Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
There was a little boy about 4 years old. He sat by the window edge staring longingly at the iron gates of the orphanage with the hope that someone would come and take him away. Behind him, the mocking and taunts just increased the hope in his little heart...
There was a little girl about 4 years old. She was weeding the garden with drops of sweat brow. It was a hot summer day. Looking inside she longingly gazed, as her uncle and aunt doted upon their son, with love...
He is 5 years old but the tears do not fall from his beautiful brown eyes as the Priest keeps reciting the enchantments to take out the devil from him; as the little boy is tied to the bed with tight ropes and blurry vision...
She is 5 years old but tears do not fall from her beautiful emerald eyes, because she knows struggling makes it worse. She doesn't cry but wipes the tears away furiously with tiny blistered hands; her punishment for burning the toast...
He is 9 and is wide-eyed staring at his pet snake, his only friend who talked to him and liked him. His friend is dead and there is absolute fury rolling off him...
She is 9 and is staring at her pink pony, her only toy which she had found in the park one day and quickly grabbed it to her chest for it looked so pretty. Her toy is shredded to pieces now and there is absolute sadness rolling off her...
He is sitting alone in the bedroom, his bedroom all bruised and broken, starving too as punishment for killing Billy Stubb’s rabbit; the same monstrous boy who killed his beloved snake. He sits in darkness, staring at nothing because all hope in him is lost...
She is sitting alone in the cupboard, her bedroom all bruised and broken, starving too as punishment for stealing Dudley's broken crayons; the same monstrous boy who tore her only toy into pieces of confetti. She sits in darkness, staring at nothing for all hope in her is lost...
It’s his 11th birthday. A letter arrives along with a man wearing half-moon spectacles.
"You're a wizard, Tom."
Everything changes.
It’s her 11th birthday. A letter arrives along with a half-giant man with a pink umbrella.
“You’re a witch ‘arry.”
Everything changes.
The boy is a man now standing in the depths of a dark forest; behind him an army of people waiting like dogs, for his orders. He isn't interested in anything but the girl, the child of the prophecy to come and face her death at his hands.
The girl is a woman now bravely facing the snake-like man, the monster who killed thousands of lives mercilessly. She does nothing but stands tired and exhausted waiting for her death at his hands.
"Harriet Potter, the girl who lived comes to die." He spoke; the boy in him long lost for there was never hope for him.
She looks at him straight in the eyes; the girl in her long lost for all her hopes was crushed.
"AVADA KEDAVRA", the flash of green light hitting her square in the chest as the young woman closes her eyes.
Chapter 2: Chapter 1
Summary:
Harriet meets Death.
Notes:
Author’s Note: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading!
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
Harriet opened her eyes to find herself in an unknown, yet strikingly familiar train station. The white colour, too blinding, seemed to stretch in all directions; as far as the eyes could see. She observed her surroundings as she moved, everything looking eerily like the heaven version of Kings Cross Station. What was this place? Was this Heaven or Hell? All her thoughts stopped swirling in her head as Harriet’s gaze landed on the most dangerous person she’d seen in her life.
The person was tall about 7 or 8 foot, wearing black robes; so black it seemed to suck the whole universe within him. A scythe was held in his left hand by long fingers. His skin was pale and jet black eyes; eyes that seemed to witness eternity crumble down to shreds. The person looked at her with a kind smile adorning his contrasting features and Harriet was sure not many people would have seen him smile.
"Hello, Harriet Potter! I'm Death your faithful servant and you're my new Mistress."
Her eyes widened like saucers as Harriet’s mind tried to get a gist of the whole situation.
“WHAT? You’re Death! And I’m your Mistress, but....but how? Am I dead or alive? Where are we?”
“For your first two questions, yes I’m Death and you are now my mistress. As for your third question, you are neither alive nor dead. It can be your choice what you want to be.”
“I..I don’t understand.”
“You Harriet Potter have the choice to return to the mortal plane once again or cross the veil of death and meet your loved ones on the other side.”
“I have a choice? Why?”
"Because you acquired the three hallows during your lifetime and became my mistress. And for this reason, I'm bound to serve you until someone else acquires them- all three together."
“The Invisibility Cloak, the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand.” She remembered them and was talking to herself.
“I had the first two, I know but I never had the Elder Wand. How can it be mine when it was with Voldemort?”
“Rather interesting and impressive question mistress.” Death praised as they seated themselves in front of what looked like a cafeteria. He conjured some tea and snacks, pouring a cup for each. Without hesitation Harriet reached for some biscuits; the war had exhausted her quite a lot.
"The Elder Wand had its allegiance tied to Dumbledore but at the Astronomy Tower, it was Draco Malfoy who unarmed the old headmaster. At that moment Draco Malfoy overpowered Dumbledore and won the Elder Wand."
“And then I unarmed him at Malfoy Manor.” Harriet said while Death nodded in agreement, “Yes my mistress and now we’re here!”
“You said I can go back, right; back to the mortal world?”
"Yes, you can go back to your own time or the time before that." Death informed her still that smile on his face; it was a smile that usually parents gave to their curious children.
“I can go back in the past too?” Harriet asked with wide eyes as various possibilities and scenarios started running in her head.
“Yes.”
“So, do you mean I have a chance to change what happens in my present; a chance to stop the war?” She asked in a very determined voice.
“Yes. You can go back in the past and stop the war by killing Tom Riddle when he was a child. Or you can go back in the past and try to change the events which ultimately led to this destruction.” Death informed her casually.
“I don’t want to kill him.” She said hurriedly. “I can never have that power over anyone let alone a defenceless child.” At her answer Death smiled.
“Yes but if you give me permission I would like to give you some advice.” Death asked humbly.
“Please go on.” She replied politely.
"Time isn't a one-dimensional entity and it flows in every other direction. To play with it just doesn't open many opportunities but lots of troubles too. If I were you, I would go back to the time and change track before the original prophecy was made; a change that could stop this war. Understand this mistress it's not your responsibility to save everyone's life. It never was." Death finished. He words spoken were obviously very well thought and came from experience.
“Meaning I shouldn’t go back to Tom’s childhood and try to befriend him or change his heart or something like that?” Harriet asked with furrowed brows.
“Tom Riddle is a complicated person, Mistress. His childhood wasn’t exactly normal. I daresay his childhood was much like yours so even if you try to befriend him or change him during his Hogwarts years I’m not absolutely sure his character would change.”
“I’m getting confused Death. What do you suggest we do then?”
“I mean to say that if he is given a push at the peak of his power, he may listen. You’ll have to lure him to listen to you because as much as I loathe admitting, that man has done a pretty good job at avoiding me. When he is at the highest point of power, he’ll do anything to assure that his kingdom doesn’t fall apart. I think here you’ll have a greater chance.” Death explained calmly.
“Meaning time travel back to the past when he was already leading the war to be won?”
“Yes.”
“And what year is that?”
“The time when your parents were at Hogwarts.” Death informed her in a careful voice.
Of course, Harriet could just tell him her final decision and Death would have to follow her command. But what he said was also true. And if Harriet went back to the 1930s, there was a chance that Tom Riddle to find another way to immortality which could lead to the same bloodshed or maybe worse. So the best plan was to steer him when he already made his Horcruxes because he will do something to protect them rather than killing others; of this Harriet was sure.
She also thought of meeting her parents and how could she save them and others, if not all. It was worth a shot.
“How are my parents?” She rarely asked anything about her parents but right now seemed to be an important time to ask about their well being.
“They are all very well, Mistress and constantly worry about you. Lily Potter has been one of the kindest and wisest souls I have had the pleasure to meet though your father and godfather still have their playful jabs intact. They love you as much as you love them.” Death gave Harriet a moment to collect herself.
“If I fail in this task, then?” She asked.
“Then we can go to back to 1930s or cross the veil, as you wish. Do remember Mistress, you are not bound to save anyone.”
“Maybe I am, maybe I am not. But knowing that Voldemort is still out there slaughtering people for no purpose makes me already feel responsible because unfortunately I am the only one who knows him inside out and I know how his mind works.” Harriet said exasperatedly. Death observed the woman sitting in front of him. He had seen the life she had struggled with, the humans who used her, the pain she went through yet how bravely she faced everything that wasn’t her problem in the first place; Death had chosen his mistress well.
"Okay! This seems to be a shortcut but I'm willing to try."
“Very well Mistress. I will always be a command away in case you need any help.” Death replied in a very formal voice. “Also Mistress, be wary of Dumbledore. The man has eyes and ears everywhere in Hogwarts.”
“I will. My identity?” Harriet asked.
“I don’t think your identity will be a problem in your task.” Death informed her with a smile that held a secret only he understood.
“I’m ready. Please tell my parents and godfathers that I love them.” Harriet spoke with sincerity in her eyes.
“I will gladly pass on your message, Mistress. Good luck in your adventures.” He was about to leave when Harriet shouted,
“Death wait! Last question. Am I still his Horcrux?"
“Yes you are, because you didn’t really get killed, did you?”
With those parting words, the too blinding white light dimmed as Harriet opened her eyes to find herself in a muggle alley.
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Chapter 3: Chapter 2
Summary:
Harriet meets the Goblins and her former Headmaster.
Notes:
Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading!
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Chapter Text
Blinking rapidly and groggily coming to her senses, Harriet took note of her surroundings and found that she was in one of the deserted alleys. Looking at herself though, she found that she wasn’t covered in blood and dirt as she had assumed but normal muggle clothes- full sleeve t-shirt and jeans along with comfortable sneakers. Checking thoroughly she found a pouch with some pounds and her Holly wand safely tucked in the wand holster.
Harriet walked out of the deserted alley and looked wide-eyed at the somewhat familiar 70s London. She started making her way towards the Leaky Cauldron as observed her surroundings. She took in all of it; the vintage cars, the bell bottom pants, people wearing leather jackets and what not. She observed everything and anything ignoring all the curious stares she got on her way.
Harriet walked to the Leaky Cauldron; Tom the bartender looking younger but still having the same warm and welcoming smile as Harriet approached him.
“Good morning miss. How can I help you?”
“Good morning sir. I was actually wondering if you could please guide me towards the Goblins’ bank. I’m new here.” Harriet said with a polite smile trying to sell her lie easily. If being honest, the only thing she was grateful for spending her life with the Dursley’s would be the fact that how Aunt Petunia had practically drilled proper etiquettes and mannerisms in her from the very beginning.
“Of course miss. Please follow me.”
As the threshold of brick walls separating the muggle and wizarding world was moved, Harriet fought with every fibre in her being to not tell the threatening tears spill. The last time she had seen Diagon Alley it had been in complete tatters and utterly destroyed but the sight in front of her at the moment was beautiful and magnificent; just like the first time she had seen it.
Diagon Alley was bustling through activity, parents and children doing some last minute shopping and panicking making it a bit difficult to pass through the crowds. Carefully walking Harriet reached the gates of Gringotts and smiled at the warning heed at the entrance of the bank.
As her turn came the goblin looked at her; sneer permanently on his face which was quickly replaced by shock when Harriet curtsied properly, "May the gold in your vaults increase."
The goblin looked gobsmacked at the unexpected gesture for there weren’t many witches and wizards showed their kind any sort of respect; especially these days.
“How can I help you miss?” His asked politely.
“Sir I wanted to send a letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in regards to my admission. Harriet replied kindly. Nodding, the gobbling told her to follow him and soon they reached the manager’s office.
"Hello, I'm Ragnok." Came a stern voice; the manager obviously not pleased with her not even when she properly greeted. Explaining her visit again she tried her very best to look a damsel in distress.
"Very well, we'll send the letter. For details, though we need some information and sending the letter would cost 4 galleons." Harriet raised her eyebrows at the blatant demand. She sighed in defeat instantly dropping her facade as she rolled up her sleeve as she showed them the mark of Deathly Hallows sitting with all its glory on her left wrist. At this neither of the goblins could speak anything; both of them utterly stumped.
“Think you could help me?” She asked again.
After a long discussion, they decided to send her letter by the name of Harriet Kathryn Christopher, completed the fake set of documents and lastly got her money exchanged. She thanked the two goblins sincerely for their help who were more than happy to help her now that they knew her real identity.
Harriet quickly left the bank to settle other things. From what she could tell the year was 1976 meaning her parents, Remus and Sirius would still be attending their 6th year at Hogwarts. Also since it was 25th August, she needed a place to stay and shopping to do. So Harriet went to the Leaky Cauldron booking a nice room for her weeklong stay.
Within the confinement of her room, Harriet let herself relax for the first time in a very long time. For as long as she could remember, Harriet had always been an emotional child but at the moment all she could feel was numbness. Images of past year kept surfacing at the very front of her mind- the hiding, the search for Horcruxes, the fights, the hunger, the pain, the torture, the blood, the scars, the innumerable lives lost in the name of war, the bloodied dead bodies of her friends and family, of Remus and Nymphadora.
No matter how hard she tried, Harriet just couldn’t get those horrible images and memories out of the dark corner of her mind. She pondered over her conversation with Death and wondered how will she able to face her parents and godfathers after all they had suffered. But the most important question that kept bouncing at her was the fact that the man she had looked up to, the man she had come to see as family and role model had lied to her; lied to her practically all her life. He never told her what actually her fate was. Dumbledore always had known that the Dursley’s hated her, then why didn't he take any action. Why was she left in that hell hole each summer to suffer? Why didn't he find an alternative solution to the Horcrux piece inside of her?
Had Harriet always been the sacrificial lamb between two powerful wizards trying to satisfy their egos? Was that the reason Death had asked her to be wary of Dumbledore and her surroundings?
Whatever the answer was, one thing Harriet was sure of the fact that she wasn't letting anybody use her. It was time for her to let the world know who Harriet Lillian Potter was; it was time to show the world who the Mistress of Death was.
With these thoughts in mind, she fell in a deep slumber, totally exhausted.
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Two days after sending her letter there was a knock on her door and Harriet quickly opened it to reveal a perfectly fine and healthy looking Albus Dumbledore whose eyes seemed to twinkle far too much.
Realising that she had to act of not knowing him Harriet asked, “How may I help you?”
“I’m Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” He said offering a friendly handshake and a smile.
“Oh! Please come in.” She took a seat across from him and politely asked, “Would you like to have something.”
“No, I’m quite good my dear. I got your letter from Gringotts in regards to your admission and also your OWLs results. Your results have been quite impressive Miss Christopher.”
"Thank you, Professor. So do I get the admission?"
“Yes yes. Here is your Hogwarts letter along with a list of school books and other essentials you will be required to bring.” He said passing her a piece of parchment with a Hogwarts seal on it.
“Also this is a list of elective subjects you will be required to take apart from core ones.” He passed her a second list containing different subjects.
“How many subjects are we supposed to take Professor?”
“You will have to choose a minimum of 3 subjects, Miss Christopher.”
Harriet looked at the list and ticked her electives- Arithmancy, Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Languages (Latin). She wondered why they didn’t teach Alchemy and Magical Theory as Hermione would always complain about. Taking the list she expected him to leave right away but Albus Dumbledore didn't hesitate to ask voice his thoughts.
“Dear child, forgive my curiosity. I wanted to ask what happened to your parents?” she knew the question couldn’t be avoided for too long, so she decided to spout a twisted version of the actual truth.
“My parents were murdered by a dark wizard, professor.” She said in a painful voice.
"Both of them were muggleborns so they homeschooled me. My godfather too died during one of his missions, he was an Auror you see. So I was forced to move here from America and start a new life."
It was the dumbest excuse in the history of excuses but Dumbledore seemed to buy the whole story easily for he wore one of the most sympathetic expressions Harriet had ever seen on his face, "I'm very sorry to hear about that, dear child. Please don't hesitate to ask for any kind of help you may need in the future." He patted her hand and stood up to take his leave.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts, Miss Christopher. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, professor." As she closed the door, Harriet finally exhaled a sigh of relief.
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Chapter 4: Chapter 3
Summary:
Harriet finally sets off to Hogwarts,but there are surprises waiting for her!
Notes:
Author’s Note: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos on the fic and bookmarked it. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading!
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Chapter Text
September 1st arrived sooner than Harriet anticipated and once again she stood at Platform 9 3/4, staring at the scarlet Hogwarts Express looking as pristine and welcoming as ever. The platform was packed as always; children hugging their parents’ goodbye with promises to stay in touch, friends reuniting and exchanging their summer experiences, the usual hustle-bustle. And Harriet as always wondered how different her life would have, had her parents never died.
Breaking gaze from the crowd she made her way towards the train and started searching for a compartment. From outside she was all calm and composed but on the inside, she was a nervous hell for she didn't know how she was supposed to act when she meets her parents and godfathers. Merlin! This was so much worse than fighting Voldemort.
Finally finding an empty compartment she put her trunk safely and settled with a book she bought, to avoid all the emotional turmoil going inside her head. Harriet’s breath caught in her throat when the door to the compartment opened to reveal a red-haired witch having bright emerald eyes, just like Harriet’s
"Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full." The redhead asked politely.
"Please," Harriet replied, quickly coming out of her stupor and motioning to the seat across from her.
"Thank you." With her entered a boy of similar age. He had a large hooked nose and shoulder-length greasy black hair. Nodding to Harriet in thanks, he quickly a seat beside his friend and got immersed in his book.
“I’m Lily Evans.” The red-head introduced herself with a warm smile.
“Hello, I’m Harriet Christopher.”
"Nice to meet you, Harriet. This is my best friend Severus Snape.” Lily said motioning to the only person left apart from them. Nodding in his direction Harriet murmured a polite hello. On any other day, she would have sneered in Snape’s direction for the brat he was but when the truth came out on his deathbed, Harriet could only respect him. She couldn’t even imagine the infinite risks Severus had taken to keep her from harm. So giving him respect was the least she could do.
“So are you a transfer student because I haven’t seen you in Hogwarts before.”
“Well, I’m not a transfer student exactly. I was homeschooled before I moved here from America. I'll be joining my 7th year.”
“Oh! So what brings you here suddenly?” the question was innocent but Harriet’s stance became rigid which didn’t go unnoticed by either Lily or Severus. Clearing her throat she lied,
“My parents and godfather died. And I had no one else to go to either.” Lily’s smile faded in an instant; she felt stupid and guilty to bring the topic up.
“I’m so sorry, Harriet!”
"It's all right. You didn't know." She quickly assured Lily.
“My condolences.” Barely a whisper came but Harriet heard it anyway and thanked Severus. What followed afterwards were intense moments of awkward silence, but before Lily could lighten up the mood the door slid open yet again, this time to reveal a messy-haired boy and warm hazel eyes hiding behind his round glasses.
"Hello, Lily flower! You look as gorgeous as always. How was your summer?" Harriet observed as James sauntered into the compartment as if he owned the place.
“What do you want Potter?” Lily snapped and in the meantime, Harriet was trying to calm her frantically beating heart so much that she missed the entire commotion going on between her parents; well future parents. There was a clearing of a throat that broke her train of thoughts.
“Hello to you too! I’m James Potter. I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“Um...hello. I’m Harriet Christopher, I’ll be joining this year.”
“Excellent, excellent. It was nice to meet you and I hope to see you in Gryffindor. It is time to take my leave. Goodbye and Snivellus, you look dashing like always.” James exited the compartment with a glee on his face.
On the other hand, Harriet was abashed at her father's behaviour. Though she had accidentally seen memories of Snape in her fifth year, seeing it through her own eyes broke her heart. The embarrassing look on Severus' face made it even worse. Harriet couldn't help but compare her father to Dudley, the monstrous boy who made sure to make Harriet's life hell at any chance he got. James Potter was a bully and it irked Harriet to no end.
Her nerves were on fire as soon as the announcement was made about the train reaching its destination. She rubbed her sweaty palms for the millionth time and made her way to the carriages; to others, the carriages were just another piece of magic but Harriet felt a connection to the threstals. She pets one affectionately before taking a seat beside Lily who looked at Harriet as if she was crazy but kept her mouth shut. The whole ride to the castle was spent in comfortable silence and not once did Harriet's gaze falter as soon as the Hogwarts castle came into view. There she stood- strong and proud, not ruined to dust or utterly broken like the last time Harriet had seen her. A feeling of pure warmth, safety and contentment filled her; Harriet Potter was finally home.
Lily beamed when she saw her new friend already warming up.
“Welcome to Hogwarts, Harriet!”
"Thanks, Lily." Seeing her mother smile was the most beautiful thing she had seen and in her heart, she knew that no matter how hard this task seemed to be, she wouldn't let that gorgeous smile wipe off Lily's face.
The first years were getting sorted and Harriet’s nerves were all jittery.
‘You can do it, Harrie. Why are you so nervous? You've already been sorted once, you can do it again. You just have to go and sit on the stool and when the hat places you in Gryffindor, you go as you planned. If there is any problem you can always ask Death for help. Right. Right!? Okay calm down woman, deep breaths- in and out, in and out.’ Her inner monologue halted when the headmaster stood up and spoke.
“There is one last sorting left. I would like to welcome Miss Harriet Christopher who will be starting her 7th year at Hogwarts." Nodding in the headmaster's direction, Harriet made her way towards the stage and ignored the hushed whispers that broke out. At that moment she felt like she was yet again the hot topic of the school making her feel uncomfortable. The distance between her and the stupid stool seemed to be infinite but she eventually reached it and took a seat. The ratty hat just been placed on her head, when half a second later it shouted
“SLYTHERIN!”
Harriet was stunned at the result and the great Hall too fell silent; it was probably one of the shortest sortings in the history of Hogwarts. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. All she had planned came crumbling down, she wasn't supposed to be in Slytherin, she was supposed to go to the dean of lions. How had her plan backfired?
She cautiously made her way to her new house table. She sat at the very end, painfully aware of the cold and calculating eyes of her new housemates. The attention of the hall turned from her to the headmaster and Harriet had never been thankful for the old coot than she was at the moment.
"Now that the sorting is over I would like to introduce Mr Nicholas Grey as your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.”
With that a man probably 25 years of age, dirty blonde hair and sparkling light blue eyes rose to his feet. Her eyes connected with Harriet and she visibly inhaled a deep breath. She knew exactly who the person was for he could never hide from her, even in glamour.
BLOODY HELL! She was not only stuck in the snake pit but also Lord Voldemort was her new DADA professor. What will she do now?
Chapter 5: Chapter 4
Summary:
Some things from Tom's POV. Harriet has another chat with Death.
Notes:
Author’s Note: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kuods and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading!
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Chapter Text
Lord Voldemort or better known as Professor Nicholas Grey now was on high alert and it had all to do with the fact that his biggest nemesis was sitting just a few seats beside him. Nonetheless being back at Hogwarts was an overwhelming experience. It was the only place which Tom could call 'home'. At Hogwarts he found a place where he belonged; after years of torment and tears. Hogwarts was the place where he learned magic, was a place where he got an appraisal for his hard work. Hogwarts was the place where he found about his family no matter how dysfunctional it was, it was Hogwarts where he found his connection to one of the strongest wizard of all times. It was here he learnt the beauty that is Parselmagic and how it made Tom special, even in the wizarding world.
After graduating he had asked, begged even to Headmaster Dippet, to let Tom stay as the DADA professor. BUT Dumbledore had intervened saying how young Tom was for the post because of which Dippet flat out refused his offer. He didn't let his disappointment show through and after a few years he tried again but the new Headmaster Dumbledore refused yet again giving incoherent reasons.
Tom had been so livid that he cursed the DADA position. But none of it mattered now because now he was home. He felt a familiar sensation of warmth, safety and contentment as soon as he set foot in the castle. It didn't matter that he had to work right under Dumbledore's nose because the reason he was here was far more important; he was here to correct his mistakes. He was worried about a particular conversation with Slughorn- their conversation about Horcruxes could give a lead to Dumbledore which Tom absolutely didn't want. He also had information about Dumbledore wanting to make a sort of rebel group against him; what better plan than to intrude as the new professor to get all information?
Tom groaned internally as the Head of Slytherin house started a very non-interesting conversation. His hand was itching to take out his beloved Yew wand and kill Slughorn right then and there, consequences be damned. Unfortunately for him, Slughorn was far more useful alive than dead. So he put the facade and flashed a dazzling smile urging his former teacher to continue with his antics.
His concentration wavered only when Dumbledore announced the arrival of a new student starting their 7th year at Hogwarts. Wasn't that interesting, a transfer student especially when a war was brewing in the country? His eyes were fixated on her form as she made her way towards the sorting hat; a girl with eyes too green and a scar too funny. Her nervousness was written all over her face but her stance remained rigid. Tom didn't want to give any more of his precious concentration to the weird creature, but curiosity and jealousy got the best of him when she got sorted into his ancestor's house within a record span of seconds. Not even Tom was sorted this fast and it spokes considering he was the Heir of Slytherin. The girl's expression was that of utter confusion, meaning she clearly didn't expect that. Tom could see the clear disappointment on Dumbledore's face but the headmaster soon regained his senses and got up to introduce his glamour self.
Tom stood up graciously but the second Ms Christopher had seen him, her whole demeanour changed. She visibly paled as if he was the last person on the whole planet she was expecting to see. Tom whacked his brain, trying to remember if he had met her in the past but nothing came to the forefront. The problem intensified because the glamour he chose has been on a whim and only Abaraxas knew about it apart from Tom. Maybe he was reading too much between the line; maybe there want anything strange about the new girl? But as the Muggle said, precaution is better than cure and there was no harm to keep an eye out just in case. He averted his eyes from the black-haired girl only to realise that Slughorn was still speaking. Tom groaned internally.
Dinner was over soon and Harriet's stomach was satisfied. It had been very long since she had a proper meal. She followed the prefects towards the Slytherin common room. It was just as intricate and lavishly designed as Harriet had seen during her second year. Despite being in dungeons, the common room was warm and toasty; a huge relief from the biting cold.
Harriet stood with the first years in the middle, waiting for the HOH to come. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw mini Death Eaters and co. ganging up and giving judgemental looks. The fuming face of a young yet still crazy Bellatrix made Harriet cringe inwardly. Not even a day at Hogwarts and she was already attracting unwanted problems; damn her luck. She was thankfully saved when Slughorn strutted into the room.
"Welcome you all to the noble house of Slytherin. I'm Horace Slughorn, the Potions professor as well as your Head of House. Now, this is a drill which is required by us to do, but there are two important rules that all students belonging to this house follow. As you all may know the other houses don't particularly blend well with us. So the first rule of our house is- Always protect your own. I don't care if you have a fight amongst yourselves or a family feud going on; outside this common room, the Slytherins are to always show a united front. If you have any issues, resolve them within these four walls and nowhere else.
The second and last rule, except for lying to your HOH that is me, you can do anything so long as you don't get caught. As long as you follow these two rules properly you won't have any problems from my side. Apart from that, you can always come to me or the prefects to help you. Are we clear?"
A murmur of 'Yes Professor' was heard.
"Very well then. Now the senior prefects will give you further instructions. Good night to all." Just as Slughorn left a brunette with warm brown eyes took lead,
"Hello! I'm Sarah Fawley and this is Lucius Malfoy. We're 7th-year prefects, we just have to make a few announcements to make. She took out a piece of parchment and began reading.
The prefects will provide you with your timetables and a map of the castle tomorrow at the breakfast table. For the first week though, we'll be escorting you to all the classes so that none of you gets lost.
You will be paired off with a senior from 3rd to 5th year, who will check up on your classwork and homework regularly and make sure it is complete before submissions. In case you have difficulty in any subject, please inform us so that we can get you a tutor.
The curfew for 1st to 3rd year will be 9 pm sharp and for the rest will be 10 pm. So please don't get late or caught just in case.
The password to the common room changes every two weeks and will be notified on the Notifications Board as you can see.
The boys' dormitory is on the right and girls' is on the left. All your belongings have already been placed in your rooms.
If you have any other issues you can always come to us or the HoH. That will be all. Good night everyone."
Harriet took no time to get to her own room as the speech ended. She was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but before that, she had something important to do. Entering the door with her name on it, Harriet was relieved to find that she didn't have to share it with anyone else. She locked it and examined the room.
In the centre of the room was a double four-poster bed covered with Slytherin green eiderdowns and nightstand on either side. Her school trunk was at the foot of the bed. She checked the floor-length closet. There was also a dresser with a lamp and a small bookshelf on the wall. There were dark coloured curtains on the wall, which blocked the beautiful view of the Great Lake. The attached bathroom had all the necessities and a bathtub which could fit two people. All in all her room looked ridiculously expensive.
'Now wasn't the time to chastise the Slytherins' for their decor taste.' She thought. She desperately wanted some answers so she comfortable seated herself and didn't wait for a second to call Death.
"Death, I need your help."
"You called, my mistress." In a flash of light, the frightening entity stood before her. Harriet motioned him to take a seat.
"I wanted to ask you something." She perked the question sitting at the tip of her tongue.
"Yes, mistress."
"If I remember correctly, I don't think I ever heard about a Professor Grey teaching at Hogwarts."
"Ah yes! He's Voldemort, isn't he?" Death mused.
"I think your trip to the past has already started to alter the original timeline. You'll have to be extra careful, for this can go either in your favour or against you."
"I'll be careful; will have to work on my Occlumency shields though. But there's something else too."
"What is it, mistress?"
"The sorting hat put me in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. I wasn't supposed to be here."
"And why do you think you weren't supposed to be in the snake pit?"
"Because...because!" Harriet tried very hard but she couldn't find a reasonable answer. In reality, she had always found the house system to be extremely prejudiced.
"The traits of the house are ambitious and cunning. You're ambitious enough to make this impossible task of your's work in order to save others' lives. And you're cunning enough to hide your true self as well as change your whole identity to achieve your goal. I think you're as much of a Slytherin as is Voldemort." Death voiced his thoughts in a very calm tone making Harriet wonder upon the thought deeply. He wasn't wrong. She remembers how she begged the sorting hat to put her Gryffindor the first time just because she thought that the snakes were evil. She tried to imagine the consequences if she would have been a Slytherin in the first place.
Harriet was so lost in thoughts she never noticed Death leaving her with a small smile on his face.
Chapter 6: Chapter 5
Summary:
It's time for Harriet's first day at Hogwarts!
Notes:
Author's Note: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading!
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The next morning came too early, much to Harriet's annoyance. She had barely slept three hours because of the ever-present nightmares plaguing her sleep. She willed her mind to stay in present, to not ponder again and again over the agonizing screams filling her ears or the flashes of bloodied, broken bodies in front of her eyes.
Harriet could feel the familiar tightness in her chest as the struggle to breathe properly became difficult with each passing second. With shaking hands, she gripped the edges of her bed tightly and tried to practice the breathing exercises Hermione made her do. Harriet closed her eyes and tried to imagine the bushy-haired girl encouraging her.
"That's it sweetheart, deep breaths- in and out, in and out. You're doing great Harrie. Now try and relax your muscles. That's it, deep breaths again."
When her breathing returned to normal, Harriet opened her eyes, gingerly wiping the tears away. Merlin! How she missed Ron and Hermione; the two people who have been her rock, the two people who always held her whenever the world was too cruel to her. She wanted nothing more than to bury herself in Ron's comforting arms as his warm hands would rub her back gently.
Peering at the surroundings, Harriet was yet again reminded of the heavy burden resting on her.
'Stay strong, Harrie. If not for yourself then for Ron and Hermione; for all your friends who could have a chance for a safe and better future.' With these words echoing in her brain, it didn't take her long to get ready for the day and leave the comfort of her room.
Not much later, Harriet was munching on her toast hen a polite 'good morning' brought her attention to the speaker. Harriet saw the Slytherin prefect, Sarah Fawley, sitting across from her.
"Good morning."
"I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Sarah Fawley."
"Harriet Christopher. Nice to meet you." Harriet took the offered hand and smiled in return.
"Nice to meet you too! I'm glad to finally have some girl company." Sarah beamed at her.
"I thought we have another girl in our year. Bellatrix, I think her name is."
"Yeah, but Bellatrix isn't the most fun to be around. Not that I hate her, but she's just the prejudiced pureblood who thinks everyone else is beneath her. And my family is totally opposed to those notions so we never really got along." Sarah explained her point of view. From what Harriet could recall, the Fawley's were a neutral family who never participated in the war.
"Well, that's no wonder."
"I beg your pardon."
"Nothing." Harriet lied.
"Good morning, Ms Fawley and Ms Christopher." Slughorn's chirpy voice interrupted their conversation.
"Good morning, professor." The duo said in unison.
"These are the timetables for the first years, Ms Fawley. Please make sure they get them. As for today, Mr Malfoy will be on the duty to escort the little ones for their classes."
"Of course, professor. I'll inform Lucius right away."
"Thank you, Ms Fawley. Ms Christopher this is your timetable." He handed her a piece of rolled parchment.
"Thank you, professor."
"Good luck on your first day at Hogwarts. If you need any help, you can always come to me."
"I'll keep that in mind." Tearing her eyes from Slughorn's retreating form, Harriet studied her timetable and groaned in annoyance. The first day of her 7th year and she got double DADA to start with; she really wasn't in the mood to put up with Voldemort's antics especially after her grumpy start of the morning.
"You ready to go for the first class," Sarah asked as she came back from distributing the timetables.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
Sarah and Harriet made their way towards the DADA classroom. Never in her wildest dreams had Harriet thought that she would be learning from the Dark Lord himself. She had a mission on her hands, but she didn't exactly plan to die within the first week; so she'll have to constantly keep up her Occlumency shields. That was how Harriet found herself in front of the classroom, unnerved and concerned. They were soon joined by the Gryffindors and the tension was palpable enough to be cut with a knife. Harriet recognised Rodolphus Lestrange and Barty Crouch standing beside Lucius. She also recognised Frank Longbottom, who was in a deep conversation with his friends. Seeing all these people in their teenage years, unaware of their future, didn't calm her nerves at all.
The door to the classroom opened and students took their seats. Harriet chose to sit somewhere in the middle so that she wouldn't be in Voldemort's line of sight directly. Soon the person she had been trying to avoid entered the class, with a stern expression and a confident walk. All the girls, including Sarah, began blushing. As expected the devilish smirk on his face only seemed to grow wide.
"Good morning everyone! Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'm Professor Nicholas Grey." His firm voice reminding Harriet yet again of whom exactly he was.
"There is only one rule of my class- when I assign you some work I expect it to be on my desk in due time. No excuses regarding late excuses will be accepted. Other than that pay attention to whatever is being taught and take appropriate notes. If you follow what I say and not misbehave, you'll have no troubles. Disobey me and I assure you the punishments wouldn't be liked."
No student made even an inkling of noise. There was an unusual command between the words rolling off his tongue and everyone understood that if you never wanted to be on Professor Nicholas' bad side; everyone except Harriet, who for the oddest reason found the situation quite hilarious. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't expect anything less from Lord Voldemort. Whatever the consequences may be, but witnessing the Dark Lord barking for homework submission would be quite amusing.
Meanwhile Professor Grey stilled when he felt amusement and hilarious emotions; emotions that definitely weren't his and got confused as hell. The stupid faces sitting in front of him brought him back to reality as he started with his lecture.
"I have read what you have covered up so far and not at all surprised that you are all lacking behind syllabi. Since it's your NEWT year, you'll have to cover up a lot and there will be more practical than theory. Do focus more on your wand movements and incantations. For the next two classes, we'll be covering up the Unforgivable Curses. Now, who can tell me what are they?"
The irony of the situation almost made Harriet smile but she busied herself to look around the class as students raised their hands to answer, that did not go unnoticed by Grey.
"Mr Crouch."
"There are three unforgivable- Imperius, Cruciatus and the Killing Curse. They are called the unforgivable because using either of them gives a person a one-way ticket to Azkaban."
"That is correct, 5 points to Slytherin. Now please elaborate on what exactly they can do."
"Mr McLaggen."
"The Imperius curse allows the caster to control other's actions. In simple words used to make someone do exactly what you want. The incantation used is Imperio."
"That's correct, 5 points to Gryffindor. How about you go Mr Longbottom?"
"The Cruciatus curse is used to inflict excruciating pain on the recipient or victim. The incantation is Crucio." Harriet felt too uncomfortable with the whole topic but could do nothing than to sit through the lecture.
"Correct, 5 points to Gryffindor. How about you explain the last one Ms Black?"
"The Killing Curse uses the incantation Avada Kedavra. It's a powerful curse which kills the victim instantly." Bellatrix chimed at her own answer making Sarah sitting beside Harriet flinch.
"Correct, 5 points to Slytherin." Professor Grey spoke in a monotonous tone.
"The answers you all gave were right, but let's dig a little deeper into it. Tell me is there any way to throw away these curses?" No one spoke until he singled out Harriet this time.
"You've been awfully quite Ms Christopher. How about you answer my question and let us know what you've learnt so far?" Oh, the nerve of that man! Harriet wished she could wipe the smug look off his face.
"Occlumency- the art of shielding mind or strong will of the victim, both can be used to fend off the Imperius. In both cases, the caster can find it difficult to enter the victim's unconscious mind and thus fail.
The intensity of the Cruciatus Curse depends on how much pain the caster wants to inflict on the recipient. It causes pain beyond anything ever experienced, like your bones are on fire. In order to avoid being hit with it, you have to dodge it with quick reflexes, block it physically or interrupt the caster before they can finish off the incantation.
The Killing Curse, though being one of the most sinister and darkest curses doesn't cause any pain to the victim. Its only purpose is instant death. It is also unblockable which means the shield charm wouldn't work against it, but it can be avoided by a physical barrier between the victim and the caster. Another way to avoid the Avada Kedavra is by invoking the ancient magic of Love and Sacrifice." Harriet spoke without missing a beat and there was absolute silence in the class.
"But there has not been a single person to avoid the Killing Curse." Harriet wanted to laugh at the bold statement; the history between her and Voldemort wouldn't have been there in the first place if the curse had hit her. So she simply said.
"No there hasn't." The statement was delivered without conviction and Professor Grey smiled like a predator looking at his prey. He had purposely asked Harriet to answer and he wasn't displeased with the results.
"30 points to Slytherin for you answer Ms Christopher." The genuine tone in his voice made Harriet look at him in surprise, but was quickly replaced by an emotionless facade when the next question came out of his mouth.
"Forgive me for my curiosity, Ms Christopher, but can you please tell on how you got that scar on your forehead?"
"I got it from an accident when I was little, fell off from the top of the stairs to be exact." Harriet did not take a second to contort the lie but by the looks on Voldemort's face, she knew he did not believe her one bit. And Lord Voldemort wasn't happy about it. He wasn't the Dark Lord for no reason; he was the Master of the dark arts which made him extremely sensitive to magic, especially Dark magic. The moment he saw her in class today he could feel the darkest energy coming off from her odd-shaped lightning bolt scar. But then she had lied about how she got it, no wonder she was in Slytherin.
The bell rang indicating the end of the lecture.
"We'll be continuing the same topic in the next class. That's it for now." The students didn't take long to scramble out of the class and Harriet was left full of curious and gleeful emotions; emotions she definitely knew wasn't her.
Notes:
Leave your comments and let me know what you guys think about it! Good day to all!
Chapter 7: Chapter 6
Summary:
Still the first day of school going on. Harriet makes and unexpected acquaintance!
Notes:
A/N 1: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading.
A/N 2: Mentions of physical attack towards the end.
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Chapter Text
Harriet had almost started hyperventilating when the Dark Lord asked her about the cursed scar. She had thankfully been able to contort a lie in the end, wondering how many more lied she would have to come up with. The class had ended not much later, giving Harriet the opportunity to put some much-needed distance between her and the DADA professor. But one thing was clear, for lying low Harriet was doing a pretty pathetic job.
The walk to the potions classroom wasn't that long and she took a seat in front this time while Sarah sat beside her Ravenclaw friend.
"Good morning, students." Slughorn's voice beamed as he entered the class.
"Good morning, professor."
"Well since it is your NEWTs year, I'll warn you to be prepared in advance. First I'll take a short test to refresh what we have learnt so far." With a wave of his wand, the paper started distributing themselves. The test was easy enough and took not more than 15 minutes to be finished.
"Since there is not much time left, you will be making a simple hiccupping and pepperup potion and then we'll wind up. Now off everyone, chop chop."
Harriet busied herself in completing the given work but not before throwing protective wards around her cauldron; a nasty habit she developed whenever Draco Malfoy or his goons would purposely try to ruin her potions. She wasn't aware of the prying eyes following her nor did she notice the silent conversation between Lucius and Barty.
The duo had been observing her from the second she was sorted into their house, both irked on how a mudblood could be sorted into Slytherin. They had wanted a make a move, and show her who the superiors were but never got a chance. She had retreated to her room quickly after the introductory speech. Lucius being a Prefect had the advantage to enter the Girls' dormitory; the complicated ward outside Harriet's room saved her though.
They thought the morning after would bring some luck but to no avail. She left the common room early and with the kind of answers she gave in DADA regarding the Unforgivables, Lucius came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the Christopher girl. And now too when she had set up wards around her, even though it was a simple potion confirmed that he was indeed correct in his assumptions. He and Barty decided to keep in sidelines and observe for they were not the only ones who had taken an immediate disliking to the mudblood; Bellatrix was far ahead of them. All Lucius had to do was wait.
She was lost; in the endless darkened hallways and the spiralling staircases of the castle, Harriet had successfully managed to get lost. Her day had gone fairly good, well as good as she could hope for at the least. Transfiguration with McGonagall was the same as in her time; the only problem being her teacher seemed a bit distant towards the snakes. Same was the scenario in COMC and Charms. She did not want to dwell on the thoughts too much, but by the end of her day Harriet was exhausted with lots of homework and the obvious prejudice against Slytherins'.
On her way towards the library though she stopped abruptly when she realised her mistake; she had totally forgotten about the Marauders Map. Everything she had done up to now could come crashing down if either of the Marauders saw her real name on the map. So with the help of her faithful friend, Death, Harriet had crept into the Gryffindor's Tower and taken care of business. The Potter luck, however, got her in trouble again when the stairs changed halfway while Harriet was descending.
This brought Death's Mistress to her current situation, lost in the dark hallways of the castle. It wasn't her fault though that she couldn't find her way out; the castle of Hogwarts was huge. When she wasn't worried about her life being in constant danger, Harriet had to work hard on her grades leaving her with almost no time to go and explore the beauty that is Hogwarts.
The secluded area, all filled with mysteries and secrets should have scared her but didn't. Harriet let her hand drag along the walls, the magic pulsing through them thrummed with the beats of her heart. Harriet should have felt frightened; instead, she was at peace. Harriet's keen eye observed anything they could land upon. She paid no mind to being late as her feet guide her forwards, towards an equally mysterious corridor. Looking at the paintings and statues covered in dust, Harriet knew the possibility of knowing that such place existed in the castle was negligible let alone anyone's visit here. She noticed the magic in the area was thickening; it was sweeter and calmer like all her senses had been heightened.
She stood at the end of the corridor, in front of beautifully intricate double doors; the webs proof enough that it hadn't been opened in eons. She was about to place her hand on the doorknob when the noise of rattling chains reached her ears. Carefully turning around, she saw a transparent entity calculating Harriet's every move. He had blank staring eyes, a gaunt face and robes stained with silver blood. He was also sporting a powdered wig and carried his sword; the chains around him weighed him down for they were his act of penitence.
"You're the Bloody Baron."
Harriet blurted out as he paved his way towards her. Realising her sudden exclamation apologised quickly. She had seen him once, during Sir Nicholas' 500th deathday party and remembered the other ghosts avoiding him due to his blood-stained appearance and the shackles he wore. Sir Nicholas also let it slip once about how Baron could always be found groaning and clanking up on the Astronomy Tower, so what was he doing here?
"Mistress." The shock was evident on her face.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're the Mistress of Death." It wasn't a question, it was the fact merely spoken aloud.
"How...how do you know?" It was getting incredibly hard for her to stumble upon the right words.
"You may have fooled the living beings by hiding your true magical core, but to hide your identity from those who have already died is impossible. You've been touched by Death, it's difficult not to take notice when the whole corridor is practically flooding and bathing in your magic, Mistress." Harriet took a sharp breath, choosing to nod silently. It was true that she was hiding her true magical core but it was out of habit. For as long as Harriet could remember, Harriet's magical core had been grey. She did not know how, but Harriet had always kept her core wrapped and made everyone believe that she was a Light witch after hearing how the Dark and Grey spectrum were considered evil. And now after gaining the Hallows, her core had grown more on the Dark side. From her expressions, Baron could predict her inner struggles.
"Umm...not to be rude, Sir, but why are you calling me Mistress?" Harriet asked curiously.
"You're the only being who has conquered Death. Giving you respect by using your appropriate title is the least I could do."
"I wouldn't mind if you called me Harriet."
"Harriet, it is." There was a small smile playing on Baron's face.
"So tell me, Harriet, what are you doing here?" The sudden question made her realise that she was standing in the darkened hallway with no idea how to get back to her common room.
"Oh! I was going back to my common room and suddenly the stairs changed midway and then I got here." Harriet rambled on with a sheepish expression making the ghost chuckle.
"No, mistress...I mean Harriet. What are you doing at Hogwarts?"
"I'm sorry but I don't think I can tell you." She spoke with caution, wary of how he would take the answer. Harriet had heard about the Baron's hot-headedness that even Peeves was afraid of him, so she definitely didn't want him to get pissed off at her. His demeanour never changed though, catching Harriet by surprise.
"That is understandable I guess, because if the Mistress of Death has arrived at Hogwarts then she must have something on her mind." His response made her sigh in relief.
"But please don't hesitate to ask for my help, Mistress. It would be my honour to serve you in any way possible." The sincerity in his eyes made Harriet accept his wish.
"Now how about I show you back towards your common room?"
"That'd be much appreciated, thank you." Harriet followed Baron's lead but mapped the way back towards the dungeons, which was surprisingly short. The door at the end of the secluded corridor had spiked her interest and Harriet decided to pay it a visit as soon as she got time. In no time she stood in front of the wall hiding the Slytherin common room with Baron still beside her.
"It is truly an honour for me that you got sorted in my ancestor's house, Harriet."
"Thank you, Sir Baron." Harriet witnessed the ghost retrieving the same path they came from, unaware of crimson eyes hiding in the shadows.
Harriet wasn't expecting to be shoved hard against the wall as soon as she entered the snake pit. As the dizziness from her sudden attack subsided, she found Bellatrix's face inches from her. It brought forth memories of the ugly day at the Malfoy Manor when Hermione's screams were the only voice that could be heard.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, look who it is guys! It's the new mudblood, who soon will know her place is in the dirt. Won't you pet?" Despite the mockery in her voice, no one spoke. Harriet looked around to see most of the mini death eaters having wide grins on their faces while the younger ones were terrified. She was reminded of the innumerable days she was bullied and how no one helped her, how Harriet was always the victim and the audience her mute witnesses.
There was a sudden shift in her thoughts and it could be seen in the way her eyes darkened and she fearlessly met Bellatrix's maniacal gaze. She wasn't some helpless child now, she was the defeater of the Dark Lord and the conqueror of Death and Harriet wouldn't back down when some moron bullied her. In one swift movement, Harriet changed position with her attacker and pinned Bellatrix to the wall with her lower arm firmly against her throat, just to keep her dearest housemate in place.
There were surprised gasps from behind them as Bellatrix struggled to break free. Meanwhile, Lucius stopped Barty and Rodolphus from intervening; he wanted to see for himself what the Christopher girl was capable of.
"Listen here and listen well, Miss Black. I'm not much of a violent person, but you try to cross paths with me or bully me and I won't hesitate once to fight back or punch you straight in that pretty face of yours. You keep your insecurities to yourself and it won't be a problem. Understood?"
As expected Harriet got no reply from Bellatrix other than a few curse words so Harriet kept put slightly more pressure on her throat.
"Please don't hurt my sister. She won't do anything again, I promise." Narcissa's pleading voice reached Harriet.
"Cissa, are you crazy! This bitch will know her place." Bellatrix shrill voice came out hoarse; the arm on her throat making it difficult to breathe.
"For Morgana's sake, Bella, shut up!" Narcissa chided her stance desperate to take her sister in her arms and put sense in Bellatrix's brain.
As much as Harriet was tempted to bang Bellatrix's head in the wall, she knew it was wrong. So, she backed away and moved her attention to the rest of the snakes looking at her with a range of emotions- some afraid, others emancipating fury. Without a word, she moved towards her room ignoring the hushed whispers that broke out after her departure.
Chapter 8: Chapter 7
Summary:
Another boring day at Hogwarts, some suspicions are cleared.
Notes:
A/N: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading.
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Chapter Text
Someone's nudging brought Harriet out of her fantasy world, and she raised her eyes from the pages in front of her only to be met by Sarah's amused smile.
"Good morning, Miss Fawley."
"Good morning, Harriet. I'm sorry to interrupt you but it's time for our classes." Harriet glanced at the grandfather clock hanging above the fireplace and sure enough if displayed 9:45. She hadn't realised that she spent almost two hours reading.
Her day had started pretty well, considering the fact that she got full 7 hours of necessary sleep, which was a rare occasion. That accompanied with the long, hot shower that soothed her aching muscles, cheered her up well for the upcoming day. The scars littering on her body were slowly healing, but they would never truly fade; she didn't mind though, they were a proof that she had fought like a warrior and lived through it.
The commotion in the common room had died down as soon as Harriet step foot in. From last night's event, it was very clear that Miss Christopher isn't someone to be messed with. The silence of the dungeons as compared to Gryffindor's hustle bustle was a nice and welcoming change. She chose to sit in the fluffy armchair by the fireplace with the intention of finishing the book, she has been reading for the last few days.
"You okay, Harriet?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah, just got lost there for a moment. Uh...I have to grab my bag from my room."
"Don't worry, I'll wait here and then we can go together." Sarah assured her as Harriet quickly went to retrieve her possessions.
For the next DADA class, students were quite excited; though the new teacher was very strict, he was obviously experienced- both in teaching and the subject. This made the students willing to gain as much knowledge as possible because the record for the last teachers hadn't been the best.
Professor Grey entered the class as gracefully as ever, his eye immediately sorting Harriet's in the crowd. Harriet for her own part met his gaze unflinchingly.
"Good morning, everyone. In last class, we discussed about the Unforgivables in quite a detail. Now as you all know, there might be a war starting very soon and in order to properly teach you defense, I got express permission from the headmaster to teach you on how to block the Imperius Curse." Murmurs broke the silence, as their teacher only smirked in response.
"Now don't be afraid. I want you all to come one by one. I'll cast the curse on you and you will all try to block it. No one will get harmed or anything for that matter." He assured in the most patient tone he could muster. He had gone out of his way to take permission from Dumbledore, just so he could use it on the Christopher girl and get a just of her true abilities; to really see for himself if she was an upcoming danger. Her last night's encounter with the Bloody Baron which Tom had accidentally witnessed, had left him all curious and bothered. Tom had been close, but not close enough to hear their conversation. He wondered all night what about the new girl made the Slytherin house ghost talk when he preferred solitude over anyone's company? What was so special about this Christopher girl that Tom, himself, wasn't able to keep his mind off her. Whatever it may be, he was going to find out very soon.
"Now who would like to try first?" Professor Great asked the dumb faces sitting in front of him. Barty's hand immediately shot up, a little too excited much to Lucius' displeasure.
"Mr Crouch, come forward." As soon as Barty reached in front he asked,
"Ready?" With a nod, Tom cast the spell.
"Imperio"
A warm feeling clouded Barty's mind and suddenly he felt at ease. His expression changed to one of serenity.
"Now, Barty, I want you to jump on the desk and act like a monkey." The voice in his head was so warm, so enticing that he couldn't deny it, so he did as commanded, making an utter fool of himself. Everyone laughed, clearly entertained by the whole scenario, everyone except Harriet. She just watched with an expressionless face. Voldemort was playing a game, one where he was in power and Harriet knew it very well; she refused to be a part of it.
One by one each student was called forward. Bellatrix was able to block the curse for a few moments, but she eventually gave up too. The Black girl's reputation was totally thwarted; first, the new girl refused to bow down to her and instead retaliated. And now the new professor had made her strut like a peacock in front of everyone. She was shooting daggers at Professor Grey for making her look like an imbecile.
At last, it was Harriet's turn; she strolled forward and took a position directly in front of the alpha predator. Not wasting any time, he raised his Yew wand and muttered unhurriedly, "Imperio," but nothing happened. Grey narrowed his eyes when the curse failed, but soon enough there was a glint shining in his blue eyes.
"I want you to lower your Occlumency barriers, Miss Christopher. Try to push the voice inside your head, instead." She stared dumbfounded at the man in front of her. His predatory smirk going wide, knowing full well that she was trapped and there was no way out of the sticky situation, except to obey him. Well shit!
Harriet reluctantly nodded. As soon as her barriers went down, she could feel his emotions- hunger, greed and malice echoed through her mind. He was hunting her, trying to open up his prey and devour all her secrets.
In his mind though, all Tom could feel was the bliss of utter euphoria, utter contentedness. His mind and soul felt more at peace. He was able to feel emotions too, he thought, because he could sense Harriet's nervousness better. For some moments he was lost in the feeling of belonging making him forget about his surroundings, until there was a nudge on his conscious mind. He came back to his senses and knew Harriet was resisting, trying to block him out.
"Dance around the classroom, Miss Christopher," he commanded in a seductive voice; a voice full of lust. But it was wrong, so very wrong. Why would Harrie dance around like a stupid person?
"No." She said defiantly. "No, I won't." The voice echoed again through her mind, this time though, amused and frustrated all at once.
"Spill your secrets, Harriet." Oh no! She couldn't do that. All her plans would fail if she slipped any piece of information.
"NO!" she screamed in her mind and the next moment she was back in the class, standing in front of Professor Grey, his wand still raised, but expression blank on his face. This somehow sacred her a bit.
"Brilliant, Miss Christopher," he said in a monotonous tone.
"30 points to Slytherin for throwing off the Imperius in the first try." Harriet took a shuddering breath, ignored the gaping faces of her fellow classmates and returned to her seat beside Sarah. The brunette was looking at Harriet with a scrutinizing gaze, which made her uncomfortable.
"Now, Miss Christopher did a very good job to block the curse…" His voice trailed off, but Harriet did not pay mind to the ongoing lecture anymore. Her thoughts were preoccupied with the fact that Harriet was able to feel the connection to his soul piece better, with each passing day. It was getting extremely difficult to shield her mind every second; she was exhausted from the constant headache.
Voldemort could sense her discomfort and sullenness, and his attention immediately snapped to her.
"What's wrong?" Tom's demanding voice echoed in her mind making her freeze. She avoided looking into his direction for the whole class. And Voldemort knew, he was sure that she heard him pretty well, heard what he said in his mind. The real question was HOW?
Thank Salazar that he already had faithful servants checking Miss Christopher's full background history. He just had to wait for the right moment to confront her.
"How did you do it?" Sarah asked as soon as they were away from others, in the safe confinement of the library.
"How did I do what?"
"Throwing off the Unforgivable? That too in the first try?" She knew Harriet wasn't going to answer anytime soon by the way the girl was avoiding looking at her, so she did not push it.
"You know what, it's okay! You can tell me whenever you feel comfortable enough to talk about it." Harriet gave a genuine smile for understanding her situation. But she was realising that soon she would have to come up with some solid plan. The duo went to their assigned work when Harriet's gaze landed on a red-head.
"Hello, Lily!" Harriet spoke with a cheerful tone, happy to see her mother again. But she felt that her happiness wasn't reciprocated because Lily's entire demeanour changed. She became more stoic when she heard Harriet greeting her. Next, to Lily, Severus also went rigid. He was one of the people who did not trust Harriet one bit, and how could he when he had first hand seen what happened between her and Bellatrix. Also, he had heard from Lucius and Barty how weird she was acting in their shared classes. So, it became very obvious that Severus was wary of her, no matter how nicely she treated Lily.
"Hello, Miss Christopher." Harriet cringed inwardly seeing the too forced smile on Lily's face.
"How are you, Lily?"
"I'm good! Umm...Miss Christopher, we really are in a hurry, if you don't mind. I'll see you around." Lily felt bad for treating Harriet like this, like an enemy, especially after seeing the disheartening look on her face. But what could she do? For all Lily knew, Harriet was a Slytherin and anyone belonging to the snake house couldn't be trusted.
"Yeah, see you around." She had known that getting sorted into the rival house would definitely strain the dynamic between them, she just hadn't anticipated that it would hurt this much. As Harriet looked at Lily's retreating from, she could feel holes burning in her head, and she turned around to see her young father and godfather glaring at her.
Now was not a good time to pick a fight with them and bring Sarah into the unnecessary mess. So she diverted her attention and went back to her work.
"I don't like this new girl, she doesn't give me a good vibe." James muttered to his three pals.
"You haven't even talked to her. How can you say that she's a bad person?" Remus questioned James.
"She's a Slytherin. What more reason could you want Moony?" Sirius totally backed up James' stupid accusations.
"Your brother is a Slytherin. Does this mean he's evil too?"
"Don't drag Regulus into this Moony! And what is it with you? What's with the sudden impulse to defend the evil bastards?" Sirius whisper yelled, clearly annoyed by his werewolf friend.
"I'm not defending anyone. I'm just saying not to judge someone because of the sorting of their house." Remus groaned when neither James nor Sirius took in his works seriously.
"Come one, Peter. We have better things to do than to make plans for pranking somebody." Remus packed all his stiff and left with a conflicted Peter in tow.
"See! I told you this Christopher girl gave me bad vibes. Because of her Moony is fighting with us, not to mention the fact that she is trying to get closer to my Lily." James groaned in frustration.
"We won't let her do anything to Lily. Come one, I have an idea." The glint in Sirius's eyes assured James to some extent.
On the other side of the library, Harriet and Sarah were busy with completing their Ancient Runes assignment, when someone joined their table.
"Hi Sarah!" Harriet glanced and saw it was the same Ravenclaw girl with whom Sarah sat in Potions.
"Hey Lizzie!" The smile that covered her friend's face made Harriet's eyebrow rise in question. She did not show it though, opting to observe her from far.
"Harriet, this is my friend Elizabeth, Lizzie this is Harriet." Sarah introduced the two in a rushed breath, a blush creeping upon her cheeks.
"Hello Harriet, it's nice to meet you." The Ravenclaw smiled sweetly and according to Harriet, her presence was making Sarah flustered as hell.
"Likewise."
"Sarah I was wondering if you wanted you could help me with the Transfiguration assignment." Elizabeth asked with furrowed brows to which the brunette immediately agreed.
"But Sarah, we have Ancient Runes next." Harriet was shocked to see the usually composed girl acting so weird.
"Don't worry, I won't take long and I'll be back soon." She left along with Elizabeth in a haste, leaving behind Harriet a little bewildered and also a little confident about her suspicions.
Chapter 9: Chapter 8
Summary:
Harrie witnesses petty feud among two rival houses and is disappointed with what happens afterwards.
Notes:
A/N: Hello to humblest apologies for the late update of this chapter. I was a bit busy with other works and it just got in the way.
A very big thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Also, a very Happy New Year to you guys! :)
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Narcissa was finally free. The first week, back at Hogwarts had proven to be tedious, to say the least, primarily because of the Prefect's duties that she had upon her shoulders now. Though being utterly exhausted and very much in need of a day out, Narcissa felt that she couldn't be any happier. All her hard work had paid off really well which made her feel accomplished. She vividly remembered the look of absolute pride that dawned upon her parents' face when she told them how she got the highest scores in her year, along with being chosen for the role of Slytherin Prefect. Adding to her happiness, Narcissa was betrothed to someone who genuinely cared about her.
Lucius loved Narcissa with every fibre of his being. Though he'd never openly said those words, they were clearly written in his eyes whenever his darling was in sight. The respect he had for Narcissa was proof enough for his unwavering loyalty and commitment to her. If asked, however, Narcissa would definitely have said that she'd gotten lucky in terms of her marriage as compared to her elder sister, Bellatrix.
Bellatrix. She was the only cause of tension and constant headaches in Narcissa's hectic life. She'd been acting crude towards her sister, ever since her engagement to Heir Malfoy in a very pathetic attempt to hide her jealousy. Jealousy over the fact that despite being an arranged marriage, Narcissa was loved by her future husband, while Bella had to endure the constant pain of seeing Rodolphus with other girls. She was envious over the fact that Narcissa had every ounce of Lucius' attention while Bella was ignored as if she didn't even exist in the first place.
The most prominent emotion of all, however, was anger. Bellatrix was enraged over the fact that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with a man despite that she wasn't interested in him; when she had already devoted herself to the great Dark Lord Voldemort because he was the only one worthy in her eyes. She had neither met him nor seen him; she had only heard about him and his greatness. He was her God, and Bellatrix was hell-bent to cross any lengths to see him- face to face - just once. That was the reason she agreed on her marriage alliance with Heir Lestrange because the Lestrange's were part of the prestigious Inner Circle which will eventually give her the opportunity to get closer to her goal; to get closer to the Dark Lord. But Narcissa was scared because she knew of her sister's secret quite well.
Narcissa had made the mistake of confronting Bellatrix about the same reason, which resulted in quite a violent outburst from her elder sister; it was the first time Bella had ever slapped Narcissa - not that she told anyone about it - leading to the strained relationship between the siblings. That was how Narcissa concluded that Bella's obsession with Lord Voldemort had already gone too far.
Right now the youngest sister was sitting near the Black Lake. It was one of her favourite spots in Hogwarts - a place that brought comfort to her soul and some much-needed escape from the reality. Narcissa sighed in contentment when the light breeze tussled her neatly combed hair. All that she wanted to do at that moment was to let her hair fall freely and enjoy the slightly chilly weather, but couldn't. Her mother would have a fit if Narcissa even dared to pull a stunt like that.
"Cissa darling! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere," Narcissa turned around when her name was called out and saw Lucius coming. An instant blush covered her cheeks when she saw him smile lovingly at her. Heir Malfoy took a seat beside her and smirked slightly when he saw her blushing.
"Is there anything that you needed?" She questioned.
"No, I just wanted to spend some quality time with my future wife. It's been two weeks since I last saw you. But you were quite busy with your new duties, so I didn't want to disturb you," Lucius spoke as he gently interlaced his fingers with hers. Narcissa smiled and moved a bit to lessen the space between them.
"Father sent something for you," Lucius started in a whispered tone, "Its a family ritual that the bride-to-be gets a gift from her mother-in-law. However, since my mother had passed away and couldn't be here to give something to you, father chose this. Said he would love to see his daughter wearing this." Lucius pulled out a small velvet box and handed it to her. Narcissa's emotions were all over the place. Her happiness magnified; she was overjoyed knowing that Lord Malfoy didn't just consider her as Lucius' future wife but as his own daughter.
She took the box and smiled slightly when she opened it. It was a beautiful brooch in the shape of the Malfoy family crest and embedded with glittery, overly-expensive diamonds. It seemed that Lord Malfoy didn't leave any opportunity to show-off the grandeur of his house.
"It's beautiful. I love it!" Narcissa spoke with as much conviction as she could muster. She really liked the gift, but she didn't like how Lord Malfoy's behaviour and thoughts were that of a typical pureblood. She didn't like how much Lucius was devoted to his father and tried his utmost to have Lord Malfoy's approval, even if it meant going against his own morals. Narcissa hated that Lucius was a puppet in his father's hands and she didn't know how to voice her concerns. Lucius was about to speak when a frantic voice caught his attention.
"Lucius! Lucius!" The duo stood up quickly and saw Regulus running towards them. His face was all white and there was absolute rage raving in his eyes.
"What happened, Reggie?"
"What's wrong, Regulus?" Lucius and Narcissa spoke at the same time. Regulus stopped them with a raised hand, as he tried to catch his breath. "Severus. Marauders." It didn't take Lucius even a second to storm away in fury. Narcissa and Regulus ran after him too, worried as to what was going to happen now. This was the scenario every time the infamous Marauders' bullied someone from the Slytherin house in the name of pranks. These pranks and games, however, seemed to only increase over these past few years and more often than not the target was Severus.
They quickly reached the Great Hall where the commotion had taken place. A large crowd had already been gathered around by the time they arrived. Severus' whole face was covered in big, horrible pimples and his anger seemed to be rising even more as the mocking laughter from other students reached his ears.
"Well, you don't look that bad, Snivellus! The look actually suits that handsome face of yours," Sirius spoke in a haughty tone. His initial plan to prank Harriet may have failed, but he wasn't unhappy that Snape got trapped in his plan instead. However, as soon as those words left his mouth, Severus lost all of his control and punched him straight in the face. All hell broke loose. James tackled Severus to the ground while Lucius and Barty immediately took out their wands. The large audience that was previously snickering and laughing now seemed concerned about the growing fight.
"Somebody please call the Professors," Narcissa shouted for help. She was getting anxious with every passing minute. "Reggie, do something," she was holding onto Regulus' hand so tight that it would surely leave marks on his arms, but the young Black didn't seem to be fazed by it.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" McGonagall's furious voice thundered as she strolled through the corridor and struggled to break the boys apart. The Headmaster and Slytherin's Head weren't too far behind.
"Mr Black, Mr Potter, I demand you to stop this instant," the Transfiguration teacher spoke in a stern voice while Narcissa and Regulus took the opportunity to pull back Lucius, Barty and Severus.
"Will anyone please enlighten me as to what happened here? Why were you trying to squeeze the life out of each other?" McGonagall questioned the students from her house. She couldn't believe that her Gryffindors could act this brashly. Harriet who was coming to the Great Hall with the intention of having a nice lunch, halted in her tracks when she saw the large crowd.
"What happened here?" she asked Regulus. Harriet had never talked to him before, but from her observations, she could tell that he was a really polite person. The boy wearing a face too familiar to Sirius spoke, "They pranked Severus again. Afterwards, they started bullying him. Calling him callous names and what not." Harriet looked at her father and godfather and felt nothing but disappointment. She could easily tell that neither Remus nor Peter were part of this nuisance by the guilty look on their faces.
"Mr Lupin, please elaborate on the recent occurrences," McGonagall diverted her attention to Remus knowing full well that she wouldn't get a justified answer from either James or Sirius.
"James and Sirius decided to play a prank, in general, but unfortunately Snape got in the way. It wasn't intentional but they still didn't act appropriately and continued to make fun of him." Remus spoke, quite ashamed of them, but more angry at himself that he couldn't stop his two friends. He didn't dare tell the professor that the real target was the new, mysterious girl - Harriet Christopher.
"Now, now I'm sure there was a misunderstanding here, Minerva. It was just harmless fun. I think you shouldn't be mad at them about something this insignificant," the Headmaster spoke for the first time, "but the way Severus behaved and opted to physically harm James and Sirius concerns me a lot. You should've talked to him instead of trying to take the matter in your own hands, Mr Snape," Albus turned the whole blame game on Severus and Harriet stared at him in disbelief.
She wanted nothing more than to slap Albus in the face for acting so crude towards Slytherins. Being stuck in this era had shed light on some concerning matters, and this issue was one of them. Harrie could see how Dumbledore instead of trying to solve the petty house rivalry seemed to glorify it even more. His obvious favouritism towards the Gryffindors was bothering her too much. Was this how the Slytherins from her time felt? Was this the reason Draco Malfoy and co seemed to be jealous of other housemates? Was this the reason Professor Snape always took the side of his snakes whenever petty fights broke out?
She also pondered over Snape's rude attitude towards her. No wonder Snape hated Harrie. How could he give her a chance when Harriet never tried to prove herself. She always took pride in the fact that she was just like her father, until today. Today she felt a bit ashamed because she wasn't able to detect an ounce of regret on James' face. On the contrary, he looked quite happy that Snivellus involved in the mess.
"No Albus. The boys were equally responsible for such atrocious behaviour. I suggest detention for all three of them so that they learn not to repeat their mistakes. Also 50 points from Slytherin and 100 points from Gryffindor for causing a ruckus," the Gryffindor head spoke in a firm tone leaving no room for argument. But this frustrated Harrie for she could see how relieved the pranksters felt. She was on Snape's side this time and the fact that he was being dragged into detention as well, was wrong.
"But Professor, Severus did nothing wrong," Lucius spoke before she could. The half-blood boy, apart from Barty, was one of Lucius' best friends and one of his most trusted person. Heir Malfoy could always trust him, and he knew that Severus wanted to stay away from the four pranksters as much as possible. "He was merely defending himself and his honour. When did defending oneself become a punishable act?"
"Defending oneself isn't a punishable offence, Mr Malfoy, but physically attacking another student is," Albus spoke in a stern voice. "And Mr Snape will get what he deserves. Mr Potter and Mr Black would help Hagrid fetch some ingredients for the greenhouses, while Mr Snape would help Filch with all the cleaning this evening." Before either Head of House could protest, Dumbledore stormed away.
Everyone may have found it normal, but Harriet couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. The crowd scattered away, continuing on their merry way to the classes. The only ones left behind were fuming and aggravated Slytherins. Even their Head of House didn't help them this time. Severus felt utterly defeated; he was paying the price of mistakes that he didn't commit.
"Let's get you to the hospital wing, Severus," Narcissa brought him out of his stupor and he followed her without another word. Barty took off behind them. Lucius was too mad to think properly; this wasn't the first time Slytherins were subjected to such prejudice and he couldn't help them. He went in the other direction - he needed some fresh air. Harriet stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"Does this happen often?" She asked Regulus. The boy was battling an inner dilemma. On one hand was his friend - one who helped him even if he seemed a bit closed off, and on the other hand was his brother - one who was now more of a stranger. He looked at Harrie with such defeated look, that she could only feel pity for him.
"Unfortunately yes. No one cares about us. They only know that we are evil, cunning people who'll go to any lengths to get what we want, but nobody is willing to see past that. I don't know how much more we'll have to suffer for others to realise that we are just like them," the way he spoke seemed that he was in his own thoughts rather than being totally aware of his surroundings.
Harrie decided to take her leave. She went in the same direction where Lucius had gone when a sudden realisation caught her. She hadn't seen Voldemort the whole day; not even caught a glimpse of him. Where was he? She just hoped that him missing a day out, wouldn't bring troubles for her in the future.
Notes:
I hope that you guys like it. Comments, kudos and bookmarks are always aprreciated. A good day to all! :)
Chapter 10: Chapter 9
Notes:
A/N: Hello to everyone. First of all thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to everyone who have left kudos and bookmarked story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading.
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
A/N: 'Bold and italics' is conversation in parseltongue.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Harriet followed Lucius in the direction he had gone a few moments ago. The sudden attack at his best friend and then the headmaster's obvious injustice had taken quite a toll on the silver-haired boy. Harriet was going after Heir Malfoy because she understood very well as to how utterly useless and defeated one felt when they couldn't even protect their loved ones and family. It was an emotional roller coaster ride, Harriet personally experienced, whenever Ron and Hermione put their lives in danger because of her. Plus, Harriet wanted to understand the snakes of the prestigious Slytherin house. In her heart, she was coming to terms that she hadn't treated them well either, and if she wanted this mission of hers to be successful, Harriet would have to befriend them and understand their point of view too.
After all, no judgement can pass by hearing only one side of the verdict.
Harriet reached the doors to one of the empty classrooms, from where a fancy string of curses could be distinctly heard. Cautiously approaching, she pushed the door ajar enough for her to see the mess Lucius had made. The whole classroom was in shackles and destroyed - the desks and chairs were now just pieces of splintered wood, and the windows were shattered as the broken pieces of glass lay askew on the floor. There were scorch marks on the walls, clearly indicating of the heavy curses used on them. Lucius was facing away from Harriet so she couldn't see the thundering rage on his face. She, however, saw his body shaking and his head bowed in shame upon the fact that he couldn't help his friend and housemate in any way, and instead stood like a mute witness.
She slowly pushed the door open, and its creaking sound caught Lucius' attention, causing him to whirl around and see who his intruder was.
"Destroying school property or breaking things isn't going solve your problems. Nor is it going to help Mr Snape, in any way, at the moment." Harrie spoke clearly as she carefully stepped further into the room. Lucius' rage and obvious dislike at her interruption could easily be read in the hard glare he was sending her way.
"What are you doing here?!" he hissed venomously.
"I only came here to help," she said as she simultaneously raised her hands, showing Heir Malfoy that she held no wand and thus meant no harm to him, whatsoever.
"I don't need your help, you filthy little mudblood! Who do you think you are!" Lucius raised his voice as he pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at her. Harriet pulled out her own, loyal Holly wand, in defence.
"Don't you dare call me a 'mudblood', Mr Malfoy. And don't you dare point your wand at me," she warned him, but something in her tone must have irked the Malfoy boy because the next thing she knew was that he'd casted a powerful curse at her.
"Reducto!"
"Protego." Harriet put a shielding charm without a second thought.
"Diffindo!" Lucius shouted, but Harriet easily side-stepped making the silver-haired boy snarl.
"Protego! Levicorpus!" Harriet shouted. Lucius, however, ducked and got out of the way with immense ease. From the way he was battling, it seemed that he had much more experience in duelling, as she had predicted or anticipated.
"SILENCIO! EXPELLIARMUS! PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" He was good, but alas, not the quickest because Harriet instantly threw hexes at him, one after the other, and had him lying on the ground with his body bound and his wand in Harriet's hand.
By the time their unnecessary duel was over, Harriet was breathing heavily while the boy on the ground, was probably thinking of various ways wherein he could murder Harriet with ease. She walked over to him and cancelled the silencing charm, but not the body-binding curse, because she wasn't sure as to what Lucius' reaction would be to losing against her. Perhaps she was expecting him to verbally lash out at her, but unexpectedly, he didn't say anything. He just lay there, glaring daggers at her.
"I didn't come here to fight you, Mr Malfoy. I came here to help you as I previously stated. But insult me or my blood-status or try to attack me in possible future again, and I assure you, that you won't like the consequences to cross me," Harriet stated with such pride and dignity lacing her words, that Heir Malfoy was forced to lower his eyes. It didn't mean, however, that her intrusion and sneaking up on him was forgiven and forgotten.
"Why are you really here?" he whispered.
"To assist, help you," Harriet too said calmly.
"I don't believe you," Lucius said as a matter of factly, "not in the least."
"Would you believe me if I removed the curses from you? Can I expect a civil conversation from your side, without trying to harm me?" She asked. There was a hidden tone of plea in her words which immediately caught his attention. He didn't want to talk to or confront anyone at the moment, much less her, yet he wanted to know as to why she was trying to be his saviour, instead of moving on with her seemingly uninterested life.
So, he just nodded in affirmation and Harriet immediately followed suit as she freed him and handed back his wand. She breathed a sigh of relief only when he put his wand away, and smiled slightly at her small victory.
"I can understand how hopeless and worthless and incompetent you might be feeling that you couldn't help Mr Snape out there," Lucius' head snapped in her direction, but he let her continue anyway, "but as I said, it won't help your friend. You can't just blame yourself for all that happened. It wasn't your fault..." her words halted.
"You think a stranger can just come up here and tell the Heir of the Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy as to what he should and shouldn't do? Do you think that you can lecture me on how I should treat my friends and get away with it? Who gave you that right, Christopher?" Lucius snarled. At that moment, he resembled Draco so vividly, that Harrie was lost in her own thoughts for a second. The same hair, same eyes, same haughtiness lacing his voice, but one thing was different - Harrie hadn't given a chance or thought to understand Draco's feelings or his point of views, ever. She had disregarded his ideas without a second thought. She wasn't going to repeat her mistakes this time. In this situation, Harrie would have to be the more patient one and guide Heir Malfoy.
"No, no! Not in the least. But if he is your 'friend', don't you think you should be in the infirmary with them, instead of trying to burn down the castle? Shouldn't you start taking charge for your housemates, as a Prefect, raise question against the obvious injustice and show others how wrong their perception about the Slytherins' is?" Harriet asked gently causing Lucius to think about everything. Surely the Slytherins have taken appropriate measures for their snakes, but they had never actually tried to make peace with the other houses.
"Sometimes we need to show our friends that we are there for them, take a step forward when the other falls. Sometimes words need to be spoken to make a stronger impact; you can't always expect your peers to understand your thoughts."
"How do you know about such things?" Lucius counter-questioned.
"Believe me when I say that I understand. I have been in your condition, and I have been in Mr Snape's place as well. He needs the support of all his housemates right now. He needs the assurance from you people that everything is going to turn out alright, even if things didn't go in your favour."
By the look on his face, Harriet could say she was able to guide him in a positive direction. He just needed a little more push right now.
"Think about it, Mr Malfoy. All the younger Slytherins look up to you because they believe that you'll protect them and listen to their problems. If any mishappenings take place, you're the first person to be informed in the house, even before Professor Slughorn. Doesn't it mean that you have a responsibility towards them? Isn't it hight time for all of us to come out of Professor Slughorn's shadow and start defending ourselves?" Lucius looked at Harriet and could see the anger behind her subtle mask. Clearly, he wasn't the only one to be affected by today's fight.
She, of course, was right. Horace Slughorn had always been meek and had never been able to speak in his snakes' favour in front of Dumbledore. Today, as well, he had maintained his silence whilst the others had tried to protest.
"What do you reckon we do then?" He asked Harriet suddenly. His eyes were wide in realisation and fear - he looked like a lost child who seemingly didn't have any sense for right or wrong. So, she quickly tried to assure him.
"Right now, you go to the infirmary and check upon how Mr Snape and the others are fairing. I'm gonna go and have a chat with Professor Slughorn," she murmured.
"You're right. I should go," he spoke more to himself than to Harriet. Without wasting any more of the precious time or a glance in her direction, Lucius hurried towards the infirmary. Harriet too quickly followed suit and towards Professor Slughorn's office.
The Dark Lord was growing impatient. His lower minions hadn't been able to get any sort of information Harriet Katherine Christopher. It seemed, as if, she had appeared out of thin air with no traces or strings to her past. There was not a single clue.
On top of that, he felt a constant need to be close to her; like a magnetic pull so powerful that he couldn't resist their irrelevant bond. Whenever she was in nearby proximity, he felt calm and sane.
Making multiple Horcruxes had affected him physically and mentally. The once handsome face of Tom Marvolo Riddle was now etched with worry lines and fine creases. That was the reason he almost always wore his snake-like visage - to hide his disgusting features from the world and himself as well. He was exhausted, in both boys and mind, and Harriet was like a balm to cure all his pains. He felt safe in her proximity, the way he felt safe in the confinements of his own body or when he was close to his treasured pieces of soul.
All these new emotions and stupid feelings were making him furious. He was more agitated with the fact that a mere slip of a girl was making the most feared wizard, behave in such an eerie way. He needed to find about the mysterious girl soon or else he'd probably kill someone.
Currently, he was sitting in his manor's office with pending paperwork scattered on the large mahogany desk, while his mind was still stuck on the raven-haired, green-eyed girl residing at Hogwarts. It was the weekend, so he'd decided to have a meeting with the Death Eaters. Thankfully, the usually nosy headmaster didn't raise any questions or suspicions.
A voice of something slithering across the office caught his ears, and he smiled - a rare but genuine one.
"Hello Tommy, how are you?" Nagini hissed as she slithered further into the room. She had been his only friend and constant companion ever since he'd started building the foundation of his empire. She understood him and cared for him. He cared for her deeply too, enough that she could call him by the ghastly and offending name.
"Hello, Nagini. I'm well. I hope that in my absence you haven't scared of my poor servants."
"Those servants you call 'Death Eaters' are stupid, Tommy. Anyone can smell the fear rolling off of them. I love to intervene between their conversations and terrify them." She gave of what could be described as a hissy laugh, making Voldemort sigh. She was now resting on his shoulders.
Sounds of multiple apparitions informed him about the arrival of his minions. Putting on his snake-like visage he left the office and strolled straight to the throne room. He smirked widely when he heard several gasps of surprise; it always amused him how afraid and petrified they were of Nagini.
Once he was seated comfortably on his throne, the death eaters rose from their kneeling position - good, their place would always be beneath him.
"Welcome, Death Eaters. I want to hear reports of the tasks assigned to you." The meeting started as it usually did. All his plannings were going brilliantly. The Ministry Of Magic was too afraid to act or take action against him, as of now. The Wizarding British Ministry had been unsuccessful in stopping any of the Dark Lord's raids.
There were also reports of some young children and students who wanted to be branded with the dark mark by Yuletide. Everything was boring until one Death Eater from the upper tier kneeled, "My Lord, the Ministry is trying to keep this information under wraps, but have failed to do so. They have a suspicion that there may have been some sort of time-travel accident. They aren't sure of it, but they have evidence of abrupt instances and sort of time manipulation occurrences in a deserted alley in Muggle London, two weeks ago."
The news was unexpected but not unwelcomed. If the Ministry's doubt proved correct then how beneficial would the time-traveller be to the Dark Lord? Suddenly, a thought struck in his mind, but he needed a solid proof to confirm his suspicions.
"I'll hear the rest of the reports later. But I want you to keep an eye on the Ministry and what they are planning ahead. If there is actually a time-traveller, I want my hands on them before the aurors does. Everyone to leave, except Abraxas. Dismissed."
The others scurried away quickly leaving the duo to their tasks.
"What information, Abraxas?" He came straight to the point.
"There isn't much information or data, my Lord, but as she claimed to be moving from America, I still checked. There isn't any record or information about her birth or her family and parents at MACUSA. I also know for a fact that the manager of Gringotts had exclusively helped her." The Malfoy head spoke in a firm tone, and Voldemort's eyes narrow at this.
"The goblins don't help anyone like that -especially not the wand users." Voldemort was thinking really hard. He had doubted that she was lying from the go. The official story he heard was that she moved from America after her parents' death - muggleborn parents who had homeschooled her and were apparently aurors. This piece of information wasn't fitting. From what he had observed at Hogwarts, she wasn't that paranoid about her parents' sudden demise, nor did she have an accent. She was acutely aware of her surroundings - always in a position to defend herself, is attacked. It wasn't natural behaviour. The kind of instincts she had came from years of experience and seeing them in a seventeen-year-old wasn't a common sight.
"That's what I thought too. My theory is that either she at Hogwarts under a false identity or she's someone belonging to an ancient and wealthy house. In both cases, one thing is clear - if she's an enemy then she needs to be dealt with soon." Abraxas said and Voldemort couldn't help but agree.
"Although I'm at Hogwarts, tell your son to keep an eye on the new girl too. The more insight we get on her personal life, the better." The Dark Lord ordered.
"As you say, my Lord." Abraxas bowed before leaving.
"I have to leave now, my dear." He hissed to Nagini bidding his farewell.
Dropping his snakelike glamour and becoming Professor Grey again, he flooed to his Hogwarts' office. A much-required chat with Miss Christopher was definitely in tow.
Notes:
How was it?
Let me know what you guys think about the chapter in the comments below!
Good day to all! :)
Chapter 11: Chapter 10
Summary:
Harriet confronts Professor Slughorn and has a chat with Professor Nicholas too. The meeting him with him doesn't go as she expected.
Notes:
A/N: Hello to everyone. My humblest apologies for the late update of this chapter; real life just got in the way.
Thank you very much for taking time and reading this fic. Also, thanks to evryone who have left kudos, comments and bookmarked the story. It means a lot. Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys. I hope you all enjoy it! Happy reading.
I don't own Harry Potter, it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Come in," Professor Slughorn spoke as he looked up from his paperwork when he heard the slight knock on his office door. He smiled when he saw Harriet standing in the doorway though, his smile didn't reach his eyes as it usually did. It seemed he was pretty pissed about the whole ordeal too.
"Miss Christopher, what can I do for you?" Harriet moved further into the office as he kept sorting and rifling through his documents.
"Professor I...I wanted to talk about what happened with Mr Snape today," she said politely yet firmly. It felt that Professor Slughorn's entire demeanour changed, and the smile vanished completely from his face.
"If I remember correctly, Miss Christopher, you were present there too. I don't think I can give you any more clarification or insight over the issue," Slughorn spoke while looking everywhere in a very poor attempt to avoid eye contact. It was clear that he was ashamed of not piping in and helping Severus.
"But Professor, you do know that the punishment given to him in the name of fair judgement was unreasonable. In fact, Mr Potter and Mr Black were given many lenient punishments in his comparison, when he didn't even start with all this mess..." she stopped when his Slughorn stopped her rambling by cutting her off.
"Mr Snape should not have physically attacked the Gryffindors, Miss Christopher." Harriet gaped at him; they were all Dumbledore's words coming out of his mouth.
"But Professor, he wouldn't have if they had been civil in their behaviour towards him," Harriet reasoned.
"Miss Christopher, I cannot do anything in this regard. The Headmaster, himself, had spoken in this matter. He passed the judgement as he saw fit, and to go against him would be very inappropriate on my behalf. It would seem as if I do not respect his decision," Slughorn spoke in a dismissing tone, but Harriet was having none of it.
"But do you, Professor?" Harriet asked, internally fuming that her Head of House was so scared of the Headmaster that he wasn't his own students.
"I beg your pardon?" Slughorn looked wide-eyed at the daring student.
"Forgive me, Professor, but I don't think that you agree with the Headmaster's decision as well. I think you're just scared of him and what action he might take against you, for standing up for the Slytherins. I think you're just scared that you might lose your prestigious position of Potion's teacher at Hogwarts," Harriet spoke defiantly.
"Miss Christopher, you're forgetting your boundaries. Dare I remind you that you're a student here, and in no way whatsoever, will such behaviour be tolerated," Slughorn's voice rose, as did his temper.
"No, Professor. I'm perfectly aware of my position as a new student here but you're our teacher. When being a new student I can see the prejudice our house is facing, then why are you turning your back to these problems?" Harriet questioned, and Slughorn was left speechless.
"I think this is the reason no one from our house comes to you with their issues, and try to solve it amongst themselves," Harriet sighed.
"What do you mean the students don't come to me deliberately?" Slughorn was baffled that his snakes were hiding such things from him.
"They believe that you won't listen to them or take a stand for them against the others, and seeing your dismissal towards this situation today, I honestly can't blame them," Harriet spoke with a casual shrug knowing well how much would it affect the Potions professor.
"Detention to you, Miss Christopher, for talking so rudely to your Professor. You'll be joining Mr Snape tonight and assisting Mr Filch in whatever task he gives you," Slughorn's booming voice filled the office making Harriet look at him unaffected. She was expecting as much but she wisely kept quiet. Harriet turned around and was about to leave when Slughorn's voice made her stop in her tracks, "And remember Miss Christopher that you're a new student here so you might not be aware of the rules and regulation we follow here, but such atrocious behaviour would not be tolerated at Hogwarts."
Harriet ignored his words and left the office quickly, fuming and angered by Slughorn's casual approach. On her way out though, she saw Regulus hiding in the doorway- by the look on his face, it was clear that he had heard everything.
She approached him feeling disheartened at her failed attempt, "I'm really sorry, Mr Black. I tried my best but he didn't..."
"I know, I heard everything. You don't have to apologise for anything, Miss. It's truly sad that our Head of House cares for his position more than he does for his students," Regulus sighed defiantly. "Thank you for your help, though. You did a favour by sending Lucius to the Hospital wing on time." He smiled genuinely at her, making her feel that she hadn't totally failed.
"I only did what was right. How is Mr Snape? I hope that he's fairing well," Harriet asked.
"Severus is doing better now. The curse that they used on him didn't mess too much, but there was some internal bleeding so he's resting now. Lucius and Barty are with him at the moment," Regulus informed her. He knew that she was on their side and to keep anything hidden from her seemed ridiculous. Regulus had himself witnessed how she'd put Slughorn in his place, and honestly, he was starting to respect the new girl.
Harriet nodded, "If there is any way that I could help you guys, please let me know about it."
"I will," Regulus answered, and saw her move towards the library. He didn't waste any more of his time and started walking towards the dungeons; he should inform Lucius and Narcissa about what happened between Slughorn and Miss Christopher.
Professor Nicholas was wandering through the corridors of Hogwarts in order to find the Christopher girl when he suddenly remembered their odd 'mind link'. Concentrating, he lowered his Occlumency shields and opened his mind link. Professor Nicholas jerked as waves of absolute fury, desolation and hate hit him. Moreover, Harriet wasn't able to control her magic as the waves of her magic kept fluctuating.
His feet got nearer to the seventh-floor corridor on their accord, and he cursed under his breath for not noticing such extraordinary power before. It was like her magic was bathing the whole castle in pools of golden, silver, crimson, emerald, purple, blue and white. Her magic was intoxicating and felt like 'death'.
He finally reached the seventh-floor corridor, and what he saw, stunned him. There were four seventh-year Gryffindors, and they were all pinned to the wall - their faces pale and fear apparent in their eyes. Harriet had her wand dug deep into one of the boy's necks, and in the corner, there were two first-year Slytherin girls - crying and shaking.
"If you ever...ever, try to touch or bully or abuse any other person in this castle, I swear by Merlin and Morgana, that you four would not be able to have any future heirs. Do I make myself clear?" Harriet whispered, making a shiver run down Voldemort's spine in both fear and delight. Her aura pulsated throughout the corridor in thick waves; it was truly dark and delicious - Salazar, she was beautiful!
Harriet turned away from them, and the four imbeciles took the opportunity to scurry off. Her attention shifted completely to the little ones, and she tried to act as calm as possible.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore, they'll never harm you," she said kneeling in front of them. "Let me see."
One of the little ones was injured, Voldemort observed.
"We should take you to the hospital wing, love. Come on." That was when he decided to interrupt.
"What is happening here?" Professor Nicholas asked as he moved forward from his hiding place in the shadows. Harriet looked him right in his eyes. The other girl whose friend was injured spoke up, "Me and Cory were going back to the common room, from the library, when the elder Gryffindors attacked us, sir. They said that we were slimy snakes that needed to learn their place in Hogwarts or die, and then they pushed Cory violently into the wall. Just then Miss Christopher came, and she told them to stop attacking us, and not bother us again." The girl whispered quietly, frightened that she and her friend would get punished for not defending themselves.
"Those sorry excuses of wizards were bullying them," Harriet spat angrily. "I just taught them some lesson."
The voice in which she spoke made Voldemort wonder for a moment of what exactly had she done to make them all whimper like babies.
"I'll talk to Professor Slughorn about it," he said, but that made Harriet chuckle darkly making Voldemort look at her weirdly.
"And he will do nothing about it. He'll simply ignore anything related to the Slytherins," Harriet sneered.
He regarded her opinion knowing that she was right, then simply turned to the first-years, "Miss Yaxley, please escort Miss Harrington to the hospital wing. I'll come and explain everything to the matron, later. I'll also talk to Professor McGonagall regarding the Gryffindors' behaviour."
"Yes, sir." With that both girls left, leaving behind Professor Grey and Harriet alone.
"Bullying is not to be tolerated," Harriet spoke with so much conviction and hatred lacing her words that it oddly reminded Voldemort of himself. What was this girl?
"Miss Christopher, I would like to talk to you privately." Harriet looked at him pensively, knowing that a conversation with him was long overdue, and that her little stunt had obviously caught his eye.
"My office." Harriet simply nodded, following Voldemort into his snake-pit.
"Would you like some tea, Miss Christopher?" The Dark Lord asked the young witch, sitting across from him, in a seductive tone. Harriet looked at him oddly wondering as to what was going on his crazy mind. She simply nodded.
With that, he summoned two teacups and a kettle. Pouring some generous amount of the steaming peppermint tea for both of them, he leisurely leaned back in his chair.
"I got my hands on some really interesting news today. Very interesting indeed. Would you like to hear what that is?" He asked casually as Harriet looked at him from the rim of her teacup.
"The Ministry is in search of a time-traveller," he spoke, and Harriet stilled in her actions making Nicholas grin maniacally. So, he was right in his assumptions.
"That isn't the most interesting part of the news, however. What I found truly curious, was the fact that wherein the Aurors are in search of someone who manipulated through time and is hiding somewhere in Britain with no ties to anyone whatsoever, a girl mysteriously turns up and demands admission at Hogwarts," Voldemort spoke as he got up from his comfortable chair, and started walking around the desk. Harriet watched every step of his with caution.
"And?" She asked trying to sound as normal and unaffected as possible. He smirked at her audacity and guts, and stood right in front of her.
"Ah, but what if I tell them that the new girl, Harriet Katherine Christopher, who claims to have moved to Wizarding Britain from America, has been lying to everyone and living under a false identity right under their noses? I can even prove it by the lack of your official documents at MACUSA or the false ones you had made with the help of Goblins."
All colour drained from Harriet's face as she saw Voldemort mock pondering over the brilliancy of his plans.
"But you wouldn't!" Harriet said, her confidence wavering a bit now.
"And why is that? Why wouldn't I do it? Give me one good reason." He mused. Harriet's mind started thinking profusely, desperately searching for a reason to make him shut up or divert his mind elsewhere. She was furious at herself for not thinking about and taking care of all the documents and stuff. Of course she had taken the help of Goblins to create false ones, but she hadn't told them to send the copies to MACUSA. Damn those clever and cunning creatures; she should have paid them more!
She was all the more furious for not listening to Death when he'd said to be aware of the Dark Lord at every turn - of course, he'd gone to extreme lengths to get any and all information about her. An idea popped; it was extremely risky and dangerous, and Harriet knew it was not the best plan, but it what the only solution she had at the moment.
"You wouldn't dare, because I know who you are and your secret!" Harriet exclaimed, praying in her heart that the stupid idea would work. He narrowed his eyes dangerously at her.
"And who do you think I am?" He almost growled at her making her gulp slightly.
"Lord Voldemort." It was a whisper but he heard her nonetheless, and his eyes widened in surprise. Harriet wondered if calling Death now would be a good idea or not, but her thoughts were cut short when he leapt from his position, and caught Harriet harshly by her throat.
"You little bitch! Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Do you have any idea of how dangerous I am, hmm?" He hissed angrily. Every plan Harriet had of calling Death and let him take care of the situation went flying through the window. He may be the Dark Lord but she was the Mistress of Death. She had faced him endless times in the future for Salazar's sake, and defeated him. No, Harriet wouldn't allow him to intimidate her or handle this situation; her pride and the Gryffindor blood running in her veins wouldn't allow that.
"Believe me, no one knows your dangerous or maniacal side better than me." Although he was choking her badly, Harriet's words never faltered.
"What do you know about me?" His eyes never left hers, searching and calculating; trying to find the meaning behind her cryptic words.
"Everything," her whisper was enough to make his hold on her this tighten.
"I'm willing to make a deal with you, however," she rasped out; the force of his large hand bruising and clenching her throat painfully. Voldemort thought over, his hand loosened when he heard the word 'deal'. His plan may not have been working out as he'd originally anticipated, but it didn't mean he couldn't turn this situation in his favour. Also, he'll need her alive for obvious reasons, so squeezing her gut out wouldn't be beneficial to him.
"What kind of deal?"
"I'm willing to keep your identity hidden from the Headmaster as long as you keep your mouth shut about mine," Harriet spoke.
"I don't need your help, you wench. You think you'll tell the old coot about me and he'll listen?" he hissed at her; the crimson seeping slowly into his irises. He removed his hand from her throat but didn't back away from her; their close proximity was making Harriet uncomfortable.
"No, this is what will happen - you are going to help me with the details of the future and I'll keep your secret safe," he purred and Harriet gaped at him. She tried to push him away but Morgana, he was too strong to be budged from his place.
"Absolutely not! I'm not going to tell you anything related to the future or otherwise..."
"Tut, tut, tut, Miss Christopher, tread carefully. Do not think that I'm giving you a choice. You will do as I've said or else the lives of your friends would be in grave danger."
"I do not have any friends," Harriet eyed him suspiciously.
"Ah, but what about Miss Fawley, and that mudblood Miss Evans." Just the mere mention of her mother was enough to make Harriet stiffen in fright. That obviously didn't go unnoticed by the Dark Lord. She looked at him in disbelief.
"What? Did you seriously think that I wouldn't notice how would poor Miss Christopher get upset whenever the mudblood Gryffindor refused to talk to her, hmm?" He asked innocently. Harriet couldn't believe this; she felt that she was drowning into deep water with no way out.
"Now, do you agree to the deal?" He asked again, and Harriet wasn't left with any other option. She couldn't deal with the consequences of her young mother dying before her designated time. And she couldn't also let Sarah's life in danger because of her personal issues with the crazy dark wizard.
She merely nodded in acceptance; Voldemort couldn't know if he lied to him about the future a bit, could he?
"Excellent!" His grin was so wide that it actually frightened her a bit.
"Okay. Get off me now." Harriet tried to push him again but to no avail.
"Make a vow first. I want to make sure that you won't be able to betray me," he whispered, and Harriet actually rolled her eyes at this.
"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" he whisper yelled. Salazar, this woman was infuriating.
"Yes, I did! Now if you don't back off, I would neither make a vow nor would keep the deal, and would happily tell the old coot about your stupid plans!" Harriet exclaimed. She perhaps expected him to get pissed off at her but got a totally different reaction. He actually obeyed her without another word or sneer thrown her way; Voldemort liked her attitude.
She got up and immediately backed away, trying to create some distance between them. She took out her loyal Holly wand while Voldemort took out his disguised Yew wand. They, together, pointed their wands in the upwards direction. Voldemort frowned when his wand suddenly started vibrating in his hands; it was getting warm, and golden and silver sparks flew from it, just like Harriet's. He looked at Harriet with demanding eyes, who was herself gaping at the scene with unreadable expressions. Shit, she had totally forgotten about their wand connection!
"What was that?" he asked; hunger for new knowledge clear in his crimson eyes.
"Our wands are brother wands. They share the same core - Phoenix Feather - given by the same Phoenix, at the same time. The wands are rejoicing their reunion, for they in a way, are twins. For this sole reason, w can't kill each other through our wands but only cause little damage. The wands would not allow it," Harried explained patiently. His wand not being able to harm her was leverage and a huge advantage to her. Besides, she could always use the Elder Wand if she so desired, or he tried to betray her.
Taking up the new information, he nodded. This wasn't good for him but he'll find a solution nonetheless.
Harriet placed her wand on her chest and muttered, "I swear on my magic that I will help Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort with some details of the future war, as long as he keeps my identity hidden and does not harm my loved ones. As I have said, so mote it be." The tip of her wand glowed brightly and Voldemort was concerned as to how she knew about his full name.
Placing his Yew wand on his chest, he muttered, "I swear on my magic that I would keep Miss Christopher's identity a secret as long as she helps in winning the war, and not harm any of her friends." The tip of his wand glowed brightly too.
"How do you know my name?" he asked as soon as she placed her wand back in her wand holster.
"As I previously said, I know many things Marvolo, and you'll get to know them in due time, that is if I see fit," Harriet spoke looking him straight in the eye.
"Marvolo?"
"I know you dislike the name Tom, and I don't want to be tortured. Also, Nicholas doesn't suit you at all," Harriet spoke with a slight shrug, making Voldemort chuckle lightly that caught her off guard. She had never seen him genuinely smile before.
"You really do know a lot, Miss Christopher. Pity, we're not on the same page," he spoke in that seductive tone again, making Harriet shiver a little. "But worry not! I assure you that this problem would be solved soon enough, and I'll learn everything about you. After all, we have so much time to spend together."
Harriet left his office in a hurry; picking up her pace to reach the safe confinements of her dorm as soon as possible.
Notes:
Reads, kudos, comments and bookmarks are always appreciated!
Good day to all! :)
Chapter 12: Chapter 11
Summary:
After her encounter with Professor Nicholas, Harriet has another talk with Death. A new face enters and Harriet is confused with everything around her.
Notes:
A/N: Hey guys! Oh wow, it's been a really long time that I updated this work, and I would like to apologise to all of you for making you wait for so long. It's been one hell of a ride with this one, really. Also, we aren't facing the very best of time with this disease spreading all over and trying to dampen our spirits. I hope that all of you are safe wherever you are. Just want to say, that each and every one of us, is together in the fight against corona.
Stay safe, my darlings!
Without further ado, here is the next chapter and I hope you guys like it. Happy reading!
I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: None.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The walk towards her room didn't take long, and with a glance to make sure that nobody was watching her, she slammed the door close.
As soon as she flipped the lights on, Harriet let out a surprised shriek when she found that she wasn't alone in the room.
"You scared me," she huffed out, her hand still pressed up against her beating heart, as she glanced at her servant who sat comfortably on the bed with a frown adorning his face.
"And what you did back there has me scared, Mistress," Death replied. "Tell me, what was going on through that brain of yours when you decided to take such a hasty decision without thinking of the consequences?"
Harriet sighed at the reprimanding she could hear in his voice. Honestly, she hadn't been thinking much, because Voldemort's annoying observational habits had caught her off guard when he threatened to hurt Lily.
"I'm sorry, okay," Harriet said exasperatingly. "He isn't the easiest person to talk to if you know what I mean. Plus, he dug up and found no related papers of my birth and existence and no other relations whatsoever. Nothing even about my parents. He said that the Ministry thinks that there is a time-traveller here."
Death nodded in understanding. "I know, Mistress. What I am concerned about now though, is this vow you've made. You're practically tied to help him win this war without letting him know about your true identity and plans. It's a dangerous path to tread on."
Harriet stared at him with confusion glazing her thoughts, "Won't helping him win the war, mean the slaughter of Muggleborns and Muggles around the world?"
She'd thought that in her haste she had screwed things up. Death smiled at her.
"It means that you're in for some surprise then," the words were hushed, and Harriet couldn't make much of it. "Now, what really tempted you to make an Unbreakable Vow to him, knowing who he is?" Death counter-questioned.
Harriet sighed heavily, "I never really uttered a word about the Prophecy or Horcruxes. Does that count as an advantage to us?"
"And you thought that you wouldn't fit in Slytherin."
"What?"
"Time isn't a relative thing, Mistress, and neither is the destiny tied to it. As soon as you agreed to embark on this adventure, the future as we knew had already started to alter. This is the new reality."
"You lost me." She was utterly confused over what he wanted to say.
"It means that there was never a Professor Nicholas teaching at Hogwarts before. It all changed when you came here, which means that this present is different from what it should have been."
"He never came to Hogwarts during my parent's time?"
"No, not in that reality. But he did it this time, which means you somehow influenced him." The answer was blunt.
"Which takes me back to square one, Death. Wouldn't it be a bad thing if he won this mad quest of his?"
"Things aren't bad or good; they just are." The mysterious way in which he spoke made her wonder if he and Dumbledore were distantly related.
"You witnessed as the Light side won the war, there was destruction still. And maybe there will be even more chaos if Voldemort wins this time. But that is a pure assumption of ours for now. What if he actually does something good for the Wizarding society, what if he isn't what you think he is? The future isn't certain for now, but, we may be able to bend it to our favour."
"How do we do that then? Bend it to our advantage, I mean?"
"Talk to him, of course. There's more to him than seems to the eyes. There are truths to be discovered and mysteries yet to be solved, dear one. There are things that you do not know, but have to find on your own.
Harriet stared deep into his eyes.
"There's a reason that Tom Marvolo Riddle holds a special place in both of our hearts, Mistress."
A sudden knock on the door startled her, and her eyes flicked towards it. She frowned, who could be knocking on her dorm room?
As she turned to speak to Death, she found him vanishing into thin air and leaving her alone yet again. At this, she heaved a heavy sigh. Slowly, but surely, she was getting used to Death's weird antics.
The knock was there again, and she turned around to attend her guest. She was rather surprised to see an unfamiliar face, the face of a good-looking young man at that, standing on the opposite side of her door. He was smiling at her.
"Hello," she said politely.
"Miss Christopher," the grin on his face grew wider.
"That'd be me," Harriet replied, not liking the intense way he was staring at her. "How can I help you?"
"Allow me to start by saying that you look even more beautiful this close." He gave her a sly smirk which she didn't understand at all. Instead, her mind immediately went to alert mode, the same way it went whenever Cormac McLaggen was around her and Hermione.
"Umm, thank you. So, what do you want?" He expected a more profound reaction from her perhaps because he looked a bit surprised now.
"Apologies for being rude. I'm Jack Harrington, Cory's brother. I came here to thank you for saving my sister earlier today."
Harriet squinted her eyes in concentration as she tried to remember and shrugged, "It was nothing. I'm sure anyone in my place would have done the same. Besides, they won't hurt her anymore, I assure you of that."
"No, you don't understand. Others wouldn't have done the same. They would have shrugged it away as a mere house-rivalry fight, but not you. In Fact, Professor Nicholas looked into the matter personally and had those four boys punished for their behaviour. So, I had to properly thank you for saving my sister."
Harriet gave him a small smile, no one has ever thanked her for helping others, so it was a nice change.
"You're quite welcome. How is she anyway?"
"A little frightened and a small scratch, but she would be fine very soon. She wouldn't stop gushing about your bravery though."
"That's kind of her."
The silence that followed could only be described as painfully awkward, and for the life of her, Harriet didn't know what to do. "Is there anything else?"
"If you wouldn't mind, would you allow me to escort you to dinner tonight?"
"Huh?"
"Please?" he insisted, his thumbs twiddling in obvious nervousness. Harriet stared at him dumbfounded. Why was he nervous? She had her fair share of dealings with boys, but then again, the Weasley siblings treated her like their annoying little sister.
"Okay." That earned her a wide toothy grin from him.
"Great! I'll meet you in the common room then." Harriet only nodded slightly her shoulders in return.
"Hey! There you are. I thought I would have to wait longer." Jack greeted her as she entered the common room. Beside him stood Lucius and Narcissa wearing matching smiles, while Regulus looked a bit angry.
"And why would that be?" Her brows furrowed at his comment.
"Nothing! You look great by the way." She looked down at herself, not being able to tell if he was serious or joking about her. Because really, she had done nothing remarkable to her appearance.
"Thanks."
"Shall we?" He asked.
"Uhh, sure. Miss Black, wouldn't you all be joining us?" At her question, Narcissa gave Harriet a secretive smile that she couldn't decipher.
"We were waiting for Bellatrix to join us. You two please go on, we'll meet you soon." She didn't show it, but Harriet was a bit disappointed to be left alone with this Jack guy.
The walk to the Great Hall couldn't be any slower, she thought.
"I'm sorry, Miss Christopher." Jack broke the silence.
"For what?" Harriet stared at him confusingly.
"For the way, I talked to you back there. That was very rude of me." Harriet immediately understood the reference to his sudden compliment that had made her uncomfortable.
"I didn't want to make a fool of myself, but I guess I did." His shoulders sagged in defeat as he continued. "Truth is, I was a bit nervous to come and talk to you, and I spoke the first words that came to my mind. For that, I apologise." His hands were fumbling again, she noticed.
"Why would you be afraid to talk to me?"
"Wow, you really have no idea, do you?" He chuckled at her, making her frown.
"I don't understand...what do I don't know?" Harriet looked him straight in the eyes, but the boy just wouldn't pry and kept walking.
"Nothing."
"No, tell me," she demanded.
"Here we are." He smiled at her without looking away, and Harriet turned around to see that they had reached their destination.
"I'll see you in Potions tomorrow, Miss Christopher."
"Wait." Before she could follow him, he'd already made his way towards his friends in the crowd.
"Harriet!" She turned her head to see Sarah making her way towards her.
"Good evening, Miss Fawley."
"Just Sarah is fine, Harriet." They walked towards the Slytherin table together. The air permeated with the delicious smell of roast chicken and treacle tart. "Who were you calling after?"
"Mr Harrington, actually." Harriet's gaze landed at the Ravenclaw table to see the said boy goofing around with his friends. Knowing that she could trust Sarah, she proceeded to tell the girl about him, "He came to my room and then insisted on escorting me to dinner tonight."
"Jack Harrington?"
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah, I don't trust that guy." The look Sarah gave Harriet, told her she was damn serious.
"Why is that?"
"I don't know, he just gives me the creeps." With a huff, she started with her dinner. Harriet too shrugged off, knowing that she couldn't do anything right now. Besides, Jack hasn't given her a chance to make it on her bad side, so why not give him the benefit of doubt. Maybe, he wasn't that bad of a person.
To lighten the mood, she started talking to her only 'friend' as of now, "So, where's Elizabeth? I didn't see you guys today."
At the mention of Elizabeth, Sarah's smile faltered, and Harriet immediately knew that she had asked the wrong question. Sarah cleared her throat, plastering a fake smile.
"She's umm...she's dining with Regulus tonight."
"Regulus?" Harriet's brows creased and she followed Sarah's line of sight to see Elizabeth and Regulus sitting towards the very front of the table in seemingly awkward silence, with Narcissa, Bellatrix, Barty and Lucius accompanying them. They didn't talk, didn't even dare to make small talk with each other, and just ate in silence, responding with small murmurs with what their friends were saying. There wasn't anything right between them and a blind person could see that.
"They are?"
"They got engaged this summer." Harriet was shocked to hear this. She knew it wasn't uncommon in Pureblood families, but still, both of them were in school and not aware of the difficulties of life.
"You know after the whole fiasco this summer, Sirius running away and all." Now, Harriet was confused.
"But...isn't Regulus a year younger than Elizabeth? And how does Sirius come in between all of this?"
"You don't know?" Sarah looked at her as if she'd grown two heads.
"Know what?" What was with people asking her as if she was crazy?
"Sirius and Elizabeth were engaged, a proposition made by their grandfathers as soon as they turned eleven. They got engaged last summer and were to be married this Samhain. It was a pretty big ordeal, Pureblood families from all around attended the party, and even the newspapers were flooded with their engagement photos for almost a week." Harriet nodded. The Wizarding World was sure full of gossip even now.
"But then, Sirius ran away and everything was chaos. To stop the family name going down the drain, Lord Black gave his word to Elizabeth's parents, and Regulus and she were engaged the day after."
"For the same reason, Bellatrix's and Heir Lestrange's marriage has been pushed forward, this Yuletide. Narcissa and Heir Malfoy are to be wed two months after."
"What do Regulus and Elizabeth think about it?" Because Harriet was sure that they were not happy to be in this arrangement at all.
"We don't get a say in what the Heads of families decide for us," Sarah said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world as if others controlling their lives was not an issue at all.
"You do realise how messed up that is, don't you?"
"It is as it is." Sarah shrugged.
Feeling eyes on her, Harriet turned her head towards the head table to see Dumbledore staring at her. Averting from the weird staring contest, her eyes clashed with Marvolo's. He nodded his head whilst raising his wine cup towards her. Harriet was sure she saw a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, followers, favorites and reviews are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 13: Chapter 12
Summary:
Professor Nicholas has a nice chat with Dumbledore, Harriet gets saved and an interesting lecture by Professor Slughorn.
Notes:
A/N: Hey guys! A new chapter update just as I promised. I hope you guys like it. Happy reading!
I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Language, sarcasm, drama, a smudge of angst.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
He loved teaching, really did. It was a passion of his to lead the others in the right direction, to make them understand the intricate concepts of magic, to push them to their limits and explore their capacities. He loved the way their eyes lit up in awe whenever he performed a difficult spell with much ease. He relished in the feeling when they looked up to him as if he was their leader, guiding them towards greatness, just as it should always have been.
What he did not like about teaching, though, was the loads of crappy homework he had grade every day. It was mentally exhausting, stupidly time-consuming, not to mention the fact that the loathsome little cockroaches didn't even know as to what they were writing, most of the time.
Marvolo squinted his eyes hard, trying to decipher the gibberish written. Salazar, how could a thirteen-year-old's writing be so bad?
If this continued, he would have to start wearing glasses any day now.
With an angry huff, he graded the paper with a big 'T', stacking it on top of the checked assignments, but groaning when he realised that there were still two more stacks to be graded.
A white light suddenly burst his concentration, and Marvolo sighed when Dumbledore's chirpy voice rang throughout his empty office.
"Please meet me in my office, Professor Grey. I would like to discuss some important matters with you."
With the message ending, the glowing white Phoenix Patronus burst into flames, leaving Marvolo irked to no end.
What a bloody great start to the morning—first checking those papers and now dealing with the annoying old-man. Fucking perfect.
"You could have floo-called," Professor Nicholas said as he entered the Headmaster's office, but his eyes immediately widened when he found a ball-sized paperweight thrown his way. Instinctively, he effortlessly caught it.
Nicholas looked at the murderous weapon in his hand and then, towards Headmaster Dumbledore, whose eyes were shining in amusement.
He certainly had woken up on the wrong side of the bed today.
"Good morning, Professor. How are you doing today?" Albus moved away from the window and started walking towards his desk, his tone still playful as if he hadn't thrown a heavy object that could have seriously injured Nicholas.
"Good morning? Is it how you wish others good morning, or is it just me?" He spoke with a clenched jaw.
"Forgive me. I was merely testing a theory. Tea?" Albus asked him.
"Yes, please." He took a seat across from him. "And, what was the conclusion of your theory then?"
"You passed, of course." Nicholas kept silent, knowing he couldn't torture the answers from the Headmaster just yet.
"So, how are you settling in here, Professor? Do you like Hogwarts so far? I hope you had no troubles." Albus questioned as he passed the teacup to Professor Grey.
"Oh, Hogwarts is..." Nicholas stopped mid-sentence, trying not to look horrified when Dumbledore put two lemon drops in his tea.
"It's lovely here. The children, the staff, especially the castle, are all very welcoming. It feels like coming home, if you know what I mean."
"Yes, my dear boy. Hogwarts is very welcoming indeed. The castle has so many mysteries hidden in its walls which I haven't discovered myself, yet." There was an annoying tick in Headmaster's voice as he said the last part. Seemed that he had failed in whatever his mission might have been.
"Madame Pomfrey told me about the commotion that happened yesterday," Dumbledore stated, savouring the lemon-drop flavoured tea on his tongue. The sight alone made Nicholas lose his appetite. "I also talked to Miss Harrington and Miss Yaxley; it was good to see them unharmed and doing well. Professor McGonagall did an appreciative job at giving the Gryffindors punishments for what they had done. Bullying, like this, cannot be accepted at Hogwarts."
Nicholas narrowed his eyes at him. What was he playing at? Not five days ago, he defended the Potter boy and his laggies, and punished a kid who wasn't at fault. But now, Dumbledore against Gryffindors?
"Of course, harming other students shouldn't go unnoticed." The Headmaster immediately understood what Professor Grey meant to imply, but he annoyingly kept his mouth shut. He was determined to not let his secrets get spilt.
"Anyway, let us discuss the reason I called you here for."
"You mean the important thing for which you interrupted my fine morning." Nicholas' tone was insulting, but Albus mistook it for sarcasm.
"Ahh yes, that my dear boy." Albus chuckled. "I apologise for that, but I'm afraid it's imperative to not delay it any further."
He rose from his seat and started walking towards the window of his office, again. "These are dark times, Professor Grey. We know how dangerous it is out there, and it would be foolish to not act upon it."
Nicholas leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his blonde hair, all the playfulness from their conversation now gone.
"The Dark Lord," Nicholas said.
"Voldemort, yes." Dumbledore looked him straight in the eyes. "He's building an army, and I daresay, he's far ahead in his planning and games than we could imagine. Voldemort can strike anytime, and we won't be able to do anything. The Ministry is scared to get too involved, and the Light side is, to simply put, not ready. Something none of us can afford right now."
Internally, Nicholas relished in the feeling of despair and doubt he could read in Dumbledore's eyes. It had taken him years to stand where he was today. And, it was all worth it, because Albus Dumbledore was scared of the Dark Lord. There was no denying the fact.
"What do you suggest we do then?"
"I thought if you could start with a students' club, wherein you teach them how to defend themselves."
"As in Defense Club? All the fighting and war tactics?"
"Yes, it's the least we can do for our children, right?"
Wrong. The whole idea was questionable, and Nicholas knew that the Headmaster was planning something bigger than he had originally thought.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Nicholas muttered. "I think it's a brilliant idea. I'll see how I can incorporate it with their syllabi."
Teaching the kids actual defending and not just boring schoolwork, excited Nicholas. He had plenty of experience, of course. And now, he even had the old coot's permission. Guess, it wasn't such a bad day, after all.
"Good good."
"Very well. I'll start with it right away and keep you updated, Headmaster." Before he could get up, Dumbledore spoke in that sombre voice again.
"There is another thing I would require your help for. It's a little private, though." Professor Grey raised a brow in question.
"I want you to keep an eye on a student. Miss Harriet Katherine Christopher, to be specific."
Ahh, now they were talking business.
"I beg your pardon, Headmaster." He tried to sound a little shocked and offended at the request, but in reality, he knew his former teacher very well.
"Isn't that against the law? Suspecting and keeping an eye out on a student, like that?"
"You misunderstand me, Professor. It is not as it sounds."
Really? What a pathetic excuse was that?
"I feel that there's more to the girl than seems to the eye. I fear..." Dumbledore stopped mid-sentence, turning around to look at Nicholas as he continued.
"She reminds me of someone. A boy I knew too well, a boy who roamed these very halls and sat in the very rooms." Nicholas took in a sharp breath. He knew exactly who the Headmaster was talking about.
"A boy I did not do justice to. I fear her following his footsteps. I fear that she might go too deep into the dark." There was nothing more said.
Nicholas wanted nothing more than to break every bone in the old coot's body for bringing up those despising memories. The times when he was helpless, and the time when he was vulnerable.
Without a verbal response, he nodded and left the office. A dangerous smirk spread across his face. The girl would follow in the Dark Lord's footsteps, he would make sure of it. She would bring chaos and destruction, just as Dumbledore feared.
Good thing, she was already in the Dark Lord's grasp.
"Hey there, partner." Harriet looked up from her notebook to see Jack sitting beside her, where Sarah usually sat.
"Hey," she replied. "Umm...sorry, but you're sitting in Sarah's seat. She would be here any minute now."
His smile fell instantly, and he looked a little embarrassed. On cue, Sarah entered the class but seeing Jack occupying the seat got a little shocked. Nonetheless, she politely asked Lucius and sat beside him. Harriet did notice the weird 'what-the-hell?' look that Sarah threw her way.
"Problem solved, I guess. Seems like Miss Fawley has found another partner." Harriet looked behind again to find Lucius and Sarah now, working and talking. It was a good thing that Miss Fawley was coming out of her shell and making new friends beside Harriet. The downside, though, meant that Harriet would have to sit with Jack for the whole period.
She dreaded every moment of it, but luck seemed to be on her side today.
"Scoot over, buddy. You're in my seat." Jack's body stiffened when he glanced at the owner of the voice. An unimpressed Barty stood there with his bag barely hanging onto his shoulder, and a hand deep down in his pocket.
Harriet was surprised to see such a reaction from the Harrington guy. Perhaps, he didn't like Barty Jr much.
"I...I don't see your name written on it," Jack stuttered a bit.
"Doesn't matter."
"But..." Jack didn't get the chance to speak any further.
"Look here, mate. Dear Sarah is sitting in my seat there, so who gets her seat?" Barty pretended to think, then pointed at himself. "Right, that's me. I get the seat. It's simple math. So, no buts or ifs. Get the fuck out of here, right now."
A dangerous glint passed in Jack's eyes, but he complied nonetheless. It was clear he was no match for Barty, and this was not the time to pick on a fight.
On the other hand, Harriet didn't know how to feel—she was a bit relieved that she didn't have to deal with Mr Creepy anymore, but she was worried too because he now lab partner was a future crazy psychopath.
Barty barely glanced at her as he gracelessly dropped his ass on the stool beside Harriet.
"You're welcome." Those were the first words he spoke to her.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you clearly needed help to get rid of that douchebag, so I did."
"I didn't ask for your help," Harriet huffed out. She was surprised by their sudden conversation.
"Yeah well, Severus didn't need your help either, but you still stood up for him and catcalled Sluggy. For Lucius too, when you shoved some sense into his thick-skulled brain." She stared at him in disbelief.
"This is me, paying my debt, for what you've done for my friends. I don't owe you anything now." Salazar, he was serious!
"I didn't do it so I could manipulate you guys in the future," she insisted.
"Nobody selflessly does anything for others just out of the righteousness of their hearts. There is always something they want. Always.
"You're unbelievable." And he totally was. Straightforward too. "As for that douchebag, isn't he, your friend?"
"Not mine, sweetheart. Lucy's," Barty replied in a snob-up tone that reminded her of Draco a lot. Maybe, Draco got the habit from his uncle Barty. "The boy breathes, and I feel like strangling the life out of him."
It should have been scary, but a laugh escaped her mouth, and her partner was surprised. Whatever the case might be, this boy had a sense of humour. And to be fair, Barty had been one of the finest and realistic teachers Harriet had had in her time.
"Think it's funny, do you?" Now, he was smirking, the same intimidating smirk that scared the shit out of Jack. Not her, unfortunately.
"Quite," her reply was honest. He checked her up and down, staring for too long as if inspecting her.
"I think I like you." He stuck his hand out to her in greeting, "I'm Barty Crouch Jr at your service, madame."
"Harriet Christopher, nice to meet you."
"Firm handshake," he said, gripping her warm one. "You do know how to fight." He grinned, and Harriet blinked at him in surprise. Though this time, it wasn't a scary surprise.
"Please be seated, everyone. On your seats." Professor Slughorn finally graced them with his annoying presence, and Harriet's mood instantly soured. The other Slytherins too didn't look any better.
"Good morning, dear students," Slughorn's voice was far too chirpy.
"Good morning, Professor."
"Alright then, let's get started, shall we?" He moved behind his desk and started writing on the board.
"You smell that?" Barty asked, stopping what he was writing and sniffing the air lightly.
"What?"
"Smells like Sarah's coconut shampoo, don't you think?" Harriet looked at him weirdly.
"What? I don't..." she too sniffed a little, but she smelt something entirely different. They looked towards the Professor, who now stood opening the lid of a cauldron only slightly and checked upon it.
Harriet caught sight of what he wrote on the board and groaned. Of course, it had to be...
"Amortentia!" Slughorn exclaimed with a wide smile. He exuded the same cupid aura as Gilderoy Lockhart did on that dreaded Valentine's Day of her second year.
"The love potion." Bellatrix's fake high-pitched voice echoed. Murmurs broke out, followed by snickering.
"Now now, it may seem like a harmless potion, but it isn't. I assure you. After all, love is not only beautiful but dangerous as well." Professor Slughorn seemed a little happy with his monologue, not the others, though.
"Amortentia is the strongest love potion. Just a few drops of it can cause powerful infatuation and obsession." He opened the cauldron containing Amortentia and watched with satisfaction as the potion did its magic.
The room immediately filled with the most distinctive and delicious scent she'd ever smelled.
"Now, the characteristics as you can see, are the mother-of-pearl sheen and the spiralling steam wafting out. The most important, however, is the smell of the potion. The scent is multi-faceted. It varies on what a person likes the most, and is never the same for two people. With that, he put the lid back on, and the students seemed to come out of their trance.
"So, it creates love in the drinker's heart? Jack asked.
"No, my dear boy. Amortentia or any other love potion, for that matter, does not create love. Just an illusion of it. Also, contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the heart."
Slughorn started drawing a rough sketch on the board, while the students copied the ingredients and whatever the Professor had said.
"You know what this means?" Barty asked quietly in her ear.
"What?" she continued their whispered conversation.
"It means I like Sarah. As in, like like her. How did it happen?" He questioned more to himself than her.
"How would I know?" They both looked behind to see Sarah writing frantically. Feeling eyes on her, she glanced their way and sent them a sweet smile. There was a definite blush dusting her cheeks. Harriet waved back in return, but Barty was a goner. The boy had a dreamy look on his face.
The Christopher girl had to nudge him in the ribs when the Professor started taking again. He'd drawn a rough sketch of the human brain on the brain, but it was understandable.
"Now, all human emotions are controlled by a part of the brain called the amygdala—fear, love, anger, lust. It is this, almond-shaped portion right here." He pointed at the diagram with his wand.
"One of the most important ingredients for the love potion is Pearl dust. Due to its large surface area, the Pearl dust gets easily absorbed in the bloodstream, and immediate effects can be seen on the amygdala. Not the heart, the potion has nothing to do with it."
"Any questions so far?" Professor Slughorn inquired, and a wave of eager hands went up. He sighed good-naturedly. But, Harriet's mind, wandered off to the only plausible case of Amortentia she'd heard—Merope Gaunt.
"Sir, how does one assist a love potion? Like is it a one-time thing in the morning pumpkin juice?"
"No, it has to be monitored regularly. Think of it like possession, the same way an Imperius Curse works. The drinker feels extreme love emotions that are not theirs. The moment it is not used, the effects of the potion start wearing off, and the drinker's consciousness starts coming to its senses once again.
"Next question," Slughorn forward with the lesson. "Yes, miss?"
"For the love potion to work, it has to be brewed by someone who desires to give Amortentia to another?"
"Of course. It also depends on the skill of the potioneer. For that reason, the students are not taught how to brew it, only the theory about it. Strict Ministry rules." Some girls had the gall to look defeated as if using the love potion on someone was a fascinating idea.
"Does it work differently on muggles?" Interesting question, Harriet thought. Bellatrix sneered at the mere mention of them.
"It works differently, yes. Entirely so. Since muggles do not have a magical core, the potion works faster on them. Also, their immune system is weaker than wizards, which makes the control of their mind extensive."
The bewitched face of Tom Riddle Sr popped in her mind. How utterly taken he was by his wife, and how much he loved her. The greatest mistake of Merope to think it was true, and not fake.
This time, Harriet raised her hand, and the excitement from Slughorn's face started vanishing. No matter how much he wanted to avoid the strange girl, he couldn't.
"Yes, Miss Christopher?" His tone clipped.
"What if the potion was given for a longer period of time? Like for months or a year?" His eyes bulged out.
"I...I beg...what?" A thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
"Presumably, of course," Harriet clarified.
"Assisting the potion for such a long time will damage the brain, just like the after-effects of being possessed. That person is not in the right mind to think right. It would take a good number of therapy sessions to differentiate reality from whatever their mind had conjured up."
"The brain basically turns into pieces of confetti," Harriet nodded. "And, if the potion suddenly stopped being given?"
"Sudden outbursts of emotions at random times. Mostly anger, though, because it is the most prominent emotion to express, besides love." Harriet nodded again. To an extent, she could now understand what Riddle Sr might have felt, all that time when he consumed the potion.
But, how exactly does the potion affect Marvolo, if he was conceived under it?
The bell rang, signalling the end of their informative lecture. She started stuffing things in her bag. Slughorn was definitely more informative now than in her original time.
As she reached the door, she was surprised to see Barty waiting for her.
"There you are! Come on, or we'll get late for the next class." He started dragging her, and she could only raise a brow at him.
"What? Do you think I'm letting you go off the hook since our lovely chat?" She followed his line of sight and slumped her shoulders in defeat. How was she supposed to act cupid between him and Sarah?
"By the way, what did you smell?" he asked her. Harriet didn't answer him; she steered his mind away from this conversation. How could she tell him that she smelled ashes and roses? The good question was, who smelled like ashes?
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 14: Chapter 13
Summary:
An interesting DADA class, and another problem in Harriet's way.
Notes:
A/N: I know this has been a very late update, and that I haven't been active in the past months. The year had tested us all, and it had been very hectic, but it became worse for our family when we lost my grandpa this year. I did try to get back to my writing, but I couldn't. I admit that I lost my biggest supporter and motivation. I'm back for now, and I hope to not keep you guys waiting too much for the updates. Thank you soo much for all the love and support you guys have shown me. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you guys. MUCH LOVE! 3
A/N 2: Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Swearing, sass remarks, bad jokes, drama.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Why are we in such a hurry?" Harriet grumbled as she, yet again, caught herself from falling. It was the third time that her footing had slipped because of being tugged this hurriedly, and the class would not start for another ten minutes. Surely, they could walk like normal human beings.
"Cause, if we are late, then we won't be able to get the front seat," Barty explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His long strides were not helping in the least. "Now, quit your whining, my dear, or I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you myself."
The students were excited, to say it lightly. There was nothing weird about the way they were pushing at each other to grab the front desk in the DADA class. It was a perfectly regular occurrence since the new teacher had joined Hogwarts. If only, they were all this serious about other lessons, Harriet wouldn't have minded in the least. Right now, though, they all resembled an angry flock of sheep.
Barty was no other. He only said that he was interested in being punctual and not getting punished for being a lazy arse. But it was clear that he was fascinated by the subject, even more now, thanks to Professor Nicholas.
Just the way he taught them, not only limited to the subject, but magic in general, was truly amazing. The way he weaved words to make them understand things better, the way his eyes glinted in satisfaction when he was able to solve their queries, and the way he performed spells with his wand, was simply beautiful and dangerous.
She could now see why he had such a large following in such a short amount of time.
The Dark Lord lured people in, just as a spider does to its prey. No wonder Barty worshipped him.
Harriet gazed at her new friend from the corner of her eye, and she wasn't much surprised. She recognised the grin on Barty's face from when he taught her in her fourth year—the same energy, the same want to feel the magic pulsing through his veins and the same craziness. For a moment, she wondered if Barty would lose himself to Voldemort and dark magic this time. After all, dark magic was notorious. But what if she could stop him, and help him?
Even though it hadn't been a day into this new friendship, Harriet didn't want to lose any more of her dear ones.
Her said new friend shoved a scrawny Gryffindor out of his way, pulling Harriet alongside. Honestly, she wasn't much of a fan of physical contact, but oddly, she didn't mind Barty holding her hand. It made her feel protected as she felt around Ron and Hermione. It felt that she could trust him with all the burdens and secrets she was carrying on her shoulders. Maybe, one day, she would tell him.
Finally, they reached their destination. Harriet sighed in relief when they found an open spot, right in front of the class and the teacher's desk, just as Barty had wanted. She was sure the boy would have beaten up someone if they hadn't found the seat.
"What's gotten you in such a grumpy mood?" Barty asked as they seated, taking out his parchment and quill in advance.
"Nothing, just thinking." Harriet shrugged. The scent she'd smelled in the Potion's class had been occupying her mind ever since. But, she couldn't pinpoint to where she could remember it from. It was even more shocking that she actually smelled something in the love potion. In all her seventeen years of miserable yet, eventful life, she had never been romantically involved with anyone. Sure, she had a fair share of people who fancied her, but no one caught her eye.
The reason behind was simple—no one actually knew the real Harriet Potter. They knew about the saviour, about the girl whose life was written in pages for the profit of some publication house, the girl who survived the Killing Curse. They knew about the precious Potter Heiress, but nothing about the girl underneath it all.
She was a stranger to all of them.
A hand waved in front of her eyes, dismissing her from her thoughts.
"You do have a tendency to get lost in your own little world, little friend." She blinked, finding him staring at her curiously, with his elbow leaning against the desk and head tilted slightly.
"Little friend? I'm not that little," she chuckled, trying to divert his attention. They had just become friends; she wasn't too comfortable spilling secrets about her non-existent love life.
"Oh, please! Have you seen yourself? All bones and no muscle. I could blow you up like a feather anytime," Barty teased her.
"Well, I certainly don't back down from a fight or a challenge," she sassily replied. From the way his eyes lit up, she knew that he was equally enjoying their stupid banter.
"Soon, skinny. I promise to not disappoint you." Barty winked at her and Harriet burst out laughing. She had been a lot of things in her life, but by far, his were the most entertaining ones. The boy was something else.
"So, tell me about yourself," Barty demanded as he started doodling on the parchment.
"What? You want to do some heart-to-heart shit right now?" Harriet joked lightly, not wanting to answer him. She didn't like talking about herself, but he seemed determined to unravel her secrets.
"Why not? The class wouldn't start for another five minutes, so we've got time. Besides, I should know things about my wingman." Harriet groaned when she was reminded that she had to play cupid, yet again.
Being Ron and Hermione's had been one hell of a job as it is.
"Hmm, let's see. I'm an orphan, as you might have heard," Harriet started, taking a deep breath. This is what she didn't like—the lying.
"I did. I'm sorry for your loss." For the first time, he wasn't joking. His eyes held compassion and sincerity in them.
"To be honest, we were never close. They chose their work over me, and continued to put their lives in danger." That was true, Harriet believed in it. She often thought, what could have been, had Lily and James decided to stay out of the war for the sake of Harriet—their daughter. Maybe, they would have been together right now, maybe not.
Maybe, she would have grown up a rebellious teenager like Dudley, maybe she would have sneaked in a boy in her room. But, that's how it always had been.
Maybe.
"So, I was forced to live with my mother's sister and her husband, since I wasn't of age at that time."
"Are they the reason you're so skinny?" Barty asked without any hesitation. He did that a lot; he spoke whatever was on his mind without sugar-coating.
"Why do you ask that?"
"One, because your face scrunched in displeasure when you talked about them, without you realising it, which tells me that you don't like them. Second, because you didn't refer to them as your aunt and uncle, as if they are not important to you at all. They must have treated you in the same way." Damn., he was observant. She made a mental note to be cautious of him in the future.
"Now, were or weren't they?"
"They were muggles; didn't like me ruining their perfectly normal reputation." She didn't need to explain any further to him, didn't want him to know the extent of the abuse she'd suffered at their hands.
"Can I get my hands on them?" That was unexpected. She hadn't thought he'd act so protective over her, not since they'd just met. And, wasn't he bothered to know that she was a half-blood? But, she kept quiet. Those were questions for later.
"Not until I finish with them," Harriet responded with a light laugh. She was enjoying this whole happy and smiley vibe. Their attention snapped when the doors opened, and the pitter-patter of the classroom quietened at once.
Professor Nicholas strode into the classroom with his usual grace; Harriet was sure she heard some girl sigh dreamily, which did not settle well with her.
Something was amiss, she could sense. There was a difference in his mood today—he was awfully happy about something. It wasn't written on his face; she could tell this from the emotions he was leaking through the mindlink.
Professor Nicholas reached his chair and greeted them all, "Good morning, class. I apologize for being late; I was caught up in some last-minute assigned work."
He rounded the desk and leaned against, making sure to make eye contact with Harriet all the while. She broke their weird contest when she started feeling a funny feeling in her stomach, and the sudden heat warming her cheeks. Morgana, what was happening to her?
"Please keep away your parchments and quills. We won't be needing them for today's class. Today we have some important things to discuss."
A few murmurs ran across the room. "Quiet down, please."
"The Headmaster and I had some lengthy conversation this morning, and we've come to a conclusion. These are dark times in Wizarding Britain, especially with the Dark Lord rising."
Complete silence immediately blanketed them all. They understood that this wasn't something to joke about and listened to what the Professor was saying, with rapt attention.
"There is an inevitable war coming, and whether you like it or not, each one of you would be forced to choose a side. You either fight for your survival or die trying." Nicholas looked around the room and was happy with his observation.
The environment was tense— some were scared, some reluctant, and some in denial that something so horrible could ever happen to them. He also observed that the kids of some of his followers were smug about the fact that the Dark Lord would defend and support the purest of bloods, and that they will be unharmed. He would have to teach those snotty brats some lessons.
Then, there was Harriet, who contrary to everyone, was confused. If he was correct, then, she was thinking the same thing as he'd pondered over— What was the Headmaster's plan?
"For this reason, we are going to start a defence club, wherein all of you will learn basic self-defence and fighting tricks, spells to disarm your opponents, etc. It will not only be a physical but mental training as well," Marvolo informed them and let it sink in. "Also, I have incorporated this training as part of your curriculum, so you will be graded based on how well you perform in these classes."
At the last comment, some groans echoed in the classroom.
"Are we clear so far?" Nicholas asked and got a chorus of 'Yes, Professor' in response.
"Good! Now, to start off, I want two students from each year to assist me with the work I give to you all. They will be your leader, of sorts, and you will listen to them. I don't want any stupid house rivalry getting in between these sessions or your training." He looked everyone in the eyes as he spoke, wanting them to know how serious he was about his warning. It was a golden opportunity for him to see how much potential these children had, and he wouldn't let it go to waste because of their stupidity. "This way, I'll have fourteen leaders, in total, to help me with the planning, syllabus and so on.
"How are you going to select them, Professor?" a Hufflepuff asked. The thought of wanting to be a leader piqued the interest of many.
"That is a good question. For obvious reasons, I want someone with reflexes, someone who has a little experience in practical work in defence and duelling. I'm going to test you all based on mock duels. You all will be partnered up, and marked on speed, endurance, reflexes and quick thinking. The first to pin down their opponent will be the winner.
"Since we can't have so many duels, the person who wins in the shortest time will be the winner," Nicholas took a deep breath and made sure that everyone was on the same page as him.
The whole class nodded.
"You are 24 in total, which means 12 duels. The same thing will be done with the Gryffindor and Ravenclaws. I will make a final list of 8 opponents, who will further fight one more duel each. That class will be combined one, on Friday, in the Great Hall. I'll take permissions from your respective Professor, so please don't worry about that."
Once he was sure that each student knew about the rules of mock duelling, with a wave of his wand, he cleared the centre of the room for enough space. "Please partner up. Then, each pair will come to the centre and start duelling."
Without waiting, Harriet moved away from Barty and stood next to Sarah. She'd abandoned her new friend for a good while now, and also knew that Sarah wasn't much comfortable on duelling with someone else.
She, totally, hadn't been pushed by Barty who wanted to make sure that no other male got to partner up with Sarah, and flirt with her or harm her in any way.
Barty, on the other hand, smiled in satisfaction when Sarah told a Hufflepuff that she already got a partner; the poor boy forced a smile on his face at the rejection.
Harriet nodded at Sarah with a smile as she reached her, which the girl replied to quite enthusiastically. She didn't seem to cross with Harriet for ditching her in today's classes? Was she alright?
Ron would have eaten her ear off by now.
"So, you and Barty, huh?" Sarah asked with a suggestive wink.
It took a few moments for Harriet to process what she'd said, but she could only respond with a, "What?"
Yep, her assumptions were correct; Sarah was hit head in the head alright.
"No! Why would you even think that?" Harriet asked her. Her attention was shifted from the ongoing duels to the girl beside her.
"Well, you two seemed pretty close and deep in conversation. And, to be honest, I haven't seen him talk to many girls before. Except for Narcissa, of course."
"You talk to him, don't you? I've seen you guys sitting together, a couple of time, in the library. Seems like he enjoys your company too," Harriet pointed out.
"Barty and I have known each other since we were kids. We have never been friends though, but really polite acquaintances, I would say."
"It's nothing like that, I swear." Harriet stopped her ranting, assuring her that there was nothing special going on between her and Barty.
Harriet thought hard—Why was Sarah asking such questions, in the first place? Unless...
"Wait, are you sure you're not jealous?" Harriet asked, a wide grin covering her face. If Sarah was jealous, it meant that she liked Barty. And, that would make Harriet's cupid task infinitely easier.
Thus, the creepy grin.
"What? No, of course not," Sarah replied with a stifled laugh. Harriet tried to detect any trace of lie on her face, but couldn't. "I would stand by him during those stupid Pureblood parties because he was the only one I could tolerate, we would joke here and there, but that was when we were children. Over the years, we have only been housemates. And, that is quite okay."
Harriet sighed in resignation—she would have to do a lot for these two to get together. Morgana, help her!
"It's not that. That Jack guy came over and took the seat beside me in potions, one I was hoping to save for you. Barty actually saved me by scaring the poor guy away. When I asked why he helped me, he said something about me standing up for Snape and also putting sense in Malfoy's thick head. It was his way of thanking me for helping his friends," Harriet explained.
"Really?" Sarah tried to control her laughter. She didn't want to get in trouble in case Professor Nicholas saw them gossiping when there was such an important class going on.
"Yes, he literally said that he wasn't in my debt any more, as if I was holding it against him in the first place. The boy is something else, I tell you."
Sarah couldn't hold it back any longer and burst out laughing, catching the attention of the whole class.
"Something the matter, Miss Fawley and Miss Christopher?" Professor Nicholas asked with a raised brow.
"No, Professor. Nothing," Harriet lied through her teeth; she gulped hard in the fear that her lie would be caught. At that moment, Professor Nicholas' gaze burned into Harriet, as if trying to decipher something desperately. But, he couldn't get his answers. His jaw clenched in frustration and he called out to the pair, "You girls are next. Please come forward."
Harriet let out a breath, sharing a glance with Sarah. She forced a smile on her face. On the outside, Professor Nicholas might seem okay, but she knew that something had ticked him off. It was clear by the intent way his scorching gaze was burning into her.
It was a miracle she hadn't to turn to ashes.
Professor Nicholas repeated the instructions for what seemed like a hundredth time, "The rules are simple—once you disarm your opponent or pin them down, you win. No harmful hexes, though. You cannot fatally injure each other. Clear?"
Both Sarah and Harriet nodded as they took their positions in the centre of the room. Harriet took a deep breath and calmed her nerves, a feeling of normalcy washing over her as she took a defensive stance.
Every eye was on the pair; news had travelled fast, it seemed. The Slytherins and Hufflepuufs, alike, wanted to see Harriet fighting after hearing how she'd defeated Lucius Malfoy easily.
Barty, who stood beside Lucius and Bellatrix, observed her movements with rapt attention. She'd already stood in a defensive pose as opposed to what they'd been taught—that the first move should be of attack.
"This the girl who beat you?" Bellatrix's annoying shrill voice made Lucius and Barty grimace. "Rodolphus was right, you're a girl, Lucius. You're losing your touch." She mocked him further.
"Shut your mouth, Bellatrix," Lucius didn't say anything after that, knowing it was useless to fight with the crazy witch.
"Ready?" Professor Nicholas asked both of them and got an affirmative nod in return. "Begin."
Both the girls started circling each other. It felt as if she was in her natural form right now. Harriet's eyes roamed over Sarah's stance, and she wasn't surprised to see frustration written over her opponent's face, at the lack of an attack.
As predicted, Sarah charged at her full force. Harriet easily dodged her, twisting around quickly and sending a mild Levicorpus charm, that made Sarah squeak loudly and hang in the air. Harriet would have felt ashamed had Sarah not been wearing those knee-length shorts under her skirt. With an Experlliarmus, the wand was out of Sarah's hand and into Harriet's.
There was absolute silence in the class. The match hadn't even lasted ten seconds.
Sarah looked at Harriet dumbfoundedly, from where she awkwardly lay on the ground. "Bloody hell! Where did you learn to fight that fast?"
"The winner is Miss Christopher," Professor Nicholas announced with a pride lacing his voice. He was ecstatic that his new friend could fight this good.
It felt like a spell was broken, and many students started applauding loudly to congratulate her. Harriet felt a little awkward as she was praised with appreciation, but nice nonetheless.
"That was great!" Sarah gushed at her. "You've got to help me be as good as you, Harrie."
"You're not upset?" Harriet asked.
"What? Of course, not. What you did was awesome!" That made a relived smile cover Harriet's face.
"That was amazing, skinny!" Barty too congratulated her as they reached back to their spot.
"Skinny?" Sarah wrinkled her nose in confusion, and Harriet matched her mood.
"We're trying to find the perfect nickname for my new friend here," Barty explained with a wink. God, he was horrible at flirting.
"Come on, lover boy, it's our turn," Lucius whispered slowly to him.
Bellatrix sneered at Harriet and Sarah and walked away.
"Wow, she really does love us," Sarah remarked and Harriet smiled at her sassiness.
"Well, I love her too," Harriet replied. There was a comfortable silence between them as the duels went on. "Want to come to the Quidditch trials with me, after lunch?"
After much contemplation on her part, Harriet had decided to try out for the team. She couldn't stay away from her broom for much longer.
"Sorry, but I still have got the Astronomy essay to finish. Tomorrow's the last day for submission."
"I thought you'd already done that," Harriet's brow furrowed in confusion. "You went to the library on Tuesday, right?"
"Yeah, I did. But there was Lily Evans in the library too, and you know what happens usually, right?" Sarah asked. Harriet understood immediately. It seemed that James had yet again proposed his undying love to Lily, and got rejected again.
"Did she say yes this time?" Harriet asked. It was odd to gossip about her parents' love life to someone else, but what could she do?
Might as well, go with the flow, as they say.
"Nope. The poor boy looked close to tears though. And there was a loud commotion of Black accusing Evans, for hurting Potter. Then the librarian got there and well, my poor essay was left unfinished," Sarah sighed. Their attention broke as Professor Nicholas announced Barty as the winner.
Harriet wasn't surprised, though. Barty was a ruthless fighter, she knew.
"It's crazy, though," Sarah remarked absent-mindedly.
"What?"
"How does Potter always know where to find Evans?" Harriet's heart dropped in fear as realisation dawned on her.
"Poor girl is always trying to hide from him, but she always fails. It's shitty."
Yep, it was shitty alright. Harriet's gaze met Nicholas' across the room, and she gulped hard.
They were in deep trouble.
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 15: Chapter 14
Summary:
Nicholas has an unexpected insightful conversation with Professor McGonagall, before Harriet drags him over to a night adventure!
Notes:
A/N: Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, sarcasm, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Psst."
Nicholas' eye snapped towards the direction where the sound had likely come. But, there was no one. From the way, the other staff members seemed oblivious to the voice, it felt he was only one who'd heard it.
Hmm, must be his hallucination. He was always on alert ever since he came back to Hogwarts.
He continued to eat the delicious steak, trying to immerse himself in the aroma of his spices, rather than the picture that was popping into his mind, again and again.
The image of Barty and Harriet laughing together when he'd entered the class this morning.
The grip on his fork unknowingly tightened, and his knuckles turned white.
"Professor Nicholas, could you please pass the gravy?" Professor McGonagall's voice broke his thundering thoughts, and he gave her a polite smile as he passed the gravy to her.
"Thank you." He simply nodded.
"I heard about the new defence class the Headmaster told you to start with," she started the conversation. It had been a few weeks since he'd joined the school, but it was the first time she talked to him.
In his short time, he'd learnt one absolute thing—Professor McGonagall was a woman of her words. She spoke less, but whenever she did, the advice complimented her sharp wit.
"Yes, we did. I agree with Professor Dumbledore's decision; I think the children should be able to defend themselves, at all times."
He noticed the slightest of frowns marring her features.
"What do you think about it, Professor?" He asked softly. He wanted to know how the other professors would make changes in their curriculum according to the Headmaster's request. He wanted to know about their opinions on this defence club. After all, they were all teachers, wanting the best for their students.
"I'm not against the students learning how to fight. It is an admirable thought. After all, everyone should know how to protect themselves; danger can come from anywhere," Professor McGonagall spoke in deep thought. Her words held an even deeper meaning which Nicholas didn't understand right away.
"The circumstances under which they are learning it, however, are entirely too dangerous. And not to my liking, might I add."
"You don't want the war to happen?"
"Who wants war, Professor? Tell me," she counter-questioned.
"The ones who have the means to fight it, the will to gain, and the heart to lose what they hold dear," Nicholas replied.
"That is where you are wrong because there are never any gains in a war. Only losses. And people are never ready to lose something that they hold close to them; it is simply not in human nature." McGonagall corrected him. Professor Nicholas was intrigued now.
Wars held different perspectives for different people; he wanted to hear hers.
The ones who are power-hungry, only start wars. They do not fight it themselves but use men like pawns. And they do it because of the insecurities they are hiding, wanting nothing but to be superior and above all. That is what war is about, Professor. A means to gain power." She took a deep breath as if she was deep in thought. The action alone made her look wise beyond years.
"Other lives are put at risk. So, I can't blame either of you for taking such desperate measures to protect our children."
It was a noble thought, indeed. While what she'd said was true, his opinion wasn't wrong either. He had seen and suffered the effects of war, first-hand. He had lived his years in fear, not knowing when the bombs might drop, not knowing whether he would survive another day.
He had seen the war that had almost burned the orphanage down to its last bricks; he had witnessed the suffering and loss himself. He'd felt the pang of hunger churning his stomach into tight knots. But he'd also witnessed how the rich kids and people thrived off of the helplessness of the poorer.
He remembered the day when he'd stolen the loaf of bread from the brand-new bakery, only because he was so hungry. Mrs Cole hadn't been able to feed all the children at the orphanage, funds were kept aside for the little ones, and the remaining ones had to fight each other for their survival.
The memory was still clear as day in his mind, his hands had bled from where the owner of the bakery had whipped them. It wasn't his fault that he didn't have money, it wasn't his fault that his hunger got the best of him and he was forced to steal.
That day, he'd vowed to be always prepared for the war. No matter the circumstances, because wars are always inevitable. It is a part of human nature too.
"And where do you stand?" It was a trick question, but he had to know where her true loyalties lay.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him; this conversation had turned out to be unexpectedly more serious than she would have thought. But there was something about this young Professor beside her, that made her trust him a little. Recently, she had seen the obvious prejudice against Slytherins, and also, Headmaster's blatant favour towards Gryffindors. Especially the four young pranksters.
She had kept her shut till now, but it was becoming a regular occurrence. That did not sit well with her, not one bit. They were all students and needed to be treated equally.
She needed to take a stand for all her students, and she was willing to do better. Thus, the conversation with Professor Nicholas. She had heard how much he hated the never-ending house rivalry, and how well he was handling it. She hoped to learn something from him because she knew that she had made mistakes by not standing for other houses till now.
His question, however, was entirely too bold to ask at this point. It seemed that he didn't care about the fact that the Headmaster was sitting only a few seats away from them.
Very cunning, indeed.
"It would be entirely too foolish of me to take a stand without knowing the Dark side's demands and motives," Professor McGonagall said a very calm and collected tone. Her words were stern.
"A wise decision," Nicholas nodded.
"Maybe I would meet him someday. I would personally ask what he wants with this war, what he desires to win," Professor McGonagall mumbled. And, a small smile appeared on Nicholas' face. Maybe if she did ask him, he would tell his true motives to her. She would be a fierce warrior in his army, he knew.
She was an asset, and Dumbledore was well aware of it.
"Funny, how I never got the chance to ask him that one time I had accidentally pushed him."
"I beg your pardon?" He was confused now. When did she meet him? Had she recently seen Nicholas without his glamour form? Still, how did she recognise him?
"He came to Hogwarts to apply for the post of DADA, I was running late for my Quidditch practice. I accidentally ran straight into him. He fell, and I went to help him, I was quite flustered by his natural beauty," Professor McGonagall spoke casually. Nicholas choked on the water he was drinking—did she say what he heard?
"Had I known that he was the Dark Lord, I would have punched him." A hearty chuckle left his lips. He was surprised and not even bothered by her threat. She had admitted he was handsome, and also told that she would have beaten him into oblivion, all within a span of seconds.
It was official—the Dark Lord definitely liked the sassy Professor McGonagall.
Out of the blue, he yelped loudly, catching the eyes of others around him. This also led to his shirt getting soaked by the wine that was in his hand.
He felt as if someone had pinched him real hard. He wasn't hallucinating; someone was definitely there.
"Meet me outside." The words were spoken right next to his ear—all hot breath and whispers. He stiffened, goosebumps rising on his skin; he would recognise her voice anywhere.
"Excuse me, please. I apologise for the mess," he quickly stood up muttering sorries.
"It's quite okay, professor. Why don't you go and get changed? I will ask Mibby to bring you food to your room," Professor McGonagall offered with a polite smile, seeing how flustered he'd become.
"Thank you, Professor. But I'm quite okay. I'll just..." Without saying anything further, he just rushed out from the back door.
"Alright, I'm here," Nicholas spoke loud and clear once he was sure that he was indeed alone. His hand reached out for his wand just in case. But where was she?
"I'm here."
He would never, ever admit it, but a squeak left past his lips when Harriet's face suddenly appeared out of thin air, right next to his shoulder.
"Did you just...did you just squeal?" Harriet inquired as she removed the cloak hiding the rest of her body. It was getting so hard for her not to burst out laughing, seeing the frightened face of the Dark Lord.
Merlin! She'd never thought she would see such a day.
"I didn't," Marvolo denied any of her accusations. He was simply surprised!
After taking a deep breath, he looked at her again; his face going devoid of all emotions. Harriet was astounded how easily he masked his expressions, not giving away any hint of what was on his mind. But, more than that, she was jealous.
She, too, wanted to tune out all the negative emotions from her mind and system. But, they never went away, not without taking a little part of her peace and sanity along with them.
"Was it you who pinched me in the Great Hall?" He asked with a raised brow, daring her not to lie. It was clear that he wasn't happy about his sudden accident and hasty departure.
"I'm sorry about your shirt, but you weren't listening, and I had to do something. It couldn't wait," Harriet shrugged her shoulders as she reasoned with him. She had tried to call him multiple times, but he was so engrossed in his conversation with Professor McGonagall that he hadn't heard her.
Thus, she was forced to take some extreme measures—pinching him hard on the shoulder.
The result was, the always composed Professor Nicholas, spilling the expensive red wine all over his crisp white shirt!
"What is this so-called emergency of yours, then?" he asked distractedly, his crimson orbs now fixated on the cloth in her arms. He was fascinated by the Invisibility cloak; one couldn't get their hands so easily on them."
Harriet followed his line of sight and spoke, "Got it from Borgin and Burkes. It was pretty cheap if you ask me."
It was true; she had found a cheap imitation of the original cloak, on the back aisle of the shady shop. It wasn't as efficient as Death's cloak, but it still worked finely. Besides, she couldn't risk using the original cloak in front of Marvolo or the marauders. Not at any cost.
"You went to Knockturn Alley alone?" He asked, his jaw clenching at the mere thought of her being in that filthy place.
"Yeah, Harriet narrowed her eyes at him as she answered. What was with the sudden mood changes today?
"Stupid girl," he hissed, the first resemblance to his snake-like visage. "Do you know how dangerous it could have been..." He stopped immediately as her hand came up to halt his words.
"Listen, I have been looking after myself since I was a child. I know what I'm doing; I can protect myself. I don't need your concern or pity," Harriet grumbled, and the mask of worry and concern slipped from his face, being replaced by a knowing smirk.
"Now, I know that you have been alone for a long time, not for a year as you had told everyone," he spoke confidently, circling her like a predator. "It means that either your parents have been dead for this long time or you simply didn't consider them your family. From my observations, I'm aiming for the former reason."
Harriet's eyes widened, and she cursed herself—the man was too smart.
"I'm going to enjoy unravelling you," he whispered in her ear. Harriet jerked back in surprise; when had he come this close to her?
There was an emotion swirling in his crimson eyes that she couldn't identify.
"Now, let's get back to the reason you dragged me here for." Harriet tried not to be bothered by the sudden coldness as he put distance between them. She blinked, and his words registered in her brain.
"Oh, shit! Come on, we have to hurry!"
Before he could inquire any further and get Filch's or Mrs Norris' attention, she clamps her hand on his mouth, effectively shutting him; the action catching both of them off guard.
"I'll tell you everything, but we need to get to the Gryffindor's Tower before dinner finishes. There are only twenty minutes left."
Marvolo could sense the seriousness of the situation, could hear the urgency in her voice, but he couldn't trust her this blindly. "I'm not moving until I know what we're going there for."
"Really?" Harriet narrowed her eyes at him. Why was he acting so stubborn?
Marvolo raised a questioning eyebrow at her, asking their next course of the plan. "Did you honestly think I would just follow your commands like a stupid little puppy?
"We have to find James Potter's dormitory first. Therein, will be a plain parchment; it will either be in his or Mr Lupin's belongings." She answered simply. It was getting very hard for her to not just lash out at him. Time was scarce at the moment.
"Plain parchment? You're taking us, on this adventure of yours, for a plain parchment?" Marvolo's jaw clenched.
"Yes," Harriet drawled out slowly. "You know I'm helping you, both of us. If Dumbledore gets his hand on that parchment, he'll find everything about you and me, both."
He still didn't look convinced with the whole sneaking-in idea. Harriet's anger seemed to be bubbling at the surface.
"I gave you a vow, and I intend to keep my word," she emphasised.
"That is the only reason I haven't snapped your pretty little neck into two after your little stunt back there, Miss Christopher. Mind that." There was an underlying threat in his words. And Harriet was offended. "This little parchment of yours, better be worth my time and efforts."
He took the cloak from her and covered them both. The tension between them was high, and the task as risky as hell. But they had to succeed.
And so, began their journey.
It was quiet between them, too quiet, and uncomfortable as hell. Marvolo knew he shouldn't have snapped at her, knowing she couldn't betray him because of the Unbreakable Vow. But he couldn't help it.
He was always used to being in control, to know what was happening around him at all times. He didn't like to be kept in the dark, and that was what was happening ever since she came here.
She took charge, in every situation, like she was a natural-born leader. She knew the damn future and Marvolo couldn't do anything about it because provoking her would only mean letting a golden opportunity slip out of his hands.
He should have tortured her for information, should have manipulated her into doing his dirty business, but he wasn't able to. To be honest, for the first time in a long time, Marvolo felt at peace. He didn't know what it was about the whole situation—they were on a freaking night adventure game for Morgana's sake! Yet, it was still peaceful.
He knew it was because of the girl beside him. From the moment she'd entered his life, it had been a roller-coaster of emotions. He was feeling emotions that weren't his own, that were not anger or resentment or revenge. Sometimes, he would feel the inexplicable sadness coursing through his mind, a deep ache in his chest, and he wasn't sure how she was able to deal with so many things on her own.
When he'd said that he would find everything about her, he was serious. He wanted to know everything about Harriet Christopher—not the tough exterior that lay outside, but the girl she hid beneath those emotions.
Back to the girl, she was being way too silent for his sanity. He wanted her to talk, wanted her to argue back or even shout at him, but she wouldn't. She was as stubborn as him.
Why did he shout at her?
"Stop stepping on my toes," Harriet's whispered hiss made him smile a little. Not as pissed as he'd thought.
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are!"
"Am not!" He liked the bickering, he found. He was even enjoying it. Salazar, the girl was changing him. The Dark Lord didn't bicker around silly; he tortured people for information or simply his entertainment. He killed them when they annoyed him. Yet, they were arguing while trying to hide from that stupid cat, Mrs Norris.
"That evil thing has some sixth sense, I swear," Harriet grumbled under her breath. Marvolo found it cute.
Yup. He was right; she was, somehow, slowly changing everything around him.
Marvolo could feel it in his soul.
"Stay close. Filch will be somewhere around here as well."
They reached their destination pretty easily after that, even managing to get past Peeves, undetected. Although Marvolo had almost tripped over and broken his nose, Harriet had saved him somehow. The girl had excellent reflexes, he must admit.
It would have been a blunder had Peeves seen them together—he would have surely caused a ruckus or started a stupid rumour by now.
Reaching the entrance of the Gryffindor Tower, Harriet whispered to Marvolo, "Tell her the password."
Marvolo looked in her direction—even though he couldn't see her, he could make the outline of her body.
He was, to simply put, impressed. The girl had used him to get the password of the Gryffindor Tower. And, was clever enough to use the cloak to not get caught. She had planned it thoroughly, meaning whatever was the matter, was of utmost importance.
"Gillyweed," Marvolo spoke loudly, making sure to use a muffling charm on himself, as to not get identified later on.
"Who? Who speaks?" The fat Lady inquired. Her eyes scanning the surroundings frantically. "Potter? Black? Is that you, boys? What have you done now?"
Again, Marvolo didn't question and spoke the exact words as Harriet told him to, "Yes, my Lady. We are hiding from Mr Filch, let us in. The prank backfired. GILLYWEED!"
Morgana, he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins at this point. Why couldn't the bloody portrait hurry?
"Alright, alright! Be careful next time. Always getting into trouble, you guys. I'll tell Filch if he asks, that you didn't come here."
"Thank you." The door opened, and the duo released a breath of relief. Harriet didn't take the cloak off until she was sure that there was no one present apart from them. After she was certain that they were indeed the only people in the Gryffindor common room, she hastily took the cloak off and put some much-needed distance between her and Marvolo.
If the action bothered him, Marvolo didn't show it much. As always, he wore his weird neutral mask of emotions.
Without bothering to explain any further, Harriet took off in the direction of the boys' dormitories. Marvolo followed her lead, this time without questioning.
Harriet found the pranksters' room easily; it had nothing to do with the huge muggle band's poster that was Sirius' favourite. She locked the door behind them, and threw privacy wards as well as muffling charms as precautions.
Marvolo didn't speak as he observed her, he wondered how many times had she done this whole sneaking thingy. She seemed good at it. Even the wards and the charm work were impressive.
"It's cleaner than I thought," she said absent-mindedly.
"What are we looking for?" Marvolo asked. His eyes raking over to the belongings of the four teenage boys. There was nothing special about them, apart from that one bed, which looked like the epicentre of the Bermuda Triangle.
"The Marauders Map."
Marvolo looked at her sharply, her tone seemingly in a far-off thought.
"Accio Marauder's Map," Marvolo cast the spell. They waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. A frown appeared on Harriet's face.
"It's not here," Marvolo spoke.
"It should be here."
"I don't cast wrong spells, Harriet." Marvolo scoffed, offended that she was even questioning his skills. Silly little girl!
"It has to be; I checked their robes and pockets. It wasn't on them unless they've given it to someone else, which I highly doubt." Harriet mused.
"You checked their robe while they were eating?" Was this girl in her right mind?
"That was why I came to the Great Hall actually. I would have just used the mindlink to contact you, but I needed your help too. Plus, your shields have been a blunder lately; I heard everything from your meeting with Dumbledore," Harriet explained while tapping her finger on his forehead.
"Accio Marauder's Map," she spoke again with her left hand in waiting to catch the map in its grasp. But, there was no sign of it. Instead, she heard a bustling, a very muffled one at that.
"Did you hear that?" she asked Marvolo, and he only nodded. He moved towards one of the beds at the far right corner of the room, and instructed her, "Cast the spell again."
Harriet did as he told; there was the same sound again, and Marvolo immediately knelt down to retrieve a locked box from under the bed.
"Alohomora," Marvolo cast a wandless spell, and the box clicked open. There it was—the Marauder's Map—in all its glory.
"Pettigrew," Harriet snarled in realisation. Why was the traitor hiding the map in a locked box? Why not just give to Padfoot or Moony? What was going on in his head?
Marvolo didn't say anything as she took the map from his hands. Neither did he ask as to how she knew whose bed it was; they were questions for later.
"I solemnly swear that I'm upto no good," Harriet muttered the magic words, and the parchment started to reveal its content.
'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
Are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP'
Soon enough, the map started to show everyone and everything that was in the castle of Hogwarts—every teacher, every student and ghost, every classroom and every turn. It even showed the freaking movement of the ever-changing stairs.
Marvolo's eyes widened at the impressive piece of magic in front of his eyes, taking it in greedily.
"What the hell is this? He voiced his thoughts. Morgana, what a beautiful evil thing it was! Oh, the things he could do with this map!
"Told you it would be worth your time. It shows where everyone is, at every second of the day," Harriet started, knowing he was too perplexed to speak at the moment. She kept opening it further and further.
"It's a highly complex piece of magic—shows everyone's true names and identities, even if you are in an animagus or glamour form. Nothing can hide on this map.
Marvolo understood what the situation was now, if anyone read Marvolo's or Harriet's real name through this map, there would be dire consequences.
"Here we are," Harriet pointed at themselves, where they were shown on the map in Gryffindor's boys' dormitories.
"I thought the map showed everyone's true identities," Marvolo frowned; his and Harriet's name was shown as Nicholas Grey and Harriet Christopher, respectively. Why were they here then?
"I already tweaked our names before," Harriet admitted. "I want to erase our names from the map, though, like we don't exist on this paper."
"Why?" It was such a simple yet complicated question.
"The map has its uses, true, but recently it has been used for not such innocent tasks. I don't want to get stalked, especially by Dumbledore." Where did the old goat come from?
"Does it have something to do with your conversation with Miss Fawley in today's class?"
"How did you?" she asked, words coming out a little breathless by the intense way he was staring at her.
"Mindlink," he brushed his knuckles against her forehead; he'd heard her the same way she knew about the meeting. Her shields seemed weak too when it came to Marvolo.
"Mr Potter is using the map to stalk Ms Evans, right?"
"Yeah. And once I realised that, I planned to remove our names from it. But I only know a few knick-knacks to change names, not to make people disappear. That kind of magic won't work on it."
"What about Albus, though?"
"Think about it," Harriet said. "He knows about the map. Do you honestly think he wouldn't? He could always borrow it from Potter or Black or Lupin, and they won't be able to refuse him."
Marvolo was slowly understanding, "They would feel obligated because Dumbledore has been favouring them for all these years."
"Yes, Lupin even more so. He's a werewolf." Harriet said. Now wasn't that breaking news! A werewolf in a school full of ignorant students, the question was—did the parents know?
"Emotional manipulation."
"Exactly."
The Dark Lord was wrong—Albus Dumbledore had been very busy all these years, and he was being very sneaky about it.
"How do I change our names, though?"
"I don't know. That is why I needed your help," Harriet confessed.
"So, no concealing charms would work on it?"
"Nope. It is resistant to almost all spells. It was made that way." Marvolo's mind started running. His curiosity kept increasing for the magical map.
"May I ask why the map was made then?"
"I'm sorry, it is not my secret to tell. Maybe they would tell you themselves." Harriet said, not sounding regrettable at all.
"And it was your secret to tell me about Mr Lupin's condition?"
"You're his teacher, you would have found out eventually," Harriet shrugged. Marvolo sighed, knowing she wouldn't answer any further.
Perhaps asking the pranksters himself, would be a good idea. That way, he could earn their trust and also get to know about the map's secrets. Two birds with one stone.
He thought of the task at hand, and simultaneously, observed Harriet. She moved around the room taking in everything; it felt as if she was trying to memorize it.
Harriet wasn't one to sneak around other people's business, but her interest piqued when something golden, lying on James' bedside table, caught her eye.
She picked up the Snitch delicately, the memories of her going into the Forbidden Forest flashing through her mind. Marvolo was stunned when the same memories assaulted his ongoing thoughts—a broken and bruised Harriet with a wand in her hand, and hopelessness consuming her soul, entering what seemed like a very dark forest. It was only for a second, but everything seemed dark and hollow.
He staggered back to reality when she looked at him sharply; her emerald eyes shining with a dangerous glint in them.
She knew that he saw her.
"Is the map resistant to Parseltongue?" he asked. The air around them had strained in a matter of moments.
Harriet only nodded with a 'no'.
"Okay," Marvolo said, taking a seat on the bed. "I think I might have a solution."
Harriet put back the Snitch at its designated place and moved to where he sat.
"We could use a Fidelius charm."
"I thought Fidelius charms only worked on living souls," Harriet's confusion was palpable.
"Not necessarily. Fidelius means binding a secret into someone or something unless you give them permission to reveal it. Seeing this map, though, we can say it's not entirely non-living; the way it is designed, it has aspects of its founders embedded in it, through the magic they cast onto it."
Harriet's thoughts were still bleh.
"Take Hogwarts, for example," Marvolo simplified and things started to make a little sense. The Hogwarts castle was exactly dead, it had magic in it just like the map.
"Okay, what do we do?"
"We'll bind our blood into it, and I'll cast the spell." Harriet nodded and took out the small dagger that was tucked in her boots. Marvolo only looked amused and impressed at her.
"I'm not going to even ask."
"Always be alert and trust no one," Harriet slyly recited one of the sayings of the Slytherin house.
"Okay, on the count of three, let three drops of your blood drop onto the map," Marvolo instructed, laying the map gently on the bed. Harriet made a cut on her left palm without any hesitation, something that didn't go unnoticed by Marvolo, and he repeated the action on his left palm as well.
"One, two, three…" both of them put their hands above the parchment, while Marvolo started hissing the Fidelius charm in Parseltongue. They waited for a few moments, until their blood vanished from the surface of the parchment and got absorbed into it.
Harriet couldn't keep the smile off her face. The map had accepted their request.
Marvolo checked the whole thing twice, until he was sure that their names had indeed vanished from the paper. He picked his wand again, and Harriet raised a brow at him. She was about to stop him when he spoke, "Trust me."
Two more spells were cast on the Marauder's Map, and they too, seemed to be acceptable by the map.
"What was that?" Harriet asked. Marvolo threw a handsome smirk at her.
"The first one was a Confundus charm set especially for Albus Dumbledore. The map would be, in simpler terms, useless for him. The map would never show him who is where and what not. It would all be jumbled up for him. Standing right beside him would be McGonagall, but the map would show Hagrid."
Oh, that was bloody brilliant! And so evil at that.
Harriet gave a toothy grin that made a funny tingle in his stomach.
"And the second?"
"The map would never show the right direction to someone whose intentions are not pure, not even the makers of the map." His answer was honest and for a moment, Harriet was left dumbfounded.
"You seemed to not like the fact when Mr Potter actively pursues Miss Evans. Thought this could help."
"Means no more stalking?" Harriet asked.
"No, not when he seeks her out. The map wouldn't show that. Otherwise, it would work as it normally does."
She honestly didn't know what to say. This was so thoughtful on his part. She wouldn't have to worry about Lily that much, now. "Thank you."
He only nodded. Marvolo didn't do favours without wanting anything in return, but this time he had. Because this time, one of his student's lives was involved—Miss Evans was a bright student and she didn't deserve to be degraded and stalked like that.
Not to mention the fact that Harriet seemed to be very much concerned whenever it came to Lily Evans.
"Mischief Managed," Harriet spoke the words and the map transformed into a bare paper just like that. Marvolo packed it in the box as it was, putting it under Peter's bed. He wanted the map for himself. The journey back to the Slytherin common room was easier now, since all the ghosts seemed to be in attendance at the Great Hall. The Marauder's had pulled another prank on the teachers and everything was a ruckus.
"Since you helped me, I'll like to extend the same by giving you some advice," Harriet spoke to Marvolo, who was leaning against one of the walls, as she was about to enter the common room.
"And what would that be?"
"Always be on the lookout for a rat. Always." He nodded sincerely.
"And, Marvolo?" He liked the way her green eyes clashed with his crimson ones. "Don't even think about stealing the map."
"And how is it that you know that I want the map?" He crossed his arms over his chest, making his muscles bulge.
"Oh, I'll know very well," Harriet took out a similar looking parchment out of her robes. She had her own map!
"Besides, I know you better than you know yourself. Goodnight, Professor." Feeling particularly bold, Harriet winked at him. Marvolo's jaw clenched—the little firecracker had used him.
Well, challenge accepted, Miss Christopher.
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 16: Chapter 15
Summary:
Mock duel lessons for 6th years and what follows afterwards.
Notes:
A/N: First of all, I would like to apologise for the delay in update. My mother had undergone a major surgery recently, because of which I wasn't able to finish the chapters. And secondly, thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly!
So, without further ado, here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
A/N 2: 'Italics' is conversation in mind-link.
Warnings: Drama, angst, sarcasm, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"To start, I want two students from each year, regardless of their houses, to assist me with the work I give to you all. They will be your leader, of sorts, and you will listen to them-you will respect them and complete your assigned tasks. I don't want any stupid house rivalry getting in between these sessions or your training. This way, I'll have fourteen leaders in total, to help me with the planning, syllabus and so on. The mock duels have already started for the seventh year, as you might have heard. You could ask them too if you want to know more."
Professor Nicholas repeated the instructions for what felt like the thousandth time, this time, to the batch of sixth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins who hadn't stopped glaring at each other since the moment they entered the class. The hormonal teenagers were getting Nicholas' nerves now.
He wanted to kill someone so badly. Or torture would suffice too. Anything that could save him from dealing with horny and egoistic teenagers. God, how did he manage his years at Hogwarts!
Perhaps, he should have recorded the speech and spared his precious vocal cords from all the trauma and shouting they had endured.
He repeated how these so-called 'leaders' would be selected, and could easily see the gears turning in their heads, and boredom finally lifted off of them.
"Hear that, Snivellus. We actually have to fight the duel ourselves. Would you be able to do that?" Sirius taunted Severus, from where he was purposely sitting behind Snape. His voice was only a whisper but was still heard by many, including the Professor. And Professor Nicholas was growing agitated when Sirius interrupted him—the boy either had a lot of guts or was plain stupid because Sirius still kept snickering along with Potter and Pettigrew.
Nicholas stood stoic wanting to see for himself as to how far the Black Heir would stretch the poor joke. The boy he had taken a jibe at though, remained silent and ignorant of the words thrown towards him. It was clear that Severus did not need a mad teacher at his tail.
"Padfoot, shut up!" It was just a whisper, but Nicholas heard it anyway. So, Sirius Black was the infamous Padfoot. Interesting. That left Moony, Wormtail and Prongs, and according to what Harriet had told him about Remus Lupin, Nicholas thought that 'Moony' would seem like an appropriate name for the young werewolf.
"Oh, come on Moony." Yup, Nicholas was indeed right in his assumptions. "I'm only joking."
"Anyone have any questions?" Nicholas asked, not wanting to show his irritation because of Sirius Black for now. Killing Black seemed quite enticing at the moment.
Getting no reply in return Professor Nicholas continued, "No? Good then, we'll start with the mock duels."
With a quick non-verbal spell, the desks and chairs were cleared off, leaving the centre of the room with plenty of space. "Now, please choose your partners for the match. Then, each pair will come to the centre and start duelling," Nicholas instructed as he took out a parchment and quill to write down their names, scores, etc. Meanwhile, Black's voice rang through the silent classroom yet again.
This time everyone heard it.
"I bet you ten galleons that I would be one of the two 'leaders' by the end of this class, Jamesy. Professor Nicholas knows how brilliant I am." Man, the boy had a big ego.
"Oh yeah," James mocked his friend with an ever-present smirk. "Deal then, but if you lose, you'll have to do my Astronomy assignment for the rest of the month."
"You're on." Sirius sealed the deal with a quick handshake, not noticing how the Professor was observing him now. But Remus saw that, and his face paled when Professor Nicholas' stern gaze remained fixated on two of his friends.
He was not happy.
"Sirius…" Remus' words fell on deaf ears when the Professor's booming voice startled them all.
"Mr Black, perhaps it would be better if I duel with you. I'm sure that Mr Potter would be assured in your duelling abilities as well if he saw you fight me in front of him. After all, a bet is a bet," Nicholas spoke in that sickly sweet voice, not giving away any inkling of irritation that was bubbling in his blood. Nicholas' words though, had the colour draining from Sirius' face, he looked as if the Gryffindors had lost a Quidditch match against the Slytherins. Totally unacceptable.
James was equally frightened for his best friend, and so was Remus. Wormtail looked the worst out of them, and the rest of the class was just silent. They knew that Professor Nicholas wasn't someone to be messed with, and Sirius with his stupid need to boost his ego even further, had done exactly that.
A duel with Professor Nicholas was signing a death warrant for yourself—they were all aware that he was not only a strict teacher but a ruthless and marvellous duellist as well. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't just allow any teacher for the post of DADA for that matter.
Surely, he was joking with Sirius.
Right?
"Professor, I…."
"Now that Mr Black has himself, so enthusiastically, volunteered to go against me, I want you all to be very attentive. As I have already mentioned, duels are not only physical but mental exercise as well. Lose your focus for a mere second and you'd be dead."
"But sir…" Remus' protest wasn't of any use either because Professor Nicholas seemed too determined to teach Sirius a lesson in discipline. They helplessly watched as their teacher strode to his designated position in the middle of the room.
Sirius gulped hard when the Professor took off his robe. Dang, the man had muscles! He could easily choke Sirius, and he would be dead.
Yikes! Should not have talked in his class.
On the other hand, ignoring the hormonal teenage girls who were surely eye-fucking and fantasising about him, Nicholas rolled up his sleeves and made sure to flex his muscles a bit just to intimidate Mr Black a bit more.
"We don't have all day, Mr Black. Hurry up and take your position or I will start the duel whether you're ready or not. Threats don't come with warnings," Nicholas boomed, taking out his wand and pushing the hair out of his face. He was hundred percent sure that he saw some dreamy sighs, and not just from girls this time.
For a brief moment, he wondered if he would have that same effect on Harriet or not. That girl had been occupying a lot of his time and thoughts recently, especially after their little adventurous night. Her attitude, her sassiness, her kindness—all of her little nig-nags had been driving him crazy, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand how to handle such situations. Well, Harriet Potter was a debate for another time. Right now, these brats needed punishment, and Nicholas needed some fun.
Too bad he couldn't torture them. Eh, he could always settle for morally discouraging them and treat them like dirt.
Sirius took off his robe, passing it to his friends, who looked at him worriedly.
"All the best," James muttered in the slightest of voices. He didn't want to be heard. What if Professor Nicholas called out for him next?
With a cock smirk plastered on his face, Sirius turned to face his opponent, but anyone could tell how fake it was and how terrified he felt at that time.
"Are you sure you wanna duel me, Professor? I don't wanna let your reputation down...WOAH!" He hadn't even completed his sentence when he was suddenly pushed to the ground without any warning.
Snickers were heard across the room, while the three remaining Marauders were equally as surprised as him, "Sirius!"
"Hey! I wasn't ready," Sirius muttered with a pout.
"If someone was trying to kill you, Mr Black, I'm sure they would take this as an opportunity. Again!" Nicholas barked seeing as Black got into a defensive position once again, this time more prepared.
"Ready now?" Professor Nicholas asked, getting a nod in return. He sent a mild defending spell which Sirius tried to block but got his shoulder bummed. Nonetheless, the boy didn't give up and stood again, throwing a Reducto with a yell.
Nicholas dodged the spell with an easy wave of his wand, without even batting an eyelash. Sirius threw another spell that was as easily thrown away as the first one. Another spell, and then another one. Nicholas defended himself without breaking a sweat. There was a clear satisfaction on his face on seeing the arrogant boy struggle; upon the fact that Black couldn't harm him in the slightest, just like his father.
Not getting a reaction out of him, Sirius grew agitated.
"Is that all you can do, Mr Black? Pathetic. Might as well start preparing yourself for doing your friend's astronomy homework for the next month," Nicholas sneered at him, knowing that the words would affect him. And as predicted, the Slytherins didn't fail to hide their snickers, angering Sirius to do something more than making a fool out of himself.
Sirius threw a string of curses that forced Nicholas to put a strong Protego in front of him. Black's confidence grew and his friends started cheering for him. Even the Professor's face lit up with surprise, only to be replaced by a knowing smirk. Seemed like it was Nicholas' plan all along to see Sirius' true potential.
Once again they engaged in a battle and the students cheered as curses flew off.
"Protego!" Sirius saved himself from the powerful levicorpus before continuing, "Incendio."
"Aguamenti," Nicholas yelled. Water clashed with fire filling the whole room with smoke, and taking advantage of that smoke, Nicholas threw a Reducto that caught Sirius by surprise, threw him against the wall with a loud thud, and finally unconscious.
Upon seeing his friend lay still on the ground, James reacted instinctively by taking out his wand and attacking Professor Nicholas.
"James!" Remus yelled in surprise at the sudden behavioural change of his friend. James' anger was starting to get out of control nowadays.
"It's okay, Mr Lupin. Let him," Nicholas gestured with his hand making Remus stop in his tracks. There was clear worry and fear on Remus' face, for James' safety. What would the Professor do at his sudden outburst?
"I won't hurt you, Mr Potter. Put your wand away," Nicholas instructed James in a soft voice as if talking to a toddler. There was anger swirling in his hazel eyes, with something else that Nicolas couldn't put a finger to.
"Shut up!" James roared before turning his attention towards the other two Marauders. "What are you doing here, Moony? Take Sirius to the hospital!"
Remus was baffled. Never had Prongs spoken to either of them in such a manner, and it wasn't the first time that Sirius had got injured. What was going on with him?
Remus looked towards his Professor, who nodded his head at him, signalling him to do exactly as James had demanded.
"I'll help you," Lily ushered him towards Sirius, both of them knowing that Peter should stay with James. Not wasting any more time, they picked Sirius and practically ran off to Madame Pomfrey's aid.
"LEVICORPUS, INCENDIO, REDUCTO, BOMBARDA, CONFRINGO!" James kept shouting curses after curses at the Professor who was now looking at his young student in an indecipherable way. His fellow housemates and even the Slytherins worried for his safety—it looked as if he wasn't himself at the moment. He looked crazed.
He was so lost in his duel that he never noticed Professor Nicholas quickly stepping over to where he was until he was only centimetres away from him. Nicholas, on his end, took the opportunity of putting his forefingers on James' forehead and muttering quietly, "sleep."
The Potter boy immediately fell asleep and lost his balance, whilst Nicholas caught him securely.
"Prongs!" Peter scurried over to another unconscious friend of his who was safely tucked in Nicholas' arms.
"He's alright, Mr Pettigrew. Just sleeping," Nicholas spoke, trying to ease his worry.
"What did you do?" Peter asked accusingly. Professor or not, he wanted an explanation. Because of the smoke, he'd only seen Professor moving swiftly to James' side and the latter falling.
"I just put a mild sleeping charm on him. The way he was stringing curses at me had already drained a lot of his energy. If I hadn't put a stop to him, it could have permanently damaged his magical core," Professor Nicholas explained in a soft voice—one because Pettigrew was his friend, and two, to keep the annoying little shit from speaking too much.
But there was something wrong with Potter, and he had to find it out quickly.
Multiple sharp inhales were heard as soon as he muttered those words. Damaging his core could have been life-threatening to Potter.
Picking up James easily in his arms, Nicholas stood up, "Class is dismissed for now. Next class, we'll continue with the duels, so be prepared, all of you."
Without another word, he started moving towards the door when a voice stopped him.
"Sir, will he be alright?"
"Yes, Mr Snape. Don't worry." He rushed out without Pettigrew in tow. But he didn't miss the 'back off, Snivellus' from Peter.
Remus sat forlornly beside his two sleeping friends in the hospital wing. It had been two hours since Sirius woke up, but he'd been given some nasty concoction by Madame Pomfrey. Turns out that his back had taken quite a severe hit when he was thrown across the room and knocked out cold. It wasn't the most painful injury that Padfoot had endured, though.
James, on the other hand, had yet to wake up. He had used too much energy while trying to hurt Professor Nicholas, and thus, it would take his body a little more time to heal.
Yes, Remus was extremely worried about the both of them, and yes, he was also angry at the young Professor for hurting his friend. But Peter had recited to him every single detail on what happened when he had left with Sirius. So technically, James did dig a hole for himself.
He sighed, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair in exhaustion. The next full moon was near, and it was starting to take a toll on his tired mind. He heard light footsteps that caused him to sit up straight. That was a perk of being a werewolf that Remus thoroughly liked. His senses—smell, vision, strength, taste—all amplified as the full moon neared, meaning that his wolf was close to the edge.
Looking behind him, he was surprised to see Lily accompanied by Severus, with brown bags in their hands and sombre expressions on their faces.
"Hi Remus," Lily greeted politely, breaking the awkward string contest between him and Severus. Remus could only wave adroitly in response. Severus nodded at him in greeting, which he returned.
"Any changes?" Lily asked, gesturing towards the sleeping duo.
"Nah, still sleeping. Pretty sure they are not gonna wake up before noon tomorrow though."
"You look like…," Lily started before stopping again, as if she was trying to find the right words to describe his scrawny condition.
"Shit!" Remus completed her sentence, a chuckle escaping both their lips. Severus stood unbothered.
"No, I didn't mean that. I wanted to say that you look like you could use some help," Lily explained, taking a seat on one of the empty stools beside Sirius' bed. She passed the two brown bags to Remus and his nose was filled with the rich aroma of freshly-baked muffins. He peered inside, and sure enough, he was right. There were freshly cut fruits, blueberry croissants and chicken sandwiches in the bag as well.
"You are an angel!" Remus' lit up at the delicious-looking food.
"Severus told me what happened in defence after we left, and we didn't see you in the Great Hall for dinner. Figured you'd still be hungry and worried for these two idiots." She truly was a kind girl.
"Thank you, Lily. This is all really sweet of you," Remus gladly accepted the goodies. But damn, this girl was god-send—kind and humble.
"Actually," Lily peered from her eyelashes towards her brooding best friend, "it was Severus' idea."
Remus' brows rose up in confusion, while Severus merely rolled his eyes at Lily's antics.
"I merely suggested you help him out by bringing him dinner, only because you couldn't shut up being worried about him. Both of these baboons could get lost in the Forbidden Forest for all I care, but you dragged me here. Forcibly," Severus drawled out in an unimpressed tone. He clearly didn't want to be here.
"It's his way of showing care," Lily whispered not-so-discreetly in Remus' ears, and the latter could only smile at their silly bickering. He thought about the fact why Severus acted so kindly towards them when they had only caused trouble to the poor boy.
More so, why had they started pranking him in the first place? Was it because of James' jealousy over the fact that Severus was closer to Lily? Or was their pranking their justified means of harming Severus for being a Slytherin?
Had Remus really let the prejudice of the houses blind his rational thinking?
Nonetheless, Severus owed an apology and a thank you from them.
"Thank you, Severus. It was really kind of you to bring us dinner." The expression on the Slytherin's face didn't budge in the slightest. This guy had mastered the poker face, Remus thought.
"As I said, I didn't do it for you. But, you're welcome," Severus spoke.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" Peter's booming voice caught their attention, as he stood there with anger all over his face. He didn't hide the fact that Snape's voice bothered him.
"Peter," Remus stood up, walking towards his friend and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He tried to calm him down because Remus knew, first-hand, where this silly fight could lead.
"What the fuck, Moony? Are you trusting these snakes now? How could let him near James and Sirius, especially when they are defenceless?"
"What are you saying? He brought us food, Wormtail. I was only thanking him," Remus was annoyed at his behaviour. All three of his friends had been acting pretty strange and angry since the start of the new semester.
"I'm pretty sure it's poisoned," Peter glared at the food resting on the table, then at Severus who now stood straight; his hand firmly holding his wand in case a fight started. "What is it you did this time, you slimy wreck?!"
"Careful with your words, Peter. You cannot call other students such names," Lily warned him, her emerald eyes blazing. "Don't forget I'm a Prefect; I can report you straight to Professor McGonagall right now."
"Oh yeah? Let's see what you can do!" Peter grabbed the two brown bags from the table in a second, and threw them into the bin with accuracy. The very next moment, his wand was pointed straight at Severus' throat.
"What is going on here?!" The voice thundered so loudly in the silence of the quiet hospital room that Peter scurried away from Severus quickly. In the doorway stood Professor Nicholas along with James' parents—Fleamont and Euphemia Potter.
The four students were frozen in their spots seeing their furious Professor. If they thought that they had witnessed his anger, then they were surely in for a surprise now.
"Sir, we…" Peter tried to push words out of his mouth, but it just didn't work. It only came out as gibberish.
"It's not Severus' or Lily's fault, sir. They came to offer me dinner since I skipped my meal, and also to check upon James and Sirius," Remus quickly came to their aid. There were confused expressions on the Potters' faces.
"And what about Mr Pettigrew?" The question was simple and straight, yet the quadrant couldn't say anything knowing it would bring Peter some severe punishments.
"Did he threaten you again, Mr Snape?" Nicholas was looking Severus dead in the eyes, making the young boy shiver uncomfortably. The Professor's piercing gaze was reminding him of not-so-good memories of his home. Lily, noticing his shy gaze, moved and held his hand tightly to offer him support.
"He did." Severus was shocked to hear those words from Lupin's mouth. He looked at the boy in disbelief, the same way Peter stared at him.
"Moony, what are you saying?" Was he really betraying him for Snape?
"Professor, he's lying! I did no such thing, I swe…"
"This is the second time I have seen you threaten another student, Mr Pettigrew. Not to forget the slight warning you gave to Mr Snape, earlier in the class. Did you really think I wouldn't hear it?" Nicholas looked at him as if daring him to lie. When Peter didn't say anything further, as Nicholas expected, he continued, "You'll have detentions with me for the next two months. I'll speak to Professor McGonagall personally."
"You can't do that! I'll speak to the Headmaster, he trusts me. He'll know I'm not lying," Peter was outraged now. The fact that his friend's parents were standing and witnessing the stupid drama, annoyed him. It was all because of Snape.
"OUT NOW! We'll start tomorrow," Professor Nicholas' tone did not leave any room for compromise. With an angry huff and a murderous glare in Remus and Severus' way, Peter all but ran out of the hospital wing.
"Professor?" It was Euphemia Potter that spoke next. It was certain that she had some questions.
"I'm so sorry for that, Mrs Potter. Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall would join us shortly. The matter was a bit urgent, so I wanted to talk to you personally," Nicholas led them towards the two boys. Euphemia, surprisingly rugged towards Sirius' side first, checking him for any injuries, while Fleamont made sure that James was alright.
"What happened to them?" This time it was Fleamont. He looked a bit angry that his son was harmed, but he trusted Remus to tell him the truth by the way he was looking at the young werewolf for explanation. Before Remus could speak though, his Head of House and the healer came just in time, to hear the fiasco as well. But McGonagall was surprised to see parents of her students present there as well. She wasn't informed of their arrival.
Remus, with the help of Lily and Severus backing up his story, narrated what happened.
"Thank you, Miss Evans and Mr Snape. You may take your leave now. It's getting late," Nicholas sent the two children a kind smile for all their help and kindness towards another student. They were admirable friends.
But Remus still remained there, confused and frightened at the same time. Not once in their six years at Hogwarts, had their parents even been called.
Once they had left, McGonagall turned and spoke to the young DADA Professor, "I understand what happened in the defence class was a mere accident, Mr Lupin. What I don't understand though, is why Mr and Mrs Potter were troubled to get here as soon as possible, Professor Nicholas? Accidents like these happen all the time, we can't call parents every time something minor happens."
"You mean to tell me that students lay unconscious in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, without their parents being informed? Like this is a normal thing at Hogwarts?" Salazar, Nicholas couldn't believe what he was hearing. The standards at Hogwarts had fallen way below the line since Dumbledore became the Headmaster.
"No," Professor McGonagall was confused now. Things have always been this way since she'd started teaching here. But she never questioned it because she trusted Dumbledore to protect all the students and Hogwarts itself.
"And what about the fact that one of the Potter's sons was knocked out cold during a mock duel and the other one was poisoned?"
"I'm sorry, James was poisoned?" Eupehmia was horrified. Her poor son was poisoned by someone! Who was it who dared to harm her son?
"I beg your pardon? I'm sure I must have heard wrong," Fleamont couldn't believe it, and neither could Remus.
"No, you didn't, and I thought you would have noticed it by now," Nicholas rounded James' bed and held up his hand. James' nails were a slight shade of blue and the skin at his fingertips was pale. Not too pale, enough to go unnoticed though.
"I first noticed it when he suddenly attacked me. His pupils were dilated, and there was a pink ring surrounding them. Next was his anger; it was getting out of hand very quickly. And lastly were his spells. They were too powerful, which would have been a good thing had they not started draining his core. His magic was bound by something; it was restricted, thus harming him. I did the only thing I could think of and put him to sleep." Everyone was astounded to hear Nicholas' explanation.
"I checked upon his vitals, as you asked Professor. You were right. There were remnants of the poison in his blood, but they were in extremely small amounts, very hard to notice, which also means that it was given regularly. For a long time now. His body is practically immune to it, I believe," Madame Pomfrey handed over the report to Nicholas, while he and McGonagall read through it thoroughly. They passed the report to the anxious parents then.
"If his body was immune to it, then why the sudden reaction?" Ahh, Euphemia Potter was a smart woman. And a true Black.
"Either the intake of the poison this time was in a larger capacity than his body is used to. Or the poison that was concocted this time was much concentrated. So instead, the poison did not get fully dissolved in his blood and started hurting his white blood cells, which would further explain the sudden drain in James' energy and magical core,"Madame Pomfrey gave the answer immediately. She had made a thorough report, it seemed.
"James has been acting really strange and angry for a while now," Remus piped in. He was in deep thought as he spoke, still shocked from what all he'd heard.
"Why do you say that, Mr Lupin?" Professor McGonagall asked in a soft voice. The boy was shaken.
"Whenever he used to see Lily and Severus together, he used to get jealous. He would say something mean about him or to him, but he would often laugh it off. Now though, he just stares at them. He said he wanted to hurt Severus the same way he was hurting. I didn't get it at first," Remus looked at Nicholas as if seeking his help. "And the pranks too. They were only meant for fun, never to harm anyone. They are getting vicious and harmful too, others are getting hurt more often now."
"How often do these pranks happen to Mr Snape, son?" There was a fatherly tone in Fleamont's voice; a reassuring one.
"He's the target most of the time." Fleamont and Euphemia were not happy with that answer. They had never thought that their son could do such things, yet they were proven wrong. They needed to do something.
"Is there anything that he eats regularly? A favourite perhaps? My guess is the poison must have been put in his food," Nicholas inquired. Remus thought for a moment before his breath hitches, and alarm crossed his face. It was brief, but Nicholas and Fleamont both caught it.
"No, sir. Nothing," Remus stammered, hoping he wouldn't get caught. Fleamont looked at Professor Nicholas, knowing he saw Remus' hesitation too and nodded at him. They would have to talk to him later.
"That is okay Mr Lupin. We will look further into the matter," Professor McGonagall assured the young boy that he wasn't in any trouble. More so, she remembered that with the full moon nearing the boy needed his rest.
"You please go back to your dormitory now, Remus. Don't worry." It was the first time that Professor Nicholas had called him by his name. "One of the kitchen elves would bring you dinner to your room, though I would apologize that it wouldn't be as delicious as the one your friends got for you."
The boy looked down at his feet in embarrassment. Of course, they witnessed everything that Peter did.
"We all saw what happened here, Remus. We'll stay the night here, son. Don't worry, we'll take good care of your friends," Euphemia cupped his cheek lovingly. Her boys were all so troubled right now.
"Okay, Mrs Potter. And thank you, Professor," Remus was so glad that Professor Nicholas was looking into the matter personally. He didn't know why, but the young werewolf trusted his new teacher immensely. Not just him, his wolf side too.
"It's my duty, Mr Lupin."
With one last glance at James and Sirius and a great lot of reluctance, Remus left the hospital wing with a heavy heart and questions on his mind.
Back in the hospital wing, Nicholas saw as the anxious parents moved to sit beside the boys.
"What will happen now?"
"We'll find out who did this, I'll make sure of it," Nicholas mind-linked to the girl who had been standing beside him quietly all this time.
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 17: Chapter 16
Summary:
James, Remus and Sirius meet the Potters in a much-needed conversation. Later on, Fleamont also takes some steps regarding the safety of Hogwarts.
Notes:
A/N : Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, sarcasm, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Fleamont Potter was upset. Actually, no, cut that.
He was enraged at his son's behaviour. Never in a million years could he have imagined that his little boy, his little James, would grow up to be a fucking bully.
James had always been a kind-hearted child. He didn't care about their blood status and whatever nonsense the society spewed about. Euphemia and Fleamont had never taught him such prejudice. He respected others. He was always taught that everyone is perfect just the way they are, and he should accept them as such.
He always helped others; he took care of them as a true leader should.
Like the Heir of Godric Gryffindor and the Noble House of Potter, should. It seemed that Fleamont had made a hasty decision in that department. Because James had gone to Hogwarts as a youngling and came back as a changed man.
One, they couldn't recognise anymore.
Euphemia and Fleamont thought that his hatred towards Slytherins was just a phase, something that would pass eventually. Perhaps, that was where things had started going downhill.
It was their fault, as parents, for loving him too much and ignoring his mistakes. They never recognised when his harmless pranks became painful for others. And the price of their ignorance was paid by an innocent boy of the Snake house.
The floo roared with green flames, indicating the arrival of guests of honour. James, Sirius and Remus stepped out of the fireplace, dusting their clothes while heads still bowed, both in shame and fear. The trio knew that angering Euphemia Black-Potter had been a grave mistake.
"Where's Mr Pettigrew?" Euphemia asked in a deathly calm voice from where she sat at the head of the office table.
"Mother, father." James tried to move to embrace his parents in greeting but was immediately stopped in his actions.
"Heir Potter, I asked you a question, and I want an answer." Addressing James by his formal title showed the trio that there was no escaping this time.
Straightening his spine, James answered, "Peter had to go home this weekend. It was an urgent family matter."
Fleamont finally turned to acknowledge the boys, from where he was standing near the window and staring outside. He looked at his son, dead in the eye, trying to detect any traces of lie; he found none.
"You may sit," he ordered. The three boys scrambled towards the seats, still avoiding eye contact.
"Do you know why you have been called here?"
"Nor, sir," Sirius spoke on their behalf. He was scared about whatever the hell was happening because he didn't want them to kick him out of their house. He didn't want to be homeless at the tender age of sixteen. Since he'd run away from his 'home', the Potters were his family. He couldn't lose them.
"Okay then. Let's hear your reasoning first." Fleamont rounded the desk and perched his hip at the table. His arms crossed over his chest in an intimidating manner.
"Is it because of what happened in the Defence class? I swear Professor Nicholas is a drama queen, mother. You guys have never been called in before," James questioned. There was no reaction from their parents.
"Did something happen at the hospital? Did Madame Pomfrey say anything serious?" Sirius asked next, both of them guessing the actual reason. Remus, though, remained silent. He knew what was about to happen, and honestly, they had it coming for them.
"I'll cut you some slack here, James, because time is imperative here. I've already had a lengthy conversation with your new Professor, but I want to hear your point of view as well." There was a scary look in Fleamont's eyes, daring James to not even think about lying.
"I just..." James struggled to put his thoughts in words. The anger he'd felt at that time was indescribable. "I just saw Sirius not getting up and lost control of my actions. I wasn't thinking, father."
"Would you have done the same thing had there been any other Professor instead of Professor Grey? Would you have acted the same way?"
What the actual fuck? What was his father implying, and why did this whole meeting turn into an interrogation?
"Of course, Father. I just wanted to save my friend, that is all," James muttered while casting his eyes down. Fleamont's eyes softened hearing those words. Remus nodded as well, silently backing up Prongs.
No matter the situation, he knew that James, Sirius and Remus would have defended each other. Their friendship, their brotherhood, had seen a lot of hardships already. Both Fleamont and Euphemia were proud of their boys, but right now, the trio needed guidance.
"Your intentions were pure, Jamesy, and the courage you showed to save your friend, was admirable," Fleamont moved towards his son, patting his shoulder in assurance. "But it still does not give you the right to speak to your Professor that way. Professor Nicholas is a fine duelist, and an even more respectable teacher. What he is teaching you is no joke, my sons. He is preparing you to face the world, for a war that is right at our doorsteps. He wants your well-being even if he does not show it. The least you could do is respect him and listen to him, rather than acting like a bratty know-it-all."
Their heads did not move up; they were still staring intently at their laps, fidgeting with the fingers in nervousness.
It was true; they should not have talked in the class. And what Professor Nicholas did to teach them a lesson was harsh but understandable. After all, the Marauders were not compromising as well.
"You all are friends. Friends do help each other, stand up for each other. But they also stop each other from getting harmed or doing something wrong. If Sirius did something wrong, does it not become the responsibility of you two to stop him?"
Remus sighed. He was the brighter out of the three; he should have stopped Sirius and James.
"You're right, Mr Potter. We are sorry, and we do accept our mistake," Sirius spoke in a timid voice.
"We'll extend our apologies to Professor Nicholas the next time we see him," Remus promised on their behalf.
A flare of hope rose in James' heart that his parents would now forgive him. They had never been this upset with him before.
"Okay, then, that's settled. Let us move to the next topic. What about your pranks on Mr Snape?" Euphemia asked in a no-nonsense tone. Her elbows were resting on the table as she leaned forward, eager to hear their response.
"What about him?" James spat in disgust, that flare of hope diminishing at the mere mention of Severus. The action was obviously not liked by his mother. There was clear anger blazing in her stormy grey eyes; she looked brutal.
"When are you going to apologise to him?" Euphemia pried further.
"Why would we apologise to him, Mrs Potter? We haven't seen him this past week or bothered him? He is just a stranger to us." Sirius took James' side on this, while Remus looked ready enough to diffuse the tension.
"Really? A stranger? Is that why you've been bullying the boy for the past six years because you didn't know him? Is that the reason that he was almost always one of your pranks, hmm?"
There was no response from either of them. They did not know how she knew everything.
"And don't you dare deny it. I have heard it with my own ears when you would spend the summers at home. How that boy was pathetic and should grovel at your feet! I should have taken action right then, but I thought you would be better than this. I'm ashamed of all of you."
"Those were just silly pranks, aunt Euphemia. Really," Sirius pleaded.
"I'm a Black, Sirius, and I'll speak to you as one. I know how the environment of your home is," Euphemia started in an understanding tone, trying to make them comprehend their mistakes. "Now imagine that Hogwarts was the only escape you had. No friends, no family to support you, only allies whom you could not fully trust. Basically, no one to rely on o. And then you started getting bullied there everyday—not just hurtful words, but getting physically harmed as well. How would you feel? What would you do when the only place you deemed safe turned out to be an actual hell for you?"
Sirius was gobsmacked. No, this cannot be true. He hadn't harmed Severus like that, had he?
"What kind of question is that, mother? Sirius has us! And why are you taking Snape's side in all of this?"
"Son, I'm only trying to help you. He is not a bad person. He's just alone and was only defending himself from you. We know everything about those pranks from Madame Pomfrey—about the innumerable times he had to visit the hospital because of you. They are in the past, yes, but you need to apologise to him for what you did. You laughed at him, hurt him, even tried to make him believe that his life isn't as important as yours." Euphemia moved from her chair towards his son who was shaking in anger.
"Why do you hate him so much, Jamsey?"
On the other hand, Sirius and Remus were deep in thought as they remembered everything they had done to Severus. It all seemed so pointless and childish now.
Why were they hurting him?
"He's a Slytherin, and Slytherins cannot be trusted," James answered her mother's question.
"Don't forget that I'm a Slytherin too, son. You tried to take away Severus' only friend when it was never your decision to make," James looked sharply at his mother at the mention of Lily Evans.
"And you stalked that poor girl, James. Do you realise how wrong that is on so many levels? You intruded on her privacy," Euphemia emphasized.
"What do you want me to do, mother?" James asked in a threatening way. Euphemia was quick to notice the changes in his behaviour. Professor Nicholas was indeed right in his observations.
"I want you to leave that girl alone. If she does have the same feelings for you, James, then I wouldn't mind. But till then, you stay away from Lily Evans or I'll have to take strict actions against you." Euphemia ordered as she stood up alongside her husband.
Her son thought hard upon it. What she was saying was doable, not that Lily was giving him any responses so far. She had been nothing but rude towards him when he'd only spoken out his heart. He nodded his head in agreement, and the two of his friends sighed in relief.
"And, I want all three of you to issue a formal apology to Severus Snape, promising not to harm him any further. We have already decided on your punishment and..."
James stood full force from his seat with a roaring 'NO!'.
"I will not apologise to him!" Remus and Sirius were quick to stop him before he could destroy the office.
"JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER! You will not talk to your mother in that tone or else there will be consequences," Fleamont shouted at him in a warning.
"I'll talk to her however I like. It's my life. You must be daft to even think that I would bow down before that snake," James shouted in an equally loud voice. He was yanked behind roughly by his shoulders, only to be met by his friends' furious faces.
"Prongs, don't" Sirius whispered lowly. James had crossed all the boundaries this time.
"What is wrong with you?" Remus questioned simultaneously. At that moment, James realised what a grave mistake he'd made. The anger was replaced by shock and fear. He never realised when he'd shouted back at his mother!
How foolish could he be?
"I'm...mother, I.." No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get the words out of his mouth. With guilt consuming him, James ran out of the study as fast as he could.
"Prongs!" Sirius tried to run after him but was stopped by Remus.
"Let him go, Padfoot. He needs to be alone right now." With a defeated sigh, Sirius obliged his request. Both of them turned towards the furious parents, ready for a possible lashing out. They were wrong, though.
Fleamont and Euphemia seemed as tired as they were angry. James had never acted like this before.
"You both should go back to school. I'll write to Professor McGonagall that James will stay back home for the weekend," Fleamont told them in a quiet tone.
"As for your punishment, I want the Invisibility Cloak back," Fleamont said as he sat on his desk to write that letter.
"Sir?"
"We are not negotiating here, Sirius. You will do as told. You should be thankful that Professor Nicholas decided against writing a letter to your grandfather. We both know how that would have ended up," Euphemia warned him.
"Okay, Aunt Euphemia. But we do not have the cloak with us right now."
"Don't fret about it. I have some business at Hogwarts, so you can expect me there tomorrow."
"Yes, Uncle Fleamont." Remus sighed.
"And boys, I expect better from you next time. Don't let us down." Both boys nodded in acceptance and were about to leave when Sirius turned to face them again.
"He'll be okay, right?" There was fear in Sirius' eyes that something would happen to James.
"He will be fine, son. Now, off you go."
Remus and Sirius left the Potter Manor with a heavy heart. One thing was sure—today was one of the worst days of this year.
The next day came quickly, and Fleamont was ready for it. He had written a letter to Augusta Longbottom and Arcturus Black—two other members of the Board of Directors beside him—and sought their permission to take notice of what was happening at Hogwarts.
They had taken a mutual decision to take action only if they had evidence to present in front of the Board.
For this, they sought the help of a neutral party, and Professor Nicholas proved to be the right person. He had proven that he genuinely cared about the safety of the students. And more so, since he'd recently joined Hogwarts, his opinions would provide a fresh and unadulterated point of view to them.
Thus, Fleamont's meeting with Professor Nicholas was of utmost importance and was ordered to be kept a secret until further notice.
Fleamot Potter arrived at his destination—Professor Nicholas' personal office—dusting away his clothes and stepping out of the floo. He was careful to avoid apparation, and thus, the unwanted prying eyes.
"Good morning, Mr Potter."
"Good morning, Professor Grey. Thank you for agreeing to meet me." Fleamont said with a firm handshake.
"Not at all, Mr Potter. It's my pleasure to help you in any way I can," Nicholas replied as they sat at the table and poured him a cup of tea. Although, he was curious to hear Fleamont's reason for the sudden visit. His letter had been cryptic, to put it simply.
"How is James doing now?"
"Oh, he's okay for now." Fleamont couldn't keep the worrying tone from his voice.
"Is it something serious?"
Fleamont contemplated on spilling the details to Professor, but he seemed concerned for James. Besides, he needed Grey's help at the moment.
"James' blood reports are still not back. They said it will take another week or so because the poison was in minuscule quantities. But the healers have started with his treatment. They have recommended a mild basic antidote and calming draught for his anger issues. Both of them have to be administered daily so, I have to schedule a meeting with Professor McGonagall and the head matron as well. Euphemia is worried, though, so we thought that maybe he should spend the weekend at home."
"That's wise and understandable, Mr Potter. I will personally make sure that his physical and mental health is taken care of," Nicholas promised. It was just a move to gain the Potters' trust for the future.
"Thank you, Professor. That would be much appreciated."
"Now, how may I be of assistance to you today?" The conversation suddenly turned serious.
"Before leaving Hogwarts that evening, I got the chance to speak to Mr Lupin about these 'pranks' that have been played for years. Not to mention the bullying that has escalated as well over the years—one incident I witnessed, myself, on Friday evening. I wrote to some members of the Board of Directors; it is decided that an investigation is pending."
"Forgive me, Mr Potter, but where do I come in between all of this?"
"You are new here, Professor, and as much as we would like to assume otherwise, we do not know where the rest of the staff stands. Their loyalty to Dumbledore might prove to be a hurdle in this matter."
"Is Professor Dumbledore also under suspicion?"
"Unfortunately, yes. He had failed the students, and it has resulted in a fight that is going too far. If we gather enough evidence against him, he will be removed from the Headmaster's position."
Now wasn't that cherry on the cake! Morgana, he didn't even have to do anything but fake care about these blithering idiots, and bam! An opportunity just landed on his lap.
Trying very hard not to show his smile, Nicholas masked his emotions, "Of course, Mr Potter."
"Good then, I want you to select three students whom you trust, and..." Nicholas listened to him carefully. Doing as requested, he wrote three quick letters and transformed them into birds with a sensing charm on them. No one besides the one it is addressed to would be able to open the letter.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the students to come.
It was a wonderful and calm evening. Well, as calm and sane as things could get at Hogwarts.
The birds were chirping, students were roaming lazily on the grounds, the hurrahs from Quidditch pitch were quite clear where the Ravenclaw team was preparing for their upcoming match against Slytherins. And most importantly, the Marauders had not pranked or annoyed anyone.
It had been a week since that incident, but since then, the four Gryffindor boys hadn't been seen together. The school was filled with gossips about their falling out, ranging from Sirius being a death Eater to Peter being secretly gay and announcing his undying love for James. The best one so far, though, was where they were pranked in return by the Slytherins and had learnt their lesson of not messing with the Snakes.
Whatever might be the matter, Severus was content.
Plus, there was no pending homework.
Thus, he decided to spend his Saturday by finishing the book he has been trying to read for a while now. Thankfully, Lily hadn't spilled any spoilers and ruined the book for him.
Lazily reading from one word to the next, Severus' head fell back on the tree trunk as he adjusted his sitting position.
There were sounds of crunching leaves nearing him, but he ignored them because of the sheer number of students who were passing their time as well.
"Severus, hey man!" And, just like that, his peaceful bubble was broken. It was Regulus coming for him, more like running towards him. Beside him was Harriet with an equally concerned face as Reggie's. The only one missing from their little group was Barty. They had become quite an odd trio in a short time. And it surprised a lot of people because of Barty's evil and Regulus' closed-off reputation. Harriet, though, seemed to have befriended them rather quickly. Her sassy remarks kept Barty in line and her quiet nature complimented Reggie's introverted behaviour as well.
Harriet had also, particularly, gained Sirius' hatred these days, because of her increasing closeness towards his brother. Sirius believed that the girl had bewitched his innocent Reggie and was trying to force him into darker magic.
"Regulus, Harriet, what's wrong?" He sat up straight from where he was lounging comfortably under the tree shade.
"This came for you," Regulus said, passing him a note. That was odd because he never received any letters or notes from anyone. Especially not his parents.
"I got one too. Thought would open it together," Harriet said, showing him a similar piece of parchment. Severus nodded, plucking it from Regulus' hands and tearing it open.
"Well?" Regulus' patience ran thin as the duo took their sweet time. How slow did they read?
"It's from Professor Nicholas; says to meet him in his office sharp at six."
"Mine says the same."
"But why would he call you both?" Regulus asked, cocking his brow.
"Maybe it's something related to that leadership thing?" Severus suggested.
"Possible," Harriet nodded. If it would have been something important, Marvolo would have mind-linked her.
"Let's get something to eat first; I'm starving. Then we'll go to Professor Grey's office," Regulus groaned at his two friends. In the absence of Lucius, Barty had gone crazy with the Quidditch practice, for the match next week.
"Alright," Severus said. His peace was already interrupted. Might as well fill his belly now and continue the book later.
"You're coming with us?" Harriet asked as they made their way towards the kitchen.
"Of course. Lucius' strict orders to not let any Slytherins roam alone." It was true; all the Slytherins roamed the halls in pairs as a precaution. It was sad, to be honest, but a necessity.
"We're two, Reggie," Harriet pointed out with a smile. Honestly, she didn't mind spending time with him. He had a very refreshing view of life. Regulus simply shrugged and continued his way towards the kitchen.
The trio reached Professor Grey's office in record time, after their quick snack stop. As they were about to knock, they saw Frank Longbottom entering the classroom as well.
"Good evening," Frank greeted them as he reached them. He was one of the few Gryffindors whom the Slytherins actually liked.
"You got the note as well?" Harriet asked and got a nod in response. She knocked once, and they didn't have to wait long before Professor Nicholas opened the door wide and ushered them inside. He did raise his brows when Regulus casually strolled in but didn't stop him. As much as he reminded Nicholas of his bratty brother, the young boy had the potential to be helpful.
The four students were startled to see Fleamont Potter occupying one of the chairs. Regulus' smirk faded, and his face hardened on seeing the replacement Sirius had chosen over their father.
"Mr Black, what are you doing here? I don't suppose you received the note as well."
"We thought it was about the leaders of the DADA club, Professor. He only wanted to accompany us," Harriet easily covered for him. She could practically feel the anger rolling off him.
"Very well. Now that you're already here, can we trust you, Mr Black?"
"I think we can," Nicholas replied on his behalf. He then turned towards his students and spoke, "As you are aware of the increasing bullying incidents at Hogwarts, the Board has decided to take much-needed action against it—not only for the students but the staff as well."
Harriet listened and she was a bit happy that something was being done. She heard Frank utter 'FINALLY!' under his breath, and couldn't keep the smile off her face. Marvolo caught her and gave her a stern look.
"But, of course, we can't do anything without proof. So, we have decided to take your help in this case. You three..."
"Four!" Regulus shouted with his hand raised, retreating it immediately when he saw them all, giving him weird glances.
Nicholas took a deep breath and continued, "were chosen because we trust you. This meeting will be kept a secret. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." There was no humour in their eyes.
"Here is what you have to do. You will talk to other students about whether they have faced such issues at school. It doesn't matter if it was four years back or five years back. It doesn't matter if it had been a teacher who had turned them down for help or another student or faculty member who had abused them in any form," Fleamont said while looking especially at Severus, which made the boy squirm a little. Harriet, noticing this, held his hand in comfort.
Fleamont took out some quills, passing one to each student, "These are enchanted quills to make sure that their complaints are not tampered with, and also that their identities remain anonymous. We want to be as discreet as possible."
It was more serious than Harriet had thought. She looked over to Marvolo who gave her a firm nod in reassurance.
"Talk to as many students as you can, assure them that no action would be taken against them. Some may hesitate; in that case, Professor Grey and Professor Flitwick would assist you. They have been assigned to the same tasks as well."
The four students relaxed a bit.
"You all have two weeks. You may hand over the reports to either Professor or keep them to yourselves. After two weeks, a special team of the BOD will come and further investigate. They would interact with all the houses. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Any questions?"
"No, sir."
"Good, thank you all for your cooperation. You all may leave now, except for Mr Snape," Fleamont said. The four of them stopped, but Frank was quick to leave, sensing the tension in the room. Harriet and Regulus stood on either side of Severus, not wanting to leave him alone, but also not wanting to disobey Mr Potter.
"I would like for Harriet to stay," Severus spoke, surprising all of them. Nicholas nodded and Regulus reluctantly left.
"Thank you, Severus. I don't know how to say it, but the Noble House of Potter does owe you an apology. I'm truly, truly ashamed of what my son has done to you over the years. I'm very sorry for that."
Severus stood frozen in his spot as Fleamont Potter apologised to him. He didn't know how to react; no one had ever said 'sorry' to him or accepted their mistakes. He had always been shoved aside, and so, Severus had grown the hard exterior wherein no one could hurt him.
Yet, the man standing in front of him seemed earnest.
A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked at his new friend, who wore an encouraging smile. Somehow Harriet always knew how to cheer others. How weird!
"I know this wasn't how it was supposed to go, but…" Fleamont chuckled heavily. Tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. Suddenly, he looked a lot older and a lot more tired.
"It's our fault, actually. James is our only son, and we spoil him too much. Anyway, "he cleared his throat once again. "Euphemia and I wanted to do something for you. After an extensive conversation with Professors Nicholas and Slughorn, we learned about your excellent Potions skills. Here," Fleamont said, passing him a neatly written letter.
"What is this?" Severus asked tentatively.
"This is an invitation letter to their annual scholarship programme, by Mahoutokoro School of Magic. They would love for you to complete your Potions degree from there. If you would like, you can further continue your Master degree in Potions under the programme."
What the fuck? What the actual fuck?!
Was this really happening?
"How would he manage that?" Harriet asked right away. There was a wide smile on her face, telling them that she loved this gift.
"The degrees, in a certain subject, in all Wizarding schools are interchangeable. The Mahoutokoro degree will work just fine if he wants a job in Britain or anywhere else. Also, Mahoutokoro works a bit differently than other wizarding schools. They do have day-boarding facilities for scholarship and exchange students. A proper boarding school is for the permanent students there. I would recommend Mr Snape to attend the weekend classes there and be back here for the weekdays. This way, he can schedule his time easily and not get tired because of travelling."
Harriet looked at him with a 'what are you waiting for' face.
"I'm sorry, Mr Potter. I can't take this. It's too much." He gave the letter back to Fleamont with a heavy heart.
"Sev?"
"Plus, I can't afford it. " His reasoning made Harriet's hopes drop as well. The scholarship was funded, but what about his books and everything else. It would cost a lot.
"You don't have to worry about that, son. The scholarship requires your previous years' scores and two recommendation letters. They were already sent in by Professor McGonagall and Professor Nicholas, each. On top of that, each student of Hogwarts has a trust vault in their names at Gringotts. A 30% of your yearly fees go in that vault. As for books, you can always borrow them from the library. You do not have to worry about money at all." Fleamont assured him.
Severus felt like he was on cloud nine. His dreams were coming true. He'd always wanted to be a potioneer, and now his future was literally in his hands.
He just had to say yes, but…
Two firm hands held his shoulders, and he saw Fleamont's understanding gaze peering down at him, "I understand your hesitation, son. But this is not a pity gift. I gave this letter to you because I see immense potential and talent in you. I see a bright future potioneer in you. I, being a potioneer myself, know the hardships that come with it. But we all are here to support you, son—your friends, your teachers," Fleamont said, and Severus' gaze shifted to Harriet and Nicholas, respectively.
"You earned it, Severus."
A few moments went by in utter silence, until they were broken, "For Salazar's sake, say yes, Severus."
Fleamont let out a booming laugh, while Nicholas' shoulder shook in amusement as well. Harriet and Severus looked at the door from where the voice had come.
"You can come out now, Me Black. We know that you heard everything," Nicholas asked in a soft tone. Few seconds went by, and a very sheepish looking Regulus came out of his hiding place
His cheeks were dusted in pink, in embarrassment, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Mr Black. We didn't really expect you to leave."
Professor Nicholas looked back at Severus, waiting for his answer.
"You don't have to answer right now. You can always take time."
"No, I do want to answer now, and…" Severus looked at his friends one last time before muttering, "I accept."
Two bodies collided hardly with his own making him groan.
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 18: Chapter 17
Summary:
James makes a new and unexpected friend.
Professor Nicholas takes yet another, interesting lecture.
Notes:
A/N 1: I'm super sorry for such a late update on this fic. First, I'll reassure you guys that the fic hasn't been abandoned by me. The reason I haven't updated in so long is because I have been accepted in Nursing school, and that my dream to become a nurse does not seem like a dream now. I'm very grateful for where I stand and for all the love and encouragement I have received from everyone. I will try to be as regular as possible to keep you guys updated and entertained. Thank you all once again! 3
A/N 2: Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
James strolled through the school corridors absentmindedly. His feet kept dragging him forward without any destination in mind. With hands dug deep in his pocket, and the occasional sound of his whistle accompanying him, his mind was totally blank.
At the breakfast table, he'd gotten into another fight with Sirius and Remus. Honestly, he didn't even remember how it started. He just remembered picking up his backpack and storming out of the Great Hall, and that was two hours ago. He would be getting detentions for missing out on classes, but who cared when his two best friends were being total assholes!
It seemed that all they did these days was fight with James. All of this chaos was numbing him. He didn't feel like doing anything—not playing Quidditch, not chilling in front of the Black Lake, not scheming any pranks either.
It was all blank, like an untouched canvas.
Hell, he didn't even think of Evans these days.
And why should he when the girl didn't seem to show any interest in him?
The only thing that bothered him was the fight with Sirius and Remus. It was all getting on his nerves, they seemed more closed off and James felt like no one ever understood him.
Like it was just him fighting against the world.
The therapy sessions that he was taking weren't kind either. His mood shifts were so random and extreme that they often led him drained.
Like he was drowning.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not see the tiny body crashing into him as soon as he rounded the corner.
He stumbled slightly while the other fell over with a loud 'oof'.
"Hey there, are you okay?" James asked with a slight smile and a helping hand towards the eleven-year old Slytherin girl.
The girl refused politely while dusting off her clothes, but as soon as she saw him, her whole body stiffened. Her face turned white as if she had seen a ghost.
"Don't touch me!" the little one exclaimed in haste as she tried to move away from James.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." James remained rooted to his spot knowing well that the child was on the verge of a panic attack from the way she had started crying.
"I promise I won't tell anyone, just please don't hurt me. Please let me go."
"Why would I hurt you?" James was confused now. Why would the child think that James would do any harm to her?
"Because I'm a Slytherin!" The child all but exclaimed at him. The words that she spoke made James' world still. Did she really think that he would harm her just because she belonged to a particular house?
Did the others' think about him the same way? Were his parents right when they said that he was becoming a bully rather than a prankster?
"I…I'm sorry," James did not know why he was apologizing to her but it seemed important at the moment. Like he owed her something.
"Hey, you're bleeding there," James spoke softly when he saw her scratched elbow. "Please let me take a look, or we can go To Madame Pomfrey."
"NO. I won't go anywhere with you…Please let me go." She was crying now.
"What is going on here?" It was the booming voice of the new girl, Hariet Christopher. She quickly came to where they both were.
"I…uh..I accidentally knocked her down. I swear I didn't mean any harm." James stumbled upon his words as he tried to explain the situation to the senior.
The child, on the other hand, took the opportunity to dart in the safety of Harriet's arms. She was shaking violently, but Harriet held her close.
James did not know how long they stood there, he just looked tiredly as Harriet whispered encouraging words in the little one's ears. She expertly handled the situation, but James was scared.
He did not want to get in any more trouble than he already was. First, his parents did not trust him and now he was also losing his friends.
His trance was broken when the child ran away hurriedly towards the other way and Harriet turned her attention to him.
"Miss Christopher, there is a misunderstanding. I swear, I did not do anything to her." James clarified his side.
"I know, and I trust your word." Harriet simply said, making James halt in his steps.
She had seen the ordeal from far away and interfered only when she thought it was necessary. She wanted to observe if James was going to do anything, but she was incorrect. The Potter boy was clean this time, it was only the frantic girl that had gotten all nervous.
"I…uhh, okay then. I guess I should go now then," James said as he ruffled his hair and dug his hands deep in his pockets.
A nervous gesture Harriet knew all too well, because she had inherited the same from her father.
"Would you like to come with me for Quidditch practice?" Harriet asked suddenly, surprising both him and herself. But she knew, in that moment, that he needed company.
"I don't want to bother you." James said in a conflicted tone. On one hand, he did not want to be alone at this time, and on the other hand, he did not think Harriet would like his company.
James had hurt her housemate after all. Plus, in the past, he had tried to play harmful pranks on her as well. The guilt was settling pretty deep in his belly.
"I wouldn't have asked if I had thought you would bother me." Harriet replied easily. "It's okay, I won't force you."
"No, no..I would love to come for practice with you." James said, a little more confidently this time.
"Sure?"
"Positive." This, Harriet thought, was a positive sign. There were reasons that she had asked for James to come. One, because she wanted to see for herself how his therapy sessions were going on. Marvolo had already given her update about the issue.
The other being, that she simply wanted to spend some time with her father. She had never interacted with him before, and today seemed to be a good opportunity. Plus, she was sure Barty would trust her judgment.
The pair started their journey towards the Quidditch pitch.
"I heard that got the Seeker position in the Slytherin team. That's amazing," James started a new topic, trying to talk to her.
"Thank you." Harriet replied with a genuine smile.
"I take you like Quidditch then."
"I love it, actually. It brings a sense of comfort to me, you know." James totally agreed with her. He was listening to her with rapt attention.
"My father was a chaser actually, I got that from him," Harriet spoke.
"He must have been good."
"The best. I heard it quite often from others."
"I heard about your parents, Miss Christopher. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Don't be. They made their choice, and whatever happened was their fate. I do know that they loved me enough." Harriet kept quiet after that, a somber expression on her face.
James felt a little bad for her. He could never think what he would do if something happened to his parents. Yet, the girl beside him was tough to face the situation alone. He admired her for that.
Harriet Christopher had gained not only his respect, but Heir Potter was in her debt as well because of what she had done today.
"You know, you're one of the first girls I've seen who actually liked the sport. Other girls of your age are mostly concentrated on finding a good match for themselves."
"Is that so, Mr Potter? Tell me then, do these girls have a say in their future? What if they want to pursue their careers first?"
James pondered over her questions. He never thought on such matters actually for they seemed miniscule. But now that Harriet had voiced them, they seemed like an important topic.
"We're here." Harriet announced, and James realized that they had indeed reached the grounds. He remained stoic when he saw Barty, Lucius, Regulus and few others from the Slytherin house being in attendance as well.
"I don't want to intrude," James was skeptical about his decision did not know how to face them all. What if something happened to him?
"Everything's going to be alright. Trust me," Harriet spoke looking at him, as if she already knew his inner debacle.
"Hey, Barty. We have a guest," Harriet shouted from her position. Her three friends looked in her direction happily, but a visible scowl painted their face upon seeing Heir Potter.
Only Barty came forward to greet the trio.
"Harriet, Heir Potter." Barty was smart enough to ask questions later and do things according to the situation.
"Heir Crouch," James responded politely, although he fidgeted visibly.
"I invited him to the practice."
"Sounds super," Barty winked in Harriet's direction cheerfully. "Maybe, we'll get to know Gryffindor's strategy for the next game."
That was enough to get James out of his shell and enjoy the moment with his two new acquaintances. Harriet was glad when James and Barty went ahead without her.
"You know he is not happy about it, and neither am I," Regulus said as he approached Harriet with an unreadable mask. "He would want to talk to you."
"I know." Harriet replied when she saw Regulus and Lucius taking their leave from the grounds. They would not accept James so easily, she knew. Nonetheless, it was blind shot, and she had plenty of time in her hands.
Right now, she needed to play a real game.
Harriet Christopher had gained not only his respect, but Heir Potter was in her debt as well because of what she had done today.
"Today we are going to be learning about magical cores. So, does anyone have any idea about what magical cores are exactly?" Professor Nicholas asked his students.
The topic for today's lecture was both interesting and important for the young witches and wizards, and thus, he wanted to clarify it as much as he could.
A hand raised in response to his question.
"Yes, Mr Briar?"
"It is like a source of strength for witches and wizards, like an entity from where they get their power from." The boy answered timidly, in fear that his answer might be wrong. But a reassuring smile from his teacher proved to lift his spirits.
"That is indeed very much right, Mr Briar. Please sit down. 10 points to Ravenclaw."
"Now, as Mr Briar said, they are the source for us magic users, however cores are present in all living beings. Even in muggles," Nicholas looked around the classroom and as expected some Slytherins had a look of disgust on their faces upon hearing 'muggle'.
They knew not to provoke their teacher though.
Harriet remained attentive as ever.
"The magical cores keep on growing, both in size and potential, until a wizard attains the age of 17. They have physical location in the body, but can only be sensed through magic. That is why muggles can't use magic properly."
"As if those filthy people deserve magic," Bellatrix muttered as quietly as possible; Nicholas heard it anyway.
"10 points from Slytherin." Murmurs of groans broke out from the Slytherin side.
"This is the last warning, Miss Black otherwise you'll be thrown out of the class." He did not like this crazy old Black one bit.
"Now, to continue further, the stability of these cores vary immensely. Some people have stable cores while some emit magic erratically."
"Accidental magic," Harriet piped in and her answer was welcomed. That was a plus point of Professor Grey's class—it was highly interactive.
"Very good, Miss Christopher. Other, prime example where some wizards are naturally good at brewing potions, because unstable cores interfere with the imbuing of potions."
"Also, this is the reason we teach basic magic in the first years to students, so that they can first learn to stabilize their magical core without harming it when performing magic."
"Any questions so far?" Professor Nicholas asked.
"Professor, earlier you said that muggles can't use magic properly, but they can use magic?"
"Yes, they can. The technology that muggles use is far more advanced than it used to be. That scientific technology is also magic, but they are unaware about it."
It made sense when Harriet thought about it—electricity, television and what not. It was all a kind of magic itself.
When Professor Grey found that the students had no other doubts, he continued further.
"The wands that we use form a link with the core. This link is very important; it can show information about the depth and state of the magical core, how often the user exercises magic, and if there is something blocking their core."
This all made sense when Harriet thought about it. She vividly remembered how Ron was unable to perform magic initially, because the wand that he was using wasn't linked to his core and rather someone else'.
Harriet raised her hand in question, not going unnoticed by Grey. He was glad whenever she asked something in class; her questions were very insightful.
How, he didn't know for now.
"Yes, Miss Christopher?"
"Every wand is special and linked to its user. It means that it cannot be explicitly used by anyone."
"That would be correct."
"Then why does it change its allegiance if a person loses a duel? How is the winner able to yield the wand again?"
As expected, she was again asking questions that were not normally asked. He didn't know why but he was proud that she did that.
"Does anyone know the answer to that?" Nicholas asked, looking at the class expectantly. "Come on students, this has to be an interactive session. I'm not Professor Binns who is going to spoon feed everything to you. THINK!"
Murmurs broke out in the class, children discussing the possibilities among themselves.
"Yes, Mr Crouch?"
"Wands are an extension of the user's magic and also a link to their core So…."
"You're going in the correct direction, think." This! This was the reason he loved teaching.
"S, if a person loses a duel, they also lose the touch of their magic on the wand and its ownership." Harriet spoke as she thought to herself. The image of Draco unyielding Dumbledore at the Astronomy Tower played like a loop in her mind.
The class was silent as they pondered over her idea.
On the other hand, Grey stood there with an unmasked face. This time, he could clearly see what was going on in Harriet's mind. A Malfoy boy, Albus Dumbledore, Astronomy Tower, Harriet hiding under the staircase…everything was as clear as still water.
She didn't know though, that she was projecting her memories again.
"30 points to Slytherin," that was all Professor Grey said at Harriet's correct answer. Harriet looked confused at his sudden change in demeanour.
"Now, coming on to the types of magical cores, there are three. Does anyone know?"
"Dark, Light and Grey," Lucius answered easily.
"Correct, Mr Malfoy. Now, these cores depend upon the user's ability."
"Users with Light magical cores have an affinity to use spells of the lighter spectrum, and the opposite goes for the Dark magical core users. However, the Grey magical users fall in between these spectrums."
Nicholas turned his attention to Harriet when he said so. He knew she was one of the few people who had a Grey magical core. It was present in her aura and her magical signature.
"Grey magical users can use spells from both the light and dark spectrum equally well. They have an inborn affinity towards magic itself. Now, that does not mean light is good and dark magic is bad, none of this is true."
There was an underlying stress when he said this.
"This just means that magic can be used in forms according to the core of the person."
"But Dark spells can cause more harm, isn't it Professor?" Sarah asked in confusion.
"Not necessarily, Miss Fawley. The intent of the spell makes it harmful." Still her concept wasn't cleared.
"Okay, take for an example, Wingardium Leviosa. It's a light spell, correct. But what if it is used to levitate a heavy object like a rock and drop it on someone. That would also kill the person, right?"
The image that Professor Grey painted horrified the class.
The bell rang suddenly ending the lecture. Students groaned in unison, some in happiness that the lecture was over, and some in annoyance because they were having fun.
Bellatrix was the first person to leave the class in haste. She hated this stupid class and the stupid new Professor.
"Now, now. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Nicholas asked good naturedly.
He didn't plan on giving them any homework because he knew that it was a Hogsmeade weekend, and totally not because he had some Dark Lord duties to attend to.
"Enjoy your trip, there is no homework for today." The class cheered, even Harriet smiled a real smile. "However, I will be disclosing the names of students selected for the leadership post on Monday. So, please don't miss the lecture."
He had the list made, but before that he had to do the task given to him by M Potter and the board. So much was going on in Hogwarts that it was getting tiring.
Nicholas started collecting his books. From the corner of his eyes he saw Harriet standing near her seat. Nearly all the class had left; she seemed to be in some dilemma.
When Nicholas turned his full attention to her, she however turned around and left. It seemed that she wanted to talk to him as much as he did.
Notes:
A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Views, comments, bookmarks and reviews are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 19: Chapter 18
Summary:
Harriet goes on a new adventure, but it goes downhill. A visit to the bank though, surprises her because things are about to get messy at Hogwarts
Notes:
A/N : Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Harriet was waiting for her company to arrive at their designated meeting spot. She looked around here and there, making sure that she was well hidden. Today was a Hogsmeade weekend, and students were going crazy about it, even Barty, Regulus and Lucius.
Harriet, however, had politely declined and told them she wanted to stay indoors only. Thus, the hiding-she didn't want her friends to find out about her sneaking out.
Her company was late though. It had nothing to do with the fact that she had arrived earlier than the allotted time.
She thought Marvolo was punctual, so he would have been here 15 mins before eleven. But no. Of course it was his Dark Lord ego—making other people wait for his gracious presence!
Harriet angrily clutched the tiny letter in her hand.
'If you would like to go on another adventure, meet me near the secret passageway beneath the one-eyed witch statue. I'll be waiting for you.
Marvolo'
"Waiting, my foot," she whispered under her breath. It was also one tiny change she'd noticed in herself—Harriet had been growing a little impatient and angry lately. Something she wasn't fond of, but somehow things always seem to turn in another direction than she'd expected.
Her getting angry was normal then, right?
"You're early," Marvolo's voice echoed in the quiet corridor, catching Harriet off guard.
She let out a small squeak of surprise. Glaring daggers at Marvolo who was now smiling at her mischievously, she spoke, "That wasn't funny."
"Pinching me in the Great Hall while I was having dinner with the other teachers wasn't funny either."
"Actually it was, you scared Professor Merrythought too," Harriet said with a cheeky smile, but this time Marvolo couldn't say anything further.
"Ready?" he asked, receiving a 'yes' in response.
"Where are we going, by the way?"
"Do you know how to apparate?" Marvolo dodged her question with his own.
"Yes, I do know, but I prefer not to," Harriet replied. She politely waited for him to answer her, but got no response.
Harriet caught Marvolo's arm simultaneously to stop him from going any further and avoiding answering her question, she asked insistently, "Where are we going?"
Marvolo raised his eyebrows at her bold move, no one has ever dared to touch him like that. He ignored the feeling of warmth he felt at her touch. Harriet, though caught onto his gaze and immediately retreated her hand, muffling out a quick apology.
Marvolo kept on moving, forcing Harriet to follow his lead. "Since you have told me a secret of yours, I thought it is only fair that I tell you one of mine. Don't make me regret my decision, Harriet."
"Okay," Harriet spoke and quietened down. She was still getting used to his mood swings, so when he was irritated at her like that, she did not like it.
Marvolo side-eyed the young witch beside him, sighing internally at his own patience. She was just curious, he shouldn't have talked to her like that.
"How is the investigation going on? Have you talked to any students yet?" Marvolo spoke, trying to start a conversation. He was feeling guilty at his sudden outburst, but didn't know how to apologize.
"We did actually," Harriet nodded. The four students, Regulus, Severus, Frank and herself, had started with the investigation as requested by Fleamont Potter. And to say she was surprised, would be an understatement. Frank, unexpectedly, had written the first report against Headmaster Dumbledore himself. And with the help of his girlfriend Alice, he'd been able to reach out to the Hufflepuffs as well.
"Some work is still left though. We'll show you the reports on Monday. Only Severus is left, but he'd gone to Mahoutokoro for his class this weekend."
Marvolo nodded. Things had been turning out in his favour lately, and he wasn't complaining. Like the sudden outburst of Albus Dumbledore in front of Fleamont Potter, when the latter had told the headmaster about Severuss scholarship programme. To say that Lord Potter was angry would be an understatement. Marvolo was sure that the Board of Directors would look into Dumbledore's file separately.
"I hope Mr Snape is doing well now?" Marvolo asked. It had been two weeks since Severus had started with his classes.
"He gets a little tired, but he's much better. Thank you," Harriet genuinely thanked him for his favour. The way her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, enthralled Marvolo to no end. Forcing his eyes away from her, he found that they'd reached their destination.
"We're here."
They had stopped somewhere at the beginning of the Forbidden Forest. Marvolo turned to Harriet and explained, "This is one of the places where you can apparate out of Hogwarts without the Headmaster getting informed about it. The Floo networks in all the teachers' offices come under the Headmaster's supervision as well."
Harriet nodded. It made sense because if they had used the Floo network then Dumbledore would definitely be at their tail. Plus, she was nervous as to where Marvolo was actually taking her.
"Now, the key to apparate properly is to take a deep breath and then start, this will reduce your nauseousness once you land at your destination. Then, keep your body relaxed and lastly, cast the spell." Marvolo told her.
"How did you know?" Harriet was surprised at that. She had just said that she didn't like apparition, how did he know that she actually got sick because of it.
"It's quite common in young wizards. Plus, you don't hide your expressions very well," Marvolo commented off-handedly, making Harriet frown.
"Ready?" Marvolo asked again, but he could see the clear reluctance in her eyes. With some hesitation and ignoring his own wildly beating heart, Marvolo moved forward standing close to Harriet. Harriet stood stoic when he put his arms around her in a loose embrace.
"Hold onto me tightly," he whispered and goosebumps broke onto her skin. She could feel his breath on her forehead, but it felt so good to her. Her mind felt calm and at peace. Instinctively, she put her arms around him, clutching hard and took a deep breath before they vanished from their spot.
Harriet landed on the ground gracefully, but still clutching onto Marvolo tightly.
"Woah!"
"You okay?* Marvolo asked as he straightened up, wanting to make sure that she was indeed fine.
"Yeah," Harriet nodded and took in her surroundings. The place did not look familiar to her. There were small houses lining the sides with a wide open ground on her left-hand side. It looked like they were visiting the countryside or some village.
She started walking, easily falling in step with Marvolo. Harriet, however, could not ignore the whispers that followed them around.
"Where are we going, Marvolo?" Harriet asked one last time.
"You see that Manor over there, standing upon the hill." Marvolo pointed towards the biggest and the grandest buildings for miles around. "It belonged to my father. My father was a wealthy person, they owned almost half the village around here."
"Riddle Manor," Harriet whispered. She had stopped mid-track as soon as she'd heard about Marvolo's father. "This is Little Hangleton village?"
How could she be so stupid? Of course, it was. She could remember bits and pieces now from what she'd seen in the pensieve memories.
"It is, but you already know it, don't you?" Marvolo asked suspiciously to her. Harriet nodded gravely at him. She was sure that he was not happy about it. Marvolo's childhood, his father being a muggle, his lineage—all were a part of him that he'd hidden from the world.
Knowing that Harriet was already aware of that hidden part, was definitely bound to anger him to no end.
Marvolo started longer strides towards the manor, "What else do you know?"
"I think we should not talk about this now," Harriet tried to avoid the conversation altogether.
"My mood is already spoiled, dearest. You might as well just spill out everything now," Marvolo almost snarled at him.
Harriet was conflicted. They were standing in the middle of the village with people shamefully staring at them, and Marvolo was on the peak of his anger. So, Harriet did the only thing she could at the moment—she reached out to her faithful servant.
"Death?" Harriet spoke in her mind. "What should I do?"
"I think you should tell him the truth for now, mistress," an immediate reply was received by her. "He thinks he's all alone. To bring a change in him, you must show Tom that you support him. I can sense that he's willing to mend the mistakes he hasn't made yet. Regardless, if he does try to harm you, that won't be spared."
"Okay," Harriet replied. She saw Marvolo looking at her expectantly.
"Well? What do you know?"
"I know about your family, your parents, the conditions of your birth." Harriet said, backing a little away from him. The action did not go unnoticed by Marvolo. He did not say anything after that, instead took long strides towards their destination. Harriet quietly followed him.
Upon reaching the manor, Marvolo pushed the wide doors open. The entrance of the manor was followed by a large living room with centrally located sofas, and on the right side stood a huge fireplace.
Harriet took in the manor's surrounding greedily. The Riddle's were surely a well-off family, it seemed. She saw her companion stand in the middle of the living room and send a powerful 'Bombarda' on the flooring.
Harriet observed as Marvolo cleared the debris off the floor, and took out a golden box from underneath the ground. He held the box with utmost care and began to chant numerous spells in Parseltongue.
As soon as Marvolo cast the last spell, the box opened with a loud click, and seized the Gaunt ring lying within.
Harriet stiffened on her spot. The ring had been made into a Horcrux, she could feel it. She knew because the soul piece residing inside of her, wanted to hold the ring too.
Harriet was entranced by it. If she could touch it one time, it wouldn't harm her right. Just one time….
"Harriet," Marvolo's voice snapped her out her thoughts. She never realized that she had reached to where he was standing , with her hand outstretched to take the ring.
"I'm sorry," Harriet pushed away from him and towards the floor-length window panes that once overlooked the luscious gardens of Riddle Manor. She needed some air, but luck wasn't on her side today.
Harriet opened her eyes to have the perfect view of Riddle Graveyard. Memories from her past came back with force this time, and Harriet was unable to keep them locked away.
She was remembering everything—the cup, Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort resurrecting from the void, the death eaters, Cedric's dead body, the Cruciatus inflicted upon her, her duel with Voldemort, her parents—it was all coming in loops.
A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality, and Harriet backed away in fear. Marvolo stood in front of her with an unreadable expression, but he must have sensed her anxiousness because he lowered his hand then.
"Harrie?" Marvolo's voice was soft when he spoke to her. "It's okay, you're okay."
Harriet could only nod her head in response, but she was shivering in anxiousness. Marvolo was quick to draw her in an embrace, rubbing her back soothingly to calm her down. This time, she couldn't stop her tears from falling.
Marvolo was caught in a whirlwind; first, he didn't think that bringing Harriet here would cause her to have a breakdown. Secondly, he was shocked by his own actions. He was not able to see her cry; it was crazy, he knew, but he could feel the deep ache in his bones upon seeing her distraught form. It physically hurt him.
"I'm sorry," Harriet muttered so quietly that it was difficult to hear her.
"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it." Marvolo saw the stream of tears on her cheeks, not liking them in the least.
"How about we go back to Hogwarts now?" He felt her retreat from his hold, trying to maintain her composure.
"Do you have any other work?" She asked in a quiet tone.
"Visit Gringotts, but I'll rearrange the meeting to another day."
"No, I'm fine," Harriet insisted otherwise.
"Harriet," he protested, but she was quick to dissipate his worries.
"I'm fine really, I wouldn't have suggested going with you otherwise."
"Very well," this time he was reluctant.
Marvolo was quick to leave the Riddle Manor with Harriet. The place had never brought any kind of happiness to him, and Harriet having a full breakdown here made Marvolo hate this place even more.
GRINGOTTS BANK, DIAGON ALLEY, LONDON
Marvolo and Harriet landed in the apparition room of the bank. Upon Harriet's questioning look, he simply replied, "There are many prying eyes in Diagon Alley, specially informants of Dumbledore."
Harriet nodded and the duo led their journey towards the entrance of the bank.
Harriet walked close to Marvolo, who was wearing his glamour of Professor Nicholas now. Looking around and observing people, Harriet wondered how they would react if they knew the fearsome Dark Lord was walking amongst their midst.
The world would turn down topsy turvy.
"Merry meet, Griphook. May your business flourish," Nicholas greeted the Head Goblin with respect, as soon as he reached his seat, and his greeting was much appreciated. Harriet too, extended her greetings. Though, she could read the surprise on Griphook's face upon seeing her with Nicholas.
"I reckon that you have received the letter from the Board of Directors?" Nicholas asked and got a nod in response from Griphook. Harriet, on the other hand, remained stoic.
"Yes, Professor. If you would follow me, please. I informed manager Ragnok about your business as well, he will be helping you out." The head Goblin led them towards the main hall of the bank where Ragnok—the bank manager—was waiting for them.
"Merry meet, Ragnok. May gold flow freely in your vaults." Nicholas greeted him with a charming smile too. He knew that having the goblins on his side would only prove to be beneficial to him. The Goblins may be cunning and greedy species, but they did handle the money of Wizarding World. It would be foolish of him to sideline these creatures.
"Merry meet, Professor. Merry meet, Miss Christopher. I hope you are doing fine," Ragnok replied with a genuine smile on his face. Well, that surprised Nicholas.
"I'm fine, Master Ragnok. Thank you." Harriet spoke politely.
"Very well, then. How can I help you today?"
"The Board of Directors would have sent you a letter, I presume." Upon receiving an affirmative nod, Nicholas continued.
"You see, there have been some unfortunate occurrences happening at Hogwarts lately, which has led to some parents being concerned for the safety of their wards. Heir Potter, being one such student in particular. Now as you might understand here, the Board members have been involved too, and a secret investigation has been started at Hogwarts wherein all the teachers including the Headmaster are under scrutiny."
Ragnok nodded solemnly; he was surprised to hear Heir Potter's name though. Any news regarding the Pureblood families could mean loss to their business and in return, Gringotts as well.
But the name of Albus Dumbledore being dragged into all this ruckus was a cherry on the cake. That wizard may have charmed others, but he was bad news for the Goblins.
"Where do we come in?" Ragnok asked.
"Since Gringotts manages the accounts of all of Hogwarts, I have come here for the same reason. I would like to have a detailed list of all the students' accounts of Hogwarts. Whether their trust funds are being maintained or not. Whether they are receiving money in time, as per the rules," Nicholas spoke, gently handling Ragnok a list of all the students studying at school. The list was long as Harriet saw.
"Our concern here is that the money allotted to the students may not be getting into their accounts at all," Nicholas explained his reasoning as discussed by the Board members.
It also made sense, Harriet thought. Otherwise, why were Severus and Remus, and so many other students, not able to get their school supplies? The money must be going somewhere.
"I would also like to review the Headmaster's and the teachers' salary accounts, myself included. If there are any discrepancies or uninformed source of income that you may notice, please do inform us about it. Here is the permission letter, for the same, from two of the Board members—Lord Arcturus Black and Lady Augusta Longbottom."
Ooh, so the Black family head and the Longbottom family head were involved in this too. Things were getting messy, it seemed.
"Very well," Ragnok said. "But it would take a little time for us. The list is long."
"No worries, sir. I would request you to send the original copy to Lord Fleamont Potter, and a copy of the same to myself at Hogwarts. But please make sure, no one knows about it. This investigation is under wraps and purely for the safety of Hogwarts and its students."
When Nicholas mentioned someone else, Griphook looked at Harriet and Nicholas followed his gaze.
"I trust Miss Christopher and so does Lord Potter," Nicholas showed his full support to the green-eyed girl sitting beside him. He knew that she had questions in her mind, but he will cater to them later on. Besides, it would give him a chance to spend some more time with her. Something that he was enjoying these past days.
"We trust her too, Professor. You do not have to worry," Ragnok gave Harriet a respectful nod, something that Nicholas couldn't understand.
"Your work will be done."
After being reassured, Nicholas was quick to take his leave from the bank. The girl beside him though, was lost in her thoughts.
"Its almost lunchtime. Would you like to have something?" He asked her.
"A female student having lunch with her male teacher, outside of school….now wouldn't that create headlines?" There was the tone of mischievousness in her voice again. Perhaps, making corny jokes was her defense mechanism.
"I can always remove my glamour. Then the headlines can say 'New, mysterious student having lunch with the Dark Lord'. What do you think?" Nicholas played along, making Harriet laugh at his silliness.
"I don't think there would be any headlines, people will be too busy scrambling here and there for their life."
"That's true," he hummed along.
"I think we should go back now," Harriet suggested. "My friends must be waiting for me after their visit to Hogsmeade."
"Friends or Mr Crouch?" there was a tone of jealousy present in his voice that Harriet couldn't miss. She snorted in return.
"Barty is my brother," Harriet clarified. "Why are you jealous anyway?"
"I'm not." Nicholas quickly responded.
"You are," Harriet teased him.
"I'm not."
"Whatever makes you sleep at night, Marvolo."
Nicholas tried his best to keep the smile off his face.
Notes:
-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Views, kudos, comments and bookmarks are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 20: Chapter 19
Summary:
Harriet gathers new information and new friends. Remus too, is in for a big surprise!
Notes:
A/N : Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, language
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Harriet hummed as she quietly did her Arithmancy homework that was due on Wednesday. It wasn't that long, but she'd hope to finish it on Saturday itself, wanting to enjoy the Sunday morning by exploring more of Hogwarts.
But then, Marvolo's letter has dropped in her lap with an expecting adventure waiting for them, and Harriet's Saturday plans had been rescheduled. She was only thankful that Marvolo wasn't anywhere near her when the memories came back full force. She wouldn't have been able to answer his questions in that case. She didn't know though that the said adventure would take such a toll on her.
After coming back from Gringotts yesterday, she had been drained completely. Not just physically and mentally, but magically as well. She presumed it had to do something with the Horcrux that was the Gaunt Ring.
When they'd come back to Hogwarts, Harriet bid a quick farewell to Marvolo, and went straight to her room. She didn't even have the energy to have some food. But when she'd reached her common room, her friends were already waiting for them to tell her about all the ruckus they caused at Hogsmeade.
Regulus had got her some treacle tart that she loved so much, and Barty had gotten her some pranking things that she was yet to understand. There too, Harriet had been quick to take her leave, apologizing to Lucius, Barty and Regulus, and feigning that she wasn't well.
The boys, thankfully, excused her without much prying.
The most surprising thing, however, was the plate of warm and delicious food laid on her bed, waiting for it to be devoured. The plate hadn't been there when she'd gone for her bath.
Then, Harriet had seen the note and an instant smile crept upon her face.
“I know you are very tired, but nothing is worse than going to bed with an empty stomach, and I say this from personal experience. Please have your food. I promise it's not poisoned.
Marvolo."
The man was crazy. He was sending her food, for Merlin's sake! The Dark Lord caring for Harriet Potter, what a blasphemy.
There was a clearing of the throat and she saw Sarah standing there with a pout on her face.
“Good morning, Sarah.”
“No…not a good morning. Uh huh,” the girl sat opposite Harriet, with a dramatic gasp.
“What's wrong?”
“Period cramps,” Sarah mumbled, holding onto her stomach tightly. Apparently, Sarah having periods made her chatty because she was saying whatever was coming to her mind.
“Oh dear. Do you want me to get you a hot water bottle? Or something warm to drink perhaps?” Harriet asked in concern.
“No, just….sit with me please.”
“Here, atleast have this then,” Harriet passed the chocolate bar that she always carried for emergency cases.
“Thanks Harrie.”
She smiled when Sarah practically moaned in happiness after having the sugary candy. Her eyes then fell upon the stillehoute of Lily Evans, standing a few feet from their table with a dubious expression on her face.
“Miss Evans?” Harriet called her out, sensing Lily's discomfort. “Is anything the matter?”
“I'm sorry…I just,” Lily spoke as she reached their table, but still looked hesitant. With a deep breath she said, “I heard that there's an investigation going on. Is it true?”
Harriet's face turned somber. The news regarding the investigation was totally under wraps, and the students were warned not to discuss it with the teachers. It was understandable, and seeing if word got out, there will be consequences for all.
“It is. Do you have anything to report?” Harriet asked the young Gryffindor carefully.
“What if my name comes in between. I don't want that,” Lily spoke her mind and Harriet understood her completely.
Taking out the parchment and quills from her back, she showed it to Lily. “These are enchanted quills and parchment. The quill will note your query word by word, without any mangled words in between. As for the parchment, when your complaint is done, it will fold itself and can only be opened by the Board Members or one of the assigned teachers. Your name and identity will remain anonymous throughout. So, you do not have to worry at all.”
“It's okay, Miss Evans. We too have given some complaints.” This time it was Sarah who spoke. “I think it is time for all of us to come together and save Hogwarts.”
With a definitive nod, Lily agreed. “I'll do it.”
Harriet quickly threw some privacy and noise canceling wards around them for security purposes. She then laid down the parchment and quill in front of Lily, wrote down the date and signaled Lily to start.
“My first complaint is against Professor Slughorn. Seeing he is the head of Slytherin House, Severus told him about his housing conditions back at his home, and requested the Professor to spend his holiday at the school only. But, Professor Slughorn has never forwarded his complaint to the Headmaster. Its been happening for two years straight now.”
Harriet frowned at that. She was reminded of Tom and how he was being denied a stay at Hogwarts too.
Nonetheless, Harriet nodded, permitting Lily to go ahead.
“My next complaint is against Headmaster Dumbledore.”
“Why do you say so, Miss Evans?”
“I have personally witnessed him taking Gryffindor's side on multiple occasions regardless of the situation. The other day, there was a small fight between the first years-a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw. It wasn't even a proper fight, but a disagreement. Professor Dumbledore let the Gryffindor go, but the Ravenclaw student was called to his office. The poor lad was nearly in tears seeing the anger on the Headmaster's face.”
This wasn't good, not good at all.
“Do you know what happ to the student?”
“No.”
“Will you be able to recognise them?” Harriet asked again, getting an affirmative nod from Lily. “I don't know their name, but I'll recognise them when I see them again.”
“I’ll need your help in that case, Miss Evans. Although, I think Professor Flitwick may want to take charge here.” Harriet said, and it seemed appropriate since Professor Flitwick was the head of Ravenclaw house.
“There is also one other thing about Dumbledore. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling.” Lily stuttered while speaking, she kept fiddling her hands in anxiousness.
“Speak without any fear, Miss Evans. All that you say, stays here. I give my word,” Harriet assured the girl.
“I think it is Professor Dumbledore poisoning Heir Potter.”
If Harriet was surprised, she didn't not show it just to not surprise Lily, but Sarah was the total opposite.
She has her eyes almost popped out making Lily look all the more nervous.
“What you are saying, Miss Evans is highly accusatory, so I need a little more information than that.” Harriet told her.
“Professor Dumbledore tends to give Potter these candies very often, and I've seen him munching upon them frequently. I did not think much of it at first, but…”
“Then what?” Sarah's curiosity got the better of her.
“Potter was perfectly fine that morning, cheerful even, at the breakfast table. Then, he ate those candies, and his mood shifted 180°. He started eyeing me in a scary and creepy way, and also started a fight with Remus. I got to know from Remus that it might be the poison, and I couldn't get that breakfast incident out of my mind.” Lily looked at Harriet with hesitation.
“Well, this is not exactly full proof evidence, unless we get those candies checked.” Harriet explained. “But thank you very much for bringing this to our notice, Miss Evans. It will definitely help in James’ case, I'm sure. I would let Professor Nicholas know about it at the earliest.”
Harriet gave her a grateful smile.
“No, thank you, for all that you've done for Severus. Truly,” Lily seemed truly happy for her friend. “You don't know how much it means to him.”
“It was all Severus' hardwork and talent, and Lord Potter's efforts. I haven't done anything, Miss Evans….”
“Lily….my friends call me Lily.” Harriet was interrupted mid-sentence by the young witch.
“I'm sorry, Miss Christopher, that I was so rude to you. I guess, I let the stupid house rivalry get to my mind as well,” Lily earnestly apologized to Harriet, and extended her hand. “Can we be friends, Miss Christopher?”
Harriet smiled so widely that her cheeks hurt, accepting her handshake, “Harrie, my friends call me Harrie.”
“And I'm Sarah,” Sarah too shook her hands, not wanting to miss out on this new found friendship.
Just then a shrill whistling sound made the girls look towards the intruder, and Lily visibly stiffened upon seeing James Potter coming towards their table.
She shifted nervously in her seat, not wanting the boy to disturb her yet again. But the said boy had different plans.
“Oye Harrie,” James grinned at her, his eyes falling upon Lily and Sarah sitting there too. His grin fell a little.
“Good morning, Miss Fawley. Good morning, Miss Evans.” James greeted the two girls, making sure to not look at Lily, but also making sure to maintain appropriate courtesy.
“Harrie, we are waiting for you. Come in,” James packed Harriet's things quickly for her, not even waiting for her answer.
“Who are we?” Harriet inquired, knowing that she wouldn't be completing her Arithmancy assignment anytime now.
“Barty, Regulus and Remus.” James answered easily, quickly throwing Harriet's bag over his shoulder. He completely missed the look of surprise on Lily's and Sarah's face. “They told me you were in the library, but of course, I couldn't let you miss out on my awesome company.”
“Wait,” Harriet stumbled upon as she tried to keep up with James' enthusiastic pace. She looked back at the two girls left behind, budding them and apologetic goodbye.
“Did it seem weird to you?” Sarah asked Lily.
The redhead nodded in reply, “Very weird.”
But as soon as James Potter maintained his distance from her, Lily wasn't complaining.
“May I come in, Sir?” Nicholas looked up from the newspaper to see a timid Remus Lupin standing in the doorway.
“Ah yes, Mr Lupin. Right on time you are.” He signaled the boy to come in and take a seat.
“You asked for me, Professor?” Remus was nervous, it was obvious. He was concerned that he was perhaps being called for another Dumbledore or James fiasco.
“Nothing to worry about, Mr Lupin.” Nicholas assured the boy, whilst he got up and took a vial of potion out of his bag.
“I called for you to give you this,” he passed the vial to a confused looking Remus.
“As you must know, Mr Lupin, Mr Snape has recently joined Mahoutokoro school of magic in Japan. I, initially, went with him to settle Mr Snape there. And my visit turned fruitful because I found this potion.”
“What is this potion, Professor?” Now Remus was curious.
“Wolfsbane Potion, Mr Lupin,” Nicholas answered simply. “I know about your furry little problem.”
He described Remus' lycanthropy as Harriet had said, but he could see the fear in the young Werewolf’s eyes. The boy was frightful, thinking that his secret was going to be out now.
“Do not fret, Mr Lupin. Your secret is safe with me just as it is with all the other teachers.” Nicholas looked him in the eye, making sure to dissipate all the nervousness. “You are a brilliant and a dedicated student of Hogwarts, it would be a shame if we would not be in a position to help you adjust with this condition of yours.”
Nicholas stayed quiet as he allowed the boy to contemplate his situation.
“What does this potion do, Professor?” Remus asked with a little hope in his voice.
“The potion doesn't cure your condition, unfortunately. Though, it will allow you to retain your human consciousness whilst being in your animalistic physical form. Your mental status will be that of a human, like your wolf is sleeping.” Nicholas explained to Remus what he'd learned about the potion himself. He could see the slight look of disappointment when he'd said that it doesn't cure lycanthropy.
Remus nodded and Nicholas continued with the instructions. “Now for the potion to be consumed, it must be taken each day for a week preceding the full moon; if you miss it even for a day, all the preceding doses will be invalidated. So, you have to be very cautious with it.”
“Yes, sir. What will be the cost of it, sir?” Remus asked straightforwardly, because surely such a potion would not be cheap. It was only fair since he needed to know if his family could afford it or not.
“The potion's cost will be covered under your Hogwarts Trust fund. I have talked to your Head of House, Madame McGonagall. She has agreed to the same and written a letter to Gringotts bank regarding the same. You wouldn't have to pay a dime.” Nicholas passed the young werewolf a genuine smile this time. He could see why Harriet was so attached to him, it was the innocence, sincerely and earnestness that Remus held.
The boy had tears of relief in his eyes. He stared disbelievingly at the teacher in front of him. He could believe his luck; first he got such good friends in the form of James, Sirius and Peter, and now, this teacher who was genuinely trying to help him.
He didn't know if the teacher had a motive behind helping him or not, Remus just knew that he was grateful to Nicholas Grey.
“Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.”
“No need, Mr Lupin. There was a time I was in your place, but unfortunately, no one to help me. I do not want any of those mishappenings befalling upon my students.”
Nicholas bid the boy good day after that, and went to the safe confinements of his office.
He was happy. Why shouldn't he be? That was one more student on his side, and away from Dumbledore's clutches.
Now, he just had to wait for all the reports to come in and the Board Members to take action. For that, he had to be patient.
Nicholas sighed, removing the glamor from his face. He looked in the mirror, theek was something amiss. Something he couldn't pinpoint, and it was apparent after his visit to Riddle Manor.
His face looked exhausted from the strain on his soul, the soul that hadn't been whole for a very long time now. It was burning in both punishment and need. The need to be whole again.
Then, he felt her. He felt her before he even saw her, and with her came the calmness and the sanity that he so desperately needed.
“Come in,” Marvolo spoke in a grave voice, knowing well who was behind the door.
Harriet's face popped in and she was surprised to see Marvolo not wearing his glamor.
“Someone might see you like this.” She commented. “What's wrong?”
Marvolo turned around to look at Harriet. Really, just look at her - the girl who had brought chaos and uncertainties with her, and single-handedly changed Lord Voldemort's plans.
She had done nothing and everything, she was making him feel things that he wasn't supposed to, and it was confusing Marvolo to no end.
“What did my future self do to you in that Graveyard, Harriet?” Marvolo asked untethered. He couldn't keep the question to himself anymore. He could see her getting stiffened and anger palpable in her veins.
“Nothing,” Harriet lied through clenched teeth. Both of them knew it.
“Harriet….” Marvolo rounded the desk to stand in front of her now.
“Were you reading my mind again?” There was an unknown fear burning in her eyes.
“I wasn't, you were reflecting your thoughts,” he replied. And it wasn't a lie, he could see the memories because Harriet's mental barriers were blown off at that moment.
“You shouldn't have seen that,” Harriet said in finality, hinting to Marvolo that it was the end of discussion from her side.
He got that, and he decided not to drag the situation any further.
“Then give me one answer. Just the one, truthfully.” He looked at her earnestly. “Did I ever hurt you Harrie?”
His question seemed personal, as if he was begging to hear a ‘no’ from her.
But he wanted the truth, “So many times that I've lost count.”
Marvolo inhaled sharply. It seemed that his future self had done more damage than he'd thought.
Abruptly turning away from Harriet, he went to sit on his chair, “Why are you here?”
“To give you this,” Harriet handed the complaint letter of Lily Evans to him. “One of the students decided to file an official complaint against Slughorn and Dumbledore. She also thinks that Dumbledore is the one poisoning Heir Potter.”
His brows scrunched, even more surprised when he saw that the complaint was filed by Lily Evans.
“I'll send this one personally to Lord Potter. Also, I won't be in school tomorrow, so if any other complaint comes up, forward it to Professor Flitwick. Wednesday is the last assigned date to complete all of this.”
“Where are you going?” Harriet asked in surprise.
“You forget I'm the Dark Lord, darling. I have some urgent business to attend to.” Harriet bobbed her head.
“Would there be torture or killing of any kind?”
“No.”
“Good.” Marvolo smirked at her. He never knew that he needed her approval, but he sure was enjoying it.
“We'll, I should get going then,” Harriet spoke as she started opening the door.
“Oh, Marvolo,” Harriet said, but he was already looking at her.
“Your ring, the Gaunt Ring. Keep it away from Dumbledore, as far away as possible.” With that she walked away from the room, locking the door behind.
Notes:
A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Views, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 21: Chapter 20
Summary:
Lord Voldemort visits a friend, and also makes two new alliances.
Notes:
A/N : Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
MALFOY FAMILY MANOR
Lord Voldemort landed gracefully in the receiving room of the Malfoy Manor. He saw Abraxas already waiting for him instead of their house-elf.
"Good morning, My Lord," Abraxas greeted him with a bow.
"Good morning, Abraxas. How are you?" The Dark Lord returned the greetings with a smile, the smallest of ones. Not like the big ones that came in the presence of Harriet though.
"I'm fine, thank you. How are things at Hogwarts?" The pair moved towards the small patio room that was set up for their meeting. The house-elf had poured out tea for them as they took their seats.
"Hogwarts is good as always," Lord Voldemort didn't need to elaborate any further. He had updated Abraxas about the condition of the school from time to time, seeing how the Malfoy Head was his right-hand man. "You received the letter for the meeting, I presume?"
"I did," Abraxas nodded, showing off the pristine letter for the Board of Members meeting. He knew why the meeting was being called. "I did get an invitation from the Head of House Black for the same. He requests to meet us tomorrow."
"Do you think all the Heads would be joining?" Marvolo asked.
"I can't say for sure, but I will give you an update as soon as I can. Though, I think he may bring up the subject of Lucius and Narcissa's marriage as well." Abraxas replied.
The meeting was going to be an important one, both of them knew. It was crucial for Marvolo to know every move played against the Light or the Dark sect.
There was a beat of silence as Marvolo sipped on his tea.
"I must say you look better, much better than the last time I saw you," Abraxas spoke, catching Marvolo off-guard.
"Why do you say so?" He was curious this time. He hadn't done anything about his looks. And he also knew that the making of his Horcruxes had done some pretty good damage to his physical features.
"I don't know, you look younger, healthier too. I mean, girls must get swooning if you show your face to the world. Especially Bellatrix Black." That brought forth a peal of genuine laughter from Marvolo's side. This is what Marvolo liked about his old schoolmate. Abraxas was his follower, his right-hand man in the finest of ways. But, he treated Marvolo like a person, like someone not to be scared of at all times. He treated Marvolo like a friend, and he had been since their days at Hogwarts.
"The girl is a menace, Abraxas. You know it. I don't need any more proof than I've already witnessed at Hogwarts."
"The girl is stupid and dangerous. It seems that the Black family's insanity has caught up with her. I've heard, she wishes to join your forces."
There was a hint in his undertone and Marvolo understood perfectly well. He'd heard that the Black girl was obsessed with him. If it had been a different time, maybe he would have undertaken Bellatrix under his wing and trained her himself.
But he'd heard of her insanity before he'd seen her, and he wasn't impressed. Not in the least. Sure, she had potential, but he didn't want that.
He didn't want any other person except Harriet on his side of the war.
"I will not accept her. That being said, if she ever comes to me seeing how Arcturus Black is keen on keeping the Black Family out of war at all costs."
"Seriously, you look good." Marvolo nodded in thank you, keeping this part of conversation in his mind, because he knew that he would be reviewing this piece of information later on.
"I would make sure to send you my beauty regimen," Marvolo joked in return. "Did you get what I asked of you, though?"
Abraxas wordlessly gave Marvolo his most prized possession. The Dark Lord took the black diary from his hand, caressing the words 'TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE' etched on it.
The feeling of absolute bliss that filled him could not be described in words. His soul was screaming at him to keep the diary close to him. That was the con of creating Horcruxes, it seemed. The longing, the deprivation, it would always be there because his soul was not whole.
The feeling of bliss, however, felt a little familiar to Marvolo. But he could not point out when he felt the same before, apart from holding onto the Gaunt Ring the day before. His other Horcruxes were safe, he knew.
But there was something amiss.
"What are you going to do about it?" Abraxas asked. To be honest, he was a little scared of the little diary ever since it was in his possession and home. The diary was the darkest piece of magic he'd ever felt and something that was not safe in his Manor.
He was happy that the Dark Lord was taking it back.
"You'll know." Marvolo left a cryptic answer.
"How is that Christopher girl doing, if I may ask, My Lord?" There was a slight hesitation in Malfoy's voice.
"She's…." Marvolo couldn't find the right words for now, because he didn't know how to describe her importance to Abraxas yet. And his partner too, understood the dilemma.
"I've heard a lot of good things about her from Lucius and Barty."
"She is different, not a threat to us." That was all he said. That was all Malfoy Abraxas needed to know for now.
Marvolo was quick to take his leave after that. He had some important tasks to attend to.
GRINGOTTS BANK
His next stop for the day was Gringotts bank. On the outside he was calm, but on the inside, he was jittery.
Marvolo had come here to offer an alliance to the bank, and if luck was on his side today, he would have his heirships and an agreement with the Goblins altogether.
It was a thorough decision he'd made with Abraxas' help. They both have come to the agreement that Marvolo should take charge of his Slytherin seats seeing the decisions being made at Hogwarts these days.
Thus, he sat impatiently in the receiving room of the bank, waiting for his turn to come. He'd already booked a meeting with the Head Goblin and Bank Manager for today, but it seemed they were running 10 min late.
Something not being enjoyed by Marvolo.
"May I?" Someone's voice broke Marvolo's bubble. He looked upon only to see an old man with long gray hair tied in a ponytail, his eyes twinkling the most remarkable and characteristic shade of gray.
"Lord Black, please." Marvolo spoke with a slight head nod. To say he was surprised would be wrong, because he was the last person Marvolo was expecting to see on his merry stroll.
Arcturus Black was one of the most renowned, rich and powerful wizards of the British Isles. It was hard not to recognise him.
"How can I be of assistance to you?" Marvolo asked quietly.
Arcturus' eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Why do you think I would be needing your help?"
"There are other vacant seats in the hall, yet to choose to sit next to me. Am I wrong?"
"Well, to see the Dark Lord roaming about so freely in Diagon Alley tends to take one by surprise."
Marvolo's jaw clenched in anger. He'd been very careful in picking out a glamor for this meeting.
"Am I wrong, Lord Voldemort?" Arcturus took a jibe at him.
"It really depends on who is asking about my identity, Lord Black. A friend or a foe?"
Arcturus could see the emotions swirling in the Dark Lord's eyes. No wonder people were deathly scared of him. The man was dangerous, cunning and insane. But he also possessed something that was lacking in Dumbledore's promises these days. And that was honesty.
The Dark Lord was honest towards his goal. And that was the goal he intended to find out about.
"An acquaintance if you would permit," Arcturus replied.
Marvolo scrutinized the man in front of him for several moments before speaking, "If I agree, what is it that you seek from the said alliance?"
Arcturus smiled at the straightforward question, "I want my heir out of Dumbledore's clutches. Lord Potter has been lucky enough to intrude on his son, but I have had no contact with Sirius since he ran away from home."
Marvolo nodded in understanding.
"And since you are so close to the students at Hogwarts, I believe you'd be able to help me out in this matter."
"You are treading on dangerous waters, Lord Black. One would think you are keeping an eye on me."
"When four of your grandchildren are studying at Hogwarts, at a time when the war is upon us, is it only fair that I look out for them," Arcturus reasoned with him. "But I assure you that those prying eyes are more on Dumbledore than you. Otherwise I would have let out the secret that the new DADA Professor, Nicholas Grey, at Hogwarts is Voldemort himself. So, you're safe. But Dumbledore had been on my radar for a long time."
The ball was on his court now. One wrong word and Marvolo's whole plan could come crashing down.
"You still don't trust me, do you?" Arcturus confirmed.
"When you're in my position, Lord Black, you'll find it hard to trust even your shadow." Lord Voldemort gave a cryptic reply.
"A Mr Tom Marvolo Riddle." The Goblin finally came in and announced his name.
Lord Voldemort straightened up when he heard his name finally being called. It had been 30 min of waiting now.
"Riddle's a Muggle name. Do your followers know that you're a Muggleborn?" Arcturus too stood up as Marvolo buttoned his coat.
"Half Blood," Marvolo spoke with a clenched jaw. His anger rose at the prospect of his capabilities being questioned because of his blood status. "Not to mention I'm more powerful than more than half the Purebloods in the British Isles today."
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to insult you. I just meant that the Goblins may not entertain you seeing your surname."
"Then I'll simply have to prove them wrong." The Dark Lord spoke with a shrug.
"If you threaten them in their own home, they will get offended. How about I come along with you? I'm sure that I could be of some help to you." Arcturus offered. He was here to secure the future of his family, and he would not go empty-handed.
Lord Voldemort was very quick to catch onto Lord Black's desperation. He knew that the Goblins would take a whole lot of convincing, but if his new friend wanted to take matters into his own hands, who was he to interrupt?
So, he simply nodded and the pair followed the small goblin into the manager's office.
Once they reached the private meeting room, they saw Head Goblin and the Manager seated.
The goblins peered through their glasses with a nasty look on their face, but they were surprised to see the Head of House Black accompanying their customer.
"This is a private meeting upon Mr Riddle's request, Lord Black."
"He is here upon my request, Head Goblin. And I insist that you address me as the Dark Lord or Lord Voldemort. Whichever you prefer, of course." Marvolo simply said, taking a seat across from the goblins and crossing his legs in a dramatic way. He allowed some of his aura to spread in a blatant show of power. But he kept it to a minimum because he was here to ask something from them.
The goblins paled beautifully after hearing his request. Next came anger.
"Such blatant show of power would not be necessary, Lord Voldemort. The Goblins do know how to entertain their customers." Ragnok spoke in a haughty tone. His eyes darkened in anger, but the small creature was frightened to his core.
"My apologies then. I merely wanted to make sure that you understood my position seeing the current circumstances of the Wizarding World," Lord Voldemort spoke. For a moment Arcturus was confused, but he let the man do his job. "They say that you support Albus Dumbledore and….."
"The Goblins have no reason whatsoever to support Albus Dumbledore. He is as much of a problem to us as he is to you, at the moment. As for the war between wizards, it is none of our concern." Ragnok spoke diligently.
"Excellent, just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page." Lord Voldemort smiled slyly and Arcturus nodded in his direction.
"Why did you request this meeting today, Lord Voldemort?" This time Griphook spoke seeing the tension arising in the chamber.
"I wanted to see some of my accounts, Griphook."
"Account," Ragnok tried to correct him. "Your current account details are updated."
"My other account." Voldemort insisted.
"I'm sorry, there is no other information." Griphook checked all the documents again. "Seeing you're a muggleborn, you only have one active account with us. If you wish to open another one, it'll cost 3 galleons."
"Get me a full inheritance test then, Griphook." Lord Voldemort spoke in an affirmative tone. "And do charge it from my muggle account."
Griphook sent for the items of the Inheritance test. A small goblin, Trung, carried the runic dagger in his hands.
"Make a clean cut with this dagger and let seven drops of your blood fall on this parchment, Lord Voldemort," Griphook instructed Dark Lord did as he was told, not even flinching when the dagger cut his palm deeply. He waited for the result patiently as magic worked on the thick paper and made it glow eerily.
Inheritance Test of TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE:
Mother: Merope Gaunt (Status: deceased)
Father: Thomas Riddle Senior (Status: deceased)
Titles:
Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin (Maternal). Seats - 2
Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Ravenclaw (Maternal). Seats - 2
Heir to the Noble House of Gaunt (Maternal). Seats - 1
Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Shafiq. (Maternal). Seat - 1
Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Le Flay. (Maternal). Seats - 2
Shared Heirship to the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell (Maternal) - Seats - 4
Heir to the House of Riddle (Paternal) Seats - none.
Total seats on Wizengamot: 7
Holdings: Hogwarts 2/4; Slytherin Castle and Manor; Ravenclaw Castle; Gaunt House; Le Flay Castle; Shafiq Manor; Riddle Manor.
Vaults: 7, 15, 336, 587, 992, 1083
Abilities: Parseltongue, Legilimency, Occlumency, Familiar Bond, Wandless magic, Non-verbal magic, Animagus.
Lord Voldemort read the result thoroughly. To say he was surprised would be an understatement.
"Aren't you valuable, my Lord," Arcturus spoke in astonishment.
"What do you say now, Griphook?"
"I'm sorry, my Lordship. We were not aware of your titles and heirships," Griphook was white and even Ragnok was quiet now.
"It is not your fault. I, myself, was made aware of these titles only recently when I decided to know more about my parents," Lord Voldemort made a pitiful story to gain a little sympathy. He didn't want his fellow companions to know anything about what he'd done to his dear family.
"I would like to claim my heirships now, Master Ragnok," he told the Head Goblin. "Although, I do not understand the shared heirship for the Peverell seat."
"It means that the Peverell line has one more descendant," Arcturus spoke for the first time since entering the room. "Question is, who is it?"
Both the Lord's looked at the Head Goblin for an answer.
"We have no idea for now. But, as soon as the heirs of the current houses come for their claims, we may know," Ragnok explained. His tone was much softer now. "You can claim the Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Gaunt headships for now, if you'd like."
Lord Voldemort thought about it for a moment. He'd expected to have the Slytherin and the Gaunt seats in his name, but his mother had proven to be a better asset for him. Ravenclaw's seat was a cherry on the top.
"I think you should claim all three of them for now. As for your other titles, they can be claimed later, but the Hogwarts Headships should be taken before the Board meeting and before Dumbledore can know about them." Arcturus suggested him. And it seemed right, so Marvolo agreed with it and Ragnok sent for the family managers to be called.
"Good morning, my Lord. I'm Gniald and I'll be your manager for the Slytherin and Gaunt seats. Trung will look after your Ravenclaw, Shafiq and Le Fay seats." Another goblin informed Voldemort as he entered the room. This one looked shorter, but more cooperative than the others.
"Very well, Gniald. What should I do?" Voldemort asked as the goblin placed three rings in front of him. The first one had two green-eyed snakes intertwined; second one was smaller with a ruby stonez and the third one was a gold band having an opal in the middle studded beautifully.
"You need only keep your palm in front of the rings. The family magic will bestow itself upon you, and if you're worthy, the rings will magically appear on your right hand. Call upon your magic."
Voldemort wanted to argue so badly that he was worthy of the Slytherin title, that he would accomplish Salazar's noble work.
But Family magic was fickle, and it could reject him just as easily.
So, he closed his eyes and called upon Mother magic and family magic, and asked for their blessing. Voldemort felt as if he was drowning in an ocean, but he was still able to breathe. Warmth engulfed him and he could sense the blood in his veins.
He opened his eyes to see his Family magic accepting him, harboring around him like a shield. And lastly his gaze fell upon the two ancient looking rings sitting on his right hand.
"Congratulations, Lord Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Magic accepts you as the of the family." Gniald announced.
"Congratulations, Lord Slytherin," Arcturus gave him a firm nod and a small smile.
He had never felt so powerful and accepted than he did today. After Hogwarts, this was the first time he felt like he belonged in yeh Wizarding World. That this was his home.
Lord Voldemort closed his eyes, muttering a silent thank you to mother magic for deeming him to be worthy of her.
Arcturus Black approved of his gesture, and he was more than sure now that in case a war broke out, the Blacks would be supporting Lord Voldemort.
Supporting someone who respected Mother Magic.
"I would like to thank you all as well for being patient with me today," Voldemort extended his gratitude to the others present in the room. Now that he was the head of three such prominent families, he had to act accordingly.
"Now that you have claimed your titles, Lord Slytherin, a message would be sent to Hogwarts informing about the new changes regarding your position," Ragnok informed him.
"May I say something?" Arcturus asked to which Voldemort readily nodded.
"Seeing the upcoming Board meeting is next Friday, it would be beneficial to inform Headmaster Dumbledore on Wednesday itself. This would give us sometime to introduce you to the other members of the Board and also prevent Dumbledore from plotting anything further."
"That is a good idea, Lord Black. Masters Gniald and Trung, I will follow with Lord Black's suggestion," Voldemort informed his managers.
"Head Ragnok, I would appreciate it if this conversation remains with those present in the room. I understand that you have worked with Albus Dumbledore for the past many years, and that have a certain reputation regarding me. But what I'm working on is the betterment of Wizarding Britain—not only the wizards and witches, but other creatures as well. For both the Dark and the Light Sect. I hope that to form an alliance with the goblins too, one day." Voldemort said with a charming smile he'd used to his advantage so many times in the past.
And it seemed to be working. Because the goblins seemed happy. And why shouldn't they. Voldemort had single-handedly opened three of the oldest accounts in Gringotts. The gold and valuables flowing through these vaults would benefit them as well.
"Of course, Lord Slytherin. The goblins are happy when their customers are happy," Ragnok said with a feral smile.
With that business settled, Lord Voldemort and Lord Black took their leaves from the meeting chamber.
"Thank you for all the assistance today, Lord Black. I do hope to make your acquaintance in the future, if you're still up for it," Lord Voldemort extended his hand.
Arcturus observed him, then shook his hand with a slight nod, "It's a deal, Lord Slytherin. But I have one demand that you must fulfill."
Now this was dangerous.
"Speak of it freely."
"That none of my grandchildren will ever be a death eater or bear your Dark Mark." That was easy and easily acceptable, so Voldemort quickly nodded.
"I give you my word, Lord Black. But you might want to take care of your granddaughter Bellatrix in that regard, it has reached my ears that she desperately wishes to join my cause."
This time Arcturus got angry. News about Bellatrix's obsession with the Dark Lord was coming out slowly and it could easily affect her engagement to Heir Lestrange. If that happened, the Black family name would be tarnished even further.
"I will take care of it. Also, I would inform the other Heads about your position. I will support you in that meeting, but I should warn you about Lady Longbottom in advance. Be prepared accordingly."
With that Lord Voldemort quickly apparated back home. He couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts and share his good news with Harriet.
Notes:
A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! views, kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)
Chapter 22: Chapter 21
Summary:
Harriet meets her dear friend, Death. And Marvolo begins his new role as Lord Slytherin
Notes:
A/N : Thank you soo much for the amazing love you've shown to this fic. It warmed my heart truly! Here is the next chapter for you awesome guys, and I sincerely hope that you like it. I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Warnings: Drama, language.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
SCENE 1:
It was Heir Potter who had informed Professor Nicholas about Harriet's condition, and he hadn't wasted a minuscule amount of time to reach the doors of the Hospital Wing.
It has been three days since he left Hogwarts for his work. Everything had been fine, so how did Harriet get hurt so badly?
She hadn't communicated through their mind link, nor had he been able to feel her. Honestly, it had slipped from his mind to check on her during his recovery period, and now he was angry at himself. What if Dumbledore had tried to hurt her in some way?
No, that couldn't be possible. Marvolo refrained from having such pessimistic thoughts occupy his mind. She would be fine, he knew in his heart.
It was well past 11 when he entered the Hospital wing, and he did not want the mediwitch to intrude in any way. So, as carefully and noiselessly as possible, Marvolo checked every bed until he could find Harriet's.
He found her on one of the far beds on the left-hand side. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully with her head turned away from him. He crept slowly towards her, and as if sensing his presence altogether, Harriet's head turned towards him.
Marvolo stopped abruptly in his steps. Honestly, he was scared of the fury blazing in her green eyes.
Her eyes were red shot, her scar was bleeding, but most of all she looked tired. As if she had battled an army of giants. Plus, she was furious down to her bones.
"What did you do?" She missed dangerously, and for a moment Marvolo thought that he could detect tones of Parseltongue in her words. But that was just his imagination. So, he moved forward again and sat on the stool beside her bed.
" No, hello, or I'm pleased to see you. I'm hurt, Harrie," he joked lightly.
"This is no time for funny talks. Tell me what did you do?" She was persistent and scared too. He could see now.
"What happened, Harriet?"
"What happened?! You told me you'd be gone for a few days without any explanation. I was okay with it, going on with my merry life. The next thing I know I'm feeling the most excruciating pain ever- like my bones were on fire. And I couldn't help but scream and scare the hell out of others. If the Bloody Baron wouldn't have found me, I don't know what would have happened?"
Marvolo's mind started running in all directions for any kind of rational explanation. She had felt pain like any other, she'd felt her bones burning and that she'd felt him.
She'd felt all that he'd gone through when he'd destroyed his diary, his first Horcrux. And that is why he'd left Hogwarts.
But how was that possible? Surely, they had a mind link, but did it work on such a deep level that Harriet was able to feel his pain from so far away?
No, that couldn't be possible. There was something else here, something big and something she was still hiding from him.
Marvolo's eyes went to her scar, which was bleeding now.
"Are you going to answer me or not?"
Marvolo took out a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to her scar while cupping her other cheek with his hand.
"I destroyed my diary horcrux," he replied quietly.
Harriet looked at him with disbelief in her eyes, "You what?!"
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd destroyed his Horcrux. But why?
"I did?" affirming his answer. He dabbed the handkerchief to see if she was still bleeding. Thankfully, it had stopped.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you do it?" Harriet exclaimed. Honestly, the man was testing her patience. "Are you daft? What if something would have happened to you?"
By her way of talking, Marvolo realised that she wasn't bothered about his decision but rather concerned about him. And she was right. Horcrux was a fickle piece of magic. If something had gone wrong, Marvolo could have been seriously injured or dead, and no one would have been able to help him.
Except Harriet. Because she'd felt what he'd done. They were bonded in soul somehow, he was sure about it now.
"I'm fine." He spoke.
"That's it? You're fine?" Harriet whispered.
"What is it that you want me to say?" Marvolo was getting angry now, too. He wasn't able to understand her.
"I don't know, okay?" Harriet clutched the pillow tightly in her hand to control her emotions. "I don't know because I don't know what I should have done in case something happened to you."
A single tear trickled down her eyes, but she wiped it off hastily and looked away from him.
She heaved a sigh and did her deep breathing exercise to calm her mind. She didn't know why she had said that, but it had been true.
On the other hand, unsure about his actions and with great reluctance, Marvolo sat on the bed beside her and pulled her close to himself with one hand. Harriet's head lay comfortably on his shoulder, and they both opted to remain silent for a few moments.
"I'm fine now," he spoke again and this time Harriet nodded.
"You're not hurt much, are you?" He asked again.
"No."
"Good."
"What about you?"
"Merging the Horcrux took a great toll on my body. It took a little more time to recover than I had anticipated. And then…"
"Then what?" Harriet shifted away from him then, suddenly feeling awkward and shy.
"I went to Gringotts," Marvolo explained to her all about his inheritances and his newfound alliance with the Head of House Black. He told her about Head Black's condition to keep his grandchildren away from the war, as well as upcoming meetings with all Heads of Houses.
"Do you truly think he'll help you?" Harriet asked.
"He's a desperate man, and right now, I have what he needs: grandchildren's safety from Dumbledore. He will support us for now. But we have to be careful."
Harriet nodded, but footsteps were coming in their direction alerting both of them. Marvolo was quick on his feet.
"I'll tell you everything tomorrow. You take rest for now," Marvolo changed his glamour to Professor Nicholas' and bid Harriet goodnight.
SCENE 2:
Harriet lay wide awake still. It had been two hours since Marvolo had come to meet her, but she couldn't force herself to sleep.
There were too many questions running in her mind.
Propping herself against the head of the hospital bed, Harriet closed her eyes and called out for help.
"My my, hasn't it been a long time since I met you, Mistress?" Harriet opened her eyes to see the terrifying yet familiar figure of Death occupying the seat where Marvolo sat a few hours ago.
He had his hand outstretched to pass Harriet a glass of water.
"Hello, death!" Harriet smiled sweetly. No matter how terrifying he was, his presence somehow always comforted her.
"I see you found yourself in another trouble." Death remarked seeing her in the hospital wing yet again.
"I didn't do anything this time. It was Marvolo. He destroyed his first Horcrux, and somehow, it took a toll on both of us."
"Ah ..I know." Death drawled out dramatically. Then, out of thin air, conjured up a small tray containing two cups of tea and some biscuits set on a plate.
"You know?" Harriet asked, taking the offered tea now. She knew he needed this. "Then why didn't you tell me?"
"I told you, didn't I? That's why he's been undoing some mistakes which he hadn't made yet. Destroying his Horcruxes is one of them."
Harriet remembered his words from earlier.
"But how? Hadn't he already made a mistake by making those Horcruxes in the first place?"
"I'll be honest with you, Mistress. The life that Tom Riddle had since childhood wasn't easy at all. He'd faced many hardships from a very early age. But I'd always liked him," Death spoke in a very serious tone.
"When he made his first horcrux and somehow cheated me, I was beyond angry, but I was impressed too. It showed me that the fifteen-year-old boy had far more potential. Unfortunately, he transferred fifty per cent of his soul into the diary."
"Fifty per cent? How was he alive and functional?" Harriet was horrified; a body having half of his soul was unimaginable to her. "How was he still able to perform magic?"
Death smiled.
"As I told you. He's unlike any other person I've met. Highly proficient, highly powerful and ambitious. But with half of his soul, half of his sanity was also lost."
Harriet listened raptly. Her tea had gone cold by then.
"After you decided to make a trip to the past though, things changed. People's mind-sets changed. Being closer to you made him yearn to get his soul back, so he destroyed the diary. Now, he only has two horcruxes left and most of his sanity back. He's trying to get back on his original pathway. The ideas he wanted to implement in the Wizarding World."
"What are those ideas?"
"You'll know." Death kept it a secret.
"Does he know I'm his Horcrux?"
"Not for now." Harriet heaved a sigh of relief. "It is inevitable though. He'll find out one day or another."
"I think I'll take those chances. Changed or not, he's still Lord Voldemort and I cannot let such information reach his ears."
"But you care about him," Death pointed out in an obvious tone; Harriet raised her eyebrows.
"You were worried and anxious when you couldn't get a hold of him for three days."
"I was anxious because of his soul piece residing in my body for the past sixteen years. Also, because our plan could have very well gone down the drain."
"Whatever you say!" Death teased her.
"Shut up!" Harriet grumbled, horrified at the prospect of whatever insinuating.
"It's your choice whether you want to tell him you're his Horcrux or not, and also whether you want to deny you care about him." He vanished the teacups and bid farewell to her for now.
Harriet laid down dramatically with an irritated groan. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping to find some sleep and peace.
SCENE 3:
The next day, Harriet got sick leave, so she utilized her time to rest and wake up late.
Even having breakfast in the kitchen did not seem to pass her time. She looked at her watch and it chimed noon; she still had ample time with nothing to do.
No homework, no assignments, no Quidditch practice, nothing.
All in all, Harriet Christopher was bored.
But every once in a while, her mind would reel back to the conversation with Death last night. So with nothing better to do and nowhere better to go, she decided to pay a visit to Marvolo.
She wanted to know his next step of action and how he was preparing to meet the other Lords. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she wanted to check on him after regaining half of his soul.
Harriet reached his office and knocked twice on the door before it swung open. Nicholas' glamor face peeked out, and he was surprised to see her.
"Harriet? What are you doing here?" He opened the door and ushered her in while removing his glamour at once.
Harriet was silent as she observed him. He looked tired, restless and a little younger. There were fewer wrinkles around his eyes, and his usually pale face had a little color to it now.
"I was coming to meet you."
"I got sick leave for today, so I requested Poppie to leave me this morning. I couldn't stay in the hospital any longer." She took a seat on his couch, while he sat across from her.
He didn't say anything, he waited. He didn't want to face her wrath like he did last night.
"I'm sorry I shouted at you yesterday. It wasn't my intention, I was merely concerned," Harriet apologized. It was clear that she was guilty.
"You said you felt pain and that I was in some kind of danger," Marvolo used careful words.
"I tried to get a hold of you through the mind-link. It didn't work." The moment she'd started feeling uneasy, she'd contact him. By now, Harriet was well versed in differentiating emotions between her own and Marvolo's.
"As I said, I was recovering."
"It's okay. You do look younger though." Harriet commented off-handedly. There was a shift in his demeanor as soon as he heard her, and he looked at her sharply.
"How are you?"
"I mean, you have fewer wrinkles. It's like you've regained your youth. Maybe it's because of your Horcrux. Either way, you look better." Harriet answered him.
Marvolo was reminded of the conversation he had with Abraxas precisely four days ago.
'Maybe it's because of your Horcrux,' she'd said. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. After all, he'd taken the Gaunt ring in possession quite recently.
Still, he had a feeling that something was amiss. The answer to his question wasn't the Gaunt ring or the diary, but related to the girl sitting across from him.
"Hello!" Harriet's hand waved in front of him and broke his trance. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine."
"You blanked out."
"It's nothing. I want to show you something." Marvolo got up from his seat and came back quickly with a piece of parchment in his hands. He handed it to her, signaling her to read.
Harriet read the parchment carefully; as soon as she reached the end of the paper, she was gob smacked.
"This?" Harriet asked Marvolo with wide eyes.
"This is my inheritance test," he answered quite proudly. "Dumbledore doesn't know about the changes yet, but he will soon be informed."
Harriet looked at him.
"That is why Abraxas Black wants me to meet the other Lords as well. He suggests for them to hear about my plans rather than getting brainwashed by Dumbledore."
"What are your plans, Marvolo? What is it that you want?" Harriet asked the question that had been bugging her all night. She wanted to know whether this version of him was better or worse than the Voldemort she'd faced.
"Do you know why I hate Dumbledore, Harrie?" Marvolo asked and the absurdity of the question caught her off guard.
It seemed irrelevant to what she was seeking, but she still replied on her part. "Because he denied your stay in Hogwarts when you needed it the most. And also because he always doubted you."
Harriet gave him two options from her side; Marvolo chuckled.
"Neither."
"Then why?"
"It is because he is good, Harriet. Because he's excellent at what he does." Marvolo spoke, leaving Harriet all the more confused. "Manipulating people."
She remained silent as Marvolo took out his frustration.
"He's created this false image in front of everyone, of him being the savior of the Wizarding World. He's powerful and that is why people trust him with their safety. He speaks to them and that is why he seems concerned. But, no one sees the cunning mind behind those half-moon spectacles. No one saw his manipulative and vindictive moves. Not even me."
Marvolo sighed and looked at her.
"I don't know from where you came or what intention you had. Perhaps I'll never know. But I thank the Fates and Mother Magic for bringing you to me."
Harriet was a little stunned to speak anything out loud. Her eyes widened and nervousness crept upon her spine. She searched Marvolo's eyes to detect dishonesty, but sadly, she couldn't find any.
"Had you not helped, the truth about Dumbledore's acts would have gone unnoticed. I would have continued to walk down a dangerous path and let the old coot succeed in his endeavors. Had you not been there, Harriet, I would have forgotten about my original ideas and let Dumbledore win."
It made sense now. It all made sense. In all these years, Dumbledore not only made a name for himself but tarnished Tom Marvolo Riddle's name and identity. He had instilled such a fear of the Dark Lord in the public's heart that they hadn't once questioned his motives.
They all had blindly followed him. Students, teachers, politicians, aurora, ministers- every single one of them at his neck and call.
Over the years, Albus Dumbledore had painted himself as the hero and the Dark Lord as the villain.
"So you understand now what I want?" Marvolo came and sat beside her on the couch.
"I want what he has. His power, his position, I want to see him beneath my feet. But this time, my approach would be political and legal, and I'll expose his true intentions."
Harriet assessed the man beside her. Earlier when she'd come here, she'd wanted to know whether Marvolo would continue on the path that would make him Voldemort. She wanted to know whether he could become the ruthless monster who had destroyed her life.
Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.
But there was also the man who was rectifying his mistakes. The one who would help James Potter with his therapeutic sessions. The one who helped Remus by giving him wolfsbane, and the one who gave Severus the opportunity which Marvolo himself didn't get.
A man was sitting in front of Harriet, who was genuinely helping each student, who would check up on the sick child in the hospital wing when they had no one to sit beside them.
She couldn't deny that the man was dangerous. But she'd seen parts of him that she didn't know existed. She's seen him struggle with his emotions. And maybe for that sole reason, Harriet trusted him.
Because he had been the only constant in her life.
"What do you want from me then?" She asked, wanting to know her purpose or where she has to take a stand.
"Very simple. I just want you by my side." Marvolo extended his hand, wanting to know if she would support him.
Harriet was scared by the onslaught of emotions she could see in his eyes and feel through their mind-link. He was scared too.
For now, she could ease his worries. So she put her hand in his, and Marvolo's face lit up with a smile before he told her about his plan for the meeting.
SCENE 4: BLACK FAMILY CHATEAU, FRANCE
"Herr, you go," Abraxas passed Marvolo a drink as he reached the corner of the room.
"Thank you," Marvolo accepted, taking a sip ardently to calm his jittery nerves a little. Today was a big day because today he would finally be introduced as Lord Slytherin and Ravenclaw to the rest of the Wizarding World.
"Nervous?" Abraxas asked with a small smile. Marvolo opted to not reply to him. Instead, he looked around the room filled with other Heads of Houses.
They were all gathered at Black Family Chateau, France, upon Lord Black's invitation. Today an informal meeting was planned.
"I don't think I've seen you before," a haughty tone had the duo's attention and Marvolo's brown gaze swept upon the intruder. It was a stout woman with a sharp gaze, raised eyebrows and a funny-looking hat atop her head.
"Lady Longbottom," Marvolo greeted her appropriately. Abraxas followed his lead, but then there was another surprised voice behind them.
"Tom Riddle?" This time, Marvolo's ears perked, hearing the familiarity in the voice. He looked behind to see Fleamont Potter walking towards them.
"Is that you?" Fleamont asked again when he reached them.
"Lord Potter," Marvolo greeted him too. "I'm surprised you remember me."
"Are you kidding me? You were the best student at Hogwarts - top of classes, everyone's favorite. You had girls lined up for you," Fleamont spoke in a very friendly tone. "Honestly, it was my luck that you didn't play Quidditch, otherwise Merlin knows what would have happened."
This brought a genuine peel of laughter from both Marvolo and Abraxas' sides. Honestly, he was surprised because Marvolo had had very limited interaction with Fleamont Potter during their school times. It was kind of refreshing though.
"Honestly, it's good to see you, Mr Riddle. Although, I must ask you the secret behind your young looks. Looks like you haven't aged much." Fleamont teased.
"That would be his no woman policy, I believe," Abraxas' threw two coins in the conversation, not missing the opportunity to tease him.
"You went to school with Fleamont Potter?" Lady Longbottom spoke. "You don't look that old."
"What can I say, Lord Longbottom. It's my father's genes." Marvolo replied although he could see the disapproval in her eyes when she had heard the name 'Riddle'. Seems like the obnoxious prejudiced attitude regarding blood-status wasn't limited to the Slytherin House.
Suddenly the floor chimed and entered Lord Burke and Lord Rosier. The latter, upon seeing Marvolo, was stuck in his spot for a few moments before giving a firm nod and moving on.
"I didn't know 'Riddle' was such a recognizable name in the Wizarding World," Lady Longbottom took a jibe, then moved away from the trip to take her seat at the high table.
"That was..." Fleamont was flabbergasted by her behavior.
"Don't worry, Lord Potter. I'm sure her misunderstanding would be cleared in a few minutes from now," Marvolo reassured his schoolmate, although he was seething on the inside.
Just then, a clinking of glass alerted them that the meeting was about to start.
Marvolo took his seat with Fleamont and Abraxas on either side of him.
"May I have your attention please, Lords and Ladies?" Arcturus Black's voice echoed through the room as he entered and stood at the head end of the table. "I thank you all for accepting my invitation and showing your presence here today. As Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, I welcome you all. May Mother Magic be with you."
There was a chorus of 'ayes' and applause, and the room glowed brightly as if welcoming them all. Arcturus took his seat then while tea and snacks were served.
"Now, you all must be wondering why we have gathered here today?" Everyone was silent when he spoke.
"Today's meeting has two purposes. First, as you may have seen, we have the newest member of our elite society. I would like to officially you all to the Head of the Ancient and Noble Houses of Slytherin and Ravenclaw, Head to the Noble Houses of Gaunt and Shafiq and rightful owner of half of Hogwarts Castle by birth and magic herself- Lord Thomas Marvolo Slytherin."
Marvolo let Lord Black's words sink in because there sure was an utter silence around the room. Abraxas was the first to clap and congratulate him and others followed suit.
However, Lady Longbottom and Bones sat with gaping mouths and astonished expressions. A sense of satisfaction filled his heart at their sight.
"Thank you for the excellent introduction, Lord Black. Though, that title will take a little time for me to adapt," Marvolo thanked his generous host before looking at his audience, who were chuckling at his sense of humor.
"I hope we can all work together for the betterment of our society, future and our children. I also hope that you will support my ideas." Marvolo took his seat and Arcturus gave him an approving nod.
They had to be extremely cautious with what they said in front of their audience.
"The second purpose of this meeting is to make you all aware of the activities happening at Hogwarts," Arcturus once again caught their attention, many of them looked confused at that.
Activity at Hogwarts? What are you implying, Lord Black?" Lady Bones asked in a very calm and composed manner.
Fleamont Potter took his cue and started explaining everything that was going on at Hogwarts for the past few weeks-James' accident, information about students getting hurt and bullies, parents being uninformed about their Ward's situation, the increasing prejudice and House rivalry among students.
It came as a shock to many present there, except for the few who were aware of it all.
Lord Potter further spoke about the investigation they had started at Hogwarts and the disturbed amount of evidence they had collected against Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. He presented the anonymous letters from students of all four houses. Most of the letters, unsurprisingly, came from students of Slytherin House.
"Why were we not made aware of this?" Lord Prewett asked angrily. His reaction was understandable seeing how he was an ardent believer of Dumbledore.
"At that time we didn't know the extent of the situation. But seeing the overwhelming responses , it became inevitable to hold a meeting before an official Board decision could be made," Arcturus Black replied.
It is shameful that our children do not trust us enough to share these problems with us," Abraxas' voice caught their attention. "These reports of bullying, neglect, and discrimination show us that we have lost their faith, not just as school administrators, but as parents too. When I heard the incident of what happened with Heir Potter, I was filled with shame at the atrocities in Hogwarts, right under our noses. If we do not take action now, it could very well be our sons and daughters in those vulnerable positions tomorrow."
His words were firm and true, and a tight slap on Lord Prewett's face. Marvolo looked solemn.
"As much as I hate to admit it, my son has been a bully for so many years and I have known nothing about it. I want to make sure that it doesn't happen, in the school premises, ever again." Fleamont spoke firmly. He was guilty, but determined too.
"What are we going to do about it?" Lord Nott questioned.
"We will call in all the teachers and check for their involvement. Each staff member would be interviewed in front of the Board, including the Headmaster. They will be given a chance to defend themselves. If they fail to give a proper reasoning for the neglect or the bullying, they will be removed." Arcturus Black answered.
"We can't remove Albus Dumbledore," Lord McNair huffed out with a dry chuckle. "It would create a ruckus."
"That is simply true," Lady Longbottom agreed with him, but before she could do further damage, Marvolo cut her off. This lady was to be put in her place.
"We can or technically, I can," Marvolo states boldly.
"You can't possibly think you can do that!" Although she was alarmed, Longbottom was keeping her emotions in check.
"And why can't I remove Dumbledore, Lady Longbottom?" He challenged her now. There was a shift of air in his tone, and everyone in the room could feel it.
"He's an influential person. Not to mention, people trust him and send their children to Hogwarts solely because of his reputation."
"Hogwarts is far more precious than you can ever think of, Lady Longbottom. The people of Wizarding World send their children to Hogwarts because of its strong and rich history, diversity, cultural aspect and the brilliant teachers that we hire based on their skills. And one of those appointed teachers is Albus Dumbledore, who seems to have lost interest in the teaching aspect; his mind is only occupied by the Dark Lord these days."
Marvolo defended Hogwarts sternly, but Longbottom wasn't one to lose a fight easily.
"The Board will not allow you to do that," she concluded on her behalf.
Marvolo clenched his jaw in anger. It was getting difficult to bear her presence. He punches the bridge of his nose, and after waving his hand casually, he presented before them a thick copy regarding the Administrative duties of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Page 1048, Section 54(B), Subsection 37481BS, clearly states that the Board of Directors may hold the highest position regarding the administration of Hogwarts in the absence of legal Heir(s) or rightful owner(s) of Hogwarts.
The owner(s) also have full right to either dissolve the directing body under the following conditions;
Failure to have an inheritance from a Pureblood Line.
Failure to protect Hogwarts
Failure to seek the best interests of the students.
Now if my calculations are correct Lady Longbottom, you don't come from a line of Pureblood family. You are only here because of your late husband, who carried the prestigious name of House Longbottom on his shoulders."
She was seething and it was absolute bliss to see her getting red-face in embarrassment. But Marvolo's torment didn't stop there.
"I, on the other hand, am the rightful owner and Heir of Hogwarts. If I want, I can start my tasks by removing you first seeing how you have not done your duty to Hogwarts with integrity."
Augusta Longbottom looked like she'd been slapped tightly in the face. She couldn't lose this position; it was far too precious for her. She had worked hard for it. Being a strong Lady in a room full of Lords wasn't easy task at all.
But this particular man could ruin everything she'd built over the years.
"Is it how this is going to be? You, bossing us around like kids!" Lady Bones asked the correct question, and he liked that.
Marvolo smiled and stood up this time as he addressed everyone. "By claim at Hogwarts, I am technically your boss. But it doesn't mean I'm bossing you around, Lady Bones. If I would have wanted that, I could have simply disbanded the Board without any explanation to you all. By all means, I'm simply informing you who is in charge now."
Everyone was quite.
"This is a necessary step I must take, because unfortunately, the students haven been threatened under your guidance and you've known nothing about it. You all put too much faith in Dumbledore and let him run the place as per his wishes. What has happened now? Hogwarts is in shambles—its reputation, its education, its students and their safety. Do you have any idea what would happen if this matter comes out in the Daily Prophet? What answers will we give to the other Wizarding Schools or the Ministry of Magic? I'm sure you do not want to face those charges."
Lady Bones kept mum at that. In fact, everyone did.
"I'm sorry if my words hurt you, but this is the truth. We have failed, we have all failed," With hands behind his back, Marvolo allowed his magic to exude in a show of power and let them have a taste of it.
He moved around the room to keep them engaged, "As I said earlier, I want to bring changes with your help at my side. I'm not Voldemort who has Death Eaters at my beck and call, and neither I'm Dumbledore who has followers from all around Britain. I'm Lord Slytherin and Ravenclaw and I want to bring changes in Wizarding Britain. Something that is not possible if we cannot keep our ego and petty issues aside."
There was absolute silence in the room. With his blunt words and stature, Marvolo had officially shown them that he wasn't someone to mess with.
"You have the support of House Potter, Lord Slytherin," Fleamont spoke.
"And also of House Malfoy," Abraxas added.
"And of House Nott and McNair."
The chorus around the room increased gradually, but it did.
"What do we have to do, Lord Slytherin?" Lady Bones asked, and for the first time since entering the meeting hall, Marvolo smiled.
Arcturus Black admired the man in front of him. No wonder, he had gained so many followers with such ease. He was dangerous and powerful. But he was also charismatic and enigmatic. He spoke with honey lacing his words; he lured people in and caged them, like the audience in the room around them.
Sure Marvolo had made a few enemies today, but Arcturus was sure that most of the Lords were in his pocket now.
All the more, Arcturus Black was confident that he had chosen the correct side in this war.
Notes:
A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! View, kudos, comments and bookmarks are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)