Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
It all keeps adding up,
I think I'm cracking up.
-Green Day
Saturday 4th September 1993, Co. Galway, Ireland
The O'Hare mansion had changed drastically from when she was a child.
Whenever she came to visit her gran and granda with her brothers, the grounds around the castle-like manor would be teeming with vibrant plant life.
She could remember how the pathway to the manor would be surrounded by fields of Irish Stargrass that glittered in the sunlight, and magical dog roses which would bark playfully at her when she played tag with Connor. In the fields at the back of the manor, she knew there would still be a grove of Thomping Hawthorns, a rare magical tree that was the beginning of the O'Hare wealth, since their leaves could be used in vital healing potions.
Now however, the normally vibrant Stargrass had browned from not being harvested. The dog rose bushes were overgrown, and instead of friendly barks they were snarling at her as she passed. She could hear distant thumping of hawthorn branches smacking the earth restlessly, and in the middle of it all stood a mansion, with its stone walls covered in moss and vines.
Lynn walked along the drive, past a marble fountain that was once had clear blue water with goldfish jumping out of it, but now was dried up and overgrown with weeds.
She grasped the silver wolf's head knocker, dulled with age, and rapped three times.
Immediately the doors swung open, revealing a marble floored hall with no one in sight.
"Hello?" Lynn called out softly, stepping through the doorway. "Gran?"
Every little noise seemed to echo through the entrance hall, from her light footsteps to the creak of doors as they opened.
"Miss Lynnie," squeaked a voice from behind her. Lynn jumped out of her skin, spinning around to face the tiny house elf that had opened the door.
"Gilly?" Lynn asked the elf, watching as the doors sealed shut with a snap of the house elf's fingers.
"Miss Lynnie, mistress is waiting for you in the sitting room," Gilly informed, holding her hands out for Lynn's cloak and levitating it to the coat hanger.
"Which one?" Lynn asked dryly, knowing that there were three in the mansion.
"This way, miss," Gilly squeaked.
As soon as the door was opened, Lynn was hit with a heavy cloud of incense, which smelt vaguely of Jasmine.
The room was dimly lit and looked nothing like what she remembered from her childhood. Crystal balls of all colours and sizes littered the room, resting on every possible surface. There were thick curtains blocking the sunlight from shining into the room; instead it was illuminated by several sticks of candle which rested on the coffee tables and mantlepiece.
In the corner sat a woman cushioned by a worn armchair, drinking from a mug Lynn was certain wasn't filled with tea.
"You're late." Her voice was raspy from old age and lack of use.
"I wasn't aware we had an agreed meeting time," Lynn fired back, sinking into the sofa opposite her grandmother. She reached out quickly to grab a crystal ball before it rolled off. "Who the bloody hell leaves crystal balls on the sofa?"
Aoife grumbled to herself, taking another sip. "You want some tea?" She took the teapot and shakily poured some into the second cup conveniently sitting there.
"Yeah sure."
She took the cup carefully from her grandmother's shaking hands, blowing gently to cool it down.
"I haven't had visitors in a while," Aoife stated, drinking her tea without flinching at the temperature. "Last time I had a visitor was when your mother came to get some belladonna off of me. I assume you're here for the same thing?"
"Sounds like you're dealing drugs, gran," Lynn snorted, taking a sip from her teacup before spitting it out quickly. "That's not tea!"
"Of course it's tea," Aoife waved off. "Belladonna tea. Poisonous when ingested by muggles and wizards alike, it causes hallucinations and delirium. However for us, special cases, it has a reverse effect."
"Poisonous?" Lynn hissed. "Poisonous?"
"But not to us," Aoife nodded, taking another sip. "You know why that is, don't you? I told you at my dear husband's funeral all those years ago."
Lynn nodded, slowly raising the teacup to her lips and taking a few sips. Almost immediately, the dull ache in the back of her head eased away, making her sigh contently.
"Because of the banshee blood."
"It's more than that," Aoife continued, slipping her wand from out of her hair and summoning an old leather book. "It's because our dear ancestor, Flann Mac Piaras, decided to fall in love with a banshee; and his wife resented him for it."
"You told me all of this already," Lynn huffed impatiently. "Our great, great, great, great many more greats grandfather was a powerful seer who had a child with a banshee. Apparently, the rare gift of foresight very little wizards are granted and the banshee's ability to predict and occasionally cause death doesn't mix well. And voila, all the women in our family are insane."
"I didn't tell you everything," Aoife shook her head. "There was a curse involved. You need to hear the full story. You have to read Flann's diary."
"Flann had a diary?" Lynn snorted. "Lame."
"Lynn."
"Alright, alright, give it here," Lynn sighed, taking the book and sitting it beside her. "I'll read all about what Flann had for bloody breakfast."
"Good," Aoife smiled, self-satisfied with her granddaughter's cooperation. "Now tell me, how is the curse affecting you?"
"I'm going bloody mad," Lynn bit out, finishing off her cup. Despite the bitter taste, it soothed the throbbing headache that threatened to split her skull, so she poured herself another cup, ignoring the smug look on her gran's face.
"Your symptoms?"
"Hallucinations," she began, blowing gently on her tea to cool it. "Worse than I've ever had them. I was walking down the hallway with a splitting headache, and suddenly all the candles blew out. And then all I could hear were the voices, whispering and trailing their cold hands along my skin. And then it all just stops and I'm standing in the hallway freaking out over nothing. It was so fucking loud, but I couldn't hear a word they were saying."
"Was it English they were speaking?" Aoife asked.
"I don't know," Lynn scowled. "But they've been whispering into my fucking ear since I was 15, then when the war ended, they stopped. Why come back now?"
"And the other visions?" Aoife prodded. "You said more than one."
"When I got back to my room, my headache came back with tenfold the pain. So painful I was crying."
"That's not a hallucination," Aoife said, aquamarine eyes staring intently at her.
"I was crying blood, gran. Blood was pouring from my eyes, my ears, my nose. I started choking on it," Lynn whispered. Aoife took in a sharp breath, eyes wide in shock. "I passed out on the floor, but when I woke up there was nothing there. No sign of a single drop of blood."
Aoife stayed silent for a moment, contemplating her next words. "Our sight does not work in ways other seers can See. You need to read Flann's writing to understand. Our blood is from an ancient seer bloodline, mixed with the blood of the harbinger of death. That power is scarcely outmatched. But Flann's wife saw it as a threat to the wizarding world and clouded our sight with a curse."
"Oh, so Áine Mac Piaras is to blame for me hallucinating myself drowning in my own blood? How nice of her," Lynn said stonily.
"Don't huff with the dead, Lynn," Aoife laughed. "Their dead."
"So Áine cursed her husband's banshee hybrid? What good did that do?"
"In Flann's diary, he writes that he believes she did it out of spite for the child. That she wanted her husband's infidelity to be punished. Whatever her reasoning was, the fact remains that the women of our bloodline through the years were cursed."
"But wouldn't that mean loads of Irish women have the curse?" Lynn asked. "Surely there's more than just our family that comes from the same bloodline?"
"Only one woman from each generation passes on the curse," Aoife sighed. "My sister wasn't as badly affected by it as I was; only the occasional dream and headache. None of her daughters had problems linking to Áine's curse. But my Eveline and Niamh had horrible headaches, but while Niamh's began to fade, Eveline's got worse. Splitting headaches, voices whispering into her ear. Unfortunately, she passed the curse onto you."
"That doesn't give her an excuse to treat her children the way she did," Lynn sniffed. "We had to raise ourselves. The only interactions we had with her was her incessant complaining and prejudice."
"Gilly," Aoife called quietly. With a sharp crack, the house elf apparated to her mistress's side.
"Yes mistress?"
"Can you refill my tea pot? And bring out those sandwiches."
"Right away miss," squeaked the elf, lifting the teapot from the table and disapparating form the living room.
I wasn't the best mother to my daughters," she sighed regretfully. "And that I believe is the reason Eveline was not a good mother to her children either. I locked myself away in this very room; peering into crystal balls to try and trigger my visions. I drove myself mad. My husband took my absence as an opportunity to fill my daughter's heads with prejudice beliefs on Irish and British wizarding relations, though I'll admit, tensions were much higher back then."
Gilly apparated back into the living room, sitting the teapot and tray of sandwiches gently onto the table, before bowing and disapparating again.
"Will you stay for lunch?" Aoife asked, pouring tea into both their cups. "It's been a while since I've had company."
"Yeah sure," Lynn said, taking a sandwich. "These better taste nicer than that tea."
"I even have that swiss roll baked that you loved so much as a child."
...
"I was wondering where you'd gone off to."
Lynn jumped, hand going straight to her wand hidden in her robes, before realising that it was Remus that had broken into her office.
"I had a few errands to run," Lynn replied shortly, shrugging off her travelling cloak. She hung it over the back of her chair, which Remus was currently lounged in. "What's up?"
Remus stilled for a moment, as if uncertain on how to approach his reasons for waiting in her office for her to return. He looked as exhausted as ever, white scars almost blending with the paleness of his skin.
"Come on, spit it out," Lynn grinned, sitting on her desk to face him.
Remus reached into his inside pocket, pulling out the paper. "Have you seen this?"
"No," Lynn frowned, beginning to worry. "I didn't get a chance to read it yet."
He placed it onto her desk beside her, gesturing for her to read. The mugshot of Sirius she'd been seeing plastered across every shop and bar in the wizarding world stared back at her. The headline above it struck fear in her heart.
SIRIUS BLACK SIGHTED IN DUFFTOWN
"Dufftown isn't far from here," Lynn bit her lip, glancing at Remus's stony face before continuing to read the article. "Muggle woman seen him. Called the hotline. All the muggles think he's just a common criminal."
"He's making his way to Hogwarts," Remus said. "And we both know why."
"Harry," Lynn nodded. "We have to be prepared to defend him, Moony."
Remus rubbed his face, the lines across his skin getting deeper and deeper by the day. "Do you really think you could do it? Turn your wand against Sirius?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lynn asked sharply, aquamarine eyes flitting from the newspaper to Remus.
"I just... you and Sirius-"
"Be careful of your next words, Remus," Lynn warned quietly. "I've had a rather stressful day."
"I'm not saying you would betray us for him," Remus began cautiously. "But-"
"There's no ifs or buts about it," she interrupted. "If Sirius means to harm my godson, then I'll put him down myself."
Remus opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by the door being flung open by a rather flustered Harry.
"Harry? What's the matter?" Lynn asked, hopping off the desk to face her godson. The anger at Remus's insinuations still lingered, but she quickly wiped the scowl off her face and painted on a smile.
Harry's eyes widened at the sight of Remus, who (to his knowledge) was merely the new Defence teacher. "Erm..."
"I was just leaving, Harry," Remus said, taking the hint that Harry wanted to speak to his godmother in private. "I'll see you in class. Talk to you later, Lynn."
Once the door was shut quietly behind Remus, Harry wasted no time in venting his frustrations.
"Where were you?" Harry demanded, pacing in front of Lynn's desk as she reclaimed the seat Remus had stolen from her. "I couldn't find you anywhere. I even asked McGonagall to check the staff room, but she said you were running an errand."
"I was visiting my Grandmother," Lynn explained, fishing out the Belladonna tea Aoife had given her and throwing it into one of her drawers. "Hadn't seen her in a while so decided to pay her a visit. I assumed you'd be busy with quidditch practices. Oliver Wood normally begins them as soon as possible."
"I was," Harry nodded. "But they finished ages ago." He finally stopped his pacing, taking a seat in front of Lynn's desk.
"What's got you in such a state?" Lynn asked.
"A lot of things," Harry frowned, fidgeting with his fingers. "I just- Hagrid's going to get in trouble with Malfoy's dad, and Malfoy himself is milking his injury with everything he's got. Trelawney keeps predicting my death, saying the grim is following me about and not to mention Snape's lessons are even more horrible; he tried to poison Neville's toad!"
"Poison his toad? That wretched bat," Lynn wrinkled her nose, not at all impressed with her old enemy's actions.
"And now Sirius Black's been sighted," Harry continued, biting his lip. "When the minister told me to watch out for Sirius Black, I thought it was just a minor safety precaution, because of his connection to Voldemort or whatever. But Black's making his way to Hogwarts, Hermione thinks so at least, and now I'm thinking he's really out to get me."
Lynn stayed silent, debating whether she should tell him the truth about Sirius. What really happened the night his parents died. Just how close Sirius was to James... and to her.
But she watched as he looked at her, with all the trust he had written on his face, waiting for her to speak words that would make him feel safe.
She couldn't face the pain it would cause him.
"Hagrid will be fine," Lynn began. "Maybe not the Hippogriff, but Hagrid will pull through in the end. The Malfoy's are a privileged, prejudiced family that will always seek to make those they see as 'lesser' feel inferior and Snape is just a lonely, spiteful man who takes pleasure in torturing children. Don't take anything he says personally.
As for Sirius Black? He'll have to go through me if he wants to touch a hair on your head," she smirked. "I'd like to see him try and beat me in a duel."
...
In no time it was late October, and as Halloween approached, Hagrid's pumpkins grew to unnatural sizes, just waiting to be made into pumpkin pies and used to decorate the castle.
Lynn's headaches became a constant hinderance, sedated only by the tea her grandmother had given her. In her free time, she read the writings of Flann Mac Piaras, her ancestor from centuries ago, in a desperate attempt to understand what was happening to her.
"Yesterday, I was on my way to Derry," the diary read, after Lynn had placed countless translation spells on it. "At the side of the road, weeping and wailing, was a woman, with skin as fair as snow and hair a fiery as fire."
"You really are a poet, aren't you Flann?" Lynn grumbled to herself, flipping to the next page.
"She is unlike any woman I had ever laid eyes on. I stopped to ask her what was wrong. Perhaps she was a muggle woman, lost in the green expanse of Ireland, but she merely sobbed and shook her head. I convinced her to let me take her to the closest village; at least there she could rest. I was planning on spending the night in Maghera anyway. On the way there, I got to know the woman I was taking with me, and the more she spoke, the more I came to love her."
"Flann you idiot," sighed Lynn, rolling her eyes at just how typical Flann's diary was.
"For one night I allowed myself to indulge myself, and by the time the sun had risen I was gone from Aigneis's side."
"Oh, leaving a one-night stand before they wake up. Classic move, Flann."
Lynn continued to mutter insults at her great great many more greats grandfather, staying curled up in her chair for over an hour before it was time to go down for breakfast. She stretched her legs, wincing at the loud crack, and pulled on her midnight blue robes. It was Halloween, a day which she used to spend drinking her sorrows away, since it was the anniversary of her best friends' deaths.
However, it was also a Hogsmeade weekend, and after much debate between her, Dumbledore and Minerva, she had decided to sign Harry's form for him to allow him to go to the village, but only if she was in the village also.
"Morning," Harry yawned as she approached him in the corridor. She had instructed him to meet with her before he left.
"Morning," she greeted, ruffling his hair. "Invisibility cloak?"
"Check."
"Wand?"
"Check."
"Money?"
"Check."
"Good," she grinned at him. "Now remember-"
"Don't go anywhere alone. Don't leave the busier part of the village," Harry jumped in, smirking slightly at the unamused look on Lynn's face.
"I mean it," Lynn said sharply, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I catch wind of you so much as putting a toe out of the main street and I'll confiscate your Nimbus. No quidditch."
"Okay, okay!" Harry nodded enthusiastically, the idea of no quidditch forcing him to co-operate. "No misbehaving. Got it."
"Good," Lynn nodded, satisfied now that her threat was being taken seriously. "Make sure you have breakfast, don't eat too many sweets and have fun."
"Thanks, Lynn," Harry grinned, wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her into a tight hug.
"No bother, Harry," Lynn said softly, attempting to smooth down his wild hair. He was getting much taller now, nearly coming up to her shoulder. Soon he'd be growing past her no doubt, if he took after his lanky father.
"I'm going to go see if Ron is up yet," Harry told her.
"If he's still asleep just remind him of the Honeyduke's sweets awaiting him. Make sure you give him my Halloween present!" She called after him, reminding him of the 5 extra galleons she'd put aside for her honorary nephew.
"Okay!"
She watched him rush back to the Gryffindor common room, excitement at being allowed to go preventing her from feeling too much guilt at putting him in danger. Besides, she'd be there anyway.
...
As expected, no trouble arose in Hogsmeade. Remus decided to accompany Lynn to the Three Broomsticks, where they were met by Hagrid and Flitwick who had also decided to leave the castle for a drink.
They headed back several hours later, bellies full and heads slightly fuzzy, except for Lynn who only stuck to butterbeer in fear of something happening to Harry.
But he was safe, walking back to the castle with Ron and Hermione a little bit ahead of her, on the way to enjoy the Halloween feast.
She didn't know how Remus could eat so much even after his hearty meal at the Broomsticks. She only had Rosmerta's homemade soup to keep her going until the feast, but both Hagrid and Remus bought half roast chickens from the persuasive bartender, and yet both men were tucking into their meals like they had never seen food before.
"You can inhale between mouthful's you know," Lynn laughed, earning a grin from Remus as he chewed quickly.
"I've missed the Halloween feasts," he admitted, patting his mouth clean with a napkin. "Every year we would all plan a prank on Halloween. Then we'd steal leftovers from the kitchens and celebrate Sirius's birthday in our dorm."
"It was all much simpler then, wasn't it?" Lynn sighed wistfully. "We were all so ignorant."
The headless hunt rode in, swinging their ghostly swords at students who gasped and hooted. As usual, Nearly Headless Nick sulked in the corner, unnoticed by the students so invested in the entertainment.
"Lynn."
"Yeah?" Lynn turned towards Remus, who gave her a confused look.
"I didn't say anything," he frowned, amber eyes searching her confused expression. "Are you okay? You're a bit pale."
"I'm Irish, of course I'm pale," Lynn muttered, shutting her eyes as whispering voices filled her ears. "I'm gonna head on up to bed. I'm not feeling so great."
"Alright. Ask if you need anything."
She left through a side door, not wanting to attract unwanted attention towards herself. Every step she took sent stabbing pain through her body, the whispers getting louder and louder. She could feel them again. The cold hands just grazing her skin as she threw her classroom door open.
She placed the kettle into the already lit fire, sprinkling some dried belladonna into a teacup as she waited for hot water.
"Lynn."
"Shut up," she pleaded. "Just shut the fuck up."
The kettle began to whistle, and Lynn nearly scalded herself from how quickly she took it out of the fire. Her tongue throbbed in pain as she gulped down the tea, caring very little about the burning and more about how the headache was beginning to fade; and with it the whispers.
She made herself another cup for good measure, this time allowing the belladonna to stew and for the water to cool. But she didn't get to drink it.
"Intruder!"
Lynn almost fell out of her chair as a ghost, one she had seen around but didn't know the name of, flew through her wall and began yelling in a panic.
"Intruder in the castle! All teachers must be on alert immediately! Sirius Black has tried to break into the Gryffindor common room!"
"Fucking hell!" Lynn swore, throwing herself out of her chair and out of the classroom door. Her wand was immediately drawn, the ghost sent to alert her still floating by her side.
When she came to the grand staircase, both Gryffindor house and the Ravenclaws were being rushed down the stairs by prefects. She could hear Percy calling out commands two flights down, taking his responsibilities as head boy seriously. At the end of the hall, she could see the slashed up remains of the Fat Lady's portrait.
Lynn searched for Harry in the crowd, her heart in her throat as she began running worst case scenarios through her head. Most of the Gryffindors had already made their way down the stairs, with only the stragglers being rushed down by teachers. She knew it was likely Harry was already in the Great Hall with the rest, but the fear that Sirius had maybe gotten to him did not calm her.
"Percy!" Lynn called, spotting the boy who had stationed himself on the staircase, waiting for any stragglers to direct to the Great Hall.
"L- Professor McLaughlin," Percy quickly corrected himself. "Any news on Black's whereabouts?"
"Wh- oh. No, I haven't heard anything yet. Have you seen Harry?" Lynn asked. The fact her ex-fiancé had broken into Hogwarts to kill their godson hadn't quite sunken in yet.
"He's down in the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione," Percy confirmed.
She patted him on the back, letting out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. But still, she wouldn't be totally okay until Harry was in front of her and Sirius was caught. "Thanks, Perce."
She practically flew down the stairs, fighting the urge to transform into her Animagus to make herself run even faster. She almost toppled over a couple or Hufflepuff first years in her haste.
"Professor McLaughlin," Dumbledore greeted, just about to leave the hall. "I was going to arrange a castle wide sweep of the castle with all of the staff."
"Is Harry alright?" Lynn asked, peering into the hall over his shoulder.
"Harry is fine," he smiled kindly. "All the students are rather shaken up, but they are safe."
Dumbledore turned his attention to behind her, another strained smile gracing his lips. "Ah and there is Mr. Weasley, just the man I was looking for."
Lynn turned around to catch Percy turning red, his head doing a strange jerking motion as if he was attempting to bow.
"Mr. Weasley, I am leaving you and Miss Clearwater in charge of the Great Hall. Would you please stand guard and ensure that all students are kept calm?"
"Of course sir," Percy nodded enthusiastically, puffing out his chest in pride. He immediately got to his duties, marching into the Great Hall to find any students that were being too rowdy.
"Sir."
Lynn jumped, whipping around to face Snape, who's expression was even more sour than usual.
"Severus," Dumbledore nodded. "I'm going to make sure our students are comfortable, then I will speak to the both of you about patrols. All of the other staff have been assigned areas."
With a sweep of his robes he left them in the entrance hall, taking out his wand and materialising several sleeping bags for the students.
"So, Black has made his way to Hogwarts," Severus drawled, making Lynn face him once more. "And coincidentally, you had left the feast early."
"Believe it or not, Severus, but I am the least likely person in this bloody castle to help him enter it," Lynn scowled. She stood up straight, matching his height due to his slouch, and stared coldly into his dull black eyes. "And if you dare question my loyalty to these students and my godson again, I will curse you into next week."
"If it wasn't you then how about Lupin," Severus hissed, dark eyes narrowing at her threat. "Surely there's still some affection for his childhood best friend lingering after years of isolation. I mean, I've heard locking yourself up once a month and not being able to keep a job meddles with the mind."
"You have some nerve-"
"Lynn. Severus, " Dumbledore's voice cut in sternly. They both stepped away from each other slowly, still glaring daggers at the other. "Now, we don't want a repeat of what happened a decade ago do we?"
Lynn could remember the screaming match in Dumbledore's office, the summer before her first year teaching at Hogwarts. The hatred the two felt for each other. As far as Severus concerned, Lynn was no better than his childhood bullies, always in the background of their pranks. As far as Lynn was concerned, Snape was the reason her best friends were targeted and killed.
They both glared menacingly at each other, hands hovering over their wands ready to act if necessary. Dumbledore sighed, letting his exhaustion show momentarily before again attempting to settle their dispute.
"We may have a convicted murderer still loose in the castle. I need both of you to carry out searches. Severus, perhaps continue your search of the lower levels and the Slytherin common room. Lynn, you and I will search the upper floors and towers along with Professor Flitwick and McGonagall. Everywhere else is being searched as we speak."
Snape swept off to do as ordered, and Lynn followed Dumbledore up the Grand staircase. Her weak cup of tea was starting to wear off, and she could feel the headache creep back into her skull.
"Professor? You don't think it was me, do you?" Lynn asked, silently lighting her wand as they approached the dimly lit corridors.
"No Lynn I do not," he sighed.
She didn't quite believe him. She knew, despite outer appearances, that Albus Dumbledore trusted very few people, and she wasn't one of them.
...
Please favourite, comment and follow if you enjoyed this chapter! There's more chapters available on Wattpad under the same username and title, as I update on there first x
Kayla.
Unedited.