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.
A/N: Just in case you're curious why Narcissa sends Sirius an invitation to her party despite him being disowned; she reaches out to Sirius because of his closeness to the Potters. She's trying to distance her family from the DEs in a "How can we be Death Eaters? We're good friends with the Potters!" sort of way. Unfortunately for her, Draco didn't do so well on the whole "Befriend Harry Potter at School" front and Sirius ignores any letters she sends.
I have a lot of thoughts on what's going on behind the scenes, but most of it probably won't be revealed in text until later or if at all because Sophie is not aware of it. I try to make sure every character has reasoning behind their actions. If there's anything you'd like to know, just ask and I'll put it up if it doesn't give anything away. :)
Chapter 8: Speaking of Evil
"Bloody evil, the lot of them."
Sophie froze as she heard Ron's voice rise. Her hand trembled as she clutched the banister of the stairwell near Harry's room. They couldn't be talking about –
"I don't know why Dumbledore hasn't chucked the whole house out," Ron continued in his tirade.
A tiny gasp escaped her as she fled to her room down the hall.
She had heard Harry and Ron express that exact sentiment plenty last summer. She had always known her family despised Slytherins, despite their recent attempt to avoid saying so. Still, it hurt quite a bit to hear them say those things, and not even consider her.
"Shit," she heard Harry mumble. "Sophie!"
There was a commotion as Harry jumped up to chase after her.
"He didn't mean you." Harry tried. He shuffled awkwardly; he was rather rubbish when it came to trying to comfort her. "We know you're not like that."
"I am a Slytherin, Harry." She cried. "You can't pick and choose which ones to keep if you want to toss the whole house!"
The sight of tears unnerved Harry, and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere than having his conversation. Still, he pressed on. "That's not – he didn't mean –"
"Yes he did," Sophie cried. "And you wouldn't have said anything either if you didn't get caught!"
"Sophie, you know it's not like that!"
She sniffed as she closed her door behind her, wanting to be left alone. She cried into her pillow, replaying the last few months since her sorting. She thought that they were okay, she really did. While she had given up on Elliott and Myron, she thought she could at least count on Harry and his friends. They were probably just being nice about it when she was around.
There was a rather weak attempt later when Ron knocked on her door and tried to apologize, but Sophie didn't want to hear any of it.
Conversation around supper was rather forced that night. While James and Sirius didn't know what had taken place, they could tell something wasn't right between Harry and Sophie. They must have chalked it up to a sibling feud because neither questioned it. Both Harry and Ron avoided catching Sophie's eye and she determinedly avoided theirs.
Much to Sophie's relief, Ron floo'ed home soon after supper. Only, it quickly turned to dread as she overheard Mrs Weasley talking to James from the fireplace. It seemed that they had been invited to yet another supper at the Weasleys.
"And bring Sophie," she could hear Mrs Weasley say, "The girls could use a chance to catch up!"
Wonderful, Sophie thought, another evening of forced friendship between her and Ginny Weasley. For whatever reason, their families thought the pair would become close friends and confidants. Or maybe they had hoped. So far, it wasn't working. The girls had little in common, aside from the friendship between their brothers. Mrs Weasley seemed to be hoping Ginny would befriend other little witches, like Sophie, and grow out of that 'tomboy' phase. James and Sirius liked Ginny's fiery spirit and thought maybe Sophie would play quidditch if other witches did. Sophie suspected Ginny only tolerated her because of Harry while Sophie only tolerated Ginny out of politeness.
"I'm not going." Sophie announced the next day when they were preparing to leave for the Weasleys.
They had never let her stay home alone before, not unless Harry was around. Sophie thought she was old enough anyway – Harry had been able to stay home alone after his first year and she was halfway through hers. The house was protected under heavy enchantments and the Weasleys were only a floo-call away if she needed anything.
"They're Harry's friends," she tried to stress. "Harry didn't come when we went to visit Astoria's family."
That had bothered her greatly. After Harry met Ron in their first year, she had been towed along to every visit between the Potters and the Weasleys. James had been happy to befriend Molly and Arthur Weasley and their families spent a great deal of time together. It didn't seem fair that she had to be friends with Ginny while Harry didn't have to befriend Daphne or Jason.
"What about Ginny? She's close to your age – "
"You didn't make Harry befriend Jason or Daphne!" Harry made a straggled noise in his throat which only encouraged Sophie. "Because they're Slytherins and Merlin forbid that Harry Potter befriends a Slytherin."
James was frowning now. "Okay, that's enough."
James and Sirius looked at each other. Sophie could almost see them deciding her fate for the evening, she had certainly overstepped some boundary. Sirius tilted his head and James gave a brief nod. Sophie suspected an unspoken agreement had passed between them when finally Sirius smiled at her.
"That's fine, I needed to stay home and finish off some reports anyway. We'll order take-away, your pick."
Sirius picked up fish and chips for the pair of them from one of the nearby villages. It was their go-to food every time the pair of them was left to get take-out. They tasted like victory, Sophie decided that night. It felt good to get her way and not have to spend the evening forcing conversation with Ginny. Although she knew Sirius was going to ask her about it.
"James and I have noticed that you haven't wanted to visit any of your old friends." Sirius causally brought up as they ate.
Sophie poked at her chips. "Ginny and I were never friends."
"What about Elliott or Myron?" He tried again. "You used to be so close."
"It's a little hard, being in different houses and all," She challenged. She didn't think it was fair that Sirius would lecture her about not abandoning friends over a Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. It took most of her restraint not to throw that into his face.
"Lily had friends in all the houses, you know. She never believed in that nonsense. Your father and I were a little more thick-headed."
She ignored the urge to ask Sirius more about her mum, feeling like she would be letting herself fall into his trap. While once she would had thought that as complete bull, what Slytherin would be friends with her muggle-born Mum? She was starting to see that Slytherin was made up of mostly students like her who didn't care about blood-purity, with a just small, but vocal, minority who thought muggles were scum like Draco Malfoy. She managed to deflect the conversation after that, and thankfully Sirius did not try to push it.
The following two days passed quickly, and before anyone was ready it was time for Harry and Sophie to go back to school. James and Sirius saw them off at the train station, making them promise to owl regularly and telling them they'd see them during the Easter holidays. While she was excited to see her friends and return to Hogwarts, being home for three weeks had reminded Sophie just how much she missed it.
Sophie easily found the compartment Astoria and Nephele were waiting in. Before long, Kitty found joined them.
"Mother's friend, Annette Crouch, passed away over the holidays." Kitty dramatically announced once she seated herself in the carriage. "It's all anyone could talk about."
Nephele feigned interest as she flipped through today's copy of The Daily Prophet. "Because her son died in Azkaban last September?"
Kitty's head bobbled; clearly pleased with the direction they were headed. "Yes, they're saying Mrs Crouch died from grief. Her health hasn't been the best since then, nobody's seen her in public – "
Sometimes it seemed that Kitty and the others spoke a foreign language to Sophie. They spoke of other families as if they all knew them personally. Some of them Sophie even recognized, like the high-society witches who filled the tabloids in the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. They were wizarding celebrities in their own right, right up there with pro-Quidditch players, models and musicians. But most of the time, she had never heard of the people that Kitty and the others spoke about. Her dad had kept her out of the limelight growing up and away from the elite society that revolved around wealthy pure-blood families and high-ranking ministry officials. Her friends would usually explain the more important people to Sophie.
"Should I know who the Crouches are?"
"Mr Crouch is the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation." Nephele explained. "He's a big shot at the ministry, but he hasn't been too popular since he lost his chance at Minister."
"Did you know why he lost?" Kitty innocently asked. Her large brown eyes gave away just how much she was enjoying this.
Sophie hid a smile, so this was the piece that Kitty was bursting to share with them.
Astoria drifted into the conversation, having been surprisingly quiet after greeting them in the carriage. "Yes, but it's a rather terrible thing to gossip about, isn't it Kitty?"
In the months that had passed, Astoria had slowly become their leader. She was often Kitty's moral compass when it came to over-sharing other people's personal business. She softened Nephele's blunt words and was the one to encourage her to ditch the library to spend time with friends. Her guidance and advice had helped Sophie relax and enjoy her new home in Slytherin. Whenever Astoria spoke, everyone listened.
Kitty immediately changed the pace of the conversation, telling them instead about Alessia Zabini's latest engagement over Christmas and the glamorous wedding that was expected to take place in the summer. Seven was a magical number, after all.
xXxXx
Sophie retired early that evening, exhausted from the full day of travel. There was something about a long journey that always played her out and she slept like the dead afterwards. She found Astoria alone, reading in their dorm room.
"Hey," Sophie greeted as she entered the room.
Astoria greeted her in return, making small talk as Sophie prepared for bed. Sophie then laid down on her bed, petting Artemis who had suddenly decided he wanted her attention and affection.
"Is everything all right?" Sophie hesitantly asked. Astoria had been unusually quiet most of the day, even retreating earlier than Sophie.
"Oh, I'm fine," Astoria smiled in reassurance. "Just one of those contemplative days, you know?"
Sophie understood that. While Astoria and Kitty were the more bubbly members of their group, Sophie found she was the more reserved friend. As much as she tried to be social and join in their conversations, she often found herself getting lost in her own thoughts.
"Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I promise I won't say anything to anyone."
Astoria looked thoughtful. Eventually she said, "Daphne and I think Jason's seeing someone. She said he disappeared the whole night at the Malfoys. Rosie spent the entire evening looking for him."
Sophie knew the hidden implication.
Astoria's siblings were both well-known around the common room for their good-looks and good-blood. She enjoyed a certain amount of privilege that came from older students trying to impress Daphne and Jason by being kind to their little sister. Among those privileges came a level of safety from Pansy's bullying. Indeed, even Sophie benefited by virtue of being Astoria's friend. So far they had been left alone, although Sophie had witnessed Pansy belittling the second years on many occasions, and even some of the fourth.
If the Parkinson family learned that Jason Greengrass had no interest in their older daughter Rosie, Pansy would no longer be forced to be friendly to Daphne and Astoria.
"Do you know who?" Sophie asked.
"No." Astoria's eyes flashed. "He's so stupid sometimes. He doesn't have to protect us from the likes of Pansy, Daphne and I would be fine. He should date whoever he likes."
It was the type of stupid and noble action Sophie would have expected from the Gryffindors. Although, Sophie wondered if older brothers were just stupid and overprotective by nature.
"Brothers are rather stupid aren't they?" Sophie asked. Even Artemis mewed as if in agreement.
"I think so, we should start a support club, 'My Brother's an Idiot'", Astoria giggled. Her mood shifted to a more sombre one. "As much as I wish I could tell him to follow his heart, I'm scared of Pansy and glad he's been protecting us. Daphne only tolerates her because it's better to be her friend than not. You should have heard the things she's done to their roommate, Tracey Davies."
"What happened to her?" Sophie shivered, wondering how the professors could let Pansy get away with such things. She had never heard a kind word said about the older girl, and it seemed like everyone was terrified of her.
"Daphne wouldn't say much. All I know is that Tracey was begging to be switched to Ravenclaw by the end of it, but Snape wouldn't hear it. So she transferred to Salem Institute after first year. Daphne's so terrified that Pansy will turn on her."
Sophie tried to imagine what would have to happen for it to get so bad that a girl would have to transfer. Her mind simply couldn't up come with anything. Romilda Vane's bullying seemed to be purely because she was a Slytherin, Sophie wondered if they had shared a dorm if Vane would have bullied her or befriended her.
"You should be careful," Astoria suddenly warned her. "I'm surprised Pansy's left you alone so far, she hates your brother."
"I've heard," Sophie wrapped her arms around her legs. "Harry told me to stay away from her. She's been bullying Hermione for years, calls her all sorts of names and makes fun of her for having muggle parents."
"I imagine she would," Astoria sympathized. "Mum said those who scream the loudest about muggle blood are often the ones hiding their own."
A/N I didn't intend for this to be Weasley-bashing, I actually do like them, although I recognize they have faults. I think Ron suffers from foot-in-mouth disease and he has some heavy biases. Once I started writing them on page, I realized that Sophie and Ginny wouldn't have much in common and may not actually like each other.