MERCY
Act I
TEN | Hogwarts Bound
"Together?"
"Together."
THEIR LAST MONTH WITH THE Dursleys seemed to drag by slowly. The twins had little to no interaction with the Dursleys. They were so frightened of them now that they knew what they were that they did all they could to ignore them. Even if they were sitting right beside them, their chair would be treated as empty. So they were back to finding solace in their own company.
Together they mostly stayed up in their room with their owl - Hedwig, they had decided to call her - to help keep them entertained. Tabitha had read all of her texts cover to cover within the first two weeks. Though she enjoyed reading a great deal, she typically didn't get through her material so quickly, but she found herself completely fascinated by it all. Especially the book on magical creatures.
Harry also cracked open his tests while they waited for the day they would finally be free of their prison until the next holiday. It wasn't too often she saw her brother with his nose in a book unless he was begrudgingly doing his school work. She supposed he was just as anxious as she to finally attend Hogwarts and get into their parents' world.
Then finally the first day of September arrived. Tabitha had been unable to get much sleep that night. Her thoughts raced through her head at a dizzying speed that denied her the privilege of rest. From the excitement to the anxiety, she ended up rereading through her texts by torch light to quiet her mind.
Harry woke far earlier than usual. It was around five or six o'clock, but he couldn't make himself fall back asleep, especially since Tabitha was still awake from the previous night. She just continued to read on magical creatures while the only way he could occupy himself was to pace the room anxiously.
Tabitha used her finger to mark her spot and glanced up at him. "You're going to wear a path in the flooring if you keep it up, you know."
"I can't help it," said Harry. "I just want to get out of here already."
He sighed and plopped down on the end of his bed. Hedwig chirped at the sudden squeaking of mattress springs and ruffled her feathers. She gave him an almost scathing look for waking her up before settling back in with a sleepy glare.
Tabitha shut her book gently.
"I know you do. So do I," said Tabitha. "But that's not going to make time go by any faster - and you're disturbing Hedwig."
The snowy owl cooed in acknowledgement. Tabitha crossed over to her cage and held her finger at the space between the bars. Hedwig fluffed out a bit before nipping at her finger affectionately. She smiled.
Another hour passed by just as slowly before they began to hear the Dursleys begin to wake up for their day. They took that time to hurry up and get dressed. Neither of them cared to wear their new robes to King's Cross Station, so they picked out some of their ratty old street clothes. Tabitha's jeans had more holes in them than denim fibers and she had to tie her shirt back just so it didn't completely swamp her tiny figure. Harry's was in practically the same state.
Finally another couple hours had passed, and Harry and Tabitha Potter found themselves standing at the entrance to King's Cross Station. Uncle Vernon dumped their belongings onto a trolley and pushed it into the station for them. Tabitha regarded their uncle skeptically as they followed along behind him. Never had he done something so nice for them; it made her question his motives.
Then he stopped at the platforms and turned to the twins with a nasty grin on his face.
"Well, there you are, Potters. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"
To the naked eye, he wasn't wrong. There was a platform nine and a platform ten, but no platform nine and three-quarters as was listed on their ticket. Harry seemed a bit crestfallen, but Tabitha knew there had to be a secret about it. She thought back to Diagon Alley, how Hagrid had had to tap those bricks in order for the area to be revealed. Surely the same concept applied there.
Uncle Vernon gave them an even nastier grin with a malicious glint to his eye. "Have a good term."
"Have fun getting that tail removed from ickle Duddykins," said Tabitha, "though I think it rather suits him. Perhaps you should consider letting him grow into it a bit more."
She challenged him silently to say something in return. They were in a public place, and now they didn't have to worry about being punished when they got home. Her anger continued to boil just underneath the surface. Releasing some of it felt good. Though there was so much more she wished to say that she knew she probably shouldn't in such a setting.
The twins watched as their uncle's face turned red before he turned and left briskly. Causing a scene was the last thing the Dursley patriarch would wish to do. Tabitha let her lips curl up into a small smirk at the triumphant feeling that flowed through her.
"Now what are we gonna do?" Harry looked around at the other platforms.
According to the large clock over the arrivals board, they had ten minutes until their train left the station. The arrivals board, however, said nothing about an eleven o'clock departure. That little detail confirmed for Tabitha that this would be just like the entrance to Diagon Alley. All they had to do was figure out how to access the platform.
As they tried to solve the puzzle of platform nine and three-quarters, a large group of redheads approached from the other side. The plumper woman commented about the station being "packed with Muggles, of course," and the twins knew that she was who they should follow for advice or instruction on how to find the platform.
There were four boys with her, each with their own trolley and trunks like the one Harry and Tabitha shared, as well as a smaller girl who was holding the woman's hand. The woman repeated the platform number a couple of times.
"Mom, can't I go?" The small girl tugged on her mother's hand.
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you first."
What looked to be the oldest boy in the group marched towards the platform barrier. He picked up a bit of speed the closer he got to nine, and then suddenly he was gone from sight. Vanished.
Harry and Tabitha's eyes widened. How had he just disappeared like that? They hadn't taken their eyes off of him once, focused on learning how to get to the proper platform.
"Fred, you next."
"He's not Fred, I am." For the first time, Tabitha noticed that two of the boys were identical.
"Honestly, woman," the other boy said, "and you call yourself our mother."
"Sorry, George, dear."
The second boy, George, centered himself with the platform. He grinned at his mother.
"Only joking, I am Fred," he said, and off he went, disappearing before he reached the platform just as the other boy did. His twin followed right behind him, narrowly avoiding a swat from his mother.
Despite all that they had seen so far, neither Harry nor Tabitha had ever witnessed anything like this. Watching someone go from being in front of them to suddenly being nowhere was a bit jarring. Tabitha was more intrigued than anything.
She approached the woman. "Excuse me?"
Harry pushed the trolley behind her. Hedwig chirped loudly as though to be heard over the bustle of all of the other people, who were beginning to give the lot some strange looks here and there. Most of them probably had never seen a pet owl, let alone such a large group of people just standing around a platform with no clear indication of what they were looking for or doing there.
The woman turned to the Potter twins with a kind smile. "Hello, dears. First time at Hogwarts? It's Ron's first year too."
Ron resembled the other boys almost exactly with some small differences. He was a bit tall and gangly for an eleven year old, but considering his brothers shared the same stature, it looked to run in the family. He gave the twins a small grimace that they supposed was meant to be a sort of smile.
"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is - the thing is, we don't know quite how to -"
"How to get to the platform?" Her voice was gentle and motherly, and Tabitha found herself drawn to the warmth exuding from her. "Not to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at this barrier. Best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, then, before Ron."
So it was as simple as it looked. As she looked up at the barrier, seeing how it now seemed to loom above her almost menacingly, Tabitha felt her palms starting to accumulate sweat as her stomach churned subtly. What if they crashed?
She came to stand at her brother's side and clenched the trolley's bar.
"Together?" she asked.
He nodded. "Together."
"I'll count you off," the woman offered. "One . . . two . . . three!"
The Potter twins took a couple of deep breaths as they steeled themselves. Then on three, they took off towards the barrier at a light jog. It looked very solid. All Tabitha could envision was them smashing directly into it. They picked up speed as they got closer until they were running for it with the trolley leading the way.
Tabitha squeezed her eyes shut just before impact - except the impact never came. When she opened her eyes, what she saw took her breath away, and the churning of her stomach turned into the faint fluttering of butterflies.
A beautiful scarlet steam engine waited off to their left side while the platform itself was packed with people of all ages. The sign above them named the platform as nine and three-quarters with Hogwarts Express stamped below it and the same crest from their letters up in the upper left corner. Behind them was a wrought iron archway instead of the barrier they had come through.
They had done it.
The first couple of compartments had already been picked over. Students of all ages leaned out of the windows to say goodbye to their families as the smoke billowed overhead, the cats weaved between legs, and the owls hooted to each other in disgruntlement. There was a lot of commotion in the crowd that they had to press through, more students catching up with their friends and talking with their parents.
Seeing how many parents were there tugged at Tabitha's heart. She wished for nothing more than for her mom and dad to be there seeing them off for their first year.
Finally they were able to find an empty compartment towards the back of the train. Tabitha lifted Hedwig inside first and made sure she was situated. She rubbed her finger over her beak soothingly to calm her nerves as the owl seemed very stressed out at all of the ruckus going on around them. Their trunks proved to be a much bigger task than they had thought originally. They were too heavy for them to lift properly, and they struggled to get them up into the compartment.
"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins. "Fred, c'mere and help!"
With the other set of twins helping them out, they finally managed to have both of their trunks tucked away in the corner of the compartment. They thanked them through their soft pants of exertion, wiping away the sweat that had dotted up on their hairlines.
Fred extended a hand out to Tabitha. "Here, I'll help you up."
Tabitha accepted the gesture. She grabbed onto his hand, letting him pull her up into the compartment. Almost self conscious of the way her dampened hair hung in her eyes, she brushed it aside with a smile.
"Thank you," she said.
"Fred? George? Are you there?"
"Coming, Mom."
The red-haired twins helped Harry up into the compartment before hopping off the train and heading towards their mother. Tabitha plopped down in the seat by the window as Harry sat opposite her.
She shared a look with her brother. "This feels . . . surreal. It's really happening, isn't it?"
"I hope so," said Harry. He shared her sentiments. The entire situation felt unreal, like it was all just some dream he would wake up from one morning.
A few more moments passed of them just observing the people on the platform, watching as all the students boarded, before the steam engine began to move. Tabitha watched as Ginny ran to try and keep up with the train. Then, when it became too fast for her legs to keep up, she stopped and waved. She and her mother disappeared from view as the train then rounded the corner.
The scenery gave way to a gorgeous countryside with quaint little houses that flashed by the window. Neither of the Potter twins knew where Hogwarts was, but wherever they were going, they knew it had to be leaps and bounds better than what they were leaving.
They both looked up when the compartment door slid open to reveal Ron.
"Everywhere else is full," he said sheepishly. "Do you mind?"
Harry and Tabitha shook their heads. He moved his trunk into the compartment and sat down on the bench next to Harry. A rat suddenly popped its head out from inside his jacket pocket. Tabitha grimaced slightly at the sight of the raggedy rodent. She did not care too much for rats.
Ron held out his hand. "I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley."
Harry was the one to return the handshake. Tabitha remained hesitant because of the rat whose beady eyes seemed to be trained on her.
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
Tabitha decided to offer him a small smile in lieu of a returning handshake. "Tabitha Potter."
Ron's eyes widened. It was almost comical. They still had to get used to people's reactions upon meeting them. All Tabitha could think of was the influx of strangers vying to shake their hands in the Leaky Cauldron. She nearly shuddered at the memory.
"So it's true?" he asked Harry. "I mean, do you really have the . . . ?"
He gestured towards his forehead. Harry nodded and lifted up the fringe of bangs Aunt Petunia had always made sure covered his scar so nobody would see it.
Ron grinned in amazement. "Wicked."
An elderly woman pushed up to our compartment with a trolley full of treats that Tabitha had never even seen before. She eyed the lot curiously. There seemed to be some sorts of pastries, what looked to be licorice, jelly beans, and Lord only knew what else.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?"
"No, thanks." Ron dug in his jacket and pulled out a baggie with what looked to be a smashed corned beef sandwich. "I'm all set."
Both Harry and Tabitha noted how his ears turned pink as though embarrassed. They looked to each other briefly in a moment of silent communication before reaching for their little fortune.
"We'll take the lot." They produced a handful of coins each.
A little bit of everything was handed over to them and scattered across the two benches. Most of it say between the boys while Tabtiha had a small pile beside her. Bertie Botts's Flavored Beans, Jelly Slugs, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, and Licorice Wands. She wasn't quite sure where to begin, given she had no idea what any of it was.
She quickly discovered that she didn't like Jelly Slugs, Cauldron Cakes, or Pumpkin Pasties. The licorice wands she munched on proved to be her favorite out of the lot. Knowing she was going to eat the rest, she gave it to the boys and kept the wands for herself.
"Be careful with those - they really do mean every flavor," warned Ron as Harry opened up a package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Chocolate, peppermint - and you can also get spinach, liver, and tripe. George reckons he got a bogey flavored one once."
Harry brought a bean up to his mouth cautiously, only to immediately spit it back out. Tabitha giggled at his expression of disgust. Seeing that discouraged her from trying any. She didn't want to wager getting a foul flavor. Her stomach was too sensitive for that. The last thing she needed was to get ill.
Curious, she studied a Chocolate Frog lying in their pile. "Please tell me those aren't real frogs."
Ron, his mouth full of Jelly Slug, shook her head. "It's just a spell. Besides, it's the cards you want. I got about five hundred myself."
Harry opened one up. Almost immediately, the frog croaked and leapt out the window.
"Oh, that's rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with."
The twins shared a glance before shrugging their shoulders. Harry flipped over the blue and gold package.
"I've got Dumbledore!" He looked up at Tabitha and Ron excitedly before looking back down. "Hey! He's gone!"
"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron, opening one for himself. "Morgana. I've got six of her. Here - you two can start collecting."
Tabitha smiled and thanked him as he handed over the card. She studied it briefly, watching as Morgana smiled up at her before walking out of the frame. Within a moment she returned, giving Tabitha that same welcoming smile. It was like she knew they were on their way to Hogwarts for the first time.
"You know, our photos don't typically move," she said. "People tend to just stay put."
"Do they? They don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed and a little bit confused at the revelation. "That's so strange!"
The hours seemed to fly by quickly as the trio chatted amongst themselves and got to know each other a bit better. The twins learned all about the Weasley family, and Ron learned more about the Muggle world. Each party was just as fascinated about the other. What the twins thought to be "normal," Ron considered peculiar, and what was normal in this new world, what Ron considered to be normal, utterly fascinated the Potter twins.
Ron's rat shook the empty candy box off of its head with a squeak.
"This is Scabbers," said Ron, looking almost ashamed about the rough-looking rodent. "Pitiful, isn't he?"
Tabitha grimaced. "I'm probably not the one to ask."
"She doesn't like rats," explained Harry, "but yeah, just a little bit."
"Fred taught me a spell to turn him yellow. Want to see?" Harry and Tabitha both nodded, excited to see more magic. Ron took out his wand, which looked just as worse for wear, a bit of something silvery poking out from the tip. "Sun-"
Just as he had started the incantation, the door to their compartment slid open. Standing in the doorway was a girl who looked to be around their age with rather frizzy hair. She had already changed into her robes for school. Tabitha thought she looked rather smart in them and couldn't wait to change into hers.
"Have either of you seen a toad?" she asked. "A boy named Neville has lost his."
They all shook their heads.
"Unless you count the chocolate frog that jumped out the window earlier," said Tabitha.
"We'll have to keep looking." The girl let out a small sigh, seemingly tired of her search, before noticing Ron with his wand at the ready. She perked up a bit. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
The boys shared a look with each other. Ron nodded. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture a bit.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stuipd fat rat yellow!"
He waved his wand and tapped Scabbers with the end. The candy box was catapulted away from the rat, but other than that small burst of energy - or magic, Tabitha supposed - nothing else seemed to happen.
The girl turned her nose up at the failed attempt. "Are you sure that's a real spell? It's not a very good one, is it? I've only tried a few spells for myself, but they've all worked for me. For example . . ."
She entered the compartment and sat down on the bench beside Tabitha. Both of the Potters tensed up as she whipped out her own wand and pointed it directly at Harry.
"Hey, no, what are you doing?" Tabitha doubted the girl had ill intentions towards her brother, but supposing that she was just as inexperienced as they were, she didn't want anything going haywire and hurting him in the process.
She rolled her eyes. "It's okay, trust me. Oculus Reparo."
Tabitha watched as the tape wrapped around the bridge of his glasses disappeared and the cracks in the lenses mended themselves on the spot. They looked brand new, even newer than when Harry had gotten them, considering Uncle Vernon had just pulled the pair from an old Santa Claus figurine one Christmas.
Harry removed his glasses and examined them in awe before sliding them back on.
"That's better, isn't it?" asked the girl before her eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Holy cricket, you're Harry Potter! And you must be Tabitha! I've read so much about you - about both of you. I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?"
Hermione looked at Ron with a faint look of disdain and disgust. He currently had his mouth full of chocolate.
He struggled to swallow it down. "Ron Weasley."
"Pleasure. Well, you three better change into your robes. I've spoken with the conductor and expect we'll be arriving soon." Hermione gave them a small smile before pausing to look at Ron once again. "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know? Just there."
She pointed out the spot before closing the compartment door behind her on her way out. Ron rubbed at his nose, the tips of his ears turning light pink. Tabitha bit back a small smile of her own at his reaction. She wasn't quite sure what to think of Hermione Granger, but she was sure she was rather nice. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to get to know her.
Harry and Ron, on the other hand, seemed to have already made up their minds about her.
"Can you believe that girl?" said Ron. He was still rubbing at the dirt on his nose.
Harry nodded his head in agreement before pointing at Scabbers. "I think his hair might be a bit lighter."
"She's probably right, though," said Tabitha. "About changing into our robes, I mean."
After a few more moments of light discussion, Tabitha grabbed her school robes and left the compartment. Her heart began to palpate subtly and her stomach flipped as she realized she had no idea where the restrooms were on the train. She thought about asking someone but quickly threw that idea out. Thankfully she didn't have to stand around for too long looking peculiar as she soon was able to spot a forming line of other students who seemed to still be in their street clothes. The line would move and then a few students would come back down the line dressed in their robes.
The older students seemed to have certain crests on theirs. Tabitha could make out separate colors, much like the ones on the Hogwarts crest.
Those must be their houses, thought Tabitha as she took her place by the bathrooms. She had read about them in Hogwarts: A History and wondered where she would be sorted. Perhaps she would be in Ravenclaw as she was quite studious, but she wasn't really wise or creative as that house favored. She doubted she would put into Gryffindor as she wasn't brave, or Slytherin since she wouldn't necessarily call herself ambitious. That left Hufflepuff, which definitely seemed like the softer of the four houses.
Tabitha was kind of hoping for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, if she were being honest with herself. But she knew that the Sorting Hat would be the one to make the final decision.
Reviews
LairaCapulet
Thank you for your review. I look forward to further feedback from you in the future, but for now, let's address what you have already given.
First off, thank you for the compliments you have given me on my writing. I really appreciate them.
Second, as for the phoenix tears, I do understand that phoenix tears are not a canon source of wand cores. However, they are important to the story in the long run.
Now as for the Mary Sue thing, thank you for pointing that out. It takes me so long to write a single chapter anymore that I will often forget what I have already said or mentioned. So please forgive me on that - and I do promise that Tabitha will not be a Mary Sue. She is definitely going to be different than most of the other Harry Potter twins that are written and will not be a carbon copy of Hermione or just Harry with boobs. This will become more prominent in the story as they get into Hogwarts, so I do hope you will stick around for that.
Author's Note
Thank you so much, everyone, for giving this story a chance. You do not know how much I appreciate it. I know that things are pretty typical right now and almost a carbon copy of the books and movies, but I promise Tabitha will start to diverge onto her own path once they get into Hogwarts. This story will end up being a mix of both the books and the movies since I do love them both and think that both brought something wonderful to the universe. If you have an issue with that, I'm sorry, but that's how I want Tabitha's story to be.
If you have any questions regarding potential future events, please leave them in a review and I will try my best to answer them without giving too much away. Any further comments can also be left in the reviews.