As you can see, during this lockdown, cranking out chapters is EASY! Enjoy!
This story begins in a pet shop. Not a rather fine one, mind, with red carpets and airy cages dangling from lofty ceilings. This one was a small, dingy place, with cages packed together in every available space. It was owned by a rather bored-looking witch, with straight brown hair and a pale, splotchy complexion. You may wonder, why are we here? Well, it's because this is where Hedwig was sent after Harry was thrown in Azkaban. This little owl wasn't going to stay in this hovel, though. No, she was going to find her Harry and stay with him forever.
Never in his life had Voldemort thought that he would ever be going to his enemies to interrogate them. Kill them, definitely. Intimidate them, sure. Capture them, of course. But not fire questions at them!
He breathed in a large breath of air through the narrow slits that had replaced his nose when the first Horcrux was made. A burst of magic gushed from his wand and he disappeared…..
….only to reappear soon after, standing in a room that was blindingly red, in front of a black-haired boy with a rather amazed expression and a girl with bushy chestnut brown hair, who was halfway to fainting.
"Ummm…hello." The Dark Lord grimaced.
Harry was freaked out. First he discovers that he has siblings, then he finds out that he owns a house, then Voldemort pops over to the Gryffindor common room looking like he expects a cup of tea and a biscuit and a chat.
"Why is he here?" demanded Hermione.
"If I knew I'd tell you, but I don't." Harry shook his head and stared at Voldemort. "Why are you here?"
"To ask you a question." He replied weakly. This threw Harry off guard completely.
"Ask me a question? Why?"
"To know something."
"What do you want to know?" Harry sighed.
"How did you escape Azkaban?" Voldemort asked.
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's literally in the papers."
"I know. But how you did it is the question. You see, that spell is dark magic."
"I'm aware of that. Exactly why I used it. Only dark magic is powerful enough to escape Azkaban."
"But how'd you access it? Think about it. The Great Gryffindor Golden Boy using the darkest of magic." Voldemort smirked. Harry glared at him.
"You know I damn hate that name." He rubbed his temples. "I accessed it because of my sister."
Now Voldy was exceptionally flabbergasted. "Your sister? You have a sister?"
"Indeed I do, egg head."
"Really, Potter? Best insult you can come up with?"
"No." Harry straightened up. "Anyway, my sister came to me in Azkaban, bailed me out, and now we're hiding out in the old Slytherin Mansion. Any questions?"
"No, not really." Voldemort said dazedly. "I'll make my leave here."
And with that, he disappeared. Hermione finally spoke up.
"Well that was underwhelming."
"Good for stating the obvious, Herms."
"I'm serious. I was thinking he'd start firing Killing Curses everywhere, but apparently he just came over to talk."
The next morning, Harry skipped down to the Great Hall. Why? It was now the Christmas holidays and Harry was so, so happy to get away from the possessive boy. Ron was literally not letting him speak to anyone else except him. His happiness lasted until the redhead turned to him at the breakfast table after scoffing down a load of fresh scones and asked him whether he'd like to stay at the Weasleys that Christmas.
"You'll like it at ours!" Ron's face was so close to his. Harry felt a wave of claustrophobia rush over him.
He was saved the choice of answering due to the light flutter of owl wings whooshing into the room. Ron leapt up to receive his letter from Molly, and saving poor Errol from having to slowly flap down to him. Then Harry spotted something. A speck of white amongst all the browns and greys and blacks.
"Hedwig?" he whispered. Indeed it was. Ron seemed to have spotted it too. A expression of confusion was spread across his pudgy face.
"A snowy? Haven't seen one like that since Harry Potter left." He remarked. Hedwig swooped down to rest on Harry's arm. Ron looked incredibly bemused.
"She's yours?"
Harry offered a bashful smile. "Yeah."
"What's she been doing all this time?"
"My parents, you see. They don't let her go out much, because once she was out in the woods and got attacked by a bear." He gestured towards an injury Hedwig had gotten from the Dursleys. This was an utterly atrocious excuse, but Ron seemed to buy it, nodding along as Harry spoke.
The redhead then leaned in to pet the snowy owl. Hedwig did not take kindly to the traitor-boy trying to stroke her. She snapped at the boy with her sharp black beak. Ron yelped loudly.
"Sorry, she doesn't like others." Harry had to stick a hand over his mouth to stop smiling.
"I'll say." Ron was sucking his finger to stop the blood. He glanced closer at the bird, and caught sight of her collar. "Er, what's her name?"
Rats. "Lily." Harry blurted out the first name that came to mind. Ron narrowed his eyes. Even a thick-head like him could hear the pause.
"When'd you get her?"
"Last year."
Ron inspected the owl with squinted eyes. "Y'know, she has the same color eyes as Harry Potter's owl." More squinting. "That tuft of black feathers, same place and shape as that owl." Even more squinting. "I remember her having that same wing feather being longer than the others." Now his eyes had become slits in his face. "Why does her collar say 'Hedwig'?" He straightened up and looked at Harry triumphantly.
Harry's heart hammered. "That's her nickname."
"Oh." Ron visibly deflated. "Then why does it say 'return to Harry Potter' on it?"
Now everyone was staring at Harry. Except Hermione, who was looking away uneasily. He grimaced.
"Ummmmmm…"
"He's Harry Potter!" Gasps rung out through the Great Hall. Dumbledore stood up to try and calm them down.
"Oh, I'm sure that isn't it." Kindly-grandfather mode was running at full power now. Harry stared daggers at him.
"Oh don't you put on that grandfather mood, you old goat." He snapped. Angry stares were directed at Harry. A cacophony of shouts were yelled at the black-haired boy, who'd replaced his indignant frown with a smug grin, his feet propped up on the table. Harry Potter was back.
At the Slytherin table, there were no such screams of rage. Instead, everyone was shell-shocked into silence.
"He's Harry Potter?"
Hazel and Hope were smiling quite widely.
"Didn't Harry Potter use dark magic in Azkaban?"
"Yes."
"So he's not a true Gryffindor?"
"Yes."
"How'd he get access to magic there?"
"We helped him." Hazel spoke up. Everyone stared at her.
"You?" Draco Malfoy sneered.
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because we're his sisters." Now that brought even more silence. Finally, good old Marcus Flint, the goldfish bore, broke the quiet.
"Whaaatt?"
And so another round of explaining kicked off. By the end of it, all the Snakes were mad at Dumbledore. Incredibly mad. With all of them on their side, plus the parents, the Potter trio had a good following. Hazel discreetly signaled to Harry, who nodded.
"Well, now we'll be going." Harry drawled from within his protective bubble, which, if it had not been there, Harry would have been dead. Six times over.
Then, they disappeared, leaving behind a crowd of angry Gryffindors, bemused Ravenclaws, annoyed Hufflepuffs, and grinning Slytherins.