The Tiger's Claw

by Kingdom-Melody

When Maxine Potter was 4, Her younger brother was crowned the boy-Who-Lived and she got pushed to the side. With her best friends Cassandra Malfoy and Daniel Greengrass, they will face great threats that threaten to tear the world they know apart unless the trio can stop them, and Will Maxine be able to rewind the death of a Loved one that looms in her future?

1. My Family forgets my 11th Birthday

A/N

This is a rewrite of one of my old stories that I was writing in 2019/2020 called "A Dragon Flight". I didn't get that far into it because it was about the time stuff about the author came up and I abandoned the franchise completely. But the story ideas have stuck with me 3 years later so Here I'm at it again. First of all, this is a Female Harry called Maxine who is older than canon Harry by 2 years and is inspired by Life is Strange Character Max Claufield. There's some other LiS influence in there too. I hope you enjoy it

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A/N 23/12/23 I've slightly rewritten this first chapter to be in the 1st person as I realised it was a weird mix of 1st and 3rd which was making it awkward to read, so that should be that sorted. Hope you enjoy it.

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.Maxine Potter sighed as the sun filtered in through the window to my room. I had been hoping to sleep in for once, enjoy one day off from my morning run and take the day as it came. Hoping for my family to arrive sooner rather than later from their trip to Paris.

But I should have known better. The world…or more specifically the elves under their employment wouldn't allow me to. I had been given a strict regime that I had been told to follow and the elves made sure I did so without asking for any more galleons even though they definitely deserved it.

Reaching my hand out I felt around my dressing room table until I found my glasses. I bloody hated these stupid things. I would never understand why my dad insisted that I wore a pair of his old glasses or not let me get contacts but here I was stuck wearing glasses that were nearly 20 years old.

Flinging myself from my bed I forced myself up and with a slight wobble walked towards the mirror looking at my frizzy Auburn Brown hair that went down to just past my shoulder blades. She thought about how she would have to straighten those curls before her parents got back but she knew could do that after her run. Staring at her eyes, she sighed as she saw her light green eyes.

With a roll of my eyes, I moved away from the mirror, grabbed my workout clothes from the chair by the window and got changed into them. Discarding my PJs into the washing pile. She would need to ask the elves to help her with washing today. Grabbing the handle of my bedroom door, she felt a chill go up her spine from the chill but twisted it and left; Making my way down through the corridors of Potter Manor. The large building was silent apart from the creeks against the floor as my foot pressed against the old wood.

Reaching the door to the back garden I slid it open with force and took a step outside, the coldness of the morning hitting me straight away. I could just about feel the heat from the sun but due to how early it was that I was going for my morning run, it was still fairly cold outside. But that wouldn't stop me. Cause if it did her name wasn't Maxine Potter! Stretching my arms out I started circling them forwards and then backwards, and as I did so I could feel the muscles stretch and ache as they loosened up, she did another 10 minutes of stretching exercises before taking off on a light jog.

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The skies above

The wind Glided past the Owl's wing as it glided down towards a large manor that slowly appeared through the morning fog. As if flapping its wings to give itself more altitude it feels itself pass through the magical wards of the Manor making the feathers on its wing stand on edge. If it was any other owl it would have stopped and turned back the moment it felt the wards surrounding the manor, But it was no ordinary owl. It had a mission.

The Letter in its talons would change the life of one human Girl forever, not that the Owl knew that of course, it just knew its master wanted the letter delivered to a new address like they did every year. The Owl couldn't help but wonder if there would be any food for him as approached the Manor, it had been a long flight after all.

A small little bird shot past it and it fought the temptation to go and chase its prey, it needed to give the letter to its correct owners. As it got close to the Window, the barn owl noticed something with a brown blob running around the large open area around the manor…..well nobody seemed to be up. The Owl thought as it flew up to the tree that the creature would be an easy catch.

However, the Owl quickly realised from its new vantage point that his potential prey was much larger than he expected, a young human girl. Even though the Human was much larger, the girl was almost all Skin and bones. Definitely not enough meat on her for a proper meal. The Owl could feel the letter in its talons to heat up. That Girl wasn't the one the letter was meant for? Was it?

The Owl wasn't there to question its master's instruction though, so as the girl arrived back by the tree, the Owl let the Letter fall from its talon. With no wind, the letter shot straight down towards the girl.

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The Ground Below

Max wasn't expecting anything to happen during my morning run, I was just going to do a few laps around the Manor grounds before heading in for breakfast with Zippy, and it's not like anything happened during my runs anyway. However just as I was halfway through my third and final Lap, something small and Sharp shot down from the tree above and collided with my head, the point creating a sharp pain in the back of my head.

I came to a sharp stop, my boots digging into the ground to stop myself from moving forward anymore. Turning around in an instant my glasses slid off my face and into the mud below. I really wish that my father would let me get glasses that would fit my face better, it's not like I had the same face structure as him for Merlin's sake. Looking around everything seemed super blurry but through my blurry vision, I bent down grabbed the pair of spectacles and cleaned them on my old ragged shirt.

Putting them back on the world came back into focus and I looked around for what had hit me in the head. Then she noticed it, the letter lying face down in the grass. Bending down to pick it up, several thoughts ran through my head. It wouldn't be my friends because I was going to see them later on today anyway, and it wouldn't be my parents because they should be home within the hour….and I doubted it would be her Uncle Sirius or Moony; they were going to visit tonight...which could only mean one thing. Reading the front of the letter it read:

Maxine Potter

Large West Bedroom, Second floor

Potter Manor

Burnmouth

Scotland

I flipped the letter and then she saw it, the seal which I had been waiting for since the summer Holidays began. My Hogwarts letter had finally arrived! I could feel an itch in my fingers that threatened to tear it open and see what it said inside but I knew my friends and Master Aqua would scold me if he did so while outside. Looking up I saw the owl that had delivered the letter looking down at me expectantly.

Putting my arm out I offered to carry the owl to the Manor, and the Owl dived down crashing against my arm, the sudden weight made it feel like it would break from the amount of force but thankfully I still had my arm in one piece. With the Owl's Talons clenching around one arm and the letter in another, she started to make her way up to the manor to give the owl a small reward for delivering her letter.

An Owl would be a nice gift... but I knew Dad and Mum would tell me no if she asked for one "We already have one, Is Jacob Jr. not good enough for you. You know Jacob picked out the best Owl in the shop, there's no need for another one" I rolled my eyes at what I thought my parents might say but I hadn't realised that I had already arrived at the Manor. Entering through the Dining room door I let the owl rest on the Window Place where there was a small bowl of Owl Pellets for it to eat.

Max wasted no time heading up towards the Family Library, one of the largest rooms in the house. The Main Potter Library was already massive with books dating back centuries right back to the very first Potter and Pevrall but the main Room was not where Max was heading, no, I was heading to the Private Library that only the Head of the house or their eldest heir could open.

Luckily for me, I was the eldest heir of James Potter the current head, and with my dad's lack of interest in studying; the room was basically my very own private study. Walking up to a Large stone wall that was covered in a giant Potter Crest, I placed my hand against the wall.

The Magic within the castle worked its magic and the wall started to Unravel revealing a large room with several bookcases with ancient books sat upon them, along with several large Portraits hung around the room. One of them immediately spoke very loudly and boastfully "There she is! Happy Birthday, Maxine, My Lass!"

I entered the room and looked at the portrait that spoke. A man in his late 60's with black hair and a greying Mustache. A Pair of half-moon spectacles resting on his nose. His light brown robes showed his rather upbeat personality.

Smiling at the man, Max said "Thank you, granddad."

Charles Potter had unfortunately died when I was only two but before his death, he had gotten a Portrait made of him so he could pass on the future knowledge of House Potter to its future heirs seeing how his own son; Max's father James seemed uninterested in any of it.

I then looked around the room at all the other portraits, Samantha Potter, Eraqus Peverll, Jackson Potter, Thaddeus Potter, Sylvie Peverll the III and Darius Black. As I looked at each of them, I greeted each portrayed individually and as I sat down Erequs Peverll asked "Is that what I think it is my Girl?"

I just nodded absentmindedly as I ran my fingers along the edge of the letter, I had been waiting for this ever since the Twins told me theirs had arrived the previous week with Dan and Cass both confirming they had gotten theirs since then. I was starting to get worried about how late my letter was that I had even written to Master Aqua who simply told me "Patience" and finally it was in my hands, on my birthday of all the days it could have come.

My fingers found the flap of the letter and I carefully broke the seal on the letter. Within the envelope were two pieces of paper. Eraqus Potter asked gently, "So what news comes from my former place of Work?"

Max while looking at the two pieces of paper replied "It's just my invitation and my shopping list."

Eraqus frowned "When I was headmaster….and Alive it was customary for the school to send out News every year to update returning students about the upcoming events of the year and help teach the new students about what Hogwarts is like."

Skimming over the shopping List Max said "According to Master Aqua they stopped doing that about 70 years ago unfortunately Master Eraqus"

I gave my ancestor his formal title to make him feel better before I looked at the bottom of the invitation, I read the date that the letter asked to be returned and I groaned "….Tonight?!"

Jacob Jr. was in France with the rest of the family and I had sent the other owl away already. By Merlin, I hope the others will come home soon so I can get the letter sent off.

Grabbing a pen from the middle of the table I scribbled down my signature and wrote a small apology to Professor McGonagall who had written the letter. I really didn't want to anger the head of Gryffindor if I got the letter sent back late. Calling out into seemingly thin air, "Mosky, can you get me an envelope please."

A Couple of seconds passed before an elf popped into existence next to me putting a small envelope onto the table and squeaking out "Here you go Mistress Maxine, I hope this suffices."

I smiled at the elderly elf and said "It is, thank you Mosky"

Placing the now signed letter into the envelope I watched as a return address scribbled itself onto the other side of the envelope. She bloody loved Enchantments like that, they were just so cool.

Realising that Mosky hadn't disappeared yet, I turned to ask the elf "Is everything okay Mosky?"

The elf seemed taken back for a second before remembering who she was talking to and said "Mosky was just Wondering if Mistress Maxine still planned on making crepes with Disky sir, She is very excited."

My eyes widened and I stood up, banging my right knee as I did so and I had to keep in my scream of pain as I said "Oh man, I totally forgot."

Rushing out of the room before Mosky had a chance to reply. I had to get down to the Kitchen. I had totally forgotten that I was going to make crepes today! Crashing into the kitchen I said, "Disky, I'm so sorry, I forgot what we promised."

The much younger elf smiled at me "There's no need to worry Mistress Maxy, Disky knows that Mistress Maxy has other things on her mind today, Do you wish to still have them."

Giving the elf a smile, I grabbed a hair tie from my pocket, pulled my hair back into a ponytail suitable for working in the kitchen and replied, "I would love to Disky."

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3 Hours Later

My left hand strummed across the couch impatiently as I waited for my parents to finally arrive home. They had promised me that they would arrive home early so they could take me and my friends to Diagon Alley to get my wand. But it was now nearly 2 hours after they said they would arrive there was still no sign of them. I really hope they had just gotten caught up, surely they hadn't forgotten had they?

Looking over at the book on my right I wondered if I should start reading it to help pass the time but no if I started now, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop until it was finished. A good book trapped me in it until the end and the Riordan books always did that, she could get trapped reading about the myths for hours. As I finally decided to not read the book and pulled my hand away from it, the flames of the floo network engulfed the fireplace. Green flames glared into my own eyes blinding me every so slightly. Through the flames stepped Cassandra Malfoy or Cass as I called her for short who ran up and hugged me "Max! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Quickly I returned the hug to my female best friend and started squishing at her arms, as I replied "Thanks Cass, I'm so glad to see you" Then before either of them could say another word to each other the flames combusted again as the forever stunning Narissca Malfoy walked in giving me a gentle smile when her eyes landed on me.

"Happy Birthday my dear. Are your parents here?" Sadly I shook my head, trying to hide the slight disappointment that was rising up within me. and my friend's mum seemed to scowl before turning her head away and mumbling something under her breath.

Naricca approached me and brought me into a massive, motherly hug "So you've been alone for your entire birthday so far?"

With a slight nod, I said, "Yeah but I'm sure they've just gotten held up."

With a slight glance that I could only recognise as an, Oh you poor child Narissca moved the conversation on "Well then, It's time to gather the others then. Your Parent may be….late but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't enjoy your celebration. After all, is always a special day when a witch or Wizard turns 11."

3, 7, 11, 22, 33 and every same-digit number upwards were powerful numbers in their world. 3 Magicians were always trained by One Master, and there were 7 Key Lines in the world, 11 Runes of creation (Although I didn't know much about them yet, Master Aqua said it was "forbidden Knowledge") and the age that 11 main Magic schools around the globe started to take students in 22 Wizards in a Coven and 33 Witches in a party.

Suddenly the Floo ignited once more and Daniel Greengrass rolled out, a grin on his face as he managed to roll into a landing. He knocked the soot from his bright blond hair onto the floor which vanished immediately "Hope I'm not late. Happy Birthday, Maxie!" He casually walked over to me, flung an arm around and pulled me close for a small hug before grabbing Cass and bringing her into what was now a group hug..

I Crackled at my other best friend "Just on time, Dan!"

The three friends fist-bumped as Naricca greeted Roxanne and Cyrus Greengrass who both hopped in the Floo after their son. Roxanne approached the three of Us and said to me "Happy Birthday Max. I can't stay for long as Gwendolyn and Astroia are both sick...Again. But here's some money to spend on yourself. Daniel, I gave you yours this morning, and for you Dear Cassandra here's a small amount too. Have a good day, and please stay out of trouble!"

The three of us nervously laughed as Roxanne Greengrass walked back through the flames back home. Cyrus and Naricca were still mid-conversation not really noticing her leaving. The three of us were quiet trying to listen to what the adults were saying before I finally asked Cass "Where's Samuel?"

With a deep sigh, I got a response "Grounded. Had a big argument with him Last night. A bruise and grounding till the new term."

Quickly I winced as I immediately felt bad for asking. A large part of me wished some hero could just come in and save my two friends from their dad, but it was too much to ask for, even for me. Suddenly we were interrupted by Cyrus saying "We've waited around for the rest of the Potters for long enough. Nariccssa is going to grab your Uncle Sirius and Tonks; Max, and meet us at Diagon Alley. Now We're going to Diagon Alley, and by Merlin's beard try not to mess it up this time."

The entire room laughed and I could see Cass's face light up red in embarrassment and my own face went rosy red as I remembered my last attempt at the Floo. Once we were done laughing, we allowed Mrs Malfoy to vanish to get the remaining group of adults who were joining us for the day. Once she was through, Dan went up to the floo with swagger "Diagon Alley!" The powder collided with the bottom of the fire and he vanished in green flames.

Then Cass went, she was much quieter as she spoke but she spoke just as clearly and confidently as Dan had. Finally, it was my turn, I had been the one to mess up the most last time although I will say, that in my defence I was very Ill at the time and the floo powder did make me sneeze but at the same time, nearly losing a hand in the floo was not fun so I was rather nervous about this attempt. Standing in the cool flames of the floo, I held onto the floo tightly and coughed to clear my throat, I could only hope I wouldn't mess it up this time. And with a deep breath, I slammed the floo powder down and called out "Diagon Alley!"

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Diagon Alley

We had been sitting in the Leaky Cauldron for nearly 20 minutes as they waited for the other to Arrive at the Leaky Cauldron. Cyrus had bought us all a a full English breakfast while they waited and I was already almost done despite how large it was and the fact that it was my second breakfast of the day. But I wasn't going to say no to the gorgeously crisp Bacon and the Perfectly cooked Black Pudding that Tom the Bark Keep made.

Having known both of the Tonks's girls my entire life, I knew both girls could take forever to get ready, the amount of times I had to hurray the older girls up was insane. But I also loved the pair of Metamorphmagus's a lot. The girls never failed to make me grin so wide I could inhale the sun. Deciding it was safe to take a drink of my orange juice, I picked up the glass, in the end, that ended up going poorly as someone jumped up behind me and called out "Wotcher Max!" A massive smile went on my face as my orange Juice went flying into the air. It was Nymph!

A couple of seconds later I could hear Dan complain as he was now covered in sticky orange juice. Dan turned to stare at the pink-haired girl annoyed and grumbled "Tonks" The 16-year-old grinned "Hi Danny!"

Dan's eyes narrowed at the girl while Cass swung an arm around Nymph "Nymph, how's my fave cousin!"

The two cousins made small talk while I found myself smothered by Andromeda Tonks, my godfather's other Cousin and Nymph's mum. A kind woman who had been banished from her family until her cousin and my Godfather became the head of the house and let her back in. Speaking of my godfather he bellowed out a chuckle "Andy, let the poor girl breathe. She's going blue."

'Andy' Tonks let go of me and I gasped for air as I struggled to catch my breath before a comforting hand was placed on my shoulder. Twisting my neck every so slightly, I looked up at the owner of the Hand to find my Godfather, Sirius Black. His hair was neatly trimmed and he had a small goatee that he was clearly trying to turn into a proper beard. His Scarlet Red robes contrasted the darkness of his hair.

With a grin, he said "Happy Birthday Max. How's my favourite Goddaugher doing?"

Standing up and turning around, I enveloped him in a deep hug "Enjoying my birthday so far. I've missed you, Uncle Sirius!" my godfather wrapped his arms around me and lifted me slightly into the air, "Missed you too kiddo."

Separating from my godfather once he put me back on the ground, I looked around the Cauldron looking for my uncle Remus and when I couldn't find the scraggy man I looked down at the floor sad "No Uncle Remus."

Sirius sighed "Sorry kid, Full Moon this week and Chloe's also ill so he's stayed home to look after her." So No parents, no Uncle Remus, No Sam Malfoy and No Chloe Tonks. This was a much quieter birthday than I expected but I wouldn't let it ruin my day, nothing could ruin my birthday, or my name wasn't Maxine Potter.

Sirius then pulled a key from his pocket and said "Now before we can begin shopping, you need money. Now thankfully your amazing godfather has the key to the Potter vault. So are you ready for your first trip down into the vaults of Grittingots Bank the leading bank of the Wizarding world?"

My eyes lit up excitedly and I could feel my heart start to beat faster from the very idea of going into her vault. I had never gotten to go down with my parents to the family vault, as they always said it was adult business, But it was just the vault I had always wanted to see, What could a kid do or understand about private money affairs? I nodded up and down and my godfather grinned "Alright, Maximilius, Danieltion and Cassandra, we're off to Grittingotts! After me!"

Looking at Nymph I gave the older girl a, "Are you not coming?" Stare. The other girl gave me an apologetic look and tapped her watch "Sorry, Maxie, Meeting up with some classmates for Lunch. I'll see you afterwards"

With a slightly sad nod, I followed my godfather and best friends out of the Leaky Cauldron, The Stonewall that blocked the pub off from the rest of the street was closed over and Siriurs groaned "Why is this wall never opened when you need it"

Before pulling his wand from his holster and tapping it against three Bricks that the 2 11-year-olds and 1 10-year-old couldn't quite reach.

The wall unravelling was always a sight to behold but for some reason, it felt even more special for me today, as if her life was about to get a whole lot bigger; I wish I could just capture the moment right there and then, as lowly each brick folded away revealing more of the bustling street. Wizards and Witches running around buying their shopping, the talk between different stall owners, and Grittingotts the biggest Wizarding Bank in the UK standing at the far end, standing proud.

The walk towards the bank was one of hushed whispers not just between me and my friends but also the other shoppers as they noticed my godfather, Lord Black himself, a man known for keeping to himself outside of work walking towards Gritinggots with 3 children behind him; a Grin on his face.

Cass and I both knew that nobody recognised either of us, and we were proven right by the clueless stares given at us, why should they? Maxine Potter, the daughter who got pushed aside for the boy who lived and the eldest daughter of House Malfoy whom Lucius Malfoy had hidden from public knowledge. Out of the three of us, Daniel was probably the most well-known but even then the Greengrasses kept to themselves so it's not like he was some famous star and definitely not on the level of my dear little brother.

But the stares all stopped when we reached the bank, the doors were nearly three times the size of Sirius who was fairly tall as it was, I could only imagine it could fit large trolls through these very doors.. Sirius placed a hand on either side of the doors and said "Kids, welcome to Grittingotts Bank, the best bank in the UK. Now remember to be respectful" before pushing the two doors open with a huff.

I was almost immediately taken aback by the amount of marble used in the construction of the bank, it was shining brightly as the sun bounced off it, yet it never felt too blinding. The entire bank felt like it was being constantly polished and that a single speck of dirt would have been a disgrace to the entire bank, in fact as I looked down at Cass's shoes, I could see the floo Power stuck on it vanishing as she stepped further into the bank. Daniel pulled me forward by the hand "Come on Potter, we've not got all day." a giggle escaped my throat and I allowed myself to be pulled into the bank by my friend.

The doors shut behind them and it gave me a chance to study the people in the bank. From what she had read, despite the bank being founded by Goblins, the bank had beings from all backgrounds working within its walls. Wizards, Witches, Elves and Centaurs with Goblins scattered around, with many working in the caves themselves crafting new inventions as they did long ago, and what she was seeing was proving that right as creatures of all idffrent races bustled around.

Sirius walked up to a Centaur at a free stand and said "My good Sir, I'm here to enter the Trust Fund bank for Maxine Potter, set up by myself and Lily Potter 10 years ago."

The Centaur looked at him and adjusted his glasses "Do you have the key and proof of your identity?" Sirius ducked one hand into his robes and jingled around them for a few minutes before pulling out a brass key "One key and-" He slid his House RIng off his finger and passed it over "-and my house ring."

The Centaur studied the ring intensely "It appears to be real and the key is the correct key. But you do realise the Vault can only be opened by Maxine Potter herself when she reaches the age of 11. Can I ask if she's with you?"

Stepping aside Sirius placed a gentle hand on my shoulder "One Maxine Potter, Officially 11 years old as of 1 hour ago."

The Centaur studied me and stepped out of his booth to have a look at me properly, bending down on his front left knee as he studied me up and down before raising a hand to my hair and plucking a single stand.

"Agh!" I blurted out as my scalp stung from the sudden attack.

"Apologies but it's the easiest way to check your identity, can you please give me your name and date of birth"

Rubbing my head where the hair had been plucked, I replied "Ouch, My name is Maxine Melody Potter and I was born on the 31st of July 1978" The Centaur pressed the hair against the key creating a small glow and the Centaur passed the key to me "Everything seems to be in order"

The brass key was warm in my hands and within seconds of it being passed over to me. it seemed to shrink itself to fit into my smaller hands, The centaur went back behind his desk and said "Go to the gate and Mr. Bangik will take you to your vault."

The Centaur pointed towards a gate where a Goblin smiled as he looked through the newest issue of Wizard's Weekly. The 4 of us moved towards the Goblin who without looking up put his Magazine down and said "Key please."

I silently handed the Goblin the key and he twisted the locks before the Goblin whistled "Vault 310797-T. I've not been that far down in a while. Please follow me, my good fellows!"

The gate opened before us allowing us to get into the legendary rail system that Gringotts was famous for. The second that Cass got through the gate they slammed shut to stop any potential thieves from breaking in. With a loud Screech, A rail cart arrived next to the 4 of us and the goblin hopped on "Please keep all unnecessary and necessary body parts within the cart so that they are not lost."

Sirius climbed aboard the cart and made his way around to the other side where he patted his seat "Come on kiddos!"

Before I stepped on, I gulped loudly but took one large step towards the Cart and made myself get onto the cart, slowly creeping my way around until I was settled next to my godfather, holding onto her side. I had never been afraid of heights. Sirius had taken me up on his old brooms more than enough times to know that but when I couldn't even see the ground looking down the gap, that's when I started to get nervous, and right now she just saw nothing..

It was Dan who was clearly the most panicked as he looked over the edge, his entire body freezing "You know I might just stay up here guys!"

But before he could try and turn back his wrist got grabbed by Cass who pulled him onto the Cart behind her "Oh don't be such a big baby Green!"

Dan had barely had his butt on the seat for a few seconds before the entire cart lurched forwards, it was faster than any broom I had ever been on and I could help but let out a scream that tore apart my throat as we did a barrel roll, the cave system rocketed past them and my grip on my uncle and the cart got tighter and tighter until my knuckles went as white as a ghost.

Daniel was going as green as his family's crest while Cassandra grinned like a mad woman, and if I could see my uncle I was sure that the older man would have the same grin as Cass on his silly face, the two of them acted like they were twins or probably more accurately father and daughter despite Cassandra very much being the daughter of Lucius.

It felt like we had been travelling for 5 minutes when the cart came to a screeching halt that made me want to cover my ears from the sound but I knew if I let go of Sirius the likelihood of me falling down into the endless void below was high. The goblin chuckled "This way." Before strolling at a steady pace of the cart towards several large Vault doors.

As I got off the Cart, I felt a chill go down my spine and the hair on my arms stand up. My trust vault was here next to the past 2 generations of Potter trust vaults. On the right side next to mine sat another two, Jacob's and Rose's. I rolled my eyes at them as they were a lot more extravagant than mine was and followed the Goblin to mine which was sitting right in the middle of the 5 Vaults. The Goblin turned to face me and passed me back my key "Your Vault Miss Potter."

I took the key which grew slightly to fit her hand once more and I studied the door looking for a keyhole.

My hand ran across the cold metal of the door until I found a small slot that seemed to go halfway into the door. Keeping one hand over it I lifted the key and slotted it into place, catching my hand slightly as I did so; Biting my tongue, as to keep in a curse that would get me grounded for the rest of summer, even under my wise-cracking uncle's care; and twisted the key. Through the door, I could hear the sounds of gears twisting and turning and swirling as the door unlocked, air escaping the vault with a hiss and the door started to swing open. The entire group of us took a big step backwards and my mouth widened so large a fly could fly in, as I saw the amount of Money in the vault.

Sirius burst out laughing "That should be more than enough to buy you all your school supplies for the next few years. I forgot that Lily and I had set such a high limit on the vault."

Taking a step inside the vault, all I could say was "Whoah"

To my left was a small money pouch that I had seen my parents and Sirius use all the time in the past when we were out shopping. If I had to make a bet it was enchanted to be near bottomless. I reached for the pouch and opened it up slightly and made my way over to the Galleons, Sickels and Knuts. There was a large Pile of Galleons which the Goblin said without even looking at it "That's 55 Galleons."

I had no idea how I was going to get them in the pouch until Dan said "Max, use the bag and place it on top of the pile before pulling it down over all of the Galleons."

I did as my friend suggested and placed the bag over the stack and pulled it down, the coins vanished into the bag and when I reached the bottom of the pile I quickly swiped the bag towards me. I closed my eyes, half expecting all the coins to fall on top of me and take the wind out of me but there wasn't a single clang against the floor, nor a single tingle of pain in my body, It had all gone into the pouch. Opening my eyes I grinned like a Cheshire cat and went over to another stack of coins and did the same trick. I needed some extra Galleons for the Hogwarts Express anyway so taking out so much wasn't too big of a deal. I then grabbed two stacks of Sickels and left the knuts as the change would just make things awkward with how much I had filled the pouch.

Attaching the pouch to my jeans, I left the Vault, the door closing tightly shut behind me with a Bang!. Grabbing the key from the Vault door I looked at the Goblin who smiled lightly at her "It's yours to keep safe Miss Potter," So with a quick reach into my pouch I dropped the Vault key away with her Money.

Then we got back onto the Cart which had flipped itself around to return the way it had come, we had barely shot off when Dan threw up over the edge of the cart; I really hoped that there was nobody beneath them otherwise they were about to get sick all over them. We seemed to get back to the top very quickly and as we left the gate, Sirius turned and bowed saying "Thank you very much, Master Goblin Bagnik"

Bagnik bowed back "Thank you for using Gringott's bank for all your money needs." Before grabbing his magazine once more and turning back to the exact page he had left it on.

Keeping one hand on my Pouch to make sure nobody would take it, I followed my uncle out of the bank, a grin on his face "We have one very important stop to make before we do anything else today, Max, It's time for you to get your wand. We should really wait for your parents but I did tell Ollivander we were coming today and I would hate to disappoint him."

I looked at Cass who didn't have her wand yet and Dan who had received his a couple of weeks prior. It wasn't fair for either of them to have to come in with us to get my wand. Thankfully I was saved from that train of thought when Nymph arrived with one of her friends "Wotcher Guys, This is my friend Tulip. Tulip, this is my Uncle Sirius, My Cousin Cassandra Malfoy, Maxine Potter and Daniel Greengrass. Guys this is my friend Tulip Karasu"

Sirius scanned her up and down "A Prankster?"

"That's right sir, it's an honour to meet you, Tonks has told me stories about the stuff you guys got up to Hogwarts"

"Has she now? Well, I'm glad people are keeping up our pranking traditions. Nymphadora, while you're here could you take Daniel and Cassandra back to the Leaky Cauldron?"

Nymph looked at Sirius and then at me confused before turning her head to face the shop next to them and her eyes widened "Oh…yeah sure thing Sirius. Come on firsties we've got some to lunch buy!" Before head-locking both Dan and Cass and pulling them away Tulip giggled behind her following.

My head turned to look at the store to my right and saw the old dried-up red paint of Ollivander's wand shop, the Glass Panes so filthy that they hid what was inside the shop bar a few lamps that shun through the dirt and grime. I could see the wood on the door splintering and peeling away and the rust forming on the door knob not from lack of care but from the amount it was used.

Sirius placed a hand on my shoulder, "After today, you'll finally be able to use your own magic, you ready Maximiliius"

I chuckled at my uncle's nickname for me and nodded. Putting my hand against the doorknob, twisted it and opened the door. As I entered the shop I was immediately greeted by a lovely Lavender flavour that hit my nose and filled my lungs reminding me of the gardens of Godric's Hollow.

The shop was very homely with dark oak Tables and shelving, an old wooden desk sitting in front of a door that I could somehow feel led to a much larger room bursting with magic. Was that where he kept his wands? Sirius plopped himself down on a cosey-looking couch just as the door to the backroom opened up "Ah Maxine Potter, I've been expecting you…for 11 years but most specifically since your Unruly godfather told me you would be coming last week."

Sirius was the one who had told Ollivander? My heart fell to the floor as I realised that my dad had lied right to my face when he told me that right before leaving for France. Had he actually been serious when he said they would be back for my birthday or were they actually going to forget again like they had the previous year…No, they wouldn't forget again, they just caught held up at customs and maybe he got Uncle Sirius to book it.

Ollivander looked at my face then looked over at Sirius "Ah, anyway I've got some wands already out for you to try. What your wand hand"

I looked between my hands, glancing at each one for a couple seconds "Erm my left, I think?"

The Man nodded and pulled out the first wand from its box, "Spruce, With a Dragon Heartstring Core, 10 inches." I took the wand as the old wandmaker said, "Just a swish and flick will do."

A swish and Flick later the couch that Sirius had been sitting on exploded into feathers as Ollivander delicately grabbed the wand from me "Oh no, that won't do at all. How about this one; Dogwood, with a Pheonix Feather core, 13 Inches."

I grabbed the new wand and repeated what I had done before this time turning off all the lights in the shop in an instant "Oh no, not that one either. Try this, Maple with Unicorn Hair core, It's on the shorter end of things at 8 Inches"

Once more the wand did not suit me and actually lit itself on fire in my hands which forced me to drop it to the ground, with Ollivander sighing "I just cleared the last scorch marks off the floor. Alright, let's try again."

Nearly 30 minutes later, I could feel my body getting exhausted from trying the various wands that Ollivander brought out for me to try, and the older man now had three stacks of wands that towered over him behind him swaying as he added yet another failed wand. "There will be a wand in here for you somewhere Miss Potter. You're very much not a squib, the power of your magic makes this clear. Now try this one. "It's an Accaia Wand with a Threstrle Hair and is 17 inches, not really practical but it might be the right one for you."

I took the slightly longer wand and felt a feeling of dread run through my body and I immediately handed it back to the wand maker, "I'm sorry Sir but this one is definitely not it." Ollivander smiled "It's quite fine my dear, It's good that you could tell the wand wasn't for you. Your magic is catching on to what it best connects to…now what else could I try."

The man scratched his stubble before his eyes lit up "I didn't think it would be this one but I might as well try." He pulled out his ladder and started to climb up to one of the shelves in the main part of the store. Looking as the man climbed, I was terrified the old man was going to fall from the ladder but instead, he confidently went up, picked the wand case and came back down "Try this one. Holly, with a Pheonix feather, 11 Inches"

I took the wand and gave it a swish and flick, Nothing seemed to happen but then in my eyes, a fire erupted, and a Flash of green light shot across my Iris's, the sound of crying echoed in my eardrums and the pale face of Voldemort himself on the very night he had attacked Godric Hollow pierced my brain. The wand slipped from my hand in shock and landed back on the table "What was that?"

Mr Ollivander grabbed my wrist and gently checked the veins "I do not know what you saw Miss Potter but I do apologise. It was foolish of me to give it to you."

For the first time in half an hour, Sirius spoke up, his tone cold "Why was it foolish Garick, what's with that wand."

Ollivamder sighed. "The Pheonix that gave me this feather gave one other, nearly 80 years ago. The other feather…one of the first wands I created was made into the very wand that Gave you Miss Potter that lightning bolt scar on your shoulder blade, the Crescent moon on your brother's cheek and the Star on your younger sister's neck."

A gasp escaped my lungs as I took a step back "You mean that wand's partner is…"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named yes. I'm sorry about that Miss Potter, I really should have thought about it more. Right, I think it's time to go to more of my more experimental wands. Just a minute."

I watched as the wand maker took the wand away and my body only relaxed when it was out of the front of the store. I hoped that I would never see that wand again. A few minutes later Ollivander came back with 3 more wands "Now I want to warn you that these wands have unusual cores, and have multiple cores at that. I've yet to see them match with anyone but you're a special case and I think you might be the one."

He pulled the first wand from its case and said "This is a wand made of Ash wood, Its core is made of a Tiger claw that Newt Scamander himself removed from a tiger to save its life, and stabilised with a Mothra Blue Morpho's Butterfly's wings, it's on the larger end of sizes being 14 Inches, and due to its core being slightly wider than normal"

Before I could even take the wand from Ollivander's hand, I could feel, my magic connect and reach out for the wand, a warm comforting feeling flowing through my entire body, Something about it felt right. I grabbed the wand and the wand fit perfectly within my left palm, The grooves of the wand perfectly fitted my fingers giving me a firm grasp. And with a swish and flick, flowers started growing around the store providing a variety of different smells. A grin appeared on my face as I watched the gentle magic take place.

Ollivader crackled "A Mixed core wand finally found its match. The Ashwood is a wood known for staying loyal to only one wielder and dictates that its owner is someone stubborn, but the wand works best when held by someone who can see the beauty in the world. Matched with the cores. You have a very powerful wand that I think will match you perfectly."

I ran my fingers along the grooves on the wand and relaxed, Mr. Ollivander then said "Now for pricing I would say 5 Galleons. It might be double core but I've also been trying to get rid of these wands for nearly the entire time I've run this store."

As he finished speaking I reached into my Pouch to get the money out and it appeared that my Pouch was enchanted to give me the right amount that I needed as I had barely reached my hand into the pouch when 5 large coins appeared in my hand.

Passing the 5 Galleons to the wandmaker he smiled and handed me the wand and its case and said "Take good care of that wand and it'll take good care of you."

As Sirius and I were stepping out of the store, With my hand grasping the wand tightly, I immediately tripped over somebody and tumbled to the hard ground, my elbows scraping against the bricks; today was not my day.

Pushing myself up I said, "Sorry about that." I tried to find my glasses on the brick path which hadn't fallen off her face during the fall, but I couldn't see them until another girl's voice said "It's alright, I was tripping already. Are you looking for these?" Through the blur I could see the girl holding her hand out, the pair of glasses resting there. Slowly I reached my hand out and took the glasses from her "I am, thanks."

Sticking them back on my face I finally saw that I had landed on top of another girl who looked to be around my age, who had a soft face, bluebell eyes and blueish-black hair. Standing up I helped the other girl up and said "I know you said you were tripping but still, I'm sorry about tripping over you" The other girl giggled and for a second I could have sworn my heart fluttered from the cute giggle "I accept your apology then, but it was probably me. I'm madly clumsy."

The more the girl spoke, the more I could hear the girl's accent poke through…it sounded French, Snapping away from my thoughts, I stuck my hand out "I'm Max Potter by the way, It's nice to meet you." The other girl shook my hand eagerly.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, right back at you."

Behind me, I could hear Sirius chuckling to himself and I said "I would love to stay and chat but I've got to go. It's great meeting you. Are you going to Hogwarts?"

Marinette smiled slightly "I am, See you there?"

The two of us smiled slightly at each other and waved goodbye. Sirius smiled at me, "Already making new friends Maximilius? I'm impressed." New friends that was nice. As we walked towards the Leaky Cauldron to meet for lunch, a Blue Butterfly flew past us, For the few seconds I could see it, I thought it looked beautiful.

---

Several Hours later

By the time, Sirius returned me home later that day, I was exhausted and just curled up on the couch, the new book that my uncle Remus had bought me in my hands, I was covered up by a blanket and kept warm by the twilight embers of the fireplace. a small mug of Hot Chocolate on the table next to me -already almost gone-, and my new wand resting next to it.

My eyes had just shut closed as I started to drift off into a slumber, as my ears managed to hear the crackles of the floo powder across the room. I didn't have the energy to open my eyes again to see who it was, I was too tired. Suddenly I could hear the flames of the floo ignite which lit up my closed eyes with a flash of white before I was met by the sound of 4 pairs of footsteps on the wooden floor.

Even half asleep, I recognised the voice that next "That was the best Holiday ever Dad!" It was Jacob, he didn't sound tired, but maybe he had fallen asleep whilst they waited to get through customs.

Then I heard Dad who was the next one to speak "I told you it would be J, I can't wait until we go back next year" Okay he didn't sound tired either.

It was then Mum's go at speaking "Does the room look different to you?"

My dad and brother mumbled something that I could only assume was something along the lines of, I don't think so.

The footsteps got closer to me yet I still couldn't open my eyes from how heavy they felt, to look at her family when her mum said "Oh look, James, Maxine tried to stay up for us coming home, how sweet."

That's when my mood began to sour as an uncomfortable thought started to linger in my brain. I hadn't stayed awake for them, they had missed my birthday, I was just tired from celebrating with the people who had been here to celebrate with me. They had forgotten again hadn't they…they forgot my birthday for a second year in a row.

I could feel myself start to well up in sadness, a sob threatening to break loose from my body, as she fought to keep it down that's when my younger sister, Rose who was normally even quieter than I was finally spoke up, louder than I could ever remember the 8-year-old being "She wasn't waiting up for us, big sis had her birthday as I kept telling youse!"

From above me, I could hear Mum's head snap around frantically as she realised what was different about the room and with a gasp, she said "Oh no…James…we missed Maxine's birthday again." I could feel both her mum's and Dad's eyes land on me and then my new wand.

All Dad could mutter was "Oh…I'm sure we can explain it to her in the morning. She looks exhausted and we're all very tired. It's best that we all get rest" Mum sighed but agreed "Alright kids, let's go" As my family left the room, a tear escaped my shut eyes and once they were all gone I started to cry properly, after all they had forgotten again.

---

1 Month Later ~ 1st September 1989

"Are you ready to go then, pup?" Sirius asked me while checking the watch on his wrist. I took a final look through my new chest before closing the lid with a firm nod directed at my uncle, "Yep that's everything."

Sirius ruffled my hair and smiled at me before waving his wand and the chest lifted up off the ground by a couple of centimetres allowing me to push it. I looked around my home one last time before following Sirius to the flames. Potter Manor had felt less like home over the past month since my Birthday but even then this was going to be the first time I was away from it for a long time, I didn't even know when I was next going to sleep in my own bed.

As I left the room I called out "Bye Disky!" before vanishing and arriving at platform 9 and ¾ at Kings Cross station. The Giant station was already filling up quite a lot despite how early Sirius and I had departed from Potter Manor; With Sirius even waking up early for once. Yet, clearly, others had the same idea as the two of us.

I felt Sirius move me out of the way of the flames ever so slightly as another family entered through the flames, a "Terrance, slow down please." coming a couple of seconds later as a boy the same age as me stormed towards the train with his chest and cat in hand. Sirius chuckled and said, "Looks like someone's excited."

Turning my head to look at my uncle, wondering what to do next when someone next to me called out "Max!"

My neck snapped around and I found Cass almost running towards me, her brother Samuel and their mum Nariccissa behind them smiling at Sirius and me.

When the Malfoy twins reached me, I put my hands out for the two of them to shake just in case their dad was there and said "Cassandra, I've missed you this last week, What have you been up to?! Samuel Great to see you, It's been too long." putting on a very forced formal voice that made me want to puke. especially when talking to Samuel

Before either of them could reply, their mum sighed "No need for formalities Max, Lucius couldn't be bothered to see off Samuel or Cassie for their first year."

I nodded before pulling Sam and Cass into deep hugs and whispering to Samuel "How are you mate?"

He smiled awkwardly which didn't put me at all at ease, while Cass was clearly trying to keep something exciting tucked away; as the three of us hugged, Nariccssa asked Sirius "So how are you cousin? Are the Potters here?"

Sirius placed a hand on my shoulder once the three of us had separated, and said "I'm doing fine Cissy, Unfortunately, neither James nor Lily were able to get time off work to take Max this Morning so I agreed to take her."

Nariccisa nodded slightly before moving the conversation on "We should keep this brief, we all know how Lucius is about these two being seen in public, the fool of a man. Actually, the three of you should go and grab compartments while you can. Best of luck to all of you, and Samuel don't worry about what you're father thinks; be proud of what house you end up in." Sam nodded before he started to pull his Chest towards the red Steam train that would take them to Hogwarts.

Both Cass and I knew that Sam wanted his own compartment for some of his friends so a few minutes later we both started heading towards the train having given him a head start in finding a compartment. As we walked, I turned around to wave goodbye at Sirius. Looking around the large brick room I could see dozens of people cramming their way through the metal barrier trying to get on the platform. It was an honest to god miracle that nobody got hurt trying to get on the express yet.

The two of us wasted no time getting on to the train and while we would get chewed out by Daniel for getting on without him, we would rather actually get a compartment for ourselves. Placing my hand under the floating chest I lifted it up ever so slightly so that it could get onto the train without much effort. The Second the Chest was fully inside the train it fell to the ground and Cass laughed "Enchantment on the train, Mum told me about it"

I grumbled back at Cass "Yeah yeah, laugh it up"

Grabbing hold of the proper handle I pulled it along behind me as Cass got in front of me, to look for a compartment for us. Despite it being so early, several of the compartments already had been filled or had at least one person in them. It took the two of us nearly 10 minutes to finally find a free compartment. Cass stopped and opened the door as I looked around to check for Daniel.

Not finding him, I followed Cass into the compartment and set my chest up in the rack above me, before helping Cass with her Chest. Every compartment was the same, with space above the seats for the chests and two rows of benches on either side of the compartment that could fit around 6 people comfortably. The Benches had a soft red leather cushion seat and back cushion with hard wooden frames. I wondered when they had last updated the train or if they were using the same compartments from when the train had been built. Noticing that the window seat was free I grabbed it and sat across from Cass who was also by the Window and asked her, "So is everything okay?"

My closest friend shook her head. "Not really." I reached across and put a hand against her shoulder "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really" turning to look out towards the window at the happy families coming out on the other side of the platform. Joining Cass in looking out the window, I noticed out the corner of my eyes, a flurry of red hair, The Weasleys were here early?! That's a bloody miracle. I could see almost all of the redheaded siblings charge towards the train. Must have been the twins, I remember how excited they had been when I saw them over the summer.

The two of us sat in comfortable silence till the door creaked open and a light cough appeared from the door "I'm not interrupting anything am I gals?" Our two heads snapped around to see Dan who was standing there with his chest lying on the ground behind him.

Cass shot up to pick up the Chest for him, Dan realising what she was doing stepped out of the way to allow her to pick it up while I said bored "No you're not, we were just waiting for you." Cass struggled to get the chest up but managed to just about slip it in, collapsing back into her seat while Dan sat down next to her.

Looking at the still-open door I reached over to close it, applying the lock as I did so; didn't want anybody interrupting us after all. With the three of us now together and the door locked Dan said "So what going on then, because Max looks bored and you look grumpy Cassie" Cass huffed as Dan once more used his nickname for her.

I shrugged my shoulders, throwing my hands up at my friend "I have no clue, since we got on the train she's been silent" Dan elbowed Cass in her ribs and said "What is it?!" giving her no room to argue with him.

She sighed turning to face them, "Well it was after I returned home from our lesson with Master Aqua the other day…..dad was in one of his Moods." Dan flinched and pressed a hand against hers.

Cass carried on "Well he was in the middle of abusing Dobby, one of the elves, Long story short I tried to intervene he got angry at me and then he demanded I reveal what I know about the Potters which as always I told him I knew nothing about….then he tried to throw me in the fire." Dan and my eyes widened in horror and I just managed to whisper "I'm so sorry Cass."

Cass shook his head "It doesn't matter, Sam went through worse" Dan and I wanted to disagree, but before we could Cass moved the topic on "Anyway, what was the real reason for your parents not being here Maxie?"

I sighed, steaming the window up as I did so, I didn't particularly want to say but I knew that my friends were worried and replied "Well to start with neither of them remembered I was leaving this morning until I reminded them last night. Plus Mum is too ill at the moment to get out of bed and Dad decided today, of all day he was going to take my dear brother to work. So Uncle Remus is looking after Rose today."

The Other two flinched as Dan said sadly "I'm sorry Max, your birthday and now your first day of Hogwarts forgotten all for Jacob… Wow, I feel like my problems today are ruddy dumb in comparison. Blaine was just being stupid with Mum's wand and made the furniture start to dance." Laughter broke out across the Compartment and it didn't take long after that for the train to whistle as it started to leave the station.

We were talking about what classes we were excited about the most after having already read through our school books over the last month with our teacher, Master Aqua when there was a sharp knock on the door. The three of us twisted our heads to see a girl around our age with short mousy brown hair wearing a Purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans standing outside in the hallway.

Daniel leaned over and unlocked the door, sliding it open as he did so. The girl seemed surprised we opened the door and squeaked, "Sorry about interrupting you….I'm looking for somewhere to sit but nobody else our age is letting me into their compartment….I was wondering if I could please sit in here with you." The three of us quickly glanced between themselves and in an instant we all came to an agreement.

Standing up Dan said, "Of course, you can, let me help you with your Chest." He took it from the girl and placed it next to his stuff in the racks above. Of course, we weren't going to send someone struggling to find a seat away. We weren't our parents after all. Dan sat back down, signalling for her to sit down across from him and next to me, She did so quickly and said a bit more confidently "Thank you so much, My name is Tracey Davies, What are your names?"

Turning to face her a bit more I said while waving at her with a small smile "The name's Maxine Potter, but you can call me Max"

My two friends followed on with Dan saying, "Nice to meet you Tracey, I'm Daniel Greengrass, but my friends call me Dan"

While Cass said somewhat distractedly "Hi, I'm Cassandra Malfoy but i prefer just called being Cass." Tracey smiled at each of us before asking "So are you all 1st years too?"

Dan jumped in "We are, Are you muggle-born by any chance?" Tracey twisted her head like an owl confused before asking back "What's a muggleborn? And I think my mum called me and my brother half-bloods?"

They all took in what she said and Daniel replied "Ah So one parent who had magic then."

Tracey nodded, her hair band slipping down in front of her face forcing her to fix it before replying "Yeah my dad was apparently a Wizard before he died."

Dan nodded but carried on "That makes sense, also my condolences, As for what Muggleborn means, it means you're the first Wizard or Witch in your family for at least 2 Generations. The Americans call them the much nicer 1st Gen'.

Tracey's eyes glowed as she took it all in, almost mentally writing everything she had just heard in a mental notebook, separate from her normal memory. I decided to ask her something else "You said you had a brother? Is he at Hogwarts already? Or is he younger than you?"

She twisted a bracelet on her wrist and said "Yeah my brother Rodger, he's in his 3rd year….in Ravenclaw? I think so anyway. He refuses to tell me anything about Hogwarts and says "Experience it yourself" even though having some help today would have been great"

I couldn't imagine doing something like that to Rose...maybe Jacob but never Rose. I cared about my little sister too much to leave her so clueless.

About half an hour after Tracey had arrived the Weasley twins popped their heads In and caught me up on what I had missed in the Weasley household since I had last seen them nearly two months prior. I loved the twins a lot, but I couldn't imagine living with them, I would have been driven up the wall within days.

---

The Sorting- Several hours later

"Potter, Maxine" Professor McGonagal's voice rang out through the hall. Cassandra and Dan had already been sorted into Ravenclaw, While Samuel had been sorted into Gryffindor which was sure to make headlines; and all of them were staring at me anxiously, it was well known that almost all the Potters in the past 300 years had been sorted into Gryffindor. They watched as I walked up the stairs to the Stool while people around the room whispered "Potter?"

"I didn't know Jacob Potter had an older sister?"

"She doesn't have the Potter's messy hair."

Had the Potter really pushed me to the side so much that nobody even recognised me? I even knew that my friends would be wishing they could say they were shocked but with how they knew how Mum and Dad treated me they could only think about how I was; The Forgotten Eldest Daughter.

I sat down on the Stool and the head of Gryffindor and Family friend Professor Minerva McGonagall put the Brown faded hat onto his head 'Well, well. What do we have here, The Eldest Potter child Max Potter.'

Unlike some of the others in my year, I barely reacted to the sudden voice in myhead and calmly stated "The Sorting Hat, I presume"

The hat seemed to chuckle "You would be correct Miss Potter. After giving a fright to some less informed students it's nice to see someone recognize that it is me speaking to them. You would think after the first students get sorted they would work out what I do."

I smiled to myself which confused the students waiting for me to be finished, somehow I knew 3 minutes had already passed on the outside which wasn't unusual but with how many students were sorted instantly previously it did confuse some of the first years. "Yes well, we are only eleven. So are you going to have a look through my memories?"

I could swear that the hat was smiling "True, true. Just like Miss Malfoy and Mr. Greengrass, I don't really feel like I need to. You are learning under Lady Aqua, arguably one of the Best Witches to have ever existed. She wouldn't have picked you if it wasn't for your yearning for Knowledge. But you are the descendant of Her Master Erequs who was a very Unique man so it might be worth it."

Several images flashed through my head as the Hat scanned through my Memories "Hm you are ever the optimist, always trying to believe the best in people even when they truly do not care-"

The words burrowed Into my head, I didn't need to ask any questions about who or what the hat meant; The hat was talking about my parent's. I guess I had always known that they didn't care but having the hat almost spell it out to me broke the camels back.

"You are extremely loyal to those you love and you're cunning enough to play your cards right to keep them safe, but beyond everything, you are truly a Ravenclaw, you thirst to learn and understand how the world works, this need to understand reaches far beyond everything else. This truly is one the easiest sorting I've ever made"

Verbally the sorting hat yelled out "Ravenclaw!" I opened my eyes and smiled, my robes changing to have a blue and bronze colour scheme that matched my new house, and my new family for the next 7 years.

I took the sorting hat off my head as the Ravenclaw House erupted into cheer, I handed the falling-to-pieces hat back to Professor McGonagall and made my way to my new table. Dan and Cass moved apart so that I could sit between them. I was one of the final students who had to be sorted that year as they had a surprising number of people whose last names started in D; Davies, Dupain-Cheng, Daniels, Dolly and more.

That night I allowed myself to eat more than I had in years, as the food never seemed to end, between the meat, veg and then the various puddings for deserts, I knew when I got to bed I was going to feel sick as all hell but right now I didn't really care, I was going to enjoy my first meal at Hogwarts where they would be no awkward family dinners.

---

Christmas

Presents from my family at Christmas shouldn't have been that much of an ask but on Christmas morning when I went down to the Ravenclaw common room to meet with Cass and Dan to open our presents, I found none from my parents or brother.

My heart sank as I looked through the presents left for me, There were those from Sirius and Remus, with one from Rose tagged on too, ones from the Tonks and even a sweater from the Weasleys -as I got every year, I would need to write a letter of thanks to Molly- Yet not a single one from my Mum or Dad. Did my parents really forget that I existed just like that? Now that I wasn't at the house at all did they just assume I was a fragment of their imagination?

I ran back up the stairs that morning after we finished opening presents and stayed in my bed crying. I would have traded all the other presents just for one letter from my mum and dad, just something! I curled up in my bed for who knows how many hours until the door slowly creaked open.

Turning away from the door I called out "Leave me alone Cassie, I don't want to see anyone right now."

There was a slight chuckle from the doorway as the door shut over and a slightly older yet still feminine voice spoke up "Well it's a good thing I'm not Cassandra then, and even better that I'm not just anyone."

My eyes widened as I realised who it was and slowly turned back to see Chloe Tonks leaning against the now-shut door, One boot pushed against the door. Her Aqua blue hair had been cut short and was somewhat covered by the Black beanie that her older sister had gotten her for her birthday several months before.

I could never describe what Chloe meant to me. Before I had met Dan and Cass, the two of us were inseparable. I had looked up to the slightly older girl and she had been my guardian angle despite only being a year older. We would run through woods and make Sirius and Ted have a panic attack trying to find the pair of us. We would dress up as Pirates and play magic pirates for hours on ends. Even now, we shared a bond that I doubted could ever be broken. If anyone would get through to me, it was her.

Chloe slowly approached the bed and said in what sounded like a carefree tone but was full of concern "Now what's got King Max upset because you missed the most amazing breakfast feast."

Slowly I pulled myself up out of the curled-up ball I was in and sat up slightly; saying "My mum and Dad…they didn't send me anything this year not a letter, a single present, or even a postcard, it's like they forgot I existed."

Chloe growled loudly, her anger barely being contained "Of course they fecking did."

Sitting down next to me, Chloe wrapped an arm around me and said boldly "Max, it's so clear to everyone that they don't care about you at all, they only care about your little whinging brother. So why do you care about them? What have they ever done for you, Where have they ever been when the rest of us, Me, Nymph, Cassie, Sirius and Remus, My Mum and Dad, And Daniel have been there for you? Fecking off Praising your brother's silliest mistakes. Stop letting them define you."

I tucked my head in before saying "I'm not letting them define me" My voice trailed off, and my lip started to quiver as I started to realise I was speaking nonsense, I was trying to live a lie.

Chloe launched herself from her sitting position and bodly said "Okay then, show me. Don't let them define your first Christmas at Hogwarts. The Christmas Breakfast feast goes on till 1, and we've still got a couple of hours to gorge ourselves on the best breakfast you'll ever have, So what do you say? But if you're coming you'll have to wipe those tears away."

From underneath me, I could feel my legs stand up on their own accord and I started to make my way to Chloe and crashed into her hugging the 12-year-old who held me tight "Max, you don't ever need your parents, you've got the rest of us."

Letting go of Chloe and wiping away my tears I said, "Give me 5 minutes to get dressed then I'll come down, I think I've soaked my pyjama top with my tears."

The Slytherin girl smiled "You better." As the other girl left, I could have sworn I saw a blue butterfly at the window briefly land at the window.

---

The Final Quidditch match ~ That Morning

Quidditch had always been exciting for me, something about the speed and being in the air had always got my heart running; Watching quidditch matches while not as thrilling still made me grin from ear which is why when the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain Erika Rath pulled me away from my breakfast on the day of the final match I was extremely confused.

The broad girl dragged me towards a secluded area near the great hall, before throwing me hard against a wall; my collarbone aching from the impact, a piece of toast still in my mouth as the 6th year stared at her harshly "Listen here, Potter. Both my primary seeker and reserve seeker are Ill, and if we don't have a seeker the Ravenclaw team will be forced to pull out of today's match. Practically handing the Quidditch cup and the house cup to Slytherin again. I will not let that pain in the Backside, Orion nor his teammates Skye or Melody win again. I've seen your flying skills, you might be the most talented flyer in Ravenclaw who's not on the team."

My eyes widened, and I grabbed the piece of toast out of my mouth and replied, "That's an honour coming from you Rath but you know first-years aren't allowed on the teams."

Rath pointed a finger into my chest pushing me back against the wall once more; "Listen here. Rath has already cleared it with Professor Flitwick. Now are you in, or out?!"

I gulped but replied "Sure, I'm in. When do we need to get ready?"

The Older girl smirked "Oh right now. The match begins in 20 minutes."

And that's how I found herself being dragged down to the Quidditch stadium which had been adorned in the Ravenclaw and Slytherin colours. A Mass of students already heading down to the stadium for the final match of the season. But instead of going into the stairwells like I had gotten used to and had been expecting to, I was instead dragged into the changing room where the rest of the team was starting to gather, all in different stages of undress.

Rath coughed "Alright Team, the runt Potter agreed so we're still in this match. Our job out there is to make sure we don't even need Potter to win and thrash the other team, You understand me punks; yes I am talking to you, Jackson; no showing off this time."

The 4th Year Chaser nodded before Rath went into a storage basket and said "You're a scrawny Runt, so this might be a bit baggy on you but it's the best we can do for today." Before chucking a Ravenclaw seeker outfit at me that hadn't been worn in nearly 20 years by the looks of it, but the thrill of wearing an actual Quidditch outfit made her look past that

Finding a corner that nobody could see me, I stripped down and threw on the new outfit which as Rath had predicted was Baggy but it still fitted better than some of my robes; I still hadn't had that massive growth spurt I had been expecting the entire year so a couple of sets were still a size to big.

Going back to the main changing room I noticed that the rest of my new teammates were already ready when suddenly a helmet and goggles were thrown at me, my hands shot forward and grabbed them in midair which made Rath smirk "Good you have decent reflexes, those will help you see when you're high up and stop you from being bludgeoned into a coma."

As my new captain spoke, I pulled on the helmet and rested the goggles on top, I was starting to feel like a real quidditch player other than not having a broom to call my own. That's when Rath held her leg up and kicked a broom over to me with precision which I had to leap forward to catch, "One of my old brooms. If you don't break it, Potter, you can keep it."

Running my hand over the broom I almost immediately recognised it as the Comet, It had been out for a few years and had already been replaced by the Comet-201 But the standard Comet model was still Reliable and much sturdier than the standard brooms that were at Hogwarts. If I could fly on one of those old things she could definitely fly on one of these. Once Sirius hears me sprout out that quidditch knowledge he would be beaming about how it was the book he bought her that they her know that.

A few minutes later the team started to leave the tent as cheering started to get louder and louder; it was time. I walked behind Rath -who back muscles indimtated the hell out of me- all the way out onto the centre of the pitch where Madam Hooch stood, a Box of Quaffles, Bludgers and Snitch's sat.

The Flying instructor glared at Rath "I don't approve of your use of a 1st year Miss Rath but it's too late for me to do anything about it now. Now captains I want you to shake hands and promise me this will be a fair game."

Rath and Orion shook hands, Rath glaring at the Slytherin Captain who seemed to be in his own little world the entire time which just made my captain angrier. The two teams flew up into the sky and Commentator Mcnully said

"And what's this folks, do my eyes deceive me or is there a 98% chance that Captain Rath has brought in 1st year Maxine Potter as her new Seeker?! What in the world is going on I'm 90% sure this is going to be one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking quidditch matches Hogwarts has ever seen!"

I tuned out the percentage-throwing commentator who clearly had a bias towards Slytherin and kept my eyes on the box as Madam Hooch counted down "3…2…1! Go!" The box flung open and the various balls went flying out of the box. I tried to keep her eye on the small golden snitch but it quickly vanished into the air and I was left searching around.

While Rath had told the team, that she didn't want them relying on me to win it, I still thought I should try to catch the snitch. Rath had broken Madam Hooch's trust to get me on the team after all, I should at least try and make that break in trust worth it. I flew around the pitch at a steady pace, my eyes darting every which way for any sign of the golden snitch. But I couldn't see it.

Over on the field, I could see Rath trying to beat a path for her chasers while the Slytherin Chasers used the Parkin's pinch which the three Slytherin chasers had become known for over the last 5 years apparently. Mcnully was yelling some random percentage at the top of his lungs but I just ignored him, he did too many percentages and not enough engaging commentary.

Suddenly out of the very corner of my eyes, I saw a small flash of Gold high above the stadium, without giving the other seeker a chance to react I shot off towards the stitch, the dark cloud gathering above me as I shot up, it was only when I had rocketed past the Slytherin teams seeker that they realised what I was doing and tried to catch up but the other seeker was on the basic cleansweep model and due to the difference in speed between a basic comet and cleansweep; I gained more distance with every second I flew upwards. As I started to get close to the snitch, nearly 50ft above the stadium, the rain started; small droplets spitting on my face and goggles. But despite all of that the snitch was still in my sight, I could still reach it if I just reached slightly further for it!

Stretching my right arm, I uncurled my fingers, I was so close, I could feel the smooth metal on myfingertips, just a slight bit further!

Then the snitch stopped and started falling downwards, straight back toward the stadium at rocket speeds, Frustration built up within me and my eye twitched and in that instant, I knew that I couldn't lose! I had gotten so Close! I had to catch that Snitch! So with a deep breath, I pulled back on the broom tightly, forcing it to change directions, all the way until it did a full 180 degree's turn and went flying down towards the ground, within two seconds I had passed the other team's seeker who was still rising up trying to catch up with me.

As I plummeted towards the ground, I could have sword swore the entire world apart from the Snitch blurred, I would catch it! From behind me, my nose caught the smell of smoke and with a slight glance back I noticed the back of my broom had caught fire, well Rath wasn't getting this broom back no matter what now.

As I reached the top of the stadium I just about heard McNully yell "What the hell is Seeker Potter doing?! I'm 99% sure we're about to see the first Hogwarts quidditch death in nearly 289 years!" If I could, I would have definitely rolled her eyes at him, but at that point but I couldn't take my eyes off that Snitch.

The Grassy ground was approaching and I knew that I was going to have to pull up but if I pulled up too soon, I wouldn't catch the snitch. As the snitch reached a couple of feet off the ground, I could see its path as it suddenly evened out and shot toward the commentator box.

I pulled the broom up ever so slightly, the smell of smoke from the back of the broom getting worse as I did so, but I could cough later, I had a job to do. My new angle sent me flying at a diagonal angle towards not only the snitch but the ground, it was time to pull off a move I had only seen played once before by professional Sky Poin nearly 4 years ago. I twisted my broom slightly so that I was at an angle and almost slid past the Snitch, my feet scraped against the grass slightly but it put me into into the perfect position to catch the Snitch.

The entire stadium went quiet as they waited in anticipation, the Snitch seemed to move into my moving hand in slow motion despite both me and the golden ball still moving at fast speeds. The Snitch collided with my palms and I clenched my fingers around it and the wings folded up. I HAD DONE IT!

Holding the Snitch up for the audience to see, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor burst into cheers, as Madam Hooch blew her whistle ending the game. Quickly I hopped off the still-alight broom, I couldn't help but grin and stare at the golden snitch that was nestled in her hands. I had pulled off such a risky manoeuvre trying to catch the bloody thing and I had done it. I had caught the snitch in my first-ever quidditch game.

Rath floated down "Potter you did it! I can't believe you actually did it!" The much larger girl brought me into a massive hug and I felt like my entire spine got rearranged from how tightly the other girl held me. I didn't hear McNully utter the scored but based on how much tighter Rath's hug got I assumed that we had won the game. I certainly ended the year on a high.

---

Maxine's Journal

Entry: 31st of June 1990

My first year of Hogwarts has wrapped up, I can't actually wrap my head around it. I've made so many amazing friends over this past year and learned so much that returning back to Potter Manor… feels weird. Of course, Mum and Dad didn't even realise at first until Uncle Remus slapped Dad and reminded him of the day. Turns out they did get me a Christmas present, they just had no idea which house to send it to…Even though I had written them several letters saying my house and our amazing magical Owls can literally find anyone. But that doesn't matter because my lessons with Master Aqua start back up next week at Greengrass Manor and I get to spend even more time with Cassandra and Daniel. Fred and George have promised to pop over sometime soon too and the 5 of us are going to meet up with Chloe and Tracey at Diagon Alley at some point in the first few weeks of the holiday.

I've also gained a title that Jacob won't be able to take from me and that's the Youngest seeker in Hogwarts History which I feel pretty proud about and I'm looking forward to quidditch tryouts after the summer. I will miss Professor Quirrell and his fascination with No-Maj inventions but the poor professor looked like he was about to have a meltdown the past few weeks.

I should probably sign off for the night but I do wish I could see Marinette over the holiday but her staying over in Paris makes things difficult and I doubt Dad will go back to Paris this year on holiday.

Signing off Maxine Melody Potter.

---

Entry: 1st July 1991

Well, another year has gone by and now the nerves start to kick in. Jacob will be attending Hogwarts after the holiday and I'm worried he will mess up the life I've got there. This year had certainly seen changes. For once I'm actually taller than Cass or Dan although only by a few inches. Last week we had to pick what classes we wanted to take next year outside of our core classes. It was a difficult decision especially with Chloe telling me to take Divination so we could slack off together but I didn't want to disappoint Master Aqua so I ended up taking Runes and Care for Magical Creatures, Grubby Plank seemed like a nice professor.

Being a seeker this past year has really boosted my confidence with being around people I don't really know, but even after a year I still can't get used to the new team with Rath no longer being captain, instead being replaced by a 3rd-year Japanese student Markus Enji Todi as the second beater alongside her along with a new chaser in the mysterious Hawks, another Japanese student. But we were a good team. We nearly won the house cup this year thanks to our quidditch victories.

Dan, Cass and I are meeting up with the twins and Chloe tomorrow to discuss a prank we want to pull on Nymph now that she's going to the Auror Academy…but I doubt Sirus and Remus will let us pull it off.

It feels like I'm rambling journal but I've got all of these thoughts trapped up in my head.

My birthday is at the end of the month, I wonder if Mum and Dad are going to forget again? Three years in a row now, I wouldn't be surprised. Precious little Jacob always seems to come first. Would it hurt them even slightly to pay me a small bit of attention? Agh, it doesn't matter, like Chloe said, if they don't care about me why should I care about them?!

Marinette told me I was more than welcome to stay at her house for a while if I wanted the other day, I might take her up on that offer some summer. Get away from this old dusty manor that just seems to want to forget me. Sigh that's Rose telling me dinner's ready. I'll write to you again soon Journal.

Later, Maxie Mel Potter ᙙᙖ