Author's Note: Okay, so we promised a chapter every two weeks. We lied. We're sorry. Forgive us and read the story. And you all probably gave up who started in the beginning, so we're at your feet, begging for forgiveness. As a result, we have two chapters to post today. Rejoice and beglad.
The other thing you should know is that we changed a small but rather important detail - we originally had Alexandria as the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but we changed our minds - those teachers were too important to get rid of. So we changed her position to the flying instructor, since Madam Hooch doesn't really play that huge of a role in the books. So forgive us. Again. We're changing it in chapter one too but we figured no one would actually go back and re-read chapter one, so we ought to let you know. Thanks for bearing with us!
Disclaimer: Oh, you know the jist.
Chapter Two
"Come on, Alex," Mr. Grunning hissed. "Get your sorry little ass down here right now!"
"I'm coming, Dad, Jesus!" I called, adding the finishing touches to my sophisticated look as I ran down the stairs.
"God, what is it with women and taking forever to get ready around here?" he said in an aggravated voice.
"I'm sorry, Daddy, I can't really help it. You don't want me to look like a slob, do you? It would give the family a bad name," I said sweetly.
"Whatever, just get in the car," he snapped. He usually wasn't this moody, but this particular client rather annoyed him, and he had been dreading the dinner party from the moment it was planned.
"Lori, you too! Just because you're the teenager here doesn't mean that you can get away with taking hours!" Severus said, mimicking Mr. Grunning's snippy manner. Sometimes I thought he only agreed with the man so that he would forgive him for getting me pregnant so young.
We drove in silence in the car for about half an hour, Severus squeezed next to me, Lori on my other side. The only sounds to be heard were the raindrops pattering against the car and the whizzing of the engine. I realized that we would be incredibly late all because of me, but I really didn't care. I hated these stupid dinner parties. Everyone was sucking up to my parents and not paying any attention to me whatsoever. Not that I wanted all the attention, it just would have been nice to at least be offered a cup of tea instead of having to get it myself.
This time, however, I was going to be getting more attention than ever before.
We arrived at the house at seven o'clock. Upon ringing the doorbell, a rather disgruntled-looking woman answered the door. She was thin and bony with dark hair and pursed lips. The second she laid eyes on my father, however, they curled into a smile which I'm sure she thought was warm and inviting, but reminded me more of Lucius Malfoy.
"Mr. Grunning! How very nice to see you, please, come in!" she cried exuberantly, ushering us all in the door. "And Mrs. Grunning! Pleased to meet you!"
"It was very kind of you to invite us into your home for dinner, Petunia," Mom said kindly.
"Oh, think nothing of it! Vernon and I are absolutely thrilled to have you dine with us."
Within seconds, a fat mass came waddling in the foyer.
"This is our son, Dudley."
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Grunning. May I take your coats?"
"Why, thank you, dear," Mom said. She turned to give me a look of disgust as she handed over her coat. I almost laughed out loud but stopped myself before I did anything that would embarrass my parents.
Mom took the liberty of introducing me, since somehow she knew that we wouldn't be noticed otherwise. "This is my daughter, Alexandria, her husband Severus, and their daughter, Lorelei."
Mrs. Dursley looked me up and down quickly. A slightly disgusted look crossed her face, but it was instantly replaced by a bittersweet smile as she said, "Delighted to meet you." I had gotten this many times before. My daughter, who was sixteen years old, and me being 31 made a lot of people look twice. Mrs. Dursley didn't seem the type of person to approve of such young parents for such an old daughter.
It was then that I heard a loud thump come from upstairs. I looked above me, expecting something to come crashing through the ceiling, but nothing came. I seemed to be the only one who noticed, however, because Mrs. Dursley was busily seating my parents and her abominable son down at the table, and the man whom I can only assume was Mr. Dursley came in moments later.
"Um, excuse me, Mrs. Dursley, where is your bathroom?"
"Down the hall and to the left, dear," Mrs. Dursley said. I don't think she even recognized that there was a young woman left standing in the foyer. I figured that since (once again) no one was noticing me, I would be safe in investigating the noise upstairs.
"Honey, where are you going?" Severus asked, touching my arm.
"I heard something upstairs. Don't worry, I'll be back in a second."
I turned and snuck quietly up the staircase, plucked my wand from my hair, and listened again for another noise. No sound came from any of the doors. They were all open but one – it was shut tight and had a small flap that looked like it was for an animal of some kind.
The noise could have been made by a cat. But I sincerely doubted it.
Getting a firmer grip on my wand, I said, "Alohomora," as quietly as I could. My voice must have caught someone's attention, because at the click of the lock, I heard a small gasp.
Wrenching open the door, I found a boy who looked to be about twelve years old. He was small and skinny with dark hair and startlingly green eyes framed by horn-rimmed glasses. A small, lightning-bolt shaped scar a little off-center on his forehead was a dead giveaway.
"Hello, Harry," I said.
"Professor Evenstar? What are you doing here?" cried Harry Potter, a grin spreading from ear to ear.
"I'm supposed to be having dinner with your aunt and uncle, but (no offense, of course), they were a little clueless. Either that or they recognized the fact that I had a wand and decided to stay far away from me," I said, smiling as well.
I strode about the room. It was quite small, with only a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. It wasn't anything like I would expect from a twelve-year-old boy. In fact, there was a single pennant on the wall, and a small calendar with the words "one month until Hogwarts!" written in large letters on August the first. Clothes were strewn about the floor. It reminded me a lot of my room in that aspect.
"So, this is your humble abode, huh?" I asked cautiously.
"Sorry you have to see it like this, I haven't really been taking much care of it," he said sheepishly. "And me, too, I'm a bit of a mess as well. I've been stuck in this room for a few days so I'm not looking (or smelling) my best."
"Eh, it's alright, my room isn't exactly super-neat, either. You haven't even seen my office at Hogwarts. I can barely get around."
Harry laughed, but then clapped his hands to his mouth in horror. "Someone will have heard that," he whispered.
"Let them come, who really cares?" I said nonchalantly.
"No, you don't get it, Professor, Uncle Vernon is going to kill me when he finds out – wait a minute, why are you here with the Grunnings?"
"It's a long and complicated story, and I'm sure the details will gross you out, but in short, they're not really my parents, but I was raised with them," I said sharply.
Still looking confused, Harry shook his head to clear his mind and said, "You better get back downstairs before –"
"Harry, you little kitty, stop making all that noise! We already fed you today!" Mrs. Dursley's voice came up the stairs.
"You should go," Harry said gloomily. "If you don't I may not be able to go back to Hogwarts."
"Not go back to Hogwarts? What are you talking about?" I questioned, raising one eyebrow.
"Who's not going back to Hogwarts?" asked a voice from the doorway. I turned to see Lorelei standing there.
"What are you doing up here?" I asked.
"Same thing you are," she said simply, entering the room. "Hi, Harry."
Harry was too stunned to speak. He stared at Lorelei as though she were something that had just fallen from heaven.His cheeks flushed bright red and he looked away, murmuring a quiet, "Hi."
"So anyway, as you were saying, Harry?" I said, breaking his thoughts.
"Oh, yeah, right. Not going back to Hogwarts. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia don't really like the fact that I'm a wizard. I think they're trying to squash the magic out of me. Here, sit down," Harry said, pulling out the chair from his desk.
I took a step towards the chair, but I stepped on one of his shirts. Because I was moving so quickly, the shirt slid from beneath my feet on the wooden floor and I landed on my butt, making another huge thump that I'm sure they all heard downstairs.
Harry, Lori, and I sat in horrified silence for a few moments, listening to the murmurings coming from downstairs, then burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
"I think I'll go check on our cat, Harry. He's been acting very odd lately."
"I do believe I should accompany you. I haven't seen Alexandria in a while; I hope it's not her making all that racket."
Harry chuckled at the horror in Mrs. Dursley's voice as he tried to prevent my mother from coming up the stairs. "No, um, Devona, it's quite alright . . ."
But it was too late – Mom was standing in the open doorway, staring at me flat on my butt, Lorelei laughing at her poor mother, and Harry sitting on his bed.
"Alex, what on Earth are you doing up here?" she asked. Standing beside her were Mrs. Dursley and Severus. I looked over at Harry, whose eyes were wide. He took off his glasses, cleaned them with his shirt, then put them back on again.
"Professor Snape?" he asked incredulously.
"Potter," said Severus, nodding curtly.
"This is Harry Potter, Mum. He's one of my students at Hogwarts," I said calmly. Mom walked in the room. Harry shakily held out his hand and shook hers, muttering a quiet, "How do you do?"
"Is this the cat you were referring to?" asked my mom as Mr. Dursley came hobbling up the stairs. His mouth fell open in utter dread.
"I thought you were going to the bathroom," he hissed at me through clenched teeth.
Harry leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Be careful. When he turns purple, there's no stopping him."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dursley, I heard a noise upstairs and I wanted to make sure everyone was alright," I said innocently.
Harry closed his eyes as though bracing himself for the kill, but to his immense surprise, Mr. Dursley unclenched his fists and (though he was still shaking) said, "It's alright. Why don't you come downstairs and join us now?"
"Only if Harry can join us," I said sternly.
Harry's eyes widened and he leaned over again and said, "Are you crazy? You'll be stuck up here with me all night."
But once again, Mr. Dursley surprised Harry by saying, "No, it's alright, Harry can come too."
We waited until both Mr. Dursley and my mother had gone downstairs before leaving the room.
"I can only think of one reason that Uncle Vernon is letting me eat dinner with you guys, and that's that he doesn't want to make your Dad think he's an abusive guy or something like that," he said.
"Well, it's better than nothing, isn't it?" I asked as everyone else left. Severus, Harry and I were the only ones that remained.
"Wait, Professor, before we go, why is Professor Snape here? And Lorelei?"
I took a deep breath and said, "I'll give you the censored version of the story. First of all, Lorelei . . . is my daughter."
"How is that possible? She's sixteen and you're . . . what, twenty-nine?"
"Trust me, Potter, it's possible," Severus said.
"And isn't she your daughter . . . ?" Harry continued, pointing at him. A look of dawning comprehension came over him, followed by one of disgust. "Ew."
"I told you the details would gross you out, Harry. Being inquisitive is usually a good thing, but can often get you into a lod of trouble," I said, feeling wise beyond my years.
"Apparently so," the boy said. He looked like he was going to retch on the floor.
"But, and this is very important, Harry, you cannot tell a soul. I'm - we're - trusting you with this. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said dutifully. I scanned his eyes for any flicker of a lie, but they were full of honesty.
"Good. Now, have you been practicing your flying?"