Amulet of Time 4: There and Back Again

Chapter 9: The Re-education of Draco Malfoy

Sev sent his young friend a confused look and glanced back and forth between the boy and the letter clutched in its owner's hands.

" Heather? As in Heather Evans?"

" Yes."

" Isn't she dead?" Sev asked in bewilderment.

" No."

" Oh. Ok."

The pair lapsed into silence for a few minutes while Harry regained his composure. Eventually, he took a deep breath and looked at the patiently waiting Potions Master.

" I-I'm sorry, Sev, I just wasn't expecting to hear from her, at least not this soon. You see, when I left the seventies, I'd sent her to live in the Muggle world, and told her not to contact anyone or return to the wizarding world, as she may be recognised. If she had been caught, it would have raised some awkward questions, and I couldn't let that happen. I thought that when I came back, I could track her down if it was possible. To be honest, I wasn't sure if she was even still alive…."

" Well, she is, and that's good. Why are you upset by that?"

" I'm not upset," Harry said with a frown, "I'm just…surprised…and scared."

Sev gave him a curious look before asking the obvious.

" What are you scared of, Harry?"

" Family."

" What do you mean? You have family here, and you met your parents…."

Harry started pacing, wringing his hands in an agitated manner and making Sev properly dizzy.

" It's just weird…I've lost so many people, my parents, my grandparents, 'Tea, and Glenadade. Uncle Vernon hated me, Dudley teased me, and Aunt Petunia barely tolerated my presence. Even though I've known family, it's not the same somehow. The Dursleys I knew in my own time, but they despised me. My other family I met in the past, and grew to know them, but I knew that as soon as I got home…I would be alone again."

" And the thought that you have someone here that could love you like you deserve is scaring you," Sev finished.

" Yes. I mean, I meant to look for her, and my grandparents, but I thought it would take a while, and I could do it on my own terms. Give me the chance to accept the idea, without it being thrust upon me."

" What does the letter say? How did she know you were back?"

Harry gained a thoughtful look as be spaced out for a few minutes. After a while, he started to respond.

" She didn't say how she knew I was back, in fact she didn't say much. Just 'Welcome home', 'Hope you can come and visit' and 'this is where I live'."

" Well, that sounds a little impersonal…"

" That's not what made me upset."

" Then what did," Sev asked gently.

" She signed it 'Love Aunt Heather'."

The next day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny finally had a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. They had heard horror stories from the younger students who had been in Umbridge's class so far, and they all told them the same thing. The woman was a menace. Apparently, she would hear nothing of the Dark Lord's return, supporting Fudge fully in his policy of denying what was right in front of them. The whole Ministry was denying the rising of Voldemort at the end of the previous school year. Umbridge was reiterating that excuse in her lessons, it seemed, and Harry had decided he would not stand for it if she tried it with his class. He had been there; he had seen it with his own eyes and been a vital part of the regeneration ceremony. He even had the scar on his arm to prove it. If he had still been fifteen, he may have tolerated her narrow mindedness, but not now. He had seen too much, experienced too many battles, for a toad faced old witch to contradict him and get away with it. As the four walked towards the classroom, Harry was ranting to Ginny about her.