⟶ 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 | h. potter

¹

. . . now playing ;; jolene by dolly parton

LEAVE THE PAST WHERE IT BELONGS. Her mother used to whisper that to her during the nights she spoke out her thoughts. The questions that swarmed her mouth. Questions about the man who left them. He belongs in the past, and the past belongs in a glass box, never to be opened. But it's hard to go about your life sometimes when you know he's out there somewhere. She used to tell herself it might've been her fault. Her weirdness and craziness might've driven him away. And then Luna would come up to her — specterspecs and all — and she'd think that whoever could've left this might as well be labeled crazy.

She sat silently at the head of the table, rubbing her temple slightly as Ron and Hermione fought about their pets — supposedly, Hermione's ginger cat named Crookshanks was having a sprawl with Ron's pet rat Scabbers. Ron felt as if his rat was in danger, and Hermione was simply defending herself.

"This would've never happened if you two just followed my advice of getting Pigmy Puffs as pets!" Avery sighed.

"No offense Avery, but nobody wants a Pigmy Puff as a pet," Ron scowled. Avery looked at him in shock, scrunching up her nose. Her own Pigmy Puff — Arnold — popped his head out of her sunny white hair.

"Arnold took much offense to that!" Avery scoffed, crossing her arms.

"I don't care what Arnold takes offense to, his basically a piece of dust!" Ron said, glaring at the Puffskein on Avery's head.

"See, Ronald, this is your problem! You take much pride in having an old rat as a pet and think every other pet is insignificant!" Hermione spat.

"This 'old rat' happens to a very special animal to the family!" Ron retorts.

"Ronald, it's practically a family heirloom!" Hermione shouts mockingly. Harry stands at the top of the steps, smiling as he walks down the steps quickly.

My favorite people, he thought to himself happily.

"Harry!" Avery said happily, first to notice him. Arnold was rolling around on her arm, but at the mention of Harry's name, he hopped up, waddling to Avery's fingers and climbing onto Harry's head. "This is Arnold, Luna got me him for my birthday." Harry smiled at her, not minding Arnold on his hair.

"Harry! Where have you been? Have you heard about... Sirius Black? And I heard about your aunt! That was very rude, Harry!" Hermione said before hugging him.

"Mate, tell Hermione to keep her cat away from my rat!" Ron said, smiling at Harry.

"Ronald, stop it," Avery scoffed, lightly smacking his hand. Harry smiled at her. Despite her lightly lecturing Ron, she still had that sense of etherealness that made her her. He looked around at them all before speaking up.

"How are you all here?" He asked, from what he knew, nobody knew about him coming here.

"Well, my family's staying here until school starts back up; we went on a trip to Egypt. It was in the Daily Prophet," Ron said cheerfully. Trips like those were always an excitement for the Weasley family, as they were too poor to afford trips themselves.

Avery shrugged, "I just wanted to come." It's weird how Avery does that. It's like she knows. Like she knows everything, though she knows nothing.

"Avery invited me over, and then we went out and I bought Crookshanks, and she bought a new owl," Hermione informed him.

"A new owl? What happened to Mercury?" Harry asked, remembering the old brown barn owl. He was old and a little too puny to carry large packages, but he could see how much Avery loved the poor little owl.

"Oh, we buried him in the creek by the house," Avery said, simply unbothered. House. Not home, never home. "My new owl's name is Venus." They moved on from animal talk, though the occasional animal outburst from Crookshanks distracted them from their talks.

"Have you seen that they have a new broom out? It's a Firebolt! Rumored to be the best and fastest broom ever!" Ron said happily before his facial expression went gloomy. "It's really expensive, though."

"Do you want to stop by the Quidditch store," piped up Avery, taking Arnold back from Harry — he was beginning to chew on Harry's hair.

"Do we have to?" Asked Hermione, "I think I have to study."

"Oh, yes, I can stay with you," Avery smiled. Hermione's facial expression wavered. She knows that Harry has been trying to get Avery into Quidditch for a while now, and this time he can show her what Quidditch has to offer.

"No, no, I'll come along," sighed Hermione, letting Crookshanks slink away.

Harry smiled, following Ron and talking to Avery. "What position are you looking to play?" Harry asked.

"Me? Aren't you the one trying to get me into Quidditch? What position are you looking for me to play?" She queried.

"Er— well I believe you could be a good Chaser," shrugged Harry.

"I don't think Avery is meant for Quidditch," Ron said.

"I agree with Ronald — shockingly," Hermione spoke up.

"How do you mean?" Asked Harry, leading Avery into the Quidditch store.

"Well, I mean, can you picture her bolting around in the air on a broom and pelting things past people?" Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "She might be better off with doing Quidditch commentary."

Harry watched as Avery ran her fingers over a broom's wood, but her eyes — blue as the ocean — were looking elsewhere, like she was in a different world. Universe. She usually looked like that. He usually found it weird when he replaced his mother's empty voice with her voice. Her voice just sounds so kind and loving, and that's what he pictured his mom as.

"I guess you're right," Harry said, shrugging.

▆▇▆▇▆

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, the group of people — the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Avery — sat around the table, all talking. Arnold was running around the table, picking up small crumbs and bringing them back to Avery, Harry watched the actions of the small Puffskein.

"What's he doing?" Asked Harry.

"Having a feast," Avery whispered, smiling as Arnold ate his small pile of crumbs. Hermione tapped Avery's shoulder and she turned, leaving Harry to stare at his plate and smile softly.

"What classes are you taking?" Asked Hermione. Avery thought for a moment before responding.

"Divination, Care for Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy, and History of Magic," she answered happily. Frankly, she was the only one who partially enjoyed History of Magic. History was her escape. It explained the inexplainable: the past. She was waiting for a book about her past to be written.

She knew nothing about it, and she decided to keep it behind her — where it belongs — upon her mother's request. But the itching curiosity would also spike wonder among her abnormal brain and force her to search for some time of answer, but she'd get nowhere. Her mother's words echo in the back of her mind every time she searches for something. She felt as if it wasn't simply a request for peace, but more than that. A request for secrets to be kept hidden. She kept those retched thoughts out of her head; her mother was as pure as daylight on the beach, and she would never keep secrets from her only daughter, from her only family. And then she was taken away from Avery so young, so quickly, so differently. Avery didn't understand it at the time, but she was forced to pretend.

She still doesn't fully understand it, and that's why she wants answers. Answers to her mother's paintings, her mother's words, her mother's looks, and her mother's thoughts. Answers to her mother.