Alright... So I havent been able to update this in quite a while which i totally apologize for. My son in getting really active and is almost walking, which means I dont have as much time as I used too. Anywho, thanks to Mariann's for the only review that I've recived so far. Though I've recived 7 favorites and 4 Alerts, which is awesome! Also, please note that Emma is older than both Harry and Neville although she is only three months younger than Hermione. This is due to the fact that both of them were born in late 1979. Please do review, cause reviews make Voldemort cry.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except a copy of each book and each movie plus a few handmade posters.
The sun was just coming up over the drab painted houses and straight cut lawns of Magnolia Court though it seemed as if not a single person was awake except for a pair of young children who were silently leaving their house and warming up for what one might assume was an early morning jog, which is exactly what they were planning on doing. The people on their street who were out this early waved to them because this was a near daily occurrence for the two.
The two children were strange, there was no doubt about that, but they were all very polite including their other sibling and their parents. The two youngest children of the family attended the local primary school and it was also not a secret to many that one of the boys was adopted, though his aunt lived only a few streets away. The other boy, who was the only biological son of the couple, was quit shy but had an odd gift with plants. The only girl was an oddity in her own right. She was energetic but quiet all the same and was strikingly intelligent, which made people tend to avoid her a little. Not because she was scary but because she seemed to know things that others didn't and she almost always had a strange sort of haunting look in her eyes.
The children were finishing their run about an hour later and breakfast was just being started when they trooped back into the house. Alice and Frank were both up and were quietly talking in the kitchen when they arrived back.
"Good morning Aunti Alice. Good Morning Uncle Frank." Emma chirped as she bounced into the kitchen and plopped down at the table while Harry followed along.
"Good morning Emma. Good morning Harry. How was your run?" replied Alice as she set a large plate of pancakes on the table.
"Our run was great, we'll be ready for Quidditch in no time." replied Harry enthusiastically as he added some pancakes to his plate.
"That's good. Now do either of you remember what today is?" Frank asked as Alice smiled.
"Oh crap! Its Neville's eleventh birthday today!" Emma exclaimed as she almost bounced out of her chair.
"That means that your birthday is tomorrow Harry!" She added as she turned to her god-brother with a bright smile.
"And that means that our Hogwarts letters will be here soon! Which means we get to go to Hogwarts in September!" she continued with wide eyes and a huge smile that couldn't be concealed at all.
Alice couldn't help but laugh at how her god-daughter was acting. Sure the prospect of entering Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a fine one, one all three of the kids had been dreaming about ever since they first heard about the magnificent school. Emma had been wired about said prospect all of last year due to that she had been moved to home schooling after finishing primary school, while Neville and Harry completed their last year.
Quickly, Emma and Harry began discussing their prospective chances with each house as the birthday boy himself entered the kitchen. Alice and Frank smiled at each other as they watched their son enter the kitchen and the pride in the kitchen swelled to beyond measure. Neville was almost oblivious to the acts and/or conversations that were currently occurring. Breakfast went by quite quickly and soon the family was on their way to the zoo to celebrate Neville's birthday.
The trip to the zoo was quiet and uneventful. When they arrived at the zoo, however, there was quite the excitement between all of the children. The London Zoo was packed with families and youth groups as the Longbottoms, Black and Potter made their way through the gate and around to the first few exhibits. Alice and Frank bought each one of them lemon pops at the ice cream cart, so they had them while they were looking at the gorilla exhibit. Harry mused, out loud, that the male gorilla looked a lot like his cousin Dudley except that the gorilla wasn't blonde and looked less like a pig. Emma and Neville both laughed as they licked their lemon pops. The lions, tigers, and polar bears were all very amusing. At lunch, they ate at the Aviary Café and all three kids shared a knickerbocker glory. After lunch they all headed to the reptile house and the cool interior was much more inviting than the heat outside.
Alice and Frank wandered to the first exhibit as Emma and Neville went to look at the lizards. Harry, on the other hand, wandered over to look at the largest snake in the building. He had a slightly depressed look on his face as he starred at the snake behind the glass. The sign to the left of the tank stated that the snake was a Brazilian Boa Constrictor. With a backwards glance at the crowd behind him, he turned back to the glass with a sigh. He loved Auntie Alice and Uncle Frank with everything he had but they simply weren't his real parents. The same went for Neville and Emma, who just simply weren't his real siblings. Several similar thoughts passed through his head as he watched the snake, though he wasn't quite sure what to think when the snake raised its head up and winked at him.
"Did you just wink at me?" Harry asked as he glanced around him again but the snake just nodded.
"Can you understand me?" He asked again as the snake flickered its tongue and nodded its head again.
There was a delayed silence as Harry starred wide-eyed at the snake. Could this be real, he thought, as the snake watched him with what Harry could have sworn was a smirk. Another quick glance over his shoulder and Harry turned back to the snake.
"How odd? Do people talk to you often?" Harry asked as he leaned against the railing, to which the snake shook its head in response.
"Oh. Do you have a family?" He continued as the snake shook its head again.
"That's too bad." Harry whispered as he watched the snake rest its head down again.
Harry was too lost in thought to notice that his god-sister had appeared behind him and was watching the entire exchange. When she coughed to get his attention though, he almost jumped through the ceiling. She had remained behind to grab him because it was almost time to go home. So Harry, with a last glance back at the snake, heaved a sigh and hurried after his sister and the rest of his family. Neither of them had the slightest thought that this one afternoon could affect their futures so drastically.
That night at dinner was fairly simple and the entire family played games to celebrate Neville's eleventh birthday. As they were all tucking in for bed that night, Emma knocked quietly on Harry's door.
"Are you alright Harry?" she asked as she sat down beside him on the bed.
"Sure I am. I mean, why wouldn't I be." he replied as Emma fixed him with a stare and a frown.
"Don't play that with me. I know how you feel because I don't have parents or real siblings to celebrate my birthday with either. Besides, this will be our first year at Hogwarts and neither of us will have our mums or dads there to wish us good luck." Emma snapped as she stood up and starred out of the window.
"But I'll be alight because you're my family now and so is Neville. As long as I've got you two, I'm going to be just fine." she added as she turned back to Harry before returning to her own room for the night.
He knew she was right because if she wasn't, well he just wouldn't be standing there like he was. It was Emma's acceptance of Harry that had allowed for the god-sibling bond to form in the first place. So, with that thought in mind, he climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep; dreaming of a pretty girl with red hair and a pretty laugh.
Day came quickly for everyone and during breakfast, the three kids got exactly what they had been hopping for. Through the kitchen bay window flew a regal looking barn owl with three letters attached to its leg. Alice removed the letters but Emma couldn't control her excitement as she jumped up and screamed. Both Harry and Neville watched as Emma raced around the kitchen screaming with joy as she clutched her letter to her chest.
"Well? Open them already!" insisted Alice as she smiled brightly at the three kids.
"Of course, Aunt Alice." Harry replied as he turned the letter over and read the address aloud.
Mr. H. Potter
The Second Room on the Left
6 Magnolia Court
Little Whinging,
Surry
"Hey! It even states what room we live in. That's weird." Neville explained as he opened his letter.
There was silence in the kitchen as the three kids read and then reread their letters. After another ten minutes or so, Alice decided that she would reply like the letter said. Then another loud scream pierced the air in the kitchen.
"Oh my gosh! Happy Birthday Harry!" Emma cried as she rushed to her god-brother and engulfed him into a hug.
"Gee thanks Em." Harry mumbled sarcastically as Neville and Alice laughed.
"Well you are so utterly welcome then." Emma replied as she released him.
"Yeah Harry, Happy Birthday." Neville added as he gave Harry a high five.
"Alright you guys, I do believe that it is time to finish breakfast so that we can get on with our day." Alice said as she turned back to the sink.
All three of the kids returned to the table and continued on with breakfast until Emma fell out of her chair in a dead faint. This really wasn't an uncommon occurrence, so Alice gently levitated the girl into the living room and onto the sofa. They all knew that she would wake up shortly so Alice left her there as she returned to the kitchen.
After breakfast, Harry and Neville hurried upstairs to get dressed while Emma remained on the sofa in a near comatose state. Even by the time Frank had returned from the store she still wasn't awake. In fact, it took almost two hours before Emma woke from the trance. Though when she woke, she acted like nothing had happened. She disappeared into her bedroom and that's where Alice found her several minutes later.
"What happened in your vision?" Alice asked as she sat down beside her on the bed.
"Nothing that I really want to talk about." Emma replied as she finished tying her shoes.
"Really Aunti Alice… I'm fine." she added as she looked her god-mother in the eyes.
Alice smiled softly as she gave her god-daughter a hug. Emma smiled softly and returned the hug as she glanced at the picture at the bed side table. A single tear slid down her cheek as she watched her mum and dad laugh together. Hastily, she wiped the tear away and jumped up to follow Alice out of the room. She kept up a cheery smile as they joined the others downstairs.
"So where are we headed today?" Emma asked as she flung her arms around Harry and Neville's shoulders.
"Harry wanted to go to that large shopping center in London. We'll do lunch and then see a movie at the cinema. After that, we'll do dinner someplace nice to celebrate the Hogwarts letters." Frank said as Harry nodded, which made Emma and Neville excited.
So the entire family piled into the car and headed off to London. The car ride was quiet as Frank and Alice had a hushed conversation while Neville and Harry played a car seek game but Emma just starred out the window. She could feel Harry nudging her mental walls but she refused to say anything about the vision. She knew what she had seen wasn't good and if Harry knew; well, she didn't really want to think about that. So, with much difficulty, she pushed the images from her head and began participating in the game that her brothers were playing.
The rest of the day flew by in a blur. They shopped, then had lunch at the shopping centers food courts. After they had lunch, they headed to the cinema to see an action movie that Harry had been overly excited about seeing. Emma hadn't been to thrilled and neither had Neville but they stuck it out to make Harry happy. After the movie, they wandered around the center again until it was time for dinner. With much debating, they decided on a quiet place called La Mediterranean, which was an Italian/Greek restaurant. They held a toast to celebrate the acceptance of the most prestigious wizarding school in all of England.
