The Power of Four: A Coven's Tale
C27: Prophecy Collection
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters
A/N: We're nearing the end of this one. Only one chapter remains for this part, but I will be making this at least a two-part story. To be honest I've been a bit burned out on this story, and on everything in general. I'll find my mojo again, it might take a while, but I will not leave anything unfinished, and there are definitely ideas churning around in my head that are begging to put to paper.
A week later all of the exams were thankfully done, and now the only thing they had to worry about was preparing their case against Dumbledore, at least that was their hope.
Harry had asked if he could talk to them in private about something important that may have something to do with Tom, and knowing what it could be, they of course had no issue with that, and to be able to catch up a little after the stress of the exams.
While they were waiting for Harry, and probably Draco, since they two had become practically inseparable since the Toad had been hauled off, Fabian and Hermione were finally taking the time to relax a little, which meant that they were confined to the arms of their lovers, only allowed to get up for emergencies. "I'm still a bit miffed that you got so crazy around exam time again, love." Fleur said softly.
"Sorry love, it is something I can't help when it comes to my education. My mothers taught me to always strive and be the best in my studies, even though I know I can never touch my dear sister academically." He said with a playful glare to his sister.
Hermione smiled at him. "You and Luna are close seconds though. Perhaps we should rename ourselves to the Golden Trio."
He smiled at that. "Nah, it's no longer a Trio, more like an entire family, because we are all committed to put an end to the Death Eaters and Tom, we just need to take care of a few things before we can make that a reality. First thing of course being Dumbledore, and after that we can start working on destroying Tom's Horcruxes, after figuring out what they are of course."
Bellatrix smiled and kissed him softly. "We have almost two months to figure that out love, we have plenty of time to come up with a plan."
He nodded and cuddled into the three woman he loved more than anything in the world, which made Hermione giggle at him. "Every time I see you cuddled up to your mates I can't help but think that you are some kind of prince surrounded by his Harem."
"I wouldn't exactly call it a Harem. We are merely in a polygamous relationship where we share a lot of love, and you know that usually I am the one in Bella's position. It is nice to be on the other side of that for once." He said with a smile.
Hermione smiled at him. "That's true, but that doesn't take away from the fact it looks both absolutely adorable and decadent at the same time."
Fabian smiled at her as there was a knock on the door. "I'll go and get it." Hermione said as she stood with a smile to her brother and her girlfriend.
Fabian and the girls took up a bit of a more neutral position as Harry and Draco stepped in. "It's been a while since we have been here. It seems you all have made it much more homey." Harry said with a smile.
Hermione smiled at them. "To be honest we haven't done much to it. The room is connected to Fabian and the girls and feels what they want and need, and adjusts itself accordingly."
The two boys smiled at her as they took a seat opposite their family. "Well it looks amazing none the less, and it is all strangely fitting to you all." Draco said kindly.
"Thank you Draco, and I hope you know that you are always welcome here." Bellatrix said with a smile.
"With the Toad gone we will definitely come round more often. It will definitely be a bit more quiet a place to do homework. We can't get a moment of peace anywhere since we came out as a couple, and while most people are just curious, a certain redhead thinks its okay to make bigoted comments to everyone not fitting his world views." Harry said softly.
"Ron has been affected by Dumbledore's compulsion and has always been a bit of a hateful person. He still believes that Dumbledore is the sole solution to this conflict when most people start to see the truth. He is no better than Tom at the end of the day." Fabian said kindly.
Harry and Draco both nodded at that. "We know, and we're going to do everything to stop Tom from returning to power, and perhaps we'll be able to do something about Dumbledore's control as well."
"We are quite sure that Dumbledore's fall will come before we come back to school next year. We have plenty of evidence that even he can't deny the existence of. We'll make him take responsibility for everything." Fabian said with a smile.
The two boys smiled at that. "One of those things is actually the reason we are here today. I have been having these weird dreams recently that I just can't seem to interpret. I know it can't be Tom, because you purged him from my head, but I think it may be connected to him anyway. In my dream I see this large door before I am in this room with these orbs. I think it is trying to tell me something."
"We know you have a Prophecy and were planning on telling you as soon as the Toad was gone. Luna saw us all collecting your Prophecy just before we came back to school, and I think we can get it past the Headmaster to collect it now." Bellatrix said with a smile.
Nymphadora giggled at that. "You guys could also use my connection to the Aurors to get it. I would be happy to go with Harry to collect his Prophecy."
Hermione smiled and kissed her lovers softly. "We don't know if Tom will have people there to watch his Prophecy love. It is better to be safe than sorry in this case. With all of us there we will be okay."
Nym smiled at that. "You're of course right love, but do we really need to let the Headmaster know? Chances are that he will take that opportunity to try and control our actions again. We could easily use the Floo to go home and Floo to the Ministry from there. I am sure Kingsley will assist us. He has been working with our family to bring Dumbledore to justice."
"That's not a bad idea. We'll have the definite advantage over him if we manage to collect it without his controlling input, and we will screw Tom over at the same time." Fabian said with a smile.
"Then it's settled, we'll go to the Ministry today and take the first step in ending this conflict." Bellatrix said with determination.
They all nodded at that. "Why wait, the longer we wait, the longer either Tom or Dumbledore will have to try and stop us or control our actions." Draco said with a smile.
"We'll need an hour to prepare some things, because we wouldn't want to be caught with our pants down outside of the bedroom." Fabian said with a smile, which earned him a slap on the arm from his lovers.
He just smiled at them as they made their way to their bedroom. "So Harry besides your dreams, how have you been?" Hermione asked once they were just with the four of them again.
Harry smiled and told his best friend about the last couple of months, and Draco supplied them with little teasing tidbits about their exploits against the Toad.
An hour later the eight of them stepped out of the Floo in Black Manor, where they were greeted by Eliza and Narcissa. "Good evening sweeties. I trust you are all ready for this?" Narcissa asked kindly.
"We are. We are sure that the Death Eaters won't be there because Luna had a vision of us getting Harry's Prophecy without issue." Fabian said with a smile.
"That's good news. We also made sure that Kingsley will wait for you at the Floo so he can escort you to the Department of Mysteries." Eliza said with a sweet smile.
They nodded at her. "Then we better not keep him waiting, we'll see you all in a couple of days." Bellatrix said with a soft smile to her sister.
Narcissa and Eliza both nodded and smiled at them as they stepped through the Floo one by one.
…
When they were all together again in the Ministry, they were met by the smiling face of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Welcome everyone. I understood from Narcissa and Eliza that you are here to collect something that will shift the coming war?" He asked in his heavy baritone.
Fabian nodded at him when he saw nothing but honesty in Kingsley's emotions. "We are, Harry's Prophecy is somewhere in the Department and we need to collect it before Tom even knows where it is."
Kingsley smiled at that. "Then we shall waste no more time. Let's get you all to the Department of Mysteries, because it might be a bit of a maze if you're not familiar with it."
They nodded and followed him to the elevators. "May I ask why you are so willing to help us when the request came from my mother?" Fabian asked softly.
Kingsley smiled at him. "That is easy Fabian. Your mothers have told me what Dumbledore has done before Fudge got into hot water because of what happened with Umbridge and Amelia Bones has asked me to testify as well, so expect me to be by your side when you will confront him."
"We're glad that people are starting to see the real Dumbledore. We learned that the hard way earlier this year, twice actually." Bellatrix said softly.
Kingsley nodded as the elevator lurched to a stop and a soft female voice saying. "Department of Mysteries."
"Unfortunately I cannot go into the Hall of Prophecy with you. My department doesn't have access to it. I can merely open the door for you." Kingsley said kindly.
"We understand, Kingsley, thank you for your help so far." Harry said kindly.
Kingsley smiled at him. "Don't mention it, Harry. You have been through a lot thanks to Dumbledore and Tom, and the least we can do is to make life as easy as possible."
Harry smiled at him as Kingsley opened the door for them. "I'll wait here to escort you back to the Atrium. Good luck."
They all smiled and nodded as they stepped into the room, the door closing behind them without a sound. "Do you know where we need to look, Harry, otherwise we will be here a while." Luna said with her patented dreamy smile.
He nodded at that. "Yes, we need row ninety seven. That is where my Prophecy is." He said softly.
"Then let's go and collect it. This place gives me the creeps." Hermione said softly as she pushed herself against Dora.
"I'll protect you love. This room gives everyone the creeps, Aurors have part of their training here, this room forces you to use all of your senses. Most people don't pass this course the first time." Dora said softly.
Hermione smiled and gave her lover a kiss. "Did you pass it on your first go?"
Dora laughed lightly at her. "No, I believe I still hold the record for most attempts. It took me around ten attempts to pass it. Being easily distracted has its downsides."
Hermione smiled at her lover. "I wouldn't say it is a bad thing all the time, my love. You've certainly managed to surprise me enough with that short attention span while we were in bed together."
Dora blushed a little at that, but said nothing as they walked through the silent halls.
Bellatrix somehow heard some of the voices in the orbs and one in particular called out to her on row sixty six.
Her lovers noticed and followed her as she walked towards it. "What's wrong love?" Fleur asked softly.
"One of the Prophecies calls to me for some reason. Do you think our Coven has a Prophecy too?" She asked in a similar tone.
"I wouldn't be surprised honestly, let's see if it pertains to us and go from there." Luna said as she wrapped an arm around her lover's waist.
Bellatrix nodded as she spotted a faintly glowing orb which was the source of the voice, a voice she now recognized as Katarina Lovegood, one of their ancestors that they had spoken to during Christmas break.
"Well that is one way to know it is for us. That is definitely Katerina's voice." Bellatrix said as she inspected the accompanying tag. "This seals it, Coven of The Goddesses, 1952, my birth year."
"We'll take it for now and see what it says later. We don't want to linger here too long." Fabian said softly.
Bellatrix nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek as she slipped the orb into a pocket of her dress.
Soon after they stood in front of row ninety seven, and Harry quickly identified his Prophecy, the soft dreamy tone of Professor Trelawney clearly audible.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…
Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…
and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
"Well, that is ominous, and not in any way dangerous." Harry muttered softly.
Draco smiled and squeezed his hand softly. "It'll be okay Harry. We'll be by your side every step of the way."
Harry smiled at him. "I know, but that part about neither can live while the other survives kind of sounds bad."
"To be honest Harry, that was when you still had that piece of him inside of you, we purged that already, and we'll find and destroy the rest of those things as well." Fleur said with a soft smile.
He nodded and smiled as they made their way back to the door, which surprisingly opened as they approached it.
Kingsley smiled kindly at them as they stepped out. "I trust you got what you needed?"
They nodded and followed him back to the Atrium. "I will say nothing to Dumbledore. As far as I am concerned, you all were not here today."
"Much obliged, Kingsley. We'll see you soon enough for the inevitable trial of Dumbledore." Bellatrix said kindly before they all stepped back through the Floo, this time going straight back to their room at Hogwarts.
…
Later that evening, after they had dinner in their room, The Coven, with Hermione and Dora were gathered around the table where they had placed the Prophecy Orb.
"Well, there is no time like the present to find out what your ancestors are trying to share with us." Hermione said with a soft smile.
They nodded and smiled at her. "True, but to be honest we're a bit wary about what it might say." Bellatrix said softly as they touched the orb together.
Hello descendants.
If you are hearing this, the time has once again come for our Coven to rise and assist in the putting down of a new Dark Lord. Chances are that we have already spoken as we have taken precautions to make sure that we will be able to assist you where necessary. We know you expected this Prophecy to be something once again life changing and in a way it is. It is imperative that you visit our Mansion in Ireland as soon as you possibly can. There are secrets your Coven and its Consultants will need to win this war. Be careful who you trust, because the Light is sometimes darker than the ones who practice Dark Magic.
We wish you well, descendants, and don't hesitate to ask us when you have questions, and if we cannot answer, the Chronicles will always guide you.
"Well, that was certainly unexpected. I expected something much more shocking." Hermione said with a smile.
"I think our ancestors knew that at some point we would come to the hall of Prophecies and left this there as a reminder that we are not alone in this battle. The part about the mansion was new though." Fleur said with a smile.
"I also can't remember seeing it on our list of properties when we were at Gringotts, we'll take a look at the Chronicles if we can find something on where it is." Bellatrix said softly.
They nodded at that. "We'll do that when we're back home, it's only a few more days and I am sure the Headmaster wants to talk to us before the end of the year, which is when we will give him a piece of our mind." Fabian said with a soft smile.
Hermione smiled at him. "So in short, all Coven related issues will be passed to the summer. It sounds like it will be a busy summer for us, presuming that you four still want to get married this summer."
"Of course we want to, and I believe that Daddy and the rest of our family have made all of the arrangements, so I am sure we'll hear all about it when we get home." Luna said with a dreamy smile.
Hermione and Nymphadora smiled at her. "We figured that already. There have been plenty of other things that have kept us busy over the last few months. I can't imagine the stress of having to plan a wedding as well with everything we've been doing."
"Our thoughts exactly. We know that everything will be done to our liking because Maman and Gran-mere are involved, and they know what we like, and I am sure with Narcissa, Eliza and Andromeda helping them, we will have our dream wedding." Fleur said with a loving smile to her lovers.
Fabian smiled and kissed her softly as she relaxed against him. "We also need to talk to Gabby before we get married. Make sure that she is ready for the ritual."
Fleur nodded and smiled at him. "She'll be fine, my love. I am sure Maman and Gran-mere will sit down with her before that night, and since she is already familiar with your size, it'll be fine."
Fabian blushed a little at that, which made Hermione smile. "What's this brother, exposing yourself to your future sister-in-law?" The brunette said teasingly.
"Under supervision of my future mother and grandmother-in-law, yes. Apparently it was another Veela ritual." He said softly.
Hermione giggled at him. "I was merely teasing you, brother, but it does connect to something we still need to talk about. Dora and I have talked about the things you guys have found in the Chronicles, about us basically becoming a full part of your Coven. I know it has been a couple of months since we last talked about this and made that tentative first step towards accepting that situation, and we have come to the conclusion that in order to make this as easy as possible for everyone involved, we should do this once we are back home. Not only to make us all feel better about the situation, but also to make sure that the Coven is as strong as it can be, as long as we make some rules that we will adhere to going forward."
They all smiled at that. "We were also contemplating on how we were going to discuss this, and like you two we have also been talking about this, and we have come to the same conclusion. We've read the passages in the Chronicles many times and it always boils down to that having a good skinship between us and our Consultants is a vital part of the Coven's survival in the long run. There was even a ritual described in the Chronicles to make sure that everything will be done by the rules that are set, but it is lengthy and best performed in peace and quiet, so probably it would be best if we did that when we had a chance to visit the Manor in Ireland." Fabian said with a soft smile.
Hermione and Nymphadora nodded and smiled at them. "Let's do that. It's only a couple more days before we go home, so everything we need to discuss can wait."
"We agree, and with that I think we'll go to bed. It's been a tiring day and we could all use some rest." Fleur said with a soft smile.
Hermione and Nymphadora both smiled and gave them a hug. "Have a good night, and we'll see you all in the morning."
They nodded and returned the hug before they made their way to their bedroom, where they wasted little time in cuddling up together. "What a day, won't you agree, my loves?" He asked softly once they were all situated.
The girls nodded and cuddled against him even more. "Yes, one of the more strenuous we had in recent weeks, even though everything went so shockingly easy for once. It is a nice feeling and one I can definitely get used to." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
"We were lucky this time, love. Tom doesn't know that we have the abilities we have, and it gives us a definite edge. It is only a matter of time before he finds out and will plan against us, no matter how much we try to stop it. The only thing we can control is how long we will keep our gifts a secret." Luna said with a dreamy smile.
"As long as we keep that information to people we know we can fully trust, I see no reason why our gifts should ever be public knowledge. Too much is at stake for us to let it fail because of a mistake." Fleur said softly.
Fabian smiled and kissed them all softly. "Sometimes its uncanny how you girls seem to complement each other's sentences, or finish them for that matter, but we won't make a mistake, we're too careful for that to happen, and even if Dumbledore learned something, he won't tell anyone because then everyone will know what he did to get it, because the only ones that have that information is us, Hermione and Dora."
The girls smiled and kissed him softly. "Let's not talk about that right now. We have deserved a little bit of rest and relaxation, and luckily for you we know just how to get you relaxed without us all being exhausted afterwards."
"What did you have in mind, my loves?" He asked softly.
The three women smiled at him. "We all know how much you relax when we cuddle up to you and share our energy with you, so that is exactly what we are going to do tonight. We understand that your gift had to have been taxing you the past couple of days." Luna said softly.
"With all the happy emotions running through everyone, it has not been as bad the past week. We might have to do some research on how different emotions affect me, and perhaps that is useful to research for all of our gifts." He said with a soft smile.
"We'll do that once we have taken a few days to relax. Even without our wedding we'll have a busy summer ahead of us." Bellatrix said with a loving smile.
They smiled at that. "We do have a busy summer ahead of us, but I know that as long as we are together, we can do everything, just like we have done all year."
They talked for a little while longer, but found it increasingly more difficult to keep their eyes open, falling asleep against each other soon after.
…
The following morning the girls woke up before their lover, which was a rarity these days, and they couldn't help but share a loving smile with each other. "He looks so innocent in the early mornings, doesn't he." Fleur said softly.
"He has always looked like that in the early mornings, when he was younger he looked so adorable that it was all I could do to not coo at him every time I came to wake him up for breakfast, and even when he got older I had to resist crawling in with him every time." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
"I also seem to remember that there were numerous times that you did not resist the urge and crawled in with us anyway." Luna said teasingly.
Bellatrix smiled and kissed the blonde softly. "I have been thinking about that a lot recently and I think that it was because it was our bond that made me want to be close to you two, and honestly, you two shouldn't have the right to look so adorable cuddled up together."
Luna smiled at that. "It wasn't hard since we were so young, but I could say the same about you looking so sexy every time we went swimming together."
Now Bellatrix blushed a little. "What can I say. I have always liked to show off a little."
Luna only smiled as she cuddled back against Fabian's still slumbering form. "I think it is safe to say that none of us mind that, mon amour, especially since we have all gotten a lot more to actually show off in recent months, none more so than you Luna." Fleur said softly.
"I was the youngest, love, and my body had gone through at least two years of changes in a year's time. I honestly think that before summer ends we will all be close to the same age. A lot of things are happening for our Coven this summer after all." Luna said softly.
Fleur and Bellatrix smiled at that. "it would be a bit difficult to explain though, but if all goes well, McGonagall will be Headmistress next year and she'll understand the things that we can share with her better because she keeps an open mind, not to mention the fact that Fabian and Hermione are her favorite students." Bellatrix said softly.
Luna giggled softly at that. "I think Hermione is her favorite student, she just has a special place for Fabian because she is his Godmother."
Fabian groaned softly as he woke up, smiling dreamily as his mates pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Good morning my loves. I hope I haven't been asleep for too long."
"You haven't, love. We just woke up earlier for once, and we took that extra time to watch you sleep and unanimously agreeing that you are quite adorable when you sleep." Bella said with a smile.
He smiled and stretched, much to the appreciation of his lovers. "Do we have anywhere to be today, or can we stay in bed for a while?" He asked once they had settled against him again.
"As far as I know we only have the feast tonight, but other than that I don't think we have anywhere to be today." Fleur said with a soft smile.
He smiled at her. "Good, because then we are staying right here for the time being." He said as there was a knock on the door, making him groan softly.
"Who is it?" Fleur asked loud enough to be heard.
"It's me, Fleur. Are you guys decent? Professor McGonagall wants to talk to you." Hermione said with an audible smile.
"Give us a few minutes to get dressed, 'Mione. We'll be right there." Fabian called back.
They heard somewhat of an acknowledgment before sharing a look with each other. "I guess sleeping in will have to wait until the summer." He said softly before kissing them softly and then rolling out of bed.
The girls smiled and followed him to get dressed, after which they made their way into the living room, where McGonagall sat on the couch with a cup of tea, while Hermione and Dora were cuddled up in their loveseat. "Good morning everyone. I hope you had a good night sleep?"
"We did Professor, thank you for asking, but may we ask why you have come to visit us this morning?" Luna asked with a smile.
McGonagall smiled at them. "I just came to check up on you all. Now that the insanity that was this past year is nearly over, I thought it was prudent to talk a bit."
They smiled and took a seat opposite of her. "We've been doing good since the Toad has left the school, and yesterday we made another big step in winning this war."
McGonagall smiled at that. "In favor of having plausible deniability towards Albus, I don't want to know, and speaking of him. He will try to get you all to talk to him before the Feast tonight, I hope you all know that this would not be good if you still want to pursue legal action against him, because he will try to cast his compulsion charms again."
"We weren't planning to talk to the Headmaster until it is time for us to serve him with the charges. Our family is compiling the evidence as we speak and we will be ready probably somewhere next week to pursue this. We'll let you know before that time. Your restored memories will be a big part of our case after all." Fabian said with a soft smile.
McGonagall nodded and smiled at them. "I will look for that letter then, and I hope you know, no matter what happens with Albus and in the future, that I will always be there for all of you if you need to talk, or need guidance on anything."
They nodded at her. "We know, and we promise to fill you in on everything once the school undoubtedly chooses you as its next Headmistress. There is a lot that we discovered and did this year, and it might be easier to get that out in one go." Bellatrix said with a smile.
"If that happens, I have a few propositions to make for next year, but until we have certainty, it is no use to already talk about this, so we'll talk about this when you all fill me in on what has happened." McGonagall said kindly.
"That's okay, we also have to gather up some information, because I hope you understand that we will always want to keep some things close to the vest." Fleur said kindly.
McGonagall nodded at that. "I understand. It could have disastrous consequences if information about your Coven ever became public knowledge. I am honored that you all trust me to know at least a little."
"That speaks for itself. You have never given us any reason to doubt you, and more importantly, we can hear and see that you are truthful, where with Dumbledore we saw that he was not." Fabian said with a smile.
McGonagall smiled at that. "I have prided myself on always being truthful to my students, past, present and visiting."
They all smiled at that. "That is one of the reasons we are so willing to share our information with you, you deserve to know what we have managed to do so far."
"Then we will talk about this once the trial is over, for now I will leave you to your packing and I will see you tonight at the feast." McGonagall said with a smile.
They nodded and smiled as the Professor took her leave, but they all agreed that packing could be done after a nice breakfast, which was something Fleur and Bella made for them.