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five: trouble
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Sarah Kale was most definitely not expecting anyone to be at her door on Sunday morning at seven o'clock.

The loud knock had awoken her from her deep slumber, presuming it was the mailman she didn't answer at first. Typically, they rarely had guests unless it her sister, who usually never came only, or one of Dawn's friends. However, as the knocks increased she realised that it wasn't someone she knew.

"I'm coming!" she bellows as she fumbles with the keys in her hands. "One second, give it a rest-"

She swung open the door revealing James Potter and Sirius Black.

Much to her disappointment, she had a feeling that he would be visiting her soon. She was overwhelmed immediately and tried to think about the ways she could handle this situation. She knew there was always the possibility that he could find out, it was always there: she just never expected it to happen. Before Sarah could even say a word, James had pushed his way in.

Her nose crinkled. "Help yourself in."

Sirius sends her an apologetic look. "I apologise in advance for this."

Sarah allows Sirius to enter before shutting the door. She takes a deep breath before entering the living room. She should have known this day would come. She should have prepared for what she was going to say. However, she was sure that her daughter would never have to meet him, especially under the circumstances of Dawn dropping her book.

Out of all the things, it was a book.

As she enters the living room for the first time in fourteen years, Sarah got a glimpse of how much her daughter truly did take in appearance after her father.

" Is she mine?" were the first words that came out of his mouth.

"Get right into it then," Sirius mentioned as he bit into a peanut butter cookie that had been on the table, " thought we had a plan."

"She?" Sarah rose a brow.

"Dawn. Is Dawn my daughter?"

"No." were the first words that came from her mouth, and for a split second, just a second she saw the disappointment on his face. "I mean well yes she's your biological daughter...but she's not your daughter. I found out a couple weeks after we...."

James felt the small room become a lot more smaller as he sat down on the uncomfortable couch. He ran a hand through his hair, his breath had hitched in his throat and he found he couldn't speak in the moment.

He had a child, another child.

He had a daughter. One that he didn't even know he had.

"There is like two homeless men outside this place, you know?!" he said, standing up. "Okay I'm pretty sure one of them wanted to rob me!"

"What do you-" Sarah asked.

James could her off before she could even finish. "Two homeless men could have robbed me! This isn't a safe place for a child, she could get robbed coming into this place."

An uncontrollable laugh escaped her lips and it confused the man across from her. "She's not a child-"

"She is a child, she's the same age as Harry-"

It clicked in her head who he was talking about before. "Oh, you mean Pete and Frank. They're homeless, yeah, they're really good guys. They probably wanted to rob you because you're wearing a tacky suit."

He sent her an incredulous look. "You let her talk with them?"

Sarah gives him a look. "First of all, I don't control who she talks to. She's fourteen she can talk with whoever she pleases as long as they don't hurt her and I know them. And secondly maybe don't be so quick to judge people who aren't wearing suits."

"They could be dangerous-"

She glared at him. "You've nothing to worry about-"

"Worry?" James whispers, clenching his jaw. "I have nothing to worry about? All I've been doing was worrying ever since I met her, since I seen her."

"She's not your responsibility, James. We can pretend this never happened, alright? You don't need to have anything-"

"Why didn't you tell me I have a daughter! That you were pregnant? That I have another child?! Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

Sarah and Sirius both flinched at James voice. Sarah extends her arms. "Why didn't I tell you? Are you being serious right now-"

James and Sirius exchanged a look but both stayed quiet, not the time.

"You broke up with Lily, slept with me, left the following morning and then two weeks later you got back with Lily." Sarah stated, raising a brow. "Do you really think I would tell you? That J would want you to have anything to do with my daughter?"

James frowned. "When you put it like that-"

"And then I heard you were already supposed to be having a child, a child who was the main purpose of the Dark Lord. What was I suppose to do? Knock at your door and tell you? Risk me and Dawn's life? Besides, I did try and tell you once." she told him and James paused. "I went to your house to tell you, your security guard wouldn't let me in."

His mouth opened. "You should have came and told me!"

"Did you not hear me? You're seven foot body guard wouldn't let me through?"

"So you just gave up?"

"It was for the best, I wouldn't have wanted her to....nothing."

"She is still his daughter." Sirius replies trying to make his voice sound half hearted, "She is James' daughter. He would have been there for her and you know that. Sarah, she's his kid."

Sarah made a face. James noticed this. "What? You think I wouldn't have been there for her?"

Sarah hesitated. "You were....twenty-one years old and just broke up with the love of your life, no, I don't think you would have been there for her-"

"I changed-"

"That's your opinion, not mine."

"That doesn't make a difference, I still would have been there, I would have helped you out. S-She's my daughter."

"No, James she isn't. You don't need to have any contact with her. She doesn't need to know about you. I won't tell anyone about you being her father." Sarah told him harshly, shaking her head. "No one needs to know."

"Is that what you think I'm worried about?"

"James." she finalised. "You're not her father."

He felt an uncontrollable pit of anger in him at that.

"And whose bloody fault is that? I have a daughter Sarah, a daughter whose in the same year as her brother. Merlin, I have another kid. I have a child. My son doesn't even know. Does she have any idea-"

"No," Sarah told him quietly, "She doesn't know. All she knows that was you left."

James felt his jaw open in utter shock. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. She thinks her father left? I didn't leave. I would never leave. If I had known....I would have been there."

Sarah although didn't want to admit it, found herself frowning. She would have thought he would have been happy to know she didn't hold his accountable or expect anything from him.

She never meant to cause this, she only wanted what was best for her daughter. Thats all she ever wanted.

"How did you find out?" Sarah asks.

James thought back to September. It felt like months ago since he seen her. He remembered seeing the brown haired girl push past him anda almost knock Harry down to the ground. He remembered seeing how her big brown eyes widened when he spoke about Quidditch. He also seen how she was quick to point out everything that Harry did wrong.

It wasn't like he knew just by looking at her that she was his daughter. That would be impossible. It was the minute he saw that Sarah was her mum. Within seconds, he'd pieced together the information. He'd been with Sarah about fourteen years prior, the girl looked nothing like her mum (they were complete opposites, Sarah had light features whilst Dawn had dark features), and lastly it was the way she carried herself - he couldn't explain the last one but from the moment he met her, he found himself finding her familiar.

James sat down and put his head in his hands. "I have two children, two children, and one of them is a girl."

"I've got a niece who I didn't even know about. I'm just as pissed." Sirius added.

Sarah rolls her eyes. "You haven't got a niece."

Sirius stuck his finger in his ears and rolled his eyes.

Sarah glances back over towards James who had taken it upon himself to pick up a picture of Dawn. She had been maybe around four, her hair was tied back into a messy ponytail and she swore an oversized Quidditch jumper.

"Adorable." James mumbles, before putting back down the picture. He picks up another one.

This picture had been of his daughter and an older man who appeared slightly older than him. He squinted his eyes slightly.

"Right then, what's the plan?" James suggests, putting down the picture. "Should we head to Hogwarts now?"

Sirius clasped his hands together, "Yeah I'll get my car."

"What? You're going to Hogwarts now?" Sarah exclaimed with eyes the size of the moon. "You cant just go tell her? What are you thinking? Have you not been listening to anything I've just told you?"

"Why not? She's my daughter. I want to know her. I say.... we go there, tell her then I'll take her out for food or something get to know her. Afterwards, the two of us can sort out what we'll do on holidays and summer-"

"Does your wife, you know? Does Lily know?"

" I told her yesterday after Sirius told me." James responds proudly, " She wasn't mad, she knew we were broken up at the time. I think if anything she's would be more mad at you, for not telling me. She thinks I should go apologize to Dawn for not being there, which is true. Sirius, keys?"

"And what do you think gonna happen, exactly? That your gonna tell her and she's gonna magically cling to you, James? I'm sorry for not telling you but you don't know Dawn and how she's going to react to this-"

"She can't be that mad once I explain it to her-"

"James, you don't know Dawn."

Dawn sounded like such a sweet name to James as he thought about it.

So many puns.

His brows furrow. "But I want to get to know her. I've met her once, I've missed so much. I don't want to wait any longer. Naturally it'll be a big surprise to her but still, we'll figure it out."

"We all do." Sirius called from behind James. "Mary and Marlene already want to meet her, and then there's Frank and Alice."

Sarah was overwhelmed. "Is there anyone you didn't tell?"

There was one person who James hadn't told and didn't want to until Dawn knew. "Harry doesn't know."

"What happens if he figures it out and tells her?"

"He won't. He's quite oblivious."

"James, listen to me very carefully." Sarah began and tried to choose her words as nicely as she could. "Dawn is very temperamental, something I think she gets from you. She will flip out when she finds out....and I'm sorry to say this....but she doesn't like you, not you exactly - she thinks that people like you tend to think you're a bit of a higher class than the rest of us."

"What? That is so not true."

"James you're famous in the Wizarding world, your whole family is. She's just a fourteen year old girl, she likes her life. I want her to be a kid. I don't want her to change because of who you are, because of your last name. I don't want her being dragged into that, that's one of the reasons I didn't tell you. I've seen what the Daily Prophet does to your family, do you even get a moment of privacy?"

James glances away, because he found her eyes were almost forcing him to tell the truth. "It's not perfect."

He wouldn't want to think about the headlines they would make about Dawn.

"I know it was stupid that I didn't tell you, but I was thinking of Dawn. I'm sorry about that, James, I really am. But I'm not going to apologise for not wanting my daughters face on every Daily Prophet magazine, like your son has been for the last fourteen years of his life." Sarah explains, and her apology was sincere. She frowns and adds, "Dawn won't take it lightly that you're her father."

"But I'm amazing?"

"She thinks you're conceited."

James once again was dumbstruck. "She seems very opinionated, doesn't she?"

Sarah sent him a look. "She's clever, not opinionated. You two aren't going to get along."

"Then what?" Sirius piped up. "What do you suggest we....and more specifically James do?"

James crosses his arms over his broad chest, "Because I am meeting her, I don't know how... but I have to get to know her. She's my daughter after all, plus I've always wanted another kid."

Sarah rose a brow, "Why didn't you have one then?"

"I-I that's none of your business." James told her quickly. That was one topic he didn't want to talk about.

"Just get to know her first, then you can tell her." Sarah suggests, "Dawn will find that easier to comprehend that rather than James Potter randomly telling her he's her father. She might get...angry at first because she's an emotional kid, okay? Just don't be annoying when she gets angry."

"She doesn't seem emotional."

"You spoke to her for a minute at the train station, I have her for fourteen years, she's emotional. Get to know her first."

Moments later James and Sirius were thrown out of the apartment after some more words.

"You weren't listening to a word she was saying, were you?"

"Nope."

▪▪▪▪▪

Dawn's screams ran through the Great Hall on Sunday afternoon.

A few heads turn towards her as she came bursting through the doors of the Great Hall, and took her seat beside Drew and Colleen who both stood up alarmed. Firstly, it was full because everyone was waiting for the names to be drawn out of the Goblet.

Drew spoke up first. "What's wrong? Who do I have to kill-"

"Dawn breathe-"

"So I was talking to Angelina who was talking to Fred Weasley, who was talking to Lee Jordon who told Seamus who then told Dean, who obviously told Pavarti, who then told me, five minutes ago," Dawn took a deep breath, "That I made Quidditch captain for next year! She said they weren't doing captains this year...I'm not sure why."

Colleen screams. "You made Captain. Happy dance. Oh Dawn I'm so happy for you."

Drew grins broadly as he wraps his arms around the shorter girl. "Well done. I feel like a proud father."

"Oh my god," Dawn says sarcastically, "I never had one of those."

Before Drew could respond, she feels a finger tap her shoulder, softly. She turns around and comes face to face with Fletcher. She steps back immediately due to proximity of them both.

"Yacker, congratulations and all, but would you mind sitting down?"

Dawn with all her confidence reaches over and pats his chest. "Sorry Fletch, not even you can ruin my good mood at the moment."

"I actually mean because everyone's waiting to hear the names and you're sort of ruining it."

When she turned she realised everyone, including Colleen and Drew had sat down. Everyone was also, like he said, waiting for her to sit.

Fletcher sits back in the only available seat, leaving Dawn standing. He moved over slightly. She glared at him and goes to walk away, only to feel his larger hand wrap around her wrist and pull her into the spot.

Dawn sat down and ignored the redness of her face currently. Her stomach churned with this queasy feeling she didn't recognize.

Colleen and Drew both give her a thumbs up.

Dawn glares at Fletcher, simply because it felt right.

"You are so annoying."

He turns and sends her a smile that would send other girls packing. "Thank you Yacker, right back at you."

A piece of parchment flew out out of the Goblet of Fire, in anticipation everyone stayed quiet.

Dawn glances around the Great Hall, her eyes land on Harry Potter for a few moments before looking back up at the older man.

"From Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory." Dumbledore bellows. Immediately everyone turned towards the happy Hufflepuff who smiled widely.

Dawn clapped.

"From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour and from Durmstrang Vickor Krum."

Dawn gives another clap.

She hears Fletcher chuckle. He keeps his eyes on Dumbledore.

Dawn does to stand up only for another name to come out of the Goblet. She rolls her eyes and sits back down, except this time, she was closer to Fletcher.

"Probably Potter." Dawn mouthed over to Colleen and Drew.

When she looked back up Dumbledore's eyes resembled fear as he looked down towards the Gryffindor table

" Harry Potter and Dawn Kale."

Dawn was about to start laughing...

...no seriously she was sure it was a joke.

Every single set of eyes turned towards herself or Harry.

She didn't put her name in the Goblet? It must have been some sort of mistake?

"Did you put your name in?" Fletcher whispered.

"No of course not," she whispered back. "That betrays my loyalty to Quidditch."

"Yacker, you need to go." Fletcher whispers softly.

"What the fuck?" Drew and Colleen exclaimed.

At first Dawn thought he was joking as she stiffened. She realized it wasn't a joke she stood up. Harry met her eyes for a few seconds before she looked away confused. Throughout her entire walk up to the aisle the entire population of Hogwarts looked mildly terrified.

Surely this was just a misunderstanding, she thought.

And so on began their journey to the Goblet of Fire.

▪▪▪▪▪

I feel like James' head did a spiral that whole conversation