Hello all!
For those of you who were waiting for an update for Grey Skies or Bound Together... Sorry! I promise this will be the last new story I begin until I've finished at least one of my other stories.
Warnings: This story will contain some Dumble/Weasley bashing, I apologize if you aren't into that, but I am... Also, I've been reading a lot of the neglected Harry/WBWL stories, and I love them. So, with that said, this is a neglected Harry/WBWL story!
As a note, Harry will have some interesting abilities. He will be a Smart/Powerful/Grey!Harry, but not godly.
All Encompassing Story Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!
Philomisia and Compassion
A Light In Her Darkened Mind
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Today was the day…
After waiting for three months since her eleventh birthday and receiving her letter, today was the day Andrea Potter would finally begin her Hogwart's education.
But, this wasn't the happy affair it should have been; at least, not for Andrea.
Sure, she had been excited when she first read her acceptance letter. However, her mood quickly faded back to her normal depressed disposition before the end of that night. For what was there to be excited about if she couldn't attend the school with him around? Granted, she was still looking forward to learning all about magic, but there was none of the childish excitement felt towards the prospect that her peers would be feeling. For you see, she lost the person she cared about the most.
Her eldest brother, Harry Potter.
In her opinion, Harry was her only real family. Sure, she had her godmother, Andromeda Tonks, and her godfather, Frank Longbottom. She also had a big sister figure in Nymphodora Tonks, who had been Harry's best friend. However, when it came to blood relatives, Harry was the only one she really thought of as family. She absolutely adored him. He was the person she looked up to the most, and the person she aspired to be like.
When she was younger and he had still been around, it wasn't all that easy for her to make friends, considering every time other kids her age would come visit, they would only be interested in talking to her other brother, Jack Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived. But, this had never really bothered her, because Harry had always been there for her.
To make her feel special.
To make her feel cared about.
Even when Tonks or one of his few other friends would come over to hang out with him, Harry had always brought her along so she wouldn't feel lonely. Yes, she loved Harry dearly. But, her parents and her other brother…
Andrea didn't have kind words to say about any of them.
Andrea and Jack didn't get along in the slightest, and she knew that this coming year was going to be even worse than normal. Jack was fourteen, beginning his fourth year at Hogwart's, and she was going to have to see him year-round until he graduated. She wouldn't be getting a reprieve from him while he went off to school and she stayed home any longer.
When they had been younger, she had originally gotten along okay with Jack, but that started to change when he started to become hostile towards Harry. Any time she would bring up Harry's name in conversation, Jack would get upset and say something to hurt her. Jack would constantly pick on her for spending time with their pathetic older brother. It got even worse once he started Hogwarts and almost constantly boasted to her about how he was a wizard, and Harry wasn't. Before Harry had left, Jack would always make fun of Harry and throw hurtful words his way; and her parents would never do anything about it.
Her parents…
Her parents took care of her, much more than they had Harry, but that was about it. Even when she was very young, she had a feeling that other kid's parents were much more caring and warm to their children than what she had received in her earlier years. This, of course, was caused by their undying pride in their Savior son. They would give pretty much all their attention to Jack, only the bare minimum to Andrea, and practically ignored Harry.
She didn't hate her parents for the fact that, before Harry left, they didn't care for her like they should have. Even though she had always craved more attention and love from them back then, she didn't really hate them for fawning all over Jack. She hated them for how they had treated Harry. For however much they neglected her, they neglected Harry a thousand times worse. From Andrea's perspective, they barely even knew Harry existed. Hell, he had left home for almost two weeks at one point and they hadn't even noticed!
In her mind, ignoring Harry was one of the greatest sins anyone could ever commit. For Harry was the most amazing big brother any sister could hope for, to the extent that sometimes Andrea thought of him more as a parent than her own mother and father.
He was the one who cheered her up when she was sad. He was the one who would play with her when no one else would. He was the one who read her stories and tucked her in at night, instead of her parents who were pandering to Jack's every need. He was the one who would help her with whatever she couldn't do on her own, which at the time was pretty much everything. He was the one who would patch her up after she got hurt while playing or exploring.
Yet, he was no longer there with her.
Andrea didn't care in the slightest that Harry was a squib; she loved him with all her heart. But, sometimes she wished he wasn't. If he hadn't been a squib, maybe then her parents would have given him the time of day. Maybe they would have loved him like they should have. Maybe if they had shown him even a hint of affection, he wouldn't have run away.
But they didn't; and he did.
"Andrea?"
Shaking her head as she came from her thoughts, Andrea looked to her mother, who had just spoken. Lily Potter wore an expression of concern as she examined Andrea, seeming to be looking for something wrong.
"Yes, Mother?"
Taking in her surroundings, Andrea noticed they were now at the platform for the Hogwarts Express. Her father and brother had gone on ahead and were talking with Arthur Weasley, the twins, and Ron. Molly Weasley and her daughter, Ginny, were headed towards her and her mother. Andrea figured she must have been really spaced out to not even realize they had gone through the magical barrier at Platform 9 ¾.
"Are you alright, dear?" her mother said with a tone of worry.
Andrea forced a smile to make its way to her face, something she did quite often around her family. "I'm fine, Mother. Just nervous I guess," she said before turning to the Weasley Matriarch as the older woman came up to them. "Hello, Mrs. Weasley."
"Andrea, it's so good to see you. Are you excited for your first year?"
"Yes! I can't wait to be sorted and learn all about magic," Andrea said with a fake bright smile. Not that the two Weasleys standing in front of her or her mother would ever know. Then, she decided to say something she knew would sting both mothers. "I only wish Harry could be here to see me off," she said in a low tone, looking down to her feet with a sullen expression.
Molly seemed to flinch at her words, but didn't say anything. Lily, on the other hand, went stiff and looked down to her feet as well, a pained expression taking over her face. Andrea was glad Jack was out of earshot. Otherwise, he would have said something demeaning about her favorite brother, which would end in an argument that would leave the whole group in a sour mood.
"Yes. I think we all feel the same way, sweetie," Lily said in a soft tone. Andrea could see her mother's eyes glistening with unshed tears. The youngest Potter was pleased with the result of her words. She enjoyed causing her mother emotional pain by bringing up their missing family member. Maybe it was a bit cruel, but Andrea felt it was the least Lily Potter deserved for how she had treated her eldest son.
It looked like Molly was now going to say something as well, but was beat to the punch by Andrea's father.
"Something wrong, Lily?" James said as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulder, with Jack and the rest of the Weasley family close behind.
Lily shook her head, wiping at the corner of her eyes. She glanced at Andrea and gave a small, sad smile before turning to look at her husband. "Nothing, dear. I'm just sad to see our daughter growing up so fast."
Andrea knew her mother's words were true. After all, once Harry had run away, Lily had been practically smothering her with affection. However, she knew that the only reason Lily said that out loud was because Jack was nearby. If she had said she was thinking of her eldest son, Jack would have started badmouthing the missing young man. This would lead to arguing between the women and men of the Potter family, and Andrea knew her mother didn't want that to happen. Especially with their friend's family observing.
James chuckled at Lily's words. "I almost can't believe our little Andrea is already going off to Hogwarts. Two of our three kids going to Hogwarts at the same time, what a day!"
"Hah, not like Harry could even go to Hogwarts. The pathetic squib is probably dead in a ditch somewhere," Jack said with a smug grin plastered on his face.
As upset as Andrea was at her brother's comment, she knew that she didn't need to do anything. Someone else in their group would do the honors for her.
Three…
Two…
One…
SMACK!
"Jack Charlus Potter! How dare you say something like that!" Lily said with a bloodcurdling glare aimed at her second born child. Andrea was actually very surprised that her mother had slapped Jack. Since Harry had left, Lily hadn't taken kindly to the demeaning words Jack would say about Harry, but, she had never once hit him. Although, Jack had never said something so terrible as to say Harry was dead before.
For years, Andrea thought her mother was just defending Harry to try and get on Andrea's good side. She figured it was because she didn't want to lose another child, not because she particularly cared for her oldest child. However, after seeing her mother hit Jack, and the absolutely furious expression she wore, Andrea thought she might need to reconsider some things about her mother.
Andrea looked on to see Jack bring his hand up to his reddening cheek with wide, fearful eyes. Everyone else was frozen in shock at seeing the loving and warm Lily Potter physically disciplining the Boy-Who-Lived. Sure, everyone knew Lily Potter was terrifying when she was mad, but she had never hit someone before. It looked like Lily was about to go for a second verbal strike when James jumped in.
"Alright, alright. I'm sure Jack is just excited to get to Hogwarts. Why don't we send the kids off, dear? The train will be leaving in a few minutes," he said, trying his best to calm his firecracker of a wife.
"James! Did you not hear what he just said about Harry!" Lily said, turning her glare to the Lord of House Potter.
Andrea's surprise at her mother's actions was replaced with amusement as she watched her father shrink back and hold his hands up in surrender. "I did, dear. I did. But, it's not like we have time for this. The train is about to leave, and unless you want them to miss it, the kids need to get going," he said in a placating tone.
Andrea watched as her mother's glare flicked between the two Potter males. "Fine. But, don't you think for even a second that this is over, Jack Potter. I'll be having a talk with you at Hogwarts," Lily said in a huff, turning to Andrea.
Lily bent down to give her daughter a hug, which Andrea returned as she whispered in her mother's ear. "Thank you. For sticking up for him."
Andrea felt her mother flinch and heard a sniff. Apparently, the emotions of her daughter leaving for school for the first time, coupled with her memory of Harry and the little confrontation only seconds ago had gotten to her. But, Andrea guessed that wasn't the reason for her mother's flinch. It was likely because Andrea had never once returned a hug from her mother or father; at least, not since Harry ran away.
"It's a mother's duty to stand up for her children. I just wish I had realized it much sooner," Lily said in a soft tone, only loud enough for Andrea to hear.
Andrea nodded, but didn't say anything else. She removed herself from her mother's embrace and turned to her father.
"Goodbye, father," she said with very little emotion in her voice or on her face.
"Bye, Andrea," James said in a partly strained, partly sad tone.
She turned back to her mother and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, having to rise on her tip toes to reach the taller woman's face. "Bye, Mum," she whispered.
Andrea watched in hidden amusement as Lily's eyes widened. As with the hug moments ago, Andrea hadn't kissed her mother or even called her 'Mum' since Harry had left.
"Bye, sweetie. Have fun and be safe," Lily said, her tears now freely falling down her cheeks as a large smile made its way to her face. Andrea had planned to give her mother a cold goodbye like she had done with her father. But, after seeing her smack Jack and make James cower, Andrea figured her mother deserved a bit of affection from her once in a while.
Not wanting to stick around to watch her brother and the Weasley children say their goodbyes, Andrea made her way onto the train along with her trunk and new owl, Emy. It took her a few minutes to find a vacant compartment, but when she did, she put her trunk away, sat down, and let out a long sigh. After a few moments, she reached for her owl's cage and opened the door, allowing Emy to stretch her wings a bit and perch herself on Andrea's lap like the little owl always did.
Just as she was about to pull out a book and start reading, she heard the door to the compartment slide open. Turning to the door, she saw a pretty blonde girl who looked to be her age staring at her with a nervous look in her eyes. Standing next to the young girl, there was an older girl who seemed to share similar features. At least, the taller girl's blonde hair and icy blue eyes were the same as the smaller girl's. Siblings, Andrea figured. The main difference was that the older girl was dazzlingly beautiful, and Andrea found herself absently wondering if the younger girl would grow to be just as beautiful.
"Go on, introduce yourself," the taller girl said in a soft, comforting tone.
"Um… Hi, my name is Astoria Greengrass. This is my big sister, Daphne," the little girl said, motioning to the now named older girl. "I wanted to sit with her, but she said I needed to meet people my own age so I can make friends. Could I… Could I sit with you?" she said, the girl's nervousness increasing the longer she talked.
Andrea smiled and stood up, following proper etiquette like she had been taught. These were the Greengrass girls, after all. Daughters of a Most Ancient and Noble house, just like her.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Andrea Potter, and of course you can sit with me," she said, trying to hide her excitement at the end as she shook both of their hands. After all, she didn't really have any friends except for Tonks, so she had been looking forward to meeting someone to talk to on the train. Daphne, though, seemed to notice considering the warm smile she sent Andrea's way. Unlike the older Greengrass girl, Asotira's eyes only widened at meeting the sister of the famous Boy-Who-Lived.
"It's nice to meet you as well, Miss Potter," Daphne said, giving Astoria a gentle push into the compartment. "I'll see you at school, Astoria," she said as she gave her little sister a kiss on the top of her head.
"Bye, Daphne," Astoria said with a hint of sadness and reluctance in her tone before turning to Andrea. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Potter," she said, following her older sister's example on using formalities.
Andrea smiled again and motioned for the other girl to take a seat. "Please, just call me Andrea. I'm not really a fan of all those pleasantries, but my father says I have to," Andrea said with a pout towards the end.
This seemed to ease some of the Greengrass girl's nervousness considering she offered a strained smile. "Yeah, my dad is the same way. I'll call you Andrea if you call me Astoria, deal?"
Andrea beamed at this point. "Deal!"
After the train had taken off, both girls were secretly pleased that no one else had attempted to join them in the compartment. For about an hour, the two talked about random things and how they were excited to start their magical education. Astoria must have noticed, though, that Andrea didn't seem to be as excited as she should have been.
"What's wrong?" the blonde girl asked.
"Hmm?"
"You just don't seem as excited as you're letting on."
Should she tell her? Well, she so far very much liked spending time with Astoria, and she was hoping to become good friends with the girl. So, she figured she might as well get this over with now instead of in the future.
"Well…" Andrea began, but paused as she tried to arrange her thoughts.
"You know about my brother, I'm assuming," she said more than asked.
Astoria smiled. "Of course! Everyone knows who the Boy-Who-Lived is! I was actually going to ask if you could introduce me to-" the girl began, but must have noticed Andrea's mood seemed to be plummeting. "What's wrong, Andrea? Is it something I said?"
Andrea shook her head and gave the other girl a forced smile. "No, it's just-"
"Andrea, please," Astoria interrupted with a pleading voice, "I, um…"
Andrea watched as the girl looked down at her lap and began to twiddle with her thumbs, clearly nervous once again.
"I don't really have any friends. I'm shy and I get nervous super easy," she began, looking out the window with a sad look in her eyes. "I love my family, especially my mom and sister, but they can be intimidating sometimes, so most people my age don't even try to talk to me."
After a few moments of silence, Astoria looked back up to Andrea with an expression of fear and hope mixed together. "I really like talking to you and I… I was hoping we could be friends. But, I don't want to start a potential friendship with lies or half-truths. I get that enough from my dad," she said, looking down at her lap once again.
Andrea was surprised that someone had opened up to her in such a way after only just meeting each other. Having the same feeling of wanting a friend, Andrea desperately wanted to tell her what the girl wanted to know. But, it could potentially offend her.
"Please," Astoria said in a quiet tone while still looking at her lap.
Andrea took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. "You said you were hoping I could introduce you to my brother," she said. But, before she could continue, Astoria interrupted her.
"Why would that make you upset?" she asked with a quizzical look on her face.
Andrea now had a sad smile when she looked at the other girl. "I'm like you. I don't have any real friends, except for an older girl named Tonks. But, she's more like a big sister, so she doesn't really count. I've always wanted to have friends, but all of the kids my age only talk to me to try and get close to Jack," Andrea said, looking away. "I've become rather cynical, to be honest. It's hard for me to trust people who try to befriend me because of it."
"I would never do that!" Astoria almost yelled as she jumped from her seat. "I know how hard it is to make real friends. I would never use someone like that…"
"I'm sorry. It's just that it hurts, you know? To know that the only reason people even talk to me is because I'm Jack's sister. Most people don't even know how much of a twat he is," Andrea said with venom in her voice towards the end.
"You don't like your brother?" Astoria asked in astonishment. How could anyone not like the Boy-Who-Lived?
"No. Not at all. My dad either," Andrea said with a sneer on her face as she looked out the window.
"Why?" was all Astoria could think to ask.
"Because they were horrible to the person I care about the most. I hated my mother too, but after what happened, I see her in a much more positive light, I guess you could say. I still don't like her much, though."
"After what happened?"
After a few moments, Andrea turned from the window and sighed. "I bet you didn't know I have another brother."
Astoria's shocked expression was enough of an answer for the young Potter girl. "Yeah. Most people don't, and I absolutely hate that," Andrea said, clenching her fists. "Everyone should know how amazing he is, but Jack's shadow covered him completely…"
"Why doesn't anyone know about him?" the other girl asked with a bit of hesitation, not wanting to upset her potential friend once again, but wanting to know the answer.
"Well for starters, he's a squib. Harry turned seventeen in July," Andrea said with a pained expression. "He ran away from home when I was just about to turn five. He was only ten years old."
"Oh my god! That's horrible!"
Andrea nodded, but didn't say anything else.
"Can I… Can I ask why he ran away?"
"I don't really want to talk too much about it. But, I will say that he practically didn't exist in the eyes of my parents and Jack," Andrea said, pausing for a moment as she looked at her lap.
"When I was little, before he ran away, the only reason I felt any love at all was because he showered me with affection. Even though my parents neglected both of us, they neglected Harry far worse. But, he still showed me all the love in the world. He's the one who cooked for me, bought my clothes, read to me, tucked me in at night… He's the best big brother a girl could wish for, and he's gone," Andrea said, not being able to control her emotions any longer as tears began to cascade down her cheeks.
Just then, she was surprised by the warm embrace of her travel companion who had dashed across the compartment to comfort her – someone the blonde girl barely knew.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would do if Daphne were to run away. I would be devastated."
"I was. But, he explained everything to me before he left. I wasn't really old enough to understand fully why he wanted to leave, but looking back, I don't blame him in the slightest. Plus, for the first few years he was gone, he wrote to me on a regular basis," Andrea said through tears as she hugged the girl back, basking in the comforting feeling. "Everyone thinks the Potters are the quintessential light family. The loving parents and the Boy-Who-Lived, plus me. But, no one knows just how much they neglected their other two children, especially Harry."
After many minutes of staying like that, they finally broke apart and began to talk about much lighter subjects until they eventually fell into a comfortable silence and began to read from their school books. After a while, Andrea began to think about her family once again.
While in the past her parents gave most of their attention to Jack, after Harry left, they started doting on her as if she were a princess; her mother to an almost extreme extent. Andrea had come to the conclusion that it was because they were afraid their only daughter would run away as well. Considering Andrea's existence was much more widely known in the wizarding world than Harry's, it would be a huge scandal if she ran away, after all.
After about a years, though, her father had started to drift back to giving Jack most of his attention, but still made a point to make Andrea feel like his daughter, if only barely. Lily, on the other hand, seemed to have gone the opposite direction. She still loved Jack, of course, but didn't dote on him like she used to. She gave both of her children the attention they deserved. However, Andrea noticed that Lily tended to be much warmer towards her than with Jack, but she wasn't sure why.
Maybe she felt distant towards her second born son considering it was the affection she gave him that caused her eldest to leave her? But, Andrea had her doubts. She knew very well that squibs were frowned upon by the rest of the wizarding world.
If Harry had been born to some other Ancient and Noble houses, he may very well have been placed in a muggle orphanage at birth. Andrea had thought about that before, and it terrified her. If her parents had done such a thing, she never would have met the most amazing person in the world.
Regardless, Andrea would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the attention and affection her parents, especially her mother, gave her after Harry left. She had finally started to feel like an actual part of the family. But, she just wished it hadn't taken one of their children disappearing to get them to notice her. Even with the love she now received, though, she would never forgive her family for making Harry leave. But, especially after seeing firsthand how angry her mother had gotten at Jack on Harry's behalf, maybe Andrea could eventually feel real love for Lily Potter. Maybe…
With only about an hour to go until they reached Hogwarts, Andrea was startled from her musings by a high-pitched shriek coming from next to her.
"What's wrong?" she said, looking to the surprised look on Astoria's face.
The blonde girl simply pointed out the window. Looking to see what it was that had surprised her travel companion, Andrea almost jumped from her seat. There, right outside the window, was a snowy white owl gliding along. It seemed to gaze through the window at her with a look of irritation, as if it was waiting for her to do something. That's when she noticed the piece of rolled up parchment tied to the beautiful owl's leg.
She opened the window and the owl came rushing in, landing on the seat opposite her with its leg stuck out and an expectant gleam in its eyes.
Andrea hesitated for just a moment before taking the letter. She fished through her pockets and found her small bag of owl treats, placing a few on the seat next to the compartment's newest occupant who eagerly ate them up. Just as Andrea was about to open the letter, the owl trilled and swooped out of the window and out of sight.
"That was strange," Astoria said as she got up and closed the window, not really knowing what else there was to say in a situation like this.
"Indeed," was all Andrea said, looking to the letter again.
"Who's it from?"
"I have no idea. Shall we find out?" Andrea said with a smile, though on the inside, she was more nervous than she'd been in years.
Without waiting for her companion to reply, she opened the letter and began to read its contents. Her eyes instantly opened as wide as they could go and she let out a loud gasp.
"What's wrong, Andrea?" Astoria asked in concern, considering Andrea's reaction. But, the Potter girl hadn't even heard her as she read the letter, oblivious to everything else.
xxx
Dearest Andrea, my sweet little sister,
First and foremost, let me congratulate you on being accepted into Hogwarts. I just know you're going to shine there like the bright little star you are. I'm so proud of you, Andi!
On a more solemn note, I am truly sorry I haven't been in contact with you for going on three years now, or even seen you in almost four years. I hope you don't hate me for it; I just couldn't risk our parents catching you reading a letter from me. If I were still on the move as I had been, I would have sent you letters considering they wouldn't be able to trace it back to me; but, I'm not on the move any longer. I've found somewhere rather interesting to spend my time.
The only consolation for me is the knowledge that our mother has finally started caring for you like a true mother should, so I hope you haven't been too lonely without your big brother to talk to.
Anyway, as for the main reason why I'm writing to you now. I'll be seeing you in person about a month from now.
What you are about to read isn't common knowledge. Students aren't supposed to know this, so keep it to yourself, please. This year, Hogwarts will be hosting a magical tournament that hasn't been held in nearly two hundred and fifty years: The Tri-Wizard Tournament. However, this time around, the three headmasters from the schools that used to participate in this event have decided to add a fourth school to the fray. My school.
I'm so excited to see where my little sister will be learning magic, and even more excited (and a bit nervous) to see my little angel again. The only thing I'm worried about is seeing our mother again, considering she's one of the Hogwarts' staff.
That will certainly be interesting…
In one month, you and I will finally be reunited.
I've never stopped loving you, Andi, and I've never stopped thinking about you.
Love always,
Your super awesome older brother: Harry
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There's chapter one for you. I really hope you liked it.
If you spot any spelling/grammar errors, let me know through a PM.
Just to recap, Andrea is 11, just starting her first year. Jack is 14, starting his fourth year, and Harry is 17.
I haven't yet decided on a pairing for this story. I'm leaning towards Daphne (who is also 17 in this story), because I love the pairing, but I'm very open to recommendations from my readers (especially since I already have two Haphne stories going on at the moment). Send me a PM if you want to see someone other than Daphne!
Thanks for reading!
-Mystiirious
