The Difference One Choice Makes
1st September 2020
As their parents would tell them, Dorea Katherine and Celia Maxine Potter looked more and more like their mother with each passing day.
The now 15-year-old twin girls who were about to start their Fifth Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had the same long brown hair tied behind their heads in identical ponytails and matching steel-rimmed glasses.
They were even dressed in identical red jumpers with horizontal gold stripes and light blue denim jeans, making it very hard for people who did not know them to tell them apart which amused the Potter Twins a great deal.
People like their 15-year-old, short black-haired Cousin Alexandra Celeste Potter (nicknamed "Alex" by her friends and family) could always tell the Twins apart even when they pretended to be each other for everyone's amusement.
Just as they made the effort to look similar in terms of looks and outfits, they also shared the same interests and hobbies, with both girls joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team together in their Third Year, with Dorea joining as a Seeker and Celia becoming a Chaser.
Playing together on the Gryffindor Quidditch team was just the start, however, both girls had the same big dreams about following in the footsteps of their parents to play professional Quidditch at both League and National levels with England.
Sharing a compartment on the Hogwarts Express on their journey to Hogwarts with Dorea, Celia and Alexandra was Amanda Clearwater who was Alexandra's Fifth Year housemate and close friend.
What was a surprise to the Potter Twins, was the absence of their close friends Rose Longbottom and Sapphire Barnaby, having not heard from Sapphire all summer which caused the two girls quite a bit of concern knowing that Sapphire did not have the easiest home life in a strict Catholic household.
What little information about their Muggleborn friend's home life was only the result of a private conversation back in their Third Year. When Sapphire confessed to them that her strict parents had difficulty coming to terms with the fact that their only daughter was a witch, viewing such a thing as an affront to their religious beliefs.
Beyond that, Celia and Dorea did not know anything else about Sapphire's home life, only guessing that it might be worse than feared, given that Sapphire would spend large portions of the summer holidays with Rose Longbottom each year since the girls met back in their First Year.
The Twins also knew that Sapphire spent Christmas at Hogwarts for the last three years now, admitting that as she got older, the arguments between herself and her parents got worse.
As such, they were extremely concerned not to have heard from Sapphire and were hoping that she was alright.
Of course, they had heard from Rose during the summer when she wrote to them about being given one of the Prefect badges for Gryffindor, also taking the time to assure them that she and Sapphire were keeping in touch with each other.
Pushing the worrying thoughts aside for a few moments, Celia and Dorea thought about the good news for this year which was that their now 11-year-old Brother Henry Fleamont Potter was starting Hogwarts this year.
Thinking back to their own First Year at Hogwarts, Celia and Dorea had been given quite a shock when they went home for Christmas to find out that their mother was three months pregnant, with their baby sister Leah Rosemarie Potter being born six months later on the 27th of June 2017.
Safe to say, to come home from school for the Christmas holidays to find out that you are going to have another sibling was a big shock for both girls but one that they accepted rather quickly, being extremely excited about having another brother or sister.
Later that evening…
"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat called out.
With a wide smile on his face, the short, black-haired Henry Potter waited for Professor Flitwick to remove the patched Sorting Hat from his head, via a Levitation Charm before he hopped down from the stool and went to join his new housemates at the cheering, applauding Gryffindor table.
Sitting down alongside his fellow First Year Gryffindors, Henry glanced down the table where he caught sight of his sisters sitting further down the table, watching the Sorting Ceremony, though, to Henry's surprise, Rose Longbottom and Sapphire Barnaby were seated further down the table from his Sister's as though the two sets of girls were avoiding each other for some reason.
As the former teachers and classmates of Hermione Longbottom nee Granger would say, Rose Longbottom looked the spitting image of her Mother with long, straight brown hair, though Hermione was thankful that her daughter had not inherited the bushy hair that she herself had grown up with.
Sapphire Barnaby had long ginger hair ending below her shoulders with a heart-shaped face and innocent brown eyes that had a haunted look in them, which was noticed by many people around the table that evening, including Dorea and Celia, with Dorea looking more concerned about the state of her friend than Celia, given that she secretly harboured more than friendly feelings for the Muggleborn girl.
Despite her family knowing that she was a lesbian (since she came out to them last Christmas), Dorea had kept her romantic feelings for Sapphire Barnaby a secret from everyone, including Celia who was the first person that Dorea had revealed her sexuality to, trusting her twin Sister with her secret more than anyone else in the world.
Her reasoning for keeping her crush on Sapphire a secret from her Sister as well as her friends and family was because she did not want word of her feelings to reach Sapphire and cause what she was sure would be a painful rejection for Dorea, having heard from Rose Longbottom that Catholic's are rarely accepting of same-sex relationships.
Knowing that Sapphire came from a strict Catholic family, Dorea was terrified that Sapphire would hate her if she discovered that not only was she a lesbian. But that she also had romantic feelings for Sapphire in question.
"Dorea!" Dorea heard Celia calling out to her.
Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Dorea tore her gaze away from Sapphire and turned to her sister who was looking at her with a concerned look on her face, knowing that something was not quite right with Dorea.
"What?" said Dorea.
"You look spaced out… and you're staring at Sapph and Rose, not in a discreet way either" said Celia warily as the fact that their Housemates Lisa Ambrose and Andrea Thomas had also noticed that Dorea was staring hard in the direction of Sapphire and Rose.
Feeling a little bit flustered that she had been caught staring at the two girls down the table, Dorea felt grateful that she managed to maintain her composure and not give anything about her true intentions away.
As the Sorting Ceremony finished moments later, Dorea quickly ejected herself from the conversation and turned to the Seventh Year Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Roxanne Weasley about their training sessions, with the dark-skinned, long black-haired girl following in her Mother's footsteps in becoming Quidditch Captain and Chaser.
Two hours later…
After hearing what Sapphire had just told them (with tears falling from her eyes as she spoke), Dorea had wanted nothing more than to just pull the ginger-haired girl into the tightest hug, to hold her close as she did everything she could to reassure Sapphire that she was a magnificent person.
Just before the six Fifth Year Gryffindor girls went to bed, ready to start the first of their fifth-year classes in the morning, Sapphire had finally revealed the reason why she had been so distant with her friends all summer, known only to Rose Longbottom who had been the one she had turned to in her darkest hour.
Tearfully, she told her friends that two weeks into the summer holidays, she had run away from home, having had enough of her destructive home life (owing to her Parent's being unable to look past their strict beliefs and accept the fact that their only daughter was a witch), packing everything she owned before travelling down to London to stay at the Leaky Cauldron.
After a few days at the Leaky Cauldron, Sapphire was over the moon with relief when Rose Longbottom insisted that she come and live with her family, with both Neville and Hermione Longbottom welcoming her into their home with open arms, telling her that she could stay with them for as long as she liked.
Though Rose pleaded with her to let their friends know that she was alright, Sapphire outright refused to tell them anything, wanting to wait until they returned to school before telling them everything.
Which was what she had just spent the last twenty minutes doing, feeling her immense sadness fading away as her friends flocked to her, giving her nothing but support and kindness as she told them about her experience.
As she wrapped one of her arms around Sapphire's shoulders, Dorea maintained a tight but comforting hold on Sapphire, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead which made Dorea uneasy when Sapphire froze up.
"You deserve better parents than people like that Sapph… and we're all here for you if you need us" said Dorea softly.
Nodding her appreciation for her Friend's words, Sapphire took her hand and squeezed it tightly before letting go of Dorea.
As Dorea glanced at Celia, she was panicking internally as she saw her Twin looking at her with a curious gaze as if she knew that there was something Dorea was hiding from her.
Despite knowing that there was something about Sapphire that Dorea was not telling her, Celia remained silent about her suspicions, knowing of her Sister's private and somewhat shy nature.
As the night went on, the five Gryffindor girls continued to comfort Sapphire, managing to cheer her up before they finally went to sleep, with Celia sharing Rose's excitement at the fact that their Fifth Year classes were starting tomorrow.
As the year would go on, Dorea had difficulty coping with her feelings for Sapphire which were growing even stronger as time went on.
The feelings grew so strong that, Dorea would sometimes find it difficult to keep her feelings in check when the two of them were alone together, fighting her desire to just pull Sapphire into her and take her breath away with kisses.
8th February 2021
Leading her over to one of the stone benches in the courtyard which was covered in a blanket of snow, Sapphire Barnaby was super nervous about what she was about to say to Dorea.
With both girls dressed in their warmest clothes for the slightly cold weather, it could be said that Dorea was just as nervous as Sapphire, imagining scenarios where she could get exactly what she wanted.
"Are you okay Sapph?" said Dorea softly.
Sapphire stiffened up before taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.
Turning to her close friend, Sapphire got even more nervous as she looked into Dorea's eyes, mesmerized by her bright blue eyes.
"Promise me… promise to hear me out before you do anything, what I am about to say might shock you" pleaded Sapphire.
Dorea nodded.
"I promise" said Dorea softly.
Sapphire nodded and wiped a few tears from her eyes.
"Hey… don't cry Sapph" said Dorea softly, taking her hand and squeezing it in an attempt to reassure her and cheer her up.
For Dorea, to see the girl she cared about so deeply with tears in her eyes, made her want to sweep her up into her arms and hold her close until she felt better.
During the Christmas holidays in her Fourth Year, Dorea had finally gathered her courage and come out to her parents, revealing to them that she was into girls which surprised them at first.
Feeling slightly scared that her family would not accept her upon finding out that she was a lesbian, Dorea's fears were instantly quashed when her family told her that they would never stop loving her no matter what happened.
22nd December 2019
"So… you're not angry with me, you don't mind that I'm a… a lesbian?" said Dorea nervously.
Sat on her bed next to her mother who had her arms around her shoulders and her Father kneeling down in front of her, Dorea had never felt so nervous in her life, having come out to her parents and Brother five minutes ago.
With Celia sitting on her other side squeezing her hand in support, Dorea knew that no matter what happened, her Twin Sister would always be there for her, having come out to Celia at the start of Fourth Year three months ago.
Understanding her Sister's reasons for keeping her sexuality a secret for now, Celia had promised that she would never abandon Dorea and that she supported her one-hundred per cent.
Bringing her thoughts back to her conversation with her parents, Dorea breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the loving smiles on her Parent's faces.
"Dorea… no matter what happens you'll always be our baby girl" said Harry softly.
"And we'll never stop loving you… no matter what happens we will always love you" said Katie softly.
Feeling her sense of dread and nervousness subside, Dorea slowly smiled and gave her Mother a tight hug before doing the same to her Father.
"Thank you, thank you for not being mad" said Dorea softly as she buried her head in Harry's shoulder.
As supportive as her parents were, the rest of her family were equally supportive of her sexuality, with each member of her family telling her how much they loved her and that her sexuality or feelings would never change their minds.
"There's something I never told you… I never told anyone this… about why I left home this summer" said Sapphire, voice a mixture of sadness and nervousness.
Hating how Sapphire was treated by her parents when she went home for the holidays, Dorea quickly wrapped her arms around her secret crush and pulled her into the most comforting, loving hug she could muster.
Trying her hardest not to cry or explode in anger, Dorea just held onto Sapphire remembering how she had confessed that her parents had been obliviated to forget all about Sapphire or the fact that they even had a daughter in the first place.
The memory charms had been so complex and powerful, that her parents had to leave Coventry behind, moving down to Portsmouth as far away from their forgotten daughter as they could be.
For Sapphire, it felt like her past had been wiped completely clean and that her life had started after she left home.
"I haven't got a family anymore… they hate me and I hate them even more… now I'll never see them again" said Sapphire sadly.
Dorea tightened her grip on Sapphire.
"Don't cry Sapph… don't you dare cry for them, you are amazing no matter what they say" said Dorea trying to reassure the girl in her arms.
Sapphire frowned and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"The reason I finally ran away is because… it's because I told them something that sent them over the edge… something I never told anyone else, not even Rose or her parents when I turned up on their doorstep last summer" said Sapphire sadly and nervously.
Dorea squeezed Sapphire's hand in support.
"Do you want to talk about it?" said Dorea trying to sound supportive.
Sapphire nodded before squeezing Dorea's hand in return.
"Promise me… promise me that you'll keep this between us, I don't know if I'm ready for the others to know just yet… a big part of me wants to tell them, I'm just scared of how they will take it" said Sapphire nervously.
"I promise" said Dorea softly.
Sapphire took a deep breath.
"I... I came out… to my Parent's… and they hated me for it" said Sapphire sadly before looking down at her lap.
Feeling stunned, Dorea finally managed to stammer out.
"So… you're a?" said Dorea, sounding surprised.
Sapphire nodded with a nervous look on her face.
"I'm into girls" squeaked Sapphire nervously, answering the question.
Feeling shocked at what she just heard, Dorea had a few questions burning on her mind.
"But you… you and Mason last year, you guys went out for a few months" said Dorea in slight shock, referring to the fact that Sapphire had dated the then Fifth Year Gryffindor Prefect Mason Mclaggen for a few months when she was in Fourth Year.
Sapphire frowned and looked down at her lap in shame.
"I hated that… I hated the fact that I used Mason like that, he might have been a smug, egotistical jerk at times… but I felt so bad because I went out with him in a stupid attempt to convince myself that I was not a lesbian… to convince myself that I was a normal straight girl like my parents raised me to be" said Sapphire sadly.
Dorea took Sapphire's hand and squeezed it, offering as much support and comfort as she could.
"I had been told that it was a sin to be anything other than a straight girl… and I knew that I was attracted to girls so I dated Mason to try and change myself in accordance to what my parents wanted… but I can't do that any more… I can't deny who I am any more and I won't" said Sapphire in a sad voice that turned into one of nervousness.
Feeling her heart pounding at the thought of her crush possibly returning her feelings, Dorea shifted closer to her.
"Why tell me?" said Dorea softly, hoping that the reason Sapphire had confessed this to her was that she harboured similar feelings to Dorea.
Sapphire looked down at her lap nervously.
"Because I.. I… I like you… as more than a friend… please don't hate me" said Sapphire sadly.
Upon hearing that declaration, Dorea could not help herself.
"I like you too Sapph" said Dorea before she turned bright red.
Freezing before she snapped up to meet her eyes, Sapphire was shocked at what she just heard.
"You like me… as more than friends?" said Sapphire in shock and mild excitement.
With red cheeks that were matched by Sapphire, Dorea nodded.
"I had no idea… I didn't know that you were like me, that you liked girls too" said Sapphire nervously.
Dorea smiled and nodded.
"I told my family the Christmas before last… I was so scared that they would hate me but they were so supportive… but I never told anyone outside of my family, not even Rose and we've been like sisters as long as I can remember" said Dorea softly.
Feeling envious of the love Dorea had received from her own family, Sapphire frowned and laced her fingers with Dorea's.
"What happens now?" said Sapphire nervously.
Dorea blushed and squeezed Sapphire's hands, hoping that she could make things official with her crush.
Slowly, the two girls raised their heads to look into each other's eyes, both feeling just as nervous as each other at what was surely going to happen.
Closing their eyes, their heads slowly closed the distance between them, their lips finally meeting in a tender kiss which was the most wonderful thing Dorea had ever experienced.
For both girls, this kiss was long overdue and they savoured every second of their first kiss together.
Sure, both of them had kissed a boy or two before but those kisses were nothing compared to the one they were sharing now.
When they finally separated, Dorea squeezed Sapphire's hands tightly as she smiled at her.
"Shall we make this official?" said Sapphire softly.
Nodding with a loving smile on her face, Dorea was so excited to have her first girlfriend.
She felt excited that she could finally be the person she wanted to be.
"Yes" said Dorea excitedly.
Sapphire smiled and gave her girlfriend a gentle kiss to confirm their new relationship.
Pressing herself into Dorea's side, Sapphire took a deep breath before resting her head on Dorea's shoulder.
"I think I'm ready… I'm ready to tell Celia, Rose, Andrea and Lisa everything… but I want you there to support me, just in case they do not accept it" said Sapphire nervously.
Dorea wrapped her arm around Sapphire's shoulders.
"Shall we… shall we tell them about us?" said Dorea softly.
Taking several seconds to think it through, Sapphire eventually nodded.
"And you're ready to come out to them as well?" said Sapphire testily.
Dorea nodded.
"Yes… I don't want to hide our relationship from them, we live in the same dorm so I want them to understand the true extent of our relationship… and not feel shocked when they see us exchange a suitable goodnight" said Dorea softly.
Feeling extremely happy with her girlfriend, Dorea pressed a loving kiss to her forehead before offering to take her for a walk around the lake, with Sapphire excitedly accepting the offer, wanting to spend some time holding hands and talking with her girlfriend as they walked along the shore of the Black Lake.
Later that night…
As the dark-skinned, brown-haired, 16-year-old Andrea Thomas and the 15-year-old blonde-haired, light-skinned Lisa Ambrose made their way into the dormitory that the six Gryffindor girls shared for the duration of the school year.
With Rose following behind the two girls, having gone down to the Common Room at Dorea, Celia and Sapphire's request to ask Lisa and Andrea to come upstairs so Sapphire could have a private chat with the other girls, Sapphire and Dorea who were sitting next to each other looked up at the door as the three girls walked in.
While Rose had been downstairs talking to Lisa and Andrea, Celia had kept a watchful eye on Dorea and Sapphire, noticing a few subtle touches of the hands between the two as well as the general closeness of the two girls which made her slightly suspicious that something was going on between the two.
Instead of voicing her suspicions, however, Celia decided to keep quiet, respecting Sapphire's wishes to tell all of them when they were together.
"You okay Sapph?" said Rose testily.
Nodding before turning to Dorea who gave her hand a gentle squeeze for support, Sapphire took a deep breath to prepare herself for what was about to happen.
"There's something I never told you guys, I kept it secret from everyone… about what happened this summer" said Sapphire, taking strength from the fact that her girlfriend was still holding her hand through all of it.
With Dorea's silent support, Sapphire told them about how she had left home after coming out as a lesbian, feeling happy to hear all four girls openly supporting her, saying that they were still friends no matter what happened.
Once her big secret was out, Sapphire felt a few questioning stares being sent her way by Lisa, Andrea and Rose.
"Wait a minute… is there something going on between you two?" said Rose, glancing at Dorea in slight shock.
Looking rather uneasy, Celia started to move closer to Dorea.
Glancing at Sapphire who met her eyes and nodded, gently squeezing Dorea's hand for additional support, Dorea took a deep breath.
"Well… that's why we wanted to tell you first… you see… we're seeing each other now" said Dorea nervously, glancing at Celia who sent her the most supportive smile she could muster.
"Together… as in… that kind of together?" said Andrea in shock.
Sapphire nodded and squeezed Dorea's hand.
"Yes… that kind of together… since this afternoon" said Sapphire softly.
"Well… I was surprised to find out that you liked girls Sapph… and in some ways relieved to know that I was right about you Dorea" said Lisa with a smirk.
Flushing red slightly, Dorea slowly turned to look at Lisa.
"What do you mean?" said Dorea nervously.
Lisa smirked and crossed her legs.
"You mean other than the large posters you have of Holyhead Harpies Chasers Megan Jones and Demelza Robins by your bed… I may or may not have caught your eyes wandering over some of the older girls in Gryffindor a few times in the last two years, I thought I was seeing things at first" said Lisa cheekily.
Now turning an even darker shade of red, Dorea only regained her composure when Sapphire closed part of the distance between the two of them.
Having no more secrets to hide from their roommates, Sapphire and Dorea were able to enjoy the rest of this pleasant evening, laughing and joking with the other girls until nearly one in the morning.
Giving Sapphire a kiss goodnight which led to a few giggles from the other girls at the fact that it seemed to last longer than expected, Dorea finally went to sleep, looking forward to what lies ahead.
Hello Readers: Hopefully you enjoy this bonus chapter I have written for you (and hopefully there will be another one at some point in the coming weeks), something I had been thinking about whipping up ever since I finished the original story.