An Unnecessary Prologue (Like really, you can totally skip this thing)

Harriet did not enjoy her lot in life.

The reason for this was rather simple really, as up until this point she had gone through some troubling times - that may or may not have encompassed her life until this point - and had been hoping for a simpler future, where she didn't have to worry about her somewhat yearly assassination attempts, large scale machinations from well-meaning old men or even the endless amounts of drama that sprouted from magically-inclined pubescent teens (or perhaps pubescent teens in general…)

So needless to say, when she woke up to a loud banging on her bedroom door and the shouts that generally accompany such a ruckus, she was slightly distressed.

But only slightly.

Just a little, tiny bit.

Looking back on this, Harriet would love to say that she rose from her bed with a grace never before exhibited outside of the most exquisite performances of ballet, gliding across her magnificent chamber with finesse, however that would be a lie and if there is one thing she learned during her fifth year, it's that she 'must not tell lies.'

So she instead decided to ignore the fact that her first few seconds of wakefulness were filled with a scramble for her wand and by the loud casting of the bombardment charm at the unassuming door, immediately followed up by a moment of confusion, a moment of realization, and upon seeing Ron's somewhat disturbed visage, a moment of absolute mortification.

Ron on the other hand after his somewhat tactless method of awakening Harriet - inadvertently destroying a portion of the hallway in his success - was in convulsions, laughing on the floor with the manner of a man who had almost been hit by a car, and then watched their best friend humiliate themselves in a rather comical manner, which was not dissimilar to what had just occurred.

Harriet took a deep breath, trying to calm herself while watching Ron roll about on the floor. She rose from the floor, where she fell to in her wild movements towards her dresser, and attempted to rid herself of her reddened face, before realizing the predicament she found herself in, namely the fact that she was still in her nightie, and that Ron was a member of the 'lesser' sex.

Ron seemed to realize this at the same time, his face coloring slightly before fear started to enter his eyes, the fear that appears when the prey realizes that not only have they wandered into the predator's den, they decided to blow a raspberry to mock said predator while they were at it.

Needless to say, Ron started fingering his wand and slowly trying to roll away, all while keeping a firm eye on Harriet, before fully realizing her current state of dress, and why her verdant eyes, normally a quiet green were starting to fill up with righteous fury.

Harriet curled her lips and smiled, "So Ron, did I ever tell you what Hagrid did to my cousin?" She growled, her teeth glinting as her wand released a flurry of spells binding Ron and crushing his panicked attempts at a shield, before snapping her fingers and switching her current wear for a more appropriate set of clothes.

"No? Well then let me show you."

~Line Break~

Harriet walked down the stairs of No. 12 Grimmauld Place with a smile on her face, and a hop in her step, although the morning started rather poorly, she felt that her impromptu practice of transfiguration made up for that rather dismal start.

She tripped a little, catching herself just before she would have fallen down the stairs, saving herself a little pain.

It was sad she could not say the same for Ron.

Her sudden loss of concentration on her wandless levitation spell, left the floating form of the pig behind her rather susceptible to gravity, it was only because of Harriet's fast reactions that Pig-Ron only collided with the stairs once, instead of the number of impacts he would have had, if his best friend didn't exhibit such benevolence.

Harriet made it down to the dining room without further issue, sitting down and floating Ron over to a seat, Ron struggled in her magic's grasp for a moment, before Harriet conjured ropes and tied him to the high-backed chair.

Harriet hummed a little as she looked around the rather dreary room, wondering where Ron's 'better-half' could be currently, before shrugging and calling out, "Kreacher!"

Kreacher appeared with a sudden pop, "Yes half-blood Mistress, Kreacher is here." He grumbled with a gravelly tone.

"Would you mind setting out 3 places for breakfast Kreacher?"

"Of course Mistress, Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black." Kreacher replied, disappearing from the room, leaving to prepare breakfast as Harriet leaned back, taking in a deep breath of the musty air, the silence only disturbed by the slight chaffing of pig against rope, the chair he was bound to creaking as he struggled against his bindings.

This is the scene that Hermione walked into. Her confusion at the out of place sight was beaten back by her excitement to see Harriet again, as she dashed forward hugging Harriet with a strength comparable to a bear, "Good Morning Harriet! How have you been? Are you treating Kreacher okay? Have you read anything interesting recently? Hogwarts just isn't the same without you, are you sure you don't want to come back, I'm sure Professor McGonagall wouldn't mind…"

Her sudden rambling was interrupted by a distressed 'oink' and she swiftly untangled herself from Harriet, trying to understand the rather strange phenomenon seated at the table, Harriet watched her put together the pieces with a rather smug look as pig-Ron was fervently attempting to communicate with them.

"Harriet…" Hermione said cautiously, "That wouldn't happen to be a… pig in that chair would it?"

"Why yes, I do believe it would Hermione, rather strange isn't it?"

"Why is there a pig at the table Harriet?"

"I often asked myself that same question at Hogwarts Hermione."

Ignoring the pig's squeal of outrage, Hermione looked intently at the pig, then realization dawned on her face and she started to quiver slightly.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harriet questioned with an air of innocent confusion "Don't you normally dine with swine?"

There was a pause, before suddenly Hermione broke out into giggles, laughing uncontrollably before suddenly snorting, a look of absolute mortification coming over her face before Harriet started laughing as well.

The two of them laughed together while pig-Ron squealed at them with an insistent look in his eyes before finally Harriet straightened herself up and undid the transfiguration on Ron.

"Well, it's about bloody time! You have any idea what it's like to be stuck like that!" He cried out indignantly as he undid Harriet's conjured ropes. "It's horrible! I had this horrible itch all over! And I had a sudden desire to frolic in a pit of mud! I couldn't even walk straight, it was like I could only walk on two of my toes!" He yelled before a sudden pop announced the presence of breakfast, forgetting his rage he suddenly dug in quickly making a mess of his plate, and the table surrounding him. Sensing a gaze he looked up, only to see his wife and best friend looking at him with revulsion "Wat dyo 'ant?"

Harriet shivered upon seeing the mashed remains of hashbrowns being sprayed on the table, and turned towards Hermione, blocking Ron from her field of vision, "Well it's good to know some things never change."

Hermione sat down at the head of the table and appeared ready to scold Ron on his table manners, but deflated and simple turned towards Harriet, a defeated look in her eyes as a single tear traveled down her cheek, "I've tried… so hard…"

Harriet walked moved over and hugged her gently, her eyes firmly closed to prevent herself from seeing the gruesome demolishing of Ron's meal, "I know Hermione, I know."

~Line Break~

After breakfast, the trio shifted to the living room, Ron and Hermione claiming the loveseat as Harriet spread herself out on the couch, lighting the fireplace with a flick of her hand. Cozy, and protected from the cold winter outside she relaxed as Hermione looked at her expectantly. Seeing Hermione's gaze Harriet rolled her eyes as she broke the silence, "So, how's your eighth year been going?"

"Well," Hermione said taking a deep breath, "It's going perfectly fine, but it would be even better if you were there with us you know, I understand you're a bit apprehensive about returning to Hogwarts after… everything, but you really should finish your education, after all even if you learn from the books in the Black Library and practice your wandless magic - which you still need to explain to me by the way - that is no replacement for the well-rounded set of courses Hogwarts provides, not to mention the fact that you won't be prepared to take you NEWTs which would mean you can't get a proper job, which would leave you with a half-done education and nothing to show for it!" Hermione finished, taking in a second deep breath and calming down for the moment.

"Yeah mate," Ron blithely stated, "What she said."

Harriet rolled her eyes at Ron's riveting contribution, and turned her gaze to Hermione, her voice steady as Hermione matched her eyes, "Hermione, I appreciate your thoughts, but as much as I would love for us to spend our last year at Hogwarts together, I just can't." Seeing Hermione about to interrupt Harriet quickly cut her off,

"And yes I know that Professor McGonagall would be happy to allow me back after the holidays it's just… every year I spend at Hogwarts is overshadowed by fear, if it's not Voldemort concocting some sort of plot to kill me, then it's the ministry being stupid, and if it's not that then it's my classmates being pricks, which isn't exclusive to Draco Malfoy or his little posse either, I mean look at my second year," Harriet cried sitting up as her voice began to rise, the temperature starting to lower as the fire flickered out.

"Draco didn't even antagonize most of it, it was their fear of my ability to speak to snakes, and the suspicions that I was 'The Heir of Slytherin!' Hell, even in the third year no one spoke to me because they were afraid of Sirius Black! Then in my Fourth Year, they all called me a liar and a cheat, did you know that no one apologized for wearing those stupid badges?! No! The only person who apologized at all was Ron! Everyone else just let it be 'water under the bridge' and forgot the fact that for a month they all shunned me! Insulted me! Then, later in the fifth year," She exclaimed, standing to tower over the pair shivering on the loveseat, the air becoming thick with a chill as her passion rose.

"Don't even get me started on the fifth year! In the fourth year, at least some Gryffindors spoke to me, but in our fifth year, I was called a liar again! This time almost no one believed me at all! I mean it's ridiculous! Everyone hated Professor Umbridge, and ignored her when she spoke about everything except for 'how much of a liar Harriet Potter is' then everyone paid full attention, the only person who apologized that year was Seamus, and I still had to spend the rest of the year carving scars into my hand!" Harriet finished out of breath as she desperately tried to regain her composure, a phantom wind blowing through the room, rustling her hair as her breath began to appear in silvery fog.

"Harri-"

"No Hermione! I won't go back, I love you two, as well as Luna and Ginny, but I can't stand everyone else, it's bad enough when I go outside nowadays and everyone looks at me like I'm either their greatest hero or like I'm going to become the next Voldemort!" She shivers recalling the mix of worshipful and fearful gazes, "I can't go back to Hogwarts where I'll have to go through another year like that, another year of constant swinging from suspicion to awe, I just can't." Harriet sat once more, the frozen atmosphere beginning to thaw as she came down from her anger, finally noticing the chill her fury caused.

"Harriet…" Hermione began slowly, "I'm sorry, I didn't think you felt that way about Hogwarts, and I'm sorry if you felt like I was pressuring you into joining us for our last year." She took another deep breath as she continued, "Why didn't you tell us you felt this way? We're your friends Harriet, and we'll always be here to listen to your concerns."

"Yeah mate," Ron said, with an uncharacteristic level of sympathy, "You know that 'Mione and I will always have your back, it's not healthy to bottle things up like that ya know?"

Harriet bit back a sarcastic retort as she strove to regain control over her emotions, "I know, it's just… I don't want to bother you guys with this stuff, I mean, I've been trying to adjust to really living my own life I guess, no more Dursleys to order me about, no more plots to untangle and defeat, hell even the papers aren't too much of a concern anymore with Kingsley keeping the Daily Prophet in check." She sighed, her energy leaving her eyes dull as she slouched back onto the couch, "The only thing I can really focus on is how much stronger Voldemort was than me, I mean it's ridiculous that we only won because Voldemort was foolish enough to use the Elder Wand against it's 'true wielder' and now I can't even get rid of the damn thing." She sighed once more, not noticing the confusion her words inspired in her friends.

"Harriet, what do you mean you can't get rid of the Elder Wand?" Hermione questioned quietly, still slightly cowed by Harriet's earlier display.

Harriet's eyes blinked wide as she realized her slip of the tongue, but then just as quickly returned to a calm state, before being squeezed shut in thought. The trio sat in silence for a beat, Ron opened his mouth in concern before Harriet finally brushed back the sleeve of her left arm, revealing a long tattooed form of the elder wand stretching from the top of elbow to the bottom of her wrist, the wand coiling twice around her forearm like a snake, the wood appearing as a pale white outline with the elderberries a periodic bump of dark brown.

Hermione gasped and immediately crossed the distance between them, reaching out and grabbing Harriet's arm without difficulty, as she pulled out her wand. Ron sat still, staring at the most powerful wand in existence becoming one with his best mate's arm.

"Wicked." Ron murmured his voice barely a whisper as he tried to understand what this could mean.

Meanwhile, as Harriet leaned back and closed her eyes, Hermione started casting half-a-dozen different diagnosis spells, her eyes gleaming more and more each time as she tried to puzzle out how this happened, a shark-like smile started to cross Hermione's face as she continued to cast different magics on Harriet's tattoo.

Harriet simply relaxed, letting Hermione's curiosity play out. 'After all,' Harriet thought, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

Ron was somewhat concerned for Harriet at this point, that smile never meant anything good, especially when someone tries to get in the way of whatever Hermione was trying to do. It was the same look that preluded all of her 'experiments' in the name of 'science' or something or other. These experiments typically meant a bad day for Ron, but his compliance was often rewarded in rather… fun ways. Nonetheless, Ron knew that whatever Hermione was about to do next probably wouldn't yield good results, and so he did what most husbands did whilst in fear of their wives.

He cast a shield charm, then averted his eyes from the oncoming train.

~Line Break~

Harriet was starting to doze off when she felt a tingle.

This wasn't the tingle metaphysical that one would feel around magic, but an actual sensory tingle.

Of course, Harriet was confused at this newfound sensory input and opened her eyes looking down at where Hermione's knife was prodding at her arm, satisfied, Harriet closed her eyes again, ready to drift back off.

…

…

Wait… "WHAT?!" Harriet cried out jumping a bit as she saw the glint of metal in Hermione's hand before it suddenly disappeared, as though it were only an illusion. Hermione herself grinned madly and nodded, her smile melting away to a softer version, letting Harriet take her arm back from Hermione's rather… extensive testing.

"So… What was that?" Harriet asked in a tone that she believed was remarkably reasonable given the circumstances.

"Just a test." Hermione stated as Harriet stared deadpan at her, "I was seeing if the wand would protect itself from physical damage as it did magical, and it appears that it does." Hermione nodded to herself as Harriet thanked the Elder Wand for protecting her arm from the 'physical damage.'

"Well, at least I know why your wandless magic works so well," Hermione said simply.

"And why is that?" Harriet asked slightly curious, but mostly devoid of any emotion, as she tried to process what had just happened.

Hermione looked at Harriet like she was rather dull, and then started her rather brief explanation, "Well Harriet, it appears that the Elder Wand has become a part of you, as in literally a part of your body," she concluded tilting her head slightly as she considered Harriet, "I wouldn't suppose you have any other… additions you would like to tell me about?"

Harriet looked at Hermione with a little bit of fear in her eyes as she matched Hermione's catlike gaze 'I wonder if there were any side effects from that polyjuice incident…' she thought idly as she weighed her options. 'Well, I could run…' sending an appraising glance Hermione's way, suddenly reminded of her best friend's gleaming eyes laser focused on her own, a shiver went down her spine as she suddenly snapped at Ron, "Get out."

Ron looked confusedly at her "Why mate? I know I might not be as bright as 'Mione here bu-"

"Out Ron! Now!" Harriet demanded looking away from him with a slowly reddening face as Ron slowly left the room. "Colloportus!" Harriet cast on the door he left through it, emphasizing Ron's sudden departure with a loud squelching noise.

Hermione looked down at Harriet as she sat there, holly and phoenix in one hand, and the Elder Wand on the other, before asking, "So where ar-"

"Onmybackandbelly," Harriet stated, looking anywhere but Hermione.

"I'm sorry can you rep-"

"I said on my back, and my belly!" Harriet cried out with embarrassment as Hermione regained her rather predatory look.

"Well then, why don't we get started?" Hermione asked with a dangerous gleam.

All Ron could hear from his position just outside the door were the squeaks of horror Harriet released at his wife's hands.

Harriet shook her head, ridding herself of the nostalgic memories before finishing off her coffee, 'I do tend to reminisce more when I'm tired,' she thought absentmindedly as she scratched at the tattooed version of the Elder Wand. "Well then, better be heading off, for some reason I haven't been getting any letters from Gringotts in a while..." She announced to the empty room, before suddenly remembering that the room was empty.

'I've been doing that more and more often lately... well, I'll think about that later." Harriet thought as she brushed her hand over the now empty mug, cleaning it, then charming it into a portkey to The Leaky Cauldron.

Harriet stood tall, stretching a little before waving her hand a second time, triggering the portkey. 'Well, at any rate I should probably get some sleep, I think its been a couple of days since I took a rest.'