The Black Heiress- Year 2

Chapter 1

The first year at Hogwarts was eventful and rather enjoyable but most students were glad it was over as they headed homes for the holidays.

Rhea was having a good summer break so far. After visiting her grandparents and finishing her homework, her parents took her and her brother on a trip to Switzerland for two weeks. She wrote to all her friends regularly. Hermione was off to summer school to catch up with her muggle studies. Neville was spending most of his time at his family estate that had vast greenhouses he loved dearly, but Harry hadn't written to any of them yet. She wrote him weekly but there were no replies.

One month before school started, they came back home from their overseas trip. Her parents were going to someone's home for dinner and discuss business one night. Andrew was gone to participate in a national Olympiad with his teachers, leaving her the only free one at home. She begged her mother for a long time before they agreed to take her along.

At six in the evening, the three of them drove over to Privet drive. The address seemed familiar to Rhea. She followed her parents to the house and was shocked when she saw Harry's uncle at the door.

By the time she got over her astonishment, the adults were already talking business. She looked up at her mother, who gave her a look telling her to keep quiet. Rhea looked around curiously, trying to find Harry. The only child in the room was a big fat boy called Dudley, whose eyes were fixed on the snacks at the table.

She tried to find some traces but there were no signs of Harry living in here; no photographs had him in them and nothing that seemed like his was laying around the room. The dinner was utterly boring. When she heard a sound from upstairs, she was hopeful, but Mr. Vernon dismissed it as a stray cat and went to deal with it.

When she finally saw Harry, he was covered from head to toe in Pudding. Rhea couldn't help but smile at his shocked expression when he saw her. Before anyone could stop her, she ran and threw her arms around him.

"Harry! Why didn't you write back?"

Harry tried to pull back but she was relentless, not caring if her white skirt was now dirty as well. She pointedly ignored Harry's Uncle Vernon's screeching from the living room. When the two children looked back, her dad was still sitting on the sofa saying something calmly and Mr. Vernon quieted down, going to sit back at the sofa with a nervous smile.

"How have you been? Why didn't you write back? Did you finish your homework? Wha-"

Before Rhea could lose track of her own questions, Harry pulled her upstairs by the arm.

"I didn't get any letters as some house elf Dobby stopped them all. just got them back today and Hedwig has been locked up by Uncle Vernon."

He tried helping her wash off the sticky pudding from her dress, but they only made a bigger mess of it. In retrospect, using running water to wipe it wasn't the best decision. They stood in front of a hand basin with a running tap as Harry recounted all the warnings Dobby had given him, getting messier with every minute.

"Umm, that looks... not good. Why don't you give me some clothes to change into?" Rhea asked when she saw how her white dress was now pink and blue and wet. So many layers only weighed her down when they were soaked in water.

"Umm..." Harry was a little embarrassed but still led her to his bedroom. Opening the pitifully small closet, he pulled out a pair of pants and his nicest t-shirt for her. Taking the clothes, Rhea went to the bathroom again, while he changed his own clothes in the small bedroom as well. They were almost the same size in clothes.

After changing, Rhea sat on the chair, teasing Hedwig while he riffled through his pile of unread letters. There was a knock at the door. A sour-face Vernon Dursley opened the door without waiting for a response and glared at Harry.

"Pack your things boy. You're leaving."

Rhea smiled, knowing her father must have dealt with the foul relatives of Harry. She helped Harry gather his few belongings and followed him around as he retrieved his school trunk, wand and broomstick from a locked cupboard under the stairs. Her parents continued talking to the Dursleys while the two finished up and walked out of the house.