Disclaimer: If it were mine, I could pay off my mortgage in less than a minute. Then I could quit work and write FF in cafes all day... in scotland, no less. *sigh* Alas, I've more chance of picking ear wax out of my ears than my bank accepting your reviews as payment on said mortgage.
Author's Note: Well, it's been what, three years (OMG that long?) since I put the character of Estella Black to bed. To be honest, I never intended to continue with the 'verse I created but I guess you don't have a character embed itself in your head for two years without developing some form of attachment. I started out writing about the character Estella in December 2004, as a means to get through what was then the first Christmas without my mother. Now maybe it's my muse having a nostalgic moment, or perhaps the move back to Australia after two years in my favourite place in the world (the UK, of course) has me working through a parallel sense of loss; fact remains I've been toying with the idea of a 'grown up' Estella for a while and think it's high time she came out to play.
Unlike my previous ventures, wherein I started posting only after the story was complete, I have made the rather bold decision to share my work whilst it is still in progress. I don't really know where it will end up, and I apologise in advance if life, or my muse, imposes a hiatus; but I hope you will join me on this new journey and I look forward to the feedback that will no doubt help shape the outcome of this story.
Please Note: Takes place roughly 12-13 years after the events at the end of 'White Shadows', which in itself was a combination of canon events in both OotP and HBP, only (all) set in Harry's 5th year (Estella's 4th). According to the Canon timeline (DH) it picks up little under 11 years after the final battle.
Updated: Sunday 20 June 2009
Prologue: Where the improbable becomes a possibility...
The Lazarus Effect: Necromancy or Miracle?
Charlie Weasley glanced upon the headline of that morning's Prophet, his expression rueful. His father's ties with Minister Shacklebolt's office had assured him some advance notice of the strange admissions at St. Mungo's, but seeing it there in print made it seem all the more real. With the Dark Lord long gone, the last of his followers now rotting away in Azkaban, the darkness that had overshadowed Magical society for generations had dissipated to such a point that certain spells once cast with intent to last forever were beginning to lose their effect.
It started with the Longbottoms. Frank and Alice – Neville's parents – who had been irrevocably scarred from Cruciatus exposure; after almost three decades no one expected them to regain any noticeable form of awareness, let alone cognitive ability. Yet they awoke. As though emerging from a fuzzy dream – one where they had been detachedly conscious of their surroundings but powerless to communicate – Hogwarts' newest Herbology teacher suddenly had his parents back. Nothing untoward was made of the occasion; the event marked as a medical marvel, one for the books, and people went on about their lives.
Then the rumours began. Random whispers of witches and wizards who resembled the dead showing up on the doorsteps of their last recorded abode, seemingly years out of time. In every single one of the scattered occurrence, the 'unidentified' person was sequestered to a secure ward at St. Mungo's for the purposes of Ministry-supervised identification verification. With the alleged families of those involved not due to be informed until 'all avenues of inquiry' had been explored, the Ministry had done a fine job in keeping the events 'need-to-know' – even deploying a team of Unspeakables to head up the cases – until, it seems, now. An overlooked second-cousin-in-law of one of the rumoured 'returnees' worked for a maintenance crew contracted by the hospital and had, by chance, recognised a likeness to their departed cousin in one of the patients; the astute wizard putting the pieces together when other faces he'd seen in the ward that day bore similar likenesses to others made notorious by their deaths in the Great War.
Undoubtedly, this was not the first time an unaurthorised civilian had lain eyes upon something the Ministry was struggling to keep secret – even from many of its own constituents – but whereas earlier discoveries may have led to an instant confrontation and swift Obliviation, no one had seen the wizard in question on the ward, and rather than approach his own superiors, tell them of his observations, he shared them instead with some of the families of people he had supposedly recognised, starting the rumours.
Friendlier associations between government and press ensured that, with due warning of the imminent news story, the Ministry could accelerate its program to formally identify and re-integrate the 'returned' into Magical society. Looking upon the three people that now graced his living room - one he'd once known, the others from reputation alone – Charlie Weasley found himself at a impasse. For each of the returned before him, there existed someone close to him who would be duly effected by the news; all three of the loved ones in question presently enjoying an aptly timed visit to Muggle London. Addressing his unlikely house guests, Charlie cleared his throat and spoke.
"I know the Ministry debrief included recent history, but I think perhaps I should shed a little firsthand perspective before bringing our family home," he suggested. "Some questions may be better asked of me than those you are primarily here to see, as I am sure you can imagine this news will be rather overwhelming for them."
Three heads nodded, the colours of their hair as different as night and day. Glancing at them one by one, Charlie inwardly marvelled at his captive audience; never in his wildest dreams having ever imagined imparting his family history to the likes of Remus Lupin, James and Lily Potter.
"It began, really, at the end of the war..." he began.
End Prologue.
A/N: How 'bout Charlie? No, I never thought I'd pull him out of the hat, either...
