"HP: Heroes Never Die"
Chapter Four
- I beg your pardon? -
A/N: Don't own squat, 'cept the plot.
None of the canon you know will apply here. Period.
I have completely voided Sam's time in the Gulf War, mainly because of logical time restraints of actually getting through her schooling with a doctorate, which happens take a bit of time no matter how smart people are. Sam was born in '68, which makes her 23 in '91. While possible as a training exercise, she wouldn't be a fully qualified pilot even if she didn't get her Doctorate. Academy plus Flight School would have her at the end of the Gulf Conflict at the extreme soonest.
Oh, and you think you know what's going on with Harry!Janet? *cackles* Have fun!
The Ranch – Mid August 1991
Sam saw her wife stumble into the kitchen, and plop unceremoniously in her usual chair. Frowning, she recognized the signs of a rough night of dreams or nightmares. They didn't come that often these days, but it was still worrying. Just her presence in the bed would usually help with the more violent ones, so it wasn't that as it usually woke her. The confused look on her face meant it was either one of those outrageous ones with pink elephants or one of Those dreams. Yeah, it deserved capitalization in her mind. Those were just weird.
Setting breakfast in front of her, bangers with toast and eggs plus Janet's special 'brand' of coffee, Sam got a quiet and somewhat mumbled 'thank you' out of her. She took her seat across from her and dug in, waiting patiently for the dark redhead to wake up a bit before interrogating her.
Half of the coffee was gone before Janet looked coherent. She looked up at Sam and grinned half-heartedly. "Morning, luv," she greeted with a verbal slip to Britain.
"Morning, hon," Sam grinned at her. She'd never admit how cute she was in the morning with 'her British on'. "So, what was it this time?"
Janet finished her bite before answering with a sigh. "Cupboard again. Then it went the usual wide left." Her American accent drifted back in place the more awake she got.
"I know I've asked this before, but do you have any idea who that old man is?" Sam queried. This had been more of a usual conversation in futility over the years, but to her surprise, Janet looked a bit thoughtful.
Shaking her head slightly, Janet took a sip of coffee before answering. "It's almost as if I know him. And this one was a bit more morbid."
"How so?"
Janet shrugged. "Well, for one thing, I was sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder." She paused, then looked up at her. "You know how in some dreams, you can remember things that only make sense in the dream itself?"
Getting a nod, she continued. "This one had me mourning over my parents. Difference being, it felt like I was a teenager or something. Plus, these 'parents' weren't James and Lily Potter. The man kept saying that his sister and her husband were in a better place. Wouldn't that make him my uncle or something?"
Sam's eyes narrowed a bit. "You would think so." Pausing, she went over her mental catalogue of these various dreams. Seemingly disparate and disassociated with each other, she tried to put them in a sense of order.
Most were of that old man, doing odd things about some house or attending lessons. Others were quite different. One had her taking her O.W.L.s in the same place she took her N.E.W.T.s: Switzerland. Another had Lucius Malfoy and Walden Macnair chasing her through some house. Another had her chasing a young Sirius Black with a wand, swearing retribution for turning her hair into daisies while an equally young James Potter was shouting 'Gettem Lexi!' and laughing outrageously. She thought the absent wand flick to change James' hair pink was a nice touch. Further, there was a reoccurring one where she was sitting in her 'mother's' lap, being read stories from 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'.
Sam's head tilted. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear they were memories."
"Not possible," was the instant response, through a mouthful of eggs no less. Swallowing, Janet shook her head. "Enough of that. What have we got today, sweetie?"
"Zoo," Sam said with a smirk. She'd figure this out if it killed her.
Janet smiled. "Oh yeah! See if ole George still likes you."
Snorting, Sam shook her head. "You're the one with the red hair."
"Oh, come on!" Janet complained. "Just because he has red hair all over him, doesn't mean he's sweet on me!" The few times they visited, the old orang-utan seemed absolutely fascinated with Janet's hair.
Hogwarts – 5 November 1991
Harry Potter had rejoined the magical world, and Albus was meeting someone whom he would hope had some information on the aunt he hadn't been aware of. How he wasn't aware of her was something he desperately wanted to know as well. It took a lot to get past him, but then again he was feeling a bit stretched thin lately.
"She exists," Moody said in lieu of a greeting as he thumped into the Headmaster's office. "Funny thing, though. At first look, she didn't."
Confused at that statement, Albus gestured to offer tea as the man sat, but was rebuffed. "I am not sure I understand."
Moody took a swig from his flask, before replying. "Well, it makes sense after looking at it for a while. At the time, things were a bit chaotic. The three months before her birth, there was that whole May Massacre thing. Whomever tried to get rid of her records was sloppy, though. They got the main, or should I say 'public' file. Getting to the section where the public files are created from was tricky, and I owe Stella a case of Ogden's for that.
"The original file was untouched," he continued. "Alexandria Chara Potter, born the First of August, 1966 to Charlus and Dorea Potter. ICW level W.O.M.B.A.T.s were submitted by post in '79. O.W.L.s were taken in Switzerland in '82, same for her N.E.W.T.s in '84, then attended the Salem Academy for Healing in the Colonies, where her record ends I might add," he took another swig. "Which means that she no longer resides in country."
"Surely you didn't stop there," Albus said with a twinkle.
The grizzled man sneered. "Hardly. After her and James' parents deaths, her reported guardian was Marius Black." He paused to look at Albus, who went white at that statement. "Makes sense though, since he was Dorea's brother. Squib or not, that man was one hell of a Barrister. Shame he was killed."
Nodding, Albus drained his cup and refilled his tea. "Anything on her academics?"
"Twisted," he muttered. "She has to be the only healer with the highest recorded DADA scores in history." Off Albus' wide eyes, he nodded. "Yeah. Odd duck, that one. She'd be a shoe-in for a mastery if she put the time in, but went after Healing instead. Charms were beyond exceptional, as were her Potions.
"Shame though. Could use her in the Ministry. My current protégé still trips over her own feet," he ended with a frown.
"Highest in history?" Albus interrupted. "Surely not."
Moody grunted. "You can ask Marchbanks, if you want. Old Griselda attended the ICW N.E.W.T. run that year. She said Alexandria casts and chains faster than Bellatrix ever did, and was truly impressed with the lassie's footwork." He looked wistful at that point, imagining training her properly.
"Who were her tutors?" the old man asked, baulking at what he was hearing. Then there was the fact that it was obvious from her post that the young woman wasn't pleased with him, which didn't bode well.
Grimacing, the old auror took another swig. "That's where things get tricky. Things like that aren't recorded in the master records. I would imagine that they weren't British, at any rate. The French are a possibility, since she's fluent in the language."
There was a pause in the conversation as Albus took in the information. "Anything particularly worth mentioning?" he ventured.
Moody's smile was vicious. "Rumour has it that Alexandria Chara Potter loathes you with a passion. Blames you for her family's death, and is still trying to find her nephew. I don't envy you," he chuckled.
"Any idea what the young lady looks like?" he asked, ignoring the jibe.
"That I do know," Moody said with a grin. Pulling his bag, he removed a small packet of parchments and placed it on the Headmaster's desk. Clipped to the top of the copied records were photos taken from the ICW examinations in '82 and '84.
The '84 photo was looping from where she shielded a purple curse, then spun away from a stunner to chain six different hexes in rapid succession. He counted and was reluctantly impressed. The most alarming bit was the slight controlled blueish-green glow that appeared around her when she cast her return volley.
A powerful witch indeed, Albus thought, and she hates me with good reason. Damn it all.
The '82 photo was similar, save for the fact that she shielded twice and wasn't as graceful. She appeared to have dark hair with light blue eyes she inherited from Dorea. That she was a Potter was readily apparent from the hair alone, smirk notwithstanding. However, there was a touch of the Black Mania in her eyes as she duelled.
Looking back to the '84 photo, the only way he could tell it was the same witch was by the face. Apparently, after Marius Black's death she used charms to colour her hair and eyes. A disguise, perhaps? What was intriguing, was that she reminded him of Lily Potter, what with the auburn hair and green eyes.
"One thing you should probably be aware of, before I go," Moody hinted as he stood to leave. "After her N.E.W.T. testing was over, it was reported that she glowed gold briefly, swayed and stared at her right hand. The time and date corresponds to when Orion Black's will was probated."
"Damn!" Albus actually swore when he was alone, before blanching. First of August? He didn't know what to think at this point. Charlus and Dorea Potter also fought Voldemort three times and survived, and now there were three possibles for the prophesy.
The Ranch – Boxing Day 1991
Janet's internship program proved to be a bit of a dodgy problem for the holidays. Well, that in addition to Sam being offered a rather impressive Masters program by the Air Force. While she wasn't attending the full Academy with all the bother of being a cadet and whatnot, she was able to attend her classes as a Second Lieutenant. While not unheard of, it was rather rare.
They really wanted her brains.
At the same time, she flagged as being married under a different name with the MAI, which is where a bit of explanations need to occur.
The Magical Bureau of Investigation (MBI) is a division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Similarly, the Magical Agency of Intelligence (MAI) is a division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). They would have gone with MIA, but that had a different connotation, and they didn't want any confusion. Other agencies also have their magical divisions, but some are so small that they either aren't required, or necessary.
For the record, the American Aurors fall under the MBI's jurisdiction. The American DMLE is its own department that works with state level law enforcement.
Within the Armed Forces of the United States, Two Star Flag Officers and up are read into the Statute of Secrecy. Similarly for the enlisted, Warrant Officers are read into it at CWO2 or higher. As the odd one out, the Air Force discontinued the use of Warrant Officers and instead inform the E-7 and E-8 First Sergeants, as opposed to the Master and Senior Master Sergeants. The others only inform the E-8 and E-9 ranks.
Since Sam was officially listed as a pre-gen and married to a witch, she fell under Section M of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" still applied for the mundane side, but under "Section M – Articles A through J", there wouldn't be any punitive measures if same sex marriages were outed.
And thus stated, Major General W. O. West, who was laying the groundwork for Project Giza, was informed that he would be getting two new assets for the ghost program instead of just the genius daughter of his best friend. Which was fine as far as he was concerned. One less bit of paperwork to clutter his desk. Plus, the addition of having a Master Healer in the program was too good to pass up.
Which now brings us to how Brigadier General Jacob Carter was read into the Statute of Secrecy a touch early. After he got his head around magic, he was less than enthused to find out that his daughter was married to another woman. It took a weekend with Will, getting completely hammered before Jacob could even think of talking to his daughter, or threatening his daughter-in-law.
Needless to say, Saturday, November 16, 1991 was a bit… stressful. It took an oath on her magic that Janet didn't enslave Samantha by spell, potion or whatever else Jacob could think of.
Sam slapped him and threw him out of their flat, then spent the afternoon feeding Janet chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. It wasn't a fun time.
Christmas was a wash, since Janet had the late shift at the hospital, so they had their present swapping on Boxing Day. It was mostly clothes, knick-knacks and the typical joke present. Janet gave Sam a droll look at the plastic wand with a star and silk tassels on the end, which Sam matched when she got a troll plushy done up as the typical nerd. Sure, the fuzzy pink hair on the top was cute, but the glasses and pocket protector just grated her nerves.
After lunch, Sam caught Janet looking out the bay window. Her arms were crossed and she had that pensive look she'd get whenever something bothered her. "What's the matter?"
Turning from the wintry countryside, Janet gave her a fake smile. "Yesterday and years ago I had my first real Christmas, gifts and everything. Hagrid gave me a wooden flute. Mrs. Weasley gave me a green woollen jumper. There were some candy from other friends, and a book from Hermione. Then there was the invisibility cloak from Dumbledore. It was my dad's."
Arching her brow at Janet's slip into a British accent, she put her arm around her. "Same cloak that didn't make the trip?" The nod at that made her think. "What's really bothering you?"
Sighing, Janet put her head on her shoulder. "I just want to keep all that from happening to him… to me. It's frustrating that I have to let it all happen. I hate paradoxes."
"What if it wasn't?" a feminine voice said from behind them.
The fact that no one was keyed into the Ranch except her and Sam, had Janet spin the two of them about. Her wand was out and pointing at the strangest ghost she ever laid eyes on. Her protective nature failed her, and the wand lowered a bit. "Who the hell are you?"
This ghost was odd. The only thing discernible was the woman's head and hands. The rest appeared to be a white nimbus of energy. "When I was originally alive, my name was Ganos Lal. And, while my last name on Earth would alarm you, I wasn't a dark witch, no matter what history recorded."
Suspicious, Janet lifted her wand again and prepared an exorcism spell in the back of her head. "And what was that name?"
"Morgan Le Fay," the ghost said. She held her arms out and accepted the exorcism spell that hit her dead centre, which did absolutely nothing to her. "Now that we've established that I'm not a ghost or phantasm, will you listen to me? You may want to sit."
Gobsmacked, Janet looked between the not-ghost and her wand, feeling a bit betrayed by the seven inch rod of carbon fibre. Eventually, she nodded and moved to the sofa. Sam followed, keeping this 'person' in her sight.
"What's this about?" Sam asked. "If you hurt her, I swear…"
"I am not here to harm either of you in any way," Ganos stated serenely. "I'm here to tell you both why Janet is in the past."
Looking up at her with wide eyes, Janet was confused. "I don't know whether to thank you or curse you. Could you have at least left my gender alone?"
"I couldn't bring your body," Ganos replied. "That experiment backfired in the most spectacular fashion."
"What are you, exactly?" Sam blurted, not able to keep it in any longer.
The not-ghost smiled. "I am an ascended being. My race was the first to evolve into the shape that humanity has now. We lived long ago."
"Merlin was one of you," Janet realised.
"That was one of his names, yes," she replied. "He took human form again to teach our descendants how to use zero point energy, what you call magic. It was one of the reasons I was sent to stop him."
Janet frowned. "So you were enemies."
"It's all about rules," Ganos stated flatly. "It wasn't that he was teaching others to use their 'magic'. It was because of a weapon he was developing. It went against all our teachings."
"So, you froze him," Janet summarised.
"Delayed, but yes," was the reply.
Janet rolled that around in her head. "So, why did you send me back?"
"To tell you that, I need to tell you the basic nature of the multiverse. This isn't the only Earth. There are many others that vibrate on different frequencies. Decisions of major choice cause divergences and other universes or realities are created."
"The many worlds theory," Sam whispered.
Ganos nodded. "Indeed. Harry is one of many, as are you. However, there are few universes where you two exist on the same Earth in the same dimension as a reality descended from the Alterans, my people. In most, the descendants are what you would call squibs. In a rare few, the hidden world of wizards and witches exist alongside," she paused and smiled wryly. "Well, that would be telling."
Janet waved her hands about in frustration. "That's all fine and well. Again, why me? And how did you do it? There had to be a body for you to… put… me… in," she trailed off as her eyes widened.
Ganos nodded. "Events here happened as they did in your world, Harry. You did have an Aunt from your father's side. Here as there, she was killed for her blood relation to the Black family. Your grandmother Dorea was a Black."
"Those weren't dreams," Janet whispered.
Ganos shook her head. "They were residual memories from the original Alexandria Chara Potter."
Standing abruptly, Janet was shouting. "Malfoy killed her!?"
"Yes," Ganos nodded. "I took your life energy and memories, what you would call your soul, and moved it to this universe to 1984. Alexandria was killed with the killing curse, so it was a simple matter. I then recreated your Unspeakable supplies and garments and moved you to the same room the experiment was in. I then placed a note on your unconscious back to Algernon Croaker, in his own handwriting, forbidding him from interfering with their own rules on Time Turners."
Janet collapsed back on the couch. "I died… again." She got a nod. "That scar on my back, it was from Malfoy's curse?" Another nod. "I'm going to kill that fucker!"
Sam instantly wrapped her in a hug. "Breathe, babe. You realise what this means, don't you?" Getting an exasperated look, she smiled. "You can go get Harry."
A smile appeared then faded as Janet looked up. "What's the catch? You wouldn't have done this for no reason, so why?"
"Several years from now you will be approached to find Atlantis," Ganos stated. "It was our capitol. You may decline if you wish, but if you go, you will have the ability to defend Earth from… our mistakes."
"Mistakes?" Sam prodded.
"I am prevented from saying more," she said in that same serene tone, but her face registered regret. "Just please consider it." And with that, she vanished.
The women stared at where Ganos was for a bit, blinking, then turned to look at each other. Eventually, Janet shook her head. "Years away. Deal with it then. We need to focus on Harry, those damned horcruxes, and give Dumbledore a kick in the sack."
Sam grinned. "I'm game."
A/N2: Chara is a star, otherwise known as Beta Canum Venaticorum, in the Northern constellation Canes Venatici. Since Dorea was a Black, this fits with their naming tradition.
