Hecate Rayen Hermetic sat lounging on her bed watching one of her favorite movie series, Harry Potter. She was doing a movie marathon for her sixteenth birthday, and presently, she and her best friend, Cateline, where on HP & the Order of the Phoenix.
Ray's least favorite part was about to come on, the part where Sirius is hit by a spell from his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, and falls into the veil, never to be seen again.
Cat said I was such a girl at this point, because it always made me tear up a bit. She said that was ok though, because I never cry when anyone but her is around and sometimes it's good for me to, or so she says. I think she's crazy, but she just laughs at me. But back to the movie.
Just as Bellatrix sent the curse that threw Sirius over the edge, there was a knock at the door.
I looked at Cat with an arched brow, but she just shrugged. It was only her and I tonight because my only parent, my father, had taken off a few days ago and no one had heard from him, and Cat's only parent, her mom, had taken off three months ago without a backward glance. We only had us, and we were ok with that. Except for the fact that another knock sounded, and we had no idea who it could possibly be.
I finally shrugged and stood to get the door, opening it slightly and peering out. "Who's there?" I called.
No one answered, so I began shutting the door. Then, from out of the darkness someone sprang for the door and it was thrown against the wall so forcefully that I was sent flying back. Cat came running, but didn't get far before she was also thrown back, by some unknown force.
Before either of us could do anything we were trapped by invisible bonds and set on the couch.
"Which one of you is Hecate?" The weird individual demanded.
"Why you wanna know?" Cat demanded next to Ray.
"You must be her." The man said without answering Cat's question.
Ray just sat there, unable to even open her mouth, and before she could protest, or even correct the misconception, the man pulled out a stick – that looked suspiciously like a wand – and pointed it at Cat.
The man shouted Crucio, and all of the sudden Cat screamed.
Ray's eyes widened and she couldn't believe what was going on. None of this was real, it couldn't be. Magic wasn't real, people didn't burst into houses and demand to know who you were, then point a wand at you when you didn't tell them.
But it did happen, it was happening, and her best friend's screams filtered through Ray's shock and pushed her into action.
Somehow she fought the bonds and threw herself over her best friend, grabbing her hand. The pain seemed to transfer from Cat, to her, and she clenched her teeth to keep her scream locked in.
She looked to the television screen, and somehow the movie had switched over to the scene at the end of the last movie. The scene with all of the Golden Trio as adults, and their kids. But we weren't even watching the Seventh Movie part Two yet.
"Please take us to a safe place." Ray whispered softly, praying, to what she didn't know, but doing it none the less.
Ray felt a painful jarring go through her as she hit the ground, then even more pain as Cat landed on her legs. She felt the snap that was her right ankle breaking and winced at the thought of that particular doctor's bill. Her dad wasn't going to be happy about that.
Finally Ray thought that she should, maybe, look around and get her bearing. So she did just that, only to wish, seconds later, that she hadn't.
What was going on here? She would focus on that, and nothing else, until she was more grounded.
"Umm… Excuse me ladies. May I help you?" Ray heard above her. She felt her eyes grow rather large and she sat up as straight as possible – well, as straight as one can with a newly broken ankle - before turning her upper body around.
Of course Cat, being who she was, decided that of course there was nothing scary about being tortured by a man with a wooden stick then transported to god only knew where and deposited on to someone else's floor unceremoniously. "Hi." She said, standing and looking at a man in a photo. A man was talking to them, from a photo!
Ray gulped at Cat's words – or rather word – and looked up so as to confront her newest problem.
Albus Dumbledore's POV (Normally I stick to Third Person, and I will be doing that mostly, but I think this is something that really needs to be strictly in Dumbledore's POV.)
He was Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, a man of great prestige. He'd been through many things in his long career before he took over as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and many things in his long career as Headmaster, before his death, but the two teenagers presently sprawled – or rather one sprawling and the other standing poking at things – in the Headmistress's office was something he'd never come into contact with before.
"I don't wish to be rude, for you are guests, but who exactly are you?" He asked.
"I'm Cat." The poker said as she, once more, turned to pick up and put down various things in his office.
"Your parent's named you after an animal my dear?" He asked, confused and unsure if it was her strange accent or her words that surprised him.
"Nope." The girl answered with nothing more than a one word answer.
"What is your full name? If I may so inquire." He asked once more.
The girl giggled. "You may." She said mockingly. "My full name is Cateline Amata Blaise." She answered finally, then turned and lifted up a very old, and rather tattered hat, and began tipping it this way and that.
"Blaise you said?" He asked the girl, wishing to be sure that was what she'd said.
"Yes." She said shortly.
He wrinkled his nose then turned to the other girl. "And you miss?"
The other girl was nothing like the first, she wasn't open or agreeable in the least. She had a distrusting nature and he would have a much more difficult time with her.
"I promise I have no wish to harm you." He said, wishing to calm her.
"I shall tell you my name, only after you tell me yours." She answered grudgingly.
He gave a small laugh "My name is Albus Dumbledore." he answered.
The girl who was standing, Miss Cateline, gasped. "The Albus Dumbledore?"
"I imagine." He said.
"Well, if that's the case then I am Hecate Rayen Hermetic." The girl sitting on the ground said distrustingly, probably only answering because she agreed to do so.
"May I ask another question?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Why are you sitting on the floor still? There are plenty of comfortable options lying around the room if you are tired." He told her, his eyebrows rose.
"Oh, my ankles broken." She answered as if it meant nothing.
Third Person
Ray heard her best friend's intake of breath and tensed herself for the coming marathon.
"Why didn't you say anything when we first got here?" Cat demanded irritably. "You could have hurt it even more!" Now her raised voice was getting higher and louder, soon the full blow-out would occur. "If anything happens to you… I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'D DO!" And she'd hit full blow-up mode. "YOU COULD HAVE DIED! AND I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN WHY!" Finally her friend ran out of breath.
"First off, I was sitting, not moving, so nothing would have been affected." She began, cutting Cat off when she tried to speak. "Second; if anything happened to me, you'd be fine. It wouldn't kill you because then I would be forced to haunt you, and we both know what you're scared of most." Cat tried, once more to interrupt, and once more was shut down by Ray. "And third… There is no way something as minor as a broken ankle could have killed me when the lunatic with the stick didn't, so stop worrying."
Ray watched the indecision flicker across her friends features before it finally settled on an eye rolling, and turning back to the hat she'd found.
She turned back to the older man with the twinkling eyes. "What day is it?" She asked, almost scared to know.
The old man gave her a smile, "It's August 17th. The new school year will begin in a few weeks."
Well at least that didn't change. She thought miserably. "What year?"
"Well, 2015 of course." He answered as though she should know.
"Of course it is." Ray muttered sarcastically. "Ok then, where are we would have to be my next question, if that's the case." She said, equally as miserable sounding.
The old man's eyes twinkled even further before he answered "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The finest school of magic the world has ever seen."
"Oh my god! Are we really?" This, of course, was when Cat decided to join the conversation.
"Of course, have you heard of us?" He asked.
"In a sense, yes." Ray answered, rather than allowing Cat to.
"Is there something bothering you dear?" The man asked once more.
Ray turned to Cat in indecision, but of course Cat just shrugged so they decided the smartest thing to do would be to just get it out of the way.
"Well, our story is a bit farfetched, but I suppose we should tell at least one person." She said grudgingly, receiving a glare from Cat. "We aren't from around here." She began.
"Well I have deduced that one for myself." Dumbledore said with another one of those signature smiles he seemed to keep pulling out.
"Well, we are from America -"
"That's the odd accent."
Ray gave him an arched brow before continuing. "Anyways… we are from the year 2012, it's not 2015 were we are yet." She paused, expecting to be interrupted, but he only nodded for her to go on. "We were at my house, watching… a movie, and a man came through and demanded to know our names then started torturing Cat and so I wished for us to be taken somewhere safe and we ended up here."
"That is an odd story." Dumbledore said with a thinking look on his face.
"It's not a story." Cat said in a defensive voice.
"I only mean in the sense of a telling, not that I don't believe you." He explained, trying to calm the distraught teen. "Did you bring your wands?" He asked as an afterthought.
The girls gave each other strange looks. "We don't have any magic."
"Nonsense, if you didn't, you wouldn't be here." He said with a wave of his hands.
Ray looked at Cat and thought hard. "Well, Cat does seem to help healing along when she's around."
"See, that's just your powers manifesting." Dumbledore explained like anyone should have known that.
"But I don't do anything like that." Ray said, sighing.
"Well, that just means you haven't noticed." He said with another wave off.
The girls both shrugged.
"Well, first things first, we must fetch the Headmistress and get you girls wands." He said with a nod.
"Then?" Cat, the more curious of the two, asked.
"Then we find out what house you're in and start figuring out a way to send you back."
Minerva McGonagall had seen many things in her many years, but the pair of females in her office was something new. "I'm going to guess you two are what Dumbledore has sent all the portraits after me for."
The girl sprawled on the floor nodded.
"May I ask why you're down there?" McGonagall asked the girl.
"I've broken my ankle." She said in an informative type voice.
McGonagall stared at the child. There was something familiar about her, but she was unsure what. "Well then, let's get you fixed up." She said, pulling out her wand.
The other girl seemed to flinch when she saw it, but the girl on the floor only sat stoically. She quickly healed the girl's ankle and lifted her to her feet. "Now, we need to call the head of the Auror department before we do anything else." She told the pair before turning her back and quickly casting, what looked like, a Patronus. Seconds later green flames burst to life in the fireplace, and out walked an older version of the Harry Potter Ray had always imagined while reading the books, though the movies didn't do him justice.
"What's wrong Headmistress McGonagall?" Harry asked. "I was just getting everyone ready for school shopping."
McGonagall sighed. "This will only take a moment." She said, turning towards the girls. "This is Harry Potter, the head of the Auror department."
Ray smiled politely at the man. "My name is Hecate Rayen Hermetic, but you can call me Ray." She said, holding her hand out to the man. When he released it, she turned to her friend. "And this is Cateline Amata Blaise, my best friend."
Cat quickly walked forward, holding her own hand out. "You can call me Cat." She said with a smile.
Harry smiled at the pair as he shook their hands, but looked in confusion at the Headmistress. "I still don't understand."
"I shall let Dumbledore explain." She said, stepping back.
"Well, hello Harry." The portrait said pleasantly. "It's been too long."
Harry smiled at his old Headmaster. "So it has." He replied. "But what is so special about these two witches?"
"Hey!" Cat said angrily. "I'm not a witch! Why would you say such a rude thing?"
Ray snorted at the odd looks from the other three in the room. "We aren't at home Cat, they aren't being insulting." She told her friend as Harry watched on in confusion.
Dumbledore quickly told the girl's story, clearing up Harry's confusion quickly, but bringing forth new questions. "So we can't just send them home then..."
"I'd suggest finding someone who would be willing to keep the children, get them wands and such, and they need a story as well." Severus Snape interjected from his own portrait.
Ray gaped up at the man she'd loved since she'd first read of him when she was only thirteen.
"Yes child?" The man asked in a monotone voice.
Ray merely shook her head. "It's nothing." She said, realizing that she couldn't tell them she knew all about their lives, that was too weird.
Harry had thought over Snape's proposition, and realized he was right. "Well, we have room at our place, so they can stay there, and I know we have plenty of money to support them until we figure it all out."
Ray shook her head. "We have money that we can use. I don't know if it's enough, but it's all I had originally."
Cat nodded, telling Ray she also had all of her cash on her. The pair had learned to carry every bit of money on them, or loose it to one of their parents.
"Well, I'll help when needed." He told the girls.
"Perfect." McGonagall said happily.
Snape once more spoke up. "I'd advise you to sort the pair now, rather than when they return."
McGonagall nodded as she pulled out a three legged stool, always the one for tradition, before pulling down the old musty hat Cat had been playing with earlier.
"Well now, looks like I'm going to have to pause my song writing." The hat said with a laugh.
"Will one of you seat yourself on the stool?" McGonagall asked.
Always the daring one, Cat sat first. "Hmm... complicated, complicated..." The hat said for all to hear before going silent.
Cat heard the hat, but then she didn't until she did again. Complicated aren't you.
I'd hope so. Cat retorted. For a simple person, is a boring person, and I'm anything but boring.
I see that. The hat said. You are going to be difficult to sort. Daring, and yet manipulative. Some dark tendencies, but also willing to rush in and save a friend. Tricky, tricky.
Well, while you sort through my head, let me know if you come across the accident that explains me being here.
The hat laughed. You being here is no accident my dear. You were destined to come, but your treacherous Grandmother took you away from your true family, leaving you on the doorstep of a woman who wasn't really your mother.
"WHAT!" Cat screeched out loud before silencing herself. What are you talking about?
You've always known dear, don't deny it. The hat said knowledgably. Just as you've always known that Hecate's father is more then he seemed, as was her mother's mysterious disappearance.
You are good. Cat thought at the hat with a smile.
Thank you. The hat said. It's good to be appreciated. But I've also figured out your house, oh curious one.
What is it?
One more thing my dear, before I tell you your house.
What's that oh mysterious one?
Your last name isn't your true last name. For you have not three, but four names. Though, the name you know as your last is actually the first of someone important to you.
WHAT!
"Slytherin!" The hat shouted out loud.
Cat jumped off the stool, glaring at the hat as she handed it to a waiting McGonagall. "Your turn." She told Ray. "But don't expect that thing to make sense."
Ray nodded before sitting on the seat slowly.
Hello my dear. The hat said in her head.
Hello. Ray answered.
Why don't you call yourself Cate instead of Ray? The hat asked quizzically.
I used to, but people started confusing Cat and I, so I changed it to Ray instead of making Cat change hers.
Hmm... interesting. The hat muttered. But on to your sorting.
What did you say to Cat? She asked.
Oh, just some of this and some of that, I imagine she'll tell you some time later.
Oh, ok.
Now, since I told Ms. Cateline a secret, would you like to learn something as well? He asked.
If you want to tell me. She told him.
Hmm... let's see... The hat said in a thinking manner. You're last name, isn't your last name. It was chosen because of what it means.
And what does it mean?
Secret. The hat answered. For you are a secret that should never have been kept from your true family.
My true family?
Oh yes, for you are not just a Muggle my dear, but instead you are a witch of unimaginable blood lines. Though not a pureblood like your friend, amazing none the less.
Well, that's... interesting.
Oh, you will learn just how interesting soon enough. But alas, I've sorted you.
Which house?
And to the surprise of no one in the room, the girl was sorted into "Gryffindor!"
Ray hopped from the stool, newly healed ankle not even twinging, and she handed the hat to McGonagall.
"Well then, shall we go?" Harry asked. "I have a family I must explain some things to, though I will only tell Ginny everything, and then we must get to Diagon Alley quickly, before the kids kill me in their excitement."
Cat laughed at the imagery from those words and nodded, pocking Ray, who'd been staring at a portrait on the wall in bemusement. Cat turned to her friend. "What is it?" She asked.
Ray quickly shook herself and glanced to her friend. "Nothing." She said as she turned the rest of her body forwards. "Let's get going, it looks like someone is in a bit of a hurry.
Cat turned to see Mr. Potter - for calling him Harry would be disrespectful since he was her elder, technically, and he hadn't invited them to call him by his first name - headed for the fireplace.
"Do you know how to Floo?" He asked.
Cat turned to Ray, so she hedged a bit. "We've never tried it before, no." She said, answering a question he hadn't asked.
If he thought it odd, he didn't comment. "Ok, well then you can ride with me." He said.
They all crammed themselves into the fireplace. He tossed the powder down and yelled out "Potter Place!" And they were gone.
Ray and Cat stepped out of the fireplace, and found themselves in a living room of sorts. There were eight children and three parent's sitting in various areas of the room when they entered.
The first to stand was a beautiful woman with blazing red hair and blue eyes. "You leave with just yourself, and return with two children." The woman said saucily. "If you tell me you had a second family, and these are your other children, I may have to hex you." She told him, pecking his cheek with a laugh.
Mr. Potter laughed. "No, actually... it's a long story that should be kept between us." He told her, looking around the room at all the eager children. "Suffice it to say, we have a couple of seventeen year old houseguests with nowhere to go, and no idea exactly why they are here."
What Ray was almost positive was Ginny Potter, nodded before turning their way. "I am Ginevra Potter," She said, confirming Ray's suspicions. "But you can call me Ginny or mum, your choice."
Cat smiled while Ray nodded at the kind woman.
Ginny smiled at the pair, there was something oddly familiar about the two young women, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure it out. Before she could really think on it, James, Fred, and Frank became restless. "When are we going mum?" James asked.
Ginny laughed. "Right now." She told them, nodding at Bill and Audrey as they too stood. "Everyone into the fireplace." She said, and Ray and Cat were once more sucked to somewhere unknown.
When they arrived, it was to a sight that was eerily familiar, and yet unknown. "Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron."
Ray looked up to see a woman coming their way.
"Oh, I expected you a lot earlier Harry, Ginny." A blond woman with a pretty face said as she headed towards one of the young boys. "And thank you so much for taking Orpheus along. We would, but today's the busiest week of the year, and Neville's trying to get last minute prep done."
"No problem Hannah, you know the boy's would rather go together anyways, Ted and his friends always do." Ginny told the woman.
Hannah laughed, "It's their last year, isn't it?"
Ginny nodded sadly. "Seventh years already." She said with a sigh. "They grow up so fast."
Hannah nodded. "Orpheus already headed to school, next will be Eurydice."
Ginny nodded as well. "Yes, Albus next year, then Lily in a few years. It's heartbreaking really." She said, then perked up. "Though, empty house isn't such a horrid thing."
Hannah laughed at this. "Yeah, except my husband works at Hogwarts, so I'm going to have to drag him home just to use my empty house."
Ginny laughed with the woman, but was interrupted by her very impatient son. "Can we go mum?"
Ginny shook her head at her son. "Dad has to get you your money, and I don't want you to separate."
James sighed. "Ok."
At that, Ray perked up. "Umm, I have to go trade my money somehow, so they can come with us, if you trust us that is."
Ginny looked over the girl. "These boys can be quite a handful."
Ray smiled. "I've got a bit of experience in the area of younger kids, no worries." She said.
Ginny looked towards the boys. "Will you be good for the girls if I let you go with them?"
All three boys nodded happily.
"Ok then, you may go, but get the keys from Harry; he has all three of you boy's keys." Ginny told the boys, who instantly took off.
Ginny then looked at the two older girls she'd only just met. "If you want, you can get all of the boy's stuff and then hand them back over here before going and having some fun."
Cat smiled happily while Ray nodded sedately. "Sounds perfect." She said as the boys came rushing back and the mother's went back to speaking. She turned to the boys. "Here's the deal," She began. "I may look like someone you can push around, but trust me when I say there's nothing you can do or say that will trick me."
The boy's looked solemnly at the girl with the wild hair before nodding. They believed her, there was something about this girl that said she was smart.
Ray nodded at the boys. "Ok, before we go, let's do introductions."
"I'm James Sirius Potter." The boy said proudly. "But you can just call me James.
Ray smiled at the excited boy.
"My name is Fred Weasley the second." The slightly darker boy said.
Cat laughed. "You're going to be trouble." She told the boy, who only smiled knowingly.
"And I'm Orpheus Frank Longbottom, but I'd appreciate it if you called me Frank." The third boy said politely.
Ray nodded. "I understand that." She told the boy. "My name is Hecate Rayen Hermetic, but I'm just called Ray, for my second name."
Frank smiled at the girl who actually understood why he chose his middle name.
Cat laughed. "Well, my name's Cateline Amata Blaise, but I just go by Cat."
The boy's laughed at her being named after an animal, and then they all set off.
"So, what should we do until our parents are done shopping for all the kids?" Warren asked Arik and Teddy as they sat at a little Muggle café not far from The Leaky Cauldron. Tristan was, of course, meeting them at Flourish and Blots in about twenty to thirty minutes, so they had that long to kill.
"Let's go to Diagon Alley early and check out the new racing broom, I really want to beat Slytherin this year." Arik answered in much too cheery a voice.
So the boy's headed for Diagon Alley.
"So, how do we get to the bank?" Cat asked the boys.
They each gapped at her but said nothing as they led the way. When they reached the bank, all three boy's laughed at Cat's expression of amazement. They drug her in, her friend Ray pushing from behind.
"We will get your money as soon as we change our own." Ray told the boys, who merely nodded as they stuck by the girl's sides.
"May I help you?" A voice asked from the desk they'd stopped at.
Cat huffed, but Ray spoke. "We need to change our Muggle money for Wizards gold."
"How much do you have?" The man asked.
Ray turned to Cat questioningly, who merely shrugged and pulled out the money she kept in a secret pocket in her bra that they'd made. Ray did the same and handed over her and Cat's money altogether.
The goblin looked down, then back up in amazement. "To get this switched, you must open an account. There is too much here to carry around on your person safely."
Ray and Cat merely shrugged. "How long will that take?" Ray asked, glancing at the restless boys.
"Not long, you must merely sign a paper and we shall give you enough for today, and we will give you your key of course." The goblin told her.
Ray once more turned to Cat, who merely shrugged. "Put it in your name, or I'll forget."
Ray nodded and turned back to the Goblin. "Ok." She told him. "But there are two of us who need everything for Hogwarts."
The Goblin nodded.
"Oh, and we also need to get into three different vaults for these three boys." Cat said suddenly.
The Goblin looked down at the boys. "Do they have their keys?" The Goblin asked suspiciously.
The girl's nodded.
"Ok, let's get going." The Goblin said.
"You get their money, don't let them play you, ask the Goblin's how much they need, and I'll sign the papers and get our own." Ray told Cat, who merely nodded and followed a separate Goblin.
Fifteen minutes later, they'd left the bank and headed to the shop's they needed, pocket's now full enough to get everything they'd need.
It'd taken about fifteen minutes to get to Diagon Alley, but of course, Warren wouldn't let Arik get away with his excuse long, so it came as no surprise that he continued the conversation as though it never ended.
"You know you actually meant let's go see if we can maybe catch a glimpse of Victoria Hawse of Slytherin and her friends since one of them did say they might be around and I'm totally crushing on her." Warren said teasingly.
Arik gave him an irritated sneer, "No." He said, dragging the word out.
"Yes." Warren said, also dragging the word out.
Arik punched Warren's arm and Warren threw his own punch at Arik, and they began their daily tussle.
Teddy felt someone staring at their little group and his head flew up and around. "Stop." He said to the boys, who immediately stopped and looked around as well.
"What is it?" Warren asked.
"I'm not sure; I just felt... eyes staring us down." Teddy tried to explain.
"Look." Arik said, pointing out two girls. "That's who's staring."
Warren and Teddy both swung around to look. There were two girls staring their way. One was a gorgeous blond girl with the most stunning gray eyes that seemed to pierce right through you. She had sun kissed skin and that perfect athletic figure that every girl dreamed of having. But the other girl, she was even more stunning then the first.
Warren stared at the gorgeous red-haired girl. Her red hair was nothing like Teddy's little sister, Lily's, or any of the other Weasley's or Potter's for that matter. Lily had a dark auburn red, the Weasley's all had varying degrees of lighter red, but this girl had a red that looked like it had been lit on fire, a living flame. And it wasn't straight like Lily's either, rather it seemed to writhe around her, the curls so bouncy they moved at the smallest movement or breeze, but not frizzy like Rose or Hermione's. The girl's eyes where a mesmerizing sapphire color, and they were piercing him with their intensity.
"Anyone know who the skirts are?" Arik asked no one specifically, but figured if anyone knew, Teddy would.
"No idea." Teddy answered and Arik turned to him in surprise.
Warren didn't say anything, just got up and started forward.
"What the hell is he doing?" Arik demanded before he too got up and followed Warren.
Teddy stared after the pair for a moment before he too stood to follow.
Cat nudged Ray and pointed towards the three boys coming their way. "Do you think the blue haired one is really...?" She gave Ray a meaningful look.
Ray looked where Cat was pointing then nodded with apprehension. Before she could say anything the boys were standing in front of her and the blue haired one had his hand forward.
"Hey, my name is Teddy Lupin." The blue-haired boy said in introduction. Cat shook his hand flirtatiously.
A boy with golden eyes and hair stuck out his hand next. "I'm Arik, and I've never seen you around here." Was the introduction he gave.
Before Cat could say anything, and screw them over royally, Ray put her hand forward. "Hi." She said with a forced smile. "I'm Ray and she's Cat."
The boy behind Arik - longish, black, shaggy hair and a puppy dog smile - stepped forward. "You're named after an animal?" He asked.
Cat gave a short laugh. "No." She said. "My name is Cateline, but my friends call me Cat."
An unknown boy with brown hair and eyes stepped forward and looked the girls up and down, "Cateline is French for Pure." He said from behind Arik, Teddy, and puppy dog smiles.
Cat looked back at the boy that stood behind the other three and stepped past them to stand in front of him. She held out her hand with a genuine smile. "Cateline is French for pure. What's your name?"
"Tristan Marie." The boy answered and held out his own hand.
Warren rolled his eyes at Tristan and turned back to the red-headed beauty. "So, where are you from? Odd accent and all."
Ray rushed to speak over Cat once more. "We're from America. Our parent's never sent us to a school, decided to teach us themselves, but then they... died, and your ministry found us and decided we need to learn to control our magic."
Cat gave Ray an arched brow, but she completely ignored it.
"So, transfers then." Warren said with a nod. "Cool."
Teddy shook his head at Warren and gave him a serious eye roll, then turned to the girls. "Need any help finding anything?" He asked.
Ray once again hurried to overtake Cat. "No thanks. We were just finishing our shopping."
"But later we're having lunch at the Leaky Cauldron with the family we're staying with." Cat said, almost making Ray groan.
"Maybe we'll see you later than." Teddy said, starting to pull his friends away from the bemusing girls.
Ray waved and started to pull her own friend away. "Maybe." She said, and drug her friend into the Robe place they'd just vacated to wait for the boys outside.
"Oh My Goodness!" Ray stage whispered once they were inside the building once more. "You have a crush."
Cat snorted. "Not even." She threw at her friend. "He was... interesting, that's all."
"Exactly! Crush!" Ray retaliated.
"Not-uh." Cat said. "It's just, how many guys actually know what my name means? Really?"
Ray shrugged. "Not the point, you were so crushing!"
Cat rolled her eyes. "Let's go get our wands." She said with a heavily exaggerated sigh before perking up. "I wonder if Ollivander is still around."
Ray shrugged again, "Let's go find out." She said, and they grabbed the boy's and headed for the Wand Shop.
It only took a few moments to locate it, and it went by the same name, so who knew. They walked inside - the boy's had rushed next door really quickly to look at the animals, promising to be back in a moment - and didn't see anyone. Ray started looking around, but was quickly interrupted by someone berating someone else.
"What in the world did you do to your hair Arabella?" A feminine voice asked.
When no one answered, Ray turned to find the woman speaking to her.
"Oh my, you aren't who I thought you were." A brown haired woman with gold cat eyes said.
"I'm Ray." She told the woman.
The woman would have been beautiful, if not for the scars crisscrossing her face. She must have felt Ray's eyes on them, because she gave a small laugh. "I see you've noticed."
Ray gave her a questioning look.
"The scars," the woman said, motioning at her face. "they are quite unappealing and off putting." She finished.
Before Ray could reply, there was another voice. "But you are beautiful all the same, and you received them nobly." A man said, coming from the backroom and wrapping the small woman in a hug.
Ray quickly tried to reassure the woman. "You really are beautiful, I was just amazed that someone so small could live threw whatever must have happened."
Silence laughed at the expression on the girl's face. "There are many reasons for someone to want to live," She told the girl before her. "I just happened to have had a lot of them."
Ray nodded. "I understand completely." She told the woman just as Cat entered the store.
"The boys are looking at Owl's and promised they'd come straight over and get a wand before they actually get a pet." She told Ray before noticing there were others in the room. "Oh, hello." Cat said to the couple cheerfully.
"Do I know you?" The man hugging the woman asked suddenly.
Cat shook her head. "I doubt it." She answered. "Name's Cateline Blaise though, if that helps." She said, keeping the hat's words in mind.
Adrian furrowed his brow before quickly letting his wife go and disappearing. Seconds later he'd reappeared, a dark man in tow. "Tell me she doesn't look exactly as Daphne did when we were seventeen, except the eyes, those are clearly yours."
"I told you, Cateline disappeared when she was not even a year old." The man said tiredly, "I've searched everywhere, what makes you think she'd just pop up in your wife's shop suddenly?"
"Just look at her." The man demanded.
The man turned tiredly, but suddenly his face lit up as he stared at Cat.
Cat suddenly moved to Ray, grasping her hand. Ray subtly moved Cat behind her. "What are you on about?" Ray demanded angrily. Cat didn't scare easily, but it seemed today was not either of their day.
"May I see her?" The man asked hopefully.
"Why?" Ray demanded angrily, causing the man to step back slightly at the fire in the girl's eyes.
"Maybe you should explain Blaise." The woman with the scars said slowly, seeing a fight brewing.
Cat stepped out from behind Ray at this. "What was your name?" She asked quizzically.
The dark man turned to the girl. "My name is Blaise, Blaise Zabini."
Cat turned to Ray. "The Hat said my third name was someone important to my first." She told Ray, wondering in her voice.
Ray looked from the Blaise man to Cat as her three charges headed their way. "Here's the deal," She told them all quickly. "Cat and I are going to get our wands, as well as the boy's, then we are going to finish our shopping. If you would like to speak to Cat, we will be at the Leaky Cauldron in forty-five minutes. Meet us there and we will willingly speak to you. We make no promises that she is who you seek, but we will talk."
The man nodded. "May I bring my wife? Please."
Ray looked to Cat, who nodded. "Please do." She told the man, who nodded and popped out.
The woman with the scars gave a clap. "Well then, let's get you girls and boy's some wands."
Twenty minutes later they each walked out of the store, wands in hand, and ready to finish their shopping. Thirty minutes later they were finished completely, and headed for the Leaky Cauldron.
"Why would they know me?" Cat whispered urgently after dropping James, Frank, and Fred off with Ginny.
Ray shrugged. "We'll ask them their daughter's name." She told Cat.
"Why?" Cat asked.
Ray rolled her eyes. "Because, the hat told you that the names you had were correct, but you had an extra name as well." Cat still looked confused. "Your last name." Ray said with a sigh.
"Oh." Cat said, finally understanding.
Before they could say more, the dark man, what could only be his wife, and the couple from the wand shop, popped into the Leaky Cauldron and headed their way.
Ginny noticed Silence and her husband Adrian pop in with Blaise and Daphne Zabini, but instead of heading their way, they headed for the two American girls. Ginny elbowed her husband and pointed it out. Harry immediately headed that way.
"I'm sorry we're late." The dark man said.
Ray smiled reassuringly. "No worries sir." She said as she moved over to give them all room.
"Adrian, Blaise." Harry said as he walked over, causing everyone at the table to jump.
"Harry." Silence said as she stood and kissed his cheek.
"What's going on Si?" He asked.
Ray smiled up at the suspicious sounding man. "It's a bit complicated, and honestly, we don't know yet, so we'll tell you when we do."
Harry nodded. "We'll be right over there." He told the girls, giving a smile to the two older females, and a nod to the men.
Ray turned to the two couples. "Here's the deal, we don't want to get your hopes up about whatever it is you think Cat here is to you, so can you just tell us the girl's name your searching for first?"
The blonde woman spoke up at this. "My daughter, her name was Cateline Amata Blaise Zabini."
Cat looked at Ray, eyes wide, and on the verge of fainting. "There is no way that is a coincidence." She whispered harshly.
Ray turned to the couple, eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion. "How do we know this is the truth?"
Silence smiled at the suspicious girl, she reminded her so much of a girl she'd known in school, what was her name? "There is a simple Muggle test to tell us if this girl and their child are one and the same." She told the girl.
Ray looked to Cat. "It's a costly test." She said hesitantly, usual money troubles in mind.
The blonde woman spoke up quickly. "I do not care, we will pay, just please do this test so I can know."
Cat nodded quickly. "How about we go now?" She said quickly, wishing to make this clearly troubled woman, feel better. "Then we will know the before the train leaves for Hogwarts."
The woman quickly nodded.
Ray nibbled at her lip a bit. "Let me go and tell Mr. and Mrs. Potter, they're the ones we are staying with." She said, standing and heading to the couple. She quickly explained to the pair what was going on, and they agreed to it, just insisting Mr. Potter tag along. They told the couple this, who quickly agreed, and they were off to a Muggle doctor's office that could draw the blood and perform the test.
Warren and, amazingly enough, Tristan, were still talking about the mystery girls an hour later when it was time to meet their parent's for lunch.
"Who's to say their even still here?" Arik demanded.
Teddy looked around the Leaky Cauldron, "Nope, looks like they aren't here." He told the group.
Warren and Tristan sighed, but when their group motioned them forward, they quickly stopped talking and headed over to eat.
CATELINE (pure) AMATA (dearly loved) BLAISE (healing power) [French]
HECATE (goddess of witches) RAYEN (flower) HERMETIC (secret) [Mixed]
