So I realized how short the first chapter of this story is… so I decided to update with another. Hope you enjoy!
Just in case you've forgotten in the two hours it's been since I published this story, I do not own Harry Potter.
Second Year
Andy sat on the carpet in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, far from the roaring fire crackling merrily in the grate and the throng of older students occupying the comfortable armchairs, trying her best not to be seen or paid any mind. Usually she didn't care what other people were doing or who noticed her, but… she clutched the letter she'd received twenty minutes ago more tightly, creating sweaty creases in the parchment. It was addressed "To My Daughter" in a neat hand, one that was all too familiar for her liking. She pulled distractedly at her short brown hair, nearly pulling it out at the roots as she wound it around her fingers, though she didn't notice the pain.
After twelve years of experience in dealing with her father, Andrea had come to realize three things: 1) Defending herself only made him angrier; 2) Keeping her Mum and brother Michael out of the line of fire was best when possible, thought it meant a harsher punishment for herself; and 3) Ignoring him or making him wait only made things worse later on. By not reading and answering his letter immediately, she was already going against number 3 – she had no doubt that he was already pacing the floor of his study, waiting for her reply. It was late, he'd most likely be going to bed soon, and if he didn't get her letter before he stumbled into his bed in a drunken stupor, she would come to thoroughly regret it later. Really, Andy had no reason to stall like this. She knew the gist of what her father's letter would contain, and delaying like this wouldn't change whatever insults he'd come up with this time, his feelings toward her, or the fact that after all these years he still somehow managed to get to her. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she smoothed out the paper and broke the wax seal. There was nothing here she hadn't heard before, and nothing she couldn't handle. She'd gotten worse. All she had to do was read it and –
The letter was snatched from her hands. Andy's eyes flew open in shock.
James Potter's face towered above her, his brown eyes filled with mischief. Fred Weasley stood beside him, as always. "Well, well, what have we here?" asked Fred.
"Does our dear Andy have a love letter?" asked James.
"It's Andrea, Potter, and give it here," she spoke in a quiet, serious tone. She knew it would be a mistake to let him see how much the letter meant to her, how desperately she wanted him to pass it back to her without reading it, and so she struggled to keep her voice calm. They had played this game many times before by now, him stealing something from her and taunting her with it, magically pulling a chair out from under her just as she was about to sit so that she fell on her bum, tugging at her hair when he passed her in the halls (though he'd gotten several bruises and even a broken rib on several different occasions for that one), passing her items from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes like a fake wand that turned into a rubber chicken when she tried to use it or more of those small pellets that exploded and turned her skin shades of eye-watering yellow or vomit green. She retaliated every chance she had. The stakes had never been nearly this high, though, and she was left scrambling for a way to change the rules before he read what was on the parchment. "It's from my family."
The black-haired boy snickered. "What, are they asking you if you need warmer socks?"
"Look, just give it here Potter… James." She stood.
He backed away slightly. "Ooh, you used my first name – it's that juicy, is it? Some torrid Muggle family affair?"
"POTTER I SWEAR, I WILL END YOU!" she shouted, lunging for the letter, only for him to dance out of her grip. Fred stepped between her and his cousin. And to Andy's horror, before she could reach him, James unfolded the parchment and began to read.
She saw the light slowly leave his eyes as he scanned through the lines. His mouth grew thin as he pressed his lips together, eyebrows knitting tighter. "Fred, bugger off," he said, eyes not leaving the page. The third year was outraged, but at his cousin's insistence, he eventually left while grumbling under his breath.
James turned to Andrea, finally looking up from her letter, turning the full force of brown eyes on her. Were they always quite this warm, this soft? "Your father… he actually wrote this? To you?"
Thinking it best not to try to speak, lest her voice give away any emotion, the girl nodded. She wasn't sure what that emotion would be, exactly, as she felt a curious mix of anger at his stealing her letter, anxiety as to its contents, and defiance in case he dared to try and pity her. Still, it was best to keep those types of things closely guarded until it was absolutely necessary to release them.
"I – I'm sorry," he said simply. "Here-" he handed the parchment back to her. "I don't think you particularly want this, but it is yours. And… I wish things weren't like this for you."
Andy nodded again, then decided to try speaking. "Doesn't matter. Nothing he says matters." It sounded strong, stronger than she felt right now, though it didn't have quite the scathing edge she'd been aiming for. "Neither do you, for that matter. You've had your fun, now bugger off."
"Well… I guess I'll leave you be then," he said, giving her one last sympathetic glance before turning toward the boys' dormitories.
Once he was gone, Andrea slid back down to the floor, steeling herself to read the letter that had transformed James Potter from prat to pansy, for now at least.
She'd gotten worse, she repeated to herself. She'd gotten worse.
Dear Andrea Sterling,
Hello. It is James Sirius Potter. I hope the end of your term was pleasant.
Regards,
James Sirius Potter
Dear Andrea Sterling,
Hello, it's James Potter. I just wanted to see how your summer was going.
Regards,
James Potter
Dear Andrea Sterling,
Hello. Me again, James Potter. Did you catch the Chudley Cannons game last night?
Regards,
James Potter
Dear Andrea,
You can't ignore my letters forever. I'm only trying to help you, you know – I'm sure Rose is too caught up with comforting Malfoy to pay you much mind.
Best,
James Potter
Dear James Potter,
How does your sending me an owl twice every bloody week help me, exactly?
Sod off,
Andrea Sterling
Andrea,
I figured it would give you something else to think about besides being home.
-James
James Potter,
Like thinking of you is any better?
-Andrea Sterling
Yes
-James
Andrea,
You know I'll keep sending you letters, even when you don't respond?
-James
There once was a young Witch named Bright
Whose broom was much faster than light
She set out one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
-James
There once was a Horklump, Dot,
who indignantly answered: "I'll not!
The gents are impressed
with the way that I'm dressed.
I wouldn't change even one spot."
-James
There was a Wizard with a beard
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
And four Hippogriffs then,
Have all built their nests in my beard!
-James
James,
Did you even write those yourself, you git?
-Andrea
Andrea,
No, they're old folk limericks my Mum used to tell us when we were little.
-James
James,
Must be nice, having a normal family.
-Andrea
Andrea,
I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I sent that.
But we aren't normal, not in the slightest. You've met my brother, after all.
-James
James,
It's alright. Just because my family is horrid doesn't mean everyone else's has to be.
And are you quite sure you aren't the abnormal one? I'm not convinced. It takes someone truly senseless to think that enlarging Bat Bogeys was a good idea, after all.
-Andy
Andy,
Ha. So now you're a comic, are you? Look, the spell worked, didn't it?
Are you coming to visit Rose soon? She should be back from Malfoy Manor in a few days.
-James
James,
You put Charlie McLeod in St. Mungo's, you arse.
Yes, if you must know, I'll be there come Saturday.
-Andy
Andy,
But he's fine now, isn't he?
Good, see you soon then.
-James
"Rose Weasley looked on with particular satisfaction when Albus and James attempted to help Andy improve her skills on a broomstick (even after a year of flying lessons at Hogwarts, the Muggle-born could barely stay on for more than fifteen minutes and could hover no higher than a second-story window). Their endeavor ended in near-disaster as Andy tumbled off her broom due to a strong gust of wind, dragging James with her; Albus pulled into a steep dive in what would probably a futile effort to stop their descent before they reached the ground. Just as Rose was about to go against the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, however, she heard Teddy Lupin hurriedly incant "Arresto Momentum" beside her, and she watched as her three friends sank painlessly into a confused heap in the meadow. After a moment, they burst out laughing, causing Rose to smile and leading her to hope that they would all eventually become friends, or at least be able to spend time in the same room without driving one another mental. Those hopes quickly evaporated as Andy attempted to stand- James decided to trip her, sending her sprawling. She stood again, this time with a vengeance, and soon the pair was wrestling on the Potters' lawn. Though James could probably hold his own in a fight with most people, Andy was clearly his superior thanks to her years of training, and soon she was seated on James' back as he lay face-first in the grass, refusing to let him up until he apologized."
- Thorns Have Roses, Chapter 15