Fandom(s): Harry Potter
Pairing(s): mentions of Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood
Warning(s): alternate universe; female!Harry (Hesper); numerous off-screen character deaths; dead body; and a deal with Fate.
Summary: Thrown into the Veil of Death, Hesper Potter found herself meeting Fate.
Accord de le Destin
With narrowed jade eyes, she glared at them. She struggled as they led her towards the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries, inside of the British Ministry of Magic. Her struggles were useless. Her captures had a tight hold on her. Even if she managed to escape, there was nowhere for her to go.
Hesper Josephine Potter remained quiet due to the Silencing Charm on her. She was forced to settle for glaring. It was all she could do, and it wasn't much. Unlike a basilisk, she didn't have a deadly gaze.
She was dropped in front of the Veil. The black carpet moved in a phantom breeze. Hesper was forced to watch as the dead body of Neville Longbottom was dumped next to her. There was a cruel laughter with taunts and jeers. Susan Bones was dropped on the other side of Neville's body. The redhead was crying, and her brown eyes casted away from Neville's body to avoid looking at it.
"Hem, hem," Delores Umbridge said in her annoying shrill-filled voice as she tried to summon everyone's attention to her. "By the decree of Minister Lucius Malfoy, on the thirty-first of October of this year, the so-called Dark Lady Potter and her accomplices are hereby sentenced to death. Potter will face death by the Veil of Death for crimes of high treason and murder against the Ministry of Magic and various upstanding citizens. All of Potter's accomplices, known and unknown, shall receive the same fate – death via the Veil. Furthermore, all moneys, properties, and material wealth owned by Potter and her accomplices shall be confiscated forthwith and be distributed between the families of their victims and the Ministry of Magic."
If she wasn't forcibly silenced, Hesper's laughter would be audible. These charges were bogus , and there wouldn't be anything to gain in the end.
The fortunes from both the Potter and Black families was gone. Hesper's parents sold all the Potter properties, except their house in Godric's Hallow, before they went into hiding, to help fund the first war against Voldemort. Upon her parents' death, the Ministry of Magic declared the house in Godric's Hallow to be a landmark, thereby removing it from the Potter family and into the position of the Ministry.
Sirius had done the same with the Black properties, leaving only Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, which was hidden under Fidelius Charm with Kreature as the Secret Keeper. Kreature was a freed house-elf that swore his life, and his descents, to the House of Black. It was impossible for someone outside of the family to extract the information from Kreature. Kreature had the power to recognize members of the Black family. Currently, Kreature was living in Sydney, Australia, with Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin.
As for the money and heirlooms of both families, they were secured and divided between Hesper's mokeskin pound and the bottomless, weightless muggle bag charmed by Hermione with some remaining in various Gringotts vaults. The mokeskin pound was wrapped around her neck with the bag, shrunk and placed on her wrist as a bracelet. For some reason, no one bothered to check the mokeskin pound or take it away. The Deathly Hallows were safely hidden inside the bags. When it came to the vaults at Gringotts, the Ministry wouldn't be allowed entry – no matter what. As per Ministry decree, no one was allowed to take family heirlooms. It was a law passed hundreds of years ago, and it was one that couldn't be changed since it would upset numerous pure-blood families.
As for her accomplices – Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and several members of the former D.A. club – they didn't have much of anything either.
The Weasleys were dead, except for George Weasley. He fled to France with Fleur, his brother's widow, and their two young children. The Burrow was destroyed and the property was entrusted to a Prewett relative while George closed the Diagon Alley location of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. The prophecies were secure in a Switzerland bank, away from the access of the British Ministry.
Hermione was dead, and everything she was owned was left to her parents and Hesper. As muggles, the Ministry wasn't allowed to touch their belongings – not that it mattered since her parents fled to Australia.
The Longbottom fortune was gone, paying for the long-term care of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Anything left was in the position of Augusta Longbottom, who was a registered Spanish citizen. For various reasons, the British Ministry couldn't touch her money or her. Doing so would upset the Spanish Ministry.
There wasn't much of a Lovegood fortune, but it was all register in the name of The Quibbler, which the Ministry couldn't touch due to some new laws that separate the interest of government and the news media.
As for the rest of the members of the D.A., they didn't have much, either. Most of them were foreign citizens, which meant the British Ministry couldn't touch their money or belongings without starting an international incident.
The thought of her victims was equally, if not more so, funny. Her victims were the very supporters of Voldemort that she fought against. They were sore losers that wanted her dead and her fortune. Most of the families had spent their own fortunes on the first war and the second war. The Malfoys even tried to trick her into a marriage contract with Draco Malfoy.
After the war ended, Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed the Interim Ministry of Magic. Due to some laws he couldn't become the real Minister since he wasn't British-born and he wasn't a pure-blood wizard. Lucius Malfoy was able to get himself elected Minister by bribing various high-level officials and killing his competition. With a real Minister, the Ministry wasn't much of anything.
As Minister, Lucius quickly passed laws banning muggle-borns from the Wizarding World. Per his orders, the Weasley family was attacked and killed, leaving only George, Fleur, and Fleur's two young daughters, Victoire and Dominique. He, also, ordered the imprisonment of Hesper and her accomplices.
Hesper had seen Andromeda and Teddy off to Australia a few days later at the airport in London. She was making arrangements to follow them when Minister Malfoy ordered her arrest. Most of her accomplices had fled the country or were already dead. A few turned against her, like Michael Corner. Hesper and Susan accompanied Neville to Gringotts to assist him in selecting an engagement ring for Luna when they were arrested. Neville was killed in the process.
"Send them through," Umbridge ordered with a wicked smile.
Several Banishing Charms were cast, hitting the three individuals – Hesper, Susan, and Neville's body. The combined force of the charms propelled them into the darkness of the Veil of Death.
...
As she passed through the Veil, tears slid down Hesper's cheeks as she closed her jade eyes and she started to cry. She cried for several reasons: the pain and the loss she suffered, all the bad memories she had, her friends and family, and the live she was robbed off.
"Why do you cry?" an unfamiliar voice asked, cutting through the darkness. The voice spoke in a tone above a whisper, and it indiscernible as male or female.
At first, Hesper didn't answer. Her eyes remained shut as she waited for death.
"Why do you cry, Hesper?" the voice repeated.
Opening her eyes, she glanced around, only to find a seemingly endless darkness. "For myself and my friends," she answered after a moment. "I did everything I was supposed to, and nothing worked out." Feeling selfish, she added, "I deserve more."
"If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you?"
"I don't know," she replied. While there were so many things she wanted to fix, she didn't know if she wanted to do everything over again. Attending Hogwarts would be a headache, dealing with the young students and the professors.
Thinking it over, she thought of her friends and loved ones and the good times they shared. "Yeah, maybe," she muttered, a stream of memories flashing through her mind.
"I can make it happen."
"Who are you?" Hesper demanded with narrowed eyes. She looked around, again, which was pointless. Why someone ask these questions and offer a do-over?
"I have many names, but I usually referred to as Fate."
Hesper's jaw tightened. It was no secret that she cared very little for fate and destiny. "What do you want?"
"I bring you compensation."
"For what?" she demanded. Her life had been dictated by a prophecy, and when she managed to fulfill it, her life went from bad to worse.
"Your greatest wish was for a normal life. It is within my power to give you that."
A few tears slid down her cheek as Hesper closed her eyes. This was tempting offer. There was so much she could do and so many people she could save, in one way or another. At the thought of people, her jade eyes snapped open. "What about Susan?" she asked.
There had to be a way to include Susan in this. Hesper and Susan had become close friends in recent years, since the war ended. Susan didn't deserve death anymore than she did. They both suffered and they both lost.
"I can make arrangements."
"What will this cost me?" Hesper knew if it was too good to be true, it usually was and it came with a high price. Vernon Dursley had taught her something, after all.
"Your guidance and assistance. While you will no longer be The Girl-Who-Lived, there is still a war and there is still a Chosen One."
Hesper said nothing since she didn't really understand.
"You and Susan can be anyone you want – except your original selves."
"Where will we go?" Hesper asked. If she had to guess, she would head to an alternate reality where Neville was The Boy-Who-Lived or she had a male counterpart in need of assistance.
"That will be a surprise, but you won't be disappointed."
She was silent. This was tempting offer.
"Know that you will be a student."
There it was: the catch. Hesper would have to attend Hogwarts all over again – so would Susan. "Where's Susan?"
"Nearby. She will be happy to join you."
"Okay," she whispered.
"Good. Your possession are awaiting you, but you must know that the Hallows will stay behind."
While the loss of the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone didn't bother Hesper, she was upset about the loss of the Invisibility Cloak. It was a family heirloom, and it was one of the few possessions she had of her parents'.
"You will be compensated for the losses."
Before Hesper could think or do anything, a bright light started to shine. She was forced to squint before closing her jade eyes.
EL FIN.
This fanfiction is a part of The Halloween Collection, which is a collection of unrelated ficlets, oneshots, and full-length fanfiction stories that are related to a Halloween themed word prompt, which is listed at the end of each story.
Type: Oneshot
Prompt: Portal
The Halloween Collection
One: Accord de le Destin (general)
Two: Her Niece and His Goddaughter (general)
Three: Love on Her Arm (Bill Weasley/Hyacinthe Potter)
Four: Of Flames and Snow (Jon Snow/Hedera Waters) [Crossover with Game of Thrones and A Song of Fire and Ice]
Five: A Tale of Two Lilies (general)
Six: Bonds of Family (general)
Seven: Just a Glance (Jacob Black/Heather Potter) [Crossover with Twilight]
Eight: Shine Bright (Danny Williams/Helene Potter) [Crossover with Hawaii Five-0]
Nine: Whispered Conversations (Ron Weasley/Helenium Potter)
Ten: Emmett Cullen: Triwizard Champion (Emmett Cullen/Roselia Hale, Harry is Emmett) [Crossover with Twilight]
Eleven: Enchanting (Abraxas Malfoy/Halesia Potter)
Twelve: Eclipsed (Tom Riddle/Heliconia Peverell)
Thirteen: Silent Symphony (general)