Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything relating to JKRowling.
Summary: Harriet Driscoll is a transfer student from Noctar Academy, attending Hogwarts as a Gryffindor for her first and final. As a memento of her time at Noctar, the librarian has sent her a book: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. As a new classmate and friend of the main character's parents, what is Harriet supposed to do?
Note: I don't know if it matters to anyone else, but I have this idea in my head of what my characters look like, and I feel like it's worth mentioning here. Lily Olivia Evans is Isla Fisher. Harriett Johanna Driscoll is Rachel McAdams (Time Traveler's Wife or Family Stone), Marigold Dawn Burns is Hayden Panettiere, Darcy Parks is Eliza Bennet (Inkheart), Grace Tracy is Georgie Henley (Narnia), and Constance Forrester is Anna Popplewell (Narnia). American Schools: Nadova (Nevada), Whooshsky (Wyoming), Misinnipso (Missouri), Noctar (North Carolina)
Second Note: Please review! Thanks
Previously: Gemma has a nightmare, Marigold introduces James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, Harriet collects a gift from the librarian at her old school through McGonagall, Sirius flirts with Harriet/Hats-formerly-known-as-Harry-and-Hattie, Harriet is oblivious, Harriet reads part of the gift, Lily call James by his first name (off screen), Harriet's book is revealed to be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harriet ponders dilemma and worries her new friends, Sirius and Harriet squabble over her inability/lack of interest in trusting them, Harriet terrifies a group of Ravenclaws, Sirius tries to pull one over on Harriet, Harriet reveals part of her childhood, Harriet reveal the book to Lily.
Chapter Three: To Read or Not to Read
The look on Lily's face was one of puzzlement and surprise, not that Harriett could blame her. She'd be surprised too if someone she'd known for a week asked her if she could change the future would she and then gave her the means to do it with. "Lily, this is a book that I received from my old school. There's a tradition at Noctar that graduates get to take a single book from the library; the student body has access to the books on the first, second and third floor, but it's said that there is a basement that extends under the whole school and that there are books that haven't been written yet or may never be written. That's typically where student's pick from when they graduate. I was suppose to graduate there, too. I didn't know I was transferring to Hogwarts until the week beforehand. My head of house felt really bad for me, and so he arranged for the librarian to pick a book for me to have as a memento of my time there." Harriett said all of this almost without stop, and then had to repeat it because Lily didn't understand the first time. After explaining the second time around, Lily stared at the book bewildered and unblinking. "I didn't believe them, about the book from the future and all that, until I got that book on Monday. I started reading it, thinking it was just a funny coincidence. You and James were named in there though, and when I asked you about your siblings—"
"Petunia!" She looked at Harriett surprised and not a little upset. "Why is Petunia in the book? She hates me. She hates magic. She—"
"Is Harry's guardian."
"WHAT?" She shot up from her position on Harriett's bed and looked at her like Harriett had just said Lord Voldemort had the right idea about muggle-borns.
"Lily, we don't have to read it if you don't want. I'll get rid of it. Tonight. We'll pretend like me never knew about it." That's a lie. We can't pretend. Why am I acting like this is nothing?
"If she's Harry's guardian…that means that I'm—I'm dead? That James is…no, I can't say that." Lily was trembling. How would anyone react to being told there going to die? Let alone that they and their husband are going to die, and then that their wizard son is going to grow up in a house of people that hate him. "You've had this since Monday?" Harriett didn't want to look at her, didn't want to face what was in Lily's eyes, but she couldn't avoid it. Sympathy! She's looking at me like she's sorry? Her family has just died and she feels sorry for me? What the heck is wrong with these people? "I'm so—"
"For the love of chocolate cake Lily, if you apologize to me right now, I will hex you!" Harriett shouted at Lily, getting off of the bed, angry at what she had seen in Lily's eyes. "Seriously, what is wrong with the lot of you? Every time I turn around one of you has this look in your eyes that shows some sort of pity or sympathy or sadness directed at me. Knock it off!"
"It's not our fault that you wear a cloak that basically says wounded heart and emotionally damaged! So don't go yelling at Lily for something that is your fault." Lily and Harriett turned to see a livid Marigold standing in the doorway.
"I don't wear a cloak that says that!"
"You do, too! And even if you didn't have a cloak, it wouldn't be that hard to tell you're insecure and distrustful because you don't tell anyone anything!"
"I do too tell people stuff. Today I told Remus and Sirius a little about my family and I told Lily why I've been upset all week long. So there!" For good measure, Harriett stuck out her tongue.
"You're not denying that your insecure and distrustful of people though. Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why aren't you denying it?"
"You just want me to say that I am!"
"I want you to answer the question!"
"I don't want to! And you can't make!" Marigold's eyes lit up bright and in under fifteen seconds had Harriett running away from her and using Lily as a guard between them. Lily finally put an end to the chase by firing a loud bang in the room.
"I want to start reading now, if you guys don't mind."
"Are you sure?" Harriett asked, somewhat out of breath from being chased by a mad blonde.
"Reading on a Friday night, Lils. Bit keen aren't you?"
"This is the reason Harriett's been acting so weird, Marigold. And yah, Harriett. I'm sure." Marigold looked intrigued at the book: "What is it?" Harriett was about to answer, but Lily interrupted: "Not here. Let's go to the room of requirements to read it. Harriett, is there anyone else you wanted to invite?"
"Are you going to tell James?" Lily looked hesitant, "It's not my choice, Lily. You know as much as I do about it at this point."
"I'll tell James. Eventually. But for now, I just want you guys there. Actually, I want to invite two other girls I'm friend's with. Does that sound okay?"
"It's fine with me. When do you want to start reading it?"
"Tonight. I'll go get the other girls and meet you both at the room of requirement, Marigold knows where it is." Marigold nodded her head, not asking anymore question since it seemed to be pointless to argue.
"Alright."
"Hey, if you are going down to Hufflepuff, can you bring back some food?"
"Why don't you just ask for the room to have a door that leads to the kitchen?"
"Will that work?"
"Yah, that's what I did last year when I was studying."
"Not to but in, but what's the room of requirement?" Harriet asked intrigued.
"You'll see." Lily and Marigold said in union before we picked ourselves off of the floor and started to get ready.
The look on Harriett's face was one of puzzlement and surprise, not that Marigold could blame her. Marigold had been surprised too when Lily had first shown her the room of requirement. Of course, this time, it looked a lot different than it did the first time Lily had shown them the room, but that was just to be expected. Their needs this time were different, after all. And true to Lily's word, an entrance to the Kitchens was made possible. The first thing Marigold did, dragging an unsure Harriett behind her, (Jeeze, she has the weirdest moments of caution.) was to go get an order of food for their group to eat. Marigold and Harriett were back in the main room, the food placed on the table, Harriett finally regained the memory to ask: "I thought you had a date tonight?"
Marigold smiled sadly and replied "So did I, but then he realized he'd scheduled dates with I and another girl at the same time by mistake."
"Well that's a new kind of dumdum." Marigold smiled, catching the connection to a muggle candy that Harriett had shown and shared with them as her favorites.
"Worse, he told me about the schedule. I'll never date a Ravenclaw, again."
"Why is it that I have yet to met an intelligent Ravenclaw since I've started school?"
"I'll try not to take that offensively." Marigold and Harriett turned to see Lily had come in with three girls behind her. The one that replied was, of course, a Ravenclaw. Didn't Lily say that she was only bringing two people? Harriett shot back: "Since I haven't met you before now, and I did use the word 'yet', you really can't take that offensively."
One of the girls standing next to Lily giggled as the, presumably, Ravenclaw and auburn haired girl frowned at my retort. "Welcome back, Lily-flower," Harriett exclaimed in her best imitation of Sirius.
"Not you, too!" Lily sighed loudly, but smiled.
"Sounds like someone has been spending a little too much time around a certain Sirius Black." Marigold smiled happily at Harriett who rolled her eyes, but smiled back. Until the auburn girl, in a disapproving voice, said: "That does seem to be the case." What's that suppose to mean? Before Harriett could respond, Lily jumped in with introductions.
The Ravenclaw who Harriett had accidentally offended was Constance Forrester, she was a prefect and a friend of Lily's from Ancient Runes and Ancient Studies class. The disapproving girl ended up being a Hufflepuff named Grace Tracy, she was another friend from classes. I sense that I'm going to have issues with this one. The last girl was another Hufflepuff, Darcy Parks, she wanted to be a Healer like Lily, and was a prefect as like Constance, but she was younger than the rest of us by a year.
"Darcy, Grace, and Constance these are two of my roommates Marigold and Harriett." Marigold closed the space between the rest of them and shook their hands. I guess Lily and her do spend time apart. Harriett, the least touchy feely of the Gryffindor trio stood where she was and said: "Just call me Hatts or Hattie."
"Has Sirius finally worn you into a nickname?" Marigold said, having finished hugging Darcy, who had an extra large smile.
"He's got a point, Hatts and Hattie have a better ring to it than Harriett."
"You haven't been here very long, have you Harriett?" I don't know why she doesn't like me, but I know I don't like her because of it.
"Hatts is a transfer student, but Sirius and the other boys have been showing her the ropes when Lily and I couldn't." Darcy diffused the building tension by asking questions about Hattie's old school, since they weren't really questions about herself, they were easy to answer and she didn't have to evade any questions.
"Hey, not to interrupt the q and a, but I think that if we want to get through a chapter before Saturday, we should start now." Marigold said warmly.
"And with that, I take my leave." Marigold and Constance looked at Grace surprised, while Hattie tried not to smile brightly. "I'll see you later, Lily. Don't get lost on your way back to the dorm, Darcy."
"Alright, Grace, thanks for coming for awhile." Darcy said as Lily smiled and waved goodbye. When the door closed behind her both let out a heavy sigh. "I'm really sorry about that Lily, but ever since our parents got married she's felt it's her business to know everything I'm doing."
"She probably means well, Darcy."
"Lily, I'd like to think that of my step-sister, too, but I know for a fact that she writes down anything I do wrong in that little black book of hers and sends a record to our parents every week."
"No offense, but she sounds horrid." Darcy laughed at Hattie's statement, and even Constance smiled a little once she realized what had just happened.
"Does this mean we get to read the mystery book now?"
Second Moment of Truth tonight, Hattie looked a Lily waiting for her to begin.
"Who wants' to read about my future sons future first?"