Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the parts of this story affiliated with the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. As such, I do not receive any payment for publishing these works.
Chapter 3: The Girl on the Ceiling
Genre: AU/Family/Hurt/Comfort
Word Count: 1,000
Content Rating: PG-13
Italics: 'Thoughts' or "letters" or stressed words
Bold: Important information
Underline: Titles
"" - Character speaking
Horizontal lines: A break in time or scene
A picture of his mother and a long black haired boy looked back at him. His mother smiled while the boy's face remained grumpy.
"Do you think that's my dad?" Harry asked and Hazel looked at the photo curiously.
"Probably not. You don't look anything like him."
"You don't look like either Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon." Harry argued.
"True, but thats not very common. I'm still hoping I'm adopted or was switched at birth." Hazel said with a grin. Harry just laughed and flipped to the first entry and began to read.
"Summer 1969
Dear Diary,
I've always thought I was different. Normal children don't float off swing sets or break things that are a few feet away when they are angry. Normal children don't see strange people in cloaks walking around or buildings that no one else can see. Why couldn't I be normal?
Today, a boy named Severus Snape from Spinner's End told me I was a witch! A witch? Can you believe that! I'm not sure if I should believe him, but it would explain a lot. I walked away thinking he was insulting me, but now I'm not so sure. I wonder if I should go see him again, maybe he could give me some proof.
Lily"
Hazel picked up the book away from Harry. She could see him trying to come to terms with what she had written and what he had seen. Hazel felt the same way, but she would push through it now for Harry. They needed to know if his mother was indeed a witch. Several pages were ripped out of the next section, but they came to an entry that was written a couple years later.
"Summer 1971
Dear Diary,
Petunia has somehow gotten a hold of you and ripped out most of my entries. I cannot wait until I go to Hogwarts so I can learn to hex her until she stays out of my things!
On a better note, I finally got my acceptance letter! My parents were quite shocked when they found out I was magical. If Sev hadn't told me in the park two years ago I suppose I would have been as well. A stern looking witch by the name of Minerva McGonagall came and explained what it meant and what my parents and I could look forward to. Of course, Sev had already explained this all to me. I still couldn't help but be disappointed when she said students weren't allowed to do magic outside of school. I had hoped he had been joking when he told me that.
I'm nervous - what if all the children know more spells then me? What if I'm rubbish at it? All the children from magical homes have probably already begun practicing.
Tomorrow we're supposed to go to a place called Diagon Alley with Sev and his mother to get my school things. I'll probably pick up some extra books then - maybe Mrs. Snape will have some ideas since she attended Hogwarts as well.
Lily."
Harry and Hazel just sat on the creaky and uncomfortable bed staring at the page. That confirmed it then - Harry was most definitely a wizard. Hazel secretly hoped she was as well. All the times anything strange had happened Harry had been around, so she had no idea whether it was him or her.
"Harry, d-do you think I'm one too?" Hazel asked and Harry looked up at her.
"A what?" He asked.
"A witch."
"I think so. I mean those boys from this morning did kind of come from thin air." He said cautiously.
"Yeah, but you were there. It could have been you." She said disappointedly.
"Well, why don't you try to do something?"
"Like what?"
"Well, I know one time it was really cold and I needed a blanket. I thought really hard about it and one appeared. At the time I thought I was dreaming, but when I woke up the blanket was still there." Harry explained.
Hazel thought for a moment. She just wanted to know if she was magical - how was she supposed to know how to test it? Harry's magic always seemed to happen when he was upset or needed something badly. What did she need? Her thoughts were interrupted as pounding footsteps came down the stairs.
"Crap. That'll be Da. I won't be able to make it past him." She whispered to Harry who had gone about 3 shades whiter.
"Hide under the bed?" Harry suggested weakly.
"He'll see me in a heartbeat!" She hissed.
Hazel closed her eyes and hoped nothing too bad would happen to Harry. She didn't want him to get in trouble for her. Suddenly she felt herself adhere to the darkest and highest part of the ceiling along with the books. She looked questioningly at Harry who just shook his head. As the door opened she stifled a gasp - luckily Harry had managed to shut off the light and pretend he was asleep.
Vernon looked around suspiciously and grunted when he found nothing unusual. He closed and locked the door behind him and headed back upstairs. For the first time in her life Hazel was grateful her oaf of a brother whined about being a big boy and not needing parents to check on them.
The small six year old jumped down from the ceiling quietly with Harry's help. The cousins shared a look and beamed. They were magic!
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I will have another one up tomorrow!
