I Just Want You to Know Who I Am

Chapter 4: Meet Hayle Potter

I'm just a kid

And life is a nightmare

I'm just a kid

I know that it's not fair

Nobody cares 'cause I'm alone in the world

Is having more fun than me

-- "I'm Just A Kid", by Simple Plan

"HAYLE JAME POTTER GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!!!!"

"Uh oh. What'd I do now?" Hayle moaned to her empty room.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYLEEEEEEEE!"

"Coming, Dad!" Liam Potter was not a person to keep waiting when mad.

As she passed the calendar on her wall, she noticed something: Today was her eleventh birthday. Today she would learn whether or not she would go to Hogwarts.

"Great. One of the most important days of my life, and Mum has a game."

Hayle's mother, Jamie Evans-Potter, was the Chaser for the British National Quidditch Team, the top team in Europe for as long as Hayle could remember, second in the world only to United States. Needless to say, this job required a lot of traveling.

To balance the frequent absence of her mother, Hayle's father, Liam Potter, stayed home. Which he could afford, being a successful inventor. His name was synonymous with the E-Z Bake Cauldron, a cauldron that practically makes the potion for you. All you have to do is put the ingredients in the tray at the bottom, say the name of the potion, and wait. The only type of potions the E-Z Bake Cauldron couldn't handle were ones where emotion is a key factor. Those will always be made by hand. But we digress.

Once down the stairs, Hayle looked around, and saw no one. She wondered where everyone was. Until she heard a voice behind her say, "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter, we regret to inform you that because your daughter is an insufferable prat who doesn't obey her father the first time he asks her to do something, we must reject her from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My deepest sympathies, Mervin McGonagall, Deputy Headmaster."

"Mum! You're home! How?"

"Coach let me off. It's not everyday your firstborn daughter is accepted into one of the most prestigious wizarding schools in the world."

"So can I get a wand and stuff now?"

Liam cut in here. "Of course you can, sweetie. I only wanted you to live like a Muggle so you'd know your heritage. You'll get to be a witch all your life, and I don't want you to end up being clueless to a lot of the world, like some wizards--" here he added a fake cough which sounded suspiciously like the name Malfoy "--are."

"So we can go now?"

All Liam and Jamie could do was roll their eyes and sigh. While she was always enthusiastic, sometimes with Hayle, things were just in one ear and out the other.

***

Jamie and Hayle Flooed to The Leaky Cauldron, from which Jamie tapped the third brick to the left above the trash bin, and Hayle caught her first glimpse of Diagon Alley, a place which would have substantial meaning in her life.

"Mum, why couldn't Dad come with us?"

"Because he has to wait for your sister to get home, Hayle."

"Dréa's nine years old, she can stay home by herself."

"She's bringing a friend over. I don't think I'd ever trust either of you home alone with a friend."

"Very funny, Mum."

"Come on, we have to go get you your school things. What do you need?"

"Uhhhhhhh..."

"Oh, forget it, I know for a fact that the list of requirements hasn't changed sinc your father and I went to Hogwarts. Let's just go get some ice cream."

"Uh. Okay...?"

Jamie called Liam using an enchanted cell phone (another one of his wonderful inventions) to tell him that she and Hayle would be home much sooner than expected.

"All right, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Cool."

As the two women ate their ice cream, Hayle started to wonder if Dréa's friend was the real reason why it was just her and her mum. "Mum, what's the real reason why Dad didn't come?"

Jamie sighed. "If I tell you, do you promise to do all your chores complaint-free for a month?"

"Yessssssss! Tell meeeeeeee!!!"

"Pinky swear."

They locked pinkies as a "proof-of-promise", as Jamie called it.

"All right. Your father's at home, setting up your surprise birthday party."

"Really!?!?!"

"Yes. And he has all of your school stuff ready, except for your robes (which is my cover) and your wand, which we're going to get as a family."

"COOL!!!!"

"So, let's go to Madam Malkin's and get you your school robes."

"All right!"

After they left Madam Malkin's and headed back to The Leaky Cauldron, Jamie reminded Hayle to act surprised.

"Of course, Mum. I'm not that dumb."

"Why do I doubt that?"

"Muuuum!"

"All right, let's go."

***

A few moments later, Hayle and Jamie were surrounded by smiling faces and gifts.

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!"

Hayle gasped and tried to act surprised, but failed miserably.

"You told her, didn't you, Prongs?" asked Syria Black, Hayle's Godmother and Jamie's best friend since their Hogwarts days.

"I had to, Padfoot. She was badgering me, and you of all people should know that I have no patience."

"Syria!!!!" Hayle yelled, finally noticing something other than the gifts. She ran over to her Godmother and gave her a hug.

"Well, I see how it is. No one ever notices poor old Moony." said Rhea Lupin, another one of the infamous Marauders and Syria's "close friend", in a tone of mock disappointment.

"Auntie Rhea!!! It's been ages!!" Hayle said, also glomping her Godmother's girlfriend.

"Yes, it has. And you're growing into a spitting image of Jamie. Except for those eyes. If you didn't have those emeralds, I'd worry about whether or not Liam is your real Dad."

"Very funny, Rhea. You know that Liam has always been, and will always be, the only man for me." Jamie said, putting her arms around her husband.

"Well, now that we've gone down Memory Lane, can we open presents now?" whined Andréa, who was almost as anxious as Hayle.

"Why are you so excited, Dréa? It's my birthday, yours isn't 'til September." Hayle asked.

"Because I know my gift kicks ar--bum." Dréa corrected herself, remembering the adult-to-Dréa ratio of the room was not in her favor.

***

So, Hayle opened her gifts. She got a wizard Polaroid (yet another Liam Potter InnovationTM) from her Mum and Dad, so she could take photos of friends she makes ("And trouble she makes," added Syria.) at Hogwarts. From Syria and Rhea, she got a Snitch, which she thought to be somewhat useless without a broom. All of her mother's extra brooms were with the team, so she couldn't even borrow one from her. But all that had changed with Dréa's gift. Dréa had used some of her savings to buy her sister a brand new Nimbus Two Thousand broom. Hayle had nearly had a conniption when she saw it. She resolved to get Dréa the best gift ever for her eleventh birthday.

After all the gifts had been opened, the whole group went to Diagon Alley to get Hayle her first wand. After the measurements had been taken, Madam Ollivander went and picked out several wands for Hayle.

"Maybe you'd like this, a teak wand. It is just a bit over nine and one-quarter inches long. The core consists of unicorn hair." Hayle tried it, and Syria's nose grew to the length of three feet.

"Hey, you look like Sevra Snape with a nose like that!" commented Jamie.

"Shut up," Syria said, sounding quite nasal as she shrunk her nose to normal s

"Miss Potter, try this, a finely-carved yew wand. In length, it is ten and one-eighth inches long. This wand's core is salamander heartstring." Hayle attempted to use this wand, and managed to conjure up a Muggle from his bathtub. After many apologies, and a few memory-changing spells, they managed to get the poor man back to his bath.

"Maybe this will work. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Hayle held this wand, a pleasing warmth spread through her, and red and gold sparks came from the tip of the wand.

"Congratulations, Miss Potter. You've just found your first wand. Or, rather, your first wand has found you. Though I must say, the fact that this wand chose you is curious. Very curious."

"Excuse me, but why is it curious?"

"Because, Miss Potter, the phoenix whose tailfeather resides in your wand gave another feather. Just one other. And that feather went into the wand of one Miss Tomya Mavola Riddle."

"The Tomya Riddle? The award-winning journalist turned femiNazi?"

"Yes, that Tomya Riddle. Hayle, I expect you to do great things. She has done great things. Terrible things, yes, but great...well; she would have, if she weren't such a madcap. Anyway, that'll be eleven Sickles."

Hayle paid and left the store, wondering what great things would be meant for her. Chapter 4: Meet Hayle Potter

I'm just a kid

And life is a nightmare

I'm just a kid

I know that it's not fair

Nobody cares 'cause I'm alone in the world

Is having more fun than me

-- "I'm Just A Kid", by Simple Plan

"HAYLE JAME POTTER, GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"Uh oh. What'd I do now?" Hayle moaned to her empty room.

"HAYLE!"

"Coming, Dad!" Liam Potter was not a person to keep waiting when mad.

As she passed the calendar on her wall, she noticed something: today was her eleventh birthday. Today she would learn whether or not she would go to Hogwarts.

"Great. One of the most important days of my life, and Mum has a game."

Hayle's mother, Jamie Evans-Potter, was a Chaser for the British National Quidditch Team, the top team in Europe for as long as Hayle could remember. Needless to say, this job required a lot of traveling.

To balance the frequent absence of her mother, Hayle's father, Liam Potter, stayed home. Which he could afford, being a successful inventor. His name was synonymous with the E-Z Bake Cauldron--a cauldron that practically makes the potion for you. All you have to do is put the ingredients in the tray at the bottom, say the name of the potion, and wait. The only type of potions the E-Z Bake Cauldron couldn't handle were ones where emotion is a key factor. Those will always be made by hand. But we digress. Liam was also a short man, only five-and-a-half feet tall, with auburn hair which fell in waves down to his earlobes and eyes as green as a clichéd emerald covered in moss and frog skin.

Once down the stairs, Hayle looked around, and saw no one. She wondered where everyone was until she heard a voice behind her say, "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter, we regret to inform you that because your daughter is an insufferable prat who doesn't obey her father the first time he asks her to do something, we must reject her from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My deepest sympathies, Mervin McGonagall, Deputy Headmaster."

Hayle whipped around so fast her hair hit her in the face. There she saw her mother come out from under her Invisibility Cloak. Jamie was a small woman, less than five feet tall, lithe and quick, perfect as a Seeker; with unruly black hair that fell to her hips and hazel eyes that could catch a Snitch from the other side of a Quidditch pitch. At least she could if her glasses didn't fall off, which they did often; this usually ended up with her in a dive and the other Seeker following and subsequently crashing.

"Mum, you're home! How?"

"Coach let me off. It's not everyday your firstborn daughter is accepted into one of the most prestigious magic schools in the world."

"SERIOIUSLY!?!?! That's really a letter from Hogwarts? I'm actually gonna go to THE Hogwarts? No way!!!!"

"Yes, Hayle. That's a letter from Hogwarts, and you, my dear child, are the first of the new generation of Marauders," said Jamie, cuing superhero-esque music with her wand.

"So can I get a wand and stuff now?"

The superhero theme cut off here as Jamie shook her head at her daughter's one-track mind.

"Of course you can, sweetie," said Liam, also coming out from under the cloak. "I only wanted you to live like a Muggle so you'd know your heritage. You'll get to be a witch all your life, and I don't want you to end up being clueless to a lot of the world, like some wizards--" here he added a fake cough which sounded suspiciously like the name Malfoy "--are."

"So we can go now?"

All Liam and Jamie could do was roll their eyes and sigh. While she was always enthusiastic, sometimes with Hayle, things were just in one ear and out the other.

***

Jamie and Hayle Flooed to The Leaky Cauldron, from which Jamie tapped the third brick to the left above the trash bin, and Hayle caught her first glimpse of Diagon Alley, a place that would have substantial meaning in her life.

"Mum, why couldn't Dad come with us?"

"Because he has to wait for your sister to get home, Hayle."

"Dréa's nine years old, she can stay home by herself."

"She's eight. And besides, she's bringing a friend over. I don't think I'd ever trust either of you home alone with a friend."

"Very funny, Mum."

"Come on, we have to go get you your school things. What do you need?"

"Er..."

"Oh, forget it, I know for a fact that the list of requirements hasn't changed since your father and I went to Hogwarts. Let's just go get some ice cream."

"Uh. Okay...?"

Jamie called Liam using an enchanted cell phone (another one of his wonderful inventions) to tell him that she and Hayle would be home much sooner than expected.

"All right, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Cool."

As the two women ate their ice cream, Hayle started to wonder if Dréa's friend was the real reason why it was just her and her mum. "Mum, what's the real reason why Dad didn't come?"

Jamie sighed. "If I tell you, do you promise to do all your chores complaint-free for a month?"

"Yes, tell me!"

"Pinkie swear."

They locked pinkies as a 'proof-of-promise', as Jamie called it.

"All right. Your father's at home, setting up your surprise birthday party."

"Really?"

"Yes. And he has all of your school stuff ready, except for your robes (which is my cover) and your wand, which we're going to get as a family."

"COOL!"

"So, let's go to Madam Malkin's and get you your school robes."

After they left Madam Malkin's and headed back to The Leaky Cauldron, Jamie reminded Hayle to act surprised.

"Of course, Mum. I'm not that dumb."

"Why do I doubt that?"

"Mum!"

"All right, let's go."

***

A few moments later, Hayle and Jamie were surrounded by smiling faces and gifts.

"SURPRISE!"

Hayle gasped and tried to act surprised, but failed miserably.

"You told her, didn't you, Prongs?" asked Syria Black, Hayle's Godmother and Jamie's best friend since their Hogwarts days. Despite the tone of annoyance in her voice, her grey eyes were shining amusedly, and she was smiling from ear to ear.

"I had to, Padfoot. She was badgering me, and you of all people should know that I have no patience."

"Syria!" Hayle yelled, finally noticing something other than the gifts. She ran over to her Godmother and gave her a hug.

"Well, I see how it is. No one ever notices poor old Moony," said Rhea Lupin, another one of the infamous Marauders and Syria's 'close friend', in a tone of mock disappointment, complete with her hand against her forehead and a dramatic toss of her brown hair.

"Auntie Rhea, it's been ages!" Hayle said, also hugging her Godmother's girlfriend.

"Yes, it has. And you're growing into a spitting image of Jamie. Except for your eyes. If you didn't have those emeralds, I'd worry about whether or not Liam is your real dad."

"Very funny, Rhea. You know that Liam has always been, and will always be, the only man for me," Jamie said, putting her arms around her husband.

"Well, now that we've gone down Memory Lane, can we open presents now?" whined Andréa, who was almost as anxious as Hayle. She was bouncing up and down so fast, her auburn hair from her father hid the hazel eyes she shared with her mother. Although, Dréa bouncing was a common occurrence, you could tell from the high note of her voice that she was eager to get going.

"Why are you so excited, Dréa? It's my birthday, yours isn't 'til September." Hayle asked.

"Because I know my gift kicks ar--bum." Dréa corrected herself, remembering the adult-to-Dréa ratio of the room was not in her favor.

***

So, Hayle opened her gifts. She got a wizard Polaroid (yenother Liam Potter InnovationTM) from her Mum and Dad, so she could take photos of friends she makes ("And trouble she makes," added Syria.) at Hogwarts. From Syria and Rhea, she got a Snitch, which she thought to be somewhat useless without a broom. All of her mother's extra brooms were with the team, so she couldn't even borrow one from her. But all that had changed with Dréa's gift. Dréa had used some of her savings to buy her sister a brand new Nimbus Two Thousand broom. Hayle had nearly had a conniption when she saw it. She resolved to get Dréa the best gift ever for her eleventh birthday.

After all the gifts had been opened, the whole group went to Diagon Alley to get Hayle her first wand. After the measurements had been taken, Madam Ollivander went into the dark back room and picked out several wands for Hayle.

"Maybe you'd like this, a teak wand. It is just a bit over nine and one-quarter inches long. The core consists of unicorn hair." Hayle tried it, and Syria's nose grew to the length of three feet.

"Hey, you look like Sevra Snape with a nose like that!" commented Jamie.

"Shut up," Syria said, sounding quite nasal as she shrunk her nose to normal size.

"Miss Potter, try this," suggested Ollivander, "a finely-carved yew wand. In length, it is ten and one-eighth inches long. This wand's core is salamander heartstring."

Hayle attempted to use this wand, and managed to conjure up a Muggle from his bathtub. After many apologies, and a few memory-changing spells, they managed to get the poor man back to his bath.

"Maybe this will work. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Hayle held this wand. Pleasing warmth spread through her, and red and gold sparks came from the tip of the wand.

"Congratulations, Miss Potter. You've just found your first wand. Or, rather, your first wand has found you. Though I must say, the fact that this wand chose you is curious. Very curious."

"Excuse me, but why is it curious?"

"Because, Miss Potter, the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather -- just one other. And that feather went into the wand of one Miss Tomya Mavola Riddle."

"The Tomya Riddle? The award-winning journalist turned femi-Nazi?"

"Yes, that Tomya Riddle. Hayle, I expect you to do great things. She has done great things. Terrible things, yes, but great...well; she would have, if she weren't such a madcap. Anyway, that'll be seven Galleons."

Hayle paid and left the store, wondering what great things would be meant for her.