Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Harry Potter. Otherwise, Draco Malfoy would be tapping that mighty fine behind of Luna Lovegood's.
.Read below.
A/N, (Read Me First!): To lessen unecessary complications, I've made many changes; the most obvious being that the protagonist in this story is a girl called Harriet Potter, The-Girl-Who-Lived. The night her parents were murdered, Lord Voldermort also died by the rebounding curse. So no complicated horcruxes and prophecies! Yay! That's it for him; he will NOT be coming back in this story. Also, to make Snape seem less like a pedophile, I've progressed the time so that when they first meet, Harriet is already 17 years old. So it's kind of like a Tonks/Remus thing. Okay, okay; enough. On to the story!
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Harriet Potter and the Potions Master
Prologue
By: Kikushi
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It was a midday afternoon and the sun was beaming down from the cloudless sky, a pleasant breeze combing through the trees and swirling about joyfully in the beautiful weather. Almost everyone was outside enjoying the happy sunshine, frolicking through the fields and flowers, laughing with each other in good play. Beaches and pools alike were crowded with visitors and parks were equally occupied—
And in the middle of a small, dim room, curtains shut tightly from the peeking sun, possessions scattered about violently, sat a young woman in her late teens. Brows furrowed and lips tightly pursed, she rummaged through a large, open trunk with a vengeance. Her eyes were very wet and shone quite noticeably even in the dimness.
"All this rubbish…" she muttered angrily reaching inside the trunk and pulling out several heavy-looking books; and, with all the energy she could muster, sent them flying across the room where they hit the opposite wall with a heavy thud and fell limply to the floor, worn and dejected.
"Harriet!" a shrill voice yelled from the floor below the room, "What was that noise?"
"Nothing!" Harriet called back sweetly, though tears were now flowing down her cheeks, "Just, er, dropped some stuff!"
She hastily wiped her leaking eyes with the back of her hand and pulled out from the trunk a handsome Holly wand about eleven inches long, carefully carved and polished. Harriet waved it in the air and the violent mess seemed to collect itself magically; books piled themselves on top of each other in neat stacks, dirty clothes zoomed to the laundry basket while clean ones floated to empty hangers or folded themselves on the bed, and other miscellaneous items organized themselves in categorized boxes lining the walls. The floor, which had been previously unrecognizable, now boasted spotless glossy wooden planks; the room looked completely clean.
Harriet Potter stood on the balls of her feet, unimpressed by the sudden cleanliness of what had seconds ago been chaos. Sixteen years ago, precisely on this date, she had been an innocent one-year-old living with her parents in a place called Godric's Hollow, a famous wizard's village some place in London. Her oblivious happiness with them had been cut short when a worldwide feared wrongdoer under the name of "Lord Voldemort" stormed inside their house and murdered her parents and tried, in vain, to kill Harriet herself.
Harriet sighed, stepping in front of a wall mirror propped in a corner of the room. Absently, she brushed away her bangs and rubbed the hidden lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, frowning. Of all the unusual things about Harriet, even the fact that Harriet was a witch, the scar was the most extraordinary. The day that the evil wizard Lord Voldemort had tried to cast the spell that would have ended Harriet's life had been his last. The curse had rebounded— Harriet was left with nothing but an odd scar, while Lord Voldemort perished, and vanished forever. As one of the greatest mysteries in the Wizarding World, Harriet was notoriously known as "The-Girl-Who-Lived."
She twirled around in her light blue Beauxbaton uniform. The thought of never wearing it again pained her immensely and she fell to the floor in anguish. There were no tears on her face— for she had already cried herself dry— but the sadness that lingered exhausted her.
Harriet stared back at her reflection from the floor, her expression blank. She studied her thick, long black hair that fell in soft waves to her elbows— a genetic trait that aroused many of her French friends' envy— and then stared hard at the bright green eyes that she had inherited from her mother. She often heard enough from her adoptive godmother how uncannily she resembled her mother, Lily. If not for the color of her hair, Harriet was constantly reminded, it would seem as if Lily Potter had risen from the grave, so alike were they in appearance.
Harriet turned away from the mirror and felt a strong longing for her parents. If only they had never died…
It was with a heavy heart that Harriet returned to her packing, kneeling in front of her school trunk. She was permanently leaving France with her spontaneous godmother and famed historian, Bathilda Bagshot. Aunt Bathilda, as Harriet called her, had moved her to France from their little dwelling in Godric's Hollow a few months before Harriet had turned eleven. She briefly recalled the temper tantrum she'd had upon hearing the news. She had shouted and screamed that she wanted to stay, wanted to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where her parents had also gone to school… Nevertheless, Aunt Bathilda had taken her to France, a country she had grown to love, and put her in a marvelous school of magic, Beauxbatons Academy.
But Aunt Bathilda had finally finished her work and her books, and now it was time to go back to Godric's Hollow in London, where Aunt Bathilda told her she could finish her seventh year of school in Hogwarts under special arrangements she had made with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
There was a sharp knock on her door that made her jump and Harriet turned in time to see her godmother enter her room. "All packed, dear?" she asked Harriet fondly, gazing around brightly at the dim room.
Sniffing subtly, Harriet got to her feet and nodded mutely, giving another flick of her sleek Holly wand and storing everything effectively inside the remaining empty boxes. The boxes, mirror, bed, curtains, desk, stool, posters, and rug were pulled into the trunk as though being sucked into a black hole and vanished within its bottomless depths. The room now stood hollow and empty, devoid of any furniture and signs of life.
Pointing her wand at her trunk, Harriet cried, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The trunk rose two feet into the air and, with another flick of Harriet's wand, zoomed down the stairs where it clattered noisily on the landing. Following her godmother out the door, Harriet headed downstairs with one last look at her room, which she had occupied every summer and holiday break since she was eleven.
When Harriet reached the bottom step of the staircase, it was to find a completely hollow house, stripped of all of their belongings. All of a sudden, Harriet wanted nothing more than to leave as quickly as possible. She did not want to think about her new beginning in London, but she could not bear seeing the sight of their empty house. Even worse, Harriet did not want to think about her friends, who she would be leaving behind. The tearful goodbyes they had shared the day previous had left Harriet in quiet distress.
"Come along, dear," Aunt Bathilda said, appearing from the kitchen door, "I've already sent our belongings ahead, back to our old house."
Glumly, Harriet stepped out to the porch after her aunt. They stood side by side, taking one last look at what had been their home for almost six years. Aunt Bathilda found her hand and gave it a small squeeze.
"I shall see you in a second," Aunt Bathilda smiled. She let go and turned on the spot, muttering a perky, "Au revoir," before vanishing with a loud crack.
Harriet took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come and for what awaited her back in London. Confident that she could Apparate in the right place, Harriet turned, as did her godmother, and vanished back into Godric's Hollow.
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Prologue End.
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:) So if you didn't read the note at the top of this page, please do so now.
Okay, tell me what you think! Did you like it? Do you want to see it progress? etc.