The Potters, as many old families, had a family guardian, in their case, a spirit of a Lady in White. At times, she appeared when she wanted to warn the Potters of impending threats, looking tall, gaunt and grim, bearing a cup that would be filled with sorrow and a bloodied knife.
At other times, she appeared, resplendent in a glowing white gown, beaming happily and holding a horn of plenty, signalling that the Potter family could expect good years. And when she appeared at the head of a child’s crib, the Potters knew that child to be of special importance. She was there, holding a map and a wand, when Abraham Potter was born, a known traveller and one of the first American Aurors. When Henry Potter was born, she stood over his crib with the Scrolls of Wizarding Law, heralding the birth of a great statesman and an even greater man.
She stood there when Harry Potter was born, weeping bitter tears, holding a chalice and a knife, unseen by the parents. She watched as the Potter family, once prosperous and numerous, dwindled to a single infant abandoned on a chilly night. That would not do.
The Dursleys were a perfectly normal family, yet things changed when they took in the spawn of Petunia’s sister. Things in the house rattled. Steps of people unseen sounded throughout the house. Doors creaked and opened by themselves, cups cracked and shattered. And food seemed to appear close to little Harry whenever they tried to feed their little Diddykins more. Dudley’s toys broke more often when he bullied his cousin. At first, Petunia thought it to be accidental magic, yet when those things kept happening even when little Harry was at school, she grew truly afraid.
And Harry, he smiled at odd times, looking at the corner of his room, one that always seemed to radiate an unnerving chill to the Dursleys. And at school, Harry drew pictures of a beautiful tall lady in white, directing a warm smile at him.