Chapter 16: Unfriendly Gestures
"I want someone on the inside, keeping an eye on Helen," Harry said, watching the Dursleys go up the front stairs of Goldenrod Academy. "Just in case Dudley decides to try something funny."
"I'll go," said Charlie. "Experience with dragons might come in handy with that mother of hers. Where's her dorm at, Harry?"
"Ground floor. In through the main entrance, second right, then first door on the left."
"Got it." Charlie Disillusioned himself and Disapparated.
"You know, we're doing a lot of magic around here," Ron said. "And we'll be doing more tonight, if the twins have their way. The Ministry's bound to notice."
"Well, why don't you go and very nicely ask Seamus and Dean if they can jigger the boards for us?" Ginny poked her brother in the side. "Tell them what it's for. I'm sure they'll be happy to help us out again."
"Ow – fine. I'm going, I'm going." Ron stood up, dusted off his robes, and Disapparated in his turn.
"They're so easy to manipulate, aren't they," said Hermione fondly, looking at the place where Ron had been.
"It's to make up for the fact that you can't get anywhere asking them directly, because they're either dense as rocks or stubborn as mules," Ginny answered.
"The Weasleys, or men in general?" Harry asked.
"Yes," said the two most important women in his life at the same time.
Harry sighed. "Trying to get a straight answer out of a woman is like trying to keep Peeves from throwing things around."
Hermione held him down while Ginny tickled.
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The girl who had been kneeling beside Marie scooted away in horror. "You're making friends with her? She's a freak, a witch, she said so herself!"
"She helped me, 'Manda. It doesn't even hurt anymore. Whatsamatter, you scared of her?"
"Yes. And so should you be. She did something to you, something to your head. She messed you up inside, messed up your thinking so you'd be her friend and not ours. Well, fine, be that way." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "You're out. You're no Thornblossom any more!"
"Amanda..." Marie started, but the girl was already out the door. She sighed. "She's going to spread the word. This time tomorrow, my name will be mud all over this place."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."
"'Snot your fault. It's just the way life works."
"What's a Thornblossom?"
"My gang... well, it was, anyway. All the gangs have names. Thornblossoms, Queendogs, stuff like that. You stick with your gang and don't mess with other people's, and you look out for your gang above anything. At least that's the way it's supposed to work. I bucked the system, shaking with you after you busted my gang. They're all gonna be after me for making friends with the enemy."
Helen sighed. "It shouldn't be that way. It isn't, where I'm going."
"Yeah, so tell me about this family of yours. If I'm gonna get beat up, at least I wanna have some good stories to show for it."
They sat on Helen's bed, and Helen began to tell Marie about her home, her parents and siblings and relatives. Marie listened, apparently entranced by the vision of a happy life, not out of reach but embodied in front of her.
"How did you end up here, anyway?" Helen asked, suddenly remembering where she was. "You seem really nice. What did you do to get stuck here?"
"I haven't got any real family, not like you." Marie grimaced. "Just a cousin, and she doesn't like me. But my parents left me some major money, so she took care of me to get the income. Until some guy tried to get friendly at school. Too friendly. I pulled a knife on him."
Helen gasped.
"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, I didn't do anything," said Marie impatiently. "But his family made a big fuss, and my cousin saw a chance to get rid of me, and here I am. I hate this place, but at least here, no one tries to hide that they hate you. It's all out in the open."
Helen looked at the bed. "I wish I could help," she said in a small voice.
"Hey, you already did. Now I got stuff to think about, good memories and stories, even if they're not mine."
Helen smiled. "You want some ABC Gum?"
"Already Been Chewed? I'm not that stupid!"
"No, not like that. When you blow bubbles, they come out shaped like letters of the alphabet."
"This I gotta see," Marie said, holding out her hand. "Bring it on."
Helen laid a stick in her friend's hand, then unwrapped one for herself. "We play this game at home," she said around the wad in her mouth. "We blow bubbles and come up with a name from the initials they make. Wanna try?"
"Sure, why not."
Helen blew an H, and Marie a P. "Me!" Helen exclaimed. "Helen Potter! Or my dad, his name's Harry."
"My turn," said Marie. "C and D, ummm... Charles Dickens!"
The game speeded up, with both girls calling out answers, ranging from well-known to silly.
"W.C., Winston Churchill," Helen said.
"Or water closet," Marie offered. They both laughed so hard they had trouble blowing bubbles for a moment.
"M.T., Margaret Thatcher!" said Marie, at the same moment Helen said, "Mr. Tibbles!"
"Mr. Tibbles?" Marie stared at Helen. "Who the heck is Mr. Tibbles?"
"A friend of mine has a lot of cats, and she keeps photos of them," Helen explained. "One of her cats was named Mr. Tibbles."
"Oh, I love cats," Marie said. "You had a couple of beauties out on the playground. Where'd they come from, anyway?"
"Well, you need to understand something," Helen said, grinning. "That was my mum, my real mum, and my Grandma Minnie, the Headmistress at my new school. They can turn into cats."
"Wow," Marie breathed. "That would be amazing. I wish I could do that."
"How old are you?" Helen asked, wondering if there was a chance her friend was also a witch.
"Thirteen. Most people guess younger 'cause I'm small."
Helen sighed, but she knew it wasn't too much of a loss. She had a lot of witch friends already – it would make a nice change to have a Muggle friend. "Let's keep going."
"Okay. C.W."
"C.W. Hmmmm." Helen looked thoughtfully at the bubbles.
"Come on, Fireball, this one's not so hard," said a voice from the corner.
Marie squealed. "Oh my God, there's somebody over there!"
"Uncle Charlie!" Helen tumbled off the bed and ran to the corner of the room. "You scared us!"
Laughing, Charlie Weasley allowed himself to emerge from the whitewashed wall and fended off Helen's mock attacks.
A door slammed somewhere up the hall. Everyone jumped, and Marie whimpered slightly at the sound of footsteps and furious voices.
Charlie just got himself re-Disillusioned before the door of the room, already unlatched, slammed into the wall beyond it.
Helen's father, her mother, and the Headmaster entered the room in an angry-looking cluster.
"Are you responsible for this, young woman?" asked the Headmaster in a very quiet voice, handing Helen a piece of paper.
Helen began to read.
Headmaster Lutch:
Greetings. My name is Harry Potter, and you are keeping my daughter in your school against my wishes. As my wife Ginevra informed you, I will be taking corrective measures immediately.
I have recently received word that my authorities are willing to overlook whatever my friends and I choose to do here tonight, on the conditions that there be no permanent damage to life or property, and that we provide them with photographs. However, with the kind of power that we have, permanent damage is something of a flexible concept.
I've also been informed that your given name is Thomas. I'm delighted, since my team has an excellent record against sadistic megalomaniacs named Tom.
My wife and I will arrive in your office tomorrow morning to discuss Helen's guardianship with you and the Dursley family.
Enjoy your night. It should be an eventful one.
"How dare you do this, you ungrateful little sneak," hissed her father, his face a horrid shade of maroon. "After we gave you life, fed you and clothed you for eleven years, how dare you try and run off with those freaks?"
Helen displayed her hand to her father in a position universally understood to be disapproving.
Strangled sounds emerged from the corner of the room.
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(A/N: I know. That update schedule is just a big crock of... stuff, isn't it?
Kraeg001: Oh. Oh, my. ::blush::
Gyre: Yes, he has, hasn't he? Thanks for the idea. Let's see where it leads, eh?
Annikaya: Welcome to my list, and thank you!
athenakitty: Yes, Dudley does seem to attract pranks... and as for Harry enjoying himself, hmm, I wonder... "Oh, look, it's my big ugly Muggle cousin who used to beat me up, and now I get to scare the living daylights out of him..." I'm usually a very nice person, but I have NO sympathy for Dudley. He deserves whatever he gets.
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Who needs sleep? Fan fic is so much more fun... (And just in case I've never said this, that is one outrageous handle you've got.)
Lady Cinnibar: Yay! You like me! Oh no... I'm encouraging computer larceny! J/k. Thanks for being willing to do slightly unlawful things to follow my work!
Joshua: Greatness?! ::big blush:: It may not be next chapter (well, this chapter now, so it's not) but trust me, it will be worth the wait...
Silhouette of Sin: Thanks. Hope she's not too sweetsie to be realistic.
Sneezy Mouse: Wow! My longest review ever! Thank you so much. My parents considered naming me Helen, so the name has kind of been rattling around my consciousness as long as I've been alive, and I finally found the perfect character to give it to.
As for the children's names, I figure, why insult Harry's intelligence? Let him have some creativity. Yes, Ruby was named after Rubeus Hagrid, but as they say, the people who matter don't mind, and the people who mind don't matter. And I shall attempt to turn it into a series... eventually...
bewitched: Left you till last on purpose, since you brought up two slightly tough points. I'm not quite sure what you mean by anything else. Other fan fics, yes – see my author page. Other stories, originals – heavens yes, but nothing published, yet. With fan fic, you guys will forgive me my rough edges, but if it's an original work, I want it to be perfect. Why? Would you read something by me?
And Marcie. Thank you for the praise, but I can take only as much credit for Marcie as JKR can for Gilderoy Lockhart, and for exactly the same reason. I only dare to put her in my stories because: (1) She thinks Harry Potter is utterly beneath her, and I doubt she knows fan fiction exists, so she'll never read this, and (2) Even if she did, it's Lockhart again – she would NEVER recognize herself.
Note to everyone: I have decided to let my inner Slytherin come out and play. Heh heh heh.
If my other fic, Resonance, reaches a total of 15 reviews by Wednesday, I will post the next chapter of Home early (says the woman who can't stop writing). If not, you'll just have to wait until Friday. That's why I'm posting this early, to give you all time to R&R...
Ha. I'm posting it early b/c I'm a review junkie and I'm avoiding doing my homework.
Enjoy!)