Karina Potter, Aunt Marauder

Chapter 9

Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived? Karina nearly spit out her coffee as she read the Prophet a week later. What in the name of Merlin? Why was her son in the newspaper?

"Remus!" She ran into the living room, where Remus was resting on the couch from the full moon, Harry still in bed. "Look at this! Look at it!" Remus sat up, took the paper from her, and began to read.

Karina Potter. A dependable, hard working woman, who prides herself in showing off in Auror battles, and helping werewolves hide in her home. But, what is she also hiding?

Only eleven months ago was the great defeat of You-Know-Who, the greatest dark wizard of our time! But, what truly defeated such a formidable foe? What brought down the Dark Lord? That, dear readers, is when we turn to Miss Potter, and her "son".

That very same night eleven months ago, Miss Potter had shown up at her brother's home in Godric's Hollow, James Potter and his wife, Lily. They lived there with their little crew of misfits that they called "Marauders" in their youth, as well as the Potters' one and only young son, Harry.

The night Miss Potter arrived at the home, she was devastated to find her dear brother and his wife dead, killed by You-Know-Who himself seemingly, as he had been spotted by a terrified passerby, who dared not to associate himself with You-Know-Who.

"It was truly frightening!" The anonymous passerby told me. "He stormed passed me, I was scared to death! My children were with me, and I thought that he was going to murder all of us!"

Upon the night that Karina returned home, tears overflowing from her eyes, nearly suicidal, had it not been for her having practically kidnapped her nephew.

So, dear readers, is the question. How did a mere baby, no more than a few months old, manage to defeat him? I overheard Miss Potter herself, mentioning it.

"It was rather odd!" She had told soon to be retired, Auror Alastor Moody. "I walked in, and there was You-Know-Who, lying dead in the nursery next to Lily! Harry was merely playing in his crib!"

Could acts of true murder be behind this?

That was where the article ended, and Remus looked up at Karina, who was positively fuming.

"I never said such a thing! I had told Alastor about the night James and Lily died, yes, but all I had told him was that I said what I said to keep Harry safe! I don't want Death Eaters banging down our door! I won't be able to take him anywhere! The poor boy won't be able to leave the house without being stared at!" Remus nodded in agreement, and it infuriated Karina even more at how calm he was in this situation.

"Not to mention he'll learn that you're not really his mother." Karina's heart sank. How could she have forgotten? "He'd be heartbroken, possibly frightened at the thought that you supposedly kidnapped him from his dead family's home, with the greatest dark wizard of all time lying next to his mother." Karina groaned, then took the paper and threw it on the ground, grounding it in with her heel. "Um, you don't plan on finding out who the reporter is, do you?"

"Oh, I know who that reporter is!" She growled, summoning her cloak and putting it on. And I'm going to rip her fake blonde hair from her head!" Then she Flooed to the Ministry, where she hurried to the Daily Prophet office, and stomped into Rita Skeeter's office, slamming the door against the wall.

Rita was there, probably working on her next hot mess of an article, but she set her quill down neatly when she saw Karina at the door. "Karina Potter, what a surprise. I haven't seen you since we were young. How have you been?" Karina put her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah, I've been terrific." She told her sarcastically. "Especially since you're attempting to run me through the gutter with your article! I did not kidnap Harry! And there is no way in heaven or hell that my one year old nephew defeated Voldemort!" Rita's face paled more than it already was at hearing his name, but she kept face.

"Karina, I'm surprised. You of all people, one of my closest friends during our years at Hogwarts, despite the large age gap and you being in Gryffindor and I Slytherin, I thought that you would be proud of the readers that stories such as your own bring in." Karina glared at her.

"We were not friends, its was a four year age gap, and I have not approved of your writing from the very beginning!" Rita's perfect eyebrows arched.

"Oh? Not even my book, Armando Dippet: Master or Moron? Its considered a best selling hit! I'll send you home with a copy!" She stood up, but Karina used her wand and sat her back down.

"Don't worry. Professor Dumbledore and I had a laugh over all of the ludicrous things said in it! Before, of course, we burned it." Rita chuckled, an Karina fumed.

"Oh, Karin, you're such a hoot! Armando Dippet was a complete madman and the book was a hit! And I'm sure Dumbledore's will be even better! I've already got a title! The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore! Its going to be brilliant! It shall tell every juicy little detail of his life, including of course the tragedy of his dear little sister and the falling out of him and Aberforth! And of course, the great battle of Gellert Grindelwald! Oh, I wonder if I could get an interview with Aberforth! He works at such a desolate little building! I'm sure he wouldn't mind a bit of company! And of course, I could get the story straight from the source-" BAM! A sound like a firecracker had gone off, and Rita jumped in her seat. Karina stood there, the end of her wand smoking, her looking furiously at Rita.

"Don't you dare go and bother that poor old man with his past! He has been through enough, and does not need an awful woman like yourself showing up on his front door and bombarding him with questions he will not want to answer!" Then she went to the door. "Good day, Rita." She growled, before slamming the door shut with a hard BANG!