𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆.
chapter one; The Home Life Of A Pureblood Family
" Every witch who has half their wit knows who Harry Potter is. "

  THE FIRST DAY of September in the year 1991 was a day Madeline Potter had dreaded for a decade. Because it was the day not only Iolanthe Potter-Black was to go to Hogwarts─ but the day Harry James Potter was to as well.

  And Madeline, a decade ago, had been faced with an impossible situation, one she regretted not fighting harder for every day since. It was the reason Harry Potter had been shielded from the wizarding world, why she'd not seen him since he was a mere baby, why Iolanthe and Atlas Potter-Black had only heard tales of their famous cousin.

  Why Madeline couldn't pick a dress to wear to Kings Cross, where she'd be meeting Harry James Potter for the first time since he was an infant.

  "Mum, Atlas put a jinx on my trunk and now it won't open!"

  "Mum, Laney's just daft and doesn't know how to open her own trunk!"

  Madeline quickly made her way out of her bedroom, rushing down the second-floor hallway and coming to an abrupt halt between two opposing doorways. Sadly, Atlas hadn't gotten the message─ hence the Gryffindor scarf now hanging from Madeline Potter's head.

  "Sorry, mum!" Atlas scrambled to his feet quickly, removing the fabric from his mother's face, "It was an accident, meant to hit Lane─"

  "How am I meant to get ready when he's ruining everything?" Iolanthe whined, crossing her arms over her chest, "He's charmed all my school clothes to my Gryffindor already, mum!"

  "Atlas," Madeline sighed, setting sights on the red and gold clothing inside Iolanthe's otherwise white bedroom, "You're making your sister's first day very difficult for her."

  "Oh, come on, you know I'll help you if you need it," Atlas informed, peering over his mother's head to look at his little sister, "Let me fix it─"

  "Considering you shouldn't be doing magic outside of Hogwarts in the first place," Madeline cut off Atlas gently, "I'll return them to normal and speak to Dumbledore for you."

  "Oh, right," Atlas mumbled, frowning to himself, "I always forget about that."

  "Mm, he's forgiven it time and time again because you have yet to do any real damage," Madeline reassured, brushing down her son's unruly locks, "Stay out of trouble this year, Atlas, please?"

  "I'll try," Atlas smiled boyishly, only making Madeline sigh, "Love you, mum."

  "Yes, yes, I love you too," Madeline waved off, turning to Iolanthe who was now crouched on her floor, sifting through endless piles of clothes, "Lovie, you'll be able to get more clothes at Christmas─ you haven't got to worry this much about it."

  "It's my first year, mum, this is important," Iolanthe disagreed, holding up two soft cardigans, "Blue or black─ it's all about first impressions─ what if the Ravenclaw girls don't like me?"

  "Heart set on a house, then?"

  "I want to be like you," Iolanthe informed strongly, never stopping her quick packing. "You're brilliant, and you're super important in the Ministry─"

  "I wouldn't call a Watchwizard or witch 'super important'," Madeline said gently. "I appreciate it, regardless."

  "Blue it is," Iolanthe grinned, "It'll be like destiny when I'm already outfitted for my house."

  "Have you found Ziggy this morning?" Madeline asked her daughter with a raised brow.

  "Mum, I always know where he is," Iolanthe informed for the umpteenth time, "He's just shy."

  "Well, as long as he gets to Hogwarts with you, that's alright."

  "Zig's not even real."

  "Shut up, Atlas!"

  "So," Madeline cleared her throat, "You two know about your cousin, yes?"

  "Every witch who has half their wit knows who Harry Potter is," Iolanthe informed, still busily folding clothes neatly and stocking her trunk full. 

  "Yes, well, his first day at Hogwarts is today, too," Madeline said in discomfort, wringing her hands, "And he and the Dursleys will be meeting us at Kings Cross."

  "Wicked!"

  "Atlas," Iolanthe snapped, "This is monumental, it's not often you get to meet your famous cousin for the first time."

  "Laney, you're overthinking it," Atlas mumbled.

  "Hasn't he been raised by muggles?" Iolanthe wondered, "Do you think they've told him about magic at all?"

  "I don't know," Madeline answered honestly, nervously wringing her hands, "I've sent letters, none have been answered. . . But, let us be optimistic about it all, shall we?"

  "Reckon he'll be like Uncle James?"

  Madeline smiled sadly. She'd handpicked the memories to share with her children, but James Potter was the one that had no restraints on it. Every single thing, good or bad, about James Fleamont Potter and Lily Evans─ Potter─, was shared with Iolanthe and Atlas and they accepted it like happy, greedy children.

  "Oh, not if we're lucky."

  "Don't joke, you know you loved Uncle James," Atlas said honestly, making Madeline smile.

  "I love my brother very much," She confirmed, grin growing into a teasing one, "Doesn't mean I need to re-experience him at age eleven."

  "I think Harry'll be great," Iolanthe said, standing from her floor after clicking her trunk set, "Whether he's like Uncle James or not."

  "That much, I can agree with."

⥊

  Atlas Potter-Black had given his sister no less than three smiles on the way to Kings Cross but received nothing aside from a look of distaste. He didn't take it to heart and continued on grinning at his little sister because, unlike the rest of the world, he knew her.

  "Can't believe you don't want Gryffindor."

  "Why would I aim for the most unruly and barbaric house Hogwarts has to offer?" Iolanthe asked evenly, her eyes never leaving the car window.

  Madeline Potter had decided to raise her children in a muggle neighborhood for reasons no one could comprehend. Of course, once the news spread that it was the late Euphemia and Fleamont Potter's home─ Madeline's childhood home─ it all made sense. They were a well-off family due to the copious amounts of riches shared between the Potter and Black vaults, yet still, she'd chosen nostalgia over the expansive manors every other Sacred Twenty-Eight families holed up in. 

  "We're not barbaric," Atlas mumbled, "We're fun."

  "Such a Gryffindor thing to say."

  "All right, grab your luggage," Madeline spoke up as she parked the vehicle, climbing out just as Atlas scrambled, "And Laney─"

  "Ziggy is right here!"

  Madeline looked at Iolanthe's feet as the girl stepped out of the backseat, and sure enough, a small black kitten stared up at her with wide eyes. His tail swished, curling around Iolanthe's calf half-heartedly before he trotted around to the boot of the car.

  "Come on!" Atlas said with a wide grin, already taking off towards the station with his luggage sprawling, "We've got to find Harry!"

 Madeline sighed in defeat as her son zipped off through the crowd, she helped Iolanthe load up her cart and nudged her on with a gentle hand on her back.

  "You know, James and Lily were both in Gryffindor," Madeline said quietly.

  "I know," Iolanthe mumbled, "I'm just. . . worried that I won't fit in, to any house."

  "The Sorting Hat will choose the one best suited for you," Madeline assured gently, "And you'll find quick friends, Darling, I'm sure of it."

  Iolanthe clearly didn't believe this fully, but before she could say another word of protest, the two caught sight of a boy Atlas had captured in conversation.

  Harry Potter was thin. He was short and small─ with clothes that devoured his figure. His hair was dark and unruly in the way James' was, but with bright green eyes that screamed Lily Evans. 

  He looked so like his father.

  "I'm Atlas," Atlas introduced eagerly, his smile widening as he picked out the features he and Harry had in common, "My friends call me At."

  "Harry."

  The boy looked at the sound of his name, eyes wide from behind the round glasses that rested on his face. A woman whose voice was more like honey than he thought possible looked down at him with such care he thought she was looking at the wrong boy.

  He had been shocked at the sudden introduction from the unfamiliar boy, but only found himself more confused as this woman approached him, with a girl at her side. She looked to be his age, but presented herself older, with posh clothes and rigid posture─ her aristocratic features contrasted greatly with the warm ones of the boy and the woman.

  "No one calls you that," The girl corrected Atlas, narrowing her eyes.

  "Ah, and this is my sister, Iolanthe," Atlas waved, "She may seem a bit scary, but I promise she's nice─"

  "Atlas."

  "Yeah?" Atlas asked, craning his neck to face his mother, "Oh, sorry."

  "It's alright," Madeline laughed gently, looking past her son to Harry, "My name is Madeline, did Petunia tell you we'd be meeting you here?"

  Harry shook his head.

  "Suppose I shouldn't have expected much," She sighed quietly, "Well, it's safe to assume this is also your introduction to magic as a whole?"

  Harry nodded.

  "Well, simply put, there are two sides to every family," Madeline worked up a smile, "Your mother's, the muggle world, and your father's─"

  "Which is us!"

  Harry's eyes doubled in size at Atlas's words. "So you're─"

  "Mum's your dad's sister," Atlas confirmed, "That makes us cousins."

  "I don't think he's thick, Atlas," Iolanthe mumbled.

  "Why have we never met before?"

  Madeline deflated at Harry's question. His face was soft and fallen, both curiosity and hurt knitted into his eyebrows.

  "It was at the request of a man I believe you have yet to meet," Madeline said, "I know that's a horrible answer and I wish I could tell you everything you want to know, but you have bigger things to focus on─ you three need to get to the platform."

  "But I've only just met you."

  "I know," She said, smiling comfortingly, "But we have so much time going forward, Harry, and Iolanthe, and Atlas will both be at Hogwarts with you."

  "Speaking of, we should really go," Iolanthe spoke up, "We're going to miss the train."

  "You aren't, but I get the message," Madeline sighed, hugging Atlas and Iolanthe quickly, "Be good, and for Merlin's sake, Atlas, stay out of the areas Dumbledore tells you are forbidden."

  "No promises!"

  "Have a good first day, Harry," Madeline said gentler to her nephew as Atlas jogged off into the crowd, followed closely by Iolanthe's strong strides, "If you need anything, as Iolanthe or Atlas, or owl me, alright? I'll only ever be one letter away."

  Harry only nodded, and poor Madeline Potter thought he hated her. But in reality, the boy wasn't sure how to react. He couldn't comprehend that there was another half to his family, that suddenly he was a wizard and had an aunt who cared about him.

  "Go on, you'll be late," She encouraged, and with another unsure nod, Harry hurried off after in the general direction his cousins had gone.

  Madeline Potter stood still until Harry disappeared into the crowd entirely. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and for the very first time, climbed into the muggle vehicle by herself. 

  She'd avoided the idea of isolation for a decade, but it was only possible to hide from it for so long.

( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
Hi to all my Anobrain readers!
If you're confused, the Epilogue
was an Alternate Ending! This story
will follow canon, for the most part,
so buckle up and enjoy the ride :)