Disclaimer: I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.
Warnings: This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. Please exercise understanding of personal boundaries before and during reading.
Author's Note (Generic Note for the Houses Competition): All my works should be considered to be Not Epilogue Compliant and I treat everything that is not the HP books and the Hogwarts Library Collection as apocrypha (supplementary to canon but still outside of it) and treat it as such (including ignoring it unless it suits me). I also make a policy of not ignoring abusive and distasteful actions/decisions of characters and not handwaving the effects of trauma experienced by characters. If you feel that a character isn't acting like their "canon self" chances are good that it's because of one of these two things and they are merely displaying a more realistic response than they did in canon. Such changes are not considered AU elements, and therefore do not have the same requirements.
Author's Notes (Things to Know): A sow is a female badger; a tichel is a traditional headscarf worn by Jewish women; the Latin that Zillah uses translates to "Family does not end in blood" and is the Hufflepuff motto in addition to other spell-like things.
Author's Note(s): It's noted in the first paragraph, but this story is an AU where Harry Potter had been sorted into Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor. This story is part of a series, but to understand this part, all you need to know (beyond the sorting difference) is that Harry went home with Hannah during winter break (which is referenced in the fic) and that the Hufflepuff first years have just confronted Quirrelmort in the Entrance Hall (which is what tripped Zillah's monitoring spell).
Dedication: to the Lady Justicia, who is blindfolded to ensure that all are the same before her and armed with the sword of Truth & Knowledge. May all remember that Your scales are tipped in favor of those to be judged, not in favor of those authorized to judge, and that Your sword smites those who use the authority entrusted to them to spit upon Your edict of impartiality.
Challenge/Competition Block:
Stacked with: Houses Competition (Term 3); MC4A
House: Hufflepuff
Year: 6th
Category: Standard (750-1500 words)
Additional Requirement: House Trait (Loyalty)
Prompt: "I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear – I'm not asking" (speech)
Representation: xx
Bonus Challenge(s): xx
Word Count: 1486
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Loyal in Love
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Zillah Abbot marched up to the gates of Hogwarts like a woman on a mission. There was a reason for that. Not ten minutes ago, her monitoring spells on both Hannah and Harry had begun tinging. She had been in Amelia Bones' office at the time, discussing the subject that had consumed much of their attention lately (Harry Potter, who had shocked the world by becoming a Hufflepuff instead of the Gryffindor everyone had expected), when it had started. (It had taken six months, but they had finally gathered enough evidence to try the Muggles without requiring Harry to testify.) They had delayed just long enough to gather a few of Amelia's most trusted people before Apparating to the outermost edge of Hogwarts' wards.
The gates gave a shake as she neared, stopped from opening by the chain wrapped through the bars of either panel. Security at Hogwarts had always been formidable but there was something that most of the people sorted into Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw tended to overlook. The wards had originally been set up by Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, and both founders had worked in their own loopholes in cases of emergency. Helga made sure that all sorted into her House would always be able to return the castle, if they could prove their loyalty to her ideals. Every Head of House for Hufflepuff had passed on the ritual to the incoming students in accordance with tradition, and Pomona Sprout had never betrayed that.
Without hesitation, Zillah drew the dagger that never left her person and sliced across the meat of her palm. A flare of magic cleaned the blood from the blade before she tucked it neatly back into the specially-made sheath hidden in the coil of her tichel. As the DMLE officials caught up, she wrapped her bleeding hand around the chain and spoke the Latin phrase given to every Hufflepuff their first night at Hogwarts.
"Cognatio non finis in genus," she intoned, focusing on the danger she knew was happening. Zillah had no regret over tagging both children, even if it had been done just as a precaution that was habit after so many years working as a field Healer for the DMLE, including through the conflict with Voldemort. Hannah knew about the monitoring spell and its limitations. Zillah had cast it on Harry when the boy had come to spend winter break. The chain shivered as magic traveled through it and then began to shake as the headmaster's magic fought against the combined will of Zillah and Hogwarts herself.
The outcome was inevitable. A man who saw children as bargaining chips and weapons was always going to be weaker than a protective sow and a being whose entire purpose was the lives of the children it sheltered. No force in the universe was more powerful than a mother acting on behalf of her children. For a fanciable moment, Zillah could almost see the shadows of countless mothers placing their hands on hers, adding their collective will to Hogwarts and hers.
The chain dissolved into pale blue sparkles that faded before they reached the ground and the gates opened in welcome.
Now unimpeded, the group marched onward.
The doors to the Entrance Hall opened the moment Zillah's foot touched the bottom step leading to them. With the deliberateness of Miriam leading her people from Egypt behind her brother, she entered the castle and witnessed chaos.
The habit of years had her doing a quick headcount of the shorter people in the space, revealing that every single first year in Hufflepuff was present and on the defensive against the three adults that were also present. Between the two groups was a smoldering pile of robes. Also laying on the ground was Harry with Hannah hunched over him. The rest of the Hufflepuff first years were clearly defending the pair from the adults, which meant that they had some reason to think them a possible threat. Given that the group included Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, that was not far-fetched. Dumbledore always turned a blind eye to the crimes of Snape, no matter the target of the other man's cruelty.
No Hufflepuff would abandon another in the face of an enemy, regardless of authority.
Helga would have been proud.
Zillah certainly was.
"What is going on here?" she asked in the voice that got even the unruliest of patients to listen. The effect was immediate. Even Dumbledore and McGonagall froze, despite how it must have been years since their own mothers had used a similar voice. Dumbledore recovered first.
"There's just been a small misunderstanding," he answered. "The children seem to think that they're in danger. We've tried to assure them that they are perfectly alright but they have been quite hysteric."
"Is that so?" Zillah asked. She cast her gaze over the group of Hufflepuffs, none of whom looked hysteric even if they all seemed upset. Judging by the way their chins all raised, the kids were more determined than they were frightened. In fact, each of them looked every bit their house mascot, ready to defend their comrades with metaphorical tooth and claw.
She met Hannah's eyes briefly, noting how those blue eyes burned like the steel of Michael's sword as he descended from on high to smite the wicked. Zillah knew her daughter enough to understand her temperament. If Hannah, with her kind and slow-to-anger personality, was ready to fight, then she would stand beside her as the Creator would demand. Zillah turned back to the adults.
"What happened here?"
"There was a bit of a kerfuffle, but no one was seriously hurt," Dumbledore assured her.
Zillah let her surprise show on her face. She flicked her gaze towards the deputy headmistress and the professor on either side of the headmaster. Snape's face showed nothing, as one would expect from someone used to lying like he was, but McGonagall was more open. She seemed uncertain about what Dumbledore was saying, but at the same time, she wasn't saying anything to counter the obvious lie. Before she could figure out if Dumbledore really thought that she would believe him over her own eyes, someone else entered the castle, panting as she had clearly run from where she had been.
"Oh, thank Helga," Pomona declared as she spotted Amelia. "The wards declared that someone had died! After the troll at Halloween, I can only imagine what it could be!"
"Dumbledore was just assuring us that no one had been seriously hurt," Amelia said evenly. She took off her monocle and gave it a quick polish with a cloth pulled from her sleeve. Replacing the eyepiece, she continued, "and I'm sure that he would certainly like us to believe him, despite the unconscious first year and smoldering remains of what used to be a professor. If you would gather up your charges, Professor Sprout, I'm sure we can settle this investigation in time for supper. Though since we're here and exams are over, I would like to take Susan home now. I'm sure that Zillah would like to take Hannah and Harry now as well."
"I'm sure that there's no need for any of that," Dumbledore said. He took a step forward only to freeze when he found himself with several wands pointed at him. He frowned at them, trying to play the part of a disappointed grandfather. Zillah shook her head at the stubborn foolishness of the man. Did he not get that none of them were going to buy his act? "This can be settled without any unpleasantness. The children are just a little upset at the moment but it's nothing that requires any of them go home early. I'm sure that young Harry especially will appreciate not returning to his relatives any sooner than necessary."
"Harry's not returning to his previous guardians," Zillah declared. The paperwork for the custody transfer had been filed with all the correct people months ago.
"Harry has to return to his aunt's care."
"I'm sorry," Zillah said, unconcerned that she didn't sound even a bit apologetic. "I didn't make myself clear. I'm not asking."
"It's the only home he has," Dumbledore countered. The headmaster sighed as if disapproving of a child's misbehavior, shaking his head sadly. "It's for the best that he returns."
"Neither of those are true," Pomona said, moving to stand with the other Hufflepuffs forming a living wall around the boy in question. "Anyone with eyes can see that."
Zillah raised her chin and met the headmaster's gaze. Dumbledore's eyes were hard and measuring. She stood firm in her position, as her sorting and faith demanded. Her heart pounded with determination and again she felt the shade of countless mothers standing with her, supporting the loyalty she held towards her children, regardless of how long they had been hers.
She was a Hufflepuff and family did not end in blood.
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An Ending
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