Chapter Text
It all started when Lara Sanders got her letter from Hogwarts.
The letter was delivered in person by Albus Dumbledore. (Lara learned later that this was because she was muggleborn and her mother was very protective of her.)
This visit was the only time in Lara Sanders’s life that she ever saw Albus Dumbledore in semi-passable muggle clothing. In fact, after she got to know Dumbledore at Hogwarts, she could hardly believe he had ever donned a suit instead of his usual flowing dress robes.
After that initial visit, Lara and her mother were invited to tour the school. Lara couldn’t believe her luck, that this strange man with the silver half-moon spectacles had managed to convince her mother to consider allowing her to attend this special school.
Lara being a witch did explain an awful lot about her past. When Lara was a toddler, she had become upset when her favorite washcloth disappeared down the drain of the bathtub, and it had somehow flown into her hand. A few years later, she had become agitated and upset while shoe shopping, and suddenly all of the shoes disappeared. When she was in third grade, Lara had had her first of many panic attacks about an upcoming assignment, and the next day not a single teacher or student remembered that there had been an assignment in the first place.
Her mother never blamed her for it outright. “Sometimes when you get upset, you make things happen,” was the phrasing that was used. Even though Lara and her mother were exceptionally close, Lara always felt as though there was something wrong with her. Her mother was “worried.” Her teachers were “concerned.”
And, most concerning of all, there were the odd snatches of words or feelings Lara sometimes sensed from other people. It happened very rarely, only every few months, and only when the other person was upset, and when they were making direct eye contact. Only her mother knew about these moments, and though she referred to them as “intuition”, Lara had occasionally sensed a strong wave of worry from her mother at these times.
Lara’s mother appeared to be far less surprised at Lara’s acceptance to Hogwarts than Lara herself. “I always knew you were different,” her mother told her. “I always knew you were made for something great. Now you can learn to control your powers.”
“Control” was a word that was used a lot with Lara. “Control” of your emotions, so that “things don’t happen.” Lara was diagnosed with ADHD and Panic Disorder and put on medications.
“Much of what happened may have been accidental magic,” Dumbledore said, studying Lara critically in his office at the end of the tour. “It sounds like you might be very powerful. I commend you both,” Dumbledore added, turning to Lara’s mother. “It’s difficult to have a young witch in the house if you’re not used to accidental magic. And it’s difficult, if you’re a child, to not understand what’s happening.
“In the magical world, we have spells and potions that naturally regulate the chemicals, like serotonin and dopamine, that are targeted by your medications. If there is an underlying chemical cause, our Medi-witch – Madame Pomfrey – can make sure it’s addressed.”
Even after Dumbledore’s speech, however, Lara’s mother had taken a significant amount of convincing before Lara was allowed to go to Hogwarts. A floo was arranged so that Lara could come home on weekends if she desired. A two-way mirror was purchased by Lara’s mother (with Dumbledore’s help) so that calls were possible. And, in the end, Lara was ready for her first year of Hogwarts.
“There’s just one small thing,” said Professor Dumbledore at the end of their tour. Lara and her mother were the last of the new students and parents to go through the floo in Dumbledore’s office which would send them back home. “It’s about your biological parents.”
Lara’s head whipped around so fast that she narrowly missed knocking one of Dumbledore’s silver instruments off the table. “My real parents? You know who they are?”
Dumbledore sat calmly at his desk, the tips of his fingers placed together in front of him. “Alas, no,” he said. “It’s far more complicated than that. Sit down for a moment.” He gestured to two seats in front of his desk. When they were seated, he continued. “My information says that you were found on the doorstep of Child’s Place orphanage on October 31st, 1981. Is that the case?”
“Yes,” Lara said, suspiciously. Where was this going?
“That date is very significant in our world.” At that point Dumbledore gave a long explanation about a horrible wizard he called Voldemort, his followers called Death Eaters, and his downfall at the hands of a young wizard called Harry Potter.
“So, you believe my parents must’ve been a witch and wizard?” Lara asked, excitedly. “Who-…”
“This is the trouble,” said Dumbledore. “I’ve done extensive research on the matter, and I can’t find any record of any baby girl born to wizarding parents around the time you would have been born. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t one. You must understand, we were at war. Nobody knew who to trust because there were spies on both sides. For new parents, it was likely that keeping a new child secret was the best way to protect them. And the fact that you were abandoned that night at an orphanage so near where much of the fighting occurred leads me to believe almost certainly that you do have wizarding parents.”
This was good news, right? So why did her mother look so… sad? The look in Lara’s mother’s eyes was one of resolution, a small amount of fear, and… pity?
Dumbledore fixed them both with a look. “The question is… for which side of the war did your parents fight?”
Oh. Now Lara understood.
Dumbledore sighed, and it was a mark of how much experience he had that he still looked at ease during this highly uncomfortable conversation. “I’m not saying your parents were Death Eaters,” Dumbledore said quietly, “but I can’t see a reason why a member of our side would have abandoned their child on that night. If anything, they would be finally bragging to the world about their child now that it was safe.”
Lara was hurt, and a little angry. Why was he telling her this? If he suspected her parents might be murderers, was it necessary for her to know?
Dumbledore seemed to read her mind. “Please don’t misunderstand me,” Dumbledore said kindly. “Here, you will be treated no differently than any other student. I know you were adopted by Casey Sanders shortly after you were found at the orphanage, only a year old.” Dumbledore gestured at Lara’s mother. “Your mother has told me you have no memories of anything before living with her. Is this true?” Lara nodded.
“The reason I tell you this is because, unfortunately, not all the wizarding world is as understanding as I, nor have they done an extensive check of your background as I have. My worry is that if you were to, say, ask around about your parentage, some of your peers may come to the same conclusion as I have. And they may not be as… er… forgiving about it.”
Lara looked at her mother for interpretation, as she always did when adults spoke in the “grown up language.” Dumbledore did not miss the gesture and chuckled softly.
“He’s saying that if you go around talking to your peers about who your birth parents might have been, and you tell them how you were dropped off at the orphanage, they might also come to the conclusion that your parents were probably Death Eaters,” Casey explained. “The war sounds terrible. And after a war like that, people get scared. Some of the parents of some of your new friends at Hogwarts will still remember what the Death Eaters were like. They won’t care that you can’t remember any of that, won’t care that you’re adopted. They might tell their children to stay away from you.” Casey glanced briefly at Dumbledore, who nodded once.
“There is nothing wrong with you,” Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. “Had I seen any signs of cruelty or malice in you, we’d be having a different discussion.”
“But children are cruel,” said Casey.
Lara felt the familiar, anxious fear of not having any friends. She had always had one or two friends, but her occasional odd, accidental magic meant that she tended to be labeled a “weirdo”. Being an only child hadn’t helped.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Lara said. “Not until I know them really well, like if they’re my best friend.”
“Precisely,” said Dumbledore.
~~~The Tales of Andromeda ~ The Tales of Andromeda ~ The Tales of Andromeda~~~
Despite how terrified she was of attending Hogwarts (particularly now that she had more information about her past), Lara had far less trouble than she anticipated during her first year at Hogwarts. She made fast friends with Hermione Granger on the Hogwarts Express, for example. Hermione had bushy hair, and Lara told her that she’d always wanted to have bushy hair like that – hers fell flat, no matter what she did with it. Lara and Hermione also bonded instantly over how nervous they were about entering Hogwarts with no previous knowledge of magic, and Lara was the only person other than Hermione that had perused her textbooks ahead of time.
Their friendship simply worked. Hermione put up with Lara’s anxiety and hyperactivity, and Lara in turn put up with Hermione’s rather exhausting discussions about classwork, and her tendency to say “honestly” far too often. Over time, this led to a lasting friendship that Lara valued above all others for the rest of her life.
~~~The Tales of Andromeda ~ The Tales of Andromeda ~ The Tales of Andromeda~~~
Lara had been warned by both Dumbledore and Hermione about the sorting hat ceremony, the ceremony in which a magical hat would look inside her brain and choose what dormitory or “house” she would be placed in based on her strongest characteristics. She still wasn’t ready when the hat began speaking.
“Plenty of ambition and a thirst to prove yourself,” it said. “You might do well in Slytherin. Let me see…”
“I don’t want to be in Slytherin,” thought Lara. “Hermione’s my friend, and she’s in Gryffindor.”
“I can’t put you in a house just because that’s where your friend went,” said the hat irritably, and Lara bit back a wave of panic-fueled anger that she had to argue with a hat.
“Just as well, though,” said the hat. “You’ve not got a lot of self-confidence. And you have no wizarding parents to speak of.”
“Do you know anything about my parents?” Lara asked, making a quick decision that she might as well ask; the hat could see inside her brain, regardless.
“I only know what’s in your head,” said the hat. “And that’s not in there.”
“The stupid hat was unhelpful,” Lara thought without meaning to.
”Oi!” said the hat.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Lara thought, panicking. “You’re in my head!”
The hat chose to ignore her. “You might do well in Hufflepuff,” it continued. “You’re very accepting of others. But the thirst to prove yourself… and you have no fear, not even a healthy amount. It can only be-…
“Gryffindor!”
Lara went to sit next to Hermione, relieved.
~~~The Tales of Andromeda ~ The Tales of Andromeda ~ The Tales of Andromeda~~~
After an odd incident with a troll, Lara gained two more friends in Ron Weasley and the famous Harry Potter himself. Although Lara was just as smart as Hermione and almost as much of a perfectionist, Harry and Ron appealed much more to Lara’s sense of fun and occasional rule-breaking. At first Lara had a small crush on Harry, however as they got to know each other Lara began to think of him only as a friend.
Regarding her classwork, Lara quickly established herself as relatively studious. She learned that she was excellent at transfiguration and charms, which were by far her best subjects. She seemed to have an aptitude for transfiguration in particular, and the subject came naturally to her without much study.
She was decent in herbology and astronomy, especially when astronomy didn’t involve complicated math. She did well in defense against the dark arts – her reaction time was poor during the few practical lessons they were taught, but luckily Professor Quirrell seemed afraid of everything, and most lessons were limited to reading and note-taking. Lara did well academically if she found the subject interesting, so her defense against the dark arts marks were always high.
Potions, however, was a constant struggle – Lara hated the heat of the cauldrons and found mixing the ingredients to be similar to cooking, which she’d always despised. She often relied on Hermione’s notes or assistance to get through potions.
Her worst subject was history of magic, which she found stifling, boring, and pointless. When a bit of history interested her, she was known to search voraciously through the pages of A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, then discard it for months at a time. By the end of her first year, she had made a habit of learning Hermione’s notes (or an upperclassman, if Hermione refused) just before a test, and sleeping through class as often as not the rest of the time.
By the end of her first year, Lara could perform the daily charm to regulate her dopamine and serotonin on her own. Hermione, who also learned the spell simply because she could, was also helpful in this endeavor and told Lara in no uncertain terms when she was getting too hyper. (“You’re going to get us in trouble with all that wand-waving. Honestly, calm down.”)
Also at the end of her first year, Lara and her friends managed to foil a plot that would have allowed the evil wizard Voldemort – who wasn’t dead after all, and instead living an odd sort of half-life - to be resurrected.
All in all, Lara was surprised how quickly she came to think of Hogwarts as “home.” It felt odd going back to her actual home at the end of the year, and Lara couldn’t wait to come back for her second year.