Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I don't own Harry Potter.

Blood and Water

The Space behind the Couch

Aster Potter knew her family hated her. Her uncle sneered and called her and her brother "freak," only using their names when someone might overhear. After all, no normal person calls their niece or nephew a freak. Despite the house having four bedrooms, the Potter twins weren't given their own space beyond the cupboard under the stairs. By the time that she was six it was a tight squeeze for the two to share, and it was impossible by their next birthday. So while Harry, who did freaky things far more often than Aster, was often locked in the cupboard, Aster was hidden between the couch and the wall. She knew that the lack of dust bunnies was due to her Aunt Petunia's incessant cleaning. As it was, this morning in June she woke up to her aunt knocking loudly on the cupboard.

"Get up, it's Dudders Birthday, and I want everything to be perfect." Aster closed her eyes. She knew what that meant. She and Harry would make breakfast for their ungrateful cousin and get meager portions that would scarcely keep them fed. Then they'd get shuffled over to Mrs Figg's house for a long day of looking at cat pictures. Before her aunt could move to wake her, Aster crawled out, and made her way to the kitchen. Harry cooked the bacon while she made the eggs and toast. The food was barely done cooking when Dudley and Vernon came thundering down the stairs, their heavy footfalls sounding like a stampede. Taking their seats at the table, Dudley got by the large pile of gifts to unwrap later.

"How many are there?" He asked, as Harry put the bacon on the table.

"Thirty-seven, counted them myself." Uncle Vernon responded proudly, helping himself to the bacon.

"Thirty-seven? There were thirty-eight last year!" Dudley exclaimed, causing both her and Harry to quickly finish their slice of toast and protein, knowing that Dudley was likely to flip the table in his inevitable tantrum.

"When we're at the zoo mummy will buy you two more presents Diddykins, how does that sound?" Petunia quickly moved to defuse her offsprings anger, knowing that if he did have a tantrum it would ruin the day.

"That makes…thirty…thirty…"

"Thirty-nine sweetums."

"Knows how to get his moneys worth, just like his old man!" Vernon happily clapped Dudley on the back as the phone rang. Petunia ran to answer it as the others finished breakfast.

"Bad News, Vernon. Mrs Figg broke her leg. She can't take them." The twins exchanged a hopeful look, maybe this year they would get to go along. "What now?"

"We could ask Marge to take them."

"Don't be silly, she hates them."

"What about your friend, Yvonne?"

"She's on vacation in Majorca."

"You could leave us here." Harry interjected, and Aster knew he was imagining playing with Dudley's new toys before he could. The look on Aunt Petunia's face killed that idea.

"And come back to find the house in ruins?" Harry opened his mouth to object, and Aster kicked him in the shin. She knew he couldn't help the situation by talking.

"I suppose we could take them, leave them in the car?"

"Not my new car. They'd ruin it before we left the parking lot." At this point Dudley was clearly distressed by the lack of attention and began to cry loudly and fakely.

"Don't cry Dinky Diddydums! Mummy won't let the freaks spoil your special day." Aster rolled her eyes as Petunia enveloped Dudley in a hug.

"They always ruin everything." He made out between exaggerated sobs, that disappeared the moment the doorbell rang.

"Oh god they're here." Petunia ran to get the door while Aster sneered at her cousin. Piers Polkiss wasn't a nice boy. He was skinny, and had a rat like face. He wasn't very strong, but he has a mean streak that made him and Dudley friends. Piers was the one who would hold their victims hands behind their backs while Dudley beat them.

Aster felt as if she were dreaming. Even with Uncle Vernon's threat about freaky things before they got in the car, she was going to the zoo. It was worth dealing with her cousin and his friend to go somewhere new. She smiled to herself as she listened to her uncle complain about motorcyclists.

"I had a dream last night with a motorcycle in it. It was flying." Harry's comment broke the calm, causing Vernon to turn around in his seat, face reddening to purple.

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

"I know that," Harry said churlishly, "it was just a dream." Aster frowned at him, she knew he had that dream when they were kids all the time. The rest of the drive was quiet, aside from her aunt's glances back and Piers and Dudley's snickering.

The zoo was everything Aster had dreamed. They had looked at the monkeys and Harry had suggested that they leave Dudley with his own kind, a remark that made it very difficult not to start laughing loudly. Then they looked at the penguins, which were smaller than she thought they'd be. For lunch they had fish and chips, a rarity for the twins, even splitting it was worth it, and then an icecream dudley rejected for being too small for dessert. Feeling quite content, Aster and Harry followed the others into the Reptile house, one of the only air conditioned places accessible to visitors. Aster watched as, predictably, Dudley found the largest snake in the place. A python that was big enough to wrap around their uncles car twice and crush it into shards of glass. The snake seemed tired though, laying still, it's eyes closed. Dudley tried banging on the glass, yelling at the snake to move. When it didn't, Uncle Vernon tried the same, only for the snake to ignore him. Harry walked up to the exhibit after the Durselys and Piers had left to look at a crocodile two exhibits down. Aster went the other way to look at the coral snake they had.

"You're much prettier than the big python they're all obsessed with. Typical boys, choosing brawn over elegance." To her surprise the snake looked at her, cocking it's head as if to ask what she meant. "I mean, sure crushing things to death works, but venom is a better solution. No matter how big it is, the venom will take care of it." At that, the coral snake nodded. Aster couldn't believe it. She had never been as freaky as Harry, while he turned their teachers wig blue, and appeared on the school roof; she had only ever kept Aunt Petunia's old dresses from fitting. Though they both shared the hair growing incident. With a glance towards Harry, she found him on the floor with Dudley and Piers both pressed against the glass. She watched on in a mix of terror and glee as the glass vanished beneath their fingers and the boys stumbled back while the giant snake moved quickly to escape it's enclosure. With a wink at her brother she heard the snake mutter.

"Thanks, Amigo. Brazil, here I come." As the reptile house was filled with people screaming and running away, she quickly went to her Aunts side, as an employee approached them.

After he had fixed Aunt Petunia a cup of strong tea, he personally escorted them out.

"So sorry you had to witness that, although the glass…where did the glass go? Regardless, please come back at our expense." In the car Dudley and Piers were playing up how much danger they were in, how the snake tried to bite off limbs. Only for Piers to calm down and calmly remark.

"Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?" one look at Uncle Vernons face and her heart sank. She knew what that look meant.

Indeed as soon as they got home, while Petunia walked Dudley and Piers to where Piers mom was waiting for him, Vernon was purpling rapidly and managed to get out, "Go…to…cupboard. No…meals…" Harry quickly complied, and Aster knew it couldn't end well for her to be visible right now. So she went where she always did. The space behind the couch.