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Luna Lovegood had always been considered an oddity, whether it was by her friends, family, or classmates. The way she stared off into the distance, her eyes unfocused as if seeing what was beyond the horizon. The truth was that the young blonde was a seer, an individual who could view the future.

This led to a very horrible truth to the young girl, her futures were always terrible. She would emerge horrified, completely covered in sweat from a vision of herself being torn apart by monsters while on a trip with her father, or utterly abandoned in the wilderness to eventually starve.

So she started to develop survival skills, hone a few Magical spells that might save her life, and the visions changed. She would survive until adulthood in these, but would be utterly alone, her mind wasting away from a lack of social contact after graduation. It wasn't that surprising really, she had never really fit in anywhere, never had any friends, except for Ginny, and could barely even find one of her housemates to have a normal conversation with.

Even worse was when she had been sorted into a different house as her friend, further isolating her to the point of having little to no social activity outside of being bullied by her fellow Ravenclaws. When she had mentioned this to her Head of House he had merely dismissed the idea, stating that she must have been exaggerating or imagining the abuse.

It seemed as though she was doomed to a miserable existence for however long it might last... that is until one fateful day when she had been stripped down and shoved into a closet. Now that in itself wasn't terribly strange, it had already occurred twice before that, but then the most unusual of things followed.

The door opened.

There, standing like a King of old was a raven-haired boy cloaked in darkness and power. Luna, of course, recognized the most famous teenager alive but was startled when he told his followers to leave them. For a split second fear ran through her body, what would he do with her? Harm her? Take advantage of her undressed state to...

He diverted his gaze and handed her his cloak.

A simple act of kindness, one that changed her world in more ways than either realized. For the following night when her dreams were normally filled with horrific visions, instead there was peace. She saw herself... happy for the first time ever in a dream. She saw children, a husband who cared about her, sister wives, a family that supported her no matter what, peace.

Most telling of all though was the fact that her husband had beautiful green eyes, the same ones that had rescued her that previous day.

***LoD***

Hermione Granger stared down at the letter that had just been returned via her owl. She had already read it several times, and after the first had refused to touch it, almost as if it burned her very skin.

Hermione,

Your father and I will be out of town for the Winter Holidays, hope you can stay busy at school. Remember to do your best, we expect nothing less.

-Mom

The bushy-haired Witch had never been away from home at Christmas, and yet this year she was basically being abandoned by her own parents. Wiping the tears from her eyes she quickly departed from Gryffindor tower, before wandering through the halls aimlessly for what felt like hours. Most of her classmates had already departed, and indeed it felt as though the castle was practically empty at this point.

Was this what her future would be? She had always pictured herself as a teacher while growing up and if that were the case then she would undoubtedly be spending the holidays at Hogwarts just like now. After all she didn't have anyone else to spend them with.

The only small joy she could find was the fact that most of her tormentors were also gone... but that meant that her personal savior, and only friend, was most likely home as well. The young girl suddenly stopped, and pushed open the door next to her, conveniently a girl's bathroom, before making her way to the first stall and locking herself in.

This time she wasn't crying, wasn't trying to hide from bullies or insults... she was just lonely. What was she going to do if it was barely a day into a week of empty hallways and silence? What would her life be like if...

"Good day my dear Eyre, how are you on our first official day of the break?"

The young girl fought the urge to sob in relief and happiness.

"I... I have been better... my parents..."

"Your parents?" he encouraged in a friendly tone that she had grown to love.

"They went on vacation without me. This will be my first Christmas without seeing them."

"I see... and this upsets you because it has become a comforting tradition yes?"

"Yes... it is... or was I suppose."

"Well then I suppose this means you will need to make new traditions."

"I guess so... but I don't even know how to do that, and what happens during the summer? What happens if I get home and there is just a note telling me they left? What happens if I am left alone all summer? What happens if I..." the panic was evident in her voice, her tone rising as fear mixed in.

"My dear calm yourself. I will not allow you to be left alone. Should the worst happen and they do abandon you I will come for you."

Hermione wanted to laugh, whether due to the ridiculousness of his statement or the relief she felt in that moment she wasn't quite sure. "How? You don't even know who I am..."

"Oh my dear, do you truly believe that would stop me? Although it would become a bit awkward with the sleeping arrangements seeing as I have only one bed..."

For the briefest of moments the bookworm's imagination ran rampant. How would it feel waking up next to someone under the covers? Would they be wrapped around her in a protective manner? Would she have her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat? What would they be wearing... if anything at all?

***LoD***

"So Ginny, how has school been this year?"

"Fine..." the girl replied, her focus elsewhere as she played with the food on her plate. Why couldn't she get a certain raven-haired boy out of her mind? Sure he had saved her, restored her life and ensured her freedom, had protected her family, and even fed her while she recovered but...

"Ginny?"

"Hm? Did you say something?"

Arthur's smile dropped a bit in concern for his daughter, "I asked if you made any friends."

"Oh... yeah a few I guess..."

"Anyone you plan on seeing over the break?"

"I think they are staying at school."

Molly 'tsked' at the thought, "Staying at school... poor dears should be with family during this time of year not in some dusty old castle by themselves..."

"So Ginny... any boys catch your attention?" Bill teased from further down the table, earning a squeak and blush from the girl.

Meanwhile the twins glanced over at each other in concern. They noticed that their sister had been acting fairly strange lately, but had attributed it to the 'incident'. Perhaps the few days she had been with the Slytherin Lord had influenced her more than they thought.

"Ah ha, so who is the lucky prat? Anyone I need to rough up or..."

"NO!"

The room fell silent, as everyone stared at the young girl, whose eyes were wide with a combination of fear and... something else.

"I... I mean, of course not. Even if I did like a boy, if you beat him up then everyone would be afraid to approach me... it is hard enough making friends right now."

"Thash caush you don do girl shtuff" Ron mumbled, his mouth so full of food that few could understand him.

"I do girly stuff Ron, just because I don't wear makeup, paint my nails, and gossip doesn't mean anything. Besides he said I was 'lovely' anywa..." this time she clamped her mouth down so hard her teeth rattled.

"So Bill was right... our little Ginny has an admirer..." Charley exclaimed with glee.

"So who is it dear? Is he nice? Does he treat you right? Do you two hold hands?" Molly began.

"H-he is..." what the hell was she supposed to say? That she had a weird, pseudo one sided relationship with a boy who had saved her from a near death situation, nursed her back to health, and had seen her naked? Oh yes, that would go over well.

"Well come on Gin, tell us more about this mysterious boy you have your eyes on." Arthur teased gently.

"He is in Slytherin."

The room instantly went silent, as the girl's face turned even more red than before. Perhaps that wasn't the best fact to lead with.

"Wh-WHAT! You can't like a snake! They are EVIL!"

"Oh Ronald hush, that is absolutely ridiculous."

"Your mother is right Ron, I knew quite a few Slytherins when I was in school and most of them were very nice. Sure there are a few bad apples with people like Lucius Malfoy but overall they are just like any other House, except they get a bad reputation."

"Because they earned it!"

"Ronnikins..."

"Shut up"

"Before you"

"Say something"

"Even more stupid"

"About things"

"You do not understand."

The family turned to the twins, who were practically giving their youngest brother a death glare at that moment.

"Something you boys want to share?" Percy inquired, using his best 'adult' tone to try and mimic his father

"We... sort of know who Ginny is..."

"Interested in"

The girl's eyes widened with a slight amount of fear, before a hand gently clasped her under the table from George giving it a comforting squeeze.

"As surprising as it sounds..."

"We approve"

"Of the boy"

"He seems to care about her"

"Nursed her back from a cold we hear"

"Kept the other Slytherins away from her"

"Even told us off about pranking younger students"

"Well well well, anyone who can stand up to the 'Devils of Gryffindor' and convince them to stop pranking gets points in my book." Bill chimed in with a grin, and a wink towards his sister.

"Indeed, and it sounds like he is very kind if he took care of you dear, hopefully we can meet him in the summer."

"Yeah mom... hopefully..."

***LoD***

"Uhm... my Lord?"

"Yes Draco?"

"You have a uh... stalker..."

The emerald-eyed boy chuckled, before glancing back into the hallway, only to catch a glimpse of blonde hair as the girl darted behind a suit of armor. Harry paused for a few moments, waiting patiently until the young Lovegood glanced out from behind her barricade to see she had been spotted.

"Miss Lovegood?"

"L-Luna..."

"Luna then, you do not need to hide from me you know."

"I-I know..." the, surprisingly timid, girl stepped out into the hallways completely, her head down in slight embarrassment.

"I did not think you to be the shy one."

"I... I'm not but... you are a Lord, and I am just... me."

His laughter echoed through the hallway, causing flames to flicker ever so slightly. "I find you to be rather intriguing my dear, why don't you come and closer and talk to me."

She nodded slightly, before quickly walking up to his left side, while Draco still stood at his right. "See? There is nothing to fear while you walk with me my dear."

Her grin was like the morning sunrise.

"Now then, we truly must do something about your living conditions, I find it rather offensive that a friend of mine is..."

"I'll just sleep with you!" Luna cheerfully declared, earning a round of awkward coughing from the Slytherins that walked alongside them.

"Oh? So sure all of a sudden are you?"

"Of course my Lord. You are the King, which makes me the princess for you to ravage."

The coughing was even louder than before.

***LoD***

"I don't like her."

Harry Potter rolled his eyes at his oldest companion's comment. "I do believe we have had a similar discussion about how you do not seem to like anyone."

"She is different... I don't trust her."

"Luna is harmless."

"That isn't the point... she is... sleeping in your bed with you!" and indeed she had been, for the past week the young girl had been meeting up with the remaining Potter in the evening before simply following him to his chamber where she slept in his bed. It had been fairly easy for this to go unnoticed with the holidays in full swing and many students back at their homes.

"You have done that before as well if you recall"

"Yes but she... it is... different!"

"Oh?"

"YES! I want you to get rid of her."

"Well I rather enjoy waking up next to someone so..."

Hedwig summoned up her courage, and ignored the uneasy feeling in her stomach that was warning her about her present course of action, before pushing forward. "Get rid of her Harry, now!"

Before the amber eyes could even blink she found herself pushed up against a wall, a hand around her throat while two blazing green eyes glared into her own.

"I tolerate far more from you than anyone else Hedwig... but do not assume you can give me orders. Do I make myself clear?"

Without waiting for an answer he released the girl, before turning and walking back towards his bed. "As I said before, I enjoy waking up next to someone. You never even bothered to give me an answer after our last 'encounter' earlier this year, so I fail to see why this is any of your concern now."

The white-haired girl picked herself up from where she had dropped, before slowly moving towards him. He was right, as he almost always was, she had avoided the topic ever since that night months ago, avoided looking at him, avoided being close to him...

A few nimble moves and her dress pooled around her feet as she moved forward towards the boy she had fallen in love with years prior.

"My Lord..."

He turned, his eyes widening just slightly as his gaze focused in on her eyes.

"You looked at Ginny... you would look at Luna if she asked... but you will not look at me when I present myself?"

"They did not abandon me the last time that I did."

Hedwig winced as if struck. It had been a year prior to Hogwarts, he had walked in on her while she was stepping from the shower and seen a few glimpses of flesh. Although he had simply ignored the incident it was a rude awakening for the amber-eyed girl, who promptly fled in her owl form on a mission to gather her thoughts and figure out her own feelings. It had taken her four months, and when she had finally returned he hadn't shouted at her, had not screamed in rage or tortured her...

Instead he had ignored her, for over a week he had not spared her so much as a glance or a word of acknowledgment. She had avoided him for four months, he had done the same for only a week and she had become desperate for his attention.

Returning to the current situation Hedwig nodded sadly, "Yes... I did, and I am sorry. I was confused at the time, the feelings that were coursing through my veins... they were not proper for me to feel towards someone so young."

"And what are those feelings now? You know my policy on this Hedwig, I have told you it before. Once you give yourself to me... you are mine."

The girl laughed, almost sadly in a way, "My Lord... I have always been yours... I just refused to say it until now, refused to give in until now."

"And now?"

She walked to his left, before sitting on the bed, clad in nothing but her own skin. "As you said... I am yours."

"I do not want a sex toy from you Hedwig, others there will be but not you. I am not interested if you are simply going to lay there and..."

Her hand took his a moment later, before she pulled him into the same situation they had been in before, with him standing between her legs.

"I assure you... I am not going to lay here and do nothing..." she whispered, before sliding her hand down into his boxers and grasping him gently.

***LoD***

Albus Dumbledore awoke Christmas morning to find a usual pile of gifts placed in his office, with a chuckle, and the slight shaking of his head, he began his early morning routine before sitting down to address the wrapped presents.

Coworkers would give him clothing or various oddities that he would find enjoyable.

Politicians would send bribes of money or objects of great value, which would usually be donated to charities.

Just as he was about to open one from the Weasley family, a hand-knit sweater he suspected, his gaze fell upon a package addressed from a certain student.

To Headmaster Albus Dumbledore,

I was unsure what you might enjoy for the Holidays so I went with something I have often seen you enjoy during our visits. Please enjoy responsibly.

Harry Potter

After carefully opening the package Albus' eyes shone with glee, it was a rather large sized container of assorted Muggle candies.

***LoD***

To my favorite Auror,

May it keep you warm on these cold days.

Harry

P.S. If you are ever feeling lonely feel free to sop by the Slytherin common room.

Tonks shook her head with a laugh, before unwrapping the rather large fur lined coat. More than a few times she had made her patrols outside of the castle, and this promised to be quite useful for those awful occasions.

***LoD***

"Merry Christmas my Lord!"

"Merry Christmas Luna."

"I didn't have any money for a gift so I thought you could just have me instead" she happily exclaimed before starting a rather humorous attempt at stripping, unfortunately she immediately became entangled in her clothing, and thus was stuck with her arms and head stuck in her shirt, showing off her bra.

Noticing the glare that Hedwig sent him, and waving off her concerns, the boy walked forward with a smile, just as the Ravenclaw managed to free herself, while keeping his gaze fixed on the blonde's eyes. "I do believe you are just a tad bit young for sex my Moon Princess."

The pout that emerged on the blonde's face was adorable enough that Hedwig herself almost caved to the young girl's 'demands'.

"But I wannaaaaaaa"

"Luna..." if the boy wasn't so sure of himself he would have swore the girl was trying to convince him to stay up past her bedtime or have an extra serving of ice cream, rather than having sex.

"I thought once Hedwig had her turn it would be mine." the girl grumbled, ignoring the fact that said white owl promptly fell off of her ledge, turning back into her human form on the floor.

"Wh-WHAT!?"

Harry merely quirked his eyebrow, curious about how the young girl had figured it out.

"Well you were his first friend, and you are pretty, and you are a girl so I knew that my Lord would want you to be first, then you two had sex last night so it should be my turn right?"

"It isn't anyone's turn it doesn't work that way!"

The blonde turned her head sideways slightly, in a rather cute fashion. "Why not?"

"B-because it just doesn't!"

"But I want him to push me down on the bed, climb on top of me and..."

"You are eleven!"

"And he is twelve... I fail to see the problem."

Emerald eyes darted back and forth between the two arguing females in amusement, it was rather fun to watch someone actually argue with Hedwig besides himself for once.

"You should not be doing... that so young!"

"But you were okay with shagging him..."

"That is different!"

"How so?"

"Because it just is! Harry is far more mature mentally than you are. You don't understand how it works and the consequences of your actions yet."

"Of course I do, I read through the books myself last year when daddy when on one of his trips without me..." the blonde stopped for a moment, her eyes staring off into the distance before snapping back to reality. "Anyway, he puts his penis into my vagina, then either he rams into me repeatedly or I climb on top of him and ride him until he climaxes. As long as one of us are on the potion there is no risk of pregnancy."

"But, when you get married..." Hedwig muttered weakly, trying to find a way to regain her momentum in the 'conversation'.

"The only one I want to marry is my Lord, or if he tells me to marry someone. I still want him to be my first though, hopefully repeatedly, so what does it matter if I am a virgin on my wedding day or not?"

"She has a point Hedwig."

"Quiet you, stop encouraging bad behavior."

"Oh it isn't bad behavior, sex is a wonderful, beautiful thing... perhaps we could try me being on all four with you behind, pushing my face into the blankets while you dominate me like an animal, my Lord."

***LoD***

It was rather amusing to, once again, have a massive pile of gifts waiting for him in the common room. Hedwig's had been 'delivered' the previous night while Luna was trying to think up something different since her original plan had been shot down.

With a gentle sigh the boy set about his task, Draco's had been a rather large piece of parchment with dozens of designs on them, further noting that when he found one that he enjoyed the Malfoy heir would have it emblazoned on any future clothing as his official seal.

Blaise and Nott had both gone with various clothing or books, along with the remainder of those who didn't know him as well.

Neville's gift had been a rather old framed document, one specifying an alliance between the House of Longbottom and the House of Potter from centuries prior.

Pansy had gotten him something much like the previous year... except for the fact that instead of just one mildly scandalous picture it was more than a dozen... and they were all quite revealing.

Aurora Sinistra had given him a book on stargazing, with a note to visit her sometime.

Surprisingly Tonks had even purchased a small bag of candy for him.

Finally Dumbledore had sent him a book on the Potter family and their history.

***LoD***

"Merry Christmas Hermione..." the bushy-haired girl whispered to herself as she sat in an empty classroom. Originally it had been the girl's dorm, but Lavender Brown had been there, and quite frankly she was tired of listening to the girl swoon over Ron Weasley.

She had gone down to their common rooms next, hoping that she could simply read in silence... but even there the bookworm found no solace as a few nasty remarks from Dean and Seamus, two of Ron's friends, had her wanting to leave almost immediately.

Thus she sat... alone once again, but this time it was different. There were no gifts to open, no songs being sung nearby, it was just...

Empty

The Witch fought back the tears that threatened to pour from her eyes. The would not cry over something so silly. Perhaps she could go to the library and find a few books to read there?

Turning to leave she froze in place, there before her was a single package wrapped in colorful paper, like the ones her parents would always give her.

But how?

She hadn't left the room, and no one had entered. The choice of area had been a last minute one... Glancing around to ensure she was alone, and not crazy, the Gryffindor slowly stepped forward, before seeing the tag.

To Miss Eyre

Merry Christmas

Mr. Rochester

He had purchased her a gift... something even her parents had apparently skipped out on. The young girl gently tore apart the wrapping paper, her eyes widening and shining with tears of happiness moments later.

It was a book, one she knew to be rather rare and expensive if she recalled correctly. She had wanted to read it all summer after seeing it in Diagon Alley, but simply could not afford the object.

Had he been watching her there too? Had he seen and 'marked' her so early on?

The thought both worried... and excited her.

***LoD***

"Did you hear the rumors?"

"Yeah, someone died last night, I guess they are going to shut the school down."

"That is horrible!"

"Better than being killed at least!"

Harry Potter frowned, he had been more than willing to wait and see if the adults could finally handle a problem by themselves but it appeared he had miscalculated for once. If the school was shut down he would be stuck back in that shit hole orphanage with nothing to do but try and stop himself from murdering everyone around him.

That would not do. Add onto this that if lives truly were in danger he might end up having to start from scratch if one of those he had been 'working on' was caught. Not a huge loss for the most part but a small part of him had to admit that he was enjoying both Luna and Hermione's company. If one of them were to die he would be quite upset... would which undoubtedly lead to further casualties, this time by his own hand.

Something would have to be done, and unfortunately it might mean even more attention on him.

***LoD***

Albus Dumbledore stood in the Medical Wing, feeling older than he had in years. Their luck had finally ran out, a student had been found... dead. He had already been informed that an official inquiry was to be held in a mere half an hour, and that he was required to attend.

The problem this posed was that he would be forced out of the school, where he was needed to protect the students. Luckily Amelia had intervened and was sending additional Aurors, and that the students would be evacuated.

Unfortunately, neither of these two events were scheduled until mid afternoon... the following day. This meant there would be a window where neither he, nor additional assistance would be available. Perhaps their luck could come back for just twenty four hours? Perhaps no one else would suffer a similar fate...

The aged Wizard stared down at the body of the twelve year old boy one last time, before wiping away the tears forming at his eyes and slowly making his way towards a nearby Floo system. The only good that had come from this tragedy was that they now knew what was the cause. Snake skin had been found nearby allowing for identification that it was indeed a Basilisk.

***LoD***

A Basilisk, a bloody freaking Basilisk.

Nymphadora Tonks swore once more as she crept along the abandoned hallways, terror surrounding her heart. Sure they now knew what monster prowled Hogwarts... but without Dumbledore the Auror had little hopes of defeating the creature. She still had to try though, maybe she would get lucky?

A hissing sound from a corridor on her right had the metamorphmagus throwing herself behind a column in defense. Glancing around the obstacle she caught sight of the massive body that slithered towards her before ducking back.

She was going to die.

Sinking to the floor, despair crept over the Auror as tears began to flow down her face. Her first assignment and she was either going to be killed by the monster's gaze... or eaten by it.

Why... why her? Why did she have to die here? Why couldn't a more experienced Auror been put on the case, someone older, someone who had more time to live their life and enjoy things before being snuffed out.

But no, it had to be her, and now she was going to be murdered in this cold, godforsaken hallway.

Alone

As the slithering became louder, and her own heart rate picked up the Auror let out a few last minute prayers, apologizing to her mother for everything she would be putting the woman through with her death. A moment later the snake head came within view, but luckily, or unluckily depending on how one might see it, the eyes were facing away. Not for long though as it turned towards her and...

The eyes of the creature suddenly turned pitch black, before exploding violently, earning what Tonks could only assume was a hiss of agony as the massive snake flailed about.

Then... footsteps. Slow and methodical as if it was too much of a hassle to run.

Looking up from her seated position Tonks caught sight of raven-black hair, of emerald-green eyes, and of a calm demeanor. Harry Potter walked into her view, glanced over at her with an emotionless expression, before turning back to the Basilisk.

"Oh my my my... quite a big one aren't you."

Before any response could be had, a hand made of pure darkness ripped forward from the shadows on the ground, slamming into the creature and pushing it across the hallway into a nearby wall, where the stone crumbled and groaned in protest of the blow.

"How unfortunate, I thought something your size would be stronger... what a pity."

It was almost... detached, the way he spoke. Analytical and cold, like a surgeon performing an autopsy.

"Over here now, let us try one more test shall we? Let us see if you can actually manage to draw blood on me."

Peeking from around the column Tonks gasped in horror as the monster surged forward, and snapped into the boy's form, guided only by sound.

Then the chuckle echoed through the dark hall.

"How... disappointing."

Lifting one hand, as apparently the fangs had failed to even puncture through his clothing, the boy-who-lived snapped his fingers and the snake was burned alive from the inside out.

***LoD***

"You may wish to hide in a nearby classroom if you want to avoid the students in the morning. I do so hope the remains are enough to keep the school open though, I so despise staying at that orphanage."

With that the boy had departed, barely glancing back at the Auror, still frozen in fear and disbelief. Somehow Tonks had managed to take his advice, and crawled into a nearby empty classroom, before sobbing for the next several hours.

She was alive, alive because a twelve year old boy had stepped forward without an ounce of hesitation and saved her. An Auror saved by a boy younger than thirteen, what the hell was she even doing with her life?

Moody had mentioned that all those who chose her path found themselves pondering this question after their first near-death experience. One would question if they truly were made for such work, and many would drop out rather than continuing to risk their lives on a weekly basis.

Tonks... she wasn't quite sure what she would do next. Could she face her colleagues, or the public? What would she say when they accused her of cowardice? What would her mother say?

An uneasy sleep finally claimed the woman for a few precious hours, until the sounds of footsteps filled the hallways due to morning classes.

***LoD***

"Ah Auror Tonks, I am glad to see you are unharmed."

"Y-yes Headmaster Dumbledore. Headmaster about the creature..."

"Oh no need to say anymore Miss Tonks, save your story for the Prophet! I am sure they will want to have at least a few interviews to get it straight."

The metamorphmagus blinked in confusion at the Minister's comment, what the hell was he talking about? It was odd enough seeing the man at Hogwarts to begin with.

"It appears you are still a bit shaken Tonks. Filius found the remains the morning after you slew the creature and reported that you were resting in a nearby classroom, Magical exhaustion I suspect?"

"Uhm..."

Fudge nodded, as if she had already answered the elderly man's question. "Yes yes very good, we are all very proud of you Auror. I can see big plans for you in the future, yes very big plans indeed. For one so young to single-handedly defeat such a beast and remain unscathed is quite the feat!"

"Yes, but you see sir..."

"Oh no need to explain, just get some rest. You will need it for all the interviews you will be giving! Now then I assume this whole petrification business has been solved Dumbledore?"

"I believe so Minister, but I would like an Auror presence stationed until the end of the year, just in case. After the... casualty..."

"Yes, of course. Well I will speak to Amelia to have someone swap out with Auror..."

"A-actually sir I would like to remain here if it is alright..." she had a certain raven-haired boy to confront after all. "I want to be sure that nothing else happens you understand. To see a job through."

"Yes... yes of course you do! Quite the commitment I must say my dear. Very well I shall trust Hogwarts to you capable hands. Unfortunately Mr. Fletchley's parent's will need to be Obliviated so that they cannot expose our world... such a tragedy I must say..."

"Obliviated sir?" A voice inquired from nearby, forcing the three adults to notice Harry Potter standing in the hallway for the first time.

"Oh, hello there and you are?"

"Harry Potter, and you?"

"H-Harry Potter! Why of course you are! Very good, very good, isn't this just perfect Dumbledore? The savior of the Wizarding World meets with the Protector of Hogwarts! I do so hope you two can become acquainted for the remainder of the year. Imagine the story that will make!"

"Indeed sir" the boy replied, his gaze resting on Tonks for a mere moment before returning to the eldest Wizard. "But about Mr. Fletchley sir?"

"Oh... yes Harry, unfortunately it has been a long standing law that should a Muggleborn Wizard or Witch be killed that their family be Obliviated of their existence... there was an incident decades ago in which this did not occur and the parents nearly exposed us to the Muggle World, because of that the Wizengamot voted and..." Dumbledore's explanation was interrupted by the bowler hat wearing man once again.

"And it was for the best I assure you. Now then I must be going, press conferences and all that. I will speak with you later this week Dumbledore."

"I look forward to it Minister."

None of the adults noticed the rather contemplative expression on the young boy's face.

***LoD***

"Now then remember your assignments for next class, I expect detailed explanations on how my means of Basilisk disposal are far superior to those apparently used by the Aurors." Lockhart happily reminded the class, earning silent groans from most. "Oh and Miss Weasley, could you wait behind for a minute, I want to speak with you about something."

Ginny shivered, it had started only a few weeks prior, a shift in the man's tone when he spoke to her, one that gave her the creeps. "Uhm sorry professor but I was almost late for Potions last time, and I don't want to have professor Snape angry at me again."

"Oh nonsense, I can always write you a note, we have things to discuss."

She just wanted to leave, to get as far away from the man as humanely possible, and maybe for the so called professor to fall into a deep hole and never emerge. "I'm terribly sorry professor but that did not work with him last time and I almost got a detention. My family will be quite upset if I receive one my first year so I must be going."

She finished packing up her books, before bolting to the door. She had almost made it when the man's whispered response sent fear down her spine. "I will keep that in mind, you should consider what you would be willing to do to avoid detentions from a professor..."

To avoid being in a room with him, alone, for the night? Ginny Weasley swore to herself that she was willing to do anything.

***LoD***

"Well well well, surprisingly light amount of security for a hospital" a raven-haired boy mused as he walked through the empty halls. He had not yet purchased a gift for Neville yet, wanting to find something to further raise the boy above his meek beginnings. Luckily he had stumbled across some information that could prove more than a little useful in this regard.

Coming a halt outside of his destination the boy easily unlocked the door and made his way inside to where two individuals lay, both beyond reach by the outside world for well over a decade.

"Now then... let us see what we can do here shall we?