Team: Puddlemere United

Position: Seeker

Prompt: Matilda (movie)

Word Count: 1,529


put a flower in your hair


Life wasn't particularly fair to Jasminder Potter. She by far isn't the only one where this is the case, but she is the one we are talking about right now.

One of the many things that happened to her was that Fate took her parents from her not very long after she was born. Barely more than a year, she was too young to have any memories of them.

Or she should have been.

You see, Jasminder Potter was a special little child. Her parents had noticed, of course. They had looked forward to observing their child — a little being that was something of both of them and yet it's completely own — all throughout Lily's pregnancy. So it was no wonder that they quickly became aware of the many ways in which their little son was special.

Yes, you read that correctly. Lily and James Potter thought they had a son.

That was another bad card that Fate dealt Jasminder Potter, but she learned to deal with it. It wasn't even that hard, especially once she had found some friends.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves, so let us get back to the point.

Harry Potter was a very smart child. It took her mere months to start walking and talking and even reading along in the books that her parents read to her. She didn't know that that was unusual and how could she? It wasn't like she had any comparison.

It wasn't long until her parents noticed, and boy, were they proud. They barely ever stopped bragging about Harry and praising her.

They had every right to be, too.


Before her parents were killed, Jasminder's life — of course, back then her name was Harry, so that's what we will use until it is time — was wonderful.

Her parents were attentive and kind. She had two amazing uncles, who came to visit her practically every day — and one that rarely stopped by — and she had fun whenever she was awake.

Then, her life turned upside down.

Her parents were attacked and killed, for reasons she would only discover years and years later. At that moment though, it didn't matter why they were killed, just that they did.

Because Harry's happy life pretty much ended at that point.

Instead of going to her Uncle Padfoot or her Uncle Moony, she went to her Aunt Petunia and her horrible family.

The fact that they all called her "boy" was just so wrong. It had never really been an issue before — his parents and uncles talked to her, not about her or when they did, they used her name — so it was somehow worse.

She tried to protest, but it was pointless. They wouldn't listen to her, instead sticking to ignoring her whenever they could.

The three of them — Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley — preferred to live their lives in front of the television, which Harry found completely boring — at least, the shows that these people were watching.

But it was fine. At least that left her free to explore the library — a good book was so much more interesting than any show she had ever caught a glimpse of — and before she even started school, she had already read a big part of it.


Harry knew that his life could only get better when Dudley was in another class than him in school. She was only enrolled because a neighbor had seen her and asked Petunia if she would start school this year.

It took Petunia a few seconds to remember she even had a niece.

The Dursleys mainly ignored her, yes, but unfortunately that extended to food and stopped whenever she messed up ever so slightly. All three of them loved to yell at and humiliate her or to treat her as a servant — "It's our good right to," Petunia had said one time, eyeing her russet skin with a frown.

She got back at them, in secret. That's what she had learned from her parents and uncles back when she was little.

If someone is mean to someone — not necessarily you, just someone — you get back at them. You have to pay attention to never let it get worse than what they had done.

Defending, not bullying, that was how her mother had summed it up.

There was a girl at her school that Harry spotted Dudley and a few of his 'friends' attempting to bully. Since there was no reason to let that happen to the poor kid, Harry stepped in.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked, acting braver than she felt.

"Yeah," the other girl — she assumed — protested, stepping closer to the boys. Harry noticed she really liked this girl's dark, freckled, broad nose. It really suited her. And the black locks perfectly framed her face.

"Like, I'm pretty sure the cafeteria is already open," the girl quipped, interrupting her thoughts. She paused to look the boys up and down, an eyebrow raised. "And you guys look like you'd be more interested in that than anything else around here."

"I know for a fact that your Mummy happened to forget your lunchbox at home, Diddy," Harry added. She had been responsible for it, but that wasn't the point here. "I'm sure you're starving already. I mean, you haven't eaten in, like, four hours."

The other girl faked a gasp, putting her hands in front of her mouth for a second. "You must be wasting away! Now, shoo."

Amazingly enough, the boys actually left after that. They were grumbling promises of their return, but neither girl cared at that moment.

"Thank you," the girl said. "You didn't need to help me."

"But I could and, consequently, I should," Harry insisted.

"That's nice of you. I'm Lavender by the way." She held her hand out in front of her while she introduced herself. Her hands were really delicate and she was wearing a few silver rings.

Harry took it. "I'm Harry. Don't let the name fool you, though, I am a girl."

"Alright then," Lavender said with a smile. "I love your hair by the way."

Harry self-consciously took one of her locks and eyed it. She had started to grow it out and it had left the awkward phase only last week.

"Thank you. I can't figure out how I braid it, though. Also, your rings look really nice."

Lavender beamed with pride. "Thank you. What me to teach you? I can do five different kinds of braids."

In that precise moment, a great friendship began.


Harry met another great person that day. This second person was his teacher, Remus Lupin.

Mr. Lupin was the first adult who cared enough to notice — and before the first day ended at that — that Harry was too skinny with way too large clothes. Especially, once you considered the nice house his family was living in, the multiple cars that Vernon owned, and the statue of him and Dudley.

Before that Mr. Lupin noticed how intelligent and well-read she was. Not simply for her age, but in general. It took Harry virtually no time to finish her work and start helping Lavender and other students who asked for her help. It was better than just sitting there, so it was not even a choice.

Yet before that, Harry realized something about Mr. Lupin.

"I remember you," Harry breathed in amazement as soon as she entered the classroom, pausing in the door and blocking the way. "I remember you," he repeated a bit louder. "You're Moony."

Her teacher's eyes widened and his eyebrows seemed to be trying to hid in his hair. "You remember?"

Harry nodded. "I do."

That was the moment she noticed she was blocking the way and moved to the side.

"Let's talk about this after class," he proposed once he regained composure. "And stick to calling me Mr. Lupin while in class, alright?"

"Okay," Harry nodded and sat down next to Lavender.


"Before we start this conversation, there is something you need to know," Harry stated after the last student — Lavender — hesitatingly left the room. "I am not, in fact, a boy. I'm a girl. I always was."

Harry stood there silently, his mind running wild with horror stories of rejection.

It took Remus a few moments to reply, but when he did, it wasn't anything that Harry expected. "Jasminder."

"Excuse me?" Harry blinked a couple of times. "What did you just say?"

"Jasminder," Remus repeated. "It's the name your parents would have given you had they known you are a girl. They liked it not only because of the way it sounds, but because it fits into the tradition of naming girls after flowers that the past five generations of Lily's family kept up while also being an Indian name, thus showing James' pride in his heritage."

"Jasminder," Harry sounded the name out. "Jasminder. I think I like that."

From that moment onwards, her name was Jasminder.

And, for the first time in a very long while, she felt like she was home.


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