Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I am merely playing in a world that JK Rowling created.

Author's Note: This story continues on from A Different Past. It is not necessary for you to read that story first, but I would recommend it for the later chapters. Without further ado, here is the story...

IMPORTANT: I regret to say this story has been abandoned. I have been stuck on chapter five for a long time. I was never very happy with how it turned out to begin with. Feel free to read it, but don't hold your breath when it comes to updates.

The Orbs of Darkness

Chapter One: The Family Grows

Lily Potter glanced at the clock sitting on the mantelpiece for what felt like the millionth time that day. If those boys didn't hurry up they'd be late for their appointment. In the few weeks since they'd almost lost their son, James and Lily had done a lot of talking. Harry had seemed to retreat into himself a little, and was quite unwilling to talk to any of them. Not even Albus Dumbledore could get through to the boy. They'd decided that he might be lonely. Since reaching that decision they had decided to adopt another child. They had arranged to collect her from a Wizard orphanage at three pm; already it was quarter to three. She moved to the bottom of the stairs.

"We're going to be late!" She called up to James and Harry.

In his room Harry heard his mother calling up that they were in danger of being late.

"Don't see why I have to go." He muttered darkly, reaching for his trainers. "Why can't I just stay here with Sirius and Remus?"

Ever since he had returned from Hogwarts nearly three weeks ago his mood had been rather dark. He had no idea what made him feel that way, but a lot of the time wished he didn't. He hated getting into arguments with anyone, let alone his parents. As a result he had begun to avoid being in the same room as even one other person, but still the tension in the house was noticeable.

Lily paced the hall impatiently. She heard footsteps on the stairs, turning to see James arriving in the hall.

"Where's Harry?"

"He's coming."

"I hope this helps him."

"I think we're all hoping that, Lily." James wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders as Harry appeared at the top of the stairs.

Ten minutes later they were walking out of Diagon Alley into Muggle London. It wasn't far to the orphanage, only a fifteen-minute walk, but they were running very late by now. Lily kept glancing at her watch and walking quicker, even James with his long stride had trouble keeping up with her. This left James to keep urging Harry along. He still had no idea what could have caused his son's sudden change of personality. What was even more unusual was that Albus Dumbledore didn't know either, nor did Madam Pomphrey, the healer at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which was where Harry had spent the last year. Though for almost half of it he'd been in the Hospital Wing. To begin with it had been the Dragon's Hand of Ice curse, then he'd had a run in with the wizard that called himself Lord Voldemort. We've still got to find Snape and get rid of that curse. James thought to himself as he looked over his shoulder at his son.

"Hurry up, you two." Lily stood at the top of a short flight of stairs by a large, timber door.

James placed a hand on Harry's arm, pulling him the stairs behind him, but not before he'd seen the scowl on the boy's face.

They had first met Stephanie in the first week of the holiday. She was a year younger than Harry, and very bright for her age. Harry had been reminded of Hermione, except Stephanie was ten times as annoying. He didn't have any more time to ponder as the heavy door swung open, revealing a grey-haired witch on the other side.

"Mrs Potter?" She enquired.

"Yes. We've come to take Stephanie home with us."

"Ah yes, If you'd care to wait through there." The witch indicated to a closed door off the hallway.

Harry followed his parents into the small, high-ceilinged room. He perched on the edge of a lumpy armchair while his father stood by the grimy window and his mother by the blackened fireplace. Harry got time impression this room was not used very often, at least, not for a long period of time. As the minutes passed he found himself staring around the room, first it was at the crack in the plaster near the ceiling, then it was at the burnt patch on the carpet by his mother's feet.

Finally, after a very long wait, Stephanie appeared in the doorway with a large trunk. Harry glanced at her, but refused to hold her gaze. From the moment he had first seen the girl that was to be his sister, he had taken a dislike to her. Maybe it was her resemblance to one Draco Malfoy. While he'd never had a direct run-in with Malfoy, yet, he had based quite a level of detest on the blond Slytherin, mostly from what he had seen the boy doing to others around him.

Stephanie's gaze passed over Harry as though he wasn't there. Her eyes fell upon the red-hair witch standing beside the bespectacled wizard. This wasn't the sort of family she would have chosen to go with, but anything was better than the dump they called the orphanage.

"Are you ready to go, Stephanie."

The wizard spoke to her. If she remembered correctly his name was James, and the witch on his arm was called Lily. She'd not spoken to the boy at all, she just hope he was one of them.

Her parents had died when she was seven. They had known they would be sending her to Hogwarts, seeing as that was the school that they had both been in. Her mother had been in Slytherin, and her father in Ravenclaw. She would be happy with either of those. She didn't want to go into Gryffindor, perhaps because her mother had been against the whole lot of them, calling most of them 'blood traitors'.

"Yeah." She replied in as few words as possible as usual. She liked to keep to herself.

Harry scowled at her back as they headed back to Diagon Alley to Floo home. Of all the kids his parents could have chosen, they had to take this one. He could see she would be suited to Slytherin. That was all he needed, a sister in Gryffindor's enemy house.

Author's Note: There you go, chapter 1 of The Orbs of Darkness. I have this story planned out, but I'm encountering an annoying lack of ability to write anything at the moment. Rather than force chapters and have them poorly written, I'm going to wait for inspiration to strike, though I don't know when that will be. You'll just have to bear with me on this one. I'll get the next chapter online as soon as I can.