Rebirthing

Savannah Winters opened the door after the third knock, wondering who it could be. She wasn't expecting anyone, at least. When she found a shivering, half-frozen young man, she immediately ushered him into her house without asking questions.

"What are you doing out there?" she asked. "What's your name, and where did you come from?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, ma'am. My name is Drake F-Felton, but I don't.. I don't remember anything. I think I've..got amnesia. I woke up in.. in the woods, and started walking. Please can you give me a place to stay for a few days?" She nodded.

"You can stay for as long as you like, Mr Felton. Can I call you Drake? You can call me Savannah, if you'd like. My name is Savannah Winters, I run a bed and breakfast in town." She was bustling around the kitchen, putting on tea and getting out biscuits. "Help yourself, you look half-starved. Well, what do you remember?" She sat herself at the small table, and invited him to do the same.

"My name is on this card," he said, pulling his wallet out. "It's all I have."

"This says you're from America, but you definitely don't sound American. Maybe you've been here for a while?" she suggested, and he looked miserable.

"Where is here? What year is it? Um.." She took his hand and gave him a comforting smile before the kettle started whistling.

"We're pretty much on the border between Scotland and England, pet. It's 1999, and there've been some funny things going on. People have been turning up dead all over the place, and some crazy. It hasn't come here yet, thank the Lord, but I'm sure it won't be long before it does. We're out of the way, but nothing stays away long."

"Thank you, Miss Savannah, for doing this," Drake said happily, sipping his tea. She smiled at him, her face framed by hair so blonde it was almost white. She reminded him of someone, and he thought back to the picture in his bag.

"Think nothing of it, Drake," she said pleasantly. "I'll get you some supper - it's just leftovers tonight, I'm afraid, but then you can have yourself a shower, and I'll show you the guest room." She set about heating him some food, and he took it gratefully.

"This is exceptional," he said to her afterwards. "I've always heard bad things about leftovers, but this couldn't have been any better fresh." She blushed prettily, and shook her head.

"You're a blether," she told him, and showed him the guest room and the shower. "I'm right across the hall here if you need anything in the night," and he shook his head.

"This is wonderful already, Miss Savannah, thank you." She smiled, and retired to her bedroom. He took his clothes into the bathroom, and showered quickly, relaxing for the first time that day. He'd discovered pajamas and a toothbrush in the small sleeping bag, and made use of them now, brushing his teeth quickly. Using the mirror, he examined his face. It wasn't a bad face. He was a little bit tanned, like he'd been out in the sun for a while, but it was fading now. He had brilliant green eyes, and on his forehead was a faded mark. It was little more than an impression in the skin, however, and he couldn't make it out. His hair was jet black, with a shock of white in the front, just over his eyes. That wasn't in the pictures, so he surmised it must be new. Funny, she hadn't said anything about it. Nothing too bad, all said, and he thought he might be a good judge of character. His body was lean, and muscled, but not thickly so, and he ran his hands over his stomach appreciatively. At least whoever he'd been, he'd kept in shape. It bothered him that he had no memory. What if someone was looking for him? What if they missed him, and were frantically looking for him? But then again, what if he had enemies? What if someone might try to kill him? Would Savannah be safe with him?

There was no way to know, he finally decided. He was here, she was involved, and until he knew more about himself, he'd just have to rely on whatever luck had brought him this far. After he showered, he settled down into the guest room, and to his own surprise, fell asleep quickly.

The sun woke him up just moments before Savannah came into the room. "Breakfast is ready, when you are," she said cheerfully, and he smiled at her. "Thanks so much for this, Miss Savannah, really. I'd like to pay you--"

"I'll hear nothing of it, Drake. You don't owe me a thing." She cut him off with a shake of her head, dismissing his offer as so much dust. He sighed.

"At least let me help out at the B and B. You said you run one, don't you? I can do odd labours around, at the least, but I can't stay here for free."

Her smile turned positively radiant. "You are a rare find, aren't you Drake? I'm so sorry you don't have your memory. But then, fate is a fickle mistress, and maybe had you not lost your memory, I'd never have gotten someone to do the firewood for me. It's a big thing, especially now in the fall/winter seasons, to cozy up in the common rooms by the fire with some music and a chess game or a book. People don't come out here for excitement, and that's a good thing, I suppose. Sleepy people are much easier to handle, don't you agree?"

He nodded, really having no clue as to what she'd just said. Something about common rooms had sparked a brief flash, of red, and laughter, but then it was gone, and he could barely bring it back to mind. "I cook, too," he offered, and was surprised. "I think," he added blushingly, and she laughed.

"Well, let's see what you can do, and maybe I'll take you on." She vanished from the doorway, leaving the impression of laughter and fun behind in the air. Drake got up, and stretched his weary muscles, realizing that it was quite close to noon. Dressing quickly, he pulled the pictures from his bag again, and stared at them, willing the strangely moving objects to give him some sign of who he was.

They simply lay lifelessly in his hands, or at least as lifelessly as waving pictures could lay.

Shoving the smile-to-scowl picture of the blond into his pocket, he followed Savannah into the kitchen. She'd laid out several things, and suddenly his hands seemed to take on a life of their own. He was on autopilot, his brain barely aware of what his body was doing, and before long, he had a cake and a decent sized lunch, all of which met Savannah's demanding standards. She was so pleased by the cake that she coddled and coerced by turns until he agreed to make enough that night for the B and B.

Drake was a little hesitant to show her the picture, but he dearly wanted to know if she'd seen him. "Savannah, I'm... I've got something weird, here, and I want to show you, but I don't want to freak you out. It's ... really weird." She cocked an eyebrow. "I've seen some strange stuff at the b'n'b," she said. "You can show me when we get there, though, or else we'll be late."

He nodded, and left it alone. The car ride was short, but no less thrilling for it's duration, and Drake found himself grilling Savannah on how it worked, how she made it go, and what buttons on the console did what.

"You really don't remember, do you?" she wondered, and he blushed slightly. Truthfully, he felt like he'd never seen it before, at least not from this angle, and he was curious. Before to much time had passed, she pulled into the parking lot of a larger building, and got out. He looked around. The town was small, and he was already gaining strange looks from passers by. At first he was a little afraid, but then decided that it was because he was new. New people were big news in small towns, though he'd never experienced it himself. He tended to avoid smaller towns where he might be recognized easier. Did he? What an odd thing to do. Maybe he was on the run from someone.

The building was nice from the outside, and there was a pretty hanging sign out front proclaiming the bed and breakfast status, and the name itself had been mostly faded. "Would you like me to repaint that?" he asked, and Savannah turned to look at it.

"You know, I've been meaning to do it forever, but never got the time. I'd love it if you would." He grinned, and she ushered him inside. The interior decorations were noticeably touched by Savannah, and like her own house, there were a lot of pictures on the walls, and the furniture was more comfortable than fashionable. Several people were milling around the common room, and they waved to her, inquiring about her new friend. Drake blushed at the implications in their stares.

"Sod off, the lot of you!" she said, shooing them. "He's my friend, Drake Felton. Drake these are my brothers, and their friends, Kathy, Serge, Lily, Jennan, and Liam."

Introductions and nice-to-meet-yous were passed around before Savannah herded him into the kitchen and staff area. "They think they live here," she said, sounding resigned in an amused way. "Kathy's been Lily's best friend since they were little, and now that Lily's engaged to Serge, it's been terrible keeping them away. Jennan and Liam are older than I am by a year, and they think it's their appointed duty to grill anyone I come into contact with, so if they corner you, just explain, alright? Better yet, knock their heads together, and tell them to bugger off."

Drake grinned at the easy-going banter, and wondered which angels he had looking out for him that he'd fall in with such a wonderful person.

"So, show me your weird thing," she said, and Jennan, who'd just snuck in, gasped dramatically.

"SAVVY!" He exclaimed, falling dramatically against the door jam. "In a KITCHEN!"

"JEN! GET OUT!" Savannah hollered, and he grinned, giving Drake the thumbs up. Unsure of how to handle such exuberance, Drake just grinned, and shook his head.

Once the twin was out of the kitchen, and the door safely locked against further intrusions, Drake pulled the picture out of his pocket, and showed it to Savannah. She frowned at it for a while, and then gave him an intensive stare.
"Where did you get this?" she asked finally. He shrugged. "It was in my bag, with a few other things." He looked at it as she handed it back. "Why?"

"I know that boy. His name's Alex, and he's not from around here, either. Do you think you know eachother? He comes by for supper sometimes."

"You're not even surprised that it's moving?" Drake asked, and she shook her head.

"Of course not. It's a wizard photo, of course. Something about the film, I never understood it. Jennan might tell you, though. He and Liam went to Hogwarts."

The word sent a shock through Drake's system. Hogwarts was very, very important. What was it? Why did he know it? Why was it strange for this woman to? Why couldn't he remember?!

Frustrated, he tucked the picture back into his pocket. "You said you needed firewood? And sign needs to be painted. I'll do that first, so I don't forget, and I'll start the cake afterwards, before I start the wood."

"There are logs out in the back, but they need to be split. The axe is out there, too," Savannah said, and the easy-going look was gone from her face, replaced by one of curiousity. She'd seen his reaction to the word Hogwarts, and she wondered if maybe he was like her brothers, too.

While he wandered outside with the all-weather paint, and a brush, she cornered Liam into the kitchen.
---

He'd just finished the sign, and was admiring his handiwork, when he heard footsteps behind him. Someone stopping to look at the sign, he supposed, and he apologized, and moved out of the way. Stilll staring at it, he noticed that the letters were slightly crooked, but it wasn't something you'd notice unless you were staring at it for a while, from close up. He saw a plastic bag drop from the passer-by's hand, and some oranges went rolling, as well as some cans of tuna, and he bent to pick them up.

"Are you alright? Is anything wrong, do you need something?" he asked, and glanced up at the newcomer. He looked right into the face on the picture.

"My god, it's you!" he said, his excitement mounting. The blonde haired man was white as a sheet, and barely holding onto the rest of his groceries.

"Of all the rotten luck, why did it have to be YOU?" he demanded. "Why couldn't you have dropped off the face of the planet and NOT come to MY town?"

Drake was taken aback by the acid tone, and frowned. "I don't understand, I'm sorry. Did I do something?" He handed the bag back to - Alex, was his name? - and averted his eyes. Pulling out the picture, he nodded. "It's definitely you. Savannah said your name was Alex. Maybe you can help me."

"Fuck that, I don't want to have anything to do with you. Have you gone round the twist, Potter?"

"Potter - wha?" Savannah chose that moment to come out into the yard, and whistled appreciative. "Wow, Drake, good job! Thanks! Hey Alex, what's up?"

Alex blinked, glaring back and forth between the two of them. "Taking in strays again, Savvy?" he drawled, finally deciding to ignore Drake altogether.

She shrugged. "Want to go get started on that cake, Drake? I'll catch up with you in a minute. Don't be surprised if Liam catches you in there," she warned, and he nodded, leaving.

"Yes, Alex, I have. He turned up on my doorstep last night with no memory, and nothing but a backpack. I couldn't turn him away, it was freezing last night! Besides, before you moved in with Liam, you had no problems taking up space on my sofa, either. Where's Stephen, by the way?" she asked.

Alex blinked, and then shrugged. "Haven't seen him. Last I heard, he was going back to his house to gather up any loose ends. If he's got no memory, how'd you know his name is Drake? Did he make it up?"

"Of course not. He's got an ID. It says he's from America, but he's much too well-spoken to have come over recently. I think he just never bothered to change the ID. You're still welcome to come over tonight, you know. We're getting together at the pub afterwards, too."

Alex considered. On one hand, see 'Drake' again. On the other, he'd get to see him some more. The white in his hair was a little distracting, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was none other than Harry Potter, though how he came by Muggle identification, and a name like Drake, he didn't even want to know. But if Savvy was telling the truth, and he really thought his name was Drake, and he had lost his memory, a quick spell would take care of it. The twins were teaching him advanced defense, and potions, since he had no other way of learning, and had been thrilled to find he was a wizard, like them. Any other time, he'd've shot himself before willingly consorting with mudbloods, but his name had been dragged down about as far as it could go, and as far as anyone in the Wizarding world proper was concerned, he was dead anyway. Still, what were the chances of Potter turning up in his town? He'd picked it specifically because it was out of the way, a quiet muggle town located on the border, and not too far from Snape's house on Spinner's end. They'd both taken muggle names in order to blend, Severus changing it to Stephen, and himself going from Draco to Alex.

Realizing that Savvy was still waiting for an answer, Alex nodded. "And miss one of your fabulous meals? I'd never," he said, and shifted his bags. She gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't even see you were holding those. Why didn't you put them down? Go on, I'll see you later. Say hello to Stephen for me!" He nodded at her, and continued on his way, mentally preparing the entry to his journal.

October 15th, 1999

Today, I ran into - almost literally - Harry Potter. I haven't seen or heard from him in years, and then suddenly he turns up in my town, with MY name!? That's right, he's calling himself Drake now. Mordred only knows where he got it. He's fallen in with Savvy Winters, much like I did when I first arrived, and I'm sure she'll take care of him until he leaves. Then again, he was out on her front lawn, painting, so maybe he'll take care of her? As much as I hated Potter in school, I have to admit, he'd be good for a girl like Savvy.

Sitting down in the sitting room of the small flat he shared with Severus, he wrote it down, and then set pen to paper in a letter to his mentor, describing a terse version of his journal. No need to give details, though, like the supposed memory loss, or newfound white hair, or the fact that he was with Savvy. Savannah Winters was the only person Draco had ever seen out-snark Severus, and it had earned her both of their respect, and gradually, at least on Draco's part, trust.