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Chapter 8:
It has been eight months since Wizarding Britain hailed Charlus James Potter as the Boy-Who-Lived since he managed to somehow vanquish the Dark Lord Voldemort, and the Ministry of Magic were throwing a ball in the Ministry for the birthday of the Boy-Who-Lived who was now turning two.
Both the Lord and Lady Potter agreed to the grand birthday bash the newly elected Minister, Cornelius Fudge insisted on having, as it would give them more reason to bask in their newly-founded fame. Fame they were proud of, since their son rid the world of such evil.
Sirius Orion Black and his wife of four months, Angelica Katya Warren-Black were currently in Black manor, getting ready for the celebratory event of the night, donning on their best robes.
As Angelica Warren-Black was applying on her makeup, she thought of the events of the past eight months.
It was all such a rush after Voldemort was defeated by little Charlus Potter and the conference the old codger elaborated to bask in the fame of the Boy-Who-Lived and the Potters, that Angelica was ashamed to say, she totally forgot of the one missing member, who so happened to be her favorite Potter.
Odette Arielle Potter.
A month after that Halloween night, that they now also called Charlus James Potter day, much to Angelica's annoyance and incredulity, Sirius and Angelica made the trip back to California, America to prepare for their upcoming wedding day.
Angelica would be the first to admit that she had ulterior motives for having the wedding day earlier than they formerly planned. She knew that the old codger cleared Sirius' names immediately after Peter Pettigrew's betrayal in order to sway the Blacks and the Warrens over to his side, free to be manipulated and molded by him.
Angelica would not allow that to happen.
And so, she informed her father of the current events with the war, the defeat of Voldemort, and of the Potters and Dumbledore, whisking Sirius off from his work as an auror and his life with the Potters earlier than expected, spending the next three months planning for her wedding with her mother Lady Ivana Izabela Warren née Krum and her aunt Sofija Ana Krum who usually brought along her four year old son, Victor Anton Krum.
While the three women planned for the wedding of the century befit of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Warren and Black, Sirius spent the day talking of politics and building a friendship of trust and respect with her father Lord Liam Alexander Warren, her younger brother by two years Alexander William Warren and her uncle Anton Victor Krum.
Handwritten ivory invitations made from the greatest silk, was sent off to many important families and friends from all over the world, inviting them to attend the wedding of the Lord Sirius Orion Black and the Lady Angelica Katya Warren.
Angelica made sure that her mother included Odette's name clearly in the invitation as she was sure that the Potters would leave the poor little girl behind in Potter Manor.
However, it wasn't until the after party of the wedding, after Sirius and Angelica made their first dance as a married couple, did she notice that James, Lily and Charlus Potter had attended, but little Odette was missing.
Enraged, Angelica dragged a bewildered Sirius along by the arm to the Potter's side, demanding where Odette could be as she specifically had it written in the wedding invitation, for Odette's presence to be there, especially since she was Sirius' goddaughter and he would have immensely enjoyed having her there, included in the wedding events and the photos.
It was Lily who answered apologetically with a fake solemn attitude as James avoided eye contact with everyone, that poor Odette got sick just as they were about to take their portkey to America, and they feared that she might upset the other guests and ruin the beautiful and expensive wedding that the Lord and Lady Potter, along with the Lord and Lady Krum paid so much expenses over.
Angelica scoffed at that, she was no idiot after all. She knew that the Potters didn't want anyone to know of her existence. After all, imagine what the public would say if they found out that the famous Lord and Lady Potter, along with their famous son, the Boy-Who-Lived, vanquisher of the Dark Lord Voldemort had a daughter and sister for a squib.
It would be scandalous.
Not wanting to cause a fight during her own wedding day and risk having it posted on the tabloid for the Daily Prophet and the American Daily News, as she invited reporters for both – she let it go, leaving to fight for it on another day where hopefully, there wouldn't be any reporters to swoop down on her like a couple of vultures that they usually are. Although, in all fairness, the American Daily News had more honor and tact then the Daily Prophet.
Angelica sighed as she looked herself over in the floor-length mirror in her and Sirius' private chambers. She elected to dress herself in a sweetheart neckline Royal blue dress that had a slit up until her thighs. The color of her dress managed to bring out her baby blue eyes, displaying them proudly. The eyes after all, are the window to the person's soul, displaying how much knowledge and wisdom one usually has.
Royal blue also happened to be the colors for the Noble and most Ancient Houses of Black and Warren – the only differences were, the Black were a royal blue and silver, while the Warrens were a royal blue and gold.
Sirius came out from their bathroom where he was adding the finishing touches to his gorgeous raven black wavy hair, which he had tied back into a small ponytail. Sirius looked quite dashing in his royal blue and silver robes, with the Black crest of a raven displayed proudly on the front of his robes.
His expressive, stormy grey eyes drank in Angelica's figure hungrily, pupils dilating with lust and promised her that when they returned back to the manor, that he was going to ravish her completely until she reaches such a high, she won't ever want to become undone.
Angelica gulped audibly, her Sirius had quite a big manhood that they were both exceptionally proud of, and if she weren't already dressed and hadn't sent back to the Ministry with their family eagle owl their acceptance to the invitation, she would have stayed in and allowed Sirius to get on with his promise.
In fact, the only reason Angelica agreed to this pointless event just to celebrate the Boy-Who-Lived's birthday and suck up to the Potters, was so that she could see her favorite Potter, Odette. It has been eight months since either her or Sirius last saw her, and she knew that Sirius was looking forward to seeing his gorgeous goddaughter, as he had missed her so.
Together, Lord and Lady Black stepped out of the fireplace and into the hall where the Ministry held the celebration, and began the tedious job of being the perfect politicians by sharing fake smiles and trading words with the other Lord and Ladies, and other ministry workers as well as the doddering fool of a minister, Cornelius Fudge – how he won the election to become Minister, Angelica didn't know.
Finally, after an hour of pointless chit chat, the Potters arrived making a splendid entrance. James looked handsome, the full image of the Lord Potter in his gold robes with the Potter crest attached to the front, and Lily looked beautiful in a forest green halter-necked dress that fell down and swayed magnificently on the floor with every step she took.
And right there, in Lord Potter's arms was the little savior that everyone took the time to come over and celebrate his birthday, the little savior that everybody had been waiting for, Charlus James Potter. He looked so adorable in his mini gold robes that were identical to James'.
But Angelica wasn't looking at them, but for a special someone.
Where was Odette?
After finally making their way over to the Potters and after Sirius had wished little Charlus a happy birthday, sharing formalities with his two best friends, Angelica deemed it the appropriate time to ask for the whereabouts of the birthday girl.
"James, Lily, where is Odette?" Angelica demanded, her baby blue eyes forming into slits.
"Yeah, I got little Oddie a present as well, where is she Prongs?" asked Sirius, lightly. Bless his soul, up till now Sirius never noticed that the Potter's hid Odette from the public, and she wasn't looking forward to the moment she would have to inform him and break his little bubble and the saint-like image he concocted of the Potters.
"Oh yeah," Remus gasped, a look of recognition lighting his amber eyes, and his forehead scrunching into a frown, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in around eight months, is she alright?"
Bless him as well, Angelica thought as she rolled her eyes. Those two were really clueless when it came to the Potters.
Angelica noticed yet again how James tried his hardest to not make eye contact with his two best friends, looking everywhere but at Angelica, leaving her question to be answered by his wife, the Lady Lily Potter, who was currently looking around at her surroundings in case anyone was eavesdropping into their seemingly innocent conversation between old friends.
"The poor dear got sick again, could you believe it?" Lily laughed a fake laugh, in an equally fake voice full of sorrow, her eyes drifting from Angelica, to Sirius and then to Remus. Doe-like emerald green eyes trying to convey as much innocence as she could muster, but Angelica wasn't about to believe the bitch.
At the beginning when Sirius introduced her to Lily Potter, Angelica thought the world of her; she loved her outings with Lily and Alice, and found a kind, compassionate and gentle soul in Lily. But ever since the old codger began testing Odette for her magical core and inheritance, Lily began distancing herself from her only daughter, causing Angelica to be the substitute mother she knew Odette was in great need of.
Odette would always smile when Angelica came over and would latch herself onto her constantly, causing the drift to further deepen between Angelica and Lily. Lily thought that Angelica didn't notice her disapproving glares and jealousy but she did; after all, Lord Liam Warren always taught his daughter to notice her surroundings and study people's emotions and facial reactions, what caused them to tick and so on.
"What? What's wrong with my goddaughter?" Sirius yelped, his face contorting into the embodiment of worriment.
"Sirius, calm yourself, do you want everyone to hear you?" Lily hissed causing Angelica to scowl at her. Nobody spoke to her husband that way, and so what if anybody heard, she didn't give two hoots.
"Watch it Lady Potter, nobody talks to my husband with such disrespect, I don't care how close you two are, I won't stand for you to speak to my husband, the Lord Black publicly in such a despicable fashion," Angelica spoke in a low and harsh tone, making sure no one but the five of them would be able to hear.
Lily flushed an ugly fuchsia, and James looked like he wanted to intervene, but wouldn't dare to stand in a crossfire between the fiery Lady Potter and the sharp, powerful political figure Lady Warren-Black made.
"Second of all, Lady Potter," Angelica sneered, ignoring Sirius' hand tugging on her wrists to quit it, "I want to know where my niece is exactly, sorry if I don't find the fact that she so happens to fall ill during big events, such as her godfather and aunt's wedding day, AND her own birthday."
There was silence within the group of five, none of the three men dared to utter a word, all three of them fidgeting uncomfortably, avoiding the staring contest between sharp emerald green eyes and crackling, thunderous baby blues.
Suddenly, Charlus began wailing in his father's arms, causing everyone in the vicinity to turn sharply at the group of five and the baby boy savior in between. Without another word, Lily disconnected her eyes from baby blue ones, grabbed Charlus from James' arms and strode off into the direction of the washroom.
The three men now switched their stare at the imposing figure Lady Warren-Black just made, trying their damnest not to quail under her glare, especially James, as he was under her unwavering stare now that Lily had ran off.
"Tomorrow, I am coming over to Potter manor, I am going to collect my niece and take her to Black manor for the day. I want her to be ready for me to pick her up at 12 P.M. sharp. Have a nice night celebrating your son's birthday while your daughter sits alone at home."
And without a second glance, Angelica stormed off leaving James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to stare at the back of the most imposing and scariest woman they had ever seen. Angelica Katya Warren-Black completely kicked Lily Marie Potter's ass, a feat no one thought was accomplishable.
When Sirius and Angelica Black arrived at their manor via the fireplace, Sirius rounded up on his wife instantly, "What the hell was that Angie? You completely attacked Lily in a room full of people, with reporters buzzing around for gossip! On Charlus' birthday of all days!" he yelled.
Angelica fumed as she yelled back in an equally loud voice, waving her arms up in the air, "IT'S ODETTE'S BIRTHDAY, TOO! Your goddaughter … ya know, sometimes you're just too blind to see how much your friends have changed Sirius," she said, stomping up the stairs into their chambers.
"What's that supposed to mean, Angelica?" Sirius roared, following his wife's footsteps, entering the room and ducking just in time as Angelica threw her clutch where his face was a second ago.
"It means exactly what it was supposed to mean, Sirius Orion Black! Your friends have changed; open up your eyes damn it! Sometimes I forget how much of a brash Gryffindor you could be. We haven't seen Odette in eight months, ever since she was a day old and that old codger began checking over her magical core, everyone had forgotten about Odette. It is like she doesn't even exist anymore, it's always Charlus this, and Charlus that, no one fights for Odette anymore, not since Dumble-fuck rendered her a squib! I doubt Odette has even seen the outside of Potter Manor in eight months! No one even knows that the Potters have a daughter and that Charlus has a twin sister!"
Sirius stared blankly at his ranting wife, after she had finished yelling; Sirius slumped down on their king-sized bed, buried his face in the inside of his palms, and began to think over everything Angelica just said.
She was right! Everything she said was completely right! Even Remus forgot about her, he completely forgot about her existence over these eight past months. The Potters went to the conference the day after Charlus defeated Voldemort and left little Odette at home, all alone.
Sirius himself, Odette's godfather, hasn't seen her in eight months.
The last time Sirius could recall seeing her and holding her in his arms, was right after they came back from the attack on Diagon Alley that Halloween night.
Every time he saw the Potters it was during work with James as they were aurors, or Diagon Alley, Longbottom Manor and Black Manor. In fact, Sirius hasn't entered Potter Manor in ages.
Sirius felt Angelica place a dainty hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry Sirius, but I couldn't have you continue to live as a blind man anymore, you had to know."
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
It has been seven months since Odette's second birthday, and life was as lonely as ever … or as lonely as it could be for a two year old little girl whose parents practically ignored her existence and never let her out of the house in case she was seen by anyone who didn't know about her.
Odette was a very smart girl with an eidetic memory, and so, she could tell that ever since her second birthday, when her mommy, daddy and Charlus left through the fireplace in their fancy robes and dress that something had changed.
And she was right as the next day her mommy had the elves dress her up in her rare daily dresses that she was never able to wear as she was always to be locked up inside the huge manor.
Ten minutes later, her auntie Angie came over to the manor and picked her up. At first, she was upset with her since she hadn't seen her in over eight months, but auntie Angie began babbling to her that she was so sorry, her parents wouldn't let her and her uncle Siri see her, always stating that she was sick when she didn't see her on her wedding day.
Odette knew that Auntie Angie never expected her to understand her ramblings, but she did. Everyone expected Odette to be like every other two year old, but she wasn't – she was a very smart girl who understood conversations and body languages ever since she was five months old.
Ever since that day, Odette knew that her parents were ashamed of her because they thought she had no magic and were trying their hardest to conceal her existence from the world, and that it wasn't Uncle Siri and Auntie Angie's fault; it was her parents.
And so, Odette decided to try and prove her parents wrong. She spent every waking moment in the gigantic Potter Library which was comprised of two whole floors filled with books of every subject imaginable, from magical to muggle books.
At two years old and seven months, Odette was fluent in the English, French and Latin language. She chose French because she read in one muggle book that it was the language of love, something that Odette was dearly missing in her life. She also self-taught herself Latin, as nearly all spells were in the Latin language.
Odette decided that every year she would learn two to three languages, and she was quite pleased with herself for becoming fluent in English, French and Latin already in only three months. Odette was tested by her only family, the house elf Daisy that Lily had hired to take care of all the needs of Odette.
Daisy was quite a cute and young house elf, with wisps of blonde hair, a bulb-like nose, huge blue eyes that reminded her of her auntie Angie, although they were two shades darker and flappy, round ears with a squeaky voice.
Odette would practice with and teach a few words to Daisy while she taught herself, and Daisy was always so proud of her Mistress Oddie, who she loved and cared for her as a mother should.
When Daisy found out that Odette was capable of wandless magic, she insisted that her little Mistress learn first year charms and transfiguration using wandless magic, and since Odette had a wide and easily stretchable magical core, she achieved this feat in two weeks, going as far as learning the second and third year wandless charms and transfiguration. Daisy, however was adamant that Odette not learn any jinxes, hexes or DADA spells until she has matured more, which was in her opinion nine or ten years of age.
One day, Odette asked Daisy if she wouldn't mind placing a silent bubble charm in the music room so that she could learn a few instruments without her parents knowledge, especially her brother Charlus, as he would use the opportunity to hit her and get her into trouble with James and Lily. Charlus hated the library and the books in it, and so Odette used it as the room to hide from Charlus; a getaway room.
It was a slow process, but eventually Odette was able to hit all the notes easily, with the ability to play and compose many songs in the flute and the piano. Odette read many books from the Potter Library about the piano and the flute as an instrument and the many composers, who all so happened to be muggles – apparently magicals find playing instruments as a mere hobby and talent and not as a job, which was an utter shame in Odette's opinion.
She was extremely interested in the violin, but after reading all about it, she found it to be very complex. She read that one was able to play the violin either seated or standing up, and there was a precise way of holding the violin as well. Good posture was needed for the sake of quality and to reduce any chance of repetitive strain injury, also it was important to be in a natural relaxed position without rigidness or tension around the muscles, therefore, Odette decided that she would learn that particular instrument at an older age after she had perfected Occlumency and learned proper etiquette, as she was positive her parents weren't about to teach it to her as they wanted her kept away from social events and the occupants of the wizarding world.
In between learning the flute and the piano, Odette spent her free time reading the few psychology books the Potter Library had. She studied personality psychology, study of the unconscious mind, developmental psychology and some of the experiments muggle psychologists experimented in.
Odette also spent her time studying geography, as she found herself desperately wanting to escape from Potter Manor. She dreamed of traveling the world, experiencing the lives of other cultures and its cuisines, as well as their historical landmarks.
Odette decided to leave the study of history for when she was three or four years old; even though she had an eidetic memory and could easily store everything she had learned, read and studied, it was too much of an information overload for a two and a half year old.
Daisy advised her that it was preferable for her to begin studying Occlumency; once she was a master in protecting her minds and organizing her thoughts, she would be able to store everything she had studied and read neatly, instead of it all jumbling all together in her mind.
In her free time, Odette would pick up a number of random potions books from the library and read them for fun. Odette never found Potions to be a complex and boring subject, she actually found it to be entertaining and highly educational much to her joy. Daisy would come with Odette to the Potions chamber, located down in the dungeon of the manor and keep watch while she would experiment, standing on a high stool so that she could reach over the cauldron and stir without help from anyone.
Odette was ecstatic to be skilled in one of the three subjects her mommy thrived in and couldn't wait to show her how good she was.
Also, Odette was fascinated with the creation of spells and potions, and she couldn't wait until she was old enough to invent her own. For potions, Odette already had a head start; as long as she had the patience and the comprehension of what each ingredient was used for and symbolized, she could start out theories for her own inventions. However, spells were a different matter completely, as one must be skilled in Arithmancy and Runes, something Odette was still too young to learn especially without Occlumency.
With Daisy's help, Odette started making a timetable for when she turned three years old. Odette was motivated enough to learn something new every year, she couldn't wait to make her parents proud of her, and when she went to Hogwarts she was going to be the smartest girl in her year; she didn't want her mommy and daddy to be ashamed of her.
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
There were two weeks left until Charlus and Odette turned three years old, and this year James and Lily Potter were planning a huge birthday bash in Potter Manor, unfortunately that meant that people would be able to see Odette.
Lily came up with the perfect plan; she ordered Daisy to keep Odette away from the huge outdoor garden, which was where the celebrations were going to be taking place.
Even though Daisy hated to alienate her little Mistress on her birthday, she knew that if she disobeyed the Lady Potter, then she would replace her with another elf, perhaps even one that would be mean to her little Mistress Oddie. So, Daisy agreed with the Lady Potter's demands with a heavy heart and promised to keep her little Mistress away from the birthday celebrations.
Daisy could only hope that the brave and kind Lady Warren-Black would intervene like she did on her little Mistress's second birthday.
The day before Odette's birthday, she was sitting with her parents in the living room. Her mommy was writing a letter while her daddy lounged around on the couch reading the Daily Prophet.
Odette had been planning on telling her parents the truth of what had happened when that bad man attacked the night when the rat man was supposed to be babysitting them, but she never found the chance as Charlus was always around, and when her parents showed a sliver of attention to Odette, he would cause a huge temper tantrum.
"Daddy?" Odette asked tentatively, her wide doe-like emerald eyes glowing as her dad turned his face to meet her eyes with his hazel ones.
"Hmm?"
"You know that night, when the bad man attacked us at the small house?"
There was a crunching noise as the quill in Lily's hand that she was using to write a letter to Alice Longbottom and Molly Weasley snapped in half as she heard the subject her daughter was talking about. James' eyes glinted sharply in anger at the reminder of what they could have lost that night, and in a way did lose, if they counted Odette's magic core.
"What about it Odette? We don't talk about that night. Your brother managed to defeat him and send him away and that is all that matters," Lily snapped aggressively, dismissing her daughter, and fetching another quill so that she could continue with her letter that she was rudely interrupted from.
"B-but, mommy that's not true, that isn't what happened," Odette blurted out in shock. Was that the reason why everyone fawned over Charlus and ignored her? Because they all thought he was the one that sent that bad man away? But it was her … why would they think it was Charlus?
James and Lily never noticed how Odette never slurred or lisped her words like her brother Charlus was at his current age. They never noticed that she sounded smart beyond her years, with a large and perfect repertoire of the English language.
The only thing they noticed was that their only daughter was acting like her brother's accomplishment was nothing to be trifled with or mocked about. Charlus defeated Voldemort, giving them several years of peace, and here was their daughter, trying to steal his thunder because of something as silly as jealousy.
"You don't have to be jealous of your brother girl! How dare you ridicule your own brother," Lily screamed, causing her daughter to cower in her seat.
"But I'm not ridiculing him, I'm being honest momma," Odette cried out.
"I don't appreciate liars in this family. As your punishment, tomorrow you are to stay in your room, if you so much as leave the manor you'll be grounded for life," growled out Lily.
"But, but tomorrows my birthday," cried out Odette in a small voice.
"I don't care! James, go teach our daughter not to lie anymore," Lily demanded of James.
"What do you want me to do? Hit her?" James asked sarcastically.
"Yes," hissed Lily, causing James' eyes to widen, "If we don't teach her at such a young age, then she'll grow up thinking lying is tolerated in this family, and we don't want her growing up to be jealous of her brother."
Lily abruptly snatched her letters from the table, heading off to the owlery, but before she left, she smacked Odette on the side of her tiny little face as hard as she could muster, causing her to cry out.
James stared at the back of his wife in horror, not believing what he had just witnessed. Odette had curled herself into her body on the couch, sniffling, and wiping her tears that covered her red face that looked like it would form a huge bruise the next day.
James sighed deeply and went over to his daughter, bending down on one knee so that he could keep eye contact with her. Carefully, he lifted her cherubic face and wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumbs and said, "Odette your mother means well, it's just that night terrified her and bringing it up must have brought those emotions back, do you understand?" he asked gently.
Odette obediently nodded her head, she didn't mean to make her mommy upset.
"Also, your mother despises it when people lie to her face, and you saying that your brother didn't defeat the bad man – "
"But he didn't! I did!" Odette cried out in exasperation.
"ENOUGH!" James yelled, and before he knew it, his hand went flying out of its own accord, smacking Odette hard in the other side of her face. Odette was rendered speechless, and the next thing she knew, she was crying out loud, her face was completely numb on both sides where her mommy and daddy had both slapped her.
James Potter was as still as a statue as he stared down at the offending hand that slapped his daughter, his own flesh and blood, on the face. James was never a violent man, but he hated liars as much as his wife did – but was that an excuse to hit his own child?
Without a word, James strode out of the living room, making his way to the peace and quiet of his own room. He hoped that after a good sleep, this event would be wiped out of his memory. In fact, James decided that before he went to his and Lily's sleeping chambers, to make a pit stop in his office.
Upon entering his office, he opened one of the hidden cabinets, where inside, a pensieve was located – this pensieve was passed down through the generation of the Lord Potters. James caressed the runes on the marble slab cautiously – it was last used by his father, his beloved father who had never laid a hand on him before, and who would be terribly disappointed in his son for laying hands on his own daughter, as well as allowing his wife to hit their child.
James took out his wand and pulled out a strand of wispy, pearl white string which was his memory; the memory of what just happened to be precise. Removing the memory and placing it in his pensieve wouldn't erase it from his memory or from ever happening, but it would help in keeping it away from the forefront of his mind.
As James Potter tucked himself into bed for an afternoon nap, Odette was still curled onto herself, clutching onto both sides of her face as she cried out loud in pain and sadness.
Daisy popped into the living room, she felt her little Mistress' distress through their link, but she couldn't do anything as she was with her parents and it was them that caused her such anguish. "Little Mistress, don't cry, don't be sad, Daisy is here little Mistress," she squeaked in a placating manner.
Daisy carried her crying little Mistress into her tiny and bony arms, and popped over to her chambers.
As Daisy popped away with Odette, nobody noticed that in one of the big portraits of a unicorn that was situated in the living room, the late Lord Charlus and his wife Lady Dorea Potter, who so happened to be the parents of the current Lord James Potter, watched the whole episode take place.
Charlus and Dorea were distraught with their son and daughter-in-law for all the pain they caused their adorable granddaughter, and don't even get them started on the bullying ways of their grandson. Charlus and Dorea watched over Odette closely, and what they saw shocked them to their core.
Odette wasn't a squib after all, she just didn't trust Albus Dumbledore for some reason they couldn't fathom. Albus was a wonderful man and one of their most trusted family friend; perhaps he had gotten even more senile in his old age?
But the most important of all, was that Odette was no squib, she was a powerful witch; one of the most powerful witch they had ever seen, and she was only two years old, now nearly three. They watched as she picked up new languages easily, and how she read books so quickly and how she understood every single word she read. She drank knowledge up, like a dehydrated man thirsted for water.
After much deliberation, Charlus and Dorea decided not to out their granddaughter to her parents. James and Lily deserved to end up having their daughter hating them for how they treated her up till now. If James turned out to be a squib, they never would have treated him any differently. They didn't raise James to be prejudiced against squibs, and so they allowed Odette her secrets.
They decided that once Odette was five years old, they would introduce themselves to her. Charlus and Dorea were very excited to teach her many things and inform her of the Wizarding World; something her parents should do in the future, but knew they wouldn't.
And so, the late Lord and Lady Potter began counting down the years for when their beloved and lonely darling granddaughter would turn the age of five and they would finally get to know her on a more personal level and be able to hold a conversation with.
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
Today was the day Charlus and Odette turned three years old and Sirius couldn't wait to see his nephew and his goddaughter and hand over their gifts. He had gotten them a toy broomstick each, and even though Odette had no magic, the broomstick was geared into levitating two feet over the ground, regardless if the rider had magic or not.
Angelica on the other hand, was in no mood to see Lily, she was after all six months pregnant, and therefore she was constantly a moody and extremely hormonal bitch. But she couldn't wait to see little Odette, she had been staying in Black manor lately due to her pregnancy and was unable to see much of her favorite Potter.
Upon arrival, they noticed that the party was in full swing, all the children were out playing games while the adults sat around, lounging comfortably in the plushy seats provided by the house elves.
"SIRI!" Charlus yelled excitedly, running over to his cool uncle and throwing his arms around Sirius' neck as he had knelt down with his arms open wide ready to catch him.
"Argghhh, how's my favorite nephew doing? Happy birthday Prongslet," Sirius cheered, smothering him with kisses and tickling him with the hair of his goatee. Angelica then gave Charlus a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, handing over his gift, causing him to squeal and run off to his friends as he carried the package in his pudgy hands.
After trading pleasantries, Sirius and Angelica began searching high and low for Odette, but to no avail.
"Lily, where is Odette?" Angelica asked angrily, she was getting sick and tired of continuously asking the exact same question every time there was an event taking place.
James looked away, but this time he wasn't avoiding eye contact with everyone, he looked to be guilty. What the hell is happening with this family when it comes to that precious little girl?
Lily however, looked smug and defiant, "She's grounded, and no you may not see her. That would be a poorly taught lesson if we allowed her guests."
"You grounded her?" Sirius asked slowly, "You grounded her on her birthday? A birthday she was unable to celebrate last year because she was sick!"
"Padfoot –"James began.
"No, don't Padfoot me," Sirius fumed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried his hardest not to say something that he would end up regretting. He couldn't believe how blind he was to how his friends were treating his goddaughter just one year ago; he was so happy that he married Angelica, a woman unafraid to speak her mind and that could set his straight.
Sirius finally looked James and Lily square in the face, it was his turn to talk, and he didn't want Angelica to stress herself out as it could cause her to have an early pregnancy. "If you guys are either unable to or don't want to raise your daughter, then tell me, because I love that little girl as my own, and Angelica and I would be glad to take her off your hands since you are so embarrassed that you gave birth to a squib," he spat out towards the end.
James stared wide-eyed at his best friend; he never saw that one coming. Lily however, looked to be unaffected as she stared impassively at the two men in a bored fashion, her eyes occasionally drifting over to the Longbottoms and her darling son Charlus who was playing happily with his friends.
James finally managed to gather his thoughts and pulled Sirius away from Lily and Angelica, somewhere private where they could talk with no eavesdroppers.
"Look Padfoot, I may not show it well, but I do love my daughter. However, Charlus is more important to us, he has magic and with him defeating Voldemort, he is under a lot more pressure – he is the child of the prophecy after all and he needs all the support and love that we could give him," James began, breathing in deeply and ignoring the incredulous look Sirius was sending him, "Once Charlus begins attending Hogwarts, we'll have more time to lavish Odette with attention."
"So what do you want me to do? Ignore Odette's existence? Pretend that what you and Lily are doing is okay? You're emotionally abusing her," Sirius growled out, choosing to ignore the fact that James flinched when he said the word 'abuse'.
"I'm asking you to pick a side. You're MY best friend, and just as I named you Odette's godfather, I can easily take it back! I'm asking you to support your brother and his family," James said bluntly, hating himself for making his brother in all but blood pick a side like this.
It was for the best though, his daughter was a squib, nothing special – no wizard would marry her now, and she was doomed to a life as a hermit. Once Charlus begins attending Hogwarts, they would send her to a muggle boarding school, where she would hopefully make friends there, in a place where she actually fits in.
Charlus, on the other hand, he was the child of the prophecy, the child that defeated Voldemort. He so happened to agree with Albus – Voldemort wasn't exactly dead, and when he returns back from whatever form he is in right now, he would return with a vengeance and a target on his precious son's back. He couldn't waste time with his squib daughter.
Sirius stared at James for five long and silent minutes; they could hear nothing but the whistles of the wind, the voices of the children and the hubbub of the adults speaking with one another.
"You win James," Sirius spat in a harsh voice, making his best friend flinch with the unexpected aggressiveness he had only ever heard when speaking with the Slytherins and Death Eaters. "I won't outwardly ignore my goddaughter, but I'll pay less attention to her and convince Angelica to do so as well. But heed my warning James, there will come a time where you will regret this – deeply regret this and hate yourself for the time lost with your daughter. And when the time comes, I'll be there to tell you 'I told you so.'" He then turned his back to his best friend's face to return back to his wife.
Sirius grabbed the present from Angelica's hands much to her surprise, and threw it into James arms, who deftly caught it – the guy was a chaser after all, one of the best. "I would appreciate it if you would give this to Odette for her birthday," he growled that last word out harshly, making sure that he grabbed eye contact with Lily when he said so, and Angelica was glad to see a small sliver of guilt and shame fill Lily's emerald green eyes, before returning back to its usual impassiveness.
"Where are you going?" James asked unsurely.
Angelica lifted a perfectly sculptured eyebrow at her husband; she wanted to hear the answer to the question as well, since she never knew they were going anywhere in the first place.
Sirius stared at James long and hard before spitting out, "America. Angelica's pregnant and to be honest, right now, I'd rather spend my time with my other family," he said bluntly. James looked so downtrodden at that moment and Lily looked scandalized. "Tell Charlus we had to leave."
Sirius didn't bother waiting for an answer, he grabbed Angelica's wrist, and carefully molded her into his body protectively since apparating while pregnant wasn't the safest method of traveling. Just as Sirius was getting ready to apparate, he saw none other than Albus Dumbledore confidently and arrogantly striding over the path to the Potters and yelled, "See ya Dumble-fuck!"
The last thing Angelica saw as her husband apparated them away, was the look of shock on Albus' old wrinkled face, a lemon drop spilling out from his mouth and getting stuck onto his long white beard comically due to his mouth hanging open.
A/N: This one was quite the long chapter, Whew! Poor Odette, huh? What did you all think?
To all the Lily Potter fans out there, I am sorry for all the bashing, don't get me wrong, I love Lily Potter as well, but for the sake of the story and the direction it is going to, I had to.
I already have the next chapter all planned out, so it will be out in a day or two maximum! Enjoy!