Title: Ripples of Magic
Author: shayniie
Rating: R (I lied earlier, Chapters 16 and 17 have some innuendo, language and sexual situations that do not fit under the PG-13 rating)
Summary: Thirty-four (34) years after OotP (Order of the Phoenix), a new generation of witches and wizards reach Hogwarts and go through their own hardships. Ripples of Magic is the story of their first year.
Disclaimer: Hogwarts, all characters and events up to the end of OotP belong to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS! If you do not like the thought of your darling Harry, Hermione or Ron dying, this is not the fic for you. It's a rather dark story and will have deaths throughout all seven parts. This story operates on what Rowling may not have told us. She writes from Harry's point of view and, as such, he may not know how others feel about eachother. The main character exists on the assumption that his grandmother was manipulative, as was his mother. Yes, pureblood wizards are inbred. Rowling has covered that often in her books and I only intensified the portrayal.
Be patient with my updates, I still have school and a social life to tend to.
I also apologize for the previous lack of any definition to show change of point of view. I've now added horizontal lines to indicate them, as nothing else works.
That said, please Read and Review, though don't bite my head off because I did something you don't like. Yes, I know my pairings could have been different and are unorthodox. I will explain them when I write the prequel(s) after the series itself.
All was quiet over Europe that night. A cloak of silence, it appeared, had settled on the human populace so that none stayed awake. Even the infamous insomniacs and defiant vigilantes had long gone to bed. Criminals and law upholders seemed to have reached an unspoken truce that night so that nothing broke the peaceful silence. The wild creatures had quieted, their sides expanding and contracting placidly with each breath as they slept. Those of the night also seemed to tread particularly quietly, so as to no disturb the peace.
Even Romania, the land of the infamous dragons, was held in the peaceful silence. The fire-breathing beasts either slept or watched the night quietly. Not even they dared to break the calm silence that seemed to grip the world. Not for many years had such a peace fallen over the world.
It was right, as well, for Voldemort had finally gone. After countless years of killing and plundering, he had lost. A fierce undercurrent of remorse, sorrow and loss tinged the silence, as if it were a moment to remember all those lost. An exceptional number were gone from the ranks of the wizards, all of whom would be greatly missed. Even the Muggles slept quietly, oblivious as to why the world was in peace but knowing it was a good silence.
In a quaint home in the quiet wild, near to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the peace was broken by the tossing and turning of one man. His hair was jet black, his eyes a vibrant grey and he was staring up at the ceiling of his home from where he lay in his bed. Alone, for he had lost whom he cared about the most in the world. "Lily..." He moaned, rolling over on his side.
It seemed to take forever for him to finally fall into slumber like the rest of the world and, by then, he had shed all the tears he possessed and woken the great horned owl perched in the room beside his. The owl, ruffling her feathers importantly, flew into his room and watched him with worry as she alighted on the bedside table. There she settled and watched over him, not knowing why he was sad but knowing that the absence of the other grown human was permanent.
The next morning dawned as red as ever seen in the world, no matter where one was. In Japan, they pointed it out and whispered of bloodshed, as they did in Romania, England, France, Africa, the Caribbean and Canada. All the wizards of the world raised their wands in tribute to their heroes, those well-known and those not. They raised their mugs in a toast to the survivors and all the participants in the world. Then, they celebrated survival.
The Muggles of the world noticed the strange people wearing cloaks as they had over thirty-eight years before when Voldemort had vanished for the first time. This time, they did not whisper a single name but numerous ones. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid and even blubbering Neville Longbottom. All were gone now, but their legacies lived on in tales told to the next generation. The old Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was now gone and replaced by very capable Percy Weasley, who was no idiot.
One institute was hit hard by the battle, having lost the majority of its old professors to the battle, and quite a few of its new ones as well. Headmaster Dumbledore was replaced by a certain Bill Weasley, who had left his Gringotts job as soon as he was asked to take the position. Seamus Finnigan took Professor McGonagall's place as transfiguration teacher when sources informed the governors that he had not lit anything on fire for over twenty-five years. A young stranger by the name of Vince Wolfgang took the Care of Magical Creatures post, while Ginny Weasley replaced the valiant Professor Flitwick. Hannah Abbott took the place of Neville Longbottom, who had taken over for Professor Sprout only three years before. Young miss Lavender Brown took the position of Divination teacher for Trelawney, who had died in the battle due to her horrible lack of duelling skills and sheer determination to attend it. Madam Pomfrey was the last 'final battle' casualty, replaced by Padma Patil as she was determined to save lives to make up for her twin's death. All in all, over half the posts had to be refilled.
But the wizard communities of the world would go on. It was not in their collective nature to die out. Though those of Europe – more specifically, that of England and those with ties to Hogwarts – were hardest hit, they prevailed. They banded together like never before to aid each other in these hard times.
It was astonishing to see so many father- or mother-less children in the following years. Families drew closer, helping those who had lost spouses out of the good of their hearts. Some even took in family friends who had lost their significant others and orphans had many willing to take them in. After close inspection once they had come of age, it was discovered that the generation of freedom, as they came to be called, were more powerful wizards and witches than those before them.
Quietly, Athen Black walked through the Romanian country, heading for a good friend's. A small child – his daughter – skipped gleefully at his side. She had been born fifteen days early and, thus, fifteen days before the battle. Fifteen days before he lost the one he adored the most. Since then, he had sunk obsessively into his duties as an Auror. He seemed determined to track down all the remaining dark witches and wizards there were, and he was succeeding.
The reason he was going so far from home with his five-year old daughter at his side was because he knew he would not be coming back this time. He was not completely useless in the foretelling arts, though he preferred not to disclose such to his friends. After all, one of the sons of the pureblood families of Black and Malfoy could not rightfully admit to such rubbish.
"Now, Zephari, I want you to be very nice to Uncle Charlie while I'm gone." He said, his breath catching in his throat as he turned to look at her.
She looked so much like her mother, despite her black hair and other small differences. She had a petite frame and a pretty face, all of which was from her mother; but her eyes... They were steely grey like his, with a very thin rim of green around the iris. Most thought her eyes were simply grey, until closer inspection. She was very much like her mother, which was one reason he found it hard to look her in the eyes.
"I'm always nice to Uncle Charlie." She said, smiling adoringly up at him. "He lets me help with the dragons when I am. And I'm nice to Aunt Tonks too! And the cousins, though Seamus is annoying sometimes."
He chuckled slightly, ruffling her slightly bushy hair. "That's my Zeph." He said, smiling.
He could not help but feel that he was betraying her in a way, leaving her here. He felt that he should tell her everything, about himself and her mother. He had a letter saved with Charlie, telling him to give it to her when she turned sixteen. But, looking at her trusting face, her laughing smile, he could not help but feel a pang of guilt. Sighing slightly, he looked back at the path they followed.
Lily and himself had been young, far too young, to have a daughter of their own. Whatever had made them think they were old enough was ludicrous fantasy. Maybe it was because they thought they would be able to count on each other, but they had not. Not after Halloween that year. Then again, watching her as she skipped along at his side, her small bottle green dress's bow bobbing in the middle of her back, he had no regrets except that he wished Lily could see her. She would have been proud.
The poor little tyke had no family left now, however. Her mother and maternal grandparents had died in the war, as had her paternal grandmother, though on opposite sides. Her paternal grandfather did not even know Athen was his son, let alone that Athen had a daughter. Even if her maternal grandparents had been alive, he would not have been able to entrust them with her care. They, too, had been too young when they had Lily. Even younger than Lily and himself had been when they had Zephari!
But that had been an accident. Lily's parents had been under the effects of polyjuice and the Imperius curse when she was conceived. Such was impossible, most said, when told the story. One could not conceive when in polyjuice. Such was true, but the polyjuice wore off before the curse was lifted and they were rescued. Still, they had had a hard time raising her, even when they had married soon after. It seemed her mother had not wanted to raise her without a defined father.
Nobody knew back then, or now for that matter, that Lily's mother had been in love with another man at the time. She wanted to hide such a fact, obviously, so that it would seem that she had had Lily with the man she loved so much. Soon enough, she realized that she loved her husband more than the other, which was all for the better when the other man married. However, it was not as if her mother never saw the man again. To the contrary, she saw him as much as she saw her uncles, which was often. The Weasleys were a tight bunch, after all.
"Ooh! Look, daddy! I can see the reserve!" The black-haired child whispered excitedly. She rarely raised her voice in excitement. When she did raise it, it was to have her opinion heard loud and clear. "Do you think Uncle Charlie's gotten more dragons since we were last here?" She asked; excitement in every syllable.
He smiled. "We'll just have to see. Ah, look, there he is now with your cousin Dante."
"Dante's really smart, y'know, daddy. She knows lots of things that Seamus, Wyn and Chance don't! Sometimes she even outsmarts Uncle Charlie!" Zephari told him, her prideful gaze falling on her cousin.
"Is that so?" Athen asked, humouring her for the sake of keeping her happy for the final time he would see her.
"Yes, it is so." She replied pertly before breaking into a run and jumping into her uncle's arms with a happy cry of "Uncle Charlie".
Athen followed at a slow pace, calmly observing how well his daughter took to the man whom he had come to trust above all others since Lily first invited him home for Christmas in their fourth year. What a shock they had had, having a full-fledged Slytherin mongrel in their house and not a comment from him. He had even managed to keep his tongue in check when speaking to Lily's mother, who was muggle-born. For all that he disliked muggle-borns, muggles themselves and half-bloods, he had been too smitten with the fiery-haired beauty to chance her disapproval. He and Charlie had instantly hit it off, despite the amazingly large age difference between them. Charlie had, after all, graduated Hogwarts before Athen's parents even arrived there.
When he walked up, the red-headed Weasley put her down. "Dante, why don't you and Zeph go help Mum in the kitchen?" He suggested kindly.
"Okay! C'mon, Ari, Mum's baking cookies the way Grandmum showed her!" Dante said, tugging on her slightly older 'cousin's' sleeve.
Charlie smiled as he watched both girls dash off in the direction of the sprawling one-story, dragon-proof, house. "She's even more like Lily every time I see her." He murmured slightly, then sighed at Athen's pained look and clapped him on the shoulder. "So you're really going to go through with this, are you?"
"I can't not go through with it now, can't I?" The younger man retorted rather sharply.
"You could just not go after him." Charlie pointed out.
"He'd come after me. This way, Zeph is safe and I'll either avenge her, or join her." Athen growled.
"So long as you don't become a ghost."
"That would be rather unfortunate."
"I think you just might become one, just to spite yourself."
"You haven't changed a bit, Charlie Weasley."
"Neither have you, Athen Black."
"But, knowing me and all, I just might become a ghost to spite myself."
Charlie chuckled, then sobered. "How are you holding up?"
"Barely." Athen answered truthfully with a small sigh, looking in the direction Zephari had run, "I haven't told her I'm not coming back. I couldn't..."
Charlie nodded sympathetically. "Not blaming you, brother. Don't worry, I'll give her your letter when she's sixteen and we'll take as good care of her as we do of Dante."
"Oh, great, now I'm worried."
"Why?"
"I've seen how you treat that child, with candy and treats and all that. I can't have my girl going off and ending up in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff now can I?"
Charlie laughed outright and that made Athen smile. "Don't you worry, my friend, Draco Malfoy might as well have been adopted by Mum, so he'll be a vicious Slytherin influence for her."
"Good."
"Though, personally, I wouldn't want that ferret-y git teaching my kids."
"I still don't get that ferret comment."
"Mad-Eye Moody transfigured him into a white ferret in his fourth year for striking Harry from behind. Funny thing is, his curse missed anyways." Charlie told him, grinning. "We've never forgiven him for it."
"I also heard that Hermione slapped him in their third year."
Charlie nodded, smirking slightly. "It was bloody brilliant, Ron said. Then again, he was always smitten with her, though it greatly intensified when she hit him."
Athen grinned. "Bet old Draco didn't like either of those instances."
"You can bet he didn't. However, he was a snivelling coward then, always whimpering when he was even slightly hurt or threatened."
"What made him change?" He asked, never having held a conversation with someone so eager to talk about his father in such a blunt fashion before. He and Charlie usually stayed off the subject of past events, but – since Voldemort's death – they seemed to do the exact opposite.
"Sixth year, Harry, Ron and Hermione saved his life. He then saved theirs later on. That was when he finally realized how little point there was to becoming a Death Eater and became a grudging member of the 'good side'. He never let on until he refused the Dark Mark in the summer of his seventh year. That was when Mum warmed up to him." Charlie answered, smiling slightly.
"Funny, he still got together with a dark witch after all that."
"Ah, well, he went undercover for a bit. You were the result of one of his first Auror missions as himself and he married Pansy Parkinson five years before... well, you know what. He has two sons, you know; Kai and Sirius."
"Sirius?" Athen repeated, surprised that a Malfoy was given his 'traitor' grandfather's name.
The Weasley grinned. "Aye, named after Sirius Black, since Ron and Hermione already had a Harry and he didn't dare name his kid after any other Gryffindor."
Athen shook his head. For all that Malfoy was on the good side of the war, he still had some defined pureblood and Slytherin attitudes. As did Athen, now that he thought about it, for he had been raised by one of the snobbiest dark witches there was. "Who took in Remus's son again?" He asked, curious.
Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. We decided that whoever took him in should never disclose his true parentage. Sons of werewolves are not highly regarded, as you are well aware."
Athen nodded. He had heard about Remus Lupin's struggles to find employment all his life and Remus's eldest son had been hunted down by dark witches and wizards as soon as he reached Hogwarts. Aurors and the school staff could not save him by the time they found him. Not only was he an openly anti-Voldemort boy, but he was also a werewolf's boy. Worst thing was they could not apprehend any of those who did it, as they had fled the scene.
Charlie led them to his rooftop viewing area, used for observing the dragons from a vantage point, to continue their talking. Charlie's wife, Nymphadora Tonks, joined them after having put the girls under the second eldest boy's watchful eyes. They spent the majority of the day talking on that rooftop, moving to the kitchen when it came time to prepare supper. Athen helped with the preparations as, being a single father, he was quite the cook.
The two families, though Athen hardly counted himself and Zephari a family of their own, dined together at the long table. It was punctuated by the usual Weasley family conversations and arguments between siblings. Ten year olds Carly and Thomas agreed on almost everything the other said, but nothing that the fifteen year old Seamus said. The twenty-one year olds Wynifred and Chance held a rather animated conversation with the adults, having only just returned from work – at the Ministry as an Auror, for Wynifred and around the reserve as a dragon researcher for Chance – between mouthfuls of delicious mashed potatoes.
After supper, the moment Athen had been dreading the most came; time to leave his daughter and go after the man personally responsible for his dear Lily's death. He took her gently by the hand and led her outside onto the front porch. He crouched in front of her and looked up into her pretty face. "It's time for me to go, sweetie." He said softly.
The five year old scrunched up her face in a frown and hugged him. "Stay one more night?" She pleaded, burying her face in his collar.
"I can't, dearest." He sighed, hugging her back. "Promise me you'll be good to Uncle Charlie, Aunt Tonks and your cousins?"
"I promise. If I'm good to all the other cousins and aunts and uncles, will you come back faster?" She whispered in his ear.
He laughed quietly, dispiritedly. "I'm going away for a very long time this time, Zephie." He told her seriously. "I'll probably miss your birthday, and Christmas too."
She began to cry and he hugged her tighter. "I don't want you to go!" She whimpered.
"I'm never truly gone, Zephari." He reminded her, as they had had this talk often before. "I'm always with you."
She placed her palm on her heart, drawing back slightly. "I know you're here, Daddy, but I want here, with me." She said innocently.
"I'll always be in your heart, there with Mum." He told her, standing. "Now, what do you say you give me another hug before I go?"
She hugged him with such fierceness that it surprised him. "I love you, Daddy." Her voice was muffled due to her face being pressed against his robes.
"And I love you, Zeph." He murmured, stroking her hair.
"Be safe." She told him, drawing back and sniffing, wiping her tears on the back of her hand, "and don't make me tell Grandmum that you've gone off and gotten yourself hurt!"
He smiled adoringly down at her. "I won't. Remember what I told you about never giving up?"
"Never give up, never surrender." She answered, smirking devilishly, "and I can do whatever I believe I can, so long as I try hard at it. Giving up is only for stinking Hufflepuffs!"
He made small hushing sounds, laughing all the while. "Don't say that in front of your uncles or aunts." He warned.
"But Uncle Draco taught me it." She pointed out.
"Alright, only in front of Uncle Draco then." He amended. "Now, where's my good bye kiss?"
"You ask for a lot of good bye things." She teased as he picked her up and kissed him four times, twice on each cheek.
"That I do, but I want to make sure I didn't forget anything." He replied, putting her back down.
"Your shoelace is untied." She told him, grinning. "But other than that, you're ready."
"I'll miss you, sweet-kitten" He told her, tying the offending shoelace.
"Not nearly as much as I'll miss you, papa-owl." She answered, hugging him again.
"Keep your chin up." He told her, stepping back.
"And don't trip over your feet." She replied, as she always did.
"I love you." He said again.
"I love you too, Daddy. See you when you get back." She answered, tears falling again.
With that, he smiled at her and was gone.
"We hereby mark the passing of one Athen Black, devoted husband and father, as well as loved brother, cousin and son. He protected us from dark witches and wizards until his death. His soul shall finally rest in peace." Uncle Bill intoned a year later.
The others of the congregation, all Zephari's uncles and aunts, her cousins and a bunch of people she did not know watched quietly as she moved up and picked up a handful of dirt. "I knew you'd never come back." She told the silent coffin, lying in its grave. "You're with Mum now, and happy. It's good that you're happy." With that, she tossed the dirt onto the coffin and ran back to her Uncle Charlie, crying.
She did not stop crying for a long time. She remembered Aunt Tonks coming into her room and making her eat her food a few times, but she stayed in the little room at the end of the house, staring out the window at night and keeping the curtains shut during the day. She cried until she had no tears left, only racking sobs, and then she cried again. She did not cry because she was angry, though she had been at first. No, she cried because he had not taken her with him to be with her mother again.
Finally, Dante, Carly and Thomas came into her room and gave her hugs and simply sat with her for a while. That night, she went to the dining room for supper and ate silently, before returning to her room. That night, as she lay looking up at the stars through her window, she smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. "You still see me, don't you?" She asked the stars. "You still want me to be happy and you still love me."
That marked the last of her moping days and, despite the trauma she had been through, she did not really change her character. True, she became slightly more 'evil' and 'dark', but that was only to be expected as she absorbed everything her grandfather told her when they met. She still kept a somewhat cheery disposition towards her family and friends, who were the only people she could bring herself to even be remotely courteous to. She started to turn even more against Muggles, partially blaming them for her parents' deaths, as they had not helped in the battles against Voldemort.
She also pushed away all kindness and pity, unable to stand it, and took to retreating to her room when she was displeased. She in no way wanted to hurt those she cared about by yelling at them so, instead, she simply cleared her head by returning to her darkened room.
It was later realized by those other than herself and her uncle that Athen had known he would die before it happened. The day he had left her, he had transferred all his money to her account in Gringotts. He had closed all his investments and cleared all his debts. He had basically cleaned off his and his mother's slates to leave Zephari with everything to work with.
By default, Zephari was given into Charlie Weasley's care, as he was her godfather. It was doubted that she would have let herself be removed from his care even if they wanted to. When a stranger had insulted her father in Diagon Alley one day, she had made them light on fire. Nobody wanted to chance such a powerful young witch's anger, especially if she would light them on fire.
Thus, Zephari started to blossom into a beautiful, crafty and decidedly different youngster. When her letter from Hogwarts came, nobody knew for sure what to expect when she came. All they knew was that great things could be expected from her, just as they had been expected – and created – by her relatives, both blood and not.