Okay, there is probably a subliminal reason why
This chapter is not coming along as fast as I
wanted it to, because after all it is the 13th
chapter.
I do want to thank Danny for helping me through
some of the rough patches in this particular chapter.
I love you and I thank you!
God Bless,
S'Eleene Paris
Chapter Thirteen
The Function of A Rubber Duck
The weeks passed by quickly and soon
Christmas break was upon the students of
Hogwarts. The Great Hall fluttered with
noise, of several different sorts, belonging
to the students hurrying around; eating and
preparing themselves before they disembarked
from their beloved school.
Heather Lillian Potter poked at her food.
For some reason she did not seem to be
hungry this afternoon. "It's probably just
nerves." Harry offered to her; sensing his
sister was not feeling quite right. "You
should eat something though, because we
have a long journey ahead of us."
"You're probably right, Harry." She did not
eat anything; however, she did change the topic.
"Where is Hermione?"
"She and Ron went to load your car. I guess
when you handed Ron your keys, Hermione got
a little nervous." Harry admitted. "Hermione
also figures he could also use a hand since
she thought we should leave right after lunch
was over if we wanted to make it before the
Weasleys had to stay up too late."
"You do realized when I drive, it takes me
about two hours to get about anywhere."
"Yeah, but Hermione doesn't."
"Is Dudley, for sure, not going with us?"
"Yeah, Aunt Petunia wanted him and Uncle
Severus to spend sometime together. She moved
into Hogsmeade last weekend, so they are helping
her unpack." Harry gave her a smile. "So, you
finally a registered animagi."
"Yep, the official came this morning and I
am now a registered animagi." Heather smiled.
"You know, I think having the ability to
change into an animal is going to come in handy
some day. Especially if I am going to be an auror."
"Are you excited to be going home in a week?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Why only sort of?" Hermione asked as she and
Ron joined the two of them for lunch.
"Well, it's kind of complicated." Heather
tried to explain. "I don't know. I just am."
The doors of the Great Hall parted open and
both Hermione and Ron stepped into the large room
to have their last meal before leaving. Hermione
claimed the seat next to Harry and Ron sat next to
Heather. "We're all set and ready to go." Hermione
claimed as Ron took a chicken drummette from Heather's
plate.
"Careful, they are hot." Heather warned Ron. Ron
shrugged her off and took a rather large bite out
of it. He gasped for something to drink and Heather
handed Ron some pumpkin juice. "I told you to be
careful."
"I didn't think they were going to be that spicy."
Ron claimed as took a smaller bite, this time. "What's
on that stuff?"
"Tabasco sauce." Heather smiled. "I like my wings
hot."
"They aren't made from Buffalos are they?" Ron was
being stupid. Harry suspected it was his way of flirting
with her.
"No, Buffalo wings are named after the city in which
the food was founded in. It's a city in New York state."
Hermione answered. "Don't you ever read?"
"Where is Ginny?" Heather asked changing the topic.
"She's saying good-bye to a few of her friends. She'll
be a long in a few moments. I told her, if anything, to meet
us by the car." Hermione spoke, since Ron was currently
stuffing his face with food.
"So, when are you guys leaving?" Mika asked as she
claimed a seat next to Hermione. "Ron, do you need a bib?"
"Mno, thanks. I'm good." Ron said as he attempted to speak
with his mouth full.
"Ron, didn't your mom teach you not to speak with your
mouth full?" Heather asked as she nibbled on her potato
chip.
"She tried to." Ginny said as she claimed the seat next
to her offensive brother. "But it didn't do any good, did it?"
"So you ready to go, then?" Harry asked her.
"Any time you guys are."
"I'm good, let's go now." Heather jumped up as did Harry and
Hermione.
Ginny joined them, but Ron waited to grab a few more
chicken wings before heading out of the Great Hall.
"Wait up, guys!"
*****
When the five of them reached the Burrow, it was dark and almost
time for dinner. Ron had complained a few times during their trip
to his home that he was "starving", but Heather could not stop
because it was getting to late in the evening. "Besides," she told
him while they were driving. "I don't like driving at night. My night
vision isn't really good and the fewer hours I have to spend driving
in the dark, the better."
Molly Weasley was the first to greet the group once they entered
home. "Welcome home!" She exclaimed as she kissed her youngest son
and only daughter. "Did you have a nice trip?" She asked turning to
Harry and Hermione.
"We made good time." Heather smiled and Molly Weasley reached for
her and hugged her.
"Oh, honey. It's good to finally meet you! Ron has told us all
about you!" She tightened her grip on the young girl and soon Heather
was having a hard time breathing.
"Um...Mrs. Weasley. I can't breathe." She finally croaked out and
immediately, she let go.
"Sorry, Dear. Let me get a good look at you." Molly pulled Heather
away from her body and really looked at her for the first time.
Heather's deep brown hair was the exact shade Harry's was, but her
eyes were only different by color. Instead of the emerald green
she had been expecting, Heather had a deep brown that almost matched
her hair in exact color. She also had a lightning bolt shaped scar, but
hers claimed the opposite side of her forehead from Harry's.
Currently, she wore her school uniform, but it did not belong to
Hogwarts. "What school are you from again?"
"The Chicago Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am wearing
our school uniform. It seemed appropriate for the moment."
Heather glanced down at her red and white plaid skirt and her
black army boots.
"I'm not too sure if army boots are really considered part of
your uniform, Heather." Hermione added her two knuts worth into
the conversation.
"Well, at our school we can wear any type of shoes we want, but
they have to be black." Heather commented. "You gotta to love
freedom of speech."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Heather's ignorance,
but said nothing as the group went into the Weasley's
living room, where they met up with Arthur
Weasley. Ron and Ginny raced to their father's arm and he
greeted it with appreciation. Heather felt a pang of jealousy rise
with in her. She knew with out a doubt that this would
probably would not be the homecoming she will have once she
reached home because her parents were very busy people. No, her
parents loved her, they just did not have as much time as the
Weasleys have to spend with one another. "Where is Bill, Charlie,
Percy, Fred and George? I thought they would be here." Harry
asked and Mr. Weasley answered.
"They were here, but they could not stay up to meet you. Fred,
George and Percy live in London and will meet us at the airport
once we are ready to leave. Bill and Sandra are already asleep
upstairs and Charlie is staying with Fred and George and will
apparating in once and a while."
"Why don't we get your things up into your rooms where you
will be staying and then you can come down. Then you can come
down and eat something." Mrs. Weasley gestured toward the
upstairs and the five of them headed toward the upper rooms.
*****
After a week with the Weasleys, Heather never more relaxed
and better fed in her life. She waited for Harry, Hermione,
and the Weasleys to come down stairs to have breakfast before
heading off to the United States. Mrs. Weasley, all that
week, confirmed with her husband that he had their passports
and they were ready to go. This morning it was not any
different. "Arthur, you do have Hermione and Harry's passports,
right?"
"Yes, Molly. For the hundredth time, I have all the passports
including Heather, Harry and Hermione's." He showed them to her
and placed them down on the table. "They will be safe in my, what
did you call it Heather, a curry on bag?"
"A carry-on bag." Heather corrected and smiled. "I received an
owl last night from my parents. They suggested I keep my car here
and they sent me enough money for us to take the Knight Bus."
"That is too generous of your parents to send us that, let
alone your parents are going to let us stay at their house."
Molly Weasley blushed.
"Mom and Dad enjoy entertaining, so it really is not a big
deal for them. They'll do anything for people when they are on
their way to spend some time at our place. They like to give out
some of what they receive." Heather dug into her carry-on bag, of
which she had at the table with her, and pulled out presents for
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "These are just a little something for
allowing me to say here at the house for a week."
Mrs. Weasley opened her present and found a basket full of
scented bath soaps, candles, lotions, and body sprays. "I thought
you might like to "escape" once and a while." Heather smiled, but
what she was waiting for was Mr. Weasley's reaction to his
present.
"I know what this is!" He exclaimed. "This is a rubber duck!"
"Yes, Harry told me that you had asked him what the function
of a rubber duck was. I didn't think you got a real answer did
you? So I thought I would show you what it was and how muggles
use it." Heather spotted the empty sink. "First thing's first,
we need some water. Like a sink full."
"No problem." Mrs. Weasley pulled her wand out and uttered
the charm. "Fillius!" the sink filled with water. "Is that
enough?"
"It should be." Heather stood up from her seat and escorted
Mr. Weasley to the sink. "Now, watch this very carefully."
Heather took the duck from Mr. Weasley and placed it in the
water. Everyone watched, except for Hermione, who thought this
was just a big joke.
The duck, as Heather suspected, floated on the water. She
smiled, but once she realized Arthur Weasley was not getting
what it did, she clarified. "It's a muggle bathtub toy."
"OH!" The realization hit Mr. Weasley with interest. "Muggles
are really interesting, aren't they?"
"You will love America then, Mr. Weasley. The muggle world and
the magic one in America has more of a tendency to cross over
more often than it does here. My friends and I find it much more
comfortable to wear muggle cloths than wizarding. When Hector and
Rachel were alive, there was this muggle book store that we use
to go to all the time. They had a whole section devoted to
divination. Can you blame the muggles for wanting to try and be
wizards? The bookshop is not as extensive as the one on Roger Drive,
but its not too bad."
"Speaking of which." Hermione looked at her watch and stood up
from the table. "If we don't get moving, we are going to be late."
Heather looked at her watch and agreed with Hermione. "Yes, we've
got to get a move on. I don't want to be late." With those words, the
Weasley house became chaotic once again. Soon, the Knight bus
pulled up in front of the house. Stan Turnpike stepped outside of the
bus and knocked on to the door. Mr. Weasley opened the door, and soon,
everyone was carrying bags out to the tripled decked purple bus.
Heather handed the money to Stan and soon they were on their way,
rushing through the streets toward London's airport. Before Harry knew
it, they had arrived at the airport and the group piled out of the
Knight bus and awaited for the arrival of the four remaining members
of the Weasley family. Soon, a taxi pulled up to the airport and
the four Weasleys stepped out.
"Next time, Fred, George, don't give him a reason to turn around in
the car while we are driving in a muggle vehicle again. I really do
not want a repeat of that." Charlie complained and Percy agreed,
not quite noticing the group of people waiting for them.
"Yes, next time, it would not be a good idea to use that particular
curse again, ever." Percy added as he pulled his luggage out of the
trunk. He was the first one to notice the group standing next to the
door, waiting for them. "Hey, they're already here!"
The other boys from the taxi looked over in the direction Percy
indicated. "The combination of Hermione and Heather must have made
them come early." Fred observed as he looked over at the group.
"You know, she isn't too bad looking for someone who is 16."
"You know, that makes her consent age." George volleyed back, with
an evil grin plastered on his face, knowingly.
"Yeah, but I doubt that she thinks of you in that way." Charlie
countered. "I'm almost positive it's our brother she wants. Just look
at her, they're in love."
Ron was only a mere few inches from her at any moment
they had been around at the burrow. Currently, he was standing
behind her, longing to have an excuse to touch her. "You guys
ready to go?" Heather asked them as they approached and where
greeted warmly.
"Oh yeah."
"Well, then. Let's go." Heather Potter picked up her baggage and
carried it through ticket checks and security check points. Once
the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Sandra (AN: you thought I forgot about
her didn't you?) were all through, Heather took a moment to check the
departing board. "We need to get to Gate B18."
"But the plane leaving for Chicago is at Gate C7." Ron notated,
wondering why she was headed to the wrong plane.
"Trust her, Ron. I said the same thing when I went to Chicago for
the first time with her too." Hermione said and smiled. "Trust me."
The group of them strolled down to the gate to board the plane. They
went outside and met the pilot. "Hello, Miss Potter. Ready to go home?"
"Yes, Joe I am. How soon will we be departing?"
"As soon as we get inside. I must inform you though, Chicago is
experiencing snowy conditions. We will be landing at the Kankakee
air port. They just finished re-doing the run way to allow larger
planes to land. Your father has informed me that this jet will be
able to harbor there."
"Thank goodness. I was getting sick and tired of that one hour drive
in between." Heather began climbing onto the plane, followed by Harry,
Hermione, Sandra, and the Weasleys. Once everyone seated themselves,
the plane took off and began the long journey towards the United States.
*****
"Heather, wake up!" Harry jabbed at his sister's arm. "We've landed."
Heather yawned and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. She nodded as a
yawn escaped her. She stood up and walked off the plane. The sun
was bright against the several layers of newly fallen snow.
"Bloody Hell! Its cold!" Fred complained as he stepped off the
plane.
"Mom says its been warmer than what it has been. It's actually
above zero for the first time in three weeks." Heather said
causal-like as if it were the most common thing in the world.
"Ah, Miss Potter, Welcome home." a gray haired man greeted them.
Miles, the Nelsons driver, greeted them next to two cars. One
being a black stretch limo and the other being a silver Porsche.
"Your father sent his car along, so you could feel comfortable
going to the house since you did not have your car with you."
"Dad's car is a stick-shift! He knows I don't like driving
sticks!" Heather threw her temper tantrum. She rolled her
eyes. "Why couldn't I take Mom's Grand Prix? She's in town,
isn't she?"
"She's attending the Governor's ball with your father. They
took her car." Miles sighed, as if this was another normal
occurrence. The group began loading up the cars with their
luggage and with themselves. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny
claimed the extra seats in the Porsche, while the others
took the limo.
Heather groaned. "So, they aren't going to be at home when I
get there?"
"No, Miss Potter."
Heather rolled her eyes and headed toward the drivers seat
of the car. The only ones that heard her next comment was
the occupants of the car. "You'd think I would be use to
it by now." She sighed and opened the car door to sit down
in the driver's seat. "You guys ready to go?"
"Yeah,"
"You guys want to stop off and see my school before we head
to the house?"
"That sounds like a nice idea." Ginny offered.
"Wait a minute. This is a Porsche isn't it?" Harry asked, he
had read about muggle cars a while ago, when the Dursleys bought
a new one and knew a Porsche was a small American import. There
was no way that all five of them could be seated in this car
unless it had expanding charms on it. "Did your father expand
this car?"
"He must have done it for today." Heather viewed the back seats
through the rearview mirror. Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were in the
back seat of the car, with Ron in the front next to Heather. "He told
me gas prices were extremely high around here lately like almost 2 to 3
dollars to the gallon. He must have wanted to use the most
miles to the gallon."
Heather drove down the street a little ways, then turned once she
had reached some baseball fields. "Hang on tight, this last turn is
always a dozy." Harry thought this turn was rather ridiculous as
did Hermione.
"What are we doing in a grave yard?" Ron asked as they continued
pass the close buried graves of the former insane.
"This is Shapiro's graveyard. The entrance is in here because most
muggles can't stand to be around here. Probably because of all the
ghosts flying around here and of course the anti-muggle charms."
Heather smiled as they finally reached the gates of the school.
They were greeted by house-elf. Heather rolled down the window and
said. "Good morning, Douglas. Nice to see you again."
"It is good to see young Miss Potter, again. They are still fixing
the school grounds, young miss. The dormitories were not affected by
the attack of He-Who-Shouldn't-Be Named, but most of the other buildings
were." A tear seemed to leave his eye. "Too many young ones died here
on that night."
"I know, Douglas." She tried to smile, but the memory was too fresh.
"Are we allowed inside yet? There are a few things I would like to get
from my dormitory."
"Students are still not allowed to come inside, because construction is
still going on and will probably continue through the summer. By Fall, though,
students will be able to return to the grounds from the various campuses
in which they had been separated. Although the students will be allowed
on campus in a few days for an open house."
"I know most of the Diversetech students went to Salem Academy because
Hogwarts could not handle all of us plus their own. Oh, by the way, these
are my new friends from Hogwarts, Douglas. Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione
Granger, and my brother Harry Potter."
Douglas's eyes grew wide and muttered. "Now the prophecy can be complete!
Now that they have found each other."
"Prophecy? What Prophecy?" Hermione asked.
"I probably should not have said that." Douglas began beating his head
against the post of the gate.
"He still thinks he is owned by the school. He's not, you understand,
but he thinks he is own by the Headmaster. You guys have house-elves
don't you?" Heather tried to explain.
"Yes and it is sad they still think they are suppose to be our slaves!"
Hermione exclaimed.
"Don't get her started, because she may make you join spew."
"Its S.P.E.W." Harry and Hermione rang in unison.
Heather looked at them as if they were crazy and said good-bye
to Douglas. She turned around in the driveway and took off back down
the road, past a muggle community college. "What school is that?"
Ginny asked.
"Kankakee Community College. A muggle school." Heather answered and
took the exit to I-57. They drove a few miles until they reached Exit
315. "Well, everyone, welcome to Bradley."
"I thought you were from Bourbonnais." Harry had been the one to ask
this.
"Bradley, Bourbonnais, and Kankakee is what we call a tri-city area.
Three rather large towns make up one big metropolis." Heather explained
as she drove passed a restaurant called Denny's. "I live on the
other side of town, as Hermione and Ginny already know."
"How long until we get there?" Ron asked, his stomach growling.
"No more than fifteen minutes." Heather stepped on the gas pedal
as soon as they were out of the major part of the town. "Less than
that if I have any say in it. So, what is Sandra's last name again.
You know Bill's fiancée?"
"Its Sandra Watson. They worked at Gringotts together." Hermione answered.
"Her cousin is some sort of muggle movie actress named Emma."
"Never heard of her." Heather scratched at her head. "I'm really
good with muggle movies and stuff and I don't think I have ever heard
of her."
"She's popular in England, but you might not heard of her since she
is a rising child star." Hermione added as she adjusted her coat closer
to her. "Is it really cold in here or is it just me?"
"Cold? This is nothing!" Heather reached over to turn on the heater.
"Like I was telling Fred, my mom wrote me a few days before we left and
she mentioned we finally got back up in the positive digits this week.
Earlier it got down to about negative 10."
"Well that isn't too bad." Ginny offered.
"It is when it is degrees F and not C." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"In America, they use F. Its about 30 degrees off of what we are."
Ron jumped in changing the subject because it reminded him too much
of school. "So are Miles and the rest of your servants Muggles?"
"No, most of them are Wizards who dropped out of school or just
felt that this is what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives.
The large chunk of our staff are what you call squibs? I think that is
the term you guys use. We call them the less-magically inclined."
Once Heather pulled up to the gate, Heather motioned for them to
hand her their invitations. "When Hector and Rachel were alive, they
had passes to get into the gate. All I have to do is to put my hand
on the panel like so." Heather showed them how to get pass the
security charms on the gates. The cast iron gates parted and the
the car drove up to the house. Heather turned off the car and soon
several servants came out to help them unload.
Harry got out of the car and looked into the paradise. "Are those
horses I see out there?" Harry pointed at a rider exercising a black
Arabian horse with a white star on its nose.
"Stargazer!" Heather ran toward the direction of the horses.
She stopped short of the fence and the rider brought the horse
over to her. She gave the horse and enthusiastic hug and
then petted her nose. "Hey, girl. I missed you."
"And she you." The black-toned man said as he sat
on the horse. "She has missed you greatly since you
have been away. I took the liberty to ride her while
you were away."
"You know you can ride her anytime you want Shane
Montague." Heather grinned. "As long as you keep Supernova
trained too."
Shane grimaced. "That horse has baggage, Heather. It
had to have been abused before your father saved it from
that horse farm. That is the reason why he does not like
people."
"I guess so." She patted the nose of the horse and then
turned to her shivering guest, who had followed her out
to the barn. "We'll ride them later. Come on! Let's go
inside and get warm."
*****