See You Again

-𝕀𝕍-

The four boys all crammed together under James' invisibility cloak as they slowly made their way to the library was truly a sight to be seen. It was halfway there that they finally remembered that Peter could just turn into his Animagus form of a rat, so he could be carried and free up some room. It wasn't much but still a lot better than it was previously.

Once they made it to the library, they immediately began their search. They came across complex spells that took way too much time and needed active involvement, to complex rituals that required the same thing. Then Sirius finally came across a simple yet effective one: the blood drop. It was created by a muggleborn witch not too long ago. It wasn't entirely specific, but it was fast and could tell them the answer to their most important question: Were they related? All they needed to do was get a drop of her blood and a drop of his, and four drops of untouched rainwater. Good thing it was expected to rain all week. Then after reciting a spell, all they'd have to do is wait and see what color it changes to. All without getting caught. Since technically it's illegal to take a witch's or wizard's blood without their consent, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

ϟϟϟ

It was a pain the next day. James couldn't stop looking out the window, waiting for it to rain. Several times, Sirius had to kick him to get him to stop shaking his leg repeatedly. Finally, during lunch, it began to rain, and James ran as fast as he could out of the Great Hall. He pulled out the vial he kept in his pocket all day and held it up. Four drops finally entered the vial before he corked it back up and returned to the Great Hall with a beaming smile, as if nothing had happened. The other three all gave him the same questioning look, to which he simply nodded, and they finished their meals as fast as they could.

Fifteen minutes. That was how much time they had left to get this done before Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore would return to the Hospital Wing. With that in mind, Remus and Peter went off into a hidden part of the corridor closest to the Great Hall, along with the map, just in case they needed to run interference, while James and Sirius continued with the invisibility cloak to the Hospital Wing.

The two quietly snuck in and slowly made their way to the girl lying on the bed. She looked so peaceful compared to how they first saw her. The two quietly observed her, trying to see if there could be any Potter resemblance, and the longer he looked, the more the long-lost sister theory started to become a real possibility to James.

A distant noise brought James out of his pondering, and he gently grabbed her hand as Sirius uncorked the vial. James then pulled out his wand and made a small cut on the tip of her finger. Quickly, Sirius caught the drop of blood with the vial before James added a drop from his own finger. He then healed both his and her fingers before leaving.

Remus and Peter saw James and Sirius leave the Hospital Wing on the map, and as planned, immediately set off to the dorm to meet them. Once there, the group crowded onto James' bed again as he recited the spell, and they all watched with bated breath.

"How long do we wait?" whispered Peter.

"The book said at most five minutes," answered Sirius.

Finally, after five minutes, the red potion began to glow before dimming to a black, thick-looking liquid.

"Black? What does black mean?" questioned a baffled James.

Sirius quickly jumped off the bed and grabbed the book they took from the library. He turned page after page before finding what he was looking for.

"Green means closely related. Blue means distantly. Purple means very distantly. Red means not at all, and black... means... inconclusive..." mumbled Sirius with a slight grimace.

"Inconclusive!? Why is it inconclusive?" James questioned.

Sirius looked back to the book. "She must have some type of creature blood... It says it will be inconclusive for anyone that has Veela, Werewolf -"

"You think she could be a Werewolf?" questioned Remus, cutting Sirius off, who just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Great! Now how am I supposed to find out if we're related?" huffed James.

"You could always just... talk to her," whispered Peter, earning himself three different glares, as if talking to her was the worst plan anyone could come up with.

After much debating back and forth, they decided to just try to befriend her and, with time, hopefully, they can get the answers to their questions. That is, if she stays, of course.

James tossed and turned all night. What if she disappeared? What if he never got his answers? What had happened to her? Just who was... Adhara Potter?

ϟϟϟ

Saturday came, and the only talk of the mysterious girl was the rumors currently being spread among the students. The professors still acted as if none of what happened had happened. Eventually, the four of them came back to the common room after it began to rain outside. It wasn't long until dinner, so they decided to sit in their corner. Remus read his book while Peter and Sirius played a few rounds of exploding snap. James just sat in his chair, staring off into the distance, when suddenly he saw her. Adhara. Right there. Standing in the common room, looking around, but it looked almost... nostalgic to her, instead of the awe that first years have. He acted before thinking as he quietly made his way over to her.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" He didn't mean to startle her, but the second she looked at him, she froze, so she must definitely know him somehow! "James Potter, you?" He asked with a smile as he held out his hand. He waited with anticipation. Maybe he could finally get his answers.

"A-Ara, Ara Lovella." His smile faltered for a split second, and he tilted his head as his hand lowered back down to his side. Ara Lovella? Ara could be a nickname, but why did she lie about her last name?

He went to speak, but she cut him off. "Nice meeting you. I'm gonna go check out my dorm." And promptly escaped as fast as she possibly could.

"Way to scare her off, Prongsy!" Sirius said as he popped out from his strategic spot of hiding to eavesdrop. James just glared at him in response before they both turned their heads and watched as the new girl hurried her way up the stairs.

Sirius narrowed his eyes and ruffled up his locks with one hand before asking the question on both their minds. "Why do you think she lied about her name?"