Fire and Water

More Harry and Krystal but I\'ve decided to try and catch up a little with FF so I\'m posting one more today - will it be the chappie where Remus and Krystal meet up again? YOu\'ll have to read to find out. Then review!!



Chapter Twenty Five



Harry’s soup was forgotten as he stared at Krystal. She popped the last of her bread in her mouth, then took her bowl to the sink. He followed automatically, washing his bowl out as she cleaned the table. When the bowls and saucepan were sitting on the drainer, Krystal grabbed her coffee and headed out the front door, waving to him. Again, Harry followed. Krystal had sat on the top stair and gestured that he should do the same. He did, and felt her expectant gaze on him.



His questions rushed out before he had a chance to stop them. “How did you get into my aunt’s house? How do you know what’s going on in the Order? Why did you bring me here? Who are you?”

Krystal held up her hand and Harry felt his words die in his throat. “Hold on,” she said. “You’re rambling.”

She stood up and walked away from him. Harry stood also, an anxious thought running through his head. Had she changed her mind about telling him everything?



Krystal turned back around to face Harry. “Let’s start at the beginning,‘ she said. ‘My name is Krystal O‘Connor. I am a witch and a member of the Order of the Phoenix; albeit a silent member.’

She frowned at him. “Sit down, Harry.”

He sat as she began pacing up and down.



“Your Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore is my cousin - distant cousin on my fathers‘ mothers‘ side, but we share the same blood nevertheless. I spent a fair amount of time with him as a small child, and Albus was Headmaster when I was at school. As we found common interests, we became close. He’s been like a father to me these last years.’

Her focus was straying, and she quickly tried to pull it back to the task at hand.



Harry spoke, having used her moment of distraction to do some quick math in his head. “You went to school at Hogwarts?’ She stopped pacing and looked down at him.

“You might have known my parents - they would have been about your age…”



He stopped talking as Krystal resumed her pacing, moving away from him. “I…I did go to school at Hogwarts,” she said, sounding somewhat reluctant before she paused.

Her back still to him, she seemed to silently struggle with something before she continued, “And I did know your parents.”



Harry felt his heart jump. She had known his parents; known Sirius. “You …“

She shook her head and continued on as if he hadn’t said anything.

“I had been living a very peaceful life in Australia until you saw Voldemort return 2 years ago. Albus contacted me at that time and asked me to move back to the country.’

She shook her head again as Harry opened his mouth. “Don’t interrupt me,” she said. ‘I’ll answer your questions in time.”

Harry frowned and leaned back against the railings.

“I’ve kept in contact with Albus and….,’ she paused, remembering she couldn’t mention Severus. ’I know what has been going on.”



Harry couldn’t help himself, despite her warnings not to interrupt. “I’ve never heard any of them mention you…..”

Krystal looked a little annoyed, but answered him. “No, you wouldn’t have. Albus, at my request, kept my involvement in the Order quiet.”

Harry frowned and said, “So no one else knows you? No one else knows I’m here with you?” He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of no one knowing where he was.

Krystal’s jaw clenched a little and she seemed to choose her words carefully.

“There are other Order members who knew me in the past, and Albus left word with one who knows that you were leaving Privet Drive today, but no one is aware that I am the one helping you.’

She paused again, frowning. “There are reasons I wanted my association with the Order kept quiet, but it’s not because I wish you harm. They are…personal reasons.”



Harry saw the muscle in her jaw jump as her frown deepened. She looked at him. “Albus didn’t hint about any of this at all, did he?” He shook his head.

“I kept telling him he needed to trust you more; confide in you more.” She sighed. “He’s too protective. That’s his greatest fault when it comes to you….and me.”

Her voice trailed off as Harry, picking up her use of present tense when she spoke of Dumbledore, said, “You do know that Dumbledore is dead? That Snape killed him?” Krystal looked at him with a combination of hurt and anger on her face.

“Yes. I am aware that my cousin is dead,” she said stiffly as she turned away from him. ‘I attended his funeral.’



Harry immediately felt ashamed of his blunt comment. Dumbledore and Krystal were family, and it seemed, confidantes. Krystal’s reaction told him that she had been wounded by his headmaster‘s death. He opened his mouth to try and apologise, but she interrupted him.

“Albus and I had our plans completed before his death. I suspect he had an inkling he wouldn’t…..,” her shaky voice trailed off and she stared out into the trees surrounding the house. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and continued.



“I was to collect you from your aunt and uncle’s home during the first few days of your holidays and bring you here. The enchantments on the house are weakening; that‘s how I managed to get through,” she said, anticipating his question.

“They are still holding and if I had wanted to do you harm, I would never have gotten through them. But, as I was there for you on Albus‘ orders….. ‘ A flash of pain ran across her face, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared.

‘Anyway,” she continued, “I was to bring you here and explain who I am. You are to stay here until I decide that you are ready to leave and then you will meet your friends Rob and Hermione……“

“Ron and Hermione,“ corrected Harry.



“Whatever,“ Krystal said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You are to meet up with them at Arthur Weasley’s for a wedding…“

She shook her head. Seemingly, she disapproved of weddings. “You could be doing much more constructive…..’

She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment, appearing to think better of her next words.

After a second she said, “Well, that’s the plan. After the wedding, you and your friends are to find the Horcruxes and destroy them. Quite simple really,” she added, light sarcasm in her tone.



Harry stared at her. “You haven’t told me why I am here. Why did I have to come here with you? How will you decide when I‘m ready to leave?“

Krystal glared at him. “Isn’t it obvious? You won’t be returning to school and, as Albus is…..gone, I am taking over your lessons,” she said, looking at Harry. “In our sessions you will learn about the Dark Arts and I will teach you what you need to know to confront Voldemort and maybe come out the other end alive.”



Harry was almost embarrassed by the intensity of the wave of relief that washed over him. Dumbledore hadn’t left him to fight alone. He had sent someone to help him.

“I thought I had to continue by myself,” he said. “I thought I had to beat Voldemort on my own.”

Krystal stared at him for a few seconds then dropped down on the step next to him. To his surprise, she reached out to cover his hand with hers, her face losing it’s harsh edge as she spoke.



“You do,” she said gently.

Harry’s heart dropped. “But….” he stammered. Krystal interrupted him.

“I will teach you things you need to know to find the Horcruxes, but I can‘t come with you. I will train you so you know how to fight the Death Eaters on your journey, and if you need my help; really need my help, I will come to you. I will teach you everything I can to keep you alive until you have completed your mission; and to get you to You Know Who, but as for actually finishing him; you are on your own, Harry. For reasons I don’t fully understand myself, you are the only one who can defeat him.”



Disappointment sliced through Harry. He’d hoped for a loophole in the prophecy; for someone else to fight with him; to complete his task for him if he couldn‘t. He didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but he was afraid - he didn’t know if he was ready. Harry looked away from her, but she took his chin in her hand and turned his face to hers. Her blue eyes met his green ones. He now knew why they seemed so familiar. They were Dumbledore’s eyes.



Her gaze was piercing and again he was sure she knew exactly what he was thinking. “You’ll be ready, Harry,” she said with steel in her voice. “When it’s time, I’ll make sure you’re ready.” Harry held her gaze. He believed her.

“And you’ll tell me everything?” he questioned.

Krystal hesitated and Harry said forcefully, “You said you would tell me everything.”

“Everything I was able to tell you,“ she corrected. “I will tell you everything you need to continue. But there are things you need to learn for yourself during your journey; things that you cannot know now.”

Harry felt his temper rise: she’d promised she wouldn’t lie to him, yet here she was; twisting words to avoid having to tell him the truth.



“I didn‘t lie to you, Harry,” she said quietly. “There are things I cannot tell you - literally can not tell you as there is a tongue bind spell in place; and there are things I don’t know myself. Albus wanted it this way. He thought it was best. I promised I would never lie to you, Harry. If I can answer you, I will.”



Her eyes bored into his and he wrenched his gaze away. “How do I know if I can trust you?” he said, finally asking the question that had been in his mind since she appeared in his bedroom. “I don’t even know you”.



Krystal threw up her hands. “Finally!”

She smiled, as she saw his confused face. “You finally asked the question you should’ve asked me first.”

He coloured a little as he realised she was right, he had been incautious, just blindly following her. He should never have come with her; should not allowed himself to be so easily led.

“Stop beating yourself up. It’s not like I gave you a whole lot of choice about coming with me. But I am curious. Why didn’t you fight me harder?‘ she asked, watching him closely.

Harry shook his head.

‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘You never actually tried to hurt me, and…..’ He stopped, unable to actually explain why he was so sure she wasn’t going to harm him.



‘You have good instincts, Harry,’ she said softly. ‘I have no intention of hurting you, but you are right not to trust me.’

He looked a little alarmed, and she continued. ‘This is Albus’ plan; I’m just following his orders. So, to answer your question: don’t trust me.” She looked into his eyes. “Trust Dumbledore.”



He stared at her for a moment, then she moved away. ‘I didn’t see you at his funeral,’ Harry said, watching her walk away from him.

As upset as he’d been, he was sure he would have remembered her. ‘And that butt,’ he thought, before flushing a little.

She had gone to school with his parents, for God’s sake; she was old enough to be his mother.



Krystal pulled herself onto the top of the railing around the veranda and looked over at him. ‘I…There were people there I didn’t particularly want to see,’ she said softly, her eyes moving, looking off into the trees.

‘Who?’ asked Harry, curious about her, and her association with the Order. She looked back at him, and gave him a crooked smile.

‘I saw you there,’ she said, avoiding his question. ‘Is the red head your girlfriend?’



She was referring to Ginny Weasley. Harry’s face changed and he looked down at the ground.

‘She was,’ he said, his voice low. ‘I finished it. She’s already been put at risk because of me. I don’t want that to happen again.’

He looked back up at her, and was startled by the emotion he saw on her face.

‘It’s hard,’ she said, sadness clouding her eyes, audible in her voice. ‘Making those decisions; hurting someone to try and keep them safe. It’s the right choice though; no matter how wrong it seems.’



Harry watched her as she fell silent. She rested her head against a pole and closed her eyes, seeming to be trying to keep herself under control.

‘And the red haired boy and brown haired girl you spoke with afterwards?’ she asked, turning back to him. ‘Was that Ron and Hermione?’ He nodded.

‘Albus must have thought a lot of them to trust them with the task. They must be good friends.’



Smiling now, he nodded. ‘They are - the best,’ he said, thinking of the duo he’d been friends with since his first year of school.

‘Tell me how you became friends,’ she said, watching as his face lit up at the thought of his friends.

She sighed quietly. She used to have friends like that. Harry started to talk, telling her all about his friends and the things they had done together. She listened, asking questions occasionally.



She’d asked the questions for several reasons. She wanted to know what kind of experience Harry had with the Dark Arts, if any; but also to find out about his relationship with the others - what their talents were; their strengths. She also just wanted to know more about the son of her former best friend.



As he spoke, she looked at him, silently marvelling how much he looked like his father. She’d been frozen for a minute as she’d watched him pack back at Privet Drive. For a few moments, she’d thought he really was James.

‘He even sounds like him,’ she thought.

Her eyes met his for a moment, and she looked away, feeling a stab of guilt. The only part of his physical appearance that was his mother’s were his eyes. She hurt looking at them, recalling how Lily had looked at her the last time they’d seen each other. Confused; distraught; betrayed.



Harry finished talking, having felt her eyes studying him as he spoke. He saw her frowning as she looked at him, and wondered why.

He remembered again that she had gone to school with her parents, and asked, ‘Did you know my parents well?’.

She glanced over at him, jolted out of her thoughts. She stared at him, as if trying to make up her mind about something.

‘Your mother better than your father,’ she said, quickly sliding down off the rail.

‘You were friends with my mum?’ he asked, hopeful she would be able to tell him more about her.

‘I used to be,’ she said, walking towards the door of the cottage. ‘We….had a falling out before you were born - my fault. She didn’t know me as well as she thought she did.’



Harry frowned. ‘And did you know Sirius? Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin? They were my dad’s friends…’

His voice trailed off as her face went pale, a flash of pain streaking through her eyes. She blinked rapidly and turned her face away from him, putting her hand on the doorknob.

‘Yes,’ she said softly. ‘I knew them.’

Before he could ask anything else, she’d turned the knob and walked inside, closing the door behind her.