Chapter 15: Twisted ReflectionsNotes:Here is the next chapter. Hope you all like it.
Author's Note: an error was corrected that was in the first paragraph of the first scene that was seen with the first hours since the chapter was posted. For more information, check the end notes if you read the chapter early.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hazel read the letter Susan wrote to Amelia about the latest news from Hogwarts. "Is this confirmed?" Croaker sighed but nodded. "It is. Dumbledore left Hogwarts Castle for the Ministry. We just don't know why. He has no duties today as Chief Warlock or as Supreme Mugwump as of this moment. He left the Castle under the care of his staff." Hazel snorted as she handed the letter back to Croaker. "Right, the staff. One of whom is currently possessed by a wraith that is eating away at his life, another who is likely to trust her mentor blindly and another whose motives are suspect. Any word from Neville?" Croaker pulled open a charmed book. "A mention of Harry and his friends acting concerned over something. He thinks they are worried about the item stored in the Third Floor Corridor. The three students visited Professor McGonagall's office but returned to the common room unhappy and talking to each other in whispers, with Harry being unsure of what to do, while Ronald Weasley seems to be more excited over whatever is happening." Hazel frowned as she crossed her arms and thought about Dumbledore's actions. "Term is about to end in a week. Dumbledore had no reason to leave but he did and Harry Potter reached out to a staff member and was rebuffed, with his acquaintance potentially pressuring him to act. This doesn't bode well. It is exactly the sort of behaviour we were concerned with in the first place." Hazel eyed Croaker who noticed her change in look. He nodded and looked towards Dora. "Are you feeling up to potentially fighting a Dark Wizard again, killing him without being targeted first?"
Dora stared at her boss, her heart suddenly beating faster. Her words came out unsteady. "I'm not sure. Why are you asking?" Croaker sat back in his chair. "We have an inkling as to how events will play out in the next few hours, at least in the immediate vicinity where Flamel's Stone is located. We also have a plan in place, one that has Hazel acting as a decoy. You will be her backup and in this case the primary force behind the execution. Are you feeling up to it again?" Dora frowned and thought about killing again meant to her. She had already killed people before but it was on that first botched mission, with Hazel acting as the Operative on point. Though she tried to rationalize it all, her feelings had remained mixed. She had worked out a lot of her problems with what happened with her mom since her near death experience but the guilt of killing people had lingered in the back of her mind. It had been so easy to kill before, like she was made for it. She hated that feeling. To do it again, potentially striking someone in the back with a Killing Curse… "Whose the target?" Hazel sat back. "Professor Quirrell, who currently has Voldemort sharing his body." Dora blinked as she did a double take. They weren't asking her to kill just anyone. They were asking her to kill the vessel of the madman that wrecked their world. Was it enough of a reason? Or was this just that next big temptation? She knew once she justified it again there was no going back. She could justify them all. She eyed Hazel. Her partner killed all too easily. Did she want to become like that? She was attracted to her, sure, but did she want to become a killing machine like Hazel? Like her Aunt?
Hazel's words came back to her, asking Dora to be a better person than what she was. Hazel didn't want Dora to be like her. She wanted Dora to be different. To be better. Did that mean not killing as often as she did or perhaps knowing when lethal force was needed? Dora took a deep breath. Her partner would always be the power and muscle of the two, that much was growing clear from their training exercises. She would have to be something different. She could be the heart and mind that looked deeper, the conscience to her partner. In this case though, was there a point to hesitate? Voldemort was at Hogwarts, threatening the lives of all the children in the Castle. Teddy popped into her head and her heart stilled. Hazel. Hazel did kill often, but never without reason. Her motivation was clear whenever they walked into Hazel's apartment. Teddy. Hazel killed to keep Teddy safe, to give her son a better life. Dora looked inside and was surprised to find that she would be ok with killing to protect Teddy too. The kid had grown on her and if she wanted a life with Hazel beyond partnership, she knew he would be a part of it. Somewhere along the way she had accepted that. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "I'll do it." The smile on Hazel's face made Dora feel warm. Croaker nodded. "Very well. Here is the plan."
-∞-
Hazel levitated the three unconscious kids and moved them inside of an unoccupied classroom. She and Dora barely caught up to them as the trio tried to unlock the door on the Third Floor Corridor. Dora casted a cushioning charm on the ground beneath the kids and Hazel conjured some pillows and blankets on them before sealing the door shut, placing a strong notice-me-not on it. Dora lifted her wrist up. "R2 to BM. The children are secured." Horatio's voice came in with noticeable interruptions from ward interference. Had Dumbledore raised the wards to a higher level, they would be hearing close to nothing. "Roger that… Proceed with the mission… Comm silence starts now." Hazel and Dora shifted their appearance into that of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger respectively, transfiguring their regular outfits to Hogwarts uniforms before heading to the third floor corridor. One unlocking spell later and they were face to face with the Cerberus, the creature waking up as the harp stopped playing. Dora swallowed, trying to remember what she could about her Defence course on the creature and partly regretting not taking Care. "So, what do we do?" Hazel casted an enchantment to the harp but nothing happened. "The harp has a partial ward. I can't enchant it unless we strip the ward first." Dora looked throughout the room. "We could disillusion ourselves and mask our sound and scent." Hazel nodded but she pointed at the trap door. "It's a bit of a problem if he doesn't move, though."
Dora looked around the room again, looking for means to bypass the beast, while Hazel eyed the creature. It stared at her warily, its three heads focused on her and only her. A thought entered her mind. That could work. "Do you think you could clear the harp and get it to play again? If you weren't concerned with a Cerberus trying to bite your head off?" Dora eyed the harp. "Maybe. Why?" Hazel released her magic a bit. "I want to test a theory. Go for the harp. The pup is mine." Dora nodded and headed that way. The Cerberus eyed Dora for a second until a pulse of Hazel's magic made it turn its attention back to Hazel. Hazel's eyes glowed emerald for a second before shifting to slitted red eyes. "So tell me, is it fear or something else that draws your eyes to me, Fluffy?" Dora, her wand waving over the warp, groaned. "Tell me that's not it's name." Hazel smiled. "Ask Hagrid when you have the chance. He is quite proud of it." Dora sighed. "Of course he is." The Cerberus stepped slowly away from Hazel as she placed herself between it and Dora, while also forcing the beast to step off the trapdoor. Music started playing and Hazel gave Dora a questioning look. "Brahms' Lullaby? Really?" Dora blushed. "It was the only complete relaxing tune I could remember fully that came to mind."
Hazel pulled her magic back and the two watched as the Cerberus yawned before it fell asleep. Happy to have avoided that can of worms, the two made for the opening on the floor. Dora lifted the trap door and looked down into the darkness. She frowned, "That doesn't look like stone." Hazel lowered her head, launched a light charm and smelled the air. "Earth and plant matter, plus fertilizer. A trap made by Sprout probably." The charm casted into the room showed a mass of vines. Dora shuddered. "Devil's Snare." Hazel eyed her. "Bad memories?" Dora shook her head. "More like a recurring nightmare as a kid." Hazel blinked at her. "Right then. Ignis Obscuras ." The black flame that launched from Hazel's outstretched hand landed on the vines and instantly started eating away at the magical plant, the mass emitting an unnatural screech. Both Hazel and Dora winced at the noise, Dora looking to her partner. "So, not a fan of Herbology?" Hazel smirked. "I can pass the OWL thanks to Teddy but nothing else. If it's a plant that can kill me, magic eating cursed flames will do the trick." Dora nodded as they watched the entire floor of plants die to the flames. They leapt down once it was cleared, their fall softened by a featherweight charm. The moment they opened the next room they stared at a mess of flying keys with brooms lined up along the walls. Dora looked from the door to the keys. "So, I'm guessing we need the right key." Hazel smiled and pulled out her wand. "Sure, but I don't see Voldemort mounting a broom. Accio keys. Finite ."
Dora looked at the mass of keys that gathered almost instantly above Hazel's wand and watched all of them drop to the floor as the charm on them failed. "This doesn't feel like a trap for a Dark Lord." Hazel pulled a large key out of the mess and handed it to Dora. "Nope, more like a test of a first year. I thought about blasting the door down but that might draw too much attention." Dora nodded in response and unlocked the door. She looked around the new chamber, her wand held up, before eyeing the floor and the figurines that filled the room. "I don't suppose you play chess?" Hazel gave her a disgusted look. "No, I gave up after a colleague and my ex kept beating me. It wasn't fun. On the plus side, this was made by McGonagall. Only person in the Hogwarts Staff with this much Transfiguration skill, minus the Headmaster." Dora eyed her. "And it's a benefit, why?" Hazel approached the massive chessboard and the Black pieces made to represent their side of the board. She tapped her wand on the nearest piece, a rook, and hummed. "Not bad. For anyone else this might be a challenge. The broken pieces on the side of the room show that Voldemort did play it. His ego must have compelled him." Dora looked to the walls and saw a lot of broken black pieces. "Aha!" Hazel pulled her wand back like a fishing rod and Dora saw the whole grouping of the chess figures shudder. They then reformed into slabs of stone.
Hazel smiled in triumph. "Sorry Minerva, but you got lazy. She kept the Transfiguration separate from the wards governing the chess rules, the enchantments designed to prevent tampering or attempts to bypass the trap not covering the Transfiguration all that well at all since no one usually makes a chess set worth of pieces this large. Too bad the trap is worthless without the pieces being in their proper form to fight back, as the enchantments needed them to be in their transfigured forms to either move the pieces or attack. That's what you get for giving me a bloody Acceptable for all six years of classes." Dora looked at Hazel. "Holding a grudge?" Hazel huffed. "After I got my Mastery in the subject? Damn right I am. I worked hard for my grades. Not my fault my wand wasn't attuned to me from the start." Dora winced. "Oh, yeah. That had to suck." The two slipped past the slabs of stone and opened the next chamber. They wrinkled their noses as they passed a clearly dead troll and entered the next area. The moment they stepped over a threshold, flames leapt up around them. Dora eyed the potions and read the note next to it. "Ugh, a logic test. Mom made me study these for a while. So annoying." Dora watched Hazel eye the flames before she waved her wand around. The floor closed over the gap where the flames were being sustained from, the fire going out or being covered over. Dora sighed. "No doubt about it. This test was made for kids." Hazel hummed and eyed her partner. "Ready?" Dora pulled out Hazel's Invisibility Cloak. "Ready."
-∞-
OW June 1992
Hazel blinked as she opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was being in Professor Quirrell's Classroom for her usual Defense lesson. She had been so happy when Quirell successfully taught her how to cast wandless magic. The next few weeks she had watched Snape scowl at her as she cleaned the Cauldrons in record time, without so much as a burn on her hand. He accused her of bringing a wand but found no proof of it. He eventually gave up giving her detentions, though he switched to point reductions. There was nothing she could do about those. Most of her classes required her to use a wand and she could barely cast a spell with it. She had hoped wandless magic would give her an edge, that she could just leave her wand aside and rack up points with well casted spells. No such luck. While she could cast spells wandlessly, they were hardly better than when she used her wand, just more likely to succeed. She had been very saddened by that, though Quirrell encouraged her to keep trying. Her skill with it should get better someday. Today she was supposed to try out a spell she read in a Curse Breaker book from the Restricted Section. Being invisible to all was a great way to get into some serious reading material. After her run in with the mirror, Hazel had become concerned with running into other cursed objects. The book held a spell designed to devour magical objects, though it warned it was a hard one to learn. It would be perfect if she could get it working. So why was she on the ground?
Looking around her eyes landed on her Professor, standing just the side of her, his arms crossed as he stared at her. They then focused on the Mirror behind him. Hazel frowned. "Professor? Did you bring the mirror so I could practice on it?" Quirell gave her a small smile. "I am afraid not. We aren't in my classroom, Miss Potter. This is the Third Floor Corridor. You see, I need your services." Hazel stood up, brushed away the dirt from her skirt and blinked at her mentor. "Did you stun me? Why?" Quirrell looked sad. "Because I wasn't sure if you would help me willingly, let alone if Dumbledore could learn of my intention. You have heard quite a few hints from the Headmaster about this place. But you never came." Hazel snorted. "Of course not! What would I want with a corridor guarded by a Cerberus? I may have a hard time in class but I am not stupid." Quirrell smirked a little at that. "No, you are not. Which is why you are here. Dumbledore sealed an object in this mirror. The Philosopher's Stone." Hazel found that name familiar. "As in Nicholas Flamel's Stone? Cool. Alchemy sounds interesting but it needs Potions as a requirement. I thought about eventually taking the course but I don't see Snape giving me the grade that I would need for it." Quirrell chuckled. "No, he wouldn't. Now would you be a dear and get it for me? It's in the mirror."
Hazel eyed the Mirror. "Dumbledore said you can't go through the mirror. That it's an illusion." Quirrell agreed. "Yes, and therefore the perfect place to conceal an object. Anyone who wants it can see it inside the mirror. Removing it is the hard part." Hazel eyed the Professor. "Why do you need the stone?" Quirrell sighed and waved his hands over his form. "Because this isn't my body. I am just borrowing it. The Alchemic properties of the stone will be able to rebuild a body for me. One better suited to my needs." Hazel felt something in her breaking. Everyone recognized her Professor as Quirrell. If he wasn't really Quirrell… "If you aren't Quirrell, then who are you? Who has been teaching me for the whole year?" Quirrell drew his wand and kept it lowered to his side. "Someone who lost it all on Halloween of 1981. Just like you. Only from the other side of the conflict." Hazel stared at him, her heart breaking into pieces. "Voldemort. You are Voldemort." Quirrell eyed her, those eyes now shining red in the darkly lit room. "I am. Assist me with this and we can part amicably, Miss Potter. I could even restore your family to you. But to do all of that, I need the stone." Hazel eyed the man she thought she knew and then the mirror. She could see her parents' faces looking at her, calling to her. A lie. It was a lie. The Mirror… was a lie. And so was the offer. So was everything else. Everything Quirrell had been to her, it had all been a lie. He wasn't interested in teaching her. He was only looking after himself, to use her for his ends. The images on the mirror faded away, her heart shifting. "No."
Quirrell sighed, "I didn't want to do this but you are the only one Dumblrdore would have made an exception for regarding the stone. Imperio." Instantly, her mind was filled with a joy she never knew, one that left her heart feeling fully and giddy. It was bliss. She wanted to roll around in it. She wanted to laugh herself silly. "Look into the Mirror and retrieve the Stone." She walked up to the mirror and looked. Then she paused. Why was she happy? She had never been happy. The happiest she had been when she got her letter. But that memory had soured since she arrived at Hogwarts. She had no reason to be happy right now. So why? Why was she suddenly happy? "The stone." Her mind cleared up instantly as another emotion overpowered the curse. She wasn't happy. She was heartbroken. She had been lied to and betrayed. Again! She looked in the mirror and sought her new heart's desire. The mirror showed her what she had to do. She closed her eyes and focused on her rage. Her pain. Her sense of betrayal. The memory of her parents' faces and the pain they brought to her heart. She reached out with her hand and touched the cold glass. "Ignis Obscuras." The black flame latched onto the mirror as Quirrell screamed. "No!" She was hurled away from the glass as Quirrell tried to dispel the flame, his turban falling to the floor.
Hazel eyed Quirrell and the face sticking out of the back of his head. He had betrayed her worse than Dumbledore. She had thought of him as a friend. A mentor. But instead she was just a pawn to him. If he didn't get what he wanted, he simply forced it out of her. He was no different than Dumbledore in that regard. She rushed to him and gripped his robes before delving deep into the pain of Quirrel's betrayal. " Ignis Obscuras ." She felt a hand strike her face and she fell to the ground. She then heard the screams. She looked up from her position on the floor and watched as the screams continued to come from the body being devoured by black flames, the wand burning up instantly. Eventually the flames covered him completely and the screams ended, charred flesh showing beneath the flickering light. She watched as the body crumpled into itself and stilled, the flames eventually dying out. Hazel stared at the pile of ash as a thought entered her mind. She had killed him. She had killed someone. She started to cry. She was a murderer. "It seems we really are very much alike, Hazel Potter." She looked up as a dark shadowy form appeared from within the ashes. "I wonder if perhaps you would be a suitable vessel. Let's give it a try, shall we?" The wraith shot towards her and entered her body. Hazel felt her mind being assailed, a massive headache overwhelming her thoughts, as a voice spoke to her in whispers, trying to force her to give in to him. She focused on her rage. "Get out!" A cold magic responded to her as rage leaked from within her heart. It touched the wraith, causing it to scream in agony.
The black faceless mist left her flesh and vanished through the opened door. Hazel dropped onto her back and cried. She brought her hands up to her face and cried louder. From the moment the letter had arrived, she had one final desperate hope. That she meant something to someone. That she wasn't really alone in the world. She had a whole world of magic that tied her to her parents. A school that they had once studied in. A House that nurtured them into the Head Boy and Head Girl of their year group in seven years. Instead what she found was a hat that didn't know where to place her, a House that hated her very existence, a whole school's worth of staff that looked down on her and ignored her when she asked for help. She was alone. The one person she had trusted had betrayed her and she had felt so angry. Now that person was dead and the man responsible for her life fled as a spirit. So she cried. She cried because in one whole year of being in the school she found nothing that gave her meaning. Nothing that called to her other than a Cloak that hid her from the eyes of the world. In one year, she didn't find anything to make her want to live in this world. Only a reason to kill. She was a killer now. So Hazel cried. She cried because she knew the truth. There was no going back. At eleven bloody years of age she had stopped being a child. She was now a murderer. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with herself now.
-∞-
NW June 1992
Hazel, looking like Harry Potter, was manhandled by this world's Professor Quirrell before the Mirror and Hazel blinked. Well, that was unexpected. "Tell me, boy. What do you see? Do you see the stone?" Hazel wanted to laugh. Because the Mirror wasn't showing her anything. It was black. Pitch black. Rather than spending time with Quirrell explaining anything about what a black Mirror meant, she focused instead on her memory of the night she first ran into it in her world and brought that image to her mind. "I see my parents. They are smiling at me. Calling me to them." Quirrell shook her by the neck. "Focus! Focus on the Stone!" Hazel closed her eyes and focused on the stupid stone, if only to shut him up. In her world it had been devoured along with the Mirror by her first casting of black flames. Her version of Dumbledore had been exceedingly disappointed in her even as he concealed the death of Quirrell from the school and the country. She had honestly not cared for a damn thing he said to her back then, even as he claimed that she might have doomed two people to their deaths after killing another. Hazel was certain she had been in shock at that moment but Dumbledore clearly didn't care. Her return to Privet Drive hadn't led to any great changes for her either. She had just wallowed in depression while Vernon kept her and Hedwig locked in her room. At least her owl didn't have a problem. Wandless unlocking spells were dead useful.
After focusing on the rock, Hazel opened her eyes and saw a reflection on the mirror. Odd, as it showed her as she had been at eleven years of age and not as Harry. She saw a smile she knew she never carried back then and watched as she padded her pocket. A pocket that instantly grew heavy. Neat. She turned to Quirrell. "It won't let me pull the stone out." A disembodied voice spoke out. "Let me speak to him." As Quirrell started unwrapping his turban, Hazel looked over his shoulder at the slight shimmer in the room. "Anytime now." A wand appeared from between the seams of the Invisibility Cloak and a cyan curse struck Quirrell in the back. Hazel opened her mouth to say something but she was silenced as soon she got a face full of ash, as the professor disintegrated into dust as soon as the curse struck him. She heard a familiar scream as the wraith launched itself at her but the sudden flooding of her magic through her body caused it to flee in agony. Hazel slowly opened her eyes and saw a very apologetic Dora, the Cloak slightly pulled open. "Sorry?" Feeling a great many emotions at the moment, Hazel simply turned towards the Mirror and silently casted her black cursed flames spell at it. She kept her mouth shut as they sealed the third Floor Corridor and dispelled the magic on the kids before they exited the Hogwarts wards and apparated away from underneath Honeydukes.
With both of them back at the DoM Operations Medical Wing, Andromeda took a few samples of the ash still covering Hazel's body while Dora looked at her partner, still a bit squeamish. Croaker had an intrigued look on his face as he examined Hazel's state, his hand rubbing his chin in thought. "Interesting. The Unicorn Blood must have deteriorated his body to the point magic alone sustained it. The Killing Curse ended that protection and he just turned into ash on the spot." Hazel felt one of her eyes twitch, her voice coming out with some bitterness. "Fascinating. How about you and your eggheads make that deduction as a prediction next time? That way I don't end up with human ashes in my mouth." Dora turned green and even Andromeda shivered at the thought. Croaker hid his face behind his papers. "The Desk Clerk in reception noted that Dumbledore left the Ministry a few minutes ago. We did get a message from Neville stating he had been petrified by Miss Granger in their successful attempt to leave the Gryffindor Dorms, despite his best effort at dissuading them. A Gryffindor Prefect released him from the spell's effects. Both Susan and Neville have been informed to send us any further information but we did inform them that their fellow students are safe and the danger has passed."
Andromeda finished taking samples. "We have a decontamination shower here. Go use it. Nymphadora can fetch you some clothes from your apartment and let Teddy know you're ok." Dora shot out of the Medical Wing quickly as Hazel got into the decontamination shower, stripped her clothes off and shifted back to her normal form. Said clothes were promptly incinerated wandlessly. Almost an hour later she finally stepped out of the shower wearing a black shirt and a set of jeans. "I think I'm going to be showering and brushing my teeth longer for a month." She eyed Dora, who looked at her with guilt, and sighed. "Quit looking at me like that. I gave the order and you did your job. How are you feeling? I know you weren't too fond of casting that spell again so soon." Dora shrugged. "Not bad. Seeing the wraith come out from the ash pile and try to possess you made any reservations of mine feel stupid in the moment. I am just glad you are ok." Hazel turned to Croaker. "Anything else we need to do for today or can I go be with my son?" Horatio, who was standing beside his boss, shook his head. "You two are cleared for tonight but we will have you remain on standby over the next few days, in case something unpredictable happens." Hazel nodded and she and Dora left the Medical Wing. The nastiness of the ash she got covered in vanished when her kid hugged her as soon as she opened the door. She was home.
-∞-
"Madam Bones? What can we be doing for ye today?" Amelia smiled at Hagrid. "DMLE Business I am afraid, Hagrid. We got word out of Hogsmeade a Professor went missing here last night. We are here to investigate and find out why we had to hear it from a concerned citizen who watched the Castle light up late in the evening. Open the gate." Hagrid nodded at her and unlocked the gate for her and Moody as well as two other Aurors. "Alastor." Moody grunted. "Hagrid. What's this about Fluffy being inside the school proper?" Hagrid looked sheepish. "Dumbledore asked fer him. Got his own room and everything." Amelia eyed Hagrid as they made their way up the path. "What would Dumbledore need of a Cerberus in the school for?" Hagrid looked between them. "Dumbledore asked me not to say anything about it." Amelia sighed. "This is likely to become a criminal investigation, Hagrid. Dumbledore's request won't be accepted as an excuse for you or anyone not to answer." The Half Giant grew pensive at her words and nodded. "Fluffy was placed there to guard the Stone from Nicholas' Vault. We got it out of Gringotts just in time too."
The Aurors reached the Main Doors and they entered the Castle as Amelia looked to Hagrid, stopping at the area in front of the Great Hall. "And where exactly did Dumbledore hide a valuable and dangerous artefact in a school of children, especially if he knew someone was after it?" Hagrid looked between the two and sighed. "Third Floor Corridor on the right hand side. Fluffy is right in the door." Amelia pinched her nose before she turned to her Aurors, gesturing to two of them. "You two, escort Hagrid up there and remove the Cerberus carefully with him. Hagrid, take that pet of yours to where you would normally keep him outside of the Castle. If Dumbledore illegally stored an artefact here then we need to investigate this area of his in case the Professor disappeared because of it." Hagrid nodded and left with the Aurors just as two more people came up to the group. Amelia was already feeling a headache building up as she eyed the approaching Headmaster and his Deputy. "Care to tell me why you failed to report a missing person to the DMLE, Albus?" Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively. "We aren't even sure if he is missing, Amelia." Amelia growled. "And if the person were a student? What then, Headmaster? This is a school full of children, meaning anything going wrong could be dangerous to everyone. If your Professor is missing then we must make sure no student goes missing either."
McGonagall looked properly mortified and Albus simply looked resigned. "Still, to investigate a section of the school we have sectioned off…" Alastor tapped his cane on the ground, drawing the attention of the Professors. "Is the most logical step. Clearly you closed it for how dangerous the contents were. Why wouldn't your missing Professor be there, then? Serious Albus, did you have some Befuddlement Potion this morning?" Albus grew quiet after that as the group of people walked up the stairs and entered the now empty chamber. Some conjured stairs made entry past the trap door easier for Amelia and Alastor, while the rest of her Aurors kept guard over the entrance. Amelia looked at the charred remains at the bottom of the trap door. "What was here?" Minerva spoke up. "Devil's Snare provided to us by Pomona." Amelia eyed Minerva, her eye twitching. "Underneath a Cerberus. That's two magical threats that an eleven year old could easily die to, one right after the other." Albus blustered. "Now, Amelia, no child…" Amelia glared back at him. "Albus, I am going to ask you not to speak too much out of term. I am already furious as my own niece could have been down here in danger by a stupid dare or a flight of fancy. If something had happened to her, I would have greeted you with curses, not words. Now, what else do we have here?" Minerva showed her to the Flying Key Room, though the keys were all in a pile on the floor, rendered inert. Amelia looked around the chess set in the next room, all the pieces still turned into slabs.
"Minerva, so far you have shown me traps that a seriously determined person could easily disable. Someone clearly did. Or am I to assume you all disable these in your search for the missing Professor?" Minerva shook her head. "I have not been here since I installed the chessboard." She eyed what was left of it. "Clearly my contribution wasn't as effective as I had hoped." Amelia spotted the broken slabs at the side of the room, as did Alastor, but kept quiet about them. They walked past the dead Troll and arrived at an empty chamber with potion bottles sitting on a table. She looked around. "Was there a trap here?" Albus looked speechless as Minerva looked around. "There was. Professor Snape designed it. May I?" Amelia saw her pull her wand and nodded. Minerva casted spells over the ground and frowned. "I believe someone transfigured the floor over the trap. It was supposed to be cursed flames that could not be extinguished or frozen by any means." Alastor's eye peered through the ground and grunted. "They are still there, just covered over by the stone floor of the Castle, which has its own degree of magical resistance. Your infiltrator was not amused by this trap." They entered the last chamber and saw the melted Mirror. Alastor drew his wand and got to work scanning it for magical traces. "This ain't your typical Mirror. Albus…" Dumbledore sighed. "It was the Mirror of Erised."
Amelia eyed him. "And you stored a dangerous cursed artefact here because?" Looking between the two Aurors Dumbledore saw no point in lying. What was done was done. "Nicholas' Philosopher Stone was no longer safe at Gringotts. I stored it in the Mirror with an enchantment to prevent a thief from taking it." Alastor kept scanning the slag of metal and melted glass. "Can't say if it's in here or not. Either it was destroyed with the mirror or the thief somehow took it before destroying the evidence." Albus nodded sadly. "I sincerely hope it's the former. The stone in the wrong hands is a grave concern. I will have to notify Nicholas and Perenelle over it." Alastor moved to the pile of ash next to the Mirror and casted diagnostics on it. His eye rotated in his socket and latched onto Dumbledore. "Albus, you might want to call off your search. This is a pile of human ash. Someone got roasted with the Mirror." Amelia looked at the two Professors. "Anyone else missing within the Castle or from Hogsmeade?" They shook their heads. "Any witnesses?" Albus shook his head again but Minerva looked unsure. "Three of my students were found in a classroom nearby, asleep. They had come here believing the stone was in danger. Someone or something impeded them and left them behind, unharmed." Albus looked at Minerva with surprise. "Now, I don't believe it's fair to involve them in this investigation."
Seeing a bit of the split between the two, Amelia pressed on. "But I do. As their Head of House you will be present, Minerva, to ensure their rights aren't ignored. Alastor, I will leave you to these chambers." The only thing she got from her mentor was a grunt. Dumbledore tried to slow Amelia down as she and an escorting Auror went up to Gryffindor Tower. "Now Amelia, I must protest. These students…" Amelia glared at him. "Were at the very least assaulted in your school. I find your protests far more worrisome. You will remain out of the interviews or I will charge you with obstruction of an official investigation, one into the disappearance and likely death of your Defence Professor and the assault of three students. The Board won't look kindly to these charges, Dumbledore." Albus was left outside the Gryffindor Common Room with the Auror as Amelia entered the Gryffindor Common Room. Amelia interviewed both Miss Granger and Mister Weasley first separately within McGonagall's office before interviewing Harry. She sat down on Minerva's desk and looked at the young man. He was a shoe in for a young James, though his eyes showed a restraint that his father lacked. He was also quite similar to Hazel in some ways, though she looked closer to Lily and the harshness of her left had left a mark in her posture and presence. "Now Mr. Potter, your Professor here tells me you felt someone was threatening the Philosopher's Stone?"
Harry nodded softly, his hands on his lap. "Yes, ma'am. I told Professor McGonagall but she said it was perfectly safe." Minerva shrunk away under Amelia's glare before she looked back at the boy. "Clearly you felt different. According to the others, Miss Granger petrified a fellow student and the three of you broke curfew in an attempt to safeguard it. Then what happened?" Harry fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. "We just reached the door of the Third Floor Corridor when I saw a bright red flash. That's all." Amelia nodded. "That's consistent with a stunner. Then what?" Harry looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "We were woken up by a Prefect in a classroom with pillows and blankets around us. The Castle was awake and looking for Professor Quirrell by them. Was he the person going after the stone? We thought it was Professor Snape." Amelia watched the dicta quill record his words. "We are unsure. Everything is still a mystery. Severus Snape is seemingly accounted for and Quirrell is not. I find it interesting that your assailant took great care in your comfort." Harry had a fond smile on his face. "I think it was my guardian angel." Amelia blinked at his remark. "Explain." Harry looked at her, his smile never leaving his face. "Ever since I came here, I felt like someone has been watching over me. Protecting me. I had a bad feeling yesterday about leaving Gryffindor Tower but it felt like we were doing the right thing. Someone must have stopped us, for our sake." Amelia had stopped the dicta quil before it wrote about Harry's guardian angel. She didn't want Dumbledore hearing about that. "Then it seems you were fortunate. Do try not to tempt fate again, as Guardian Angels, whatever form they take, can't be there all the time. You are free to go, Mister Potter."
Amelia watched the boy leave and asked Minerva to sit down. "Your dismissal might have cost him his life, as well as the lives of the other two." Minerva slumped in the chair. "I realize that now." Amelia tapped her quill on the table. "I have been speaking to a former Gryffindor quite a bit lately. It has been quite insightful in many ways. It might surprise you to hear that they actually hated their house. And you." Minerva looked up at that. "I don't recall anyone like that. None of my students have expressed any such concerns to me." Amelia nodded in agreement. "They learned to hide their displeasure, as well as their feelings. Their greatest complaint concerning you, Minerva, was that you acted as a Deputy Headmistress all the time. Never as the Head of their Hogwarts House. Whenever an issue came up requiring a gentler touch, a person to step in for a parent, or for their Head of House to take them seriously, they never found the person assigned to them to be of any help at all. Sound familiar?" Minerva paled and she lowered her face. "I…" Amelia pulled all her paper into her bag and stood up. "I won't say that you ought to change how you do things, Minerva, but do know that you are failing a quarter of the school. You are failing the students that need you the most and the ones you made your greatest commitment too. You almost failed Mr. Potter just last night, in a potentially fatal issue. What of the next six years? Think about that before you decide what to do with yourself." Amelia and her Aurors left the Castle soon after, with both Dumbledore and McGonagall left in deep thought on what was to come.
Notes:So, how was it?
Next Chapter?: A visit to Surrey and King's Cross
For those wondering why I have dozens fo chapters prewritten ahead of time, situations like these are why. I have yet to manage to write a damn thing since my last post becuse of the hours I spent at the Hospitals and the exhaustion and anxiety that followed afterwards. I am hoping tomorrow night might be different, but I have a lot of work to do around the house now. I am so close to the climactic moments, I can practically taste them, but I can't do anything if I am to tired from RL problems, which are only partly resolved. At least editing is easy enough to do when I don't fall asleep, which is why I am a bit late.
Leave a comment, discuss and see you all in three days.
Author's Note: for anyone who read this in the first 3 hours since posting, I removed a line that referenced Hazel speaking about her world in front of Dora in the first paragraph. That was a mistake on my part and it has been corrected. Dora is not yet aware of Hazel's origin. The line was a mistake I made as I adjusted the chapter, forgetting that the reveal hasn't happened yet. My apologies.
Chapter 16: What Was Hidden is Often FoundNotes:Here is the next chapter. Hope you like it.
Fair warning. This chapter contains references and thoughts of self harm and mentions of possible suicide attempts. It's a short section but I felt it was worth mentioning in the notes, in case you forgot the self harm tag in the story. If you ever think about harming yourself, please seek help.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Wow. When you said the man was like a walrus or a whale you weren't kidding." Dora heard a pleased hum from the other side of the car and sighed. "Hazel, stop stroking your wand. We are not killing them." Hazel pouted, storing her wand away. "It would be so easy. A sliced brake line, sabotaged emergency brake, a busted accelerator set to go faster and faster. The moment he picks up speed, he is pretty much gone. No magical trace or anything. No one would ever know." Dora whacked her partner on the shoulder. The times she got so bloodthirsty were few and far, but Dora still had to nip them before Hazel went for it. "They die, Harry goes to the Malfoys." Hazel nodded. "Sure, but only if they are alive by then." Dora rubbed her face. "How does Teddy get you to behave?" Hazel blinked and glared at Dora. "Not with logic." Dora reached over and held Hazel's hand. "Then please, let the lot of the Dursleys go. The plan will work. Trust it. Harry will be safe." Hazel eyed Dora and did her best to bury her own feelings. Her hate for her relatives never did get a resolution in her world. Dumbledore and the Order protected them till the end. She took a deep breath. "Fine, but if I find they went and brutalised the boy, I am apparating straight into that car and ending them."
Dora, seeing that was the best she was going to get, nodded. "Deal." The two sat back as the Dursleys, all three of them, got into their car and took off. Hazel eyed her wristwatch. "They will be out for a bit. Traffic and the Hogwarts Express will keep them out for a few hours. Keep an eye on the cats walking around. Pretty sure they are kneezels. Dumbledore has someone watching the house. Full stealth set of spells and wait for me to give the signal. I need to see if I can co-op the wards." Hazel watched her partner nod and they both got out of their car. A notice-me-not followed by Disillusionment, scent masking and silencing charms and the two walked up to Number 4 Privet Drive. Hazel strafed the outer edges of the wardline, her hand stretched out and interacting with it. A smile grew on her face, even if no one could see it. "Oh Dumbledore, you really should have used runebased wards." Hazel shook her head. While she could bypass said wards, she often needed the blood of the person controlling them. Had Dumbledore done that here, he might have gotten away with it. Charm based wards, casted via a wand, were inherently more fragile and easy to manipulate. Something Hazel learned to do as she casted them over and over again over the years. Practice does make perfect and she had a long time to spot a lot of vulnerabilities in her work.
Hazel tried to feel if Dumbledore had established any other wards. She found a life monitor, fire suppression, and even a magical transportation detection ward. She blinked as she traced an odd ward just as she found the blood ward that Lily Evans-Potter casted. This one was different. It felt slimy. She frowned. It felt like Snape's magic. Something clicked in her mind. A Dark Mark repulsion ward, using Severus Snape's Dark Mark as the sample. Interesting. She closed her eyes and summoned a rock to her hands. Had she been any good at Arithmancy and Spell Creation, she might have been able to duplicate it later. She did, however, know how to copy the ward, or more precisely, carve a chunk out of it. She pulled on it and attached it to the stone until the rock felt heavy with magic. She disconnected the rock from the ward and found a sliver of it remained. She pocketed it for later. Feeling the other wards, Hazel noticed that Dumbledore used the Blood Ward as the anchor for the others. Bastard weakened a fragile ward even further without realizing it. It did give her the opening she needed, so she didn't complain. Much. She pulled the blood ward onto her skin and felt it latch onto her magic.
Suffusing the ward with her magic, Hazel was able to do what any Head of House could if a Blood Ward was created by a family member: she took control of it. Making sure that Dumbledore retained some feedback, she warped the magical recognition aspect of it and added her Peverell magic to it. It would guarantee Teddy and her safe entry. Since Dora still had a trace of her magic in her, she would be safe to enter too, for now. She pulled her magic back from the wards, allowing the Blood Ward to linger. "It's safe. Make for the backdoor." Hazel waited by the fence until she felt it move as Dora clambered over it. She followed suit. Hazel scanned the house but found no other means of observation. Both Dora and Hazel dispelled their stealth magic, leaving only the notice-me-not charm. Hazel went straight for the cupboard and unlocked it. She heard Dora suck in a breath. "I take back what I said. At the first sign of them hurting Harry, kill them. Bloody hell." Hazel nodded, not daring to speak. Because everything had ceased to exist for her.
The cupboard under the stairs looked just like hers, except for the crayon written note on the wall calling the place Harry's Room. Hazel pulled out a Wizarding Camera and started documenting everything. Once she was sure they got everything, she lifted up the blanket. She felt a mix of feelings. There were blood marks on the bare mattress but they were few in number. At least compared to hers. Dora growled beside her as they took more pictures. Finding everything they were going to get, they closed the cupboard. "The second set of letters supposedly showed a slightly different address. Smallest bedroom on the second floor." Dora nodded and went up the stairs first. A long string of expletives preceded Hazel as she followed her up. She eyed the door and knelt down, running her fingers through the fine dust on the floor. "The sawdust is still fresh. They were getting ready to welcome him home." Hazel felt Dora's magic leaking out. "I am tempted to kill them myself. This isn't a kid's bedroom, it's a prison cell." Hazel couldn't disagree. Seven locks on the outside of the door and a cat flap for food on the door didn't bode well.
A series of photographs later, they opened the door to the room. Hazel ran her hand over the bed, noting how rough it was. The dresser was clearly old and beaten down, as was the desk. The chair looked like the legs had been replaced. Once they were done with photographing the bedroom, Hazel led Dora to the Master bedroom. An unlocking spell later and they went through all the Dursleys financial documents, duplicating everything. Hazel froze over a bank statement. "Dora, does your Dad keep a bank account with Gringotts' Muggle front?" Dora came up beside her and looked at the paper. "He does. Londinium First Bank. That's Gringotts alright." Hazel duplicated the bank statement. They stored everything back into the safe and locked back up before replacing the painting on the wall. "Guess that's all." Hazel was about to agree as they walked down the hallway to the stairs when the attic hatch caught her eye. "Wait." Dora stopped. "Did we miss something?" Hazel shook her head as memories flooded her mind. She remembered being forced to clean the attic. An attic that held a very particular item. Lowering the ladder she went up. Under the light of a lumos she scanned the cramped space until she saw a ghost of her past. L.E. The initials were carved into the trunk with great care. She felt her body shaking as the memory became clearer and clearer. She heard Dora's voice call out her name after her knees hit the ground before her head followed suit.
-∞-
OW July 1992
"Stop! Please stop!" Vernon growled as he pushed her away and Petunia bound her arms behind her back. Her Aunt's voice made her heart break further. "I knew I should have burned that the moment I got it from my parents. Wouldn't have been proper after they died. Doing it now seems right." Hazel fought her, reaching out to kick her. Her Aunt lifted her up and slammed her face into the grass. She felt pain on her nose and tasted blood in her mouth. The thought of burning them alive like Quirrell came to her mind but her hands couldn't reach them. Even if she did, she was sure Dumbledore would find a worse place for her. She was trapped. Her eyes flooded with tears as she screamed, "Stop! Please Uncle Vernon! That's all I have of Mom! Please! Stop!" Veron threw the empty bottle of lighter fluid away. "I am already tolerating your freaky stench, girl! I won't have you keep another trunk full of your people's freakishness in my house. I told you to stay in your room but you didn't listen. This is all on you."
Hazel screamed until she felt a shoe covered foot slam into her jaw. She was sure she felt a tooth break. She stared as Vernon threw a lit match onto the trunk and watched it catch on fire. She sobbed. At school all anyone ever talked about was her parents and how much of a disappointment she was to them. The moment her Aunt had sent her off to the Attic, she had still been feeling off about what happened with Quirrell. Finding her mother's school trunk, seeing the pictures inside and the handwritten notes, had made her feel better. She had almost gotten caught when her Aunt called her back down that first day. Not wanting to lose the trunk and not being able to safely bring it down the stairs, she had taken to sneaking out of her prison cell every night. She had eventually been caught coming down the ladder. The moment she saw her Aunt drop the trunk down from the Attic, she knew her brief moment of happiness had ended. She had hoped to convince Vernon to just let her keep it in her room. Instead he brought it to the backyard.
She felt her heart breaking again. Inside of the trunk had been her mother's journal of Hogwarts. She had been reading it every night, feeling a part of her growing closer to her Mom for the first time since August. She had wanted to bring it to her room and store it on her own but Vernon had hidden her trunk somewhere, saying she would get it back for when she went to buy her school supplies and no sooner. She hadn't found it yet. So she kept the journal in the Trunk. As the leather outside began to peel off, she knew she just lost her last connection to her mom. She had been a Muggleborn witch. There was no way she had anything else. Everything from her later years had probably been destroyed after Voldemort attacked their home. Hazel sobbed. Why? Everytime she found something to tie her to her parents, it was stripped away. What deity did she cross to be denied what every other child takes for granted? She felt her Aunt let her go and then heard the backyard door slam closed. The deadbolt lock soon followed, locking her outside for that night. The garden hose stopped the flames but it was too late. Everything inside the trunk had been ruined.
The neighborhood was a buzz the next day and somehow her relatives got everyone to believe she had set the fire herself, screaming lies to earn everyone's sympathies. How easy it was for everyone to think the worst of an orphaned girl and not of the people caring for her. She ordered Hedwig the next night to fly back to Hogwarts as she wasn't safe there. The owl didn't listen to her and stayed in the trees nearby. She would call to Hazel on the nights from the neighbor's roof, the iron bars Vernon screwed into her window the night after the fire preventing her from returning to Hazel's side. Hazel spent many a night considering what to do. Her hand held the familiar black flame as she stared into it, her eyes empty of all emotion. She had tried lighting herself on fire. Back at Hogwarts she would learn why that had failed. The flame consumed magic but not the one who conjured it. It was warm to the touch but that was it. She had considered burning the house to the ground but Dumbledore had warned her about the wards on the place. Even if she did it, the old man would just arrive and put it out. So she waited. When she returned to Hogwarts she would find more ways to protect herself. If the means of protection happened to inflict harm on her relatives, all the better.
-∞-
NW June 1992
"Hazel!" Dora shook her partner's shoulder, speaking her name. She eventually felt her move. Her breath caught in her throat when Hazel's eyes focused on her. Her friend's eyes stared at her, hollow of all emotion. They slowly grew warmer until she gave Dora a weak smile. "Sorry. Lost my head for a moment. By the way, your eyes are much prettier in your original purple. Not judging, just making an honest statement." Dora pulled back and sighed, her hair shifting from yellow to pink. "I'll take it under advisement. What happened?" Hazel shook her head. "My life and Harry's… are very much alike. Pretty sure I got it worse and I am going to try and make sure it stays that way. Think you can lower that trunk down? Pretty sure it's his mom's." Dora popped her head into the attic hatch and saw the trunk. They brought it into Harry's closet and Hazel got to work warding it to the extreme. Nothing short of Fiendfyre would destroy it and only Harry could move it or open it, or anyone else with Peverell Blood in their veins. She felt bad for excluding Lily's blood, but both Petunia and Dudley would have been able to open it. She added some of Dora's too, so she could lift it as well. Before she left, Hazel pulled out a wrapped gift from her extended pocket and placed it inside the trunk. A bit early for his birthday but getting the book on Creatures to him was important in the coming years.
The two made it back to the car and Hazel started the engine. "Still floors me you, of all people, know how to drive." Hazel shrugged. "I had to hide with Teddy as a babe in a muggle neighborhood for a while. No magical travel, no tracing. Only left after Teddy's Grandmother died. Her last known address was ours so our safehouse got outed." Dora winced and eyed her partner. Hazel kept her eyes on the road. "I am not breaking again, Dora." Dora frowned, worried about her. "You sure you don't want to see a Mind Healer? Mom could do it. Maybe a muggle psychologist?" Hazel gave out a long sigh. "Mind Healers are a lost cause for me, Dora. The moment I have an episode, the defence I casted with Blood Magic triggers. It's designed to cut down anyone in my mind. I don't have control of it when my mind is occupied elsewhere. It's a defence designed to guard secrets to the bitter end. As for a psychologist, I actually tried. Went to one for a whole year before I had to Obliviate them. Some doctors don't take kindly to finding out their patients are serial killers." Dora sighed. "Is there anything you can do to stop them? These episodes?" Hazel hummed, her finger tapping the steering wheel. "Only advice I got was to live outside of the memories. When my mind is busy elsewhere, it buries my issues. For the most part."
Dora leaned her head onto Hazel's shoulder. "If you need someone to talk to, I am here. I have your back. Always." Hazel fought the desire to close her eyes and lean onto Dora's head. She also buried another desire. "Thank you. Now let's return this rental, apparate to London and finish this before you tempt me to do some less work related activities." Dora grinned. "You sure?" I've never done it in a car before? You?" Hazel shivered at the sultry tone of Dora's words. "Nymphadora, our first time won't be in a car. It won't be in an alley or in a shower. It will be in a bed where I can hear you scream all night long and taste every inch of your body. I won't be satisfied until you are in need of healing spells to even walk straight. Got it?" Dora shivered in delight as Hazel's words painted a very tantalizing image. "I am going to hold you to that." The two reached the car rental place and dropped the vehicle off before apparating away. Hazel's mind would linger on the trunk she left for Harry. She had resisted opening the Journal inside of it. Instead she found a loose bit of parchment and wrote on it, telling Harry about what the trunk meant to him. She signed it as always, making sure he understood he wasn't alone. Not anymore.
-∞-
"Mr. Vernon Dursley?" The large man turned and Dora gave him the most stoic look she could muster, especially after seeing what the bastard had done to Harry. Her mother may have been disowned but she made sure Dora knew what it meant to be a Black. The real meaning for Toujours Pur wasn't about blood, it was about purity as a family. To always be a Black, no matter what. A Black always cared for their family. Andromeda made sure she understood that. Harry was family and Dora did everything she could to restrain her need to slug the man, let alone curse him. The man looked at her and smiled. "What can I do for you, sir?" Dora wanted to throw up. She had worn a typical lawyer's attire for this, looking like a redhead version of her dad a bit. She pulled off her hat. "I have a business proposal for you. A lucrative one, but it comes with certain conditions. You understand, of course." Vernon nodded and looked around the Train Terminal at King's Cross. The Hogwarts Express would arrive within half an hour. He motioned for an open table at the cafe and they sat down. "What kind of business brings a man like you looking for me here?"
Dora opened her briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers. "The legal kind. You see, my client has recently taken over legal representation of a relative of theirs. One Harry James Potter?" The rotund man made to stand up but a burst of magic drove him back into his seat. He was lucky it was Horatio and not Hazel or Andromeda. Hazel had made it clear she would drop Vernon with a petrification spell onto the tracks prior to a train running him over. Croaker wisely pulled her off the mission and sent Horatio in his Unspeakable gear out with Dora instead, after verifying Dora wouldn't kill the man. After Surrey, it was a harder promise to make. Dora stared at the man she now knew was a child abuser. "Let me be clear, Mr Dursley. This is a courtesy. My client isn't above leaving your wife a widow or your son an orphan. We have reason to believe Harry Potter has suffered malnourishment, neglect and physical abuse under your care . The legal situation around the boy's custody is a mess my client isn't exactly capable of cleaning up at this moment. Instead, much to our displeasure, we are willing to negotiate a deal that should help ease my clients violent tendencies." Dora pulled out a contract and dropped it in front of Vernon.
"That is a binding Contract. The boy will be recognized as your charge, under several conditions, in exchange for a sum of money paid to your bank account every month until the boy is no longer under your care. As the boy is spending 10 months of the year at a boarding school, we have found a work around that was acceptable. During the two months he is with you, my client will double what you are receiving from Harry's Trust Account already." Vernon blinked, "And the rest of the year?" Dora stared at him. "Half of the amount. This money isn't free, though. You and your family are required to allow him a full meal three times a day of his choice, you are barred from any physical, verbal or emotional attacks on his person, his family or his property. You aren't allowed to impede his education, means of communications in any form or prevent him from leaving his room or the house." Vernon looked furious. "And if I refuse?" Dora pulled the paper back. "You will be charged with the aforementioned crimes against Harry Potter, along with embezzlement of a child's welfare payments. You will be arrested, your wife charged with aiding and abetting your crimes and your son will be placed at the mercy of Child Services."
Vernon growled. "My sister…" Dora cut him off. "Ah, yes. Marge Dursley. She will be charged with the use of a dog to inflict bodily harm on a minor and you and your wife will be charged with aiding and abetting her. Almost forgot about that. You are also forgetting one thing, Mr. Dursley." A wand tapped the man's face and he visibly paled at the sight of it. "My client doesn't have to follow the rules. A house fire is quite a common thing, as are devastating traffic accidents. Who knows, you might even fall down the stairs in your home, breaking your neck. A fitting end for a man who locks a child in a cupboard under the stairs for ten years of his life, wouldn't you say?" Vernon looked ill, realizing that the person in front of him wasn't bluffing. They knew too much. Still… "Dumbledore…" Dora snapped her fingers. "I knew I forgot something else. Any attempts by any member of the Dursley family in its entirety to bypass the agreement, inform a third party of the agreement, attempt to maneuver a third party to discover the existence of the agreement in any way, renegotiate the agreement using a third party or attempt to break the agreement via a third party will be regarded as an instant breach of contract. Mr Potter will be retrieved, you will be charged and your safety will no longer be guaranteed. This includes contacting the police, Albus Dumbledore or God himself. Are we clear? If not you can stand up and walk, but I won't guarantee you won't slip and fall onto the tracks."
Dora watched as the man clearly tried to find any loopholes he could exploit. The document had been made by her father and the entire staff of the DoM Legal Division. They had all been happy to write an ironclad binding contract when it was announced the person was a possible child abuser. Eventually Vernon took the enchanted fountain pen and signed, causing the document to magically bind him. "Congratulations, Mr. Dursley, you get to live a bit longer. My client expects you to remove the locks on Mister Potter's door by tomorrow. We will be instantly notified if any breach occurs. Might want to speak to your wife and especially your son. Word is he is quite fond of verbal and emotional attacks against Mr. Potter. Wouldn't want him to unknowingly break the contract, now would you?" Vernon started to sweat. "No, of course not. I will get to that right away." He stood up and made to leave before Dora spoke to him one last time. "And Mr. Dursley. Please remember. We are always watching. You got away with harming our flesh and blood for ten years. That will never again be tolerated. Remember that." Vernon nodded and ran off as fast as his legs carried him to speak to his wife and son in the parking lot.
Horatio, no longer disillusioned but hidden by a notice-me-not charm appeared beside Dora. "Well, that should curve Hazel's murderous intent a bit." Dora nodded and looked at him. "Should I go and see Harry? Tell him about the changes?" Horatio shook his head. "The incidents around Mr. Potter at Hogwarts have concerned the Headmaster. He seems to have stationed a watch on the boy at the Platform." Dora sighed. "Then how will he know he is safe among those people?" Horatio smiled at her. "Your partner is handling it. She can approach him safely after all." Dora sighed in relief but she started to frown. "She is hurting. A lot more than I realized. She collapsed inside the house for a few minutes." Horatio hummed as they walked towards the exit of the station. "Her life wasn't easy, Tonks. Most people would have died in her place. I am pretty certain she tried ending her own life a few times." Dora turned to him, horrified. "I…" Horatio pulled her arm to move a bit faster. "You wouldn't know because she hates showing weakness. Especially now that she is a mother. Her son means almost everything to her and in a lot of ways the boy has saved her as much as she has saved him." Dora looked back in her memories and saw the devotion they had for each other. She nodded. "Then what can I do to help?" Horatio smiled at her. "Exactly what you two have been doing. Trust each other, care for each other, be there for each other. That's all anyone can do at this stage." The two found a secluded corner and apparated away.
As soon the scarlet engine pulled into the Platform, Harry Potter pulled his trunk along as he stepped off the train. He waved at his friends goodbye and on seeing Vernon he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. As he walked among the mass of kids and parents he felt a hand touch his and squeeze him gently, pushing a paper into his hand. A woman's voice spoke into his ear, warm and comforting. "Your relatives can't harm you anymore. Be respectful and read the note in your room at home. You are not alone. You will never be alone ever again. Remember that." The hand released him as Harry closed his eyes, feeling them growing moist with tears. "Thank you." He felt a hand ruffle his hair before the presence left. He approached his Uncle, seeing him having a hard time not clenching his jaw. "Come along, boy. We will be pulling over for some drive-thru along the way home. Start thinking about what sort of Hamburger you want." Harry blinked a bit but nodded. "Thanks, Uncle Vernon." He got inside the quiet car and looked out the window as they pulled away, wondering if this might be his best summer yet.
-∞-
Hazel opened the door to Croaker's office. "If this is about our assignments today, I have already been chastised by my son, my partner and her mother about not killing and I expect Amelia to do the same when I go upstairs, so I would save it, Boss." Croaker, sitting behind his desk with a grin in his face, raised an eyebrow. "Good to know, but I called you here because someone wanted to meet you." Hazel blinked as a very old man stood up from the chair facing away from her before turning, his movements stiff even with a cane. She was sure he was ancient as his eyes, a pale blue, looked at her with curiosity and merriment, his white hair as vibrant as much of her own, matching his white clothes quite well. "Ah, so you are the young lady who retrieved one of my stones. Tell me, were you not tempted to keep it?" Hazel's mind froze at his words for a second before she smiled. "Gold and eternal life have value, but there are more important things in life. In the end even death has its value. In some ways taking death off the table is a far worse fate." The man eyed her with greater curiosity. "A wise outlook on things, my lady… ?" Hazel bowed her head. "Hazel Peverell, Mr. Flamel." The man seemed to look at her more closely. "Strange, my student still carries the wand of the eldest, yet here you are claiming the family name." Hazel was unsure how to respond. "What do you mean?"
Nicholas waved his hand. "Legends spoke that the Peverell line would end soon after the birth of the Hallows and it did. Antioch died without a child, Cadmus' line married into the Gaunts and the line of Ignotus ceded the Peverell name and house to the Potters. The legend was clear that none would carry the name Peverell until the Hallows were reunited once more. Yet here you are. I can feel the magic in you, young lady. The same magic from a certain group of Brothers." Hazel narrowed her eyes. "You are older than the stories claim then, to have met them in person." Nicholas smiled. "I am. Where are you from, young Lady Peverell?" Hazel sighed. "From a world consumed by an endless winter, the last gift humanity gave to itself." Nicholas hummed. "Curious. Most Curious. To see a Mistress of Death before me. I certainly did not expect this today." Hazel shook her head. "Sorry to say I have no mastery over death. At least no more than any other witch. What you know of the Hallows does not apply to me. The Hallows I have are not the same magically as those here already." Nicholas walked closer to her. "But is the difference from their creation, as you believe, or from your presence here? The answer might surprise you. Tell me, if I were to ask you, what would you consider my greatest treasure?"
Hazel smiled. "The love your wife has for you." Nicholas chuckled happily. "Then you are wiser than most, young Lady. To know that it isn't the possession or the people, but what is shared that truly matters most. Speaking of my wife, I need to find a nice gift for our anniversary. As pleasant as having this stone returned to us, it doesn't make a good gift." Hazel eyed the man before making a decision. She pulled her bag from around her shoulder and dug inside of it. "I have something here. A bit clichéd but it might do." She pulled two potted flowers contained in glass cylinders and wandlessly levitated them to Nicholas. He eyed them curiously until his eyes widened. One of the flower's petals was a brilliant white, the other a vibrant lavender. Hazel grinned. Curious indeed that he should recognize them. "Where?... " Hazel shrugged. "An Island in a Lake. The magic protecting it weakened enough to let me and my son in. We found refuge and an escape into this world there. It seemed a shame to let the flowers there die. We repotted as many as we could and placed them in stasis, saving them as we ourselves were saved. A flower may be an old staple, but one from the Isle of the Blessed should help keep her from killing you after missing your hundredth anniversary in a row." Nicholas laughed. "Oh, Perenelle would indeed be capable of it. This, however, is a truly special gift. One that deserves a bit in return." Hazel shook her head. "There is no need, sir."
Nicholas gave her a gentle smile. "Nothing too grand my dear. Only some words. You are the Mistress of Death, but never forget you are not Death itself. Life still clings to you, however faint it may be. Cherish it, my dear, as with all things, it must eventually end." Hazel stared at the man but eventually nodded. "Thank you, sir. I should be on my way as should you. The flowers may be a great gift but nothing is grander than a soulmate's love." Nicholas got a dreamy look in his eye. "Indeed. Remember that, young lady, for when love claims you as well." Nicholas turned to Croaker. "I should be on my way." Hazel checked her clock. She eyed the Alchemist and an old story came to mind. "As should I. Farwell, White Mage. The Blessing of the Isle ever be with you." Those blue eyes focused on her again, a bit curious as to her words. He seemed to like what he saw in her, as he seemed to grow a bit younger to her eyes. "A Blessing from the Isle indeed. Go in peace, Blessing from another world. Our paths may just cross again. Someday."
Notes:So, how was it? I actually enjoy some of the stories where Harry discovers magic through his mother's old trunk so this part of the story is an omage to those. Did you think Hazel would keep the stone? Also, if you noticed from Blood and Magic, I love the idea of the Flamels. Here though I am doing something different with them. They wont be consistent characters, but you will see them in the future.
Next Chapter?: Summer Encounters
Got to write a few scenes in, getting to the start of Year 5. A bit hard when I am getting pulled in a thousand directions and still suffering from lingering anxiety. The lingering peace of the last few days will be broken soon. I am not happy with that. Still, life marches on.
Leave a comment, discuss and see you all in three days.