Chapter 3

Cara was watching over Dumbledore as he wrote out a letter of invitation to his office, addressed to Harry of course.

Harry:

I would like to speak with you about a rather personal matter in my office. The password for tonight only will be Lila Cara.

Albus Dumbledore

-----

Sitting at the High Table Dumbledore wondered if Fawkes had delivered the letter to Harry yet but he wouldn't know until after dinner.

Then suddenly Fawkes flew over Dumbledore's head and dived toward Harry clearly wishing to smash into him.

"Whoa!" Harry ducked and Fawkes shot passed Harry and crashed landed on the dinning table in front of a first year.

"Is it dead?" The boy poked at Fawkes while the girl next to him made a face. The boy continued to poke at Fawkes until the phoenix screeched and nearly bit the boy's finger off.

"Gotcha you stupid bird. How many times has Dumbledore told you not to flame above the tables?" The bird looked oddly at Harry for a second, screeched and burst into flames. Moments later he reappeared in the aisle and dive-bombed toward the Great Hall's floor. "I don't think so Fawkes." Harry said, "You and I both know that playing dead wont work for you. You burst into flames when you die and are reborn."

Fawkes looked up at Harry and jumped up. The bird seemed to look around and then flamed away. He reappeared moments later and excreted over top of the unsuspecting boy, followed by the missive that he had. Harry picked it up and quickly read it. Pausing at the password. Dumbledore's password was usually sweets, maybe this was meant to be a private meeting.

Harry looked over to Dumbledore just in time to see him shake his head and put it in his hands as Fawkes landed on his shoulder.

"Bloody bird," Harry muttered.

----

"You are sure he received the note?" Cara asked for the thousandth time as she paced around Dumbledore's office.

"Yes, I am sure, as soon as he arrives we will move to Headquarters, I will take you Cara, as I have not given you the secret yet."

"Fidelius?" Dumbledore nodded, "Stupid bloody charm started this whole mess."

"I quite agree with Ms. Potter, Dumbledore." a portrait said, "While the Fidelius Charm hides the place from eyes, it does not from memory. You could still find it if you knew the area well enough."

"I am aware of that Phineas. The Fidelius I used on Headquarters is a modified that erases the memory of the location." Dumbledore told the portrait. There was a knock on the door, "Enter." the door opened to reveal Harry Potter.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Yes, Harry." Dumbledore said, even as Cara turned away. "We will be heading to Headquarters for this dicussion, as it is vital that we keep this information quiet." Harry nodded, "You will be going by Floo, I have to take our visitor as she does not have the secret."

"I see Sir." he answered. Cara watched her brother walk over to the fireplace mutter something and disappear in the flames. Dumbledore then turned to her, and gestured for her to grasp his hand.

"What are we doing sir?"

"Apparating, I assume you know all about it."

"Yes, but Lucius never really took me or Draco, but don't we have to go to Hogsmeade? she answered. Dumbledore shook his head, "As Headmaster, I have certain privileges." , and she grabbed on. There was a quick squeezing sensation as though she was being pulled through a tube, and then it stopped. She looked around to find that they were in a park surrounded by a fence. Dumbledore was rummaging through his pockets when she caught sight of him. Moments later he pulled out a piece of paper.

"Read it quickly and memorize what is on it." he said. He handed her the piece of paper.

"The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld Place?" Cara read, softly but outloud, "Isn't that . . ."

"Wait till we are inside, to prevent others from listening in." They walked forward, and the house magically appeared from between the two houses. They walked up the front steps and hurriedly inside.

"Now can someone tell me what is going on that I would have to come here Professor?" Cara nearly gasped in fright. Her brother had just walked in the hallway.

"To the kitchen, I assume that Sirius and Remus are waiting for us?"

"They're in there if that's what you are wondering. No one else is though."

"Good, the less that know the better." The walked through the hall and down the stairs into a fairly large kitchen. Once they were all inside Dumbledore sealed the door and waved his wand over it. "Impenetruble Charm, never know who might be listening in."

"Now, what is this about Albus." Cara recognized their 3rd year Defence Professor. In her opinion he was the best at what he knew, but publicly she had to renounce that as she was supposed to be a Malfoy and they don't like half-breeds.

"Sirius, did you not explain to him already?"

"I just barely got here Albus, Sirius pulled me in here and told me to wait." Lupin said.

"Ah, I see, well now, as many now know Lucius Malfoy was murdered at his Manor earlier today. It was reported by his wife to be a figure similar to their daughter, Cara. That unfortunately was true, what was not witnessed by Narcissa was the self-defence."

"What do you mean?"

"Voldemort ordered her killed, and Lucius to do it." Dumbledore said, "And now we know why."

"Why was it."

"Because Cara was never a Malfoy to begin with. She was kidnapped the same night Voldemort fell."

"What are you getting at Albus?"

"Cara Alexis Malfoy once went by another name, but she herself did not know it. However, during young Mr. Potter's Occlumency lesson, Severus found a particular memory, of that night. After Voldemort fell, the Malfoys came up the ruined house and found Cara. In her crib."

"No . . ." Remus said, "No, it can't be, she was under our noses this entire time and we gave up looking for her?"

"What do you mean Professor?"

"Harry, there was a reason we never told you this before. We didn't want to get you upset as we believed her to be dead, but you had a twin sister. Lila Cara Potter, or more commonly known now as Cara Alexis Malfoy."

"I HAD A SISTER AND YOU NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF TELLING ME?" Harry shouted, "DID IT EVER CROSS YOUR MIND THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MY WHOLE FAMILY!?"

He calmed down for a second, as Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"You do have her now Harry." Sirius said, then he gestured to Cara who took off her hood.

"Hey Harry." she said.

"But you had . . ."

"I know but Uncle Sev, and don't get mad at me for saying that cause he has been an uncle to me this entire time, thought that we should change my hair color as I am planning on going back to Hogwarts, just not as Cara Malfoy, but under my true name."

"Oh." Harry said, "But why red?"

"Just looked better on me, I thought." she said, "Dumbledore wanted to just sort me and have you find out after I got back, but, we kind of overruled him, Sirius didn't want you to destroy half the school just because you got angry at how things were kept from you. I mean look at the room around us right now." Harry looked around gulping as went. His little anger spout had nearly ravaged the kitchen.

"I told you Snape!" Sirious suddenly exclaimed, "You owe me."

"Crap." Snape hung his head as he handed sirioius a bag.

"You tow bet!?" Harry asked

"Yeah on you destroying the kitchen." Sirious smiled, "And I won."

"No imean you two….." Harry paused, "Wait when did Snape get here?"

"I can honestly say you are unobservant and Spoiled." Snape yawned

"But you weren't here…. DID YOU JUST CALL ME SPOILED!?"

"See you're whinny two just like your father." Snape sighed as if it were so obvious it should hit him in the face.

"My father was not whinny." Harry said, but Sirius interrupted.

"I have to disagree there Harry. James was a bit whinny, especially when your mother turned him down thirty times a day."

"Mutt . . ."

"What Bat?"

"Stop taking my side, I love being on the opposite side of the conversation from you." Snape whined, "It takes away from my greasy git image if a former Gryffindor, especially a rival of mine, is agreeing with me."

"Men. Irresponsible, whinny, inconsiderate, and most of all slobs." Cara sighed, "Would you two stop arguing on agreeing."

"B . . . but . . ."

"NOW!"

"Uh, mutt she's all yours." Snape almost made it out of the door when he had to stop to take off the charms. Cara hit him with a prank spell that she had developed over the years. One that started with a mild version of a shocking curse. The next step required that a member of all of the houses of Hogwarts be in the same room. Unfortunately for Snape there just happened to be such conditions. The result: red and gold spiked hair, green and silver skin and gold and blue robes.

"CARA!"

"Well that worked out nicely."

"No bat I think she's still your problem." Sirius whistled innocently.

"Watch it Sirius you never know if you'll wake up in a pink tutu over the Hogwarts lake, with everyone watching."

"I can see why you want to get rid of her bat."

"I heard that."

"Um, no you didn't."

"Riiight. Professor, are you sure she's my sister?"

"As sure as the sun rises in the east Harry."

"Snape was just a bonus, a few names too early." Cara spoke up, "First was you, Harry, then Hermione, Ron, Professor Dumbledore, Snape, Draco, and then Sirius provided I could ever find you."

"You're not going to really put me in a pink tutu are you, right?" Cara smirked, only turning and walking away from the table. "Right?" She left the room, "RIGHT?"

"I think you're in trouble mutt."

"I think so too."

------

The twins arrived back in Dumbledore's office, via the Floo Connection. Cara brushed herself off while Harry picked himself up off the floor.

"I hate Flooing." he told his sister.

"Then why do you do it, you moron."

"Um, cause I can't apparate."

"Whatever." Dumbledore entered the room walking behind his desk. He reached up on the shelves and pulled down the Sorting Hat. "No, no way not again."

"Why, Ms. Potter?"

"That hat hates me." The Sorting hat glared at her, but as Dumbledore turned to it, it pulled a blank face.

"We will be going down to the Great Hall, less suspicion if you were introduced and sorted in front of the school." Dumbledore explained.

"Fine.." Cara sighed as the hat resumed it's glaring

"You're right.." Harry whispered to her, "That hat does hate you."

"Come along Potters." Dumbledore snickered as he led them down the staircase, "It's dinner so we can sort you right now Lila."

"As long as it means that hat stops glaring at me." Cara sighed, The room fell silence as Dumbledore walked in with the sorting hat followed by the two Potters. Harry took his seat at the Gryffindor table next to Ron and Hermine, while Cara continued to follow Dumbledore.

"Ah, students welcome back from the winter holidays. I trust you all had fun." The hall fell silent. You could hear a cricket chirp from outside. "Alright, then, a little history lesson, if you must. Everyone knows about the Potters, and their boy, Harry, the Boy-who-Lived. What is not commonly known, is that Harry was not a single child. He had a twin sister, named Lila Cara Potter. On that night 14 years ago, we arrived at the Potter's home to find it in ruins, the only person we found alive was Harry. We searched for Lila as much as we could, but alas, our search ended in vain. However, in light of recent events, the murder of Lucius Malfoy by his own daughter, we found her wandering the area around Malfoy Manor. Please welcome Lila Cara Potter wherever she might end up." Cara walked up and put on the Sorting Hat.

Ah, Ms. Potter, how long I have waited to say that. the hat spoke in her mind. now . . .

Just put me back in Ravenclaw, you know you want to be rid of me as well.

True, but my job is to look at your personality, lets see, too intelligent for Gryffindor, kind of a loner, that won't do for Hufflepuff, now you have ambition and cunning, but . . ."

"JUST SHUT UP YOU STUPID HAT!" Cara looked out and saw her former brother looking up at her in fright, and curiosity.

Fine, Fine, I still believe that you will do the best in "RAVENCLAW!"