman shrugged and headed inside.

"I think not, Mister Malfoy, Mister Davies," McGonagall said with a glare aimed at the two boys. "I know for a fact that the entire school is aware that Misses Black and Delacour are attending the Ball together, so what made you think you were their dates?"

"Why would Fleur want to go with another girl when she could go with me?" asked Davies, looking almost as if his question was really all the answer he needed.

"Black needs someone to show her how to be a true heiress, not some jumped up French Veela," Malfoy declared, also looking as if his answer was all there was to the discussion.

Professor McGonagall just shook her head, gesturing at the retreating forms of Hari and Fleur as they walked hand in hand towards the main table. "I would say from the way those two look at each other that they have all the reason in the world to go together, not to mention Miss Black already knows how to be a true heiress. Your arguments are both based on nothing but greed and I have little doubt no matter what anyone says to you that you will both refuse to see the truth. However, for this one night I can at least rest easy in the knowledge that you won't be disturbing those two fine young women. So, good night to you both."

With that McGonagall stepped inside the Great Hall and waved her wand to seal the doors. She knew Malfoy and Davies would try to interfere with Hari and Fleur, if she allowed it and she had no intention of doing so. As she watched the Malfoy heir and the sullen Ravenclaw stand outside the Great Hall, she slowly closed the door behind her with a smirk. She wasn't a fool, contrary to what Severus Snape thought, and was well aware of the plotting of the Malfoy family to reclaim the Black fortune. Lucius Malfoy thought he was smarter than anyone else and assumed the same regarding his son, Draco. Sadly, at least for them, both the male Malfoys were nowhere near as smart or charming as they thought they were. Lucius had money, but he wasted much of his family fortune bribing people to follow his suggestions and took their greed as a sign of his genius. Draco on the other hand was a foolish little boy who rarely bathed and spent most of his time threatening the people around him with his father's money and reputation. As the Great Hall doors finally swung closed and sealed, Minerva McGonagall allowed herself a small smirk, knowing that someday Hari would deal with both Malfoys and hoping she was there to see it when it happened.

Part 2

Hari and Fleur had a wonderful time at the ball that night, at least once they got away from an extremely pompous and very annoying Percy Weasley. Percy seemed torn between bragging about his greatness to Fleur, staring at Hari's cleavage, and bragging about how he was a rising star at the ministry of Magic. Personally, Hari thought he was more likely to burn out before he ever reached the positions of power he seemed to crave. With some effort she and Fleur were able to ignore Percy's attempt to impress them with his rather unimpressive attempts to charm them both. The announcement by Dumbledore that the Champions would now open the Ball came as something of a relief because Percy left almost the moment the band was revealed. A night of dancing with Fleur left Hari feeling like the princess she had always wanted to be, but the night was not without problems as well.

Several times during the night Hari had been forced to reject some rather heavy handed dance invitations from the Durmstrang boys. Fleur had it worse when Percy Weasley of all people showed back up and tried to escort her out of the Great Hall, which had the French witch slapping him and storming away. By the time the Ball was over, all either young witch wanted was to curl up in bed in order to be ready to leave for home in the morning. Their more romantic thoughts for the night were put aside, mainly because they had already had such a long day. So instead of a romantic candlelit finish to the night, instead they just crawled in bed and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Early the next morning Hari was the first to wake up t, enjoying the sensation of the warm covers and her girlfriend's body pressed up against her. "I think I'm in love with you," she whispered into Fleur's hair.

"I know I love you," Fleur whispered back, turning her head to look up at Hari with a smile. "I am so 'appy I met you my first night 'ere."

"Stay with me forever?" Hari asked her, with a smile on her face that refused to leave.

"Forever," agreed Fleur.

The two young women were about to indulge in more amorous adventures, but there was a knock on the door. With a wave of Hari's hand, and a rather frustrated sigh, the figure of Albus Dumbledore was revealed standing outside her door. Grumbling, it was still several hours before they would be leaving for Fleur's house, so this early morning visit was not well received. Hari slipped out of bed, grabbing a happi coat for herself before handing another to Fleur, who slipped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Once her girlfriend was safely in the bathroom with the door closed, Hari went over to greet their early morning visitor.

"Good morning, Headmaster," Hari said, opening the door for him and inviting the man in. "Is there something you need me for?"

"Good morning to you as well, my dear girl," replied Dumbledore with a smile, but the moment the door closed he drew his wand and started casting privacy spells. "I hate to bring bad tidings on such a wonderful morning, especially at this early hour, but I think you should know."

"Sirius is alright, isn't he sir?"

"Yes, Sirius is indeed just fine," he said with a smile, "and I did not mean to give you the impression otherwise. No, something else has come to light this morning. Professor McGonagall informed me this morning of Miss Delacour's rather unpleasant encounter with Percy Weasley."

"Oui," Fleur agreed stepping out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and jeans, the first time Hari had seen her wear such a combination. "Ze man was a complete pig, demanding I come wiz 'im and trying to drag me out of ze room. In ze end, I slapped 'im."

"Yes, which matches the details of the event perfectly as compared to what Professor McGonagall told me," Dumbledore said, conjuring chairs for the three of them to sit in.

Hari was curious about what this had to do with them and taking a seat, being careful not to expose anything she didn't want seen by the Headmaster, asked, "This is the reason you're here this morning? Did Percy file charges or something against Fleur?"

"No, as a matter of fact he didn't," the Headmaster assured both young women. "As it turns out, the man you were dealing with last night was not Percy Weasley at all. Young Mister Weasley was found this morning just outside Hogsmeade. After the meal last night, he left the castle to return home and was waylaid as he journeyed to the Three Broomsticks to use their Floo."

"Someone impersonated him at the Ball," stated Hari, standing back up and starting to pace. "Polyjuice Potion would allow that, but what did he want with Fleur?"

Dumbledore, his eyes devoid of their normal twinkle, sighed. "That is something we don't currently know, but I am looking into it now. However, because of this occurrence and a few other issues Mister Black will tell you of, we've decided it best if you and Miss Delacour leave earlier than originally planned."

"We are not even packed, sir," Fleur said, looking around the room.

"I do believe I can take care of that," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Now, Miss Black, if you would kindly get dressed, we can be on our way."

"Nothing like being rushed," Hari said as she ran over to her wardrobe and pulled out some of the only clothing she owned that would fully cover her, silk lounge pants and a matching blouse. "We don't have any other details about what happened to Percy, sir?" she asked as she headed towards the bathroom to change.

"Not at the moment, my dear," Dumbledore answered as he waved his wand and everything was suddenly packed up in Hari and Fleur's trunks, save for their traveling cloaks. "Young Mister Weasley remembers he was making his way towards Hogsmeade when he heard a man's voice from behind him. Unfortunately, Mister Weasley does not remember what the man said, only that there was a bright flash of red light and then he woke up restrained in a dark alley. Luckily for him, my brother Aberforth found him and together they alerted the authorities and eventually myself."

"And you thought it had something to do with me?" asked Hari as she quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Dumbledore said dryly. "Let us be very honest, my dear, over the course of the last few years it seems almost everything that has happened here at Hogwarts has had at least something to do with you. The fact the imposter was attempting to get Miss Delacour alone, especially as she is known to be in a relationship with you, is worrisome. That and several other incidents over the past few days and I think it best we take precautions in regards to your safety."

"You 'ave said zere were uzer incidents, twice now," Fleur said, looking intently at the Headmaster. "Should we be worried?"

"I think Sirius would prefer to be the one to tell you about that, Miss Delacour," Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "For now, I don't believe you need to be worried, but it is often wise to be cautious even when all seems to be fine."

Walking out of the bathroom, her hair simply tied back in a long ponytail, Hari took her cloak from Fleur and smiled at the Headmaster. "Words I've lived my life by, even before I had the words to express it."

Dumbledore, looking rather saddened at Hari's statement, smiled back at her. "I truly wish you had never had to deal with a life that required you learn such a lesson so early, Hari."

"Life is what it is, sir," countered Hari with a shake of her head. "For all the problems I've had, the things I've dealt with, I'm free now. I've got a good life, real friends, and a wonderful girlfriend," she finished with a kiss to Fleur's cheek. "There's no need to feel bad about it now, I'm happy with my life."

"I can see that," Dumbledore said, giving both young women a wide grin.

As soon as Dumbledore was sure the girls were ready, he turned an old scrap of parchment into a Portkey for their use. Hari hated Portkeys, from the moment she first used one the previous summer to get to France, she felt the things were created solely to make her feel clumsy. Dumbledore's Portkey was no different and as it deposited the three of them in the middle of Diagon Alley, from which he explained they were to travel by Floo from Gringotts. When asked why such a roundabout means of getting home, Dumbledore frowned.

"The Ministry canceled all International Portkey travel this morning," he explained as he led the girls towards the bank. "Then they sealed the Floo connections in Hogwarts and Hogsmeade to prevent young Mister Weasley's attacker from escaping. The fact the attack was not discovered until hours later and sealing the Floo would not have prevented the attacker from using other means of escaping has seemingly slipped the mind of our dear Minister and his advisors. It was in fact one of his advisors, Lucius Malfoy to be exact, that insisted we deny British born students from leaving the castle today. Only our foreign guests would have been allowed to leave. In fact, I believe the Minister will agree to that suggestion once he reaches his office this morning at his normal time of around ten o'clock. Sadly, several students will have already left by then, including yourself and Miss Delacour, Miss Black."

"Let me guess, he also thought all students should have escorts on the school grounds," Hari said with a scowl, "and his son Draco would have been mine?"

"I do believe that was the suggestion made by the elder Malfoy," Dumbledore replied with a smirk. "It is unfortunate that you will have already departed the country before the Minister acts upon that suggestion."

"Yes, most unfortunate," Hari said with her own smirk.

The rest of the journey to the Delacour home went rather smoothly. Dumbledore handed them off to the Goblins who quickly escorted them through their private Floo system, depositing the girls in the Paris branch of Gringotts. From there they took a second portkey provided by the Goblins which deposited them at the gates to the Delacour home. The Delacour home was a beautiful farmhouse located in the south of France, not really that far from the house Hari and Sirius had lived in the last summer. Fleur took great pride in showing off the grounds of the large home, pointing out a large pasture used for horses and beyond that a large expanse of land she told Hari was used for raising grapes for wine. As they neared the house a giggling young bundle of joy came running out to meet them, Fleur's little sister Gabrielle.

Hari was instantly grateful she had been practicing her French as the young girl greeted them. "Fleur, it's wonderful to have you home finally! I missed you so much! Is this the girl you told me about in your letter? She's really pretty! I wish I had hair as long as her's! Are you two going to get married? Does she like horses?"

"I missed you, too," Fleur replied, scooping the small girl up in her arms and hugging her tightly. "Yes, this is Hari."

Part 3

Hari had really enjoyed her time spent with Fleur's family, especially little Gabrielle. Gabrielle was absolutely the cutest child Hari had ever met and just spending time with her was enough to make the world seem a little brighter. Which was probably for the best as soon she was soon informed she was needed back at her family home and would not in fact be spending the holiday with the Delacour family. The news was not to her liking, but Hari knew there had to be a very good reason for it and after several hugs and kisses with her girlfriend Hari used another Portkey to return home. Immediately upon arriving she noticed how tense the atmosphere seemed and a sense of dread filled her very soul.

"Sirius! Remus! Are you guys here?"

"No need to shout, Hari," Remus replied from the top of the stairs. "We're up in Sirius' room."

Hari did not like how serious, no pun intended, Remus sounded and he looked rather haggard as well. Doing a quick mental check, she hadn't really been paying attention since she returned to school, Hari was positive the full moon had been over a week ago. Yet here Remus stood looking every bit as worn and tired as he usually did right before and right after his change. As she got closer she could see his clothing was torn in a few places and there was a large bloodstain on his pants. His hair, normally cut short and neatly groomed, was nothing but a short stubble upon his scalp. The grim look on his face didn't help matters much either and Hari was now terrified because of the one thing she noticed and realized was missing.

"Where's Sirius, Remus?"

"He's in his room," replied the old werewolf with a sad smile as he let her towards the Master's Suite.

Hari felt true terror starting to fill her heart as she had never seen Remus look so glum, nor so ragged. There was also the fact Sirius was not making a racket, something he always did when she entered the house, even if it was just returning from the back garden. No, there was silence hanging in the air like a weight ready to drop at any moment. Sweat was trickling down Hari's neck and back, not from the heat but from the cold dread holding her heart. As Remus pushed open the door and led Hari through Sirius' sitting room towards the door to his bedchamber, the young girl grew ever more terrified about what lay beyond it. So it was no wonder when the door creaked open she let out a shriek loud enough to be heard all the way back at the Delacour mansion.

"Sweet merciful Merlin, Hari!" barked Sirius from inside the room. "I rather like my eardrums, thank you very much!"

Hari ran inside the room and saw Sirius laying upon his bed. As she sprinted towards him and then hugged him for all she was worth Hari realized why he was abed so late in the morning. Around his head was wrapped a thick white bandage though it failed to hide a spectacularly blacked left eye. Also she noticed his left arm was in a sling and his chest was agin wrapped with thick heavy white bandages. Worst of all it was plain to see from the way his blankets laid across his legs that his reft leg from the knee down was gone. Hari broke into tears when she realized the extent of the damage, Sirius just holding her close as best he could with his undamaged right arm.

"What happened, Sirius?"

Remus nodded and bowed out of the room to let the two speak in private, that and he felt he needed a shower and clean clothes. "I'll be back in a bit. Don't let the old dog trick you into getting him anything alcoholic to drink, Healers orders."

"Stupid Healers and their stupid life saving potions," muttered Sirius, though the playful glint in his eye proved he wasn't really upset. "To answer your question, Little Angel, last night while you were at the Ball three men attacked me and tried their best to capture me. I say capture because at first the spells they used were of the stunning and binding sort. Unfortunately, for them, I was not inclined to go with them and fought back. After I killed two of them the third decided rather than capture me he would rather see me dead."

"What did they want you for?" asked Hari, now worried that both Fleur and Sirius had been attacked.

Sirius sighed, then reached over to the nightstand and picked up a glass of water, took a sip and then continued. "That I don't know and the French Aurors are still interrogating the man after I finally managed to knock him unconscious. I wish I had done that a few moments sooner as the delay cost me my right leg from the knee down."

Hari suddenly remembered Dumbledore had mentioned two incidents that Sirius was going to tell her about. "What else happened, Sirius? Dumbledore said there was more for you to tell me."

Sirius took a long sip of water from his glass, using it as a chance to delay the news he had yet to deliver. "Early this morning an Auror at the Ministry discovered the cell your former friend Hermione was being kept in had been opened. There was no sign of struggle, but Hermione was gone."

"Why was she still in a holding cell?" Hari demanded. "She was supposed to have been released after having her memories erased so she and her family could move to Canada."

"For reasons no one seems to know, Hermione's punishment had been delayed until after the first of the year," answered Sirius with a frown. "Normally with a first generation witch or wizard they can't wait to wipe their memory and be rid of them, but not this time. Instead Hermione sat in that cell since her arrest, probably because someone wanted to make he suffer before being released."

"Was she abused?"

"No, the wards on the cell recorded nothing of that nature happening to her," Sirius said with another frown. "Of course they also didn't record any trace of compulsions being used to make her leave."

"So she went willingly with whomever took her."

Sirius nodded, then placed his now empty glass of water back on the nightstand. "Hari, my Little Angel, someone out there is aiming for you and they are doing it by targeting the people around you. A part of me says it's Voldemort, but this isn't his style. He was never one to capture, not if he could kill instead." He paused, then gave Hari a sad smile. "Since we freed you from your bitch mother's curse I have let you revel in just being a young woman. When you didn't want to practice dueling, instead wanting to go shopping, I allowed it because for too long you were denied the ability to be who you truly are. I had hoped with your old life being done that your new one would allow you the ability to be truly free and you would not need to fight. I was wrong."

Hari remained silent as Sirius continued. "Starting tomorrow you will be training with Remus again and once I get used to the loss of my leg, I'll take over your training. Being free is wonderful, Little Angel, but it seems you're going to have to fight for that freedom. I've talked with Albus and Amelia, both of them fully agrees with me."

"What does that mean for me?" Hari asked, not really liking the thought of having to fight after finally being free for once in her life.

"Well, not a lot will really change," Sirius assured her. "There will be less time spent shopping, but we don't intend to make you some lone wolf crusader. No, we just want to give you the tools you need to defend yourself."

Hari nodded, defending herself she could do. "Alright, I'll do it."

They continued to talk for several hours until finally Sirius sent Hari off to do her own thing. As soon as she was out of the room and the door closed, Sirius sighed and rubbed his left thigh. He didn't have the heart to tell Hari that it was he that cut his own leg off after his fight. Fighting three well trained attackers had been difficult and magically draining. So draining in fact that he had suddenly realized he was thinking far clearer than he had in years. It was then he felt the burning on his left calf and a quick examination had revealed one of Lily's damnable runic arrays. Even as he watched he saw that it was trying to reactivate as his magic started to recharge, something he was not about to allow. He didn't know what the damned thing did and had no idea how to remove it, so in his desperation he cast a quick numbing charm followed by a cutting curse.

Albus had his amputated leg now and was studying the runic array in the hope of discovering a way to deal with them if they ever found another. After being treated for the loss of his leg Sirius had immediately told Remus what happened and Moony had immediately run to the training yard. There he spent nearly an hour casting every high powered spell he knew until he was so magically drained he could barely stand. Without shame he had stripped naked and with Amelia's help had searched his entire body for any sign of an array, even cutting off his hair to be sure an array was not hidden under it. Thankfully the old wolf was free and clear of Lily's abominations, but that did nothing to make the two men feel any better about the situation. Albus and Amelia would both be at the house in the next day or two and would also repeat the process, no chances could be taken. Albus would then explain the situation to Madame Pomfrey Severus, Minerva, and Flitwick. Each had prolonged contact with Lily and each would have to be cleared before Sirius would allow them near his Little Angel again.

"What were you planning, Lily?" Sirius growled to himself as he looked down at where his leg had once been. "What were you planning and how far had you gotten with that plan?"