Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (I wish I did) the only thing in this fic that I own is Holly and nothing else.

Chapter 3 The Brother,

Holly did not waste time. After Snape left she immediately dived into researching the various magical subjects she would be learning at Hogwarts. Her books only lasted her a week before she finished them all. She was intrigued by transfiguration and charms; but she needed more books. So she didn't hesitate to summon the night bus the next day and head into the alley for her second time.

Without Snape hovering over her shoulder Holly would be able to take her time to look around and investigate the magical world for herself. She immediately went to Flourish and Blotts and bought books on: transfiguration, charms, wizarding law, the trace, hogwarts a history, several spell books,a beginner's guide to protective wards, a book on beginners guide to creating spells and after coming across it the bought a book called the history of the Potters.

And just as she was about to leave she spotted a book in the shop window. When she got a closer look it was an enchanted grimoire. The book didn't have any information in it only contained blank pages and as she asked a shop attendant about the book they grinned and explained that it was enchanted to copy information from other books.

If a book was placed on one of its pages and tapped with a wand, the book would absorb the book and store its information. And to make the information appear in the books pages all she would need to do was tap it with her wand while thinking about the information she wanted.

It didn't have a limit on the amount of information it could store and although it could not be shrunk with magic it beat lugging several books in your school bag and it made revision easier. Holly looked at the price tag of two hundred galleons and grimaced she would buy it as it would be useful for her time in Hogwarts and even afterwards.

She had the foresight to bring her trunk to the alley, it was easy to carry around as one of its enchantments allowed her to shrink it down with a tap of her wand. So after she placed all her food within she turned her attention to the rest of the alley. She did eye the broom shop but eventually turned her attention to the rest of the alley after seeing that Hogwarts first years were banned from using them.

She found a shop that sold wand holsters and she could only see the benefits of buying one. She ended up settling for one made of dragonhide with an enchantment to automatically bring her want back to it when she let it go or put it away.

And her last stop was at Gringotts, the goblin bank. Her last trip there was far too brief for her liking and she was determined to familiarise herself on how the bank operated. Judging by how they proved identities there were probably some big differences from their non magical counterparts.

She entered the bank and immediately got in line to speak with a goblin teller and waited. It was as she was waiting that she noticed a man who absolutely dwarfed everyone around him enter the bank along with a boy that she guessed was around her age. As the bank was not very busy she heard their conversation easily as they stood in line behind her.

"Hagrid? What exactly are these things?" the giant of a man looked down at the scrawny boy, "There goblins Harry. Clever as the come goblins, but not the most friendly of beasts. Best stay close.'' The name Harry immediately jumped out at her but she pushed that though aside, there were probably a lot of children her age called Harry, even if they were new to the magical world like he would be.

It was finally her turn to speak to the goblin teller and as they looked down at her Holly spoke up, "I came here last week with a Hogwarts Professor to purchase my school supplies, . But I found out that my parents left me a trust vault. I was raised in the non magical world so I am unsure how exactly Gringotts functions, so I was wondering if there was anyone I could speak to about my account?"

The goblin eyed her for a moment before he asked, "And what is your name?" "It's Holly Potter sir." immediately after she said her name she heard a gasp from behind and when she turned she saw the giant man and the boy gaping at her in shock.

X

Harry Potter was having a wild day. Once he haf finally managed to read his Hogwarts letter after his Uncle had dragged him all over the country trying to prevent him from doing so. The giant man named Hagrid delivered it in person along with shocking news, not only was he a wizard who was famous in the magical world he also had a twin sister named Holly.

The concept of a family didn't mean much when one was raised with the Dursleys, but hearing he had a sister who lived in an orphanage made him curious. He desperately wanted to visit her and see what she was like. But Haggrid reassured him that he would meet her at Hogwarts.

But as he stared at the red haired girl before him who had just said that she was Holly Potter his sister, he couldn't help but look for similarities, but only found that they had the same green eyes.

Harry's mouth decided to move before his brain and the first words he said to his twin sister was, "You've got red hair." His twin cocked her head in confusion before speaking up, "I do. And who might you be?"

Harry's face flushed red as he struggled to make a response, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, but luckily for him Hagrid finally spoke up, "Merlin's beard! Holly ya look just like ye Mum, why i'm surprised I didn't recognize ya. I was just taking your brother to the bank to get his Hogwarts supplies."

Holly's eyes widened in shock but before she could say anything their conversation was interrupted by the goblin teller clearing his throat, Hagrid looked between Holly and annoyed goblin "Oh don't worry about us, finish your business and we'll meet you outside the bank." Holly stared at her apparent twin for a moment longer taking in every detail before she slowly turned back to the goblin.

Holly was taken to what had to be the most fancy room she had ever been in. She was told her account manager would arrive shortly and not even a minute later a goblin entered the room and took a seat behind the desk, "Good afternoon Miss Potter. My name is Nagnok and I am the manager of the Black family vaults."

Holly blinked and voiced her confusion, "Black family sir?" "Indeed Miss Potter it would seem that your godfather Sirius Black named you the heir to his family a year before being imprisoned." It seemed that Holly was the universe's punching bag, as this was the third bombshell she had received in the last fifteen minutes. Not only had she met her brother for the first time, she had a godfather who made her the heir to his family and now she was hearing that he was in prison.

Holly blinked in disbelief, "I have access to the Black vaults? How would I go about accessing them?" Nagnok cleared his throat "Well Miss Potter, to claim the vaults you must first do a blood test to confirm your identity."

Holly hesitantly took the dagger that was provided and as per the instructions given by Nagnok made a shallow cut in her hand and let the blood drip onto a piece of parchment, after a moment the blood formed into words.

Name: Holly Lily Potter Black.

Parents: James Potter and Lily Potter, Sirius Black (blood adopted).

Blood Status: Half Blood.

Magical Guardian: Albus Dumbledore.

Magical Core: blocked 50% by James Potter.

Family Magics: Parseltongue.

Holly blinked, Blood adopted?" Nagnok nodded, " When you were born your parents made Sirius Black your godfather, who then blood adopted you and your brother." he explained before crossing his arms, "Miss Potter we do have the power to unblock your magic for the reasonable price of twenty galleons.

Holly nodded her head before frowning, "Why did I have the magical block in the first place?" The goblin frowned at her, "They are common to put on magical babies when they are young to reduce the risk of harm from accidental magic. Though it should have been removed years ago. But due to living in the muggle world no one was able to do so. Though your magical guardian should have done so."

Holly nodded in acknowledgement before frowning, she had seen the name Albus Dumbledore on her Hogwarts letter. But why would he be her magical guardian? When she asked the goblin he shrugged saying that Gringotts didn't interfere with the ministry of magic and it was probably them who made Dumbledore her magical guardian

Holly then walked through the halls of the goblin bank with Nagnok. After a few minutes of walking she was led into a room, with a circle with intricately carved runes in the middle. She was instructed to lay down on an altar for the ritual to begin.

She watched as a group of goblins entered the room and stood at the edge of the ritual circle, before they began chanting. As soon as they did Holly felt something, it was an odd feeling, it felt like she was underwater. The chanting became muffled and the feeling faded, only to be replaced by another; it felt like the time she bought her wand from Ollivander, warm and safe and like nothing could stop her.

That feeling soon faded as well as the chanting, and the group of goblins left and Nagnok approached her as she sat up from the altar. "How are you feeling heiress Black?" Holly looked up at him and grinned. "I feel great, it's like I can finally breathe after a lifetime of holding my breath."

Nagnok nodded his head, "Indeed? It's a common reaction to the ritual. If you would follow me back to my office we can review the statement for the Black vaults." Holly gave no objections as they made their way back to Nagnok's office. They sat back down at his desk and Holly was handed the statement for the black vaults. It turned out that the Blacks had two main vaults, one to store their money and the other was to store magical artefacts and books.

Satisfied with the state of the vaults Holly and Nagnok explain how Gringotts operated and the difference between their non magical counterparts.

Once he was done Holly bid Nagnok a good day and concluded her business within Gringotts. Making her way straight back to the entrance to speak with Harry and Hagrid

X

It ended up being Holly who was waiting for Hagrid and Harry. She replayed their first conversation over and over as she waited. Harry hadn't said much, only voicing his surprise at her hair colour. He thought about what he was wearing and frowned, all his clothes were practically hanging off of him and were obviously too big, his glasses were held together by tape and the most telling thing was his height.

Holly was not very tall for her age due to being constantly starved by Miss Evelin. And Harry was around the same height as her. The envy of Harry living with family was now a dull presence in the back of her head replaced with suspicion and concern. She would watch Harry's behaviour as they bought his school supplies. She was good at recognising the behaviour of abused children, as she was constantly surrounded by them at the orphanage and like it or not she was one of them.

She was snapped out of her dark thoughts by the arrival of Hagrid and Harry. Hagrid gave her a warm smile as soon as he saw her while Harry nervously glanced at her from behind Hagrid's leg.

"Thanks for waitin for us Holly. Harry was just taking some money out to do his Hogwarts shopping." Holly rubbed at her scar that was still concealed by her hair as she replied, "It was no problem Sir I was visiting the bank to see if it had any difference from a muggle one." Hagrid let out a loud belly laugh, "No need for that sir nonsense. Just call me Hagrid." Holly let a small smile grow across her face as Hagrid began leading them through the alley.

X

Harry was nervous. No, not just nervous, he was terrified. He had no idea on how to start a conversation with Holly and from the looks she kept giving him he couldn't help but feel self conscious. He was terrified of saying something wrong and pushing her away.

As they left the apothecary Harry mustered up all his courage and spoke up, "So… Holly, Hagrid told me that you were raised in an orphanage. What was it like there?"

He winced as he saw her shoulders tense and her face which had a small smile on it from a joke Hagrid made go blank, "It's fine I guess the Matron isn't the nicest person." The pair then fell into an awkward silence though Hagrid was completely oblivious to the tension.

X

They visited all the shops Professor Snape had taken her to in her first trip through the alley with them stopping every now and then when Holly saw an interesting shop. The awkward silence between Harry and Holly persisted for a while but eventually Harry was the one to break it, "I still need… a wand."

"A wand? You want Ollivanders. There ain't no place better. Why don't you run along there and wait until I have one more thing to do."

Holly immediately peaked up at the mention of Ollivanders. She felt the comforting weight of her wand strapped in her wand holster, "I'll come too Harry I already bought my wand. I wonder what one you will get."

The duo made their way into the shop with the bell ringing as the door opened announcing their presence. Holly looked around at the shop, it was as dusty as the day she entered it and she had to wonder if Ollivander made it dusty on purpose, there were many ways to clean rooms with magic, she had even read about one in one of her spell books for beginners.

Harry set aside his purchases on a shelf by the door and took a look around in confusion probably wondering where Ollivander was, "Hello?" carry called out into the empty store as she slowly approached the desk before calling in a louder voice "Hello?" Just then Ollivander appeared riding a ladder that helped him get to the higher shelves, but Holly didn't know why he didn't summon them down with magic.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you, Mr Potter. The old man immediately went searching through the shelves. After a moment he plucked a box off the shelf and handed it to Harry who looked at him blankly, "Well give it a wave." Harry blinked at the man before giving the wand a wave. Immediately draws flung out of their spots in the cabinets and paper went spilling out of them causing a lot of paper to scatter onto the floor.

Harry placed the wand gently on the desk as if scared it would go off again, "Apparently not." It wasn't long before Ollivander handed him another wand which resulted in a vase shattering spilling its contents all over the floor. Harry jumped back in fright and Ollivander swiftly took the wand from Harry's hand, " No, no, definitely not. No matter…"

Ollivander then disappeared into one of the several rows of wands before slowly picking a box up and muttering something under his breath. Before returning to the front of the shop and almost reverently handed Harry the wand.

Holly immediately noticed something was different about this wand; a gentle wind picked up around the shop that ruffled Harry's messy hair. The awed look on his face told Holly everything she needed to know Harry had found his wand. And it seemed that Ollivander agreed as he spoke up, "Curious… Very curious."

Harry looked up at him with a puzzled gaze, "Sorry, but what's curious?"

The old wizard looked down at Harry with an odd look in his eye that Holly couldn't quite place, "I remember every wand I've ever sold Mr Potter. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather. Just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar.

Holly knew what Ollivander was talking about Snape had told her about that night when their parents were murdered and Harry defeated Voldemort with only a scar to show for it, "And who owned that wand?" Harry asked.

Ollivander leaned down to speak but was cut off by Holly, "They call him Lord Voldermort." Ollivander flinched at the name, "Or nowadays he who must not be named." the old man looked at Holly as if he had forgotten that she was there.

"Ah yes that's right Miss Potter. And how is your wand treating you?" Holly smiled up at the aged man who seemed to be eyeing her curiously.

She flicked her wrist and her wand slipped out of its holster and fell into her hand. She immediately felt the comforting warmth that came whenever she held it. She allowed Ollivander to give it a quick look over as she spoke, "I haven't used it much, but I've been able to cast some of the spells I've read about easily."

Ollivander nodded his head in understanding, "Yes, wands made of pine tend to be matched with people who use magic creatively and they tend to adapt quickly to new types of magic. It's a perfect wand for those who want to explore the mysteries of magic." Holly agreed with every word the man said. She was discovering that she loved learning about magic and she would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in creating spells.

She took her wand back from Ollivander, who had an approving look in his eyes, "I see that you are keeping your wand clean miss Potter. Would you like to purchase a wand maintenance kit?" Holly looked up at the man and after a moment of thought responded.

"Yes sir I believe I would."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Hagrid who had a massive grin on his face while he held up an owl in a cage.

X

The trio ate lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry bombarded Holly and Hagrid with questions about Voldemort. But Holly only knew the basics and Hagrid seemed to be struggling to answer his questions. To Harry's annoyance.

Eventually Hagrid changed the subject, "Enough about that you know who nonsense." He turned to Holly, "Holly what house do ye think ye will be in at Hogwarts?"

Holly frowned in confusion , "House?"

Hagrid blinked before his eyes widened in realisation and he let out a belly laugh, "Well there are four houses in Hogwarts. There's: Gryfindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. They all have their differences. Gryffindor are for the brave, Slytherin the ambitious, and an intense rivalry with Gryfindor, Ravenclaw for valuing knowledge above anything, and Hufflepuff are loyal hard workers."

Holly closed her eyes in thought considering all the houses after a while of thinking she looked up at Hagrid, "I can say I'm probably going to be in Ravenclaw. I value knowledge and I want to learn how to create new magic and spells."

Hagrid nodded his head, "Ah yes I can see ya doin well in Ravenclaw." He turned to Harry, "What ta bout ya Harry what house do you think ye will be in?" Harry looked unsure as he answered Hagrid's question.

"I… uhh, I think I'm not sure what house I'll be in." Hagrid looked down at Harry with a warm smile on his face.

"Well ya parents were Gryfindors they were as brave as they come. But I think ya will do good in any of the houses." Harry smiled up at Hagrid and Holly noticed how comfortable Harry had become with Hagrid. From what she knew Harry had met Hagrid only half a day ago. But Harry seemed to have become good friends within hours. It was odd, Holly couldn't quite get how Harry could be so open with someone he had only met that day. It fit with the hunch she was forming about Harry's home life.

Holly shook her head and looked back at her food. She had seven years at Hogwarts to get to know Harry, she shouldn't make any conclusions about his home life after only knowing him for a few hours. She would just have to wait and see.

Xxx

End of chapter 3.