Chapter Text
Heather's fifteenth birthday:
Heather walked confidently through the polished oak doors. Sitting at the desk was Griphook, whom she had appointed the Potter accounts manager three years ago.
"Greetings Heiress Potter. Right on time," the goblin said tersely.
"Hello Griphook. Has everything been prepared?"
"Indeed." He handed her a sheath of documents. "Only the authentication is needed now. Your appointment with Ragnok is in ten minutes."
"Fantastic!" she said in satisfaction. "Everything seems to be in order. It looks lovely; exactly how I envisioned it."
"Gringotts always provides top-notch service," Griphook grunted, seemingly offended by the implied slight.
She nodded amicably. Working with him through the years had taught her how to deal with these irritable creatures.
"Come, Ragnok awaits."
Heather followed her guide into another office. The Chieftain's room was much larger and more opulent than his subordinate's, showing proof of his superior financial acumen and battle prowess.
"Heiress Potter," the menacing goblin growled. "Your final testing begins when you step into this room," he said, pointing to an adjoining chamber.
Assuredly, Heather stepped right in.
...
Panting tiredly, she nonetheless gave a victorious grin.
"Congratulations, Heiress Potter. You need only sign here to make the final changes." A scroll was presented to her and she read through it carefully. Approving it, she signed with a flourish.
"Let it be known that from henceforth, Heather Lyra Potter has taken the mantle of Lady Potter." The goblins in attendance made fearsome battle cries in accordance with tradition to show their support of the ruling.
"As of now, Lady Potter is legally emancipated. We at Gringotts formally welcome her again as a mature client."
Heather bowed respectfully at the members of the warrior race. Her plans had finally come to fruition - and without tipping anyone off, too. She couldn't wait to show Rian the house.
~~~
Present time:
"You're an adult now?" Hadrian asked, shocked.
"The term is legally emancipated. I technically have all the rights of a mature witch. Except the use of my wand. The Ministry made specific stipulations for that."
"And so you're my official guardian?" he questioned excitedly.
"Yup, and as your new guardian, I got us a house to live in," she said, waving her arms around the room.
At the reminder, her brother looked around their new residence. He ran to the windows and pressed his face against the glass. "Where are we?" he repeated.
"Hmm...in the forests near a town called Ottery St Catchpole."
He murmured the name again. "You mean...?"
"Uh huh. Walking distance from the Burrow!"
Hadrian jumped for joy and tackled her into a hug. They crashed backwards into the settee behind them, laughing. "We really live here now? No more Privet Drive?"
"No more Privet Drive. No more hiding. Most importantly, no more Dursleys," Heather said firmly.
Whooping for joy, he leapt to his feet. "Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna explore our new home!"
'Our home.' Yeah, she could get used to that.
~~~
It was a cosy little place. It didn't span a lot of the grounds. Heather had ordered it made according to Hadrian's specifications. Tall, he'd wanted, so it was built upwards instead of outwards.
The first floor had the kitchen, a dining room and the sitting room. Though she'd added a dining room, they would probably eat at the island in the kitchen most of the time.
The second floor held their bedrooms with en-suites and a study-cum-library. She had been hesitant to give them their own bedrooms, but she knew Hadrian wouldn't be comfortable sleeping together forever. The library was one of the biggest rooms in the house. She had foreseen that they would need all the space.
The third floor was actually a roomy attic with a loft and balcony that she'd left empty for Rian to decorate. She would let him have free reign of this space since he liked being high up. He'd been ecstatic about living in Gryffindor Tower. That was also why he enjoyed flying so much.
There was also a basement floor which she'd converted into a potions lab. It didn't have much yet since she was still restricted to basic ingredients. When she got her OWL next year, the lab would be much better stocked.
Outside the house was a decent-sized yard where Heather planned to plant an herb garden. Maybe some lilies as well. The forest surrounding them was rather dense. When she'd said 'walking distance from the Burrow', it was strictly in terms of distance. It wasn't safe enough for them to traverse through the forest. The goblins had really taken her seriously when she'd said somewhere difficult to get to. Only she and her brother were keyed into the wards here. Other people could only enter if they had express permission to, and only for that one time.
~~~
"Magnificent Hadrian Potter and Splendid Heather Potter, dinner is being served!"
Hadrian jerked in surprise at the sudden arrival of a familiar house elf. "Dobby!"
"Yes, Master Hadrian. Dobby is Potter elf now!"
Her brother turned to her in question. Heather nodded her head wearily. "He was very insistent. Somehow, Dobby knew that I'd bought a house for us. That was why he said that he wanted to serve us."
"Elfs know these things, Mistress Heather. Dinner awaits. You two need fattening!" he said disapprovingly.
"At least you got him to call us by our first names. Sort of," Rian muttered.
~~~
"Oh my!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "This is lovely!"
"Yeah, wicked!"
"Awesome place!"
"Brill'!"
The Weasleys made various sounds of approval and amazement when they stepped through the floo.
"How did you manage all this, Heather? You're not seventeen yet," Mr Weasley said.
Hadrian launched into an eager explanation of the process that had Heather rolling her eyes.
"Don't listen to him; he's exaggerating. What's important is that I'm considered of age now."
"Still, this is impressive," the man praised. "It must have been horribly tedious to jump through the Ministry's hoops." He would know, of course, working for the Ministry as he was.
"Actually, the goblins handled almost everything," she admitted.
"Who cares who-" George cut in,
"-did what? You're free!" Fred said.
"You sly snake, you!" they crowed.
"Well, it's wonderful that you won't have to return to those horrid people," Mrs Weasley said. "You really should have said something though," she berated mildly, "I was really worried to send you two off, you know! If it wasn't for Albus' insistence, you two would be staying with us!"
Heather ducked her head in embarrassment. "Sorry Mrs Weasley. I wanted it to be a surprise."
The older witch tutted. "What's done is done. Now, where's your kitchen?"
"Oh, you don't have to do anything, Mrs Weasley. You're our guests!"
"Nonsense! While I'm at it, I'd better check to see if it's stocked well. You two are much too thin as it is!"
Both siblings protested. Why did everyone keep saying that?
~~~
It was with mild reluctance that Heather and Hadrian left for Hogwarts that September. Even Anguis and Hedwig felt hesitant to leave. While the Burrow had come to be almost a home to them both, they had been all too conscious of the fact that it wasn't really theirs. The Nest, on the other hand, was really, truly theirs.
It was absolutely wonderful having their very own home. Even doing the various chores was pleasant (except to Dobby, who had thrown a minor fit before agreeing to a compromise) because they knew it was to keep their home in tip-top shape. No wonder Petunia had taken so much pride in maintaining her house - even if she hadn't really done any of the work herself.
Dobby had been despondent in the days preceding their journey to Hogwarts. Heather had had to let him come with them in the end, though he would be going back to the Nest periodically for general upkeep.
Additionally, Heather knew that going to Hogwarts meant having to tell the Professors about her emancipation. She wasn't looking forward to that conversation.
~~~
"Come on Rian, before all the compartments are occupied," Heather urged her brother. They walked briskly towards the Hogwarts Express. The Weasley children would join them later, they assumed. Mr Weasley had struck the lottery, so the family had taken a trip to visit Bill in Egypt during the past two weeks.
Heather first checked their usual compartment and found it occupied by Hufflepuff sixth years.
One of the boys stood and smiled in welcome. "Hey Potter and, err, Potter. You don't have to leave, join us!" Cedric Diggory, the Puffs' seeker, said affably.
Heather inclined her head in greeting while her brother waved shyly. "Diggory. You can just call us by our first names. That could get confusing fast."
"Sure," the tall boy agreed. "Then call me Cedric. C'mon, there's enough space for you two in here." He waved to the two empty spaces between him and the window.
She shook her head. "That's alright. We're actually waiting for several others too. It'll be too cramped in here with them. We can find another compartment. Thanks for the offer! It was nice seeing you guys." She glanced at the other Hufflepuffs who were staring dubiously at her. They all relaxed when they heard that comment. Really, no subtlety at all.
"Oh, that's too bad." Surprisingly, Cedric showed genuine disappointment at that. No wonder he was dubbed the 'Mr Nice Guy' of Hogwarts. (In addition to 'Hufflepuff Hottie', 'Pretty Boy Diggory' and so on.) "Well, see you two around school then!"
Heather waved goodbye and she saw Rian shoot a small smile at the other male. Good - he didn't have many friends outside of Gryffindor. (Not that she had much room to talk.) It would do him good to connect with Cedric.
They walked along the corridor and found another mostly empty compartment. There was only a single man inside. She opened her mouth to ask if they could sit in there, but realised he was fast asleep. Dark circles ringing his eyes and messy stubble lining his face, the man looked exhausted. She and her brother took their seats quietly, not wanting to wake the man. He obviously needed his rest. The name on his briefcase read: R J Lupin. He was most likely the new DADA teacher. Lockhart had been admitted as a permanent patient in the Janus Thickey ward of St Mungo's due to irreparable mental damage. She felt pretty bad, but he had cast the spell himself.
Heather heard a slight commotion. The Weasleys were here. She would recognise Fred and George's particular brand of shenanigans anywhere. She stood to head them off. They would surely wake Professor Lupin with all that noise. Sliding the compartment door open, she shushed the redheads firmly before waving them over. Fred, George, Ron and Ginny walked in at a more subdued volume. Neville and Hermione followed after. They must have met them on the way. Percy wasn't with them, unsurprisingly. Of course, he also had his prefect - now Head Boy - duties to attend to. Heather had been offered the prefect badge, but had rejected, citing her busy schedule. Privately, she reasoned that looking out for her Gryffindor brother was already a full-time job.
Indicating the slumbering man in the corner, Heather and Hadrian made quiet greetings to their friends. They chatted softly about their respective summer holidays, though Heather and Hadrian had spent much of it at home. The Weasleys had had their trip to Egypt. Neville had gone to France with his Grandmother. Hermione had gotten a half-kneazle named Crookshanks. The feline purred approvingly at Anguis when they were introduced, but hissed in anger at Ron's pet rat. Crookshanks even leapt off his human's lap to pounce on Scabbers, who scurried off in fear. That caused Ron to go off on Hermione and she had to put the cat in its carrier. That seemed to bond Anguis and Crookshanks even closer. It was odd how both of them hated Scabbers. Even Trevor avoided him.
As the squabble died down, they went back to chatting about their holidays. Suddenly, the train jerked to a sudden stop and the lights flickered out. Alarmed, Heather's immediate thought was to cast a Lumos, but she couldn't use her wand yet and there was a stranger in the room, so she couldn't use wandless magic.
"What's going on?"
"Why have we stopped?"
"Is it a short circuit?" That must have been Hermione.
"Calm, down guys!" Heather said above the din. "Let's just wait it out. Either the prefects or the Professor on duty will settle this."
"You mean the guy sleeping there?" Ron said.
Hadrian shook his head, though it was barely visible in the dark. "He's new, so they probably haven't given him any duties. I'd guess it's another Professor."
The room had gradually gotten chillier. Had the heating charms worn off as well? Slowly, the door slid open.
"That must be a prefect now!" Hermione commented hopefully.
But Heather frowned. An eerie feeling crept into her heart. She shivered faintly and her hair stood on end. "Step back, guys." She pushed the others away from the door. "That's no prefect."
Sure enough, the thing on the other side wasn't Penelope Clearwater or Percy Weasley. Not even Cedric Diggory. The tall figure draped in ripped black robes drifted menacingly into the room. The temperature dropped further and a palpable feeling of dread filled the room.
"Back away from it!" a rough voice shouted. Professor Lupin had awoken at last. The man stepped forward to shield them from the wraith. Heather shakily fingered her wand. Damn the Ministry! Underage magic was allowed in cases of self-defence. Trying to gather her scattered thoughts, she searched for happy memories. Showing Rian the invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map, the Polyjuice incident with the twins, her Prince. All the joy was leached from her mind by the despair the thing emanated. The image of puke green light hurtling towards her family was forcibly brought forward. The dementor - creature of desolation.
Shaking her head, she caught a glance of her brother's terrified form. He was trembling violently and staring glassily at the dark creature. She steeled herself and locked out all negative emotions. For Hadrian. Recalling his beatific expression when she showed him around the Nest, she summoned her tiny Patronus. At the same time, the Professor conjured his own mist of white. Hidden by the larger fog, her chosen protector drove off the dementor unseen. In the midst of the chaos, her wandless Patronus went unnoticed.
Shouts caught her attention. She spun around and saw her brother collapsed in Ron's arms. His taller friend carried him to the seats and set him down gently. Drowning in worry, she almost didn't notice the Professor reaching for her brother. She slapped his hand away. Who knew what the total stranger wanted.
"Easy there. I'm just checking on him," the man said gently. Heather looked suspiciously at the man. He appeared sincere enough. She didn't protest when he cast a spell. She recognised it as a general diagnostic. "He's fine, but he'll be disoriented when he wakes. Give him some chocolate to calm him." The wizard dug around his pockets for some, but Heather shook her head and told him she had her own. She didn't, but Fred or George probably did. Taking sweets from strangers was the oldest mistake in the book.
The Professor smiled, almost sadly, at her rebuff and went to contact his colleague on duty. His smile, although unhappy, had brought a niggling feeling of déjà vu. As if she had seen him before. Pushing those thoughts aside, she rennervated Hadrian wandlessly. Those left in the compartment were either in the know or trustworthy enough to be.
Rian's bright green eyes fluttered open. "Whaa?" He sat up slowly, blinking dazedly.
"Hey there Hadrian. Here." Heather handed him the chocolates that Fred had passed to her. He nibbled lightly on one. "Feeling better?" He nodded.
"What happened?" he asked when he had finished them all.
"You fainted, mate," Ron said.
"That creature was awful! It came in and it felt like all the happiness was sucked away." Hermione shivered at the thought.
"Those are called dementors. Creatures that drain joy, leaving despair. They can literally suck your souls out, leaving you as empty husks," Heather explained dully.
"Sheesh, way to-" Fred said.
"-kill the mood, eh?" George continued weakly.
"I heard screaming, who was it?" Rian questioned in concern.
Uncomfortable silence was heard before Ron said, "No one. We didn't hear anything."
"But I heard a feminine scream for sure. Ginny?" He turned to her.
"Nope, but it was a near thing."
Fortunately, Hermione changed the subject before Heather had to. "Why are there dementors around? Aren't they usually guarding Azkaban?"
"Must be because of-"
"-that Sirius Black fellow. He-"
"-escaped prison didn't he?"
Whatever the reason, Heather just hoped the rest of the year would be uneventful. Already, this didn't bode well.