"Now boarding Flight 127 for London."
Phoebe Vance made her way through the thick crowd towards the gate. She still couldn't believe she had come this far. Two days ago she had been sitting in her room at her aunt and uncle's house, still mourning the deaths of her parents. Now, she was standing in line holding her ticket out of Hell. She had always known she was adopted, after all how could she not? Phoebe had never looked or acted like her parents. Only after a painful sorting of their belongings had she learned she was actually from England.
That discovery had led her to buy a plane ticket off the internet with her emergency credit card her parents had given her. Once her aunt and uncle discover that she has run off, they are going to be furious. By then, she will be long gone. She had come up with a plan on her way to the airport. Anything she suspected she would need, she would buy beforehand and take with her. After arriving in London, she was going to cut up her credit card and find her parents. How she was going to find them, she had no clue. All she knew for sure was that she was going to find them. Phoebe loved her family to death, and she never ceased to be grateful that they took her in. She could only hope that they will one day forgive her.
"Ticket please." Phoebe handed her ticket to the receptionist, who smiled in return. "Enjoy your flight." Phoebe nodded to her and boarded the plane.
Phoebe looked out the window as the plane took off. As she watched the ground below her get smaller, she knew that she wasn't coming back.
Three Months Later...
"I think this one is a bust, Percy."
"Yes, I think you're right, Katie." Percy Weasley and Katie Bell were doing a routine check to check for any young wizards in orphanages who may have been over looked. It was one of those odd jobs in the Ministry that only came up the summer before the new year at Hogwarts started. They would walk into an orphanage with a charmed compass. From there, the compass would point them in the direction of a magical child. MAny times, if a witch and wizard didn't want their child or if they wanted to hide them they would place a spell over them to hide their powers until a certain age and would then put them in a Muggle orphanage. Usually, they came up empty handed, but other times they stumble across a child eager to leave the wretched place.
"What is the next stop?" Katie asked Percy. Percy, however, hadn't heard her. Something-or someone, that is- had caught his eye behind her. "Percy? Hello? Are you still with me?" She asked him, waving a hand in front of his face.
"We've got one!"
"What? Where?" She began looking around. Percy grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. She found herself looking at a girl with long, blonde hair sitting alone in a corner. She looked to be about 15 or 16. The two made their way over to her.
"Hello, what is your name?" Katie asked, smiling down at the girl.
"Phoebe Vance," the girl replied, with a questioning look on her face. "Why?"
"It is very nice to meet you, Phoebe." Percy held out his hand. Phoebe narrowed her eyes, and shook his hand. Right then, an old woman came over.
"May I help you?" She asked. Her eyes kept flickering from Katie and Percy to Phoebe.
"Yes, actually." Percy put his arm around Katie. "We are looking to adopt."
"You two look awfully young to be adopting. How old are you?"
"Old enough," Percy replied curtly. The old woman looked taken aback for a moment, then regained her composure.
"Any particular age?" the woman asked.
"We would like to adopt Phoebe here," Katie said sweetly, smiling down at Phoebe. Phoebe's eyes widen, and she looked at them strangely. The old women looked shocked as well. Phoebe started smiling.
"Wouldn't you prefer a child a little younger…most couples usually adore the younger children. The younger they are, the more easy they are to take care of an-"
"We would like Phoebe," Percy said, cutting her off. The lady narrowed her eyes at the two people standing in front of her. Phoebe, whose happiness had fallen once the old woman began talking, looked up hopefully, although she was trying to mask it.
"Follow me to my office, and we'll talk. You!" she said, turning towards Phoebe. "Go to your room. I'll send for you if this goes through."
Her office was small and cluttered. There were pictures and paper work everywhere. It smells of salami in here! Percy told Katie through Legilimacy. Katie put her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. The woman sat down in the seat behind her desk, and motioned for them to sit down also.
"My name is Adele Crambook. I am the owner of this establishment. I've been doing this for a long time, and have a good eye on which child will mesh well with which family. Usually the families search for a child between the ages of two and nine. Every couple weeks or so there is a couple that would like a baby. It is very rare for a couple to come in and request a teenager. In fact, I cannot recall the last time that happened and trust me, I have a very good memory. Tell me, what is your reasoning for doing so?" Ms. Crambook asked.
"Well, Ms. Crambook, we would like a child, but a younger child would simply be too much work for us. We both have full time jobs," Katie replied.
"I see…and how am I to know that you will be proper parents to Miss Vance, what with your 'full time jobs'?"
"We have a rather large family, so there will also be someone there for her. A proper education would be provided for her, and we would take very good care of her," Percy said.
"Well," Ms. Crambook sighed, "this is very uncommon…"
"Is there any reason we cannot adopt her?" Percy asked.
"Well…no…"
"Then let's see the papers," he said evenly. Crambook sighed again, and took a file out of her drawer. Katie and Percy signed the papers and Ms. Crambook looked them over.
"Lucille!" Crambook yelled. A small girl who looked about the age of ten came running in.
"Yes, Ms. Crambook?"
"Go tell Phoebe to gather her items."
"Yes, Ms. Crambook." And with that, the little girl raced out of the room.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis, I hope you know what you're getting yourselves into."
"Please," Katie said, grinning, "call us Lydia and Michael."
"Why me?" Katie and Percy looked at each other. It was the first time the girl had spoken since they left the orphanage. Percy nodded, and Katie looked back at Phoebe.
"Have strange things ever happened to you, Phoebe?" she asked.
"Strange…how?"
"Have things ever blown up when you were mad? Or has an animal ever talked to you? Has something that you were thinking about, like a cookie or candy or something of the sort, appeared within moments of you thinking of it?" Katie clarified.
"No, are you crazy?" Phoebe look back and forth between them.
"Not crazy," Percy replied. "just wizards. And so are you." Phoebe burst out laughing. Katie and Percy looked at each other, astonished, and then back at Phoebe.
"What is so funny?" Katie asked, a confused look on her face.
"You are!" Phoebe managed to say in between laughs.
"How are we funny?" Percy asked, slightly offended.
"You two are obviously crazy! I mean, is this a joke? You honestly expect me to believe that you are wizards, and that I am one too? Ha! That is the best joke I've heard in awhile!"
"It is true!" Katie exclaimed.
"Oh yeah? Prove it," Phoebe challenged. Percy rolled his eyes.
"You know, most of the kids we find are thrilled to find out this," he said.
"Well I'm not most kids. So prove it or I'm out of here." She crossed her arms.
"You know, technically you can't leave because we adopted you," Percy pointed out.
"Legally? With your actually names, you are my legal guardians?" she asked.
"Well..." Percy didn't look quite as sure now.
"Exactly. So prove it." Katie pulled her wand out of her coat.
"Accio bag!" Phoebe's bag went flying from its place on the floor and into Katie's hands. Phoebe's mouth dropped. She was dumbfounded. Her head swung back and forth between where her bag used to be and where it was now. Percy smirked at her utter shock.
"I can do that?" Phoebe asked.
"Not yet, but you will." Katie smiled.
"Once we reach The Leaky Cauldron, we will apparate back to the Ministry where you will be placed into the custody of them. You will be attending Hogwarts this year. How old are you?" Percy asked.
"Uh…sixteen…what is a Hogwarts?" Phoebe asked.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For more information, I recommend reading Hogwarts, A History," Katie replied.
"Considering that usually you would be entering either your last year of schooling or your second-to-last year, you will probably be put through intensive tutoring for the remainder of summer break and then join in your respective year," Percy continued. "Also, she will have to be sorted," he added to Katie.
"One condition."
"What?" Katie and Percy said at the same time.
"I'll go to the school and all that crap on one condition," she said. Katie had an amused look on her face while Percy looked flat out annoyed.
"Well, on with it, what's your condition?" he asked.
"Help me find my parents." They both looked at her questioningly. "The reason that I am here in London is because I want to find my birth parents. I'll go to that little magical school of yours if you promise to help me find them." They looked at each other.
Are we allowed to do this? Katie asked using Legilimacy.
I've no clue, but we are going to have to at least try if we want her to cooperate, now don't we? Percy replied. Katie sighed.
"Sure, kid."
"Really?" she asked, not sure whether to believe them.
"Yes, really," Katie said. A smile slowly crossed Phoebe's face. She beamed up at them, and even Percy had to smile. Something was tugging at the back of his mind, though. He had seen that smile somewhere before, but her could not place it. Her smile almost looks like Ginny's… he thought. He immediately shook off the thought. Impossible! Soon, they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Now, Phoebe, grab on to Katie's arm and don't let go," Percy told her.
"Why?" Phoebe questioned.
"We're going to apparate to the Ministry."
"So how does this work?"
"How does what work?" Percy asked.
"How are you going to help me find my parents?" Phoebe asked, looking up at him with her strikingly blue eyes filled with curiosity. "There was a girl at the orphanage who said she tried to find her birth parents once. They took a strand of her hair and processed it and whatnot and searched through a DNA database to see if she matched anyone. She found out who her parents were in the end."
"Is that where she is now?" asked Minister Brackenridge. "With her parents, that is?"
"Her parents are dead. That's why she was in the orphanage. That's why she is still in the orphanage," Phoebe replied coldly. That immediately silenced Brackenridge. For some reason, she had taken an immediate dislike towards the Minister straight from the beginning.
"We are going to do it much like the Muggle way that you speak of," Percy answered her. "You see, the Ministry has blood samples of every registered witch and wizard in London. We are going to take a sample of your blood and compare it to all of the samples. That will tell us who your parents are."
"And then what?" she asked.
"What do you mean? I thought we already explained it too you."
"Well, will I go live with my parents." No one answered her. She looked around at the three people seated with her.
"When we find out who your parents are they will be contacted. If they want you, then you will go live with them."
"And if they don't want me?" she asked. Both Katie and Brackenridge averted their eyes to the ground. Only Percy kept his gaze steady and unwavering.
"Then you'll stay here." he replied, not unkindly. Phoebe nodded. She sat back and appeared to be considering the options that had been given.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Brackenridge.
"Just tell me when," she replied, staring evenly at the Minister. Anyone could see that she frightened him quite a bit, what with her being so confident and straightforward. Katie and Percy looked at each other proudly. She was definitely going to be a Gryffindor.
"Hold on to my arm and don't let go," Katie ordered Phoebe.
"Why?"
"We are going to apparate again, this time to St. Mungo's." Phoebe's face had paled at the word apparate.
"Again?" she asked nervously. "Isn't there another way? I really don't feel like puking again, if you don't mind."
"Don't worry! Most people only puke the first time," Percy assured her. She smiled weakly and grabbed Katie's arm. Within seconds, they appeared at St. Mungo's.
"SOMEONE GET A TRASHCAN!" Katie yelled.
"Damn," said Percy. "I really thought that would work."