A/N: Here's the Sherlock crossover fic. Yes, this will most likely be a threesome with Persephone and the Holmes brothers. If it isn't, then it will be a Persephone/Sherlock pairing. If my sister (who loves threesome pairings) doesn't stop pestering me, then it's most likely to be the threesome. This will be very AU. All other characters not already paired are up for grabs, so send pairing requests. I had to get this one out of my head, I've had it in there for so long and it's only preventing me from concentrating on my other stories.
Beware; my sister is dictating what she wants in many cases. While the plot is mostly mine, the idea for blood adoption and Persephone's family is heavily influenced by my sister, so much for trying to write a more normal fanfic. I'm curious as to what you all would like to see. I'm aware of only one other story with the same pairing, but all male. Persephone's father's last name is Potter, but she won't have it due to the LeFay name that came from the female side of the Potter family.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, and any similarities are on accident. When you read as much as I do, there's no way (unless you are crazy smart) to remember all of the details.
Chapter One: Meeting the New Neighbor
Persephone Slytherin-LeFay-Pendragon ran into the forest, heart pounding in terror. She had to escape.
When she was baby, Voldemort had sent out Peter to kidnap her. After trying and failing to kill her, Voldemort had decided that blood adopting her with Bellatrix Lestrange was a better idea. Luckily for Persephone, her mother, Lillian, was the last heir to the Magical throne and James, her father, the High Elf King. Their blood had been more potent, and refused to be overridden. Persephone was tall and curvy, her curly silver hair and bright green eyes a result of so many different family lines clashing.
For sixteen years, she had had no idea that she had been stolen and blood adopted, let alone that the man she had called father had tried to kill her as a baby. Her blood boiled in anger as she recalled finding out her true origins by accident. Trained as an assassin, Voldemort had been very careful to never give her a reason to turn on him. He would have succeeded too, had it not been for Persephone overhearing Bellatrix talking to her sister about her true origins. Persephone had captured and absconded with a tied up and unconscious Bellatrix Lestrange.
For hours she used every trick her father had taught her, and those that she had learned on her own, to extract information from Bellatrix. She had managed to finally wear the woman down after a week of torture. Despite herself, Persephone held a grudging respect for the woman. She had had to convince a Dementor to come in, and that was what had destroyed the last of her resistance. It hadn't actually been all that difficult to convince the Dementor. All she had to do was mention a soul up for grabs and she had had a mob of Dementors vying for it. The Dementor Lord had been the one to come with her, not that she was surprised by this. No, the hard part was sneaking the Dementor Lord out, seeing as all means of magical transportation were blocked. Getting into Azkaban had been laughably easy, but then again, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had raised her.
She had learned all about her birth family from Bellatrix, and watched on in detachment as the Dementor sucked out her soul. Bellatrix was crazy enough that Veritaserum didn't work on her. Persephone had been raised to repress all emotion, and her icy demeanor never once cracked. It wasn't until she saw the life she could have had, one filled with love and happiness that her icy heart finally cracked. She would never be the boisterous and cuddly woman that her mother Lily was. She would never be the prankster that her father was well known as. That didn't mean that she couldn't be friendly or playful, she just wouldn't be able to learn how easily.
Voldemort never found out about the true fate of Bellatrix Lestrange, or the many other Death Eaters that began to disappear until it was far too late. The Order of the Phoenix had been stumped, not daring to believe that Voldemort and Bellatrix's daughter was the one to blame. She had been feeding information to Dumbledore, having approached him and begged for help. She still had a bad taste in her mouth from being reduced to begging. She knew that once she killed her father, she would never break that habit in calling him father, she would be hunted. Hell, she was already hunted, but the Ministry would then shift its focus onto her completely, along with the Death Eaters, but mainly her.
Dumbledore had nearly killed her when he found her in his office, but she managed to trip him up and stun him. She had levitated him onto his throne like chair and calmly began to explain her plight. He had been nonplussed and delighted to see that she actually meant what she was saying when her magical vow proved her to be telling the truth.
He had looked beyond horrified when he saw his wand in her hand, and it had taken all of her willpower to hand it back to him. He had looked from the wand to her several times, then to the ring on her finger, the one that her father had given her. He gave her the most searching look she had ever received, and for the first time, Persephone felt small compared to another. Dumbledore must have seen something in her icy gaze, because he smiled and his bright blue eyes twinkled. He had then given her the wand and told her that it was hers now.
She had eventually told him of her true origins. She thought Dumbledore might actually faint. She had removed the stunning spell by that point. She made him vow that he wouldn't tell her parents or anyone else in any way, shape, or form unless she gave him permission.
They had begun to plot, and Persephone had finally admitted to him that her father made Horcruxes, seven to be exact. She never would have known had it not been for the Dementor Lord informing her that her ring and own body contained pieces of a soul not her own. It hadn't been a stretch to figure out just where they came from. She had scurried off to Gringotts, plotting with the Goblins on how best to use this information to her advantage. The Goblins had remained neutral, not wanting to be involved in the war at all. They had suggested a very old, very, very dangerous ritual that had an eighty-five percent chance she would go bat shit insane or die. She had told them that she wanted to go through with the ritual.
After copying her memories of important facts regarding her father, and placing them in a box that would be delivered by Hedwig immediately upon her death or loss of sanity and be delivered to Dumbledore, she had followed the Goblins to perform the ritual.
Her luck pulled through in the end, and the ritual went off without a hitch. The Goblins had been paid a hefty sum of money…from the Lestrange Vault. She had given an evil smile and sweetly informed the Goblins that Bellatrix had something of her father's in the vault. They had shooed her out, not connecting the dots at first. It was after she had stolen from the Lestrange Vault, using the key she had found on Bellatrix, that the Goblins realized what she had been insinuating. Luckily for Persephone, she had Bellatrix's blood running through her veins, and that alone prevented her from being killed by the Lestrange Vault door, seeing as Bellatrix had been keyed in.
The Goblins had calmed down when the rest of the gold in the Lestrange Vault mysteriously appeared in the Goblin section of Gringotts. That and they had been disgusted to learn that their bank had protected a Horcrux.
The memories from the Horcrux in her scar proved to be her greatest asset. She had shared several with Dumbledore, and began hunting them in earnest. She briefly thought about using the dead basilisk venom from the Chamber of Secrets, but didn't want to have Dumbledore realize that she was responsible for the ceasing of attacks and saving the Weasley girl. She used Fiendfyre on the ring, shocked when the stone actually exploded with magic. She had found a fully intact stone on a new band, resting innocently on her right ring finger. No matter how hard she tried to remove it, the stupid thing refused to budge.
Not wanting to destroy the others, she asked the Goblins if they could remove and destroy the other Horcruxes. They had agreed, and only asked for a measly sum. They were apparently furious about the Horcrux they had unknowingly protected.
Dumbledore had been oddly silent on the ring suddenly appearing on her hand. He kept sending her calculating looks, ones she really didn't like. It was the Dementor Lord that caused her to begin to worry. He actually bowed to her, and now followed her around. She'd had to politely order him to stay in Azkaban. She couldn't go traipsing through the countryside with a Dementor after all. He had mumbled something about Necromancers and balance; she didn't dare ask what he meant.
After the second to last Horcrux was destroyed, Persephone had to wait to kill Nagini and her father. Dumbledore had sent a Patronus to her when Voldemort attacked Hogsmeade. Persephone had rushed off, her father having left her behind, not wanting her to fight with Dumbledore there. Oh, she knew he was going to attack Hogsmeade; she just needed to know when he launched his assault.
To say her appearance was welcomed would be the greatest understatement. Voldemort had been furious and the Light side tried to kill her on the spot. Dumbledore was dueling the Dark Lord, trying to keep him occupied as Persephone hunted Nagini. She found her right when the giant snake was about to strike a young girl. A Killing Curse took care of that, but unfortunately, the Light side thought that she had simply missed and hit the snake instead. She would later find out that she had saved her little sister.
Persephone barely managed to make her way over to her father, the Light side suddenly deciding that she was just as bad as him, if not worse. James and Lily had at that point joined the battle and by working together, nearly decapitated her. Dumbledore had seen this out of the corner of his eye, and became distracted. That effectively put him out of the fight when a curse slammed into him. Dumbledore had just enough time to activate his emergency portkey and found himself in St. Mungo's.
The Light side panicked when they saw Voldemort strike down Dumbledore. Persephone, fed up with her birth parents, had stunned them and made a portkey to take them to St. Mungo's. No longer having to worry about James and Lily, Persephone suddenly found an enraged Remus Lupin bearing down on her. A simple banishing spell gave her the time she needed to disappear into the mass of Death Eaters. Lupin had managed to snag her cloak and ripped part of it off, exposing her face fully. Her father spotted her, and scowled heavily. She smiled sweetly, and once close enough, cast a spell at the man behind him, a simple stunner that looked like the Killing Curse.
Voldemort had laughed, while others screamed in horror and outrage. She used his distraction to shoot a Crucio in Voldemort's direction, making it a lighter red rather than the trademark black-red. He didn't move, thinking that she was aiming at someone else. He went down, screaming and writhing. The battle came to a screeching halt as people watched in disbelief as Voldemort's own daughter tortured him. Persephone cursed as her father managed to fight off the pain enough to shoot a Crucio back at her. She ended the spell as she twirled away from the jet of red light. They began to battle then, trading spells back and forth like they would during practice sessions together. It was surreal; here she was, the one living being aside from Nagini that he had ever cared for, trying to kill him.
The battle between the Light and Dark resumed, but it was halfhearted at best. A voice was whispering in Persephone's mind, telling her when to duck, swerve, and what spells to use. It was an ageless voice, cold, yet warm at the same time. She did everything it told her to, and at times the wand she had won from Dumbledore moved her arm and hand without her permission. It freaked her out, but she couldn't let that distract her.
Mud and debris flew into the air when a blasting curse slammed into the ground where she had been standing only moments before. A sharp pain blossomed from her left side, but she simply grit her teeth and continued to fight.
It felt like an eternity before she got in a lucky shot, her Killing Curse having been changed to a green-blue color, mimicking another less harmful spell. That took a huge toll on her, and she herself nearly died, managing to twist her body so that the organ-liquefying curse hit her in the hip rather than the gut.. Luckily, she knew the counter curse. That didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell trying to fix. In the seconds it took for her father to fall, there was no sound, no movement. Time had seemingly frozen. It sped up again when she ripped through the anti-apparation wards and disapparated.
It took weeks to recover from the battle, her magic having been decimated from all of the high-powered spells. Dumbledore spent that time scouring the lands for her, desperate to find her before the Ministry did. During that time, Remus Lupin had barged into his office in a state of confused panic. Dumbledore had taken one look at the scrap of black cloth clenched in his had and let his head thump onto his desk with a defeated groan. Luckily for Albus Dumbledore, Persephone hadn't made him promise not to talk to those who knew or found out on their own who she really was.
Remus had been frantic and devastated to learn that his cub was still alive, and that he'd tried to kill her. He'd begged Dumbledore to let him tell James, Lily, and Sirius. Dumbledore had refused, telling him that it was too risky. When Remus had asked why, Dumbledore had dryly informed him that James and Lily were beyond listening to any form of mercy in regards to Persephone after her attack on their youngest and Sirius. Remus had pointed out that Sirius was suspicious about who Persephone really was, having caught a whiff of the scrap of fabric.
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It was a stubborn Sirius Black that reluctantly took them to look at the Black Family Tree that he had locked away from the light of day. It didn't take long to find Persephone's name. The reason for her radically different appearance was explained through the combining of so many families. Sirius had broken down, sobbing. Remus wasn't much better off, Moony the only thing that prevented him from losing it. Dumbledore had to stun Sirius when he ran off to go tell James and Lily. The three men began searching for her like men possessed.
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She knew that it was only a matter of time before she was found. Her heart ached with the thought of lost opportunities. She had nearly been caught when she broke into the palace, peeking in on her lost family. The little girl that she had saved had woken up and screamed when she saw her in her room, staring at her. Persephone had been badly startled when her younger brothers and parents came charging into the room.
Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus had only just missed her, and Sirius proved to be an idiot when he screamed out her original name: Ivy. Persephone had stumbled, and that was all James needed to hit her with a blasting curse. Sirius had yelled in horror, tackling James and screaming that she was not just Voldemort's daughter. Lily had simply stood there, wand pointed at the fleeing form of Voldemort's daughter, hand trembling. The name Ivy had frozen her, and she was lost in her thoughts. The blood on the ground vanished due to Dumbledore's quick thinking, and he rushed off into the darkness after Remus and Persephone.
Remus had continued to run after her, yelling for her to stop. She managed to cross the wards, and disapparated immediately. Remus sunk down onto the ground and slammed his fisted hands on the grass, screaming in anger. Dumbledore showed up not long after, and vanished the rest of the blood. He planned to use the excuse that Voldemort's daughter must have vanished the blood to avoid it being used to track her. Fortunately, no one had noticed.
The guards had shown up as Dumbledore helped Remus to his feet.
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Persephone had captured Sirius and used Veritaserum on him to learn about her birth family, and Oblivated him afterwards. She thought her parents' marriage to be fairly interesting.
While it had started out as a marriage of convenience, her father had already been half in love with her mother. It didn't take long for him to finish falling in love with her. Her mother had taken longer to fall in love with her father, but he had been very arrogant when they were younger and in school.
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The forest was cool and dark, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. Spells shot past her, striking the ground and trees. Shouts sounded behind her, growing closer, she ran faster in response. She ran, not daring to look behind her. They had finally found her and put up wards to prevent any sort of magical traveling methods. Heart in her throat, she skidded to a stop at the edge of a waterfall. She looked behind her, turning fully when the Hitwizards and Aurors began emerging from the trees. She was too weak to shift to her animagus form.
For over three years she had been on the run, and in all of that time, she was unable to simply relax. Once they managed to get hold of a drop of her blood, there was little she could do. The rituals required to cancel such tracking magics were long and arduous, something she couldn't afford. The portals to the different dimensions had been guarded zealously during that time. The Kiss or kill on sight orders from both the Royal Family and the Ministry ensured her death no matter what. There would be no trial for her, no chance to explain. Not even Dumbledore would be able to stop them from killing her.
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James stared at the tired young woman wavering on the edge of the cliff. Her body was frighteningly thin, and her skin sallow. Dark half circles under her eyes made her look more like an Inferius rather than an Elf. Her silver hair was dulled, but beneath all the dirt and grime, beauty still shone. She was on the verge of collapse, her magic not having had the chance to recuperate after the last three times she was chased down and had to fight her way out. It was remarkable how powerful and smart she was. Yet her magic couldn't save her here, but her brilliant mind might be able to.
"So, any last words?" His voice was cold, and he ignored Sirius trying to reach them. After Remus and Sirius had botched up the last several attempts at capturing her, they had been banned from helping. The guards simply stunned them and tied them up, removing their wands when they showed up earlier. It appeared that the two had gotten loose when he also heard Remus's voice join Sirius's
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Persephone backed up, her heels causing the dirt to crumble away and fall in small amounts. She swallowed, eyes locking onto Dumbledore when he pointed at her left pocket. She nearly lost her balance when she felt something suddenly appear in her pocket. She didn't dare reach into it at the moment.
James narrowed his eyes when he saw her almost lose her balance. She looked over her shoulder, following the thundering water with Killing Curse green eyes. "What's in you pocket?" His question caused her to snap her head around to face him. She looked at him blankly.
"I have no idea, it just appeared." The part about someone using a switching spell was left unsaid, but everyone knew that had to be what caused the appearance of whatever it was in her pocket.
"Take it out." Making sure to keep the wand she had killed Voldemort with tightly in her right hand, she slowly reached with the left, never once taking her eyes off of the people in front of her. Lily looked from her husband, to Dumbledore, then to Persephone, her eyes widening when she saw just what was peeking out of Persephone's pocket.
Cool fabric met her trembling fingers; it was almost like liquid that had been woven into cloth. A tingle of magic crept up her hand, spreading through her. The voice that had been with her since the battle where she killed her father began whispering. 'Jump, put on the cloak and jump.'
She fingered the cloak intently, realizing that it was an invisibility cloak. She mouthed a thank you to Dumbledore, who nodded his head slightly. Sirius managed to break through the line of witches and wizards, Remus right behind him. She looked at him, and smiled sadly. He was crying, and Remus on the verge of tears. If only she had never been kidnapped as a baby. A single tear fell from her right eye. Her eyes then locked with Lily's and the Queen couldn't restrain her gasp. Those eyes, she had seen those eyes last when her daughter was taken.
James simply reacted when his wife gasped, and shot the Killing Curse at Voldemort's daughter. Lily screamed and shoved her husband's arm, but the spell had already been cast. Persephone managed to avoid it thanks to Lily's interference. The other witches and wizards tensed, their wands sparking and glowing. Several spells came hurtling towards her, but Persephone was one step ahead of them.
Persephone whipped out the cloak and covered herself even as she turned and jumped. Lily ran, yelling for her, but to no avail. Persephone continued to fall, her hands clutching onto her wand and cloak. She cast multiple cushioning charms on her clothes, and slowed her speed some. She took a deep breath as the water grew closer, and closed her eyes. She bent her body so that her legs would absorb the impact. Making sure that her muscles were relaxed, she stuffed her wand into its holster after casting a Bubblehead charm, and braced her head with her arms and hands.
The white, bubbly, and frothy water engulfed her; she almost blacked out, but managed to retain hold of the cloak. She was unaware of the portal that her body sank into.
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Persephone gasped as she came to, then screamed in surprise when she found a face in a mask directly over hers. She flung herself forward, ripping through the restraints holding her down. The lights flickered and the electronics in the room sparked. Her breathing sped up when she finally got a good look at the scientists in the room with her. She backed up, unknowingly pressing up against the one-way glass that several important government officials stood behind.
Her clothes were miraculously still on her, so either they failed to remove them, or she hadn't been in captivity very long. She hadn't been in the Muggle world before, the Wizarding world having done what the High Elves did and made a new dimension. This occurred back during the time of Merlin, he and Morgana were the ones to mainly power the ritual. The Muggleborns were automatically brought over as babies, and the parents' memories modified.
The only problem with the portals was that they required special rituals to work, and while relatively easy to cross to the Muggle side, they were nearly impossible to cross back to the magical side. The ambient magic from the ritual done so long ago was meant to bring magical babies over to the magical side, modifying the Muggles' memories at the same time.
Ironically, technology had really taken off when the worlds were separated, and mutated into a strange combination of magic and Muggle-like items. Not that the magical side knew this.
One thing that they had not been anticipating was for the Elves to show up and ask to connect the magical world with theirs. With their request being eagerly granted, the High Elves brought perhaps the most valuable piece of magic with them: the ability to awaken magic in Squibs. Any non-magical being that was descended from a witch, wizard, or magical creature had the potential to be Awakened.
She snapped out of her thoughts when one of the scientists slowly approached her, hands up in a universal sign of peace. She eyed the Muggle carefully; ready to curse him should he make any sudden moves. Her wand had eagerly jumped into her hand, the tip sparking in warning. The man froze, the lights from overhead glaring off of the faceplate on the full suit. She didn't know what it was, their world having long ago cut off all interaction with the Muggles.
The scientists' eyes had all locked onto the sparks, staring in wide-eyed fascination. She tensed, mind racing from thought to thought, trying to plan out how to best get out of the situation. Her eyes flickered from camera to camera, a plan beginning to form. She would have to work quickly, taking out all of the cameras, then the footage they had recorded. Not to mention that she would have to modify memories.
She waited, burning everyone's positions into her mind before she sprung into action. The cameras were easily dealt with when she allowed her aura to flare; the scientists were a little more tricky because she was still weak, though her magic levels had dramatically increased. Not wasting any time, she darted forward and grabbed her invisibility cloak from the small table off to the side.
She disappeared, backing away as the door opened and men with armor and weapons of some sort poured into the room. She held her breath, casting silencing charms on herself, thanking the gods that she wasn't passed out on the floor or dead right now.
"Shit! Where'd she go!" The men were beginning to panic, their eyes darting around the room. She gathered her magic, knowing that she had one shot at the spell she was going to cast.
"Oblivate Maximus Totalus!" She closed her eyes so that the light wouldn't blind her. The spell took effect, draining her magic rapidly. Stumbling, she blinked open her eyes, thankful that her Elf blood provided excellent vision during the day and night. All of the electronics in the building had overloaded with the surge of magic hitting them. She heard hearts beating behind her and spun around, but was faced with a wall. She stared at it in confusion, eyes squinting. Glass! It was glass. She looked at the pile up in the doorway and back to the glass, biting her lip. She decided that climbing over the men was a better idea. Thank the gods that the spell wiped all traces of whatever it was targeting, including written items.
Persephone clambered her way out of the room, not knowing what to do about the people all gathered here. It would be beyond suspicious, but she had neither the time nor magic to do anything about it. What would she plant anyways? It's not like she knew enough about the Muggle world to adequately plant a false trail. There was no way she could muster the strength to cast an area wide memory modification charm on top of the Oblivate. That was one of the greatest turnoffs about the version of the Oblivate spell she had used; you could erase memories and proof, but you couldn't actually alter the memories to prevent a giant gap.
Running as fast as she could, she used her wand to lead her out of wherever she was. Persephone dashed down stairs, then up stairs, jumping over people and unlocking doors that were locked. The electronic doors gave her the most trouble. She finally reached the first floor, after spending far too much time trying to get out. People were waking up, their brains recovering from the trauma the spell caused. She looked at the front doors, no that would be far too suspicious, but the emergency fire door off to the left wouldn't be. She had no idea what the door led out to, but it had to be better than running out front where the strange metal beasts were. A door opening on its own would draw too much attention, and though people were only just waking up, she didn't want to risk it. The other door was clearly marked to only be used in case of a fire. Well screw that.
She shoved the metal bar, forcing the door to open. Had she not shorted out the electronics the door being opened would have set off an alarm. The full moon shone down on her invisible form. She crept around the side of the building, peeking at the metal beasts. There were several men laying passed out on the ground, but three women and four men were either staggering into the metal beasts, or sitting on the ground, clutching their heads. Guilt stung Persephone; she hadn't wanted to cause them pain. She cast a Disillusionment spell on her body for good measure.
A strange sound broke the silence of the night, and she turned to look in the direction it was coming from. It was a large black metal beast, and it was approaching quickly. Persephone ran towards the gates, drawing closer and closer. The car finally reached the large gates, which were shut. A man got out, a rather tall man with dark hair and pale skin. He had an umbrella, and was inspecting the gates. A woman with brown, curled hair followed him. She was doing something with her fingers, and looked frustrated. Creeping up behind them, she slid into the beast, making sure that she was completely covered by the cloak.
It wasn't the smartest move, but she had no idea where to go, and this way she could also read the woman or the man's mind to gather information. Besides, people rarely looked for an escaped prisoner in extremely close proximity to those looking for them.
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Mycroft Holmes was beginning to panic. He had received an urgent message from the Queen, and had made his way to the hidden government base. He stared out the window, watching the stars go by. What could be so urgent that the Queen wanted him to leave the important meeting he had been in? The car began to slow as it approached the tall gates blocking the road. He stiffened in dismay as he realized that the security guard was missing and all of the lights off. The car came to a stop and he wasted no time in hopping out. He clutched his umbrella tightly, eyes darting around suspiciously. Anthea came up behind him, trying to contact anyone on the base.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled and stood on end. He prepared for an attack, but none came. A whisper of air behind him had him whirling around, gun in hand, but no one was there. He frowned, eyes darting to the open car door. He cautiously approached, quickly scooting in front of the door in a crouched position, gun ready to shoot, but yet again, there was nothing. He grew more and more uneasy. His gut instinct had never failed him before, but now it was doing so spectacularly. He slowly lowered the gun, had he looked for just a few moments longer, he would have seen the air ripple slightly.
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Persephone panicked, having forgotten to cast a scent concealing charm. While she didn't smell, the scent of chemicals and other things clung to her. The impromptu bath from the waterfall had washed most of the dirt off of her body from the sheer violence of it.
Beautiful grey-blue eyes narrowed at the spot she was huddled in, before blinking and looking away. Persephone was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. She cast a small ward around herself, wincing when the beast's lights and engine struggled to function with the magic hitting the electronics. The man froze as he was turning away, and slowly turned back around to look at the car. He looked from the car to the dark base several times. His eyes widened in realization.
"Sir, no one is answering their phones, what would you like me to do?" Mycroft looked at Anthea, mind whirling over the fact that whatever had cut the power on the base seemed to be affecting his car.
"Sir!" A body on the other side of the gate drunkenly stumbled into it. The man grabbed at the bars, managing to stay on his feet.
Mycroft and Anthea rushed over. "Tell me everything." The poor security guard found himself pinned by Mycroft's eyes.
"That is just it sir, I cannot remember anything, just a blue light." Mycroft stared and stared.
"Nothing, nothing at all?" The terrified man shook his head.
"No, get out of here before whatever caused it does so again." Mycroft dearly wanted to argue that point, but knew the man was right. Until they could figure out what had happened, it was best for him to stay away, lest he too lose his memories.
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Persephone jerked awake when the man and woman came back and sat down in the metal beast. She stayed very still, hoping and praying that the two would stay far away from her. The woman looked up and in her direction suddenly, and Persephone took advantage of the opportunity.
Plunging into the unprotected mind, she was bombarded with knowledge and images. Thanks to her father's training, she was able to force Anthea to stay still. Using a wandless Imperious, she planted the instructions for Anthea to make her papers and records so as not to draw attention. The lights flickered, and the engine whined, causing Mycroft to stiffen. He glanced over at his PA and frowned when he saw she was looking at the opposite seat blankly. He was beginning to regret getting a large car.
In the back, Persephone hurriedly finished her information grab. Released from her compulsion to stay still, Anthea shook her head, dizzy.
"Anthea?" She looked over at her boss and smiled.
"Just a bit dizzy all of a sudden." Mycroft began to worry that whatever had happened at the base was affecting Anthea.
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Persephone waited until the man up front, Mycroft, and Anthea left the car, waiting until she could duck out under Anthea's arm. Anthea had held the door open for a few seconds longer. Mycroft thought that she was still acting odd, but chalked it up to her having been affected by whatever had happened at the base.
Persephone darted into an alley, and waited for Anthea. Hours later, Persephone woke up when the woman entered the alley. In her hands were documents and identification. Grinning tiredly, Persephone eagerly accepted the forged papers.
She let Anthea go of the Imperious curse, not wanting to keep her under it any longer than strictly necessary, and quickly oblivated her.
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*One Year Later*
Persephone looked up at the building with 221B proudly nailed to the door. She had decided that if anyone would and could help her, it would be Mycroft's younger brother Sherlock Holmes. She started forward, nervous about the life she was about to step into.
After a long year of learning everything she could about the Muggle world and selling precious gems and valuable metals, she had finally reached the point where she could go out and about, though her ears drew far too much attention.
Knocking on the old door, she waited, smiling at the aging woman who answered it. The landlady's eyes widened, her jaw gaping.
"Err, hi. You must be Mrs. Hudson?" She wasn't sure, but was fairly positive that this woman was the one she was looking for.
Mrs. Hudson blinked up at the tall and beautiful silver-haired woman. Her bright green eyes sparkled in the sun. There was no emotion on the woman's face, reminding her strongly of Sherlock. She prayed that this potential new tenant was not prone to such experiments as Sherlock.
"Yes. Are you Ms. LeFay then?" The woman nodded, a pointed ear sticking out of her hair. "Wha—." Ms. LeFay must have anticipated her question.
"I was born with my ears this way; some sort of mutation that ended up quite tasteful." Her voice was polite, but ice laced it. A shiver ran down Mrs. Hudson's spine. A killer, she had the eyes of someone used to dealing out death. Yet, the young woman had an innocence about her. It was as if she had suffered greatly and was only now breaking free of whatever chains had held her down. Sherlock wasn't the only one who noticed things.
"I came to look at 221C." Persephone watched the old woman in dark amusement. Her senses flared out, cataloguing all the data she was picking up. Looking into the woman's eyes, she used Legillimency to see what was going on in Mrs. Hudson's head. Persephone arched a brow. What was this? Hmm, the little old lady seemed to be unusually sharp. Though, if rumors were true, anyone living in close proximity with Sherlock Holmes was forced to be observant. No doubt all the murder cases had taught Mrs. Hudson what to look for when she caught glimpses of the ones guilty in pictures laying about.
"Ah, yes of course, right this way." Mrs. Hudson turned away from the terrifying woman, hoping that she wasn't a serial killer. Sherlock would be thrilled if she was.
"Persephone. Call me Persephone." Mrs. Hudson looked over her shoulder in surprise, not having expected that.
"Such a lovely and unique name. So kind as well, your parents must be proud." Something flashed in Persephone's eyes, but was gone far to quickly for her to identify.
"I would like to think so." Mrs. Hudson began to apologize, jumping to the conclusion that the young woman's parents were dead. Persephone didn't bother to say otherwise.
Persephone followed Mrs. Hudson down some stairs, making sure to keep her face blank. She looked around, tuning out the landlady. "I'll take it." Mrs. Hudson stopped talking, her face first incredulous, then excited.
"Excellent, oh wait until the boys hear." Mrs. Hudson was hoping that Persephone and Sherlock were enough alike to get along well.
LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE
Upstairs, Sherlock Holmes was engrossed in one of his many experiments, not knowing that his life was about to be turned upside down and irrevocably changed. John peeked in on him, and turned green at the sight of Sherlock poking at eyeballs that he had microwaved for several seconds.
"Do stop standing in the doorway John, it is distracting." A handsome young face with high cheekbones, pale skin, and blue-grey eyes peered up through silky, curly black hair at him.
"Do I want to know what you are doing?" Sherlock turned away and went back to looking at the eyeballs.
"Don't be stupid, I hate stupidity." John gaped, then scowled.
"Mary is stopping by later, she wanted to make sure you are eating." Sherlock ignored John. Sitting on a stool in his bedclothes, he greatly resembled a child.
"Boys! Sherlock come meet your new neighbor!" At that Sherlock's head shot up, and he stared at John. John looked just as amazed as Sherlock.
The two men hurried out of the flat, and thumped down the stairs. They turned, walking into Mrs. Hudson's kitchen. John walked into the Sherlock when he stopped dead.
"Ow! Sherlock, you git!" He picked himself up off the floor, and muttering, brushed himself off. He looked up and around Sherlock, and stared. He blinked, mouth opening and closing several times, but no words left him.
"I cannot read you, except for the fact that you know death intimately and have suffered greatly." John and Mrs. Hudson gaped and gasped in shock respectively. Those observations were ones that most people could spot easily. The beautiful woman blinked, her head tilting to the side inquisitively. A pointed ear popped out of her hair, and Sherlock scurried over to begin examining it in fascination.
"Sherlock! What have I told you about personal space?" John tried to drag the high-functioning sociopath away from the confused woman. He apologized profusely as Sherlock resisted and tweaked the pointed ear. Sherlock found his hand and arm suddenly behind his back and twisted at a painful angle.
"Really Sherlock! I'm so sorry Persephone." She took a look at the young woman's abused ear, ignoring Sherlock's pleas to be let go. John sat heavily in the chair next to him. He took in the scene and snorted, then began laughing at the faces Sherlock was making.
Persephone let Sherlock's arm go, sitting back in her seat with satisfaction. "Sherlock Holmes and John Watson I believe?" Persephone stuck out her hand, and Sherlock warily shook it. Reaching across the table, she did the same with John, noting the wedding band on his ring finger.
"Sherlock, this is your new neighbor, Persephone LeFay." At her last name, Sherlock's eyes sharpened and flew to her reddened ear.
"Interesting." John banged his head on the table, knowing that Sherlock was going to start stalking Persephone and break into her flat the soonest he had the chance. He shuddered at the thought of how she might retaliate. Seeing the look on Sherlock's face, he decided to try and stop the ideas in his head before they became reality. At the very least the woman would have some form of warning.
"No Sherlock, she is not one of your experiments!"
"Experiments?" Keen green eyes looked at Sherlock in excitement, the ice thawing. "What sort of experiments if you don't mind my asking?" Sherlock perked up at her enthusiasm.
"I am currently testing the effect of radiation on eyeballs and the effect of—."
"Sherlock!" Both Mrs. Hudson and John yelled at him to shut him up and to prevent him from scaring off Persephone.
"Fascinating, do you mind if I take a look?" Sherlock looked delighted that someone was actually taking interest in his experiments for once in his life. He grabbed Persephone's dainty hand, dragging her up to his flat. He excitedly began bouncing ideas off of Persephone.
John and Mrs. Hudson looked at each other in horror. "Now I know why she didn't react to the part about leaving body parts around the hallways in the contract; she's a female Sherlock." Mrs. Hudson moaned in despair, collapsing into her seat. John looked equally horrified.
Sherlock on the other hand was no longer bored. How could he be with such a fascinating new puzzle that Mrs. Hudson had so thoughtfully handed to him?