June 1996
Hermione should've trusted the bad feeling in her stomach, she should've trusted it. She knew something bad was going to happen.
Her whole body ached as they tried to make their way through the room. Even though Aveline's weight was supported by both her and Sebastian, she knew they were too slow. They almost made it to the door when they heard the sound of footsteps. Hermione quickly exchanged a look with Sebastian who was the only one with a wand, and without a word, he motioned for her to move behind the large clock nearby. He didn't give Hermione much of a choice and literally shoved her and Aveline there. Hermione pulled Aveline towards her as she tried to make them as small as possible and could hear the girl's quiet moans of pain when the weight was put on her foot but quickly covered her mouth with her hand, silencing her. With bated breath, they watched as Sebastian got into a defensive position, his wand ready, and the figure finally came into the light. The man was tall with dark messy hair, that Hermione had never seen before. Not on posters, not in the paper, nowhere. But his smirk and confident posture felt sinister from the first moment as he eyed Sebastian.
"You must be Sebastian." If the girls weren't frightened by the sight of him, his deep voice and the knowledge of who Sebastian was, did it. Hermione could feel Aveline trembling in her arms and pulled her closer. Sebastian didn't answer and attacked instead.
"Confringo!" but the man simply side-stepped, avoiding the spell with ease. He tilted his head at the younger boy.
"Come on, lad." he waved his own wand and Sebastian's wand flew out of his hand, landing on the other side of the room. "That was almost cute." In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Sebastian, gripping his throat. Hermione had to fight Aveline to make sure the girl wouldn't scream and alert the man but she could feel the dread seeping into her bones as she heard Sebastian's gasps for air.
"Now tell me…" he didn't get to finish the sentence as a blast of white light hit him in the back, making him drop Sebastian. He bent over, breathing heavily but the smirk made its way back on his lips. Sebastian laid on the ground, breathing heavily nursing his bruising neck.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." The man muttered and turned away from Sebastian. Hermione could feel her heart drop as she saw Lilith standing on the other end of the room, her wand pointed at the man, face stone cold. Lilith should've been in a Hospital Wing back at Hogwarts, not at the Department of Mysteries. But there she was, standing tall, with her head held high, and a cloak that completely covered her body.
"The almightly Lady Farrow." the man said mockingly as he eyed Lilith.
"You shouldn't have come here." Hermione had to blink a couple of times as she watched Lilith. The coldness in her tone meant this won't be a friendly conversation. The man only chuckled.
"Oh, I'm only here for the ride, darling." He blasted a spell at Lilith which she repelled without much effort. "It's your siblings who were stupid enough to come here."
"I meant Britain." She repeated his action and the man simply dodged. "You should still be rotting in Nurmengard, Aleksey." Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at the man once again. Her fear doubled with the reveal as she still remembered what Lilith told her all those months ago and pulled Aveline even closer, almost crushing her with her grip.
"Who is that?" she heard Aveline's quiet question.
"Aleksey Fyodorov." she whispered, her voice shaking.
"Is he a Death Eater?"
"I don't know but he's dangerous." Hermione could feel Aveline tense in her arms as their focus went back on Lilith and Aleksey.
"What can I say? I got bored?" he sent another spell her way and Lilith side-stepped it.
"So you blasted a hole in Azkaban?" Aleksey let out another chuckle and raised his eyebrow.
"That was a good one, wasn't it?"
"I wouldn't say it was your best work." The familiarity with which they spoke made Hermione feel uneasy. She knew that Lilith knew of him but now it was clear those two knew each other.
"No, my best work was Odessa. You remember that?"
"How could I forget." Lilith almost growled as she sent another spell at him which he repelled. "How many dead was that? Fifty?" Aleksey let out a maniacal laugh that made the blood in Hermione's veins freeze.
"Lilith! It's almost insulting how much you undermine me. It was a hundred and fifty!" Hermione could feel Aveline trembling in her arms as they listened to the conversation.
"Oh forgive me. I sometimes forget what a full-blown psychopath you are." Aleksey gave her a crazy wide smile.
"What can I say? It runs in the family." something in that sentence made Lilith tick as she started sending spell after spell at Aleksey who mirrored her action. It became a full-blown duel and Hermione could only watch in awe as Lilith stood her ground against the man. She knew Lilith was a capable witch but the duel made the whole room shake as both opponents dodged and repelled each other's spell, trying to get up on the other but to no avail. They were equals. And just as they started the battle, they paused it at the same time, almost as if they'd wordlessly planned it. Hermione watched with bated breath as they circled around each other, watching each other like hawks.
"So what you've been up to, Lilith? Oh, pardon. It's Lady Farrow now." Aleksey smirked. "Daddy dearest passed away. My condolences by the way."
"That's none of your business, Aleksey." Lilith squinted her eyes at him but Aleksey only laughed.
"On the contrary, I think we both know it is." Lilith glared at him but Aleksey only grinned.
"I sent you a greeting card, by the way. You never responded." Aleksey pouted. "How rude of you. Where are your manners, Lilith?"
"Gone just like your sanity."
"Haha, good one." Aleksey smirked and Hermione noticed way too late that he was once again near Sebastian. Lilith seemed to realise it too because she was ready for another strike but Aleksey was quicker. He reached down and grabbed Sebastian by the back of his neck, pulling him up and burying the tip of his wand under his chin. Sebastian tried to wiggle out but to no avail. Aleksey was bigger, stronger. Hermione felt Aveline gripping her arm tightly.
"You want your brother?" Hermione could see Lilith's knuckles around her wand tightening. "Come and get him." Aleksey started walking backwards towards the door but every time Lilith tried to take a step, he pushed the wand further into Sebastian's throat, making Lilith wait in one spot until he was at the door.
But the moment he disappeared behind them, Lilith broke into a sprint, almost running through the door to catch up with Aleksey as quickly as possible. Hermione looked at Aveline in her arms.
"Hermione we need to go!" she shook her head.
"You're injured."
"And Seb was just kidnapped by a psychopath! We need to go!" Aveline tried to get up but Hermione pushed her down.
"How about this, you stay here and I will go. You're injured, I'm not. I will go, just please, stay here." it was a mental tug of war with Aveline before she gave up and gave her a begrudging nod. Hermione gave her a small reassuring smile and got up, running to the place where Sebastian's wand was thrown. She managed to find it rather quickly, and with her finger wrapped around it, she rushed towards the door behind which Lilith, Sebastian and Aleksey disappeared.
Maybe she shouldn't have done that. She definitely shouldn't have done that. The door led into the circular room they'd visited before, with the Arch in the middle of it. All Death Eaters were gathered there, curses flew around the room as they engaged in duels with the members of the Order everywhere around the room. She saw Aleksey standing in the middle of the room, Sebastian still in his grip whilst Lilith slowly descended the stairs, not minding the lights that flew around, her eyes were focused on Aleksey and Sebastian.
She caught Harry and Neville on the other side of the room, too far away from her. She was completely cut off by the battles all around her. The best she could do was stick to the wall and wait for an opening to help someone from the Order.
"Aleksey, my dear, finally decided to join in on the fun?" Bellatrix laughed maniacally as she spotted him.
"You know I love dramatic entrances, Bella." Aleksey grinned and watched Lilith who finally stood in the middle of the room.
"Let him go, Aleksey." Aleksey's grin widened. Hermione flinched just from the sight of it. He looked like a complete madman. Lilith didn't lie when she said he was crazy.
"I will if you play by my rules."
"When have you ever respected the rules?"
"I had a long time to think in Nurmengard. Can blame me for trying new things?" they stared at each other, almost as if other people in the room didn't exist.
"What rules?" Aleksey chuckled.
"I will let him go, if you let go." Hermione saw Lilith's back straighten. Aleksey caught it too because he smirked and leaned his chin on Sebastian's shoulder. "Come on, for old time's sake."
"Still immature as ever, Aleksey."
"Come on, Lilith! I can feel the magic in you. It begs to be let out. Just let go."
"I will if you let go of him."
"Now you're talking!" Aleksey laughed and finally let his wand drop from Sebastian's neck. But with his other hand, he almost threw him down on the ground behind him. Hermione watched as Sebastian's head hit the stone and he remained on the ground.
"Did you have to give him a concussion?"
"You said let go of him, so I did."
"You are a fucking bastard." Aleksey spread his arms, laughing.
"I'm the instrument of chaos, love. Come on, it's time for your part of the bargain." Hermione watched as Lilith reached out to her neck and unclipped her cloak, pulling it off her shoulders in one swift move. The younger witch gasped as she realised that Lilith only had a black tank top underneath her cloak, making the scars on her back visible to everybody in the room. Aleksey followed suit and also unclipped his cloak, throwing it behind him, and leaving him in a black shirt with rolled-up sleeves.
"Ah, I missed this." Aleksey smirked. Lilith stared at him coldly in response.
"I can assure you, I did not." Hermione might've blinked and missed it but all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the centre became the biggest battleground in the whole room. Lilith and Aleksey were engaged in a full-blown battle, multi-coloured rays flew out of their wands at lightning speed, one after another without a stop but neither of them could hit the other because the shield work and foot-work was completely automatic, responding almost at the same moment the curse flew out of the other's wand. Hermione couldn't help but stare. If you looked closely, it didn't look like a duel or a battle but a perfectly practised dance, moulded into perfection. It was beautifully terrifying.
"What the fuck?" Hermione's head whipped to the right only to find Aveline gaping at the battle in front of her, leaning against the wall for support.
"I told you to stay there!" she whispered angrily and Aveline rolled her eyes.
"And you really thought I'd listen?" Hermione shook her head in disbelief.
"Is Lilith doing that?" Aveline asked as she watched, almost entranced by the battle.
"Yes. Aleksey challenged her into some kind of duel, I think."
"You knew about him?" Hermione shook her head.
"I knew of him. Lilith only told me who he was." she looked down into the centre of chaos. "Turns out she lied about not knowing him personally."
"I warned you, Hermione."
"I know." Hermione's eyes didn't leave the duel. She tried to watch Lilith but it was so difficult to even spot who was who. Out of nowhere, the previously non-existent wind started to blow through the room, picking up speed that it soon blew with the speed and strength of a hurricane, knocking both Death Eaters and Order members off their feet. Hermione saw Neville getting knocked down by the wind on the other side of the room, the silver globe in his hand slipping out, breaking into pieces. The strong wind made Aveline fall into her, her leg not stable enough to withstand the power.
"Come on, you can do better!" Hermione could hear Aleksey's maniacal laughter through the wind, cutting through her like a dagger. All of a sudden, it wasn't only the wind but a ring of fire lit up around the centre of the room, cutting Lilith and Aleksey away from everyone. Aveline and Hermione watched in amazement and horror at the sheer raw power of their magic.
"SIRIUS!" Harry's yell cut through the wind. "SIRIUS!" Hermione tore her eyes away from the centre of the room just in time to see Sirius falling on the ground, motionless, with Bellatrix Lestrange standing with her wand outstretched, letting out a triumphant scream before running out of the room through another door.
"Sirius!" Aveline cried and was about to leap towards him but Hermione caught her, fighting her tooth and nail to prevent her from going. Aveline's body started to shake with sobs as she slowly gave up her fight and leaned more into Hermione. She felt the tears in her eyes as she looked away and she watched her best friend run through the room, being stopped by Lupin and Neville before shaking them off and taking after Bellatrix.
She was too engrossed by the moment that she almost didn't realise that the wind stopped, and the battle in the middle of the room ceased. But as she pulled her eyes back to the centre, she felt coldness travelling through her whole body. Her grip on Aveline tightened, making sure she couldn't escape her when saw what she was seeing. And she was right to do so because Aveline started fighting her once more, trying to wrestle her way to the centre of the room but Hermione couldn't let that happen. Aveline was an injured sixteen-year-old without a wand. She wouldn't stand a chance against a man like Aleksey even if she was in full health and had her wand. But she sympathized with Aveline's urge to go down the steps because her heart hammered in her chest just by looking at the scene.
Lilith was on her knees, her head pulled back and hands stretched out, her wand nowhere in sight as Aleksey's wand was pointed at her, keeping her in place, a maniacal smile never leaving his face. But what was even more horrifying was that his other hand once again gripped the back of Sebastian's neck. Sebastian, who was finally waking up, immediately started to panic as he took in the scene he was in.
"Lili!" he yelped but Aleksey pulled at his neck even more, making him groan in pain. Hermione saw that the members of the Order that weren't busy dueling tried to send their spells at Aleksey but to no avail. An invisible barrier protected them, locked them in.
"That's my brother, Hermione, let me go!" Aveline cried and punched Hermione everywhere she could reach but Hermione's grip on her was iron strong.
"Aww, seems like you lost your dear uncle." Aleksey chuckled and pulled at Sebastian's neck once again. "Too bad you lost your focus too."
"Aleksey," Lilith breathed out, her eyes locked on the man. "I played by your rules. Let him go."
"Oh that's right, I mentioned some rules." Aleksey frowned, looking serious for a second before a sinister smile took over his face. "But you said it yourself earlier. When have I ever respected the rules?" his wand moved and once again was digging into Sebastian's neck.
"Aleksey!" Lilith yelled out, her voice raw. "I will do anything you want, just let him go!" Aleksey smiled.
"But I don't want anything from you, Lilith." he turned his attention to Sebastian who trembled in his grip, his eyes locked with Lilith, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Lili." he let out, his voice shaking.
"Aw, you want your older sister?" he turned back to Lilith. "He's cute." Once again he looked back at Sebastian as if he was studying his profile, enjoying Sebastian's fear. "Such a handsome lad." the sinister smile widened as his eyes locked with Lilith. "What a pity."
"Aleksey!"
"Avada Kedavra."
Hermione let out a choked sob as she saw the green light hitting Sebastian. His eyes became dull, and his body almost immediately lost all tension, leaning completely against Aleksey whose eyes were still locked on Lilith. Up until that moment, Hermione thought she'd heard almost all terrible sounds in the world. But the sound of Lilith's blood-curdling scream froze all the blood in her veins, made the hair on her body stand up, and cut through her like the sharpest diamond.
Aveline went limp in her arms, her whole body shaking with sobs as she stared at the motionless body of her brother.
"You can have him now, I'm letting him go." Aleksey chuckled and tossed Sebastian's lifeless body at Lilith. The spell that up until that moment held Lilith frozen on the spot broke as Lilith caught Sebastian, cradling his head in her arms as she wailed, crouching over him as if she wanted to shield him one last time. Aleksey slowly walked towards her, pulling something from his breast pocket and tossing it at Lilith's feet. Playing card. The Joker card. Lilith lifted her head, tears streamed down her cheeks as her eyes locked with Aleksey's.
"Chin up, love. You still have one brother left." In a blink of an eye, Aleksey vanished, disappearing from the room as if he was never there.
"Seb," Aveline choked out. Hermione wrapped her arms around her, holding her closely to her as Aveline's tears soaked through her shirt. She felt the sadness, the shock seeping from the girl as her body shook uncontrollably.
"My Lady." Hermione's eyes fluttered open as she heard an unfamiliar voice. A man with a cape over his face and Lilith's cloak in hand stood at the entrance, slowly making his way towards Lilith who was still clutching onto Sebastian, rocking him as if he was just a sleepy child.
"My Lady." the man stepped closer but Lilith didn't react.
"Lady Farrow!" this finally seemed to snap Lilith out of her trance. She turned her head, locking her eyes with the man who now stood just a few feet away from her. Hermione looked around the room. It seemed as if the whole room came to a halt as the man's words echoed against the walls. "I think it's time." Hermione could feel Aveline turning her head to look too, small hiccups escaping her lips. They didn't know what the man meant but Lilith seemed to understand as she nodded, almost robotically. She turned back to Sebastian, gently pushing his eyelids down before she cradled his face in her hand and gave him a long kiss on the forehead. A goodbye kiss. She gently pulled Sebastian from her lap and laid him on the ground before rising up. Her knuckles were almost white, her breathing was erratic and the sorrow on her face instantly turned into a murderous rage that made Hermione flinch. It was almost as if someone flicked a switch. Lilith looked around the room, eyed every Death Eater left and without a word, she outstretched her left arm. Her wand flew into her hand immediately, and without hesitation, she buried the tip of her wand in her right forearm.
Hermione didn't understand what was happening, but all of a sudden, three out of five Death Eaters left fell on the ground, screaming in pain and Lilith continued to bury her wand in her forearm. But her forearm wasn't bare anymore. Suddenly, something in the bright shade of orange started to appear on her skin, covering half of her forearm.
"What the...?" Aveline whispered quietly as she watched.
"You brought him here?!" Lilith's voice echoed around the room. It was hoarse, cold, terrifying. This version of Lilith sent almost painful shivers down her spine and terrified her beyond belief. Lilith's attention switched from one Death Eater to another, their screams still bouncing from one wall to another.
"We didn't," one of them managed to get out between the screams but Lilith cut him off.
"You didn't bring him here?!" she twisted her wand more, making the screams louder. She marched towards one of them, pulling her wand away from her forearm and slashing it at the Death Eater. Hermione blinked in shock as and heard Aveline gasp as they watched the green light come out of her wand, hitting the Death Eater in the chest, killing him instantly.
But Lilith looked unbothered as she walked toward the second one. "You didn't have anything to do with this?!" Hermione closed her eyes, covering Aveline's with her hand, tears streamed down her cheeks as Lilith repeated her action. She could feel Aveline clutching onto her for dear life. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know what continued when she heard her say. "You didn't know?!"
"The officials are coming." the man in the cape spoke once again. Hermione finally opened her eyes to see them looking at each other. "We need to go, My Lady." Lilith stared at him, breathing heavily before she started walking in his direction, took her cloak from him and put it on. Her eyes scanned the room, falling onto one of the entrances. When Hermione turned to look that way, it shocked her to see Dumbledore standing there, watching Lilith with a sorrowful expression.
"I'm invoking the Farrow Law." she said it loud enough for everyone in the room to hear but her message was clearly directed at Dumbledore. She didn't spare him another look before she started walking away with the unknown man, both of them disapparated.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
June 1996
On the day of Sebastian's funeral even the sky cried, the heavy pour of rain certainly suited the atmosphere. The affair was small, carried out on the Farrow burial grounds on Cave Hill estate. Lilith promised her that she would take her to Cave Hill one time. But she certainly couldn't imagine she would see it under these circumstances.
She knew all the people in attendance. They were the members of the Order and DA that fought at the Ministry. The only exceptions were the Weasley twins who stood on both sides of Aveline, supporting her through the service, and Fleur Delacour who stood by Lilith's side.
Even though nobody didn't dare to point it out, the tension was obvious. Lilith and Aveline haven't exchanged a single word, not even a look. They stood on opposite sides of the black coffin as it was lowered to the ground. Fred supported Aveline, to keep her from falling while George held an umbrella over her head. Lilith simply stood with her head hung low, letting the rain soak every part of her body.
Hermione couldn't stop her tears from falling ever since she arrived at the funeral. Neither could most of the people in attendance. Just looking at Sebastian's tombstone made the tears fall instantly.
Sebastian Alexander Farrow III
1979 - 1996
Dilligent son
Perfect brother
Loyal friend
Seventeen. Sebastian was only seventeen. Just like Cedric.
She watched Lilith throughout the service. The Farrow didn't move a single inch. She stood in the same position, staring at the ground, letting the rain pour onto her. She stood there like that until the end, not averting her eyes from the ground. Not even when the first people started to leave, their words fell on deaf ears.
Hermione decided to hang behind, waiting until all of the other people left. She knew Harry and Ron were waiting for her but they could wait. She exchanged a look with Fleur who gave her a nod and leaned closer to Lilith, whispering something to her before squeezing her hand, kissing her cheek goodbye and leaving. It was only her and Lilith now.
Hermione didn't speak. She walked up to Lilith, standing next to her, her right hand with an umbrella in it slightly moving so it could also cover Lilith. It was silent for several long moments before Hermione turned to look at her. Even though the rain wasn't pouring on Lilith anymore, her cheeks were still getting wet. Hermione had a suspicion about the reason why Lilith was the only one without an umbrella. Now it was confirmed. She was crying, continuously for hours on end.
"Lili," Hermione said softly. "You should go inside, you will get sick."
"It should've been me." It was the first time she heard Lilith speak since the Ministry. After the battle, she disappeared. Vanished like a ghost without a trail. But her voice wasn't the same strong, cold, merciless one she had before. It was monotone, almost robotic. "Aleksy wanted me. He killed Seb just because he wanted to hurt me." Lilith paused and Hermione saw how she clenched her fists. "He promised years ago that he would destroy me. And now..." Lilith eyes stayed on the tombstone, still freshly carved and looking almost unnatural amongst the others on the burial grounds. Hermione watched her, a few of her own tears fell on her cheek from time to time.
"He's your brother, isn't he?" Lilith looked up, not to look at her but at the trees behind the burial grounds.
"You caught that, huh?'You still have one brother left'." she shook her head. "He's illegitimate. One of my father's sins that will haunt me until I die." Hermione reached out, trying to touch one of Lilith's hands but Lilith brushed her away. Hermione's heart clenched.
"You need to go." Hermione stared at her but Lilith's eyes didn't meet hers.
"Lili," Lilith turned to her and Hermione nearly took a few steps back by the sheer intensity in her eyes, the coldness.
"I said, you need to go." she stepped forward, getting closer to Hermione. "And tell the people from the Order, and Dumbledore, that if they ever show up at Cave Hill, the next funeral they will attend will be one of their own." with that, Lilith turned around, leaving the safety of the umbrella and started walking towards the Cave Hill manor, away from Hermione.
Tears fell faster from Hermione's eyes as she watched her retreating figure, remembering the conversation she had with Professor Dumbledore just a few days prior.
"What does the Farrow Law mean, Professor?"
"I'm afraid it means the ultimate declaration of war, Miss Granger."
"But how? I've never read about anything like that."
"That's because it's an unwritten law. The Farrows, at least the Head of the House, are strictly bound by the Old laws. They follow the rules and are bound by oaths, treaties, and unwritten agreements. But a long time ago, these restrictions almost destroyed the House. So they came up with an emergency protocol. The Farrow Law. Think of it as carte blanche. Once the Farrow Law is invoked by the Head of the House, no previous treaties or agreements are considered legitimate." Dumbledore looked deeply troubled by this. "It hasn't happened for a long time. Not in my lifetime at least. But, Lady Farrow has publically invoked the Farrow Law which means," Dumbledore sighed and looked Hermione in the eyes. "We no longer know if she's our ally or our enemy."