Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all this brilliant work except Kacey/Madison,
Professor Hope and the plot... that's my own genius. ^_^
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Harry turned and headed back down the stairs. 'Hermione was right... she did come around.' He thought to himself.
~*~
The next morning at breakfast, Harry told Ron and Hermione all about what he had heard. (Of course, you should have seen that coming.)
"Wait a minute." Said Ron abruptly. "How did Wood get in? Did Dumbledore let him or what?" Harry hadn't even thought about that. How did he get in? Before he even had time to think about it, someone spoke behind him.
"You're turning into quite a gossip, Harry." Said the voice. Harry spun around and nearly fell off his seat when he saw who it was. "Kacey wants to talk to you." Said Cho.
Harry had no idea what he said, but it must have been a goofy "okay" judging by the way she giggled and walked off. He didn't even realize Kacey had come down for breakfast. He looked up towards the Head Table to look at her. She looked absolutely terrible. She looked as though she was up all night, crying. At least she wasn't crying now.
Harry got up slowly and started to walk up to the Head Table. He already knew what she was going to tell him, but he wasn't sure how to handle her when she was in such a fragile state. He reached her and stood at her side, but she didn't even look up at him. She was staring at the rest of the students with a blank stare. He could see her cheeks tearstained. He suddenly felt a weird rush of pity and the urge to warmly embrace her as his sister flew through him. He just settled for a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Er, Kacey?" he asked quietly. Kacey jumped a bit and she turned to look at him with a bit of surprise on her face. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Oh, yeah, hi, Harry." She said quietly, turning back towards the student body. "I've been thinking. I'm sorry about how I acted last night. It just came as a huge shock to me, even though I partially already knew it." She paused to look at Harry and gave him a weak smile. It was then when she looked at him when he realized how tired she really was. Her eyes had very dark circles under them and tiny lines around her eyes. She was also quite pale looking.
"It's okay..." said Harry barely above a whisper. He was feeling more and more pity every second. "So...what do you want to do about it?" She turned around again and stared him dead in the eye. He was still standing half behind her, half at her side with his hand on her shoulder. He let go at her sudden look.
"I'm leaving the Harpers." She said shortly. "I can't stay with them. All the trust that was there has been crushed and can never be replaced." She turned back to the students again as one tear rolled down her cheek. "I still love them, though."
Harry just remained quiet. He didn't know what to say.
"I'm changing my name back..." she said again, without looking at him. "And I'm moving in with the Dursleys." Harry nearly wanted to smack some sense into her for saying that. "Sit down..." she added as Dumbledore got to his feet.
"Good morning, Hogwarts. I trust you are all enjoying your breakfast." He stopped and winked at Kacey.... or Madison. She just kept on looking. "This morning, I have some fairly joyous news to share. All of you know about the story of Mr. Harry Potter and Voldemort. However, very few of you may know about Miss. Madison Potter." A few people gasped, others stared.
"After the Potters deaths, it was strongly believed that Harry was the only survivor. Madison was only three years old at the time, so she was quickly forgotten. However, there was no body found. James and Lily were found right away, as was Harry, but there was no sign of Madison. Witnesses say that a young couple heard the young girl crying in an open window sill under a blanket so they scooped her up and carried her off. The Ministry just went and told the press that Madison had perished to keep rumors down. However, the Ministry continued their search for the kidnappers. It took them six years to track Madison down. By the time she did, she was already nine years old and had no idea of her horrendous past. The reason it took them so long was because a day after her parents deaths, an illegal adoption certificate was filled out for her, giving her the new name: Kacey Sidney Harper."
Harry had never seen or heard anything like it. There was not a single sound in the Great Hall and everyones eyes were on Dumbledore and Madison. Then a quiet hum came over the crowd containing silent "Oh...my God." Dumbledore turned his attention to Madison and said, "Would you like to say anything?" Madison just shook her head. "Alright then. Tonight there will be a feast to, well, welcome back an old friend." The Great Hall burst with loud cheers and yells.
Before took his seat again, he walked over to Madison and Harry. Both of them looked up at him.
"I would like to let both of you know that you are excused from your classes today and tomorrow. I'm sure you have much catching up to do." He said with a big smile. "Mr. And Mrs. Dursley will be here tomorrow to meet the newest member of the family." And with that, he walked back to his seat and engaged himself in a conversation with Professor McGonagall.
"The Dursleys are coming?!" Harry sputtered out accidentally. Madison turned her head and nodded at him.
"Yeah, they are." Madison said. "Hey, Harry, why don't you go sit back down with your friends and finish your breakfast."
"Um, okay." Harry replied. "Are you going to be all right?" he didn't really want to leave, but he will if she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She said with the first smile he'd seen her wear since the previous day. "Hey, you want to meet me in the common room after breakfast? There's a couple things I want to tell you that I didn't understand at first, but I do now."
"Sure. I'd be happy to." Said Harry, returning her smile.
"Great. I'll probably be a bit late though. I'm going to go up to my room and try to do something with my hair and makeup." She said as she blushed. "I look like I've been hit with fifty bludgers."
~*~
"Harry, I'm so happy for you!" cried Hermione as Harry walked with her and Ron to Charms. "Now you have someone on your side when you stay with those Muggles!"
"Yeah, but I don't think she knows how bad they are... she looked at me kind of stupid when I said, 'They're coming?!'" replied Harry.
"Oh, who cares?" said Ron excitedly. "Now you have Madison to help you scare them! Hey, do you think she might start to hang out with us?" Ron's ears went pink again.
They talked and laughed all the way to Professor Flitwicks classroom. The morning wasn't as bad as Harry had thought it was going to be. Hopefully, Madison was doing better.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys at lunch." said Harry as they stood at the door.
"What?" said Ron, a bit hurt. "You aren't going to come meet us after class?"
"Ron, think about it." Said Hermione in a know-it-all tone and one hand on her hip. "Harry just meet his sister for the first time in fifteen years. He didn't even know she excisted. Do you honestly expect him to stop in the middle of their bonding so he can come meet you after a class?"
"Yes." Said Ron defiantly. Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes.
"I might." Said Harry, "but don't count on it."
~*~
Harry walked into the common room to see Madison curled up in one of the armchairs looking through her old family photos. Half of which were still.
"Hello." She said when she saw him. She looked so much better. Her dark hair was nice and straight and her purple eyeshadow made her dark green eyes really pop. She even threw him a big sparkly smile. "Come here. I want to you to see this." Harry walked over and leaned on the back of her chair and looked over her shoulder to see a still photo of four people.
"These are the Harpers." She said. "The woman with the blond hair was my mother. She was a Muggle. The man with the brown hair was my father. He was a wizard. The girl standing next to me was my sister, Melissa. She's about your age. She has no magic in her though." Harry leaned closer to get a better look at Melissa. She wasn't too bad looking at all.
"How old is this picture?" Harry asked.
"It was taken a couple months ago." She replied, absently circling her former mothers head. "If I were to show you this a day before Dumbledore told us the truth, what would you have thought?" Harry took a moment to think about what he would have thought.
"I would have thought they looked like a perfect family." Harry replied.
"Exactly." Madison said. "That's what everyone thought, even me. But I would always get these people who would tell me I look nothing like my parents. I didn't even look like my sister." She paused to look up at Harry. "I always had people telling me that you and I could have been related." That totally caught Harry off guard.
"Really?" he asked with his eyes wide as he walked around her chair and plopped down in the loveseat next to her chair.
"Really." She said looking back down at the picture. "In the back of my mind, I almost always felt out of place at home. I didn't look like anyone in my family, I didn't have any of the same interests as them, and my Grandmother, who knew my true identity, kept trying to call me Madison and Kacey...she always ended up calling my Mary." Harry felt a flow of guilt go through his veins.
"Madison?" he asked. "I just wanted to tell you that last night, I was coming up to your dorm to talk to you and I heard you and Oliver fighting. I couldn't help but listen. I'm sorry." He was surprised to see her not angry.
"That's okay, Harry." She said. "You should have knocked."
"I have one more question about it." Harry said, looking at his feet. "How did Wood get in?"
"Oh, Harry..." Madison started. "It's a long story, but let me just tell you this. He's an Animagus. So am I. Don't tell anyone about it though. I'm allowed to do it even though I'm underage, but Oliver wasn't. I showed him how."
"What are you?" Harry asked. His curiosity was growing. He was dying to ask why she was allowed to be one, but he held it back.
"We both turn into Sparrows. Please don't ask me why I can either." She said as though she knew what he was thinking. "I'll explain it later. It's confusing and extremely confidential."
Harry and Madison spent the rest of the morning talking about her home in America and how her life was. Harry was impressed that she had a drivers license and a car and even a Muggle job. She told him all about her family's vacations to the mountains and the beaches. Madison let Harry go through her photo album and she would point out people and what they meant to her. It sounded like she had had it pretty good living with the Harpers. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too disappointed with the Dursley's.
"So, enough about what I've been doing." Madison said with a grin. Her elbows sat on her knees with her head resting on her fists. "Tell me about the Dursley's. What are they like? What is it like to live with total Muggles?"
"Well, okay, but I don't think you'll like it." Said Harry. "It's a long story."
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A/N: Thanx again to Robustus the Pure, Rain and the other person who didn't leave a name. It's because of you guys that I have been motivated to continue working on this. Sadly, I'm beginning to fart out on this story. I do plan to finish, I want to I mean, but it might be a while before more is posted. Keep letting me know whether you like it or not. That will probably be a large part in whether I'll finish it or not. This is for you guys.
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Harry turned and headed back down the stairs. 'Hermione was right... she did come around.' He thought to himself.
~*~
The next morning at breakfast, Harry told Ron and Hermione all about what he had heard. (Of course, you should have seen that coming.)
"Wait a minute." Said Ron abruptly. "How did Wood get in? Did Dumbledore let him or what?" Harry hadn't even thought about that. How did he get in? Before he even had time to think about it, someone spoke behind him.
"You're turning into quite a gossip, Harry." Said the voice. Harry spun around and nearly fell off his seat when he saw who it was. "Kacey wants to talk to you." Said Cho.
Harry had no idea what he said, but it must have been a goofy "okay" judging by the way she giggled and walked off. He didn't even realize Kacey had come down for breakfast. He looked up towards the Head Table to look at her. She looked absolutely terrible. She looked as though she was up all night, crying. At least she wasn't crying now.
Harry got up slowly and started to walk up to the Head Table. He already knew what she was going to tell him, but he wasn't sure how to handle her when she was in such a fragile state. He reached her and stood at her side, but she didn't even look up at him. She was staring at the rest of the students with a blank stare. He could see her cheeks tearstained. He suddenly felt a weird rush of pity and the urge to warmly embrace her as his sister flew through him. He just settled for a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Er, Kacey?" he asked quietly. Kacey jumped a bit and she turned to look at him with a bit of surprise on her face. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"Oh, yeah, hi, Harry." She said quietly, turning back towards the student body. "I've been thinking. I'm sorry about how I acted last night. It just came as a huge shock to me, even though I partially already knew it." She paused to look at Harry and gave him a weak smile. It was then when she looked at him when he realized how tired she really was. Her eyes had very dark circles under them and tiny lines around her eyes. She was also quite pale looking.
"It's okay..." said Harry barely above a whisper. He was feeling more and more pity every second. "So...what do you want to do about it?" She turned around again and stared him dead in the eye. He was still standing half behind her, half at her side with his hand on her shoulder. He let go at her sudden look.
"I'm leaving the Harpers." She said shortly. "I can't stay with them. All the trust that was there has been crushed and can never be replaced." She turned back to the students again as one tear rolled down her cheek. "I still love them, though."
Harry just remained quiet. He didn't know what to say.
"I'm changing my name back..." she said again, without looking at him. "And I'm moving in with the Dursleys." Harry nearly wanted to smack some sense into her for saying that. "Sit down..." she added as Dumbledore got to his feet.
"Good morning, Hogwarts. I trust you are all enjoying your breakfast." He stopped and winked at Kacey.... or Madison. She just kept on looking. "This morning, I have some fairly joyous news to share. All of you know about the story of Mr. Harry Potter and Voldemort. However, very few of you may know about Miss. Madison Potter." A few people gasped, others stared.
"After the Potters deaths, it was strongly believed that Harry was the only survivor. Madison was only three years old at the time, so she was quickly forgotten. However, there was no body found. James and Lily were found right away, as was Harry, but there was no sign of Madison. Witnesses say that a young couple heard the young girl crying in an open window sill under a blanket so they scooped her up and carried her off. The Ministry just went and told the press that Madison had perished to keep rumors down. However, the Ministry continued their search for the kidnappers. It took them six years to track Madison down. By the time she did, she was already nine years old and had no idea of her horrendous past. The reason it took them so long was because a day after her parents deaths, an illegal adoption certificate was filled out for her, giving her the new name: Kacey Sidney Harper."
Harry had never seen or heard anything like it. There was not a single sound in the Great Hall and everyones eyes were on Dumbledore and Madison. Then a quiet hum came over the crowd containing silent "Oh...my God." Dumbledore turned his attention to Madison and said, "Would you like to say anything?" Madison just shook her head. "Alright then. Tonight there will be a feast to, well, welcome back an old friend." The Great Hall burst with loud cheers and yells.
Before took his seat again, he walked over to Madison and Harry. Both of them looked up at him.
"I would like to let both of you know that you are excused from your classes today and tomorrow. I'm sure you have much catching up to do." He said with a big smile. "Mr. And Mrs. Dursley will be here tomorrow to meet the newest member of the family." And with that, he walked back to his seat and engaged himself in a conversation with Professor McGonagall.
"The Dursleys are coming?!" Harry sputtered out accidentally. Madison turned her head and nodded at him.
"Yeah, they are." Madison said. "Hey, Harry, why don't you go sit back down with your friends and finish your breakfast."
"Um, okay." Harry replied. "Are you going to be all right?" he didn't really want to leave, but he will if she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She said with the first smile he'd seen her wear since the previous day. "Hey, you want to meet me in the common room after breakfast? There's a couple things I want to tell you that I didn't understand at first, but I do now."
"Sure. I'd be happy to." Said Harry, returning her smile.
"Great. I'll probably be a bit late though. I'm going to go up to my room and try to do something with my hair and makeup." She said as she blushed. "I look like I've been hit with fifty bludgers."
~*~
"Harry, I'm so happy for you!" cried Hermione as Harry walked with her and Ron to Charms. "Now you have someone on your side when you stay with those Muggles!"
"Yeah, but I don't think she knows how bad they are... she looked at me kind of stupid when I said, 'They're coming?!'" replied Harry.
"Oh, who cares?" said Ron excitedly. "Now you have Madison to help you scare them! Hey, do you think she might start to hang out with us?" Ron's ears went pink again.
They talked and laughed all the way to Professor Flitwicks classroom. The morning wasn't as bad as Harry had thought it was going to be. Hopefully, Madison was doing better.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys at lunch." said Harry as they stood at the door.
"What?" said Ron, a bit hurt. "You aren't going to come meet us after class?"
"Ron, think about it." Said Hermione in a know-it-all tone and one hand on her hip. "Harry just meet his sister for the first time in fifteen years. He didn't even know she excisted. Do you honestly expect him to stop in the middle of their bonding so he can come meet you after a class?"
"Yes." Said Ron defiantly. Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes.
"I might." Said Harry, "but don't count on it."
~*~
Harry walked into the common room to see Madison curled up in one of the armchairs looking through her old family photos. Half of which were still.
"Hello." She said when she saw him. She looked so much better. Her dark hair was nice and straight and her purple eyeshadow made her dark green eyes really pop. She even threw him a big sparkly smile. "Come here. I want to you to see this." Harry walked over and leaned on the back of her chair and looked over her shoulder to see a still photo of four people.
"These are the Harpers." She said. "The woman with the blond hair was my mother. She was a Muggle. The man with the brown hair was my father. He was a wizard. The girl standing next to me was my sister, Melissa. She's about your age. She has no magic in her though." Harry leaned closer to get a better look at Melissa. She wasn't too bad looking at all.
"How old is this picture?" Harry asked.
"It was taken a couple months ago." She replied, absently circling her former mothers head. "If I were to show you this a day before Dumbledore told us the truth, what would you have thought?" Harry took a moment to think about what he would have thought.
"I would have thought they looked like a perfect family." Harry replied.
"Exactly." Madison said. "That's what everyone thought, even me. But I would always get these people who would tell me I look nothing like my parents. I didn't even look like my sister." She paused to look up at Harry. "I always had people telling me that you and I could have been related." That totally caught Harry off guard.
"Really?" he asked with his eyes wide as he walked around her chair and plopped down in the loveseat next to her chair.
"Really." She said looking back down at the picture. "In the back of my mind, I almost always felt out of place at home. I didn't look like anyone in my family, I didn't have any of the same interests as them, and my Grandmother, who knew my true identity, kept trying to call me Madison and Kacey...she always ended up calling my Mary." Harry felt a flow of guilt go through his veins.
"Madison?" he asked. "I just wanted to tell you that last night, I was coming up to your dorm to talk to you and I heard you and Oliver fighting. I couldn't help but listen. I'm sorry." He was surprised to see her not angry.
"That's okay, Harry." She said. "You should have knocked."
"I have one more question about it." Harry said, looking at his feet. "How did Wood get in?"
"Oh, Harry..." Madison started. "It's a long story, but let me just tell you this. He's an Animagus. So am I. Don't tell anyone about it though. I'm allowed to do it even though I'm underage, but Oliver wasn't. I showed him how."
"What are you?" Harry asked. His curiosity was growing. He was dying to ask why she was allowed to be one, but he held it back.
"We both turn into Sparrows. Please don't ask me why I can either." She said as though she knew what he was thinking. "I'll explain it later. It's confusing and extremely confidential."
Harry and Madison spent the rest of the morning talking about her home in America and how her life was. Harry was impressed that she had a drivers license and a car and even a Muggle job. She told him all about her family's vacations to the mountains and the beaches. Madison let Harry go through her photo album and she would point out people and what they meant to her. It sounded like she had had it pretty good living with the Harpers. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too disappointed with the Dursley's.
"So, enough about what I've been doing." Madison said with a grin. Her elbows sat on her knees with her head resting on her fists. "Tell me about the Dursley's. What are they like? What is it like to live with total Muggles?"
"Well, okay, but I don't think you'll like it." Said Harry. "It's a long story."
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~** ~~
A/N: Thanx again to Robustus the Pure, Rain and the other person who didn't leave a name. It's because of you guys that I have been motivated to continue working on this. Sadly, I'm beginning to fart out on this story. I do plan to finish, I want to I mean, but it might be a while before more is posted. Keep letting me know whether you like it or not. That will probably be a large part in whether I'll finish it or not. This is for you guys.