Chapter 10
Aeria Potter was many things but currently happy was not one of them. Over the last few months since early October she had found out a great many things that had been hidden from her for most of her life. It had all started when she had been on a trip with the orphanage she had lived at. They had been going to see the city part of London seeing more than they normally did living on the outskirts. Now as they walked around they came across a pub. Now for any city this was quite common and even more so in some countries than others. But for some reason this pub was calling out to her so strongly she had to enter it. Noticing everyone else with her looking at the other stores around them she slipped in.
Upon entered she was at once a little surprised and shocked at the place. For once it easy twice the size on the inside as the outside, everyone was wearing robes, and lastly things seemed to be flying and being set down on the tables being served without anyone or anything carrying them. She had looked so surprised in the end that the Bartender had come over to her and asked if she needed any help. She could not help but asked what this place was what was going on and why it made no sense. Tom quickly figured out from the questions she was a muggle born witch that had not got her letter to any magical school yet. After figuring that out, he decided he could help her a little bit by telling her what he knew. While his knowledge was not the best when it came to government, it was still quite a lot, though it was not the best since he knew more gossip then fact.
Aeria learned some good things though, the most surprising one being she had a brother, most likely Harry Potter. She was sure that Harry was her brother, since his age and birthday matched up with hers perfectly. She was very quickly realizing something was wrong. This was because all witches and wizards, according to Tom, got a letter to attend Hogwarts School for Witches and Wizards alike. Meaning it was likely that someone had made sure hers was not sent out, since she was of age to get one. This gave her a lot to think on as she decided to get a little help from Tom. Knowing it would be better and quicker over all if she left the Orphanage behind, she at once set to figuring out what was going on.
Deciding to not tell Tom her last name just yet she asked if he could show her around a little bit. Tom seeing no problem with this agreed and getting one of the other workers to keep any eye on the pub for now he left, showing Aeria into the Wizarding world. They walked by many stores with Tom explaining what each one was and what it was for if need be. Aeria could not help but try and look everywhere at once in awe unknowingly copying her brother Harry when he had been here for the first time. Tom then pointed out a few places she need to know of so she knew where it was and was not safe to be. Then lastly they came to a huge white marble building that towered above all the others. Gringotts Bank.
It took Aeria a few moments but she was soon able to get Tom to show her inside. Tom decided to help her set up an account but when she started talking to a teller everything went sideways. As soon as Aeria spoke her last name Tom stopped in shock since the only Potter alive was Harry Potter in all of England or least that had been true until now. The Teller looked at her weirdly and took her off to the side telling Tom they would send a message once this was all over to him so he could pick her up, also asking for him to not say a word of this until everything was said and done. Tom nodded and left in a slight daze and made his way back to his pub.
Aeria, on the other hand, was brought to a place with a great many books and a large bowl. They performed a blood test on her, the results showed her blood line. She was indeed related to Harry Potter and as she had guessed, his twin sister in fact. From there things seem to snowball a little out of control. First the goblin asked why she was not in school her answer was that she had not got her letter at all. The goblin shook its head in wonder and walked off through the room and came back with another goblin speaking quickly saying things in its native tongue. The new goblin looked at her weirdly before shaking its head.
It took Aeria a few hours after what happened next to sort it all out. The goblin that had come forward was that one in charge of making sure wills were read and dealt with. Not even sealing them unless done by the people who wrote them could stop this process. But when he went to check the will it was still sealed but it was unclear who had done it or why. Quickly opening it they started going over it, and Aeria found out some weird things. The first being Harry and her never to have been put in different place since a twin bond had started forming and there was a risk of both of them being weakened if they were apart. The second was that, both Harry and she should be with someone right now since all but two names on the list were unable at the moment. The final thing was that someone was messing with hers and Harry's life.
After this things slowed down a lot and she was able to understand what was going on or at least sort them out. It seemed someone named Albus Dumbledore was planning something for her brother, and for that he had removed her from the picture. This was done by sending off to that none magic orphanage and making sure she would not show up. And even if she had shown up he had drained her trust vault so she at the moment did not have any money in this world. Now he was trying to control Harry, but for what no one had any real clue since there was no true gain.
But thankfully the plans Dumbledore had were not foolproof, as it turned out the Goblins where willing to help. As settlement for what had happen with her money losses and the unread will they were going to refund her and Harry their full trust vaults back. Undoing anything Dumbledore had done as well as making sure he could not pull off the same trick or any new ones again. They also decided since Aeria seemed to be set on heading to Hogwarts and wanted to meet with her brother she would get two months training free as part of the settlement. Aeria agreed and thanked the Goblins for their help greatly and end up earning another month of training as well.
This left her where she was now currently. She had been pretty well trained by the Goblins in the use of mage battle staffs. A battle staff was used for a few different things first as any actual weapon but second as a wand. This had both advantages and disadvantages, for one it could be used in a close combat fight and send blasts of magic at your opponents. But unlike the wand it could not be easily hidden or do simpler spells where control, not power, was needed. It was not perfect for Aeria yet since she did not have a lot of magic to send large spells with. But in combat she could use it well enough to take on very low ranking Goblins.
She stood before the gates to Hogwarts using a mild 'not notice me' charm. She quickly scaled the gates and entering the school grounds. As she landed on the ground she took off at a run towards the school making sure to avoid the large piles of snow. Her plan was simple look over every floor for her brother and beat anyone into a pulp who tried to stop her. She could not help but smile as the Castle Hogwarts came into view it was truly something made from magic just by the way it looked even covered in snow.
Sadly this pleasant state of mind and her plan were derailed as almost hundred feet from the door to the entrance hall. A large column of flame appeared in front of her only ten feet away sending snow everywhere and stopping her own spell. As the flames disappeared they revealed the last person she wanted to see at all. Albus Dumbledore. He looked at her carefully looking a great deal like her mom but at the same time so much like her dad. "Well, Aeria Potter, you have become a bigger problem than I would have thought."
"Oh and why is that?" Aeria asked why looking around for a way out of this. Even with her training, she knew there was no way, right now, she could face the man and win, close combat or not.
"You should not be here, and you now know too much. So be gone," Dumbledore said. His wand came out so fast Aeria did not catch it until there were ten spells flying at her.
Aeria knew she did not have time to get out of the way or dodge she did the only thing she could think of to save herself. Sending a blast of magic at the ground she caused it to fly up with the snow and create a wall of dirt, snow, and stones blocking the spells. She smirked a little, knowing she had caught him by surprise, giving her a few seconds to cast her next spell to get out of this mess. Thinking quickly she cast a smoke spell causing a huge cloud of smoke to form around her and Dumbledore. As soon as this formed she took off as fast as she could towards the school and managed to enter it before Dumbledore was able to clear away the smoke. She smile a little those two spells may have taken a good size chunk of her magic but she was now where she needed to be.
She continued running down the corridors using the knowledge that the goblins had given to her to begin her search. But she was not able to look long as she saw Dumbledore appear in front of her again as before in a column of flame. Taking a left hand turn unknowingly going in the opposite direction Harry was in she dashed down a corridor. But it was a bad choice when she saw that the corridor was dead a dead end. This meant she was going to have to try her luck at the secret passages that were said to honeycomb Hogwarts. Seeing a painting of a sleeping wizard she pushed on it hoping it would open without a problem. She got lucky as it opened without a problem and revealed a passage, not waiting another second, she darted down it. The picture swung shut behind her as the person on it woke up. Aeria sighed a little happy for now and moved down the passage rapidly using a spell to light up her staff so she could easily see as she moved down the passage.
Outside the passage Dumbledore stood looking at the painting, he had never thought there would be a passage behind this painting. That was because it was one of the very few paintings that had actually dated back to the time of Merlin, and this one of him hated getting touched. It actually had a compulsion charm on it to keep people from touching it, but that had not done much good if the person just was wanting to get out of there no if, ands, or buts. Dumbledore looked at the painting for a few seconds before he spoke, "Hello Merlin, it has been a while."
"Why hello, Albus and yes it has. Who was that girl that got behind me just now?" The picture of Merlin asked wondering as he stretched.
"Her name was Aeria Potter, and I need to get her out of this school at once," Dumbledore said making a move towards the painting but one of the more powerful charms activated and forced him back.
"I see, but I cannot let you through here Headmaster. If you were to follow her into here you would die like she will likely do," the painting of Merlin said.
"Why would she die?" asked Dumbledore, wondering.
"Inside is sealed a creature so powerful it took the full might of Thor and myself, while I was alive, to just contain it. It is a serpent of serpents and a creature with no equal. It is sealed behind me and even if it was to die. I am not allowed to let anyone pass or out again if they get in for risk of what they might somehow unleash into this world with its dead remains," the person in the painting stated before moving to sit in the very high back chair he normally sat in.
"I see. I will leave her then. But before I go I must ask what is sealed back there that is so great that not even your real self and Thor could not beat it," Dumbledore wondered trying to get a name so he could understand it better.
"We did not name it, but time and legends have. It is now called Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent. After sealing it in this tomb they started to walk away but Thor having been poisoned, died, having barely taken nine steps. Merlin, after seeing this took Thor back to his home so that he may be buried correctly, then he returned her and built this castle over the chamber. Using a large amount runes and seals on the bricks and the castle walls and floor as well many other things he increased the power of the seal and wards that hold back the beast. He then made a control room of sorts to make sure he could tell how well the wards were running, though he knew it would be many thousands of years before the wards came close to falling. Using crystals he drew on even more power to make sure that the seals would be hopefully permanent. It is truly a work of art, and the power that is used to hold the creature in here for a day is enough to power the wards around the school for a hundred years if not longer." The painting said smiling on its face at the work or skill of it maker.
"I see if I may ask where this room is, I would like to check wards if possible," Dumbledore asked.
"Oh that is impossible now," the painting says with an all too nice of a smile.
"Why is that?" asked Dumbledore having a bad feeling her would not like the answer.
"When Salazar founded this school with his friends, he decided they should make it their home. For it was very large and held a great deal of magical power. So making it their home they lived here for many years before they came upon a great foe. They had found the control room many years before while exploring this place. They decided to seal the creature in the room using the increased magical levels to make the seal and wards around the room currently. But the flaw of the seal and wards was that someone from any two of their blood lines could enter the room," The painting said as Dumbledore went deathly pale.
"You're joking right," Dumbledore asked rather fearful and slightly annoyed at the irony of this.
"No, why would I joke about something like this?" asked Merlin confused.
"Because Harry Potter has been living in that room for a while now and if he heard anything of what you said…" Dumbledore could not really find word for the fear this caused him. Dumbledore was said to be equal to Merlin himself, but Dumbledore knew if even half the legends were true about Merlin, then he was still nowhere near that level yet. And if Merlin himself could not beat this creature with the help one of the most powerful battle mages in history than what chance did he stand? Dumbledore could not help but fear for the world. If Harry were to find out about his sister, who knew if he would release it just to meet with her again.
"If what you say is true, then we can only hope and pray that Harry will not figure out the controls," but even as the painting said this a blast of magic came from behind it and speared down the hall disappearing quickly.
Dumbledore looked at the painting worried, "Was that the beast, is the seal failing?"
"That was the beast, but the seals are not failing. But I would leave now and make plans to get all the kids out of this place if things start going bad," the painting of Merlin said. Dumbledore nodded and disappeared to his office quickly thanks to his pet Fawkes. As the flames from Dumbledore departure disappeared, a large door formed in the side of the passage across from the painting. Harry stepped out of it followed my Hermione and three Xenomorphs. The painting sighed and shook it head before it spoke. "So if I am guessing you are Harry Potter, the one Dumbledore is worried about."
"Yes, though right now I would rather not be a problem. But sometime we don't get much of a choice now do we. Now I will like to meet with my sister who is currently behind your painting," Harry said looking at Merlin closely.
"If you have been listening then you know I cannot not let anyone back out once they have gone in," Merlin said simply.
"Yes I know, but you know as well as I do, as to where I am living currently. So if I wanted I could end your usefulness in seconds," Harry said with a small smirk.
"Yes I do, I guess I will have to let you and your sister back out when you come back through. But you will have to be the one to open my painting up since I was made to close only never open," Merlin said looking at them.
"Warning though, if you close on me and my sister at all, my friends will find out a way to release that creature you guard so well." Harry said before using his magic to open the painting before he walked down into the passage. Harry could not help but wonder if he was going to be able to meet with the creature of legend as he disappeared into the darkness.