Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

A/N: If you haven't read the others, don't worry about it. Feel free to dive right on in. Basically this is based on the snowball effect. Starts off similar/gets disimilar, but this one doesn't have much in common. If you want a summary of the other two let me know and I'll post one.

Chapter One: Owl Post

Hattie felt like this was going to be the worst summer ever. Hermione was in France. Ron was in Egypt. And she, well, she was going to be in Azkaban. Hattie felt like they could still be petrified and she could very well be facing the basilisk.

Hattie lay down on her bed in the flat. The room next to hers was Dudley's but he hadn't been home much during the summer. When Hattie really thought about it, they hadn't spoken since last summer. She left a thank you note in Rubeus' talons for the iguana figurine he got her.

Her flower-print comforter smelt like lavender. Really, it smelt like home. It didn't matter that she wasn't on Privet Drive anymore. Her flat sat on Oriel Street, and they were about a thirty minute drive from the Burrow. They were closer to the Grangers, though Aunt Petunia still preferred to chat with Molly. She was a long way from Neville, but Aunt Petunia hooked into the Floo Network. Arthur had to pull a few strings for it, but he made sure that Hattie's influence did most of the work.

Hattie was supposed to be working because later she and Neville were going to Dean's to try out football with Seamus, but instead of working she was reading her birthday letters. Lockhart's trial still hadn't happened yet, and Aunt Petunia kept postponing when she had to go see him. Aunt Petunia kept receiving letters from his lawyer.

"Sleazy Daily Prophet attention-starved…" she heard Aunt Petunia mutter as she walked by Hattie's bedroom door. "Hattie," she said. "We're going to Azkaban tomorrow. I'm going to see if one of the Longbottoms will go with us. I was hoping I could put it off until Molly gets back."

"The trial's in less than a week, Auntie," Hattie said. "The whole trial isn't going to wait for me to talk to Mr. Beard."

Ardin Beard was Gilderoy Lockhart's lawyer. He was very well-known and prestigious, but the Weasley's found him to be the used car salesman of lawyers. Apparently not many wizard's used lawyers, and that lawyers were generally for those too lazy to think out their own representation and for those that were guilty and needed someone to smooth-talk them out of the situation they were in. Ardin Beard actually won many of his cases, despite the general opinion of lawyers being for the lazy. Aunt Petunia automatically decided to join with the Weasley's opinion, which Hattie noticed was becoming a habit of Aunt Petunia's. She no longer thought "What would the neighbours think!" but "What would the Weasleys think!" (Especially when Hattie wore clothes that Aunt Petunia deemed inappropriate. She couldn't wait to be back in a Hogwarts uniform.)

"Well it should," Aunt Petunia said, stubbornly.

"Well it won't," Hattie said, just as stubbornly.

"I'll owl the Longbottoms."

Of course, Aunt Petunia can't floo without assistance, but she's gotten comfortable enough with Rubeus, who is always in her flat, to send letters. Generally, her friends floo over after receiving the letter.

"You should get more Muggle friends," Hattie said. "It'd be easier to talk to people."

"But Muggle friends won't take us to Azkaban," Aunt Petunia said.

"Right," Hattie said, turning back to her letters.

It was hard to believe that Hattie's closed-minded Aunt currently spent the majority of her time in Wizarding society, but Hattie just accepted it because it was easier. She just hoped that her Aunt didn't feel left out or lonely.

Hattie ran her hand along Ron's letter. He wished her a happy birthday and talked about Egypt. (Aunt Petunia had the Daily Prophet clipping framed). Ron continued,

"We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get our new books. My mum says your Aunt is taking us, so I'll see you there.

"This correspondence school is terrible. Percy keeps trying to help, especially now that he's Head Boy, and the twins keep trying to give me bad advice. Sometimes I feel like Ginny knows more than I am. Hermione, too, keeps sending me letters telling me answers even though I don't need her help. Is there quicksand in Egypt? I wonder if I can push them in. Except Hermione, unless there is quicksand in France?"

Then Ron talked about his gift to Hattie, a Pocket Sneakoscope. It was to help Hattie find anyone plotting against her. He added, "Though sometimes it feels like everyone's plotting against us."

Hattie appreciated that he said "us" instead of her. Her Aunt lectured her a lot about dragging her friends down with her. Hattie felt self-conscious about it, but Ron's reminder helped out a lot.

Hermione's letter was as boring as Hattie suspected, but the Broomstick servicing kit was lovely.

Hattie noticed a letter from Ginny, though there was no parcel attached. Hattie wasn't sure how she felt about it. On the one hand, she didn't want Ginny spending money on her, but on the other hand, she didn't like the idea of Ginny not caring about her. She shrugged, saying aloud, "Well, at least I got a letter."

Aunt Petunia in the other room shouted, "What?"

Hattie shouted back, "Nothing!"

She opened the letter to find,

"Dear Hattie,

Happy birthday! For once, Ron reminded me. I would have forgotten completely because my memory is absolute rubbish.

(I hope you recognize Ron's handwriting.)

I really do wish you a happy birthday, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to get you a gift. Ron would be horrified if you found out how long he'd been saving up for his gift, so I'm going to offer something a bit more practical.

I've been looking through Ron's Defence Against the Arts books to prepare for next year, and I remembered that you had Lockhart teaching you (like he did me), so you're probably as clueless as Ron! How about if when I get back from Egypt, I show you some of the things I learned. There's this great disarming spell I use on Fred and George all the time. You're going to love it because you won't have to punch people anymore! Okay, well maybe your Aunt will be on the only one who loves it, but it's bound to be useful eventually.

Always my best wishes,
Ginny."

Ginny, a scarf for Christmas and a lesson for her birthday. Hattie smiled at how practical the girl was, though she supposed Ginny couldn't afford to be frivolous with her brothers constantly searching for weak points. Though, Ginny did give her a moving horse when Hattie first moved into the Burrow, didn't she? Hattie thought that may have been practical in the sense of using the toy to get on Hattie's good side. It certainly helped to.

Anyway, Hattie was pretty excited to finally learn some Defence Against the Dark Arts, although she was a little hurt that someone younger than her was going to teach her. She made mental note not to let Ginny know about her own insecurity.

And then Hagrid's gift. She read the letter. Something about being useful for school? She didn't expect Hagrid to send a boring gift. She started opening the parcel to find it jumping out. It fell on the floor, opening its paper jaws and snapping at her.

Hattie stood on the bed, reading the title, "The Monster Book of Monsters."

"Aunt Petunia," she shouted. "I'm going to need a belt!"

Hattie jumped on top of the book and couldn't help but notice a few pages go flying out of it. They looked like they were about magical creatures. Aunt Petunia stepped in, startled. The belt looked like red vinyl. "Let me get a different belt," she said.

"Just give me that one," Hattie said. "I'll send it back afterwards."

"After what?" Aunt Petunia asked. "Hattie, it's going to chew through this belt and it is one of my favourites. I thought it would look nice with that blue blouse I bought you the other day."

"Sure," Hattie said, reaching for the belt. "I'll wear it after it holds this book closed." She snatched the belt out of Aunt Petunia's hand and tied up the book. She added, "I promise it will come back in one piece."

Aunt Petunia looked at the Broomstick servicing kit while Hattie opened the letter to Hogwarts. Her Aunt signed the permission slip to Hogsmeade. Then there was a loud noise from the fireplace. "Hattie!" Neville, of course.

Hattie ran into the other room, leaving the book on the floor. His mother, Alice, was with him. Aunt Petunia followed closely behind her. "You're not having a party for Hattie this year?" Alice asked. "Neville mentioned they were just visiting a friend for their birthdays."

"No," Aunt Petunia said, nervously. She felt more comfortable with Frank, Alice's husband. "It's part of Hattie's grounding, but she managed to talk me into a day out, at least."

Alice said she'd escort them to Azkaban, but that she didn't want Neville to go. "I don't understand why Beard won't just arrange to meet Hattie somewhere else," Alice said. "I'd suggest that you stay behind as well, but you wouldn't listen to me, would you?"

"I wouldn't," Aunt Petunia said. "I've heard about this place."

Alice nodded. "I think I should prepare both of you for the guards then," she said. "They're extremely large and cloaked black. They feed on happy memories and they can suck out a person's soul. Don't worry, they won't get that far with us. We will be walking with my Patronus to keep them back, but you may still feel a sense of heaviness."

Aunt Petunia's lips tightened, but she nodded, determined. "So this Patronus, is it? It will keep us safe, will it?"

"Yes," Alice said. "Just remember that we will have to stay together."

"I'll remember," Aunt Petunia said. "And I'll make sure Hattie doesn't wander off."

She gave Hattie a scolding look. And Hattie simply smiled and shrugged. "Good," Alice said. "I'll be here for you both tomorrow. I'll be early."

Aunt Petunia looked to Neville, "Are you ready to play football?"

"Yes ma'am," Neville replied.

"I'll have him back early," Aunt Petunia promised to Alice.

"Have fun," Alice said before going back through the chimney.

Aunt Petunia grabbed the letter with directions to Dean Thomas' house and then piled Hattie and Neville into the car. "One of you has to sit in the front seat," Aunt Petunia said. "I'm not your chauffer, you know."

"I think we can both squeeze into the front," Hattie said.

So Neville sat between Hattie and Aunt Petunia, feeling very childish and uncomfortable. Hattie told him he could have the window seat on the way back, but Hattie was eager to watch the scenery on the way to Dean's. At Hogwarts, everything felt entwined and old. The plants and buildings all seemed mingled together in perfect harmony. Here, in England, the plants desperately clung to a position of power, and they were clearly losing. Grass peeked out between bricks. Trees, if there were any, were given limited space to grow and live, and buildings would loom over these few trees, minimalizing and trivializing their existence.

Obviously Neville was interested in this too. At his place they had a greenhouse in the back specifically for him, but they also had a backyard. Hattie barely had a balcony. They discussed the plant phenomenon eagerly and excitedly.

Aunt Petunia played with the radio noting, "So even if you weren't a wizard, you'd probably still end up a geek," she said.

"When you raise your daughter to love roses, you should be proud that she grows to love all plants," Hattie replied, feeling wise.

Aunt Petunia scoffed. "I noticed you didn't feel that way when I put in those cactuses."

"Cacti," Neville corrected. "The plural is cacti."

"Well cacti are boring. I mean, they live in the desert," Hattie said. "All that sand, there can't be much to do."

"Well they're better than no plants," Neville said. "And it's pretty brilliant that they live in the desert considering nothing else does."

"Camels," Aunt Petunia said.

"Well no other plants live in our house," Hattie said, looking at her Aunt. No, she still resembled a giraffe more than a camel.

"I don't want any hanging plants," Aunt Petunia said. "It might bring in spiders."

"We're on the 21st floor, Auntie," Hattie said. "Any spiders that get up there deserve to live."

"I bet we could enchant some turf, Hattie," Neville said, "out on your balcony. We could get a few things to grow up there I bet, and it'd look natural enough."

"Because everyone has turf on their balcony," Hattie said, rolling her eyes.

Aunt Petunia asked, "Are you looking for a summer job, Neville? I'd love that turf on the balcony. The neighbours would be green."

"Auntie, we can't use magic inside the house," Hattie said.

Petunia scoffed. "I'm sure we could somehow get permission. I mean, people can floo into our house, so why can't we get a little leeway on magical use? We'd just have to get someone to oversee the operation to make sure it's being used appropriately, but it would give Neville good practice with spells and plants."

"Not to mention you'd get your stupid garden," Hattie said.

Now Neville and Aunt Petunia talked excitedly about what sort of plants could grow in shallow turf. Hattie pressed her forehead against the window and looked out.

Soon enough they pulled into Dean's driveway, and they rushed into the backyard to prepare for football. Aunt Petunia stepped inside to have tea with Dean's mother, but his step-father was out. Seamus already stood with Dean by the football. "This is stupid," Seamus said to Hattie and Neville. "He was serious when he told us we kick it."

Neville and Hattie had decided not to mention to Seamus and Dean that it was their birthdays to avoid either of them feeling obligated to do something special. It also helped that Aunt Petunia banned any celebration aside from whatever came through the Owl Post. Both of them just felt good to be out of their houses. Even though Neville was rubbish at football, and Hattie was furious at Neville for being this way.

Of course Neville and Hattie were on a team and Seamus and Dean were on the other. Even though Seamus thought it was stupid, he was athletic enough to be quick on his feet. Neville was interested, but slow with poor co-ordination. And Hattie was just competitive enough to care.

But they didn't fight afterwards, even though Hattie called all of them names that would make Aunt Petunia yell until her face turned blue. When the sun started to kiss the horizon, Aunt Petunia called Hattie and Neville in to take them home. Hattie sat between Neville and Aunt Petunia as promised, "But I think making us lose a football game removes window privileges."

The conversation was less lively as they drove home. Both Neville and Hattie were exhausted, and Aunt Petunia had run out of things to say. She left the radio on, and she hummed along to a few pieces she knew and liked, though most of the music was trash, in her opinion.

And as Aunt Petunia drifted through an intersection, another car ran its red light.

It smashed into Aunt Petunia's charmed car on the driver's side.

Hattie felt her neck snap sideways, as small airbags punched Neville and Aunt Petunia's faces. The windshield shattered as the car forced them into another car. Her eyes caught a wound on Aunt Petunia's forehead. She saw Neville gasping for air.

It felt like everything had slowed down. When the car stopped moving, Hattie struggled to unbuckle her seatbelt. Aunt Petunia's blue eyes locked onto Hattie and she tried to push the airbag away. "Are you all right? Is Neville all right?"

"I'm fine," Neville said. "I think my arm's broken and my leg feels numb."

Neville's leg was pinched in the crushed metal of the door, but he knew it was nothing St. Mungo's couldn't handle. But Aunt Petunia worried that they weren't going to St. Mungo's. "Hattie," she said. "Are you all right?"

Hattie felt numb, but it wasn't any broken bones. She felt like she breathed in glass. She felt trapped and terrified. "I'm okay," Hattie said. "I'm going out through the windshield."

"Hattie!" Aunt Petunia said, trying to grab Hattie.

Hattie rubbed her neck as she stepped onto the dented hood of the car. When she looked into the car that had hit him, she saw a familiar face. Hattie felt paralyzed on the windshield, her feet feeling like she was walking on burning coals. "Quirrell," she hissed.

And there he was, Professor Quirrell with a light dusting of pale brown hair. He was laughing, perhaps hysterically. Had he not seen Hattie?

And just like that, he was gone, leaving the trashed car empty behind him.

Did she tell her Aunt? Did she tell her that Quirrell just tried to kill them all?

No. They were seeing Lockhart in a prison tomorrow. And they'd be in St. Mungo's tonight. That was enough on her Aunt's plate.

She heard police sirens in the distance, and Hattie quickly asked Neville if there was some code that would send them to St. Mungo's instead of to a normal hospital. Neville was too stunned to say much. He simply kept telling Hattie that he was fine, and that it was nothing to worry about.

After going to a muggle hospital, they managed to get themselves to St. Mungo's. Aunt Petunia apologized profusely to both Longbottom adults, but they only smiled politely and told her it was all right. Neville would be fine. Aunt Petunia could see their tension.

Hattie, on the other hand, was in the hospital's owlry. The hospital had quickly fixed the bruises the seatbelt made. She had to send a note to Hermione. And one to Ron, too. Both letters read,

"Thank you for the birthday gifts. I also received a turban from a friend of ours. The weather started off stormy, but turned out pleasant. Tomorrow looks like nothing but sunshine."