The Aphrodites

by: TastySugarQuill

Summary: A look, a touch, a whisper...They could have you own your knees before you even realized that you were having trouble standing.
Meet the Aphrodites: consisting of Kate Grey, Lily Potter, Kris Bennett, and Anna Lowry, four girls who have become as close as sisters over the past six years. Embark on their journey through seventh year as they discover old hate, new love, and above all themselves.

AN: Hello everyone! I had originally had this story posted on hpff, but unfortunately they had one too many objections as far as my plot line went. I hope that the readers who enjoyed the story on that site manage to find it over here and I hope to gain some new ones as well :) This is a next generation fic, involving Lily Potter, Kris Bennet, Anna Lowry, and Kate Grey. I've really loved writing this story so far and I have ten chapters done already so you guys can expect updates fairly quickly - at least up until that point :) I hope you enjoy it and if you have the time drop me a review! I always appreciate them. Also if you guys would like to see what the main characters in this story look like you can go to my bio on the authors page. I have a link to their pictures :)


Dear Kate,

I miss you! Merlin, it's been like three weeks since I've seen you, you loser. You totally need to come here soon, alright? I don't want anymore pathetic excuses. If you're not here by your birthday I shall officially come and drag you out of that place. My parents totally want you here as well. You know how much they love you. Dad's been going on and on about how you should just move in here with us, which you totally should! It's not as if were not sisters anyway.

I expect to see your beautiful face in two days, sister. Otherwise that face will receive a bat-bogey hex.

Love you!

Lily.

P.S. Guess who my lovely neighbor has staying at his house?

A small smile rose onto Kate's full, sensual lips, grey eyes lighting with a mixture of affection and amusement. Holding onto the letter she looked around at the dreary room she stayed in every summer.

Orphanages tended to not be the most comfortable places. She sat down on her creaking bed with a sigh, staring out the window and catching glimpses of several children playing kickball, their laughter drifting up towards her room. She smiled slightly as she watched one of the smaller girls attempt to kick the ball and miss, falling over.

She was in a muggle orphanage, her parents both apparently having been muggles. The woman who owned the orphanage had told her that her mother had died in a car accident. Her father had disappeared shortly after, unable to raise a child on his own. He had dropped her off at Saving Grace late one night. She still remembered it.

"Where are we going , Daddy?"

She smiled sweetly up at him, grey eyes wide and innocent as her blonde, almost white hair flew merrily about her face.

The man who looked down at her had hair as dark as hers was light, but their eyes were identical, right down to the last speck of grey. "We're just taking a trip, honey."

Her smile widened, the small hand within his grasping tighter. "I love trips!"

"I know." He pulled her along faster as she began skipping, humming a tune that her mommy used to sing to her before she left. Perhaps that's where they were going, she thought suddenly. To visit mommy!

"Daddy." She pulled at his hand with excitement, gasping. "Are we going to see Mommy?"

He stopped abruptly, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "What? Why would you say that?"

Her eyes widened with hope. "Oh, I can't wait to see Mommy, Daddy! I love trips!"

He continued to stare down at her with an intense expression until the hope in her eyes began dying, replaced with a sudden look of anxiety that should never appear in the eyes of such a small child.

"Are we not going to see, Mommy?" She asked quietly, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

His hand tightened roughly around hers and he once again began pulling her towards the big building at the end of the street. "Not today, love."

Her throat tightened, tears beginning to stream down her face. "I want to see Mommy! I don't like this trip anymore. Take me to Mommy."

Her pleas went unanswered as they reached the front of the large building, a small sign with an angel on it swinging at the gate.

The man stopped abruptly, a myriad of emotions running across his face as he looked at the building and then back towards his daughter. His grey eyes were filled with tears of their own as he reached down and pulled her into a hug, softly kissing her cheek.

"You know how you miss, Mommy?" He asked quietly, eyes searching hers.

She nodded, blonde curls bouncing. "Yes, when can I see her?"

He shook his head, burying his face in his hands. "You can't, love. You can't. But, I need to." He looked up, grey eyes filled with desperation as he held onto her small shoulders. "I need to go and see Mommy, but I can't take you with me."

Her eyes filled with tears at his words and she began stomping her foot angrily, rage and sadness coursing through her. "Yes, you can Daddy! Take me with you! I want to see, Mommy!"

His grip on her shoulders tightened as she tried to wriggle free, eyes still holding a quiet madness. "I can't, love. I need to go see Mommy on my own. But, I promise you'll see us again, alright?" He held her gaze, until she nodded, some of the tears fading.

"Good girl," he kissed her brow lightly, inhaling her scent. "Until then you need to stay here, okay? All you have to do is go in and tell them that your Daddy left you here for now, alright?"

"Okay, Daddy," she replied softly as he let go of her, meeting the eyes identical to hers for the last time. "I'll wait for you."

He made a small, strangled sound before he turned and walked away. It wasn't until he had completely disappeared that she walked into the building with the angel, her small form shivering slightly from the cold.

It took three years of waiting and a visit from Professor McGonagall before she realized that her Dad was never coming back. When she had finally asked them about it they had told her that he had taken his own life, jumping off a bridge that same night he had left her. She had been officially branded an orphan.

An orphan. Her smile held traces of bitterness at the label, a part of her completely rejecting the term. It meant that you didn't have family and she did.

Lily, Kris, and Anna were her family. It had been that way since first year when they had all been placed in Gryffindor, forming a bond almost instantly, one that had proved itself time and time again to be unbreakable. They had been there for each other through everything, first dates, first kisses, first fights…first everything.

Looking around once more and seeing the grey walls, rusted bed springs, and old wooden floors she honestly didn't know what was keeping her here. She supposed a part of it was just her sheer stubborn nature and unbending pride. As much as she loved the Potters, the last thing she wanted to do was have them be responsible for her. She wanted to do things on her own, needed to do things on her own. When she had finally discovered the real reason why she was at the orphanage she had made a vow never to depend on anyone again and she had succeeded.

Standing up and wandering towards the mirror aimlessly she studied herself, the face that she had used to her advantage numerous times.

She knew she was beautiful. It was something that she had quickly discovered could be used to her advantage as far as things went in the orphanage. She had always been the one to receive the better soap, cleaner sheets, and fresher clothes. A part of being beautiful was that people wanted to adore you, were more willing to overlook your flaws.

And flaws she had plenty of. She knew that she could be cruel to a degree, especially with men and she couldn't care less. Boyfriends were not something that interested her, commitment an abomination. Sure, she had normally had some love interest, but she rarely bothered with them for longer than a week. The last boy she had stringed along had actually cried when she had told him he bored her. For a moment it had bothered her conscience, causing a spurt of guilt to course through her until she had snapped out of it and dismissed him without a second thought.

She knew that Anna would most likely be horrified if she heard about that while Kris would shake her head ruefully and Lily send her that disappointed glare. Her eyes veered into a roll at the thought, deciding that she would once again leave out any of her summer flings when she went and visited them.

And visiting them was exactly what she decided to do. She was going to be seventeen in two days and then she was officially free from this place. She had been saving up to get her own apartment, working at the ice cream shop down the corner and by now she had enough to pay the security deposit and rent for several months. Stopping at the Potter's and staying for awhile beforehand would be a good birthday present to herself.

With that thought on her mind she picked up her purse and headed down towards her job.


"Alicia, mind doing me a favor and actually moving your scrawny ass sometime today?"

She glared at the dark haired girl with malice, eyes narrowing angrily. The shop had been extraordinarily busy and all her co-worker had done was stare at her nails dreamily. She had no tolerance for slackers.

Alicia's brown eyes snapped towards and narrowed with indignation. "I am working."

She snorted, throwing her blonde hair back into a messy bun. "Don't even bother with that. Either you get working within the next two seconds or I report you and we both know whose side Mr. Jenkins will take."

She let the threat hang in the air until she watched with immense satisfaction as Alicia scurried back towards the other counter, immediately taking ice cream orders.

Rolling her eyes and muttering grumpily she stomped back towards her side, her face lighting up as she saw Jacob Williams smiling his toothy grin at her.

"Hey Kate," he said shyly, face tinged with pink.

Her lips curved into an immediate smile as she looked down at the small, scruffy boy who had developed a crush on her over the past summer. He was only eight and his friends teased him mercilessly for coming into the shop so often, but she adored him.

"Hey little man." She reached across the counter to ruffle his blonde hair. "What can I get you?"

His face turned even redder as she touched him, a slightly dreamy expression in his eyes. "Get me?"

She stifled a laugh at his blank expression. "For ice cream, hun. You want chocolate as always?"

He snapped back to reality, stuttering nonsense for a moment before nodding his head vigorously. "Yeah. Chocolate. Sounds good."

She tried to hide her grin as she scooped it up, giving him more than she was supposed to. Handing the ice cream to him, she sent him a heart warming smile that had him turning red all over again.

"You enjoy this and come back soon, okay?"

He worked up a smile, cheeks still tinged pink as he turned around, stumbling over a chair on his way out. She laughed lightly as he exited, turning her back towards the counter and walking over to get more of the vanilla ice cream. Most boys she would have been annoyed with, but something about Jake made her want to scoop him up into a hug.

"Drawing them in rather young aren't we, Grey?"

Her good mood evaporated, back stiffening as she turned around to face Kyle Zabini. His gold eyes held easy amusement, a small smirk playing across his lips as he leaned his long body against the counter, black hair falling in front of his eyes.

He was the only boy that she could never force the charm with, the only one who managed to completely aggravate her to the point where she would hex him. And he would be the one to show up at her work, seemingly taking a perverse satisfaction in annoying her.

She stomped back towards the counter, refusing to meet his gaze. "What kind of ice cream do you want?"

"What? No how've you been?" He exclaimed, amusement obvious.

She hated that he could do that, always find something so damn funny in everything she did, as if she was a constant source of entertainment. She hated being treated like a sodding TV show.

Her grey eyes snapped up and met his gold ones, anger brimming in them. "I'm working, Zabini. Cut the crap. What can I get you?"

"Some polite conversation would be nice," he responded, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She jerked back, slapping his hand away angrily.

"Well the world isn't always nice," she snapped, furious that he had had the nerve to touch her. "If you're not going to order ice cream than go away. I'm busy."

He shook his head, black hair moving out of his eyes. "I'm thinking vanilla. I've always liked lighter colors like yellow or grey."

She clenched her teeth together, annoyance rising at the obvious line. She knew that Zabini could care less about her, yet he seemed to find it amusing to pretend as if he did.

Roughly she scooped up the ice cream, making sure to only give him as little as possible before slamming it down on the counter. "That'll be 3 euros. Pay up."

He casually reached into his pocket and dropped 5 into her hand, lips curved as he picked up the ice cream. "Keep the change, Grey. Get your own cup of ice cream. You could use it."

She chucked the two coins at him as he walked out the door, smiling when they bounced off his head. His amused chuckle wiped the smile off her face, anger spurting within her.

Damn him.