"Harry James Potter, you infuriating piece of hippogriff dung! Just what in the name of Morgana's ass did you think you were doing!?" A beautiful young woman with brimming silver hair roared as she practically jumped out of the Floo.
"I… um… thought… you see… I thought… ehm…?" Harry stammered wildly as the woman closed the distance between them with a few large steps and grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him off the sofa and shaking him in best cartoon style.
"Of all the bloody idiotic things to do! Full well knowing how incompetent your ministry is and just how untrustworthy your so called "friends" had proved themselves in the past! And you still go when they call as if a random letter summoning you to the ministry for "reasons pertaining to the safety of wizarding kind" mere days after you killed Voldemort?! Do you have anything to say in your defense?!" The woman roared as she kept shaking him so hard that his glasses fell off.
Annabeth rose from her seat and placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulders. "Celeste dear, I don't think he can answer with you treating him like your favorite plushy."
Celeste's head turned to stare at her mother before exclaiming. "I don't treat Mr. Snuggles anything near this violently! And Mr. Snuggles also knows not to misbehave," her gaze then fell onto Harry again, "unlike this idiot!" Finally she dropped Harry back onto the sofa.
Poor Harry fell like a sack of potatoes and ended up half lying down on the sofa, staring at the woman who was still glaring at him with her hands firmly planted on her shapely hips.
"Ehh…" Was the genius words the great Harry James Potter spoke in his defense.
Celeste's eyes narrowed even further as she looked ready to reach for him again before stopping herself with a large breath and what appeared to be a silent count to ten. When her raging purple eyes fell upon Harry's sprawled form once more, the young Wizard felt his core churn and almost beg for him to run away.
Harry drew another blank when the anger in the woman's eyes vanished and a few tears took its place. Before he knew it, her angry frown had turned to the half-way point between a smile and a sob and she had thrown herself onto the sofa and engulfed him in a hug as she began bawling her eyes out into his chest.
Harry looked at Annabeth with a face that screamed 'What the fuck is happening?!'
"That's my daughter. Celeste Potter." Annabeth explained with a small smile. "She's been worried sick about you for a very, very long time. When we found you in the hospital with your eye missing… she almost broke."
Harry didn't need to speak, his face clearly expressed his thoughts. 'But we've never met.'
"She always considered you a brother. Short perhaps only of myself, she has spent more time keeping watch over you all these years. Had it not been for direct orders and threats against us all, she would likely have interfered in your life at some point."
Harry's arms tightened around the woman in his arms and a smile crept unto his face. It was nice knowing that there had been someone caring for him so much over the years aside from Remus and Sirius.
It took almost a full hour before Celeste was both done crying and cleaning herself up enough that she could lead a meaningful conversation with anyone. For the most part she just wanted to know what Harry's life had been like growing up. She had missed a few parts of it as she was on duty at the time and such wasn't able to watch him.
Harry had told her everything she wanted to know, which only made her switch between anger and sadness multiple times through the stories. In the end she had to retire for the day and return to her own home, she had some things to prepare for over the next few days. Though she did promise to come back and visit Harry again soon, she figured they would have more to talk about after Harry made her promise to tell him her side of the story.
This led to Harry and Annabeth sitting comfortably in the living room late one night, a book in their hands and a good bottle of Firewhisky sitting on the table. Harry had a question that he had been dying to ask for a while and figured now was a good a time as any, so with a deep breath, he spoke.
"Annabeth, can I ask you something?" at her nod, Harry continued, "How come you keep referring to my mother as your sister when you are a Potter?"
Annabeth's smile soured a bit as she looked away. "Damn Potters, always picking up on the small things…" she released a large breath as she ran a hand through her hair "I was indeed born a Potter. Charles Potter met my mother when he was away on business and the union resulted in a child, me. Charles wanted me to carry the name but refused to let me live anywhere near the "real" Potter's. You know where you mother grew up?" Harry shook his head "Cokeworth, England. As it would happen I was "deposited" there alongside my mother so that Charles could keep an eye on us and ensure we didn't do something to dishonor the Potter name."
Annabeth took another breath as she scratched her chin in a sign of annoyance; clearly something about this story just annoyed her.
"I ended up living next to a particular family, the Evans family to be exact." Harry's eyes widened and Annabeth allowed herself a small smirk "I practically grew up with your mother. Lily and I would play together whenever we could and it was the time of my life, I tell you. When I turned 8 my mother died in a mugging and rather than allow me to be sent to an orphanage, Mr. and Misses Evans took me in. I already considered Lily a sister but the bond only grew stronger as we grew older. Then our Hogwarts letters came and we were both so excited. While in Hogwarts I was placed in Hufflepuff and your mother in Ravenclaw. We usually met in secret and our bond only grew closer. Your father was a right prat, just so you know. He mellowed out around sixth year just around the time Lily began taking him seriously as well."
"But why was I never told? Snape surely would have remembered you, or my aunt petunia?" Harry asked with confusion written across his face.
"As Hogwarts came to an end and the War took hold, I realized that I needed to separate myself from everything. I bought a small home near Bettyhill in Scotland where I ended up meeting my husband and Celeste's father. But you see Harry, before I left I went to the Evans family and erased myself from their memories. I'm sure old greasy still remembers me, but he never made the rather obvious connection I had to Lily since he only spent time with her when no one was around." Annabeth explained.
"Wasn't my mother angry that you erased her parent's memories?"
"Oh she was furious. But I explained my reasons and she respected that I wanted to live a life away from the Wizarding world and their war. We said our goodbyes but stayed in contact and I got pulled back into the Wizarding world when the War reached me. Celeste had barely been born before her father was killed in a Death Eater raid. That is what prompted me to return and find your mother. I'll tell you one thing, your old man almost shat himself what I introduced myself." Annabeth laughed slightly at the memory as she looked expectantly at Harry.
"Dad didn't know?" he asked.
"Charles never told anyone but Gringotts. It took a bit of convincing and an oath, but he ended up believing me. So there you have it. Though I was born a Potter and James was indeed my half brother by blood. Lily was my real sister in everything but blood, and on my life and magic I will swear to that until the end of days." Annabeth replied with a large grin.
"Must have seemed a weird coincidence that dad ended up with mom." Harry replied with his own smile.
"Oh please. I had resigned myself to a strange life the moment I met your mother. Boy did she deliver."