Disclaimer - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is out. Can I own it? Please? Along with all the characters? Pretty please with a cherry on top? No? Aww bursts into tears

AN - I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry for not updating half as much as I should have - or even a quarter of it. All I can say is that life got in the way, which is a pretty horrible excuse. But I finally finished this chapter, which feels good, and scary... Anyways, I've been accused of being a sadist by Dgf123, and have also been told off by him/her more than once. So you can thank them, because that actually motivated me (better late than never?) So, anyways, enjoy. I'm off to sleep because it's 1 o' clock in the morning, and I'm tired. I really hope you like it.

Love of an Aunt

A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 7

"What do you mean, no memory of your past?" Remus asked quietly, though Elena, who had experienced his moods, knew that he was enraged. The angrier Remus got, the quieter he got, and the quieter Remus got, the more dangerous he became.

"I mean that I had no memory at all, Moony," Elena said slowly. "I woke up on the 3rd of November. What happened to me between Halloween and then, or where I was, nothing was apparent. And even now, that all my memories are back, I still have no idea what happened to me."

"But who would do this to you?" Harry voiced, clearly upset.

"I'm trying to find out, Harry. But, going back to my depressing story," she glared at Sirius when he made to protest, "they tried a lot of different methods to bring back my memory. There was magical evidence in my head – enough to know that my memory loss was the result of something magical, so methods focused on potions, spells and the like. But nothing worked, so they started focusing on helping me build a life.

"I became Amelia Reid. I don't know exactly why – something about that name felt right to me. I'd been in the hospital in Salem for around three months when I met my master."

"Your master?" Harry repeated skeptically.

Noting his tone, Elena cocked her head. "What are you thinking, Harry?" She asked, though a basic idea of his perceptions had formed already.

"You had a master?"

Elena couldn't help the small laugh that slipped out of her as she shook her head. "Harry, those who called Voldemort as 'Master' were, for the most part, nothing more to him than servants. But the title of 'Master' has a very different significance to the rest of the world. I was not his servant, Harry," her eyes were locked with his, forcing him to look at her. "I was his apprentice."

Her younger godson visibly relaxed. "Oh."

Elena titled her head. "Master Gilbert and I met in the hospital. I was bored, and drawing what I thought were random shapes, but they didn't seem right to me. A few feet ahead of me, two men were discussing wards, and without realizing what I was doing, I corrected one of them, bringing their attention to me. Master Gilbert looked at me and told me that what I had just brought to their attention was something very few people would know.

"From there we talked. I explained to him that I had total memory loss and didn't know who I was, or where I was from. He accepted my explanation and tested me."

"Tested you how?" Remus asked.

Elena smiled fondly at the memory. "Quick fire questions."

"What?"

"He asked me a question, and I had to tell him the first word that popped into my head. And it worked. I answered almost all the questions correctly, and he asked me to be his apprentice on the spot."

"Sly…" Remus trailed off, but his meaning was not lost on her. She rolled her eyes. "I didn't accept immediately, Moony. I talked to a few people – my doctor, a few nurses, a few other patients before I made my decision. It was either that, or I'd have to take a job and figure out my life on my own. This way, I wasn't alone.

"I had my own wing in his house. I got comfortable there, and slowly I began making it mine. And in the meantime, Master took me through everything again, and I began accompanying him to projects, erecting minor wards, helping out with the stronger ones… I slowly started being more and more independent.

Master's house was just outside a small Muggle village. Somewhat like Hogsmeade, actually. Quite a bit of our supplies came from there, so Master taught me how to interact with Muggles without giving away that I was a witch. And eventually I began to make trips there on my own. And if I do say so myself, I did quite well. I even began speaking a little like them, and even now, phrases like Good Lord are not uncommon for me.

"Eventually I resigned myself to never getting my memories back, but my life was good – I had a roof over my head, food in the kitchen, money in the bank, friends I could go out with which were both magical and mundane, and I even had a mentor in my Master. Apart from my missing memories, life was good.

"Being a warder is a very lucrative career choice – if you like spending half your time awake, and asleep for that matter, in the library, which I very much did. You are ensuring the safety of people's homes, their workplaces, and you even make sure that certain things cannot happen within the vicinity of the wards, if you want advanced enough. As a result, Master was well known among society, and very well respected. Balls, parties, and the like became the norm for us. That was my life for years – spend my time in the library learning Runes, learning other languages – both dead ones and alive – go to the village to spend time with my mundane friends, spend time with my magical friends, attend social events, make trips to nearby cities... I even started teaching the senior students at Ilvermorny School in America twice a week."

Elena paused here to take a drink of her water, absently noting at the back of her mind that it was a self refilling glass. She took a few moments to center herself, knowing that this next part would incite reactions from everyone in the room, even Augusta.

"It was at a MACUSA gala in New York where I met my fiance."

"What?!" Sirius shouted indigantly, jumping up.

"You're engaged?" Augusta asked sharply.

"You have a fiance?" Remus blinked with wide eyes. Harry and Neville both looked shocked, though neither said a word.

"Yes, I'm engaged. His name is Teodor Krum, he is Bulgarian, and he will probably, work allowing, be joining us in a few days, so you can meet him then. Sirius, sit down," she added pleasantly, though the sharp glare she gave him made him obey without comment.

"Teodor and I were introduced in 1986 – April, I think it was, but it wasn't until at least a year later that we actually started talking to each other. He works with his father in their family business, and would, at the time, visit America once in a while for work. Before I knew it, we would be talking all the time, he would come to the house often enough that Master added him to the wards, and believe me, that happened almost...never.

Almost three years after we were first introduced, he told me that he was in love with me. At that point, I wasn't in love with him, and I told him as much. But he was confident, and he told me, sooner or later, that I would love him. I was amused, and told him he could try." She shook her head with a wry grin. "He won, because I did fall in love with him, wnough that when he eventually asked me to marry him with Master's permission, three years ago, on the 16th of March, I said yes."

"Three years, Elena," Augusta's tone sounded disappproving, and Elena grimanced internally, knowing exactly why.

"Both Teodor and I had been focused on our careers for the first two years of our engagement, and since October last y-"

"Wait," Sirius interrupted. "16th of March?"

Elena smiled wryly. "I realized the significance of the date after I got my memories back."

"What's on the 16th of March?" Neville asked.

Remus answered him. "James' birthday." A few seconds passed before Elena cleared her throat and continued.

"Anyways, we spent two years of our engagement busy with our careers – and neither of us have been in any rush to get married. And then, in October, my Master died.

"Master wasn't married, and he had no children. Almost all his material possessions he left to me, and I was beyond stunned when I found out the extent of the estate he left to me. There are properties all over the mention a rather sizeable fortune.

The goblins in our local Gringotts in _ wanted to get all the paperwork done with, and then it took me till the end of February to completely go through the entire estate.

In March, I decided to take a week long vacation to one of the houses, and I chose to come to London. Master's – my – London house had been locked down by Gringotts – actually all the houses were in lockdown, and some still are. For every property, I have to go to the local Gringotts to have them taken out of lockdown since they have control of the lockdown wards. And to take down the wards, first they have to verify my identity. London was the first house I was doing this with.

"I went to the Gringotts in Diagon Alley and was asked to prove my identity via a blood test." Elena sipped from her water absently, lost in her memories.

"A wizard's magic, like their blood, or their Patronus or Animagus forms, is unique to that particular person, and that person only. Gringotts keeps records of every customers magic, and a sample of their blood. However, these records are not kept on an international level. So, back in 1982 when we opened a vault in my newly given identity, no one realized that there was already a record that matched this newly made one all the way in England. So, when I informed my advisor in the New York Gringotts that I would be vacationing in the London house, he informed me of the procedure and sent a copy of my record on to Diagon Alley. That entry was probably added to their records without checking if there was a match.

"So, in March, when I gave the blood test, two names popped up, confusing all the goblins. Then, they tested my magical signature, which again was the same. However, literally the entire world, which included the goblins, were under the impression that Harry was the only Potter left, though no one knew what had actually happened to Elena Potter. And then, somewhere in the load of confusion, I mentioned that I had lost my memory.

"Finally, the manager of the Potter accounts suggested a solution. This ring," she tapped the ring that appeared on her right ring finger. It had an ornate crest that confused Harry – a roaring lion with a snake's head on top of it. Before he could ask, however, his aunt continued.

"A ring like this is worn by the Head of House of a family, and in the case of this ring, the Head of House Potter. So if I was actually Elena Potter, this ring would accept me, considering she would be the only adult Potter, while reversing any spells the family magic deemed wrong. If I wasn't Elena Potter, the Potter family magics would curse me for trying to steal something that wasn't mine to take.

As a warder, in the last few years, I've studied quite a few obscure magics. So I knew very well just what this meant, but I also knew that instinct was almost forcing me to take this risk. So I did. I put on the ring, and then I blacked out.

I woke up a day later with my memory intact." Elena was forced to cut off when Remus, Harry and Neville sighed in relief, and Sirius jumped out his chair with a whoop. Augusta potrayed a look of profound relief. She shook her head – they already knew that she had her memories back considering she was sitting right in front of them!

"The goblins opened the townhouse for me, and I went there to try and make sense of everything. Once I had so much as a basic understanding, I contacted Teodor and told him everything, and together we figured out a plan whose basics were to find out where the lot of you were, find out how much things had changed in this world, and keep myself on the down low. I've also been trying to manage the Potter estate. I don't teach at Ilvermorny anymore, though I do still take some projects when I particularly like them.

"Harry and Neville were easy to find at Hogwarts, and from there Remus was easy to find as DADA Professor...I have to admit, Moony, you're a natural," she grinned. Moony actually blushed – it was faint, but she could see it, and her smile grew even wider.

"One stroll down Diagon Alley was enough to tell me about Sirius, and I got the public's version of the tale by pretending to be a magical tourist – I just pretended to be Amelia Reid, which I kind of was, so it wasn't even a lie. Fortescue was very helpful And while the story angered me to no end, it didn't give me any hints as to where Sirius actually was. In the meantime, I managed to find and track Augusta down only for her to completely turn down the tables and corner me," her voice was both sheepish and frustruated.

"Serves you right, young lady," Augusta scolded. "Thinking you could just follow me and try to sneak up on me like that, and that I would simply allow it -"

"You weren't supposed to know!" Exclaimed Elena, though that was met with a severe frown. She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, she didn't believe my identity until I showed her my ring. Only after that did she let me off wandpoint. Ever since, she's been...for lack of a better word, my partner in crime." Neville did a double take at the expression on his Gran's face – it was, for the first time he could ever remember, smug. Elena saw it too, and bit back a chuckle. "As you can clearly see, she is enjoying herself immensely." She ignored the glare she recieved for that one.

"Anyways, over weekends, I'd sneaked into Hogwarts occasionally. The first time was just to see if I could catch a glimpse of either boys, and you'd be hard pressed to imagine my surprise when I heard two students talking about how a certain 'Professor Lupin' who was teaching much better than any of their previous DADA teachers. And then Moony himself walked out of the castle.

"After that, I knew it was only Sirius left I needed to find, and I figured he would be at Hogwarts. I heard quite a bit about your attacks in Hogwarts in one evening at The Three Broomsticks, Sirius. I actually was quite annoyed. I couldn't contact you at the time, though, and since I knew Harry was not actually in danger, if anything, he was safer with both Moony and Padfoot watching over him. I'd sneak into Hogwarts occasionally, and despite what most people think, Albus Dumbledore does not know everything. There is no Animagus ward on Hogwarts, so Dumbledore did not know about my presence, and for that matter, he didn't know about Wormtail's presence either.

I'd occasionally have to go back to America for work, but other than that, I've been mainly inspecting the Potter properties, auditing companies in the Potter portfolio, auditing companies in my portfolio, sneaking into Hogwarts... Then I sent you the letter two nights ago, and you know the rest..." Elena trailed off, glad to finally be talking.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Elena gazed blankly, lost in her memories, but then her sensitive ears caught the sounds of fidgeting from the sofa her godsons were seated on. Both were fidgeting, wanting to leave, though neither wanted to make the first move. Elena cocked her head, before shaking her head and standing up.

"Well, I daresay today has had a lot of revelations for all of you. We have around an hour until dinner, so why don't you refresh yourselves? One of the elves will alert you when it is time for supper. In the meantime, Harry, Neville, will you join me for a walk?" Both boys nodded, and the three excused themselves.

Elena led the way to the grounds leading the boys on to one of the pathways created in the expansive grounds of the Manor. Finally, she spoke.

"Neville, if I asked you what your favourite subject in school, what would your reply be?"

"Herbology," Neville said quietly.

Elena's eyebrow raised up, seemingly of it's own accord. "Herbology? You'd be unique in that." Catching Neville's downcast gaze, she added, "Being unique is never a bad thing, Neville. It defines you, separates you from a crowd of people who do their best to mold to a preset perception who's origins no one is ever certain of. Herbology makes you unique because as important as it is, it's considered… unadventurous. That doesn't mean it isn't – Devil's Snare and Venomous Tentacula are enough to prove that, but it still is very different from everyone else. And I will tell you this, it's different even from Alice and Frank. Alice preferred Charms, while Frank loved Defence." She caught his eyes with her own when he peered up at her. "It doesn't mean that you aren't your parents' son. It just means that you are more than just your parents' son."

Neville nodded thoughtfully, not saying much, but, understanding he was mulling over her words, Elena turned to Harry. "What would be your best strength?"

Harry blinked, "I like Defen-" but Elena raised a hand, and he fell silent.

"I don't mean subject, Harry. From what I observed at Hogwarts, Neville spent quite a bit of his time in the greenhouses there, and your Herbology Professor also seemed quite fond of him. But you seemed to gravitate towards the Quidditch pitch quite often, even after the Cup finals, which I was there for, by the way. So let me rephrase. How much do you like flying?"

A smile spread across Harry's face, and an ache appeared in Elena's chest – he looked so much like her brother! "Flying feels amazing. Nothing matters when I'm up there – all I need to do is catch the snitch. Other than that, there is nothing else I have to do."

Elena smiled. "I wasn't a Quidditch player myself, but I am a Potter – I am an excellent flyer myself. All of us had our favourites – James was the best among us at Transfiguration, Lily was amazing at Charms and Potions, Alice was a natural at Charms and quite good at Arithmacy, and Frank was a dab hand at Defence. My strongest subjects were always Charms and Runes, and that always followed me in life," she mused. Absently, she noted that Neville was listening as attentively as Harry was. "Anyways, I was asking you, Neville, because the greenhouses here are in a state of complete stasis. The lockdown on the Manor triggered the stasis. There are two elves here who are slowly reviving the plants, however, they are no experts. So what I am asking, Neville, is if you would like to join in with them? I cannot safely allow you to be the only one there, but if either Greenie or Misty join you while you're there, then I could be ensured of your safety while giving you the chance to work on something you would no doubt enjoy. And you would also have some privacy in the greenhouses, because no one usually tends to wander towards that corner of the grounds. What say you?"

Neville looked hopefully at his godmother, and once he realized it was a serious offer, he grinned hugely. "Yes, I would like that," he said, his eyes shining. Elena chuckled and pointed ahead of them, where a few glasshouses stood towering above them. Gesturing, she led the two boys inside the first one. "This is the one with the tamest plants. The stasis is slowly being removed from here on. And Neville, the library has a whole section on Herbology if you need any help that books can provide. The system in there is the same as Longbottom House, so I doubt you'll have trouble using it. Now, I'm showing Harry the Quidditch Pitch. Would you like to come with us, or would you prefer to stay here?"

Looking around the greenhouse with an assessing gaze, Neville didn't reply, but Elena got the message, and she beckoned for Harry to leave, following behind with one last look at Neville. The twosome quietly walked away from the greenhouses. After a few minutes, Elena spoke.

"The reason I'm showing Neville the greenhouses, and you the Quidditch pitch, is so that it can be a bit of an escape. When I want to lose myself from my life, I've always hid in the books in the library. I'd take a book, and become so lost in it, that for a few hours, I could forget all my troubles, all my problems, everything waiting for me outside that book. What is coming ahead is not going to be easy for you or Neville, and I wanted to give you that one place you can go to when you want to forget. Am I wrong in assuming that this place is the pitch for you? Or rather, flying?"

Harry shook his head, staring at the ground. A multitude of emotions were going through him at the moment, and he squashed down the urge to run to the pitch he could see at the end of the patch he was currently walking on with his aunt. "I've always felt free when I'm flying. When I'm doing all those loop de loops, of a corkscrew roll, or even if I'm just flying, no fancy moves." Elena just inclined her head, not saying anything. Both walked silently for a few moments, before Harry spoke again.

"What did you mean, the next few weeks won't be easy?"

Elena smiled sadly. "Harry, if you had grown up here, where you should have, you would have had the same education that mum and dad provided James and I with. Not just studies, but also things you needed, and still need to learn as a heir to one of the oldest and most illustrious Houses in the entire Wizarding World. You would have learnt basic spells, how to defend yourself, how to conduct yourself, manners, etiquette, all of that. That opportunity was taken away from you then. But Sirius and I would be remiss in our duties as your godparents and your guardians if we didn't make sure you knew these things now. And I also want to train you for what is no doubt going to come next, because there is still a threat to your life, and to a lesser extent, Neville's. Defence, dueling and the like. And of course, I also have to teach you our family magic."

Harry blinked hard. "To be honest, that sounds exhausting."

His aunt smiled wryly."I daresay it will be. But it will be useful to you all your life. And don't worry, Sirius will make sure it's not all work and no play." She looked up. "And here we are."

Suddenly aware of his surroundings once again, Harry looked around with wide eyes at the Quidditch stadium. It was the same size as the one at Hogwarts, but had significantly less stands. Elena provided some facts as he looked around. "Most privately owned Quidditch stadiums are of this size, but then, when our ancestor built the pitch, his wife strongly objected to anything larger. Which, I should mention, are about as large as the pitches used in the World Cup." The young boy could imagine spending quite a bit of his time here.

Elena announced her departure, mentioning that a house elf would inform him when it was time for dinner, and Harry turned. "But I have so many questions!"

Elena smiled wryly. "Then make a list of what you want to ask me, and then ask. I'm not going anywhere, Harry." She smiled reassuringly, and kissed his forehead before she left. Harry blinked, startled. No one had ever done that before.

Pop!

Dobby appeared. "Sir Harry Potter Sir be needing his broom. Dobby gets it for him!" In his hand was the prized Firebolt.

Harry grinned and thanked him, taking the broom and watching as his new house elf and old friend popped away, before he swung on and grasped the wooden handle of his Firebolt, and flew.

xoxo

Both Harry and Neville met each other in the Entrance Hall, Harry looking windswept, and Neville covered in dirt and soil. Both boys, however, had bright eyes and a smile firmly on their face, relaxed as they could be. The two cleaned up quickly (Trixy showed Neville to the room that would be his on the fourth floor) and entered the dining room together just in time as Augusta, Remus, and Elena were sitting down. Elena looked at the two and motioned to their spots at the table before rolling her eyes. "Sirius is late. Again."

Suddenly, a loud voice sounded, scaring almost everyone in the room.

"ELENA!"

As confused looks were shot her way, Elena's eyes filled with realization, and she just laughed.

So, I'm thinking of changing the name of this fic. Any suggestions, anyone?

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