End of 5th year...
Natalia sat with her Slytherin friends on the train ride home. It was awkward. She had fought against most of her parents and had lost her memories. So, while they were mad at her, they didn't know what exactly they could say.
Draco already knew that it was happening and, very unlike him, he let it go, he didn't bother her about being the reason his father was in Azkaban. He had gone with Crabbe and Goyle right after the train left the station and came back looking worse for wear, muttering about stupid Potter and his stupid friends
Everyone mostly stayed silent, until Daphne couldn't take it anymore, "What happened in the Department of Mysteries?"
They all snapped their heads to look at her and then at Natalia. "Well, after you all were attacked, I went with them, as instructed to protect Harry. When we got there we were looking for his godfather who was in trouble. He wasn't actually there and several Death Eaters cornered us. We fought back, got hurt, the order arrived and we fought them. Bellatrix and Sirius were dueling, he got hit, I saved him and fell through the veil–" Everyone in the room gasped.
"But there's no way of coming back from that," Theo stated, confused. Natalia shrugged.
"Guess there is. I fell through the other side and woke up with absolutely no memories of anything," she explained and Draco turned towards the window, looking guilty. "I've got most of them back, but I'm missing some stuff and things are constantly jumbled in my mind."
Pansy grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry. Let's just forget you did anything, it doesn't matter. You're our friend and bad things are coming."
Blaise nodded, looking Natalia in the eyes, completely serious, "You have to never speak to us again, maybe even leave England."
Natalia shook her head, "no, I'm actually coming to stay with you half-way through the summer, Blaise." He sighed.
"Dammit."
"No, you have to leave!" Draco told her, snapping his head back.
She scoffed, "I don't get a choice, I have only a few living family members left and those are the Zabinis! I have nowhere else to go!" She yelled at him and he glared at the window. "I know bad things are going to happen, you can't protect me anymore than I can protect you guys, so we're all just going to have to deal with it."
There was silence before Goyle looked around, "who do you think's going to get Quidditch Captain?"
"Now's not–"
"Probably Urquhart," Blaise rolled his eyes. "He's going to be a 7th year, they'll choose him."
"I think I wanna try out," Theo told him.
Blaise looked at him confused, "I thought you hated flying?"
He shrugged, remembering how he saw it in his visions– his supposed Mother and father flying around together– how happy they looked, "I'm getting used to it."
~
The train slowed down to a stop and Natalia waved goodbye to her friends and met up with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. The ticketmaster waved the group through the barrier where a large group of adults were waiting for them.
There was Mad-Eye Moody, looking quite as sinister with his bowler hat pulled low over his magical eye as he would have done without it, his gnarled hands clutching a long staff, his body wrapped in a voluminous traveling cloak. Tonks stood just behind him, her bright bubble-gum-pink hair gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the dirty glass station ceiling, wearing heavily patched jeans and a bright purple T-shirt bearing the legend the weird sisters.
Next to Tonks was Lupin, his face pale, his hair graying, a long and threadbare overcoat covering a shabby jumper and trousers.Standing right beside him was Sirius with a smirk on his face and some less rough looking clothes, he had looked better than he had in a while. At the front of the group stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, dressed in their Muggle best, and Fred and George, who were both wearing brand-new jackets in some lurid green, scaly material.
"Ron, Ginny!" called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying forward and hugging her children tightly. "Oh, and Harry dear — how are you?"
"I'm good," he said honestly, as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Over her shoulder he saw Ron goggling at the twins' new clothes. She released him and he went over to Sirius and gave him a hug.
"Hey, Remus," Natalia greeted and he smiled at her.
"Hello to you too," he laughed and she rushed to give him a hug. She hadn't had one in a while and it felt nice. She quickly pulled away as she looked at Fred and George, showing off their new suits.
"What are they supposed to be?" Ron asked, pointing at the jackets.
"Finest dragon skin, little bro," said Fred, giving his zip a little tweak. "Business is booming and we thought we'd treat ourselves."
"Hello, Harry," said Lupin, as Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry and turned to greet Hermione.
"Hi," said Harry. "I didn't expect . . . what are you all doing here?"
"Well," said Remus with a slight smile, "we thought we might have a little chat with your aunt and uncle before letting them take you home."
"I dunno if that's a good idea," said Harry at once.
"Oh, I think it is," growled Moody, who had limped a little closer. "That'll be them, will it, Potter?" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder; his magical eye was evidently peering through the back of his head and his bowler hat.
Harry leaned an inch or so to the left to see where Mad-Eye was pointing and there, sure enough, were the three Dursleys, who looked positively appalled to see Harry's reception committee.
"Ah, Harry!" said Mr. Weasley, turning from Hermione's parents, whom he had been greeting enthusiastically, and who were taking it in turns to hug Hermione. "Well — shall we do it, then?"
"Yeah, I reckon so, Arthur," said Sirius with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He, Mad-eye, and Mr. Weasley took the lead across the station toward the place where the Dursleys stood, apparently rooted to the floor.
Hermione disengaged herself gently from her mother to join the group.
"Good afternoon," said Mr. Weasley pleasantly to Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt right in front of him. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."
Sure enough, Vermin– Vernon turned a deeper shade of puce and glared at Mr. Weasley, but chose not to say anything, partly, perhaps, because the Dursleys were outnumbered two to one. Petunia looked both frightened and embarrassed. She kept glancing around, as though terrified somebody she knew would see her in such company. Dudley, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to look small and insignificant, a feat at which he was failing.
"And you may know me, I'm Harry's Godfather, the ex-mass murderer," Sirius smiled, holding his hand out that Mr. Dursley didn't take.
"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," said Mr. Weasley, still smiling.
"Yeah," growled Moody. "About how he's treated when he's at your place."
Vernon's mustache seemed to bristle with indignation. Possibly because the bowler hat gave him the entirely mistaken impression that he was dealing with a kindred spirit, he addressed himself toMoody.
"I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house —"
"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley," growled Moody.
"Anyway, that's not the point," interjected Tonks, whose pink hair seemed to offend Aunt Petunia more than all the rest put together, forshe closed her eyes rather than look at her. "The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry —"
"— and make no mistake, we'll hear about it," added Lupin pleasantly, as he laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"Yes," said Mr. Weasley, "even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone —"
"Telephone," whispered Hermione.
"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to," said Moody.
Vernon swelled ominously. His sense of outrage seemed to outweigh even his fear of this bunch of oddballs. "Are you threatening me, sir?" he said, so loudly that passersby actually turned to stare.
"Yes, I am," said Mad-Eye, who seemed rather pleased that Uncle Vernon had grasped this fact so quickly.
"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?"barked Uncle Vernon.
"Well . . ." said Moody, pushing back his bowler hat to reveal his sinisterly revolving magical eye. Uncle Vernon leapt backward in horror and collided painfully with a luggage trolley, making Natalia and most of the other kids laugh at him. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley."
He turned from Uncle Vernon to Harry. "So, Potter . . . give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along. . . ."
Aunt Petunia whimpered piteously. It could not have been plainer that she was thinking of what the neighbors would say if they caught sight of these people marching up the garden path.
"Oh and one more thing," Tonks said and the Dursley gave them an astonished look, as if saying 'how could there possibly be more?'
"Natalia," Remus called and she walked forward with a fake-sweet smile, almost like Umbridge. "She will be staying with you this summer."
Petunia scoffed and Vernon looked at them outraged, "We will not feed another one of your kind and host them in our home!"
"Ah, you see, you don't have a choice," Sirius explained and he picked something out of his pocket, it was an envelope. "In case money was the problem." He handed the envelope over and Vernon opened it and begrudgingly placed it in his pocket. "Fine," he practically spit out.
" 'Bye, then, Potter, di Angelo," said Moody, grasping Harry's shoulder for a moment with a gnarled hand.
"Take care, Harry, Natalia" said Remus quietly. "Keep in touch."
"Harry, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," Mrs. Weasley whispered, hugging him again.
"We'll see you soon, mate," said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry's hand, stopping in front of Natalia. "I'm sorry about the beginning of the year, thanks for your help, you were brilliant," he complimented her and they shook hands before he walked back to his family.
"Really soon, Harry," said Hermione earnestly. "We promise. Goodbye, Natalia"
Harry nodded. He smiled, raised a hand in farewell, and turned towards Natalia. He held his hand out and she took it as he led her to the exit of the train station.