Meeting Mother

I feel as though I am at a crossroads currently. How should I act at Hogwarts? How do I present myself to the world? and What do I want out of this life?

That last question is actually the easiest to answer. I want to be happy I want to live a life without regrets, maybe find love and make friends. I did always have a slight crush on Luna Lovegood.

Okay, let's simplify this a little. Do I act in the way I want to, in what to outsiders would appear to be madness? Or, do I act as I have been at the orphanage like a somewhat social girl who has some difficulty connecting with people, easily explained by me not being a muggle.

Let's look at the Pros and Cons of each. On one hand, if I act mad I can incredibly easily fuck with people leaving them constantly confused without needing to do anything other than what is to some extent natural. However, acting mad has some fairly large downsides as eventually, people would just start ignoring me writing it off as 'It's just her being crazy'. Escalation could solve that, but then I'd one day be seen as a dark lord and that makes my goal of being happy and finding love kinda difficult. Another downside is that it means I can't follow the golden trio and stay close to canon, without drawing the attention of dumbles. That might not necessarily be bad since he was right that Harry was the boy who lived and, maybe after some prompting, helped get me to a decent orphanage. So, I'm pretty sure this is a more manipulative 'Greater Good' type of Dumbledore.

In contrast to that if I act somewhat social. I can stick to the main plot and around 'brother' without drawing any suspicion, making my life so much easier. On top of that, any momentary acts of madness will be seen as uncommon and always produce a great deal of shock and surprise when people witness them. The downside is I can't cause chaos as easily as I'd like to bu... Hold on. Nevermind, I just thought of something that will let me make all the chaos I want to with none of the consequences. I'll have to wait till the second year for it though. Should probably not reveal my shapeshifting either, even though wizards will just assume I'm a metamorphmagus and not a minor aspect of the Eldritch constantly shifting in nature.

Scratching Rose's head I start to coo.

"What do you think my precious little baby."

Rose just looks at me unblinking. I smile and nod in response.

Right. Rose is my owl she is entirely pitch black from her feathers to her talons. At a glance, she seems to be made of darkness itself. But, if a light is shone upon her, then it will reveal minor patterns on the feathers, that match up with what one would expect from an owl. She also has bright purple eyes that like my own glow an incredibly tiny amount when in darkness, only enough to be seen a couple of feet away.

Now, you may be thinking. Ruby, how do you have an owl? None of what you just described is biologically possible for an animal to look like. To answer both questions. Rose, my owl, is not an owl.

----Flashback----

So certain vocalisations imbued with 'The Eldritch Tongue' cause a mana drain. Now I've figured out a couple, and if they are spoken one after another the mana drain doesn't occur until the end of my speaking.

I recognise a couple of the vocalisations from a song I listened to in my past life. The song was using a chant from one of H.P. Lovecraft's books. Now I can, thankfully remember the entire chant, even if it is to the tune of the song. So, right now I m in an empty Instance preparing to try the chant imbued with 'The Eldritch tongue'.

"Y'AI 'NG'NGAH, YOG-SOTHOTH H'EE-L'GEB F'AI THRODOG UAAAH"

No mana drain yet so I'm on the right track.

"OGTHROD AI'F GEB'L-EE'H YOG-SOTHOTH 'NGAH'NG AI'Y ZHRO"

As I finish the short chant my entire body erupts into a deep all-consuming pain as though every atom of my being is being raked through hellfire. I feel all of my mana leave my body in an instant as a crack in reality forms in front of me for the briefest of instants before closing due to lacking energy to keep it open.

Boy, am I glad I did this in an instance. Looking at the ground below where the crack appeared and see it. A Screaming Squamous thing writhing in the dirt. Collecting myself as the pain fades and my mana begins to return. I do the last thing you should do when facing a probable eldritch terror and approached it. Looking at it now up close, I was wrong, It's beautiful. Maybe to a human, they would only be able to see the writhing, maddening form, but to me, who can see its true form I can only describe it as a microscopic form of perfection.

Feeling a tendril of something reach out towards my mind. Something instinctive within me triggers. The next thing I know I have a familiar bond with the creature and it has taken the form of a small purple kitten that is playing in my lap. Briefly asking it to turn into an owl it immediately complies, seemingly in submission to the stronger eldritch being, and turns into a beautiful pitch-black owl.

----Flashback Ends----

I was a bit distracted at the time with my new shapeshifting eldritch familiar, but either tearing open reality or forming a contract with an eldritch being is the reason my 'Eldritch Mind of Madness' skill reached level 20. I only noticed a couple of days later when I looked in the mirror and saw my hair was dark green. I'm pretty sure the nuns just assumed I'd dyed my hair without telling them.

I used to have a 'Lightning Resistance' skill, but when I acquired 'Eldritch Form' the skill vanished and after some testing which may have caused a city-wide blackout, it turns out I am utterly immune to electricity.

Still, I wonder who will be coming to take me to Diagon Alley. Will it be my mama or papa, or one of the teachers. Realistically I think theirs only to outcome considering I am the Boy Who Lived's younger sister. It will either be one or both of parents or McGonagall since she is the deputy headmistress and if something goes wrong with me it could be a scandal.

No need for thinking it through now, I'm about to get my answer. I can hear two people coming down the corridor to my room. Other kids have learned not to disturb me in my room, violently, and there would only be one nun if it was to call me for something.

Stepping into my room is one of the nuns, the blonde one with a sense of humour. I should really learn their names, oh well too late to start now. Standing to my feet I ask in mock astonishment. "Sister? What are you doing coming to my room alone, I'm not an altar boy, and you sure as hell aren't a priest."

A slight turn of the lip is the only response I get for my efforts. "Enough with the jokes Ruby, there is a woman here from a specialised boarding school that would like to offer you a place."

"Well send her in then sister, I didn't put on my business clothes for nothing."

Shaking her head a little, the nun steps aside to reveal... Dun Dun Dun. My mother.

She looks around my room briefly a small amount of confusion on her face. "Nice... Wallpaper."

"It's nothing Mrs..."

"Potter"

"Well Mrs Potter, it really is nothing I painted it myself a couple of months ago when I was bored. Oh, please sit down."

A couple of months ago I decided it would be a good idea to paint every wall and surface in my room to resemble an infinite technicolour spiral fractal, to deliberately off-put people that came into my room.

Sitting on my bed I wait for Mother Dearest to speak as I begin randomly shuffling a set of 'playing cards'. Since she seems somewhat uncomfortable I decide to skip the whole wait.

"So. What's this school I've been offered a place at?"

Seemingly relieved that I started the conversation, she takes a quick glance behind her to see if the nun is still there. She isn't, most people try to avoid 'the rainbow room' as the little kids call it.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a place for young witches and wizards to learn all about magic."

"Magic is real?" Gotta throw out some doubt so I don't look suspicious.

"Yes." Pulling out her wand she waves it briefly and a spiral of light appears in front of me.

"Cool, and I can learn to do that," gesturing to the spiral. "at this school."

"With some practise yes. You can do all sorts of things with magic, from transforming objects to brewing potions."

Placing a small smile on my face. "Where do I sign up."

A small smile appears on her face "You already are, I can be back in a couple of days to help you get your required school supplies if you'd like."

She hands me the Hogwarts letter, quickly reading through it, there do not appear to be any changes from canon. Expecting her to leave the room at this point, I am surprised to see her suddenly look uncomfortable like she has to say something unpleasant. I think I know where this is going.

---Lily Potter POV---

As I am guided through the halls of the orphanage I am glad to see that every child I see seems to be happy and well-fed. I'm glad we abandoned Ruby here instead of at my sisters, I dread to think of what her life would have been. No. Not abandoned, left for her protection, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like that.

I start to listen in to what Sister Langly is saying as she begins to talk about Ruby's childhood. "She was an aggressive child, always getting into fights and whatnot, a couple of the sisters even though she was possessed for a bit, but she seems to have mellowed out quite a lot as she grew older. She picked up an interest in close up magic and has started putting on weekly magic shows for the younger children. Aside from being over-protective of her room, she's a lovely girl and I'm sure she'll fit right in at your school."

We stop outside of a pale yellow door with a silver spiral painted onto the wood.

"Ah, here we are, I'll just introduce you quickly."

Seeing her step in I hear the sound of a young girl joking with the sister. How is it possible she Inherited James' prankster nature without ever seeing him? After a short talk, I am let in to her and take a brief look around the room to see how she's been living.

The walls are covered in these spiral patterns that seem to go on forever, as my eyes move across the walls the patterns seem to shift and almost come out of the walls as though trying to escape. Shaking away my distraction I try to focus on Ruby.

Ruby has James' black hair and my green eyes. She has an adorable face and cheeks that anyone would feel an impulse to just squeeze and feel how soft they are. Her hair is styled into a pixie cut and she is wearing a pure red suit and pants with a black formal shirt underneath, red tie included. Somewhat taken off guard I offer a brief compliment about the wallpaper before moving on to talk about magic.

Thankfully that seems to go well, she seems entranced by the magic I show her and looks excited to start learning magic as soon as possible. Now, the hard part. As she is reading through the Hogwarts letter I take a deep breath. This seems to catch her attention as she looks up at me.

"Is there anything else?" For a second it sounded as though there was a second more aggressive voice repeating her words, but I just shake that off as stress. I need to focus. How do you tell an orphan that you are one of the parents that left them there?

"Well yes, you see Ruby I am." Pausing to try and get the right words in order Ruby cuts in.

"My Mother, Right?" I'm shocked what gave it away, is it that obvious? Calm down Liliy just breathe.

"Yes, what gave it away."

Counting her points on her hands Ruby Begins.

"We have the same eyes. Similiar facial structure. The same last name. I have to have gotten my magic from somewhere, and you stayed after all business had concluded."

She pauses, furrowing her brow as if trying to solve a puzzle, before speaking far more hesitantly than before.

"Was, I left here because of stuff happening in the magical world?"

I'm taken off guard by the sudden question, but quickly relax and realise this gives me a chance to explain everything.

"There was a man, a magical terrorist. He was carrying out attacks on the homes of people that he felt were inferior. One night he attacked us, me your father, you and your brother Harry. He used a spell, that is forbidden because it kills whoever it hits, the darkest of magics, and it hit Harry. Somehow Harry didn't die though and the spell rebounded killing the magical terrorist. However, the terrorist still had followers, and since Harry is the reason he died we had to move to keep him safe. He's has spent most of his life in an incredibly warded hidden location, with almost no contact with other people outside of a few trusted childhood friends of me and your father, and the occasional message from dumbledore who helped ward the house. I wanted you to be able to have a regular childhood where you could make friends and have fun so we placed you here in a good orphanage in the hopes that you would live a normal life."

----Rubys POV----

Interesting.

It seems that despite the Wrong Boy Who Lived demerit Harry has grown up with minimal contact with the magical world. Is it because I am not the child of prophecy, it defaulted to him, so the world conspired to ensure all the pieces were in play for him to complete the prophecy. So despite having a sister, I was moved away so I couldn't influence him, despite having his parents, he hasn't interacted with any other children his age. It seems as though the world is trying to force everything into as close to canon as possible despite my existence, to ensure that Harry is who he needs to be to defeat VoldieCunt. This is good it makes a lot of my plans easier to do without needing to worry about as many changes to the canon.