Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine.
Chapter One: Back to Headquarters
Lindsey Potter woke up suddenly to the sounds of her twin brother, Harry, thrashing around in his bed. She looked over at the clock on the nightstand between their beds. One-thirty...she thought to herself as she let out a sigh and rolled over.
As soon as she closed her eyes, she saw the same scene that haunted her every night: her godfather, Sirius Black, falling through the veil at the Department of Mysteries to his death. This scene was replayed over and over again in her mind every time she closed her eyes. Even a month later, it was as clear as if she back at the Department of Mysteries, witnessing it for the first time. Just thinking of Sirius brought tears to her eyes. She cried herself to sleep every night.
Harry wasn't taking their godfather's death much better, as far as Lindsey could tell. His dreams seemed much, much worse, causing him to thrash about in his bed, like he was doing now. She knew these dreams weren't visions involving Voldemort, because he not only would of told her about it, but he would have also written to Professor Dumbledore.
Lindsay finally got back to sleep, for once not dreaming about Sirius.
"Lindsay! Wake up, Lindsey!" Harry called over to his sister, but she didn't want to get up, she was so comfortable. "I have good news!"
That got her attention. It had been quite some time since any news had been good. She sat up in her bad and looked over at her brother. "Well, what is it?"
"Moody, Tonks, and Lupin are coming to pick us up today and bring us back to Grimmauld Place."
Harry handed his sister the letter and she read:
Dear Harry and Lindsey,
Remember when Moody warned your aunt and uncle that he would send someone to get both of you if you weren't heard from for more than three days? Well, your last two letters were four days apart. Dumbledore has given us the thumbs up to pick you two up on the evening of July 31st at six o'clock. We'll be arriving by floo powder.
Sincerely,
Remus Lupin
P.S.-Happy Birthday!
"This is the best birthday present ever!" Lindsey exclaimed, after reading the letter.
"Definitely!" Harry agreed. "We should probably pack our trunks."
They quickly packed up their trunks before going downstairs to join the Dursley's for breakfast.
Vernon Dursley just happened to look up as Harry and Lindsey entered the kitchen to find a wide grin plastered on each of their faces. "Why are you two so happy?" he asked with his usual disgruntled tone that he saved just for them.
"No reason," answered Lindsey.
"It's nothing at all, Uncle Vernon," Harry agreed.
Both Vernon and Petunia Dursley eyed the twins suspiciously before turning back to their breakfast.
Everyone ate their breakfast in silence, until their cousin, Dudley, voiced a question. "Who's Sirius?"
When Harry choked on his orange juice and Lindsey dropped her fork to the floor, Dudley knew he had struck a nerve. The twins stared at him, open-mouthed, for quite some time before Lindsey finally spoke up.
"Why do you care?" she asked, assuming he had overheard her and Harry talking.
"I was just wondering because Harry's always saying his name while he's having a nightmare. So who is he?"
As Harry sat there staring at Dudley, still dumbfounded, Lindsey answered, "Well, if you must know, he was our godfather."
This last statement grabbed the attention of both Vernon and Petunia. They stared at the twins for answers.
"Well, is he's your godfather, why were you moaning 'No, not Sirius!' and other nonsense, Harry?" Dudley asked.
Harry opened his mouth to answer, but found he couldn't speak. Noticing this, Lindsey answered for him.
"Because," she started, a tear rolling sown her cheek, "at the end of term, he..." she trailed off, her eyes filling with tears, "he d-died." When she finished the sentence, she burst into tears.
Harry was still staring at Dudley, tears now silently running down his face. Shocked, their aunt and uncle turned back to their breakfast, having nothing to say. Dudley looked like his birthday had come early, having witnessed both cousins break down into tears. Harry and Lindsey silently finished their breakfast as fast as they could.
After being excused, Harry and Lindsey went back upstairs to their room to find an owl sitting on Harry's bed, which lifted their spirits a little. When it saw them enter the room, the owl dropped two envelopes on the bed and flew back out the window. Lindsey walked over and pick up the envelopes, and saw the Hogwarts seal on both of them.
"Hogwarts letters," she announced, handing one to Harry.
"Lindsey opened her letter to find two pieces of parchment, instead of the usual one.
Harry groaned. "OWL. scores."
They both looked down at the scores of their OWLs, Ordinary Wizarding Levels, which they took at the end of last school year.
"I got an Exceeds Expectations in Transfiguration, an Outstanding in Charms, an Exceeds Expectations in Potions - Wow, I wasn't expecting that! - an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts, an Exceeds Expectations in Herbology, a Dreadful in History of Magic, a Poor in Astronomy, an Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures, and a Poor in Divination," Harry read aloud. "Always knew I wasn't passing that one. That makes six OWLs."
Ouch, Lindsey though to herself, a Dreadful in History of magic. That probably has something to do with Harry having a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius in the middle of the exam. At the thought of Sirius, a tear rolled down her cheek.
To take her mind off of Sirius, Lindsey read her scores aloud to compare with her brother. "I got an Outstanding in Transfiguration, an Exceeds Expectations in Charms, an Exceeds Expectations in Potions, and Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts, an Exceeds Expectations in Herbology, an Acceptable in History of Magic, a Poor in Astronomy, an Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures, and a Poor in Divination, which makes seven OWLs. I really didn't think we'd get Exceeds Expectations in Potions."
"I guess it's really not that hard when we don't have Snape breathing down our necks," Harry said.
"I guess," agreed Lindsey.
"At least we don't have to take Divination anymore."
"And it looks like the DA meetings really paid off."
They sat around their bedroom for the rest of the morning, talking about their scores and wondering about Ron and Hermione's scores. They figured Hermione would get at least eight OWLs, being the smartest witch in their year.
Right before they were going to head downstairs for some lunch, a small brown blur flew through the window and hit Lindsey in the head. Harry reached out and grabbed the disturbance, only to find out that it was Pig, Ron's tiny owl.
"Looks like a letter from Ron," he said, while trying to untie the piece of parchment from the hyper owl's leg. Once the parchment was free, the owl bolted out the window.
"Well, what does it say? Read it!"
"Ok, ok! Harry and Lindsey, I heard from Lupin that they're going to pick you guys up soon. I can't wait for you two to get here. Hermione arrived yesterday. I got six OWLs, pretty good, huh? Mum's happy. But get this, Hermione got ten! I can't believe her! Well, actually, I can. See you both soon! Ron." he read aloud. "Ron and I both got six OWLs."
"I beat you both by one!" Lindsey chimed in.
"I can't believe Hermione got ten!"
At five-thirty, Lindsey and Harry made their way downstairs with their trunks. They decided it would be best if they left their trunks in the hall. Then they entered the living room where their aunt, uncle, and cousin were watching television.
Harry cleared his throat to get their attention. "At six o'clock, we are being picked up by Moody, Lupin, and Tonks."
"And who are these people?" Uncle Vernon asked with a hint of disgust, hoping the aforementioned people were not wizards, but knowing better.
"You met them at King's Cross Station."
Uncle Vernon started to turn pale at Harry's answer. They were in fact wizards.
"And they'll keep us for the remainder of the summer and see us off to school," Lindsey added.
"Very well," Uncle Vernon answered, knowing he had no choice and that the wizards would show up anyway. Then he added as an after thought, almost afraid to know the answer, "And how will these people be arriving?"
"By floo powder," Harry answered.
"So we'll need to unblock the fireplace," Lindsey added, thinking about the last time they had been picked up using floo powder. The living room was a mess and Dudley's tongue had swelled up (although that had to do more with the Weasley twins than floo powder). Harry and Lindsey went over to the fireplace and moved anything that could possibly get in the way.
Then they sat down on the couch and waited for Moody, Lupin, and Tonks to arrive.
Finally, after thirty minutes of waiting, six o'clock rolled around. Harry, who had been looking up at the fireplace every few minutes, nudged Lindsey. When she looked up, she saw that the fireplace had erupted in flames. Then flames then turned green as Remus Lupin appeared and walked out of the flames. This happened two more times as Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody joined them.
At the sight of two wizards and a witch, Dudley put one hand over his mouth, one hand over his bottom, and ran up to his bedroom as fast as he could, clearly the memories of his last encounters involving magic still fresh in his mind. Aunt petunia screamed and hid behind a very nervous Uncle Vernon, who just stared at the intruders.
"Happy Birthday Harry, Lindsey!" Lupin said, greeting the twins and breaking the silence.
"Where are your trunks?" Tonks asked.
"In the hall," Lindsey answered.
Moody and Tonks both went into the hall, muttered, "Locomotor trunk!", and came back into the living room following the trunks which were floating a couple inches off the ground. Then they each went over to the fireplace, threw in some floo powder, and yelled, "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place!" before stepping into the fire and disappearing.
Lindsey and Harry glanced over at their aunt and uncle to see looks of utter terror on both faces. They tried their best not to laugh, but couldn't stop the grins that spread across each of their faces.
"Well, goodbye Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia," Lindsey said as she waved.
"See you next summer," Harry added. Then turning to Lupin, "Come one, let's go."
The three of them went over to the fireplace. Harry went first, throwing some floo powder into the fire, yelling, "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place!", and stepping into the fire. Lindsey followed, making sure to tuck in her elbows and close her eyes to keep from feeling sick, as she spun quickly. Next thing she knew, she was staggering into the kitchen, closely followed by Lupin.
Lindsey looked around the kitchen to see not only Harry, Lupin, Moody, and Tonks, but also Hermione and seven Weasleys - Charlie and Percy being the two missing. Then she noticed everyone was smiling. She was about to say something when -
"Happy Birthday!" everyone in the room shouted together. It was at that moment that Lindsey realized the kitchen was filled with food, gifts, and decorations.
After hours of celebrating their birthday, Lindsey and Harry - along with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny - went upstairs to the room Ron and Harry were sharing to open their gifts.
Harry opened his gifts first. Lupin gave him a defense book, titled Defend Yourself in Any Situation. Mrs. Weasley had knit him a scarf and matching gloves in red and gold, Gryffindor colors. Fred and George had sent a large box of Skiving Snackboxes, one of their many inventions. Ginny gave him a large assortment of candy, consisting of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Honeydukes chocolate, Fizzing Whizbees, and Droobles Best Blowing Gum. Hermione gave him another defense book, Curses and Hexes You've Probably Never Seen. Ron gave him a Quidditch calendar, each month with a different team flying across the page. Lindsey gave him a new watch, since his old one stopped working after swimming in the lake for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament during their fourth year.
"The watch is waterproof," Lindsey informed him.
"Thank you so much," Harry told them all.
Next was Lindsey's turn to open her gifts. Lupin gave her a defense book also, What To Do When You Are Attacked. She was also given a scarf and matching gloves in Gryffindor colors by Mrs. Weasley, but they had a different pattern that Harry's. Then Weasley twins had also sent her a large box of Skiving Snackboxes. The large assortment of candy from Ginny consisted of Chocolate Frogs, Ice Mice, Honeydukes chocolate, and Sugar Quills. Hermione gave her a book on Transfiguration - her best and favorite subject - called The Art of Transfiguration. Ron gave her a new chess set, so she wouldn't have to borrow her brother's anymore. Harry gave her a silver chain with a charm that looked like the Grim. Lindsey immediately recognized it as Sirius in his animagus form and started crying. She hugged Harry and thanked him. When she stopped crying, she put the necklace on, vowing to never take it off, and thanked the rest of them for their gifts.
"Lindsey!" someone shouted up the stairs. "Can you come down here?"
Lindsey left the room and made her way downstairs to find Lupin waiting for her.
"I have something for you," he told her, pulling a long package from behind his back. "Sirius was going to give it to you at the end of last term. Here," he said, handing her the package. She opened it to find a brand new broomstick.
"Wow," she said in amazement, "a Nimbus Two Thousand and Five."
"He knew you wanted a broomstick and could tryout for the house team this coming year," Lupin told her. "And he also knew you were always jealous of Harry."
"Thank you," she said as she hugged him, a tear rolling down her cheek. "And thank you, Sirius."
After she let go of Lupin, Lindsey grabbed her new broomstick and ran back upstairs. She entered Ron and Harry's room to find the four of them were still there.
"What are you hiding behind your back?" Ron asked, the first to notice Lindsey had returned.
"This!" she exclaimed, showing everyone her Nimbus Two Thousand and Five.
"Wow! Now you can tryout for the house team!" Ginny said.
"A Nimbus Two Thousand and Five! The only broom better than that is Harry's Firebolt!" Ron added.
"It's a very nice broomstick," Hermione said.
"Who gave it to you?" Harry asked.
"Lupin did, but it's from Sirius. He was going to give it to me at the end of last term," Lindsey answered.
Everyone was silent for a couple minutes until there were two loud cracks and Fred and George Weasley appeared.
"What's all the commotion in here about?" George asked.
"Nice broom! Who does it belong to?" Fred added.
"It's mine," Lindsey told them, setting the broomstick on the nearest bed.
"Trying out for the house team?" George asked.
"Of course!"
"Taking over our old position of Beater? We heard our replacements were awful," Fred added.
"They were, but actually, I was thinking of going out for Chaser," Lindsey answered, "since Angelina and Alicia are also gone."
"Me too," added Ginny.
"Hopefully we'll have a really strong team," commented Ron.
"And hopefully my life long ban will be lifted," Harry said gravely.
"You know it will, Harry, Umbridge is gone," Hermione said, trying to lift Harry's spirits.
"You know that either McGonagall or Dumbledore will give you your Firebolt back," Lindsey agreed.
"Well, see you al later," Fred announced.
"We've got to be going - big sale tomorrow," George agreed.
And with two loud cracks, the Weasley twins disapparated.
"Well, I'm off to bed," Ginny announced.
"Me too," Hermione agreed.
"I guess I'll go too," Lindsey added, grabbing her Nimbus Two Thousand and Five. "Goodnight."
The three girls left Harry and Ron's room and went to the bedroom down the hall. After changing into their pajamas and exchanging goodnights, they each got into their beds and went to sleep. Lindsey was so tired from the party, that she fell asleep almost instantly for the first time that summer.
A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review. I will get the next chapter up again as soon as possible. (This story is also on under my penname GredNForge) On another note, I would like to clarify something really fast. I'm writing this story as if Lindsey existed thorughout the whole HP series. There will be more references to the past that I hope will help.
silentalibis