In a small bedroom, in a perfectly normal neighborhood, in the middle of a perfectly normal street, there was a small family that appeared perfectly normal to any who glanced their way without looking into things too closely. So of course, everyone in the neighborhood knew of the single mother working as a secretary for one of the local businesses to support her son and the niece from her dearly departed sister. They knew that she her husband had ran off to a new job far away from the family, and while there found a younger woman.
What they hadn't known, the rumor mill ground out on regular basis. The niece was born from her sister out of wedlock, to a man grifting off the system. The husband had tried to beat the girl one day, until the woman walked in and called the police on him. The son had just about began to sink to the levels of the father, but turned his life around to become a courteous and gentle young man.
What none of them knew was the real truth of the situation.
The woman was Petunia Evans, formerly Dursley. Her husband had never once lifted a hand against either child, though the threats he issued towards her sister's daughter had caused much strife in their marriage. The husband, one Vernon Dursley, had left after one such fight, taking every cent in their accounts. His current whereabouts are not material at this point, but there is no other woman on this planet that would find him acceptable. The son was Dudley Dursley, and while he wasn't anything like his father, it was the firm guiding hand of his mother that ensured he was becoming a gentleman, though at times his father's temper shone through.
The girl, often called Jasmine by her aunt and cousin, was Harriet Jasmine Potter, the sole survivor of a tragic night of horror that had claimed her parents. The two of them were happily married long before Harriet had even remotely been a twinkle in her father's eye. Her father had actually been fairly well off, but due to certain meddling conspirators, Harriet was only receiving a fraction of what she should be to provide for her childhood.
Finally, there were things that happened around Harriet that proved that she was anything but perfectly ordinary. One such thing had happened just the day before, when Harriet had gone with her aunt, cousin, and one of his friends to the zoo. She had gotten separated from her aunt around the serpent houses, and she was settling in to wait until she could find an employee or her aunt: just as she had been told in school, when a rather large man seemed to be getting far too close for her liking.
He had just gotten to her, and seemed ready to grab her, when the snake that had been on the other side of the glass slithered between them. Her eyes flickered over to where there had been a large pane of glass, which was completely missing now. The snake stared at the man harshly while a stain began darkening his pants, before turning to Harriet and speaking softly to her. "Thank you for freeing me. Go to the far entranccce. Look for the feedersss, they will help you," the snake hissed out as it curled around the man frozen with fear. Harriet hadn't needed anything more, as soon as the snake stopped looking at her, she was running away.
Her run was short lived, when she ran straight into her aunt's arms, tears streaming down her face. That had been the end of Dudley's birthday trip to the zoo, but Aunt Petunia had to sit and talk with the zoo people for a while about just being glad Harriet was safe. After that, they went out for pizza, but Harriet hadn't been hungry. She just wanted to go home to her room which was safe, and listen to her stuffed Snake the wise Sir Hiss.
That had been yesterday, and today Harriet was in the corner of her room, hugging her stuffed snake while making soft noises to it. It was these noises that let her aunt know something was bothering her about yesterday's events. Whenever Harriet got upset, or had an incident with weird things happening, she would retreat to her room and talk to Sir Hiss through a strange series of hissing and clicking noises. During a slight lull in the one-sided conversation, she rapped softly on the door.
"Jasmine? It's Aunt Petunia, can I come in?" the woman asked softly as she tried the door. A soft voice from inside answered an affirmative, just as she turned the knob. The door opened to the lit room, the bed was made up neatly, the floor and furniture spotless, and in one corner of the room opposite the door was a floating Sir Hiss, his metal helmet gleaming faintly. "Jasmine… can you let me see you please? I just want to talk."
"I didn't mean to do it," a quiet voice said from the other side of the serpentine knight, "I don't know what I did."
"I know you didn't, and I want to talk about it Jasmine, please," the woman stated as she settled in on the floor opposite Sir Hiss from the voice, watching the floating stuffed animal as it bobbed in the air. "Your mother had things like this happen to, remember her? She was a brilliant girl, much like how smart you are, but she could do things like that."
"R-really?" Harriet asked, her blue eyes coming into view filled with hope and admiration. Her mother had been like her? She could do things like she could. Does this mean that Aunt Petunia knew how to make it stop?
The eyes remained transfixed on her aunt, who didn't seem to react to only seeing floating eyes peering out of thin air. "Yes dear, do you want to talk about her a little? We can brush your hair out, maybe we can finally get it to settle down today."
The soft laughter that filled the room at that brought a relieved smile to the older woman's face as the girl slowly returned to view. "There's my darling Jasmine," she stated happily as she reached out to the young girl, who leaped forward to engulf herself in the warmth and tenderness of her aunt's hug. A soft hand stroking through her hair served to quell her tears and get her to relax. "What do you want to know about your mother?"
"How… was it because of her being able to do weird things that she was taken from us?" Jasmine asked as she settled into her aunt's lap, one of her favorite brushes appearing next to them with a soft popping noise. Aunt Petunia took a calming breath before picking it up, and starting to brush the fiery red hair before her, working to smooth out the tangles and smooth it down.
"Why would you ask that, dear?"
"Because you never talk about that, and… because I know people do not like when others can do things they can't," Harriet answered, her eyes focused on the floor before them as she took a sour expression. There was one person in all the world she ever wore that expression for, and it made her wonder just what it was that Vernon had said and done to Harriet when she wasn't around every time.
The old pain of losing her sister still lingered, but Petunia swallowed against that pain and focused on the girl before her. "Lily was a brilliant woman who could do things that I couldn't, and I admit I was jealous when we were children. It was that same jealousy that drove me from being around before you came to live with me… and not being with them the night your parents died. They loved you so much Harriet," Petunia stated, catching the girl by surprise, as she was always Jasmine to her. Harriet was a surprise when she first went to school, and even to this day her aunt seldom used it outside of official paperwork and the like. "They died fighting to save you, never forget that. Your father and mother both loved you more than their own lives, and your mother gave you a special protection with her sacrifice. But it was not because she did those weird things, both your father and mother could do magic, and so did the people that came to hurt you and them."
Harriet listened raptly as her aunt told her about magic, what her mother could do, and what she knew of the day they had been taken from her. Tears were rolling down both cheeks at the end, and Harriet wondered silently about ways to protect her aunt and cousin from these dangerous people who used something as amazing as magic to hurt others. The brush was set on her lap as her aunt's arms wrapped around her from behind. "So you see dear? I was jealous your mother got to experience this whole magical new world, and I was being left behind. But I think… I think that somehow it was for the best. If I hadn't been left behind, I don't know where you might have gone to."
"I won't leave you behind Aunt Petunia," Harriet promised as she sniffled, her arms reaching up to stroke the arms encircling her. "I don't think my mom would have wanted to leave you either, but I will find a way to bring you along."
Petunia let out a soft laugh, one that seemed sad and humorless while filled with bitterness. "No, she didn't want to leave me behind. But sometimes in life we do things we don't want to, so I only ask you to do the best you can to make sure you come back to me."
The response Harriet was about to give, was cut off by the voice of Dudley calling from downstairs. "Mom?! Harriet got a letter in the mail," he called as he made his way up the stairs. In his hand was a strange piece of faded parchment with enough sparkles and glitter to make one question the sanity of whoever sent it.
However, there was a mix of reactions at the sight of it. Dudley seemed mildly amused at it. Harriet was confused. But Petunia?
Petunia looked like it was a time-bomb with 00:00:01 on the timer.