Petunias • Daisy Dursley

13. Grimmauld

I guess its actually 3 chapters at once, because I had one chapter in drafts that I accidentally never pressed publish on... oops. 

The way James spoke about Grimmauld place, one would think the worst of ghosts haunted its halls and around every corner hid a terrifying monster. James called them boggarts, but had never explained what that meant and Poppy never dared to ask.

In actuality, Grimmauld place was fine. Cozy, even. It was a home for children. How could it not be? The only sign that it had once been full of terrors was the scorched hole in one wall, the spot where, as James told it, a screaming portrait once sat.

"Dad had to have the wall removed, the enchantment keeping it there was that strong. And even now, it resists being replaced. We can't get anything to stick there, not even a new wall."

"What do you mean?" Poppy asked. "What happens when you put a wall there?"

"We can't. When anyone places a brick, it gets tossed back into the hallway. My uncle Ron almost got hit in the head by some wood trying to block that space up."

Poppy glanced over the scorched wall and gave it a wide berth as she passed by it. She followed James and Albus farther into the house until they reached a room filled with mismatched tables and chairs. A young boy sat at in one, him and the table both covered in paint as he splattered a large piece of paper with the paint on his hands. He was one of the orphaned kids that lived in the magical house.

Entranced in watching the boy fingerpaint, Poppy didn't notice James disappear until it was too late to follow. Harry was in a meeting with the home's primary caretaker. Lily and Daisy had gone somewhere upstairs, and Albus hadn't come along, leaving Poppy alone.

She didn't wander far, just in case someone ever came looking for her, but Poppy passed by a few more rooms. Messy desks and schoolbooks filled one that captured her attention.

What would it have been like to have studied there instead? The space looked nice enough, decorated with hanging plants and ornaments for Christmastime.

Harry said kids rarely stayed long in Grimmauld place. It was temporary, just a brief place of comfort between leaving their old home and being adopted into a new one. Harry also said it was rare for over 5 kids to be there at the same time. The only exception had been just after the war, when too many kids had lost family.

"There you are." Poppy spun to see Daisy peering at her over the banister. "I'd thought you went with James, but we passed him just now and I thought you'd gotten lost."

"As if I could get lost in here."

Daisy snickered. "Wouldn't put it past you, Poppy."

Poppy could tell from the mischievous look on Daisy's face that if she remembered this conversation later, she would tell the entire Potter family just how many places Poppy had gotten lost; a few blocks away from their house; an amusement park; a normal park; an unusually high number of grocery stores.

She hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but the only part of Hogwarts that Poppy truly worried about was being able to find her way. She knew she could pass with flying colors, if only she could make it to class on time. Daisy knew it too — why else would she insist on bringing up Poppy's one flaw if not to remind her that Daisy was better at something?

Lily joined Daisy at the banister, interrupting the sisters' staring contest. "Dad says we're leaving in a couple minutes," she called down. "Care to join us up here while we wait?"

Poppy walked up the stairs, keeping her eyes down just in case a step jumped from underneath her feet (probably just James joking, but one could never be too sure about these things). Once she arrived at the landing, she could see what Daisy had been looking at. Photos of kids plastered almost every wall in simple, black picture frames. Between them, people had taped notes.

It's been five years since I left here — still can't believe how much it impacted me — rolled across a torn piece of parchment in neat cursive and hung behind the frame around two boys and a girl, all smiling shyly at the camera. Every once in a while, the photographed figures glanced at each other, and then shyly away again.

Today I leave for a new home. Won't miss this place, but I love everyone in this photo, another read.

Dunno what the obsession is with notes on the wall, but bye, I guess.

Living here was the best year of my life. Don't forget to send me owls once I'm gone, you lot (looking at you, Nimue).

And then there was one near the floor that Poppy doubled back to look at. Yes, it was her. Poppy almost missed it, but there she was, Daisy's friend. Sophie. Her hair had been longer back then, and she wore sunglasses in the photo, but it had to be the same person. She stood next to a few other kids, but she wasn't one of them. In the photo, the other three laughed and had their arms around each other, but Sophie didn't even lean in. She barely smiled.

There was no note.

Poppy felt Daisy's presence next to her before she looked.

"Did you know she'd been here?"

Daisy shook her head, vibrant yellow hair spinning like fire. "I knew she'd been adopted. Not from where or why. I thought her adoptive parents went over to the states to get her." She stared at the photo, frowning. "It feels wrong, seeing her like this without her being here."

"What do you mean?"

"It feels too personal."

Poppy looked around at the wall. "It feels like a photo placed on a wall meant to be seen. It can't be that personal." But she understood what Daisy meant. The misplaced, unsocial version of Sophia seemed so different.

Kind of like Poppy before discovering magic. Or Emma searching for the reason Daisy abandoned her.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Poppy whispered. "It's not like you went digging for this photo intentionally."

"Right. She'll understand."

_____________________________

"Anyone want to bet against her getting in Gryffindor?" James stepped out of the kitchen, giving Poppy a one-armed hug as he took a bite of a pastry Molly Weasley had delivered earlier.

The conversation about what house Poppy would be in was much more lively than conversations had been before Daisy's sorting. Likely because Poppy was fully enthusiastic about hearing their opinions.

"How much are we betting?" Albus asked.

James laughed. "Really? You really think she'll be in another house?"

"She's Slytherin through the core, James. You're just too stubborn to see it."

"And you're both too obsessed with your own houses to see that she's Ravenclaw material," Lily said. Daisy nodded her agreement. "No bets, though. Keep me out of that."

"So. The only thing you can agree on is that I'm not a Hufflepuff?"

Everyone went silent for a moment, considering the question.

"Nah," James said at last. "Not friendly enough. If you were a plant, you'd be a cactus."

"Not every Hufflepuff is friendly though, that's just a stereotype," Lily said. "But, I agree. You don't feel like a Hufflepuff. Maybe it's the loyalty thing. Or the hardworking thing."

"I'm hardworking!"

"But you didn't even defend yourself with loyalty."

"But that doesn't make her not a Hufflepuff."

"It kinda does."

"I thought you were betting on Gryffindor anyway, James, what does it matter?"

Poppy tossed a pointed hat in the air, one borrowed from Daisy's Hogwarts uniform, and watched it land on the ground. In her head, she imagined it growing a face and looking up at her. Its imaginary mouth opened, ready to sort her and said — 

No, I won't be telling you what house Poppy gets into. Not yet. :)