Chapter 3
"Amaryllis…?" Reid was shocked, as was the rest of the group.
"Oh, you know each other?" Dumbledore questioned, Amaryllis could swear she saw his eyes twinkle.
Reid hesitated "Yes, I have known her for some months now. The others were introduced right before we came"
Gideon spoke up "I wasn't, but I know who you are. I met your parents last time I was here. They're good people," she stiffened; the agents were still a bit shocked and so they didn't notice "you look a lot like your father, but you have…"
"My mother's eyes, yes, I know" Amaryllis finished; the tension in the room could be scooped up with a spoon.
"You were just a baby then, I remember your parents brought you to a meeting to show off their little girl." Gideon recalled. She smiled at the thought.
"Gideon..." Spencer started, but hesitated to continue. Gideon and the other agents turned to him, questioningly.
It was Amaryllis who answered their unasked question. "My parents have both passed on, Agent Gideon."
Gideon's face fell "Oh...I am sorry...for you loss."
Amaryllis simply nodded in acknowledgment.
"I think you should start right away, Amaryllis. You have given your report to the Order; someone can fill you in on the rest later." Dumbledore said with a tone of finality.
"Of course, Albus, thank you." Amaryllis nodded her head to the Order, then turned to the FBI agents, "Come, I know where we can go to talk."
She turned and led the agents back down the stairs. Reid was still frozen in shock; Morgan gave him a slight nudge.
"I guess you didn't know her as well as I thought you did" Morgan whispered.
"Guess not" Reid replied.
"Do you wish a moment with your team, Agent Hotchner, it seems there are things that should be discussed" Amaryllis looked right at Morgan when she said the second part.
"Yes, that would be helpful, thank you, Ms. Potter."
She simply nodded and opened a door to an empty classroom. "I will be out here when you are ready."
The team quickly entered the classroom and shut the door.
"What is going on?" Gideon asked. "Reid how do you know Ms. Potter?"
"Do you remember I went to that weekend convention on Old English Literature?"
"Yes, you didn't talked about anything else for the week before and after" JJ pointed out.
"I met her there; she had flown to the U.S., because of the main speaker. We met at the opening luncheon and became fast friends. After it was over, we exchanged email and phone numbers, and have been in contact ever since. This is the first time seeing her in person since the convention."
"She never told you she was a witch" Garcia asked.
"Never, she said she was a professor of ancient languages at a school for gifted children. I thought she meant smart."
Hotch came to a decision "Reid, I know this will be awkward but right now we need to concentrate. You will have to talk to her about some other time, but soon, alright"
"Yes sir, I understand, don't worry."
They went back out and Amaryllis was standing patiently with her hands folded.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, please tell us what you know" Gideon quickly got on track as they continued through the halls and outside.
"The last victim of Voldemort was actually a small family, a husband, wife and small child, barely a year old" The team all paused, family victims were always the worst.
"Are there pictures or somehow for us to know exactly what happened? We learn a lot about the killer when we know how they kill." Prentiss really didn't want to see what happened but knew it was needed.
"Alright, but you must listen to the end, no interruptions, please save all questions till after…agreed"
"Agreed." Hotch answered.
"Halloween night, muggle kids were running around in there ghost and goblin costumes. A black cloaked figure walked among them unnoticed, heading towards a small cottage that no one else could see. He blasted down the door. The father, who had been holding the baby, quickly handed her off to his wife, telling her to run while he held Voldemort off. The duel between the two men didn't last long; the father was just in the way and held no interest for Voldemort." Amaryllis paused.
The group had been walking across the lawn as Amaryllis told the story, the few students still outside watching them intently. As she paused they reached a grove of trees and a gate. She quickly unlocked it and the group entered. It was a cemetery. Amaryllis conjured a bouquet of lilies.
"This is where our heroes are laid to rest" She explained
"Like Arlington" JJ compared.
"Yes, much like that" The witch conceded.
"Please continue" Hotch turned the conversation back to the case.
"Yes, of course, I apologize. After one or two spells the father was dead on the floor. Murdered by the Avada Kedavra curse, it kills instantly, leaves no mark, has no counter-curse, and no shield can block it. Voldemort climbed the stairs. Anti- apparition and portkey wards had been in place since he entered the home and his followers were outside. There was no way out for the mother and child. He found them in the nursery. The baby was in the crib with her mother standing in front of her. The mother was a proud woman, but to save her child she would do anything. So, she begged, begged for her daughter's life. Voldemort gave her a choice; stay where she was and die, or stand aside and walk out alive and free." Amaryllis paused again, tearing up.
The group waited as they continued to walk past the gravestones of the fallen.
They stopped walking. "She never moved," Amaryllis stared off into the distance, as if she could see something there. "and with two words, she fell to the floor" Amaryllis turned to face the FBI agents and looked them straight in the eyes as she finished.
"Only the baby was left, she looked up at the wooden stick pointed at her then down to her mother. She didn't understand and expected her mother to pop up and sing her to sleep. But the voice she heard was that of a monster, he laughed and for the third time that night uttered the killing curse. In a flash of green light, it was all over and three bodies lay still" She seemed to finish, but before one of the agents could ask anything, she kept going "but not the three you think. The parents were dead yes, but the third was Voldemort himself, and he was nothing more than a pile of dust" A look of pure shock came over every agents face.
"No one knows exactly how it happened. All anybody knows is that the curse bounced off the child and hit the murderer. He was in shock as he saw it turn that he had no time to dodge. Somehow the rebounded curse was stronger, and his body was destroyed. That is why he disappeared that night, not to be seen for almost 14 years. Most wizards believed him dead."
The group was silent
"What… no questions?" Amaryllis was slightly amused.
"You never told us their names" Gideon looked at her, clearly shaken by the tale.
"We are at their graves" She answered as she laid the flowers down onto the stone.
The team looked down and gasped. There on the cold stone it was written:
James Potter Lily Potter
Born 27 March 1960 Born 30 January 1960
Died 31 October 1981 Died 31 October 1981
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death"
Amaryllis reached up to her forehead with a handkerchief.
" 'Lis, wha…?" Spencer started but couldn't finish. The team all look at her, with disbelief on their faces.
She wipes at her forehead, just above her right eye. "Yes, Spencer, I am the only person in the world to survive the killing curse, and all I have is a scar and my parents' gravestone to show for it"
She held her bangs back and in the fading sunlight the team saw a lightning bolt scar on her forehead.
"I apologize for not saying something in Albus' office earlier, Agent Gideon."
"There is nothing to forgive, Miss Potter. That is why Dumbledore suggested you, isn't it?" Gideon questioned.
"I believe so; I was witness to both the instances you are asking about"
"Both… you witnessed his return as well"
"Yes, I will hurry to tell you, dinner will be starting soon, and as a teacher I should be there" the group started back to the castle.
"I was fourteen; it was my fourth year at school. At the welcoming feast we found out that there was going to be a tournament held at our school. The Triwizard tournament; three schools of magic each putting up a champion to compete for money and eternal glory. The other two schools arrived and the choosing of champions began. The Goblet of Fire is an impartial judge, all you had to do was put your name and school on a piece of paper and put it in the goblet. There was one condition; you had to be 17 to enter."
"That night I considered trying to fool the goblet; I always enjoy some competition." She smiled "But by the morning I had decided it wasn't worth dying for, and people had died in the competition before. On Halloween the champions were chosen, three names came out of the cup, but before the feast could start, the goblet activated again, and another name came out."
"You can probably already guess that it was mine" She was right, no one was surprised "I didn't understand how it happened. Someone was able to confound the cup into thinking there was four schools, and since I was the only one to be entered under the fourth school, I was chosen. Because my name came out, I was bound by magic to compete. The first two tasks passed without too much incident. It is the third that will be ingrained in the minds of all who were there. The other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, and I formed a sort of alliance; we gave each other help throughout the competition. It helped us get closer and soon to the surprise of most of the school we were a couple. But it was still a competition and we both wanted to win, so when the third task came we put our outside feelings aside," she smiled "at least we tried to."
"To win you had to be the first to reach the center of the maze, where the Cup was. Both of us ended up saving each other in the maze. We reached the center at the same time and had an argument about who should take it; I tried to convince him that he deserved it more, while he did the same to me. I was the one who suggested we take it at the same time."
"We grabbed it, and were transported to a graveyard. No one had said anything about the cup being a portkey. We tried to find out where we were, thinking it was part of the task. That is when we heard a sick voice say 'A spare, too bad we only need the one.' And in a flash of green light before I could do anything, Cedric was dead."
"Voldemort had found a way to make a temporary body, and they were there that night to give him a permanent one. They, being the sickening body of Voldemort and one of his followers. His follower took a bone from a grave nearby, saying 'the bone of the father will revive the son'. He then cut off his own hand, saying 'flesh of the servant will revive the master.'" She choked on the next part "I am sorry, this is harder than I thought" She took some deep breaths and continued. "last he took a knife and cut my arm" She raised her sleeve to show the scar "Two drops of my blood went into a cauldron, with the other to things, as he said 'blood of the enemy, you will resurrect your foe'. After that he plunged the body into the cauldron. It frothed and out came a full and healthy Voldemort, ready to begin his rampage once more."
"How did you get out alive, did the spell rebound again" Prentiss asked.
"No, we dueled, but our wands have cores from the same magical being." She showed them her wand "It makes them brothers and they don't like fighting each other. When we fired spells at the same time, our wands connected with what seemed like a golden thread, there was a bead that travelled along the length. I didn't know what is was, but I knew I couldn't let it touch my wand, so I concentrated and used my will to force it to Voldemort's. At least that is what I am guessing all I know is that it didn't touch mine, I don't know exactly how. Anyway, when the bead and wand connected, you saw the last spells that wand performed. First the torture spells that he used on me came, and then the killing curses. First a ghostly form of Cedric appeared, next an old man, then a young woman. These two weren't killed by Voldemort but a follower used his wand. The next to come out…" She couldn't say it.
"Was your mother" Gideon provided "followed by your father, I would imagine"
"Yes, thank you. They walked around us and at the right moment, I broke the connection and they were able to remain long enough to distract Voldemort while I grabbed Cedric's body and the cup. The cup took me back to the school and the rest is chaos."
"Did you learn who put your name in the goblet?" Morgan asked.
"Yes, a Death Eater, named Barty Crouch Jr, disguised as a teacher. I realize that there will be more questions, but dinner won't wait. You are guests and will be seated with the teachers. I will take you to your rooms afterward" Amaryllis quickly climbed the front steps, the group just barely made it inside before the doors slammed shut, causing some agents to jump slightly.
"Sorry, I forgot they did that." She said without looking back, she led them through the Entrance Hall into dinner, "Welcome to the Great Hall."
The hall turned silent as the group traveled to the head table. Dumbledore stood up and spoke.
"These are the guests I told you about this morning, and if you weren't at breakfast I am sure that the fact, that muggles are now in Hogwarts, have reached your ears, but it is likely my warning has not been so far reaching, so I will say it again. This school has zero tolerance for discrimination against any being, especially those of non-magical heritage and I am sure by now you know the punishments for such actions. These are good, talented and intelligent people, who deserve our respect, remember that." He sat down.
By this time the group had reached their table and sat down. They quickly began to eat, asking every once in a while what a particular dish was.
A stern looking professor turned to them "I must ask how exactly you plan on helping us?"
"Severus, play nice" Amaryllis warned.
"No Miss Potter, it is a valid question" Gideon said.
"We use victimology and past events to narrow down a list of suspects and predict what they will do next" Reid quickly explained in plain terms.
"I didn't ask what you would do, I asked how you would help" Severus Snape sneered, Amaryllis stiffened.
"I don't understand" Reid replied.
"Of course you don't. We don't need you to narrow down a list of suspects, for we already know who Voldemort is, and as for his next moves, our spies handle that" Severus turned away as soon as he was done speaking.
"Severus, we all know your position on bringing them here but like it or not, they are here, and you will be corporative." Dumbledore stated. Severus turned to him and nodded so slightly that you would have missed it if you blinked.
The rest of the meal passed quickly and mostly silent. Amaryllis remained tense, until Severus Snape left the hall. The team turned to her.
"You know who he is?" Reid questioned.
"Yes, I found out about 2 years before he returned" She wouldn't look at them when she answered. She was about to continue when Dumbledore jumped into the conversation.
"I think that enough has been discussed for today, Amaryllis, our guests have had a long flight. And I believe that they should try and get used to our time zone as soon as possible, don't you" He smiled and his eyes twinkled. Amaryllis looked at him and nodded, before she turned to the agents, they could tell she was slightly relieved.
"We can get Ms Garcia hooked-up up to our network and the search on him can be running while you rest"
"Ooo, goody" Garcia was happy that she finally got to help.
Amaryllis smiled and dessert appeared, "Oh, you all have to try this, it is my favorite." She reached for the platter and had all of them take one.
"What is it?" Morgan wondered. "I won't tell you till you've tried it," she answered with a smile; "Agent Gideon, don't spoil it" the agent laughed and happily bit into the treat.
The rest of the team was heartened by his reaction and all tried it. Not all of them would try it ever again.
"Well none of you spat it out, but I can tell by the looks on the faces of Agents' Morgan, Jareau and Rossi that they don't enjoy it much. Don't worry you too, you don't have to finish it" Amaryllis laughed as they proceeded to use their napkins to politely take what was in their mouths out.
"Gah… sorry, but what are they" JJ choked out.
Still chuckling a little Professor Potter answered "The bottom is similar to pie crust, but the top is a mix of newt blood, crushed pixie wings, and a smidgen of honey"
Hotch, Reid, Garcia and Prentiss all choked, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi stared in shock, while Gideon was laughing so hard he was almost crying and he was quickly joined by Amaryllis and the rest of the professors.
"Oh my goodness" Gideon said once he got control of himself "you should see your faces"
The rest of the agents looked him as if he had gone mad.
Still giggling, Amaryllis explained "Sorry, I couldn't help it. They are treacle tarts, nothing vile"
The agents all shared a laugh, and they finished their desserts.
"You have your father's sense of humor, Ms. Potter. He did the same thing to me on my first visit here. He and his friend, Sirius Black, I believe, had a good laugh over it. It was nice to be on the other side this time" Gideon spoke to her as they walked to halls of the castle, heading towards the teacher and guest quarters.
Amaryllis laughed, "I can imagine"
"Where is Sirius Black, we had a chess game we never finished?" he asked, part of him didn't want to know.
She paused in walking in order to face him fully "He is dead. He was killed about one year after Voldemort's resurrection" her voice was stiff, and she started walking again.
"Oh, I am sorry. It seems more people are gone then I realized at first" Gideon was tempted to start asking about specific people, but didn't want to drudge up any sad feelings needlessly.
"Do not worry, in times like these, one gets used to talking about unpleasant subjects" She smiled and something in her eyes told him she knew exactly why he became so silent.
"But even if we do not mind unpleasant things, it is better to talk of lighter things. So, what can we talk about that isn't so serious" Amaryllis asked hoping that they could ease they could ease the tension.
"Well," Garcia started, "what do you teach here, Ms. Potter"
"First, I must insist on you all calling me Amaryllis. Ms. Potter makes me sound a lot older than I am" She chuckled and the agents all nodded, some with very open smiles.
"I teach Ancient Runes. It was the common way of writing before the Germanic languages made it to our shores. So many ancient texts are written purely in runes. They are still used today for spell work, but you would be hard pressed to find someone, today, who could write a paper, let alone a book fully in runes" She explained they could see the joy in her eyes as she explained. 'That is the same look that Reid gets when he talks about physics, history, math, philosophy, and … well anything really' Rossi thought with a smile.
"Sometimes I help with the Muggle Studies class as well. We are trying to help the students understand what muggles are really like. It would shock you how many purebloods come into the class believing that muggles have horns, or tails, or anything else that older siblings could come up with" She said this with an amused air, but you could tell that she was bothered by it.
"As long as you set them straight, there shouldn't be any harm" JJ was trying to encourage the witch.
"Yes, the problem is that Muggle Studies isn't a required course. We have been trying for years to make it one, but the School Governors don't believe it necessary" Amaryllis got a little heated but was able to keep her tone even.
"What about…" but whatever Hotch was going to say was lost when they heard what sounded like a small child yell.
"Mistress Amaryllis!"
The agents looked down and were shock at what they saw. Of everything that they had been told and had seen today, this took the cake. A small creature barely over 2 feet tall was rushing up to them, having come out of a portrait a few seconds before. It had big bat-like ears and eyes as big as a man's fist.
"Dobby…what is wrong?"
"It be the young miss, she refuses to gets in bed. Dobby and Winky trys everything, she not listening" the small elf-like creature was clearly distraught.
Amaryllis turned to them and asked "Would you mind a detour, it shouldn't take too long. Dobby here can show you the rest of the way to your rooms if you wish"
"Is Saxony okay?" Reid was more worried than he thought he would have been.
"Yes, but I do have to check on her" It wasn't hard to see that she was anxious.
"Lead the way, we are in no rush" Hotch understood the fear of a parent for their child.
She turned and quickly started towards the still open portrait, the agents were quick to follow her. 'She has a daughter, and Reid knew, how cute' Garcia was excited, she loved children.
The agents entered the suite and the door swung closed behind them. They looked around; they were obviously in a parlor of some sort. It was tastefully decorated, with a combination of soft and bold tones that surprisingly meshed really well together. They heard Amaryllis talking in a separate room
"Winky, can you get our guests some tea or something, please"
Another creature like Dobby, dressed as he was, in a maid type uniform with three family crests on it, appeared carrying a tray filled with tea and biscuits. She set it down on a table in front of the fire.
"Misters and Misses may be sitting; Mistress Amaryllis wants yous to be comfortable. The pot refills, that it does. Call Winky if yous be needing anythings" with that she disappeared into thin air.
The agents settled down on the couch and overstuffed chairs surrounding the fire. They heard a small voice some from the room they had heard Amaryllis in before.
"Mum, I am scared"
"Saxony, no one can hurt you here, I promi…"
"NO! She said she would come back to get me" Amaryllis was cut off by the girl's cry as she escaped the room, only to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of strangers in front of the fire. She stood there and stared at them with wide eyes.
"Saxony, please" Amaryllis was trying to keep the girl calm; she saw the staring contest between the agents and her daughter.
"Saxony, these are the guests that I told you were coming to Hogwarts today, do you remember" She bent down to pick the girl up as the agents stood.
"You know Spencer already; remember he showed you magic tricks." Amaryllis walked so she was in front of Reid, Gideon and JJ who had been on the couch.
Saxony giggled "From the computer"
"That's right. Maybe I can show you some more later, okay" Spencer smiled, as did Amaryllis, while the others shot each other knowing looks. They had had a feeling from the beginning that there was something going on, at least there would be in the future, between their teammate and the British woman.
"This is Jason and JJ, Saxony, and there is Aaron, Derek, Emily, David, and Penelope, they work with Spencer"
Garcia quickly captured the girls attention "Hey, munchkin, you're Saxony, right, pleased to meet you" she put her hand out.
"Yes, Saxony Ann Weasley" Saxony proudly proclaimed her name as she gripped Garcia's hand.
AN: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, they honestly kept me motivated to keep writing. At the risk of angering someone, I have to mention that I am really sensitive to swear words, so if you could keep them out of your reviews I would appreciate it. I am not mad at anyone and will except constructive criticism, but, just keep it clean please. If any of you have questions, feel free to ask, and I will respond at though PMs.
Edited 8/22/2015
