Disclaimer: I own nothing, all of it belong to J.K Rowling, I am just playing in her sandbox for a while.

Authors Note: AU: Its not my first fanfic but its my first Harry Potter, so I hope you enjoy it. The story starts at the end of the 5th Book.

Pear-shaped: As someone asked, its something you would only really hear in the UK. Although there are some disagreements, many believe it comes from when the RAF pilots used to perform aerial manoeuvres, such as loops and what not. When they they didn't work, they looked pear-shaped. If someone is on your six shooting at you, well...you get the point.

Hermione Granger opened her eyes, confused. Then the startling news of her best friend's transformation explained why she had not slept in Ginny's bedroom in the Burrow.

Moments later, after discovering a beautiful silk robe laid out for her, she flew downstairs but before she could call out, voices from the kitchen drew her in.

Three tired looking witches sat at the kitchen table, sipping tea and looking over the morning's Daily Prophet.

"I can believe he pissed himself when you told him your name." The pink haired witch nodded towards Hermione as she entered the room.

"No, I believe that it was when she cackled like dear cousin Bella." The older of the three witches, Capella Sinclair grinned with amusement.

"Was that before or after he started to cry."

"After."

"I didn't cackle." Alya just rolled her eyes; true, Pettigrew for some reason seemed terrified of her.

Although the Veritaserum had been administered as an afterthought, it really wasn't needed, as the traitorous rat had been too willing to tell her everything.

"Alya?" Hermione interrupted the discussion.

Seeing the young girl enter the room, the oldest of the three witches stood up. "Now that your friend is awake, I believe I will return home and get some sleep."

"I have plenty of bedrooms." Alya offered to her aunt.

"Thank you, my dear, but I also need to change out of my armor and check on a few things." Capella eyed her Head of House who nodded in understanding. "I will see you for lunch."

"Thank you for everything, Aunt Capella."

"My pleasure and be sure to get some sleep, Nymphadora you as well; Miss Granger a good day to you."

Nodding to Alya's aunt in confusion, Hermione sat down next to her friend. "I was concerned when Mrs. Tonks disappeared, then Mr. Tonks just told me to go to bed. I thought that perhaps you would have woken me when you got back."

"We just flooed back in not too long ago." Tonks grumbled before reaching over for a bit of toast.

Alya gave her best friend a tired smile. "Sorry Mia, long night."

Looking down at the Daily Prophet, the news on the front page caught her breath. Death Eater raids around England, Muggleborn and Muggles attacked.

"What happened?" She whispered.

Alya soon found herself telling Hermione about the raid on Professors Snape's home and the discovery of Peter Pettigrew and his subsequent interrogation.

"We were lucky; we learned about the Death Eater raids last night and were able to warn the DMLE. Thankfully, they were able to interrupt a number of them."

"Didn't help Lisa Turpin's father and brother." Alya said sadly.

"Yes, but because of our warning, she and her little sister plus her mother were able to escape." Dora admonished her Head of House.

Alya just shrugged the DMLE was still finding out who had been attacked last night. If they had only been quicker, maybe more could have been saved.

"Bones manor?" Hermione said reading that it too had been attacked. "Is Susan alright?"

She didn't miss the unhappy look that Tonks gave Alya when she mentioned the Death Eater raid.

"Susan's fine, she was actually spending the night at the Abbots however Madam Bones was seriously wounded and is at Saint Mungos right now. "

Alya looked at Dora who nodded. She didn't bother to mention that they also discovered from Pettigrew that part of Draco's initiation would have been the rape of Susan and her murder in front of Voldermort and his fellow Death Eaters.

"In fact, Mad-eye and our own little Tonks here led the counter attack on the manor." Alya smirked. "Moody got banged up pretty badly but not before placing a wicked piercing hex right through Alecto Carrow's left eye."

"And you blew a hole clean through Travers." Tonks grumbled. "Merlin knows what spell you used. Anyway, you shouldn't have been there."

"He had just murdered one of your fellow Aurors and was in the middle of Crucio another."

Alya had been almost as surprised as Travers had when the old Black battle spell Atrun Telum shattered his shield and then continued right through the man's chest. Still, perhaps she should feel bad about killing another human being but with him being a Death Eater, frankly she really couldn't drag up enough energy to care.

"Doesn't matter, you shouldn't have been there."

"Alya?"

"Don't worry Hermione, I was perfectly safe, I Apparated alongside Aunt Capella and her fellow Hit Wizards. It was more of a pitched battle than anything else; with so many fighting I didn't look out of place in my armor."

"That's not the point."

"Anyway, as we said Hermione, we were lucky." Alya leaned back, rubbing her eyes. The battle around Bones manor ended up being incredibly one-sided. The last thing the Death Eater's expected was the speed with which the Auror's responded to the attack on Bones manor.

Also, from what she heard from the Death Eaters captured, Bellatrix had been given the honor of leading the attack with Voldemort following up to duel Madam Bones personally. However, they had made some changes when Bella never returned from her outing. In the end, Madam Bones own Aurors had actually been the ones to wound the formidable duelist in an attempt to assassinate her.

Yes, they had been lucky.

"What about Pettigrew, did you turn him over to the Aurors?" The bushy-haired girl had been wise enough not to ask about Bellatrix, remembering that she was a Black family problem.

"No, unfortunately were not really sure who to trust. Two of Madam Bone's own security detail bore the mark." Of course, both Auror's were also missing their heads at the time, but Alya didn't bother to point that out. "We'll have to sort it out all later. Are you still planning on going in right now?"

Dora nodded. "I need to check in again, won't be long."

Surprising herself, Alya stood up and wrapped her arms around the Metamorph. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but they needed all the wands they could muster last night."

Returning the hug, she said. "Get some sleep; you still have to deal with Draco later today."

Alya sighed. "Oh joy." Turning to Hermione, she waggled her eyebrows. "Want to help me out of my armor?

++++++++++

Rubbing her eyes, still not believing she had been up all night, Alya slipped into bed figuring at tops she would get about four hours sleep before she needed to leave.

"Budge over."

Startled, Alya looked up to find Hermione standing over her. "I thought you were going to catch up on some reading."

Seeing that her friend wasn't leaving, Alya reluctantly moved over only to grin with amusement, as Hermione had to gather enough courage to lie on the bed next to her.

While the two girls stared at one another, Hermione finally whispered. "I can't believe this."

"You're telling me." Alya couldn't help but giggle.

"So what is it like?" Hermione asked, although Alya believed that wasn't the question she really wanted to ask.

"What do you mean?"

"Changing genders."

Rolling on her back, Alya looked towards the ceiling. "Weird, scary and embarrassing; at first I didn't even want to use the loo much less take a shower."

Hermione nodded sagely but then started to giggle.

"It wasn't that funny." Alya turned back over then smiled." Alright, maybe now but at the time it was terribly confusing but also rather exciting."

She then rolled her eyes, as Hermione only raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what I mean, your worse than Dora. No, see for the first time, I was suddenly free to make my own choices. I wasn't sure if it would last, thinking at first that it was some sort of prank however that all changed when the goblins told me of my true birth parents. That too was upsetting, until I realized I didn't need to stay at the Dursley's anymore."

"But the Headmaster said-"

Alya sighed. "Beyond that fact that it's none of his damn business what I do over the summer, Dumbledore lied to me about the wards."

Hermione bit her lip. "He wouldn't do that."

"Of course he would, he needed to make sure that I wouldn't go wandering off. I mean, wouldn't it be terrible if I actually went on a vacation someplace instead of spending most of the summer as a prisoner."

"But you were able to go to Ron's house."

"A different sort of prison but one never the less." At Hermione's shocked face, Alya continued. "Now don't get me wrong, I like the Weasleys. They were kind enough to take me in when I desperately needed to get away. However, do you think the Headmaster would have allowed me to leave if I wanted to spend the summer with another family?"

"Of course he would." Hermione replied however, she didn't sound too sure of herself. "Anyway, he just wanted you to be safe."

"From who? He sure as hell didn't seem too concerned when I spent ten years of my life sleeping in a cupboard."

Hermione could only cringe at the venom in her best-friend's voice. Suddenly, the conversation with the two Healers came to mind. What exactly did they find? Harry had always been rather elusive about taking about his past and she didn't want to push one of her only friends away by asking about now. Now she realized, that might have been a mistake.

"I'm sorry, I should have-"Hermione began but stopped surprised when she discovered Alya had reached out to hold her hand.

"Mia, none of it's your fault. I just don't trust the man. He is manipulative to the extreme."

Alya had time to think about this, even to the point that she believed running into the Wesley's at King's Crossing wasn't a coincidence. After having two children already graduated from Hogwarts, and two who were currently attending why did Ron's mom act as if she didn't know the location to platform 9 ¾.

"For example, do you think the Headmaster would have allowed me to cultivate a friendship with say the Zabini family instead of the Weasleys?"

"I don't think he would have said anything." Hermione mumbled, but like before not quite sure in her belief.

"Beyond that, I also don't think he had me or my family's best interest in mind."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the loss of a few families would be a small price for defeating Voldemort; especially families who don't quite embrace his vision of the Wizarding world."

Alya almost laughed at the look on Mia's face. "Oh, don't look so surprised. It wasn't just my grandfather, Orion Black but did you know Charlus Potter wasn't an ally of the Weasleys much less Dumbledore. In fact, he actually despised the Headmaster because of his inaction in confronting Grindewald."

"I thought that the Potters were always a Light family?"

Alya shrugged. "Light, Dark those are just labels, Mia. They don't really mean anything. Do you think if the Potter's were a so-called Light family that Dorea Black would have been allowed to marry Charlus Potter? Or that Orion would have allowed Sirius to run off to the Potters, if James's mother wasn't his my father's Aunt?"

"You don't think he caused the death-"Hermione whispered.

Alya shook her head, interrupting her friend. "I don't know. Now, I don't believe the man is evil, Mia, not really."

Alya thought, manipulative as hell but evil. Reading through her grandfather journals she had been surprised how much what she knew of the wizarding world was wrong.

Of course, the journals were from Orion Black's point of view and other Heads of House; however, it gave her a deep insight of what went on during the last war. Something she surely lacked while hanging around Dumbledore and his allies.

The only thing she ever got from them was how good in charms and potions his mother was and that James Potter was gifted in transfiguration and pranking. She just assumed that the Potter's had been avid supports of Dumbledore, but now she wasn't too sure.

"I believe the Headmaster has lost touch of what is important. It's-." Thinking for a moment, the raven-haired girl continued. "Do you remember learning about the Great War in primary?"

"Of course."

"Remember how the generals sat back in their Chateaux behind the front line giving orders that would cost the lives of thousands of men for only a few meters of trench line.

To them the pins on the maps were just that, pins, they never really thought of the plight of those men who had to cross no-man's land as long as they took their objective."

Hermione nodded, like many in England her family had been touched by the horrors of the Great War, losing two great Uncles at the Somme.

"Truthfully, the worst part Mia, beyond the death of Voldemort; I don't know what his other objectives might be."

++++++++++

Not for the first time since leaving Hogwarts for the summer did Draco Malfoy wish he had never left. Although life in the snake pit was anything but simple, he had at least some control over his life. In fact, after years of cultivating alliances within the house, he was in the position to take over Slytherin as its King.

However, that sense of so-called normalcy fell apart when he learned the Ministry had captured his father. Of course, it was Potter and that Mudbloods fault but the Dark lord and his followers who lived in the Malfoy manor blamed his father for his failure.

Draco was not a fool, well aware that it would now be his responsibility alone to put his family back into favor with the Dark Lord. Still, from what he overheard, he was truly having reservations of what would be required for him to do to earn that forgiveness.

Unfortunately, his mother was no help, as if either his father or the Dark Lord didn't trusted her. His Aunt Bella, of course offered all sorts of horrid ideas how to garner favor with the Dark Lord.

In the end, when the three of them left to speak with Professor Snape, Draco felt relieved. What he didn't expected was to be stunned and woken up in a strange bedroom.

"Mother, why are we here?"

Narcissa looked at her son and tried not to roll her eyes. "Draco, I already told you. You have a meeting with the Head of my House."

Pulling out a set of flattering green and silver dress robes, she continued. "I do not need to tell you how you need to act in front of Milady Black."

"Of course not but-mother, you weren't stunned were you?" Draco realized that his mother must have been part of the group that brought him to the strange house by the sea.

"No. Now finish your breakfast. I will come for you after you dress."

"I still don't understand."

Narcissa sighed, took a seat on the bed and patted next to her. "Draco, listen. Milady Black is going to give you some choices concerning your future. You are no longer a child, so I will not dictate to you what you must decide."

"I see, but what about father?"

"Most of us agree that eventually the Dark Lord will retrieve his followers from Azkaban."

"Then we should go to him."

Narcissa smiled sadly. "That is one of your choices, of course."

Draco frowned for a moment. "You don't plan on returning, do you?"

He knew that his mother had been less than pleased when the Dark Lord moved into the Malfoy manor. In fact, right now he wondered if she might have even asked Alya Black for Sanctuary.

"No."

The young man looked down at the floor, overwhelmed at the ramifications of that statement. Afterwards, he didn't feel when his mother squeezed his hand, nor did he hear her when she left the room.