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Harriet Lily Potter let out a frustrated sigh as her dad ruffled her birds nest hair, laughing at her misery. It was her first day of high school in Midtown high school of science and technology, and she woke up too early to function.
"Oh, stop being so negative, sweetie. I'm sure you're gonna have a wonderful time at school," Harriet's mother said in a positive tone she always used to cheer up her brooding teenager of a daughter. She peered out from the open kitchen, lining up the dishes with the help of her wand.
"You ready to face your fate, Harry?"
Harriet groaned both at the nickname from her early years, and at the idea of the first day of school. "Yeah, let's get this over with."
James led Harriet out of the house and to the car parked outside. Harriet wasn't an expert on cars, but she knew this one had cost a hefty price; as luck would have it, her family had owned several bank accounts that could buy a piece of land. A large one at that.
They got to the car and James, being the chivalrous person he was, opened Harriet's door for her. He then hopped to the driver's side and they drove off, heading towards the school.
"I wouldn't have to wake up so early in the morning if you'd start teaching me apparition. I wish there were other people who could teach me." Harriet sighed, "I don't like how we're the only people on this planet that could use magic, otherwise I would just go learn it elsewhere without telling you."
James laughed, "You are definitely my kid alright. You know, back when I was your age, Sirius and I…" He went into a monologue about his childhood as a prankster that Harriet heard a million times, so she just tuned him out until he finished talking about his glory days.
When James finished, his doggish grin slowly faded to a more serious expression. He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at Harriet.
"You're not ready yet, Harry, it's too dangerous for a 16 year old. You'll start your apparition lessons when you turn 17."
"But thats so annoying. Can't we push it a bit earlier?"
"You know, I think you should feel more grateful about the fact that you even have magic. Our kind has been slowly going extinct for over a century now, but we're fortunate enough that our family is the remaining ones with our magic still intact. I know for a fact that there are only a few families left in the world," James said, "but your mother would tell you —"
"Yeah, I know dad. Mum's been telling the whole world about it, hasn't she? Mutant genes taking over the magical genes, right? She won't stop going on about her thesis. I can't believe she used her own blood to prove it."
"Well, there aren't many like us. And the only ones left are mutants now."
"Yeah…" Harriet stared out of the window, feeling melancholy but her mood abruptly stopped when she thought of her godfather, "when did Sirius say he'd visit?"
"He didn't exactly say, you know how busy he can be."
Harriet sighed. "… And Remus?"
Sirius and Remus were one of the few who had their magical genes turned into mutant genes. Meaning, they had one of their most prominent magical ability intact. While Sirius was able to turn into an enormous dog, Remus retained his werewolf transformation.
With the change in the mutant gene, Remus was somehow able to control his werewolf desires.
"He's gotten the job last week. Professor Lupin, how weird does that sound?" James smiled, though it was more of a habitual smirk, "he's sure he'll come over on Saturday."
"Cool." Harriet stared down at her phone after getting a text from her childhood friends, Ron and Hermione
Group chat: the golden trio
Invited: Ronaldo, Hermes
Ronaldo: r u guys at school yet?
~ I'm lonely and scared by myself
Hermes: Course, I'm at the library.
Ronaldo: why r u in the library?
~ it's the first day of classes!
Hermes: Because
Harriet: because she's Hermione.
Ronaldo: expected as much
~ alright, I'll meet you at the library
Harriet: I'll be arriving soon
~ 5 minutes tops?
Hermes: Alright, I'll be waiting
"Your friends?" James asked after taking a peek at his daughter's smartphone.
"Yeah."
"I don't get why you kids don't use magic mirrors anymore, your friends can still use magical things." That was when the car stopped, parked beside the sidewalk of the school.
Harriet reached for the handle as she gathered her bag. "Well, dad, for one Hermione has always been a muggle so if I show her the magic mirror, she'll start asking me a billion questions and nag me to tell her everything about the contraption like she's done with Quidditch and exploding snap. And two, Ron won't be careful with a broken piece of glass. Also, magic mirrors are so last century."
"Ah… right. Quidditch. I remember. You don't have to tell me twice. I wish she'd asked Lily instead."
"You're the expert," Harriet laughed before opening the door.
"Touché." James rolled down the window when the door shut. "Have fun at school, Harry!" James knew Harriet was starting to dislike the shortened name, so it was his job as a dad to make his daughter's life miserable, and embarrass her as much as he can.
"Don't call me that! Have a nice day at work, dad."
The golden trio, as they were called ever since the time their parents decided to bring them together as playmates, sat around the wooden table inside the school library. There was no one there except the three freshmen because it was the first day of school, so they had the library to themselves. The only other person in the room was the librarian who was quietly going through the stock of books.
While Hermione was going on about going to the Smithsonian museum and visiting the Captain America Memorial during summer, Ron barely listened to a word she said, but Harriet listened and responded with what she knew about the man.
"Didn't your great-grandfather know him, Harry?"
"Ron, stop calling me that, people are going to think I'm either actually hairy or I'm a boy."
"No one's going to think either of those things, Harry. Besides, you're too pretty to be a boy," Hermione said in earnest.
Harriet could trust Hermione's words, but she was still self-conscious of herself being a teenager. She wasn't this self-conscious before, but with the modern world revolving around hot supermodels and perfection, Harriet couldn't help herself in wanting to be just that — perfect — as most girls would.
Hermione was different, she wasn't like any other girls. She wasn't confident though. She was just herself. Harriet wished she could be like that; not give a shit about what others may think.
"Yeah, no one will think that," Ron confirmed.
Harriet gave a small smile. "Thanks."
"No problem. Now, you were saying something about your great-grandfather knowing the Captain?" There were stars in Hermione's eyes. It seemed that she turned into a fangirl over summer break.
"My grandfather, I think. He used to make potions for the army according to what my dad told me. But he wasn't sure himself. We have a picture of grandfather with Captain America, but that's it, no other evidence."
"Can I come over and see it?!" Hermione asked with an awed gasp.
Chuckling, Harriet answered, "you don't have to ask every time, Hermione. Sirius and Remus are visiting over the weekend — well, if Sirius can make it — if you guys wanna come around then. They'll probably play Quidditch with us."
"Great! I was wondering what I was gonna do for the weekend!" Ron grinned, happy that he'd get a chance to fly again. With the cheap rusty old broomstick that his family had, his magic-turned-mutant gene that allowed him to fly was weakened considerably.
"You know I'm not good with heights, Harry. I'll pass on Quidditch, thanks," Hermione said, a little queasy just thinking of flying.
The last time she did manage to fly above ten feet off the ground, (which was the maximum height the broomstick the Potters had would let her go) she barfed all over the turnips that Lily had planted the spring before.
"I knew you'd say that. Mum's had a blast cleaning the flower bed." Ron laughed at Harriet's words, remembering the good times of their junior high school days.
"You don't have to remind me. I still feel sorry for it."
That was exactly when the bell rang for the first class.
Ron groaned. "Great, school's starting for real."
"What classes do you guys have? Let's compare timetables," Harriet held hers out and waved it around a bit, to accentuate her question. All three of them compared timetables to see what classes they had together
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