Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling, not me. I'm not making any money off of this, but Mrs. Rowling is. Actually, she's filthy rich. Therefore, it would be pretty mean to sue me for this little story, wouldn't it?
Tessa, her family, and Winfred are my not-so-original creations. All other original characters belong to Kobito, a close personal friend of mine. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
Yes, this story is OC-heavy. If that turns you off, I suggest you turn back now and go read a story about Draco in leather pants or something...
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Meanwhile at Hogwarts: A Potion Goes Awry
Chapter I: In Which We Attend Breakfast and Meditate On the Wizarding World
That morning went fairly well.
Tessa was woken by the sound of scuffling feet and a shaft of light that chose to make itself at home on her face. After turning over and allowing herself a few scant minutes to lie motionless in her bed, which was far too big for her, she shuffled from beneath her sheets and let her feet land with a quiet slap on the floor. A quick look around told her that she was the last of the fifth-year girls to head down to breakfast. That, of course, was fine by her.
She reached up over her head and grabbed the back of her dressing gown. Pulling it over her head, she noted with no small amount of satisfaction that it was becoming tight on her. Maybe it meant that her next growth spurt was finally coming.
Now down to her underwear, and in no rush, she held her frilly, pink nightclothes out in front of her and stuck out her tongue in disgust. Her father, as much as she adored him, had the worst taste in girls' clothes imaginable. He apparently thought that her favorite quality in an article of clothing was its ability to make her look like a piece of candy floss. Now that she was finally beginning to outgrow the embarrassing thing, maybe he'd allow her to choose her own wardrobe. After all, he couldn't keep up the "daddy's little girl" charade forever. He was just lucky in that his daughter had managed to actually keep looking like a little girl for over fourteen years.
She looked down at her body and couldn't even bring herself to stick her tongue out again. Physically, there was nothing to distinguish her from a first year. And a small first year, at that. Whereas all the other girls in her year were giggling to each other about who they wanted to ask them to the Yule Ball, Tessa hadn't even grown enough to purchase a training bra, much less use a Padding Charm on it.
With a sigh, she threw the gown over her bed and opened her dresser, pulling out her robes for the day, throwing them over her head at a slightly faster pace after feeling her stomach begin to grumble.
Then it was time for good-byes. Tessa leaned down and peered under her bed. Sure enough, he was snoozing. She grinned for the first time that morning.
"All right, then, sleepy head," she addressed the small dog still snoozing beneath her mattress, "I'm off, Perry." No response. "Hey." She poked him in the forehead with an index finger. "Hey, you. The least you could do is open your eyes to see me off." The dog's eyes cracked open just barely, and he gave her a half-hearted wag of the tail. Satisfied, she scratched him quickly behind the ear and stood up.
She turned to a small framed photo sitting on top of her dresser. In it, there was a man and woman. The man had long, sandy blonde hair, tied back with a floppy blue ribbon, and a small pair of reading glasses perched on his nose. He yawned and smiled out of the frame lazily. The woman, on the other hand, was radiant. Her gold hair and tan skin glowed so furiously that her image seemed to emanate light. She smiled a dazzling smile and clasped her arms around the neck of the obviously very lucky man.
"Good bye, Mum. Good bye, Dad." Taking a moment to throw her nightgown back into the dresser and grab the bag with the books she would need for the day, she headed out the door and down the stairs of Gryffindor Tower and didn't watch as her parents waved her out.
Someone was waiting for her in the common room.
"Well, what took you so long?" demanded a flustered, long-haired boy as he stood up from one of the armchairs in the round room. "Feels like I've been waiting for ages. I know girls take a long time to get ready, but honestly." He walked up to her and took a lock of her pale blonde hair in his fingers. "And look at this," he added with a tut. "Do you even bother to brush this mane of yours, straw head? Your hair isn't half as nice as mine, and I actually manage to get down here on time." He punctuated this with a toss of his black hair, which fell well past his shoulders. It was his pride and joy.
Tessa opened and closed her mouth, managing a magnificent imitation of goldfish but not getting out any words, which admittedly would have spoiled the act.
The boy watched this for a couple of moments before breaking into a grin. "It's all right. I'm just pulling your leg." She relaxed and returned a weak smile.
"But you could still use a few hair care tips from me..." He wagged a finger mockingly.
"Er, Reggie, we should probably get going." Tessa watched as three more of their housemates headed out the entrance to breakfast. The room was now deserted except for the two of them. Reggie turned and started on his way. Tessa followed.
They stepped out from behind the Fat Lady and started down the stairs towards the Great Hall. "Er, sorry," she apologized, watching her feet as they went down the steps. "Mondays and all. You know."
"Yeah, I know." His voice was warm and reassuring. She blushed in spite of herself. "Just felt like giving you a hard time, is all. Your face was great." Tessa let out a small laugh.
As they got to the last couple of floors, a few hurrying Ravenclaws joined them in scurrying down to food. She didn't know any of them but couldn't help feeling slightly self-conscious. Reggie, though just one year ahead of her, towered a full foot over her head. Running along behind him, she felt even smaller than usual. Of course, this never stopped her from spending time with him whenever she could.
"Hey, Reggie-Boy!" called a voice behind them. Tessa cringed. It was him. Just as Reggie turned, he was pounced upon by a blur of brown and black. "Thought I would miss you! Should've known you'd be late, too, lugging this dead weight with you," he said, gesturing at Tessa, who wrinkled her nose but said nothing.
Winfred Docks. That was the boy's name, but he was "Winnie" to friends. As well as his enemies. He was medium height and but waifish and a bit of a fop, with the curliest hair Hogwarts had ever seen. He was a sixth-year Hufflepuff, but you would never be able to tell his house by talking to him. He was from a well-to-do wizarding family, and in Tessa's opinion, acted appropriately snobbish. She disliked him greatly, and the feeling was pretty much mutual. The only thing that really connected them was having Reggie as a friend, which sometimes led to them being fiercely competitive for his attention.
Case in point.
"Hey, Reg, you should come sit at the Huffle table today!"
"I don't know, Winnie, I--"
"He's right. He's going to sit with me at the Gryffindor table. Aren't you?"
"Well, I--"
"Oh, bend the rules. What's old Dumbledoof going to do? Expel you? Listen, one of my mates got that Wicked Witches calender he owled for the other week, and I thought you might like to see--"
"Actually, I'd rather not." With a sudden change of tone, Reggie grabbed Tessa's hand and stalked towards the Great Hall. She managed to throw a snide look over her shoulder before being yanked through the door.
Reggie sat down at the Gryffindor table stone-faced and loaded his plate with kippers and toast. Tessa watched him as she slopped some porridge into a bowl for herself.
"Er...are you all right?"
"What?" Reggie halted to attention as if he'd been jerked out of a daze. His voice was sharp and not at all natural. "I-I'm fine. I just... It's stress, I think." He grinned to put her mind at ease. "Mondays and all."
"Heh. Yeah."
They ate in silence, and Tessa watched as the smile melted off Reggie's face with each bite of breakfast. It was uncomfortable, but it gave her a chance to eavesdrop. The other Gryffindors were all a-buzz about the predictable things. Many of the girls were twittering about the Yule Ball, which had just been announced the week before. Who to flirt with, to coax into asking. The dress robes they were going to wear. The boys seemed to prefer discussing the Second Task. The First Task had been such a feat that surely nothing would be able to top it. Would they make them battle something worse than dragons? But what was worse than a dragon? A manticore?
And of course, there were periodic mentions of that famous name: Harry Potter. Tessa could see him from her seat. He was on the side opposite her, up by about a dozen people. He was sitting with his friends and talking animatedly. She couldn't tell what he was saying, but it was assuredly something very heroic. They'd be telling tales of it for centuries to come. Actually, truth be told, he was much less impressive-looking when he wasn't fighting dangerous animals. Skinnier, too.
Tessa herself had no great admiration or hatred for him. She hadn't even heard of him until her second year, when his name had been called in the Sorting Ceremony and Reggie's head had turned and craned for a good look at the then 11-year-old boy. Reggie -- his full, dignified name being Reginald Stonecroft -- was what they called a pureblood, a descendant of an ancient magical bloodline. The Stonecrofts were easily as old as the Malfoys or Blacks, though nowhere near as infamous. They were as wealthy and distinguished as was to be expected. Reggie's mother was even a school governor.
Tessa, on the other hand, wasn't sure quite where she stood in the bloodline hierarchy. Her father was a Muggle-born wizard, and her mother, though no one seemed to believe her when she told them, was a Dryad. Her mother was a magical creature, but not a witch herself. Not even human. Was Tessa a half-blood? Or perhaps a half-breed?
As the daughter of a Muggle-born, Tessa had been raised in Muggle London and led a life very similar to that of her Muggle schoolmates. That is, until she received her Hogwarts acceptance letter and got shipped off to Scotland. She'd never quite forgiven her father for letting her go so easily...
Because of growing up away from any talk of The Boy Who Lived or You-Know-Who, the legend of Harry Potter had been news to her. He was her housemate. She paid him no awe, which he certainly didn't seem to mind, but she couldn't help being the tiniest bit jealous of him. Where ever he went, people paid attention to him. He was a star. Tessa, a girl whom no one seemed to notice at all, couldn't keep herself from wondering what it would be like to be a living legend...
Tessa was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of clanging plates and scuffling feet and realized she'd been staring dully at her barely-touched bowl of porridge the whole time. Wasting no time feeling embarrassed, she shoveled what she could into her mouth, gave a goodbye nod to Reggie, and scurried off to History of Magic.
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A/N: This chapter took a terribly long time to write. I started it in early June and finished it in late November. This just proves how horribly slow I am. I hope the prose doesn't sound too awkward. I'm a little rusty. I also hope that no one finds Tessa obnoxious. At least, not in the ways I didn't intend. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long to write. And it'll have Snape! Huzzah!
Crit welcome, preferably the constructive kind.