I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
The Family that Chooses You
Chapter 128 – New Beginnings
After the very disorienting International Portkey, going through Customs, and making the trip to the Academy, Katie no longer felt somber. She was tired and nervous, but now she was excited. She was in a brand-new city, a brand-new place, about to learn brand-new things. It was hard not to be excited. The sadness from leaving her home, her family, and Harry did not fade entirely, it was still a tiny ache deep inside her heart. Yet she felt confident it would not feel as long as it would be, being away from them, and that she would return with all the new skills to show for it.
She was glad she had started taking French lessons when she decided she wanted to go to the Academy. Alicia and Hermione had helped her a lot and eventually Daphne did too. She could get by and so far only one person had commented on her accent. She knew she'd get better while being in France. Luckily all the courses were taught in English but it was still good to know the local language.
Her class was made of twenty students from all around the world. She had gone straight to the Orientation and sat slightly apart, a little shy still. The presenter went over the basic course structures, the clinics, the rotations, and other pertinent information. Finally they were dismissed and she made her way to him.
"Excuse me," she said politely. "I was wondering how to find the campus housing?"
The presenter looked confused. "Campus housing? The Academy does not provide housing."
Her stomach dropped. "It doesn't? But my letter said my housing was taken care of."
He frowned. "That can't be. May I see your letter?"
"Wait! Wait!" The door flew open and someone ran in, panting. "Sorry! I am late!" Aimee wiped her brow with a handkerchief. "I was caught up in meetings!"
"Aimee!" Katie said happily, glad to see a familiar and friendly face.
"Bonjour Katie!" She looked at the presenter. "I will take her from here. I have information of her housing."
"Ah thank goodness," he said. "I would have felt very bad for any miscommunication." He nodded politely before leaving.
"Yeah, thank goodness you're here," Katie said with immense relief, hugging her. "I got really scared for a moment."
"My apologies, it was a surprise and I wanted to greet you before Orientation but was held up."
"That's okay. But, I'm confused. He said there's no campus housing?"
"No, there is not. You're living with me and Fleur."
Katie felt even more relief. "Really?"
"Really! We share an apartment here in Paris and you'll live with us."
"But, I thought there was a scholarship or something to pay for it. I mean, I can pay you guys something for staying with you-"
Aimee waved her hand, wiping her offer away. "Absolutely not. We afford it just fine and we want you to stay with us. You can pay us with your company and friendship and that is it. Come!" She linked her arm through Katie's and led her to the Campus Floo Hub. She then carefully taught Katie how to pronounce the destination name and watched her go through.
Katie stepped out of the fire into a small but very comfortable looking living room. She gasped when she looked around, seeing that large windows dominated one side and she saw the Paris skyline, including the Eiffel Tower. The large windows made the room feel bigger than it was and filled it with light.
Aimee stepped out behind her and smiled. "Welcome to your new home! Now I do apologize, your room is a bit of a closet, but it is a very comfortable one." She led the girl to a small room off to one side. It was long and narrow, a bed filling a third of the space and a desk and nightstand filling the back. A small window was on the back wall and an inner door showed a small closet.
"I think it looks really nice," Katie said sincerely. "Nice and cozy."
"Good! You may study in here for extra quiet or use the living room of course." She watched as Katie unshrunk her luggage, finding that everything fit just right, before showing her the rest of the apartment.
"What are you and Fleur doing now? Oh and Colette?" Katie asked as they sat on the couches in the living room.
"I work for the Academy. I still play Quidditch for the local league and act as the liaison between the school and the league. I consult for the Quidditch part of the Academy program. Fleur is doing a mastery in Charms and also attends the Academie de Magique as part of it. Colette works for the Ministry, in the Internal Co-operation department. She lives at home technically but frequently stays with us, especially weekends. Do not be alarmed if you wake up and she's lying in bed with you, that's the room she normally crashes in when she's drunk."
"I'm sorry to be taking it," Katie laughed.
"Don't be, she can sleep on the couch or with me or Fleur. She is one of those that can sleep on anything."
The Floo flared and Fleur came through it. "Katie!" she exclaimed happily. "You have arrived!" She hugged Katie fondly. "Welcome!"
"Good to see you! Thank you so much for letting me stay with you," Katie said.
"It is our pleasure. When Aimee told me you were accepted, we decided you would be more comfortable staying with friends. I hope that is the case?"
"It makes me feel a lot better knowing I have friends here; I was a little worried." Katie turned thoughtful. "Oh, did Harry know?"
"He did, we mentioned it. We asked him not to tell you because we wanted to surprise you," Fleur said.
Katie smiled. "He didn't tell me until this morning and even then, all he said was these were for my hosts." She unshrunk the small boxes he gave her and handed two over.
The two French girls crowed with delight as they opened them. "He is such a sweetheart," Aimee praised looking at the baked treats.
Katie felt misty eyed as she looked at her own. "Yeah he is."
Fleur patted Katie's shoulder. "Do not worry. Time will pass swiftly and now he will have even more reason to come visit. Besides, Hedwig comes every few weeks or so. She has her own roost and dish."
Katie smiled. "Of course, she does."
Aimee giggled. "Let me tell you the time Hedwig kicked Colette out of the guest room…"
-0-
Harry slid his trunk into the rack in the Prefect's Compartment. The Head Boy and Girl were the only ones allowed to put their things there and one had to be there at all times throughout the trip unless there was an emergency. He slid Hermione's trunk alongside his and undid the latches on Hedwig's cage and Crookshanks' basket. The two pets escaped their prisons, hooting and meowing with thanks respectively.
Hermione was arranging all the materials on the large desk, stacking files neatly, straightening the quills, color coding the information. She already had the list of prefects placed in the middle for easy reference.
Harry reached out and gently nudged a quill so it was not aligned along the grain of the desk like the others.
Hermione kept moving things until she noticed. She frowned and moved it back before going back to what she was doing.
Harry moved it again.
After a moment Hermione noticed again and she frowned more at it, before frowning up at Harry.
He shrugged. "It's probably the train."
Hermione nodded then scowled. "We're not moving yet."
"Oh weird," Harry said before grinning as she smacked him.
"Stop sabotaging me," she sniped as she fixed the errant quill.
"I'm not sabotaging you. I'm trying to get you to relax. You know, one of the reasons I became a Prefect in the first place."
"A good first impression is imperative."
He smiled. "Hermione, we know all of the seventh year prefects and are pretty friendly with them. The fifth year ones will look up to us because they are brand new and we know some of the sixth year ones. Not to mention everyone knows who you are and how you operate. It'll be fine."
She glared at him.
He picked up Crookshanks and deposited the cat on her lap.
She rolled her eyes but started petting her purring pet. "Fine, I'll relax a little."
The door to the compartment opened and Daphne appeared. She smiled brightly and walked over standing slightly behind Harry's right side. More prefects began to enter the compartment, waving at the Heads and finding seats.
"What are you doing?" Hermione asked Daphne.
"Ingratiating myself as Harry's right-hand Prefect," Daphne said without a hint of shame. "So when everyone sees me standing here they think I act tacitly with his authority, thus enhancing mine."
Harry snorted softly while Hermione glowered at her. "That's not how it works," she growled.
"It is what people will think however," Daphne said confidently.
"Why aren't you standing beside me then?"
"Because I'm Harry's private Prefect."
"Please never tell anyone that you're my 'private Prefect'," Harry said wearily. "That has all sorts of terrible connotations."
Daphne giggled. "So you accept my position as your right hand? Excellent. That was easier than I thought." She smiled with false demureness at an angry Hermione. "You'll have to find your own right hand I'm afraid."
By then the majority of the prefects arrived. The train began moving and after leaving the station, the last of the stragglers arrived. The seventh years were at the front of the crowd and Harry smiled at a grinning Neville and Lavender Brown, the ones he and Hermione picked to replace them. Neville had been beyond happy and Lavender was all smiles. Thankfully Ron wanted nothing to do with being prefect, especially when he learned he was going to be Harry's second on the Quidditch team and he'd be responsible for a lot with all the extra duties Harry had. He also confided in Harry that being Prefect would have severely cut into his time with Hannah, something Harry understood.
Blaise had nodded companionably and not even questioned why Daphne stood to Harry's side. Susan waved merrily. She and Harry had developed a deeper friendship with Amelia and Sirius becoming a couple. Terry, Padma, and Ernie smiled and made their greetings. The sixth years and fifth years all wore different levels of excitement and nervousness. Harry was happy to see Crowley, the Slytherin Seeker, who waved at him as well. Demelza and Colin were happy to see them and Harry did not know the fifth year Gryffindor prefects well but he would in time.
"Okay, hello everyone," Hermione said as she deposited Crookshanks on the floor. Her voice quavered slightly but as she spoke, it strengthened. "As you can see, I'm Head Girl this year. Hermione Granger, nice to meet the new Prefects and good to see the established ones again. Harry Potter is our Head Boy. Neville Longbottom and Lavender Brown are the two Gryffindor Prefects for the seventh years." After the introductions she launched into the duties of the year, handing out color-coded packets to everyone. The prefects looked at the information, impressed with the detail and organization.
At one point during the presentation, Hedwig had flown up to Harry and plumped down on his head. He was used to it and barely registered it though eventually people were shooting looks at him. Some whispered and giggled, but mostly paid attention to Hermione. "Harry, say something," she said at the end of her presentation.
He coughed and straightened, his face feeling warm as he had the attention of everyone in the car. "Ahem, right. Well, I don't think there will be any questions for Hermione. She's gone over everything in such great detail and covered pretty much every eventuality." The prefects laughed and Hermione flushed from embarrassment and pleasure.
"I know being Prefect can seem pretty thankless. It's more work and a lot of people seem pretty annoyed when we're around." That got another chuckle. Harry thought back to when he was a first year. "But being Prefect is important. A good Prefect can really change the way a student feels about the school. I was really lucky to have a good one in my House. He was very particular about the rules, always concerned about propriety, but he was a good person and he made me feel welcome. He made sure I knew I could rely on him."
Harry looked at them. "Try to be that for someone, especially the first and second years. Be the person they look up to. Be the person that they know they can get help from. Even the smallest of gestures can make the biggest impacts." The fifth years sat up straighter at that and the older ones nodded in agreement, murmuring softly.
Hermione looked at him proudly. "Let's go off on our duties then! We're going to have a good year."
The prefects filed out, chatting to one another. The seventh year ones remained in the car and they gathered around the Heads' desk.
"That was a good thing to say," Daphne said to Harry.
"Was it Percy you were thinking of?" Neville asked. "He was always proper, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, a real rules stickler but then again, the twins were his brothers so I guess someone had to be," Harry laughed.
"Still, it's good that you mentioned that." Terry shook his head. "I still don't feel right with what happened with Luna. Our Prefects really should have taken better care of that."
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," Harry said firmly.
Terry and Padma nodded. "Does your owl usually do that?" Padma asked, curious.
"She mostly did it fifth year to help me on O.W.L.s but seems she got used to it," Harry said and reached up to scratch Hedwig's back. She cheeped pleasantly and nibbled on his fingers.
"Maybe she can be an unofficial Prefect," Daphne said. "We can make her a little badge."
"Don't give her any ideas," Harry said as they laughed. "If she ever figures out how to take points for not receiving bacon, the hourglasses will all be empty."
-0-
Getting off the Hogwarts Express was much more complicated as a prefect and a Head. As a student, it was fairly simple. The first years gathered when called for by Hagrid to be taken to the docks and the boats to go across the Lake. Everyone else went the other direction to the horseless carriages to ride up to the castle from Hogsmeade Station.
Prefects had to help move people in the right directions, help people find missing things last minute, make sure they were wearing their school robes, make sure the train was empty and that the trunks were being removed by the House Elves, and then finding carriages as well. The Heads had to oversee all that.
Hermione was in her element. She had things organized so well, the prefects could tell where to be and what to do and send the students on the right way. She stood at the front of the platform, directing the prefects and students like a conductor. Her voice cut through the noise with little difficulty.
Harry moved among the students. He helped out when he saw the need to, directed when people had questions, and generally did what needed doing. Hedwig spent the entire time on his head, utterly unbothered and disinterested in the chaos. Soon people found Harry by the simple fact of finding the student with the beautiful white owl sitting on his head. He stayed until the end, making sure everyone had gotten on the carriages before him and he sat gratefully in the last one waiting for him.
"Hello Mister Potter," McGonagall said as he stepped off the carriage at the school's gates. "Thank you for doing the final check. Did everything go well?"
"Yes Professor. Train was empty and the trunks were being collected and transported. No injuries to report, no major altercations. Pretty smooth."
"Splendid. The First Years are on the way over and the Prefects are making sure the rest of the years are congregating in the great hall. You and Miss Granger have a moment to check your living arrangements."
A few moments later, Hermione and Harry found themselves standing in front of a large portrait of a pride of lions. They turned and looked at them lazily, tails swishing. "Duty," Hermione said confidently. The main lioness nodded and the portrait swung open, allowing them inside.
Hermione jumped with joy as she looked around the large sitting room. "Oh it's wonderful! Look at the big desks! And the bookcases!" One wall of the room was lined with large bookcases. Half of them were full and she immediately looked at the titles. "So many reference books and texts," she said lovingly. She turned to a grinning Harry. "What modification did you ask for?"
Harry pointed to the small kitchen. "Now I won't have to go all the way down to the kitchens when I want to bake and I'll be able to cook other things too. I'll still eat in the great hall a good chunk of the time but it'll be nice to make something I've been craving or make something at odd times." He snorted at the way she batted her eyes at him. "Of course, I'll make food for you too."
"This will be like heaven to me," she said dreamily.
"I also got a personal roost for Hedwig." The mentioned owl flew to her perch and sat down on it smugly. "With our window here, she can fly in and out whenever she wants and it'll work out better for letters and deliveries."
He checked out his bedroom, smiling when he saw that the bed was the four-poster bed he had slept in the last six years. It was small but very comfortable and the bathroom was perfect for him. He took a few minutes to set things up and put his two stuffed rabbits on the bed with the quilt, and put the small silver rabbit, the candle, the light orb, and the sibling stone on his night stand. He touched the small rabbit and the stone fondly, injecting warmth and thought into them. Then with the small stylus on the candle, he wrote a few words, smiling as they glowed. He set the picture orb up too, smiling fondly at the beaten-up Tonks and Harry waving merrily.
He returned to the sitting room and smiled when Hermione bounded to him, hugging him tightly. "This is going to be so nice," she said happily.
"Yeah it will," he agreed. "Professor McGonagall said we could have guests before curfew but she also said she trusted us to escort people if need be, but to not abuse the privilege."
"We share basically the same friend-group so I don't think there will be any problems. Though I reserve the right to kick people out if I need to study."
He smiled. "Of course."
-0-
"If I knew it could be like this, I would have tried harder to be Head Girl," Daphne said with a frown as she looked around their dorm the next evening.
"Yeah it's really nice. And really private," Tracy sighed. "Lost opportunity."
"So this will be our new hangout place right?" Ron asked as he sat on the couch.
"Absolutely not," Hermione said. "And put your feet down."
Ginny snickered at Ron's face. "You can't get away with that at home, what made you think you could here?"
"Didn't think Mum was here," Ron muttered.
"You have a kitchen?!" Lyla poked her head from around the corner.
"Yeah, Head students can ask for a modification and if it's possible, they do it. I asked for a perch for Hedwig and a small kitchen," Harry replied.
"You get privacy AND Harry's cooking with easy access?" Daphne looked thunderous. "I am going to petition the Headmaster for a change. Our scores cannot be that different."
"Just admit I beat you," Hermione said smugly.
"What did you ask for Hermione?" Ginny asked.
"Probably all these," Luna said as she perused the bookshelves. "This is more in-depth than the bookcases in Ravenclaw tower."
"You have bookcases in your tower?" Hermione looked disgusted. "That's not fair."
Luna shrugged. "Well you have yours now and you won't have to share with more than Harry. I like his section here." She pointed at the cookbooks.
"Keep looking," he said softly to her.
She suppressed a squeal as she did. Every drawing she ever did for him was stuck to cardboard or cardstock and put up on his side of the bookshelves: the tapestry recreation, the meadow, the sunflower, of him wreathed in flowers. Even the little doodles she did on their notes were there. She clung to him, making soft happy noises as she looked at her drawings placed with care. The tiny broom she made him hung from the braided bristles from being stuck to the shelf above it. "I like your section the most," she whispered to him.
"Me too," he whispered back.
Lyla wandered over and leaned on his free side. "This place is super nice," she said.
"Maybe something to try for?" Harry suggested.
She snorted. "Not that nice." She sighed, turning sad. "I wish you were still in the tower."
He hugged her with his free arm. "I'm only down the hall. Anytime you want me, you come find me." He smiled down at her. "You want to send Katie a message on the candle?" He laughed at her eager nod. "It's in my room, go on. Don't write anything rude."
"I will but I'll make sure she knows it's from me," Lyla said as she ran to his room.
"May I send Katie a message later?" Luna asked.
"Sure, I think she'd like that."
"I want her to know we're thinking of her," Luna said.
"I know she'll like that," Harry said happily.
-0-0-0-
alix33 - My favorite part is probably Luna doing a reverse look on Harry. And for this chapter, the prank on Hermione was my fave.
Disgustingly darling then.
CenturionEon - Harry's last game turned out rather silly, a word of warning to you. I think it will be still rather enjoyable though.
slytherinsal - Let's hope not, good thing Butterbeer isn't too bad for people.
Urgwaew - You know I adore call backs so bringing back the yo-yo was a lot of fun for me. And it's so nice to see even Quidditch matches where they are playing to play and not to foul or hurt or cheat. More satisfying to write too. Yeah I think by now people accept Daphne and Tracy don't care about their team, they care about Harry and it makes sense for them.
Luna's reversal puppy eyes on Harry was my favorite bit of the whole chapter. It just made sense to me and I thought it was hilarious.
Tied up Lyla was such a dumb throw away joke but I'm glad I did it. It's so absurd and silly and will never show up again but it made me laugh. I also am glad you thought Lyla's reaction to Katie leaving to be reasonable. Also the last prank on Hermione's propriety was something I loved the second I thought of it. I wanted something cliche and hilarious and felt it fit the bill.
Imaginer.012 - This whole last year felt so strange to write because everyone is a lot older. I had to think about approaching older topics for them and I think it worked overall, you can let me know of course.
D.J. Scales - He is still Minister.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - The great destroying of Hermione's sensibilities was my favorite part of the whole chapter.
I really like dthe knife. It was a good way to do a nice call back in my opinion and liked the inclusion of the suit. It's something a lot of people can identify with and it feels normal among the magic.
iamchaos98 - I love rereading good books and fics so your words are incredibly high praise to me, thank you ever so much. I'm glad you like the Quidditch games. It takes me a bit to write the non-canon ones and I really don't want them to feel the same or boring, so I'm happy to hear you like them. Thank you for reading.
rpeh - I'm glad you found it, thank you. I am also happy you like that I include the canon moments in passing but change the aftermath. I didn't want to rehash everything, hence my rather large divergence from the canon plot. I also adore slice-of-life, imagining the day to day stuff is a lot of fun to me.
I don't disagree with the Katie jealousy part. It did feel a little forced to me and I wonder if there was something else I could have done, but I hope everything after was worth it happening.
yogibears - Yeah, I don't know how that opening scene came into my head but it was so absurd I kept it. It was too funny for me. I thought the sharing quarters would be fun and it comes into use a lot for the last year.
Tonks had her gentleness, now Harry gets spoiled by Andromeda. As it should be. I really like the idea of Sibling stones, it's a fun idea to me that's really comforting. Also I'm glad to have worked in a James Bond joke. Same with Tonks' wild hair to the firewhiskey.
diffident-serpiente - No, not yet. You still have at least 15 or so chapters to chew on still so hope you're not tired of it yet. I'm glad you liked it so far and found it believable. Hope you continue to do so to the end.