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SIYE Time:9:40 on 29th March 2024
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Fighting Fate
By Fey Falyyn

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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-Hogwarts
Characters:None
Genres: Comedy
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 59
Summary: Sequel to Fighting Harry. Fourteen years have passed since Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, and his life is perfect in almost every way. He went on to marry the witch of his dream, become the youngest-ever Head of International Auror affairs, and even have a son who loves flying as much as he does. There's just one problem. And her name is Meridy.
Hitcount: Story Total: 42243; Chapter Total: 4074





Author's Notes:
Well, I'm posting the second chapter, and I hope you like it! Please don't make fun of my rhyming skills; I know they're lacking.




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StoryPrinter



“I just don’t know about this,” Ginny said worriedly to her sister-in-law and friend, Hermione Granger-Weasley. “It’s tearing our family apart.”

Hermione nodded sympathetically. “I know. But it’s a good idea.”

“But changing her name at Hogwarts, and pretending she’s an orphan? Doesn’t that seem–well, a little extreme to you? She’s eleven. You can’t make a first-year rewrite their whole identity. She’s bound to forget, sooner or later, and let it slip out. It’s only natural.”

“Ginny.” Her sister-in-law put a pretty, trim hand gently on Ginny’s shoulder. “Meredith isn’t a normal first-year. She won’t forget. And she’ll never be happy until she gets to see the world for herself, and the world gets to see her for herself. She’s an independent little soul. It’s only natural that she wants to be seen as Meridy first and Harry Potter’s daughter second. Just go with it. Give her a few years to become comfortable with who she is, and she’ll come back.”

“What if she doesn’t? What if she decides she wants to be this other girl forever, and never be a part of our family?” Ginny sounded tearful.

Hermione sighed, suddenly looking her age. “Honestly, Gin, I don’t know. It’s a possibility. But…what means more to you? That your daughter is a part of your family, or that she’s happy? Because she’s miserable right now, Gin, absolutely miserable. I’ve never seen such an unhappy child.”

“I’ve failed her,” Ginny sniffed. “I should have insisted we spend more time away from Harry’s work, not have made her go to so many press conferences–”

“Ginevra,” Hermione said severely. “You can’t change what you are. You and Harry do a lot of very good things for the world. It’s not your fault that your daughter doesn’t enjoy the spotlight.”

“It’s not her fault that her parents haven’t always made time for just the family, either,” the worried mother shot back.

Her friend sighed. “Look, maybe you could have made more of an effort to shield her from all of the publicity,” she said honestly. “What was it that Professor McGonagall told us that Dumbledore said about Harry, all those years ago. ‘It’s enough to turn any boy’s head,’ he said, speaking of Harry being exposed to all of his fame before he went to Hogwarts. The same is true with Mer. Only, because it’s negative press for her, she hates it. The reporters are cruel to those who don’t love publicity, and our Meridy has always hated standing in anyone’s shadow. Particularly when both of her parents cast such very long shadows. Give her time. She’ll come back to you, when she’s ready, when she’s made a name for herself besides Harry Potter’s Daughter.”

“You’re right,” Ginny said resolutely, wiping her eyes. “I’ve just got to do this, is all. It’s for the best, like you say. But it’s so hard,” she said, her eyes welling up again. “To give up my baby.”

“You’ll still have Michael,” Hermione said consolingly. “And it’s not as if you’d see her much anyway, living in Greece.”

Ginny nodded. “She’ll be all alone, though. Living in Britain by herself, without her family.”

“Stop it,” her sister-in-law and close friend said sharply. “She’ll be fine. She’ll make lots of friends at Hogwarts. And Jack’ll be there. He’ll keep an eye on her,” she said, speaking of her son, who had entered Hogwarts the year before. “We’ve explained to him that he can’t talk to her as he’s used to. And you can still write her.”

“No, we can’t,” Ginny said, now sniffing again. “It would be hard to explain to her year-mates why an orphan is getting letters from her mother. You can send notes to her through Jack, but we don’t want her to have to lie to her friends. Harry’s determined to do this properly.”

“Is he still angry, then?” Hermione asked, and the sympathetic light was back in her eyes. “He’s always been so stubborn.”

“Mer is too,” Ginny said mournfully. “He’s not angry, I don’t think–it just hurt him very much. And so he’s been being stiff and distant. You know Mer–that hurt her feelings, because, as excited as she is, I think she’s feeling a bit abandoned by the way he went about it, and now she’s being stiff too. I don’t know what’ll happen if they don’t resolve things before she leaves tomorrow.”

Hermione sighed. “They’re so much alike,” she said, ruefully. “And neither of them knows it.”

“I hope Meredith realizes what she’s done, when all of this is over,” Ginny said, her eyes shadowed.

“Meridy? It wasn’t her idea,” Hermione said fairly. “She just suggested it in a moment of anger, and Harry took her up on it. Still…you’re right. It’s cruel, for everyone. But it’s for the best. There’s safety to consider too, you know. Harry will always have enemies because of his work, and while Meridy’s always been safe with you, it’s probably wise not to broadcast where she’s attending school.”

“That’s true. And I do want her to be happy,” Ginny said. “But I want her to know that we still love her, and we’ll be here for her whenever she’s ready to come back. I’m afraid Harry hasn’t been giving off that impression lately.”

“Talk to him,” Hermione suggested. “I’m sure he can be brought to see reason.”

Ginny nodded. “I don’t know how to explain it to Michael, though,” she confessed. “He doesn’t understand why his ‘Mery’ doesn’t want to be part of the family anymore. He loves the attention. He’s definitely my son that way.”

“How are you going to explain it to the press?” Hermione wanted to know. “They’re going to ask where Meredith is attending school.”

“We decided to release a statement that we’ve sent her to a private school in America, where she can get an education away from all of the attention of the journalists,” Ginny said.

“Is she going to change her first name, or just her last?”

Ginny tapped her fingers on the counter and nodded. “Both. We talked it over with McGonagall, and she’s going to go by her middle name. The press gets her name wrong so often–probably because she does everything she can to avoid them–that I doubt anyone will recognize it. And she doesn’t look enough like either of us to rouse anyone’s suspicions. We’ve spent so little time in Britain over the last few years that I doubt many will even remember we’ve a daughter entering Hogwarts this year. She’s going to take the surname Black, after Sirius, she says.”

“Does Harry know yet?” Hermione asked, with a slight smile.

“No,” she said. “And Meridy’s not going to tell him; I won’t either. It’s between the two of them, and they’re going to have to sort it out themselves.”

Her sister-in-law nodded. “Very wise of you. Oh–goodness, is it twelve o’ clock already? I promised Jack I’d take him to Diagon Alley to get him an owl for his birthday, though we got all of his supplies last week.”

Ginny laughed, but it was shaky. “We got all but Meredith’s books in Greece. And her wand. She loves the Mediterranean, even if she hates what living there represents.”

“What’s it made of?” asked Hermione with interest.

Ginny gave her a look that was half guarded and half exasperated. “I don’t want to talk about it. If the dratted thing lasts halfway through the year without hurting anyone, I’ll be amazed. ”

“What’s it made of?” Hermione repeated.

“I have no idea,” Ginny said grumpily. “Meredith met this wrinkled old hedge witch in Muggle Crete. The woman looked like she had Harpy blood. Mer mentioned that she was starting school and the woman looked her over and asked if she’d bought a wand yet. When Mer said no, the woman cackled and invited us in for tea. I was afraid to say no; she looked as if she’d curse us for refusing, and you know how politics work, you’ve always got to be nice to everyone.”

“And?” Hermione asked, impatiently.

“It turned out that she’d been a wand collector in her prime, which was sometime last century,” Ginny continued, still more grumpily. “She said she’d given away all but one, which she’d never been able to bear with parting with, because wasn’t for an ordinary young thing to handle. I’m telling you, ‘Mione, the whole thing was spooky. And then she said that Mer had the look of someone who needed a powerful wand, with a temper to match the user.”

“Get on with it,” her friend urged.

“I’m getting there. So then she pulls out this wand, and hands it to Meredith. Hermione, the ground shook when she took it. Meredith, of course, was delighted. The old woman said that it was made of olive wood and–and a Gorgon heartstring, but she was senile, so I’m not so sure. I hope it’s not, anyway. Who in their right mind would hand an eleven-year-old a wand with a Gorgon heartstring? How many of those are lying around, these days? Anyway, I couldn’t say no, not after it had recognized Meredith and all.”

Hermione’s eyes lit up. “Greek mythology is fascinating, and scholars these days think that Medusa at least really did exist. If we could just research–”

“Hermione. No,” Ginny said severely. “It’s bad enough that she has the dratted thing; let’s just hope that she doesn’t do much damage with it. Anyway, didn’t you say you were taking Jack somewhere?”

Her sister-in-law rose reluctantly. “Yes.”

“I’d best be off, then.” She stood up and drained her teacup, before going to the fire to floo. “I’ll see you soon, I expect.”

She had her hand in the floo powder jar when Hermione stopped her. “Ginny?”

“Yes?” she said, pausing.

“Don’t be too hard on Meredith. Last week, Aurelie told me that…” and Hermione paused herself, apparently looking for tactful words. Aurelie was Bill and Fleur’s oldest daughter, and she was a fourth-year at Hogwarts. “Aurelie said that her first year, all she heard in the halls were the whisperings ‘That’s Harry Potter’s niece. Do you think she could get us an autograph?’ She and Jack were speaking of it. Aurelie’s in Ravenclaw, you know, so she didn’t have it quite so difficult, but Jack said that the first month, being in Gryffindor too, that was all he heard about, was Uncle Harry this, and Uncle Harry that, from the teachers as well as everyone else. It’s got to be rough on Meridy.”

Ginny nodded. “I know.”

Hermione sighed. “Just making sure.”


* * * *


Meridy stood beside her trunk, biting her lip and stubbornly fighting tears. After getting her to King’s Cross, a disguised Ginny had kissed her quickly, pressed a note into her hands, and left, lest they be seen together. Her dad hadn’t even bothered that much. Harry had been called off to business the day before, and he hadn’t made an opportunity to say goodbye to his only daughter.

She glanced up at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, feeling quite alone. Despite her elation at finally getting to go somewhere where people wouldn’t know her as Harry Potter’s daughter, she had a knot in her stomach that was directly related to the fact that that same Harry Potter hadn’t made time to say goodbye.

Her owl, Alexandra, hooted. Alex was a soft brown, and lightly built. She had been a birthday present from her father, on her eighth birthday, because she’d spent the next summer in Britain with her Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione while her parents and Michael attended conferences in Southeast Asia.

Meridy wouldn’t be sending–or receiving–much mail through Alex this year. But she’d wanted her along, anyway. Alex was a friend–about the only friend she had, right about now, because part of her parents’ decision to send her under the name Melissa Black was that she couldn’t talk to her cousin Jack, much, or her cousin Aurelie. At least not where people could see.

Nevertheless, Meridy was excited. To get to be someone new! To go somewhere where no one would ask her what it was like, having Harry Potter for a father! It would be wonderful.

With that image firmly in mind, she grasped her trunk handles, squeezed her eyes shut, and walked towards the barrier. She knew she wouldn’t crash. Dad had told her all about the barrier, and the Hogwarts Express, years and years ago.

When she came through on the other side, she opened her eyes, and her jaw fell open at the sight of the engine. It was even bigger than her dad had said, and so red!

There were kids everywhere, rushing about, kissing their parents goodbye, and loading trunks.

“Oh, Mark,” one mother said tearfully. “Be good this year, won’t you?”

“And take care of your sister,” Mark’s father added, his expression amused, as he ruffled the hair of a pretty blonde girl.

Mark scowled. “All right, but she’d better not go tagging along after me,” he said.

As the mother started scolding him, Meridy looked away. She was starting to feel abandoned again.

So she went to put her luggage away, baring her teeth with the effort of turning her trunk.

“Need help?” a tall boy asked her. He had light brown hair and greenish eyes.

Meridy nodded. “Yes, please,” she told him, gratefully.

He reached over and took the handles, and began pulling it to the train, briskly.

She had to trot to keep up, which annoyed her. But she felt she had to be polite, nevertheless. “What’s your name?” she inquired.

He glanced at her, and his mouth curved up–she couldn’t tell if it was a smile or a smirk. “Malfoy. Gary. Are you a first year?”

Wordlessly, she nodded. His name sounded familiar. She was sure she’d heard Dad mention it before. Well, when she got to Hogwarts, she’d sit down and write Dad a letter asking, and send it with Alex before–

Except she wouldn’t. Because when she got to Hogwarts, she would be Melissa Black, and Melissa Black didn’t have a father to write to.

Gary loaded her trunk almost without effort. “There you are,” he said, and strolled off.

“Thanks!” she called softly after him, figuring, better late than never.

Now burdenless, she boarded the train. It was made up mostly of small compartments that could seat several people, most of which were already full.

Unbothered by the solitude, Meredith sat down in an empty compartment, and looked out the window at the station.

Minutes passed, and no one came to sit near her. She began to wish that she had brought something to do; a book, or something.

Just as the train started to move, a small girl fell into the compartment.

“Ouch!” she cried, shaken by the train’s movements. “Oh–do you mind if I sit in here?”

Meredith shook her head. “No,” she said, not sure if she was pleased or disgruntled at having someone to talk to.

The girl sat down. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. “I’m Leda Pearson,” she said, cheerfully.

“Really?” Meridy asked with interest. “Like the Greek myth?”

Leda giggled. “Yes. My brother says that I’m too ugly for anyone to fall in love with, though, much less someone like Zeus. But Mum says not to listen to him.”

“You shouldn’t,” Meridy said, thinking of Michael, and resisting the urge to add something about him. Melissa Black was an only child.

“But what’s your name?” Leda asked, with equal interest.

“Melissa Black,” Meridy said, feeling distinctly proud of herself; she said it casually, as if she’d been saying it all her life.

Leda smiled. “That’s a pretty name. Do people call you Melissa, or just Mel?”

“Well…” Meridy wondered desperately why she hadn’t thought of this. Of course, Melissa would have a nickname. “It depends. But you can call me Mel.”

“Okay,” the blonde girl said. “Oh!”

For the train gave a lurch, and another girl fell into the compartment.

“I’m sorry,” the girl gasped, as the car rocked again. “I just lost my bal–oof!”

“It’s all right,” Meridy told her, good-naturedly. “Do you want to join us?”

The girl smiled, shyly, and shook her silky, light brown hair. Her eyes were a light blue.

“If you don’t mind,” she said. “I’ve been looking for a place to sit for ages now, but everywhere is full. I was trying to find my sister when the train jolted.”

“Leda Pearson,” Leda said, extending a hand. “And this is Mel Black.”

The girl took the offered hand. “Kali Gordon. Well met.”

The three girls spent the rest of the journey exchanging stories about their lives and families. Meridy listened all she could, and when she could not, she made up a tale about a feigned childhood with her aunt.

All too soon, the ride was over and they were pulling into the Hogsmeade station.

“Robes on!” Kali said brightly, as she pulled hers on over her jumper.

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Meredith muttered–she was having a hard time wriggling into one of her new robes.

After managing it, she stepped out into the narrow walkway.

“Watch it!” a voice said, and Meredith looked to see a pretty girl with greenish eyes. “You’re in my way.”

Meredith stepped back, and folded her arms. “Are you sure?” she shot back. “Maybe you’re just in my way and didn’t notice. Or maybe–maybe no one’s in anyone else’s way, because these halls are so narrow that a single body can barely fit through and hundreds are supposed to. In that case, you have my permission to readdress your complaint to the train designer.”

Her sarcasm was evident, but, after looking startled, the green-eyed girl laughed.

“All right, then, Your Highness,” she said. “I beg pardon.”

Meridy nodded, but a slight smile betrayed her. “Pardon granted.”

Then, without warning, they both laughed, and Leda and Kali looked confused.

“Move along, move along,” the girl told them, choking the words out. “Nothing to see.”

“Nothing but royalty,” Meridy managed, and they started laughing again. Still giggling, they went their separate ways.

“Who was that, Mel?” Leda asked, her expression clouded.

Meridy shrugged. “No idea.”

“She was rather rude,” Kali said, frowning.

Meredith only shrugged again. They didn’t understand. The girl hadn’t been rude–only prickly. If she’d been rude Meridy wouldn’t have found her so easy to talk to. Whereas she’d been constantly on her guard with Leda and Kali, she’d felt much more comfortable exchanging rude words with the other girl.

“Firs’ years! Firs’ years!” Came the loud booming voice of Hagrid.

Meridy lit up. “Come one!” she said excitedly. “It’s–” she stopped. Hagrid was a friend of the family, but she wouldn’t be able to acknowledge him as such now. How would an orphan know about Hagrid?

“What?” Leda asked.

“Someone’s calling for us,” she said instead, as Hagrid came into view, big and beaming. Kali gasped.

“Firs’ years! Oh–hullo, there,” he said to Meridy, winking. “No more’n four to a boat.”

Meredith grinned broadly, but she looked, all the same, to see that Leda and Kali hadn’t noticed the wink.

They were by a gigantic, dark, beautiful lake. And by the lake…

“Boats!” Leda said, cheerfully.

Not hesitating, Meredith led the way to a boat near the back of the bunch. Leda and Kali followed her, and the fourth spot was taken by a gangly boy with dark hair whom she didn’t know.

They began rowing across the lake at Hagrid’s command. It was rough work; at least, it was for Leda and Kali, who both seemed to be struggling with the oars. Meredie caught the dark-haired boy’s eye and smiled wryly; they were having no trouble with their end of the boat. But then, Meridy had rowed often in Greece, so her arm muscles were only screaming slightly. And the boy…who knew? Maybe he was just talented.

“Ooh!” was the universal cry, as they rounded the bend, to see an enormous, shimmering castle against the black night sky.

“It’s so big,” Kali murmured. “I read about it in Hogwarts, A History, but there weren’t any pictures…”

“It’s gorgeous,” Meredith said, quietly. And it was, big and beautiful and mysterious. Hogwarts. It would be her home for the next seven years. The home of Melissa Black. Could she be happy here?

Preoccupied by her thoughts, she barely noticed when the boats landed, and they made their way up under the castle.

Hagrid knocked loudly on the great door, startling her out of her reverie. She glanced at her new friends. Their faces were pale.

The door opened.

A man stepped out, a man wearing all black with black hair. He looked to be about twenty years older than Meridy’s father.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” he said, in a slippery sort of way, and she felt shock radiate through her.

This was Snape, her grandmother’s cousin. He and her father didn’t get on very well, and so she hadn’t seen him since she was quite small, though her mother visited him every couple of years when they were in Britain.

Would he recognize her? Did he know who she was? Had Professor McGonagall told him not to call her by her given name?

Unaware of her frantic thoughts, he continued, as he led them through the hall. “I am Professor Snape, the Deputy Headmaster. In a few minutes, the Sorting Ceremony will begin. Have one of your prefects explain the point system to you before the night is out. I can’t be bothered by it at the moment. Wait here.”

So saying, he swept away.

Meredith shook her head, a little dazed by his abrupt, cynical way of speaking. But he’d reminded her of something.

The Sorting.

There were four Hogwarts Houses: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Her parents had both been in Gryffindor; and so had their parents, and all of her mother’s brothers.

It was only to be assumed that she, Meredith, part of Harry Potter’s perfect family, would be in Gryffindor too.

Meridy set her jaw. Her father had been in Gryffindor: therefore, she would not. It was time to break the mold, to be something different. She would simply have to talk the Sorting Hat into putting her somewhere else. She knew you could talk to it; both of her parents had told her so.

But where to go? Ravenclaw wouldn’t be bad, she supposed, although it sounded a bit boring. And Hufflepuff sounded…unoriginal. But Slytherin. Her father hated Slytherins. Wouldn’t it show him up, if his oldest daughter became one of them!

Her jovial mood flattened. Even at eleven she recognized her thoughts as being juvenile and petty, wanting to hurt others because she herself had been hurt. A month ago she would have said that her Dad would be proud of her no matter where she was Sorted. Now she wasn’t so sure.

Snape returned. “Follow me,” he said curtly, his eyes traveling over each of them. They lingered the longest on Meridy, but she met them determinedly.

They strode silently through the halls once more, and she wasn’t distracted enough not to notice that her year-mates, previously nervous, had been getting paler and paler.

Finally, they entered the Great Hall. It was gigantic, and the ceiling was lit up with stars. “Pretty,” Leda mouthed.

The other students were all watching the first years. Meridy took a deep breath, as the hat was brought out and set on a stool. It paused, and then opened its brim to sing. Several students gasped.


Don’t judge my looks, for I have told
More than first-year books will hold.
It’s time to sort, for the time is near
To learn the House to hold you here.
There’s Hufflepuff, ye fair and true
Helga’s choice she’ll never rue.
Or Slytherin, my wise old friend
A cunning foe achieves his ends.
There’s Ravenclaw, the quick of wit
Knowledge added bit by bit.
Last I tell of Gryffindor brave
Honor besting every knave.
Those are the four; to one you’ll go
And make that happy House your home.



Meridy looked around, noting that the hat sounded a bit menacing on the line about Gryffindor–almost like it was threatening something.

“Ashan, Toran,” Snape called, before people could finish processing the hat’s song. He was reading from a scroll, commandingly. A dark-skinned boy came forward, to sit on the stool.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat yelled.

“Beden, Kit!”

Meridy found that she was so nervous her hands were shaking. Did they have to try on the hat in front of everyone? She hated getting up in front of people.

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Black, Melissa.”

Meridy simply stood for a moment, and then she started. That was her. Black, Melissa.

She made her way numbly up to the front, feeling cold and like everyone was looking at her. But for once, it wasn’t because she was Harry Potter’s daughter, and that was a comfort. They weren’t watching with as much interest as they could be.

Jerkily, she placed the Sorting Hat on her head, and waited.

Well, well, the Hat said, smugly. What have we here? An impostor?

Yes–I mean, no! Meridy said, quickly.

She had a feeling the hat laughed. You’re Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley’s daughter, it said, and there was satisfaction in its mind-voice. And a fitting child to them, you are.

Meridy set her jaw. I don’t want to be, she said. I want to be different. Put me in Slytherin, please.

Slytherin…the hat seemed to consider it. You have the desire to prove yourself, certainly. You’re reckless, and clever…but the very fact that you want to be different excludes you from Slytherin, for they are champions of riding off of another’s fame. You would make yourself a villain, but you’re not, though the potential is there. Disguise yourself as you might. You’re still a Gryffindor first.

I don’t want to be! She said furiously.

Meredith Potter, you are what you are, the hat said firmly. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better. And you’re strong. You’re not who you parents are, though, and you can’t be expected to be. You’re intelligent, passionate, and courageous, with potential that no doubt scares them. Find yourself–in–

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Furious, Meridy took off the hat, and strode off towards the Gryffindor table. Gryffindor, indeed.

* * * *


When her head cleared, she began to pay attention to the rest of the sorting.

“Gordon, Kali.”

“RAVENCLAW.”

Meridy nodded, grimly. She had expected that, after the train ride. But it was still disappointing. It would have been nice to start off the year with someone she knew.

“Kurtis, Dawn.” An ice queen glided to the front. Meridy arched one eyebrow.

“SLYTHERIN!” Ah. That explained it. All the cool people were in Slytherin.

“Malfoy, Allison.”

It was the greenish-eyed girl from the train! Meridy leaned forward, eyes alert. Malfoy? Like…Gary? Was his name? The one who had helped her with her trunk. They did look familiar. She sat up, hoping against hope…

“SLYTHERIN.”

Shoot. It would have been nice, having someone she could be cynical to over breakfast in her house. Meridy let out a disappointed breath.

“Mills, Nevada.”

Nevada turned out to be the boy from the boat. In the light, it was evident that his hair was not actually very dark, just a glowing chestnut color.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Meridy raised an eyebrow. All right, so maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. She’d gotten the feeling that he would be a friend. They had worked well together.

“Nottingham, Baron.”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Olaf, Christopher.”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Pears on, Leda.”

Meridy leaned forward again.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Beautiful luck, she thought wryly, as a few more people were sorted. Just beautiful luck.

“Santiago, Crimson.”

Meridy glanced at him. Crimson had dark hair and pale skin, and a decided don’t-mess-with-me attitude. His eyes were guarded. The hat took several minutes to decide with him.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Shepherd, Jacqueline,” became a Gryffindor, next. After studying the girl’s features (she looked nice, with pretty hair and an exotic face), Meridy felt her interest flailing as her stomach rumbled. She was hungry.

“I’m starving,” a voice hissed, down to her right. “Snape always takes forever.”

“You’d know, of course, being all of a second year,” a tall boy with a prefect’s badge commented wryly from across the boy who’d spoken first.

The boy only shrugged. He looked up, to meet Meridy’s eyes. His were dark and intense. He nodded solemnly at her, and then turned, to become steadily absorbed in undoing the braid of his neighbor, a pretty brunette who looked to be about a third-year.

Meridy felt her face grow warm. She knew she’d seen the boy before. He looked so familiar.

Not to be caught staring again, she let her eyes roam down the table. Seated right next to the familiar-looking boy was her cousin, Jack. He met her eye, and nodded, with a slight smile, that she returned. Good old Jack. They’d always been close. It was nice that he was acknowledging her, even if he couldn’t do so openly, at least not until they’d been “introduced.”

That reminded her of Aurelie, and she leaned back to scan the Ravenclaw table for her other cousin at Hogwarts. Sure enough, there was Aurelie, her blonde veela-like swinging about her and making the boys drool. Pretty, clever Aurelie. She was a fourth year, and to Meridy that seemed ancient.

“Xavier, Chism,” Snape said, and the last student walked up to the Sorting Hat.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat shouted, and then the Sorting was over.

Meredith ate busily; she hadn’t had much of an appetite that morning. Her mother had kept shooting her worried looks over breakfast, and it had been quite demoralizing.

“Hungry, are you?” an older girl laughed, but it was kind. “What’s your name, little first year?”

She swallowed before she answered, reminding herself that her name now began with ‘Mel’ instead of ‘Mer.’

“Melissa Black.”

The prefect across from her looked up. “Not related to Sirius Black, are you?” he asked, mildly. “I’d thought that all of that line had died out.”

“Not all,” she said, agreeably. “He might have been a distant cousin, but I don’t know. I don’t really know anything about my family.”

“Muggleborn?” the older girl asked.

She shook her head. “Nah,” she said. “At least, I don’t think so. My parents are dead, and my great-aunt doesn’t like talking about them much, so I don’t know for sure.” It was a lie she had practiced in the mirror, until she could say it almost nonchalantly.

The prefect nodded sympathetically. “That’s rough,” he said.

“You’ll have a family here, though,” the older girl said, and her arm indicated the table. “Trust me, after the first round of major exams, these people are family. If you can survive the first few months, you get to know each other really well. I’m Sandy Burkes, by the way. And he’s Kyle Ramsey.”

“Nice to meet you,” Meridy said, politely. “Is the food always this good here?”

Kyle nodded. “Well–not all days are feast days,” he amended. “But the food is excellent. It has to be, otherwise you’d have no reason to get up, some days.”

“Listen to them,” a boy on her left teased. “Or don’t. They’re only being so cynical because they’re sixth years, fresh out of O.W.L.S. Those are bound to dampen your views on life. It’s not actually so bleak though, except for a couple of months. Don’t take them too seriously.”

“Not all of us can hardly study at all and get ten O.W.L.S., Lindy,” Kyle said dryly. “Some of us have to work.”

“Oh, don’t be a stick in the mud,” the boy–Lindy?–said playfully, as the main food disappeared and the deserts came out. “Performance is fifty percent preparation and fifty percent sleeping enough the months before. You studied and I slept. Now, if we’d worked together, we would have had the perfect score.”

Meridy listened to their conversation with interest for a little while longer, and then she fell to wondering how many first-year girls were in Gryffindor–she hadn’t been paying proper attention during the Sorting. Then her eyes started roaming the Head Table. There were lots of professors that she didn’t know, but she did know a couple. Hagrid, for instance, and Professor Lupin, who was her godfather. She smiled. It would be fun, having him for a teacher. And she’d met the headmistress upon occasion.

By the time she was finished with this line of thought, the deserts were vanquished, too, and the headmistress, Professor McGonagall, was standing up.

“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts,” she said, imperiously. “As always, we have a few start-of-term reminders. The Black Forest is off-limits, and first years would do well to mark that ignoring this policy leads more commonly to death than detention. Older students…Hagrid will inform me if he sees you venturing too near. And Mr. Filch tells me that repercussions for possessing so much as ‘dust from the floor’ of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes will be noticeably more severe this year.”

The second-year boy to her right snorted. “I’ve got more than that. This year’s going to be great.”

The prefect gave him a severe, exasperated gaze. “Say that again tomorrow morning, when the term officially begins, and I will go through everything you possess and give the contraband and your name to Filch.”

The second year flashed a gorgeous, wickedly intelligent smile. “You’re just jealous.”

Meridy bit back a smirk. She herself possessed quite a few things from WWW, and had no intention of sacrificing them. Last time she had been at her grandma’s house, Uncle Fred had been over for dinner, and he had given her a large bag of prototypes that hadn’t been tested, and/or approved by Ministry regulators–to try out at Hogwarts, he said, and proceeded to provide her with detailed written instructions on how to use each one. No one would suspect her, he said, since she was going to be virtually invisible, with no family to be associated with. The only condition was that she had to write and tell him how they worked out.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that McGonagall was still talking. “…new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Hawkins!”

The students all applauded, and Meridy craned her neck to see. Professor Hawkins was a businesslike man with a watchful air, who looked to be about her father’s age.

Meridy was confused. Didn’t her godfather, Uncle Remus, teach D.A.D.A.?

“I thought Professor Lupin taught Defense,” she whispered to Sandy.

Sandy shook her head. “He did teach Defense once, when Harry Potter was at school. He was one of Harry Potter’s dad’s best friends, you know.”

Meridy nodded, fighting annoyance. Not even an hour in the place, and already she was hearing her father’s name! Imagine how bad it would be if Sandy knew who she was talking to.

“Anyway, after Professor Dumbledore was killed in the war, and McGonagall took over as headmistress, he started taking the Transfiguration classes,” Sandy finished. “He’s quite a good teacher, too. Really explains things, doesn’t lose his temper.”

Meridy did remember being told that, now that she’d heard it again. The story was well known to her. But McGonagall was finishing up, so she didn’t have time to think about it.

“Prefects, you may lead the way,” Professor McGonagall instructed from the dais. “Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone.”

Immediately, everyone rose up, groaning and yawning. “First years, this way!” Kyle the Prefect called. Meridy followed him, silently joined by the other first years. She kept her face down, wanting to avoid any more introductions today. Her head was spinning.

But she made a point to notice where they were going, so she could find her way back tomorrow. The paintings on the walls were fascinating, and so were the tapestries. This would be a fun place to explore, she knew.

The moving staircases alarmed her only slightly. She’d been told all about them, of course; the only factor was that it would be hard to memorize the different locations they led to. Other first years were not so optimistic. One, a small, curly-haired girl, nearly cried when Kyle explained that the stairs changed.

“What’s the point system?” the boy called Nevada asked hesitantly, as they walked down a drafty corridor.

Kyle glanced at him, and his mouth twitched. “Snape left that out, huh? He did that last year too. If you do something well, the professors give you House points–that is, points for Gryffindor. If you do something wrong, say, you’re caught out of your dormitory after curfew–which is very, very bad,” he added. “Points get taken away.”

“Only if you get caught,” A boy with dirty blonde hair nodded. “Right. Got it.”
Meridy giggled. “You don’t say that to a prefect,” she said, before she could stop herself. “You say, ‘Oh…really?’ And then you look timid and scared and ask if curfew is going to be very early. Then Kyle here won’t be looking for you personally when he’s out patrolling the halls for miscreants.”

Kyle looked at her sharply as the blonde’s mouth fell open. “Whoa, there, Mel. You’re well informed for a first-year.” He looked displeased that she had figured out the system.

Melissa stuck her chin out, ready for a fight. “My aunt told me that the prefects patrol at night,” she told him stoutly. Merlin! She was already rousing suspicion. “And the rest is common sense. Raoul there shouldn’t so much as breathe a hint of rule-breaking in front of you, or he’ll never have any peace, because you’ll have labeled him a troublemaker.”

“I might label you a troublemaker too, for knowing so much, little first year,” he told her, threateningly.

His partner, a tall, pretty girl with the Head Girl badge laughed. “Ignore Kyle,” she said, softly. “He’s just upset that you’ve figured us out. Well done…is it Melissa? You’ll go far. I didn’t know what miscreant meant until my third year.”

Kyle just scowled.

Meridy smiled shyly at the Head Girl, and ducked her head. She hadn’t meant to cause a sensation. But she couldn’t have let the boy’s bravado slide, not when all of the Gryffindor first years would be judged by the actions of the loudest. She despised arrogance. It was so very, very useless.

The Head Girl led the way up to the Girl’s Dormitory, smiling back at the first years. “I hope you all have a lovely year,” she told the five girls. “Breakfast begins tomorrow at seven, and classes at eight. My name is Angelica Tulane. If you have any problems, anything at all, just come find me. I’ll be in the seventh year girls’ room, a few flights up.”

The girls all murmured thanks, shy and exhausted. They trooped into the room.

There were five four-poster beds, with their individual trunks beside each. Without speaking, the girls each made their way to their trunk.

Meridy cleared her throat, suddenly feeling nervous. “Wait,” she said, in a small voice.

The other girls hadn’t heard her. They kept right on walking. She had barely whispered.

Meridy took a deep breath. “Wait!”

It worked. They turned, surprised.

“Don’t you think we should–well, get to know each other?” she asked, awkwardly, awed at herself for speaking and regretting the fact that she had begun to do so in the first place. “I mean, we’re going to be sharing a dormitory for the next seven years of our lives. Wouldn’t it be nice to know each other’s names, at least?”

The other girls looked at each other, surprised. “I guess,” a petite girl with curly gold hair said uncertainly.

“Come on. If we’re going to share classes and lives, the least we can do is try to be friendly,” Meredith said, with fractionally more confidence now that someone had responded. “I mean, we don’t have to be friends, if you know what I mean. But we’re going to be working together a lot. It would be nice if we got along, and were friendly enough not to be miserable sharing a room, and comfortable enough to share–” and she cut herself off. She had been about to say secrets, but that was hardly fair. She had nearly forgotten again. “Share our lives,” she finished, lamely. All right, so they probably thought she was an idiot.

The girl, Jacqueline Shepherd, shrugged. “Well, I think you’re right,” she said. “My mum says that the first year at Hogwarts, you run around like a chicken with your head cut off, trying to figure out who everyone is and how you fit in. I think it would be nice if we could already know each other, and work together so we don’t look like stupid little first years.”

Now the brunette girl was nodding. “My brother’s a second year. He made fun of me all summer because I was going to be a first year, confused and pathetic, he said. I’d like to prove him wrong, and then have, like, the first year girls prank the second years, because he says first years can’t prank.”

Meridy felt hope inside her chest. So they didn’t think she was a total loser. “Really? That would be great. What about you two?” she asked the two remaining girls worriedly, the blonde and the girly-girl with nut-brown hair. “What do you think?”

The blonde nodded. “That would be fun,” she said, echoing Meridy.

The girly-girl appeared to think about it, her nose wrinkled in exertion. “Sure,” she said at last. “Why not?”

Meridy actually smiled. “Exactly. So…who are you all, if you don’t mind me asking?”

A couple of them laughed. “I’m Krista,” the brunette blurted out. “Krista Jansen.”

“Nellie Pinkerton,” the blonde confessed. “I know it’s an odd name.”

“Jacqueline Shepherd,” Jacqueline said. “But everyone calls me Jacquie.”

“I’m Alyssa Havensmith,” the girly-girl told them importantly.

They looked at Meridy. “I’m Me–” she said, and the breath caught in her throat. She had been about to say Meredith. “Melissa Black,” she finished. “But call me Mel.”

“You know,” Alyssa said, critically. “I could have sworn I’d seen you before somewhere, Mel.”

Meridy’s heart pounded. “Probably not. I, uh, didn’t go out much, before coming here.”

Alyssa continued to survey her, until Jacquie said brightly. “Well, now that we’ve all been introduced, let’s exchange one random fact about ourselves, and…go to bed!”

Meridy laughed, grateful for the distraction. “Fun! Who starts?”

“I will,” Krista said, cheerfully. “I have a brother named Thomas, and he’s the most annoying creature around!”

“My favorite book is The Secret Garden,” Nellie chimed in next. “It’s a Muggle novel about a girl who comes to England after being orphaned, and discovers a kind of magic.”

Meridy’s lip twitched. She had always appreciated irony.

“I get very, very angry when people are being too noisy for me to sleep,” she said sheepishly. “I’m a morning person, all cheery and optimistic. But if you won’t let me sleep at night…”

“I want to be a model for Witching Today,” Alyssa said brightly.

Meridy glanced at her. She was certainly pretty enough.

“And I want to play Quidditch for Gryffindor,” Jacquie told them. “Chaser.”

“Now, having been drawn into each others’ lives, we can sleep on it, and learn more tomorrow,” Meridy said.

Alyssa and Nellie stared as the other two giggled, and Meridy realized that she’d used too many proper phrases. Much more of that and they’d think she was stuck up. That’s what the Greek girls had thought, anyway. “Sorry,” she amended. “In other words, good night!”

Shaking her head, Alyssa turned away. “Mental,” she muttered. “I’m sharing a dorm with insanity.”

Meridy couldn’t help it; she laughed.

In bed that night, she smiled to herself.

Her first day as Melissa Black had been a success.

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