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Veela-that-Could
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The Little Veela that Could
By: Darth Drafter
During the Second Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Headmaster
Dumbledore watches his plan for the Greater Good crumble and die. A
Veela girl receives the gift of life through the blood and sacrifice of the
last Potter. Gabby/Harry w/ a twist.
Rated: Fiction M - English - Adventure/Friendship - Gabrielle D., Harry P.
- Chapters: 32 - Words: 350,784 - Reviews: 2,146 - Favs: 4,577 - Follows:
3,377 - Updated: 29.06.2012, 05:26:42 - Published: 05.11.2009, 07:50:33
- Status: Complete - id: 5490079
17. New Religion
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Sixteen: New Religion
Albus allowed his mind to wander and his gaze to once more settle on
the half books Miss Delacour magically sectioned last August.
Where did it all go wrong? Was his first mistake not properly reigning in
key figures after the chaos of the Third Task? It was true that the Second
Task ended in tragedy but Albus has known since Sirius Black's hearing in
June that the prophecy is still in play.
A soft trill filled the room and the old wizard found himself revitalized.
He looked over to the phoenix on its stand of gold and smiled.
"Fawkes. What would I do without you?" He turned back to his desk and
the assorted letters and missives covering it. "You are right, of course... I
was falling to despair again."
Albus took heart. The prophecy, as muggles are wont to say, 'worked in
mysterious ways'. He could not allow himself to doubt the prophecy's
meaning but recent history was still playing tricks with him. Harry Potter
was the one... Neville may have been an option that night but he was not
marked like Harry was.
...for neither can live while the other survives...
Tom Riddle couldn't live... couldn't take a physical form... when Harry
survived Halloween night. Soon after Harry fell in the Second Task, Tom
took physical form again. Now Harry roams the mortal plane in spirit
form and Tom walks the Earth as flesh and blood, rebuilding his once
formidable forces.
If Tom lost his body again, could someone resurrect Harry? Who?
Historically, only dark wizards of Voldemort's caliber even knew how.
...and either must die at the hand of the other...
This part was really giving Albus fits recently. Harry died, did he not?
Unlike Voldemort, there was a body to bury after the second task. But...
could one consider death by merman spear to be 'at the hand of' Tom? At
Bern, Albus believed that Gabrielle was given both Harry's power and his
destiny... but Albus may have been too hasty. Claiming Gabrielle could
'tag in' to take Harry's place was too loose an interpretation now that he
had more time and more information to go by. Voldemort never marked
Gabrielle.
Albus paused, taking a sip of wine. As his eyes once again swept over his
damaged book collection, he noticed the size and coloring of one of them
in particular. Damn. Damn! With a burst of inspiration Albus desperately
wished he could disprove, he came up with a new interpretation of the
prophesy.
In Nineteen ninety-one, Voldemort tried to take human form only to be
denied by Harry in a direct battle. The very next year, Tom RIddle's diary
tried and failed to give him a new body... once again due to Harry's
direct physical interference. Earlier this year, Harry's spirit fled his body
and Tom finally achieved his goal. Tom clearly knows how to regain his
form and with Harry straying onto the path of darkness, he may well
discover how to do so as well. A Could it be that the prophesy describes
an endless loop of banishment and rebirth? Could Harry and Tom both be
doomed to repeat the cycle unless one finally kills the other by his own
hand? If only the boy had stuck to Albus's script… yes, even by letting
the little Veela die… then Albus could have set Tom and Harry up in a
foolproof checkmate scenario.
Old fingers slid along pages whose binding was cut free. The Headmaster
pulled, causing a pile of loose half-pages to tumble on the floor along
with what remained of their shabby black cover. The cut sheets were
unique amongst his collection in that they were devoid of all writing. The
only clues as to what the book had once been were a few letters on the
front and a rather ugly hole which pierced the cover. The letters? "iddle"
They were, of course, the end of a name; the name of the student who's
diary it was. T. M. Riddle. This was the very same book from which a
shadowy echo of Lord Voldemort took possession of Ginny Weasley only
to have Harry destroy the diary, kill a basilisk and save a young witch.
And now Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was absolutely certain
he knew what the diary really was. It once held a part of Tom's very soul
and it was this soul fragment, this horcrux, that Harry had released... or
perhaps even destroyed outright... with the help of a basilisk fang. This
foul, dark magic prevented Tom from passing on when he was first
ejected from his body by the baby Harry Potter. And worse... Albus now
knew that Voldemort made more than one of the abominations. After all,
Tom didn't pass on to the next Great Adventure as soon as Harry
destroyed the diary, did he?
He looked over the remains of Riddle's diary and contemplated the idea
that Tom wasn't alone in his possession of soul containers. Why else
would Harry be turning dark unless there was an unnatural influence on
him? Throughout the boy's life, he lived under the shadow of Tom
Riddle, the scar on his forehead seemed a badge of courage to Albus and
the rest of the Wizarding World, not that Harry himself would admit to it.
He was such a humble boy... but Albus was hesitant to officially allow
Lily Potter too much credit lest her use of blood magic be accepted by the
Wizarding World as an example to live up to. No. Let her sacrifice be
noted, but do not let the details be known. Harry Potter... Boy-Who-
Lived... let him receive the accolades for his most noble if unwitting
defeat of a Dark Lord.
Albus lost the good cheer given to him by Fawkes as he pondered Harry's
new dark path. Fighting. Killing. Where was the love? The forgiveness?
How could Harry or his 'Little Angel' ever see the path of light and
goodness if they did not give their foes the chance to repent? Didn't
Christianity promote turning the other cheek? Harry was dutifully
following that path in life... Albus was sure of it. All of the rules, controls
and restrictions on Harry were designed to ensure this after all. The boy's
darker tendencies only revealed themselves upon his death and spectral
rebirth; a change that coincided with his release from the carefully
controlled environments of Privet Drive and Hogwarts.
In the Headmaster's mind there was but one reason this could be so.
Harry had his own dark soul fragment and it was now affecting his
actions. Or was there a horcrux affecting the Boy-Who-Lived even earlier
than that? According to his research, Harry could have unknowingly
done the deed several times in his life. The ritual to create a soul
fragment needs sacrifice of life, sacrifice of blood and sacrifice of magic;
add the right intent to that powerful mix and one could achieve
immortality after a fashion. It could have happened the night Voldemort
was first defeated... or it could have happened the night Harry burned
Vodlemort out of Quirrel's body... or it could have happened the very
moment Harry died.
Of those three candidates, the best in Albus's mind was the most recent.
Gabrielle did survive an attack that by all rights should have killed her.
More than that, the little French girl received Harry's fluency in English
much as Harry received Tom's parseltongue abilities. Albus now knew
that Harry's lightning bolt shaped scar was a soul container, ergo
Gabrielle's mark on her forehead was one as well.
Unfortunately, Gabrielle played the innocent angel act rather well. She
may even believe her own act. To date, her only slip-ups occurred when
her life was threatened, but in those circumstances the little girl was
clearly willing to kill.
And all of this stemmed from Harry's willing sacrifice? It went against
Albus's general understanding of magic. More likely the young Veela
suffered a bit of 'accidental' magic and enthralled Harry thus forcing him
into the sacrifice on false pretenses. Still, were it not for the few overt
violent acts perpetrated by Harry and Gabrielle, Albus would almost
think this soul connection benevolent... but that was foolishness. He
knew blood magic could never be light no matter the circumstances.
Albus could at least take heart that the girl was unlikely to be the
substitute child-of-prophesy he once thought her to be. She would not
have to die. She would, however, have to be taken out of general
circulation and subjected to controls even more stringent than those
young Harry was required to endure.
"What was the muggle fairytail term again? 'The highest room in the
tallest tower', wasn't it?" Albus asked the near empty office. Fawkes
chirped in confusion. "Even now, I can only hope to safeguard Gabrielle
until after Harry and Tom sort themselves out. If I can manage to free her
of dark magic's taint I will, but until that happens she shall have to wait
patiently… and in ignorance. Perhaps having her take the Draught of
Living Death first would be the most humane way to handle things…"
Once more, birdsong filled the room though it was less encouraging and
more critical.
"If only I could be so sure of young Gabrielle's heart."
Fawkes immediately replied with a quick string of chirps and clicks. A
rebuke!
Albus looked away from his familiar. "She and Harry are connected in a
way that can only be achieved by dark means."
A second, equally forceful rebuke came from his familiar.
"Fawkes, please. How can you approve of their bond when you recoil at
blood wards? Is the ward not the lesser evil?"
The magical bird launched into a long and rapid song, surely one of the
more complicated Albus had ever heard. Unfortunately, it was far too
complicated. Albus only understood that Fawkes disagreed with him once
more.
"I truly wish I had your confidence, dear friend," Albus replied, "but there
is now far too much at stake. Miss Delacour is far too vulnerable with her
connection to Mister Potter and I cannot properly guide them from a
distance. The prophecy has no true end condition unless I take fate by the
horns and end it myself."
Here Albus stopped. He could go no further. His immense magical
knowledge had finally failed him and he needed a distraction.
Albus picked up a sheet of parchment, and reread the message from Mr.
Creevey demanding his children be returned home. Funny how it was
written on parchment in uneven calligraphy. And it read like a Sixth Year
Slytherin's idea of how muggles might go about pulling their children
from school, as well. As this was obviously not an original, Albus planned
to have an associate of his make a discreet inquiry at the Creevey
household to see how things were going. Just because the Ministry hasn't
sent anyone to muggleborn students' houses yet didn't mean that they
never would.
The aging Headmaster was about to ink a polite refusal when his office
door ward activated.
"Come in, Severus." Albus called.
As soon as the door creaked open, Fawkes let out a harsh squawk and
flashed out of the office. The Potions Master took a seat without
prompting and waited for his host to address him once more. Fawkes'
dislike of Severus and his dark magic arm was simply accepted and no
longer worth mentioning.
"And how was tea with Minister Malfoy?" Albus asked as his quill slid
and hopped over the parchment's surface.
"Things were well for a time…" Snape replied in a flat emotionless tone.
"Discussing potions with Narcissa is always a pleasant way to pass time
and Draco is taking after his mother in this field."
"Yes, I seem to remember Lucius not being all that successful in the class."
Albus lowered his quill and cast his sparkling gaze to his guest.
"You remember correctly." Snape replied. "How he achieved an O on his
Potion's N.E.W.T., I'll never know."
"Not that I can prove it, but I suspect polyjuice was involved. Another
student may have taken the exam twice."
Severus snorted at the Headmaster's suggestion, dismissing the allegation
without bothering with proof one way or another. "I was half way
through instructing Draco on the less well known uses for poppies when
an uninvited guest interrupted our discourse."
"Voldemort?" Albus asked.
Severus sneered. "One does not tell the Dark Lord he is unwelcome and
expect to live. No, I mean to say that toad of a woman Umbridge."
Albus had to smile at that. Someone was getting rubbed the wrong way
by Madam Umbridge and it wasn't him.
"If the woman weren't so useful to him, Lucius would have Crucio'd her
on the spot."
"But she is useful to him. She keeps me occupied." Albus looked back at
his stack of legal notices and official Ministry requests. Nine out of ten
were written by dear Dolores.
"She had another plan to get you arrested." Snape returned.
"Oh? How did she plan on doing it this time?" This wasn't her first
attempt, but even as weakened as Albus was politically, he was still quite
influential.
"Since you refused to release all muggleborn students for Christmas
Holiday after she expelled them en mass, she is sure that can be used as
an excuse to have you arrested for defying Ministry authority."
"But surely Lucius would have had aurors beating on the door last week
were that the case."
"Yes, well she wanted to track down every muggleborn at home and take
their wands herself before coming after you with an auror escort."
"She didn't count on my being the magical guardian of every underage
muggleborn in England, did she?"
"Nor did she consider that you might use that status to keep all
muggleborns in the school indefinitely. She got tired of waiting and asked
Lucius for permission to come after you."
"Are you here to arrest me, Severus?" Albus looked up from his
paperwork.
"Of course not." Severus sneered and crossed his arms. "Lucius wants you
here where he can check in on you from time to time. Dolores was put in
her place and sent away with her tail between her legs."
"So Tom isn't ready to come to Hogwarts yet…" Albus went fishing.
"Not yet." The Potions Master shifted slightly. "All of his efforts are being
directed to another goal."
"Delacour?" Albus asked.
"I believe so. Not that I know the particulars, but he has mentioned on
more than one occasion that Christmas Dinner should be quite a show for
those who received Malfoy's personal invitation."
Albus let his eyes wander as he considered his options. Once again, Albus
cursed the fates for allowing Harry and Gabrielle leave his supervision in
the face of such dangerous threats. Two children could not understand
how capable Tom Riddle was nor how far his reach extended.
The Headmaster's musing was interrupted when a ghost passed through
his door and came to a halt to one side of Professor Snape's chair. The
Bloody Baron looked as serious ever and only answered the Headmaster's
inquiring gaze with a single nod. Very well.
"If you don't mind, Severus, it would appear that my presence is required
elsewhere."
"Very well, Headmaster. I have cauldrons that need attention."
Severus stood and left the office after a brief nod. Albus gave his
Slytherin Head of House a head start before leaving the confines of his
office for a rather pressing engagement.
-o\0/o-
"All of them?" Harry asked.
Ginny nodded.
"Yeh, mate." Ron added. "Every muggleborn in Hogwarts was expelled."
"Wands?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore took them into his custody. Umbitch protested
but he knows the law better than she does."
Harry glanced past the two Weasleys and over to Myrtle, who was
watching the sun rise through her bathroom's window. While his ghost-
sister was always happy to see him, she was quite uninterested in the
issues Harry kept asking his living friends about. He wondered if she was
always this disconnected or if dying caused her to be this way.
"And the school is full of students who couldn't leave even if they wanted
to. Well that's one way of keeping them in the Wizarding World I
suppose, but it's also kidnapping, isn't it? They can't leave the castle and
yet they won't be allowed to attend classes when school resumes."
Harry thought about what Hogwarts would be like if he were stuck in the
castle unable to do any magic. Would the Slytherins taunt these unlucky
'guests' about being squibs? Would Albus find some way to keep these
expelled students occupied? Would he find a way to reverse Umbridge's
expulsions?
"So why are you two here and not at the Burrow?" Harry finally asked the
two redheads.
"I knew you'd stop by again. Talking to you is more important than
Mum's cooking." Ginny replied.
Ron glared at his sister for a moment before answering Harry. "Mum
wasn't happy when Ickle Gin-Gin wrote home to say she was staying
here. You should have heard the howler that day... anyway, with Ginny
staying here, Mum ordered me to stay with her."
The young witch stepped a little closer to Harry before asking a question.
"So how is Luna. You said that they saved her and that the healers
released her..."
Harry smiled. "Oh, she's loads better. Hermione's parents are taking care
of her... they adopted her, actually... and Hermione's really risen to the
challenge of being a big sister."
"I'm quite glad to hear that, my boy."
If there had been any blood in Harry's veins at the moment, it would
have just run cold. As it was, the young specter slowly turned around.
"Dumbledore." Harry said, no trace of emotion in his voice.
"Ah-ah, Harry. I'm still Headmaster of this school and I should be
addressed as such."
The old man's eyes twinkled madly, not that Harry was in any way
impressed. Behind Dumbledore, the Bloody Baron drifted about silently.
"I respected you once, sir, but the more I learn about the real Albus
Dumbledore the less respect I have for the legend. Knowing how you
treat children like pawns in a deadly chess match makes me wonder if
you really are the great wizard people claim you to be or if you're just a
magician who specializes in smoke and mirrors."
Albus allowed weary determination to show on his face. "Young man-"
Harry cut him off. "What you do, you do for the Greater Good of all
Wizard Kind or something or other- Isn't that about right? You do realize
that's the first thing all muggle dark lords claim in their rise to power,
right? That they're doing it for the Greater Good?"
Harry stared defiantly into the eyes of his former Headmaster as a couple
of pale Gryffindors tried very hard not to attract any attention. Myrtle
was watching eagerly, she so loved a good show.
"Mister Potter..." Albus maintained his slow steady pace. This time Harry
chose not to interrupt. "I trust we will be able to settle our differences
over the coming days and weeks in a civilized way."
Harry's gaze slid over the Headmaster... specifically over his empty wand
hand.
"I'm not staying here-" Harry started but it was the Headmaster's turn to
interrupt.
"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, Mister Potter." Albus let a
little of his previous good cheer return. "I don't need to be in your
presence to lock you into the wards, my boy. I took the sensible rout and
modified them before coming in to see you."
Harry's mood instantly soured. Without warning he dropped straight
through the water soaked floor tiles in Myrtle's bathroom. Albus simply
stood there without seeming to acknowledge Harry's departure. Both
resident ghosts glanced at each other and then back to the spot Harry just
left. Ron and Ginny were both feeling quite out of their depth and
terribly worried for their friend.
A few seconds later, just as Ginny was finally ready to voice her anger at
the Headmaster's treatment of her personal hero, Harry re-appeared in
the center of the bathroom floor.
"Wait- what just-" Harry called out in confusion.
"Oh, Harry!" Myrtle cried. "You moved in!"
The female spirit quickly spun a circle around her new flatmate before
stopping again.
"This is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me!" Myrtle began
giggling in a most un-Moaning Myrtle-ish way.
"You will find, Mister Potter," Albus said, "that you may access any part
of the castle any of the other ghosts have access to, but any time you try
to cross the ward line, you will appear here in Myrtle's bathroom once
again."
"Bloody bastard!"
"Now, now. I assure you that my parents were legally wed long before my
birth." Albus responded.
"I know that you don't really want to be here, Harry..." Myrtle said in as
sympathetic a tone as she could manage. "But that doesn't mean we can't
do things together, does it?"
Harry was on the edge of telling the Headmaster more about how he felt
being trapped in Hogwarts grounds when a better idea crossed his mind.
"Myrtle?"
"Yes, Harry?" The deceased Ravenclaw became almost chipper at Harry's
call.
"Do you know where I can find Peeves?" The living in the room didn't
react, but the Barron's eyes narrowed.
"I- I do! This way!"
Myrtle immediately dove through one of the stalls lining the bathroom's
walls. Proving once again that he was a natural seeker, Harry shot off
after her. With a huff and a grunt, the Bloody Baron turned to follow
Hogwarts' two youngest ghosts intending to find out what they're up to
and, if necessary, break it up.
"Why?" Ginny.
"Hogwarts is Harry's true home, Miss Weasley." Albus replied as he
reviewed the previous encounter in his mind. "The sooner he accepts
that, the better off we will all be."
"You're wrong." Ron muttered.
"I would think you of all people would be happy to see Harry back in
Hogwarts, Mister Weasley. You two were best mates, were you not?"
Ron glared but kept his eyes on the floor. "Harry's best mate is at
Beauxbatons right now. His family is French. We're mates, but that just
means I know what makes Harry happy and right now Hogwarts isn't it."
"I understand you're confusion, Mister Weasley, but I assure you that I do
in fact know what is best. Now..." Albus looked between the two
Weasleys, settling on Ginny as she was willing to meet his gaze. "if you
two would be so kind as to tell me how often you've been meeting Harry
here and what it is you've been telling him? As much as Harry made light
of it, I do what I do in the best interests of Wizarding England."
Ginny hated appearing weak... especially after her troubles as a First
Year... but there was something in the Headmaster's gaze that disturbed
her. A familiar feeling behind her eyes...
Her gaze dropped to the floor.
"Have the two of you nothing to say?" Albus prompted.
The siblings stood together in silent protest.
"Your show of loyalty is commendable but I'm afraid in this case it is
misplaced. Harry is adrift in this world and has lost his way. I want to
help him, not harm him. May I suggest that the two of you go back to
your common room and think about what it is you are doing? We can
meet after dinner... in my office. I'm sure you remember the way."
Ron shifted his balance from one foot to the other, but neither he nor his
sister made any other form of acknowledgment. The Headmaster turned
towards the door, but paused right before stepping out.
"It might interest you to know that I am quite fond of orange sherbert."
And with that, Albus left Ron and Ginny to their own devices.
-o\0/o-
Snow crunched under foot.
Fleur, Segolene and Marion were once again walking across a frozen lake
after a quick breakfast. All three were eager to look around today, as
yesterday was spent in town collecting supplies and planning out the
upcoming survey.
Segolene was excited. She'd never owned a good fur coat before and her
mother's was more about form and less about function. This one was both
attractive and warm. She'd have to remember that when she was a
famous fashion designer.
Fur coats were only a small part of yesterday's trip, though. The three
needed a lot of non-magical equipment to get the job done and some of it
was hard to find in small Ukrainian villages. The Volk sisters were a big
help finding what few extras the girls needed and Marion's local guide
was more than willing to sit on his backside with a bottle of Vodka and
stay 'on call'. As long as they kept him drunk and paid up in the Veela
bar, they could do anything they wanted and he was only too happy to
wait for their return.
Today was the day. All of their batteries were charged, they had dozens
of 35mm rolls and there was a solid week's worth of tape just waiting to
record lost treasures and forgotten languages. Even walking over a lake
which may or may not open up and swallow them whole wasn't giving
any of the three explorers any anxiety.
Having once again passed the first pair of guardian statues and made
their way onto the icy lake, the girls were more than a little surprised
when an unexpected light formed only two paces in front of Fleur. Just
over head level, the blue-white globe began to expand into a ring and
move downward. A long high pitched tone followed the ring down.
Marion went for her gun but Fleur and Segolene were all smiles. The
light ring quickly revealed white feathery wings and three figures
embracing in the middle of the ring.
"Maman!" Fleur hardly waited for her sister's halo to disappear before
rushing forward an embracing all three visitors at once. "Grandmother!
Gabrielle, my sweet, how are you?"
A quick flare of pure love and devotion passed through everyone's hearts
as Gabby returned her sister's hug with one that included white feathery
wings. As three generations of Veela engaged in a group hug, Segolene
moved to Marion and picked up the revolver lying at Marion's feet. Miss
Jones snapped out of it when her own gun was held in front of her face.
"Marion. This is yours, no?"
As the smug brunette returned Marion's sidearm, she also looked back to
the Veela ball which was beginning to break up.
"A lake?" Apolline spoke up. "You called us out here to God only knows
where in the middle of winter with your sister whom absolutely must not leave
the safety of French aurors for any reason to show us a frozen lake?"
Fleur refused to buckle under her mother's glare. Instead, she looked her
mother in the eye and pointed to the left. Fleur's mother and
grandmother both turned to look where Fleur was pointing. As the two
elder Veela saw- and then openly gaped at- the Veela temple for the first
time, Gabrielle pranced over to Segolene and gave her a hug.
"Hello again Little Angel!" Segolene cooed to the angel. "It warms my heart
to see you again."
Gabby stepped back and changed back into human form. Her cheeks and
nose immediately pinked from the cold.
"I'm cold Momma!" Gabby cried. She was wearing a ski outfit from last
winter. It still fit for the most part, but her jacket was still in her hands,
not on her body, and there were open cuts in the back of her shirt for
wings. Freezing air assaulted Gabby's bare back and caused a wave of
goosebumps to appear. "I wish Harry was here."
"Let me help you get that coat on, Little Angel." Segolene offered.
"Harry went off to do some task or other for your father." Apolline
explained. "Though I don't know what Alain could possibly have the boy
doing that supersedes this."
The Veela mother saw her daughter's saddened face and couldn't help but
be moved. "I will have to get the boys to come clean on their little games soon.
I understand that they sometimes feel the need to do some male bonding, but I
don't like not knowing what it is they do together."
"Thank you, Momma."
As Segolene and Apolline helped Gabby get properly dressed for the
climate, Fleur introduced Marion Jones to her family and described why
Gabby was needed in the first place. As they talked, the group of Veela
and witches once more began to move towards the massive temple which
now loomed less than one hundred meters away. After her introductions
were over, Marion pulled out a video camera and began recording the
approach from frozen lake to island shore.
For the first time, Fleur recounted the events of their first day's visit from
start to finish. Needless to say, any anger the elder Veela felt for making
such a quick departure was rapidly cooling off in the face of potential
benefits.
"...and so when I come to the last door, the one which so very clearly contains
the very answers we set out to find, I find that I cannot open it. As she is stuck
one room behind me, Marion cannot assist, not that any magic will work here
aside from our natural Veela inheritance." Fleur finished her narrative only
a few paces from the first cut stone step at the base of the temple.
"You did not see the island or temple until the magical portal opened?"
Apolline asked.
"That's right." Fleur replied. "And we could only approach it through the
portal. Walk around the wall and you don't see it anymore."
"We believe the magic may be similar to the Fidelius Charm. We were already
within the effects of the magical gate when Gabrielle brought you to our feet.
That, or her angelic side may give her special privileges even here." Marion
added.
"I think that we are lucky." Apolline continued. "We started inside the
protective boundaries of this temple and I for one have no intention of leaving
the wards except for a direct return home."
Security was as much on Marion's mind as anyone else's. "As long as we
are willing to accept living without magic, we could move all of our equipment
onto the island and abandon the village entry entirely... until it's time to say
goodbye to the locals."
"And you don't need us for that." Régine added. "No matter how safe or
important this is, I refuse to risk Gabrielle another day. If you didn't
expect her to be both the only one who can open the door and the only
one who can pass through, I would insist on taking her home
immediately after the door is opened the very first time."
Fleur and Gabby's grand-mère kept looking between the shaded interior
and the twelve meter high Veela guardian statues.
"I would love to see those two moving." Régine mentioned almost wistfully.
Marion's camera dutifully recorded both guardians before sweeping over
the front facade.
"I would fear for my life if they did." Segolene replied. "I am willing to take
your family's secrets to the grave, Madame, but I would rather my grave be
back in Marseille and empty for several decades to come."
They walked into the entry vestibule, revealing the decorative wall
sculptures and gold adorned guardians to all. With Segolene's help,
Marion began setting up lights to better record the details of this first
room. She also set aside other cameras and a few more lights for the
Veela present to take into the next room with them… assuming Madame
Mitterrand or Madame Delacour did not declare the most holy rooms to
be off limits.
"Grand-mère. Would you please open the door?" Fleur gestured grandly to
the closed stone door resting between the two guardians.
"Merci."
Régine smiled at her granddaughter's deference and removed her coat.
With the ease of a Veela grand matron long used to tearing her political
and social opponents apart verbally (literally too, but that was a long
time ago and strictly a Veela matter) the change came to her as easily as
breathing.
With a cry that began human and ended distinctly avian, She changed
from swimsuit model hot to Notre Dame buttress scary. A second cry
heralded the summoning of her Veela fire, a bright orange ball which
swirled violently as Régine fought her instincts and held the flames in
place. Once more, ancient magics built into the thick stone walls reacted,
allowing the stone doorway to slide into its pocket and granting passage
to the treasures beyond.
"Ooooooooooohhh…" Gabby may have been the only one to say it, but
she wasn't the only one to think it. The little girl felt a firm hand on her
shoulder; Momma didn't want her running ahead.
After picking up a still camera and some other equipment, Apolline, Fleur
and Gabrielle followed Régine into the next room. Soon, only Marion and
Segolene remained in the entry vestibule.
"Well?" Marion's question caught the French teen off guard.
"Well, what?" She asked, not quite willing to look away from the open
door and the muted sounds of movement and muted whispering.
Marion reoriented one of the electric lights to cover the leftmost edge of
the vestibule wall.
"Are you going to help me or not? You can't follow them and I need
someone to adjust lighting as I record different sections of the wall."
Segolene sighed once and turned to help Marion. On the bright side, it
was a beautiful temple and the more she knew of Veela history, the
closer she felt to Fleur. She had to suppress a snicker at the thought that
those stuffy cardinals and clerics in Rome inadvertently helped a lesbian
relationship grow stronger within the walls of Vatican City. And etched
in stone on the walls around her, Fleur's roots were displayed for all to
see.
On the other side of the open doorway and its armed guardian statues,
the four Veela visitors stepped gingerly through hundreds if not
thousands of years worth of offerings to their ancient religion. Fleur, who
had already been in the room once before, stepped gingerly between
golden chalices and bolts of silk to take photos. Behind her, Régine and
Apolline stuck close to each other and pointed at different artifacts,
whispering back and forth about individual items as they drifted to the
back wall.
Faster and more energetic than her elders, little Gabby skipped to the
other end of the room. There was a pair of feathery wings outlined in
narrow shafts of light and she wanted a closer look at them.
"Can you move?" Gabby asked the statue when she finally got to it. "Fleur
says your friends outside can."
The stone angel with her delicate swept back wings and open arms didn't
twitch. Not even a little.
"You're no fun… but at least you're pretty!" Gabby smirked. Fleur was right
when she said this statue looked like her.
Behind Gabby and her new stone sister, Fleur began snapping
photographs of whatever caught her fancy.
"Please don't touch anything, Gabrielle dear!" Her mother called. She and
Régine were slowly making their way closer to her and to the door, but
were still several paces away. As few of the treasures on display were
particularly tall, everyone could clearly see everyone else. "Every single
piece in here is sacred… far more important than a family heirloom. Do you
understand?"
"Yes, Momma. I promise not to touch anything." Gabby replied to her
mother before addressing the statue once again. "You look like you're
praying. Are you praying?"
The nine year old turned around, hoping to discover why the stone angel
looked so reverent. She quickly saw the outline of a closed portal set in
the chamber's back wall. Smiling at the angelic theme, Gabby crossed the
floor until she was within reach of the portal's stone face. The wing and
halo pattern was very intricate; the closer Gabby got, the more she
realized that each feather was modeled to be as lifelike as possible. They
were even painted to have a pattern of soft brownish-gray spots here and
there. Gabby almost reached out to touch the feathers, but then she
remembered her mother's admonition and pulled her hand back at the
last moment.
Then she saw the halo. The soft white ring seemed faintly luminescent
and impossibly deep. Gabby focused her attention on it. Thoughts began
to pour into Gabrielle's young mind unbidden. She remembered being
very little and holding her arms open to her Momma, wanting to be held.
She remembered skinning her knee when she was four and watching Big
Sissy Flower kiss the pain away.
"Little Angel?" Someone asked behind her but the words were just noise to
her.
The halo etched into the wall was her focus and the world around her fell
away. She remembered Harry Potter; wet, pained and drowning yet still
looking back at her as if she was all that mattered in his world- for in the
very last seconds of his life, she was.
"Gabrielle." She could hear her mother but she was no longer listening.
Dozens, then hundreds of images passed through her mind, each of them
a scene of love from her past and each of them tugged at her heart. The
carved stone halo seemed to come alive to the girl's eyes, a ring of white-
gold fire flaring in time with her heart beat.
Behind her, three women had dropped what they were doing to rush to
her aid. Fleur was about to reach her sister, only a half-step away, when
a great wave of angelic thrall hit her. Her vision went white with
feathered wings as Little Angel transformed.
"Gabby!" Fleur's protective instincts battled with an overwhelming desire
to embrace her perfect little sister and worship the being of purity and
love that magic itself proclaimed Gabrielle to be. Either way, she was
going to get closer.
The teenaged Veela reached out to her sister once more only to have her
hand caught. Shock partially overcame her entranced mind and Fleur
looked to her wrist. A delicate looking hand of polished stone held the
young Veela with the strength of a vise; looking past the hand, Fleur saw
the angel statue had moved to protect Gabrielle. It was looking at Fleur,
yet both Apolline and Régine were also blocked by the guardian angel's
fully extended wings.
Stuck between the instinctive need to protect Gabby and the magical
need to worship her, Fleur was unable to do anything more than watch...
not that her mother or grandmother were any more capable of action.
They had no desire to offend the magical guardian between themselves
and Gabby and the thrall was affecting them as well.
A flash of light caused Fleur's eyes to jerk back to Gabby. In the few
seconds she needed to look over the statue and her elders, the little angel
had raised her wings and pooled her power between the two highest
feathers once again. A small globe of blue-white light became a humming
ring of power. Gabby now had a halo to match the door.
No sooner had Gabby's halo settled into place than the entire wall before
the Delacour women flared to life with thousands of softly glowing
scripts, pictographs and ideograms. Without warning, the entire wall
rippled as though it's face were made of water, though stone remained
stone and the portal remained closed... or did it?
Still seemingly caught in a trance, the little angel from the French Riviera
stepped up to and then through the wall.
-o\0/o-
The dungeons in Hogwarts were a dark, dank and lonely place in general,
not at all the kind of place that warm, outgoing people would tend to
inhabit. Of course, not everyone desired the company of others nor did
everyone feel festive during the holidays. Some people, in fact, preferred
the solitude even if it only lasted for a few months of the year.
Severus Snape was fully immersed in his activities when a soft light
appeared behind him. Soon the air around him became chill providing a
clue as to the origins of this unwanted light. Ever the professional, Snape
continued mixing the special order potion in front of him without even
the slightest disturbance as he built up a scathing verbal attack for his
uninvited guest.
"Peeeeeves..." Severus growled. "Unless you want the Baron to come after
you day and night for the rest of your miserable existence, I demand you
quietly back away and honor the sanctity of my personal quarters!"
Snape's threat would have been sufficient to send the tricksy poltergeist
spinning away in retreat... if he had correctly identified the spirit. He
didn't.
Without any sort of retort or introduction, ghostly white fingers slid
through the professor's greasy hair. Before the Potions Master could even
finish shuddering from the unexpected touch on his scalp, his head was
roughly shoved straight into the cauldron of bubbling essences and
extracts.
'One part Severus Snape' was, of course, not on the ingredient list of this
unfinished elixir.
"Aaaaaa-ha-ha-ha!" It was the closest thing to maniacal laughter Harry
had ever managed, and damn but it certainly felt good.
He didn't bother to stay around long enough to see what it was the potion
would do to the greasy git, but he did take the half second necessary to
swat at a counter full of potion vials. As he sailed through the wall, loud
hisses and clouds of colored smoke began to fill the air.
"Potty!"
"Peevsy!" Harry shot back at the poltergeist in the hall.
"Is the slimy snake frothing mad?"
"It's either that," Harry replied, "or he's dissolving on the floor!"
Before either malicious spirit could get another word in, two loud bells
tolled with a deep hum which seemed to echo from every crack and
corner.
"What's that?" Harry asked Peeves as the two began to zip down the
corridor.
Peeves' grin showed an unnatural number of teeth. "Fire alarm!"
"Bugger!" Harry hissed. "We'd best split up. You never saw me, right?"
"Just some student or other roaming about where they aught not be!"
Peeves turned on Harry literally and figuratively. "HELP! HELP! Harry
Potter's gone and set fire to the castle! HELP!"
"You-"
But Harry stopped just short of shouting out some half formed epithet
and put some distance between himself and the Potions Master's personal
quarters. Oh, well. He could blame it on Peeves or he could accept credit
where credit is due… and plot the next Great Disturbance while hiding
from all that may pursue him. And he still hadn't thanked Peeves for
showing him how to enter the git's rooms.
As soon as Peeves was out of view, Harry changed course and slipped
through the stone above rather than the halls he and Peeves had been
using. Myrtle said she'd be in the toilets nearest the Astronomy tower
later if he wanted to talk.
-o\0/o-
By the time Little Angel was once again in control of her own body, she
found herself standing on a small stone outcropping which overlooked a
creek at the bottom of a forest glen. Old gnarled trees ringed her position
at a distance of fifty meters or so, but only smaller shrubs grew close by
and the sky above was clear. A bright full moon gave her light enough to
see her surroundings and she could also see more stars than she ever
realized existed. Why, she could clearly see the Milky Way!
Pretty! She trilled, not quite realizing that she was still an angel.
It is, isn't it? A warm melodious call answered her from across the creek.
Surprised by the response, Little Angel lost her transformation as well as
the soft background hum she had come to expect from her halo. A
cautious little Veela pulled out her wand and pointed it in the direction
the other 'words' came from. There was a golden light approaching from
above the opposite bank, though its source was still hidden behind a
rocky outcrop.
"Who's there?"
Gabby held firm, not that she felt any danger but her training with Misses
McGonagall was beginning to pay off in the realm of self defense.
A soft warbling sound, more of a giggle than anything else, echoed across
the waters as Gabby's visitor stepped away from the bare stone to herself.
The visitor was wearing robes and sandals she hasn't seen outside of
classical paintings or marble statues. And there were wings. A pair of
broad feathery wings framed the visitor as well as the bright gold halo
which hovered above her head.
An angel.
Gabby immediately lowered her wand and brought up her open left
hand. "Hi!"
Her visitor trilled louder- more of a laugh than a giggle- and stepped onto
the stream.
Onto... not into.
Hello to you, young one! I welcome you with all of my heart! She called.
It has been... The angel stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky.
The night sky was cloudless, the planets were easy to read... and a fair
few spy satellites could be seen zipping by in low earth orbit if one knew
where to look. It has been a VERY long time since we have received
visitors here. Much has changed, has it not?
"I'm sorry?" Gabby offered.
In answer, the other angel dipped into a slow, graceful bow above the
shallow waters. Apologies are not necessary, young one. We do not
suffer in the absence of others.
Gabby thought she heard the slightest bit of birdsong in the forest around
her, but it could have been just her.
Now they choose to be impatient? Very well... The angel called without
moving from her watery perch. I am made in the image of Gabriel. I and
my sisters have been waiting patiently for others like us to appear that
we may give them comfort, advice and foreknowledge.
"Gabriel? Really?" Gabby perked up tremendously. "I think Momma named
me after you! Are you really an archangel?"
Gabby quickly twisted around, scanning the land and forest around her.
"Is this Heaven? Am I going to meet God? Is this my job interview?"
I think Babel's tower affects us even here... The angel twisted her head
to the side slightly before straightening out again. May I come closer,
young one?
Gabby nodded quickly and watched as Gabriel shed her angelic body and
reverted to human form. She wore a gown of burgundy and earth tones, a
leather belt about the waist and a simple golden torc around her neck.
She was a woman of unearthly beauty, though no one feature stood apart
from the rest. Her skin was fair and warm brown hair fell in ringlets
down her back. Despite the not so bright night sky, Gabby could tell that
Gabriel's deep chocolate eyes were filled with love... and with power.
Gabriel stepped up around the rock which was Gabby's perch and held
one slim hand out to the young Veela. Gabby refused to flinch; rather,
she leaned in to the older angel's… Veela's?... reach and allowed soft
fingers to trace a path across her temple.
Gabby's eyes closed in appreciation of the contact; and in so doing she
missed seeing tiny arcs of lightning dance across the older woman's irises.
Gabriel retracted her hand and smiled.
"Greetings to you, Gabrielle, daughter of House Delacour and much loved
Angel of House Potter. I am most pleased to see you here this day." Gabriel
spoke in perfect modern French. "Perhaps you will bring 'your' Harry with
you next time? I would very much like to meet him."
Gabby blushed hard, shifting from foot to foot and giggling like the little
girl she was. Harry loved her! Well, of course Harry loved her- he says it
himself all the time- but it's different when an angel says so, isn't it?
"To answer your questions, dear," Gabriel started, "We are not in Heaven,
though I think it is a wonderful place. Think of this space as a dream built and
controlled by powerful magics. I was made in the likeness of Gabriel, who you
now call an archangel. I am not the real Gabriel, but a magical copy of her as
she appeared in life complete with all of her memories… and my sisters also
have the memories of their original selves."
Gabby looked quickly about, but she still couldn't see any more angels
yet. There were a few soft lights moving in the forest around them, but
she could not tell what kind of lights they were even if she did have her
suspicions. Gabriel smiled at her young guest.
"As for meeting God, Little Angel, I'm afraid I cannot help you there. You may
be in a chamber your mother considers the most sacred to Veela in the realm
of the living, but no all-powerful Creator awaits in the forests around you.
And as for a 'job interview'… That delightful boy you love 'hired' you as soon
as he kissed you in Black Lake."
Gabby's face scrunched up in concentration. "Are… are you saying Harry is
God?"
"Is Harry all seeing? Is he all knowing? Would you pray to Harry for rain in
times of drought? Would you sacrifice a lamb in his name?"
"N-no..." Gabby deflated. She didn't really think he was, but for a second
she had hoped so.
"Do you feel his presence even when he is not there? Does the mere thought of
him give you strength? Do you believe that, should Harry wish it of you, you
could turn night into day? Heal the afflicted? Punish the wicked?"
Gabby searched her heart as each question was asked of her. And when
she searched her heart and her joy at the answer banished the night sky
above them, turning night into day.
"Yes! - Waitaminute..." Why ask questions that don't all have the same
answer? Why make Gabby doubt her answers? Waitaminute even more.
If she limited her answers to her Harry dreams, wouldn't the answer be
'yes' to everything? Well, everything except the drought and lamb bits.
"You see? It is not so easy for me to answer your question. Harry is certainly
not God if you judge him by the Bible, but what if you don't? Did you really
come here thinking that all angels served just one Lord? You will come to find
they did not.
"Long before your time... even long before my time... there were many
powerful mortals and even a fair few immortals who were called gods by those
that lived near them. Being magically gifted and long lived was enough to
prove godhood in the eyes of any common farmer and Harry's ghostly abilities
would surely have earned him a cult following among those who favored
worshiping gods of death like Anubis or Mandos."
"But..." Gabby tried her hardest to pay attention. It was like hearing a
school lecture mixed with a Bible story, except that it was about her and
Harry. "What about you? Aren't you an archangel like the Bible says you are?
Don't you serve God? Didn't the real you serve the real Him?"
Gabriel smiled and looked off into the distance.
"My Lord is an awesome Lord indeed. His love is great, as is his wrath, and I
am but one of his faithful messengers."
Gabby wondered what kind of magical copy could blush. This Gabriel
must have like liked her Lord like Gabby did Harry. Oh, Harry...
There were now two blushing, daydreaming highly magical beings
standing in the middle of a sunny glen.
"Oh, sorry!" Gabriel collected herself, "But angels such as you and I are tied
to our Lords by the heart; by the blood flowing through our veins and by the
love we have for them. I spoke in His name, fought His enemies and delivered
many foretellings which all came to pass in time."
For the first time, Gabby saw Gabriel lose her inner warmth.
"But my Lord's time in this realm is passed." The older angel... the copy of
an older angel, anyway... she looked up into the sky and willed night to
return along with all of its stars. "The stars, the great time piece floating in
the Firmament... in them I foresaw my Lord's choice to step away from His
long held post as a shepherd of mankind. He moved on and left a chosen few
of His messengers to fulfill His will until mankind could have some hope of
achieving it's true potential unaided. Michael, He did leave, and your friend
Jeanne was one of her final tasks. I was left as well... the real Gabriel was
left... but my service must have come to an end, for I know not my own fate!
Surely the real Gabriel is not toiling in the fields for the few commands my
Lord gave that I remember still..."
Gabby watched Gabriel track planets and stars through the night sky. "I
never could consult the stars as to my own fate..."
"I- I could ask Harry..." Gabby offered uncertainly. "He helped Jeanne move
on and he might be able to find out something about your real self. He's good
at doing weird things and he's good at saving damsels in distress! I wish he
were here... Poppa had him run an errand today and he wasn't home when
Momma got Fleur's owl."
"Why don't we try to find him... see what he's doing, hmmmm?" Gabriel
offered.
"We can do that?" Gabby looked up excitedly. "I'd love to!"
"Certainly." Gabriel cooed. "I will need to do something... something I can
teach you and your Lord to make use of when you bring him here."
Gabby hopped closer. She was so excited that she had risen onto the balls
of her feet and was not likely to drop back down anytime soon.
The older woman approached and once more held her hand out to
Gabby. Little Angel quickly leaned into her companion's reach, closing
her eyes as soft fingertips traced a small outline on her forehead. Yes,
there.
"Ahhhhh, there he is." Gabriel murmured into Gabby's ear. "Very clever,
young Lord... and entertaining..."
She stepped back. "Open your eyes, Gabrielle, and behold."
Gabby did as she was told.
They were no longer in the glen by the creek any longer. The magical
night sky was missing too. Gabby couldn't see the sun for all the clouds,
but she could at least tell it was daytime. They were at the top of a high
tower on a castle in a snowy forested area. There was a lake to one side...
and the castle did seem a bit familiar. Gabby tried to remember which
one it was.
Maybe if two teenagers weren't snogging each other, she may have been
able to figure it out faster. Gabby tried to ignore those two, but they were
much better at ignoring her.
"Harry's here? I don't see him."
"Soon, Gabrielle." Gabriel answered.
A trap door nearby creaked open. The teens didn't notice even if the
angels in human form did.
"Mister Clark. Miss Hamilton. That is quite enough." Albus Dumbledore's
voice emerged from the tower below. Two hormonal teens jumped apart
as if zapped by lightning and quickly moved to opposite sides of the
tower battlements.
Dumbledore chuckled.
Gabby tensed for a moment, but Gabriel set a hand on her shoulder to
calm her. "They cannot see you, Little Angel, for while they are really here,
we are not. We have not left the temple."
"You need not fear loss of House Points today, though I would like to see
the both of you retire from this tower shortly."
The embarrassed teens both looked down and humbly agreed to their
Headmaster's request.
"Have either of you seen two ghosts about? Two young ghosts?"
Slowly Miss Hamilton shook her head in the negative.
"Pity. If you do see them I urge you to report them to the first painting or
staff member you come across. Will you do this for me?"
That question got two meek 'Yes, Headmaster' s out of the couple.
"Very well. Good day to the both of you." Albus quickly returned from
whence he came.
For a minute both living teens and both angels held still, waiting for
another to make the first move or noise. And then...
"Bloody brilliant! It worked!" Harry shouted as he slid out of the boy he
had been possessing.
Mister Clark's eyes crossed and he fell to his arse. Across from Mister
Clark and Harry, Miss Hamilton shed her own ghost before staggering to
the side. She was forced to put a hand on the ramparts to stay upright.
"I'm quite glad you liked it!" Myrtle replied to Harry, a heavy spectral
blush on her cheeks. "I certainly did."
"We... they're okay, aren't they?" Harry looked between the two living
teens in front of him. "They look a bit out of it."
Mister Clark was already trying to get his bearings back though Miss
Hamilton looked a little punch drunk.
"Sorry about that, mate." Harry called to the boy. "I kind of don't want to
be found right now and... well... we needed a way to throw off the old
man."
Mister Clark just nodded stupidly and smiled.
"Glad to be of service then!"
"Fifty years. Fifty years I've spent sulking in U-bends and only now do I
learn how to do that." Myrtle sighed.
"I'm sorry Myrtle, but I really don't think I'll be doing that again. You're
like a sister now and she (Harry inclined his head in the living witch's
direction) only proved that I'm not interested in snogging girls I don't
love." Harry said, absently wiping at his ghostly lips. "If I weren't already
dead, Hermione might just have killed me for that."
"Oh, don't be that way Harry." Myrtle slid up to his side, offering a
shoulder to cry through if he needed it.
"I know that was my first kiss ever and all," Harry flinched at Myrtle's
pronouncement. He'd forgotten about that. She continued, "but I could
tell you weren't giving it your best effort. If Hermione gives you any
trouble, I'll set her straight for you."
"Just as soon as she comes back to Hogwarts. Right. I'm a dead- well, I
guess I am a dead man, aren't I? Anyway, try not to abuse the power,
Myrtle. Just because you can step into some random girl and snog her
boyfriend's face off doesn't mean you should." Harry called. Myrtle began
cackling like a madwoman. "Oh dear God, what have I done?"
As Harry shook his head, two unseen observers watched his train wreck
of a life continue to spin out of control.
Gabby looked up at the older angel. "I want to do that. I want Harry to kiss
me. Will he? When I'm bigger?"
Gabriel looked into Gabby's eyes for a moment before making a sweeping
gesture with her hand. The tower, the students and the ghosts all
disappeared to be replaced by the creek at the bottom of the glen.
Another sweep of her hand willed planets to move through the night sky
above. Soon stars and other celestial bodies were accelerating on their
paths. The full moon waned, became new and then waxed to it's original
fullness. The cycle repeated. Mercury... Mars... Venus... faster they moved
until they flew through the night sky as though birds racing each other
from one compass point to the next.. Satellites of Earthly origin were
little more than straight lines etched into the black expanse above.
Suddenly, they stopped. Gabriel looked back down to her young guest.
Her grin was one of those grins that Segolene wore sometimes when
leaving Fleur's room.
Gabby flushed deep red and began to titter. Soon, her heart met it's
threshold of Harry thoughts and Gabby's change washed over her. Once
again, an angel's lyrical laughter echoed down the glen. Only this time, it
was an open call. Dozens of halo's began to shine out through the trees
and gullies nearby. The forest began to glow in silver and gold and white
and blue. Every angel ever recorded in the magical chamber now
approached as they all wanted to meet the New Girl.
-o\0/o-
"That's the last role." Marion called to Fleur. "Please make sure you
overlap the edges of your pictures so it's easier to piece them together
again later."
Fleur had the decency to blush. The first three rolls of 35mm special low
light film that Fleur took were used haphazardly to record whatever
caught Fleur's fancy as she waited impatiently for Gabby to reveal
herself.
Of course, it took half an hour before she, her mother and grandmother
were willing to do anything other than stare intently at the stone angel
and the wall Gabby walked through. Without magic and stuck in the
middle of the one room on Earth that no Veela was willing to burn, their
time was limited to fretting over Gabrielle's disappearance and doing
something productive while fretting over Gabrielle's disappearance.
"Zank you." Fleur replied while she reloaded that particular camera for
the last time before a resupply mission was undertaken.
As she loaded the last roll into the back of the Canon in her hands, she
failed to notice Apolline and Régine stepping out behind her for a
cigarette break. For a few seconds it was just her and the open camera
and the riches of a forgotten civilization.
She didn't notice the small noise the angel statue made in moving back to
it's original position. She also didn't react to the first small pulse of light
coming from the far wall. The next one, though, she couldn't fail to catch.
Fleur actually dropped the camera in a vain attempt to shield her eyes
from the near solar flare blanketing the back wall. A now familiar hum
filled the room before tapering off to near silence once again.
Hi, Fleur! Little Angel called. Can we go home now? I'm hungry.
"GABRIELLE!" Three women screeched in French at the same time.
"What?" Once again regaining white-blonde hair and pouty pink lips due
to surprise, Gabby froze.
Frozen in their own surprise, neither Fleur nor Apolline nor Régine
managed to do anything more than look at Gabby from half a treasure
room away. She certainly seemed unharmed, and if her energetic bounce
from foot to foot was any indication, she was as happy as can be... or she
had to pee.
"Gabriel said hi! She told me to tell everyone hi!" Gabby couldn't keep it in
any longer. "And she's really pretty- and smart too! Did you know she could
tell the future? She spent a lot of time foretelling things for people so I guess
she should be pretty good at it – oh! - and she did it just by looking at the
stars! I guess all that stuff about centaurs knowing the future could be true,
yes? And they said Harry could come next time – next, and – but don't bring
Pappa or any other man! Only Harry! 'Cause he's my Lord and I'm his angel
and... and they said I should ask Daddy where Harry went today because
Harry was being tested or something and in the next few days I'm going to be
tested too! Only they didn't say what the test would be only that I'm a big girl
and I have a good heart and they're sure I'll make Harry very proud... and
they said... and Michael said that we might want to be angry at Poppa when
we went home but we shouldn't be too angry at him because he is a good man
and Harry wanted to help Poppa..."
Gabby paused, seemingly thinking over her own words. None of the other
Veela dared interrupt her due to the unusual report just gushing out of
the nine year old's mouth in fits and bursts.
"Heyyyyy... why are we going to be unhappy with Poppa?" Gabby mused out
loud. "And why would Harry be part of it?"
There was silence for a moment as Gabby tried to work through her own
clues. Régine finally managed to speak.
"Gabrielle, honey. Did... Michael... say why you are an angel and we are not?"
Gabby blushed and looked to her feet. "I forgot to ask."
Apolline cupped her daughter's cheek in her palm. "It's alright, Little Angel.
You can go back, right?"
Gabby nodded. "I'm supposed to bring Harry next time."
Thoughts of Harry and Poppa were temporarily set aside when Gabby put
a hand on her stomach.
"I'm hungry. Can we go home now?"
Behind Apolline, Régine whispered to Fleur.
"Get packed up, quick as you can." She looked back to the door out and the
two non-Veela witches nervously pacing just out of spear tip range.
"Portkey straight home. No side trips. This exploration is postponed until the
holidays are over and we find out what 'Michael' meant. Understand?"
"Yes, grandmother." Fleur looked out the door. "And what of Marion? We
shouldn't just abandon her here during Christmas and leaving her here could
be dangerous if the guardian statues decide they don't like her and we're not
here to help."
Régine stared in the cursebreaker's direction.
"Please, grandmother. She took a secrecy vow before we made it as far as the
lake. I owe her more than I can say. I trust her... even with this. Let me offer
to host her until we are ready to return?"
"Very well. She seems trustworthy enough and your father's house does not
lack accommodations."
After a tense half hour of planning and rushed packing, the group
gathered once more on the frozen lake's surface and Apolline asked
Gabby to transform.
Gabby lit up. "Okay! I know a new way to do it, too!"
"What do you mean, Little Angel?" Apolline asked her daughter.
The little Veela smiled brightly and answered, "Gabriel said that I might be
sad and have a heavy heart one day and still I might need to change. There's a
poem I can recite to make me happy again... it will 'release my heart' she
said."
"I would love to hear this poem, my little angel. Will you tell it to us?" Régine
loved attending Gabrielle's recitals AND this was a poem taught to her by
other angels. She really wanted to hear this one.
Gabby nodded happily at her grand-mère and took two steps forward as
though getting on stage. She then clasped her hands- her glove covered
hands as it was very cold- together and placed them over her heart. Right
before she spoke, she closed her eyes.
"My heart is yours, Lord.
Your blood in my veins."
Gabby wasn't so far gone that she would need help changing this time,
but even so she still felt small shocks run up and down her spine as she
spoke the words her new friends used back in the glen.
"My spirit is yours, Lord.
Your will guides my hand."
She felt light as a feather! Memories of Harry building her up from Inside
and making her dreamscape their own personal Heaven bubbled to the
surface.
"Through me you know eternal life;
Through you I know eternal love."
She loved him. She loved him so, so much; and she knew -just knew!-
that he loved her every bit as much in return!
To the women around Gabrielle, the emotions running across the little
Veela's face were so pure and tender that this would surely be a treasured
memory for all. It was a prayer, pure and simple... and not just any
prayer. Gabrielle's sister, Segolene, her mother and grandmother all knew
that this was a prayer to Harry. Only Marion still thought it a lost prayer
or magical incantation which had as it's focus some lost deity from a
forgotten pantheon.
The only surprise to come from Gabby's quick transformation was that
the women around her felt her angelic thrall several seconds before she
changed, not after as had been the case previously.
A strangely silent Apolline came up to her angelic child and embraced
her tightly. Moments later, Régine joined her daughter.
"Take us home, my Little Angel." Apolline whispered reverently. Whether
or not Gabby's thrall was affecting her, she didn't care.
Gabby wanted to show her Momma another trick. When she opened her
beaked mouth, she focused on her desire to be understood by all.
Yes, Momma.
Gabrielle's halo formed, expanded and fell in a now familiar pattern, and
just seconds later Fleur, Segolene and Marion were alone standing on a
frozen lake on the far edge of Eastern Europe. The girls and Marion
would have to settle for arriving a day later, but then no-one wanted to
risk having their backside carved off while trying to fit too many
passengers in Gabrielle's personal transport-ring.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes: I am now starting to respond to the more involved
reviews by PM, so you won't see as much below this line as in previous
chapters. Just the same, thank you to everyone who reviewed!
For those waiting for fireandbrimstone!Gabby to make an appearance,
she was supposed to do that in this chapter, but it got long on me and I
had to break it in two. Next chapter, we will have epic vengeful angel
ass-kickery! Promise!
Oh, if I PM'd you that this was chap 17 and next was 18, well then I was
a fool as this was obviously chap 16.
General Question/Help Wanted – Name That Fic! - (Updated!) Wow,
lot's of people knew the story I was looking for as it seems to be a very
popular one. Let's now consider this a recommended reading submission:
Parallels by Bobmin356 on this site. It's Harry/Hermione and it's pretty
long for a one-shot. It's super!Harry, but in a good way.
18. To Answer the Call
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Seventeen: To Answer the Call
"Monsieur Delacour?"
Alain didn't look up from his stack of reports, but he did move a finger
onto the Department Seal on his desk so that he could reply over the
magical intercom.
"Yes, Guillimette?"
"Madame Delacour requires your presence at home immediately."
Alain's head came up for that, not that he could see his personal assistant
from a room away, but he looked at the intercom-seal just the same.
"Immediately? Did she say why?"
"No, Monsieur. She did state firmly that this is not a request."
Alain slid further back into his chair.
"I'm leaving immediately." Alain said firmly. "Clear my schedule for the rest
of the day."
"Thank you, Monsieur." Relief filled her words.
Alain made his way to the registered portkey departure point for his
department, a walk of about three minutes as long as no one tried to stop
him in the halls. His urgency must have shown in his face; not less than
three other ministry workers went to hail him only to back off at the last
moment. He entered the correct lobby, pulled out a medallion with his
family crest on it and tapped it with his wand.
Under a minute later, Alain's portkey journey ended. He entered his
home to discover Apolline waiting for him. She was clearly irritated, yet
she gave no clues as to how bad it was. This was expected considering
why he came home. His mother-in-law Régine was also there to greet
him. This was unexpected.
On the plus side, he wasn't on fire yet.
"Poppa?" Gabrielle called out from a couch off to the side. "Did you ask
Harry to go to Hogwarts today?"
On the minus side, he was going to be on fire soon.
"Yes, my Little Angel, I did." Alain walked over to his daughter's couch and
sat down next to her. "He's been going to his old school every week to have a
talk with his friends. Sometimes they talk about things I need to know to do
my job, so Harry and I talk about it each time he comes back."
"Does Harry play hide-and-seek with Dumbledore every time he goes?"
Alain hesitated. Apolline's eyes narrowed.
"No he doesn't. Harry stays hidden so that Dumbledore doesn't know he's
there." Where were these questions coming from?
Gabby looked into her father's eyes. She was worried. "When is Harry
coming home, Poppa?"
"I don't know, Little Angel."
"Come, Gabrielle." Régine commanded. "We must prepare for your holiday
guests. Help me add some more ornaments to the tree, will you?"
Alain's heart broke as he watched his youngest nod half-heartedly and
follow her grandmother out of the room. Apolline immediately cast a
silencing charm around the two of them. Gabrielle shouldn't be exposed
to the kind of discussion her parents were about to have.
-o\0/o-
"You asked for us, Sir?" Hermione called out as she and Luna stepped into
the study in the Delacour guest house the Grangers now called home.
Alain set down a brandy snifter and answered. "Yes I did. Please girls,
have a seat."
Luna skipped ahead of her new sister and dropped into one of the padded
chairs in front of Alain's desk and began to run her hands over the leather
upholstery. Hermione, having heard something off in the man's voice,
entered the room alert. By the time she had taken her seat, all of her
attention was on her host and not his furniture.
"I've done something… something which will end up hurting Little Angel
in the coming days until I can discover how to fix it." Hermione sat
straighter in her chair, the girl next to her didn't bother to react aside
from digging a dirty fingernail into the leather armrest on her left. "In
fact, what I've done may end up hurting most of my family, you ladies
included, before all is said and done."
"I-" Hermione hesitated. It wasn't every day that Alain admitted to
making a mistake, especially one that hurt Gabrielle. "If you don't mind
my asking... what did you do?"
"What I've done, Hermione, is made a sacrifice for the good of France. At
least, that's what I tell myself. To be more specific, I recruited Harry on
behalf of my colleagues in Foreign Affairs."
Hermione's eyes darted back and forth as she reviewed her own
memories for times when Harry wasn't with Gabby or herself; she looked
for a pattern. "He's been crossing the Channel two or three times a week,
most likely for several months, and spying on England for you?"
"Harry was right; you probably would have figured this out on your own
much sooner were Beauxbatons not a boarding school. We needed
someone who could get into Hogwarts. Harry knew several students in
the castle who would talk to him in secret."
"It's the kind of thing Harry would do..." Hermione sighed. Of course
Harry wouldn't allow Death itself to stop him from saving people.
"It was Harry that told us about Luna being taken from Hogsmeade. It
was Harry that told me of the rumor that Luna was with her father in
Azkaban. It was that rumor... which was presented with more credibility
than it deserved, I admit... that pushed the I.C.W. into allowing a raid on
the island prison. We owe the success of the Azkaban Raid entirely to
Harry."
Hermione set aside her admiration for Harry and tried to connect Harry's
spying activity with something that would hurt Gabby. Unfortunately, the
answer jumped right out at her. She forgot to breathe for a moment.
"Please don't tell me that Harry is trapped in Hogwarts."
Hermione's eyes bored into Alain. His own gaze faltered for a moment
before returning.
"He went to meet with his friends earlier this morning and he hasn't come
back." Alain looked out the window beside his desk. Sunset was an hour
ago. "He has never been away so long before."
"But Gabby needs him!" Hermione shot out of her chair only to fall
bonelessly back into it a moment later. "I need him."
A soft hand covered Hermione's own as she strained to crush the hand
rests of her chair.
"Don't worry, sister." Luna whispered dreamily into Hermione's ear.
"Doctor Harry Potter Sir has a bit more Great Peril to work through
before it's Maiden Saving Time again. Look to your heart and tell me you
still doubt him."
Hermione worked through that odd bit of verbiage. The first sentence
was entirely too Dobby-esque to be healthy for any growing girl to spout
off. The second sentence was much more reasonable, as much of
Hermione's adventures with Harry in the past came down to faith: faith
that he would do the right thing and faith that he would prevail. Even in
death, Harry seems to have beaten down his adversaries in spite of the
handicap being dead really is.
The brown haired English witch absently moved one hand to inspect her
hair before answering.
"Luna is right." She still had to swallow after saying that. "Harry will find
his way clear of the castle... I'm sure of it."
"And if he can't, we have someone that stands a fair chance of making
contact with him." Alain pulled out a small glass mirror, setting it aside
for something... Hermione couldn't quite guess what. "At least, she can as
long as you don't mind you and your parents staying a little closer to my
family for the time being. I need to pull someone out of your security
detail."
Hermione and Luna both nodded. Faith in Harry Potter could carry them
through a great deal of trouble... and it certainly helped that Alain had a
backup plan.
As the two girls left Alain to his work, Hermione turned to Luna.
"You really think he's going to be okay? I mean, of course I believe in
him, but that doesn't stop me from nearly falling to pieces every time this
kind of thing happens. I'll never stop worrying over that boy."
Luna smiled patronizingly at Hermione. "Any snorkack could tell you so.
Why, I'll have you know that Harry will soon be saving the smallest most
innocent maiden he's gone after to date."
"How do you mean?" Hermione frowned in thought, as many would.
"Snorkacks? The smallest one? What makes you say that?"
Luna held two fingers apart as a measure of distance. "I'd say she's about
the size of a bean right now. What a delightful little pixie she'll be when
we first meet her. She'll have her mum's eyes and hair, like there was any
other possibility. And as for my knowing..."
Luna stopped for a moment to look into Hermione's eyes. "It's all right in
front of you. You just don't see it like I do."
Just as quickly, the dirty blonde witch turned again and began to skip
down the hall. Hermione hesitated for a moment, shook off the effects of
one Miss Lovegood and then continued on.
Snorkacks. Honestly.
-o\0/o-
"Nymphadora Tonks!" A man's voice called from a pile of clothes on the
floor.
The ex-British auror in question dropped Mister Squeaky in surprise and
turned to the pile of clothes on her bathroom floor.
"Nymphadora Tonks!" The voice called again.
Tonks scowled for a moment before a smirk removed the scowl. Her face
shifted, then her hair and the rest of her body as her mind issued magical
commands. She stood up, water and soap suds sheeting down her body
for a moment before she gingerly stepped out of her bath and onto the
tile floor.
A well manicured hand slipped into the pile of clothes and retrieved a
small personal mirror which she looked into without returning to the
bath.
"Alain Delacour." She tried to mumble out in a not too distinctive way
before changing her pitch... "'alo. 'o eez eet?"
"Really, Miss Tonks..." Alain admonished from the other side of the
magical mirror set. "Fleur's accent is much weaker than that and she
would absolutely cremate you if she got word you tried to copy her while
keeping your tan lines... and those breasts do not defy gravity enough."
"Uh, yeah, right..." Tonks gave up, peeved that her prank didn't measure
up to the real thing. Starting to feel chill a bit of chill, Tonks slid back
into the tub with her mirror in hand, reverting to her normal body and
coloring at the same time.
"So, Mister Delacour, what can I do for you this evening then?"
"How kind of you to ask, my dear. I seem to have lost something in
Scotland and my daughters are keen to get it back."
"We've less than a week to Christmas, sir. Maybe Saint Nick would be
able to help more than little ol' me."
"You would be looking for Mister Potter on Hogwarts grounds. We have
reason to believe that the Headmaster has altered the wards to keep him
in."
Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You want me to go save
Harry Potter?"
"Unless the boy can get himself out of Dumbledore's trap, you may very
well be the only one who can." Alain replied.
"Consider it done, sir." Tonks snapped her non-mirror carrying hand into
a wet salute. "Special agent Double D Seven is on the job, sir."
"I'll alert your handler in Foreign Affairs. Good night, Nymphadora."
"That's Tonks to you!" But the metamorph could only see her own
reflection now. "Prat."
-o\0/o-
There was a pair of polished black shoes on the floor. Next to them lay an
open bottle of wine on it's side with a small pool of red liquid staining
the carpet beneath. A meter further across the plush carpet lay a white
silk shirt and one of a pair of high end high heels. As with the other bits
of clothing, there was no hint of the former wearer on the floor.
"I could really get used to parties like this one." Sirius said from atop the
satin covered bed Nathalie led him to earlier in their evening.
He looked through the window to his right and watched the
Mediterranean Sea pass by as lights from Barcelona glittered on the
horizon. Music and revelry could still be heard through the thin walls of
the luxury yacht's cabin.
"Get used to it then." A hand slid up his chest before scratching at the
stubble on his chin. "This is how I do business. My girls will be earning a
small fortune tonight."
"Thank Merlin that a dead sexy angel like you would even bother with a
scraggly dog like me." Sirius responded by running his fingers through
the light silver-blonde hair fanning away from the Veela resting her head
on his chest.
"I'm no angel..." Nathalie giggled. "...and I very much doubt Apolline will
let her perfect little Gabrielle get into my side of the family business
when she's old enough."
"She's too young for me by far, luv." Sirius mused. "I'm a dog, but not that
kind of dog."
"I suppose I will have to get you house broken. Dopey is tiring of
removing your scent from the ballroom colonnade."
Sirius smiled and pulled his lover closer. "You make it sound like you
want to keep me around."
Nathalie turned her well manicured nails in a southerly direction.
"Perhaps... I think my Christmas present to you will be a sign of things to
come." The French Veela quickly changed course and slid herself onto her
wizard companion. One hand, she slid up his chest while the other fell
down her own stomach to trace light circles below her navel. "Do you
want to know what it is? It's something I'm quite sure no woman has ever
given you before!"
Sirius liked it when Nathalie got excited. An excited Nathalie was an
excited Sirius.
"Well... maybe a hint..." He added some puppy dog eyes just to make sure
she wouldn't back out.
"I..." She actually seemed unsure of herself for a moment before a secret 'I
know something you don't know' kind smile made the fugitive Lord melt.
"I saw how much you enjoyed playing with Gabby and her little friends
that one time... wearing those big hats and eating angel cake on the
veranda."
"What?" Sirius panicked for a second. "It- it's not what you think-"
Nathalie bust out laughing, coating Sirius's face in spittle and easing his
worries.
"I -snicker- don't think it is what you think I think it is, you silly mutt!"
Nathalie rocked back and fourth on Sirius to get a better seat. He wasn't
about to complain. "And that is all you are going to get until I have my
present from you!"
It was Sirius's turn to be nervous. He glanced at the nightstand next to
their bed and the tailored jacket draped over a bottle of champagne. The
bubbly was a gift from Nathalie's main client of the evening; four of her
girls were on the boat and on the clock.
Was he a Gryffindor or not?
Sirius grabbed the jacket and plucked a small box out of a pocket
charmed to keep the contents hidden.
"I uh..." Sirius was close to shitting himself in fear. Death Eaters didn't get
this reaction from him back when they tossed green magic his way in the
old days. "I've been holding onto this for a little while now..."
Nathalie had a look he couldn't quite place. She was biting her lip, but
not quite smiling. Her eyes were as wide and beautiful and sparkling as
he'd ever seen her and she wasn't even smacking him around with her
thrall.
"...well the Ministry... mine, that is; not yours... the Ministry doesn't seem
to care what laws it breaks and I figure it's labeled me a criminal
anyway... so I figure I don't need to follow it's rules about these kinds of
things..."
Sirius held up the box for Nathalie to take, hoping she'd get to it before
she saw his hands shaking. Almost too slow fro him to bear, she took the
box top between her fingers and opened it.
"Is... it this what I think it is, Sirius?" Nathalie was looking at a very
respectably sized diamond ring. Respectable even by her standards.
"Look. You know I have my problems. Twelve years in a cold dark pit
with nothing but dementors for company did me no favors. I owe my soul
to my dead godson. Everything else... everything else I'd like to give to
you if you'll take it." Sirius couldn't look her in the eye anymore. "I know
you're more than I deserve, but I love you and I'll do anything you ask of
me if you say 'yes'."
He didn't look up to see her reaction.
"You still have to ask me a question if you are serious about what you
say."
Even as off kilter as he was, Sirius had to repress a chuckle. "I'm always
Si- er... Will you marry me?"
Soft, perfect fingers brought the old dog's face up to a pair of crystal blue
eyes. "Oui."
"Yes?" Sirius's voice caught in his throat. "Yes! You said yes! Bloody hell
you agreed to it!"
Nathalie splayed open the fingers on her left hand so that Sirius could set
the ring on her finger as custom required. The sapphire (to match her
eyes) wrapped diamond slid out of it's case, Sirius holding onto the ring
with shaking hands as he tried to slip it onto the proper finger of his
future wife. After what seemed like an eternity to Sirius, the ring finally
made contact with Nathalie's skin.
Immediately, both Sirius and Nathalie felt the fateful hooking sensation
right behind their navels which could only mean one thing. Someone
turned his engagement ring into a portkey.
-o\0/o-
"Now remember, my Little Angel. You are here with me tonight. I love you and
I will do everything I can to keep you safe. Do not forget that." Apollline
cooed to her little girl.
A soft nightlight provided a bit of illumination... as well as a light
calming charm... to the dark room. Apolline and Gabrielle were in the
master suite's bed; Alain would be spending his nights in an adjacent
bedroom until Harry was back in Gabrielle's home and in her dreams.
Momma wasn't letting go of her Little Angel until things were set to
rights.
"Now... will you be okay with me tonight?" Apolline asked with all of the
motherly love and support she could muster.
Sparkling moist blue eyes shined back at her. Harry wasn't there. Harry
wouldn't be there.
Gabby shook her head and burrowed deeper into her mother.
-o\0/o-
Light approached.
Nathalie called to her instincts, to her blood, but there was no answer.
All she could do was press herself tighter to her fiance's side and try
desperately to ignore the fact that they were without clothes in a cold
stone cell of some sort far, far away from the yacht they started the night.
"Good evening."
Two figures stood on the other side of a set of wall to wall bars
separating Sirius and Nathalie from the rest of the world.
"I know... the accommodations are not quite up to your standards, are
they?" The first figure called again. His voice was guttural and pained.
His cloak didn't sit quite right either. "Neither of you will be able to
change into your alternate selves under our host's wards so you might as
well make yourselves comfortable."
"Have... have we met before?" Sirius asked. There was something there,
but it was slipping out of his grasp.
"Some would say we were quite close, Sirius Black. True, they are lying,
but they would say it just the same."
The first figure turned to the second and a change in lighting helped
solve one riddle at least.
"Malfoy!" Sirius hissed at the second figure... the current English Minister
for Magic.
Malfoy snarled and brought his wand up only to have it swatted aside by
the first cloaked figure. Sirius paled at the implications.
"Be patient, Lucius." The figure turned, revealing more of his
unnaturalness to the two imprisoned lovers. Two odd bulges pushed at
the back of his cloak. "Let me savor their fear and confusion before we
add the pleasant aroma of pain to the mix."
"Who are you? What is it you want?" Sirius railed again at the hell his life
was returning to. He pulled Nathalie tighter to his side just in time to feel
the first tremors of her panic attack.
The man, if indeed he was one, chuckled. "I'm actually a very simple
man. I want everything. Absolutely everything. You two..." One gnarled
finger arched out in their direction, "...will help me on my way by being
the main attraction in a big celebration Minister Malfoy here will be
hosting in only a few days."
The cloaked figure turned and nodded to Lucius before walking off. The
white-blonde Pureblood turned back to his prisoners and called out
haughtily, "I'll save your interrogation for the aurors who are even now
on their way. But there is one question I'd like to ask you before they get
to you. How does it feel knowing you are only days away from death at
most?"
Sirius felt some of his Gryffindor pride push through for the second time
this evening.
"It'll be nice to see James and Lily again." He even managed a bit of a
roguish grin by the end of it. "I'm sure we'll be having a few pints
together and cursing your name as you fail in whatever it is that you are
planning."
"Crucio!" Malfoy roared, no dark master there to stop him.
Horrible realization struck Sirius just as the screaming began. He wasn't
the one getting cursed.
-o\0/o-
Breakfast began as a light and happy affair in the Delacour household.
Fleur, Segolene and Marion arrived late last night and Cedric, Susan and
her family would be arriving this evening, but the holiday already lost all
of its celebratory feeling even if some recent arrivals had yet to discover
it.
Three explorers were all eating breakfast together, the two teens giving
Marion a brief recap of their family's struggles from spring onwards.
"You know," Marion paused, an éclair at her mouth. "I don't think I've
ever heard of a human shaped patronus… not in Europe or the States or
anywhere else for that matter."
Segolene nodded her head in confirmation. "That's our Little Angel for
you. Of course, she could have cast a cat shit patronus and I still would
have been thankful. With any luck, the attack on Azkaban got rid of all
those dementors, but I think I'll try to learn the counter to them soon
anyway."
The brunette shuddered slightly in memory of her brush with the soul
suckers after the Third Task. As she did so, Apolline approached the
breakfast table, a very tired looking Gabby holding tight to her mother's
robes.
"Gabrielle!" Fleur called happily… until she saw the miserable expression
on her younger sister's face. "Little Angel, whatever is the matter?"
"You remember our message from Michael, Fleur? The one about Harry and
tests?" Fleur nodded at her mother's question. Those who ignored the
words of an Archangel did so at their own peril.
"Harry did not return to us last night." Fleur's eyebrows rose at her mother's
pronouncement. "We believe that he was found out on a trip to Hogwarts
Castle. The Headmaster most likely changed the wards to trap Harry on
school grounds."
With that, Segolene and Fleur felt an added urgency in recounting their
history to Marion. The rest of the talk wasn't far off from a fresh soldier's
briefing upon joining their new unit. Twenty minutes later, a time in
which Gabrielle stuck to her mother's side and didn't eat anything,
Virginie announced the arrival of the Granger family. A minute later, two
dentists and two teen witches came into the room.
Gabby immediately hopped away from her mother and ran to Hermione,
wrapping the older girl in a tight hug.
"I'm sorry." Hermione apologized to the group. "Gabby had a dreadful
night."
"Apologies aren't necessary dear… but… how did you know she had a
dreadful night?" Apolline asked. A lot of people in the room wanted to
know the answer to that one.
"Harry taught her how to enter my dreams, Momma." Gabrielle's voice
called from the ball of angel hair pressed into Hermione's bosom. "She
chased the mermen away. Harry banished them far away, but without
him to protect me they came back."
That answer only made people more interested. As Gabby wasn't in the
mood to say more, Hermione began to explain things.
"For me, this all started about a week after the Second Task, though I
now know that it started that very night for Gabby here..."
It wasn't like they were intentionally keeping it a secret, not that they
were actively spreading it around either. Actually, Luna knew. She
mentioned it during the first Girls Who Have Been Personally Saved By
Harry Potter meeting. Hermione tried not to dwell on that fact to often.
"... so then we come up to last night. As Gabby already mentioned, I had
to save her from mermen to begin with. All the way at the bottom of
Black Lake at that. She was bound to a large rock, too scared to even cry.
Thank Jeanne I could breath water in the dream, I'm not sure how well I
would have done against the mermen had the laws of physics and nature
actually applied."
Hermione stopped for a moment to drink some orange juice and reflect
on the fact that she's willing to invoke Jeanne's name again.
"Once we were out of the water and dried off, I had to carry the poor girl
to Hogsmeade where we could keep away from the aurors and
Dumbledore. The aurors that were on fire, that is. It was when we went
upstairs in that home in Hogsmeade that the dream really went pear
shaped."
"What happened then?" Came the immediate question from Emma who
was spellbound from the beginning of her daughter's story.
"I..." Hermione hesitated, looking down to the little Veela cuddling
against her. Gabby didn't move and Hermione took her non-action as
permission to continue. "We went up to the top of the stair looking for a
room to rest in. I knew from before that Gabby can fall asleep inside of
her own dreams, so I thought the best way to get her out of this
nightmare was to put her to sleep again and stand guard over her for the
rest of the night. We didn't count on a fight breaking out downstairs.
"At first, I couldn't tell who it was fighting, but then one of the men
downstairs told 'Lily' to take 'Harry' and leave. Then I heard another man
cast the killing curse and saw green light at the bottom of the stair.
That... that's when I figured out this part of the dream wasn't Gabby's.
It... it was Harry's. I... I suppose this just proves how closely the two are
bound together that Gabrielle can dream about what happened to Harry
in real life."
It took a moment for Hermione to collect herself but no-one dared
interrupt her now. A soft sniffle broke free from the ball of Veela on her
lap and Hermione stroked the young girl's hair. Nightmares are ever so
much worse when you know they're based in real life.
"I dreaded seeing what lay behind us in the nursery, but I couldn't not
look. There stood Lily Potter, desperately holding onto a very little Harry
and doing anything she could think of to make her son safe. It... it
didn't... V- Voldemort offered to spare her life if only she'd give up her
son... sh- she offered herself in Harry's place. That was the second time
the killing curse was cast and... well..."
Hermione desperately fought back the tears pooling in both eyes. She
wanted everyone to know how brave Lily Potter was even if it meant
reliving the most horrible thing she'd ever witnessed up too and including
her own near execution by dementors.
"Lily gave up her life for Harry. I don't know if there's a monument to her
sacrifice, but there should be. By that time Gabby was curled as tight to
me as she could get. I covered her ears for all the good it would do. After
that deranged lunatic killed Lily, he laughed as though victory were
assured and cast the killing curse one last time. He cast it at a little boy,
not even two years old, who was only just starting to cry for his dead
mother. That last wave of green light pushed me back into the waking
world and I can only hope it did the same for Gabby."
It was only as the elder Grangers and Luna all came together to comfort
the two emotionally battered girls that Apolline noticed someone on the
other side of the breakfast table she hadn't expected to see so soon today.
Alian was back from the office.
The man of the house passed his wife a silent request to speak with him
in the next room. At her raised eyebrow, he repeated the action and
pointed to a bundle of newsprint under his arm. Apolline nodded
reluctantly before telling Fleur to look after her sister. At one end of the
breakfast table, a brunette with tight curls noticed.
In the outer hall, Alain wasted no time and unrolled the paper in his
hands. It was a copy of this morning's Daily Prophet.
"A gift from Tonks. She entered Diagon Alley early this morning as she was
passing north on other business. On seeing the commotion outside of a book
store, she immediately got a copy and sent it by Gringotts' special courier
service." Alain murmured into his wife's ear as she read the day's headline
with even more sorrow and anger than she had listening to Hermione's
dream recounting.
The Daily Prophet
December 22nd, 1995
SIRIUS BLACK CAPTURED
Light wizards and witches of the world, rejoice! We at the Daily Prophet
have just received exclusive news from our most noble Ministry of Magic
that the Slaughter of Azkaban has been avenged! Infamous dark wizard
Sirius Black and his French Veela mistress are in custody!
Late last night, an expert team of the very finest aurors our great English
pureblood houses have ever produced conducted a daring raid on the
notorious French island prison Chateau d'If in the Bay of Marseille. In a
magical battle that shook the prison's very foundations, wave after wave
of dark creatures and corrupted French wizards were cut down by
righteous English magical fire.
"We started with stunners... gave them the chance to do things right, we
did." Recalls the brave Auror Captain in charge, though he wishes to
remain nameless due to his great humility. "It was only when they set
werewolves on us and began tossing out unforgivables like sweets from a
Honeydukes sale did we accept that deadly force would be necessary."
In light of this historic victory over the Dark, our beloved Minister for
Magic, Lord Lucius Malfoy, has chosen to conduct a public trial in the
center of Hogsmeade beginning at noon on the twenty fourth, only two
days hence! "We, the proper upstanding magical subjects of England,
must all come together to cleanse our country of the taint that dark
wizardry has created. This foul criminal who claims an English Lordship
and his... I dare not describe her accurately when children may read the
account later... these two must be dealt with before we as a people can
celebrate Yule, the age old tradition of our ancestors to signify the end of
one year and the beginning of another."
We at The Daily Prophet will be well represented at this historic event, as
there are rumors from unnamed officials inside the Ministry implying
that dear Minister Malfoy will push for a swift execution by burning at
the stake in lieu of the dementor's kiss. Work on Azkaban with the intent
of freeing our loyal allies from the rubble continues to be hampered by
harsh weather.
For those of you who wish to witness this historic public trial, please
remember to have the proper credentials ready for review. Only
purebloods in good standing will be permitted to attend the function, and
then only after they have performed a minor oath of patriotism and
loyalty to the Ministry and its future initiatives. Half-bloods need not
attend. Any muggleborns found near Hogsmeade during the festivities or
on the day of the festivities will be taken into Ministry custody to
determine the extent of their collusion with French or otherwise dark
interests.
To see a list of muggleborn criminals and purebloods whose loyalties are
in question who were taken to the new ministry internment camp in
relation to the Sirius black investigation see page 3.
For more on Sirius Black see pages 5 through 9.
For more on dark Veela in history see page 13.
"We can't let the girls see this." Alain stated plainly.
Apolline looked stricken when she turned to her husband. Having Harry
go missing when he might possibly return was bad enough. Learning
Sirius and Nathalie were imprisoned and only hours away from a painful
public execution was more than she could stand.
"The tests remember? The angels told Gabby there were to be tests."
A look of horror passed over the woman's face. Alain pulled his wife into
an embrace to keep her from falling to the floor.
"I sent Tonks to Hogwarts to try to set Harry free. She's heading in the right
direction already, maybe she can do something for Sirius and Nathalie... I
don't know. If we are lucky, Harry will pass his test either under his own
power or with Tonks' help. If we are very lucky, Gabby's test will be to stay
here and believe in his ultimate success."
Apolline felt in the pit of her stomach that this would not be so, but she
desperately wanted to agree with her husband. She nodded in approval.
Alain would take the paper back to his office and Apolline would say
nothing.
Perhaps their efforts to suppress the news would have succeeded if
Segolene didn't have a listening charm on Apolline at the time.
-o\0/o-
"Hello, Harry." A voice called out from behind.
"Hey, Myrtle." Harry turned to address his sister in arms. "What brings
you down here?"
Myrtle looked past Harry to the bloody great snake carcass he'd been
staring at for the last nine hours. The Chamber of Secrets was as quiet as
a graveyard save for the occasional water drop falling free of the ceiling.
It was quite dark too; illumination coming only from the insubstantial
bodies of the two ghosts present.
"Doesn't move much, does he?" Myrtle replied prompting Harry to turn
back to the snake.
"No..." A week or two ago, that would have set Harry laughing, but not
today. "Nothing does much of anything down here and it's really tapered
off in the last few years, or so Gwendolyn says."
"Gwendolyn?" Myrtle started looking around for another ghost. She'd
never really come down here before, even after seeing a twelve year old
boy jump into a slimy tube to save an eleven year old girl.
"I named the snake Gwendolyn." Harry said.
Myrtle looked between Harry and the dead snake a few times. "Why?"
"Because she doesn't look like a Margaret to me..." Harry turned and
began to slowly drift up to the ceiling. "Hey, Myrtle... want to go mess
with the mermen? I still haven't told them how disappointed I am with
that whole 'killing me' thing yet."
"What's wrong, Harry?" Myrtle called.
Harry stopped.
"I may not pay much attention to those others... the living ones... but
you're like me, Harry. I care about you. Please. You're not acting
yourself."
Harry spun around.
"That's the thing isn't it, Myrtle luv. I do care about the living. I care a
lot." Harry sighed. "Look, you can follow me or not... I don't care... but
I've got some mermen to scare and a headmaster to rile up."
With that, Harry turned and shot through the chamber ceiling.
"Bu- I'm sorry, Harry! Wait!"
Just like that, Gwendolyn was left in peaceful solitude and darkness.
-o\0/o-
Cedric found himself in the middle of a garden. It was a bit chilly, but
there was no snow on the ground and few clouds in the sky to keep the
sun away as there would have been back home.
"Hmmm. Nice." Susan must have just come in behind him. "Is this the last
stop or just another one of those checkpoints, you think?"
"No, Sue. I've been here before. This is the right place."
At that moment, Apolline entered the garden from a side door and
greeted her guests.
"It's good to see you again, Cedric." The Veela matron called while
pulling him into a hug and busing his cheeks.
Susan looked a little lost at the immediate affection shown to Cedric.
God, but that woman was beautiful.
"We got your message of course, Apolline." Susan almost choked behind
him. This wasn't Fleur? This was her mother? "I felt horrible when we
heard about Sirius and Nathalie. She seemed like such a fun loving girl
and I could tell she and Sirius were perfect for each other."
Apolline nodded in appreciation.
"Oh! Madame Delacour, allow me to present Miss Susan Bones."
Cedric swept his hand Susan's way prompting the girl to dip into a light
curtsey.
"I'm very please to meet you, Madame. I'm also very sorry to hear about
Lord Black and Miss Fournier."
Apolline had to give the girl credit for knowing Nathalie's family name. It
was probably Alain's doing, but it was a nice touch just the same...
"Thank you dear. Welcome to my home, and please don't think you have
to be so formal. Call me Apolline or Auntie or Aunt Apolline if you must."
She then walked up to the young witch and gave Susan the same
welcome Cedric received. "I hear Alain is holding up your parents and
aunt at the office?"
"Yes Ma'am." Apolline made a face. "Er... yes Auntie..." All smiles again.
"Politics, I'm afraid. If your husband is anything like my aunt then we
won't be seeing much of the two of them until this... situation... is cleared
up."
"Clever girl." Apolline nodded. Susan might as well have been a seer. "I
do hope your parents are freed up by dinner."
Apolline stepped back and looked over both teens. They weren't here for
her, were they?
"Fleur and Segolene are engaging in archeological studies with a guest of
ours from the United States on the upper terrace." She waved one hand to
a wide stone stair leading up one of the garden's perimeter walls.
"Hermione, Gabrielle and Luna are watching television downstairs."
Cedric was a boy in love, but he was also a Hufflepuff and a Hogw- a
former Hogwarts student. "I'll just head downstairs then. Hermione can't
be taking this well and I haven't seen Luna since she was snatched from
us in Hogsmeade."
Apolline nodded her head in the direction of the correct door. Cedric
stepped by.
"Susan?" Apolline's call stopped the girl short of following her fellow
Hufflepuff. Cedric paused and turned as well. "Oh, don't worry, Cedric. I'd
like a little chat with Susan, here."
Apolline stepped up next to the strawberry blonde. "Just girl talk, I assure
you. We won't be more than a few minutes."
Cedric looked into Susan's eyes. The young witch swallowed once and
nodded. "You go ahead Cedric. I'll be right down. Promise on my heart."
The young man nodded back, turned and disappeared behind stone walls.
Finally Apolline had something other than tragedy to focus on. She might
have preferred a little more time to get to know this girl in front of her,
but time was short and Apolline's household was strained at best. Any
distraction was worth pursuing.
"You love him."
It wasn't a question. Susan's eyes got bigger. She was suddenly willing to
reconsider following Cedric out of Scotland and into France.
"My mother would say I don't really know what love is... too young and
all that."
"She's not Veela then."
"No Ma'am." Susan said nervously.
Under the circumstances, Apolline was willing to make allowances for
her slip. Rather than wait for a correction to 'Auntie', she smiled at Susan
in a very comforting and disarming sort of way.
"Relax dear!" One slender manicured finger reached out and poked Susan
on the shoulder. "You have nothing to fear."
Now Susan was just plain confused. Wasn't she intruding on a Veela's
territory?
Apolline took Susans's hands in hers and looked the younger witch in her
eyes. "We Veela are more open when it comes to matters of love and lust
than most others. Fleur has not felt the need to settle down and make me
a grand-mère... thank Jeanne for small favors... which means you are free
to pursue Cedric if you wish to."
"I don't understand, Ma'-" Apolline glared. "Auntie! I don't understand
Auntie." All smiles again.
"Ask Fleur to help you. Better yet... ask Segolene. She loves a good
challenge and has more time to give. Your only serious opponent in this
battle is Cedric himself."
Susan looked up in confusion.
"I promise on my heart that you need not fear my daughter. In fact..."
Susan watched Apolline look between the door into the house and the
stair to the upper terrace.
"I have kept you too long already... Fleur and Segolene will speak to you
soon once things have settled down some... anyway, let's get you
reacquainted with your friends, yes? I'll take you to them."
Susan wasn't quite sure what just happened, but the non-scary parts did
show promise. She remained quite thoughtful up until the point where
she was once again in a room full of teenaged English witches... plus one
wizard... and one adorable yet sad little girl.
"Luna!" Susan shouted across the room before leaving Apolline behind to
wrap her friend in a hug.
Apolline quietly slipped out of the room before heading for the terrace,
Fleur and Segolene. There was plotting to be done and it would be a good
way to keep her mind off more immediate concerns.
-o\0/o-
They all congregated in Fleur's bedroom. White Christmas played in the
background as they sat in a small circle. Being the only man in the room,
Cedric stood by the window and watched clouds drift through the sky.
"Now?" Hermione asked.
Fleur nodded.
"Mother took Gabrielle for lunch and shopping, just the two of them."
Aurors went on the trip as well, but that was an accepted part of this
family's lives by now.
Hermione turned to one of the other occupants of the room. "Segolene?"
The brunette moved to the radio and began turning a dial. She passed
two other stations before catching a burst of static and some low
whispering noises. There, she stopped adjusting the dial and pulled out
her wand.
As the others watched, Segolene tapped the wireless set twice and
mumbled something under her breath.
"…up to the podium. It's a cold, miserable day here in Hogsmeade village
but you wouldn't have expected anything else this time of year, eh?"
"Right you are Stephen. The snow went past my knee when I first floo'd
in this morning but our Ministry was there to provide, as always. Wizards
from Magical Games and Sports were quick to ward off the cold."
"But not as quick as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to
sweep the town clean, were they?"
"No they weren't, Stephen."
"In fact, our very own Ministry's personnel went above and beyond the
call of duty to secure the entire village. Muggleborns, half-bloods and
those purebloods of a less trustworthy nature were moved out of the
village wholesale. I'm told that the D.M.L.E. is taking the opportunity to
give everyone in town a security screening. You never know who you can
trust and who might be in league with the French."
"All too true, Stephen. I had a cousin who didn't even know he was
dating a half-blood until she was confronted by Ministry officials while
doing some light delivery work for a firm off Diagon Alley who shall
remain nameless."
"We don't know for sure if even they knew she was a half-blood, do we?"
"That's right, we shouldn't go off slandering a store if they honestly didn't
know her blood status. Long story short, the witch in question is out of a
job and my cousin is available again."
"All's well that ends well, eh Richard?"
"Right. Say... I am feeling a bit chilly come to think of it. But in an hour
or so and I'm sure the good wizards and witches of the D.M.L.E. will
warm things up for me. I see two lovely stacks of wood in front of the
stage, and each one is built up about a tall post."
"How lovely, will we be having a roast later this evening? Cooking up a
goat for Yule a night early are we?"
"I wouldn't think goat, Stephen, but a beast of some sort; I'm thinking
bird myself..."
Hermione wanted to turn away from the radio- to shut it off, but she
couldn't. She owed it to Sirius and Nathalie to follow the proceedings.
She needed to see what flawed and tortured logic the Ministry was going
to use to send two good people to their deaths. She also hoped and
prayed that either Tonks or Harry- or even the I.C.W. would find some
way to get into the thick of it and deliver a Christmas miracle.
There would be no assistance from the I.C.W. today, due in no small part
to the village's remote and inaccessible location. The entire valley was
unplottable. Harry was still stuck behind the school wards. There was one
person who was free to act assuming that one person could prevail
against a secured gathering of at least one thousand wizards and witches.
-o\0/o-
-snap-
"What was that?"
Pansy Parkinson moved away from the boy she had been snogging to
look around the woods.
"I didn't hear anything." The boy replied, trying to pull her back into his
arms. "The Forbidden Forest is mostly east of here… this bit is the Not-
So-Forbidden Forest."
"No, I really-" Pansy fell to the forest floor, out cold.
"What the-" Was all the boy could manage before red light sent him into
dreamland like the girl before him.
"Obliviate." A perfect clone of Pansy, save the outfit, muttered. Can't have
the boy waking up remembering a red light coming for him, now can we?
The copy then began transfiguring her own clothes to look like those of
her first victim. She also took the parchments Pansy was carrying just in
case the guards were serious about documentation. With little more than
a swish and flick, the young witch and her paramour were both levitated
into a more compromising position. The final touch was a light
compulsion to get frisky as soon as either of them came too. Maybe
they'll think they were overwhelmed with passion earlier or some such
nonsense.
With two down and over a thousand more to go, Pansy Tonks-Parkinson
set off through the Not-So-Forbidden Forest in search of Hogsmeade. It
wouldn't be hard to find if she just followed the noise of the crowd.
Thirty whole meters later, her balance failed her while crossing a ice
slicked log and sent her ass over kettle to the forest floor.
If a witch curses in the middle of a forest and no-one else is around to
hear her, does she make a sound?
-o\0/o-
"Ah, Harry." Albus walked up to the ghost overlooking Hogsmeade valley
from a tower window high above the west wing of Hogwarts Castle. "I
was beginning to wonder if you'd ever slow down."
The man seemed in a good mood considering the grand chase Harry's
been leading on and off for the last several days. Far more troubling in
Harry's opinion was the lack of any sadness or regret in the old man's
voice. Couldn't he hear the wireless broadcast from the next room over?
Didn't he know that Sirius Black, Dogfather Extraordinaire, was about to
burn to death and that the lovely lively Nathalie was to share his fate?
"You have much to answer for, young man." Ah, that's better. "Your
rather cowardly attack on Professor Snape was perhaps the most
dishonorable act I've seen from a Gryffindor in my full time as
Headmaster of this school."
Harry didn't even deign to snort. "The git deserved it. I dare you to find
even one living soul other than yourself that thinks he didn't honestly
have it coming. Oh, and does the name Peter Pettigrew mean anything to
you? Hmmmm?"
"The fact remains that you nearly killed a man in your recklessness, you
destroyed school property and set the school itself alight. Severus will
have to rest several more weeks before he can set foot outside Poppy's
domain again."
Albus was watching the young ghost carefully, wand secretly in hand as
it has been since Harry was trapped. Harry continued to look out over the
valley, to the village whose highest towers were only just visible from his
window.
"Harry. You're independent streak has cost us both dearly-" But Harry did
turn at that.
"Don't put the weight of these troubled times on my shoulders! Did I
attack Bern? Did I kidnap a small child from France and try to execute
her? Did I send Luna Lovegood to Azkaban! No! I bloody well didn't, did
I?"
"You left England at a most delicate and inopportune time. You have no
idea how many plans have been undone and how much work was made
waste by your actions. I could have kept you safe here. Gabrielle and
Sirius too. I have more influence and greater resources then you know.
Sirius and his lady friend need not have come to their fate in Hogsmeade
if only you had stayed here where you belong."
Harry turned back to the window.
"Where was your influence when Hermione came face to face with a troll
at twelve? Or when Ginny came to be possessed by a Dark Lord at
eleven? What resources did you plan on drawing from when that damned
merman ran Gabby through? Are you calling me one of your resources-
because if you are... if you are then that would explain a lot wouldn't it?"
"Now Harry-"
"And my parents?" Harry asked this one as if confirming a suspicion.
"You were born with a destiny both of greatness and tragedy."
"I'm with 'Mione on that one. Divination is utter rubbish."
Albus almost forgot Harry was dead. He started to put a hand on the boys
shoulder only to pull back at the last moment.
"Divination has it's place as you well know. Do not forget the lessons of
your Third Year. She has now given at least two true prophesies... one
has come to pass and the other has yet to be fully realized."
"Yes, yes... Pettigrew got away. Fat lot of good your influence and
resources did then, yeah?"
Albus shook his head slowly. Harry was being a very difficult pupil, but
the Headmaster has seen many of those in his time.
"Harry. The prophesy came to pass. There was nothing any of us could
have done to keep Pettigrew from fleeing to his master."
"So Trelawney got one right. Do you know how often she predicted my
death in class? Easier to ignore her everyday so as to only be surprised
once a decade or so. Pettigrew got away; that was her good one, right?
What's the other one say then?"
"Have you forgotten the rest of the prophesy Sybill made right in front of
you, Harry? Allow me to recite the latter part of it for you..." Albus took
in a breath before continuing. "...the servant will break free and set out to
rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid,
greater and more terrible than ever he was..."
"But- but you said this one is the one already fulfilled." Harry was looking
at his old headmaster with concern now.
"That's right. I did." Albus stood straighter. Certainly this would help turn
Harry around.
"When." Harry made the word more of a demand than a question.
"The night of the Third Task."
Harry began to shake his head. "That can't be right..."
"I assure you, it is. Severus was able to confirm Voldemort's resurrection
that very night."
"And you didn't say anything? You just let Malfoy become Minister
without running against him? You damn well know the bastard's a Death
Eater and- and... that's why Magical Britain is such a bigoted hellhole
isn't it? Why Madam Bones and Arthur got kicked out and why all the
muggleborns were getting rounded up on crap charges, right?"
Albus had been waiting for a chance to say this one. "I let Malfoy become
Minister? I wasn't the one that banished a courtroom's full allotment of
woodwork into Minister Fudge's chest, was I? That was your 'Little Angel'
that did that."
"Self. Defense." Harry was seething now. His words came out barely
above a whisper. "Fawkes appeared after Gabby banished the furniture.
You could have prevented that disaster by sending Fawkes earlier than
you did. Why, Fawkes could have gone down to Ginny before I even
found the Chamber of Secrets and flamed her straight to your office. If a
mere Second Year could break the diary's spell then I'm sure the all
knowing all powerful Albus Dumbledore could have done it in half the
time it took me, right? Where is the little firebird now when a quick flap
of his wings could take Sirius and Nathalie away from their doom?"
"Fawkes is too well known, Harry. If he flashes into the middle of a
crowd of thousands, everyone will know who sent him."
"So? You don't feel like two lives are worth your job?"
"My presence here is the only thing that keeps the muggleborn students
safe."
"Wouldn't they be better off in France? Australia? America?" Harry turned
back to the window. The radio behind them seemed to be relaying
closing arguments from the prosecution. Umbridge, the bitch, was the
Ministry's chief accuser. "The I.C.W. cleared out Azkaban and they only
had to kill one guard to do it. Set me free and I'll have an international
force here in no time to evacuate the children."
"The I.C.W. doesn't work that fast Harry, I should know."
"I work that fast." Harry's response was automatic. He wanted out of this
castle in the worst way. Judgment was coming.
"Do you really think yourself one of those muggle comic book heroes,
Harry? Destiny does call to you, but you have yet to properly understand
forgiveness and self sacrifice."
"Me? A hero?" Harry snorted. "I'll admit to having a 'saving people' thing
but I've really come to see myself as more of a messenger."
Harry actually smiled at that. Jeanne may be absent from his day to day
existence but the passionate girl would forever be part of him. Albus saw
the ghost's whole demeanor change. He wanted to know why.
"And what, pray tell, is the message?"
Harry looked further left through the window to a more southerly
direction.
Over sixteen hundred kilometers away, in a small bistro with a view of
the Mediterranean Sea, a young girl looked up from her salad. She
pushed her silver-blonde hair aside and looked to the back wall, the one
on the building's north face. She idly ran her hand over a long slender
lump in front of her chest before realizing it wasn't the wand she wanted,
only a replacement wand until hers was returned. The smile left as
quickly as it came and she returned to picking at her salad.
Back in Scotland, Harry answered his former Headmaster's question.
"Sacrificing your own life for another may be a virtue but sacrificing
others when they don't know they're being sacrificed is a grave sin. These
people are not your pawns." Harry seemed to settle down a bit. "Sooner
or later you will see this. Sooner rather than later if I have any say in the
matter."
As Harry became quiet and returned to staring out beyond Hogwarts
Castle and it's wards, Albus chose to take a break as well. He turned to
the window and it's view of distant Hogsmeade as he focused more on
the radio broadcast that had constantly been running behind their
argument.
"...hem, hem... Thank you, Minister Malfoy... Lords and Ladies of the
Wizengamot and of Magical Britain." Dolores Umbridge spoke. Her voice
was heard directly by thousands and indirectly by tens of thousands
more. "It is with a great sense of moral rightness and personal satisfaction
that I give you the Wizengamot's decision. By unanimous vote, both
defendants have been found guilty on all counts!"
There was a dull roar in the background as Stephen and Richard from the
WWN service commented on the historic vote and the now certain fate of
two bound and chained people. The English Lord and the French Veela
were even now being levitated against heavy wooden posts with thick
stacks of logs and tender beneath.
-o\0/o-
Draco Malfoy looked at his mother. Her face was quite pale, her normal
regal beauty giving in to the mask of ill health.
"Mother. What troubles you? Are you well?" He took her hand in his,
ignoring for a moment the presentation of evidence that his father was
avidly watching.
"I... no, my son. I am not." She took out a silk handkerchief and covered
her face with it for a moment before setting it down again. "Perhaps the
weather does not agree with me."
Draco considered his options for a moment before seeking his father's
attention.
"Yes Draco?" Lucius said in what most would consider a pleasing tone,
but Draco could see the annoyance and distraction.
"Mother is not well, Father. I should like to take her away from the
crowds."
"Oh?" Lucius studied his wife for a moment. "You are such a fine son to
look after your mother so. I cannot leave these proceedings, else I would
go with you. Yes, yes. Please see to your mother."
Draco nodded to his father and the two began to rise.
"Just a moment Draco..." A soft voice called from his side. Daphne. "I
believe I may be suffering from what ails your mother. Would you escort
me as well?"
From behind the fifteen year old witch, a shorter girl popped into view.
"Me too. I'm sick and I'd love to get out of here."
Draco had to stifle a laugh at Astoria's lack of tact but agreed just the
same. After a few polite farewells, the group of four slowly made their
way along the trail to Hogwarts. In truth, he was glad leave the grotesque
circus this trial was fast becoming. He knew the accuracy, or rather
inaccuracy of the 'evidence'. It's not that he was feeling pity for Black or
that Veela bird, far from it, but he could feel the Dark Lord's hands in
this, and it rankled him. In his mother's delicate sensibilities, he had a
clear excuse to be free of Voldemort's plotting even if only for a little
while.
He walked close to his mother, yet it was Astoria's arm that somehow
snaked into his when he wasn't looking. A discrete glance at the elder
Greengrass girl revealed an impenetrable mask. He looked to his mother.
When she returned his gaze, he saw her survey the two girls before
allowing a soft smile to grace her lips. Draco knew that smile. It was the
'future grandchildren' smile. It was mildly annoying but proved his
mother was pleased with the direction his life was going.
Yes, leaving the trial behind them was definitely the right thing to do.
-o\0/o-
With a pout here and an elbow there, 'Pansy' succeeded in making her
way to the front of the crowd. If she were to be honest with herself, it
took all of her loyalty and bravery together to make it that far. She
passed small groups of witches and a family or two heading the other
way. These were the ones who came for the trial but couldn't stomach
what would be coming next. These groups also had small children who
didn't need to see such adult things.
If anyone in Hogsmeade disagreed with the verdict, they certainly didn't
show it. There were too many 'security officers' trolling the crowds
looking for anyone who wasn't 'of the right sort'. Tonks acted the part of
a proper pureblood princess and kept her papers ready… just in case.
Finally she reached the head of the crowd. Looking upon a stoic Sirius
and panicked, teary eyed Nathalie, Tonks struggled to keep from
throwing up.
"…found guilty on all counts!"
Her face paled at the pronouncement. What could she do? There were so
many guards and so many witnesses… but then she had to do something!
They were moving her cousin and his bird to the stakes! God dammit,
what could she do?
"Sirius Black!" Minister Malfoy called. "You have been tried and found
guilty of crimes against the Ministry and against the good people of
Magical Britain. Had your underlings not been so fowl as to attack
Azkaban without warning or reason, we would now have handed you
over to the dementors. Sadly, they have been buried under a mountain of
rubble. We'll have you go first, I think. As you abandoned so many in life,
it is only fitting that you abandon this woman in death. She will die
alone. May your ancestors have mercy on your soul."
Lucius almost waved to the aurors present, but held off at the last
minute. He dropped the Sonorus that had been projecting his voice and
stepped closer to the old Marauder.
"I almost forgot. By this conviction and your execution, all of your
holdings and the title of Lord Black pass immediately to my son. You
have failed in every conceivable way, Black. I win."
Sirius was tied to a post and magically silenced, but he had to have the
last laugh. After carefully judging distance and wind, Sirius lobbed a
thick bloody ball of spittle onto Lord Malfoy's chest and grinned in
victory.
Lucius was, of course, horribly angered by the public display. He
immediately drew his wand, no longer content to watch as others killed
Sirius for him. He was going to do it himself. As the Reductor curse flew
free of Malfoy's wand, the entire crowd froze to watch the quick death
sure to come.
Only Sirius didn't die. Gasps flew through the crowd as they watched a
log from Sirius's own pyre fly free and intercept the deadly magical
beam. The log shattered into hundreds of splinters causing both Sirius
and Malfoy to flinch back. Everyone turned to the source of the magic
that saved Sirius from the attack.
There. At the front of the crowd. Her.
'Pansy' was shaking and crying and holding her wand out. Clearly she
had cast the spell to save Sirius's life. Almost to quick to see, several sets
of hands grabbed her, one of them taking the wand from her hand.
Lucius stalked up to the girl.
"I... I couldn't let you -hic- do it." She sobbed. "It's wrong! All of it! -hic-
Plain wrong!"
Lucius took a moment to collect himself before smiling at the girl. "I
should thank you Miss Parkinson... if that is who you really are... I was
going to end the show too quickly in my anger."
She only sobbed louder as orders were given to bring her forward and
bind her only a few meters short of the pyre she summoned a log from.
Tonks's cover was blown but it didn't matter any longer. She failed to
save the day. She failed, and it felt more horrible than any hex or curse
she ever took in the line of duty.
Lucius nodded to the aurors.
"Incendio!" Five red balls of flame shot out ant set the wood under Sirius
aflame. Nathalie fought tooth and nail against the magic binding her
Veela nature and her voice. She saw death coming for the man she could
silently admit to loving even if she never could say the words.
In a room in a magically fortified house near the base of the French Alps,
a know-it-all bookworm wailed at the injustice of it all as her friends
tried to comfort her while shedding their own tears.
-o\0/o-
A column of black smoke rose lazily up from the village of Hogsmeade. A
flash of light and flame shot up near the smoke, hinting that Nathalie was
about to follow Sirius on his way to the afterlife.
"How many more have to die before you learn your lesson, Harry?" Albus
tried again to get the ghost in the window to acknowledge him. They
both heard everything over the WWN.
It would seem that Minister Malfoy was now satisfied enough with the
inevitable outcome that he had the silencing charms on Sirius and
Nathalie removed. The wizarding wireless broadcast was now a mix of
hushed commentary, the steady roar of the crowd and the shrieks of a
woman who was now beginning to feel the heat of her own fiery end.
"No answer, young man? Very well." Albus seemed ready to leave Harry
to his thoughts. "We can speak of this tomorrow or the day after. Perhaps
some time alone will do you good."
"Just one problem, Dumbledore." Harry slowly turned from the smokey
column to look at the Headmaster.
"And that is?"
"You won't be in France tomorrow, will you?" And with that, Harry Potter
blinked out of existence before the Headmaster's very eyes.
-o\0/o-
A boy and his dog walked into a bar.
The boy snapped his fingers and pointed at a stool. "Up, Padfoot."
Padfoot the dog obediently hopped onto the stool and barked once.
"Stayyyyyyyy." The boy said.
As the shaggy slobber machine sat patiently, the boy walked around to
the other side of the counter and grabbed a pair of shot glasses from the
sink.
"What'll you have, boy?"
Three quick barks followed his question.
"Sorry, I don't know any mixed drinks..." He looked back to the wall
display and picked up a random bottle whose only distinguishing mark as
far as the boy was concerned was the word 'Scotch'. "Will this do?"
Padfoot replied with a single laughing bark.
"One for you..." A shot of amber liquid left it's glass prison followed
shortly by a second. "And one for me."
A large wet nose dipped in to sniff the shot in front of it. Satisfied with
the scent, Padfoot launched his tongue into the alcohol. After only two
good laps of liquid heat, the dog knocked his glass over. Not seeing this a
a problem, he continued lapping up the liquor from the wooden counter.
Happy with the dog's performance, the boy knocked back his head and
took his own drink in one swallow. That one swallow was immediately
spat back into the air as a fine mist.
"Bloody hell!" He shouted amidst the coughs.
"Heeeee-he-he-he-heee!" Sirius Black fell off his stool he was laughing so
hard. "The look on your face, Harry... priceless!"
"Nice to see you too, Sirius..." Harry recovered and poured two more
shots. He also grabbed a near by soda can. Some of the older boys talked
about 'chasers' in the Gryffindor common room sometimes and he
thought one might help.
"Oh -he, he- Harry..." The scruffy dogfather tried to pull himself together.
"Just in case you were wondering, burning to death is not fun."
The mood sobered. Both man and boy took a shot each to try to combat
the effect.
"I'll take your word for it that it hurts more than a spear to the chest."
Probably did by a wide margin at that.
A third round was poured. Sirius took his glass in hand, but stopped short
of drinking. He looked around. "Nathalie isn't here. Why isn't she here,
Harry?"
"Just a tick."
Harry looked around for a moment before spying a remote control. He
took it and turned to where a large black television was hanging from the
bar's inner corner. Click.
The image on screen was of Hogsmeade... just as Sirius left it forever to
be exact... and it was paused.
"Dammit Harry! We've got to do something! Send me back!"
"I can't do that, Padfoot. That's not in the cards for you anymore." Harry
looked at the irate man with a level of calmness that was entirely
unexpected.
"Then why don't you do something! Anything!" Sirius raged.
"I will. Promise." Harry pointed at the screen. "See that, Padfoot? Paused.
As in 'not moving'. I intend to do something about that."
Sirius battled with his emotions enough to see the look in Harry's eye.
"You're going to Hogsmeade?"
"That's right."
Sirius drank the shot in his hands, poured himself another one and drank
that one too. "Give 'em hell for me, then."
"I intend to... as soon as Nathalie is taken care of."
Sirius put his arms on the counter and buried his head in his hands. "I
just asked her to marry me, you know. The very night we got taken."
"Congratulations, Padfoot. You finally found happiness even if only for a
little while." Harry put his hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"And look what good it did me... she should have stayed away... I failed a
loved one once again."
"Don't think like that." Harry said firmly. "You've been shit on by fate all
your life... not your fault."
Sirius didn't respond, so Harry changed gears. "I'd love to stay and chat,
but I've got things to do and people to see."
Sirius nodded before pulling himself off his bar stool and wrapping his
godson in a tight hug. Eventually, they parted.
"Anyways," Harry continued, "The remote is easy to use. Just hit play or
rewind or whatever. You'll find a pretty long story up there with no
commercial breaks. And drink whatever you want. Whole bar is free as
long as you're here. If you ever do feel like moving on just go out the
front doors. That's all there is to it."
"And what'll I find when I leave, Harry?" Sirius was concerned, Harry saw
it in his eyes.
"Nothing bad I'm sure. Other than that... I couldn't tell you." Harry
walked back around the bar. "Oh! Nathalie never did tell you what she
got you for Christmas, did she?"
"Not that it matters now, but no she didn't."
"She really does love you, you know..." Harry paused before opening the
door. "Congratulations you bastard. It's a girl."
As Harry left the bar, Sirius Black was stuck looking between Harry's
back and the paused telly. Curiosity and sheer wonder eventually one
out.
-o\0/o-
The ghost of Harry Potter appeared over a large crowd of wizards and
witches. None looked high enough to see him for their interest was on
the gruesome spectacle that was unraveling before them for a second
time today. He watched as they mocked and jeered the woman who was
now knee deep in flames and shrieking from the pain. The flames rose an
inch or two higher as an auror cast Incendio into the woodpile again.
Then Harry saw the other prisoner, the young witch bound and gagged
before the pyres. No doubt she was near enough to get first or second
degree burns.
"Tonks..." He murmured.
He turned his head to the sky and turned his concentration inward. With
breathless lungs, he yelled, "GABRIELLE!"
In that small bistro over sixteen hundred kilometers away, the youngest
Delacour girl suddenly jerked upright in her seat.
"I gotta go!" She shouted at her mother before bolting from her chair and
sprinting for the lady's room.
A few other patrons laughed at the transparency of the little girl. More
than one eyed their food suspiciously. Apolline sent one of her auror
guards off to follow Little Angel just in case.
Ten seconds later, Apolline was shocked out of her chair when a wave of
pure love and devotion swept through the dining room. Almost
immediately afterwards, the hum of a bell being struck filled the air. It
was her turn to run to the toilet.
Buy the time the Veela mother beat through the door and looked around,
all she saw was the faintest afterglow of a ring near the floor... and a
freaked out auror.
"What happened?" Apolline yelled at the soon to be ex-auror.
"She ran in, knelt down to pray, ch-changed and left Madame." The man
forced out. "She- she really had to go!"
-o\0/o-
The flames were up to Nathalie's hips when it happened. A blue-white
light appeared in the air next to Tonks. People began to notice. It
expanded into a ring and began to drop to the ground, generating a loud
bell like ringing in the air. Soon only people on the opposite side of the
pyre were not looking at the light and even they were wondering at
everyone else's distraction.
As soon as he saw his Angel, Harry blurred forward and went inside. At
their reunion, a wave of love and peace rolled across the village so
powerful that the full crowd was awed. Gabby's extreme joy at the
reunion only lasted as long as it took for her to finish her transport and
look up at the burning Veela before her.
NOOOOOOOOO
As quickly as the massive aura of peace came, it vanished. Only Harry's
presence inside prevented Gabby from reverting to human form and
falling to the ground in horror.
Back in France, Hermione stared at the wireless wide eyed. She knew
that screech. The voice was familiar. She wasn't the only one who
thought so either.
"Nooo! Gabby, don't do it! Go back to Momma!" Fleur wailed at the
speakers to no avail.
The crowd around Gabby was also staring wide eyed as not one of them
had ever seen an angel... more than a few who's families never bothered
with muggle holy books and had not the least clue what she was.
Lucius was shocked into inaction just as the rest of the crowd was. His
master expected the proceedings to be interrupted, but then that girl
blocked his curse and he thought that was the end of it. Much as Lord
Voldemort claimed otherwise, Lucius simply didn't believe a little French
girl and a ghost could be worthy adversaries no matter who the girl's
father was.
In that split second after Gabby saw Nathalie and yelled, her silver
chained wand was in her hands and flying through the air in a quick
sweep. She's done something like it before. Burning wood flew away from
Nathalie's pyre in a broad arc. Gabby swept both stakes clean of their fuel
with enough force to snuff out the fire under Nathalie and expose the last
few remains of what had been Sirius Black only minutes before. Nathalie
had just been given a short reprieve; she may even survive if her wounds
could be tended to quickly enough.
The crowd behind her… not so lucky. Dozens of British purebloods
suffered under the assault as over a tonne of burning wood flew over
their ranks. This shock got the crowd moving again as many drew their
wands to banish the burning wood or do something about the many who
were now crying out in pain on the ground. Others had a different
reaction.
"Aurors!" Minister Malfoy bellowed even as he drew his own wand. "Take
down that beast immediately!"
But Gabby and Harry would not be caught unawares this time. A small
mental nudge from spirit to angel gave her all the push she needed to
remember Misses McGonagall's lessons on self defense and wind magics,
only the old Scott never intended Harry and Gabby to come up with a use
for her garden cyclone. She drew her wand back to cast. The old wand
was cold to her touch, as it always has been, but there was something
more. Had anyone been paying attention to the wand itself they may
have noticed the faintest hint of whispering.
The little angel pointed her wand straight up and twirled it about in a
tight circle. Her cyclone reformed as it had before except this time she
pushed herself and her magic to new heights. Wind heavy with the scent
of raw magic turned in a tight circle about Gabby, the bound witch next
to her and the two stakes in the ground.
A flash of red appeared on her left. The beam of magic sailed through her
winds and bounced off a wingtip. Three more curses appeared, two of
them missing and one sliding around her hip before continuing on into
the ground behind her.
Gabby held her winds steady and the next magical attack, conjured
ropes, turned aside mid-air. An auror tried to banish the burning wood
back at her only to have it caught up in the cyclone and thrown into the
crowd again. That auror's failure didn't stop others from trying to break
through the magical winds and crush her. Spells were now flying about
in ever greater frequency… Gabby's winds were holding, but at the same
time, her wand and concentration were focused on the wind, not those
Harry had called her here to save.
"Aaaaaahhh!"
A pained cry startled Gabby and she looked to the source. Tonks was on
the her side, a gash tore through her bindings and through her arm.
Blood was beginning to soak the metamorph's robes. Harry and Gabby
both knew something had to change.
Harry thought of the answer first. Since pulling out her wand, Gabby's
only used her wand magic and not her more angelic abilities. With new
found purpose, he added fresh feelings of comfort and support to his
angel hoping it would have a particular effect.
It did.
As Gabby held her wand aloft, she began to feel better… lighter… more
loved. Her stance loosened and her wings stretched open and up. She felt
so peaceful even in the center of this magical crossfire that she began to
radiate peace and love as she did upon first arrival. And why wouldn't
she? Harry was with her. He loved her and he would show her what do.
On the other side of Gabby's magical winds, feelings of love and peace
once again swept through the crowds. Their anger, aggression and
prejudices all bled away until the spell fire ceased. Even Malfoy, who still
remembered why he should be trying to capture the girl, could not lift his
wand even to aim. A voice of reason in the back of his mind told him that
he should consider trying to get away now, but Gabby's thrall was
powerful… more powerful by far than the Imperius Curse or the Veela
thrall of Gabrielle's family. She had them body and soul until she eased
off.
The winds fell. For a brief moment, the only sound in all of Hogsmeade
was the gentle hum of Gabby's reformed halo as it floated delicately
above her head.
But there was much to be done. Gabby's wand lowered and her
concentration passed from magical defense to the needs of her loved
ones. She looked around. There was a barrel to the side of the Ministry's
platform. Upon spotting the barrel, Gabby levitated it over to the foot of
Nathalie's stake. Three quick flaps of her wings had Gabby standing on
the barrel top, her eyes level with Nathalie's navel. Perfect.
Harry prodded his Angel into releasing a bit of the pain she felt at seeing
Nathalie's body burnt and bleeding this way. From head to waist, she was
a patchwork of skin, blisters and burn marks. Much of her clothing and
all of her hair was ash. Little skin was left on the Veela's legs and black
char had taken parts of her feet already. All this and the Veela was still
alive.
Gabby shuddered once before wrapping her arms, her body and her
wings around cousin Nathalie. A soft trill left her throat, one that
sounded like weeping. Moisture lined the angel's eyes. Soon, as shower of
crystal clear tears began to fall on Nathalie's burned and abused body.
Out in the crowd, wizards and witches felt Gabby's pain and wept in
magically induced sympathy.
"…oh… oh, dear listeners… if you could only see the- well, angel is the
only word that comes to mind. She's crying on the Veela. Is she- what? Is
she mourning or healing the woman? Oh, Richard, what have we done?"
The announcer's voice carried over the crowd and over the airwaves.
"I- I don't know, Stephen. I really don't feel good about this anymore. Is…
is she like half-phoenix, this girl? She has the purest white feathers I've
ever seen on any bird and I've never felt so good as when she appeared
before us, not even when I hired out two unicorns for my niece's birthday
two years back. If she is a light creature then why is she crying on a
lowly Veela?"
"I wish I knew, Richard. I wish I knew."
Stephen and Richard had a much bigger audience now. The room full of
teens in southern France was joined by dozens of I.C.W. and other
international magical bodies who had an interest in Magical Britain.
News even spread to the general public where many shopkeepers and
restaurateurs in Magical France tuned in the British wireless station. They
tuned in first to witness Magical Britain's most recent crime against
Magical France. They really began to pay attention when the angel
appeared. Every magical sentient in Europe knew there was only one
angel that these Englishmen could be referring to. The Girl-Who-Lived,
the bearer of Potter's Mark. Gabrielle Delacour.
Gabrielle's wings unfurled. She pulled herself back and looked up at her
cousin. Nathalie was no longer at risk of blacking out. In fact, the Veela
was wide eyed and staring at her feathery cousin in wonder. One
unblemished toe edged out towards the barrel Gabby stood on. An
unblemished toe at the end of a smooth, healthy leg attached to a perfect
body, crystal blue eyes and shimmering silver-blonde hair. Apparently,
angel tears were more potent healing magic than phoenix tears were.
"Little Angel. Little Angel, please get me down from here." Nathalie called.
Inside of Gabby, Harry still remembered that one of theirs was still
injured on the ground nearby. Tonks. After giving Gabby another
spiritual hug, he slipped outside. The crowds gasped.
"I see a few tears left in your eyes, Gabby. Can you give them to Tonks?" The
angel nodded and hopped off the barrel with flared wings. While Gabby
went to heal Tonks, Harry began to untie the knots still holding Nathalie
aloft.
"Wizards and witches, boys and girls, the ghost of Harry Potter is now
helping the angel free the Veela. What a turn of events this is." The WWN
announcer called, Gabby's focus was beginning to wane and her thrall
was weakening. "The angel just healed our condemned prisoner and is
now approaching that girl who tried to stop Minister Malfoy earlier. It…
yes, it appears she intends to heal the girl's arm. The girl must've been
winged during that storm of spells a minute ago."
Lucius Malfoy was marshaling his resolve. He couldn't let Gabrielle
escape again, not after the first time. Voldemort wouldn't care that he
was the Minister, if his prized bird-girl got away a second time there
would be hell to pay.
"What in Merlin's name are all of you doing?" Lucius shouted at the top of
his lungs. "Aurors! Rebind the prisoners and seize the girl and Potter!"
There were many in the crowd who were shocked at the Minister's
demand. Shocked, yes, but it looked like they may still follow through
with his commands. He was their Minister after all.
"Wait!" Harry shouted to the crowd, having finally freed the nearly nude
Veela. "How can you continue as you are? Don't you see what's
happening?"
"A criminal is being executed." Malfoy stated, Sonorus reapplied to his
voice. "She was tried and found guilty just like Black. We did you a favor
boy, we got rid of the man responsible for your parent's deaths."
"You know as well as I do that Sirius didn't betray my parents, Death
Eater! Pettigrew did, Sirius is innocent! I heard your miserable excuse for
a trial. It went just about as I expected it too; none of your witnesses had
to prove they were telling the truth. You accepted hearsay and rumors…
and what you said about Nathalie was plain ridiculous. I challenge you to
swear a binding magical oath attesting to what you know about Sirius
Black and Nathalie Fournier! I challenge you to swear to your story about
how you idiots kidnapped Gabrielle ON HER NINTH BIRTHDAY and tried
to have her executed in courtroom seven! I challenge you to swear as to
your real involvement with Lord Voldemort!"
Hearing the Dark Lord's chosen name aloud caused as many gasps and
shouts as it always did, the fools.
"As famous as you are, Potter, you are just a boy and a dead one at that.
Nothing you say has any bearing in the real world." Lucius responded.
Harry turned to address the crowd in general. "Everyone listen! This man
is leading you to ruin, you can't keep turning a blind eye to the truth!"
"Lies! Don't listen to him! The Ministry always does what is best for its
subjects!" Dolores Umbridge yelled above all others. "Why, the deranged
little fool is just following in his worthless mudblood mother's footsteps.
He'll be the ruin of Magical Britain if you believe him!"
Harry chilled the air around him in his anger. Behind Harry, a newly
healed, and newly herself, Tonks handed her outer cloak to Nathalie to
keep the cold and the perverts at bay. They and Gabby all stood by
Harry, with one wand between the three of them, in support of his stand
against Malfoy.
Harry looked out across the crowd. There were no children that he could
see though there were some young adults… maybe a few of the upper
year Hogwarts students. More than that, these were the very people who
promoted the pureblood lifestyle. These were the people who had tea and
biscuits as muggleborns were rounded up and taken to Azkaban. These
were Umbridge's peers; they might have given her a medal if she ever
succeeded in killing Hermione. These were Malfoy's peers; people who
sneer down their noses at 'their lessers' in public, and snarl as they
torture muggles in private. He would give them one last chance to
redeem themselves.
"Just go home. Turn around and go home." Harry pleaded. "If you turn
back now, you will be spared the fate of those who delight in inflicting
misery upon others... the fate of those who enslave or kill other races due
to a sick sense of blood superiority. I beg you to turn from this place and
go home."
Dolores was Vernon purple now. She stepped forward, not even
bothering to ask her Dear Minister for permission.
"You worthless little bug! How dare you speak so to your betters! I can't
believe that my country revered such a horrible half-blood animal such as
yourself. It's a pity that the Dark Lord didn't take you with him when he
died!" She turned to the aurors and the less savory D.M.L.E. 'officials' who
were still providing security for the nights celebration. "What are you
fools waiting for? Kill them!"
A wall of wands rose around Harry and company. The ghost immediately
faded out to rejoin his Angel.
Once more Gabby raised her magical cyclone, only this time it was even
tighter with higher winds than before. The area she had to protect was
smaller. Even as the wall of wizards prepared to cast their spells, Harry
and Gabby both understood that they would have to do something
different this time... something more. Harry filled his Angel with the
desire to do what was right. Gabby immediately took his desire as her
own, for she desperately wanted his praise, to feel pride in doing his
will... her Lord's will.
Gabby's wand sang in her hand and as she continued to stoke the magical
winds. A small point of light formed at the end of her wand to match the
blue-white of her halo. A new idea entered Little Angel's mind. It was a
theme that did not come from Harry, though both he and Gabby agreed
with it as soon as it became known. These people are bad. The idea
whispered. They must be punished. When Gabby embraced the idea as
Harry's and as her own, the point of light at the end of her wand flared
brightly.
Gabby closed her eyes and spoke. She spoke in that special way that
would allow anyone to understand her words so long as they heard them.
MY LORD OFFERED YOU A WAY OUT
A few spells made it through the winds, but with so much dust in the air,
none of the aurors new exactly where to aim... a few of them ended up
cursing each other.
She raised her left hand to the level of her twirling right hand before
bringing them both down along with her wings. As her wings spread and
lowered, so too did her halo.
AND YOU CHOSE TO BE BAD PEOPLE
Where the first few spells which cleared the winds splashed harmlessly
against her body, not even one curse made it that far now in spite of the
increasing volume of spells shot off. Every curse that neared the great
humming ring of light fell into it as though pulled. With each spell
swallowed whole by the halo, it grew greater still and with every surge of
magical strength, the halo's hum grew to new heights. From it's start as a
low buzz it came to ring with the tone of a great church bell, and it's
volume was near what one would find inside of that bell.
Amidst all of the distractions, Gabby continued to perform her assigned
task. When her hands and wingtips all fell even with the horizon, the two
meter wide halo shot out to the magical cyclone around them and
sparked a magical flash that temporarily blinded anyone looking.
AND BAD PEOPLE MUST BE PUNISHED
Gabrielle's cyclone became a violent vortex of magical fire which quickly
rose and expanded with the same speed of the original halo when it freed
itself from Gabby's control. Blue-white fire surged out faster than anyone
was prepared for, reaching the front line of aurors and D.M.L.E.
officials... and Delores Umbridge... in less than a second.
Some in the crowd may have attempted to apparate or portkey out, but
due to the Ministry's own ward schemes portkeys failed and attempts to
apparate out lead to horrific splinchings.
Others may have been quick enough to cast a shield charm at the last
second or even a charm against fire, but no single wizard or witch no
matter how powerful they were could have held firm against the
righteous fires of the Angel Gabrielle.
After watching, listening to and commenting on the proceedings, the last
words to reach the WWN radio network before static filled the airwaves
was an unfinished plea, "Merlin help u-"
Just over a kilometer away, Draco, his mother and the two Greengrass
sisters started as a frightening sound erupted from the village at their
back. A light conversation about House Greengrass and it's historical
backgrounds was abandoned as the four turned to look back down the
trail.
The Lady and three teens of good breeding all stared with growing horror
at the great pillar of blue-white fire which was quickly devouring
Hogsmeade Village whole.
Draco snapped out of his daze when a sound to his left proved to be his
mother; she fell to the ground in a dead faint. Looking back at the
greatest spell Draco had ever witnessed or even heard tell of, he found it
likely his mother fell after concluding that her husband was now dead. As
he levitated his mother off the trail, he found little comfort in his own
logic. As powerful a man and wizard as Lucius Malfoy was, he could not
have stood up to a magical firestorm such as that one.
Only a few hundred meters up the trail, standing in the same spot he
occupied when Harry Potter disappeared, Albus Dumbledore wept.
"How could you, Harry?" He called through the window. "How could
you? All those people gone... who will lead them to the light now that
you have denied them? How could you do such a thing?"
At the Delacour family home in southern France, friends and family were
assembling in the main parlor to recover or fall apart or make sense of it
all or whatever it was each of them felt they needed to do at the time.
The only thing that each could agree on was that the family needed to be
together when Little Angel finally felt that her tests were over and she
could return home.
With Harry.
And Nathalie.
And Tonks.
And, if possible, Sirius.
-o\0/o-
A kilometer or two to the west, a loose group of broom riders, perhaps a
dozen or more, and their master watched as Hogsmeade turned to ash.
"My Lord?" A woman called to the one figure who had no need of a
broom to stay aloft.
"This changes things." He murmured. His tone warned that further
interruptions would be unwise.
After a few minutes of silence, the broomless Lord called to his devoted
once more. "Follow!"
He disappeared and soon his devoted began to track their Lord by
answering the call of their Dark Marks.
-o\0/o-
"Harry?" Gabrielle called from the center of a charred and smoldering
wasteland that had once been the only fully magical village in all of
Britain.
"Yes Angel?" Harry called back. He took one last look at what he thought
was once the butt end of a wand before dropping it to the ground.
"I- ummmnnn..."
Harry turned to the little witch. She was looking up the trail heading to
Hogwarts.
"I want to go get my wand back."
Harry looked up the trail too. Behind the two, Nathalie and Tonks both
took interest.
"Albus Dumbledore's got it, Gabby. He's not likely to give it up without a fight."
Harry cautioned.
Gabby looked down at her feet. "I know."
"Can you make him give it back? " Harry studied her closely.
"Do you think I can?" Gabby looked up Harry.
Looking up with her head tilted to one side, Gabby's eyes were innocent
and impossibly wide. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Gabby's left
shoe etching a soft line in the dirt beneath her feet. Harry smiled and his
smile forced Gabby to grin not so innocently along with him.
"Yeah, I think so." Harry said finally.
"Me too." Angel replied.
"Okay."
In the middle of a burned out magical village, Harry and Gabby stood
there and smiled at each other.
"Harry?" Tonks stepped up to the two. Her French needed work and she
hoped that she was just wrong about the what little she understood of
that talk she just overheard. "Can we leave now?"
Without looking away from his Angel, Harry replied. "Not yet, Tonks.
We've got to run a little errand over to Hogwarts first."
"Harry, please don't. I just want to get back to France now. Think of
Nathalie... you... you can't be serious."
"Of course I can't be Sirius-" Harry stopped at Tonks's glare. "Look. You
can use Gabby's wand to make a portkey if you know how... or you can
use it to fix up Nathalie and yourself and you can follow us. Don't think
you can force us home early when there's one more task left unfinished."
Tonks flinched, accepting that she would have to just follow along. Yes,
she could make a portkey, but she'd still need a wand on their journey
south and there was no way she was stealing an angel's wand.
"Fine. Have it your way." Tonks held her hand out, palm up, to Harry and
Gabby. "I'll just transfigure us some things to keep warm with."
The remains of Hogsmeade were actually still quite warm, but heavy
snow banks weren't that far away and Nathalie was still starkers under
Tonks's cloak.
As Gabby offered her wand to Tonks, Harry spoke up again. "Get changed
Gabby. I want you in fighting form as soon as old Albus figures out he's got
company."
"Yes, Harry." She answered, still smiling. Yes, Sirius had just passed, but
she could feel it deep inside that her Lord was comfortable with that so
she was too. "Oh! Can I show you a new trick?"
At Harry's eager nod, Gabby dropped to her knees and began to pray out
loud.
-o\0/o-
It was lunch time in the Ministry of Magic Atrium. One junior grade
auror was manning the lobby's wand checkpoint, muffin in hand and
runic crossword spread out before her.
A shadow crossed over her puzzle.
"Wands, please..." She droned without bothering to look up.
Her request was met with silence. No wand was passed into her waiting
hand. She looked up.
Before the young witch stood a large group of black cloaked wizards and
witches, all wearing white or silver bone faced masks save one. His mask
was gold.
"Swear allegiance to me, Lord Voldemort."
The auror trainee's mouth dropped open in shock, body frozen in fear.
She didn't respond to his command. Too bad for her.
"Avada Kedavra." Lord Voldemort called out the killing curse in an almost
casual tone.
As the now dead junior grade auror slumped bonelessly to the floor,
Voldemort walked past her desk.
"Morsmordre!" Bellatrix Lestrange shouted to his right, releasing the
gruesome visage of a glowing green skull and coiling snake into the
atrium above the Fountain of Magical Brethren.
A power vacuum was getting filled today even if some employees deep in
the bowels of the Ministry building didn't know that one existed.
-o\0/o-
"He's dead." Narcissa whispered.
"I believe so, Mother." Draco responded. "There has been no word from
Hogsmeade since it happened. With everyone of value there to witness
the trial, I doubt that there are enough wizards left in the Ministry
building to do more than answer the floo."
Nacrissa looked around to see herself in a room she recognized. The
Hogwarts Hospital Wing.
"Would you believe this is the first time in my life that I entered this wing
as a patient and not just a concerned friend?"
"I wish I could say the same." Draco almost smiled at his mother's
question.
Draco held his mother's left hand between both of his. A discreet cough
behind them caught his attention. It was Daphne.
"Would you two please stay with Mother?" Draco asked the Greengrass
sisters. "I need to speak to the Headmaster."
Astoria nodded immediately. Daphne had other ideas.
"My parents are still at home; I floo'd them to say we were well half an
hour ago. May I go with you when you speak to the Headmaster? Father
will want to know what this means for his business interests."
With everything on his mind at the time, Draco missed the glare Astoria
shot her older sister.
"Mother?" Draco looked to Narcissa for approval, which she gave. "Very
well."
Young Lord Malfoy kissed his mother's hand, took Daphne's and left the
Hospital Wing.
-o\0/o-
Lunch in the Great Hall was an extremely quiet affair. Expelled
muggleborns from three houses lined either side of Gryffindor Table near
the Head Table, not wanting to be too far from the Headmaster's
influence. Albus himself had just come down from his window
overlooking Hogsmeade. There would have to be some kind of speech to
the children present before he set off to fix what he could of this tragedy.
A few of the other professors were also on hand, some knowing of what
just transpired and others still unaware.
Into this, Draco and Daphne walked arm in arm.
"Headmaster," Draco called, "may we have a word with you?"
"If it's about the tragedy that's befallen us in Hogsmeade, young man,
then please have a seat." Albus answered. "I shall make an announcement
to the school, as there are many here who know nothing of what
transpired this morning."
Both Slytherin teens nodded and sat down at their house's table as
requested. Other students and 'guests' of Hogwarts in the room looked on
with mistrust though a few sitting along Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Tables
were merely curious upon seeing two students show up that were not
here for the Holidays. Ron glared at Draco with twice the vitriol that
anyone else put into it. Bloody Slytherins.
Before the weary Headmaster could signal for everyone's attention, the
Gryffindor House ghost blew into the Great Hall and up to the Head
Table.
"Ah! There you are Headmaster! So nice to finally find you." The buoyant
spirit called.
"How can I be of assistance, Sir Nicholas?"
"I thought you might like to know that I was just having the most
exciting conversation with one of my little lions on the way up the path.
He had the most remarkable story to tell, let me tell you-"
Albus chose to interrupt. He had a speech to give before he could get on
with his real work outside of castle walls. England needed him. A power
vacuum of massive proportions was just created and without his
assistance both the Ministry and Magical Britain as a whole were bound
to fall into anarchy.
"I'm afraid I have no time for remarkable stories, Sir Nicholas. I have
important announcements to make."
Nearly Headless Nick looked at the old man with genuine impatience.
"I'm quite sure, Sir, that you will want to hear this one."
Albus was about to refuse Nick a second time when he saw someone
enter the Great Hall... someone he really didn't expect to see.
Nymphadora Tonks strolled up the center of the Great Hall like she
owned the place.
"Wotcher." She called in greeting as she neared the Head Table.
"Nymphadora." Albus greeted. He put on a mask of warmth and
greetings, yet inside he was alarmed. "What a pleasure to see you well
again and back in your home country. However did you escape
confinement?"
"The name is 'Tonks', sir... and escape?" Tonks snorted. "I work for them
now. Practically a frog myself! Je ne suis pas un ananas. That's like
French for 'I'm a banana' or something. I know I've got some more
studying to do before I get all cultured and snooty on you lot, but I'm
working on it."
Albus didn't know what to make of the Hufflepuff auror metamorph that
just admitted to defecting... or committing treason depending on what
laws you apply or which officials you influence.
"I'm glad to hear you're doing well then. May I inquire as to what brings
you here today? Have you by any chance recently passed through
Hogsmeade?"
Tonks demeanor changed at his question. She squared her shoulders and
clasped her hands behind her.
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. On behalf of the French
Ministry of Magic, the Grangers, the Delacours and Harry Potter, I ask
that you hereby return the wand which you have wrongly stolen from
one Gabrielle Delacour forthwith, immediately, without delay and so on
and so forth. What say you sir?"
Very aware of the crowd watching, he decided to play ignorant of her
claims. Off to the side, he noticed Fawkes flash into the hall and look for
a roost in the enchanted ceiling's framework. An omen, but what did it
mean?
"I'm afraid, my dear that you are mistaken. I have nothing that belongs to
that little girl." Albus let his eyes twinkle over a grandfatherly smile. "If
Miss Delacour continues to disagree with me, I'd be more than willing to
discuss her claims in my office whenever she has time to speak to me."
Tonks nodded as if his answer was a foregone conclusion. "Can't say I
didn't try..." She muttered before turning around and breathing in deeply.
"HE SAID 'NO'!"
As Tonks's shout trailed off, a beautiful woman with silver-blonde hair
and blue eyes pushed the entry doors to the Great Hall wide open. Before
Albus could even contemplate the implications of having a Veela open his
doors when one was so recently on trial and burning at the stake, a white
blur shot through his hall's now open doors.
The white blur resolved itself into a young girl, an angel, who literally
flew into the hall before flaring her wings and coming down to land right
in the middle of Hufflepuff Table. As soon as Gabby's shoes touched the
table, her silver chained wand was in hand and energy was pooling
between her wingtips to form her next halo.
You have my wand old man...
Gabrielle cried, once again making sure that everyone could understand
her.
...and I want it back!
Albus paled. This was the girl who just gutted Magical England's upper
class. Then he saw what she held in her right hand.
Of course. The wand he took from Grindelwald in Nineteen fourty-five.
The Elder Wand. The Deathstick. The wand Death itself is said to have
created by it's own hand. How else could she cast a single spell and kill
so many?
Albus stood slowly and, with a silent magical nudge to the house elf staff,
banished the Head Table and all four house tables. Gabby dropped the
last meter to the floor but you can't throw an avian off balance by
making her fall. Noticing the sour expression crossing their Headmaster's
face, all of the students present stood and moved to the side walls. Tonks
moved aside as well, though the three professors who remained all
seemed to hold their ground nervously. Professors Vector and Grubbly-
Plank were both wide eyed even with their wands out. D.A.D.A. wasn't
their specialty. Professor Mason was well versed in dueling even if he was
here to teach Transfiguration but he was clearly not keen to provide a
live demonstration of his abilities, not when Albus Dumbledore was the
real target and not when his eager opponent just cleared out a whole
village full of aurors, duelers and dirty scrappers.
Finally, Headmaster Dumbledore felt himself ready to answer the little
girl's challenge.
"How dare you come into this castle and demand things of me? How dare
you do what you did in Hogsmeade? How dare you come into this hall
and threaten the lives of my students?"
Harry desperately wanted to go outside and have it out with Albus
himself, but he knew Albus would lock him up in that ghost freezing spell
right off the bat at a time when Gabby needed every advantage she could
get. She would have to speak for herself, though he could and would
giver her all the love and encouragement he could offer. Like any good
girl who is asked questions by a grown-up, she answered them.
I want my wand because you stole it. I punished those people because
they were bad. I am not going to hurt anyone... I want my wand.
Albus held his wand higher, hand tensed, expecting some kind of
underhanded strike from the deceptively innocent looking child before
him. "Lay that wand on the floor young miss. Put it down and reverse
your transformation. Do these things and I will be as gentle as possible in
my handling of you as we purge the darkness from your soul."
Gabby resisted the urge to do her puppy-dog eyes routine... didn't think it
worked the same way with an angel face. Fortunately, she had something
better.
Me? 'Dark'?
There were many muggleborns in the hall which, in the time since they
turned eleven, came to find that mythical 'light' creatures like unicorns
and phoenixes weren't fairy tale legends at all. They were merely part of
a hidden magical world that 'muggles'... what a demeaning word really...
that muggles couldn't see. But now, for the very first time, the were
looking at an angel; she had wings and halo and she spoke in tongues.
This group didn't need Gabby to prove she was light; they took it as a
known fact.
She did prove it just the same.
Gabby once more immersed herself in the love Harry was showing her
and she in turn released that love into the room in general. The effect
was immediate on anyone in the room that wasn't using advanced
occlumency to push aside her angelic thrall.
"A well ordered mind can resist magics such as the Imperious Curse and
your thrall, young lady." Albus stood firm while all around him wizards
and witches had an experience that civilization has always described as
religious and not magical in origin. More than a few of them were
weeping openly.
When Gabby refused to lower her thrall at his words, Albus finally
accepted that words alone would not win him the day. He took a moment
to mentally revise his own spell library to focus on magics that would be
effective against her personal immunities and would not risk the innocent
witnesses in the room.
Gabby didn't immediately see Albus move his wand, but she did see the
effects as a tangle of ropes flew down the center of the ancient stone hall.
Again, McGonagall's lessons in the Delacour side garden came to Gabby's
aid.
Turn away!
She jammed her own wand towards the incoming Incarcerous before
jerking it off to the side. The ropes which were nearly upon her flew
away harmlessly. Inside, Harry noticed that Gabrielle said 'Turn away'
rather than the spell incantation 'declino' he remembered that wand
movement matching. How odd.
Albus cast again and this time the ground under Gabby's feet began to
shake. Her wings came down in a quick beat, lifting her feet off the
ground. A second and then third beat brought her higher into the air. In
another first for Gabby, her halo stayed put on its own without following
her wings mid-flight.
Thinking the little angel wasn't used to flying and dueling at the same
time, Albus twirled his wand to create a wind of his own. Powerful gusts
rushed down the length of the hall, reaching Gabby much faster than the
binding spell had. He was right about her experience level too. Gabby
was thrown back end over end until she hit the foor and rolled several
times.
OWW!
This wasn't a spell, she was honestly hurt. Gabby was now too distracted
by pain to actively push her thrall, but it didn't fully leave her. On the
other hand, she really didn't need it with her current duel's witnesses. In
fact, some of them were beginning to come out of their euphoria enough
to realize that Dumbledore was fighting an angel right in front of them.
"You cannot hope to best me, Miss Delacour." Albus called, Sonorus
carrying his voice so he need not yell. "I have far too much experience in
magical dueling to be beaten by a mere child no matter how much
potential she may have."
I can beat you. I will!
Gabby struggled to get up. At least the Great Hall was long enough that
Albus couldn't easily take advantage of her fall from the opposite end.
Slowly she began to walk the length of the Great Hall. Gabby and Harry
were both using the walk as a short break to think. Albus would use the
same trick again... even a nine year old could see that. She needed a way
to beat it. She needed a way to stop his magic from getting too close to
her.
Colin Creevey was one of the many muggleborn students seemingly
entranced by the magical battle. He was also the first to speak out from
the sidelines.
"Just give her the wand, Sir. Please!"
"Yes, give her the wand!" "Hear, hear!"
Several more shouts of support for Gabby echoed up and down the lines
of students.
"Do not judge her by what you see." Albus called to his students. "Have
you learned nothing in this castle? Darkness can hide in the guise of
light. The girl that walks among you killed hundreds of innocent wizards
and witches only just this morning! Were you not listening to the wireless
reports from Hogsmeade? She destroyed the whole village!"
They were not innocent! Sirius was innocent! Nathalie was innocent!
You don't know what you're talking about!
Gabby made it back to the middle of the hall. As expected, Albus cast his
ground shaking spell again. Also as expected, Gabby rose into the air in
an instinctive response to having her perch disturbed. This time, Gabby
started her own wind spell in anticipation of Albus's attack. Just as in
Hogsmeade, a tight wall of wind flared around her, though with almost
no dust on the floor, the winds were nearly invisible here.
Instead of meeting wind with wind, Albus focused on the wand in
Gabby's hand and summoned it.
Both angel and spirit were caught off guard. Gabby's wand slipped out of
her grasp just as the Headmaster intended but it did not fly to his hands.
After all, it was on a chain that was looped around a delicate, feathery
neck. Gabby's wind spell collapsed as she fought for control. She jerked
forward in the air, one hand reaching at the chain biting into her skin
while the other tried to wrap itself around her wand. Angel wings beat
frantically in a bid to hold her position but she lost a bit of ground
between each beat.
"No!" It wasn't Creevey, but the call was taken up by over a dozen
students this time. Ron, Ginny and a few of the other students were
fingering their own wands.
Gabby got her right hand back around the wand pulling against her neck
just as Albus was forced to stop summoning her wand and conjure a
stone shield.
With an angry shriek, Nathalie flew past her cousin, leathery wings
carving a path through the air as Veela fire poured out from her open
right palm. She may not be an angel and she may not be a witch but she
was Veela, and Veela were not to be trifled with.
The Headmaster's stone wall held firm against Nathalie's fire, but it was
not raised to counter two opponents. Albus turned to meet the white blur
barely visible past Nathalie's pyrotechnic display only to find that it was
Gabby's turn to be one step ahead.
Fire taper!
Once again, in the back of Gabby's mind, Harry wondered at her
wording. The incantation was 'ignis candesco' and the spell was to light
candles... in other words to ignite tapers. Back in the world outside,
Gabby's spell did exactly what she wanted it to. Albus was forced to drop
his wand as it burst into flame. Intent, see?
Albus began to feel panic as soon as he realized that an angel was
standing to his left and a Veela was standing to his right... and they were
both looking at him.
Where is it?
Albus had to concentrate a moment to understand her question. She still
wanted her wand? But why?
"You seem to have a wand that works, Miss Delacour." He looked at the
wand in her down covered hands. "Fifteen inches long, made of elder
wood and a Thestral's tail hair. As a matter of fact, I took that wand from
Gellert Grindelwald. I must confess... I don't understand why you still
need Harry's wand if that one works so well for you."
Even with Harry inside, Gabby slipped back into her normal human form.
She held the wand up between them, her focus on the wand and not the
wizard behind it.
"It's cold." She said softly. "I don't like it. Harry's wand is warmer... I... I'm
sure it wouldn't have sung at me when I punished the bad people in
Hogsmeade."
Albus thought he'd been surprised enough for one day, but that one
floored him again.
"'Sung' you say? It sang to you?" Gabby nodded.
Beside her, Harry reappeared. "Look, Albus. We want Gabby's wand back.
I only took this one after you filched hers on her birthday."
Gabby spoke up. "Give me my Harry wand and I'll give this one back."
Albus's eyes widened at that offer. "You would return that wand to me?"
"Uh-huh." Gabby nodded again. "But you can't fight me again and you
have to let us and Harry go back."
Albus considered his options carefully. Granted, he'd much rather
Gabrielle have no wand at all, but that is not an option he can make
happen today... the odds are too heavily stacked against him now. He
was reduced to choosing between two evils in his mind... though he
would have to put much thought into Gabrielle's actions today. They
were not what he expected. As she promised, there were no deaths, and
in spite of his loss, he wasn't even seriously wounded.
"You win, Miss Delacour. I shall return your wand."
A melodious call sounded from high in the ceiling supports. With a flash
of red and gold feathers, Fawkes dropped from his perch above and
turned through a slow, graceful spiral path until he came even with
Albus's shoulder. As the phoenix came to rest on his human perch,
Gabby's eyes lit up.
"My wand!" She skipped forward and eagerly plucked the holly and
phoenix feather gold chained wand out of Fawkes's grasp, negligently
slipping a silver chained replacement into the same spot. Overflowing
with happiness, Gabby pranced around in circles giggling and looking at
her Harry wand until the change took her again. She only stopped after
accidentally bumping into Nathalie, who was now a hot silver-blonde
again.
"You're lucky she even gave it back, you know." Harry said to
Dumbledore.
"I must agree with you there, Harry." The Headmaster picked up his new
'necklace'. "Odd. I detect no trace of the coldness young Gabrielle felt."
"Are you done trying to steal my girls?" Harry said, a little growl escaping
near the end.
Albus nodded slowly. "I may carry this wand, but Miss Delacour is it's
true master. I cannot use it against her unless she specifically wishes for
me to do so."
"Eh, Harry!" Tonks called from behind him. Harry turned to see Tonks
and Nathalie both standing very close to Gabby in the center of the room.
"Let's get out of here... Apolline's probably going spare right now
wondering where you three are."
"Will we see you again, Harry?" Albus asked.
Harry didn't turn back, but he did stop. "Fix the ward so that I can enter
and leave as I please. Do that, and you'll surely see me again. Don't do it,
and you will wish you never saw me again. Understand, Headmaster?"
"I accept your terms Harry. The castle wards will be changed tonight."
Harry didn't acknowledge Albus's words other than to start moving again.
He turned to his friends lining one side of the hall. "Ron! Ginny! Give me
a few days and I'll come by again, okay?"
"Sure mate!" Ron shouted back, his sister nodding frantically next to him.
"Potter?" A voice called from the opposite wall.
Harry turned to meet the new voice. "Malfoy."
Draco held his hands up and open. "Peace, Potter. I'm just asking you to
come see me one of these nights when you stop by the castle after term
starts."
Harry stared at his former arch-rival for a moment.
"They say you're not a prat anymore."
Draco smiled slyly and turned up his nose a bit in response.
"Come talk to me and find out for yourself, Potter."
"I just might." Harry turned away.
With the assembled lunch crowd plus one or two late comers watching,
Harry disappeared into Gabby once more. Three females, one Veela, one
angel and one metamorph huddled close together as a blue-white ring of
angelic power reworked reality around them by replacing Scotland with
France. The South of France in particular and the Delacour family seat to
be even more so.
-o\0/o-
On Christmas morning, a strange thing happened at the shores of Dover
even though none of the people nearby seemed to notice. An unscheduled
ferry pulled into the docks, one that the few security personnel actually
on duty Christmas morning failed to notice in the least. The guards even
failed to check up on the men and women who began pouring off of the
ferry in organized groups.
These groups began move away from the ferry with careful efficiency,
though it was inevitable that a local would eventually notice one of
them...
"Merry Christmas to you." A young girl, perhaps six or seven, called to
one of the cloaked men as they walked by her family's front step.
The man stopped and turned to the girl. His companions didn't stop, but
they did slow down. "And warm Yule tidings to you, young lady."
"I'm Elizabeth." The girl said. "What's your name?"
"Well, Elizabeth, I'm Oberleutnant Adler Koertig, II Corps."
Eyes wide, she asked, "Are you a Nazi?"
Adler smiled wide. "Heavens no, dear girl. I'm a policeman."
"Oh, okay!" Elizabeth smiled wide and waved at Adler and his men before
spinning on her heels and running into her home.
"Do we need to Obliviate her, sir?" Another cloaked man stepped up next to
Adler and whispered to him in German.
"No. She'll learn all about us on her eleventh birthday." With that, he turned
back to his command. London beckoned and they had a tight timetable.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes: My take on the Cruciatus Curse is that it does all its dirty
work in the nerve system and/or the mind. Other bodily systems like a
baby growing in its mommy's tummy won't be affected at all. Due to this
logic, Nathalie is in no danger of miscarriage due to her torture. Burning
at the stake, of course, is trickier. I'm declaring that she was about to lose
her child (and her own life shortly thereafter) when Gabby came in and
healed her.
I think that I may have been wavering between using the terms 'Magical
Britain' and 'Magical England' based on my feelings at the time of writing
in various chapters. After going back to the interwebs, I have verified
that the Ministry of Magic of Potter canon uses 'Britain'. I think that when
the final chapter is out, I may seek to revise my story to stick with the
canon 'Magical Britain' despite my personal non-canon preference being
the other way. After a bit of research on the UK, I am left with questions
as to the full reach of the MoM if they claim to be British and not
English. Diagon Alley is in London. Hogwarts is somewhere up in
Scotland. Was anything canon in Ireland? I can't remember. It makes me
think that someone with a better understanding of this historical back
and forth could do a lot in a fic if the MoM were more regional and less
omnipotent. Maybe there have been stories like that but I just didn't see
that side of them before.
On a similar note, you may have noticed that I typically start angel in
lowercase while capitalizing Veela. I find it oddly disconcerting but still
use it due to the fact that all my references point to Veela being
capitalized and angel usually not being capitalized. Similarly in the
Potter-verse, goblin seems not to rate capitalization even though Thestral
does. If someone reading knows the answer why, I'd appreciate a PM on
the reason (preferably not a review, as I don't want to pad the review
count ;)
19. Dog Star
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Eighteen: Dog Star
Christmas Day, 1995
A lone auror walked down Diagon Alley. The place was nearly dead, only
unlucky souls like him who had been selected for holiday patrols were
about. His more politically connected superiors went to the big to-do
yesterday and planned to take the rest of the week off. Lazy bastards.
May they rot in hell, the lot of them.
He lit a cigarette with the tip of his wand and moved through the early
morning gloom and looked around. Hmmph. The Prophet on display was
yesterday's. Was the paper late, or was he just that early?
After a few more puffs of warm tobacco and a half dozen more steps, the
auror made his way into the Leaky Cauldron.
"'lo, Tom." The auror ground out. "Merry Christmas. Tom?"
Tom wasn't there to greet him. There was some noise coming from the
back rooms... sounded like a wizarding wireless set with the volume
turned fairly low. The auror took a short trip over to the bar and checked
a newspaper that was spread over the counter. Yesterday's paper again.
Still no sign of the bar owner.
"Fine. Be that way."
He sat down at the bar and summoned a bottle of the good stuff. There
had to be some reward for being alone on the clock on such an important
holiday. He poured himself a shot and pulled the paper closer to him.
There were a few articles he hadn't quite gotten to yesterday. Bloody low
wages, not even enough to rate a used wireless set these days, and no end
of year bonus was expected either. If only his grandmother hadn't been
born on the wrong side of the wards. One muggleborn in the family tree
was one too many in this administration.
As the auror settled in for a short break, the door to muggle London
squeaked and opened behind him.
"Oi, Tom!" The auror cursed his luck and braced himself against the bar
to get up. "I thought we told you to lock that bleedin' door last Friday."
He turned around, ready to chew out, interrogate and otherwise harass
whoever it was that just broke an unwritten rule in the new magical
order.
"Alright you... lot..."
Who the hell were they? What in Merlin's name were those things they
had with them and what made them stupid enough to draw wands on an
auror?
He somehow failed to draw his own wand in response.
"I.C.W.! Stop where you are and keep your hands where I can see them!"
One of the men in mottled grey cloaks barked out. Right there above the
man's heart were three easy to see letters on a rectangular colored
background.
After another half second of indecision in which the cigarette fell from
his mouth, the English auror made a clumsy attempt to draw his wand.
Five jets of red light caught him in the face.
-o\0/o-
"Do we have to wake up?" Gabby mumbled into Hermione's side.
"Soon, Angel." Harry replied.
The three were in Gabrielle's bed- her dreamworld bed- watching the
day's first sun beams as they pierced her bedroom window and etched a
pattern on the far wall.
"You're mother's letting us have a lie in on account of the problems we
had yesterday." Harry said from his perch at the foot of the bed. One of
his arms hovered over the sheets, his fingers played with whatever toes
were nearby until a giggle escaped and the foot slid away. "I doubt today
will be any fun, Angel. Your Poppa took a potion to wake himself up and
went back to the office last night."
Hermione shifted a bit and spoke up. "You did have some rather
disturbing news to deliver, Harry. I still don't understand how
Dumbledore could learn that He-Who-Mu-" Hermione stopped when
Harry put a hand on her leg and stared into her eyes. "...how he could
learn that Voldemort succeed in finding a new body for himself months
ago and he still never told anyone about it. The monster had months to
quietly build his forces up. I don't know anything about resurrection
rituals but I can't imagine that they bring you back at full health... and
even if they did it would take time to get all of his followers back under
his control."
Harry nodded silently at Hermione while Gabby just let it all roll past.
Harry was back with her and that's all that mattered to her.
"If only he'd said something sooner." Hermione continued, more to herself
than to Harry and Gabby at this point. Preaching to the choir and all
that.
For a moment, Hermione seemed to look off into the distance. "What was
that, Luna?" The brown haired witch asked the room in general. Or
rather, she wasn't speaking to anyone Harry or Gabby could see.
Hermione quickly disappeared from Gabby's bed. She must have woken
up. The little Veela made a soft whining noise and tried to burrow into
Hermione's now empty warm spot. She pulled a pillow over her head.
"Just five more minutes." Gabby whined.
"Okay, Angel." Harry agreed as he climbed further up the bed. He didn't
think Apolline would leave them alone much longer anyway.
-o\0/o-
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was not having a good
morning. Not that the previous afternoon or evening were any better.
When Harry, Gabrielle, Nymphadora and the older Veela left the Great
Hall, there were a few moments of silence before anyone else reacted.
Miss Ginevra Weasley. Albus expected one of his Gryffindors to react
first. He even expected a Weasley to be the first to say something. He did
not, however, predict just what Miss Weasley would end up doing.
He'll never forget either.
The young girl didn't start yelling immediately. Oh no. She stepped
forward... all the way up to the front of the great hall and faced her
Headmaster directly. And then, she backhanded him right across the face.
'How could you?' She hissed at him, Albus too shocked by recent events to
reply properly or in haste. 'How could you hurt a little girl? How could you
call Gabrielle dark?'
Albus was still wondering how he lost the short duel with a small child.
Could they not understand that he was the role model they must emulate.
Could they not understand that a killer, no matter how cute, could not be
looked up to? It didn't matter that she killed 'dark' wizards- on second
thought... it was worse to kill those who had lost their way as a death in
the shadows of darkness could offer no hope of redemption. To die in the
light meant that you would be rewarded in the next great adventure,
however tragic your end was before moving on.
'You cannot defend the girl after she killed so many. Hogsmeade is no more,
Miss Weasley, and she is to blame for that.'
'Lucius Malfoy is to blame for that!' If she cared that Draco was listening, she
didn't show it. 'You knew Sirius Black was innocent, Headmaster! I know you
knew! Harry told me you knew!'
It wasn't easy to calm the room down. Albus wasn't in the habit of
sharing the sensitive information he collected and he certainly wasn't in
the habit of sharing sensitive information with schoolchildren. In the end,
he went back over what details were known from the WWN broadcast
and followed it with a heavy moral sermon. Without allowing any other
students to interrupt, he professed to the present students and staff. He
called the killing of other sentients a dark act. A sin. No matter the
reason. Even muggles would agree, he claimed. He made no allowances
for self defense and he would not call upon the one or two muggleborn
who seemed keen to comment on the issue. There were reasons Professor
Binns was restricted in the lectures he could deliver to students. His
lectures spoke either of non-violent magical achievements or of the
horrors of Wizard-Goblin warfare. There was no Wizarding equivalent to
Thermopylae. No broomrider's Battle of Britain. At least, there wasn't as
long as Albus Dumbledore had anything to say about it.
Albus dismissed the students soon as he could before heading down to
Hogsmeade and surveying the damage for himself. He would soon find
enough reasons to stay busy without heading in to the Ministry building
before morning.
As it turned out, a dozen or more wizards and witches managed to beat
the old Headmaster down to Hogsmeade. Oddly enough, not a one was
an auror or a D.M.L.E. official. There were two senior healers from St.
Mungos and a handful of support staff, but they found none of the
expected burn victims. Gabrielle's fires left no injured survivors. Only
ash. Even with magic, it would be nearly impossible to identify most of
the victims due to the sheer temperature at which the angelic firestorm
burned. Not even solid bones were left among the ruins.
When a pair of confused teens stumbled into the clearing that had once
been a sweet shop, healers swarmed them. Aside from needing some
after-the-fact birth control potion, they were fine. They didn't understand
why there was no Hogsmeade but then that didn't make them ill. Not
physically anyway.
There were others too. Some of the 'wrong sort' that were cleared out in
the early morning hours yesterday came home only to find that there was
no home to return to. Dumbledore immediately offered lodging in
Hogwarts for any locals who did not have family capable of taking them
in. The school was also the only local source of floo connections and post
owls. Dumbledore offered to coordinate everything, of course.
And then the reporters began to show up. It took that long for the Daily
Prophet offices to realize that half their staff had just been immolated.
Rita Skeeter and her photographer were among those who failed to
report back to the paper's main office in Diagon Alley after contact with
Hogsmeade was lost.
Actually, a lot of people would admit to being okay with that once things
settled down again.
By the time Dumbledore had finally delegated all of the responsibilities
involved in laying an entire village to rest, it was well past midnight. As
worn down by the day's events as he was, Albus needed a few hours rest
before he could make his move on the ministry building. Unfortunately
for the old war hero, he wasn't going to have any more luck in the
morning either.
After having a light breakfast and performing his morning ablutions,
Albus tossed some floo powder into his fireplace and called out, "Ministry
of Magic, Atruim."
The floo trip itself was something that Albus had gone through hundreds,
even thousands of times before. His reception at the other end,
however...
"Avada Kedavra!" A robed masked man shouted from near the atrium
security desk.
Albus wasted no time dodging the green blast, not that it was on target
anyway. Another half second and he had his own wand out and twisting
in a quick, precise pattern. Without warning, the security desk twisted up
and wrapped itself around the Death Eater's body.
"Tell the Master Dumbledore is here!" The trapped Death Eater yelled.
An invisible force pulled Dumbledore's captive back behind cover. Before
the old war hero could advance another step, he heard the ding of an
elevator door chime. Oh dear, the messenger was traveling deeper into
the Ministry, not through a floo connection. Voldemort must already be
present. Albus knew he was the only wizard Tom Riddle ever feared, but
he also knew he wasn't the true master of the wand in his hands. It
wouldn't give him everything and then some as it had before, and he
wasn't getting any younger. Even worse, Albus was alone in a Ministry
that had not only Tom Riddle himself but an unknown number of his
followers. The Dark Mark was already casting its baleful light over the
Fountain of Magical Brethren.
He was too late. The power vacuum had been filled.
Albus jabbed his wand at the floor before pulling it around in a hooking
motion. Three paces in front of the old wizard, a thick section of the
marble floor rose before him. A wall formed that spanned half the atrium
width and reached high enough that one would have to ride a broom
over the top. Having given himself a reasonable amount of cover, Albus
grabbed some floo powder and tossed it over the nearest hearth.
"Diagon Alley!" He called before jumping through a grate full of green
flames.
If only that were the end of his troubles. As soon as he popped out of the
floo in the Leaky Cauldron, half a dozen assault rifles and an equal
number of wands were trained on his form.
"Stay right where you are!" A man yelled from one end of the offensive
line.
He still had his wand in hand but he knew better than to make any
sudden moves when both wand and rifle were pointed at his chest. Albus
froze in place.
Death Eaters would not carry muggle weapons. He looked around. The
weapons. The attitude. The uniforms. Three letters stitched over different
national flags. The I.C.W. was in England in force. Albus tried to
maintain some semblance of authority even in these hectic times.
"I hope you will allow me to clear the fireplace, young man. I just left the
Ministry Atrium and I have reason to believe that dark wizards... perhaps
even Voldemort himself... may follow me through." Albus looked to the
officer.
"So we've heard."
If anything, the armed men in front of Albus seemed eager for him to be
proven right. Two men came forward and, with firm grips on the old
man's forearms, pulled him through the floo welcoming committee. One
other followed. A brief sideways glance revealed that another pair of
wizards was watching the muggle side entrance and yet another pair
appeared to be standing guard over two prone forms, both wearing
British auror's robes.
"If you don't mind, Sir. We have a quick test that can prove you are who
you claim to be. We will have to check you for mind control evidence as
well." The third man called from behind, likely pointing a wand in
Albus's back.
The Headmaster was careful to follow what, so far, seemed to be
standard I.C.W. protocol during emergency situations. He understood not
wanting polyjuiced or Imperiused individuals getting into sensitive areas.
Much to Albus's surprise, he was pulled through the rear of the tavern
and into Diagon Alley proper. While the sun was up, very little light was
making it into the alley as of yet and most storefronts were still cloaked
in shadow. Looking around, it appeared to Albus as though the I.C.W.
was attempting to hold one of the most important gateways to the
magical world by force of arms. He couldn't see any common wizards or
witches out in the open, not that many could be expected on Christmas
morning; though there were several I.C.W. wizards nearby. Just as Albus
was pulled into a magical haberdasher, a few soft flashes of colored light
lit up the far end of the alley. High pitched cracks echoed between the
storefronts shortly afterwards.
No one bothered to explain.
"Alright. Bear your left forearm and no quick movements." An auror
standing behind the counter commanded.
Albus complied. Wands were waved and blood was taken. Albus tried not
to flinch as one of his fingertips was cut for the sample. As the tests were
underway, Albus took in what he could of his surroundings. The men's
outfitter's front display room seemed to house another group of I.C.W
security personnel, though the store owner and his family could
sometimes be seen through a door to the rear. Actually, there were a few
more wizards to the rear than Albus remembered ever seeing here before.
"Well, Mister Dumbledore. It appears that you are who you appear to be
and that you are under no compulsions today." One of Albus's captors
called with a German accent. A German lieutenant if his cloak's national
emblem was anything to go by. "You should thank your Merlin that no
arrest warrant has been made out for you. If you can swear a non-
combatant's oath to me then we can arrange to send you somewhere less
dangerous than here."
"I would prefer an oath that leaves me open to lead from the front,
Lieutenant..." Albus replied in German, eyes twinkling. He hoped to at
least get a name. Perhaps a loophole or two.
"Koertig, Mister Dumbledore. And while you may be a formidable duelist,
there are no duels to be fought today, Sir. Unless you'd like to travel
south and offer your services to High Command, you will be asked to stay
out of harm's way." Adler was in no hurry to return the ex-Supreme
Mugwump's wand. "I cannot have you interfere with our operations. You
will take an oath that restricts yourself to self defense or you will find
yourself on a portkey journey out of the British Isles. That means your
talk with High Command would be under less than favorable
circumstances. I am told they don't like you much in France these days."
Behind the Headmaster and the Lieutenant, several more high pitched
cracks were heard through the partially opened front door. Albus kept
himself from flinching. Those weren't spells, those were bullets and he
knew it.
"As I said earlier, there are dark wizards in the Ministry building and I
shall require assistance in clearing them out again. There are many
powerful and important magical devices in that building that Voldemort
may be accessing even now." Albus pushed as much as he could. "The
hub of the entire floo network for one. How can you guard your backs
with so many floo connections working against you?"
"I am just a Lieutenant, Headmaster. I have my orders and I assure you
defending my territory is well within my abilities."
Albus spared a glance over to the store's public floo entry. Blocked, of
course.
"I can send you on your way to France or you can leave under your own
power..." Lieutenant Koertig held the Headmaster's wand up but didn't
return it. "...either way, I'll have that oath."
Albus sighed in defeat and gave the necessary oath. He would not
knowingly interfere with I.C.W. personnel nor would he seek to involve
himself in the current conflict unless his own life was threatened.
"Good." Koertig handed over the Headmaster's wand. "You may wait in
the back with the other civilians until our forward patrol has cleared the
block in front of Gringotts. At that point portkeys through our wards will
be made available to anyone needing to leave the area."
"And if I can make my own arrangements?" Albus asked as Fawkes
flamed in above his companion and landed on one shoulder.
An eyebrow rose, but Koertig was able to suppress further reaction to the
light creature piercing his wards. "Outbound only, Mister Dumbledore."
"As you say." The Headmaster nodded before heading deeper into the
haberdashery. He wanted to offer safe passage to Hogwarts to any who
would accept his offer. He clearly wasn't the only person here having a
bad day.
-o\0/o-
"Harry."
"Cedric."
The ghost drifted up to his former tournament competitor. Apolline
entered the room behind him, Gabrielle clinging tightly to her side.
There was a Christmas tree standing in the corner with a small mountain
of presents under it as well as a row of candy and toy filled shoes in front
of the fireplace nearby. Christmas was planned to be a mix of English and
French traditions, the best of both worlds for Gabby until abductions and
violence disturbed Apolline's careful planning. Gabby noted the existence
of presents, but wasn't willing to leave her mother's side just yet.
"I'd offer you my hand, but..."
Harry held up his right hand, allowing Cedric to see right through it.
Cedric smiled and waved. They should have had a chance to do this
yesterday, but as soon as Gabby's Hogwarts-to-France transport ring
finished its job, the first words out of anyone's mouth were Harry's.
'Voldemort is back.' He said. It's really amazing what kind of impact three
words can have. Those three words certainly charged the atmosphere of
the Delacour family household; what was supposed to be a teary
welcome home became an urgent debriefing.
Harry spent the afternoon telling and retelling his story from the point he
last entered Hogwarts Castle until their return to a never ending supply
of family, Ministry and Veela contacts. He was actually the unlucky one
there. Given the right prompting, even Gabby could provide a pensieve
ready memory of her adventure. At least he didn't have to write a report
about the incident. Sorry, Tonks.
Once things finally did calm down for Harry, he spent the rest of the
evening with Nathalie. Her body may have been healed, but her spirit...
Harry spent his time telling the poor woman everything he remembered
about his Godfather. Every joke. Every stupid, childish little prank.
Feeling she needed to know, he told her everything that happened when
Harry and Padfoot had one last drink together. Sadly, that didn't last as
long as he would have liked. It did get Nathalie to open up. She told
Harry about the Sirius she knew. The prankster. The unrepentant bastard.
The pour tortured soul who's life revolved around Harry, and only Harry,
until a little slice of Veela heaven served herself up to him on a silver
platter. To be honest, she first saw him as a famous rogue and an easy
target for a woman of her talents. That changed. It only took a few weeks
for Nathalie to become territorial in front of her employees. Sirius was
hers and hers alone. Veela mating instincts prevailed over social games
and the bottom line. Her heart turned. She conceived. Nathalie went on
to tell Harry that Sirius once claimed any children of his would have a
ghost for a godfather. Harry blushed silver at the thought. He blushed
twice as hard when Nathalie made the offer official. Of course he agreed.
Later on in the evening, Nathalie's mother arrived and the two Veela had
a good cry together as Harry drifted away to look for his own girls.
That night Alain and Susan's aunt Amelia burned the midnight oil
organizing and executing a genuine cross-channel invasion. Technically it
was a police action authorized by the I.C.W. and green-lit (at the very
last minute) by non-magical powers on both sides of the English Channel.
The British Prime Minister had a distinctly unpleasant evening upon
hearing news that his Magical Ministry counterpart and over a thousand
of his subjects attempted to murder an angelic nine year old French girl
only to die en mass when she returned fire.
Harry hadn't even noticed the extra house guests until he saw a witch he
didn't expect to see go upstairs. Susan was being shown accommodations
for the night. But now it was morning and things had calmed down
enough that simple greetings could be exchanged.
"I'm very sorry to hear about Sirius, Harry." The older teen wizard
continued.
"Thanks." Harry looked down for a moment. "I suppose I should be crying
or cursing the fates or something, but then we did get our last laughs in...
and I did die first, didn't I. Changes things, that does."
None of his audience this morning quite knew what to make of his
comments, but then no-one felt like asking for more and Nathalie wasn't
up and around to offer her side of things either. Harry saw a fresh
newspaper on the coffee table near Hermione, Luna and the elder
Grangers.
"Is there anything in there I need to read, 'Mione?" Harry called to the
witch who seemed to have unusually bushy hair this morning. "Hey! You
let your braid out."
Hermoine froze, embarrassed that she really hadn't had time to clean
herself up yet this morning. "I was just too nervous yesterday, Harry.
Someone felt like having one of those kinds of adventures yesterday...
only you didn't take me with you this time now did you? Hmmmmm?"
"Sorry," Harry offered sheepishly, "I'll pencil you in for the next life
altering situation I get into. Promise."
Before any of the adults in the room could object to Harry's promise,
Gabby put her two francs in. "Maybe she can go to the temple with us?"
"Temple? What temple?" Emma asked, somewhat concerned that the
littlest Delacour needed no time at all to come up with some adventure
Emma's daughter could participate in.
"Gabrielle! It's a church, not a temple, and you mustn't scare Hermione's
parents so." Apolline lectured her daughter. She then turned to her guests
and lied through her teeth. "She means the church at Domrémy-la-
Pucelle, of course. Jeanne d'Arc's home. We've become quite attached to
the little village after having Jeanne almost join our family for a short
time. We like to visit the church at least once a week whenever possible."
Gabby was about to ask her mother what potion she was on, politely of
course, when a subtle Momma-command was passed from big Veela to
little Veela. Yes Momma. I'll be quiet Momma.
The awkward moment passed and soon Harry was getting introduced to
Susan's parents. Her aunt Amelia was still conferring with Alain and
other French officials in Paris and would likely be unavailable for the
foreseeable future. Harry did get around to the paper, not that there was
much there he didn't already know. True, the Mystic had their own spin
on everything, but then it was a much more reasonable spin than Harry
had ever seen in the Daily Prophet.
The paper really only had what happened yesterday though. It was only
when Segolene turned on a wireless set that this morning's news made its
way through the assembled friends and family.
"Bloody hell!" Harry yelled over the wizarding wireless cometary about
I.C.W. forces crossing the Channel in the early morning hours. Poor
Emma and Daniel were once again spooked when everyone in the room
except for them reacted to something they didn't see or hear.
He must have had a look in his eye or something, though.
"Harry James Potter…" Hermione growled. "You will not cross the
Channel again. Do you hear me? Leave it to the professionals this time."
"F- fine!" Harry squeaked. "I promise not to go back to England today."
Hermione's face turned a deeper shade of red and she glared harder.
"I, Harry James Potter, swear on my... er... spirit? Yeah. I swear on my
spirit that I will not cross the English Channel again until Hermoine Jane
Granger gives her direct verbal permission for me to do so. So help me
God if I cross her."
Sitting next to the fuming young witch, Luna leaned in a little closer to
her adoptive sister and swung one hand around in a tight arc. Plenty of
wrist action.
"Crack that whip, sister." She whispered before spying the rooms
decorations. "Oh, and merry Christmas of course. Do you suppose the
Delacours might be willing to make do with less mistletoe? Nargles, you
know."
Christmas? Oh, Christmas! That was today? Harry looked over to his Angel
and saw her staring at the presents under the tree.
Harry made a few discreet head nods to Apolline where he went back
and forth between Gabby and the tree. Okay, maybe they weren't so
discreet. Someone chuckled.
"Little Angel. Come. Let's see what Pere Noel has brought you." Apolline
whispered to the girl in her lap.
It seems that under the right circumstances, Gabby could still smile
today. Perhaps mourning need not fully drown out the day's celebrations
of family, love and joy. Harry drifted over to Hermione a small smile
struggling to invade his face.
"You know..." He whispered into her ear, mostly to keep Gabby from
hearing. "I think the Wizarding World may have spoiled Christmas for
me."
"How so?" She replied curiously.
"I no longer like the idea of strange old men with long white beards
breaking into my home as I sleep so they can muck about in the living
room."
Hermione went to swat Harry on the shoulder, but all she got was a fist
full of cold air.
-o\0/o-
"So you're saying that Veela rituals focused on blood sacrifice?" Segolene
asked.
"Not all of them." Marion countered. "There is evidence of blood magic and
blood sacrifice though. One frieze looked like it could have been a coming of
age ceremony. The next one in line was definitely focused on childbirth. I'm
not surprised, really... Minimize the influence of males on a culture and the
natural cycles involved in fertility and motherhood could become much more
important."
Marion, Segolene and Fleur were discussing the photos, videos and wax
reliefs that they brought back from the Veela temple. Their group was
once again meeting on the upper terrace, but this time Hermione
managed to gain admittance. There was a hard sell on her part, a polite
plea from Harry and a firm demand from Gabrielle. As convincing as the
little silver-blonde can be normally, that halo of hers really adds a lot of
weight to her side of any argument. Gabrielle was also on the terrace
with them, but she was reading a book she got for Christmas and they
didn't expect her to follow anything they said.
Luna didn't bother trying to join the group today. She claimed she didn't
need them to tell her what she already knew. Luna did ask permission to
raid the house butterbeer stocks. Having lost her old butterbeer cap
necklace in England, she wanted to make a new one. In spite of all the
dropped hints... she thought they were dropped hints anyway... no one
got her a new butterbeer cap necklace for Christmas. She got gold and
silver jewelry instead. Didn't anyone realize that nargles would go crazy
over such shiny things?
"That would explain why wizards have such negative views of your race
though." Hermione said to Fleur while toying with her new gold ankh
necklace. Harry got it for her. Actually, Sirius got it for her for Harry.
Ghosts can't buy things, not even in the Wizarding World. "Aside from the
whole line-of-succession issue of course... I mean, light wizards have always
been very much against blood magic in any form. This certainly doesn't make
your ancestors dark creatures, though I do see why wizards of the time may
have thought they were."
Fleur snorted. "I doubt our beliefs were all that different from other pre-
Christian religions. The Romans conquered the world by sword and by wand
and the religious leanings of Rome spread across their Empire. When the city
of Rome said adieu to their Pantheon in favor of one God, the Empire of Rome
followed. It's a shame that most of the old ways were lost."
"We get lucky on a dig every once in a while and find something special..."
Marion added. "...but I do wish that we could find a really old pensieve just
sitting there with thousand year old… memories…"
Marion looked up at the other witches around the table with realization.
"Could that be what the last room in the temple is? The last door was false,
wasn't it?" She turned to Fleur. "You said that the wall rippled like water,
didn't you? Memories flow through a pensieve like water. The whole back wall
could be a giant memory reservoir of some sort."
"Mother is already working on a list of questions she and Grandmother want
Gabrielle to ask Gabriel. Maybe we add to it?" Fleur asked.
Hermione had a notebook open and was already writing furiously even
before Fleur finished her question. She was also muttering under her
breath in English, but even Segolene couldn't hear her clearly from the
next seat over.
"What was that again?" The brunette asked.
"Oh!" Hermione looked up, startled. "Well... I was just thinking how nice it
would be to learn more about what Lily was doing."
Three blank faces continued to be blank.
"Harry's mother, Lily." Hermione brushed aside her embarrassment to
explain. "I've been reading her last journal and sorting through all the
research notes she filled it with. She was absolutely brilliant. Why, if you
could just look over her ideas on charms and that one potion for- Sorry. But
the point is that the last thirty pages are full of her ideas on how to better
protect her family... they must have been in hiding by then...and most of these
notes are on blood magic."
"Lily Potter was in to blood magic? I would never have guessed." Segolene
offered. "How much did she learn?"
"Enough to beat a Dark Lord." Was Hermione's firm reply. There were no
blank faces before her now. "I saw the notes. There is a spell component, of
course. Then the blood ritual component; a rune cut into the skin of both
mother and son. Anyone care to guess which one?"
At this table, Hermione was the weakest runic scholar present. That
didn't mean she couldn't give some Hogwarts upper year Ancient Runes
students a run for their money, but here she was the lightweight.
"Sowilo." "Sol." Fleur and Segolene called out simultaneously.
"I know I'm not as familiar with his scar as you two," Marion added, "but I do
remember thinking it a bit uneven so either one could work."
Segolene would forever maintain that it was sol. And really, it didn't
matter that much based on the relationship. The two runes were separate
in time but not in meaning as one evolved from the other. Hermione
continued her explanation, this time reverting back to French as she
calmed down.
"Either way, we have Lily Potter carving a rune once on her own body and
then on her infant son. The blood had to be fresh or her attempt would fail.
The required rune was, of course, that of the sun but also of lightning,
strength, dominance and... by socialist tradition... victory. If you think about
it, it seems that sowilo is the perfect rune to use against a Dark Lord."
"You said the blood had to be fresh cut to be successful. I take it there is more
to the ritual?" Fleur prompted.
Hermione's answer was more sedate. "Yes. Lily's blood sacrifice was
compounded by the final step. She had to willingly sacrifice her own life in
defense of her son."
"So she did and it worked." Fleur murmured.
"Yes... maybe... I'm not sure." Hermione's lack of confidence clouded her
words. "She was lucky after a fashion... for her runes to be effective, her
death had to come quickly. By killing her straight away and not toying with
her for a while, Voldemort unknowingly helped ensure the ward would
activate."
"Harry survived and Voldemort was defeated. Granted, the sick bastard
recently came back, but that doesn't change the past. But how can you not be
sure?" Segolene liked the simple Happy Ending version.
"Dobby?" Hermione called.
POP
"Missy Mione is asking for Dobby? What can Dobby be doing for Missy
Mione?"
"Would you please get the journal sitting on the desk in my room? The
one with 'Lily Potter' written across the top?"
With a quick head bob, Dobby POP'd away and back again in seconds.
"Here is the Great Harry Potter Sir's Mother's book." The house elf with
something akin to reverence. He was looking at the journal and not the
witch who requested it.
"Thank you Dobby."
"Dobby is not needing thanking, Missy Mione. Dobby is happy to help."
POP
Hermione gently put Lily's last personal journal down on the table and
opened it to a bookmarked page about two thirds of the way through. As
her three table mates crowded around, she pointed to a particular section
of clean flowing script.
"In the pages before this one, she spends a lot of time trying to reverse engineer
a series of spells she found in a blood magic book Sirius managed to sneak to
her one evening after a raid in Knockturn Alley. There was a ward close to
Lily's in the book, but she didn't like some of the darker aspects of it. She did
some arithmancy work on it, changing the sacrificial components from
'forcibly taken' to 'freely given', an succeeded in turning a dark ward light. She
settled on the version she eventually died casting only a month or two before
that fateful night. Here it is..." She pointed to one sentence in particular,
"Here she describes what she hoped her ward would do once cast."
Marion, Fleur and Segolene read silently for a minute before Fleur chose
to speak up.
"This is what happens to Little Angel when she's attacked. Exactly. Did spells
ever bounce off Harry like they do Gabrielle? Other than the first time?" Fleur
looked at Hermione who shook her head in the negative. "How did Harry
cast it correctly on Gabrielle without knowing what it is he was doing when his
mother miscast it herself? She was the one who knew what she was doing."
"And even then, she was using a type of magic she had no experience in. I'm
not sure we'll ever know if Lily miscast her ward or if Voldemort managed to
overcome it in some way… though Harry being able to get it right would point
to outside interference, wouldn't it? Harry's scar was a near constant source of
pain and misery to him, not a source of loving protection as it was supposed to
be. And as for Harry succeeding in blindly casting a ward on a little girl he's
pinned to underwater… well… being impaled together certainly fulfills the
blood sacrifice component. His intent was clear as well. I'm now sure that
when Little Angel goes on about Harry's magical kiss saving her life that she's
telling the truth." Hermione stopped for a moment to sort through it all in
her head.
"But what of the runic component?" Segolene asked. "Little Angel is marked,
but not with a rune. You could interpret Harry's kiss as Jeran… maybe… but
even that is a stretch. It's not a perfect fit in shape or in meaning. Do you use
'spring' in that he gave her a new lease on life or do you use 'harvest' in that he
turned a Veela into an angel?"
"That's not the rune, is it?" Fleur asked.
Hermione shook her head. "Harry's kiss may symbolize the life sacrifice
component of the ward, but it isn't the blood sacrifice. Tell me… did Gabby's
other scars ever heal properly?"
"No." Fleur answered thinking back to the last time she helped her sister
change outfits. "The cross-cut pattern still shows clearly both on her stomach
and her back."
"So they are part of a magical wound then. That fits with our other evidence."
All four witches knew that such a wound would have been easy to erase
were it strictly non-magical. "It's a rune."
"Gebo works well. Harry gave a 'gift' to Gabby in the form of his blood and his
life." Fleur replied.
"So Harry's version of the ward didn't key itself to protection from a Dark
Lord. Not in the way Lily's did, at least." Marion offered. "It was a shot in the
dark for Harry, but circumstances must have conspired with him to give
Gabrielle far more protection than Harry intended."
The four young women looked over Lily's journal in silence for a few
minutes. Then, without prompting, Fleur recited a prayer that was
quickly becoming a favorite in her home:
"My heart is yours, Lord.
Your blood in my veins.
My spirit is yours, Lord.
Your will guides my hand.
Through me you know eternal life;
Through you I know eternal love."
"Don't you see?" Fleur asked the other three. "It's right there... in a poem by
angels for angels. 'Your blood in my veins'. It's not figurative... it's literal!
Harry's blood did enter her veins."
"So you think Gabrielle is an angel while you and your mother are not
because- because of what Harry did for her in the Second Task? Because of
his sacrifice? His unintentional use of blood magic?" Segolene asked.
Fleur was still having trouble with the idea herself. She knew about
blood type incompatibilities. There was so much they didn't know. She
remained silent, staring into the blue skies above and the British wizard
practicing his broomriding skills by chasing a new practice snitch, a
present from the Bones family.
"I know I am going against conventional wisdom in the Wizarding World, but I
think we just proved that blood magic is not inherently dark." Hermione
spoke up, returning to her original point. "Surely if we told the world that
blood magic was responsible for both Voldemort's original demise and for
Gabrielle's current angelic existence, then we could re-open the field for further
study?"
"Good luck getting anyone of note to take you seriously." Marion snorted.
"Even back in the States we consider that stuff Dark with a capital D. Still,
more research on blood magic may be your best bet for a happy future. If
Dumbledore was telling the truth and Voldemort really is back, then we may
need blood magic to deal with him again. It seemed to work last time."
"We need to get some questions answered first." Fleur nodded towards the
list of 'angel' questions Hermione started earlier. "Without better evidence, I
doubt anyone important will take us seriously. I don't want Gabrielle's
popularity to draw attention to Veela blood magic unless we can successfully
defend the practice. We just found our temple after being adrift for three
hundred years. I couldn't stand having to abandon it yet again."
"Fleur?" Hermione called.
"Yes?"
"Do you think…" The younger witch looked down briefly and bit her lip
before meeting the Veela's gaze again. "Do you think I might be permitted to
visit the temple?"
"It's not for me to say." Fleur returned as she turned a page in Lily's
journal. "Grandmother would likely refuse, but if I were to show her how you
and Lily can help the Veela cause… she may feel indebted to you."
"Lily didn't put any copywrite charms on her journal. I'm sure Harry would
understand if we copied the blood magic sections. Any way we can help the
Veela race helps Gabrielle and Harry will like that." Hermione knew this was
something Lily would have approved of too. That she bothered to
research and then use blood magic was proof enough of that.
"Zoé?"
POP
"Mistress has need of Zoé?" The Delacour house elf asked mid curtsy.
"I have need of an empty journal. Can you find one for me?"
"Yes, Mistress."
POP
-o\0/o-
On the evening of the twenty-seventh, Sirius Black was remembered by
friends, family, loved ones and a handful of trustworthy business
associates and officials. It was a relatively small affair considering the
history of the once proud House of Black, but it seemed appropriate to
those in attendance.
Of course, appropriate for Padfoot isn't the same as appropriate for just
about anyone else. It's not like anyone wanted to return to the Black's
ancestral home in London... and Gabby and company didn't manage to
collect the old dog's remains when leaving Hogsmeade, so there was no
casket or urn to focus on. And seeing as how Sirius never once in his life
entered a church or funeral parlor, neither place seemed right for him
now that he was dead. That left two options to choose from. First, they
could use a Delacour property. Perhaps if there wasn't a covert shooting
war raging across the Channel, then the London penthouse would have
been suitable. But there was a shooting war. Really, there was only one
option with both the security and the public access necessary.
Besides, Harry was absolutely certain that if it were up to Sirius, the old
dog would surely pick Nathalie's place over just about anywhere else. The
building was full of Veela. Nathalie's girls. Given the option, Sirius would
have preferred dying there too, but then that was before he learned that
he was going to be a daddy, so he might have eventually tried to become
more respectable. Maybe.
"Welcome to the Garden. My name is Nicole." A young woman... well, she
looked young to Hermione but how can you tell with Veela... a Veela
greeted Alain and his party in the floo lobby. "Miss Nathalie is receiving
friends and family in the ballroom."
Hermione looked around as Apolline and Nicole spoke in hushed tones.
The lobby was a beautifully detailed room that wouldn't have been at all
out of place at Beauxbatons, save lower ceilings and a few concessions to
modern times. It was a rectangular space with two fireplaces, access to a
winding staircase and two elevator doors, all set on the longer walls. At
one end of the lobby was a set of elaborate entry doors with a heavy
floral theme. Hermione couldn't be sure, but there were elements woven
in to the carved relief work that looked to mimic the Garden of Eden
story. Central to the doors was pair of nudes reclining under a fruit laden
tree as a snake moved throguh the bushes nearby. At the far end of the
room, the glittering lights of Paris could be seen beating back the night
and making it difficult to see all but the brightest of stars in the sky
above.
"Dopey."
POP
"Yes Miss Nicloe?"
"Take their robes and coats."
"Yes Miss Nicole."
Hermione watched as the house elf bowed to their current hostess and
snapped his fingers. She had to keep from flinching when her coat simply
vanished from her shoulders.
"Please follow me."
Nicole bowed slightly before opening a door Hermione hadn't noticed
yet. It was on the same wall as the Garden's main doors, but set off to one
side.
Alian followed Nicole through, then Apolline and her girls. Harry was
staying inside Gabrielle for now, though she knew he'd be coming outside
later when they were sure the nine year old would be okay. Correction,
Harry would come outside when Apolline believed her little girl would be
okay. True, Little Angel was feeling down, but she was mostly sad for
Nathalie. Harry's acceptance of his godfather's passing meant that Gabby
could accept it too. He was in a bar, right? That's where Harry left Uncle
Padfoot. Harry said so.
Hermione stepped through the door after the Delacours did. Her parents
followed her through, as did Luna and Cedric. Amelia Bones and her
family were not invited and, considering the only interaction Amelia has
ever had with Sirius was in Bern, they were not offended either. They did
send their condolences. Marion didn't feel right about coming, she didn't
know the man and there was a lot of work to do organizing and decoding
her photographs, videos and notes on the temple.
The group passed through a short hallway with closed doors along either
side before reaching a larger door at the other end. Nicole opened that
door and stepped aside so Alain's party could pass.
"If any of you have need of something, anything at all, please call on me."
Nicole added as the group walked past her.
The ballroom was beautiful, not that any of the guests cared particularly.
There was a full colonnade following all four interior walls and a series of
windows high above. One of the side walls was almost pure glass with
doors leading to a rooftop garden. The opposite wall was lined with a
buffet and bar. Dopey appeared just long enough to check on the soup
before disappearing again though a human looking employee of the
Garden seemed to be serving drinks. The ballroom floor itself had a loose
collection of couches, chairs and small tables around which some of
Nathalie's family had already begun to settle.
"Daniel. Cedric." Hermione turned to see Alain gathering the men
together. "Why don't we get some drinks."
The young witch watched silently as the split was made and a 'girls only'
group continued on to Nathalie, who could be seen on a couch at the far
end of the ballroom. Hermione looked questioningly at Fleur. Wouldn't
Alain want to express his condolences right away?
"Tell me, 'ermione. What do you see?" Fleur asked so that Hermione and
Luna could hear. She spoke in English for Luna's benefit. "'o is wiz my
cousin right now?"
Hermione looked around Nathalie.
"I see her mother. Madam Mitterrand too. I don't know the other women
though." Hermione supplied.
There were at least a dozen of them, maybe more, and every one of them
was drop dead gorgeous.
"Per'aps I should 'ave asked 'o you do not see, instead. You do not see
men." Fleur stepped closer. "Zey are all Veela, zose women around my
cousin. Papa is just keeping our men out of trouble. Even when in
mourning, a large group of Veela is too much for even strong willed
men."
"I'll admit that those girls are... attractive..." Emma swept her eyes over
Nathalie's current entourage. "...but I have faith in my husband and
Cedric seems to be a very well behaved young man."
Emma looked about ready to cover her views on Alain's willingness to
turn away if not for the fact that the man's wife was standing next to her.
Luckily, Apolline chose not to take offense.
"You must remember the differences between Veela and other women,
Emma." Apolline supplied. "We Veela can suppress our allure but we can
never completely stifle it. Even if every Veela in that group chose to
suppress their allures to the utmost- and you will find that there are those
who refuse to do so even in polite company- even with every Veela
holding back as much as she can, sheer numbers will cause the effect to
become overpowering."
"So if Daniel were to walk over to Nathalie right now..." Emma started.
Apolline finished her sentence for her. "He would first look as if pierced
by Cupid's arrow about half way there. He would be drawn into the
group, completely under the Veela thrall. If he were to make it as far as
the center of the group... then he would collapse, completely overcome."
Emma looked slightly intimidated by this knowledge. Hermione appeared
to be committing it to memory. Fleur saw Hermione's 'I'm memorizing'
face and decided a bit of historical context was in order.
"You may zink it a disadvantage. You may say zat Veela can never
assemble in great numbers wiz men present, and zat is true- but zis effect
has 'elped our people countless times in ze past. A single Veela is an easy
target for slave traders, but a big enough enclave will 'ave ze massed
allure as a natural defense. Few slavers 'ave ever succeeded in taking a
large group all at once."
Just then, Nicole walked up behind a Veela with long silky black hair on
the couch opposite Nathalie's. Nicole tapped her shoulder and whispered
into her ear. The black tressed Veela nodded softly to Nicole before
reaching over and speaking softly to Nathalie and bussing her cheeks. A
moment later, she got up and sashayed over to a set of nearby doors
before passing through. Right before the doors closed, a change passed
over her. Her hair flowed as though it were smooth sheets of the finest
silk. There was a soft thump and a hiss from over near the bar, but as
soon as Hermione and the others looked to see who let it out, all of their
men looked away conspicuously... Ced's hand may have been pinning
Daniel's wrist to the table. Just one girl, and the thrall hit them from the
other side of the room.
"I think that one is back on the clock." Segolene quipped.
Hermione looked closer at the women around Nathalie. Some were
dressed properly for a memorial service and some, quite honestly, were
not.
"Those girls..." Hermione pointed to a trio of short skirted platinum
haired Veela to Nathalie's left who were gossiping amongst each other,
drinks and cigarettes waving back and forth. "They look like they just
stopped by on their lunch breaks." Hermione snarked.
"Zey work for Nathalie." Fleur confirmed. "Some of ze ozzers do too, but
zen not all Veela grow up wiz ze same standards or social backgrounds.
You should 'ave seen zose zree before Nathalie got to zem. Zey've cleaned
up allot."
Hermione sensed a story there, but was it the life stories of three Veela or
was it how the female Triwizard Champion actually knew the life stories
of three of Nathalie's girls, three that she identified on sight.
Apolline and Gabrielle were ahead of the teens and reached Nathalie
first. As Nathalie received her family, the other 'girls' seemed very
interested in Gabrielle. Even the platinum bimbo triplets got closer.
"Don't worry, 'Mione. You are safe for now." Luna said as they slowly
caught up to Apolline. "I rather doubt that the Veela high priestesses will
be ready to consecrate their altars with the blood of a virgin for a few
more years yet."
Hermione turned to Luna scandalized. "What?" She tried to yell as quietly
as possible.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to hold out long enough to participate either."
Luna sounded dissapointed that she couldn't too. "I'm considering giving
myself to some young buck as soon as I can one find who's interested."
Hermoine looked down to hide her reaction from anyone else. Thank
Jeanne Fleur and Segolene seemed not to hear.
Luna continued. "That is what Sirius would have wanted, after all. I want
him to be happy. Up There."
"I don't think you should take Sirius's wishes to heart, Luna. He was quite
the rogue." Hermione tried to rein her adopted sister in.
"You mustn't speak ill of the dead, sister." Luna scolded. "And certainly
not at their own memorial service."
The rest of the service was full of quiet moments of reflection with the
occasional burst of tears. There were also a few bursts of uncontrollable
laughter, but then this gathering was for the most notorious of the
Marauders, so at least a few dirty jokes were required.
Just before the end of the service, a representative arrived from Gringotts
Bank. There would be a public will reading in London in two weeks as
was the pureblood custom. Attendance was not mandatory, and even the
Gringott's employee reccomended against attending. Nathalie, Alain and
Hermione were each given parchments with the Gringotts seal attached.
The courier assured them that the documents were not time sensitive,
that nothing contained therein could be interrupted by English Ministry
officials. All three letters remained sealed for the time being.
-o\0/o-
"Goddamn!" Nathalie shouted.
She threw off her silk sheets, allowing the cool fresh air of her bedroom
work against sweat covered skin.
"That was one hell of a dream..." She muttered to herself. Not that there
was anyone else in the room tonight. Her lover, her mate, was dead after
all.
But then, he didn't really feel all that dead in the dream she just had. Oh,
no. In fact, he rarely had the energy required to perform as well as he
just did when he was alive, no thanks to Azkaban. Nathalie put a hand
against her forehead and tried to calm down, even as the tremors
subsided. Fuck, but that was a good dream.
The sound of something falling from a dresser to the carpet echoed out of
the darkened room. What was that?
There was a small noise coming from her closet. Something was moving,
and whatever it was, it was far too noisy to be a house elf. Nathalie
pulled a small caliber pistol out of her bedside stand and took steady aim.
She also began to focus her anger so that her change would come quickly
should she have need of it.
"Come out!" She snarled. "Come out now damn you!"
In one corner of the closet, through the half open door, the overexcited
and panicky Veela noticed a soft white-ish glow build. Then, the light
began to build and come forward.
Nathalie's eyes shot wide open and her jaw fell loosely. The source of
those phantom noises floated out of her closet, jumped up onto the foot
of her bed and began to lick itself.
"Sirius?" Nathalie squeaked.
The softly glowing spectral canine lifted it's shaggy head out from
between it's legs, looked at her and barked happily.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
Nothing to see here, citizen. Please move along.
20. Morning Star
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Nineteen: Morning Star
The next day was unseasonably cold. Cold enough that it wouldn't matter
if a certain little angel happened to go on a trip to a Veela temple, since
it was cold there too, right? Okay, that excuse didn't work even for
Gabby and she was the one that thought it up, but Harry could come up
with a better one, right?
Gabby was all for going back to the temple that day and not a moment
later. She had Harry back. She had angels to talk to. She didn't want to
wait long enough that the grown-ups would make her wait until school
was out again. Waiting through a whole school week would take forever.
"Surely this can wait." Her Momma replied. "Fleur, Segolene and Marion
would be heading back in a week's time. The temple is a very long way away.
It's a big trip."
"Not for me, it isn't." Gabrielle plead her case, Harry by her side. "I get my
wings out, I go -Bonnnngg- and I'm there!"
"I understand your worries, Auntie." Harry added. "I would rather wait for
everyone to be ready before going myself but with what we've learned over
Christmas, I'm not sure waiting until a larger support staff is ready to meet us
there is a good idea."
"And what makes you think that you are a better archeologist or curse breaker
than Marion, Harry?" Apolline held the ghost's gaze. "And what if you take
her right into a blizzard? Even if the weather had been poor last time, we
would have at least had safety in numbers."
Harry smiled. Gabby liked it when Harry smiled.
"The weather won't even be an issue. So long as we- er, you all wear the
proper clothing and bring flashlights or lanterns, I can have Angel drop us
right in the middle of that treasure room!"
Momma was being quiet. This was a good sign, Gabby thought. Momma
was running out of things to say no with.
"We zip in and Angel and I go right to this back wall thing. You and Fleur can
look around while we're gone or whatever and as soon as we come out of the
wall, the four of us come home again."
"I would rather we come into the entry vestibule. Right in front of the Veela
guard statues." Apolline countered. "We don't know if that door can be
opened from the inside and Fleur and I may need to leave the the old
fashioned way while you two are otherwise occupied."
Gabby tried not to giggle. There were no toilets inside the temple.
"Fair enough. You know I'll do everything within my power to keep her safe of
course- and really... how could Gabby or you or any of your line be at risk
where we're going? It's built for you. It's dedicated to her. With the wizard
magic barrier, the hidden entrance and the bloody great guardian statues, that
temple is probably safer for Gabby than her own bedroom."
Apolline held one hand up to her forehead like she was warding away a
headache.
"Very well..." YESSSSssssss, "but you get to tell your father what it is you want
to do today young lady... and we have to eat something first."
"Yes Momma." "Yes Auntie."
-o\0/o-
On an island in the middle of a frozen lake, in the front room of a temple
that lay undisturbed for centuries until just a few days ago, a light
appeared in thin air. Blue-white light shifted and moved and shadows
danced about the room. Moments later, Fleur and Apolline pulled away
from Gabrielle and her wings came back up to form a second halo. The
first faded as soon as it touched the ground.
Inside Gabrielle, Harry marveled at the winter scene around him. Gabby
hadn't even turned to look at the interior guardians yet and already he
felt a sense of wonder a simply being there.
Yeah. Gabrielle cooed. It really is pretty.
Behind Gabby, there was a harsh squawk and a flash of orange light.
Momma wasted no time changing and was already opening the door with
summoned Veela fire. That was something the little girl was quite happy
to miss, as she never liked seeing Momma get all scary. When the sound
of stone grinding on stone reached Gabby's ears, she turned around.
Gabby felt Harry's excitement grow upon seeing the gold clad stone
guardians flanking the doorway. And why not? They were pretty cool.
As Gabby watched, her mother changed back to normal. She fixed her
shirt and put on a coat now that her shirts wing slits were letting in the
cold. Momma and Fleur both messed with a pair of gas lamps until they
were hissing and glowing brightly. Gabby herself stayed in her angel
body. It was warmer and it was fun and it came with its own flashlight.
"Ready, Little Angel?" Momma asked.
Gabby nodded. She would always be ready to come here. Ready to talk to
Gabriel. Ready to talk to more angels.
Once again, the inner chamber was lit by artificial means. Light bounced
off of gold and silver, silk and stone as the soft hiss of two gas lanterns
and the low buzz of a halo disturbed the peace.
The high trill of angel giggles filled the room.
"What is so funny, Little Angel?" Momma called back to her youngest.
It's Harry, Momma! Gabby called. He's humming adventure music in my
head and he wants to look for secret levers and hidden doors!
"Then tell him to go to the back wall." Fleur replied. "You're hidden room is
over there."
You don't think there are any pitfalls or poison arrow traps in here do
you? Gabby called to no-one in particular.
Momma and Fleur looked at each other nervously before paying more
attention to the floor beneath them. It didn't look like it was going to
swallow them whole.
Gabby did make it all the way to the back, but not before slowly looking
over just about everything in the room. Sure, she was on a mission, but
this stuff was just so pretty- and there was so much of it! Harry was also
too distracted to push Gabby any faster. Momma and Fleur were no
better, as this was the ultimate window shopping trip. You could not buy
these treasures in Paris or Milan or New York at any price.
Hey there cutie! Angel Gabrielle waved to the angel statue on its knees. It
didn't wave back. It just stayed there looking all worshipful at the back
wall. Drat.
Finally, Gabby stood before the fake portal at the back wall. Her gaze
swept over the wing and halo pattern etched in stone, giving her little
flashbacks to what happened the first time she stared hard at the halo.
That part of the last trip was kind of fun actually. Warm. It made her feel
so loved.
Just as it was doing again this time. The faintly glowing halo flared with
white-gold light just as it had before. There were gasps behind her, but
Gabby didn't pay any more attention this time than last time. There was,
however, one difference from last time; Gabby was already an angel with
halo fully formed.
Countless lines of runes ancient text in the form of runes and pictographs
quickly lit up the wall, casting a warm orange glow across the rest of the
room. The wall itself began to ripple as if made of liquid.
"You're right," Momma muttered to Fleur while Gabby was preoccupied.
"It does remind me of a pensieve."
Gabby was about to step through the wall again, but snapped out of it at
the last moment. Bye, Momma. Bye, Fleur. Love you see you later!
And with a quickly waved hand, she hopped through the wall.
-o\0/o-
Hermione sighed and set her quill down.
Looking around the room she shared with Luna while staying with the
Delacours, she had to stifle a laugh. The old maison-forte was
traditional… very traditional… but not completely out of date with the
muggle world. There was a whole room on one of the lower floors
dedicated to modern electrical devices, but the modernization didn't stop
there. The kitchens had up to date gas appliances and the icebox looked
modern even if it was run off of wardstones. Still, the point was that
mechanical devices had no trouble operating in any room in the home so
long as there were no unshielded electronics involved.
So why was Hermione still writing with a quill? Habit. Four years at
Hogwarts left her feeling oddly empty if she set herself down to write an
essay and didn't pick up a long feathery quill in order to further refine
her calligraphy skills. Her S's always lacked that special something, no
matter how often she practiced.
But now her wrist ached. Transcribing Lily Potter's notes on blood magic
(repetition aids memorization) was a painful lesson in runic and
arithmantic calligraphy that made the young witch wonder if this was
what arthritis would feel like when it inevitably struck some (hopefully
many) decades down the line. Or did wizards have a potion for arthritis?
Maybe she should have just used a biro like Lily did…
As Hermione rubbed her right wrist with her left hand, her gaze drifted
onto the letter given her by the Gringotts representative. He told her it
wasn't time sensitive, but she didn't have any other pressing business that
could be done without the aid of her right hand.
"What do you think, Hedwig?" Hermione asked the beautiful white bird
standing on a perch by the bedroom window. "Should I open this?"
"Bark!" Came the one syllable avian reply.
Hermione scrunched up her brow in concentration. "I know I'm not as
good at reading you as Harry was, but I think you either said 'yes, open
the letter' or 'where is bacon?'"
"Bark, hoot!"
"You're right, Hedwig. I think I shall open the letter… and I'll have Zoé
get you some bacon too."
With a quick swipe of one of her fingernails, the seal was broken and the
parchment unfolded.
"Right. Looks like someone had help putting this together." Hermione
murmured. Sure, Sirius was a pureblood wizard, but he was not all that
responsible nor did he seem the type to write in legalese.
"Thank you, Sirius, you didn't have too…" Apparently he'd bequeathed
her something of fair value. "I would have been fine with Nathalie getting
it all, you know…"
Hermione's face began to redden.
"Dear God, please don't tell me Luna was right about you, Sirius… how
could we even… I mean he's a ghost and…"
Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Hermione turned her eyes away from
Lord Black's last private message to his 'second favorite' muggleborn
witch. Torn between walking away from the rather… intimate… last
requests and her own desire to know if his suggestions would really
work, she started reading again.
"One day, Sirius Black. One day I will get you for this." She swore in
embarrassment and indignation, but that didn't stop her from reading. It
was a weakness, she knew, to need to finish reading anything she started.
Apparently, Sirius knew it too.
A prankster to the very end.
-o\0/o-
Harry! An ecstatic ball of white feathers slammed into his chest. I love
you, Harry!
"I... love... you too, Angel." Wait just a tic. He had a chest to be slammed
into... and Gabby wasn't asleep. Where the bloody hell was he anyways?
Harry didn't know it yet, but Gabby had been here before. He took in the
rock they were standing on, the creek beneath the rock, and the forest
glen through which the creek passed.
Yes! The stars are out this time too! The feathery monster around
Harry's waist let go and began to prance around her own private stage,
slipping back into her normal silver-blonde form as she twirled about.
Harry looked up. Merlin, that was a lot of stars. Not even Astronomy
class had shown him as many, though to be fair, Professor Sinistra had to
deal with clouds and such as were common in Scotland. And the night air
was perfect here... just a bit of a fresh breeze with a hint of spring
flowers. It was too good to be real.
Hold on, it was too good to be real. Harry checked his pulse.
No pulse. Damn.
"Ah, Gabrielle. I am very pleased to see you return." Harry spun in place to
face this new voice. This very sweet and soft new voice. "And you must be
Lord Potter."
She was beautiful. Of course she was... this is where one goes to meet
angels in the middle of a Veela temple. Aside from being beautiful, she
had long brown hair falling in ringlets down to her waist. Harry saw that
her eyes seemed to be a warm brown... they almost seemed back-lit as he
could clearly see her eye color in spite of the oddly soft light given off by
a fair sized moon and a more than full complement of stars.
"Harry! That's Gabriel! Hi Gabriel! That's My Harry! Isn't he great? I think
he's great." Gabby hopped back over to Harry and gave him another big
hug around the waist such that she could smile at Gabriel at the same
time. "I wish we could take Gabriel home with us, Harry. She's really nice."
"Good- er... evening?" Harry looked up to the sky above. "Is it evening
here?"
"It is whatever time you wish it to be, Lord Potter. You need only ask young
Gabrielle to change things if our environment is not to your liking."
Harry felt his Angel nod into his chest.
"Please, none of that 'Lord' business."
"As you wish, Harry." Gabriel smiled and Harry could see peace and
serenity radiate from that smile. He didn't think it was a thrall, but he felt
loads better. Actually, the same thing happened with Gabby only more
so. Was it because they were both angels?
Harry knelt down next to his Angel. "Is that true, Gabby? Can you change
things here like I can in your dreams?"
Gabby looked down at her feet and nodded. "I like the stars though. They're
very pretty."
Harry looked up at the sky. She was right. It would be hard to beat the
sky already in place with anything else. "I like the stars too, Gabby. You
don't have to change them if you don't want to."
"So... Gabriel... lovely place you have here. Do you mind my asking where this
is?" Harry stood back up as Gabby went to give Gabriel a hug. For a
moment, Harry thought he saw a little arc of golden light pass through
Gabriel's eyes.
The older angel returned Gabby's hug as it they were long lost family.
"You may ask any question at all, Harry. The fact that this little sweetheart
thinks so well of you is enough for me. She would not love one who was not
worthy of my respect."
Harry blushed. Here was someone right out of the Bible treating him like
he was some sort of equal or something. Well, he thought she was from
church stories. Vernon never really let Harry read a copy of the Dursley
family Bible. Said it would be forever stained and that Harry's filthy
hands would burn at the slightest contact. Still, he's heard others talk
about this Gabriel as if she were someone kind of important.
"This is not my place so much as it belongs to the Veela who's temple houses it
and to the angels who visit whenever they have need." Gabriel looked down
at Gabby. "Like this little one. I dare say she needs our assistance more than
any of her sisters who visited before."
"How so?" Harry asked.
"I cannot say for sure if young Gabrielle is the only angel alive today, but I
can say that she has met none outside of this temple. Without an older angel
to help her... and her Lord... this temple is the only way she may learn of our
history... our purpose... and by extension her own purpose."
Gabby was listening, but only just a bit. Gabriel was saying things she
didn't quite follow, which meant it was time to see if the creek water
tasted as good as it looked.
"As for your earlier question..." Ah, Harry had already forgotten that there
was an earlier question. Did Gabby even have those sheets of questions
Régine and Hermione were working on? "You mentioned your own ability
to change Gabrielle's dreams, and that is close to the mark. We are in a
magical construct, a dream if you will, encased and controlled by magic. I
myself am part of that dream, however real I may appear to you. Though it
was an uncommon skill within your predecessors, entering the dreams of their
angels was not unheard of. Any of my sisters here may alter our setting as she
desires though Gabrielle may overrule any of us and you as her Lord has the
final say."
"Sisters?" Aside from the one he came in with, Harry's only seen one angel
in here so far.
"Yes, sisters. We felt it best that only I welcome you to begin with as not to
overwhelm you. Gabrielle knows you do not like to be the focus of large
crowds and we know what she knows."
"Anyone I might know? I mean, I'm not well read on angels in spite of
Hermione's attempts to stuff me full of knowledge, but I might know one or
two of them." Harry asked.
Gabriel's smile began to show teeth. "Perhaps you know this one?"
Harry's eyebrows rose as a petite silver-blonde haired girl with perfect
crystal blue eyes peeked out from behind Gabriel. He looked down into
the stream to make sure... yeah, still there.
"You made a copy of Gabrielle?" He asked. Twin-Gabby giggled. That
caught the attention of her original.
"Wow! You're me! Wanna play?" Gabrielle with wet boots called up to
herself.
"Ooo-kayyyyy!"Her clone shouted before the two began a very well
matched game of tag.
Gabriel sighed in contentment at seeing two nine year old twin girls
zipping about the glen. "A copy of every angel that ever visited resides in
this place that we now call home. The Veela once called this place the Hall of
Angels."
"Wow. How many angels is that? Who made your hall in the first place?"
For the first time, Gabriel seemed to lose some of her cheer. The sheer
wrongness of seeing her this way would have caused Harry to lose his
breath, had he needed any to begin with.
"I should like to call in our twins, if you please. Gabrielle must learn the
answer to this question, as it is arguably the single most important question
you could ask."
Harry calmed himself and turned to the girls. Before he could call for
them, a soft hand covered his. There was the slightest shock of static
electricity before Harry looked back at the angel who stopped him.
"Now is as good a time as any to help you strengthen the bond between you
and Gabrielle." She said. "In truth, you did something similar already. In
Hogsmeade."
"You mean when I called her?"
"She was very far away and yet she responded immediately to your command.
More to the point, she did not hear your call. She felt it deep inside." Gabriel's
hand moved to cover Harry's heart. "To call Gabrielle to your side no matter
where she is or what she is doing, focus your call inward. If you do so, not
even the people around you will know you summoned her until she appears in
a circle of light... or at a full sprint if she is close enough to do so."
Harry turned back to the two girls who were by now halfway to the
opposite tree line. He couldn't see them, only hear them. Harry closed his
eyes, focused on his Angel and called.
There was an oddly melodious twin squeal of "I'm coming!" and then the
sound of broken twigs and crushed leaves began to build as four small
feet made their best speed to Harry.
As soon as the two Gabby's stopped in front of him, the both looked up
with the same post-sprint pant and the same look of adoration. Due to
Harry's connection with his angel, he instantly knew which was which.
"Gabby..." Harry drawled to the original.
"Yes, Harry?"
He looked over to her twin, her copy, and froze. She's Gabby too- but
then at the same time, she isn't.
"It's okay, Harry." The twin called softly. "I know I'm not really her."
He caught her eyes with his. She may be a copy, but she was as close to
the real thing as this world could make; and if the real Gabby so much as
suspected Harry didn't really love her...
Harry knelt down before the Gabby that spoke out and pulled her into a
deep hug, one that the real Gabby immediately joined from the outside.
"You see?" Gabby squeaked. "Harry's the best! He loves me and you're me so
he loves you too! Isn't that right, Harry?"
Harry nodded into his second angel's shoulder as his first angel bounced
on her toes. A single tear dripped onto Harry's cheek.
And then his second angel changed. Soft white wings wrapped around
Harry as he once more let a young girl into his heart after (technically)
only having known her for a few minutes. The original Gabby took this as
her cue to change as well and Harry was hard pressed not to lose himself
in two very effective angelic thralls. It would seem that, in this place at
least, the copy of an angel could do anything the real one could. Harry
began to feel guilty that he wouldn't be able to take Gabby's twin out of
the room with them when they left.
Luckily, a scattering of applause, giggles and the occasional cat-call broke
him out of that rut. Harry pulled free of the Gabby's only to find that they
now had an audience. A rather large audience, and they moved to
someplace different when he wasn't looking. Row upon row of beautiful
young- or young looking- women filled the seats of an old rock-hewn
amphitheater set into the side of a hill. Hundreds of them. Dozens were
transformed and had their halo's hovering gently overhead. Gold. Silver.
White. Blue. Many halo's seemed to mix those four colors in some way,
but no other color was represented that he could see. Harry couldn't
begin to count how many angels were looking... at... him. Wow. Uh...
Harry wouldn't say it was a bad kind of focus like what he frequently
received in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, but the weird factor was as high
as it could get.
The stars were still shining brightly above but the creek was missing.
Harry, the Gabby's and Gabriel were standing center stage. As Harry
turned to face the crowd, Gabby grabbed one of his hands. Her twin
grabbed his other hand. Gabriel continued to shape things as she was the
most senior angel standing by Harry and neither Harry nor Gabrielle
were inclined to assume control.
"Harry, meet my sisters." Gabriel called softly.
Harry held his right hand up in a clumsy attempt to wave at his audience.
The angels seemed to take it in stride, as many waved back and some
called out 'Hi, Harry!' or something close to it. There were many
languages involved. Harry got the feeling that he was participating in
some ancient history themed game show on the telly.
"There are many things that you and Gabrielle need to learn about us. You
might think Gabrielle is the one who needs these lessons, but in truth you need
to learn our history as much as she does, Harry." Gabriel started, and many
angels in the crowd nodded along as if it were an accepted fact. "It will
take time. It will take a lot of time, and both of you will return to us more
times than you can count... but some lessons need to be learned before others."
"Such as the difference between Angels and Veela." Gabby's magical twin
near whispered from Harry's side. Due to the pure magical nature of this
place, everyone still heard her.
"And this is not my story to tell." Gabriel said startling Harry a bit. He was
growing used to having the brown haired angel in charge of things.
In the lower seats, somewhat near the front. A small group of angels
began moving. One with hair like liquid gold whispered into her white-
blonde neighbor's ear while holding her hand. "We still love you."
"I know." The white-blonde responded before kissing her bench mate's
cheek and getting up.
This new angel approaching Harry seemed just a bit different than the
others. Though now that he thought about it, there was a line of angels in
the row she came from that all had the same off vibe about them. Now
that he looked closer, she was every bit as breathtaking as any of the
other angels here. Hard as it was to believe, she was more beautiful by
far than any of the Veela Nathalie employed, and that was saying
something. This one, aside from her white-blonde hair, had a very deep
tan and eyes that seemed to be lavender in color... but that couldn't be
right, could it? She was also one of the handful who seemed to look
about Fleur's age or perhaps Nathalie's when nearly all of the other
angels had the apparent age of Madame Mitterand; by non-magical
standards, most angels looked just old enough to have a child Gabby's
age, but not old enough to have a child Fleur's age. In contrast to this one
angel's apparent age, her robes looked older... more ancient... than
anything any of the others were wearing, again save for the few in her
row.
Lavender (until Harry could get her name) stepped up to the center of the
stage and introduced herself. "Hello Harry." She called in English. "I was
made in the likeness of Lucifer."
If Harry's heart were in the habit of beating, it would have just stopped in
shock. Lucifer sighed. His reaction was expected. Disappointing, but
expected.
"Chamber of Secrets, Harry." Lucifer added softly.
Oh. Oh! Harry glanced around only to find that not a one of the angels
present seemed upset that Lucifer was among them. Then he remembered
what that other angel whispered to her, 'We still love you.'
"Hello Lucifer." Harry stepped up and offered her his hand. Seemingly
pleased at his recovery, Lucifer shook it. "I must say, you don't look like
the ruler of Hell to me and I bet you never met any of those people Uncle
Vernon insisted were 'in league' with you."
Lucifer snorted and rolled her eyes. Interesting. Harry should have
expected that not all mature angels were as calm and collected as
Gabriel.
"So the fourth Triwizard Champion understands after all."
"Not yet…" Harry replied. "But I hope to."
"Where to start then…" Lucifer collected herself by running her fingers
through Gabrielle's hair. "There was a time, back when Mankind was still
in its infancy, that my Lord came to me and bade me do His will. He
commanded that we, His servants, devise seven artifacts through which
we could observe and influence the mortal world. It was foretold by one
of my sisters that these great works would one day be key to the
evolution of Man. I was tasked to preserve the history of my angelic
sisters so that those who come after us may learn from our experience.
While there were Lords before ours and Angels before us, none previously
had constructed such a repository of angelic knowledge. I worked
without rest from the time He did command me until my task was done,
and in time I devised a magic of rare power- you would understand it as
a ward- that once cast could be used for the storing of knowledge and for
teaching. I created this, the Hall of Angels, where you are now."
"You created the Veela temple?" Harry asked.
Lucifer shook her head. "You entered this place from the Veela temple,
but the ward is set into the rear wall and need not have a temple around
it save for security. Of the original artifacts, each required seven angels to
devote themselves to their creation for seven days each; I and six of my
sisters-"
At this, Lucifer looked back into the amphitheater seating to the angels in
her row. The ones that looked younger… different… Ah. There were six
of them.
"I and six of my sisters created the first six artifacts without fail. We were
working on the seventh artifact on the seventh and final day when we
became fallen angels." Lucifer spoke like an accident victim, one who
already recounted the ordeal one too many times for her own liking.
"Fallen?"
"I was my Lord's first angel and I was His most prized and powerful
servant. I had the greatest magical lore to work with though my six
chosen sisters were not far behind me. Our acts of creation were great
and our Lord was well pleased with our progress. What I did not know
was that powerful beings sought to seize my Lord's possessions, to twist
their purpose, and to weaken my Lord by destroying that which He held
most dear."
"You. He held you most dear." Harry quickly found a little angel wrapped
desperately around his waist. Then there were two of them. He held on
tightly.
Lucifer nodded. "We were at our most vulnerable, at the most delicate
step in the process, when the vile creatures broke cover and overpowered
us. They took our sacrifice of blood which was to empower the gate and
corrupted it. The blood I and my sisters gave willingly was spoiled and
mixed with blood spilled under pain of torture. The gate was opened, but
its true purpose was never realized. It now leads to a pit, a place of
darkness and dust. You may leave this hall when you so choose, but the
seventh artifact is now a gate that only allows passage one way… from
the light of the world into the black hole of despair."
A slender hand came down on Lucifer's right shoulder. The one from
before, the angel with hair of gold.
"Michael." Lucifer whispered.
"Let me finish the tale." Michael offered and Lucifer reluctantly accepted
her offer.
Harry used the short interlude to comfort the two tiny angels that were
quivering in fear. Gabby was terrified. "I won't let anyone take you from
me, Gabby. Never ever." He whispered into little ears.
When next Harry looked to Michael, he saw in her eyes two pools of
boiling fire as bright as the sun.
"I came to my sister's aid," said Michael, "as did Gabriel and many others.
My Lord's wrath was great that day. We slew our enemies, and those we
did not slay were cast into the pit as they intended for us."
"They didn't…" Harry couldn't ask if Lucifer and her sisters were cast into
the pit and lost forever.
"No." The angel of gold and fire replied. "Lucifer we saved from that fate,
but in a last act of defiance, one amongst the enemy ranks cast magic so
foul to us that we singled out its practitioners for destruction from that
day forward. The magic entered my weakened sisters, tore at their blood
and removed the chain which anchored them to our Lord."
"I'm sorry, but what chain?" Harry asked.
Gabriel picked up the explanation from behind him.
"The chain that binds an Angel to her Lord. The links are of blood, forged
in love and magic. A chain binds Gabrielle to you Harry."
"Too be honest, that sounds a bit like magical slavery to me. That's not
really the case, is it?" Harry was beginning to think that maybe Hermione
didn't need to know how he and Gabby were connected. She might get a
little preachy.
"Gabrielle is no slave, Harry, save perhaps to her heart." The brunette
angel smiled warmly down at the two angels still tightly wrapped around
Harry's waist. "She will carry out your will because she wants to, because
you fill her heart with joy. Gabrielle can refuse you without any form of
penalty such as you may imagine blood bonds require; Her only penalty
comes from herself for not wanting to fail you. It would break her heart."
"I swear I'll never demand anything of her that she would not have
agreed to do anyway. I love her as much as she loves me and to see her
in pain would break my heart." Harry announced firmly.
"And this is why Gabrielle is bound to you as your angel. This is why the
two of you did not pass on to the next level of existence."
"I know I'm not the best educated ghost wizard you're likely to meet, but
I'm still not clear on why that works." To be fair, few wizards alive or
dead could ever truly claim to understand this lesson.
"With your permission Harry, I should like to continue where Lucifer left
off." Harry looked up to find that the white-blonde angel was back
amongst her closest sisters. The fallen.
"The chain between Angel and Lord is a bond of immense strength. It
grants the angel powers which you and Gabrielle have only begun to
explore. It also gives her joy and love far beyond that which any other
will ever experience save her sister angels. So long as she is bound to
you, she will be immortal. The bond also benefits the Lord. Aside from
the feelings and knowledge the two of you may share and commanding
Gabrielle to do your will, you also gain immortality."
Harry tilted his head before checking to a pulse again. No. Still nothing.
"No offense, but I think you got that bit wrong. I'm pretty sure I'm dead
and not immortal."
"If certain steps are taken, this is a problem that can be resolved."
"Really?" Harry really perked up at that.
Gabriel held her hands out in a soft warding gesture. "I humbly request
that we save such things for another day, Lord Potter. Knowing how to
return to life will not hasten such a return and our current lesson must
come before all others."
Once again, the patience of the dead helped Harry do the right thing. He
agreed.
"As wonderful as the bond was for Angel and Lord alike, having the chain
broken was beyond horrible. As the chain anchors the Lord to his Angel
and binds her soul to his, unseating that chain harms both body and soul
in ways that cannot ever be repaired. Our fallen sisters no longer felt
their Lord within their hearts. They could appear bodily before Him, and
He loved them still, but their hearts were forever damaged and their once
pure souls violated. It became too painful for Lucifer to even be in our
Lord's presence. She and her fellow fallen left us, and we wept for the
loss of our sisters.
"As the counting of days lengthened in their self imposed exile, the fallen
would learn that the immortality they enjoyed as servants and
messengers of their Lord had left them. They began to age as mortals do.
Their hearts filled with misery, jealousy and a host of other dark feelings
that had never visited them before. Their powers were greatly reduced;
fire was still theirs to command and they could summon wings with
which to fly, but only when their hearts were ruled by anger. They could
still sway the will of the common man, but only with desire and not the
love and joy that their presence commanded before. At first the seven
sisters thought that they were lucky to retain much of their physical
beauty. This beauty soon came to be seen as a curse when the sisters
were set upon by bandits one night as they lay sleeping. In the ensuing
battle between armed men and fire wielding women, one sister was put
to the sword for her resistance and two were taken away to be sold into
slavery. Four escaped to one day make a life for themselves in the world
of man. In time the six living sisters came to bear children... daughters,
every one... and thus they founded a new race in the world. A race
founded on the blood of angels tainted by the darkness of the world
around them."
It took Harry a minute of holding Gabby and her magical twin close to
him to realize that Gabriel was silent again. It took him another minute
to realize what it was that she said.
"Are you saying that fallen angels became Veela? That angels walked the
Earth first?" Harry suspected something similar, but could never figure
out which of the two came first. He thought that angels were a final
evolutionary step for Veela. It helped that Harry had overheard Fleur and
Hermione arguing that very point on two separate occasions.
"The seven sisters, though lost to us, were always angels. Even unto
death. The daughters of the six who lived long enough to have children,
however... they were the world's first Veela."
"And this school, this hall of angels? It's in the middle of a Veela temple,
you know. An abandoned one at that." Harry prompted.
"After the seven were all laid to rest, we revealed ourselves to their
daughters and grand-daughters. Those born into slavery were freed and
we cared for them all as favored children whenever our Lord permitted.
As these were the daughters and grand-daughters of his beloved lost
angels, he gave us leave to dote on them as we pleased. For a time, the
Veela race were given boons which, though not returning what was once
lost, did give them greater sway in the world than their few numbers
could account for. In exchange for our patronage, the daughters of the
seven began to worship us directly. We continued to serve our Lord and
yet the Veela took us for their pantheon.
"It was only in these last two thousand years of history as you know it
that we angels began to leave this world. Our Lord knew his time in this
world had finally come to an end. Some of us were left to perform
specific tasks, such as Michael with your friend Jeanne. I was left as well,
though I am not permitted to speak of my tasks be they complete or no.
For the daughters of the seven, the world once again became hostile
when their patrons stopped visiting and granting boons. Veela soon
developed bitter rivalries with heads of state who sought to control their
wealth and influence. Their ability to control kingdoms where women
were second class citizens or worse faded away to nothing. They came to
be hunted down, alone or in groups, for their powers and for their
beauty. Gabrielle's ancestors finally had to abandon their temple
completely when both the Catholic Church and the International
Confederation of Wizards chose to hunt them to near extinction between
three and four hundred years ago."
"And now, after centuries of silence, we show up." Harry concluded.
"A new angel and her new Lord. We are pledged to aid you in any way
we can; Gabrielle has already been accepted as one of us." At that point,
Harry lost one of his hangers on when Gabby's twin skipped over to hug
Gabriel instead.
"I like it here. These girls are nice girls." She said as she waived to her
original.
"Can we talk about that too? Gabby and me, that is? I'd like to know
what I did to Gabrielle and why it doesn't happen more often. Are there
any other new angels out there?"
"You anchored your soul to Gabrielle quite by accident, but the two of
you are tightly bound nonetheless. You are tied to her with your blood,
your love and your magic. You are her Lord due in part to circumstance
and fate but also due to your selfless nature. You are worthy of being her
Lord. Sadly, those who are worthy of binding angels to them, those who
know self-sacrifice, are more rare even than the Veela they may bind.
Gabrielle was born with the same potential to become an angel as any
Veela. At birth, every infant Veela is pure of body, pure of soul and
receptive to the binding should a worthy Lord seek to bind her. A Veela
child may grow spoiled or selfish, but this is no impediment to the
binding and will soon wither in the face of her Lord's love and affection.
Young Veela only lose the ability to accept a bond when puberty finds
them still unbound. It is no accident that Gabrielle's family was expecting
their 'Little Angel' to throw a foul tantrum upon her first change and also
why they thought she was a year 'early'."
"Because I already, er... bound myself to her? I changed her?" Harry was
doing his best to follow Gabriel's explanation. It wasn't that complicated
compared to some magical theory he'd read, just a lot to take in all at
once.
"Yes. The chain between the two of you was forged on the day of the
Second Task. Gabrielle's soul accepted the link immediately. Her body
woke up to its new destiny over the next few months. That summer, an
angel was born to this Earth for the first time in a very, very long time.
To be more specific, she is the first angel born of Veela ancestry. Truly
unique in all of Creation."
"So there aren't likely to be any more angels then. Pity. Gabrielle
shouldn't have to go through this alone." Harry mumbled.
"I won't be alone, Harry." Gabby looked up to him and smiled. "I'll have
you. I'll always have you."
"Yes you will, Gabby. Always." Harry turned to his Angel and returned
her smile.
Harry looked away from Gabby again when a polite cough interrupted.
Lucifer was back. The pre-fallen angel with lavender eyes ignored Harry
and knelt before Gabby.
"Hi there, kid." Lucifer called.
"Hi." Gabby waved her hand.
"I was my Lord's first, just like you."
Gabby's eyes lit up. "Really? Can we be friends?"
"Absolutely. I've got a lot to teach you too. We'll be the very best of
friends."
"Okay!" Gabby began to bounce up and down on the balls of her feet.
"Say, Gabby..." Lucifer put her hand to her chin as though she were deep
in thought. "How many Veela are there your age? Do you know?"
Gabby looked like she liked the attention, but didn't know the answer.
"More than ten, you think?" Lucifer prompted.
Gabby nodded quickly.
"Maybe even more than a hundred? From babies to ten year old's?"
Gabby waited a bit longer, but she nodded to that one too. "Maybe."
Lucifer didn't stand up, but she did look up to meet Harry's curious gaze.
"We know you're worthy, Harry. If you're really serious about Gabby not
going through this alone, then you could do something about it yourself.
You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Gabrielle. You can do the same
for other Veela too."
In spite of the fact that he was dead, Harry felt the need to adjust his
shirt collar.
"I- ummm... I thought we already went over this whole 'I'm dead' thing."
Lucifer grinned, and her grin showed a lot of teeth. "Like Gabriel said,
Lord Potter. Give us some time and we can help you resolve that
problem. Your sacrifice was noble and did save our Little Angel in Black
Lake, but for future reference being willing to sacrifice yourself is
enough. Under more controlled conditions, you need not die to bind a
second angel to you... or a third..."
Harry actually took a step back. Strange as it may seem, he felt like
Lucifer was asking him to give her children.
"Are we absolutely sure you're one of the good guys?" Harry asked the
grinning angel.
Gabriel managed to maintain her calm, though her cheeks may have
flushed a bit and her eyes were sparkling.
"Gabby. I think we should check up on your mum. What do you think?"
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
I went in to this telling myself that I would not write a story in the Veela
Bond genre. And then I decided Gabby would be an angel. And then I
worked through what it meant for her to be an angel. Now, after looking
back over things, I'm going to have to say that this probably qualifies as a
Veela Bond story even if I am changing what the bond is supposed to do
and how is supposed to work.
God ain't struck me down yet, so I figure He (She/ They if in fact there
are any) don't plan to in revenge for using archangels as characters in my
story.
All angels are female in my story, just in case you didn't notice. I have a
explanation for that and one day I might actually use it in the story.
With respect to named angels: My description of Gabriel is somewhat
based on historical art depicting the archangel. Michael was influenced
somewhat by archangel's post as the commander of God's army (fierce/
noble equals golden/fiery maybe?). Lucifer's description comes from the
manga Oh! My Goddess. In that story, Hild (who takes the Lucifer/fallen
angel character position) is the Queen of Hell, the ex-wife of the All-
Father, and an alpha level hottie with white-blonde hair, a deep tan and
lavender eyes.
I do not expect the seventh artifact, the gate to the pit, to become a factor
in this story, but I do see it as 'currently' residing in the Department of
Mysteries. It's in the Death Chamber to be precise. Good thing Sirius
didn't get pushed through it, huh?
21. The River Styx
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty: The River Styx
December 28th, 1995
Fleur almost dropped the ankh in her hands, perhaps the oldest gold
artifact she'd ever touched, when she heard noise coming from the Veela
temple's back wall.
Momma! Fleur! We're done! The little angel trilled upon re-entering the
treasure room. I'm hungry.
Fleur carefully placed the priceless Egyptian treasure back down and
walked over to her sister.
"Welcome back, Little Angel. How was your visit?" Fleur prompted.
Behind her, Apolline stepped on a cigarette butt near the guardian statues
and came back inside.
Harry slipped out of Gabby, though the feathery girl did not transform
back immediately.
"Wow." Harry said, and Gabby nodded in agreement behind him. "I'm not
really sure what I was expecting, but that was brilliant."
I wish we could come back every day. Gabby chirped. I wish all school
was like angel school. That was fun!
"I'm glad to hear that, although…" Apolline spoke up as she moved closer
to her girls, "…next time you go to 'angel school', you really must take your
assignments with you."
By the end of her statement, Apolline had a loose stack of parchments
and sheets of paper in hand. It was the 'official' list of questions Harry
and Gabby were supposed to ask about. Gabby forgot to take them with
her.
"Oh." Harry blinked in realization. "Right."
-o\0/o-
Diagon Alley was practically empty.
As the lunchtime came and went, an unnatural silence continued to fill
the alley. Not even the boots of ICW aurors marching up and down the
alley made any sound. To be fair, silencing charms were a requirement in
times of open conflict.
A bit of French could be heard echoing off the walls just outside of the
gateway near the Leaky Cauldron. If one listened very closely, random
noise from the muggle world one block over could be heard. It wasn't
that the alley's airborne noise pollution charms were failing but that
some sound traveled as vibrations through the buildings and street.
This rare peace was disturbed when the boot of one Spanish volunteer
splashed into a poorly placed puddle. The wizard frowned and looked
down as he continued on, only just sparing enough attention to prove
that he had in fact soiled his boot in the only puddle on the block. His
four teammates chuckled at his misfortune. He cursed and pointed his
wand at his boot, ready to remove the filth.
That's when things got interesting.
-pop-
Five Spanish aurors all tensed at the unexpected arrival of a dual
apparation. By the time five wands were up and ready to release a
barrage of combat magic, both new arrivals had already fallen to the
cobblestones at their feet. One of the new arrivals, a witch, began to
scream.
"Healer... we need a healer!" The auror in charge yelled out as he and his
men encircled the two fallen magicals. The squad leader and two of his
men both began running diagnostic scans on the screaming witch and the
man who came in with her. The two remaining aurors kept alert should
new arrivals chose to apparate or portkey in using these two as a
distraction.
In the background, a once pleasant conversation in French was replaced
by loud shouting. Orders were being given. Healers were coming.
"She splinched!" One man called as the screaming woman tried to hold
out her missing hand for help. It was a clean splinch and not at all like
the bleeding purple gash which drew a diagonal line across her face.
Healers arrived on scene but they were already too late for the woman's
older wizard companion. A blood-to-wine curse ended him even before
his feet touched the cobblestone alley.
As the field healers readied their living patient to be taken away, the
auror with a wet boot turned to look over the notice that his group,
among many others, had just spent much of the morning distributing to
the better known wizarding areas within Britain.
CITIZENS OF MAGICAL BRITAIN
A state of emergency has been declared covering all magicals living
within the British Isles by order of the High Council of the International
Confederation of Wizards. On December 24th, your local government was
destabilized during activities in the Village of Hogsmeade. As a result of
this action, a group of dark wizards took control of the Ministry of Magic
building in London.
Do not attempt to do business in the Ministry of Magic building. Do not
attempt to use the public floo network for any reason. There are reports
of floo travel being redirected for dark purposes. It is strongly advised
that you block all floo connections in your home and workplaces to
prevent unauthorized access.
Please stay in your homes. International aurors and professionals from
ICW member nations have come to Britain to help restore peace and
order to your land. At this time, The Leaky Cauldron and Hogwarts Castle
are designated safe shelters should you feel endangered. ICW aurors
currently hold Diagon alley, all satellite alleys, St. Mungo's Hospital and
have a strong presence in Hogsmeade Valley and Tinworth.
If you or a family member need assistance, please make contact by owl
post or house elf before running the risk of venturing out in person. If
you have reason to believe that a child or bed ridden relative has been
left without adult caregivers due to the Hogsmeade Event, please inform
the ICW as soon as possible. Owl post and messages can be sent to
'Captain of the Watch, ICW' at Diagon Alley, Tinworth or Hogsmeade
Valley as is convenient.
-o\0/o-
"So… Susan." Segolene called, walking into a room full of English
witches.
"Yes?" The ex-Hufflepuff answered, trying and failing to turn away from
the television. Susan was a good ten years or more older than the
Teletubbies target audience but the primary colors and soothing
background music held the pureblood witch spellbound.
The French brunette sat down on the couch not far from Susan, dropping
a fair sized sketch pad down on the strawberry blonde's lap. Having a
sketch pad dropped on her finally brought Susan out of her Big Hug
induced trance. She looked down.
Hermione also noticed the sketchbook and scooted a little closer. She's
seen inside that sketchbook before. It held all of Segolene's fashion ideas.
Segolene turned to Susan. "You still have your Hogwarts uniform, yes?"
"Yes?"
Susan was too slow in opening the book before her, so Segolene grabbed
the front cover and began flipping through it herself. As the pages began
to fly by, Susan began to take more interest in the art on her lap.
Ballroom gowns were replaced with swimwear and then school uniforms.
And then Susan saw one Segolene's lingerie/role-play sketches.
"Is... is that?..."
Hermione nodded, not that Susan could see. The ex-Puff's eyes were
glued to a colorful pencil sketch of the most scandalous Gryffindor
uniform she'd ever seen. That she could recognize the model was no less
amazing.
"We'll have to see what can be done with yellow and black. No tartan this
time, I think, just stripes... and more cleavage. Much, much more
cleavage." Segolene mused aloud.
Susan's eyes were about to pop out of her head.
"I'm still waiting for mine, you know..." A dreamy voice rose from behind
the three witches. Luna's head popped up over Susan's shoulder. "Blue
with bronze accents."
Segolene looked back at Luna and smiled eagerly. Another model to play
with.
"Pity they took away my tie and house badge before hiding me away."
Luna lost her dreamy smile for just a moment before regaining it. "We'll
have to replace them."
"I'll go get my copy of Hogwarts: A History." Hermione chirped before
moving off the bed. "There is a lovely illustration of the Ravenclaw coat
of arms on page seven hundred and forty-two."
"Get your uniform out, won't you?" Susan nodded and moved to do so.
"Do you think, if we sent an owl to Flitwick, he might be willing to send
her trunk to us?" Susan asked.
Hermione stopped just short of the threshold. "I... I don't know. I doubt
he would refuse if Luna's things are still at Hogwarts."
Right before a debate on the likelihood of Luna's things being both
available and returnable could get going, a distinctive bell tone began to
ring through the Delacour home.
"They're back!" Hermione shouted, the excitement of learning lost lore
tearing her away from plans to write a letter to the half-goblin charms
professor.
And indeed, they were back.
Hermione was half-way through leading the other witches down to meet
the returning group of Delacour women when she came face to face with
a disgruntled specter. Very disgruntled if his coarse mutterings were any
measure.
"Language, Harry!" Hermione stopped at the head of a staircase.
Harry went silent, but didn't look very penitent.
"Have you come to fetch us?" Segolene asked. Surely whatever they had
found out, it would be big.
"No." Harry ground out. "Madame Mitterrand decided to use her position as
a Veela grand matron to order everyone about. She sent me away so that they
could discuss Veela business without interference. Apolline wasn't about to
refuse her own mother and I really didn't want to put Gabby in a position
where she'd have to chose between me and her own grandmother."
Harry then remembered that two of the girls in front of him wouldn't
know what he was saying and- well... did he really want them to know?
"But... but it isn't just Veela business!" Hermione shot back. "If anything,
it's both Veela and Angel business! And she'd want to hear what you have
to say anyway, wouldn't she? Surely Gabrielle won't be able to answer all
her questions without you... unless you wrote them down when you were
there... did you?"
Harry burned a hole in the stairs with his glare. Well, if he had laser
vision, he would have.
"We didn't write anything down. Didn't stick to your lists either- not that
we didn't cover important bits 'cause we did- but I did hear Régine telling
Apolline to find her a pensieve after she sent me on my way."
"Does she have a pensieve?" Hermione asked.
"It's in Poppa's study. I've never seen anyone use it, but there is one."
Segolene confirmed.
"Well!" Hermione huffed in indignation before looking back to Harry
again. "It's not like she can tell you who you can and cannot talk to."
Hermione didn't even consider the possibility that there could be
anything Harry would withhold from her... and didn't Segolene deserve
as much?
Harry didn't really feel like commenting on Hermione's rant. He could see
all four witches and was beginning to lose his self-righteous edge. Did he
really want to tell Luna or Susan anything? Did Hermione deserve to
know everything?
The bond between him and Gabby was just about as pure and good as
any bond could get. Surely he'd never heard of it's like in History of
Magic nor in any of the fairy tales he read in the non-magical world. Still,
it was a bond. Michael and Gabriel were clear on the image of a chain
between Angel and Lord, even if it was forged with love. Hermione
would not like this image.
On the other hand, she was much less preachy about house elves
recently, so she may be able to take this news without getting behind a
pulpit.
On the other hand, if details on his bond with Gabby were ever leaked for
any reason no matter how seemingly innocent at the time... then
someone might be able to figure out how to break the chain again. It's
been done before.
Harry's protective instincts began to surge in the back of his mind and a
bad feeling developed in the pit of his stomach.
Wait a tic, Harry didn't have a stomach. That bad feeling was Gabby's.
"Gabby's crying." Harry stated plainly before vanishing right in front of
the girls.
Hermione bolted down the staircase. He wouldn't have gone far.
Only a minute before, things were deceptively calm in Alain's study.
Gabby was coloring. To be fair, she was using a charcoal pencil and
pastels instead of the wax crayons most her age color with, but the point
is that she was depicting all of her new friends on paper and she was
having fun doing it. Those halos were going to be tricky though... hey,
didn't she have some metallic tinted oil paints?
"Merde!" Régine cursed as she was thrown clear of the pensieve.
At Little Angel's grand-mère's shout, the girl to stopped making her 'I'm
concentrating' face and she dropped her unfinished artwork.
Fleur and Apolline were both ejected just as forcefully, though they
managed to refrain from using language unfit for little ears.
"How could she even do that?"Apolline wondered aloud.
Gabrielle stared at them from her father's chair, silently wondering why
they were done so quickly and why her grand-mère was so angry. She
put down the stick of light blue she was about to use to fill her eyes in
with. "How could who do what?"
Régine tried to hold back her instincts but the glare she sent Gabrielle's
way caused the little girl to shrink into herself a little. Gabrielle's seen
Grand-mère made that face before, but never at her.
"Please, Maman. We should have expected something like this." Apolline
soothed her mother. "The temple is for Veela, but the Hall is for Angels only."
Fleur saw Gabrielle and called softly. "Little Angel."
"Yes?" She replied.
"White hair. Tan skin. Purple eyes." She looked into her sister's eyes and
saw no sign of surprise. "Who is she?"
Gabrielle tilted her head in confusion. They were just in her memory,
weren't they? Shouldn't they know?
"Gabrielle, please." Her mother called. "Who is this woman with white hair
and purple eyes?"
Little Angel was confused. She was confused and Grand-mère was angry.
Her stomach started tying itself into knots.
"Lucifer." Gabby half whispered.
The low volume clearly didn't help. All three older Veela were clearly
beyond surprised to hear her answer. She saw a wave of incredulous
stares the likes of which he'd never seen before.
"What did she do?" Little Angel asked.
"She kicked us out." Apolline called from the side. "And what do you mean,
'Lucifer'?"
"She's a nice girl. She is." Gabrielle looked into her mother's eyes to see
that she was no less shocked than a moment ago. "She even made Angel
School and everything! God told her to!"
"Gabrielle! It is not normal for a memory to talk back to you. It's not normal
for a memory to kick you out..." Régine was not using her nice voice and
Little Angel's face was getting tight. "... and is certainly not normal to have
the Ruler of Hell in your head!"
"She's not the ruler of Hell!" Gabrielle shrieked back, her voice getting
higher and beginning to break. She never yelled at her grand-mère
before. "Lucifer is a good girl! They broke her! She didn't do it!"
Gabby's last words brought forth a river of tears and a soft, low moan.
"Gabby!" A concerned English ghost materialized right next to his angel.
"Gabby?"
Clearly she was too upset to answer. As there was no dark wizard in the
room trying to hurt or kill anyone, Harry dealt with the crying little girl.
Without thought of the older Veela in the room- nor even the four
witches who were just entering from the hall- Harry went inside his angel
and filled her with love.
Gabby stopped moaning, but a few sniffles did manage to get through.
"What's going on?" Segolene asked Fleur, but the younger Veela was cut
off by her grand-mère.
"It's bad enough that there's a dead English boy in my granddaughter's head!
Now I find out that she's possessed by the Devil as well? I will not stand for it!"
Régine barked.
As the tension in the room rose to an even higher level than before,
Gabrielle's countenance shifted from misery to defiance.
"You're going to tell Harry you're sorry! You're going to say you're sorry for
yelling at Lucifer too!" Gabrielle's declaration earned a few more gasps
from the new arrivals. The ones who spoke French, anyway. "Lucifer is a
good girl! Her Lord loved her very much! I bet he still does! I know he does!"
Gabrielle spun in place to glare at Hermione instead of the angry Veela
grand matron. Lucifer said something to Harry before that made him
understand really quick. What was it again? Oh-
"Chamber of Secrets, 'Mione."
With those four words, the littlest girl in the room made a run for the
door. She left the room, shot up the stair and ran right into her bedroom.
Hermione followed the little angel without hesitation.
Before an angry grand-mère could follow, a hand clamped down on her
arm.
"No, Maman." Apolline said in a soft yet firm tone. Hermione wasn't the
only one to immediately understand the meaning of 'Chamber of Secrets'.
Apolline held her own mother in place as the room cleared of teens,
every one of them following Little Angel and Hermione. "We clearly do
not see the whole picture."
Pushing back the anger at being rebuked by both her own child and
grandchild, Régine followed Apolline's gaze to a drawing sitting on a
coffee table in the middle of the room. In the incomplete work, four
figures were drawn close together in the middle of the paper. There was
a smiling little girl, a figure Apolline immediately took to be Gabrielle's
self image. Behind Gabrielle were two women in robes. They were both
smiling, and one had a yellow-orange mix in her eyes and hair. The other
one had brown eyes and brown hair. The third grown up figure was
kneeling next to Gabrielle. This woman was smiling and holding
Gabrielle's hand... and her eyes were light purple. Lucifer. Lucifer was
smiling and holding Little Angel's hand as two other 'angels' stood behind
them.
Chamber of Secrets indeed.
-o\0/o-
"Look, Ron. Hedwig."
Ginny's brother wasn't the only one to hear her. Hedwig's distinctive
plumage was quick to gain attention after having been absent from these
halls for months. The snowy white owl set herself down in front of Ron's
plate, collecting more and more stares until it seemed that every witch
and wizard in the room was watching her.
Ron ran his fingers through Hedwig's feathers ignorant of the extra
attention. After a friendly petting, he went for the note attached to
Hedwig's leg. Ginny was going to wait her turn and read the note after
her brother was done with it… 'was' being the operative term after Ron
let out a snort at something.
"She didn't!" Ginny hissed after reading the missive for herself.
Ron laughed in response, "Of course she did."
"Did what?" It came from one of the Creevey brothers, not that Ron could
tell which one without looking.
"'Mione grounded Harry!" Ron shouted loud enough for just about
everyone to hear. Luckily for a certain Headmaster, he wouldn't need to
seek a private conference with Mister Weasley now that the boy was
blurting everything out loud. "She didn't like him sneaking off to
Hogwarts without her and getting Gabby into so much trouble. He can't
cross the Chanel until she gives him permission to."
Ginny looked at the white owl that hadn't quite left yet. "Will you stay
long enough for me to write Harry a letter?"
Hedwig barked twice and began to pick meat off of a chicken bone on
Ron's plate.
"Oi! I wasn't finished with that you stupid bird!" Ron complained.
Hedwig grabbed the piece of chicken in question and hopped four plates
away to better guard her meal. Many of the students and 'expelled'
muggleborns began to laugh at Ron's misfortune. Soon enough, a small
game of Feed Hedwig was started. Ron briefly spied the chicken breast
that got away before returning his attention to the food still on his plate.
He knew when to cut his losses.
-o\0/o-
"I admit it." Susan murmured. "I'm confused again."
"It isn't you Susan. It's the wrackspurts making your brain go fuzzy.
Daddy always said they breed most during international incidents." Luna
consoled her friend as the two tried to settle down in front of the telly.
Susan was trying anyway; Luna was much less shaken to begin with.
"What's going on?" Cedric asked. He was in control of the remote when
the girls came down and he was currently submerged in muggle world
news; there were reports of a war in Bosnia and Cedric wasn't quite sure
where Bosnia was or who the Bosnians might be fighting.
"Madame Mitterrand and Gabrielle actually got into a shouting match
when they came back from wherever it was that they went today." Susan
answered. "I didn't think little Gabrielle was the type to talk back to her
elders."
"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you." Luna said. "Our hosts are on the
cusp of something extraordinary and I'm not at all surprised that we don't
hear everything. I don't know about you two, but I certainly don't sprout
wings whenever I fancy. I'm not as close to Harry as my sister is either, so
my secret-learning credentials are somewhat lacking."
Cedric and Susan both worked through the dirty blonde's logic and found
themselves agreeing. Even the extraordinary bit; surely having an angel
in the house isn't ordinary fare.
Two floors up, another group of young witches found themselves seated
around a British wizard, though this British wizard was dead.
"So it would appear that at least one of the taunts I heard at school wasn't far
from the truth." Fleur said after hearing Harry give an account of the
origins of the Veela race. He recounted all he could remember, save the
true meaning of the Angel-Lord bond.
"Oh?" Harry asked.
"Fallen angel." Fleur answered. "It was a tame insult compared to most. Those
girls who were 'above' coarse language favored it. It would seem as though
they were right all along."
"At least we know that a fallen angel is still an angel. And surely the
remaining angels would not have cared for the early Veela so well if they were
evil." Hermione offered as she began to revise her list of questions Harry
absolutely had to ask when he returned to the temple- or rather to the
Hall of Angels. "The bond between Angel and Lord must be truly profound if
losing it had such an impact on Lucifer and her sisters."
Hermione sat back and tried to calm her mind down. There were too
many thoughts flying about due to Harry's revelations for her to even sort
through them all. There was the Veela origin story itself... the use of an
ancient magical school... hints of magic hidden from mankind for
centuries... not to mention the religious implications. Hermione once
thought that discovering magic was real would be a nail in the coffin for
her religion.
'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' indeed.
But now... but now she had sitting next to her living proof that the
church she grew up in wasn't completely false. Gabrielle was a witch but
she was also an angel. Clearly the message was distorted over time, but
there was some truth behind church dogma. There also seemed to be less
of a gap between magic and the divine than Hermione once thought as
well. Did it mean angels were magical and not divine or did it mean that
magical beings were closer to divinity than non-magical biengs?
Hermione didn't write that question down. A British pureblood might
read her list one day. She couldn't have that.
Hermione quickly penned another question before she could forget it in
favor of another random thought. Were any previous angels were also
witches?
Hermione forced herself out of her mental tangent and focused on the
issue at hand. "I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to have such a
bond let alone lose it."
Thinking about angels and their relationships to their Lord, Hermione
briefly looked over to the little angel sitting in that very room with her.
She immediately noted how fearful Gabrielle looked... almost as if she
were afraid she might lose- Hermione almost froze at the idea in her
head- that Gabrielle might lose what she already had. Hermione followed
Gabby's worried gaze to Harry.
He was trying to comfort her without saying anything that would give
them away. He clearly knew what his Angel was afraid of and wasn't
about to let it happen.
'Are you Harry's angel?' Hermione had once asked Gabrielle during the
Girls Who Have Been Personally Saved By Harry Potter meeting earlier
that month. 'Yes!' was the emphatic reply. Why, even Luna's comments
that night alluded to the same answer.
"You already know what it's like to have that bond, don't you Little Angel?"
Hermione asked the petit silver-blonde.
Instead of answering the question, Gabrielle looked to Harry for
guidance. That was all the answer Hermione needed, really. She turned
back to Harry.
"You're already bound to her, aren't you? I don't mean as a ghost is bound by
the circumstances of his death, but as a Lord to his Angel."
Hermione was digging. She was close too. The other girls were all
beginning to understand. The idea that Gabrielle might serve a Lord
wasn't some far off dream for her future. It was her present. She served
one now.
Next to Hermione, Little Angel was looking happier again. She began to
preen. It wasn't just being an angel that she thought made her special. It
was being Harry's angel. Harry smiled at Gabby and she blushed in
response.
Fleur and Segolene were now looking at him like a puzzle to be solved,
just as Hermione was. And just like Hermione, the two French witches
seemed to have far more of the puzzle put together than Harry expected.
"We were right." Segolene said with conviction. "You didn't just save Little
Angel from the mermen in Black Lake, you bonded to her and made her an
angel. But... but how?"
"I loved her. I sacrificed myself for her." Harry answered. "Do not
underestimate the power of self-sacrifice."
Fleur began to recite her new favorite prayer once again.
"Through me you know eternal life; Through you I know eternal love." The
Veela looked at Harry. "We came to the conclusion that the first lines of
Little Angel's prayer were literal before Sirius's memorial. Your blood is in her
veins. We must have been too focused on the topic of blood magic to see that
idea through to its conclusion... that the rest of the prayer is both literal and
true as well."
"So, Lord Potter..." Segolene called with a hint of mischief. "How is eternal
life treating you so far?"
Harry thought about it. Segolene may have been trying to lighten up the
conversation, but with what he's learned... well...
"Well if it weren't for the way things have gone back in England, I'd have to
say I quite like it. It may sound bad to you, but I'm much happier now than I
was for most of my life." Harry spared a moment to look between his two
girls. One of them enjoyed the attention so much that she transformed.
"Now, Gabriel did mention... but no. It's too early to say one way or the
other."
Was he teasing them?
"Harry." Hermione called one step above a growl. "I suggest you say
whatever it is before things get unpleasant for you."
Harry pulled at his collar a bit. That's right. Completely whipped.
"Ummm, well Gabriel did mention that the whole 'I'm dead' thing is a problem
that might be resolved one day." Harry watched eyes widen and minds
boggle.
"You can be resurrected. Of course." Segolene reacted instinctively. "What's
next, Harry? A virgin birth?"
Two can play that game.
"Well... 'Mione..." Harry slid closer to his English love. "As a matter of
fact..."
Hermione squeaked and nearly fell off the bed trying to scoot away.
"Just kidding, 'Mione!" Harry held his hands out in a placating motion. "I
rather doubt Gabby's angelic powers can get you preggers!"
"It's not her I'm worried about!" The brown haired teen rolled off the back
of Gabrielle's bed and looked at her dead boyfriend suspiciously.
It would take hours to disabuse her of the notion that Immaculate
Conception might actually work. Several long and arduous hours. Luckily
for Harry, being dead gave him a level of patience that no mere mortal
could counter. It took the poor boy that long to let go of the idea himself.
After all, Gabriel neither confirmed nor denied virgin birth as an angelic
or lordly power, she simply hadn't addressed the idea yet.
Downstairs, two mature Veela sat in silence and considered what
Apolline's listening charms had picked up. What did it mean for the
mother and grandmother of an angel? What did it mean for the Veela
race? The answers could not come quickly enough.
-o\0/o-
New Years Eve.
Green flames flared, releasing their wizarding passenger into the hearth
of his home.
"Mother?"
Draco looked around the room. True, she hadn't specifically stated that
she would be there upon his arrival, but it was her custom and he was
returning at a decent hour. Draco may have enjoyed his time at the
Greengrass family manor but Mother was not well enough to travel now
that Father was... gone... and so Draco was left to make a proper showing
of the Malfoy family alone. Not that there was any ball to go to, of
course; it was more about being seen somewhere. A handful of the old
lines escaped Hogsmeade without losing a single family member but
many pureblood houses were wiped clean from the face of the Earth.
Many more were reduced to a small group of under-aged orphans with
only house elves to care for them.
House elves or Albus Dumbledore, that is. Ever the showman,
Dumbledore had all of these future pureblood heirs and heiresses in
Hogwarts Castle and eating from the palm of his hand as soon as
possilbe... they almost seemed to forget why they were even there.
"Mother?"
Mother was not there to greet him as he expected. Draco was concerned.
"Dipsy." He commanded.
POP
"Y-ye-yes, Y-young M-master?" Dipsy responded and bowed low, ready to
serve.
"Where is the Lady Malfoy?" Draco asked.
His elf flinched. This would not end well, he thought. "Sh-she is being
entertaining m-most honored guest in the conservatory, Young Master.
She is."
Draco flinched. Most honored guest... the Dark Lord.
"D-dipsy will stand on lit kitchen stove now if Young Master wishes."
Draco nodded curtly. His chances of getting through the night without
some form of pain was almost nil. Dipsy could not be allowed to deliver
such bad news without punishment.
Draco turned for the conservatory while behind him a miserable house
elf popped away. His passage through the great halls of Malfoy Manor
was silent save for his footsteps. Draco could imagine an infinite number
of things the Dark Lord might require of him and his mother now that
Father died while failing his dark master. None of it comforted him on
the long walk. All too soon, the young lord had his hands on the
conservatory door. He pushed it open as smoothly as he could, not
knowing if his entry would be noticed.
"Ah, Draco… or should I say Lord Malfoy." A deep, raspy voice called.
Draco turned. A man… well, not quite a man… the Dark Lord stood in
the middle of the conservatory's central path. The wizard's body was no
less bruised or misshapen than it was on his last visit, though it did seem
to move more fluidly now. The Dark Lord was not looking at Draco;
instead, he seemed to be focused on a selection of flowers presented
together in their own pots. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what
he saw.
"My Lord." Draco bowed and answered, not that he wanted to. "I am
honored that you would visit my home tonight though it is unexpected.
Shall I have the elves prepare a late dinner?"
As Draco rose from his bow, he caught sight of his mother. She appeared
at first to be seated comfortably on one a marble bench, but there was
something off about her. She had yet to acknowledge his presence.
"Look at you Drakey-pooh! All growed up!" The witch next to his mother
was filthy, grossly underweight and wore the most horrendous dirty
robes, but there was no mistaking her.
"Aunt Bellatrix." Draco looked between his mother and his aunt.
"You'll have to excuse your mother, young man. There are a great
number of dangerous plants in this room and I felt it best that she be
restrained… for her own safety of course." The Dark Lord's tone failed to
match his words.
"Cissy and I have so much to talk about!" Bellatrix cackled. Suddenly, she
got quiet and held her hand up to keep her sister from seeing her lips
move, not that Narcissa could see anything other than what was right in
front of her. Being magically bound in place will do that. "She got older.
Look! I think I see a wrinkle on pretty Cissy's face!"
The obviously unhinged woman then proceeded to trace a line down her
sister's cheek; a cheek Draco most certainly didn't see any wrinkles on.
His mother prided herself on her flawless face. Honestly, Draco was
proud of his mother for the same reason. Mother was a perfect pureblood
witch in every way. Father always said he managed the perfect match.
"There. That one." Draco turned to see the Dark Lord pull a small potted
flower away from the rest of the display. "Salvia Cruorum. The Blood
Sage."
Draco had to admit that the deep red flower was pretty, but he really
didn't have the passion for flowering plants that Mother had. The
collection, Mother's private passion, has been winning awards ever since
she started it. Why, Father hasn't bribed one of Mother's judge's in eight
years. He hasn't needed to.
Without explaining himself, the Dark Lord drew his wand and vanished
Narcissa's slippers. He jerked his wand to the side and a thin, straight line
was cut across the woman's feet. It wasn't serious but it probably stang
and she did begin to bleed. Draco stood motionless. What could he do?
Sadly, there was no way to help his mother without dying painfully.
"I have need of your services, young Draco." The monster called as he
looked again at the potted plant in his hand.
"Anything, My Lord." Draco responded. He didn't know what was
happening, but clearly his mother's well being was tied to his success.
The Dark Lord tightened his grip on the delicate decorative pot until it
shattered. The Blood Sage shuddered as small clumps of moist red dirt
fell to the floor. He took what remained and placed it directly atop the
captive woman's bleeding feet.
"In most cases, the Blood Sage is harmless. Slower and weaker than
Devil's Snare, Blood Sage usually feeds on the newly dead or on
unfortunate fools who fall asleep while tending to a herd of cattle on the
open range. It feeds on fresh blood and is known to keep victims asleep
through weak toxins. The Blood Sage can feed off of a grown man for
days before its food runs out. Given access to a fresh cut..." the Dark Lord
nodded at Narcissa's feet, "...the sage can and will send fresh roots into its
victim's veins thus hastening their demise."
Much to Draco's horror, the small flower's stalk began to move and twist.
It was growing. Clearly, the plant sensed fresh blood.
"Now. Let's dispense with the pleasantries shall we?" The Dark Lord
hissed. "I want you to get something for me."
-o\0/o-
"Potter!" A strong voice shouted over the ballroom.
"Krum!" A second voice shouted back.
A very important guest had arrived at the Delacour family seat in the
South of France.
"You look different, Potter." The Bulgarian stared at the ghost intensely.
"You get hair cut?"
There was a brief pause before Harry rolled backwards and nearly bust
his spectral gut laughing.
When Victor Krum allowed himself to smile, the rest of the guests and
hosts tonight began giggling and chuckling along with Harry. The room
was festive; the bar opened hours ago though no-one had gone too far as
of yet. Well... one of the more distant Veela relations may have had a few
too many too fast before disappearing with her man early on. Apolline
didn't want to know and Zoé was keeping an eye on things for her. It
would be fine.
Vic was quickly tackled by a curly brown haired missile causing him to
lean on the gnarled cane in his left hand. He may not need the healing
aid to move around any more but the women seemed to like a man with
a cane, so he held on to it.
Hermione was, of course, very happy to see Victor again. So were the
others. The Bulgarian got hugs and kisses from Fleur and Segolene, from
Apolline and some of her relatives as well. The large athlete had to drop
to his knees to hug Little Angel and was quite surprised when an as yet
unidentified young witch stepped up and gave him the same hug and
kisses as all the rest. Luna. Luna Lovegood-Granger of the newly formed
Lovegood-Grangers. When Hermione explained that they were sisters by
adoption, Luna rolled her eyes and said that it should have been obvious.
Hermione didn't look anything like the other three of them in Luna's
opinion.
It was still an hour before midnight, much to a lively little girl's delight at
still being up, when one last guest entered the party.
"'Mione, look." Harry called from behind her as she, Vic and Ced
discussed Vic's recovery and chances at a second World Cup showing.
Harry floated into the group and pointed to Apolline and the new arrival
near a set of glass doors leading outside.
"That's Fleur's cousin Nathalie. I knew she was invited but I didn't expect
her to show up." Hermione explained for Victor who was the only one
who hadn't met Nathalie yet.
"She looks happier than I would have expected." Cedric commented.
And she did. Before too long, Nathalie snagged a glass of wine from
Virginie and was laughing loudly at something Apolline just said. As the
four looked on, Fleur and Gabrielle approached Nathalie and traded
greetings before trading words. Nathalie laughed again, though not quite
so loud, and did something unexpected.
She began whistling and patting her thigh. It wasn't a musical whistle
either; it was more of a dog call.
"Arf! Arf! Woof!" Came the far less expected reply as a spectral dog with
shaggy hair and loose morals appeared. He began hopping about Nathalie
on his hind legs before he dropped down to sniff at her crotch.
"Bad Padfoot! No Veela time for you!" Nathalie shouted in mock outrage.
Gabby began shrieking in laughter.
The ghost dog, or rather the ghost dogfather as some began to
understand, immediately dropped to the floor and whined pitifully. No
Veela time was obviously a horrible punishment.
"PADFOOT!" Two British teens shouted at the same time.
Hermione and Harry crossed the ballroom so quickly that Ced and Vic
wondered if apparation were involved. Their target morphed from a
floating transparent dog to a floating transparent man in response.
"Happy New Year, Pup!" Sirius Black shouted happily in all his ghostly
glory.
"Happy New Year, Uncle Padfoot!" Gabby called out next to him as Harry
playfully swatted at Sirius's shoulder and Hermione began to cry.
Crying witch aside, Harry was feeling quite happy, and a happy Harry
was an ecstatic Gabby. And an ecstatic Gabby? An ecstatic Gabby was an
Angel Gabby. Hermione's tears dried up under the peaceful loving aura of
the new angelic belle of the ball. At least, Gabby was the belle of the ball
until twelve fifteen. That was the end of the fireworks and the absolute
elf enforced bedtime for little angels on New Year's.
At least she got to see two girls each kiss a boy ghost at the same time.
That was neat.
-o\0/o-
Albus looked over his breakfast plate and observed his guests.
There were some students. He did not have all of his students of course.
There was still a week before classes resumed. The 'expelled' students
were still sitting along Gryffindor table- though if there was one bright
spot to this most disheartening of winter breaks, it would be that any
employee high enough in the Ministry- correction, the internationally
recognized Ministry- there was no one of high enough rank in the
Ministry to prevent him from taking them back as students. He had, in
fact, already returned all of their wands.
After a rather memorable Christmas Eve, Albus's castle also became the
rallying point of many different groups of people aside from students and
school staff.
There were the surviving villagers of Hogsmeade; a rather shell shocked
group that still couldn't seem to settle on being sorrowful or joyful for
their lot in life. Sorrowful in that their home, the most purely magical
settlement in the British Isles for many centuries, was gone... or joyful, in
that the pureblood elitist oppressors who rose to prominence in the past
six months were gone. Granted, there were reports of a genuine Dark
Lord in London, but with most of his supporters dead the refugees felt
hope. It was a feeling that few had the last time a Dark Lord went
running about the British Isles.
The aging Headmaster continued to think as he finished his meal and
made for the Hospital Wing.
Why did they have such hope? Was it the Vengeful Angel who threw
down the wicked, burning Hogsmeade in the process? Oddly, no. One all
powerful little girl was a true wonder, but safety came in numbers. And
cloaks. ICW cloaks.
Running between the students and the displaced villagers was a group of
pureblood orphans. They were much worse off than the villagers having
lost their loved ones and not their homes, but Albus was hopefull for
them. His other guests did not seem to hold a grudge on such young
children and there were some new family bonds being made here and
there. Perhaps some adoptions may be pertinent in the near future.
The ICW was by far the largest group of temporary guests currently
moving about within the walls of Hogwarts Castle. For the first time since
Grindelwald threatened the Wizarding World, there were sentries in
every tower, a detachment at the front gates and a patrol in the
Forbidden Forest. There were officers and support staff running vast
operations from the safety of castle wards. It was humbling to note the
extreme lack of Englishmen within these detachments, but this was one
point where Albus was willing to bend to ICW 'requests' for the Greater
Good. Among other reasons, a strong international presence at Hogwarts
meant that Albus himself could spend more time away from his charges.
He could actually take some important steps that were of the utmost
importance in the fight against Tom Riddle... even more important than
guarding the school. There were items he needed to collect and questions
he needed answered. There was a ring he needed to retrieve.
Perhaps, when Harry Potter once more graced the halls of Hogwarts, he
might be willing to speak to his old Headmaster in a civil tone about
serious matters. The boy was willing to kill, true, but both he and his
'Little Angel' were given a clear opportunity to kill him and they ignored
it completely. Was it proof of light behind the darkness? Was it merely
the naïveté of young dark magicals with more raw power than skill? Was
it the influence of a dark artifact slowly turning them in secret?
Perhaps the worst part about the Headmaster's evening was the
innumerable issues which demanded a clear mind. Alas, Albus went to
bed sober last night. Again.
Albus passed through the main door of Madam Pomfrey's domain and
began the short walk to a private room. It was a room reserved for
quarantines or the occasional staff injury. It had, of late, become the
second home of the school Potions Master and Slytherin Head of House.
"Ah, Severus." Albus called.
Severus Snape made no move to acknowledge the call. He may be awake
and in poor spirits or he may well be asleep. One couldn't tell without
Severus making some kind of signal. His face was fully engulfed in gauze
and much of his right shoulder was as well. A few tufts of greasy hair
escaped the confines of white bandages but Albus had to wonder if
Severus would return to work with what the muggles call a buzz cut... or
perhaps he may try a clean shave.
"Good news, Severus. Poppy informs me that the potions are working
perfectly. Of course they are... you brewed them yourself."
Albus waived his wand over the injured man. Though he trusted his
healer completely, Albus always felt personally responsible for Severus's
health. Severus was one of his favorite success stories- a young man who
saw the error of his ways and returned to the light knowing full well the
price that must be paid for such reversals. If only young Harry had risen
above his petty rivalries and accepted what Severus could teach him
about life.
"Expect to be up and about in only a week, not the two weeks Poppy
originally expected." Albus got a little bit of his eye twinkle back. "Just in
time to teach again. How delightful, don't you think?"
POP
"Headmaster Dumbledore Sir." A tea cosy adorned elf spoke up, head
bowed low. "You is having a visitor at the front gates. He is being most
anxious, Lord Malfoy is."
Albus turned in surprise.
"Young Draco?" He had to be sure.
They never did find his father's body. Not even a ring or a watch.
"Yes Headmaster Dumbledore Sir. It is being the new Lord Malfoy who is
walking up the path and he is being very demanding of seeing you."
"Very well. Escort him up to my office, will you?" Albus requested of the
elf.
It bowed even lower and POP'd away.
Albus looked to his Potions Master, his spy and his trusted friend.
"Alas. I am off to right another wrong this morning and the morning is
still not even half done yet." The old man ran his fingers through his
beard and stood for a moment in deep thought. "The muggles say that
there is no rest for the wicked. I, however, am of the opinion that the
wicked get far more rest than the righteous. Well... once more into the
breach I go. Until next time, Severus."
Severus, as expected, did not acknowledge the Headmaster's departure.
Albus wasted little time in reaching his office, still managing to arrive
early enough to settle in and get some work done before the stair charms
became active. He refilled Fawkes' feed bowl and gave the phoenix a
short head rub.
"Please come in, Mister Malfoy." Albus called out wanting to see if Draco
would correct him.
When the young Slytherin entered his headmaster's office, Albus
immediately noticed that the boy was frantic; almost like a caged animal.
Fawkes let out a few notes of peace and contentment but it hardly
affected the young Lord Malfoy.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," Draco stepped up to the man's desk. He
looked Albus in the eyes for but a moment before his eyes began to dart
to and fro. "I desperately need your assistance. Mother's life is in danger."
Albus set down the quill he was using and leaned forward a bit.
"Most distressing." Albus intoned. "What sort of danger?"
Draco seemed to pull himself together for a moment, but he would no
longer meet the headmaster's gaze. Instead, a single sheet of parchment
on the Headmaster's desk took his entire focus.
"The Dark Lord visited our home. It was easy for him- father keyed the
man into our wards long before I was born. He was there when I came
home from Greengrass Manor last night." Draco took a steadying breath.
"He ordered me to murder you, Sir."
Albus was motionless. Draco seemed to lose some of his nervous energy
after a moment of silence and he fell into a chair behind him. His eyes
began to wander, only stopping on the Headmaster for a moment or two
at a time.
"If... if I don't kill you and bring your body down to Hogwarts' front gate
by tomorrow noon, then Mother will die."
As Albus closed his eyes and centered himself, Fawkes began to sing a
slow mournful song in the background. There was a hint of warning in
the song, as if the immortal bird sensed that something was off. Albus
took no note; Lady Malfoy's life in danger was more than sufficient to
affect a light creature, he expected.
Albus noted that Draco was unwilling to meet his gaze. He also noted
that the young man's hands were in view but held no wand. Draco had
only looked into the Headmaster's eyes for a brief moment, but that was
enough for some mind magic at least. Draco was hiding things but what
he did say was honest and truthful.
The aspiring dark wizard was effectively laying himself prostrate before
the Leader of the Light as Severus had done so many years before. They
all learn the horrible cost of dark magic when a woman they hold dear is
endangered, don't they? Perhaps if Harry Potter had lived beyond the
Second Task, Albus could have ensured that Miss Granger was constantly
under some threat or other. That would have kept Harry's protective
nature finely honed- but that is neither here nor there...
"Coming to me was the right thing to do, Mister Malfoy." Albus soothed.
"While I must kindly refuse the offer to help you by dying, I think we
may be able to do something about the situation."
Albus stood. The ICW oath he took was still in effect, but there were
loopholes in any contract and his oath was no different. He would merely
visit Malfoy Manor as a guest and offer the Lady Malfoy free lodging at
Hogwarts for the foreseeable future. Perhaps if he knew how Sirius
Black's will would play out... or if he had the Will sealed, then he could
try forcing the Black family property in London to accept Draco as its
master. He was the closest male by blood after all and that is what old
family wards based their allegiance on most of the time.
Albus mulled over the idea that blood wards and blood allegiance were
key components of family magic. No wonder so many of the old lines
were traditionally dark.
"What can you tell me of Voldemort's plans?" Dumbledore asked. Draco
flinched again, but not as much as before when hearing the Dark Lord's
name.
"I'm just supposed to meet him at the gates with your corpse as soon as
the deed is done."
"You are not to signal him in any way?"
"No sir."
"And your mother?" Albus pushed. "Did Voldemort stay with her when
you came to me?"
"No sir. He left the manor before I did." Draco turned to look directly at
his headmaster. "But my aunt Bellatrix is with Mother. Much as I've been
taught to love family, that woman is completely off her rocker. She's
dangerous... no loyalty to anyone other than the Dark Lord."
Albus failed to comment on Narcissa's other sister, Andromeda. What
would happen to her if dark wizards ever decided to punish her for
marrying beneath her station? Blood ties would not help the blood traitor
or her muggleborn husband. The Tonks family would be wiped out.
Albus stood and made his way to the door.
"Come, Mister Malfoy. We must hurry if we are to catch Voldemort and
Bellatrix off guard." Draco barely reacted to the Dark Lord's name that
time.
"But Headmaster." Draco started, surprised that the old man chose to act
so quickly. "How are we going to get past the front gate without notice?
Surely they're waiting for us?"
Albus calmly put one arm around the young lord's shoulders and raised
his other arm high. Fawkes spread his wings and leapt off of his golden
perch.
"I have my ways, young man." Was all Albus said before a red and gold
feather found its way into his hand and the two wizards traveled out of
Scotland via phoenix fire travel.
When the flames receded, Draco realized where they were. Home.
Draco walked up to the front gate of Malfoy Manor. It opened for him
immediately. Beyond the gate was a large open lawn with several rare
magical creatures grazing about a perfectly proportioned lake. One of the
less rare specimens of bird by the shoreline looked oddly at the two
wizards just long enough for a long tentacle to shoot out of the water,
wrap around the bird's neck and begin pulling it into the water.
Lunchtime. Fawkes, who was perched on the Headmaster's shoulder, was
not amused.
"If you would please show me to your mother and aunt, I would
appreciate it Mister Malfoy." Albus called.
"Of course, Sir."
The two walked down a long scenic path that wound through the front
lawn. Draco knew not to stray from the path, lest he find himself in the
stomach of one of Father's more exotic specimens. Well... Draco supposed
that they all belonged to him now. After a half hour of silence, they
reached the cut stone paving of the front courtyard and front fountain.
Fawkes bid them adieu at the fountain and flew up to the highest tier for
a drink and a good perch.
As Draco approached the front entry doors of the manor itself, they
opened. Two wizards stepped into the grand entry hall of Malfoy Manor
and into the splendor of old money. The room was... not quite as large as
the Great Hall of Hogwarts but still quite large. There were many more
magical paintings and works of art lining the walls than the Great Hall
had. A grand stair could be seen at the far end of the hall spiraling up to
serve two higher floors.
"Which way to your mother, then?" Albus asked, wand out and tasting
the air about him.
"There is a hall by the stair. On the left. Mother should be in the
conservatory at the far end of the wing."
Albus accepted the young man's directions and the two set about crossing
the hall. Due to the hard stone flooring, both men's footsteps rang out
and echoed off the walls again and again. As the pair neared the
spectacular winding stairs, another noise began to fill the room. A third
set of footsteps.
Albus slowed to a stop and Draco stopped next to him. The third set of
steps continued. All too soon a figure appeared on the lowest landing of
the grand stair now only twenty paces away.
Voldemort.
It was the first time that Dumbledore had come face to face with the dark
wizard once known as Tom Riddle since Professor Quirrel brought the
man's spirit into Hogwarts castle. Even then, he was only a possessing
spirit with only the narrowest of holds on his host. The last time they met
as whole men was back when Lily Potter was still very much alive. Albus
looked at his one time student and despaired for what the dark arts could
do to a soul.
The man was still bruised and battered; daylight did nothing for his
complexion. Not one bit of him looked symmetrical or balanced from side
to side and his slightly ill-timed movements were witness to the
deformities. Voldemort's red eyes sat upon a face that was stretched tight
over bone and missing a nose save for two holes with which to breathe.
Either the Dark Lord was constantly scowling or he lacked enough tissue
around his mouth to close his cracked, bruised lips. A cloak concealed
much, but uneven shoulders and two questionable bulges on Voldemort's
upper back told their own stories. This was not the same duelist Albus
had faced so many times before. This decay was welcomed by the old
headmaster for it handicapped Tom. Albus would have preferred being
the master of the wand in his hand but young Miss Delacour was the
Elder Wand's master now. At least Voldemort had a physical handicap to
match Albus's magical one.
"You have done well, Draco." The Dark Lord called. "Your efforts today
may very well save the Malfoy line from destruction."
Draco began to step away from the headmaster. He turned as if to speak
to the headmaster but thought better of it and continued on his way to
safety.
"Using students against their headmaster now, Tom?" The Headmaster
shook his head in a disappointed fashion. "You never could stand in the
light of day before... and now I see that to be doubly so. Just what have
you done to yourself?"
The Headmaster's opponent showed a mouth full of broken, jagged teeth
in a move that was half grin and half scowl.
"You just can't trust Gryffindors to do anything right." The dark wizard
returned. "I should have expected Pettigrew to be a failure... after all... he
failed his friends in his youth. He failed you as well. He payed for his
failures, make no mistake."
A yew and phoenix feather wand came free of its hiding place and the
wizard holding it began to descend the last few stairs between him and
violent combat.
"He failed himself most of all, Tom. I'm sure that he would redeem
himself if only he could truly understand what it is he's done... if he
could see the world around him without focusing on his own survival."
Albus lectured on. Even in the midst of an obvious deathtrap, he would
continue to teach his ways to anyone and everyone. Draco was still in the
room after all. "I'm sorry that I failed you, Tom. I should have paid better
attention. I should have seen your pain."
A bright purple globe shot out of Voldemort's wand only to be thrown
aside in a shower of sparks after striking Dumbledore's hastily conjured
shield.
"Pain? I know not pain! I know not weakness!" The Dark Lord roared,
lifting his arms high. "Common wizards and muggles feel pain. They are
weak. Weak like you."
Voldemort summoned a great fire serpent. It uncoiled from his wand,
growing into a beast only slightly smaller than the basilisk in the
Chamber of Secrets. A fiery orange mouth opened revealing glowing red
fangs and a hiss that threatened to consume life and spirit both. As the
fire snake struck, Albus forced it back with invisible winds. The snake
pushed against its unseen enemy and a shower of sparks and flames flew
back into the walls and floor around them. As Voldemort called his
serpent back to ready another strike, Albus conjured a great whirlpool
between them on the stone floor. Spinning waters combined with his
winds to form a waterspout which, when directed at Voldemort's serpent,
dispelled the fire magic in a great hissing rush of steam.
Albus stepped backwards under the cover of the superheated cloud which
filled half of the hall. The opening moves were somewhat worrying to
him. Physically handicaped or not, Tom still had great magical power.
Thankfully the headmaster could rely on his own magical strength to
counter it. Being the Elder Wand's master would have helped him
tremendously, but it was not a prerequisite to victory.
The steam cleared away, and as it cleared, the veil which allowed each
wizard to prepare was pulled away. Voldemort had not been idle. A
marble golem half-again the size of a troll stepped away from its dark
creator intent on crushing the Headmaster. As the golem made of broken
stair and wall lumbered forward, Albus turned to his strengths and
animated four nearby statues. The statues, which consisted of a roman
general, two wood nymphs and an elder statesman, ran between the
golem and their own master. The larger stone beast made two great
lumbering steps for Albus only to be tripped up by the faster nymphs.
The male statues combined their efforts on one of the golem's arms and
began to tear apart the elbow joint. Then things got ugly.
As two magical duelists managed a four on one battle of animated and
transfigured stone, Draco watched the duel from what cover he could
find.
"Drakey-pooh..." Draco closed his eyes at the words, but otherwise failed
to react to the woman stalking up behind him. "Ooooohhhhhhh... Master
is playing. I want to play too!"
Bella came even with Draco in the hall corner he was using for cover.
Unlike Draco, the witch stood out in the open. She reveled in the
spectacular display of power and killing intent being unleashed. Soon,
the stone avatars were all broken piles of scrap between the two dueling
men. Fawkes flashed into the room and circled above the two only to
have Voldemort send a handful of Killing Curses at the bird until it
flashed away in retreat. The two titans then began pushing raw magic at
each other. Voldemort's Killing Curse green beam collided head on with
Albus's fiery red assault and the ground between them was being lashed
repeatedly with lethal secondary explosions.
"How can they possibly keep this up? Do they even realize we are here,
watching?" Draco whispered.
Bellatrix heard him.
"Oh, my Master always knows where I am... at his side... always waiting
for his word... killing the blood traitors as all good little girls do... yes.
That's Bella!" She giggled.
The witch turned to stare uncomfortably at her nephew. There was
insanity in her eyes, but there was also anger.
"But you! You didn't come with my Master. You, baby dragon... you came
with the blood traitor Dumby-door! You are a bad, bad boy!"
Draco backed away from his aunt in alarm, completely missing that fact
that he was being pushed into the massive hall instead of away from it.
"N-now Aunt Bella... I was only doing what the Dark Lord wanted… You
know that!" He pulled his wand anyway; the woman advancing on him
was well known to be a crazy bitch.
"Master won't want me interrupting his fun-" Bella cooed as a rainbow of
magical bolts lit up the room behind Draco, "but that doesn't mean I can't
have some fun of my own!"
Draco took another step back and cast the strongest shield he could
muster. It wouldn't help.
"Crucio!" Bella screamed.
The young Lord Malfoy crumbled like a rag doll, shaking and screeching
uncontrollably.
Up until that point, the Headmaster and the Dark Lord had been keeping
each other in check spell for spell and strength for strength. There were
black gouges in the stone at their feet and small fires on the walls where
portraits once hung. But the stalemate could not go on forever. Draco's
scream made sure of that.
Albus's attention wavered for just a moment, just one heartbeat really,
but that was all it took. Voldemort's next bolt of dark red power punched
through the light wizard's wavering shield and smacked the old man in
his chest.
Albus was on the floor and bleeding heavily even before Draco's last cries
subsided.
"As I said." Voldemort hissed as he closed the distance to his wounded
foe. "Weak."
"Oh? Did I interrupt something, Master?" Bella asked her Dark Lord, her
eyes wide in faux innocence.
"Do not worry yourself, my dear." Her Master replied as he summoned
the wand from his defeated foe's hand. "He lost focus. I won."
Draco tried to pull himself up, but he was having trouble. It hurt so
much. All he could do was watch as Bella and the Dark Lord walked up
to Albus Dumbledore as the old man struggled to breath in a pool of his
own blood.
"I won..."
Voldemort drew both wands up high before shoving them both back
down together. They were both aimed right at the old man on the floor.
Albus's eyes widened a split second before the inevitable happened. A
spray of blood and gore blew out from the Headmaster's chest, covering
both Dark Lord and dark witch in a fine red mist. Albus Percival Wulfric
Brian Dumbledore was no more.
"I won!"
Bellatrix began giggling incessantly. She took her wand between the folds
in her robe and tried to clean the gore off of it. Voldemort didn't even
bother cleaning his wand. Instead, he reached down to the body before
him and roughly ripped a fist full of beard hair away from Dumbledore's
body.
"Come with me, Draco." Voldemort commanded.
Draco looked at him fully intending to comply out of fear alone, but his
thoughts must have been clear on his face.
"Still fearful of your mother's chances of survival? Of yours even?" The
blood spattered wizard taunted. "Aid me with this one last task and your
mother shall recover completely. It won't take but an hour... half that if
you do your job and stop those who would delay us..."
Voldemort turned towards the wing of Malfoy Manor that had been his
hide-away for some months now and quickly began eating up the
distance in long strides. Draco followed.
"Who... who would delay us, My Lord?" Draco managed after some effort.
"What is this task we are to perform?"
"Oh, nothing too difficult, I assure you young Lord Malfoy." Voldemort
chuckled. He was in a good mood. Albus Dumbledore was dead. "There is
something on Hogwarts grounds that I want... and with him dead, I will
get it. I shouldn't even need to kill anyone to do it either! Ha!"
"Don't you worry, Drakey-pooh!" Bella called out from behind them. "I'll
take good care of your precious mummy!"
Draco didn't turn around. If he did, then she would have seen how much
he wanted to hex her to death just then.
"And you should see the flowers, Drakey-pooh!" She cackled. "They're
gorgeous... simply to die for!"
He'd do her slowly... Father used to talk about taking weeks to kill
someone. Draco never understood why before. Now he understands
perfectly.
Just outside of Malfoy Manor, a red and gold bird cried a song of
mourning and loss before flame-traveling out of sight.
-o\0/o-
Albus gasped in alarm as he rose to a sitting position.
He was in a boat. It was a wooden boat, one that might fit three or four
passengers to a bench along several benches. In front of Albus, heavy
mists restricted his view to not more than a few meters over the water,
and behind him… behind him was the boatman, plying unnaturally calm
waters with his oar. Albus patted down his chest. There was no blood, no
tears in his robes, there was no pain. In fact, several minor pains that he
had associated with age were gone as well.
Albus went back over the last few minutes in his mind. Draco.
Vodlemort. Draco screaming. Pain and then… and then… death?
"Excuse me... Charon, is it?" Albus called to the cloaked figure.
He could not be certain of the boatman's identity as the man's cloak held
the his face in impenetrable shadows. He was a bit on the short side, but
that was not sufficient to narrow the possibilities. There was also no
response to Albus's question. The boatman only stood there and
continued to ply the water which, to Albus's eyes, appeared inky black.
The silence was uncomfortable for Albus. He was used to having more
knowledge and more secrets than anyone he met.
"Sir," Albus spoke up again, "am I to believe that we are crossing the
River Styx?"
Again there was no answer. This vexed Albus, but he was as yet
unwilling to force himself upon the boatman. Though he was unprepared
to begin his next Great Adventure, he was clearly on his way. Best to take
a positive attitude about it.
The headma- former headmaster tried to ignore his silent neighbor and
took a closer look at his surroundings. The boat, however new to him,
seemed unremarkable aside from it's occupants. The few odds and ends at
rest on the floorboards seemed unexceptional. Albus looked out of the
boat. The mists were thick and white and restricted Albus's view past a
few meters in any direction including straight up. The sun was... well,
there was no proof for it's existence. The boat existed in a soft near
twilight state which robbed the color and detail of things. No wonder
Albus couldn't see the boatman's face.
The water he could study. Albus closed in on the left gunwale, grasping it
with both hands, and peered over the side. Black. The water didn't just
seem murky, it seemed as black as India ink. He couldn't even detect the
slightest reflection off the water's surface.
He released the gunwale with one hand and began to reach for the
surface.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The boatman warned.
His voice was quite familiar.
"Harry?" Albus turned quickly, the water almost forgotten. "Is that you,
my boy?"
With one hand, the boatman drew back his hood. Indeed, it was Harry.
"Headmaster Dumbledore." Harry started coolly. "I'll have you know I am
not permitted to enter England at this time. If coming to fetch you
qualifies as entering England then I shall be quite cross with you."
A little bit of the old eye twinkle returned to Albus's old orbs.
"I would be most happy to vouch for your innocence if only you could
turn this craft around." Albus let out a great sigh. "There was much left
undone when I passed."
Harry snorted. His task of rowing was now forgotten and the oar was
simply held to give his hands something to do.
"No doubt. Busy man. Great man, yeah? Leader of the Light and all that.
You seem to have gotten your light extinguished, mate."
"This is no laughing matter, young man." Albus admonished. "With my
death there is no sure check to Voldemort's lust for power."
"So tens of thousands of wand wielding wizards is no sure check? You
seem to think ol' Tom has the powers of a god at his disposal." Harry
offered.
"Not a god, but not unlike one in some respects, Harry. I have told you
already that Voldemort has managed to cheat death. He is immortal after
a fashion... one may strike him down but he will rise again and again and
again unless steps are taken."
"Okay then..." Harry nodded. "The big baddie has a secret power or
something. What is it? A magical amulet or something? Maybe some
Egyptian device? I actually saw an ankh recently you know..."
Harry drifted off for a moment. Thoughts of a treasure laden room and a
group of Veela filling his mind. "It was a real one... had to be, I'm sure of
it. I bet the Egyptians knew how to come back considering what even the
muggles know of them now. This is where you tell me how to beat him
now that you've gone and snuffed it, right?"
Albus looked at his former student. For the first time in ages, Harry
looked just like the eager pupil that had been hiding from his
Headmaster ever since a fourth scrap of paper shot it's way out of an
enchanted cup. Alas.
"I'm afraid not, Harry." The old man said with no small amount of regret.
"You absolutely must change your ways before I can entrust you with
what must be done. Your propensity to violence in the past year has
caused me great anguish, young man."
"Oh really?" Harry mocked the man. "You know what? You got me. I'm
evil."
Dumbledore frowned. "This is no laughing mater, young man."
"It is from where I'm standing, old man." Harry returned gaily. "You keep
saying I'm one of the bad guys like I got picked for the dark side during a
schoolyard game of evil tag or something. You also seem to think that
you and you alone can defeat Evil and lead the Light. Capital letters on
both of those, mind you."
Albus sighed heavily. The boy was much worse now than ever before.
How could he have gone so far astray? Why now? When so much
depended on success?
"Now, the Saving Maidens thing I can do." Harry continued. "Quite good
at that, actually... so I don't think I'll be signing up for any lessons
there..."
How could he make the boy see reason? Maybe a shock to the system?
"Everyone you love will be killed." Albus stated with as much conviction
as he could muster.
Harry wasn't smiling now.
"That will not happen." Harry almost snarled. If anything, Albus was only
more worried by the boy's attitude. "If you will not tell me what I need to
know to get rid of Voldemort then I'll find someone who can."
"Oh?" Albus poked. "And who will speak to you of magic most rare? Of
ways to put off death indefinitely and how to undo them once they are
done?"
"Gabriel for one." Harry answered without pause. "Michael, surely. I dare
say she has a history of combating the very techniques you speak of...
though I bet Gabby and her new best friend could really bond over
smiting evil like they did in the old days."
Albus must have looked as confused as he was, for Harry saw his face
and continued.
"She and Lucifer are best friends now. First angels, the both of them."
Only after seeing his ex-Headmaster's face turn yet again did Harry
realize that naming Gabby's new best friend out loud may not have
helped him any.
"Fraternizing openly with demons, Harry? Have you really fallen so low?"
Albus said with more than a hint of accusation in his voice.
Harry looked up to the sky as if God... as if some god or other... might
smite Albus simply for being a narrow minded prat. It didn't happen.
"Did the Chamber of Secrets teach you nothing, Headmaster? I was
demonized again in fourth year for a time." Harry looked Albus in the
eye. "Lucifer's story is like that... only she's been dragged through the
mud much worse than I got."
"Devils speak with forked tongues, Harry." Albus was unmoved.
"Then why are you even listening to me? You think I've gone dark, right?
You already think I'm one of them." Harry challenged.
"You must listen." Albus ground out. "You cannot meet your destiny
ignorant of the true path to victory."
"I'll ask around for how a Dark Lord might go about cheating death and
look for a way to undo it. Trust me... the old angels aren't around
anymore, but they left memories of themselves behind. Lucifer's really a
nice girl."
Dumbledore's eyes widened. "You didn't!"
Harry looked blankly back at him. "I didn't... what?"
"Meeting a memory of Lucifer... of course the Prince of Lies would lead
you astray." Albus seemed more sure of himself than ever before. To
Harry, never before did the old man seem more off his rocker. "You
yourself bring up the Chamber of Secrets, Harry. Do you not remember
Tom's diary?"
"Had Tom still in it. Sure. I'm not seeing the connection."
Albus stepped closer to Harry. He had to make the boy understand.
"Harry. The diary was able to do what it did because a part of
Voldemort's own soul was bound into the book. Miss Weasley's
interactions with the soul fragment caused it to feed off of her life.
Voldemort was genuinely close to returning to physical form before his
soul shard was destroyed. Now... Harry... whatever this object is that you
use to communicate with Lucifer, you must stop at once. Having
Voldemort reborn to the world unchecked is a dark enough thought that I
cannot even begin to imagine having a demon prince walk amongst the
living."
Albus reached out and grabbed Harry by his shoulders.
"That must not happen!" The old man was practically yelling now. "I will
turn you if I can, but If I cannot then I will stop you from returning to
unleash that evil upon the world!"
"You've gone completely barmy, haven't you?" Harry asked, more than a
little uneasy with the way Albus was staring him in the eye.
What Albus said next was practically a whisper. "What I do, I do for the
greater good of all mankind."
And with that, Albus pushed down on Harry with all his might. The
Headmaster may not have been a strong man but he was very motivated
and Harry was still a fourteen year old boy. He wasn't prepared to be
attacked while piloting a boat over the River Styx either. Harry fell back,
hitting the back of his head on the gunwale and loosing his grip on the
oar. Harry's vision blurred for a second, but he could clearly hear the oar
fall completely into the water.
When his vision cleared up a bit, a most unwelcome sight greeted him.
His head was over the side and he could see the black void of the deep
beneath him. He began to fight back desperately. He did not fancy
swimming through that. Seeing as they were already dead, neither
combatant seemed likely to run out of steam anytime soon, but Albus had
the advantage of weight and position. Harry was slowly getting closer to
being pushed overboard.
Hermione was right. Leaving France was a bad idea.
What Harry needed now was nothing short of a miracle, so he began to
pray in the back of his mind. This prayer manifested in a oath that Harry
would have never considered uttering had he not spent so much time in
France.
"Sweet Jeanne, for the love of God, help me!"
"Aaaahhh!" That shout wasn't Harry. It was Albus.
The weight holding Harry down was suddenly lifted. As he struggled to
right himself, there was a high pitched grunt followed by a loud splash
from the other side of the boat. Harry braced himself and turned to meet
the Headmaster before he could overcome whatever accident befell him.
But Albus wasn't in the boat anymore. Instead, lying on the floorboards
was Harry's savior with slender feminine legs and boot clad feet raised
high in the air after ejecting Albus from the boat.
"For a noble spirit and a very flattering request, your prayers have been
answered!" She said triumphantly before noting where his attention lay.
"Stop looking at my legs, Harry."
"Jeanne!" Harry shouted. Hell yes, he was glad to see her. "What are you
doing here?"
The French patron saint held one hand up in a silent request. Harry
immediately took it and helped the girl to her feet. Once they were both
standing, Harry pulled Jeanne into a tight hug.
"Thank you, Jeanne. Really." Harry continued when she didn't reply. "Is
this what it felt like for 'Mione and Ginny and Gabby? If it is, then that
whole 'getting saved' thing feels pretty brilliant but I can do without the
'needing to get saved' bit, thank you very much."
Jeanne laughed. After the shock wore off, Harry did too. The two were
eventually able to calm down enough to try talking again.
"Sooooo..." Harry started. "You threw Albus out of the boat?"
Jeanne nodded. "Really Harry. Giving him a chance to be a good boy and
chose to let go is fine and good, but try not to do it over the Styx next time."
She looked over the side and into the darkness that claimed a man widely
acclaimed to be the greatest wizard since Merlin himself. She made a
face.
"I'm not sure what would have happened had you fallen in Harry. In a place
like this, there is more than just symbolism in that water."
"Right. Dumbledore's not coming back up then?" Harry asked.
Jeanne shook her head. Honestly, Harry knew the answer to his own
question even before he asked. He was the boatman on this trip after all.
Albus's choices were simple. Have a civil conversation with Harry... learn
something important... and maybe step onto dry land on the far bank. Or
what? Or fall in, that's what. Well, he fell in, didn't he?
Harry looked around the floorboards until he found a spare oar and
picked it up.
"Where to, milady?" Harry asked Jeanne as he once more took up his
station at the stern.
Smiling, Jeanne sat on the seat nearest him and made herself
comfortable.
"I need to go back, of course... but that can wait, can't it?" Jeanne and Harry
traded smiles. Here, just as in their trip through the grassy fields, they
had forever and a day if they wanted it. "Just hit land eventually, Harry. In
the mean time, I want to hear all about our angel and what mischief you two
got into while I was away."
"And you. I want to know what you've discovered in the Great Beyond
and all that." Harry countered.
"Harry..." Jeanne teased. "You should know I can't talk about that."
Harry mock pouted. Jeanne laughed again.
"Well..." Jeanne looked like she was trying to say the best possible thing
but she was having trouble wording it just right. "I think... I've found that
the truth is both more simple and more complicated than anyone could ever
imagine. I'm sure you will understand. One day."
"I'm sure to pass eventually. And when that time comes, I want you there
to explain it all to me."
"I'll be there."
Harry gave her his best grin and put his new oar into the water. Their
journey continued.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
(1) Wow, that took a lot of time. For a while there, I had other things on
my mind. Our family computer network lost one desktop to a melted
motherboard and another to viral infestation. Go ahead and laugh. We're
replacing both of them; they were old anyway. Still, I should install a
button on my author's page so that you can kick my arse if the wait
between chapters is too long.
(2) If anyone wants to know what books I'm reading, as they do help me
with the religious/historical background and theory, then you should
check out the following two: Misquoting Jesus:The Story Behind Who
Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Ehrman and The History of the Devil
by Paul Carus. Good stuff whether you are a true believer or not.
(3) I know I've switched to PM'ing those who review and I think need to
be replied to, and I've cut my pre-chapter notes, but I just want to say
again that this story would not be what it is without the reviews I get
from you people. If a question asked (even by an anon review) has merit,
I will address it in some way.
(4) For the review from Dain (no return email) I did consider the very
issues you brought up before finishing the last chapter. Where did the
earlier angels come from? Were they made in a similar way or different
way than Gabby? Why do they know what happened to Harry/Gabby and
how to replicate it? That is a level of pre-history that may not have a
place in this story. 'What came before the chicken and the egg?' is what
you're asking. Well, if I follow the same logic path as some of my source
material, then God did it. If I actually do end up answering these
questions in detail, look forward to a magical world origin myth inspired
by Tolkien. More from The Silmarillion and less from the Lord of the
Rings. I don't see the point of going that far really. My characters need a
reason to talk about it and right now they don't have one. Maybe they
will get one.
(5) jdboss1. Thanks for reviewing though I wish you'd accept PM's. Short
answer:I was trying to time my international reactions according to what
I perceive as accurate in real international situations. You can piss off a
nation pretty quickly, but trying to Cross the English Channel in force too
quickly would be a political nightmare. A logistics and planning
nightmare too. At least, that's my reasoning. I could be wrong.
22. Tempting Fate
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-one: Tempting Fate
"'Mione?" Harry called out.
"Yes?" She answered while spreading a napkin over her lap. Lunch was
being served and those who hadn't partied all night last night were sitting
at the dining room table. It was mostly the younger crowd, the teens,
though Hermione's parents were present as well. So too were Amelia
Bones and their host Alain. Even so, Harry didn't seem to acknowledge
anyone's presence other than Hermione. He seemed quite focused, in fact.
Nervous even.
"You're good with geography, right?"
Hermione turned her head as if looking at him from a different angle
might make his question make more sense.
"I mean- I know I didn't do so well in the subject, but my primary school
did teach it and- and I'm sure yours did too. I guess... I guess what I'm
asking is if I said a big river's name if you could tell me where it is?"
Hermione wasn't sure where this was going but she did like seeing Harry
take his studies seriously. She'd always do her best to answer any study
question he may ask.
"Assuming the river is important to the lands it passes through, I'd like to
think I could." She answered encouragingly.
"Good." Harry paused. "Good."
He didn't continue immediately but then he didn't move away either.
Hermione was getting suspicious. The last time Harry acted this way was
back when he wanted to look over one of her essays... back when he and
Ron would wait until the very last minute to do the work themselves.
Back when they knew she'd get upset and lecture them for it.
"Harry?" She asked.
"So where is... where would you say the river, umm... the River Styx is
then?"
How odd, she thought. A ghost is asking a living girl where the River
Styx is.
"The River Styx isn't a real river, Harry. It's from Greek mythology. It's
the boundary between Earth and Hades, though it's not the only river in
Hades. Other important rivers in the underworld include the Acheron,
the Cocytus and the Phlegethon." Hermione answered. "May I ask why
the interest in Greek mythology?"
"Oh good." Harry didn't seem to catch her return question. "I'm not in
trouble then."
"Harry?" Hermione asked again.
"I hope you had a pleasant morning." Harry seemed to ignore Hermione's
curious gaze and her continued questioning. "By the way, I happened to
meet Albus Dumbledore this morning. Not sure what to think of the
whole thing really. I had some words with him- and by the end of it I
think I finally figured him out. Completely barmy, that one. Absolutely
nutters."
"Harry..." His English love called in a tone that would not be denied. "I
thought we agreed that you wouldn't be going to Hogwarts anytime
soon..."
"I didn't cross the Channel." Harry soothed. "Honest."
"I'll bite." Segolene interrupted. "Where did you meet him?"
"In a boat crossing the Styx." Harry replied.
Absolute silence followed.
"On a related note," Harry continued, facing Alain for the first time today,
"your people should start looking for Headmaster Dumbledore's body if
they have the time. He's not in it anymore."
"Harry?"
"Damn!" The ghost shook himself. "I forgot to ask where he died... or
how. Oh, well- too late to ask him now."
…
"Harry?"
It wasn't Hermione this time. His brown haired bookworm was struck
speechless. The Styx was real?
"Yeah, Victor?" Harry called over the table.
The three living Triwizard champions were all sitting next to each other
opposite Hermione, and as such they had a ringside view of the morning's
drama. In fact, just about everyone awake and eating breakfast could
hear Harry's questions and comments. The four present adults were
focused at one end of the table with Alain giving the Grangers a running
commentary of Harry's side of things.
"Ve meet over pitch. Not on river of death. Vas dere reason?"
As Harry contemplated his answer and his girlfriend became even more
speechless, Cedric piped up. "Hey! You said you were going to have a
chat with Vic right before his heart stopped! That's what Vic's talking
about, isn't it? Does McGonagall know?"
Every wizard and witch in the room looked at Victor after Cedric's
declaration. Every witch save one. Gabby was barely listening. Instead
she was eating. She already knew how great Harry was; he went to super
magical places with her all the time.
Harry answered Victor. "You were given a choice, Vic. You could move
on or you could go back. You chose to come back. Now for Dumbledore-
for him coming back wasn't an option. He had a choice: move on if he
saw past his own flaws... or…"
But Harry couldn't find the words for what did happen.
"He was a bad man." Gabby supplied, never taking her eyes off her plate
full of cold ham slices. "I never liked him. He threw me in a lake and
tried to take my name away."
"What she said." Harry thought Gabby summed it up rather well. Maybe
it was a bit oversimplified but it was clear and honest.
No one asked for more detail about Dumbledore's fate. They were all
afraid he might actually provide it.
-o\0/o-
Draco woke up.
He was still in his mother's room at St. Mungo's. The young lord hadn't
left her side since reuniting with her, even if it meant sleeping in a chair
or going without a proper bath. Mother was worth it.
Draco rubbed the sleep out of his eyes while taking in his in his
surroundings. The room was quite nice considering it was a hospital and
not a summer home. Any Malfoy property would put the décor to shame,
but when isn't that the case really? On the positive side, the room was
warm and inviting and not at all cold or sterile. Even the hospital wing at
Hogwarts couldn't say that. There was a plate on the side table with a
half eaten sandwich going stale. Ah, yes. Daphne had been by to visit.
Was that only yesterday or was it the day before? He couldn't remember
any more.
News of Lady Malfoy's injuries spread quickly causing Draco to receive a
few visitors, some of them he honestly thought lost at Hogsmeade. Of
course, his mother's health was still the lesser news of the day. After all,
an attack on the last Minister's widow was less sensational by far than
finding Harry Potter's grave robbed and desecrated. If rumors were to be
believed, then it was Albus Dumbledore himself who smashed the black
stone memorial. The Headmaster was seen approaching Potter's grave
just as Draco frantically sounded the alarm about an attack on his home.
His aunt Bellatrix traded hexes with aurors before blasting apart several
rooms and escaping by portkey. That was also when rumors began to
surface, via the ICW oddly enough, that Dumbledore was missing and
presumed dead.
Harry Potter. Draco would have to speak to his deceased rival soon. This
war... it wasn't what Draco had been led to believe it would be. Father's
perfect world, his dream of a pure magical society, had quickly become a
nightmare. Father was dead. Mother was... she nearly joined Father.
Draco wondered if he would ever wake up.
She would recover, they told him. She would regain near perfect health,
they said. At the very least, she should be able to walk and feel her toes
and such. Should being the operative word... Mother hadn't been revived
since the incident. Waking up early could slow her recovery time. The
scars, however, would never go away completely. The magical assault on
her body went too deep. She would always have a jagged web of yellow-
brown lines running up from both feet to just past her navel... only
charms would hide them. And she would feel them too. Narcissa would
always feel them unless she took potions to alleviate the symptoms.
Potter. There was a time when Draco would have focused all his hate on
the bane of all dark houses. The Boy-Who-Finally-Died-Like-A-Good-
Little-Halfblood. He could have blamed it all on Potter too. Plenty of
connections to make. It was Harry Potter's body the Dark Lord wanted. It
was Harry Potter's fault that the Dark Lord needed to use Draco's mother
as a hostage. Father was dead because of Potter's interference. It was
Harry Potter's fault that they hadn't been ruling the whole of the
wizarding world on golden thrones for the past fifteen years. It was Harry
Potter's fault that a one year old baby could defeat the most feared Dark
Lord in history. It was Harry Potter's fault that a nine year old girl
crushed the magical elite of the most noble houses of Magical Britain.
Or, at least, Draco would have said it was all Harry Potter's fault once
upon a time. Not anymore. In fact, he now considered the idea absurd.
Father taught Draco all he knew about the blood traitors and those of
lesser blood. He taught Draco how to hate those who blocked the Malfoys
and their pureblood peers from taking their magical birthright... the right
to rule. Lucius Malfoy also taught his son how to manipulate, how to
scheme and how to plan ahead. He taught Draco about control.
Draco learned. He learned how to spot the puppets and the puppet
masters. Who was who and what each of them were doing or could be
counted upon to do. He was being taught how to be a puppet master
himself. He studied his nemesis, the Gryffindor Golden Boy for years as
he learned his craft and that was how he came to a startling conclusion.
Harry Potter was a puppet. Yes, he was troublesome and far more
powerful than he had any right to be, but he was being controlled by
others at every level. And if Harry Potter were just a puppet then surely
Albus Dumbledore held the wand behind him. Dumbledore spoke to
Potter far more than he did any of his other students short of the Head
Boy and Head Girl. Dumbledore controlled the awards and punishments
surrounding Potter and his closest friends with absolute focus... how else
could Gryffindor still be competitive in the House Point competitions
unless the Potions Master's penalties were being countered? Dumbledore's
influence caused Potter to act out in true Gryffindor style, Draco would
bet on it. Clearly Potter was a tool under the influence of a powerful
man. Draco hated the thought that Potter was a pawn. It meant that he
couldn't truly place blame on the former Golden Boy of Gryffindor. Even
worse, being Potters arch-nemesis counted for less if to fight him only
meant that one was doing battle with a mere pawn.
At least, that was the way of things until Harry died. One might say that
his master's control charm had been dispelled. The puppet fell limp. In
fact, Draco was more relieved than happy that Dumbledore had lost such
a valuable puppet and that Draco would retire from the battle with
honor. If only Father hadn't insisted Draco still play his part so long...
And then Potter came back from the dead as a ghost. Draco thought that
the puppet had returned at first, but no. It was soon clear that the ghost
of Harry Potter was not Dumbledore's to command. If anything, the
Hogsmeade Incident proved that Potter now had puppets of his own to
play with. Puppets like the Girl-Who-Lived, also known as the Girl-Who-
Killed-Everyone or the Angel Gabrielle. So maybe Harry did shoulder
some of the blame for Father's death in Hogsmeade, but Draco knew that
Lucius was the chief architect of that disaster. And even then the Dark
Lord shouldered much of the blame by supplying Black and the Veela.
Draco also learned that being another person's puppet and knowing about
it was a horrible feeling. It wasn't so bad when Father was the one in
charge... there was an air about the whole affair that spoke of a future
when Lucius would step back and allow his son to make his own
decisions. It was a grand feeling, to be sure- but then the Dark Lord
returned. A monstrous puppet master had come for his puppets, and to
Draco's great shock, he was one of those puppets.
There had to be a way. There had to be some path of escape for Draco
and for his mother. And after the death of Albus Dumbledore, Draco's
options were nearly gone. Only one remained: Potter.
Potter may be dead and he may have pulled free from Dumbledore, but
he was still the same headstrong Gryffindor in death that he was in life.
All the eye witness accounts and articles and rumors agreed on that
point. If Draco read the situation right, if he said the right things, then
Potter could be counted on to either help Draco or perhaps even fight his
battles for him.
If Potter didn't help, one of only two things could happen. Draco would
either die by the Dark Lord's wand or by Gabrielle's. Yes, damn it to
Hell… he was frightfully scared of a nine year old girl. If more wizards
had feared her before, they might still be alive today. Father would still-
no. She was French and she was a half-breed and she was female and she
was tiny. Father would never have taken her seriously.
Draco would not make the same mistakes that lead his father to ruin. He
would adapt. He would survive. He would rise to be the greatest puppet
master in modern times. After all, a Malfoy bows to no one.
-o\0/o-
The doors to Alain's office opened granting passage to a ghost.
"Thank you for coming to see me, Harry. I have something important to
tell you."
The man stood and walked around the side of his desk. Harry, due to his
frequent visits to French Ministry offices and the need not to scare
security wizards, closed the door behind him.
"Is this about Dumbledore, Alain? They find him yet?" Harry stopped and
asked.
"No, Mister Potter." Amelia Bones called from one of the nearby seats.
She stood and turned to Harry as Alain did. "But what we have to say is
no less serious."
She seemed to gather herself before continuing on. It may have had
something to do with seeing a ghost that opens and closes doors when
passing through them. A housebroken ghost. Never has she seen the like
before.
"You see… the ICW has been slow to release certain details about Albus
Dumbledore's disappearance in the hopes of settling the issue quickly,
only, there are some details that are bound to come out soon… details
that are common rumor in Britain now but have not spread any further
as of yet. Sadly, I must inform you that this all relates to you."
Harry drifted back a pace or two. "But I've been in France the whole time.
I haven't even come within sight of the Channel since Christmas Eve-"
"No one claims to have seen you, Harry." Alain interrupted. "If you were
alive, I would ask you to sit down for this…"
"What? Is someone else hurt? Neville? One of the Weasleys?" Harry
jerked back and forth more energetically. If one of his friends were in
trouble…
"No one is injured, Harry, but..." Alain continued. "Your grave was
desecrated."
"My… what?"
"Someone attacked your memorial, Mister Potter." Amelia added. She
could see that Alain was having trouble. The man could not look Harry in
the eye. His feelings for Harry were getting in the way. "The stone face
was broken and removed. The interior was cursed heavily. Your body is...
is unaccounted for. Albus Dumbledore was the last person seen near your
memorial though we are not certain if is he is to blame. He was seen near
the time you reported his death. I am afraid to say that we are at a loss to
explain things at the moment."
"I… I see." He didn't, but he said what was expected. "If Albus had done
it, he would have said something to me… but he didn't. I…"
"Don't worry, Harry." Alain said with new purpose. "We haven't stopped
investigating. In fact, this is a rather high priority case for the ICW as
there are many dark magics that can be performed with the aid of a
body."
Harry made a worried face causing Alain to try harder to sooth the
uneasy spirit.
"I don't mean to upset you, son," It was a slip of the tongue, but no one
complained, "but you need to be aware of the possibilities. Do you know
what inferi are?"
"They're like zombies aren't they?" Harry asked.
Amelia lifted one eyebrow at his response, but Alain knew what Harry
meant. "That is what the non-magical world calls them, yes. They are the
re-animated bodies of the dead and they can be devastating- not just
physically but emotionally as well."
Suddenly, Harry could see where this conversation was heading. "You
think Voldemort might turn me into a zombie then? Set me loose in
Diagon Alley or something? Bet Skeeter would love that..."
"It is possible." Alain hedged, closely watching Harry's reaction. "It is also
possible that he might use your hair in a potion to assume your form.
There are rituals that would curse all of your blood relatives too. He
could even try to summon your spirit to him, but I wouldn't be too
worried on that count. You did escape from Hogwarts under similar
conditions."
The young ghost was more curious than distress at what may come to
pass. It's not like he cared if the Dursleys were tormented. Well, he would
prefer they go to jail over getting tortured to death.
Alain continued. "This problem is the very reason most magicals are
cremated upon death. It's a simple defensive measure which protects any
surviving family members. I remember being quite surprised that you
were buried without cremation… you seemed such an obvious target for
this kind of attack… but Headmaster Dumbledore assured everyone that
you and your relatives would have preferred the more muggle practice of
burial."
"Dumbledore again. Perhaps I should thank whoever stole me. I'm finally
free of the old man's influence. Free of his 'protections'." Harry
remembered the original subject and frowned. "I only got out of
Hogwarts because Sirius died. His death called to me. Luckily they
waited a few minutes to execute Nathalie… I wouldn't have been able to
get to her in time if they lit both pyres together. I'd rather not have to
rely on something like that happening again to breach Voldemort's
wards."
Harry almost said something about calling Gabby, but then he rather
hoped that everyone would forget he did that.
"Would you mind explaining that, Harry? Why someone had to die for
you to escape?" Alain asked.
Harry could see that Madam Bones was just as interested in the answer as
Alain was. Looking back, he remembered that she was in the room when
Vic and Ced called him out on his connection to near death experiences.
Harry felt that he had been lucky then; his audience was too spooked to
push him for more detail. Apparently his grace period was over. He
should have planned for this.
"One of these days, I'm going to say something and Death itself is going
to step out of a shadow and smack me over the head, but as it hasn't
happened yet I think I can answer you without getting in trouble for it.
This time, anyway." Harry mused aloud. "I'm not entirely sure of the
details myself. It could be that this is the price I pay for hanging around
the living when I'm not one of them anymore. If that isn't the case than
I'm not really sure why it happens, but I will say that I've been drafted
more than once to help ferry spirits over to the Other Side… or to send
them back for a good enough reason. You both heard me admit to doing
this for Vic over the breakfast table."
"You did mention the river Styx…" Alain prodded.
"Dumbledore was the passenger," Harry returned, "I was the boatman."
"So when Sirius Black died, you breached Hogwarts wards to help him
move on."
"Wards can keep a ghost in or out of a room well enough most of the time
but I expect there are forces out there that wizarding magic simply can't
overcome. I was called upon to help Sirius and, strong as they are,
Hogwarts' wards simply couldn't hold me any longer." Harry concluded
before another idea sprang to mind. "Say, Madam Bones…"
"Yes, Mister Potter?" The British witch replied.
"Now that Umbridge and her lot have snuffed it, will Susan and Cedric be
returning to Hogwarts? Do you know who the next Headmaster will be?"
Harry asked.
"Well," She started, "Susan and Cedric would have to be readmitted to the
school. This is normally something that the Headmaster would have to do
with the approval of the Board of Governors. Since the Headmaster is
dead and so is most of the board, I believe that the power to determine
school policy falls to whomever Albus assigned to take over should
anything happen to him."
Harry scowled. "As Minerva's been with us since summer, I doubt he'd
pick her for the job. Dear God, please don't let it be Snape."
"I'm very well acquainted with the Potions Master's reputation." Amelia
said, narrowly avoiding a scowl of her own. "If he is the next
Headmaster, then Susan will be given a choice between applying to be
readmitted or seeking her fortune in the United States. Salem isn't
Hogwarts, but they do have a good reputation."
"She's Hufflepuff." Harry reminded the adults.
Amelia scowled. "Yes, of course. Foul headmaster or no, Susan would
want to be with her friends."
"What about Luna?"
Harry's question was more for Alain than Amelia, but she chose to answer
first.
"Luna was never expelled as far as I can tell. We may not have control of
the Ministry building yet, but I've spoken to some of my former staff and
they can't ever remember having a file on the girl. Not even a missing
witch report. It's entirely possible that she could waltz right back into
Hogwarts and return to class."
"I'd rather she didn't." Harry muttered. He didn't want Luna to leave
France at all. She felt like family.
"I know exactly what you mean, son." Alain said with a small smile.
Harry blushed silver and looked away. He definitely heard Alain that
time.
-o\0/o-
With one week left before the first day of term, Severus Snape opened his
eyes for the first time in nearly three weeks. His mouth tasted foul. His
whole body felt terribly weak. Half of his face was covered in bandages
that smelled like Longbottom's cauldron. But even with all of that, his
attention was elsewhere.
His Dark Mark was burning something fierce. The Dark Lord wanted
Severus to appear before him and clearly he wanted it to happen days
ago. Damn that Potter brat to the infernal pits of Hell!
Snape pushed off of the bed, ignoring his own body's protests all the
while, until he could take stock of himself and pull his wand off of the
bedside table. He was half way through searching the immediate area for
a pile of fresh clothes when the door to his private suite opened to admit
Madam Pomfrey.
"What do you think you are doing?" She chastised. "Return to your bed
this instant."
He had no time for such distractions.
"Damn you, woman!" Snape yelled back at the veteran healer. "I've taught
classes with worse injuries than this and you know it!"
"Well I never!" Poppy huffed. She always disliked his special relationship
with the Headmaster and with school rules, but due to her conditioning
she would not stand up to Severus today.
"Where are my clothes?" The Potions Master growled under his bandages.
Frustrated by the cloth, he began to rip them off much to Madam
Pomfrey's indignation.
"Burned!" That shut him up for a moment. "They were so contaminated
that Merlin only knows what could have happened to you had I not
removed them even a moment later than I did. You should be thankful
your protective clothes worked as well as they did or you would not have
survived at all. Your current scars are all due direct potion contamination
on exposed skin."
Scars. Severus didn't even know how bad they were and at the moment
he'd rather not find out. As bad as potion disfigurements could be it still
didn't approach the suffering a disappointed Dark Lord could bestow
upon him. Severus would control himself until the day came that he
came face to face with that damn spirit again. For revenge, Severus
would even follow Potter through the gates of hell... assuming he hasn't
already earned that trip several times over.
Cursing loudly and ignoring the woman behind him that just wouldn't
shut up, the Slytherin transfigured his medical gown into a robe just
heavy enough to cover everything short of his neck. With hospital
slippers on his feet, he swept out of the wing and into a warped parody of
his life.
Two ICW uniformed witches were walking past, Italian phrases flying
back and forth between them as they moved deeper into the castle.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Poppy shouted at Snape's back,
hands on her hips. "So much has changed since you last entered my care!"
"What lunacy is this?" The greasy haired wizard turned and hissed at her.
"Where is the Headmaster?"
Poppy was experienced enough to hide her reaction to his wounds.
Really, they weren't nearly as bad as they were that first day. He at least
had a full covering of skin which wasn't something she could say about
his first night in her care. And if he weren't already a wretched confirmed
bachelor, she would have placed his loss of physical attractiveness at
'moderate' rather than 'complete'. No real loss when you factor in his
personality.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is missing." For the first time, Poppy looked at
Severus with something other than righteous anger. She was sad.
"He's been missing for three days. There are rumors..." She paused to
steady her breathing. "There are rumors that he's already dead. The ICW
search parties do not expect to find him alive."
Severus glared at the witch. She had no idea how momentous this news
could be. "And the ICW witches? Is gossiping in the hall a new dowsing
technique that I have yet to be made aware of?"
"You have missed so much Professor Snape. You remember Mister Potter
being detained within the castle, do you not?"
Snape only sneered. It was answer enough.
"After your incident, Sirius Black and his Veela lover were imprisoned,
tried and sentenced to be executed in the center of Hogsmeade."
As the healer took in another breath, the greasy haired wizard fought
down a smile. Even for such wonderful news as Blacks death he could not
smile until a grave had been found and swiftly desecrated.
"On Christmas Eve, Sirius Black was burned at the stake-" Okay, he nearly
smiled at that. "but when his lover's fagot was lit, Gabrielle Delacour
appeared and banished the fires, sparing the woman her life in the
process."
Snape was about to interrupt when Poppy ignored his open mouth to
continue the tale. "How could this be, you say? She is a light creature so
great and pure that even a phoenix pales in comparison to her. An angel,
Severus, straight out of the muggle Testaments. Seems like they
remember more magical lore than we do sometimes- but I digress; that is
not the end of things. Not at all."
Snape rolled his eyes with 'get on with it' clearly radiating out of his
whole person.
"The crowds. The Ministry. Minster Malfoy himself. She incinerated them.
She killed them all and saved her Veela friend, killing over one thousand
pureblood wizards and witches and burning Hogsmeade to the ground."
Severus Snape was known for being a pasty white skinned man, but his
paled skin was nearly vampiric at this news. Such power. Not even the
Dark Lord could claim to equal it. By Circe, what had transpired while he
was unconscious?
"She then came to Hogwarts and challenged Albus. She claimed he had
her wand and she fought him in the middle of the Great Hall until he
gave it back."
Perhaps this mess could be salvaged after all. "Did he lock her in his
quarters then? I'll need to see the little bra-"
"You misunderstand me, Severus." Poppy cut in. "She beat him. She beat
Albus Dumbledore in a magical duel in front of dozens of witnesses and
forced him to trade wands with her."
As if he weren't already miserable enough, Severus would have to take a
headache potion in short order.
"And the ICW witches?" He asked.
"After Hogsmeade, the ICW entered the British Isles to prevent disorder."
Almost against her will, the healer glanced down to his forearm. The
marked one. "There are reports of dark wizards having taken over the
ministry building. All floo travel has stopped. Now... are you going to
return to your bed and read my old newpapers or are you going to head
out like an angry Gryffindor?"
Severus huffed and began his trek to the dungeons. He needed his Death
Eater regalia. Even if the world has been turned upside-down he couldn't
keep his dark master waiting any longer.
-o\0/o-
Visual conditions were poor. This was not unusual in the North Sea off
Scotland's northern coast at this time of year. Sunset would have been an
hour ago had there ever been a break in the cloud cover. The water was
choppy and the air was cold enough to require deicing abovedeck on
occasion unless a vessel was properly charmed as the Valkyrie was.
"Captain Allinder."
The Old Man turned from his review of the sonar displays and faced his
communications officer.
"Communications with the Ornen are getting spotty. The last transmission
didn't make any sense."
"Anything indicating they found her?" The captain asked.
"No signs of the sea dragon, Sir." His subordinate replied.
Allinder looked down to the paper chart in his hands and reviewed their
progress so far. Two tight twisting lines etched a search pattern over
twenty-four hundred square kilometers of open sea not far off
Aberdeenshire, but they were still less than half way through the
exercise. A 'Nessie' was loose again.
Chasing sea dragons through the North Sea wasn't quite as exciting as
some of their missions were known to be, but there would be hell to pay
if a pregnant sea dragon escaped from their reserve in Loch Ness. There
were far too few of them alive today to risk a even single clutch in their
original nesting grounds at Scapa Flow. Open waters meant that natural
predators could get to the young and believe it or not there were some
sea creatures that new how to hunt baby sea dragons, ergo, the scaly
pregnant leviathan needed to be taken home and tucked into bed.
Captain Allinder knew from experience that sea dragons were rather
good at evading human vessels, and so wasn't disappointed by their lack
of progress just yet. What did concern him was the Ornen. He knew that
ship. He knew the Captain. He knew his fellow sea dog was a logical
man. A good man.
"Equipment malfunction?" Allinder asked the communications officer.
"Not likely, sir. Transmissions are clear and free of static. It's what they said
that seems off."
"How so?"
The man looked troubled for a moment before replying. "He seemed to be
crying sir. Begging for I'm not sure what."
Captain Allinder moved back in front of the main navigation console. At
the moment, all non-magical equipment was fully functional and he
could track the Valkyrie's sister ship on a glass monitor that held all
pertinent navigational data as well as suspected sea dragon 'sightings'
from the last five days.
"Ornen's not following her search pattern anymore... she's heading due
north..." Allinder muttered to himself. "She hasn't changed course in over an
hour."
Something was wrong. Allinder tried to push a wave of depression and
disappointment back into the recesses of his mind, he needed a clear
head. Unfortunately, the old Swedish seaman was going to discover the
Ornan's problem far sooner than expected. His eyes came up in surprise
as a white light flashed past the bridge just ahead of him.
A patronus.
"Dementors on the forecastle!" A seaman on watch along the port bridge
deck yelled. "Our ship is under attack!"
"Alarm!" The captain screamed as he looked through the bridge's
windows with binoculars in hand.
"Sonorus." The communications officer called with a wand to his throat.
"General quarters! General quarters! Dementors abovedeck! All crewmen head
below deck and seal all hatches. All wizards capable of a patronus are to cast
immediately. This is not a drill!"
Allinder focused his binoculars on the forecastle as the crewman who cast
that first patronus jumped through a side hatch into the bridge. Both port
and starboard hatches were shut immediately afterwards. Down on the
ship's bow, between anchor chains and the forward battery, two men
were being hunted by a over a dozen floating cloaked soul suckers.
"Mother of God, no..."
Allinder dropped his binoculars and focused. He now understood what
happened to the Ornen. He also understood why he was feeling so
depressed for the past half hour. With new resolve, the Old Man drew
forth his greatest joy: An image of a rosy cheeked infant, the newest
Allinder, born to his daughter-in-law not four months ago.
"Expecto Patronum!" He bellowed.
With a flash, a glowing white seagull shot through the forward window
and right for the nearest dementor. He only prayed that it would be
enough.
Near the Valkyrie's bow, two able bodied seamen were fast running out
of energy. Hope was nowhere in sight for the men, nor happiness nor joy.
More dementors joined the group with every passing second. Both men
were cut off from escape as the soul eaters were smart enough to get
between their meals and the only ship's hatch nearby- and even that
hatch was closed and locked down soon after the alarm was given. They
were trapped. Three patronus lights shot about the forecastle, but each
could only chase one or two dementors away. Sadly there were far more
dementors than there were patronuses.
"Fucking beasts!" Yelled the one seaman who still had energy enough to
speak.
Enough to speak but not enough to look for or pick up his wand which
was now hidden in the shadows. He frantically moved further towards
the Valkyrie's bow in an effort to escape.
"Bastards! You..."
It was too horrible to watch. Even as his own worst nightmares were
filling his ears and eyes, his mate, a man that he had played cards with
and shared drinks with for decades, was being pulled free of the deck by
fiends. The man was limp and unresisting. In mere seconds, he would be
soulless.
"No!"
There was only one option. It wasn't hope of rescue; it was just a less
horrible end than what his mate was falling to even now.
"Better my soul to Davy Jones than to the likes of you..." The sailor moaned
before throwing himself overboard.
He fell weightless through the void dissapearing in the churning waters
just in front of the prow. One dementor tried to follow but the creatures
were not capable of passing through water. It was small consolation for
the seaman never resurfaced after his journey under the hull of the ship.
Davy Jones took what was his.
As Captain Allinder and his crew weathered demonic assault, a great
migration was happening in the clouds overhead. Dementors by the
hundreds were heading to the southwest. After careful work by a band of
dark wizards loyal to the Dark Lord, the dementors of Azkaban were once
more free of Azkaban's ruins. A desperate warning was sent out by the
crew of the Valkyrie and Captain Allinder hoped that someone was
listening. He hoped for the alarm to spread and he prayed for the good
people of Scotland not twenty kilometers to the south.
-o\0/o-
There were stars in the sky over Marseille, but as was common for most
cities the lights at ground level hid much of the night sky from view. This
didn't cause the revelers of the old port area any concern as most of them
were either gazing into their drinks or into the eyes of their dates for the
evening. Vieux Port was, in modern times, both marina and
entertainment district with many bars, restaurants and ice cream parlors.
Yes, ice cream parlors. The city is known to get quite warm during the
summer.
Despite the cool evening, it was an ice cream parlor which hosted the
group of young wizards and witches plus their non-magical chaperones
for the evening. Daniel and Emma insisted. They were quite sure their
girls weren't ready for spirits- that is to say, alcohol. Of course, they
didn't leave the safety of the Delacour home for liquor. No. Nice as the
maison-forte was, it simply couldn't hold the interests of so many teens
for very long. They had to get out, and Marseille was relatively safe... so
long as a detachment of aurors looked over the group from the shadows.
There were street performers singing and dancing not far away and the
music drew quite the happy crowd. Segolene was feeling frisky enough to
grab Cedric and drag him into the dancing crowds. Victor, feeling the
need to be more polite, formally asked Hermione if she would like to
dance. For her part, Hermione froze up. Harry and Gabby weren't here
and she didn't know what they'd have to say about it.
"Vell? Vill you?" He tried again.
"Please do, sister dear..." Luna begged from across the table, "as the
younger child, I must wait for you to do all those social things like
dancing and dating and marriage before I am to have my turn. Hurry up
and dance with him so that I can do the same."
Hermione very much wanted to call Luna out on her comments from
Sirius's memorial service, but then she saw that both of her parents were
watching. A quick glance back to Luna's eyes made the ex-Gryffindor
quite suspicious. Luna wasn't known for puppy dog eyes. Hermione
looked over to read her parents' reactions. Bother. Mum was taking
Luna's side. Da was looking the other way, at least.
"I'd be delighted." Hermione relented and held her hand for Vic to take.
Hermione was forced to admit to herself that Victor was a good dancer
when he put down the cane. Soon she was smiling and remembering the
better parts of the Yule Ball last winter. Victor had been a good partner
on that evening as well- until Ron went and spoiled her evening. With a
small huff, Hermione dismissed her darker thoughts and went back to
having fun.
Ced returned Segolene to her seat only to pick up Fleur between songs.
When Hermione and Vic came back to their table Luna shot out of her
seat and dragged the large Bulgarian off, no questions asked.
"I find it fascinating," Luna started a minute into their dance, "That the
age of consent varies so widely from nation to nation."
Victor had no reply to the unusual icebreaker. They continued dancing
for another minute before the dirty blonde spoke up again.
"Did you know that I would have to wait another ten months to take a
man to bed were I still living in Britain? Here in France, I am already old
enough to do the same and would have been able to do so more than a
year ago in your home country. Isn't that odd? The rest of the animal
kingdom isn't quite so mixed up; either you are old enough to mate or
you are not."
Victor looked down at the girl in his arms. He was a full two heads taller
than she and literally more than twice her weight. Why was he the
nervous one? Surely he had nothing to be concerned about; she still
maintained that look of innocence and wonder that graced her features
most of the time.
Back at the table, Segolene was giving pointers to Susan as the ex-
Hufflepuff waited for her turn to dance with Cedric. Susan needed to
smile more. Susan needed to remember to never loose body contact.
Susan desperately needed to unbutton more of her shirt and let that God
given talent shine. Two empty seats away, Emma was on the verge if
interfering on moral grounds. Sadly, it would all be academic soon.
"Merde." Segolene muttered. She nudged the witch next to her before
continuing. "I'm sorry, Susan, but it looks like you will not be getting
your dance with Cedric like we planned."
"What? Why's that?" The strawberry blonde asked. Emma and Daniel
wanted to know too.
"Look."
Segolene nodded her head towards a part of the crowd not far from Fleur
and Cedric. The two were dancing quite happily in their own little world
and didn't see the small group of young men approaching. Maybe Fleur
was happy enough that her control was slipping enough for the thrall to
build. Maybe they had too much to drink and were looking for a reason
to get violent. Maybe Fleur was just that much better looking than any
other female in visual range and these boys wanted their turn with her.
Whatever the reason, it surely meant bad things for Cedric.
"...so you see," Fleur spoke mid twirl, "the two forts at ze end of ze docks
were not built to protect ze people. Louis XIV 'ad zem built to intimidate
'is subjects and keep zem from revolting yet again."
Cedric nodded enthusiastically at his enthusiastic tour guide. He didn't
look back at the two stone fortresses... they weren't important. He just
liked hearing Fleur's voice and clearly history was near and dear to her
heart. He silently swore to spend more time studying history in general
and French history in particular.
Tap. Tap. Someone wanted Cedric's attention and they weren't waiting
for the end of the song.
Segolene and Susan watched Cedric and Fleur become the center of much
male attention. It wasn't a good thing.
"Dear." Emma put her hand on her husband's arm. "Perhaps you should
give the boy a hand."
"I don't think that will be necessary." Susan spoke up. One delicate finger
pointed to a disturbance on the other side of the crowd.
Victor was cutting a path through the crowd using his heavy build to
sweep other dancing couples out of the way. Trailing along behind the
quidditch star, a much smaller Luna tried to apologize to those Vic
displaced but she was being pulled along so quickly that she couldn't
keep a single person in focus for more than a second.
Cedric was not small nor was he weak, but he was outnumbered. One
intoxicated asshole shoved his shoulder, spinning him away from the lead
asshole. This was supposed to be when Lead Asshole took Cedric by
surprise and freed the Fair Damsel to dance or more with her Savior.
Didn't happen that way, of course...
"Geeyyyaaaauugghhh!" Lead Asshole squeaked out.
That probably meant in English and Bulgarian exactly what it meant in
French. It certainly meant that Victor Krum's iron grip crushed Lead
Asshole's fist and that he would be needing medical attention soon.
"Leave Ced and Fleur alone!" Krum didn't know if this rabble understood
English, but then he had his game face on and his growling was fairly
easy to interpret. All of Lead Asshole's pack shied away quickly when
they saw their mark wasn't alone and wasn't even their toughest
opponent.
The aurors didn't even need to get involved, thank Jeanne for small
favors, and the party of witches and wizards didn't allow such
roughhousing to upset their plans. Dinner was still at a nice local
restaurant, the boys were both bracketed by pretty young witches and
everyone had a delightful time. After much prodding, Susan finally flirted
enough for Cedric to notice her as more than just a fellow Puff.
On the way back home, Luna expanded on her favored topic of the
evening by pointing out to Cedric that Susan would still be old enough to
bed without legal repercussions even had they stayed in England. Moral
and social repercussions perhaps, but not legal ones.
-o\0/o-
"She told him what?" Harry stared at Hermione incredulously.
"That Susan was old enough too... well... have sex with."
Hermione was quite red in the face. So was Harry for that matter. It
wasn't a topic that the two ever felt Gryffindor enough to speak of, even
here in Gabby's dreams.
"And what did he say?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked down to the grass and wild flowers all around her.
They were lounging in a beautiful meadow at the edge of a shallow
stream. A soft breeze blew a few strands of hair across her face.
Harry liked making Hermione play with her hair. Wind was useful for
that.
"He didn't say anything, Harry. To be honest, I don't see Cedric doing
anything about Susan. He's got his heart set on one girl and it won't
matter what Fleur and Segolene do to improve Susan's chances..."
Hermoine pulled a flower up from its stalk and began to pluck off the
petals. "Hufflepuffs are loyal like that."
Harry rolled from his side to his back. As Harry's head was on Hermione's
lap, he went from studying her bare feet to studying her face. She was
biting her lip, a sign that Hermione was suffering from some nervous
tension or other unless he missed his guess.
"And how was Victor?"
No answer. Oh.
"He didn't... he didn't pressure you into anything did he?" Harry asked
cautiously. Harry didn't think Krum would do anything of the sort, but
then what did he know of dates and older boys?
"No, Harry. He was a complete gentleman." Hermione ran her hands
through Harry's messy hair. Even here in the land of dreams, his hair was
still untamed.
Harry has been thinking. He's been thinking quite a lot actually, but
much of that thinking has been dedicated to Hermione. She's gotten older
and she's done it in ways that he hasn't been able to match. In the waking
world it didn't really seem such a great difference as the specter almost
never had his feet planted on the ground, but here things were much
more noticeable. They weren't all that different height wise before he
died, but recently he's been looking up a bit when they stand toe to toe.
Hermione was taller. Her hair was more tame than it used to be. She was
curvier and her curves were far more enticing then they were only last
year. If anything, Harry began to think of Hermione in much the same
way as he used to view the Gryffindor chaser line. Pretty. Sexy even. Out
of his league. Older.
"D'you... I don't know... you- umn, still like him?"
"Harry." Hermione looked down. God, she was beautiful. "What are on
about?"
"Vic's a nice bloke. He fancies you. You could do a lot wor-mph." Harry's
sentence ended with a hand over his mouth.
"You stop that right now Harry James Potter." Hermione's eyes bored
down into his own with rare heat. "I am quite happy with my current
boyfriend. He loves me and I love him and I don't see that changing any
time soon."
Harry's jaw moved as if he wanted to respond. Hermione didn't let him.
"I have faith in you Harry. I lost faith in Father Christmas when I was
seven. I lost faith in my peers when I was eight; when no one would
befriend the frizzy-haired teacher's pet bookworm. I've lost faith in a
great many things since I turned eleven. But you know what? I've never
lost faith in you. I never will lose faith in you."
By the time Hermione stopped to breathe, she was whispering and her
face was close enough to his to feel each other drawing breath. When
next she removed her hand, he didn't move to speak. She bent down
enough to plant one soft, delicate kiss upon his lips before speaking
again.
"Please don't lose faith in me."
Harry wanted to cry. How could he ever be worthy of the girl who's lap
he rested in? How could he ever reward her for her faith and devotion?
He tried to set her free yet she would have none of it.
Harry's voice was raw when he did reply. "I won't."
Harry watched the brown haired angel hovering above him lower a
finger to his face. What was she doing? One perfect digit slid over the
skin at the corner of his eye before pulling back with a single stolen tear.
Oh. It would seem that he did cry after all.
Harry watched curiously as Hermione smiled at the tear she had
captured. Her finger soon found its way into her mouth where she drank
in the taste of his emotions. Her smile went from warm to mischievous.
"Say, Harry..." She cooed a little too sweetly. "Where is Gabby right
now?"
He didn't need to look around; here in Gabby's dreams Harry really was
omniscient.
"She's nodding off under a willow downstream." He smirked. "The shade
and the breeze got her. She won't wake up again unless we bring her out
of it on purpose."
Hermione's mischievous smile turned into a wide grin.
"Well, Mister Potter... it would seem that you and I have just had a bit of
a spat and that we've made up as well..." Harry's eyes widened when he
felt 'Mione's left hand slide under his head and lift it up. "And as we are
boyfriend and girlfriend, well, the rules about such things clearly state
what must transpire next."
Harry would have asked what that next step was, but by then the witch
had her mouth on his. What was he going to ask again? Er... nevermind.
That night Hermione and Harry took their relationship much further than
it had ever gone before. There was still a line that neither was quite
ready to cross, but on the near side of that line dwelled many things that
the two had not done before and that were completely brilliant. It would
appear that Sirius Black's last letter was beginning to work its nefarious
ways on dear Miss Granger.
One hundred meters downstream, a perfect little angel fell asleep. She
slipped into a deeper level of dream where consciousness and logic fell to
instinct and emotion, where her bond to Harry was a river, broad and
deep. Gabby knelt at the banks to drink a double handful of love. She
played with creatures that even Luna would have boggled at. She
frolicked in paradise.
Don't tell Gabby that Heaven isn't real. She knows better. She goes there
lots and lots.
-o\0/o-
"Enter." A raspy voice commanded.
Severus Snape stood in the middle of an upper hallway in Riddle Manor.
It was the logical choice. Malfoy's estate was now lost to the Dark Lord,
not that he truly cared for the luxuries Malfoy was accustomed to. Such
things made one soft. The Dark Lord turned away from luxury to gain
secrecy and protective warding not found elsewhere, a fair trade
considering how delicate the Dark Lord's newest acquisition could be.
The corpse of the child savior was a great prize. One to be savored. One
that could, if properly utilized, shape the history of the magical world...
perhaps even the muggle world as well.
Severus straightened his back and pushed through the door. What he
discovered on the other side was more than a little disturbing.
Potter's body was lying on a great stone pedestal, one transfgured from a
bed that once filled the room. Harry's body was fully exposed, not one
stitch of cloth remained to preserve his modesty. It was necessary as
there was work to be done.
The Potions Master's eyes briefly fell on the boy's raw looking lightning
bolt shaped scar before moving on to the puncture wound on his chest. It
was an X pattern, one that seemed half again as large as the lightning
bolt yet at the same time it was far less raw and irritated. It looked
partially healed. Perhaps Dumbledore and Maxime made some small
progress on the brat's corpse before giving up. There were other marks
and nicks, Potter seemed unable to take care of himself in life, but on the
whole the body was in good condition. Especially so for having been
entombed underground for half a year.
"Professor Snape." His host called. "It is good to see you out of Madam
Pomfrey's care again."
"Thank you, My Lord." Severus returned with a deep bow. "I deeply regret
not being able to answer your call sooner but Potter's attempt on my life
was nearly successful, and when I did leave the hospital wing… well…
I've clearly missed a great many important events."
Voldemort actually laughed at Snape's reply. "It is for the best. No doubt
you would have been in the front row at Black's trial and would have
perished along with the rest."
Severus wanted to believe that he could have made some sort of
difference, but then he still knew nothing of how Potter and that little
half-breed managed to do whatever it was that they did. Anger boiling
over, he began to glare at the corpse on the pedestal.
"Careful, Potions Master." Voldemort growled. "Do not allow your hate
for the boy to influence your work. Too much depends on this."
Snape bowed penitently towards his Master. "I swear on my magic that I
shall be detached and professional at all times when working with the
body, My Lord."
"See to it that you are. There shall be no mistakes due to haste. You will
take your time. A full lunar cycle… two if necessary." The Dark Lord
turned from his servant to the lifeless body between them. "The girl is an
added layer of complexity and we must account for her. But when we
succeed…" Voldemort let out a low chuckle. "When they see that their
victories are hollow... when I take my proper place above the
weaklings… on that day, those who opposed me shall suffer."
"And until then, My Lord?" Severus asked.
"Maintain your place at the castle unless you are needed here to deal
with our 'guest'. Do not concern yourself with my other followers for they
have their own parts to play. Most will not be with me when next we
meet."
"And when we do meet again, My Lord?"
"Do not reveal your allegiance to me. Even should we meet in pitched
battle, you shall attack me without restraint."
Severus bowed again. "As you command."
-o\0/o-
Portsoy. It was a modest burg on the northern coast of Scotland. A quiet
place known mostly for traditional crafts and fishing… the town hosts a
traditional boating festival every year. Unfortunately for the locals, non-
magical every one, they would wake up on the seventh of January to
tragic news.
Crews heading out for a day's work at the local quarry called for
emergency services almost as soon as they arrived on sight; a shift
manager and the night watchman were both found unresponsive just
outside the main building. An industrial accident was the first suspect
though none of the toxic chemicals on sight were found to be leaking and
no airborne agents were detected. That afternoon, the case became far
more serious when a young couple was found in the same condition as
the two quarry employees. The couple was touring the ruins of Boyne
Castle just up the hill and appeared to have fallen unconscious without
any signs of struggle.
It would fast become a local news sensation with speculation running
from industrial espionage and illicit drug running to demonic infestation
and vengeful castle spirits. News spread quickly through Scotland and
made BBC broadcasts that day. At that point, anyone watching for signs
of unexplained tragedy was sure to hear about it.
And they did.
After receiving broken frantic transmissions from the Valkyrie just the
day before, ICW officers in charge of Magical Britain's occupation were
looking for just that kind of news story. They wanted to know where the
Dementors were and where they could be counted on to turn up next.
Special squads of patronus casting aurors were being formed to hunt the
bastards down, hopefully to push them offshore again. The old control
devices taken from Azkaban in the ICW raid were distributed hoping that
they would still work. Even trapping them in caves or heavily
constructed buildings would be considered progress. The alternative
would be catastrophic.
If only the muggles knew just how close they were to the truth with their
cries of demonic infestation. This was grave news indeed.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
Descriptions of northern Scotland and Marseille as found in this chapter
are courtesy of Google Earth, Wikipedia and a handful of tourist
websites. I have not been there myself and therefore may be getting bad
information from the internet. I wouldn't know myself.
23. Back to School
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-two: Back To School
The garden was getting a bit noisy. Lots of last minute hugs and kisses
were to be had as the Delacour family bastion was shedding most of its
winter guests in one fell swoop. Yes there were smiles, but those smiles
merely covered the sadness. In these troubled times, the friends and
family of the Delacour family could not be certain when the next reunion
would be held.
Gabrielle stood at one end of the group wearing her light blue
Joliebatons Academie uniform. She at least would be back this afternoon.
Her mother fussed over her hat; no matter how many times Gabby got
herself ready in the morning her hat never sat quite right. Gabby bit her
lip to hold back the giggles as her mother re-aligned the curved blue
headpiece yet again. Gabby's perfect record playing 'Make Momma Touch
My Hat' was extended one more day.
Only two steps away, Fleur and Segolene watched Miss Jones direct the
Delacour house elves in the final packing and shrinking of all of their
equipment for the next stage of their research trip. If all went well, they
would pass on a few messages from Madame Mitterrand to other
important Veela across the continent and still reach the temple in time
for Gabby to make her weekend trip to Angel School on Saturday.
Victor also watched Marion work. The young Bulgarian wizard would be
accompanying the girls as far as Ukraine, thus extending his vacation,
while also helping add to extra security to the ladies' trip. He carefully
watched each trunk, sack and case in an attempt to memorize the
luggage train. He hoped to be able to tell if any unauthorized items found
their way in during the trip. Why? Unfortunately, he had a rather
unpleasant experience due to World Cup fame: a stalker managed to slip
locator charm enchanted pebbles into his equipment bags ensuring a long
string of unpleasant encounters which lasted almost three months. Crazy
bitch. At least she wasn't crazy in a dangerous way and she did teach him
the value of rigid security.
Another small group standing in the garden was comprised of young
English students. Hermione stood in the middle of the group, a visual
anchor in her light blue Beauxbatons uniform. As this was the first time
the Susan and Cedric has seen her wear it she received several flattering
compliments from those two. Luna simply stated that she wanted one of
her own.
"I told you 'Mione looks good in it." Harry commented as he floated
between Hermione and the others.
"Har-ryyyyy…" Hermione sang, blushing scarlet at Harry's words and the
words of agreement pouring in.
"Yes," Susan added, "this is a lot better than boring black cloaks or a
striped scarf wound about your neck."
"It's not too late, Susan." Luna said as she ran her fingers along
Hermione's newly re-braided hair. "There are potions that help one learn
languages at a blistering pace. The ingredients are tricky to obtain
though. You need the blood of someone who already knows the language
you are interested in."
"Where did you hear about that?" Susan hissed, quickly looking to see if
any adults were listening in.
Hermione looked up with interest. Susan noticed.
"Blood magic." The strawberry blonde stage whispered. "Nasty stuff."
"It's part whit sharpening potion and part memory enhancing potion with
a bit of blood from a native speaker added in." Luna countered. "No ritual
heart eating or naked dancing under the harvest moon or anything of the
sort."
"I'm not about to take a dark potion, Luna." The youngest Bones replied
without looking away from 'Mione's uniform.
"Surely it's not as bad as all that, is it?" Hermione played dumb hoping to
hear more of Susan's take on the subject of blood magic.
"It's illegal and the scandal would ruin my family anyway even if it
wasn't." Susan insisted. "Where did you hear about it anyway?"
Luna looked to Hermione. 'Lily Potter's Journal' was left unsaid but
acknowledged. She turned back to Susan, looked the girl in the eyes and
lied. "Restricted section of the library. I was doing research on wizards
who knew more languages than was practical when I came across an
entry on the blood magic potion. I have a theory explaining Bartemius
Crouch Senior's knowledge of not less than one hundred and forty
languages, but I am rather fearful of what the Illuminati might do to me
should I spread the word too widely."
"Of- of course…" Susan replied faintly. Illuminati. Right. Whatever.
"I'm quite sure that Mister Crouch used a perfectly legal Ministry
approved method to learn all those languages he knows… errr, knew.
He's dead now, isn't he?" Hermione said, now hoping to shut down this
topic of conversation.
That didn't stop her from looking over her shoulder at Segolene and
wondering if the girl would be willing to donate. Hermione's French was
decent, but the twin lures of fluency and light blood magic were calling
to her. Well, she could try Apoll- but no, using Veela blood in a potion
for non-Veela could not end well. It would be Segolene or no one.
"So you three are going back to Hogwarts then?" She dodged.
Susan and Cedric nodded. Luna smiled dreamily before replying.
"We won't be gone overlong. I'll be wearing Beauxbaton's blue before you
can say Stubby Boardman..."
Susan turned at that. "But I thought your par- Mister and Misses Granger
agreed that Hogwarts would be best for you?"
Luna lost a bit of her smile but only a bit.
"Mummy and Daddy Granger want their girls to go to the same school,
but then I'd be terribly far behind in some classes that are compulsory in
France yet ignored at Hogwarts and I still don't know French. Salem is
too far away, so it's Hogwarts for me until something changes."
"But," Cedric interrupted, "I thought you just said that you would be a
Beauxbatons student faster than you can say 'Stubby Boardman'."
"I was interrupted." Luna countered. "I was going to add 'one-hundred
and fifty thousand times with breaks for sleeping, eating and such' at the
end of my sentence."
"Oh." Cedric replied.
"Quite." Said Luna.
The small pause in their chat died when a small blue and silver-blonde
blur latched onto Luna's side.
"You have to come back! All my sisters are leaving me..." Gabby moaned for
maximum effect.
Luna hugged Little Angel right back and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
"We'll have another club meeting soon. Just you wait and see."
"Okay," Gabby returned, "but you promise… right?"
Luna nodded. Gabby smiled and gave the once and future Ravenclaw one
more hug before jumping back. Soon, Susan and Cedric had also received
Gabby hugs too. Only Hermione had yet to be hugged. That couldn't last.
Mindful of the two spotless school uniforms, Hermione knelt down to
Gabby's level before hugging the smaller girl for all she was worth.
"Be safe Little Angel. Have fun, be a good girl and listen to Harry." Hermione
pleaded. "It's a dangerous world out there."
"I will." Not that Gabby needed prompting to listen to Harry.
"Little Angel." Apolline called softly from behind the two. "Come to me,
dear. You can't be late for school."
Gabby hopped back from Hermione with a quick "Bye!" and quickly ran
around to give goodbye hugs to anyone she felt deserved them. One very
rushed minute later, Gabby took the portkey her Momma was holding for
her and vanished off to school.
Only a few minutes later, it was Hermione's turn. She got her hugs, kisses
and tears in with everyone as well as a promise from Krum, on his honor,
that he would defend Fleur, Segolene and Marion from all possible
dangers for as long as he was with them. Hermione bussed his cheeks for
that. She then turned around and gave Harry permission to go back to
England. Just in case.
The exploration party left shortly after Hermione did. It would be a long
trip even with portkeys as there were magical customs offices at every
national border. Overuse of long distance portkeys was dangerous
anyway, even if they didn't exhaust the traveler's personal magic. A
magical form of motion or travel sickness has been known to occur
during portkey abuse. Depending on local customs officials, the group
hoped to fall asleep in Athens that night thought Rome may be as far as
they get.
Soon, Apolline and Harry were seeing off their English travelers. The
Bones family would be returning to their family manor where Misses
McGonagall would join them for lunch. After that? Off to Hogwarts.
"Well, off you go then." Harry called after things quieted down some.
Amelia was beginning to look antsy.
"Harry," Luna returned, "why don't you come with us?"
"You think?"
She nodded confidently. "It's only fair that we all go back at the same
time. After all, I may need your help to find my shoes come morning.
They do so like to disappear at the oddest times of day."
"Right." Cedric practically growled from beside her. "Luna, I want you to
tell me how the other Claws treat you. If she hasn't cleaned up her act, I
really will hit Cho again."
Minerva and her student charges activated their portkey at nearly the
same time as a shiny red steam engine pulled out of Kings Cross Station.
Enchanted as the Hogwarts Express was, it still couldn't outpace a
portkey and the old Scot's group would reach the school many hours
before the main student body. Well, they would beat whatever portion of
the student body chose to risk the train ride. It did seem a likely target of
Dark Wizardry and more than a few would shy away from the potential
danger. Dangerous trip or no, the school itself was a well known bastion
for light as well as a well defended fortress so long as the ICW
maintained their presence in Scotland. For that reason, most children
would still end up attending.
-o\0/o-
Harry Potter never liked taking portkeys. Unfortunately for Cedric, Harry
liked them even less when he was possessing the person actually riding
the portkey. The results were rather distasteful. Unless it was Gabby.
Special circumstances, there.
Minerva tut-tutted even while banishing the sick 'Cedric' left on the grass
at their portkey landing site. "Perhaps you should leave Mister Diggory's
body, Mister Potter."
The ghost quickly complied by popping out of the unsteady Triwizard
Champion and floating down to ground level.
"I am not doing that again." Cedric muttered as he struggled to stand.
"Next time you can travel under your own power, Harry."
"No worries." Harry added. "I may miss parts of being alive, but that is
definitely not one of them."
"If Harry had come on his own then we wouldn't be traveling together,
now would we?" The former deputy headmistress reminded both boys.
"I'm not about to scour Hogwarts grounds for one of us just to get around
a little portkey sickness. Now… ready, gentlemen?"
The boys, both living and dead nodded.
Soon enough, Minerva and Amelia were shepherding their flock up to the
gates of Hogwarts Castle and one of many new security checkpoints.
From the front gates, they were taken in to a side room just off the
entrance hall where their identities could be verified and their business
confirmed. They were also told that the right hand side of the third floor
corridor was forbidden to unauthorized personnel. No, it wasn't a
cerberus; it was the current ICW command center within Hogwarts.
This was Amelia's stop. Things being what they were, the former D.M.L.E.
head was well on her way to regaining her former position if not
becoming the new Minister for Magic outright. Only a handful of low
level Ministry officials survived Hogsmeade- the 'unlucky' and
unconnected holiday skeleton crew mostly- and Amelia had enough
experience and former pay-grade to outrank them all.
Minerva and her young charges left Amelia and went off in search of the
'headmaster' in his tower office. He wasn't there. Hadn't bothered to tell
anyone where he was either. The git. After asking around, they
discovered that Headmaster Snape had spent most of his time since
waking either out of the castle or in his own dungeon office.
After half an hour of walking about just to track the man down, the
group finally stood outside the door to his old Slytherin Head of House
quarters. This time, they knew he was there; a portrait near his door was
at least willing to answer McGonagall's query to that effect.
Suddenly, Harry began to wonder exactly what his purpose was supposed
to be on the other side of that door. He had come close to killing Snape
the last time the two were this close together.
"On second thought," He blurted out, "perhaps my time would be better
spent elsewhere."
"Please, Harry." Luna nearly jumped at what he said. Apparently, he
wasn't the only nervous one in the group. "I need to be here but I can't do
it without you."
Her eyes bore into his. Harry was stunned at how much fear he saw in
those silver-grey orbs.
"Are you sure?" He returned. "I can take you back to France. You only
have to say the word and-"
"No!- no thank you, Harry." Luna tried to smile for him. Really, she did. "I
really must do this, but I do need you. Who will be there to save me if I
should need saving again?"
Harry opened his mouth, but Cedric beat him to it. "I will."
Both ghost and girl turned to the once and future Hufflepuff. Two others
did as well.
"You have two champions now, Luna. Promise." Cedric called.
"And me!" Susan blurted out. "We're friends now, Luna. Nothing will ever
change that!"
"It is so very wonderful to have friends." Luna smiled that time. "I begin
to wonder how I ever got along without them before."
Oh, dear. Harry couldn't leave her alone now.
"Well, perhaps I can sneak in behind the rest of you... you know... so he
doesn't know I'm there." Harry reasoned. "I can watch him for any tricks
and such and then we can go back to being one big happy family once
we're done with him."
"One big happy family." Luna repeated. "Yes. Just like that."
"Okay, then..." Harry turned to his former Head of House. "Misses
McGonagall. If you would please do the honors?"
The old Scot collected herself and knocked on Severus Snape's door. And
then they waited. And then they waited some more.
Nothing. Minerva knocked again.
With a soft -pop- a Hogwarts elf appeared in the hall next to them.
"Blinkey is being very sorry Professor Kitty Ma'am, but the Headmaster is
not being wanting company at this time."
If the teens had a reaction to Minerva's title as bestowed by Blinkey the
house elf, then they kept it well hidden.
"If he is indeed the headmaster of this school as he claims to be, then he
will know that any day the children return to school is a day he must be
available to discuss school issues anyone who may approach... especially
with how eventful the break was. It is a travesty he's even down here
today."
"Blinkey is terribly sorry Professor Kitty Ma'am! Blinkey doesn't mean to
cause trouble!" Blinkey took his scolding like a proper elf. He bowed and
scraped until the chance came to –pop- away in fear of punishment. Not
that Professor Kitty Ma'am ever assigned an elf punishment. She just had
a glare sometimes…
Once again there was nothing between Minerva and a closed door. She
opened it.
"Damn you elf! I said no interruptions!" A very cross and very
recognizable voice thundered through the room.
Minerva entered the office with purpose, moving towards the open
doorway from which Snape's voice originated. The teens with her entered
more cautiously, Harry last of all and moving quickly from cover to cover
as to stay out of sight.
"And I'll tell you what I told him!" Minerva shouted back. "The
headmaster must be available to deal with school related issues on the
day that children return from break. Umbridge is dead. Have you
managed to fill the defense position yet? Did you even bother to find a
new potions professor?"
An inarticulate grunt came from the next room. Soon enough, Severus
Snape strode into the room with a sneer on his half-scarred face and
hatred burning deep in his eyes.
"I am still the Potions Master of this school, woman, and I am also the
Headmaster now as well. Perhaps if you had not run from these halls like
a spoiled child yourself, it might have been you elevated to the lofty
position of school head." He glanced quickly between those assembled in
front of him. "Now you see the effect a single decision can have on your
lives don't you? Let's start with the decision to interrupt my brewing,
shall we? Right… the school just lost ninety galleons worth of potions
ingredients when your ignorant bleating forced my hand."
"And what potion would the school hospital need that costs ninety
galleons per batch? I know of no such stock." Minerva replied.
"You are not a member of my staff, madam, and therefore your opinion is
of no consequence to me." Severus sneered in return. "Now. What was so
important that you would place a financial burden upon the school rather
than wait for me to leave my quarters?"
Severus looked again at the group assembled before him. Just behind
Minerva, Cedric and Susan stood together, their hands intertwined for
mutual support. How typically Hufflepuff of them. Luna was the odd man
out… slowly drifting backwards one small step at a time. He could see
the fear in her eyes. And… he could also see what they came here for.
"Thinking of returning to class, are we?" The greasy haired man snorted.
"You were never excused from attending class to begin with Miss
Lovegood. Shall we say ten points and a detention… for every class
missed?"
"She was kidnapped and thrown in Azkaban, Severus-" Minerva
countered, but she was cut off.
"I care not why she was missing and that's Headmaster Snape to you!" He
snapped at Minerva before refocusing on Luna. "You do wish to return to
class, do you not?"
Eyes to the floor, she nodded. "I do, Headmaster."
"Well at least someone here knows how to show me proper respect." He
turned to the ex-Puffs. "What about you two? What part of 'expelled' do
you not understand?"
He got no answer.
"Although…" The wizard continued, his voice silkier and more Slytherin
than before. "I'm sure Madam Bones and the elder Mister Diggory would
both be very grateful to have the shame of their petulant children's
expulsions reversed in exchange for a weighty favor or two. I'll need fresh
ingredients for the potion you all just ruined as well. Tuition will have to
be paid again, of course, and you shall both be on your very best
behaviors or be swiftly expelled a second time. What do you say, Mister
Diggory?"
Cedric straightened himself and nodded. "I accept, Headmaster."
"I accept as well, Headmaster Snape." Susan added.
"Ten points from Hufflepuff for speaking out of turn, Miss Bones." Snape
sneered in triumph. "And another ten points for the immoral display of
affection in front of me. And detention."
Cedric and Susan quickly released their hands and slid an extra pace
apart. Minerva's face was red in indignation but there was little she could
do short of hexing the man. For good or ill- mostly ill- he was the
Headmaster. The house elves clearly recognized him as such.
Perhaps once a new Board of Governors was assembled…
"Now, the lot of you shall get out of my sight." Severus demanded.
"Wasting another moment of my time will ruin two more rare and
expensive potions. Do your families want to be billed for the expense of
re-brewing them as well? After you both are both expelled a second
time?"
"We'll be leaving, sir." Cedric replied as he turned on one heel and walked
to the door.
Both girls immediately followed him out, though Severus could have
sworn he saw something slip behind the Lovegood girl. No matter. They
were leaving and that was all that mattered.
"Good day, Headmaster Snape." Minerva said without an ounce of respect
in her words. She was the last to turn and leave.
"Are you sure you want to come back to Hogwarts, Luna?" Harry asked as
soon as they were clear of that bastard's office.
"I don't want to be here. I have to be here." The troubled girl answered. "I
can't say why, not in a way that you will understand or believe."
Cedric and Susan exchanged worried glances. It was a testament to just
how troubled Luna was that she didn't even bother naming some creature
or other to explain away her actions. She had to stay and they couldn't
know why and that was all there was to it. Needless to say, they found no
comfort in her words.
"Don't worry, Luna. I'll help you in any way I can." Susan said. Suddenly,
she had a wicked thought. "Why, I can think of at least four redheads that
would do just about anything for Harry Potter's sister-in-law."
"Harry's what?" Cedric turned to the strawberry blonde next to him.
Behind them, Harry mouthed 'my what?'
"Well it's true... sort of." Susan countered. "You remember when
Hermione got her 'Mrs. Potter' nickname after his will was read, right?
That stuck with a lot of the girls. Now that Luna is legally Hermione's
sister, that will carry over some."
"Well if there is one thing those troublesome twins are good for," Minerva
spoke up, surprising the teens who had almost forgot she was with them,
"it is standing up for Harry and his friends."
The teens all nodded. Ron's best mate. Saved Ginny's life. Played
quidditch with the twins. Harry was as close to a Weasley as one could
get without having red hair and calling Molly 'Mum'. Even Harry thought
so until he became 'adopted' by the Delacours.
"Come along now," Minerva chirped, "we have dormitories to visit and a
train to wait for. I dare say shall we shall make quite a spectacle should
we wait for your friends on the platform."
"Professor," Susan called. "Are you planning a prank?"
This brought the old Scot to a halt.
"I… I suppose that I am." She looked away. They couldn't tell if she was
blushing or not.
"Why I had no idea! Professor Kitty, I'll bet you were quite the prankster
in your day, eh?" Harry teased.
"I was no such thing." Minerva snipped before seeming to turn inward in
contemplation for a moment. "If you were to ask anyone who knew me at
the time, they would say I was a lot like your mother."
"I'd like to hear about that." Harry said seriously. "About your days in
Hogwarts and about my mother if you'd allow it."
She looked Harry in the eyes, and all of her sternness seemed to melt
away. "Perhaps I can oblige you one day, Harry. After we return to
France, though. Now is not the time."
"I can wait." Harry answered Happily. "But for now, I think I should go
say hello to Myrtle. Would anyone like to come with me?"
Luna and Susan both replied in the affirmative. The dead witch and her
bathroom were a cornerstone in their relationship along with Doctor
Harry Potter Sir. Myrtle's weepy reputation meant nothing to them
anymore. Cedric agreed reluctantly. He wanted to keep watch over the
girls... but spending time in a girls' loo? Still, Myrtle was a friend of
Harry and that meant something. Even Minerva agreed. Perhaps she
would finally get the full story about Myrtle and young Ginny and the
Chamber out of Harry.
A story for a story. It's only fair.
-o\0/o-
Gabby sat down between Aimee and Gigi. She focused on the table she
was at and the lunch in her hands and tried hard to keep the tears from
comming.
The other students, they were doing it again. The stares. The whispering.
The random demanding questions when Professor Royal and Gabby's two
closest friends were away for even the shortest of moments. Absolon was
already banished to a chair in the corner. He was even being forced to
eat lunch in the professor's office as she went over classwork and ate her
salad.
Most recently, another girl in their class tried to demand Gabby to bring
her grandmother back from the dead. Gabby was an angel right?
Everybody knows that angels can do that kind of stuff. Why was Gabby
being so selfish?
That's how the other girl put it anyway.
"The nerve of that girl," Gigi muttered from the seat on Gabby's right,
"thinking you can just make people come back like that."
Gabby shuddered. "It doesn't work that way... I don't get to say who goes and
who comes back."
Gabby didn't come to school to talk about things like that. She didn't like
questions like those. She was beginning to wonder if she could use the
bond to beg Harry to come stay with her for the rest of the day. If so, she
hasn't gotten that bit to work yet.
"Don't worry, she's off my list now." Aimee called out from her seat to
Gabby's left.
Gigi looked around their co-best friend to eye Aimee with confusion.
Aimee looked at the list she had just struck a name from before stuffing it
back into her satchel.
"My party invite list. No cards or birthday parties or birthday cake for
Annette, not until she says she's sorry anyway."
Gabby did smile at that. At least she still had two good friends. Big Sissy
Fleur told her about losing friends, but Gabby always hoped that it
wouldn't be so hard. Annette didn't used to be like this either. Annette
was a good friend until Gabby began her changes.
Little Angel dropped her head on her desk in a doomed attempt to block
out the world around her.
"I wish I were with Harry right now." She said almost too softly to hear.
"He's not having any fun right now either."
"What?" Gigi and Aimee both called out at the same time.
Uh, oh. They did hear her after all. Gabby looked up to see her friends
faces were a lot closer than they were a few seconds ago.
"Do you really know what he's feeling?" Aimee whispered, trying to be
discreet. "Like, right now?"
Gabby looked back and forth between her friends. She then looked
around the room. Luckily, no one seemed to be paying any attention to
the three right this second. She held out a fist to either side, pinkies
extended and hooked.
"Promise you won't tell anyone. Swear it."
"Okay!" Two girls said as one while finishing their half- their thirds- of
the magic pinkie swear.
"Well…" Gabby trailed off. What could she say? There were still parts she
didn't understand when Harry and the others talked about it. "He and I
are… joined."
"You're joined?" Gigi parroted.
"Yeah. Joined. His kiss did more than save my life. It bonded me to him."
Gabby added.
"You mean like-" A wide eyed Aimee almost shouted before stopping
herself and whispering the next bit. "You mean like married bonded?"
Gabby blushed furiously. Other students were beginning to notice their
secret powwow and noise level.
"We're not married." She ground out before switching gears. "It's… I don't
know… different. Better even."
"Better than married?" Aimee asked, her voice betraying that she thought
such a thing impossible.
"I wish I could be bonded and read someone else's brain with magic." Gigi said
with a romantic dreamy look on her face.
Gabby's face fell. "But he's not happy right now. When he's happy it's the best
ever, but when he's angry then that's just sad. I don't like Harry being not
happy."
"I wonder why he's not happy." Aimee added.
"I don't know." Gabby answered. "But he's not happy."
"I he sad?" Aimee again.
"Noooo... " Gabby mused, her gaze on an untraceable point in the
distance. "He's mad. It's like he's trying to put the fear of God into someone."
"Huh." Gigi added intelligently.
Gigi looked off to one side, her attention caught on something new. "Get
your stuff. Our professor is coming."
"Attention class!" Professor Royal called over the din of the cafeteria. "It's
time to go back to our room. Get all your things together and follow me in a
straight line."
"Yes Professor Royal!" The whole class yelled as one.
A little more than one thousand kilometers to the north, Harry Potter was
putting the fear of God into someone.
"You know," The transparent Boy-Who-Died started, "I used to think that
you were such a nice girl. Honestly, I fancied you for a while..."
Cho Chang smiled a bit at that, but only a bit. This wasn't a proper social
call.
"...but then you turned into a right monster at some point when I wasn't
paying attention. When did that happen?"
She shrugged her shoulders, her face an even mix of regret and fear.
"It's alright... doesn't matter all that much, does it? Not really. No, what
what does matter is how much of a monster you've been to one person."
Harry suddenly darted close, their eyes separated by little more than
their noses. "A person very close to me."
Cho wanted to step back but ended up flinching instead. Stepping
backwards wasn't a good idea. All she could do was stare into Harry's
eyes as he glared back. Cho began to get gooseflesh from the intense cold
Harry's presence was creating.
"Have you always been like this to Luna? I'm told you bullied her
horribly long before a certain Hogsmeade trip."
"L-look, Harry." Cho finally found her voice. "It was just something
everyone did. Loon- I mean Luna never complained about anything we
did- you'd think that if she really had a problem with it she'd have said
something to Professor Flitwick, right?"
"I'm quite sure that Luna did not deserve to go to Azkaban, and to hear
Cedric tell it Luna was about to go free until you said something against
him. I can believe two Slytherins getting an innocent girl in trouble- not
that I intend to let them get away with it either mind you- but you're a
Ravenclaw." Harry's eyes narrowed. "You turned on a member of your
own house."
This angered Harry more than anything else Cho could have done. He
hated it when those in positions of authority turned on or hurt their own
family. It happened far too often in his own life.
"I can understand the whole 'woman scorned' thing with Cedric even if I
don't like it, but to condemn Luna to Azkaban, well, I just can't allow you
or anyone else the opportunity to do that again."
Cho nodded fervently. "Of course. Won't happen again, Harry. I'll take her
under my wing- she won't have to fear from anyone."
Harry stared at her for a moment before answering. "Good." He began to
drift back and away.
Cho let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and relaxed her
stance by stepping away from Harry.
Uh, oh.
In her relief, she seemed to have forgotten where she was and why she
was nervous in the first place. Harry had backed her into one of the open
arched windows at the top of the astronomy tower with the help of a few
tricksy redheads. Her one step away from Harry just happened to be one
step out into the open air beyond the window sill. In less than a second,
she was in free fall with the Astronomy Tower wall passing by in a blur.
Harry's eyes widened fractionally right before he darted through the
stones below him in an intercept course with the falling witch. It was a
spectral snitch hunt by Harry to catch his former opposing seeker, a dive
that he hoped to have enough talent to pull off.
When Harry pulled out of the stone face, he was still ten meters above
the falling Head Girl. He focused on the falling girl the same way he
focused on Gabby back when Fawkes was diving to take her to Hogwarts
from the Ministry building. Harry shot down faster, far faster than
gravity alone could account for had he any mass for gravity to pull on.
The wind stopped howling. The tower stopped falling away. Head Girl
Chang fought out of her panic to look at the spectral face staring down at
her.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Harry's face took on a ghostly blush. "I got you
though, so no harm done."
"F-fine." Cho agreed immediately. She now had a new found respect for
Harry's reputation as a saver of maidens. Even if she wasn't technically a
maiden anymore. "Can I get down now?"
Harry smiled. "The Head Boy is still asleep upstairs with Gred and Forge.
Don't you want to go back up instead?"
Cho shook her head furiously. "No thanks. I'm suddenly quite keen on
staying out of towers for a while. The twins can have Marius for all I
care- bastard's been eyeing other girls a little to much of late."
Harry snickered as he carried the Head Girl the rest of the way down to
open grass. "I'll be staying out of that one, thank you very much."
-o\0/o-
Four times forty-four turns clockwise. Three times thirteen turns anti-
clockwise. Simmer. Wait.
Severus Snape stepped back from his cauldrons. They were all in sync
now and he could afford a few hours away for less important tasks. Tasks
like being the Headmaster to a castle full of miserable little brats and
dunderheads. Well he had a few lessons that he could teach them... just
not the lessons they thought they were there to learn.
Snape stepped into another room and checked his personal potioning
chronometer. According to the brass dials and arms, he was supposed to
be back in the castle nearly two and a half hours ago.
Perfect.
The marked Potions Master and school Headmaster took a quick meal
and freshened up a bit before pulling on a golden chain that hid just
under his shirt. Slowly, the full length of chain was exposed to the dim
light of his personal quarters. When he did have the full chain exposed, a
delicate hourglass slipped out of his shirt and caught what little light
there was in the room sparkling with unnatural luminescence. A time
turner. Three full turns and he was ready to go back to Hogwarts and to
the foul little brats that it was his displeasure to deal with as they
pretended to learn.
Just as the greasy haired one was about to walk down the main stair
heading for the door, he caught sight of a particular room. He stopped.
The pull was just too great.
Slowly yet surely, the man turned and entered the room where the
recipient of most of his potions work was lying on a hard stone surface.
Single minded focus kept the man's attention on his one goal to the
exclusion of all else. He didn't notice the black drapery blocking the
window nor did he see the burnt and charred portrait frame which once
housed a Black patron of some renown. He ignored the floating red and
black candles made from muggle fat as well as the blood red runework
adorning the stone pedestal. With great personal effort, he avoided
looking overlong at the teenaged male body which seemed nearly
identical to Snape's hated childhood nemesis. There were two things
within the room that he absolutely had to see.
With trembling fingers, Severus lifted the body's eyelids exposing the orbs
beneath to what light the room did have.
Green. Lily's green.
Snape jerked away from the body on the table, rushed out of the room
and down the stairs as quickly as his legs could take him.
Damn Potter. If not for that rotten bastard, Lily's green eyes would be
there to greet Snape every morning and every night as it was supposed to
be. He saw her first. He claimed her first. She was supposed to be his, not
Potter's.
Damn that manipulative bastard Dumbledore. Surely Potter would have
been content to use the life debt to banish Snape from his family's
presence never to meet again. That would have been far preferable to
Albus Bloody Dumbledore and his cold hearted engineering. Using the
life debt to make Severus a personal protector and guide to the thrice
cursed spawn of Potter, how could Dumbledore do that to him? Truly,
the Leader of the Light could be as ruthless as the Dark Lord himself if he
deemed the situation grave enough. Thankfully, the little shit went and
got himself killed, thus releasing Severus from his lifelong burden.
Damn his own self. Lily was the one light in his miserable life and he cast
her away in order to fit in with a social group that he truly didn't belong
with in the first place. They were dark, yes, but they were more than
that. They were blood purists… and his own blood wasn't exactly pure.
Still, he made his deal with the Devil, and true to form that deal had
come back to bite him in the arse with startling speed and ruthlessness.
Snape couldn't even celebrate Potter's death properly- either Potters'
deaths- knowing Lily was dead due to his actions those many long years
ago.
As Severus walked out of Riddle Manor's wards and reached for his
portkey to the gates of Hogwarts, he desperately hoped that Lily had
done something in her life deserving of eternal damnation. If she didn't,
he could never hope to see her face again, for surely his course after
death was firmly set.
-o\0/o-
Newtonmore was the next town in the Scottish Highlands to become an
unfortunate host of the plague known as dementors. In addition to the
cold that caused record lows even for a Highland winter, three men
traveling on Highland Council business were found dead on the side of
the road one morning. They appeared to leave their auto with the intent
of taking pictures of the winter scenery yet never reentered the still
running vehicle. All three men were found lying on the ground, frozen
stiff as the clothes they were wearing were not sufficient for overnight
exposure. Aside from the cold, no clues to the reason of their demise
could be found.
At least the damn things were staying together. They could be buzzing
about alone or in pairs intent on visiting every village from Inverness to
Glasgow. Instead they were swarming. This hinted that when the fiends
finally did reach their ultimate destination that an overwhelming force
would be applied to whatever populace they were set against.
This did not bode well.
The ICW was beginning to get an idea of what their goal may be too.
Though it is true that Hogsmeade Valley has been unplottable since
before the founding of Hogwarts, many people had a fair idea of its
general location and the line that dementors were taking through
Scotland wasn't too far off the mark.
This did not bode well at all.
-o\0/o-
When the ring of light began to descend, the French witches were ready.
"Maman! Little Angel!" Fleur called as she rushed to her newly arrived
family. "I missed you already!"
Hugs and cheek kisses were given all around as everyone fussed over
each other in the crisp cold of winter in the Ukraine.
"Can we go in, now?" Gabby called after losing her transformation. She
preferred talking through lips even if she could make others understand
her calling and trilling through the beak.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Little Angel?" Fleur asked her sister. "Don't
you want to look around? We found something quite wonderful behind the
temple where we hadn't even bothered to search before."
"It's not part of Angel School, is it?" The littlest Veela on site asked. "I want
to go to Angel School."
"Sort of..." Fleur answered.
Her sister looked up with curious eyes as behind her a spectral boy
appeared. Harry had 'come out' to hear the answer.
"We didn't see this last time," Segolene started, "we were so focused with
recording the main temple that we hadn't even strayed far enough away for
Fleur to step through a set of Veela keyed privacy spells hiding a second
temple."
"A second temple!" Apolline could not hold in her enthusiasm. As much as
she wanted her Little Angel safe and sound at home, every trip out here
was a different dream come true for her.
"Yes." Marion nodded. "Actually, I still haven't seen it with my own eyes and
I begin to think I never will."
"How so?" Apolline asked.
"I can't breach the wards. Neither can Segolene. Only Fleur has been able to
see or touch the temple so far." Marion answered.
Apolline looked to her older daughter full of excitement. Maybe there
was something to Gabrielle's idea of coming more than once a week.
"Well, what does it look like? Show me!"
The group began to walk past the temple face near which Gabby had
traveled to. They turned the corner and walked clear to the other end of
the exterior colonnade.
"I don't see anything." Gabby called, unimpressed.
Harry didn't say anything, but he did keep looking back and forth
between the 'empty' space before him and the host of females around
him. They didn't notice it. Why didn't they notice it? Why did he when
they couldn't? Was it because of his bond with Gabby or was it because
he was dead? He hesitated to say anything hoping to catch some clue as
to why he was special this time.
As far as Gabby could see, the island continued for another hundred
meters or so beyond the back face of the main temple and perhaps the
same distance to either side. Not a terribly large island, really. There
weren't even any trees or hills to block their view of more than three-
quarters of the island's shores- the only ones they couldn't see were
blocked by the temple that was now behind them.
"Just walk a little further, Little Angel." Fleur prodded. "Ten more paces...
maybe twenty."
"Okayyyyyy." Gabby gave the rare whine. She was here for Angel School
and that was it!
Gabby strode forward impatiently, Harry, Fleur and the others right
behind her.
"You... you can't see it?" Harry asked his little angel. "Really?"
"Can't see wha-haaaaaaa?" Gabby answered, finally seeing 'it' right as she
was answering.
As Fleur came up confidently and their mother came up slightly less so,
Marion and Segolene held back. They couldn't seem to get any closer.
Wards were stopping them.
"You see it too, Harry?" Gabby asked.
"I sure do, Angel." The ghost scratched at the back of his neck, deep in
thought.
Before them stood a temple that was much smaller than its larger
neighbor but no less spectacular. It was a ring of columns perhaps fifteen
meters in diameter and not quite ten meters high before adding in the
shallow dome. The columns were narrow, a half meter wide at most. The
style was... well... it was spectacular. There were colorful, precise
geometric shapes and patterns seemingly randomly interspersed with
organic floral patterns. The individual transitions seemed to make no
sense when looking at them one at a time and yet it all seemed to flow
together in perfect harmony at every level.
One thing was clear. Whoever made this temple, they weren't the same
people as those who made the bigger one. This one was light years
different. Better. Much better.
"I tried taking pictures of this one yesterday, but the cameras all froze up as
soon as they crossed the ward line." Fleur told her mother.
"I still have no idea what it looks like." Marion complained. "Fleur can't even
describe it to us without sounding like a complete fool."
Fleur's face went flush a bit. "It's true. The magics which prevent us from
recording images of this temple also prevent me from describing it out loud."
"So this one is truly Veela only? Let's go inside then, shall we?" Harry said
before glancing back. "Sorry Marion, Segolene."
After the two non-Veela witches both nodded in acceptance, the Delacour
women and Harry all moved forward and passed through the colonnade.
"Oh, wow." Harry whispered.
"Yeah..." Gabby added.
Where Harry had passed between two columns in a series of them, he
was now in a closed circular room with a column framed portal behind
him.
"Oh my God." Apolline gasped as she crossed the threshold behind Harry.
It didn't matter that she chose to enter the temple between a different
pair of columns. She came through the same door anyway.
None of that mattered.
"See, Little Angel?" Fleur called out. "Can you see why it relates to Angel
School now?"
All around the room a series of fully colored nearly perfect statues stood
in silent testimony to a past long forgotten. They were all women of the
highest caliber whose beauty, grace, intelligence and power showed
clearly on their faces and in their poise.
There were seven of them.
"I know these women." Harry murmured softly yet the words still carried.
Apolline slowly walked up to the statue opposite the entry portal. This
one was set on a small platform, one step above her peers. Where the
others each held their hands clasped together before them, this one held
her hands up and open, filling the room with her presence. Apolline knelt
before the one angel she could identify on sight appart from her own
daughter. White-blonde hair floated above deeply tanned skin and soft
purple eyes that looked down at the Veela matron in silent reproach.
"Lucifer."
"Now you see she's not a bad girl, don't you?" Gabby asked everyone in the
room. "She's in the middle and everything!"
"These are the seven sisters." Harry spoke as he floated from one statue to
the other. "I recognize every one of them."
"These are the faces of the mothers of the Veela race." Fleur spoke with awe.
"I was in here trying to make sense of this temple for over an hour yesterday
and I never even realized exactly who they were."
"This isn't a temple." Apolline said. Harry and the girls stopped what they
were doing and turned to the Veela mother. "It's a mausoleum."
They all followed her gaze to the tile floor beneath them. There, finely
cut and inlaid stone chips making up the floor revealed a second
representation of the seven sisters. There, in muted grays and earth tones
the seven sisters were all depicted lying in repose. Each angel had her
eyes closed and her hands clasped over her heart. All save one, that is.
Lucifer had one hand over her heart and one hand over her stomach.
There seemed to be a stain or something under her hand as the tiles were
a different color than the field of her robe.
Harry continued to stare at that odd detail until he heard a gasp.
"Look up!" Gabby shouted.
And everyone did look up. There were more gasps as they beheld the
third level of this most rare and unusual triptych.
It was a painting... or a charm perhaps... set onto the domed ceiling. It
rivaled any work that Harry had yet seen in the magical world as it
seemed to combine a wizarding portrait with the illusory properties of
Hogwarts' Great Hall. The outermost rim of the magical vision was a long
string of children, girls every one, who all seemed to congregate around
the feet of the seven angels that took center stage. Seven angels whose
full plumage and dazzling golden halos were out in full view for all
visitors to see. Well, there was one angel that was, once again, treated
differently than the other six. Where her sisters were all interacting with
the children at their feet, she had no children to tend. Rather than
minding daughters, she alone focused on the mausoleum's oculus. Her
hands were outstretched and open in supplication to the fiery ring of
pure gold framing the circular roof opening. Due to positioning, it was
once again clear who this angel was. Lucifer.
All of a sudden, it all clicked in Harry's mind. The separation was suspect
on its own, but the details were clear in denoting her place within the
seven. She was Lucifer; the oldest, the most skilled and closest to their
Lord. She was the one put to the sword by bandits- she must have fought
the fiercest and defended her sisters at the cost of her own mortal life.
She was the one who suffered the greatest after the fall; the first to suffer
a mortal's death and the only fallen angel who bore no daughters... no
heirs.
As he looked at the face of the Angel Lucifer, he swore to himself that he
would always have more in common with Lucifer than Gabby would. He
would not allow his Little Angel to suffer as terribly as her archetype and
role model. He swore silently to himself that he would accept any
sacrifice or suffering necessary to ensure her eternal happiness. Eternal
love would be hers. Just like the poem said.
After a suitable period for admiring the artwork and morning the dead,
Harry gently began pushing for a trip back to the main temple. He
wanted to learn how to protect Gabby. He wanted to be worthy of being
Gabby's Lord. He feared he would never be worthy.
-o\0/o-
"Harry!"
A little silver-blonde topped missile streaked into his side. A second one,
that is.
"Miss me?" Harry chuckled at the girl wrapped firmly around his waist.
"Uh-huh!" The copy made in Gabby's image grunted into his chest.
As he and Gabby both hugged and tickled Gabby's magical twin, Gabriel
approached.
"Welcome back, Harry." Gabriel called with a warm inviting smile and an
open hand.
"Hello again, Gabriel." Harry replied, clasping the offered hand before
going back to giving his Angels backrubs.
"I see you came prepared this time?" Gabriel asked, eyes on a loose stack
of papers and parchment in Gabby's hands.
"Yeah- but... " Harry trailed off. He was preoccupied the whole way in
and barely noticed when Apolline shoved a stack of papers and a pen at
her daughter. "I have something I'd kind of like your help with this time."
"You fear for her safety, do you not?" The archangel asked.
Harry stopped rubbing the backs of his two Gabbys. "How'd you know?"
Gabriel smiled and ran her fingers across the hand Harry had on his true
angel. "Physical contact with you and Gabby, leads to one of the most
important features of this place. Magic follows your bond deep into your
own soul to learn new history, memories and inner thoughts. It's how we
all learned to speak modern English and French. It's also how I knew that
you feel the need to better protect your angel."
"You can read my mind?" Harry asked.
"It would be better to say that we can read your souls." Gabriel put a
hand on each Gabby causing them both to look up at her and smile. "And
let me say that we are most appreciative of your desire to see to her
safety."
She then looked deep into Harry's eyes, seemingly boring into his very
soul. Actually, he began to think that could be doing exactly that. He was
still in contact with both Gabby's after all. "Make no mistake, Harry. You.
Are. Worthy."
"I still don't feel worthy." He muttered in reply.
Two little angels hugged him even tighter in reply.
"Perhaps it is time for lessons that may help you feel more worthy of the
gifts bestowed upon you?"
Harry nodded.
"Great!" An enthusiastic voice shouted from behind Harry.
"Lucifer!" Both Gabbys left Harry to hug Big Sister Lucifer.
"Come, girls! I have big plans for today, big indeed! Come on!"
Without warning, a wall of pure love and joy washed over them all.
Lucifer changed. Her smooth skin hid underneath a coating of feathers.
While her smallest downy feathers were all white, her longer feathers
were a mix of white, blues and purples in a spotted pattern that matched
well with her eyes. Harry noted with interest that Lucifer's beak seemed
to be more pronounced than Gabby's; slightly more hawk-like than
Gabby's owlish attributes. Was it age? Was it natural variations? He could
ask later.
Lucifer took to the skies, and in her wake two girls fell to the ground
praying. It was the fastest way either of them knew to change.
In no time at all, the 'twins' changed causing a fresh wave of love and
devotion to wash across Harry and Gabriel as they stood by and watched.
Bye, Harry! See you later! One pure white angel called as the other
chirped, Have fun with Gabriel!
The ghost and the archangel stood patiently and watched as two smaller
angels rushed to catch up to their larger quarry in a game of aerial tag.
"Thank you, Harry." Gabriel said after a few quiet moments of 'bird'
watching.
"Whatever for?" He replied.
Gabriel stopped watching the three distant fliers and turned once again
to the young Lord of Angels.
"I know that time flows differently here within the Hall of Angels, yet it
bears saying that this is the first time that I have seen Lucifer shed her
human appearance and embrace her angelic heritage since the real
Lucifer stopped comming. You know not how horrible it was for her,
even as a copy of the original, to learn of the fall. She shows more life in
these few visits of Gabrielle's than she has in the last two thousand years
or more." Gabriel took Harry's hand in hers. "Though… you do know
more of her suffering than any other mortal you may yet meet. A life of
service and self sacrifice is not an easy life, especially when it is cut
unnaturally short."
After a few minutes where she seemed content to read his palm and he
seemed content to have his palm silently read, she spoke again.
"They are ready. It is time."
And when she dropped his hand the world blurred. The small valley,
creek and large flat stone that came to be Harry and Gabby's gateway
into the Hall of Angels melted away until they were replaced by the ridge
of a low mountain chain.
"Where are we?" Harry asked.
"Just a playground of sorts. A place where your girls might have some
fun and where we can observe from a distance." Gabriel turned to look
down a cliff face and Harry did the same.
"What are they doing down there?" Harry asked, straining his eyes in the
soft light of Gabby's favorite starry sky.
Even with the light of stars unnumbered, the lighting was still more like
dawn or dusk than anything else. He only knew who was at the base of
the hill because one brilliant golden halo was dancing about in close
proximity to two blue-white ones. All else was lost to him at this
distance.
"This is your first lesson today, Harry." Gabriel spoke. "The two of you
have unconsciously tapped into your bond to read emotions. Without
your consent, this is as far as young Gabrielle may go. With your consent,
however, she can know your thoughts and see what you want her to see.
This, she can do without your direct knowledge... if you allow her the
ability."
"I foresee no time when I should want to restrict her." Harry replied.
"And how are things going with Miss Granger, Harry?" Gabriel asked with
a lilt that reminded him that she most certainly knew the answer to that
question even if Gabby didn't.
"Oh." Harry replied.
"Exactly. This is but one reason you may wish to control the bond. There
are things you will want to do that are either too personal for her to
know or too 'grown-up' for her to know for many years yet."
"Right."
Gabriel continued. "And that is what she may see with the bond on her
own initiative. More importantly is the conscious control you may exert.
All that she sees, all that she hears and all that she does, you may know
as well. This is your right as her Lord."
"But why? What can I do with this?" Harry asked.
"Observe Gabrielle." Gabriel replied. "Look without looking down. Look
out from her eyes. Listen from her ears. Feel through her skin. Do this
without forgetting yourself and where you are. To accomplish this feat,
focus on your bond and will Gabrielle into your own senses."
Harry did as Gabriel instructed drawing on the bond tying him to his
Angel.
"Woah." Harry staggered for a moment before regaining his balance.
In the plane below, Gabriel put her hand over her mouth, covering a
small giggle as best she could.
"That, Lord Potter, is the beginning of what many people call
omnipresence. Where ever she is, so too shall you be."
"I feel like there is two of me." Harry looked down the hill at... himself?
"And should you take more angels then you shall feel the same with all of
them at the same time."
"Oh, I don't know if I could handle anything of the like."
Gabriel didn't have to cover another unladylike giggle, but she did reply.
"It shall be as you will it, Harry, but I do humbly ask that you consider
the idea. One angel alone can affect world history. Can you imagine the
effect a host of angels may have?"
Harry shuddered. "There is this saying that power corrupts and that
absolute power corrupts absolutely."
"But that maxim speaks of power as mortal man knows it. Our power is
different. It is pure. It is light that pushes the darkness away." The
archangel countered. "Can you not think of living creatures in your
experience who may fit this pattern?"
"Like what- oh wait." Harry interrupted himself with an example he knew
of already at Hogwarts. "Unicorns, right? And phoenixes?"
Gabriel nodded. "Powerful and purely in the light, both of those breeds
are incapable of acting on dark intent. Now, we angels…and by extension
our Lords… are the most powerful light aligned beings you will meet on
this plane of existence."
"I'm sorry, but you included me in that statement." Harry half joked. "I'm
not all that powerful nor am I all that pure."
"Is that so?" Gabriel asked, eyebrow raised. "Would Gabrielle have done
what she did in Hogsmeade without your influence? That was you
guiding her in her power and in her righteous anger. Did you or did you
not give Albus Dumbledore one last chance at redemption? And what of
Miss Chang? You laid down the law explaining the morals by which you
expect her to act and then you saved her life when she fell. You could
have solved at least one problem by allowing her to fall to her death."
Shocked at the immortal woman's words, Harry shouted his response
almost before he had the words in his mind. "But that would be wrong!"
Gabriel smiled beautifully in response. "Exactly! You still did what was
good and right at a time when you need not have. This is why you are of
the light. This is the power of a Lord of Angels to change the world for
the better. You shall choose who is punished, who is rewarded and who
is given a chance to repent. Do you think that Miss Chang is unaffected
by your words? By your actions? She is a new woman, I don't even have
to read the stars to know it is so. It is only natural for her to step back
and examine her life after such an experience."
Harry stood silently and absorbed the words that even now echoed
through his mind. In this calm period, he began to absorb the
information provided him by the link to Gabby that he had opened and
left open. On the planes below him, a different yet equally important
lesson was being carried out between angels.
Gabby broke out in a fit of giggles.
What is it? Lucifer called.
H-Harry! He's p-peeking at me! At us! Her laughter echoed off the
landscape in chirps and clicks.
Well let's give him a show then! Lucifer answered eagerly. Watch girls!
I'll show you the best way to get attention no matter how many people
you want to talk to and true dark creatures such as demons will flee or
face their doom.
With two bubbly little angels watching, and a Lord watching from two
angles, Lucifer raised one slender arm straight up. She flicked her wrist,
flexed her fingers and reached out to literally grab her halo with her bare
hand.
Ooooooohhhh. Two little angles cooed together.
Their big sister then exerted her will over the circlet of light, dragging it
out of position until it broke form completely. Soon, golden light was
cascading down and then across her body, covering her and her robes
completely.
Aaahhhhhhhhh. The Gabby twins cooed again.
And when the field of angelic light did fully encase Lucifer, the light
flared far beyond what they were prepared to deal with. Both younger
angels had to avert their eyes in the face of a ground level light that
rivaled the Sun in intensity. Even up on the hill more than a thousand
meters away, Gabriel turned away and Harry was forced to squint.
Your turn, girls! Lucifer cried to the two cringing smaller angels.
They were in awe of Lucifer's radiance, her absolute power and
serendipity. They were less than sure of their odds of matching her and
Harry knew it. He wanted to see them succeed. He willed them to
succeed.
My Lord! They both called upon feeling his will. They would not could
not disappoint him.
Staring each other in the eyes, both little angels pushed Lucifer's
spectacular presence out of their minds and reached for their own halos.
With perfect timing, the two made contact with the rings of raw power
hovering above them and they drew the power out of that perfect eternal
shape. Blue-white power flowed like water over their bodies just as it had
for their older sister before them.
Once again, light washed over the valley as two new stars came into
existence to do battle with the night sky above.
"Are you pleased, Lord Potter?" Gabriel said, still averting her eyes from
the valley below. Angel she may be, but this was a light that only a Lord
of Angels or a similarly empowered angel could gaze upon. Gabriel
would have to pull the same trick in order to counter the glare.
"Oh, yes." Harry's attention built to both his Gabby and her magical sister
until this awareness encompassed both angels as well as his own body.
This was more than just a dueling technique. This had potential.
Feeling their Lord's attention, both Gabby's basked in his presence and he
in turn felt their own happiness. The light flooding the valley increased.
The lesson continued for a time with Gabrielle learning to harness the
power that was hers to command and with Harry learning to influence
Gabrielle's actions through his will. Still, all things come to an end, and
Gabriel called them together to end the lesson. Gabrielle gave her Big
Sisters big hugs, and she and Harry gave her twin the biggest of hugs.
It was then that Harry saw something different about his Angel. "Gabby?"
"Yes?" She… both of them turned to meet his gaze and it was then that
the change really stood out.
"Your eyes…" Harry said softly, kneeling down before the two little girls
to get a closer look. "They're-"
"Glowing." Lucifer finished for him. "A little bit, but yes they are. And the
light will only increase over time."
Harry looked back at Lucifer and then at Gabriel. The glow… he saw it
before, of course, but it never seemed to register that his Angel didn't
have it.
Gabriel took up the explanation. "Gabrielle has, with this lesson, drawn
on enough of her power to begin showing the proof of her angelic
heritage even without changing. The effect is not strong yet, and it will
not grow to the level you see in us for many long years, but grow it will."
As wonderful as his Angel was, Harry feared for her social development.
"They're gorgeous, of course-" both Gabby's flushed and Harry could sense
their joy from his words over the bond, "but… won't this cause her even
more trouble at school?"
Both Gabbys' jaws went slack. Oh, no. It would make her even more
different! Everyone would stare harder and whisper more.
"Perhaps a quick lesson in the use of your angelic aura… the thrall as
your mother and sister call it… is what we need to solve this problem."
Gabriel to the rescue.
She had their undivided attention.
"When next you meet your peers, you should look into the eyes of
whomever you wish to influence and will them into complacence. You
cannot mask the glow short of making yourself completely unnoticeable
or invisible, and that is not your goal. People will see you and your
beautiful eyes… and will simply overlook the detail as unimportant."
Gabriel lectured. "To do this, imagine releasing your thrall- but only
through your eyes. This simple trick will naturally develop along with
your control… and it is a good way to learn how to influence others
without changing forms or using a wand to cast spells."
"You mean like the Imperius Curse?" Harry asked.
"Nothing so vulgar as that." Gabriel replied. "Whether Gabrielle lifts a
wand or not to use her powers, intent is still key. The Imperius Curse is
labeled dark, and rightly so, because the caster takes joy in forcing a
victim to submit. At the same time, mind magics cast with good intent
are still accepted as light. Gabrielle may have been able to open Cho
Chang's heart to Luna's plight without resorting to threats of violence if
she used this technique."
Harry's face pinked. "And without Cho falling out the window, I imagine."
Gabriel nodded without seeming to accuse. "As you say. But the point
remains that Gabrielle has a way to deflect the attention she faces at
school… both for her eyes and for her fame." Gabriel looked at her
smaller namesake. "Perhaps your mother would be willing to help you
practice before you go to bed tonight."
The two Gabby's looked at each other in surprise for a moment before
one of them exclaimed, "I didn't know Angel School would have
homework!"
"It will happen from time to time dear… more so for Harry than for you,
but it will happen." The warm chocolate eyed archangel smirked before
briefly glancing at the stars above. "But it is now time for you to return to
your mother and sister, for they must be concerned. You seem to have
missed lunch."
Once again, Gabrielle gave her Big Sisters hugs, and she and Harry gave
her twin another big farewell hug. Gabby still wanted to take her magical
twin home with them. Lucifer, of course, couldn't resist the opportunity
to tease. Depending on what kind of sister Gabby wanted, she either had
to ask her parents or Harry to take the necessary steps. Gabby promised
to work on her puppy dog eyes more to get somebody to agree to her
demands.
Finally, Lord and Angel left the hall to return to the world of the living as
three powerful magical constructs watched them leave.
"I miss them already." Gabby sighed.
"Fear not, beloved Little Sister, for we shall rest again soon." Gabriel
soothed the shortest of the three.
Behind them, a star in the sky began to move. The star came closer until
wings became visible to either side of the twinkling golden light. Not
really a star, then. An angel. The as yet unknown angel came down to
land at the feet of the three.
This new angel released her transformation, wings shrank into soft curly
brown hair and downy feathers faded to reveal creamy skin. Her deep
chocolate eyes remained.
"Gabriel." The newcomer stated.
"Gabriel," The one made in her image replied as she took and kissed the
hand of a true archangel. "We are honored that you appear before us."
"You have done well. Were He still among us, our Lord would say that He
is well pleased." Gabriel then reached a hand out to the youngest angel
and brushed it against the girl's cheek. "And you, young one. You are
blessed with a kind and loving Lord. You have done us all proud and I am
sure you will continue to do so."
Gabrielle closed her eyes and leaned into the immortal's caress.
"Is your time here at an end?" Lucifer asked. "Will you finally follow your
sisters to His side?"
"Not yet." The last of the old host replied. "I am to bear witness to the
fruits of our great labors before I go."
"How long?" Gabby asked. It saddened her to see the true archangel wait
so patiently for her assigned tasks to come to an end.
Neither Gabriel turned to look at the stars above as the stars would never
reveal her purpose. Still, her time on this plane was nearly done and they
all knew it. So very little remained to be fulfilled.
"Not long… soon."
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
I... don't have any? Weird, I know.
24. Damned If You Do
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-three: Damned If You Do
"Ah, Draco," Severus spoke over the rim of his wine glass. "Do have a
seat."
Draco took the offered place at his godfather's table.
"Would you like some veal? Perhaps some prime rib…" The older man
continued. "The roast potatoes are quite nice tonight."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Draco replied as he began to add a few of the
proffered items to his plate.
"Now, Draco," Severus stated in a tone that was as warm as he could
manage, "we are alone in my quarters and we've known each other for
years. There is no reason you cannot call me Uncle Severus as before."
Draco ducked his head and took a bite from his plate though he did not
immediately comment on the older Slytherin's statement. In truth, the
veal was quite good. Unworthy bastards that they are, house elves are
fine cooks.
After some quality silence, Severus chose to be sociable again. "And how
is your mother? I hear she was released from St. Mungo's only the day
before…"
Draco swallowed and collected himself. Mother's injury still cut him
deeper than he cared to admit.
"Surely she is happy to be home again? Or were there complications?"
Draco did detect a hint of concern in Severus's voice. The young lord
knew his godfather had always favored Mother, but perhaps it went a
little further? No. Draco knew the skeleton in his godfather's closet and
he was sure Mother knew as well. A half-blood's advances, no matter who
the half-blood, would never be welcomed by Lady Malfoy. She was a
proud pureblood daughter of the once great House of Black.
"Mother was released, though she has taken this opportunity to begin the
restoration of her childhood home. Sadly, it's become quite the chore…
she's pulled house elves from several properties to deal with the dust and
rot left since Grandmother's passing."
Severus nodded in seeming acceptance of Draco's reply. He took a drink
from his goblet before proceeding.
"She did not return to Malfoy Manor?"
Ah. Tricky subject. Luckily for the young lord, he has a perfectly
reasonable lie to fall back on.
"Home still reminds her too much of Father."
It wasn't even a lie really… just not the complete truth. Mother would
have moved to the old Black family home to escape reminders of a
happier time anyway- only she would have waited for the elves to finish
making the house presentable. The potential for a Dark Lord to pop in
and out of Malfoy Manor without so much as a by-your-leave was too
much for mother or son to handle, however, and she has yet to leave
London.
Luckily, Severus seemed to accept Draco's excuse. At least… he didn't
push any further on that front.
"And the future Lady Malfoy?" Severus drawled.
"What future Lady Malfoy?" Draco responded.
"Miss Greengrass has hardly left your side as of late." The man came
back. "She is your chief lieutenant in Magical Traditions, is she not? The
two of you also spend a great deal of time studying together. And then
there are the moonlight strolls through the grounds…"
"I've taken Astoria on as many moonlight strolls as Daphne." Draco
defended himself. "And Daphne is a fine partner for revising… her
arithmancy grades are the highest in our year… and the Greengrass
family is as well bred and steeped in tradition as the Malfoys or Blacks
ever were. Were it not for the dueling aspect, I daresay she could run
Magical Traditions without my help."
Draco didn't bother to point out that there had been another witch with
higher arithmancy grades than Daphne in their year until she ran away to
France. Granger was an anomaly; a freak of nature. Nothing more.
"And yet you have no time at all for Miss Parkinson these days…" Severus
pushed again.
Draco had to hold back a frustrated sigh. "Have we nothing better to talk
about than my love life?"
There was a glint in the older man's eye. Draco could have sworn he saw
jealousy or something more negative in that glint. If Draco didn't know
about his godfather's trips out of the castle on the Dark Lord's orders then
he would think Severus was leaving the castle to seek a woman's touch…
possibly at a fixed price.
Eyes down. Mustn't let the expert legilimens read that thought no matter
how close the two were. Suddenly, intentionally discussing the Dark
Lord's plans seemed a much safer subject.
"Very well," Snape muttered. "On to business."
The dour man took up his goblet and drained it in one pull.
"Magical Traditions is due for a meeting in two days, is it not?" Severus
asked.
Draco nodded. "Wednesday evening and again on Friday evening… twice
weekly just as it was last term. Why do you ask?"
"I suggest that you have those students still ensnared in the remedial
etiquette lessons-" code for mudblood and muggle raised half-bloods
"walk through the gardens by the East Wing in a mock courting exercise."
"If you insist… a few of the remedial students are almost to the point
where they can graduate to dueling. It will be hard to argue them away
soon." Draco answered slowly.
Severus sneered. "That is a problem you shan't have for much longer so
long as you do as you are told."
Draco suddenly got the idea that being in the gardens on Wednesday
evening was a bad thing.
"What of Daphne? She will be chaperoning the group." Draco returned.
There would be one or two other good pureblood students with her to
keep the others acting within proper decorum as well.
"Be ready to retrieve her at a moment's notice." Severus's sneer became
more pronounced. "Things are likely to become very dangerous outside
though staying indoors should be sufficient for your safety… and Miss
Greengrass's as well."
"I'll be sure to remember." Draco responded.
"Tell no one. I shall be acting the part of the surprised headmaster and
shall be defending my charges as well as can be expected."
Draco nodded, eyes down at his meal. He made no other mention of his
foreknowledge and the rest of their meal passed in pleasant conversations
which had no bearing on the future. All the while, Draco thought
furiously.
He had a bargaining chip now. A big one. He absolutely had to speak to
Potter as soon as possible.
As soon as his meal was done and farewells were exchanged, Draco left
his godfather's quarters. But what to do? He was stuck in a mental debate
over sending an owl post letter to a ghost when he heard some noise
from his left, from the potions classroom. Someone was there.
The Slytherin prefect drew his wand and approached silently, his
movements easily masked by the rather loud sounds coming from inside.
As Draco move into the classroom proper, he spotted a back arched in
hard labor. Messy blonde locks fell down to scrape along the very floor
stones being scrubbed clean by a witch with mismatched socks – one in
striped Ravenclaw colors and the other in a checkerboard of red and
white.
Perfect. The Lovegood girl was well known for her stay in France and
practically Potter's adopted sister if the rumors were to be believed.
Draco put his wand away and coughed to get the girl's attention.
"Here, have some lozenges." Luna commented as she turned to look at the
boy behind her.
She slipped one hand into a fold in her robes and retrieved a handful of
shiny pink hard candies. They were not wrapped in any way.
Draco declined. "I think I can do without."
Rather than returning the lozenges to their hiding place, Luna popped the
lot of them into her mouth and began to crunch them up vigorously.
Draco soldiered on.
"I need to deliver a message to Potter."
Luna made no effort to respond to the boy, but she didn't turn back to her
labor either. Draco didn't blame her, as scrubbing the floor was for elves
and muggles. He thanked Merlin that his godfather would never assign
him such an odious detention... or any detention at all for that matter.
"It's very important." Getting no response, Draco tried again. "Time
sensitive too. Is there anything you can do to reach him for me? I don't
think I can just wait for him to happen by."
Luna turned her head a bit, a move that caught all of the lamplight in the
room and threw it towards Draco in an unnaturally deep sparkle. It
reminded the snake prince a little too much of former Headmaster
Dumbledore, but before he could excuse himself and escape, she spoke.
"Chamaeleo. Hmmmm... I really expected an oviparous serpentes at this
hour... or at the very least a great greasy bat."
It was Draco's turn to turn his head in confusion. Once again, she spoke
before he could collect himself.
"Draco Malfoy. Light's champion is both great and good, and his light
shall shine down upon us all."
With that, the younger witch turned back to her assigned task of
scrubbing the potions classroom floor by hand. Draco opened his mouth...
and then closed it. He really didn't want to know.
Draco cursed silently and left the room. What a waste. The mere fact that
two muggles took that girl in proves their inferiority. And he wasn't
about to speak to any Weasley about Potter. Better to entrust important
post to a common school owl than one of their pathetic birds. And that
was assuming that any outbound owl post could leave the castle
unmonitored let alone reach foreign shores in forty-eight hours. That
option was risky and without guarantee.
Now that he thought about it, Draco wasn't sure why he thought Luna
would be able to get a message to Potter much less get it to him quickly.
It must be her weirdness rubbing off on him.
He would just leave well enough alone… leave the mudbloods' and blood
traitors' fates to chance… but then Daphne and her co-hostesses would
still be at risk. Damn it all. A dead Gryffindor was being a horrible
influence on the Slytherin prince.
On the other hand, many fair young maidens would owe him, and owe
him big. Mudblood maidens, true, but maidens just the same. Looking at
it from the proper perspective gave the Slytherin a perfect excuse to act.
Draco turned towards his dormitory. He would do what he could and
leave the rest to fate.
-o\0/o-
"Ohhhhh..." Hermione cooed at Gabby's softly glowing crystal blue eyes.
"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more beautiful..."
Gabby blushed. She knew she was pretty and she knew she would grow
up to be just like Momma and Big Sissy Fleur, but it still felt good when
someone told her she was pretty. It made her warm.
"Okay, Gabby," Harry started, "now do just what you did with your
Momma right after dinner."
The little silver-blonde nodded happily. She scooted closer to the edge of
the bed she was on and stared at 'Mione, who was once again sitting at
the desk in her personal dormitory in her private dreamworld. No, it's not
terribly imaginative on her part, but it is very safe and familiar and
orderly and those are things much appreciated by bookish girls with
adventurous spectral boyfriends.
"Wha – ummmmnnn... what's she supposed to be doing, Harry?"
Hermione asked.
Harry looked between the two girls, carefully judging the expressions.
Gabby's was one of concentration. The very tip of her tongue could be
seen sneaking past soft pink lips. Hermione was a mix of patience and
confusion. Good. Delight and awe were missing.
"Do you see anything different about Gabby tonight, 'Mione?" Harry
asked.
Hermione responded with a 'am I supposed to see something' shrug. "No?"
Yes! Gabby was as happy as Harry with that answer and she lost her
concentration.
"Oh! What beautiful eyes!" Hermione cooed before her eyes flew wide
open. "Wait! Didn't I..."
Gabby giggled.
"We still have to work on keeping it up, Angel," Harry snickered, "but we
can do that tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure you will have it down before
going back to school on Monday."
"Okayyyy!" Gabby shot back.
"Just what are you two on about?" Hermione huffed.
"We're working on her ability to keep people from staring at her eyes."
Harry answered.
Gabby piped in as well. "And if I do it right, people might not stare at me at
all!"
"But why would you want to..."
Hermione looked between the suddenly much less happy Little Angel and
Harry. Harry knew well about staring classmates and he was no angel.
Gabby was... and now her eyes were unique. They were sure to draw
even more attention.
"Oh."
Angel and Lord nodded as one.
"And the whispers are just as bad as I ever got." Harry added.
"How did this happen?" Hermione asked.
"Angel School!" Gabby answered eagerly. "It was soooooo fun! Lucifer took
me and my Angel School twin and taught us a new trick and it was great! And
before that- and before that we went to this new thing out back which was a...
a..."
But Gabby was stuck right there.
"A what?" Hermione prodded.
"It was a mmmmmrrrmmmrmrm." Harry scrunched up his face in
concentration. "A mmmMMMmmmaaaaauuuuuuuu."
Nope couldn't do it.
"Bloody wards..." Harry grumbled. Hermione didn't know whether to
censure him for cursing or to ask what he was talking about, so she
settled for glaring to make both points at the same time. "Pitty I can't just
turn this dream into a copy of the island..."
"Why not?" Hermione didn't want to miss this.
She wriggled her nose as she did any time she wanted her dreamscape to
change in some way.
"I now give Harry Potter the right to alter this dream in any way he sees
fit." Hermione spoke into the ether with conviction.
"Let's test that, shall we?" Harry murmured slyly.
The boy-who-died wriggled his nose, and Hermione's Beauxbatons
uniform was instantly replaced with her dirty Gryffindor uniform. When
Gabby giggled at the older girl's misfortune, Harry wriggled his nose at
her next.
"Hey!" Gabby squawked. Then she saw what it was she was wearing.
"Ummn... nevermind."
Gabby was back in her dress-up costume too. Alice. She liked being Alice.
Before Hermione could lodge a protest to her scandalous attire, Harry
closed his eyes and concentrated. He wriggled his nose again. The room
they were in faded away and the world around them changed. There was
snow... and a frozen lake... and then two large forms began to resolve
into buildings...
...only to dissolve again. Without warning, the island in the middle of a
lake in the middle of Ukraine vanished to be replaced by 'Mione's dorm
room again.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't let you do that."
Dead wizard, dirty school-witch and angel Alice all turned to face the
owner of that voice.
"Lucifer?" Harry asked.
"Yay!"
Gabby shot off 'Mione's bed and tackled the fallen angel. Or rather, she
tried to. The little angel ended up falling right through her white haired
purple eyed big sister.
THUMP
"Ow..."
Gabby struggled to get back up after hitting the wall head first.
"I'm sorry Little Angel, but I am not here to play." Lucifer said apologetically.
"I am here only to say that your friend may not know that which you tried to
reveal to her."
Hermione wanted to say something... to ask something, anything... but
she was struck speechless. Lucifer stood before her. Morning Star. How
many times was Harry going to do this to her?
Lucifer looked at Hermione looking at her. She drew one hand up and
pointed her index finger at the British witch and then motioned for
Hermione to drop to the floor. The young witch collapsed on the spot.
Out cold.
"Lucifer!" Harry shouted before jumping over to his girlfriend and pulling
her onto the bed. "What the hell did you do that for!"
Gabby's demand to be taught how to do that went unanswered.
"Please forgive me, Lord Potter," Lucifer replied, "but there are things that
mortal kind is not meant to know. The mausoleum of my sisters is Sacred to
us. My sisters' daughters and their daughters' daughters unto the last
generation may know of it. Those who share a blood bond with an angel may
know of it. No other. My Lord commands it to be so. It is Sacred to Him."
That brought the young wizard and Lord of Angels up short. "I'm sorry,
Lucifer. I didn't know."
"Do not worry, Harry." The ancient angel copy replied. "Allow me to offer
this small consolation..."
Lucifer bowed slightly and waved her hand at the wall behind Harry.
-Knock- -Knock-
Harry and Gabby both looked back at the noise. It seemed that someone
was knocking at their door.
"Who is it?" Gabby called, not quite yelling.
"Hello?" A soft voice answered from the other side of the door.
"Luna!" Gabby shouted and charged the door.
Two new visitors in one night! Gabby thought. Wow!
She opened the door and welcomed her other English big sister into
'Mione's dream dorm.
"Lady Venus." Luna greeted the angel copy with a smile.
"Miss Lovegood." Lucifer nodded to Luna. "And now I must be going."
"So soon?" Gabby called, disappointment plain in her voice.
"As I said before Little Angel, I am not here to play."
"Do you mind if I ask how you are here?" Harry asked. "And how you
were able to kick Gabby's mother and Grandmother out of a pensieve
memory of the Hall of Angels?"
Lucifer looked between Harry and Gabby.
"The human mind is susceptible to many powers. One can speak to
another in their dreams or one can review their own memories or the
memories of another… and that is just the beginning of what is possible.
The Hall of Angels was created with such powers as it's brick and
mortar." Lucifer spared a brief glance at Luna. "That is all I can say unless
Luna wishes to join her sister for a brief nap."
"Thank you, but no." Luna demurred.
Lucifer pointed her hand once more at Hermione and the girl began to
stir. "And now, I must take my leave."
The magical image of a fallen angel faded from view just as Hermione's
eyes were opening again.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"Congratulations, sister dear." Luna replied. "You were smote, then you
were un-smote. How does it feel to be smote by Lucifer?"
"Luna?" Hermione was fully alert now. "How did you get in my dream?
"Why, magic, of course." The dirty blonde replied.
Harry snorted, Gabby giggled and Hermione huffed.
"I think I am beginning to get a feel for being an angel." Luna called
airily.
"You are not an angel." Hermione corrected her sister. Being smote left
her cranky. "I'm quite sure I can tell the difference between a witch and
an angel now, thank you very much."
Luna stared down at her sister. Quite an accomplishment for the shorter
girl. "I am delivering a message and I have accepted Harry Potter as my
personal Lord and Savior. I think that qualifies."
"It does not." Hermione huffed.
"Ladies, please." Harry raised his hands in a placating gesture.
He wriggled his nose and both witches received a pair of wings and a
halo, non-magical costume style.
"Now you are both angels." Harry said firmly.
"I wanna be an angel!" Gabby shouted, hand in the air as she bounced in
place.
Before Hermione could say that she was, in fact, an Angel, Harry
wriggled two more wing and halo sets; one for Gabby and one for
himself.
"There. We're all angels now." Harry's words caused Gabby to laugh and
Hermione to roll her eyes while fighting off a smile.
"Shall I deliver my message, oh Lord?" Luna asked theatrically, falling to
her knees before Harry.
Considering how she usually acted, Harry couldn't tell if she was playing
a game or not. Hoping it was the former, he chose to respond in kind.
"Verily! I command you to speak, Angel Luna." Harry called imperiously
with one index finger raised into the air for dramatic effect.
With her palms and forehead pressed firmly against the floor tiles, Luna
spoke. "Oh wise and powerful Lord of Angels, I bring news of your former
foil. He seeks your ear in a matter of great import and no small urgency."
"Come again?" How many different ways could that girl throw him for a
loop?
Luna sat upright again, a hand on her hip and an exasperated look on her
face. "Really Harry. I thought you had managed to drive off your
wrackspurts. They're not supposed to be attracted to the deceased... well I
don't think they are. Perhaps Daddy's research was mistaken."
The young Ravenclaw shook herself sober and tried again. "Malfoy wants
to talk to you. Soon. Says it's urgent."
"Oh," Harry replied. "Thank you."
And with that, 'angel' Luna got up and made for the door.
"Where are you going?" Gabby asked in dismay. "You just got here!"
Luna turned back around, her dreamy eyes back in place already. "I'm
sorry, but Mummy is teaching me and Daddy the Patronus Charm this
week. I don't want to miss a single lesson."
"Well, okay..." Gabby had to admit that was a good reason. "Come back
soon!"
Luna nodded and waved happily from the door before stepping out. She
kept the wings and halo.
"Do you think she can?" Harry turned at Hermione's question. "Come
back, that is."
"I... I suppose it's possible. I don't know if that was a present from Lucifer
or if that was really Luna's doing." He answered.
Hermione idly nudged one shoe off to scratch an itch through her silky
white stocking. Harry found his attention firmly captured.
"I guess we'll just... have... to... er, ask... I suppose."
Someone noticed.
"Ewwwwwwwww..." Gabby mock hurled. "If you two are going to be all
kissy-face then I want to go flying."
Harry's face turned red. Hermione noticed what she was doing, and how
Harry was watching her do it, and turned red. Gabby sprouted real wings
and jumped out the window.
"Er..." Harry started. Yes, very smooth. "I'll just go close the window, shall
I?"
Hermione looked between Harry and the window a few times while
scratching the back of her neck. And blushing deeper.
"Give us a warning when she tires out and comes back?" She asked
timidly.
"Absolutely." Harry said with conviction.
He edged closer to 'angel' Hermione in her custom Gryffindor uniform.
He'd will Gabby to stay away if he had to. No hesitation at all. And
Malfoy could wait a few hours at least. It was night in France, so it was
night in England too. The ponce was probably sleeping right now and
Harry wanted no part of the Slytherin prince's dreams. Not when he was
in this one with his 'Mione... and not when she was looking like she did
right now.
-o\0/o-
Draco was just about to sink his teeth into a juicy cut of roast beef when
he noticed someone sitting down next to him. Someone transparent.
"Can I help you?" He asked the ghost.
She stopped looking longingly at the meat on his plate long enough to
answer his question. "You wanted to talk to someone, didn't you?"
He looked her over, noticing the way she didn't sit properly in her seat. It
was as if she were only playing at sitting down. He felt a particularly cold
spot form on his thigh and shivered. That better be an accident and not
the coy specter's way of flirting with him.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
Draco dismissed the dead muggleborn and took his well deserved bite of
roast beef. Maybe if he made a show of enjoying his meal then he could
increase the ghost's suffering a little.
Myrtle narrowed her eyes. Draco took it for a point in his favor.
"Of course not, you twit. You asked for-"
She stopped abruptly and looked around. There were other Slytherins at
the table but they were not too close… and Snape was nowhere to be
seen. The next bit came out in a whisper.
"You asked for Potter."
Draco stopped chewing. So his message was received after all.
"I did." He answered. "What of it?"
Draco bit back a curse when his right cheek became unbearably cold.
"He's here." She whispered into his ear. "Follow me."
Myrtle floated through a section of wall not too far down, heading in the
general direction of the nearest stair. After finishing off the best morsels
remaining on his plate, Draco rose and left the Great Hall. Luckily, no
one interrupted him.
His suspicions were proven correct when he spotted Myrtle waiting at the
foot of the stairs. Upon seeing him, she turned and flew straight through
the ceiling above. Draco followed as best he could.
The trail ended when Myrtle entered a bathroom on the second floor. It
was the very room Myrtle is supposed to have died in if Draco
remembered the stories correctly. How macabre. He opened the door.
"… and you bloody well know that the great greasy git comes down to
breakfast every morning just to see if Gryffindor managed to get any
points at all the day before only to take them all away again. All of them!
He doesn't even bother with an excuse anymore! And it's like he lives to
throw me in detention… any Gryffindor really… and the snakes have
more points than they've ever had before! Ever!"
Even if he didn't recognize the voice, Draco would be able to tell a
Weasley rant apart from the rest by subject matter alone. Damn. He had
to go in there. Draco straightened his back, buffed his prefect's badge
with a quick charm and stepped into the bathroom, confident smirk in
place.
"If I had known I was coming to a party, I would have brought Daphne
along." Draco said as he took in the room.
There was Harry, as promised, surrounded by redheads, holding court
and listening to the common man's grievances. The youngest brother had
just stopped spouting off, his hate finding a new target in Draco. Just off
to one side, the Weasley twins were ignoring their brother and anyone
else in favor of a piece of parchment. Funny; he never took them for the
studious type before. The Weasley sister was leaning against a sink and
talking to Myrtle… or she was until Draco came in. Now she just stared
at him with an unreadable expression.
Pretty good for a Weasley, really. The only reason to believe she hated
him outright was the red and gold of her tie and the red of her hair.
"Sod off, Malfoy." Ron. How predictable.
"Now now, Weasley…" Draco drawled, "I was invited same as you."
Ron looked about ready to make Draco sod off when a hand came down
on the read head's shoulder. A transparent blue one.
"He's not having you on, mate." Harry told Ron. "We've got business."
Ron's face went as red as his hair.
Harry continued. "Look. I'll see if there's anything I can do... but I'm not
sure what I can do anymore. Snape's got control of the castle wards and I
don't want him getting ideas on how to use them."
"Fine." Ron continued. "I'll just leave you to lovebirds to it then. See you
after?"
"Of course. It's been ages since I've been up to the dorms." Harry replied.
Ron nodded to no one in particular and walked out.
"I'm with Ronnikins, Harry..."
"whatever you two end up doing..."
"...we don't want to know about."
Fred and George both bowed before following their brother out.
"You know they're going to listen in anyway, don't you?" Ginny called
from by the sinks.
"I know some good privacy wards." Draco responded.
"They won't do you any good. Not when those two berks are listening in."
Ginny came up to Harry. "Give us a kiss?"
Ginny offered her cheek and Harry promptly kissed it. As he withdrew,
she held her hand up to where his spectral lips touched skin.
"Cold." She said quietly.
"Give me some time, Gin." Harry replied. "They say that good things
come to those who wait."
"Do they?" She asked while making her way to the door. "I hope they're
right."
The room was down to two ghosts and a wizard, and Myrtle didn't look
anywhere near ready to leave. She was playing with her hair in front of
one of the mirrors.
"She won't say anything." Harry told Draco.
The blonde nodded his acceptance and cast his spells.
"I've had a most unusual request from Headmaster Snape. He asked me to
arrange for the Muggleborns and Half-bloods attending Magical
Traditions tomorrow evening to be sent into the gardens. Without a
professor to look over them."
The two were staring at each other, both looking for some sign of...
anything, really.
"He suggested that something would happen. Something potentially bad
for anyone in the gardens."
This, Harry had no trouble believing.
"And you're telling me this because..." He lead.
"Because I want to be on the winning side." Malfoy stated firmly. "I can
help you. Here's your chance to be the hero once again. Huzzah to the
Boy-Who-Lived and all that."
If this were 'Mione or Ron or some random Hufflepuff, that would have
been enough for Harry. This was different. This was Draco Malfoy.
"And what makes you think I'm on the winning side?" Harry asked.
"Oh, let's see…" Draco pretended to think about it. "Your side has
hundreds of international aurors, loads of public support, you and your
little angel friend can burn whole villages to ash in minutes. The Dark
Lord has his loyal followers- those few that survived Christmas Break
anyway- and possibly some dark creatures."
"So you're not doing this out of the goodness of your own heart then?"
Draco snorted. "Surely you never believed that?"
"Not really." Harry shook his head. "I just don't understand you, Malfoy.
You were an absolute git when I was alive and even for a bit after I died.
I half expected you to start yelling about how I should fear for my
friends' safety now that Dumbledore is dead."
The young lord paused for a moment before answering.
"I came face to face with the Dark Lord this summer. He wasn't what I
was told he would be. My father..." Draco stopped and considered his
words for a moment. "A Malfoy bows to no one, Potter. Not to any
Queen, not to Dumbledore and not to any Dark Lord. Father forgot this
fact and paid for it with his life."
"And you don't..."
It seemed to Draco that Harry may have been catching on even if his
mouth was faster than his brain.
"I believed him once, yes. Now? I want my mother to be safe from the
inhuman beast that calls himself a wizard. Your little angel didn't hurt
Mother, he did."
"Why me? Why not the I.C.W.?" Harry didn't want to ask the next one,
but he'd been wrong before. "Snape?"
"You really believe Snape is on your side?" Draco shook his head
disbelievingly. "What happened to you, Potter? Some of those creatures
Lovegood is always going on about get to you or something? If I tell
someone from the I.C.W. or if I spread a rumor around the school then
Snape will deny everything. He'll know I'm to blame for it, he'll cover his
tracks and then he'll come for me. He can't find out… my godfather is
loyal to the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord's reach is greater than you
know. If it looks like I said anything then my mother's life is forfeit and
mine as well."
Harry paced back and forth high above the floor stones. After a few
moments, Harry stopped and turned to the blonde wizard. "I can't stay
overnight, but I will be back tomorrow."
The ghost nodded to Draco and left. The Slytherin wizard shivered as he
stood there and tried to make sense of it all.
"If this is some trap," A soft whisper came from Draco's right, "you'll never
leave my bathroom. Never."
The young Slytherin turned to see a very serious looking Myrtle staring
daggers at him. After a tense minute or two of ghostly intimidation,
Myrtle slowly backed off and disappeared into one of the bathroom stalls.
Draco wondered if Zabini still had any firewhiskey left in his trunk.
-o\0/o-
"Alain." Harry called to the man who was as close to a father as he'd had
for a good long while.
The man in question closed the door behind him. They were in his office
in Paris, yet he was very high key, not at all his usual self. He didn't
bother to sit down.
"I hope this is important, Harry." Alain ran a hand down his front to
straighten out his tie and tie bar. "I am right in the middle of some
important negotiations and this meeting can't be postponed."
Harry nodded and got right to it. "Malfoy told me there is going to be an
attack on the muggleborns and half-bloods in Hogwarts tomorrow evening
during a club meeting. Outside."
Alain stood still as a statue for a moment before silently cursing to
himself. "How reliable is this information?"
"Draco got it straight from Snape's mouth." Harry countered.
"And you believe this boy?"
"He made a fair argument." Harry replied. "Either he's telling the truth or
there is some sort of trap for me in the castle."
"I'm inclined to believe there is a threat." Alain answered. "Thank you Harry.
You may have brought me the very information we've been waiting for. You
should go home and take a well earned rest. If it is a trap for you, I don't want
you getting caught in it."
Harry looked off to the side. He couldn't look Alain in the eyes while
saying the next bit.
"I errrrrr… I plan on going back tomorrow, Alain."
"Harry. Please be reasonable-"
But Harry had his mind made up. "This isn't Azkaban. Hogwarts is full of
people I care about. I can't stay out of it this time."
"And what of Gabrielle?" Alain shot back.
"I'll…" Harry lost his fire for a moment. He didn't want to put his Angel at
risk. Not if there was any other way. "I'll be going alone."
Alain nodded. Harry left.
-o\0/o-
Hogwarts always was a highly magical structure. Some would even say
alive. This morning, it was nervous. The whole place.
The 'guests' from across the Channel were being particularly active right
from the start too.
All through breakfast, students from the tower dormitories would
approach the Main Stair only to find that aurors had sealed it into one
configuration that allowed passage from the third to first floors with the
fewest steps possible. As magic was involved, that number of steps
happened to be four.
Any students who cared to look outside before heading off to breakfast
would also witness a steady stream of broom riders zipping between the
main entry doors, down the path and out the front gates. That was where
apparation and portkey wards fell off and the snow picked up again. If
the student had particularly keen vision, they might notice several small
groups of broomriders methodically crossing and re-crossing every square
meter of the valley.
Those lucky few Hogwarts students who did notice thought it an oddity
to be sure, but as there were fewer fit, attractive twenty-somethings
strolling the castle halls themselves, the local teen populace was more
disappointed than curious. The aurors almost never spoke directly to any
students, so it was pointless to ask what all the movement was about.
Disappointed yes, but still nervous and not even the lions were brave
enough to chat up an auror to find out what all the fuss was about.
This was the atmosphere Harry entered when he returned to the castle
that morning. He spoke briefly to Myrtle. He went up to Gryffindor
Tower and chatted up his former teammates... mostly stories about what
Krum's like when he's not trying to intimidate his opposition. He's funny?
Really? And how would you know he's a good dancer? Ask Luna? Really?
After a few more minutes of joking around, Harry took his leave to flit
about as ghosts are want to do and the others went down in force to
assault the eggs and bacon. He saw Susan and Cedric. He waved to Cho
and winked at Luna, who was with Cho at the time and looked quite
happy to be with the Ravenclaw Head Girl. Looks like Gabriel was right
about that one... not that Harry ever expected her to be wrong.
And while Harry was looking for certain people, both living and not, to
talk to, certain people, both living and not, were looking for him. In fact,
he picked up a stalker. A spectral stalker with a rather heavy bloodstain
covering the front of his robes.
It was during lunch that things truly came to a head.
Harry had found his way to the top of the astronomy tower. Known
mostly for it's night owl classes and passionate evening encounters, the
tower saw much less use during the day. A combination of active patrols
and sunlight tended to hamper both of the tower's primary activities.
Still, it could be a quiet getaway for someone good at sneaking about
who wanted the best view of Hogwarts Valley available.
Harry was Floating dead center of one of the open glassless windows, the
very same window Cho fell out of in fact, when his body suddenly seized
up.
"I've got you now you rotten little bastard..." Headmaster Snape growled
out from behind the ghost.
Shite! Harry wanted to move, wanted to say something but all he could
do was continue to look down into the school grounds and the forest
beyond.
"How does it feel, Potter?" Snape's voice came from so very close. Harry's
anger grew exponentially as did his shame at being trapped so easily.
"What? Nothing to say?"
The amusement in Snape's voice fell away to be replaced by pure
loathing.
"You worthless brat. I'll see you suffer untold miseries for what you've
done to me..."
Harry heard Snape take a few steps as if pacing.
"The charm I have you under will last a day or two for most spirits.
Pathetic as you are, I'm sure that you might somehow cheat your way out
of it. That won't do. I shall find something more permanent sooner rather
than later..."
At this point, Harry could almost make the greasy bastard's smug face out
in the corner of his vision. He had come around to get a look, one more
time, at his prey.
"You see, Potter," and never had Snape said the name with quite so much
bile. Not even when James was alive, "There are ways of trapping spirits
like you into inanimate objects. Ghostly prisons, if you will. It's quite
easy, actually, and you can do it to anything."
Snape slipped over to Harry's other side.
"How would you like to spend the rest of your existence as a chamber pot
in Knockturn Alley? Hmm? Or perhaps a dried dung pile sitting in a
forgotten corner of the castle dungeons... in a room sealed off from any
visitors... or light... or noise... or anything... forever?"
Harry really didn't like those options. In fact, gutting Severus Snape with
his bare hands seemed like a much better option right then. Maybe Harry
would get the chance to do it before he was consigned to eternity as a
pile of dried dung.
He briefly thought of summoning Gabrielle to his side, but then he really
didn't want to risk bringing her in just yet. Why summon her all the way
from her school in France just to get him unstuck from this window?
Harry wasn't sure how Gabby would be able to do- or rather undo magic
she hasn't studied yet, either. She hasn't been shown Finite Incantatem
yet. She'd likely have to go get a trustworthy adult's help. Harry resolved
himself to sit tight and work out his escape plan thoroughly.
"I shall leave you here for a short while. Enjoy the last few moments you
have remaining with sight and sound available to you."
Harry could hear Snape turn and head for the stair.
"Oh, and let's take… one hundred points from Gryffindor."
As the Headmaster's footsteps faded below him, Harry seethed. He'd get
out of this. He'd do it without Gabby's help if at all possible, but by
Jeanne he was getting out of this.
…
Many, many kilometers to the south in Professor Royal's classroom at
Joliebatons Academie, a little angel was bawling her eyes out. Nothing
her teacher or her friends could do helped Gabby as she shuddered under
the emotional assault through her bond with Harry. She couldn't go to
her Lord and she couldn't stop crying… and she couldn't say why.
Professor began to note that Gabby's eyes were glowing faintly just about
the same time that the girl began to cry. She asked if Gabby was hurt or
needed a healer. Gabby sobbed 'no'. After ten straight minutes of
uncontrollable crying, Gabby was sent to the school healer's office
anyway. Ten minutes later, her mother came to take her home.
-o\0/o-
"Hullo Justin. Colin." A dreamy voice called from behind the two boys.
"Hullo- errr, Luna?" The younger Creevey squeaked out, his voice
breaking just a bit at her name.
She smiled and nodded. "It's good to see someone who knows how to
keep the wrackspurts at bay in the house of lions."
Luna soon noticed that the Creevey brothers were not the only students
who had suddenly joined her in the first floor hallway she was traversing.
There were quite a few of them actually, and everyone was in their best
robes. A few of the witches in the group were even wearing some rather
elegant gowns.
"Surely you haven't all come to help me flush out a Blibbering
Humdinger, have you?" Luna asked Justin hopefuly. "I'm close tonight…
a few extra pairs of eyes would really help."
"I'm sorry, Luna." Colin answered. "But we're all going out to the gardens
to practice our etiquette and social skills and the like."
"You could…" Luna turned to Justin, who was working up a deep flush
talking to her. "Y-you could come with us. I mean… It would be an honor
if you would accompany me on a stroll through the gardens tonight, Miss
Lovegood."
Luna's smile widened a little. Apparently someone had figured out she was
a girl. Pity he was too young to help her fulfill her oath to Sirius. Alas…
"I'm afraid I must decline your generous offer Mister Creevey. I have a
prior engagement to attend to." She dipped into a light curtsey.
"Blibbering Humdingers don't catch themselves you know."
"Twenty points for spouting off worthless drivel, Miss Lovegood." The
harsh voice of Headmaster Snape interrupted. "And ten from Gryffindor
for listening to her, Mister Creevey."
All gossip and light banter around them stopped immediately. Luna
stared at the floor, unable to meet the man's eyes.
The dirty blonde Ravenclaw flew from his presence, but Snape no longer
paid any attention to her. "Lord Malfoy… please escort your charges
outside. I shall supervise the dueling section tonight."
What Snape failed to mention aloud was that he had already bullied or
Confunded any international auror who was likely to give him grief over
it. The guard wouldn't be changed anytime soon, and hopefully there
would be too much going on for them to worry about a small group of
schoolchildren later on.
"Of course, Headmaster." Draco replied, though Luna was already too far
away to hear.
-o\0/o-
"How goes the lesson?" Headmaster Snape asked over the soft tones of a
magical string quartet.
Young Lord Malfoy and the Greengrass heiress took a small step apart
instinctively. In truth, they had not been acting improperly. Perhaps this
was a case of their thoughts betraying them? Tut. Tut.
"The students are progressing well, Headmaster." Draco responded. "I'm
quite surprised by Mr. Finch-Fletchley. Though muggleborn, he does have
an aristocratic background. Apart from his religious convictions, he
would pass for a pureblood at most any function."
Daphne nodded in support. "Indeed. Miss Vane seems quite taken with
him this evening regardless of his blood status."
Snape nodded, not that he meant any support for Mr. Flinch-Fletchley's
social skills. "Miss Vane will learn to stick with her own kind soon
enough."
The Headmaster looked into the darkness. Just beyond Black Lake's
opposite bank, a couple of soft flashes could be seen flickering between
banks of low lying fog. Some might mistake them for lightning or the
work of forest creatures, but Snape knew otherwise. The castle's
outermost auror patrols have encountered Voldemort's gift to Hogwarts.
Those flashes of light were most likely patronus charms.
"Lord Malfoy. Miss Greengrass. Round up the chaperones and escort them
inside."
Draco looked nervous. Daphne looked confused.
"Now." He all but growled before switching targets. "Miss White! Miss
White, come here."
As the two moved off to collect the other pureblood chaperones, a half-
blood prefect approached as requested.
"The student chaperones and I shall be discussing things inside. I trust
you can maintain order while we are away?"
"Yes sir." The young witch nodded eagerly, happy for a chance to impress
her Headmaster.
"Very well."
Snape turned and entered the nearest door. As soon as Draco and his
assistants were through, Snape shut it and followed the motion with
several locking charms.
"Sir?" Daphne asked uncertainly.
"To your common rooms." Severus answered. "All of you."
They were all confused by the order but none of them were foolish
enough to cross Snape now... especially not Vane, the only Gryffindor in
the group.
On his way to the main Magical Traditions meeting room, Severus took a
moment to look out a window towards the astronomy tower.
There was a soft blue light glowing through all the upper windows.
Snape frowned. It moved. Snape began to gnash his teeth in anger. The
light was ring shaped.
A halo.
Severus bit back a curse that would have sent the nearest portraits
running in shock. Harry's precious angel had come back to Hogwarts and
the Headmaster was livid.
But wait. The light didn't mean that she was free, per se, or even that
Harry had escaped his bonds. Severus bit back the urge to look again. If
he didn't directly observe it then it may not have happened yet.
After checking to ensure that he was alone, he pulled out his time turner
and gave it a spin.
-o\0/o-
Luna knew it was time for dinner. Past time, in fact, but she was
determined to spot a creature or three tonight. The wrackspurts were
very active as were several swarms of nargles. Perhaps if she were careful
enough, she may spy a Blibbering Humdinger after all.
Luna adjusted her spectrespecs and followed the trail of wrackspurts from
corridor to corridor, winding her way ever higher floor by floor. Things
were looking up; these were elevations she believed such a rare creature
might prefer. After all, were Humdingers to stick mainly to the ground
floor of buildings then surely they'd be much easier to pin down.
...
Harry was pulled out of his internal ranting much earlier than expected
when Severus came storming back into the observatory atop the
astronomy tower.
"You worthless little shit! Do you really think you can get out of this?"
The man was back and just as ghastly as before. "I'll have my hands
around that feathery little bitch's throat the moment she shows up,
Potter! I'll snap her rotten neck and toss her out the window so you can
watch her pathetic body fall to the ground!"
Harry may have been angry before, but he was furious that anyone
would want to do harm to any little girl- and to say such things about his
Gabby? A fire burned behind his eyes.
Snape spent a few more minutes mindlessly ranting before he went quiet.
It wouldn't be too long before things began to happen. He was early, but
that just meant he had a few more minutes to plan out his attack for
when Potter finally made his move.
...
Up there. It had to be. Luna was amazed that the wrackspurt swarms
were so heavy so far away from the other students. Clearly higher forces
were at work. Luna followed the trail of wrackspurts to the very heights
of the astronomy tower.
Perhaps if the trail went cold here, she could return to the Great Hall and
get a bit of stew before the elves stopped serving dinner. All this
searching was taking a lot out of her.
...
Footsteps. Bloody hell, who could it be? Harry hadn't told anyone to
expect him here and there was a deranged dark wizard lying in wait for
whoever showed their face. All he knew was that it wasn't his Angel.
Harry surely would have known had she done something like this on her
own.
"Harry, what are you doing up here?"
Bugger. It was Luna. Harry had no way of warning her off.
"Have you seen a Blibbering Humdinger up here today, Harry?" She
drifted closer to the ghost in a way that few living could ever match.
"Harry? Kneazle got your tongue?"
"No Miss Lovegood." A voice came from behind her. "I took it."
There was a slight pause.
"Good evening, Headmaster." Luna offered, her voice slightly higher than
it was a moment before.
"Is it? I wonder." Came the man's answer. "Tell me, Miss Lovegood. What
business does a Fourth Year Ravenclaw have at the top of the astronomy
tower at this time of night on a Wednesday?"
"I- I was looking for a Blibbering Humdinger, Sir."
"Still claiming to search for your pathetic imaginary friends are you?"
Clearly he did not believe her. "I could just look into your mind... but
then where is the fun in that?"
"I don't unders-"
"Crucio!" Snape roared.
Luna fell to the ground shrieking in pain.
"I want to hear a better answer, Miss Lovegood. Why have you come up
here? How did Potter contact you?"
"A-a-a -hic- h-he d-idn't-"
"Crucio!" The furious man roared again and this time he fought to hold
the curse while also holding onto his own forehead.
Luna's scream was cut short when Snape found himself unable to
continue the curse due to his own pains.
"How in Merlin's name are you doing it?"
He jabbed his wand at the quivering mass of witch on the floor. She had
no answer and so he turned his wand at Harry.
"Is it you?" Snape shouted at the frozen ghost, still holding his head in his
left hand.
Snape's single minded hatred was in rare form today. Even now, every
dementor in all of the British Isles was coasting silently over the
Forbidden Forest, and yet he cared nothing for them. The I.C.W. aurors
patrolling the forests and lake meant nothing to him. The lower born
students who would soon be playing at being civilized out in the gardens
meant less than nothing. Only hurting Potter and anyone Potter cared for
meant anything to him.
"Let me show you the cost of these transgressions."
Snape turned his wand on Luna one more time.
"Avada-" God, no! "Kedavra!"
Harry saw green light reflect off the stones to either side of his frozen
perch even if he couldn't see the curse itself. Deep inside, he cried out at
his inability to find some way out of this sooner. Luna was far too good a
person to die for him.
Even as the curse left his wand, Severus Snape had a horrible realization
pass through his burning mind. He was about to kill Luna Lovegood. This
wasn't a problem for him morality wise so much as it was a problem of
logic. Didn't he see Luna alive? Earlier, or rather later, before this
evening's trip through time? Just as the lower form of Magical Traditions
students was leaving for their trip outside?
He did.
She was terribly frightened of him and she got away as quickly as she
could. He could have Crucio'd her and still gotten that reaction if he
treated her physical symptoms and Obliviated the rest. But then he had
to let go to his inner demons and give her the Killing Curse. Death was
stalking a girl that clearly couldn't die.
Bloody-
The curse hit it's target. As the very leading edge of green death magic
made contact with Luna's skin, a horrible thing happened. Time itself
reacted to Severus Snape's foolishness. At that precise point in space,
time shifted and turned. The Killing Curse itself unraveled and a flaw in
Existence reached out to connect with the man on the other side of that
curse.
There was no time to react, not as people measure it. For one
infinitesimal moment Luna was about to die and immediately afterwards
Severus did die. His wand hit the floor and his corpse followed half a
second afterwards.
Harry Potter disappeared.
-o\0/o-
A wordless cry rocked the room. Severus Snape shot off the floor and
looked around.
He was standing at the base of an aisle nestled between row upon row of
raised stone benches, all focused on a dais nearby. On that dais sat a
majestic and intimidating stone arch filled by a thin veil. The veil itself
seemed to be shifting about slightly due to some small breeze from
within. There was also... whispering?
"Pretty, isn't it?" A voice called out from behind him. A very despised
voice.
Potter! What are yo- But Snape's voice failed to respond to his command
to speak. He tried to spin to face his hated enemy only to find that his
body was similarly frozen in place.
"Ah, sweet revenge…" Harry mused aloud. "It seems to me that we have
switched places, Snape."
The boy got up and walked past his former professor to stand next to the
arch. He seemed content to listen to the whispers for a moment.
"Do you have any idea what this is?" Harry kept his eyes on the delicate
seeming stone work. "Any idea how it was made?"
For the first time, Harry looked his former tormentor face to face.
"I do." Harry pointed a finger at the arch as he continued. "This is what
happens when dark greedy bastards mess with a good thing. Oddly fitting
that we should find ourselves here, don't you think?"
Once again, Snape was silent. Harry didn't really want to hear what the
man had to say. After spending the last few hours of his existence frozen
in front of this man, turn about seemed fair play.
"I could spend forever telling you about all the things you did wrong in
your life, but I won't. Unlike you, I don't take pleasure in verbally tearing
down those who have offended me." Harry stepped back far enough to
see both the arch and Snape at the same time. "But what I will say
instead is that whatever you get from here on in, you bloody well earned
it."
Just as Harry's voice dropped off, the veil under the arch began to
tremble with repressed energy. The whispers became more urgent.
Suddenly, the fabric of the veil shot out to surround Severus and pull him
through.
Harry fought to keep from falling to the floor, he fought to stave off the
dry heaves. It helped that he hadn't actually eaten anything in nearly a
year. Even knowing what Snape was guilty of, actually watching that
happen to anyone was deeply disturbing. Harry resolved to find out
where on Earth this artifact was and make sure that no mortal man had
any access to this room for any reason. The sooner the better.
Shortly after Harry left, a door into the room was forced open by
mysterious grey cloaked wizards with wands raised high. They would
find nothing. No dead child saviors, no damned prisoners, and no other
physical or magical evidence that anything happened at all.
They would leave the Death Chamber in confusion, no closer to
understanding the Veil than before. The biggest mystery held by the
British Ministry of Magic would remain a mystery.
-o\0/o-
As soon as Harry returned to the astronomy tower, he moved closer to
the girl who's torture and near murder set him free in the first place.
"Luna?" He whispered, pulling as close to her face as he could get.
She showed no signs of awareness though she did show signs of life. She
was twitching in shock but at least she was breathing. There was a heavy
sheen of sweat on her forehead and her eyes were half open. The whites
of her eyes... one of them wasn't white anymore. It was blood red. Some
capillaries must have burst due to the horrific spasms she suffered under
Snape's torture curse.
"I'm sorry Luna. Really I am." Harry said while pulling some damp bangs
behind the girl's ear. "I should have stopped him sooner."
Harry wiped away a ghostly tear before straightening and calling out for
help. "Dobby!"
-o\0/o-
Draco watched his group gather in the hall. The witches were coming
back down from their dorms in twos and threes in their formal robes
even though all of the wizards have been ready for some time. According
to the chatter around him, this is one thing that the wizarding world has
in common with the muggle one.
Even so, Draco was too nervous to build up an internal rant against there
being any similarities between the two worlds. There would be an attack
soon. He knew it. He knew it and he wanted out... but he couldn't escape
Snape's control. Not yet.
He was only down by one student, a Ravenclaw Prefect, when someone
unexpected burst into the hall. An older prefect slid to a stop in the
middle of the stunned crowd and tried to catch his breath.
"Thomas? Will your girlfriend be making an appearance or not?" Draco
asked of the wizard.
He shook his head in the negative and replied. "Haven't you heard?
Snape's dead!"
There were several gasps in the crowd as teens became more interested in
the news than their group date.
"What?" Draco managed.
"Dead!" Mr. Thomas repeated. "Lovegood is in the Hospital Wing. Snape
attacked her... nearly killed her it's said... and Harry Potter carried her
down from the astronomy tower!"
Draco stood and thought for a moment. The din of excited gossiping
students threatened to overwhelm him, but he did his best to ignore it
all. Snape was dead.
Draco shot a firework charm high into the air above everyone, restoring
order in a heartbeat.
"This meeting is canceled! Return to your rooms!" Draco shouted.
Draco darted away to look for answers as noisy chaos returned with a
vengeance.
-o\0/o-
Apolline kissed her Little Angel's forehead.
The girl only managed to fall asleep ten minutes ago after several hours
of crying jags. She refused to even say why she was so upset. Momma was
at her wit's end until just recently when the crying ended almost as
quickly as it began.
Apolline laid down to rest beside her daughter. As she curled around
Gabby, her black silk nightgown swirled over the little girl's light blue
school robes. The poor dear was too distraught earlier to do anything
more than kick off her shoes before falling into bed.
Apolline fell asleep almost as quickly as the nine year old did.
Fifteen minutes later, Gabby's eyes opened.
"I'm sorry Momma, but I have to go now." She whispered.
Little hands slipped out of her dozing mother's grip. Gabby carefully left
her mother on the bed and dropped to the floor to begin putting her
shoes back on. Gabby was very thankful that Momma and Poppa let her
keep her wand with her all the time now. It was a security precaution,
they said. It meant she wouldn't have to get into a warded jewelry box,
was all she cared about.
Gabby tenderly kissed Momma on the forehead and snuck out of the
bedroom. Poppa wasn't home, as usual, and she had little trouble making
it to the other end of the house.
Back in Little Angel's bedroom, her mother's eyes opened. "Gabrielle?"
No reply. Down two flights of stairs, Gabby was getting to her knees to
recite a small prayer.
"Zoé." Apolline called as she rubbed away the sleep.
-POP-
"Yes, Madame Delacour?"
"Where is Gabrielle?"
The little elf turned her head as if to check something before looking
back at the lady of the house.
"She is in the lower study, Mistress."
Two floors down, Gabrielle was nearly done.
"... through you I know eternal love."
And with those words, Gabrielle threw her arms wide and spread her
wings.
Apolline grabbed her wand and ran for the nearest staircase, having
already leapt off the bed as soon as the telltale buzz of love and peace
filled her house. An unauthorized angelic transformation after sneaking
away from adult supervision could only have a handful of explanations
and they were all bad as far as Momma was concerned.
I'm coming, my Lord! Gabrielle trilled happily, for after horrible torment
Harry was finally calling her to his side. Really, she thought, he should
have done it much sooner and avoided all the pain they felt.
Two pure white wings met above the angel's head, sparking a glowing
light that quickly formed into a blue-white halo. The air began to hum
around her. She drew her wand.
Gabby was about to pull the halo down to replace her home with
Scotland when she stopped. Her Lord made a promise to a certain English
girlfriend not long after his last big adventure... something about
penciling her in for the next one.
Next stop, Beauxbatons! Toot tooooooot! Gabby chirped, hand on the
imaginary whistle chord.
Just as the Delacour Express was building steam, the lady of the house
flew through the hallway door and across the room, stopping with a knee
on either side of Gabrielle's patent leather shoes and a tight grip around
the angel's waist.
"Not without me, young lady!" Momma shouted into her Little Angel's ear.
Uh, ohhhhhhh.
Alas, it was too late. By the time Apolline had finished speaking,
Gabrielle's halo was halfway down and still dropping. Beauxbatons'
dining hall was eating up the space once filled by a cosy little office with
wall to wall bookshelves and plush red carpet.
Gabby's halo hit the ground and dispelled. Now instead of the low hiss
and pop of a warm fire, the air was filled with the gasps and whispering
of a study group. And in the middle of the study group was a wide eyed
Hermione Granger.
Little Angel locked eyes with the teen witch.
'Mione! Come on! Harry's doing his saving people thing and you said
you wanted to be there next time he did that and he's doing it now and
he called me and so you have to come now or you' are going to miss
your chance!
Hermione didn't move. She almost didn't breath. To be fair, none of the
other students near her were moving either. An angel just popped in with
a Veela wrapped around her waist. If that wasn't shocking enough, the
angel was wearing a school uniform and the Veela was wearing a curve
hugging silk number that dropped sharply at the collar and had little of
what one would call a bottom. And she was barefoot.
"Gabrielle!" Her mother hissed. "At least let me make myself a little more
presentable before I am to be paraded in front of anymore strangers!"
Sorry, Momma, but we have to hurry. Harry needs me.
Having no more patience for troublesome children, Apolline swirled her
wand downwards to lengthen her robe. She also made it less sheer. Two
nearby quills were then apropriated and transfigured into thin soled
shoes that Apolline could still run in if the need arose. As the dozen or so
students in front of Gabby and Apolline had yet to move, the Veela
matron stepped up and grabbed Hermione by the arm.
"You have your wand on you, I trust?" Apolline asked.
"Yes." Hermione blurted, finally pulling out of the shock that Gabby's
arrival created. "Yes! Let's go!"
As Apolline and Hermione both crowded around the little angel with
outstretched wings, several school officials could be seen rushing into the
room.
"I'm sorry Headmistress Maxime!" Hermione shouted across the dining hall.
"But I've been called away on family business. I'll come back as soon as I can!"
A halo snapped into existence above the angel, Veela and witch.
Hermione began shouting last minute advice to her study partners.
Something about inverse cotangents.
Gabrielle's halo fell again, and she took the last step to reuniting with her
Lord. She was excited. She would get to fight real demons this time!
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
Time travel is tricky stuff. Doubly so if you try to screw it up just right. So
many people spend chapter upon chapter desperately avoiding the deadly
trap of paradox that I just had to run into one headlong without having
the Earth explode as a result. I think it worked.
Revised: How come I didn't remember Percy and Penelopy would have
been out of Hogwarts yet? Doh! I replaced them with two generic
characters... not that their part in the drama was all that important to
begin with.
25. Seraphim
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
Note: There will be a few instances where I refer to Hogwarts Castle and
it's rooms and features. I use as my inspiration a floor by floor plan/map
of the castle available on the deviantart website that I tracked down in a
general image search. These plans may not be canon, but I think they
work fairly well.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-four: Seraphim
Four broomriders held together in close formation. Their small group
drifted slowly along with the winds, slowly floating over the forest
canopy just below. If they strayed too high, then they would lose even
that navigational aid. The clouds were low and heavy, and if it got any
darker then the group would have to start making their own light or risk
flying blind. A light dusting of snow came down and the temperature was
falling quickly.
"Sergeant?" A witch on the right called, her words thick with fear and
uncertainty.
Her sergeant was frowning. They all were. They were in harm's way and
they damn well knew it. Sitting on the border between Hogsmeade Valley
and unwarded muggle land, they were at the far edge of organized
patrols... and they were currently on the outermost leg of their patrol
route. The most vulnerable one.
The auror on the far left began to hold his head in his hands. "I... I think
we've found them, Sergeant..."
"Chocolate." It was an order.
The lead broomrider already had a bar in his hands, its foil wrapper
crinkled loudly in the near soundless environment. It was just as the
witch took her first bite of her chocolate rations that dark a form began
to emerge from the fog surrounding them. Then another. And another.
Dementors.
"Jesus!" The one on the far left shouted.
None of his squad mates sought to censure him as they were all thinking
the same thing. A giant swarm of evil bastards silently flew by on either
side of the I.C.W. patrol.
"Dixon. Du Bois. Climb out of the swarm and see if you can get a head
count on these fuckers to take back to HQ. Hicks and I will stay with
them."
Tucking his chocolate into a breast pocket, the Sergeant pointed his wand
upwards and began to cast the spell that would clear the path for Dixon
and Du Bois.
"Expecto Pat-"
But that's as far as the man got before his broom exploded.
"York!" The witch yelled as she watched her sergeant fall into the mists
below.
A dull red shaft of magical light shot up and between the three remaining
broomriders, almost hitting one of them.
"Ambush!" The almost-victim shouted just as they heard their sergeant's
body strike the forest floor.
All three kicked their brooms into motion and held their wands tight.
The dementor swarm shifted. They got closer. Sergeant York had their
only dementor repelling medallion and he was now twenty meters below
them on the forest floor.
"Bail!" One of them shouted, panicked.
All three rose up into the air like their lives depended on it. Truly, it was
more than just their lives at stake.
After thirty seconds of rapid ascent, the clouds thinned out and three
aurors could see each other again in the light of the moon. Due to the
desperate nature of their retreat, they did not all pop out of the cloud
cover at the same place; there was at least fifty meters between the witch
and her two remaining companions. The dark haze of dementor exposure
was beginning to fade as well.
"Dammit, Hicks!" The witch shouted, suddenly ashamed of leaving her
sergeant behind. "What about York?"
"Is that his name?" A deep voice growled behind her.
Rather than lose time turning around, she kicked downwards on her
broom. Dropping suddenly when most people dodge up would shake
him... hopefully. Even as she tugged hard on her broom's handle for the
tightest turn possible, flashes of colored light played off her features. Her
two teammates were exchanging spell fire with someone.
"How rude!" The voice from behind her called.
He was more distant this time but not by far, and a woman had joined
the chase if the accompanying giggle was any indicator. Having fallen
back into the fog she turned to a random heading and took off as quick as
she could manage. Icy winds bit into her skin and snowflakes caught in
her eyelashes.
"Which one are you then?" That voice called again. She flinched and cut
hard right. How in God's name was he following her through these
clouds? "Dixon, perhaps? I believe the Dixon family is an old pureblood
line from the American east coast. I do not recognize the name Du Bois as
being pureblooded. He is a mudblood, isn't he?"
Dixon, as he had guessed correctly, tried to activate her emergency
portkey. It didn't work. Time for desperate measures. She pointed her
wand to the rear, not even sparing the time to aim, and shot off a pair of
blind silent Reductor curses. He didn't reply with words. Oh, no.
Unfortunately for Auror Dixon, what he did do was grab the end of her
broom and yank it out from under her.
"None defy Lord Voldemort and live to speak of it!" He yelled as she free
fell through the mists.
She was too disoriented in free-fall to attempt apparation, doubly so as
happiness and logic both began to flee her. She was falling back into the
dementor swarm.
No.
Not that.
Auror Dixon's last conscious act before she struck the ground was to pull
a pin on her personal emergency anti-soul loss device. It was a grenade
strapped into a bandolier across her chest and it went off seconds after
she hit the ground. Mercifully, it also went off seconds before any
dementors could get close enough to kiss her. Her spirit fled before they
could take it.
The explosive report reached Lord Voldemort as he hovered broomless
between the clouds. He looked down and scowled.
"Your death means nothing. You cannot keep my allies from feeding.
They are hungry and I have promised them a great feast."
Two dark forms drew close to him on brooms.
"They did not escape, My Lord." One called. "Both fell to their deaths."
"And the first one? York?" The Dark Lord asked.
"Rodolphus has him, My Lord. He still lives."
Voldemort turned his gaze in the direction of Hogwarts Castle even
though it was still well out of visual range.
"Take his medallion and let our 'friends' have him." He sneered.
"Yes, My Lord." The servant turned and carried out his Lord's command.
Soon.
Soon they would all suffer for their defiance. He cared not for how many
he ruled so long as he ruled over all.
-o\0/o-
Harry stared into Luna's eyes. She was still trembling a bit, but her eyes
didn't seem to shift under their lids. Probably not dreaming then, right?
Harry wouldn't have felt right popping into her mind for a look around
just then anyway, not with Pomfrey , Flitwick and those I.C.W. officials
hopping about as they were.
"He cast the killing curse..." The man with gold lettering on his I.C.W.
patch repeated, "...but Snape was the one that died when it hit Miss
Lovegood, correct?"
Harry turned to look at the man.
"That's right, sir."
Harry saw the man glare. It was a hard thing to accept. After all, the last
time this happened, Harry was involved that time too, only there was no
Snape and no Luna. Just Harry, his mother and a Dark Lord.
"And how do you explain that?"
"I don't. I can't." Harry stared back just as hard as the officer. He
wondered how long it would take before he was accused of killing Snape
outright. Not that he didn't want to… it's just that he didn't.
"Perhaps this will help solve the riddle..." A higher pitched yet still male
voice called out behind them.
Both man and ghost turned to see Professor Flitwick slowly levitating a
small jeweled sandglass in a gilt housing out of the dead headmaster's
robes.
"A time-turner?" Harry blurted out.
"What would you know of those, boy?" The officer stated, even more
suspicious than before. "Those things are highly restricted."
"I came by my knowledge honestly." Harry defended himself while the
professor and officer both looked on in interest. "'Hermione got one so
she could get to every class offered in Third Year. Professor McGonagall
got it for her. Dumbledore knew all about it, of course."
"I did wonder..." Flitwick seemed to drift off for a moment before coming
back to the here and now.
The officer's glare turned to Flitwick though he said nothing. Harry began
to think that using a time turner was not something the international
crowd approved of. Come to think of it, the Delacours were quite
surprised to hear about Third Year the first time Hermione told the tale.
Shocked even. Harry thought it was all from the dementors and Sirius,
but then it could have been more. At the time, Apolline was too
overwhelmed to explain on a point by point basis why she tightly
embraced Hermione and didn't let go for ten minutes.
"Sooooooo..." Harry started. "What if he was using it at the time? He
could have... I don't know... broken one of those rules 'Mione was so
strict over... yeah?"
Flitwick lowered the sandglass onto a nearby side table. The officer shook
his head and reached out for it.
"We can't have that floating about." He said as he dropped it into a
random pocket. "There's a reason those damn things are restricted.
Anyways, that doesn't explain why you are here to begin with, kid.
Shouldn't you be in France right now?"
"I have friends here, not that I need to explain myself to you." Harry was
actually getting a bit peeved at this man. "Look, I was warned that
something dangerous could happen tonight and I came to look after my
friends. As it turns out, I was right to come. Snape Crucio'd Luna before
he tried to kill her, or have you forgotten already?"
"And who warned you?" The man insisted. "I want to ask them a few
questions."
"He doesn't want to go public," Harry said, unknowingly excluding half
the school population, "afraid of retaliation and all that."
"One girl is tragic and all but I have all of Scotland to look over, boy."
Harry really didn't like being called 'boy'. This man was supposed to be a
'good guy' so Harry was trying to overlook his more pratworthy traits.
The officer looked to Flitwick. "Who is the new Headmaster?"
"Severus never identified a deputy, Captain. He claimed to have no the
time to teach anyone about the castle wards." The diminutive Charms
professor shook his head and sighed. "Hogwarts has no Headmaster."
The officer cursed heavily. "Please tell me there are dementor wards on
the property."
"Sadly no." Flitwick shook frowned. "The Ministry has always maintained
the right to place their guards where ever they saw fit. Hogsmeade Valley
hasn't had dementor repelling wards in place since the Ministry made
peace with the things all those centuries ago."
The Captain looked like he really wanted to curse more but the situation
was too serious for it. "Order your staff to close all doors and windows in
the castle. Lock them all. I don't give a shit who gives the order so long as
it's carried out. My men will cover the Hogsmeade camp and this Castle
as best we can, but it's not looking good right now. All non-essentials in
camp will be sent away."
Flitwick nodded after a moment. "I'll have the students and the refugees
sent into the dungeons. Hufflepuff and Slytherin dorms should be safe
even if dementors do get inside. There are some hallways down there
with very solid doors."
Headmaster or no, Flitwick began summoning school elves for door and
window locking duty and they obeyed. He was a professor after all.
The Captain turned and left the Hospital wing without excusing himself.
He had a valley defense to organize and souls to save.
Harry hovered alone and forgotten over Luna. Even Madam Pomfrey was
able to ignore him and treat the broken girl beneath him. Not that he
blamed her; he was beyond physical injury or pain.
Dementors. Harry thought to himself. Nasty buggers.
Nasty, yes, but not that hard to deal with if you know how. Harry turned
inward. He turned his attention to Gabrielle.
Asleep? Wasn't it a bit early in the evening for that? Harry would have to
check up on her more often.
A small mental nudge was sent down the bond. Gabby's eyes opened.
-o\0/o-
"Match to Weasley!" An older boy called out from the side.
Ginny stood victorious, chest heaving and sweat dripping down her face,
as two Ravenclaw wizards pulled their comrade off the floor. The match
judge held an open hand out to her. He wanted the loser's wand back.
Ginny looked at her trophy one last time before releasing the polished
wooden shaft. It wasn't very pretty anyway. Not like her wand.
"Are you going to let someone else have a go at it, Ginny?" A girl to one
side asked.
Ginny centered herself before answering. "You keep going until you lose.
That's the rule tonight. It's not my fault your boyfriend isn't wizard
enough to beat me."
The girl colored. Ginny had indeed just flattened the other witch's
boyfriend and done so in record time. After beating three other
opponents before him, even.
"No wonder you can't keep a boy interested..." The other witch muttered.
It was meant just for her friends on the sidelines, but Ginny heard
anyway.
"You'll just have to come up here and get rid of me yourself then!" The
redhead hissed, nostrils flaring.
Her nameless challenger quickly backed into the crowd. Ginny was
known for vengeful hexing, and she rated full wicked bitch status when
angered. The other girl wasn't about to challenge a lioness on the hunt.
Before Ginny or anyone else could intentionally escalate the conflict the
main doors opened and Draco stepped in, Daphne only one step behind.
"This meeting is over!" Draco shouted without preamble. "Back to your
dorms. All of you!"
His call was met with many indignant shouts. The noise in the room rose
dramatically and questions rang out from every corner.
"Sonorus." Draco intoned. "Headmaster Snape is dead!"
That got their attention.
"Go back to your dorms. This is a bad night to be about."
Many of the students immediately turned for their dorms. Some of them
just stood in small groups and gossiped about what all this could mean.
Others wouldn't have it.
"Ginevra." Draco drawled as the still panting girl came right up to him.
"What's going on?" She demanded.
Her brothers were also interested, and standing right behind her, but
they weren't the only ones. There were others listening in behind them.
"Headmaster Snape attacked Lovegood in the astronomy tower. Potter
was there." Gasps. "Snape's dead now and Potter's got Lovegood in the
Hospital Wing."
Ginny's features set. "Right then."
She pushed her way past Draco and Daphne and walked straight out the
doors.
"Your dorms are the other way..." Draco muttered. "Bloody lion."
"Yes, old chap..."
"...our dormitories would be to the left..."
"...if she or we weren't going to see Ickle Harrikins..."
"...mustn't forget Ickle Lulu..."
"...Merlin forbid..."
"...so to the right it is!"
Gred and Forge nodded as one and followed Ickle Gin-Gin out and to the
right. Ron didn't bother to explain, he just followed. As did Neville... and
Susan... and Cedric and the Patil sisters and Head Girl Chang. Everyone
else either went the expected direction or milled about.
Draco was about to be more forceful with the ones who just stood there
when a house elf -pop-'ed into the room.
"Duffy is being terrible sorry, but the students is being told to head to
dungeons. Ravenclaws is to be going into Slytherin dorms and
Gryffindors is being going to Hufflepuff. This is being ordered by
Professor Flitwick. There is being no time for dawdling about."
The elf fidgeted, nervous at having to tell students what to do for the first
time in its life. As soon as the last students began to head out, the elf -
pop-'ed away again.
Draco exited the door and turned right. Daphne noticed.
"Potter?" She asked.
"Potter." He replied.
She followed.
-o\0/o-
In a Hogwarts tower overlooking the greenhouses, an I.C.W. sentry
spotted something. The sentry pulled out a mirror.
"Tower East to Control." The cloaked wizard intoned. "Spellfire at zero-
six-seven degrees. Range two-zero-zero-zero. Altitude five-zero."
As the warning came in and the alarm spread, the watch captain would
find that two patrols were late for their check in. One on the east wall
and one at the far eastern edge of the valley. A third was set to cross
through the sighting's location but was not due to check in for some time
yet. Squads were sent to investigate all three instances on brooms.
Fighting spread. There were dementors and dark wizards advancing
together.
The alarm became a call to general quarters. Hogwarts prepared for
battle.
-o\0/o-
"We is being ready to move Missy Lovegood, Harry Potter." An elf called
at the foot of Luna's bed.
Harry nodded and watched silently as two elves levitated his friend's bed
into the air and Madam Pomfrey ordered elves to move various potions
and artifacts into the dungeon several floors below.
There was a disturbance at the door.
"Harry!" Ginny shouted.
Those who went right instead of left at Magical Traditions were now
filling the Hospital Wing door.
"Hey, Gin." Harry replied without taking his eyes off the unconscious
blonde.
"What happened, mate?" Ron asked over his sister's shoulder.
"Snape happened..." Harry ground out. "But that's over and done with. He
won't be bullying anyone ever again."
Harry moved a lock of Luna's hair before turning around to greet his
friends.
"Er..."
That was more people than he expected to see honestly. The twins were
just about to comment on Harry's smooth reception when Madam
Pomfrey beat them to it.
"Out of the way, you lot! I have a patient that needs to be transferred."
The healer called in no uncertain terms.
Sadly for the healer's personal well being, someone else chose that time
to enter her territory unannounced. A small point of blue-white light with
an accompanying ringing tone appeared half-way between Harry and his
guests. It appeared two meters off the floor and it both expanded and
dropped to the ground at the same time.
"... 'z' plus 'I' over 'z'!" Hermione yelled at the floor, hoping that her last
few words would make it under Gabrielle's halo and into France. She
wasn't sure it would work. After all, she herself wasn't in France
anymore.
Whether those last words made it to France was anyone's guess, but they
certainly made it to Hogwarts.
"Woah, 'Mione!" Ron blurted. "When did you get so bloody good
looking?"
Hermione may not have been wearing the jacket and cloak that was
standard for travel, but she was wearing her proper uniform blouse and
skirt... with the heels and stockings to match... and she still had her hair
in a tight French braid. Quite flattering, all told.
Of course, there was an angel in the room now, too. She was also wearing
her school uniform. Very cute. And then there was Apolline, who could
make a burlap sack look hot. Her modified sleepwear was much racier
than a burlap sack.
Angel, muggleborn and Veela all uncoiled from each other before
Hermione responded.
"I must admit I find this much more flattering than my old Hogwarts
uniform." Hermione sniffed and preened a bit.
Yes, Beauxbatons has had an effect on the girl. Parvati couldn't wait to
tell Lavender.
Then Hermione saw her sister.
"Luna!" She ran to the injured witch's side.
"I understand your concern, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey interrupted,
"but Miss Lovegood really must be escorted out of the wing now. Please
stand aside. Once we are clear of the doors you may follow or stay here
as pleases you."
All of the new arrivals parted quietly so that the elves could bring Luna's
bed through as requested. Surprisingly, Harry failed to follow the bed
out. This lead to all the others staying with him even if it was clear that
Hermione, Gabrielle and Apolline very much wanted to follow Luna.
"Aren't we here for Luna?" Hermione asked Harry.
She had that tone of voice that clearly only allowed for one answer.
Harry looked through a nearby window. "Unfortunately, no."
Harry spoke in a voice that Hermione also understood clearly. It was one
of those 'saving people' things.
"Fine then." She returned quickly. The others went silent so that
Hermione and Harry would work out whatever it was that they had going
on. "What are we here for then? We've already done trolls and a
cerberus..."
Ron took up the torch, "...and a bloody great snake..."
"...dirty rats..."
"...and swarms of dementors..." Fred and Gorge added.
"... mustn't forget the dragon." Ginny finished.
Sure, there were other things, but as they were generally darker even that
what was brought up, everyone seemed to know what not to say.
Mentioning the snake was bad enough as far as Ginny was concerned.
"Don't I even rate?" Draco asked, hand in the air.
"Against a dragon?" Fred asked, or was it George?
Harry cut them off. "Dementors."
"Harry, mate." Ron almost whined. "We've already done that one. Old
news."
"All of them I expect." Harry added. "Not just a dozen or a hundred of
them. We're about to witness a full assault on Hogwarts."
It was a more of a guess on his part, but then why else would the I.C.W.
captain be so concerned if it were just a few of the nasty blighters. He
knew first hand how large the auror presence here was and for them to
get panicky it must be bad.
"And we come to Hogwarts now?" Apolline hissed. "You endanger us all!"
Were it not for Little Angel's calming presence, Apolline may have
already changed to voice her true displeasure at Harry. With fire.
"Gabby." Harry ignored the older woman and focused on his Angel. "There
are a lot of people in this Castle. I want to protect them. Are you okay with
that?"
Yes! ... "No!"
Hermione tensed at the argument. Daphne's grip on Draco's arm also
tensed at the same time. Second and third languages were the rule rather
than the exception for traditional families like hers. Why else would
international students sit with Ravenclaw and Slytherin over the other
houses? Because that way they had someone to talk to, of course.
Momma. I want to do this. The little angel chirped. This time she kept
eye contact and made sure only Momma understood her. I will make my
Lord proud. I will fight the bad things. I will make them go away. That's
what real angels do, Momma.
Apolline swallowed hard and fought to keep her tears back. She wanted
her little baby to go home and stay there, but this was beyond her and
she knew it. Her little baby was far more than a little baby. Not even ten
years old, and Little Angel's already made a name for herself in the
grown-up world. Several of them, actually. Apolline's been doing what
she could to keep Gabby from hearing some of the things they call her
now. Gabrielle certainly didn't need to know that a new shrine to the
Angel Gabrielle now stands near Jeanne's home in Domrémy-la-Pucelle.
"I would never ask Gabby to do anything that she couldn't do." Harry
pleaded. "I will be with her the whole time."
I can do this, Momma. I can! Gabby chirped.
Apolline turned to the ghost that held her daughter's life, heart and soul
in his hands. "If she gets hurt..."
"Then I will come back to life just so that you can kill me yourself." Harry
finished for her. "Over and over again."
"Okay!" Hermione sought to grab everyone's attention now that the
impasse was resolved. "So, Harry... do you have a plan already or is that
why I'm here?"
Harry was about to say that he really just wanted to go outside with
Gabby, beat up the dementors and go home... but he suspected Hermione
wouldn't be too impressed with the simple elegance of his plan. Time for
a bit of quick revising.
"Well..." Quicker- before Hermione could say anything more. "If you think
my Patronus was something special then you haven't seen an angel cast
one before. Gabby and I will be focusing on the dementors themselves- so
if those of you who are willing to lend a hand would kindly watch our
backs until we're done then that would be great."
"Watch your backs for what?" Ginny asked.
"Whatever shows itself that isn't a dementor." Harry answered. "Had to
deal with Snape already today... probably won't be the only dark bastard
out and about tonight."
There was a brief pause.
"I'm in." Hermoine stated firmly.
"Absolutely, mate!" Ron cheered.
The twins chimed in. In tandem, of course. So did Ginny. Surprisingly,
the non-Weasleys were similarly supportive as well.
"I've got your back, Harry." Cedric affirmed.
"I'm with you!" Susan tacked on.
"I'll do it." Neville said quietly, but he said it just the same.
"As will I." Cho added.
"And I." "And I." Padma and Parvati chorused, just out of step with each
other. Not all twins were like the Weasley twins.
Apolline didn't bother with a reply. Her presence was a given. Required,
even.
"Draco?" Harry took a good look at the Slytherin prince and his princess.
"Is fighting off dementors the Slytherin thing to do?"
"Something tells me your merry band would be more comfortable if I
weren't a part of it." Draco smiled slyly. "Besides, someone has to warn
the other students. I think I know a seventh Year or two who learned the
Patronus. Several Ravenclaws had a terrible fit after getting shown up by
a Third Year Gryffie when you shot off that stag in the middle of a
quidditch match."
"Even getting a mist would be helpful if any dementors do manage to get
past us. A few first timers might get lucky, too." Harry returned. "Please
spread the word for me."
Draco nodded and turned to leave. Daphne nodded as well and followed
young Lord Malfoy out of the Hospital Wing. She may have seemed the
perfect picture of poise and decorum, but inside her heart was
hammering and her nerves were frayed. The proper young witch knew
quite well she had no business dealing with dementors and the like.
"So what's our next move, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry looked around. There were far too many windows in the Hospital
Wing for his liking.
"I think it's time to say hello to Myrtle." Harry said as he turned for the
door.
"Myrtle?" Hermione asked.
"And get brooms." Harry continued.
"Brooms!" Ron liked this move.
"Dobby!" Harry shouted.
-POP-
"Dobby is here, Harry Potter Sir!"
"Please fetch 'Miones broom-"
-POP-
-POP-
"Here it is, Harry Potter Sir!"
Dobby proudly handed over the mirror gloss elf spit-polished shaft. Harry
Potter Sir's Missy 'Mione's Firebolt. Precious, it was.
"Brilliant, Dobby."
Harry smiled warmly as both elf and ghost watched Hermione take
command of the magical speed machine. Behind them, Apolline called for
Zoé and Virginie to collect brooms for everyone else.
"Now you're just having me on." Ron challenged. "I can understand
'Mione getting hot as she fills out... she wasn't half bad lookin' at the
ball-" That bit got both Patil girls frowning. "-but there is no way that she
ever gets into flying, mate. Much less on a Firebolt. That thing's way too
much broom for her."
Hermione stared down Ron with such fire behind her eyes that Harry half
wondered if she was part angel herself.
"Harry?" Hermione called in a deceptively smooth tone.
"Yes, love?"
"Race you to Myrtle?" Several brows rose at the challenge.
"Absolutely!" Harry crowed. "Rules?"
"No passing through walls, doors or floors." Hermione answered. She also
brought up her shoes one at a time and transfigured the dress pumps into
trainers.
"Of course." Harry replied. "Gabby, dear. Give us a countdown will you?"
This is gonna be great! Little Angel chirped.
Then she looked back over her shoulders at her neatly folded wings. Too
bulky. She reverted to human form which was a real treat for those like
Cho and the Patils who hadn't seen Gabby change before.
"Now I won't block the door!"
Gabby shouted before getting between the racing couple and their first
turn, a rather sharp left that should favor the specter due to maneuvering
room issues. She held both hands high.
"Three..."
Hermione used her wand to cut a slit on her skirt for more range of
motion before throwing one leg over her broom to mount it. The auto-
hover charm held her weight. The cut skirt showed a delightful hint of
stocking and smooth skin. Brilliant.
"Two..."
Harry went down into a runner's stance. Gabby stood on the balls of her
feet.
"One..."
The room was dead quiet.
"Go!" Gabby swished her hands down to the floor and ghost and
broomrider shot off their marks.
A transparent blur disappeared around the door frame first, but Harry
wasn't the one who got the best crowd reaction.
"Bloody hell!" Ron shouted. "She corkscrew turned in the middle of a
school corridor!"
Ginny hit her prat of a brother over the head for cursing in an angel's
presence, but she did appreciate his words. Their brave yet boring
bookworm was an altogether different creature now than she was before.
"Yeahhh..." Cedric puffed up. "I taught her that one."
"Get her, Harry!"
Gabby ran out into the corridor only to stop before vanishing down the
hall.
"Hey- don't shoot them they're my friends!" Gabby yelled to surprised
aurors who just got buzzed by a ghost and a flying witch. Luckily, her
admonishment worked. She turned around to stick her head back in the
room. "Ummm... can some else be line leader? I don't know where we're
going."
...
Outside the cold stone walls of Hogwarts, forces were converging. The far
banks of Black Lake were aglow with spellfire and the occasional stream
of tracer rounds. A Patronus would emerge from mist and shadow to
push back at the darkness only to have its caster fall under assault from
the dementors' human escorts. The aurors fell back. All too soon, there
was no forest to the rear and what little forest lay beneath the defenders
was alight with flame. Cold deep water and icy shores was all that stood
between skirmishers and the castle. No one wanted to fall into Black Lake
where it would be a race between nature and beast to see who could
claim the unfortunate soul first.
At the appropriate signal, all I.C.W. forces fell back to the castle proper.
They swarmed into tower windows and ground level gates, all taking
refuge behind crenellated stone walls and window frames. The towers
themselves became hardpoints; bastions of wand and steel. Inside the
castle, every stair and corridor was watched. Without proper siege wards
in place, and that bastard Snape all but ensured that such wards could
not be brought up in time, any window or door to the outside was
suspect. In spite of the I.C.W.'s seeming numerical superiority, they had a
lot of ground to cover. Both at Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.
The dementors still came. Control medallions were effective when used
properly yet the vast majority of wizards trained in their use died when
Hogsmeade was cleansed of its sin in the blue-white flames of the Angel
Gabrielle.
Hovering above the far shores of Black Lake, Voldemort signaled to his
most trusted servant.
"Yes, My Lord?" Bellatrix asked.
"You are my insurance." The Dark lord called. "Be ready."
Bella bowed from the seat of her broom and turned sharply an retired
from the field.
With a regal swipe of his wand bearing hand, the Dark Lord ordered his
forces into the attack. The real battle was about to begin.
At a range of one thousand meters, a handful of the shadows backlit by
burning forest seemed more animated than the main hoard. They stood
out. They seemed more human. That helped a lot.
The air between castle and hoard was split by the harsh buzz of muggle
weapons of war. Bright flashes and glowing red lines flowed out from
several points along the castle's upper reaches, a testament to the volume
of hot metal being thrown at targets at the rate of thousands of rounds
per minute. Sniper rifles and heavy machine guns were aimed at
anything that wasn't a dementor and several Death Eaters fell almost
immediately. Sadly Voldemort's forces soon masked their presence amidst
the hoard and cast the Impervius Charm on anyone who hadn't already
used it. The inexperienced and weak had been culled. Those that
remained were as ruthless and deadly as their dementor allies. Silence
fell over school grounds as the last echos of gunfire faded.
At least Hogwarts was still out of range of any worthwhile combat spells
for a short time. Only a true magical scholar and adept like the Dark Lord
would have any control beyond a few hundred meters and most magics
fell well short of a hundred.
...
Harry lost. He lost a broom race. To Hermione. Worse yet, she was riding
his very own Firebolt.
"She got me on the straightaways." Was all he could say to explain his
loss.
To be quite honest, the ghost was very proud of his witch and more than
a little excited by her performance. There was a reason he fancied Cho
before he died and it wasn't just that she was pretty. She was a seeker, a
lover of flying like him. And now Hermione fit the same category, not
that he didn't already love her for other things but a shared love of flying
was just icing on the cake. Harry was sure 'Mione's performance on the
Beauxbatons racing team would be top shelf soon enough.
Of course, Ron would never let Harry forget this most horrible of sins...
and Hermione was understandably pleased with herself. Even when
Ginny taunted her about the grin she had after 'riding Harry's shaft and
riding it hard', she still didn't stop grinning. In fact, Hermione may have
gotten an idea of how to comfort the loser from Ginny's choice of
taunting subjects. Her smile just kept growing.
Sadly, the merciless teasing of Harry for losing his race with Hermione
was rudely interrupted by harsh pops and loud buzzing noises coming
from outside the castle.
"What's all that then?" Neville asked.
He was a pureblood. Of course he didn't know.
"Gunfire." Apolline answered. "I'm not happy with how quickly it all
stopped either."
"I'm going to take a look outside." Harry said, eyeing the window.
"Myrtle, be a dear and check the hall, would you?"
They had already spelled the door shut as firmly as the students, Apolline
and three elves could make it.
"Will I be getting more roommates tonight?" Myrtle asked. All the activity
was giving her hope and lifting her spirit.
"Not likely," Hermione answered the the ghost, "Dementors take the souls
of their victims, you know. Should the worst come to pass, you will be far
more lonely than before."
"Oh. Drat." Myrtle looked crestfallen as she went to check the hall. She
was only just getting used to interacting with the living and the idea that
it could all fall apart again was quite distressing.
It took Harry about thirty seconds to fly out the window, rise out of the
main courtyard and take a look around before coming back in again.
Myrtle was done in half the time.
"The halls?" Harry asked her.
"Still clear- save the Spaniards at the corner. They still don't care for me
either." Myrtle responded.
Harry appeared to take a deep breath, and more than one of his friends
took real breaths in anticipation.
"Alright Gabby." He looked at his Angel. "It's time."
She alone showed no signs of fear or nervous tension. Her Lord wanted
her to do this, so she would. It was that simple.
"I can't begin to imagine what your Poppa will think. Why, the aurors may
have already told him we are here." Apolline moaned. She bit back a sob
and fell onto her Little Angel. "I'm so scared for you, my baby."
"Don't cry Momma." Gabby whispered back. She wrapped her arms around
her mother and then she wrapped her wings around her mother too. I
will take away your tears, Momma. I will steal them from you and you
won't ever be sad ever again.
Love filled the room and Apolline's tears stopped falling. Little Angel
didn't make false promises.
Gabrielle slowly pulled free of her mother and stepped into the center of
the room. She drew her wings together above her head and formed her
halo anew.
Harry didn't have to call to her any longer, nor did she need his spirit to
enter her to build her up from within, for he was with her. She felt his
love and knew his will. Rather than call for his bonded, he called for his
friend.
"Dobby?"
"Yes, Harry Potter Sir?" The elf was already waiting at Harry's side and
did not need to pop in this time.
"Please open the window for us."
Dobby smiled and bowed. He loved how Harry always asked or said
please when he could easily order Dobby about. With a simple wave of
Dobby's hand, the window vanished. Gabrielle hopped forward and drew
down her wings. Two wing beats later, she stood on the stone sill
between open air and Myrtle's bathroom.
"Like we agreed, 'Mione."
Harry ran his hand over the young witch's cheek. She nodded.
"We'll give you a minute to clear the window. Once Gabby's out in the
open, we cross the roof to the rear and slip around to hide under the west
ground floor bridge until you give us a signal." Hermione recited
dutifully.
"Remember warming charms. And if her halo seems to flicker a bit as I
expect it will, you look away until that settles down." Harry added.
"You still haven't told us why..." Hermione hinted that she'd like to know
the answer.
"It's like that saying I used to hear on the telly sometimes... 'do not look
directly into the light'."
Hermione's eyes opened wide. "Surely not..."
"You'll have to see for yourselves- but remember; if things don't look
good, sneak out to Hagrid's and then on to Hogsmeade by way of the
forest edge. They shouldn't be able to spot you in the dark."
"It'll be hard enough to spot ourselves, mate." Ron added. "Let's just hope
this is all just 'Mione being over-prepared again."
"From your mouth to God's ears, Ron." Cedric added.
Gabrielle looked at Harry. Despite her best efforts not too, Hermione did
as well.
Harry turned once more to the angel in the window, whom he was
already with even if the others didn't know about it, and he nodded.
Go now.
With each succeeding beat of her wings a nine year old angel rose ever
higher into the open air above the castle's courtyard. Her one companion,
her Lord, followed silently in her wake. Behind her, friends and loved
ones slipped up and around the castle in an effort to reach their staging
area unseen. She turned to the east and was witness to a dark cloud
approaching Hogwarts over the shores of Black Lake.
New targets sighted.
It was a thought shared by more than one person when Gabrielle and her
spectral companion cleared the roof line. Aurors charged with defending
the castle began to report to their Captain that a very famous 'non-
combatant' was stepping in. Requests to break cover and grab the
youngest Delacour were flooding the communications network. Within
the ranks of the invading hoard, a Dark Lord smiled. He welcomed the
would-be savior, the little girl who is faithfully following in Harry
Potter's footsteps. He had plans for her.
Surprisingly, his allies did not confer with the Dark Lord before charging
forward.
The dementors saw her and instinctively they knew what her halo meant;
they knew what she was. They left their wizard allies behind in a drive to
meet a natural enemy, for that was what angels were to them. Hundreds
of soul eating dark beasts shrieked as one and turned to bring their full
numbers to bear as quickly as possible. Darkness sought to smother the
light before it could grow.
Even as a full race of dark creatures rose to meet her, Gabrielle's very
being hummed in anticipation. In the presence of her Lord under the
ethereal glow of her halo, Gabrielle could not be intimidated. They were
bad. They were bad and she would teach them a very big lesson. She
would make the world a better place.
Gabby. Harry called her without words. Show me your new trick. Show
everyone.
I will! Her cry answered the rising shrieks of the dementors, beasts who
had no business making any noise at all.
Gabby's left hand rose, fingers reaching to grasp the halo above her
directly. The humming circlet of magical flame was an extension of her
being and she knew it as well as she knew her own body or the mark
bestowed upon her forehead by Harry's lips. Little fingers found their
target and wrapped around it. Blue-white light broke its form and flowed
over her arm, her body and then her clothes.
Her magic flared and night became as day.
The creatures of darkness who now stood only a few scant meters away
from Gabrielle cringed back. Every living being in line-of-sight with
Gabrielle turned away unable to gaze upon her image. The dementor
charge shuddered to a halt.
Gabrielle drew her radiant wings back and she rocketed into the nearest
group of dementors. Her avian heritage was never more on display before
than it was right now. She was a predator amongst prey... prey who were
as yet too stunned to scatter like the cockroaches they really were.
She didn't stop at the first dementor. No. She went through it. And
through the next one and then through the one after that. Her body
shined like the surface of the sun, and to the dementors her touch was no
less deadly. Her arms and wings cut directly through the fiends and their
remains fell burning to the snow covered shores below. Shrieks of anger
turned into cries of pain and death.
They began to turn... their attack broken against her angelic corona. They
began to flee.
Where are you going? Gabrielle cried into the swarm. I'm not done with
you! You can't go!
Gabrielle drew her wand and pointed it into a group of dementors who
seemed intent on escaping.
Stop!
And they did. Just as she caused the flames of her first failed spell to
freeze, so too did she lock the dementors before her into place. As they
were unable to evade her, she ran them through by the dozen.
All sound ceased save that of wind and wings... and the dull thud of
dementor bits hitting the ground below. Neither the aurors nor the dark
wizards could manage an offensive action due to Gabrielle's blinding
glory. Voldemort and his pureblood followers actually fell back to the far
shore. No matter how aggressive their desires, being unable to gaze upon
their foe made it difficult to strike at her and hovering helplessly over
Black Lake was neither intelligent nor cunning. For even with all of the
people and creatures in Hogsmeade Valley, Gabrielle may as well have
been alone.
Except for Harry, for he was with her. Twice even. Harry's spirit was
within her and also without. As he was the only soul present who could
look upon her he took full advantage of that fact. Left! Harry
commanded, and his angel swooped into another group of her prey at his
direction. Time and time again, she tore through groups of dark creatures
only to line herself up and strike again. Gabrielle's magic net didn't catch
all of the dementors, but it did catch a great many of them and she did
manage to run down many more as they fled. After a time, neither she
nor her Lord could make out another dementor in need of her embrace.
That's all of them Angel. Let's go back to your Momma and 'Mione. They must
be terribly worried about you. Harry called.
Okayyy! She squeaked.
Little Angel turned back to the castle and began to glide down to the
nearer of two bridges spanning between the two main castle wings.
Momma, 'Mione and the others should still be under cover nearby.
Halfway through her lazy flight back, Harry suggested she release the
power which glowed about her. Somewhat embarrassed that Momma and
Hermione and her friends and the 'good guys' still couldn't gaze upon her,
Gabrielle did as she was told.
Day became night once more as Little Angel's glory dimmed. She gave
the sky back to the Moon and stars.
As Gabrielle's feet touched stone once more, life returned to Hogwarts
Castle.
"GABRIELLE!" Momma screeched as she dropped off a broom and onto
the bridge next to her daughter.
Little Angel soon found herself at the center of a crushing hug. Momma
was shaking like a leaf.
"How can you say that I will never be sad if you continue to do such things?"
Apolline cried onto her little girl's shoulder.
As mother and daughter reconnected under the blue-white glow of Little
Angel's halo, Harry turned to face the others.
"That turned out rather well, I think..." He offered.
More light spilled over the bridge as the doors at either end were pushed
open. I.C.W. aurors were clearly intent on finding out just what the hell
was going on. In a move that confused Harry, they stopped short of
actually exiting the doorways for some reason.
Harry watched as Hermione, Ron and the others tried to think of
something to say that suited the occasion. Clearly even Hermione was
having trouble. He expected that one or two might be speechless after
Gabby's performance, but all of them? Hold on... Hermione wasn't
looking at him. Not at Gabby or her mother either.
And that wasn't joy or wonder filling her face. Even in the dim light
available, he could still see that. It was... alarm? Her arm was pointed
down, but she still had wand in hand. A few steps away, Cedric stepped
in front of Susan and the twins edged closer to their sister. Harry opened
his mouth to speak again, only, he couldn't. He couldn't move... he
couldn't move!
Suddenly alert, Gabrielle jerked in her mother's arms. Momma! Let go!
"Imperio." A harsh voice growled behind Harry.
Momma! Little Angel struggled, but for all her magical strength, she was
still only nine. Her small frame was no counter to a woman grown and
under the power of the Imperius Curse.
A dark form stalked past Harry. It had an uneven gait and there were odd
bumps distorting the cloak just behind its shoulders. A Dark Lord was
among them.
"Boo!" Voldemort shouted, slamming one booted heel down on the stone
at his feet. More than one of the students before him flinched back.
"Pathetic..."
Harry saw some activity at the door behind his friends, and he wasn't the
only one to notice. Voldemort drew his wand up for all to see. The tip
glowed a very familiar and unwelcome green.
Gabrielle's struggles became more frantic. Momma, no!
"Unless you want these children to die, you will turn back!" Voldemort
bellowed at the aurors to their rear.
Unwilling to risk innocents, the aurors at the door fell back. With a swipe
of his wand, Voldemort closed the door. He then turned to do the same to
the door on the far end of the bridge. It was no great leap of logic to
expect aurors to take to the skies and watch him from a distance... which
was why the sky quickly lit up with spellfire even as the Dark Lord stared
down the children who's lives he just threatened. The I.C.W. was learning
the hard way that Voldemort did not re-cross Black Lake alone.
Even as random spells struck the bridge around them and bodies began to
fall from the sky, Voldemort ignored the carnage. Instead, he chose to
taunt the students before him, students he knew well.
"Miss Granger. I am told that Potter would not have lasted even half as
long as he did at Hogwarts were it not for your support." She didn't look
too flattered. "We will have words about your poor decision making skills
another time, I promise you that."
Voldemort's threat caused the girl to go pale, but he was already done
with her and on to a new target.
"Ahhhhh, Ginevra..." He drawled. "This past year can't have been good for
you, dear. Why don't you tell me all about it... pour your heart and soul
into it... I've listened to your troubles before, have I not?"
Ginny took two steps backwards before bringing up her wand. "You stay
away from me!"
The Dark Lord glared at her. "Such atrocious manners. So disrespectful.
Perhaps I should take you over my knee."
Ginny was backed into a corner. She was badly shaken, furious that Tom
should ever speak to her again. She lashed out.
"Reducto!"
Red light shot out of her wand. Voldemort said nothing. He didn't need
to. A quick swipe of his yew and phoenix feather wand was all that was
required to bounce the curse right back to the very witch it came from.
With a sickening crack, Ginny's right shoulder blew open and she
collapsed in a pool of her own blood.
"Bloody bastard!" Ron cried, his voice mixing with his sisters pained
moans.
It was a fight or flight instinct that caused every other teen on the bridge
to raise their wands. It was surely no thought that this cruel thing before
them would be an easy target.
Voldemort shouted and threw his wand forward sending all ten of his
young opponents tumbling backwards. He didn't kill them. No. That
would be too easy. Wanted to play with them as Harry and little
Gabrielle watched helplessly, unable to do anything about it.
Of course, as soon as he had Apolline under his control, he ignored the
girl and her mother completely. It was perfectly reasonable to think that
a grown woman would be able to control her young daughter. What was
not perfectly reasonable was to expect said woman to control her young
Angel daughter.
Not that Voldemort knew this of course. Nor anyone else for that matter.
As soon as Voldemort turned away from his two most prized captives to
play with the teens, Harry focused. The situation was not good... but it
wasn't hopeless either. His bond to Gabrielle still held. His spirit was still
with her and so long as he was with her Gabrielle would not panic. She
would not play the part of a helpless victim.
Angels don't get saved. They do the saving.
It was clear to Harry and Gabrielle that Momma could not break the
slavery curse on her own merits, so Gabrielle would have to do it for her.
She stopped struggling against her mother, preferring to stare into the
woman's eyes instead.
Momma's eyes were cloudy. Dull. For a Veela, this was unacceptable.
Gabrielle cooed softly to her mother. Momma. Come back to me
Momma. I need you.
Momma didn't move. Her gaze did not waver. Gabrielle tried harder.
Little Angel focused on her most recent lessons, the ones on how to focus
her magic through her eyes... on how to affect just one person instead of
a room full of them. It was a skill taught to Gabrielle to keep random
students from commenting on her glowing blue eyes but it could also do
other things.
Mooooooo-mmaaaaaaaaa...
Gabrielle cooed softly. Hopefully too softly for a certain Dark Lord to
hear or care for. She concentrated on pushing her thrall into the
enchanted Veela and only the enchanted Veela. She pushed all the love
that she felt for her Momma into the effort. Harry felt Gabrielle's magic-
he felt her intent- and offered his love to build upon hers. Between Veela
mother and Angel daughter, softly glowing crystal blue eyes flared with
love and power.
She connected.
Apolline started.
As an Angel welcomed her Veela mother onto the 'good guy' side once
again... and as the night sky above was filled with the sounds and sights
of battle... Voldemort backed Ginny into an emotional corner causing her
to lash out.
Red light flew across the bridge and then back again, and mother and
daughter pulled away from each other. Much as she loved her little girl,
Apolline pushed all of the love she had just experienced out. She expelled
it and willingly fell into the fury of a woman forced to attack her own
family. Her own daughter!
When Ron cried out in rage, so too did Apolline. As he drew his wand,
she abandoned hers. She was no duelist. She was Veela. She drew upon
her heritage, shedding her socialite looks for the frightening wings and
claws of her race. As ten school children were thrown about like rag
dolls, Apolline summoned bright orange fireballs into both palms.
Just then, the self-satisfied beast turned to address his captives.
Satisfaction fell to surprise and anger as twin torrents of fire poured into
his position. He rolled aside allowing Apolline's rage to tare lines of flame
into the heavy wooden doors of Hogwarts. Voldemort returned fire.
"Avada Kedavra!" He hissed, and a green bolt of death rocketed down the
bridge.
As Apolline was fully under the influence of her less human instincts,
wand magic was not available to her. She could not cast defensive magics
nor was she inclined to try.
She did not die. Instead, a wall of white feathers formed between
Apolline and the death curse before it could connect.
"I can do better!" Voldemort yelled before calling on one of his other
favored curses. Fiendfyre. "Catch this one little girl!"
A serpent of pure flame uncoiled from his wand and reared up to strike at
its summoner's enemies.
Stop! Gabrielle demanded, her wand pointed stiffly at the center of the
snake.
It stopped.
"Very good!" Voldemort praised, and in the light of the frozen fire snake,
Harry and his Angel saw Voldemort's face twist into something that may
have passed for admiration. "But not good enough!"
With a small flick of his wand, he struck. Just as Dumbledore before him,
Voldemort came to the conclusion that a little angel with a wand was a
troublesome little angel. Rather than let her keep the holly and phoenix
feather shaft, he summoned it from her grasp. Again just as before, the
wand slipped between her fingers only to stop when the chain around her
neck pulled taught. A thin gold chain kept her wand from flying into the
Dark Lord's grasp.
His pull was great, too great for her to dig in her heels. But what if...
what if she didn't want to? What if her Lord had an idea... one that could
win them the fight? Rather than stand her ground, Gabby ran straight
towards the manically grinning Dark Lord.
Behind her, a Veela shrieked her displeasure. One of her chicks was
running right into a snake's waiting jaws.
Voldemort couldn't help but smile as his hand closed around Little
Angel's wand. He was about to chide the little thing for such a foolish
move- but that was when Gabrielle struck.
She struck not with her wand but with her halo. Two pure white wings
snapped down quickly, and when they dropped they brought the blue-
white circlet of magical fire with them. The air shook as angelic power
rang in the tone of a massive bell being struck. By the time her halo
dissipated across the stone at her feet, Gabrielle was standing right back
next to her mother again. She was back, and she brought Voldemort with
her... or rather... she brought some of Voldemort back with her. His arms,
his wand and the front half of his torso and legs to be specific.
Dark Lord Voldemort's body collapsed lifelessly in two different places at
the same time. Ewwwww!
Her Lord was greatly pleased. Ecstatic even.
I win! Gabrielle crowed. I win! I win! I win! I win! I win!
Apolline's anger faded and she returned to human form. Oddly enough,
Gabrielle's Lord was not free to move about as he expected to be.
"Oh, very good indeed..." A dark voice hissed into the air.
Shocked, angel, mother and ghost all looked for the 'man' who hissed
those words. What they saw was something that Harry had the great
misfortune of meeting once before, something that his angel knew of due
to their connection and that Apolline knew of through pensieve
memories. The shade of Voldemort appeared before them, a dark stain
drifting before the mass of frozen Fiendfyre which still lit and warmed
the area.
So shocked were they that Gabby lost her angelic form and glared
(cutely) at the dark specter from beneath silver-blonde hair.
"Why aren't you dead like a good bad guy would be?" A righteous Gabby
demanded of the disembodied Tom Riddle.
"You cannot kill me! You cannot even set me back!" He laughed. "I have
come closer to immortality that any who lived before me. I can never be
defeated. In time, the whole world will bow before me!"
"I'll get you! You'll see!" She may not have been intimidating standing
with her brow creased and fists balled but she certainly tried to be.
"No... in fact, I have a better idea. I'll get you." Voldemort purred. "I'll get
you and I'll make you my angel."
"No you can't! I won't let you! Harry won't let you!" Gabby raged.
"Won't he?" The dark shade drifted over to address Harry's still frozen
form. "Did you think I wouldn't know? Did you think I who have delved
into the deepest mysteries and darkest tomes in existence would not
understand your connection?"
Gabby was silent. Her mother pulled the girl to her and aimed her wand
at the shade.
"Begone!" Apolline shouted. "Your power is broken you honorless
bastard."
Voldemort began to drift back towards the lake, but he was not done just
yet. He kept his eyes on the frozen form of his first great challenge.
"I know your secret, Harry Potter. Blood magic made that girl your
slave... though I am surprised that you knew enough of blood magic to
catch yourself such a fine prize... perhaps this is your godfather's
influence?"
Voldemort explained himself calmly, far too calmly for one who just
died. And he was uncomfortably close to the truth in his deductions.
Gabby's anger fell to uncertainty.
"Did you really believe I would not figure it out? Me? The greatest wizard
in history? You bound her to you just before you died... and in doing so
you gave me the key to absolute power!"
Uncertainty fell to fear, a reaction that was unfortunately mirrored by her
Lord. She sniffed.
"I will take your angel from you Harry Potter. She will be my slave, my
pet! She will shake the world apart until all who live swear to serve me!"
Voldemort yelled triumphantly before flying into the night.
Gabby turned to her mother and cried.
Little Angel and big Veela held each other in the light and heat of a
motionless fire snake and the world seemed to explode around them.
Aurors approached the bridge to secure the area, treat the wounded and
release Harry from his magical binding. Hermione and the others would
soon be joining Luna in the Hospital Wing again. Ginny's condition was
very serious... or it was until a sobbing angel came to sob on her. A
steady rain of angel tears drew bone and muscle back together to fix up
her Lord's friend. Neither Little Angel nor Harry would allow their
personal troubles to stop them from helping where they could. Speaking
of, Gabrielle continued to cry on command for as long as she could
manage it. Luna could use healing tears too, couldn't she? And some of
the aurors were hurt fighting, right? Angels helped others. That's what
they did.
-o\0/o-
After the dust settled, it became clear that the Dark Lord's followers were
successfully repelled in a battle that would see many graves dug and
funeral pyres lit. Luckily dark wizards had the worse time of it and few
escaped alive.
Even with the joy and relief of the masses for whom that night was a
major victory, Harry and Gabby were troubled. Yes, dementors were
killed. Yes, dark wizards by the dozen were captured or killed in a battle
that would break the dark's remaining strength in England. Yes, the
corpse and wand of Dark Lord Voldemort could be shown to an elated
public as proof of victory. But all of that still wasn't enough for those who
knew the truth.
The Dark Lord wasn't really gone. He wasn't even discouraged. Even
worse, Voldemort said he knew about the bond. He said he could take
Gabby away from Harry. Was he right? Was he lying? How did he find
out?
The wizarding world may celebrate through the night in honor of
Gabrielle Delacour, the nine year old Angel, Savior and Dark Lord killer,
but Harry and Gabby would not be smiling. As soon as the full tale was
told, neither would the Delacours nor would Hermione.
Harry and Gabby needed to go back to Angel School. Tomorrow even. If
Gabby had to skip school to do it, she would.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
I had to point out to my pre-reader that this is not the end of my story.
Granted, she was a bit sleepy when she came to that conclusion, but I
think that some may see this as a break point before some kind of
horcrux hunt. Personally, I do not like horcrux hunt stories (especially
the original canon one) and I will not write a horcrux hunt into this story
even if I concede the existence of horcruxes as shown in canon. There
will be one more internal story arc wherein our beloved good guys seek
to smite ol' Voldie once and for all. Clearly my estimate of twenty-five
chapters was off a bit (as was my very first estimate of ten chapters). But
still, we are past the seventy-five percent mark and possibly past eighty-
five percent. It all depends on how the little stuff adds up.
I don't remember reading any other stories where teleport magic was
used as a direct attack instead of a support move, not that portkeys or
apparation really lend themselves to the idea. At least, not in any HP
story I've read. Maybe you could intentionally splinch someone by
grabbing them and forcing a bad apparation. There was that scene in the
first Stargate movie... and there was always a chance that a Star Trek
transporter beam could be used in creative ways... but then I don't tend
to read fanfics in those universes.
26. Weigh Anchor
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
...as seen previously on The Little Veela that Could...
The wizarding world may celebrate through the night in honor of Gabrielle
Delacour, the nine year old Angel, Savior and Dark Lord killer, but Harry and
Gabby would not be smiling. As soon as the full tale was told, neither would
the Delacours nor would Hermione.
Harry and Gabby needed to go back to Angel School. Tomorrow even. If
Gabby had to skip school to do it, she would.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-five: Weigh Anchor
It was getting brighter. The warm feeling of Harry's arms around her was
becoming indistinct, his and Gabrielle's words of love were fading as
quickly as the light increased.
"Little Em." A voice called to her. "Honey, the healer needs you to wake
up now…"
Hermione groaned and rolled away from the light. "Just a few more
minutes, Mum."
"Miss Granger, please sit up. It's time to change your dressing and I have
a potion for you to take."
That was Madam Pomfrey's voice.
Wait just one minute… wasn't that Mum's voice she heard just a moment
ago? Hermione mentally nudged herself to wake up faster before opening
her eyes.
"So which one was it? The time dragon or the acid spitting toad?"
Hermione's dad asked that question from the chair next to her bed. Her
bed in Hogwarts' hospital wing, she realized after looking around. "Dad?"
"Alain called us last night, dear." Emma said as she stood next to Daniel's
chair. "He explained a bit about what happened and how you got hurt.
Your healer was nice enough to let us watch over you as you slept."
Hermione started a bit. "Was I that badly injured?"
She gave herself a mental once over. She was sore but not suffering any
acute pain; tired but not weak. With any luck, she'd be out of the
Hospital Wing after a checkup and a potion or two.
"Thank Merlin you were not, dear." A familiar Scottish brogue added.
Hermione quickly turned to make sure she wasn't just hearing things.
"Misses McGonagall!" Hermione somehow found the energy to smile. Her
parents were a great comfort but her favorite former professor was an
unexpected surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"I didn't expect to be here myself until Monsieur Delacour came calling at
my floo just before sunup." Minerva seemed to be in good spirits in spite
of her early morning. "It seems he managed to learn of some rather
exciting goings on here at Hogwarts last night..."
Hermione blushed and looked away. Minerva continued.
"Monsieur Delacour overheard the rather foul rant of an auror captain
who complained about how Hogwarts was without a headmaster and
lacked anyone with the proper training to take control of the castle
wards. Alain asked the captain if an ex-deputy headmistress was likely to
have the proper training and the captain supposed that she would. Of
course Alain knew of my employment history and he had my floo
address... so here I am."
"So you're the new Headmistress, then?" Hermione asked.
Minerva nodded in the positive. "It's not official at the Ministry... what
there is of a Ministry... but the wards respond to my will well enough.
We won't be seeing dementors on school grounds again, I assure you. And
while the elves have always been properly respectful, I dare say I've
never seen them quite so happy to heed my call. I don't think they liked
serving Headm- Snape."
"With all due respect," Hermione's cheer dimmed, "I can no longer refer
to that man as a professor. He tried to kill Luna and seemed quite willing
to look the other way when dementors were set to attack the
muggleborns and halfbloods."
Minerva's mood dropped to match Hermione's. "Were it not for Albus's
personal assurances that Severus was trustworthy I would have run the
man out of my school long ago. It is to my eternal shame that I followed
the Headmaster's lead for so long. How many promising students did that
horrid man ruin in his tenure?"
Hermione saw the new Headmistress's eyes dim a little and rushed to
change the subject.
Hermione wisely avoided her first instinct to say that any other school
head must be a better employer than Snape. There were plenty of lighter
issues to ask about... if you could call the challenge of running a magical
school while it played host to a fair number of refugees in a time of war
'lighter issues'. The paperwork alone looked to be a daunting task, not to
mention that it would now be Minerva's responsibility to train up a new
deputy in the esoteric art of castle ward management.
Much as she wanted to stay, Minerva was a very busy witch and had to
leave after catching up with Hermione for a few more minutes. Not long
after, Hermione was given a clean bill of health and released by Madam
Pomfrey. This did not mean she was free to go. After her release, an
auror lieutenant introduced himself to Hermione and her parents and
spent the next two hours asking the girl about last night. It was
something that they would be doing with each student as they were
made available by Madam Pomfrey. Surprisingly, Ginny was the first up
and out. She even managed to get away from the aurors before her Mum
could show up and crush the girl in a hug. Molly would have to settle for
smothering her boys in the Hospital Wing until Ginny could be found
once again.
...
"Hermione." Ginny called from behind, causing the older witch and her
parents to stop and turn. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Ginny spoke up again. "In private, please?"
Hermione, Dan, Emma and their two French auror escorts shared a look.
A short break in their castle tour would be acceptable as long as it was
kept fairly short.
The redhead jerked her head over to a random classroom door to the
right.
"Let's make this quick if we can, Ginny. I only have two hours to give my
parents the full tour before Alain wants us back in the Great Hall. We'll
be going back to France with Alain and Luna just after lunch."
"And Harry?" Ginny asked. She didn't see him.
"He went back to France with Gabrielle and Apolline last night. With
Gabrielle being uninjured, they were not about to risk her in Hogwarts
any longer than necessary no matter how many aurors were on station."
"Still," Ginny persisted, "I really need to ask you about last night before
you leave... I heard something, something I really didn't want to hear."
"Alright then. Mum and Dad haven't seen the inside of a classroom yet
anyway. Plenty in there to keep them occupied."
The six entered a classroom and split up in short order. Ironically, it was
the young teens stressing to older medical professionals that 'look don't
touch' was rather important here. Dan and Emma had already been to the
Hospital Wing and didn't need to go back so soon. The aurors stayed near
the door.
"Okay." Hermione turned to her friend as soon as her parents were
suitably distracted. "What is it?"
Ginny bit her lip for a moment before asking. "Is it true?"
"Is what true, Ginny?" Hermione responded.
"What He Who Must Not Be Named said last night... is it true? About
Harry and Gabrielle?"
Hermoine thought for a moment. She didn't remember anything of the
sort, but then she had taken a nasty bump on the head when Voldemort
threw her back down the bridge along with the others. "I don't remember
anything like that, Ginny. What do you think you heard him say?"
"I may have been miserable from the pain but my ears worked well
enough the whole time." Ginny said a little forcefully. "He claimed Harry
used blood magic to make Gabby a slave. It's not true, is it?"
Hermione's stunned silence was telling.
"It is true then..." Ginny said sadly.
"Wait... no, it's not what you think, Gin." Hermione didn't try to
completely deny it as she'd already lost her chance to do so believably. "It
isn't slavery and their bond isn't dark in any way. Do you really think
Gabby's a dark creature? Did either of them act dark last night? Do you
think our Harry would go dark for any reason? Do you really think he
would let himself die on purpose to trap a little girl he's never met
before?"
Ginny didn't respond but for a small head shake almost too small to see.
She didn't want to think Harry and Gabby were dark...
"Look," Damn, damn, damn! Hermione couldn't allow rumors like this to
spread. "You can kill someone with a levitation charm but that isn't dark
magic. Transfiguration isn't evil though you can do terrible, horrible
things to unsuspecting people with it. I admit, there was blood involved
when Harry sacrificed himself to save Gabrielle... that part is true
enough... but don't for a minute think that he planned some kind of dark
ritual. Harry isn't evil, Ginny. Voldemort is wrong."
"For all your book learning I'm surprised you don't know better already...
Blood magic, Hermione. Blood magic is dark magic and always has been.
Any pureblood knows that." Ginny replied immediately, a lifetime of
teachings reacting to Hermione's contrary words.
"Just-" Hermione stopped for a moment.
Ginny was just repeating what she'd been told all her life. The Weasleys
may not be religious, but that didn't mean their beliefs were any less firm
than someone like Jeanne d'Arc's beliefs were. Hermione quickly came to
the conclusion that she couldn't simply argue Ginny out of her beliefs.
But. If she could get the girl to hold off... keep quiet for a bit... then
maybe she could find a way to enlighten the devout light witch later.
Harry and Gabby would surely be able to prove the point given half a
chance. Hermione had faith enough in that.
"I understand that you have some issues with what you heard last night...
and about what I've just said as well... but please, Ginny, give Harry a
chance to explain it himself before you go telling the world what you
heard Voldemort say."
Ginny stood motionless for a moment before nodding slowly.
"You haven't already told the aurors any of that, have you?" Hermione
asked, afraid of what she might hear.
"No. They stopped their questions at the point when I got hurt and
restarted them when I was healed." Ginny answered. "I said I was in a
bad way and they didn't even bother asking me for the in-between bits."
Hermione let out a sigh of relief before tensing up again. "What... what
about the others?"
Ginny thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, but I think I was the only one
fully conscious at the time."
Hermione visibly relaxed again. Ginny narrowed her eyes.
"They deserve to know as well after risking their lives out there. When
Harry comes to meet me, I'll have them all with me."
"I-" Hermione stopped short of giving her opinion, especially as it was
contrary to Ginny's. She needed to be agreeable, or at the very least she
needed to stall. "I'll tell Harry. Please don't say more to anyone until he
can meet you again. And please, please consider meeting him one on one
first."
Ginny didn't say anything, but she did nod and turn to leave the room. As
Ginny left, Hermione's parents came back up to their girl.
"Is something wrong, dear?" Emma asked.
"Nothing I can't handle given time, Mum." Hermione responded. "But
enough of that. Next stop on our tour is the library unless you have any
questions about this classroom."
Her distraction worked. As it happened, Mum and Dad had several
questions about some of the teaching aids.
...
Deep in the dungeons, within his personal quarters in the Slytherin
dorms, Draco lay back in his bed and held on to Daphne as she fought off
her fears. The two teens were still fully clothed just as they had been
when falling asleep late last night... or was it early this morning? Draco
slowly stroked Daphne's hair, all the while thinking... and not about the
witch in his arms.
Tagging the Weaslette with a listening charm before they all headed off
to fight the Dark Lord was turning out to be a stroke of genius on his
part. And considering how often Granger met with competent aurors, he
was sure he had the right target too. The charm gave him access to
anything Ginny herself heard and it still had a few hours left until it
unraveled naturally. Not that he cared if it held out any longer... it had
already given him far more than he could have hoped for.
Draco considered what he overheard, both last night and just now. As
gifted as the Dark Lord was at magic, Draco was still doubtful of his
boasting... until Granger all but confirmed it. How delightful, Potter and
the mudblood caught up in blood magic. The very idea warmed Draco's
heart. Either they were foolishly innocent of the truth, in which case the
Wizarding World would set them straight soon enough, or they were far
from the paragons of virtue they are made out to be. Either way, Draco
had knowledge which could net him a very high reward should he use it
correctly.
The Slytherin prince began working through possible scenarios in his
mind... Potter deals with the Weaslette honestly... Potter tries to silence
her... the frogs bypass Potter and Obliviate the Weaslette... there were so
many outcomes and he needed to be able to plan for each and every one.
Draco would Obliviate the bitch if he were in Potter's position. Of course,
the real question was just how much could he gain from all this without
getting Obliviated or killed himself. He'd have to take steps to keep that
from happening once he played his hand. And maybe... if he worked it
just right... Draco could take ownership of two puppets that not even
Dumbledore or Voldemort could control.
But all that was for later. Right now Daphne was in his arms, an
emotional wreck, and Draco wasn't about to ignore the opportunity to
turn this to his advantage. They'd been playing a game of equals for far
too long. It was time for Draco to take the world and bend it to his will.
There would be risks, but nothing worthwhile was ever achieved without
risk. It was time to seek his proper place in the world. It was time to
establish dominance.
The young Lord drew Daphne close and kissed her passionately. She
offered no resistance.
-o\0/o-
The next morning saw a concerned specter watching over the ladies of
the house as they packed for a trip to the Ukraine.
"Harry."
"Yes, Alain?" Harry replied.
Alain motioned for Harry to follow him out of Gabby's room and the
ghost complied. Behind them, Gabby and her mother fussed over an
assortment of clothes and other items that the ladies of the house were
planning to take to the Veela temple. After a short trek through the
house, Alain entered his study. Once Harry was clear of the door, Alain
shut it and put up a series of privacy spells.
Harry was getting concerned. "Look Alain... I already said-"
"You're sorry. Yes you did and I forgave you almost as soon as I heard what
you had done." Alain waved off Harry's attempt at an apology. "When I
heard Gabrielle's words about the two of you being tested before you went to
Hogsmeade, I began to understand what it means to have an angel for a
daughter."
Forgiven or not, Harry truly looked sorry. As wonderful as the Angel-Lord
bond was, there was a cost to the Delacours. Gabby was an innocent
child by every measure imaginable and yet Harry had a claim to her
heart that not even her parents could match. If that were not hard
enough to cope with, higher powers had clearly claimed the both of them
to play a game that, important as Alain was among wizards, it left him as
a lesser pawn when his daughter and ghost-son were clearly higher
ranked pieces... possibly the very highest.
"If- if I could have saved her another way, Sir-"
"Enough, Harry." Alain said with a firm yet gentle voice. "I am proud of our
Little Angel and I am proud of you. I begin to think that were I to find myself
sent back in time to stand on the shores of Black Lake yet again, I may not
even seek to keep Little Angel out of the water. Truly, the two of you are
blessed to have the connection you have. You yourself have claimed that your
afterlife has been far more enjoyable than your life before it, or am I
mistaken?"
Harry blushed silver and looked down. "You are not mistaken, Alain."
"Good." Alain said with an air of finality. They have yet to broach the
subject Alain brought Harry into his study to speak of in the first place.
"Now, I remember once telling you that the boys in Research were quite
disturbed by that diary bound spirit you came up against."
Harry thought for a moment. "Oh, right... I forgot about that."
"Well, Harry, I think it's time we talked about what they found." Alain added
gravely.
Harry sat up straighter. Not that there was a chair under him but he did
it just the same.
"There is a branch of magic that deals with the soul... though I suppose this
should come as no surprise to you considering all the things you have come
across..." Harry nodded in agreement. Non-magicals may doubt the
existence of souls and ghosts all they want but they are an accepted truth
in the magical world. "Wizards have experimented on souls and their
connection to this world for as long as we remember. While some of this
interest has manifested in research for the sake of research, much of it was
less noble in nature."
A serious look flashed over Harry's features. "I don't doubt that. To have the
key to your own soul, or worse yet to have the key to someone else's soul
sounds like a goal any up and coming Dark Lord would pursue. Though surely
there is a corresponding light magic branch to the dark one? Soul healing,
perhaps?"
Alain stopped for a moment to consider Harry's words. There was
something strange about them... they seemed so reasonable and yet all
his experience proved them to be false.
"Not that I'm aware of, son." Alain pushed the conversation back on track.
"The point is that Tom Riddle's diary was most likely enchanted with soul
magic. We think that Riddle used the diary as well as other items to anchor his
soul in the mortal plane."
If Harry had been alive, Alain would have seen him go pale. "A- anchor?"
"That, or perhaps soul containers would be a better term. The accepted name
of this kind of object is 'horcrux'." Alain continued. "They work by retaining a
bit of the soul of their creator. If a wizard who has created one or more of
these horcruxes is fatally stricken, they do not truly die. It is thought that one
cannot die unless the whole soul passes into the afterlife, and if you have a bit
of your soul in one of these anchors..."
"Then you've got a foot in the door as it were." Harry added.
"And if you keep your foot in the door then you don't have to go through if
you don't want to." Alain concluded. "You would then be practically immortal
so long as you use the right ritual to come back."
"Like Riddle did." Harry murmured. "And your 'boy's' in Research think
Riddle made more than one?"
"You destroyed his diary before it could bring him fully back to life yet he still
lingered in this world until his resurrection at the Third Task."
"I got that one with a basilisk fang. Can we do the others the same way?"
Harry asked.
"That would work assuming you can get us one of those fangs, but there are
other ways too." Alain answered. "The trick is finding the damned things. You
were very unlucky to stumble across a horcrux and yet very lucky to also
stumble across a way to destroy it so quickly. And we don't know how many
there are or where to find them."
Harry was beginning to think of how unlikely it would be for them to
find anything that Tom Riddle didn't want them to find when it hit him.
"Bloody hell..." Harry cursed and started turning in tight circles as though
he were pacing furiously. "I've had part of this conversation before. I've had
this conversation before! Damn it to hell! Dumbledore bloody well knew
Voldemort had soul containers. He knew Voldemort was immortal. He knew
and he didn't tell anyone! That horrible bastard!"
Harry lashed out at the quills and ink blotter resting on Alain's desk.
They all bounced off a nearby bookshelf with a loud crash.
"May I ask how you knew this, Harry?" Alain asked softly. A quiet flick of
his wand set quill and blotter right again.
Harry stopped.
"It was after he was already dead and we were crossing the Styx." He called
softly. It looked like he was calming down now. "I should have seen his
words for the clue they were but I didn't. Dumbledore said that the diary had
part of Voldemort's soul in it and that he almost came back because of it. He
even used the term 'soul shard'. I completely missed that this was a clue to ol'
Tommy's continued existence. I should have told Hermione about it. She would
have figured it out, I bet."
"Once you told everyone where you met him last, no one and I mean no one
wanted to know the details of that encounter. Besides. Once you label someone
'nutters' as you labeled your former headmaster, we tend to have less interest
in what they say."
Harry nodded. "Right. Well, at least I know what Gabriel and I will be talking
about today."
"Gabriel?" Alain repeated as if he'd never heard the name before.
"Y- you don't know?" Alain failed to react to Harry's question. "Oh... well I
suppose you should have a chat with your wife. I will too. I thought they were
telling you what went on in Angel School."
Alain shook his head in the negative. "I think Régine has deemed me
unworthy of learning Veela lore."
"How's that going to work when your own daughter knows more Veela lore
than Régine does." Harry replied.
"Gabrielle?" Alain asked surprised.
"Well," Harry paused, "I wasn't going to say Gabby but I guess she does now if
you stick to the angel side of it. I was thinking more about Fleur and how she's
become quite the expert. All that research and those contacts she made on the
trip must count for something, wouldn't you agree?"
Alain nodded. "I agree, but let's not start a Veela family feud if we can avoid
it. Apolline's family tree is small enough without having to trim a few more
branches off over internal power struggles."
Harry tried to pretend he didn't hear that. Clearly there was still much
about Veela that he did not understand. Perhaps it was for the best.
-o\0/o-
Gabby watched France slip away only to be replaced by an enchanted
island at the eastern limits of Eastern Europe.
"Gabrielle!" Fleur shouted.
Her older sister dropped what she was doing and rushed to hug Little
Angel. As they had yet to slip away from their ride in, Hermione and
Momma were also pulled into the hug.
"Thank Jeanne you all survived!" Segolene cried, the brunette adding her
weight to the group hug.
Little Angel soaked in the love for a moment or two before she
remembered why they were coming here so soon. Much as Harry has
been there for her, both Angel and Lord have been uncomfortable since
last night and unable to think about anything other than Voldemort's
claims.
As soon as the hugs let up, Gabby let her transformation slip and became
a little silver-blonde haired girl again.
"What are the three of you doing here?" Fleur asked as she fussed over her
sister.
Momma took a warm travel cloak she had been holding and draped it
over Gabby's shoulders just as the cold was beginning to make the little
girl shiver.
"Something bad happened last night, Fleur." Harry's voice floated over the
group of women. "Gabby and I need to go to the Hall of Angels to get some
answers."
The ghost materialized just outside the ring of females, though he had
not truly left Gabby. She wasn't the grumpy gremlin of her coming of age
but Voldemort's threat really shook the girl. Even Then she would have
been alright had Harry not reacted the same way she did… but he did
react the same way… and now Little Angel was a sad little angel.
Hopefully Gabriel and her sister angels would know what to do.
"But you won!" Segolene interrupted. "Of course it was terribly foolish to go
to Hogwarts in the middle of a fight- but you won! What you did wasn't bad…
it was fantastic!"
"How did you find out about last night?" Apolline asked. "Without magic you
could not have heard over the wizarding wireless."
"We did not hear it here on the island…" Fleur replied. "We were with Danya
and her sisters last night in the village camp."
Fleur pointed to the far shore of the frozen lake and the new arrivals
followed her gesture. There on the far bank, Harry and Apolline stared at
a hive of activity. People were moving between the broken brick walls on
foot or in the seat of lorries and earth movers. There was scaffolding all
around the gate wall. Outside of the old village, there was a long line of
tents and equipment stockpiles. And a couple of tanks. Army tanks, not
the water ones.
"What in God's name have you been doing, Fleur?" Apolline asked. "Maman
will be most displeased."
"That was not my doing. Grand-mère has no one to blame but herself for this."
Fleur answered smugly. "She has been bragging too much about how much
her family has done to restore Veela heritage and now the other Grand
Matrons are beginning to send their own daughters on behalf of 'The Cause'.
The Volk sisters have brought Danya's fiance into the fold for security. One of
her sisters is seeing a local politician with influence in public works and
construction, so we get free material and labor as well. The official cover story
is that we have rediscovered a historically important early Christian church,
one that has cultural significance."
"We are not exactly lying either,"Segolene added, "and having Marion
involved lends us a certain credibility with the local governments as she is
properly credentialed for this kind of work."
While Apolline was beyond surprised, neither Harry nor Gabby cared all
that much, really. They politely held still and listened just the same.
Hermione was too busy drifting around the temple's entry vestibule to
hear them, her mind lost to the history on display before her very eyes.
"...but..."
Fleur tried to comfort her mother. "The Grand Matrons are not going to kick
us out, Maman. Marion, Segolene and I are still the acknowledged experts and
everyone agrees that Gabrielle's right to access the site shall never be contested.
Being an Angel has it's perks."
"Marion and Segolene?" Apolline asked. "But they-"
"Are not Veela?" Fleur anticipated her mother's problem. "Give Segolene a
Veela biology quiz and she's likely to do better than most Veela. After Rome,
she easily knows more Veela history than any Grand Matron can claim to
know... I alone know more than she and that is because she follows my lead in
research. And as for Marion, she may not know much about Veela, but she is
an experienced magical archeologist and therefore she is an asset we cannot
afford to lose. I have already made that point to Madam Misko and Madam
Loren, both of whom visited this week."
Apolline raised her brow. Two Veela Grand Matrons came to review
Fleur's work in one week... and they went home happy? And Fleur is still
in charge and no one is dead? This is a near miraculous feat for a young
Veela with no political connections nor any children of her own.
"Oh, and Madam Misko is sending two of her daughters to aid the Volk girls in
the village. They plan on building a meeting hall and faux temple around the
enchanted entry wall and putting up a few homes and other necessary
buildings in the immediate area. Within a year's time, we may have a new
colony guarding the temple gateway."
Gabby may not have followed most of what her sister and momma were
saying, but she and Harry both heard that last line. Little Angel and her
Lord shared a small smile. Rebuilding the village sounded like a good
idea to them.
"Won't all the construction destroy what's left of the old village?" Apolline
asked.
"No, Maman." Fleur continued. "Marion's grandfather took all of the non-
magical artifacts away a long time ago and the enchanted wall is well
protected. There are other plans and ideas, of course, but surely you didn't
come with Little Angel in tow to hear about those..." Fleur looked over her
shoulder. "... and we better rein in Hermione before she gets too close to the
temple guardians."
Inside the entry vestibule, Hermione was drifting towards the guardian
statues and their gold plate armor. While shiny things did not normally
catch the girl's attention, millennia old shiny things certainly did.
Soon enough, Fleur took Apolline and Hermione aside so she could get
the real story of the 'Battle of Hogwarts Castle' as the wireless was calling
it. As they caught up with each other Harry and Gabby entered the
treasure room and made their way to the back wall. After stopping to say
'hi' to the angel statue, Gabby stared into the halo etched into the back
face once more. Just as before, the halo flared to life and established a
connection to the nine year old angel standing before it. Angel School
was open for business.
Gabriel! Gabby cried and ran straight for the older angel.
She leapt bodily at the older woman and held on tight after making
contact. Gabby lost her transformation as the reason why they were here
on a school day returned to the forefront of her mind. She began to
sniffle. Soon she was crying.
"Be at peace, young angel." Gabriel soothed the girl in her arms. "We will
work through this together."
"Listen to her." Lucifer added, her arms coming around Harry to bring
him into a comforting embrace. Harry felt the tiny spark that came with
the first skin on skin contact whenever he came here. They knew now.
"This is not the end of the world."
Harry's other Gabrielle joined in the hug with Lucifer and Harry.
"I won't let them take you from me!" She cried, her voice thick with
emotion. "I won't!"
-o\0/o-
Ginny hid herself and watched as the other students passed by
completely absorbed in their own little worlds.
She wondered how excited they would be if they knew what she knew.
She also wondered... would she be better off if she didn't know? Should
she have given in to her injuries and passed out from the pain last night?
Would she be happier? Would she be as happy, as care free and relieved
as they were? Hiding here in an alcove behind one of Hogwarts' many
suits of armor, she wrapped herself in shadow and hid from the
happiness of the world.
If she truly wanted silence, she could have hid any number of other
places as Hogwarts was far too large for the number of students it
housed, but she couldn't really take the silence... not after Tom. Tom took
advantage of her early in that first year at school when she hid herself
away from all of her classmates and family. She refused to tell anyone
about her troubles with Harry or about her talks- her written talks- with
Tom. That turned out well, didn't it?
She was hiding again and she hated herself for it. She was scared... but
why?
Harry was such a prat- why did he do this to her? Why did he have to
dabble in blood magic? Why was Hermione so accepting of it? And the
little Angel Gabrielle? How could dark magic be responsible for her
existence? Ginny was there when the little girl fought Dumbledore. She
saw... well, nearly saw the girl take down a swarm of dementors. She also
saw much of Gabrielle's victory over Tom on the bridge, even if she was
half-mad with pain and light headed from blood loss at the time. How
could Ginny's savior and his pet angel use blood magic to do what they
did?
It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense, and Ginny was not going to
drop the subject until it did.
"...and that's why I could never have done it! You're so brave, Sue. The
hat must have sorted you wrong!" A Puff Ginny didn't recognize jabbered
on and on as Puffs tend to do.
"I wasn't brave at all... really. I knew that Harry knew the right thing to
do and I followed him. That's the simple truth!" The strawberry blonde
witch replied, face red in embarrassment.
"So he's Harry now, is he?" Another witch in the group teased causing all
of the other girls in the group to titter except for the embarrassed Miss
Bones.
"I was scared out of my mind on that bridge!" She ignored the taunt
about Harry. "I can't understand how the Gryffies did it... He Who Must
Not Be Named called out Hermione and Ginny by name! If he'd done that
with me I'm sure I would have wet myself. Ginny actually cursed him for
it!"
One of the girls gasped in surprise. They all stopped and stared at their
friend. Ginny's actions must be new to them.
"Tom."
The Hufflepuff witches turned as one to the alcove hidden in shadow.
Ginny was done hiding from ghosts be they Slytherin or Gryffindor. She
slipped into the light.
"His name isn't He Who Must Not Be Named. It's Tom Riddle." The
redhead took a good look at the Puff's before her. Susan was surprised to
see her... two of Sue's friends were clearly disturbed... and the last one
looked near to wetting herself right there. "Harry saved me from Tom,
and I'm not talking about when we were all babies either; he saved me
First Year when Tom took me into the Chamber of Secrets. I owe Harry...
at the very least I can tell everyone what that monster's real name is."
Before any of the Puffs could respond in any way, a new voice filled the
hall. "But do you really owe him?"
Draco. The Slytherin slid up to the girls until he was uncomfortably close
to Ginny. She took a step back.
"You fought a Dark Lord, right? You nearly died last night if the rumors
are to be believed... and I just don't see how you can owe a ghost a life
debt, however noble the sentiment." Draco smiled in a way that most
witches found disarming.
Not Ginny. She tensed.
"What's it to you, then?"
"I don't know..." The young wizard drawled. "I just thought there might
be more to the story, really. I mean, sure the little French girl is special.
She is a creature so rare one would think Lovegood came up with the
idea of her... and she is so terribly powerful. One has to wonder how she
came by it all."
Draco smiled at the assembled girls for a moment before turning away.
"But then what do I know? I'm just a student and the little Veela girl is...
is that really what she is? And she's so young... how she could be so
powerful while still so young?"
He began to walk away, and still the girls said nothing in response.
"Good day, ladies."
It was only after Draco turned a corner and left their sight that Susan said
anything at all. "Well I for one don't know what he's on about. Gabby is
the sweetest, purest, most innocent little girl I ever met."
"I suppose..." Ginny answered, "At that age, I was a bit of a terror myself
to hear Mum talk, and the only other witch I knew at nine was Luna."
The other girls nodded silently. It wouldn't be fair to compare anyone
else to Luna.
As the girls all went their separate ways, the Gryffindor witch resolved
not to hide in the shadows any longer. Coming back out of them clearly
scared the shite out of anyone near enough to witness it. And she had to
really work at the riddle that was Gabrielle Delacour. Nothing made
sense and that disturbed her. Hearing her own fears coming out of Draco
Malfoy's mouth was far worse. The boy seemed so damn confident too,
like he knew something.
Still, her old feelings for Harry made her want to give him a chance, and
she did promise Hermione a meeting, so she would give Harry that
chance. She would wait for him to come back to Hogwarts Castle and
give his side of the story. Until then, she would wait. And think.
-o\0/o-
The stars glittered overhead as Lord, Angel and several sentient magical
constructs sought comfort together. Gabby found herself sitting in
Gabriel's lap in the center of the large stone at the turn in the creek, her
other self having adopted nearly the same pose in Harry's lap not far
away. Lucifer sat with her feet dangling above the waters and her
attention on the stars above. Eventually, Gabriel spoke.
"There are three problems that must be overcome. First and foremost is
the problem that is Tom Riddle." Gabby shifted in the elder angel's lap.
Gabriel allowed her to settle before running her fingers through the little
girl's hair, a motion that was mirrored by Harry as he held the magical
image of his angel. "It is very important that the both of you understand
that whatever he may have learned, his knowledge is fundamentally
flawed. No matter how much arcane knowledge he acquired, it has failed
to teach him the most basic principles behind the Angel-Lord bonding."
"The most basic...?" Harry turned the head of the small girl in his lap.
"You mean how the bond is formed?"
Gabriel nodded. "A chain with links of blood forged in love and magic.
Tom Riddle may know blood magic. He may be as powerful and skilled
as any dark wizard known to the world in the last age. But he cannot
know the truth of the Angel-Lord bond and still expect to be able to take
Gabrielle from you, Harry."
"Because he doesn't love you like I do... " Harry whispered to the girl in
his lap. She smiled and blushed prettily. Harry looked up to Gabriel.
"...and he wouldn't know self sacrifice if it bit him on his arse. But can he
break the bond?"
"Of that we cannot be certain." The brunette cautioned. "My sisters and I
spent days unnumbered in search of those who practiced dark soul
magic. We slew all who knew of it or who sought to use the power
against us. My true self watched with her own eyes as Michael dispatched
the last known master of the art twelve centuries ago... the last master as
well as the death cult who followed him. She made the sky fall and the
waters churn until their temple and power was but myth and memory.
You will never know how I wept for the souls of his victims, souls which
were warped and broken and devoured at a whim. Sadly, even with all of
our efforts, records of the accursed techniques may have been hidden and
preserved."
Lucifer stood up and turned to their guests. "I will show you how to
defend against bond breaking soul magics, Harry, but you will have more
than just that to deal with."
"What do you mean?" The boy asked.
Gabriel answered him. "The second problem. Tom Riddle is again our
focus, and soul magic is involved, but this is more about what he has
done to himself than what he intends to do to you and Gabrielle."
"This is about Voldemort's horcruxes, isn't it?" Harry asked. "Alain
mentioned those to me. Do you think you can tell me how to find them?
How many are there?"
Lucifer and Gabriel both glanced at the stars before turning back to
Harry. Gabriel chose to explain. "It is possible to hunt down his anchors
one at a time. It would take time and it would be very dangerous. I
would recommend having teams of professionals do the real work if you
sought to defeat him in this way. I also expect Tom Riddle would realize
what you are doing and make attempts to counter it."
Lucifer picked up the conversation. "Fortunately, we do not have to chase
them all down. When I... fell... the demon responsible did not attack me
directly. His magic sought out my bond, my chain, and assaulted a single
link. Loath as I am to suggest it, a similar technique would work against
Riddle."
Both Gabby's shivered.
Harry had a thought. "But wouldn't that leave bits of his soul on this side
of death? Could they rebuild or something? Don't you need the whole
soul to pass through?"
Lucifer shook her head. "I know what Monsieur Delacour told you, Harry,
but modern wizards are mislead by their incomplete understanding of the
subject. A soul anchor is not made of a real soul shard. And while blood
may or may not be involved, magic always is. As is always the case in
magic, intent governs the lightness or darkness of the anchor; whether it
be selfless of selfish, helpful or hurtful. The diary Tom Riddle made was
made by taking a life without bloodshed and it was to have been
activated by taking another life, again without bloodshed."
Lucifer paused to take a deep breath and got back on track. "I can teach
you this magic… enough that you may break the chains between Riddle
and his anchors, but it will be Gabrielle's duty to physically cast the spell
and break Riddle's connections to the mortal plane."
"What?" Harry tensed at Lucifer's words. The angel in his lap tried to hide
deeper in her Harry chair. "You can't do this to her. I can't do this to her!"
Harry could feel fear pouring in through their bond and he was sure his
reaction could be felt by his Gabby.
"A ghost cannot cast this spell, Harry." Gabriel added, her own voice
thick with the pain of knowing the truth.
They all knew teaching soul rending magic to Little Angel was dangerous
in ways that attacking a cloud of dementors could never match. It was
the one class of magic that could hurt her terribly in ways that could
never be healed. Should the Dark Lord survive their next encounter, he
may learn from the attack and turn the horrible spell back on her.
"Can't I show the spell to 'Mione or Fleur?" Harry begged. "I don't want
Gabby anywhere near this one!"
"Are you willing to risk teaching this magic to others? Won't the French
magical government want to know what magic was used to attack the
wizard and not his individual soul anchors? Won't the International
Confederation of Wizards be interested?" Gabriel looked up to the stars
before continuing, "I can see a world where blood magic is in balance,
used both for good and for ill. The wicked of the world will continue to
be wicked and the righteous will continue to be righteous. Soul magics,
sadly, are more dangerous by far. The effects are beyond even death's
ability to reverse. At least blood magic cannot follow the deceased into
the next plane of existence. We fought to stop the use of soul magic by
wizard kind in the same way that the common man fights to restrict his
own nuclear weapons, for one tragic misstep may spell Hell on Earth to
those who survive."
Harry was silent at Gabriel's words. He couldn't answer. He just knew he
didn't want his Gabby to do it.
"If the modern world learns the magic I have to teach," Lucifer picked up
the conversation, "Then they may yet discover more about how magic
affects the soul and that is something we cannot allow."
Harry closed his eyes and fought to calm down. His base instinct was to
risk himself and yet he physically couldn't do it himself. He could tell
Hermione about the spell... or Fleur... and either witch would swear on
her life and magic to do what needed to be done and do it secretly, but
there were still risks. Or... he could will Gabby to perform the spell.
He would hate it. She would hate it.
Harry looked over the head of silver-blonde hair in his lap, his eyes
searching for the eyes of the little girl in Gabriel's lap. Green eyes locked
on to the softly glowing blue orbs of his Angel.
She would hate it, but she would do it if that was what he wanted.
Only, he didn't want her to.
Harry and the small group of angels all sat quietly and watched the stars
turn above them.
This wasn't going to be easy.
"So what's problem number three?"
-o\0/o-
Luna paused in her letter writing to take a bite of lunch.
"Beauxbatons, dear? Are you sure?" Emma asked again.
The two were in the Granger homestead just outside of Marseille. Luna
was done with Hogwarts. She wouldn't go back again, not for all the
Snorkacks in Sweden.
Luna nodded confidently. "Yes, Mummy Granger."
The girl went back to writing furiously.
"But dear..." her adoptive mother pressed forward, "Much as I would hate
to have the Atlantic between us, Salem is an English speaking school. You
still can't speak French and Hermione has confirmed that the classes at
Beauxbatons are not instructed in any language other than French.
Hermione's been studying French since she was little and she still has
trouble with some translations."
"I'm working on that, Mummy Granger." Luna added, not looking up from
her work. "I've two cauldrons on low simmer in the kitchen and the last
ingredient should be available in a few days."
Emma nodded uncertainly. She couldn't argue magical methods with her
girls... not even after browsing through Hermione's textbooks each
summer. If Luna said she knew a potion that could teach her languages,
Emma trusted the girl not to lie about such things.
"Are you owl ordering the last ingredient? Will you need some francs or
galleons to pay for it all?"
"No thank you, Mummy Granger. I've got this covered."
Luna finished her missive and closed it with a red wax seal. The brass
seal itself was a gift from Dan and Emma upon Luna's adoption and
showed a granary under the crescent moon. Just as Luna was ready to
blow out the candle she used to melt her wax, a pure white owl flew into
an open window near the table.
"Perfect timing, Hedwig." Luna stated.
Hedwig barked.
"Of course, my pretty friend," Luna replied airily, "An owl of your
pedigree is never late. It is beneath you."
Hedwig barked again and nipped at Luna's hair. Luna responded by
giving Harry's first beloved female avian a bit of bacon. After Hedwig had
her fill, Luna picked up her missive and attached it to the owl's leg.
"Straight to Segolene Royal, Heddi-bear, and don't spare the horses!"
With a squawk, Hedwig lifted off the table and winged it out through the
window. Luna blushed and giggled a bit.
"Such a dirty beak! I didn't know Hedwig despised horses with such
passion." Luna turned to her Mummy Granger, "Did you?"
Emma just shook her head.
-o\0/o-
"The third problem," Gabriel intoned, "is the rest of the Wizarding World
and the stigma given to blood magic."
"Right."
Harry knew they would have to deal with this at some point. Having a
Dark Lord bring it up 'casually' just highlighted how important dealing
with this issue would be. Not that Dark Lords were all that reliable as
character witnesses, but rumors and research could really take the
problem from mole hill to mountain in record time.
"I- ummmm..." Gabby Mark One was about to make a suggestion before
she got trigger shy and backed off.
"What is it, Gabby?" Harry asked. "Don't be afraid to speak up, Angel."
While the deceased Lord was not feeling all that confident or happy
himself, he could push his love and faith of Gabby to her through the
bond. Gotcha! Harry grinned as he spied a small blush and smile on
Gabby Mark One and he could feel Gabby Mark Two fidget in his lap...
just like Gabby Mark One was fidgeting now.
"Wellllllllllll..." She tried again. "Why- um... why don't we tell the truth?"
Harry didn't know what to say.
"Harry is afraid that the wizards and witches won't like hearing that,
Little Angel." Lucifer said. "He is afraid that they will think the two of
you did something bad."
"But I'm not bad!" Gabby almost squawked even without her angel form.
"I'm a good girl!"
"Of course you are a good girl, Angel." Harry soothed. "The best! But...
they may not see it that way if we tell them the truth."
"Harry." Gabriel called softy. "What happened when you tried to trick
Jeanne?"
Harry dropped his head. He tried to trick the French Saint and paid the
price for being sneaky about it. Gabby had the right of it that time and
this was the same thing if only at a much greater scale.
"So... what do we do? Have a press conference and tell everyone that
intent really is the important bit?" Harry chuckled even though he was
only half joking. "How do we break a fundamental belief held by the
whole Wizarding World?"
Gabriel and Lucifer glanced at each other for the briefest of moments.
Gabriel lead off.
"This weekend, you and Gabrielle will be very busy here in the Hall of
Angels, Lord Potter."
"The name is Harry." Harry replied.
Gabriel ignored him. "You shall learn the magic required to break Tom
Riddle's connection to his soul anchors. You shall also learn simple light
blood magics which you can use to enlighten the world of it's true nature.
You will deliver a message to the whole of the Wizarding World that all
magic is intent based..."
Lucifer continued her sister's sentence, "that to give blood freely, in
innocence and to do so selflessly is in no way dark. And one more
thing..."
The two angels were getting a bit Weasley Twin on Harry. This was
weird. Gabriel continued, "We will teach you a higher blood magic
casting. One that directly uses the bond between Angel and Lord."
Lucifer spoke up one more time. "You will learn how to take advantage of
the soul anchor that you yourself posses, for that is what the Angel-Lord
bond is at its deepest level."
"What... what are you saying?" Harry asked.
Deep inside, Harry knew what he wanted it to mean. Both Gabbys were
buzzing in anticipation.
"We will teach you not only how to unchain a soul from its anchors but
how to return a soul to it's earthly container as well." Gabriel smiled
warmly. "I believe you are ready to learn the blood magic art of
resurrection."
Both Gabbys shot out of their lap-seats and began to dance about squee-
ing- and then chirping- in joy.
Well, if there was one thing that could get both Gabby and Harry to
forget the threat that is Tom Riddle, even if only for a few minutes, it was
the thought of returning Harry fully to the land of the living.
Hallelujah.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
Thank you all for reading, and if you're going to review, then thank you
for that too. As of this posting, my story has over 1360 reviews and
tonight it will pass 500,000 hits. Wow. Go team Veela!
If any of you are interested in reading a book that is as close to a genuine
Hogwarts classroom text as you are likely to find in the real world, then
get a copy of The Philosophy of Natural Magic, first written in 1533 by
Henry Cornelius Agrippa and translated to English in 1651 by 'J.F.'. On
one hand, Agrippa argues that his work is in accordance with the
Christian dogma of his time. On the other hand, one could easily see how
he or any who wished to make use of his book might find themselves on
top of a pile of burning wood surrounded by screaming peasants double-
quick. There are sections dealing with Love Potions, Divination and
Astral Projection among many, many others. It is thick with sentences
that make Shakespeare's plays appear easy to read by comparison and I'm
quite sure many of the words contained therein have not been set in type
for centuries. It's totally worth getting a copy. Truly outstanding work.
27. A Crisis of Faith
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here. At one point,
this chapter draws heavily from the fifth book, Order of the Phoenix, and
will take one or two lines directly from canon. You should realize by now
that that rarely happens so points shall be awarded to your house if you
can spot the them.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-six: A Crisis of Faith
She was alone. The sky above her was a smooth cloudless blue and the
ground below was a frozen expanse of ice and snow that extended clear
to the horizon. The snow at her feet reached half way up her shins and a
whisper of wind pushed across the ice covered lake before her.
It was beautiful.
Eventually a new sound reached her ears. It was the soft crunch of
footsteps that slowly grew louder as someone drew nearer. Perhaps that
was a good thing; Hermione could appreciate the beauty of nature but
she never quite liked the feeling of uncertainty that came with leaving
civilization behind... except, right now she was feeling really, really good
for some reason.
"'Mione!" Gabby squeaked.
No wonder she felt better. The little French girl was practically glowing
with joy; happiness rolled off of Little Angel in waves. Actually,
Hermione couldn't remember the last time she saw Gabby this happy
without wings and a halo. Maybe she was improving her control?
Hermione smiled and turned around. "How did Angel School go?"
At 'Mione's question, Gabby's joy seemed to double. Her crystal blue eyes
sparkled and a bright smile nearly split her face in half. She was so happy
that she was near to bursting... and then she did burst. Gabrielle's cloak
fell to the ground as a pair of pure white feathery wings stretched
gloriously behind her.
"That good?" Hermione asked.
The muggleborn couldn't help but smile brighter in the angel's presence
and in response Gabrielle began flapping her wings and prancing about
as though she had just won a game. This was a far cry from the sad little
angel who brought Hermione to the Veela temple a few hours before.
Actually, Hermione was beginning to feel a bit guilty about earlier. Harry
and Gabby were both clearly unsettled – and for good reason – before
trip. When Harry confirmed what Ginny said Hermione began to feel
their fear as well. Surely a Dark Lord would know everything there was
to know about dark blood magics, right? And yet, even with such fears to
weigh her down, she immediately lost herself to the beauty of a lost
Veela temple. If only the temple art wasn't so rich; if only those guardian
statues weren't so fantastically beautiful. At least Gabby's current mood
helped lessen the older witch's guilt.
Come on! Harry wants to ask you something! Gabrielle chirped eagerly.
She even grabbed the older girl's hand and pulled. Faster!
Hermione soon found herself jogging behind an angel who was
practically skipping across the island.
"'Mione!" Harry called when the two finally appeared at the head of the
temple. Wonderful! He looked to be just as happy as Little Angel herself.
"Yes?" Hermione nearly giggled her response.
"Good news!" Harry shouted. "Very good news indeed... but first I need
your help."
Hermione happily nodded for him to continue.
"How would you like to learn an ancient lost magical art? Would you like
to help make the world a better place?"
Maybe it was the angelic love that filled the air or the dashing smile of
the (dead) boy who had her heart or maybe it was the offer of using
magics most rare to change the world. Maybe it was all three. The end
result was that Hermione was in her own little world when she replied.
"Ooooooh, you say the nicest things, Harry..." Hermione cooed.
Gabrielle giggled and her giggles fell over Harry and Hermione like the
tinkling of little bells. Harry blushed silver before looking away.
Hermione managed to shake herself out of her little trance and look
down, her own blush burning her cheeks. She briefly considered pressing
some fresh snow onto her face to cool off but settled for just answering
the question.
"I'd... I'd love to help you, Harry."
-o\0/o-
Bellatrix opened her eyes. She heard a small noise coming through the
floorboards beneath her. Small bits of dirt and grime fell from her dress
as the pureblood witch slowly pulled herself off the floor. After spending
the last few hours literally laying in wait for her master to return, her
hair was matted and dirty but she cared little for such vanities. What was
physical beauty compared to magical power? Were not the screams of
dying mudbloods far more beautiful than some frilly dress or fashionable
charms?
Bellatrix grinned and prepared herself upon hearing a second noise
downstairs. This one sounded vaguely like a vase falling near the front of
the house. She moved through dim candle light and stood in front of the
stone pedestal bearing her Master's next great triumph. She aimed her
wand at the closed door and waited.
A third noise sounded- a high pitched squeal as the last house-elf left in
her Master's service was caught unawares. This was followed by a low
hissing sound that was too soft for Bellatrix to fully understand. Maybe
she couldn't understand, but she could place the source of the hiss. She
immediately lowered her wand and fell to her knees on the floor.
"Master," Bellatrix whispered just as a dark form passed through the door.
"You have come back to me."
"Of course, Bella." The shade answered. "I always do."
"I applied the salve as proscribed, Master." Bella added, standing quickly.
The witch turned her eyes to the body lying on the pedestal. Her hand
reached out and slid along the dead boy's flank.
"It is in perfect condition. All decay has been removed... no damage
remains save the magical scars on his stomach and forehead." Bella
seemed giddy. "I could go out and snatch a young wizard or two born
under the right sign... you could be made flesh again by sunup!"
Her gaze slowly ran down the length of the body which once held Harry
Potter's soul, and as she did her dark master noticed the witch's eyes
pause briefly below the waist before moving on. He cared not for such
physical distractions but perhaps he could indulge her. In fact, the ritual
may even return a desire for physical pleasure... the desire he willingly
sacrificed long ago for immortality- but that thought was for another day.
"Patience my sweet," the Dark Lord replied. He moved past her to hover
over Potter's corpse. "You speak true, yet I will not sacrifice power for
time. Wormtail failed me that night nearly one year ago and I will not
allow a repeat of his mistake here. The right blood must come from the
right source at the right time. I want the smallest Delacour to kneel
before me."
Voldemort's shade turned to observe the one witch more loyal to him
than any other. He saw her desire to please him yet he also saw her
childish impatience. Perhaps a small gift to sate her.
"The anniversary of Potter's demise approaches. People will want to
commemorate the occasion, I'm sure, and what better way to mark his
death than to return him to the people who miss him so?"
Bella nodded eagerly. "It will be glorious!"
"Yes, it will be..." Voldemort agreed. "And Bella?"
She drew herself to attention before her Master. "Yes, My Lord?"
"I have a new task for you."
"You honor me, My Lord. I will not fail you."
-o\0/o-
"Are you sure about this, Harry?" Hermione asked over her breakfast.
The boy nodded from the other side of the table. Fleur and Segolene
watched from behind their own fruit laden waffles but neither wished to
weigh in just yet.
"It's a bit of a gamble-" Harry stopped himself. "To be fair, it's a great big
gamble but I can't see to doing this any other way."
"It's not easy to change such deeply rooted beliefs." Hermione returned.
"People aren't known for changing their minds so thoroughly... magical
or not, it's the same problem. There is a reason so many wars were fought
based on religious beliefs after all."
"The population of Hogwarts certainly changed their minds about me
often enough but I do see your point. Still, we can't let Voldemort run
around unchecked with what he knows and people like Ginny could still
muck things up simply because they don't know the truth." Harry
answered. "Hiding it all or denying everything and covering it up... well...
I would have gone that route except for how poorly it worked with
Jeanne. I fouled on that one and Gabby had to come to my rescue. I have
the same problem today, we can't stay quiet forever and lying outright is
likely to blow up in our faces. I think Gabby knows best here."
Harry turned to his little angel and gave her a little wink. She grinned
and winked back.
He continued, "If people won't accept the word of an Angel over the word
of a Dark Lord, then we just have to do something he can't upstage,
something that will put everyone in a mood to listen to our side of the
argument."
"The common man is capable of ignoring great things Harry, and we still
have to convince one witch in particular first..." Hermione said as she
worked things out in her own mind, "and I expect that a lot of people will
still see it as wrong even if we do manage to convince some of them.
Things could go very wrong and if it does then we'll need a miracle to
deal with the angry mob that forms against us. "
"By the standards of the Wizarding World a miracle exactly what you will
be performing, 'Mione." Harry nodded, happy with his plan. "And if a
wizarding miracle isn't enough, well, that's what Gabby's for, isn't it?"
Gabrielle nodded vigorously.
"I want to do more angel miracles. They are more fun than using wands."
The nine year old added. "Playing tag with those demons was fun but I
want to help fix people. Can I fix someone? Pleeeaaaase?"
Gabby began looking between Harry and Fleur with her best puppy dog
eyes and pouty lips. Surely one of them would break under the pressure.
"Well..." Harry started. His first instinct was to agree immediately-
especially after he felt Gabby's eagerness rushing in over their bond. On
the other hand, she wasn't asking to practice wand magic, she was asking
to use her angelic powers. This was a lot bigger than a simple charm or
transfiguration. "I don't know anyone that needs help like that, Angel.
Not someone we can just walk up to and heal without making a big to do
of it."
"Perhaps... I may know someone." Fleur got their attention. She had an
idea that could make Little Angel happy, give her a chance to practice
and repay a debt the Delacour family owed. And if letting Gabby have
her fun helped ensure the locals became loyal to the Angel Gabrielle, so
much the better.
By the time Big Sissy Fleur explained her idea, everyone was eager to let
Gabby have her fun. Breakfast was finished in short order and everyone
put on their coats for a little trip. Someone nearby was about to get a
little unexpected visitor. Two someones nearby, actually.
-o\0/o-
Knock – knock - knock
"Coming." A soft voice called in Ukrainian.
"May we come in?" Fleur asked. She and Segolene knew a few simple
phrases and Marion could hold a basic conversation, but the others
visiting from France were still hopeless.
They didn't bring the translator. He was not to be trusted for something
like this.
Harry watched from behind Gabby's eyes as the door to the Three Sisters
opened. He first saw one of the Volk sisters wiping the bar down in
preparation for the day's customers. That Veela was soon joined by her
two sisters as well as the officer who helped rescue Segolene. He was
spending medical leave with his fiancée Danya. The engaged couple still
sported bandages covering more than half of their faces, a testament to
the power of dark magic and its terrible effect on innocent lives. Danya
and her man would have to get used to the pain and also the horrible
scars, scars that would never fully heal no matter how skilled the surgeon
or healer was. Unless…
"You wanted something?" The commander asked gruffly, clearly fighting
the urge to scratch through his bandages. Magical acid continued to sting
like a bitch no matter how often you cleaned out the wound.
He took a long drag from the cigarette in his hand before surveying the
group of foreigners who ran the ancient church's construction site. Huh,
more Veela. The room had more Veela than he was used to seeing, but he
refused to make a fool of himself today. And why was a little girl here?
The Three Sisters didn't cater to children.
After a few false starts, Fleur and Marion used their limited linguistic
skills to thank the commander for his part in Segolene's rescue and to
thank the Volk sisters for all of their help. They said that they had a gift
for the happy couple. Just what the gift was... well that was still hard to
explain.
Gabrielle stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention. At the back of
the group, Segolene looked around for strangers for a moment before
closing the door and locking it. It wouldn't do to have just anyone
watching.
Gabby was done waiting. She wanted to help the people who helped her
sister and she wanted to do it now. With Harry's unspoken support,
Gabby shrugged off her coat and changed. Love and peace filled the
Three Sisters as Gabrielle spread her wings. By the time Gabrielle's halo
flared above her shiny silver-blonde hair, the gruff man's cigarette had
fallen to the floor. His mouth was open in shock.
Gabrielle approached the soldier and his fiancée. She cooed softly and
held her hands out to them. Both fell to their knees unbidden. Little
Angel approached Danya first. She hugged the older Veela with her arms
and then with her wings as well. As her feather covered cheek rubbed up
against the Veela's bandages, Gabrielle thought about all the pain Danya
would feel from this injury. She tried to imagine what it would be like to
be so badly hurt. Tears began to fall.
Inside his angel, Harry's spirit glowed with satisfaction. This was
brilliant… helping people… it made everything worthwhile. He wanted
to make the world a better place and Gabrielle agreed with him one
hundred percent. There was nothing stopping the two of them from
helping Danya and her husband-to-be, and with a little luck, patience and
maybe a miracle or two Harry and Gabrielle would be able to help many,
many more people.
By the time Apolline lead her flock away from the Three Sisters, Gabby
and Harry were both extremely pleased with themselves. It worked.
Gabby got to heal two people. Surprisingly, the two people she healed
were far happier about the whole 'hugged by an angel' bit than the
'getting healed' bit. Danya's sisters got angel hugs too… and then so did
everyone else.
This gave Gabby an idea. She wanted to go find all the people that
thought she was a bad girl and she would angel-hug them. She would
hug them all and then she'd dare them to say she was bad again. Who
could say she was bad after an angel-hug? Nobody, that's who. Gabby
would ask Harry if he liked her idea later. Definitely later; Momma and
Big Sissy Fleur and the others were plotting again.
That evening, the prettiest cleverest owl to ever carry mail swooped into
their camp and delivered a message from home. Hedwig showing up
wasn't exactly a surprise, but Hedwig showing up with a message for
Segolene was a bit unexpected, her reply even more-so.
-o\0/o-
"Bark!"
"Heddi-bear!" Luna squealed.
The young blonde set down her waffle laden fork and moved to give
Hedwig a hug and a kiss. As she did so, her adoptive mother spied a
letter and a vial of red liquid tied to the beautiful messenger owl's leg.
"Luna dear, what's Hedwig brought us this morning?"
Luna moved back enough to spot the delivery and relieve Hedwig of her
burden. Luna smiled happily at the site of the vial and quickly read
through the letter.
"Excellent!"
"What is it dear?" Emma prodded again. "Is that the last ingredient you
were talking about? The one you need for your language potion?"
"Yes, Mummy Granger, that's exactly what Hedwig brought me!" Luna
quickly snapped up the vial and the letter and made to get up. "May I be
excused, Mummy Granger?"
"Of course, dear."
Emma slowly rose from her seat and followed Luna into the kitchen.
Behind them, Hedwig began to savage what was left of Luna's breakfast.
Neither woman minded overmuch.
Luna quickly set about her task. She re-lit the stove and removed a stasis
charm which had been keeping one cauldron from going bad due to
overheating. Soon both cauldrons were where she needed them to be.
"Here we go…" Luna uncorked the vial from Segolene and poured several
drops from it into one of the cauldrons.
Emma watched silently as Luna mixed the two liquids at seemingly
random intervals. In fact, were it not for the way Luna began singing
about clockwise this and anti-clockwise that, Emma would surely have
thought Luna made it all up. In no time at all, Luna was pulling both
potions off the flame and ladling one into the other. There was a bit more
random-ish mixing before Luna drew up a large ladle full of bubbling,
frothy pink liquid and turned to Emma.
"Are you sure your French is good enough, Mummy Granger?" Luna
asked with wide eager eyes.
"Quite sure." Emma returned.
There was something familiar about the color and consistency of the red
liquid in Luna's new ingredient. Emma knew she wasn't magical and she
knew that she knew very little about the magical world, but that looked
an awful lot like blood to her. She's certainly seen enough blood to know
when she sees more.
Even if identifying the final ingredient was giving Emma second thoughts
about this whole endeavor, it certainly wasn't stopping Luna. The dirty
blonde brought the ladle to her lips, tilted her head back and quickly
drank the full ladle of frothy pink potion. Luna then lowered the ladle
and stood there, her head still tilted back from drinking the potion.
Emma began to get concerned. "Luna dear-"
"Brrraaaaap!" Luna belched out before laughing at what the potion had
made her do.
"Luna?"
"Yes Mother Granger?" Luna replied. In French.
Then her eyes shot wide open.
"Success! It worked! It worked!" Luna hopped in place and shook her hips.
"I'm going to Beauxbatons with Hermione!" She then began to dance the
Happy Dance right there in the middle of the kitchen.
"Well I, for one, am very happy for you dear." Emma congratulated the girl.
"It's just such a pity that Fleur has already graduated…" Luna sighed.
"Oh, really?" Emma replied. "And why is that?"
"Don't be silly Mother Granger," Luna called back, cheeks reddening, "it's
because I- because I…"
Luna suddenly brought her hand up to cover her mouth to cover a gasp.
Emma watched with increasing alarm as her young charge quickly
inspected her potion, the leftovers from the second cauldron and then the
written instructions sitting on the kitchen counter.
"Five drops. Five… I did add five drops, didn't I? Maybe a wrackspurt- but
I didn't feel any passing through… but I suppose my brain is a bit fuzzy
now, isn't it?" Luna muttered to herself.
"What's wrong, Luna dear?" Emma put one hand on Luna's shoulder and
the other on her forehead to check the girl's temperature. "Should I call
the healer?"
"No! I mean- please don't worry about it, Mummy Granger." Luna
answered, slightly panicked.
"But if you did something wrong-"
"Please don't, Mummy, please." Luna begged. "It's not all that bad."
Emma put on her best 'you better explain' face and stared down her
adoptive daughter. Luna's best sad puppy face did no good.
"The potion worked as advertised as you can plainly see…" Luna began, "but
I got more of Segolene than I wanted."
Emma stared harder.
"Segolene's blood, you see… I added it into the memory enhancing side
of the potion." Luna looked over to the vial Hedwig brought in. "It was
the final ingredient and it affected me a bit more than I planned for. I
might have slipped on one of the steps... but I'm not sure."
"And this means what for you?"
"Well… I'll likely act a bit more like Segolene I suppose. A bit more
social… maybe a bit more fashion obsessed, I expect… a bit more in love
with Fleur than before…"
That got Emma's attention. "A bit more in what?"
Luna sighed and looked back at the stove. "a- a bit more in love with
Fleur."
Emma put a hand to her temple. Headache pills were sounding pretty
good right about now. Brandy sounded better.
"Right then. No more unsupervised potions from now on. You'll just have
to wait until you're back in school again."
"Yes Mummy Granger." The penitent witch nodded her head obediently
and began to clean up the kitchen.
Luna cleaned up her kitchen mess and then spent the next half hour
writing a letter. She hated to do this to Hedwig but the others should
probably know what happened to her if they plan on using blood magic
for anything else. And she knew very well that they do plan on it.
"Now where did I put Daddy's wrackspurt siphons?"
-o\0/o-
4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
Vernon Dursley was quite happy of late. After years of bad luck due to a
certain freakish influence in his life, he was finally seeing the kind of
upward mobility he always knew he deserved. Vice President Vernon
Dursley had a nice ring to it. True it did take an act of God, a fatal heart
attack to be precise, in order to free up some space on the corporate
ladder but who was Vernon to complain?
He'd already set Petunia on the task of finding a home that was more
befitting someone of his station. Somewhere grand. Somewhere more
befitting a Vice President. Someplace that didn't remind him of the Freak.
The cupboard under the stairs never did lose its freakishness, not even
after the little shit bought it.
"What's for dinner, my pet?" Vernon called out to his dear wife as he
moved from his very comfortable position in the living room to the
kitchen door. The smell was beginning to draw him in.
"I've a roast in the oven." Petunia said as she moved about. "It'll be out in
a minute. Go on and sit yourself down at the table… I'll get you a
Newcastle."
"Right, pet." Vernon smiled to himself and began to dream of all of the
import brews that would soon be his. Why, with the increase in salary, he
expected he could take up touring breweries as a new hobby to go along
with his new upscale golfing opportunities.
There was a sharp knocking at the door. Vernon frowned and turned to
answer.
The heavyset man made great effort not to look at the door to the
cupboard under the stairs as he passed it. That was all in the past. Soon
they'd move out of this plebeian neighborhood freeing themselves of that
freak's freakishness forever and all would be right with the world.
-click- squeak
"What the hell do you want?" Vernon half shouted at what he found on
his doorstep.
A woman stood before him. What drew his ire so quickly was the look of
her. Wild, dirty dark hair… crazed eyes, pale complexion and emaciated
frame… tattered black dress… it's truly a shame what drugs will do to a
person these days. Vernon could tell that this poor wretch must have
been quite the pretty little bird once upon a time, the exact same thing
happened to one of the better looking Grunnings secretaries last summer.
What a waste of life she turned out to be.
"Were you not expecting me? Not weaddy for wittle Bella is we?" The
woman let her yellow teeth show in a savage smile. "Such a pity…"
The woman in question then moved to wipe some crocodile tears out of
her eyes with her left hand… her right hand hiding suspiciously behind
her back.
"Who's at the door, Vernon?" Petunia called from the kitchen.
Vernon turned to answer.
"Just a drug addled gypsy, my pet," he called, "I'll just turn her around
and send her on her way…"
"Is that so?" The woman in question singsonged from his stoop. He turned
back around to put her in her place.
Vernon only had a split second to register that the woman's right hand
was now visible- as was the glowing freak stick in her hand- before she
shouted in rage.
"Crucio!"
The pain Vernon felt was indescribable. It filled his mind so completely
that he failed to register when his wife came running out of the kitchen
or when she shouted obscenities at the freak who had attacked him or
when she fell screaming to the same freak attack that got him in the first
place. He didn't register any of that, just the unholy pain, until darkness
took him.
…
Vernon woke with a gasp.
"Bloody dreams," he grumbled, "must have had too much to drink last
night."
The man got out of bed and spent a few minutes moving about putting on
some respectable clothes before finally succumbing to the temptation of
the smells of breakfast. He waddled down the stair and turned to the
kitchen. The stair may have been extra creaky this morning, but he was
in a mood for breakfast and he was quite used to ignoring such
abnormality.
"Is that bacon I smell, Pet?" Of course it was, though Vernon's nose told
him that the bacon was about to be burned unless it was pulled off the
stove in short order.
Oddly, there was no reply from the kitchen. Vernon still couldn't spot
anyone else in the house. It was odd... like it was his house but at the
same time it wasn't. It didn't feel... normal... alive... to him.
Vernon moved towards the kitchen to investigate. "Petunia?"
"She isn't here, Uncle." The reply came from behind him and it didn't
come from Petunia.
It came from him. The freak.
Vernon spun around in in rapidly building rage. "What the bloody blue
blazes are you doing here, boy!"
"Oh… nothing much. Thinking about the halcyon days when my dear
Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would lovingly share their home with me
and my dear cousin Dudders would give free sweets and homework
advice to his very best mate Harry Potter, of course."
The smooth, mocking words drifted through the air seemingly at random.
Vernon couldn't quite tell where they came from, but he had a suspicion.
One of the locks on the door to the cupboard under the stairs rattled just
a tiny bit.
"Boy…" Vernon growled, "You're not supposed to be here… You're dead!
And when we move I'll not be whispering our forwarding address to your
bloody gravestone!"
"You- you don't love me?" The words were soft and full of pain. Vernon
hadn't heard the boy sound so hurt since the little orphan was four or
five. "But-"
"But nothing, freak!" Vernon thundered. "I never loved you never could
love you never will love you! You deserve what you got! Murdered and
drowned in a damn lake… why, we had a bloody party the day we heard
you left us forever!"
There was a sniffling sound. It wasn't loud, but then it did accompany
another little rattling of the cupboard door. Vernon only sneered, back
straight and head held high. Then the retching noises began.
"Boy!" Vernon roared.
The noises of sickness only increased and once again the cupboard door
shook.
"I'm telling you now, boy…" Vernon snarled, face purple in rage, "I'm
about to open that door. And if I see a speck out of place… if it isn't
anything other than spotlessly clean…"
The enraged man advanced on the door before he even finished his
threat, not that there was more than one outcome possible in his mind.
He knew very well that they had never once cleaned out the cupboard
under the stairs, not since it became the freak's bedroom all those years
ago. Of course it wasn't going to be spotlessly clean.
Pudgy fingers fumbled over the various locks and chains- he slipped more
than once in his rage- until finally he yanked the door open so hard it
nearly came off its hinges.
Inky darkness greeted him.
"Boy?" Vernon half asked half commanded.
"I'm here, sir." This time, his orphan nephew's voice very clearly came
from behind.
Vernon spun around, arms flailing to hit something.
Harry was there this time. The black haired green eyed boy lunged at his
uncle and delivered a double palmed strike that sent his uncle staggering
back into the open cupboard door. Vernon managed to grab the door
frame just as he was about to tumble in and managed to right himself.
"I spent ten years in that dark smelly hole, uncle," Harry's growl set his
uncle on edge, "let's see how you like it."
Harry lunged once more, and Uncle Vernon's best efforts were not able to
keep him from being thrown back. The overweight narrow minded bigot
lost his grip and fell into the darkness of the cupboard. The door
immediately slammed shut, each and every lock and chain sealing the
door closed without Harry's assistance.
The door shook mightily as a meaty hand struck it from the other side.
Vernon was trapped.
"Boy!" Vernon thundered from the other side. "Boy! You let me out right
this instant!"
Soon the door was under constant physical and verbal assault from the
darkened recess of the cupboard under the stairs. Vernon was still feeling
the rage. It would take a while for desperation and fear to set in.
Not that Harry cared particularly. Uncle Vernon wasn't getting out
anytime soon. In fact, he'd never, ever get out. Ever. Harry let out a deep
sigh before shaking his head and moving to the front door of the house.
He never actually wished for his relatives to die and no one deserved to
die as Vernon did, at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. He never wished
for his uncle to suffer like he himself had suffered for ten long years…
well, okay, so he had wished for his uncle to suffer like that on more than
one occasion… but never in his life did he expect to see the punishment
meted out in person.
Harry paused and turned just as his hand reached the doorknob. "I'd love
to stay and chat Uncle, but I have things to do and people to see."
Harry's departure was marked by the heavy thumps and muffled screams
of an angry bigot trapped in the cupboard under the stairs.
-o\0/o-
"Potter."
"Malfoy."
The two looked at each other silently for a moment. Harry was surprised
to see the Slytherin prince appear before him. Harry was supposed to be
on his way to a secret-ish meeting with Ginny and the others. Okay, so he
wasn't being terribly discreet. He'd been arranging this meeting for the
past few days and knew that rumors could start over any little bit of
overheard conversation. Honestly he was thankful not to be stuck at the
front of the Great Hall with a full student body watching on. Explaining
things to ten close friends would be hard enough- eleven if you include
Myrtle- but talking to hundreds of easily spooked 'peers' would be a
nightmare.
Still, he hadn't planned on Malfoy.
"Rumor has it you've got yourself in a bit of a bind with the little
Weaslette." Malfoy drawled as he accidentally on purpose blocked Harry's
way.
"I am here to have a chat with Ginny. Bit of therapy for the whole 'I saw
Gabby kill Voldemort' thing." Harry hoped he could throw off his former
foe. He may sort of owe the ex-prat a favor but the upcoming talk could
be a real powder-keg and the fewer ambitious and cunning participants
the better.
"Really? That's nice of you. Of course everyone knows you can be
counted on to help a friend in need, can't you Potter?"
Harry didn't quite like the way this was going but he couldn't pin down
why. "I suppose so..."
"But then..." Malfoy took a step closer, "I overheard that there's more to it
than that. I heard that you have a dirty little secret about why little
Gabrielle survived the Second Task."
Harry's brow furrowed. "What do you want?"
"It's not what I want, Potter." Draco explained. "It's what I can do for you.
I think you could use some guidance and for once it's on an issue Granger
can't possibly know anything about. School libraries and public
bookstores don't carry books on blood magic. That's something only old
pureblood families really know about. Families like mine, Harry."
Harry had heard something like this from Draco before. When he was
eleven riding the Hogwarts Express for the very first time.
"You'd be surprised, Draco." Harry returned.
Malfoy's eyes dimmed just a touch but he still looked as confident as
ever. "Pureblood lines aren't just about blood supremacy, Potter. The
ancient and noble houses are so closely linked because of business.
Traditionally business deals were sealed with a betrothal… after all, you
can't trust a stranger but you can trust family."
Draco almost smirked when he saw Harry's eyes widen a bit at that
argument. Apparently the Boy-Who-Died didn't realize that there was
more than magic keeping the old families together. There was a
collective greed. Gold held them together as much as blood did, and if
gold were linked to blood then that was even better as far as the
purebloods were concerned.
"Think about it, Harry. Ginevra could fall in line like the good little Boy
Who Lived fan she grew up as or she could ruin everything for you... and
she's just one witch. There are thousands of wizards and witches out
there that won't be so forgiving of their personal hero as she is. You're
playing with magic that only dark houses like the Blacks, Lestranges and
Notts have really been known for in the past few centuries. You need
help if you want to stay out of trouble. I can help you."
'But at what cost?' Harry thought to himself. Was Draco the same
annoying prat that he was when Harry was alive? Clearly not. Was he
still a cunning snake? Clearly he was.
"I'll remember your offer, Draco. Now if you don't mind..." Harry shifted a
bit to the side.
The young Lord of two old houses knew it was time to back off. Give the
victim a chance to get in even more trouble and then Draco's 'help' would
be even more valuable.
After an exchange of head nods, Harry crossed the last fifty meters to his
goal.
When Harry finally did pass through the door to Myrtle's bathroom, he
was glad he didn't have a stomach for fear of it churning and spilling his
lunch. He spotted Ginny immediately and she looked to be about as
nervous as he was. Then there were the others; Ron, Fred and George
talking amongst themselves about some prank or other. Neville watched
on as Cedric explained a spell that the younger wizard had yet to study.
Susan, Cho and the Patil sisters were all in a tight circle, and if Harry had
to guess he'd say they were making comments about Cedric while his
back was turned. If the giggles were anything to go by, then those
comments were of the appreciative romantic kind.
Thank Jeanne. Maybe Cho was finally willing to bury the hatchet
somewhere other than Cedric's back.
"Welcome back, Harry." Myrtle purred as she floated out of a closed stall.
"Always a pleasure to see you, of course."
"Thanks, Myrtle." Harry greeted his fellow specter.
All the living teens stopped what they were doing and greeted Harry in
turn. Harry returned each greeting and also ensured a very worried Susan
that Luna was doing much better, thanks for asking.
"Soooo…" Harry began smoothly.
"So you were going to tell us about Gabrielle." Ginny prompted.
"But what about Little Angel?" Cedric asked quickly. "She's not suffering
from fighting off all those dementors, is she?"
"No, Ced," Harry answered, "Gabby wasn't hurt in that dust up at all."
Ron scowled at his sister. "See? She's fine. Gabby's cute and all but I don't
see why we all had to sneak down here after dinner just to talk about
Harry's little munchkin friend."
"This is bigger than bumps and bruises, Ron." Ginny snapped. "Harry
promised to explain what I heard and saw that night. He promised to
explain it to everyone."
"It's very simple Ickle Gin-Gin…"
"…You Know Who gave us all a bump on the noggin and when we woke
up…"
"…we learned that Ickle Gabby gave him a good spanking for us." The
twins explained the events of the bridge battle in their own particular
way.
"I saw more." Ginny insisted hotly. She then looked over to the ghost that
once owned- honestly still does own her heart and she delivered her
ultimatum. "Tell them or I will."
"Alright." Harry soothed. He looked around the room. "Does anyone else
already know what Ginny's hinting at?"
Neville fidgeted.
"Nev?"
"Well, I kind of do remember some yelling back and forth and… sort of…
maybe seeing a dark shade taunting you in front of a big fiery snake…"
The nervous Gryffindor was mumbling by the end of it.
Harry smiled. "That's right, Nev. That all happened. It would seem that
Ginny was the only one unfortunate enough to be completely awake
through the whole thing though."
Remembering exactly what happened to her and what kind of pain she
was likely in made more than one of the others flinch. Harry soldiered
on.
"The point is that Voldemort made some accusations about me and Gabby
and he wasn't exactly wrong about them." Harry looked Ginny firmly in
the eye. "He wasn't exactly right either, and that's what I'm here to
explain."
"But what's so important about the rantings of a Dark Lord that Harry has
to defend himself and Gabby," Ron interrupted, glaring at his sister for
being such a bitch to Harry, "when he just finished saving us and the rest
of the Wizarding World along with us? For the hundredth time?"
"He used blood magic!" Gin yelled back. "She's bound to him by blood
magic… now you tell me that isn't dark! Just try!"
Ron seemed offended that his sister of all people would make any such
claim. Parvati was itching for a bowl of popcorn.
"I did use blood magic." That got them to shut up. "It was purely
accidental, but Hermione figures I kind of stumbled into casting a
protective ward scheme sealed with my blood and sacrifice at the Second
Task. Now that I'm back as a ghost floating around, both Gabby and I can
feel the effects."
"You're a ghost, Harry. You can't feel anything." Myrtle supplied.
"Gabby and I are bound together." Harry added. "I assure you it's not a
bad thing."
"It's unnatural!"
"Like talking to snakes?" Harry added. "I still can, you know."
"Can you really?" Padma asked. Trust a Ravenclaw to pick at the small
bits of knowledge hidden in the avalanche of emotion.
Harry looked at the pretty dark skinned witch. He and Ron really had
done the Patil sisters a horrible disservice by ignoring the girls at the
Yule Ball. Maybe he could make it up to her and get one up on Ginny at
the same time.
Harry drifted over to one of the sinks that the girls had been standing
next to.
Myrtle's eyes widened. Ginny's face lost all color.
~Open~
All of those still alive hissed in surprise as the sink fell away and the door
to the legendary Chamber of Secrets opened for all to see.
"Bloody hell, mate. I've seen you do that before and it still gives me the
chills." Ron said.
"I can open Salazar Slytherin's personal secret magic door. Does that
make me dark?"
One of the Weasley twins slipped up to the gaping hole and pitched a
knut into the darkness. It took three seconds for the knut to hit
something and make a noise.
Cho had to ask, "How did you get down there?"
Harry and Ron looked at each other before responding at the same time,
"We jumped."
"Gryffindors." The Head Girl muttered weakly.
"Are we going to say hi to Gwendolyn again, Harry?" Myrtle asked.
"Gwendolyn?" Parvati asked. There was no Gwendolyn in the castle as far
as the gossip queen was concerned.
"Named the snake Gwendolyn." Harry answered. "Maybe later, but the
point is that wizards can't always tell when something is dark or light if
my experience is anything to go by. Blood magic is like talking to snakes;
you can do bad things with it but you can do good things too. I shouldn't
be surprised nobody understands, not with professor Binns making a
mockery of something as important as history itself."
"You don't learn right from wrong in History of Magic." Gin countered.
She got a couple of nods too. Harry's dig on wizarding culture hurt a
little.
"Fair enough. You learn from family… from role models too, right?" More
nods. "We'll ignore the whole Boy Who Lived thing in favor of well
known role models that were not parceltongues. How 'bout my Mum. She
was a famous light witch, yeah?" More nods. "She used blood magic to
save my life and defeat Voldemort."
That declaration earned several shouts of surprise.
"Maybe if I ask Hermione nicely enough, she'll let me make copies of the
pertinent bits of Mum's journal from right before her death wherein she
writes in excruciating detail about the spell theory of how to beat the dark
tosser and then lays out the arithmancy to back it all up."
The Ravenclaws in the room looked extremely eager to get at his
mother's notes. Of course, Hermione was the same way. That journal is
still 'Mione's favorite possession; she reads bits of it almost every night
before bed like clockwork.
Harry noticed that the energy of the room had changed even if it was still
tense.
"Want proof that blood magic is- or rather can be light?" He asked.
Ginny wanted to believe him. Oh how she did, but it was so hard. She'd
been burned by dark magic pretending to be harmless before after all.
"I'm afraid to ask what you could possibly show us to prove dark magic
isn't dark."
"You mean bloo-"
"I mean dark!" Ginny cut Ron off.
"Neville." Harry called.
"Yeah, Harry?" The shy Gryffindor answered.
"I used to think you were an orphan like me what with your Gran taking
you everywhere, but that's not true, is it?"
"No. My parents are alive, just really hurt." Neville began to stare at the
floor.
"I hear that there hasn't been any improvement in all this time. Healers
can't do anything for them?"
"Harry!" Susan shouted. There was no need to open personal wounds
publicly.
"What if they could be healed, Nev? By blood magic? Would you do it?"
Neville looked up from his study of the floor. "Could we really?"
Harry nodded quickly. "I'll need some help, but yeah, sure we can. Blood
magic is strong magic, Nev. I'll give you back your parents, promise. I'd
swear it on my life if I weren't already dead."
Neville stood in silence for a moment before taking a deep cleansing
breath. With everyone in the room paying rapt attention, he answered, "I
want to do it."
"Would your Gran want this?" Ginny asked.
"Gran would trade me for Dad in a heartbeat if she could. If this doesn't
work and I'm hurt then she'll consider it no great loss and you can say 'I
told you so' all you like." Neville retorted before turning back to the
ghost. "So what do I need to do?"
Harry turned to Ginny, who was putting up a surprising amount of
resistance by his way of thinking.
"If I can get the Longbottoms all healed up and out of St. Mungos? Will
that satisfy you? Will you admit that blood magic doesn't have to be
dark?"
Harry could see the fire burning behind her eyes. He had come to expect
that. The moisture filling her eyes was a big surprise.
"What is it, Gin. What's wrong?"
The red faced redhead blinked and released two massive tears, one from
each side. The tears didn't stop coming either.
"Why do you keep hurting me, Harry?" She asked, barely in control of her
own voice.
Harry blinked rapidly while trying to understand the question. He wasn't
the only person in the room that had this problem.
"What- what do you mean? I'd never hurt you." Harry returned. "How am
I hurting you?"
"You're not what you were meant to be… my life isn't what it was
supposed to be!" Ginny cried.
Harry looked over at her brothers. They shrugged. The other girls in the
room were trying to figure it out silently. Mount Ginevra blew her top,
thus allowing everyone to listen as she explained it all in a torrent of
emotion that she just couldn't hold in any longer.
"I grew up to stories of the Boy Who Lived. We all did. When I was little I
played games about you and drew pictures of you and I dreamed of the
day we'd get married and I'd be Misses Harry Potter-" Ginny saw
something that rubbed her wrong in the crowd. "Don't you look at me
that way Susan Bones! I know for a fact that you and Hannah Abbott
used to play the Marry Harry Potter game just like Luna and I did!"
Harry was even more speechless now than when Ginny started her rant.
The distraught witch continued.
"And then I actually got to Hogwarts and we were in Gryffindor together
and everything but no it wasn't all fun and games then was it? I had to go
and write in that- that- bloody Tom and his fucking sweet words… but
then you saved me, didn't you Harry? And all the pain I'd been through
seemed almost worth it for that… but then you died, didn't you? You left
me. That hurt, Harry. And then… and then you come back but you run
off to France with Hermione and you left me again. And it hurt again. I
had all these dreams in my head. They're gone… they're all gone."
Ginny's voice had fallen but the room was dead silent so every quivering
note could be heard.
"Now you tell me I don't know light from dark, Harry. What do I have
left? I've nothing left…"
Ginny seemed to collapse into herself in her misery. That ended when a
cold pressure caressed her cheek. She looked up through her tears to see
that Harry had closed the distance between the two of them. He was
using what skill and power he did have as a ghost to gently touch her in
support.
"I never left. I'm still here… and I don't plan on saying goodbye for a
good long while." Harry tried to wipe a tear off her cheek. It didn't work,
but she did smile in appreciation of the attempt. "Tom hurt you. He hurt
you bad and I'm sorry I didn't figure it out a lot sooner. And trust me,
dying was no picnic either- but you've got to take a look at what you still
have, because Ginny, you still have a lot."
"I don't know, Harry… you seem a lot happier these days." Ginny came
back softly.
"You can't think like that! My life was pretty horrid until I found out
about magic. I would have given anything to have brothers like yours
and parents like yours and a sister like you… and you never appreciate
having a pulse until it's not there anymore… and your Mum's cooking
Sweet Jeanne what I wouldn't give for some more of her treacle tart."
"Everything changed, Harry."
"Everything always changes. You get used to it."
"Will I?"
Harry looked into Ginny's vulnerable eyes as she returned his gaze in full
measure.
"You will. I'll help of course. You just need to have a little faith in me."
No noise came out, but Ginny did mouth out 'okay' while nodding her
head.
More than one of their spectators had to deal with a little dust-in-the-eye
problem but once that was over they were finally able to discuss some of
the details of getting Neville out of the castle and into London. Gran
might give them trouble but hopefully if they moved fast enough she
wouldn't be able to throw a spanner in the works.
-o\0/o-
A humming blue-white mote of light formed two meters above the floor
in the middle of a hospital lobby. This light quickly grew into a ring and
then rolled down to the floor after cutting a spherical shape out of thin
air. Of course, the air wasn't quite so thin when the ring finally made it to
the floor.
Gabrielle, Hermione and Neville had made it to St. Mungo's Hospital for
Magical Maladies and Injuries.
"Hmmm," Hermione opined, "Not all that different from any of the older
non-magical hospital reception areas I've been to."
There were crystal orbs illuminating the room but they didn't look all
that different from some of the more old fashioned electrical fixtures
once you got past the floating about unsupported bit. There was a front
desk, a floor guide and a fair number of seats full of men and women
with various afflictions.
The afflictions themselves, however, did set this hospital apart.
One middle aged wizard appeared to be choking on his own tongue, a
tongue which had also become prehensile. There was a witch with a
witch growing out of her back. Hermione tried not to stare at the wizard
who's bottom was on fire. At least he seemed to be free of pain even if his
pants had -ahem- burnt clean off.
A witch in lime-green robes was asking the fire-bottomed wizard whether
or not he could count past ten, if he knew the difference between
clockwise and anti-clockwise and how firm was his dedication to the
truth. Hermione thought this a fair indication that a) the witch in lime-
green was a healer and b) the injury in question was likely due to a
potions mishap, possibly due to poorly brewed veritaserum. If it was as
she suspected then the wizard was likely to find himself on the Third
floor (Potion and Plant Poisoning) in the very near future.
It took a moment for Hermione to realize that no-one was staring at
them. The injured were distracted by their own afflictions, the healers
were distracted by those who were genuinely injured and the helpwitch
clearly didn't care about anything other than her copy of Witch Weekly.
It would seem that an angel halo-teleporting into the reception room was
not noteworthy as compared to witches with witches growing out of their
backs.
"Don't bother with her." Neville murmured to Hermione. "I know exactly
where to go. Been here countless times before."
Nev lead the brown haired witch and their young angel companion to an
elevator near a large pair of double-doors leading to the First floor wards.
Gabrielle released her angelic form as they walked, becoming a more
ordinary if still hyper-cute little girl. In no time flat, the trio traversed the
room, took the elevator up and were walking through the fourth floor
towards the far end of a corridor. Neville turned towards a single door.
Hermione's eyes quickly scanned the decorative signage above the door.
"Janus Thickey Ward. This is the long term care ward?"
Neville nodded sharply.
Hermione went to open the door only to find that it would not budge.
"Locked."
Neville deflated somewhat. He was rather hoping to avoid asking about
for assistance. Someone official might get the bright idea to ask them
why they were here today. He didn't notice Hermione digging a hand
into the small handbag at her side until she spoke again.
"Alohomora." Hermione intoned wand in hand, much to Neville's
surprise.
"What about the under-age restrictions? Won't you get in trouble?" He
asked even as the door creaked open.
Hermione turned to face the young wizard. "The Improper Use of Magic
Office has been temporarily shut down so that their staff and equipment
can be used to track Unforgivable spells for the ICW. Read about it in the
Prophet a few days ago."
Neville brushed aside his confusion and held the door open for Hermione
and Gabrielle as a proper gentleman would.
"Well, hello there!" A disturbingly familiar voice called out eagerly. "I
expect you'd like my autograph, would you?"
Hermione froze, blink-blinked and then turned to the source of the voice.
Neville sighed before turning to face the wizard as well.
"Hi! I'm Gabby, who are you?" The little silver-blonde tressed girl
chirped.
"Very, very pleased to meet you, young lady!" The blonde fop chirped,
teeth glistening in joy. "My name is Gilderoy Lockhart."
"Is it?" Gabby asked, "I've heard about you!"
"Have you really?" Gilderoy answered. "Could you tell me about me?
Please?"
There was a look of desperate hope on his face.
"I'd be willing to trade you a stack of autographs..." The older wizard
offered. "Mind you, I'm still working on my joined-up letters so my
autograph isn't as pretty as it should be- but I'm improving by leaps and
bounds these days! Gladys Gudgeon says so in every letter she writes
me... though why she continues to write me I haven't the foggiest
notion..."
Their ex-professor spun about on one heel and shot off to a table next to
a bed by the first window. Clearly this ward had become the man's home
after Hogwarts.
Hermione and Neville looked each other in the eye. Neville spoke up. "I
know he was pants as a professor, but he's completely harmless now. The
Healers have his wand anyway."
Hermione quickly scanned the rest of the ward. There wasn't a lime-green
robe in sight.
"Gabby? Will you chat up Professor Lockhart while we go deal with
Neville's parents?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Neville asked. "I don't think we should
leave her here all alone..."
"Harry thinks seeing Professor Lockhart like this is the most brilliant
thing ever! And I'm not alone." Gabby said with finality.
"Little Angel is right," Hermione added, "she's not alone."
The lone wizard looked between his two female companions but didn't
feel confident enough to push back... not when they had offered hope for
the future if only he did as they asked for an hour or so.
"Fine."
Neville lead Hermione to some curtained off beds at the far end of the
ward, and as he did so Gabrielle cheerfully stayed with the former
defense professor and looked at his autographs and helped him practice
writing joined-up letters. Little Gabby got to play teacher while the
grown-up played the eager student! What fun!
With Gilderoy distracted, Neville and Hermione managed to reach their
objective. The last two beds in the Janus Thickey Ward. Alice and Frank
Longbottom. Neville pulled back one of the curtains with great care and
waived Hermione through.
Hermione thought she did very well in stifling her gasp; the two people
she found in their own little sectioned off home looked much worse than
she expected. Gilderoy looked quite well... but then he had only been in
the hospital a short while considering. Alice and Frank, on the other
hand, had been residents of this ward ever since Nineteen eighty-one.
Both Alice and Frank appeared worn, weak and weathered far beyond
their years. Alice's hair had gone white and fell in unkempt strands. Both
her and her husband's faces were thin and worn. And that wasn't the
worst part.
Their eyes. They were vacant. That isn't to say that the Longbottoms were
bedridden vegetables; they seemed to drift about with the motions of life
though there was no spark of intelligence. No reason for their actions.
Frank stared out the window by his bed, just watching the world outside.
Alice was still in bed, eyes open, and she was blowing bubbles with her
bubblegum.
"We should try your mother first." Hermione suggested. "She's lying down
and that will help a lot."
Neville nodded mutely. Hermione sat on one side of Alice's bed and
silently motioned for Neville to sit on the opposite side. He did. The
brown haired teen then began to pull a few necessary items from her
handbag. There was a small yet detailed drawing of the runic component,
a description the necessary cantrips and a surgical scalpel.
"A- are you quite sure that thing is necessary?" Neville asked eyeing the
scalpel warily.
"I wasn't sure that an athame would be allowed into the hospital... a non-
magical tool is much more likely to make it past any security wards."
"Looks like it's going to hurt..."
"Yes well, this scalpel is much sharper and better sterilized than any
athame I've run across to date. I expect that will be the lesser of two
evils... and I can heal you up after the spell is done."
Hermione chose not to waste anymore time. She sat her papers down
next to Alice's head on the pillow and silently reviewed the necessary
steps. She picked up her wand and clearly enunciated a spell that had
been taught to her by Harry one painstaking syllable at a time. The
language she spoke in was dead; she was the first living soul to utter
these words since Rome worshiped a full pantheon.
At the other end of the ward, Gilderoy and Gabby were having a
marvelous time.
"Oh my! Extraordinary!" Gilderoy crowed. "Thank you my sweet sweet
little dove!"
Gabby swelled in pride, her face red in embarrassment from the praise.
Or perhaps her face was red from the ghost dying of laughter inside her.
This was simply too much fun...
"I hadn't even thought of adding extra swirls and twists to the G and the
L..." The man tilted his head this way and that while examining his new,
improved autograph from every possible angle. "You, my dear, are a true
artist!"
Gabby snorted, unable to hold it in any longer. She than began giggling
in such a merry tinkly way that Lockhart couldn't help but join in the
merriment.
"Who opened this door?" Someone asked from behind the two. "Oh,
Mister Lockhart! I had no idea you were expecting visitors!"
Oh dear. This witch wore the distinctive lime-green robes of a Healer.
"I had no idea either!" The wizard laughed out.
The Healer, a kind looking older witch, took a closer look at the surprise
guest.
"And where might your Mummy and Daddy be dear? Surely you didn't
come alone?"
Now Gabby would be the first to admit that she slipped a bit. She clearly
looked down the ward towards the Longbottoms before turning back to
deliver her little white lie.
The Healer noticed. She frowned.
If Gabby truly were alone, she would have panicked and fallen into tears
begging the Healer not to go down to the curtained off bit of the ward.
Luckily, she was not alone. Harry knew something had to be done and he
sent his desire to turn the Healer around over the bond to Gabby in full
measure.
"Wait!" Gabby shouted.
The Healer turned back. She was clearly not amused.
Well, it worked on the telly didn't it? And her Angel School training was
pretty much the same thing... Gabby straightened her back (not that it
did much to her height) and looked the Healer directly in the eyes.
"These are not the droids you are looking for." Gabby's eyes flashed. She
pointed one dainty finger at the door out. "Please move along."
The Healer stared down Gabby for ten full seconds before speaking again.
"I've some droids to chase down Young Miss, but after I've got them I
expect to see you at your parent's side. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, mam. It's dangerous for a little girl to go off on her own." Gabby
responded dutifully.
"I shall make it my highest priority to safeguard this precious child's life,
madam!" Gilderoy intoned pompously. "I'll defend her from all manner of
harm be it man or beast."
"Why thank you Gilderoy!" The Healer chirped at Lockhart. If anything
she treated him as more of a child than she did Gabby. "You be a good
wizard and keep her company."
Gilderoy smiled, flashed his sparkling white teeth and nodded
confidently. The Healer bought it. Gabby exhaled softly as the older
witch passed through the exit door.
"What are droids anyway?" Gilderoy asked the little girl standing before
him.
"They're robots in space."
"And what are robots?"
"They're machines that are programed to work for people."
"Ahhhhhh..."
…
"What are machines?"
Twenty meters down the ward, Neville was trying not to flinch as
Hermione cut a rune into his open palm.
"What does this one mean again?" He asked through clenched teeth.
Hermione remained silent for another twenty seconds, just long enough
to finish the rune.
"'Family' on you. 'Rebirth' on your mother." Hermione set down the
scalpel and picked up her wand. "Do you still remember what to do? It is
absolutely vital that no mistake is made."
"I wait for your next cantrip to finish then I place my cut on hers and we
repeat the last bit together. Right?"
Hermione nodded. Then she pointed her wand at Alice Longbottom's
freshly cut palm and began chanting. She stopped after about twelve or
so 'words' and did the same thing for his cut. Then she motioned to
Neville. He moved the cut on his palm to cover the cut on his mother's
hand before gently pressing the wounds together.
"Ah, Healer Hulbert seems to coming back a bit early..." Gilderoy
mentioned to Gabby as he checked his reflection from the ward's entry
door.
"Oh?" Gabby asked, eyes coming up from her stack of autographs.
"Oh dear," the wizard muttered, "she doesn't look at all pleased. And she
hasn't got any droids with her either."
"Uh-oh."
Gabby took a step back from her 'work'. Neville and Hermione weren't
done with Neville's parents and they absolutely could not stop early.
Getting caught would also be very bad.
Inside Gabby, Harry was furiously working through the problem. What
would Hermione do? What could a ghost and a little girl do to cause a
distraction in a room full of sick people?
"Hey! You know what?" Gabby squeaked.
"No! What?" Gilderoy did so love these little games. He planned on
asking his new best friend if she would be willing to visit him more often.
"I'm an angel!"
"Really?"
"Uh-huh!"
"How extraordinary!" He replied. "What's an angel?"
"I'll show you."
On the opposite side of the ward, two teens were finishing the last
cantrip in a rather important spell. Hermione held her wand in place for
another few seconds before slowly lowering it. Her eyes never left
Neville's mother's face. The woman in question continued to stare blankly
at the ceiling while chewing her gum.
"It didn't work, did it?" Neville asked in a defeated tone.
Hermione didn't know what to say. Absolutely nothing seemed to be
different from before. How was she supposed to know if the blood magic
did anything at all? How could she tell what went wrong? After trying
and failing to cast blood magic, how could she show her face again in
Hogwarts? In Beauxbatons?
Alice popped her gum.
"Cherry. I hate cherry."
"What?"
"Actually, I hate gum of any kind. Do you think I could get some sugar
quills?"
"Mum?"
Alice turned her head to look at Neville. "I'm sorry but my son Neville is
much smaller than you... though you do have some of Frank's features...
are you related to the Longbottoms, dear?"
"Mum!"
Neville jumped onto his mother's bed and drew the poor confused woman
into a tight hug. Why, the deliriously happy young wizard was so lost to
the moment that he didn't even register the curtains being pulled apart
behind them. Hermione noticed though.
The teenaged witch jumped in surprise from being found out.
"Why Miss Granger!" The wizard shouted.
"Professor Lockhart!" She replied in a panic.
"I'm sooooo..." The man stopped short and pulled his hand up to cover his
mouth.
Hermione stood frozen, unable to move in Lockhart's tear stained gaze.
"I'm so terribly sorry, Miss Granger... I'm a fraud... a charlatan. I shall
have to give myself to the aurors at the earliest opportunity." The ex-
professor began to quickly pace back and forth in a tight pattern. "How
many people have I ruined? How many?"
"I'm sorry Professor?"
Hermione tried to grasp the situation and found that she could not.
Lockhart took a closer look at her face and decided an explanation was in
order.
"That wonderful perfect little girl set me straight. Oh, and she restored
my memory as well... still not sure if that should be considered a blessing
or a curse. My life's work belongs in the fiction aisle... or as evidence for
the prosecution."
"Gabby?"
"Yes, that's the girl."
Hermione looked past the curtains into the rest of the ward.
"Gabby!" Hermione shrieked. The girl was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, don't worry about her." Gilderoy soothed. "She said that you needed
more time and that she was going to provide a distraction."
"A what?"
"Are you and Mister Longbottom ready to depart?"
"Well, no..."
"Well whatever it is that the two of you are doing, you best be about it."
"Yes professor."
"I am not worthy of that title, Miss Granger. You may call me Mister
Lockhart or Gilderoy if you are feeling particularly lenient. I know I
haven't earned any kindness from you or your classmates."
Gilderoy seemed very penitent now. Hermione felt that this was a good
sign for the future.
"Perhaps, Gilderoy, if you were to close those curtains and see that we
are not disturbed then you might be able to earn back some of that
kindness."
"Ah..." Suddenly a bit of the old fop crept back into the wizard's smile.
"Young love... so sweet... I shall be delighted to keep the Healers away
while you and your young man present yourselves to the future in-laws!"
"The what?" Hermione squeaked.
"Aren't you here to get their blessing?"
The brown haired girl stood there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open,
once again made speechless by her ex-professor.
"I'll just..." Lockhart stepped out and closed the curtains with a wink and
a nod.
"Neville sweety, who's the lovely lass behind you?" Alice Longbottom
asked from behind Hermione. "Is there anything special you need to tell
your father and me, hmmm?"
It would take half an hour for the pair to recover enough to restart the
blood magic ritual on Frank Longbottom. While the two young magicals
did worry about being interrupted, they needn't have bothered. The
Angel Gabrielle cut a wide swath of utter rejuvenation through the weak
and afflicted of St. Mungo's. None were spared. If you were ill when
Gabrielle found you, she tried to heal you. More often than not, she
succeeded. Even if she didn't, the angel-hugs were a big hit.
Hermione and Gabrielle would eventually make it back to France later
that afternoon though Neville would spend the night with his parents
rather than return to Hogwarts. News of what the three had done would
rock the world for weeks afterwards. Well, mostly it was what Gabby had
done that would rock the world, at least until Harry was ready to release
the truth about why they were there. Most people would only know
about the French Angel who single handedly healed hundreds of British
witches and wizards for no apparent reason other than because she could.
The war on blood magic prejudice wasn't near over, but it had begun.
End Chapter
28. False Dawn
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-seven: False Dawn
Three young ladies were making art. The first one, a nymph with brown
eyes and curly brown locks, was slowly covering her sheet of paper with
a dense forest. The second one, a pixie-ish blonde with soft blue eyes, had
scissors in hand as she cut paper into tiles for a mosaic that currently
only existed in her imagination. The third, a little angel with silver-
blonde hair and glowing blue eyes, was coloring angels. It was her new
favorite kind of art.
"So," Aimee, the brown haired nymph started, "grounded…"
"Uh huh." Gabby answered, never taking her eyes off her angels.
"I can't believe your mom is finally punishing you for something. I'm usually
the one that get's grounded and you two always come to my house when it
happens, not the other way around." Gigi added, absently brushing a few
strands of hair out of her eyes.
"I've never been grounded before." Gabby responded. "It's not so bad…"
"You will find that being grounded gets old fast, but then I've always liked
your room. I wish I could be grounded in your room instead of mine." Gigi
muttered. The forest now had a unicorn trotting through it.
"But why are you grounded?" Aimee asked.
Gabby put down her metallic silver pen and looked at her friend.
"Momma and Poppa don't want me going out to play with Harry's friends if I
don't ask permission."
"And you didn't take your mom with you either." Snip snip.
"That too." The next halo was gold.
"Well... at least your mom let us come over today. My parents wouldn't be so
soft on me. I can't go anywhere without Maman and Papa anyway. I don't
know where anything is outside of my own house and school." Aimee began
to push her shapes around like puzzle pieces. First there was a fish... then
the paper became a coiled snake.
"Maybe I can take you somewhere next time. I could take us all to school in
the mornings... if Momma would let me." Gabby sighed heavily before
chewing on the end of her pen.
She missed both of her friends looking at her with hope. Going to school
via angel sounded like great fun.
"I can't fix people and give angel-hugs if I have to stay here or in school all the
time." Gabby pouted. Sadly, no one important was watching. "It's not so
bad though. You two are here with me and so is Harry."
"Where?" Two girls turned this way and that but no sign of the British
specter could be found.
Gabby pointed to her head... to the kiss shaped mark in particular.. and
replied. "Here."
The other two looked at Gabby's mark.
"Like in class that one time?"
"Yes. Like that."
"Huh..." "Is he going to come out and play with us?" The other two replied at
the same time.
Gabby concentrated for a minute.
"I don't think so... He's afraid I'll make him wear a big hat again." Gabby
answered.
Three girls smiled at each other and giggled. Big hats were fun.
Especially on ghosts.
Harry didn't pop out to say 'hi' until lunch was served. Upon sight of him,
the girls immediately retrieved Gabby's biggest hat and made him wear it
as they ate. Angel cake was, of course, on the menu.
As the girls ate, Apolline and her mother had their own things to say
about grounded little angels a few rooms away..
"The Vatican has requested another meeting, Maman." Apolline said over her
fruit plate. "I don't know what to do about it. I'm afraid of what they will ask
of my Gabrielle this time."
Régine pulled her napkin from her lap and clasped her hands together in
thought.
"And then there is all the others..." The Veela grand matron added
unhelpfully.
Apolline tensed. She knew exactly what her mother was alluding to.
"I thank God every day that Alain's boss and the other department heads like
having the world's only angel here at home and in not some nameless research
lab where white coated men poke her and scan her all day long. Luckily the
Minister likes having her in public where everyone can see her. For once,
politics works in our favor." Apolline took up her glass of wine and downed
the balance in short order. "To national pride!"
Régine picked up her glass and drained it as well.
"Alian mentioned that our own ministry's research department made one
request... just one... which Alain quickly beat down and they have remained
quiet ever since." Apolline muttered.
Régine nodded towards her daughter. "I know I wasn't very supportive of
your marriage at first. I knew your in-laws would be upset- and they were- but
that man has become the best father Fleur and Gabrielle could have hoped
for."
Apolline blushed a bit at her mother's praise. "Thank you Maman."
"It's such a pity your mother-in-law will most likely outlive the both of us, the
intolerant hag. Perhaps a house will fall on her." Why yes, Régine did have a
sense of humor and it centered mostly on old movies.
"One can hope. At least she is willing to pretend we do not exist as she and her
younger son wait for Alain to die so they can kick us out." Apolline refilled
their glasses.
"It's such a pity not all problems are so easy to ignore..."
"Harry says he has things under control, Maman."
Régine's eyes narrowed. Apolline noticed, and her last feelings of pride
fell to the wayside as she prepared to argue with her mother. Régine
moved first.
"That ghost is the very reason your daughter is under house arrest. Your
husband has enough trouble fending off requests from foreign governments for
him to have to rebuff all the citizens those governments represent. The Veela
race is now under a microscope and that is someplace we cannot remain- it
isn't just our family!"
Mother and daughter focused on each other. The real conversation was
beginning. Régine continued.
"Veela the world over are getting attention on a scale we haven't seen in
centuries. They want to know why Gabby the Veela is now an angel. They
want to know how she was made and if we can make another one like her. If
we are very lucky then their questions will slowly taper off as we ignore them
and act like nothing is happening. This is the only way, dear, we cannot stir up
the hornet's nest. If we do we will not survive another purge like the last one. If
there is anything we can do to keep people from asking questions we should do
it even if it means quietly dealing with Potter's mouthy friends."
"We won't need to-"
"How can you risk our continued existence on one dead boy and a handful of
noisy troublemakers?"
The Veela grand matron stood and began to pace. Apolline stayed in her
seat but visually tracked her mother's movements.
Apolline spoke up. "Gabrielle would be dead if not for him, Maman. Fleur
and I would be soulless husks if not for him. Gabrielle is quite insistent that
Harry has the full backing of every angel in the Hall of Angels."
Régine was not impressed. She did not trust any memory that could move
on it's own. "A ghost supported by magic we do not understand. We are lucky
most people still don't understand what that stunt at the hospital really means.
Why, if Fleur hadn't told us what Hermione was doing with the Longbottoms
then I still wouldn't know they were using blood magic. Healers the world over
are begging my grand-daughter to pay them a visit and no one understands
why she was at St. Mungo's in the first place."
"Please remember, Maman. Harry is doing what he thinks is best for Gabrielle
and for Veela. Those who seek my daughter's aid will just have to understand
that even an angel cannot do everything they ask of her. Certainly not one
who is still a small child herself. And there is still a dark lord out there plotting
against my baby. It is he who threatens us. It is he who gave Harry a reason
to take the blood magic bull by the horns. Voldemort is why Harry and
Hermione and my baby did what they did. And as for Little Angel going out
unescorted... Harry has already apologized for doing this without me. He
promised to keep me and Alain informed and involved from now on."
"I can still have a priest come to the house and exorcise Potter from
Gabrielle…" Régine offered hopefully.
Apolline shook her head ruefully. "He is not some demon to be expelled
through prayers, Maman. Little Angel would be most upset if you tried."
Régine huffed in derision. "You were a nightmare at her age and yet I coped.
I have put down several challenges for my place as a grand matron and I am
still in power. Gabrielle is a mewling kitten in comparison."
"You are too close to my mewling kitten to see the danger, Maman." Apolline
countered. "You spend your time with the other grand matrons and you do
not see what my girls have accomplished. With Fleur's help, Little Angel is
winning over our sisters the world over just as she has won over the wizarding
population of Europe. If that kitten mewls loud enough then every Veela in
Europe will come looking to kill whoever upset their new patron goddess."
"Nonsense. The other grand matrons-"
"The other grand matrons are not priestesses no matter how much they act the
part. Don't you see? Gabrielle is an angel. Veela worshiped angels once and we
will do so once again- many of them already are, Maman. Once the temple
complex is complete Veela will begin flocking to their new Mecca. They will
not come flocking to see grand matrons. They will come for Gabrielle."
Régine's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. She gripped the table
before her until her knuckles were white. Fingernails slowly transformed
into claws and dug into polished mahogany. Her instincts were singing,
calling out to put this ignorant child in her place.
"Do you challenge the Council? Do you challenge me, your grand matron,
your own mother? Do you?" She hissed.
Yes Apolline was angry, but she and her mother were fighting two
separate battles. One of them, Apolline knew she could not win. She
visibly deflated.
"This isn't about us, Maman. This is about Gabrielle and Harry."
"Then I shall go up to her room and see to her and the little dead bastard
myself."
The older Veela turned to put the younger generation in its place.
"Of course, Maman- but first…"
Régine stopped and turned once more to her daughter. Apolline didn't
look like she had just lost an argument. In fact, there was a bit of a smirk
pulling at the edge of her lips. Régine didn't know what to make of it.
"Before you put her in her place, can you at least ask her for one of her special
hugs? Your granddaughter does love you after all and I am sure that if you tell
her you love her then she will listen better to what you have to say."
Régine saw no problem with her daughter's request and agreed. She went
up to Little Angel's room fully intent on laying down the law... after a bit
of cuddle time.
When she came back down two hours later, Little Angel still hadn't had
the law laid down before her. Instead, Madam Mitterrand learned first
hand that while putting a little girl in her place was easy, putting a little
angel in her place was impossible. Once Gabby had her arms and wings
wrapped around her grand-mère, Régine resisted for all of five seconds
before buckling to the power of Gabrielle's loving embrace.
-o\0/o-
The Garden was a lot of things. It was a beautiful historical building in
the heart of the City of Light. It was one of those rare places where magic
and electricity could be seen working side by side. It was a whorehouse
stocked exclusively with Veela. What made the Garden famous was that
last bit. To those who had access to the magical world, the Garden was a
playground of Earthly delights. To those who didn't such as non-magicals
who were rich enough, famous enough or connected enough one could
still play as long as certain magical details were hidden.
Ignoring the sinful business conducted within the Garden, the building
was also unique for being the largest concentration of Veela inside of a
large city in all of Western Europe. It was a place for Veela to work and
to play, a place that they could act naturally amongst sisters without fear
of attracting the wrong kind of attention. And since the wrong kind of
attention was really unavoidable in the long run, heavy powerful wards
covered the building and saw to the safety of its residents. Of course, the
very nature of the Garden's occupants ensured that these wards would be
tested and tested often. Ever since Nathalie's predecessor set up shop, the
wrong sort have made attempts to breach the wards on average twice a
year and not once has a single girl been taken in any of those attempts.
This level of safety was the reason Sirius' memorial was held there, after
all.
It was also why certain Veela related businesses were conducted within
the heavily enchanted building. The Veela Grand Matron's Council had a
whole suite of rooms in which to gossip, politic and plot. A whole floor
was open to Veela who were on the run from abusive beaus or abusive
governments. Another whole floor was open to Veela who were in need
of rehab which, unfortunately, Veela were in need of quite often. Sure,
Nathalie and her girls were raking it in but then she and the Grand
Matrons easily spend all that money as quickly as it was made in the
name of bettering the Veela condition. The Garden was effectively a
Veela embassy even if whorehouses don't necessarily have the best of
public images. Of course, that didn't stop all manner important
dignitaries from visiting the Garden to study the Veela issue. In intimate
detail. Upstairs.
"Ah, you're here." Nathalie greeted her guests as they passed through
gilded doors and into her office.
There were cheek kisses all around, seats were offered and coffee was
served. After a few pleasantries were exchanged the Veela madam got
down to business.
"You two are beginning to have organization troubles, yes?"
Fleur and Segolene looked at each other. Segolene nodded. Fleur took the
lead.
"The new construction is becoming difficult to control. It's easier for the Volk
sisters to deal with locals but then we have almost no say in what gets done…
not that I'm an expert in architecture or engineering."
"Then date an architect and an engineer." Nathalie replied easily. "Add an
accountant and a banker too- but just the executives, dear. Don't bother with
middle management or anyone who isn't well known in their particular field."
Fleur looked down without answering. Segolene smiled and covered
Fleur's hand with hers.
"Or you learn from someone who has faced the same problems you have…"
Nathalie knew it would come to this of course. "I've been running this place
long enough to pick up a trick or two."
That's the opening the girls have been hoping for.
"We could certainly use some help." Segolene spoke up. "The Volks can cover
the construction work and Marion has enough help for her side of things. A lot
more of these newly arriving Veela speak English rather than French. Fleur
and I are mostly just managing everyone else. We're not doing the dirty work
anymore."
"You miss the dirty work, do you?" Nathalie teased. "I have a client with
certain needs I could send your way… he's dirty enough to make even me
blush."
"I wouldn't want Fleur to get jealous." Segolene added with a blown kiss to
her beloved.
"As I was saying..." Nathalie began again. "Unless you want to lose your
position as top bitch- or should I say top bitches- running the temple, you need
more business and management skills. You need to be able to handle other
people and do so under strain."
The girls nodded. Nathalie smiled.
"So work for me."
"What?" Fleur asked in surprise.
Segolene was far more excited. "Absolutely!"
Fleur's head whipped around. "Segolene!"
"What?" The perky brunette shot back. "She's not asking us to be whores."
Segolene looked over to Nathalie. "You're not asking us to be whores, are
you?"
Nathalie laughed as she shook her head no. "I need help running things. I
need help keeping the paperwork moving and help mixing with the clients
outside of the bedroom. I need interns for lack of a better word. Although I
should say that I will soon be needing help. It's only a matter of time."
Nathalie fell back into her leather chair and began tracing circles on her
lower abdomen with one highly polished fingernail. She looked up at
Fleur.
"In one or two months, I will not be able to hide my pregnancy. I hope by then
to have someone else able to wine and dine my clients for me. Someone who
can keep a building full of catty Veela in line. Someone I trust as I trust
family." At that point, Nathalie looked straight at Segolene. "Perhaps two
people working together if the chemistry is right."
Both teens were silent. They came to ask for advice or even assistance but
had no idea that the tables cold be turned on them.
"Think about it. You two aren't spending all of your time in Ukraine anymore
and neither of you have accepted any other full time positions... have you?
Applied to any colleges?"
"No." "No."
Nathalie continued her sales pitch. "You both need more experience...
experience I can give you. You help me run the Garden while I experience
motherhood and I'll teach you how to run the temple without letting any grand
matrons mark your territory as their own."
Fleur's eyes widened. "But won't the grand matrons just take over anyway?
I've spoken to four of them one at a time but I've never had to deal with more
than one at the same time."
Nathalie smirked. "Madam Ewing has already made Madame Loren back
down from a bid to dethrone you already."
"Ewing?" Segolene asked.
"From Texas." Nathalie returned. "Her line has been dominating American
cheerleading competitions and beauty pageants for decades. Your work hasn't
taken you to the Americas yet, has it? We can fix that."
"Just wonderful. I'm likely to get replaced sooner rather than later!" Fleur
moaned. Having pretty much run things from the beginning, she was
loath to step aside now. Having this all revolve around her little sister
was a powerful motivator.
"But my dear court flower..." Nathalie purred, "you have a secret weapon no
fireball can defeat."
Fleur was too afraid to go with her first guess. Nathalie continued.
"Gabby is the ultimate trump card, Fleur. No Veela will cross her- she means
too much to us."
"And the way to Little Angel is through her family. Us." Segolene concluded.
No one challenged her use of 'us'.
Nathalie smiled in appreciation. "Great Aunt Mitterrand has power and
many connections but she is set in her ways- and she's not getting any younger
either. She and her circle of peers are focused on maintaining the status quo.
They spend so much time reliving the past that they neglect the future. Your
mother is smart enough for the work and I think she may have a good idea of
what the future may bring but she is truly dedicated to your father... not a bad
thing considering his position in the Ministry."
"Whereas Segolene and I have more invested in the temple, we have the energy
and drive and we have a vision you approve of?" Fleur asked.
"Few Veela have your pedigree, Fleur. You've a better education than nine out
of ten Veela, you're a damn Triwizard Champion... the winner depending on
who you ask... and I just like you." Nathalie added.
"Careful how much you stroke her ego, Nathalie," Segolene whined. "She'll
probably expect me to wear the collar and chain tonight..."
Fleur couldn't help but blush.
Nathalie spoke up again. "If it means you two will keep the Garden running
smoothly for me I'll do all sorts of dirty things to her ego."
"Only nine out of ten?" Segolene challenged.
"You two don't have college degrees. Believe it or not there are a few Veela out
there with Doctorates. Business degrees couldn't hurt you two now that I think
of it. Just don't go to a party school and major in vodka."
"And we'll have time for two projects? The Garden and the temple?" Fleur
asked.
"I have high expectations for the both of you. Besides, all of the time killing
shit work is done by my accountants and lawyers." Nathalie added. "I can
offer you office space and suites of your own here in the Garden. Your work
for me will teach you how to handle social minefields and how to get others to
do most of the real work for you. I'll teach you how I distract the Grand
Matron's Council so they leave me alone when I want them to. Would you
rather face Madam Misko in a cozy conference room or on the surface of a
frozen lake?"
"Am I going to have to tell Tom Cruise 'no' again?" Fleur asked.
Fleur still remembered the first time she ever visited Nathalie at the
Garden a few years ago. Segolene fought to keep from laughing. She
loved that story.
"I'm quite sure Tom remembers you Fleur, but do not despair. He is much more
of a gentleman than some of the others you will have to deal with. And I saw
some of the job offers you got after the tournament. You'll be meeting more
than one of those people while working for me."
Fleur turned to her partner in crime. "What do you think?"
Segolene grinned. "Do you even have to ask?"
Fleur looked skyward, took a deep breath and slowly let it back out. "Let's
do it."
Nathalie thanked Fleur as Segolene let out her best Evil Genius laugh in
the background.
"Sooo..." Fleur asked after giving Segolene a moment to calm down,
"where do we sign?"
Nathalie held up one finger before quickly pulling something out of one
of her desk's drawers.
"That is not a contract." Fleur said as she stared at the object in Nathalie's
hand.
"This is much better." Nathalie returned. "I'll let you read over the contracts
later but for now I really like the symbolism. I do this with all my girls."
Segolene giggled and took the shiny red apple from Nathalie's hand. She
opened wide and tore out as big a chunk as she could manage before
handing the apple to Fleur. Fleur snorted and took a bite as well.
"Welcome to the Garden, ladies. I'm sure you will enjoy your time here.
Everyone does."
-o\0/o-
Gabby steadied herself as soon as the hooking sensation left. No falling
on bottoms for her. Unlike Harry, Gabby spent many long hours in dance
practice working on balance, poise and flexibility and it all paid off when
if came to magical travel. Flooing was easy, portkeys were a breeze and
brooms were second nature. Okay, so maybe having some avian genes
helped with the flying but the other two were hard earned skills. Little
Angel patted down her sky blue skirt, took a moment to admire the lace
fringe on her socks and boldly stepped into the main Joliebatons hallway.
And then she walked right into a group of students coming in from the
floo lobby. It really wouldn't have been any trouble had Gabby herself
been a normal student. Gabby apologized of course. She should have
gotten a 'don't worry' maybe or a 'look where you're going' in response.
Alas, Gabby was anything but normal.
Three boys and a girl all stood there and gawked. That was exactly what
Gabby hated about being an angel. Granted, everything else about being
an angel was super awesome. But the gawking... she could do without it.
Luckily, she now knew how to deal with it.
"I saiiiiid," Little Angel's eyes flashed softly, "Excuuussee mmeeeee..."
"Um... yeah." Was one boy's intelligent response.
Without another word, the four students stopped staring and went their
own way. Gabby composed herself and restarted her walk to Professor
Royal's room.
It took her a minute to realize that the students she ran into were coming
from the floo lobby. Hey, wasn't that supposed to be closed?
The little silver-blonde made her way through the hall and then down
another. When she caught someone in the crowd staring too much she
flashed her eyes to make them overlook her, but she really didn't catch
too many gawkers this time. Her mind was on other things.
"Gabby!" "Gabby!"
"Hey, Gigi. Aimee." Gabrielle took her seat by her two very good friends.
She would never angel eyeflash them. "How did you come to school
today?"
Gigi smiled. "The floo."
"Headmaster reopened them over the weekend." Aimee added.
"Thanks for killing the bad guy, Gabby."
"Yeah, thanks."
But... but... and they didn't know...
"That's nice I guess." Gabby muttered.
"You don't have to use those yucky portkeys anymore. And flooing to that
other building and crossing the street was stupid." Aimee added.
"And it's cold out there. If not for Maman's warming charms, I would have
frozen my butt off last week." Gigi elaborated.
Gabby really didn't know what to say to her friends. Sure lots of bad guys
got beat but even with Voldemort split in half he was still scary to her.
Still dangerous to just about everybody.
The little Veela paid just enough attention to the beginning of class to say
'present' when Professor Royal called attendance. She was able to answer
any questions put to her too even if her heart wasn't really in it today.
Inside, most of Gabby's brainpower was working on the problem of
safety. Momma trained her good. She knew the grown-ups were relaxing
too soon- even Harry could tell. They were making it easier for dark
wizards to get at her and they didn't even know it. Momma would have
to be told; by the end of the day Gabby could think of nothing else.
Well, there was one other thing Gabby thought about today. Absolon was
still a pest.
-o\0/o-
crunch – crunch – crunch
Ginny slowly made her way around Black Lake in near silence. Cold as it
was, none of the forest creatures nearby were showing signs of life and
the giant squid appeared to be hiding from the colder air above it's home.
Silence suited the youngest Weasley very well as she was not in a
talkative mood.
Finally she reached her destination. It was at the far side of the lake from
the castle... bit of a nice hike really... and there was not another living
soul around, far as she could tell.
Perfect.
Ginny pulled her wand out and aimed a mild banishing spell at her
chosen target. The force of the spell blew away all the snow before her.
This exposed a small patch of frozen brown grass wrapping around a
smooth black stone memorial. Harry's grave.
She pulled a small bouquet out of her robes and gently placed it atop the
cold stone.
"White lilies and baby's-breath for innocence and purity. I've added
marigolds and aloe for grief." The redheaded witch spoke to the stone.
"I'm over here, you know." A voice called out behind her. A dog barked in
support.
"Shut it Potter." Ginny didn't bother looking over her shoulder. "I'm
mourning the Boy Who Lived, the boy I've been in love with for as long
as I can remember. I finally figured out that the Boy Who Lived and
Harry Potter were two different people, and that's why today I'm morning
him and not you."
"Ahhhh..." The ghost replied. His dogfather snorted and went back to
licking himself.
So technically she did not make this trek alone, but there truly wasn't
another living soul nearby. Ginny returned to her task of explaining the
bouquet.
"The carnations, being mauve, are for my dreams of a future with you- or
rather who I though you were. My dreams turned out to be quite the
fantasy, didn't they? I tied it together with witch-hazel, of course."
"Where did you get all of these flowers?" Harry asked. It was winter in
Scotland after all. "Did you have an upper year transfigure them?"
Ginny frowned at the thought. "They are real you insensitive prat. I
collected them myself with Professor Sprout's permission. Greenhouse
one is stocked with all of the harmless flowering plants... anything you
might want to put in a bouquet or wreath or vase."
Harry looked confused. Ginny noticed. It was kind of cute in a pathetic
way. She smirked.
"Greenhouse one doesn't really get used in class. It's more functional like
the greenhouses that house elves use for spices and seasoning. With all
the flowers constantly in bloom, greenhouse one is good for dates during
the school year."
Harry looked at Padfoot to see if he knew about any of that. The dog
stopped licking himself just long enough to give his godson a 'of course I
knew. I was such a stud back in the day' look. Actually, that look was
quite impressive coming from a canine.
"Anyway," Ginny continued, "It feels like he's missing now, you know?"
"Maybe it's because I'm right here?" Harry pointed at himself.
Ginny narrowed her eyes at the prat. "Yeah, but even after you showed
up all floaty and see-through, I still felt like you were down there too,
especially once you flew off to France. I visited- well, I mostly wept over
this black stone two or three times a week."
Harry looked down to his feet.
"Sorry. I didn't know."
She nodded slightly and continued. "That changed when someone came
and... well... you know..." Harry nodded. "So anyway, after they cleaned
up the mess and put the stone back together, well, it just seemed hollow.
It felt like you weren't there anymore."
Harry new better than to use the same joke three times. Sirius would
have done it had he not been playing the part of four legged bastard as
opposed to the two legged variety.
"And so here I am, paying my respects to the dead idea of a boy who
never really existed in the first place." Ginny finished.
"I'm sure that if the Boy Who Lived was real and if he were here with you
right now then he'd be very thankful for your flower arranging efforts.
He'd be very touched." Harry added.
"Oh would he then?" Ginny challenged.
"Yes." Harry answered. "If he were here with you right now, he'd tell you
all about how his wicked aunt made him tend her garden from a very
young age and that he learned how to cultivate flowers the hard way:
getting stuck by rose thorns and bleeding everywhere. And if he trimmed
the bush improperly then he'd be sent to bed without supper. Yes... if
such a boy were real then he'd have a great appreciation for those who
pick and arrange their own flowers."
"Really?" Ginny squeaked.
"Really."
"I never knew."
Ginny looked very sad, like she'd never imagined that the Boy Who Lived
could have had that kind of childhood. Her eyes looked like they were
holding back the beginnings of tears.
"I never told anyone." He said simply.
The young witch suddenly took in a deep breath. Harry thought maybe
she was trying to keep herself from sobbing. Ginny then took two
purposeful steps to bring herself directly in front of the young specter.
"I'm Ginevra Weasley and I'm very pleased to meet you." She dipped into
a light curtsey. "Most people call me Ginny."
Harry smiled and held out his hand.
"Hello Ginny. I'm Harry Potter. Charmed, I'm sure."
Ginny, whose eyes were suspiciously bright, smiled and reached out to
shake Harry's hand. Her hand passed right through his. She tried again.
She failed again.
Ginny's giggles soon filled the air. Padfoot started barking. He loved
physical comedy. Harry smirked though his silver blush. Maybe if he had
tried to clasp her hand instead of the other way around, that might have
worked.
-o\0/o-
"Monsieur Delacour." A soft voice called.
Alain stretched over his desk, placed a finger on the Department Seal and
answered his secretary's call. "Yes, Guillmette?"
"Monsieur Potter has arrived."
"Send him in please." Alain withdrew his finger from the seal and nodded
to someone else in the room.
A moment later, the office door opened and the young English ghost
passed through.
"Alain." Harry called in greeting. Then he noticed who else was already
there. "And Madam Bones... or is it Minister Bones?"
Amelia stood up and greeted the boy. "Good afternoon Mister Potter. And
I am now the Acting Minister for Magic thanks to the ICW. There will be
elections later... but probably not until April or May."
"Well I'll tell everyone I know to vote for you then." Harry added with a
smile.
Ameila looked like she'd eaten something sour. "I would rather have my
old post back. At least I knew who I could trust and who to keep an eye
on in the MLE. These days I'm telling near strangers what to do and just
hoping that they know how to follow instructions."
Harry froze, not knowing quite how to react. Alain chuckled and added a
bit more to the brandy snifter Amelia had been nursing before Harry
came in.
"I'm sure the ICW can be counted on to help you keep everyone in line a
few months longer, Amelia." The man took a sip from his own glass. "It's
getting them to leave afterwards that will be sending you to the healers
with high blood pressure this time next year."
Amelia looked longingly at the provided alcohol but refrained. She
addressed Harry.
"Mister Potter-"
"Just Harry, please..." Harry interrupted.
Amelia nodded but her next topic of conversation would not allow her to
smile. "Harry, then. I'm here to inform you of some troubling facts we
recently learned about your relatives."
Harry motioned that he was listening. Amelia cleared her throat.
"Five days ago, the muggle Police in Surrey responded to a call at number
four Privet Drive. I'm sorry to say that your uncle has passed on." Amelia
paused there. Oddly, Harry did not seem to have any visible reaction. She
continued. "Inside, they found the body of Vernon Dursely. There were
no physical marks or clues about cause of death other than the look on
his face which was apparently quite pained. While the muggle autopsy
report is not due for another week or two, our aurors found enough
evidence to support exposure to the Cruciatus Curse. We believe the
Killing Curse was used to end his life."
Harry thought for a moment.
"But why were aurors there to begin with. To be quite honest I would
rather have had the aurors visit on occasion when I still lived there, not a
year after I died. It's been about two years since I set foot in that house."
Not what Amelia expected at all.
"Even with the strain on our resources, it is vital that the DMLE continue
to search for magical interference in the muggle world. With a blood
relative of yours in residence, Privet Drive was near the top of the watch
list. Sadly, the response team did not arrive early enough to save your
uncle or to rescue your aunt."
"Wait." Harry was interested now. "Petunia's missing?"
Amelia nodded. "We currently believe someone apparated nearby,
assaulted your uncle, took your aunt and left the way they came in. None
of the nearby muggles witnessed the attack."
"Do you know if they went after my cousin Dudley?" Harry asked.
Amelia squinted in concentration. "The muggles weren't looking for a
second missing person. Are you sure he lived there?"
"I wouldn't know anymore. It's been too long. I suppose you could check
Smeltings... thought I'd bet all the gold in Gringotts that he's been
expelled by now." Harry offered.
"The point is," Alain cut in, "that a blood relative of yours- or possibly
two- has been abducted. Add that to the prior theft of your body from the
grave at Hogwarts and we are very concerned. If these two acts are
related then they point to some very dark magic being performed."
Dark magic, he said. Blood magic is what he meant. Damn.
"What rotten timing too." Harry mentioned, though perhaps he should
have kept that one to himself.
"What do you mean?" Amelia had seen dozens of suspects let slip
something important before and this sounded no different.
Harry improvised. "It's just that I'm not kidding about wanting those
aurors to have visited earlier. I'm not celebrating Vernon's death but I'll
not be mourning it either. Aunt Petunia being missing is disturbing
though. Have we any idea of where she may have been taken?"
"Nothing." Amelia answered regretfully. "While this crime is likely You
Know Who's work, we have no solid proof it is him. Now that his forces
have been flushed out of the Ministry building we don't have any clue as
to where they may be keeping her."
All three were silent for a moment. Alain chose to break the silence
before it became uncomfortable.
"There is another reason Amelia and I wished to talk to you today,
Harry."
"Oh?" Harry was thankful for the distraction. Visions of Angel-Gabby
battling Zombie-Harry were filling his head. They were not pleasant.
"We are three weeks away from the first anniversary of the Second Task."
Alain pointed out.
"Has it been a year already?" Harry asked. "I hadn't really noticed. I
wonder if Nick or Myrtle have been planning anything for me?"
"Nick and Myrtle?" Alain asked.
"Two of the ghosts at Hogwarts. I may have mentioned them... or not..."
Harry tried to explain.
"You see... the dead don't seem to pay much attention to the passage of
time from what I've seen," Both Alain and Amelia shared a look over the
ghost talking about ghosts from an outsider's perspective. "Except when it
comes time to celebrate the anniversary of their death. Nearly Headless
Nick had a big to do on his deathday. Ron, 'Mione and I went to it. I
actually met Myrtle for the first time there at the party."
"Harry," Ameila cut in. "On behalf of the Ministry of Magic I would like to
officially invite you to Hogwarts Castle on February the twenty-fourth for
a memorial service."
"Oh..." Harry was surprised, though now that he thought about it there
was no reason he should be surprised.
Amelia spoke up again before he could reply. "I have invited all of the
Champions and their families as well as all those who were there that
day. There will also be political and international guests there as well."
Alain chose to help Amelia explain things. "It won't all be about the
Second Task, of course. This is the first event the new interim ministry
has planned since assuming power. They intend to start with memorials
for you and for all those who have died in the following troubles.
Sacrifices will be recognized. Heroes will be rewarded. History will be
made."
"How so?" Harry asked.
Amelia continued Alain's explanation. "Mr. Po- Harry... we've put a lot of
thought into this and we think that the actions of two individuals deserve
special recognition."
"Eh... who?"
"Why you, Harry. You and Gabrielle." Amelia answered. Alain's face was
glowing with pride now. "Both of you shall receive an Order of Merlin,
First Class. This will be the first time a deceased person has ever received
the award for actions taken after their demise. It is also the first time in
centuries a French witch has received the award. She will also be the
youngest recipient on record. You are both officially receiving the award
for destroying the Dementor hoard that threatened to take every soul in
Hogwarts and Hogsmeade on the fourteenth."
"Unofficially, these awards also cover the various battles the two of you
have fought and won against not only Voldemort," At least Alain could
say the name, "but also the old corrupt Ministry of Magic as well."
"Wizarding Britain may be diminished in numbers but we now shine all
the brighter as a great shadow has left us." Amelia said proudly.
"Except he's still out there." Harry challenged.
"We'll get him, Harry." Amelia answered his challenge. "His followers are
dead and broken. He is only a shadow of his former self."
Alain read the concern on his spectral son's face. "Yes we know he's seen
setbacks like this before but he had a support system in place before. It's
gone now. If he shows himself in public, we'll find him and bind his spirit
so that he'll never be able to roam free again."
Harry wanted to believe that these two would be able to deliver on their
promise. He really wanted to. Sadly, he couldn't.
It was just Voldemort and Harry in Nineteen eighty-one. It was just the
two of them again in Ninety-two and again in Ninety-three. It was just
Harry and Gabby versus a Dark Lord last month and that was with ICW
forces nearby too. Harry couldn't help but expect that he and his Angel
would meet Voldemort one more time in open conflict... and only once
was the best case scenario.
"Whatever security you have planned for this thing at Hogwarts, double-
no, triple it." Harry said.
"I assure you we will be quite well protected Mister Potter." Amelia was
shocked that Harry would automatically assume the plans for security
were in any way lacking. "What makes you think we need to increase our
auror presence?"
Harry looked between the two top magical ministry officials and replied
with the one bit of insight only Harry Potter or perhaps Albus
Dumbledore would know from experience.
"I don't know what Voldemort was like before he killed my parents, but
he's made a habit of going after me on special occasions and I don't
believe he'll wait for next Halloween to try again."
-o\0/o-
Luna Lovegood relaxed. Her shoes had been kicked off, her cloak spread
behind her like a blanket and her uniform hat sat off to the side. She
loved the feel of soft grass as it tickled at her neck and she was feeling
plenty of that tickle now. Luna had found for herself a small spot at the
edge of the Beauxbatons athletic field where she could relax and watch
little blurs zip this way and that in the cloudless sky above.
No, not Nargles… not Wrackspurts nor even Blibbering Humdingers
though she was keen to search school grounds for some of those later.
Today, Luna was watching the school broom racing team practice.
And now they were coming her way.
Luna reached over to her other hat and tapped her wand to an activation
rune.
RRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR
She did hope Hermione noticed her hat. It was very Gryffindor with a
Lion head on top and everything. True, Hermione wasn't in Gryffindor
anymore and they weren't in Hogwarts anymore but then Luna had
always wanted to cheer the Gryffie quidditch team on and she wasn't
about to ignore the hat now that it was finished and it worked.
Just in case Hermione hadn't noticed her hat, Luna had also charmed all
the grass around her to be red and gold.
Five laps later, all of the broom riders came back down on the far side of
the field. Luna began transfiguring the charmed blades of grass into red
and gold butterflies. Ten minutes later, one of the broom riders broke
from the group and flew over to Luna's spot.
"Isn't it a little cold out to be lying in the grass with no shoes or coat on?"
Hermione called from two meters up.
Luna looked up without really focusing on anything. "I spent two winters
in Scotland and part of one in Azkaban. Daddy and I used to go on
expeditions through fjords and across glaciers. Southern France is quite
toasty in comparison." Luna finally focused on her adoptive sister. "Who
are you to talk? I've never seen an outfit like that one before."
Hermione dismounted her Firebolt and walked through the grass to sit by
Luna's side. It may still be winter but there was no snow on the ground
here. Most of the flora on Beauxbatons school grounds had been charmed
evergreen centuries ago and snow rarely made any attempt to challenge
the groundskeepers.
"I'm wearing the team uniform." Hermione replied. "If quidditch players
would ever consider getting rid of those bulky cloaks and leathers then
they might just find the average speed of a game jump up a lot higher."
Hermione was wearing a close fitting outfit that looked less magical and
more muggle in design. She wore pure white trainers with low cut socks.
At the other end of her mostly exposed legs were a pair of light blue silk
short-shorts with gold trim covering white skintight spandex. Above that,
Hermione wore a white and blue striped silk shirt with gold detailing and
the school crest, front and back. This was again worn over white
spandex. Hermione also wore white leather gloves as frostbite and
blisters were both to be avoided.
Her hair was, as is now the standard, in a tight French braid. For that
matter, so was Luna's. Tradition and all that.
"Has Harry seen you wearing that?" Luna teased.
"Maybe…" Hermione blushed lightly and looked away. "But he has not
seen me fly in it yet. Not at full speed at least."
"But you were going full speed just then, weren't you?" Luna asked.
Hermione smiled brilliantly. "I was second place in the first heat- though
I only made fourth in the second… I think they got used to my new-
found courage. Still that's no replacement for skill. If I'm lucky I may get
to compete against another school in early summer. Captain Lambert is
optimistic about my chances, at least."
As if summoned, Captain Lambert appeared in the sky not far away from
the two English transplants.
"Hermione! We're all going to the Dining Hall together after we get changed.
Bring your new friend if you want to." The upper year wizard called.
Hermione looked hopefully at Luna who herself looked thrown for a
loop. She was being included? In a group activity? By an attractive male?
Hermione look back at her team captain. "We'll be there!"
As Captain Lambert turned to fly away, Hermione poked a now blushing
Luna in the ribs.
"I thought you were playing for the other team. Have you gotten over
Fleur so quickly?" Hermione teased.
Luna blushed harder. "No, not at all. The… you know what… made sure
that I still love Fleur and I think I always will, but it didn't make me a
lesbian. I still fancy boys."
"Maybe a certain boy Captain?" Hermione pushed. "He does a lot of
tutoring, you know. In subjects you're behind in even."
"Does he now?" Luna asked softly. She was now unable to look Hermione
in the eye.
"He's single too."
"R- really?"
"Oh yes."
"I suddenly find myself quite famished." Luna blurted out while getting to
her feet. "Come sister. Let's get you out of those things and into the
Dining Room."
Hermione giggled like a schoolgirl and got up as well. "Look at me
playing matchmaker. Segolene would be ever so proud!"
"Did you know," Luna added quickly, "that both Venus and Sirius will be
prominent tonight?"
"I thought you dropped divination in order to take more non-magical
classes." The spandex clad witch replied.
"It's a legitimate observation for both astrology and astronomy, sister
dear."
Hermione smirked. "If you say so."
-o\0/o-
Alain closed the door to his personal study and leaned against it in relief.
The screaming match was much harder to hear through the solid wood
door than when he was out in the hall.
"Poppa?" A soft voice called from behind his desk.
Alain turned around to find a small head of silver-blonde hair partially
hidden behind rich oak.
"Yes Little Angel?" He ansered.
"Is Momma going to kill Fleur?" A very frightened Gabby asked.
Alain sighed. "No, my sweet little Gabrielle. Your mother would never kill her
own firstborn."
There was a short pause in the yelling outside Alain's study. He was
about to use that as proof of his statement when the unholy shriek of a
fully transformed Veela shook the building, floorboards and all.
Gabby ducked further behind her father's desk as the man himself
strained to hear more through the door. He briefly considered reopening
it until a second shriek of avian fury tore through their home.
The rapid thumps of someone sprinting down the hall quickly passed
their position.
"I think that was your sister running for the ward line. Do not worry Little
Angel, things will work out in the end. Trust me."
Alain was able to maintain his calm facade for another thirty seconds…
just long enough for an enraged Veela to bash open his door. Gabby dove
for cover. Alain wanted to badly, but he stood his ground.
"What seems to be the problem, my love?" Alain said bravely. He palmed his
wand discreetly.
Apolline gave a short, loud bark. Gabby moaned from within her secret
fortress. Alain noticed a sheath of papers gripped angrily in the Veela's
left claws.
"Perhaps if I…" Alain slowly raised his own left hand towards the papers.
Enraged as she was, Apolline was still a sentient creature and she knew
what her husband was asking for. Slowly, reluctantly she offered the
damning evidence to him. He took it. As soon as the papers were turned
over, the angry Veela turned from her mate and her younger chick to
storm out of the room. Setting innocents on fire would not help anyone.
The uncomfortable silence was only broken by the sniffles of a crying
girl.
"Perhaps, my sweet angel, you might like to sit in my lap as I look over these
papers your mother left for me?" Alain offered.
There was no reply except for a scrambling little girl desperate for the
safety of Poppa's lap. Once he was seated and once Gabrielle was
comfortable, he began to read.
"Oh, Fleur." Alain whispered. "What have you done?"
Being the experienced ministry official with influence in law
enforcement, he read Fleur's contract with the Garden… and Segolene's
as well… line by line from start to finish. By the time Gabrielle was
asleep in his arms Alain thought maybe it wasn't quite so bad as
originally thought. A few minutes later, a human looking Apolline
stepped softy into the room.
"My daughter is a whore." She said. "Where did I go wrong?"
"I think, perhaps, you may have begun yelling before she could fully explain
herself?" Alain offered cautiously.
"She- no. They both work for Nathalie now. What is there to explain?"
"These contracts…" Alain re-adjusted his sleeping angel to get more
comfortable. "They don't expressly prohibit sleeping with the clients but they
don't focus on it either. They are drawn up for executive level work.
Administration services. Not sex."
The Veela mother didn't look convinced but she was listening.
"Nathalie came to me with one of her contracts years ago… she wanted a
genuine legal opinion." Alain continued. "Of course I had ministry experts run
over it to make sure our family was protected. That contract actually was for
whoring and it was nothing like this one."
Alain looked at his wife and did so with as much confidence as he could
muster.
"Our daughter is not a whore. I daresay tomorrow will be a much better day to
sit down with Fleur and discuss why she is not a whore in a calm, fireball free
environment."
Apolline seemed to close her eyes and breathe deeply. Suddenly a great
deal of tension left her frame.
"I'll take the little one to bed, husband dear… and then you can do the same
for me."
Alain let her take their daughter from his lap in silence. He had deflected
her ire for now, but there was still one problem that Fleur had either
knowingly or unknowingly unleashed upon their household. She was not
a whore… but many, many people would quickly assume that she was
when her employment becomes public.
There went any chance for Alain to become the next Minister of Magic.
His political opponents would never let this go, and not even a miracle
on the scale that Gabrielle can provide would be able to turn things
around.
At least there was a silver lining to this cloud. Apolline was clearly too
keyed up to actually sleep once the married couple made it to bed.
Judging by the fact that she actually went full bird tonight she should be
full of emotion and energy needing release. Alain may very well see the
sun rise before she tired herself out and let him get any rest.
On his way out of the study, Alain called upon Virginie to supply him
with a dose each of energy potion and stamina potion. Despite the
troubles, it was nights like this that made him feel justified in marrying a
Veela all those years ago.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
And now a little word about some of my Veela because my OC's always
have a person/character that they are based off of. Madame Loren: I
always figured Sophia Loren could be a Veela. It took a really long time
for her age to catch up to her. One could argue it still hasn't. Madame
Ewing: Not that anyone probably got it, but that was a reference to the
old show Dallas and the oil baron family portrayed therein. I never did
learn who shot J.R., maybe Madame Ewing did. Not that I've figured out
how to stick her in the story but I figure Marylin Monroe would make a
great Veela. CIA offed her 'cause she got too close to the most powerful
man alive.
29. Edem
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-eight: Edem
Hermione looked up as her door opened.
"'Mione." Harry called in greeting with Gabby parroting his call quickly
after.
"Come in." The young English witch answered without moving, too
caught up in her reading to actually look at her two guests.
Harry looked around her room.
"You know, 'Mione, most people spend time in their dreams... well...
dreaming."
Hermione could hear the smirk in Harry's comment. Gabby's snicker was
even easier to spot. Hermione slowly closed her eyes and took in a deep
breath. A few seconds later she let it out. Finally, she closed her book and
stood to face her interlopers.
"You know me, Harry." Hermione explained. "I can't keep away from my
studies."
The witch smoothed out her skirt and walked over to Gabby's hug-ready
open arms.
"You do seem to be keeping up rather well," Harry murmured before
getting his own hug with a kiss on top, "nothing at all like third year."
Hermione's cheeks pinked. "Time turners don't work the same way.
Professor McGonagall did point out the issues involved in balancing extra
sleep time with extra waking time. I was just a bit too enthusiastic back
then. I wanted to get the absolute most out of my education..."
"Of course." Harry said knowingly.
Gabby giggled. Not that she knew why Harry thought this was funny- she
didn't understand at all- but Harry was happy and that was enough.
"Soooooo..." Hermione fished for a topic change. "What shall we do
tonight?"
Everyone ignored the bright, sunshiny day right outside Hermione's
dormitory window.
"Welllll..." Harry countered. "I was thinking we could try something."
"Yes?" Hermione prodded.
Gabby answered. "Harry going to do his homework!"
Hermione blink-blinked.
"Really?"
It was Harry's turn to feel embarrassed.
"Right, well they did say I'd have lessons to work on from time to time."
He explained vaguely. "I thought you might want to take part."
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"He takes classes at Angel School just like me." Gabby said, very happy to
tell Hermione things that the older witch has never heard before. That
doesn't happen very often.
"And what does this homework entail?" Hermione asked.
Harry seemed to focus himself for a moment before answering. "You
remember that day- er night that Lucifer put you to sleep, right?"
Hermoine nodded.
"She entered your dream to stop us from doing something we aren't
allowed to do. That doesn't mean, however, that we can't meet with her
unless one of us tries to break a rule." Harry paused, idly running his
hand through Gabby's silky hair. "In fact, the magic that made that trip
work for both Lucifer and Luna will allow us to setup another meeting
like that one."
"We're going to have a dream conference call?" The witch in Beauxbatons
blue asked.
Harry tilted his head. "A what?"
"A conference call. It's when you connect more than two lines in a
telephone call." Hermione answered without effort.
"Err, yes?" Harry asked-answered.
"Very well." Hermione said, eager to try something new and different.
"What part do you wish for me to play in this?"
"I thought you might like to tag along mostly. Ask questions. If I get
tripped up you could help me figure it all out."
Hermione nodded. She was quite happy with observation and
troubleshooting duties.
"Permission to mess with your dreams again?"
Hermione wriggled her nose as she'd done countless times by now.
"Permission granted."
Harry bowed to his hostess and strolled over to the door out. He paused
and focused a great deal of attention on the handle. His fingers wrapped
around the handle firmly and, after another pause, he turned the knob.
click
Hermione was interested to see that the scenery on the other side of her
dormitory door was not the rest of the Beauxbatons girls' dormitories.
Now it seemed to be a small valley with a very starry night sky. She was
already on the move to take a look at this new place when the door
suddenly filled with the dream teleconference's third party.
Deep tan. White-blonde hair. Lavender eyes. A body to die for.
"Lucifer." Harry greeted warmly.
Gabby wasn't quite so reserved.
"Lucifer!" The little girl shot through the room and leapt onto the older
angel's chest in a tight hug.
"Hi, kid!" Lucifer hugged Gabby back while smiling warmly at the two
teens. "Harry. Miss Granger. Mind if I come in?"
Hermione braced herself. With any luck she wouldn't be smote by the
fallen angel a second time.
"Be my guest." Hermione swept her hand back in an inviting gesture. It
was her dorm after all.
"You're solid this time!" Gabby squeaked.
Lucifer walked into the room with a little Veela stuck to her front. She sat
on the edge of Hermione's bed and looked around.
"You remember what I told you, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "Think clearly about what I want and how it should
interact with the environment. Right?"
Lucifer nodded to her mind magic student while tickling Gabby's ribcage.
The little girl squealed like a little girl.
"I'd say you got it right." Lavender eyes turned to brown. "Harry tells me
you have a question or two to ask?"
She got to ask questions? Really? Hermione's reaction was obvious
enough to make Harry laugh. She hit him on the shoulder in punishment.
"Ow!" Harry exclaimed half-seriously. "Look. I know you and the others
had these long lists of questions that you wanted answered when I took
Gabby into the Hall of Angels and we never really stuck to the approved
lists when we went before."
Harry rubbed his shoulder while sending a mock pout back to his
girlfriend. She tried valiantly to maintain her righteous indignation.
"I figured you might take the opportunity to ask one of those questions
now while Lucifer is here to answer it."
Righteous indignation was forgotten. She got to ask a fallen angel
questions! Hermione's head snapped around and she turned her thousand
watt smile towards Lucifer.
Harry laughed again, but he was ignored this time.
"Do you mind? Answering a question or two that is?" The brown haired
witch blurted.
"Not at all Miss Granger." Lucifer replied softly.
And now she had to pick which one. Which to choose...there were too
many! Hermione's mind almost blanked trying to pick the best first
question.
"House elves!" She squeaked.
"Really? House elves?" Harry asked, confused. It certainly wouldn't have
been his first pick.
"Don't you see Harry? If Lucifer here is as old as we believe her to be then
she might know what happened to them- I mean, why they need our
magic and why they don't have any of their own anymore." Hermione
looked back to Lucifer almost pleadingly. "That is, if you know... and if
you don't mind sharing."
Lucifer, who still hadn't let go of Gabby, smirked. "I do know and I don't
mind sharing."
"Story time!" Gabby shouted into Lucifer's shoulder.
"I should start by saying that it wasn't just the elves." Lucifer began. She
lost her smirk. "Wizards claim to live in the Wizarding World, and they
do keep to themselves mostly, but you must understand that there is
really only one world, one Earth, one Gaia. All beings be they sentient or
not, be they magical or not, live as part of a larger whole. Magic has been
a part of this one world system for as long as life itself has been around
and both can rise and fall like the tides."
"So house elves suffered a loss of their magic during a magical low tide?"
Hermione jumped ahead.
"It was far more all encompassing than that. Dobby's ancestors were
forced to change or perish but at least they still existed. There has been
more than one magical mass extinction in the world's history just as there
have been non-magical extinctions. Sometimes the magical and non-
magical extinctions are concurrent and sometimes they are not. Magical
creatures are actually far more robust and adaptable than their non-
magical counterparts... but they do suffer from a weakness that non-
magical creatures are effectively immune to. That weakness is a
dependency on the availability of natural free magic in their
environment. To be more specific, they need access to ley lines."
"So when Dobby says that elves be loosing- I mean when elves lost their
magic, what really happened was that the natural level of ambient free
magic fell?" Hermione asked.
Lucifer nodded. "There have been times where the ley lines themselves
were both closer to the surface and also stronger. To borrow an
expression, you could practically cut the magic in the air with a knife, it
was so thick. As you may have noticed, this is not the case today. The
modern world is currently near a magical low tide. Many wonderful
beautiful creatures were not strong enough to survive with reduced
ambient magic. They needed it as we need air. They perished and we are
poorer for their loss. Then there are some races like the house elves who
adapted to survive. Much as you may suspect dark wizardry, Miss
Granger, there is none involved in this story."
Gabby held up her hand. Lucifer ignored for a moment that they were
not actually in school and pointed to her favorite student.
"What dinosaurs were magical?" The little angel asked eagerly. Of course.
Almost every primary school student alive knows about dinosaurs.
Lucifer smiled at Gabby's enthusiasm. Amazingly, she also answered the
question.
"Dragons had to come from somewhere, right? A line of small raptors
developed the ability to breath fire. Then they got wings. Then they got
bigger."
Lucifer had stunned her audience. They were enchanted, entranced by
the story. Why stop there?
"I have said that there were magical creatures that evolved and those that
did not. House elves are a very recent example of this as their story is less
than two thousand years old. There were also more than a few beasts
who felt the magic leaving and hid themselves, falling into a deep
slumber until magic returns to the level they prefer. If you are lucky you
will never meet any of these beasts. They are not to be trifled with."
"Why are we not taught about this in History of Magic? Not even
Beauxbatons teaches this in history class." Hermione wondered aloud.
"How did you learn all this?"
Lucifer answered. "I and my sisters know of these happenings but you
will not meet a wizard nor will you read of one that knew any of it. I
served my Lord for years uncounted before the fall. As for what came
before me, well, my Lord and His angels were not the only beings to pay
attention to such things."
Hermione was buzzing with excitement. She had no idea. Looking back, it
all seemed terribly logical that nature itself would be responsible for such
widespread changes and not some power mad wizard with a hatred for
free magical beings. It was refreshing to see logic applied to magic even
if she had to look back thousands or tens of thousands of years to find it.
The British witch in Beauxbatons blue turned to her spectral love and
said airily, "You are the best boyfriend ever."
Harry looked immensely pleased with himself. Who could have imagined
a single question would earn him so many relationship bonus points?
"You're welcome."
-o\0/o-
-ding-
The door to the lift slid open.
tak – tak - tak
The sound of a woman crossing the lobby in high heels brought two
hushed conversations to a halt. Several pairs of eyes searched for the
origin of the noise.
The heels were expensive- custom Italian no doubt – and the legs they
were attached to were works of art. The woman wore a tight cloak like a
smooth silk sheath holding close to her natural curves. Unfortunately for
the men looking on, her cloak's hood was pulled up revealing nothing
more than a single shock of long silver-blonde hair cascading down the
front of the robe to one side.
The few men in the lobby held their silence as she walked across the
lobby to an ornate pair of gilded floral themed doors. As she closed to
within two steps of the doors, both heavy panels began to silently swing
inwards. It would seem that the wards recognized her. Only after the
door closed behind her did any of those men seem to regain their voices.
Please God, they said, let her be starting her shift soon. If only they knew
her name.
On the other side of the door, a sharply dressed young woman greeted
her visitor.
"Welcome back to the Garden Madame Delacour." The woman bowed
slightly. "I do not believe Miss Nathalie is expecting you. Shall I inform her of
your arrival?"
The visitor lowered her cloak. The younger woman was correct. It was
Apolline. Apolline shook her head in response to the question.
"That is not necessary Nicole. Is my daughter here? I would very much like to
speak with her."
Nicole was about to respond when a small interruption occurred.
POP
"Dopey has come to escort Miss Apolline to Miss Fleur… if Miss Apolline
promises not to make fire in the Garden."
Apolline nodded stiffly.
"Thank you very much Dopey." Nicole spoke to the elf before turning back
to the older Veela. "If you would please follow Dopey…"
"Of course. Thank you."
Apolline acknowledged the younger woman before following the much
shorter elf through the Garden's main entry foyer and up into private
office territory. The elf and Veela passed girls relaxing on their brake,
cigarette in hand. A few Veela were resting in the employee lounge in
their underwear munching on breakfast cereal and watching cartoons.
Two halls further along, Apolline was sure she heard a man's voice
through one of the doors. There seemed to be some issue with the new
tax code and what could or could not be considered an acceptable
business expense. Accounting then. Still, Apolline was impressed to hear
a man's voice this deep into the employee side of the building.
Even Alain has never ventured this deep into Veela territory before.
The two finally came to a halt in front of a single frosted glass door.
Dopey motioned for Apolline to wait a moment as he pop'd into the room
and then back out again. He opened the door for her.
"Miss Fleur and Miss Segolene will see you now."
Apolline pulled herself together and stepped into the room.
"Mother." Fleur called coldly. "I have quite a lot of whoring to do today so if
you have something to say, please keep it short."
Apolline bit back her retort as well as her desire to transform. She had
promised both her husband and that house elf that she wouldn't be
throwing any fire around. Even if Fleur was asking for it. She was here to
make peace no matter how it irked her. She took in her surroundings.
Fleur was sitting at the head of a massive conference table. Segolene sat
to Fleur's right with a notebook and a thick stack of photos spread out
between the two of them. A little further down on the same side of the
table, Marion stood between two chairs hovering over several enlarged
photographs and a whole pile of notebooks and artifacts. On the other
side of the table, two women (Veela by the looks of them) who Apolline
did not know were pouring over books on runic languages and Hellenistic
Greek.
"If this is whoring," Apolline replied, "then I really have to rework the games I
play with your father. I do not think he will approve of the changes."
Marion couldn't keep a smirk from forming. Segolene snorted.
"What's so funny?" One of the new girls asked Marion in English. She was
ignored. "Fine… whatever."
Apolline pushed forward. "Your father and I have looked through those
contracts. I must admit that they were not as bad as I imagined." Mother and
daughter locked eyes. "I still think you are wrong to do this. Please, Little
Princess, think about what you are doing to the family."
Fleur's eyebrow twitched. Using her childhood nickname was hitting
below the belt.
"I am doing this for the family Maman. I am doing this for Gabrielle."
"What of your father? You know he has always done what is best for us.
Think of the place he holds in society. Do not hurt the family by associating
with your cousin's business." Apolline pleaded her case. "The Delacours will
be the laughing stock of Paris once your father's rivals learn of your
employer."
"I need the skills that she can teach me, Maman." Fleur's ripost came quick
on the heels of her mother's plea.
"Pass me the runic codex, would you?" Marion called out to one of her
assistants, trying very hard not to be part of the family drama passing up
and down the table.
"Here ya go." One of the girls shoved the book in question across the
table, paper swishing over wood between breaths.
"I could teach you."
"I need different skills then you can teach."
"You father."
"He's far too busy and Nathalie's help is more practical."
"My mother."
"She is what I need lessons against, Maman." Fleur looked at her mother
with something akin to pity. "We seek to change the world where Régine
seeks to hold it firm. We seek to build a safe place for Gabrielle to come into
her own with out being forced to serve another."
Apolline glanced at Marion. Fleur noticed. She also deduced her mother's
stifled response. 'But she does serve another' or something to that effect.
"Gabrielle is as pure as any being alive, Maman. Right now she is exactly what
she was always meant to be."
Fleur pushed her emotions out into the open, hoping to show that her
heart had the same aims as her mother's did- only, each Delacour's
protectiveness was focused on a different target. That one small step was
all it took to change everything.
"I am in a position to protect Little Angel as you and Papa have always
protected me. I will do what needs to be done for Gabrielle," Fleur looked
around herself, "even if that means working in a whorehouse to do it."
"Plate five done yet?" One of the new girls asked the other.
"Hold yer horses."
"Last sentence on plate four is only a fragment."
"Gimmie five more minutes."
"'Kay."
Apolline looked over to Marion, quickly glancing at the two new girls
and then back.
"Both are from Bryn Mawr College and yes both are Veela. Julie and Jessie
here are pretty good with the classical and runic languages... but not French.
Apparently they think Egyptian and Old Norse are sexier by far."
Having finally been brought into the conversation, the two American
archeology students were finally formally introduced. This was good as it
allowed the two Delacours to cool off a bit. The girls were sisters,
daughters of a man who was a rather gifted linguist. Their mother chose
him after being hit on in eighty-three languages in ten minutes. He even
used period accurate come-on's in all of the the dead languages. Their
mother reacted to his display of alpha nerd talent by sliding straight from
her pole to his lap and riding him all the way to his hotel room. They
were mated, married and expecting by the time he got back to his
respectable collegiate professorial home. Sure, Mom's been called a fame
seeking gold digging whore ever since but they're all Veela and that's par
for the course. At least both girls got Dad's head for languages even if
they prefer the dead ones to the live ones.
Apolline may not have fully vented, but she was willing to wait for a
second round... and there was some interesting stuff sitting out on the
table. The French Veela matron's eye grazed over the photos more and
more often as her comfort level rose and Marion noticed.
"Interested in finding out how we spend our time here in the Garden?"
Marion asked Apolline.
"These are from the temple, are they not?" Apolline answered.
"Zey are." Fleur spoke up.
Julie and Jessie both relaxed. The others were sticking with English.
Looked like their boss was okay with them knowing what was going on
with all these locals.
"Ze photographs you see before you show zee temple's records. Zey are
from zee interior walls as well as what few scrolls 'ave been deemed safe
to 'andle so far."
"Anything noteworthy?" Apolline asked.
"All of it!" Segolene exclaimed.
Apolline's eyebrow rose. Fleur elaborated.
"We 'ave already identified 'istories of Veela interaction wiz zee Greeks,
zee Scyzians, and zee Romans... we have yet to identify zee Christians but
it is only a matter of time." Fleur pulled a particular photo out of the
stack and slid it over to her mother. "Best of all, we 'ave found Veela
law."
The photo showed row after row after row of characters in Greek and
Latin. There were also a large number of runes she didn't recognize, but
then she was not an expert in that field and never had been.
"Law?" Apolline's interest rose again. "A criminal code?"
"No." Segolene jumped in. "Seems like ancient Veela were expected to
follow local laws off the island. On the island you could always count on
the angels to correct any naughtiness or so the records indicate."
Fleur retook the reigns. "We 'ave found zee regulations by which our
temple was run. Which festivals to observe. Which angels to invoke. Zere
is still much work to be done 'ere zough..."
Apolline watched curiously as her daughter's explanation tapered off. She
didn't expect Julie to pick it up.
"This is where it get's hard."
The girl pushed over her own photo as proof. Row after row of runes.
Runes Apolline didn't recognize even in the slightest.
"That," Julie explained, "is more Scythian text than any one researcher
has ever seen one place in the history of modern archeology. We still
don't know what most of it means."
"We'll figure it out though!" Jessie added eagerly. "Too bad we can't bring
the old man into this. He'd cream his jeans over it. He's been looking for
a Rosetta stone with Scythian rune sets for, like, ever."
"Yeah, we'll figure it out in no time. Count on it." Julie smiled
confidently.
The young academic then turned to Marion. "So, you gonna tell her?"
"Tell her what?" Marion replied.
"The name!" Julie chirped.
"Oh!" Marion shouted. "Of course!"
Apolline, who had take a seat when being introduced to the sisters,
looked on in confusion as Marion began quickly flipping through the
available images until she found just the right one. She slid it before the
French mother and poked her finger into a bit of Greek in the middle of a
lot of Greek.
"We now know what the island and village connected to it were called."
Marion announced confidently.
"Really?" Apolline asked, voice slightly higher than usual.
Marion nodded sharply. Julie happily nodded along with her.
"Now," Marion seemed to suffer a surge of uncertainty for a moment, "we
don't have any proof that this was the first settlement to be named this...
the myth could have been established first... but the correct translation
into Ukrainian for a place name would be Edem."
Apolline paused. "Edem?"
"Eden!" Segolene shouted. "The spiritual home to a race of fallen angels
was named Eden!"
The perky brunette leaned low over the table to get a little closer to
Apolline and stage whispered, "There was supposed to be a fantastic
garden... a real paradise according to the accounts."
"It's not something we can prove or disprove as of yet." Marion
interrupted. "We'll have to wait for spring to hit before we can check soil
conditions or look for hidden garden paths."
Marion took a quick glance over to her two protege's. "Metal detectors."
"Right." Julie answered before jotting down a quick note. "Ground
penetrating radar if we can get one."
"Any idea how long it'll take for that lake to thaw?" Jessie asked.
"Not yet." Marion answered. "Ice is probably getting thin soon too."
"Damn." Jessie grunted.
Apolline sat back and watched as the five women worked together in a
fairly well oiled team. She still wasn't completely happy with her
daughter's choices but she could see that Fleur was not going to relent
anytime soon. At least these were good people to have around. Fleur was
associating with more Veela than she had during her school days and she
was associating with very intelligent and well educated Veela at that.
And it cannot be stressed enough that Fleur – thank Jeanne – was not a
whore.
-o\0/o-
"Right." Harry grunted. "Time to get to work."
"I don't wanna..." Gabby whined.
The two of them were resting in a soft patch of grass in the forest glen
just like the one which ushered the pair into the Hall of Angels so often.
It wasn't the actual glen, though, just as they weren't in the actual Hall of
Angels. Gabby was dreaming and tonight she was dreaming of the best
ever night sky for stargazing while trying very hard not to learn
something.
"You know how much it hurts me to do this," and because of the bond she
did know, "but this is something that I can't teach 'Mione or your sister.
And I can't do this myself. It has to be you."
Gabby pouted big time. Harry very much wanted to pout along with her.
It was only a sense of urgency, a sense that Voldemort would do
something on his death day, that spurned Harry on so. He wanted to be
prepared- and since this was likely to be a spell battle and he couldn't
cast magic, Gabby had to be prepared in his place.
Harry picked himself off the ground and sorted out his clothes. As Gabby
hadn't made even a token attempt at following him, he grasped her
narrow wrist and pulled up. She rose quickly enough - not that she'd ever
resist her Lord, of course.
"So," Harry prompted once he had her full attention. "Michael told me
that the only thing you have to do with your wand is point at the target."
Gabby nodded dutifully. She was finally in school learning mode. She
would learn what Harry had to teach her for the alternative was
unthinkable. She would not disappoint her Lord.
"Imagine you are pointing your wand at the heart of... the target... and
then you say the following words."
Harry breathed in. Gabby pointed her index finger out into the night sky
like she was pointing a wand and listened closely.
"Nametta sule..." Harry lead.
"Nametta sule..." Gabby followed.
"...atalante firima." Harry finished the chant.
"...atalante firima." Gabby ended hers... with a slight waver in her voice.
Harry looked over to his Angel, the little girl he was teaching soul magic
too for the express purpose of eliminating a Dark Lord. This was hard for
both of them.
"Nametta sule atalante firima." Harry repeated.
"Nametta sule atalante firima." Gabby parroted flawlessly.
Harry watched silently as the nine year old girl dedicated this new spell
to memory. She repeated the words. She repeated them silently with her
eyes closed. Then she tilted her head tilted to one side.
"What do the words mean?" Gabby asked.
Harry smiled at the stars. He'd asked Michael the same thing back when
she taught him the cantrip.
"I end the spirit of the downfallen mortal." Harry answered.
"Sounds like it would hurt..." Gabby muttered.
Harry could feel her fear. It wasn't the fear of having to cast the spell. It
was fear of having it thrown back at her if she missed the first time.
"Him yes. You? No."
"Really?" Luminous blue eyes looked up with hope.
"Really." Harry added with a soft smile. "Michael knew you would
wonder about that. Seems that while this spell is the right class of magic
to affect you, the details are all wrong."
"Are you sure?"
"She told me what would have to change to hurt you. She felt I needed to
know."
The two gazed at each other under the other-worldly starlight and full
moon of their favorite magical classroom.
"She also told me that you need to know… if you ever hear these words
you do anything you can to stop them." Harry added.
Gabby hesitantly nodded for him to continue.
"Naquelle sule avari maia." He studied her face as she absorbed his
words. "It means 'I diminish the spirit of the unwilling maia."
Gabby squinted at that last bit. He didn't blame her.
"Sorry. I didn't think to ask what a maia was at the time. Must translate
to angel or something."
Gabby spoke up. "What language is it?"
Harry's face pinked. "Didn't think to ask."
Gabby smiled. Harry couldn't help but smile to. Gabby snickered and
Harry was forced to snicker as well. Then came the giggles. Harry, being
too manly to giggle, chose to chuckle instead.
They didn't practice actually casting the spell. Her pronunciation was fine
and there were no complicated wand movements. With so much at stake,
intent would be easy to find. Besides, neither Harry nor Gabby wanted to
see the spell itself before it was necessary. They didn't want to get used to
it. They didn't want the spell to feel common or ordinary, for they
dreaded the unnatural confrontation that would force them to depend on
it.
-o\0/o-
The Great Hall of Hogwarts could be a loud and boisterous place. Oh,
that only really happened at scheduled meal times which left the balance
of the day rather quiet, but this wasn't one of those inactive times. As
lunch was in full swing there was a constant buzz in the air.
"Mum? Dad?" A surprised Gryffindor squeaked.
Eyebrows rose all around. A middle aged couple was indeed approaching
the young lion.
"Neville!" His mother swooped in for a hug even before the boy could
clear his seat.
"Good to see you, boy!" Frank Longbottom called to his son.
Neville was too wrapped up in his mother Alice's embrace to stop his
father from running a hand through his short hair.
"B- but Healer Hulbert said-"
But Neville was interrupted by parents who were entirely too excited
about seeing their boy again to worry about stuffy healers.
"I had a chat with Mum." Frank said. "She was quite insistent with Healer
Hulbert. Hospitals are for sick people, not healthy ones."
Neville had a surprised yet happy look permanently stuck to his face.
"Your Gran really has a way with words… and with galleons… and with
her wand too though you wouldn't think it to look at her…" Alice cooed
into her son's ear.
A crowd was beginning to form. Most of them were well wishers who
wanted to welcome the famous auror couple who had only recently been
miraculously healed.
"Merciful heavens!" An old Scotswoman of a well wisher called. "If it isn't
Frank and Alice. Welcome back to Hogwarts dears."
"Professor McGonagall!" Frank called, turning from his son. "It's so good
to see you again!"
Not one person in the castle could remember ever seeing Minerva
McGonagall tear up. The number was about to rise dramatically though.
The school Headmistress made her way through the crowds to pull her
wayward sheep home again.
"Professor McGonagall!" Alice called. "Where is the Headmaster?"
The noisy hall immediately began to go quiet, but Alice wasn't done
asking questions.
"How about my godson Harry? Actually, I'd really like to thank Miss
Granger for everything she did for me and Frank. Neville's got some
wonderful friends here and I'd very much like to spend some time with
them… that is if their class schedule will allow it."
Alice and Frank began to notice the crowd reaction to her questions.
They were a bit uncomfortable about it to tell the truth. A pretty redhead
went so far as to cover her mouth in shock.
Minerva steeled her resolve and answered the questions as best she
could.
"Albus Dumbledore is no longer with us. His loss saddens us all."
"Oh, oh my!" Alice replied. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."
Minerva held firm and answered the next question, "Harry Potter is
also… no longer with us."
"What?" Alice cried as her husband hissed next to her. "But- but how?"
"Harry was entered against his will in the Triwizard Tournament last
year. He died saving a little girl's life in the Second Task. It was a little
girl he didn't even have to risk himself for and he did it anyway." Ron
answered.
Ron may not have always been the most loyal of friends, but he was
damn proud of his best mate and always would be.
Alice and Frank both collapsed onto the Gryffindor Table benches, unable
to fully come to grips with the twin death notices that somehow never
made it into their recovery talks in St. Mungo's. It was Neville's turn to
hold his mother tightly.
Minerva tried to restart things, "As for Miss Granger-"
"You bloody well better not be telling us she's dead too, we just seen her
alive not one week ago!" Frank grumbled.
"Language, Frank!" Both Alice and the Headmistress called at the same
time.
"Son," Frank called to the nearest person not crying. "Where is Hermione?
Is she late for lunch?"
Neville looked between his parents. Even sobbing as she was, his Mum
was still listening. "No Dad. She's at Beauxbatons in France. She ran off
with Harry but they come back to visit some times."
Frank crinkled his brow. "You're not making sense, son. They just said
Harry was dead. Come to think of it, you told us Hermione was Harry's
girlfriend back when we were in the hospital... now I know I haven't
worked a case in years but something doesn't add up. Care to try that
again?"
Nev took a breath in before dropping the next bombshell, "Harry came
back as a ghost on the night of the Third Task." Alice gasped. "He and
Hermione declared their undying love for each other and left for France
that night."
"But… then… how – or rather why did she go to St. Mungo's with you to
heal us?" Frank asked his boy.
Minerva tried to answer. "But you weren't healed by any student witch.
You were healed by the Angel Gabrielle. Gabrielle Delacour is the very
girl Harry saved in the Second Task and… well… there is so much more
to tell you about her but it can wait for later."
Alice stared crossly at the Headmistress through her tears, "I may think
the girl that helped my Neville bring us back to the world is an angel but
I know for a fact her name is Hermione Granger and she is Harry Potter's
girlfriend. She said so herself. She seemed to be an extraordinary young
woman. Not that I want to take her away from my godson but Miss
Granger is exactly the kind of witch I'd like to see my Nevie bring home
one day."
Neville became the center of attention. His Headmistress obviously
wanted answers as did his mum and dad. A select group of students in
the immediate vicinity knew the answer and Nev could tell that Gin and
the others were quite keen to see him answer this one. It had the
potential to be epic.
Unconsciously, Neville began to rub the scabbed over rune that was still
visible on his palm if one knew where to look.
"Well, you see…" Neville coughed.
He asked himself what Hermione would do. He asked himself what Harry
would want. He summoned all his Gryffindor courage. He spoke.
"Hermione and Gabby and I all went to St. Mungo's together." A lot of
eyebrows were rising. "Harry had given his mum's research journal to
Hermione 'cause he knew she was the type to really be able to get
something out of it… and she did. It was Harry's mum's research that
showed Hermione how to heal Mum and Dad. She knew it would work."
Nev had a captive audience. He had even drawn a crowd from the other
tables.
"S – so 'Mione had me help her with you two while Gabby played with
Professor Lockheart a few beds down." More eyebrows rose. "Only, I
guess a Healer showed up and Gabby didn't want the Healer to interfere
with what 'Mione and I were doing so she went angel on us and
distracted the hospital staff by healing anything that moved."
Even Ron and Ginny were impressed. They had heard Harry's second
hand account of Hermione's report but Harry was pretty vague and his
story lacked that kick of an eye witness.
"Gabby healed a lot of people that day. I won't take that away from her.
But Hermione was an angel of mercy that day for me. You can't take that
away from her either."
Minerva had a question for her brave young lion. "Would you mind
explaining what magic she used to wake your parents from their slumber,
Mister Longbottom?"
Neville instinctively pulled his hand back around his body to cover the
evidence of blood magic.
Someone unfortunate noticed.
"Something wrong with your hand, Longbottom?" Draco Malfoy drawled.
The white-blonde Slytherin prince snagged Nev's wrist and took a closer
look.
"That's a rune. How ever did you get a rune cut into your palm
Longbottom?" Draco spoke loud enough for his voice to carry. They had
an audience now.
"And by the looks of it, I'd say this cut is a few days… maybe a week old.
Or am I mistaken?"
Ginny was glaring fiery death at Draco from spitting distance. If only
they were alone…
"What is this about a rune, Mister Longbottom?" Headmistress
McGonagall was drawing herself up to deal with a possible situation.
Nev chose to stand tall. He held his palm up for the Headmistress and
both his auror parents to see.
"Yesss," Neville ground out, "she cut my palm. And yes we used a blood
magic ritual to bring back my mum and my dad and I'm not apologizing
for it!"
There were some gasps at his declaration.
"'Mione is a muggleborn and one of the lightest light witches alive. She
learned how to do this from Lilly Potter, another muggleborn and one of
the lightest light witches ever! If you think I'm going to think ill of her or
if you think I'm going to think ill of the magic used to bring my parents
back – the magic used to kill You Know Who the first time - then you can
bloody well think again!"
"Language!" Alice yelled in a knee-jerk reaction.
Neville lowered his eyes a bit but he refused to drop his head. "Sorry,
Mum."
Alice leapt from her seat, grabbed her son's cut palm and then his
shoulder and pulled him in close. She was shocked and amazed and
frightened and proud and everything all at the same time. It was just too
much.
Once things began to settle down. Headmistress McGonagall offered a
room to the Longbottoms for a few nights so that they could be closer to
their son. Frank and Alice accepted immediately. There would have to be
an official inquiry into the hospital incident, one which Minerva would
have to speak to Amelia about. And Alain Delacour. And the Grangers of
course.
And just when she had hopes of everything beginning to settle down, too.
-o\0/o-
"Draco! Wait!"
The young Lord Malfoy stopped in the middle of a hallway. They were
alone, otherwise the elder Greengrass daughter would never have
shouted as she did.
He stood there glaring at the stone tile beneath his shoes and listened as
she rushed up to him. A soft hand came down on his shoulder. He did not
turn.
"Draco? What was that? What were you doing with Longbottom?"
Daphne asked.
Draco sneered into empty space.
"Please. Things clearly aren't going according to plan. I can help you- I
want to help you. Just… tell me what's going on?" Daphne didn't sound
like the Ice Princess of Slytherin House, not that she had since the castle
was stormed by dementors and dark wizards. And Voldemort. The ice
had been thoroughly shaken free due to all the violence of that night.
Draco started off mumbling though he got louder, "They'll get their just
desserts… I could have shown Potter the way but nooooo, Scarhead just
had to push forward his own way well let's see what backing that
mudblood whore gets him now!"
"Draco!" Daphne shouted, trying to pull him into her embrace from
behind.
The young pureblood Lord took a quick step away from his recent
conquest.
"Go back to your sister, Greengrass." Draco returned coldly. "Find
someone that cares about your useless prattle."
He began to walk away.
He didn't see the heartbroken young witch collapse into herself as
confusion and pain and betrayal and rage all battled for control of her
face.
He also didn't see the furious redheaded spitfire step out from her cover
nearby to unleash a brace of painful hexes and curses at his back. He
barely had time to turn into the first body-bind before all that magic
began turning his world dark with pain. With a fire in her eyes and a
spell chain on her lips, Ginny took Draco apart.
"Thanks for leading me to him." The redhead consoled the shaking
blonde. "I think I got him good enough for the both of us, but if you
disagree he should be pretty easy to hex for a good while longer."
Daphne sat there, immobile due to her own torments, and watched the
youngest Weasley saunter off down the corridor. It took her ten minutes
to move enough to see to her own needs. Perhaps after she was set to
rights she might tell someone about Draco... if they hadn't already found
him by then.
-o\0/o-
R-r-r-r-r-ing... R-r-r-r-r-ing... R-r-r-r-r-ing... slap! R-r-r-r-r-ing... R-r-r-r-r-ing...
"That isn't the alarm." Segolene groaned into her lover's hair. "It's the
phone."
"I thought we didn't have any appointments until one at the earliest today..." A
mussed up yet still sexy Fleur murmured as she squinted her eyes at the
nearest clock. Quarter to seven. Damn, that was too early.
"Well, it sto-" R-r-r-r-r-ing... R-r-r-r-r-ing...
Segolene cursed.
Fleur picked up the phone. "Yes?"
"Good morning, Daisy!" An annoyingly eager voice came over the line.
"Julie. 'ow many times do I 'ave to tell you my name is Fleur?" Fleur
grunted. She wasn't quite ready to be awake and speak English yet.
"Yeah, well Fleur means flower. I looked it up and everything. 'Flower' is
much too general so I picked one and you're Daisy now isn't that great?
So Marion told me to tell you that you and Seggy should come see us this
morning. I think we're done."
Fleur hated Julie and her tendency to give everyone stupid nickn – hold
on. What was that bit at the end?
"Come again?" Fleur said with a little more energy.
There was a sigh over the line. "We're done, hun. The Veela Book of Law
version one point oh has been compiled and awaits your perusal."
That got Fleur's blood pumping. "And selecting zee priestesses?"
"Chapter seven as we see it. Not that it came in chapters but version oh
point one was literally chiseled into a stone wall and we're putting it on
paper and binding it and everything. Index is kinda short; we're gonna
have to work on that."
"We'll be zere in an 'our?" Fleur offered.
"Great! I've still got time to get some dinner then. No, breakfast. Crap, I
need to go to bed soon." The line went dead.
Fleur looked at the receiver for a moment before putting it down. She
looked over to Segolene.
"I hate Americans."
Segolene giggled. Ten seconds and a kiss later, both young witches were
out of bed and starting their morning routines.
...
Forty-five minutes after their unexpected wake-up call Fleur and
Segolene met again with Marion, Julie and Jessie in a business
conference room in the Garden. They were mere hours short of the two
week anniversary of their first meeting in this room, the same meeting
Apolline stepped into uninvited. Apolline had come back several times
since then. She was always greeted politely and treated with respect but
she always returned to her house alone.
Fleur wasn't sure she'd be going back, not long term at any rate.
"Good morning." Fleur called out. Her greeting was returned all around.
"So Marion," Fleur started, "Julie tells me you 'ave somezing?"
Marion smiled and pushed a simple three ring binder across the desk.
Fleur caught it and opened it up.
"Oh, nice..." Segolene chirped. "It's got pictures like a children's book!"
"My idea!" Jessie crowed. "We noticed that each 'chapter' had a wall
frieze that was associated with it... and of course we used a 'left page
Original, right page English' format so that anyone can challenge our
translations if they want to..."
"And how many people out there can challenge your translations?"
Segolene asked as she leaned in to squint at the runes in question. "I can't
make heads or tails of this."
Julie smiled brightly. Far more brightly than one who never went to
sleep last night should be able to smile for sure.
"You want me to include those in this room in the total?"
Fleur and Segolene looked at each other, they nodded together.
"Three!" Julie was unnaturally smug. She was probably mentally patting
herself on the back. "These are Scythian runes remember? Super rare and
stuff? It was a bitch, but we cracked the code anyway."
Fleur wasn't looking up anymore. She was reading. Chapter seven. The
life and rituals of priestesses. Segolene read the same selection from over
Fleur's shoulder. When it was clear that Fleur was too busy reading to
talk, Marion sent the sisters back to their rooms for good night's – er,
day's rest.
Half an hour later, Fleur had read chapter seven as well as parts of three
other chapters just to be sure. Then she slowly closed the book and stared
at it. Glared at it, really.
"It's not the end of the world." Segolene comforted while silently waving
Marion out of the room.
"I will need to speak with Maman about this." Fleur murmured.
"Of course we will," Segolene comforted, "but we should try Nathalie first,
don't you think?"
Fleur looked at the love of her life. Yes. She nodded. That might be a
good idea.
…
An hour later, Fleur and Segolene were both sitting in front of Nathalie's
desk in her private office. Nathalie was laughing her perfect arse off.
"It isn't funny." Fleur forced out. "How can I watch over Gabrielle if I can't be
the first Head Priestess of the new Veela temple? By Jeanne I don't even
qualify as a simple acolyte."
"Virgin priestesses?" Snicker. "Virgin Veeeeela priestesses? Really? I was sure
you were going to find some law about sex based worship and High Prostitutes
or something..."
Nathalie laughed some more.
"I don't see how you find this amusing." Fleur said. "I had hoped that the
messages Edem had to offer would give me a way to protect Little Angel but all
I get is 'virgins only'."
"Well..." Nathalie snickered. "You should look on the bright side."
"What bright side?" Segolene asked in defense of her hurting love.
"Maybe you have forgotten, but the Grand Matron's Council is a 'no virgins
allowed' kind of club. They can't run the show either." Nathalie's voice
steadied. "And you said that, so far as the island goes, an angel's word is law.
Literally. The way I see it, you have a golden ticket should you make the effort
to turn it in."
"But where do you look for virgin Veela?" Segolene wondered aloud. "The
priestesses will have to come from somewhere..."
"How long did you last in Beauxbatons, Fleur?" Nathalie asked.
"Fourteen." Fleur answered immediately.
"You waited longer than most from what I can tell." Nathalie said softly. "Of
course, not all Veela have a choice..." Nathalie shook herself. "Anyways,
secondary schooling is your best bet. You can bet that our first crop of
priestesses will be between twelve and fourteen years old... maybe fifteen at
the very most."
"And as they grow older we can expect most of them to drop out in their early
twenties... shouldn't have any reach thirty I expect." Fleur said clinically.
"Oh really? Why do you say that?" The pregnant madam asked.
Fleur idly pointed down at the book. "Chapter seven. A priestess exists to
serve the temple... until Veela nature overpowers her spiritual devotion."
Nathalie seemed not to get it.
"The instinct to mate. Priestesses are dedicated to a life of purity - but only
until they feel a need to leave the temple behind them and bear children.
Motherhood is natural and accepted according to the Law, even for those who
gave themselves to the temple."
Nathalie snorted. "Sounds like being a priestess in the traditional role
wouldn't be any fun. It's probably for the best you can't be one. Still... the
Grand Matrons can't do it either and you are still the undisputed master of
Veela history and law. Who's going to teach the first batch of holy virgins if
you don't? Hand them off to Gabby and she'll have an island wide game of
hide-and-seek running before you can say angel."
Visualizing Gabby among her holy peers, Fleur smiled for the first time in
hours. "And if she wants to do exactly that? I for one won't stop her. It could
even be fun."
Maybe it wasn't so bad, Fleur thought. Her recent dreams of running
Edem on behalf of her sister was dead, but only if you considered Edem
the island. There was still the settlement of Edem on the lake's shore.
Fleur had the time, the knowledge and the desire to make something of
herself… to make something of Edem. She would succeed.
She would make her mother proud.
Maman. Fleur wanted to speak to her mother again. Maybe after she
presented the new book of Veela law to the Grand Matrons. Maybe after
she and Segolene provided a plan for recruiting new priestesses. After all,
since that fateful first trip across Europe into Ukraine, Fleur has met
dozens of little Veela that may be viable candidates… and Madam Ewing
sounds approachable as an American contact...
Fleur would return to her father's house with her head held high. Maman
would welcome her with open arms and say 'Welcome home, Little
Princess'. Fleur would complain loudly about the childhood nickname,
but she would still be glad to be home. And Segolene would be smart
enough not to tease Fleur about still thinking of her parent's house as her
home.
Maybe she could approach her mother again before the ceremony at
Hogwarts. It was only one week away, after all. She would be expected to
appear with her family. It would be best if they were reconciled before
appearing before the crowds.
Fleur pulled herself together and began planning out her day. She really
had to get with Marion and Nathalie and schedule a meeting with the
Grand Matrons. She had a plan to draw up and a presentation to work
on.
-o\0/o-
"I'm hooooome!" A small light blue form shot out of green flames.
Aimee Devereux brushed the soot off her robes and listened for her
parent's response. There wasn't one. All she heard was the wizarding
wireless set in the parlor. Weird.
Oh, well.
Aimee ran up the stairs from her home's front foyer and shed all of her
unnecessary school things. The book bag thumped onto the floor first.
Then her hat hit the bed followed by her short cape and jacket. She
kicked off her shoes last before jumping up and tearing down the stairs
looking for a snack. Amiee got herself a soda and a bag of dried fruit
before heading to the parlor to see if she really was alone in the house.
Sadly, she wasn't.
"Papa?" Aimee asked as she entered the room.
Her Papa was there but he was lying motionless at an odd angle on the
settee. Then she saw motion out of the corner of her eye.
Aimee dropped her drink and snack at the sight of her mother writhing in
silenced pain on the floor.
"Maman!"
She took a step forward only to feel her legs turn to jelly under her as she
tumbled to the ground.
"Maman!" Aimee struggled in growing horror as she looked up to see her
mother's eyes had rolled back and blood was dripping out of her mouth.
"Oh, dear me..." A disturbingly happy voice came from the corner behind
her. "Is the widdle biddy baby sad? Is she gonna cwy?"
Aimee knew it was English but she wasn't sure what the woman was
saying. With tears beginning to pour down her cheeks, she looked behind
her.
"Why, she is! She is gonna cwy!" A crazed looking woman with dark wild
hair and a tattered black dress cackled. "Your best friend is an angel, isn't
she? Well? Where is she now? Will she come to make it all better? Will
she kiss the ouchies away? Where is your little angel friend now?"
"Stop it! Pleeaase stop hurting my Maman!" Aimee wailed.
The woman's cackles became a shriek. "Children should be seen, not
heard! Oh well, spare the wand spoil the child!"
Through blurry eyes, Aimee watched as the mad witch turned a glowing
wand from Maman to herself. Then there was a light. Then came the
pain. Soon she couldn't think of Maman through her own agony, not that
anyone else could hear now that she'd been silenced like her Maman.
To poor Aimee the pain seemed to last forever before darkness and peace
finally claimed her.
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
Please note that no adorable little girls were harmed in the making of this
chapter. And I would never kill off a little girl in one of my stories… well
maybe I would - but not Aimee. That would make Gabby sad (okay,
okay… that would make me sad) and I can't have that.
For the new spell language Harry and Gabby are dabbling in, ten house
points to anyone who correctly identified it as Quenya, one of the
primary languages of elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's work. Granted, I probably
got the grammar and sentence structure wrong but then I'm not that
much of a nerd that I would learn how to speak an imaginary language.
More to the point of using Quenya: 'Why' You ask? First, it's a pretty
enough language for spell crafting. Second (and I'm pretty sure I covered
this in an Chapter Note long before, but just in case I didn't) I'll say that I
think of Tolkien's work as a deep back history and crossover for my story.
The first angels were maiar and Gabby has ascended to become a new
maia. For those still reading this note who don't know what the maiar
were, you could consider them powerful nature spirits or lesser gods/
goddesses.
30. Blood and Tears
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Twenty-nine: Blood and Tears
Aimee Devereux woke up.
Today of all days, she wanted to just go back to sleep and allow her
dreams to carry her away from the waking world. Why, even a nightmare
about being late for a big exam would be preferable to the real school
day ahead of her. It was Friday, the last day before she was supposed to
go to England with her very best friends Gigi and Gabby. It was supposed
to be the best thing ever... until yesterday.
A tear fell down her cheek in open defiance of the wonderful morning
sun creeping through her bedroom window.
Aimee got ready for school much as she usually did though her self-made
bowl of cereal did not match what her mother made every morning
before... before…
More tears fell from bloodshot eyes.
"Why so sad, widdle girl?" A smug voice called from behind her.
After a brief struggle with her emotions, Aimee replied, "I can't understand
what you are saying."
There was a short pause. Aimee feared that she may have set the crazed
English woman off again and she cringed in anticipation of her
punishment. The woman behind her didn't curse her this time. Instead,
she murmured something too soft for Aimee to understand.
"You understand me now, don't you, you little bitch?" Bellatrix called.
Must have been a spell then. Aimee shuddered and nodded.
"Good." Bella continued. "Because if you can't follow simple instructions then
I might have to punish... your mother."
"I'll be good." Aimee moaned, head down.
Bellatrix stared hard at the girl before moving away to do whatever it
was that evil demon women did. Aimee wasn't hungry anymore. She
pushed the untouched bowl of cereal away and finished getting ready for
school. Some twenty minutes later, the sad young witch moved in front
of the fireplace.
"You know what you must do if you want your mother and father to live, don't
you little bitch?" Bellatrix called just as Aimee was reaching for the floo
powder.
Aimee nodded.
Bellatrix's next words were whispered into the little girl's ear, much to
her discomfort.
"Use this just as I told you to use it." Bella said.
Aimee felt Bellatrix place a cold rough object into her hand.
"Do this for me and I promise that your mother and father will be left alone.
You and your worthless little family will get to live in peace... but if you fail..."
A single unkempt fingernail drew a painful line across Aimee's neck.
"You, your mother, your father, all your relatives. Every last one of them
dies."
Aimee bit back a cry. This woman didn't take well to her crying last
night. It was a painful lesson.
"I'll be good." Aimee whispered.
"But I don't want you to be 'good' do I?" Bellatrix cooed. "I want you to be
bad. Very bad."
Aimee fought through her shakes to nod again.
"Now off to school, little bitch." Bella said while giving the girl a light push
towards the floo. "You have a big day ahead of you. A very big day."
A frightened Aimee slid the item Bellatrix gave her into her satchel. She
then threw some floo powder into the fireplace and called out her
school's name. She jumped in.
Bellatrix stood still for a moment, staring into the flames. Then she pulled
her left hand back from behind her back and uncrossed her fingers.
With a sadistic smile, she drew her wand and went upstairs to have a few
words with Aimee's parents.
A few last words.
-o\0/o-
A lone figure popped into view before gilded floral gates.
"Tell my mother I wish to speak to her." Fleur Delacour announced formally.
The gates swung silently open and she walked up the stone lined drive in
silence.
It took ten minutes for Fleur to walk from the front gates of her family's
property to the main doors of the Delacour ancestral maison-forte. She
intended for the walk to settle her nerves while rattling those of her
mother, yet she wasn't feeling all that settled. The picturesque drive did
not sooth her anxiety. The smooth lake did not slow her beating heart
nor did the beautiful tropical birds in residence bring her spirit peace.
Something else then to keep her mind off things.
Fleur distracted herself by pulling the newly printed copies of Veela law
and history out of her pocket and resizing them. They were to be gifts for
her mother: a peace offering. She expected them to work well as the
Grand Matron's Council was well pleased when she met with them two
days prior. It helped that she had not only translations for the walls of
the temple at Edem but also a compilation of every story and bit of
folklore taught to her from all the Veela groups she met during her
travels. Such a book had never been published before which meant that
Fleur effectively just wrote the first Veela Bible. Granted, she would
lavish praise upon Segolene for her help and support and Marion, Julie
and Jessie were all noted for their hard work, but really this was Fleur's
baby from start to finish. Future generations of Veela would remember
that fact. Segolene and Marion had already joked about naming the
combined works the Flower Codex and the two American sisters
continued to insist everything be named the Gospel of Daisy. Fleur shot
that idea down out of hand. The Flower Codex… well… she kind of liked
that name to tell the truth…
Her childhood home's massive entry doors opened as a nervous Fleur
approached them. An equally nervous Apolline appeared standing in the
entrance hall. Fleur stopped just inside the doors.
"Maman." She started. "Here is the fruit of my labor, the reason I have spent
so much time away from family."
Fleur broke eye contact and looked down at the books in her hand.
"Here is both our past and our future, Maman. With these we can-"
But Fleur was unable to continue her report. Apolline closed the distance,
latched onto her Little Princess and began to tear up. The books were
ignored, their existence reduced to a collection of paper sheets
sandwiched between a Veela mother and her daughter.
"You came home." Apolline sniffled out.
"I did." Fleur answered, face flush with emotion.
-o\0/o-
- Fwoosh -
Aimee hopped out of the floo and wiped the last few tears off her face.
She ignored the soot clinging to her uniform even though complaining
about it was usually one of her favorite morning traditions. Were it not
for the automatic cleaning ward in the Joliebatons floo lobby, she would
have walked to class dirty this time.
"Aimee!" Gigi greeted her in the hall. "Hey, what's wrong?"
Not that anything was right, but Aimee was close to panicking from the
question.
"Uhhmmnnnn..."
"You don't look so good." Curly blonde locks dipped closer. "Have you been
crying?"
"I -" Aimee mentally recoiled. "I don't feel too good. I was sick last night."
Concern filled Gigi's delicate features. "Why don't you go back home. I'll tell
Professor Royal that you're too sick to go to class today."
"No!" Aimee panicked thinking about her family and their fate should she
not do as she was told. "I mean, I feel better... I can't... I can go to class."
Aimee tried to force a smile. Gigi wasn't impressed.
"I feel lots better! Really!" Aimee forced out. "Let's go to class..."
The too pale girl with bloodshot eyes turned and marched off not even
waiting for her friend to catch up. Maybe if she didn't look anyone in the
eye it wouldn't hurt so bad.
It only took a minute for the two girls to reach their classroom. Gabby
drifted into class five minutes later and sat between her two friends as
she usually did.
"Gigi. Aimee- hey! You don't look so good." Gabby's silver-blonde crowned
head dipped closer for a better look. "Have you been crying?"
"That's what I asked too." Gigi commented.
Aimee didn't dare look Gabby in the eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able
to do what she was told to do if she looked Gabby in the eyes. Her
maman and papa would be slaughtered by a crazy dark witch if she failed
but if she looked at Gabby even once she knew she wouldn't be able to go
through with it.
"Aimee?" Gabby asked.
Aimee began to shake. It was just too hard. Her eyebrows crinkled and
her eyes became wet.
"Miss Devereux." Their teacher's voice shocked Aimee into motion. She
looked up to the front desk. "Aimee, sweetheart, is there something I can do
for you?"
Professor Royal could stop her. She was a teacher and she was a grown-
up and she could stop Aimee if given a chance... if Aimee didn't do what
she was supposed to do... Aimee's face went pale as fear flooded her
whole body. More and more of her classmates were turning to look at
her. Gigi and Gabby both got closer so they could better look after their
friend's health.
"Are you going to be sick?" Gabby asked. "I'll take you to the Healer..."
Aimee felt the walls closing in on her. Her family would die. They would
all die and it would be her fault. One shaking hand dipped into her
satchel and grasped a hidden item.
"I'm sorry!" Aimee yelled much to the shock and surprise of everyone
watching. "I'm so sorry!"
Aimee acted in blind panic. She used her left hand to hold Gabby's arm
down on her desk and pulled an obsidian dagger up in the air for all to
see.
Gabby had just enough time to breathe in before Aimee drove the stone
dagger into her forearm. Aimee's panic fueled attack was strong enough
to leave a small obsidian chip stuck in Gabby's radius bone where the
blade bounced off. Gabby's shriek of pain could be heard up and down
the hallway by every student in two grade levels. Half a second later,
almost every other girl in class began screaming along with her.
Professor Royal snatched up her wand and took aim at the two girls
before freezing in her own panic. What should she do? What spell?
Freeze the girls or summon the weapon? She had never been trained in
how to handle a situation like this!
She would end up being too late, just like the two boys that both moved
to break up the horribly bloody fight were too late to help as well.
Gabby's blood quickly coated the blade and splashed over Aimee's hand.
A small red river began flowing down Gabby's sloped writing desk.
The bloody obsidian blade glowed blue for a moment before
disappearing. It took Gabby and Aimee with it.
A portkey.
-o\0/o-
Breakfast was being served in Beauxbatons.
Today was a little different as the French school's two English transfer
students were entertaining a guest before class this morning, and as
guests go this one was quite unusual. Hermione Granger and Luna
Lovegood-Granger were discussing things over crepes and fruit with
Harry Potter. As Harry Potter was a ghost, this drew a lot of attention
from the other students. Most of the wizards and witches in hearing
range were listening in to the girls' conversation with a ghost even if they
were being sneaky about it.
"It just isn't fair sister dear," Luna teased, "I know he's dead and everything
but that doesn't change the fact that you and Harry spent all last night in bed
together."
Hermione's face went red as a few of the other girls and boys nearby
turned to look at them. A boy and girl caught in bed together? How
wonderfully scandalous!
Harry tried to save his stricken love.
"I wasn't 'in bed' with her. I was in her dreams. That was how I managed to
bypass school wards in the first place... ghosts can't just cross the ward line
without help, they need a way in." Harry waved his hands in a crossing the
ward line kind of motion.
A nearby witch couldn't resist butting in. "You were in her dreams? Don't
you mean you were in her fantasies? Did you have to clean your bed sheets
this morning, Hermione?"
Several other girls giggled at the light hearted taunt. As Hermione turned
an even deeper shade of red, it was safe to say that Harry's attempt to
save his love failed. Perhaps he wasn't the knight in shining armor in
social situations that he was in angry monster situations.
"Now, as I was saying earlier," Hermione squeaked while attempting to
force a topic change. "Luna and I will have to be ready for the auror escort
by seven tomorrow morning if we want to make it through all the security
checks that will be in place for our trip to Scotland."
Harry was about to put his foot in his mouth again when he suddenly
tensed and turned to look at some unnamed distant thing.
"Harry?" Hermione asked.
"No. no no no no no no..." Harry muttered to himself for a moment before
his eyes went wide and he turned even more pale than usual. "No!"
"Harry?" Hermione shouted.
He looked at his 'Mione for a moment before saying two words.
"Gabby. Portkey."
Harry vanished.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted at empty space.
The young witch's face went ashen, a trick that Luna's face seemed to
imitate a second later. All around them, other confused and alarmed
students began to badger Hermione and Luna about what just happened.
Hermione's answer was to turn to the professor's table and yell for her
Headmistress.
-o\0/o-
Gabby's portkey ride was extremely unpleasant. Not only was she being
flung about by raw magic hooked into her belly but she still had a stone
dagger stuck in her arm. Harry was trying to send her reassuring
thoughts but the impaled arm thing was giving him flashbacks of the
Chamber of Secrets. That damned basilisk fang hurt like a bitch when he
was twelve and he was sure this dagger was hurting her about the same.
Aimee going crazy and coming along for the ride was not helping.
- Thump -
And then the ride was over.
The part of Gabby that wasn't screaming was trying to look around. She
had just enough time to register the dimly lit room with a dirty wooden
floor before the dagger was roughly yanked out of her arm.
She looked down at her blood soaked arm and screamed again. Losing
the dagger actually hurt more than catching it in the first place.
Before any kind of rational thought could cross the young witch's mind,
heavy conjured ropes wrapped themselves tightly around her pinning her
arms down to her waist. There may not be a dagger in her arm anymore
but having an open wound smashed by rope hurt pretty bad too. She fell
against a stone desk or altar or something; there was something else on
top of it but she really couldn't see too well in the dim light.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Aimee wailed.
"Shut your mouth!" Yelled an older witch.
Gabby fought against the pain to wriggle around and look at her front
stabbing best friend. She turned just quick enough to see Aimee
magically thrown against a wall and stuck there as if bound by invisible
chains. Aimee didn't stop crying but then Gabby was well past the point
of having any kind of self control as well. They were both scared to death
and things didn't seem to be getting any better anytime soon.
"Excellent work, Bella..." A disturbingly familiar voice echoed through the
darkness. "It seems I have at least one follower worth keeping."
"Cissy's husband was not worthy of serving you, Master" Bellatrix said
demurely, "I'm glad the fool is dead."
Inside of Gabby, all of Harry's attempts at soothing the girl stopped. He
was here. Voldemort.
"Voldemort!" Harry yelled just as he came free of Gabby's body. Harry
wanted nothing more than to settle things ghost to ghost right there right
then.
Harry's vision spun wildly and not because he was searching for his foe.
Something was pulling on him. He tried to resist the force but whatever it
was pulled him away from Gabby, not that her hands were free to reach
for him.
"Bloody hell!" Harry shouted in frustration.
A dark shadow emerged from the depths of the room and began to
chuckle. Bella's giggles joined her master's mirth and the two celebrated a
plan gone horribly right.
"Ah, Harry Potter," The dark shade called, "so nice to see you accepted
my invitation."
Harry pushed and strained for all his spectral form was worth but he was
unable to escape his invisible prison. He couldn't rise to ceiling height
nor could he drop below the floor, and when he did look at the floor
beneath him...
"You see, Potter? You have nowhere to run, no Headmaster to hide
behind, no all powerful child ready to destroy your enemies this time."
Voldemort ghosted over to stare at Harry eye to eye. "You see that? You
see what lies at your feet?"
Harry did see. It was a softly glowing orange pentagram inscribed inside
of a perfect circle. Runes glowed out from between the star shape's lines.
This magic circle was holding Harry in place.
"It is a most wonderful trap if I do say so myself..." Voldemort slowly
drifted around Harry and his prison. "It's no ordinary magic. Not at all...
and I have you to thank for the idea."
Harry looked defiant. Still, he was confused and the Dark Lord knew it.
Voldemort continued. "Blood magic, Potter. Blood magic. I thought you
should see what your secret forbidden power is really capable of. The
dagger, for example..."
Voldemort swung out a hand as though he were making a presentation,
and in a way he was. Tom Riddle never would have been able to win
over the pureblood elite of Britain were it not for his winning personality
and stagecraft. Like a television hostess Bellatrix proudly held the
obsidian dagger aloft, the edges of which were still slick with Gabrielle's
blood.
"It is my own creation." The Dark Lord said. "The French school your
'Little Angel' attends had wards which could detect dark artifacts and
disable portkeys of course – but then their protections were easy to
bypass by someone of my caliber. The dagger was magically inert until
young Gabrielle's blood filled its rune etched faces. Her blood carried her
own magic into the runes and activated the portkey... and it couldn't
have been just any witch's blood to breach the wards, of course, but then
we all know this little girl has power enough to make such a task seem
like child's play."
"Let Gabby go!" Harry yelled.
Voldemort only laughed again. "Oh I will! I will! Once I have finished our
business here I will release her into the world to do my bidding, to crush
any and all who would defy me."
"Arsehole!" Harry shouted throwing himself against the magical cage
holding him in place. It did no good.
"But I haven't explained the circle, have I? How thoughtless of me..." The
dark bastard was clearly enjoying his victory as Harry struggled vainly
and two girls continued to cry in pain and in fear. "You see, the circle
below you is another fine example of blood magic. The line work is some
of Bella's better work, I must say-"
Bella preened in the background.
"And the blood itself was rather generously donated by your Aunt
Petunia."
That made Harry stop struggling. Petunia's blood? He couldn't help but
look down into the softly glowing pattern beneath him. The line work
was oddly graceful; Harry half expected a magic circle drawn in blood to
look more aggressive.
"That's why Bella had to fetch your aunt from that pathetic shelter you
called home for ten years. I needed family blood to guarantee the
summoning circle would hold you, troublesome as you are." The shade
continued. "But alas, you have now officially overstayed your welcome,
Harry Potter. I want you out of my house."
Harry felt helpless, angry and more than a little fearful. In fact, he hadn't
felt this bad since Bern. Through their sniffles and moans, both girls
heard the dark specter's taunts and despaired.
"Bella?" The spirit of Tom Riddle commanded. "Now."
"Yes, My Lord!"
A wand of darkly stained walnut and dragon heartstring core came to
attention. Three rough guttural words left the witch's mouth and a
muddy yellow bolt of magic crossed the short distance between her and
the glowing circle under Harry. The glowing orange pattern flared
brightly with the new magic, changing its purpose from holding Harry in
place to getting rid of him with extreme prejudice.
Harry Potter's spirit was ripped from the world of the living and thrown
elsewhere.
Gabrielle Delacour's scream matched her best efforts from the Second
Task aftermath.
-o\0/o-
As soon as Harry landed, he sprung back up and spun about looking for
threats.
There didn't seem to be any. All he saw was grass, an endless sea of long
flowing grass on gently rolling hills. A bit of wind picked up and blew
gentle waves through the sweet smelling fields. Harry felt himself
calming down quickly as the peaceful setting struck a chord within his
heart.
The Sun seemed to hang low on the horizon in one direction. Very low,
in fact. He'd been here before. One of Hermione's ancient myths books
told him these were the Elysian Fields and this was where he last saw-
"Harry!" A young woman's voice chirped just behind him.
He turned to identify his welcoming party. He knew this woman. Quite
well in fact.
"Bloody hell!" Harry yelled, a deep scowl marring his face.
-Slap-
"Language, Harry!" The woman screeched after she popped him one in the
face.
"Jeanne?" Harry blurted.
"No hugs, Harry? No 'how have you been, Jeanne?'" She returned.
"I can't be here. Gabby needs me… bloody Voldemort managed to get rid
of me!" Harry massaged his temples in frustration."Fuck!"
-SLAP-
"Do not say such things in my presence!" Jeanne shouted while reloading
her slapping arm.
Harry flinched back and tried desperately to control the anger boiling up
through his being. This was bad. This was very, very bad.
-o\0/o-
"A secure floo line has been established." A positively ancient looking
witch in conservative robes turned from the runic control boards in the
old Floo Network Authority office.
"Thank you Madam Marchbanks." Amelia Bones replied. "I had no idea
you used to work in Magical Transportation."
The elder witch snorted softly. "It was my first job out of Hogwarts. If not
for a scandalous encounter with the headstrong and virile Alexander
Romanov, I would have stayed in that office. Baba Yaga may have
suggested I end the relationship should I wish to keep my soul intact."
"Well..." Amelia didn't quite know how to respond to that. "I suppose
Russia's loss is our gain, then."
Before Amelia could re-center herself and continue on with business, the
secure floo burst into life.
- Fwoosh - - Fwoosh - - Fwoosh -
A pair of French aurors came through followed by Alain Delacour.
"Give me some good news, Amelia." Alain demanded.
Amelia ignored his lack of manners and answered the concerned parent.
"ICW personnel monitoring the national frontier wards detected an
incoming portkey that cut right through the redirection array with little
effort. It's clear the source was from France, somewhere around Paris or a
little further south perhaps."
"Yes." Alain agreed. "Gabrielle and one of her friends were just getting
settled in school for the day when a portkey ripped them straight out of
their classroom. The geographical location fits."
The man allowed some disappointment to show, "I was hoping you had
caught them at the border."
A wizard in ICW robes stepped up. "Monsieur Delacour. While we were
unable to contain the target in transit, we do have an approximate
landing zone mapped out."
"And?"
"They will be found somewhere on a line between Holyhead and York."
The wizard replied.
"That's still too much area to cover." Alain cursed.
"Never the less, we have every available patrol scouring the target area.
Each group has a portkey tracking specialist with them."
Amelia turned to the ICW wizard. "I want the entire curse detection grid
focused on that strip of land. If even a single charm is cast I want a team
to apparate in and confront the wizard or witch that cast it."
"And the rest of the country?" He asked.
"The under-aged magic array can't be reset geographically. We'll tweak
the magical classes detected and have that team pay particular attention
to portkeys and apparation in case the girls are moved." Amelia
answered. "The other girl? If you don't mind…"
"Aimee Devereux is one of Gabrielle's closest friends. Apparently she was
acting out of character this morning. She had the portkey on her. A team
of my best aurors is sifting through her home even now."
The British Minister of Magic turned to her French ally. "Does your
family know?"
Alain flinched. "I received a call from Beauxbatons even before I heard
from Gabrielle's school. It seems as though Mister Potter was the first soul
outside of Joliebatons to know... and he reacted predictably by alerting
Miss Granger and disappearing, supposedly to affect some form of rescue.
My wife and eldest are even now contacting other members of the
family."
Amelia nodded. She had just sent a runner to Hogwarts with the twin
missions of informing the Headmistress and of mining the students for
possible leads. The odds were long but students like young Lord Malfoy
would be 'interviewed' just the same.
"Unspeakables?" Alain asked.
Amelia furrowed her brows. "They were willing to admit that a
summoning circle of some sort has been active this morning. As usual,
they wouldn't give any useful details... except that the circle is already
dispelled. The creature summoned to our world is presumably back in its
home dimension again."
"I don't see a connection." Alain muttered.
"Nor do I, but it was the only information I've managed to pull from an
Unspeakable in the many years I've known of the bastards so I thought it
might be important somehow." Amelia replied.
Alain snorted. "Thank Jeanne our own research department is more
open... if only they had more influence past French borders."
"I'll be sure to push for reforms in the Department of Mysteries just as
soon as my administration becomes stable."
The two turned to address other issues which were cropping up with
startling speed. As the news of the Angel Gabrielle's disappearance
spread, the Wizarding World caught fire.
-o\0/o-
"And that, class, is how a summoning circle is used." Bellatrix taunted the
two schoolgirls trapped in Riddle Manor. "You summon the damned...
you put them in their place... and then you send them screaming back to
hell where they belong."
Bellatrix giggled and began dancing across the room. She pranced over to
the summoning circle and began to pirouette above it, smearing the
blood lined runes and rendering the circle useless.
Gabby was distraught. She was worn out from crying and she still felt the
pain of a knife wound that was only closed due to restrictive ropes.
Painfully restrictive ropes. Even so, she wanted out of these ropes, she
wanted out of this room and she wanted to be well shot of these bad, bad
people. She wanted to take Aimee back with her and find out what was
wrong with her friend. Mostly, she wanted to feel Harry's love again
because he was being really quiet and that scared her more than anything
else so far. There had to be something she could do. She wanted out. She
wanted out and she wanted out now.
Maybe there was something Gabby could try.
"Hey! Hey you!"
Gabby yelled at the dark witch dancing in place. Bellatrix looked Gabby
in the eyes just like Gabby wanted.
"Let. Me. Go." Gabby poured all of her will into the command. Her eyes
flashed with power.
Bellatrix looked confused for a moment but then she seemed to accept
the command and raised her wand as if to remove the ropes.
"Bella!" A harsh voice called.
"Yes Master?" She answered, head tilting to the side but still holding her
wand on Gabby.
"Do not let her go!" Voldemort barked.
Bellatrix's mouth opened once, then twice, then she began to lower her
wand.
"You..." Bellatrix whispered getting visibly angry. "You monster... look
what you almost made me do. How could you?"
Bellatrix was about to tear into the little troublemaker but her master
regained control of the situation first.
"Now Bella," The shade soothed, "no need to damage my prize."
Bellatrix lowered her head in shame. "I am sorry, my Lord."
The shade approached his faithful servant. "I do not blame you, my dear.
The girl is full of surprises. Just think of how much fun it will be to
unleash those surprises on those who would torment us."
Bella's smile returned quickly. "Yes, my Lord."
Having calmed his own servant, the shade turned to deal with the real
problem. A naughty, naughty little girl.
"You." Voldemort bit out.
Gabby nervously looked around the darkened room before turning back
to look at the sentient shadow.
"Thinking of escape? No, no, no little girl. I own you now. I got you. You
will never see Potter again."
Gabrielle scrunched up her eyebrows and pouted in defiance. It was cute
but otherwise unproductive.
"I see you think I am wrong. Perhaps you will save your strength to fight
when the time is right? Hmmmmm?" The shade quickly turned to its
servant. "Bella. We have yet to reward young Miss Devereux for her
service. Reward her, will you?"
Bellatrix's smile grew tenfold as she turned to the little brown haired girl
stuck to the wall. She raised her wand and tossed a mild cutting curse at
the girl's arm.
"Ooooooowwwwww! Maman! I want my Maman! I want my parents!" Aimee
moaned. "I'm sorry Gabby! They ma-ade m-e do it! I didn't want t-to!"
"Mummy?" Bellatrix cackled. "Your mummy is dead! Your maman is
morte. Your papa is morte to. Do you understand? Morte!"
A second cutting curse hit Aimee's other arm not that it had the impact of
the first. Aimee got enough of Bellatrix's message to understand the truth.
Her parents were dead. She was already sobbing uncontrollably before
the second curse broke her skin.
"Stopit stopit stopit!" Gabby wailed.
"If you want your little friend to survive this day then you will do as you
are told." Voldemort informed her curtly.
Gabby sniffled. She didn't want Aimee to die. She was still confused
about why Aimee did what she did but Gabby would never want to see
her friend dead.
"O – okayyyyy..." Gabrielle moaned in submission.
"I – I'm sorry, Gabby. I'm so sorry..." Aimee called hoarsely from the wall.
Gabby used what little strength she had left to nod Aimee's way. "It's
okay, Aimee. We'll be okay, just you wait."
"Now this is what is going to happen." Bellatrix informed Gabrielle. "I'm
going to undo these ropes. Then I am going to put you in a new position
on top of that altar behind you."
Gabby nodded dutifully.
Bellatrix raised her wand once again and banished the ropes holding
Gabby with a light flick. Before she could react in any way, Gabby found
herself airborne and moving above the altar that had been behind her.
Her trip though the air was short and soon enough she found herself
carefully deposited face down atop something bumpy. Whatever it was, it
was cool and -brrrrrr- felt kind of like a side of beef or something. Were
they planning to eat her?
Four chains flew out of the darkness and pulled the young Veela's body
taught over the altar and the side of beef. The chains pulled her arms and
legs spread-eagle, running to each corner of the altar.
"Oowwwww!" Gabby cried out.
Because of all the pulling, her arm hurt really bad where the stone knife
cut her open.
"Do something about her arm, Bella. We don't want our prize to bleed to
death before the ritual even begins."
"Yes Master." Bellatrix answered.
Gabby felt the tingle of healing magic wash over her arm. She wasn't
healed all the way but the worst of the pain disappeared. The bleeding
stopped too.
"Can -" Gabby coughed out, "can you heal Aimee too? Please?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Gabby saw the woman turn to Aimee.
Aimee was whimpering on the wall, blood painted her forearms and her
face was a mask of misery.
"Stupefy." Bellatrix called out casually.
A red beam of magical light shot from Bellatrix's wand to impact Aimee
in the center of the girl's chest.
"All better now." Bellatrix chuckled.
Gabby didn't say anything. They hurt Aimee the last time she said
something.
The dark shade drifted closer to Gabrielle once more. "You have been
better behaved. Perhaps it is time to give you a bit of a reward, yes?"
Gabby tried to look into the shade's... well what would pass for its eyes...
and she nodded.
"Bella. More candles, dear."
Light flared over the room. Gabby still wouldn't call it well lit, but she
could see much better than before. Then she looked down at the thing
she had been chained to.
Oh. God.
Gabby lost it. She screamed.
"Tuck her in, won't you my dear Bella? We have much to do this night
and I fear I am not well suited to childcare."
"Yes my Lord."
Red light flared, not that Gabby noticed. She was too busy screaming at
the corpse of her Lord, Harry Potter. She blacked out a heartbeat later
when Bellatrix's stunner hit her.
-o\0/o-
Harry's hands slid softly though the grass as he gazed at the clouds
above. His fingers found Jeanne's hand for a moment as the two souls let
the peace of lying watching clouds float by sooth their hearts and minds.
Harry looked first at the hand and then at the girl it belonged to.
"Send me back."
"I can't do that."
"She needs me."
"This is true, but you can't do anything about that right now."
"She's in pain. I can feel it."
Jeanne looked harry in the eye. "Don't you think that is a good thing?"
"Gabby in pain is good?" He said incredulously.
"No you fool. That you can still feel her is a good thing."
Harry looked off into the distance. He focused inward on his bond with
Gabrielle. It was still there. He could feel her. That was a good thing.
Voldemort hadn't broken the bond they shared.
"But I can't save her from here."
"No you can't. Some trials Gabrielle must endure unaided such as what she is
experiencing now."
"But I can't let her do this alone. I won't let her do it alone."
"But you haven't left her alone, have you?"
Harry though about it about it. He could feel her. He was with her. "No.
Not really."
"You cannot aid her directly, but you can give her the support she needs. Give
her your love. Strengthen her heart. Do this and she may yet prevail over her
tormentors."
Harry closed his eyes, slid his hands through the grass and took in the
fresh scent of the Elysian Fields. He focused inward. He focused on
Gabrielle.
"I'm here for you, my Angel." Harry spoke to his heart. "I will always be
here for you."
-o\0/o-
-Splash-
"Wakey-wakey, you little half-breed whore!" An annoyingly insane voice
sing-songed.
Bellatrix's Aguamenti charm served to wake Gabrielle up very
uncomfortably. The little Veela was cold. She was wet. Her arm was sore.
She was still chained face down over Harry's dead body.
'I'm here for you, my Angel.' A voice inside of her called. 'I will always be
here for you.'
Gabby smiled. Luckily, neither the shade of Voldemort nor his loyal
witch seemed to notice. Bellatrix cast something that buzzed across her
back. Gabby felt a hand touch her, the back of her shirt was pulled away.
They must have cut part of her shirt off.
"Ahhhh," The Dark Lord spoke up. "So nice to see you back with us again,
my little pet."
Gabby strained her neck to try and look around.
"Don't be alarmed. Bella is just performing a few final preparations before
my grand re-entry into the Wizarding World. A few runes will be placed
on your delicate little back. It may seem a pity to mar such smooth,
unblemished skin but I assure you it is quite necessary. There will be a
few control runes, loyalty runes of course… obedience… magical
dependence… were I alive I might have simply given you the Dark Mark,
but needs must when the devil drives. Bella's work won't be pretty but it
is for a very good cause. My cause."
Voldemort seemed to be in a talkative mood, but then the dark bastard's
always been rather chatty in Harry's experience. Gabby snuck another
secret smile. Harry was commenting on her situation again.
Bella came closer, summoning more candles as she approached. With the
room lighting improving, Gabby watched the dark witch put a basin full
of red liquid on the altar in front of her. Bella also placed a pile of folded
black clothes near the basin with a pair of glasses and a familiar wand on
top. It was the cold wand, the wand Gabby used until she got her Harry
wand back. It was the wand she used in Hogsmeade to punish all those
bad people. After tearing her eyes away from the creepy cold wand,
Gabby took time to spy Aimee hanging motionless on the wall. Hopefully
her friend was just sleeping.
"I am ready, my Lord." The older witch said.
Gabby's attention was pulled to the rather scary looking athame in Bella's
right hand.
"Proceed." The shade responded.
Gabby watched Bellatrix dip the blade into the basin before pulling it
back out. Bella noted the look and smiled.
"Blood of an enemy – or in this case blood of the family of an enemy.
Evans blood."
The knife moved over Gabby's head. Gabby felt a drop of blood hit her
bare shoulder after dripping off the blade.
"This is the fun part!" Bellatrix giggled. "Feel free to scream and thrash
about as much as you want, you little half-breed. Thrashing about will
make it hurt more, of course, so please do a lot of that!"
Gabby ground her teeth together and hissed as the athame bit into her
back right between her shoulder blades. She hissed but she did not cry
out. Harry was very proud of his Angel and he let her know this as much
as he could.
Bella's smile faltered a bit at the lack of noise but she kept at her work.
The little half-breed bitch was letting out silent tears. That was something
at least.
"You give me strength, Harry." Gabrielle whispered to herself.
Voldemort's shade must have heard something. "Oh? What was that?"
Gabby kept quiet this time.
"Say whatever farewells you may my pet, for in less than ten minutes I
will be your new master… exactly one year to the very minute since
Harry Potter died in Black Lake and claimed your allegiance. Only one
year serving Harry Potter and now you shall spend the rest of eternity
serving Lord Voldemort. Potter used you to make his displeasure known
to Hogsmeade, my pet... and I shall use you to make my displeasure
known to London, Paris, Rome… well, everywhere."
As Gabby held her tongue, Harry thought of the Dark Lord's words. Old
Ollivander did say that Tom Riddle did great things. Terrible, yes, but
great. Harry swore to himself that Voldemort would do great things no
longer.
-o\0/o-
"Good morning Wizarding Britain. This is Constance Brown speaking to
you live on Wizarding Wireless Radio on behalf of all of those holding
vigil here on Hogwarts grounds as we begin the second day of reflection
and prayer for the safe return of Gabrielle Delacour, The Girl Who Lived,
the Angel of Hogsmeade. We also pray for the safe return of the Ghost of
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Died who gave Gabrielle Potter's Mark."
On Hogwarts grounds, the voice of Constance Brown carried via sonorus
though her voice was also being bounced from magical radio station to
magical radio station clear around the world.
"The very idea of the Angel Gabrielle being kidnapped straight out of her
seat at school was Earth shattering enough that there are unnumbered
reports of witches fainting at first news. The simultaneous loss of the
Angel Gabrielle and Harry Potter as well as the suspicious actions and
disappearance of one Aimee Devereux have all combined to create an
international uproar which has lead to as many as twenty centenarians
being rushed to St. Mungo's hospital. Reports are still unclear as to how
many of our elderly wizards and witches were adversely affected in Miss
Delacour's home country of France. I have received reports that vigils are
being held in Paris along Rue Enchanté and in front of the shrine to the
Angel Gabrielle at Domrémy-la-Pucelle. Here in the UK, large crowds
have been confirmed on Diagon Alley, in Godric's Hollow and here on
Hogwarts grounds.
"For those of you who are only now tuning in this morning, I should like
to inform you that the newest rumor making its way through the crowds
here at Hogwarts is that the Delacour family is due to arrive shortly. It is
well known that the family planned to come here today as special guests
of Minister for Magic Amelia Bones. Gabrielle and Harry Potter were both
scheduled to receive Order of Merlins, Harry's posthumously of course,
for their actions against the dementor hoards and Dark Lord Voldemort.
Many of Potter's friends and acquaintances who also participated in
related battles were, and still are scheduled to receive awards today For
their actions."
There was activity at Hogwarts' main gate. Word spread.
"And is that... it is! Ladies and gentlemen, wizards and witches, I should
like to inform you that the Delacour witches have been spotted at the
security checkpoint at Hogwarts Grounds' main gate. Yes... it's... I am
being told that Apolline Delacour who is Gabrielle's mother, Fleur
Delacour, the sister to Gabrielle and Triwizard Champion are coming this
way. I am also told that Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood have both
arrived with the Delacours. Miss Lovegood, as you may remember, has
recently been adopted buy the muggle parents of Miss Granger since her
pureblood father died under the former regime of Cornelius Fudge.
Rumor has it that Mister Lovegood was executed for being a political
threat to the Ministry even though his sentence was only life in prison. It
has also been reported that Miss Lovegood-Granger herself was a fourteen
year old political prisoner in Azkaban and is alive today only due to the
heroic ICW raid which freed hundreds of innocent muggleborns and
outspoken purebloods... Ladies and gentlemen..."
Down on the school grounds near the main gate, Gabrielle's family
walked in solemn procession up the path to the very doors of Hogwarts
Castle. Apolline walked alone, a show of strength as her husband was too
deeply embroiled in the work of hunting down and finding their Little
Angel. Her cheeks were tear stained, but she held her head high. She was
the strength that held her charges together. Behind her, Fleur and
Segolene walked arm in arm. Neither was crying at the time but both
showed clear signs of recent distress. Just behind them, the Grangers and
their adopted child walked four abreast with the girls in the middle. Of
the four only Daniel was able to make it up the path with dry cheeks.
Along the auror lined path stood wizards and witches, friends and
strangers alike who came to share in the family's pain if only to show
that they were not alone. Further up the trail, the family delegation came
to find the entire population of Hogwarts lining the path. First they
passed mixed groups of claws and snakes. Soon the whole of Hufflepuff
house lined both sides of the path, nodding as the family and their former
classmates passed. Cedric was there holding Susan tightly and whispering
to her that they would seek out the family as soon as they entered the
school. Gryffindor House had claimed the path nearer to the castle entry
doors and every lion called out to 'Mrs. Delacour', 'Fleur', 'Luna' and of
course 'Hermione' as the witch in question passed by. Luna would only
later admit that this was the highest number of times she could ever
remember hearing her proper first name instead of her old moniker
'Loony' in her entire Hogwarts career.
When the women plus one man finally reached the grand entry hall
doors, they were met by both Headmistress McGonagall and Minister
Bones.
"Apolline," Amelia consoled, "I am so very sorry to see you going through
this. I swear on my magic that we will find the culprit and return your
daughter to you alive and well."
It was a bold claim even if it wasn't perfectly worded as a magically
binding vow. There was still enough intent in the words that Amelia
would be sorry should the search ever be given up or worse yet find a
corpse.
Minister Bones was only able to persuade her foreign guests to come at
all due to a mixture of public support, public demand and private
assurances of safety. After speaking to the Scottish Headmistress, many
attendees began to think that the reason that Gabby was taken when she
was due to the new impenetrable wards of Hogwarts and tight ICW
security.
Minerva came forward and embraced Apolline. The old Scot had tears of
her own showing as Little Angel had been one of her own students even
if only for a short while. The little lass found her way into the
Headmistress's heart in record time such was Gabby's charm and
innocence.
Close friends and family soon wound up in the Great Hall's side chamber,
the very same room that Fleur remembered being introduced to the
'leetle boy' Potter for the first time. Other well wishers were to be
allowed into the Great Hall itself where, should things warrant it, official
announcements may be made later.
There in the old magical castle, the distraught family would sit and wait
while taking comfort where they could. They sat and commiserated and
bonded and waited. They waited for any news of Gabby, Harry and
Aimee, good or ill.
In the days after this troubled time, some would claim that a phoenix's
comforting song could be heard in the hall at half past ten or there
abouts. Some wizards would deny hearing any such thing yet many more
would claim that it was so.
-o\0/o-
The runes were done.
Bellatrix had gone over them twice looking for errors and found none. A
spell was cast that seared the runes shut, sealing Petunia Dursley nee
Evans' blood into Gabby's back in a magical act of enslavement. Evans
blood taken unwillingly now flowed through Gabrielle's veins and soon it
would flow again in her master.
Gabby could still feel Harry within her but she herself did feel a little...
fuzzy in the head? Her back was all tingly. She felt a little sleepy but
without the yawning and sleeping bits. And dizzy too.
"Now, Master?" Bellatrix asked after silently running a series of analysis
charms.
Voldemort looked imperiously at Gabby one last time before nodding his
head. "Now."
Bella lit up as though Christmas came early. She eagerly took up the
basin of blood and began pouring it onto the altar. Funny… Gabby never
noticed the channels carved into the stone before. The balance of Aunt
Petunia's harvested blood soon lost itself in the stone channels and
distributed itself to parts unknown. It was then that Gabby noticed the
other item in the basin.
A heart. A beating human heart.
Bellatrix must have seen where Gabby's interest lay. She chuckled.
"You can't use a person's lifeblood if the heart isn't still pumping you
know... but who ever said the heart had to be in that person's body? It
doesn't! My Lord is truly the greatest mage ever to walk the Earth."
While Bellatrix was getting wound up, Petunia's heart was slowing down.
Voldemort gave one more command to his servant. "You know what to
do."
"Of course, my Lord." She answered eagerly. "I look forward to your
glorious return."
The shade looked into Gabby's eyes one last time. "You are mine..." And
then his form faded into Harry's corpse.
Had Gabby been firing on all cylinders this would be where she tried to
eye-flash Bellatrix again, but she wasn't, so the dark witch continued with
her work unimpeded.
Bellatrix drew her wand high and began waving. Every third jab or so she
would murmur something under her breath. If Gabby had been watching,
she would have noticed the blood in the channels beneath Harry's body
disappearing into Harry. She did feel the runes on her back warming up.
-o\0/o-
"Hello, Tom." A voice came out of the darkness.
"Potter!" Voldemort growled roughly. "I banished you from this plane!
How dare you show yourself before me again?"
The Dark Lord turned to face this constant pain in his side only to find
the boy casually sitting on the stair of a cozy residential staircase
wrapping around a cupboard. The two took each others measure. Harry
for his part looked little different than when he was last alive. He was
scrawny, slightly short for his age and wearing a school dress shirt and a
pair of black slacks with shoes to match. He was also wearing a
Gryffindor tie and his signature glasses. For his part, Voldemort looked
more like an older Tom Riddle than the monster from Quirrell's head or
from the Battle of Hogwarts. He seemed almost respectable for a Dark
Lord with his chiseled features, dark hair, black cloak and pale wand –
but the eyes... he had red eyes.
"Welcome to Privet Drive, Tom. Care for something to eat or drink? Some
lasagne perhaps? Don't worry, I'm quite good with a skillet and an oven
you know." Potter answered after turning away with casual indifference.
The wallpaper seemed much more interesting. "Going to have to glue this
corner down. It's coming loose."
Riddle didn't deign to answer with more words. His right arm snapped up
wand in hand and released a powerful banishing charm right into Harry's
chest.
It didn't connect. Harry wasn't there. In fact, Riddle's spell didn't even hit
the staircase as the stairs themselves didn't exist anymore. Voldemort
wasn't in four Privet Drive any longer.
Tom looked around the room he now found himself in. It was obviously a
little girl's bedroom with the princess bed and the full stuffed plushy
menagerie and other girlish things.
"Is that any way to treat your host, Tom?" Harry called as he lay on the
bed amidst the plushies.
Riddle snapped out an explosion hex only to see the prisoner's chair in
courtroom seven explode in a cloud of splinters and iron shrapnel.
"I don't blame you one bit for that one." Harry called from the judge's
box. "Not my favorite spot to remember Gabby either. I hated that chair."
Riddle held his fire for a moment. He had fought countless duels and
sprung countless traps before but he had never seen his own spells
dodged the way Harry dodged those last two. He was unused to seeing
reality bend itself this easily. Perhaps he could learn something here after
all.
"Bravo, Potter." Tom clapped though he was careful not to lower his
wand. "I must congratulate you on your survival against all odds. I'd love
to know how you pulled such a feat off."
Harry smiled. "Well you see, funny story that, it all started when I – sod
off you bloody bastard." The smile fell into a snarl by the end of it.
Riddle frowned before affecting a professor's facade. "Such disrespect,
young man. Your house shows in your actions. Brave… perhaps but
foolhardy would be a better description. Your dodges show talent, I'll
give you that, but what can you do to hurt me? Care to try, little boy?"
Harry appeared to think on it a moment.
"This body is mine. Gabby is mine. She will always be mine and I will
always be a part of her. Get out." Harry replied, and the world shifted yet
again.
Harry now appeared on his broom several paces away from Tom Riddle.
The both of them also happened to be a hundred meters above a
Quidditch pitch. Tom did fall at first, though he caught himself a second
later. He did it broomlessly too.
"I'll admit I didn't know you could pull that trick." Harry called as he
blurred by his foe. "I'll have to try harder!"
And then Harry was coming right for Voldemort.
-Crack-
Correction, a bludger fired off the teen's beater bat was careening
towards the Dark Lord's head at lethal speeds.
Boooom
The bludger exploded into a fine mist right before Harry blew by his
distraction and drove his bat right through Tom's face.
-Crunch-
Tom roared in pain. He had to dodge Harry's second pass in order to heal
his own face enough to go back on an offensive run.
"You seem to forget boy!" He raged while tossing curses at Harry. "You
and I have been connected ever since you denied me my victory in
Eighty-one! My link to this body did not fade with your death. Avada
Kedavra! And yet your spirit was nowhere to be found when Snape and
then Bella checked and rechecked my future vessel. Crucio! Why are you
here?"
The blur that was Harry Potter slipped behind Gryffindor's stands for
cover. This may not be the physical world but he was fairly certain those
Unforgivables would still be bad for his health should he let one connect.
"This must come as a shock to you, Tom, but you simply don't understand
what you are messing with here."
"Is that so?" Riddle asked while trying to catch the teen in an aerial game
of cat and mouse. "Do you really believe you, a failure of a schoolboy
knows more magical lore than I, a Dark Lord?"
"You are not just trying to steal my body, you tosser. You've got your
sights set on my angel as well. My death in Black Lake forged a bond
with Gabrielle the likes of which you will never be able to match. I'm not
anchored to my corpse, I'm anchored to Gabby!"
That thought brought Voldemort to a halt. There were forces at work
here that he did not understand.
"No matter." He growled, carefully scanning the pitch. "I will eject you
from this body and I will claim my new pet. You will not prevail. I will
enjoy ejecting you from this plane of existence yet again."
Suddenly the two were only an arm's length away from each other under
the stands.
Voldemort cast Fiendfyre.
He missed.
-o\0/o-
Outside of Harry and Voldemort's spiritual battlefield, Petunia Dursley's
disembodied heart beat for the very last time. Bellatrix could not restrain
her mirth.
"Ah, ha!" She crowed, spittle flying into Gabby's hair. "Any moment now
his eyes will open and my Lord will take back what is his!"
The insane woman then skipped over to the unresponsive girl on the
wall. She put her wand tip up to Aimee's throat and smiled.
"You will be the first to die…" But then Bellatrix looked back to the altar
and the two forms bound atop it. "Or even better, I'll have Master make
you kill her. Yes! Make the half-breed slave kill the foreign bitch! What
fun!"
Bellatrix cast a silent Enervate upon Aimee. "Wakey-wakey little girl. You
won't want to miss this…"
-o\0/o-
"Harry?"
"Yes, Jeanne?"
"Your ride is here."
"Was that even a saying when you were alive?"
"Not really, no."
"Then how do you know about it?"
"I did more than pray as a ghost, Harry."
Harry turned his head and stared at Jeanne through the soft grass. She
pinked a bit.
"So I prayed most of the time. I still heard things going on around me…
watched the sun rise or set occasionally… watched children play once or
twice."
"Sorry."
Harry stood up, dusted himself off and helped Jeanne to her feet.
"Until we meet again, fair maiden." Harry dipped into a low bow and
brushed her knuckles with his lips.
Jeanne giggled and pulled the boy into a hug.
"I'm not saying you should go falling on swords or anything," she
murmured as they embraced, "but if you should misplace your heartbeat
again, you know where to find me."
Harry eventually pulled free of the best friend he would ever meet in
death. She also beat most people he met in life as well.
"It's a date."
Existence shifted around him and as it did his smirk fell. Once more he
found himself at four Privet Drive, only this time he was in the garden
out back.
"You?" A startled voice called out. "What are you doing here?"
"Hello, Aunt Petunia." Harry answered, all trace of emotion gone from his
voice. "Figured it out yet?"
She stood there for a moment, angry and confused at the same time.
"You're dead. You know that, right?" Harry prodded.
Anger pushed confusion out of the way entirely. "And I wouldn't be if not
for your freak friends and your freak war! Why couldn't you lot leave
decent respectable people well enough alone?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange is no friend of mine, I assure you." Harry countered.
"I'll bet your death hurt a lot, didn't it?"
"Leave me alone!" The pained spirit cried. "Go back to the hell that
spawned you so that I may be reunited with my maker above you as it
was meant to be for all eternity!"
"So you don't want to chit-chat." It's been a long time since he was a little
boy crying himself to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, but he still
remembered those nights. It still hurt. "Right."
Harry moved a bit to the side so that he could better present her options.
He used one hand to point to a broom leaning up against the back shed.
"If you want to spend eternity with your sister, my Mum, hop on that
broom and it will take you right to her. Promise."
Harry brought up his other hand, this time pointing towards the house.
"Should you prefer to spend eternity with your husband then all you need
to do is…"
Harry stopped. She'd already turned for the door into the kitchen. He
watched her enter the house… he watched her pull the door shut behind
her… and he ground his teeth together in anger as she never once turned
back to look at her nephew one last time.
"Bitch." He said, not that there was anyone around to hear him. "Oh well,
I've done my good deed for the day."
Harry looked to the horizon and the unknown. He felt like doing a bit of
Maiden Saving. He felt like doing it right now, too. As quickly as he had
arrived, he was gone.
-o\0/o-
Gabby snapped into consciousness from her earlier dazed state. She
licked her lips and slowly turned her head this way and that. There was
Aimee, alive thank Jeanne, sobbing on the wall once more. There was the
insane witch Bellatrix who was now scowling at an unexpectedly alert
Gabrielle. There was Bellatrix's shoe laces tying themselves into a knotty
mess.
Pardon me?
Gabby's eyes flew wide open in excitement. Harry was here. Harry came
back! She smiled despite the runes magically pushing against her will to
resist enslavement.
"Why you little twat!" Bella barked. "How dare you be happy! Don't you
understand what is about to happen to you?"
Gabby nodded eagerly. "Uh-huh!"
"And you're happy about it? Are you crazy?"
Bellatrix also missed seeing the silvery spectral boy float up out of the
floorboards to hover behind her.
"Don't call Angel crazy!" Harry shouted into her ear.
Bella jerked into action, or she would have had she not lost her balance.
She fell in a tangled mess due to her tangled footwear.
"I'll take that!" Harry shouted.
Bellatrix cursed as she realized that her wand was missing.
-snap-
"My wand!" The furious witch shrieked. "You bastard!"
But she was never one to give up easily. Bellatrix quickly pulled her
tangled feet under her body and leapt for the athame at the near end of
the altar.
She got it. Fingers white against the leather grip, Bellatrix made a
desperate horizontal slash that opened up both Harry's body's arm and
Gabrielle's arm as well. They both started bleeding. Gabby screamed in
pain.
"Never again!" Harry bellowed and fought Bellatrix's for control of the
athame. Bellatrix tumbled onto her back and Harry followed her down.
The two were now struggling over who could apply more force on the
deadly ritual blade.
Whether it was due to true muscle strength or perhaps her crazed state,
Bellatrix slowly managed to turn the blade up at Harry. Harry laughed
for a moment and let go. As Bella's mad thrust pierced his chest and then
the empty air beyond, he moved his hands to her throat. He squeezed.
Bellatrix belatedly realized that the athame couldn't kill a ghost and
dropped it so she could go for his wrists instead. As Harry was still a
ghost, she failed. She tried to prop herself up to either reach for a hostage
or to reach for her tangled footwear. Ghost or not, Harry was well
capable of holding her down and suffocating her.
Bella's eyes bulged. Her face shifted from color to color. Her body heaved
and shook. She could not break free. Nearly a minute into it, Bellatrix's
struggles became weak. They slowed. Another twenty seconds later, she
fell limp in Harry's grasp.
Harry slowly backed off and grabbed the athame.
"Is she dead?" Aimee called hoarsely from the wall. "Did you kill her?"
Gabby was watching Bellatrix closely. She answered Aimee's question.
"No. She's not dead yet. She could still be dangerous though."
"Just a moment."
Harry looked around at the girls, the altar, the floor and the floating
candles. He looked at the slowly bleeding corpse that even now hosted
another battle between two forces. His extension, the part of Harry that
makes its home in Gabrielle was holding Voldemort at bay for now. If the
man hadn't chosen to tie Gabby to him with Evans blood that battle
would never have been possible. Voldemort might have already
succeeded in inhabiting Harry's body if he had just left Gabby alone.
"I've got a plan… I think." Harry flew over to the wand resting gently
atop the pile of clothes by Gabby's head. He picked up the wand and
slipped it into Gabby's right hand.
"Harry… I'm still chained up. What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Don't think about a single target. I want you to undo all the magic you
can. Everything, as much as you can all around us. Undo it all."
Gabby looked at her Lord and nodded. She took a breath. She firmly
grasped the wand – but not too firmly. She reviewed the words and
motions in her mind. She thought about how badly Harry wanted it to
work. She thought about how badly she wanted to be free.
"Finite Incantatem!"
A wave of magical light flooded the room.
Aimee fell to the floor with a thump and a squeak. The floating candles
disappeared. The drapes blocking two windows disappeared. The chains
holding Gabby down vanished. The altar they were resting on reverted to
the dusty rotting bed that it had originally been before Voldemort
returned. Interestingly, the clothes and athame stayed put. Those items
must not have been charmed or transfigured. Also, Gabby was free.
Unknown to Harry or Gabby, she also just killed the house's ward
scheme.
"Ow!"
Gabby was still bleeding from a long cut in her arm, but she could deal
with it for a few more minutes if she had to. It didn't matter. She got up.
"Gabby?"
"Yes?"
"Make the bad witch stop."
"Yes, Harry."
Gabby pointed her spare wand at the bad witch and commanded her to
"Stop!"
Bellatrix's whole being seized up into a state of suspended animation. She
was not dead but neither was she a danger to the girls.
"Okay, Angel. We've been over what happens next…" Gabby's eyes shot
wide open. "I'll need to get in there and claim what's mine. You know
what to do, just like Michael and Gabriel and Lucifer showed us…"
Gabby nodded her head so hard Dobby would have been impressed.
Harry came up to his Angel and planted a light ghostly kiss on her cheek.
"The next time I do that, I'll have real lips. Promise."
Gabby's smile was wide enough to show all her teeth as she watched
Harry disappear inside his own body.
"Gabby?" A small voice whispered from behind the girl.
Gabby turned. "Aimee!" The young Veela jumped at her miserable friend
and wrapped her in a super tight hug. Both girls had bloody, torn up
arms but a 'we're alive' hug was far more important than that.
"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry!" Aimee began to sniffle again and if Harry
weren't about to be alive Gabby would surely have cried along with her.
"I forgive you." Gabby consoled her friend. "You said they made you do it."
"They did! I didn't want to do it – please believe I didn't want to!"
Gabby pulled Aimee close and cuddled cheek to cheek. "I know. You
would never do something like that on purpose. We'll be best friends forever
and ever."
Aimee nodded furiously at that. After another few seconds of comfort,
Gabby loosened up her cuddles.
"I need to help Harry now."
"O – okay." Aimee pulled back, head down.
Gabby hated to see her friend that way. Luckily, she had a way to fix
that. Gabby smiled, thought of her Lord, and released her thrall fully into
the room. It hit Aimee like a freight train made of love, peace and
contentment. And with Aimee's mental reset, Gabby felt it was time to
call out to her Lord.
"My heart is yours, Lord. Your blood in my veins."
Aches and pains slipped away. She no longer felt the blood and grime of
the last twenty-six hours.
"My spirit is yours, Lord. Your will guides my hand."
Gabby's heart filled with love. All along her spine the blood runes meant
to control and enslave began to glow and hiss.
"Through me you know eternal life; through you I know eternal love."
All of the runes, the cuts and the bruises on Gabrielle's body vanished in
a wave of pure angelic power. Downy white feathers covered her skin, an
owlish beak formed on her face and pure white feathery wings sprang
forth from her back.
Aimee had fallen to her knees, hands on the floor, as she watched her
friend change. For the first time in two days she was free of torment.
What few tears she had left were shed in joy.
Gabrielle turned to the body on the bed. She climbed onto the tattered
and dirty bedding and knelt down next to Harry. A few angel tears later
and the slow bleeding wound in his arm was no more. Gabby then
straddled his waist.
Spotting the athame nearby, the little angel picked it up. She held it in
her right hand with her fingers near the tip in order to have better
control when cutting. She brought up her other hand meaning to cut into
the meat of her own palm. As she began to cut a very small ankh into her
skin, she whispered part of her prayer over again.
"Through meeee... you... knowwwww... eternal life…"
Once she was satisfied that she had succeeded in creating a perfect ankh,
she leaned over to etch a similarly sized ankh directly above Harry's
heart.
"Through youuuuu... I know... eternalllllll... love."
Gabrielle then pressed the two open wounds together and spoke one last
line.
"Come back to me my Lord, I need you."
The little angel in a bedroom in Riddle Manor called wordlessly to her
natural powers. She raised her wings until their tips were only a hand
width apart and within that narrow gap blue-white fire sprang to life.
Slowly, that fire became a pulsing glowing ring as her wings began to
lower.
Once more Gabrielle's halo of angelic fire followed her wings in their
downward swing. Once more the glowing fiery ring sang louder and
louder as as it fell; and just as she had in Hogsmeade, Gabrielle held her
halo steady at its widest point. She was not teleporting. She was not
going anywhere. She was channeling her power for all it was worth,
turning it in and pushing it down. She was giving her life, her love, her
magic and her soul to her Lord.
Her power now filled the room burning away all shadows. It poured
through the windows and rang loudly throughout the house. It shook
windows, rattled silverware and scared away the house-elf. It showed up
on every magical detection system within three thousand kilometers of
Riddle Manor. It caused a phoenix to sing.
-o\0/o-
The Chamber of Secrets opened and Harry Potter shot out of the entry
like a bat out of hell.
A sharp right and he was at the open bathroom door. Corkscrew left and
he was down the hall and half-way to the Grand Stair before Voldemort
even made it to Myrtle's loo. When the Dark Lord did make it up to the
bathroom, his scream of incandescent fury would have frightened every
soul in Hogwarts were this the real Hogwarts and were someone there to
hear it.
Lucius Malfoy was lucky that he was dead and that his body had been
turned to ash long before or the Dark Lord would have tortured the
arrogant pureblood to within an inch of his life nightly for years. His
body would have been raised as an inferi to serve as an object lesson to
fools and imbeciles the world over. Voldemort did not like seeing proof
that one of his Horcruxes had been destroyed and the monster in the
chamber was dead. But Tom Riddle did not have the time to plot
vengeance upon the remainder of the Malfoy line at this time. No. There
was still an annoyingly hard to catch Potter to unmake.
Riddle was graceful when he flew broomlessly. He was fast too, but his
technique still lacked the kind of maneuverability required to chase down
a wild speed freak on a Firebolt like Harry. It was a flaw Harry was quite
good at exploiting due to his Quidditch game experience and Harry was
using that skill even now to lead a Dark Lord on a merry chase. Harry
couldn't help but grin as the wind rushed past his face and the corridors
blurred by. He always did love flying and being the snitch was quite a
change from chasing one.
This whole affair was very different from his normal end of year life or
death struggles with Voldemort. It wasn't the end of the year for one and
instead of being crushed by fear or raw pain, he was having great fun for
another. Maybe it was because Harry was already dead... dying would
surely mark a great turning point in anyone's life; Harry was sure any
other dead person would agree with him there.
Of course, while Harry was a ghost most of his close friends and family
were still alive. This was a condition that Voldemort seemed keen on
reversing if only Harry would give him the opportunity to do so. Harry
did not want to oblige him. That made what Harry was doing right now
quite important even if it was fun.
Harry was actually fighting little more than a delaying action until Harry
could come and take the reigns from Harry. It was a confusing thought
even for Harry until he focused on how he was with his Angel even when
he wasn't physically there with her. And until he did arrive it was all a
big game of Tickle the Dragon until reinforcements arrived. Harry needed
the game to change eventually in part because he felt a tug, a slight pull
somewhere in his mindscape that felt uncomfortably like Voldemort did –
like his old headaches felt – and he did not want this game to last long
enough for Voldemort to stumble onto the source of this feeling and use
it against Harry somehow.
After what seemed to Harry an inordinately long time that help did
indeed arrive. One minute he was flying straight down the Grand Stair
leading ol' Tommy on a merry chase and the next minute he was just a
little more full of himself than before. Not Malfoy full of himself either.
It was time to turn things around.
Harry went all stop right before reaching the lowest level of the massive
stone tower and turned himself around. Though not directly in view, he
could feel the dark prat lurking about. They were in Harry's body after all
and that gave Harry the home field advantage. He knew the Dark Lord
was about to appear three floors up.
"Potter!" Voldemort brought his wand to bear.
Time to fight back.
"Eat this, Tom!" Harry shouted.
At Harry's words, the whole tower collapsed onto Riddle as though he
were the center of a black hole. Tom's sorry arse was a Dark Hole. Ha!
Harry hovered on his beloved Firebolt, hundreds of meters above Black
Lake, and watched Voldemort try to dig himself out. It was an impressive
sight, truth be told. Riddle unleashed untold fire and destruction upon
the stone pile that used to be Hogwarts in an effort to free himself of the
tomb Harry had created.
This was probably good for both of them as it gave Harry a minute to rest
and plot while it gave the Dark Lord a chance to unwind a little. Aside
from the exploding castle, it was a very calm night. Good weather for
flying about.
Harry watched as an explosion rocked the rubble, flinging bits of castle
hundreds of meters away. Impressive. It looked as though Riddle finally
snapped and began using his biggest tricks. A second blast as large as the
first signaled the end of Tom's captivity and the resumption of hostilities.
Maybe calling for the whole of Black Lake to engulf Voldemort wouldn't
help after all...
"Get off that damn broom, Potter!" Voldemort roared as he soared into
the air on a collision course with the Boy Who Wouldn't Quit.
"Uh, oh..."
Harry felt his broom begin to buck under him. It shook and trembled in a
motion that really brought back memories of his first year game, the one
where Quirrell tried to kill him in front of the entire school. Harry knew
it was time for another change of scenery and without further wasting
time he traded the unstable broom for the stability of a snow covered
island. Harry took in a deep breath and let his eyes wander over the old
wooden dock pushing out into the snow and ice covered lake and the
village on the other shore. He turned until his eyes rested on the majestic
stone temple and it's pair of massive guardian Veela. This was perfect.
Through me you know eternal life…
"Finally." A rough voice growled out behind him. "You're not so nimble
on the ground, are you Potter?"
Harry slipped his hands into his pockets and turned around. Voldemort's
wand dipped and... nothing happened. Harry allowed a devilish smirk to
appear as the Dark Lord tried spell after spell to no effect.
"Problem, Tom?" Harry taunted.
"What have you done?" Riddle hissed in return.
Through you I know eternal love.
"It's not me," Harry countered, "it's this place. A place where no wizarding
magic may be cast. I drew you into a trap that you will not be able to
escape... unless it be by leaving this body entirely."
"What have you done to my magic?"
The Dark Lord began advancing ominously on Harry. Riddle seemed
halfway between rage and panic, his hands rose towards Harry in a clear
tell that he meant to grab Harry and beat the boy until magic started
working again.
Come back to me my Lord, I need you.
Harry took a single step back, but as he did several things caught his
notice. First, there were heavy thumps behind him which were
accompanied by small tremors in the ground. The guardians have
awakened. At the same time, a small blue-white mote of light flared
about two meters off the ground in front of Harry. It expanded and
lowered revealing an angel in a French schoolgirl's uniform. Gabrielle
had come to Harry's aid.
Harry smiled and turned his eyes back to Riddle.
"You might want to turn tail and run, Tom." Harry taunted. "My trap is
closing around you."
Riddle instinctively turned his wand on Gabrielle, not that it would do
him any good. His eyes flitted between her and the two massive
guardians that were even now preparing their lances to deal with the
intruder. For perhaps the first time in any battle he's ever fought,
Voldemort took an uncertain step backwards.
"A little girl, Potter?" Riddle scoffed. "You intend to defeat me with a
little girl and two statues?"
Gabrielle shook her wings in indignation. She hated when grown-ups
talked down at her. At least this time she knew she would be getting the
last laugh.
"You're forgetting something, Tom." Harry cautioned the invader. "I said
that all wizarding magic was worthless here. Angel doesn't need a wand to
hand you your arse."
Riddle answered with a scowl and shot forward intending to simply grab
Gabrielle before the hulking guardians could reach them.
Gabrielle was not worried. With a quick snap, her halo fell to chest level
as an obvious message to Voldemort. She's cut him in half before. She
could easily do it again. As Riddle shuddered to a halt before getting very
far in his assault, Gabrielle readied herself for the next step.
"Really Tom?" Harry chuckled. "You had a chance to rush me or a little
girl and you went for the girl?"
Gabrielle drew her wings up and as she did she held her hands out, palms
up. She may not be true Veela like her Maman or Big Sissy Fleur, but she
could prove that Veela got their powers from their angelic ancestors
rather than the other way around. Harry's Angel drew power into her
open palms summoning brilliant globes of blue-white fire.
Riddle took several more steps backwards onto the old wooden dock. Any
further and he would fall into the boat frozen in place against the dock.
"You don't like being outnumbered, outgunned or outclassed, do you
Tom?" Harry asked. "Why, I imagine that this is how all of your victims
must have felt at one point or another. You and your followers would
sneak around ambushing people when they were at their weakest and
you at your strongest. You begin to understand their pain, don't you
Tom?"
"Fight me, Potter!" Riddle challenged. "Stop hiding behind a little girl and
her toys and meet me man to man! Are you Gryffindor or are you not?"
"You know Tom," Harry responded. "I never told anyone about this... but
the Sorting Hat did say that Slytherin would have helped me on the way
to greatness."
Harry turned his attention to his Angel. "Roast him, Gabby."
The Dark Lord only had a moment to turn and run before Gabby's twin
lances of angelic fury tore through his back and kept going until they
blew great holes into the ice sheet beyond. With a cry of pain, the
greatest threat to the Wizarding World since Gellert Grindelwald
dissolved into a dark shade and fled to the physical world.
Harry turned to look into Gabrielle's glowing crystal blue orbs.
"Now, Angel." Harry said. "We have to catch him and end this. It has to
be now."
Gabrielle nodded dutifully. There wasn't a moment to lose. Voldemort
wasn't going to get away this time.
Harry and Gabrielle came together in a tight embrace. The young angel
drew her wings up to the sky before deliberately pulling her halo down
to waist level again. She carefully matched the ring she held here in
Harry's mindscape to the one she held in the waking world. Harry dipped
in to place a chaste kiss on his angel's forehead, right on the mark he
gave her one year ago, and then her willed his spirit to answer his Angel's
call.
She needed him and he would be there for her.
-o\0/o-
Aimee sat on the floor entranced by the spectacle before her.
Her best friend was sitting on top of the dead boy on the bed and they
were both surrounded by a ring of magical fire that had to be the most
awesome display of magic the nine year old girl had ever seen... likely
the most awesome display of magic she ever would see.
Gabby held her position, and held her fire halo, for a few minutes or so
before a most unwelcome thing happened. Aimee saw a dark shade shoot
out of the dead boy's chest screaming like the hounds of hell were hot on
its tail. Only then did Gabby bother to move at all.
As the shade turned, perhaps to get one last taunt in before fleeing to plot
and plan, Gabby swiftly pulled her substitute wand to bear on her target
and barked one word.
Stop!
And he did stop. The spell that Gabrielle used to stop a fire in her
Momma's house, to hold dementors still, to protect herself from Fiendfyre
and to keep Bellatrix Lestrange from being a pest... that spell she now
used to block the Dark Lord's escape. The shade held still, frozen halfway
between the bed and the far window.
Gabby's wand hand began to shake. She lost her angelic form and
reverted to a little Veela girl with pretty silver-blonde hair, pouty lips
and huge tear filled eyes. She tried to cast another spell.
"N – nametta s-s-suuulee-e-e..." Gabby stopped. She furiously rubbed at
her eyes, took a deep breath and tried again. "Nametta sule a-atal... at-t-t-
al..."
Gabby brought down the wand for a moment and collected herself before
taking another deep breath and raising the wand one more time.
As she tried to control the shakes in her wand arm, another arm came up
next to hers. Another hand ever so gently pulled the wand from her grasp
and pointed it dead center into the shade known as Dark Lord Voldemort.
Gabby shuddered from head to toe.
"I - I can do it, Harry." Gabby said with ever increasing strength. "I really
can."
"I know you can, Angel." Harry answered her. "I know you are a
wonderful, wonderful girl and you've done so much good today. You've
done so much good all this year. You really have."
Harry's other hand came around the little Veela's waist and held her
close. She shuddered again.
"You've done so much for me, Angel. Let me do this for you."
"O – okay, Harry."
Truly, Gabby felt sooooo much better. She could have done it. She would
have done it. But she really, really didn't want to.
Gabby felt Harry's cheek come into contact with her ear. She closed her
eyes and leaned into the heat of his skin. She heard the quick thump-
thump of his heart beating. She knew absolutely for sure that everything
would be okay now that her Lord was with her.
As softly glowing blue eyes closed in bliss, hard glinting green eyes
narrowed at the object of Harry's ire. There would be no more posturing.
No more speeches, battles or traps. Not for Tom Riddle. Never again.
"Nametta sule atalante firima."
There was no flash emitted nor was there any sound to track the magic
with. In fact, the only way to tell that anything happened at all was by
observing the mess of narrow black smokey filaments which seemed to
appear. These dark tendrils had no structure other than that they
originated in the Dark Lord's diaphragm and ended somewhere outside of
the room. All except one that is. One of them didn't leave the room at all.
That one snaked around Voldemort a few times before arcing across the
room to anchor itself in Harry Potter's forehead. Right in his scar.
As Harry began to suspect in his recent deep mind games, his scar was a
soul anchor for Voldemort the whole time. He wondered if Dumbledore
knew about this before the old manipulator went for a swim in the wrong
river.
After a second or two of simply floating about, all of the black filaments
began to discolor near the end connecting to the Dark Lord. First they
became a dull red... then they began to turn orange, slowly changing
from smokey shadows to glowing lights as the colors changed. Soon
enough one of the lines became bright white before snapping. The
remainder of that line quickly unraveled before disappearing completely.
Then another snapped. Then another. In short order Harry's link to
Riddle was the last one remaining... until it too failed under the strain of
disruptive soul magic.
At that point Gabby's 'stop' was the only thing holding Tom Riddle in this
mortal plane.
"Finite Incantatem." Harry called, wand once again held high.
There was a twisting in Riddle's form and then an earsplitting scream...
and then it was over. Tom Riddle was no longer a threat to anyone alive.
After a few moments of near perfect silence where Gabby's labored
breathing was the loudest noise in the room, an uncomfortable grunt
came from the door.
Gabby, Harry and Aimee all twisted around to see what caused the noise.
"Aurors." A man said in a subdued tone. He was clearly either deeply
impressed by what he had walked in on or deeply disturbed. "Could
you... could you please put down the wand?"
The aurors all had mottled grey cloaks with colorful patches over the
breast showing three letters over black, red and yellow bars. ICW. The
first two men to enter the room had wands drawn. The third had a pistol.
The fourth a shotgun.
Harry seemed to remember just then that he was nude in a bed with a
nine year old girl on his lap and another nine year old girl sitting on the
floor nearby. Like she was waiting her turn or something.
It was all very awkward. Harry put down the wand.
"It's... not what it looks like?" Harry said nervously before whispering into
Gabby's ear. "We are in so much trouble. Do you think you can 'encourage'
them to forget any spells they may have heard us cast?"
Gabby swallowed and nodded her agreement. She would eye-flash the
aurors the first time she thought she could get away with it.
"We forgot to bring 'Mione again." Harry whispered. "She is going to kill me."
End Chapter
Chapter Notes:
Coming soon – the Denouement and Epilogue. The internet tells me that
denouement means 'untying' in French, so I think I already have the next
chapter's title right there. Apparently the French word for epilogue is in
fact epilogue, so I can only use that trick once.
31. Untying
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
The Little Veela that Could
Chapter Thirty: Untying
Alain made his way up the path from Hogwarts' gate to the castle doors
in quick, hurried steps and the crowd went silent at his passing. Maybe it
was his unreadable face or maybe it was the full ICW escort that followed
him every step of the way but his presence reeked of importance. It
reeked of fate. Of doom.
Something had happened.
Constance Brown continued to murmur over the crowd but she dare not
predict the meaning of this visit. She didn't want to send the wrong
message and put the Wizarding World into a tizzy only to be called on it
later. Obviously the reporting standards in Wizarding Britain had risen
dramatically.
The next few minutes were uncomfortable for Alain as well as for the
crowds, a condition that only served to raise the tension even higher than
before. He marched through the school doors unchallenged. He passed
through the Great Hall and the massive crowd of students and concerned
citizens fell silent at his presence. He stepped into the side chamber
where his family had gathered and the aurors stopped at the door behind
him to block it off with their presence.
Alain allowed the door to stay open. Was this a good omen? Ill? Most
who watched on could not tell.
When he walked into the room, all talking ceased. Those gathered looked
at him in a mixture of hope and fear. Alain looked around the room and
took in the faces of those gathered here for comfort and for news. The
center of the room was clear though there was seating along the walls.
Alain's wife, eldest daughter, Segolene and the Grangers were all grouped
together near a fireplace. Nathalie was there with her hands on Apolline's
shoulders. His mother-in-law was between Fleur and Segolene, giving
both girls much needed comfort. The Diggory boy and Miss Bones were
in a group with the Grangers while Victor Krum loomed protectively over
Hermione and Luna. Alain didn't miss the look Cedric shoot over to Fleur
even if Fleur missed it. Mister Lupin and Miss Tonks were sitting together
on one of the seats near his wife and child. There was a large cluster of
redheads as well as a small selection of Hogwarts students from all four
houses. The Slytherin girl next to Miss Weasley was a surprise but not
important enough to call her out on it. There were others, of course, but
they were inconsequential now.
Before anyone could call him out, Alain drew his wand and cast a
Patronus Charm.
"Come. They are all here." Alian called to the glowing silver hawk which
then swiftly turned around and blurred away at high speed.
"Well Alain," Régine called crossly. "Don't keep us waiting. Why are you
here?"
Alain turned an unreadable gaze to the woman and spoke. "It is not my
place to say. This must be seen to be believed."
"For the love of God, Alain, plea-" Apolline had started but was cut off by a
soft ringing tone and a disturbance in the air.
A ball of blue-white light formed two meters above the stone floor and
began to grow and fall in a now recognizable pattern. Joy filled the
room. Literally.
"Gabrielle!" Apolline cried in shock at the halo with beautiful white
feathers breaching the air above its ring.
Momma! Her baby girl lyrically chirped in return.
Apolline fell to her knees on the floor and held her arms wide. "Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle's ring tapped the floor before gently dissipating into the
charged atmosphere of the room. The girl then shot into her mother's
arms with open wings, wings which quickly surrounded her Momma and
squeezed tight. We won Momma, we got him!
Apolline didn't know nor did she care about the other two new arrivals in
the room as her whole existence was focused on her nine year old
miracle. Other people, however, did notice the other two arrivals.
"Yes well…" Harry called out, one hand on Aimee's shoulder in silent
support of the young orphan. "We would have got here sooner but the
aurors wanted to make sure I wasn't a dark lord and then it took an extra
ten minutes to explain that I was also not a child molester. Alain got tired
of waiting so he threatened to fire everyone if they didn't release us from
quarantine, so here we are."
The room was silent. Everyone gaped at the boy in open shock.
"Is there something on my face?" Harry asked his companion.
Aimee looked up at him. "I don't see anything."
"…harry…" Hermione whispered, a touch of hope lacing the name.
"Go hug Gabby some more." Harry told Aimee with a soft nudge.
She nodded and trotted over to the angel-mother hug fest. Aimee giggled
a bit and latched onto Gabrielle's back. Angelic thrall crested through the
room again with feelings of peace, love and devotion. Little Angel began
to coo loudly in contentment.
With little Miss Devereux occupied, Harry took a step towards Hermione
who was shakily getting up from her seat. "Hey, 'Mione. Miss me much?"
"Harry?" Hermione asked.
She reached out with her hand. Harry walked into her grasp allowing ten
shaky fingers to run over his chest.
"It's what Voldemort had laying out for me when I got up." Harry said
looking down at his rich cloak, silk button down shirt and slacks
combination, all in black. "It's a bit creepy wearing a Dark Lord's clothes,
I know, but there's nothing dark about the clothes themselves. We
checked."
"Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry stepped close enough to put his arms around Hermione, who was
now a bit taller than he was, and pulled her close. He put one hand in the
small of her back and the other hand behind her hair. He pulled her in
close trapping both her arms between them and put his cheek against
hers.
"I know we've been together nearly every night for months yet I still feel
like I haven't seen you in forever. How does that work?"
"Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Harry, you're alive." Ron called out.
"Way to state the obvious, mate," Harry replied. "Now come over here
and give us a big manly hug. I can't meet you halfway as it seems
Hermione's legs don't work. I think I broke her."
"Bloody hell, mate, you're alive!" Ron jogged over to Harry and wrapped
his arms around his two best mates since First Year.
"When did you get so bloody tall?" Harry asked Ron.
"You're a lot shorter when you're not floating about like a fairy." Ron shot
back.
"Harry!" Hermione cried into Harry's chest as tears splattered over his
shoulder.
"I love you too, 'Mione." Harry soothed.
Harry finally realized that the room wasn't silent anymore. It was a
madhouse. The next time Hermione yelled his name he barely heard it
even though her mouth was right at his ear. Everyone was shouting their
approval or their support or their questions all at the same time. Not
Harry's favorite situation to be in, but then Hermione and Gabrielle were
in the same room so that made it easier to keep track of both his girls.
The Great Hall must have been twice the madhouse this room was if the
noise coming through the open door was any indication.
It would take nearly an hour for Hermione's vocabulary to expand past
'Harry'. He held her in his lap while telling bits and pieces of his story to
anyone who came up to welcome him back. She let him hold her, arms
still pinned between them, and absorbed his presence. Aimee came over
to sit with them before moving off again three times. Once after Aimee
walked back to Gabby, Harry lamented to the girl in his arms that he was
too young to adopt. He did not want Aimee to live the life of an orphan if
there was anything he could do to prevent it. His saving maidens thing
clearly ruled both his life and his afterlife.
He was back. He was back in her arms and he felt wonderful and he
sounded wonderful and he smelled wonderful and he looked wonderful
and when she was finally willing to move again she'd see what he tasted
like too. Of course, there was that one comment he made that needed to
be explained first…
"Harry, what was that about not being a child molester?"
"'Mione. I come back from the dead and that's the first question you have
for me?" Harry murmured. "Maybe I should just go back and ask Jeanne
if she'd like to go on whatever passes for a first date in the afterlife."
"Don't you dare!" Hermione huffed.
"All I'm saying is-"
She growled, "Shut up and kiss me you prat."
Harry knew when to give in. "Yes love."
-o\0/o-
The next day was Sunday and Mass was letting out in the Meuse Valley.
Alain suggested going to Mass as a way to have a bit of peace and quiet
before Monday morning began to pull the family back to various schools
and offices with hundreds of kilometers between them. Domrémy-la-
Pucelle was to be the balm that soothed the nerves and brought the
family back together. It even worked after a fashion. There were still
issues but then there always would be. Only time could heal some
wounds.
An offer had been made for Gabby to stay home from school for another
week but she said no. She had Harry now so why would she be all broken
and weepy and stuff – and she insisted that she would keep an eye on
Aimee. The girls went everywhere together, hand in hand. The only time
this changed was when Gigi began visiting more often to make the pair
into a trio again as it always had been before. Sadly, poor Miss Devereux
was following in Segolene's footsteps quite well. Her aunt never liked
children anyway and used Aimee's infamy as Gabrielle's betrayer to
publicly shun the child. That is why Gabby was walking hand in hand
with her 'abductor' everywhere they went. Wounds of the heart were best
healed by love and Gabby had that in spades. Harry couldn't have been
more proud of his Angel or his sort-of-adopted father Alain.
Domrémy-la-Pucelle did provide quiet contemplation… right up to the
time one of the magicals visiting the shrine to the Angel Gabrielle
recognize Harry and Gabrielle. That's when things got loud again.
There was a bit of excitement before the family managed to escape into
the church of Saint Remy for an hour plus long service. Luckily even
rabid fans of the Boy Who Came Back knew not to chase him into a
church on Sunday morning. By the time the family was ready to go
outside again, Alain's demand for an escort was heard and members of
the magical press were pushed back by a line of aurors. Only a handful of
locals had to be Obliviated and no hexes had to be reversed. It could
have been worse.
"I can't believe I forgot what it used to be like for you, Harry."
Harry looked around, taking in people, places and things. He listened to
the crowds and the cameras. He gazed at the clouds passing by as they
brought the village from light to shadow to light again. He smelled
exhaust and burnt oil from the cars and lorries that passed by. He focused
on the young witch who's hand was in his.
"A lot of people were looking at you today as well." Harry shot back.
Hermione squeezed Harry's hand. "They were looking at my necklace,
Harry. Most people who go to Mass on Sunday wear crosses, not ankhs.
One woman was glaring so furiously I'm surprised that I didn't burst into
flame right there in the pew."
"Image how she would have reacted were she to find out you are both
English and a witch." Harry replied before adding, "You don't have to
wear that everywhere, you know."
"But you gave it to me." Hermione answered and then smirked playfully.
"And how many young witches can say that the Harry Potter has given
them a gift let alone jewelry?"
Harry used his best pout. It didn't work. Back to the matter at hand…
"Want me to get you a cross for your birthday?"
"I'm happy with my ankh, thank you very much." And she was.
"Good." Harry replied. "A cross would just remind me of Jeanne anyway.
When I sneak glances at your baps, I do not want to be reminded of a
Catholic Saint."
"And what do you think of when you look at my… ankh?" Hermione
teased.
Harry took the bait and stared shamelessly at and around Hermione's
necklace. The small gold charm tended to nestle into the top of her
cleavage when she wore it under a shirt, though it was more common for
her to wear it above fabric and in plain view. Now that he had hormones
again Harry found himself checking his ladylove out with increasing
regularity.
Still, there was the ankh to consider. His mind flashed back to a room full
of priceless artifacts in a Veela temple. There was also an image of a
bleeding palm. Gabby's palm along with the ankh cut into it. But Harry
couldn't use those answers. A compromise then.
"I think of beauty, power and wisdom." Harry said with utmost
confidence. "And breasts." There was a hint of a leer at the end.
"And when will I meet the woman who inspires such thoughts?"
Hermoine challenged. Her hormones were battling with feelings of
inadequacy that have been part of her since the first time she was
shunned by a peer. At the age of six.
Harry smiled. This was a conversation he wouldn't have been able to
have a year ago even had he lived through the Second Task. He had
changed in indescribable ways. Smart as she was, Hermione did not
posses half the flirting skills Segolene had, let alone Nathalie, and both
have had their fair share of fun teasing Harry in the past year.
"Next time you look in a mirror."
Game, set and match to Harry. Hermione would randomly blush and
smile throughout the rest of the day.
They toured Jeanne's childhood home. They walked the grounds around
the church of Saint Remy. They lit devotional candles at the small outside
shrine to Gabrielle. Gabby couldn't stop giggling as she tried to pray to
herself. Eventually the extended friends and family of Harry Potter made
it back to the Delacour home for some true peace and quiet.
Harry re-entered the home deep in conversation with Hermione and
Luna.
"… and that's why the aurors asked me about my relationship with both
Gabby and Aimee - why I was in bed starkers with one of them when
aurors came in wands at the ready." Harry ended a rather embarrassing
explanation.
"But didn't they ask how you managed to come back? It sounds like they
focused on trying to ferret out how you got rid of Riddle." Hermione
asked.
"I told them that Gabby worked a miracle and Gabby told them the same
thing. We both gave them the same answer from different rooms. They
'knew' we couldn't work together to lie to them therefore it was true,
yeah? We weren't left together without a chaperone even once after the
portkey went off." Harry added with a twinkle in his eye.
Hermione and Luna glanced at each other. Like that was going to stop
Harry and his angel from conspiring…
Harry continued. "They weren't too happy that I wouldn't explain how I
got the Dark Lord to go away for good. In fact, I think they still believe
he'll come back again… some of them anyway… but I did promise to talk
with them about it if – and that is a big if – they end up having to deal
with Riddle in the future."
"Harry?" A voice called from ahead of the three.
"Yes Apolline?" Harry answered.
"Gabrielle has something she wants to show you in the parlor." Apolline
announced. "If you would please…"
Harry was surprised. He hadn't felt anything unusual from his Angel, not
that he would begrudge her some privacy, but Apolline's voice carried a
hint of seriousness to it. Harry looked to Hermione and Luna. Hermione
didn't seem to expect Apolline's announcement. Luna didn't react at all,
the dirty blonde was much more interested in the ceiling and its centuries
old fresco.
"Okay?" He answered uncertainly.
Harry and the girls followed Apolline into the parlor only to find that
Gabby was waiting for them… as was Alain and Fleur and Segolene and
Aimee and the Grangers. Was there a family meeting called that he didn't
know about?
"Harry?" Gabby called from the center of the room.
Harry looked into his Angel's eyes. He felt both pride and fear bubbling
through the bond though Gabby made sure only pride was visible on her
face.
Gabby took a cleansing breath and brought up her hands. Harry hadn't
noticed until just then but she was holding his old Holly and Phoenix
feather wand in both hands, the golden chain still hanging down one
side.
"I… I think you might want this back now. It's yours. I really liked using
it but you're back now and you should get to have your wand back too
now 'cause it's yours…"
Gabby held the wand in open palms just waiting for Harry to say 'thank
you for keeping it safe' or something. She felt so big and proud giving
Harry his wand back. Wands were important. Really important. Even…
even if it did feel like him and remind her of him and even if it was the
most precious single thing she ever, ever owned. But it wasn't hers
anymore, was it? Which was why she was so shocked when Harry gently
curled her fingers around the smooth polished shaft and closed her fists
over it.
"It stopped being mine when I left it to 'Mione, Gabby. And then she gave
it to you, fair and square. But you know what?" Harry leaned in closer to
the little witch. "The wand chooses the wizard, or at least that's what
Ollivander told me. That wand chose you. It wants to be yours. I want it
to be yours too."
Everyone who looked on as Harry and his Angel gazed at each other
could tell that an intense love held these two together. Only half of them
knew just what kind of love it was. Even those that did not could see that
Harry and Gabby were at least as close as brother and sister and that
'little sister' was as devoted to 'big brother' as he was to her.
"Besides," Harry broke the silence, "I have a spare."
He pulled out the wand hidden up his sleeve. It was the wand Voldemort
had on him, Dumbledore's old wand and Gabby's substitute. The silver
end cap was still there and everything.
"It doesn't feel cold to me like it does to you. It works as well for me as
your wand used to and the aurors let me keep it since your Poppa
recognized it and told them to give it back." Harry smiled and slid the
wand up into a pocket sewn into his sleeve. "See? I don't have to go buy
another one or anything."
Harry pulled himself back from Gabby and immediately found two wide
silver-grey eyes staring into his. Luna was practically nose to nose with
him. Harry flinched.
"Er – Luna?" Harry forced out.
Luna didn't flinch. Her eyes did bounce back and forth between Harry's
eyes and his sleeve. His wand sleeve.
"Have you ever read the tales of Beedle the Bard?" She asked him.
"No? No I haven't, Luna." Harry rallied. "Should I have?"
She stared deep into his eyes, into into his soul, and then she smiled
brightly. "You have an invisibility cloak."
"Well," He replied, "technically Hermione has an invisibility cloak. Maybe
I should ask to get that back. It really is a family heirloom, dead useful
and loads of fun too."
"You don't have a stone that let's you talk to dead people, do you?" Luna
chirped.
"I don't need a stone to talk to dead people."
"Hmmmm..." Luna thought about it. "I suppose you are right about that."
And then she started humming. And then she drifted away. And that was
the end of that.
"You know, Harry…" Hermione piped in, "I have a few other things that
rightfully belong to you like the cloak."
"Oh?" Harry turned to face her.
"Your trunk... your bank vaults… some land in Godric's Hollow…"
Hermione murmured.
"Oh. Oh, that!" Harry chuckled. "You know what they say, 'Mione."
Did she? Harry smirked at his catching her off guard.
"You can't take it with you, yeah?" He challenged. "And seeing as I
crossed that border twice I feel I should be twice removed from it all. It's
not my money or land anymore. It's yours."
"Honestly!" Hermione huffed. "Are you okay being a pauper without a
knut to your name?"
Harry didn't lose his smile. He could have on account of his history, but
he didn't.
"'Mione. With the exception of those rare times when I went to Diagon
Alley for school shopping or Christmas shopping, I've never had much
money other than what I found on the sidewalk." Harry took in a breath,
but not too big of one for he did not want the ex-Gryffindor to get into a
proper rant. "I have you as my girlfriend. Gabby is my Angel. Luna, Fleur,
Segolene and Aimee are like sisters. There are two men in this room I
would be proud to call dad and two women whom I would love to call
mum. Honestly, 'Mione, if this is being poor then I'm fine with it."
There wasn't a single person in the room who didn't love Harry Potter
after that. And if there had been a holdout then the Angel broadcasting
pure love and serenity into the room would have melted even a Scrooge's
heart. That's not to say that Harry would ever want for anything ever
again because he was as good as adopted by the Delacours. Still,
Hermione began thinking of ways to sneak Harry's money and things
back to him. She had an idea or two right off. She blushed at them but
she had them just the same.
-o\0/o-
"So..." Cedric spoke up, not quite sure what to say.
It was Monday morning. Ced was having breakfast with the Delacours
and the Grangers... and Victor... before heading back to Hogwarts and
class.
"So." Harry confirmed.
The four champions were the last four at the table. It was as close to
private as they were likely to get without using spells.
"Figured out what you're going to do now?" Ced asked Harry. "Will I see
you in Hogwarts soon? O.W.L.'s you know... you still need them and your
N.E.W.T.'s."
"Not really sure yet." Harry answered while staring down at his place.
"You'll be out soon, right? Have any plans?"
Cedric shot a not so discreet glance over at the resident Veela Champion.
"As a matter of fact, I know exactly what I'll be doing. I won't even be out
of Hogwarts for a week before starting at my new position."
"That vas quick." Victor commented somewhat jealously. "I miss whole
first year of professional career after Durmstrang and no sign of doctors
letting me back on team."
Victor scratched at his shoulder. Harry narrowed his eyes at the action. A
thought began to stir. That snake's venom must have been something
special to have such troublesome long term symptoms. Harry
remembered Danya and what the Healers said about her.
Cedric spoke up again before Harry could organize his thoughts.
"I've been offered a position – almost drafted really – as Minister Bones
finds herself rather short handed while also trying to reorganize the
Ministry. There's a big push to get rid of any perceived corruption that
may still be in place even though the blood purist movement has been
almost completely erased from Britain."
Fleur stared at him pointedly. She may have meant it as a challenge but
he was still glad to have her attention.
"Granted, there are plenty of ignorant wizards that still believe much as
Malfoy did, but they are all keeping away from the new regime and out
of the public eye... and none of them have the money or influence that
Malfoy or his group once had. Even the new Lord Malfoy isn't the threat
his father was. Amelia has her eye on them anyway... But what I was
going to say is that I'm going to join the Department of International
Magical Cooperation which is actually going to be seeing a lot of growth
this year."
Harry smirked a bit. It would be nice if Ced could get the Ministry to
actually cooperate with other nations. He knew Amelia and Alain were
working together quite often of late but he had wondered if all of this
cooperation would dry up once the remaining Death Eaters were dealt
with and the ICW pulled out of the British Isles.
Cedric continued. "I actually plan on joining the staff for several tasks
that my father has been presiding over for years."
"But your fazer works in creature regulation, does 'e not?" Fleur
challenged. It had been a sticking point with her for some time.
"Exactly." Ced confirmed. "His department will be losing some of their
scope. Amelia believes, and I agree, that sentient magical beings who
have their own societies or social order should be treated as equals and
not as mere creatures."
"You mean like the Goblins..." Harry offered.
Ced turned his eyes to Fleur. "And Veela. Someone in the Ministry needs
to be able to address the wants and needs of near-human and non-human
magical beings with the respect they deserve. I intend to be that
someone."
"Zere are no Veela families native ze British Isles." Fleur spoke neutrally.
"I want to change that – assuming it's not an environmental issue, of
course." Cedric answered.
"It is not." Fleur answered. "I 'ave many cousins in Nordic lands. We don't
mind cold."
Cedric nodded. Harry suspected that Cedric let out a breath he had been
holding too.
"I had hoped not -" Ced blurted before changing direction and moving on.
"My first task for the Department, one I'm not waiting for the end of the
school year to start working on, is to go through the magical creature
laws on record so that she can see what still works and what has to go.
First up is getting rid of the Veela marriage statues, of course."
The message was as clear to Harry and Vic as it was to Fleur. Cedric
knew what he wanted, he wasn't backing off and he was willing to work
hard to get it. Fleur spoke next.
"Loyal and 'ard working. You are a credit to your 'ouse." Fleur said with
approval.
"You should know zat ze Veela will soon reclaim what we lost centuries
ago. We will be our own nation once more. I..." Fleur paused for a
moment and made sure she had Cedric's attention. Not that she needed
to. He belonged to her. "I intend to be an important part of zat nation at
ze international level. If one day you speak to ze Veela nation on be'alf of
Britain zen you will deal wiz me."
There were sparks flying between Cedric and Fleur, and Harry and Victor
both tried to pretend they didn't see anything. Harry decided to speak up
before things got out of hand.
"Here I am unsure of what school I should be going to and you two are
taking the bull by the horns. Good on you."
Ced seemed to have heard him. "Harry. You're Gryffindor. When new
Firsties ask the upper years what other houses are like, you are the
example all of Gryffindor is judged by. I honestly can't imagine you
anywhere other than the house of lions. In Hogwarts. How can you even
think of going anywhere else?"
"Easy." Harry responded. "When I was still a just a Fourth Year trapped in
a tournament I didn't enter, I had no real family to speak of. I had
friends, good friends, but that was it. Now I have a family and every
member of that family calls France home. France, not England. Even the
Grangers and Luna are happy where they are."
"You expect Harry to go to school vithout 'Mione?" Vic snorted. "Vill not
happen."
"Well said, mate." Harry thanked the Bulgarian Champion before
continuing. "It looks like I'll have to ask 'Mione if she can help me whip
up some transfer papers or enrollment forms or something."
"You should talk to Madame Maxime. My muzer can 'elp you no doubt."
Fleur offered. "My beloved school would not be so foolish as to turn you
away."
Harry slid into silent contemplation. It wasn't just Hermione that he was
anchored to in life. Gabby held him also. Hmmmmmm... would they let
him go to Beauxbatons as a day school? Or maybe let him see Gabby on
the weekends... Of course, he was always with her but there was
something about physical presence that spiritual presence couldn't match.
Vic scratched at his arm again. Harry noticed.
"Vic." Harry prompted.
"Yes Harry?"
"You said the bite's still giving you trouble, yeah?"
Vic scowled and nodded. Harry shared a glance with Fleur before
addressing the older wizard again.
"Have the Healers given you any idea as to how long it will take before
you're cleared to compete again?"
Victor's face was all the confirmation Harry needed. It would take a
miracle for him to get back into the game. Perfect.
"Harry!" A sweet, high pitched voice called out from across the room.
"Hey there, Angel!" Harry called back to Gabrielle.
The little girl trotted up to the table of Champions and began to pout for
her audience. She opened up her big puppy-dog eyes, tilted her head a
little bit and began to draw short lines on the floor with her big toe.
"Momma is so mean, Harry. She won't let me go find a hospital and heal
all the sick people like we did at St. Mungo's. I want to heal someone! It's
not fair!" Pout, pout, pout.
Gabby looked for Harry's approval out of the corner of her eye. She got
it.
"How would you like to get back on a broom competitively today, Vic?"
Harry asked.
The large Bulgarian wizard looked at the tiny girl in front of him with
something akin to hope. It was all over the press that she had indeed
healed cases that St. Mungo's had given up on years ago. Maybe he
wouldn't have to look for a career outside of quidditch after all.
-o\0/o-
Time began to pass faster as the threat of Dark Lord Voldemort vanished
once again from the UK and her neighbors. The British Ministry of Magic
continued to rebuild itself into a new form, one which embraced reforms
favored by their ICW allies. Students went back to school. Peace returned
to the Wizarding World but there were still issues left to be resolved.
Issues like blood magic.
The hearing on blood magic was high profile and highly publicized.
Minister Bones wanted to have the hearing in London but ran into French
interference after Hermione Granger was served a notice to appear in
court. The notice reached her as she ate breakfast in Beauxbatons. The
Delacours protested. The I.C.W. got involved. Things moved to Bern.
Various politicians and noted figures of the Wizarding World laid down
what was 'know' about blood magic until Hermione Granger mounted the
stage with Gabrielle Delacour on her left and Harry Potter on her right.
Fleur, Victor and Cedric were all in attendance as character witnesses.
With Harry and Gabby's stage presence and Hermione's solid
documentation, they put on a very impressive and exhaustively detailed
presentation on the light side of blood magic. It could protect. It could
save lives. It could heal wounds thought to be beyond the reach of
regular Healers. Yes, blood magic could be used for dark purpose but so
could any 'light' magic. More research on the lost art was vital should
magicals want to learn the true limits beyond what uses Lily Potter had
pioneered. Or so the argument went, anyway. In the end, a motion to
assemble an executive level inquiry was carried. With luck the
bureaucrats might get around to opening the inquiry sometime in the
next decade or so. Hermione, Harry and Gabby didn't win the day so
much as they confused everyone about the issue. It wasn't their preferred
result but it was better than having Neville, Hermione and Harry all
thrown into prison for using forbidden magics.
On the bright side, Fleur was still not the Great Embarrassment her
mother once feared. Yes, some of Nathalie's clients finally leaked Fleur's
'day' job to a wider audience but those who knew still kept quiet. Why?
Nathalie was very pregnant now and Fleur ran the Garden. She literally
had the Wizarding World's A-list celebrities and power players by their
short hairs and she made sure everyone knew it. In fact, her seat of
power may have even helped Hermione at the blood magic hearings. The
Boy Who Lived Again's girlfriend had the support of both the Angel of
House Delacour and the Succubus of House Delacour. Had anyone been
threatened with actual prison time, Harry and Gabby would have had to
do something and Fleur would have politically slaughtered whatever was
left.
Life continued.
It was only after the school year ended and young magicals everywhere
were given the freedom to travel that Harry's extended family were able
to gather in any numbers again. There was a party for Cedric celebrating
his N.E.W.T.'s and his new ministry position. There was a party for Victor
to celebrate his tenth consecutive victory on the pitch now that he played
professionally again. There was another party too but this one wasn't for
everyone. No. The list of who could attend was quite restrictive. It was
also written in crayon on a linen napkin magically affixed to Gabby's
bedroom door.
G.W.H.B.P.S.B.H.P.
No Boys Allowed
Silverware clinked on fine china. Giggles echoed up and down the room.
Cake was eaten and tea was sipped.
"So Apolline is Fleur's mother..." a brown eyed redhead started.
Hermione nodded as she sipped from her cup, pinky extended daintily.
"And that Jean woman?" Ginny prodded.
"Madame Régine Mitterrand." Hermione answered. "Gabby's grand-mère."
Ginny's brow shot up and her teeth clinched. It looked painful.
"That is Fleur's gran?" The young witch hissed.
"Oui." Fleur stated simply.
Ginny tried not to flinch. She turned to the object of her envy.
"So not only are you ridiculously good looking but you're damn near
immortal too?" She tried to be civil. Really she did. "Just how long do
you Veela live anyway?"
The words drew a bit more of a crowd than there was before. That was a
question that none of the English girls here knew the answer too. Not
even Hermione.
Fleur sighed. "Lao Tzu once said zat a flame zat burns twice as bright
burns 'alf as long. It is so for we Veela."
"Lao who?" Ginny countered.
Hermione grabbed the opening and ran with it. "Lao Tzu was an
extremely important Chinese philosopher from the sixth century BC who
was deified as the central figure of Taoism. His name and teachings have
become immortalized in the muggle world."
Fleur chose to cut in before Hermione could expound on more of the
man's history. "Ze point is zat while most witches can live past one
'undred ten and some may live decades more, few Veela live to see sixty
years and only ze very lucky ones live to see seventy."
"Sixty?" Hermione looked shocked. Madame Mitterrand couldn't be far
from that now. Ten, twelve years away at most.
Fleur nodded sadly. "Drugs and alco'ol. Abuse, slavery and murder. Zese
zings kill far too many Veela before zey 'ave a chance to die naturally.
My cousins are also victims of many illnesses zat strike non-magicals...
when zeir fazers are not wizards zen ze share zeir fazers 'ealth problems."
Segolene slowly came up behind Fleur and pulled her close. "Régine asks
me sometimes about Fleur's male suitors. Régine fears she will not live
long enough to see her first great-granddaughter."
"But Nathalie..." Hermione offered.
"Is once removed from 'er line." Fleur returned. "Nathalie is one of
Régine's sister's brood. 'er deceased younger sister, may she rest in peace."
The teenaged girls went quiet for a moment out of respect for the dead.
Across the room, two nine-nearly-ten year olds continued to eat angel
cake and play their games.
"What does your gran think of you and Segolene?" Not all that subtle but
that's Ginny for you.
"She knows my 'eart." Fleur smiled a bit and leaned into the brunette
behind her. "She also knows zat when ze time comes and my blood calls
to me, I will mate."
Segolene spoke in support of her lover. "I will not deny Fleur the chance
to be a mother just as she will not deny me the right to be one either. I
only wish that I could carry her child."
Fleur's response was immediate. "As I would bear yours if I could."
Hermione almost raised her hand but then she stopped. This wasn't a
classroom.
"I don't know about wizarding Healers but non-magical fertility clinics
are working on that these days." She offered.
That got the undivided attention of all the other teens in the room.
"'ow?" Fleur demanded. "I 'ave not 'eard of zis."
Hermione started. "It's... it's not something I know a great deal about
mind you..." There were snorts at that. The British witch continued.
"...but there has been a lot of progress in the last two decades in the field
of in vitro fertilization. Prospective parents can have their eggs and
sperm removed, united in a laboratory setting and placed within the
future mother's uterus... even if that mother is not the original donor of
the egg."
Both Fleur and Segolene stared hard at Hermione for a moment after the
end of her explanation. Then they turned to gaze at each other.
"I..." Fleur stammered, "I could have your child."
"And just maybe you could have my son." Segolene pointed out.
Those who understood French gasped at the implication. A Veela bearing
a son. That has never happened before. It could change so many things.
"Are you done eating? Aimee and I are done eating and I think it's time to
start the meeting." Gabby jabbered.
No one could argue with her. In fact, a distraction seemed like a really
good idea to most everyone. The two oldest teens didn't notice. Fleur and
Segolene soon found that loving kisses were the best way to clean bits of
cake from each others mouths.
"I, Hermoine Jane Granger, President of the Girls Who Have Been
Personally Saved By Harry Potter do hereby call this meeting to order."
Hermione rang in the meeting by tapping her empty tea cup with a
spoon.
The other girls began to pay attention. Those who were standing sat.
Those who were still eating angel cake put down their plates and forks.
Those who were snogging, however, kept on snogging.
Their emotion was understandable, true, but it was time to move on to
more lighthearted pursuits.
"Miss Delacour, Miss Royal." Hermione huffed imperiously. "Must I censure
you publicly?"
The two oldest teens in the room slowly disengaged from each other. The
others giggled and let out the occasional wolf whistle. Luna looked for
Wrackspurts, searching extra hard in niches and corners far away from
the snogging couple. Happy as she was for Fleur and Segolene, it still
hurt. Stupid blood magic making her love Fleur like Segolene did.
"Very well." Hermione continued. "First on the agenda is old business.
Fleur?"
It wasn't a cut on the Veela's age. Fleur stood to address the club.
"I 'ave learned zat Danya and her fiance will 'ave zeir wedding in
Vidradne on ze first Sunday in August. Zey expect to be expecting in
September. My family is invited and we may bring guests as well. Please
speak to me soon if you wish to come wiz us. Gabrielle will give a
blessing to ze 'appy couple as an angel; it will be ze first angelic blessing
in what we Veela 'ope to be a new tradition."
There were hums of approval. Who wouldn't want a real angel to bless
their wedding?
"Is there any more old business?" Hermione asked Luna.
The dirty blond shook her head.
"Very well." Hermione retook control of the room. "I move that the floor
be opened to new business."
"Seconded!" Gabby loved playing the Stuffy Rules game when Hermione
wanted to play it with her. It was fun.
"Thank you Miss Delacour." Hermione returned. "It must be noted that we
have two guests who are here for indoctrination. I trust everyone has met
Miss Weasley and Miss Devereux?"
There was a round of head nods and a couple of murmured yeses.
Hermione turned to her trusted lieutenant. "Miss Lovegood-Granger.
Have both initiates met the two requirements of membership in this
organization as codified by our charter?"
"They have, oh Verbose One." Luna intoned respectfully.
Gabby tried not to giggle. A small niggling of a smile on Luna's face
betrayed her true level of respect for the President of Girls Who Have
Been Personally Saved By Harry Potter.
Gabby didn't think Luna's answer was clear enough. "They're both girls
and Harry saved them too!"
Luna nodded in support. Hermione huffed.
"All those in favor of granting membership?" Hermione asked the group.
Hermione raised her hand, and as she did Gabby, Luna, Segolene and
Fleur all raised their hands as well.
"Six love in favor of expanding the group, Magister Granger." Luna
answered.
"Six?" Hermione asked.
"You mustn't deny Venus Fornier-Black's wishes in the matter sister dear."
Hermione hmmmm'd to herself. So the invisible girl from their first Girls
Who Have Been Personally Saved By Harry Potter meeting finally has a
name. No matter, she would deal with Luna's imaginary friend in private
but for now she had the votes required. She turned to Gabby and nodded.
Gabby hopped up and ran into her closet. Two seconds later she came
sprinting back out holding her two largest hats. The little angel with
silver-blonde hair quickly summarized what just happened in French for
Aimee's benefit. Then she distributed the hats.
"I want the pink one!" Aimee shouted.
"Okay!" Gabby agreed and handed over a very wide brimmed neon pink
hat to her friend.
Ginny looked relieved at getting a pure white headpiece even if it would
not have looked out of place at the Royal Ascot. Maybe it was the color
she had a problem with.
"When did Harry save you?" Ginny jumped into a conversation with
Fleur. She knew the stories of everyone save the two older French
witches.
"At ze Zird Task." Fleur replied evenly. "From ze dementors."
"I thought Gabrielle did that." Ginny commented from under her new hat.
"Little Angel did toss out a patronus, this is true," Segolene defended, "But
Harry Potter was that patronus."
"Yeah." Gabby interrupted on overhearing their conversation. "I have the
best patronus ever!"
"True." Ginny agreed. A Harry Potter patronus did sound divine.
Speaking of new girls, Gabby took a quick look over at Aimee and had
herself a thought.
"Your Highness?" Gabby began waving at Hermione. "I have a question!"
"You may address me as Madame President, Magister Granger or Miss
Granger, Miss Delacour." Hermione answered.
Segolene began translating for Ginny.
Gabby ignored the censure. "Can Gigi join our club too?"
"Has Harry saved her life?" Hermione asked.
Gabby paused in uncertainty. "He beat Voldemort..."
"If him beating Voldemort were enough, every girl alive would be in our club,
Miss Delacour." Hermione reasoned. "Do you want just any girl to be able to
join our club?"
Gabby squirmed. She liked being part of a secret special club. She also
liked her friend healthy and not about to die unless Harry saves her. She
shook her head.
Hermione quickly surveyed the crowd and came to a decision. "I'm sorry
Little Angel but Gigi can't join the club."
Gabby pouted big time. Aside from getting Aimee and Luna to cuddle
with her, it didn't help fix things.
"Don't be so sad, Gabby." Ginny tried to console the smaller girl. "I let slip
to Susan that I was going to be part of this club and now she's chomping
at the bit to get in. Rumor has it that she's put a price on her own head
just to become a 'distressed damsel' so that Harry can ride in on his
Firebolt and save her before they fly off into the sunset."
"'Mione's got tracking charms on him now." Gabby grumbled.
Ginny chuckled. "Wish I'd have known a tracking charm back before...
you know. I would have tagged Harry with one first chance I got. Misses
Ginevra Potter..."
"I thought you were done with all that." Hermione called from behind the
redhead.
"That was before he came back from the dead." Ginny snapped. "The boy
is too bloody irresistible! And he's in my year now – not a year ahead of
me like before where I would gaze upon him from afar..."
Fleur, Segolene and Aimee were all slowly backing away from the
disturbed British witch.
"'Mione, could you pretty please with pixies on top dump him and send
his arse back to Scotland broken and vulnerable? Arrgh! Why does he
have to be so dreamy?" Ginny whined.
Hermione was not pleased. "Hell no. He's mine."
Grrowwwwwll...
Gabby pitied the redheaded girl for she knew Harry's heart and Ginny
would never get what she wanted. Luna looked on sadly and
commiserated. She had her own unrequited love to deal with and knew
how painful that could be.
"Our Lord is an awesome Lord indeed," Luna spoke up in 'support' of
Hermione, "but it is our duty as His messengers to spread His love to the
world, not to hoard it all to ourselves."
Hermione put a hand to her temple. "Luna, Harry is not the Messiah! He
is an exceptionally wonderful young wizard with an admittedly close
relationship with the world's only known living angel. These things do
not a god make."
Gabby preened. There were fighting over how awesome her Lord was.
This was great!
"Well..." Luna wavered. "It did take him a whole year to come back from
the dead. That carpenter's son did it in only three days."
"But then he was in his thirties when he pulled that trick," Segolene
gleefully poured petrol on the fire, "so our Harry is much more
impressive pulling the same trick at less than half Jesus's age."
Aimee leaned over to Gabby and asked what the older girls were fighting
over. Gabby explained. Aimee told Gabby she really liked this club.
Gabby totally agreed.
-o\0/o-
Harry relaxed in his chair and sipped at his drink.
"It's ever so peaceful here." His companion called from across the table.
"Umn." Harry grunted. "I hope it stays that way. They could make the
mistake of turning it into a sort of tourist trap or something."
The view was quite nice from three floors up and his balcony overlooked
a fair sized lake, one he first encountered when it was covered in ice and
snow. Of course, it was summer now and the lake was a beautiful wavy
mirror with birds flying in lazy circles through the sky above. The island
of Edem wasn't visible from here but Harry hadn't expected it to be. Aside
from angelic transport, the only way to even see the island of Edem was
to pass through the ancient brick portal… a portal now hidden in the
back of a new museum dedicated to the ancient settlement that once
hugged the lake shore. Marion's use of modern archeological techniques
revealed artifacts that her granddad and great-granddad had missed and
now a not-so-secret effort was being made to translate 'newly discovered'
Scythian rune sets.
And then there was the balcony Harry was currently relaxing on. Harry
was currently enjoying the view from a new low rise housing block
which would soon house a great Veela colony; Edem would become their
magical nation's capitol. The once abandoned village was now a hive of
construction with several buildings going up at the same time and it was
that burst of construction that had Harry hoping for restraint before the
natural feel of Edem was lost.
Long brown curls shook back and forth. "I can't see Fleur letting that
happen. This is the spiritual homeland of the Veela race. It would be
sacrilegious to allow too much development."
The soft buzz of a turboprop aircraft could be heard in the background.
"Does a new airport qualify as too much development, 'Mione?"
"It's five kilometers out and the flight path does not pass over the lake.
Apolline told me as much last week." The young witch returned.
She lowered a book she had been reading and looked at Harry.
"Why didn't you go with her?"
Harry's gaze drifted over the lake.
"I am with her."
"That's not what I meant." She huffed.
Harry paused a moment. "The other Veela would wonder why a boy was
allowed on their island. It's a question we don't want to answer so the
safest thing to do is prevent people from asking it."
"But what about lessons?" Hermione pressed. "You still need them, don't
you? You said that Gabriel and the others still had plenty of lessons for
you."
Harry put down his drink.
"I am with her and my lessons continue as planned." Harry chose not to
mention that his hard earned skill in magics of the mind was more than
sufficient for the task. His time spent in other people's dreams had been
good for something after all. Hermione's own experience should have
clued her in to that.
Harry smiled as a wave of understanding passed through his girlfriend's
features.
"You do still enter my dreams at times, don't you?" She saw the
agreement on his face. "I suppose you must bring the Hall of Angles to
you instead of going to it."
Harry smiled and tapped a finger to his nose. "That's my 'Mione."
She basked in praise for a moment before remembering a new bit of
gossip. "So… what do you think of Cedric's proposal?"
Harry's smile got bigger. "An international school level Quidditch league?
Brilliant! I don't know why they haven't done that before… I can't wait to
play!"
"Are you so sure you'll qualify for the team?" Hermione teased. "You
haven't played a real game in two years…"
Harry huffed in indignation. "I won my first game even though I still
wasn't sure what all my teammates actually did. Get the snitch or die
trying!"
"And if you have to face off against Hogwarts and Gryffindor House to
get it?" She asked in real curiosity.
"I hear Ginny's the seeker now." Harry mused. "She'll be more of a
challenge than Malfoy, I'm sure, but I'll get the snitch in the end."
Hermione smiled warmly at Harry. He had as much as admitted that he
would be wearing Beauxbatons blue next fall. The young wizard has been
taking private lessons with tutors since his 'return' and next year he'd join
her at Beauxbatons as a 'regular' student. They would not be in the same
classes but they would be in the same school. Beauxbatons had broom
cupboards, right? As long as they got to act the part of boyfriend and
girlfriend outside of class, they would be fine. The year after next would
see 'Mione, Harry and Gabby in one school all at the same time even if it
was to be Hermione's final year.
Hermione had another thought and suddenly her warm smile turned into
a wicked smirk. She rose from her chair, sashayed around the table and
took Harry's hand in hers.
"Do you want to go upstairs?" She asked.
Harry looked at her oddly. "This flat hasn't got an upstairs."
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione huffed. "I cannot believe a teen aged boy in this
day and age hasn't watched enough telly to get that reference."
"Blame uncle Vernon." Harry returned. "So what's the reference mean?"
Hermione smirked again. She could fix this. "It means, Mister Potter, that
I am offering to snog you now that no one is around to stop us. We are
two young people who have managed to misplace our chaperones and I
feel like messing around a bit."
"Oh…" Harry's eyebrows flew up. "Oh!"
The now alert boy shot out of his chair and held the door open for
Hermione to head inside.
"In that case–" He called an octave higher than normal. There was a
cough before he forced his voice lower again. "In that case, I would very
much like to go upstairs. After you milady."
Hermione giggled and trotted inside. Harry followed with a leer and a
quickening pulse. They were without chaperone and would be so for a
good hour or more. Of course, their chaperones today were Veela so the
code of conduct on this trip was different from what it would be were
they under the strict watch of Headmistress McGonagall or the elder
Grangers.
When in Eden, do as Adam and Eve did, yeah?
…
Gabrielle stood at the edge of gently flowing waters and looked up to the
infinite stars above. The glen was just as beautiful this time as it was
every other time she visited. She loved the Hall of Angels with all her
heart.
"Hey, kid!" A welcome voice called from nearby.
Lucifer! Gabrielle chirped as she turned and jumped at her spiritual big
sister.
Big angel spun little angel around in the air a few times before setting her
down and giving the kid a few tickles. Gabrielle shrieked happily as her
body shifted to it's more human form. It was hard to stay angel through
good tickles.
"It's been a while sweetheart, what kept you?" The lavender eyed woman
asked.
"I was busy?" Gabby asked. "Momma said there was too much to do before."
"I'll bet. It worked, didn't it?" Lucifer winked at Gabby.
Gabby lit up. "Yes! Harry's alive again and he's even better as a boy than a
ghost! And he let me keep his wand and he's going to go to school again and
he's teaching me to fly on a broom soon and he says I could be a seeker just
like him too! It's great!"
Lucifer laughed at the younger girl's enthusiasm.
"Oh, and we beat Voldemort too! He's gone, won't come back!"
"Wonderful!" Lucifer clapped in support, and so to did Gabriel.
"Gabriel!" Gabby squealed and launched herself at the brown eyed angel.
"Yes, very well done young one. I could have done no better in your place. We
are all very proud of you."
Gabby cooed in joy even without wings or feathers.
"We are proud of you... In fact, I want to reward you for your efforts."
Gabriel teased. "Would you like to see your reward?"
Gabby hugged the larger woman even tighter and nodded into her chest.
"Very well..." Gabriel nodded to Lucifer over Gabby's head and Lucifer
stepped back.
A tight surge of love, joy and peace flooded the glen as Gabriel changed
quickly into her angelic form. She continued to hold the smaller girl close
even as a golden ring of magical fire formed, grew and dropped around
them. When the loud ringing of Gabriel's halo faded to a quiet hum, the
two angels separated. Gabby looked around.
"We're in the tomb of the Seven Sisters, aren't we?" Gabby asked.
Indeed they were. Seven beautiful women were immortalized in art
around them, above them and below them inside the smaller temple on
Edem Island. Bright sunlight shot through the occulus rendering all of the
artwork in an unearthly beautiful glow.
Yes. Gabriel replied to Gabby's question.It is here that I will show you
something, something wonderful. Something I will only ever be able to
show you once.
"What?" Gabby was bouncing in excitement.
Gabriel held up one finger in a silent request for patience. Then the
archangel reached one hand into the plumage of her own wing. One
perfect feather with soft brown spots was removed.
And now I will show you something very special.
The archangel began to move the point of her feather in her left palm.
Though there was no incantation, Gabriel soon coaxed out a small pool of
her own blood.
The angel then knelt down onto the floor. Using her blood as ink, Gabriel
drew a small, tight pattern of elegant lines onto a small patch of stone
about one meter from the center of the floor. Gabby didn't recognize any
of it as runes but it certainly did seem to mean something special. Soon
the design was complete and Gabriel stood up again. Gabriel then
presented her lightly blooded feather to Gabby.
Gabby was a bit confused that Gabriel, or rather the magical being made
in Gabriel's image, would give her a feather that couldn't leave the Hall
of Angels but she accepted the gift just the same.
Gabriel explained, One day your control of magic will advance well
beyond the restrictions of a magical focus such as the wand your Lord
gifted to you. Before that happens though, you may find yourself in
need of a new wand. Take this, my own feather, and take it with my
blessing. One day you may need it.
Gabby was very thankful. Confused, but thankful just the same.
The archangel then stepped into the exact center of the mausoleum. She
bade Gabby back up a few steps and spoke.
The script at my feet is my name as it is written in the very first script I
was taught in the very beginning.
Gabriel drew her wingtips together to summon her halo a second time.
Once again the golden ring grew and dropped low, but this time Gabriel
did not leave. Instead, her magic reacted to the blood script on the floor
and the lines in her name began to glow in a bright golden light. Almost
immediately after that, dozens and then hundreds of names began to
glow near hers. The golden magical script linked one name to the other
and then another and then another. Soon, every one of the names were
joined together in a perfect circle around the center of the floor. Gabriel
held her position right in the center of the circle.
This is my Lord's name, His Word, as it is written in script. His Word is
perfect and unbroken. It is made of the names of all the angels who
served Him. I will join Him now, and when I do we will be together once
more for eternity, as it was meant to be.
Gabriel was paying close attention. She didn't really understand what she
was hearing, but she payed attention just the same. In the back of her
mind, Harry payed attention too. You just don't hear this kind of thing
every day.
I have watched you and your Lord learn and grow these past few years
and I am well pleased with the love and spirit you two share. Live your
life. Follow your heart. Express your love in the world around you. Do
this and the two of you shall never know despair.
"Okay?" Gabby responded.
Seeing as she was in her angelic form Gabriel could not smile, but she
could influence her thrall and waves of amusement mixed into the
serenity flowing out from her being.
My Lord's age is at an end and yours has just begun. Fare thee well,
Gabrielle, daughter of House Delacour, Angel of House Potter. May you
know peace and love all your days.
"Goodbye!" Gabby returned. "I love you!"
Gabriel released one last pulse of pure love like a magical kiss on the
cheek. Her halo flared brightly and a stiff wind kicked up inside the
room. Gabby's ears began to ring between the howl of the wind and the
hum of Gabriel's halo. Suddenly, the halo became a shaft of golden light
which stretched from the ring of names up through the occulus above.
Gabriel's form became indistinct. The elder angel became light itself, and
when that light faded she was gone.
The wind settled and the noise dropped... and Gabby found herself alone
in the mausoleum of the Seven Sisters.
"Gabrielle!" Well, at least Gabby was only alone for a few seconds. "What
happened? What was all that light and noise? What are you doing in here?"
"Fleur?" Gabby was really confused. "How did you get in the Hall of Angels?"
"How did you get out of the Hall of Angels with out going by me first? And
just what is that in your hand?" Fleur shot back.
Gabby's eyebrows rose in confusion... which slowly became excitement.
Her gaze once more fell to the brown spotted feather in her hands. The
feather with just a bit of fresh angel blood on the tip.
"An archangel gave it to me?" Gabby answered uncertainly.
Fleur wasn't sure what to think. "Let's get you back to Maman before she has
a heart attack."
"Okay." Gabby answered obediently. "I can keep the feather, yes?"
Fleur looked at the feather even as she took her sister's arm and lead the
girl out. "I don't see why not."
The two sisters went back outside, and with each step Gabby became
more and more excited. An angel feather. Gabriel's feather. An
archangel's feather. A real live angel feather and it wasn't one of hers.
Wow.
...
Half-way into a rather heated snogging session, a flushed face shot up
and green eyes stared out through the large window facing the lake.
"H-Harry?" Hermione panted from beneath the startled boy. "What's
wrong?"
In spite of the fact that Hermione's shirt was mostly unbuttoned and
Harry's hands had just been roaming over very wonderful places, the boy
straightened himself out and moved closer to the glass panes and the
glittering water they revealed. Something out there had caught his
attention so thoroughly that not even soft feminine flesh could compete.
As Hermione looked on in confusion, Harry moved as close to the glass as
he could without going through it.
"Harry?"
Harry's pupils narrowed to better adjust to the outside light. His brow
furrowed in an attempt so see from here what Gabrielle was seeing from
over there.
Harry gasped.
"Harry, what is it?" The young witch on the bed was beginning to get
concerned. One hand went to a shirt button just in case they needed to
leave soon.
Harry turned to address Hermione, shock clearly on his face. "Did you see
that?"
She looked back and forth between him and the window. "See what?"
Harry turned back to the window. "The gold. The shaft of light. Did you
see it?"
Hermoine slowly shook her head. "No. I didn't see anything. Should I
have?"
Harry slowly disengaged from the glass panes. When he turned back to
his girlfriend, his face revealed a level of peace and happiness that tore
through her anxiety and settled her nerves. He couldn't look like that if
something had gone wrong again.
Harry seemed to shake himself free of the unexpected feelings and turned
his focus once more to the exposed bra and heaving bosom – er, eyes of
his lovely girlfriend.
"I love you. You know that right?" He grinned.
Hermoine smiled and nodded. "And I love you. Of course it never hurts to
remind me. Often."
Harry's grin turned into more of a smirk. A small golden ankh was stuck
to the sweat in her cleavage and since there was no snitch in view Harry
decided to go after the one golden shiny thing he could see.
"You remember my first ever Quidditch match, don't you 'Mione?" Harry
asked, eyes sparkling.
"Of course I do." She playfully huffed. "How could anyone forget that
game?"
Harry looked back down into her cleavage. He attacked. She squealed.
After another few minutes of fun in which Harry never let his golden
prize escape his lips, Hermione spoke up.
"Harry?"
"Uh-hummmn?" He replied around the captive ankh.
"I - I told Fleur and Segolene about your first match once... and... and
Segolene joked that I should get a tattoo." Hermione admitted, face
burning in embarrassment and excitement.
Harry seemed very interested. "You, Miss Books and Cleverness, are
telling me that you are considering getting a tattoo?"
Hermione's face burned even hotter. "Well... you see... Segolene managed
to drag me to a tattoo parlor at the beginning of the summer. I... I
already got it."
She had his undivided attention.
"Would... would you like to see it?"
His 'Mione, his stuffy British bookworm got a tattoo? Oh hell yes he
wanted to see it.
Harry silently thanked any God listening that his life got mixed up with
the Delacours on that fateful February morning when he took a spear to
the chest to save an eight year old's life. He couldn't imagine what his life
would be like now had they both lived through that ordeal. He didn't
want to imagine it.
When Harry finally did see the snitch, he swore by Jeanne that he was
beating Victor to this one.
End Chapter
Epilogue To Follow
(deleted scenes below)
Chapter Notes:
Only the epilogue is left now. The epilogue will be of the 'years later'
and/or 'many years later' variety.
By some miracle, I have made it all this way misspelling an important
character name. It's Viktor Krum, not Victor Krum. Vik, not Vic. When I
finally sweep the whole story for a last cleaning pass, I expect I'll change
it over. Nobody called me on it? That is the most surprising thing, really.
It hasn't happened yet, but there will be a sort of reference to
canoncansodoff's Movie Night at the Grangers below. There are some
good stories on canoncansodoff's page if you haven't been there yet.
Deleted Scenes (Canon? Yes. Plot-laden? No. Fluff? Pretty much.):
Scene 1: The Scientologist
"So there she was: young, hot, fifteen and on her way to meet her cousin
for some family errand or other while still wearing her school uniform..."
Segolene spoke over her audience.
"I was not wearing my uniform." Fleur whined from Segolene's right.
"Shush you." Segolene censured her love. "I'm telling this story. If you
want some boring historical account, you tell it yourself."
Fleur backed off quietly. To the rest of the girls who belong to Girls Who
Have Been Personally Saved By Harry Potter, it was clear which member
of this sapphist pair wore the pants behind closed doors. Segolene cleared
her throat.
"As I was saying..." The perky brunette continued, "Fleur was being her
normal delightful beautiful self – in her school uniform – when she
entered the Garden – that's the name of Nathalie's place – and almost
stumbled over a recently divorced Tom Cruise who was chatting up the
front desk attendant for the night."
"Don't forget Brad Pitt..." Fleur added.
"Yessss..." Segolene seemed almost annoyed. She must really be into
telling stories her own way. "Brad Pitt was there too."
"Both of them?" Hermione asked incredulously. "But they starred in
Interview with the Vampire. When Madame Maxime allowed that film to
be played in the Dining Hall I could have sworn an area affect love spell
must have been released. Practically every witch in school drooled over
Brad Pitt posters from that night to the end of the year!"
"I can not be sure," Fleur offered, "but ze two may 'ave been in town
togezer discussing zat very film. It 'adn't been filmed yet."
"Anyway," Segolene cut back in, "so mister Top Gun himself sees this
absolute vision in blue with her long silvery hair and her deep blue eyes
and legs that should really get an award of some sort..."
Fleur blushed a bit at the praise. Segolene doesn't usually praise her
physical attributes in public. In private yes but not in public. Segolene
kept going.
"...and Tom get's it in his head to sing that song in Top Gun that his
character used to woo the leading lady."
"I was not impressed." Fleur murmured.
"She was incensed." Segolene stated. "She told him to get lost. It was
about that time that the attendant hurried over and apologized profusely
to Tom by telling him that Fleur did not work there and that she was, in
fact, a real schoolgirl as the uniform implied..."
Fleur may have murmured something about uniforms again but it was
too quiet to hear.
"...and that was when Brad walks over and says 'Crash and burn,
Maverick. Crash and burn.'"
"I practically flew out of zat room looking for Nathalie, I was so
embarrassed." Fleur grumbled as the crowd giggled at the story.
"You could have negotiated something," Segolene suggested coyly, "you
were of age."
"No zank you." Fleur shivered. "'e was still zere when I came back down
from Nathalie's office. He tried to apologize to me, which was nice I
suppose, but zen 'e started to tell me about some religion... Science
somezing or ozer. I was not impressed. I left and 'ave not seen 'im since."
Hermoine almost pissed herself laughing. Tom Cruise tried to convert
Fleur to Scientology? Harry had to hear this... assuming Harry knew who
Tom Cruise was which was not a sure thing. Hmmmm. Maybe a movie
night or three was in order for this summer's calendar. Movie Night at the
Delacour's. That could work.
It was Luna's turn next, and she chose to talk about the first time she
kissed a boy. Really kissed a boy.
Scene 2: Sky Captain and the Moon Girl of Tomorrow
A door opened and two teens stepped through, one witch and one
wizard.
"This is where you expect to find the... what again?" The boy asked.
"Blibbering Humdinger." The girl answered with an airy detached voice.
"They are very, very rare. I almost cornered one in Hogwarts' astronomy tower
but Headmaster Snape must have scared it away."
"Well, Luna." He tried again. "I'm still not sure what they look like. Can you
give me any clues to go by? Do they hide in shadows? Inside of books? Are
they usually invisible or something? Anything?"
The boy, a strapping young man in Luna's opinion, turned to look around
the room. He was honestly trying to help. Luna thought that was
adorable. It made her nefarious plan all the more enjoyable now that she
found a boy who at least gave her the benefit of the doubt. Made her feel
special... a bit tingly inside even. Luna had plenty of time to magically
lock, silence and notice-me-not the door while her young man was
distracted actually looking for rare magical creatures.
"Don't worry Captain Lambert." Luna called. "The hard part was following
their trail into this room. They have no way out now and I'm fairly certain you
will know them when you see them."
"Very well... and my name is Léon." Léon replied with a rather roguish
smirk before turning to look around the dust, debris and detritus near a
large dormer window.
Luna saw the smirk. He didn't do that before. Had she been found out
already? Perhaps undoing her top shirt button on the way upstairs gave
away the game plan? No. She refused to back down. As the older wizard
searched for rare magical creatures, Luna applied some lipstick and a bit
of mood enhancing perfume. Novelty store stuff, not the illegal to brew
kind.
Luna centered herself and whispered into the air. "This one's for you,
Sirius."
She then turned around and walked over to the upper year wizard while
doing her best Veela impression. Swing those hips, arms too, and make it
look natural and sexy without going too far. Having spent a great deal of
time in Fleur's presence, she pulled it off remarkably well. Captain
Lambert certainly took notice when he saw her approach.
As Luna tried to raise the good captain's pulse, two rare magical creatures
peeked over the top of a dusty oak bureau. No, they were not Blibbering
Humdingers.
One of them began to sniff it's own crotch.
"Bad doggy, Padfoot!" Myrtle hissed as she floated further behind their
cover. It wouldn't do to be caught out now.
Padfoot whined a bit and used his best spectral puppy-dog eyes on
Myrtle. It didn't help his case at all.
"Remember," The dead British witch whispered, "That girl is doing this
for you so you better not spoil it for her. Got it?"
Padfoot nodded. He'd be good from now on. Promise.
"Oh, look mistletoe!" The two ghosts heard Luna shout. "No wonder all the
nargles congregate in this wing of the school."
Two spectral heads peeked around the bureau once more to see that Luna
was pointing to a section of the roof rafters directly above herself and
Léon where there was an enormous patch of mistletoe. Coincidentally,
she was also standing a lot closer to him than before. They were almost
hip to hip.
Myrtle and Padfoot both watched eagerly as Luna tried to close the deal.
It didn't take long for Padfoot to begin panting happily or for Myrtle to
begin openly leering.
The Delacour Veela hadn't needed Luna for any altar consecrations, so
she needn't maintain her chastity on their account. Luna would finally get
to make good on her promise made to Sirius during his memorial service.
Giving herself to a nice young man is just the kind of think he would
have wanted, and the wishes of the dead must be honored.
End Deleted Scenes
32. Epilogue
Insert standard legal disclaimer and boilerplate notes here.
...as seen previously on The Little Veela that Could...
Harry seemed very interested. "You, Miss Books and Cleverness, are telling me
that you are considering getting a tattoo?"
Hermione's face burned even hotter. "Well... you see... Segolene managed to
drag me to a tattoo parlor at the beginning of the summer. I... I already got it."
She had his undivided attention.
"Would... would you like to see it?"
His 'Mione, his stuffy British bookworm got a tattoo? Oh hell yes he wanted to
see it.
Harry silently thanked any God listening that his life got mixed up with the
Delacours on that fateful February morning when he took a spear to the chest
to save an eight year old's life. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like
now had they both lived through that ordeal. He didn't want to imagine it.
When Harry finally did see the snitch, he swore by Jeanne that he was beating
Victor to this one.
The Little Veela that Could
Epilogue
September 17th, 2005
"What time is it, sister dear?" A young woman with long dirty blonde hair
and silver-grey eyes asked as she sipped on a glass of wine. She and her
sister dear were stargazing on the Delacour maison-forte's upper terrace.
"Quarter to nine, Luna." Her companion replied. "Thank Heaven for house
elves..."
Luna smirked. "Yes, putting the children to bed would have been a chore
for just the two of us."
Luna looked pointedly at Hermione's swollen lower half. Hermoine
flinched but not from her sister's attention. The baby was awake and
kicking. She put a hand over her baby bump and tried to rub the sore
spot away. Luna looked closer - this time she looked at Hermione's hand
as it attempted to rub away the pain.
"Still no ring, I see..." Luna commented, a hint of disapproval showing.
"He's asked," Hermione offered looking down at her unborn child,
"believe me, he's asked – and not just because of this. I have a career. The
teaching and the research take up enormous blocks of time. We don't
really spend all that much time together these days, me and him."
"You two spend a lot of time together. I have it on good authority that
when the two of you do spend time together that you share a bed... even
pregnant as you are..."
Luna waited silently for the real reason.
"I don't want to come between Harry and his angel." Hermione near-
whispered. "Gabrielle deserves more."
Luna snorted. "She deserves more does she? She deserves more than the
most intense bond anyone could ever imagine? They deserve more than a
relationship that makes the holy bonds of matrimony and tax shelters
seem insignificant in comparison? It's like placing nargles before
humdingers with you..."
"And you want me to accept 'insignificance'?" Hermione challenged.
Luna snorted again. "Harry would give you anything within his power to
give... Sadly for us, turning grown witches into angels is one thing that is
not within his power. You know we both would have become angels
years ago were this not true. And you could use a year or two off to let
your hair down anyway. I'm quite glad he got you preggers, really. Let's
see you go another whole year working day in day out with no breaks
when a wrinkly little poop factory is suckling on your teats."
It was true. The Harry giving part not the suckling monster part. Well,
maybe that part was true was well but that's not the point. Hermoine
couldn't deny Harry's love when he expressed it so often. She was bearing
his child and fully expected to do so again in the future. It was an odd
family they were building but it was full of love and happiness.
"Speaking of unwed mothers," a voice called out from behind the two
women, "how is everyone not named Fleur?"
Hermione nodded to Segolene and pointed to an empty chair.
Luna spoke first. "I've told you before. Zeus came to me as rain one night
whilst I meditated at the Oracle of Delphi. I came home with a new
appreciation for ancient Greece and some psomi baking in my very own
oven. But you must understand I can't marry Zeus. He won't return my
owls."
Hermione translated the lightning god reference the only way that made
sense to her. "Perseus doesn't look anything like Harry, Luna. Even if
Harry does travel around with you from time to time and the two of
you... umn..."
"Harry and I don't shag on our trips, sister." Luna defended hotly. "Harry
is no slut and neither am I for that matter except that once in Helsinki
when I - anyway... I look for Snorkacks and he looks for orphaned
magical children. The point is, I haven't shagged Harry. Perseus has no
Potter blood in him so he's free to marry one of Harry's daughters should
you ever bear him one. No risk of incest at all."
At this, Luna took a sip and focused on Hermione's stomach. "If you bear
a daughter, please consider naming her Andromeda. I want my boy to
marry the right girl under the right signs."
"Harry looks for magical children?" Segolene interrupted. "Why haven't I
heard this before?"
"Orphaned magical children." Luna corrected. "His own childhood was
bad enough that he didn't want another little witch or wizard to suffer
through a childhood like his. Doubly so when he did a little digging and
found that Tom Riddle was an orphan half-blood just like him."
Hermione smiled in admiration for Harry's life running an orphanage for
magical children. He would change the world just like everyone wanted
him to but he would not do it the way they all wanted him to. He was
dead set on fixing the world one broken heart at a time.
"He has been telling everyone who would listen that how we treat
children shapes world history. A childhood full of love as opposed to
lacking love can be the difference between Minister of Magic and Dark
Lord. And it's not just wizarding children either. Did you know he has
two Veela under the age of five and a young goblin as well? Poor little
Bluntaxe... barely out of diapers and his father lost an honor duel. His
daddy dies, his mum gets claimed by the winner and he gets thrown to
the curb. Of course Harry snapped him up before any shady characters
could disappear down Knockturn Alley with him."
Luna picked up Hermione's narrative. "Potter House is quickly gaining an
international reputation for picking up strays. The I.C.W. has even had a
debate over granting funds and manpower to Harry's cause. That first
measure was narrowly defeated but I expect the measure to come up
again next year with stronger support."
Luna turned a twinkling eye to her adoptive sister. "Do you have any idea
how much time he spends in libraries when he travels the world looking
for his little lost lambs? I swear sister dear, marry the man and you will
not regret it."
"Yes!" Segolene cheered, "Follow Fleur Diggory's example, won't you?"
"Sorry to hear about that." Hermione consoled.
"Don't be." Segolene interrupted. "Fleur got concessions from Cedric's
family. In exchange for taking his family name and for using a fertility
clinic to bring young Charles into he world, the Diggory's will welcome
me and mine into the family and Fleur and I can have our Happily Ever
After."
"Fleur wanted to bear a son anyway." Hermione returned.
"She carried little Charles Diggory but he's also mine. I supplied the egg.
This means that Fleur didn't have to give anything up, really. She was
going to take her husband's name anyway but used the threat of staying a
Delacour to give her more to bargain with. She spends more than half her
time out of country, but then so does he these days. What with all the
travel and the international negotiations, I honestly expect Cedric to
advance to the I.C.W. in a few years."
"And the father of your child?" Luna asked the brunette.
"It's Cedric." She conceded. "I'm Fleur's forever, but we do share a bed
with him on occasion. And it helps with the in-laws that they think I am
Cedric's consort rather than Fleur's."
"Didn't you go to the clinic too?" Hermione scrunched up her face in
concentration. "I'm quite sure you did."
"Guilty as charged!" Segolene sang. "Fleur supplied the egg this time... I
can't wait for Cedric to realize that my Adrienne is a Veela!"
If Hermione had been drinking at the time, she would have done a spit-
take.
"You're daughter is a Veela?" The pregnant witch blurted out.
Segolene beamed and nodded furiously. "Veela magic is clearly carried by
genes. The womb the child is carried in makes no difference for her Veela
heritage... though we do suspect it will have an impact on her magical
abilities to have two witches and a wizard as parents. Three is magically
stronger than two after all."
"Shall I write that down for you Professor Granger?" Luna teased.
"Perhaps your revolutionary treatise on the History of Magic Before the
Time of Merlin could use some more biological elements. Perhaps a new
volume on sentient magical husbandry... something to explain Hagrid
and Professor Flitwick."
"At least Madame Mitterrand got to meet her great granddaughters and
great-grandson before she passed." Segolene replied softly.
"Could... could meeting little Charles be what pushed her over the edge?
She was rather ill before that." Hermione asked Segolene.
The brunette thought about it for a minute before slowly nodding her
head. "It just might be... she was very traditional. Having an angel in the
family was a source of great pride for her but it was also a shock to her
system. Fleur bearing a son must have shattered her world order. Well
even if it did kill her I'm sure she died with a smile on her face."
There was a brief moment of silence as the stars glittered in the sky
above.
The short coven would have been only too happy to continue prattling on
were it not for an odd buzzing which seemed to emanate from a lower
floor of the building. The three witches went silent. Their eyes snapped
down and too the right when a strong blue light seemed to pierce the
windows of an adjacent wing. The light climaxed with a bright flash that
shattered all of the windows in that wing of the building.
Luna was in the middle of drawing her wand when two hands held her
back. Hermione and Segolene were holding her down and both were
shaking their heads no. Luna's face must have shown her confusion.
"Happened just like this last time too." Hermione explained to her sister.
"Give them a minute to sort themselves out."
...
A little earlier in the night in a different room of the maison-forte, a little
girl was having trouble staying upright. In fact, she couldn't really be
considered conscious. She was in full crash mode after coming down
from a sugar high earlier that night.
"Up, baby. Arms up and then hold still. We need to get you into your robes."
Maman called.
Maman took the girl's hands in hers and began to pull little arms up.
Waking back up was hard... she groaned out her defiance but when
Maman did let go of her arms she kept them up rather than dropping
them. Someone behind her dropped a large set of robes over her head.
Crystal blue eyes snapped open as she pulled out of her daze. She
squinted against the glare of the bright powder room lights as her Maman
and a few other women moved about arranging this or that while she sat
there and held still. Holding still... what horrible words grown-ups used
to torture their little girls. Especially when those little girls would much
prefer the sweet dreams of a good night's rest.
The young girl squinted until she could counter the glare and see clearly.
The room seemed familiar... this was her cousin's house, right? Looking
into the mirror, she could tell that the robes were really nice. They were
beautiful even if they were a bit heavy... and they were too big by a few
centimeters in just about every direction.
"Where is Doggie?" The girl groused.
Maman snorted. To call her own father that...
"I told you he can't be here." Maman answered. "This is a very important
ceremony, only certain people may be there and you are at the center of it
Little Star. Simone, do something about the size, will you?"
Maman's little star heard some whispering behind her. Soon the robes fit
her perfectly.
"So, what's it like… at the temple?" One of the women she didn't know
asked.
"Oh, it's wonderful. You absolutely must go." Another one answered.
Maman ignored them and worked on giving her Little Star a Heidi braid.
It was nearly done; the ring of woven hair was almost a full circle around
her head and Maman was teasing small groups of hairs into hanging
loose just right. Maybe if she weren't so sleepy Little Star would be
happier to have her Maman working on her hair. Maman rarely spent
time to do such little things by hand when enchanted combs and hair
pins would do things faster. Maman's hard work did make Little Star's
silvery-blonde hair look very pretty though - like a queen wearing her
crown – so maybe this was all going to be worth it.
"I heard that the gardens are magical." The conversation between grown-
ups continued. "They say you leave feeling years younger."
Little Star has heard this conversation before… lots of times by lots of
different women. Edem, they called the place. Would she get to go to
Edem herself one day? Maman said she would. Soon even.
As two women started debating which pair of shoes was the better
choice, Little Star looked at herself in the mirrors. Her heavy outer robes
were white. The silk layers under her robes were white. Her stockings
were white. All seven shoe options were white. All the little flowers
mixed into the braid in her silver-blonde hair were white.
Gold! There! She smiled. They let her keep her necklace. She was allowed
to carry one item, a symbol of her life with her to where It would
happen, and she told them that this necklace was her life. Her godfather
gave her this necklace. He said that one time back when he was just a kid
Doggie got one just like it for her godfather to give to a girl he loved. He
owed it to her 'cause of what Doggie did for him, he said. An ankh, he
called it. It was pretty was all she cared about.
She felt an odd tingle under her robe down by her ankle. What was that?
Little Star looked down and kicked her feet back and forth. There! She
saw it! The soft while glow of something – or rather someone hitching a
ride and being sneaky about it. Silly Doggie! Shhhhhhh... don't tell
Maman!
"It's time, my beautiful shining star. Follow me."
"Yes, Maman." The little girl replied.
She was beginning to feel better. Not as tired. Happy, even.
She remembered what they told her was going to happen. They told her
she was going to feel things she hadn't ever felt before. Her Great Aunt
once said that she should just let the Change take her. It was natural.
Little Star was going to be a big girl soon. Would her cousins and Maman
and Doggie say she was a big girl now? Would Doggie finally stop singing
'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' to her all the time? That song was for babies.
Eight forty-five. Little Star found herself in the middle of a ballroom, the
Delacour Family ballroom. It was the place where she spent many an
afternoon or evening playing with Auntie Gabby and Harry and all her
more grown-up friends.
Maman told her to stand right in the middle and Little Star did what she
was told this time. She couldn't help it if she had a problem with - what
was it Auntie 'Mione called it? Respecting authority? Auntie has a lot to
say about fathers who are more boys than men. She has even more to say
about bad doggies.
"Now sweetheart." Maman called. "Please stand there. Do not sit or walk
around or dance... just stand still."
Oh, no! They'd put her in time out, hadn't they? She hated time out!
What had she done this time?
"Why, Maman?" Pout. Pout. Pout.
"Something wonderful will happen, baby. It may make feel odd, but it will be
over soon and then we can have a big party!"
So she wasn't in trouble... but she was still in time out anyway. This
sucked. Sort of. Actually, she was feeling pretty good. She's never been
forced to stand in once place and felt good about it before. Maybe this
didn't suck. Wonder why...
"We just had a party," she thought aloud, "for my birthday. What's this one
for?"
"This one is special. It's all about the change Great Aunt Apolline told you
about."
Little Star's eyes lit up. They had talked about this. And not just with
Great Aunt Apolline either. Her godfather, Auntie Gabby, Auntie Fleur
and Auntie 'Mione have been over to her house lots since last summer.
She just forgot about it when she got sleepy. This was the Big Day. The
day she had been waiting for forever, like a whole year even. "Okay!"
And so, surrounded by Veela and wrapped in a heavy ceremonial robe
which had long openings down either side of the back, Little Star just
stood there and waited.
A door opened behind her and someone called out even before she could
turn around to see who it was.
"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might,
have a little star in my arms tonight." A man's voice called out in English.
"Harry!" Little Star abandoned her spot on the floor and took a flying leap
at her godfather.
Harry Potter was in a room full of Veela but he wasn't comatose on the
floor. Of course, being what he was for Gabrielle did change things for
him. He shared blood with an angel. That provided an immunity of
sorts... Veela thrall was weaker than angelic thrall and Harry could even
resist his Angel if he wanted to. The other Veela in the room knew this
but they also knew to keep silent about it. Those that weren't family were
priestesses after all and every word that left Gabrielle's mouth was Law to
them. Gabrielle wanted Venus's Rite of Change to be a secret of the
temple and they would hold their tongues. Their Goddess wanted a man
to attend the Rite of Change for the first time in Veela history and they
would not complain.
"Hello, Little Star." Another familiar voice called happily.
"Auntie Gabby!" The little girl dropped off the only man in the room and
jumped onto the most wonderfully awesome Auntie ever. Auntie Gabrielle
was an angel. A real one.
"Alright, Venus. You've had your hugs." Great Aunt Apolline called from the
other side of the room. "Please go back to the spot your mother put you."
Venus Lucifer Fornier-Black - for that was the name her mother gave her
- sighed heavily and skipped back to the spot Maman put her a minute or
two ago. After stepping back into place, Venus turned around and blew
kisses at Auntie Gabby and Harry.
"Love you, Daddy!" Venus sang across the room.
As Harry grinned and blushed, a soft whine came from under Little Star's
ceremonial robes.
"What?" She demanded looking down at the hem of her robe.
A cloud of see-through light floated out from under her robe and took the
form of a sad spectral dog.
"Padfoot." Harry greeted. The ghost dog changed into a pouting man.
"Venus... Baby... please..." The dead English Lord whined at his little girl.
"We've been over this."
The nine year old nodded her head in agreement.
"Yes. We agreed that you are my ghost daddy and your name is Doggie."
Someone nearby snorted. They knew she knew it wasn't really true but
Harry and Doggie both liked tricks and so did Venus. "Harry helped bring
me up when Maman needed to go do stuff. He's my living Daddy where you
are my dead daddy. I'm keeping both of you."
Sirius pouted but it was hard to go against Venus here. One man changed
her diapers and one just floated around the room sniffing butts.
The grown-ups chatted back and forth for another few minutes before
Little Star began fidgeting. Venus began to shift back and forth from one
foot to the other.
"Are you okay. Little Star?" Nathalie watched her daughter closely. This
was not how she remembered Fleur's change going. This was how
Gabrielle's change went. She knew that when Harry asked his
goddaughter if she wanted to be like Gabby last year that Venus said yes,
but how much do children understand when you ask them such things?
Still, Little Star made her choice and Harry accepted it; they had a small
ceremony involving a blood magic ritual one year ago to the day in
preparation for this night.
Harry really did love Venus like she was his own child and in his mind
nothing was too good for 'his' Little Star. She wanted to be like Gabby
and he was going to make it happen.
"I'm wonderful, Maman." Gabby spun in place once before setting her foot
down and shifting back and forth between feet again. "Maman?"
"Yes, Little Star?"
"I love you." Venus loved her Maman sooooo much. She really did! Did
Maman know that? Did she really?
"I love you too, Little Star." Nathalie answered her child.
Harry and Gabby looked at each other knowingly. They were beginning
to feel it. Both of them.
A squeaky, tittering giggle rang out through the hall.
"Thanks! I love you, Harry! And I love Maman and I love Doggie and I love
Auntie Fleur and Auntie Segolene and I love Auntie Hermione and Auntie
Apolline and I really love Auntie Gabby lots-"
Venus was hopping up and down on the balls of her feet while her words
drifted in and out of English. As Venus jabbered on, her vision became
kind of fuzzy and it was hard to focus.
It was a minute past nine o'clock and the moon was very, very full.
That feeling that Auntie Gabby and Harry had was building and now
every Veela in the room could feel it. Even the free floating dogfather
could tell that something was different.
Both Harry and Gabby slowly edged closer to Venus.
"I love you Daddy Harry!" There was a sing-song quality to her words this
time. To anyone paying attention, love and joy just seemed to radiate off
of the white robed little Veela in waves so thick they almost distorted the
air around her.
"I love you too, Venus." Harry cooed as he knelt down in front of the little
Veela. Gabby slipped behind Harry and focused her radiant blue orbs on
the smaller girl. Harry held his arms out wide. "I love you this much!"
Venus was quivering in place. Her arms weren't that big! How was she
going to prove she loved him more? In the back of her head, Venus
remembered that she was supposed to let something happen. Something
wanted to happen. Maybe that something would help her beat Harry?
"I love youuuuuuu...this much!"
The words 'this much' weren't words so much as they were song...
something between a spoken language and the trilling notes of bird song.
Venus threw her arms open wide but she did more than that. Straining
with every fiber of her being, she lifted onto the balls of her feet, threw
her arms open and spread her wings.
Her pure white feathery wings.
Every Veela, ghost and Lord of Angels in the room was rooted in place,
looking in awe upon the little angel that came to be in the center of the
room. The nine year old angel cooed softly prompting the nineteen year
old angel to transform in reply. The volume of love, joy and feathers in
the room quickly doubled.
Gabrielle spread her wings wide in answer to Venus's showing, and in
doing so she showed off her colors. Though the older angel began her
career with feathers as pure and white as Venus had now, Gabby was
slowly developing a soft yellow and goldenrod pattern. For Gabrielle and
the Lord who observed this change as it happened over the years, it was a
miracle all it's own.
Gabrielle summoned her halo in a now natural reflex. Blue-white magical
fire spun and hummed above her head as a sign of her natural power.
A soft, sweet trill of happiness passed through Venus's beak at the sight.
So pretty!
"Such a very, very good girl you are, Venus." Harry ran his fingers along the
new angel's white feathery cheek. "You are every bit as pretty as Morning
Star. I can't wait for you to meet the woman your Maman and I named you
after."
Venus pushed her cheek into Harry's hand, reveling in the loving touch.
As she lost herself in this new level of tenderness from the man who had
been her Daddy for years and was now her Lord, her wings began to
move up of their own accord. Her outermost left and right wing feathers
nearly touched about a meter over her head.
In the small gap between Little Star's wings, a magical spark ignited.
Without conscious thought, she pulled the wingtips apart and gave the
magical spark room to build. After a brief flash, two points of electric
blue fire appeared, one near each wingtip, and quickly began to
accelerate around an invisible point between them. Less than a second
later, a solid glowing halo of magical fire was buzzing in the air above
Venus's head. Soon a beautiful ringing tone filled the air.
To the surprise and delight of all involved, another magical change was
triggered as soon as Venus finished creating her first halo. Something
inside of Gabrielle changed in response to the existence of a new angel
tonight, something that had never changed before. Her blue-white halo
fire flared brilliantly before changing from blue-white to a bright silver
ring of raw magical power.
After admiring Gabrielle's new look for a moment, Harry pulled himself
together again and took a few steps back. No need to tempt fate now that
Venus had her halo. She didn't know how to control it and he
remembered what happened when Gabrielle went through the change.
Venus was in heaven, but she wasn't alone in the room. Harry had done
good, he said she was a good girl. Why was Maman just standing there?
Was she crying? No, Maman, don't cry! Maybe if everyone felt how much
she loved them, then Maman could be happy again.
Venus brought her wings down, and as she did the halo of electric blue
fire followed them down. As her wing tips separated, the halo got larger,
never straying far from the feathers that spawned it until they touched
the floor.
As soon as Venus's halo touched the smooth wooden floor of the Delacour
family ballroom, it's tone changed to one of a giant church bell being
struck and magical fire released in a blinding wave that blew out in all
directions. Though Harry and Gabrielle managed to hold their ground,
every Veela engulfed by the wave was knocked flat and the back
windows were completely blown out. Such was the force of Venus's love.
...
Luna would soon learn that Hermione was right as usual. It only took a
few minutes for all of the Veela and other guests to leave the ballroom
and filter into the lower lounges and halls. There would be merriment
well into the morning and most of their guests would be taking guest
rooms if they slept at all.
Soon enough the three witches found their way to an elated group of
Veela, young girls and the handful of men who were waiting out the end
of the rite inside. Harry was helping Venus make sure that all her guests
got thank you hugs. Next to Harry, Gabrielle was glowing as though she
were a new mother herself. Maybe it was how her own angelic form
seemed to react to being a 'big sister' but her luminous eyes flashed
brighter occasionally when she glanced between Harry and Venus.
Gabby saw the three witches looking at her and smiled brightly. Harry
looked at them and waved briefly before turning his attention back to
Venus and the handful of teen Veela who were introduced as Edem
temple priestesses earlier in the night. The priestesses were already doing
their level best to spoil Venus rotten.
"I swear to God." Segolene commented while staring at Gabby, "I never
thought I would meet another girl better looking than Fleur... but would you
just look at her?"
"I don't understand what he sees in me when he can go back to that every
night, or rather summon her to him..." Jealous much, 'Mione?
"She is still a virgin." Luna stated bluntly.
The other two stared at her like she had just grown two heads, a reaction
she was able to judge from experience do to her traveling adventures of
the past ten years. Good times.
"No, really." Luna continued. "Harry swears that all they have to do is cuddle
and kiss just a little bit and they're so blissfully happy that taking it any
further than that is unnecessary."
The two looked at Luna like she'd just grown three heads and six arms -
and that has never happened before.
"I believe that their relationship is more spiritual and magical than it is
physical. Really, their physical bodies just get in the way it seems."
In a world full of time dragons and giant acid spitting toads, neither
Hermione nor Segolene could counter that.
The party would last all night, not that Venus would make it more than
another hour before needing to go to bed. Harry and Gabby would escort
Venus to Edem the next day and after an island wide game of Hide and
Seek with the priestesses, the three of them would enter the Hall of
Angels. Harry wanted to see how Lucifer would handle meeting the little
angel named in her honor. Magical construct or not, Morning Star would
meet Little Star with tears of joy in her eyes and eternal gratitude for
Harry on her lips. Venus represented to her what she alone among the
seven sisters failed to have after the Fall. A daughter.
Some years later, Segolene's daughter Adrienne would join Gabrielle and
Venus as the third angel of the House of Potter. A year after that would
see Harry's Veela orphan girls from Potter House join the angels of House
Potter as well. The ranks of angels never grew quickly but they would
grow and the world would once again feel the guiding hand of
Messengers as they spread their Love throughout the world.
In this new age there would be many angelic acts of healing, many
punishments, many miracles and signs but as any of Harry's 'girls' would
tell you the real magic they performed was to heal the ills of the world
one broken heart at a time. They worked in direct defiance of the Greater
Good doctrine of sacrificing the individual – without said individual's
knowledge - in the interest of the unnumbered masses. The few or the
one did count. They counted a great deal.
Tom Riddle didn't care for the individual nor did Albus Dumbledore, but
Harry Potter did. He cared a great deal. And since he cared, his angels
cared. And they would act when needed. Just as he would want them
too.
And they all lived happily ever after...
...unless they were bad guys; they would end up dieing in fire.
Epilogue Notes:
Holy shiat, it's done. Give me some time to wrap my head around that.
If LVtC were a movie, then this is where I would show the list of
reviewers as if they were part of the cast and crew. If you reviewed this
story before I finished it then you had your own part to play. Not Leading
Lady per say... but maybe 2nd Key Grip or something. Production
Designer perhaps.
Bonus: An amusing non-canonical scene wherein things don't go
well for Harry Potter...
Harry Potter was alive. That was the good news.
Harry was in custody of the I.C.W. and had been for more than four
hours. He was in a small concrete room with no windows and only one
rather solid looking door. There was a table and a few chairs. All the
chairs were very uncomfortable. That was the bad news.
There was a large, muscular auror looking down at him from across the
table. The auror didn't look very impressed with the Boy Who Came Back
Less Than A Day Ago. Harry was beginning to think this was the worse
news.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" The auror started in simple accent free
English.
Harry sighed and nodded.
"You were found in an abandoned home in a dusty bed that clearly hadn't
seen use in several decades."
Harry nodded before replying. "That's true, but the bed was a stone altar
and I had been tied to it by either Voldemort or Bellatrix Lestrange
before I got free. Before I was alive, that is... my corpse was tied to the
altar."
The auror continued. "You were found nude with your arms wrapped
around an underage girl, one Gabrielle Delacour, who was sitting on your
lap in the middle of the bed. The girl had been kidnapped earlier in the
day."
"It was part of Voldemort's plot to possess my body, enslave Gabrielle and
unleash a new wave of terror and death across both the wizarding and
muggle worlds." Harry answered with conviction. "You're lucky Gabby
and I managed to stop him."
The auror did not look impressed. "Aimee Devereux was also in the room.
She is also underage. Both girls show signs of shock, abuse, blood loss
and recent magically healed wounds. Surely you can see how we might
be concerned about the facts as I have presented them."
"They were kidnapped by Voldemort and Lestrange!" Harry nearly
shouted. He was sick and tired of people thinking the worst of him just
because Very Suspicious Shite always happened to him and never
happened to anyone else. "We beat Voldemort and banished his boney
arse back to Hell but Bellatrix was out cold on the floor. Interrogate her!"
The auror was still not impressed. "Bellatrix Lestrange was declared
criminally insane in nineteen eighty one during her trial. Nothing she
says can be used as testimony in a wizarding court."
"You should still ask her for her side of the story." Harry grumbled. "No
one ever asked Sirius Black what happened..."
"He publicly admitted to be at fault during his arrest." Unimpressed auror
was unimpressed. "And you should know that we did, in fact, question
Lestrange."
"Really?" Harry perked up. "What did she say?"
Harry may have noticed a small flash of something behind the auror's
eyes, but he couldn't be sure. None of the man's facial muscles moved.
"She was only to happy to explain how she and her young, powerful
master were going to have, and I quote, 'rough mudblood monkey sex'
while abusing the two underage girls an a wide variety of unspeakable
ways until her 'godlike green eyed master' finally commanded Miss
Delacour to end Miss Devereux's worthless life. Then Lestrange would use
Miss Devereux's corpse as a centerpiece on her dining room table and you
would use your new slave girl to enslave the masses." The auror's eyes
glinted like diamonds. Vicious, angry diamonds.
Harry shrank back in his chair.
"Yes well... I can see where you get the clinically insane ruling out of
that. Once again we are lucky I managed to keep the Dark Lord Tom
Riddle a.k.a. Voldemort from possessing my body and running amok."
Harry dug for an idea of how to dispute this man's version of events.
Gabby, he thought. Surely she would be able to help his cause... "Did you
happen to ask the 'underage girls' for their version of events yet?"
If anything, the auror's eyes got even glintier and more angry diamondy.
"Miss Devereux is catatonic. We don't know when we'll be able to get
anything out of her. Miss Delacour, on the other hand had quite a bit to
say." Harry released the breath he had been holding. Gabby would set
these blokes straight. "She went to great lengths to say how wonderful
you were. She told us how much she loved you and how she always
would. She told us about how you loved her and you would love her
forever and ever. She told us that her heart belonged to you and that she
would do anything you said because you were the most wonderful boy
that ever lived. She said that she loves holding your hairy wand... that it
makes her feel special when she makes it work. She said that your blood
mixed with hers and that if feels wonderful when she feels you inside of
her. That's even after the first time you were with her was scary and hurt
and made her cry for days. She now loves being touched by you and
feeling you inside of her and she dreams of being yours until the end of
time."
Oh damn. The auror was visibly angry. Oh shite, shite, shite.
"Do you know what happens to young men like you when you find
yourself in prison, Mister Potter?" The auror asked. Harry quickly shook
his head no. "Young men who touch little girls find out what it's like to
experience that relationship from a whole new perspective."
Shite shite shite! Harry didn't care about being on the right side of the
law anymore. He wanted out of here. The very second the auror left
Harry's 'room' he was going to summon Gabby and get the fuck out of
town.
The heavy metal door squeaked open and another man entered the room.
"Mister Potter, this is Mister Devereux." The auror stated. "He is a distant
relative of the second young lady you were with earlier in the day. He
has a few more questions to ask you."
The auror began to stand up.
"Haven't you all asked me enough questions? Where are you going?"
Harry pushed desperately.
The auror looked back at Harry. His calm emotionless mask was back.
"I'm going out for a cigarette break." He called.
The auror then drew his wand and cast a few charms at the door.
"Oh, dear." The auror said to an eager Mister Devereux. "I seem to have
accidentally disabled the monitoring wards for this room. Perhaps I can
call for a repair crew to take care of that when I get off my break."
The auror left. Mister Devereux stared hard at Harry for a moment before
beginning to take things out of his cloak in preparation for the next
round... of... questions? There was pen and paper there but there was also
a role of duct tape, a length of pipe and a toilet plunger. A dirty toilet
plunger.
Oh bloody buggering shite!
The End of the End
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