Chapter Text
July 9th, 1989 9:00 AM
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Aster had an interesting relationship with the word ordinary. She considered herself very ordinary. Brown hair, brown eyes, not ugly, but not an amazing beauty. Just, ordinary. Her situation, however, was anything but. She was ten, almost eleven, but she knew most people were not like her. The only person she felt understood her was her brother Harry, and he was nine, so this was not much of a comfort.
Their parents had died when she was two and Harry was one, and they heard nothing but negative stories about them growing up. Their mother’s sister had taken the two of them in, however she seemed to regard Harry and his scar as too much of a reminder of her sister and the accident, and Aster noticed how he seemed to get the least at dinner, how he got stuck under the stairs even though she offered to share her room, how she was introduced, and Harry was pushed to the side. She would often sneak him extra food, tell him made up stories of their life before, stay with him until he fell asleep.
She could tell the further apart their aunt thought they were, the better they were both treated. Whenever Aster tried to speak up for Harry, they were both punished, though his was generally worse than hers. So, Aster learned to distance herself just enough in front of their aunt and uncle, enough they would think she viewed him as they did, but not enough that he believed it. She did what she had to for her brother and put herself second. She decided as soon as she was old enough, she would take Harry and they would leave this place, they only needed each other.
On the morning of her eleventh birthday, Aster woke up entirely unenthused. She knew what birthdays in the Dursley house consisted of. She might get an acknowledgement of the day from her aunt; Dudley would receive presents so he did not feel overshadowed and after everyone else was asleep she and Harry would daydream about what birthdays might have meant with their parents. She got dressed and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day, she thought perhaps if her parents were alive, they would go swimming today, but she knew her day would be spent indoors appeasing the Dursleys. She started formulating a story of her real family celebrating by the lake to tell Harry that night.
As she tiptoed down the stairs, careful to go slowly so as not to wake her brother, she decided that the first birthday they celebrated together, would be celebrated right. They would have cake and gifts and ice cream and Harry would be happy. All she wanted was for her brother to be happy. She went to start cooking the Dursley’s breakfast when there was a knock at the door. She checked the clock, it was only nine in the morning, and being a Sunday, the Dursley’s were unlikely to be awake for at least another hour. She decided she would tell the visitor to return in a little while, her uncle would not hide his rage if a potential business associate had been turned away outright.
She opened the door and stared. This was definitely not a potential business associate; this is someone Uncle Vernon would cross the street to avoid. The woman in front of her was wearing long flowing robes and glasses. She smiled at Aster, and Aster knew that even though this was not someone her aunt or uncle would associate with, she knew them, somehow.
“Sorry, the Dursley’s are not available at the moment, but if you return in about an hour, they should be ready.” Aster stated, this was her rehearsed statement for visitors that arrived when she was the only one available.
The woman smiled and replied, “May I come in to wait? I need to talk to them today, and you Aster.”
Aster did not know what to say. What could this woman possibly have to talk to her about, and how did she know her name? Even though common sense told Aster to turn her away, something else told her to let the woman in, she felt familiar.
“I suppose you may, but I need to cook breakfast, could you wait with me in the kitchen, it may give them a start to find you alone in the living room.” Aster responded.
The woman nodded and followed Aster in and to the kitchen. As Aster pulled out a package of eggs and bacon the woman seemed to take in her surroundings. Aster popped some toast in the toaster as the bacon fried and the woman said nothing more, so Aster assumed she had wanted to talk to the Dursleys after all. Aster started frying eggs, until she heard the sound that usually brought her joy early in the morning.
She heard a quiet knock and knew this was Harry attempting to figure out if she was awake. She looked to the woman, who had obviously also heard.
“I, um- I’ll be right back.” Aster said as she threw together a breakfast sandwich and hurried it over to Harry’s door. She carefully unlocked it and opened the door to her little brother, whose face split into a grin the second he saw her.
He hugged her, then grabbed the sandwich and began eating. “Good morning to you too.” Aster said with a smile, momentarily forgetting the visitor in the other room.
“G’morning,” Harry replied, mouth full of eggs, “can I come out for a bit while you cook? I want to tell you a birthday story I made up for you.”
Aster shot a glance back into the other room and saw the lady pretending not to pay attention. “No, I’m sorry, they have a visitor, and I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Aster replied and it hurt her to see his smile fade away. “But I have a great story for you later about celebrating birthdays at a lake and I’m excited to hear your story too!” She said hoping it would make him smile.
“Okay, my story is going to be better though, just so you know.” He replied with a smirk.
“I know it will be, I can never seem to beat you. I’ll come back later; I promise.” Harry smiled and nodded, hugging Aster once more, knowing she always kept her promises.
Aster made her way back to the kitchen and waited for the woman to ask about what was obviously a person under the stairs. The woman was not even looking at Aster, she seemed to be writing with what looked like a feather on some old looking paper. Aster wanted to question this but appreciated that the woman had not inquired into her own secret, so she would let the woman keep her secrets. Aster turned back to the stove and breakfast and almost forgot the woman was there, until an owl flew into the house sometime later. Aster jumped at the sound and turned to see the woman removing some paper from the owl’s leg and tying her own onto it before it flew back out of the window.
She stared at the woman while she read it, and eventually the woman saw the shock on her face. “Of course, you haven’t seen owl post before, that makes perfect sense.” The lady said, as if the owl post were something Aster should have heard of.
“Owl post?” Aster asked, wondering if maybe she should have left this stranger outside as soon as she opened the door.
“In our community, we use owls to deliver our mail, it tends to be faster and more direct than the Muggles version.” The lady responded as if any of that made sense.
Aster was trying to figure out just what a Muggle was and what community the lady was referring to when she heard stomping feet on the stairs. She felt an internal panic take over, she now knew for certain there was no way Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were going to welcome this odd lady and Aster was suddenly sure any acknowledgement of her birthday had been thrown away the second she let the woman into the house.
“Ah, you must be Vernon, we haven’t formally met of course, but I expect you’ve been preparing for this meeting?” The lady looks at Uncle Vernon for a response as he stares at her in shock.
“PETUNIA!” He shouts and turns back towards the stairs, storming back up them. The woman does not seem startled by this however and looks back at the paper she took from the owl before sliding it into a pocket inside her robes. She sits down at the table and glances back at the door, waiting for Aster’s uncle and aunt to return to the kitchen. Aster finished plating breakfast and placed it on the table, returning to stand in the kitchen, not wanting to incur any anger before she had to.
Eventually her aunt and uncle returned downstairs, and at the sight of the visitor, Petunia seemed almost scared. “Your sort isn’t supposed to come around here, how did you get in anyway?” She demanded once she composed herself.
Aster braced herself for the blame, but the lady just smiled politely, replying, “Well, two of ‘my sort’ live here, and one is to accompany me today to get supplies for school this coming year.” Aster stared at this woman with a mixture of confusion and awe, she had never seen anyone talk to her aunt in that manner.
“None of my relations will be attending that godforsaken place!” Vernon shouted as if this decided the matter. Aster had figured this, even before she knew the woman had come for her. She would have to turn her away and get punished for even allowing this strange woman into the home in the first place, her door would likely be locked tonight now, throwing away the stories she and Harry had been crafting for each other.
The lady was still undisturbed. She turned to Aster. “How would you like to attend Hogwarts Aster?” She asked.
“What is Hogwarts,” Aster responded quietly, not wanting any extra attention from her aunt and uncle.
The woman seemed a bit taken aback, but explained, nonetheless. “Hogwarts is a boarding school for young witches and wizards, such as yourself. Your own parents attended, it's where they met.”
“Witch?” Aster inquired. She did not know what she was supposed to do with this information. The lady smiled and replied, “All will be explained. Obviously, you haven’t received the education we assumed.”
Vernon and Petunia seemed to be conferring in whispers and turned to the woman. “If Aster leaves this house she is not welcome back, and she will never see Harry again.” Vernon stated this as fact and Aster did not know how to react.
“I’m sorry Miss, I can’t leave Harry.” Aster stated, waiting for the woman’s response. The woman smiled in response.
“Aster, I am your godmother, and I promise you, you will see Harry again if you come with me. He is too young to come yet, but he will join you.” I looked in her eyes and felt it was the truth.
“I need to talk to him; I can’t just leave him.”
She nods, as if this were never in question. She flicks her hand and Harry’s cupboard door springs open. He stumbles out, obviously he had been leaning against the door listening. He ran over to Aster and pulled her into a hug.
“Get out and go, we’ll both get out eventually,” he whispered into her ear. She held him tight and responded, “I promise I will get you out of here Harry. You and me against the world, always.” She felt him nod before he pulled away.
“Okay.” Aster said as she looked at the lady.
Her aunt and uncle screamed, but Aster did not listen. She looked at Harry, who was beaming up at her and told herself she was doing this for him too. He would get out of here.