Face Down

"You can't be serious; I don't even know who this person is! I am not going to live with a total stranger," the girl argued with her parents.

"It's too late for that, missy, he's already adopted you. We will not tolerate your presence in our house a moment longer! Go pack your bags." Her father looked like a beetroot, he was so angry.

Trying not to break down crying, she left the kitchen. She opened the door to her room, the cupboard under the stairs, and started stuffing her belongings into plastic trash bags. That's when she heard it, the strange man yelling at her parents.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL HER DUDLEY?" the man shouted.

"SHE DIDN'T DESERVE TO KNOW!" her father hollered back, the bag dropped from her hands.

"OF COURSE SHE DESEREVED TO KNOW, YOU GIT!" the man was practically shaking the house. It was at that moment the girl realized that this man, this stranger, didn't think she was a freak, a monster that didn't have any human rights. It was at that moment Halie Dursley decided that maybe living with a total stranger would be better than living with her parents.

Picking up the trash bag off the floor, Halie grabbed one more thing before walking into the kitchen. The argument stopped the moment she door opened, and she walked in.

"I'm ready to go now," her voice was solid, though it was difficult to keep it that way.

"Uh, before we go, I thing we should talk . . . in private." The stranger glared at Halie's parents, but they didn't seem likely to move, so he led her to the front steps. "I can't believe I'm back here again." He mumbled to himself, sitting down.

"What was that?" Halie asked remaining standing, she wasn't quite comfortable around him yet.

"Oh, well, I don't know if you were ever told this, but I'm your dad's cousin, Harry. My parents died when I was young so I grew up with him . . . actually in this very house. The day I moved out I wore I would never come back."

"You must've had it rough," Halie said, noting the irony. She looked down at her baggy boy's clothes, felt her greasy hair, and knew she didn't have much better.

"It's okay that was a long time ago. Oh, we heard that we had missed your birthday, but presents are better late than never, right?" Harry asked pulling our, what looked like a . . . wand? Halie thought.

"We?" she inquired deciding to ignore the strange stick he was holding.

"I have a wife and son your age. All of us decided that you should have presents. Knowing Dudley I figured you didn't get any." Halie shook her head slowly, he sighed in frustration. Then, giving a flick of his wand three presents popped up out of nowhere. Halie gave a little squeak, Harry just laughed. "Well . . . ? Come on, open them, they won't explode."

Halie couldn't help but smile, she tore into the first present. Inside the first box was a beautiful scarlet cape, with a note.

Dear Halie,

Welcome to the family, I hope you enjoy the gift. I can't wait to meet you.

Lots of love,

Ginny

Halie assumed that she must be Harry's wife. The next gift was a book, obviously used. Looking inside Halie saw it had once been Harry's. It was about some team called the Chudly Cannons. Halie couldn't help staring at it for a few moments, the people in the pictures were moving. Not just moving, but flying around on broomsticks.

Suddenly her attention was drawn to the third and final present. A long skinny box, Halie was almost scared to guess what it was. Cautiously Halie opened the box to reveal a broom.

"That will be from Dan, quidditch seems to be his whole life. During the summer at least," Harry commented with a smile.

"I have, well, a lot of questions, but the most pressing one seems to be . . . how exactly did these presents get here?" Halie asked setting them aside to see a shocked Harry.

"You mean you don't know? Your parents never told you?" Harry asked quickly, sounding angry.

"Never told me what, exactly?" Halie replied, Harry seemed horrified beyond description. He actually started mumbling to himself in anger.

"Uh . . . I don't know how to tell you this. The reason your parents wanted me to adopt you is because, I'm a wizard. I can do magic, and so can you . . . you're a witch Halie." Harry stated plainly. It took Halie a moment to register the fact he wasn't joking.

Thinking back Halie knew he was telling the truth. Her parents had always hated her, now she knew why. Deep down she'd always know that the strange things that happened to her were because she could use magic.

"Okay," was all she could manage to say. "So how are we getting to your house?" Halie was trying to distract herself from the awful sinking feeling in her stomach.

"I'm going to apparate us there, don't worry it's not painful just . . . a little odd. I'm going to send all of your things ahead, then you just take my arm, alright?" he was being nice. Halie nodded and moved to stand next to him. With a flick of his wand, Harry sent Halie's presents and bags to the house. He felt Halie link arms with him, giving her a reassuring smile, Harry apparated Halie to her new home.

It took Halie a few moments to get over the feeling of apparating . . . like being pushed through a tube of tooth paste. When she was calm enough she took a look around. They were standing next to a staircase, obviously in the hall; on either side were rooms with open door frames.

"Ginny," Harry called out beside her, causing Halie to jump a little. "We're home!" the two stood there for a few moments, until a very beautiful red-head came bounding around the corner.

"Oh, I can't believe you're here!" Ginny exclaimed giving Halie a big hug.

"Thank you," Halie whispered tears forming in her eyes. Ginny pulled back with a smile, it quickly disappeared when she noticed Halie crying.

"What's wrong dear?" she asked with genuine concern. All Halie could do was shake her head. Ginny embraced her again, and Harry laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The three of them stood there for a few minutes, until Halie's tears stopped.

"Sorry about that. I think that everything finally caught up with me." Halie said stepping back, wiping away her tears.

"There is nothing to be sorry about." Harry told her, Halie gave a small smile. "Where is Dan?" Harry asked as though finally noticing his son wasn't there.

"I had to send him to bed, practical jokes on the neighbors," Ginny explained looking disappointed. "I swear sometimes he is just like Fred and George. So, Halie let's get you settled. Come with me up to your new room, and we can get a bath going for you . . . I'm sure you'll meet Dan in the morning." Ginny smiled, and Halie couldn't help smiling too.

"See you in the morning Halie," Harry said giving her a light hug.

"See you Harry," Halie responded quietly, they both smiled. As Harry moved up the stairs he gave Ginny a quick kiss, then disappeared.

"I am so excited to finally have another girl in the house. You have no idea how boring it can be with just boys. I was the only girl out of seven, and I was the youngest." Ginny exclaimed practically dragging Halie up the stairs. Finally three doors down, on the left, Ginny led Halie inside a room, and Halie gasped in surprise.

The room was at least twenty times larger than her cupboard that had been her room for as long as she could remember. The bedroom was decorated in two of her favorite colors, blue and red. The lush carpet was dark blue, as her eyes followed it across the room; she noticed the furniture was mahogany, gleaming beautifully in the light. The bed was the biggest she'd ever seen; Halie swore you could fit at least five people in it.

The comforter and larger pillows were the same blue as the carpet. The canopy, smaller pillows and sheets were a rich red that perfectly complimented the blue. Ginny looked over at Halie concerned that she hadn't said anything, until she saw the look of wonder on Halie's face.

"Do you like it?" Ginny asked, already knowing the answer. For a few moments Halie opened and closed her mouth, trying to say something, but not knowing how. Finally she nodded and Ginny looked very pleased with herself. "Good," Ginny took Halie on a small guided tour of her room and connected bathroom. The bathroom was just as grand as the bedroom. The colors were white with dark green accents, the towels, mats, toothbrush holder, and soap tray were all green.

"I can't believe all of this is mine!" Halie exclaimed, finally finding her voice.

"Well it is. Listen why don't you get in the bath, scrub off all that dust, wash you hair and I'll get you some pajamas." Ginny left Halie in the bathroom, to find her some clothes. It took Halie about a minute to snap out of her daze, and start the bath water. As Halie stripped she noticed the scars tracing down her back in the large mirror, looking away quickly she stepped into the tub.

Half an hour later Ginny knocked on the door, "Come in," Halie told her. Ginny came in and laid down a new pair of pajamas for Halie. Ginny offered to wash Halie's hair. Halie agreed wrapping a towel around her chest.

"Thank you," Halie told Ginny, "I'm a little out of practice washing my hair." Ginny used a hose so Halie could just sit up. Halie knew Ginny noticed her scars, but neither one said anything.

"I'm sure it will all come back to you," Ginny responded lightly. When she was done Ginny left Halie to finish up and get dressed. When Halie emerged Ginny was ready with a comb. "Come on, I'll comb you hair. How about a braid so tomorrow it will be nice and wavy?"

Ginny seemed so excited, Halie couldn't help smiling. Ginny was braiding her hair when Halie gasped. "Where's my picture?" she immediately tensed up.

"I don't' know, I haven't seen one. Was it in the pocket of your jeans?" Ginny asked pausing. Thinking back, Halie realized Ginny was right.

"Yes it is, thank you," Halie responded letting Ginny finish her hair.

"Who is the picture of?" Ginny asked gently.

"I . . . actually, I don't now. But I could show you, if you'd like," Halie turned around to see Finny nod. Halie hopped off the bed and ran into the bathroom. She returned slowly, clutching a photo to her chest. "Now I know this sounds a little crazy . . . I used to talk to her every night. She seemed like someone who would've understood me."

"She sounds lovely, may I see?" Ginny held out her hand, Halie reluctantly handed over the photo. "Where did you get this?" Ginny asked breathless with shock.

"The crawl space at the top of the house, I was hiding up there and found some boxes. They looked like they hadn't been touched in decades. I went through them, and found one that had some of Grandma Petunia's things from when she was my age. This was in a photo album with a rather nasty note beside it. I knew then, that if she had been alive . . . she would have taken care of me."

"This is Lilly . . . Harry's mum. Why were you hiding up there?" Ginny asked quickly.

"I don't really --" Ginny held up her hand to stop Halie. She seemed to understand without Halie saying anything.

"Time for bed, you've had a long day, and tomorrow we're going shopping for some new clothes and supplies." Ginny moved off the bed to let Halie in.

"Really? I haven't been shopping in years! Thank you," Halie gave Ginny a hug and dove under the covers. Ginny laughed lightly before giving her new daughter a kiss good night and leaving the room. Several minutes later as they were getting ready for bed themselves Ginny decided to tell Harry what she'd seen.

"Harry," Ginny started tentatively.

"Hmm?" he asked from across the bed, he had his back to her sifting through things on his night stand.

"I think . . . I think the Durslys used to beat Halie. I saw a lot of scars on her back." Ginny told him quietly. Harry froze immediately and turned slowly toward his wife.

"What?" Harry asked with tightly controlled anger.

"Now don't go overboard, I just thought that we should maybe a little delicate around the subject of her birth parents for a while." Ginny explained in a calm reasonable voice. Harry looked as though he was going to choke on something before he managed to suppress his anger and nod calmly before finishing getting ready for bed. Ginny sighed in relief before finishing up herself.

The next morning Halie woke to someone knocking on her door. She reached out to hit it in response when she realized that the sound was too far away. Slowly Halie opened her eyes to her amazing new bedroom, and realized that she hadn't been dreaming and that she really was in a new home.

"Hey are you alive in there?" a young male voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Yes!" halie called out quickly jumping out of bed, finally noticing the clothes laid out for her on the bed.

"Breakfast is ready, mom said to come and get you." The voice replied and she new the voice had to be her new brother Daniel.

"I'll be there in five minutes!" she told him and hurried into her bathroom. Halie heard Dan walk away down the hall and quickly dressed, in clothes that fit her surprisingly well, and took her hair out of the braid without doing anything to it. She quickly ran down the stairs and guessed where the kitchen was. Her new family looked up as she rushed into the room and then slowed down. Dan and Harry stared at her for a few minutes and Ginny just smiled.

"What?" Halie asked bewildered by their expressions.

"You look great dear, now sit down before breakfast gets cold," Ginny replied leading her new daughter to the seat next to Dan who was still staring at her. Halie decided to ignore it until she realized his brain was stuck.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" she asked waving a hand in front of her new brother's face.

"Sorry," he replied and went back to eating. When Ginny passed by him again she gave her son a smack upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?" Dan asked angrily.

"Did you introduce yourself?" Ginny asked reminding her son of his manners.

"Oh, right, sorry. I'm Dan your brother."

"Halie," she replied shaking the offered hand with a amused smile on her face. "So what is the plan for today?"

"I have to go to work sadly, the Ministry of Magic doesn't like giving me days off," Harry replied apologetically.

"I thought we could go shopping for a bit, we don't' want to keep dressing you in out of date slothes, now do we?" Ginny asked playfully.

"No, I guess not," Halie replied looking around the room, as though checking her new family wasn't crazy.

"What are you going to do Daniel?" Ginny asked with layers of warning in her voice.

"Instead of sitting around like a potato I thought I would go over to Luke's for a while." Dan replied easily, looking too innocent to be planning anything good.

"No mischief, I mean it, or you'll be the one helping Halie catch up her classes; all summer inside all day." Ginny threatened meaningfully, Hlaie got the impression that if given the choice Dan would be outside al the time.

"Yes ma'm," Dan replied promptly with a small wink to Halie, she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

"Oh! I need to go, bye kids," Harry exclaimed taking one last bite of food. "Love you," Harry told Ginny before giving her a quick kiss and disapperating.

"How does he do that?" halie asked herself quietly.

"Magic!" Dan re;lied in a mysterious voice, all of them laughed.

"Come along Halie, we should get shopping," Ginny told her new daughter grabbing her purse.

"See ya' later!" Dan caled after the two retreating figures before hurrying over to his friend Luke's.

"So did she show?" Luke asked when he saw Dan running towards him.

"Yeah, my mom took her shopping," Dan replied with a small smile.

"So…what's she like?" Luke asked, always curious about new people.

"Shy, and she looks almost exactly like my grandma Lilly when she was young."

"Wow, so she's hot," Luke replied, trying to clarify.

"You could say that, it's just kind of weired because now she's my sister."

"I can see how that could be weird. The guys were thinking of playing a few games of quidditch later." Luke informed his best friend.

"Let's play at my house," Dan recommended and the two boys went off to do other things.

"So Halie, I think we should get your clothes first, then we'll get your wand and school supplies." Ginny suggested as they walked throught a shopping center in the middle of London.

"That sounds good to me," Halie replied feeling slightly overwhelmed. Six hours later Halie and Ginny emerged from the shopping center with close to 100 bags of clothes and accessories.

"Time for a late lunch, and then on to Diagon Alley." Ginny led the way to a small pub, and set their things down at a table big enough for twelve. Halie tried not to stare to the crowds of unusual people around her. So instead she asked Ginny questions, until Ginny abruptly changed the subject.

"halie, I have to tell you something before we get into Diagon Alley . . ." Ginny started to say, but seemed unsure how to continue.

"Just tell me, before I think it's something horrible," Halie prompted with a small reassuring smile.

"Okay, well our family is kind of famous."

"What do you mean by kind of?" Halie asked confused.

"Actually we're one of the most famous families in the wizarding world."

"Why?" Halie asked calmly.

"Mainly because Harry defeated one of the most sinister, evil, wizards of all time." Ginny replied with a small amount of pride sliding into her voice.

"So why would that effect our time in Diagon Alley?"

"Well, the papers seem to think that they have the right to know everything that goes on in our lives. So if they found out that we have adopted you they would swamp us. I just wanted to warn you."

"I don' think that we should sit here all day, do you?" Halie replied with a smile, ignoring the fact that her family was famous. Ginny smiled and the two continued their shopping; only now that they were in the wizarding world they could levitate their shopping bags behind them. They smiled and laughed at the stories that Ginny told Halie of her years at school.

"All that is left is an owl, and we're in luck Eelyops Owl Emporium is about to close." Ginny commented several hours later, almost everything was closing in Diagon Ally around them.

"An owl?" Halie asked, "You mean . . . like a pet?"

"We use our owls to deliver mail, and they're incredibly intelligent birds. Go ahead, pick one," Ginny prompted as they stepped into the store. Halie smiled and walked through the perches, and didn't know how she could ever pick just one of the beautiful birds. As if in answer to her silent question, an owl landed lightly on her shoulder, despite the fact that she was rather large.

The two of them, bird and human, looked into each other's eyes for a few moments before Halie decided, "I'll take this one," she told Ginny.

"Alright, what do you want to name her?" Ginny asked as she paid for the owl and a cage for her.

"Hmm . . . Arwen, it's one of my favorite names from the only non-school book I've ever read." Halie replied nicely watching her new owl.

"I like it, very pretty," Ginny replied leading Halie back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"How are we getting home?" Halie asked looking at all of their bags and parcels.

"We can take the underground to the edge of the city and then apperate closer from there I think that would be easiest." Ginny commented and while they were on the London underground they had to try and contend with holding all of their bags.

"So have you and Harry always been together?" Halie asked trying to find out as much as she could.

"No, I almost gave up on him once, I thought I had actually. I had two or three boyfriends before, and then he surprised me." Ginny explained lightly, and when Halie didn't think Ginny would continue, she prompted her.

"How?"

"How what?" Ginny asked roused from her thoughts.

"How did Harry surprise you?"

"Well . . . it was in my fifth year, his sixth, he had been given detention, and missed our last quidditch game of the year. I had played seeker because he was out and we had won. When he came back it was to a room full of bouncy celebrating people. I was the center of attention, he made his way through the crowd to congratulate me, and before I knew it he was kissing me."

"He just kissed you, out of the blue?"

"Yes, anyway his best friend is my older brother Ron, and he knew how . . . protective Ron was over me. So he looked at Ron, who thought for a minute, before nodding is consent."

"There's more to it than that, I can tell," Halie stated as Ginny stopped her story.

"Well, he had some very dangerous things to take care of after our headmaster Dumbledore died. So to keep me safe, we broke up until after the war finished, then it was almost as though we had never been apart. This is our stop," she announced helping Halie to gather the bags and get off the underground.

"So . . . how was it?"

"What?" Ginny asked concentrating on getting as far from the crowds as she could.

"Your first kiss with Harry, I have a feeling that you had dreamed about it for a while. Did it meet your expectations?"

"I'll tell you when we're a little closer to home," Ginny replied taking Halie's hand and apperating on the spot. "Okay, well . . . I don't normally tell people this, but as you're now my daughter, I think it's safe to tell you."

"Well," Halie prompted mirroring Ginny's smile.

"Better than anything I had ever imagined, or experienced," Ginny confided with a girlish blush.

"Good, I'm happy that the two of you fell in love, and were able to save me from the Dursleys." Halie told her new mother with a gentle smile.

"Have you had your first kiss?" Ginny asked noticing the look on Halie's face, almost wistful.

"I don't know that you could really call it that . . . I've been kissed, but it was more as a cruel joke than anything else. I would like to have the experience, but I don't think I'll ever really be with anyone like that. Even if I ever did get married, I could never have a family, like ours."

"Why not?" Ginny asked looking at Halie in concern.

"I can't have children, I learned that a few years ago, you wouldn't think that it would be something important to a twelve year old, but oh well. So as I understand it you have six bothers?"

"Yes I do."

"Tell me about them," Halie insisted as they continued their long walk. The two women burst into the kitchen clutching the door frame to stay upright as they laughed.

"You must be joking!" Halie exclaimed doubling over again.

"No, no that was Fred and George. Oh my dear silly brothers," Ginny replied softly. "Let's put your things away, and find the boys." The two were making their way up the stairs to Halie's room when they heard the sound of glass breaking from within her room.

Ginny rushed into the room, opening the door with a jerk. Halie grabbed a small object as it tried to rush past her. "Ginny, what is this?" she asked holding up a small god ball with wings.

"That is a golden snitch," Ginny commented before yelling at the top of her lungs. "BOYS!"

"So this is a golden snitch, hm."

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, I just thought it would be harder to see, or catch, or something." Hlie commented as two boys ran up the stairs. One was Dan, and the other was a boy Halie hadn't seen before.

"Explain," Ginny demanded of the two boys in front of her.

"We were going to fix it, mum, honest," Dan objected.

"It just got away from us Mrs. Potter," the other boy added with a confident smile.

"Daniel, Luke why don't you take Halie downstairs and let her join in the game," Ginny suggested taking the bags Halie was holding.

"Sure, we need a seeker," Luke stated holding out his hand for her to take.

"Here, you can have this back," Halie deposited the snitch into his waiting hand and led the way down the stairs. Dan smiled at Luke before following his sister down the stairs.

"Do you know how to play?" Luke asked as they walked toward the rest of their friends.

"Yeah, Ginny explained everything to me earlier today," she replied looking at the boys around her.

"Guys, this is my sister Halie, she's going to play with us." Dan told the others and started the introductions. "Hal, these are my friends Brian, Peter, Josh, and you've met Luke," he said pointing to each in turn.

"Hi," Halie greeted waving to the boys with a small awkward smile. She was on a team with Luke and Brian; they had been playing 3 to 2. "Ready?" Luke asked Halie, she smirked and kicked off without a word. Halie's team quickly caught up, and as soon as they were ten points ahead Halie had the snitch in her hand. "Got it!" she yelled and her team cheered. They played several more games, mainly because they all ended as quickly as the first.

Finally all of Dan's friends had to head home it was so late. "How did you get the snitch every single time?" Dan asked as they made their way back to the house.

"I'm just that good," Halie said as a joke.

"HaHa!" Dan replied sarcastically.

11