Raised by Four and the Philosopher's Stone
Summary: Summoning is the most dangerous of rituals. Specifically, summoning humans through time. However, there is a way to do this safely, and Dorea Potter has done so successfully. As she heals from the past and wanders towards her future, she's thrown into the limelight and forced to take up a title that she despises. The Girl-Who-Lived attends Hogwarts, only there's an unknown danger around every corner, a danger that cannot be predicted by anyone...
Warnings: Fem! Grey! Smart! Strong! Harry, Good! Founders, Ministry/Ron/Molly/Percy/Hermione bashing, minor bashing of the teachers, abuse mentioned in some of the chapters, violence, and swearing, a few OCs! You have been warned!
I HAVE UPDATED!
After about 2 years. That… I meant to update last summer, but stress and going across the globe (live in Canada, went to Germany for 2 weeks) got in the way. I'm finally figuring out how to manage all of it, so yay!
We finally get Dorea and Michaela's Hogwarts letters; and Bill's in the chapter for those who want to see Dorea and him interact! Charlie's also in it, just in case you wanted to see some Charlie and Michaela interaction as well. There is some mentions of the Royal Family here, but they'll only be mentioned. I don't know the family myself, therefore I can't just characterize them to how I want them to be. I'm just making them good people.
Also, someone asked about Michaela's (Kaya's) family. They won't miss her; they're like the Dursleys in canon in that they wanted her gone and out of their life - yes, even her biological father. He was jealous that she had the heritage that he felt he deserved, so he wanted her gone so he would be able to live his life without a reminder of his past. They just reported her to probably have run away.
Another person asked about why Dorea's bracelet didn't act up sooner. That's because the enchantments on it are very specific - the bracelet only works when the person wearing it is near death due to abuse. If they were almost killed in an accident, it wouldn't work. If they were almost killed because their guardian smashed their head against a wall, it would. Essentially, the bracelet is about defending the defenceless.
Finally, the last question: why Hermione bashing. Yes, she is a bossy-know-it-all in the first book, but she doesn't really get much better. She treats Trelawney and Luna like crap because what they believe in doesn't have a proper book to explain it, she doesn't seem to realise that someone else can be right without a book right in front of her to spell it out, and she belittles everyone for working according to how their mind works. Harry procrastinates, yes, but he gets above average grades. Hermione will go overboard for one essay, and in the real world, would get docked a lot of marks for that simply because she put in far too much information. So yeah, Hermione will be bashed, if only because I don't like her attitude towards things that aren't written and published - and even then she has complete faith of what's in the books over what's right in front of her.
In fact, we recently went over negative prejudice in my religion class, and one of the parts we covered was a prejudiced personality - worships authority, doesn't like anything ambiguous, and a determination that they are always right. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it.
There are gonna be little shorts of times between when Dorea and Michaela were adopted and when the two do get their Hogwarts letters
~O~O~O~O~O~
~O~O~O~ DOREA AND SALAZAR - AGE 4, SPRING OF 1985 ~O~O~O~
Salazar adjusted his sweater nervously, this was the first time he had entered the mundane world since he and the others had rescued Dorea and Michaela from Privet Drive. There had been what was called an "Amber Alert" on Dorea and Michaela after they went missing, but since it had been almost 2 years since anyone had heard of them, the case had been dropped. When in public, Dorea and Michaela went by their middle names, Violetta and Christine, just to be safe.
Speaking of Dorea, she was holding on tightly to Salazar's black trenchcoat, clinging to his side despite how excited she was for the parade. The parade was in London, and it had been Albus that convinced Salazar and the others to let the girls go with them. Godric had wandered off somewhere, probably searching for food, while Helga was helping a few children who had gotten some scraped knees and Rowena was taking Michaela to the bathroom.
Salazar was pulled from his thoughts when he felt Dorea tugging on his coat. Crouching down, he smiled at her.
"What is it, sweetie?" He asked. Dorea fidgeted nervously.
"C-Can I get somethin' to eat?" She asked, playing with her now shoulder-length hair. Salazar smiled and began to fix it so that it was pulled back with the violet bow - a barrette, if he remembered correctly - and not hanging in her face.
"Of course, what would you like?" Dorea's face lit up as she thought for a moment, and she gave him a toothy grin.
"Ice cream!" Salazar chuckled and, lifting Dorea by her armpits, placed her on his shoulders. She grabbed at his hair for stability, giggling madly as she did so.
"Well then, let's go find some ice cream!" Salazar cheered, Dorea squealing in delight as he took off through the crowd. As he darted between people, Salazar grinned as he heard Dorea's screams of delight. Several people sent him disapproving looks, especially since they believed him to be too young to be a responsible parent (he had been a father at 16! They believed people at that age to be children still! What was wrong with the modern world?), and the fact that their own children were asking them to do the same didn't seem to impress them at all.
Finally, the two found an ice cream stand. Salazar slowed to a walk, waiting in line with Dorea still on his shoulders. He looked up at her.
"Do you know what flavour you want?" He asked. Dorea seemed thoughtful, then grinned.
"Strawberry shortcake!" She cheered. Salazar chuckled, Dorea loved anything with strawberries in it, whereas Michaela loved anything with chocolate in it. The only time they ever agreed on a dessert was when it was chocolate covered strawberries.
When they finally got up to the counter, Salazar pulled out his wallet.
"One strawberry shortcake in a waffle cone, and one vanilla-raspberry swirl in a waffle cone please." He stated, getting out the money for when the lady working the counter would ask for it. Ringing it in, she nodded.
"That'll be £6, please." She stated, holding out a hand for the money. Salazar placed a five pound bill in her hand, and counted out one pound out of loose change. Placing the money in the register, the woman smiled up at Dorea. "She's adorable, is she your daughter?" The question took Salazar by surprise as the woman scooped their ice cream, most people didn't ask. Dorea shook her head at the woman.
"Nope, he's my uncle Sal!" She grinned, holding out her hand and taking the ice cream from the woman. She smiled kindly, but Salazar could see the confusion in her eyes.
"Oh? Where's your daddy then?" The woman meant to be polite, but she was pissing Salazar off. There was something about the look in her eyes that he did not like. Dorea, eating her ice cream, didn't notice.
"He and mummy are what Auntie Row call angels in the ground." Dorea said it so simply that the woman actually jerked back in surprise. "Auntie Row said that it means that they're always watching over me." Suddenly Dorea's eyes narrowed. "Does that mean when I'm in the bath, too? 'Cause that'd be creepy." At that Salazar nearly choked on his own ice cream, and the man behind him burst out laughing at the comment. The woman's lips twitched, but the sparkle in her eyes darkened. Finally Salazar recognised it.
She recognised Dorea.
Whether it was from the magical world or the mundane one, he didn't know. But the way that she looked at Dorea, like she was a prize that would bring her treasures untold… Salazar thanked the woman and started walking away, sending the others a message over their Runic Bracelets to get out as soon as possible.
Meeting the others wasn't as dramatic as Salazar thought it would be. There was no stalking, no police jumping out from behind corners, no weapons pointed at him with people telling him to put Dorea down and no one gets hurt. It was just a normal, though anxious, walk to where the parade was starting. Just as he saw the others, a voice sounded behind him.
"Oh wow, what a coincidence!" Salazar nearly jumped and turned. It was the woman. "I didn't think you'd be heading this way too, should we all go watch the parade together?" Salazar answered this time.
"Actually, no, we were just going to catch up with my siblings and Violetta's cousin." The woman's polite smile froze, an icy glaze in her eyes. Now he understood what was going on. He didn't recognise Dorea for Dorea, she recognised that she was dressed in expensive clothing - as was he - and she wanted in on the money that he must be getting to take care of her. But she wasn't expecting to have siblings, maybe a wife that she would "convince" him to leave. However, Salazar was merely thanking the gods that Godric looked up and waved them over in time for Salazar to escape without seeming rude.
Rolling his eyes, Salazar stood between Godric and Rowena, a very happy Dorea on his shoulders as they watched the parade.
Women.
~O~O~O~ DOREA AND MICHAELA - AGE 6, SUMMER OF 1986 ~O~O~O~
Helga was storming around, searching for Godric. Her hair was dyed bright blue, and she knew that he was the only one that was currently capable of having done such a thing, since Salazar was busy studying for his exams. Rowena was above pulling juvenile pranks, and the girls didn't know how to do such things.
What she didn't know was that Dorea and Michaela were actually responsible for her blue hair, thanks to a little thing called mundane hair dye.
As she stormed outside, she finally found the (false) source of her rage. Godric was sitting in a tree, munching on an apple and fiddling with that object called a "camera", which could take one's picture and print it out in the same few minutes. It was quite the interesting object, but not what Helga was focused on. Pulling out her wand - Ollivander had been overjoyed to discover that the wands that had been hidden in the back of his shop had finally "chosen" their owners. In reality the four of them had just gotten their wands back, and in perfect condition at that - she cast the Body Bind Curse on him, watching him fall on his back and onto the ground. She stormed out, her wand still pointed at her brother.
"Godric," she sang in a dark, warning tone. Godric's eyes bugged in shock, and Helga unbound his head enough so that he would be able to respond, but not enough for him to fight back. "I found you... Now undo this BLASTED CURSE!" She screamed, indicating to her hair. If Godric weren't so terrified of Helga cursing his genitals off, he would have been laughing at the sight of his sister with bright blue hair.
"Helga, honest, as much as I love the colour -" Godric began to speak faster as Helga's wand pointed to his crotch, just as he predicted it would. "- Iswearonallthatisholyandeternal-thatIhadnothingtodowiththis!" Helga blinked, letting Godric's vow sink in, then removed the curse she placed on him with a scowl. Godric was many things, but a liar was not among them, so if he swore that he didn't do this to her hair, then he didn't do it, end of story. Which meant that the prank had to have been done by Salazar.
Helga stormed off back into the manor, Godric on her heels to try and calm her down before she murdered someone "by accident" - it had happened before, none of them liked to talk about that instant. As such, when the two were re-entering the manor, the first thing they heard was a small, almost silent giggle coming from the kitchen, followed by a quiet shushing noise, and more giggles. The two adults exchanged looks as they tried to think about what could be in the kitchen - lunch was set out to be made, there was some bread and butter in case Dorea and Michaela wanted some and they couldn't find anyone to help them, oh, and the cookies that Helga and Rowena made just an hour ago.
... Cookies...?
The two darted into the kitchen, only to stare at the counter where the cookies had been cooling. The racks were empty of everything but the towels that the cookies had been resting on. Helga groaned, running her hands through her blue hair. How the hell was she going to explain to Rowena just as to why Dorea and Michaela got their hands on cookies without having to worry about being hexed halfway to Yule and back?
Godric, on the other hand, was trying not to chuckle. He was looking at the counter next to them, and was honestly proud of what he saw. Dorea and Michaela had made a makeshift ladder out of random objects - a chair, the toaster, they had shifted around items in the cupboards so that they could climb up the shelves, and then they shifted objects around so that they could wander around on top of the cupboards, just like little birds. Looking around, he saw the two of them on top of the fridge, chocolate surrounding their faces, their eyes wide like some deer caught in headlights. Biting his lip so as not burst out laughing, he nudged Helga so as to catch her attention. Once she turned to him, he gently pointed up to where the two girls were sitting.
Needless to say, when Rowena and Salazar arrived in the kitchen, the last thing they were expecting to see was Helga with bright blue hair and Godric rolling around on the floor, laughing at the fact that they were outsmarted by two 6 year olds.
~O~O~O~ AGE 8, 1989 ~O~O~O~
Salazar took Dorea and Michaela down into the Potions lab, complete with several work stations, ventilation, and reinforced walls for in case something exploded. Knowing Dorea's knack for pyrotechnics, something probably would. The two girls were wearing fireproof robes, their long hair was pinned up and in a bun, and for the sake of things they were both wearing safety glasses. Salazar didn't want to take any chances with the two of them.
Setting them down at their workstation - he decided that they would be working together under his watch, hopefully it would prevent too much damage - he placed the pewter cauldron (the cheapest and one that wouldn't be missed if it was destroyed, he hated pewter cauldrons oh-so-much) in front of the two of them, over the newt flame, the magical equivalent of a bunsen burner. Since the newt flame wouldn't burn the girls unless they touched the actual flame, he figured that it would be safe.
He was very, very wrong.
Salazar had literally turned his back for a moment - just a moment - when he heard the hissing. As he turned slowly to see what it was, the explosion happened. Coughing at the smoke, Salazar sent a gust of wind through the lab and looked at the damage. The cauldron was stuck in the ceiling, with pieces of drywall falling down around it. Dorea and Michaela both had comical black gunk stuck to their faces and hair, with clean lines showing where the safety goggles had been. They were staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. Salazar stared back.
"How the bloody hell did the two of you make water explode?!"
~O~O~O~ DOREA AND BILL, AGE 9, DECEMBER OF 1989 ~O~O~O~
Dorea was dashing through the halls, giggling like a madwoman as she dodged statues, the occasional house elf, people visiting from the nearby town, all to get away from Michaela and Charlie. The two had been talking about animals when she and Bill had dumped balloons filled with chocolate sauce and feathers on them. They had split up once Charlie and Michaela started chasing them, Bill heading upstairs while Dorea went through the more crowded areas of the manor.
Coming to the grand staircase, Dorea jumped on the railing and slid down, causing Michaela to scream in rage because both of them knew that if Michaela did that the way she was now, Helga would have her hide tanned and made into that leather couch that she wanted so badly. Cackling, Dorea darted off down the hidden hallways, which exited right in front of where Bill was running from Charlie. Since she had darted out in front of him, Bill scooped up the small girl and continued dashing through the halls, eventually making it to the library. Spelling the doors shut and setting a basic ward to keep Charlie and Michaela out, he set Dorea down on a table and relaxed in one of the squishy chairs that Rowena kept around.
Dorea continued to giggle, even as the dark skinned witch made her way into the library. Her eyebrows were narrowed, but her eyes themselves glittered with amusement. She had recently been talking to Bill about the Ancient Egyptians - the only reason she knew of their history and magic was because her father had been Egyptian himself, providing her with countless pieces of material from the country to study while in her tower. Rowena, as she entered the library, raised an eyebrow and looked at the two giddy misfits.
"Would you two being here have anything to do with Michaela and Charlie being covered in what smells like chocolate?"she inquired. Dorea nodded before she could stop herself, and Rowena sighed. "So long as Helga doesn't flay them for making a mess and they can get cleaned off, you can stay here. The gods only know what chaos will happen if you run outside again."
Dorea and Bill ended up spending the entire day helping Rowena organise the library again. According to the others, it was considered their punishment - Rowena kept silent on the fact that the two children enjoyed helping her.
~O~O~O~ DOREA AND MICHAELA, AGE 10/11, LATE MAY OF 1991 ~O~O~O~
Almost 8 years had passed since Dorea and Michaela were taken in by the Founders. Albus, now known as Granddad Al to the two girls, visited as often as he could and taught Dorea how to control her temper and magic as much as he could. Lizzie and her apprentice, Bill Weasley would often visit, with Bill commonly telling stories of Lily and James Potter and Dorea when she was a baby. He hadn't been surprised to find out about Dorea's affinity, or that she had a Ground Mate from a young age, but the fact that she was the technical heiress to the four founders had shocked him greatly. He was sworn to secrecy, of course, as was his younger brother, Charlie. Michaela and Charlie were like two peas of a pod, especially when it came to animals.
As it turned out, Michaela was the Halfling of an Elvish Tamer Clan in southern France. Her grandparents had felt the shift in family magic when Michaela had abandoned the family name, and had been searching for her in the magical and mundane worlds since. Galandriel and Elront got along wonderfully with the Founders, and were pleased that Michaela had people that she was so close to. They taught her to control her Life affinity and her Elvish magick, as well as how to contain her Beast Speech abilities. Michaela now had near perfect control of her abilities, which greatly aided in teaching Dorea how to control her abilities as well as her emotions. It used to be that whenever either girl got angry, they would completely lose control of their magic, but now if they got angry they would only show outwards signs of anger. Dorea's eyes would begin to glow like a green fire while her hair began to whip around in a non-existent wind, whereas Michaela's hair would begin to moisten and her eyes would become a bright green that could only be matched by the budding leaves in the springtime, depending on how angry she was her ears would become more pointed and her irises would grow larger until they took up most of her eyes, much like the characters in those "anime" shows that she and Dorea loved to watch so much.
The Founders had signed both girls up for a mundane school in the town that was just a twenty minute walk from the manor, which was apparently only warded enough that mundanes wouldn't be able to see the magical belongings within its borders. For example, if they were to see a hippogriff, instead they would think they saw a horse of the same colour. If they saw the dishes washing themselves, they thought they had seen Salazar or Godric doing the dishes instead. With the two girls in school, where they were actually very popular, the Founders all decided to take up careers in order to have something to do.
Salazar had become a mundane and magical lawyer, specifically taking cases that affected people of both worlds the most often. In both worlds, he had become known as the Taipan, after the incredibly deadly Inland Taipan, for his deadly words and how cruel he can be in the courtroom, paralysing all those that were his "victims". He earned the nickname during a case of some adult purebloods being accused of raping a "muggleborn" first year in Diagon Alley before she even managed to get to Hogwarts. Salazar not only shot down all their expensive defences, but worded his case in such a manner that if the Wizengamot didn't declare the men guilty, then their name would be mud and inquiries would be launched about corruption in the legal system. One of Salazar's greatest achievements was in getting Sirius Black, Dorea's godfather, out of Azkaban Prison and instead having the man who sent him there, Bartemius Crouch, put there instead for negligence and abuse of power. At the moment, Sirius was in the Magical Esalen Healing Resort and Spa in California, in the USMA (United States of Magical America) recovering from his several years in Hell On Earth. According to the Healing Masters, Sirius would be fit to return to the UK in about 18 months time, meaning just in time for Yule of the girls' second year.
Rowena had taken to working as, surprise surprise, a scholar and researcher for the Department of Mysteries. She wasn't allowed to say what she was researching, but the other three could read her well enough to know that it was something that could revolutionize the European Magical World. One thing that Rowena had been disgusted with was how the Europeans refused to see the mundane world as relevant, despite the fact that the Blitzkrieg that Hitler had performed on London had destroyed the Ministry, the three infamous Alleys (Diagon, Knockturn, and Monlit/Half), as well as St. Mungo's. One would think that would cause magicals to understand that mundanes are very much a threat in that they are far better at the talent of mass killing than magicals of Europe currently were, but very few in Europe accepted this as fact. The few countries that did were the MUSSR (Magical Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and Portugal. The rest of Europe was trapped in Medieval times, the times that the Founders had left only to discover that very little had changed from a magical perspective. As such, Rowena was constantly ordering items and books from Asia and North America, specifically Canada and Japan. She could trust those two countries to be honest with the items that they made and sold, not to mention she was completely hooked on maple candy and forced Helga to make it as often as possible.
Godric had signed up as a Royal Wizard, working directly under Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The two had been sworn into complete secrecy as to the existence of the Founders, and had been horrified to discover the reasons behind their Summoning. Of course, upon discovering that Princess Kate was a mundane-born witch and that her children were magical, Dorea and Michaela had become fast friends with the two. Dorea and William were closer in that they were the calmer of the two, whereas Henry (or as he preferred, Harry) and Michaela were as thick as thieves in the mischief. Whenever Godric had to visit any of the Royal Palaces, be it magical or mundane, he made sure to drag Dorea and Michaela along just so that they could keep the princes distracted while the adults got their business done.
Godric had been surprised to find that in the mundane world, the Royal Family was more symbolic than actually authoritative. However, in the Magical World it was the exact opposite in that Royal Families had the final say in anything, despite the fact that they might not be magical themselves. It was because of this reason that Marie-Thérèse Charlotte and her younger brother Louis Joseph Xavier François were allowed to live while their parents, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, were executed during the French Revolution. Of course, Prince Louis had passed away due to an "illness" while held in a prison cell, but due to the fact that the French magical world still needed a royal family member; the princess was spared and eventually brought into the magical world, leaving only a few children to carry on the French Royal Line. Of course, according to the mundane world she had been married Louis-Antoine and bore no children due to his role in the murders of her parents and her aunt, but this was all false in order for the French to protect their Queen. If Godric was correct, which he most likely was, the last blood relative of the French Royal Family alive today was Gabrielle Delacour through her mother's side of the family (she had an older sister, but they were half-sisters. Surprisingly, Monsieur Delacour had a wife, Gabrielle's mother, and a Mistress, his other daughter's mother. As such, Gabrielle was made the heiress to the Delacour family as well as the Crown Princess of France).
Finally, Helga had decided to take a job as a Healer at St. Mungo's. While this meant that she was on call and often had to leave, it also meant that she was able to help people heal from their pasts. At the moment, she and Rowena were working together to heal Cruciatus victims; so far their work was doing well, and they had managed to give Lady and Lord Longbottom the ability to escape from the trap that their minds had put them in. The mundanes described it as Shell-Shock or PTSD, where the two had been trapped within the memories of their torture. It had taken Helga a while, but eventually she was able to break the barrier of their minds by surrounding them with familiar objects and giving them a strict potions regime that forced their minds to go hazy enough that they weren't forced to relive their worst night. It would take longer for them to completely heal, but the familiar elements reminded them of the better days in their pasts so that they could slowly break the barrier that was trapping them within their own minds. At least now Frank could recognise his mother and son. Alice was able to hold semi-consistent conversation with her Healers.
With the help that Helga was giving the Longbottoms, the family of six was surprised to find out that Alice Longbottom, the woman that Helga was helping, was actually Dorea's godmother and that the Longbottom Heir, Neville, was her godbrother. This resulted in Neville visiting at least three times a weeks and for Augusta Longbottom, his grandmother and caretaker at the moment, began teaching Salazar, Dorea, and Michaela about the magical world's politics. Officially, the Potters and Longbottoms were considered Neutral in that they could be willing to fight on either side depending on the reasons for the fight. On the "Dark" side the leaders were the Malfoy's, the Nott's, and the Parkinson's, two families of which the Potter's and Evansclear's were feuding with. On the "Light" side, there was the Diggory's, the Weasley's, and the Smith's. While the Potter and Evansclear Houses did have alliances with many of those on the Light side, they had just as many with those on the Dark side as well. For example, the Zabini Family was officially a Dark Family because of their tactics against those who threaten them. The Potter's and Evansclear's brought them into an alliance due to the fact that they were strong allies who knew better than to stab the backs of those that they worked with. On the other hand, both families were also allied to the Gamp family, a Light family well known as advocates for equal rights among all magical beings in Europe.
The Black Family, on the other hand, had multiple alliances with Dark and Grey families, not daring to touch the Light side of the political spectrum. Salazar understood instantly after Sirius explained his upbringing: the Black Family invented most of the illegal Black Magic that was used today. The Cruciatus Curse? A Black invention, originally used in Healing to test nerve responses, but was altered by a Misaponia Black back in the tenth century to be used for torture. Dorea swore that unless absolutely necessary, she would never delve into the Black Family Grimoire out of fear that that corruption of its magic would drive her insane the way it had done for many other members of the Black Family. In fact, Salazar had requested to have Bellatrix LeStrange née Black tested for overexposure to Black Magic as a child, which would explain her mental state. If she were tested positive, she would be put in a magically induced coma until the effects were purged by another member of the Black Family, meaning either one of her sisters or Sirius. Unfortunately, the testing would take at least 4 years to finish, but the moment it was finished Bellatrix would either be moved deeper into Azkaban or into one of the more recently purchased Black vacation homes, all dependent on her results.
At the moment, however, Dorea wasn't focused on any of that. What she was focused on was the fact that her encyclopedia, which she desperately needed for her essay, was missing. And there was only one other person who needed it as well.
"MICHAELA!" She hollered, storming over to the room next door and pushing the door open. "GIVE ME BACK MY ENCYCLOPEDIA!" Michaela shot up on her bed from where she was also writing her essay, countless books open in front of her - one of which was the encyclopedia that Dorea was looking for.
"Oh, come one, Rea," Michaela whined as Dorea snatched up the book. "I just need to cite it! Otherwise the old lady's gonna fail me for plagiarism!" Michaela tried to win Dorea over with the puppy-pout that Charlie constantly fell for, but Dorea simply gave Michaela a level glare and pointed at her.
"Once I'm done with it," she stated, and with that turned on her heel and left the room. Michaela let out a frustrate shriek into her pillow, making sure to muffle it enough that Helga wouldn't hear her. Last time that happened she literally broke down Dorea's door with her battle axe in hand. Where she found a battle axe none of them wanted to know - though it was entertaining to see Godric carrying Salazar as they screamed in terror and ran away from a very, very peeved Helga wielding said axe. This was, of course, after Salazar and Godric had claimed Dorea and Michaela respectively for prank wars.
Dorea sauntered back into her room, pulling out the papers she needed to finish her essay with and began writing, ignoring the fact that Michaela was standing in her doorway like a creep, just watching and waiting for Dorea to be finished with the book. About half an hour later, Dorea closed the encyclopedia and threw it over her shoulder, knowing full well that Michaela would dive for it, catch it with no problems, and dart out of the room to finish her own essay before dinner. If Rowena got home and found out that neither of them had finished their essays - which were due the next day - then the both of them were going to hide in their secret lair.
Yes, they had a secret lair. Only Salazar, Godric, Bill, and Charlie knew where the two had made it, and that was only because they had been brought there to avoid Helga's wrath after the Third Great Prank War last year. Long story short, it took three days, five hours, and twenty four minutes for Rowena, Helga, and the House Elves to get the ballroom clean again. Charlie, Godric, and Michaela all learned a valuable lesson that day: Salazar, Bill, and Dorea made a prank team from the deepest, darkest depths of the Outer Gates, where demons and all the other evil beings came from. It was a wonderful place where Dorea and Michaela would read manga and novels, watch their tv shows, and discuss the darker parts of the plots without Rowena looking at them oddly. The last time they discussed the darker themes of One Piece and Danny Phantom where she could hear them, they had soap in their mouths for an hour.
After stapling her paper together, Dorea stretched and sat at her desk, overlooking the items in her room. Bill would send her gifts for any and all events - her birthday, Samhain, New Years, Beltane, Easter, Groundhog Day: it if existed, he sent something. And it was always something homemade, meaning that Dorea's room was budding with small gifts that, while well made, were clearly less than professionally done. He was definitely improving - Dorea's enchanted charm bracelet with the different charms proved that - and with Lizzie's guidance (she had taken up carving as a hobby, Salazar had hired her to carve him a model for what is now his robe pins, two Inland Taipans biting onto aquamarines and made out of labradorite. The making of the pins had taken a while and were expensive, but they were very much worth it) his work was getting more and more detailed. For example, his first work was a basswood jewelry box carved into the form of an Ailm, a Celtic symbol that Dorea was going to look up soon (maybe), imbedded with garnets on the cover and the sides. It was a small box, not large enough for more than a few necklaces, rings, and a few pairs of earrings, but it was well made and very personal. If Dorea remembered correctly, it had been an Beltane gift, but it was also Dorea's favourite gift from him because of how simple it was.
Dorea was snapped out of her thoughts when her Uncle Salazar opened her bedroom door. Dorea grinned - Salazar was definitely her favourite uncle, no matter what Uncle Godric said. The fact that he would destroy universes for her didn't exactly help convince her that he wasn't her favourite.
"I brought you and Michaela some snacks since you've been working on your essays all day," he said, holding up the tray of tea and biscuits in his hands. Dorea beamed and moved over to her coffee table, sitting on the floor as Salazar placed the tray down. Michaela soon followed into Dorea's bedroom, scratching her stomach and yawning as she closed the door behind her. The three sat down on the floor and began munching on the biscuits, dipping them in their tea every once in a while. Michaela was the first to break the silence by turning to Dorea and asking:
"So, what's your essay on?" Dorea stared at Michaela blankly.
"About how Lord of the Rings has the theme of coming of age with Sam, Frodo, and Legolas." She replied. Michaela and Salazar suddenly looked confused.
"I understand Sam and Frodo, but how does Legolas fit in?" He asked. Dorea smiled serenely.
"Because he becomes a personally respectable character through the series in how he treats the others on the quest to destroy the ring." She stated, taking a sip of tea calmly. Michaela and Salazar both nodded. Michaela smiled.
"Mine is on how Tolkien challenges Catholic views with Gandalf being reborn and the idea of a weaker being, not an angel or an agent sent by the Catholic God, being the one to cast out evil from the land." She sang. Salazar looked impressed with both girls. The reason that the four of them had agreed to sign them up for this school was because it had them learning how to write essays before secondary school, meaning that they would have a better understanding of how to write essays for Hogwarts. Albus had told them that the younger students usually learned essay writing from hit and miss, or actually being taught how to write an essay if their work was bad enough, but other than that they were on their own for the majority of their schoolwork. He, as well as the rest of the staff, wanted to put in a course teaching students how to write with a quill (meaning how to make their handwriting legible and how to not splatter ink all over the parchment), how to write essays, spelling, and grammar, but the Board of Governors refused each time. Fortunately, Salazar had helped Albus convince them to either return the money that needed to be used for new school brooms, or be sued by Albus, who would have Salazar do the legal work while he ran the school. Albeit it grudgingly, they agreed and now the school had brooms that didn't inspire fear when looked at.
Dorea and Michaela were both staring at Salazar blankly as he came back down to earth. Rubbing his neck, he chuckled sheepishly.
"I got lost in my train of thought, sorry girls," he apologized. Dorea and Michaela both waved it off, finishing their tea and looking at each other, then at Salazar. It was the man that spoke first. "LAST ONE TO THE BROOMS IS A FLUBBERWORM!" He shouted, darting to his feet, jumping over the table and out the hall. Michaela was right on his heels, whereas Dorea ran to the balcony, jumped into the tree planted just to the left of her balcony door, and began jumping down and towards the shed.
"CHEATER!" Came out from a window behind Dorea as she threw the door open and grabbed her broom.
"YOU NEVER SAID I COULDN'T!" She shouted back, hopping on her Nimbus 1990 and zooming off to the treetops, Michaela chasing after her in rage. Salazar, on the other hand, had fallen over laughing at the fact that that was something he would say. Michaela, despite not being fond of leaving the ground, angrily hopped on her own Nimbus 1990 and started racing off after Dorea, leaving a trail of body glitter behind her because of the speed that the two were flying at. Salazar, wiping the tears from his face, got up and calmly walked over to the shed, grabbed his Nimbus 2000 - he got the newest one because his broke when diving to catch an unconscious Michaela last month - and took off to catch up with the girls. Dorea was cackling and zooming in and out of trees, while Michaela was trying to make one of the tree branches hit her. Fortunately for Dorea, she was too quick and tiny a target for Michaela at the moment, meaning that the branches would hit where Dorea had been about 3 second beforehand, which was more than enough time for her to get to the next tree.
After several hours of Michaela chasing Dorea and Salazar trying to make sure that neither girl exhausted themselves like they had before - hence why Michaela had fallen unconscious - Helga opened the back door to the manor and held up a megaphone. It was easier on the throat than a Sonorus charm.
"DINNER!" She shouted into it, causing the hippogriffs that Dorea had been flying with to spread out in fear of the sudden noise. Groaning, the girls and Salazar landed on the ground, slightly out of breath with rosy cheeks from the activity. While mundane borns wouldn't think this to be true, flying was very much an exercise, especially if you were flying at high speeds. The amount of stamina, strength, and flexibility that one needed to fly professionally was on par with the some of the better mundane athletes in the world. As such, Salazar and Godric had signed Dorea and Michaela both up for martial arts and gymnastics, to help with these aspects and to defend themselves from any and all attacks that they might be on the receiving end of at Hogwarts. At the moment, Dorea and Michaela were both training in martial arts, though they were each learning different styles. Dorea was learning a mix of Kenjutsu, or swordsmanship, and Kung Fu. Michaela, on the other hand, was learning Tae Kwon Do and Ninjutsu, or the ninja arts.
Dorea had chosen Kenjutsu because the code of the samurai was very appealing to her - Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Honour, Loyalty, and Self-Control. Michaela, however, had chosen Ninjutsu because she knew that in order to win a war, underhanded tactics had to be used. The two girls knew that Voldemort would one day return, Rowena had taken them aside one day and had explained what Dorea's scar had been and why they had had it removed as soon as they could. That it meant that Voldemort was still out there, just simply incapable of assuming a physical form at the moment, and that he would try to kill Dorea out of revenge. She wanted to become a modern-day ninja so that she could protect her cousin, her precious gem of a cousin, from the shadows while Dorea stood in the glory of the Light's beautiful praise, and it was for that reason that Helga had become Michaela's favourite aunt. She understood what it meant to hide in the shadows and watch over those she held dear to her, she had killed more people than the other three combined and had never told them because those people were trying to hurt her siblings. And that was something that she could never tolerate, something that she would end before it even began. The only ones that could so much as lay a hand on her siblings were her other siblings, anyone else had better pray to the gods that Helga would have mercy on their souls.
While Helga pondered this from the doorway, Dorea was doing flips back to the manor whereas Michaela was doing cartwheels. Salazar was merely watching the two girls, internally chuckling at how dizzy they would both be when they got back to the manor. The two of them loved to show off their abilities to each other, so stuff like this was a common event in the Evansclear Manor, more so in the household whenever one of them had learned something new that the other hadn't. Michaela was prone to pinning things to walls with small knives that she called "kunai", whereas Dorea was attempting to copy the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu from the anime/manga Rurouni Kenshin. At the moment, she was able to copy the speed because she had been training since she was 5, and had managed to complete the Ryutsuisen, a move that involving jumping a very high distance and swinging her katana down upon the victim's (read: dummy's) head/shoulders. Michaela had been very put-out when she saw that Dorea had managed to cut through to the abdomen with a wooden training dummy, and had become more determined than ever to one-up her cousin. Helga and Rowena still laugh at the fact that Godric and Salazar had passed on their competitiveness to the two girls.
Dorea, unsurprisingly, was the first to enter the manor seeing as how Michaela was trying to make the world stop spinning. The girl took off her now dirty shoes at the door, replacing them with the slippers that Helga insisted that they wear on the wooden floors, and ran into the back hall to the kitchen, which was where the family of six ate. It was more cosy than the dining hall - which was untouched at the moment, but they would open it up and use it when they would have guests over - and it meant that Godric had no reason to complain about getting up to get something to drink when the fridge was right over there. Or complaining to get the mayo. Or the bread, because Rowena didn't trust bread boxes and kept her bread in the fridge after she baked it.
Dorea sat down at her place between Michaela and Salazar's seats, and looked at the table. Tonight they were having ramen to celebrate Michaela's 11th birthday, since it was what she requested. Helga and Rowena still couldn't get over the fact that, in order to eat ramen properly, you scooped out the solids and then drank the broth right out of the bowl. It had seemed completely impolite to them, but Godric and Salazar loved the idea, since it meant that there were less dishes to clean afterwards. While the Evansclear Manor did have many House Elves simply because of its massive size, the family of six had treated them better than any Evansclear before.
House Elves in the Evansclear family were treated more like workers than servants. From what they understood, in the past the Evansclear's would pay their House Elves a few sickles a week as an allowance, but with Helga and Godric they had upped the pay to a galleon a week. The elves, led by Tippy, had near panic attacks when they realised what their pay was, but it wasn't until they found out whom they were serving and why that they understood why. In essence, the two were bribing their elves with money to afford for their hobbies in exchange for them to do a bit of housework, such as gardening, cooking, and a bit of cleaning. For example, everyone was responsible to clean their own room, whereas the House Elves kept all the empty rooms clean and free of dust, . The House Elves would wash the clothes and clean up the dirt from the floor, but only whenever Helga didn't beat them to sweeping up the house. It had become a competition of sorts - Godric and Rowena were keeping the score chart. At the moment, Helga was winning by three times over the House Elves.
As Salazar sat down at the table next to Dorea, Godric wandered in with silly-string stuck in his hair and a massive messenger bag over his shoulder. It was obviously that, which the Windsor Family had gotten Michaela some gifts for her birthday, that Harry had taken the opportunity to douse Godric with some muggle prank items and get away with it. It was always Harry that played the pranks (usually with Michaela's help, she was good at not getting caught), whereas Dorea and William would be off reading a book or watching a tv show. Diane was glad that her sons had friends that didn't care for their fame and legacy, and as such tended to spoil Dorea and Michaela with gifts and treats whenever she saw Godric with them. Queen Elizabeth was somewhat the same, though she was much more subtle about it than her daughter-in-law, a mundane born witch that tore her ties with the Magical World after the Blood War (the term the Royal Family used for Voldemort's rising in the 70's) killed off several friends and family members who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Michaela looked over at Godric and grinned.
"Welcome home, Uncle Rick!" She greeted happily, running up to give him a hug. Godric chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, holding her tight for a few seconds before letting her loose enough to kiss the top of her head.
"Thank you, and happy birthday!" He grinned, ruffling her hair as he did so. Michaela didn't complain, and being the child that she was, grabbed for the bag over Godric's shoulder. Chuckling, Godric pulled it away. "Nope, not until after we've had your cake," he teased, causing Michaela to pout and narrow her eyes at him. No matter how mature these two could be, no matter how prim and proper they acted, they were still children. To put it simply, they were children that had perfected the mask that Salazar and Rowena had taught them to make.
"Then let's get eating so I can get my presents!" Michaela declared, dragging Godric over to the table and setting a bowl of ramen in front of him. Disgruntled at the fact that he had been pulled along like a disobedient dog, Godric sat down and immediately began looking for a fork. He could just never get the hang of eating with sticks, of all things. Dorea and Michaela were, of course, slurping away at their food, while Helga and Salazar were fighting the urge to tell them that they need to stop. It had taken them ages to accept the concept that, for ramen, one picks out all the noodles and other fillings and then drinks directly from the bowl. (To this day, Godric would swear up and down that Salazar almost had a heart attack at the idea.)
Dinner passed by relatively quickly, and Helga went to the fridge to get the cake for Michaela's birthday, a triple chocolate fudge cake. Salazar and Godric didn't understand this obsession with chocolate that all the girls in the house had (yes, even the house elves), however Michaela and Rowena were practically bouncing in their seats for the cake while Dorea was humming and swaying side to side very happily. Helga practically bounced into the room, a wide smile on her face as she held the two layered cake in front of her. Salazar looked at the heavier woman apprehensively.
"Ah, Helga," he started, staring at the beautiful but… Extreme cake that Helga placed in front of Michaela. "Isn't that a bit much?" With that, both Rowena and Helga glared at him while Dorea and Michaela stared at him in shock.
"Too much?" Rowena questioned.
"There can never be too much chocolate!" Michaela said, horrified at the audacity Salazar had to suggest such a thing. Salazar and Godric both nodded slowly - it was a female thing, they would never understand it. It was better to just accept it now and learn to live around it.
Helga gave Michaela a rather large slice of the cake, to which the now-11 year old dug into happily. After the first bite she was practically moaning about how good it was, scarfing it down as quickly as she could. In contrast, Dorea was eating her cake as slowly as she could, savouring the chocolate treat for as long as she physically could. Chocolate wasn't her favourite, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy the treat when she got it. Of course, she still considered strawberries to be the best food in the world. Especially the strawberries that Helga grows in the greenhouse - dragon dung was an incredible fertilizer for non-magical plants.
Godric had just shoveled a mouthful of chocolate cake into his mouth when Dumbledore walked into the room.
"Hwmro, Albwsh." He said around the cake. Dumbledore nodded at him, somehow understanding him around the mouthful of food, and gave Michaela a warm hug.
"Happy birthday, dear heart." He whispered, kissing her hair. Michaela threw an arm around his neck, drawing him into a tight hug before letting him go so that she could get another piece of cake. Albus merely chuckled at her antics, running his fingers through her hair and patting her head before going to hug Dorea. The smaller girl wrapper her arms around Albus' shoulders, hugging him tightly before letting him go so she could slap Salazar's hand away from her cake. Salazar scowled and mock glared at Dorea, before drawing her into a headlock and ruffling her messy curls himself.
Everyone laughed at the antics, especially when Dorea started nibbling on Salazar's arm. Albus couldn't help but beam at the group - this was how he wanted Dorea to be raised, as any normal child. The fact that they shouldn't even be in this timeline never came across his mind, the six of them were as happy as they could possibly be, they had all found reasons to be happy and do what they love in this world.
"Presents!" Helga cheered, clapping as the decorated boxes flew through the air. They landed in a pile in front of Michaela, who happily dove in and grabbed the biggest box she could find - it was a gift from her grandparents. Tearing it open, she grinned at what she had gotten - a Nundu cub!
Salazar and Rowena tensed at sight of the creature, the cub would have to stay with Elders Dupont in their reserve during the school year. Their only comfort was that it wasn't a dragon or a Lycon cub, at least a Nundu cub was something that Michaela would be able to tame.
Dumbledore, on the other hand, looked on at it in terror. A Nundu. A XXXXX creature as a gift to an 11 year old girl. Taking into consideration that she had Beast Speech and was half Tamer Elf, it made sense, but this was in a house of normal(ish) magicals. Her grandparents had to be nuts to think that sending it over here was a good idea.
Helga was thinking about what they would need for the creature. Godric was thinking about how incredible it would be to see Michaela ride her Nundu into battle. Dorea and Michaela were petting the little thing, talking about what they would name her, as Dorea had said.
"Haruhel!" Micheala shouted after thinking of names in the Elvish language. "It's perfect for her!" Dorea cooed at little Haruhel. Dumbledore smiled slightly.
"And what does that mean?" He asked as calmly as he could. Michaela smiled up at him, oblivious to his concern as all children would be.
"Maiden of Wounds." She chirped, rubbing Haruhel behind her ears. The nundu purred in pleasure at the touch, licking Michaela's hand and rubbing her ribs against Dorea's gentle pets. Dumbledore's eye twitched, whereas Godric grinned widely.
"I think it's perfect for her!" He smiled, holding out his hand for Haruhel to smell. She sniffed for a few minutes, and licked it in approval, holding out her head for him to rub. Godric happily pet her, though Michaela slapped his hand when he was about to touch the patch of fur between her eyes.
"She doesn't like it when people touch that." She said blatantly. Godric smiled at her.
"Completed the bond already, did you?" He asked. Michaela nodded, holding her extremely-dangerous Familiar in her arms. Dumbledore tensed, the Ministry would not like that a Nundu was someone's Familiar. Because of Ancient Laws set in Uther's Court, no magical being could intentionally harm someone's Familiar if they had the knowledge that they were, in fact, a Familiar. That meant that she was likely going to bring Haruhel to Hogwarts with her, and that was going to be a HELL of a lot of problems with the Board of Governors, but his hand were tied. In the Charter, it stated at no matter how dangerous a Familiar was, those who lived on the Hogwarts grounds were not allowed to harm it unless it killed another person. The magic of the Wards prevented that, even the spread of rumours or plots to have it kill someone would be averted into something else.
Dorea looked up at Dumbledore.
"Granddad Al, did you bring something?" She asked with wide, doe-like eyes. Behind Dumbledore, Salazar handed Helga 5 Galleons, as he had bet that Dorea wouldn't have been able to master that look before her second year of Hogwarts. Helga had bet before she even entered the school. Dumbledore smiled and pulled out two envelopes from the sleeves of his robes, waving them in the air.
"Well, I had been wondering as to what on earth these could be…" He teased. In a flash, Dorea and Michaela were in front of him, jumping to try and reach them. "Who could they possibly be addressed to? Michelle? Destiny? No that can't be right…"
"Granddad," Michaela whined. "Those are for us!" Dumbledore blinked and held the letter closer to his face, blinking in false surprise.
"Well, what would you know! It seems they are!" He gasped, handing the letters to the two girls. They took a moment to appreciate the writing on the envelopes, to which Rowena smirked.
"Why Michaela, it appears that your letter is written in blue ink! I wonder what that could possibly mean," she winked over at Helga, who scowled. Godric peaked at Dorea's and pouted.
"Not fair, why is her's in green?" He demanded. Dumbledore chuckled.
"Well, the colour changes when the student it is addressed to touches it, so as to show the House that they have the most traits of, when of course that may not be the House that they are Sorted into." With that, Salazar began teasing Godric mercilessly - Dorea was more like him than she was like Godric. They had all known that before, however Salazar took every opportunity to remind Godric that his heiress was more like himself.
The two girls opened the letters and read the lists, seriously disappointed in the books that they had been told to bring. The only upside was that Dumbledore had required for magical theory and potions syllabuses to be included for the sake of students who either never knew of magic, or couldn't afford private tutoring before school. Much to Severus Snape's shock and anger, the students who were understanding Potions skyrocketed with the new addition of the book explaining why everything happened the way that it did for potions. Charts explaining the acidity levels of potions and why some ingredients were extremely responsive to heat while others reacted to the cold, explanations for the best cauldrons, everything was in it. Dumbledore hadn't bothered to support his Potions Master when he was slammed legally and politically by other Slytherins for his insistence on his students purchasing the worst cauldrons, as even the best Potions Masters hated pewter for its weak metal and the ill effects that it would pour into potions.
As such, most students had moved onto Cast Iron cauldrons, which heated more evenly and brewed more quickly, despite being heavier and taking longer to heat.
Haruhel nabbed a piece of pork roast off the counters, causing Helga to throw a fit over the Nundu cub being there at all. The rest of the evening was spent with Michaela opening gifts from the different people that the small family knew, and she and Dorea finally being allowed by Rowena and Salazar to attend a Summer Solstice Ball.
As Dumbledore and Rowena watched Dorea and Michaela play with Haruhel, the elder sighed.
"You have no idea how many letters were sent to my office complaining about how Hogwarts had first claim to Dorea," he whispered. "Every single school outside of China. My office has been flooded ever since, and I've had to reply to each and every single one of them. Since they all bring up different concerns in the letter as well, I can't even just use a Copy Quill to make the work any easier." Rowena simply smiled at him.
"Well, it certainly isn't our fault that Dorea was born in a family cottage in Wales, which is in the Hogwarts District. Or that she needed to be raised in England due to Ministry law." Dumbledore blinked for a moment and smiled at the younger woman, twinkle in his eye.
"Quite honestly, I keep forgetting which of the two of you is more sly and cunning, Salazar or yourself," he commented. Rowena laughed.
"Equal on both parts, however Salazar values those and I value the mind. Very simple, really."
"Indeed it is…"
~O~O~O~O~O~
Aquamarine: encourages expression of truth, reduces fears and mental tension
Labradorite: protects one's aura, keeps the aura clear, balanced, and free of energy leaks, brings planetary light to soul of user
I thought those two would be good for a person like Salazar
Ailm: represents pure energy, objectivity, good health, strength, clarity, and integrity
Basswood: related to the air, used for creative endeavors, star magick, enlightenment, love, attraction, healing, and enchantments
Garnet: stone of health, raises one's internal fire, and brings creative powers into manifestation
The fact that the basswood and garnet combine elements for Dorea's affinity was completely by chance, I saw the first few meanings and went for them. The fact that they relate to Dorea so well kinda surprised me when I took a good look at them. Then considering that Beltane is a fire-based celebration for new life, it just worked out.
You know, I'm kinda disappointed that no one commented on the fact that Helga named her familiar George. Everyone else had meaningful names, and he had George. I thought it was hilarious.
There is an Esalen Healing Springs in California, south of Monterey and between San Jose and San Francisco. I'm just making a magical side that covers more than just the hot springs that are there, since they would be able to use Undetectable Extension Wards (permanent version of the charm for properties, commonly used in townhouses [ie. Grimmauld Place]) on the location itself.
Yes, Sirius is free before he escapes in canon, but I have a good reason for this - it's so that Dorea learns to Patronus less out of necessity but more out of personal desire. You'll understand why later in the series.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: I know little to nothing of Princess Diana's life, and as such I have no idea about her family outside of Prince Charles and her sons. Please excuse any mistakes made, I'm taking creative license with this part here! Also, I won't actually be putting any of the members of the Royal family directly into the story - just little snippets where it's implied that the Founders and Co. have good relations with them.
I'd like to state this now: the reason Gabrielle and Fleur had separate mothers is because I need a reason for Fleur to have an awful personality that'll repel Bill later on in the series. So, despite the fact that she's going to officially be half-Veela and her sister is only quarter Veela, Gabrielle is praised more due to the fact that she's the Crown Princess of France. As such, Fleur is going to be really nasty to everyone due to her being jealous of her little sister - a combination of a superiority(more Veela) and an inferiority(no royal blood) complex.
Not exactly as long as I would have liked for a comeback chapter, however there was only so much that I could write in this without hitting writer's block. Next chapter WILL be Diagon, I promise!
Word Count: 10,733