Warning : Unedited.
Chapter Twenty : Preparations For Things To Come (Undone)
Severus sneered down at the pathetic potion the youngest Weasley had turned in. What should have been a thick sea green liquid that was resistant to spilling instead was a runny mess of clear purple with inexplicable flecks of wooden splinters. It was easily the worst potion from the first year Gryffindor-Slytherin class, including Crabbe and Goyle's, two Slytherins even he could admit were placed in his house out of lack of options than anything else.
Only Granger, Greengrass, Malfoy, and Romanoff had managed to make perfect batches, something he had come to expect from those particular students.
Romanoff...
That boy still caused more questions than he gave answers. The mystery and hype around Romanoff's mother breaking into the castle had finally fallen away to a few questions then and now and reminders whenever someone overheard the boy talking about his family. Of course, Dumbledore had yet to stop in his quest to find out what happened, despite his assurances that he knew well enough and to let it be. Severus had been there when Natalie Romanoff had torn the old man's barely veiled attempts at gathering information in the same condescending tone he disguised as a grandfather humbly asking for help up the stairs.
Then there was the Defence Club he and his friends had founded after having had enough of gaining nothing from Quirrell's stuttered lectures. A club in which students of all years and houses were willing to come together to participate. The grades of each member had gone up, though it was difficult to tell how well they were doing seeing as Quirrell wasn't in the habit of giving practicals. Even his godson, the very person who had attempted to knock Romanoff down to the bottom of the Slytherin hierarchy through a confrontation based on blood purity, had been to several of the club meetings. The blond heir had yet to try to use what he learned on other students, something Severus could admit had been a fear of not only his, but the other professors as well. Looking into it Severus had learned that Helena Hoster of his house had proposed that all active members of the... Knights of Loki... defence club had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that kept them using what they learned unlawfully in accordance to the school rules and Ministry set laws. Any who broke the contract would have their names etched onto a specially charmed board in the defence room and the student's respective head of house's office. Minerva had only huffed when he had awarded ten points to Slytherin for Hoster's thoughtfulness and another ten for application of less than common legal practice.
None of that stopped a few loud mouthed Gryffindors from shouting out for all the world to hear that the Slytherins shouldn't be allowed in the club since they'll just use what they learn on innocent people. Cormac MacLaggen - a second year Gryffindor with a particular breed of arrogance and lack of common sense - had even attempted to provoke a second year Slytherin by throwing a leg locking jinx while the boy was at the top of a set of stairs.
Severus would've paid anything to see Minerva strip the stupid reckless boy's hide and hang it on her wall.
There had even been talk of starting more clubs for other subjects, even those not part of the official Hogwarts curriculum. He would be damned, though, before he allowed a Spa Club to be founded in his school by Brown and Patil.
Severus sighed.
No matter how many times he questioned the boy about finding Hagrid's slobbering beast of a pet, he never received the answer he was looking for. Accounting for the chance he was wrong about what had shaken the friends up so much Severus had been deliberately vague in his interrogation but gave enough clues and hints for Romanoff to catch on had he known what he was talking about. Which the potions professor was sure he did. The boy was good, he would give him that much, but he still played up his curiosity a bit too much for a Slytherin. Had the boy been a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, Severus may have fallen for the act.
No, he was certain Romanoff knew what he was being questioned about, but for some reason was keeping it to himself.
He knew he would have had more success in interrogating the boy's cohorts, but he didn't want it to get back to their respective houses, and by extension, the headmaster. Severus didn't want to find out what Dumbledore would do if he learned that a group of first years had stumbled upon his poorly thought out trap for the Dark Lord.
The more he thought about the strange muggleborn in his charge, the more Severus felt as if there was more to the boy than apart from the obvious. It was a niggling feeling at the back of his mind, something akin to when Legilimency was attempted on him. There was something familiar about the Romanoff boy, something that was comforting yet at the same time infuriating. Severus hadn't bothered to refrain himself from looking through the boy's records for a hint of what was vexing him. He knew if he could just find one of the missing pieces everything else would fall into place.
Perhaps it wasn't the best course of action to focus so much attention and thought on the Mystery of Hadrian Romanoff, but it was better than the alternative of dealing with ignorant children any more than he had to or being brought into yet another of Dumbledore's schemes.
His thoughts briefly drifted to that blasted stone hidden beneath that damnable beast. Yes, figuring out Romanoff was clearly the best choice.
"Did you hear? Someone from the Ministry is investigating the break in at Hogwarts." Velma MacNarrow said as her friend and neighbor, Constance Mowbray, bustled into the shop they both worked in during the school year.
"Really? I thought that was something my kids made up or misunderstood. A muggle really got into the school?" Constance sounded incredulous, not that Velma could blame her. A muggle getting into, let alone breaking into, the most protected place they knew seemed too far fetched even for the wizarding world.
Velma nodded, pushing aside the box full of jars of face cream that she had been shelving. "They're saying she might be a squib, but the question is still of how she got in the first place. I heard that she had a wizard with her that got around the wards somehow, but Merlin knows how he would do that."
"Oh dear," Constance fretted. Maybe I should write my Calliope and Ophelia about this."
"Winner, Romanoff!"
Lisa nearly collapsed where she stood when she heard the words that signaled the end of the mock duel. She panted for breath, her hand clutching her robes over her chest.
"Can someone get one of the meddies? I think I went too hard on her," Hadrian's voice floated over to her, sounding sheepish, but not apologetic. She would've growled at him if she had been able to.
Lisa felt someone place a hand on her shoulder, another tilting her head up so she could see the dark eyes of Fern Dalton.
"Spirare," the Slytherin girl intoned, giving a precise flick and dip of her wand in Lisa's direction. Almost immediately Lisa could breathe easily again. "Don't do anything too strenuous for a bit, like chase down a certain show off. But other than that you'll be fine." The older girl said with a gentle smile and a knowing wink.
Lisa rolled her eyes but nodded her agreement anyway. "I've decided the best course of action is to compile a list of things he does so I can give to his mother during the holidays." A wicked smile broke across the first year's face.
Fern gave her an approving look before walking away.
"Eh, sorry about that, Lisa," Hadrian said as he approached, not insincerely. That eased a bit of Lisa's annoyance at being bested by him, again. "You did so much better than last time, especially with that tugging hex of yours, that I guess I got caught up in the moment. But-!" He said hastily when Lisa raised her eyebrow threateningly, unknowingly bringing up memories not of his mother, like some might assume, but of a certain agent. "I did think of something when I saw how you dodged that stunner I hid behind a leg locker."
Lisa tilted her head in confusion. Hadrian had a habit of sending multiple spells at once to make it harder to dodge or shield against them effectively. He had the advantage of stamina and more practical knowledge under his belt, as well as being one of the most powerful lower years. It had taken her three duels to even begin to come up with a defense against his barrage of attacks. "What exactly did I do?"
Hadrian's face lit up. "You spun in place and raised your wand up to follow the light of the spell to disguise the spell you were using. You did a complete turn and caught me off guard when you shot off your own stunner. If I hadn't grown up with my Uncle Clint you would've had me."
"That's the one who likes to hide in the vents and throw things at people, right?"
"Yup, that's the one." Hadrian affirmed happily. "Anyway, it reminded me of someone I know of. I don't know her exactly, but I've seen footage of her fighting and she does the sort of the same thing. I think it would be a good idea for you to build your dueling style on that kind of movement and strategy."
Lisa put a hand on her hip and definitely did not partially stick out her lower lip in what the boys had taken to calling the 'Wonder Pout' as she thought about it. Now that it had been pointed out to her, she could remember doing as he said. She hadn't even thought much of it, just saw the chance and took it. Hadrian had sent off another spell while she had been turning so she hadn't noticed that her own stunner had almost hit the target. She didn't think Hadrian would lie about almost being defeated just to make her feel better, in fact he was quite blunt and critical when directly asked for feedback, so she guessed that her nearly instinctive move was a good idea.
"Hmm, I remember doing that now, but I hadn't really thought much of it at the time because of that... jelly legger?" she hesitantly identified. Hadrian nodded. "-that you sent right back at me. You really think it's something that could work for me?"
"Oh, definitely!" Hadrian nodded his head excitedly, his hands gesturing wildly in his enthusiasm. "I've noticed that you're pretty flexible, especially considering that you said you've taken dance classes since you were little, and the woman I was talking about was really bendy, too. I don't remember much about her fighting, just enough to recognize something similar, but I think we can figure it out easily enough. You already used it without being taught or told so it should mostly just be having you use it consciously.
"I could start you on yoga and beginners gymnastics to help your flexibility as well as your stamina. It would help you dodge better when you're caught in an awkward position without coming back to bite you later when your spine pinches or your neck cramps up. You've seen m do back flips and somersaults during my warm ups?" Hadrian was so focused on what he was saying that he didn't noticed that the other students attending that day's meeting had stopped what they were doing to listen to him. Lisa felt her cheeks heat up at the attention, seeing as they were talking about her for the most part. She nodded anyway. "My Mom and some of my aunties and uncles have taught me to use those moves to not only get out of the way, but to catch whatever's coming at you if it's possible. Obviously you can't do that with a spell, but it's pretty much the same in practice."
Lisa decided to keep her questions about just why so many members of her friend's family were so involved in fighting - once again - knowing that it was pointless to ask him outright. When asked Hadrian would just talk around the asker in such a way that they didn't realize he wasn't actually answering until later on or he would just ignore the question outright. Neville had managed to bring her and Terry to heel by pointing out they could just ask his family themselves during the holidays. Wayne didn't seem to care much.
"Could we start that yoga and gym-nastics... next week?" Lisa asked instead.
Hadrian shrugged. "Sure. I don't do much yoga, but Uncle Bruce does and I can ask him for tips."
It was just then that Hadrian noticed the audience they had acquired. Lisa wasn't surprised to see Hadrian give a weak chuckle and run his hand through his hair sheepishly. He sent an accusing glare her way, but she just shrugged at him, unrepentant. Maybe Terry was on to something when he said spending so much time with a Slytherin was corrupting her.
"Oi, Romanoff, can anyone join your little lessons?" Seamus called out from where he was standing between Dean and Lee, a position that made him look even paler in comparison.
"I don't see why not. It's not like you're going to be training for the Olympics. " Hadrian shrugged. Lisa noted with amusement that a Hufflepuff was writing 'Olympics' out on the unofficial official 'What In Merlin's Name Is That?' board that had gone up once they had noticed how the muggle raised tended to talk about things the magically raised had never heard of before without stopping to explain. Another one had gone up next to it and was the unofficial official 'What In Loki's Name Is That?' for the things the muggle raised had no idea about. Lisa was proud to admit she, Terry, or Neville were usually the first approached when someone wanted to know about muggle things from someone who understood their confusion. "Once you get the idea of it, you could do most of it on your own, or at least without me there to watch."
Hadrian paused as he thought something over. "Once most of you build up your stamina, reflexes, and flexiblity, we can start on physically disarming an opponent." No one made mention of the fact that Hadrian had become the unofficial official captain, Lisa mused. She thought it was mostly because despite some of the older students having some experience with dueling, Hadrian seemed as if he had been... trained... and always sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but was still willing to step back when something came up that he had no idea about.
"Why do we need to know that if we can just learned Expelliarmus?" Cho Chang, a second year Ravenclaw, asked.
"So that you can even the playing field if your opponent uses it successfully first?" Angelina Johnson, a third year Gryffindor, answered for Hadrian. "Like, say Fred used the spell to disarm me, I could use what we learn here to get close enough to him to physically take his wand from him so we would both be even. Then I could just punch him in his face." She sent a smirk in the red head's direction, getting a suggestive wink in return.
Terry strolled up and threw an arm around Hadrian's shoulder. The taller boy's hand reached up to wipe a nonexistant tear from his eye. "They grow up so fast."
"Shove off, Boot," Marcus Flint called out, for the most part teasingly.
Terry didn't even bother to look at the older boy while holding up his middle finger, something he had taken to doing when he realized that most of the staff didn't recognize it for what it was. Lisa had surprised them by doing the same, only when they weren't in the presence of any staff though. Neville refrained from doing so as well and Wayne didn't see any need to use a rude gesture when he just ignored nearly everyone.
"Alright, alright," One of the Slytherin prefects said as he ushered everyone back to where they had been before Hadrian had gone into his spiel. "We have another twenty minutes before dinner so finish off whatever you were doing. Unless you want to be the one to explain to Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey while the lot of you threw up because your stomach couldn't handle the food."
No one wasted any time in going through the cool down steps they had learned. Having to deal with Snape was bad enough, they didn't a worried and flustered Pomfrey added on top of that.
"Oi, Tom, whatcha readin' that trash for?" One of the Leaky Cauldron's regulars, Angus Filch, asked loudly from his seat at the counter. The ornery man was nursing a warm butterbeer as Tom had already had to cut the man off.
The owner of the pub set the newsletter he was reading down, showing the headline of 'Castle Under Siege of Nigglebats.' "'Cos the Quibbler's the 'nly paper I know talkin' 'bout wha' happen'd at Hogwarts."
Angus hiccuped before asking, "What happen' at Hogwarts? I ain't heard a thin'."
Tom himself had only heard about it thanks to a few gossiping matriarchs that liked to venture out into the muggle world to satisfy their 'adventurous' side. He had long since learned how to tune out the usually mindless drivel, but hearing 'break-in' and 'Hogwarts' in the same sentence was enough to catch his attention.
"You don' know? Someone broke in."
"Neville, what is that on your sweater?"
Neville looked up from his Potions essay to see Hermione standing a few from him, her brow furrowed together and her lips pursed. Without thinking, he glanced down at his chest to see what she was talking about. On the left side of his chest sat the official, one of the few fully official things about the club, Knight of Loki Defence Club pin. It was a simple circle lined in the respective main colors of the houses and the Norse rune for chaos etched in black against a white backdrop with a wand and a sword crossed below it. In the beginning it had occasionally flashed 'Knight of Loki' but the charm had worn off after a week or two. It had been designed by Dean, who showed a surprising talent at art, and brought to life by mass production through the Weasley twins. No one was quite sure how they managed to make enough for every Knight, as well as extra for any new members in just two days, but they all agreed it was best to let it remain a mystery. Not that that stopped everyone from having Flitwick check them over before wearing them. It was Fred and George, after all.
"It's the pin for the Defence Club." He answered simply.
If possible Hermione's lips pursed even more. Neville was reminded strongly of McGonagall. "Yes, well, I thought as much, but seeing as you don't talk about that club very much I wanted to make sure."
"Oh, okay. Why?" Neville asked, sounding genuinely curious. He didn't understand why Hermione would pull away from her studying to ask a question about his pin.
"Just... curious," she said before pausing, looking as if she wanted to say something else. Neville waited patiently for her to either gather her thoughts or force herself to say whatever it was. "So what do you do in the club?"
"Learn defence?" Neville answered hesitantly. He didn't get why Hermione would ask that, he figured the name sort of spoke for itself.
"Yes, obviously," she huffed. "What I meant was what do you learn, how do you learn it, who teaches what, what's not allowed, do you have to ask one of the professors for permission before trying something new?"
Neville shook his head to clear it off the buzzing the rapid fire questions had caused.
"Um, well, the Ravenclaws asked Flitwick for a list of year appropriate spells and stuff and then made a lesson plan using that and the books everyone had to buy. The older students learn a new spell first and then teach it to whoever needs to know it." Neville took a moment to think over the questions. "Uh, it's sort of a free for all. I mean, not everyone can make every meeting so they usually just ask someone who had been at the last one if we learn something new. I think the spells are separated between jinxes, hexes, curses, and then counter spells, but I can't sure."
When he saw the vaguely displeased look on Hermione's face, he hurried to continue, "Um, if you wanna know more, Leanne Turpin from Ravenclaw is one of the unofficial organizers. I'm sure she wouldn't mind telling you more about it."
"Hmph. How are you even sure you're learning the right things anyway? What if you're spending all of your time on material you don't need to know." Hermione continued her questioning after a brief moment of silence.
Neville bit back the reflexive teasing comment of 'hypocrite' considering her infamous study habits. "Well, the ones in the upper years all say that the exams don't really change each year. Some professors might add specific questions or something based on what they taught, but they're generally the same." He said instead, shrugging.
"Maybe you could come by one day and check it for yourself," Neville suggested happily. He didn't think he was the best person to explain the exact workings of the club, but he figured that Hermione would learn everything she wanted to by actually attending.
Hermione seemed to be arguing with herself. "When's the next meeting?" She asked finally.
"Tuesday after the last class of the day. I think we're gonna learn how to do a shield that'll block most basic defence spells."
Hermione agreed to show up, albeit a bit slowly as if she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. Neville didn't say anything about her hesitancy, though. She could just be nervous about the club.
"My youngest, Morag, actually met the two who got into the school without permission from Dumbledore. Said they were nice as can be and didn't care one lick about blood." Glenna MacDougal said in a conspiratorial tone even though it was only her and her curious employer in the room.
Hester Denson nodded solemnly. She had heard several rumors about the scandalous goings on of the famed school, but had yet to learn much of it as her own children had graduated years ago. "Makes sense if the woman really is a muggle. Didn't you say they came because her son got hurt and no one knew how to fix it? That must've been horrible."
"Mhm. Merlin knows what I would do if I had to find out that my little Morag was laid up in the infirmary and that Pomfrey couldn't heal her right up. Storm the castle sounds like a good idea to me." Glenna said firmly. She'd raise all sorts of hell if anyone, headmaster or no, tried to keep her from her little girl.
Hester patted her seamstress' shoulder in solidarity. "Did your daughter find out how they got in?"
"No. But I did hear that a Ward Master was going to check out the school." Glenna was exactly sure who she had heard it from, but it seemed reasonable. After all if a muggle could get, Merlin knew what other sorts of people could.
"I don't remember having anyone check the wards when I went there." Hester said thoughtfully. Thinking back, she couldn't remember anyone mentioning much about the wards except to reassure others about the safety of the castle. Perhaps they weren't as strong as they were thought to be.
"Then it sounds like it's about time, then."
"Tony, I need you to- wait, what am I doing? JARVIS, can you make sure that no potentially dangerous experiments are attempted near and during the kids' visit?" Pepper asked as she strolled into the lab, walking around the machinery and junk strewn haphazard with practiced ease.
"Of course, Miss Potts." JARVIS agreed politely.
Tony looked up indignantly. "Don't you trust me?"
Pepper only arched an eyebrow pointedly.
"I'm wounded, Pepper," Tony clutched at his arc reactor dramatically. "Truly wounded. You wound me. Truly."
The woman rolled her eyes and held out a folder for Tony to take, the look on her face daring him to try not to take it from her hand. Tony huffed but complied.
"Huh." Tony said when he realized what the contents of the folder were. "The company that makes the mirror phones wants to collaborate with the magical side of SI to design the next update. How did they find out?"
"Sirius and Remus have taken to visiting magical communities all over America and Canada, and have been seen using their mirrors to contact one of us." Pepper explained.
Tony looked surprised. He knew the wizards hadn't been around as much lately, even he wasn't that oblivious outside of his lab, but he hadn't realized they were traveling. "What are they doing?"
"Research. They're trying to find anything that'll help them understand Natasha and Hadrian's bond."
"Well," Tony started, the tone he used when he was making a plan of action slipping through. "A two man group isn't going to cover much and that's taking into consideration that North America even has what they need to know." Pepper knew better by now than to take the pause in Tony's speech to ask questions. "Have the Magick Department whip up a research group, split them, and base them in the largest magical communities. China, Japan, Italy, Egypt, the like."
Pepper had taken out her phone and was steadily tapping out a memo for just that.
"Make sure that they're discreet, but not so much that someone who might be of help won't be able to find out. I want at least two magic users for every team in case of anything happening. Put Adams in charge of the project and keep everything off the books."
"Sir, if I may, I would propose collaborating with SHIELD's own magical department." JARVIS suggested.
Tony snapped his fingers. "Right. Pep, make another memo for me to hack into their files and find out what they're not telling us."
"I don't think that's what JARVIS meant, Tony," Pepper said, though she did type out to meet with the head of SHIELD's MD.
"I assure it wasn't," JARVIS deadpanned.
"Betrayal!" Tony accused, pointing his finger skyward.
JARVIS opened an audio file for Hamlet.
"Another one?"
Travis Mackley glanced up to see the newest hire looking at the order form."Yup. Ever since news of that muggle woman entering Hogwarts, we've been getting orders from everyone on books about warding."
"Well, it's nice to see people actually wanting to figure things out for themselves. I know my grandfather used to mutter and groan about the headmaster not keeping with tradition and adding to the wards. Said that as impressive and powerful the original ones were, new spells and such were created that the Founders wouldn't've known to prevent." John Berkely said, setting the order down. It used to be a point of tension in his family every time his grandfather, who he had been named after, brought up his thoughts on what the headmaster was doing wrong. It had amused both Johns to no end.
"When you put it like that, it makes a whole lot more sense than those who say to leave the founders' wards alone." Travis commented thoughtfully. It was pretty common knowledge that most magic had to be renewed to keep it from fading completely and who's to say that even the magic cast by the founders' themselves would last so long without weakening.
"Grandfather used to say that there should at least be an alert system to notify the staff whenever someone used Dark Magic." John rubbed his right shoulder absently. "Would've saved me heaps of trouble back when I was a student."
Travis glanced at the stand where they placed the newspapers and magazines. "Surprised the Prophet hasn't caught on yet. Skeeter would have a field day with something like this."
"And have the Ministry admit that something actually happened?" John snorted. Merlin, he was starting to sound like his grandfather.
"Guess you're right."
Another owl swooped in.
Dean and Seamus both whipped their wands out when they heard the door to their dorm slam open. They managed to stop themselves from firing off their favored spells, a stunner and tugger respectively.
"Well, it's nice to see the little firsties keeping up with their studies, eh, Gred?" George teased with a nudge at his brother.
Dean rolled his eyes. "What do you two want?"
"A bit suspicious are we?" Fred asked, a knowing smirk breaking across his face.
"No respect for their elders, what a shame," George shook his head solemnly.
Seamus, already annoyed at the twins' entrance, aimed his wand and intoned quietly, "Efortia," keeping the tip of his wand pointing steadily at the hem of Fred's shirt. The third year was yanked to the side by the harsh pulling of his shirt, nearly knocking into Neville's trunk that sat at the foot of his bed.
"You gonna get to point now?" The Irish boy asked impatiently.
The twins simply grinned, Fred not looking the least bit annoyed or chastised. "We came to tell you about the snowball fight that's happening in the courtyard."
Both first years shared an interested look. "Snowball fight? Who's all playing?" Dean asked.
George's grin morphed into a smirk. "Most of Gryffindor-"
"-half of Hufflepuff-" Fred continued.
"-a dash of Ravenclaw-"
"-and a pinch of Slytherin."
Dean rolled his eyes, something he found himself doing a lot in the older boys' presence. "So... everyone?"
"Pretty much," George agreed. "It's Gryffinpuff versus Slytherclaw."
"Gryffinpuff?" Seamus questioned. "Huffledor sounds a lot better."
Fred look almost offended as he said, "Gryffinpuff is currently winning-"
"-like there was any doubt-" His brother added helpfully.
"So, you two want in?"
Dean nearly tripped over his own feet when he caught sight of what laid in the courtyard. True to the twins' words, the four houses had split into two sides, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff on one side, stationed to the left, and Ravenclaw and Slytherin on the other side.
The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had built a high standing long and thick wall of snow with several circles carved out through out to give the ones crouching down behind it visibility. From Dean could see, his housemates had taken over throwing the snowballs while the Hufflepuffs were delegated to making sure the snowball supply didn't run out. Oliver Wood was standing at the middle of the wall, calling out orders and warnings in what had been dubbed his Quidditch voice.
On the other side, the Ravenclaws and Slytherins had built a three walled fort several feet high with square windows carved out to give them visibility. There were much less students on their side, though they made for it by using the levitation charm to catapult several snowballs towards their enemies at once.
Over the cacaphony of startled shouts and battle cries, Dean could hear someone yelling "For Gryffindor!" with each barrage of snowballs thrown at the Ravenclaws and Slytherins, with an indignant "for Hufflepuff!" following each time.
Lily Moon noticed the four Gryffindors standing off to the side and called out their position to her friends. "Get them! Hurry before they reach the wall!"
Fred and George grabbed Dean and Seamus by their arms and made to run to safety of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Great Wall when they were suddenly assaulted by nearly a dozen snowballs, most of which somehow managed to land down Seamus' coat and shirt.
"Cover us!" George shouted as they ran, their arms held up to protect their faces from being smacked by the biting cold arsenal.
"For Gryffindor!"
The assault on the four was interrupted when the Ravenclaws and Slytherins had to take cover from the dozens of snowballs coming their way, only a few willing enough to brave the frozen attack and continue their own. Dean managed to get hit on his backside just before George pulled him to safety behind the wall.
They were quickly set upon by a red faced and out a breath Neville and much more composed Wayne, though the Hufflepuff's nose was as Gryffindor red as Neville's tie.
"T-took you long enough," Neville said, his teeth chattering slightly, reminding Dean strongly of how the boy had first been at the beginning of the school year.
Seamus shrugged. "We didn't know what was going on."
"Yeah, how did all of this happen without us knowing until the twins came to get us?" Dean asked as he risked a glance out one of the windows. He narrowly avoided getting hit in the face.
"It was pr-pretty sudden," Neville answered with a shrug. "F-from what I heard, some second year Gryffindors were having their own small snowball f-fight and one of them accidentally hit a Ravenclaw."
"It sort of snowballed from there." Wayne commented evenly, not paying any attention to the wide eyed looks he was receiving.
"Did you just talk without someone speaking directly to you?" Seamus asked slowly.
"And to a make pun, for that matter?" Dean added, focused on what was really important.
Wayne just gave a half-hearted shrug, not saying anything else.
"For Gryffindor!"
"For Hufflepuff, too!"
Dean looked over to where the shouts were coming from to see Ron crouched near Oliver, jumping up with each coordinated attack on the other side to yell out the battle cry. Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff in their year, was stationed near him, exaggerated exasperation on her face whenever she followed the red head's shout with her own.
Seamus was ducking his head out to the side of the wall to look at the other side. "Are the others over there?" He asked as he quickly through himself behind the wall when someone pointed him out.
"I saw Su, Morag, and Mandy help make the fort, and Lisa said she was going to spend the day with them." Neville answered as he gathered up snow in his hands, forming it into a tightly packed sphere. "Something about being around girls. And I doubt Terry and Hadrian would miss this for anything, but I haven't seen either of them."
"You weren't with them when this started?" Dean asked, surprised. He could understand Lisa wanting to spend time with girls her age, but he would've thought that the rest of them were hanging out together.
Neville shook his head. "Wayne and I were with Sprout in the greenhouse. She was showing me some of the plants that only grow in winter and Wayne was...you know." He finished in a quieter voice.
Dean nodded in understanding. None of them who had been there during Miss Natalie and Mister Skywalker's visit had questioned Wayne about what he learned, though he was sure that their eagle friends had scoured the library for any mention of Lytharis. Wayne barely spoke as it was, pushing him for information would practically guarantee that he'd never say a word to them again. Besides, he was much more focused on finishing the painting of the castle for his mum.
"Get off your arses and do something!" Zacharias Smith yelled at them angrily from where he was near the ever growing and dwindling stockpile of snowballs.
Dean rolled his eyes, something he found himself doing a lot that day, but moved to grab an armful, Seamus following behind him. The twins had long since run off to create chaos wherever they could.
"For Gryffindor!"
"For Hufflepuff!"
"Andy, honey, what's the matter?" Ted Tonks asked easily, not seeming the least bit off put by his wife's angered glower.
His daughter, Nymphadora, snorted. "Yeah, Mum, you look like you've been taking glaring lessons from Snape."
"Don't be ridiculous, Dora, Snape couldn't hold a candle to my darling Andy." Ted admonished teasingly.
Nymphadora snorted again, but didn't deny it. There was a reason she got along so well with the harsh and blunt senior Aurors with a tendency to glare at a crack in the wall she was training under and it had everything to do with being raised by a woman who could glare a glacier into melting.
"Anyway, why are you so mad?" Nymphadora asked as she turned back to her mother, nearly falling to the ground when one of her feet caught on the other, putting her off balance shortly.
"This!" Andromeda shouted, waving the stack of parchment in her hand around wildly and not allowing either her husband or daughter to get a glance of what they were. Ted waited a few moments to be sure she wouldn't hex him for startling her out of her anger before reaching out and grabbing the parchment from her hands.
Ted skimmed through the parchments quickly, searching for key words that would give an answer to the question behind his wife's anger. His eyes widened as he found what he was looking for and couldn't blame Andromeda for reacting the way she did.
"Dora, I think you should go see your boss."
"King me."
Hadrian pouted slightly as he looked at the stack of black checkers placed near Wayne's arm. He only had three left on the board while Wayne's checkers almost completely dominated. Grumbling, Hadrian flipped the red checker over to show the crown imprinted in the plastic.
Wayne didn't even have the decency to smirk.
"Wayne beating you again?" Terry asked as he sat down on the floor next to Hadrian, a thick book in his hands. The Ravenclaw glanced at the few checkers Hadrian had left and let out a snort. "Never mind. Go Wayne."
Hadrian sent Terry a wounded look. "Whose side are you on?"
"Dueling? You. Checkers or chess? Wayne. Pop quizzes? Lisa. Anything green? Neville." Terry counted off on his fingers, sounding completely serious.
"Hey, guys," Neville greeted as he walked up to them and sat down next to Wayne. "What're we doing on the floor?" Terry shrugged in answer.
"Wayne wanted to play checkers." Hadrian said before cursing as he lost another checker.
"And the floor?"
"Why not?"
Neville and Terry shared a look, but let the matter go. They had both gotten used to Hadrian doing seemingly strange things for Wayne, either to make him comfortable in his new situation or on behalf of Loki. It was never much of an inconvenience and it seemed to help the Hufflepuff's nerves.
Neville noticed the the book in Terry's lap. "What's that?"
Terry glanced down at his book out of reflex. "Oh, it's the book I decided to use for my research project." He held it up, showing off the title of Making of Magicke. "It's basically a beginners guide to spellcrafting. Most of it's theory and notable spellcrafters, but it's pretty good place to start, especially since Hogwarts no longer offers it as a specialized elective."
"What made you decide on that subject?" Neville asked, shooting a quick amused look at Hadrian, who was down to one checker.
"I've always wanted to know how some spells were made and that charm on Hadrian's books made me curious." Terry said.
"Wait, you said that Hogwarts used to have Spellcrafting as an elective. Why don't they anymore?" Hadrian asked. He couldn't remember Sirius or Remus ever talking about past electives, but maybe it was before even their time, and the charter didn't make any mention of specific classes that might have been in place during the founders' time.
Terry nodded. "Yeah, the book talks about it. Apparently there used to be a whole bunch of classes, like at your old schools, but over time more and more were dropped from the curriculum for one reason or other." Terry paused as he opened the large book to the index, his finger sliding down to find what he was looking for. He flipped through the pages before pausing nearly three quarters in. "New laws considered them dark, they couldn't find a competent enough professor in time, sometimes interest in the class just dropped. It says here that the number of students used to be higher and was steadily growing until the numbers began to drop and there weren't enough left to pay for the other classes. Huh. I guess that's why there's so many unused classrooms. The founders probably expected for the number of classes and students to keep growing so they made sure there would be room."
Hadrian and Neville looked surprised and slightly confused. Wayne seemed impassive as always. Terry wondered about the change between the nervous boy who couldn't look anyone in the eye he had been when they first met to the silent watcher he had become. He didn't think his weekly letters from Loki would cause that much of a difference, but he had no idea what the two wrote about.
Hadrian shook off his surprise just in time to lose his final checker and the game. "I'll beat you one day," Hadrian promised, pointing his finger at Wayne's face. The grey eyed boy only stared back, though there was the barest hint of smirk on his lips. Hadrian counted that as a win. He turned to Terry. "What's Lisa's project going to be on?"
"The difference between patriarchal and matriarchal lines. She's going to ask Susan about some things since the Bones are one of the few old families who appoint the oldest living heir to the head of the line, instead of the oldest male or female. I think the McGonagalls are, too. Word of warning, Nev, she's probably going to corner you to talk about the Longbottoms."
"The Longbottoms are patriarchal, right?" Hadrian asked, shifting from sitting crossed legged to leaning back against the wall with his legs outstretched. Terry didn't think much before resting his forearm on Hadrian's shins instead of the hard, stone floor.
Neville nodded. "Even though my Gran's the current regent. She says it's mostly a product of being from such an old line where it was practically unheard of to have a woman as the head at its beginning and that Longbottoms tend to only have sons, like the Weasleys."
"Don't they have a daughter?" Terry asked. He was sure that he heard Fred and George talk about a little sister. He thought her name started with G or J.
"Yeah, she's the first daughter in generations, and some think it's mainly because Mrs. Weasley is a Prewitt." Seeing the looks he was getting, Neville continued, "Because I'm the Longbottom heir, Gran's been giving me the necessary lessons since I was five. I've had to learn about the history of my family as well the other old lines and prominent families that are still considered new, like the Browns and Corners."
"Do all children in magical families have to learn this or is it only the heirs?" Wayne asked lowly, not looking up from where he was actually playing against himself.
"All children of the main line are required to know all of this, since they'll be the ones most likely to use it. Some parents from branch lines might decide to give the lessons as well. It's actually more popular in blended families." Neville sounded much like he did when talking about Herbology.
"I guess the non-magically raised are more curious." Hadrian shrugged. "I'd want to know about the family I was marrying or born into." He figured he could ask Sirius and Remus about it during the first half of their holiday. His mom had gotten the Potter account at Gringotts set up for him and he would bet that there was something about his birth family's history in it. It'd be nice to learn more about his extended family.
Neville gave him a side eyed look. Hadrian resisted the urge to laugh at the knowing glance.
He knew Terry had noticed the exchange, but he also knew that Terry wouldn't ask about it. If there was one thing Hadrian could say about his little group of friends was that they seemed to have an innate respect for privacy and weren't known to ask too many questions after someone had said they didn't want to talk about it. Though Hadrian wasn't sure if it made keeping his secret easier or not.
"Hey, what time is it? I told Dean and Seamus I'd help them with their Herbology essays." Neville stated.
Terry cast a quick tempus. Neville took a look at the floating numbers before letting out an uncharacteristic curse and shot to his feet, already running off by the time his friends managed to say their goodbyes and see-you-laters.
Hadrian turned to Wayne. "Rematch."
Wayne actually smirked that time.
Amelia Bones glanced up from the truly disturbing amount of paperwork on her desk when she heard the sharp rapping at her door. Extending her senses to the wards placed on her door she recognized the magical signature of one of her trainees.
"Come in, Auror Tonks," Amelia was thankful that there weren't any stands or such near the doorway as Nymphadora was quite graceless for someone who practically danced around her opponents during duels. It had become a game among the troops to set up obstacles for her to get around without making a ruckus, partly out of wanting to train her stealth to an appropriate level, but mostly out of boredom.
A purple haired covered head popped through the door first, matching violet eyes glancing around the room for anything that would give her trouble, before Nymphadora walked fully into the office. She held no file or folder of any sort and didn't seem to be there on a message run.
Amelia removed her monocle and laid it gently down her desk. The enchantments on the eye piece made looking directly at the young woman a bit distracting thanks to the constant use of magic her talent required. "Can I help you with something, Auror Tonks?"
"Oh, yeah, I think so." Nymphadora's hair flashed a muted orange before returning to its purple hue. Amelia had long since learned what each color meant, had more than once thought it would be a good way for the trainee to signal any distress, and knew that that particular shade meant the girl was unsure about something.
"Take a seat, then," Amelia said with a sweeping gesture to the hard and uncomfortable chairs she had placed in front of her desk. It was a tactic to keep those who would otherwise try to stay past their welcome from wanting to do so, such as certain lickspittles in horrible pink cardigans.
Nymphadora managed to sit down with barely knocking into the chair first. Amelia waited in silence for the trainee to speak about what she came for, staring impassively at the young woman whose hair grew a few inches before shortening again. Nerves, Amelia decoded. At least she knew she could still make the newbies anxious without saying anything.
Nymphadora seemed to steel herself. "My mother has heard, if true, unsettling news about Hogwarts," she began. "Apparently, several of her friends with kids currently at the school wrote home about a troll attack on Halloween, but they all thought it was a prank of some sort. At least until one of them remembered her daughter writing about a... muggle woman and a wizard of unknown origins entering Hogwarts without the headmaster's permission." Nymphadora's nose scrunched up as she spoke, as if she couldn't quite believe it herself. "Mom decided to ask around to see if there was any truth to either stories and learned that a whole slew of parents had been written the same thing, but hadn't put much stock to it until they put it all together."
"Are you telling me," Amelia started slowly as her tumbling thoughts sharpened into a straight line. "That there's a possibility that a troll was in Hogwarts and not only were the parents not officially informed by a member of the staff, the DMLE was also left in the dark?"
"Basically," Nymphdadora chirped. "I don't know if it any of it actually happening, I mean who heard of a muggle at Hogwarts? But I figured with so many students telling the same stories it had to mean something was going on."
Amelia leaned back in her chair, much more comfortable than the ones offered to guests, looking deceptively mild. "Do you have any idea about the identity of the muggle woman who supposedly entered the school, with or without the headmaster's granted permission?"
Nymphadora shook her head, her violet locks flying. "I was friends with some of the Hufflepuffs in the year below me so I could ask them about the rumors. We still keep in touch so I should get the answer in a day or so, depending on how busy they are."
"Before you go, may I ask why you've elected to bring this directly to me?" Amelia asked.
The trainee made a show of shuddering. "My mother was very much... invested in finding the truth."
Amelia smiled. "Aren't we all?"
"Is that normal?"
"I think he just might vibrate out of his skin."
"Should we go see Madam Pomfrey before we leave?"
"..."
Hadrian ignored the comments his friends were making. Though he had to give credit to Terry; Hadrian was so excited to finally be going home again that it took nearly all of his will and training to keep mostly still and not run up the walls, out the door, and onto the train.
The first years had been gathered in the ante-chamber much like the first day and had been subjected to a lecture on breaking the underage magic laws from McGonagall. She had said that accidental magic would still be excused, seeing as it was impossible to control and they were still young enough for it to happen, but anything other than that would require further investigation. The stern professor had explained that the first offense was usually pardoned other than a warning, the second required a fine, and the third would mean having to pay a fine and risk suspension.
After McGonagall had walked away, Hadrian had whispered to his friends that the British Ministry Trace wouldn't reach all the way to New York and the laws were different there. Lisa had nearly given it away with her excited squeal.
Dean shot him an amused look. "What's got your pants all twisted up?"
"Just really excited to go home. This is the longest I've gone without seeing my family and they've promised to make it up for lost time. And knowing Uncle Tony, that probably means a play by play of all the 'genius' things he's done in my absence," Hadrian rolled his eyes just at the thought. "Plus Christmas with the Romanoffs is always fun. Mom teaches me a new curse word every year as a present."
Dean, and the others listening in, could only shake his head at the pleased as punch smile on the Slytherins face.
"What, no vodka shots?" Seamus asked, mostly kidding.
"Mom says I have to wait until I'm at least fifteen. Still won't be able to touch the magical stuff until I'm of age." Hadrian managed to sound put out and grateful at the same time.
"Don't you have to be twenty one to drink in America?" Dean asked, amused.
Hadrian sulked exaggeratedly. "Yeah, the age's the same on both sides, magical community or not."
"So when are you guys meeting up at Hadrian's?" Seamus asked.
"On the twenty eighth, so everyone can get their Christmas celebrations done and still have some in case something comes up." Lisa promptly answered.
"Yeah, then the four of us," Terry jumped in, gesturing to himself, Lisa, Neville, and Wayne, "Are meeting up at Diagon Alley before Wayne's mum and dad drive us to the airplane place."
"Airport," Lisa chimed in happily.
Terry rolled his eyes. "When we get off the plane, Hadrian's Auntie Pepper said there's going to be a driver waiting to take us to Hadrian's place."
"It'll probably be my Uncle Happy." Hadrian commented. "No, that's not his real name, and yes, you will be calling him that." He added at the looks he received. Really, of all the people he's mentioned and Happy's the one that sticks out?
"The name sounds a little suspect, just saying," Dean cuffed the back of Seamus' head. "What, like you weren't thinking it?"
Hadrian rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "Anyway... what're you two doing for the holidays?"
Dean broke out in a wide grin. "Mum's taking me and my little sister a Christmas village that she found out has a magical side to it. She thought it would be a fun way to see both sides."
"My mum, dad, and I are gonna go to my granna's house like always, but I'm finally old enough this year to help shoot off the firecrackers." Seamus' smile and the memory of his explosive talent in class had his friends worried for the safety of the Irish boy's family... and anything flammable nearby.
"So... I'll send your mum a fire extinguisher?" Hadrian's arm got smacked for the comment, but he decided it was worth it.
Lisa ran her fingers down the length of her braid, sometimes following the short curve of one section before moving to the next. "Well, Leanne and I managed to convince our parents to let us go to a birthday slash Yule party an old friend of ours is having. Other than that we're just gonna do what we do every year."
"Dad and I are gonna spend the morning together before I go to my mum's house." Terry added, not looking anyone in the eye as he spoke. No one commented on it, though Neville did place a comforting hand on the taller boy's arm.
When Neville spoke next, his voice was hushed and heavy. "Gran and I are going to visit my parents. I'm going to tell them about you all."
Hadrian had to look away then. He had lost his parents at a time that had him mourning them, but not truly missing them, and he had been lucky to have found a family that made the ache in him not hurt so much, but Neville had not only all but lost his parents as well, he constantly and consistently saw the effects of the horror they went through to protect him. It was humbling to see that despite what he went through, and for all his self-effacing, Neville had never been one to use his situation to make others pity him or lash out at others for the simple reason of having something he would likely never get back.
"It shouldn't have happened."
Hadrian had even realized he had spoken until he felt the heavy gaze of his friends on him. He looked up to see Neville's eyes boring into him, blazing and glassy.
"What?"
"It shouldn't have happened, Neville. You should be able to spend Christmas with your parents properly." Hadrian swore that he hadn't meant to add to sobering mood that had been slowly enveloping them, but the conversation had brought up something Hadrian always wished to forget.
Natasha was his mother. She had raised him, provided for him, protected him. She would die and killed for him and, no matter her opinion on the matter, he knew that he would do the same without hesitation and would only regret the hurt it would cause her. He loved her, wholly and dearly and proudly.
But she wasn't Lily. She wasn't James. None of them were. As much as the pain had been numbed thanks to his family, his parents were dead and the only memory he had for himself were muted nightmares of a terrible night.
There were days where he couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like if Voldemort hadn't attacked them. All the what ifs of growing up and only ever knowing Lily and James as his parents, if he would have ever come across the Avengers or if both sides would've remained ignorant of the other, if he would have cherished what he had or if would have taken it all for granted, if his parents would have survived that Halloween only to die in a later attack that would've left Harry Potter as nothing more than an another orphan of war.
It hurt to think about such things and he never told anyone about it.
"It just shouldn't have happened." He stated, quite lamely, feeling ridiculous under the confused and concerned stares he was receiving on behalf of Lisa, Terry, Dean, Wayne, and Seamus.
Neville continued to look him straight in the eye, unwavering, something that once would have been a novelty on the shy boy.
"Yeah," Neville said at last. The word sounded heavy. "It really shouldn't have."