The Girl Who Lived Chapter Ten: Trust

Daisy sat in the back of perhaps the most boring Transfiguration class she'd ever had pretending to take notes. Really she was daydreaming and doodling all over her parchment. Outside, the first snow of the year was swirling to the ground bringing the feel of Christmas to the air.
The night before, Dumbledore had announced that in honor of Cedric Diggory an annual Cedric Diggory Yule Ball was being founded, starting this year. It was scheduled for Christmas night. Daisy wondered if she would go with anyone, or if anyone would ask her. She didn't think Ron would because Fred had hinted that he might like Hermione, but she wasn't sure how that would work out with Hermione's feelings for Harry.
She looked down at the mess that she had scrawled with her owl feather quill. In the jumble she could see the word Fred materializing from the tip of her quill. She blushed and crumpled her parchment into a ball abruptly, earning a critical look from Professor McGonagall.

At lunch all anybody talked about was the ball. Ron said that last year neither he nor Harry had a very good experience with it, but they were going to give it another shot. Hermione kept darting her eyes over at Harry, and Fred began to act very strange. Over the past few weeks they had seen each other more and more. She knew what he was normally like, and this wasn't it, even Ron agreed.
Lavender was going with Seamus Finnigan, apparently for the second year in a row. Parvati made a point of announcing to Harry that she was going with Dean Thomas. Parvati went with Harry last year, and Hermione told Daisy that Harry had completely ignored her.
Davey wondered if he should ask Jasmine Ali. He would love to go with her but, what if she said no? He didn't think he could bear it.
When Professor McGonagall came to collect names of those who were staying at school over the holidays, Daisy signed up realizing that there was no where to go home to. This made her feel terribly depressed. A year ago she would have opened presents under the Christmas tree with her parents. The idea that she would never share another Christmas or birthday or holiday with her parents was starting to fully hit her. She may never even see Godric's Hollow again.
As the holidays began everyone seemed to be on an emotional low. Maggie went home in hopes of "more excitement." Hermione admitted that she felt like Harry was just ignoring her. She wanted somebody, anybody, to pay attention to her. Even Snape didn't seem up to take off the usual loads of points from Gryffindor. Dumbledore seemed to notice this and scheduled a trip to Hogsmeade, the nearby wizarding village.
Daisy, Ron, Harry, and Hermione got set to leave and were waiting with everyone, but the carriages were late.
"This is so weird," Hermione said. "This happened on the first day of school, too. The carriages never did show up and we had to ride the boats to the school year by year."
"Really?" Daisy asked remembering that night. They had to wait quite a while for everyone to get there.
"You'd think they'd have settled everything by now," Hermione said. Harry looked far away and Ron looked a little greenish.
"Are you okay, Ron?" Daisy asked. "Maybe you should stay here."
"No, I'm fine," he said, his voice cracking. Daisy looked him over.
"Alright," she said, giving in.
"Attention students!" said McGonagall holding a magical megaphone. "There has been a change of plans. Instead of riding in carriages to Hogsmeade we will be taking the boats as at the beginning of the year. Please break into groups of Houses."
"Wonder what could have happened this time?" Hermione said. No one else was particularly talkative. They moved to join a mob of other Gryffindors when McGonagall yelled, "Gryffindors first, please!" She looked extremely stressed and irritable.
The four of them selected a boat and rode across the lake towards Hogsmeade in silence.
They walked the crowded streets in an awkward quiet. Something seemed to be wrong with Harry, and Ron and Hermione were trying to be nice, but Daisy didn't know what was up. Ron still looked ill. Daisy was a little worried about him.
"Maybe we should stop at." Daisy looked around the street and her eyes stopped at a pub, "The Three Broomsticks for, er, a butterbeer," she suggested.
"That's a good idea," Hermione said and they walked towards the door. As they entered, Ron stopped abruptly.
"Hermione, could I have a word with you, um, outside, right now?" he said looking paler than ever.
"Sure," she replied, looking confused, and they slipped through the door leaving Harry and Daisy alone. They went to the bar and ordered some butterbeer. After they brought it back to a table and sat down facing each other, there was an uncomfortable pause. Daisy glanced out the window. She couldn't see Ron or Hermione anywhere.
"So." she started. Be the best covert sister you can, she reminded herself. She had no idea what to talk about. "Do you usually stay over the holidays?"
"Always," he said looking into her green eyes with his identical ones in his usual confused look. "You couldn't pay me to spend Christmas with the Dursleys."
"Who?" Daisy asked. He'd never mentioned any Dursleys.
"My aunt and uncle and cousin, Dudley. They're muggles and hate everything to do with magic or me. I grew up with them, but I've never missed them once." We have family, Daisy thought, but they're awful. Good thing Sirius told her not to tell everyone who she was. Forget Voldemort, she'd have to live with the Dursleys.
"What about your family?" he asked. Daisy thought about this for awhile. She wanted to tell him so badly that he was her family. Her only family.
"Well I was adopted by muggles, but they died this summer," she said slowly. "I don't know where I'll end up this summer; I don't have any other adopted family. I don't even remember my biological parents."
Harry's eyes were sad and deep. "Me neither," he said. "Except for the dementors. They make me remember when they died. I hear their voices; they're trying to save me." Their eyes locked, there was a strong connection. A twin connection, Daisy thought.
Harry's forehead wrinkled in another memory. "I hear Voldemort laughing. Everyone thinks Sirius helped him, you know, Sirius Black." Daisy nodded, her heart beating fast at his mention. Did Sirius tell Harry that she was his sister? "But he didn't. Peter Pettigrew did."
Daisy knew this already, but Harry had never said anything about it to her before.
"I didn't let them kill him, so he went back to Voldemort. I don't know what they're doing, but sometimes it's all I can think about." He was rambling on so Daisy could barely follow. In his eyes, he looked scared, relieved too for telling someone about it. "And Sirius, he's my godfather; we're helping him stay on the run. He's a good person, but he hasn't written for weeks. I'm not sure if something has happened or what?"
Daisy thought back. Sirius didn't write all the time, but it was true that he had taken longer than usual to reply. She hoped nothing had happened to him, for his sake and hers. He was her Secret-Keeper. She didn't know what to say to Harry without letting something slip, so she kept silent trying to do her best to look surprised.
"I never really told anyone about this before. I mean, Hermione and Ron know, and Dumbledore, but you're one of us now, I guess. We trust you. You deserve to know."
Daisy blinked. He trusted her! She was being a great sister. They could both feel the twin link, even if Harry didn't know what it was. He looked at her with a new realization, Daisy noticed. Maybe he'd figured it out on his own, even through the spell.
"Daisy?" he said quietly. She looked back at him and smiled big.
"Yes?" she said nervously. Things would change a lot if people knew the truth. Maybe she didn't want him to know. Sirius said it wasn't safe anyway.
"Will you go to the ball with me?" Harry asked clearly. Daisy's mouth fell open. That came out of nowhere. I guess he didn't figure out that I'm his sister, she thought. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she couldn't date her brother. It was too wrong. How could she possibly turn him down without explaining everything?
"S-someone already asked me t-to go. I'm sorry," she stuttered. She hoped he couldn't see through her. She had better find a date now.
"Oh," he said blankly. "Of course. The ball's in a week." He looked down.
Daisy felt stupid for thinking he had figured it out. Of course he hadn't. Sirius said the spell couldn't be broken. She had just never thought of Harry that way. He had been her brother almost since she'd met him. She'd never expected him to feel any other way for her.
The door opened and in came Ron and Hermione. Their cheeks were very pink, Ron's were positively red, from cold. They spotted Harry and Daisy and came to sit with them. Ron looked over at Harry and winked. He smiled back weakly.
"Butterbeer?" Daisy suggested getting up. She wanted to get away from the scene. Hermione slid into the spot Daisy was just in, and Daisy went to the bar.

Later that week, Daisy tied a letter to Hibou's leg in the Owlery.
"Tell me if you can't find him, okay?" Daisy asked. She had written to Sirius to ask if everything was alright and to tell him that Harry had told her about him. Hibou flew out the window into the flurry.
Daisy saw the familiar red head through the rafters. She knew it was Fred this time. She walked over to him.
"Hi, Fred," she said. He was sitting under a window between two rows of nests. He seemed to be thinking very hard.
"I'm George," he said. Daisy looked at him more carefully. This was definitely Fred, she just knew it.
"No you're not," Daisy said wondering what was up.
"How can you tell?" Fred asked.
"I just know," Daisy replied. They were identical, but something about Fred made him stand out to her.
"Well you're the only one," he said almost bitterly. "Even the teachers think we're just the Weasley twins, they don't even bother to call us Fred or George. Everyone thinks we're exactly the same," he sighed. Daisy had never seen him in this sullen mood before. She wanted him to be happy and funny.
"You're not," Daisy claimed, sitting down on the cold floor beside him.
"Name two things different about us," he challenged. Daisy knew at least ten. She didn't mean to, but she secretly compared the twins all the time, usually to Fred's favor.
"Well you're more sarcastic, and, well, reckless," she said not skipping a beat.
Fred stared at her. "No one has ever said something like that before." Daisy blushed. "You're an only child right?" Fred asked.
Not exactly, she thought. "Yes."
"You don't know what it's like," he said, "having all these brothers. It's like we have to prove ourselves or something. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be just me." He looked down again.
"I think you'd feel like you were getting enough recognition from everyone, but you'd still wonder what it would be like to have a brother. Sometimes you'd want one so bad, because you know they would be there for you no matter what, and you for them too." Daisy said. She didn't know how much she felt that way until she'd said it. She really wanted Harry, and everyone else, to know who she really was.
"Some friends will do that for you, too, you know," said Fred. He looked up at Daisy and her heart melted.
"Will you go to the ball with me?" she blurted out. She hadn't meant to ask him, but he didn't look disgusted or anything. He looked taken aback.
"Yes I will," he said and smiled. He got to his feet. "Can I walk you back to Gryffindor Tower?"
Daisy looked at his eyes to see if he was kidding. He wasn't. She held out her hand, and he took it, pulling her to her feet. They walked back to Gryffindor Tower together.