Saving Avery, Jen Appell [carter reed .txt] 📗

The summer heat lay heavily on Privet Drive, driving everyone inside their cool houses. In the kitchen of number four, Aunt Petunia was fussing over her son, Dudley. He was three times the normal weight for a boy of just sixteen. His blond hair, which sat flatly on his fat head, and round cheeks gave the impression of an overgrown pig.

In contrast, Harry Potter was thinner than ever. He was curled on his bed in his small, upstairs bedroom, holding a piece of broken glass. Tears stained his face and his green eyes were squeezed close in pain. A snowy owl with amber eyes was watching him sadly from inside her messy cage.

There was a sudden knock on the locked door, but Harry ignored it. It was most likely his aunt with a tray of old food, avoiding the accusation of starving him. Her attempts were pointless though; Harry hadn’t eaten a lot since he came back from Hogwarts. In fact, he hadn’t done much of anything except cry and sit alone on his bed.

Memories of the battle at the Ministry, Voldemort, and Sirius plagued his mind, causing him to shake with suppressed sobs. Sirius, his godfather, his brother, his friend, was dead…gone. Forever. This thought stabbed at his heart with barbed blades, twisting and tearing a hole where Sirius had been.

He was alone again. His loving parents were taken from him at the mere age of one; when Harry heard that Sirius, his late father’s best mate, was his godfather, he felt that he had finally found a family. But just like Cedric, people close to him continued to die. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have let them in, he shouldn’t even be alive. If his mother hadn’t sacrificed herself, he would be dead, just like the people Harry loved most.

At that moment, there was a tap at the window. Harry looked up curiously; he didn’t reply to any of his friends letters and eventually they stopped writing him. However, a large tawny owl stood on his windowsill with a letter tied to its leg. Harry leaned over and opened the window. The owl swept into the room with regal grace and landed on Harry’s side table. Harry slowly untied it. Once the letter was in his hands, the owl flew back out the window, leaving Harry with an odd sense of loss. Hedwig hooted and he smiled sadly at her.

He looked at the heavy parchment envelope in his hands. Dumbledore’s handwriting was easily recognizable:

Harry Potter
Smallest Bedroom
4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey

Harry looked at Hedwig as if she would tell him what was inside. She stared back blankly. Harry turned back to his letter and slowly turned it over. He quickly slit the Hogwarts seal open and pulled out a very long piece of parchment.

Dear Harry,

If you are willing, I will be at your place of residence tomorrow at six o’clock to take you to the Weasley’s, who have agreed to keep you until the start of term.

That is not the only reason I am writing to you, however. I would tell you this in person, but I really am pressed for time, with reasons pertaining to the issue I am writing to you about. This may come as a shock, and I am sorry for not telling you before, but I did not know, either.

You see, you have a sister. Her name is Avery Annabelle Potter and was living with adoptive parents in northern England. She is three years older than you, currently nineteen years old. Your mother became pregnant in her seventh year at Hogwarts. She used glamours to hide it, and gave birth to Avery. She and James decided to give her up for adoption because they were, as I mentioned, still in school.

This, however, is not the pressing matter. She has been kidnapped, and it is believed that Voldemort has learned of her existence. Harry, I do not want you going after Voldemort by yourself. If it comes down to it, I will take you with me, along with many members of the Order, but I fear that your sister has been taken hostage to lure you to Voldemort. We will save your sister, I promise, we will try our hardest. Please, do not give into him and chase after him yourself. I wouldn’t have told you if it wasn’t so important, but as she is your sister, I felt that it was necessary.

Please heed my advice. Also, please send an answer soon about tomorrow.
Yours Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore

Harry sat on his bed, shocked into silence, his letter held loosely in his hands. He had a sister. He wasn’t alone. A smile slowly crept onto his face. Tears suddenly sprung from his eyes and he began sobbing with joy. Hedwig flapped her wings in alarm.

As if just noticing her, Harry turned to her with a look of surprise and happiness. “Hedwig! I have a sister! I have a sister!” He looked back at the letter, still in his hands, and then scrambled around on his desk, looking for a spare piece of parchment. When he found some, he scribbled a quick reply, accepting his offer. He hurried over to Hedwig and unlocked her cage. After securing the small note to her leg and giving her an Owl Treat, Harry pet her soft feathers and released her out his still open window.

He watched her go, quickly becoming just a speck in the sky, his heart lighter than it had been in months, a smile still painted on his lips.

Publication Date: 01-02-2010

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