The characters and universe of Harry Potter are the sole property of J. K. Rowling and her licensees. Darling Girl By Eric Thorsen ……………………………………………………………………… Chapter One: What’s Going On?! ……………………………………………………………………… “I hate being sick,” Harry Potter muttered to himself, fighting down the nausea that was rolling through him. He shivered as he got out bed, and groaned as he felt his stomach cramping sharply. Harry fought down a fresh surge of nausea and stumbled to his wardrobe. Dragging a T-shirt that was too big for him on over his head, he pulled on his hand-me down sweat pants. Harry shivered again, and then hurried to the bathroom, fighting his rebellious stomach. He reached the toilet barely in time, then washed his face and rinsed his mouth out. Harry shakily walked down the hallway and downstairs to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast, hoping that the smells of the food wouldn’t force him back into the bathroom. Moving slowly around the kitchen, he took his time with each task, trying to make sure it was perfect. He knew that the Dursleys wouldn’t appreciate the effort he put into it, but Harry also knew that if it was even the slightest bit less than perfect, they would make his life even more miserable than it already was. The food was done and the table set by the time his aunt came into the kitchen to inspect his labors. She looked over the table, inspecting each of the covered dishes in minute detail for anything which was not just so. After she had finished her inspection of the food, she went through the kitchen, inspecting each surface and all of the cupboards for any sign of disorder. Satisfied in spite of her self she turned to her nephew. “Acceptable, barely, but . . .” Petunia Dursley stopped speaking suddenly, staring at Harry for several seconds before continuing in a screech that could be heard throughout the house. ”What have you done to yourself you ungrateful freak?! Isn’t it bad enough that we must house you while you are away from that freak school? But no, you need to bring more attention to yourself . . .” “Petunia my dove, what is it? What has the boy done this time?” Harry groaned inwardly when his uncle came into the room with shaving foam still on his face, clutching a tissue to a cut on his chin. “Vernon, look at him. The freak must have done it last night with his abnormality. He certainly hasn’t the money to do it the normal way.” Harry continued to stare at his aunt in confusion wondering what she was going on about. He was even more confused when Vernon looked at him and swelled in outrage. What was wrong with the way he looked now? “What do you mean by it boy, hmm? Well, out with it!” “Excuse me Uncle Vernon, but what do I mean by what? I don’t understand.” “Don’t understand?!” Vernon roared, enraged. Grabbing Harry’s arm, his uncle dragged him out the door and up the stairs, hurling him into the bathroom and forcing him to stand in front of the mirror. “Well boys, try to deny it. Try to deny that you did that to your hair.” Harry stared at his hair is shock, suddenly realizing what his aunt and uncle had been talking about. He reached up and pulled a strand down in front of his face. The mirror wasn’t broken... His hair was red, or at least most of it was. Only a few hairs at the ends were still black, and that only made it worse. ”A prank.” Harry muttered to himself. ”Someone must have put something in my shampoo before I left school.” “You mean that this is the result of some school boy prank? That you had nothing to do with your appearance?!” Vernon stared at his nephew in disbelief, and then barked a laugh. “Whoever did this was quite ingenious, but it does not excuse your impertinence. Go to your room and stay there. You are not to leave that room except to go to the toilet, until your hair is back to normal.” Harry watched his uncle leave in shock, unable to believe his ears as his uncle walked down laughing to himself. “Could the Death Eaters have killed Uncle Vernon and put someone in his place?” Harry asked himself, and then dove for the toilet as his stomach decided to make its displeasure known again. A few minutes later, Harry made his way to his room, collapsing onto his bed. Vernon took Dudley on an outing and Petunia went to her garden club while he slept. Harry woke suddenly and bolted for the toilet feeling painful pressure in his abdomen. He dropped his oversize sweat pants and boxers around his ankles and dropped to the toilet barely in time. As the pressure diminished Harry sighed in relief, wondering what was wrong with his body. Glancing down as he stood, Harry noticed that something was wrong and gapped in horror at his crotch. Some very important parts of his anatomy seemed to have gone missing. It was finally too much for him, and he screamed once before he fainted. ……………………………………………………………………… Petunia was opening the door to her home when she heard a blood curdling female scream from the bathroom upstairs. She ran up the stairs, and gasped in shock. There was a red-haired girl she had never seen before, lying on the floor with a pair of her nephew’s sweat pants and boxers around her ankles. She stormed to her nephew’s room to demand an explanation for the presence of an unknown girl in her house, but was confused when she couldn’t find him anywhere in the house. Petunia returned to the bathroom, and decided to make the girl more comfortable before trying to revive her. After pulling the boxers and sweats back to the girl’s waist, she rolled her over, and received the second shock of her day. The girl looked familiar, but she couldn’t think of who she reminded her of. Petunia stared at the girl for several moments before she heard a soft hooting coming from her nephew’s room, and realized that she should report this to Dumbledore before her husband and son returned. She rushed from the bathroom to her nephew’s room where she found the owl standing on his window ledge. Taking the first sheet of parchment she could find, she rummaged in her purse for the fountain pen she used to write invitations and wrote a brief message. The owl glared at her when she approached, and snapped at her when she tried to remove the letter it clutched in its claws. “Look here you stupid bird, something has happened to your master, and I need you to carry this message to Dumbledore. It’s urgent!” Hedwig looked at Petunia suspiciously for a moment, then flew to her cage, dropped the letter inside, took a drink of water, then flew back to the window, snatching the note from Petunia’s hand. Harry’s aunt jumped backward with a startled yelp then swore when she heard the front door open. Rushing back to the restroom, she flushed the toilet, and dragged the girl from the restroom to her nephew’s bedroom, putting her on the bed and then securing all of the locks on the outside of the door. Walking down the stairs, she greeted Vernon and Dudley warmly, giving each a peck on the cheek in greeting. “How was your outing my darlings?” “Really neat Mum, we saw these really cool sharks, and made it in time to see them feed the killer whales after the dolphin show. There was blood everywhere.” “Little tyke,” Vernon laughed, and then noticed that his wife was slightly out of breath. “Petunia my dove, whatever is the matter? What has that boy done this time?” “Nothing Vernon or at least nothing that I couldn’t deal with. I’ve locked him in his room as punishment.” “That boy needs to learn his place,” Vernon grumbled, stomping into the lounge. ”I tell you Petunia, we should never have let him stay. He should have been sent off to the orphanage immediately.” “I know he is troublesome Vernon, but think what the neighbors would have said. It was much better that we kept him with us, ungrateful brat that he is, than to have the neighbors think us lacking in family loyalty.” “I suppose you are right my love, but it pains me to see you driven to palpitations by that unfeeling urchin.” The Dursley’s settled into their lounge to watch television, and the girl upstairs remained blissfully unconscious. ……………………………………………………………………… Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, beamed down the long table in the faculty lounge at his staff. Professors Vector and Sprout were talking animatedly about a research project they were conducting, while McGonagall and Flitwick discussed the antics of their grandchildren. The other staff members were similarly occupied, except for the two men at the opposite end of the table, who sat across from each other, glaring. Dumbledore’s eyes lost a bit of their twinkle when his gaze fell on the empty seat at the end of the table, but he shook his head and cleared his throat. “If I may have your attention, it is time to begin our meeting.” The professors stopped talking to each other and gave Professor Dumbledore their undivided attention. “As you can see, we have been joined once more by Professor Remus Lupin, who will be returning to his position as Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor with, I might add, the full approval of the Ministry of Magic. Some of you may wonder how this came about, but that is a story for a different time. I am saddened to inform you all that we will not be rejoined by Professor Trelawney or by Madame Hooch this term or indeed ever again. Sybil has been admitted to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies after suffering a nervous breakdown caused by her traumatic experiences last year. While I am sure we all hope that Sybil will recover, her physician informs me that her breakdown has destroyed what little gift of sight she once held. Rolanda...” Professor Dumbledore’s voice broke for a moment as he visibly battled to retain his composure. “Madame Hooch was killed in a Death-Eater attack two nights ago, while visiting her sister in Shropshire. She died heroically, giving her sister sufficient time to escape with her two children via the floo network. I would ask that we pause for a moment of silence to honor of that brave lady’s sacrifice.” A long silence settled over the room as the staff contemplated recent events. Finally Albus removed his glasses, wiped his eyes with a purple handkerchief, and then replaced his spectacles with a determined frown. “Now for our old business; Minerva if you would?” He smiled at the deputy headmistress, who nodded and muttered a short spell, causing rolls of parchment to appear before each member of the staff. “This is a list of all students, fifth year and above, who are eligible to become prefects this year.” Professor McGonagall said, indicating the parchment. “As you can see, Slytherin stands in need of four prefects this year rather than the normal two to replace the leaving seventh years. This is due to the removal of Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson for their conduct during the final term of last year; more specifically for their use of excessive force against other students.” “Come now Minerva, you cannot blame them for following the orders of the High Inquisitor.” Snape protested with a sneer, ignoring the glares he was receiving from several of his colleagues. ”Where is the justice in that?” “‘Just following orders,’ Severus?” Madame Pomfrey demanded from her seat at Dumbledore’s left. “I was seeing every non-Slytherin first year two to three times a week the month before the OWLS because of Malfoy and Parkinson. These weren’t minor injuries either. One Hufflepuff had to have half the bones on her right side completely regrown.” “The clumsiness of first years is legendary Madame.” “Clumsiness? How dare you?” Professor Sprout almost shouted. “Those fiends used . . .” “That is enough.” Dumbledore said in calm tone that was at odds with his deep frown. “Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Parkinson have both been removed from their positions as prefects. That decision is final. Now, are the Heads of each house prepared with their recommendations? Who are your choices for Ravenclaw prefect, Filius?” “I recommend Luna Lovegood and Caeldowyn Stebbins for prefect from Ravenclaw.” Professor Flitwick piped from his seat next to Hagrid. “Are their any objections?” Seeing none, he moved to the next house. ”And who are your choices for Hufflepuff, Pomona?” Professor Sprout smiled and stood. “I recommend Bronwyn Hostetler and Jeremiah Larson as prefects from Hufflepuff.” “Are there any Objections? Then we can move on to Slytherin?” “I nominate Gwendolyn Baddock and Hieronymus Smythe as fifth-year prefects, and since you are all being unreasonable, Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zambini to replace Ms. Parkinson and Mr. Malfoy.” “Are they any better than the last two?” Professor McGonagall demanded suspiciously. “Yes Minerva, both are eligible and their loyalties are unquestionable. Even you should have no objections.” Professor McGonagall glared at Snape for several seconds, and then nodded her agreement to his choices. With no objection from anyone else, the new Slytherin prefects were approved and they moved onto Gryffindor. “This selection was... difficult, since I have so many young ladies who are qualified to be my fifth year female prefect. I would recommend Miss Ginevra Weasley, and Mr. Colin Creevy.” “Come now Minerva, surely you can do better than another Weasley.” Snape said, obviously baiting the head of Gryffindor. ”Why not choose Miss Stevens or Miss Davidson instead?” “Ginevra Weasley is at the top of her year in every subject, including yours, Severus. Since she has not received a single detention longer than one week in her entire time here, it would be an insult to give the badge to anyone else.” “Very well, I have no further objections.” None of the other professors objected so the Gryffindor prefects were approved. “Since there is nothing else to discuss on this matter, we will move onto the report on the events at the end of last term. Severus?” “Yes Headmaster. As you are all aware, at the end of last term Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Ginevra Weasley, and Luna Lovegood left school grounds and rode the Hogwarts Thestrals to the Ministry of Magic’s London offices and broke into the Department of Mysteries. While there, they thwarted an attempt by He-who-must-not-be-named to acquire a prophecy which concerned Mr. Potter. At the final meeting of this body, it was suggested that these individuals be recommended for an award for special services to the school, rather than expelled as I recommended at the time. Objections were raised that their actions were more appropriately recognized by the Ministry, and I was asked to research the rules regarding special service awards. In my research I found that there is in fact a school regulation involving these awards.” Snape looked through his notes then began to read. ‘Special Awards shall be granted to those individuals who, in the opinion of the majority of the staff, shall have done special service to the students and staff of Hogwarts School through their actions while in attendance at said school.’ “Based on that wording, there is a valid question as to whether these students meet these criteria. While it is obvious that their actions did serve the students and staff of this institution, they were not in attendance at this school. In fact, they were not even on the premises. This would seem to indicate that they are not in fact eligible for these awards.” “I find myself in agreement with Severus on this Albus,” Professor McGonagall said, grimacing at her own words. ”It would be more appropriate for them to be recognized by the Ministry.” “Very well... That dispenses with the old business. Is there any new business?” Before anyone could speak, Hedwig flew through a window and landed next to Professor Dumbledore. “Isn’t that Harry’s owl?” Professor Lupin asked in surprise. “What does he say?” Professor Dumbledore held up his hand as he took the message from the owl and read it. “What is it Albus?” Professor McGonagall gave him a concerned look when he gave her a shocked look. “Has something happened?” “The rest of this meeting will have to be postponed; Severus, Minerva, Remus, and Poppy, if you would come with me, I will need your assistance in dealing with this situation.” The five professors filed out of the room, leaving the others talking about what could have happened to the boy-who- lived. “Albus, what has happened?” Professor McGonagall demanded once they were safely in the headmaster’s office. “Is something wrong?” “I very much fear that there is Minerva, but what it is I cannot say. The message that I received, was not, in fact, from Mr. Potter but instead his aunt, Petunia Dursley.” “Petunia sent you an owl? This is the same woman who won’t let Harry even talk about magic in her house. Why would she be willing to use an owl to send you a message?” “She said that she used this method because it was the most likely to get a rapid response.” Dumbledore replied, smiling at the disbelieving expression on Lupin’s face. “However, that is neither here nor there. Poppy, Minerva, I need you to prepare a room for a female patient, with access to the Hospital wing. Severus, please brew a several doses of strong calming and healing potions, and bring them to the room Minerva and Poppy will prepare. Remus, I need you to come with me.” “Headmaster, is there any more information you can give me regarding this patient?” Madame Pomfrey asked, obviously thinking of the preparations she would have to make. “What her injuries are?” “I would tell you if I had any more detailed information Poppy, unfortunately, all Mrs. Dursley put in her note is that she returned home to discover Harry missing and an unknown girl unconscious in her home. Severus, you might also begin preparing a lineage potion, in order to determine who the young lady is.” Professor Snape nodded and left the room at his normal brisk pace, followed closely by the two witches. Professor Dumbledore walked over to his fireplace and took down a pot of floo powder. “Where could Harry have gone Albus? He wouldn’t just leave, especially if there was someone injured in the house.” “I would tend to agree with you Remus. However, if this young lady was used by his enemies to gain entry to the house, she may be our only hope of finding him.” Dumbledore threw a pinch of floo powder into his fireplace. “Figg House, Password: Shrivel Fig.” The flames flared up and turned green and then Professor Dumbledore was gone. Moments later, he appeared in Arabella Figg’s lounge. Remus arrived after giving him time to move out of the way, and they brushed the soot off their robes before opening the door to the rest of the house. Mrs. Figg bustled into the room a short time later. “Albus, Remus? What brings you to Little Whinging on this miserable day?” “I received a letter, by owl, from Petunia Dursley which claimed that Harry was missing.” “But... But the wards are intact! The alarms have not gone off. Are you sure?” “It is possible that Voldemort has found a way to bypass them, Arabella. Remus and I will be going to the Dursley’s home to investigate. But first I believe a change of attire is in order.” With a wave of his wand, the robes that he and Remus were wearing were transfigured into business suits, and overcoats. Professor Dumbledore then shortened his hair and beard. The two disguised wizards walked down the street, watching everything carefully, but not obviously. There was nothing unusual occurring, and they made their way to number four without any incidents. “BOY! GET THE DOOR!” a male voice roared when Remus rang the doorbell. A softer, feminine voice replied and they heard footstep approaching. The woman who opened the door started to speak, and then gasped. “YOU!” “Hello Petunia,” Remus smiled at the shocked expression on her face. “I’m here because of your message to Professor Dumbledore, nothing else.” “Who is it My Dove?” “No one of importance Vernon,” Petunia replied, and then turned to the men at the door. “Come with me, quietly.” Petunia led the way up to Harry’s door and then unlocked it. She ushered the two wizards into the room indicating the unconscious figure on the bed. “Is this the girl?” Remus asked, and then gasped in shock when he got a good look at her.” Merlin, she looks just like Lily.” “Of course, that is who she reminded me of,” Petunia said in realization. “Were their any signs of a struggle or forced entry?” “None that I’ve noticed, but then I might not notice something one of your kind might have done.” “Where was this girl when you found her?” Dumbledore passed his wand over the girl after casting a diagnostic spell. He frowned when noticed the large amount of stress and the remnants of a charm. “In the bathroom; she was lying on the floor, unconscious. And from the state of her clothing, she may have been using the toilet when she was knocked out.” “Petunia, where are you? The program will be starting soon.” Vernon shouted from the lounge. “I’m coming Vernon, I’ll be down in a moment.” Petunia said, and then grumbled for a moment. “You need to get this girl out of here. I’ve managed to keep Vernon and Dudley from discovering her, but that may change at any moment, and I don’t know how to explain her if they do.” “Yes of course, she doesn’t appear to have any injuries, but she had a powerful concealment spell on her until very recently, though I cannot tell what it might have been. I am positive it was not a form of transfiguration. Fortunately there are no injuries that would us from taking her with us to Hogwarts.” Remus nodded, and conjured a stretcher. “If you’re taking her to that school, you might as well take Harry’s belongings as well. He won’t be returning here until the next summer holidays even if you find him, will he?” Dumbledore nodded in agreement, and Remus followed her down the stairs to gather Harry’s trunk from the cupboard. As they were carrying the trunk back up the stairs, Vernon laughed loudly at something happening on television, causing both of them to freeze in apprehension. After a few moments, they relaxed again, getting the truck upstairs as quickly as possible. “Petunia, where are my spectacles?” Vernon asked, coming partway up the stairs, just as they were loading the books and parchment on Harry’s desk into the trunk. Petunia left quickly to help him look and keep him away from the room, while Remus and Dumbledore looked for anything else that Harry might want? “His wand and invisibility cloak are missing Albus.” “He might have them with him.” Dumbledore replied. They were closing the trunk when Remus caught the scent of sweets under the bed. Drawing the bed away from the wall, the werewolf quickly found the loose board, and Harry’s stash of food, as well as the missing invisibility cloak and wand. “Albus, his wand and cloak are here. Why would he leave without them? It doesn’t make any sense.” “I do not know, but we should put them in his trunk for now. He may need them again after we find him.” Remus nodded and put the items in the trunk, closing it and moving the bed back into position, amazed that the bed’s motion hadn’t wakened the girl. He was about to ask Dumbledore about that, when Petunia returned. “Hurry, Dudley has invited some friends over to play video games and they will be here any moment.” Dumbledore shrank the trunk and bird cage, and then turned to Mrs. Dursley. “Thank you for bringing this situation to our attention Petunia, we will keep you informed of what we discover. If you would go downstairs and open the door, we will leave as unobtrusively as possible.” Petunia nodded and left while Remus and Dumbledore moved the girl from the bed to the stretcher, still without waking her. “This worries me, Albus. With all the jostling we’re giving her, she should have woken up, or at least moved.” “Once we have her at Hogwarts, Poppy can tell us what is causing this unconscious state.” After casting ‘Notice-me-not’ spells on themselves and their burden, the two wizards lifted the stretcher, and carried it out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door. Because of the spells, Petunia didn’t notice them leaving, but when she went back upstairs five minutes later to see what was keeping them, they were gone. ……………………………………………………………………… After Professors Dumbledore and Lupin removed their disguise spells at Mrs. Figg’s house, they flooed to the hospital wing with their burden, startling the witches who were preparing the private room. The girl was quickly moved from the stretcher to the bed in the room, and Madame Pomfrey set to work diagnosing the problem. Fifteen minutes later, the nurse came out of the room and walked to her office, where the others were waiting. “Other her amazing similarity to Lily Evans... I mean Potter; I haven’t been able to discover any connections to young Mr. Potter. Hopefully Severus’ lineage potion will clear that up. As to her unconscious state, when she fell, she must have hit her head on something; there is a rather large bump on the side of her head.” “When will she be able to tell us what happened?” Remus asked anxiously. “She should regain her faculties any minute now. Unfortunately, there are some additional complications. Based on the spell residue and other indicators, this girl has recently been under several gender switching spells combined with a number of blood based mimic potions until very recently. The spell is breaking down, which is canceling the potion’s effects, which may, in turn, cause the girl to remain unconscious for a longer period.” “Poppy, is there anyway to counter the effects? She is our only possible witness to Harry Potter’s disappearance.” “I will do what I can, Headmaster, but there is something you might wish to consider. Based on this evidence, the girl may very well be Harry Potter. Or at least the person we know as Harry Potter.” The Nurse left her office to go check on her patient as everyone stared at each other in confusion. “How... Albus, how would this be possible? How could someone replace Harry Potter with some girl, even if she was the same age?” “It would have been very simple for the Death Eaters to have done so when Voldemort attacked Godric’s Hollow, Minerva. Or when he ran away from the Dursley’s before his third year, though the first is much more likely. However it was done, we must assume that this girl has been the person we have known as Harry Potter for at least two years.” “But why Albus, What possible purpose could someone have for doing this?” “I do not know Minerva; it need not even have been the Death Eaters who made these changes. This could have been done quite easily by Lily Potter herself, when the child was first born. In fact that would make the most sense, considering Harry’s remarkable resemblance to James Potter.” “Lily? That is impossible Albus,” Remus declared, jumping to his feet. “There hasn’t been a girl born into the Potter family for 800 years. For her to have a girl... No, Lily would never have betrayed James like that.” “You’re right Remus, and forgive me if I appeared to be accusing Lily of infidelity. That was not my intention. I was only voicing one possibility.” “Albus, what will we do if this girl is a Death Eater plant?” Professor McGonagall demanded. “Do you think she is one of them herself? How will we find the real Harry, if she can’t tell us where he is?” “It is highly unlikely that the Death Eaters would have brought a child, even one her age, into their confidence. They would have been more likely to have taken a child from a wizarding orphanage, or even from a family they had destroyed, and used the combination of spells and potions Poppy discovered which made her look like Harry. They would have been more likely to use a boy, which is why I suggested Lily’s involvement, but... It is getting late. Perhaps we will be better able to discover where the real Harry has gotten to and who this girl is after a good nights sleep.” McGonagall and Lupin nodded their agreement and left the hospital wing for their quarters, Remus still slightly angry at the insinuations involved in Dumbledore’s suggestion of Lily as the person responsible for deceiving them. ……………………………………………………………………… When Remus arrived in his quarters, he changed into his sleeping clothes, and went to lie down on his bed, when he saw a parchment envelope addressed to him, lying on his pillow. He opened and gasped when he saw the signature. 18 October 1987 Dearest Moony, If you are reading this, it means that I was right, and Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. This will mean that James and I are dead, but hopefully Harry will have survived and just turned 16. My death means that I will have to lay the burden of a dangerous secret on your shoulders, however unfairly. You see Remus, Harry is not James’ son, is in fact ‘he’ is not even a boy. Shortly after we graduated, I was married... to Severus Snape. He had joined the Death Eaters as part of our assignment as Unspeakables in order to discover what, if anything, Voldemort knew about the origins of the Killing curse. In Mid-November of 1985, his cover was almost blown when someone saw him leaving our flat late one night, so it was decided that James and I would pretend to be married, to keep Severus safe. Unfortunately, we discovered that I was pregnant two months later, and Severus assumed that I had been unfaithful with James. In July, when the child was born, it was quite obvious who her father was, but Severus had gone so deep undercover that it would have been terribly dangerous to reveal our daughter to the world. So James and I used several obscure Gender switching spells and potions based on the Sanguinary Deception to hide her as James’ son. Our intention was to remove the changes after I’d had a chance to meet with Severus, but since you are reading this, that plan has failed. Please Moony; help Lilith to understand the changes that are happening. Please give Severus the message meant for him. I know that I can count on you to do this. Your Friend for Eternity, Lily Evans Snape (Potter) Remus stared at the note for several minutes, trying to take in all of the revelations. ‘Lily was married to Severus, not James? Harry is actually a girl? How am I going to tell them?’ With these thought Remus fell into a deep, troubled sleep. ……………………………………………………………………… A/N: This story is loosely based on Severitus’ Challenge to write a fanfic based on the idea of Snape as Harry’s father, but there are a couple of rather brutal plot twists. The background plot line is based on the events of OOTP, and on those plot elements that JKR has set out in interviews since the release of that novel. As a side note, while I know that Nick’s death day in CoS is listed as being October 31, 1492, which would place CoS in 1992, I like the publishing date of PS (1997) as the beginning of Harry’s school time which puts CoS in 1998, and OOTP in 2002. That’s the basis of my time line. Hope you liked this story so far.