Title: Magical Mutations
Summary: Not all mutants found their way to one of the many factions in America. Jean and Scott had a baby...a baby they wanted to grow up apart from the fight they dedicated their lives to. But what happens when their gifted little girl isn't just a mutant...she's also a witch?
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the idea, or the main character. That belongs to Shanna.
Author's Notes: This story is written in response to a challenge. It is AU, but takes place after HPB and X Men 3. Everything that happened in X Men happened, but in HPB, Dumbledore didn't die.
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The One goes to his fate, To kill his foe, as preordained.
With him, he takes Athena's Daughter,
And Ra's son.
To scorch the Snake with his Lightning.
But he left behind his Heart,
And the Golden Moon.
The Light-Bringer has come to battle,
And wields the Mermaid Staff.
The new Golden Trio rises,
And will take to their breast three more.
One Freya, delight of her Mother's Eyes.
And the Prince who is his nemesis.
But the Stumbler,
Who once had a chance to be Chosen,
Will belong to this team,
And will show his Lion's Heart.
Be warned, tutors,
Without these six,
The Circle of Nine cannot be completed,
And the Son of Slytherin will triumph.
For while is it the Chosen One's job to end the war,
He needs the love and support of the Eight.
They each have something to offer,
But will only offer it if barriers fall,
And House Unity is achieved.
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Try as they might, none of the girls could get their teachers to give them a break. Yes, Harry was in a coma, but they still had to go to class, whether they liked it or not. And Madam Pomfrey kicked them out of the hospital wing at 10 o'clock every evening, with the warning that if they wanted to be allowed to see Harry at all, they would stick to ordinary visiting hours.
As a consequence, Ginny spend most of her time running back and forth between classes. The other three had taken to carrying leftovers on their person, as the redhead didn't seem to notice that she'd missed breakfast...or lunch...or dinner, and besides, Hermione and Ron appreciated the food as well.
This went on for two weeks, until, on Thursday the 13th of November, when Ginny raced into the Hospital Wing after Potions (Thursday was a half day for her if one didn't include Prep), she came across a startling sight.
Ron and Hermione were missing, most likely having gone to the library to research (Hermione had finally divulged her suspicions about who R.A.B. was, waiting until Letty wasn't around). Instead, a tall, slender woman with hair the colour of lavender was leaning over Harry, her elegant hands placed against his temples.
"Who the bloody hell are you?!" Ginny yelled, taking out her wand and brandishing it at the woman.
Slowly, the mysterious stranger turned around, revealing purple eyes a few shades darker than her hair. She looked much like an older, very purple Cho Chang.
"My name is Elizabeth Braddock," she said, bemused. Her accent was English, as was her name. "Most people call me Betsy, however. Who're you?"
"I'm Ginny Weasley." She stood her ground. "And that's my boyfriend you're pawing!"
"I'm trying to help him. I'm a telepath." She smiled soothingly, and Ginny wanted to believe her.
The redhead steeled herself. Having Fred and George for brothers, not to mention this war, made her very suspicious of anyone who seemed to be innocent. "Prove it!" she spat.
Betsy relaxed, her smile widening. "Now that I can do," she announced. "Here is the letter from Abby – er, Professor Smith – to my brother, Captain Britain, known to me as my ever annoying twin Brian." Her eyes twinkled mischievously, handing over an envelope. "And...right now, you're suspicious, which is natural..." Her face softened. "You love him so much. It's honest to goodness true love with you two, and you've loved him ever since you first met him, haven't you." Her voice was full of awe. "Oh, and you're currently craving a cheese and bacon sandwich."
Ginny blushed, putting the envelope in her pocket to read later. "Okay, I believe you," she said softly. "How is he?"
"Very, very lucky to have people who care about him so much that they overcome their fear of the mutant menace," Betsy said dryly.
"Oh," the blushing girl squeaked. "Uh...our cousin's a mutant, actually...so it's really not that big of a deal...family and all. We're nothing special."
"You'd be surprised. A cousin, hmm? I'll have to meet her, I'm sure. Now, to get him out of this coma...well, you'll be glad to know he hasn't retreated very far."
"Huh?" Ginny made herself comfortable on the edge of Harry's bed; no doubt this would be a long explanation.
"Well, you know the difference between the consciousness and the subconsciousness, yes?"
"Vaguely..."
"Good. Stop me if I get too confusing. Now, the consciousness is everything that happens in your mind that you're aware of. Your memories, thoughts, feelings and actions...they're all handled by your consciousness. The subconsciousness is everything else. The memories you've forgotten, instincts and reflexes, and sometimes, your feelings are there, too. When you sleep, your consciousness and your subconsciousness meld, and that's why you dream.
"A coma is a bit different than sleeping, however. When in a coma, you alternate between the conscious and the subconscious. Sometimes you're aware of your surroundings, and sometimes you aren't. The longer the coma goes on, the more you slide into your subconscious, until eventually you're unlikely to come back."
Ginny bit her lip and tears slid silently down her cheeks.
Betsy gripped her hand. "Now don't worry, honey, it's not as bad as all that! Your Harry...well, he must have a lot to live for, because he's fighting this with everything he's got. It shouldn't be too hard for me to pull him out of it."
The telepath held up a quick hand as Ginny's cheeks flushed with excitement, her chocolate eyes sparkling. "That's not to say it will be simple, mind. It'll take me a while to do it, but your Harry seems like such a decent bloke that I'll do my best to go as quickly as I can safely do." Her amethyst eyes twinkled. "I might even stick around for a while, afterwards, get to know the man behind the mind."
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It took almost two weeks for Betsy to decide she was ready to try waking Harry up. She spent the time in a very strange way, alternating between eating more food in one sitting than Ron could manage in a day, and sitting perfectly still for hours with her eyes closed, seemingly unaware of what was happening around her. It was all very strange, and only Kalli's insistence that the telepath be left alone had kept Hermione from badgering her with questions about her strange behaviour.
Thankfully, Betsy was kind enough to wake Harry up on a Saturday afternoon, so everyone gathered around to watch, under pain of dismemberment from Ginny if they made so much as a squeak that distracted the British Muggle from her important task.
In direct contrast to the previous fortnight, Betsy didn't eat anything all Saturday, and spent the morning exploring the castle with Luna, saying that she needed a perfectly clear head for this sort of thing, and the slender blonde would help her fulfil that requirement nicely.
Now, pale with hunger, and her amethyst eyes glittering with determination, she placed her long-fingered hands on either side of Harry's head, and, for all appearances, fainted.
End Chapter 20