DISCLAIMER
I do not own Harry Potter ... but if I did the sarcastic sides of Harry would have been included way more like he's highkey hilarious
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Harry had mysteriously arrived in the Hufflepuff common room the next morning, to Bel's total surprise.
"Potter! You aren't allowed in here!" the yells of Tia echoed out from the other side of the room.
Bel was sitting on one of the very comfortable sofas opposite the dead fireplace reading over a new spell book Cedric had acquired for her as a thank you for her help with his DADA O.W.L.
Riley and Ollie were sat sharing an armchair meant for one person as they whispered about something to one another, Bel hearing the two let out an occasional giggle.
"It's an emergency. I have to talk to Bel", Harry argued back to Tia as he pushed past her to walk further into the common room.
"May, I think someone wants to talk to you", Ollie said, snapping Bel's focus away from her new book.
When she glanced up, she saw Harry quickly approaching her with an angered Tia following just behind him.
"Harry? What are you doing here? How did you get in?" she asked.
"Professor Lupin is back; I just spoke with him. If you want to, you really need to go and find him. Now. Bel ... he's resigned. Oh, and Cedric let me in", Harry answered.
Bel quickly slammed her book shut and placed it on the small wooden table in front of her before standing up to leave.
"I'll see you all later", she muttered to her friends before going to approach Harry.
Tia grabbed onto her arm, keeping her in place.
"One of us should go with you", the protective Hufflepuff said.
"Tia ... I'll be fine. I'm just going to talk with a professor. No danger. Promise", Bel said calmly.
"With him around, I hesitate to believe that", Tia spat as she glared over in Harry's direction.
The Gryffindor boy shot her a sarcastically sweet smile.
"Tia ... May will be fine", Ollie tried to come to her aid from the armchair he and Riley were sat on.
"She's bribed you with cookies considering how close she and the Weasley twins are with the kitchen elves. So you're biased", Tia argued.
Bel looked over to Harry, shooting him a rather apologetic look at her friends' attitudes.
"Calm down, Buttleshot junior. I'll go with her", the voice of Cedric Diggory spoke out as the older student approached the group.
"Ced ...", Bel tried to argue.
"As your school older brother, I'm coming to make sure you and Harry don't get up to any funny business. Let's go", Cedric cut her off, saying the final word before walking off towards the entrance.
Bel took in a deep breath, seeing Riley and Ollie look at her sympathetically, whilst Tia looked satisfied, going to take Bel's spell book back up to their dorm.
She then turned to Harry who hadn't moved, witnessing the entire interaction unfold rather amusingly.
"Let's go then", Bel mumbled to Harry, and the two students followed after Cedric.
"I usually forget just how protective Hufflepuffs can be. But I guess it makes sense considering you're one", Harry said to her as they walked.
"I wouldn't put someone on house arrest! That's what they have me on, Harry. It's ridiculous", Bel complained.
"It sounds annoying, but I agree with them."
Bel turned to him with a shocked expression.
"You need to be kept an eye on. Danger does tend to follow you around pretty closely", Harry continued.
"You're one to talk", Bel muttered as they caught up to Cedric.
"Okay. Have fun, I'm off", the older boy said to the two of them once they were outside the common room entrance.
"What? Where are you going?" Bel asked. Not that she was complaining about being left to her own devices, but she was prepared for Cedric to refuse to leave her side until Harry did.
"I have a date. Can't be late. But to put my mind at ease ... Potter, don't even think about letting Bel wander anywhere but to the DADA classroom to see Lupin. Understood?" Cedric said rather sternly.
"Understood", Harry replied.
Bel couldn't believe what she was hearing.
It was rather offensive that she was being placed under people's watchful eye to make sure she was safe.
It was as though they all forgot just who she was.
She could certainly defend and take care of herself.
"You do know that I am more than capable of handling myself", Bel pointed out.
"We know, May. But you do forget your own personal safety most of the time", Cedric argued.
"Totally agree", Harry chimed in.
"I hate both of you", Bel said in a flat tone before turning to walk off.
"Touchy subject", she heard Cedric mutter to Harry from behind her.
"Yeah ... I should probably go with her. Enjoy your ... date", Harry awkwardly bid him goodbye.
Cedric didn't say another word, just chuckled lowly before walking off in the opposite direction to the girl.
Harry quickly ran up to join Bel, and the two continued on to the DADA classroom.
Bel stayed quiet most of the time, still slightly irked by the insinuation that she was weak in any way.
Just because she prioritised other people's safety over her own didn't mean she was.
Besides, it was her purpose.
She was a shield.
And shields get dented.
Bel had accepted that a long time ago, and it confused her as to why others hadn't yet.
Harry took notice that she was mad, so tried to apologise.
By the time they reached the DADA classroom, Bel had forgiven him.
She couldn't find it in her to stay mad at him for very long.
He was her best friend, after all.
"Good luck", Harry said to her as the two stood just outside the door.
"Thanks", Bel replied, taking in a deep breath.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous.
Hearing Lupin had resigned meant he was leaving Hogwarts.
Bel very rarely left Hogwarts.
Would this be the last chance she had to speak to him for some time?
She had so much to ask him.
And just like Harry's mindset, Remus Lupin was family to her now.
The only family she has.
"I doubt he'll want to leave you, Bel. But ... because of what he is ... he doesn't have a choice. However, I'm sure you'll see him again", Harry then said, as if reading her mind.
Bel didn't say anything more, only nodding to let him know she hoped he was right.
There was a moment when the two stood still, Harry's hands flinching at his sides slightly, before he told her he would leave her to it and walked off back to his own common room.
That was when Bel entered the classroom to speak with her godfather.
"Ah! Good. Harry found you", were the first words Professor Lupin said to her once she had walked through the door.
He was sat upon one of the student desks, his belongings all packed away in trucks around him.
Bel took notice of the fact that he looked awful.
His skin was extremely pale, even slightly yellow.
His eyes were totally bloodshot, and he had cuts and scars all over his neck and face.
"Does that hurt?" Bel asked, gesturing on her own neck where the worst of the scratches were on Lupin.
"Not as badly as they used to. And just as I told Harry, I've looked much worse before", Lupin answered.
"I know a few healing spells. Maybe they can help?" Bel proposed as she walked over to the desk opposite the one the man was sat on.
"That's very kind of you, Bel. But I'll be just fine", Lupin reassured once the student had taken a seat.
After a brief silence, Bel wanted to break it.
"So ... you're leaving?"
"You must understand something, Bel. It pains me to have to leave you when I've only just found you again. I want nothing more than to stay here and help you. With everything. I was mad beyond comprehension when I first discovered your responsibilities in this world. Everything that Fudge has put you up to. But a term of my employment was to keep the truth from you. The truth that I am your godfather.
"Please understand that my last intent was to hurt you. It's for your safety that you know as little about the past as possible. I believe you can think of a reason why that is now. But just as I made a promise to keep things from you to Dumbledore, I also made a promise to your mother before she died. When you were born, she made me your godfather, and with it I vowed to always keep you from danger.
"I have failed her and you in that department. However, the way I can make it up to you is to keep you safe by leaving you. I know that might seem confusing, but one day, when I see you again, you'll understand why."
Bel remained perfectly still, relishing in the moment where someone who actually knew her mother was giving her answers.
It was something she had wanted for years, and it was finally happening.
Even if it was going to be over before it really began.
"And I know that in leaving, you will be just fine. You are growing into a strong, steadfast, mature young woman, Bel. One who handles these awful situations thrown your way better than anyone else could. You remain the light in the dark despite everything tempting you to sway. It was something ... something that is in your blood. Something that will stay with you no matter what will head your way", Lupin continued.
"So, before I go, and until we meet again, is there anything you wish to ask me?"
Bel had spent a lot of time in her clearing sorting through her mind so she could be prepared for that exact question.
And she had come up with only one thing she desired.
"Tell me about her. About my mother", she requested.
Lupin smiled softly before shuffling in his seat to make himself comfortable.
"I wonder what Sirius blabbed about already ...", he thought aloud.
"He said that she loved nature and always had a bond with creatures. And ... and that she would be proud of me."
"All true things", Lupin muttered as he smiled, his mind filtering through his memories of Bel's mother.
"Willow had an affinity for dealing with magical creatures. I remember the first day I met her. You see, it was Lily who befriended her first in our second year."
"Lily? As in, Lily Potter? Harry's mother?" Bel asked, in slight shock.
"Indeed. The two were closer than anything. Mostly because Lily was sick and tired of being around us boys all the time. And Willow was the kindest soul anyone had ever met. A true resemblance of purity. We all quickly took a liking to her because of that, and despite being in Hufflepuff, she would make time to be around us Gryffindors", Lupin explained.
Bel thought it rather strange that her mother and Harry's mother were good friends.
Clearly, that was something that passed down through the generations.
"She was one of the first people to find out about ... my condition. And she was there for me in ways no one else could be. She was able to get through to me despite the transformation, and it saved my life on numerous occasions when it was all so new. Sirius and her worked together to remind me why my life was worth living. It was something I am eternally grateful for. Soon after, James and Lily found out. And ... Peter too."
His voice lowered when he mentioned Pettigrew.
Something that Bel hadn't processed must be hard for her godfather.
They were friends once, after all.
"I also remember the day you were born", Lupin moved on.
"Willow was so happy to have a daughter. Despite the war, she always made time for us to visit you. Especially when Lily would bring Harry over. Sirius and I would steal the two of you away. He would prop Harry up in his lap, and I would hold you ... and we would have competitions to see who could make one of you laugh first."
"Wait ... Harry and I met before Hogwarts?" Bel asked.
"Of course neither of you would remember it. You were only babies at the time. Not even one years old."
"Does Harry know about this?"
"No. These memories and stories hold very dear places in our hearts, Bel. It is my job to tell them to you and Sirius' to tell them to Harry. But I'm sure Sirius wouldn't object to you filling him in until Harry can see him again."
Bel nodded, allowing for more stories to be told.
"Let me see. She was a brave fighter, your mother. Very resourceful, but her downfall was always her heart. She sought after peace. Civility first before war. Something that wasn't possible back then. Everything she did, she did with the intention to keep those she cared for safe. And when you were born, everything she did was to keep you safe. Which is why you remind me of her so much. Well, that and the fact that you have her smile. A smile that was so contagious that even if we believed all was lost, she would have us all smiling in seconds."
Even at the mention of such a thing, both Lupin and Bel started to smile themselves.
But Lupin's next words wiped them away.
"But one of the greatest shames of our world is that Willow never got to see the hopes she had come to life."
"She died before the war ended", Bel recalled.
"I don't want you to know that story, Bel. Knowing the ending is enough for now", Lupin said firmly.
Bel had a voice in her head telling her to argue.
That she wanted to know what had happened.
There were still so many questions.
Why was she never mentioned in her mother's obituary?
Where was she when her mother died?
How had she wound up in an orphanage?
What had happened after the fact?
But there was a louder voice telling her it would be too much to bear.
Her father had killed her mother.
That was the ending.
And whilst Bel had dealt with it in the best way possible, she didn't know if she could know the details and do the same.
Hearing about just how her father had done what he had done would break her.
"Okay", is all she whispered in response.
"Any more questions? Anything at all", Lupin asked, taking notice of her slight disappointment.
"I don't want to hear anything about my father", Bel almost spat, making her reason for this conversation clear.
Lupin paused before muttering, "Quite right."
"I don't want to ... become like him. Like the version of myself the boggart showed me", Bel continued.
"You won't, Bel. That I can promise you."
"You sound so certain", Bel chuckled.
"Do you want to know why I'm so certain?" Lupin asked.
After a nod, Lupin looked as thought he was debating giving an answer of honesty.
"The traits you inherited from your father are of the utmost extreme. He was related to Salazar Slytherin himself, as you know. And that, by default, means you are too. Those traits would dominate over any others if they were present in any other person. But you aren't just any other person, Bel. You're an amalgam."
Bel remembered that word from Fudge.
He called her the amalgam.
And she had wondered what he meant.
It was her godfather who finally revealed that to her.
"Do you know why you could have possibly been sorted into Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin considering your heritage?" he asked her.
"The sorting hat told me it was because I needed the good traits I have to be nurtured. To counteract the dark ones that I have from my father."
"Yes. And the only way that could possibly happen, the only way you have a chance to defeat the extreme is with the extreme", Lupin replied.
Bel wasn't quite understanding what he was hinting towards, so Lupin decided to stop beating around the bush.
"Just as your father was the Heir of Slytherin, handing down the traits from Salazar Slytherin to you ... your mother wasn't just any Hufflepuff. She was directly descended from Helga Hufflepuff. Which means you possess the extreme quantities of those traits too. The amalgam of two of the Hogwarts Four. The first one in existence."
Even more of her life made sense to the girl now.
The fact that she, in her own right, was powerful.
The fact that she had any hope of being in Hufflepuff, and any hope of avoiding becoming like her boggart's version.
The fact that she was able to counteract the evil in herself and her wand.
Because her mother provided her with the opposite of what her father did.
The extreme defence against darkness.
Flowing through her blood, in her heritage, in her genes.
That's how she was able to do what she had done.
And that's why Lupin was certain she could keep doing it. Because it was something that would stay with her forever.
"Does that make sense to you?" Lupin then asked her after Bel stayed silent.
"Yes. Complete sense", Bel answered with a soft smile.
Her godfather nodded, happy to have given her more answers of note.
Ones about Willow that he knew Bel deserved to know.
"Can I ask for your advice on something?" Bel then asked.
"Of course. Anything."
"Ever since being around the dementors, I've had this voice in my head. It's a man saying the killing curse. And I know that it comes from a memory. And even though I can't be sure, I think it's my father ... the day he killed my mother. Whenever I close my eyes, I can picture her now I know what she looks like. She looks terrified. And there's a man. I thought it was Sirius but now it's my father. And he ... he kills her", Bel started to explain.
Lupin looked over at her with sad eyes as she spoke.
"No matter what I do, I can see it when I close my eyes. When I try to sleep. I was wondering if there's a way to stop it. Something you, as a DADA professor, might know about?" Bel asked with hope.
She was very good at organising her mind, sorting through memories and keeping the ones she didn't want tucked away.
But this particular one seemed out of her control somehow.
Like no matter what she did, it would appear.
The same thing happened with the other voice.
But Bel was nowhere near as worried about it in comparison to the vision she had of her mother being murdered.
"Have you heard of Occlumency, Bel?" Lupin asked her.
"Professor Snape mentioned it to me once", Bel answered, remembering back to much earlier in the year when she was forced to be on guard duty with the cruel potion's professor.
"Well, I hate to suggest this to you, but that is what might help you. Your mother was a natural Occlumens. The ability to keep Legilimens out of your head so they can't read your memories. Sometimes it can progress to the point of hiding your own memories from yourself. But it requires a lot of practice. If you wish to put such a thought out of your mind, I would say to start there. But Severus will be the one who can help you best ... considering I won't be here", Lupin explained.
Bel took in a deep breath, debating over what she should do.
Having lessons with Snape would be a nightmare.
But if it meant she could get better at hiding her memories and could finally get some sleep without her traumatising nightmares coming to haunt her, it might just be worth it.
However, it was something for her to figure out over summer. Not right now.
"I'll think about it. Granted, having lessons with Snape again might make it all the worse. But it's food for thought", Bel admitted to her thoughts.
Lupin chuckled at her hatred of the potions professor before his lips settled in a comforting smile.
"Before I go, I have one more question for you", her godfather began.
"You haven't told anyone about your heritage, have you? What you've come to learn, I mean."
"Other than Harry, Ron, and Hermione ... no. I don't want people to have another reason to fear me. Even if my mother's heritage helps."
"I see. It might be for the best to keep it that way."
Bel didn't read into his question or his answer, knowing he wanted the best for her.
Besides, she had worked it all out by now.
Everyone who did know, such as Fudge, didn't want her to know the truth because she might become what her father was and do what he had done.
Just because she had the perfect genetic make up to counteract it from her mother, it didn't mean the danger was totally gone.
Her wand might throw it out of balance.
Those at school would most likely succumb to that belief if they found out, and Bel didn't have the time to prove them wrong and make them trust her.
Her closest friends already did trust her beyond any doubt, and so they could know the truth.
And Professor Lupin, being her godfather, had been told to keep it from her for the same reasons.
Her wand was a very dangerous thing, and it could combine with the dangerous side of her heritage to produce a very dangerous outcome.
All Bel had to do was fight it, now knowing she had it in her blood to succeed.
And Dumbledore had vowed to help her with it.
That was the answer.
Right?
Wrong.
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Bel couldn't help but feel extremely upset after she had left her godfather.
Despite all the joy she derived from finding out more about her mother, the fact she was an amalgam of two of the Hogwarts Four, discovering that she had been friends with Harry years before they even met, and finally believing that there were no more major secrets being kept from her, saying goodbye had been difficult.
She hoped she would see him again, and that Harry could see Sirius again.
But time would have to tell.
And Bel was used to relying on time.
It hadn't failed her yet.
The fact that she finally had answers about her family proved that.
As well as the fact that she was still alive, despite the dangers she had come across these past three years.
But what she needed right now was to spend her final few days at school with her friends.
Not having to worry about such dangers anymore.
Which is why she headed straight to the Great Hall where Harry had told her he, Ron, and Hermione would be during break.
As she walked up to the entrance, she saw Harry walking down the hallways opposite her.
"Bel! How did it go? How are you feeling?" he asked, running up to her the second he laid eyes on her.
"Saying goodbye wasn't easy. Especially since I'm not quite over Buckbeak leaving as well", Bel admitted, glancing down to the ground.
It was still foreign to her to open up to others.
But Harry had done a very good job at making her feel comfortable around him enough to do so.
"You'll see them both again. I'm sure of it", he said with certainty in his voice.
"Just as I'm sure you'll see Sirius again", said Bel, the two sharing in a comforting smile.
"Lupin told me more about my mother. And gave me some advice on how to deal with the whole nightmares issue I've been having", she then explained.
"That's great! Tell me all about it", Harry exclaimed, genuinely interested in anything she had to say.
"Believe me, I really want to. But I'll wait until Ron and Hermione are here too. Besides, it looks like something's going on ...", Bel replied as she glanced into the Great Hall, seeing a crowd of Gryffindors all huddled around their table in frantic discussion.
"Harry!" Neville called out as Bel and Harry made their way over to the table.
"Wherever did you get it?" he asked in complete bewilderment.
"Can I have a go, Harry? After you, of course", Seamus asked once he had run over from the table.
Harry turned to Bel who was looking at him with just as much confusion, totally oblivious to what they could be talking about.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked as they kept walking down the centre aisle.
"Quiet!" Ron silenced the over-excited Gryffindor boys from where he was stood, a wooden crutch supporting him due to the cast still present on his leg.
"Let the man through. I didn't mean to open it, Harry. It was badly wrapped", Ron continued, as Harry and Bel moved to stand at the table.
"They made me do it!" he also blamed Fred and George sat opposite him, pointing over in their direction.
"Did not!" the twins exclaimed in unison.
"I find that hard to believe", Bel muttered.
Fred and George both looked up at her with mischievous smirks.
Harry scoffed as he reached forward to a large, wrapped package laid out on the table.
With one pull back of the paper, a brand-new broom was revealed in front of their eyes.
"No. Way." Bel muttered, her mouth and eyes wide open.
"It's a Firebolt", George said.
"It's the fastest broom in the world", Fred added.
"For me?" Harry whispered as he went to pick up the broom, totally shock on his face.
"But who sent it?" he then asked.
"No one knows", Ron replied.
"This came with it", Hermione said as she held up a large, grey feather.
The second Harry and Bel saw it, they looked at one another, knowing immediately who it was from.
Their grins were wide as Harry picked the broom up off the table, grabbing onto Bel's hand, and lead her out of the Great Hall in a sprint.
The Gryffindors all followed behind them as Harry ran out into the front courtyard.
They were all yelling different things.
"How fast is it, Harry?"
"We're bound to win the quidditch cup now!"
"Let's see, then. Give it a go!"
Over the sounds of shouting, and in Bel's total excitement to see Harry ride his new broom (one that she was very jealous he had), she didn't notice the group of Slytherins stood just by the entrance.
Harry stopped just by the fountain, mounting himself up onto the broom with a very ecstatic expression.
The Gryffindors all crowded around them.
Bel was stood holding onto Buckbeak's feather as Fred and George came up to either side of her.
Hermione soon arrived with Ron who was grumbling about how much slower he was than everyone else with his crutch.
The Gryffindor quidditch team were all staring at the broom with hungry eyes.
But the Gryffindor crowd was swiftly infiltrated by the Slytherins.
"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?"
Bel held back an eye roll as she heard the cold voice of Draco Malfoy speak over the sound of the excited Gryffindors.
"Yeah, reckon so", Harry causally said, preparing to push himself off the ground.
"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute ... you know, in case the dementors ever come back", Malfoy taunted, earning laughs from his goons.
"Pity yours doesn't come with an extra arm attached, Malfoy. Then it could catch the snitch for you", Bel found herself replying.
She still wasn't over the whole Buckbeak situation.
Even though she knew the hippogriff was alive and well.
"Look who's finally talking. Don't get all high and mighty just because that bloody chicken escaped. I would've been angrier if it wasn't for the fact you still can't spend your pathetic little life in its company. No more riding around in the sky to distract you from your issues, Whitlock", Malfoy sneered as he stepped past the crowd of Gryffindors in her direction.
Bel hadn't even had time to think about that fact.
One of her favourite things in the entire world was to spend time with Buckbeak in the air.
It bought her peace in a world of chaos.
It was something she needed.
Knowing that was a reason Malfoy had turned Buckbeak in made her so angry, she was speechless.
"Oh, Malfoy, if you ever had a single clever thought, it died alone and afraid a long, long time ago", Harry chimed in, creating a raucous of snickers from the Gryffindor crowd.
Malfoy shifted his glare from Bel to Harry, and opened his mouth to argue, but Harry kept talking before he could get a word out.
"Bel doesn't need Buckbeak anymore. She has me."
Bel's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at her best friend.
Harry held out a hand in her direction, remaining stood over his broom.
"Care to join me?" he asked.
Bel held back a smirk as she turned to face a very aggravated Draco Malfoy, cocking her eyebrow at him before taking Harry's hand and letting him direct her behind him.
Once she was mounted onto the broom, Bel gripped onto Harry's waist tightly, preparing herself for the speed that was about to hit her.
"Ready?" Harry whispered to her as he turned back to face her.
Bel met his eyes, letting her excitement show as she nodded.
"Hold on tiiiiiiiiiiii –", Harry started to say, but his voice trailed off into a scream as he pushed off the ground.
Bel also couldn't keep in her own yells as the two flew off the ground at such a fast pace, she was convinced they were both going to be left behind in mid-air.
Once she was sure she was still on the broom, holding onto Harry as tightly as possible, both of their screams turned into laughter.
Again, proving to Bel that her lifeline was no longer the hippogriff.
But Harry Potter.
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SO CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS PART OMG
One more chapter I think hehe
Also I do want to say ... Draco's time will come guys be patient it's a SLOW burn
But it will be worth it when we get there, I promise
For now, I'm loving writing Harry and Bel's relationship can't lie