Chapter 6: That crazy cousin
After finally putting away all her clothes, Lindsey was at a loss for what to do. It would be easy enough to just go downstairs and talk to Petunia, but that would involve Dudley and his father, who Lindsey sure didn't want to be around. So she decided to go visit Harry's room (the one place Dudley didn't show her in the tour). She walked down the hallway and to the door. It was slightly open and she peeked in. Harry sat on his bed, hunched over a piece of paper, writing quickly with a quill. Wait a minute... a quill???
Lindsey coughed to get Harry's attention and he spun around, looking back in fear.
"Oh, it's only you," he said, slipping the paper under his pillow. "Did you finish unpacking?"
"Yeah, just now. What were you writing?"
"Um, a letter to a friend," he said. Lindsey saw him glance nervously to the other side of the room. Lindsey followed his eyes. There sitting in the corner was a cage. A cage with an owl in it.
"OH MY GOD!" Lindsey said. "You have an owl!!!" Harry mumbled something but Lindsey kept going. "Isn't that illegal or something? And do the Dursleys know?"
"Woah, calm down. It's not illegal and how could they not know about her?"
"It's a her? What's her name?"
"Hedwig." Lindsey snorted. "What???"
"Nooothing."
"It's a good name!"
"Yeah, yeah. But wasn't there a movie with a cross-dresser named Hedwig?"
"That's not who she's named after!"
"Sure it's not. So who were you writing to?"
"My friend Ron."
"And why were you using a quill? Aren't pens easier?"
"If you have a problem with everything here, why don't you leave?"
"Woah, your turn to chill. It was a joke."
"Sorry," Said Harry, walking over to the owl, "It's just been a very long summer."
"Want to tell me about it?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Probably not, but if it makes you feel better, my summer has kind of sucked too."
"Want to tell me about it?"
"You wouldn't understand either."
"Try me."
"I found out that I am adopted and English."
"Oh I know the feeling."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I am sort of adopted and a Wiz..." A look of horror spread across his face. Lindsey looked at him questioningly "Nevermind," he said quickly.
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"DAMN SPELL!" cried Sirius, "It isn't working!"
"Sirius, calm down, maybe we're saying it wrong," said Lupin. The two sat around a table, on which there was a large map of Southern England. If done correctly, the map was supposed to glow blue over the region with the person they were looking for. However there was not just one region glowing blue, there were quite a few.
"This would be SO much easier if we knew her last name! But no, instead we have close to nothing."
"Sirius, look! It's glowing over Surrey!"
"But that's where Harry lives. We'd know if there was a witch there, wouldn't we?...Remus? Wouldn't we?"
"Well I don't know, it's not as if we have the same resources that the Ministry has in detecting magic."
"My dear friends, what is the trouble?" asked Dumbledore, having just apparated.
"The spell isn't working," said Sirius.
He held his wand over the large map. "LOCATORI," he said, and the map glowed blue all over, then slowly the blue faded away until around 50 points remained glowing.
"See?" said Sirius, "This doesn't help at all!"
"Are you suggesting that I am unable to do this spell?" said Dumbledore, looking over at Sirius with a glare.
"Well maybe you, well I, um," Sirius muttered. Dumbledore dropped the glare and smiled.
"One of the blue points is near Harry and Arabella. Maybe we should talk to her, just in case," said Lupin. Five minutes later, Lupin's head was sitting in Arabella's fireplace.
"So Arabella, you're sure that there are no other wizard families in your area, right?"
"I don't think so! But I wouldn't really know."
"Can you think of any girls in the area who fit the description?"
"No Remus, there is no one. They are all your standard blonde rich girls."
"Would you at least ask Harry for us?"
"Fine, I'll go over there now."
"Thanks Arabella."
"Anytime."
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The doorbell rang at the Dursley household. Petunia yelled at Harry to answer it. He was busy doing dishes, so Lindsey went. Pulling open the door, she saw an old lady.
"Can I help you?" asked Lindsey. The lady looked at her.
"Do you live here?" asked Arabella. She was very confused, because the girl in the door perfectly matched the description of the person she was supposed to be looking for.
"Um, not technically. I'm visiting." Petunia appeared behind Lindsey.
"Well hello Mrs. Figg. Can I help you?"
"Yes, I was wondering if I could speak to Harry."
"What did he do?"
"Oh, well nothing, he just wanted to borrow something of mine and I, well I thought I'd bring it to him." Arabella said. Petunia nodded and called him. Arabella took one last look at the girl before Lindsey went upstairs. Harry walked to the door, looking confused.
"Outside?" asked Harry.
"That'd be best." Said Arabella. They went out and shut the door. "Harry who is that girl?"
"Exchange student."
"From where?"
"America"
"Age?"
"Same as me."
"Parents?"
"I don't know much, apparently she is adopted."
"Wonderful Harry. Dumbledore will be quite happy to hear it."
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Lindsey sat in her room quietly singing along with the radio. She had her laptop open and was writing an email to Jen.
To: JenJen3212aol.com From: LinsO16aol.com
Jen!!!
Okay, so I got here fine. It was actually a pretty fun flight, keeping in mind that Dudley was there. And his family is generally nice. His mom is really into gossip... kind of like you. And his cousin is cool. But his dad is a bit scary. But hey, I'm in ENGLAND I should have no complaints, like you said. And I also wanna thank you for reminding me to pack a skirt. They are hosting a party tonight for Mr. Dursley's work, and if didn't pack one, I'd be shopping with him and Dudley right now. Can you imagine the horror? Well I hear my name being called. I'll talk to you later! -Lins
The voice Lindsey heard was Petunia asking her which platter she preferred, so Lindsey turned off the computer and went downstairs to help Petunia. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ahh, I am still three inches short!" cried a distressed Ron looking at his own History of Magic Essay. He threw the essay on the ground and flopped on his bed. But just as he was taking out his Chudley Cannons book to read for the millionth time, he heard a loud thud coming from outside. He jumped up, ran to the window, threw it open, and stuck out his head. It was Fred and George, causing mayhem as usual. Fred was rubbing his arm, having apparently slammed into the side of the house, while George was is hot pursuit of a gray blur, which Ron soon recognized as Pig. Fred had apparently recovered from his injury because he was now chasing after Pig as well.
"What are you doing to my owl???" Ron yelled. They ignored him, and somehow managed to trap Pig against a tree. George grabbed the owl and the twins flew up to Ron's window.
"We were only having a bit of fun," said George.
"And mum's been bugging us to get outside. Too much trouble gets caused when we're in I reckon," joked Fred
"Plus we needed Quidditch practice and we couldn't find balls," added George. "And when Pig flew in, we figured that he'd be a good snitch."
"Hand him over," demanded Ron. George tossed Pig at Ron, and Ron removed a letter attached to his leg. "Look, you bent the letter!"
"Is it from Harry?"
"Because the girl arrived yesterday."
"And well, we need a report."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but this is Hermione's handwriting," said Ron
"Ohhhh, Herminone you say?" said Fred, looking over at George, who laughed.
"What is so funny?" asked Ron, turning a bit red.
"Nooothing. Enjoy your letter," said George with a wink. And they flew off, laughing at the highly embarrassed Ron. Ron sat down and ripped open the letter.
Dear Ron,
I know I took awhile to respond. My History of Magic essay and potions work took a lot longer than I expected. And I decided not to go to Bulgaria. I've been in contact with Dumbledore and I think I'll be going you-know-where instead with all of you!
I don't see what the big deal is with the exchange student. I mean, she'll be here for two weeks and then she'll be gone. Not to mention the fact that you probably won't even get to meet her. And I've been to America. They're not all perfect, gorgeous super models, despite Weasley belief. Oh and I almost forgot, I'll be at Diagon Alley next Thursday. I need to pick a book for Arithmancy. Try and plan a family trip or something. It would be fun!
-Hermione
P.S. Try and be nicer to Percy, he really isn't that bad.
"Easy for her to say," he said. Then he heard a knock on his door. "Who is it?" he asked. The door opened anyway. "Speak of the devil! I just got a letter from Hermione telling me to be nicer to you."
"Well maybe you should listen to her."
"Or maybe not. What do you want?"
"Dinner. Move it." So Ron walked down stairs to the large table where everyone was seated. Tonight was pizza night, a family favorite. Ron sat between Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.
"He finally arrives!" said Bill, "Now we can eat!" And with that the family dug in. In between slices, Mr. Weasley brought up the exchange student.
"So have you heard from Harry, Ron?"
"Nope, but I'm sure I'll get a letter by tomorrow. Oh and Hermione is going to be in Diagon Alley Thursday, can we plan a trip there that day?"
"Well I guess I am low on some cooking supplies," said Mrs. Weasley.
"And we do need to get some... well nevermind," said Fred.
"What do you need at Diagon Alley?" asked Mrs. Weasley suspiciously, "Does it involve any joke shop items? Because if it does..."
"No mom," said George, "We simply think that a trip to Diagon Alley would be fun. Right Fred?" Fred nodded rapidly.
"Right George."
"Well I for one would think twice about letting them go off alone," said Percy. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
(a/n) Reviewers. crazyme89, Fier, Kranberries, Calypzo, SlytherinAngel, DuckSorceress, Allie, yall rock my world!!!
After finally putting away all her clothes, Lindsey was at a loss for what to do. It would be easy enough to just go downstairs and talk to Petunia, but that would involve Dudley and his father, who Lindsey sure didn't want to be around. So she decided to go visit Harry's room (the one place Dudley didn't show her in the tour). She walked down the hallway and to the door. It was slightly open and she peeked in. Harry sat on his bed, hunched over a piece of paper, writing quickly with a quill. Wait a minute... a quill???
Lindsey coughed to get Harry's attention and he spun around, looking back in fear.
"Oh, it's only you," he said, slipping the paper under his pillow. "Did you finish unpacking?"
"Yeah, just now. What were you writing?"
"Um, a letter to a friend," he said. Lindsey saw him glance nervously to the other side of the room. Lindsey followed his eyes. There sitting in the corner was a cage. A cage with an owl in it.
"OH MY GOD!" Lindsey said. "You have an owl!!!" Harry mumbled something but Lindsey kept going. "Isn't that illegal or something? And do the Dursleys know?"
"Woah, calm down. It's not illegal and how could they not know about her?"
"It's a her? What's her name?"
"Hedwig." Lindsey snorted. "What???"
"Nooothing."
"It's a good name!"
"Yeah, yeah. But wasn't there a movie with a cross-dresser named Hedwig?"
"That's not who she's named after!"
"Sure it's not. So who were you writing to?"
"My friend Ron."
"And why were you using a quill? Aren't pens easier?"
"If you have a problem with everything here, why don't you leave?"
"Woah, your turn to chill. It was a joke."
"Sorry," Said Harry, walking over to the owl, "It's just been a very long summer."
"Want to tell me about it?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Probably not, but if it makes you feel better, my summer has kind of sucked too."
"Want to tell me about it?"
"You wouldn't understand either."
"Try me."
"I found out that I am adopted and English."
"Oh I know the feeling."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I am sort of adopted and a Wiz..." A look of horror spread across his face. Lindsey looked at him questioningly "Nevermind," he said quickly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"DAMN SPELL!" cried Sirius, "It isn't working!"
"Sirius, calm down, maybe we're saying it wrong," said Lupin. The two sat around a table, on which there was a large map of Southern England. If done correctly, the map was supposed to glow blue over the region with the person they were looking for. However there was not just one region glowing blue, there were quite a few.
"This would be SO much easier if we knew her last name! But no, instead we have close to nothing."
"Sirius, look! It's glowing over Surrey!"
"But that's where Harry lives. We'd know if there was a witch there, wouldn't we?...Remus? Wouldn't we?"
"Well I don't know, it's not as if we have the same resources that the Ministry has in detecting magic."
"My dear friends, what is the trouble?" asked Dumbledore, having just apparated.
"The spell isn't working," said Sirius.
He held his wand over the large map. "LOCATORI," he said, and the map glowed blue all over, then slowly the blue faded away until around 50 points remained glowing.
"See?" said Sirius, "This doesn't help at all!"
"Are you suggesting that I am unable to do this spell?" said Dumbledore, looking over at Sirius with a glare.
"Well maybe you, well I, um," Sirius muttered. Dumbledore dropped the glare and smiled.
"One of the blue points is near Harry and Arabella. Maybe we should talk to her, just in case," said Lupin. Five minutes later, Lupin's head was sitting in Arabella's fireplace.
"So Arabella, you're sure that there are no other wizard families in your area, right?"
"I don't think so! But I wouldn't really know."
"Can you think of any girls in the area who fit the description?"
"No Remus, there is no one. They are all your standard blonde rich girls."
"Would you at least ask Harry for us?"
"Fine, I'll go over there now."
"Thanks Arabella."
"Anytime."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The doorbell rang at the Dursley household. Petunia yelled at Harry to answer it. He was busy doing dishes, so Lindsey went. Pulling open the door, she saw an old lady.
"Can I help you?" asked Lindsey. The lady looked at her.
"Do you live here?" asked Arabella. She was very confused, because the girl in the door perfectly matched the description of the person she was supposed to be looking for.
"Um, not technically. I'm visiting." Petunia appeared behind Lindsey.
"Well hello Mrs. Figg. Can I help you?"
"Yes, I was wondering if I could speak to Harry."
"What did he do?"
"Oh, well nothing, he just wanted to borrow something of mine and I, well I thought I'd bring it to him." Arabella said. Petunia nodded and called him. Arabella took one last look at the girl before Lindsey went upstairs. Harry walked to the door, looking confused.
"Outside?" asked Harry.
"That'd be best." Said Arabella. They went out and shut the door. "Harry who is that girl?"
"Exchange student."
"From where?"
"America"
"Age?"
"Same as me."
"Parents?"
"I don't know much, apparently she is adopted."
"Wonderful Harry. Dumbledore will be quite happy to hear it."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lindsey sat in her room quietly singing along with the radio. She had her laptop open and was writing an email to Jen.
To: JenJen3212aol.com From: LinsO16aol.com
Jen!!!
Okay, so I got here fine. It was actually a pretty fun flight, keeping in mind that Dudley was there. And his family is generally nice. His mom is really into gossip... kind of like you. And his cousin is cool. But his dad is a bit scary. But hey, I'm in ENGLAND I should have no complaints, like you said. And I also wanna thank you for reminding me to pack a skirt. They are hosting a party tonight for Mr. Dursley's work, and if didn't pack one, I'd be shopping with him and Dudley right now. Can you imagine the horror? Well I hear my name being called. I'll talk to you later! -Lins
The voice Lindsey heard was Petunia asking her which platter she preferred, so Lindsey turned off the computer and went downstairs to help Petunia. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ahh, I am still three inches short!" cried a distressed Ron looking at his own History of Magic Essay. He threw the essay on the ground and flopped on his bed. But just as he was taking out his Chudley Cannons book to read for the millionth time, he heard a loud thud coming from outside. He jumped up, ran to the window, threw it open, and stuck out his head. It was Fred and George, causing mayhem as usual. Fred was rubbing his arm, having apparently slammed into the side of the house, while George was is hot pursuit of a gray blur, which Ron soon recognized as Pig. Fred had apparently recovered from his injury because he was now chasing after Pig as well.
"What are you doing to my owl???" Ron yelled. They ignored him, and somehow managed to trap Pig against a tree. George grabbed the owl and the twins flew up to Ron's window.
"We were only having a bit of fun," said George.
"And mum's been bugging us to get outside. Too much trouble gets caused when we're in I reckon," joked Fred
"Plus we needed Quidditch practice and we couldn't find balls," added George. "And when Pig flew in, we figured that he'd be a good snitch."
"Hand him over," demanded Ron. George tossed Pig at Ron, and Ron removed a letter attached to his leg. "Look, you bent the letter!"
"Is it from Harry?"
"Because the girl arrived yesterday."
"And well, we need a report."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but this is Hermione's handwriting," said Ron
"Ohhhh, Herminone you say?" said Fred, looking over at George, who laughed.
"What is so funny?" asked Ron, turning a bit red.
"Nooothing. Enjoy your letter," said George with a wink. And they flew off, laughing at the highly embarrassed Ron. Ron sat down and ripped open the letter.
Dear Ron,
I know I took awhile to respond. My History of Magic essay and potions work took a lot longer than I expected. And I decided not to go to Bulgaria. I've been in contact with Dumbledore and I think I'll be going you-know-where instead with all of you!
I don't see what the big deal is with the exchange student. I mean, she'll be here for two weeks and then she'll be gone. Not to mention the fact that you probably won't even get to meet her. And I've been to America. They're not all perfect, gorgeous super models, despite Weasley belief. Oh and I almost forgot, I'll be at Diagon Alley next Thursday. I need to pick a book for Arithmancy. Try and plan a family trip or something. It would be fun!
-Hermione
P.S. Try and be nicer to Percy, he really isn't that bad.
"Easy for her to say," he said. Then he heard a knock on his door. "Who is it?" he asked. The door opened anyway. "Speak of the devil! I just got a letter from Hermione telling me to be nicer to you."
"Well maybe you should listen to her."
"Or maybe not. What do you want?"
"Dinner. Move it." So Ron walked down stairs to the large table where everyone was seated. Tonight was pizza night, a family favorite. Ron sat between Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.
"He finally arrives!" said Bill, "Now we can eat!" And with that the family dug in. In between slices, Mr. Weasley brought up the exchange student.
"So have you heard from Harry, Ron?"
"Nope, but I'm sure I'll get a letter by tomorrow. Oh and Hermione is going to be in Diagon Alley Thursday, can we plan a trip there that day?"
"Well I guess I am low on some cooking supplies," said Mrs. Weasley.
"And we do need to get some... well nevermind," said Fred.
"What do you need at Diagon Alley?" asked Mrs. Weasley suspiciously, "Does it involve any joke shop items? Because if it does..."
"No mom," said George, "We simply think that a trip to Diagon Alley would be fun. Right Fred?" Fred nodded rapidly.
"Right George."
"Well I for one would think twice about letting them go off alone," said Percy. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
(a/n) Reviewers. crazyme89, Fier, Kranberries, Calypzo, SlytherinAngel, DuckSorceress, Allie, yall rock my world!!!