There were two sides of the village of Ottery-St. Catchpole, and one had no idea about the other. The village itself has always been a small, quaint little hamlet where everyone knew each other. But it was by no means a normal village. Residence often spotted strange things in the sky, from children riding broom sticks to creatures that looked more akin to flying horses than birds.
But perhaps the most peculiar thing about the village was Cassandra Morningstar. Morningstar Manor dominated the highest point of Ottery-St. Catchpole, overlooking the land with its elegant Victorian design. To those who were outsiders, the Manor would've been intimidating, foreboding even. But to the village below, it was the home of Cassandra Morningstar and her family. She was often described as the most beautiful woman to ever grace the shores of England with her dazzling blue eyes and her long, blonde hair that fell neatly to her shoulders. Though she lived a life of lavish luxury, she was not born into it and, most importantly, she remembered where she came from.
The village loved Cassandra because she had a remedy for everything. When James Winston caught a nasty bout of pneumonia, Cassandra gave him a golden concoction that made it vanish overnight. When Lewis Farmer had a problem with his harvest of cabbages, Cassandra poured a brown, nasty liquid over the soil. By the end of the week, Lewis' cabbages were nearly as big as he was. And when Beatrice Stillwater became paralyzed after a nasty accident, Cassandra had her dancing with a green medicine.
The villagers thought she was magical and called the family the "Magical Morningstars". This had often gotten Cassandra and her family in trouble with the Ministry of Magic.
Cassandra Morningstar and her family were just that: Magical. She was a witch and her husband a wizard, both of whom were very talented at their crafts. While her husband sought the pursuit of knowledge in all forms, Cassandra sought to use her gifts to help others. She was careful, of course. No muggle ever stepped foot onto the property, and she never used magic to fix the ailments of the village.
"The muggles have potions of their own," Cassandra justified as she stood before the Wizengoment after using Wiggenweld potion to cure a flu plague that had crippled the village. "Why would they ever expect I was anything more than a chemist?"
Two things stopped any real punishments from coming for Cassandra. First and foremost, she was right. Obviators from the Ministry were shocked to find that no one in the village truly suspected that Cassandra was magical and instead just assumed that her talents were perfectly mundane. It was, after all, absurd. Only children believe magic is real.
The other thing was her husband. Theodore Morningstar. Theodore himself was a studious, hardworking man with tidy brown hair and eyes that peered from behind a square pair of glasses. There were two important things about Theodore that helped Cassandra's case. The first being his name: Morningstar. The Morningstar family were a fairly new pureblood family, boasting only four generations of wizards.
The first Morningstar, Theodore's grandfather, defeated the Goblin Rebellion of 1890. The second, Theodore's father, drove the Ashwinders out of the country.
The third, Theodore himself, killed Lord Voldemort.
So, the Ministry, not wanting to lock up the wife of the man who defeated the most powerful dark wizard in history, let Cassandra continue her work in Ottery-St. Catchpole unabated so long as she swore to uphold the statue of secrecy, which she did effortlessly.
Theodore and Cassandra had two children. Their son, Alistar, and their daughter, Delianna. Alistar was named after his grandfather and took quite after his father, sporting the same neat brown hair and need for glasses. His eyes, however, were blue like diamonds. Delianna, on the other hand, looked nothing like either of her parents. She had silvery white hair and light blue eyes. She was adopted, having never known either of her parents who were killed in the war against Voldemort.
She had an adventurous sort of spirit that saw her strolling about the muggle parts of Ottery-St. Catchpole. She was dressed in blue jeans and a green T-shirt, nodding politely back at the muggles that waved at her like she was royalty. Delianna, of course, absolutely loved it.
She pushed herself into the door of a small shop, the bell summoning an elderly lady from the back. She looked down at Delianna with a wide smile and said, "Good morning, Delianna. How are you today?"
"I'm wonderful Mrs. Prince," Delianna said with a small bow. "Is it ready?"
"Yes, it is," Mrs. Prince said, disappearing into the back of the shop and reappearing with a large, white box. She put it down on the countertop and opened it up, revealing a beautiful red velvet cake. Written in golden letters on top of it were the words "Happy 11th Birthday Alistar".
Delianna's smile widened. "It looks delicious," she said, looking back up at Mrs. Prince. "Thank you!"
"Of course," Mrs. Prince said. Delianna paid Mrs. Prince for the cake and picked the cake up, carefully making her way out of the door.
The first sign that she was about to be hit came from the sound of an engine. The next was the horn blaring at her. The third was the screeching of the brakes, and the fourth was the impact of the cobblestone road.
0000
Harry Potter stared at the scene before him in stunned silence. Both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were white-faced as they tried to assess what had just happened. An elderly woman rushed out of the bakery and towards the girl. "Someone call Cassandra!" she shouted as she hobbled quickly over to the girl.
Harry wasn't sure what he was doing as his body moved automatically, but he opened the car door and ran over to them. "What can I do?" He asked.
The woman looked to him, then put her hand in the middle of the girl's chest. "Place your hands here and push as hard as you possibly can."
Harry nodded and followed her instructions. He pushed as hard as he could and kept pumping as the old woman stood up and moved quickly back to her shop. He only stopped pushing when he heard a car backfire and felt someone standing behind him.
"MOVE!" A woman's voice echoed. Harry obliged and moved as the woman knelt down and pulled out a stick that was about a foot long. She pointed it at the girl's chest and said, "Pulsus!"
The girl's eyes flashed opened and she screamed, rolling over as tears flooded her eyes. The woman wrapped her arms around her and said, "It's ok Del, I'm here. You're ok, you're going to be okay."
Harry was lucky that he hadn't eaten since yesterday, otherwise he would've lost his lunch. He sat there quietly, looking at the two of them as he heard the car door open. Uncle Vernon was, rather awkwardly, making his way over to the scene before them.
"I'm… I'm sorry…"
Braver men than Uncle Vernon would've withered under the glare she shot at him. "Help me get her back to my house. We live at the top of the hill, follow this road until you get to the edge of town. You'll see the offshoot." The woman scooped the girl up into her arms and, carefully, carried her to the car. Harry was quick to open the door for her, sliding in next to them as Uncle Vernon got back in the car into the driver's seat.
The house in question was much closer to a mansion. It was certainly much larger than the Dursley's house, something that Harry was sure crossed Uncle Vernon's mind as he stared at the large, Victorian structure in awe. They pulled up in front of the gate and stopped, Harry opening his side door and quickly rushing to the gate to help the woman carry her daughter inside. He needn't bother, however, for as the woman rushed towards the gate, it flung open, threatening to come off its hinges.
"Get back in the car, boy," Uncle Vernon said.
Harry stared back at his uncle. "What?"
"Get back in the car. We are leaving."
"We can't leave," Harry protested. "You just hit her."
"You don't have a choice in the matter," Uncle Vernon snapped back. "Get. In. The. Car."
Harry stared at the car, then at the back of the woman's head, and made his choice. He took off towards the building, running as fast as he could towards the woman. "HEY!" Uncle Vernon said, jumping out of the car and chasing after Harry.
"Dursley!" Harry shouted after her. "The driver's name is Vernon Dursley."
The woman turned around in shock, her eyes fixed on Harry, then at the lumbering form of Vernon running across the garden. He didn't get far, however, before he fell face first onto the ground, something green tied around his leg.
"Come with me," the woman ordered. It took Harry only a second to realize she was talking to him. He nodded and followed her, both of them walking inside.
"Cassandra?" A brown haired man inside said, looking at the scene before him in shock. "What-"
"DEL!" A boy came running forward, his eyes wide in shock. "What happened?!"
"Vernon hit her with his fucking car," Cassandra said, pushing past the both of them. She thundered towards the living room, gently resting Del onto the couch. She raised her hand and a bottle appeared in it. She put it up to Delianna's lips and poured a green liquid down her throat.
Del coughed and sputtered. "The cake… I dropped the cake."
"Forget about the cake," Cassandra said. She pulled out her stick again and waved it over the girl's body. "Internal bleeding… broken bones… some trauma injuries…" she nodded. "Looks worse than it is."
"Isn't the blood supposed to be internal?" Del asked, a thin smile coming across her face.
"At least your sense of humor is intact," the boy said, a forced smile coming across his face.
"Nothing, a few potions won't fix," Cassandra said. "Well, and some magic." She held up her wand and summoned a strip of leather. "Bite down on this, love. It's going to hurt like hell."
Del nodded and took the wand into her mouth, closing her eyes shut as Cassandra pointed her wand at Del's legs. "Os Reparo!" Delianna screamed into the gag as her leg snapped back into place. Cassandra did it again, this time aiming at her chest, then her neck, then her arm. Each time bringing more intense grunts of pain from Del before finally she ripped the leather out of her mouth and threw up all over the floor.
"Can I curse?" she asked, wiping her mouth with her arm.
"I'll allow it," Theodore said.
"Fuck that hurt," Del said before looking at Harry. "Your father needs to learn how to drive."
"He's not my father, he's my uncle," Harry said. "My father's dead."
"Did your uncle run him over too?" Del spat.
Harry couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "He might have. They always said my parents died in a car crash."
"Speaking of your uncle," Cassandra said, standing up and turning to Theodore. "I've got that bastard tied up in the front yard. Go deal with this before I do."
"What makes you think I won't kill him?" Theodore asked, accusingly.
"Nothing. You just won't go to Azkaban for it."
Theodore shook his head before turning around and heading outside. Cassandra looked back to Del and gently placed herself on the couch, sitting next to Del and placing her daughter's head on her leg. The boy made himself comfortable on the other chair before looking to Harry and saying, "Make yourself comfortable."
Harry found an unoccupied place in an armchair. "Is Del short for something?" Harry asked, trying to prevent the silence from turning awkward.
"Delianna," Delianna said. "What about you? What's your name, shaggy?"
"Harry, Harry Potter."
Cassandra looked up at him and stared at Harry, as if seeing him for the first time. "Part your bangs," Cassandra said. It was more of a request, but Harry did so, Cassandra's eyes falling on the familiar lightning bolt shaped scar. "No way…"
Harry looked curiously at her. "How did you know?"
"Because my husband was there when that scar was created," Cassandra said. "I saw it myself, when you were just a baby."
Harry stared in shock at Cassandra. "What?"
"Your parents didn't die in a car crash," Cassandra said. Your parents were murdered by-"
The front door opened as Theodore guided three people inside. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Please, make yourselves at home. I'll have a mechanic look at the car trouble for you." Cassandra was cut off midsentence as her eyes fixed on Aunt Petunia.
"You," she said, vitriol in her voice. She pulled her wand out at the three of them. "You don't need to obliviate these muggles, dear. Recollect!"
Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley's eyes all glazed over before looking around in horror. Uncle Vernon looked at Theodore. "What the… you- "
"Nothing personal, Vernon," Theodore said. "It's just the law. Our law."
"Why I ought to flatten you," Vernon said.
Theodore looked Vernon up and down. "You can certainly try, but I think you'd get winded after the first punch."
"So, what the brings you to my neck of the woods, Petty Luna?" Cassandra said nastily as she looked at Aunt Petunia.
"I didn't want to be here, witch," Aunt Petunia countered with an equal amount of hatred in her voice. "Your daughter just happened to be- "
"Choose your next words carefully, Petunia. Lily's not here to protect you."
Petunia faltered. "We were just leaving."
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Cassandra said.
"We're leaving now," Vernon said. "Come along boy."
Harry hesitated at the demand. He turned to Cassandra and asked, "Do you know my mother?"
"Yes," Cassandra said, turning towards him. Her expression was much softer, much more comforting than the one she had flashed at Aunt Petunia. "I was her cousin, her guide to our world. She was a wonderful woman, taken from us too soon."
Aunt Petunia scoffed at this. "She was a weirdo. A freak."
Cassandra spun around on Aunt Petunia and leveled her wand at her. "Freak? We'll see how much of a freak you are with a third eye in the middle of your forehead!"
"Do you know about the letters?" Harry blurted out, his curiosity overflowing.
"Letters? What letters?"
"The letters," Harry said. "Addressed to me by the room I'm in."
"That sounds like a Hogwarts Letter…" Theodore said, thoughtfully.
"What is Hogwarts?"
"Enough!" Vernon made a start for Harry but paused as Cassandra's wand had turned from Petunia to him.
"You lay one finger on that boy, and I'll blow yours off."
Uncle Vernon retreated, the three Dursleys unable to do anything as they cowered by the door. Uncle Vernon shielding, willingly or otherwise, his wife and his son, from Cassandra's wand. Theodore looked down towards Harry and started, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I presume the letters came about a week or so ago?" Harry nodded. "In that case, you've been accepted."
"He's not going- "
"Quiet you," Theodore snapped at Vernon.
"I've been… what?" Harry said. "How? Why?"
"Because you're a wizard," Theodore explained.
"I'm a what?"
"Wizard," Delianna said. "You can do quirky magic tricks like save your daughter's life after some giant gorilla hits her with its car."
"Why you- "
"He does look rather like a gorilla, doesn't he?" The boy piped up, looking up at Uncle Vernon, who looked as if he was about to explode with rage.
"Children, please," Theodore said, sighing.
"There must be some mistake," Harry said. "I can't be a wizard."
"Ever make something unexplainable happen?" Cassandra asked. "Particularly when you were scared, or angry?"
Harry thought about that for a moment, realization dawning on his face. Cassandra smiled. "I thought as much. Your parents were wonderful wizards themselves," she said. "Not that I expect you to know that, of course." She turned her gaze to Petunia, still talking to Harry. "Is that what you think happened? She died in a car crash? I knew you didn't give a damn when you didn't show up to the funeral, but to not even care enough to know what had happened- "
"I knew she was blown up," Petunia snapped back.
"So, you denied her son the truth," Cassandra retorted, viciously. "Because it was easier?"
"Because I didn't want him to suffer the same fate as his mother," Aunt Petunia shouted. "To become just as weird, just as strange as she was. If she had only been normal, she would still be with us today. Everything I do to this boy is in her name."
"You locked me in a cupboard for months!"
"For your own good," Aunt Petunia snapped back at Harry. "We thought we could drive the magic out of you."
"For my own good?" Harry said, his own anger rising inside of him. "For my own good?!"
"Ungrateful little waste of space," Uncle Vernon sneered, having regained his courage. "I told you we should've been the snot out of him. That would've-"
"That's it!" Cassandra said as she stood up, fetching her wand. "Cru- "
"Expelliarmus," Theodore shouted, his wand pointed directly at Cassandra. Her wand flew out of her hand as Theodore placed himself in between Cassandra and the Dursleys, turning to face Vernon. "It seems like now would be a good time for you to leave."
"We're not leaving without Harry," Petunia said, though she ducked behind Vernon as Theodore fixed her with a look of mild annoyance.
"Harry has the right to know the truth," Theodore replied, evenly. "And if he wishes, he can stay here. We have the resources to properly take care of him and you will still be getting your allowance on Harry's behalf."
Vernon's eyes widened. "You're the one who's been paying that?"
"I have a vested interest in Harry's safety," Theodore said by way of explanation. "Besides, you clearly need it."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that I'm requesting that you leave my property before my lawn escorts you off of it," Theodore said, the edge of a threat in his voice.
"We're leaving," Vernon said quickly, pushing his family out of the door.
"Excellent choice," Theodore called after them. Vernon was just about to leave when the door slammed shut, catching him in the back. Slowly, he turned to face Cassandra, crossing his arms.
"Thanks," Cassandra said, walking to go retrieve her wand.
"We're already going to have to deal with the Ministry," Theodore said simply. "I'd rather keep Azkaban out of the conversation."
"What's Azkaban?" Harry asked.
"Wizarding prison and the worst place to be," Theodore said. "Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions considering… everything that just happened. But, let me go ahead and ask you one first: Are you hungry?" Harry nodded, his stomach growling. "Ok then. Alistar, can you show Harry to the guest bedroom? Delianna, stay there. Cassandra, if you would please let Mrs. Prince know that Delianna is going to be ok."
"Come on," the boy, Alistar, said as he stood up off the couch and gestured for Harry to follow him. Harry did so, his mind already teeming with questions.
"Are you also a wizard?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Alistar said, smiling. "Just like everyone else in my family… well, I think my great uncle Sebastian was a squib. He passed away a couple months ago though."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said.
Alistar shrugged. "My great grandfather always said that death is just the next great adventure," he replied.
Alistar led Harry down the hallway before coming across a room. "Put your hand on the door," Alistar said. Harry placed his hand on the door and watched in stunned silence as it began to glow. His name appeared in glowing red letters as the door opened and revealed a small bedroom.
"That's very cool," Harry said as he stepped into the room, looking around in awe. "This is bigger than my room back at the Dursleys."
"Naturally," Alistar replied. "I can't imagine a cupboard is particularly large."
"They moved me into another bedroom when the letters started to come in," Harry said. "It was where Dudley kept his old broken stuff."
"I see," Alistar said. "I can assure you that everything in here still works flawlessly."
"That's good to know," Harry said as his eyes landed on a small television that had a small gaming console attached to it. He sat down on his bed, then looked at his dresser. A dreadful realization suddenly came over him. "My clothes. They're still in the trunk of the Dursley's car!"
Alistar smiled. "Check the drawers."
Harry, tentatively, got up and walked swiftly over to the dresser. He opened the top layer to find socks and underwear. He opened the next drawer to find plain T-shirts and pulled one out, checking the size of it. It was a medium, his size.
"How did you know?" Harry asked, turning around to Alistar, and holding the blue shirt out for him to see.
"It's why I put your hand on the door," Alistar replied. "When my great grandfather built this house, he had a charm placed on the wardrobes. It will always provide clothes that fit the occupant."
"Useful," Harry said. "Your great grandfather sounds like an accomplished wizard."
"He is," Alistar said, pride welling up in his chest. "He ended Ranrok's rebellion."
"Who?"
"Some goblin who wanted to wage war on wizarding kind," Alistar replied. "Happens every century or two. Well, it used to anyway." He smiled. "Another part of my family's proud legacy: Keeping peace between wizards and goblins."
"I see," Harry said. "So where does my mother fit into all of this?"
Alistar shrugged. "I don't know, Mom doesn't really talk about her family all that much. I understand why now."
"She knew about my scar."
"What scar?" Alistar asked. Harry parted his bangs to show Alistar the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Alistar looked amazed by it. "It's glowing."
"What?"
"That scar," Alistar said as he walked over to Harry, looking at it curiously. "Does it not glow for you?" Harry shook his head. Alistar nodded, then added, "How odd."
"What do you mean?"
"What that means is that there's something about that scar that's ancient," Alistar replied thoughtfully. "My great grandfather, he's passed down a rare gift in the wizarding world: The ability to see traces of ancient magic. I wonder why your scar has that same power."
Harry shrugged. "I guess it wasn't from a car crash then."
Alistar shook his head. "No. Definitely not from a car crash. Dad may have some answers."
"Well, let's go see him then," Harry said.
Theodore was a small spread of sandwiches out on the table. He was helping himself to a sandwich one when he looked up at Harry and Alistar, smiling. "Why don't you take a couple to your sister," Theodore suggested, nodding to a smaller plate.
Alistar nodded and took the plate, leaving Theodore and Harry alone in the kitchen. Harry took a roast beef and cheddar sandwich and chewed on it, savoring the taste. "This is very good, thank you."
"Of course," Theodore said. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. Cassandra is… very passionate."
Harry nodded. "She said that she knew my mother. That she was my mother's cousin."
Theodore nodded. "She was. And she loved her like a sister," he said.
"Why did I end up with the Dursleys then?" Harry asked.
Theodore looked thoughtful, then sighed. "What I'm about to tell you is not the full story," he said. "There are pieces that I don't fully understand. Believe me when I say that if I could tell you everything, I would. In a heartbeat. You deserve to know the truth."
Theodore leaned back in his seat. "Ten years ago, Lord Voldemort came to your house."
"Who?"
"A very bad, very evil man," Theodore replied. "Are you familiar with Adolf Hitler by any chance?"
"He was the leader of Germany in World War 2," Harry answered dutifully.
"Imagine Adolf Hitler, but magical and you've got a fairly good description of this lunatic," Theodore replied. "Anyway, he came to your house to kill your parents. I was warned about the attack. Your father went down fighting with his fists and your mother…" Theodore sighed, as if the memory physically hurt him. "Your mother died protecting you. Voldemort and I dueled after that. I'm not sure what happened next, but there was an explosion and when I came too, Voldemort was gone."
"He died?" Harry asked.
Theodore shook his head. "Most people think he did," Theodore replied. "I don't. I think he's out there somewhere, waiting for his opportunity to strike. But at the time, I wasn't worried about it because I had something more important to deal with: You."
"Me?"
"Your parents were dead," Theodore explained. "And your godfather was…"
"Yes?"
"It's best you don't know," Theodore said, continuing before Harry had a chance to press the issue. "He was indisposed which left two options: Our family and the Dursleys for who was going to take care of you."
"Why didn't you?" Harry asked.
"We wanted to," Theodore said. "Believe me. We did. But a week after I fought Voldemort, his followers attacked us." Theodore looked sorrowful as he finished the line of thought. "I believed you would be safer with your aunt and uncle. Voldemort's followers were looking for me, not you. So naturally, if I left you with a pair of muggles, some part of Lily would survive on."
"You knew my mother?"
"Of course I did," Theodore said. "I loved her like she was my own sister. If my legacy had to end, I didn't want hers to as well, so I sent you to live with your aunt and uncle. I had a part of my fortune diverted solely for you and until today, I believed that was enough." Theodore then met Harry's eyes and added, "I'm sorry. I thought it'd be better for you. I was wrong."
Harry took a minute to consider how to reply. "You did what you thought was best, which is more than what the Dursleys would've done in the same position."
That brought a smile to Theodore's face. "Thank you, Harry."
A sudden tapping on the window brought an end to their conversation. Harry looked over to see a large, brown barn owl standing on the windowsill. With a wave of his wand, Theodore opened the window, letting the owl fly into the room. It dropped something directly into Harry's lap, his eyes widening in surprise.
It was the letter. The same letter that had driven the Dursleys out of their home and onto the road.
Mr. H. Potter
Guest Bedroom, Morningstar Manor
Ottery-St. Catchpole
"I think it's about time you opened that too," Theodore said, a smile coming across his face. "You deserve nothing short of the truth."