Through the Barrier

"I've been snarled at by a blond over-made-up, Slytherin prefect, been eyed terrifiedly by two tiny Hufflepuffs, chased by a Poltergeist and ignored by a bloody ghost!"

"HARRY!" Helen gave a cry of delight and threw herself into Harry's arms.

"You are so thick! I mean... God!!!... Oh, let me show you!"

"I think she's coming back to help on kicking You-know-who's arse and kind of revenge Sirius."

Left on his desk were fifteen small green and purple packages.

Chapter 6. A reunion.

When Emily and Hermione stepped through the doors and into the lobby, there was already someone else there. A girl, who looked like she definitely was out of place in her short red skirt and a white blouse, tied just above her navel.

She had her long black hair in a thick plait and was surrounded by bags . She looked tired and distressed.

"Hello," Hermione said. "You look a bit lost. Do you need some help?"

"Yes!" the girl looked relieved. "Finally someone with manners! I've been snarled at by a blond over-made-up, Slytherin prefect, been eyed terrifiedly by two tiny Hufflepuffs, chased by a Poltergeist and ignored by a bloody ghost! Yes, I do need help!!!"

"I don't know who those two Hufflepuffs can be," said Hermione, thoughtfully, "but the Slytherin prefect would have been Pansy Parkinson, the Poltergeist Peeves and the ghost The Bloody Baron. I'm Hermione Granger, Gryffindor prefect, and this is Emily Williams. What can we do to help you?"

The girl smiled thankfully.

"A Gryffindor prefect? Perfect. Exactly what I needed. You see, I'm a Gryffindor too, but I have never been here before. Well, once this summer to get me sorted, but then Mum led the way. And now she's raced off to Dumbledore and left me with no idea where to go or how to get my stuff there."

"And you are?..."

"Helen. Helen Shipley. My mother is the new DADA teacher. I'm in sixth year and have just moved here from America. I went to Salem until now. My mother went to Hogwarts when she was young too. In Gryffindor. Katie Shipley."

"Oh, we met her on the train," Emily said. "How come you arrived today and not yesterday with everyone else?"

"Mum thought it would be good if I didn't cause such a ho-ha now that You-Know-Who's back. She fought against him, which was why she had to go to the USA in the first place. And she thought it wouldn't be a very good idea if he knew that she had a daughter. So I took the train today instead. Very boring to go all alone with only a couple of people that were going to Hogsmeade. Should we get going? I don't like the way everyone is looking at me."

And it was true, Helen was getting weird glances from many as they went in and out from the Great Hall.

"Yes, let's do that," Hermione agreed, pulling her wand up. "I'll take these bags if you take those," she pointed. "You will have to take your bags yourself, Emily, so that I can give Helen a hand."

"Sure, no problem."

When they got closer to Gryffindor tower, Helen suddenly stopped and asked:

"What house is Harry Potter in? Mum told me, but I forgot. You do know Harry, right?"

"Of course we do," Hermione said. "Everyone knows Harry. He's in Gryffindor too. I met him on my first day here at Hogwarts. He's a close friend of mine."

"He is?! I've wanted to meet him ever since I was a little girl."

Great, Emily thought. A groupie.

"Here we are!" Hermione exclaimed.

They came to a halt in front of the Fat Lady.

"Apple dumpling," Hermione continued and then turned to Helen. "You need to remember the password to be let into the common-room.

"Right you are, Hermione," the Fat Lady said and swung open.

The girls levitated Helen's belongings through the hole and then climbed in themselves.

The common-room was empty, except for Ron, Harry and Neville, who sat by the fireplace, playing chess. The boys looked up as the girls entered.

"Hi 'Mione, Emily, and... who are you?" Ron said rudely.

"Oh, shut up, Ron," Harry said and rose to be able to greet the newcomer. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter." He stretched out his hand.

"HARRY!" Helen gave a cry of delight and threw herself into Harry's arms.

The others looked at each other, astonished.

Harry looked down at the girl who held her arms tightly around his waist with both superstition and surprise.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But have we met before?"

Helen's look of pure happiness slowly dropped disbelief.

"You don't remember me? Oh, I feel so stupid!"

She quickly removed her arms from Harry's waist. "I'm so sorry, Harry, but I thought, presumed, that you remembered me. Does the name Helen Shipley ring a bell?"

"Shipley... Oh, you must be Professor Shipley's daughter! The one who knew my parents in school!"

"Knew? Knew?!" Helen's voice went quite shrill. "They were best friends, for God's sake! Both in and after school!" her voice dropped to barley a whisper. "And so were we."

"Excuse me?"

"Great! You knew nothing about the wizarding world while you lived at the Dursleys, and now you tell me you know nothing about you parent's best buddies either! What on earth did Sirius tell you when he was alive, anyway?"

Helen was now, and looked, very frustrated.

Harry gasped.

"You know about Sirius?"

"Well, of course I know about Sirius! The man lived with me and mum in the USA for almost half a year. I mean, where did you think he spent the summer before and during your fourth year here at Hogwarts? Spain?"

"Well, yeah..."

"You are so thick! I mean... God!!!... Oh, let me show you!"

Helen turned around and fell onto her knees.

"Alohomora."

She started looking through her trunk, and whatever she was looking for, she must have found it quite fast, because after just a minute, she stood up again, wiping her knees of.

"Here," she said and handed Harry something.

It was a red leather-book and on the cover was a little black-haired girl, about four years old, smiling and waiving.

"Is this what I think it is?" Harry said, looking directly at Helen.

"It's a photo-album, if that's what you mean," Helen replied.

"Why can't we sit down and have this family reunion sitting?" Ron complained.

"It's not a family reunion, Ron," Hermione said. "They're not even related. But I agree on the sitting-part. We're only going to get these things upstairs, and we'll be right with you.

****************************************

Emily, Hermione and Helen carried all packages and Helens belongings upstairs and then joined the boys down in the common room.

"By the way, where have you been all day?" Harry asked.

"We went to Diagon Alley," Hermione answered. "Emily needed to buy some things for the year. You know, robes, literature and stuff."

"Oh, right. Now, what was this about my parents?" Harry turned to Helen.

She sat down next to him on the sofa and put the red leather-book in her lap.

"It all began when our parents met, here at Hogwarts. I know the story most from Mum's point of view, and therefore most about the girls. There were three of them in Gryffindor. Your mum Lily, my mum Katie, and another girl, named Deirdre. In the same year were also four boys, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. They were trouble-makers, known under the name of "The Marauders". Both James and Sirius were very popular and big Casanovas and could get almost every girl they wanted. Almost. He could have had anyone else, but James Potter wanted the one girl he couldn't get."

"Lily Evans," Ron said.

"Exactly," Helen continued. "She thought he was a dandy and an arrogant prick and refused to date him. Until 7^th year that is, when she started to like him. Anyway.... When they all had left school, the whole gang joined the Order of Phoenix, I guess you know what that is?"

"Yes, we found out about it last year," Hermione said.

"Good. After about a year, Mum was a bit fuzzy about that part, Harry and I are born. It's quite funny, he was born just a day before me. He on the 31^st of July and me on the 1^st of August. I don't know who my father is, Mum doesn't want to tell me, but I have always thought it could be Sirius, but Mum continues to deny. Well, anyway, we got to spend a lot of time together, since our parents were always out on missions, so they baby-sat for each other. Many people who saw us thought we were twins. But then came the time when Lily and James found out someone in the Order was telling things to You-Know-Who, and they went underground. I laid in Saint Mungo's at that time with some kind of 'Magical German measles', and that's apparently highly dangerous for little kids. You know what happened next, You-Know-Who found the Potters and....you know what I'm talking about... Well.... Dumbledore suggested that Mum, who was Lily's best friend, moved to America, to avoid also being killed, and so she did. Deirdre was killed about the same time as Peter was supposed to have been killed, but by Death Eaters. She had been Peter's girlfriend and I'm amazed she never noticed what he was doing and his contacts with You-Know-Who. I guess it was good what happened, imagine the shame today when the whole world knows what Peter did. Poor her."

"So why do you return home now?" Emily asked.

"Good question," Helen nodded. "Mum said it was only because Dumbledore had offered her a job here, but I don't really believe her. I think she's coming back to help on kicking You-Know-Who's arse and kind of revenge Sirius. But, you never know. But as I said, me and you, Harry, were kind of raised together. For a year, that is. Do you want to see the pictures?"

"Yeah!"

"Okey, gather around everybody!"

**************************************

At the same time in another part of the castle.... (Namely Dumbledore's office....)

"I got what you sent me to get, Professor Dumbledore."

"Excellent, Hagrid. Could you be so kind to put them on my desk? Thank you."

"Sir, I don't understand, why je...?"

"It is for protection for a small group of students, Hagrid, and that's all you need to know. More information could only cause you problems later on. Did anything else... interesting... happen on your trip?"

"As a matter of fact, sir, yes. I met Narcissa Malfoy in Diagon Alley, and she acted very oddly. First when she saw me she smiled and looked as though in a rush to say something, but a second later, she got this pained expression and almost ran away."

"Very odd indeed, very odd. Anything else?"

"Yeah. I manage to burst in on a couple of Death Eaters trying to recruit new "members". They almost peed in their pants when I came up behind them and said 'And what do you think you're doing?'. The Ministry caught them shortly after that."

Hagrid chuckled.

"Very good," Dumbledore smiled. "That would be all, Hagrid."

"Yes, sir. Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."

"Good evening, Hagrid."

Hagrid left Dumbledore's office, and Dumbledore disappeared through a near-by door. Left on his desk were fifteen small green and purple packages.