Disclaimer – The world of Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling and various publishers. I make no claim to ownership. I do own the plot though, so no touching!
'Parseltongue'
/mind speech, human to human/
/-mind speech, human to other-/
"Normal speech"
Lost Time
Chapter 7
Lords and Sacrifices
The line of Slytherin has had many names; many, many names. Before it was Slytherin it was Slyther and before that it was Slyth. The Slyth line was as old as the old world, extending to magical Kings and Queens from magical Africa to magical Greece. So called Gods hailed from this line. And after it was called Slytherin it was called Luther. For a time it did not change until all that was left of the magical branch of what had become of Slytherin's heirs was a girl. Nimea Luther- a witch destined to set in motion the events over 600 years past when she herself would die.
Raped and stolen into slavery this descendant of the old blood was taken by a man named Marlock Gaunt- a Muggle. Beaten into submission she sired him three sons of magical heritage. Unfortunately they were all bastards, for no magical marriage was agreed to and the line of Gaunt was from that day cursed. Land, title and wealth were taken away for Marlock Gaunt's most terrible crimes.
Years later Nimea escaped her husband, leaving behind her bastard sons who reminded her so of the disgusting Marlock. The sons of Gaunt were quickly taken up in Wizard record as the last living descendants of Slytherin and as far as the magical world was concerned the heiress was dead.
Nimea did not die, however. It was of course necessary to her that she marry and the line of Luther, the line of Slytherin, the line of Slyther, the line of Slyth, continued in an un-bastardised, pure and direct line. She found a worthy man in the mountainous regions of Wales. He was the esteemed and accomplished wizard Lord Shoran Wyatt.
Before the line of Wyatt was Wyatt it was Cyatt and before that it was Vencyatt and before that Ravenclatt and before that it was Ravenclaw. Lady Rowena Ravenclaw was not of a great line, but a member of several lessor lines which derived from the Muggleborn revolutions at the turn of the millennia. She came from France and through her mother held strong blood connection to all of the oldest of the French lines.
Knowing such facts, the heiress of Luther quickly began to court him. They married by the oldest powers of magic, binding their children to their lines, and she birthed him a son before she died in the process. The esteemed Lord Wyatt preserved his son, naming him Tristan, Heir of the lines of Wyatt and Luther.
Tristan was accepted as heir and his line continued. No distinction was ever made of the Luther and Wyatt lines- letting it be common misconception that the bastard line of Gaunt was the last of Slytherin and his own noble heritage. It was never common knowledge that the Wyatt line practiced Parselmagic via their Parseltongues.
During several wars in the late 1600's, the lines of Wyatt and Luther were nearly extinguished. As the last heir of these two great lines stumbled about the war-torn battlefield somewhere near Cardiff he was found by a wondering fey. Taking him in out of the kindness of its heart, the fey healed the dying man of his wounds. The two fell in love, married and she gave birth to Luned Wyatt.
Luned left her mother and father after falling in love with a local Muggleborn wizard who bore the name Dylan Nuada, a farmer. They married and she bore him three sons. Unfortunately he was killed by a local Dragon. Luned returned to her mother and father with her three sons. They took her into their home under the condition that the boys change their last names from Nuada to Wyatt.
All three Wyatt boys grew and took fey for wives. All three wives bore sons who married local witches, who bore sons who married witches, who bore sons who married fey, who bore sons who married witches. Every third generation the sons of Wyatt took fey for wives, breeding mixed magic into their very cores.
So the line Wyatt continued on until the 1800's. Due to an uprising in the Muggle blood and subsequent wars that followed; the aristocratic Wyatt family began to privately teach their children exclusively. It was a disadvantage in some ways and in others an advantage to the children. When they reached the real world they were confronted with people who were outside of their circles. However their unique abilities became completely unknown. Not a whisper was spoken about their strange powers or their unique magic's.
The system of seclusion worked well for the family Wyatt right up until the late 1950's. A mysterious fire erupted sometime in the night, killing fourteen members of the family. All those who were left were the youngest, smallest family of the larger family tree. They had been lucky to survive. And so the heavily pregnant wife, her husband and her four children were left alone in the world.
After the fire the family found that the library was intact along with several fireproof area's of the castle, however- no longer wishing to live with memories of their departed family they took all of their possessions from the ruins and deposited them in the Gringotts bank before buying a nice home in Surrey, away from the magical community they had grown up shunning for its lethargic pace, monotony and magical ideals alike. Such was the upbringing of all traditional Wyatt children.
They settled down in their mansion sized home, deciding to forgo house-elves in favour of a Muggle butler- a butler by the name of Jason Evans. For a year all was peaceful. The children's education continued while Aaron Wyatt worked the affairs of the family. The butler was told only that the family was strange while several charms forbade him from talking about the family outside of their presence. He grew to love the family- and continued to work for them for the duration of their stay in Surrey.
Their stay, however- did not last long. Again in the middle of the night, in October- 1960- the House of the Wyatt family erupted in flames, trapping the family and killing all except the youngest. A newborn girl named Lilianth.
Luckily for the little Lilianth the Muggle Butler was there that night. He was driving out home, when he saw smoke coming out from the house. Quickly rushing back inside he was only able to make it to the nursery, where he saved a crying Lilianth from burning alive as was the fate of her family. Neighbours called the Fire Brigade, but they were too late and merely fished out the dead bodies after the fire had run its course. No identification was ever found for the unfortunate family- forever known as the Doe's on their gravestones in Muggle Suburbia.
As for Jason Evans, he took Lilianth Wyatt home and three weeks later she was Lily Evans.
Lily Evans sat in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, cradling her newborn- Harry James Potter. The Hospital itself didn't actually have a maternity ward- which merely confused Lily when she'd first been here. She'd been told in short order by her friend Helena that by the old customs, wizards were never involved in the actual birthing system. The family contacted midwives; who worked a lucrative business of only turning up about five minutes before the birth. Lily was outraged that she'd had to give birth alone thanks to her husband and the stupid ideals the Wizarding world came up with.
She watched her special little boy and rocked him back and forwards. He looked so much like his father which only annoyed her. She loved her son but her husband was a moron in so many ways it just wasn't funny. Harry? It wasn't a name she'd give her first born- especially if she wanted him to be taken seriously. Narcissa had been in the right of it by calling her son something a little bit more dignified- but Draco was a bit much too. Helena wasn't expecting any time soon- maybe she had the right of it all?
No, Lily wanted children. She wanted magical children. She wanted to be there when little Harry's first toy floated or his first magically enhanced cry. She wanted to be there when his knee scabbed over or he played with his father's wand, his first broom flight even. Those were the things she wanted to see her son do. She just wanted to be there to see him doing the things she hadn't been able to do. She also gave it thought to start him on the magic's sooner? Maybe a few little charms when he was five or so.
The door opened and James came in, looking thoroughly tired. Putting on the biggest, fakest, smile she could muster she rocked back and forwards before looking down. She knew this was pulling at James' heartstrings and she did it just a little bit more before letting it go.
"Do you want to hold him?"
"Sure" She watched as he picked Harry up. She'd need to find a way to get Harry away from him so she could teach him the dark arts. When he was older, of course- but James would let Harry become lazy with magic- he'd grow up not appreciating it or its marvels. Such children Lily found disgusting. To not teach a child to realise that magic was a marvel- that it was a gift that was given and taken away was the greatest disservice Lily thought she could think a magical parent could do.
James would do that to Harry the same way James' parents did to him. Lily would never allow it. In some ways Lily saw James as the worse choice in life partner she could have chosen. He was arrogant, a mere child himself, stupid, brash, ridiculous, extravagant and irresponsible. In others she saw his worth. He was a light wizard, with natural ties to the light side, he was magically powerful wether he used it or not, he was mouldable, impressionable, had a long heritage in magic that could doubtfully be traced to either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff and he was filthy rich.
The most important of these was the heritage. If Lily could make her Harry stand out in the world she would, and he would stand out like a beacon as a pureblood aristocrat she would have liked to be. The door opened again to admit a smiling Helena who bared gifts of several colours and varieties. Among these was what Lily instantly recognised as Honeydukes finest Chocolates.
"Lily!" She placed her burdens on the bedside table before giving her a firm hug and kissing her on the cheek. "How'd it go?"
"Fairly well from what I remember, there was a lot of blood loss though, that's why we're here"
"Oh, really? Are you feeling alright? Those blood replenishing potions suck…."
"It wasn't Lily who lost all the blood- it was Harry here"
"Hello James" She said stiffly before sitting next to Lily, ignoring James almost completely. "Is he alright?" James just pretended he didn't exist and sat in the corner on the chair provided for visitors.
"The tyke has got his fathers' resilience, he's fine. They didn't find out why it happened though"
"Well thank goodness he inherited something useful from his father's side." Lily laughed while James laughed half heartedly. That was just how you took Helena when you weren't her closest friend. Laugh it off like a bad joke and pretend it wasn't offensive. Helena could turn like lightning if you stood up for yourself. It was her Slytherin streak- Lily often explained. "It must be a magical birth. I've heard of Muggleborn witches beginning their own personal line peculiarities. You never know, you might have done just that. You're that magically talented"
"Pish posh, I hope it was just that and not something serious. He'll be a talented little boy if you're right"
"Ooh! Did they test him?"
"Standard procedure" James spoke up as he looked into Harry's big green eyes. "They already found Metamorphmagi and Animagi"
"Really! Lilly, have you thought about what sort of things you'll test him for?" Helena ignored James yet again in favour of talking to Lily. James ignored her too- they'd never gotten along very well except for that one time behind Hagrid's Hut.
"Everything, I want to make sure a hundred and thirty five percent that we know everything." Lily's own dark plans began to flitter across her mind. James was in the room and thus it was best not to say them out loud, but she planed to try several dark rituals on Harry that had to be done before he reached three. Helena wasn't the best person to tell either because of her reporter husband. Well- the man wasn't really a reporter anymore. He'd come into a hefty inheritance and had decided to start his own paper- The Quibbler- what a silly name.
"Good, I'd get them out of the way as soon as possible if I were you. It's all hush, hush within my family but we accidentally left my great Aunt right up until Hogwarts and she had an entire list of about fifteen abilities. Of course by that time 14 of them were unusable and she only had a week magical sight. It was such a waste."
"You're Great Aunt Nettler?" James spoke up with a smug smile on his face. Oh no, Lily thought. This was the worst part about being within the magical pureblood circles. Everyone knew every little fact about all the other families. Feuds lit like wild fire between some families regularly.
"Yes Lily, my Great Aunt Nettler" She shot James a warning glare. James was a Gryffindor and so it didn't get through his thick skull to shut up.
"Isn't she that Hag who lives out in the Orkney Islands with her sugar Daddy? What is she- Seventy nine or so and she's going out with some loaded hundred and thirty year old?"
"How dare you! And she's ninety-five while he's barely a hundred and ten. How dare you say that about my family when your father went and got himself splinched 'because he tried to apparate in the middle of sex with some hooker!"
"Shut up!"
"Will you both shut up! There's a baby in this room. Now if you two are going to get into a duel James, give me Harry and get OUT!" That quietened both of them. Lily began to tie up her Charms closer to herself mentally to make them both think it was their fault and not hers that she'd yelled at them. It visibly worked instantly on James' face while it took a while before Helena submitted to the charms effect.
"Sorry about that, Lily- I forgot about him"
"Sorry Lil's"
"It's ok, just no shouting while Harry can hear you"
"Yes Lil's
"Yes Lily" Lily almost felt bad for doing this to the woman she'd come to know as her closest friend and her 'husband'. And then she remembered when Helena had spat on her shoe and James had hexed her hair. It became a lot easier to charm them into liking her when she saw those memories in her mind's eye.
"So, what were we talking about? Oh yes! I'll make sure to test him for everything I can think of. If you can think up something or even recommend a book that would be helpful"
"Oh! I have just the book at home. It's got some great spells I thought I'd tweak and see what I could do with them" It was things like these which made Lily like Helena even though she'd been such a horrible bitch during their first few years together. Helena was a brilliant witch who had an un-erring ability to play with spells to get the most outrageous and spectacular effects. She'd once turned a Levitation spell into a piano playing spell for a few of her friends benefit one evening in her home. It'd been wonderful to watch even if it did sound horribly out of key.
"What do they test for?"
"A few of the rarer abilities for sure, umm- there was one which determined wether or not a child could be a Gensmagus. If he turns out to be one I'd love to spend a while babysitting."
"Gensmagus, they died out didn't they, along with the older species?"
"Oh sure. But with abilities you never know if it's just going to pop up."
"What's a Gensmagus?" James asked with a blank face.
"Someone who can cross species by will. Something like being an Animagus/Metamorphmagus of all of the sentient magical creatures. There's also the ability to actually use their magic which is interesting."
"The amount of magic someone could learn…" James gasped.
"That's why I'd like to baby-sit him. Who knows what sort of abilities he might show."
"Lets not get ahead of ourselves, ok- it's not happening anyway- but if you can find that book and any others I'd be grateful. James- your family would have some of those books in their library- right?"
"Oh yeah, of course we do. It's all in the manor"
"I'll have to have a look through it"
"I can for you if you want"
"Thanks, it'd be a time saver- what with the Harry and all. Helena- could you ask Narcissa if she has any?"
"Sure thing."
"I can ask Sirius, his family library's bigger than mine."
"They let the disgrace into their home?"
"No- but they can't lock him out because he's still heir and even their rat of a House Elf has to sleep"
"Breaking and entering is illegal"
"Only if you get caught and he's going to own it all so it doesn't matter what he takes"
"What about Regulus?"
"A moron and he's the second brother- he has no legal rights but Sirius will give him something cushy anyway. I think as far as Sirius is concerned he wants to just burn the house down when he gets it"
"Of course he would. Who cares that it's been in that family since the 16th century- we'll just burn it down with who knows how many family artefacts can burn with them. If Regulus has any sort of brains he'll kill Sirius and take the family assets"
"Regulus is a moron with as little backbone as the rest of his slimy house"
"The mother of your son was in Slytherin and if I were you I'd shut up before I rip your spine out from your ass. We'll see who's spineless when I'm hanging yours up from Gryffindor tower" Lily jerked at James' charm, making him flinch and squeak to Helena's delight.
"And if you really must know the serpent only has back bones- there's not much more to them."
"Yes well, all I meant was that Regulus is a spineless twit and couldn't kill him if he snapped Sirius' wand"
"So- Helena- you were talking about Narcissa- how was she when you saw her last?"
"Good, good- you know she's had Draco- the boy is a pain and looks the spitting image of Lucius- poor thing. I swear, the Malfoy line all look like bloody clones"
"It's because they'll only marry with other blond people. Even through the lower families they've always been known to take a blond witch"
"True" Lily agreed with James before Helena could somehow be offended. It was the great problem with trying to maintain two of them. James was so moral and damn light while Helena was defensive and cutting.
"She sends her love, of course- and she didn't say anything but I know that Lucius' has been hitting her. There was a bruise on her forearm!"
"No- and she doesn't just curse him!"
"Well she can't- she has no real power in the relationship. She's just a pretty broodmare to him."
"Has Narcissa tested her little boy?"
"Lucius did it and wouldn't tell her. She's been frantic ever since, worried about what it could be. You know how some children become allergic with certain abilities. She's been trying to test him but apparently Lucius has been keeping her watched. Ooh! Mr. Black died yesterday. She wrote me. Now Mrs. Black is the only one who can cancel the contract and she doesn't look to be willing to lose all that money."
"Poor Cissi. She never had a chance. Maybe Sirius would if he was Lord Black. Well- they said that they were going to look through the family tapestry to see who they could give the Lordship to after Mrs. Black dies other than Sirius. Apparently Cissa's been invited to that much. Who knows- maybe little Draco will be the next in line. Then when he grows up she can beg him. It'll probably be Regulus"
"I hope whoever it is releases Cissi- it's just not fair to keep her locked up like that"
Lily Potter walked quickly through the, for once, quiet Diagon Alley. It was starting to get dark and in such times of danger no one wanted to be caught out after sunset. Normally Lily would have enjoyed the stillness, would have savoured the Wizarding world's tastes and feels when such cretins as the Wizarding public were gone. But normally Lily didn't have a bundle of precious baby in her arms as she practiced her darker nature. In fact she was not here for pleasure or her darker side- she was here strictly on business; business with the Goblins.
Harry watched all of this with apprehension. He was barely 'two weeks old' and his mother had brought him here at night? It didn't sound like a very smart thing to do, even for a dark witch he knew his mother was. But there wasn't much he could very well do- now was there? 'Oh, will you please take me home mother?' was not something a normal newborn was meant to say. Not that Harry could say anything thanks to his thrice damned vocal cords and mouth. He was simply too young to form the words.
Passing the Goblin Guard, Lily reached the doors to the bank and looked away from the inscription on them. She knew it was Goblin magic and simply reading it placed a tracker on her within the bank. She hadn't known it her first few times here but when she found a Goblin tracking spell on her she'd soon known why.
"Never read the message on the doors to Gringotts. The magic within is not kind to strangers." Lily whispered from memory quietly enough that the guard didn't hear. It was in an old textbook she'd taken from the restricted section of Hogwarts in her younger days. It talked about Goblin magic's and how to defend and attack with them. Such magic was dangerous to any student who practiced it- but Lily knew her risks and her limits, even by then she had known.
Harry heard this and for a moment was shocked, not that his baby face showed it. Goblin magic could be imbued into a phrase, a written English phrase? Harry, with his years of experience in many different types of human magic- had never heard of anyone giving English magical powers beyond a mild sort of command magic. Goblin magic could be useful if he ever found a way to practice it. Harry noted this for future use.
Lily continued into the main Hall of Gringotts, noting how few Goblins there were. The bank was open all hours, though it was rare for human's to use the bank after dark. Lily knew of several Vampires which held old accounts and occasionally withdrew money, but they obviously couldn't just pop up in the middle of the day- now could they? She walked up to one of the counters and waited for the Goblin to look up and give her some attention.
"Yes?"
"I'm here to speak to the Goblin in charge of inheritances? I was told I was to meet him when it was most convenient for my son and me." The Goblin looked down on Lily for a moment before turning his attention elsewhere- presumably to papers on his desk behind the counter. He replied without even looking up again.
"Mr. Grindstone has left for the night, please come back in the morning"
"Then you will fire call him before I start getting agitated and advise my husband to remove his business from Gringotts. As Lord Potter that is his right" The Goblin all but jumped out of seat to hear that.
"Mrs. Potter! Right away, Madam!" He scrambled out of the hall, presumably to make a fire call. Lily smiled to herself. Pulling out her wand she conjured a seat for herself and sat down to wait for Mr. Grindstone to arrive. It didn't take long. A very sooty and very anxious looking Goblin followed behind the rude Goblin who had served her.
"Mrs. Potter, I am sorry for the inconvenience, please follow me" Harry was beginning to think his mother was insane- no one talked to Goblins like that and she was being incredibly rude. Unfortunately because of the way the blanket was positioned and the angle he was facing, all Harry could see was the roof- so he missed the sooty Goblin and his anxious expression.
"Thankyou" She stood up, dismissing the chair with a flick of her wand, before continuing after the Goblin. He was walking fast- but his short legs were no match for her longer ones so she kept up easily.
"You can understand how I would be surprised to hear from you at this hour of the night, especially in these times, Mrs. Potter"
"I chose not to involve my husband in this affair, for I was unsure in exactly what it is that I was summoned here. He is currently in a Quidditch practice so this was the best timing."
"Of course, Madam. He was not required for this meeting." They reached the door and he opened it for Lily. She walked past him into the dingy office. "Please have a seat"
"Thankyou"
"Now, the letter I sent to you was addressed to yourself and your son. Do you have any idea why the Head of Inheritance would contact your son and yourself?"
"I presumed he had inherited something from one of James' family members recently deceased" Lily stayed calm and collected as she'd learnt was necessary. Goblins, by their very nature, despised emotional or suggestive people. Arguably they handled rude people the best but people who showed some sort of weakness only insulted and aggravated them. This stemmed from their desire as a community for profit.
"You are incorrect in your presumption. It came to the Goblin Inheritance office's attention that your son currently owns Potter estate" Lily was shocked. That was a family holding passed from Lord to Lord. There wasn't meant to be any way of taking it away from Lord Potter- legally or magically.
"Excuse me" Lily had to strain to fight her emotional retort. Logic eventually won and she replied with her most calm and controlled voice. Harry was equally shocked, but no one thought to look at the baby's face to see.
"That was our first clue. At the time of his birth, Harry Potter inherited all of his father's rights and wealth- making him Lord Potter. When someone is Lorded it is our duty as inheritance officers, to check through all of the other estates that Lord owns to see if he has in fact inherited more. The fact is that Lord of House Potter was not the only Lordship he inherited. Inexplicably, he is also Lord of House Black and Wyatt. We did not contact you immediately because at first we thought our wards and charms had somehow failed, but apparently they have not."
"And this is all legal?"
"There is nothing that can be done legally to revoke it, if that's what you mean. It is not, legally, supposed to be possible for a Lord of any magical kind to lose his Lordship through anything short of death. By rights, James Potter should he dead in order for your son to receive anything. The only connection we can make between House Black and your son is that Sirius Black is his Godfather. Technically speaking- if Sirius were to become Lord and then die without any children of his own, Regulus Black were dead already and the young Mister Malfoy were dead then Harry would be Lord Black- but as it stands all three of them are alive. Such a thing has never happened in my time here, and we have found only two recorded cases previous to this."
"And they were?"
"In both of those cases it turned out that the people in line before the Lord were bastards. We know for a fact that that is not true in Sirius or Regulus Black's cases or the young Mister Malfoy's case."
"You mentioned a third House, what of it?"
"House Wyatt is a more mysterious case. The Vault has been inactive since the 1960's when it's last major transaction was to buy a house and deposit several artefacts. We assumed these were family heirlooms or something of the like. I've had five Goblins working for the past five days straight looking through the family genealogy and we've found only a few small clues. It seems that the family line in fact goes back past written record, but not under that name. There is a clear and consistent connection to House Luther and if the rumours are true even Fey."
"House Luther? The House Luther which turned into House Gaunt?" Lily remembered her time in Slytherin well. She remembered the stories better. The Nobel House of Slytherin became House of Luther after Slytherin lost his argument with Gryffindor. The line continued for generation after generation until only an heiress was left. She married and House Luther, with its prestige and power became House Gaunt- with nothing. The entire line was destitute.
"The one in the same, the last magical heiress of Luther married twice."
"Nimea Luther"
"Once in the Muggle world without magical binding and once in the magical with bindings stronger than we have now"
"Wait, she married in the Muggle world? To this Wyatt?"
"No- to Marlock Gaunt, a Muggle- the line of Gaunt is cursed with bastards…"
"-while the line of Wyatt is not; sweet Merlin, where did you get this information?"
"We gathered it through several books dedicated to Wizard ancestry that the Goblins have kept since before Hogwarts was founded." The Goblin was giving Lily a dirty look which reminded her she was being emotional. She quickly put a stop to it and began to work on her composure. Harry's tiny baby jaw had dropped a while ago and Lily's restless movement served to close it. He couldn't believe his ears.
"And what exactly does this have to do with us?" Lily ground out with half fake hostility. Almost instantly the Goblin became more comfortable.
"Quite a bit. Tell me, Mrs Potter- what is your experience with snakes?"
"Not much, I keep away from them and they keep away from me mostly. My father told me I was bitten by a snake when I was five so I try to keep away from them"
"Jason Evans, the Muggle?"
"Yes, my father is a Muggle- I don't see how that has to do with anything! Now what is Harry's connection to House Wyatt?"
"Well, you should spend more time around snakes. It came to our attention by a fluke that the last transactions, minor though they were, were to pay a Muggle Butler for the Wyatt home in Surrey."
"Surrey?" Lily gulped; her father had been a butler right up until his death in her third year.
"Yes, and did you know, perhaps, what the name of the Butler was?"
"No, of course I don't."
"Jason Evans. In the small family which lived in the small mansion that your father worked in- was a baby girl. In fact she was born after the first fire which killed off her extended family. Her name was Lilianth Wyatt."
"No. It's not true…"
"Yes it is; you are the last Heiress of the Wyatt line which makes your son the Lord magically. Technically you should be dead before he gains any sort of Lordship, though. Fortunately for you he doesn't need that"
"Why was I not told immediately! Why was I not informed that I was the last Heiress of the Line of Wyatt!" Lily roared in fury. Harry himself felt the overwhelming urge to hurt someone. He was WHAT! Heir of Slytherin! Lord Wyatt! Harry cried, as he had not cried before and threw his magic out angrily. Though he didn't see it, several drawers of files exploded excitedly. Lily realised that Harry was upset and began to try to sooth him, sending angry glares at the snivelling Goblin who was running around, picking up papers frantically.
"Come on Harry, mummy didn't mean to yell. Mummy's sorry. Calm down honey. Everything's fine." Harry continued to cry despite his mothers affirmations that everything was fine. "Come on Harry, calm down honey, calm down, mummy's sorry." For a moment Lily began to think of the implications of being Slytherin's heir. In several books throughout her dark research there were references to Parselmagic, the magic cast through the tongue of serpents. The references alone were awe inspiring. Herpo the Foul had created the basilisk with its aid and the Egyptian priests had cut down countless enemies with its power.
Harry himself was beginning to go through the implications in his head. What did this make him? To be of a founders blood was a feat by itself- but to be Slytherin's blood was enormous. Luther, Gaunt, Wyatt, Black, Potter? The first three names Harry didn't really understand as his interest had lied within himself- not in the historical families or their importance. Wyatt did sound familiar though and he did remember his birth- it had come up a few times. Harry began to calm down as his mothers voice took on a more subtly soothing tone.
"Why was I not made the Lady Wyatt?"
"Becoming a Lord or Lady requires that you seek it out to a degree. It can be forced but for the Wyatt family that is not a possibility as no one is alive to force you. You were also the youngest daughter of the Line and therefore you didn't have the oldest child magic from birth. It was made more difficult for your Muggle upbringing. To be honest if a Wizard or Witch can't be found within a year or two, especially an infant, it's assumed that they are dead."
"What is the state of our family vault and estates?"
"An excellent question- you have experience with inheritance?" Lily all but growled at the Goblin as she nodded, spurring him to answer quickly "The vaults are in perfect condition with your estates in a ruin. The family's main estate was burnt to the ground and the several other estates that your family own have since been rented out and have fallen mostly into disrepair. Your father, Aaron Wyatt, was the Lord before your son. He managed the family's affairs expertly as the Wyatt Lords before him had but he chose to rent out the estates rather than leave them to collect dust. Unfortunately, after his death no one was left to collect rent and several of your estates have been run over completely."
"I see. And the ministry has had no access to the vault?"
"Yes, though they had began counting down for the liquidation of assets."
"Good. Be sure to inform them that a Lord Wyatt has been found. They aren't to know of Harry's inheritance or allowed to drain it away from him."
"Yes, Madam. While we were looking through the Black estates we were contacted by Mrs. Black who has requested to know who her Lord Black is. She does have the right to know but we were able to use certain loopholes which allow for the Lord to remain anonymous until we are finished our investigation."
"Well, my Harry can meet with them. The Clause of Secrecy works within House Black, correct?"
"Yes"
"As his Mother, I want full guardianship of the Wyatt vaults and James should have full guardianship of the Potter vaults. Until Harry can make his own decisions we should be in charge, correct?"
"Yes, as his parents you are given those rights- though Lordship doesn't usually take place until the child in question reaches their 16th birthday."
"Good."
"Good"
"I wish to see the vaults and look through anything there. Now would be best"
Lily sat in front of the fireplace, trying to make the best impression of a wife with grave news to tell. James would not take this well, no matter what she did- but easing it to the most comfortable settings would be best. To be honest- she had wonderful news, but she hardly thought James would see it that way. After all- he was losing most of his control of the Potter accounts to his son.
The fireplace roared and James' figure came tumbling out; landing in an undignified heap. James couldn't travel the floo like a normal person if his life depended on it; it only served to annoy Lily more.
"Honey, I'm home!"
"Honey, I'm here- no need to shout. How was practice?"
"Alright, Malcolm ended up diving right into the pitch chasing the snitch. Apparently it was enchanted by our enemies, the Harpies of course, to drop to the ground like a stone after a few hours of…." Lily automatically tuned out. It was an automatic reaction from their honeymoon.
James had literally spent their honeymoon talking his head off about Quidditch and watching various games. Lily had expected he'd be more interested in her, as it was their honeymoon, but to no avail- he'd blathered on and on, and on and on, and on and on and on about Quidditch and who was bound to win that years' Quidditch World Cup. Eventually she silenced him and went to sleep, discouraged though she had been. Eventually, brought out of her day dream by James' sudden recounting of the history of Quidditch and how it was obvious that the Harpies shouldn't be allowed to play, Lily reminded herself that no- James would not lose his steam any time soon and suitably interrupted.
"Darling"
"Yes Darling?"
"I have some strange news from Gringotts. I don't know how to explain it- so just read this." She handed James a carefully constructed letter she'd had Mr. Grindstone write and seal under the Gringotts Seal. James read it quickly before his eyebrows rose to his hairline.
"What the… Harry is Lord Potter. Our Harry is Lord Potter! But I'm Lord Potter!"
"I know darling, I know"
"And what's this about being Lord Black? He's not related to the Black's at all. Potters and Blacks haven't married since the 17th century. We're as far away from the Black's as it's possible to be in the Wizarding world!"
"It astonished me too, dear" Lily wanted to tell him that was stupid, but she didn't think he'd react very well, even with the charm, if she said: 'you're being stupid, all of the Wizarding world are third cousins at least, you great big prat! Stop whining and live with the fact that your son is more powerful than you are'. James was predictable like that.
"Harry, a Twice Blessed Lord. He's a rarity alright. He's going to need a marriage licence or two, to stop any sort of feuding" Lily hadn't seen that coming. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. She'd been more focused on the money and her own family line to even consider Harry's possible status. Lily wanted to slap James in the face for even considering a Marriage licence.
Marriage licences were the most piggish and chauvinistic things rich Wizards had made to allow a male the right to sleep around without the bastards. Reigning in her temper she pulled a tight hold on her magical connections to James including: her charm, the marriage magic and a few darker obedience charms. With these safely in hand she began to layer her words with all of them.
"I think it'd be best if we didn't give Harry a Marriage Licence"
"It's necessary in his case. He'll need two wives at least, one for each line. The Black's would be offended if we didn't. He's already of Potter blood, but the Black family line needs to have Black blood in it. It could change the line impossibly otherwise" Lily gave her magic's a tight tug in James' direction.
"I think it would be best if we didn't give Harry a Marriage Licence" This time the words came out like siren song to James' ears while in Lily's they were hard, brutal and metallic tones. Like all males, James' eyes turned glazed at the sirens whisper and he began to nod frantically.
"Yes, dear yes. Harry shouldn't have a Marriage contract. It was a bad idea. I too think that it would be best if we didn't give Harry a Marriage Licence"
"There's a good boy"
"Yes, Honey" Lily was only slightly disturbed by this reaction to her own power. It'd hurt her deep down when she'd first done it- but now she felt little more than disgust when he turned to putty in her hands. Who that disgust was aimed at was ambiguous. "So the Black and Potter lines will merge. Good idea honey" Lily felt defeated.
She knew that the only circumstance that lines merged were if there were few to no living descendants of one line and if the last was a female. This really didn't count. Harry still had cousins, third though they were, who held the Potter name somewhere out there in Ireland and he was a boy. If Harry were to take a Black wife and then merge the lines of Black and Potter that would leave Mrs. Black, Regulus Black and Sirius Black all stranded with names which didn't match their Lord. In her heart Lily knew those lines couldn't merge rationally as they stood.
And then there was Wyatt. She didn't want James to know her son was the heir of Slytherin, no matter the circumstances and so she'd carefully made sure that the letter excluded details about Wyatt and didn't specifically say that Black and Potter were the only lines Harry was Lord of. It could, she rationalised, be merged but did she want it to? With Potter line it would simply be too light a family and with Black it would be too dark. It stood as a balanced family- one who understood its roots in darkness and still overcame them. To ruin that balance by letting it deny or be plunged into darkness or light was a travesty she couldn't commit.
But if she couldn't let them merge into one line then what was there to do- Marriage Licences? No- she would never have a son who could do that, she would never acknowledge a son who had that little respect for his wife. There had to be another choice. She had to find it.
"And he's our Lord now?" Mrs. Black spoke in a sort of dazed calm.
"By magic, yes Mrs. Black" The entire Black family; including Cousins, Uncles, Aunts, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings and estranged kin alike; was huddled in the rather too small reception hall. Not to say that the hall was small- no the family tree was just spectacularly large. Anyone who married into or was born into the family Black was required to be there. Most notorious of these were the three Black sisters, cousins to the direct line, Andromeda Tonks, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.
But there were three exceptions. Three beings in the room were not born into the family Black. One was a Goblin, one who had dealt with the Black line for quite some time as their account manager. One was a Muggleborn witch and one was her Lord born son. The three beings in question were all being stared at in utter disbelief. Some were veiled and guarded with their disbelief while most were not and an even smaller number were rather vocal about it.
"What!" Bellatrix Lestrange had never been particularly smart. "That Muggleborn whore's filthy half breed son, our Lord? I would sooner die!"
"Hold your tongue, child" Her father was quick to grab her shoulder and haul, literally, his daughter to her seat. Orion Black had survived his tenure as a Black not by questioning his previous three Lords but by obeying them. One of his brothers had not, both been obedient and survived his tenure as a Black. Delphi Black was never mentioned within the family. "Surely there is some mistake?"
"There can be no mistake. This child was born with the rights to the Black estate and the mystical powers surrounding. He is also, as we've since determined, an heir to the Black legacy." Disbelief turned to shock in many people's eyes as the Goblin, Goldfarb, stated these words clearly.
"Nonsense! The Black flame hasn't been seen in centuries! Let alone in this whelp!" It was Mrs. Black, former lady of the house, who spoke this time in outrage.
"I assure you, Mrs. Black- it is true. He has not manifested it yet, due to his minute age- but it's a strong gift and it's there. We had our curse breakers check." The thing sneered at Mrs. Black for her emotional tirade.
"Thankyou Goldfarb" Lily nodded to the Goblin briskly in a sort of dismissal before her sharp eyes turned on the gathered cluster of family members. "Wether you like it or not my son, Harold Potter, is the Lord Black and Potter. So get over it."
"You have no place here, Muggleborn wench"
"Get out!"
"You have no right to talk to us like that!"
"This is a meeting between our lord and Black's children- you are neither so leave" Mrs. Black's icy tone swept the room with the approval of several others in it.
"As the guardian of the Lord I am able to be here until he can tell me not to."
"Lily, you need to get out of here. Aunty Aprus is right- you aren't a Black…" Lily's cold emerald eyes burnt into Narcissa's pleading ones. She tugged on Narcissa's charm but it was to no avail- there was no clear effect. Confused she pulled again to see tears in the other witches eyes. Lily nodded in understanding; Narcissa was doing it because she loved Lily, she couldn't use her charm to overcome it unfortunately.
It was a little surprise Lily had found out about straight after she'd told James she was pregnant. He was convinced that they needed to move back into Potter Mansion to raise the Potter heir properly. She had been happy with their flat that she'd bought and had tried to pull him out of it. It hadn't worked and now they lived in the cold old mansion. Eventually she'd worked out the flaw she'd left in the magical patterns of the Charm.
It was simply that the spell had to be cast on people who didn't like you, as was the purpose of the charm. So if at any time they felt true love towards her, Lily, she would be reduced to her own non-magical charms to convince them to do things. It was disappointing but as of yet she hadn't found a way to work around it.
"Fine, I will leave the room, but not before I make a lasting clause on the house of Black. The Clause of secrecy" Before anyone could stop her she took baby Harry's hand and made a precise cut with her wand in his palm followed by a numbing charm. "On this blood, as his guardian, I- Lily Potter- vow the House of Black to, which he is Lord and heir, to secrecy. None but he may communicate the secret words that he is Lord of House Black or any other information pertaining to him. You are bound by your magic to obey. Let it be so!" There was a sudden outcry from the majority of the room as all of their collective magic was bound to the vow of secrecy.
"You bitch!"
"Unbind us immediately you Mudblood whore!" and similar other insults/demands sounded out through the room.
"I leave as the Guardians of House Black, Sirius Black- as the Godfather of the Lord- and Narcissa Malfoy- as a Godmother of the Lord. It is done. Now- if you're quite done calling me names, I leave this meeting to the control of Narcissa and Sirius. I expect you to both act in Harry's best interests. Goldfarb, House Black- good day" And she left the room while a stunned Sirius and Narcissa stared after her and a boiling, rage filled, Bellatrix Lestrange screamed insults at her back.
Bellatrix hurried into the dark damp room. She'd been summoned by her Dark Lord after the family Black meeting and she expected the worse. She knew lying to Him got people killed and if she told him the truth she became a Squib, a Mudblood a true Blood Traitor. It was a simple choice between her magic and her loyalty to her Lord. She didn't know which she would choose honestly. But she did know what her Lord did to Squibs and liars.
"Bellatrix my dear. How are you?"
"Exalted as always in your presence, my Lord" She bowed, her nose touching the floor as she'd been taught to do. She stayed in that position, as agonising as it was.
"Good, good, and how did the meeting with Lord Black go? I hope your news is more detailed than that of the Goblins." Bellatrix bit her lip.
"I am bound, my Lord." She was ashamed to say the words but she knew he would realise her predicament. He was harsh and cruel but he cared for her. He loved her and loved her alone.
"Continue, my faithful Bella" Voices shot through her mind, telling her to spill her secrets, ripping apart what she knew to be her sanity and taring her apart from the inside. They told her to be loyal, told her that she must obey. He is your lord, he is your god.
"I am bound, my Lord" She heard shuffling before the voices in her head exploded. He was righteousness and greatness and she was nothing without him. Insanity engulfed her conscious mind and she was sent adrift in a sea of endless pleasure and sadistic torture. He was her God and she was nothing but if she obeyed him.
Making her decision in that moment of insanity her head shot up wildly and a mad gleam took over her eyes. This, this would make her His greatest servant- the only one to give up her very magic; her very nature for Him. She would be better than all of them who followed with their mouths and not their souls. She would be his best servant, his Queen amongst pawns.
"The Potter Brat, my Lord- he is Lord Black! The Lord of the Most Noble and Pure House of Black is a Potter! He was born to it my Lord- the filth was born to it." For a moment Bellatrix felt nothing, and in that moment she thought the binding hadn't worked. Perhaps the filthy Mudblood didn't have the power or she'd misspoken the sacred words of old binding? No- she hadn't and Bella knew that- even in her temporary insanity.
Bellatrix screamed and fell heavily, her face cracking on stone. She turned over, writhing in pain as her blood boiled. Lacerations cut deep into the skin on her fore arms as blood poured out and some unseen force took its justice on her countenance. Her hair greyed and became shaggy where it had once been luxurious and her face thinned as her body shuddered involuntarily. Her magic began to pool in the pit of her stomach, burning her with its scalding heat.
It spoke to her as it was ripped from her body. It told her she was wrong. It told her she had always been wrong and had never made a right decision in her life. It told her she had no right to it, that she was a blood traitor and that every moment of her life was cursed from this moment on- and that it would be a long life. She wept as it left her, escaping in a violent burst of violet light. Her own blood turned to mud in her veins and she knew that she was the Mudblood- not Lily Potter. How she knew these things she did not know, only that she did know them and they were true.
She wept as the void refused to fill, as the emptiness became all encompassing with no end in sight. She felt cold and sluggish and fresh blood caked her fallen, scarred, disfigured and burnt body. She rejected the magic's parting words. No- she had made the right decision. Her sacrifice was justified and she deserved better than this. Pleading, dead, violet eyes turned to her master.
"Good Bella. Good work. Stimpson!" A man appeared from the darkness around the room. "Take Bella and clean her up. After you clean her up take her to Michellin in the infirmary and tell her to put the Squib out of her misery. Discreetly" In Bellatrix's state of mind she realised she had made a mistake. Her Lord would treat her as a squib. She must escape.
The Dark Lord sat in his throne with a smile. Torturing his followers was fun but to watch their magic leaving them was something new to him. He'd found the show enjoyable if disappointing. Presumably the magic would dissipate into the air now and be wasted. Perhaps there was some way to collect the magic, he wondered? Obtaining other people's magic would be a worthwhile endeavour he should look into. He'd have the Crouch boy look into it for him.
For now he had to find out what to do about this Potter Brat. From what he knew of this Prophesy it pitted him against one of three children he'd been able to find. He'd already killed the Muggleborn one discreetly which left two possible children, a Longbottom and a Potter- both seemed somewhat ridiculous to the Master Manipulator.
Alice and Frank Longbottom, while renowned for their power and Auror ability had never actually killed anyone and had barely survived their trounces against Him. However Alice was somewhat awkwardly linked to the Smith and therefore Hufflepuff lines and Frank was a staunch Gryffindor, though with no blood connection. Sure they were decently matched against the Death Eaters but they had nothing on him.
James and Lily Potter, also both renowned in their chosen professions as a Charms expert and a Quidditch Star were little better. James was a bloody celebrity for Merlin's sake! What sort of a challenge was that! Lily was more of an unknown outside of test scores compared to her husband. He did respect the fact that she was a Slytherin- but she should be following him, not fighting him. But fight they had and survived all three times. They weren't out of the picture yet, unfortunately. If luck was with him he'd already annihilated the real one and the rest of this was just clean up stuff.
Deciding that nothing could be done for the time being and that he was in need for a stiff drink, the Dark Lord apparate out of his headquarters.
Meanwhile, Potter Mansion
Baby Harry was asleep as his mother was carefully bleeding herself into a chalice cup, reciting words she'd recently memorised in a tongue she'd recently mastered.
'Blood of the Mother,
Milk of the Wolf,
Love of the Father,
And Breath of the Earth,
Protects you, nourishes you, watches and keeps you'
The words were spoken in hissing undertones, soothing Harry through sleep while making him glow softly green. Flicking her wand toward her wrist and cutting off the blood flow- Lily took a paintbrush and began painting the air above Harry silently leaving glowing green and red marks hanging above him.
'Harry, my love, Othalo holds you, it keeps your feet on the ground- your root,
Harry, my love, Perthro reveals you, it makes you feel freely and willingly- your sacral core,
Harry, my love, Ehwaz asserts you, it makes you claim what is yours- your navel centre,
Harry, my love, Algiz guards you, it protects your heart of hearts and those who can hold it- your heart,
Harry, my love, Dagaz speaks for you, it expresses your heart and feelings- your Throat Charka,
Harry, my love, Sowilo gives you insight, it gives you visions and intuition- your third eye,
Harry, my love, Tiwaz gives you wisdom, it lets you feel your spirituality and gives wise council."
Lily, her spell done, watched as the green and the red mixed and swirled for a moment. She had to watch over him now; outside interference wouldn't go well with the spell. If everything went to plan then Harry should be a more balanced, healthy child and person. The spell allowed for the opening of the centre points of magic within Harry's tiny body. As long as they flowed openly his magic would regenerate and produce at an advanced rate, however for this to work it would make him slightly weaker defensively for but a day. For that day his magic was over pliable and open to suggestion. That was why the spell was dark but as far as Lily was concerned more magic was better, despite the risks.
But Lily should have guessed that with her baby boy Harry- nothing went to plan and he always broke the rules, wether he planned to or not. In a flash of violet light, Bellatrix Lestrange's magic entered the sleeping baby boy Harry Potter and assimilated itself to the magic of the Lord Black, reinforcing and sustaining him as it was directed to by the binding which had connected Bellatrix to Harry. Lily was frantic as with her own red magic and Harry's green magic, violet magic coursed and rippled through out his body in what appeared a painful process of assimilation.
A half an hour before, Dreamscape
Harry sat on the edge of a waterfall, the cold spray tickling his nose. Getting up he turned and began to walk upstream against the current with little to no apparent strain. Harry didn't find this strange at all, though he would had he been awake at the time. The ground beneath his feet began to dry and the river turned to hard dirt, while wind swept his face. Suddenly feeling disorientated Harry realised he was dreaming.
He looked down at himself and saw the clear outline of his body. It was clear and detailed as only his carefully trained Occlumency organisation and photographic memory could allow- but it wasn't as he'd remembered it before he'd fallen asleep. Hadn't he been unable to walk? Even though Harry understood he was asleep he hadn't quite worked out what was happening, like he'd just woken up and he was still drowsy.
Looking up he noticed the hard dirt had changed into a clearing with long grasses. Harry felt even more disorientated. Looking out, the clearing blurred and Harry felt himself begin to wake up. Well- at least he thought he did. He was still in the clearing and it was still disorientating. He didn't want to be so off balance, it might be dangerous- he thought, and if that was what dreaming was doing for him then he'd have to wake up. Trying really hard to wake up- Harry couldn't help but be annoyed to find he was still asleep. Why couldn't he wake up?
His feet began to walk against Harry's intentions. But he was asleep- shouldn't he be in control? Harry tried to stop, but found himself unable to. It was a strange and upsetting feeling. Willing himself all the harder to stop walking, his feet stopped while the clearing past him by at the same pace he had been walking. The feeling of being drawn in was strong as he approached what soon became the edge of the clearing and peered into the deep forest. He stopped at its edge watching in apparent anticipation.
Red eyes stared back. Hungrily they stripped him, leaving nothing to hide behind but his own shame. Harry felt fear, true dark and all consuming fear as those eyes stared at him with a violence and hatred he didn't know or understand in this state. The eyes began to multiply- from two, to four, to eight, to sixteen and they grew larger and larger until the entire forest was red and glowing intense hatred.
Not liking the situation Harry turned around and began to run away. There was deep fear here, fear he wanted nothing to do with. With every step the clearing was leeched of life and its past vibrant greens and became grey and lifeless. Harry just wanted it to end. He wasn't brave and he wasn't ready to face what chased after him- he knew that now, but it didn't matter. Rough hands grabbed him and he began to spin in Darkness as he cried, hot tears streaming down his cold cheeks.
Harry woke up in a cold sweat in his bed, as he'd known it with the Dursley's for the first ten years of his life. He moved out of automatic response to waking up in his Dursley cupboard and opened the door. Sunlight was shining through the windows, telling him he was meant to start the cooking. Harry thought for a second that this was a strange place to find himself but moved to the kitchen to begin his morning chores anyway.
Cooking breakfast was a hard job in his smaller body; the pan was heavy and often scalded his hands while the open flame burnt him from the awkward angle he had to hold utensils at this age. He had to cook, he had to cook the bacon, if he burnt the bacon Uncle Vernon would beat him and he'd be sore all week and he didn't want that. So he had to cook and cook and not burn the bacon or the eggs.
Eventually Harry's mind turned from the task at hand as it often had done when Harry used to day dream. Harry didn't feel any pain as he remembered he should, but at this point he wasn't thinking about what he was doing so much as the 'dream' he'd had last night. He had been awake in the middle of it- hadn't he? It wasn't like the normal dreams he had when he was at the Dursley's.
No- it wasn't at all like the dreams he had at the Dursley's. There weren't any green lights or flying motorcycles, any strange cat woman or old doddering man. In fact- it had been wonderful- he'd remembered being old enough to move away from the Dursley's. Even if he was chased by those evil red lights, it was worth it. But if he had been 'awake' in that dream- then could he still be dreaming? He hoped he was. There was a knock at the front door and Harry dropped the pan on the floor.
As the hot bacon hit the floor it left a hole. Harry was confused and curious- why would there be a hole in the floor? Bacon left grease stains and scalded skin, not holes in the floor. Kneeling down to investigate Harry heard his Aunt screeching from upstairs. She must have heard him drop the pan! He'd be in so much trouble.
Looking for an escape from the kitchen but finding no doors other than the ominous one his Aunt would soon appear from Harry began to open the small opening in the floor until it was big enough for him to crawl through. As his Aunt came through the door he had made it to the other side. He was quick to stand up and run away from the hole to see where he was in case he had to run away from a pan wielding Aunt Petunia.
He was in the same clearing except this time he was pretty sure the trees looked brighter and the grass greener- or at least they did compared to when they were dull and lifeless. Realising that he was still dreaming and that those red eyes were bound to find him here Harry was afraid of what was here more than on the other side of the hole. He turned away from the forest to where the hole had once been only to find it missing and in its place a fuming Lord Voldemort. He looked vague but his pulsing red eyes were obvious and Harry felt he was certainly Voldemort.
"It's the last time you'll escape me Potter!" Harry was suddenly ten times older, about the age he'd been when he'd first died. Focusing on the impending threat of Lord Voldemort Harry realised that before he could move a jet of sickening green light was pouring from the wand suddenly in the older man's hand. What was he to do? Harry was paralysed as a blue hand reached out and held the sickening stream in one hand. There was a laugh as the green ball began to bounce and play in his hands.
"Not on this night, Tom" With a swing reminiscent of what Harry thought to be an American Baseball Pitcher, which was strange and funny to Harry's British sense of humour, the blue arm threw the green light like a Baseball at the Dark Lord.
"No fair! I wanted to play!" Before making a silly pouting face with his serpentine face Lord Voldemort sank to the ground before turning into a screaming mass of ghost. "Ooga Booga!" Voldemort turned into Peeves and began to cackle madly before popping away inexplicably.
"Oh Peeves- you are so silly" Harry found himself saying.
"He is, isn't he? Good riddance."
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?" It was a strange lilting sort of voice that Harry recognised as unaccustomed to speaking English. How he recognised it he didn't know- but it didn't matter where he was.
"I'm Harry?"
"And I'm friend" The… thing was clear in Harry's vision abruptly- blue skin, white wings, legs and arms like a human with elongated limbs and face, smallish. Harry didn't feel shocked or even particularly upset- it was all just there. He wondered if that was natural at all- but that thought was swept away like a handful of dust thrown into the wind.
"Where are we friend?" They stood in what could only be a glen of some sort. It surprised Harry somewhat as he couldn't remember ever being in something similar in reality.
"Run with me Harry" Without another word they were running fast and hard into oblivion. Harry's strides became leaps and his leaps became soaring bounds and finally he was flying. Straight and hard they were flying like bullets through the air into what Harry vaguely recognised as home. Suddenly they were standing in front of a Tree, disjointed and disfigured as it was, which held a soft sort of glow.
"Where are we friend?"
"Home" There was a door on the front of the tree which was crookedly held in place by vines and other forms of plant life. Harry didn't find it awkward or strange at all, though he did realise it should be strange to see. No, another part of him said- deeper and older than he knew- this was as all trees should stand and all homes should be made. This is natural. "Come inside, Harry" And Harry's friend was gone. Harry knew his friend was behind that door- wherever that led. He had to pass that door, he had to see the other side, he had to go home. But soon that peaceful feeling was replaced by one of irrational alarm.
He was needed. Someone on the other side of that door needed him- they were in danger, they needed his help! He had to go, he had to go now, there was no time to think there was no time to react, someone was in danger. Someone who loved him, someone who loved him so much it hurt. He was needed they were in danger!
He reached out to grab a hold of the twisted door knob only to be blinded by violet light before falling into oblivion. And Harry Potter knew no more.
Bellatrix sat in her custom room inside the Death Eaters Headquarters. She knew she was doomed, but she had a plan in the meantime which at very least would pass the time. Her plans had been made long before her Lord had cast her out- but it would serve the same purpose- an escape from the Death Eater strong hold. The entire inner circle had them, privately invented, secretly prepared for and furtively stashed away within the mind by specially bought off Occlumens. This was a necessity for the inner circle and all those who worked in the service of their Lord, survival of the most prepared.
You see within the Death Eaters there were several fractions. The inner circle; the specialised Death Eaters, Masters in Arts and such; and then the drones as the higher members called them- these were the three official groups which their Lord acknowledged and used. Within all of these were the family members who were related and the life enemies made anywhere from work to school. Bellatrix herself had several cousins from marriage and her cousin Regulus amongst the Death Eaters. Even beside that- almost every Death Eater was naturally competitive and cruel and any one of them would slit your throat for favour with the Lord.
Though the Dark Lord did not appreciate his servants being killed he could easily replace any one of them for being 'sloppy' and letting themselves be trapped. All the Death Eaters had learnt that lesson early on with the death of Robert Stewart- a half-blood who had been the right hand man of the Dark Lord. Bellatrix herself had been apart of his death and now she might share his fate.
She began to appreciate just how ironic it was. She had been from the purist of all of the British families, practically royalty in certain circles, and now she could share her fate with a half blooded spawn, killed by her own Lord for being useless! Not only that but now she was a blood traitor- a true Mudblood. To betray one's kin was the lowest of all the offences that Wizard kind acknowledged, she was stateless in the eyes of Wizard law- lower than a Muggle, they at least hadn't betrayed their blood like she had.
What had she been thinking, she wondered in a brief moment of sanity. Had she been thinking at all- had her master been pushing her mentally? She knew he could- she'd seen it herself, but that was for the Mudblood's, the blood traitors, the scum of the Earth- not the Death Eaters, surely! She saw, however briefly, that she was wrong, dead wrong. When she betrayed her kin for the Dark Lord he had not cared and he would do it to any one of his followers.
The very thought that he would do that to the purest of Wizards and Witches made her insane with hatred toward her Lord and herself. It put her into action. Walking to the drawer and carefully taking out what appeared to be a magical make-up kit she took a deep breath and walked calmly to the door. She took out what was clearly a potion of some sort and opened the door, covering her mouth as she did it. One broken potion beaker later and everyone who had been in the hall was out for the count. Running down the hall as fast as she could, she made it to a secret passage way she'd found early on when she'd been the Lords lover. It would take her straight down to the Kitchens where two other passage ways awaited her.
Running as fast as she could she fumbled through the make-up kit. There, at the bottom, was a potion which caused disillusion and speed. She quickly uncorked it and swallowed the entire bottle. Storing the case in her robes she ran for the exit of the passage. There were the two paths. One led up to the top level of the house while the other led off the grounds and outside of the apparition/portkey wards. Taking the one off the grounds she ran as fast as the potion allowed, arriving quickly to what she felt as the edge of the wards.
Holding the bag in her hands she spoke the words to activate the portkey.
"Always for you my Lord"
And Bellatrix Lestrange was no longer within the grasp of the Greatest Dark Lord of the Twentieth Century.
Twin Green orbs watched with concern. This wasn't good tiding for the House of Wyatt. The betrayer hadn't anticipated what her survival could do to the world. As it stood things could potentially get very sticky from here. She had to make sure with her superiors what should be done about this. A gentle rustle of leaves were the only signpost that those green eyes had left the damp passage.
Next Chapter: Marked as an Equal But So Much More
And just for the delay have a free Preview:
Preview:
There was a supersonic boom as the House of Black's estate wards reflected the portkeying Mudblood of Bellatrix Lestrange. Unfortunately this meant she was flung through the air and into the Dark forests which surrounded this most secret of Black estates. What would greet her stood to alter the world beyond anything Bellatrix could have ever predicted. Through her treachery she had been given the opportunity to bring about what she had wanted the most, the destruction of the modern Wizarding way of life.
