This one-shot was written for: Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges - Birthday Fic Exchange's Fanfiction, School of Imagination and Creativity - Transfiguration - What if... Lily or James survived Voldemort's attack?
Author's note: In this AU one-shot Lily survived the attack and she was already pregnant with their second baby by then, so Harry has a little sister, Camillia.
NOTE: THE MISTAKE (THAT CALLA IS TEN AND NOT NINE) HAS BEEN CORRECTED!
The family I needed
I opened my eyes just in time to see my little sister storming in my room and jumping on my bed next to me.
"Harry! Get up, it's time for Hogwarts!" she shouted in my ears. I chuckled and sat up. Camillia or Calla as I called hugged me tightly.
"I will miss you," she sobbed and I tried to calm her down.
"It's only two years, Cal," I told her and she frowned, but it seemed that she stopped crying.
"What am I going to do for two years? I will be completely alone," she said and her hazel eyes were teary once again. I sighed and looked into the eyes of my little sister who meant so much for me.
"Listen to me, Cal. You aren't going to be alone. You have many friends and Mom and Uncle Moony and Paddy will be completely yours. You know Mom, she will miss me just as much as you will, so she will try to spend her whole free time with you before you will leave for Hogwarts too in two years," I told Camille who nodded and smiled weakly.
"What if I'm a Squib?" she asked in desperation and I sighed.
"You know as much as I do that you are very far from a squib. Even Aunt Minnie said that," I stated and she nodded.
"Gryffindor is waiting for the Potter children," she said with a grin and I laughed. Although Cal's godfather was Remus, the most reasonable from the Marauders, she was influenced by Sirius too much. My mom always said that the two of us were just like Dad and Sirius were.
"Aunt Minnie is already afraid of what will happen to poor Hogwarts. She said the school is not ready for the second generation of Marauders," I stated with a grin and we laughed together.
"You should really put on some cloths. Mom will kill us if we are late and I need to meet up with Ginny," Calla said seriously but with a playful glint in her eyes, I've missed until that moment. That was my little sister.
"I'm afraid of you and Mom together. You are really scary alone too," I said and she flashed a mysterious smile to me.
"You should be afraid of me," she said and I rolled my eyes, but I had an amused smile on my face. My sister slipped out of my room elegantly, her dark red, nearly black hair followed her like a flow. I quickly put on some Muggle clothes, a green T-shirt and jeans and ran my hand through my hair instead of brushing it as I couldn't find the comb.
I went downstairs and entered the light kitchen. Mom has just finished making my breakfast as she turned around and smiled at me with a tray in her hands. Her red hair was in a pony-tail her emerald green eyes which were so similar to mine were shining, but they were a bit red. She was crying, I knew. She wanted Dad to be there for the first time I leave for Hogwarts. I knew she did, because I have been thinking about the same for days.
"Hey, Mom," I greeted her softly and she put down the tray and then she hugged me tightly, just as Calla did. She gave a kiss on my forehead and smiled at me warmly.
"Hey, sweetie. Are you ready?" she asked and I nodded. From the two of us she was the one who wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to let me go, she needed me just as much she needed Calla.
"Where is Uncle Paddy and Moony?" I asked curiously Mom as I sat down to the kitchen table.
"They are meeting as at King's Cross. They wouldn't let you go without saying good bye," she said and she sat down next to me. I grabbed a pancake and started eating, occasionally looking at Mom.
"Are you okay, Mom?" I asked softly even though I knew she wasn't. I hoped that she realized I was big enough to talk about the loss of Dad already.
"He would be very proud of you, Harry. You know that, don't you?" Mom asked quietly and I nodded. I knew who she was talking about even without mentioning it.
"I would say don't look for trouble, but your father and your uncles would be disappointed in me. I just ask you to take care of yourself. Both of us know that you will be well-known and you will be in the centre. Try not to be manipulated and remember, the fact that you are the Boy-Who-Lived doesn't mean you can do everything," my Mom told me seriously and I nodded.
"You will be a great wizard, Harry, just remember that," Mom said softly and I stood up and hugged her. It was a weird idea of leaving her behind for months; she was always there for me when I needed her.
"What would Dad say to me now if he was here?" I asked curiously and Mom smiled.
"He would say that you need to get into Gryffindor and in the Quidditch team or he will disown you," my mom said and I must have had a very surprised and scared expression as she started laughing. "Then he would laugh at your reaction," she said with a fond smile.
"You loved him," I stated even though I knew the answer. There was a reason for why my beautiful, kind, successful and famous mother has never remarried and it wasn't only because I was the Boy-Who-Lived. She smiled at me, but her smile was weak.
"I will always love him," she said softly and I nodded. I didn't want to press the topic, not now when my Mom was so depressed by my departure anyways. As always Calla appeared at the right moment with a big grin on her face. Her hazel eyes shined and she seemed in a very good mood which was a bit weird after all less than an hour ago she was crying.
"Hey, Mommy," she said and hugged Mom tightly. She just flashed a smile to me and I looked at her in confusion.
"You are in good mood," I stated and she turned to me as she sat down to the table and grabbed a pancake.
"Ginny has just sent me an owl. We are going to spend the afternoon together," Calla said enthusiastically and I nodded. Ginny Weasley was Calla's best friend; they seemed practically inseparable for me.
"I'm going to meet Ron and Neville at the station," I stated and after that the breakfast was spent with chatting. It seemed that my little sister actually accepted that I was going away and she was talking about everything we were going to do together when she started Hogwarts too.
"Harry, hurry up!" Mom told me with crossed arms when she noticed that I was far from ready and it was already time to leave. I grabbed my luggage and with a wave of her wand Mom made it so small I could place it on my palm. I also prepared my new pet's cage. My beautiful snowy owl, Hedwig was a bit grumpy, but she understood that it had to be done.
"Harry, you will be late!" Now Calla seemed more enthusiastic than I was and all I saw was a flash of red as she was running and bouncing up and down the house. The word 'moody' didn't really describe my sister it seemed. Mom seemed just as amused as I was as she stopped Cal for a minute.
"Sweetie, I'm sure your brother is ready. We can owl it to him anything if he left here something," Mom calmed my little sister down who seemed sure that I left everything at home. By half past ten we were all standing in the living-room in front of the fireplace. I was the first to step in the green flame after I used some Floo powder.
"Leaky Cauldron, London," I said clearly and the world began spinning. By the time I reached the old fireplace I was close to puke and I hit my elbow. Even though I used the Flow Network many times before, I never really got used to it.
When I looked around the pub was pretty full which I didn't like, not even a bit as I knew what was coming.
"Mr. Potter! How delighted I'm to see you," I heard and I tried to pretend I didn't hear it, but my little sister had to arrive and ruin everything. Her freckled face was dirty from the ash, but she was grinning. She always enjoyed my embarrassment.
"Harry, he is talking to you," she said with enthusiasm and after I looked at my cute little sister nastily I turned to the old wizard who was looking at me like he hasn't seen anything more interesting before than an eleven-year-old boy with a scar.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," I muttered embarrassedly as everyone turned to our little group because of the man's and Calla's enthusiasm. At least at the right moment my mother stepped out of the fireplace without even the trace of any ash. She was just as graceful as ever with her red hair in high pony-tail and in dark blue pantsuit to merge in the group of muggles.
"Ah, Mrs. Potter," the wizard started with a big smile on his wrinkled face, but my Mom said perfectly politely that we had to go or we will be late. So with a last blush I left the wizard pub through the door to Muggle London.
"Icle-Harrykins can't accept fame," my little sister, who seemed like an angel but was actually evil stated mockingly. I just rolled my eyes with an amused smile on my face. I was sure that I would never really understand my sister.
"It's not so easy to be in the centre," I muttered and my sister just grinned.
"I'm sure it is pure hell," she stated and before I could answer her Mum gestured towards a taxi and we had to sit in. From Charing Cross Road to King's Cross Station wasn't far, only about two miles and in about ten minutes we were in front of the station.
We only needed two seconds to lose Calla so my Mom was more than annoyed and highly-strung. The place was full of people and it was hard to find a nine-year-old who was even shorter than I was.
"Prongslet!" Uncle Paddy appeared with a big grin on his face. Without any greetings I hugged him while Mom was looking for Cal frantically.
"It's nice to see you, Sirius," I said and my godfather grinned at me.
"Emmaline wanted to come too, but she had to go to work," he grimaced and I nodded.
"Haven't you seen a nine-year-old red-headed demon?" I asked curiously after he led me to the platform.
"I saw one, but she is way over nine," he stated referring to my Mom. I chuckled and he grinned. When we reached the wall between platform nine and ten I noticed a group of redheads.
"Ron!" I shouted and left my laughing godfather. My best friend I have known ever since I was a baby turned around and grinned at me. The first thing I noticed was the missing redhead, Ginny. It wasn't a question anymore where my sweet little sister has gone. Probably the two of them were plotting something against Ron and me as they always did.
"Where is Gin?" I asked when I reached my best friend who frowned. Probably he hasn't even noticed yet that his sister has left. He only shrugged as an answer.
"Harry." I heard the voice I would always recognize and I hugged my adopted uncle.
"Uncle Moony!" I said happily and he chuckled.
"Can I talk to you, Harry?" my uncle fixed his amber eyes on me and I nodded. I gestured to my friend to cross the barrier between the muggle and the magical platform alone and I will follow him.
"Of course, Uncle Moony," I told him fondly and he smiled. The fact that now I have lost Calla, Mom, Sirius and Ron too didn't seem to matter.
"I just wanted to tell you, that we are all very proud of you, son. Believe in yourself and don't ever forget that we all love you. Your mother, your sister, Sirius, Emma, me and... your father," Remus told me and I nodded slowly.
"I will miss you Uncle Moony, also, thanks for the prank ideas," I told him mischievously and he smiled.
"That was Sirius' idea," he protested but I just laughed.
"What was my absolutely fantastic idea?" My godfather appeared out of nowhere. His dark eyes were gleaming challengingly.
"You corrupted the kids," Uncle M said and Uncle P sighed dramatically.
"Moony, they are the future Marauders. That's exactly what Prongs would have wanted, he told me himself," Sirius said with a serious expression and my sister's godfather rolled his eyes. I was just standing there with an amused smile on my face and thinking how lucky I was to have a family like that.
"Where are Mom and Cal?" I asked my uncles who were bickering about some prank which was 'fantastic' in Sirius' opinion but Remus said it was 'catastrophic'.
"I haven't seen them for a while," Sirius frowned and continued the quarrel. I shook my head and left my uncles there because I didn't want to be late from the Hogwarts Express. Mom and Aunt Minnie would kill me too.
"Potter." Someone said venomously and then I noticed Malfoy with his 'little friends'. I didn't even give him time to start on his pure-blood maniac speeches; I left him there and tried to find Ron in the crowd.
I spotted a bushy brown-haired girl who was eagerly telling something to Neville who seemed a bit lost. Probably he was looking for Trevor, his frog again as always ever since he got it. I thought I would greet him, but he seemed pretty busy so I tried to find the Weasleys, only to notice Calla and Ginny. The two red-headed girls were chatting happily next to the Hogwarts Express.
"Harry!" Calla hugged me happily. "I wanted to say good-bye! You must be sorted in Gryffindor!" she told me and I frowned. Thanks. "Try not to kill Malfoy and try to prepare Aunt Minnie for what is going to come in the upcoming years," she said enthusiastically and I laughed. The same moment Mom appeared and she hugged both of us.
"Mommy, I will miss Harry," Calla said a bit less enthusiastically this time. Mom smiled softly and fixed her green eyes on me.
"Everyone will," she said seriously with a fond smile.
"Wait for me at Hogwarts, Harry!" Calla said and I smiled. I hugged her once again and gave a kiss on her cheek.
"I will, sis'. I love you," I said as I got on the train which was nearly ready to leave. When I looked back my two uncles were standing next to my mother and my sister and all of them were waving to me.
I waved back happily. I missed my father, he should have been there with the others, but I was loved. I had a true family and when I looked for a place to sit I found Ron and Neville with the bushy-haired girl from the platform.
I was even going to be loved where I was going I was sure of that.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" a muggleborn asked enthusiastically and I frowned.
I was going to be loved if I survived...