Lucien/ Jean, Matthew/Alice. HP AU, WIP.
This one's for professortennant, who asked for a Harry Potter AU for Malice. I've seen some other ideas for this 'verse floating around, so tried to find an original angle for it, and settled on "modern Australian HP AU". There's a heavy dose of Aussie bush for you, and it incorporates a lot of my own personal ideas about how the Australia wizard community would be. I hope you like it!
Possum Magic || Chapter One
After the unexpected drama that was the Battle of Hogwarts, everyone in the magical community was a little more on edge than was probably necessary. Even now. Even decades after peace had settled back in the wizard world and dark magic had been pushed back to secret recesses and dank basements. Oh, it was still around, for sure, but Alice thought all the fuss and bother in her potions lab was a bit much for what probably amounted to a senior student prank.
The two Aurors walked around with efficiency and professionalism. The younger one was attractive by any standard, and all the girls (and one or two of the boys) in the corridor outside were watching with keen interest. He was tall and strapping and his hair had a slight curl in it despite the product.
Professor Harvey wasn't paying attention to him. Her eyes were fixed on the senior Auror, intrigued and somewhat excited for reasons she couldn't pinpoint.
She and Matthew went to school together, a year apart and in different houses. He was one of the few prefects that paid any attention to the slightly strange girl with very little friends, always treating her with kindness and manners. Never especially warm, but polite and courteous when they met in hallways or in the library.
He had been on the Quidditch team and was a skilled spellmaster, but he was bullied endlessly by other students in his year, for petty reasons; for being muggleborn from a country town named Ballarat, and for still being deeply connected to his non-magical sister. He worked muggle jobs over the summer break and refused to reject his humble beginnings, and students in other houses didn't know how to relate to someone who had the whole wizard world at their fingertips and chose not to fully embrace it. They teased him for it, and it turned him quiet and kind.
She understood that. She was muggleborn too. The only difference was she had no qualms leaving her home behind. There was something about him that seemed to understand that about her. They often took similar subjects and sometimes had the same free periods, and so they crossed paths more than was usual for two people in such difference circles. Never one for convention, Alice had enjoyed his company the few times they sat and studied together in the library, him pawing over new enchantments and her mastering herbology concoctions.
She remembers feeling glad for him that he'd been accepted as a trainee Auror. She remembers being sad that he was gone during her final year of school.
The years had weathered him and gifted him with a cane somewhere along the way, but his eyes still held that same kindness she remembered from their adolescence, and for that she was immeasurably glad.
"And you're sure there was no other tampering on this door?" he asked her, walking back over to where she was standing patiently by the classroom entrance.
"No. As I said, Matthew, it was a simple enchantment – it only took me three tries to break it"
"And the cabinet?"
"It was exactly as you see it now"
The younger man – Charlie was his name – was waving his wand over the cabinet to inspect the remnants of the spells used. But really, an exploding potions cupboard in a school full of wizards and witches was hardly front page news. And whatever charm was used didn't even aim to harm her – the sparks had gone around her body, so really how malicious could it have been? She chalked it up to larrikinism and everyone itching for the term to end. Calling in Aurors was an overreaction, in her estimation, but that was the mood of the day.
"I really don't think there's anything to it" she said to Matthew quietly, almost privately, their heads bent just a little together.
He sighed and nodded. "You're probably right. But with the twenty-year anniversary coming up…"
"I understand. Your bosses must be jumpy"
"The folks in Melbourne don't want any inference of trouble at magical schools until the date has passed"
She nodded and didn't pry further. Everyone was acutely aware that years of peace did not mean the end of problems. The last time the world let its guard down evil had crept in through the gaps of their complacency. Australia was a long distance from Scotland, but in reality it was just an apparation away, and the last thing they needed were rumours of dark magic in the colonies. They were the largest school in Oceania and one of the few that was spared grief in the last war; it would send a terrible message both home and abroad if something were to happen so close to the anniversary of the last battle.
"Wrap it up, Davis. I think we can rule this one as a bit of schoolyard trouble-making"
"Yes boss"
The young wizard put his wand away and walked over to them both. "Just let us know if you have any further trouble, Professor Harvey"
"I will. Thank you"
"Boss, I'll go update Headmaster and then start heading back to the portkey outside"
"You go on ahead, Charlie, I'll meet you back at the office later"
Charlie walked away with a nod and a half-smile, not questioning his boss' directive. The girls out in the corridor parted like the red sea to allow him to pass, and he seemed to get a kick out of answering their questions about Auror work as he meandered back towards the school reception. Alice and Matthew watched him go with matching smirks, remembering what it was like to be so young and carefree.
She felt Matthew's gaze move to her face, and she suddenly felt too sheepish to return it.
"Shall we?" she asked, gesturing to the door, and he just nodded and started walking in that limping gait. She almost smiled at him, and they made their way to the door of the classroom. She would clean up the cabinet later. Out in the corridor the students had disappeared with Charlie, and given the hour she suspected everyone was out enjoying the sunshine for lunch.
Alice flicked her wand and locked the classroom door behind them as they walked away, and Matthew smiled.
"You've gotten good at those wordless spells" he teased.
She smirked back at him. "I had a good tutor"
He laughed at her, remembering the hours they spent in their final years, with him using her as his mentee and study-buddy, teaching her the finer points of hexes. They hadn't even been friends, not really, and yet several times a week they found themselves in each other's company.
She walked slowly; more slowly than was necessary to accommodate his cane. It was more of a stroll. She knew that she was stalling for time, eager to spend just a few more minutes in his company after so many years apart. She could feel him watching her again, catching glimpses from the corner of his eye. She wondered what her face said about her, the two of them well and truly past the age of forty, and neither of them wearing a ring.
"It's good to see you" he said, his voice gentle like she remembered it. She met his gaze, her eyes briefly flicking over his face, taking stock of him for the first time in years.
"It's good to see you too, Matthew" she said back.
He cleared his throat, and if she was not mistaken he sounded a little nervous. "Have you had lunch?" he asked.
"I haven't"
"Would you like to… head into town and grab a bite to eat?"
She looked at him. He was watching the ground, walking along at that slow pace, and the questions sounded far too casual to be so. They never used to get lunch. Their relationship had been confined to the walls of the library, or within a classroom.
"I'd like that" she said.
They kept walking along, this time with a little more purpose.
~0~
Australia's preeminent school of magical arts was situated in the middle of veritable nowhere, several kilometres outside of Cullulleraine on the Sturt Highway, near where Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia all bordered. There was another, far more ancient school up north, where wandless magic was used and mythical beasts were studied, but along with the convicts and the English language, European settlement brought the traditions of Hogwarts to Australia in the form of a boarding school out in the middle of the arid Mallee region.
The tiny town nearby was used as the transfer point between magical and muggle worlds, school transport disguised as dusty road trains delivering students year after year. On weekends the students were permitted to go in small groups to Mildura, but they usually stayed near the school, right on the river, with protective spells keeping drought from devastating them too badly.
For people like Alice, the small country town provided a safe haven from prying eyes and curious stares. Even in adulthood she never quite managed to make friends easily among wizards and witches. For Matthew, visiting such places was a breath of fresh air. He was still so connected to his muggle roots that he struggled sometimes to go without a cold beer and a chat about muggle politics now and then. They each felt like visitors in this magical world, fitting in just enough to be good at what they do, but always with one foot out the door. They seem to understand that about each other, too.
They chose the truck stop in town, with its simple café inside; their slightly odd clothes wouldn't look so out of place there, and it was blissfully air conditioned.
"How have you been?" he asked her, once they sat down with their fish and chips.
"Very well. Busy with school reports" she answered. "And you?"
"Can't complain really. Other than this" he said, gesturing to his cane. "Got a little too close to a Yowie a few years back. Got charged at"
She gasped at him. Often such encounters could be fatal. "You're lucky you didn't lose your leg" she said, brow furrowed in belated worry.
"Don't I know it" he said, nodding. "Blake did a good job"
"Lucien Blake?"
Her brow was furrowed further, like she heard him wrong, and she cocked her head to the side. He looked up at her in confusion.
"You know him?"
Alice's eyes grew wide with excitement; their world was smaller and more connected than she realised. "Oh yes, I know him. We've consulted together several times on herbal medicines. He's asked me to run tests for him during his research. I didn't know you knew him"
Matthew's gaze was excited now too. He was smiling around his mouthful of chips. "We went to primary school together in Ballarat" he answered.
"No" she breathed, dumbfounded. "I had no idea he was muggleborn"
"Half-blood" said Matthew. "His mother was a witch, father was a country doctor. Sent him off to live with relo's in London when his mum died, well before the letters arrive. We were still in primary school at the time"
"So he didn't study here?" she asked. She was suddenly fascinated about their mutual friend, and leant forward on the table to hear more, absently placing another chip in her mouth. She didn't remember a Lucien Blake at school, so she was certain he didn't attend in Australia, but she wanted confirmation. It wasn't so much that she wanted to know about Lucien himself; she had no interest in him beyond friendly colleagues, even if his story did sound rather interesting. No, she just wanted to hear Matthew tell it. To know she and Matthew shared more in common than a few short years at school was of such importance to her all of a sudden.
"He went to Hogwarts, actually. Since he was staying in the UK at the time, they sent him there. He studied medicine at St Mungos and everything"
"And yet he ended up back here" she said.
"He consults as a muggle doctor in Ballarat" said Matthew, his eyes shining with mirth, and he grinned when her face lit up. He knew she'd be delighted by that little titbit; wizards so infrequently crossed borders, let alone worked in the muggle world permanently. It was practically unheard of, and she understood now why such a brilliant man seemed to have so few acquaintances in the wizard world. Her mouth popped open in shock and her eyes went wide, processing the implications of it all. She wanted to be incensed at the way Matthew was grinning at her – it wasn't polite to stare – but her expression was undoubtedly comical, so she let it be. He obviously took great delight in telling her that piece of information.
Matthew had known Lucien since he was a boy. The three of them were muggle-raised. They had all crossed paths more times than they knew. How did this never come up in school, she wondered, and she realised there would be no reason for it to. Back then, Lucien was just a childhood muggle friend of Matthew's who was sent away after his mother died. Back then she and Matthew had simply been study friends at boarding school. They weren't to know their professional lives would be so intertwined years later.
Suddenly she didn't feel so alone. All those years of not seeing Matthew and he was only one degree of separation away all along. It was strangely comforting.
"He's married now you know" he added. There was so much happiness in his gaze, but Alice could also see something underneath that resembled jealousy. Was he worried, perhaps, that her interest in Lucien was too strong? Was he warning her not to bother with that like of enquiry?
And if so, why?
She cocked her head in interest, encouraging him to go on.
"To a lovely witch named Jean. She was a widow; her husband went missing and later found dead during the second war"
"That's tragic" said Alice, knowing many people disappeared under mysterious circumstances during Voldemort's second rise to power. "And she's from Ballarat?"
"Yes, she runs the herbology department for the hospital there"
Alice thought long and hard over the name, trying to place it. She had only run across Ballarat people a few times, but a faint memory pricked at her. "You mean Jean Beazley?"
Matthew's eyes grew wide this time, and he nodded. "She's Blake now, but yes. Do you know her?"
"I know of her. I believe she grows the very best Snapping Kangaroo Paw in all Australia. I've supplied from her before"
This time Matthew's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe it. It was amusing to him that their entire conversation so far had consisted of surprising one another with their random facts about people.
"How's that" he said, smiling. "My childhood friend and your plant lady are married"
Alice laughed at him. For an Auror he had a funny sense of humour. She was delighted that he was as excited by their mutual connections as she was.
"The world is truly very small" she said, smiling warmly at him.
"I can't believe it" he said, shaking his head. He looked around the little truck stop, taking stock of the few people who were there and the fact they were sitting in far north rural Victoria talking about these people who shouldn't know each other but did. With Alice Harvey, of all people, who he'd sometimes thought of over the years but never thought he'd see again.
"How is your sister?" asked Alice, eating a chip.
His gaze turned dark, signalling trouble. He recovered well and turned to her.
"I don't see her as much these days. I see her daughter though"
Alice's eyes went wide. "She has a daughter?"
"Yes. Rose. She's a witch too" he said. He looked immensely proud of that fact, and she wondered if it was why he and Vera weren't close anymore. "She works at the Daily Herald in Melbourne"
"What's her last name?"
"Rose Anderson"
Alice pondered the name. It sounded familiar, maybe from years ago, but not remarkable to her.
"I don't think she was much of a potions student" he added, understanding. "More into my type of stuff"
Alice smirked at him. They were always teasing each other for their divisions; the houses they were in, and the subjects they took. Neither of them won the war, but they would play at it all the same, and Matthew seemed more proud that Rose took after him in her studies than was probably decent.
"And your sister?" he asked, his tone softening around the edges. He didn't remember the details of her life, but he remembered her relationship with her family was fractious at best. He never pried into it, but there was always a wariness about her. He had his suspicions.
"We don't really speak" she said sadly, in a tone that put an end to any other enquires he had. She looked away from him and out the window.
He let her have a moment.
"So"
She turned to look at him in askance.
"What do you do around here for fun?"
She smirked at the playful look on his face, wondering what he was up to.
"There's not much in town here. Far too small. But…"
His look turned challenging as she got more sneaky.
"… I have set up a portkey to Mildura"
Her smirk looked thoroughly wicked. She had the afternoon free of classes, and there was no marking to be done that couldn't wait for tomorrow. They could go to Mildura and wander around town together catching up all day if they liked, mingling with muggles the way many magical people refuse to. They could get ice cream because the weather was hot and dry, and hear the latest muggle chart toppers on the radio of the shops. They were so alike in that way; seeking out the patterns of their past just to feel connected to it again. After discussing all the different ways their lives had intermingled, it seemed fitting.
"Wanna play hooky with me and go see a movie?" he asked, his look equally conspiratorial.
"I've never been" she said honestly, maybe even sheepishly.
"To the movies?"
"No"
"Ever?"
She watched to see if her hackles would rise, and they did a little. But she calmed herself in an instant; he didn't mean anything by it and anyway, she was the one suggesting they go to Mildura for a day. Maybe it was a little ridiculous that she'd never once been to a movie, but then again, he seemed to understand her better than most. So instead she shook her head to say no, she hadn't, but yes, she'd like to.
"Well then, that's a must" he said, and stood abruptly like he couldn't wait to be her first movie date.
She stood too, grabbing up her handbag, and they thanked the woman behind the counter as they made their way outside.
"Lead the way" he said, gesturing her forward with his arm. She smiled, and instead placed her hand in the crook of his elbow.
They both startled. It was the closest they had ever been to one another, both in proximity and implication. She tried desperately not to blush as she turned them towards the old Coke bottle she had hidden behind a tree out the back of the service station, the two of them smiling. It felt like the old days, when they would sit with their heads together and run through problems, only this was closer, and nicer, and felt full of something… more. Or the potential for more.
It was good to see each other again.