The Girl Who Lived: Chamber of Secrets
By Misha

Disclaimer- Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and is not mine, however much I might wish differently. However, I am not making any money off of this, so please do not sue me!

Author's Notes- Here, it is, the second part of "The Girl Who Lived". This one delves into the relationships between Hallie and the other characters a bit more and starts to deviate from cannon a fair bit. Sorry, it's unavoidable. Also, since, at this point, I have a fair idea of where I'm going with the story, I start to foreshadow a fair bit. So there'll be a bunch of stuff here that won't make a lot of sense until later on, yeah, I'm evil. I just thought I'd warn you so you don't get really confused. Well, that's all for now, I hope you enjoy!

Rating- PG

Summery- AU. Hallie Potter enters her second year at Hogwarts...

Spoilers- All five books, especially "Chamber of Secrets".

Part One- A Visit With Hermione

"Hallie, phone!"

Hallie Potter put down her book at her aunt's call and went out into the hall to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

She wondered who could be calling her. She didn't have many friends in her neighbourhood any more, the friendships she'd had in primary school had faded when she and her friends went off to different schools, and she couldn't think who, out of the friends she had made at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, would be calling her on the telephone.

"Hallie!"

Hallie grinned when she heard the familiar voice. "Hermione!"

Hermione Granger had become Hallie's best friend the first day they had met. Though, this was the first time had Hallie heard from her since school had ended.

"It's so good to hear from you." Hallie told her friend. "I was starting to feel lonely-no one's written all summer."

It had been over a month since Hallie had seen her friends at the end of the school year. It was now late July, right before Hallie's twelfth birthday.

"What?" Hermione said, sounding surprised. "Hallie, I'm calling because Padma and I were starting to get worried when you didn't write back. Ron had even owled me wondering if I knew what was wrong."

Hallie frowned, though Hermione couldn't see it over the phone. "That makes no sense. I've been writing to all three of you, plus Draco, regularly and no one's written back."

"Someone's stopping your mail." Hermione said. "But who?"

"I have no idea." Hallie said. "I'll have to find out. But I'm glad you decided to call, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Hermione told her. "I wanted to know if you could over."

"I'll ask." Hallie said, she put down the phone for the moment and ran down the stairs towards the kitchen.

Hallie's Aunt Petunia, who had raised her since she was orphaned as a baby, was standing there doing the dishes.

"Aunt Petunia, can I go visit my friend Hermione?" She asked. "That was her on the phone."

Petunia frowned. "Hallie, we agreed, no visiting until after your birthday."

"I know, but that was for long periods of time." Hallie argued. "Hermione doesn't live that far away and it's only for the day."

"All right." Petunia agreed. "You can go."

Hallie grinned and ran up the stairs to tell Hermione.
***

"Hallie!"

"Hermione!"

The two girls ran into each other's arms when Hallie's Uncle Vernon dropped her off at the Granger's.

"I'll be back this evening." Vernon told her, before driving off.

"Mum, this is Hallie." Hermione said, introducing Hallie to her mother.

Anne Granger smiled. "Hello Hallie, Hermione's told us all about you."

Hallie just smiled, then she turned to her friend. "I brought Hedwig." She said, motioning to the cage she carried. "I was hoping that I could write to Padma, Ron, and Draco and tell them to send their letters to you."

"Okay." Hermione told her. "That sounds like a plan."

"So how's your summer been?" Hallie asked as they headed towards Hermione's bedroom.

"Good. Mum and Dad have been pampering me with attention since they've missed me all year." Hermione answered.

"Me too." Hallie answered. "And my birthday's in a few days."

"I know that." Hermione said with a smile. "I've got your birthday present. I was going to owl it to you, but I guess that wouldn't be smart, would it?"

"Probably not." Hallie agreed with a laugh as she began writing to Padma Patil, her other best friend, telling her what was going on.

Normally, she would have phoned Padma, who thanks to a Muggle father lived in a home equipped with Muggle amenities, but she was on vacation and it was simpler to write.

She then wrote similar letters to her other good friends, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley.

"Can you send three letters at once?" Hallie asked Hedwig.

The owl hooted, so Hallie tied all three letters to her leg. "Send them to Ron, Draco, and Padma." She instructed.

Hedwig hooted again and then flew off.

"I want an owl." Hermione said, looking at Hedwig. "Maybe I'll get one this year."

"They're very useful." Hallie said fondly. She turned to Hermione. "Get all your homework done?"

"Of course." Hermione answered. "You?"

"Yes. Now, I'm working on some extra Potions work that I got Professor Snape to give me on the last day of school."

"He still gives me the creeps." Hermione said with a shudder.

"He's nice." Hallie argued, defending her favourite teacher.

Unlike most of the students at Hogwarts, Hallie was very fond of Professor Snape. Partly because she had a natural affinity for the subject and partly because Snape seemed to have fondness for her. All in all, it made sense that Potions was her favourite class and Professor Snape her favourite professor.

"If you say so." Hermione said disbelievingly. "So all ready for second year?"

"I think so." Hallie said, wondering if she should confide in Hermione her decision to try out for the Quidditch team. She decided against it. She wanted to wait until she had seen Draco.

"I just hope that there will be no secret plans to revive evil wizards that will have to be thwarted." She said with a laugh.

Hermione laughed as well. "Here's hoping."
***

That evening, Vernon came to pick her up.

"I'll have my father drop the letters off to you when they come." Hermione promised as Hallie left.

"Okay." Hallie said, before promising to call Hermione by the end of the week.

Once she was home again, Hallie went up to her room, intent on doing her Potions work.

Hallie was a very dedicated student, she worked hard to be the best in everything she did. It was almost an obsession with her.

It went back to when she was young. Petunia had always told her that she was special and that she could be the best at whatever she put her mind to. Once she had started school, she was determined to prove her aunt's faith, working hard to make the words come true and they had.

Now, she just worked to keep it that way. Devoting herself to her studies and always pushing herself to be better. It was something she and Hermione had in common, one of the reasons they were friends.

Still, upon entering her room she got distracted by the photo album resting on top of her trunk where she had last set it. Hallie sat down on her bed and gazed at the pictures of her parents.

Lily, a slightly older image of her daughter with red hair instead of black, waved cheerfully from the pictures while James with his messy black hair and mischievous hazel eyes grinned up at her.

There were other people in the pictures who Hallie couldn't identify, but she tried not to let that bother her.

"Hallie?" Hallie looked up to see her aunt standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hi, Mum, I was just looking at some pictures." Hallie said, motioning for her aunt to come over.

"Oh?" Petunia asked, taking a look and then she smiled slightly. "Your parents."

"Yeah." Hallie whispered. "Hagrid, he's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, he gave it to me last year."

"That was nice of him." Petunia commented, her gaze falling on a picture of Lily by herself, making silly faces for the camera.

"You're very like her." She commented quietly. "Not just physically, though that is startling by itself. No, your personality is very similar to hers."

"So people keep telling me." Hallie commented. "I gather that my father was not quite as serious."

"That's one way of putting it." Petunia said, making a face. James Potter was not a subject she liked discussing, even a eleven years after his death. "There's very little of him in you, that I can see. No, in looks and in personality, it's like being with Lily all over again."
***