A/N: I made a small change to the beginning of chapter 3 about Power of Existence. Nothing big, but it was something that needed to be brought up. (This was done awhile ago so a lot of you may have either read it for the first time after the change or may have even reread the new version)
A/N2: I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I will try not to make my next update take so long, though I make no promises.
The next morning, the Potters headed down to the dining room to find breakfast made by the house elves.
"I forgot about that," Harry murmured. The house elves would always cook for him and his family back in his world and, despite the reason for him learning, he actually liked cooking. He especially had taken a liking to cooking for his family. "I'll have to try and make a deal with them."
Lily and Violet giggled, knowing what the male Potter was muttering about. They all sat down and started eating. When they finished Harry brought something up he thought they should do.
"Mum, I think now would be a good idea to get the prophecy," he said.
Lily was startled that he brought up the reason Voldemort went after her daughter. "Are you sure?" she asked worriedly. "I figured that since you knew it we wouldn't have to worry about it."
"I do know it, but that is the one from my world," he pointed out. "There might just a few minor differences or it could very well be completely different. I didn't bring it up until now because Violet would have to be the one to take it and I didn't want Dumbledore to get suspicious before she reached school. I don't know if he can, but I wouldn't be surprised if he at least tried to put some kind of alert on it to warn him about it being taken."
"But now we can come to the Potter Manor and he can't enter," Violet said.
"While true, I was actually thinking of storing it in the Potter artifact vault in Gringotts," Harry said. "We need to do it soon though because, besides her and Voldemort, Dumbledore can take the orb since the prophecy was made out to him and when he gets the Daily Prophet he will likely try to remove it."
Their mother nodded, "Alright we'll do that right now."
They got up and made their way to the Floo. With a shout of "Ministry of Magic!" the three disappeared from Potter Manor.
Dumbledore stared at the Daily Prophet he had just received in shock as dread filled him. Below the headline was a picture of not only Lily with her daughter, but a boy that looked remarkably like James. Sirius, the Tonks women, and Bellatrix were there with them. He read through the article once more.
XxXxX
Lady Lily Potter Alive!
By Barnabas Cuffe
You read that headline correctly dear readers. Lily Jane Potter née Evans is still alive and well. She spent the last eleven years in hiding to safely raise her daughter. She had been worried about any Death Eaters that were still prowling around and later to keep her from being swarmed by the public.
When she came to me with this story however there is one thing that I can't help, but wonder. Apparently, Albus Dumbledore had sent the one year old Violet Potter to live with her Aunt and Uncle. Now while there is nothing wrong with this, one has to wonder why he did it if Lady Potter was alive as well as her godparents being perfectly fine. Another thing that raises suspicion is the letter he left, that Lady Potter kindly left for us. It read:
Dear Petunia,
I regret to inform you that your sister and brother in law have been murdered by [He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named]. Since there likely would be wizards and/or witches that would want to get their hands on young Violet, I am placing her with you and your family. You need not worry about any magicals come knocking since I have not told anyone, but a few I trust explicitly where she was and I have erected wards to protect you and your family. I trust you and your husband to raise Violet and to discipline her correctly and when needed.
Signed,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Other than the blunt, and rather cold, format of the letter there was something that bothered me. I can't help but wonder why Dumbledore seemed to emphasize what he did. It sounded as he was telling them to blame Violet for their situation and encouraging them to punish her. While they shouldn't let her get away with things, we here at the Daily Prophet can't help, but feel that with the emphasis he meant more than just normal punishments.
Considering that young Violet looks well (as can be seen in the photo) and from what all of the Potters told us, they didn't listen to these emphasized points.
XxXxX
The article went on to say Lily was only alive because Voldemort wanted to gift her to a Death Eater. It told of how a man named Adam Williams saw baby Violet abandoned on her aunt and uncle's doorstep. That after contacting Lily and telling the distraught mother where her daughter was he went looking for Sirius since the man didn't get custody of Violet despite being the girls godfather. This led to him running into Sirius as he was confronting Pettigrew and keeping the man from killing the traitor and making it hard to prove his innocence, and keeping him out of Azkaban for killing someone.
After that Lily mentioned how the Longbottoms were hidden as well. This led her to finding out the Fidelius was down and that her friends likely needed help. Apparently, Adam quickly went to Longbottom Manor and helped Alice, Augusta, and Frank deal with the attacking Death Eaters. Which the three of them confirmed for the Prophet.
Dumbledore frowned at the fact his letter had been printed in the paper. He had written it the way he had because he had been sure that Petunia or Vernon would, with his wards influencing them, dispose of the letter. He looked at the other article on the paper that, while not as big, was rather important and also answered a question the Headmaster had since the Hogwarts letters had been sent out.
XxXxX
New Potter
By Barnabas Cuffe
During the time Lady Potter had been keeping her daughter safe, she had adopted a boy named Harry who looks remarkably like James, despite not being related to the man. She stated that she had seen the boy performing some magical ability that let her know he was a wizard. Deciding that the boy could do with a mother as well as giving her daughter another family member she adopted the young wizard.
What little I saw between the young witch and wizard, they seemed to care a great deal about each other. Mr. Potter never strayed very far from Ms. Potter's side during their short visit here at the Daily Prophet. When Lady Potter had explained what had happened that fateful night Ms. Potter was, understandably, shaken up by it, but young Mr. Potter helped her through it.
I found it rather endearing, and I'm sure everyone would agree, to see such a bond between the two despite not being of blood relation. How he put an arm around her shoulder through the entire recounting, offering his silent comfort.
XxXxX
The only good thing about the entire paper is that it explained who the extra Potter that had shown up was. Before he could contemplate what to do next his door was slammed open and an irate witch strode up to him.
"Dumbledore what have you done!?" Minerva McGonagall shouted, her Scottish brogue slipping into her speech.*
The old man sighed slightly, before plastering a grandfatherly smile on his face to try and talk Minerva down.
Getting the prophecy had been easier than any of them thought. They had spoken to Amelia about the possibility of a prophecy since it appeared that Voldemort had been after Violet rather than the Potter adults. Seeing the conclusion they had come to, she agreed to let them enter the Department of Mystery. When they got there they talked with an Unspeakable and were led to the Hall of Prophecies. When they reached where the prophecy was located Violet took it and the three quickly left with the orb.
The Potters then went to Gringotts and requested to be taken to the Potters artifact vault. Once they were inside they walked a good ways inside before bringing the orb out of the bag they had put it in.
"So what do we do with it?" Violet asked nervously. Understandable of course since this thing was the reason she had lost her father and almost lost her mother.
"That's your decision Vi," Harry said. "This thing is about you after all."
She looked at her mother, who gave her an unsure, but supportive smile. She turned back to the orb and, having been told by an Unspeakable what to do, tapped it with her wand. The mist inside the orb swirled for a moment before changing into a woman's face, which began speaking.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies... with Hell's lightning and Goddess of Punishment aiding on their journey... Death's champion along with Heaven's Flame by their side.
The three stood in silence, digesting what they had just heard. Harry was the first to break it.
"Well, for the most part the prophecy was the same," he said. "The only difference was the ending. I'm kind of surprised that Nyx was mentioned, but I suppose since she was what protected Violet from Voldemort's spell it's not too surprising."
"Yes, I was not expecting her to be mentioned," Lily admitted. "Much less by her titles, more or less."
"Alastor's Flame Haze played a major part in the anime so that's not really shocking to think she would be at least present," Harry continued. "The Death's champion thing is the one that I'm not completely sure on. It could be talking about me or it could very well be talking about someone here getting the Deathly Hallows."
"Yes, those are interesting points as well," Nyx agreed. "Alastor and his Flame Haze joining will help immensely. The part about Death's champion is rather intriguing."
Harry placed the orb on a stand that was nearby and the three left the vault. They then left the bank and apparated back to Potter Manor. When they arrived they were surprised to see an owl with a letter on its leg.
Harry took the letter from the owl and narrowed his eyes when he saw it was from Dumbledore. He quickly checked it for charms, potions, or if it was a portkey. He frowned when he found compulsion charms on it. He removed them before handing it to his mother. She opened the letter and proceeded to read it out loud.
Dear Lily,
I was overjoyed to hear that you were actually alive. (Harry and Violet snorted.) Though I must say that I'm disappointed that you didn't tell me that you survived. I could have integrated you into the blood wards that I had placed around your sisters home.
"That wouldn't work at all," Harry muttered to himself, though the female Potters heard him. "Even if he actually set those wards up they only work if a family member sacrifices themselves, but because you survived they wouldn't bloody well do anything. True Dad sacrificed himself as well, but then the old goat would have to have put Violet with one of his relatives and he wouldn't have taken the chance of putting her with a magical family."
But I digress. The reason I wrote you this letter is to offer you a job. Last year our Muggle Studies professor retired and I haven't found a good replacement yet. I figured that you would be the best choice as you lived with Muggles for so long.
I look forward to your owl with your decision. Several of the Professors hope that you will join us on the teaching staff here at Hogwarts.
Sincerely,
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Order of Merlin: First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump of International Confederation of Wizards
'Must he write that on every letter he writes?' Harry thought in exasperation. Shaking himself, he said, "That was probably what the compulsion charms were for. He wanted you to take the job and bring you to where he could keep an eye on you."
"What are you going to do Mum?" Violet asked.
"I think I'll take the job," she said, surprising and worrying Violet while Harry looked at her curiously. "For one, I don't want him getting suspicious of his charms not working. Another thing is that I need a job anyway after being gone so long. Even if we don't need the money I need something to do. And lastly," here she knelt down and placed a hand on her daughter's cheek, "I want to not only be there for you two, but also to keep an eye on both Dumbledore and Severus."
"I agree with the last two Mum, but I'm almost certain that he'll try to give you a loyalty potion or something like that when you get there and he'll get suspicious then," Harry said. When she sighed and agreed, he continued, "I think you should still take it though."
"What!? You want her to still go after what you just said?" his sister exclaimed.
"Well, I read the book we were given more thoroughly and it said that the ring would warn the wearer if there is anything that will affect them in their food or drinks. It also shields against some charms, such as Compulsions, Tracking, and even Obliviation, though it can be overpowered," he explained. "I've also been teaching the two of you to withstand strong Legilimency attacks, so you shouldn't have a problem rebuking Dumbledore if he tries to go probing where he shouldn't."
"That's nice to know about the ring and he's right about our Occlumency shields. I'll be on high alert around him and, if he does manage to slip me something, Harry will notice right away and deal with it," Lily reassured her daughter with the immortal nodding in agreement.
Violet nodded at the two. She was nervous enough with going to Hogwarts herself, even with Harry, but their mother going as well? She was sure that she would be rather panicky for awhile.
"Right," Lily started, standing up. "I mentioned the proxies and regents with Sirius and Andi and they both agreed. Andi took the Potter and Sirius took the Gryffindor. I'm going to talk to Devon, Cygnus, Amelia, and Frank about the Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Peverell seats."
The three Potters appeared in the Apparition zone for King Cross Station. As they walked toward the station Harry thought about the proxy and regent positions. Their candidates had been surprised by so many positions being held by the three Potters, especially when they realized they had all of the Founders in their little family. Just like they had planned Amelia took Hufflepuff, Devon Ravenclaw, Cygnus Slytherin, and Frank Peverell.
The Wizengamot, and Dumbledore especially, were shocked greatly when the Founders and Peverell seats were activated once more. It had been in the headlines of the Daily Prophet the next day about how such a thing happening was astounding, especially with the recent war that still hung over everyone.
Harry was pulled from his thoughts when they reached the train. He and his sister hugged and said goodbye to their mother, even though they would see her at Hogwarts, before boarding. They were going to find a compartment to sit in since they had arrived somewhat early so none of their friends had showed up yet. Once they found one they sat next to each other, with Harry by to the window, and waited.
They didn't have to wait long before two of their friends entered the compartment. Daphne and Tracey walked inside and, with Harry helping them, stowed their trunks away.
Violet glanced between the two girls. It had been almost five years since she saw them and her other two friends. Tracey's short straight brown hair now reached her shoulders and her amber eyes sparkled with her mischievous personality.
With Daphne there were actually more differences between her and Harry's than just personality. His had honey blonde hair with sapphire blue eyes while here she had the same midnight black hair that Harry had, which reached her shoulder blades and was done in a ponytail, and ice blue eyes.
"Hey, girls," Violet greeted them.
"Hello Violet, Harry," Daphne greeted back, Tracey waving with a smile.
The two sat across from the siblings and they all conversed with each other as they waited for the rest of their friends. It was about several minutes later that the door was opened once more and Neville and Susan, along with who Harry knew was Hannah Abbott, walked in.
Neville was the only other one of their little group that looked a good deal different. Over there he had blonde hair as well with amber eyes. Here he had dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. He also looked a good deal thinner, though still somewhat chubby, than what Harry said he looked like in their first year.
Susan's hair was, similar to Lily and Violet's, a fiery red and still went down to the middle of her neck, but had the right front of it done in a braid and her blue eyes showing confidence in them. One small difference between the two Susan's were the few freckles going across her cheeks.
Hannah walked in rather timidly behind the other two. Her strawberry blonde hair went down between her shoulder blades and had brown eyes that showed her hesitance at seeing so many people.
Harry got up and helped Susan and Hannah with their trunks. Hannah had shied away slightly when he approached her, but, with Susan's coaxing, she let him help her.
"What, not going to help me with mine?" Neville asked with a grin, dealing with his own trunk as Harry sat back down.
The immortal arched a brow and retorted, "Why did I have to get up to help them? You could have helped them before doing yours." He said this with a smile to keep any sting out of his words.
Neville blushed slightly at the light reprimand while all the girls giggled, except Hannah, though she did smile. Susan and Hannah sat on the same side as Daphne and Tracey while Neville sat next to Violet.
They all chatted amicably as they waited for the train to leave the station. It wasn't long before it started moving. They all looked out the window and waved at their families. Sad smiles spread across their faces as they saw little Astoria running along the platform until she reached the end. Harry opened the window and he, Violet, and Daphne stuck their heads out and waved to the younger girl who was waving frantically back. When they couldn't see her anymore they sat back down and closed the window.
"So, how have you all been these five years?" Harry asked.
"It was kind of odd not seeing you and your sister for so long," Tracey said, the other three nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, I kept expecting to head over to Surrey to visit, but we never did," Neville admitted.
"H-How did you all m-meet?" Hannah asked, hesitantly.
"Did you read the Daily Prophet about our Mum?" Harry questioned. At her nod, he continued, "Well, she didn't want anyone that she didn't trust to know about her still being alive, so she decided to confide in several people. She told Sirius and the Longbottom's first then the Greengrass' and Davis', both of whom she was friends with, as well as Amelia Bones, who she was acquainted with. They would visit sometimes and, when they did, would bring their child or, in the Greengrass' case, children over."
Hannah nodded her head. Before they could start talking again, the door was pulled open. Harry had to grip his seat to keep himself from jumping to his feet and hugging the person in the door. It was none other than Hermione Granger. She looked exactly like he remembered her. Her wild brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and large front teeth. That wasn't what had his attention and the reason for his reaction though. No, it was her red eyes and the tear stains going down her cheeks.
"E-Excuse me," she sniffled, pulling at the immortal's heart. "C-Can I..?" She trailed off when she noticed the compartment seemed to be full and her face fell. "Oh, nevermind."
She was about to turn around when Harry stood up, "Hang on you didn't ask your question."
She turned to look at him like he had grown a second head. "The compartments full."
The immortal couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. "I think you should take a closer look," he suggested.
She kept the same look on her face before doing as he suggested and noticed that there was three sitting on one side of the compartment, but four on the other. She looked slightly gobsmacked as she stuttered out a "How?"
"Why magic of course," Violet said, also smiling at the brunettes expression.
Harry walked over to her and grabbed her trunk before putting it with the rest. He then sat back down by the window and Neville moved over so that Hermione could sit next to another girl. She hesitated for a moment before sitting down.
"I'm Harry by the way," he introduced once she was situated. "Harry Potter."
"Daphne Greengrass," the ravenette said.
The rest proceeded to introduce themselves. Just like with him it was Violet that got the mundaneborns attention.
"Are you really Violet Potter? I've read several books about you. Though," she paused and glanced at Harry, "they never said anything about you having a brother." That's when she noticed Violet's eye was twitching. "Is something wrong?"
"Those books aren't accurate in the slightest Hermione," the Lightning Haze said.
"But it said that they were nonfiction," she protested.
"Nonfiction?" Hannah asked, confused by the term.
Harry and Violet gave mock gasps before turning to the only other redhead.
"Sue!" Harry exclaimed exaggeratedly.
"You didn't tell your friend about nonfiction," Violet said in the same tone.
"For shame!" they finished simultaneously.
The redhead gave them a playful glare while Tracey and Neville snickered and Daphne rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"You two know full well that mundanes have a great deal of things that magicals don't and I couldn't possibly cover everything," Susan growled without heat while the two Potters grinned at her.
Hermione glanced between the six friends. There was a few things she noticed from that interaction. One thing was that they all seemed close, which was something else that went against what she read even more as they said Violet Potter had grown up with just her Aunt and Uncle. (She knew those books about the girl's different adventures were definitely fiction so disregarded them.) Second, was at least a couple of them were magicals, but still knew about muggle stuff. That was another thing, the teacher that had told her and her parents about magic called her parents muggles and her a muggleborn. Susan, however, said mundane instead. If that was their alternate to muggles she rather liked it. She turned her attention to the strawberry blonde.
"Nonfiction means that what is being presented is true," the bushy haired brunette explained, getting an understanding nod from Hannah.
"So what happened to..?" Violet trying to change the subject, but trailed off. They had just met after all, so she wasn't sure if she would be willing to explain.
Hermione hesitated, obviously unsure of confessing to people she just met. However, upon seeing the supportive looks they all, even a shy one from Hannah, were giving her, she relented. "Several people told me that I couldn't sit with them when I told them that I was a muggleborn. A few called me something I didn't know what it meant, but I could tell it was derogatory," she said, sniffling.
All of them, except for Hannah, though she did frown, growled at what Hermione said. Harry was somewhat surprised to hear Neville growl, but not entirely. It seemed that, like with his alternate, having at least a parent, and probably friends, changed him for the better.
Harry frowned mentally, while he had expected changes he hadn't anticipated so many small ones to occur. He was more than sure that this didn't happen before because he knew that, for one, her eyes weren't red that day. For another, the two had shared their memories with each other during fourth year and he hadn't seen Hermione crying on the first year of being on the Express.
"Don't pay any attention to them Granger," Daphne said, somewhat tersely. "They are bigoted arseholes that are losing braincells and magic from inbreeding."
"Inbreeding?" the curly haired brunette asked, disgust on her face.
Harry shook his head, agreeing with her completely, "Unfortunately. Thankfully they don't pair brothers and sisters with each other, but they will easily, and happily, get with a cousin."
"To give you an example of this," Daphne spoke up. "There is a girl in our year named Pansy Parkinson whose mother was a Malfoy. She is, in fact, Lucius Malfoy's sister and the two have set up a marriage contract between the two of their children."
This caught Harry by surprise. While he didn't know much about Pansy, he was pretty sure she wasn't related to Draco.
"Marriage contracts as well? But they are barbaric!" the muggleborn exclaimed.
"I think that depends on several things," Harry commented. At her incredulous, but curious expression he explained, "I can think of a couple benefits to a contract. One would be that, unless stated otherwise, or not stated at all, if one cheated on the other the contract would void itself and they wouldn't have worry about being stuck with someone who would cheat on them. Another would be that the contract would protect the ones a part of it from being tricked into another."
"Has that been done?" Hermione asked, worriedly.
"More often than it should," Susan admitted.
The compartment descended into uneasy silence after that. A moment later, Violet clapped her hands.
"Enough of that," she exclaimed. She then turned to Harry and gave him a slightly pleading look, "Will you please do it? You haven't in a few months."
"Hm? Oh… eh why not?" the immortal acquiesced. He hit the door with a silencing charm, which caught everyone's attention, before thinking for a moment. Glancing at Violet for a brief moment, he couldn't help a small smirk from forming.
(The Touch by Stan Bush)
You got the touch!
You got the power!
Yeah!
After all is said and done,
you've never walked, you've never run
You're a winner!
Got the moves, you know the street.
Break the rules, take the heat!
You're nobody's fool!
You're at your best, when the going gets rough!
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough!
You got the touch
You got the power!
When all hell's breakin' loose
You'll be right in the eye of the storm!
You got the heart
You got the motion!
You know that when things get too tough
You got the Touch!
You never bend, you never break!
You seem to know just what it takes
You're a fighter!
It's in the blood, it's in the will!
It's in the mighty hands of steel
When you're standin' you're ground!
And you never get hit, when your back's to the wall!
Gonna fight to the end, and you're takin' it all!
You got the touch
You got the power!
When all hell's breakin' loose
You'll be right in the eye of the storm!
You got the heart
You got the motion!
You know that when things get too tough
You got the Touch!
You fighting fire with fire!
You know you got the touch!
You're at your best, when the going gets rough!
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough!
You got the touch!
You got the power!
Yeah!
You got the touch!
You got the power!
Touch!
Only two in the compartment, besides Violet, weren't shocked at Harry suddenly singing.
"You know how to sing?" Susan questioned, surprised.
"That's right," he confirmed. "As can Violet, Neville, and Tracey."
Daphne turned to her oldest friend and demanded, "You can sing?"
"One day when me and my parents showed up we heard those two," she gestured at the Potters, "singing and I was interested after listening to them."
"And you Neville?" Susan asked, curiously.
"Mum had me learning when I turned five and when we found out Harry and Violet could sing we decided to have them help me," he answered.
Hermione looked at Violet in confusion, "But if you can sing too, why did you want Harry to so bad?"
"So I like his singing a lot. Is that wrong?" the Lightning Haze pouted, while her four friends and brother snickered. Hermione couldn't help, but giggle as well, something that surprised her as she had never done so when not reading or watching a movie.
Just then the compartment door was opened and in walked someone that the two Potters narrowed their eyes at. Standing there was Ron Weasley looking the same as he did in Harry's world. He stood rather tall for an eleven year old, was gangly with red orange hair and freckles dotting his face.
"Have any of you seen Violet Potter?" he asked, only glancing at each of them.
"Why do you want to know?" Harry asked curtly, surprising the others. Hermione and Hannah because he had been only inviting to them and the others because they hadn't heard him use that tone before.
The boy didn't notice and looked closer at those in the compartment. When he focused on Violet his eyes lit up in recognition, which caused the two Potters to internally groan at being found out.
"There you are Vio," he said.
Violet's eye twitched at the horrible nickname. It was just about as bad as the nickname the other Ron came up for Hermione. An attractive nickname Herms is not.
"What are you doing sitting with them?" the boy asked as if he really couldn't understand it. "Come on and sit with me."
"And exactly why should she go sit with you when she is sitting with her friends?" Daphne questioned coldly.
A very Malfoy-esque sneer spread across Ron's face as he said, "Like the Girl-Who-Lived would be friends with a slimey snake."
"We haven't even been sorted yet, so how do you know she'll be a Slytherin?" Susan demanded.
"Of course she'll be in Slytherin, like her parents. Just like I'll be in Gryffindor like the rest of my family," he said confidently. He turned to the female Potter, "Now come Vio, we are going to sit somewhere else and with more respectable wizards."
Harry stood up and walked in front of Ron before saying, "First off Weasley, her mother was in Ravenclaw, so, by your logic, she could easily end up there." 'Which with her intelligence she could,' he added to himself. "Second, we are sitting with the son of two respected Aurors, the niece of the Head of the DMLE, as well as the daughters of House Abbott and House Davis. Third, she doesn't have to listen to you."
"She's going to be my wife, so she needs to get used to doing what I say," Ron said stupidly, ignoring his first two points and pissing off all the females in the compartment.
"You're wrong. She isn't and never was betrothed to you," the immortal countered.
"What are you talking about?" the ginger scoffed. "The betrothal contract was set by Dumbledore himself."
Harry mentally smirked as he heard everyone in the compartment gasp. His friends hadn't been told about how involved Dumbledore had been in Violet's life just yet. They only knew what the public knew about Dumbledore's note. He and Violet had planned on telling them soon before they reached Hogwarts, but hadn't been sure how broach the subject, especially with Hannah and Hermione being with them. Now thanks to Ron they had an opening to tell and show them the things the Headmaster did and would hopefully have several less students willing to listen to what he told them without a second thought.
"Unfortunately for you that's exactly why she isn't betrothed to a git like you," he stated as if it were obvious. At the boy's confused and outraged expression he sighed, "For one thing only the patriarch of a family can sign such a document, unless they have passed away of course and it was your mother that signed the contract. Another thing, our mother's still alive so Dumbledore had no right to drawing something like that up for Violet." 'Though even if she had died he still had no right to do that because Sirius is her godfather and Alice is godmother.'
"That doesn't matter," Ron stated petulantly. "Dumbledore signed the contract so she's mine."
Everyone glared at the boy, even Hannah which was something, angered at how he was treating Violet. Before anyone could retort, faster than any except Violet could follow, Harry's arm shot forward and wrapped his hand around the Weasel's throat before lifting him off the floor. They were shocked by not only the movement, but his magic flaring around him and his strength.
"Never, ever refer to my sister as if she was some object," he growled dangerously, before tossing Weasley out of the compartment where he landed on his arse and slammed the door shut.
He sat back next to Violet and took several deep breathes. He had gotten a lot better at controlling his temper and not exploding after living for centuries, but being able to be with, at least a version of, his mother and gaining a sister it was rather like when he was younger when things like this happened.
Feeling his arm being squeezed he turned to see Violet giving him an appreciative smile, to which he smiled back. Her expression became worried as she glanced behind him. Harry winced as he realized he did that in front of everyone, with two of them not knowing much about him.
He turned around and saw his friends were staring at him with shock and a bit of awe. Hannah and Hermione, however, are looking at him with some fear in their eyes. Something that pulled at Harry's heart, especially Hermione.
Turning his gaze to the floor, he said, "Sorry about that. I'm just very protective of my family and I didn't like the way he was treating my sister." His eyes narrowed, "Like she was a thing he could use as he saw fit."
The explanation calmed Hannah and Hermione down slightly. They could understand standing up for family and were appreciative that he wouldn't stand for her, or any woman they figured, be treated in such a way.
"How in the name of Merlin did you lift him though?" Neville asked, still shocked.
Harry had an excuse ready because he and Violet knew their strength would get out sooner or later. It was even technically true, having had their mother test it to see if it worked.
"It was something I had discovered by accident," he started. "I had been focusing on magic as well as my arm and Mum had told me that my magic was fluctuating. I saw my arm was glowing slightly and was shocked. I wondered if it meant anything so I tapped one of our tables. Imagine our surprise when it cracked. I decided to see if it could more and managed to punch through the table."
Just as he finished explaining, the door was opened again and a certain Ferret stood there with his usual bodyguards. He glanced around and sneered at pretty much everyone, though he gave Daphne a cocky smirk.
The ravenette responded with a cold glare, though she almost faltered when the Potters coughed daddy's boy under their breath. Malfoy glared at them before he seemed to notice something.
"So it's true," he started. "Violet Potter is on the train. With the exception of of Greengrass you really seem to need help making friends with the right sort of wizarding families." He thrust his hand out with a confident look as if he knew she would take it. "My name's Draco Malfoy and I can help you with doing that."
Violet stared at the appendage for a second before glaring at the pale boy. "I don't like the way you're speaking about my friends, Malfoy. I won't abandon them just because some prat I don't know doesn't like them." He opened his mouth to protest, but she didn't let him, "And in case you've forgotten Malfoy you are talking about Heir Longbottom, Heiress Abbott, Heiress Bones, and Heiress Davis. Are they not exactly the type of people you would want to introduce me too?"
He didn't seem to have a retort to that and instead turned his attention to Hermione, his sneer returning full force.
"Well, well, if it isn't the mud-"
Before he could even finish he found himself staring down the end of six wands. He started scrambling for his own wand while the two brutes behind him stared stupidly.
"Finish that sentence," Violet growled, her eyes alight with fury. "I dare you."
Meanwhile the girl in question was shocked that the people she had just met were defending her. True the boy hadn't endeared himself to them, but they seemed content to doing nothing until he was about to call her that horrible word.
"How dare you threaten me. My father will hear about this," Malfoy threatened somewhat petulantly before turning tail and running, having been unable to get his wand and being outnumbered. His two goons stood there for a moment before following the blonde.
When they were gone the six friends put their wands away and sat down.
Neville sighed, "I hope that's the last git that shows up this train ride."
"It better be," Tracey muttered.
"Thank you," Hermione said softly, the others barely catching it.
Violet waved her off, "It wasn't a problem Hermione. The prat had no right to call you that."
The mundaneborn nodded silently and she couldn't help, but hope that these people would become her friends while they were at Hogwarts. She immediately squashed that hope however, thinking they wouldn't want be friends with a know-it-all, just like everyone else.
"So what was Weasley on about?" Daphne asked, pulling Hermione out of her self deprecating thoughts and bringing up what everyone had been wondering.
"He was just making things up to get Violet to think that they should be together," Hermione stated confidently.
Harry glanced at the girl. This had been one of many things that had confused him about her when had actually thought about it. Why had Hermione been so confident in the old man despite not knowing anything about him? The answer was obvious and predictable. She had read about all of the deeds he had performed, not to mention his position as Headmaster, and she had gained an admiration for him. He hated crushing that, but he really didn't want the old goat to try and manipulate her and she would go along with it because she figured he had a good reason for it.
"Unfortunately not," Harry started. He reached into his pouch and pulled out two rolls of parchment. "These two will show you Dumbledore's true nature, at least concerning my sister." He unrolled one and held it out, "We had planned on showing you four anyway, so Mum asked the goblins for a copy of the marriage contract to show you."
They passed the contract around, all of their mouths were dropped and had disbelieving expressions on their faces, Hermione's being the most prominent.
"That's not even the worst part," Harry said, grimly. "He set up these wards around her aunt and uncle's house where he placed her. However, before I give this one to you I will tell you that this was written by Magic itself." He really disliked calling Magic an it, but he didn't what gender they were so he was stuck.
The magicals were all wide-eyed while the only mundaneborn looked confused.
"What do you mean Harry? I thought magic was just something in us that we used," she said.
"It is, but it isn't only in us Hermione," the immortal began explaining. "Magic is everywhere and in the very Earth, affecting the world around us. It even has a will of its own, judging the mundane they think deserve magic, deciding our fate when we make a magical vow or enter a magical contract."
Hermione stared at Harry in shock. She hadn't even thought about such thing being sentient, figuring it was much like energy which just existed in the universe. She jumped when she heard growling and turned to see Daphne and Tracey red with anger.
"How dare he!" Daphne screamed, making the others wince at the volume in the small space.
"To think he projects himself as the Leader of Light," Tracey spat.
She passed it to Susan and Hannah, where the formers eyes narrowed in anger and the latter gasped in shock. When they were done the redhead thrust the parchment to Neville, who took it and held so Hermione could read it as well.
Hermione could only stare in disbelief at what the parchment said. She had read up on wards and knew that they were generally used to either protect something or someone and/or prevent someone from entering or seeing someplace. She saw wards that would cause hatred for several things, encourage abuse of all kinds, and several others. To see the wards she was reading had been placed at all, especially considering it would have been Violet's relatives that were affected by them, appalled her.
"As you can see he wasn't exactly looking after Violet's wellbeing," Harry said, anger seeping into his voice despite the years that passed.
Violet decided to continue so her brother could calm down, "We aren't really sure what he was trying to accomplish with setting up these wards. However, we can guess he wanted me not only naïve, but ignorant of the magical world and dependent on him."
"Why haven't you taken this to the Wizengamot?" Susan demanded.
It was Daphne that answered, "Susan you know as well as we do that because the goblins were involved with this the Wizengamot wouldn't even look at it."
The redhead slumped in her seat, knowing that what the ravenette said was true. Silence enveloping them once again.
Harry shook his head before saying, "We need to stop letting the mood get down. I'm bringin it back up and it's going to stay there at least until we reach Hogwarts." He glanced at his sister, "How about you go this time?"
Violet thought for a moment before nodding. Several songs passed through her mind before she decided on one.
[Follow Your Star ~ Truth Mix]
You can reach for the stars,
And know that in your heart,
You have the strength deep inside,
And let it be your guide.
You can fly past the moon,
And race all afternoon.
Don't be afraid to make a choice.
Raise your voice.
Just follow your star.
Spread your wings and be free,
Wherever you are.
It's right where you should be,
So listen to your heart.
And believe in what you dream.
And follow, follow your star.
There's a time when you know,
How to find your destiny.
And with each turn in the road,
It's clear for you to see.
So push through the days,
Don't let your spirit fade.
Throw away all your doubts.
I'll sing out loud.
Just follow your star.
Spread your wings and be free,
Wherever you are.
It's right where you should be,
So listen to your heart.
And believe in what you dream.
And follow, follow your star.
Just follow your star.
Spread your wings and be free,
Wherever you are.
It's right where you should be,
So listen to your heart.
And believe in what you dream.
And follow, follow your star.
Follow your star.
Follow your star.
Follow your star.
Follow your star.
Just follow your star.
"Beautiful," Hermione murmured quietly, to where only Violet, Neville, and, because of enhanced senses, Harry heard her. She realized she said that out loud and blushed.
Harry glanced at his sister and noticed she was blushing as well. He couldn't help, but mentally smirk since he knew of his sister's preference. It seemed that no matter what he was destined for a certain bushy haired bookworm, if she swung that way anyway.
* I have no idea how to write out accents, so all of them will just be mentioned and not written.