The Potter's
So, I don't own Harry Potter or the Chronicles of Narnia...Damn.
Thank you to those who have followed, favored and/or reviewed.
Previously...
It didn't take long for the Potter siblings to be found.
Unfortunately, their nightmare only continued once they arrived at their Aunt Petunia's home.
November, 1981
Peter didn't like the Dursley's. His siblings didn't like them either.
At 7-years-old, Peter Potter knew that he had to protect his younger brothers and sisters. At the moment, there wasn't any evil wizard trying to harm them, but the Dursley's were an entirely different sort of monster.
As the boy kept on cleaning the living room floor that they weren't allowed to even be on, he bitterly thought about the world that had all but abandoned him and his brothers and sisters.
Peter thought about his three uncles, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. They all had one way or another abandoned him and his siblings. Sirius when he murdered Peter, and Remus when he failed to show up to the Dursley home. There were times where the boy secretly hoped that the man would show up and take him and his siblings away from the Dursley's, who made the Potter siblings clean their home, and punished them whenever they did something wrong.
Peter saw Edmund looking at him. He was holding a sleeping Harry. Peter briefly wondered where Susan and Lucy were at since Edmund was supposed to be watching both Harry and Lucy while Susan cleaned the kitchen. At least the Dursley's had some form of intelligence to know that the two youngest were too young to do any cleaning.
"Where're the girls?" Peter asked quietly.
"Lucy had an accident," Edmund replied quietly. Peter was relieved to hear the younger boy's voice. Edmund seldom spoke after seeing their father murdered. Not that Peter blamed him, he wouldn't have spoken often had he seen somebody die, especially if it was someone they loved.
"The Dursley's?"
"Out," the black haired boy answered. Edmund always knew when the Dursley's weren't in the house. "Hopefully they never come back."
Peter doesn't say anything because he hopes for that as well. He silently eyed the bruise on his little brother's cheek. Peter winced as he remembered Edmund arguing with their Uncle Vernon for an extra blanket because Lucy was catching a cold. It should have been him that argued with Vernon Dursley, not his 4-year-old little brother.
Both Potter brothers turned their heads towards the front door. The doorbell had gone off. Peter got up and went towards the door, Edmund followed him with the baby in his arms. He momentarily saw Susan and Lucy stick their heads out from the top of the staircase. Peter saw Lucy wearing a different dress from what she had been wearing previously.
Peter opened the door. He saw a woman wearing emerald green robes. He recognized the woman from when he and his siblings were left at the Dursley home, but he never got her name.
Minerva McGonagall had been expecting for either Vernon or Petunia Dursley to answer the door, not a little red-haired boy who looked absolutely miserable.
Behind the redheaded boy was two younger boys, both with jet black hair. One had a fresh looking bruise on his face, while the other one had a lightning-bolt scar on his face. McGonagall also saw two red-haired girls peering out from the stairs.
McGonagall noticed then that the Dursley's car wasn't in the driveway. Five children alone in a house that didn't appear to be baby proofed. Or Potter proof if any of James Potter's children took after him.
McGonagall gave the Potter siblings a rare smile. "My name is Minerva, are your aunt and uncle home?" She would have said guardians but judging by their lack of appearance, she would hardly coin them as such.
The oldest Potter boy, Peter, shook his head. "They're out." He had his father's hazel eyes, but McGonagall didn't see the carefree look that James Potter had.
McGonagall only nodded. "May I come in?"
Peter frowned, but let the woman in. This troubled the professor. He didn't know her, but he willingly let her enter his home.
McGonagall toured the house. The only photos up were of an overgrown baby with blond hair. There was no evidence that any other children lived here.
"If it is not too much to ask," McGonagall said to Peter. "Might you show me to your room and your sister's room?" She knew that there wouldn't be enough room for each child to have their room, but enough room for them to share.
Peter nodded. He took her up the stairs. Susan, Edmund, and Lucy watched from the hallway as Peter took McGonagall into the smallest room.
The only things in the room were two cots on the ground and a broken wardrobe. The two cots had been pushed together, McGonagall observed. There were no baby cots in the room, something McGonagall knew that Harry and possibly Lucy as well would need.
"Is this you and your brother's room, Peter?"
"And my sister's," the boy told McGonagall, which made her frown.
Five children in one room? What was Dumbledore thinking when he placed the Potter siblings in this home.
"There's a guest room, but that's for Uncle Vernon's sister," Peter tells McGonagall.
"Are there any other rooms here?" McGonagall asked the boy, who nodded.
"Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's room," Peter started off with. "And Dudley's room. He's our cousin."
"And why are you and your siblings in one room together?" McGonagall questioned. She certainly didn't the answer she received.
"Because the cupboard under the stairs wouldn't fit us all."
Horace Slughorn hadn't expected to ever see Minerva McGonagall again. Let alone with a small army of children.
"Good evening, Horace," McGonagall said. She was carrying a single suitcase with her.
"Yes, good evening, Minerva," Slughorn replied with, his eyes were still on the children behind her. There were five of them. Three of them had red hair, and two with black hair.
The moment he saw the green eyes on the little girl with pigtails in her red hair, Slughorn realized who the children were.
He looked back up at McGonagall, who had nodded with a firm frown on her face.
Eventually, McGonagall and Slughorn were alone in his home office. He had only recently retired from Hogwarts, still grieving over the death of Lily and James Potter.
"Aren't the Potter children supposed to be with family, Minerva?" Slughorn questioned as he gave the woman some tea.
"I wouldn't use the term family to describe the people they were with, Horace," McGonagall told the man. He saw the quick flash of anger cross the woman's face. Clearly, something had happened, Slughorn thought to himself.
McGonagall sighed. "I was wondering if it would be possible for you to watch them for me. Until I can find them all a more permanent home that is."
Slughorn frowned. "What happened to their last placement? Didn't Dumbledore mention that they would be safe with their relatives?"
McGonagall scowled. "Safe from the outside, but certainly not inside. Did you not see the bruise on Edmund Potter?"
"Did one of the-
"As far as I can tell, it was the uncle," McGonagall briskly said. "Dare I say Lily and James are turning in their graves at the moment. They were rather specific in where they wanted their children to end up if anything had happened to them."
"With Sirius Black, if I'm not mistaken."
Curtly nodding, McGonagall sighed. "He's out of the question."
There was an awkward moment of utter silence.
Slughorn sighed as he poured himself some brandy. He needed something stronger and tea wasn't cutting it. "I take it you want to keep them hidden for now?"
McGonagall nodded. "The fewer people know about them being here, the less likely your house is going to turn into a Harry Potter exhibition."
December, 1981
The Potter children had been in the care of Horace Slughorn for only two weeks. Their current caregiver had told them many stories about their mother, though he didn't have many on their father.
"Your mother was more mature than your father," Slughorn told the Potter siblings. They were in the sitting room of Slughorn's ancestral home. Well, ancestral was kind of a stretch. His parents hadn't purchased the house until after the muggle's Second World War from an old professor. Slughorn had taken possession of the countryside mansion after both of his parents passed. "And her sense of humor was more appealing compared to your fathers."
"How so?" Peter asked. He was sitting next to Susan, who was holding a sleeping Harry. Edmund and Lucy were next to Susan.
"Your mother had a way with words, while your father chose to get a laugh through antics that involved his wand," Slughorn said, distantly remembering all of the rumors about James Potter hexing students in the corridors. "But he matured when he got with your mother. They both were Head Boy and Girl, you know. Brilliant in their own ways, they were." He sighed as he looked at the five children. "I'm sorry they aren't the ones telling you this."
"You're not the one who should be apologizing, Professor Slughorn," Edmund said. The boy was insightful with his words, with the occasional witty remark. The boy reminded Slughorn of his mother, who was a favorite of his during her time at Hogwarts. Slughorn also noticed that Edmund was too smart for his own good, as was Susan, though in a different way. They were Lily's children after all.
Slughorn also saw Lily in both Peter and Lucy. With Peter, Slughorn saw that he always stood up from his younger siblings, just like Lily had when it came to her friends. As for Lucy, she had her mother's imagination and infectious laugh. Not to mention her green eyes.
Slughorn sighed at the boy's words. If only young Edmund knew what Slughorn had known. He couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened to the Potter's, among others who had also been murdered by the Dark Lord. Directly, he didn't kill them but indirectly was a whole other story.
Eventually, the children were getting ready for bed. Slughorn was still in the sitting room when he heard small footsteps.
He turned and saw Susan. She appeared to be ready for bed, minus the fact that she was not in her bed.
"How long are we going stay here, Professor?"
Slughorn frowned. He so far hadn't heard anything from McGonagall, and Dumbledore hadn't come around, so Slughorn knew as much as the Potter children.
"Until Professor McGonagall can find you all a safe home," Slughorn told the girl truthfully. "One where no one will cause any unwanted trouble for your siblings and yourself."
Susan seemed to accept Slughorn's answer as she nodded. "Alright, good night."
"Good night, Susan."
So, what do you think?
I know there might be some mistakes, so I apologize.
Please, review, like, and/or follow. That would be great.
Until next time...
Review(s):
Blackdrake: Thank you for the review. Things certainly will be shaken up with five Potters instead of one. You bring up a bunch of interesting points that I plan on answering in future chapters.
Jocy: Thank you for the review. More hints about Narnia will be coming, and Peter and Susan will eventually have some as well.
