Title: The Sisterhood; Volume One: Seven Sisters Are Called
By: theshadoelady
Disclaimers: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter, or the wonderful world thereof. The exclusive rights to that belong to J. K. Rowlings(I'm not worthy!), but I enjoy that world and all the extraordinary characters she gave life to. This effort of mine is set in an alternate universe, sometime after "The Half-Blood Prince" and before "The Deathly Hallows". In my universe, Severus Snape didn't kill Dumbledore because of an 'Unbreakable Promise', but at Dumbledores' own instigation for purposes to be explored in later chapters. Be patient with me, please. I fear the tale I have imagined might be bigger than my ability to tell, but there will be humor, angst, love, sex magic, ancient forces, and a final glorious battle with Voldemort.
Premise of Story: I have always wondered 'where DID Lily Potter learn the Old Magic that enabled her to save baby Harry?' This is MY explaination, MY alternate universe, and MY new characters that I'm introducing. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed creating them. With all the characters that I've borrowed from J. K., I'll TRY to follow canon as closely as I possibly can, but bear with me in allowing some lee-way for the interaction of my characters. There may even be some 'happily ever-afters' in their futures, but first we must rescue a helpless "Snarky" and begin our adventure.
Authors' Note": This is a work in progress, but I will promise to try to update as regularly as I can. I welcome all reviews, but please be kind. I am a virgin, afterall !
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The Sisterhood: Volume One; Seven Sisters Are Called
Chapter One: Number 12 Grimwauld Place; or It's Never Good News At 3a.m.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Bloody hell, Harry! What's happening now?" shouted a rumpled Ron Weasley, trying to make himself heard over the din in the hallway.
"I don't know," Harry shouted back.
Hermione stepped out of her bedroom just a second before both Fred and George bolted out of their bedroom to join Harry and Ron in the hallway.
"It sort of sounds like when Mum's angry in the kitchen," hollered Fred as the racket continued complete with a females' voice shouting for Harry.
The five of them bounded down the stairs, and into Harry's living room. The fireplace was blazing with the leaping green flames of the floo network, and Madam Pomfrey was indeed banging together two pan lids, "Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter! Please answer!" she called in a panicked voice, "You are needed at Hogwarts immediately!"
"What's wrong, Madam?" Harry asked, as a second dreadful noise began with a pounding on the front door. Fred and George drew their wands simultaneously from their faded dressing gowns, and with the briefest of nods to Harry, went to answer the door.
Madam Pomfrey continued in a much calmer tone, now that she was assured of Harrys' wellbeing, "Potter, the Deatheaters have stormed Azkaban! Ministry officials, prison officers, even some Aurors are dead or reported missing. All the incarcerated Deatheaters and the supporters of You-know-who from the time before are now free. Lucius Malfoy has escaped, and young Mr. Malfoy with two Slytherin girls have come seeking Sanctuary. I've granted it to them, but Harry, you must come! I fear the end is fast approaching , and we must prepare!" With a sudden 'Whoosh!', the floo call was cut off.
Ron and Hermione stared worriedly at Harry, as he absentmindedly rubbed his scar as he sometimes did when he thought about Voldemort. "Well Hermione, so much for 'sometimes a headache is just a headache'," Harry quipped humorlessly.
Fred and George stepped back into the living room, closely followed by Neville Longbottom and a thin mousey girl in a pale blue nightie.
"Harry, you'll never believe it! I was in the woods near my Grans' house, you know cutting wild night blooming herbs, and this girl comes screaming at me like she's got Dementors on her arse! She said she needed help, so I brought her to you. I didn't know where else to go," Neville finished in a rush.
Hermione went over to comfort the weeping girl, as Harry removed his dressing gown and draped it over her too thin shoulders. As Hermione looked more closely at the girl, recognition kicked in and she said, "You're a Hufflepuff, right? Miss . . . Mayhew, I think?"
The sobbing ebbed away, and the frail girl nodded. She swallowed back her tears and spoke in a soft, timid whisper, "Gillian. My name is Gillian. My father had been in Azkaban for years, and my mum and I have been in hiding. Then tonight I was awakened by my mums' screams. My dad was there, and he was 'Cruscio'ing her over and over. It was horrible!"
Gillian gave a shuddering breath, and continued, "When he put his hands around her throat , our house elf, Whimsey, teleported me to safety. I know Whimsey gave her life to save mine, because the last thing I saw was her taking the full force of the Avada Cadavera' he'd aimed at me. The next thing I knew, I was in the woods near where we used to gather medicinal herbs, and I started running," she finished her story, and screwed her eyes shut tight, as if by doing so she could erase all she'd witnessed.
"There, there," Hermione crooned sympathetically, wrapping her arm protectively around Gillians' shoulders. "Come with me upstairs and we'll find you something a bit warmer to put on. There's enough clothes been left by both Ginny and myself that we'll get you kitted out in a trice." She gave a significant look to Harry over top of the smaller girls' head. At his barest hint of a nod, Hermione led the trembling girl out of the room and up the staircase.
"Well, there goes all our promises we'd made to mum and dad and Ginny about being good and staying out of trouble shat down the loo," grumbled Ron.
Georges' reaction was to ping a licorice snap off Rons' head, to which the snap took offense and bit down hard onto Rons' ear. "Ow! That bloody hurt, George!"
Fred said, "I'm just glad they're safely in Italy visiting the Zambini family estates." George added, "What if dad'd been at the Ministry when it was attacked? This time he might've been killed."
All three Weasley sons nodded soberly, and began to feel for the first time that this infatuation Ginny seemed to have for Blaise Zambini might not be such a bad thing after all.
Harry looked at Neville, and Neville read the unasked question there. Neville thought about the way Gillian had clung to him when she'd run up on him in the woods. A strength he'd never known he possessed had flooded through him as he'd held her on his broomstick flying to Harrys' house. He was her hero. He HAD to go.
"Don't leave without me! I just need to floo Gran, and let her know that Harry needs me," Neville said, as he tossed a handful of floo powder into the hearth and called, "Grans'!"
A short time later, five males and two females began filing into Madam Pomfreys' sitting room led by Harry and Ron. There were already five girls waiting ; two Slytherins, Elspeth Wilde and Erika Bonham; two Ravenclaws, Miranda Waverly and Luna Lovegood; and one Gryffindor, Amanda Blake. And ensconced in his solitary splendor , Draco Malfoy, with the familiar smirk scrawled across his handsome face.
"Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey began, only to be interrupted. "Harry, please just call me Harry, Madam," he said before coloring up at his rudeness. :I'm sorry, please continue."
"Ahem, very well, Harry," she said as she cleared her throat, uncomfortable having to be in the position of authority, but accepting it as her duty. "Hogwarts Sanctuary has been invoked, and granted to all present. There is one more person who is in need of Sanctuary, but he must be rescued first. Harry, you have my solemn word that it was part of Dumbledores' final order. He said Severus Snape HAD to be present at our final battle, or we will lose. He implanted something, a spell, or a curse, I don't know which into Severus. But right now, Severus is confined in St. Mungo's , because he went catatonic after . . . , well you know."
"NO!" screamed Harry. "That evil bastard MURDERED Dumbledore! Whatever happens to him, whatever he suffers, whatever the Ministry sentences him to isn't enough! It will NEVER be enough! " A sick, twisted smile worthy of any Slytherin curled his lips as he continued, "The only way I'd lift a finger to help Snape is if Albus Dumbledore himself ordered me to."
"So St. Potter's got a dark side after all," sneered Draco from his comfortable armchair. "A respected Hogwarts professor, an Order of the Phoenix member, a needed warrior for the final battle, is sitting straight-jacketed , having tea with Alice and the MadHatter, unable to even defend himself while Deatheaters and Dementors are searching for him. And YOU will not help save him! Merlin, that's cold even by old Lucius' standards!"
Before Harry could offer his retort, Pomfrey exclaimed, "ENOUGH! Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, you will both come with me now!" She grabbed two ears, one attached to Harry, and one attached to Draco, and pulled both of them into the hallway. "Your wands, gentlemen," she said, tapping her left foot impatiently, holding out her hand. Both sheepishly surrendered their wands, and followed her obediently down the hallway.
Pomfrey took a calming breath, and said in a more reasonable tone, "We don't have time to waste on petty squabbles and stray hexes. You each have a final message from Albus. We're going to his chambers to see if they will clear this up, or at least answer some of your questions."
By this time, they were standing in front of the great stone phoenix that guarded the spiraling staircase that led to their former headmasters' quarters. Hagrid came striding down the corridor to join them as Pomfrey wriggled her fingers and uttered Albus' final password, "Sweet Regrets."
The statue slid aside with its' usual soft scrape, and the staircase began its' upward spiral as they each stepped onto a step and solemnly climbed up to see if Dumbledore really might have left them a plan.
End Chapter One