Author's note:
Hey, welcome to my first multi-chaptered fanfic! Right now, I don't have any pairings. I'll explain a bit more about the fic after the chapter.
Enjoy!
The lady in the ticket booth was staring at him. Uncle Vernon cleared his throat and asked, in a rough voice,
"The tickets?"
He sounded displeased, and Harry could guess that it had to do with the fact that his Uncle couldn't leave him behind while the rest of the family went out to London. The ticket booth lady took her eyes off Harry to look at Vernon.
"It will be 40 pounds sir." She said, with a hint of steel in her voice.
Uncle Vernon grunted, before reaching into his back pocket and slapping the 40 down. Grabbing the tickets, he huddled the all four of them into a corner.
"Listen here freak," Vernon said, beady eyes snapping to Harry, "I want no funny business, okay? Me and Petunia were kind enough to allow you to come with us, if I hear even a peep out of you on this trip, I will lock you in that cupboard until you don't remember what the sun looks like"
With that said, Vernon handed a ticket to Harry, and started toward the train. Dudley stayed back and waited until Petunia and Vernon weren't looking, before pinching Harry hard. Harry bit back a yelp and ignored Dudley until they got to the train.
Vernon looked like he wanted to make Harry put away their luggage, but with the many people watching, he just settled for glaring at Harry. Harry wanted to glare back, but knew that might tip Vernon over the top. It was going to be a long trip.
After the Dursleys had gotten settled into the hotel room, Harry took a minute to look at himself in the mirror. He realized why the ticket lady was looking at him. Dudley's old clothing made Harry look like a small 6 year old, as opposed to almost 9. The clothes were also quite dirty, as Harry was forced to do Petunia's gardening before they all left for the train station. All-in-all, Harry looked like a wreck. He had no time to change out of the clothing though because Dudley had starting screaming about wanting to go out and explore. Harry thought that seemed odd as exploring ment Dudley would actually have to exercise, but Harry also had a bit of curiosity in him as well. Aunt Petunia cooed over her 'little Dudders" and the four of them left the hotel. Vernon and Petunia were reluctant to bring Harry along, but it seemed less suspicious if they let the hotel staff see him leave with them.
Outside the hotel, they left him with a couple of pounds and instructions to be back at 7, or he would sleep outside. Glad to be free for a couple of hours, Harry wandered down through the streets of London. Looking around him, the sights left him in awe, the busy streets, and people. He turned down to a smaller street when he felt the heat of someone's gaze on his back. Glancing behind himself, he felt his heart stop. 20 feet behind him, there was a small cluster of men, all wearing dark clothing. Harry turned his head forward and continued walking, but at a faster pace, mind whirling for ways to escape them. A couple seconds later, he could hear the men start calling out to him.
"Hey kid, what's a small thing like you doing on this side of town?"
Harry ignored the mocking voice and called up memories of his teacher's safety lessons. Find a house that looks like there's people inside, then knock on the door and wait it out inside until the people following you leave. Spotting a decently lit townhouse coming up ahead, he almost ran to it, and walked down the pathway leading to the large black door. He took no heed to the overgrown lawn, or the chipping gold paint on the house number, reading 12. Harry was even too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice that his captors had already rushed past the house, not being able to see him anymore.
Harry knocked on the wooden door and waited for someone to answer it. No noise escaped the door, and for a moment, Harry thought he was doomed. He went to glance back at the street, when a loud click came from the door. It opened inwards to reveal a young girl. Harry was relieved to see someone in the house and immediately starting explaining the events preceding him knocking on the door. The girl smiled slightly, and opened the door completely.
"Come in." she said, voice calm and light, "You can wait in the sitting room until you feel safe to leave."
She lead him down a darkened hallway, and Harry was hit with a sense of nervousness, how would this random girl's parents react to her letting a random boy into their home? She lead him past a rather large curtain, and into a well lit room.
On the largest wall, there was a painted tree, names and faces were printed on spots of the tree, and Harry assumed it was a family tree of sorts. The room also had several chairs and couches, almost all of which were turned to face the large piano sitting in the middle of the room. The only thing not in the room were more people. The girl sat on a large chair and gestured that Harry sit in the one facing her. When he sat, she began to speak.
"Sorry, my parents are not available at the moment. I'm staying here with my Grandmother for while." She paused, as if unsure how to continue, "My name's Cassiopeia, Cassiopeia Black. And you are?"
"Harry Potter," Harry replied, not sure how formal he should be with her, "It's nice to meet you"
Harry took a minute to take a look at her. Cassiopeia had long black locks of hair which grew down her back in wavy lines, she also had long bangs that almost covered her bright silver eyes. She was dressed in a elegant black dress which reached her knees, filled with intricate designs and frills. She was dressed up like the fancy dolls Petunia kept in the attic from her childhood. Her eyes lit up at his words, and words tumbled out of her mouth at a rather fast pace, her personality doing a 180.
"Harry Potter? Oh great, then you must be a wizard too, well, you had to be a wizard, being able to see the house and all, but I didn't know you were a Potter. Son of James Potter, am I right? Our father's were quite good friends back in the day-" here her words cut out, and her face dulled a bit, as if remembering something unpleasant, "Oh, you must think of me as terribly rude, I'm sorry for your loss." she said, quietly.
Harry was flabbergasted. Did she say 'Wizard'? Her father was friends with his father? What was going on? His confusion must have shown on his face as Cassiopeia began to look confused as well.
"What is it?" she asked, "Is it my fath-"
Harry cut her off.
"Wizard? What do you mean wizard?"
Cassiopeia looked at him in disbelief.
"What do you mean, 'What do I mean'?" She asked "You don't know your a wizard? How do you think your parents died?"
She gasped, placing her hands over her mouth.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." she whispered
Harry waved her off, the words had stung a little, but he was too shocked to feel any real pain from it.
"I'm a wizard?" he asked, to himself or Cassiopeia, he didn't know.
"Hasn't anything ever happened to you, something others would call 'impossible'?" She asked.
Harry thought about it. There had been times where strange things had happened, a flick here, randomly clean plates, a thought, and suddenly his teacher's hair was pink. The more the thought about it, the more random things that seemed strange popped into Harry's mind. He looked at Cassiopeia, and nodded. She smiled faintly at him.
"I'm sure it's a lot to take in" She said.
"Yeah." Harry said, before perking up, "You said our parents were friends?"
Cassiopeia blushed faintly.
"My grandmother tells me they were very good friends. I don't know much more then that, she doesn't hold my father in the highest of views." She said, playing with her hair slightly, "I haven't seen my father since I was a baby."
She sighed, and looked at Harry.
"What about you? Where have you been staying? I'd love if you could come over, it'd be nice to have some company." She said, looking eager.
Harry smiled, trying not to make it look forced.
"I live with my mother's sister and her husband. They also have a son my age. We live in Surrey, so it would take about an hours drive. They probably wouldn't be willing to drive me though" Harry said.
Cassiopeia looked downtrodden, but quickly perked up.
"That's alright, goodness knows my grandmother probably wouldn't be too happy with people stopping by all the time anyway." She said
She was trying to sound nonchalant and unaffected, but Harry knew she was disappointed. Cassiopeia quickly got up out of her chair and brushed off her skirt.
"If you'll just give me a moment, I need to go retrieve something." She said, and all but ran out of the room.
Harry felt terrible. Here he had gone and almost made a friend, and he had gone and screwed it up. He didn't have friends back in Surrey, Dudley making sure of that. He would really miss the rare feeling of being wanted in a room, however brief it was. Harry was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Cassiopeia re-entered the room, holding something in her hands. He did notice, however, when she fell to the ground, and didn't rise back up again.
He lept out of his seat and ran over to her.
"Cassiopeia?" He called out, then, when he received no answer, he called out again, this time louder.
A noise in the hallway brought his attention away from Cassiopeia.
"WHO'S THERE?" A loud shrieking voice called.
Harry ran out into the hallway, but there was no one there
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE IS MY GRANDDAUGHTER?" The voice called again.
The voice was coming from the painting. Harry turned to face it. The curtains Harry had seen coming into the house were now pulled back to reveal an old woman in a painting. Harry nearly had a heart attack, she was moving! Her eyes didn't leave his face as she shouted again.
"WELL? WHO ARE YOU?"
Harry quickly tried to regain the ability to speak, and said, in a rather meek voice,
"I'm Harry, Cassiopeia invited me in. She-" Here, Harry remembered the current state of the young girl, "She's in the other room, she looks like she's fainted"
The old woman in the painting regarded him with cold eyes.
"Lay her on a couch, I'll be in the room in a second"
Harry hurried into the next room, and placed Cassiopeia onto a soft-looking couch. Looking around for the old lady, he wasn't too surprised to see her in one of the small paintings. She was looking at Cassiopeia with an almost concerned look. She looked back at Harry.
"My name is Walburga Black, Cassiopeia is my granddaughter and future Lady Black."
Her voice was quieter. Harry looked down at Cassiopeia.
"What happened?" He asked
Walburga regarded him, before letting out a small sigh.
"If Cassiopeia trusted you enough to let you in, I guess I can tell you. But," She glared at him, and Harry felt his insides freeze, "If you ever try to take advantage of it, I will-"
Walburga was interrupted by a small groan, and they both turned to face Cassiopeia. She sat up on the couch and looked over to them. She looked a little dazed. Walburga called out to her.
"Cassiopeia."
Cassiopeia took a deep breath and started speaking.
"I'm sorry for causing any panic" She said, looking at Harry. "My visions come and go as they please."
"Visions?" Harry asked.
Cassiopeia smiled. Harry thought that she did that a lot.
"The Black blood is riddled with old magic." She started, "Our family has been crossed and married with many different magic lines for a very long time. After awhile, magic traits started appearing in Black family children. One such trait would be the ability of sight. I'm able to see things from the past, present and future in the form of visions. It's not always clear, but it can be very useful."
Harry nodded, not quite understanding, getting the jist of it. Cassiopeia got out of her seat and went to the forgotten cloth-wrapped object. She cradled it in her hands and walked over to Harry, sitting next to him. Walburga looked down at them from her position on the wall. Cassiopeia uncovered the cloth to reveal 2 small glass pieces. She handed one to Harry. Harry looked into the glass. His green eyes looked back at him.
"I found it in the attic. The glasses have a link between them. If you say my name into the mirror, a connection will be made, and we can talk face-to-face, through the two mirrors" Cassiopeia explained.
Harry nodded, and the two of them shared a smile. After that, the two had a quick cup of tea before Walburga mentioned the time. Harry panicked and had to run back to the hotel to get back right before the Dursley's. The rest of the trip was uneventful, with Harry visiting Cassiopeia and her grandmother twice more before going back home to Privet Drive.
Harry's days didn't change all that much after meeting Cassiopeia. They would talk a few times a week, when Harry could risk taking the mirror out in his cupboard. He spent a lot of time learning what he could about the wizarding world from Cassiopeia. She had very limited knowledge about the practical sense of magic and the community, as she never left the Back family house. Her only living human interactions were when Harry would call, and the special occasion when her cousin, Narcissa would come to give her etiquette lessons. In return for the knowledge of the magic world, Harry would tell her about the muggle world. She secretly was intrigued by the simple yet complex world. They became close friends in the couple of years before Harry turned 11. It was a simple time for Harry. But after he turned 11, it all changed.
Hey guys! Queen here. I hope Cassiopeia isn't a Mary-sue!
I should probably also clear a few things up.
Cassiopeia's seer abilities and limitations are heavily influenced by HuskyWalker's 'Little Seer', go check him/her out, the story is amazing.
Walburga is OOC, mostly because I like to think that she would somewhat mellow in death, also, I feel that she would become softer raising her granddaughter. Don't worry, she'll still have plenty of bicker time with Sirius when he enters the story.
Harry is also OOC, but it has to do a little about having prior knowledge of the wizarding world. He won't know everything though, like the fact that Sirius Black is his godfather and that he's in Azkaban.
Lastly, I find that to make a good pairing, you need to start creating the grounds for it. I'm gonna start a poll on my account open for everyone, that has a few pairing ideas that i have. If you have an idea that you want added to the poll, PM me and I'll add it (Unless I'm not comfortable writing it.) The poll will be open until the end of the first 'book'.
I'll add the next chapter as soon as it's done!
See ya next time,
Queen