The Girl Who Was Forgotten

Chapter 1.

Chapter 1.

Magnolia Potter woke up to her Aunt's shrill voice and her knuckles rapping on the door to the cupboard under the stairs that was used for her and her brother's bedroom. Her brother, Harry, stirred awake beside her before looking over to her and rolling his eyes. They both knew what today was. They both knew and both dreaded this day every year. Today was their cousin's birthday, which meant that they would be sent to Mrs Figg's house for the day whilst the Dursley's went for a fun day out.

Not spending the day with the Dursley's wasn't the bad bit. The bad bit was spending the day with crazy old Mrs Figg. Magnolia didn't mind too much, she liked cats, but Mrs Figg's house smelt and she spent the entire time making the twins look through the same photos of all her cats that she always did. Magnolia ducked out of the cupboard and walked into the kitchen after Harry.

"Get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon." Aunt Petunia ordered, "And try not to let her burn anything again."

Magnolia rolled her eyes; she'd only burnt breakfast once and she'd never been allowed to forget it. Luckily, Harry usually took over the cooking whilst Magnolia cleaned up around him. She'd learnt very early on that the Dursley's did not abide by a messy house. The Dursley's didn't abide by a messy anything really, that was why Magnolia's long, curly red hair was always pulled back into a plait. Unfortunately, her brother was not as lucky, and his messy hair had been subject to their Aunt's horrendous cutting on many occasions.

Whilst Harry was flipping the bacon, their Uncle Vernon walked in, casting a disapproving glare towards the twins as usual and waited for his son to appear. It wasn't long before Magnolia heard the thuds coming down the stairs that signalled her cousins arrival. Dudley's large body walked through the door into the kitchen, his small eyes looking around for the giant pile of presents that were waiting for him.

"Thirty-six."

Dudley whined as Harry dished up the bacon and eggs and Magnolia served the Dursley's. Her and Harry hadn't received thirty-six presents between them through their entire lives, but Dudley was whining until his mother gave in and promised to buy him two more presents at the zoo later that day.

Magnolia was in the middle of washing up when Aunt Petunia left the room to answer the phone and came back in looking like her day had been ruined.

"Bad news, Vernon. Mrs Figg has broken her leg. She can't take them."

The twins paused and shared a glance as the listened to their Aunt and Uncle's back and forth trying to work out where they would be put for the day. Magnolia hoped they'd be allowed to stay at the house. She could sit outside and enjoy the sun on her aunt's comfortable sun bed and maybe even read one of her aunts' magazines.

Half an hour later, Magnolia and Harry were stood outside Number 4 watching Aunt Petunia, Dudley and his friend climb into Uncle Vernon's car. Magnolia wasn't entirely sure how they had gotten here. They'd never been allowed to go on an outing with the Dursley's before. Neither of them had ever set foot in a zoo, and here they were getting ready for their first trip.

"Now you two, I don't want any funny business today, do you hear me?"

Magnolia nodded at her Uncle; she knew better then to say anything. Her Uncle Vernon often picked up on the tones in her voice and always found a way to punish her for them. She couldn't help it; she was naturally sarcastic and could never hide her feelings in her voice. She often wondered if it was a trait she had inherited from her parents.

The twins couldn't explain why the strange things that often happened around them happened, and no matter how many times they tried to explain their innocence to their aunt and uncle they were never believed. Magnolia didn't want things to happen out of her control, and although they often did, she tried to rationalise them away.