AN:
Yay, I can't believe that some ppl actually like my story!! ^^ I feel loved
*sniff*.
Anyway, I typed more story for ur enjoyment! ^^ hope u likey!
By the way, you should feel privileged and honored because I got the next chapter up so early!!!! HURRAH! (lol ^^;)
On with the story, REVIEW PLZ!
*Chapter 3*
~*~
"Boys are so immature!" Mum rolled her eyes at me.
"Totally." I nodded my head in agreement, still, mentally, giggling. I could get used to this!
~*~
The rest of the day went relatively well, if you could ignore the fact that an eleven year old girl got spat out of the sky into your backyard and is acting very strangely, like she knows you, apart from that, it was a good birthday for Harry.
They'd included Fayle in the party, not having anything else to do with her, and she seemed to fit in perfectly. She also got along really well with Hermione (possibly because of the fact that, if you subtracted the age difference, they were almost perfect clones, personality and looks to boot too.) and Harry. Surprisingly enough she didn't get along with Ginny, who was closer to her age, as well as they'd originally thought.
As the day drew to a close everyone began to worry about what to do with Fayle. Her parents were probably worried sick, and yet, still, she insisted she couldn't tell them anything. Harry was starting to become slightly suspicious, which, for Fayle, wasn't good. In the end, against most's better judgment, they agreed to let her stay the night. She would be sleeping with Hermione and Ginny in Ginny's room, which was just down the hall from Ron's. She would also be borrowing one of Ginny's old nightgowns, it was a little big, but it still fit.
"G'night Hermione, Ginny... and Fayle." Ron yawned before walking into his room and shutting the door.
"Planning to lock me out Ron?" Harry scowled at the door.
"Oops, sorry Harry." Ron's sleepy face appeared from behind the now open door and Harry stepped inside after saying goodnight to the girls. Harry was sleeping on the floor and Ron in his bed. Hedwig was now back inside her cage, which was situated next to Pig's.
"Night Ron." Harry muttered sleepily from his position on the floor, but all he got in reply was a loud snore, Ron had already fallen asleep. Harry drifted off into a nightmare-less sleep (for once) (AN: You know how when all those ppl say 'dreamless sleep' well I decided to say nightmare-less, just to make it different ^^) and when the door creaked open at around midnight he was too deep in 'la la land' to notice the pale looking ghost standing in the doorway, though if you looked closely you would notice that it was in fact a young girl in her nightgown. He never noticed as she walked softly across the room to kneel by his side. He sighed in his sleep and turned over so that the pale moonlight filtering through the window highlighted his face, and his scar. The girl stared at him for a while, at one point Hedwig woke up and gave a soft hoot, but seemed to realize that the ghostly figure meant her master no harm and went back to sleep.
The girl continued to stare at him; slowly she reached out to take one of his hands in hers, and seemed startled by the soft warm flesh. She clutched it tightly to her, as if she was afraid he'd fade away. She sat there, holding his hand tight, but he only mumbled incoherent stuff in his sleep and shifted his position slightly. After a while she slowly started to drift off into sleep; still clutching his hand.
~*~
Harry awoke, not to the bright light shining through the window and onto his face, but to the panicked shout and scampering down the hall towards the door. As he stirred slightly, he felt something heavy resting upon his chest, and shifted uncomfortably. Just then the door burst open to admit a panting Hermione.
"Harry!" She gasped out, her head down and panting, "Ron! Have you seen Fayle she seems to have dissape-e-ear-red... "She trailed off when she finally looked up and spotted the small figure, asleep, on top of Harry. Her mouth formed a perfect O and slowly Harry turned his head and looked down. Suddenly it dawned on him why his chest felt so heavy. With a yelp he scrambled madly up and the figure, who, just a second ago had been resting comfortably on top of him, rolled off with a moan. By this time Ron had woken up, and Ginny had peered her head round the doorway. They all stared at the waking figure, who sat up sleepily and blinked at all four of them. At least they'd found Fayle. Harry finally found his voice.
"What do you think you were doing!?" he demanded, perhaps a little more angrily than intended, because Fayle seemed to turn as pale as her night gown. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a gasp and managed to stutter out some barely recognizable words.
"Oh, my, I-I'm s-so sor-ry! I m-must-t of sl-lept wal-lked and... " With a slowly red turning face she got up and fled through the door, pushing past Hermione and Ginny, and down the corridor. Harry winced.
"I hope I didn't upset her too much... " Harry mumbled ashamedly.
"But Harry!" Hermione gasped, "She was asleep on top of you! That's just wrong! What was she even doing anyway!?"
"Yeah, but like she said, maybe she was just sleepwalking, and fell asleep on top of Harry or something... " Ron trailed off uncertainly, "And now she probably feels pretty upset and embarrassed."
"Your probably right Ron, but still, the nerve!" Hermione glared angrily where Fayle had been just a second ago. Suddenly Ron's face dawned an all- knowing look. He grinned.
"You know Hermione, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were jealous, and since I don't know you as well as I think I do... " He trailed off grinning, and Ginny giggled. Harry just stared, clueless. Hermione burned red.
"I'm not!!" She defended, still blushing, but Ron still grinned at her and gave her that I'm-not-fooled-by-that look. Hermione glanced worriedly to see if Harry'd caught on, but he continued to stay oblivious, much to her relief.
"Maybe I aught to see if she's okay?" Ginny offered. She stared to leave when Harry stopped her.
"No. I'm the one that made her upset, so I think I should go say I'm sorry." He walked past Ginny and down the hall. He knocked lightly on the door, while in the background arguing voices rose up.
"What?" came the slight whisper from behind the door, Harry had to strain to hear it.
"It's Harry." He sighed, "Can I come in?"
"Go away." Came the reply. Harry went in anyway. Fayle was sitting, huddled up on the bed; she had red tearstains down her cheeks. You could tell she'd been crying. Harry sat down next to her.
"Look, I'm sorry." He started.
"I thought I told you to go away." Came the meek reply.
"Well I came in anyway, and I said I was sorry."
"Why?" She looked up slightly, "There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You had a right to get angry, it was all my fault anyway."
"Perhaps." Harry sighed, he was getting nowhere. "But if you were indeed sleepwalking like you said then it's not your fault. You can't help it. Do you usually sleepwalk at home?" Fayle seemed to hesitate before replying, like she was contemplating whether or not to tell him something.
"Sometimes, I suppose." Her voice was shaky, almost as if she was about to cry. "Sometimes I go to my mother's room and sleep with her." Fayle bowed her head, and her hair fell like a curtain, covering her facial features. Harry frowned slightly; there was something wrong with what she said. Wait!
"Wait, your mother's room? What about your father, or... ?" He trailed off, unsure of what to say, what if she didn't have a father. It seemed he'd hit the jackpot.
"My f-father?" Her voice cracked, "M-my f-f-fa-a-th-ther, h-he, h-he, h-he... " Suddenly she broke out in sobs. She buried her head on his chest, and Harry, not knowing what else to do, wrapped his arms around the smaller girl and tried to comfort her.
"My f-father," She managed in-between sobs, "h-he's g-g-gon-ne! He's gone!"
"You mean he died? So did mine... and my mother."
"No! Y-you d-don't-t g-get it!" She beat her fist against him, he winced. "He's g-gone! Not d-dead, gone! He j-jus-st dissap-peared and n-never c-ca- ame b-back-k!" She continued to sob into his now soaking wet shirt and he continued to try and comfort her... rather like a father would to a child, he thought wryly. Just then, Hermione walked in. She stared questioningly at Harry when she saw him hugging the younger girl and he shrugged in return, mouthing the words 'father' and 'gone' to her over the sobs. She finally got it and went over to sit next to Fayle on her other side. She patted her back slowly.
"Shh. It's okay, everything will be okay." Slowly, Fayle's sobs subdued and she eventually untangled herself from Harry and his soaked shirt.
"S-sorry." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear away the tears.
"That's okay." Harry replied softly, "I know how you feel." On a lighter note he added, "I think I'm going to need a change of clothes don't you?" He grinned at her, and she flushed in embarrassment. Harry got up and moved over to the door. Hermione smiled at him, and he blushed. Fayle looked on knowingly. It was rather strange, to see her parents like this, it was strange to see both her parents period... but that wasn't the point.
Harry walked back to Ron's room, who raised an eyebrow at the soaked shirt.
" Emotional break-down" he replied in answer to the unspoken question.
"Oh. How is she?"
"She's okay now, but apparently she doesn't have a father. He supposedly disappeared, though I'm not quite sure what she means by that, do you?" Harry glanced questioningly at Ron, while he rummaged around in his trunk for a clean shirt.
"Could she mean he deserted them, you know, walked out on them? Or the type of disappearance where the parent dies suddenly, and no one knows what happened, type of 'disappeared'?" Ron watched as Harry peeled off his wet t- shirt and pulled on the more presentable one. He shrugged.
"Beats me."
~*~
During breakfast everyone wisely stayed off the topic of parents and family, or else possibly risk another emotional breakdown on behalf of Fayle. Once again, Mrs. Weasley's cooking surpassed that of any other (well, perhaps Hogwart's was a bit better) and everyone had a healthy, but delicious meal. Sirius seemed to think the same thing because he was constantly asking for more, and Mrs. Weasley kept commenting about what a healthy appetite he had.
"From what I heard, " Harry muttered to Ron, "He had an even 'healthier' appetite at Hogwarts. I kinda feel sorry for the house elves." He said it in a whisper, so as not to upset Hermione. She narrowed her eyes at them anyway, suspicious as always, after all, they were boys.
Just as Mrs. Weasley was clearing up the plates a large tawny owl fluttered through the open window. It carried seven letters in its beak, and looked thoroughly exhausted.
(AN: I can't quite remember whether or not if Fred and George are in school still in the fifth book, I think they are, so that's where I'm going to put them! ^^ Plz correct me if they're not, but even so, they're still going to stay because they're kind of essential, k, back to the story!)
It hopped down onto the table and deposited its burden in front of the teenagers before flapping its wings and flying out the window. Mrs. Weasley dried her hands on a kitchen towel from where she'd been washing up and walked over to take a look. She frowned when she saw the letters.
"A bit early, don't you think?"
"Mmm... " Hermione nodded her head in agreement before shifting through the letters to find hers. Picking it up, she noticed one that stood out. It had a first name, but no last name. Fayle. Wordlessly she picked it up and handed it to Fayle. Fayle stared at it curiously, before turning it over, and, recognizing the Hogwart's seal on the back, tore it open. Everyone watched her expectantly as she slowly unfolded her letter. They all watched as her brow creased, and then her eyes widened in surprise as she read through the letter. Seeing as she wasn't going to tell them what it was about they all shrugged and opened theirs.
Meanwhile Fayle re-read her letter, not sure if she'd read it correctly the first time around.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,
International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Underneath this was something that Fayle figured was not in a regular letter:
Due to the circumstances of your arrival it would be greatly appreciated if you kept quiet and go by the name of 'Moore.' Also, please see me after the welcoming feast so that we can straighten things out a bit. Professor McGonagall will show you the way to my office.
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
"Moore," she murmured.
"What?" Someone asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." She replied airily. How did Dumbledore know though? Her mother had said that he knew many things, but, it was as if he were expecting her. Shaking her head, Fayle cleared her thoughts and concentrated on what was happening that moment.
Everyone else was going through their school supplies list and muttering to themselves about the costs of so-and-so items. Fayle grimaced. Money. She already had all her school supplies at home, but she didn't have them with her at the moment. How was she going to get her supplies now? Sighing Fayle half-heartedly listened as Mrs. Weasley instructed them all that they were getting up early to go to Diagon Ally to get their supplies tomorrow morning.
"... And Fayle dear, would you like to come? Perhaps your parents will be there?" Fayle was jerked out of her reverie by the mention of her name.
"Huh? What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"I said," repeated Mrs. Weasley patiently, "Would you like to join us?"
"Oh." Fayle blushed, she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, "Sure, I kind of need to get some supplies myself, though how, I'm not sure... " She muttered the last bit to herself, though Harry heard.
"If you like you can borrow some of my money. You can pay me back later, when your mother comes." He smiled at her, and she thanked him. After all, even if she didn't pay him back, it's not like she was stealing. He was her father, and it was her money now... in a sense.
"Well now." Mrs. Weasley smiled around them brightly, "Why don't you all go and occupy yourselves, and Mr. Black, please do be careful."
"Yes Mother!" Sirius saluted her like he was a little boy and changed into his dog form with a pop before trailing after Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Sighing, Fayle followed.
~*~
Twenty games of chess, three staring contests, and four games of Quidditch can really exhaust someone, and so, later that evening the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Fayle, and Sirius all fell into bed; conked. That night Fayle managed to sleep the night through, and so avoided any other embarrassing episodes.
Harry had to be woken the next morning by a glass full of water over the head.
"W-what t-the... !" He spluttered, picking himself off of the soaked covers. Hermione, Ron, and Fayle stood in the doorway. The were all laughing, and Ron had collapsed on the floor along with Fayle. Hermione, who had a little more dignity than the rest was attempting to hold herself up by the door frame. Harry gave all three the evil eye before attempting to wring out his shirt, though it still clung to him.
"That's the second shirt." He said dryly, and Hermione had to turn her head away, so not to see her blush. Harry frowned again and glared pointedly at Hermione and Fayle.
"If you don't mind?" He pulled a change of clothes from his trunk, and Hermione blushed again. Fayle just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.
"Big deal, not like it matters to me." Of course no one heard, because if they had, she'd probably be put on the spot again.
Harry got dressed, again, and joined the girls and the rest of the Weasleys, and Sirius for breakfast. Breakfast was the usual deal, and Sirius's appetite hadn't changed a bit.
Afterwards they had an argument with Sirius, who wanted to come, but would be way too dangerous.
"I can stay a dog, just tell people that you got a new dog or something, they'll believe you!"
"No Sirius! What if someone recognizes you!?"
"No one even knows who I am!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"There, you said so yourself, No!" Harry grinned, and then turned to wink at the rest, leaving a gaping Sirius. He finally pouted and then sat down to ponder what he had gotten wrong. He was still pondering when they all left through floo.
~*~
"Oof!"
"Gerrof!"
"You!"
"Boys! Ron, get off of Harry." Hermione stood with her hands on her hips, and stared down at them. She even managed to look imposing covered from head to toe in soot. Ron rolled off of Harry, who then stood up and proceeded to brush soot off of himself.
"Why is it that Ron always lands on top of me? Next time, he's going first." Harry grumbled to himself.
"Come along boys! We mustn't dawdle! Gringotts bank, straight ahead,"
"Coming Mum!"
"Fayle dear, come along."
"Alright Mrs. Weasley." The eight of them trooped over to Gringotts wizard bank. Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ginny all shared a cart, while Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Fayle all got into the next. They had to stop twice along the way, once for the Weasleys and the second time for Hermione, before they got to Harry's vault. Harry scooped out double the amount of money he'd usually take and then handed Fayle enough for her to buy all her necessary supplies.
"Remember to pay me back, mind." He reminded her before they got back into the cart for another barf-inducing (AN: Don't even know if that makes any sense, but hey, it sounded okay so... ^^) ride back to the surface. They all stumbled into the fresh air again, a little woozy, all except Fayle, who kept chatting about roller coasters and how theme parks should take a tip from Gringotts.
"Hold on." Harry muttered. "You're muggle-born?"
"Huh?" Fayle turned to look at him. "Oh, no. My mother's muggle-born, my father's a pure blood, or pretty much a pure blood I suppose." She added cheerfully. "My mother takes me to theme parks all the time!" She skipped on ahead and peered into Flourish and Blotts's front window. She pulled out her supply list and looked over the necessary books she'd need before walking inside. Not knowing what else to do, everyone followed her.
They bought all the required books, and had to virtually drag Hermione and Fayle out of the store so that they could get the rest of their stuff. If they hadn't done anything they suspected that at the end of the day the two would've still been in there.
"But... but!"
"No, come on, can't spend the whole day reading!" Fayle 'Harrumphed' and crossed her arms before muttering,
"I could."
"So could I." Hermione nodded her head feverishly in agreement. Harry and Ron just groaned.
While Hermione and Fayle would spend all day in Flourish and Blotts, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George would rather spend it in Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"Come on boys! There's nothing in here that is compulsory for school!"
"Mum! Everything we need for school is right here!"
"Yes, how could you say such a thing!?" Fred and George exchanged scandalized looks. Harry had his eyes glued to a new and revised edition of Quidditch Through the Ages. Ron was staring at the brooms, mainly the Firebolt, not that he hadn't seen enough of Harry's. There had been no new brooms that year. After having to lug Harry, Ron, Fred, and George out of the Quidditch supplies store, more (boring, I might add) shopping followed.
Two arduous hours later the group sprawled in chairs around a table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor licking ice creams and relaxing in the mild heat. Hermione and Fayle and Ginny were having an animated conversation about... well... the stuff girls generally talk about, even though Fayle was only eleven, she still managed to fit in. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were talking about Quidditch... like usual. Mrs. Weasley was fusing over the costs of the school supplies, and Sirius was still sulking at the Burrow... speaking of Sirius...
~*~
... bored, bored, bored... how did he do it!? Sirius whined to himself, as he lay stretched out on the Weasley's couch.
What did I do wrong? Hmm... I said, "Yes," then he said... Oh! He said, "Yes" so I automatically said "No!" Ha! Sirius jumped up from his idle position in glee and did a little dance... doggy style.
I must celebrate! Wagging his tail, the big black dog trotted into the kitchen and started nosing around in the pantry. He found some bread and decided he'd rather go on a treasure hunt than eat bread, and so, wagging his tail, he trotted up the stairs. He had fully intended to go up to the attic, and perhaps play tag with the ghoul that lived up there, but instead, got sidetracked. He ended up nosing through the bedrooms. He wisely avoided Mr. And Mrs. Weasley's bedroom, and for good measure, Percy's too. He first nosed around in Ron's room, and for some inexplicable reason only known to him, ended up trying out one of Pig's owl treats. He quickly spat it out and continued on his "treasure hunt" for God knows what... even he didn't know what.
Next came Ginny's room. The smells of girly cosmetics and perfumes were intoxicating, and he almost gagged... if dogs could gag that is. Although the sensible part of his brain kept chanting, out, out, out, the more adventurous part of his brain kept chanting, treasure hunt, treasure hunt, treasure hunt, apparently the more adventurous half of his brain won out because he continued his nosing around.
Because Sirius was Sirius he just had to stick his nose under the bed, and because Sirius's luck was, well, Sirius's luck, there just happened to be a considerable amount of dust.
Ah! Dust! He felt his nose start to tingle, just as he took a deep breath, and the result was probably heard throughout the neighborhood.
KACHOO!
Dust flew everywhere and a crumpled piece of paper came spinning out. Sirius eyed the paper experimentally after pawing at his nose for a bit.
Paper, paper, paper... rip, tear, destroy! Paper, paper, paper... He grabbed the paper in-between his teeth and ripped it in half. He was about to start chewing happily when a name on the paper caught his eye.
Ms. Potter
Not Mr. Potter, nor Harry Potter, but Ms. Potter. He was so startled that the piece of paper dropped from his mouth and he turned back into his human form with a Pop. He sat, crouching, in shock for a moment or two before he picked up the two pieces and carefully smoothed them out. He was thinking much more rationally now that he was out of his dog form. The dog brain seemed to affect him in some unexplainable way, it was a happy way, but it still affected him.
He sat, cross-legged, down on the futon that Hermione and Fayle shared, and re-read the first line again.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore...
So it was a Hogwart's letter. Perhaps they'd just made a mistake on Harry's name... but then why had it been in Ginny's bedroom? He skipped down to the line where they addressed the person.
Dear Ms. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that...
He froze, and went back to re-read the beginning of the letter. The deputy head only opened up like that if it was your first year at Hogwarts... they couldn't have made that many mistakes on Harry's letter... this wasn't Harry's letter. Who... He stopped his line of thought and skipped back to the end of the letter where there seemed to be a bit extra which he hadn't noticed before.
Due to the circumstances of your arrival it would be greatly appreciated if you kept quiet and go by the name of 'Moore.' Also, please see me after the welcoming feast so that we can straighten things out a bit. Professor McGonagall will show you the way to my office.
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Something was not right. Something was wrong. This letter was not a mistake... and someone else out there was really named Potter. Obviously Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know that, why? What was so bad about having the same last name as... unless... who could it be? It had to be a girl, McGonagall would not address a boy as Ms. what did Dumbledore mean by, due to the circumstances of your arrival? How did the letter get here? There was no one in this house that would... he froze... Fayle...
... due to the circumstances of your arrival...
... falling out of the sky...
... first year...
... refusal to tell last name...
... bright green eyes...
... bushy brown hair...
... acts so much like...
... Potter...
"Oh my God... " He whispered. The letter fell from his hand, forgotten, as he put a shaking hand to his head and rubbed his temple. He sat there, shaking, for a minute or two before standing up determinedly.
"You've got some explaining to do little girl!" He growled before he changed into "Snuffles" with a pop.
A lot of explaining...
AN: I know, I had to have someone find out, Sirius seemed like the best person... dog... whatever. And I know some of you are thinking, how could he have found the letter if Fayle had it with her in Diagon Ally? Well, she ripped it off earlier, because, I mean, what if someone had picked it up while she was shopping or something? So she stashed it under the bed, for until she came home... ya... hope that clears up some stuff a bit! ^^
Review for more story, you know the drill!^~
Anyway, I typed more story for ur enjoyment! ^^ hope u likey!
By the way, you should feel privileged and honored because I got the next chapter up so early!!!! HURRAH! (lol ^^;)
On with the story, REVIEW PLZ!
*Chapter 3*
~*~
"Boys are so immature!" Mum rolled her eyes at me.
"Totally." I nodded my head in agreement, still, mentally, giggling. I could get used to this!
~*~
The rest of the day went relatively well, if you could ignore the fact that an eleven year old girl got spat out of the sky into your backyard and is acting very strangely, like she knows you, apart from that, it was a good birthday for Harry.
They'd included Fayle in the party, not having anything else to do with her, and she seemed to fit in perfectly. She also got along really well with Hermione (possibly because of the fact that, if you subtracted the age difference, they were almost perfect clones, personality and looks to boot too.) and Harry. Surprisingly enough she didn't get along with Ginny, who was closer to her age, as well as they'd originally thought.
As the day drew to a close everyone began to worry about what to do with Fayle. Her parents were probably worried sick, and yet, still, she insisted she couldn't tell them anything. Harry was starting to become slightly suspicious, which, for Fayle, wasn't good. In the end, against most's better judgment, they agreed to let her stay the night. She would be sleeping with Hermione and Ginny in Ginny's room, which was just down the hall from Ron's. She would also be borrowing one of Ginny's old nightgowns, it was a little big, but it still fit.
"G'night Hermione, Ginny... and Fayle." Ron yawned before walking into his room and shutting the door.
"Planning to lock me out Ron?" Harry scowled at the door.
"Oops, sorry Harry." Ron's sleepy face appeared from behind the now open door and Harry stepped inside after saying goodnight to the girls. Harry was sleeping on the floor and Ron in his bed. Hedwig was now back inside her cage, which was situated next to Pig's.
"Night Ron." Harry muttered sleepily from his position on the floor, but all he got in reply was a loud snore, Ron had already fallen asleep. Harry drifted off into a nightmare-less sleep (for once) (AN: You know how when all those ppl say 'dreamless sleep' well I decided to say nightmare-less, just to make it different ^^) and when the door creaked open at around midnight he was too deep in 'la la land' to notice the pale looking ghost standing in the doorway, though if you looked closely you would notice that it was in fact a young girl in her nightgown. He never noticed as she walked softly across the room to kneel by his side. He sighed in his sleep and turned over so that the pale moonlight filtering through the window highlighted his face, and his scar. The girl stared at him for a while, at one point Hedwig woke up and gave a soft hoot, but seemed to realize that the ghostly figure meant her master no harm and went back to sleep.
The girl continued to stare at him; slowly she reached out to take one of his hands in hers, and seemed startled by the soft warm flesh. She clutched it tightly to her, as if she was afraid he'd fade away. She sat there, holding his hand tight, but he only mumbled incoherent stuff in his sleep and shifted his position slightly. After a while she slowly started to drift off into sleep; still clutching his hand.
~*~
Harry awoke, not to the bright light shining through the window and onto his face, but to the panicked shout and scampering down the hall towards the door. As he stirred slightly, he felt something heavy resting upon his chest, and shifted uncomfortably. Just then the door burst open to admit a panting Hermione.
"Harry!" She gasped out, her head down and panting, "Ron! Have you seen Fayle she seems to have dissape-e-ear-red... "She trailed off when she finally looked up and spotted the small figure, asleep, on top of Harry. Her mouth formed a perfect O and slowly Harry turned his head and looked down. Suddenly it dawned on him why his chest felt so heavy. With a yelp he scrambled madly up and the figure, who, just a second ago had been resting comfortably on top of him, rolled off with a moan. By this time Ron had woken up, and Ginny had peered her head round the doorway. They all stared at the waking figure, who sat up sleepily and blinked at all four of them. At least they'd found Fayle. Harry finally found his voice.
"What do you think you were doing!?" he demanded, perhaps a little more angrily than intended, because Fayle seemed to turn as pale as her night gown. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a gasp and managed to stutter out some barely recognizable words.
"Oh, my, I-I'm s-so sor-ry! I m-must-t of sl-lept wal-lked and... " With a slowly red turning face she got up and fled through the door, pushing past Hermione and Ginny, and down the corridor. Harry winced.
"I hope I didn't upset her too much... " Harry mumbled ashamedly.
"But Harry!" Hermione gasped, "She was asleep on top of you! That's just wrong! What was she even doing anyway!?"
"Yeah, but like she said, maybe she was just sleepwalking, and fell asleep on top of Harry or something... " Ron trailed off uncertainly, "And now she probably feels pretty upset and embarrassed."
"Your probably right Ron, but still, the nerve!" Hermione glared angrily where Fayle had been just a second ago. Suddenly Ron's face dawned an all- knowing look. He grinned.
"You know Hermione, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were jealous, and since I don't know you as well as I think I do... " He trailed off grinning, and Ginny giggled. Harry just stared, clueless. Hermione burned red.
"I'm not!!" She defended, still blushing, but Ron still grinned at her and gave her that I'm-not-fooled-by-that look. Hermione glanced worriedly to see if Harry'd caught on, but he continued to stay oblivious, much to her relief.
"Maybe I aught to see if she's okay?" Ginny offered. She stared to leave when Harry stopped her.
"No. I'm the one that made her upset, so I think I should go say I'm sorry." He walked past Ginny and down the hall. He knocked lightly on the door, while in the background arguing voices rose up.
"What?" came the slight whisper from behind the door, Harry had to strain to hear it.
"It's Harry." He sighed, "Can I come in?"
"Go away." Came the reply. Harry went in anyway. Fayle was sitting, huddled up on the bed; she had red tearstains down her cheeks. You could tell she'd been crying. Harry sat down next to her.
"Look, I'm sorry." He started.
"I thought I told you to go away." Came the meek reply.
"Well I came in anyway, and I said I was sorry."
"Why?" She looked up slightly, "There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You had a right to get angry, it was all my fault anyway."
"Perhaps." Harry sighed, he was getting nowhere. "But if you were indeed sleepwalking like you said then it's not your fault. You can't help it. Do you usually sleepwalk at home?" Fayle seemed to hesitate before replying, like she was contemplating whether or not to tell him something.
"Sometimes, I suppose." Her voice was shaky, almost as if she was about to cry. "Sometimes I go to my mother's room and sleep with her." Fayle bowed her head, and her hair fell like a curtain, covering her facial features. Harry frowned slightly; there was something wrong with what she said. Wait!
"Wait, your mother's room? What about your father, or... ?" He trailed off, unsure of what to say, what if she didn't have a father. It seemed he'd hit the jackpot.
"My f-father?" Her voice cracked, "M-my f-f-fa-a-th-ther, h-he, h-he, h-he... " Suddenly she broke out in sobs. She buried her head on his chest, and Harry, not knowing what else to do, wrapped his arms around the smaller girl and tried to comfort her.
"My f-father," She managed in-between sobs, "h-he's g-g-gon-ne! He's gone!"
"You mean he died? So did mine... and my mother."
"No! Y-you d-don't-t g-get it!" She beat her fist against him, he winced. "He's g-gone! Not d-dead, gone! He j-jus-st dissap-peared and n-never c-ca- ame b-back-k!" She continued to sob into his now soaking wet shirt and he continued to try and comfort her... rather like a father would to a child, he thought wryly. Just then, Hermione walked in. She stared questioningly at Harry when she saw him hugging the younger girl and he shrugged in return, mouthing the words 'father' and 'gone' to her over the sobs. She finally got it and went over to sit next to Fayle on her other side. She patted her back slowly.
"Shh. It's okay, everything will be okay." Slowly, Fayle's sobs subdued and she eventually untangled herself from Harry and his soaked shirt.
"S-sorry." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear away the tears.
"That's okay." Harry replied softly, "I know how you feel." On a lighter note he added, "I think I'm going to need a change of clothes don't you?" He grinned at her, and she flushed in embarrassment. Harry got up and moved over to the door. Hermione smiled at him, and he blushed. Fayle looked on knowingly. It was rather strange, to see her parents like this, it was strange to see both her parents period... but that wasn't the point.
Harry walked back to Ron's room, who raised an eyebrow at the soaked shirt.
" Emotional break-down" he replied in answer to the unspoken question.
"Oh. How is she?"
"She's okay now, but apparently she doesn't have a father. He supposedly disappeared, though I'm not quite sure what she means by that, do you?" Harry glanced questioningly at Ron, while he rummaged around in his trunk for a clean shirt.
"Could she mean he deserted them, you know, walked out on them? Or the type of disappearance where the parent dies suddenly, and no one knows what happened, type of 'disappeared'?" Ron watched as Harry peeled off his wet t- shirt and pulled on the more presentable one. He shrugged.
"Beats me."
~*~
During breakfast everyone wisely stayed off the topic of parents and family, or else possibly risk another emotional breakdown on behalf of Fayle. Once again, Mrs. Weasley's cooking surpassed that of any other (well, perhaps Hogwart's was a bit better) and everyone had a healthy, but delicious meal. Sirius seemed to think the same thing because he was constantly asking for more, and Mrs. Weasley kept commenting about what a healthy appetite he had.
"From what I heard, " Harry muttered to Ron, "He had an even 'healthier' appetite at Hogwarts. I kinda feel sorry for the house elves." He said it in a whisper, so as not to upset Hermione. She narrowed her eyes at them anyway, suspicious as always, after all, they were boys.
Just as Mrs. Weasley was clearing up the plates a large tawny owl fluttered through the open window. It carried seven letters in its beak, and looked thoroughly exhausted.
(AN: I can't quite remember whether or not if Fred and George are in school still in the fifth book, I think they are, so that's where I'm going to put them! ^^ Plz correct me if they're not, but even so, they're still going to stay because they're kind of essential, k, back to the story!)
It hopped down onto the table and deposited its burden in front of the teenagers before flapping its wings and flying out the window. Mrs. Weasley dried her hands on a kitchen towel from where she'd been washing up and walked over to take a look. She frowned when she saw the letters.
"A bit early, don't you think?"
"Mmm... " Hermione nodded her head in agreement before shifting through the letters to find hers. Picking it up, she noticed one that stood out. It had a first name, but no last name. Fayle. Wordlessly she picked it up and handed it to Fayle. Fayle stared at it curiously, before turning it over, and, recognizing the Hogwart's seal on the back, tore it open. Everyone watched her expectantly as she slowly unfolded her letter. They all watched as her brow creased, and then her eyes widened in surprise as she read through the letter. Seeing as she wasn't going to tell them what it was about they all shrugged and opened theirs.
Meanwhile Fayle re-read her letter, not sure if she'd read it correctly the first time around.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump,
International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Underneath this was something that Fayle figured was not in a regular letter:
Due to the circumstances of your arrival it would be greatly appreciated if you kept quiet and go by the name of 'Moore.' Also, please see me after the welcoming feast so that we can straighten things out a bit. Professor McGonagall will show you the way to my office.
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
"Moore," she murmured.
"What?" Someone asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." She replied airily. How did Dumbledore know though? Her mother had said that he knew many things, but, it was as if he were expecting her. Shaking her head, Fayle cleared her thoughts and concentrated on what was happening that moment.
Everyone else was going through their school supplies list and muttering to themselves about the costs of so-and-so items. Fayle grimaced. Money. She already had all her school supplies at home, but she didn't have them with her at the moment. How was she going to get her supplies now? Sighing Fayle half-heartedly listened as Mrs. Weasley instructed them all that they were getting up early to go to Diagon Ally to get their supplies tomorrow morning.
"... And Fayle dear, would you like to come? Perhaps your parents will be there?" Fayle was jerked out of her reverie by the mention of her name.
"Huh? What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"I said," repeated Mrs. Weasley patiently, "Would you like to join us?"
"Oh." Fayle blushed, she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, "Sure, I kind of need to get some supplies myself, though how, I'm not sure... " She muttered the last bit to herself, though Harry heard.
"If you like you can borrow some of my money. You can pay me back later, when your mother comes." He smiled at her, and she thanked him. After all, even if she didn't pay him back, it's not like she was stealing. He was her father, and it was her money now... in a sense.
"Well now." Mrs. Weasley smiled around them brightly, "Why don't you all go and occupy yourselves, and Mr. Black, please do be careful."
"Yes Mother!" Sirius saluted her like he was a little boy and changed into his dog form with a pop before trailing after Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Sighing, Fayle followed.
~*~
Twenty games of chess, three staring contests, and four games of Quidditch can really exhaust someone, and so, later that evening the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Fayle, and Sirius all fell into bed; conked. That night Fayle managed to sleep the night through, and so avoided any other embarrassing episodes.
Harry had to be woken the next morning by a glass full of water over the head.
"W-what t-the... !" He spluttered, picking himself off of the soaked covers. Hermione, Ron, and Fayle stood in the doorway. The were all laughing, and Ron had collapsed on the floor along with Fayle. Hermione, who had a little more dignity than the rest was attempting to hold herself up by the door frame. Harry gave all three the evil eye before attempting to wring out his shirt, though it still clung to him.
"That's the second shirt." He said dryly, and Hermione had to turn her head away, so not to see her blush. Harry frowned again and glared pointedly at Hermione and Fayle.
"If you don't mind?" He pulled a change of clothes from his trunk, and Hermione blushed again. Fayle just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.
"Big deal, not like it matters to me." Of course no one heard, because if they had, she'd probably be put on the spot again.
Harry got dressed, again, and joined the girls and the rest of the Weasleys, and Sirius for breakfast. Breakfast was the usual deal, and Sirius's appetite hadn't changed a bit.
Afterwards they had an argument with Sirius, who wanted to come, but would be way too dangerous.
"I can stay a dog, just tell people that you got a new dog or something, they'll believe you!"
"No Sirius! What if someone recognizes you!?"
"No one even knows who I am!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"There, you said so yourself, No!" Harry grinned, and then turned to wink at the rest, leaving a gaping Sirius. He finally pouted and then sat down to ponder what he had gotten wrong. He was still pondering when they all left through floo.
~*~
"Oof!"
"Gerrof!"
"You!"
"Boys! Ron, get off of Harry." Hermione stood with her hands on her hips, and stared down at them. She even managed to look imposing covered from head to toe in soot. Ron rolled off of Harry, who then stood up and proceeded to brush soot off of himself.
"Why is it that Ron always lands on top of me? Next time, he's going first." Harry grumbled to himself.
"Come along boys! We mustn't dawdle! Gringotts bank, straight ahead,"
"Coming Mum!"
"Fayle dear, come along."
"Alright Mrs. Weasley." The eight of them trooped over to Gringotts wizard bank. Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ginny all shared a cart, while Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Fayle all got into the next. They had to stop twice along the way, once for the Weasleys and the second time for Hermione, before they got to Harry's vault. Harry scooped out double the amount of money he'd usually take and then handed Fayle enough for her to buy all her necessary supplies.
"Remember to pay me back, mind." He reminded her before they got back into the cart for another barf-inducing (AN: Don't even know if that makes any sense, but hey, it sounded okay so... ^^) ride back to the surface. They all stumbled into the fresh air again, a little woozy, all except Fayle, who kept chatting about roller coasters and how theme parks should take a tip from Gringotts.
"Hold on." Harry muttered. "You're muggle-born?"
"Huh?" Fayle turned to look at him. "Oh, no. My mother's muggle-born, my father's a pure blood, or pretty much a pure blood I suppose." She added cheerfully. "My mother takes me to theme parks all the time!" She skipped on ahead and peered into Flourish and Blotts's front window. She pulled out her supply list and looked over the necessary books she'd need before walking inside. Not knowing what else to do, everyone followed her.
They bought all the required books, and had to virtually drag Hermione and Fayle out of the store so that they could get the rest of their stuff. If they hadn't done anything they suspected that at the end of the day the two would've still been in there.
"But... but!"
"No, come on, can't spend the whole day reading!" Fayle 'Harrumphed' and crossed her arms before muttering,
"I could."
"So could I." Hermione nodded her head feverishly in agreement. Harry and Ron just groaned.
While Hermione and Fayle would spend all day in Flourish and Blotts, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George would rather spend it in Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"Come on boys! There's nothing in here that is compulsory for school!"
"Mum! Everything we need for school is right here!"
"Yes, how could you say such a thing!?" Fred and George exchanged scandalized looks. Harry had his eyes glued to a new and revised edition of Quidditch Through the Ages. Ron was staring at the brooms, mainly the Firebolt, not that he hadn't seen enough of Harry's. There had been no new brooms that year. After having to lug Harry, Ron, Fred, and George out of the Quidditch supplies store, more (boring, I might add) shopping followed.
Two arduous hours later the group sprawled in chairs around a table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor licking ice creams and relaxing in the mild heat. Hermione and Fayle and Ginny were having an animated conversation about... well... the stuff girls generally talk about, even though Fayle was only eleven, she still managed to fit in. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were talking about Quidditch... like usual. Mrs. Weasley was fusing over the costs of the school supplies, and Sirius was still sulking at the Burrow... speaking of Sirius...
~*~
... bored, bored, bored... how did he do it!? Sirius whined to himself, as he lay stretched out on the Weasley's couch.
What did I do wrong? Hmm... I said, "Yes," then he said... Oh! He said, "Yes" so I automatically said "No!" Ha! Sirius jumped up from his idle position in glee and did a little dance... doggy style.
I must celebrate! Wagging his tail, the big black dog trotted into the kitchen and started nosing around in the pantry. He found some bread and decided he'd rather go on a treasure hunt than eat bread, and so, wagging his tail, he trotted up the stairs. He had fully intended to go up to the attic, and perhaps play tag with the ghoul that lived up there, but instead, got sidetracked. He ended up nosing through the bedrooms. He wisely avoided Mr. And Mrs. Weasley's bedroom, and for good measure, Percy's too. He first nosed around in Ron's room, and for some inexplicable reason only known to him, ended up trying out one of Pig's owl treats. He quickly spat it out and continued on his "treasure hunt" for God knows what... even he didn't know what.
Next came Ginny's room. The smells of girly cosmetics and perfumes were intoxicating, and he almost gagged... if dogs could gag that is. Although the sensible part of his brain kept chanting, out, out, out, the more adventurous part of his brain kept chanting, treasure hunt, treasure hunt, treasure hunt, apparently the more adventurous half of his brain won out because he continued his nosing around.
Because Sirius was Sirius he just had to stick his nose under the bed, and because Sirius's luck was, well, Sirius's luck, there just happened to be a considerable amount of dust.
Ah! Dust! He felt his nose start to tingle, just as he took a deep breath, and the result was probably heard throughout the neighborhood.
KACHOO!
Dust flew everywhere and a crumpled piece of paper came spinning out. Sirius eyed the paper experimentally after pawing at his nose for a bit.
Paper, paper, paper... rip, tear, destroy! Paper, paper, paper... He grabbed the paper in-between his teeth and ripped it in half. He was about to start chewing happily when a name on the paper caught his eye.
Ms. Potter
Not Mr. Potter, nor Harry Potter, but Ms. Potter. He was so startled that the piece of paper dropped from his mouth and he turned back into his human form with a Pop. He sat, crouching, in shock for a moment or two before he picked up the two pieces and carefully smoothed them out. He was thinking much more rationally now that he was out of his dog form. The dog brain seemed to affect him in some unexplainable way, it was a happy way, but it still affected him.
He sat, cross-legged, down on the futon that Hermione and Fayle shared, and re-read the first line again.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore...
So it was a Hogwart's letter. Perhaps they'd just made a mistake on Harry's name... but then why had it been in Ginny's bedroom? He skipped down to the line where they addressed the person.
Dear Ms. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that...
He froze, and went back to re-read the beginning of the letter. The deputy head only opened up like that if it was your first year at Hogwarts... they couldn't have made that many mistakes on Harry's letter... this wasn't Harry's letter. Who... He stopped his line of thought and skipped back to the end of the letter where there seemed to be a bit extra which he hadn't noticed before.
Due to the circumstances of your arrival it would be greatly appreciated if you kept quiet and go by the name of 'Moore.' Also, please see me after the welcoming feast so that we can straighten things out a bit. Professor McGonagall will show you the way to my office.
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Something was not right. Something was wrong. This letter was not a mistake... and someone else out there was really named Potter. Obviously Dumbledore didn't want anyone to know that, why? What was so bad about having the same last name as... unless... who could it be? It had to be a girl, McGonagall would not address a boy as Ms. what did Dumbledore mean by, due to the circumstances of your arrival? How did the letter get here? There was no one in this house that would... he froze... Fayle...
... due to the circumstances of your arrival...
... falling out of the sky...
... first year...
... refusal to tell last name...
... bright green eyes...
... bushy brown hair...
... acts so much like...
... Potter...
"Oh my God... " He whispered. The letter fell from his hand, forgotten, as he put a shaking hand to his head and rubbed his temple. He sat there, shaking, for a minute or two before standing up determinedly.
"You've got some explaining to do little girl!" He growled before he changed into "Snuffles" with a pop.
A lot of explaining...
AN: I know, I had to have someone find out, Sirius seemed like the best person... dog... whatever. And I know some of you are thinking, how could he have found the letter if Fayle had it with her in Diagon Ally? Well, she ripped it off earlier, because, I mean, what if someone had picked it up while she was shopping or something? So she stashed it under the bed, for until she came home... ya... hope that clears up some stuff a bit! ^^
Review for more story, you know the drill!^~