The Just

Albus Dumbledore sat at the kitchen table in Number 5 Trellis Way in the small Wizarding village of Godric's Hollow nursing a wonderfully warm mug of tea. Lily Potter paced the length of the room as James Potter's hazel eyes followed her from the entrance to the stove and back again all the while bouncing the crying child in her arms.

Lily Potter had been at this for nearly fifteen minutes but the baby had no intention of letting up and Lily, who knew nothing about the baby but her name and date of birth was at a complete loss. Not even the lullaby which sent her 16 month old son, Harry, straight to sleep seemed to work. There was always one option that would work but she wasn't going to be the one to suggest it.

“Why not just return the baby to her parents?” James Potter asked his former headmaster as the said child screamed, “Da. Da, Da, Dadadadada!” “It's obvious that's what she wants,” he continued.

“What a six month old child wants and what is best for that child are not the same thing, Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore replied with a small smile. “She would have been raised in such a way that she would become a woman like Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. Would you honestly say that is better than the woman she could become under your guidance and love?” Dumbledore had to admit, he was laying it on thick but he had no doubt of its validity. Except, perhaps, for one thing: was this child capable of love? He certainly hoped so, but only time would tell.

Lily continued to pace the kitchen, bouncing the child gently and finally she dropped into a chair still holding the baby in her arms. The baby sniffled, catching her breath, before rubbing a small fist into her eyes and closing them. James let out a small sigh of relief; the crying really had been giving him a headache. His wife smiled but continued to rock the baby gently and when she finally spoke, it was in a whisper.

“I think we'll be OK taking care of her and it'll be good for Harry to have a little sister.”

James shook softly his head but smiled, “I don't think Harry'll be too pleased that he has to share his mummy.”

“He'll get used to it.”

“Alright then, but don't complain when she throws a tantrum, throws cereal on the walls, or breaks your favorite record.”

Lily laughed. “I'll try not to.”

Dumbledore smiled at the young couple already knowing that he could not have possibly chosen a better family to raise the Dark Lord's daughter than the Potters. They were everything a family should be; loving, warm, protective, merry, and tightly woven. The Potters would provide a good home and nourishing environment for Caelestis Riddle. In the meantime, he had a other matters which required his attention. He sighed at the thought of the paperwork sitting on his desk in Hogwarts.

“Professor? Has there been any word about the prophecy?” Lily asked as she stood up, the baby now fast asleep in her arms.

The elderly wizard smiled widely at this and nodded. “It seems that there is great news about this actually. He has declared that Divination is absolute rubbish and intends to treat it as such. He will make no move to harm either you or the Longbottoms, at least on the basis of a prophecy.”

James's smile mirrored the headmaster's and he laughed joyously. “That means we can come out of hiding?”

“Indeed.”

“Brilliant! I'm going to Floo Sirius, Remus, and Peter. We're in dire need of a party!” He hopped off the kitchen counter, on which he'd perched when Dumbledore took his seat an hour ago, and sprinted into the living room. Not five minutes later he reentered the kitchen followed by three men. They greeted Dumbledore warmly and gently squeezed Lily's shoulder when they saw the small bundle in her arms.

“Well, I must be off. Minerva must be becoming restless as she waits for news of the mission. Sending a rescue party after me would certainly have catastrophic consequences.” James and Lily quickly agreed and the five adults bid their former headmaster farewell with James seeing him out.

On James's return the question the three men were thinking was asked by Peter, “Who's the baby?”

Using that as her cue, Lily stood up and entered the spare bedroom which the couple had agreed to use as the baby's nursery. She stood in the doorway for a moment and sighed. Before she could go back downstairs however, the bed resting against the far wall changed into a crib and all the bedsheets shrunk to fit within it. Lily glanced behind her and saw her husband leaning against the wall behind her grinning.

“The benefits of carrying your wand around with you are endless,” he said by way of explanation.

Lily shook her head and walked into the room. After placing the sleeping baby into the crib, she returned to her husband and standing on tiptoe, pecked him on the lips. It was only then that she answered, “You mean endless laziness.”

James laughed as his wife turned and went back downstairs and greet their friends properly. He walked into the room and gazed into the crib at the small child who would become as much a part of his family as his little son in the next room.

The sound of laughter finally drew him out of the room, and after setting one of Lily's fairy-light globes on the dresser, he shut off the overhead light, and the door clicked shut behind him.



Callie Potter watched patiently as her big brother was practically squeezed to death once more. Only this time Callie knew that pretty soon, he would be released and she'd suffer the same suffocating hug because this time she was going to Hogwarts as well. Part of her was thrilled about this since Harry had spoken of nothing else since coming home over this past summer. The other part though, the larger part, was absolutely terrified.

She was scared of almost everything this experience would bring. This was the first time she'd be away from her parents and she was terrified that no one would like her, or that she would get teased mercilessly about the fact that she still needed a fairy-light to fall asleep as well as the stuffed rabbit she'd had since before she could remember. And what if the teachers didn't like her? Or if she wasn't smart or funny or brave or the absolute worst, what if she the Sorting Hat placed her in Slytherin? She didn't think she'd survive being alone much less in the house where everyone turned evil. Then Harry and Neville wouldn't like her anymore, and her mum and dad would send her to Azka –

Her train of thought was interrupted by a pair of strong, familiar, and warm arms wrapped around her. She leaned into the warmth and allowed it to comfort her for a moment before she was released.

“You be careful now, Callie, you hear?” James Potter said, looking down at her. Harry, she noticed, had already gotten onto the fiery steam engine.

“Yes, daddy.”

“Good girl.” He wrapped her in another hug before pulling away and she was left to face Lily Potter who like last year was silently crying.

But this time, it wasn't only because her son was going away; it was because for the first time in 12 years, she wouldn't have any children with her. And this time, Callie knew that there were tears mixed in because she would be missed. Callie tried not to start crying at this as well. It wouldn't do well for people to start calling her a cry-baby before she even got on the train.

“Have you got everything?” Lily asked, and Callie nodded quickly. “OK, but if you find you haven't I could always send them with an owl. Well, be good and make sure to listen to all your teachers and to study hard.” Callie swallowed but nodded again. “OK then, I love you.”

Lily hugged her and Callie used this opportunity to whisper “I love you too, mummy,” into her hair.

James ruffled Callie's hair as she separated from Lily and she groaned which of course made her mum laugh. “Get on the train before you get left behind. Love you.”

“Yes, daddy. Love you too.” With that Callie dragged her trunk to the train, with only a couple glances back at her parents, and pulled it down the corridor as she searched for the compartment her brother was in. She found it several minutes later, already full with he and his friends already laughing.

She somehow managed to continue down the corridor until she found one with only two occupants inside; a girl with long blonde hair and a boy who gazed back up at her with very familiar eyes. It was startling at first and it took a moment for Callie to recollect her thoughts.

“Do you guys mind if I sit in here?”

“Not at all,” the blonde said. Callie tugged her trunk in and the boy helped her stow it on the overhead rails before reclaiming his seat. “My name is Luna Lovegood. Who are you?”

“Caelestis Potter, but you can call me Callie; everyone else does.”

The boy stared at her for a few more moments before he seemed to dismiss whatever was bothering and then he also answered the question. “I'm Gawain Riddle.”

It turned out that the three of them had quite a bit in common. They were all entering the same year, they all favored the Hopping Hippogriffs (a rather popular pop band), they all preferred Liquorice Wands, and none of them were infested with Wrackspurts. Callie honestly had no idea what that last one meant but it sounded unpleasant and she was glad to hear this news. That though, was about where their similarities ended. On after thought, she had to admit it wasn't much they had in common.

Apparently, Luna lived her father who ran a publication called The Quibbler out of their living room. At this, Gawain scoffed and declared that The Quibbler was complete rubbish and anyone worth a Knut knew that. Luna took great offense and Callie was left to smooth things over by saying that it was just a matter of opinion, especially since her parents thought the Daily Prophet wasn't worth a Knut. This satiated Luna while Gawain simply shrugged and turned his gaze out the window.

It was silent for what felt like a full 24 hours. Callie finally broke it with the question that had been bothering her since she received her letter over three months before. “What house do you guys think you'll be in?”

“Both my parents were in Ravenclaw, so I suppose I'll be too,” Luna said in that dreamy voice of hers.

“Slytherin,” Gawain answered promptly. “What about you?”

“Does it really go by what house your parents were in?” Callie asked instead. If so she had nothing to worry about. Happiness bubbled in her stomach until –

“Not always, it depends more on your own personality than on family,” Gawain replied. Callie's heart sank and her face must have shown it because he then added, “But if it really bothers you, my father says you can ask to be placed in a specific house. Of course, the hat would have to agree, but it's a start.”

“Daddy said we should let the Hat do its job. It knows what's best for us.”

“So did mine, Luna.”

“Well, if you don't want to be in a specific house that badly then you can just let the thing sort you without taking your desires into account,” Gawain snapped. “It doesn't concern me in the least.”

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to toss your suggestion aside like that,” Callie said, and kicking herself for having lost a friend already and for causing him to be angry.

Gawain looked over at her and shrugged again. “It's alright. I'm sorry for being rude.”

This time Callie shrugged as relief flooded through her. “It's 'k.”

The rest of the ride revealed that Gawain and Luna's favorite colors were dark blue and yellow respectively and that both of them knew what they wanted to do when they grew up. An Auror and Healer respectively.

By the time the Hogwarts Express came to a stop in Hogsmeade Station, Callie was feeling awfully lost and awfully little. She stuck with Luna and Gawain until she heard someone call for Gawain. He wished her and Luna good luck before he went to join his own friends and that left the two of them to climb into a boat followed by a boy with a camera draped over his neck who introduced himself as Colin Creevey and a girl with flaming red hair, Ginny Weasley.

Callie and Ginny had met a couple times over the summer as their brothers were now best friends but they barely spoke a word to each other. The boat ride into Hogwarts (which left them all momentarily speechless) was monopolized by Creevey who spoke a mile a minute and didn't seem to need anyone else's input. Two of the girls were quite happy when the boat pulled into the underground harbor and Luna didn't seem to mind either way.

The first years were greeted at the door by a strict witch who introduced herself to them. “My name is Professor McGonagall and I am the Deputy Headmistress here at Hogwarts. For the next seven years, Hogwarts will be your home and your housemates will be your family. Any rule-breaking will result in points lost from your family while achievements will earn you points. Each house is gifted with different attributes and are as follows: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now the rest of the students are waiting for us, so come along.”

Callie took a deep breath, stepped into the single file that had formed, and followed her soon-to-be classmates into the Great Hall. Harry and her parents had told her about the Great Hall but actually seeing the clouds drifting lazily across the velvet skies above the thousands of candles took her breath away. She didn't realize they'd stopped walking until she bumped into the kid in front of her.

“Sorry,” she mumbled almost incoherently. The other girl frowned but nodded before looking forward again.

She ignored the fact that the Sorting Hat was singing not because it was boring, but because she really felt as if she would be sick. She was sure that if the frogs in her belly didn't stop jumping about soon, she would create a scene and she didn't need that.

“When I call your name sit on the stool and put on the hat.” These words forced Callie to look up.

“Abrams, Sarah.”

The girl she'd bumped into did as previously instructed and without a second thought the hat called out “HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Alexis, Jacob.”

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

The first Gryffindor was “Creevey, Colin” quickly followed by the first Slytherin, “Cristoff, Silas.” Several names later came the first Ravenclaw, “Everest, Tricia.”

By this point, Callie could hardly breathe. What if it all went wrong? What if the hat took forever to sort her and she was left sitting up there until someone said that all this had been a mistake and she had no magic in her? What if she couldn't get back home?

“Lovegood, Luna.”

What if she were sorted into Slytherin?

“RAVENCLAW.”

How would she ever face her brother? How would she tell her parents? Would they be disappointed? Would they send her away forever?

“Potter, Caelestis.” She walked to the stool, suddenly very numb and unaware of all the eyes that followed her. The hat dropped onto her head, over the top of her ears, and finally settled just over her eyes and there was darkness.

“Well, well, well. What have we here? Another Potter? No, I don't think so. Well, isn't this interesting?! You have much more in common with your father than in my first glance but, still, not enough for Slytherin.”

“Pardon, but my dad was a Gryffindor,” Callie corrected.

“Your dad, yes, without a doubt he's a Gryffindor and that wouldn't do very well for you, now would it? That leaves either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. The choice between those two is easy enough.” The next moment made the hat's choice official and irreversible.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Professor McGonagall lifted the hat from her eyes and Callie's eyes were drawn to the yellow and black clad table. It was unexpected, Callie thought, as she made her way towards them, but the frogs had been replaced by a powerful feeling of happiness and pride. She sat down next to Sarah Abrams and the next name she paid any attention to was “Riddle, Gawain.”

He got his wish and was soon sent to Slytherin although he looked displeased about something or another.

“Weasley, Ginny.”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

With that the deputy headmistress picked up the stool with the hat resting atop it and left the Great Hall. The headmaster, dressed in exquisite violet robes with little twinkling stars, gave his speech and finally food appeared on the table. She listened happily as the entire table started humming with conversation and watched as bowls full of food were passed around with “Pass the gravy, Diggory” and “How was your summer?” and cheerful laughter. Callie added her voice into the mix as she was passed a bowl and helped herself to some of its contents before passing it on.

This, she thought, isn't so bad.