FYI - Violence ahead
Chapter 38 – The Problem with Riddles
Diagon Alley
Aria and Narcissa followed their group out of the small restaurant not far from Gringotts, content and truly relaxed for the first time in weeks. The small redhead had insisted on taking Narcissa out to shop for baby things; the older blonde had been far too stressed in recent days and need a distraction that had nothing to do with politics, Dark Lords or worrying about Harry and the tournament. She had organized a day for them to go shopping for the baby things Narcissa would need when her baby finally arrived.
They had rushed to get Roderick set up as Magdalena had offered very little outside of clothes for the little boy; the excursion had not been fun or enjoyable. In the process of outfitting the small boy, Narcissa had yet another unpleasant conversation, this time with Magdalena's mother.
"How dare you show your face in public? You stole my grandson and then show up buying things for a baby like you actually deserve to have him?"
Narcissa and Aria had turned from the furniture they were inspecting, surprised at the venom in the woman's tone. "What are you referring to, Madam Dalworth?"
"Did you not hear me? You had the audacity to coerce my daughter into giving you her child because you are incapable of having more children and you think you have the right to show your face where I might see you. You have gone too far, Narcissa Black. I thought perhaps you would be different but you are just like your animal sister who is rotting in Azkaban."
"I think you should check your facts before you accuse, lady," Aria had said as calmly as she was able. "Your daughter approached Narcissa, not the other way around."
Constance Dalworth laughed humorlessly, "Is that the story the baby stealer told you? You poor naïve child." She looked around, making sure everyone was listening, "I have known Lucius Malfoy for a good portion of his life and I raised my daughter, so I trust their words over yours. Lucius was very vocal about Lady Black's inability to perform her duty to him when we spoke of his divorce. How could you refuse to give the man the children he always wanted? You may have claimed the fault was with him but I know differently." She paused to sneer, not noticing the looks of disbelief she was getting. The House of Black had been very open about the dissolving of the Malfoy marriage; there had been an article in the Prophet that included the possible terms for dissolution, and Narcissa not giving additional children was not one of them; all she had been required to do, in terms of children, was produce an heir.
"I raised my daughter right," she continued, "she would never fail in her duty to her family. She told me the sob story you used to convince her that you would be a better mother; it is not my daughter's fault you are barren. That is my grandchild, and I demand you give him back to my daughter."
Narcissa kept her anger in check, like any Black would. "It seems you are misinformed, Lady Dalworth." She turned fully to the woman and placed a hand on her stomach, "I am not barren; I am with child now, confirmed by my healer." This was fairly well known in the right circles. Many in the ministry knew, as did most of the founding families, meaning much of the Wizengamot knew as well. "The reason I did not have another child after Draco was that my former husband refused to allow me more children; he wanted an heir and I provided that so he saw no reason to clutter his house with additional offspring. Lucius went so far as to refuse a physical relationship with me to ensure we did not conceive another child; this, of course, did not mean he never had sex, I was the only one denied in that area. He liked to parade his conquests around the house while our son slept down the hall."
Constance opened her mouth to speak but Narcissa held up a hand to stall her, "It is my turn to speak; there are other accusations that I have not answered." The older woman shivered at the look in Narcissa's eyes, it spoke of her demise. "Your daughter came to me, Constance Dalworth. She claimed she was incapable of caring for her son. Lucius left her with nothing and her parents wanted nothing to do with his child, she said as such while on her knees. She never wanted children, you see, because she always wanted to be the center of attention. Mothers are never the center of attention, their children are." She gave the woman a questioning glance, "Did you offer to help her? Did you allow her to use your money or your elves to help raise Roderick?" It had not escaped Narcissa's notice that Constance had yet to say the boy's name.
"She had sex and ended up pregnant; it was her duty to care for the child without aid of her mother. Only unmarried women would require assistance from their parents. I am the grandmother. It is my right to spoil the child and return him to his mother when I am done with him. Lucius was rich, she had access to plenty of money and an army of elves; Magdalena was fine. Do not try to pin your story on me."
Aria scoffed next to Narcissa, "That is where you are wrong."
"My friend is correct. Lucius is not, and has never been known for being generous and after me, I fear he was less generous with his new wife. She said he did not organize for a stipend to be given to her monthly and this is perhaps the only wholly honest thing she said to me when she came to me. It took three years of marriage for Lucius to put through the stipend for me and I had my own accounts to fall back on so it did not matter but your daughter is flighty and I suspect she burned through any money you and your husband gave her years ago. Added to that, Lucius was on thin ice with the goblins for possession of forbidden artifacts. His arrest brought forth information that he was in contact with another such item; if I am not mistaken, his accounts were seized by the goblins, just as he was warned they would be should there be evidence of his continued disregard for the laws of nature." She took a breath and nearly smirked at the confusion in the woman's face, "And lastly, there are very few elves at house Malfoy that are capable of caring for a child properly and Lucius lost the best of them to Harry Potter. The rest, were never loyal to him but are in fact still loyal to me. Lucius would have needed to instruct the head elf that she was allowed to direct them for her to be able to use them appropriately, but I find this unlikely due to who he has always been."
"Then there was the fact that she showed me the document she had drawn up at Gringotts that rescinded her rights to Roderick." Aria smirked at the woman. "Narcissa was not the one to request the documents be drawn up, Magdalena was. In cases like this, Magdalena and Lucius were the only ones with the ability to request the paperwork and the goblins ensure there is no coercion before they will even begin the process."
"In order for the goblins to agree to submit that legal paperwork there had to be no blood family willing to take the child, or in the case of willingness, none that were capable of taking the child. Lucius is incapable for a number of reasons, not that the goblins would have ever considered him a viable candidate, and I take it you were unwilling, because they would have asked."
"It is the responsibility of the mother to raise the child," Constance Dalworth scoffed.
"Then why are you so angry that I was willing to raise your grandchild when your own daughter was not? Why do you call me names and insult my integrity? Do you think it smart to claim I am attempting line theft? That is, essentially, what you accused me of without actually saying the words. What gave you the right to speak to me this way? Did you think you had proof of these so-called transgressions?"
"I asked her where my grandson was and she said you had him. She said you were raising him from now on."
"Did she specifically tell you that Narcissa had stolen her son? Did she tell you we convinced her to sign over her rights?"
The woman opened her mouth but closed it a moment later. She shook her head, "She said it was determined that you were a better mother than she ever would be. My daughter admitted to giving up her rights to her son and would not look me in the eyes."
"It seems to me, Constance, that your daughter wants the glory but does not think she needs to work for it. She wants to be the trend setter, be the center of attention, have the most influential husband, be respected, admired, but blames everyone else when she can't have it. She gives enough truth to get by but leaves out the details, allowing others to embarrass themselves, as you have just done."
"I knew she was lying when she spoke with us but wasn't sure exactly what was the lie," Aria told the woman. "Now I know the lie isn't that no one would support her, it was that no one would let her take all the credit for doing nothing. You just can't admit it so you cast stones at those who would do the right thing."
"It is a good thing our families had no business ties; your husband does not need to be angered due to your losing him a partner. He should be angered that we would never consider doing business with him, but the fault for that does not lie solely on your shoulders." Narcissa then glared at the woman before turning her attention back to the furniture, "Now if you don't mind, your grandson has been sleeping in a thirty-year-old bassinette so the enchantments are gone and the only thing keeping it safe for him is elf magic. I would like to replace it quickly as I actually care about his safety and happiness."
Constance Dalworth had left that day in shame with no leg to stand on. All she had done was add to Narcissa's stress levels and anger the overprotective people in her life. Yet another reason for Aria insisting on giving Narcissa a day away.
The day had gone well. Andromeda, Dora, Elanor Parkinson, Tatiana Flint, Dalia Zabini and Imogen Greengrass had joined them in their shopping excursion; it had pleased Narcissa that at least some of her friendly acquaintances had stayed loyal to her despite her split from Lucius. Lucius had never really allowed her to spend much time with Imogen due to his poor relationship with the house of Greengrass; with Sirius's push in the Wizengamot and his alliance with the neutral families, Narcissa had gotten to spend a great deal of time with the older woman. Dalia, on the other hand, had not been welcome at Malfoy Manor. The suspicious deaths of her husbands caused Lucius to forbid that relationship. Tatiana Flint had approached Narcissa after her husband's arrest for his actions in relation to the Greyback incident. Tatiana had always been much more neutral than her husband, which is typical of her birth family; she had been disgusted by what her husband had done and what he had brought down on her and her son.
Elanor was perhaps the most surprising of her companions. Narcissa had tried to draw the woman out of her shell when they met over the years but she was entirely cowed by her husband. With Lucius's fall from grace and the cancelation of the betrothal contract between their children, Edwin Parkinson had lost a great deal of control over his wife and now Elanor was trying to find herself in a world controlled by men.
They had started at the one baby store in the Alley but had quickly realized that they would need to go muggle for decorations. The magical store only had four themes, the same four themes that they had when she was pregnant with Draco, and she really wanted something different. While stars and moons were cute and fitting for a Black, that had been done to death in the Black family.
After spending far too much time cooing over tiny clothing, some of which she bought for Roderick and her unborn daughter, and other adorable baby things, she had decided on a garden theme for her baby girl's room; greens, yellows, a little purple with fairies, and woodland creatures hiding among the flowers. Not too cute, and definitely not pink, two things her man really would find impossible to look at. For Roderick she had gone with a jungle animal theme; blues and greens with giraffes, elephants and monkeys. It was the baby blanket that sold her on that one.
The store workers had tried to sell her furniture for the room as well but she knew she would be getting that from the Alley; she had an appointment to see a carpenter about it later that afternoon. While the muggle furniture had given her ideas on shape, it just didn't have the safety and convenience of magical furniture. Self-rocking basinets really were the only way to go, especially when it was impossible for the baby to fall out.
Knowing her friends, they had lunch in the Alley; Elanor, Imogen and Tatiana spent almost no time around muggles, they had pushed their luck enough while shopping. Elanor had pulled her wand out three times in less than ten minutes, and the only reason the salesman hadn't noticed is because Dora had done some heavy flirting to distract him, giving her chest a subtle boost to ensure she had his undivided attention. They had a pleasant time, talking about their children, reminiscing about the time when they were babies who actually showed they needed their parents instead of the overly independent school children most of them had now; this led to a number of embarrassing moments for Dora as her mother insisted on telling all of her most revealing (naked) moments of her childhood.
"Are you feeling better about everything?" Aria asked, wrapping her arm around Narcissa's so they walked side by side.
"Yes, thank you, Aria. I really did need a day away from everything that is going on right now. Focusing on the future of my family is just what I needed," she placed her free hand on her stomach with a smile. "It is hard to be frightened and stressed when holding infant clothing, especially when it reminds you that your child used to be that small. Draco had the cutes little toes as a baby and Roderick is has those chubby baby cheeks. I can't believe I left him with Dobby though; I know he is great with babies but I've only had him for fifteen days!"
"I'm glad and I know he is fine, the elves…" Aria trailed off and froze, her wolf screaming at her. Something was amiss. "Find cover," she said dropping her friend's arm and releasing her wand from her holster pushing Narcissa toward the buildings, making their way toward the nearest door that would not put their backs toward where she sensed the danger.
"Aria?" Narcissa looked at her friend then glanced ahead to see that Dora had also stopped and appeared tense, Andy at her side. Her three other friends were just ahead of them, confusion on their faces due to Aria and Tonks's warnings.
"Avada Kedavra"
"Cissy?" Elanor asked a moment before the bright green spell hit her from behind, stealing the life from her.
Andy and Nymphadora sent off retaliatory spells toward where the spell originated as her other three companions scrambled to find cover, rushing for a tea shop to their right. Aria saw Imogen stumble and nearly go down when she was clipped by a blasting hex but, with the aid of Tatiana, was able to dive into the tea shop. Dalia positioned herself behind the door, propping it open for cover so she could return fire as well and leave an escape route open for other shoppers.
Dora cast a Patronus that rushed off as she pulled her mom toward the tea house's outdoor seating, using Dalia's spell fire as cover. She flicked her wand causing the tables to fall on their sides creating low cover; hopefully help would arrive soon.
Three men approached, two of them casting cutting and blasting hexes at any and all in their path. Aria watched in horror as a mother went down, bleeding as she fell on top of her small son. Beside her, Narcissa cast a shield, deflecting a curse aimed at another young woman, who managed to slide into the music shop she was rushing toward.
"Take cover," Dora called between spells, ducking as needed behind the tables, "get into buildings if you can." Directing her attention toward their assailants, she amplified her voice, "This is Auror Tonks, on behalf of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I demand you cease fire and drop your wands." The three laughed and continued to cause destruction.
"I know who they are," Narcissa said as she fired off a particularly nasty Black family spell toward the three attackers before ducking back behind the small wall protruding out from the bakery, blocking their path to the door. "The eldest man is Tiberius Nott. Yaxley is the man on the left."
"Do I want to know who the man in the middle is?" Aria cast her own blasting hex at the trio as she peaked around the wall, aiming at their feet in hopes of getting around any shielding, instead it was deflected into the ground to the right of Nott, sending cobblestone flying.
"Though he looks younger than he did when I last saw him, that is the Dark Lord. I have to assume that is the body he conjured using Mister Markov as a sacrifice."
"Can you Apparate?"
"No, Riddle must have managed to put up wards against it, he always did in the past so he can cause that much more death and destruction. That means any help will have to come on foot or Floo into one of the nearby businesses, delaying backup." She looked to her sister who was crouched behind an upturned table that somehow made it to the middle of the sidewalk, "I hope Andy reinforced that table."
A spell hit the wall on the other side of their heads, chucks of brick flew all around them. Narcissa looked to her sister, their eyes meeting, "Cover me, Aria."
Narcissa and Andromeda stood, Aria, Tonks and Dalia firing spells wildly, causing the men to shield or deflect the spells designed to maim. Their wands moved as one and though they spoke no words, a brilliantly white spell flew from each of their wands at the same moment. The spells traveled toward their target, the reborn Dark Lord, combining in the middle, increasing the power by more than double.
Tom Riddle tilted his head, and reached to his side, physically pulling Yaxley in front of him just before the spell would have impacted him. Yaxley went down instantly, enveloped in the bright white of the spell; he would not get back up.
Nott fired a sickly yellow spell at the still vulnerable Andromeda.
Narcissa and Dora cried out in dismay, seeing what looked like an altered cutting curse impact the eldest of their group. Andy had attempted to deflect the spell while ducking back behind her table but was unsuccessful. Andromeda Tonks's wand and lower are went flying, leaving her body, as she fell back behind cover in shock and pain.
Without conscious thought of her own safety, Narcissa stepped out from behind the wall, going toward her sister, leaving her open to attack.
"Crucio."
Aria saw the Dark Lord cast at her pregnant friend, a nasty grin on his oddly handsome face. She needed to get Narcissa back behind the wall where she would have some cover, she could not allow history to repeat itself. She ran before he even finished verbalizing the spell, as quickly as her wolf enhanced body would allow; she grabber the older woman's arm, pulling her back toward the wall, using her own forward motion to propel Narcissa back behind cover more quickly, and placing herself right in the path of the curse.
The redhead crumbled as the pain coursed through her body. As she fell, she saw Narcissa stumble but remain on her feet, now behind cover, her baby still safe. The pain was worse than any change she had ever experienced and she knew she would never complain about the change again if she survived this.
"Come out and face me, Lady Black."
The pain stopped as the man spoke. She managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees and started to push herself back toward cover.
"Your family has crossed me for the last time, I need to make you all suffer. It started with dear Regulus, and now you, Sirius and your armless sister over there will pay for his defiance." he paused and his eyes met Aria's. "Crucio."
"ARIA," Narcissa cried as the torture curse once again hit the werewolf. This time she cried out in pain.
"You can spare her pain, if only you take her place. I will make you regret you were ever born, but your friend could just die quickly, the pain could stop entirely. Crucio."
"At least you didn't claim you would let her live; I would not have been stupid enough to believe that. Tell me, how does it feel to know that only one member of my family actually continues to follow you, and she was insane before she ended up in Azkaban? Does it make you feel inadequate to know that you couldn't even hold the loyalty of the weakest willed Black?" She hoped insulting him would draw his attention back to her hiding place and away from Aria and her sister. Narcissa tried to get sight of Dora and Dalia but every time she started to look; Nott fired at her hiding place causing her to quickly duck back down out of harm's way.
Aria let out a gasping breath as the curse stopped once more. Where were the Aurors?
"Enough, Narcissa Black. If you don't come out and face me, I will kill the redhead and then I will finish off the one who lost her hand. Then perhaps I will rid the world of the Metamorph."
"You might as well just kill me," Aria ground out before Narcissa could continue to taunt the vile man. She could see Dora struggling to get herself under control. Dalia met her eyes with determination. "You're going to die no matter what but at least if you kill me now, I won't be able to hunt you down and rip your throat out myself."
"You're stronger than you appear, little girl. You might be useful; I would let you live if you swear to serve me."
"Never. My loyalty lies with those who oppose you." She looked at Narcissa and saw tears brimming in her eyes. As the redhead finished speaking, Dalia jumped from behind her cover, screaming in Italian, casting at the duo.
Voldemort casually flicked his wand causing a broken sign to intercept the spell, and it instantly started melting. He smirked at Dalia and banished a broken piece of that same sign at her. The rot iron bar flew at her like a javelin; Dalia tried to get out of the way but the rod still impacted her stomach, just to the left of her belly button. The Italian woman went down hard, her upper body falling behind the still open door of the tea house.
"Very well," he sneered at her as if he hadn't just had an exchanged with Dalia Zabini, "I think you need to feel some more pain before you die. Would you like to have a little fun with her Tiberius?"
"Thank you, my Lord. Now what should I do to her? Well, if she is going to die, I don't really think she needs organs." He smiled maliciously and cast the organ dissolving curse directly at the prone redhead.
Aria braced herself, prepared for pain and then death when she heard a powerful shout in a language she didn't understand.
The pain did not come. There was an audible clang as the spell impacted a golden dome that now surrounded their side of the altercation. The shield covered not only her but also her companions and the people who were also unable to gain access to the businesses for cover.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle," another voice called clearly, "You are in violation of natural law. Gringotts has proof of creation of level seven forbidden objects and as such you belong in the afterlife. You have broken the laws of nature and magic; you must face your crimes."
Aria looked behind her to find saw Bill Weasley, his wand out, sweat on his brow as he held the massive shield. Beside him were a goblin and another man; the second man also had his wand out and appeared to be chanting.
"Avada Kedavra," the Dark Lord snarled aiming once more at Aria.
The brilliant green curse of death traveled through the gold dome; there were no magical shields that could block the killing curse.
Aria closed her eyes, a tear leaking out in response to the life she would not get to live, but opened them a moment later when she heard the goblin snarl something in his own language and the sidewalk in front of her shifted.
Had she been watching, she would have seen the goblin drop to his knees, placing his palms on the ground and then make a scooping motion before raising his arms. The ground before her rose with the goblins arms and intercepted the killing curse meant for her.
"Anti-Apparition wards are down," the man standing with Bill called, his voice a bit breathy.
Before his sentence was complete, multiple pops of Apparition sounded.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle," a tall black man with a powerful voice called over the chaos. "You will surrender your wand to the Aurors surrounding you or prepare to fight." The Aurors had arrived.
Like every Dark Lord before him, when outnumbered and without the aid of surprise, he chose to flee instead of surrender.
"MOM," Nymphadora Tonks scrambled from her place of cover, her face and other exposed flesh bleeding from being hit by flying debris. She dropped to her knees beside her mother, afraid to touch her.
Narcissa was at her side a moment later, her wand out, casting diagnostic spells. "She is alive but in shock," she said attempting to keep her emotions under control. Her eyes fell on her sister's arm, zeroing in on her elbow, seeing the empty space where her lower arm should have been. "It seems the spell cauterized the wound when it hit." She looked to her niece and saw tears streaming down her pale face. Her formerly pink hair was now just like her mother's, long black curls.
"The cauterization probably saved her life, it reduced the blood loss," a man dropped down beside them, his robes identifying him as a healer. "I need to get her to St. Mungo's immediately."
Narcissa stood and pulled Dora up with her, allowing the healer to place the emergency portkey on Andromeda's chest, taking them both away a moment later.
Bill was the first to reach Aria, who had only just managed to push herself to her hands and knees. He instantly helped her find a sitting position, and sat himself to allow her to lean on him. "Are you alright? How bad is the pain?"
"I'll live," she said as another wave of nerve pain rolled through her, a tear rolling down her cheek. "As long as Narcissa is fine, it was worth it. Thank you for showing up when you did." She turned her head just enough to look at the younger man, "If you hadn't showed when you did, I definitely wouldn't be here." Once again, she paused to convulse in pain. "That was a brilliant shield. What language were you speaking?"
Bill wished there was something he could do for her, but there were much more severely wounded individuals that the healers were attempting to save and he personally had no knowledge of how to counter exposer to the Cruciatus curse. "It's an Egyptian spell; invented by an overly paranoid pharaoh. That is actually the first time I have ever cast the spell successfully outside of training or during excavation. It usually requires a lot more concentration on my part to get it right."
She looked at him incredulously, "You cast a spell you only had minimal success with when my organs were about to be dissolved?"
"I had just supervised a trainee class where the spell was covered," he shrugged, "it was the first that came to mind and is one of the few that will actually block that curse."
Her chuckle turned to a moan when, "Well, I thank you but feel a bit like a science experiment." She took a shuddering breath, "I want Remus," the words were little more than a whisper. Every few seconds, her body shook with the pain the aftershocks of the Cruciatus curse caused.
"I'll call him on the mirror now," Bill said quietly, supporting her as Aurors and healers rushed around them. The war had officially reared its ugly head.
…
Remus ran through the alley, Severus at his side moving just as quickly. Neither had really taken a real breath since Bill had called. Bill had contacted Remus first; the werewolf had taken half a second to tell his seventh-year class that he had to cancel and to tell the Head Girl to inform Professor McGonagall that there was an emergency before running out of his class at full speed.
Apparently, Bill had gotten ahold of Severus a moment after he disengaged because they met at the main entrance. Severus looked as pale and frightened as he felt.
Both had gotten the same message. There was an attack at Diagon Alley by the resurrected Lord Voldemort. Aria and Narcissa were involved and both were alive. There were casualties but that is all Bill had gotten out before they had each hung up on him.
They had been forced to head off the grounds, the only Floo with off grounds connections for transportation was the one in the headmaster's office and he was not in his office at the moment. Once off the grounds they then Apparated to an approved Apparition point as the ministry was controlling all travel in and out of the Alley at the moment. They had temporarily shut down all Floo access in the Alley and had Aurors stationed at all Apparition points. There would be no more casualties that day.
The Auror at the entry point must have been given advanced notice not to delay them because the second he recognized them he had told them where to go and stepped aside; it was probably for the best because both men were prepared to curse anyone who stood in their way. Seeing the destruction was terrifying. The cobblestone was full of pot holes and blood stains were splattered everywhere. What outdoor furniture there had been was all destroyed, covered in burn marks, with chunks missing or in multiple pieces.
Aria and Narcissa were sitting at a damaged table outside the bakery, the chairs they sat on appeared to be conjured as they appeared new. The wall behind them had suffered obvious spell fire. Dora was standing off to the side, talking with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Bill was just beyond them with another man, a goblin, Amelia Bones and Auror Dawlish.
The small redhead saw them first. She stiffened then looked up, her eyes scanning the area. When her eyes met his own, he could see the pain that ruled her being. She reached over, touching Narcissa's arm as she slowly, painfully, got to her feet.
Remus somehow moved even faster than he had been since he received the news. In what seem like a blink of an eye, he had Aria wrapped in his arms, his face buried in her wildly curling hair. She smelled of pain. His wolf was both elated and enraged; he breathed in relief having her whole and, in his arms, but wanted to end the lives of those who caused her to smell of pain. "Are you alright?"
Aria shuddered in his arms, "I didn't know the Cruciatus curse hurt that bad," she spoke so quietly that only Remus, with his werewolf enhanced hearing, could hear the words. "It's like a years' worth of transformations all at once."
He growled as he tightened his arms around her, "Severus," he allowed his eyes to drift to his friend and colleague, "Do you have any anti-Cruciatus potion?"
The dark man glanced over just as Aria's body spasmed due to the after effects of the torture curse. Remus saw him whisper something urgently to Narcissa who shook her head. The usually controlled man seemed to sigh in relief. Severus placed his arm around her waist and moved them so they were standing next to the werewolf pair. "Kreacher," Severus called. The old elf had insisted on serving the potions master because of his relationship with Narcissa. The grizzled elf was good with potions so Severus had spent some time showing him his stores and explaining names and purposes for just such an occasion. "I need you to bring me a vial of the anti-Cruciatus potion immediately." When the elf popped back out, he turned his attention to Aria, "How long were you under the curse?"
Aria took a shuddering breath, "I'm not entirely sure. Only a few seconds at a time but I was hit three times."
"Five," Narcissa said placing a hand on the smaller woman's back. "You were hit five times, three by Riddle and twice by Nott. The first two by Riddle lasted about ten or fifteen seconds each. The first by Nott was about the same. After that one was the third by Riddle and it was held the longest; I would say about thirty-five seconds. The last by Nott was actually the shortest exposure time."
"I don't remember the ones by Nott, Riddle was bad enough."
Narcissa kissed her friend's cheek, "You took the curse for me," her voice was thick with emotion. "It is because of you that history did not repeat itself. Thank you."
Aria looked first at Severus then at Narcissa, ignoring the pop that announced Kreacher's return and the aching pain that seemed to be her constant companion at the moment, "I couldn't let that happen to you. I figured that I would also be more able to handle the pain."
"And you are correct," Severus spoke quietly, emotion nearly chocking him. "Most would have retreated into themselves after three of Riddle's Crucios; when you add Nott you almost ensure that they would have joined the Longbottoms in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungo's. Spending a minute under a wizard of Nott's power would put you in severe pain for hours. Thirty seconds of the dark lord's Cruciatus could destroy the mind simply because he is that much more powerful." He handed her a vial of potion, "Three swallows now. I want to monitor the aftershocks; you will need more but I want to monitor you to determine when and how often." He waved his wand over her as she took the potion vial and frowned, her nerves were showing considerable damage but he could already detect healing in the worst spots, due to her inner wolf no doubt. She really was lucky to still have her mind. "Perhaps we should sit, it looks like Madam Bones is coming this way and I don't think you should waste your strength on standing while you speak with her."
Just as he said, Amelia Bones approached a moment later, "Aria, Narcissa, I am glad to see you are both standing. Can we take a seat and go through what happened?"
The group settled at the table the two had commandeered before Severus and Remus arrived; Severus pulling his chair close to Narcissa while Remus pulled Aria into his lap as it was the only option his wolf was willing to consider at that moment.
"We were just shopping for baby things," Narcissa said in a flat tone while placing a hand on her belly. "I haven't really had time to focus on any of that and with the addition of Roderick, it was long overdue. We were coming out of the restaurant just around the corner after spending the morning in muggle London when it happened."
"A chill went down my spine and I could feel the danger," Aria said giving Madam Bones a pointed look, hoping the woman understood that it was her inner wolf that gave her the warning. "But I didn't get the warning out fast enough."
"Elanor Parkinson was hit will the killing curse a moment after Aria told us to take cover. Riddle was the one to cast it." Narcissa gripped Severus's hand tightly, "Poor Pansy has had enough trouble fitting in this year while trying to appease her father and now she doesn't have a mother to act as a buffer at home."
Narcissa continued, with Aria adding things here and there, until she got to her sister's injury. "We stepped out from behind cover hoping to end it. The coward pulled his minion in front of him to intercept the spell; and Nott fired a modified cutting curse. Andy…" her voice broke and she had to fight to keep herself from falling apart.
"Andromeda ducked and tried to deflect the spell," Aria continued. "Narcissa and Dora froze as her arm went flying and she went down. Riddle tried to take advantage of the moment to take Cissy down, casting a Crucio at her but I pulled her to safety but in the process left myself open to the attack instead. I went down and Riddle started taunting Narcissa in between Crucios." To prove her point, another aftershock sent her body into small convulsions and she moaned.
"I thought I could distract him by keeping him talking but Nott decided to help his master torture my friend. Aria was hit by five Crucios while I hid."
"That is when Bill and the goblin showed up," Aria added. "I recognized Bills voice but not his words and this golden shield surrounded us. The goblin said something about breaking laws and needing to face judgement. Instead of surrendering he cast the killing curse at me. And I am not sure what exactly happened because I closed my eyes, thinking I was dead." Remus tightened his arms around her, growling softly into her hair. "Someone said the wards were down and then your team arrived."
"Dalia Zabini also tried to help as well," Dora said coming up behind them, her voice and face void of emotion. "She cast a spell in Italian before Riddle cast the killing curse. I'm not sure what it would have done but it looked deadly. Riddle blocked it with debris and banished a sign poll into Dalia; last I heard she was in critical condition at St. Mungo's. The healer who saw her first wasn't hopeful. The other two from our group, Tatiana Flint and Imogen Greengrass escaped relatively unscathed; they helped a few others to safety. Mrs. Flint is exhausted while Madam Greengrass has some minor lacerations from flying debris, a minor burn mark on her leg and a twisted ankle."
Narcissa stood and held her arms out for her niece and the young woman fell into them with muffled sob.
"Auror Tonks," Amelia spoke quietly, "you have already given Senior Auror Shacklebolt your statement. You are relieved of duty and are ordered to go to St. Mungo's. Take care of your mother; I'll see you in the office in two days." The head of the DMLE knew what if felt like to not know if your family would survive. She had lost her older brother Edgar to the previous war and was lucky her baby brother had escaped as unscathed as he had. The Bones family had been one of the most targeted in the last war and were lucky the had not been decimated the way the Potter, Prewitt and Longbottom families had.
"Your father is already there and he would feel much more settled if he could see for himself that you aren't injured." Sirius walked up and cast a quick healing spell to close a cut on her face. "You did the Black family proud today, Miss Tonks."
The metamorphmagus squared her shoulders and nodded, using his words as strength. "I'll be at work tomorrow," a moment later she had turned over her shoulder and Apparated to the hospital.
"Madam Black," a young Auror asked cautiously, Kingsley Shacklebolt right behind him, "could I ask what you did to Yaxley? Witnesses say you and your sister hit him with a bright white spell and that he dropped. Most claimed he was dead but he's still alive, but we can't detect any of his magic or any brainwaves so it is surprising he is still breathing. We can't figure out what you did to him, or how to revive him."
Narcissa looked up from her hands that were clenched in her lap, Severus's arm around her shoulder. "He won't wake; if he was going to, he would have done so already." She looked at Severus, using his supportive gaze for strength and comfort. Her eyes then went to Sirius, who nodded in either understanding or permission. "The spell is called Atonement. It is ancient and only members of the Black family know how to cast it; only those of Black ancestry can. Some members are never taught how to cast it either, because of lack of power or they have upset their elders in some way."
"My parents weren't taught the spell, my mother due to her insanity and my father for his lack of spine, but I was taught by uncle Alphard with permission from grandfather," Sirius added, "The family head should always know how to cast the most revered of family spells or know how to look up the instructions."
"Bellatrix was the only one of my sisters not taught," Narcissa said quietly, "it was decided she didn't have the mental stability to handle the consequences if it failed."
"Atonement is only ever supposed to be cast on someone who has harmed the house of Black." Sirius let his gaze travel to the prone figure of Yaxley. "If the aggressor attacks the House of Black in retaliation for something we have done, the one who casts Atonement faces judgement by the family magic; it was thought that this would most likely be Bella's fate if she were ever given the knowledge. If, however, magic determines that the aggressor is at fault, they will be judged by magic. The more hostile the attacker and their sins, the more harshly they are judged."
"One such as Voldemort would be judged instantly and would face death." She continued for her cousin. "To those watching, it would be instantaneous, for the aggressor it will seem like a lifetime of pain. It is said that Atonement forces the enemy of house Black to feel every pain they have inflicted on one of its children threefold."
"For those like Yaxley, they are left in what is called the everlasting sleep. His crimes are much less than the crimes of his master, so magic does not deem death the best choice. While witnessing his crimes, experiencing the pain he caused, he was given a chance to atone. Had he felt remorse when the magic judged him, he would have woken." Sirius turned his attention back to the Auror. "Usually, when the aggressor awakes, they are missing at least some of their magical strength if not all."
Narcissa sighed, "Those who do not wake within a few minutes, most likely, never will. They were judged and showed no remorse for any action they were shown by magic; if he never shows remorse, he will waste away and eventually die. We hoped to hit Tom Riddle. When Atonement is cast, intent is extremely important. When two members of House Black cast the spell and the spells combine, it increases the power of the spells. It brings down the heart of House Black onto the aggressor and will follow their family magic; any with the same magic as the one under Atonement who shares their feelings and aggression will also fall to the spell."
"Had they succeeded," Sirius locked eyes with his cousin, "they could have brought down the resurrected Tom Riddle and the shade of Voldemort all at once."
"Atonement, like the killing cruse, cannot be shielded magically. Tom Riddle chose the only true shield for the spell, a physical one."
Amelia and her Aurors listened on in fear and wondered. The Black family and their potential for destruction were respected and feared and this was just one more reason not to cross them. The head of the DMLE thanked her lucky star that Sirius and Narcissa were on her side in this conflict; with their help, perhaps they could actually defeat this evil before the children were forced to clean up their mess.
Grimmauld Place
The House of Black was sleeping under powerful wards. After the attack on the Black sisters in Diagon Alley, Sirius called an emergency meeting for those members of the family that were not involved and immediately moved them all to more securely warded locations. Those locations were also put on lock down wards, meaning it was that much more difficult to breach those houses.
Nymphadora Tonks was staying at Grimmauld Place, mostly because her father refused to allow her to stay at the hospital with him. The Junior Auror had an apartment in the Ally but it wasn't the most secure building and her parents' house was not on a heavily warded property so she conceded to stay at Grimmauld for the time being. The only problem was, she couldn't sleep without seeing it all over again.
She sat in the library, one of the most protected rooms in the country and fought to keep her sobs quiet.
"Are you alright?"
Dora straightened and looked over her shoulder while wiping under her eyes. "I'm sorry Ralston, did I wake you?"
The older Nott walked into the room and slid into a chair in front of Dora. "I wasn't sleeping." He gave her a crooked smile, "I have been doing some research into family magics, hoping there was something I could do to track my father down; he needs to be stopped and, right now, the best way to do that is find him before he strikes again." He paused, looking her over closely. Her eyes were red. "Is there anything I can do for you? I am a good listener."
"All I have ever wanted to be was an Auror." Dora said after a moment of silence. "I knew I could have saved Sirius from Azkaban if I was investigating his case. I'm not naive; I knew that there was danger involved and I wasn't stupid enough to think that it was all action. The job is, more often than not, searching records and talking to people; collecting evidence." She ran her hands through her hair, hair that was still a carbon copy of her mother's long, curly black hair. "Today wasn't my first fire fight, but it was the only one I went into without a Senior Auror at my back. I'm good for a Junior Auror, Shack and Moody made sure of that, but I have never led an op and I fell short today."
"You were facing off against one of the most ruthless men in recent history and two people who follow him. My father and Yaxley weren't casting stunners, they were casting to kill and maim, when you add Riddle into the equation the odds are that much worse."
"My mom and aunt didn't let that stop them though. They got in much better hits than I did; they took down Yaxley and it would have been Riddle if he hadn't used his minion as a human shield. I still don't really understand what they did either." She sighed, "I am ashamed of myself; I let myself get distracted by what my family was doing and because of it, my mother lost her arm. I had a chance to take your father down, I see it when I look back at the sequence of events, but instead he took my mom's arm."
The young Auror got up and started pacing. "Every time I close my eyes, I see it happen. Sometimes mom doesn't duck in time and instead of losing her arm, it's her head she loses. I see the killing curse connect with Aria instead of that wall of stone that the goblin pulled from the ground. We were lucky to survive and I didn't help at all."
Ralston stood as well, "You can't think like that. What you need to focus on is the fact that you did survive. Your mom is alive, which is more than others can say tonight. One of theirs was taken down and the chances of someone else joining the cause is slim. And, most importantly, your still here. This was your first encounter with a man who had a nation at its knees and you didn't die. Use what happened yesterday. Learn from it. Study it in your mind and find their weakness. Your mother and aunt have already lived through a war with Riddle so they know how to react but others that have the same experience might not be so deadly when faced with such odds. You survived, Tonks. Civilians survived because of your warning and instructions. Take the good and learn from the bad."
"What if I'm not strong enough?"
"Then be faster. Be more accurate. Strength isn't everything. We can't all be Albus Dumbledore or Tom Riddle. I am the weaker wizard between Sebastian and I, but I beat him in duels because of speed, accuracy and spell choice. Theo will probably be stronger than both of us but I will still try to be better in a fight; at Durmstrang, a number of my classmates were stronger than I was but they couldn't beat me because I worked harder than they did and they became complacent." He placed his hands on her shoulders, "This is your chance to bridge the gap. Just because someone has more raw power does not mean that a well-placed stunner won't still take them down."
Tonks looked into his eyes and saw his sincerity. "Thank you, Ralston. You're right; I have heard that a few times but I definitely needed the reminder. I will work harder but I won't let it consume me." She smiled and started to make her way out of the room, "When I'm here, would you like to spar with me? I think it would be good training."
"As long as you go to dinner with me when this is all over."
"Deal," she said with a smile before disappearing down the hall. They couldn't let the darkness keep them from living after all.
Unknown to both, Sirius stood in the shadows, watching and listening. He was glad that Ralston had been able to help Dora passed what had kept her from attempting to sleep. "You can go to bed, Dmitri; everything appears to be under control now."
"If your sure. I do feel responsible for this; if I had managed to kill myself faster or…"
"Dmitri, you did all you could. No one blames you for anything. Now get to bed, apparently I can't sleep until all the young adults are in bed."
He nodded, slinking back to his room a few doors down from the library.
It had been an interesting day. He had cried his eyes out at the Potter graves, wandered around and then met someone new; someone intriguing. Liz. If only Riddle had waited for another day to strike. He was honestly worried that she would refuse to see him again because of how dangerous his life was. Having heard his entire call with Bill, he expected it despite what she said. He didn't want to be in his life either.
"Sirius," Bill started, "there was an attack at the Alley."
"Cissy?" his voice held more fear than he cared to admit to.
"She's alright but there were casualties."
"Aria?"
"Fine, but in considerable pain."
"Dora and Andy?"
Sirius saw Bill flinch slightly, "Both are alive."
"That isn't very reassuring, Bill."
"Severus and Remus are on their way. Dora is fine; as far as I can tell she only has a few scrapes and is coming down from an adrenaline rush. Andromeda was taken to St. Mungo's. Last I heard she was expected to make it."
"Who?"
"Riddle, Nott and Yaxley." He looked off somewhere Sirius couldn't see, "Yaxley probably won't be a problem anymore but Riddle and Nott got away."
Sirius nodded, thinking quickly. He met Liz's eyes, "I'll be there as soon as I can. I will go to Ted and ensure he heads to the hospital and then Floo into the receiving room at Gringotts."
"I will inform the guards so they are expecting you."
"Thank you, Bill."
The younger man nodded before cutting the transmission.
"If that didn't sound so horrible, that mirror would be really cool." Liz tried to sound calm but being shown the possible danger was hard on day one. "You should go."
Sirius grabbed her hand, "I hope this doesn't scare you too much, but I understand if you change your mind about talking to me. At the very least, I want you to promise you will keep the mirror I am going to send to you. It will only work for you and me; and, if you are done with the danger that surrounds me, I will only use it to tell you to run."
Liz nodded, "Yes, this is a lot, but I don't think I am ready for this to end just yet. So, go. Do what you need to do and make sure you send me a mirror and let me know you're alright."
He smiled, despite his fear, "Thank you. Take care of your mom, Chris," he placed a hand on the boy's head. "Get home, stay safe and trust me." Sirius leaned down and kissed her cheek.
Sirius closed his eyes, he needed to get to work on another mirror. He would send it with Dobby, making sure the elf left it on a table when no one was around. He would have to let her be the one to use it first. Merlin, he really needed this to work.
For now, he would hope.
Hogwarts
Severus Snape slid quietly out of bed when he heard Roderick start to fuss. He didn't want to wake Narcissa after she had finally cried herself to sleep. His best friend, his love, was letting the guilt get to her. She was not stupid, eventually she would come to terms with what had happened and plan accordingly but she was human, no matter what a Black might try to say in the contrary. He would give her tonight and if she was still moping in the morning, he would help find her peace; she would do the same for him if the situation was reversed.
He scooped the distraught little boy into his arms and he instantly quieted. It had been a difficult and emotional day for all of them. When they had finally been released from the scene, they had gone to St. Mungo's. Andromeda was out of danger; she had lost a decent amount of blood but because of the heat added to the cutting curse the wound had been almost entirely cauterized. The only thing they could not do, was save her arm. While the cauterization had saved her life, it had destroyed any chance of reattaching the arm; magic could do more than muggle medicine in this area but too much time had passed and the heat of the curse had sealed too much internally.
They had spent a few hours at the hospital; Narcissa alternating between holding Ted's hand and holding onto Dora. The young Auror had not handled the aftermath well, and it was understandable considering all that had happened and who it had happened to.
At one point, Amelia had also come to the hospital to check on the status of all the victims at the hospital. Three of the citizens not with Narcissa had perished from their wounds. The next blow for his love was that Dalia Zabini had not survived her wounds either. The Italian woman suffered too much damage to her internal organs when she was impaled with the signpost.
Amelia had taken him aside with a request for him to accompany her to the school to speak with his students. While at school, he acted in loco parentis for his snakes as their head of house and Madam Bones had not been able to find Edwin Parkinson and it would be a few hours before Antonio Zabini, Blaise's grandfather, could make it to the school. There were too many people with knowledge of what happened that news would reach the school before too long and they could not chance Miss Parkinson or Mister Zabini learning this in public.
When he had arrived at the school with Madam Bones, they were met by Elanor's sister. The woman looked defeated but determined to hold herself together for her niece. Seeing Miss Parkinson fall apart in her aunt's arms had been hard to watch. The normally arrogantly proud girl looked utterly lost. Pansy Parkinson would be taking a week off of school, staying with her aunt, so that she didn't have to deal with her peers while dealing with her grief.
Blaise Zabini, on the other hand, was alone when informed. The young Slytherin's face had hardened to stone before he said something in Italian with untold rage vibrating in each syllable. When he was informed his grandfather would be at the school in the morning he had nodded and said he would be spending the remainder of the day in his dorm.
Severus had then met up with Bill and Remus, they had brought Aria to Hogwarts when he and Narcissa had headed to St. Mungo's; they called the kids together in the Come and Go Room. Harry had that look in his eyes; he could feel something was off. The rest of them looked oblivious and confused.
Remus made a point to tell them that something had happened but that they were alright. Draco had known his mother's plans for the day had jumped on them, immediately asking where she was and if she was alright. The girls had cried learning of Andromeda's injury, while Draco deflated. Harry had not said a word.
It was the death of Pansy and Blaise's mothers that affected them most. The group may not like the female Slytherin but they still felt horrible that she lost her mother and Draco in particular knew how close the girl was to her mother. Harry planned to watch the quiet Italian in the coming days while Draco was going to spend the afternoon and evening making sure that Blaise ate and had company if he wanted it.
"Can Dobby help, Mister Potions Master sir with Roddy?"
Severus looked down at the odd little elf. Dobby seemed to get calmer the more time he spent with the family and he had seemed happier since the addition of little Roderick, which made sense as he was trained to care for children. "He seems to be fine now," he looked back at the child who was fast asleep in his arms. "I'm not sure what he wanted but he is asleep now."
The little elf nodded, his ears flapping. "Dobby was being surprised he fussed. I is not needing to feed him yet and he is not smelling messy."
"Thank you, Dobby." He carefully laid the child down in the bassinette before straightening and heading toward the bedroom. "If you need assistance, let me know but try not to wake Narcissa."
"Dobby is having everything under controls. Potions Master only be needing to make sure miss Cissy is being fine." When he was alone, Dobby hopped up onto a chair so he could see the baby better, "Dobby is making sure Roddy has his families no matters what. They is Master Harry Potter Sir's family, so they is Dobby's family."
…
Remus cringed internally as Aria moaned in his arms. Her potions were wearing off. The problem with the Cruciatus curse, was that, if you survived with your mind intact, your body continued to feel pain for a decent amount of time after. He knew, Severus and Poppy had confirmed it, that Aria was lucky to be alive and coherent. Suffering through that many Crucios for that long, was bad enough but when one of the casters was that strong the chance for serious damage was much more likely. There were many in the last war who were never the same after falling under Riddle's power for too long and Aria had spent more time than many of them writhing in pain.
Upon arrival at the castle, Remus had insisted that Poppy Pomphrey take a look at Aria. The healer had been surprised that the redhead could talk, let alone stand. The scans showed that her nerve endings were almost as damaged as Alice Longbottom's had been only an hour after the woman was attacked all those years ago and it had been about twice that long before Poppy saw to Aria. Remus was thanking every deity worshiped around the globe that Aria was a werewolf because if she wasn't, he would have essentially lost her.
Severus had told them that Aria would need to take two swallows of anti-Cruciatus potion every hour for eighteen hours, at which time he would re-evaluate. She had several doses to go before that time.
"Distract me," Aria mumbled as she bit her lip.
"What are your plans for tomorrow?"
"Sitting around writhing in pain, different topic please."
"I am giving a lecture about…"
"Defense lectures are not going to keep my attention right now."
"Fred and George told me a bit about their store. The want to call it Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes."
"Cute."
"And not your cup of tea."
"I know, how can you possibly be with me? My humor is so sarcastic. The only one of you who can consistently make me laugh is Severus," she cringed. "Better, but still not great."
"Marry me."
Aria snorted, "I'm already planning our wedding so that is a silly request."
"Marry me tomorrow."
"Again, already planning the wedding." She rolled so that she was lying facing him. "We are trying to build relations with the other packs, Remus, and they have already received invitations to the beautiful wedding that Narcissa has helped me plan. I love you, but I have been tortured enough looking at flower arrangements, table decorations, seating charts and color schemes. I was forced to spend a whole weekend shopping for dresses, on the days before and after the full moon no less, for both myself, which is amazing by the way, and for Narcissa and the girls." Aria cupped Remus's cheek with one of her small hands, "We can't let this conflict alter our lives. They finally made a move and now we know they are coming and coming hard for Narcissa and probably the rest of the Blacks." She hissed as another shock ran through her body, "We will all be more cautious. Narcissa had already decided that she was going to stick to warded places the closer she got to her due date. I rarely go anywhere outside of the Wolf Den and Grimmauld. The rest of you are primarily at Hogwarts. I honestly think Bill and Dora are in the most danger at any given time and both can take care of themselves; they proved that today."
"I know all of that intellectually but I don't want to miss my chance at marrying you."
"I don't plan on loosing that chance either. I have a new respect for this fight, Remus. I'm not the sort of person who would usually be in this and yet, here I am. I lived in America and then planned to die; well those plans are long forgotten. We are not going out this time Remus; we have sacrificed enough." She nuzzled into his neck, finding a comfortable position, "So, let's make sure we protect each other, protect the kids and live a long and happy life."
Remus picked up his wand and silently summoned her potions to him, "If you insist. Time for more potions and then try to get some sleep."
She took the proper dosage, not even commenting on the horrid taste. "Sure, the insomniac will try to fall asleep in the next minute or so just to be woken up in an hour. I am sure it will work this time; after all, my alpha should be able to command me to sleep tonight of all nights when he has failed every other night before that."
"There she is," he smiled into her hair, loving the sarcasm in her voice.
"Bit me, Moony."
"Any time you wish, my love."
Yet Another Dilapidated Mansion
A megalomaniac in the body of a shriveled, deformed baby sat reading the paper, both angry and pleased at what he read.
The pleasure came from the subject matter. Tom Riddle Attacks Diagon Alley was a magnificent title, even if the name was incorrect. He celebrated the deaths, giggled at the injuries and absorbed the fear like a sponge sucked up water. Narcissa Black, like the other free Blacks, deserved all the pain that he could possibly dole out for siding with Potter, so the fact that she was a target and her sister ended up with one less wand arm was a treat. It made him miss sweet Bella; she had a love for removing limbs that rivaled his own bloodlust.
He was displeased that there was someone else claiming to be him. Tom Riddle was his name of birth, though he would never admit to it, so who was wreaking havoc using his name to incite fear? Tom Marvolo Riddle was Lord Voldemort and there was only one; him. This imposter would need to be dealt with swiftly after he regained his body.
"Barty," he called softly to his minion. "I need you to find all the information you can about this imposter Tom Riddle that Nott and Yaxley are running with. He has stolen and destroyed my Yaxley and he appears to be trying to take over my country."
The over eager sociopath nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, my Master. I will find them and kill them for you."
"No," he said calmly, the plan forming in his mind. "We will let them play for now. If they can take out some of our enemies it will make my rise that much swifter. They will be the first we strike after dealing with Potter. What better way to prove my superiority than to defeat the very villain that is causing terror after killing their savior." He laughed manically, "Yes, play for now, imposter. When I am whole, I will come for you and you will see who the real Lord Voldemort is."
And there it is, the chapter I promised. I hope you enjoy my rather disturbing dream.