Heather Potter- the girl who was left behind

Chapter 1

The whole world knows about the Boy-who-lived. What nobody knew, was that James and Lily Potter got pregnant almost immediately after giving birth to Harry Potter. June 5 almost a year after Harry was born, they gave birth to a daughter, Heather. They were already in hiding when I was born. And they went to great lengths to hide my existence. So much so, that it was unknown, even to their closest friends. Maybe it was because they didn't trust them. Or maybe it was because they never came around. I did not know. What I do know, is I was left, alone in Godric Hallow.

I was raised by an old Potter elf, Fancy, who helped my parents with raising me and Harry. At least that is what she told me.

When I was left all alone in our destroyed home, Fancy brought over a couple more Potter elves and they fixed up the house and raised me the best they could. They couldn't really teach me to speak well, or read. So, they brought over my grandparents paintings to tutor me when I was five. They did everything they could to give me a good life. Elves aren't meant to be in charge. So having control over everything I did, was torture for them. But they knew they could not leave me. It was responsible to make sure I was okay. That I thrived.

My life was lonely. I played in my back yard and when I was older I played in the neighborhood with some kids around my age. But unlike everyone else, I didn't have rules, boundaries, expectations or even a curfew. The neighbors found that odd, especially when they never saw any adults or parents. But I was always clean and dressed so they didn't worry.  Sure, I wore dresses that dated back to the victorian era. And I never cut my hair. But people assumed I just like puffy dresses and frills. And for the first six or seven years, I didn't even notice I looked different. It was around the time I was eight or nine I realized I didn't fit in.

The elves gave me muggle money and I went on a muggle clothes shopping spree. With the help of my neighbor friends I found close that looked good on me. And I didn't stand out. They tried to make me cut my hair, but by now I liked it. It felt like a part of me. And I kept it.

My grandparents still made me dress properly during my tutoring sessions. I was expected to act proper and sit proper. The elves would bring any books I needed as they taught me how to behave like a proper pure blood, taught me about being a Proper Potter. They even taught me how to claim the Potter Family title of my brother didn't. They taught me what it meant to be Lady Potter. Nobody knew where my brother was. But if my grandparents were right, he was in the muggle. They didn't trust Dumbledore's motives at all. After seeing the way he used their son, they lost all respect of him. And I would not trust him either.

The biggest problem, the wizard world didn't know I existed. I would not be registered in anything. Not the ministry. Not the school. Nothing. They weren't even sure I would get my Hogwarts letter.

When I was eight, my grandmother helped me write Gringotts bank and send my birth certificate. This way I would at least be known as one of a Potter Heirs and the sole Braithewaite heir from my grandmother's side. She also helped me write to a couple lesser known wizarding schools and ask for registry. They wished me to go to Hogwarts, but with their lack of confidence in Dumbledore, they were hesitant to send me there.

I was tutored six days a week, from seven until six. After dinner I could play outside with my friends.

I met a few wizards. Our community was a mix of muggle and wizard. While mostly muggle and squib, there was a respectable number of wizards as well. Nobody seemed to ask who I was though. They didn't seem to care. I was just Heather. I actually met Neville Longbottom a few times. But his grandmother usually didn't let him come out and play with the neighborhood kids very often.

My best friends were all muggle. And sometimes I wished I could have school with them. I knew my schooling was far more intense. I needed to learn wizard history, family history, Latin, French, arithmetic, literature, grammar, English, magical customs, etiquette, as well as basic magical knowledge. My schooling was extensive. And when I learned about muggle schools, I gasped at how rudimentary it was. How did muggle borns survive in magical schools? They wouldn't know anything of importance!! Sure muggle British History, World history and Science was interesting, my friends told me a little of what they learned when they found out I didn't know anything about it, but it wouldn't help me in the wizarding world at all. And really they just learned basic math and English otherwise. No language, no etiquette, I desired muggles at no etiquette at all. They were all very plebian. Fun, but rather uncultured. My friends thought my speech and behavior was a little old fashioned, but just chalked it up to me being me and brushed it off.

So, I had a strict tutoring schedule, but otherwise I had free reign and no structure or discipline. It made things a little weird. But I couldn't say my life was bad. I just had no family, unless you included portraits. Which really, wasn't much. They couldn't hug you when you had nightmares, or nurse you to health when you were sick. They didn't hold you when you were sad. And the elves didn't really do that either. The elves made food, and cleaned the house, but that was really all. I was on my own.

Picture inside the house. Most of the furniture and things were destroyed, so the elves cleaned and fixed everything and brought over furniture from Potter Manor. But since my parents wanted me to live and grow up in Godric Hallow, I remained here, alone. Forgotten.