Listening to: Chapter 34-Riddle TM
Well, here is the final chapter folks. This will cover what in cannon is known as Deathly Hallows and I hope you all enjoy this as I do.
On the 12th of this month, we observed a one-year anniversary of my taking up this for the first time, on that day I also became 100% legal as per the laws of the United States of America. Only, the governor of my state can bend over my posterior and kiss it repeatedly as he is a loud-mouth money grubbing Fudge.
That said, welcome young and old. Please enjoy
Forever for Avalon
Prologue
8 January 1981
Mercy Hall, Avalon
He didn't want to believe it. The thought of it was wrong, all wrong. He stood alongside the table. He knew that to make this real for himself, he would have to see her body, but he couldn't make himself move the sheet.
A part of him half-hoped that this was some twisted joke as he finally lifted the sheet and threw it back.
His head started to spin he saw her, pale white, eyes mercifully closed. Someone, Narcissa perhaps, had brushed her hair so it lay untangled. Black silk against the harsh metal.
Tears that had been threatening to fall finally fell. This was all that was left of her, the sister he'd half-loved, half-hated most of their lives.
This was wrong. She wasn't supposed to die like this. They were supposed to survive-the all of them-him, Lily, Harry, her daughter, her. Hell, even Snape. They weren't supposed to drop like this.
He felt for her hand, and felt a solid piece of metal.
She shouldn't have had to die to be happy. Hell, she wasn't supposed to have died at all. Not now. Not when things were just starting over for her.
A worn, battered copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard sat on the table. He opened it to where she'd marked her place.
How often had he teased her for still reading these tales?
"And then he greeted Death as an old friend and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."
He closed his eyes as the news he'd seen finally made sense.
Riddle, that sonofabitch, had tried to get to Avalon and she'd given him a hollow victory in exchange for keeping the isle safe.
It had meant more to Riddle to kill her than destroy the most magical place in the world.
He heard a baby crying from somewhere and froze for a second before remembering that only days ago she'd given birth to her first…only…child.
She would never see the little one grow up and the child would never know either of her parents other than what people would tell her. Fresh sobs racked his body as he thought of how Harry might face the same fate thanks to that damn prophecy.
In the-slightest-chance that would happen, he didn't want Harry to go to Lily's sister. Better send him here, hidden and surrounded by friends than in the Muggle world with people who were sure to hate him. Better loved and protected than just lost except to those who knew of his whereabouts.
Maybe that's what Aster had been thinking that morning, to make sure there would always be somewhere safe for people to come to.
He replaced the sheet, unable to look at her face-serene in sleep-any longer.
Now the true test would begin. Unable to tell anyone who mattered that he'd lost the last of his immediate family. Unable to tell Lily why he had such a hard time letting Harry sleep alone at night.
Unable to find peace.
Chapter 1
I am not afraid. Being afraid only makes you pull back when you should be running forward. There is no place for fear in war, unless of course, you want to hide and pray that you escape unscathed.
-from the journal of Aster Jean Keeney; 12 June 1975
He wondered who was going to have an aneurysm first: Bellatrix or Dolohov. The two had been bickering incessantly for the past half hour and Tom Marvolo Riddle showed no sign of stopping them.
And both had been getting more purple in the process from either lack of air…or was that Bellatrix's normal coloring? Deciding it didn't matter, he reviewed the information that-in the sense of keeping himself, Abigail, and the others alive for the foreseeable future-the Order had agreed to let him "discover". Of course, seeing Harry and Abigail argue was becoming a recurring event these days, as was seeing Mrs. Weasley and Mad-Eye argue over whether or not the Death Eaters had managed to poison their dinner.
And Remus, Tonks, Draco, and Abigail argue over who was supposed to be watching the children where and when was just another regular occurrence now. Of course, for the school year, Abigail and Neville would be heading back, in the interest of finishing their NEWTs.
"And what of the Order?" Riddle asked him, finally growing bored with the two's argument (that really was just going in circles of I know you are, but what am I).
"With the old fool dead, it seems Moody intends to take control." He had reservations about that, meaning that Mad-Eye had a habit of attacking now and asking questions later. "Arrangements for the brats this year have fallen to him. They say that Keeney and Longbottom will attend Hogwarts this year."
Snorts from Death Eaters around the table. It seems that the idea was more appropriate than not, given Abigail had been under house arrest since reappearing and Neville fared no better, only he had his precious plants taken away also. Augusta Longbottom had also shouted up a storm that kept most of them awake for the better part of the night, saying how dangerous it was, how it would look to everyone else, and didn't her grandson care how the family looked to the public?
"And what of Potter?" Riddle's eyes had an almost hungry gleam in them.
"The Order has him hidden somewhere in Surrey, perhaps with his relatives. His mother's sister and her husband are quite well known in the area." Well, that was mostly true. Vernon and Petunia Dursley were only well known for the many solicitors that they had to pay for to keep their precious blob of lard out of jail. Rumor had it that the boy had been kicked out of his current school and was hard pressed to find another.
Snorts all around the table. "They will move him next Saturday at nightfall." he finished, knowing that, at least to the Order this would make it look like a betrayal, but in reality would make things only more complicated than they were now.
He could only hope Riddle would just poison himself and do themselves all a favor.
Eh. The reason that this story is taking a while is that I'm writing, disliking it when I come back, and rewriting and re-editing. Now, sadly, I am going to have to choose to kill of some characters.
Now, please vote for your favorite of the following:
Abigail A. Keeney Sirius O. Black
Fredrick G. Weasley Percival S. Weasley
George F. Weasley Cho Chang
Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin Astoria Greengrass
Remus J. Lupin Blaise Zabini
Hermione J. Granger Ronald B. Weasley
Draco L. Malfoy Lucius A. Malfoy
Narcissa Malfoy Andromeda Tonks
Ted Tonks Colin Creevey
Dennis Creevey Cedric Diggory
And throw in whomever you would like to see survive that I missed.
The Death Eaters' votes will be open in a few chapters once I get the ball rolling. And obviously, those would be the ones you'd like the Order to covertly shove off a cliff.
Happy reading!
Mischief Managed,
Sparky
Listening to: Suddenly I See (The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack)