My Brother's Keeper
by ChatterChick
Summary: Sophie Potter is the younger sister of the infamous Harry Potter. Her life at Hogwarts should be set, but things take an unexpected turn when she is sorted into Slytherin. Being green is never easy, especially when those cunning folk will befriend you just as fast as they would cut your throat.
Chapter 7: A Very Marauder Christmas
Harry had been fine after the fall. Dumbledore had slowed the descent and prevented any major injuries. Madame Pomphrey released him the next day.
The term slowed down, even the professors unable to accomplish much with everyone so excited about the upcoming holidays. That didn't prevent any of them from giving out homework to be done over the break. Still, Sophie was very much looking forward to going home for the holidays.
Elliott and Myron had already promised to sit with Chambers, Eastchurch and Vane on the train, so Sophie made plans to sit with the rest of the Slytherin girls. She saw less and less of the boys during the term, their presence constantly monopolized by a group of girls who hated Sophie. While she knew that she would have to tolerate the Gryffindor girls as part of Elliott and Myron's life, she was slowly becoming discouraged at how hard it was to maintain her friendship with Elliott and Myron. She bitterly wondered if they defended her as often as they defended their fellow Gryffindors.
For once, she wasn't looking forward to the annual New Year's Eve party Mrs McKinnon threw. While in the past it had meant spending the night with Elliott and Myron, the three reveling in the chance to stay up past bedtime, this year it would no doubt be packed with their Gryffindor classmates.
She expressed as much to her new friends.
"Everyone knows Malfoy Manor is the only place to be on New Year's Eve," sighed Kitty. She went on to wistfully describe the grand party that took place. While Kitty had been deemed 'too young' to attend in the past, her elder sisters were able to go the year before.
"Mrs Malfoy was a Black, I'm sure your family will be invited," she added.
Sirius hated anything to do with his 'other family' and usually tore up the obligatory invite that Mrs Malfoy sent them each year.
Astoria looked at her fingernails. "I was hoping to host a New Year's Party at my house."
That had the girls' attention.
"Daphne used to invite all the girls from her year, and our cousins would come too. They're all old enough to go to the Malfoy's this year, so it would just be us and my cousin, Laelia."
The girls excitedly chattered about planning a New Years Eve party and what they would do for the evening. Before long, the Hogwarts Express was pulling into King's Cross.
Kitty looked out the window. "Oh, we're here!"
The girls made their way into the packed corridors, everyone eager to go home after the long train ride from Hogwarts. They had left early in the morning and had arrived just before dark.
Nephele quietly disappeared from behind them; she must have spotted her mother. Sophie cheerfully waved goodbye to Astoria and Kitty. There had been some more talk of visits during the break, and Astoria was quite certain that her parents would want to meet theirs.
"Sirius!" Sophie greeted her godfather. James had written the day before to say that Sirius would pick them up at the platform and he would meet them at home. It was his last shift at St Mungos before he had his holidays.
"Hello, Princess!" He swept her into a hug. "How was the train?"
She returned the hug, answering in the positive while they scanned the crowd for Harry. Sure enough, he was over with the Weasleys, their bright red hair easy to spot amongst the families on the platform.
"Sophie! Sirius!" Mrs Weasley smiled at both of them, pulling Sophie into a hug. "How did you enjoy your first term, dear?"
"It was excellent!" Sophie told her.
"Will you be joining us for Christmas this year?" Mrs Weasley asked Sirius. "You know you're always welcome."
"I'll talk to James about it, I think we're supposed to celebrate Christmas day with my cousin, Andromeda. We should be able to visit Christmas Eve?"
Waving goodbye to the Weasleys, Sirius led them to collect their trunks from the baggage cart. Sirius shrunk their trunks and then apparated the three of them home. They arrived at a deceptively muggle-looking two-storey house with a sign that said Ruffy Ends. Of course, the muggles couldn't actually see the house. Very few people could unless they had permission from Sirius or James. It had been explained to Harry and Sophie that the house was very well protected and unplottable, although Sophie knew that they lived somewhere in the countryside of Cornwall.
James and Sirius took holidays so that they could be home while Harry and Sophie were. Both were obviously excited to have them home for the holidays, and Sophie felt exhausted by the amount of time spent with her family. While Hogwarts was busy and there were always people around, Sophie had still managed to find some time to herself. At home, James and Sirius were making up for months apart and dogged her every step.
James ducked his head into Sophie's room. "I was about to head out to the market, want to come?"
Sophie nodded eager for the chance to get out of the house and finish off her Christmas shopping. Unlike Harry, who could visit Hogsmeade to do his, she had to rely on owl order or others to do her shopping.
St Isidore Market was the only place the wizarding community did all of their grocery shopping. The marketplace hadn't changed much over the past few hundred years, although it had greatly expanded since then. It had been magically enlarged over the years, with a second level on top and an in-closed court-yard that had been charmed to stay warm year-round. Most of the food vendors were on the main floor, with artisans and other products on the second. Hot food could be purchased in the courtyard where picnic tables were set up to eat.
James looked at his watch, "I'll be an hour, meet me at the food court."
Sophie was allowed to browse the different stalls while James picked up groceries for the holidays. She had her immediate family covered (give James, Sirius and Harry anything quidditch related and they were ecstatic), but Sophie still had a few gifts to find.
The second floor was crammed with witches and wizards selling wand-crafted products. Sophie had taken great delight in finding muggle gifts for her pure-blood friends. In a stall that sold "muggle oddities" she found a something called a Rubik's cube and some number puzzles for Nephele, a copy of Pride and Prejudice for Astoria and a singing jewelry box for Kitty. Remus would be receiving a coffee mug that was charmed to say "World's Best Professor" when warm.
With only a few minutes until the time she had agreed to meet James, Sophie headed over to the food court where various vendors had various treats, hot food and even hotter drinks. She found James holding two steaming paper cups of butterbeer and followed him to the nearest empty table.
Sophie ventured, "Professor Burbage said the muggles don't buy their groceries at markets."
"They sometimes do, although they usually get their food at a grocery store." James thoughtfully replied. "Lily made me go a few times. They used these paper notes as their money."
Sophie frowned, thinking it was rather odd that they used paper as their money. Their galleons were coated in a thin layer of goblin's gold and were worth their weight in the wizarding world. "But paper isn't worth very much."
"The paper notes have value to the muggles." James picked up the tiny paper bag that had all of the shrunken groceries inside. He tossed his paper cup into the rubbish bin. "Now, I need your opinion on some last minute gifts."
Christmas day arrived with much anticipation. They would spend the morning unwrapping presents before getting ready to visit the Tonkses for Christmas dinner. It would be the first time Sophie saw her extended family since Harry's birthday party in the summer.
Mrs Weasley had sent over her usual box of homemade fudge and some mince pies for the family. The mince pies were put in the cold box for another day, but the fudge was a welcome treat as they unwrapped their presents.
The theme for her Christmas was definitely green-and-silver. James and Sirius had gotten her a new outer robe with silver trim, matching dragon hind gloves and some Slytherin paraphernalia. Harry had gotten her a lovely set of swallow quills and a bottle of emerald green ink. She had received a green and silver knit scarf from Kitty, different bottles of charmed nail polish from Astoria and Surviving Slytherin: The Path to Greatness from Nephele.
They spent the rest of the morning lounging in their pyjamas and eating Christmas biscuits and sipping hot chocolate by the fire. Harry and Sirius went outside to try out Harry's new Nimbus 2001 while James enlisted Sophie's help to make breakfast. Andromeda would scold him if they showed up at her place having only eaten chocolate all day.
The relation between the Tonkses and the Potters was very small at best. Sophie supposed that they were distantly related in that way that all of the pure-blood families were. Andromeda was Sirius' cousin, and the only living family member he had remained on friendly terms with. Ted, Andromeda and Tonks were the closest thing Sophie and Harry had to an extended family. Both sets of their grandparents had died before they were born and their father did not have any siblings or cousins. She knew she had muggle relatives on her mother's side, but they had never met them.
Ted and Andromeda warmly greeted them at the door when they arrived for Christmas. There was a chorus of greetings and hugs.
"Sophie!" Andromeda cupped Sophie's face. "You're growing more beautiful than ever."
Ted hugged her, before teasing James and Sirius. "Indeed! You two will certainly have your hands full chasing off young wizards."
James grimaced, but Sirius only laughed. "That'll give me something to do in my downtime."
Nymphadora Tonks, their daughter, skidded into the entrance way, her purple socks sliding on the hardwood floor. "Happy Christmas everyone!"
"Supper's almost ready," Andromeda told them. "Just a few things – "
"I can help," Tonks cheerfully volunteered.
Andromeda looked hesitant to accept her daughter's help. "I'm sure Harry would like to hear all about your training. Sirius, if you wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not," Sirius replied.
Ted led the remainder of them into the sitting room.
"How are your BATs going?" James asked Tonks.
Tonks pulled a face in response and James chuckled. "You'll be fine."
"Brutally Advanced Testing," James explained to Sophie and Harry. "Aurors are required to take one in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tonks' class takes them this spring."
Sophie had briefly heard of the BATs, James and Sirius once mentioned they were taken after a two-year apprenticeship under a professional. Harry listened eagerly as Tonks explained her auror training under the infamous Alastor Moody.
"Sophie, love, could you bring us a round of butterbeers?" Ted asked.
Sophie went to fetch the butterbeers from the kitchen, when she heard someone say her name. She paused, curious what was being said about her.
"Sophie's made friends with the Greengrass girl?" Sirius ventured.
"Yes," Andromeda agreed. "Astoria is a lovely girl, I've known her since she was a child. I should have thought to introduce them sooner."
"What about the rest of the girls?" Sirius asked. "There's no reason to worry?"
So they are worried, Sophie thought, curious what Andromeda and Sirius thought of her friends. So far they had approved of Astoria, but there was no mention of Kitty or Nephele.
Andromeda looked thoughtful. "Thomas Penrose is always eager to advance himself, but that's true of many at the ministry. Sappho thinks his daughter seems harmless enough. I told Sappho to watch Astoria's friendship with the Rosier girl though. Regina spends too much time pandering to Mother and Narcissa after Evan's death."
"Evan Rosier?" Sirius asked. "I didn't realize he married."
"It was short, from what I gathered. It was more to have children than anything else. The Rosiers thought it was a waste of magical blood to die for the cause, but not breed for it." Andromeda snorted. "I imagine Mother was most displeased that Bellatrix never managed to find time to give birth."
"Probably for the best," shuddered Sirius.
Sophie didn't realize that Nephele knew Draco Malfoy outside of school. They didn't acknowledge each other in the common room. She definitely didn't seem like his type of friend.
She cut Sirius and Andromeda's conversation short when she decided to make her entrance into the kitchen. They quickly changed topics when Andromeda asked her what her favourite subject was so far.
The rest of the break passed by in a whirlwind of family time and Christmas visits. It felt as if Molly Weasley had filled their schedule with visits to the Burrow, although they still found time to go carolling with Remus and sledding with the McKinnons. To Sophie's joy, Astoria held up her promise of a New Years Eve sleep-over. The invite arrived the same day as the annual invites from Marlene McKinnon and Narcissa Malfoy.
"James, and Sophie, how good to see you!" Sappho Greengrass greeted them at the fireplace in their sitting room. "The girls are upstairs in Astoria's bedroom. We're just waiting for Nephele to arrive."
They had met earlier during the holiday break so that James could meet Hyperion and Sappho Greengrass before allowing Sophie to spend the night. Hyperion Greengrass was a well-groomed wizard in his mid-forties. Sappho Greengrass was a bit younger, and she looked like the quintessential pure-blood wife. She had honey-blonde hair that was artfully pulled back into an elegant twist. She was lean, not an ounce over-weight and impeccably dressed.
Only, her sapphire blue eyes often gleamed with mischief and she took great delight in hearing about all the adventures James, Sirius and Harry had experienced at Hogwarts.
There were three girls already waiting in Astoria's bedroom. Kitty leapt up from her spot on Astoria's bed and embraced Sophie in an enthusiastic hug.
"I loved the singing box, you'll have to show me the charm," Kitty gushed as she hugged Sophie.
Sophie smiled slightly, wondering what Kitty would say once she knew the truth behind the box. "It's a muggle box. I'm not actually sure how they make it sing."
Kitty looked confused, but accepted the explanation.
The other girl smiled graciously at Sophie before rising to greet her. Sophie could easily guess that this was Astoria's cousin, Laelia Farley. While her hair was more of a chestnut brown rather than the golden brown the Greengrasses shared, she had the same bright blue eyes.
"Sophie, this is my cousin, Laelia," Astoria introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sophie politely responded. "Astoria's told us all a lot about you."
"She's talked of you all just as much," Laelia smiled. "I really wish I had been able to go with you all this year. My birthday was past the cut-off date."
Sophie knew that Astoria and her cousin were close, and that Astoria had missed Laelia a great deal over the year.
Sophie looked through the little vials of nail potion Astoria kept on her vanity. Astoria's family owned Greengrass Apothecaries and she had samples of most of their cosmetic potions. She even had her own perfume named Astoria that her father made in her honour. She picked up one – a little clear coloured liquid and started painting her nails. Each one did something different to her nails – flashy colours, long-lasting colours, self-painting brushes. This one was called Holiday Cheer and painted on as red and green stripes.
Astoria passed around colourful witches hats decorated with 1992 in bold golden letters. The girls spent the rest of the evening stretched out on the bed rolls Astoria and Laelia had laid out. The Greengrass family house-elf, Kappa, appeared every hour to bring the girls snacks or drinks. Astoria kept the wireless on the WWN so that they would know when the countdown was happening. The celebration in Diagon Alley was being broadcasted live for everyone to hear. James and Sirius used to take her and Harry every year, until Marlene McKinnon had started hosting a party.
"We're entering the last minute of 1991," one of the hosts reminded them. He co-host started counting down the seconds. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! – HAPPY NEW YEARS!"
A/N: Just a bit about some family relations, Narcissa and Andromeda's mother is Druella Rosier, giving them the connection to Nephele (Rosier). I imagine Evan (Nephele's father) was Druella's brother's son, making him Narcissa and Andromeda's cousin. Nephele and Draco are second-cousins. Nephele and Tonks are second-cousins as well.