AN: I won't apologize for not updating in a wile. Let's just say higher forces prevented me, and leave it at that.

Disclaimer: All the references, events and character of Harry Potter franchise do not belong to me.

Potters through time

Chapter four: The gathering

While her older sister was missing, and her younger one was roaming the school in search of the earlier mentioned Amanda Potter was sulking in Gryffindor common room. Well, not exactly sulking, more likely torturing herself over the role, although unintentionally given, that she had in her younger sister's… No, she couldn't even think about it…

In the meanwhile, the rest of her housemates, sans the first years that still didn't get to know her, were getting quite worried over the usually flirty, lucky-go-happy girl. Sure, they have noticed a bit of tension in the usually tight knit circles of Potter kids, but nearly a week of almost lethargic grimness and gloominess of who was known as one of Hogwarts biggest light-heads, not that they would utter it anywhere one of her siblings could hear, was thoroughly disturbing.

And two students had enough of that. Strangely, those two were only first years. Not so strange in the light of the information that those two happened to be her brothers. Brian and Connor Potter, the ninth and tenth child, by thirteen minutes difference, of the Potter family, seamed to be blessed, or cursed, by the double amount of their family's main export article: Stubbornness, and the 'no nonsense' attitude equaled only by that of their third sister, and thus could take only so much of Amy's foolish self torment.

Wordlessly, they communicated which should do what, and, approached their elder sister.

"Amy, I love you dearly, but so swear me by all that is dear to me, I'll hex you to next universe if you don't knock all this foolishness off." Connor growled to her solemnly, earnestly, and, for most part, irritably.

Before she could even raise her eyes to look at her baby brothers, Brian added his opinion, but he did it softly, understandingly, and warmly: "I know that you must feel pretty awfully right now, after all, what had happened was horrible, but you didn't do anything wrong, you were tricked, and by someone you have idolized all your life no less, and as such, you are a victim of circumstances. Besides, even if any responsibility for that was yours, Sammy wouldn't… No, bar that, Sammy couldn't hold it against you; it's just not in her system to do something like that… Heck, she's even ready to forgive Lily, and she was the main culprit. So, why don't you snap out of it, and shape out a bit. C'mon, I want my smiling sis back…" a small, warm smile was playing across his face, and his chocolate eyes were sparkling in that obnoxiously cute way that only he of all of their brothers and sisters had developed. Against her will, Amy felt a watery smile coming involuntarily to her lips.

"Are you certain that you two are only eleven-years old? I could swear that Con is irritable old geezer, and you Bri, a middle aged, fatherly healer." She tried to sound her usual self, as she tried to tease them, but her voice was still shaky. Still, the anguish seamed to lessen from her face considerably.

Connor's face was suddenly graced by disturbingly devilish smirk.

"Seams she got us busted, eh Clarence? Should we obliviate her?"

All brightness immediately left Brian's face, and was replaced by cold fury. "Con, call me that disgusting name one more time, and I swear to YOU, by all that is dear to ME, that you'll get the unique opportunity to examine if the theories about alternate dimensions are true; I'll bloody banish you to one of them!"

Connor however was completely unbaffled by the threat. "Language Clarence, language. I'd like to see you trying to explain to mum why I'm not inhabiting this plane anymore, and to aunt Hermione how did you managed to do bypass some whatever that had stopped her of doing interdimensional study ages ago." His voice was infuriatingly cheerful as he teased his older twin.

Brian, who was seething with rage at this time, drew his wand, or, rather, started to draw his wand, but it continued moving, as if aided by momentum, pulled out of his grip, and continued flying until it ended in Amy's outstretched hand.

Although she physically resembled her mother in great degree, few people would say that they were alike; but at that moment, the resemblance to both her mother, and her mother's mother, and so on, was downright unnerving. She, with her five foot six, gave of uncanny resemblance to saber-tooth tiger, and her vivid green eyes only made her seam more tiger like.

"Brian Clarence Potter, what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing? Not hexing your brother because he is calling you by your given name, I trust." Her voice was calm and cold, and her tone sharp enough to cut a dragon in half. Brian had the grace to look downright pathetic in his shame. Connor on the other hand looked as if he had single handedly won the quidditch world cup; that is until his furious older sister turned to him. "And you…" She scolded, nailing him by her intense gaze "…You should know better than to provoke him. Really! You might be only eleven years old, but you are still Potter children, and that means controlling your natural instincts, as it is under your obligation to take care and uphold our public image!" Her eyes were practically blazing by that point.

The whole Gryffindor common room was stunned silent. Still, the silence didn't last long, for, the very next moment, a singular clapping was heard, and soon was joined by claps from the rest of the room.

The clap starter stepped up, still not stopping with the claps.

"Bravo! Bravo! This was the best impersonation of mum, grandmum, and pretty much every female member of our family from Prewit side, I have ever laid my eyes on. No, bar that, this was THE one ultimate 'saber-tooth-tiger' impression ever!"

Amanda blushed so fiercely, that it became quite hard to tell difference between her hair and her face, and this caused a round of laughs, giggles, and chuckles. Amy, if possible, blushed even further, and the twins got torn up between laugh, and blushing themselves.

Samantha, on the other hand, remained completely impassive, and unperturbed. She had sent a quick look at the laughing crowd, and as if affected by some strange force, they immediately broke off their laugh, and returned to what they were doing before the whole scene commenced. Some would later wonder why they did it, especially the sixth and seventh years; it was not as if she had frightened them; it was ludicrous to even think that. No, it was more like they simply all had felt the mutual need to break it off, and make scarce.

"Well, you two heard our big sis; consider yourselves grounded. Now of to your room, and I don't want to even smell that you have abandoned it unless for purpose of attending for your primal needs or attending to your education."

And at that moment, Connor proved to the whole house that he was the dafter of the twins. He tried to argue.

"You can't…"

One look into Samantha's eyes was enough to silence him, so in sudden sprout of meekness, he suddenly appeared by the stairways and ran to catch up with his twin.

No sooner had the twins disappeared, Samantha, in an outburst of very un-Samantha-like behavior, had flunged herself into her older sister's arms, and in emotion filled voice proclaimed

"By the twenty generations of Potters, I've never been as proud of anything or anyone in my entire life!"

Rather flushed, and a bit embarrassed, Amanda answered her absent-mindedly

"Twenty three, actually, including us."

Samantha looked at her with stunned expression, for a second, before, once again she hugged her sister fiercely, and let out a jovial laugh.

"Amy, whatever anyone ever tell you, including myself there, you are a treasure, and don't you forget that!"

Amanda just gave her a confused smile, but nodded nonetheless. All of this was proving to be way out of her spectrum, but she enjoyed seeing that her sister still loved her, and apparently more than she ever suspected.

Taking a moment to recover herself to her normal brisk self, Samantha was struck by a sudden idea. Taking a long, examining look at Amanda, she suspected that she could use Amy in the search after all.

"Wait here for a moment, I have to go pick some stuff from my room, and then there was something you can help me and Clint with. OK?" And not even waiting for an answer, Sammy bolted upstairs to the girls dorm.

Amanda was startled and confused, but she knew that her sister needed help, and Samantha, quite alike Lily on that account, was loathe to ask for help. Usually. That meant that she really needed help, and besides she owed a few favors to Clint. Setting that in her mind, Amanda suddenly felt better since… Well ever. This was actually the first time in her life that anyone asked her to help, quidditch issues excluded (and even there rarely).

As few people as those that usually noticed her resemblance to her mother, would expect to find a keen analytical mind buried deep under all of the fluff, flirt, and gossiping, yet she was actually the only of her kin that stood any chance playing chess against her uncle Ron. Even Genevieve, his oldest daughter who he himself taught how to play chess, stood only nearly able to match Amanda. The only reason that mostly anyone in her family overlooked that, was because she actually played chess only when she couldn't find anything else to do; or when her uncle invited her to a game.

That is how she managed to startle the descending Samantha with a simple statement

"We are trying to decipher where had the quads gone."

Although astonished beyond comparation, Sammy simply nodded and confirmed with a simple "Yes." Not even stopping to look at Amy on her way to the portrait.

Their track thru the long winded corridors of school was long, but quiet one. Amy was quiet because she had seen no reason to speak any more; Sammy because she was contemplating the wrongs she did to her second older sister. She now saw why Sirius had always claimed that Amanda was a treasure buried in the muck, and for the first time ever, she felt herself inferior to her. She now realized that Amanda was not too, it shamed her to ever before had thought that way yet she did, dumb to think for herself, but a conscious choice of eternal love and trust, and for that much, she appreciated being her sister.

Finally, they reached their destination. It was a winded corridor that didn't seem to have been used in quite a while. At least not regularly. And there, standing almost bored was a towering blonde figure of their cousin.