Watching Over Me

Watching Over Me

The grounds of Hogwarts school of Wizardry and Witchcraft were sparkling with newly sprinkled snow. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kalli raced along the grounds, hurling snowballs at each other. Seventh year, and nothing had changed. Harry had made Head Boy, Ron had tested highest on his O.W.L.S, and Hermione had already been excepted to the Ministry, while she studied to be a professor at Hogwarts. Kalli, however, had been faced with a challenge, thanks to Remus Lupin, her uncle. She was to make a decision concerning the parents she had tried so hard to forget.

Suddenly, she had to decide what could be done with them. No longer protected by Hogwarts, she couldn't live cooped up in some castle forever, she had to face it. But now, all she had to do was bombard her dearest friends with as many snowballs as she could magic.

Out of nowhere, she heard Hermione's delighted scream, and Kalli spun to see Ron sprawled on the ground, a look of shock spread across his features. Giggling, Kalli let her snowballs fall to the ground, lowering her wand. Out of nowhere, Harry barreled across the grounds, sweeping her up, and falling, with her on top of him. Giggling even harder, Kalli braced herself on his chest to look into his dazzling green eyes. Everything would be all right, as long as she had him. Eighteen years old, and he had faced Voldemort seven different times, but he was already ready for a laugh, or a prank.

Scooping her hair from her eyes, Harry rested his hand on her pale cheek, and smiled. "Ever wonder why a hummingbird hums?" he asked her. Smiling, she shrugged, a joke he'd told her on their first date, it was his way of saying he loved her, he never could say those words. "Because she doesn't know the words," he finished, grinning. But that was fine, living without anyone to tell you they loved you could do that, make you scared to share your feelings, make you scared to put yourself out there. Kalli hated the Dursleys.

"Mr. Potter!" Yelled a voice from the top of the entrance stairs. Kalli rolled off, allowing Harry to scramble to his feet. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you!" Ron rolled his eyes and started toward the stairs. "Just Mr. Potter," McGonagall shouted. Instantly, Ron stopped, amazed . Never, in their seven years, had Harry been in trouble alone. Exchanging a confused glance with Ron, Harry trudged up the stairs, toward McGonagall.

As he disappeared into the castle, Ron grabbed Kalli's hand and pulled her up off the ground. Hermione grabbed her bag, and started up the stairs slowly. Ron ran ahead, and reached to take her bag from her. Allowing him to take it, she smiled at him. Kalli stood below them, watching them climb the stairs together, hand in hand.

_

Deep within Dumbledore's office, Harry leaned against the chair back, and looked evenly at the Headmaster. Messy dark hair glowed a peculiar shape of blue in the light of the office as Harry took in Dumbledore's face. "When?" Harry asked, expecting the usual distant answer.

But, Albus Dumbledore looked at him evenly, his blue eyes filled with unreadable emotion. "A week from tomorrow," he replied. Harry felt his legs go wobbly, and he grabbed the back of the chair violently. "We can stop it, Harry," Dumbledore continued. Harry's emerald eyes darted up to his mentor, and he held his breath. "They have to be stopped, permanently."

"I'll stop them," Harry said quickly, "I'll go now."

But Dumbledore shook his head, and clouds came over the blue of his eyes. "It has to be her," he whispered. "She has to do it, or she won't be rid of it." Without warning, Harry felt tears sting his eyes, and he lifted his hand to remove his glasses. "Go to her. Let her know that you will be here when she returns." Dumbledore crossed the room between them and placed a fatherly hand on Harry's shoulder. "Go, tell her that it will be all right."

_

The common room was filled with children, studying for tests and doing homework. But, over by the fire it was silent as a tomb. Ron and Hermione were working over at one of the tables, and Kalli sat in one of the armchairs that the Marauders had claimed in first year. As Harry got close enough to hear her breathing, she whispered, "He told you?"

Placing himself in an armchair, he pulled it closer to her, and took her hand. "Ye" he choked out, trying desperately to handle his emotions. She was leaned back in the chair, cheeks glistening with tears in the fire light, charcoal hair fanning her pale face, ice blue eyes glimmering. Beautiful.

"And he told you I have to go alone?" she asked, not moving her eyes, or returning the pressure of his hand.

Again, Harry scooted closer, and replied, "Yes." Squeezing her hand once more, Harry leaned closer and whispered, "But I'll be right here when you return, arms open." That was what she needed to start the waterworks. Tears followed freely down her cheeks as her hands flew to her eyes. Harry closed his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. "You won't be alone, Kal. You'll have me, in your heart," he whispered, holding her to him.

He looked down and saw the mark on her wrist, the ash white numeral sign. Born with the mark on her wrist, she could become the breeding capsule for demons unimaginable at one touch from her parents. Harry's fingers danced over the mark lovingly, holding her hand, he swept him lips over her cheek lightly. Exhausted, that's where Kalli fell asleep, in Harry's arms, sitting before the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

_

The following day, as Harry sat down beside Kalli at breakfast, he would have thought it was all a dream. She was laughing with Hermione and Lavender Brown, giggling over something that had happened the night before. Ron, Seamus and Neville greeted Harry with friendly smiles, Ron handing him a goblet of orange juice, Neville handing him a platter of pancakes, and Seamus passing eggs. For a moment, Harry almost believed that he and Dumbledore had never had the conversation. But, as he saw the old Headmaster step up to the head table, he kne that it was true, and he felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach.

Shaking his head, he pushed the food away from him. Ron looked confused as Harry sent his plate away. "Hey," Ron asked, eyebrows arched, "What's wrong with you?" When Harry didn't answer, Ron leaned over and asked again, "You sick?"

Shaking his head again, Harry pushed himself up, causing Kalli to turn in surprise. Without a word to anyone, Harry turned and stormed from the room, leaving a very bewildered Ron Weasley. Instantly, Kalli found herself rushing after him, so close to tears she could taste the salt already.

"Wait!" she cried as she watched him walk up the stairs. Harry paused on the landing halfway up the stairs, and turned to look at her. The hall was deserted, and she looked so lost down there, all alone. "Harry, please, don't make a big deal out of this..."

His green eyes clouded, and she could almost see his fists clench. "Don't make a big deal out of it? My girlfriend is going off to face her parents, alone. She may not come back to me, and it's not supposed to be a big deal to me? I'm sorry, but I don't know how to do that!" he demanded, eyes flashing angrily.

Tears streamed down Kalli's face, as Harry turned away from her, trying to regain his composure. Then, he turned and met her at the foot of the stairs. "Please," she was whispering into her hands, "Please, let him understand!"

"I do," he whispered, reaching for her hands. "I understand." Kalli looked up at him, her ice blue eyes reflecting the light of the hallways.

Without warning, there was a flash of light, and screams, Harry reached for Kalli, pulling her into his arms, they fell together, screams echoing in their ears. The light blinded them, causing them to squeeze their eyes shut in unison. Suddenly, the screams died away, and the light faded. Pulling far enough away to look at her, Harry pushed hair from Kalli's terrified eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, staring at her.

Nodding, she pulled her eyes from his, and glanced around. "Harry?" she asked, her voice wary, eyes wide. "Where are we?"

Turning his head slowly, Harry focused on the trees about them, and the gravestones poking from the ground. Something familiar stretched across his brain, as he let his arms fall from Kalli's body. The grave stones, the house on the hill, the darkness surrounding them. "Oh, bugger..." Harry whispered, sucking breath in between his teeth. Kalli Damia turned to stare at him, fear in her eyes. Harry's eyes fell to a spot on the grass, blackened by the weight of magic. "Cedric died there..." Harry whispered, rolling his eyes to the house on the hill. "The Riddle House," he said to Kalli.

"Yes, the Riddle House," a male voice said behind them. Instantly, Kalli's hand grabbed Harry's and squeezed tight. Pivoting, Harry found himself standing only feet away from Gregory Damia, Kalli's father. Just behind Gregory stood Colette, her blue eyes glimmering in the wandlight. "Quite suiting for us to be here once again..." Gregory said. "I remember that night, here. Do you Harry?" Harry scowled at him angrily. "The night that our Dark Lord took you into him," Colette smiled evilly behind her husband. "You belong to him, same as our daughter."

In the light of the moon, Kalli squeezed Harry's hand tighter, and held her breath as he stepped in front of her. "You'll have to go through me," Harry said calmly.

_

Shouts issued through Dumbledore's office as the professor stood haphazardly around the room, accusing each other. McGonagall stood beside Dumbledore, talking quietly. Suddenly, Albus turned and silence fell over the group. "Professor Sprout, if you will kindly go to the back entrance to my quarters, there you shall find a large black dog. Bring him to me." Sprout nodded and left quickly. "Does anyone know where they may have gone?" Everyone shook their heads. "Someone must know something," Albus finished, glancing to McGonagall.

Only moments later, Sprout walked in, leading a large black dog. On Dumbledore's command, everyone filtered out. Instantly, Sirius changed forms. "What happened? Where's Harry?" he demanded, almost launching himself across the desk.

"He was sucked into Kalli's battle. We don't know where they are," Dumbledore said calmly, watching Sirius' eyes cloud over.

His lips curled, and he gripped the edge of the desk to keep himself from falling backwards. "Who knows?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Voldemort," Dumbledore replied. Sirius' eyes got darker then Albus had ever seen them, darker then the day he went to court for the murder of the Potters.

The man pulled himself from the desk, and backed up a few feet. "Then I suppose we'll have to ask him, won't we?" Dumbledore stared at Sirius in disbelief. "Wait here for me, do not act. I'll do this." Without another word, Sirius returned to the dog, and raced from the room.

_

Tears streamed down her face as she cradled Harry's head in her lap, stroking his cheeks, his lips, his hair. Gregory stood above her, Colette now beside him. "Kalinda," Colette whispered, moving to touch her daughter. But Kalli ducked from her mother's reach, and scrambled backwards.

"Don't touch me!" Kalli screamed, turning her wrist to check the numeral on her flesh. Still white against the pink of her skin, Kalli sighed in relief. Rising to her feet, careful to remain outside of her parents distance, she reached to pull her wand from her robes. Gathering her wits about her, Kalli began to chant softly. "From forth heaven and hell combined, I call upon he steeds of valor, protect me from the evil air, and prevent my brand from immoral power." A shimmery shield of energy surrounded her, as she bent to touch Harry. Still breathing, still alive, she thanked every god she knew of, and may have made some up.

Stepping forward, Colette reached toward the bubble of energy and whispered, "Darling, come back to me. I miss you so!"

For a split second, Kalli looked into the woman's eyes and saw a mother, a mother who loved her. But as she stared back into the pools of icy blue, she found only the shell of her mother, the body that Voldemort had cursed. From atop the hill, Kalli felt a light shine down upon her, and she turned to stare at it. The house had lit up, every window stood aflame with color. "He awaits you, Kalinda," Gregory whispered to his daughter through the crackle of the bubble. "He awaits his queen..."

Shuddering visibly at the thought, Kalli stooped back to Harry, gently brushing his messy hair from his forehead to reveal the scar. The lightning shaped flesh ridged perfectly, making it known that he was the one that defeated Voldemort so long ago, almost eighteen years. Bending to kiss his lips, Kalli's hands shook with every emotion. "I'll keep you safe, I promise," she whispered, stroking his cheek.

The energy bubble collapsed with a word, and she stood there, facing her parents with a look of contempt. "You want me?" she asked, flicking her wand toward them. "Come get me."

_

The moment he left Dumbledore's office, he raced past the Professors, and out of Hogwarts. The gates loomed above him, his paws pounding on the ground, his breath fogging in the air before him. Just past the gates, he Disapparated, his paw prints stopping abruptly.

Suddenly, he Apparated at the bottom of a large hill, a huge house stretched above him. The Riddle House. Rushing up the hill, he felt his paws sliding on the ice, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting to Harry and Kalli before it was to late. The lights in the Riddle House suddenly blazed with light, and Sirius knew that Voldemort was there, waiting for his Dark Lady.

Panic rising in his heart, Padfoot raced the rest of the distance to the crest of the hill. As he dropped over the horizon, he found himself staring down at a cemetery that seemed all to familiar. But, what he saw in the center of the cemetery is what made his heart all but stop. The body on the ground was strangely familiar, the girl standing before the two people, cloaked in black was far to familiar. And suddenly, Padfoot became Sirius, and Sirius began praying to every god he could think of that his godson would be alive when he got there.

Down in the cemetery, Kalli couldn't bring herself to hurt the people before her. Her mother stood beside her father, tear in her eyes. Deep down, Kalli knew it was all fake, but she couldn't see herself doing it. Footsteps behind her made her take precious moments to turn around. She saw Sirius Black racing toward her, and suddenly it was all she could do to keep from running to him, sobbing endlessly into his robes. He glanced to her, then fell to his knees beside Harry, forming a bubble around them both as he bent to inspect his godson.

Turning back to her parents, Kalli stared hard at them, her ice blue eyes flickering with terror. How could she kill her own parents? Her heart raced to a different beat, and her knees wobbled against the inner demons. For eighteen years she had battled the knowledge that this day would come, and she had prayed that she wouldn't have to do it alone. But, here she was, standing alone in a cemetery, the same cemetery where Harry had lost part of his soul to Voldemort, and where Kalli may lose her life.

A mumble from behind her caused her heart to leap. "Sirius?" Harry asked, confused. "Where am I?" His breath came sharply as he seemed to remember, "Kalli?" he asked, his voice strained with terror. "Where's Kalli?" Sirius must have pointed her out, because he followed with, "Kalli, don't make me lose you, not to Voldemort."

It was whispered so softly that Kalli thought she had imagined it. But, she felt Harry's support in her heart, and she prayed, for only a moment, that he would understand if she lost. Deep within, Kalli remembered an old incantation that Remus had taught her as a child, one that Lily wrote while bored in History class. "Say a word and a moment becomes and hour, friendship ties a bond unspoken, give no hope to those of the wicked heart, with this incantation the last evil tie is broken," Kalli whispered, her wand trapped within her hands.

A glimmering brilliance blinded her, and she flung backwards into the energy shield, which fizzled and died by Sirius' muttered word. He caught her in his arms, cradling her against the blast of iron hard magic that her parents were giving off. Colette's scream echoed into the night, her words fading into the energy. Harry found himself trying to hold onto Kalli as well, his eyes squinted against the brightness.

As suddenly as the light had burned, it faded into nothing, leaving the trio huddled on the grass of the cemetery. Pulling himself away, Harry reached for Kalli's hands, and Sirius let her go. Both of them grabbed each other, Kalli sobbing uncontrollably, Harry squeezing tight as possible to the girl he'd almost lost. "Come on," Sirius said, pulling them both close. He Disapparated from the cemetery, directly to Dumbledore's office, where Albus stood, pacing.

Dumbledore turned and promptly fell over the trio. Sprawled on the floor, the old professor turned his head to look at the group. "How'd you do that?" he sputtered, no one could Apparate on to the Hogwarts ground. "Oh, I don't care," he forced, as he scampered to his feet. "Where is she?" Kalli separated herself from Sirius and Harry, and rushed forward. "God, my granddaughter," Dumbledore whispered, holding her tight. "What happened?"

"They're gone," Kalli whispered. "Out by the Riddle House, they died in this blinding light."

Nodding, Dumbledore said, "The Friend and Family Incantation?" Kalli nodded, "I'm glad Remus taught you that." Harry and Sirius hurried to their feet, both astounded at the discovery that Albus Dumbledore was Kalli's grandfather.

The look of stupefaction on their faces made Dumbledore smirk. "Great grandfather, on her father's side," he explained. "In case you were wondering."

"Geez," Harry said, limping to Kalli, "You've got relations all over the place!" Kalli offered her arm to help him. A look from Dumbledore made the boy nod. "I know, I'm going!" He pointed to the sky like a superhero. "To the nurse, Robin!" Kalli giggled, and off they went.

Plopping himself down in a chair, Sirius gave a sigh of relief. "Glad you got him back, old friend?" Dumbledore asked calmly, sitting beside him. Sirius nodded with a grunt. "How long do you think it will be before we catch Him?"

Glancing at Dumbledore from the corner of his eye, Sirius noticed that the man looked extremely old in his cloak. "Long after we're gone, old man," Sirius replied. "But Harry will be the one to do it. He's got the ability, and the talent, he just needs the back up."

"She'll be good for him," Dumbledore said quietly, watching the stars from the window.

Smiling, Sirius let his head droop back, as he sighed, "Their kids will be gorgeous..." Dumbledore nodded, thinking the same thing, "Just like Lily..."

_

Down at the nurse's, Harry lay on the bed, his leg feeling better then new. Kalli leaned against his chest, exhausted. "I wouldn't have made it," she whispered. She felt his arms come around her and hold her tight. "I never knew how much I needed you."

Harry kissed the top of her head, and whispered, "I'm just glad that my mother is where she is...&uot;

Surprised, Kalli rolled her head to look up at him. "Why?" she asked, confusion clouding her blue eyes.

"Because if she wasn't, she wouldn't have been in your heart today," he replied, brushing his hand along her cheek to her lips. "And imagine where you'd be if she wasn't watching over you."

A slow smile crept across Kalli's features as she stared into Harry's emerald eyes. "I'm glad your mother is the one watching over me..." she whispered, leaning into a kiss that only Harry Potter could give.