Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter15

Three of a Kind

"Wh... Wh... WHAT?"

"Bloody hell Harry!" Ron said, sharply. "When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror?"

"I don't know. Animagus training? Why?"

"Do you want one now!"

"What are you talking about? Okay, so we've got similar eyes and hair. That doesn't prove anything!"

"HARRY! Put your hair in curlers and you could pass as their SISTER!"

"But..." He didn't continue. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were nodding at him. Natalia and Marie were looking at him, frightened. They all looked over to their Head Teachers, who were deep in conversation before Dumbledore finally spoke.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, will you all now follow me inside where you will then separate to find your new dormitories. Once there, please feel free to talk and get to know each other before the ball," Had Dumbledore glanced in their direction? "Which starts at eight o'clock. Dinner will be served at half past eight, and the ball will finish at midnight." The two Headmistresses repeated the announcement and then, flanking Dumbledore, made their way towards the great wooden doors of Hogwarts Castle.

Once in the Castle, Harry broke away, making as if to use one of the more accessible toilets (after all - he could argue - there would be a fairly large queue in the common room for the toilet once they get up there) waited in there until he was sure they had all passed by him, and then made towards the Astronomy Tower. He hadn't a clue what he was doing. He just felt all of his emotions boiling up inside of him and he broke into a run. As he reached the top of the tower and burst through the door onto the parapet, he let out a roar and threw out his arms. His arms contorted, his mouth hardened his eyes shrunk, his whole body shrunk, and he found himself flying through the air. He stared at his red and gold plumage, and he let out a cry of rage. He threw himself through the sky. He was so enraged that he didn't even notice the sound of the flapping of wings from the birds he passed. He found himself flying over the castle, over paths, over fields, over Hogsmeade, and over to a small grouping of hills, not noticing three small, beady black pairs of eyes, and one large pair of amber eyes following him in his flight pattern. He came to land in a cave. The same cave, where he, Ron, and Hermione had spoken with Sirius the previous year. He transformed back in a recess of the cave, curled himself up into a ball, and began to cry.

His heart was racing. A voice on the breeze was whispering to him, singing to him, hooting at him, calming him. Where there had been cold within him, was now warmth.

And a memory.

A memory of being much younger. Of being asleep in a cot. Of being warm, comfortable, safe. And then waking up the following morning with and extreme chill running through him. A feeling as though a part of him had been torn away forever. The pain welled up inside him again, until there came, from deep within him, he had no idea from where exactly, a deep, primordial scream.

He jolted awake suddenly, aware of a warm body touching him. Aware of two warm bodies touching him. Aware of another warm smile ahead of him, tinged with concern, and a warm weight on his shoulders. He looked around.

Hermione was smiling at him, although looking concerned and worried. Fawkes was on his shoulder, trilling softly to him. Then, on either side of him were...

Marie and Natalia!

"How did you find me? Where are your broomsticks?"

"I knew you'd come down here. But we didn't use broomsticks."

"I didn't see you on the ground?"

"You were to upset to see anything. Besides, we weren't on the ground..."

"WHAT?"

"When you didn't come back, Ron was concerned. I went to find Dumbledore. He was in the great hall, with the Headmistresses. I must have looked concerned because he said "Harry's upset isn't he?" and I said "Just a little" and he said "Very well then, go and get Natalia and Marie and go and find him. You'd better fly with Fawkes. We'll all talk in my office after the ball" and I asked him how we should do that, and he just nodded at me. We transformed at the top of the Astronomy Tower, and we saw you approach Hogsmeade. That's how I knew where you were going."

"But I don't understand! You mean...?" Hermione nodded, and Harry let out an elongated gasp. "Them too?" he said, indicating Natalia and Marie. Hermione nodded

She then turned to Marie and Natalia. "Show him!" she said slowly and clearly. "Montres-lui!"

Marie cocked an eyebrow curiously at her. Hermione nodded and, with a sigh, Marie transformed into a magnificent Phoenix. Harry's jaw dropped, and then dropped again as, taking her cue from Marie, Natalie also transformed into a Phoenix.

"Both of them?" he said weakly.

Hermione nodded at him, and then said, in a very determined manner. "Hogwarts!"

Natalia looked at her, a little worried. "Talk?" Marie nodded furiously. Hermione, however shook her head.

"We will talk later tonight. Nachtye, zatem?" she added, uncertainly to Natalia. She nodded quietly. "Come!" She said beckoning to them, before transforming and flying away. Natalia and Marie followed suit, and finally Harry transformed, taking a tailing position behind them, so that they wouldn't get lost.

By the time they landed on the top of the Astronomy tower, the first stars were out. Harry, transforming back, looked at his watch and said, "It's seven-thirty. We'd better hurry. We'll be late for the ball as it is!"

"You're still going?" Hermione asked, not daring to believe her ears.

"Well, admittedly, I'm not looking forward to it as much as I was. I am rather confused, as I am sure you would be if you were in the same position, but I figure, what the heck! I might as well enjoy myself, eh. I can't go brooding on this! I will get my answers after the dance, so not going to the dance is a waste of time!"

Hermione threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Harry squeezed back, not wanting to let go.

Looking at each other, uncertainly, Marie and Natalia slowly, tentatively reached forward a hand each and placed them on Harry's shoulders. Feeling him tense, and then relax, they squeezed him gently. Harry finally broke away from Hermione, looked at each of them in turn, and nodded his head, muttering "Thank you" and with that, they made their way down to the Gryffindor Tower.

The feeling of the scalding water on his skin came as blessed relief to Harry, who had felt weighed down by the revelations of the day. The torrents cascading onto his head washed away the weight from his mind, allowing him to think more clearly than he had since... well, since he set eyes on Natalia, really. He was able to think clearly, rationally, and positively.

He had a family. He had two sisters. Two sisters who would most certainly want to get to know him, as much as each other, and as much as he would want to get to know them. He had two sisters to hug and to hold him when he was feeling upset or depressed. He had two sisters to hug and to hold when they were feeling sad or depressed. He had two sisters to fight and to argue with, to talk and to play with.

He had TWO SISTERS!

Dumbledore obviously knew about this, and perhaps Madame Maxime and Freulenka Diminova knew as well. If Dumbledore knew, then Padfoot and Moony would almost certainly know! He would have it out with them later. Now, at the moment, he was just too happy to care.

Drying himself, he put his bathrobe on, and made his way back to his bed to change for the ball.

Tucking his wand away, he looked in a mirror to check that his hair was done properly. The mirror gasped at him.

"I don't look that bad, surely?"

"I... I..." Well, THAT was a turn up for the books. The mirror was at a loss for words! He must have done something right. He was the only one left in the dormitory. He glanced at his watch and could see that it was a quarter past eight.

"Oh well!" Harry thought with a sigh. "It's time to make an entrance!" He opened the door and made his way down the stairs to the Common Room, where Ron, Hermione, Ginny, their partners, Marie and Natalia. They looked up at him, jaws open, and drew a short gasp of utter shock.

"Harry?" Natalia stared at him, eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"'Arry?" Marie looked somewhat startled as well. And none of the others were any better off.

"You like it?" Harry asked everyone, putting up a single thumb to clarify. Everybody nodded mutely.

"Mais, tu l'as fait COMMENT quoi, toi?" Ginny's partner asked, somewhat confused.

"J'ai trouvé un livre chez Zonko, dont où on peut trouver les magiques comme ça dedans!"

"You found a spell book like that in ZONKOS?" Ron said, somewhat confused.

"Yep!"

"And did you buy it?"

"Yep!"

"And have you used the spell?"

"Yep!"

"And are you using it tonight?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Nope!"

"You mean you're..."

"YEP!"

"But Harry..."

"Oh come on, Hermione! It's easy! You could do it in your sleep! Even Neville could do it! It's just a simple matter of size regulation!"

"Oh come off it, Harry! You haven't been doing THAT straight off, surely?"

"Well, I have been practising it alongside my Sphynx transformation. After all, if we are going to be Omnimagi, we have to practice turning into other things. I have also tried pillows but I'm still too hairy!" Hermione stifled a giggle. "Oh well! Shall we go?"

They arrived in the Great Hall, just as Dumbledore stood up and announced that everyone should find their seats, because dinner would be served in a few minutes. Harry stood in the doorway for a few moments, looking around, taking in the decorations. There were the usual floating Jack-o-Lanterns, candles, hundreds of bats, a few friendly skeletons to placate Muggle tradition and...

Harry stopped and stared open-mouthed.

Hagrid had certainly outdone himself this year! Where the twelve Christmas Trees normally stood in December, were twelve monstrous HAGRID-SIZED pumpkins! Again carved out into Jack-o-Lanterns! They were simply beyond belief.

"We have GOT to get Dumbledore to allow Hagrid to finish his education!" Hermione nodded fervently in agreement.

"This looks like our table, here." Ron said, pointing at a table which lay four over from the staff table, and which was decked out in a fine black fabric baring the Hogwarts Crest, the Beauxbatons Crest, the Durmstrang Crest, all shadowed by a magnificent Gryffindor lion, mane flowing in the wind. There were five bats flying madly above this table. Harry noticed that above Ginny's table were four bats, and that above Fred and George's table were seven.

There was a menu in front of each of them dripping blood onto the table, dissolving into nothingness as it touched the tablecloth. Harry noticed that the menus were printed in Bulgarian, English, and French. It appeared to be the same system as last year, whereby you simply spoke into your plate and told it what you wanted. Having seen the kitchens last year, Harry knew exactly how it worked. They were directly above the kitchens, and directly below each table was another table set out in the same manner, and the House-elves would simply place the food on the plates and they would appear in the correct places. Easy!

Marie, Nathalie, and the other Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students on the Fifth Year Gryffindor table were looking around hungrily, wondering what to do.

Harry looked at Hermione sitting down in front of him, and said "Do you want to field this one?"

"Okay. All you have to do," she said, addressing the table as a whole. "Is to talk at your plate or your goblet, and tell it what you want." She lifted up her goblet and said. "Orange Juice, please." Then she showed her goblet, which was full almost to the top, to the table. She motioned to her partners to do the same, and soon the Fifth Year Gryffindor table was awash with dining, amusement, conversational exchanges, and merriment.

"Page twenty-eight-four-ninety-six?" Harry thought.

"Definitely!" Ron replied.

"For the moment." Hermione and Ginny agreed. These two took out their wands, tapped their table twice and said "TRADUCTA!" whilst the others looked on, amused.

"Vot vos that?" Seamus Finnigan's Durmstrang partner, a tall, thickset boy with friendly brown eyes and short-cropped hair, asked.

"Watch everyone speaking," Harry said, smiling. "And then take a wild guess!"

"Was zat a translation spell?" Ron's Beauxbatons partner asked, somewhat curious.

"It was a universal translator spell." Ron said, beaming proudly at Hermione. "Whilst we're at this table, we will all be able to understand what each other is saying."

"Exactly!" Hermione added. "I don't know how much French, Bulgarian, or English you all speak, but we have only been learning French for a few weeks, and we haven't learned any Bulgarian yet. That may very well come next year, but in the meanwhile, this is a good way of avoiding any misunderstanding. There is a more personal spell if you perhaps want to dance later. The incantation is "traducto".

Harry was only half listening to Hermione. As she was talking Harry looked up and down the table, looking at the costumes various people had decided to come in. Seamus, to no-one's surprise, came as a Leprechaun. He had Hermione do a tricky little shrinking charm on him, bringing him down to the size of Professor Flitwick, and another one do make his sandy-red hair become more bushy and curly. Parvati and Lavender (who, along with Parvati's sister Padma, had come as the fates) were teasing him, saying he had never looked more adorable (Which wasn't saying much!). Dean Thomas, on the other hand, who came as his favourite West Ham player (his mum had won a few locks of his hair in a competition, and he had Hermione brew him some Polyjuice Potion - just enough for the evening), said that, in all that green, he looked somewhat out of place at a Halloween Ball. Neville, who had finally succumbed to continuous banter, that he should, with Professor Snape absent, indulge in a little Slytherin-bating, had Hermione put a growth charm on his hair, so it hung down to his shoulders, and his nose, then, having Harry nick some grease from the kitchens, he smeared it all through his hair. He then had Ron nick some chalk form a classroom, which he pasted all over his face, and then put on a floor-length red summer frock, and a large hat with a stuffed vulture on top! Harry, who hadn't noticed this before, burst out into laughter, the moment he saw it. The others at the table looked shocked, no doubt because Harry at laughed whilst someone was saying something, to which laughter was inappropriate, but to Ron and Hermione, this was music to their ears, and they smiled, before explaining the accepted censored version to the masses.

Harry got into a discussion with Marie and Natalia about their lives, and where they lived before going to school. Harry heard nearly identical stories about growing up in Muggle Orphanages, occasional fits of accidental magic which the Bulgarian and French ministries dealt with. Receiving their letters, the headmistresses delivering them personally, the fun of seeing the vacant expressions of the Orphanage Managers' faces when they had their memories modified to think that they had been adopted. How they spent the Christmas and Easter at school, and then went home with a friend during the summer Holidays.

As the meals drew to a close, they were discussing exams (Natalia LOVED them, Marie HATED them), a Sixth Year Ravenclaw girl stood up and walked over to their table. She stopped next to Ron and said, "Hi! Have any of you seen Ha... rry...?" She looked completely taken aback. She walked over to him and said. "HARRY?" He nodded. "WOW!" She shook herself. " Um, do you have a few minutes please? Cho wants to talk to you."

Harry's heart leapt. He looked over to Natalia. "Do you mind if I go talk to Cho for a few minutes?"

"Nej"

He looked over to Marie. "Ça te dérangerait si je parlais avec Cho pour quelques minutes?"

"Bein, non! Vas-y!"

"Merci. Je retournerai."

Harry walked alongside Cho's friend, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. His stomach all of a flutter. He had wondered about this meeting for weeks now, and now that it was upon him, he didn't know what to say. His throat felt somewhat dry.

Cho's friend led him over to the Sixth Year Ravenclaw table, and stood him behind what appeared to be a rather short sprite. Cho's friend nodded at Harry, urging him to speak.

"Um... Hi, Cho." Harry said quietly. The sprite looked over her shoulder right at Harry, turned back to the conversation she was having, and then turned sharply to face him again, a look of complete and total disbelief on her face.

"Ha... Ha... HARRY?" she gulped, eyes and mouth wide open. Harry nodded. "You're a CENTAUR?" Harry shrugged. "HOW?"

"I found a book in Zonkos on Saturday. I thought it would be useful for transfiguration homework and then I saw this spell. I didn't have a clue what I was going to come as, so I thought this would be quite a lot of fun." Well, it was true, as much as he had said. "Um... you look... that is to say, you look... um... really beautiful." Harry managed to choke out. Cho blushed and muttered her thanks. "Um, you wanted to talk with me?"

"Um, yeah. Do you want to dance?" Dessert had been cleared away, and the tables had been moved aside to increase the area of the dance floor. A few tables were still laden with food and drink for ease and comfort.

"Um... sure." Harry replied nervously. "I'm afraid, I'm not very good." He muttered, looking down at his slender horse's legs. "I've got two left feet." Cho looked at him wide-eyed and giggled. Harry looked at her puzzled.

"That doesn't matter." Cho said, a little more brightly. And then her face fell. "Harry... um..." She tugged at her smock, not knowing how to begin. "Um... about Cedric..." Harry's stomach dropped about a mile.

"Cho... I..."

"Harry... I don't blame you. No one does."

"Well... almost no one!" Harry replied glumly. Cho's face fell further.

"What do you mean?"

"Me."

"HARRY!"

"I don't think this conversation is suitable for the dance floor." Harry said a little sharper than he intended. He grimaced apologetically. "I think you may very well want some fresh air, by the time you've heard this."

"The Castle steps?" Cho suggested. Harry nodded. He followed Cho out of the Great Hall, along the entrance corridor, and pushed open the huge doors. The weather had become cooler. Harry plucked out one of his tail hairs and transfigured it into a mantle for her to wrap around her exposed shoulders. He took another one and transfigured it into a blanket for her to sit on. Harry bent his legs underneath him and sat down next to her. They were silent for a few minutes. No words passed between them. Harry, looking at Cho, sensed some inner turmoil. He decided to break the silence lightly before the story was to turn heavy.

"Do you want to know something? We were effectively playing ladies first."

"Harry? What happened in the maze? You don't have to tell me everything, but, please. I need to know."

"It was so stupid! He was saying I should take it because I'd saved him, I was saying that he should take it because there was no way that in a fair race I'd be able to win in my state. He said that I'd helped him with the dragons, I said he'd helped me with the egg! We went on like that for about five minutes. I could see he wasn't going to give, and I didn't feel I deserved it in the fairness of it, so I said that we'd take it together. That it was still one up for Hogwarts, no matter who won. Then the next thing I know, we're holding the cup and, as you may or may not have seen, we..."

"You disappeared." Cho said quietly.

"Yes. Well, as Dumbledore said, Cedric was murdered by Voldemort. Well, actually, it was Wormtail who did the killing, but Voldemort ordered it." Cho flinched but said nothing. "And, well, some things happened that I don't want to go into," Harry was beginning to speak in a choked voice again. "Please don't make me... But anyway it all ended up with Cedric's shadow asking me to..." His eyes were glistening with tears again. "He asked me to bring him back to his parents." Cho's eyes were watering too.

She steeled herself, taking in a steadying breath, and, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze said, in what she hoped was a comforting voice, "That story must get harder to tell every time." Harry choked and nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, the wind wafting through their black hair. As the temperature dropped a little further, Cho took Harry's mantle and transfigured into a warm jacket (the mantle was still too warm), which she put on.

Finally she spoke. "Are you okay, Harry?" she said quietly.

"Don't worry about me!" he tried to sound noble and, in his opinion failed miserably. "Are you going to be okay though?"

"I think so. Knowing the truth makes it easier."

"Do you want to know something funny but sad?"

"Yes please."

"If Cedric wasn't such a good and decent person..."

"We wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place!" Cho finished, smiling weakly. "Ironic isn't it!" she added in a bitter undertone.

"I think we should go in." Harry said, after another break in the conversation. "It's getting quite cold out now, and I reckon you could do with a Butterbeer! Warm you right up!" Cho nodded in agreement.

Harry straightened his legs underneath him and stood up, extending a hand to Cho to help her up as well, before she gathered the jacket and blanket. As Harry pushed the great doors open, Cho kept hold of Harry's arm. They entered the Great Hall to the sound of the Weird sisters and to the sight of dancing couples and groups. Harry was glad to see that Marie and Natalia were dancing with a group comprising of about half their table.

Cho pulled Harry onto the floor. Looking at Cho, Harry stumbled over his feet and moved his head a little in, what he hoped to be, at the very least, remotely in sync with her steps. As the last notes of the song ended, the first notes of a slower number started up, and Harry, blanching slightly, made casually to leave. Cho grabbed his arm.

"You're not going now are you?"

"I... um... I thought you'd want to dance this one with, perhaps Roger, or one of your Durmstrang or Beauxbatons partners."

"I will do later. But I'm with you on the dance floor now, and I want to dance this one with you."

"Um... okay. You'll have to show me what to do though." She nodded, smiling, and, guiding his hands around her waist, she let her own hands rest around his neck.

"Oh, it's quite simple!" she said quietly. "All you need to do is to follow me around, and try to look like you're enjoying yourself!" Harry couldn't help it. He smiled broadly. "THAT'S more like it!"

As they moved slowly around the floor, Harry looked down at Cho, who had her head resting comfortably on his chest. He felt a little panic. He looked around for Ron, Ginny, or Hermione. They were sitting down at the table, talking animatedly with some of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. Ron looked up, saw Harry, looked down again, and then looked up very quickly, a broad grin on his face. Then, to Harry's horror, he nudged Hermione and Ginny, and pointed over to him. They smiled broadly too, and winked at him.

"What did I tell you!" Hermione said, smugly.

"Don't jump the gun Hermione. I don't even know what I'm doing here! Cho's leading!"

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah! I'm just half scared out of my wits!"

"Listen, you're there aren't you?"

"We're only here because we were talking about Cedric."

"Good! She obviously trusts you, and feels comfortable around you. Don't think about the conversation you had. Just enjoy yourself. Give her a gentle squeeze to let her KNOW you're enjoying yourself. And try and smile a bit more!"

"Thanks, Hermione!"

"Don't mention it."

"Go for it Harry!" Ginny and Ron said together, but Harry didn't miss the slight glint in Ginny's eye, nor the fact that Hermione looked at her and must have said something to her quietly. She nodded.

Harry's face softened as he looked over to them and nodded his appreciation. He did what Hermione suggested; he tightened his arms gently around her waist and released again, and he felt the arms around his neck do the same thing. As he leaned his cheek gently onto the top of her head, he felt her sigh lightly. He smiled. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so difficult after all.

As the percussion solo beat out the final bar of the song, Cho pulled slowly away from Harry and looked up into his eyes.

"Thank you Harry. I really needed that conversation with you. I... I'm feeling much better now."

"Um... thank you for teaching me to dance. I didn't step on your feet too much did I?" he asked self-consciously.

"Not once!" she replied, smiling.

Harry walked Cho back to the Sixth Year Ravenclaw table and made to turn away, but Cho held onto his arm.

"Good luck in the match on Saturday, Harry!" she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Do us all a favour. TROUNCE THEM!" Harry laughed at this, and said

"See you later Cho. Enjoy the rest of the ball!" before returning to his own table.

"Feeling better Harry?" Ron said jokingly.

"A little!" Harry replied, grinning broadly.

"Verya?" Natalia asked curiously.

"The Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang." Ginny, who had joined them at their table for a bit of a chat, explained to her. "Harry... is rather fond of her." She added diplomatically. A knowing look passed between his two prospective sisters. Harry blushed violently.

"Elle est vachement belle! Notre frère a de bon goût, hein!" Marie added.

"That he has!" Ron laughed. "Very fine taste indeed."

"Although," Harry said, seeing an entry point. "I think our dear friend, Ronald, here, has exceptionally fine taste in women too, wouldn't you say, Ginny!" He winked at her, as he saw both Ron and Hermione go as red as Harry had been, but moments ago.

"Dumbledore, and probably Sirius, Madame Maxime and Freulenka Diminova too, will be talking with Natalia, Marie and myself after the ball. Would you guys come along too please...?"

"Guys?" Ginny said archly.

"And girls!" Harry conceded apologetically.

"Hermione told us about it before you came down. She took it as read that we'd all want to come with you, but she thought she'd better check." Ron said, grinning broadly at Harry.

"Of course we'll be there!" Ginny added kindly, putting a hand on his arm from across the table."

"Harry, I was just getting up to leave and I was wondering if you wanted... these... back... Oh MY!"

Harry whirled around, and found himself looking into the frightened eyes and rapidly whitening face of Cho Chang, the blanket and jacket folded over her arm.

"Keep them!" said Harry gently, putting a hand on her arm. "Call it a Halloween gift. I won't have those hairs tomorrow, anyway! They should stick though, so you can keep them with pleasure. Are you okay, though, Cho?" Harry asked concerned, although rather amused at the same time. "You look as if you've seen a Ghost! No offence, Sir Nicholas!"

"None taken, my boy!" said Nearly Headless Nick jovially, as he floated past their table.

"You... You...! I don't know! I think I must have been drinking too much Butterbeer! I think I'm seeing treble!"

"How do you think I felt when Marie said hi, after Natalia had done so? It was one straight after the other. I thought Natalia looked familiar, then so did Marie, then they said hi to each other, then Ginny asked me why I'd never told them I was a triplet... It's weird!"

"It sure is!" They all agreed.

"We were bose brought up in ze orphanage, apparently from ze age of about one, and 'Arry was brought up by his aunt and uncle at ze age of one..." Marie said.

"And apparently you have noticed that ve look kvite similar too! Eweryone at the table, and eweryone who has visited the table has said ve look like brother and sisters. No doubt there vill be rumours flying around the school later. And I for one vant them to be true! I never ewen knew my mother and father had any family. There vas nothing to explain that I had a brother and sister..." Natalia added.

"Well you're not missing much as far as the Dursleys are concerned," Harry said a little more curtly than he probably should have.

"Who?"

"Your aunt (Mum's sister), uncle, and cousin, Dudley. But apart from them, I don't know any more about my family than you do. That man over there, talking to Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, pointing to Sirius, "is my Godfather, Sirius Black. I don't know if I have a Godmother, and I am afraid I couldn't tell you about yours."

Cho looked startled. "Sirius Black is your Godfather?"

"Yes. I thought EVERYONE new that?" Cho shook her head. "Oh! Sorry!" he said quietly blushing.

"That's okay. Well! You are a dark horse aren't you, Harry Potter!" she said gently, her laughter tinkling like crystals in his ear. "Well, I'm off to bed! Dancing with escaped convicts Godsons" Harry looked alarmed at this, before Cho gave him a friendly wink. "Is quite tiring after a long day of school!" She kissed him on the cheek once again. "Goodnight Harry," she said softly. "And good luck again against Slytherin on Saturday!"

Everyone bade good night to Cho, and then Harry turned back to Natalia and Marie.

"The night mum and dad died, Hagrid brought me to Dumbledore, who left me on the Dursleys' doorstep. I was eleven before I learned about who killed them, I was thirteen before I found out about... about how he found them, and I only found out last year about the curse that killed them. All I could previously remember was a lot of bright green light, and a high pitched cackle." He gave a bitter chuckle. "It's funny. The only memory I have of my own parents is them being murdered!"

"But 'ow do you remember zat?" Marie asked, clearly voicing Natalia's own question too.

"The Dementors. Whenever I get near them, I can hear Mum pleading to Voldemort not to kill me. Not exactly the way you want to remember your mother!" he sighed heavily, before looking into Natalia's, and Marie's sad, downcast faces, and realising what he had just said. "Oh my... Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say it like that! I..."

"If that ver MY only memory of her, Harry," Natalia said hoarsely. "Then I vould prefer not to remember anything. Please do not try to stop your feelings because of me."

"Ni moi!" Marie added fervently.

Harry bowed his head. He hated to think about it, but if they really were his sisters, surely they had a right to know, if they wanted to.

"'Arry?" Marie said, a little uncertain.

He looked up at her. "Mmmhm?"

"Would you like to dance?" Natalia shot her a bitter look. Harry had the feeling that she was about to do the same. He nodded to her, and she relaxed a little, before turning to Marie and said,

"I'm afraid I'm not very good."

"You were dancing vairy well wiv Cho."

"She was leading!"

"Zen I will lead also!"

"Okay." he said, smiling happily. "Ginny, could you tell Natalia "Yes", please?" he asked her as he left the table with Marie. "Oh, and all of you, answer her questions. I have nothing to hide. Although, not the Omnimagus bit yet, eh. Or the telepathy. We'll tell them everything once its been confirmed."

"Good idea!" Hermione replied.

"Yeah, don't worry, Harry. That's fine."

"T'es vachement célébré, 'Arry Potter!" Marie said, with a slow smile, as she dragged him out into the middle of the floor. "I cannot believe I would be related to someone so, euh... well known!"

"You have heard the story as well?" Harry asked her, before drawing his wand out and casting the Translation Charm on the two of them. "Forgive me that I use the Translation Charm, rather than simply speaking French. I don't think I speak well enough yet for a long conversation. However, when you return to the common room tonight, you can talk to Hermione until all hours, if you like. She won't admit it, but I think she is fluent!"

"Do not apologise. For me, it is easier, also."

"You do not speak much English?"

"I can understand it, but no, I cannot speak it. Tell me about our Mother's family?"

Harry gulped, not knowing where to begin. Should he tell her all the terrible details, all the bad times? The good times could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

"Well, our aunt is... she has our mother's hair. Very much so. Although, it has to be said, you are much prettier." He gave her a friendly wink. "Um. She is VERY interested in what happens in the neighbourhood..." He was desperate to find something else nice to say about her. "Oh, yes! And she is rather... that is to say, um... the food that she cooks always smells delicious. Uncle Vernon... he has a fairly big drill company in which he is a partner, and..." Uncle Vernon was proving to be quite difficult to describe positively. "Oh yes... he is a good family man. He loves his wife son and sister very much indeed. And Dudley... well, he is very much like his father! He looks like him too. And, and he has quite a few friends as well."

"And are zey like us?"

"You must be JOKING!" Harry blurted out with a bitter laugh, before he could stop himself.

"Pardon?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. So, what was..." Harry faltered. Marie gave him a quizzical look.

"You wish to know what it was like? Growing up in an orphanage?"

"Um..."

"Or you wish to know what was my first sought about being a witch?"

"I am sorry." Harry said, bowing his head. "Both actually. You... you look so much like mum and dad. You both do."

"I... Sank you. I do not remember papa much, but maman! I got ze fright of my life when I saw Natalia. She looks exactly as I remember maman. I never really put maman and me togezer like zat, zough."

"The only difference is that mum had red hair."

"I don't know. It was strange. I, euh... I always wondered why I never got 'urt. I just sought zat I was vairy lucky. Zen I find out zat I 'eal myself as soon as I am injured! Zey used to call me indestructible! Ze orphanage... it was wonderful. I loved it zere. I knew I 'ad no family, zat zey were all dead. I did not mind. Of course I would love to 'ave known zem, but, we were all so close at ze orphanage, it did not matter as mush. I did not 'ave a muzzer, but I 'ad sixty-seven bruzzers and sisters. Apart from my friends Claude and Sophie, who are parteners wiv Ron and 'Ermione, everyone in ze orphanage were Muggles. Madame Maxime 'erself came to "adopt" us. She, I believe, put a shrinking sharm on 'erself. She put a Muggle-repelling charm around 'erself and zen beckoned us over. She told us what we are. Of course it was vairy difficult to believe, but she showed us some magic, zen gave us 'er wand to do a bit ourselves. I could not believe it when I turned Claude's 'and into an orange! For revenge, 'e turned mine into a toad!" Harry couldn't help it. He laughed. She blushed. "It wasn't ZAT funny!" she said, feigning an indignant look.

"True!" he replied. "Certainly not as bad as having an incompetent teacher remove all the bones in your arm!"

"WHAT?" she cried, somewhat startled and amused. By the time Harry had finished telling her the story, she was in hysterics. "Quel BRANLEUR!" she cried. Harry reckoned he must have cast a charm that didn't allow for expletives, but he had a vague idea of what she meant anyway. He and Ron had thought the same thing to themselves often that year, and quite a bit since then too. "'Ow on Urs did 'e get ze job?"

"He was the only one who applied for the job. There are rumours that it's jinxed. No one has lasted more than a year in ages!"

"Oh la la! We 'ave no problems like zis at Beauxbatons! Ze only difference is zat Madame Maxime was absent until two weeks ago." Harry thought he had a fair idea of what that would be about, but he didn't say anything.

"Do you still keep in contact with your friends?"

"Sadly, I cannot. I 'ave been told not to try to contact zem until I 'ave finished at Beaxbatons. I 'ave a parshment zat 'as been sharmed to keep zeir locassion so I can find zem later, but until zen, I do not know what zey are doing." She bowed her head slightly, a tear glistening in the corner of her eye. For a moment, she looked like her phoenix form. Harry shook the image from his mind with a wry smile. "I miss zem vairy mush."

"And how did you become a Phoenix Animaga?" Harry whispered, bending close to her ear and trying not to step on her foot with his front hooves as he did so.

"I taught myself. When I am twelve, I discovered ze books in ze library about Animagi. I found a few books on the subject and I studied be'ind my curtains at night. It took me per'aps two years to finish. One day, 'alf way sru last year, a phoenix 'as come to Beauxbatons, and I was able to finish. 'E was vairy beautiful."

"They all are, with the possible exception of burning days. Dumbledore has one." Harry said absently. He wondered if...

"Come 'Arry! Ze dance is finish, and I sink zat per'aps Natalia wants to dance as well?" Marie was looking directly into his eyes, her own eyes sparkling mischievously.

"You are right." Harry replied. And he led Marie back to the table. "Same again please." Harry said looking directly at Ron and Hermione. "Natalia, may I have this next dance?"

Natalia's story, it turned out, proved to be somewhat similar to Marie's. Only this time it was Dumbledore who came to see her, rather than Professor Karkaroff, the then Headmaster of Durmstrang. Harry surmised that, assuming she was Harry's sister, then Dumbledore didn't trust Karkaroff enough to tell him of the fact, and so to keep his contact with her to the minimum. During the holidays, she, like Marie, would stay with her friends, and she too found the Animagus books in the library when she was in her second year, and received the visit from the Phoenix in her fourth year. By the sounds of it, it wouldn't have been more than a few weeks before or after Marie...

After the dance ended, he decided to approach his other friends and their partners as well. Ginny was blushing slightly as he approached her, but they had a nice friendly conversation about the up and coming Quidditch match, and a quieter conversation about their transformations. Her partners were very shy whilst dancing with him, but he managed to get them to divulge their names and the fact that they were actually having a good time at Hogwarts so far. Hermione's partners were very excitable, and talked almost non-stop, marvelling at the decorations and the warm, friendly atmosphere. Both had the same things to say about Marie and Natalia; that they were hard working, really friendly, a strong sense of what was just, probably - they reasoned - from being brought up in the orphanages, but not afraid to make a little mischief. Harry privately wondered if the three Head Teachers hadn't inadvertently let loose another Fred and George on the world. From what he could gather about their antics since they had met their friends, his sisters were rather cunning. But they were sweet, and rather popular, especially with the boys. They giggled at this, and Harry blushed so violently that they had almost choked with laughter.

"Both Natalia and Marie were EXTREMELY interested in you!" Hermione said as she led Harry around the dance floor. Harry raised an eyebrow to this. He could imagine what sort of things they would be asking Hermione and Ginny when Ron wasn't there.

"Oh, aye?" Harry said, an inexplicable trace of bitterness in his voice. "Interested in The Famous Harry Potter, were they?"

"No." Hermione replied kindly. She knew how much he hated his circumstances. "Just Harry Potter."

"Sorry." Harry said, bowing his head. "It's just a bit much, you know?"

"Believe me Harry, if I'd just found out that I had twin sisters that I never even knew about, I'd be taking it A LOT worse than you are now. They are very beautiful."

"Thanks." Harry didn't know why he was blushing. He supposed he just needed to here nice things about his parents, directly or indirectly. "Anyway, what have they been asking about me?"

"Oh just this and that. What you have been doing since you arrived here, what your best subjects are, girls, how much of the Daily Prophet reports last year were true..."

"GIRLS!" Harry nearly choked. "There's nothing to tell!"

"I don't know! You were pretty cosy with Cho earlier!"

"I wish! She was just being friendly!"

"Boys!" Hermione muttered out loud.

"Girls!" Harry muttered in retaliation releasing her waist to punch her lightly on the arm. "And what did you tell them about the Daily Prophet articles?"

"What you asked us to say. The truth. That you were a Parselmouth, and how that is believed to have arisen. That your scar hurts you when Voldemort is near or extremely angry. That I am not, as Ron called it, a "Scarlet Woman"!" She blushed lightly at this and giggled. "But most of all, we all said that you are the best friend and brother any of us could have asked for."

"Hermione!"

"Harry!" she shot back, a severe note of warning in her voice. Harry sighed. He really wasn't going to get anywhere in this argument.

"Thanks," he said quietly, kissing her forehead. "Hermione..." he added, somewhat nervous about her response. She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow at him. She wouldn't laugh. He could ask her and expect an honest and unbiased answer. Or at least, he could tell if she wasn't being quite honest with him. "What do you think of them? I mean apart from being really pretty? Do you think..."

"Harry, they are LOVELY!" she practically squealed. "They are really friendly, really intelligent, and a total delight to talk to." Harry smiled and nodded his thanks to her. He felt she had probably embellished slightly for him, but he had no doubt that she truly meant it.

As the song ended, Harry made to lead Hermione back to their table when a large hand clamped firmly but gently onto Hermione's shoulder.

"May I cut in?"

"Of course Ron!" Harry replied jovially, turning and winking to Hermione, kissing her again and, blocking Ron out added "Good luck!" before saying the same thing to Ron, blocking out Hermione. Harry realised that they probably knew that he was doing this, but he figured that they didn't really mind.

As he turned back to his table, a slender hand touched his back, between his front and rear legs.

"Is it permitted for ze professeur to dance wiv ze student?" He turned, and found himself looking straight into the eyes of a silver-haired Repunzel.

"Bien sûr!" he replied, kissing her on both cheeks. "J'ai bien voulû parler avec toi toute la nuit!"

"Oh la la! 'Arry! Your Frensh 'as improved immensely in just a few short weeks!" he heard her say, although her lips seemed to be moving in poor synchronisation to her words.

"QUOI? Ah, ouais! Moment..." Harry took out his wand. "Finite Incantatem!" He put his wand back. "Sorry about that. I have been using a Translation Charm for most of the evening, to make it easier. I didn't know how much English the students would speak, I am not greatly confident speaking French, and I speak no Bulgarian whatsoever. Well, I've learned that "Hiesmoy" means "My name is", but apart from that..." Harry shrugged.

"Zat is fair enough. And what is it zat you wished to talk to me about?"

"Oh, nothing much..." he said quietly. "Just when the HELL were you going to tell me that there was a girl running around Beauxbatons who has my face?"

"QUOI?" Fleur cried. "I don't believe you! Who is it?"

"Have a look over at the Gryffindor Fifth Year Table," he replied as Fleur manoeuvred them around the flaw. Her jaw dropped.

"Zat is Marie Blaireau! No... ZAT is Marie Blaireau! No...zat... Vous êtes TROIS?"

"Tell me about it!" Harry groaned. "I wouldn't mind, but it's a bit much all at once. I can't imagine how Marie and Natalia must be taking it!"

"'Ow are YOU taking it, 'Arry?"

"Okay, I guess. I'm just a bit confused."

"Do not worry. You will get used to it eventually." Fleur said with a slow smile. Harry nodded his thanks. Then a thought struck him.

"I am sorry you're friend couldn't come today."

"It doesn't matter. 'E couldn't get time off work. But 'e says zat 'e will definitely come to ze ball at Beauxbatons at ze Noël!"

"I am glad. I would very much like to meet him."

"Sank you 'Arry.

He took a Butterbeer from the refreshment table and returned to is place at their own table. He glanced at his watch. It was five to midnight. All in all, it hadn't been a bad dance after all!