Author's Note: Another chapter, this one is a peak into Harper's past. There will be other flashback chapters scattered throughout the story.
Chapter 5
4 years earlier
"Harp come water the plants please." I sighed and sat up from my spot on the couch. I put down my latest book about a girl and a compass. I pushed my unruly hair back behind my ears and went to find the green watering can.
"Mom do you think we can go to the library today or tomorrow?" I called to Emma who was in the other room on the computer.
"Sure sweetie just let me finish this email and we can go." I carefully filled the watering can and then went around to the many green plants in the apartment. I hummed "send me on my way" as I poured water into the dark soil. I loved the smell of the little lavender plant that was especially mine to take care of.
I could not believe that it had been a year since I had been saved from my relatives. We had been living in this apartment in New York for that long. We went on many road trips which Emma had to do for her job. I was home schooled and was grateful for the flexible way my life was now. I had clothes that fit, three good meals a day, and most of all love.
"Day dreaming again Harp?" Mom asked behind me. I turned smiling and saw her leaning against the island.
"Its just all so new, but not. I don't know what I would've done without you mom." I set down the watering can and gave her a hug which she returned. I was always so grateful for her automatic giving of affection. She always gave me hugs and always responded to my need for affection. After the whirlwind court trial, and then getting ready to move, coming here I had clammed up, I had a hard time thinking this was real, and it took months of living with Emma, and therapy to realize this was real. There were still bad days, but the good ones massively outweighed them.
"Now how about that trip to the library? Make sure you have all your books." I sped away and gathered the other four books that I had finished. I pulled my many bookmarks out of the pages and made sure they were in good condition.
I loved to read, I had learned to read a little at school but because my aunt and uncle told the teachers that I was too stupid to learn. Now though I ate up books like a starving person. I read so much that even nonfiction books, text books, and other usually bland books were likewise eaten up. I had jumped ahead two grades since I had asked to have school all year round.
"Come on kid, afterward we can go get dinner at that chines place you like." I hurriedly put the books into a tote bag. I found my shoes under my bed and jammed them on. I trotted out to the living room my bag slung over a shoulder.
"You need to do something with that mop kid." She laughed and ruffled my long hair.
"Braid it for me?" I went and got a ponytail holder and hairbrush. Then I went to a kitsch chair and plopped into it. Mom laughed and took the brush I handed her.
"French, herringbone, or dutch?" She asked running the brush through my raven mess and ordering it.
"Dutch." Her quick fingers parted and started the braid. It took only a few minutes but it was another thing that made this home. A tug on the end told me she was done. I reached out my hand and the hairbrush was placed in it. I skipped back to my bedroom and placed the brush on my dresser.
Though I didn't like being a slave to my aunt I did like the cleanliness she beat into me, the order and organization. Without the constant nagging and abusive words from her I enjoyed chores. I loved when I could help out in the kitchen with Emma who was so patient as she taught me how to cook. I could now make tacos, French toast, roast, and hot coco with cinnamon which we both loved.
"Can I help you?" I heard mom's voice as I walked out making for my bag of books.
"Yes are you Ms. Swan?" A British male voice asked mom who was standing in the doorway. I walked up to her and slightly behind her.
"Yes." Four people stood there, two were men, two women. One man looked very old with long white hair and beard, the other man had curly red brown hair and a shine in his blue eyes. One woman had dark brown hair scraped back into a bun with square spectacles. The other woman had faded short curling blonde hair.
"May we come in?" The old man asked his eyes twinkled and I felt a little apprehension.
"Why, if your selling something we aren't interested. We have errands to run and don't have time for solicitors." I mentally cheered my badass mom. The blonde woman hid a smile behind a glove and her eyes met mine.
"Please miss Swan we aren't here to sell you a thing, we are here about Harper." One of mom's arms went around my shoulders the other poised to slam the door.
"If her relatives want her back they can talk to my lawyers." The woman smiled and shook her head.
"No miss Swan we are here about her heritage and her parents." I froze.
"Come in then." Mom opened the door and led the way into the living room where two couches faced each other with a love seat facing the television. The sun was still high in the sky and so the wide plant lined windows gave enough sunshine to see with. Once everyone was seated, three on one couch and the old man in the love seat. Mom was stiff with an arm still around me.
"Please explain." Mom said voice hard. Looks passed amongst the group and then the old man spoke up.
"We need to discuss your magical schooling." I laughed, there was nothing else to do but laugh at those words.
"Are you joking?" I asked trying to suppress my giggles.
"No my girl, we are completely serious." The old man said leaning forward.
"Then you must have gone round the bend, or off the deep end, there is no such thing as magic and I'm not a sorceress." I said folding my arms.
"Witch actually." The curly haired man said.
"Whatever you call it. Plus my aunt said my parents died in a car crash, and if they were magic they wouldn't have died." The woman with dark brown hair shot up at that and turned to the old man.
"I told you, horrible muggles, you see what happened, she doesn't even know about her own kind. You made a mistake leaving her that night." The woman's Scottish accent thickened as she went on. Mom stiffened at that. I had told her of the times my aunt said that they should have just left me out on their doorstep to freeze and die. It had been the middle of fall. Being in the cold it would have been easy to get hypothermia as a one year old, and this man was responsible.
"You, did, that, to, her, you left her with those people." Mom spat the word at the man anger evident in her hard eyes and voice.
"I thought it would be best for young Harper. She needed to be with her family, they can protect her, I would have preferred if she would have stayed with them even with the regrettable things that were done, I'm sure if they had the chance they would apologize." This time I narrowed my eyes still angry.
"My family, my family beat me black and blue, broke my bones, starved me, shunned me, and made me regret living when my parents were dead." I was shouting by the end of it as a couple of tears trickled down my face. Mom wrapped both arms around me and was glaring daggers at the visitors. An awkward silence fell and they avoided my gaze.
"Let us get back to the matter at hand." The man whose eyes still gleamed said, but it looked forced.
"Lets not, not until you explain who you are, and why you thought it was a good idea to leave a poor defenseless baby out in the cold and with people who you had been warned about." Emma cut in voice low and intense.
"You wouldn't understand miss Swan, your a muggle, you are not apart of the magical community." The Scottish woman said. Again with the magic, these people must have escaped from the loony bin.
"More talk of magic will have you all thrown out." Mom promised.
"I left Harper there because it was for the greater good. it was the best place for her." I barked a laugh and glared at the old man.
"Please excuse me we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Rolland Scamander, this is my aunt Queenie, professor McGonagell, and headmaster Dumbledore." Tension bled away a little and I appreciated the bit of courtesy.
"Now to clarify, we are here because miss Potter's name has been down in the book of students at headmaster Dumbledore's school, Hogwarts, since her birth. With your move to the United States means things have changed. Miss Potter your parents were apart of a world where magic did exist." With that he pulled out a stick and waved it. The coffee tale between us rose in the air then turned into a puppy, then back into a coffee table. Silence fell and I looked wonderingly at Rolland and his stick.
"Okay, I believe you, so my parents were magical?" I asked quietly.
"Yes your mother was the brightest witch of her age, I taught her and very proud of her I was." The professor smiled kindly at me and I liked her immediately.
"Yes they were a witch and wizard. During their time a dark wizard named Voldemort gathered followers and they started waging war against their fellow magicals because they believed that families who had been magical for many generations were better then those who were from none magical families or had magical families. Pure bloods, muggle borns, and half bloods, they were called. Your parents were part of the resistance and because of that were killed by the dark lord himself, expect for you. You somehow did something, had some kind of protection and he couldn't get past it, so he was weakened and vanished. Thats what happened that Halloween night." Rolland finished his story and if I hadn't seen the table turn into a puppy I wouldn't have believed him..
"So that makes me a witch? Where is this school?" I asked still overwhelmed.
"Yes you are, and the school is in Scotland." I frowned, this would not do.
"I'm not going to school in Scotland, I'm not leaving my mom, and most of her work is in the states." I said firmly.
"My dear girl you must, it's the best school for witches and wizards. We are looking out for your best interest and you are already put down as an attendee." Dumbledore said pompously
"No I don't, mom?" I looked at Emma who still looked shocked and she gave her head a tiny shake.
"She won't go to a school ran by the man who dumped her on a doorstep." She said firmly, I smiled and wanted to stick my tongue out.
"There are other options." Queenie said with a smile.
"Ilvermorny is a wonderful school in America. There is also Salem Exchange which is a new school, its more like a school from home academy although some students do go to school regularly. You learn long distance and you go once a year for a week to meet with professors and other students. There are camps in the summer, and different events year long. I went to Ilvermorny and it is a lovely school, though it does not let you homeschool." Her soft voice was nice and I smiled at her.
"I like the idea of a long distance school, when do I start?" I was excited to learn anything and everything about this new world.
"They usually start at eleven and in the fall." Queenie said leaning forward. It was June and I was wishing for September already.
"But, but, you must defeat the dark lord when he rises again." Dumbledore stuttered his face going red.
"If your such a great wizard defeat him yourself." Mom shot back at him. That stopped the spluttering and stuttering.
"I will have the headmistress contact you soon. She is a cousin of mine and if you wish I will explain the situation."
"Thank you, Queenie, right?" Emma asked smiling at the older woman.
"Yes, I live in New York so if you need any help let me know via owl and I will help or find someone to help." There was more discussion about schools and Dumbledore muttered about his school and my Destiney. They gave more advice that I listened to but was mostly for mom.
"We should also arrange for you to visit Diagon Alley and Greengotts. We have several places like it in America but that is where your family's money is. But that is for another time, for now if you need to talk here is my card, it has a muggle phone line which is unusual for most magicals ." Rolland handed me a card and I gave it to mother.
"I will send my owl your way with a letter as well. It was wonderful to meet you Harper. Now I think we should depart and get out of your hair." She said this with a smile. They all got up and we showed them to the door. Mom still looked a little stunned. I worried that this change would make her want to give me up, that now she knew I was really a freak she wouldn't want me.
"Well, that was interesting." She leaned on the door and sighed.
"I'm sorry mom." I felt more tears drip down my cheeks. Emma came to me eyes worried.
"There's nothing to be sorry about." She hugged me to her and we moved to the couch.
"You d-d-d-don't w-w-want m-m-me anymore I'm-m-m a f-f-f-freak." I sobbed, stupid stutter made it worse.
"No you are not a freak, and of course I still want you silly. My life would be very boring without you." She hugged me tighter and kept telling me varied versions of your not a freak. She kept reassuring me that I was wanted. Soon I stopped crying and looked up at my mom.
"I'm just glad you didn't want to leave me." She said as I looked up at her. I sniffed and wiped my teary eyes on my sleeve.
"Never, your my mom, your the best thing that has ever happened to me." I hugged back and rested my head on her shoulder feeling safe.
"I wonder if this means you can pull a rabbit out of a hat now." I laughed and we sat on the couch discussing the day and the new aspects of my life.
Author's Note: Please if you enjoy review, thank you!