A Snake, A Bird, and A Fawn

one

Cecily had only one wish in life, the one thing that would make her happier than anything else: to go to Hogwarts. Her brother had been going for five years already, but he claimed that it was because of his title of the 'chosen one'. In his words, someone as replaceable and insignificant as Cecily had no reason to be educated at such a prestigious school. She was just as useless as the slimy Slytherins.

And while Harry had intimidated their aunt and uncle to allow him to reside in Dudley's second bedroom, Cecily remained in the cupboard under the stairs, no one in Privet Drive knowing about her meaningless existence besides those who lived in the same house as her, and even they were still prone to forgetting.

The only thing that truly gave her hope was the feelings in her chest. It sounded silly, and she never spoke to anyone of it, especially not after her uncle had given her the beating of a lifetime when she accidentally used her magic for the first time. It took years for her to find out what the feelings were. She finally discovered her answers when reading one of Harry's course books that she had secretly stolen from his trunk while he visited the Weasley's the past summer.

'For those with creature mates, they will feel the emotions of their soul partners from the moment they are born. It has been described as a warmth in the heart and an omnipotent knowledge of the mental state of their beloved. The sensation, known widely as 'sensus vinculum' strengthens ten fold during the first act of mating: eye contact. This is when the creature identifies their soul partner and begins the courting ritual. The next stage is physical contact, which happens immediately after the first stage in most cases. Finally, bonding is completed with the most intimate form of contact between beloveds. Rare cases have shown a single mate for multiple creatures, however, there is a lack of documentation due to the lack of incidents in the past centuries.'

Apparently, this was where Harry was wrong.

She was special, because she had two people to love and cherish her for their eternity.

                                             _-_

It was the morning of July 31, the birthday of Cecily and Harry Potter. Cecily woke up cold, as usual, and carefully maneuvered herself to sit without hitting her head on the slanted ceiling of her cupboard. The cramped space had definitely stunted her growth, leaving her at a measly seven water bottles tall (she didn't have access to a meter stick and had never seen a doctor, so water bottles had to do).

As usual for the young girl, she crawled out of the small door, careful of her still healing bruises, and quietly began the cooking of breakfast. She had to wake up at five sharp each morning to make food for Vernon before he left for work at six, or else she would get struck across the face. It wasn't the worst of his punishments, the worst by far was the one wear she had to be in his bed and not her own, but every child had to be punished accordingly, so who was she to complain?

Cecily didn't feel fifteen, though she didn't necessarily know how fifteen was supposed to feel. Her hair was still caked with oil, her eyes still bloodshot and red, and her skin was tender and discolored. Was something supposed to change, or did every fifteen year old look like this? She wouldn't know, she had never met anyone besides the people who lived with her.

"Hurry up, freak. I was called in early," her uncle's gruff voice was heard from behind her, making her start before nodding and speeding up the cooking of the scrambled eggs in her pan.

Cecily scampered to the table and placed down his plate with shaking hands before resuming her position in the corner. She was made to sit on her knees, hands folded and eyes down until they deemed her services necessary.

She listened quietly for her cue, shooting up with aching knees when she heard the command 'clean'. Soon after, her uncle was out the door and her aunt and cousin continued to snore peacefully in their rooms.

A letter sliding through the mail slot caught Cecily's attention from the plate she had been diligently scrubbing. Hopping off of her step stool, she padded quietly over to the envelope and startled at the name printed on the parchment.

Her name.

Cecily went through her list of chores and realized she had no more until her family woke up, which wouldn't be for at least another two hours. So, she slid back into her cupboard and locked the little door before shakily peeling open the letter.

Dear Ms. Cecily G. Potter,

I write to you from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, though not as a teacher. I write as a friend, as strange as it might seem. Your brother most likely informed you of the problems our school has faced over the past years, but I have recently uncovered a new one. Your lack of enrollment.

You have obviously shown signs of magic, Ms. Potter, so it astounds me that you have not yet received an entry letter. For that I sincerely apologize. When I informed our headmaster of this, however, he went on a spiel about how mistakes can happen to even the wisest of people. But trust me, Ms. Potter, Lady Magic makes no mistakes.

A confidant of mine, one you will meet upon your arrival at Hogwarts, is skilled in the magic of Legillimency, otherwise known as mind reading. Your brother's mind has thrown us into deep hatred, and yes, I understand how strong of a word it is. You will not be treated like that at my school, that I can assure you. You will have a private escort to Hogwarts and will not see Dumbledore alone under any circumstances.

And there is the added bonus of seeing both Harry and Albus' surprise upon your arrival.

Worry not, all has been thought of and taken care of. I tried my hardest to get you out of that horrible house as quickly as possible, but I was informed of the repercussions and determined that this is the safest way.

I wish you the best of luck, Cecily.

Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall

And with that, Cecily got her deepest wish.