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.

"Hello Luna, as you might have guessed from Hermione's note, my name is Alya Cassiopeia Black; next to me is Nymphadora Tonks. I wanted to meet you so we can discuss Harry Potter.

Everyone could see that that grabbed her attention, as the young girl quickly walked out of the water and approached the group.

"Is he OK? I was very concerned with him at the end of the year. It must have been difficult for him with all of the Wrackspurts flying around his head."

"Right, I'm still a little not sure how to explain all of this." Alya nervously looked down.

"You're doing just fine and Luna please call me Tonks." With her shoulder, Dora pushed the raven-haired girl forward.

"First of all read this." Handing Luna a slip of paper, she then began to tell of her transformation since returning from the Department of Mysteries.

Luna just stood there, staring at the paper while quietly listening to the story. At the end, she looked up and stared for a moment before jumping up, wrapping her legs around Alya's waist, sending them both to the ground.

At the apparent attack, Tonks reached for her wand; then stopped at the sight of the strange girl smothering Alya with kisses. Hermione too, just stood there shocked, when finally, Luna leaned back, her legs still straddling the prone Head of House Black.

Looking down, she gave a warm smile. "Hi, Harry."

Alya happily returned it. "Hi, Lu."

~o~O~o~

"Sorry to interrupt." Hermione looked at the two in confusion. "But how can you tell that's Harry by just kissing her?"

Luna looked up with a wistful smile. "Oh, it's because of this wonderful thing he does with his tongue."

"That's right." Nymphadora murmured.

Clapping happily, Lina turned. "You must be that sexy pink haired Auror that Harry kissed last winter."

"Sexy pink haired Auror?" Dora grinned at her Head of House. "You do know that you and I are going to talk about this later."

Hermione could help but smile. "So Alya, how many girls besides Cho have you-?"

"Not that many." The raven-haired girl sighed, "Anyway, I didn't exactly snog Cho. She kissed me and it was rather wet if you ask me."

"What about that French Witch who taught you the lovely tongue thing." Luna grinned.

"Fleur?" Alya looked embarrassed for a moment before turning away. "Yes, she counts."

"You snogged the French TriWizards champion?"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Hermione. We only did it-"Alya murmured. "a few times. Anyway, it's not as if you and Victor weren't sucking face for half of fourth year."

It had been pretty much a secret until now how Fleur snuck into the hospital at Hogwarts to thank Harry for saving her sister after the second event. One thing led to another, and somehow they ended up snogging. Apparently she had been grateful, very grateful.

Harry of course expected nothing more to come of it, but then Fleur found him the next evening saying how nice it was kissing someone who wasn't bothered by her allure. In addition, although Harry was rather good for a beginner, Fleur felt that in the in the spirit of the TriWizards Tournament, she would teach him how to properly snog.

That odd non-relationship, or whatever Harry thought about calling it, didn't last terribly long. Fleur went back to France and Harry to the Dursleys. Afterwards, they remained friends, sending one another letters over the summer. Strangely enough, Fleur knew instantly that Alya Black was actually Harry Potter. She explained it was a Veela thing.

"You said it." Nymphadora wagged her eyebrows.

"What, you're channeling Sirius now, Dora." The two girls then stared at one another for a moment before Alya exclaimed. "Oh, for the love of Merlin, we only kissed, well mostly."

Suddenly, the raven-haired beauty looked down. "Lu?"

"Yes, Harry." Luna had leaned back down, cuddling herself into Alya breasts.

"As much as I'm enjoying our little reunion, we're going to be late."

"Oh pooh." Snuggling deeper, she said. "I like you much better this way Harry, you're a lot softer."

"Come on, Luna." Hermione said with a laugh as she reached down and separated the two girls. "Also be sure to call her Alya from now on."

"That's fine." She then surprised the others by leaning over and kissing Alya once more. "Hmm strawberries."

"So you and Luna." Hermione gave her best friend a questioning look as the quirky Ravenclaw skipped away.

"I guess." After a quick Scourgify, Alya pulled a few leaves from her hair before following. "I mean, I asked her to be my girlfriend right before the whole thing went pear shaped with Sirius."

"You did." Hermione squeaked.

"So what did she say?" Tonks asked thoughtfully.

Alya made a confused face. "Nothing, she just smiled and snogged me some more. Even during the train ride back, we didn't really get a chance to talk about it. I really thought it was over."

"She still seems interested." Dora laughed while hip checking her Head of House. "She's cute too."

Alya didn't know what to make of it, the last thing she expected was to be tackled by Luna and smothered with kisses. Although, she didn't mind it at all.

"Wait, I thought the two of you-?" Hermione began.

Nymphadora looked at Alya for a moment before shaking her head sadly. "We sort of tried the other night."

"Tried what?"

"Kissing, Hermione." Alya shrugged. "It didn't exactly work out."

The two had dueled late into the night, afterwards snuggling on the floor when Tonks leaned over and kissed Alya. It was happily reciprocated; however, it didn't last long when she suddenly pulled back.

"Oh that's not true. You're still a great kisser, but-" The Metamorphmagus looked away, the pain obvious on her face.

"Girls still don't do it for you, right? Isn't that what you said?" Alya grumbled but then grabbed her by the arm playfully. "Don't worry about it, you're still my favorite cousin."

Looking at her Head of House, Tonks could still see the affection in her green eyes. Once again, she was amazed at the maturity of Alya, as she had been terribly afraid that she had lost her friendship because of what happened.

Although disappointed, Alya couldn't hate her cousin for trying to love her. Before, Harry might have closed up inside himself. However, she was not that person anymore. She would not be that person anymore. Her life had changed, for the good and the bad. It was unavoidable that relationships would change as well.

"I'm OK, Alya. Maybe Hermione-"Tonks then laughed as the bushy-haired girl suddenly snorted.

"I'm sorry, I love her like a sister but-"

Sighing dramatically, the raven-haired beauty walked away, seductively swinging her hips back and forth. "Your loss, Hermione."

~o~O~o~

After catching up Luna, Alya spoke to the group of her trip to Malta only to have her suddenly stop in front of an ancient small stone wall. 'We're at the ward line."

"Oh that's right, you can see them now." Tonks looked around. "What do you see?"

"Rainbows."

Leaning her head on Alya shoulder, Luna smiled. "Oh, I love rainbows."

"You couldn't see them before you went to Malta, what changed?" Hermione was curious what other odd skills her friend had acquired since her transformation. However, she also knew that her best friend had hidden his intelligence from her all these years. Sometimes, she could see it in his eyes as he thought things out, how he was able to understand a complex concept with very little effort. The Patronus charm was a good example.

Alya thought for a moment. "Certain places on the island, much like Hogwarts I imagine, are covered in thick layers of magic. When I walked into the ritual circle, it was like looking directly into the sun. Once my vision cleared, I could see the magic that flowed all over the site including the Kartal's home wards."

"I know of at least two Auror's ward-breakers that can also see them." Nymphadora commented. "It's not terribly common though."

"Wadi'ah explained the ability runs through families, much like Metamorphmagus."

"Can you see a person's magic?" Hermione asked fascinated.

"On occasion, but not very well."

"My mother was able to see auras; she said it helped her with her spell-crafting." Luna explained.

Alya nodded, she wouldn't be surprised if her daughter also had the same gift. "Alright everyone; close your eyes for a moment."

Even with their eyes closed and their heads turned away, they could see the bright white light that suddenly enveloped them.

While Tonks rubbed her eyes trying to clear the spots, she exclaimed. "Sweet Mab, what in the hell was that?"

"A ward-breaker's hello. " Alya grinned.

To no one's surprise a few minutes later, the familiar sound of Apparition filled the air.

"What do we have here, Forge, a collection of cuties."

"A gaggle of girls."

"A bag of ba-"

"That's enough, boys." Nymphadora stepped forward with her wand drawn.

Raising his hands in mock surrender, George turned towards Alya. After a bow that would make any pureblood scion proud, the red headed Gryffindor gently took her by the hand before lightly brushing his lips across the top of it, "Our apologies Milady, that we have not greeted you properly."

Hermione almost laughed at the pained expression on her best friend's face when Fred stepped forward and did the same thing.

"Good morning gentlemen." Alya smiled trying not to wipe her hands on her skirt. "I assume everything is ready?"

"Of course, our esteemed elder brother spent the better part of yesterday walking and re-mapping the wards to get ready for your arrival."

"Not including our dear mother's frantic cleaning." Fred smiled at his brother. "Thankfully, we have been busy at the shop which left our younger siblings to assist."

Alya tried not to frown but understood that the meeting between the Head of House Black and the Weasleys was actually important and they wanted to make a good impression. She too, as expected would follow all the correct forms. Quite the change when Harry arrived unexpectedly at the Burrow in a flying car during his second year.

While Fred spoke with her about the store, George moved over to Hermione. "Mum's going to be disappointed that you didn't drag Harry along."

Hermione really hated that she had to continue to lie to the Weasleys but understood why Alya wanted to keep the whole thing secret. Still, she looked forward to being in the same room when the twins discovered Harry Potter's true identity.

"It's not really up to me."

"So how is he?" George asked concerned knowing that friend had taken the death of his godfather rather hard.

"He seems happy." Hermione replied taking a quick look at Alya.

Misinterpreting the glance, the redhead ginned. "I'm sure. Say, Luna not that I'm unhappy to see you but why are you here?

The young Ravenclaw, who had been picking wildflowers, looked up with a smile. "Alya invited me."

"Oh, I didn't know you knew her."

Brushing herself off, she put the flowers in a bouquet before smelling them. "Oh, I have known her for a number of years."

George was surprised; the new Head of House Black was a mystery to most people. Hermione was as well, being under the impression that the two had not met before the start of this year.

"Are we ready?" Tonks asked. "According to Fred, Bill has added Alya to the wards."

There had already been a discussion concerning the wards surrounding the Burrow. Initially, Tonks believed that they could all just Apparate through them as Harry had been there numerous times.

However, Alya pointed out that she had not. In addition, which surprised everyone, she explained that her magical signature had changed somewhat since the transformation. If nothing else, the new Head of House Black simply appearing inside the wards of the Burrow without issue would just cause problems.

~o~O~o~

Inside the Burrow, Molly Weasley walked around her kitchen making one last inspection of her home. She wanted make sure that Alya Black knew how appreciative they were of her father's money from the Will.

Although they were not ones to simply accept charity, the money had been a blessing. Besides the many repairs needed to be made to the Burrow, the children's schooling had been paid off and money had been set aside for emergencies.

She had actually wanted to go on another vacation; however, her husband Arthur had put his foot down stating how foolish it was for them to have spent all of their winnings from the Daily Prophet a few years ago on a trip, no matter how much they missed their son.

"Stop fidgeting with the collar, Ron." Molly smiled as her son entered the kitchen. Reaching up, she started to brush his hair with her hands until he stepped back.

"Mum, please. Anyway, why do we have to dress up?"

"Is something wrong with looking nice?" Ginny, who wore a simple but beautiful mossy green sundress, followed her brother into the room.

"You look lovely, Ginny."

"Thanks mum. Besides Ron, I thought you wanted to make a good impression on Alya Black." She said with a smile and then sniggered as her brother continued to move uncomfortably around in his new dress shirt.

"Like you're one to talk, trying to look nice because Harry might show up."

"Both of you stop." Molly started to push her two children out the door until a bright flash of light caught her attention.

"Wait here." Stepping outside, she was surprised to find her husband and eldest son laughing. "What's happening Arthur?"

"Everything's fine mum." Bill smiled. "Seems Alya Black has a sense of humor."

"Boys why don't you escort our guests back to the Burrow." Arthur Weasley turned towards his twin sons who gave a snappy salute before Apparating away.

"So what was that light?"

"According to Bill, she charged the outer wards with her magic." Arthur smiled.

"Why would she do that?" Ginny finally came outside seeing everything peaceful.

Bill Weasley couldn't help but chuckle. "It's an old way for ward-breakers to greet one another. It also allowed me to read her magical signature so dad could add her to our family wards."

"Does that mean she's also some sort of curse-breaker?" Ron asked while still trying to straighten his shirt. At this point, he was almost positive the twins did something to his new clothes.

"Truthfully, I have no idea but wouldn't be surprised. I do know she impressed the hell out of the fellows I work with. Oddly enough, from the way she worded her questions, she sort of reminds me of some of the older Wizards who work in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt."

"Maybe she grew up in Egypt." Molly frowned.

"Perhaps, she does speak Arabic like a native." Bill replied but still wasn't sure. He had asked the Kartal's about their impression about the Head of House Black but they were surprisingly closed lipped about their meeting with the young woman.

"Does your new girlfriend know?" Ginny asked with a grin. "Both Fred and George said they have seen the two of them having lunch together."

"I wasn't aware that Fleur knew Alya Black, son."

"She does Dad, but it's not something she willing to talk about. Some sort of family dealings." Bill said none too happily. The Order had been asked to see what information could be discovered Alya Black however; it appeared that she was very good at keeping that information secret.

When Molly Weasley nee Prewitt sons reappeared with their guests in tow, for a brief moment was she jealous. Her family, although pureblood had never been wealthy like the Blacks or the Shafiqs. At Hogwarts's she had been a year ahead of the Black sisters and remembered how they walked around school in their beautiful clothes acting as if they owned the place.

Walking towards her home was the same epitome of a pureblood that she remembered from school. With her fine bone structure, an aura of self-confidence and dressed in beautiful clothing and jewelry that must cost more than their home, Alya Black approached the Burrow. Molly had to agree with her husband that the young woman did indeed bear a striking resemblance to Andromeda and Bellatrix Black.

For Alya, a surge of nervousness passed through her as she looked upon the Burrow. For Harry, it had always been a place of refuge, a small bit of family he so desperately craved. She felt bad about her deception however; Alya knew it would be an utter nightmare if the Weasleys, especially Molly discovered the truth. She really was fond of the woman, but knew how Molly would immediately try to control her life, that was never going to happen.

"Good morning Bill."

"Alya Black, let me introduce you to my parents, Arthur and Molly Weasley." Bill stepped forward.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, my father spoke highly of you both." Alya smiled warmly and relieved when Arthur didn't try to kiss her hand. She was also happy to see that Ron took his father's lead, however she was immediately uncomfortable with the looks he was now giving her. Ginny was almost as bad, as her welcoming smile did not reach her eyes.

"I have a gift for your home as well, Mr Weasley."

"Oh that's not necessary, dear. We appreciate what your father has done and that you're helping Bill with the wards today." Molly tried to explain.

"Still, I think you will like this." Alya motioned to Tonks who passed her a small bag. She didn't notice the reactions around her when she wandlessly unshrunk what appeared to be an antique phonograph.

"Oh, it's a gramophone." Hermione stepped forward to get a better look.

"Yes, someone told me, Mr. Weasley, that you are interested in Muggle items. Normally one would use a handle on the side and turn it so the wheel would spin, however the Wizard who modified it added a number of runes inside and along the bottom. So, when you touch it in the right place it will switch the gramophone on and off."

"This is wonderful," Arthur said. "What does it do, exactly?"

"It plays music." Dora said with a smile, reaching back into the bag and pulling out several old LPs. Soon music by Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra filled the air.

"Oh that's wonderful."

"I think you will like the history of this gramophone. It was a gift to Cederella Black, given to her by a Septimus Weasley; it appears she didn't take it with her when she-hmm eloped with your father, so it ended up in my vault."

"Muggle items, really, like father like son." Molly smiled warmly at her husband.

"Thank you." The elder Weasley spoke in almost a whisper. "That was a very thoughtful gift."

As the group stood around for a moment, Nymphadora finally spoke up. "I'm sorry Arthur, but Alya doesn't have a lot of time today."

"Oh, I thought you might be able to stay for dinner as well." Molly sounded disappointed.

"I'm sorry; we have other plans this evening." Dora explained.

"Very true." Alya gave a small grin, then reached into a pouch and unshrunk a book before handing it over to Bill Weasley. "I marked several simple but effective wards that we could finish by today. You and your father will need to charge them tomorrow at dawn, however all the work can be completed before I have to leave."

"A Stiúdú ward appears to be a stronger version than the basic ones I have seen." Bill murmured as he slowly turned the pages of the book. He spied a number of others, which required various rituals that would be even more effective but would require several days of work. "And an Eldur Icelandic ward. I think these two would be the best ones, Alya."

"What type are those?" Ron asked liking their names.

"The Stiúdú ward sounds like some sort of stunning ward." Hermione said.

"Correct and the Eldur wards will set an attacker ablaze." Alya continued. "However, this is the one I actually want to embed into your ward scheme."

Reaching into her robes, she unshrunk a rolled up parchment before laying it on the table. "I purposely invited Hermione and Luna along today, as they both have an excellent understanding in Celtic and Futhark runes. So while they work on the ward-stones for the Eldur and Stiúdú wards, you and I can work on this."

Bill took a quick look and found the parchment written in Egyptian Hieroglyphics. As he looked over the scheme, no one noticed as his face lost color.

"What is it called?" Ginny said, as she admired the scroll-work.

"The original Egyptian spell crafters named it the Blessing of Hathor." Alya looked over at Bill who continued to frown as he studied the ancient Arithmancy.

"Wasn't she the Egyptian goddess of the moon?"

"Among other titles Hermione, she was also goddess of moisture and agriculture however the parchment calls her the Mothers of Mothers, as she was the patron of women and children."

"Alya, I think I need to speak with my parents first." Bill finally looked up from his reading.

The raven-haired girl nodded in understanding. "I will start work on the other wards while you talk."

As the twins pulled out a box of perfectly cut ward-stones out from under the table, Hermione asked. "What was that all about?"

"If you can place them in stacks of ten, we'll need twenty for each ward." Alya opened the box before looking over its contents. "The Blessing of Hathor was specially crafted to kill curse-breakers, Hermione."

"Bloody Hell."

Alya gave a small smile. "Indeed Ronald, the Egyptians were quite serious about protecting home and hearth."

Across the lawn, three of the older Weasley's were in a heated discussion. "Arthur, do you really think all of this is necessary?"

"What does this Blessing exactly do son?"

"Alya was correct in stating that Hathor was considered the goddess of the home, however she failed to mention that she was also one of the Egyptian goddess of the underworld. Essentially, the ward will rip the soul out of a person's body. The Egyptian curse-breakers call it Abyad-Mawt, the White Death."

"Sweet Morgana." Molly raised her hands to her mouth.

"What did you say she needed for the ritual?"

"Bread, salt and blood."

"Blood wards, Bill." Molly said disapprovingly.

"No, it's just part of the charging ritual from what I understand. And it's only three drops of your blood, Dad. I will say these were the types of wards we hoped never to encounter. However that being said, they are pretty rare, so it's highly unlikely that a Death Eater curse-breaker team would recognize the ward until it was too late."

Leaning with his back against the shed, Arthur Weasley rubbed his eyes in contemplation. Cederella Weasley nee Black, his mother, had been cast out of the Black family for marrying a so-called blood-traitor. However, he always remembered while growing up she would often say Familia primum, familia semper.

So perhaps the gramophone was more than a gift, it was a statement. Although Alya Black might politically be unable to proclaim the Weasley's as family, in private it was an entirely different matter.

"It's quite the gift, son."

"What are you thinking, Arthur?" Molly sat next to her husband.

"I'm thinking that we should accept it, although I am also a little hesitant about having such a thing around our home. I do take our family's safety very seriously."

With stacks of ward stones surrounding her, Ginny looked up as three people approach. "They're coming back."

While Bill nodded with approval how organized everything looked, Arthur Weasley gave a half bow. "Milady Black, we accept your gift."

"Excellent, and please call me Alya."

While Luna and Hermione working on the Celtic and Norse runes, Alya and Bill began working on their ward-stones using Egyptian Hieroglyphs.

"Alright, I better be going." Nymphadora said wiping her hands off. She along with Ron, Ginny and the twins had been digging holes for the ward-stones.

"Oh, you have to leave?"

"Sorry Molly, I have to go to the Ministry for little while." Dora gave a half grin to Alya before saying her good-byes to everyone else.

"Alya."

"Yes, Hermione."

"Do you know why was Tonks humming 'London Bridges Falling Down' right before Apparating?"

"Actually, I believe she was humming the Norse saga the Heimskringla." Luna closed her eyes and started to sing.

London Bridge is broken down. —
Broken down, broken down
Gold is won and bright renown.
Shields resounding,
War-horns sounding,
Hild is shouting in the din!
Arrows singing,
Mail-coats ringing —
Odin makes our Olaf win!"*

While everyone else stared at Luna in confusion, Alya continued to work thinking. "Either way, that sounds about right."

*J. Clark, 'London bridge archaeology of a nursery rhyme', London Archaeologist, 9 (2002), pp. 338-40;

~o~O~o~

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. My Muse mugged me with this one, pretty much forced me to write it at pen-point :) Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

PS Dont worry my other stories haven't been dropped, just taking a break