Jennifer Potter and the marauders (book 5) 19 Years Later

Family Fears

**trigger warning. The second half of this chapter touches on the subject of child abuse (beatings). If you don't wish to read this part, don't continue reading after the asterisks.**

Jenny spent all night staring at the Mirror of Erised, watching James, Sirius and Remus smiling back at her.
She'd sent Charlie a Patronus message, letting him know that she was spending the night at Hogwarts. Jenny didn't want to be parted from the mirror, as she knew this was her only chance to use it.
Because of this Jenny didn't sleep, instead she just spent the night staring at her brothers faces.
When morning came, Jenny knew that she had to leave the mirror behind, and move on.
After getting changed Jenny headed down to breakfast to eat with the rest of the staff, which wasn't something she often did, as normally she ate at her house in Hogsmeade.

"You don't look like you slept at all last night" admitted Minerva cooly, when Jenny sat down beside her.
"Don't worry about me, I'm good at running on very little sleep. I'm not going to return to the mirror, so you can remove it when its convinient for you. And I promise that I will get a goodnights sleep tonight" replied Jenny.
"I still wish that you'd gotten some sleep last night. But I'm glad that you're not still sitting in front of the mirror now"
"I have more self control then you thought"
"It would appear so".
Jenny began to tuck into the food at the table, sending thoughts of the mirror to the back of her mind.
Instead she turned her attention to the two things that had bothered her the day before; James and Charity's Boggarts.

"What do you know of Charity Hartlock?" Jenny asked Minerva.
"Not much. Her parents died of dragon pox when she was a few years old, and she has lived with her aunt ever since" replied the Head.
"Oh, I didn't know they died of dragon pox" said Jenny quietly, thinking of her own parents who had suffered the same fate.
"Yes. It was a long time ago though, and I don't think their daughter has many memories of either of them"
"That's a shame. What do you know of her aunt?"
"I've never met her, but from what I do know, she is a very old fashioned and strict witch. Why?"
"No reason. I just wanted to know a bit about the girl, she is in my house afterall, and good friends with Dominique".

Jenny took her eyes away from where Charity was sitting at the Gryffindor table, and looked at where James was entertaining his large group of friends instead.
After deciding that she had enough time to talk to him, Jenny downed the last of her orange juice, before getting up and heading towards James.
When she got closer to him he grinned cheekily at her, which was his way of saying hello.
Jenny nodded her head to the side, indicating that she wanted to talk to him alone, and luckily he got the message, following her out of the hall and towards an empty classroom.
"Have I done something wrong?" Sighed James once they were alone.
"No, not this time" answered Jenny.

"Is is dad, has he sent you to talk to me?" Questioned James.
"No, I'm here of my own accord" reassured Jenny.
"Then what was so urgent that you needed to talk to me this morning?" James quizzed.
"It was about your Boggart yesterday. I wanted to know why your greatest fear was that snake"
"Giant snakes are scary, there's nothing strange about that? Now that I've answered your question, can I go?"
"No. I know you James. And I know that the famous James Potter wouldn't be scared of something as simple as a snake. Especially when his dad is a Parselmouth".

"Did you go around asking everyone else in my class why they fear certain things?" Questioned James, even though he knew the answer was no.
"No, but you're my family, so I want to watch out for you" reminded Jenny.
"Dominique is your family too, but I bet you didn't ask her about her Boggart"
"Her's turned into a Werewolf, and since I was there the day her dad was attacked by one, and disfigured him for life, I can understand why she would be afraid of them. But we aren't here to talk about her or Werewolves. I want to know why you are so scared of snakes"
"Look, snakes are scary, can we just leave it at that?"
"No, and we're not leaving here until I have a truthful answer from you. Because that Boggart was more than just a snake, it was a Basilisk".

"O.K fine. My mum and dad both nearly died in the Chamber of Secrets because of a giant snake. The snake is also the symbol of Slytherin and dark wizards and Voldemort. That's why I'm scared of them" revealed James.
"Wait, your parents tell you stories about all the times that they nearly died in Hogwarts?" Questioned Jenny.
"No, but they talk about it regularly between themselves, and I'm good at listening when they don't know that I'm there"
"James, you shouldn't eavesdrop on adults conversations, it's bad manners and a breach of their privacy".
James shrugged, "So? I do it all the time. But when I heard them talking about the Chamber, and the Basilisk, I looked them both up. And let's just say that I didn't like what I found".
"Well the monster that lived in the Chamber of Secrets is dead. So you don't have to worry about it coming to get you" reassured Jenny.
"I know that one is dead, but that doesn't stop the creatures from being scary. My fears are even worse now that I've actually seen one in real life"
"That was only a Boggart, it wasn't real"
"Great, that makes me feel loads better, knowing that the real one is even worse".

"Sorry... But you shouldn't fear snakes because of their association with Slytherin. It's not their fault they got attached to dark wizards. The creatures themselves aren't evil" reminded Jenny.
"Basilisks are though, because they get made by dark wizards. No good person would create one" replied James.
"That's true. But the chances of you seeing one, are zero, since there aren't any alive right now"
"Look, I can't help what scares me, so stop trying to make me feel better about snakes, because it's not going to work"
"Alright, I'll stop, and I'll let you get back to your breakfast"
"Thank you"
"If you see Dominique on your way, can you tell her that I want to speak to her"
"Sure".

****

Luckily Dominique was at the Gryffindor table having her breakfast, so James was able to pass on Jenny's message, and she joined her in the empty classroom.
"James said you wanted to talk to me" said Dominique as she entered the room.
"Yes, although it's not actually you I wanted to talk about, it's your friend Charity" revealed Jenny.
"Oh"
"You two are close aren't you?"
"Yeah, she's one of my best friends. Why do you want to know?"
"Do you know who her Boggart turned into yesterday?"
"It turned into her aunt"
"You've met her?"
"No, but I could tell by the look on her face who the Boggart had turned into".

"I wanted to ask you if you knew why the Boggart transformed into Charity's aunt. Do you know why the woman frightens her so much?" Asked Jenny.
Dominique bit her lip awkwardly, "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else".
"I cannot make that promise Domi. If Charity is in trouble then I will have to tell someone" admitted Jenny.
"She's not" Dominique said quickly.
"Then what is going on with her and her aunt"
"Her aunt is very strict O.K. She has all these stupid rules and high expectations. And when Charity can't meet those standards, her aunt will hurt her"
"Her aunt beats her?"
"Not like really badly. Just enough to make Charity behave super well and do everything she can to avoid getting hurt again".

Jenny thought back to Sirius's insane mother Walburga, who used to beat him. She'd seen the scars on his body, and she wondered if sweet innocent Charity had similar scars on her own body.
"Thank you for telling me" Jenny said quietly.
"You're not going to tell anyone are you? Charity would feel so betrayed if she knew I'd told you" admitted Dominique.
"How bad do you think the beatings are? Have you seen the scars? Do you think Charity is in danger?"
"No. Her aunt has always treated her like this, and Charity is still here in one piece. She just has small bruises and cuts on her back and arms when she returns back here after the holidays, that's all".

"I will talk to her, and see if she will allow me to inspect these scars myself. I am her head of house, and it is my job to watch out for her well-being" insisted Jenny.
"Please don't tell her that I'm the one who told you" begged Dominique.
"Don't worry, I won't bring up your name, I will say that I learned this information myself. Now you'd better run along, the bell will ring any second, and we both have classes that we need to be in"
"O.K... Will you be able to help her?"
"I will certainly try my best".
Dominique nodded her head before exiting the room, leaving Jenny alone with her thoughts.