Amanda hung up the picture on the wall and put the ballerina ornament on a shelf.
She placed the rest of the things in a safe that she created behind the photo.
She sighed. Going to Godric's Hollow had made her feel a lot better, but it had really drained her of her energy. She sighed again.
She heard a tapping at the window and groaned as she got up. But the groans turned to excitement when she saw the owl that was tapping at the window was Hedwig.
She eagerly let the owl in and stroked her. Hedwig flew onto the perch next to Ember. Amanda giggled at the sight of the three perches. One for Ember, one for Hedwig and the new one was for her when she turned into her Phoenix form, which she and Albus had agreed to call Flame, after the nickname her father had had for her.
She then looked down at the two envelopes Hedwig had given her.
The first was from the twins and she laughed at their recount of their latest prank.
She then opened Harry's letter and beamed.
Dear Amanda,
I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you. I guess I was just a little shocked at finding out that Sirius Black is my godfather.
I miss you. Even with all of our friends here, you seem to bring a special something to the group. Thanks for my letter by the way, it was comforting.
When I read the part about when you were little, it reminded me of myself in primary school. I guess we should add that to the list of sad things we have in common. Anyways, it made me feel sad that you are going home for the holidays just so that you might be able to have custody of me, and I don't want you to push yourself too hard. Remember to relax and enjoy yourself as well, because we both know how stubborn you are.
Tell me what Fudge says when you meet him for Christmas dinner. I would like to know as soon as possible if it means I don't have to go to the Dursleys next summer.
I love you sis,
Harry
She smiled happily. Harry had forgiven her.
She gave her wrapped presents to Hedwig and Ember, checking that the two of them would be able to carry the presents for her friends. The two owls reassured her that they would be fine with an affectionate nibble of her fingers, and then they flew off.
...
Amanda sat and drew.
She had been stuck for weeks trying to think of a gift that she could give to Remus. She had had many ideas, but none of them seemed quite right.
That afternoon when she was having lunch, she was looking at her drawings and thinking about how much Remus would like to see them when the idea popped into her head.
First, she drew a delicate werewolf howling at the moon. She then got another piece of parchment and drew an image of Remus holding Harry and herself when they were little.
Satisfied, she sat down to write the note to go with it.
Dear Remus,
Merry Christmas Moony! I hope you are having a blast at the moment. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the full moon nearing.
I hope this letter reaches you as well as you can be at this time.
I thought I should sort of explain your presents. I was thinking about sending you some jokey things, but nothing seemed right. I have been drawing lately, which helps me calm down, and I thought about drawing some things that we can both relate to.
The first drawing is of Moony, while the second is a picture of us and Harry at Christmas, that I am sure you would remember.
Anyway, happy holidays. I will see you soon, when I expect to join you for a cup of coffee.
By the way, have I told you where I have put the Marauder's Map? Did I tell you I duplicated it? I leave you to your thoughts.
Amanda
She giggled and brought out the Marauder's map duplicate. She had made a few edits and smiled at the new heading.
Messrs. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
She smirked and said, "Mischief managed."
...
At the café the next day, she was approached by Delia. Delia beckoned to her, and together they grabbed a muffin and a hot chocolate before sitting out the back.
"Listen, Amanda. I thought you should probably know that I'm a witch, just like you."
"Cool!" Amanda said, "Did you go to Hogwarts?"
Delia nodded and said. "You would have probably thought that by now it was odd how quickly I hired you?"
"I was thinking that." Amanda admitted.
"Part of the reason is that I couldn't stand seeing the famous Amanda Potter without a job," both women smirked and Amanda laughed, "But I also knew your parents, Amanda."
The conversation seemed to be turning rapidly grim.
Amanda gulped before taking a bite of her muffin, chewing slowly.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Delia said.
"No, it's okay. I'm fine." Amanda told her, but thinking back to when she had visited the graveyard, and what she had confessed to herself.
"Merry Christmas."
"You too."
...
The day before Christmas, she got the letter from Fudge.
To Amanda Potter,
We wish to invite you to our place for a delightful Christmas dinner.
Please arrive at approximately 1:30pm, and you may stay until a time you wish.
I must warn you, it will be just you, my wife and myself, as the rest of the family are on holiday in Africa.
We hope to see you then,
Cornelius Fudge
Amanda immediately sent her reply with Ember and sighed.
...
On Christmas Day Amanda wanted nothing more than to sleep until noon. Instead, she was woken up by Hedwig, Ember and one of the school's owls.
She quickly untied the packages from their feet and led them to the perches for a refresher. The school owl left, with Hedwig following soon afterwards.
Amanda happily opened her presents. She happily put on her new Weasley jumper and put the fudge in the fridge.
She then put Hagrid's new animal (a dog - it resembled Fang, but she thought about Padfoot) on the shelf with the others, as well as the new books from Hermione and Severus. She grinned as she hoped he liked the book on pranking she got him.
She wished she could have gotten a picture when he opened it, just to see his confused expression.
Prank materials from the twins went into her trunk, as well as the sweets from Ron and Harry.
She then looked to the last two presents.
The first was from Remus, with a letter thanking her for the lovely pictures and how he had put the one with the Potter siblings and himself in a frame on his office wall. She giggled at his guesses for the location of the Marauder's map.
She then smiled at the bracelet she had off him. He told her in the note it had been a Muggle bracelet, which he had charmed to stay with her at all times.
It was a charm bracelet, with a paw print, a rat, a stag and a wolf. She smiled slightly and slowly slipped the rat off, putting it into her satchel before putting the bracelet on her wrist.
She then turned to the last present.
Amanda,
We have not been talking for a long time with you. As a group, we miss the friendly chats, smiles and laughs we had together.
We would like to invite you to meet us again in the school grounds after the holidays. We would like to be friends again. We are incredibly sorry for the stress we caused.
We hope that you will reply in turn.
Happy Christmas. We got you a Muggle skateboard. We thought this would show that we have changed, and we knew that you would find some way to annoy the Professors by zooming around the corridors.
Marcus, Draco, Blaise and Theodore
Amanda smiled at the skateboard as it rolled onto her lap. She grinned wickedly, knowing exactly what she was going to do with it.
She then noticed a note stuck to the board and picked it off.
Hi Amanda,
I found myself a little while ago developing some feelings for you.
I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me to Hogsmeade?
I don't want to make things awkward. It's up to you, but please don't tell the others? I'm embarrassed enough as it is.
Marcus
She sighed. What was she going to say to him? She already knew she didn't feel for him in that way.
After what felt like hours, she finally came up with a reply.
Marcus,
Tell the others that I thank you all for the present and am sure to use it well. I am accepting your apology, and wish to meet with you guys after the holidays.
But I'm sorry Marcus, I don't think I feel for you in that way. You're a really good friend, I'm sorry.
Maybe sometime in the future things may be different.
Amanda
She gave the note to Ember, who nodded and flew off.
Glancing back, she looked at her skateboard and grinned wickedly again.
She took her favourite shoes off the shelf and turned to the skateboard. After casting a few charms, she finished her creation.
She had changed the skateboard so that it compacted into her shoes. With a signal from her mind, she would be able to change the shoes so that the skateboard would appear. She would also be able to change whether it had wheels on or not.
She slipped on her shoes and smiled as she thought to herself that she could now go skateboarding or snowboarding or...anyway she liked, with the board that could pop out of her shoes.
...
This is an image of Amanda's shoes. I'm sure you can imagine the board yourself.
I have had a recent spout of Writer's Block, but after some encouragement from one of my friends, I have been able to write and publish a bit more. It helps that I'm on holidays.
I've been experimenting lately with adding some pictures I found on the internet that pretty much describe what I have been imagining for the story in my head. I hope these pictures work for you,
Just so that it is clear, no picture belongs to me. They are found on Google.