Harriet Charlotte Sutcliff and the Philosopher's Stone

a Small Lesson on Witchcraft

Harriet and Undertaker had sat down for lessons. On today's agenda was a lesson on a ship called the Campania.

" Wow! You created Zombies, Uncle Aiden? That's so cool!" Harriet exclaimed dumbfounded. " Can you tell me how you did it?"

Undertaker stared at the clock that hung on the back room's wall. Surprised at the time, 6:30 P.M to be precise, he responded with a smile " Perhaps tomorrow, my dear. Your mother should be here soon." Just then, the door to the shop opened, " Speak of the Devil."

Harriet quickly stood up to greet her dear mother at the door, but strangely enough, Harriet appeared right in front of the funeral parlor door instantaneously with a small popping sound. Harriet did not realize that this had happened, being too focused on seeing her mother. 

" Mum!" Harriet squealed. She was always excited to see her mother, no matter what. As Gwendolyn referred to it: the equivalent a puppy. " I'm so glad to see you!" Harriet said while opening the door. As soon as the door was opened, Harriet leaped up and tackled her mother to the ground in a hug, which was quite normal for Harriet to do.

Grell stood, or sat to be exact,  in confusion. ' How did she get to door so quickly?' she wondered. Grell gave up on her question, and simply hugged her daughter back and said, " Hey sweetheart, how was your day?"

" Great! I learned about the Campania today!" Harriet exclaimed. Grell remembered the Campania well. Ah, the memories! Grell chuckled from the thought. But strangely she heard an odd stuttering in the background, out of the corner of her ear.

The stuttering was coming from a quite flabbergasted Gwendolyn. " B-b-b-bu-bu-but how? How did you get there so quickly?" Behind Gwendolyn came a very confused and concerned Undertaker. " Undertaker, you saw that right?" Gwendolyn said, acknowledging the man's presence. " One minute it's just me, and then: POOF!  you're here! What on Earth? Undertaker, explain this!"

Undertaker, after regaining composure, completely lost it. He laughed with such great fervor, I swear the funeral parlor shook. All eyes were on him. Grell was lost within the conversation, Harriet was confused on why her uncle was laughing so hard, and Gwendolyn, well let's say, was about to lose it too. But not by laughter, no, but by frustration. 

Undertaker regained composure again, and said, " Gwendolyn, darling, I did see what happened. I am laughing because it is quite early for Harriet to be experiencing accidental magic. 

It was Grell's turn to speak. "Accidental... Magic? I don't think I follow, Undertaker." Grell was nothing short of the word confused. Could Harriet perhaps be... Oh of course not! It couldn't be! 

Harriet looked up at her mother. "Mummy, what does he mean?" Grell didn't answer. " Uncle Aiden?"

Her uncle simply chuckled, and bent down to her height. " Harriet, you're  a witch."

" I'm a what?" Harriet was shocked, Grell was stunned in silence, and Gwendolyn was simply trying to keep herself from exploding. 'Perhaps,' Harriet thought, ' could her uncle be pulling her leg?'

" A witch," he replied. " And a very important one at that."  

" No," she retorted. "I can't be. I'm just, Harriet. Just, Harriet!" Undertaker smiled at this. 

" Grell," Undertaker said, turning attention to the silent reaper. " I know what you're thinking; and yes, she is the Girl Who Lived." Grell broke down. How could this be? How could she have not known? For you see, Grell and many other reapers knew of the prophecy of the Girl Who Lived. Even Aiden knew it. She loved Harriet with all her heart, and knew the very likely outcome of the prophecy. 

" Mum?" Harriet spoke, eyes clouded with worry. " Mummy? Mummy!" Harriet, at this point, was crying too. These were not tears of sadness, but tears of confusion. She didn't understand why her mother was so scared. " Undertaker," Harriet only ever called her uncle, 'Undertaker' when she was dead serious. " What do you mean by the Girl Who Lived?"

Undertaker motioned for the two to sit down. " Harriet, Perhaps it's time that you knew the real truth about your past."

" But I know the truth!" Harriet shouted. " Mum found me on the streets when I was a baby! My parents disappeared without a trace! I know this story! Mum wouldn't lie to me, her daughter!" When Grell heard this, she regretted everything she had ever told her daughter. She kept sobbing out of personal failure. 

Undertaker, understanding Grell needed  a minute, told the story of the prophecy:

" Harriet, though true that your parents did disappear, it was not because they didn't want you, but because they were killed. They were killed on Halloween night, seven years ago, by a very dark wizard. That Dark wizard was named, Voldemort. Word got around of a prophecy that foretold his demise. He would die at your hand. In an effort to stop this, he tracked you down, Harriet, in order to thwart his death. He only half succeeded. He succeeded in performing the spell that should have killed you , but it ricocheted off of you and onto him, which is thought to have killed him. I, for one, know that he is not dead. I have not found his cinematic record at all, but I did find yours. I read about Grell, your mother, taking you away one night. I said nothing about it, out of love for you and  Grell. I know that when the time comes, you will have to fight him again. You will have to fight the one who gave you that scar." He finished, pointing to Harriet's forehead. Harriet knew the scar he was talking about. She had a small lightening bolt shaped scar on the left of her forehead, which normally hid behind hair. " Grell would you like to tell your side of the story?"

Grell, now, had stopped crying. She straightened herself, and began to speak:

"  Harriet, now be fore you ask, no, I did not take you immediately after Voldemort tried to kill you.  All I knew is that Will Spears told me about a young couple that had died from killing curses. I knew the prophecy, and I had my suspicions about the couple, but I disregarded them. It wasn't until later when I was given a job to come reap a soul, your soul. At first I didn't really care, well, at least until I read your age. You were so young, I couldn't just let you die. I raced in the night to find you before death could take you. Luckily, I found you before that could happen. I saw you lying in a small blanket on someone's doorstep. I knew if I left you there, you would die. I decided I would take care of you and raise you as my own flesh and blood. I took you away from there that night, and I never looked back.  I love you, Harriet. You are my child and I could never forgive myself if something happened to you."  Grell had started tearing up again, only to quickly be comforted by Harriet snatching her in a hug and nuzzling into her chest. All Grell could do was hug her daughter closer to her. The two stayed like that for a while until both fell asleep, still hugging each other tightly. 

Undertaker simply look the two that lay before him. He motioned for Gwendolyn to come forth. At this time Gwendolyn regained composure. He whispered p, " Gwendolyn, be a dear and help get these two to my room. They should be much more comfortable there." Nodding, Gwendolyn snatched up Harriet while Undertaker took Grell, carrying them to to Undertaker's living quarters. They would continue this conversation in the morning.