Title: Harry Potter and the Girl Who Lived
By: S'Eleene Paris <torres_01@yahoo.com>
Disclaimer: you can probably say it with out me actually telling you...its in chapter one.
Author's notes: I think this one is one of my favorites because of what happens in this chapter. If the story Dumbledore tells is a little vague, it is because Hagrid will clarify in Chapter Ten.
I'd like to thank all of you who have responded to this piece and think it is really good, it's a real honor to serve you in such a way that I can give you pure pleasure in a way you never could imagine…lol…I am kidding, any way, on to Chapter Eight.
*****
Chapter Eight
A Family Reunited
The Following morning Harry, Ron, Dudley, Hermione, Ginny, Heather, and Neville Longbottom reclined at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. The eggs, sausages, bacon, and toast with jam were warmly welcomed to the students of Hogwarts in the chilly crisp autumn morning. Most of the Hogwarts students were a little depressed with the fact their classes would be resuming in a couple of days. Hermione reminded them by informing Dudley their tutoring would resume around ten that morning when the Quidditch team went out to the pitch to practice. "Everyone will want to go outside and watch so we can go into the lawn and study in quiet for once."
"Hey, do you guys mind if I join you today?" A boy in his sixth year approached the group. The boy had orange hair naturally with his hazel eyes. His pale pink skin was blotched with freckles.
"Hey, Andrew!" Heather greeted. "I'm cool wid' it." she turned to the group to make introductions. "Andrew this is Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Dudley Snape, Ginny Weasley, and Neville Longbottom. Guys this is Andrew Ambrose. He's a phoenix."
"A phoenix?" Harry asked.
"Sifto-Salt's mascot is a phoenix." Andrew claimed a seat next to Heather on the end of the table.
"Oh."
"Speaking of the devil and she shall appeareth." Andrew looked and pointed up to the ceiling. Most of the other students in the Great Hall seemed to notice the beautiful bird swoop down to meet Heather where she sat. " It's your parent's phoenix, Scarlet."
Heather looked up and smiled as the bird landed in front of her on the table with ease. The Phoenix carried a rather large box in her mouth and a rather large envelope rolled and attached on to her leg. Scarlet placed the letter down and leaned her head toward Heather for her to scratch. "Hey, Scarlet. What do you have for me? My parents already sent my clothing." Heather looked at the box and it had been marked "perishable". When Heather opened the box, her smile went wide. "YES! I love my parents!" she pulled out a case of diet I.B.C. and Stewart's Root Beer and a rather large box of cheddar "goldfish" crackers. "Ambrosia!"
"I'd hardly call crackers and root beer Ambrosia, Heather." Andrew looked at her.
"Well, you didn't see what else they sent."
"What?"
"Our addiction."
"Starbucks?"
"Carmel Frappicino."
"Now that is definitely nectar of the Gods!"
Heather pulled a Carmel bottle of Starbucks Frappicino for herself and Andrew. She tore open the seal and began to drink it. Her mother must have put a chilling charm on it for it did not taste warm at all. "You do know that Coffee stunts your growth." Hermione pointed out.
"I'm not going to get any taller anytime soon." Heather tossed back at her playfully. "I've been 5'3" since fourth year and I really don't think I'm going to grow anymore." To push Hermione even more, she took a rather large drink of her coffee. Heather began to open the large envelope and found may notes inside. One was for her, but the rest were for Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Dudley. All the letters said the same thing in the same ebony ink.
Please come to our office immediately, we have some things to explain to you. Things we should have told you a long time ago. The Password is Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
-Professors Albus Dumbledore and Daniel Gaddis
*****
When the group of students reached the headmaster's office, they were greeted by a rather large group of Wizards and Witches. Among them were Professors Dumbledore, Gaddis, McGonagall, Snape, Remus Lupin; a friend of Harry's father, James from school days, Sirius
Black; Harry's godfather, Harry's Aunt Petunia and two people he did not recognize. Heather soon remedied that once she announced: "Mommy! Daddy! You're here!"
Heather raced to a man who had pre-maturing grey heir amongst his pitch-black follicles. His pale eyes were filled with so much emotion to see his daughter alive once more. Her mother wailed as she hugged her daughter tightly, not able to contain herself. "My stars! Heather, darling! I'm so glad you are safe! James and Lily would have come back to kill us if you would have died!"
"MOM! Stop!"
"Lily and James?" Harry seemed confused.
"Who are Lily and James? What do they have to do with this?" Ron spoke his thoughts as he tried to make sense of the situation.
"And why do they share the same names as my parents?" Harry thought to himself as he awaited the answer from anyone who could answer his unspoken question. It was Professor Dumbledore who informed Harry and the rest of the group in the room of the truth. "Lily and James Potter are Heather's biological parents. They died the night she was born: October 31st in Godric's Hollow, sixteen years ago. Somehow she and her brother survived the attacks. We did not know completely why they survived, but we do now."
"You see, Heather was blessed with very strong wand less magic powers, which was evident by the time she was a couple hours old. That is why she is still a fifth year and not already out because we have been training her to be an auror and to use her Sorceress powers to her advantage." Professor Gaddis continued. "We believe she and her brother, with out realizing it, used their combined powers to keep her and her brother safe from harm, even though their mother's love already did."
"Are you trying to say?" Harry seemed to be, finally, allowing the pieces to come together.
"Yes, Harry. Heather Lillian Potter is your sister." Dumbledore told him and there was silence in the room and the girl and boy who lived looked at each other. Unconsciously, the two of them ran a finger along the scar on their foreheads simultaneously.
"I'm just wondering why you would not allow us to adopt Harry as well and prevented this whole questioning of "where is my family" in the first place. We would have loved to take him in as our own son. James and Lily would have wanted to keep the family together." Roger
Nelson looked over at the headmaster of Hogwarts. Roger's wife, Virginia, did the same.
"That was for their protection."
"From who?"
"From each other."
"What do you mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall seemed confused over the idea.
"Before the attack, your parents, "Dumbledore directed the explanation toward Harry and Heather Potter. "Feared for not only their lives, but yours Harry, and their unborn child which we all know today as Heather." Dumbledore began. "Very few people knew about Lily Potter being pregnant at the time and it was part of the reason they wanted to go into hiding was to protect the two of you. Sirius was only told about Lily being pregnant because James and Lily wanted him to be their secret keeper."
"I told them I would have been the first person anyone would come to for information about them and I suggested Peter Petigrew would have been the better choice for Secret keeper
..."
Dumbledore continued. "That is how Voldermort knew about you, Heather. Peter knew."
"That's why he attacked the school was to kill me?" Heather questioned.
"Suppose to, but didn't." Remus Lupin answered. "He didn't figure you would have a job since your still in school. I guess he did not seem to look up the child labor laws in America are different then they are here."
"I still don't understand why you separated them." Virginia seemed to grow irritated, as a direct answer was not given.
"If the two were separated, they could live normal lives without knowing the other existed. I was concerned even after people thought he died he could come back. I figured if the two of them were separated, Heather in America and Harry with his aunt, if there was an attack again on either one of them, the other would be able to alive, for he could not find one and the other." Dumbledore explained. "The two would have been each other's own undoing."
With the explanation finally told, Sirius Black asked another question. "There is one more question I would like to ask, why was Snevelus called here."
"Yeah, why was he called here?" Lupin wondered as well as he stood across the room, next to the bookshelf.
The headmaster turned toward Petunia Evans and said. "Petunia, isn't there something you wanted to tell him?"
"Yes, Professor, but I think I need to tell him outside where we can get more privacy."
"So be it." Dumbledore gestured toward the door and Petunia and Severus Snape left the room. The room went silent to hear what the potion's master's reaction would be.
When it came, the group realized they did not have to be quiet. "I HAVE A SON!!!!"
Heather's attention went back to her adoptive parents with a serious look on her face. Her father asked her. "What's wrong, Sweetie? You look upset."
"I'm just frustrated that I'm not getting any straight answers around this place."
"About what, pumpkin?" her mother asked her.
"About Rachel and Hector." Heather vented, but did not see the looks of fear being passed between her parents and Professor Gaddis. "All they told me was "I don't know" or "They'll be here eventually.". I thought of all people you guys would know, if anyone did."
"Um...Heather darling."
"Yes, mom."
"About Rachel and Hector..." before Roger Nelson could continue, Professor Dumbledore told her of her friend's fate.
"Ms. Potter, I'd hate to be the one to tell you this, but Hector Grey and Rachel Wido will not be joining us here at Hogwarts."
"Why? Are they at Salem Academy?"
"No," Professor Gaddis seemed shocked no one told her. "My stars, Heather! They're dead! You mean no one told you?" Heather's eyes began to tear up as the fifth year raced out of the office, crying and Harry raced after his sister.
*****
During the last hours of the long morning, Parvati, Lavender, Hermione, Dudley, and Heather, who seemed unusually quiet for this time of day, Hermione tutored Dudley for charms class. "Remember, Dudley. Pronunciation is the key to performing any spell correctly. It's Win-GARD-ium Levi-O-Sa."
Dudley pounced the spell the way Hermione had and the feather floated in the air. It worked! Finally! "I did it!" Dudley exclaimed excitedly.
"Congratulations, Dudley. You performed you first spell." Hermione cheered, then turned back into the book. Just at that moment, Harry and Ron stride into where they were seated, obviously heading back inside to change out of their Quidditch robes and probably shower because they had wind-swept looks on their faces and they were covered in sweat. Harry looked even more wind-swept than Ron because of his messy hair.
"I didn't know you played Quidditch, Harry." Heather looked up from her book and spoke to him for the first time since this morning. She had spent most of the morning back in her room, but Harry had convinced her to come out before heading to Quidditch practice via her door. "What position do you play?"
"Seeker, Ron plays Keeper."
"I probably would want to play beater." Heather said as she looked back down at her book.
"Why is that?" Ron asked, as he was unsure if he wanted to know the answer.
"I'd get to smack things, really, really hard. I think that would be lots of fun. I could see it now once I got pissed off or something, I could hit it REALLY hard."
"And have the probable force to put someone in a coma for three months." a boy of seventeen walked into the area carrying a broom. "I'm Blair Blake. I use to be the captain of the Sifto-Salt Quodpot team." Blair shook Harry and Ron's hand. Blair stood a proud 5'11" with light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He obviously had been playing Quadpot for a long time for his muscles were well developed. "I've played Chaos before when she's pissed off and trust me..." he rubbed his forehead with his finger on his temple, indicating he had been hit by her once before, "you will hurt."
"Chaos?" Harry seemed confused as he looked over at his newly found sister.
"My nickname is Chaos." Heather clarified.
"How did you get it?" Ron asked her.
"It's a long story, but I don't have time to tell it because we need to be getting to the Great Hall for lunch, so then after lunch I can meet with the new dance team." Heather and the rest of the group who where studying packed up their books, so they could leave.
"Let's go then." Hermione grinned as she shut the book she was using to teach Dudley.
"Can't we change first?" Ron whined.
"No, we're going now."
"Fine, but answer me one question."
"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked him exasperated.
"What is Quodpot...I've been hearing a lot about it for the past week or so, but no one has seemed to have bothered to explain it."
"Seriously, Ron. Don't you ever read?" Harry asked as they began walking toward the
Great Hall.
"Oh, I see you finally read Hogwarts: A History."
"Actually, Quadpot is mentioned in Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp." Hermione clarified.
"Wow! An Answer that wasn't in Hogwarts: A History! You never cease to amaze me with your cleverness, Hermione." With his sarcastic remark, Ron earned a smack on the back of the head from Hermione as they walked down the hallway.
"To answer your question, Ron, Quodpot is another broom game. It comes from Quidditch."
Blair began, but Heather finished for him.
"It's played with eleven players instead of seven like in Quidditch. We throw a Quod, a modified Quaffle, from one team member to another in order to get it into the pot across the field before it explodes. Any player who has it when it does explode must leave the field. Once the Quod is in the pot, which is a cauldron containing a solution which will prevent the Quod from exploding, the team is awarded a point and a new Quad is brought out onto the field."
"It's not very popular here as it is in America. That must be why you never heard of it." Blair finished her thought.
"Oh." Ron stated as they entered the Great Hall for lunch.
"If you would read more, maybe you would learn something." Hermione spat at him as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.
*****
After lunch, true to her word, Heather met up with her new team. Consisting of former Sifto-Salt and the new Gryffindor members, the room began to fill quickly and once she had counted everyone present Heather took attendance. "Alexandra, Celeste."
"Here."
"Brown, Jasmine."
"Here."
"Brown, Lavender."
"Here."
"Brook, Carla."
"I'm here."
"Calman, Courtney."
"Yo!"
"Carmen, Blythe."
"Here."
"Elwood, Lillian."
"Physically, not mentally."
"As usual...Farr, Sandra."
"Good Afternoon."
"Granger, Hermione."
"Here."
"Jade, India."
"Yo, mama!"
"Funny, India. Johnstone, Sarah."
"Can I talk to you after this?"
"Yep. Mercedes, Michelle."
"Here."
"McDonald, Natalie."
"Here."
"The Miller triplets, you guys here?
"Yeppers!"
"You bet!"
"Whatever."
Heather rolled her eyes at the Middle Miller's response. "Nokomis, Nadine."
"Here."
"O'Brian, Shavon."
"Why not."
"Orenda, Moria."
"Here."
"Patil, Par...Par...help with the pronunciation, please."
"Parvati."
"Right. Patil, Parvati...You're here, right?"
"Duh."
"Salena, Mika."
"I'm here, Heather."
"Good. Weasley, Virginia."
"Call me Ginny, Please."
"But Virginia is my mother's name...besides it is a state in the United States."
"Wrong, Virginia. Ginny please."
"Okay, last but not least Yakira, Robin."
"Here."
Heather put her roll sheet away, and smiled at all of them. "Okay, ladies. We are it. We are the new house dance team and I would like to take this moment to tell you what I'm going to call this little endeavor." Heather paused to feed the excitement. "To honor both houses, I'm calling our group Salt and Gryffindor."
"Why not Gryffindor's Salt?" Parvati offered.
"Think Simon and Garfunkel."
"Just as long as we don't have to do "Mrs. Robinson", I'll be fine." Parvati laughed at her own joke.
"That's only if you're on Salt's color guard team." Mika grinned and the rest of the Sifto-Salt's dance team laughed.
"What's so funny?" Hermione laughed.
"Well, most of us on the Dance Team pull double on the color guard and we did that song once for a show." Mika laughed harder.
"Oh."
"What are we going to do this year, Heather? Sloop John B by the Beach Boys?" India Jade asked sarcastically.
"Don't laugh, I was going to do Kokamo." Heather played with India's mind. "You'll find out once we get to my house."
"AW!"
"Yeah, I know. Now Professor Hagrid will have the carriages waiting outside in two hours. Go and pack and I'll meet you outside."
*****
Two hours later, the Salt and Gryffindor dance team met up outside on the front lawn. Hagrid helped the girls load their bags on to the carriages to travel to the train station at Hogsmeade to catch the Hogwart's express to King's cross to catch a bus to the airport and to get on to a plane headed for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
When they reached King's Cross, after several hour's worth of travel, the team crossed the barrier to get on a bus to go to the airport. Once at the airport, Heather and the team passed through metal detectors successfully and Heather found the hanger in which the team would be leaving. "Gate C-10." she called to them.
"But the call board said the plane leaving for Chicago from London is at B-7." Hermione corrected.
"We're not taking a commercial jet." Heather explained. "My father is allowing us to use our private jet because none of you can apperate, yet."
"Neither can you!" Parvati exclaimed.
"Actually, yes I can and so can most of the dance team. Apperation laws are different in the United States. We learn to apperate and get our apperating permits at fifteen and when we are sixteen we can get our apperating licenses." Mika clarified. "Our apperating laws are the same as our muggle vehicle laws."
Heather brushed a stray hair out off her face as she tried not to think about what happened only a few hours ago, but the event was still fresh in her memory. Even though she finally met her long lost brother, it was a bittersweet reunion because even though she gained a brother; she lost her two best friends Rachel Wido and Hector Grey. Heather heaved a large sigh and replayed the scene after she was told of her friend's fate. Harry had run after her, away from the meeting with the meeting with Professor Dumbledore and Gaddis. "Heather, Wait! Stop!"
She turned around and stopped running away from him, even though her head told her not to. Once Harry caught up with her, he took a moment to catch his breath then he spoke. "Are you okay?"
"Would you be okay if you just found out your best friend and your boyfriend died?"
"I would not know anything about a boyfriend, but I would be devastated if I lost Ron and Hermione."
Heather wiped away her tears, but it was a fruitless effort because tears were still streaming down her face. "That's the problem, isn't it? You don't understand...no one understands! First our parents, and now my best friends! It's all my fault!" Heather wept into her hands.
Harry stayed silent almost as if her was debating either hitting her on her head or embracing her so tightly he would just crush all the sadness out of her. He finally spoke when her tears subsided a little. When he did speak, it was so quiet; Heather could hardly hear what he said. "In my fourth year, a student older than me died during the triwizard tournament and for the next year and even still today I blamed myself for his death."
"But at least you still have Hermione and Ron to help you through it."
"And if you would let us, we could be there for you now." Harry enveloped her into a hug. "Heather, you are my sister. I am going to help you through this whether you want me to or not." Tears began to brew in her eyes once more as she hugged him back tightly until the tears stopped rolling down her cheeks.
Heather found herself back at the present as they reached the gate for their flight to
the United States. She absentmindedly handed the flight attendant her ticket. "I cannot
believe my parents and Professor Gaddis would not tell me the truth about Hector and Rachel.
They did not even let me say good-bye to them!"
Heather found her seat with ease and pulled out her journal to begin writing her thoughts on the latest developments of her life down on paper. Then a voice interrupted her thoughts. "Can I sit? Everywhere else if full." Heather knew whom the voice belonged to before she looked up and noticed Hermione Granger standing next to her.
"It's a free country. Do whatever you want." Heather noticed her tone was a little harsher than what should have been, but she did not apologize because it did not seem to faze Hermione.
"What are you working on? Homework?"
"My journal."
"Oh, do you like to write?"
"Yeah."
"Do you write stories?"
"I have a website full of my works. I do mostly poetry, Haiku most of the time. I do write stories, though."
"What kind of stories?"
"Romance mostly. I did a mystery/adventure series once, but it was stupid, so I stopped writing it."
"Oh," Hermione paused not too sure on what she should say next. "I should like to read it sometime."
"Maybe." Heather looked at Hermione and asked the question that had been bugging her for the past few minutes, since Hermione sat down next to her. "Are you going to be this inquisitive the whole 13 hours we are going to be on this plane?"
"I'm sorry if I hit a nerve."
"Did my brother sick you on me?"
"Actually, he did ask me to keep an eye on you to make sure you were okay." Hermione took her charms textbook out and began to read. She had lied. Harry did not even know she was on the dance team, let alone taking this flight with his sister, but it was a good way of making sure Heather did not do something stupid. "He's worried about you, Heather." That was not a complete lie because Harry was worried about her.
"I don't need a babysitter." Heather went back to her writing and Hermione went back to her charms homework, saying nothing else to her, allowing her some "cool-down" time.
"Why is she making it so hard for me to be her friend?" Hermione wondered to herself as she flipped the page of her charms book. "Is it because of her friend's death? Does she not want anyone to get close to her because she is afraid of hurting them, too?" Hermione pondered these things during the rest of the flight.
*****
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