Author's Note: I really have no idea what Blaise Zabini looks like, so I gave him a random appearance. If it is mentioned in any of the books feel free to point it out to me. Thanks.
Warnings: Angst; references to child abuse; AU; cursing
Disclaimer: I only own Samantha. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Key: Italics- emphasized or the title of a book
/…/- Thought
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Harry looked around at the room he'd just fallen into. Er…he had fallen, hadn't he? He really wasn't sure anymore… Numbly, he reached down to help Samantha to her feet, releasing her when she gave him a gentle shove. He could hear Sirius and the old man – wasn't his name Dumbledore? – behind him, but he really wasn't paying any attention to them. His attention was focused on the room he was in.
On the wall directly across from him there was a massive tapestry – it covered nearly all of the dark mahogany wood. The scene it depicted seemed simple enough. A lush forest was woven into the cloth with rich green and brown thread. The artist had even taken the time to add in the shadows just right. A few forest animals were scattered here and there, and Harry thought he could even see a unicorn hidden in the foliage. The truly amazing thing about the tapestry, though, was the way the animals wandered lazily over the cloth and gazed curiously at the humans who'd fallen into the room. The leaves on the trees fluttered slightly, as though a breeze had blown by. But…that was just a tapestry…!
He let his gaze wander elsewhere, and paused to stare at a suit of armor that was bowing tipping its helmet at him. Samantha was already over there, peering inside the metal suit. She looked back and shook her head, her expression conveying what Harry suspected – there was nothing inside.
In a corner of the room was an ebony vase, golden etchings of various birds and clouds covering it. The birds flew to and fro over the vase's surface, and the clouds drifted lazily along the black sky.
There were a few end tables here and there, and some plush chairs sitting at either end of a long couch. Harry could see a few books scattered about, though he doubted even Samantha would want to read them. The book closest to him seemed to be oozing an odd orange slime…
At the other end of the room, a pair of massive doors swung open. On the other side stood a man in slightly wrinkled robes – he must have been working earlier. His thick brown hair was beginning to gray, and he seemed too slender for his frame, as though he hadn't been getting enough to eat for quite some time. "Padfoot! You're back early!" exclaimed the man. He directed his gaze to the twins and smiled warmly, starting towards them. "And you brought them… Welcome to Lupin Manor, Samantha. Harry. I've been waiting years to meet you."
Cold green eyes narrowed in what seemed to be distaste. Though, it was really uneasy fear. Samantha was off balance – she didn't know what to expect from anything anymore. Books that oozed slime? What next? Singing bears? She edged behind Harry, eyeing Lupin warily, and looking every bit as though she might suddenly decide to kick him in the shin.
Lupin sighed and glanced at Sirius over the twins' heads. The other man shook his head and shrugged his shoulders – he wasn't sure how to handle Samantha either. "My name is Remus Lupin, but you can call me Moony. I was a good friend of your parents'." He paused and glanced from one twin to the other. Harry seemed less nervous and upset than his sister did, so Remus focused a bit more on him. "You'll be staying here for a while. Padfoot doesn't have a place of his own yet," he added, ignoring Sirius' indignant mutters.
"Padfoot…?" asked Samantha. She glanced back at Sirius and arched a brow curiously. "Bit of an odd nickname." For a moment she looked as though she were about to add some sort of scathing remark, but she was thankfully cut off by her brother's rumbling stomach. It had been a while since they'd eaten…
Sirius chuckled to himself and led the twins into the dining room while Remus made his way to the kitchen. He'd said something about letting the elves know there was company… Samantha made a note to pay a visit to the kitchen later. Provided she could find it. She lost track of how many halls and rooms Sirius led them through. She was beginning to suspect he was leading them in circles when, after opening a door she was sure they'd passed half a dozen times, they found themselves in the dining room.
Somehow, Remus had beaten them there. He smiled at the three of them from his spot at the head of the table, gesturing to the chairs nearest him. They walked down the long table and sat down – Harry and Samantha on one side, and Sirius on the other. "Where's the food?" asked Samantha rather bluntly. The plates before them, while rather pretty, being covered with pictures of dancing fruits and vegetables, were devoid of any actual food. She scowled when the two men merely chuckled and told her to be patient.
Twin pairs of green eyes turned to the plates, watching the dancing fruits and vegetables waltz around the edge of the fine china. It came as quite a surprise to both twins when food seemed to fade into view before them – Samantha even pushed her chair away from the table with a startled gasp. Both twins now had plates covered in mashed potatoes and chicken fried steak. There were bowls filled with salad, and even a gravy boat. They could hear Remus saying something about this being his favorite meal, but they weren't really paying attention. They'd both ducked under the table, trying to figure out where the food had come from.
Obviously, there was nothing under the table.
Frowning, the twins sat up and looked at each other. Samantha's cold jade eyes met Harry's fiery emerald eyes, and they both mouthed "Weird!" to each other at the same time. They seemed to relax then, taking a bit of comfort in the knowledge that, even though their surroundings had suddenly and drastically changed, their relationship was still close enough for them to speak each other's minds.
The twins turned their attention to their food, neither of them hearing the questions Remus was asking. They'd never been allowed so much food in their lives – they would have eaten themselves sick if Sirius hadn't cleared their plates with a wave of his wand after their third helpings. "You don't need to eat quite so much at once. There'll be plenty of food for you here."
Harry grinned. He was liking this place quite a bit already. "Thanks, Sirius. And thanks for lunch, Remus. It was really good."
"You'll have to thank the house elves for that, Harry. They're the ones who do most of the cooking and cleaning around here," said Sirius.
Harry donned a quizzical look, but didn't bother asking about the house elves. He was sure he'd find out about them soon enough, and moving tapestries and suits of armor was enough discovery for him – for the moment at least. He'd talk Samantha into going exploring with him later.
He glanced across the table at his twin, smiling to himself when he saw that she'd relaxed even more. She still seemed a bit tense, but at least she didn't look as though she wanted to kick Remus or Sirius any longer.
"How would the two of you like to get your wands?" asked Sirius. His blue eyes glinted with something that Samantha couldn't identify, though she wasn't really interested in that. Her attention was focused on what Sirius had said. Wands? Now that seemed interesting. She arched a brow as she looked at her brother, a silent question clear in her cold jade eyes. Harry nodded quickly – he was as eager to go look at wands as she was – and Samantha mimicked the motion.
It was only an hour or so later that the three of them – Harry, Samantha, and Sirius – stepped into Ollivander's wand shop. It was rather narrow and shabby. Samantha noticed what seemed like several thousand long, narrow boxes lining walls and shelves. A few were scattered in piles on the floor. She glanced questioningly at Harry who shrugged.
The twins cast curious glances around the shop, their gazes eventually settling on the young boy who was just finishing up buying his wand. A mess of dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his skin had a dark tan – he must spend a lot of time outdoors. They couldn't see much more than that, aside from his robes being plain black, as his back was turned to them. Samantha watched him for several minutes, ignoring the shopkeeper that Harry turned to examine curiously.
Ollivander was a short, squat wizard with eerily pale skin. When he looked at Harry, it was with creepy, pale eyes that were magnified to an almost grotesque size behind large glasses. They must have only been for reading though, for he set them aside after checking the label of one of the boxes. The boy dropped a handful of thick coins into the old wizard's waiting hand and turned to leave the shop – he had to stop when he realized the way out was blocked by the trio. Samantha and Harry had the decency to smile apologetically at the boy and shifted about until he could get out of the shop. Sirius had already found a way through the small maze of shelves to Ollivander, and he was watching the twins with a watchful gaze.
Harry waited for the boy to pass before going to join his godfather by the creepy shopkeeper. Emerald eyes regarded the small man curiously, and he felt a bit nervous when Ollivander moved closer to him, brushing his fingertips over Harry's scar. He hated whenever anyone touched his scar. He frowned a backed away slightly, just out of arm's reach of the man.
The young Potter boy listened curiously as the wizard began talking about the wands he'd sold to Harry's parents, absently marveling that the man could remember something from so long ago so easily. He may be creepy, but he must be quite intelligent. Though, as he began babbling about selling the wand that caused his scar, Harry couldn't help but feel confused. Hadn't he gotten this scar in a car accident? The one his parents had died in… He was about to ask with Mr. Ollivander was talking about when the little man stopped talking quite abruptly. Harry looked around and sighed when he saw Sirius glaring at the shopkeeper – Maybe he could just ask Mr. Dumbledore at dinner tonight. He'd said he'd explain things then in the letter he sent.
"Which hand is your wand hand?"
Harry blinked, a bit startled by Ollivander's question. "Er… I'm right-handed," answered Harry, hoping that was what Ollivander had meant. He obeyed when the squat man told him to hold out his arm, watching in amazement as a tape measure began to take various measurements of him by itself while the shopkeeper wandered through the shelves, pulling down boxes seemingly at random.
"Here we are, Mr. Potter. Give this a wave. Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy," chatter the wizard, holding a wand out to Harry. The young boy took the wand warily, waving it hesitantly through the air only to have it snatched away and another shoved into its place.
Meanwhile, Samantha was leaning against a wall near the door. She was still watching the boy who'd been in the shop before them – he hadn't left yet. Samantha didn't know it, but he'd spotted Harry's scar and was now quite eager to talk to them. However, he was also feeling rather shy, instead choosing to linger near the door and look rather foolish. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to introduce yourself?" asked Samantha, her jade eyes flashing in mild annoyance.
"Ah…sorry… Just…" The boy stammered for a few moments, rubbing his arm nervously. "Sorry. My name's Blaise Zabini."
Samantha rolled her eyes, forcing a convincing smile over her lips as she looked at him. "Samantha Potter. Are you going to Hogwarts as well?" she asked. Sirius had told her brother and her that they'd be finishing their schooling at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and then he'd begun chattering on about how it was the safest place for them. Samantha was sure neither she nor her brother had been paying attention by then though. They'd been too interested in looking around at all the shops and people wandering about Diagon Alley.
"Yeah. My mom wanted to send me to Durmstang because it's closer to home, but my aunt and grandmother convinced her that Hogwarts was safer," said the boy. He paused a moment to push his bangs out of his eyes, revealing them to be a dark, chocolate brown. Their eyes met and he glanced away, a faint blush staining his cheeks.
Samantha frowned curiously, her eyes becoming guarded as she looked at the boy standing before her again. He was acting oddly… She would have assumed he just thought she was pretty, but it hadn't been just him. Everyone who'd seen her walking with her brother and godfather had reacted strangely. It reminded Samantha of the way people might react to having someone like Harrison Ford walking down the street…but that didn't make sense… She made a note to ask that Dumbledore fellow about it later. "Hm…what kind of wand did you get?" she asked, hoping to change the subject enough to get Blaise acting normally.
"Huh? Oh! I mean, I got a really powerful one. At least, the creepy old git over there said it was powerful." Blaise frowned at Ollivander, his gaze darting to Harry for a moment as the poor Potter boy had another wand wrenched from his grasp. "I think he just likes showing off his wands more than helping people find the right one… Anyway, mine's mahogany and dragon heartstring. I think he said it was twelve inches long."
"I wonder what sort of wand I'll get," mused Samantha. She seemed a bit distant for a moment, lost in thought. She shook the feeling off a moment later, smiling at Blaise then. "Do you have a familiar?" To be honest, Samantha wasn't sure if wizards really had familiars or not. She hoped they did though – she really didn't want to look like a fool in front of this boy.
Blaise grinned, and Samantha relaxed. She'd been right after all. "Yeah," he said. "I had to leave King at home though. He always gets into trouble if he comes with me when I'm shopping. His full name is Kingsley, but he hates when I call him that. He's my kitten, and he's this really neat shade of gray. It almost looks silver in the right light. My mom got him for me as a gift for getting accepted to Hogwarts. Do you have a familiar?"
Samantha shook her head, her gaze wandering to Harry for a moment. He was still being subjected to having various wands shoved into his hands. Sirius looked torn between laughing at the poor boy and feeling sorry for him – Samantha felt the same way. "I don't have one yet. I suppose I'll have to ask Sirius about getting one…" She turned back to Blaise, frowning curiously. "Are we allowed to bring any type of familiar to Hogwarts? I...er…don't remember."
Blaise blinked and shrugged a bit, pocketing his wand in his robes before answering. "The letter says you can only bring a cat or an owl or a toad. That's not really true though. My cousin goes there, and he says most anything is allowed as long as it's not dangerous to other familiars or students. And no snakes. They're supposed to be evil or something."
"Well that's stupid. As if something's going to be evil just because of what it is," said Samantha, frowning in annoyance. That reminded her too much of the way Uncle Vernon had always said she and Harry were bad simply for existing, though his choice of words had been less intelligent than that. "Not that I want a snake… I think I want a tarantula or something like that."
For a moment it looked as though Blaise were going to say something in response. Though, as a stream of red and gold sparks soared over their heads, the boy shut his mouth. At the same time, the two children looked over at Harry who was examining the wand he held with great interest while Sirius smiled down at him. Ollivander began talking then, though Blaise and Samantha couldn't hear him – they were too far away, and the shopkeeper was speaking too softly. Whatever he was saying was bothering Harry though. He edged closer to Sirius and turned to walk back to Samantha as soon as he could. "It's your turn with the creepy git, Sammy. Just hope you don't have to spend so long trying out wands," said the Potter boy.
"Thanks, Harry," muttered Samantha, not really feeling thankful at all. She'd rather pick a wand at random herself than let Ollivander shove wands into her hands himself. She sighed and made her way towards the back of the shop where Sirius and Ollivander were waiting.
"There now. Hold still please. And which is your wand arm?" asked Ollivander as the tape measure hovered before her, waiting to begin taking measurements.
"I'm left-handed, sir," answered the Potter girl, watching with a detached sort of interest as the tape measure began taking her measurements. Ollivander scurried off between the shelves one more, pulling boxes down here and there. Samantha noticed that he seemed to be pulling down fewer boxes for her than he had for her brother. Maybe it had something to do with fewer people being left-handed than right-handed – there were probably less types of wands for left-handed people.
The tape measure fell to the floor, and a wand was shoved into her left hand. "Here, try this one. Holly and dragon heartstring. A rare combination. Good for charms work," chattered Ollivander. Samantha fixed a cold, emotionless glare on him, one corner of her lips quirking slightly towards a smirk when the little man paled and smiled nervously at her. She gave the wand a wave, frowning in annoyance when nothing happened. She handed the useless wand back to Ollivander and waited patiently to be handed another.
Back with Blaise, Harry was showing off the wand he'd just gotten. He'd been quite excited when Sirius suggested going to get one, and now that he had one he found himself wishing he had a book of spells to try. Blaise, however, had become distracted by something behind Harry. "Your sister seems to have the git under control," remarked the brown-eyed boy.
Harry frowned and glanced over his shoulder, blinking in surprise to see Ollivander taking and offering wands to Samantha in a fashion that was much more polite than he had with Harry. Emerald eyes flared briefly with understanding, and he turned back to the taller boy with a faint smirk. "She must've glared at him. She rarely glares at anyone, but she looks scary when she does."
"Scary? What kind of scary?"
"Um…" Harry frowned for a moment, glancing back at Samantha before settling on a sufficient description of her glare. "The kind of scary that makes you think of hopelessness. Or emptiness."
"Oh," murmured Blaise. "My aunt can glare like that sometimes. Only when she's really angry though." He frowned a bit, choosing that moment to change the subject. "Do you know what house you want to get into yet?"
Harry blinked and tilted his head to one side with a quizzical look. Which house…? He'd forgotten to ask Sirius about those when he mentioned the school they'd be going to. "Um…I don't really know what the houses are just yet… So, I guess I don't know," he said. He felt more than a bit embarrassed that he didn't know as much about Hogwarts as the other boy.
Blaise shrugged, not feeling at all superior to Harry. He knew there were lots of students – even some from pureblood families – that didn't know of the houses of Hogwarts. "No big deal. Not everyone knows about them anyway. Let's see… There's Gryffindor – that's usually where the bravest students end up. They're a bit stuck up cuz they think they're the best though. And then there's Ravenclaw – the smartest students end up there. Grandma says they're always too wrapped up in books and stuff to notice what's going on around them. There's Hufflepuff – not the brightest lot, but very loyal and hardworking. And Slytherin. Everyone says they're the worst, but they aren't all bad. They're really cunning and will do just about anything to get what they want. And they like to stay out of the spotlight," he added as an afterthought. "I think I'd like to be in Slytherin… Ravenclaw might not be too bad either."
Harry frowned to himself, slowly digesting the information he'd been given. "I think I'd fit well in Hufflepuff…but I'd like to be in Gryffindor." Harry knew himself well. He was indeed quite loyal – it would take something quite drastic for him to ever betray Samantha, and he knew Samantha was the same way. He was also a hard worker – all the chores he'd done in place of Samantha certainly proved that. He also knew he was brave, though. He didn't think he could've stood up to all the abuse that his aunt and uncle dished out if he were a coward.
"What about your sister? Where do you think she'll end up?"
Harry shrugged. Samantha, though quite close to him, was a mystery to him at times. "I'm not sure… I think she'd fit anywhere…except maybe Hufflepuff. She's loyal, but I don't think she's that hard a worker…" He frowned a bit then. "Ravenclaw seems most likely though… She's very smart. She always got top marks in school."
"Ravenclaw is a good house. As long as the people in it don't get lost in books and studying and stuff like…" Blaise trailed off then, looking at something over Harry's shoulder again. "Looks like your sister found her wand," he said, nodding in Samantha's direction. When Harry looked, he saw Samantha holding a dark wand with soft pink flower petals budding from the tip and falling to the floor.
Samantha frowned at the rose petals budding from the tip of her wand – she wished they would stop. As if responding to her unspoken request, the flow of petals trickled to a stop, leaving just a small pile remaining at her feet. She arched a brow curiously and turned her cool gaze to the wand she held in her hand. It was a dark color, the same color as the black, wooden keys of a piano. "What core does this wand have, sir?" she asked, looking at Ollivander now.
The little man frowned for a moment. Samantha was surprised to realize he didn't recognize the wand she'd just used. He took a moment to check the box he'd pulled the wand from, and his eyes widened in surprise. "That particular wand was handmade by my grandfather. It was a special order placed by a wizard who, sadly, died before he could pick it up. It's ebony and thestral hair, thirteen inches. Fifteen galleons, please," stated the wizard. He frowned when it looked as though Sirius was about to object to the hefty price. "The core is much harder to come by than dragon heartstring or phoenix feather. The price is fifteen galleons."
Samantha smiled as Sirius pulled the proper amount of coins from the bag containing a small amount of the riches she and Harry shared – they'd been stunned speechless when the door to their vault swung open. She glanced back at Harry and Blaise just in time to see the taller boy being led out by a dark-skinned woman that she assumed was his mother – Harry confirmed her suspicions when she asked him about it.
The trip home didn't seem as interesting as the trip to Diagon Alley, though that may have been because they'd realized that traveling by floo powder was worse than port keys.
Remus met them in the living room, smiling and listening with polite interest as the twins showed off their wands in excitement. "They both look like excellent wands," he said, gently starting to guide the twins towards the dining hall, "but you've been gone quite a while. It's time for dinner now. Professor Dumbledore will be arriving afterwards to answer any questions you have and to explain some things you might not think to question." Harry blinked in surprise. /Professor Dumbledore? I wonder what he teaches…/ He shrugged and followed Samantha and Remus into the dining hall, Sirius bringing up the rear.
Seated at the head of the table, dressed in robes of midnight blue and royal purple, was Albus Dumbledore.