"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
- Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
NOT FOR THE first time, an argument broke out between the two Rhodes sisters.
"I want your necklace!" Penelope screamed from Mira's doorway.
"You're not getting it!" Mira yelled back. "It's mine and I sure as hell am not sharing shit with you!"
"Watch your language, Mirabelle!" Their father, Darmacus Rhodes, yelled from downstairs. Mira growled under her breath.
Penelope was Mira's younger sister and just about the complete opposite of her with her blonde hair and brown eyes. They had a great dislike for each other and argued almost non-stop.
Penelope and Mira lived with their mother, Hydra, when their parents divorced, but moved in with their father after Hydra's death. Mira was less than pleased, it was the second time they were moving in less than six months and was growing tired of things very quickly. They had just gotten settled in Godric's Hollow and then were forced to pack their stuff and leave again. Mira had found something very interesting in Penelope's boxes when she had to pick them out of her sister's room. It was a box full of clothes... and letters.
When Mira turned eleven last year, she expected to receive her Hogwarts letter somewhere around that time, but she only received them nearly a month later, with over two hundred sprawled all around the house one morning. Mira didn't know why she got two hundred letters and stopped questioning it once she entered Hogwarts. She finally got her answer whilst moving Penelope's boxes.
Penelope had stolen all of Mira's Hogwarts letters, pure out of jealousy for not being allowed to go that year too.
Mira was livid when she found out. She considered confronting Penelope, but that seemed to light, Penelope needed to be punished for her lies. She even considered breaking the law and hexing Penelope - maybe a Stinging Hex, a Bat-Bogey hex, and Instant Scalping hex were her top three.
Mira was going to get revenge, but she was still thinking about how she would get revenge. Either way, it wasn't going to be pretty.
They were meeting their father's girlfriend and her children today for the first time. Penelope wanted to look her best, which included wearing jewelry. They'd met the girlfriend, Ashley, two weeks ago and Mira adopted an immediate hatred to Ashley. Ashley had shoulder length dirty blonde hair, grey-blue eyes, an oval-shaped face, and slightly crooked teeth, her eyes crinkled when she laughed - that God-awful annoying laugh - and she always sat very straight.
Mira thought it was the worst day to meet her and her family since it was also the day they had to go to the wizard notary to hear her mother's will and what she left for them. Mira was hoping and praying that she would get something that truly meant something to her mother, just so she would feel close to her mother.
"You are so selfish!"
Mira saw red. She stood up and walked towards the door. "Get fucked, Penelope." then she slammed the door shut right in Penelope's face.
She felt satisfaction course through her as she heard Penelope let out a screech of frustration in the hall. She gave the door a final kick before leaving.
"Can you believe her?" Mira asked Chantilly, her British Shorthair cat, who was snoozing on her bed. "The audacity. Mum raised us better than that."
A sharp pang hit her chest as she thought of her mother. It had been a month since her mother's death and Mira had a hard time dealing with it. Her friends visited her many times to help her go through it, but Mira could only find comfort in Misha. Misha's mother died in an accident when he was nine so he was the only one who knew how the ache felt.
The funeral was a week after Hydra's death - murder - and had gotten a lot of publicity. Mira could barely get out of the car since it was swarmed with journalists. Aurors were forced to enter the scene and escort Mira to the graveyard and remained to guard every entrance until the end.
Her friends were very helpful with Mira's traumatic experience. Jace, one of her best friends, tried to come by as many times as he could. Jace was a pure-blood wizard and he and his family, along with the Weasleys, were considered blood-traitors. Jace was one of the sweetest boys Mira knew, they were very close friends.
Jace came by yesterday with Diana and Dahlia since Misha had gone to Sweden with his father and his little sister Luna. Her friends tried to help as much as they could, not talking about the attack, but instead watching her favorite TV shows and movies with her. Jace, the sweet boy, even read her favorite book to try and talk to her about something she liked.
Tatiana, Claude, and Jasper tried to visit as often as they could, but their parents didn't allow them to visit Muggle neighborhoods. They had met three times so far, and it took place in parks and coffee shops, all in secret.
Diana was the main cause of Mira's excessive swearing. Diana said that swearing could help with her emotions - her anger, to be precise. Diana was right, Mira enjoyed swearing and ignored every warning her father gave her, knowing that he wouldn't do anything anyway. She swore when she dropped something, she swore at Penelope, she swore when she couldn't find something, she swore at everything. It was something she was uncomfortable with before, she even considered it foul, now she relished it.
She remembered when she first swore in front of her friends. They were in a coffee shop and Mira dropped her phone on the ground and said: "Fucking hell.". Dahlia stared open-mouthed at her, Diana's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe that Mira could say those words - even though Diana herself swore like a sailor -, Misha, Tatiana, and Claude stopped doing whatever they were doing and sat frozen in their seats, Jace and Jasper laughed so obnoxiously loud that they nearly got kicked out of the coffee shop.
Mira broke out of her thoughts when she heard her father yell from downstairs.
"Has anyone seen my wand yet?"
Darmacus had lost his wand over a month ago and insisted on using Mira's, much to her dismay. She walked to her closet and got out jeans and a grey sweater.
She brushed her hair quickly and settled down on her bed. She was prayed to Merlin once last time for something meaningful from her mother and left the room after grabbing her phone, earbuds, and the bag she got from Jace on her twelfth birthday.
"Are we leaving?" Mira asked when she arrived downstairs. Penelope was in front of the TV and didn't look up from Mira came.
"Yes, c'mon, Penny." Darmacus turned off the TV and Penelope just about ran to the car.
Mira didn't wait for her father and walked out of the house and almost got to the car when someone held her arm in a vice grip. Mira turned around in surprise and her arm was released. She looked up at her father with a hint of disdain.
She hated how easily her father brushed her mother's death aside. He had been gentle for about two weeks until he slowly began acting as if nothing happened. If he was upset, he surely didn't know it. Mira was glad that Penelope burst out in tears sometimes, it showed that Penelope was grieving and truly felt something painful, unlike their father.
"What, dad?" Mira asked, hoping to finish talking quickly. She leaned back when he pointed his car keys right in her face.
"No funny business, alright? I want no glass disappearing or anything like that because you will get a warning from the Ministry this time." He warned.
When Mira accidentally used magic in the zoo during the Easter Holidays, her father had prevented a letter from the Ministry from coming. Apparently, he was in a position good enough where he could bribe the Minister for Magic to not send a letter to Mira.
Mira held her head high. "And why was it necessary to prevent that? I saw that as an apology."
Darmacus leaned further down and glared furiously down at her, Mira was quite surprised to see him looking at her with a hint of hatred.
"You better not talk about that or you're not coming to the notary office," Darmacus growled and Mira's eyes widened slightly before they formed a glare. Mira opened her mouth, but Darmacus stopped her before she could get anything out. "One word, Mirabelle, and I will take your phone and your cat."
Mira's mouth fell open and Darmacus leaned back in satisfaction.
"Now what do you say?"
Mira clenched her teeth. "Yes, sir."
"Good." He let out a satisfied hum and walked around the car to get to the driver seat. Mira got in the back with Penelope, who was humming a happy tune quietly.
They arrived at the notary office and got out of the car. A few other family members were already waiting in front of the notary office, seemingly waiting for the Rhodes to arrive. There weren't many people waiting, less than ten.
Mira paid no attention to the other family members as she walked in and sat down immediately. What she did notice that a lot of people were staring at her and either looked perplexed or awed. Family members that she'd never met in her life also gave her looks, seemingly hesitant to approach her. Penelope sat down next to her after a few minutes of greeting family members and leaned close to her.
"The man with the scars is here," Penelope whispered to her.
Mira looked up from her phone and crossed her legs. "So?"
"He's so scary and... ugly."
Mira rolled her eyes. "Your wide range of vocabulary continues to amaze me, Penelope."
Penelope leaned back and glared. "You don't think they're at least bit scary?"
"I see the same scars in the mirror every day," Mira answered simply.
Penelope crossed her arms and looked around. "Your scar just goes over your forehead.. Where is he?" she turned around and craned her neck to search for the scar-faced man.
Mira pulled her arm roughly. "Don't do that. You look like a fucking imbecile."
Penelope rolled her eyes and shook Mira's hand off. "Don't touch me."
Mira made sure Penelope wasn't making a fool of herself before she returned to her phone. She was chatting with Jace. Fred, George, and Elijah pulled a prank on Percy and he locked himself up in his room in a fit of anger. The prank involved changing Percy's hair color from red to electric blue. Jace sent her a picture and she thought it was hilarious. The contrast of Percy's angry red face to the blue hair was hysterical.
"Family and friends of Hydra Walburga Rhodes?" a bald, chubby man walked over to them and Mira looked up at the mention of her mother's name.
"That's us." Darmacus stood up and walked over to the man. "Darmacus Rhodes." he held out his hand for the Muggle to shake.
The man shook it with a nod. "Albert Darwin. I'm the notary. Were you her husband?"
"Ex-husband," Darmacus replied without hesitation. "Lead the way, Mr. Darwin."
"Yes, of course." Mr. Darwin turned on his heel and everyone stood up to follow Mr. Darwin. No one talked to each other and the air grew heavier the closer they came to their destination. Mira looked at the interior of the notary office and wondered if Gringotts was connected to the place. The inside was quite modern and incredibly neat. Old paintings graced the walls, the old colours creating an odd contrast to the white walls. "Here we are."
The room was quite large for a few people. The walls were painted a dark color and the floor was set with dark wood, the curtains of the windows were pulled aside and Mira decided that this notary office had way too many color contrasts.
Everyone walked in and Darmacus got Penelope and Mira to sit right in the front row. Mira leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and laced her fingers together.
Mr. Darwin took out his reading glasses and cleared his throat.
"We are gathered here today to discuss the will of Hydra Walburga Rhodes. I am the notary that Mrs. Rhodes appointed herself. I will be reading what Mrs. Rhodes wrote in her will. I will start off with the family members." He cleared his throat again and began reading. "To my cousin, Andromeda, I leave the golden bracelet you gave to me in my fourth year of Hogwarts and my wish would be to hand it down to your daughter, may my dear cousin Andromeda, her husband Ted, and her daughter Nymphadora live a long and happy life. Then next..."
Mira tried to pay as much attention as she could, but the vice around her heart tightened as she continued to her mother's will. She lost count how many times she swallowed the bile stuck in her throat. She blinked away the tears and breathed out slowly.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked down at it. The hand was slightly scarred and calloused.
Her head snapped up when she heard what her mother left for Penelope.
"To my youngest daughter Penelope Susan Ann Rhodes, I leave all of my jewelry." Penelope grinned wide. "With the exception of the House of Black family ring and the ring I received as a gift from my best friend, James Potter. Those two rings belong to my oldest daughter Mirabelle Lily Euphemia Rhodes now."
Mira swallowed. She knew how much the ring meant to her mother. Mira had no idea her mother got it from James Potter, though, until now. She was very content to have received something so touching and so close to Hydra.
"Now, my final wishes are to leave my two rings to Mirabelle. I leave my wand to her, as well, and I hope she takes great care of it." Mira tightened her grip on her hands. "Then finally, my last wish is for Mirabelle to inherited all of the money that I own. My 50,000 pounds and 200,000 Galleons all belong to her now."
Mira's mouth fell open in shock. She heard a few people gasp, including Darmacus and Penelope. The hand on her shoulder tightened and loosened before it was removed from her shoulder.
"No, I won't allow it!" Darmacus shouted, silencing everyone in the room. Everyone stared at him wide-eyed. "Mirabelle is twelve! She can't inherit that much money! I won't allow it!"
Before Mr. Darwin could reply, Andromeda had stood up and glared up at Darmacus.
"It can't be changed once it's put on paper," Andromeda argued. "Wizarding laws differ from Muggle laws, Mr. Darwin. Mirabelle has to inherit the money."
"Mrs. Tonks, Mr. Rhodes, sit down." Mr. Darwin ordered and both reluctantly complied. "According to the law, Miss Rhodes is allowed to inherit his much money. Although, the choice lies with her." Mr. Darwin looked at her and so did everyone else in the room. Mira didn't even try to hide behind her hair, she continued to stare at the paper in Mr. Darwin's hands, completely and utterly flabbergasted.
Hydra made a choice to give Mira this much money. She wasn't sure if she would be responsible for it, she never had this much money. How was she going to keep it all together?
"Miss Rhodes has the choice to keep the money or give it to someone else." Mr. Darwin said, his yellow-ish eyes peering at her. "What will be your choice, Miss Rhodes?"
"So who will the money go to if I refuse it?" Mira found herself asking.
"The money would be going to Mr. Rhodes." Mr. Darwin replied
Mira looked up at her father and saw that he had paled remarkably. Mira almost smirked. She finally had control. She knew her father wanted the money badly, him being rich would definitely help him jump up the ranks in the Ministry. Unfortunately, Mira was just about done with her father.
"I decide..." she trailed off, intending to make Darmacus nervous. "I decide to keep it myself."
Mr. Darwin nodded. "I will ask for you to come later and sign a few papers. Now I have to continue your mother's will."
Mira felt unbelievably smug. She could practically feel the rage and embarrassment rolling off her father. Maybe he'll treat her better now that she could offer him a few things.
Everyone stood up and Mr. Darwin called a few people to stay - Penelope Rhodes, Mirabelle Rhodes, and Remus Lupin. The rest piled outside and eventually went home after bidding everyone - Andromeda glared at Darmacus - to have a good day.
Lupin was the first one inside the office while Penelope, Darmacus, and Mirabelle sat on the couches outside the office. Mira was on her phone with her earbuds, listening to music on max volume.
I'm rich - Mira
what r u talking about? - Tatiana
bitch answer me - Tatiana
Penelope unexpectedly slapped Mira's thigh and ripped out her earbud. Mira glared fiercely at her little sister and rubbed her sore thigh.
"What now?" Mira snapped., clearly annoyed.
Penelope groaned. "You missed him. Again."
"Who?" Mira asked herself and regretted it immediately.
"Who?" Penelope mocked. "The man with the scars! Who else?"
"Jesus Christ. Why do you want me to see him?"
"Because you're twins with your scarred face."
Mira just rolled her eyes and plugged back into her earbuds, ignoring the stab in her stomach at Penelope's words. She ignored Penelope as she stood up and walked into the office. She didn't understand why Penelope wanted Mira to see the scar-faced man so badly. Mira wasn't interested to see someone similar to her.
Penelope was in the office with Mr. Darwin for less than five minutes before she left again. She looked pissed and Mira wondered what happened. This time, Penelope was carrying Hydra's jewelry box.
"Miss Rhodes, if you please?" Mr. Darwin motioned for Mira to come forward and she stood up, watching her father and sister warily as they whispered angrily to one another. "Sit down, please." Mr. Darwin walked around his desk calmly as Mira sat down in the leather chair in front of him. "You are one of the three people Mrs. Rhodes requested for me to talk individually too." Mira wondered why he kept calling her mother 'Mrs. Rhodes'. "I suppose you don't know why?"
Mira shook her head mutely.
"Well, your mother has asked you something, but she wanted you to decide it alone so you wouldn't feel pressured amongst your family members and she wanted it to stay with you and the people you'll choose to share it with." Mira nodded slowly. "Are you following me?"
"Yes, sir," Mira replied politely.
"Your mother has given you the option to change your name." Mr. Darwin announced and her eyes widened momentarily. "Although, she only granted permission for your last name. Your name must remain Mirabelle Lily Euphemia."
"I can choose my last name?"
"Yes. You can choose to keep your current last name, or change it to Potter."
Mira's eyes widened again. Potter? Hydra wanted her to change her name to Potter? Why?
"Why would she want that?" Mira questioned.
Mr. Darwin sighed. "Mrs. Rhodes believed that it would come in handy for in the future."
Mira's eyebrows furrowed together. "For in the future?" she muttered to herself.
If her mother gave the possibility of changing it into Potter, then Hydra must've wanted it for Mira. Wasn't that the least she could do for her mother? Taking the name of Potter? A small voice in her head told her that she should, the least she could do for Hydra after giving her life for Mira's.
If her mother wants it, then her mother gets it.
"I'll change my name," Mira said, feeling like she just made the worst and best decision in her life.
Mr. Darwin gave her the smallest of smiles. "Then we will settle this immediately."
Mira's eyebrows shot up. "I don't need my father's permission?"
"You have your mother's." He paused. "Once again, wizarding laws differ from Muggle laws."
"Yes." Mira nodded. "So... what do I need to do?"
Mr. Darwin waved his hand and three sets of papers levitated over to his desk and Mira's heart tightened. She missed the magic and wanted to go back to Hogwarts so bad. She missed the Weasley twins pranks, missed her friends, her common room, she even missed her strict Transfiguration professor, Professor McGonagall.
"You will need several new things when you change your name. Including a new ID, a new passport, etcetera." He paused. "And luckily for you, your mother already handled that before, all you have to do is sign an extra paper."
Mira began signing papers and her hand trembled slightly when she signed the paper to officially change her name. Then she signed another one to enter her mother's vault.
"And I can enter anytime I want?" Mira asked when she finished singing all the papers.
"Yes, you can, Miss Rho- Pardon, Miss Potter." Mr. Darwin corrected himself. "Now something else."
Mira watched curiously as he summoned another paper towards the desk. It stopped in front of her and she glanced at Mr. Darwin before she began reading.
I, James Fleamont Potter, hereby give my inheritance to Mirabelle Lily Euphemia (hopefully Potter) Rhodes.
James' neat script sat on the paper and Mira's breath caught in her throat.
"More money?" Mira asked, her voice breaking.
Mr. Darwin nodded.
"How much?"
"Approximately 600,000 Galleons."
"Oh my God." Mira gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "You're sure? Absolutely sure?"
"Absolutely sure."
"Why?"
Surprisingly, Mr. Darwin let out a small chuckle, confusing Mira. "Forgive me, I don't think I ever had someone questioning such a generous inheritance offered to them."
"With all due respect, but were they twelve?"
Mr. Darwin shook his head. "No, they were not." He paused and sighed. "The reason Mr. James Potter had his inheritance set on you instead of his son is that you were the second choice."
"Harry was the first," Mira whispered, her body aching painfully as she thought of her friend.
"Yes." Mr. Darwin nodded. "You are to sign one more paper to be able to enter the Potter vault." He held out a phoenix feather quill to Mira and she slowly, reluctantly, took it from him and shakily signed her name on the bottom of the paper. "But Mr. James Potter didn't just leave you money, but most of his possessions." He held up a paper and began to read. "I, James Fleamont Potter, give Mirabelle Lily Euphemia Potter-" Mira saw her new last name appear on the paper and sighed when she saw her previous last name disappear and be replaced. "My Invisibility Cloak."
"Oh, Jesus." Mira whimpered, feeling overwhelmed by everything that she inherited.
600,000 Galleons, her mother's dearest possessions, an Invisibility Cloak?
He stood up and Mira followed suit, her body shaking terribly. He tapped his wand on his desk twice and a trunk floated over to them. Mr. Darwin reached inside the trunk and took a shining, silvery cloth from inside and handed it to Mira carefully. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into the material.
"An Invisibility Cloak." Mira murmured in awe.
The possibilities will be endless...
Mr. Darwin reached inside the trunk without a word to Mira and rummaged through it. Mira looked up when he held out two rings to her and she took it with a mix of hesitation and eagerness. She inspected the two rings closely. There was one her mother always wore.
And another one Mira had never seen in her life.
"What about the money?" Mira asked curiously.
"Your money is currently being transported to the Potter vault and you can enter it anytime you wish to do so." Mr. Darwin explained and reached inside the trunk for the last time today. "And lastly Mrs. Rhodes' wand."
Mira looked down at her mother's wand and took it from Mr. Darwin. Her mother's words flowed through her head.
Ah, Diagon Alley. I loved being here. Oh, and Ollivanders! I remember buying my wand. Ebony, ten inches, dragon heartstring. Be very careful with yours, just like I was with mine.
Mr. Darwin cleared his throat after closing the trunk. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Potter. May I say that you take a lot after your mother?"
Mr. Darwin might one of the most polite gentleman Mira has ever met.
Mira gave him a small polite smile. "It's been a pleasure meeting you too, Mr. Darwin. Thank you for all your help.
Mr. Darwin nodded and led Mira to the door. "Goodbye, Miss Potter."
"Bye, Mr. Darwin."
Mira released a breath when she walked away from Mr. Darwin and swallowed when she saw Darmacus and Penelope standing at the entrance of the notary office. As soon as she left the room, she stuffed the Invisibility cloak and the Potter manor key in her bag.
"We have to go now," Darmacus said in a clipped tone, took Penelope by the hand and left the office, not even waiting for Mira.
Rolling her eyes, Mira followed them to the car and stood at the door of the back seat. She texted Tatiana, Dahlia, and Jace continuously and told all of them what happened.
my girl is rich - Tatiana
CONGRATULATIONS THIS IS AWESOME - Jace
Congratulations, Mira! - Dahlia
Mira laughed at the difference between Jace, Tatiana, and Dahlia. Jace had taken a liking to writing almost every text in big letters. He felt like things needed to be excited.
"Miss Rhodes! You forgot your jacket!" The door of the notary office opened and Mr. Darwin's assistant came running out, her cheeks red.
Mira looked at her, her stance relaxed, and her voice light and uncaring as she uttered the next words. "It's Miss Potter now."