Harry Potter 1. In Which the Story Isn't Told Yet

**Full Summary**

Harry had a twin, one that everyone believes to be dead, or vanished, along with Lord Voldemort.

All young Harry knows is that he keeps getting visions of a green-eyed, brown haired girl, about his age, that is always sitting on a rock near a lake with a old, green-eyed woman with her hair in a bun and an odd green dress. He doesn't know who or where they are, but he doesn't dare to ask the Dursleys. He can't ask questions with them, or else he'll be Punished.

All young Aella knows is that she keeps seeing a skinny boy with green eyes and black hair in a dark room, playing with broken toys, in her dreams. Sometimes a ugly woman or a fat boy or a fat man comes in. When it is the fat man, the skinny boy is hurt very badly by the fat man. Aella doesn't know why, but she doesn't tell her Grammy about the boy. Grammy will probably be very sad, like she was when Aella's Daddies died.

* * *

**Prologue**

"JAMES BLOODY POTTER!" Lily screamed from inside the hospital room at St. Mungo's. "If you tell me to relax one more time..." she let the threat hang. Remus winced as he paced outside of the room. Poor Prongs. Lily had a nasty temper when it got the best of her. There was another cry of pain, then a smaller cry. Remus sighed in relief, thinking that it was over now. How wrong he was. Lily screamed once more, and Sirius paled.

"Holy shit." He whispered. "There's gonna be more than one little Prongs or Lily-love." Remus nodded distractedly. Another minute passed, then two, then ten, all filed with Lily's screams. Finally, after another twelve minutes, there was silence, except for another small cry, the cry of a newborn. Almost an hour later, when Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the Potter's friends, were allowed in, they poked their heads in the room to see two babies sleeping, nestled into Lily's sides.

"This is Harry James, he's older by twelve minutes," she whispered, pointing at the baby on her left. "And this is Tasia Lily. Can you believe it, they were born on two different days!" James was sitting next to his wife, petting his new daughters head. Their friends smiled at the obvious love and joy that the Potters had in their eyes.

* * *

**The Sequel of the Prologue, but Still Before the Main Story Takes Place**

There were screams; Mummy was standing in front of her brother and herself. Tasia was confused. Why wasn't Daddy coming to put them to sleep and Singing? What was the man doing here? Mummy suddenly went to sleep very quickly, after a burst of light. Tasia felt happy that her Mummy was able to sleep, because she had been looking icky for a bit, and had uneaten her food a lot in the morning. Tasia smiled at the man, but he ignored her, instead looking at Harry. He did the sleepy light to Harry, too, but it didn't work. Tasia looked at Harry, who had started crying. He had a cut on his head. Everything seemed to stop, and suddenly everything went boom, like Mummy did when Daddy did something silly. Tasia felt herself flying, but it wasn't like when Daddy took her in the air an the broom, it hurt more, and there was a lot of light, like the fire. She started crying when the ground came down with a bump. The baby cried harder when she couldn't see Harry near her, only the house, and it was broken. A door opened somewhere, and a woman and man came out of a house.

"Jeanne, is that a baby?" the man asked.

"Yes, what will we do with it?"

* * *

**The Sequel of the Sequel of the Prologue, but Still Before the Main Story Takes Place, although the Main Story isn't quite so far into the Future**

"We'll take that little girl, with the brown hair and green eyes." Mark McGonagall and his partner, Timmy Suther (or, in their minds, McGonagall), decided. The owner of the orphanage smiled at them.

"All right, but I warn you, she's a bit odd." The couple frowned at the elderly matron.

"What do you mean by that?" Timmy asked.

"Well, one of my younger girls swears that the baby's toys were floating everywhere, and the girl was laughing." The matron frowned a bit. "But my girl must have been overworked or tired, I mean, that couldn't possibly have happened." Mark and Timmy, being wizards themselves, exchanged amused glances. It seems that they were adopting a little witch.

"Yes, that must have been it." Mark said. "Well, we still think that she's the perfect match for us. Does she have a name?"

The matron smiled again, and passed them papers. "Just sign these, and no she doesn't have a name. You can name her anything, just put it under 'name'." The men conferred for a few minutes, then returned to the woman. In another hour, the men and their new baby were standing in front of their house.

"Welcome home, Aella Selene McGonagall." Mark said, opening the door.


	2. In Which Our Heros Meet

"Grammy, why do Dad and Daddy want to sleep under the ground?" Aella McGonagall tugged on her Grammy's black sleeve. Her Grammy just sobbed into her handkerchief. It surprised Aella, because her Grammy never cried.

"Aella, you daddies aren't sleeping. They had to go to a different, better place." Her Grandpa picked the five- year old up.

"Why didn't they bring me?" she pouted.

"Because it isn't your time to go there yet. You'll be here with Grammy and me for a very long time. We would be very sad if you went with them." Richard said, tousling her hair. She smiled at him.

"Alright, I suppose I'll stay with you." She said. "Grammy, don't worry. I'll stay here with you." She turned her attention to the weeping woman next to her. Minerva smiled at her granddaughter through her tears.

"Thank you, Aella." She said. "I'm glad that you will."

* * *

"BOY!" Harry cowered at the sound of his uncle's angry voice. He was scared that his uncle would hit him again. The door of his cupboard banged open, and Harry cowered in the corner. His uncle couldn't fit in the cupboard, but he was able to drag Harry out of it.

"I didn't break them!" Harry said. Dudley had knocked the plates over; it wasn't Harry's fault at all. His uncle shook him.

"Then who did?" even at the tender age of five, Harry knew better than to say that Dudley did. The boy remained silent, and his uncle growled. He threw Harry on the ground and kicked him. Harry curled around his stomach and protected his head with his arms as the beating continued.

Petunia watched the abuse through the door in the kitchen, holding her cheek as a bruise formed there. She had just suggested that Vernon not beat Harry, but he had slapped her. She felt something for her nephew, and didn't want Vernon to go to jail. Why couldn't he just stop doing this?

* * *

Harry was five when he first saw the girl. She walked over to a rock and sat down, the wind whipping her hair against her face. He couldn't se much, but it was obvious that she was crying. A woman and man soon came out after her and sat n either side of her. The woman was also crying, and the man looked sad as well. He wrapped his arm around the two girls. They were obviously related in some way. The vision ended, and harry blinked, confused. The girl wasn't anywhere near him, of that much, he was sure. For one thing, there was no wind, and for another, he was in school.

Aella was having a similar vision. It was the anniversary of her fathers' deaths, and she didn't want to be surrounded by all the people at her Grammy's school, where she stayed during the school year.

There was a boy, no older than her, with bruises on his arms and face and messy black hair and green eyes that looked like hers. He was very skinny and dressed in huge clothes. He was looking at a teacher or something. He was obviously in school, but Aella was more concerned with the boy himself. His eyes didn't gleam with love of life, but looked like they had seen more than anyone should. But there was also defiance in them, the determination to survive. Before Aella could ask him who he was, she was brought back to reality.

She sighed and snuggled into her Grandpa's arm.

* * *

The visions continued for several years. Aella and Harry found that they couldn't talk in to anyone in the visions and couldn't hear any dialogue. Nor, it seemed, did anyone realize that they were there. The two children didn't tell anyone, for this was special, something that nobody else had.

For Aella, the boy always seemed to be bruised and skinny and sad. For Harry, the girl looked pretty, healthy, and surrounded by people that loved her. Their situations couldn't have been more different.

* * *

On September 1st, 1991, Aella bounced up and down on her Grammy's bed. Her Grandpa groaned as he woke up.

"Grammy, Grandpa!" the excited eleven- year- old said, or rather, shouted, in her grandparent's ears. "Get up, it's the first!" Her Grammy sat up.

"Well, then, I suppose we must make a good breakfast." Minerva sat up and groaned. "I'm not as young as I once was." She sighed.

Richard smiled. "But just as beautiful." He said and kissed his wife.

"Eww!" Aella scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Come on!" she darted to the kitchen.

"Aella, are you sure that you don't want to go on the train?" Minerva asked, following her into the small kitchen.

"I'm sure, Grammy. I'll just apparate with you to Hogwarts and help you greet them, like always." The petite girl rolled her eyes.

"Except this time, you'll be with the other first years." Richard said, striding into the kitchen, missing his shirt. Minerva and Aella exchanged exasperated glances.

"Richard, honey, you forgot your shirt again." Minerva sighed, letting her eyes roam over his body (For being seventy, he was rather well- toned). Aella sighed. Her grandparents acted like those teenagers that she sometimes walked in on when she couldn't sleep. It was so gross!

"Well, I'll just go put it on, then." He left, and Aella sighed again.

* * *

"Finally." Thought Aella. "Grammy! I can see the boats docking!" she said aloud. Minerva came down to Aella, and, together, they went to the Grand Staircase to meet the new first years.

Some people stared openly as Aella descended the stairs as regally as possible next to Minerva. Once they reached the bottom, Aella joined the crowd, standing next to brown haired boy with clear blue eyes. Aella didn't listen to her Grammy's speech; she had heard it so often that she could probably say it herself. Her grandmother left for a bit, presumably to set up the stool. Aella felt a pang of bitter-sweetness- that had normally been her job. Suddenly a cool, pompous, voice penetrated the silent chamber.

"So, it's true then." A pale blond boy walked up to another boy, one with black hair. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Aella, along with everyone who had been brought up in a magical household, looked up in surprise. Aella walked up, sensing trouble; she had gotten that from her long years with her Grammy.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks." The black- haired boy was saying as Aella walked up.

"Is there any trouble?" she asked in her best teacher voice, which was quite good. The boys jumped and turned to her, having not noticed her before. She quickly glanced at the pale boy before labeling him a Malfoy. The other boy, however... he had green eyes and was bruised.

"You." The two looked at each other in shock. It seemed to everyone else that they had known each other, but had been separated or something. (That was true, if you thought about it.) Aella was so absorbed in looking at the boy, and he at her, that they didn't hear Minerva coming up behind them. She tapped Aella's head with a scroll, and Aella turned around, ready to follow her Grammy into the Great Hall.

Aella heard a lot of gasps as they walked in. She grinned to herself, glad that she lived in this spectacular castle for the past few years. The crowd of first years followed the stern professor up to the Sorting Hat's dais. Aella didn't hear anything that the Hat or her grandmother said; she was too busy looking at the boy that had haunted her visions for the past six years. She jumped a bit as she finally heard her name called.

"McGonagall, Aella." Aella winked at her grandmother as she skipped up to the Hat.

"_Ahh, yes. I've been waiting for you."_ It said in her ear. _"But where to put you? Your parents were both in Gryffindor... but your grandmother was in Ravenclaw... you seem to have inherited her learning ability."_

"No, that's not right." Aella thought. "Grammy was in Gryffindor."

"_Of course she was."_ The Hat said patronizingly. _"For you, I think it better be..._ RAVENCLAW!" the Hat shouted the last word to the hall, and a very confused Aella walked to the Ravenclaw table.

"Hello, I'm Terry Boot, and this here is Michael Corner." The brown- haired boy that she had been standing next to offered her his hand. She shook it distractedly before turning her attention to the Sorting again.

"Potter, Harry." Aella followed the boy as he walked shakily up to the hat and put it on his head. There was silence, as he seemed to argue with the hat. Suddenly, it yelled out his house.

"GRYFFINDOR!" A look of relief passed over Harry's face as he trotted to his new table, which was roaring their approval. The two first's year's eyes met for a few minutes before Harry looked at Minerva, who had just called a Weasley.

"Another one?" Aella thought incredulously. "How many are there? It's like they're rabbits!" she chuckled quietly at her thought.

"What's so funny?" a girl sitting next to her said.

"Oh, it's just that there are so many Weasleys. Bill and Charlie left, Percy is a fifth year, there are twins in the third year, and now this one." She waved her hand at the red- haired boy that was sitting. "I'm Aella..."

The girl interrupted Aella. "McGonagall, I know. I'm Padma Patil." Padma had brown hair, skin, and eyes. She was obviously of Indian descant. "It seems that we're the only two Ravenclaw girls this year." Aella looked around and smiled. The sorting was finished, and Dumbledore had just sat down.

"You're right." She said. "Well, we should probably get to know each other. Tell me about yourself as we eat." Padma gasped as she finally noticed all the food on the table.

"Wow!" she exclaimed before taking some turkey. "Well, I'm muggleborn, so it was a huge surprise for Mum and Dad when Pavarti and I got our letters." Aella nodded as she took a bite of potatoes. "We have an older half- brother, he's married and has a one- year old son. And then we have three younger siblings. Paili is nine, Palti is six, and Paz is two." Padma smiled at the thought of her siblings. "Paz began floating his things around the room about a month after we got the letter, so we think that he's going to come as well." Padma paused. "I'm eleven, my birthday is May ninth."

"Do you have any siblings? Is Professor McGonagall your mother?" Padma asked Aella.

Aella shook her head. "I was adopted, and my Daddies died before they could adopt any more children."

Padma gasped. "I'm so sorry. I had no clue..."

"It's okay. Grammy and Grandpa take good care of me." she smiled up at the Head table. Padma followed her gaze to where Minerva and Albus were deep in conversation. The Indian girl gasped.

"Professors McGonagall... and Dumbledore are your grandparents?" she hissed at Aella, who giggled.

"No!" she said. "Those two? They're just friends, and he's like one hundred years older than her!" the two girls giggled again. "Professor McGonagall is my Grammy, Grandpa is the Head of the Auror office." Padma sighed in relief.

"Good. Those two seems odd. So, have you lived in the castle your whole life, then?"

"No. My Daddies had a home in London, but when they died six years ago from a drunken muggle driver, I came to live with Grammy and Grandpa. We live at the school during the school year, but we have a summer house by the seaside." Aella told her new friend. "I never get tired of it here." She glanced at the ceiling as the food vanished, and then was replaced by dessert. Padma gasped again at the display of magic.

"Who makes all the food? I can't see any of the teachers cooking." Padma wondered out loud.

"House- elves, although Grammy, Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and Snape cook very well." Aella took some treacle tart- her favorite.

"House- elves?"

"Yeah, little elves that live to serve. When I find the kitchens, I'll show you them."

"So, who are all the teachers that we'll have?" Padma looked at the row of teachers sitting impressively in front of them.

"Well, Dumbledore is obviously the Headmaster; and then Grammy, Professor McGonagall, that is, teaches Transfiguration; Sinistra teaches Astronomy; Snape teaches Potions, and don't be offended by anything he says, he's a real softie underneath it all, just ask Sinistra, they have... something going on. I heard Grammy saying something about lovers, but I don't know what that means." Aella realized that she was rambling, something that happened very often to the little girl. "Anyway, Flitwick teaches Charms, and Sprout teaches Herbology, and then there's a new guy for Defense Against the Dark Arts every year, so I don't bother learning their names. I think his name is Squirrel or something, and History of Magic is taught by Binns, he's a ghost." Aella pointed to each teacher as she said his or her name.

"A ghost?" Padma went very white.

"Yes, but don't worry, he so boring. I sat in on one lesson once and fell right asleep." Aella assured her friend. "Oh look, Dumbledore is starting to speak!" And he was.

"Now that you are full and sleepy from our excellent feast, I have a few start of term reminders. The Forbidden Forest is, well, forbidden, as is the third corridor to all who do not with to die a most painful death." Murmurings broke out in the Hall, and Dumbledore raised his hand. "Now, pip pip, off to bed with you. I'm sure you all need a good night's sleep to prepare you for classes tomorrow!" A prefect called all four of the first years over.

"First years!" she called. "I'm Penelope Clearwater. Where's the rest of you?" she looked around, apparently under the impression that the other first years were hiding.

"It's just us, Penelope." Aella said. Penelope looked surprised.

"Really? Small class. Well, follow me." The new Ravenclaws followed the Gryffindors up a lot of stairs, but separated when the other house went up more stairs, and they went to the West Tower. They stopped at a door with an eagle knocker on it. Penelope knocked on it, and a human voice came out of the bird's mouth.

"_What is always the answer?"_ Aella looked around, confused, as did Padma, Michael, and Terry. Penelope looked very angry.

"Those Weasley's. I'm going to murder them." She muttered. "69."

"_Very good. You may enter."_ The door opened to reveal a blue and bronze common room, furnished with several couches and chairs. One wall was completely covered in books. Aella was about to look at a few when Penelope addressed the small group again.

"Boys dorms are up that way, and girls are that way. I suggest that you all get a god nights sleep to make sure that your brains are running properly." Penelope smiled at us as we trailed away.

As she wasn't feeling sleepy in the slightest, Aella decided to unpack. She set up her picture of her fathers on a shelf above her bed with some of her books. She gazed at them as they danced in their living room with a two – year old Aella. Minerva had taken it when they didn't notice. Aella was glad that she had, as it was her favorite picture ever.

"I wish you were here, Dad and Daddy. I'm in Ravenclaw, just like you always said Dad." She traced their faces, and they smiled at up at her. "I'm gonna have a great time here, and get good grades, and have lots of adventures." She whispered to them before slipping under her covers, and soon, sleep took her.

* * *

Harry fell asleep soon after his head hit the covers. He was sure to sleep on his left, as his right was still really sore from when he accidently burnt the eggs five days ago. His dream of Snape laughing at him soon turned into another vision of the girl. Aella McGonagall, his subconscious reminded him. Except this time, she looked a lot younger- maybe one or so. Harry knew that it was her because of her eyes- they were exactly the same. He saw a man in a black clock shoot a beam of light at a baby, which he realized, with a jolt, was him as a babyx. It was obviously a memory or something. Harry saw the house get torn apart when the curse rebounded on the man, and Aella was pushed back, out of the window, by the force of it. Harry woke up screaming, not knowing that in the opposite side of the tower, Aella was doing the same thing.

"Harry?" Ron's freckled face poked in through the curtains. "You okay?" Harry nodded weakly.

"Yeah, just ate too much food." Ron's head disappeared at Harry's words of assurance, and Harry finally slipped back into a fitful sleep.

* * *

"Ah! This first week has been great!" Aella exclaimed to her grandpa, Richard, that Friday. "My classes are so much fun. I really like Defense Against the Dark Arts and of course Transfiguration with Granny and Potions, just like Severus said I would, although I got the impressions that e didn't really like the Hufflepuffs much, and oh, I thought I did fairly well in Charms..." she stopped her flow of words as Richard held up his hands, laughing.

"I get it, you loved your lessons!" he chuckled. "Your teachers are telling us how good you were." Aella grinned up at the six foot six man, a faint blush tingeing her cheeks pink. "And here comes the best teacher in the entire school!" Aella looked up to see Minerva walking down towards them.

"Hey. How's my favorite Ravenclaw?" she hugged Aella.

"Good. How's my favorite Grammy?" Aella asked back. Minerva peered down through her spectacles at her only grandchild.

"Very funny." She said dryly as her husband and Aella laughed.

Harry watched the laughing family through a window and smiled slightly. This is what he wished for, during the long hours in his cupboard. A loving family that would just sit and talk with you for hours on end.

"Harry?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. "You coming to Hagrid's?" Harry put a smile on his face as he turned to look at Ron.

"Yeah."

* * *

A/N: Erm... Now with line breaks!! heh heh... sweatdrop...

Oh, yeah forgot to mention this before: Tasia means 'bond or bound to someone', and Aella was an Amazonian warrior.

Disclaimer: I disclaim in rhetoric. Or Latin, or English/ Spanish/ French/ Japanese. Anyway you put it, I don't own the Potterverse. No would I want to, all those people wanting to steal it! (Yes, that means you.) Please refer to this disclaimer for the rest of this story.


	3. In Which The Years Go By

Aella found that school wasn't as hard as she had anticipated. Sure, her classes were hard, but she was able to keep up. But there wasn't anything to do after she had finished her homework. She wanted adventure, to explore the castle once more!

Her chance came during Christmas break, right after Christmas. She set a quiet alarm clock for eleven o'clock at night, and when it sounded, she got up and tiptoed out of the dorm room. She peered around every corner as she snuck around the castle, up some stairs, through a few tapestries, back up some more stairs, and finally arrived near the library.

"Now, how did I get here?" she whispered, looking around for any teachers. She pushed open the door to the library, and wandered around, eventually wandering to the restricted section. She thought she heard footsteps, and paused, hidden by shadows, but there was nobody there. There was a definite _clunk_ from a table from in front and to the left of her, and she looked for what had made it. She had just spotted a lantern when Harry appeared next to it. Aella froze, waiting for something to happen, for him to notice her.

But Harry was preoccupied by the books, muttering, "Flamel, Flamel. Where are you?" It seemed that he was looking for a person, or a name on one of the books. He pulled out a heavy, chained book. Aella's eyes widened- she knew that the chained books screamed when opened from experience. She leapt out of her hiding spot to warn him, but it was too late. The book let out an ear- splitting scream, that went on even after Harry slammed the book shut. Aella dashed out of the library, not noticing where she went. Through doors, past pictures and suits of armor, up and down stairs. She finally stopped for breath in an old classroom that looked like it was being used to store an old mirror. Aella moved closer to investigate it and looked at the top, where some script was engraved.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." She read out loud. "Hm. Looks like Latin... but I don't recognize any of the words." She reread it, trying to figure out the mystery. "It's backwards!" she exclaimed after a few minutes. "Lets see what it is now." Aella was so engrossed in the words that she didn't notice the picture in the mirror. "Ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire." She frowned again. "Well, that makes no sense."

The short Ravenclaw plopped herself in front of the mirror. It was then that she saw the figures. She stood up and strode to her fathers.

"Dad? Daddy? It's not you, you're dead." She whispered, touching Mark McGonagall's face. He smiled softly at her, and the mirror Timmy Suther put his hand on her shoulder. She grinned, and her grin got bigger as she saw a wedding ring on his hand. That was one thing that her fathers had been denied in life, a real marriage.

Then she frowned when she realized that there was nothing on her real shoulder. She gasped, now realizing what the mirror's engraving said.

"I show not your face but your hearts desire!" she exclaimed, forgetting momentarily that she was out past curfew. She heard quiet footsteps, and a creak of a door.

Aella clapped a hand over her mouth and slipped out of the room as silently as she could. She was about to turn the corner when she heard voices- those of Professors Snape and Quirell. Aella promptly turned around to figure out another way to the Tower.

* * *

"You look tired, dear, are you sure that you're feeling all right?" Minerva asked her granddaughter later that day, taking in the shadows under her eyes, and the unusually pale skin.

"I'm fine, Grammy." Aella sighed. This had to be the one-hundredth time her grandmother had asked her that. Richard stuck his head out of the bathroom, tinsel still stuck in his hair from where Peeves had attacked him an hour earlier.

"Aella, we all know that you're lying to us, so why not just tell the truth?" Aella blushed. Her grandfather knew her too well for her taste.

"Fine." She heaved a sigh, and Minerva rolled her eyes. Her granddaughter was so like Richard!

"Well, I went out last night..."Minerva raised an eyebrow, and Aella looked a bit sheepish. "Anyway, I found this mirror. It had engraving on it, and at first I thought it was in Latin, but then I realized that is was backwards, but it still didn't make sense, I sat down and actually looked at the mirror." She took a deep breath. "I saw me..."

"Understandable." Richard interrupted. "It is a mirror, after all." Aella and Minerva gave him a _there's-more-you-imbecile_ look, and he pretended to zip his lips.

"As I was saying, I saw me, standing with Dad and Daddy. I knew they weren't real, but it was nice to see them. They were married, I saw the ring." Aella finished what she had seen in a quiet voice and looked at her hands, furiously blinking back tears. The grown- ups exchanged looks of pity and sadness, unsure of what to do.

"There was writing on the mirror, it said, once I figured out the code, 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'." Aella said after a long pause in which she composed herself.

"The Mirror of Erised." Richard breathed.

"Dumbledore." Minerva growled.

"What?" Aella asked.

"The Mirror of Erised is a mirror that shows you what you want, what your deepest desire is." Richard told his granddaughter. "I would probably look in, and see all of my family and friends, none of them dead, with Minnie right by my side." He gave his wife a kiss on her cheek while she flushed. Aella smiled a bit. It was nice- and a bit gross- to see her grandparents so obviously in love. "The happiest man on earth would see himself as he stands- it would just be a mirror for him."

"And Dumbledore is keeping it in the school, where any old student could find it." Minerva said. "I'll talk with him about it as soon as I can." She sighed. "Aella, I know it's temping, but please don't go back there. Witches more powerful than, say, Dumbledore, have lost their minds from looking at it." Minerva tried to get her granddaughter to understand the dangers of the mirror. "I hope you understand how important this is, you can't go looking for it again." Aella nodded solemnly.

"Good." Richard said. "Now, do you two want to go play a spot of Quidditch?" Aella beamed. She had inherited her Quidditch skills from her grandfather, and her passion from her grandmother. She just wished that she could go on the school team, but that would have to wait for another year.

* * *

More time passed, and Harry had almost forgotten about the Mirror of Erised. True to his word, he didn't look for it. His new obsession was finding out about Nicholas Flamel. As his holiday wanderings had failed miserably in the research department, the Trio redoubled their efforts, spending more and more time in the library, almost to the point where they were sleeping there. The teachers took it as Hermione's good influence on the boys, and the upcoming exams, which made them 'study' so hard. Aella, on the other hand, soon realized that they were looking for that Flamel guy that Harry had been looking for during the holidays. She aided in their search, silently, by lending Hermione a book about famous alchemists. Now all she had to do was sit back, study, and wait to see what happened.

The end of Aella's first year was actually very simple. She thought she did well in all her classes, except maybe History of Magic, but that was the one class that didn't hold any interest to her. She supposed that it could be interesting, but Professor Binns made it so boring. Padma was really good at it though, and had helped Aella study, so they had a large chance of passing.

Aella didn't even realize how much Harry had figured out about Flamel, until the end of term. She had heard her grandparents talking about how Harry had faced some version of Voldemort while saving the Sorcerers Stone. She tiptoed back to her room to mull it over. So, Harry had faced a super- dark lord. Aella had, of course, heard of Lord Voldemort- one of his followers, Something Black, had severely injured one of her aunts when he blew up a street. And there was the whole Harry Potter defeating him when Aella was fifteen months old. And

"Aella?" Minerva's voice interrupted her granddaughter's thoughts. "Dinner is almost ready, come down to help set up." Aella sighed.

"Coming Grammy!" she took her time going down the stairs, her pre-teen hormones kicking in a bit.

"Aella!" Minerva yelled again. "Professors Sinistra, Snape, and Dumbledore are coming over!" Aella ran the rest of the way down the stairs, excited for the company of her godmother, her special friend, and Dumbledore.

Over the summer, Aella exchanged infrequent owls with Padma, who was vacationing with her family in India. It seemed that her friend was having a wonderful time. Padma did mention that Pavarti told her that Hermione told her that neither Hermione nor Ron could get in touch with Harry. Aella was concerned; her visions started coming back, and once she came out with bruises of her own, from how hard Harry had been kicked by his piggish uncle. She wasn't sure how it happened, but she knew Harry had to be hurting and that he needed help. She eventually decided to try and send a letter to Ron about Harry.

_Ron,_

_I'm a Ravenclaw in your year, and I know we don't really talk- actually, I don't think we've talked more than once. I was the girl that stopped Harry and Draco fighting_

Aella tore off that part of the parchment. It rambled too much.

_Ron,_

_My name is Aella McGonagall. I don't believe we've met_

She tore that off, too- too formal. Aella kept trying, but she just couldn't do it. She banged her head on her table softly, and eventually settled for sending Harry a short note.

_Harry,_

_I just wanted to make sure that you're okay, and not hurt. If you need, you can always come to my house. Grammy and Grandpa will probably be cool with it. The address is __3 Bank Terrace, Gomshall Lane, Shere, Guildford, Surrey, just in case._

_Aella- the Girl_

Aella took a deep breath and tied the letter to the leg of her grandmother's owl.

* * *

Harry took the letter off of a handsome tawny owl's leg at the Weasley's house during breakfast one morning. He glanced at the name; it was addressed to him in a neat, flowing script that he didn't recognize. He tore it open, curious. He had never received a letter that wasn't from the school. His eyes widened as he read the short note from the girl. So she knew what Uncle Vernon did... Harry sighed. He wasn't sure what to do with this new knowledge that someone else knew about his summers.

"Harry?" a voice asked. "Is everything okay?" Harry turned around to see Ginny Weasley talking to him for the first time.

"Yeah, just thinking." He said absently. She nodded before seeming to realize what she had just done, and promptly fled. Harry slowly turned back to his breakfast and decided to think about the letter and Aella later, when he got to school.

* * *

"Aella, do you want to greet the first years with me?" Minerva asked her granddaughter on August 31, the day before the start of Aella's second year. "Aella!" The twelve- year- old looked up with a start.

"Huh?" she asked, evidently coming out of deep thought. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?"

Minerva sighed and sat on the green and brown sheets that covered Aella's bed. "I asked if you wanted to meet the first years with me." She paused before continuing. "Aella, are you alright?"

"What do you mean?" Aella's back was to Minerva, so the older woman couldn't see Aella's face, but the girl's back stiffened.

"Well, you don't pay attention, and you barely talk." Minerva moved closer to Aella. "It isn't like you at all. Is there something going on?"

"No." Aella said, too quickly. "It's nothing." She hadn't even realized that her behavior had changed since she had sent Harry the letter. Every day, she waited for a response, but none ever came. She did wonder if Harry had even gotten the letter, but Hermia had come back without the letter, so someone must have gotten it.

Minerva studied her granddaughter; she had a frown etched in her eyebrows and was biting her lip. Minerva sighed, accepting that young girls had secrets, and this was one that she couldn't get out of Aella for now.

"So, would you like to greet them?" Minerva asked again.

"Um, no thanks, I think I'll want to meet up with Padma." Aella responded, putting a false smile on her face.

* * *

"Padma!" Aella rushed to greet her friend on September first. "It's been so long!"

Padma returned the hug that her friend bestowed on her. "I know, I missed you so much." Before they had a chance to say anything else, Hermione Granger interrupted them, looking worried.

"Excuse me, but have either of you seen Harry or Ron?" she asked, twisting her hands.

"No, I didn't take the train." Aella said, shaking her head.

"I haven't seen them either." Padma also answered in the negative. Hermione frowned.

"Oh well, thank you." She wandered off. Aella and Padma looked at each other.

"So, the Dynamic Duo are missing?" Padma asked, and Aella shrugged.

"I guess so." Her eyes slid up to the staff table. "Professor Snape is missing, too." Her eyes scanned the rest of the table. "But Professor Sinistra is here, so that rules that out."

"Rules what out?" asked a bewildered Padma. "What does Sinistra being here have to do with Snape?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" Aella waved an airy hand, as if teacher gossip was a normal thing for her. "I thought I told you last year- they're lovers."

Padma gaped at her. "How'd you find that out?"

"Oh, well, Professor Sinistra is my godmother- she was really close to my dads- and I have very good ears, especially when I need to find out things that I'm not supposed to." Aella said, smiling, happy that she knew things that nobody else did. "Man, I'm hungry, I wish the first years would hurry up."

Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, the new first years arrived. At the lead was a blond, vacant-looking girl, and a red head that had to be a Weasley. The blond was talking to the decidedly awkward-looking Weasley girl, who was clutching a black book to her chest. Aella followed them up to the dais, then examined the rest of the first years; there weren't any that looked particularly exciting or extraordinary.

"Now, when I call your name, please come up and put this hat on." Minerva addressed the assembled first years.

"Bletchley, Miles," was the first new kid, and he got placed in Slytherin.

"Chambers, Derek." A nervous, sandy-haired boy tripped up to the stool with the hat on it.

The Hat had barely touched his head when it called out, "RAVENCLAW!" Aella cheered loudly with the rest of her house. Next were two Gryffindors, Richie Coote and Colin Creevy. Then Sarah Fawcett became a Ravenclaw, along with Luna Lovegood, the vacant blond, and Loran Torres, a boy. Hufflepuff got Megan Jones, Jack Stebbins, Drew Summers, and Ryan Summerby. Slytherin got Dan Urquhart, Andrew Harper, and Annie Kolmeyer. Gryffindor got three more, a Kaila Griffin (which seemed exceedingly appropriate), Dezmelda Robbins, and finally Ginny Weasley, of course. As soon as Ginny skipped to the Gryffindor table, Minerva took the stool and Hat away, and Aella noticed that Ron and Harry weren't among those congratulating Ginny. She pursed her lips.

"What is it?" Padma noticed her frown.

"Harry and Ron aren't here. I wonder..." her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"I wonder if Professor Snape has them; I hope not, for their sake." Aella said, then shrugged. "Oh well, here's the food!" The girls eagerly dug into the turkey, potatoes, chicken, steak, and every other dish that surrounded them. Aella paused while cutting her steak as a silver doe walked behind the teacher's table and spoke to Aella's grandmother. Minerva immediately put on her most fearsome glare and whispered something to Dumbledore. They both got up and left quickly. Aella watched them go, as did Padma.

"I wonder what they're up to?" Padma said quietly.

"I dunno... maybe it has to do with Harry and Ron." Aella went back to her steak. "I suppose we'll find out later."

* * *

They did find out, the next morning. They had just entered the Hall when someone called out, "Look, Weasley's got a Howler!" Aella rolled her eyes. There were five Weasleys at Hogwarts; which one did they mean? Her unanswered question was soon answered, though, as Mrs. Weasley's voice filled the Hall.

"**RONALD WEASLEY! HOW **_**DARE**_** YOU STEAL THAT CAR? I AM ABSOLUTELY **_**DISGUSTED**_**! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S **_**ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT**_**! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER **_**TOE**_** OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU **_**STRAIGHT HOME**_**!**" Ron looked like her was he wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor. Aella hid a smirk; as bad as Howlers were, it sounded like Ron had deserved it.

"Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud." Mrs. Weasley's voice became much softer as it addressed her youngest. Ginny nodded, looking relieved that her mother hadn't yelled at her, too. Aella looked up at the staff table to see Professors Snape and Sinistra smirking silently.

Nothing happen until Halloween, again. Aella fell back into the comfortable lull of school, and managed to almost be the top of her class, second only to Hermione Granger. On Halloween, however, Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, hanging by her tail and apparently dead. Aella snuck down to her grandmother's rooms that night, in dire need of reassurance.

"Grammy?" Richard opened the door blearily and looked down at his granddaughter.

"What is it, honey?" he asked, letting her in.

Aella bit her lip and paused before answering truthfully. "I'm scared. Can I sleep here tonight?"

Richard smiled at her gently. "Of course."

* * *

Aella was creeping towards the Ravenclaw Tower when it happened. She had been in the library, studying for a test in Charms for the next day, and had lost track of the time. She stopped at a window to look at the moon- it was full, and shimmered gently on the lake- but instead of the moon, she saw two yellow eyes reflecting from behind her.

Those were the last things she saw for several months.

* * *

The next thing Aella knew, a very tan, scared-looking face was looking at her.

"Hello. Good morning." She mumbled blearily. The face broke into a huge grin.

"Aella!" It was Padma. "I'm so glad you're awake! I've missed you so much!"

Aella frowned. "What do you mean?"

It was Padma's turn to frown. "What's the last thing that you remember?"

"I was studying for a Charms test, then I stopped to look at the moon, but then there were these two yellow eyes..." Aella said haltingly.

"You were attacked, the same night as Colin Creevy. It was a huge snake that petrified Mrs. Norris, a basilisk. But Harry killed it and rescued Ginny, and..." Padma started, but Aella held up a hand.

"What?" And so Padma told her best friend all about what had happened- how HAgrid had been arrested because they thought that he was behind the attacks, and Dumbledore had been forced to leave. It turns out that Ginny Weasley had been possessed, and then Harry had gone to save her, and ended up destroying Voldemort again, and killed the basilisk, and finally the Mandrake Restorative Draft was give to all the petrified students.

"Wow..." Aella breathed once she finished the story. "So... how did Grammy and Grandpa take all this?"

Padma smacked her forehead. "I completely forgot; I was supposed to get them as soon as you woke up! Wait right here!" She dashed out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Aella to take in her surroundings.

There was a table next to her bed, with all sorts of get-well cards and candies on it. There were even two vases of flowers on it each with a card. Aella picked up the one with all sorts of lilies and roses in it; it was from the staff of Hogwarts. Aella smiled as she put it back and picked up the other one.

_Get better soon._ The vase had a single black rose in it. Aella frowned slightly, wondering who gave it to her, but then pushed it to the back of her mind as her grandparents entered her view.

"Grammy! Grandpa!" They sat down on her bed and hugged her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!" Minerva said. "We were s worried."

"Aw, a little thing like a basilisk couldn't hurt me, Grammy." Aella downplayed her feelings and swallowed back her tears. Richard chuckled.

"Of course it couldn't." he said. "By the way, all the end of year exams are canceled. You took a little while longer to wake you than the rest of the petrified students."

Aella digested this. "Oh, rats. I was so excited for them." She said.

Minerva laughed. "What a Ravenclaw response."

"So, what are we doing this summer?" Aella asked.

"Nothing."

"Good."

* * *

A/N: Alright, I don't like Harry's second year. I never did, so that's why it's so... lacking, and why I made Aella get petrified. Sorry about that, I am by no means proud of it, but... there was no inspiration in it.

Also, most of the kids sorted are on the Harry Potter Lexicon. I made up a few of their years, so it's my bad for any inconsistencies. I made Annie Kolmeyer, Loran Torres, and Kaila Griffin up.

Sorry if I haven't made this clear, but Aella doesn't know that Mark and Timothy adopted her yet. As she doesn't know that two men can't have a baby (the normal way) on their own, she assumes that they are her biological parents. Minerva and Richard plan on telling her on her fourteenth birthday that she's adopted, something that Mark and Timothy specifically stated in their will.

And as a final note: I like a wel rounded critical review (things I could improve on, common grammer mistakes, ect.). I also love you telling me that you liked it and other positive stuff like that. I would like to ask tou to not say that the story sucks and I should take it down. If you tell me WHY I should take it down and WHY it sucks, I will give it careful consideration and fix it. But, please don't just say that it's bad- that doesn't help me improve my writing, which is why I posted on here in the first place. Thank you!


	4. In Which A Wolf Reveals Something

Aella spent the first month of her summer in blissful laziness. She had completed her homework during the first week of break so she wouldn't have to deal with it later, and then did nothing at all.

And then, Sirius Black broke out. Aella had woken up very early one morning, went down to the kitchen, and collected the paper. Richard and Minerva were already sitting at the table sipping tea to wake them up. Aella handed Richard the paper, and he unfolded, took a brief glance at the front page, then flipped for the comics. He had just begun pulling them out when he went very white and flipped back to the front page. The large gulp of tea that he had just sipped went spraying everywhere.

"What is it?" Aella and Minerva asked simultaneously. Richard simply tossed the paper down on the tale so that they could read the headline.

_**Sirius Black Escapes Azkaban**_

_Sirius Black, notorious Death Eater, escaped from Azkaban Prison last night. Black was imprisoned twelve years ago, just day's after He-Who-Must-Be-Named was defeated, for killing twelve muggles and a wizard, Peter Pettigrew. It is believed that Black also informed He-Who-Must-Be-Named of the Potter's whereabouts. _

_The guards and Dementors aren't sure how he escaped, but we have been assured that every available Auror is on the task of recapturing him. It is believed that Black escaped in order to finish his old master's, He-Who-Must-Be-Named, job of killing Harry Potter._

But that was all that Aella got to read before her grandmother snatched the paper away from the table to inspect it more closely.

"Grammy?" Aella asked fearfully. "What does this mean for Harry?"

Minerva shook her head. "I don't know, dear."

* * *

That year, Aella took the train to Hogwarts, ""just to experience it", as she told her grandparents. Richard took her to the platform, his 6'6 frame easily parting the sea of students for Aella, who was still only 5'0 at thirteen.

"Aella!" screamed a delighted Padma. "Oh my God, I had no idea that you were coming!"

Aella threw her arms around her best friend. "I know; I wanted to surprise you."

Padma grinned. "Label me surprised, then. We have so much to talk about!"

A deep chuckle reminded Aella of her grandfather's presence.

"Oh, yeah, this is my grandpa. I'm not sure if you've ever meet him."

Padma stuck out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. Aella's told me a lot about you. I think I've seen you at the staff table a few times."

Richard shook her hand. "A pleasure as well, Miss Patil." He chuckled. "But I think you two need to get on the train, it's five minutes till eleven."

Aella hugged him. "I'll see you soon, right?"

"Of course, now go." He shooed her towards the scarlet steam engine. Aella scampered onto the train, Padma close behind. They situated themselves in a compartment opposite one that had a fast asleep, older-looking man in it.

"So, what happened during your summer?" Aella asked, eager for any gossip.

"Well, as you asked so nicely... I met someone." Padma said, a huge grin on her face.

"Oh sweet Merlin, who?" Aella screamed. Padma made shushing gestures as she went to the door and closed it, then tapped it with her wand.

"What did you do to it?" Aella asked, her natural Ravenclaw taking over for a bit.

"Silenced it, but anyway. This guy, he was so hot." Padma fanned herself to show how cute he was.

"What does he look like? Where'd you meet him? How old? What's his name?" Aella rattled off questions as fast as he could.

"One question at a time, geez!" Padma laughed. "He's fifteen, his name is Jake."

Aella gasped. "No way!"

"Yep. We met when I went on a morning run; he was running too. Get this; he was only wearing shorts. He has the best abs!" Both girls sighed as they imagined this.

"So, what does he look like?" Aella pressed.

Padma pulled a picture out of her pocket. "Here." She handed the picture to Aella. It was a muggle picture, but the boy in it was delicious.

"Wow." Aella sighed. Jake and Padma were standing arm in arm. He had short cut, blond hair, and was a great deal taller than Padma, maybe 5'10 or so. Jake was wearing nothing but long shorts, and his eyes were a nice brown.

"Yeah." There was silence in the compartment for a bit.

"So... is he a good kisser?"

"Aella!" shrieked Padma.

"What?" Aella smirked at the Indian girl.

"He's amazing." The girls sighed again. "So, how was your summer?" Padma asked eventually.

"Nowhere near as exciting as yours." Aella rolled her eyes. "There were two big points. One was when Black escaped."

"What?" Padma interrupted. "I though he was a Muggle escapee. He was on our news!"

"Really?" Aella asked, curious. "He killed a lot of muggles right before he was caught; he was a big supporter of You- Know- Who. Apparently, he wants to kill Harry."

Padma gasped. "Oh my God!"

"Yeah, but I'm sure that the Aurors will catch him soon, though." Aella waved an airy hand.

"So, what else happened?" Padma asked.

Aella blushed. "You sure that the door is silenced?" she asked.

"Yes, why?" Padma asked suspiciously.

"I... got my period." Aella mumbled.

"No way!" Padma said, smirking.

"Yeah, but it gets worse. Grammy was helping Dumbledore find the new DADA, and Grandpa, Aunt Aurora, and Snape were there. I tried to tell only Aunt Aurora; I whispered it in her ear, but, apparently, Snape has really good hearing!" Aella said, almost laughing.

Padma did laugh. "Oh no! That really stinks!"

"Ugh! It was horrible. And then Grammy took me out to go bra shopping. That wasn't so bad; she went to another store while I got bras." Aella said, grinning. That particular adventure was fun. Unknown to her grandmother, Aella had gotten a few... racier... articles of underclothes for fun. They were hidden at the bottom of her trunk at the moment.

"No way! You're so lucky, Mum gets all of that for Pavarti and I." Padma whined. "I'll bet you didn't get only the nice, appropriate bras, did you?" She fixed her friend with a knowing eye. Aella blushed again, and soon their laughter filled the compartment again.

A few hours later, the train started slowing down.

"We're not there already?" Aella said, confused.

"No, we still have a few more hours, I thought." Padma peered out of the window. "Something's out there, I think." She whispered, sounding very frightened. Suddenly, the lights flickered out. Padma screamed a little, and both girls felt an unnatural coldness seeping into their bones, freezing them. Their door slid open, and a horrible, rattling sound came from the doorway. Padma wriggled closer to Aella, but Aella couldn't do anything to comfort her friend.

Her mind was filled with the sounds of the worst moments of her life. She heard shots ring out, and her fathers pained yells as they were killed, and her own screams. Then there was another woman's scream, one that she didn't recognize, shouting. "No! Tasia, Harry!" It ended abruptly, and Aella allowed herself to sink into unconsciousness.

She was woken by the sharp 'snap' of something being broken. Aella opened her eyes to see the man from the opposing compartment breaking some chocolate in half.

"What happened?" she made her consciousness known. Padma and the man bent down next to her. "Who are you?"

The man chuckled a bit. "I'm Professor Lupin." He said in a mild tone. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright. What happened?" Aella repeated her question.

"A dementor attacked you. They basically make you relive your worst memories." He said calmly, leaning toward her to give her some of the chocolate.

"Oh." Aella accepted the chocolate.

"Professor Lupin did some spell, it drove the Dementor away." Padma said quietly, still shaking from the coldness and the fear for her friend.

"Yes, the Patronus Charm." He heaved a sigh, then frowned suddenly. "What's your name?"

Aella blinked. "Erm, Aella McGonagall."

Remus nodded. "Your grandmother would be Professor McGonagall, and your father is Mark, then?"

"Mark was my daddy, but he and Tim, my other dad, died when I was five." Aella swallowed back some tears.

The Professor's brow furrowed further, and seemed to breathe deeply. Aella looked at Padma, trying to convey that the guy was slightly off his rocker. He stood abruptly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I have to check on the other students." He strode out of the compartment.

"What the hell was that about?" Aella looked at Padma with a blank expression.

"No clue..."

* * *

The two girls had barely stepped out of their carriage when Professor McGonagall intercepted them.

"Aella, are you alright?" she pressed a hand to her granddaughter's head.

Aella stepped away. "I'm fine, why?"

"Professor Lupin sent an owl saying that you had fainted from the dementors, and I know you were there when they... you know." Minerva pursed her lips, a faint sparkling of tears shining in her eyes.

"I'm fine." Aella reassured Minerva. "I heard it again." She frowned as she remembered something else from the attack. "Grammy, do you know who Tasia is?"

Minerva looked at her strangely. "Yes, I used to baby sit her every so often. She was Harry Potter's twin sister, but she didn't survive Voldemort's attack. They never... never even found her body." She sniffed. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Can I go to the feast now? Padma's waiting for me." Aella asked.

"Are you sure you're okay?" her grandmother asked again.

* * *

"Yes, Lupin gave me some chocolate." Aella said, already starting to walk away to join her friend.

Professor Lupin's classes were, to say the least, interesting. In their first class with him, he introduced them to a boggart.

"Please take out your wands and follow me." He said before any of them had a chance to even sit down. There were a few murmurs of interest; their last practical lesson had been from Lockhart and had involved several Cornish Pixies.

The class ended up at the teachers lounge. "Now, class, what can you tell me about boggarts?" Remus asked as soon as the entire class was assembled in front of a large suitcase.

Michael's hand shot up.

"Yes, Mr. Corner?"

"They're shape-shifters, taking on the shape of whatever the beholder fears the most. They are classified as very dangerous by 'Dangerous Beasts and Where to Find Them'. Nobody knows what their true form is." Michael rattled off.

"Very good, ten points to Ravenclaw. I happened to find a boggart in my desk, so today, we shall be facing one." Remus said. The class gasped in anticipation and fear.

"I wonder what mine will be." Padma whispered to Aella, who shrugged.

"The spell to vanquish a boggart is _Ridikulus._ Say it... without wands, please." Remus continued his lecture.

"_Ridikulus._" We repeated.

"Good, good. But. The real defeater of boggarts is laughter." A few people started at this announcement.

"Yes, laughter. Take a few moments to think of your worst fear." Remus instructed them. Aella frowned. A few weeks ago, she would've said guns, but now, after that dementor, she wasn't so sure.

"Now form a line, please." Remus' voice interrupted Aella's thoughts. There was a few moments of pushing and shoving before a line was formed. Aella was about midway through, while Padma was near the front.

"Ready?" Remus asked Padma, who nodded shakily and gripped her wand. Lupin flicked his wand at the suitcase, and out came a huge shark, maybe fifteen, twenty feet long. Aella shrank back from it a bit, but Padma stood up straighter.

"_Ridikulus!_" she yelled at the boggart-shark. It's teeth fell out in a comical way, and she gave a shout of laughter.

"Nice! Hannah, you next!" Remus said, amusement coloring his voice.

Hannah Abbot, of Hufflepuff, faced the dementor, and it vanished. Hannah stood there, staring at it, before yelling, "_Ridikulus!_" A fluffy pillow appeared and shook itself apart. The boggart faced Susan Bones and, with another crack, became a swarm of bugs that dropped dead and then- CRACK- became a gun that shot out a flag that said 'bang', and then -CRACK- was a group of brass players that were terribly out of tune, and then got muted, before -CRACK- becoming a daddy longlegs. It was Aella's turn, and she faced it, still unsure of what it would turn into. The legless spider looked at her before turning, with a crack, into a tall, hooded dementor. She stared at it, it's cold seeping into her, unable to raise her hand to defend herself.

Remus stepped in front of her when he realized that she wasn't doing anything, and the boggart turned into a moon, and then, with a wave of his wand, a balloon that disintegrated with a large shout of laughter from a Hufflepuff.

"Aella? Are you alright?" Padma asked her friend. Aella didn't move.

"Erm, alright, I think that we've had enough of the boggart for today. I would like a six- inch essay about boggarts for next class." Remus dismissed the rest of the class.

"Miss McGonagall?" Aella finally registered what had happened, and suddenly herself into the nearest person's arms. The nearest person just happened to a certain, very surprised, professor.

"Padma, could you go get Professor McGonagall?" Remus told Padma, who nodded and scampered off at once.

"Erm... please stop crying." Remus patted the crying girl's back awkwardly. As he did, he couldn't help noticing that there was something familiar about her scent... something that he had smelled a very long time ago, and then, again, rather recently. He would know that scent anywhere. But it couldn't be; the girl was dead. Aella gave a final sniffle and stepped away from her teacher. It took her a moment to realize what she had done.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for doing that, I am so, so, so sorry!" Aella didn't let Remus get a word in until her grandmother walked through the door, Padma right behind her. Aella turned to the formidable witch with tears still shining in her eyes.

"Dementor boggart." She said simply. Minerva knelt next to her.

"Again?" she searched her granddaughter's eyes for something.

"Everything." Aella swallowed. "Even the men..." She didn't say anything more, leaving Padma and Lupin confused to one side.

* * *

Once Aella calmed down, Minerva sent her and Padma to their next lesson. She had turned to go herself, but Lupin called her back.

"Professor, was Aella adopted?" he asked, getting to the point.

"Well, yes, of course she was. She had two fathers." Minerva said. "And, please, call me Minerva. You aren't my student anymore, Remus."

"Alright, Minerva. When's her birthday?" he asked another seemingly random question.

"August first, the Muggle agency that Mark got her from didn't know, but a few simple charms told us when it was." Minerva was getting even more confused.

"Minerva, I was there when Harry Potter and his twin, Tasia were born. Tasia had green eyes and brown hair. She was born on August first, twelve minutes after Harry, not on the thirty-first." Remus said in a rush, looking at the door to see if there were any eavesdroppers there.

"What are you saying, Remus?" Minerva asked, knowing where he was going with this, but scared to admit it.

"They never found her body, you know that. Minerva, I was named Tasia's godfather." Remus rushed on. "Her scent has been basically ingrained into my mind and nose. Aella and Harry smell almost exactly the same; Aella and Tasia are a complete match."

"So you're saying that somehow, Tasia survived Voldemort's attack and got to a Muggle orphanage?" Minerva raised her eyebrows.

Remus hesitated. "Well, yes."

"That's ridiculous!" Minerva threw her hands up in the air.

"How so? We both know Tasia was a very gifted with; you bore the results of that for a week or so, I believe." Remus smirked at his old professor, who blushed. After babysitting Tasia once, she had been stuck with green and red hair for a week before Dumbledore was able to fix it.

"So you think she inadvertently apparated? Why wouldn't she appear at your house, then?" Minerva questioned.

"I don't know." Remus sighed. "Is there a spell to see if they're related?"

"Dumbledore would know. I'll ask him." Minerva put her face in her hands. "I'll talk with Richard about this."

* * *

Aella ran away from the door, stunned at what she had just overheard.

"Aella! Wait!" Padma whisper- shouted. The girl just ran faster, and soon Padma lost her. After stopping to catch her breath for a second, she turned back, hoping to find Minerva or Remus.

She did, literally, run into Remus. The professor looked down at her scared expression and helped her up from the ground, where she had landed after bouncing off of him.

"Padma, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Aella..." she panted, clutching a stitch in her side.

"What? Did she have a relapse of the dementor attack?" he asked, immediately concerned.

Padma shook her head. "No... your conversation... with Professor... she ..." she gasped for breath. Remus understood what she was saying immediately.

"She overheard Professor McGonagall and myself talking, didn't she?" Remus paled considerably. Padma just nodded. "Which way did she go?" Padma pointed down the hall, and Remus rushed off, forgetting his briefcase on the floor next to her.

"Severus!" Remus called to the first teacher he saw.

"What?" the Potions master sneered at him.

"Have you seen Aella?" Remus asked.

"I haven't got time to find your missing students, Lupin." Snape snapped.

"Severus, I haven't got time for your snide remarks! Have. You. Seen. Her?" Remus growled, causing Severus to raise one eyebrow.

"She ran into ou- I mean, Aurora's rooms a few minutes ago, sobbing. Aurora said that she would sort it out." He said. Remus noted the familiarity, and the fact that Severus seemed to have been in the Astronomy teacher's rooms, and stored it away for later blackmail.

"Thank you." He said, running towards the Astronomy Tower.

"Lupin?" he halted as Severus' voice called him back.

"What?"

"Professor Sinistra lives in the dungeons." If Remus didn't know better, he would think that Severus was blushing.

"Right." A confused Remus ran towards the dungeons, all the running beginning to take its toll.

"Aurora?" he knocked on the only teacher's rooms in the dungeon.

"_If Aurora lives here, where does Severus... oh."_ He thought as he waited for the door to be answered, suddenly realizing that Severus was, indeed, very familiar with the Astronomy professor.

"Yes? Oh, hello Remus." Aurora opened the door a crack. "What do you want?"

"May I come in?" he asked pleasantly.

"No, I don't think so." She said, just as pleasantly.

"Why not?"

"Because I was... about to have a bubble bath." Aurora invented.

Remus sighed. "Aurora, I know she's in here." She winced, then opened the door more, so that Remus could get in. he took a cursory glance around the rooms.

"I didn't know you were so interested in Potions, Aurora." He smirked as he looked around the room for Aella.

Aurora replied with a straight face. "Well, it does help that my lover is a Potions Master, and an exceptionally good one at that."

Remus cleared his throat, coloring a little. "Skipping over that... where's Aella? Severus said that she was down here."

"She left."

Remus ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Do you know where she went?"

"Duh." Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Could you tell me?" Remus said, elated.

"No." she pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips.

Remus groaned, deflating. "What? Why not?"

She strode over to him. "Because all I could get out of my goddaughter between her tears was your name." She poked his chest. "And I want to know what you did. Sit."

Her glare was so fierce that he sat without question.

"Now, explain."

"Alright, you know about Tasia Potter, and her tragedy?" He started, resigning himself to his fate.

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" She said, tapping her foot. "What does this..."

"Let me finish." He interrupted her. "I was her godfather. Her scent is ingrained in my nose."

"Her scent?"

"Werewolf abilities, remember?" he said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, Tasia and Harry smelled almost exactly the same, because they were twins. Harry and Aella also smell extremely similar. Almost as if they were twins." He looked pointedly at Aurora.

Her eyes widened. "You're telling me that Aella... is Tasia? THE Tasia?"

Remus nodded. "Can you tell me where she is now?"

"No! Of course I won't!" she said indignantly. Remus stared at her before realizing that she was pointing into Severus' office.

"Fine, then." He fake- sighed while nodding his thanks. He entered the office and closed the door behind him. He looked around, but there was no sign of the girl. He eventually heard a small sniffle from behind an extremely large cauldron. He peered behind it, and there was the object of his hunt.

"Aella?" he said softly.

"Isn't it Tasia?" she said resentfully, sounding like she had just done a lot of crying, which she had.

"Only if you want it to be." He hesitated. "Would you like to come out? I'm going to call your grandparents, alright."

"Fine." Aella crawled out from the cauldron and dusted herself off before seating herself on a hard wooden chair.

"Do you want me to get Aurora, too?" he asked, heading towards the door.

"Fine." All she did was cross her arms.

"Aurora?" Remus called into the rooms without looking. "I think you should be there, too."

There was a sigh. "Yeah. Bye, see you in a bit." Remus finally looked at the room to see whom Aurora was talking to. Severus' arms encircled Aurora, and her head leaned on his chest.

"One word about that, wolf-boy, and you may find that your favorite juice has a mite more silver than is called for." Severus warned Remus; the 'wolf-boy' simply smirked.

* * *

"So, I'm adopted?" Aella asked about fifteen minutes later, after everything (including why Remus could smell so well) was explained to her.

"Yes. Two men can't make a baby. You were adopted at fifteen months from a Muggle agency." Minerva explained patiently.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Aella looked reproachfully at her grandparents.

"Your fathers didn't want you to be told until you were fourteen. Don't ask me why fourteen, I don't know." Richard said, halting Aella's unspoken question.

"So, Professor Lupin, who's a werewolf, smelled me and thought that I smelled like this girl that was thought to be, but isn't, dead?" Aella out her head in her hands, trying to make sense of it all. "And that said girl, which might be me, is Harry Bloody Potter's twin?"

"Well, his middle name is James, not 'Bloody', but, otherwise, yes." Richard said as Minerva reprimanded her for language.

"Listen, Aella, I know it's a lot to take in, so if you want a bit of time to think..." Aurora put her hand on Aella's shoulder.

Aella was silent for a bit. Then, "I have a few questions. One: can I tell Padma this?"

The adults exchanged looks, having an entire conversation without words. "We suppose so."

"Awesome. Next... what was my full name?" Aella looked at her toes.

"Tasia Lily Potter." Remus answered promptly. "Born August first, 12:07 AM, twelve minutes after Harry James."

Aella stared at him. "Okay, yeah, that's a bit creepy." She fell silent, then chuckled a bit. "So, I actually have a godfather and a godmother now, then?"

Aurora and Remus exchanged startled looks; they hadn't thought about that.

"I suppose you do." Aurora said slowly.

"Alright, I have one final question. Don't all of you have classes to teach right now?" Aella giggled as they all checked their watches. Aurora and Minerva dashed out, but Remus stayed.

"I have a free period." He explained. "Listen, do you want me to teach you how to repel a dementor?"

"With the... Patronus Charm, right?" She looked up at him.

"Yep."

"When can I start?" Her entire face lit up with anticipation.

He grinned. "As soon as this full moon is over. I might also teach you a few other things, stuff that came in handy when your biological father and I were roaming Hogwarts."

Aella's smile was almost evil as the thought about all that she could do with that. "I'd like that, thanks."

* * *

A/N: You can thank my band mates for all the boggarts... and bonus cookies to the person(s) who can tell me what Hannah's fear was! Um, please read my most recent update on my profile; it explains why there probably won't be any updates for the next two or so months. Hope this tides you over! Please R&R whilst I study for my four finals! It'll be a huge booster for them if you do!


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Harry Potter, Family