Harry Potter and the Reflection of Tromedlov

Chapter 3: Mrs. Figg.

The sound of steps rebounded in the empty Hogwarts' corridors. A man was walking in the direction of the dungeons; he looked to be around his fourties, black oily hair, ashen face, worried glance, and he wore dark clothes. He didn't seem to be very happy, and his pale face contrasted with the long, black cloak he was wearing, making him look spookier than ever.

"Damn!" he was muttering, "Possessed idiots, vane morons, werewolves, dismissed Aurors... they weren't enough! Now even JAPANESE PEOPLE! Japanese... do you see, Minerva? JA-PA-NE-SE!" he said, his voice increasing while glaring at a middle-aged witch who appeared in front of him from another corridor. She had thick and square glasses, deep wrinkles marked her thin and long face, and a long, pointed hat hid her dark hair.

Minerva McGonagall glanced at Professor Snape, puzzled. The man spoke pointing his index finger in her direction, sorrow flashed in his dark eyes. But she... she couldn't understand why he acted like that.

"Wha..." she began'to say. But'snape didn't pay attention to her, and he went away, still muttering.

"Now I must go meet them at the train station. What am I, a servant?" he kept muttering while closing the door behind him and leaving. Professor McGonagall heard the noise of Snape's steps fade, but she still didn't understand what had happened.

"Eh, Minerva, my dear," a voice behind her startled the witch. She turned around, and noticed Dumbledore looking at the same door she was staring at, only a few steps distant from her. "Severus couldn't accomplish his dream to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts... this year either. I had almost decided to give him a try, but then I received an owl from the Ministry. Cornelius told me that he asked a witch from Asia to teach it. It is someone whom he trusts completely. She'll be followed by a sort of bodyguard, to prevent her from being in danger here. I asked Severus to go receive them at the station, maybe you caught him saying that?" Professor McGonagall nodded and Dumbledore chuckled. "When I asked him, Severus nodded and accepted my orders without saying a word. But I knew he wasn't happy about it."

"So... are our guests arriving soon? We'd better ask for their rooms to be prepared," Professor McGonagall said, frowning a bit.

"I knew I could count on you, Minerva. Now, unfortunately, I'must go to take care of some things, last but not least thinking on how to reply to Cornelius. He told me that we'll have a transfer student. We're not used to receiving transfers from Japan."

"Japan? It's awfully far. Why Japan?" Professor McGonagall was pretty amazed and truly interested.

"The new teacher's 'bodyguard' asked for it, since he's one of his relatives. This is what Cornelius told me in his letter... odd letter indeed; cold, remote, really not his style. I think he was just too tired of having to deal with the Japanese Ministry of Magic, and got a huge headache. Once I had to deal with one of those as well. They have no sense of humour, and they always bow ... I had a big pain in my back for two weeks after they left." Dumbledore chuckled again, and even Professor McGonagall had to smile at the mental image. Then, the Headmaster sighed and made to leave. The woman glanced at him, doubtful.

"By the way Albus, do you know about THAT news?" The Headmaster turned in her direction — his eyes, hidden by his thick, half-moon glasses, were worried.

"Of course I know, Minerva. It's terrible, isn't it?"

"So, it's not just a rumour." McGonagall shuddered when the Headmaster nodded. Dumbledore was strangely serious... and this could only mean 'that current 'situations were very difficult. "I'm wondering how the Ministry can keep the secret about the resurrection of You-Know-Who after this has happened. Do you have any good news?"

"It's what I've been wondering as well. Cornelius didn't ask for help in his letter; he didn't say anything about this. It was as if he didn't know anything. But I'm already working on a plan to do something. Come with me to my office, Minerva. I'll show you what we're going to do." Dumbledore beckoned the woman to follow him and, after few moments, they disappeared up the moving steps to the Headmaster's office.

§§§

"Want to get up, you lazy-bones? You must cook breakfast for Uncle Vernon. I am going out with Duddy!" Aunt Petunia's voice and various knocks to the door brought Harry back to the real world. He noticed suddenly that something was wrong: his scar was burning.

Damn. It couldn't choose a worse day to burn again! Harry thought while rising quickly from his bed. Aunt Petunia was still knocking on the door, and the sound was getting on his nerves. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'm coming!" he said loudly. Finally, Aunt Petunia decided she had enough of knocking on the door and went downstairs.

This was surely going to be a bad day... and it wasn't starting well at all. Hedwig wasn't back yet, his scar was burning, and Harry had the horrible feeling that he just woke up from a very important dream, but he couldn't remember what it was about. He swore to himself, but this act didn't help him feel better.

He dressed quickly. Then he went downstairs to the kitchen, a hand still on the burning scar and a tormented look on his face. He put the eggs and the bacon'to cook for breakfast, glancing now and then at the TV, which Uncle Vernon was watching.

A normal family would notice him there; at least, a normal parent would be worried, by that hand on the scar, but this wasn't what the Dursleys would do. Dudley had been by the front door for ages, ready to go out and very excited. His jumps showed exactly how flabby his porky legs were. Aunt Petunia appeared at the door, wearing her jacket and arranging her hat in order.

"Mrs. Figg phoned me just half an hour ago. She said that she can't move from her bed because of a bad cold, and she needs to send someone on an errand. I promised you'd go there today, so don't complain." Petunia sent a piercing glare at Harry while she definitely set her hat in the best position.

Harry sighed — Mrs. Figg was awful. Her house was very close to the Dursleys' and he had been forced many times in the past to stay there with her talking about her beloved cats. He had to do this while his uncle and aunt took Dudley around the day of his birthday, or for any other reason. Harry hated that house; it smelled of cabbage! Going there wasn't exactly the best way to spend his day.

But then, a few years before, the old lady broke her leg falling over one of her cats, so recently she didn't bore him, forcing him to spend his afternoons 'admiring' hundreds of photos portraying them. Besides, he learned from Uncle Vernon that recently she started to give away most of her animals... she kept only the ones she loved the most. Probably age forced her to make some choices.

"Again, there's no news about the child who escaped from the Institute for the Care of Children trauma in London. The young girl, who answers to the name of Jane Collins, was found on the fifteen of June, scared to death and exhausted. Even with the help of the best psychologists..." the person on the screen appeared to be frowning. Harry didn't pay attention to it while staring at the screen. The TV showed a photo of a blonde child with pale blue eyes, scared to death.

"Bah! Such a waste of time to look for a stupid child. They shall use our money to do something USEFUL! Mad people must be sent to the madhouse! Certainly not an 'institute for the Care of Traumas...'" Uncle Vernon muttered, his face hidden by the newspaper that he was reading. Harry sighed and kept cooking the eggs; right now he had other problems to pay attention to... his scar was still hurting.

He turned around, to place the plate of eggs and bacon on the table, in front of Uncle Vernon, along with a glass of orange juice. Uncle Vernon grunted and his hand appeared from under his newspaper, to grab the glass. Harry was going to return to the gas-ring, to get his portion, when something caught his attention.

"She's in a big shock, and it's impossible to explain if you don't link it with a big trauma," the woman with long, dark hair was saying at the TV. "When we found her, she kept yelling senseless things, something about a green light, and a monster. She was the very image of..." the doctor was saying. But suddenly the TV sound decreased while the screen turned black. Harry turned around, disappointed, to find out that Uncle Vernon turned the TV off.

"Baaaah... who cares!" he said, while closing the newspaper and starting to eat his bacon; his big face turning redder, his thick moustaches drenched with orange juice. "And you... don't stand there staring at me like an idiot. Have your breakfast; don't forget that today Marge will come!" That name was enough to bring Harry back to reality. The boy went to take his eggs and bacon, and he ate it quickly, together with the orange juice.

Green light... that woman talked about a green light. My scar was hurting today, but the journalist said that the girl was found in the middle of June, now it's the thirtieth of July. It's impossible that the two things are related. Moreover... what should Voldemort have to do with a Muggle child? Harry was wondering while eating his breakfast. Uncle Vernon got up, and went away to get ready, so Harry grabbed his newspaper. He had a quick skim over the articles, and looked at the one that talked about the child. He was getting worried about her — if she really met Voldemort, they'd have something in common.

Soon, however, he found it less interesting than it seemed to be. The newspapers always gave the same news, which weren't very thorough. He got up and washed his plates quickly, then went upstairs to get ready to go to Mrs. Figg's. Even if he didn't like the old hag, he preferred to stay there being bored than staying at the Dursleys' when Aunt Marge would arrive. For once Harry thanked Mrs. Figg and her cold.

He didn't take long to get ready. One of Harry's big traits was that he didn't have anything of his own. When he was in the wizarding world he did have money — an entire bank account that his parents left him at Gringotts, the wizards' bank. But in the Muggle world, Harry was always forced to wear the old Dudley's clothes, which he had to fold and refold at least five or six times on the legs and sleeves. Those clothes made him look like a walking scarecrow, but he couldn't help it, he had nothing better to wear! Since he already wore his clothes, he just needed to wash himself and comb his hair — not that it was helpful though — to be ready to go out.

He had a better look through the window, to see if Hedwig was coming... not at all. So he grabbed a letter Aunt Petunia asked him to take to the post office that day, and he left.

The sun shone in the sky, that morning. Birds chirped, it wasn't too hot, and a light breeze moved the foliages in the tidied gardens of Privet Drive. If the scar would stop burning maybe Harry could relax, and he would forget how bad the day got started, and how worse it would finish with Aunt Marge — uncle Vernon would go out to get her at the stations in minutes.

Unfortunately, the pain didn't want to leave... and he was starting to feel a vague sense of nausea. Now more than ever, Harry missed Madam Pomfrey, the witch who ran the infirmary at Hogwarts. She'd have something to make him feel better — of course, he ask a Muggle pharmacist for something to calm the pain for a magic scar!

He stopped. He was feeling giddy, and he couldn't walk properly any more. Suddenly, the air got difficult to breathe, as if he moved from an air-conditioned place to a sauna. His lungs became heavy. His skin was wet from the sweat. He staggered, and sat for a moment on the pavement to calm down'the nauseated feeling. He stared at a tree in front of him, while his scar began to burn even at his touch, and the world around him turned dim. What was going to happen? Did he get sunstroke? It was end of July, it was true, but it wasn't really so much hotter than yesterday. So why did he have the feeling that the temperature had increased a good fifteen degrees?

He widened his eyes and he blinked two or three times, but the things around him were still fading, as if he had no glasses. Feeling out of sorts, he touched his face, to see if the glasses were really on his nose, as he thought. Yes, what an idiot he was... of course they were there! If they weren't there he'd found out it before! Probably they were just misted... because of the sweat?

He cleaned them on his shirt, and was going to put them back on his nose when...

"Kagomeeeeee ato na!(1)" The sound of an explosion rebounded all around him. Harry lifted his glance all of a sudden. His heart was racing in his chest — he was still feeling dull, and had a painful headache. This, together with his scar that burned him, was giving him trouble to think correctly. He put his glasses on his nose quickly, and saw with horror *something* was running in his direction... something that looked like a gigantic black thing — a grim, maybe?

Harry rubbed his eyes and blinked twice, but the thing was still running in his direction. His heart sank and blood drimmed from his face.

God! I have Visions! HELP! he thought, the stone in his stomach becoming heavier. His hand ran automatically to look for his wand but, of course, he didn't have it with him...

Too frightened to think clearly, he thought to run and tried to stand up. His hands looked for the pavement... but didn't find what they were looking for — strange enough, they touched nothing. Harry's sight ran from the monster to the pavement he couldn't find any more, but he saw only some grass before falling down.

Wasn't I sitting on the pavement? He found himself on the ground, while the monster passed awfully close to the point where was his head, just seconds before.

"Matte yo, Inuyasha!(2)" a female voice yelled in the distance. Harry felt the ground and noticed that it was grass and not asphalt. He couldn't check if he was still alive, since *something* walked over his back, as if he was transparent.

"URUSEE!(3)" an angry, male voice yelled.

Finally, Harry got up and stared at the place around him, stunned. Where was he? He didn't see any more the tidied and clean Privet Drive gardens, with their beautiful squared houses and their shining brass plates at the doors. The pavement where he sat down just seconds before had turned into... a stone. The houses and the streets became thick with trees and bushes of various shapes and dimensions. Only the clear signs of a flight bombing ruined, here and there, the peace and regularity of the woods... well, at least it looked like to be a flight bombing. There were enormous holes, in which the destroyed branches of the trees were still burning.

Harry was shocked; what had happened to him? Where Privet Drive was? What was he doing in a forest? He hadn't run into a port-key by any chance? No... he hadn't felt that jerk somewhere behind his navel... The feeling in his stomach reached the heaviness of a big stone. He didn't have his wand, his scar was still burning. He felt hot; everything was giving him a very annoying headache. What would happen to him? Would he die?

Harry was startinc to panic when he heard the sound of steps approaching from the right — the monster, a sort of enormous black scrabble, was running in his direction again. He realize it just in time and ducked away, so that the monster passed him, followed by a sort of boy. Harry didn't understand who was weirder: the scrabble was horrid but that boy... was spine-chilling — yes, there was no other way to describe him. He had long, silver hair and wore strange red clothes that made him bigger than what he really was. He handled an enormous sword, and had the glare of one who'd love to gut you with no mercy.

Anyway, looking at both, maybe the scrabble was worse... maybe...

Probably that boy was the one who walked over me before... Harry thought hitting the base of his neck, still aching, with his fists. He gulped, realizing suddenly that he had just escaped by luck to be face-to-face with a monster he didn't know how to fight.

"TEMEE! Nigete kiyagatta na!(4)" the white-haired boy was yelling, while raising his sword and preparing himself to send a downward stroke against his enemy.

No, he can't do it; he's too far away! That scrabble's too fast! Harry thought, but his heart sank when the monster was shot by a shining arrow and stopped, turning around. Harry looked in the same direction, and saw a girl who, clearly, had shot it. Long, black hair, anger flaming in her eyes, a bow in her hands, which was still quivering from the shot it had just sent. She wore a sailor dress, green skirt, white jacket with green sleeves and a red ribbon on the chest. Harry stared at her, speechless, for few moments until a voice made him come back to reality.

"KURA E! KAZE NO KIZU!(5)" Harry turned around to see what was happening. A strange flash went out of the boy's sword and... yes, it was impossible but... he could see a sort of crack in the wind. The flash made a rip in the air and it hit the giant scrabble, which broke into hundred of pieces. The big explosion caused Harry to almost fall to the ground.

The boy and the girl sighed happily, and Harry understood that the fight was over. Hundreds of questions came to his mind. All of this couldn't be true... even if he was used to strange things happening to him, this was perhaps the most unbelievable one.

Maybe it's just a dream, he thought. But then he realized that his back was aching and the same could be said about his right wrist, which he hit on'the ground badly when he tried to look for the pavement.

If it hurts, it can't be a dream! Harry was getting the more and more nervous. Then, worse than ever, he was sweating hard, and not because of his worries; he never felt so hot in his whole life. His clothes were glued to his body and he felt the need to undress quickly and take a bath... but he knew he couldn't.

"Kagome, yatsu no Shikon ni kakera wa, doko ni aru?(6)" the white-haired, red dressed boy asked, still out of breath. The raven haired girl approached the pieces of the monster, getting close to Harry as if she didn't notice him; she kneeled down and took something from one of the body's pieces. Harry widened his eyes when, after she got up, all the pieces of the monster turned into dust, suddenly.

The girl glanced at the white-haired boy with relief. Maybe her name was Kagome; each time the boy referred to her he always said this word, and Harry thought it could be her name. She was pretty, and while looking at the boy, her face got'such a sweet and caring expression'that touched the deepest point of Harry's heart. She looked beautiful... like an angel.

"Inuyasha, daijobu ka(7)?" she asked with a sweet voice, while Harry's heart skipped a beat.

What am I thinking about? I don't even know her... Harry thought shaking his head to remove the bad thoughts. He didn't know where he was and why, he didn't know how to go back without his wand, and then it was obvious that the girl felt something for the white-haired boy. Other than this, he liked Cho... These thoughts passed through his mind in a fragment of second, and just thinking of Cho made him feel a pain in his stomach. What if he'd never be able to see her, or his friends, any more?

"Kagome-chan, Inuyasha!"

"Daijobu?"

"Kagomeeeeeeeeeee!"

Other people yelled in the distance. Harry turned around and he saw a very beautiful girl running in their direction, followed by a boy a little older than her and a funny, small being with a fluffy big tail, pointed ears and red hair who suddenly jumped up to hug the raven haired girl. The other two people approached the white haired boy and had a quick speech, of which Harry didn't understand A SINGLE THING. Not that he did understand something before... He wondered which language it was. It should have been something like Chinese, or Japanese; a language he didn't know. Now the monster wasn't the most important problem and a new worry was giving Harry the creeps.

Damn! Hermione would know some handy spell I could use to be understood... he thought, worried. He wanted to know where he was and why, but how could he ask these people if they didn't know English? What if they attacked him? The white-haired boy wasn't exactly the best person to have a fight with... especially without his wand! Harry decided to have an attempt. After all, he could try to be understood with gestures. If they'd get angry, he could just turn around and run... He was very quick, after all!

"Hum... excuse me..." he said, moving near the group, his heart in his throat from worry. But they didn't turn around; they kept talking as if he didn't exist at all.

Nice people they are, Harry thought, trying to get someone's attention. I know they probably don't understand me, but... hell... they could reply or turn around!

He gulped and tried to get a little courage. He approached the red-dressed boy, pushing him on the back to get his attention, but he seemed to not notice it at all. At that moment, Harry saw a strange detail he didn't notice before, and he got even more worried: the white-haired, red-dressed boy had a pair of pointed dog ears instead of the normal, human ears. Harry drew back, a bit afraid... what was this place? What was that boy? He wasn't human!

Just at that moment, he heard the creepy sound of a wolf howling in the forest. He shuddered and kept trying to talk with those people. After all he saw a lot of strange beings in the four years he'd spent at Hogwarts — most of the time they were scary to look at, but they didn't harm too much. So... whoever they could be... he had to be seen!

The dog-eared boy didn't want to hear him, so Harry decided to have a try with the raven-haired girl, Kagome.

"Hum... excuse me? Hey?" he passed a hand in front of her eyes, but she didn't seem to notice it. Harry felt annoyed at being transparent. But he wasn't wearing his invisibility cloak! Then, the girl blinked two or three times, and glanced around, frowning.

"Nanda?(8)" the dog-eared boy asked, roughly.

"Dou, date no, Kagome-chan?(9)" the beautiful girl asked after him. She wore a dark Chinese-like outfit, which wrapped her body like a second skin. She really was beautiful... even more than'the Kagome girl. But right now, Kagome was the one who caught Harry's attention. She DID notice something!

"To, tonikaku...(10)" the girl replied, shaking her head as to say no. Harry didn't know the language, but he understood that the two asked Kagome what had happened, and she replied that it was nothing. Nothing? How the hell NOTHING! She DID see something! He decided to try his best for her to see him. Maybe she had some special powers — the other people didn't seem to be able to do the same.

Harry drew near Kagome, an avalanche of words came out his mouth, but the girl kept talking with her companions, and she didn't hear him. The group started to walk away, and Harry panicked again.

"Hey you! What's your name? Kagome? Why are you ignoring me? I KNOW you noticed me! Please tell me something! What am I doing here? Who are you? Why can't you see me?" Harry felt the heavy stone in his stomach get heavier by the moment. What would he do if they didn't see him? What if he turned out to be a ghost? Maybe he died in the middle of the street... at Privet Drive?

Maybe this is dying? You feel bad and you find yourself in another place, where nobody can see you, he thought, scared. But then he realized that it couldn't be; if he really was dead, he shoudln't feel any pain!

So... why can't they see me? Harry thought while pushing the girl, passing his hands over her eyes, shouting in her ears. He was slowly having a hysterical crisis; he would have been ashamed of himself, in a different situation. He didn't want to cry, but tears were falling by themselves from his eyes, and his heart was spending too much time up in his throat. He'd prefer having to deal with Malfoy, or to get caught by Dudley's gang and be beaten to death. He'd prefer to fight Voldemort too... anything would be better than this indifference!

Suddenly, Kagome looked around doubtfully. Maybe she noticed something again? Her sight passed through his face, as if he really was transparent. This allowed Harry to calm down; he dried his eyes with his hand, and noticed that they were burning from the tears, and that his glasses were misty and wet. Then, he touched his chest, and felt with happiness his clothes and his body under his fingers. He was not wearing his invisibility cloak... he was sure of it! But in this case, why didn't they see him? And even wearing the cloak, they at least should have been able to hear his voice! Why weren't they able to see or hear him? He WAS able to hear and touch THEM!

The pain from the scar, which hadn't left him alone during the whole fight, became more and more annoying. Harry bent forward, hugging his own clothes and closing his eyes.

When he opened them again he was lying down on a bed. The shining ceiling of a building that looked like a hospital took the place of the clear and blue sky which he saw just a minute before.

"Wha..." Harry set down, feeling thoroughly out of sorts. Yes, now that he could look around better, he really was in a hospital... and he was wearing pyjamas, which smelled of disinfectant.

"Mr. Williams, please do come here! The boy woke up!" the nurse was checking the temperature of a patient close to his bed, and she immediately noticed that Harry had woken up. She ran to call a middle-aged man, the doctor, of course.

"Are you feeling better, Mr. Dursley?" he asked, worried. Harry blinked few times when the doctor said that name: how could he know it? Then he remembered that he brought with him that letter, in his pocket. They must have read the Dursleys' name there...

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter," he said, a bit annoyed for the mistake. He wasn't a Dursley! "Yes, I'm fine. What happened?" Harry had a huge headache and heavy shivers. His scar didn't burn any more, but he didn't understand anything yet, and he couldn't help but tremble. He knew very well what those shivers meant.

"A person called the ambulance. You were lying on the pavement with a hand on your forehead, and your dog was madly trying to get the attention of people," the nurse replied.

My dog? Harry thought. He asked for some chocolate and received a negative reply. Then, Uncle Vernon came in the room, his face red with anger. After him was Aunt Marge, livid with rage and wearing her travelling clothes. Harry gulped at the glare they sent at him. He hadn't thought far enough to even consider it — if the doctor knew the Dursleys' name, the hospital would have called uncle Vernon asking him to come.

They were mad at him, of course, but the nurse didn't want them to scold him too much. Harry looked at the minute woman dressed in white with thankful eyes. He got up from the bed, still shivering, and dressed in the clothes he wore that morning. In the meantime, the doctor had a talk with his uncle, asking details about Harry's scar; Vernon said that it was a memory of the car accident where Harry's dad and mum died, but the doctor didn't believe him. Anyway Harry was feeling better and he had no reason to keep him in the hospital — so he let the boy go back home.

"Your dog's waiting for you in the hospital's park. It didn't want to be far from you, but we had to keep it outside because, you know, dogs are not allowed here—" the nurse said with a sweet voice.

"Dog? We don't own dogs!" Uncle Vernon said, rude.

"It's strange, Mr... ah yes, Dursley." The nurse was amazed. "I can't believe that it was just a stray dog! It was too concerned about the boy." Uncle Vernon told her again that they didn't have dogs. Still gulping at Aunt Marge disgusted glare, Harry suddenly realized something — his face brightened for the sudden hope.

"Excuse me. Was that dog very big, with a lot of fur and black? With pale eyes?" he asked, still shivering for the cold. The woman nodded yes, and a smile spreaded all over Harry's face. He left Uncle Vernon and Aunt Marge in the middle of the corridor, and ran more than he had ever in his life.

"DON'T RUN INSIDE THE HOSPITAL!" the nurse yelled, but Harry didn't pay attention to her.

Sirius! he thought going down the hospital steps and running outside. Yes, there he was — Snuffles was waiting for him, sitting down politely. Harry couldn't believe his own eyes, he felt as if hundreds of days had passed since the last time he saw his godfather... but in reality he had seen him just two months ago. The boy hugged the big dog with joy, and the animal pushed Harry's cheek with his nose, trying to let him know that he had something in his mouth.

"What are you doing here, Sir... ahem, Snuffles? I missed you so much!" the big dog whimpered, as an answer. Harry observed that what Sirius was carrying in his mouth was a chocolate bar; the paper was a bit smudged, but not ripped off. Harry hugged his godfather again — he understood that Muggles would never give him what he really needed to feel better and brought it by himself. "But you have to leave now. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Marge are here and it's dangerous," Harry said, then removed the paper and ate the chocolate. He felt a nice warmth pass through his veins, and his strength came back immediately. He tried to do things as fast as he could, so that his Uncle and Aunt wouldn't meet Sirius.

"What's that... that... that disgusting thing?" Harry was startled, and he grew pale noticing that Aunt Marge was standing behind him. She was livid with rage as before, and she appeared to be sickened, looking at the sort of cross between an English Mastiff and a Terranova that was glaring at her while a deep growl came out his throat. Her face was turning purple.

"He... he's a DOG!" Harry was thinking fast. He had to find a way to avoid the two of them fighting. Padfoot was growling even harder now, his teeth showed in a scary grimace and his hair rose on his back, which made him look even bigger than he really was. If Harry didn't do something quickly, Sirius would attack Aunt Marge... "Y-you like dogs, don't you?" he said, stroking Padfoot on the back. The dog didn't seem very willing to stop, but he noticed that Harry was afraid and shut up, sitting down once again. He kept glaring at Aunt Marge, the hair on his back still up.

"How dare you compare my sweeties with that... that..." Aunt Marge's face became even redder. "Saint Brutus didn't teach you anything? Petunia should ask them to hit you harder! You'll see... you'll repent of what you said!" A loud growl came out of Aunt Marge's arm socket, replying to Sirius's one. The old Ripper's shabby mug showed from the big woman's clothes, and the little thing struggled madly to be put down.

Sirius growled again, and Harry sweated hard. The hair on Padfoot's back rose up, even more than before. Ripper jumped on the ground, growling, and made the first move. Sirius replied, trying to protect Harry. Suddenly, Ripper lost all his rage and strength, and screamed with high sobs, as if someone was trying to break him into pieces. Aunt Marge yelled, trying to separate the two dogs; she hit Padfoot's back with her stick, causing the enormous dog to become even angrier. Harry got sent backward with such a huge push that he found himself on the ground, too stunned to have the will to do anything. But then Aunt Marge got bitten by one of the dogs and her rage became anger. She yelled to call the Pound for a dog catcher, so Harry's strength came back immediately.

"No, not the Pound!" Harry shouted, suddenly standing up. He tried to stop Padfoot, and was almost bitten on the arm by Ripper. The situation was getting worse and worse, when a guardian at the hospital noticed the noise and the mess and came with a huge rope, which he used to stop Padfoot. Aunt Marge took out of the big dog's fangs her small old one, and she inspected him, to see if he was injured. Luckily he didn't seem to have been harmed, he was just all wet, panting and shaking. But Marge glared at Harry, as if it was his fault, while massaging the sign of a bite she had on her arm. Then she gave a ferocious glare to the big black dog.

"This evil thing must be immediately destroyed. Crossbreeds... awful things they are. Dirty, grimy, flea-bags, with no sure appearance and with no reason to exist. I'll go call the dog catcher, and I'll stay there until I see with my own eyes this dog is executed. It bit me, and could kill my Ripper!" The old bulldog was still panting, sitting in his owner's lap, but he was once again growling at Padfoot.

"You can't do it! I mean... it wasn't his fault, Ripper attacked him! How can you be sure that Snuffles bit you?" Harry shivered even more than when he got up in the hospital. He knew that his word didn't count against Aunt Marge's, and that Ripper was small, and old... anybody who looked at the thing objectively would think it was Padfoot's fault. Then, Padfoot was a stray dog...

"Of course I can! That flea-bug will be sent to the Battersea Dogs Home. You know... there''s a law here, and if a dog bites a person it's KILLED!" Aunt Marge barked, her small eyes became little slits on her face. She was annoyed by Harry's reply, but when she saw him lower his sight shaking his fists, she grinned, amused.

"No, I'm sorry. You can't send this dog to the Battersea, and anyway they won't execute him," the guardian said, suddenly. Two pairs of eyes moved to his direction; one glaring at him, the other glancing at him with joy.

"How dare you say that? This dog attacked me and my Ripper and I'll have it killed even if it's the last thing I'll do in my life!"

"Well... you know... this is not a stray dog," the man said. He was reading a small thing linked to Sirius's neck with a collar. "His name's Snuffles. His owner''s a certain Arabella Figg." Harry blinked three times before getting to understand what the guardian said.

What? Mrs. Figg? he thought while his heart skipped a beat. Padfoot glanced at him with languid eyes, as if he did think of everything...

§§§

Hogwarts Express slowed down, while a huge cloud wiped up the locomotive and the closer wagons. A woman with long, raven hair and brown-red eyes sighed looking at the view, which moved, but didn't change, out of the window.

"Naraku, did I really need to be dressed like this?" she asked, shivering in the western robe that her companion forced her to wear. "I understand the need to modify our eye colour and ear shape, so we'd not be suspicious, but you could let me wear my clothes, at least!" She glared at the heavy black cloak that she had to wear before going on the train. She hated that foreign country; it was so much colder that she almost renounced to ride the wind... she wanted to go back to Japan, as soon as possible.

But she had a reason to not scream in anger; Naraku himself had to do the same thing and now he wore a dark, elegant wizards robe, and a black and purple cloak. He really looked funny dressed like that, even if his amused glance didn't lose his cruelty.

"Kagura, keep in mind that you must go bring the others here, after we'll be settled," he said. The woman sobbed again.

"Do you think anyone will be suspicious about us?"

"No. Dumbledore is the only one who can take the hint... that man is a hard nut to crack; but I highly doubt he can identify me. He couldn't get it when I possessed that stupid Quirrell." He paused for a long time while the train began to slow down its run. "Then... there's the betrayer... he'llpay forit. I'll be sure to punish him with a big pain, before we leave..."

The train stopped at the only binary of the Hogsmeade's station. Kagura didn't understand who the person was that Naraku was talking about... since the day he melted with that wizard, she never understood any more if it was the Youkai or the Dark Lord talking.

Naraku's eyes became even colder when he glanced at the station outside the window, glaring at a dark dressed man who was waiting for someone in the distance.

They got off the train, and the woman shuddered again. And it's summer! How will the weather be in the winter? she thought while rubbing her hands to get some heat. The blackly dressed man approached them and eyed them from tip to toe, annoyed. When he met Naraku's eyes he turned as white as a sheet, and his hand moved frantically to his left arm, as if it was burning. He frowned, but he immediately got back his grimy glare.

"You're the new Defence Against the Dark Arts' teacher," he stated. Kagura nodded yes, a bit bored by the obvious question. After all, they were the only passengers on that strange machine!

"You must be Severus Snape, the Potions Master, if I'm not mistaken. I've heard *a lot* about you," Naraku replied, with an icy tone, an emphasis on 'a lot' as if it was a fault. His eyes were harsh, but this didn't scare Snape, who replied with a similar glare to Naraku's icy glance.

"Someone gave you good information about Hogwarts and its teachers," the wizard replied, sustaining Naraku's glance. Kagura shivered again, attracting Snape's attention. "But I can see that you still have problems dealing with our weather. It's better if I bring you to Hogwarts, so you can settle and get comfortable." Even if his words were kind, his voice was harsh and cold, as if the man wanted them to instantly die.

Snape guided them to a carriage with no horses, telling them to sit down and taking a seat across from them. The trip was very silent; the atmosphere was tense, and nobody talked. The view Kagura saw outside the window was completely different from the one she was used to; the woman looked at it disgusted.

Luckily their destination wasn't far, and soon the two new teachers made their entrance into Hogwarts's castle. They were followed by Snape, icier than ever and keeping a hand over his left arm.

That man... he seems to have something. I think Voldemort hated him, but Naraku shall act differently. If someone finds out, our plans would be in serious trouble! Kagura thought while noticing the mute glares the two men were keeping to share.

They came into the big castle, and Naraku stopped a moment, looking around and smiling lightly, as if he recognized a place where he had lived a long time before; a place that he loved. Kagura didn't see any familiar things in that building with strange structure, so different from what she used to think normal. She couldn't make herself like it. But after all, she didn't need to like it; she just needed to obey her master. Obey — how she hated that word! She wanted to be free, like the wind! And she wanted to go back home, to a place where she wouldn't risk freezing on July 30th.

"You must be the new teachers," a female voice said, bringing Kagura back to reality. The woman who spoke was a tall and thin witch. Her face showed several signs of age; her eyes were hidden under thick squared glasses; her hair disappeared under her pointed, black hat. Everybody seemed to like those types of clothes... Kagura smirked.

Minerva McGonagall whispered a few words to Professor Snape, who went away muttering. Then she gave the new teachers a nod. "Nice to meet you two. Please follow me. I'll show you your rooms. When you feel well enough, you'll need to reach the Headmaster's office. You came here just in 'time to add your books to the notes we send every year to the children. All owls will need to leave the Owelry in two hours." The woman'turned around and she walked through the right side corridor, beckoning them to follow.

§§§

"How can you have Mrs. Figg's address on your collar?" Harry asked Padfoot, while he took him to Mrs. Figg''s house. He had to spend a lot of time arguing with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Marge to get this. The woman lost her chance to do something Harry would be sad about, and she was very disappointed to know that the dog was Mrs. Figg's, so that she couldn't vent about having been bitten by him. She had also accused Harry of being a dog thief! But luckily Harry had said that he was bringing the dog out as Mrs. Figg asked him to do; after all, he had to go to her house... and nobody could tell that he hadn't arrived there yet. So Uncle Vernon allowed him to take the dog back to its 'owner'.

Sirius trotted next to Harry, his intelligent, pale eyes were looking at him with affection. The dog reached quickly Mrs. Figg's house, but Harry had many doubts about it. He had things to discuss with Sirius, and he couldn't do it in that house, nor could his godfather take back his human appearance walking on the street... so where could he go?

But before Harry could think of something, Padfoot already scraped Mrs. Figg s door with his paw, in order to get attention. Someone, from the inside, replied, "I'm coming!"

"Sirius, I want to take you somewhere you can return to human form," Harry whispered in Padfoot's ear, but the door opened before he could finish.

"Oh, I was wondering when you two would be back. Sirius, tell me why you left so quickly. I was getting worried!" Mrs. Figg eyed at the dog and the boy, a bit upset.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. Had he heard correctly? She called him SIRIUS!

The dog came in the house, followed by a very astonished Harry. When the door closed, Padfoot turned back human, right in front of Mrs. Figg.

"I'm sorry, Arabella. I know I shouldn't have, but... I felt that something was wrong. And in fact, you know, Harry was screaming on the ground a few steps from here, with his hands on his scar. And nobody was willing to help him. I had to beg a lot of people to get someone to notice him!"

"Muggles... those cretins!" the woman said. Harry was staring at her with even more wide eyes than before. Mrs. Figg glanced at him, amused.

"Harry, my dear, I can see you're surprised," the woman said, smiling.

Sirius took off the 'collar' from his neck, with big relief.

"I thank you for this, Arabella. I guess it saved my life today. And, Harry, I'm sorry I made you worry. That git of a dog had insulted you." The man threw the collar to Mrs. Figg, who sent it back to him immediately, giving the man a piercing glare. Sirius sighed, and once more put on the collar. Then, he turned around and saw Harry's face — he was staring at them in shock and didn't even pay attention to his words.

"I think you owe Harry some explanations, Arabella." Sirius smiled, amused at Harry's nods. Mrs. Figg smiled too and asked them to sit down in the living room.

Mrs. Figg's house was always the same. The same rooms filled with darkness, the same ancient looking, odd furniture; none of them had a small scratch, or moths, and looked as if they were restored the day before. The living room had always the same unmatched chairs, with hand-made crochet covers. The same, old, television showed off in the exactly same place as ever. The same annoying smell of cat and cabbage infected the atmosphere. Harry noticed a cat staring at them with curious eyes from under the big sideboard; then, it saw Sirius, and it ran as fast as it could to the other side of the room, and then outside. Even his godfather saw the animal, and followed its movements, a bit amused. Sirius was turning up his nose; probably he couldn't stand the smell.

Arabella Figg asked them if they wanted to eat something. Sirius told her to give Harry some chocolate. He didn't have much of it when he found Harry; and judging from the boy's screams, it was a very strong Dark Magic's attack.

"How is it possible that You-Know-Who reached him here at Privet Drive? Albus..." Mrs. Figg was saying while, putting out the sleeve of her dress a long wand, probably made in beech. She made suddenly appear a pot fill with hot chocolate and a cup. Harry was more astonished than ever now.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Figg," Harry said, wanting to understand. The woman looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "but... why... err..." he stammered, realizing that he didn't know what he wanted to ask. He always thought of Mrs. Figg as an old, odd woman, obsessed about cats and with a house that smelled of cabbage. Now he was finding out that she was a witch! And not your average witch... a friend of Dumbledore and Sirius!

"I'll explain everything to you, Harry, but not immediately. Now you must drink your chocolate before it gets cold. Then we'll sit down calmly and talk. I promise you that I'll give an answer to all your doubts." The woman smiled and poured some dark and hot chocolate into a cup. She handed it to Harry, so that he had to shut up and blow on the liquid until it became warm enough to drink. The questions could wait, after all.