AN: Wow, I did not mean to fall off the face of the earth again. Really, writers block plus real life nonsense does not make for quick updates. Super sorry, guys.
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Harriet Potter was no stranger to being talked about among the students of Hogwarts. On several occasions, she had even purposefully seeded the rumors. However, at times like these, she was nearly baffled at the speed that information could disseminate through the grape vine.
Somehow, in the time it took her to walk from the fourth floor corridor to the Great Hall for lunch, the entire student body seemed to have learned that she was capable of throwing off the Imperius Curse.
To be fair, she had been among the last to leave the classroom. But she thought that the entire Great Hall falling to near silence when she walked in was a bit much. Resisting the urge to flick her tongue through the air, she settled for rolling her eyes as she walked to her place at the far corner of the Slytherin table. Once she had sat down, one hand reached for the pitcher of pumpkin juice while the other flicked her wand beneath the table, forming a light privacy bubble around the end of the table, just large enough to include her three friends. Knowing what was likely coming, she spoke before Tracey or Daphne could.
"Blaise, Tracey, who do we have at Class Two?" Blaise merely cocked an eyebrow, but Tracey reached into her robes for a small notebook. Flipping through it for a moment, Tracey found her answer.
"Presently, at Class Two, we have the Twins Weasley, Hermione, and Longbottom." Harriet nodded and adopted a thoughtful expression.
"Yes, quite. If you were going to elevate anyone in Hufflepuff, who would it be?" Tracey scowled for a moment, but Blaise spoke before she could.
"Bones, actually. Despite her late introduction to the information network, she took it upon herself to owl me over the summer, to try to find out what else she could do for you. The whole Black affair really impressed her, I think. Not to mention how useful she will be in the future, given her status as Scion of Bones." Harriet raised a single eyebrow at the wizard sitting next to her, even as a smirk grew on her lips.
"Indeed? I hadn't expected that. Quite the pleasant surprise. Consider her elevated, effective Monday morning. Now then, I know the three of you are anxious to learn about my personal project. The bad news is that it wouldn't help to tell you anything now. The good news is that you'll find out on Monday. As will the Twins, Longbottom, Granger, and Bones. Now, over the weekend, I'm going to have a great deal of forgery to accomplish. Tracey, I'll need you to take care of my defense essay. Actually, now that I think about it, have Bones do it. We're the top two students in that class, Professor Moody is new enough he won't know the difference. Daphne, I'll need either you or Hermione to do my Ancient Runes work as well." Tracey and Daphne both nodded their acceptance of the implicit orders, but the raven headed girl was still met with three somewhat suspicious stares. Harriet just rolled her eyes. "Listen, I know I'm being really secretive about this, but nothing I tell you right now will make much sense until Monday. Everything will make sense then."
After dinner, Harriet sequestered herself into an abandoned classroom deep in the dungeons. Pulling out her complied notes on the mind arts, she sighed deeply.
'I have nearly three meters of notes here, and I promised no less than eight people they would have these on Monday morning. Even if I only give one copy to the twins, I still have over twenty meters of notes to write. The things I do for secrecy.' Resigning herself to the herculean effort ahead, she mentally pulled Blaise's long since memorized handwriting to the forefront of her mind, pulled a self-inking quill from her bag, and began to write.
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Monday morning dawned brightly. As the bright rays shown through the window onto her face, Susan Bones grumbled and rolled over, sleepily cursing the fact that the fourth year Hufflepuff girls dormitories had eastern facing windows. Never the less, her disciplined upbringing won out soon enough, and the redhead rolled out of bed to prepare for her morning jog. However, even in her drowsy state, Susan stopped short of her trunk and focused on the desk next to her bed. Sitting on top were two rather thick books, a tightly bound roll of parchment, and a small folded note with her name on it.
None of those had been there seven hours ago when she had gone to bed.
Confusion forcing her into full wakefulness, Susan grabbed her wand from under her pillow and snapped off several diagnostic charms. Confusion faded into apprehension as she deciphered the results. None of the new objects were charmed or otherwise tampered with, save for the note on top that simply resonated with a magical signature Susan was sure she recognized.
At some point in the night, Harriet Potter of all people had been in her dorm room. Even ignoring the ramifications of the archetypical Slytherin girl somehow knowing the method to get inside the Hufflepuff common room, which was worrying enough by itself as the knock sequence had changed only the day prior, Susan was more than slightly worried about what gifts the Girl-Who-Lived would be dropping off in the middle of the night, barely a day after Zabini had conscripted Susan into writing a defense essay for the girl.
Wanting answers more than anything else, Susan grabbed the note on top and turned around to read it in the early morning light.
"Susan,
Congratulations. You've impressed Blaise Zabini, and that is not an easy thing to achieve, much less as quickly as you have. As of this morning, you will now have access to Class Two information and goods. Tracey Davis will meet you in Classroom 22 on the second floor during lunch to pass along all of the necessary information for your new position.
You also have a new project. The scroll of parchment are notes in your handwriting about the new books on your desk. Between the notes and your own reading, you should be able to get a good start on a branch of magic known as Occlumency. Now, given your upbringing, I don't doubt you've heard of the art before, so I won't bother explaining the basics. Learning Occlumency is no small undertaking, but it is one I expect you to give every effort towards. You're going to be learning a great deal of dangerous things now, given your new position, as well as personal secrets of mine that I really would rather not get out.
I understand if you don't truly trust me on even a casual level. You're both careful enough and shrewd enough to know better. But I'm trusting you now. And those that keep my trust and secrets I have no issues rewarding. Galleons, books, potion ingredients, my political clout on specific issues once we both sit on the Wizgamot, or even Dark artefacts, very little is not within my ability to bequeath.
Now, this should go without saying, but I will reiterate: you started yourself down this path by reaching out to Blaise on your own. Even with what you know now, you must realize that not everything I deal in is legal, strictly speaking. I dearly hope you have the common sense to keep your new activities away from your Aunt, seeing as I could easily prove you're just as involved as I am.
H.L.P"
For a moment, Susan marveled at a mind that could praise her, promise her anything she wanted, and threaten to get her chucked into Azkaban all in the same breath. And yet, the entire note was written with the same bland, honest tone.
Susan sat down heavily onto her bed and contemplated her next actions. However, the more she thought, the more she realized the only real option was forward, just as Harriet Potter instructed. The young witch was truly cunning in a way Susan was only just now beginning to come to terms with. Even with what she already knew, which was likely precious little, Harriet Potter already had contacts and agents in nearly every year level of every House within Hogwarts. And likely in all kinds of places outside of the castle, due to graduated students if nothing else.
Susan shook her head. At lunchtime, she would get a much better view at just how long the Girl-Who-Lived's reach truly was. And she couldn't help but feel a bubble of excitement in her chest. After all, she had, in fact, set herself on this path. She had caught a glimpse last year at just what Harriet Potter was capable of. And now, the more that Harriet Potter was capable of, the more Susan Bones was capable of. She was far too deep to back out now, after all.
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In Classroom 22, Susan Bones idly munched on a sandwich as she poured over the documents on her desk. The sheer amount of information Davis had just given her was staggering. Even ignoring the few secrets that weren't for sale (Since when was Harriet bloody Potter a Parselmouth?) it was obvious that Harriet Potter knew more about the castle and its inhabitants than Susan had ever imagined there was to know.
But what surprised her the most was the new information about the actual structure of the organization she had joined. Expect the Weasley Twins (Of all the people in the castle to trust with your secrets, really?) a small group of fourth years all but ran the castle from the shadows. And now Susan found herself all but in charge of all of Hufflepuff. And Granger controlled the entire Ravenclaw arm of the network? Slytherins put that much trust in a Muggleborn?
Susan exhaled slowly and allowed herself to slouch down in her chair. The more she learned about Harriet Potter, it seemed like the less she actually knew. And yet, from the girl's own notes, the only people in the castle who knew more than Susan did were her three friends in Slytherin.
Checking her watch, Susan realized she still had a few minutes of lunch left. Enough time to get to the Great Hall before people started to leave, anyway. Which was plenty, because all she needed to do was ask Potter a few questions. Seeing nothing wrong with her course of action, she gathered up all of the notes and slipped them into her bag for further study before exiting the classroom, intent on getting some real answers from the Girl-Who-Lived.
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Hermione Granger was just finishing her lunch when she saw Susan Bones headed her way out of the corner of her eye. No, Susan was headed past her. Towards the far end of the Slytherin table, and likely Harriet herself. Hermione allowed herself to roll her eyes as she grabbed her book bag and stood up. With a carefully measured gait and a sharp glance over to the Gryffindor table, she crossed the end of the Ravenclaw table just as Susan did, which gave her a perfect opportunity to grab the redhead's arm and lead her back towards the main doors.
"Oh, Susan, I'm glad I caught you, I have some questions about the defense essay, I would love your opinion of the best approach…" With the motor mouth she had perfected in primary school, Hermione was perfectly capable of not letting Susan Bones get a single word in edgewise until they were quite alone.
Once across the hall into Classroom 11, Hermione let go of Susan's arm, and warded the door in a single, precise motion. Once the wards snapped into place, Hermione abruptly stopped her rambling about homework, and fixed the Bones Scion with a gimlet eye.
"OK, Bones, I know you're new, but what on earth gave you the impression that you could just walk up to Harriet in the middle of lunch?" Susan, for her part, was caught off guard by the sudden change in the bushy haired Ravenclaw.
"What do you mean, Granger? I'm Class 2 now. Can't I ask Potter a couple questions?" Hermione heaved a great sigh as her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as though staving off a headache.
"I know you're class 2. I knew before you did. And with that stunt you just pulled, I'm sure I'm not the only one regretting your promotion. Just consider yourself lucky I was able to stop you before the Twins did. Look, Bones, I didn't think I would have to explain this to you, but I guess no one else did and you couldn't figure it out yourself. You are not in charge of anything. I am not in charge of anything. We have certain freedoms and allowances, but everything we do, we do as an agent of Harriet Potter. Out in public, we play the leader. In the shadows, the truth comes out. We follow orders, and we don't aggravate our employer. And we do what we can to aid our employer. Whether that means extorting Firsties out of their pocket money, or bribing seventh years with recommendation letters in their chosen field, or stealing a Quidditch player's broom until they do our dirty work. Everyone has a Slytherin side, and now you have to get to know yours. Intimately." Hermione sighed, and trailed off. From behind Susan a third voice spoke.
"Indeed. Well said, Hermione." Susan spun, startled, and suddenly found herself face to face with Harriet Potter, sitting calmly on a desk behind her. Despite her passive face, Susan felt like the girl's emerald eyes were boring into her soul, judging her worth. "Blaise spoke so well of you, Bones. And you very nearly botched it just now. If Hermione hadn't caught you when she did, I would have already Obliviated you of everything you learned today. I work in the shadows, Bones. Hells, most of the uninformed in the castle think I work for Blaise. And no one outside of our network knows just how far it goes, considering I've shut down or recruited every other even moderately successful information network in the castle. And you very nearly destroyed both of those misconceptions today. If you have information you need to get to me, you know where the dead drops are. On more urgent matters, you get the information to either Hermione or Neville, who will in turn pass it to Tracey or Blaise. Nothing comes directly back to me, because the moment I get complacent and allow my actions to be traced, my wand gets snapped and I get tossed into Azkaban. And that is a fate I would very much like to avoid."
Susan didn't know what to think. She tired her best to keep her face impassive, but, unfortunately for her, Harriet Potter was quite adept at reading people, even disregarding the subtle, passive Legillimacy that she was better at every single day. The raven haired girl let out a sigh.
"Look, Bones, I'll tell you what to think. You're going to thank me for giving you a second chance. Then, you're going to leave here and go about the rest of your day. You're going to spend your free time memorizing the packet of information Tracey gave you and practicing your Occlumency. In doing so, you will give your very best attempt at becoming an adequate agent of my will. If you succeed, you will be greatly rewarded. Now, run along. Hermione and I have some matters to discuss." Harriet saw determination finally flicker behind the Bones Scion's eyes, and smirked at the sight. Both the Slytherin and the Ravenclaw calmly watched the Hufflepuff leave the room in silence, then Hermione raised a single eyebrow towards the Girl-Who-Lived.
"I was unaware you were the type for second chances, Harriet. I was also unaware we had matters to discuss." Harriet shook her head.
"Legillimacy, Hermione. While Bones has heard of Occlumency before today, she has zero practice in the discipline. I'm quite certain she will not fail me again. And as for what we have to discuss, well, I'm simply developing a backup plan. You speak French, yes?"
Hermione, unlike Susan Bones, had worked with Harriet Potter for years already. Coupled with her own daunting intellect, she could follow Harriet's leaps of logic better than nearly anyone else in the castle.
"I do." She acquiesced with a nod. "Conversational, anyway. I wouldn't call myself fluent. You want me to integrate myself with the Beauxbatons students when they arrive, I assume?" Harriet's smirk grew into a grin, even as she shook her head.
"Now now, Hermione. You know what they say about assumptions. When they arrive, unless you are told otherwise, I don't want you speaking a word of French. Blaise and Daphne will be taking care of the integration. I want you to eavesdrop. You're going to tell me what the Beauxbatons delegation is discussing amongst themselves when they don't think anyone around them can understand them." Hermione blinked once, twice, then shook her head.
"Just when I think I've got one of your plans figured out…" Harriet just shrugged minutely.
"If it's any consolation, you aren't just a pawn on my chessboard. More like a Bishop, really. Queen's side, if you're interested." Even as part of her brain was busy considering the ramifications of the chess metaphor, Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"You're being awfully candid today, Harriet." The Slytherin in the room waved her off as she slid off the desk she had been perched on.
"I know. I blame the lack of sleep. I've been running on quick naps and Pepper Up Potion all weekend. Besides, I very nearly actually trust you, and Bones needed to be verbally beaten about the head and shoulders to get in line. Now, you remember to start you Occlumency too, I'll start testing people next week." With a negligent wave over her shoulder, the shorter girl slipped from the room.
Hermione didn't leave for over a minute, rooted to the spot by the enormity of the other girl's parting statement.
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Time began to pass quite quickly for Harriet Potter. Between homework, managing her network of informants, and clandestine meetings in the dead of night to test people's Occlumency shields, she barely had any time to herself.
As such, almost before she knew it, she was sitting down to dinner on 31 October, at a rather more full Slytherin table than she was used to. The delegation from Drumstrang now took up a sizable portion of the Slytherin table at the other end, while the Beauxbatons students had found themselves seats at the center of Ravenclaw's table.
And there, in front of the head table, was the object that had everyone's attention. The Goblet of Fire.
Harriet, for her part, tried to ignore it as she scanned the room, making sure everyone was settling into their positions. At the Ravenclaw table, she saw Hermione take an unassuming place three students away from the Beauxbatons group.
Directly across her own table, Tracey was reading about translation charms.
At the Gryffindor table, the Weasley twins were still sporting impressive beards, reminders that they had failed to cheat the age line around the Goblet earlier that day. On any normal day, Harriet would have at least smirked at the sight, but the growing dread in her gut wouldn't allow for it. For the life of her, Harriet had no real idea why the Goblet of Fire, and the tournament it represented, made her so paranoid. She only knew that it did, and she had learned years ago to always trust her instincts. In the back of her mind, she felt the presence of her familiar, radiating calm in response to her mistress's stress.
A nudge to she shoulder broke Harriet from her introspection. Next to her, she saw Blaise, looking at her with concern in his gaze.
"Harri? I know you're worried, but you should probably eat something. The Feast is already half gone. And besides, the twins tested everything we could think of to get passed the age line. There isn't a feasible way you become the Hogwarts champion." Harriet just shook her head.
"I know, Blaise. Gods, I had a snake hidden in the entry hall all day, watching for anything suspicious. It had nothing to report before dinner. Just of age students entering their names, and the twins. There is absolutely no reason for me to be freaking out like this, but logic seems to be on sick leave." The raven haired girl sighed, deeply. "I just can't shake the feeling something is going to happen tonight. Just, if something does happen, stick to the plan. What we can accomplish this year is the most important thing. All of my plans for the future hinge on the network continuing to expand and flourish. I'm trusting you three with the most important part, just let me worry about me. After all, the plans are mostly in place, at this point, I'm not nearly as important as I used to be."
Tracey just nodded in solemn acceptance.
A rather large part of Daphne wanted nothing more than to run around the table and gather the smaller girl into a hug and wipe that sad little smile off her face.
Blaise just sighed.
"Merlin, you were almost a Gryffindor, weren't you? I've also never heard you be so categorically wrong, before. The network is incredible, don't get me wrong. But it's also insignificant compared to where we would be without you."
Any further conversation was abruptly ended by Dumbledore rising to his feet.
"Now that we are all fed and watered," Blaise rolled his eyes pointedly, but none of his friends saw fit to acknowledge him, "it is time for the Champions to be selected. After the Goblet selects the Champions and I call your name, please rise and move to the antechamber to my left."
As if on command, the blue flames in the Goblet turned scarlet, and a slip of parchment shot into the air.
"The Champion for Drumstrang is Victor Krum!" The hall predictably exploded into cheers. Krum calmly stood from his seat at the Slytherin table and walked into the antechamber, Kakaroff following close behind. The Great Hall had barely quieted down when the Goblet turned red once again.
"The Champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!" The applause was rather quieter this time, but that could have easily been a function of more than half of the wizards in the hall staring dry mouthed at the statuesque blond as she strode confidently into the antechamber. As it was, the students in the hall quieted down quickly, waiting anxiously for the third name.
They did not have to wait long.
"The Hogwarts Champion is Cedric Diggory!" The Hufflepuff table, at least, exploded. Many of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws applauded out of school solidarity, as some of the Slytherins, especially the younger students. However, from her position in the corner of the room, Harriet could see students of every house looking clearly disappointed. At the same time, she felt the tension uncoil in her stomach now that all three champions had been chosen.
However, that tension returned tenfold when the Goblet turned crimson once more. The entire hall went silent at astonishing speed. Even Dumbledore looked vaguely nervous as he reached out to grab the strange, fourth slip of parchment. Unlike the others, Dumbledore did not shout the name listed on the parchment. However, as quiet as the Great Hall was, everyone heard him.
"Harriet Potter."
Every single head turned to the far corner of the Slytherin table.
For her part, Harriet had called up everything she knew about Occlumency, leaving her face an emotionless mask.
At the head table, Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Harriet Potter, please join the other Champions in the antechamber."
As she stood, Harriet whispered to her friends.
"Tomorrow morning, location 16. Spread the word to Class 2."
Without another word, or even meeting the eyes of anyone in the hall, Harriet Potter shouldered her bag, and walked out to the antechamber to meet her fate.
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AN: Welp, the Triwizard has begun. Also, I experimented a bit with POVs outside of our four favorite Slytherins. Let me know if I should keep doing that, or never do it again because it was awful.
Anyway, as always, questions, comments, cries of anguish, pleas for more, aspirations you may wish to cast upon the legitimacy of my birth, recommendations for items to add to this list, poorly formatted profanities, heartwarming sonnets extolling my virtues, painstakingly crafted hate mail, snide jokes comparing this to the resurrection of Christ, unrelated witty limericks, and love letters (as applicable) may be submitted directly to me via the big box below.
Also, a shoutout to ASH1993, because you actually wrote me an unrelated witty limerick. It made my day.
~ExaltedChaos