A.N. What can I say? Lately I have been seeing this prompt a lot and have yet to find a satisfying one. The idea has a lot of potential so I had to see if I could come close to it. I have seen too many where they just skip the growing up part letting a few lines explain about seven years of information! Or they do something horrible like start out in New moon and suddenly look here's Bella the witch!
Never explaining with a good enough excuse WHY Bella never bothered to mention she was something other than human! I mean COME ON! Plus doing it that way leaves a lot to be desired I would much rather watch her struggle with this secret then just have her begin at the place where she reveals it all! Not to mention how would she take falling apart like that with all that power behind her? Too many questions and not enough answers! So here I go again starting on something I thought needed to be written!
Prologue
The incidents of that night would reverberate the world over but the truth of that night would forever be lost, trapped inside the minds of the only three to witness it. Two would forget over time as all children forget over time and one would lose the exact memory to madness. The wizarding world needed a hero, someone they could lay the victory to, so Albus Dumbeldore gave them Harry
Potter. Harry, a small toddler, would from that day forward be named 'the-boy-who-lived' famous for the events that had lost him both his parents and an easier life.
Currently one Albus Dumbeldore was arguing with one Minerva Mcgonagall about the placement of the now famous Harry Potter with his only living muggle relatives. The argument was interrupted by the arrival of Hagrid, keeper of keys at Hogwarts, with a very precious package. By the time Hagrid pulled to a stop beside them Minerva had given up dissuading Dumbeldore of his foolish plan and simply stood back fuming.
Hagrid carried the carefully swaddled boy to Dumbeldore and watched him place the boy on a stoop not too far down the road. He came back looking merry and hopeful the twinkle in his eyes going full blast. "Professor?" Hagrid called when he saw the Headmaster getting ready to leave. Dumbeldore sighed; he did not want another argument about where he was placing the boy, not after his rather heated one with Minerva so he got right down to it.
"I can assure you, my boy, that Harry will be perfectly fine with the Dursleys," "But Professor what about…" "Really Hagrid have you no faith in me?" That stopped him for a minute, giving Dumbeldore ample time to get away, Minerva right behind him, neither waiting on Hagrid. He stood there frozen from shock for a while before a tiny baby's cry drew his attention to the motorcycle he had flown in on.
Had Dumbeldore stayed he might have actually heard Hagrid's question he might have foreseen the problems that could have come. He might have even taken action to insure those problems would not happen. As it was he hadn't stayed, so he never heard what Hagrid had to say and one small little girl's path in life was changed forever. In a different world Dumbeldore stayed, in that world the girl had been placed with a young couple halfway across the world growing up ignorant of her destiny, of her power.
As it was in this world Dumbeldore hadn't stayed so Hagrid, simple, kind-hearted Hagrid saw no problem dropping off the little girl next to her twin. After all, Belladonna Potter was Harry Potter's twin so she belonged with him. Dumbeldore would have seen the problem though, he would have seen what having someone to share misery with, and to draw strength from could do to change Harry. He wouldn't be as moldable when the time came for him to be collected or 'rescued' from his horribly pig-headed relatives. Dumbeldore would have seen what this could do to his plans for the boy and he would have taken measures to prevent it.
However, Dumbeldore wasn't there so Hagrid, simple, trusting Hagrid, assumed that he meant for the girl to be placed with her twin. This one act would change the course of events from that moment after, whether or not it was a good change would remain to be seen.
Chapter 1- Poison and Freak
Number four Private Drive was like every other house on the small cul-de-sac, ordinary, uniform, and dreadfully boring. In fact the only thing that made number four different from every other house on the street was the two very extraordinary beings that dwelled within its walls. Now this wasn't a matter of pride for the other residents of this house because the Dursleys absolutely hated anything that wasn't what they considered normal.
The treatment of those two extraordinary beings was a testament to this fact, as they were not even aware of their own true names instead they knew themselves as Poison and Freak. Now Poison was the girl, she had long wavy mahogany hair that shone molten red in the sunlight; she had very pale skin, and with unusually full lips. Her bottom lip was slightly fuller than her top and she had a heart-shaped face with a slightly pointed chin.
Poison was small, smaller than most girls her age, and extremely clumsy always finding ways to trip over her own feet. Freak was her twin but they were very different from one another only sharing a few similarities, they both had the same piercing green eyes that seemed almost to glow. Freak was entirely different from Poison, his hair was a pitch black and while long for a boy reaching to his shoulders it was always in a constant state of disarray refusing to be tamed. He also had pale skin a product of a life shut indoors and while small for his age he wasn't quite as small as Poison.
Freak had gangly arms and legs like that of a young colt, showing hidden potential waiting for its time. His face was more oval-shaped but he did share the same lips as his sister. Freak, while not graceful, wasn't clumsy like his sister and had adopted the role of her protector trying hard to keep her from falls. He had an identical pair of emerald eyes and a strange lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead that he rather liked.
Poison and Freak were six-years-old and were just about to start school. However, Poison would argue that they could learn just fine by themselves. After all they had taught themselves how to read and write. She was the quicker one but Freak was very smart in his own right. Poison was the one with all the schemes though, constantly finding sneaky ways to improve their lives while Freak was the one that did all the heavy lifting.
Freak wasn't shy about admitting that while he was smart, Poison was utterly brilliant, just as she wasn't shy about admitting she wasn't nearly as strong as he could be. Freak was fit, from primarily doing all the heavy lifting in the house, as Vernon Dursley was too lazy to do it himself. Things like taking out the trash, fixing broken things, chopping firewood, those sorts of things fell to Freak. Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry those kinds of things fell to Poison.
In fact, it was her cooking that insured that they ate decently portioned meals, as that by the age of five Poison's cooking was so exquisite that when she threatened to never cook another thing again. No amounts of threats worked to make her cook until they agreed to give them enough food that they weren't constantly in a state of hunger. Just one of the many ways Poison used her cleverness to improve their situations.
She was a sly one, Freak was equally sly but he had a harder time gathering the nerve to stand up to their relatives. That's where Poison and Freak differed; inside the house away from public eyes Poison was the stronger twin. However, once they stepped out the house she was painfully shy and so Freak took on the role of leader.
That's the way things were for them, Poison was very mature for her age as was Freak, a product of not being allowed a childhood. Poison was more like a mother in some ways to Freak, because she was the one who held him when the nightmares were too much. The one that stood up for him when he could not, the one who urged him forward when all he wanted to do was lay back. It only became more prominent after they started school and things in their life took a turn.
The first day of school was hard for them; Freak couldn't let go of Poison's hand for fear of her stumbling and losing him. Their clothes and their closeness made them stand out in a not-so-good way. They both had on Dudley's cast-off, clothes that were ten-times to big, in horrible condition and in Poison's case not in her gender's type. It only got worse as the day went on, as they didn't answer when the teacher called their names not knowing that when she said, "Belladonna and Harrison Potter" she had meant them.
By lunch the taunts were getting too much for them and Poison had enough. She made Freak come with her to escape to the library so that they wouldn't have to bear it any longer. It was there in the quiet security the book shelves offered that Poison turned to her brother, "I don't like my name," she said her nose wrinkled a bit, "its so long!" Freak nodded his head in agreement, "I don't like mine either."
They had known for some time that their real names weren't Poison and Freak; it was just that those were the only names the Dursleys' called them with any consistency. Now that they knew their real names they weren't sure they wanted to be called that with any consistency either. Poison's eyes lit up as an idea struck, "I know how about I just call you Harry for short? Isn't that better than Harrison or Freak?" Harry thought about it for a moment before he was smiling in agreement, "And I'll just call you Bella, I heard someone say once that means Beautiful in Italian, I think it suits you better." Bella blushed red and hugged Harry close, a warmth blossoming in her chest.
They had names now, real names, not insults or pompous extended ones but true-blue names. Bella looked around her and started to pull a book from the shelf to read while Harry started on the homework for that night. It was while Bella was reading that an awful realization struck her. The Dursleys hated it when either of them succeeded where Dudley had failed, would school be any different? Usually the twins threw games, and didn't read lengthy novels where they could be seen. Would they have to fail school to avoid punishments from the Dursleys from succeeding where Dudley would surely fail?
Could they let themselves do badly in school? Bella looked to Harry, he was answering one of those 'get to know you worksheets' and had just gotten to the question 'what would you like to be when you grow up?' With a sinking stomach Bella knew that they could not fail in school otherwise they would never be free of the Dursleys. They had to succeed if they wanted to do anything good with their lives, if they wanted to get away from them.
The question was could they deal with the consequences of doing well in school? Bella looked to Harry, "Harry," she said to get his attention, "No matter what happens at the house don't let them intimidate you. If we want to get out of there we'll need to do well here so don't let them make you fail. This is important; if we want out of that house we'll need to go to a great school after primary that means we gotta be good enough for a scholarship somewhere. That means Dudley can't win this time," she grasped his hand and looked into his eyes. At the same time they said, "No matter what they do to us."
-X-
With a bang Bella set the book down in front of Harry with a satisfied smirk on her face, the one she only got when she finally found what she was looking for or learned something she had been meaning to. "What's this?" Harry asked eyebrow rose in questioning. "This is a book on Magical Archetypes, in novels, history, epics, and myths." "And why is this important again?" "Because Harry, I've figured it out, why when strange things happen we get blamed, why the Dursleys hate us, why that teacher's hair turned blue and why you ended up on the school roof last week!" Harry blushed at the reminder, he hadn't figured out how it happened and had tried to tell Bella that the wind must of picked him up taking him there. She had hit him over the head and called him an idiot.
"SO what is it!" asked the eager seven year old, wanting an end to the mystery for once and for all. "Well its obvious isn't it? Its magic of course!" Bella said grinning like the cat that caught the canary. Harry just looked confused, "Aunt Petunia says there's no such thing as magic." At this Bella got an exasperated look on his face and looked him dead in the eye, "When have we ever believed anything the Dursleys have told us?" "Good point!" Harry said smiling, if the Dursleys said it didn't exist it most likely did.
"So what are we going to do about it?" Bella asked as she sat down next to him opening her book to begin reading through it again. "I don't know why you asking me? You are the one who always comes up with the schemes why don't you tell me what we're going to do." Harry said as he rolled his eyes at her offended look. "I don't always come up with the schemes!" At his looks of disbelief she hissed, "its true, what about the time we needed to get those blank progress reports so we could fool the Dursleys about our grades? Hmmm, who's the one who came up with the plan to get Mrs. Flanders out of the office?" Harry sighed, "Okay I'll give you that one but still you're better at this kind of thing."
He smiled sweetly at her and Bella couldn't stay mad any longer. "Okay, well I think what we need to do is practice. If we have magic it should be like any other talent, practice makes perfect, if we can learn to control it then we can avoid it reacting by accident! Then we wont have these things happening around us, they don't happen the Dursleys wont punish us for it!" Harry nodded in agreement but a thought occurred to him, "How do we practice something no one else does? We don't have anyone to teach us." "Simple we do what we've always done with things like this we teach ourselves, we'll use books, like this one. They talk of magic something must be true, or at least close to the truth."
Harry smiled; there she went again, finding some way to make their lives better. The possibilities magic gave them, the options they had opened to them now, life just got a little bit easier for the twins. Bella got a devious look in her eyes, "There was one other thing, Harry, that I wanted to show you." "What now? Are we some magical creatures that aren't even human?" Bella shot him a funny look, "I hope not but that's not what I wanted to show you."
She turned and pulled some pamphlets from her book bag spreading them out on the table they were using. "These are all the schools that have a great reputation and scholarship programs…. And they all have dormitories so we don't have to live at the Dursleys." Harry hugged her tightly making Bella laugh, "Calm down you don't even know if we can get in." "I know but all I heard was 'don't have to live with Dursleys' it puts a guy in a right mood you know!" Harry said laughing along with her.
Bella smiled sweetly and patted the arm that was still slung over her shoulder. "I know Harry, I don't like living with them any more than you do." She picked up one of the thicker pamphlets, "Now this one looks the most promising. All we'll need to do is skip a grade and score high on exams to get their attention. If we apply for the scholarship after we manage to skip a grade they'll be looking at us earlier so we'll have higher chances of getting in."
They had only attended primary for a year so far but Bella was sure they could skip a few grades if they tried hard enough. Harry wasn't as confident but he knew that Bella would make it happen for them if she had to force him to study every spare minute. She did so now anyway, she was damn near determined to get them out of the Dursleys as fast as humanly possible. Harry actually felt a bit guilty because she spent a lot of extra time going over things with him when she was already way ahead of him. He knew she held back so she could be with him, if she had chosen to she could have already started third year.
Still Bella didn't mind helping him, not that he needed much help it was just that he didn't get things quite as fast as she did. She had big plans for them, most of them centered on getting them out of the Dursleys and on the road to success. Bella thought that would be the ultimate revenge on their relatives, if they were successful in life than all they did to hold them down counted as nothing. All the insults, all the ways they tried to keep them dumb and normal, useless. This was part of the reason her relatives called her Poison, because they knew had Harry been alone he would not stand against them.
In their minds Bella 'poisoned' Harry and drew his freakishness out making him worse every day. Bella was actually more than a little proud of this fact because it meant that she helped to keep Harry strong. Harry stood up for her so much that she was glad that she could stand up for him when he couldn't do it for himself. Bella smiled as she pointed out another feature in their choice school, and thought back to the days when they were Poison and Freak.
Nothing could keep them down because whenever one of them went down, the other was there to stand. They were strong as long as they had each other. They were all the family they had in the world, they were each other's best friends, like two halves of a whole.
-x-
"No, not like that Harry," Bella said quietly and pushed the paper back to him. "You have to WANT it to change, want it more than anything, NEED it to change and it will." Harry scowled and screwed his face up in concentration. Slowly the paper fluttered twisting in the air, moving like water and swirling until finally it wasn't a paper any more but a delicate looking butterfly. "YES! You did it Harry!" Bella squealed and engulfed him in a hug. He was smiling widely, laughing a bit.
Practicing magic had to be the highlight of their days together; it was the only time that they felt free and truly liberated. When they used their magic it was like stretching your muscles after being cramped up for a long time or getting a drink of water after days without. Bella thought the feeling came because they had not known they had magic for so long that now that they were really using it their magic was happier.
They had been practicing for over a year now, doing little things like making things float, changing the color of things and now they were working on turning one thing into another. Harry was often frustrated because while he could understand the ideas Bella came up with to practice he always had trouble 'visualizing'. He just couldn't get the clear picture in his head as well as Bella could, it was not that Bella had more power, (they had measured they were the same) but it was that she was more imaginative than he was at times.
Though Harry did find it easier to change the color of things than she did, he could change his own hair color easier than Bella could change hers so he found comfort in that. They had been studying hard the past two years, managing to finally skip a grade and gain the attention of the private schools they had wanted to attend. However what Harry had not counted on was how very driven Bella was in getting them as fast as possible out of their relatives' house.
As a result they were due for testing again soon to see if they could skip another grade leaving them in sixth year next school rotation instead of fifth. Bella was a demon in studying if she was motivated enough, which she certainly was, and she made sure he was going through the same hellish study routine as hers. It was only a matter of time now before they could finally leave this place, and Harry had no doubt in his mind that Bella would find a way for them to get out.
"Harry I've been going over some things and came across this book on mediation. It's all about finding your inner peace but I think if we apply the same principles we could go about finding our inner magic! If it works out well, I think it'll bond us more closely to our magic and help us with our control." She looked at him in questioning silently asking his opinion, "I think that's a great idea Bella!"
Bella smiled, properly encouraged, and began to outline everything she read in the book to Harry. That's how it always was, Bella may be brilliant and imaginative but she had confidence issues that Harry helped to sooth. Even after all this time she still had trouble with other people, still blushed when spoken to and still hid behind her hair when she was embarrassed. While Harry was better with people, Bella was better with books and it showed.
Where Harry walked with a silent confidence born from his constant role as Bella's protector in public, Bella walked slightly huddled with a book in front of her chest. It was just how they were; the result was that no one besides Harry ever saw the REAL Bella. To him Bella was kind, sweet, soft, loving, utterly brilliant, amazingly open-minded, gentle, brave and devotedly loyal. The rest of the world didn't get the chance to see what he did because Bella was too shy to be herself around anyone excluding him.
-x-
Bella sat quietly on the couch, face hidden from view by her hair but her eyes were trained solely on the man before her. She was immensely glad Vernon was not home and Petunia was reasonable enough to see the benefits of behaving well. Bella felt Harry grip her hand in reassurance and she lifted her face a bit.
This was the man who could change their life, could make it better or condemn them to hell. It was incredibly hard for her to sit there, and not hide behind Harry as she was want to do. This man was here for an interview with them to determine if they would go to Beasley's Institute for Girls and Boys.
Harry was also extremely nervous but hid this fact better than Bella managed to. He couldn't believe this man was the one who would decide their life for them. It made him very uncomfortable to think about it. Mr. Hatter, it was a funny last name and reminded him of Alice in Wonderland. Harry really didn't like the idea of this guy deciding everything that mattered to them though, as funny as his name was Harry found no humor in it.
Their hands clenched when he brought his suitcase up and opened it to withdraw some papers. An hour later they had a full scholarship to the Institute and were seeing the man out the door with their Aunt. They had to wait until they were in their cupboard to celebrate quietly however, mostly because they did not want to alert Petunia to how happy this made them.
-x-
Bella hurried down the hall, glancing worriedly at the letter in her hands before continuing on her skirts swishing around her as she went. Harry and Bella had been attending the academy for a good two years now and it has been some of the happiest times of their lives. For one without having the restrictions that the Dursleys had placed on them, they have had more time to do the things they wanted to as opposed to what they had to.
As a result they could finally relax their study time to reasonable levels, but they would still be starting ninth year in the fall. Bella had already chosen her classes, while Harry was still debating on his own. That wasn't what she was worried about though. Since their discovery of magic they had been working tirelessly on gaining control over their powers.
This had worked somewhat; they both could do amazing things, things most people can only dream about. However, all this time they had been working on the belief that they were the only two of their kind but today she had discovered that was untrue. The letter in her hand proved that at least, but what were they going to do about it?
She had so many plans, so many, none of them included finding a secret world of magic and leaving everything she worked so hard for behind! How was she supposed to become a doctor at some magic school? How was she supposed to do anything she had dreamed of now? It was a devastating effect. Mostly because she knew that they needed to go, they needed to learn this side of themselves in order to understood where they came from.
Bella worried her lip as she thought of it, trying to find some way that they could fulfill both of their dreams. She didn't want to give up her non-magical education in favor of just concentrating on magic because she knew it was better to keep their options open. Really, what if they ended up hating the magical world and were stuck there because they didn't know enough of their non-magical one? She was almost out of breath by the time she reached the dormitories where Harry was waiting for her.
His face said enough, the excited grin, and the letter that he had gripped tightly in his hand…Bella knew then there was no other way to avoid going. "Isn't it great Bells? A real Magic school! With real Magic courses! Think of all we're going to learn!" Harry said excitedly as he hugged her spinning them around the room in his enthusiasm. Bella just closed her eyes and hugged him back, knowing she could never tell him how much she wanted them to stay. A sad little smile touched her lips as she listened to him go on about how the owl had surprised him in the middle of his fencing lesson dropping a letter on his head.
Harry was the adventurous one; he saw this as a grand thing. It was something new and exciting. A whole new world to explore and learn from had Harry in a frenzy of anticipation. Bella knew he was dreaming of fighting dragons, saving maidens, casting spells, and all the things those heroes had done in their books. She knew it had always bugged him that magic had come easier to her, that every time they tried something from one of the fiction books Bella was the first to get it.
It peeved him that while she had mastered the art of talking to animals, Harry could only manage snakes, and Bella knew that it was his hope that with real teachers he would do better. Bella didn't think she was 'better' at magic, not really, it was just focusing and visualizing what she wanted came easier to her. Harry had a harder time of it because he was so whimsical, were she was practical. When Harry tried a spell the first time he thought of everything he could do with it not the spell itself and so it took him a few tries to get it right.
Still, Bella wondered if she could convince the school to continue to send her the assignments maybe she wouldn't have to give up her dreams completely. Harry was chattering happily about this and that, about the things on their school lists. Bella bit her lip as she looked at the long list, wondering if the school had a scholarship program they could apply for. Sighing, she smiled and nodded at whatever Harry said trying very hard to hide her disappointment.
Bella really liked the Institute the programs they had were amazing and the quality of the education was phenomenal. She had no idea what this Hogwarts had to offer, what programs they had, and she hated going into something like this unprepared. So she sat down at Harry's desk to write their reply to the Deputy headmistress.
Deputy Headmistress Mcgonagall,
Upon having received your invitation to attend Hogwarts there are some questions that have to be asked. First, do you have a scholarship program as we are unsure how we are supposed to pay for schooling at this time. Secondly, if you could include instructions on where we might find the place to purchase the school supplies it would be greatly appreciated. Last, if it would not be too much trouble would you also include some instructions on how to get to the school.
Sincerely the Potters,
Opening the window Bella called to the owl waiting in the trees nearby who gladly came to her. Attaching the letter she made sure the owl knew who to take it to before she let it fly off. "You know I really wish I could talk to them too! Snakes are so boring all they wanted to talk about are mice, the cold, and mating. It's really annoying!" Harry laughed as he hugged Bella from behind unable to hold in his excitement.
"Its not so great most animals aren't that intelligent but every so often you can find one that carry on a conversation. None of them understand human logic though; it's all about survival with them. Heck some of the weaker ones like rabbits know that there is a great chance they are gonna get eaten but they don't seem to mind." Bella smiled bemused before she turned to give her twin a kiss on the cheek. "I gotta go I have to see the secretary about scheduling a meeting with the Headmaster about something."
"Alright, will you come back later though I need some help with this spell I'm working on." Harry said smiling. "Sure, no problem I'll sneak over after curfew." With that Bella made her way out to make her appointment with the Headmaster. Truthfully she was more than a bit worried about all of this, especially where their education was concerned. Bella didn't think this magical school had a non-magical counterpart so if they attended, which they would, they could lose touch with this world.
That was not something she wanted to happen because then their options for their life would be severely limited to the magical world. She didn't think Harry would mind that much but Bella knew she would. Over the next few days she had discussions with the Headmaster about their independent study program. She used the excuse that their relatives were thinking of moving further away, not allowing them to travel back here easily.
By the end of the week Bella had gotten all the forms she would need their Aunt to fill out and permission from the Headmaster for them to enter the program. They had also gotten a reply from the Deputy Headmistress Mcgonagall, she had sent a lot of information for them. A detailed guide on how to get to the train station that would take them to Hogwarts, as well as a map on how to get into the Magical market place and how to access their bank account.
Apparently their parents had left them a trust fund for their schooling, she had enclosed their key with the letter. This didn't seem to bother Harry at all but it really disturbed Bella. After all what were the Professors of this school doing with their key to their trust fund? The funny things was that the letter they had gotten from the Deputy had been overall very vague. Hardly any solid information at all had been included in the letter. What Bella and Harry hadn't realized is that Mcgonagall had the mistaken notion that the Dursley's were going to accompany them. Had she known that she had just sent two children, on their own, into the Wizarding World she would have been horrified.
Harry was very excited to be going however, jumping all over the place and generally making a fuss. It made Bella smile; it had been a while since Harry had acted so carefree. It was partly her fault, Bella knew, because she pushed him so hard. Harry never held it against her though since he knew she only did the things she had to in order to make their lives better. The summer was coming soon, Bella was dreading talking to their Aunt about this but it had to be done.
They would need to go to London twice, once for their supplies and once to be dropped off. Not to mention Bella had to get her to sign the forms do they could enter the independent study program and to top it off Bella also had to convince her to relay their work back to the Institute. Maybe a minor mind bending spell could take care of this, but Harry hated it when she used magic to control people. Bella stole a glance at her brother while thinking about what she would have to do.
Bella decided she just wouldn't tell Harry about it, and she'd cast the spell on their Aunt without him noticing. It wasn't like she was making Petunia do anything bad, in fact she was just making her be a good relative for once. Family helped each other anyway, or at least they were supposed to. Still, Bella just knew Harry would think it was a bad thing even if it was for a good reason. Last time she had taken control of anyone Harry had been so upset with her over it he hadn't talked to her for four days! He said that she was making People into Puppets and he hated that.
Deep down Bella knew it stemmed from how out of control Harry's own life was and so she had stomped down her pride to apologize afterwards. If Harry had any clue the things she was planning to do to their Aunt, Bella was positive he would be appalled and angry. However, that was not going to stop her because Bella knew she was only going to do those things to ensure their future. So when the Twins finally left the Academy for the last time only one mourned it's loose, the other celebrated a new beginning.
-x-
Harry looked at Bella in disbelief, "Are you sure this is it Bells?" She sighed deeply looking at the run down pub a little distastefully, "Yes, Harry it says very clearly in Professor Mcgonagall's letter that this 'Leaky Cauldron' is the way in." Harry snorted through his nose, "Well if you say so," he said before he moved to enter. However Bella grabbed his arm to stop him and he looked at her questioning. "What is it now Bells?" "You're not wearing your cap," Bella smirked holding up the pale green baseball cap that read '# 2'.
"Ah, do I have to Bells?" Harry whined. Bella merely smirked wider saying, "Catch", before she tossed the hat to him chuckling evilly. Harry scowled mumbling, "I should have known better than to bet against you." Bella heard him and smiled slyly, "Yeah but you didn't so today I'm Number 1! And who are you…" Harry huffed, "Number 2." "Got that right!" For all his posturing Harry still had to hide his smile when Bella took his hand to drag him inside.
Bella seemed to know where she was going, guiding him away from the dimly lit pub and into the back right up to a brick wall. Just as Harry moved to say something Bella tapped the wall a few times and both of their jaws dropped when it folded away. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," Bella murmured before squeezing Harry's hand. There was so many strange people, so many things to look at that Bella had lost her confidence and stepped back to hide behind her 'Number 2'. Harry squeezed her hand back reassuringly before asking, "Where to first Bells?" "Gringotts, the bank at the end of the lane," Bella answered morosely. She hated it that she panicked so much in crowds, not that she could help that she was so painfully shy.
Harry nodded his head confidently and tugged her along to the bank, taking charge of the situation when he felt Bella weaken as they always did for one another. At the bank the Two barely spared a glance at the poem on the Bank's wall to engrossed in studying the fierce looking creatures guarding the doors. "Goblins I think," Bella whispered into Harry's ear as they crossed the threshold. When they got inside Bella perked up a bit, there were fewer people in here, but she still let him drag her up to the first open teller.
That's when Harry froze, not sure how to handle this sort of situation. Bella sensing this stepped up from behind him pulling their key from the chain around her neck she placed it on the teller's counter. "We need to access our vault could you help us do so?" The goblin (she was sure that is what the thing was now) sneered at her before barking, "Griphook." A smaller goblin appeared and the Teller handed her back their key, "Take them to their vault," the Teller snapped before going back to counting his gold.
The ride down was fun; the Twins enjoyed it, as it was the closest they had been to riding a roller coaster. Both found they had to force their mouths closed when they first gazed upon the contents of their vaults. Neither had ever seen so much money in their entire lives, it made them feel a bit dizzy. Bella snapped out of it first grabbing a bag and pilling some gold in while Harry asked what the coins translated to. "There are 17 sickles to the Galleon and 29 knuts to a Sickle," the Goblin said nastily. Bella sent Harry an amused look while placing some of her magic in her heavy moneybag to insure that it wouldn't be stolen before placing it in her coat's inner pocket.
When they got out of the bank they were at a bit of a lose of where to start, so Bella took out their lists and glanced over them. "I say we get the trunk first so we can organize our things as we go along." "Good Idea, but do you know where we should go to get 'em?" Bella's face scrunched up in concentration before it smoothed out, "None whatsoever but I'm sure if we just head down the Alley we'll find one." "Ok," Harry replied dubiously.
Hand in hand they made their way down the alley, scouting the area as they went both noting stores they would return to later. Near a clothing store they found a supply store that had trunks in the display in the window so they went in. It turned out to be a bit like a safari store, the trunks had multiple compartments that the teller was happy to show them how to operate the trunks. Bella thought this type of Trunk would be very useful, it even had charms on it that made it feather light and shrinkable. So even though the trunks were a bit on the expensive side they bought them without a second thought.
While they were there Bella found endless book bags that had the same charms as the trunks so she got those along with a couple of wand holsters. The teller promised the holsters were of the highest quality, made from dragon hide and would adjust to them as they grow. Bella thought that all those items were a sound investment that would last them through their schooling. So after they got a tutorial on how to use the trunks and the book bags they left.
"Robes next? We won't stick out so much if we wear wizarding clothes," Bella murmured to Harry looking at the clothing shop. Harry nodded, knowing Bella hated clothes shopping almost as much as he did. "Like pulling a Band-Aid then?" Harry asked nervously. Bella hummed in agreement and held his hand tightly before stepping inside. In the end it wasn't so bad, the witch was fast with their Hogwarts robes and they just let her pick their casual robes without a thought. She seemed to be delighted to be able to dress them however she wanted, something both of them suspected hardly ever happened.
They left the shop wearing similar looking green robes, Bella's was more feminine and Harry's made him look very male. Next Bella practically dragged Harry into the bookstore, Harry just sighed knowing it was probably better to get this out of the way now. Harry just rolled his eyes at the look on Bella's face, like she'd died and gone to heaven. Harry was quite content letting Bella pile a crazy amount of books into a flimsy looking basket that he was silently amazed didn't break.
When they finally made it out of their Bella was blushing like mad, the look on the teller's face when they checked out had Harry laughing. Harry sighed in relief as they made their way down the alley, stopping at the Apothecary for potion supplies. Bella was so determined they be as prepared as possible so she ended up buying a bit of everything, along with getting a mailing catalog (like she had at the bookstore). They made a quick stop at the cauldron shop where Bella picked out the cauldrons while Harry got the potion kits.
Then came the thing they both wanted to save for last, their wands. Both of them were practically vibrating with excitement when they entered the dusty old shop. Bella felt it first and she squeezed his hand. Harry felt it next; the amount of magic in this place was unbelievable. "AH, Mr. Potter, Miss Potter, I have been expecting you," the creepy old man had popped out of nowhere making both of them jump. "It seems just like yesterday your parents were in here buying their first wands," The old man mumbled. He was seriously creeping Bella out so Harry took charge of the situation. "Yes, well we need to get our first wands so if you don't mind," Harry said while gesturing to the racks.
"The wand chooses the wizard Mr. Potter, its not always clear why," he said while bringing down the first wands. To save time they both tried the wands at the same time. Still even so it took two hours before Harry found his wand, 11 inches, holly, and phoenix feather core. "Curious, curious," the old man mumbled as he wrapped up Harry's wand for him. Harry was about to question him when Bella gripped his arm to stop him, shaking her head at him Harry remained silent. This man was seriously creeping Bella out so she just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
It took another twenty minutes to find her wand, 12inches, yew, with a thestral hair core. They couldn't get out of there fast enough when it was done; making it out to the alley like the devil was on their heels. "Never again," Bella said seriously. Harry nodded in his agreement, "So freaking creepy." Still after a bit Bella smirked, "My wands bigger than yours number 2." They laughed their chills off before they decided to head to Eeylops Owl Emporium.
The sight of what seemed like hundreds of owls was awe inspiring to both Harry and Bella. There were so many different types, big ones, small ones, brown ones, white ones, loud ones and quiet ones. There were so many to choose from the twins didn't have the slightest idea in where to start, so in silent agreement they split up to search through them all. While Harry was looking for an owl that seemed friendly, Bella was listening to them speak and judging them that way.
Bella avoided the ones that sounded dim witted, and Harry steered clear of the ones that seemed to be scowling (though he wasn't entirely sure how a bird managed that). Harry found her in the back alone, perched prettily in a corner away from the other owls. She was a pretty white owl who came to him before he even called her down landing on his shoulder daintily. He loved her right away and she seemed to be fond of him immediately going to grooming his hair for him.
The owl Bella found was on the opposite end of the store, he was black and regal looking. The other birds seemed in awe of him and generally avoided getting in his way, at least that was the impression their whispers gave her. "You're very handsome," Bella said to him as he stared down at her. He shifted on his perch adjusting his feathers, "Well you're a very strange human," he replied. "What's your name, Handsome?" "Eros, little one." "Do you wish to come home with me Eros?" Eros refrained from responding he simply flew down to her shoulder. Bella laughed as he ruffled his feathers and got comfortable on his new perch.
Harry found her then and when they saw each other they smiled widely trying very hard to not laugh. They looked like mirror images, even their owls were perched on opposite shoulders, and everything about the other was opposite. Finally the twins let a few giggles escape; "Only we could be this in sync," Bella said laughing. "Yeah," Harry agreed, "Bella would you ask her what her name is?" "Sure," Bella smiled grabbing Harry's hand as they made their way up front to buy their owls. "So what's your name beautiful?" "Don't have one yet." The white owl replied before promptly ignoring her to return her attention to Harry's hair.
"She's waiting for you to name her Harry," Bella said hiding her smile. When they were paying for their owls the twins opted against buying cages and bought nice perches instead for them. Along with treats, and a catalog, the perches went into their trunks. The twins let the owls stay on their shoulders knowing they wouldn't fly away from them. After that they grabbed a few odds and ends before heading back to the Dursleys.
Bella and Harry spent August studying from their new books. Bella was perhaps a bit more zealous when it came to studying than Harry was but that was nothing new. By the end of August she had notes from all her new books color coded and organized by subject. Potions and any materials related to potions were in a green notebook with all notes written in green ink. Herbology and any related notes were inside purple notebooks with matching ink. Defense against the Dark arts was in Blue, Transfiguration was in yellow, History of Magic was in orange, Astronomy was in gold, Charms was in red, and any interesting things that weren't school subjects were in a color coded white notebook.
It took an insane amount of time to read most of the books she had bought, take notes, organize and reread them over again for comprehension. Which is why it wasn't until the day before they were to leave for their train that Bella discovered that Harry was quite famous in this new world of theirs and that no one knew she existed. It happened when Bella had started to read a book on wizarding fairy tales, everything else had been packed away and she had thought to take a break by reading it. However, when she got to the second story titled 'The Boy-Who-Lived' Bella had been so stunned by the introduction she dropped the book altogether.
Then she picked it up and furiously mesmerized every line, rereading it a dozen times before she forced Harry to read it also. Her mind was working in over time, the tale had to be an exaggeration but in every legend (even Harry's) there had to be a nugget of truth. A dark wizard had murdered their parents; that much was clear. That everyone in this new world knew Harry's name, yet knew nothing of her was disturbing and troubling. "Bloody hell," Harry said letting the book fall limply from his hands.
"You said it brother dear," Bella muttered plopping down beside him on their shabby little bed. "Bugger," Harry said as he ran his hand through his hair, "well so much for laying low again." Bella laughed and hugged Harry to her. In her heart Bella felt the stirrings of deep dread, Harry did not see it yet but Bella knew that this was more foreboding than it seemed. From Mcgonagall's vague letter, to this, to how they had ended up with the Dursleys, it all felt very wrong to her. Bella thought she could only hope that this feeling was foolish and nothing would come of it.
September 1, the Twins woke bright and early so they could catch a ride with their Uncle on his way to work. Harry was once again wearing the Number 2 hat but this time for a very different reason, to hide his infamous scar. The made it to the station at eight, a good three hours before the train was set to depart, with their trunks in their pockets, their bags hanging over their shoulders and each had an owl perched on a shoulder. Hand in hand they made their way to the magical platform, each trying to give the other strength and generally ignoring the looks they were getting.
Bella petted Eros absentmindedly, distracting herself by reciting in her head all she had learned about the rare black barn owl. Hedwig, Harry's white owl, was a snowy owl and generally ignored Bella. They were so distracted by their thoughts that when they walked up to the entrance of the platform they almost missed it. Harry took a deep breath and Bella squeezed his hand, both were silently hoping for a small crowd this early in the morning. So when they walked through the wall both heaved a sigh of relief when they only saw one or two families milling about the station awaiting the train.
It only took twenty more minutes for the train to come chugging up to the station, the sight of it was awe inspiring and Harry thought he'd never seen anything so cool. The got a compartment very easily as one of the first arrivals and they used their extra time to get comfortable. Bella sent Eros ahead, Harry followed her example and then they both changed into their uniforms to save time later. Afterwards they got a bit of breakfast from the trolley lady and then they settled down to wait for eleven o'clock to come around. Harry pulled out a deck of exploding cards to play solitary while Bella pulled out her Potion notes along with 'Most Potente Potions'.
Slowly the station got more and more full, students from all years boarding the train chatting and laughing with friends. The twins watched from out their window as families bid goodbye to their children no small amount of envy in their gazes. When watching the farewells became too much Bella shut the blinds and squeezed Harry hand. After a bit Bella went back to taking notes on potions and Harry leaned his back against hers beginning to read a book on Transfiguration.
Just when the train started up the door to their compartment opened revealing three red headed boys, two were twins and the youngest looked about their age. "Hey there, this is my dear brother Forge," "He's Gred, and this" "is little" "Ronnikins". The twins said alternating between the two. Bella smiled; there was a sense of kinship between twins. "He's Harry," "She's Bella," "Its nice," "to meet you," they said alternating between themselves. "Bloody hell not another pair," Ron said looking a bit green.
Bella just went back to reading her book, hiding behind her hair, Harry on the other hand smiled at them warmly. "In case you haven't guessed we're twins too, though obviously I got the good looks," he grunted when Bella elbowed him. The red headed twins laughed, "Well it was nice meeting another set," "even if you are a bit mismatched!" "Take care," "Ickle Ronnikins". With that the twins left Ron who plopped down across from them. Harry seeing that he was going to stay put his book back inside his bag before pulling out his new set of cards. "Care for a game of exploding snap?" Harry offered, Ron eagerly agreed.
While they played Bella put her potion book away along with her notes and pulled out her very worn copy of Wuthering Heights. She had read it probably over a dozen times already but for some reason the book never lost its appeal to her. She had all of Emily Bronte and Jane Austin's novels stashed away in her bag for pleasure reading; of course Harry thought she was mad. Not too long into the ride the trolley lady returned and Harry grabbed some money from her to buy the lot of it. She didn't mind that so much since Bella also wanted to try out the new sweets.
They shared with Ron, he generally ignored her in favor of Harry but Bella didn't mind that so much used to being the Twin in the shadows (at least in public). A little while after Ron was explaining what chocolate frog cards were another visitor opened the door to their compartment. It was a nervous looking boy and a bossy looking girl with bushy hair, right away Bella disliked her. She was way to pushy, demanding if they'd seen a toad and babbling on about the spells she'd studied. It just rubbed her the wrong way because even if she knew more things than others of her age Bella hated to brag. That's what she felt the girl was doing, bragging, still she kept quiet and was glad when she finally left.
Ron left soon after to change into his robes and then they arrived not to long afterwards. Bella kept a firm grip on Harry when the crowds surged around them and was a little stunned by the sheer size of the man greeting the first years. Hagrid was his name, the keeper of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts. He guided them to the rickety looking boats that would take them across the lake. The rocks were slippery and Bella fell so many times trying to get to the boat eventually Harry just gave her a piggy-back the rest of the way.
Laughing as he did so, "You know it seems like I carry you more than you walk," Harry teased. Bella just stuck her tongue out at him and hopped into the first boat he stopped at. Ron and the nervous boy from before joined them as the boats took off across the dark waters of the lake. Bella was very uncomfortable because she swore that their boat was going to sink at any moment. Harry lost the feeling in his right hand she was holding it so tight. But when they came around the bend in the lake the gasps were audible through the crowd of boats. Bella was so impressed with the castle she let go of Harry's hand in amazement, the castle glittered in the night standing proud and beautiful. It looked timeless.
They made it up to the castle, Hagrid found the toad the 'nervous boy' had lost, and then he directed them to a stern looking older woman. It was the infamous Mcgonagall, and she was nothing like the twins had imagined her. Mcgonagall was explaining the houses and the way house points worked. However, Bella was too busy worrying thinking of ways she could trick her way into the House Harry was sure to get into.
She knew her traits were more Slytherin, or Ravenclaw while Harry was most definitely a Gryffindor. Bella thought that it was because she had been forced to be sly/sneaky to get anything good for them growing up. Harry didn't like manipulating people, it came from his hate of how much power the Dursleys had over them and Bella could understand that. However, it didn't change the fact that Harry grew up protecting her it made him a Gryffindor in her mind. There wasn't an ounce of darkness in Harry, at least at Bella's point of view and there was just no way he could get into any house that suited her.
If it was Ravenclaw Bella had a high possibility of being sorted there because of her love of books. If it was Slytherin Bella thought it would be because of her manipulations of anyone who could improve their lives. Harry only favored reading when he was bored; he only studied so rigorously because Bella made sure he did. Harry didn't like to be sly about things, preferring to rush in headfirst and be honest about his feelings. Sure he could be very cunning should the occasion call for it but that was only when she pushed him to it. Sighing, Bella knew she had already quietly decided that she would be following her brother no matter what, just like she had always done and probably always will.
Harry was all the family she had in the world and she would not lose him without fighting tooth and nail. So when the doors of the Great hall opened up Bella held Harry's hand tightly and smirked a bit when he patted his hair down in front of his scar again. He had gotten rid of the hat before they had left the train and was slightly paranoid about it being revealed. The twins waited patiently, both knowing when everyone knew their full names things were going to change for them. Bella already suspected that Ron was going to behave very differently when that happened.
Finally Mcgonagall came to her name, "Belladonna Lily Potter," a rush fell over the crowd and Bella felt a deep blush rising up her cheeks. Harry pushed her forward and she stepped up to the hat reluctantly, whispers on all sides were driving her slightly mad. Just before the hat fell over her eyes she swore she saw a look of disbelief on the old Headmaster's face. Nothing happened at first, for a good few minutes she waited for something to happen but nothing.
Then after a little bit a very faint voice sounded in her mind, "Well this is interesting," it said faintly. Bella thought it might be the hat talking to her in her mind but she couldn't be sure because the voice sounded so very far away. "I can't read your mind, I can barely talk to you, tell me child where would you like to go?" Bella squashed down her excitement; apparently she would get to choose because the hat couldn't read her! She wouldn't have to convince it to send her somewhere totally unsuitable now. "Gryffindor, send me to Gryffindor." She replied. The hat might have said something else but Bella couldn't hear it properly, so it yelled out, "GRYFFINDOOR!" The people in the Gryffindor clapped but it was more that they were confused than ecstatic about her joining them.
Harry smiled at her and gave her a thumb up as she made her way to the table and Bella nodded smiling in return. "Harrison James Potter," Mcgonagall called next. If Harry thought the whispers were bad for Bella it was a thousand times worse for him but he just stared straight ahead going to the hat. Just as it fell over his eyes he caught a glimpse of Bella's uncomfortable face as the people at her table turned to stare at her. He bristled wanting to get this over with quickly so he could go to his sister and protect her from them.
"Ah Mr. Potter, now isn't this interesting you are the exact opposite of your sister. While she is exceedingly hard to read, you are as clear as day to me. How intriguing. Now where to put you? You're loyal, oh yes very, but only to your sister so far. Hufflepuff wouldn't be a terrible fit but not quite. Lets see, definitely smart but it seems your sister is the only thing pushing you to pursue knowledge. So not Ravenclaw, though that wouldn't be a bad fit either. You are sly, cunning, but you don't like to be that way…no you prefer to let Bella take that burden. So not Slytherin. Well, there is only one place for you no matter you fit all the houses to some extent. So it must be…" "GRYFFINDOR!"
The cheering from that table was deafening when he took the hat from his head, the twins they had met earlier were dancing around saying 'we got the Potters'. However Harry was too busy making his way to Bella's side, she looked ready to die from all the attention on her if her cherry red face said anything. He sat down next to her and almost instantly she buried her face in his shoulder, hiding behind her hair in an effort to escape their eyes. Harry held her and glared at anyone who looked in their direction. Soon the sorting commenced and the students' attentions were dragged back to that.
"Bloody hell mate, why didn't you say you were Harry Potter," Ron asked as he sat down across from them. Harry scowled, "Is it really that important, it's just a last name." "Of course it is! You're the Boy-Who-Lived for Merlin sake!" "Well, I don't think I want to be famous for something I can't remember," Harry replied trying to quell his anger at the red head. "But…" Ron began but Harry quickly cut him off, "I don't want to talk about this anymore." Then Harry promptly ignored him while trying to coax Bella off his shoulder so she could eat.
In this he was only partly successful as she still hid behind her hair and eventually she returned to his shoulder after a few bites. Harry was so worried about Bella he didn't pay attention to anything else so he missed it when a certain Professor scowled at him the moment his head began to ache. However, Harry thought it was his exhaustion talking and was very relieved when the feast was over. An older student rounded the first years up and guided them to their new home, the Gryffindor dormitories.
Harry was sure he would get lost more than a few times trying to find it again; hopefully Bella would remember whatever he forgot. They stopped at a portrait of a rather large woman, aptly named the 'Fat Lady'. The Older student faced them, Harry's eyes immediately was drawn to the shiny badge on the boy's chest. "This is the entrance to the Dormitory, every week the new password will be posted in the Common room be sure to memorize them because you can't enter otherwise." With that he turned to the Fat Lady and said, "Lionheart" the portrait immediately swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common room.
The whole thing was decorated in reds and gold, it was a very loud room though Harry thought it was very welcoming. "The girls are on the left, the boys are on the right, and for those of you thinking of sneaking into the girls side know that it warded against boys." The older boy said before everyone began to break apart to head to his or her respective rooms…it had been a long day. Harry remained next to Bella who seemed very reluctant to let go of him and Harry felt the same about letting go of her.
It was comforting holding her hand in this new and very strange place where they knew virtually no one. The first time they had gone to the boarding school had been the same way, though Bella had managed to sneak into his room for a while. Deciding on it Harry turned to tell Bella that he'd try to get to her tonight but she beat him to it. "I'll try to get into your rooms when the others go to sleep," she whispered before taking off for her new shared rooms. "Like pulling a Band-aid," Harry murmured watching her go before turning to head towards his own rooms.
That night after his new roommates had gone to sleep Bella managed to sneak up and they held each other's hands as they drifted off to sleep. They had no idea what the next day would bring, but good or bad it was going to come. All the twins could do was prepare themselves for it and try to get along here. As they drifted off to sleep that night one had terrible dreams of countless stares and whispers. The other had dreams of failure and of a small cupboard under the stairs that seemed to be ominously awaiting his arrival.