August 1998

Ginny followed her mother as they exited the taxi and headed into an office building. It had been almost an hour since they had discovered the circlet was turned around. Ginny had watched her mother with pride and a bit of awe as she made arrangements. They'd stepped into the ladies room whilst Molly sent three Patronus messages out. To Ginny's amazement, her mother then used the public telephone to make other arrangements. She'd never realized her mother knew how to use the telephone.

Seeing the look on her daughter's face, Molly smiled. "I've been planning this for years. Or at least I've been thinking about what to do in this case."

"Where are we?" Ginny asked as they headed into the office building.

"This is a law firm," Molly explained. "Mr Slater is a Squib and works with both the wizarding and the Muggle world. Your uncles, Fabian and Gideon, left some information for me after their death and entrusted Mr Slater with the responsibility of guarding it for me. It is now time for me to share that information. Mr Slater will set us up in conference room so you can look over the documentation and we can plan what we need to do."

"We?"

Molly nodded. "The two of us and Bill and Harry."

"Harry?"

Molly nodded. "I believe he will be important in helping us. I will explain once they arrive."

It was only a few moments before Harry and Bill stepped off the lift. Bill had obviously changed out of his work robes as he was wearing a pair of nice trousers and a button up shirt and tie. Ginny thought he fit in well with the other young professionals they'd seen. Harry was dressed in jeans and a collared shirt. Ginny thought he just looked sexy.

He smiled when he saw her. Walking to her side, he took her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Molly smiled at the young couple.

"Let's go inside."

In short order they were ensconced in a conference room. Mr Slater had brought them the box Molly had examined so many years earlier. At Molly's request, he'd provided them with several legal pads and pens as well as a tea tray complete with little cakes.

Once Mr Slater left them alone, Molly stood up. "I have a long story to tell you and it can be a bit confusing. I asked for the legal pads so you can take notes if you need to. When I first learned the story, I had to write it all out so it made sense to me. I ask that you wait to ask any questions until I am finished."

The other three promised to do as she asked. Molly was pleased to see that each of them was taking it seriously. Taking a deep breath, she mentally reviewed what she was going to tell them.

"Many years ago, the Prewett family made a vow to help their liege lord. In basic terms, there was a Dark witch who used a combination of spells and potions to change the course of history. She was determined to put her progeny on the throne of England and even consulted a seer. The seer told her she would succeed in her quest, but there was a price to pay. One of her descendants would be doomed to a cursed life never to know love and turn to evil, possibly destroying magical Britain. While the Dark witch was not concerned with such a distant problem, the seer was very concerned and eventually found my ancestor, Josiah Prewett, and shared the information with him. The pair searched for a way to prevent this event from coming true.

"They didn't leave many details on how they did this, but they did discover a way to prevent it from coming true. They placed a powerful charm on a golden crown. When the descendent is born, the crown must be placed on the child's head. That should break the curse."

"That is our task?" Ginny asked.

Molly nodded. "A prophecy was made that described those who would complete this task. It said 'At the end of the millennium, the Chosen Champion would assist the loyal family after felling the Dark Lord. The child's pending birth will be heralded by the appearance of the Plantagenet lions. The task must be completed within the year of the lions appearance.'

Harry groaned softly. Ginny smiled and kissed him on the cheek while Bill chuckled. Molly smiled gently. "I am sorry that you are being drawn into this, but the House of Prewett would be most grateful for your assistance."

"I don't mind helping," Harry protested, "I'm just tired of being mentioned in prophecies."

"I understand, dear," Molly replied. "It is rather disconcerting to think that our actions are being directed, but I look at it as we are being given help in our task. Imagine if we were to play an important part, but weren't given any hint that it was our duty."

Harry wanted to protest, but he had to admit that knowing the prophecy had at times given him the impetus to carry on over the past year. He nodded slowly. "I hadn't really thought of it that way." A thought crossed his mind. "Voldemort did not know love and he attempted to destroy magical Britain."

Molly nodded. "That thought has haunted me, that we missed our chance. When Albus was talking to us one night after a meeting about how Riddle was brought up without love and how important it was that you did not meet the same fate, I will admit I panicked a bit. I came here the next day and reread all of the documents. In the way of magic, there is a Muggle family of Gaunt associated with this story, but it does not intermarry with the wizarding branch of the family. I investigated the Ministry's genealogy database. To my relief, I discovered that the magical Gaunt family was descended from Slytherin. I was able to trace his ancestry down the generations and confirmed that the Gaunts were true pure-bloods. During the time period in question, there was no marriage or other connection between the two families."

Bill frowned as he thought over what she'd said so far. "So what family was involved?"

"This is where it gets a bit complicated. I am going to start with some background information."

The three nodded as Molly waved her wand and an image appeared on the wall. It was a detailed family tree. With another wave of her wand, the image zoomed to the top of tree. Ginny recognized it as that of the House of Plantagenet – the royal house before the infamous Tudors.

"Have you heard of the Wars of the Roses?" Molly asked.

Bill shook his head, but Ginny and Harry nodded. Harry spoke up. "I remember the white rose and red rose and the Houses of York and Lancaster, but I don't remember any details."

Molly smiled. "I didn't even know that much when I started. The Wars of the Roses were a series of battles over control of the throne of England between two different descendants of King Edward III. The two houses, the Lancasters and the Yorks, were descendants from two different sons of Edward III. The throne of England went back and forth between the two families for almost seventy years."

As she spoke, she traced the family tree and highlighted the important family members. She traced the monarchy as it skipped from one branch of the family to the other.

"When was this?" Bill asked as he made notes.

"The fifteenth century," Molly explained. Bill nodded and Molly continued. "As you can see, the House of Lancaster is descended from one of Edward III's sons and the House of York is descended from another so everyone involved is related in some fashion.

"King Edward IV was a Yorkist king who deposed the Lancastrian King Henry VI in 1461. He ruled for the next ten years until Henry VI briefly took back the throne and exiled Edward. Edward and his brother, Richard, overthrew Henry within the year and Henry died shortly thereafter.

"Edward ruled for another ten years before he died suddenly at a relatively young age. His son and heir, Edward V, was only twelve years old so according his father's wishes his Uncle Richard was appointed Protectorate to watch over the young king. That didn't happen; instead, Edward's brother, Richard, assumed the throne and became King Richard III."

"Richard III? Isn't he the one who killed his nephews? The princes in the tower?" Harry asked.

"That is the one," Molly agreed. "This is where the story gets complicated. Richard III took the throne because he discovered information that indicated Edward's marriage was invalid and therefore his children were illegitimate and ineligible to rule. I've discovered that many Muggle historians disbelieve this story. Many Muggles believe that Richard murdered his nephews so he could become king, but that is not actually what happened.

"When Edward was a young man, he had a pre-contract with a young woman named Lady Eleanor Butler."

"A pre-contract?" Bill asked.

"In medieval times, a pre-contract or saying 'I will marry you' was the same in the eyes of the law as saying 'I do marry you.' In other words, Edward married this young woman presumably to have his way with her," Molly explained. "A Bishop Stillington supposedly witnessed the ceremony and was sworn to secrecy. Coincidentally, this Bishop was rewarded by Edward and given many honours. Eleanor Butler was never acknowledged as Edward's wife and no one knew they'd had this pre-contract.

"Several years later, Edward married a Dark witch named Elizabeth Grey nèe Woodville. The marriage was irregular from the start as the king married her in secret and the marriage was not revealed for a full year. Lady Woodville was a Lancastrian widow with two small children when she married the king. Her marriage elevated her entire family to prominence – the Rivers, the Greys, and the Woodvilles. All of her thirteen siblings married advantageously and upset many of the established families."

"Were they all witches or wizards?" Ginny asked as she looked up from the notes she was making.

Molly shook her head. "Some of them were, but most of them were not. Only one Rivers attended Hogwarts and two Woodvilles attended Beauxbatons. Elizabeth did not attend any wizarding school."

"So how is our family involved?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Josiah Prewett was in service to Richard, the Duke of Gloucester who later became Richard III. At the request of the Duke, Josiah was able to confirm the story of the pre-contract and even obtained a memory from the Bishop. He then investigated the marriage of Elizabeth and Edward and discovered the use of love potions and semi-dark enchantment spells. With the death of Edward, Elizabeth was going to lose her prominence. Josiah speculates that Edward became suspicious of her because he asked his brother to be Edward's Protectorate, cutting out Elizabeth's large family.

"When she realized she was losing control after Edward's death, she had her brother, Anthony Woodville, and her son, Richard Grey, accompany young Edward and his younger brother, Richard, to London. Richard joined them and learned they planned to kill him so the Woodvilles wouldn't lose their position and prestige. Richard had them executed instead. When he arrived in London with the young boy, he was given the proof of his nephews' illegitimacy. He had them placed in the Tower of London for their own safety. A document called the Titulus Regius was introduced to Parliament that outlined the pre-contract and illegitimacy of Edward's children. He was then crowned king."

"He placed them in a prison for their own safety?" Harry asked in disbelief.

Molly laughed. "Apparently, the Tower was used as a royal residence at that time."

"So how did they die?" Bill asked.

"This is where the wizarding history differs from the Muggle history," Molly said. "Elizabeth thought her marriage would assure her family's prominence and put her child on the throne, but with Richard becoming king all of that was put in jeopardy. As long as Richard was king, her children would be illegitimate and not eligible to rule. She sought out the Lancastrian claimant to the throne, Henry Tudor. He had a very tenuous claim to the throne, but he promised to marry her oldest daughter, Elizabeth of York if she helped him overthrow Richard.

"Richard realized that Edward and his younger brother, also named Richard, could be used as figures for armies to rally around. Richard's advisors warned him that the boys could be used to depose him, but he did not wish them to come to any harm. Richard asked Josiah to protect his nephews, but it was too late. An agent of Henry's was dispatched to kill the boys and eliminate their stronger claim to the throne. Edward was killed, but Josiah managed to save Richard and smuggle him safely to Brittany."

"The younger brother survived?" Harry asked in amazement.

Molly nodded. "Two years after the two brothers supposedly died, Henry Tudor led an army to overthrow Richard. Against all odds the inexperienced young noble with no fighting experience, killed Richard, who was a hardened warrior, in battle. Henry became King Henry VII and married Elizabeth of York uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster, ending the Wars of the Roses. Because of the circumstances of his ascendance to the throne, he faced several 'pretenders' in the first years of his reign – young men claiming to be one of the young Princes, but none were."

"What happened to the other Richard?" Harry asked. He shook his head. "This is really confusing. So many of them have the same name."

"I know," Molly replied sympathetically as she sipped her tea. "Do you mean the younger Richard?"

Harry nodded.

"Richard of York was only nine years old when his father died and his brother was to become king. Richard was presumed to already be a widower as his child bride, Anne de Mowbray, was thought to have died two years before."

"What?" Ginny and Harry both yelled. Glancing at Harry, Ginny continued, "Are you saying they were married at the age of seven?"

Molly shook her head. "I was shocked as well. Actually, Anne was five and Richard was four when their marriage was performed. I discovered that it was not uncommon for those of noble blood to be married at a young age, but it was not consummated until the couple were in their early teens."

"I'm glad that tradition changed," Bill muttered. Harry nodded in agreement while Ginny still seemed too shocked to say anything.

"As I was saying," Molly continued, "In fact, Anne was a witch. After much careful thought on the part of her parents, Anne was entrusted into the care of staff of Hogwarts. It was not uncommon at the time to bring well born younger children to the school earlier than normal so their actions didn't cause comment. This was before the Trace was initiated and any accidental magic would have terrified those around them. As the wife of a son of the reigning King, she would have come under a lot of scrutiny so she was removed from society. Whilst at Hogwarts, she was informed of the events in London and the fact that Richard had survived. She was able to contact Richard and they reunited in their mid-teens and began living as husband and wife. It is their descendent that we must find."

"So we are looking for a descendant of a king?" Bill asked. "Would this have any impact on the Muggle world?"

Molly shook her head. "If it had been uncovered centuries ago it would have thrown a bombshell into the fight to rule Great Britain, but now it would not. First of all, the Monarchy is not as important, it is a ceremonial post rather than a ruling position. Secondly, the child would no longer have any claim on the Muggle throne. The Act of Settlement of 1701 settled the succession to the throne of Great Britain to be restricted to lawful non-Roman Catholic descendants of Sophia of Hanover. The Yorks as they were known were not descended of that line and they were Roman Catholic, thus ineligible for the throne. The family history had been mostly lost to the mists of time and only those with long memories recalled the rumours of being related to one of the princes of the tower."

"That doesn't help us much," Ginny grumbled as she looked over her notes. "Are there any hints as to who this family is?"

"Unfortunately not," Molly replied. "We have some clues, but it will be quite a task."

"Is it just the four of us?" Bill asked.

"Only the four of us can know all of the details," Molly replied. "I performed the family magic inheritance test once my brothers died and the two of you have the most Prewett magic."

Bill nodded his understanding. Molly continued, "I thought to ask Hermione to assist us in researching this, but she is returning to Hogwarts in a few weeks. I'm afraid it would interfere with her schooling." Looking at Harry, she asked, "What do you think?"

"She would be a great help," Harry agreed, "but she wouldn't be satisfied without the full story. As I understand it, you need to keep this a secret until the task is complete."

"You're right," Ginny said. "She is a great researcher, but she always wants to understand everything. She would want the background information."

"Wait, you said she will be returning to Hogwarts in a few weeks. So will Ginny, right?" Bill turned to look at his sister who flushed as she met his eyes.

Shaking her head, she said, "I've already talked to Mum and Dad. I'm not returning to Hogwarts next year. I still plan on taking my NEWTs, but I won't be going back to school."

Reaching out for Harry's hand, she explained, "I remembered listening to you and Charlie talking about Hogwarts and it seemed like such a wonderful place. My first year was a disaster as you know. My second year, I was trying to make the friends I wasn't able to make in my first year while the school was surrounded by Dementors. My third year was marred by the events of the Triwizard Tournaments. Umbridge ruined my fourth year. My fifth year was the only good year I've had at Hogwarts. Last year I was taught by Death Eaters for Merlin's sake.

"There was a battle fought there just a few months ago and one of our brothers died there. I don't want to go back. It will be a rebuilding year and I'm sure that many exciting things might be happening, but I just can't be there."

"You're okay with this?" Bill asked his mother incredulously.

Molly nodded sadly. "I would obviously prefer if she finished school, but with everything she's been through I won't force her to return."

Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I loved Hogwarts, it was the first place that felt like home to me, but it hasn't been that way for Ginny. We're going to take our NEWTs together."

Bill's faced softened as he looked at his sister. "I guess I can understand that. Hogwarts was such a wonderful place for me; I wish it could have been that way for you. If you need any help preparing for NEWTs let me know. I will be happy to help."

Reaching her hand across the table, Ginny squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

Looking around the room, Molly smiled. "I know I've given you a lot of information at once. What questions do you have?"

The group spent another hour asking questions and then a further hour developing plans. They'd had lunch ordered in and the conference room was looking a bit worse for wear. A platter that had held sandwiches now held only a few crumbs and there were crumpled up bits of paper and empty cups littering the table.

Molly looked around the room and her children caught the look. Obediently, they began cleaning up. Harry gathered all of their notes and burned the scraps of paper. Molly boxed up the left-over food while Bill and Ginny generally tidied up the room.

Within a few minutes, no one would have guessed the room had been in use for hours. Bill added some wards and enchantments to the papers. Some papers Molly returned to Mr Slater for safekeeping, others they took with them to study in more detail.

"Mum, I think Harry and I should go over to the museum," Bill said. "I want to see what type of security they used and what type of enchantments are on the circlet itself."

Harry glanced down at his watch. "We should have time, but we'll have to hurry."

"I'll come too," Ginny said.

Molly nodded. "That's a good idea. I'm going to stop by my brothers' gravesite. Tell them what happened."

They all walked outside. Molly headed to the cemetery while Bill, Ginny, and Harry went to the British Museum. Because they were short on time, they hurried directly to the appropriate gallery.

"It seems amazing that something so small is so important," Harry whispered as they looked over the case.

Bill laughed. "I know what you mean; it is beautifully made, though. It is Muggle made, but the workmanship would rival that of the goblins."

"The engraving is beautiful," Ginny agreed as she looped her arm through Harry's.

"The enchantments on it are very powerful," Harry said.

Bill looked over at him in confusion. "How do you know?"

Blushing, Harry admitted, "If I want to I can actually see the magic. It's very difficult in the wizarding world where there is so much magic around all the time, but it is much easier in the Muggle world. I could have followed the trail of magic from the front door."

"That is quite a handy skill," Bill commented.

"It has come in handy," Harry laughed. "It helped went we were hunting the Horcruxes."

"Can you tell if people are wizards or Muggles?" Bill asked.

The younger wizard nodded. "I can feel the magic in a person as well as objects. Professor Dumbledore worked with me on telling who someone is simply by their magic. I can do pretty well if I've met someone once."

"I think that will be helpful in our new task as well." He glanced over at the dark haired wizard. "Will this mess up your plans? Aren't you going to start Auror training?"

Harry shrugged. "No, I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I've considered becoming an Auror for years, but I'm tired of chasing Dark wizards. I talked to Kingsley and he's fine with me waiting a while." He leaned forward to look at the case. "What is this charm? It feels like a memory charm, but not exactly."

"I think it is a variant on the notice-me-not charm. If I am reading this correctly, if the crown is removed from the case by a wizard no one will remember it was ever there, but if a Muggle removes it many alarms will be set off." Bill whistled softly. "Whoever did these charms was an expert."

"They seem old," Harry mused.

Bill chuckled. "Compared to Egypt, they are quite young, but some of them are about five hundred years old. It seems to be layered with a number of charms. I'd imagine a number of generations of Prewetts added their own charms."

Harry nodded. "I can feel the magic is similar to yours and Ginny's."

"Family magic is very strong," Bill admitted. "

"Can we just take it now?" Harry asked quietly after he discretely cast the Muffliato Charm.

"I'd rather not," Bill replied. "We aren't ready to use it yet. It has been kept safe here for years, so I think the smartest thing to do would be to leave it here. Besides, there is still Muggle security on the case itself, we will have to defeat that. They might not realize what we took, but they would know the case was opened."

"I wonder how it ended up here," Harry mused. "The museum isn't that old, is it?"

Bill shook his head. "The museum opened in the middle of the sixteenth century. I don't remember exactly when, but we learned about it in our curse-breaking classes. Over the years different magical artefacts have ended up in their collection. I'm going to reach out to one of my mentors in Egypt and see what she can tell me about removing artefacts from the museum."

"I thought we can't talk about it," Harry objected.

"We can't talk about the details of our duty, but we can ask for general help," Bill explained. "That is usually the way it works. I asked Mum. We can't tell any of the family until the task is over, but if we need help we can ask outsiders as long as we don't tell them why."

The three of them explored the museum gift shop together. Bill purchased a museum guide to help familiarize himself with the building and the different galleries. If he was going to have to steal an artefact, he wanted as much information as possible.

Thoughtfully, Harry turned to Bill. "Is there a way to see the Hogwarts student lists from that time? We know at least Anne was a witch. Are their descendants? It might give us a starting place."

"That's a really good idea," Bill mused. "I know there is a process. I believe you need permission from the Headmaster or Headmistress and the Minister of Magic. You wouldn't have a problem getting permission."

"We could also search the Muggle records, but I don't really know how to do it," Harry said. He thought for a minute. "I think we can go through the library."

"You and Ginny should go to Hogwarts," Bill decided. "It will probably be faster if the two of you looked through the records."

Ginny nodded. "We could also try the Muggle records as well."

"Mum can investigate the wizarding records while I go to Egypt and talk to my mentor."

The plan set, Bill left for Shell Cottage promising to stop by the Burrow after dinner. Harry and Ginny decided to visit a nearby bookshop to see if they could find more background information. Harry especially felt behind. Ginny had read the books her mother had bought her in preparation for her task, but Harry's knowledge of the time period was very vague.


A/N: Thank you to my betas Arnel and seekers_destiny for their hard work! This chapter contains a lot of actual history which merged surprisingly well with my story. I am a bit of a history nerd, but tried to make it easily readable. Enjoy!