CHAPTER ELEVEN: Possibilities
"Well, open it."
Dianne fully understood Zee's impatience, but she couldn't help but sympathize with Albus' shaking hands as he tried to open the much-awaited letter with all the solemnity he felt it deserved. She could feel the adrenaline rushing her system, as though she was standing in the final round of the National Congress Tournament, waiting to give the closing remarks of the session. She had known from her reaction to Zee's temporary betrayal that this resolution was important to her, but feeling the rush now made her wonder if maybe the Wizengamot might be as good for her as Zee kept insinuating.
Finally, Albus had the letter open and, at his audience's urging, read its contents.
"Dearest son; Please allow me be the first to offer you my congratulations." Dianne felt Zee relax beside her and knew she was grinning widely. Congratulations could only mean one thing. "I am pleased to inform you that the Resolution for Understanding and Relief, which has become coined by the media as the Naga Peace Resolution, passed earlier this hour, with 42 seats voting in favor and 2 seats abstaining."
Albus' voice was growing slowly louder and he was talking progressively faster as he tried to contain his excitement. "It passed without amendment or modification and by a margin significant enough to place it into immediate effect. The secondary vote required to establish the panel outlined in Section VI was unanimous in favor of its establishment, membership and authority."
Dianne forced herself to breathe normally and not to shout in excitement. "In light of this success," Albus paused, looking shell-shocked, and she saw Scorpius immediately throw up a privacy ward, as Albus cleared his throat and continued slowly. "In light of this success I feel it is appropriate to tell you that I have already made all necessary preparations to hand the Potter Seat into your control upon your 19th birthday. Your…" he took a deep breath. "Your alliance with House Malfoy was unexpected but handled most magnificently. I am so very proud of you, both for this authorship and the alliance which allowed it. Please extend my congratulations and my gratitude to House Malfoy and your other allies." Albus looked up, obviously still shell-shocked.
"We did it." He whispered, and Dianne felt the privacy ward dissipate, as Scorpius seemed to decide no other confidential information would be included in their breakfast conversation. "We did it."
"Congratulations on the Seat." Scorpius said, and Dianne could hear the laughter in his voice.
"Only 6 dissenting is pretty impressive." Edward added, and Dianne knew that her grin grew a little at that.
"I don't remember the last time a resolution passed without a single adjustment."
Unable to keep herself from indulging in just a bit of victory, Dianne raised her tea cup, "To the Slytherin alliance!" It wasn't the most original name, but after one columnist had used it, it had caught on pretty quickly. Scorpius had wanted to fight it, but Dianne knew from experience that reputation could be as important to politics as actual accomplishments, so she'd urged them to capitalize on the press by using it themselves.
"And our Ravenclaw mastermind," Albus added as he raised his goblet of pumpkin juice to meet the glasses of Scorpius and Edward, already lifted, "the secret weapon."
They drank, still beaming with their success and trying to hold on to what decorum they could as word of the results filtered down the table.
"Congratulations, Reed." Rosier interjected from his seat on the far side of Edward. "And you also of course, House Malfoy, House Potter." Dianne forced herself to incline her head graciously, and not, no matter how much she wished it, jump up and do a victory dance. Rosier had congratulated her first. He softened the blow by giving Scorpius and Albus perhaps more respect than he should have since neither one of them were actually seated yet, but he had recognized her first!
"We appreciate the help you gave by lending your attention and your insight." She answered, trying to sound sincere instead of giddy. The help he had given was likely part of the reason why it had passed unedited, and that deserved full recognition. He inclined his head with a barely-smile and Dianne mentally crossed her fingers that she really would have friends in Slytherin the following fall.
"You realize what this means, right?" Albus asked Scorpius as the non-priority mail began to arrive. Scorpius accepted a letter from his family owl, opening it calmly as he motioned for Albus to continue. "They're going to ask us to write more proposals, even before we're seated. Any of our fathers' allies could ask it of us. We've got the time, and obviously the skill. We could end up writing another one before the year is out. How great would it be to walk onto the Wizengamot having already written two or three passing bills?"
Scorpius looked up from his letter, as shocked as Albus had been. "How does twenty sound?"
"What?"
"Twenty passing bills. How does that sound?" When Albus didn't respond, Scorpius handed over his letter. "My father had been approached by no less than seventeen individuals and coalitions, and has compiled a list of twenty topics for us to choose our next proposal from. Most of those are not traditionally our allies. Between your father and mine combined, perhaps half of those are a direct ally. We're holding a proposal list from the moderates."
"Sweet Merlin."
At the risk of sounding naive and nervous, Dianne forced herself to ask, "This is good, right?"
Edward answered her, while the two friends just stared at the letter between them. "It's more than just good. They're being recognized outside of their traditional family circles, for more than just their traditional family strengths. What this essentially says is that they could make their own policy, and they'd have substantial support. I've never heard of anyone not yet graduated being asked to author legislation except by a Head of House or House ally too lazy to do it themselves. These groups could be going to lawyers, to their own representatives, or to any other member of the Wizengamot. They're choosing to come to two seventh years, based on one resolution."
"Wow. Congrats, Zee." He looked up from the letter in surprise.
"This is as much for you as it is for us. We're a team, end of story." His smile turned suddenly teasing. "Don't think you can get out of helping us that easy." She laughed. It felt good to be teased. The last four days had done wonders for their friendship, but they were still re-discovering how to simply enjoy themselves.
"I know. I still get to congratulate you, silly. And you too, of course, House Potter." Albus laughed.
"It worked. Our fathers actually approved and it worked."
Breakfast was finishing, and further conversation was delayed by the inundation of students congratulating Scorpius and Albus. Dianne stood to go to class, squeezing Zee's arm in a silent goodbye, when an owl caught up with her as she was leaving the hall. She sighed, knowing it was useless to protest that Muggle-magical mail always seemed to arrive late, and paid the bird, opening the very thick packet of parchment addressed to her.
It took almost ten seconds of staring at the envelope in her hands to register what she was seeing. When she did, she learned that the adrenaline of earlier was nothing—her hands were shaking, she could feel her heartbeat in her chest and in her fingertips and in her throat. She started to get dizzy before she remembered to breathe. Well, she heard Zee's voice echo from less than an hour earlier, open it.
Transfiguration. She heard herself disagree. I'll be late to Transfiguration.
Like you'll be able to concentrate anyways.
Later. She promised as she shoved the unopened packet into her book-bag and sprinted for the sixth floor. Due to her unnecessary rush, she was actually early, but she refused to open the envelope there, when she wouldn't be able to read it or react properly. She could feel her leg bouncing up and down completely separate from her body, but she couldn't stop it. She could hardly breathe. She just had to make it though this hour, then she could ditch History of Magic and find Zee.
The lecture was on subtle inanimate to animate long-term transfigurations (which, as it turned out, was exactly what her newly acquired ever-fresh headband of flowers was). It was theory she was familiar with, since they had studied how to manage the same effect with Runes the previous semester in the Applied Ancient Runes curriculum, and that familiarity made it too easy for her mind to wander away from notes and lessons and wand movements and onto heavy, thick letters embossed with Muggle typeset.
When they moved into the practical, Dianne forced herself to focus on the paper flower in front of her and not the paper in her book-bag. The wand movement was exactly like tracing the rune in the air, and the incantation was very close to the Rune-name as well. Prope Vivit. Prope Vivit.
"Prope Vivit." She tested the incantation, not even holding her wand to risk no waste of magic. It sounded correct, and sort of ran off the tongue. She held her wand as instructed, focused on the flower as it had been folded and the one she wanted to make—a nice rose, the petal pattern was the same, it was the right size, and she could easily remember the feel of the soft petals of the roses in the Malfoy gardens. "Prope Vivit." And there, sitting on her desk, was a beige rose the exact color and—she picked it up—texture of the ones Scorpius had showed her. She'd done it. On the first try.
Dianne sat back, stunned. She'd managed inanimate to animate transformation on the first try, without saving up her magic specifically for the spell. The rose petals had tiny veins and even smelled exactly the way she thought they should.
The euphoric high wasn't diminished during the wait for lunch, and after seeing her grinning face—and the still barely suppressed smugness of Albus and Zee—Edward dragged their party outside for a picnic.
"Honestly, don't you lot have any control? Dianne, I understand. But you, Heir Malfoy?" he complained as he opened the basket delivered by the house elves.
"Hush up. We've earned a bit of gloating." Albus admonished, lying with his back on the charmed blanket, grinning at the grey winter sky.
"Sure. Whatever. But I'm not missing dinner, so get it out of your system now."
"Where did you get this?" Zee asked, and Dianne realized that she was playing with her rose from Transfiguration, which still hadn't reverted back.
"I made it." Zee immediately sat up straighter so he could look at her, and she felt herself blush. "I managed it on my first try—inanimate to animate transfiguration. It's supposed to be one of the ones from your garden."
"Dianne, that's great!"
"It's not a big deal."
"Dragon's breath." Albus cut in. "That's good work—perfectly detailed. Impressive, especially considering."
"Here." Zee said, slipping it into her hair, and pinning it there lightly with a charm. "Perfect." She felt herself grin and flush even redder than before and ducked her head. Scorpius laughed, sitting back against the tree they were under, pulling her to lean against him. As usual, Edward remained upright, opposite them.
"So what was your letter about?" Albus asked from his horizontal position. "Since I doubt it was congratulations on our political success?"
"You got a letter?" Zee asked, and she realized Albus had been talking to her. It took her a moment to remember the package buried in her pack, which had been forgotten after the elation of a single incantation.
"I haven't opened it yet. It's in my bag." She said, gesturing to Edward's side where the bags were piled. She tried not to let her heart start thundering, but it wasn't easy. Edward retrieved it and handed it to Zee, who didn't pass it along immediately.
"It's from Oxford. I thought you said you wouldn't hear back from Universities until March?" Although they had all agreed, in the end, that she would not accept Vega's offer, the idea of University continued to appeal to her, and she had decided to apply to a few schools just in case. She hadn't expected much; even though she had taken IB tests she had no school records to back them. But the quick turnaround time wasn't what made the letter such a big deal.
"Zee, I didn't apply to Oxford. Derek got rejected, there is no way I'd be able to make it without records. I don't know why they're writing."
"Well, today has an 'all news is good news' trend, so let's hear it." Albus pressed. It took her two deep breathes and three tries to slit open the top of the envelope, and even then it tore through the blue seal very messily. Carefully, she extracted the top sheet, loose from the others. For a moment, the only thing her blurred eyes could read was the bold-faced 'accepted to attend beginning next fall'. Then, she heard the waves on the lake and saw her vision tunnel.
"Dianne!" Zee's shout came from a long way away, and she looked up at him, realizing she'd gone completely limp. Scorpius, who had been under her, had her laid out on the blanket and was kneeling over her, trying to see what was wrong.
"I think I forgot to breathe," she admitted, and realized that was becoming a far too common occurrence.
"Miss Dianne Reed." Albus read from the cover letter he had picked up off the ground. "Thank you for applying to the Oxford University, College of Law. We have reviewed your application and the extenuating circumstances surrounding your available records. Based on the essay, portfolio, test scores, and application information you submitted, you have been accepted to attend beginning next fall, conditional on an in-person interview to be scheduled no later than the 15th of February, and to take place prior to the 30th of March. Please follow the procedures outlined in the enclosed information to ensure this interview is as convenient as possible for all involved. Also included is information on our merit-based scholarship programs, for which I believe you are an excellent candidate. I look forward to meeting with you, Miss Reed. Thank you for choosing Oxford University. Signed, the Vice President of the College of Law, Oxford University."
"No." Dianne found her difficulty breathing now had nothing to do with forgetting and everything to do with the fact that there was not enough oxygen in the air. "That can't be right! I have to finish Hogwarts. I can't go next fall. I didn't even fill out an application for Oxford. What would I even…Oxford. I've been accepted to Oxford University, College of Law." Scorpius pulled her upwards, toward him, until he was holding her tightly.
"Dianne! Breathe with me. It's okay. Don't worry, we'll handle this. Just, calm down. Your heart is going like a jackalope's. Just, breathe, okay?"
It took several minutes before Zee seemed satisfied that she wasn't going to pass out again, but when he shifted her slightly to make conversation easier she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to face the music. "Yeah. I just… that's not what I expected."
"Why didn't you apply, if you wanted to go?"
"It's the most prestigious law university in the country, and probably one of the top schools in the world. Derek didn't make it in. I knew it was too thick to be a rejection letter, but… I didn't write an entrance essay. And the schools I did apply to, I applied for the fall term after next. After I graduated. Getting into Oxford… there's no way. And a merit scholarship? That's for the top 5%. The top five percent of one of the most elite universities in the world! I don't have school records past turning 11! This is…" it was surreal, but not in the same way the rest of the day had been, "I don't know what to feel. I'm thrilled, I'm creeped out, I don't know."
"This is definitely addressed to you." Albus said. "Maybe your parents applied for you?"
"Why sign me up for the wrong term?"
"Maybe it was a mistake?"
"Maybe." She tried to remember the giddiness she'd had just before opening the letter. Tried to remember that today they were accomplishing the impossible, but something had settled in the pit of her stomach, and it felt eerily similar to walking up the headmaster's spiral staircase, wondering if she should call another teacher. Scorpius situated them back against the tree, and Albus handed her the envelope, all the papers stacked inside. Carefully, Dianne slid it back in her book-bag.
"Please don't worry about this."
"I'll try. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Unfortunately, that afternoon seemed to set the trend for the next week, and nothing was as easy as they believed it would be. The panel had been approved, but the Naga were being stubborn about meeting before anything less than the full Wizengamot and the Department of Intra-Species relations had assigned Patricia Umbridge to 'deal with the situation.' While not as deluded as her infamous aunt, she held no love of other species and was not helping to cool tempers.
There were additional complications and controversies concerning the Naga's power, the details of which were hushed up but which involved at least two other countries and pulled the ICW back into the circus. Furthermore, even though most of the Naga had chosen to accept the asylum offered by the bill, the best St. Mungo's and the Unspeakables had managed was to slow the progression of the radiation; they were unable to heal or reverse the damage.
Even Dianne's transfiguration success had been a bitter-sweet victory. While the flower had not reverted yet, she hadn't succeeded in a single spell since and had failed her potions exam that Wednesday.
Most distressing to Dianne, however, was her correspondence with her parents. After a vague answer about 'leaving all her options open' and 'taking advantage of golden opportunities' she had written back a very pointed inquiry about their interference. Scorpius, seeing her distress, had arranged for her to visit home, and Dianne decided not to dwell on the advantages that came of having a godfather for one's head-of-house. It helped, of course, that Albus also spoke with the Deputy Headmistress, who was his aunt.
So it was that, on the following Friday, Dianne skipped History of Magic in order to meet with her parents, Portkeying directly to her backyard. Scorpius had offered to come—well, technically, he'd assumed he was coming until she corrected him—but something in her gut told her this was an issue she had to face on her own. Though she didn't know why, the apprehension she'd originally pushed aside had come back with a vengeance when she got their reply, and after three days of waiting she was far more nervous than she should have been for a simple talk with her parents.
"Mum? Dad? I'm home!" She called as she stepped in through the back door.
"Well, when wizards say 11:07 I guess they mean it!"
"It's a timed Portkey; I'll have to go back at precisely 2:07." She explained as she hugged her mum and then her dad.
"It's good to see you again."
"I know. We usually have to wait until April!"
Dianne said nothing, suddenly reminded of the way Harry Potter had stopped by on Wednesday to eat dinner with his daughter in celebration of her birthday. She had brushed it aside at the time—it was far easier for wizards to transverse from England to Scotland for just a few hours than it was for Muggles to do the same. Additionally, she lacked a not-so-distant relative working at the school to lend an office or create a Portkey at a moment's notice. Now, it stung that she hadn't shared a birthday with her parents since she turned 11.
"Come help me carry lunch in from the kitchen."
Dianne hurried to follow her mum as a cover for her silence, feeling oddly out-of-place even in her own home. It was a feeling she was more used to associating with the Ravenclaw dormitory, and she wondered why it was creeping up on her here. At her parents' request, she spent most of lunch filling them in on the details of what she was doing. She chose to focus on the positive, the need for a bill, their research, and the success they had encountered a week before. She also showed her mum the ever-lasting transfiguration, which she had taken to wearing in her hair every day. She chose not to mention the roadblocks that had come up, using the end of lunch to segue into the topic that had been her original purpose for visiting.
"Of course, all this was on the same day I got a very unexpected acceptance letter."
Her parents shared a glance, and Dianne had an abrupt and unpleasant moment of déjà vu as she remembered coming home two Easters previous to find that she had been lied to. It was her mother that spoke first.
"We didn't know how to tell you, dear. But, we got a visit from Vega—the man you were corresponding with over break—and he explained some things about the wizarding world. He especially explained about the current politics and about Veela and your father and I decided that it would be best to give you as many options as possible."
"What did he say about Veela?"
"He said that if you stay with Malfoy, it will kill you." Her father's statement told her two things immediately. First, was that they had probably spoken with Vega more than once if they'd picked up the wizarding habit of using surnames. Second, was that they had probably spoken at length, because her father considered this a medical certainty, not a supposition.
"Did he say why?"
"It has to do with you healing your mother. Because you used so much power, you don't have as much magic as the Veela thinks you do. You can't support both Malfoy and yourself."
"That's ridiculous. I'd feel it if Scorpius was draining me."
"Phil said you probably wouldn't notice." Dianne noted the familiar name but let her mother continue regardless. "He said it would start subtle, that you'd have trouble with potions, that you'd fail more spells than normal, and that you'd see dramatic fluctuation in casting ability if you spent any significant time away from Scorpius." Her mother, interestingly, did not call him Malfoy.
The diagnosis made her go a little cold. Although her transfiguration victory had occurred some time after that disastrous weekend, she had been significantly tired since, as marked by her complete lack of magical recovery in any class. "Is he certain? And, come to think of it," she stood as it occurred to her. "How would he even know? Why would he care?"
"He got a copy of your experimental case file—"
"—What experimental case file?" She could never remember using this tone of voice with her parents before, but the past ten weeks had sharpened her old instincts and raised her confidence. She could demand, now, even in this house.
Both of her parents shifted uncomfortably and glanced at each other, and her dad leaned forward, suddenly more concerned. "Did you not have a procedure at the end of last year?"
"I did. But I was told it was completely routine for students with my particular difficulties. No one told me it was part of a larger study or that my information would be widely available."
Her parents were both concerned at this, but not surprised and no longer worried. "We had to talk to Phil several times to get all the details," her mom told her softly, "but it seems that he is an expert in this particular field. The same conditions that makes your core weak also allowed you to respond to the treatment better than any other case, and that brought you to his attention. When he saw that you were a Veela mate, he was able to surmise the danger to you from the bond. That's when he started to take an active interest."
"So University was all just a ploy." It didn't make sense to feel betrayal. She had rejected his offer regardless, had moved forward under her own power, but still made her feel sick to have been played.
"No. He really does need young political students. He admitted that he's Japanese, not from Iceland, you called that—"
"—Japanese? A Japanese healer that's suddenly interested in me." It couldn't be coincidence. But Vega had showed up at Christmas, before the attack.
"Yes. Honey what's wrong?"
"He's not who he says he is. It's too much of a coincidence. He's a Naga." She knew that she was distracted, but she couldn't focus, trying to re-assess everything he had said and done under this new light.
"Yes, that's what he called himself." Her mom said it so casually Dianne almost blocked it out. It was enough to make her pay attention again.
"What is a Naga?" Her father asked, carefully. "I assume that it means more than just Japanese wizard?"
"Yes. A lot more. Naga aren't human. We're relatively certain, now, that they're not dark. But we won't be completely secure in that until they meet with the committee and work out some form of trust or investigation or at least cooperation, which they refuse to do." She had skipped ahead—too much politics, not enough back ground. Refocus. Deep breath. "The Naga are water spirits. Their humanoid bodies are their secondary forms. Most—nearly all—magical creatures have or at some point had a humanoid body. Some have become trapped in one form or the other—dragons and vampires are each an example of such a case—but from what we can tell the Naga are still free to transform."
She forced herself to stop and again refocus on the topic at hand. "I don't understand how Scorpius needing magic I supposedly don't have and Phillip Vega being a Naga adds up to my being accepted at Oxford."
"It was the best solution for everyone. You want training in law, Phil says that you'll have a bright future with them if you show as much promise in Oxford as you have already, and you won't have to wait to start working with them."
"You forget to mention that it separates me away from Scorpius."
"Darling, this isn't just about his life anymore. You're at risk too."
"I can't do this to him."
"Honey,"
"No. The Malfoys are some of the richest wizards in the world. That treatment I took may have been experimental, but it worked. It wasn't pleasant but—"
"Don't you think we thought of that?" Her dad asked quietly. Dianne forced herself not to pace, even though she didn't sit back down. She met her parent's eyes alternatively, looking for a way out. "Philip strongly advises against it, as an expert opinion in the field."
"An expert according to who?"
"Himself. And the staff of St. Mungo's. We met him there one day to discuss some of the medical details, and we decided to go early and sniff around. It's legitimate."
"There has to be another way."
"Di, honey, what is it?" Dianne silently cursed the tears she couldn't stop. They were silent, unnoticeable, except that her mom always saw them. "This summer you seriously considered not going back to Hogwarts at all, and that was before University was an option."
"That was before Scorpius. It's different now. I have friends. Not just Scorpius' friends, but mine too. They accept me for who I am. They respect how smart I am. They help me on my spells. They listen to my opinion and they take it seriously. I have a future, based on what I can do and what I want to do and I'm going to get to make changes. And Zee—I think I love him. It's been so much, so fast. But we had this fight and it just about killed me to be away from him. I had every right to be mad but… I was mostly just scared of losing him. I tried to keep him at arms' length and I just couldn't. I don't want to lose him. We don't have all the answers, not yet, but we're getting there. I can't walk away and leave him to his fate… I won't do that."
"Di, please, trust us. We know that this is hard. We've spent a lot of time talking it over between us. We only want what is best for you."
"Then you should have included me in those discussions. I deserve that much respect."
"We're trying to protect you."
"I'm almost an adult. You've been treating me like an adult for years and you choose now of all times to try to make me a child?"
"You're my daughter."
"And I love you. I do. But I've finally found something that's mine."
"You won't be able to change them."
"What? Where is that coming from?"
"Dianne, please, listen to me, to us." Her mom caught her hand and held on. "Let us protect you. You don't want to be a part of their politics."
"What did Vega tell you?"
"Di…"
She clutched her mother's hand not for comfort but as a subliminal message of dominance. Even as she carefully chose a tone that was strong but not enough to make her defensive, Dianne hated herself. "Tell me."
"He said wizards caused the disaster in Japan as a deliberate attack against the Naga and were refusing to help clean it up."
"He's wrong. No one knows what caused the disaster. If it was an attack, the wizards aren't my number one suspect. And we are doing what we can to clean it up. That's the whole point of my bill. Our bill. It passed with only 12% opposition, bypassed the need for a signature, and was put into immediate effect. It has support from every major political party. They can change. They just need to have change presented to them properly."
"Dianne Alexis Reed—"
"—No Henry, she has a right to her opinion." Dianne couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her mom contradict her father like that. "Dianne, we understand that you need time to process all this, and we understand you have questions. What we ask is that you come to us with those concerns. You have to be very careful who you talk to about this. Phil said the Naga have a lot of enemies, and he is worried that they may come after you if they see any distance between you and Malfoy. That's why he is so eager to get you enrolled in Oxford where you'll be under Naga protection. If you move forward on Oxford, and promise your secrecy, we can talk about this again later."
Her mother dictating terms was almost too much to take calmly. "And if I don't?"
"Then you're not going back."
He couldn't be serious. "What do you mean?"
"Either you give us your word that you'll abide by our conditions, or you won't be returning to Hogwarts this afternoon."
"That's dragon's breath. You can't be serious!"
"We are. Dianne, this is your life we are talking about. We have never been more serious." Dianne felt her throat closing down. She wanted Derek, or Zee, or even Albus or Cassandra. She wanted an ally. She forced herself to stop, to breathe deeply, and avoid the temptation to run. The last time she had given into this trap door, fled into what she wanted, she had destroyed her family. She wouldn't do so again. She forced herself to just think, process slowly and work through potential consequences.
She could give her parents her word. Return to Hogwarts and try to avoid Zee's questions, have this debate by letter, and try to work everything out before the interview deadline passed. It wouldn't work; Scorpius was too curious and too easily hurt by distance between them. She was unwilling to risk what they were building.
She could refuse to give her parents her word. Zee would panic, come looking for her. There was no version of that scenario that ended well. No matter what she said, if it came out that her parents were trying to split up a Veela Mating Bond all hell would break loose. She, personally, had some power to end the bond. But her Muggle parents would not even receive a trial.
"What am I supposed to tell Scorpius?"
"You know him better than we do. We were hoping you'd know what he'd be most likely to believe." They wanted her to lie to her intended.
She could give her word to her parents, and then break it.
She could tell Scorpius everything. He would do whatever she asked him to, as long as she didn't let his anger get out of hand. They could figure out a solution together. If necessary, they'd contact Vega or another expert. The Malfoys had the money to make it happen. There was some level of risk that her parents would be prosecuted, but minimal if she made Scorpius swear they'd be safe. He wouldn't want to hurt her. And there would be no reason to persecute them if she went back.
But it would all rest on breaking her word to her parents. She set her hands on her hips and felt the Portkey in her pocket. She very carefully didn't react. She'd give them one more chance.
"Why can't I tell Scorpius the truth, at least? It's not like he would betray me."
"Honey, his father has been paying a lot of money to research ways to sever your bond without hurting his son. If he could be rid of you, he would be. If he finds a way to succeed, Scorpius knowing your plans could put you in a lot of danger."
"Zee loves me. He won't hurt me."
"The Veela wouldn't hurt you. Malfoy Senior is trying to find a way to end that dependence."
She deliberately misinterpreted, even though it wouldn't fool them. She needed a moment. "Well, that would protect me too, wouldn't it? If Scorpius wasn't pulling on my magic?"
"Phil fears what Draco Malfoy might do to you after the bond is broken. He's a war criminal." And he wouldn't want a Muggleborn intended to his son if he had any choice. But in the end, it wasn't his choice. It was Zee's. It was both of theirs. So long as she made it back to him, they could get through this together. She needed them to forget about the Portkey. Provoke them into habit instead of rationality. And the good news was that it would mean she wouldn't have to lie to them.
"Don't be ridiculous. We ate dinner with the man. He's a politician and a snake but he's not dangerous. Look, I'm not saying I'll be reckless. I promise to follow up on Oxford to whatever extent is necessary to make it an open option. But I don't know how I can do that and lie to Zee at the same time. I promise I'll be careful. I even promise to not tell anyone else and I'll let Vega preach to me or whatever you want. But I don't think I can lie to Scorpius. I don't want to lie to him."
"That's your decision. Go to your room, dinner will be ready at 6:00." Numbly, disbelievingly, Dianne rose and walked to her room. Somehow, even as she was doing it, she hadn't expected it to work. She couldn't believe she was going through with it.
She sat on the bed, seeing nothing. The trophies lined on their shelves, the books stacked in every spare inch of closet and bookcase, the simple furniture and the smell of home were all just a canvas. Across them lay her scattered thoughts. The friendships she had made. The accomplishments she'd had. The hope she held. And, of course, the truths that she couldn't deny. She was dying. The Slytherins had only accepted her because of her intended, had known her only a few weeks, and would not stand by her against anyone of any significance. The lengths Vega was going to for her. The dual awareness of flattery and guardedness it gave her. The acceptance to Oxford. The strings pulled to procure it. The flower in her hair. The potions she'd always struggled with.
She remembered her mother, wasted away, thin and weak, skin translucent and dry, eyes misted, and bald. She remembered a single, uninterrupted stream of rattling that was breathing. She remembered the grisly rhythm. She remembered a beat of silence. She remembered a second beat of silence. She remembered her throat closing and her tears blocking her denial and laying her head on the hospital bed and praying to wake up from the bad dream. She remembered waking up to quiet smiles, and careful embraces. She remembered days at the arcade, blurred by years, and the one night that stood almost close enough to touch. She thought about the Pheonix, and the Naga. She remembered that Scorpius had been callous or cowardly enough to beg her help with genocide. She remembered that when she'd come back to steal his help from him, Zee had trusted her enough, and had courage enough, to follow what she offered. She remembered fooling nearly the entire Slytherin common room. She remembered walking into the open ranks of waiting classmates, who gave her two floors of stairs to compose her excuses. She remembered six years of distain, loneliness, and judgment. She remembered being so angry, and loosing so much control, that she screamed into the face of the Potions Master and earned herself detention.
At some point she had begun to pace, mind too busy to keep her body still. She was therefore completely unbalanced when her Portkey activated a full hour earlier than expected.
Deputy Headmistress Katie Weasley was not an unintelligent woman. Her school marks didn't set any records, but then classes had never been her first priority. She had married a man who was effectively a spell-crafter and master businessman and had been forced to patch the hole left in his life by his equally creative and brilliant brother in order to reclaim the man she loved. As a Gryffindor she had learned to rely on her instincts, to trust that she sometimes observed facts subconsciously that hadn't processed fully on the conscious level. Furthermore, she had a truly healthy sense of curiosity.
It was these factors that had led her to eavesdrop on a dinner conversation over the Winter Solace vacation in a Muggle restaurant. It was also her instinct and curiosity that had prompted her to send Dianne away to her cousin on a two-way Portkey. It could have been an unmediated disaster, and in the day immediately following she had wondered if she had made the right choice given the distance between the Veela and Ravenclaw and the damage that the Malfoy heir suffered as a result. Just as she was preparing to confront Reed, however, the situation turned itself around and she reattached herself to Malfoy's hip.
Katie wasn't completely sure why she had felt the need to set Reed's Portkey to return her to Hogwarts a full hour earlier than officially planned, but she made the decision and prepared to pass it off as an honest mistake if necessary. Then she made sure that she was alone in her office at 1:07 to receive her student.
Reed entered without a hint of grace, the Portkey dumping her on the floor at Katie's feet. Reed winced as she stood, but didn't seem to be seriously hurt. The first thing she did was glance at her watch, then look up at Katie in surprise. "It's only 1 o'clock."
"I thought it would be prudent for us to have a bit to talk." Reed considered her carefully for a very long moment, then accepted the seat in front of Katie's desk with a gracefulness that reminded Katie that this Muggleborn had swept up the Headmaster's stairs in Muggle clothes and more dignity than Draco Malfoy himself.
"That's probably not a bad idea. But how did you know it might be necessary?"
"Mr. Malfoy is entirely dependent on your good will. I and the rest of the staff need to know if you intend to reject him before you actually do so in order to allow us time to prepare and react. As none of you were exactly clear about why you needed to go home, it seemed necessary to discuss the outcome of this emergency meeting."
"To be honest, I don't know where to begin." Katie watched Reed carefully, surprised to see that she looked relieved, rather than reluctant.
"Perhaps at the beginning?"
"That would be this Christmas, at the Malfoy's ball. A gentleman introduced himself to us as Phillip Vega. He claimed to be a politician from Iceland. He said that he recognized me from a debate tournament years ago which he attended as a talent scout and he offered to pay for me to attend University if I would put that education towards working for the Icelandic Ministry of Magic. The whole thing was pretty fishy. He remembered me too well, and the entire conversation felt rehearsed, but I exchanged some letters with him after the ball, just feeling the waters and seeing how far I could push him. He bent over backwards, was willing to grant citizenship to myself and Scorpius in just a few years, things like that. Scorpius and I had a huge fight over it, because he thought I was trying to leave him when really I was just trying to figure out what was going on. There was more, but that's the important stuff. After that, I sent Vega a very polite letter making it clear I appreciated his attention but wasn't interested in Iceland or in his scholarship.
"Despite that, however, the idea of University really appealed to me, and I started applying, hoping to attend for a little while after Hogwarts, even if I didn't get a full degree. Scorpius was very supportive, even helped me fill out applications…" She paused, and seemed to refocus on Katie for a moment. "I don't know how much you know about the legislation that we all worked on?"
"If you mean the resolution to help the Naga, I assure you, I am well aware of the time you put into it, the staging you did in the common room to present it, and the significance of the success you have since enjoyed. Professor Zabini is very proud of his Slytherins."
"I figured. What you probably don't know is that there was a… complication… at the last minute. After Scorpius and Albus presented the resolution to their fathers and before it had officially passed there was an issue that I really can't explain, except to say that at first it drove Scorpius and I apart, but that since then we've never been closer. It forced me to say some things that I hadn't really admitted even to myself, and Zee and I have been growing closer ever since."
"It was this issue that required your cousin's intervention?"
"Yes. And I really appreciate your help that day. Anyways the important thing is that I really, genuinely like Zee now. I might even love him." Katie felt her heart clench for the girl in front of her. Katie had known George for years before they'd dated, and although circumstances were different then it wasn't until they'd been together five months that she'd first thought she might love him. Unlike most, she'd never really approved of the Veela mating, though there was nothing she could do against it, and this conversation wasn't endearing the concept to her. It was obvious that Reed and Malfoy were an ill-conceived pair. Proud pureblood and brilliant Muggleborn, born and raised in drastically different worlds. One would have to surrender to the other, eventually, and as their many fights proved it would not be a smooth road.
Reed was still speaking, ignorant of the effort Katie had to expend just to keep a neutral expression. "On the same day that the resolution passed, I got an acceptance packet from Oxford. It's the most prestigious College of Law in the country, possibly in the world. I was offered not only admittance, but a merit scholarship. But there were two issues: first, I had never applied, and second, I was accepted for the wrong year, accepted to start next fall instead of after I graduate. I tried to write to my parents to sort it all out, but they were being really dodgy and Albus and Scorpius suggested just Portkeying home. That's where I was today."
She took another deep breath, staring at Katie very intently. This was fresh, and it was obvious that the emotions associated with it were fresh as well. "If I tell you this, you can't react. You have to promise that my parents will be safe." Katie nodded slowly.
"I just want to help you and Mr. Malfoy."
"I don't want to get them in trouble. Please, I need you to promise that you won't report them or anything. I love my family. They're trying to do what they think is best."
Katie expected Reed to continue in this vein until she had an answer, but instead she fell silent, tension in the line of her shoulders, and waited for a response. Katie weighed her options carefully. She needed information to be able to react, but it was exactly that reaction which Reed feared. Unfortunately, fear for her family didn't necessarily indicate an insurmountable issue. With her parents being Muggle and Reed herself nearly of age, there would be very little protection for her family regardless of the magnitude of their interference.
"Alright, Miss Reed. You have my word." Reed studied her a moment longer, then nodded to herself.
"When I went home today my parents admitted to applying in my name, and to purposefully choosing the wrong starting semester. I didn't get all the details, but what I did understand isn't good. Phillip Vega came and visited them, and admitted to being a Naga, except that they didn't understand what he meant. They assumed it was just a term for a Japanese wizard. He told them that because of the state of my magic, being a Veela mate would kill me. Something about how the Veela needs certain types of magic from their mate, and my not being able to meet the demand. They described the symptoms and it fits. Fits enough to be scary. I gathered that they'd spoken with him more than once. My parents aren't idiots, and they said that they'd asked around at Saint Mungo's and he's some sort of expert in this particular field of magic. They said that those potions last year were experimental and Vega had access to those files. That's what sparked his interest in me personally. I'm not sure how much I buy all that, but it does fit. Regardless, the important point is that my parents believe my being with Scorpius is dangerous to my health." She took a deep breath, then continued a little more slowly.
"My parents laid out an ultimatum. If I wanted to go back to Hogwarts, I had to do it with the condition of deceiving Scorpius and everyone else. They want me to take the opportunity of Oxford as an escape route, and they're worried that if I tell anyone I'll be stopped. I told them I didn't want to do that to Scorpius. I don't want to leave him and I certainly don't want to lie about it. They declared I wouldn't return to Hogwarts. I was sent to my room and chose not to remind them that the Portkey would go off regardless. I was pacing my room examining my options out when the thing went off."
"So what are you going to do?"
"First, I'm going to get answers. Is it true that those potions at the end of last year were experimental?" Katie didn't respond immediately, surprised by the forcefulness of the inquiry and trying to process everything she had heard. It was obvious why Reed had demanded her silence—if it was known that her parents were interfering in the Veela mating the Malfoy family could sue with drastic consequences. But if her parents succeeded in changing Reed's mind she would be perfectly within her rights to terminate their relationship and it would be difficult to prove culpability.
The key, then, was to keep Reed from drastic action. While the truth wouldn't be ideal in this situation, Katie was unable to produce a lie of sufficient credibility to fool the Ravenclaw, so she answered reluctantly. "They aren't completely certified, but you were in no danger. Similar procedures have been in use for the past 10 years or more."
"Why wasn't I made aware of that? Why wasn't I told that my private information would be made widely available as part of study, with my own actual name attached no less?"
"You would have to take that up with the Headmaster and the Healers involved. I was only informed so that I would not be surprised by or suspicious of your superior performance."
"Is it true that Veela draw magic from their mates?"
"I don't know. Perhaps you should take that up with Mr. Malfoy, who would doubtless know more than any Naga."
"Is it true that Philip Vega is a well-known healer dealing with magic deficiencies?"
Again, Katie hesitated. This lie would be easier to tell, but useless since it could be independently verified, and likely had already been by her parents. "The name is familiar to me. I don't know the specifics."
"It is true that the first signs of someone being slowly but critically drained of their magic is failed potions, and erratic casting ability, including significant failures with a few shining successes?"
This line of questioning didn't bode well. "I'm not an expert."
"But you don't doubt it either."
"You've always struggled with potions."
"Yes, but it's getting worse. My spell-casting is too." She said it very factually, and it was disturbing to hear a witch discuss her own magical losses so clinically. "I'm getting more help than ever before, I'm barely practicing outside of class because I've been so busy with everything else, and yet this transfiguration is the only completely successful spell I've had in two weeks."
"There's no record of any Veela mate ever suffering from exhaustion." Katie tried to reassure her.
"There's no record of any Veela mate like me." The tone was almost contemplative, taking the sting out of the wording. But it still seemed like Dianne was jumping to conclusions.
"You shouldn't be hasty about information that isn't sure."
"You just don't want me to reject Scorpius, even out of fear for my own life. Which, for the record, is why I'm asking."
"I won't want you to do anything you'll regret." She ached to tell Dianne to take this opportunity to go, and at the same time knew that she had to convince her to stay in order to save Malfoy's life.
Diane was silent for a moment, considering everything. "Regardless, I need to find Scorpius and talk this out with him. No matter what I decide, he deserves the truth."
"Are you sure that's wise?" The truth would be very dangerous, no matter what Dianne decided. An enraged Veela was no small force of magic.
"I'm not an idiot. I won't let him go after my parents. But if anyone can answer my questions or help me, it's him. Or Vega, I suppose. But I'll start with the wizard who hasn't been lying to me."
She was already rising, mind focused on finding her intended and her tone reflected that. There was nothing more Katie could do. "Alright. Thank you for making me aware of the situation. My door is always open to you."
"Thank you, Deputy."
-Chapter End. 8,800 Words-
Author's Note:
There is only one more chapter remaining! We are almost done with this piece, and I am a little sad to see it finished. My beta is about ready to kill me because I keep sending her "just one more" scene that I want to add. So I'm publishing this now, and Chapter 12 will be out next week. However, as a compromise, I will also keep writing one-shots and publishing them when they are ready. If there's something you'd like to see, make sure you request it!
Again, I thank you for reading. All feedback is appreciated.
We remain yours,
Saphrae (and beta)
Posted on September 7, 2014.
