As Plain As The Nose On Your Face
A/N : I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from the books. The only character I officially own is Ame. This is a revision of my earlier story posted, titled 'Right Under Your Nose'. I decided to write it in a different way. Please read and review. The reviews help me write better.
Words in italics are flashbacks.
Summary : Ame finds out that she's a witch and comes to Hogwarts, where she meets Fred and George Weasley. What will happen when she finds out who her real parents are? The story starts in their 6th year with flashbacks to previous years.
Chapter 1
"So, boys, have you found dates for the Yule Ball yet?" the 16 year old girl asked as she walked into the common room. She had shoulder length brown hair and very unusual gray eyes.
The two red-haired twins looked up from the parchment they were writing on. "Yep. I'm going with Angelina and George is going with Alicia." Fred Weasley said to her. "What about you, Ame? Found a date yet?"
"Oh, I'm sure she's had a ton of guys asking her." George said. There was an undertone of nastiness in his voice.
"Don't worry about me." Ame told them. She sat down across from them and the three friends talked for a while about odd things. Fred and George were coming up with things to sell in their joke shop when they opened it. "Well, I think I'm going to bed."
The boys barely looked up from the parchment paper when she left the room. Ame turned to look back at them. There was a sadness in her eyes. She shook her head and continued on to her room. In her room, she got ready for bed and lay there staring at the ceiling, thinking. The tears came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. She wasn't sure why she was crying. She was a tough girl, nothing made her cry. Until now. Until him.
She was walking home alone that night. Home, to the orphanage where she was dumped the day she was born. She never knew why her parents left her there instead of keeping her and raising her. She was angry with them. What was so wrong with her that she didn't deserve to have a family? What made her so unwanted?
Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. It sounded like footsteps. Turning quickly, she saw nothing. Shaking her head, she turned back around and continued on her journey. A hand came out of the darkness and descended over her mouth. She was roughly pulled back against a solid body. "Well, well, well. What have we here? A little girl, all alone in the dark." a male voice said.
Ame stomped her foot down on the man's instep, brought her elbow back into his ribs, and twisted out of his grasp. Suddenly, he was flying through the air, as if something was pulling him. Ame's eyes grew wide, 'Not again.' she thought. 'Why do these things keep happening when I'm around?' She turned and ran the rest of the way to the orphanage. In the safety of her room, she sat on her bed with her knees under her chin. That is how Mrs. Bloom found her the next morning.
"Ame, you have a visitor." she told the frightened girl.
Mrs. Bloom ushered in a tall gentleman with a long white beard. He wore a gray robe and a pointy hat. Ame gave him a quizzical look. The man came into the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. Mrs. Bloom left the room for the two to talk.
"Hello, Ame. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." the man said.
Ame shifted further away from the stranger. She didn't like what he was saying. "Witchcraft and Wizardry? There's no such thing. Magic is just a myth." she said.
"While I admit that magic is rarely ever seen in the muggle world, it is far from being a myth." Dumbledore told her. He looked around the room and saw a table. He withdrew his wand and set the table on fire.
"Are you crazy? Are you trying to burn the place down?" Ame shouted.
Dumbledore doused the fire and the table remained as if nothing had just happened. There were no marks on it at all. "So, if magic is a myth, why is the table not burnt?" he asked her.
Ame remained silent. She had always felt different from the other kids in the orphanage. Strange things always happened when she was around.
"I take from your silence that you do believe in magic. Have strange things been happening around you?" he smiled.
Ame nodded, afraid to speak.
"Well, I'm here to tell you that you are a witch, Ame. I have come to offer you a place at Hogwarts to study magic and develop your skills as a witch." Dumbledore pulled out a letter from his robe. He handed it to Ame. She turned it over and read the address on it. Then carefully, she broke the seal on the back and pulled the letter out to read it. "Today, is your birthday, correct? 11 years old." he asked.
"Yes, sir. How did you know?" she answered.
"Well, it's something I do. I keep track of all young witches and wizards. You weren't on my radar until very recently." he explained. "Now, I can take you to get your supplies for your first year at Hogwarts, or you can go on your own."
"I have no money, sir. How am I supposed to get supplies like these?"
"Well, now, you just let me worry about that. Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron here in London, tomorrow at 11 am. I will take you in to Diagon Alley." Dumbledore told her and then vanished. Ame looked up to speak again and noticed that he was gone. She looked around the room, and then shrugged her shoulders and re-read the letter.
She spent most of the night thinking about how she found out that she was a witch.
After a sleepless night, Ame emerged from the girls' dormitory. Her eyes were slightly puffy, suggesting that she had been crying. She quickly surveyed the common room, noting that it was mostly empty. Seeing her young friend, Harry Potter, sitting in front of the fire with his head in his hands caused her a little concern. She made her way over to him. "Harry?" she spoke softly, so as not to startle him. "Is everything okay?"
The dark haired boy looked up at her. "Not really. Why is it that I'm so famous and yet can't get a date for the Yule Ball tonight? I have to have someone to dance with, since I'm a champion, and I can't find one single girl who isn't already going with someone."
Ame smiled slightly, "You haven't asked me yet." she stated.
Harry looked up sharply at her. "You? I thought you would be going with Weasley. It's obvious that you two are hot for each other."
She shook her head, "I guess he doesn't feel that way for me."
Harry stared at her in disbelief. He saw how his friends acted towards each other. It was the same way that his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, were towards each other. "Well... Would you like to go to the dance with me?" he finally asked.
Ame nodded her head, "Yes, Harry, I would love to." Feeling the tears getting ready to start again, she hurriedly said that she would meet him in the entrance to the Great Hall just before the dance started. Running back up to her room, she threw herself onto her bed and let the tears fall. A half hour later, she emerged again in the common room and rushed off to the showers to try to wash away the evidence of her crying. 'Why am I crying all of a sudden? It's not like he ever professed his love for me. It's not like he's ever shown any interest in me. I can't let this get to me. Not tonight. I have to show him that I'm not pinning away for him.'
With this new resolve, she finished her shower and got ready for classes. Trying her hardest to ignore him, she concentrated on her learning, until Charms class. For some reason, he always ended up being her partner in that class. Today was no different. They had to engage in conversation and work on the charm that they were being taught. As always, Ame had no trouble with the charm. She had no trouble with magic at all. Turns out that she was almost more powerful than Dumbledore in her magic. Now that she knew who her parents were, she knew why. Charms passed by slowly. All she wanted was to finish the class so that she could go back to her room and be away from him, so she wouldn't be tempted to just sit and stare at him. Finally, the class was over and Ame all but ran out of the room and up to Gryffindor tower. She placed her books on the table beside her bed.
"Hi, Ame. Are you going to be getting ready soon?" a young girl with brown hair asked.
"Yeah, Hermione. I took a shower earlier, so all I have to do is get dressed."
"Harry told me that he asked you today. I thought you would be going with... "
Ame cut her off before she could say his name, "No, he's not interested in me. I have to go." she said and then ran out of the room, leaving Hermione dumbfounded.
Ame went outside the castle to walk around and clear her head. 'I'm so confused. I like him, I really do, but what can I do? He doesn't feel anything for me. I think he actually hates me.' she thought. After walking for a few hours, she realized that she needed to go get ready for the dance. She didn't want to leave Harry waiting and wondering.
After getting dressed and fixing her hair up nice, Ame went downstairs to the common room. It was empty, everyone was down at the Ball. She made her way to the Great Hall, taking care not to slip and fall in her dress shoes. Turning the corner to the entrance of the Great Hall, Ame spotted Harry and made her way over to him. Touching his shoulder to get his attention, she stood there apprehensive. Harry turned and his eyes widened. "Wow, Ame. You look beautiful." he said. She was wearing a floor-length, off the shoulder ball gown. The top of it was black velvet and the bottom of it was a shiny deep blue. Her hair was swept up off her neck and she was wearing a string of pearls around her neck and pearl earring in her ears. Before she could say anything, Professor McGonagall spoke.
"Okay, champions, gather around. Bring your dates with you." After they had gathered around her, "Now, you all will be standing out here until everyone else is in the hall. Then you will all come in, one couple at a time, and begin the dance. I will be back soon to show you in to the hall." She then left them to talk amongst themselves.
After several moments, Professor McGonagall came back to lead them into the hall for the first dance. Harry and Ame lined up with the rest of the couples and made their way into the hall. Ame could tell that Harry was very nervous. She leaned over to whisper to him as they entered the hall. Whatever she said made him laugh. They got into place and waited for the music to begin. Ame smiled and let Harry lead her in the dance. She felt everyone watching her, but she only cared about one person, and she knew he was watching. She felt his eyes on her. After the dance was over, everyone got out onto the floor and began dancing. Harry and Ame made their way over to where Ron was sitting with his date.
"Don't worry, Harry, I won't make you dance with me again. I know how hard that was for you." Ame told him. "I'll be right back." She walked away on her way to the lavatory. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her right arm and whirled her around. It was him. "What do you think you are doing? Trying to scare me?" she said angrily.
"What are you doing here? With him? Are you two dating now? Is that it? I didn't expect to see you here tonight." he said, his face getting almost as red as his hair.
"What do you mean by that? You don't think I can get a date? Am I so unworthy that I can't even come a school dance?" she almost shouted.
"That's not what I meant." he stated.
"Yeah, well, that's what you said." she wrenched her arm from his grasp and turned to walk away. She stopped, took a few deep breaths and turned back to face him. "And another thing, George Weasley. Who do you think you are to tell me who I can go out with and who I can't? Are you the only one allowed to play with my feelings? Are you the only who is allowed to string me along? Are you...? Are you...?" she started stammering. "Oh, bloody hell." she said and then flung herself into his arms and kissed him, right there in front of the entire school. Kissed him like she never thought she would kiss anyone.
George was stunned. She was kissing him. The one girl who haunted his dreams and monopolized his thoughts every day was kissing him. Not really wanting to, but remembering where they were, he pulled back from her and stared. "Well..." he started.
The tears welled up in Ame's eyes. "Are you so blind that you can't see something that's as plain as the nose on your face? Can you not see how I feel?" she asked, and then turned and ran from the hall.
