AN: REVIEW PLEASE!
Albus felt very old. He was so sorry that he did that to Haley. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on his office door, "Come in!" he called.
Minerva came into the room, "You wanted to see me Albus?"
"Yes Minerva please take a seat."
Minerva did as she was told, "Is something wrong Albus?"
"Unfortunately, yes there is," Albus sighed, "I should have listened to you."
"Of course you should have. What exactly are we talking about?"
"Haley. I never should have left her at her aunt and uncles."
Minerva growled, "What did they do?"
"I'm not a hundred percent sure but as I left the feast Percy Weasley chased me down and confronted me with some of the thing he had learned about her from spending all day with her. They locked her in a cupboard, Minerva. They treated her like a house elf instead of a child."
"I told you! I told you that they were the worst sort of muggles! And of course I was right!"
Albus tried to calm the woman down, "I know Minerva, and I am having her removed from their care. The only problem is I have no idea of where we can send her over the summer. If nothing else comes up would you volunteer to watch her this summer? I'm sure I can find over arrangements for the following summer but…"
Albus was cut off by Minerva, "Say no more, Albus. Haley is one of my favorite students. We owe it to her to keep her away from those muggles. If it is alright with her I would be honored to have her stay at the manor."
888
When Haley woke up she realized that she had fallen asleep on the common room couch. She got breakfast with Percy considering the others were still asleep. She was having a nice quiet meal with him when McGonagall approached them and said, "Good morning, Ms. Potter, Mr. Weasley. How was your Christmas?"
Haley looked at her with a cocky grin and said, "Magical." This caused Percy to snort and Minerva to begin to giggle.
"Well I'm glad to hear that. May I sit for a moment?"
Haley and Percy thought that this was a strange request but they but gestured for her to join them. She sat down beside Haley and said, "Haley, Professor Dumbledore came to me yesterday with an upsetting story. He will be doing everything he can to find you a new and permanent home but he is afraid that he may not find one for this coming summer. There will be a lot of paperwork involved."
Minerva was going to continue when Percy cut her off, "She is not going back to the Dursleys." The way he said almost shocked Minerva. It was almost like an order.
"I completely agree, Mr. Weasley. That is why I was wondering that, in the case of Albus being unable to find somewhere else, if you would be open to staying at my home?"
Haley was stunned, "You want me to live with you?"
"Yes, of course. You're a bright girl Haley. I believe that you should have a summer full of fun and the experiences that you have been missing out on with those horrible muggles. If I'm the one that gives you those experiences it would make me very happy. If someone else were to give you those experiences I would still be very happy." With that Minerva stood, "I will pick you up at one to take you to the hospital wing."
When she was gone Percy asked, "Why do you need to go to the hospital wing? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. I have wards around me that aren't completely safe. Snape made a potion to remove them and to see if I have any other weird spells on me."
888
One o'clock came very fast for Haley. She and Minerva had a nice chat on the way to the wing about Transfiguration theories that they came up with.
When they arrived, Snape, Dumbledore, and Madam Pomphery were already waiting. "Ms. Potter, would you please lie down?" Poppy asked pointing to a bed.
Haley did as she was told but said, "I thought I was only taking the potion today and that the wards would take a week to come down."
"They will," Snape said, "But immediately after the potion is taken in will attack the wards. Considering they are in your head it will make you very disoriented. You need to lie down so you don't fall over. You should feel normal in a few minutes but as the changes come into play you will feel different. If you feel out of control at any time come straight here or send someone."
Haley nodded her understanding and accepted the vial when it was handed to her. It was horrible. She grimaced as she finally swallowed it all.
"How do you feel?" Poppy asked.
"Well, I can't say much for the Professor's cooking," Haley said earning a chuckle from everyone. "I feel no difference though."
"Really?" Snape asked in confusion.
"Yeah, are you sure it should work?"
"Positive!" Snape sneered.
"Maybe we should give it a few moments," Albus suggested.
Ten minutes later Haley still didn't feel anything. "Potter, could I try to enter your mind to check on the wards?" Snape asked.
"Sure I guess. As long as I am not reliable for any possible damages to your body," Haley said.
"Of course," Snape sneered. He entered her mind a quickly exited. They all stared at a stunned Snape.
"Well?" Minerva egged him on.
"They're gone," Snape said quietly.
"Gone? But it should have taken a week not ten minute," Poppy argued.
"Check for yourself! There is nothing there except a strong mind."
Dumbledore cleared his throat and asked, "Haley, would you mind if I tried?"
Haley shook her head and he began. A moment later he said, "Severus is right. The wards are gone. But there are other things there. You may not have been in there long enough to notice the wards weren't keeping anything out. It was keeping things in. Haley has several blocks on her powers."
"How did the wards come down already Professor?" Haley asked.
"I cannot be positive but as Severus said, you have a strong mind. I would guess that you helped the potion along to make it go faster."
"Now what?"
"Well, Poppy and Severus need to learn what potions you need to remove all of the other spells on you. They will need your cooperation to go in and out of your mind."
At the end of the process Haley had a killer headache and Snape had a list of fifty seven potions he needed to make.
"Fifty seven?" Albus asked in confusion. "Are you sure?"
"Of course we're sure, Albus," Snape sneered. "Fortunately they are quite simple. However I won't be able to finish them until about summer break."
"That shouldn't be a problem. Haley is most likely staying with Minerva this summer."
This was a surprise to Snape and Poppy. "What about her relatives?" Poppy asked him quietly so Haley wouldn't hear.
Dumbledore gave them a quick outline of the conversation he had with Percy before they went to tell Haley the news.
888
The end of the school years came quickly. After Christmas, Haley stayed good friends with all the Weasleys and she was very happy. She was pleased that she would be spending the summer with McGonagall. They would need to stay at the castle for a few days because the last of her potions would be done being made the morning everyone left. She was pretty sure Snape did that on purpose so she wouldn't be in the hospital and could say good bye to her friends. Contrary to common belief he did seem to have a heart.
Neville, Hermione, and the Weasleys all hugged her good bye before boarding and she had to promise to tell them how thing were going with McGonagall.
After saying good bye Haley grabbed her items from the common room and took them to the hospital wing. Snape and Poppy were the only ones there already. Haley approached then and saw that they were leaning over a large case of potions.
"I need to take all of those?"
Snape smirked at her and said, "Yes, your taste buds are going to go through hell."
Poppy smacked him and told Haley to choose a bed. It wasn't long until Dumbledore and Minerva arrived.
They were in a deep discussion that Haley couldn't hear. She was getting bored and zoning out. She began to lightly sing but didn't realize it was out loud.
"I threw a wish in a well. Don't ask me I'll never tell. I looked to you as it fell and now you're in my way. I'd trade my soul for a wish; penny and dimes for a kiss. I wasn't looking for this but now you're in my way. Your stare was holding. Ripped jeans skin was showing. Hot night wind was blowing. Where you think you're going baby? Hey, I just met you and this is crazy but here's my number so call me maybe…"
She stopped when she realized everyone was looking at her. "What?"
They chuckled at the girl Minerva said, "You have a lovely voice."
They approached her and Snape handed her the first vial. "Mmm, tastes like tuna," Haley said earning some strange looks.
She was given vial after vial. Some were horrible while others tasted like actually delicious. The last one was gold. "What's this one do?"
"We have reason to believe you may have metamorphagus abilities. If this is true this potion will let you unlock those abilities. If you are currently using them it will turn you back to your original state before you can use them again," Snape explained.
"I think I'm in my original state. I mean I look just like my parents."
"That is true but we are concerned," Albus told her.
"About what?"
"Well, to help train a metamorphagus there is a spell to change their appearance so they know how it should feel. If someone used it to change your appearance before locking the power you would be forced to stay in that form. We are concerned that with all the spells on you that you may not be what we thought you were," Albus tried to explain.
"I don't completely understand Headmaster."
"He thinks the Potter's aren't your real parents," Snape said insensitively. This earned him a slap on the back of the head from Poppy.
"You think I was adopted?"
"No," Snape said, "If you were adopted there would have been a paper trail. He thinks you were kidnapped." This time Minerva slapped him.
Well that stunned her. What if she had a family? What if they wanted her? What if they didn't want her? Well there was only one way to find out if it was true. She downed the last potion.
"Pineapple!" Haley said happily causing some chuckles.
"How do you feel?" Poppy asked.
"Prickles, not painful though. It's a strange sensation."
Soon she heard gasps. "What?" Haley panicked.
Snape handed her a mirror and she looked in. "Bloody hell! I'm a frickin' ginger!"
Snape smirked at the girls' outburst, "You are a metamorphagus, Potter. You can change it if you want."
"Oh right," Haley said timidly. A moment later she had black hair with blue streaks. "Much better."
They chuckled at Haley.
"Now what?" Haley asked.
"Well you will go home with Minerva. I have gotten a pass for you to use underage magic from the Ministry so you and Minerva can spend the next week practicing your new powers. Then next week, if you want I can take you to Gringotts and you can take the lineage test to learn how your parents are and if you actually are a missing child."
Haley nodded her understanding and left with Minerva.
