Harriet Potter Year 1: Life, Death, and Rebirth
"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are".
~Bertolt Brecht
4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey-June 30, 1991
Even though Harriet had managed to keep Isaura a secret from her relatives, the escape of the boa constrictor was blamed on Harriet, earning her one of her longest punishments. Harriet spent almost all of her time in her cupboard, allowed out only for school and to do chores. On the first day of her punishment, Harriet had managed to sneak Isaura out of the house, and saw the little snake whenever she went to do the gardening, making her punishment somewhat bearable.
Still, Harriet couldn't help but be immensely relieved when the summer holidays arrived and the Dursleys finally relented.
Her newfound freedom came at a cost, though, since Dudley and his gang were now able to spend most of their spare time doing their favorite thing: Harriet Hunting.
So, Harriet hid. Usually outside of the house, Harriet would wander around and talk to Isaura, telling her about the new secondary school she would be going to... away from Dudley. Dudley would be off to Smeltings, Uncle Vernon's old private school, and he thought that Harriet being stuck at Stonewall was very funny.
"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harriet. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"
"No, thanks," said Harriet. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then she ran, before Dudley could work out what she'd said.
Still, as funny as Dudley found her situation, Harriet couldn't help but find Dudley's infinitely funnier- especially when Aunt Petunia brought Dudley home with his new Smeltings uniform.
Harriet managed to hold it in while in front of her family, but the moment she found herself in the safety of her own room, she burst into peals of uncontrollable laughter.
Maroon tailcoat. Orange knickerbockers. Boater.
Harriet had never been more grateful for Stonewall.
The next morning, Harriet woke up to one of the most disgusting smells she had ever smelled wafting in from the kitchen. Harriet at first was worried that Aunt Petunia had tried to cook again, a fear that was emphasized by the large pot of gray mush her aunt was stirring when Harriet walked in, but Aunt Petunia quickly cleared up the confusion.
"What's this?"she asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if she dared to ask a question.
"Your new school uniform," she said.
Harriet looked in the bowl again.
"Oh," she said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." Aunt Petunia's hand darted out so quickly that Harriet had no time to duck. The slap resounded around the kitchen and Harriet eyes watered from the sharp sting in her cheek. Isaura gave a loud hiss of disapproval from Harriet's ankle, which her aunt didn't hear, but the snake didn't do anything. Harriet had warned her friend about the Dursleys' treatment of her, cautioning her not to do anything that might reveal her presence to them.
"Don't talk back!" snapped Aunt Petunia, as Harriet rubbed her cheek, where a bruise was most definitely starting to form. "And don't be stupid! I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."
Harriet seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.
She sat down at the table and tried not to think about how she was going to look on her first day at Stonewall High — like she was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.
Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harriet's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. The stick was given to all of the boys at the school, and was supposed to be good training for later in life.
They heard some footsteps, followed by the annoying ring of the doorbell.
"Get the door, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.
"Make Harriet get it."
"Get the door, Harriet."
"Make Dudley get it."
"Poke her with your Smelting stick, Dudley."
Harriet easily dodged the Smelting stick and went to answer the door. Opening it, she found herself face-to-face with four of the most interesting looking people she had ever seen.
The tallest of the lot was a man with jet black hair (like hers), which stuck out in a million different directions, and hazel eyes. To the right of him, stood another man He had light brown hair, which was thinning slightly and warm, golden-brown eyes. To the right of this man, was the most eccentric man of all. His hair was long and black, pulled into a low ponytail and his eyes were grey. He wore the interesting look of a sick person who had just gotten healthy and was getting used to being normal again. The only woman of the group stood to the left of the first man. Her hair was red and straight and her eyes were a stunning, emerald green (just like Harriet's!).
Seeing Harriet, the woman started to smile. Lily couldn't help it. She was seeing her daughter for the first time in ten years. She was so grown up... James, Sirius, and Remus all seemed to be sharing similar sentiments, as they were smiling at her, too.
Although no introductions had been made, there was no doubt in their minds that this was Harriet. The messy black hair...bright green eyes...the lightning shaped scar, which Dumbledore had warned them about. The only quality that might cause them to doubt her identity was her unbelievably small stature. Both James and Lily were fairly tall (although James didn't hit his growth-spurt until 5th year), but Lily hoped that she only looked small because of the overly large clothes she was wearing. The fact that the clothes were old and worn was not lost on Lily, nor did it escape the notice of the Marauders. Their keen eyes also noticed the prominent and rather ugly bruise on her cheek.
Definitely something to talk to the Dursleys about.
The discussion would have to be saved until later, however, because Harriet was looking quite uncomfortable with all the staring. In an attempt to diffuse the slight awkwardness she was feeling at having four complete strangers smiling at her, she managed a weak grin of her own.
"Hello..." She began, before pausing, uncertain. Rocking back and her forth on her heels, she looked down at the floor. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and asked, politely, like Aunt Petunia had taught her, "May I help you?"
"Actually, yes," said Remus. They had decided to have him do most of the talking at first. Lily and James probably wouldn't be able to say anything without crying hysterically and, as for Sirius, they were worried he might be a bit too... over-enthusiastic. "We have a few things to discuss with your Aunt and Uncle. Might we come in?"
Harriet's face scrunched in confusion. Uncle Vernon hadn't mentioned having any colleagues over. She would have known if he had, because Harriet would have been forced to clean the house from top to bottom, before being unceremoniously shoved into her cupboard. According to Uncle Vernon, this was to prevent his co-workers from noticing her "freakishness."
"Uncle Vernon didn't mention any of his co-workers coming to visit," Harriet stated, looking at the brown-haired man curiously, eyes innocent. Remus blinked in surprise, but quickly gathered himself. He had not prepared himself for how much Harriet's eyes would look like Lily's.
"We aren't from his work and he doesn't know we are coming." Harriet bit her lip and tried to think about why somebody would want to see her Uncle. Her eyes widened.
"You aren't here from the zoo, are you?" Not giving the man a chance to answer, she began to ramble worriedly, "I'm really sorry, sir! I have no idea what happened to the glass! One minute it was there and the next it was gone! The snake got out of the tank and- it didn't hurt anybody did he? He seemed really, nice, but, then again, I supposed it must be really hard to tell with a snake. Don't punish him too badly! He told me that he just wanted to go to Brazil, which makes sense since he's never seen his family...not to mention it has to be really boring lying there, day after day after day. I know I'd be bored and I imagine you-" She was cut off.
"Harriet," Sirus interrupted, laughing. "We aren't from the zoo. And you aren't in trouble." He turned to James and smirked. "Just like you, eh, Prongs?" James glared at his friend, but inwardly couldn't help but feel a bit proud: Not even in school and already causing trouble!
Harriet let out a sigh of relief, before tensing up again.
"How do you know my name?" she questioned, glaring defiantly at the group.
"It's sort of complicated, dear," the Lily said gently, speaking for the first time. It seemed that Dumbledore had been right and that the Dursleys hadn't told Harriet anything about the wizarding world. Of course, it was also possible that Harriet just didn't recognize them. "Why don't you let us in? That way we can explain."
Harriet looked at the people for a second, before nodding slowly and stepping aside, so they could enter the house. The way she saw it, if they had wanted to hurt her, they could've done so already. Closing the door, she turned around to face them.
They were looking around the hall, examining the pictures which adorned the walls. Sirius frowned. He couldn't see any pictures of Harriet, just of some blonde kid, whom he assumed to be Harriet's cousin, Dudley. James, Remus, and Lily didn't look to happy about the lack of photographs, either.
"So," Harriet asked, after giving them a minute, "How do you know my name?"
"Persistent isn't she?" muttered James to his wife. "She gets that from you." Harriet frowned at the lack of answer, but before she could question them on what that statement meant, her uncle called from the kitchen.
"Girl! What's taking you so long! I need my coffee!"
"There are some people here to see you, Uncle Vernon." She answered, eyes never wavering from the group in the hall. Lily raised her eyebrows at the tone of the voice. That must be Petunia's husband, she mused.
"If they are salesmen, tell them that I am not interested! And get in here! Dudders wants more bacon!"
James scowled. My daughter is not a house-elf!
"Uhh..." Harriet hesitated. Were they salespeople? The golden-eyed man shook his head at her, allowing Harriet to respond to her Uncle. "They say they aren't salespeople." Harriet didn't bother answering her Uncle about Dudley's bacon.
Remus heard an annoyed grunt, followed by the sound of a weighted down chair scraping the floor. A few seconds later, the hulking form of an angry Vernon Dursley filled the doorway, his massive body blocking out any light that might be radiating from the kitchen.
"Idiot girl," he growled, advancing on her, first raised and his bushy mustache rippling on his great, purple, face, "Can't you do anything right? Don't you know better than to yell at me from across the house?"
Before Harriet could come up with an adequate response to get herself out of trouble, although she doubted it would work, the red-haired woman spoke.
"Hello, Vernon," her voice might have sounded polite, but to those who knew her, especially as well as James did, a hidden malice could be heard. It was also impossible to overlook the angry glint in her usually gentle green eyes. Vernon turned towards the voice, paying attention to the guests for the first time. Harriet watched in a sort-of horrified fascination as her Uncle's face turned red, then white, followed by green, before settling on a grey-white color similar to that of the old porridge Aunt Petunia sometimes gave her (if she was lucky).
His eyes seemed in danger of popping out of their sockets and his mouth was open so wide that Harriet was expecting to see a toll-booth in there somewhere. Indeed, choking on a toll-booth might account for why he couldn't speak, for all he could managed were these small wheezing sounds which seemed to Harriet incredibly similar to a dying fish.
She cocked her head to the side, taking in Uncle Vernon.
Or maybe a dying buffalo. She mused. And as her Uncle let out a particular large groan-type sound, Harriet nodded. Definitely a buffalo.
"Pe-Pe-PETUNIA!" He bellowed loudly. So loudly, in fact, that Harriet, who was accustomed to her Uncle's loud yells, as they were usually directed at her, jumped. She listened intently to the sound of her Aunt's little kitten heels on the hardwood floor. Why her Aunt insisted on her hair being fully-coifed, her face completely done up in makeup, and wearing perfectly tailored outfits to the breakfast table was beyond Harriet, who preferred to dress hurriedly at the last minute and gain a few more precious minutes of sleep.
Her Aunt's rake thin body appeared in the doorway, briefly pausing to say something to Dudley, before continuing to the hall where Vernon was waiting. She glared at him pointedly, as she waited for him to explain why she had called him away from her "Precious Popkin." When she realized that he wasn't going to answer, she followed his gaze to the group in the hall. At the sight of the adults, her back went rigid, and she began chewing manically on her lip, as if she had been starved for days and it was the only food she had.
"Hello, Petunia," said Lily sardonically, a saccharine smile plastered on her face. Her sister, she noted, hadn't changed in the 10 years she had been...asleep: same pinched-face, stick-like body, the same care for her outward appearance and, if the state of her house was any indication, the same obsession with order and cleanliness she had possessed even as a child.
"Li-Lily," Aunt Petunia stuttered, seeming at a loss for words. This seemed very odd to Harriet because Aunt Petunia, who was very worried about the opinion of others, often practiced speaking to guests in front of a mirror, in order to not embarrass herself.
The red-haired woman raised an eyebrow.
"Eleven years and that is all you have to see to me?"
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Aunt Petunia whimpered. This was not what Lily, who always wished that things with her sister had turned out differently, was wanting to hear. James, seeing the slight hurt in his wife's eyes, took over, answering firmly:
"We are here to pick up our daughter."
Harriet's eyes widened in surprise as Petunia let out a gasp. Harriet didn't understand who these people were talking about. She was the only girl in the house (minus Petunia, but she was obviously much to old to be this man's daughter) and her parents had died in a car crash when she was a baby. Vernon, unlike Petunia and Harriet, seemed glad at this news.
"You are? Good. Take her with you and don't come back. We've been saddled with the little freak for nine years and its time somebody took responsibility for her!"
Something unidentifiable to Harriet cackled in the air, as the mystery people tensed and glared at Vernon. Harriet was more confused than ever. Her uncle and Aunt had always made known their opinions of her and what a freak she was. Was it her they were talking about? Her curiosity overwhelmed her and she turned to the grey-eyed man and blurted:
"Are you here to see me?" He looked shocked at being addressed and Harriet, realizing her place, quickly backtracked.
"I'm sorry! I-I-I know I'm not supposed to ask questions! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" The man didn't seem to care about whether or not she had broken one of Petunia's most important rules. He seemed more focused on something else.
"Harriet," he spoke quietly, his voice soothing and oddly familiar, kneeling down to look her in the eye "Do you mean that you have absolutely no idea what is going on?" At this point, all attention was on them, the Dursleys' previous comments forgotten.
Harriet shook her head "no" and the man straightened back up. He exchanged a look with the other adults. The man with the glasses sighed and said:
"Well, then, I guess we need to have a long chat, don't we?" He smiled at her, and when Harriet made no objection, he turned to the Dursleys, who were cowering against the wall. "You don't mind if we use your living room, do you? Excellent!" He cried, not waiting for an answer. The four adults traipsed into the living room and Harriet followed, albeit a bit more hesitant.
Inside the living room, Dudley sat on one of the couches, apparently having grown bored with waiting for Harriet to serve him more bacon, watching The Great Humberto on the television. His five chins wobbled disgustingly as he munched on a bar of chocolate he had taken from the pantry. As the people entered the room, he turned his watery-eyes to them and asked, bluntly:
"Who are you?"
"None of your business," responded Sirius, in a mocking tone. He made a "shooing" motion with his hands, and snapped "Now get off the couch."
The pig-boy (as he was now labeled in Sirius's mind) stared dumbly him for a moment, then turned to his parents, who stood hunched and simpering by the door. They nodded and beckoned him over. He waddled to them and Petunia wrapped her bony arms around his shoulders...well, she tried to.
Sirius grinned, satisfied, and plopped down on the couch, making sure to upset as many pillows as possible. He stuck his feet on the coffee table and laid out languorously, stretching his arms to reach out behind him, before finally reaching back with them to support his head.
"I have to say, Petunia," he commented offhandedly, as Remus settled down next to him and James and Lily sat down on the couch opposite them, "This is much nicer than prison."
Petunia pushed herself further into the wall, as if hoping it would swallow her whole. Sirius grinned wider and caught his god-daughter's eye to wink at her. He was rewarded with her smile and a small giggle. At the sound, Remus turned to face her with calm eyes and beckoned her over to the couches.
"Come sit down, Harriet," he said, "We have much to discuss." At this point, Harriet gave him a look remarkably similar to the one James gave him when he suggested they abandon pranking for awhile in favor of studying. The look clearly stated, "Are you insane? That has to be the craziest thing I have ever heard!" Harriet's eyes flicked to her Aunt and Uncle and she bit her lip, shyly.
"I'm not allowed to sit on the couch," she told the floor, quietly.
"Well, you are now," Lily told her, trying to keep the venom out of her voice. She patted the spot on the couch in between her and James, prompting Harriet to walk over, cautiously, eyes trained on her Aunt and Uncle. When they made no protests, she sat tensely down on the edge of the couch, on the outside, next to James, obviously ready to jump off at a moments notice. James decided that this was as good as it was going to get.
"Harriet," he began carefully, watching his daughter as she kept her eyes fixed on her worn-out trainers, "What do you know about wizardry?"
Harriet's head snapped up and his daughter's beautiful emerald eyes met James' hazel ones. She seemed surprised by the question, and James couldn't blame her. If four unknown people had shown up on his doorstep, asking questions about magic, when he obviously didn't know about it, he would have been surprised, too.
"Wizardry? Like magic?" James shook his head in encouragement, so she said "Its not real."
"Not real?" echoed Sirius. "What idiot told you that?" Harriet's eyes darted to her aunt and uncle and Sirius needed no more elaboration. Lily passed a hand over her face and then faced her daughter.
"Harriet," she said quietly, although her voice rang surprisingly loud through the room, "Magic is very real."
Harriet blinked, "It is?"
The golden-eyed man chose this moment to pull out a thin, black stick. Harriet watched, confused, as he took it and gently tapped the cup of chocolate milk that had been left by Dudley on the table. To Harriet's amazement, the glass grew legs and began to dance. Harriet looked up from where the glass was currently doing a tango at the adults surrounding the table.
"How did you-" she stuttered, while the brown-haired man tapped the cup again and made it stop dancing.
"Magic is very real, love" The woman repeated, "and the truth of the matter is-" She was interrupted by the man with the long, black, hair.
"You're a wizard, Harriet." He said bluntly.
"Sirus!" Scolded the gold-eyed man.
"What, Remus?" The man named Sirus defended, "Its true and she needed to know!"
"Yes!" Retorted Remus, "But you could have been gentler!"
"How so?"
"Well, I don't know, but-"
"Stop you two!" Snapped the woman, glaring at them until they fell silent, then looking at Harriet who was gaping openly at the two of them.
"I'm-I'm a wh-what?" She stuttered, openly gaping at the man.
"A wizard," stating the man sitting next to her, glasses twinkling in the light, "Well, technically a witch, but the sentiment is the same. You were accepted into Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. The headmaster gave us your letter a bit early. " He took a heavy envelope out of his inside jacket pocket and handed it to her.
Taking it from him, she looked at the words written on the front in shiny-green ink:
Harriet Lily Potter
The Cupboard Under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
Flipping it over, she broke the seal, opening it, and pulled out several different pieces of parchment. The first read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Harriet's mind whizzing and whirling in too many different directions to think straight, and she reread the letter several times. Sirius, Remus, and the other two yet-to-be-named adults were patient, giving her as much time as she needed, which was something Harriet wasn't used to, as the Dursleys hated to be kept waiting. After a few minutes, she asked the first question that popped into her head.
"What do they mean by "We await your owl?" Remus looked slightly surprised at the question, but he answered nonetheless.
"That is how we-wizards and witches-communicate."
"Oh." She was quiet, struggling to put into words what she was feeling and thinking. Shaking her head, she pressed the letter back into the hands of the black-haired man and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but there must be some sort of mistake. I'm not a wizard...I'm Harriet...Just Harriet."
"Technically, you'd be a witch, not a wizard," Sirius commented offhandedly. Seeing her doubtful expression, he sat up straighter, resting his elbows on his knees, and leaned toward her. Looking her in the eye with an earnest smile, revealing his yellow teeth, on his face he asked, "Well, 'Just Harriet,' have you ever done things you couldn't explain? Made things happen? Maybe when you were scared or angry?" Harriet's eyes widened and the man took that as a yes, sitting back with a self satisfied grin on his face that clearly said 'there ya' go.'
Dudley chose this moment to give off a particularly loud whimper. Harriet whirled around on the couch to face the Dursleys and blurted, without thinking,
"Did you know?" Harriet had lived for a very long time in the Dursley household, long enough to be used to them keeping information from her, but to keep from her the fact that she was witch...
"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly, almost choking on the words "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my sister being what she was?"
"My parents were wizards, too?" She gaped, looking at the Dursleys in astonishment. When they didn't answer, merely shoved themselves further into the corner of the room, she turned to face the four strangers on the couch, currently glaring at the Dursleys again. "Were they?"
The man with the glasses grinned at her, an easy-going, confident grin that contrasted greatly with the steely glare he had worn only moments ago.
"Yes, they were." His grin morphed into a smirk, "As a matter of fact, they were an unbelievably talented pair...not to mention smart, good-looking," He began ticking off qualities on his fingers, "popular, brave..." The two other men were laughing loudly at this, apparently in on some inside joke that Harriet did not know about.
The red-haired woman looked exasperated and embarrassed and highly flattered, all at the same time. She gave the man, who was still listing qualities, a hard smack on the arm and rolled her eyes.
"I think she gets it, James." the red-haired woman turned to Harriet, her expression now more serious. "Besides what he," she gestured to the man she had called 'James,' "Just told you, what else do you know about your parents?"
"My parents?" When the Lily nodded, Harriet continued, "My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby."
The silence that followed this statement was deafening. James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius gave the Dursleys glares so cold that if looks could kill, they would have died several times over. Remus schooled his features into a calm mask and turned to Harriet.
"Is there anything else you know about them?"
"I...I overheard Aunt Marge and Uncle Vernon talking one time..." She began, looking at Remus worriedly. When he nodded to show her that she wasn't in any trouble, she added, "They said that my dad was a- that he was a-a-a rotten drunk," she stuttered. "and that was why the car crashed."
"How dare you," seethed Sirius, hopping off of the couch and lunging at the Dursleys, just managing to be held back by Remus, the anger rolling off of him in waves, "You filthy muggles have let your prejudice blind you so much that you would go so far to hide from Harriet the truth of her parents?"
"Sirius," Lily warned, as Harriet's head reeled: The truth about my parents? What truth?
"No, Lily," snapped Sirius, "I have seen enough to know that these idiots," he spat the word as if longing to call them something more, "have been swallowed by their own fear and stupidity and have hated Harriet-"
"Sirius," snapped Remus, as he watched Harriet pale considerably. She looked tense and was watching Sirius with wary eyes. Sirius turned to her and was wracked with guilt when he saw her fear.
"I-I'm sorry, Prongslette," he whispered, "I didn't mean to scare you..."
Harriet brushed aside the nickname for a minute, and focused on the other things he said. He seemed sincere, as did everybody else, and he was looking at her as if her reassurance that she believed him was the most important thing in the world. She managed a small smile and said,
"It's okay," he sagged against the couch in relief and she decided to continue, stating boldly, "But what truth about my parents?" The adults exchanged glances, seemingly unsure of where to begin.
While they pondered, Harriet took the time to examine each of them. They had given her enough information, at this point, for her to be able to assign a name to each of them. The red-haired woman was Lily. The messy haired man next to her had been called "James." The kind brown-haired man was Remus and the sick looking one was Sirius.
Finally, Remus took a deep breath and began speaking.
"Well, you see, Harriet," Remus said, "Your parents...never really died."
Harriet couldn't come up with an adequate response to this statement, so she just waited for Remus to continue.
"The thing is, Harriet, this all goes back to you being a witch." When Harriet nodded her acknowledgement of the fact, Remus followed up with the statement. "Its important Harriet, that you realize that, just as there are good and bad muggles-"
"Muggles?" She said, raising an eyebrow at the funny sounding word.
"Non-magic folk," He explained, face hardening, "Its rather unfortunate that you've grown up with the biggest bunch of muggles I have ever seen, but that was sadly outside of my control." He gave Harriet a small smile, which she returned.
"Now, as I was saying, just as there are good and bad muggles, there are good and bad wizards or witches. Not too long before you were born, there was a war, against a wizard, who had gone as bad as a wizard could go...and his name, was..." He hesitated here, before plowing on, "Voldemort. However, he was so greatly feared that many people-even now, after he is gone-only call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "
"If he was so powerful," interrupted Harriet, nose scrunched in confusion, "How is it that he is gone?"
"I was just getting to that..." Remus said in mock annoyance, causing her to grin sheepishly at him, "Well, a few months before your second birthday, Voldemort was at the height of his power. There were very few safe places left in the wizarding world, one of them being Hogwarts, as Dumbledore, the headmaster, was one of the few people Voldemort was ever afraid of...but more on that later."
Remus paused, unsure of how to explain to Harriet why her parents had gone into hiding without explicitly lying to her about why they had to hide in the first place. Sirius, sensing Remus's hesitance, picked up the story,
"Harriet," He began, causing Harriet to whip her head over to face the man, whom she had figured to be Sirius, as he spoke "Your father and mother were two of the most talented wizards of their time: James, your father, was an unbelievable auror - thats a dark wizard catcher...similar to your muggle policemen, I believe," Sirius added, remembering from his few years of muggle-studies back at Hogwarts, seeing Harriet's confused face.
Harriet, however, wasn't confused over the definition of an auror (although, she had been wondering about that, too). She was recalling when, several minutes earlier, Lily had called the man-with-the-glasses, who was sitting next to her, James, and how the same James had said that he was here to pick up his daughter...She shook her head-she was getting ahead of herself-and focused instead on what Sirius was saying.
"You're mum, on the other hand, worked at St. Mungo's as a healer...err, doctor?" He questioned, looking at Lily to see if he had gotten the comparison right. When she had nodded, he said to Harriet, "The point is that they were both very powerful, which was why Voldemort wanted them on his side."
This, Remus mused, was not a complete lie. Voldemort probably would have loved having Lily and James on his side.
"Your parents, realizing that they were large targets and wanting to keep you safe, went into hiding." Sirius paused, glancing over the at man and woman on the couch next to her. They seemed to exchange some sort of silent message, because both James and Lily shook their heads at Sirius. Harriet didn't have much time to figure out what they were talking about, however, because Sirius continued with his narration.
"They used whats called the Fidelius Charm," Sirius told Harriet, before explaining, "Where only one witch or wizard, called the Secret-Keeper, is able to disclose the location they are trying to protect." Here, Sirius paused again, more briefly, before continuing, "It is a bit more complicated than that, but you get the idea, don't you, Prongslette?"
Harriet blinked owlishly. First at being called "Prongslette" again. Then, because she was trying to digest the information: Her parents were wizards. They were not drunks. They were fighting in some type of war against an evil wizard. They wanted to keep her safe.
Once the information was processed, Harriet nodded slowly, careful not to agitate her now throbbing head.
"Well, one night, your parents were persuaded to go out and get some dinner. Your grandparents-on your mother's side- came to babysit you. As bad-luck would have it, this was the night Voldemort chose to attack-"
"But how did he knew where we were," Harriet interrupted, "You said that my parents had that Fideli- Fedil-"
"Fidelius Charm," coaxed Sirius, before continuing with a small, sad, smile. "The Fidelius Charm is good protection, indeed. However, it is only as strong as its Secret-Keeper. Your parents...and your parents' friends, I suppose, made the mistake of trusting the wrong person."
"Their friend betrayed them?" Harriet asked, wide eyed. Harriet had never had any real friends (save for Isaura) -How could she with Dudley threatening to beat-up anybody who talked to her?-and, to her, having a real friend would be one of the most amazing things in the world. The idea that somebody would give up having a real friend for the sake of power was one that the (somewhat naive) ten-year old could not understand.
"Yes,' said Sirius, pale features darkening considerably, "He did. He gave Voldemort the location of your house and, as it happened, the night he showed up was the night your parents were out. Your grandparents...your grandparents tried to fight back, to protect you, but they were muggles facing one of the most powerful wizards in history." Sirius choked up here, but quickly went on. "He killed them, that night. But the real mystery is that when he tried to kill you, he couldn't. That scar on your forehead?" Harriet reached up to touch the scar in question, before Sirius continued.
"It isn't from a car crash," he spat these last words. "A scar like that comes only when a very powerful, very evil, curse touches you. For whatever reason, Harriet, Voldemort couldn't kill you that night. Thats why your famous, Prongslette. You're the Girl-Who-Lived."
Something very painful was going on in Harriet's mind. As Sirius's story came to a close,she saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than she had ever remembered it before — and she remembered something else, for the first time in her life: a high, cold, cruel laugh. She tried to swallow through her dry throat.
"I-I'm famous?"
"Very," remarked Lily, dryly. "You'll see when you get to Hogwarts."
"Whatever happened to Volde-sorry, You-Know-Who?" questioned Harriet, still trying to piece the story together in her mind.
"Voldemort, Harriet." James gently chided. "Never be afraid to call him by his proper name. And nobody really knows. Some say that he died that night. Others aren't so sure. Some think that he didn't have enough human left in him to die, and that he is out there, waiting, biding his time."
Harriet let out a huge breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. She reached up again and fingered her scar, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that it was given to her by a dark wizard intent on killing her, not in the car crash that killed-
"My parents!" Harriet blurted, remembering why Remus had begun telling the story in the first place. "What does this have to do with them?"
"Well," Remus began taking up the narration once again, "Your parents, as Sirius said, were out when Voldemort attacked. But, they happened to be on their way home when Voldemort attacked. They got home just as Voldemort cast the curse to try and-kill you,." Remus said these last few words hesitatingly, as if the thought of somebody trying to kill Harriet was a painful thought, a concept that was new and amazing to Harriet herself.
"The curse hit them," Remus said slowly, trying to find the best way to explain the (often complicated) mechanics of curses to a ten year-old witch with no prior magical knowledge, "But not directly. They've spent the last ten years at St. Mungo's-the wizarding hospital- in coma like state."
"They spent?" prodded Harriet, hungry for any information about her parents, "So they aren't there anymore?"
Remus shook his head, furthering Harriet to ask another question.
"Well, then where are they now?"
Remus didn't give a verbal answer, instead choosing to look up at the man and woman sitting next to Harriet, whom Harriet had come to know as Lily and James. Harriet turned around the couch to look at them better. They were gazing at her with an indescribable look, which the Dursleys had never given her in the entirety of her stay with them. Harriet's throat suddenly felt even drier than before, as she finally understood what was happening.
"Mum?" She croaked, "Dad?"
The woman let out a choked sound, half laugh, half sob, before launching herself at her daughter. Suddenly, Harriet found herself being wrapped in the embrace of both her parents, something she never thought would have happened. The wetness of her mum's tears, combined with the roughness of her father's clothing, gave it a hot, sticky, sensation, and they were both squeezing her so tight that she couldn't breathe.
But Harriet had never felt more loved in her entire life.
"We are so sorry," her mum whispered, over and over. "We are so sorry." Harriet shook her head, burying further into their clothes, taking a deep breathe to try and keep herself from crying.
" I's not your fault," she muttered. She felt one of them (she couldn't tell who from her position) place a kiss on the top of her head, the first time anybody had ever done that, as far as she could remember.
Naturally, Vernon Dursley had to ruin it.
"Enough," he huffed and, when nobody seemed to hear him, he moved further into the center of the room and yelled, "Enough! I said 'Enough!"
Both of her parents let her out of their embrace, although they each kept an arm around her, as they gave Vernon cool glares. Sirius and Remus seemed highly annoyed as well, the latter making sure to twirl his wand casually in his hand. It seemed Vernon was a man on a mission, though, and he showed no fear.
"I've been very generous in letting you have your," he gestured with his hand to indicate their position on the couch, "reunion-thing in my home. But now that you are done, I want you out of my house!"
Harriet got up from her position on the couch, ignoring her parents' (her parents!) protests, to stand in front of her Uncle. She looked up at his mean, red, face. For nine years she had been forced to do what he said, because he said she should be thankful for him and Aunt Petunia taking her in and feeding her and giving her clothing. And she had been, in a way that only a ten year-old brainwashed by her horrid relatives could be.
But they had lied to her.
That anger and hurt, combined with the rather odd empowerment that comes from knowing that your parents are alive (and wizards), caused her to state very quietly, not betraying any of the pain she was feeling,
"You lied to me." Uncle Vernon sputtered, not used to Harriet standing up for herself, before regaining his ground.
"So what?" He choked out.
"'So what?'" asked Harriet, voice growing louder. "'So what?' You told me my parents died, when they didn't! How could you do that to me? We're family!"
"Family!" Scoffed Uncle Vernon, paling as Remus and Sirius and Harriet's parents stood up from their positions on the couches and Harriet felt somebody put a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw her father (her living dad!) glaring, quite harshly, at Vernon, but nevertheless he kept speaking.
"Just because we may be related by blood to us doesn't mean we owe anything to fre- people like you." Harriet scowled, white-knuckled hands tightly gripping the fabric of her jeans, feeling something inexplicable move within her. Aunt Petunia, fearing the four fully grown wizards in the room, tried to pull her husband back, but Vernon Dursley was determined. "For ten years, we kept you in this house and fed you and clothed you and gave you a roof over your head! You should'a been bloody grateful, but how do you repay us? With blue-hair and shrinking-sweaters and rogue snakes! How dare-"
Here, Uncle Vernon seemed to swell with anger so great that he seemed unable to speak. But the swelling didn't stop. His great red face started to expand, his tiny eyes bulged, and his mouth stretched too tightly for speech — next second, several buttons had just burst from his blue robe and pinged off the walls — he was inflating like a monstrous balloon, his stomach bursting free of his plaid waistband, each of his fingers blowing up like a salami…
"Vernon!" screeched Aunt Petunia, at the same time as Dudley's scared "Daddy," rang through the room, and Uncle Vernon's whole body began to rise off the ground toward the ceiling.
He was entirely round, now, like a vast life buoy with piggy eyes, and his hands and feet stuck out weirdly as she drifted up into the air, making apoplectic popping noises as he floated into the kitchen.
"NOOOOOOO!" Aunt Petunia screeched, following him and then disappearing from sight.
The wizards heard, rather than saw, Aunt Petunia seize one of Vernon's feet and try to pull him down again, but from the sounds of her cries, her rake-thin body was no match for Vernon's weight and she too was lifted up into the air and, as her screams grew further and further away, out the back door.
"Get out here!" Her distant voice could be heard calling. "Get out here and put him right!" The adults, at least the males, were too busy laughing to pay any mind to her though and Harriet's mother, while not doubled over in fits of laughter, also looked highly amused.
The rest of the Aunt Petunia's screeches, though, were lost to the wind as both she and her husband floated too far away for the others to hear.
It's a wonder the neighbors didn't see, marveled Harriet, turning to face her mother and father.
"Good job, Prongs," said Sirius through his laughter, "I've been wanting to do that all morning!"
"It wasn't me Padfoot," said her father, having controlled himself a bit.
"It wasn't?" questioned Sirius, confused. He turned to Lily, "Lil's? Moony?" Then turning to Remus when Harriet's mother answered in the negative. When Remus also shook his head, Harriet's father chuckled and turned to Harriet, raising an eyebrow and telling her, in a joking manner,
"You have some explaining to do, young lady." The other adults grinned at her as well, but Harriet was highly troubled.
"I did that?" She asked wide eyed, only to whip her head around at the sound of running footsteps, just in time to see Dudley waddle quickly up the stairs. This was followed by the slam of the bedroom door. She turned back to the adults.
"Yup," said her father, laughing once again, only to stop at the look on Harriet's face. "Whats the matter, Prongslette?"
"Am I...am I in trouble?"
"Trouble," echoed her father, "Why would you be in trouble?"
"I did something bad," Harriet said guiltily, looking at the floor, "I was a freak."
"A freak-," Her mother paused and took a deep breath. "Who called you that, love?"
"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon." Harriet paused for a second, adding "And Dudley, but he only does that 'cause they tell him to."
"Harriet," said Sirius softly, once again kneeling down to look her in the eye. "You are not a freak. You are a normal, wizarding child."
"I am?" Hope colored her voice, as she hardly dared believe what Sirius and her parents were trying to tell her.
"You are." Harriet considered the point.
"Do normal wizarding children blow up their uncles?"
Sirius let out a laugh, before grinning softly at her and ruffling her already messy hair.
"Not exactly, but they do do accidental magic. Do you know what that is?" Harriet shook her head 'no.'
"When an untrained wizard-like you- feels particularly strong emotions, sometimes their magic gets away from them. Its entirely common and usually celebrated by wizarding families. But don't worry," he added, "it should stop once you get to Hogwarts."
"Oh. Ok." Harriet looked at the man kneeling next to her and was suddenly hit with a realization.
"Not to seem rude, sir," she began, and when he nodded to encourage her, she asked "but who are you?" She had figured out his name from what had been said between him and the other adults, but she honestly had no idea why he was here with her parents.
"Who am-" He let a new bark of laughter and gave her a wide grin. "I'm Sirius Black, sometimes called Padfoot by my friends. I'm also," and here, he lowered his voice conspiratorially, as if he was sharing some big secret, "you're godfather."
"Really?"
"Really!" he beamed, jumping up from his position. He reached towards Remus and pushed him towards her. "And this," he gestured to the brown-haired man, "is your honorary Uncle Moony, or Remus Lupin, as some call him."
Harriet stared up at him for a minute, before finally saying the first thing she could think of.
"Hi." He gave her a small smile in response, answering her.
"Hello, Harriet."
"Oh my," exclaimed Harriet's mom, looking at her watch. "We have to get going! Dumbledore is waiting for us!"
"But wait," Harriet exclaimed, as she was ushered out of the living room, "Whats going to happen to Uncle Vernon?"
"You're honestly worried about him?" Questioned her father, eyebrows raised as if doubting her sanity. When she shrugged, he answered "Well, most likely they will send some Ministry workers to deflate him and erase the memories of any muggles who saw him."
"Erase their memories?" Harriet wondered aloud.
"Yes," said her father, hastening to add "Don't worry though, it won't hurt them at all."
"Now come, Harriet," her mother told her, "Let's grab your things and leave, hm? We have some people waiting for us. Where is your room?"
The four adult wizards held their breath here. This was one of the moments they had been waiting for. On Harriet's letter, it was written that she slept in the cupboard under the stairs, but all them couldn't help but hope that this was some sort of mistake or misunderstanding.
These hopes were dashed, however, when Harriet walked quietly to a small door and under the stairs, opened it, and crawled inside. James and Lily exchanged a quick glance before following her, both of them just managing to stick their heads inside.
It was small and cramped, that much was at first obvious, but the Dursleys had somehow managed to fit a thin, threadbare cot inside, but there were no pillows or blankets. Harriet was currently on the floor, attempting to reach somethings under the bed. Rather than feel any anger towards the Dursleys, all Lily could feel was a deep, painful, sadness, causing tears to come to her eyes.
"Harriet," she asked, "have you slept here your entire life?" Harriet came up from under the cot, answering as she moved.
"Yea," she turned to face her mother and, eyes narrowed, hesitatingly asked "Are you ok?" With some shock, Lily realized that she was crying, so she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Yes, love," She replied, forcing a smile, "I'm fine. Its just the dust, is all." Harriet looked doubtful, but nevertheless went back to gathering her things. James gave his wife's hand a light squeeze with his own, before slowly retreating outside the cupboard.
Turning to face his friends, their expressions were as serious as his own, and they looked at him expectantly.
"Well," demanded Sirius, as James composed himself.
"It was her bedroom," James whispered, not yet able to come to terms with it, "Apparently for her entire life."
"Those f-" Remus took his hand and quickly clapped it over Sirius's mouth, wanting to protect the innocent ears not too far from them. Sirius, taking advantage, then let loose a string of what Remus and James figure to be a mixture of expletives, threats to the Dursleys, and promises to go out and buy Harriet all of Diagon Alley.
"You can't buy Diagon Alley, Sirius," said Remus with mock impatience, once Sirius calmed down, although his own anger evident in his voice "Its not for sale." Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but was cut short by Lily and Harriet as they exited the cupboard, Harriet carrying a large bag.
"What have you got in there, Harriet?" Her father asked.
"Clothes," Harriet said, opening up the bag to reveal the faded clothing inside. Her father reached in, pulling out a grey-t-shirt. Harriet raised her eyebrows, I could have sworn that thing was white when Aunt Petunia bought it.
"Er," her dad hesitated, "a bit big for you, isn't it? Then again," he joked, "I'm not up to date with all the muggle fashions these days." Harriet let out a small laugh shaking her head.
"No, its big, but it used to be Dudley's. All of my clothes are hand-me-downs from him or Aunt Petunia."
Remus reached into the bag, this time pulling out a faded and dirty yellow-skirt.
"Sirius," He said, as he held the scrap of cloth away from his face, pinching it between two fingers, as one would something particularly disgusting.
"Yes, Remus?"
"What you said? About Diagon Alley?'
"Yea?"
"I'll help."
Sirius smirked, "Knew you would come around."
"Alright, alright," sighed Lily, "Enough joking around. We need to get going."
"You mean we're really leaving?" asked a wide-eyed Harriet. Both of her parents exchanged looks.
"Yes," affirmed Lily, "we are going to our new home. Remus has furnished it for us. We promise, you'll love it." Harriet couldn't really think of what to say. She had dreamed of leaving the Dursleys' for years, but she never thought that it would actually happen.
"We are leaving the the Dursleys', pequenina?" Isaura asked and Harriet visibly jumped. She had been so wrapped up in the idea of her parents being alive that she had forgotten about her friend! Her father, misinterpreting her action, looked at her worriedly.
"Is that okay?" he asked. Harriet was surprised at being asked her opinion, but nodded.
"Only if Isaura can come," she said, more bravely than she actually felt. What if they said no? Could she honestly abandon her new friend?
"Isaura?" asked Remus, confused. Harriet reached down and carefully pulled up her pant leg. She heard her mother let out a gasp, but ignored it, instead continuing to pick up the small reptile in her hands. Isaura slowly unwound herself from Harriet's leg, twisting herself on Harriet's slender wrist, instead.
"This is Isaura," Harriet paused hesitantly at her parent's (and Remus's and Sirius's) faces, but continued, "I got her at the zoo. I didn't take her on purpose," Harriet defended herself, "but she said she wanted to come with me and wouldn't let go of my ankle!"
"You said that she "said" that she wanted to come with you," said Sirius slowly, to which Harriet nodded. "So you can talk to snakes?"
"Yea," said Harriet. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Does that have anything to do with my being a witch?"
"Yes, love," her mum told her, sounding wary, "but I wouldn't go telling too many people about it."
"Why not?" Harriet couldn't help but grow a bit frantic. "Is it bad?"
"No," James told her quickly, swallowing down his fear of his daughter being a parselmouth, for Harriet's sake. There had never been a parselmouth in his family as far as he knew, so he couldn't help but wonder where Harriet got it from. "Being a Parselmouth," (So thats what its called, noted Harriet) "is a special skill and one that you should be proud of for having." Harriet nodded, relieved, and gently stroked Isaura's head.
"Come on," said Lily, after a moment's silence. "We best be going."
Harriet was lead out of the house, walking through the doorstep of Number 4 Privet Drive for, hopefully, the last time in her life.
AN: Thanks to everybody who's been checking out my story and reviewing it and subscribing to me! I really appreciate it, especially since this is my first story!
AN (2): I'd like to thank Fabi for her advice (and her review!). I went through and edited it, but let me know if I missed anything. I appreciate you telling me because, even though my mom is Brazilian, my Portuguese isn't the best, so I got the translation for baxinha off of the internet (gotta love Google, right?). :-)
Please review!
tinyrose65