MEET HALEY PREWETT
Chapter One – The Fight (Prologue)
Being a Prewett had never been easy for Haley. The reason was simple. They were related to the Weasleys, on her father's side. Haley's father, Ignatius had two brothers, Gideon and Fabian…and a sister, Molly. Molly had married her childhood sweetheart, Arthur Weasley and had seven children…all with freckles and red hair. Arthur never had much money and their lack thereof had always made them fall victim to tactless taunts by pureblood families. Haley was always there to defend the family honour…even if it was only the Weasleys. She loved them to death. Even though the Weasleys could scarcely afford a new set of robes, there was no denying the love Haley felt for her Aunt Molly and her family.
On the other hand, the Prewetts were purebloods. No Muggle-borns or squibs among them. The Prewetts were a well-respected family and nobody dared cross a Prewett…they were known for their hot tempers and short fuses.
Torn between being the daughter of a pair of wealthy Ministry of Magic employees and the niece of Arthur and Molly Weasley, she had never known what it was like to have a normal life. The constant battles to defend the Weasley honour came at a terrible price. From a young age…five, in fact…Haley had been in one fisticuff after another in order to send the message through the thick skull of the insulting party that the Weasleys were a good honest family and they deserved to be left alone. Her battle scars were few and far between, but were a constant reminder of the lengths to which she would go to protect her family.
Her mother, Astrid, though quite rigid in her ways about purebloods being superior - after all, she was born a Black - had a soft spot for the Weasleys, because she loved her husband and sister-in-law dearly. Her mother constantly reminded her that even though a family was of pure blood, their social status was everything…and because of that tiny little detail, families like the Weasleys suffered ridicule and criticism and brought shame to the wizarding world.
At times, Haley grew tired of defending the Weasley family's honour. However, just shortly after her ninth birthday, Haley fought her last battle. Arthur and Molly Weasley took her to Diagon Alley with Fred and George…and their youngest son, Ronald, who was Haley's age…for a day of shopping. Fred and George had just been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – by far the best wizarding school according to the Weasleys.
They shopped to their heart's content. Unlike the Weasleys, the Prewetts had a very large fortune hidden away at Gringotts. Haley even had her own vault, but she never flaunted her wealth – she wanted to share it. She always found it difficult to buy things for her cousins without making it seem like a handout or charity. Despite their many protests, Haley insisted on buying her cousins a few odds and ends as gifts – but mostly from Gambol and Japes' joke shop. The four of them loved to pull pranks on their unsuspecting friends and family. Haley was an only child – and almost always the mastermind, with Fred and George as her accomplices as they pulled off the most difficult pranks with ease.
Haley had purchased a few small trinkets for herself, including a new diary. Keeping a journal was the only thing that kept her from lashing out at her family. The pain this caused her was sometimes unbearable…though she never contemplated suicide…but she needed to find a way to numb the pain…thinking that Martial Arts was the answer - but taking classes five times a week only angered her more.
On their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Haley, Ron and the twins passed the Apothecary. Whispers and taunts followed them. Haley stopped dead in her tracks, and because Fred, George and Ron were right in tow…they literally bumped into her…but she didn't fall down. It was just as well because she could hear what the boys behind her were saying.
"What is it?" asked the Weasley boys.
"Shh! Listen!" Haley said in a loud whisper.
"The Weasleys can't afford anything new, so why are they here?" asked a hoarse male voice.
"That Prewett girl's with them. Perhaps she's taken pity on them and bought them some decent robes to wear," added another voice, this one less hoarse and slightly deeper in pitch, "I'll betcha five galleons they don't even have five galleons to their name!"
Haley could hear five distinct pitches when they laughed. From birth, Haley had excellent hearing, though her vision had become bad enough to wear reading glasses. She actually preferred the Muggle device to Vision Restoration. The joke died down and then a voice she recognized as Vincent Crabbe's also contributed, "Do they all have that awful red hair and freckles? Honestly if that doesn't scream poor, I don't know what does!"
"Look at the state of their robes!" said Gregory Goyle, "It's disgusting. Haley Prewett deserves to have a better family than that. At least she's related to the Malfoys. That's the sort of family I would be proud to have."
These taunts continued for five more minutes until Haley's blood began to boil. She was that angry. The Prewetts were prone to having hot tempers and short fuses. Haley was no exception. Her dark chocolate brown hair that usually hung straight down to the middle of her back had begun to curl from the stress and her skin had turned a deep shade of crimson. Two dark, teal eyes stared the five boys down as she turned to face them, fists clenched in frustration – the fingernails digging into her palms – almost drawing blood.
Haley, despite her age, looked intimidating. Her eyes glowed with anger as her tallish, slender frame approached the five boys. She recognized four of them. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who were her age and the sons of two former Death Eaters; the other three were from Slytherin, the house that turned out many evil witches and wizards, including the Dark Lord, Voldemort.
"Oooh, look who's here? The little Prewett Princess," said a Snape look-alike with an impish grin on his face. He had raven hair that was tied back and long facial features. His eyes were black and beady, the exact shade of his hair. He reminded Haley of a very young version of the Potions Master at Hogwarts – Severus Snape. The other two Slytherin boys were quite possibly the older brothers of Crabbe and Goyle, as they resembled each goon to a tee, but were taller and thicker…and possibly dumber, "Come to fight their battles for them now, have you?"
Haley narrowed her eyes, "I'm sure they could fight their own battles if they wanted," said Haley, "However if you don't stop harassing my family, I will be forced to resort to physical violence."
After a slight pause for the boys to register what Haley had told them, laughter filled the air, combined with a few snorts and grunts from Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle – they never did much talking.
"Then why don't they? Surely a pureblood family like theirs would be ashamed of being so poor. They're a disgrace to the wizarding world…all of them! Red hair and hand-me-down robes…pfft…honestly! I wouldn't be caught dead in used robes…yuck!" the Snape look-alike shuddered as he pictured himself in dirty, smelly second-hand robes.
"Well at least their robes are clean," said Haley, reaching over to wipe a bit of dirt off of the tallest boy's shoulder, "Which is more than I can say for the five of you."
"You did not just go there!" exclaimed the tallest boy, but the look on his face betrayed his anger. Haley was a very attractive girl despite her young age, with dainty features and curves that had just developed due to puberty. She was probably the only Prewett girl to ever go through puberty this early.
The black-haired boy took her roughly by the left arm, but gently pulled her in for a kiss as his eyes closed and his lips moistened. When his lips met hers, Haley instinctively knew what to do. Having taken every form of martial arts since she could walk, she was already a black belt in karate, and well on her way to black in various other disciplines. A gymnastics background also gave her the flexibility to wriggle out of awkward situations – which this was one of them. Her leg had just connected with a sensitive spot between the boy's legs and he instantly cried out in agony.
"You little prat!" he cried, doubling over in pain, "That's gonna cost you!"
He lunged at Haley to make his counterattack, but he didn't succeed, "Take that, you insolent newt!" Haley shouted while her fist connected with his bare flesh…first his cheek, then his arm and finally a blow to the nose rendered the boy prone. Haley then felt two familiar hands grasp her arms and pull her aside.
By now, a large crowd had gathered to watch the fight…most of whom were actually egging Haley on. A moment later, Severus Snape walked by and enervated the boy before hauling him up to his feet. He looked directly at Haley, whose movement was restricted by Fred and George Weasley.
"Tell me what happened, young lady," ordered Snape, but the look in his eyes was not of anger, but disappointment, "What possessed you to attack my son?"
Haley breathed deeply to calm herself, as she was still livid about what they had said about her family, "Your son Tobias," she spat, "was making fun of my family, but then he tried to kiss me and I tried to defend myself. He came after me again and I did what I could to prevent myself from getting hurt. Say what you must, but I'm pleading self-defence on this one."
By this time, Molly and Arthur Weasley had joined the crowd and were astonished at the state that Snape's son was in. He had a bruise on his nose and others that weren't visible. Tobias had gotten to his feet after Snape enervated him and Snape grabbed him by the ear and said, "We're going home. You'd better have a logical explanation for this or you can find yourself in detention at start of term. Good day, Miss Prewett." Snape gave a nod and sauntered off with his son's ear between his left thumb and forefinger. Tobias's shrieks of pain could be heard as Snape's grip never loosened.
"Of all the days!" cried Aunt Molly, pointing a finger at Haley. Haley rolled her eyes, as she knew there was a lecture coming. She didn't really do anything wrong! "I never would have imagined you would attack someone like that, Haley! You should know better than to pick a fight with someone against whom you'd win. I know you love us, but there's a fine line between what is right and what is easy. You took the easy way out by punching him…about which, by the way, we won't tell your parents. We needn't worry them about what had just happened. But know this. If you ever put another toe out of line, I'll bring you straight to your parents. They won't hesitate to punish you."
Haley gulped and said, "I'm sorry, Aunt Molly, it's just that I hate it when people make fun of you for being poor. I know it's not your fault, but if you'd let me get Fred and George something new for school, I'd really appreciate it. Perhaps they'd like a set of new robes or a new box of potions ingredients? I'd even buy each of them a new broom. Probably a Nimbus 1000 or a Cleansweep 10. They aren't that expensive once you factor in how happy I know it'll make them."
She gave her aunt the sweetest smile and then pouted, her dark teal eyes glistening with tears as she added, "Please?"
Arthur Weasley looked very stern, but once Haley put on that pout, all of his defences melted, as did virtually everyone else's. She had such a cute face when she pouted that all would be forgiven.
"Oh all right," Uncle Arthur said, "Molly, we shouldn't linger here. Mr Gambol will come out and see what all of the commotion was about. Why don't we indulge our precious niece and agree to at least some potions ingredients, eh?"
He stroked Molly's arm affectionately and looked deeply into her light blue eyes. This made Molly weaken slightly and she would do almost everything Arthur said, "All right, just a few new potions ingredients. I don't want them having too much," Molly relented, "We'll be at the Leaky Cauldron having a cup of tea. Meet us there in half an hour…and don't get into any more scraps, Haley dear."
Haley nodded, "All right, Aunt Molly, I'll behave. Thank you so much. They won't be disappointed." She squealed excitedly after Molly and Arthur were out of earshot.
"Do you always have to do that?" asked Ron with his fingers in his ears, "My ears can't take much more abuse!"
Haley laughed and put her arm around Ron, "Oh Ronnie," she said, "You know how I love to torture you."
Ron smiled knowingly and hugged Haley back, "I know. You're just so good at it that I forget you're only kidding!"
The two of them, along with Fred and George, walked into the Apothecary to make their purchases. She bought them all of their standard potions ingredients, along with a few rare ingredients for their budding inventions. Shoving the ingredients into their bag, Haley grinned mischievously, "You have enough ingredients to start inventing some of your very own exploding sweets. If you run low, don't hesitate to send an owl and I'll have them shipped up to Hogwarts for you."
Fred and George sandwiched Haley in a group hug and they left the Apothecary. Moments later they had rejoined Molly and Arthur at the Leaky Cauldron.
"How was your shopping?" asked Aunt Molly, "I hope you got everything you needed."
"Yes, mum, we did," said Fred and George together, "Haley's the best cousin we could ask for!"
They both kissed her on either cheek at the same time.
"We're glad you had fun," said Arthur, "Now let's get back home. I just hope Bill and Charlie haven't banged up the tables again."
The six of them laughed and they Flooed back to the Burrow.