Watching out the window of the Hogwarts Express, Gemmalyn Petunia Potter felt a pang as she saw her twin brother hugging Mrs. Weasley, a short and plump red headed woman who had become his second mother. Of course, Gemma had never met her brother before, as she was brought up in the warmth of the Romanian sun under the care of Sirius Black, a kind man who was previously convicted as a murderer, though his name was eventually cleared as the Ministry got hold of Peter Pettigrew, the true murderer. Her twin had been unfortunate enough to be sent to live with her mother's sister. Sirius said he had asked Dumbledore to take both twins, but as the old man thought, it was decided that the best course of action was to separate the twins as a safety precaution.
A slight tear cascaded its way down Gemma's face and she hurried to brush it away as she thought about all she left behind in Romania and her first school, Durmstrang. Touching the pendant at the base of her throat, she breathed a sigh, attempting to release all negative emotions as if her breath was a relaxation spell, reaching into her stomach to rid the organ of any issues influenced by emotion. The Hogwarts Express' whistle sounded for the last time and the loitering students jumped to life, turning and rushing onto the train.
Gemma was able to maintain an empty cabin for a full 3 minutes once the Express departed, and she had used them to let herself wallow in the memories of her old school and the fun times she had had with her peers.
"Well well, who might we have here?" a voice asked from the doorway. Gemma looked up and wiped away a stray tear as she noticed twin boys with red hair and freckles.
"What do you want?" Gemma replied to the boy shakily.
"Well we saw a pretty little thing just sittin' there all alone" started one twin, later found out to be Fred Weasley.
"And decided we wanted to know more." Finished George Weasley.
"And, we needed a compartment to sit in." Fred added. Gemma found herself trying not to smile, so she bit her lip hard and nodded, turning to once more stare out the window.
"Fred, would you look at that?"
"What might I be looking at, dear Georgie?"
"Well if we can persuade this young woman here to open up to us and tell her name, we may just be able to discover the meaning of that pendant slung 'round her neck." The twins plan together loudly how they will convince Gemma to spill her name, and Gemma makes sure she is out of the twins' view when she lets her smile erupt on her face. She gives herself 3 seconds with the grin before biting down on the soft, fleshy material that is her cheek.
"You can call me Gee." Gemma turned towards the boys, and both twins held back a grin until the initial surprise wore off. "And you are?"
"Well I'm Fred Weasley,"
"And I'm George Weasley." Nodding, Gemma's fingers gently fiddle with the metal shape that hung from her neck.
"So what is that pendant?" Fred asks. He watches Gemma more to try and understand her odd appearance than to find out the meaning of her necklace.
"It is a family heirloom, one might say." Looking out the window, Gemma remembers the day Sirius gave her the necklace that had previously been owned by Slazar Slytherin. The necklace was a family heirloom, Gemma had not lied, however the silver pendant had been an heirloom in Sirius' family rather than her own, connecting the Black's family to one of the original founders of Hogwarts. The pendant was etched intricately out of pure silver, and is sparked as the snake carved out of emeralds buzzed with electricity, waiting for an order from the parseltongue speaking girl. Not that it could do much, just shoot up a shield or summon a house elf or what not. But the reptile had always been there for Gemma, and she loved the necklace more than anything despite her lack of meaning put into material objects
"Fred, George, there you are!" Gemma looked cautiously over her shoulder as she watched the twins exchange a look and glance up at the third boy with freckles and red hair.
"Ello Ron." George said cheerfully. Fred playfully saluted his younger sibling, carefully keeping an eye on the mysterious girl sitting across from himself.
"Harry's twin is on the train! He is trying to find her, any idea?" the youngest ginger child's dark eyes were alight with excitement as he suddenly noticed the young girl in the compartment.
"Ron, this is Gee. Gee, this is our brother Ron. He thinks he is special because his best friend is The Boy Who Lived." Fred said the introduction lightly, but he was watching the girl seriously. All boys were surprised when Gemma stood up and mumbled "excuse me" as she pushed past Ronald Weasley, the youngest Weasley son who had yet to truly talk to the mysterious girl.
As Gemma walked down the hall to the loo, she kept her eyes trained on the red carpet of the train, for she knew the unusual appearance her eyes held surprised people and caused them to look, something she did not enjoy. Closing the door to the bathroom, Gemma took a needed deep breath and decided to be nicer to the boys in the compartment, even though she wished to not reveal herself as the missing Potter twin. After washing her hands, Gemma left the safety and isolation of the restroom and headed back to her shared compartment. She stopped suddenly as she recognized her brother, but after a moment, she pushed herself forward.
Smiling at each of the twins, Gemma entered the compartment to sit down and fall asleep until she arrived at Hogwarts Castle, where she got off the train and headed to the boats with the first years. She helped paddle the small row boat so that the magic to bring them across the water would start up, and after it did, Gemma leaned back and relaxed as she watched the castle glitter and sparkle, more so as the boats drew nearer.
"Are you nervous?" a first year to Gemma's right asked.
"Kind of." Gemma answered. The first year turned to her and sneered.
"I wasn't asking you, Gigantisor. What, were you held back?" the first years words would normally hurt her, as she was quite small for a fourth year, but large for a first. But as she responded, she held nothing but pride in her voice and body.
"No, actually. I just switched from Durmstrang. I will be entering here as a forth year." Gemma watches as the girl's smirks melts off her face and solidifies instead into a sneer. Turning back to Professor McGonagall, Gemma wonders what house she will be placed into. Sirius, her brother, and her parents all had been in Gryffindor, but that didn't actually matter if she didn't go to the house that values bravery.
The sorting hat sang a song that Gemma failed to truly listen to, but she knew it was just telling the first years the qualities that each house valued. As the sorting began, Gemma stared at her shoes, wondering if she would have to take off her necklace if she was placed anywhere besides Slytherin.
"Gemmalyn Potter" McGonagall's voice rang out and everyone at the tables was suddenly silent, as if a Silent Charm had been placed over the students. Gemma stood and pushed herself to the front, sitting on the stool as the hat was placed onto her head.
"Ahh, another Potter. What is that necklace you wear? Hmm…I recognize it as that of Slazar Slytherin am I correct? Yes, I see I am. Now, what do you treasure most? Is it bravery, like that of your parents and brother? Or shall you be placed in the very house created by the original owner of your necklace?"
Gemma swallowed hard. What house did she want to be in? She was not especially smart, and she knew little about the loyalty Hufflepuff honored. While she liked to believe that she was brave, or would be in a situation that called for bravery, she had been protected from Lord Voldemort while at Durmstrang. Nobody knew where she was, but it was known Harry was at Hogwarts, so Voldemort targeted him, not Gemma, and she remained safe, out of situations that would force her to be brave.
Durmstrang, on the other hand, had valued the ability to lie or get away with stuff. They had valued her sarcastic remarks and jokes and pranks and strength in hexes and curses.
"I don't know where I belong. How am I suppose to see in myself something I have never needed to use?" Gemma whispered. She looked around the Great Hall and saw the quiet students perched on the edges of their seats, each with similar looks of anxiety and hope mixed together upon their faces. As her eyes drifted from right to left, she saw a boy with dark air that stuck out at all angels with oddly circular glasses. The higher concentration of hope on his face gave Gemma the knowledge she needed to deduct that this boy was, in fact, her brother.
But, as Gemma thought, she understood how she could be brave, considering she has yet to know her brother, a boy who sat at the table of the exact house she was debating whether or not she could fit into. But isn't going into a slightly scary situation headstrong and confident, bravery? Couldn't it be considered brave if one forces themselves to go into a house that requires them to honor qualities they do not know if they possess?
"Tick tock, Miss Potter. Time is running out." The hat hissed in her ear. The voice sent shivers down her spine and she shut her eyes.
"I want to defeat him, and I want a family." Gemma exhaled.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat erupted from it's silence, and if possible, the students at the Gryffindor table were instantly the loudest thing in the room, roaring in happiness that they got not one famous Potter, but two.
Gemma stood up and the hat fell off of her, caught by Professor McGonagall at the last moment. As she gently stepped down the stairs, she noticed that her brother had gotten up from his spot at the table and was looking at her. Ignoring the smile pulling at her lips, Gemma opened her mouth and said one thing.
"Brother"
Everyone gasped, and Harry, unsurprised, replied "Sister", and just as his only family member left had, Harry spoke in parseltongue. Closing her eyes for a moment, a tear slipped down Gemma's face. She didn't even brush it away before running and launching herself into her brother's arms.
Harry, who was surprised by this, stumbled back slightly before catching himself and wound his arms around his long lost sister. All students were watching, and most of the professors were also. Professor McGonagall was attempting to get the attention back to the Sorting Hat when the doors to the Great Hall slammed open and a scary looking man limped in, one leg wooden and one eye attached by a headband. Mad-Eye Moody's eyes were both drawn to the Potter twins, and seeing this he yelled for all students to sit back down, and his one real eye glared uncharacteristically at the duo. Gemma let go of Harry and followed him back to the table, sitting in between Harry and Fred Weasley, one of the twins she met on the train. Moody muttered incoherently during his walk up the steps to the professors table, and earned several concerned glances from McGonagall, Snape, and Dumbledore. McGonagall continued with the sorting, but the students closest to the Potters at the Gryffindor table whispered amongst themselves.
"Wow Fred, never saw that one comin', did ya?" George Weasley asked his twin. The sarcastic remark made Gemma smile. That is, until a girl across from Harry stuck out her hand and waited for Gemma to do the same.
"I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you." The girl had a firm grip on Gemma's hand, and it made her uncomfortable.
"Gee." Gemma replied with.
"I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked.
"Gee, call me Gee." Gemma chuckled and looked at the boy she had met earlier. Ronald Weasley sat across from Gemma at the table with his mouth slung open as if the jaw joint had not worked.
"Ronald, close your mouth. We aren't trying to catch flies are we?" Hermione patted his shoulder, eventually hitting him hard because the boy just would not close his mouth.
"I-I-I…" Ron started. "I cannot believe I met you on the train and didn't know!"
"Well its not like Harry and I look extremely similar…"Gemma trailed off, letting her hair cover the left side of her face. The kids continued to chat about what Moody was there for until Dumbledore called for attention.
"Well that was an interesting sorting now wasn't it?" Dumbledore laughed with some of the students at his joke before continuing on. "Now, as you can see we have a wonderful Auror here to fill our Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position. Please welcome Professor Moody. Lastly, we have been given the honor this year to host the Triwizard Tournament, which means we will have students from Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang joining us this year for classes. The Triwizard Tournament is an ancient series of tasks that one student from each school will compete in against the other students. The winner will receive 100,000 Galleons and the pride of winning for their school. Now, please welcome the esteemed students from Beauxbatons and their headmistress, Olympe Maxime." Dumbledore's words ended right as the doors opened, letting in about 2 dozen girls dressed in powder blue skirts, jackets, and hats. The maximize their entrance by having each girl stop and turn every few steps, opening their arms and going into a demi-plie. They sighed loudly at each stop, finally going to the right side of the room as their Headmistress walked in, the woman's form was large, even larger than Hagrid's half giant, but as she walked to join her students, Gemma found herself worrying about the Durmstrang students. Dumbledore gently placed a kiss on Madam Maxime's hand before announcing the Durmstrang students and their Headmaster, Igor Karkarov. The students marched in suddenly, most holding large wooden poles with fire on them, which they swung ceremoniously. The students gathered with their headmaster to the left of the room, and Dumbledore respectfully hugged Karkarov.
"Lastly, I will tell you that a large goblet will be set up in this very Hall. To enter, write your name on a piece of parchment and drop it in the goblet. A bit of advice however. If you are under 17, do not enter, for the tournament will only be for those students above this age for safety precautions. All students entering their names shall be warned that competitors have died in this competition. And on that note, pip pip!"
