Christine Potter

Chapter One - Tom Riddle 

Christine Anne Potter stood in the doorway of her house pouting. She was bored to death!  Her dad, the legendary Harry Potter, had gone to a Quidditch match and left Christine home with her mother, Cho Potter. 

Harry was the seeker on the German Quidditch team, and Christine had inherited his and her moms athletic ability. She was planning on trying out for Seeker on the Gryffindor team that year.

Christine had ash blonde hair (no one knew how), her father's green eyes and the same famous lightning bolt scar as he did on her forehead. Christine thought it was a nuisance because everyone knew that she was a Potter... not that it was a bad thing.

Christine stepped out onto her spacious porch and sat down with a sigh. She saw her best friend, Ginger Weasley, walking towards her. Christine waved with a smile. 

Ginger had eight other brothers and sisters. There was Ashley and David, who were not old enough to go to school yet; James, who was just beginning his first year of school; Piper and Trent, who were second years; Thomas and Jonathon, the twins, were in their third year; and Peter, the oldest, was in his sixth year. 

"I'm so bored!" Ginger complained, throwing herself on to the swing. 

"Join the club, " Christine said. "Want to play a game of Exploding Snap?"

Exploding Snap was a card game that was a bit more exhilarating than regular Muggle cards, due to the chance that at any moment they could blow up.

Ginger shook her head. "I just grew my eyebrows back. I don't feel like blowing them off again." Ginger had had a bit of a dilemma in Potions class the previous year when she unintentionally burned her eyebrows off while trying to create a sleeping draught. Christine had to stiffle back a laugh whenever she remembered the incident (Ginger was extremely sensitive about the subject).

"Can you spend the night tomorrow?" Christine asked. Tomorrow was Christine's twelfth birthday. "Mum and Cookie are going all out for dinner. They've already baked a huge cake." 

"Sure!" Ginger said. "My parents don't want me in the house anyway." Ginger's father and mother, Ron and Hermione Weasley, were going to have another child soon (that would make it their tenth) and Hermione was easily irritated right now and Ginger seemed to be irritating her especially. Christine looked down at her watch. 

"They should be home by now!" she shouted. As if on cue, there was a loud pop and Ron, Harry, and Peter were all standing on the front yard. They had taken a Portkey. Since Harry was a player and Ron was his coach, they were mailed one specially. Christine jumped up and ran to her father, who picked her up off the ground and whirled her around. 

"Hello sweetie," he said. 

"Did you win?" Christine asked hopefully. If they won this match they would go to the world finals. 

"You bet we did," Harry answered. He kissed Christine on the forehead and put her back down. Christine then hugged Ron. 

"Hello Uncle Ron," she said, though he wasn't really her uncle. Christine had no uncles really. Harry and Cho had both been only children. So Ron, her Godfather, became her uncle along with all his brothers, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie, and Bill, while Hermione and Ginny had become her aunts. Ron swept her into the air, just like Harry. 

"Have you got into any trouble today?" Ron asked. 

"Not yet," Christine said. Ron kissed her on the forehead as he let her down. 

"Well, the day is still young," he whispered in her ear. Christine giggled. She was constantly getting in trouble, if not at home, then at Hogwarts. 

"Come on in, Ron," Harry said, "and have a cup of tea." He and Ron entered the house, leaving Ginger and Christine outside with Peter, at whom Christine flashed a stunning smile. Peter held out his hand for her to shake causing her to roll her eyes. Peter had somehow gotten it into his head that he was now a grown up. Christine sighed softly. 

"Oh all right!" Peter sighed, caving in as usual. "If it will make you happy." Peter wrapped his arms around Christine and hugged her tightly. Christine smiled to herself. 

"Christine 9,727, Peter 0," she thought. Peter let go. 

"Satisfied?" he asked. 

"Uh-huh," she answered. 

"Good, because I'm never doing that again." 

"Sure," Christine whispered, as she headed into the house with Ginger at her heels. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And we're back to boredom," Ginger announced as she threw herself onto the couch. Christine flopped down next to her. 

"I wonder what Patrick is doing right now," she sighed. Ginger rolled her eyes this time. 

Patrick was Christine’s boyfriend. He had light brown hair with soft, sad, hazel eyes. Ginger threw a pillow at Christine. Christine threw it right back. Ginger ducked, and the pillow hit Harry. Both girls stood soundlessly. Harry looked up at the two of them sternly and then threw the pillow back at Christine but missed and hit Ginger. Soon, they were all throwing pillows across the room. Christine hid behind the couch for shelter. 

"What are you doing?" Cho asked, walking into the room. 

"Nothing," they all said in unison, hiding the pillows. Cho rolled her eyes. 

"Just don't make too much noise," she said, shaking her head. 

"We won't," they said, smiling innocently. Cho sighed as she left the room, Harry running after her. 

"You're just as bad as them sometimes!" she muttered to him. Christine and Ginger dropped to the floor in laughter. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Christine woke early the next morning and stretched under her silky sheets. She adored her room; it was so huge that she had space for a small white sofa in the corner next to her monstrous bookcase. Christine was the biggest bookworm in her family. On her couch was an assortment of pillows all different shades of purple. Christine had decorated her door with glittering butterflies, which Harry had charmed so they would flutter around the place. There was a small sign resting on the handle that said: 

Christine Potter's Room 

Please knock. 

She ran into her parents' bedroom and jumped onto the bed. "Morning!" she cried. Harry and Cho woke with a start. 

"Christy," Cho groaned, "It's five a.m." 

"So?" she asked. Cho rolled her eyes. 

"At least it's not midnight again," she sighed. Christine smiled sheepishly. Last year, she had decided to wake her parents up at midnight. Harry, however, had not minded and stuck up for her. 

"I still say that it was technically my birthday! I mean anything after midnight is technically me birthday!" Christine said proudly. 

"All right," Cho sighed. "Let me get the presents." Christine jumped on the bed causing it to bounce slightly. 

Cho and Harry always got her great gifts. Harry had never really gotten a birthday gift from his aunt and uncle, so he made sure that she had the best birthdays ever. 

Cho returned with dozens of brightly coloured packages and Christine enjoyed opening them for an hour. She received books, clothes, make-up, jewellery, a Broom and Wand Servicing Kit from her Uncle Ron, and Cho and Harry had bought her a brand new Firebolt. 

"Thank you," she whispered as she held it in her hands as if it was a priceless artifact. 

"Wait," Harry said. "There is still one more, but you'll have to use it wisely." Harry left the room and returned with a shimmering cloak in his hand. 

"Put it on," he told her. Christine slipped the cloak on and gasped when her body disappeared. 

"Oh my God!" she shouted. "It's an invisibility cloak!" 

"It belonged to me when I was your age," Harry told her. "I used to sneak out to see Hagrid at night." Hagrid was the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. 

"Now Christine," Cho said sternly, "we don't want you sneaking out with this, understood?  Your father almost got himself killed with that thing several times." 

"I won't," Christine said, giving her parents a hug. "I'm going to go get dressed, okay?" 

"Hurry back sweetie," Harry said. "Cookie made a great breakfast." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Christine ran a comb through her hair. She was wearing the new black skirt she had gotten with her white halter-top. She was trying to put her hair in a ponytail, when she heard a gentle tapping at her window. Christine walked over and unlatched it. A tawny owl flew into the room and dropped a bulky parcel on the bed before flying away once again. Christine locked the window once again and opened the peculiar package. 

Inside it was a small diary that looked to be over fifty years old. There was a huge lock on the front that wouldn't budge. In the middle, there was a small hole, which was surrounded by a large black stain that looked as if someone had spilled ink all over the crimson cover. Christine was confused. She turned the book around looking for a name. On the back it said, in small, neat writing, Tom Riddle. 

Christine hid the diary under her pillow. She didn't want to show anyone the diary but Ginger.  As planned, Ginger came over to spend the night. She walked in just in time to hear Christine being lectured by Harry. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Please dad!" Christine begged. "All I want to do is clean my wand! I won't use any magic."

"No!" Harry said. "Remember when you were six and you and Ginger were cleaning my wand?" Christine sighed. Harry picked up the picture frame in which the article was displayed. He didn't want Christine to ever forget what she had done. 

The Cow That Flew Over the Moon. 

Yesterday, Muggles were amazed to see an actual cow flying over the moon. It seems that the young witches Ginger Weasley and Christine Potter had been cleaning Christine's father's wand (her father is the famous Harry Potter) when they accidentally set it off and caused all the farm animals that nearby to take flight.  The cow was the only animal to be seen and Muggles are already thinking up reasonable explanations.  It seems that Christine Potter has inherited some of her father's personality. 

"Dad!" Christine complained. "I was six!" 

"Christine," Harry sighed, "the Ministry of Magic can forgive you when you're six, but there is no way they can when you are twelve!"

Christine sighed, "Fine." She got up and followed Ginger out of the room. 

"He makes sense, you know," Ginger said. "Besides, you don't want Fudge here again do you?" Christine laughed. Fudge was the Minister of Magic; he had come down after the 'cow incident' and talked to her. He was so annoying. 

"Hey," Christine whispered to Ginger, "I want to show you something."

The girls ran up the stairs to Christine's room where she pulled out the small book. The lock was still on it. 

"Wow!" Ginger said, taking the book. "Who gave it to you?" 

"Not a clue," Christine said. "It used to belong to a Tom Riddle." 

"Tom Riddle?" Ginger asked. 

"Do you know him?" Christine asked. 

"No," Ginger answered, "but the name seems somehow familiar." 

"I know what you mean," Christine said, "like an old friend." 

"Where's the key?" Ginger asked. 

"I haven’t got one," Christine said, "And if I showed it to Dad, he would just take it away: 'There was this one that burned your eyes out. And everyone who read Sonnets of a Sorcerer spoke in limericks for the rest of their lives. And some old witch in Bath had a book that you could never stop reading! You just had to wander around with your nose in it, trying to do everything one-handed,'" Christine quoted in a perfect imitation of Harry. 

"He sounds like my dad," Ginger said. "'Never trust anything unless you can see where it keeps its brain.'" Christine and Ginger laughed.  "Maybe there is a spell," Ginger continued, looking at the book. 

"If there is," Christine said, "we can't do it until we get to Hogwarts. Remember, it's against the rules to use magic out of school."

Ginger sighed, "There's got to be another way. A hair pin or something."

Christine pulled the hairpin from her hair out and gave it to Ginger.  "You are so just like Fred and George you know," she said as she watched Ginger try and pick the lock. Finally, becoming frustrated, she threw the pin across the room and began to stare blankly at the book. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, I'll hold this end and you hold that end and we pull, all right?" 

"This is never going to work!" Christine sighed. 

"Not with that attitude!" Ginger scoffed. "On the count of three. One, two, three." The two girls pulled. Christine lost her footing and fell onto her back, pulling Ginger down with her. 

"I told you it wouldn't work," Christine said, shoving Ginger off her. 

"Well, it was worth a try!" Ginger shot back. 

"This is stupid." Christine said, "Let's go have something to eat." 

"All right," Ginger sighed, throwing the diary onto the bed. She and Christine left the room, shutting the door behind them.  The diary began to shake. Emerald and scarlet sparks shot out into the air and the lock became undone. A dark, hollow, evil, laugh filled the room. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'll be down in a second Ginger!" Christine yelled down the stairs. "I'll meet you outside by the Quidditch field." 

"All right," Ginger called back. Harry had to stay in shape, so the Potters had a full Quidditch field in their spacious backyard. Christine picked up her freshly polished Firebolt. She also grabbed her old, yet reliable, Nimbus 2002 for Ginger. She did a double take when she saw the diary lying wide open on her bed. Christine removed the lock and flipped through the pages. There were no words or marks in it at all, not even the spilled black ink like on the cover. Christine sighed and hid the diary under her pillow. 

"Hurry up!" Ginger yelled from outside. 

"Coming," Christine called back and she ran out the door. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Christine loved flying. Her father loved it as well. When Christine was flying, the whole world seemed to melt away. Christine stopped for a breath. Ginger flew up next to her. 

"Wow!" Ginger gasped. "You're good." 

"Thanks," Christine said. "You too." Christine sighed and looked at the setting sun.  "Isn't it perfect?" she asked Ginger. Ginger nodded in agreement. 

"Girls!" Cho called. "It's time to come in." 

"Okay," they called back together.