Lily Potter and the Uppas of Declome
Chapter One
"You will never be your father, Albus," said a dark, raspy voice. The man who spoke had red slits for eyes and a very pale face. He had his wand out, pointing it straight at a boy. The only thing between them was a table, and the boy could not expect it to jump in front of him if the older wizard decided to launch an attack.
"If you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything," the boy said in rejoinder.
"But you'll never achieve what Harry Potter has. You're just his son, just a wannabe."
"No, you're wrong!" Albus shouted, fully believing that he was capable of great things.
"And James is better than you. At least he excels at Quidditch. But all you can do is sit back and watch as Rose Weasley answers every question your teachers bring up."
"I'm still very intelligent."
"But she is more so. She is the pride and joy of her parents, and what are you? Just a copycat, named after two useless people, Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape."
"No, they were great men—Father says so!"
"But how was I able to kill them if they were so great? How could I have taken the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb and then killed Snape with it, to gain all the power it held?"
"MY FATHER KILLED YOU!"
"You think so, do you? No, I assure you, Albus, that my death was caused by my own means, and not those of your imbecilic father. I decided the Muggle world was not worth living in, there being six billion of them and only a smattering of our kind. And now I inhabit your mind!"
"NOOO!" Albus exclaimed, as a stream of green light floated toward him from Voldemort's wand…
There was the sound of a lamp breaking somewhere, and then breathing. Someone was shaking him. "Albus, wake up! Wake up!"
The redheaded boy opened his sleep-lidded eyes, struggling to see. Someone had cast the Lumos spell and was standing in front of him. He made out the shape of his brother.
"James?"
"You were having a nightmare. Dad will be down in a minute."
At that moment, Harry poked his head in the room his sons shared. "Who had a nightmare?"
"I did," Albus said, although he didn't believe it was merely a dream.
"What was it about?" he asked, for Albus was his favorite son; it is almost certain that if James had a nightmare, Harry would've just left, for the worst dream James ever had was that he failed to catch the Snitch at a Hufflepuff game. It was always Hufflepuff that made James the most agitated, because he looked down on people unfortunate enough to be put in that House as his inferiors.
"Voldemort was speaking to me saying I was worthless and that you hadn't killed him—he had done it himself."
"Albus, you're not worthless. And, in a sense Voldemort did kill himself. He didn't show any remorse for his actions, did he? But, if it still worries you, come down and have a glass of hot cocoa."
Albus did as his father suggested. He needed something warm flowing through his veins, anyhow.
"Cheer up, son. This year the Triwizard Tournament is going to be held at your school and even though you won't get to participate, you'll get to see a lot of action."
"Man, I wish I was old enough already! Why do they only allow seventeen-year-olds in?" the boy asked, giving off the veneer of having recovered from his dream.
"It is very dangerous, as you'll soon see. This will be the first time any of you kids get to see it. And it'll be Lily's first year at Hogwarts. She may look up to you, Albus, who knows? It is always awkward at her age; that's when people tend to cling to their older siblings."
This did brighten up Albus' spirits a little, for he liked Lily reasonably well. She was a kind sister and an austere friend; no one would ever expect her to betray him. After a few more minutes, he went off to bed, and Harry gazed at the fire, recalling the challenges of a Hungarian Horntail, a horde of obstinate merpeople, and a Sphinx that asked him a question in which the answer was "Spider."
A fortnight later, Harry, Ginny, and their three kids stood on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Lily ran to greet her cousin, Hugo Weasley, who was also a first-year. It was expected that they would be closer than peanut butter and jelly at Hogwarts. They boarded the train together, hand-in-hand.
Rose met with Albus. She was in Ravenclaw, her intelligence too sublime for her to have been thrust into Gryffindor, even though her mother had belonged to that House. James tried to engage her in a conversation regarding Quidditch, but her mind was too fine for such things. Albus went with her on the train, to get in a compartment with Arnold Chumpunk, whose parents were Muggles.
James was about to board the train, when Ginny noticed somebody that looked rather familiar walking about with her son. The lady was tall and thin, with mousy cheeks. Her husband was with her. He was very stodgy, looking lost and confused. The boy was frightened and pale, seeming unsure if going to Hogwarts was the right thing to do.
Ginny's eyes were fixed on the woman and Harry asked what was the matter. "I think I know her, as if she was in a dream."
Ron was staring too. "Oh, it's her." he said, bemused.
"Who?" Hermione asked, in a tone that bordered on threatening.
"The one who used to call me 'Won-Won.' But it's strange, who is that she married?"
The Potters and the Weasleys approached Lavender Brown, for indeed it was she. And Harry knew instantly whom she had married.
"Dudley!"
The bear of a man punched his cousin hard in the chest, causing Harry to bend forward. "Long time no see, isn't it, chump?"
"So you're Dudley Dursley?" asked Hermione, politely, albeit wincing at the greeting Dudley had given Harry. "It's funny we've never met."
"This is my wife Ginny," Harry said, straightening up, his cousin's way of greeting causing but a minor pain, "and these are my friends, Ron and Hermione. Oh, yeah, and there's James, my son."
"How d'ye do?" Harry's cousin asked. "This is my wife, Lavender." The woman thus addressed was blushing deep-scarlet: it was very awkward being introduced to a man one had kissed before.
"We know her," everybody said. "She was in our year at Hogwarts."
"And finally, this is Patrick. He just turned eleven," Dudley said, introducing the kid who seemed to be eager to hide.
"Reminds me of you when you were a chap," Harry remarked, "except without the thick skin." It was remarkable to see the skinny lad next to his chubby father. Dudley informed the gang that Patrick shied away from food as much as possible; the mere thought of eating was so distasteful to him.
Harry induced James to take Patrick with him on the bus so that Dudley's son would not feel so alone. He had special regard for his nephew, remembering the horrible treatment his uncle and aunt had imposed upon him since the day he was found on their doorstep. Just then the train gave a whistle and the elder boy took the younger by the arm and ran with him to jump on the vehicle, which had already started to move when someone pulled them inside.
"Oh, thank you, Yerris," James said to his would-be girlfriend. He already made plans to ask her to the Yule Ball—which his father had told him about—but it was too early to worry about that at the present moment.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Yerris asked.
"Yes, this is Patrick Dursley. I think he's my second cousin, or something; just met him today."
Patrick waved five shaky fingers and Yerris asked James if he could stay in their compartment. James was so thrilled at being invited to share a compartment with Yerris that he didn't mind having the little bugger tag along, although he planned to dislodge himself of this burden as soon as possible.
While this was going on, Lily and Hugo were engaged in an intriguing conversation. "We'll both be in Gryffindor, just you wait!" the former said.
At that moment, a pale-faced third year with a pointed chin came into their compartment. "Don't count your dragons before they hatch," he told them.
"What do you want, Scorpius?" Lily asked, resentfully.
There was a long pause, as if Scorpius was contemplating his answer very carefully. At last he said, "A friend."
"Friendships are not born out of nothing, you know," Lily remarked. "And why do you think I would consider liking you when you are so cruel to my brothers?"
"Look, Potter, we have to make a pact," Scorpius said, making his voice sound sincere. "Our families have had this rivalry ever since both our fathers were at Hogwarts. It's time it ended, for the Potter-Weasley feud is worthless, fought over nothingness, as far as I can understand. So your dad rebuffed mine. Big whoop. But it's about time we made up."
"Well, you can start by being kind to my brothers," Lily remarked.
"I fear you ask too much of me. I'm a Slytherin, and I'm Draco's son. To be kind is not exactly in my nature," he said, twiddling his thumbs.
"You can at least try," Lily said, feeling that maybe Scorpius wasn't so bad after all.
"Perhaps, he said, leaving. "Or I can hope that the Sorting Hat puts you in Slytherin," he added, laughing as he left their compartment.
Lily stared after him, wondering what that had all been about. That seemed totally out of character for Scorpius, at least according to the accounts James and Albus gave of him. Was he trying to pull something over her? What could it be?
"We should probably get our school robes on soon," her cousin said.
"Yeah, I suppose so."
Hugo left his cousin alone so she could change. When he came back half an hour later, he was dressed as well, and he was carrying myriad treats from the snack cart. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cherry Ants, Sugar Mice…they have everything on this train."
"I'll take a frog," Lily said, grabbing one. She had a large collection of cards, and she was shooting for the whole set. "Hmm…Art Paldstone (1774-1812), Perfected the Hovering Charm and turned whalebone into a trumpet which is used to soothe dragons who have gone out of control."
"Sounds like an interesting guy. I expect we'll be learning a lot about wizards in History of Magic."
"I don't reckon so. Albus told me its just a bunch of Gobbledegook about goblins named Erd the Weird and Ballant the Terrible who started bloody wars and stuff."
"We get enough about war from listening to your father," Hugo said.
"Yeah."
For the rest of the ride to Hogwarts they spoke of various topics, without any interruption. At last, the train stopped.
"First years, first years, over here."
Lily pulled Hugo after her and they approached the gamekeeper, who was rather sleazy with a long beard that reached the floor. Partick was there too, along with thirty-nine other students.
"I'm Brodd and you'll be riding in boats with me. See there?" the gamekeeper said, pointing. "No more than four to each one."
Lily and Hugo climbed in one boat together along with two other children. They rode through a tunnel and ended up on the side of the looming castle. Brodd ushered them all in, where they met a man with slick hair and red robes. "I am Professor Acklehort, and I will be teaching you Transfiguration. But that is immaterial at the moment. As Deputy Headmaster I must lead you into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your Houses."
They followed him down a narrow passageway and led up to giant brass doors, which the professor opened. In two rows they walked before the eyes of the older students and Lily admired the floating candles and general mystique of the Great Hall. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table, where Albus was waving at her.
At the end of the Hall, there was a chair with a dusty hat on it, which Lily knew to be the one used for sorting. It certainly looked queer, unlike any cap she had ever laid eyes on.
"You will put on the Sorting Hat," Professor Acklehort said, "as I call you up alphabetically. When your House is chosen, you be required to sit at the indicated table before the next pupil can take his or her turn. And now, let the sorting—begin!"
Each of the forty-two students stood nervously, waiting for their turn.
"Alvost, Norton."
A boy with sandy hair stepped forward and placed the hat on his own crest.
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table with a flag depicting a bird roared in congratulations to their new comrade, inviting him to sit down.
"Azzos, Susan."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Again the applause, the excitement. Lily knew only too soon that it would be the Gryffindors cheering her on.
"Dursley, Patrick."
"SLYTHERIN!"
Scorpius had an empty seat next to him and Patrick was invited to sit there. Lily did not know it was her cousin who had just been sorted, for she had not had a chance to talk to James yet and, of course, she had already been on the train when the Dursleys showed up.
Many more names were called before at last she heard Professor Acklehort say, "Potter, Lily!"
All eyes were fixed on her as they had been for her father twenty-eight years before. She was the first girl who bore Harry's surname and any connection with her would be a direct link to the greatest living historical figure. There was not a person in the room not holding her/his breath, not even Lily.
As soon as the hat had touched her head, it pronounced its judgement, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Never before in the history of Hogwarts did that House give off such a round of applause as it did now. Everyone from their table was standing and shouting; it was so deafening that people from other tables had their ears covered with magical earmuffs. Lily meandered around other tables to reach the Hufflepuffs, crying a little, her face red—she had been so sure she would be in Gryffindor! When she got to the table, some sixth and seventh years lifted her on their shoulders as if she had been a star player in a Quidditch game. "SHE'S OURS!"
It was a full ten minutes before everyone calmed down and Lily was able to take a seat. She wanted to be alone, but she knew the opportunity would not come for an awful long while. Lowering her head, she tried to tune out the rest of the expedition.
"Ahem…well, that was—breathtaking," said Professor Acklehort. "But we still have a handful of students left to sort, so let's move on. Quasnos, Feveral!"
After he had gone a little further down the list he at last got to, "Weasley, Hugo!"
Ron and Hermione's son approached the chair and he was crested with the Sorting Hat. "GRYFFINDOR!"
Before he left the front, he glanced over at Lily, who had lifted her head just to view his Sorting. Smiling apologetically, he waltzed over to the Gryffindor table and sat between James and Albus. The latter was bitterly disappointed. He had been hoping that his sister would be in his House so that he could guide her and now one of his expectations about this year were gone. Recalling his dream, he shuddered and thought he heard Voldermort whispering in his ear, "You're worthless! You'll never be your father!"
The Deputy Headmaster read a few more names that were sorted and then he rolled up his scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. When he came back, he went to the teacher's table. He was in sharp contrast to everyone else there. His red robes were vividly conspicuous against the black ones of his colleagues.
Professor McGonagall stood up. She was now Headmistress, had been so for many a year. "Welcome, all. For our first years, I say be proud to be here at last. Everyone else, enjoy the continuation of your tenure here at Hogwarts. Now, I would like to introduce you to a new staff member. As most of you know, Professor Inklebot was getting too old to continue teaching here, so without further ado, I'd like you to meet your new Charms teacher, Professor Ivan Sootboro!"
A man in his early twenties with an aquiline nose stood up. He bowed and people cheered. It was always exciting to see a fresh face in their professors—the same old bunch every year did get a little monotonous after a while. Sootboro resumed his seat.
"For our first years, we have some rules to announce and you can't say after tonight that you were not forewarned. All artifacts, gadgets, and doodads from the store known as Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are barred from use. And no one is permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest without explicit permission from an adult. That said, let's eat!"
Instantly plates appeared on the tables in front of everyone, along with dishes of pot roast, venison, steaming vegetable, mashed potatoes, sandwiches with waterwurst, and countless other food. There were also goblets of pumpkin juice for each student that refilled instantly whenever someone had drunk the whole glass.
A fourth-year noticed that Lily was not eating. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.
"No," she lied. She reached for a chicken leg—her least favorite part—to give off a semblance of being okay, but she could barely take four bites before she felt like vomiting.
Pretty soon, all of the main dishes disappeared and were replaced by chocolate pudding, treacle tarts, eclairs, cinnamon buns, and glazed doughnuts. Yet still Lily reached for nothing. She was too miserable to eat. Glancing over at the Slytherin table, she saw Scorpius chatting animatedly with her cousin. Why didn't she take his advice? Being in Slytherin would be way better than being in this joke of a House! Look at what they had for a mascot, by Merlin! A stupid badger! As opposed to a lion, a snake, or an eagle, the badger was absolutely pathetic. Hufflepuffs were supposedly the leftovers, the people that just didn't fit. Lily could feel her own mediocrity running through her veins. How could a daughter of Harry Potter—the wizard who rid the world of the most evil force that ever existed—how could she be just another commonplace stooge? She had really believed herself to be exceptional just by the distinction her father gave her, but if she couldn't even be in his House, what was the point?
At last, everyone had their fill and Professor McGonagall stood up once more. "There is one more thing you must be made aware of. The Triwizard Tournament is to be held this year and only those students who are of age may participate. Our competition will arrive near the end of October and I expect you to be on your absolute best behavior when they do. You are now dismissed."
Some Hufflepuff prefects called the first years over. They went out of the Great Hall, through a strange door, down some stone steps, and past a hall full of paintings depicting food. At last they reached the door to the Hufflepuff dormitories, in which a badger statue was blocking the way. "Password?" it asked.
"Bricklebrit," said one of the prefects and the badger gave way. Lily saw her first glimpse of the Hufflepuff common room, which was stranger than anything she could have imagined. There were chintz chairs around tables for studying. Fleurs-de-lis covered the wall, and there was a giant pool in the center of the room.
The prefects led the first years over to the pool, which was not really a body of water but only looked like one.
"The purpose of this is to view your family at home. Whenever you feel down and out, you can just approach this psuedo-pool and think happy thoughts. Sort of like when you're casting a Patronus—though most of you won't catch that allusion, I suppose, although Lily here certainly would!"
All eyes turned to Harry's daughter. Of course she would know all about Patronuses—her father was the worst fear of all dementors.
The female prefect resumed speaking. "If you lose sight of these thoughts, your family will disappear from the pool's waves. Most likely, if their faces are wan and they have suffered a great deal, you will only see them for a second before they vanish, for that feeling will be reflected in you. Now, this pool is the secret of Hufflepuffs; the other Houses are not allowed to know about it. I will now show the girls to their dormitories, and the boys can go with Peter."
Lily and four other girls followed the prefect up some stairs. There were several rooms and they were led to one with the words "First Years" sparkling in purple and yellow glitter.
Five four-poster beds awaited the new Hufflepuffs and their luggage was already there in a neat little pile. The prefect left them to sort out whose things were whose after telling them to get a good nights' sleep because lessons would commence the next day.
One of the girls approached Lily. "So, you're the Potter girl? I'm Bethany Garfinch."
Bethany was wearing star-shaped glasses and had her hair tied in a bun. The other three were staring at Lily, mouths agape.
"There's nothing extraordinary about me," Lily said, "so what's all the fuss?"
"Are you kidding? I was talking to Elizabeth Porkner, Hufflepuff's Head Girl, and she said that your presence in our House was the best thing since Cedric Diggory in your father's day. For centuries the Hufflepuffs have been the joke of Hogwarts—but with you in our midst, we'll be able to make astonishing comebacks."
"But I'm just another girl, that's why I'm in Hufflepuff—the leftovers. I wasn't good enough to be in the other Houses, so what makes you thing I'll bring prestige to yours?"
"You're lacking in self-confidence," said one of the others, who had pigtails and cerise-colored eyebrows. "I'm Susan Azzos, and I think that even if you don't have high spirits, just your presence in our House will elevate everybody's morale and eventually the other Houses will be forced to see that Hufflepuff does have what it takes!"
The other girls cheered, but Lily was not consoled. "Let's speak of this in the morning, please?" Then they left her alone.
As she fell into a deep slumber, she wondered if, once her parents discovered her House placement and she peered into the Hufflepuff pool, she would see the bitterest disappointment spread across their faces. She could remember two years ago, when her uncle had facetiously said, "If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disown you." James, Albus, and Hugo had made it, but she had failed.
She had unsettling dreams that night. A thestral was gliding through the air, while a lion ran below it, planning to catch the thestral in its claws when the beast chose to descend. As she had never seen anyone die, the thestral in her dream was not as realistic as the ones who drove the Hogwarts carriages. But that did not matter, for the thestral turned into a badger, falling out of the air and landing on the lion's back. In her dream, Lily thought of a story her father had read her many years ago, about a fox who lured a gingerbread man onto his back so that he could eat him. And as she watched, the lion flung the badger off, sending the poor creature toward a tree, where it fell to the ground, dead. Then the lion devoured it. Lily woke up with beads of sweat running down her face.