The Guardian

Disclaimer. Yeah I still own nothing. Everything Potter still belongs to JKR, all though I can hope!!!

Chapter 2
Rhiannon wrapped her long fingers around a large cup of coffee and breathed in the scent, Irish cream her one true weakness, among many. She smirked; Albus had had much to say, most of it concerning his favorite students then his favorite teacher. She enjoyed the time she spent with the wizard. Had laughed when he had sounded like a love sick puppy while talking about McGonagall. She liked that he treated her no different than anyone else. That was something she wasn’t used to, only two other people in her life had treated her as a normal witch, most found out who she was and ran the other way.
She sat alone in the Gryffindor common room, noticing very little if anything had changed. The room was still cozy and strewn with forgotten books and parchments, games and clothing all the things that accumulated during a school year. She liked this room, liked the happy excitement that filled it. Hundreds of years of teenagers and their emotions had left the room a buzz of forgotten emotion. She could feel it all if she wanted, the worry, excitement the lust and buried deep love. Love of friends, love of family, true everlasting love. All the good emotions a human could feel everything that made life worth living. They were soothing emotions to one such as her one so used to the darker more painful things in life and death. She shook her head ignoring the since of foreboding she had, something was going to happen. Something big and bad.
Students were rousing above but she was comfortable in the darkened corner fairly sure no one would notice her lurking in the shadows. She straightened her robes and adjusted her glasses as the first bleary eyed students made their way from the dorms out the portrait.
“Hermione, how am I supposed to explain these robes to mum? You know what she’s going to think.” Rhiannon watched the redheaded teen comedown the stairs with Hermione.
“I see you got your new robes.”
“Who are you?” Ginny Weasley asked looking between her friend and the strange woman sitting in the shadowed corner.
“I’d rather only explain it once, where are the boys?” Rhiannon tapped her fingers on her now empty coffee mug and walked to the portrait hole. Luna Lovegood dropped the hand that had been about to knock and gazed dreamily at her.
“It’s you.” She smiled
“Ahh Miss Lovegood, we meet again.” She rather liked this girl, a bit on the strange side but who wasn’t? She waved the teen in.
“You’ve met her?” Hermione looked at Luna a bit surprised.
“Oh yes, when my mum died. You’re still very pretty.” The girl smiled at her.
“Yes well, I am what you make me.” Rhiannon pulled a dead leaf from the girls pale blonde hair with a smirk, “Just as you are.”
“Oi, sorry we’re late; Ron here didn’t want to get up.” Harry shoved his friend down the last few steps. His now regular scowl in place.
“Hey we were up late; you know I don’t like to miss out on sleep.”
“It’s alright. Come now, line up I want to get a good look at you.” Rhiannon waited while they lined themselves up. Harry and Ron putting Hermione between them, Ginny pushed against Harry’s other side. That left Neville and Luna looking strangely at each other then quickly away. She looked the three other teens over as she’d done Harry, Ron and Hermione the night before. The legilimancy was part of her being a guardian, couldn’t exactly take a soul to the proper place if the dieing person could lie to you. Luna smiled as if she knew what had been done.
“Are you going to tell us who you are?” Ginny spoke up; she liked the girl’s brashness.
“I would think that has already been figured out.” She looked pointedly at the trio.
Hermione stepped forward a bit, the unofficial speaker of the group.
“You’re Rhiannon Hades. The Guardian of Souls.” She waited a moment then continued. “You take souls from this world to the next or where ever they are supposed to go after they are finished here.”
“Very good Miss Granger.”
“Why are you here?” Neville looked a bit worried.
“Dumbledore made a request, something that I am considering.”
“Why are you wearing those glasses, it’s not that bright in here.” Ginny had asked this but the others looked curios too. Rhiannon sighed and pushed her glasses up, letting the teens see her eyes. They were almost clear, with just a hint of blue around the edges. It was almost like looking at a blue tinted glass. With out the bit of color her eyes would have been completely white. They all looked surprised.
“That is why I wear the glasses; they were charmed by a good friend of mine so that no one can see my eyes. Most people are a bit freaked out by them.”
“That’s why they flickered last night? “ Ron asked.
“Yes, that’s why they flicker. Makes it easier to see what I’m doing at night.” She turned slightly towards the door, “We should get to breakfast, don’t want to be the last ones in.” She waved the group ahead of her, knowing they’d talk but not truly caring. They were good kids, loyal, trust worthy and curious. Best to let them decide about her on their own. She followed behind them, her heeled boots making no sound on the stone floors. Even the quiet swish of her robes was barely audible unlike her that of her ‘guard’.
They weren’t exactly the last ones into the Great Hall, but close enough that when they entered many turned to look at them. Rhiannon scanned the students around her, noting a group of openly hostile Slytherins. Her guard had fallen back seemingly without thought and surrounded her. This is why she noticed Harry’s slight tensing, his shallow breathing and the barely suppressed anger in his green eyes when a blonde boy at the table spoke loud enough for them to hear but not to carry to the teachers table.
“Potter it that a new girlfriend? Loads better than that Weasley chit.”
Rhiannon slowed studying the boy from behind her glasses.
“Wait no it’s a nanny, itty bitty Potty has to have a nanny to keep him safe.”
“Draco Malfoy.” Luna whispered next to her, she would have guessed. It’d been years since she’d seen the spawn but he looked enough like his father to be recognizable. Damn but that family was a despicable bunch, she absently rubbed her thigh.
The group didn’t stop; the boy was ignored much to her respect. They sat quietly at the end of the Gryffindor table, Luna sitting next to her. Apparently that was normal as no one said anything. With a grin she watched the boys hurriedly shove food into their mouths. The girls ate a much more sedate pace. Classes had been pushed back, the absence of a DADA teacher making for an open period in everyone’s schedule. When the boys had slowed down and the dishes had disappeared she spoke. “Tell me about the night at the ministry.”
Again Hermione spoke, telling with as much detail what had happened. She used legilimency, seeing the events, the brain room the spinning corridor everything until the end. The teens turned expectantly to Harry, who stared silently at the table.
“Harry please,” Ginny nudged him. “Tell her, you haven’t told anyone.”
So the boy wasn’t talking, she thought, she had a pretty good idea what he had seen. Dumbledore had told her at least from his point of view what had happened. He’d seen his godfather, by all accounts, die. Legilimency didn’t work; he’d blocked all memory of the end of the battle out.
“I can’t.” He growled making Rhiannon sigh. The room was almost empty now, most of the teachers getting up to start class.
“Let’s get you all to class,” she stood up urging them forward. “Harry I want to talk to you.”
Hermione and Ron hung back, worry for their friend evident but caught up with the others quick enough.
“I can’t tell you what happened.” Harry sounded angry.
“I know I’m not going to ask you to until you are ready. But you need to remember, using all your energy to block that night out is only going to hurt you worse.” She smirked when she looked up at her anger now making his eyes glitter.
“You’re no better than that greasy dungeon bat.”
She chuckled “Ah Snape, well we called him worse when I was here but, yes I suppose you’re right, I assume you’re speaking of the Legilimency, I can’t always control it Harry, and I was serious last night when I said you suck at Occulmency. But I promise to try to control it. I won’t look into your memories again without your permission.”
He looked at her a long time before nodding.
“Go join your friends; they will be talking about whether or not to trust me. You must decide this also.”

A/N, Sorry this took so long, the evil overlord I work for has decided that I must work more… that and my daughter has decided to share her mummy’s obsession for Alan Rickman doing the tango, and every time I try to update she would rather watch a certain video I was turned to. Damn obsessive personality traits lol.
Thank you pearlbeauty, I hope this chapter is good.
I don’t have a beta… or for that matter know what one is, can anyone explain? Yes no maybe? Oh well…