Chapter 2: Forgetting the Past
It was the morning of September 1st, and Harriet shambled down to breakfast in her pajamas. Food was already on her plate when she got to the kitchen.
"Thanks, Kreacher!" said Harriet.
"My pleasure, Mistress," said Kreacher. He was still cooking, and there was a lot more food than Harriet expected. That was when Harriet remembered that Sirius had gone on a date the night before.
"Did he finally bring someone home?" Harriet asked excitedly as she sat at the table.
Kreacher just gave a disapproving "Hmmm," in response. Which was an answer all in itself.
Moments later, an unfamiliar woman entered the room. She was wearing a t-shirt, a rather short one at that, but otherwise she was in her skivvies. She seemed surprised that there was food being cooked, but then her surprise vanished when she saw Kreacher. It came back in force when she saw Harriet, who gave a little wave.
"Uh, who are you?" asked the woman. She had an Australian accent, and was probably a few years younger than Sirius, but only a few.
"I'm Harriet," said Harriet, "I'm Sirius' goddaughter."
"What are you doing here?" asked the woman.
"I live here," said Harriet.
"Not with your parents?" asked the woman.
"My parents are dead," said Harriet simply.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean too…" the woman began, but Harriet waved away her apology.
"It happened while I was a baby," said Harriet.
"Well, I was on a date with your godfather," said the woman, "and he very kindly offered me a place to stay tonight."
Harriet blinked. "Was that before or after you had sex?" she asked as politely as she could.
The woman blushed a bit.
"I don't disapprove, mind you," said Harriet, shaking her fork in the direction of the woman, "In fact, I've been pushing him to get back into dating. This is a good sign."
"Oh," said the woman, her embarrassment seeming to evaporate, "all right then."
"Though he should have warned you I was here," said Harriet pointedly as Kreacher came over with a kettle of tea and began to pour.
"That I agree with," said the woman.
"What is your name?" asked Harriet idly.
"Marisa," she said.
"That's a pretty name," said Harriet, unconsciously swiping her hair from in front of her face.
The woman's eyes seemed to fixate on her forehead for a moment. "That's one hell of a scar there," she said.
Harriet laughed. "Well yeah, though all things considered, a scar was a small price to pay."
"What do you mean?" asked Marisa, "It's clearly a curse scar of some sort…"
"The curse was the killing curse," said Harriet, her smile now having turned grim.
"Harriet… Potter?" asked the woman.
Harriet nodded with a sigh. "It was too much to hope that you wouldn't recognize me," moaned Harriet.
Sirius swept into the room. He looked back and forth between Harriet and Marisa for a brief panicked moment.
"Ah, I see you've met Harriet, uh, Marisa," said Sirius.
Harriet tried to suppress a giggle. He'd nearly forgotten her name! And looking at the look Marisa was giving him right now, she'd noticed.
Oh well, she'd seemed nice, thought Harriet.
XXXXX
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Harriet shouted at Sirius as they raced into King's Cross station, dragging a loaded cart, "How are we this late? It sure as hell wasn't my fault."
"I was trying to mend fences with Marisa!" protested Sirius.
"She's going back to Australia in less than a week!" snapped Harriet, "It wasn't going to be a permanent relationship!"
"We'll make it on time," said Sirius, "We've got at least a couple minutes, and the passage is right here."
"Well, here I go," said Harriet as she ran full speed in towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.
Seconds later she was picking herself off the ground after she had bounced off the now very solid passage.
"Umm, Sirius…" she said angrily.
"I saw, I saw," said Sirius looking around anxiously. There were a lot of people around, so he couldn't just apparate across the barrier. Swearing enough to raise Harriet's eyebrows, he ran for a secluded space.
Harriet rapped her hands on her trunk as she anxiously waited for Sirius to reappear. Suddenly he came through the barrier.
"There was a house elf holding the barrier closed!" said Sirius, his voice shocked.
Suddenly trains nearby began to move.
"And you've missed the train," said Sirius, "we need to contact the DMLE though. Impeding the way to the Hogwarts Express is a serious crime!"
"Might I point out that this would not have happened if we had been on time for once?" demanded Harriet.
"Yes, yes, I am very chided," said Sirius as he motioned for Harriet to head through the barrier.
It wasn't long before an investigator arrived. Harriet recognized Mad-Eye Moody and his very familiar auror apprentice.
"So you say a house Elf was holding the passage shut," said clearly skeptical Moody, "Why don't you just say you missed the train?"
"Because a house elf was holding the passage shut," said Sirius.
"We actually would have made the train, barely, if it hadn't," said Harriet, "Barely."
"You don't need to keep rubbing it in," said Sirius.
"I don't know, you haven't actually apologized yet," said Harriet, "And no, protesting how you were held up in an attempt to sweet talk a woman so that you could get laid again is not an apology!"
"It should be," said Sirius grumpily. Moody's apprentice auror sniggered. Which made sense, because Moody's apprentice Auror was none other than Sirius' cousin, Nymphadora Tonks. She was examining the passage, while listening in as well. She seemed to think Harriet's taunts were amusing.
"Well, someone was holding this closed with some pretty powerful magic," said Tonks, "There's still a great deal of stress on the magic here, but it's fading fast. It would have taken a hell of a spell to keep this closed. With the spell's proximity to the Hogwarts Express, I bet the Improper Use of Magic office has a record of it."
"Good thinking," said Moody, "I already put in a request for a report."
As if on cue, Amelia Bones suddenly appeared in front of them with a pop.
"Amelia! You didn't have to bring this here yourself," said Moody, who seemed puzzled.
"This is the first time someone has attempted to impede the boarding of the Hogwarts Express in almost one hundred and fifty years," said Amelia as she handed over the report , "And the perpetrator is an elf? You couldn't tear me away from this one."
She handed a sheet of paper to Moody.
"Huh," said Moody, "Someone was casting a spell at this passage. It set off about 50 Traces while it was cast too."
"Wait, other people's magic can set off the trace?" demanded Harriet, "Are you saying that if I cast a spell in a place where there are other wizards nearby I won't get caught?"
Sirius snickered, while Amelia gave Moody a cross glare.
"Doing so would be highly illegal Miss Potter," said Amelia sternly.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to break the law," said Harriet, "But this means that the entire system for detecting use of underage magic is pretty flawed."
Amelia nodded in assent to the point. "I won't argue with you there Miss Potter, but it is still the law."
"Don't you have the old family elf?" asked Tonks.
"It wasn't Kreacher, was it?" asked Harriet.
"Definitely not," said Sirius, "This elf was much younger."
"It isn't much to go on," said Moody.
"And who would order their elf to do something like this?" wondered Tonks, "It makes no sense."
"Maybe the elf did it on their own," said Harriet. Moody and Bones both stared at Harriet as if she was crazy.
"Oh please, house elves have their own thoughts and desires like anyone else," said Harriet, "Just because wizards treat them like property, it doesn't change the fact that they are people. People trained from birth to be servile, but people nonetheless."
"Huh," said Tonks thoughtfully, "I did read a report about the house elves idolizing Harriet."
"What?" asked Amelia.
"Well apparently when You-Know-Who was still around a lot of old purebloods took it as an opportunity to mistreat their elves," explained Tonks, "And after You-Know-Who was defeated they started being treated better. So apparently there is a whole subset of elves who see Harriet as some sort of House Elf savior. And considering that no one other than Harriet had a problem coming through the portal…"
"But why keep me from coming to Hogwarts?" demanded Harriet, "Why would an elf want to do that?"
"Bloody hell," said Moody, "If they are trying to help you, maybe they think it's too dangerous for you…"
"Which means that their master is probably plotting something," said Sirius.
"I bet you ten galleons it's Lucius Malfoy," said Harriet.
"I'm not taking that bet," said Moody, "Lucius doesn't know when to quit when it comes to you Harriet."
"He does have a house elf, named Dobby I think," said Sirius.
"This is just speculation," said Amelia, "We don't even have any proof Malfoy's elf was involved. This isn't even enough to justify me questioning him. It is completely speculative. Still, keep an eye out, this could just be a prelude to something far more dangerous. In any case, the real reason I came was to escort Miss Potter to Hogwarts."
"Escort me?" asked Harriet.
"It is illegal to travel to Hogwarts through any means other than the Hogwarts express," said Amelia, "But there have been other incidents where this happened before, though not intentionally. I am empowered to escort people to the school in emergencies like this."
"Let me get my things!" said Harriet as she ran back to her cart.
XXXXX
As Harriet approached the gates of Hogwarts, she felt a certain dread. Mainly because the very last person she wanted to see was waiting there. Snape.
He wasn't alone, fortunately. McGonagall was there as well. She looked rather sternly at Harriet.
"You had to cut it till the last second, didn't you?" said McGonagall, her voice icy.
"Now then, there is no reason for that," said Amelia, "She was prevented from taking the train by circumstances out of her control."
"Really, and her own tardiness played no role in this?" asked McGonagall, her nostrils flaring slightly.
"Please Minerva, we both know it wasn't Potter who was late," said Snape, "Her godfather is by far the more likely culprit."
McGonagall's eyes softened a bit. "I suppose that could be true…" she began.
"Sirius was trying to mend fences with the nice Australian witch whose name he nearly forgot after spending the night last night," said Harriet mischievously, giving Snape a very curt nod.
"Does that man have no sense of decorum?" wondered Minerva, "To engage in such behavior with a young girl in the house."
"Why shouldn't he?" asked Harriet, "I suggested it. He's been alone for too long. I'm glad he's got a love life again. I just wish he'd chosen a different day."
Amelia was trying pretty hard to cover her smile. It wasn't very often that someone completely flummoxed Professor McGonagall, but Harriet had just done it.
"If you will follow me, I will escort you inside," said McGonagall, still a bit flustered.
"Of course. Goodbye Madam Bones," said Harriet with aplomb. She turned to Snape and gave him a long, steely stare, then followed McGonagall into the castle.
As soon as they were out of earshot of Snape, McGonagall turned to Harriet. "I do hope that you aren't letting Sirius Black's prejudices get to you Harriet. His rivalry with Severus Snape was not healthy."
Harriet stopped for a moment. McGonagall turned around as she waited for Harriet to reply.
"Believe me, I'm the first person to criticize Sirius about how he treated Professor Snape," said Harriet finally, "My problems with Professor Snape are mine, not Sirius'."
"You don't have to continue this silly quarrel," said McGonagall.
"There is nothing silly about what Snape did," said Harriet, "I have my reasons for disliking him. They aren't going to change. They are also private. Private for him and for me."
Harriet sighed. "Listen, I know he's on our side. That doesn't forgive everything he did as a Death Eater. He has to earn that forgiveness, and by my count he hasn't come close yet."
McGonagall looked at Harriet intently. "So Professor Snape told you something?"
"He did," said Harriet, "And I am grateful he did. But it wasn't exactly cheery listening."
"I see," said McGonagall, "Well in that case, let's see if we can keep you occupied while you wait…"
XXXXX
Hermione was almost beside herself with worry. Harriet hadn't shown up on the Hogwarts Express. Hermione knew what the laws about that were, so she was very, very worried for the girl.
She had to admit that the most likely scenario was that Sirius Black had slept in or something like that. Harriet was mostly responsible for herself, but Sirius could be positively disgraceful sometimes. Ginny had been a bit worried as well, but Luna had been extremely calm about the whole thing.
The one thing that was good about Harriet missing the train was that it meant that Hermione felt no pressure to sit with Ron. She'd introduced Ginny and Luna to Parvati and Lavender, as well as Padma and Sue Li. All in all things had gone pretty smoothly. Aside from the fact that Harriet wasn't there.
Once they had arrived in Hogsmeade, Hermione rode the carriages with Fay, Sally and Neville, who had been left behind by Ron, Seamus and Dean when their carriage had taken off while Neville was looking for his wand, which he had dropped as he tripped trying to get into the carriage. Hermione liked Neville. He wasn't the most skilled spellcaster, but he was highly attentive and very good with plants.
When they reached the school Hermione made her way into the Entrance Hall, only to be ambushed by Harriet herself.
"Where have you been?" demanded Hermione.
"A house elf blocked me from getting on the Express," said Harriet glibly, "So I got brought here by Amelia Bones."
"A house elf?" asked Hermione, not quite understanding.
"Beats me," said Harriet in response to Hermione's unspoken question, "We think he might be Malfoy's house elf, but we aren't sure."
"Potter! What are you doing here!" came a harsh voice. Hermione turned to see Nott, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"You weren't on the train," said Nott, angrily.
"No, I wasn't," admitted Harriet, "Congratulations on your powers of observation. But it isn't your business Nott. Merlin, you're looking to be almost as bad as Malfoy was."
Nott's eyes narrowed, then he stepped back. Hermione turned, only to see Malfoy himself watching from afar. He seemed rather satisfied with what had just happened. When he saw Hermione looking at him though, he quickly looked away, as if embarrassed.
"Why would Malfoy be glad you embarrassed Nott?" wondered Hermione.
"He probably hopes to rule the Slytherins again," said Harriet, "That'll be tough though. Nott seems to have things locked down for the moment."
The girls entered the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. It wasn't long before the rest of the students had come in and found their seats. Just about everyone was probably hungry after all. Not long afterwards, the doors opened again, and the new first years entered the Hall.
Harriet waved a big wave at Ginny and Luna. Ginny saw Harriet and rolled her eyes, but she did wave back. Luna waved back as if everything was normal.
"Think Luna's getting sorted into Gryffindor?" asked Hermione.
Harriet frowned. "She could, I suppose, but I don't think she wants to."
"Oh?" asked Hermione.
"She seems to have her heart set on Ravenclaw," admitted Harriet.
Hermione frowned. The Ravenclaws were smart, but they were notoriously intolerant of anything that went against common knowledge. Some of Luna's more… out there ideas would probably not go over well in Ravenclaw.
It in fact took the Sorting Hat a very long time to sort Luna. But when it did, she was indeed sorted into Ravenclaw. Harriet applauded loudly for her friend, but Hermione could see on her face that she wished Luna had been sorted into another house.
Ginny was the last person sorted, and she was sorted into Gryffindor with an almost embarrassing speed. She ran up and sat in a seat that Harriet had been saving her.
"Not another Weasley!" Ginny said in a deep voice in mockery of the Sorting Hat, "Though at least they didn't send me another boy!"
"The hat can be a bit testy," said Harriet, "Did I ever tell you that it tried to sort me into Slytherin?"
Hermione smiled. She had to admit, she wasn't as big a fan of Luna as Harriet was. Oh she liked the girl well enough, but Luna's ideas about magical creatures were out there enough that Hermione had to watch her tongue around the girl. She didn't want to insult her, even if she was a little on the eccentric side. Not having her in the same house meant that it wouldn't be as much of a problem.
Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was looking at her. His expression was unreadable, but she didn't see any of the hate she'd seen him directing at her before. Again, when he caught her looking at him he looked away. Was he ashamed?
Hermione nearly gasped. He was! He was ashamed of what he'd done to her. She looked to the head table only to see Snape giving her a piercing stare. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Professor Snape right now, given what he had told Harriet, but she gave him a brief nod in recognition of what he had done with Draco. Snape gave the faintest of nods in return.
Hermione sat back as Dumbledore got up to speak. This year was already going very differently than she had expected.
XXXXX
The second year girls took their time heading up to Gryffindor tower after the Welcome Feast. There was no rush for them. They wouldn't have an early class the next day, the one morning they didn't. So they'd spent time catching up. Lavender and Parvati had spent a great deal of time together, much of it looking at clothes in Diagon Alley. Parvati had gone to Paris as well, though Lavender claimed Parisian magical fashion wasn't all it was cracked up to be, to which Parvati had rolled her eyes a bit.
Fay had spent much of the summer in Spain, and Sally-Anne had gone to Wales. Harriet had to admit that things seemed to be going smoother this year between them all. Lavender and Hermione seemed to be okay with each other still, which was the biggest potential flare point.
Arriving in Gryffindor Tower, they climbed up to the top, which was still where their dormitory was located. Harriet had lodged a complaint about that with McGonagall, who had been rather unsympathetic.
When they entered the dormitory, they found something they hadn't been expecting. There was a house elf standing in the middle of the room.
"Now this is a first," said Lavender, "I've never caught a house elf at work before."
Harriet's stomach sank. "Are you the house elf that tried to stop me from getting on the train?" she asked.
The elf nodded. "My name is Dobby. You should not have come back to Hogwarts. There is a plan, a horrible plan to make terrible things happen here. You are not safe. Harriet Potter must be safe!"
Harriet gave Dobby a piteous look. "I appreciate your concern Dobby, but I hope you'll forgive me if I decline to leave. I'm not going to leave my friends in danger."
"Oh, you are every bit as noble as I had hoped!" said Dobby, "But you must leave! You have no idea what horrible, no good things are about to happen."
"Can you tell us Dobby?" asked Hermione.
Dobby shook his head.
"His master probably commanded him not to," said Harriet, "Don't try to force him. If his master is the sort of person I think he is, then any attempts to get Dobby to give us more information will force Dobby to hurt himself."
"Thank you," said the house elf, seeming very relieved.
"Anyway, the moment I heard your name it confirmed that you are Lucius Malfoy's house elf," said Harriet to the elf's obvious chagrin, "Don't worry, I won't tell on you to your master. But I am not going to leave."
Dobby looked around, and discovered that Parvati and Lavender had moved to his sides, while Fay was directly behind him. Dobby hung his head.
"I will not give up on saving you Harry Potter!" shouted the elf, before he disappeared with a snap of his fingers.
"So, whatever is going on this year, Ol' Lucius is behind it," said Harriet, "How am I not surprised?"
XXXXX
"So what do magical historians call the period from 812 CE to approximately the year 1000 CE?" asked Remus to Harriet's class.
Hermione's hand was up immediately of course.
"Hermione?" asked Remus with a slight grin.
"It was the period of the Founders," said Hermione, "This was because Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin arrived in Britain in 812, while Helga Hufflepuff died in the year 1006."
"Probably died in 1006," said Remus, "Some sources hold that she died earlier in 1002 CE. But it isn't really relevant. She gave up control of Hogwarts in 998 and disappeared from the public eye. There are three wars in this period which are often called the Founders' Wars. The first two we've talked about of course, The war against Uther and the war against Morgana. But who was the third war against?"
Harriet raised her hand. Remus waited a moment to see if anyone else was willing to answer, then nodded to Harriet.
"Alfred the Great," said Harriet.
"Half correct," said Remus, "though that is the common misconception. Alfred was certainly responsible for the war. But he was only King of Wessex, later King of the Anglo-Saxons, and wasn't in any way capable of launching a full scale invasion of Scotland. No, it was his agents that sparked the war, but it was local Scottish leaders who led the way."
"What happened was that Alfred was a great Christianizer," said Remus, "Now in many places Christianity coexisted with magic just fine. The Eastern Roman Empire had a thriving magical community. But the Germanic Christians had history with magic as being part of their old Pagan rites, so they tended to associate it with Paganism. Consequently Alfred sought to destroy all of what he called "the unholy magics.""
"What this meant was actually very interesting," continued Remus, "A group of magic users, called the order of the Divine Sorcery, convinced Alfred that their powers were divinely inspired. So Alfred charged them with converting the 'heathens.' And so, they betrayed the magical world and began trying to force all magicals to join their society. In Wessex they were very thorough, but up here in Scotland, few converted."
"Alfred was angry that they had made so little progress here, so he ordered them to stop trying to convert the Scottish magicals and to try to kill them instead. Which is why the Order of the Divine Sorcery began to whisper in the ears of local lords. Whisper that they should attack Hogwarts."
Remus paused. "Which they did in 899."
"Surely muggles couldn't even find Hogwarts," said one of the Hufflepuffs, one Zacharias Smith.
"Hogwarts didn't have a muggle repelling charm on it at the time," said Remus, "And the army was quite large. Even a castle of wizards would have trouble with an army of ten thousand men, especially since it did have wizards helping them. However the attacking army was routed when an army of Danes appeared and came to the schools defense. A huge portion of the leadership of the order of the Divine Sorcery was killed in the attack. They fell out of favour with Alfred immediately, and he ordered the Order suppressed. This was a mistake, as he was assassinated by magic almost immediately afterwards."
"Who killed him?" asked Harriet.
"No one is certain, but the most likely suspect is Slytherin, though Merlin is also a possibility," said Remus, "In any event, Alfred's successors took from this the lesson that meddling too much in magical society was very dangerous. The Order of the Divine Sorcery dissolved and magic users largely lived in hiding until the Danish kings finally took control of England. Edward the Confessor would lead later magical suppression efforts, but William the Conqueror was very pro-magic, and England remained very pro-magic until the War of the Roses."
"It is strange that I've never heard about this," said Neville, his face scrunched in thought.
"It is!" said Remus Lupin, "And that is because, for the most part, magical society has forgotten it. We have rather conveniently forgotten many aspects of our past."
"Like the Elves," said Hermione bitterly.
"Very true," said Remus, his smile at Hermione genuine, if a little sad, "Why do you think that this part of history was purged from our collective memory?"
Harriet considered this for a moment. "Because the real villains were the Order of the Divine Sorcery, not the muggles," she said finally.
Remus nodded. "The Order of the Divine Sorcery weren't a fringe group. They weren't led by muggleborns of Half-bloods. Their leadership included some of the most prestigious purebloods in Wessex. Purebloods deliberately set out to undermine the very existence of magical society. And they nearly succeeded. That is a very inconvenient fact. Many of us have wondered what Slytherin thought about that. For all his hatred of muggleborns, it wasn't them that threatened Hogwarts in the end."
Harriet nodded. She wondered why Slytherin had left the school all those years ago. And she wondered if Helga's books would shed any light on this.
XXXXX
For once, Hermione was glad that she had some help. Her reading of Helga Hufflepuff's journals was going well, but Hermione had to admit it went easier with Morgan around to help translate. Hermione had quickly found that she understood what all the words meant, but the broader context often escaped her. This was a very foreign language for her, even with the understanding Ravenclaw had put into her mind.
Harriet was around too of course. Even though she wasn't able to read any of these books, she felt she could be useful. And Hermione had to admit that she was helpful. She carried the books when they needed them, and she took down notes for them as well.
"Helga focuses a lot of her attention on the elves," said Morgan, "I hadn't really understood just how much she did for them until now. Though I suppose, given her… well that isn't important. She mostly worked with the elves after I left Hogwarts."
"Not every person in the magical world has treated elves poorly," said Hermione, "Just most of you."
"And Arthur was pretty pro-elf," said Harriet.
"Well, he had a soft spot for the elves of Avalon," said Morgan, "As did I really. They really did have a unique culture."
"Huh," said Hermione, "I think this volume is a little out of order. Wait no… she just mentioned Mordred's invasion of Mercia, or what was left of Mercia."
"Ah," said Morgan, her face unreadable.
"You've never really mentioned Mordred to us," noted Harriet.
"No, I haven't," said Morgan sadly, "I suppose that the pain is still a bit of a sore spot. He was my son. The manner in which he died was rather painful for me as well. In battle against my brother, a battle in which my brother was also mortally wounded."
"Is the story of the serpent at Camlann true?" asked Hermione.
"I'm not sure it was a serpent, but it was a misunderstanding of some sort," said Morgan, "Very few people who were in that tent survived the battle, so the stories weren't clear, and those who did survive were loyal to Arthur. They weren't talking to me about it, that's for sure."
"You don't mind us talking about Mordred?" asked Harriet.
"Not particularly," said Morgan.
"Would you mind if I asked you a question about him then?" asked Harriet.
Morgan's mouth twitched slightly. "I have a feeling that I know what you want to ask, but maybe you should just ask to be sure."
"Well, uh," stammered Harriet, "Who was Mordred's father?"
"Harriet!" scolded Hermione, "That's a rather personal question."
"It's fine," said Morgan, "I can understand why that question might make you curious. There are, after all, many rather salacious stories about that. The truth is, Mordred was the son of Gawaine."
"Really?" asked Hermione, frowning at that, "Wasn't he a lot older than you?"
"It wasn't a love match, that was certain," said Morgan, "But when Guinivere didn't have any children, I thought it was imperative that someone produce an Pendragon heir. Gawaine was happy to help in that capacity."
"I'm sure," said Hermione lightly. Something about this story didn't quite add up, but Hermione couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Oh well, she'd come up with it sooner or later. She almost always did.
Author's Note: This is another exposition chapter. One of the big challenges of this fic is keeping the exposition as short as possible. There is just so much backstory and world building that needs to be done that it can get unwieldy. Right now I'm just having enough trouble with the Arthurian stuff, but that is tame compared to the Atlantean stuff that comes later.
The Sirius/Harriet segments are my favorite to write, so this chapter was really fun. I wanted to write a romance for Sirius, but I'll be honest, I didn't have any good ideas for it. Honestly it is was a toss up between putting Sirius or Morgana as the fourth featured character for this story. Ultimately I went with Morgana, as she is more central to the larger story.
Also, while I didn't blatantly spell it out in the text, I do want to point out that this is the first time that Morgan outright lies to Harriet, which Hermione noticed immediately. She's been evasive before, but hasn't lied. That being said, it's understandable that Morgan feels a little weird talking to two twelve year olds about Mordred's father. I can't imagine a situation in which it would be appropriate to ask a teacher, "Did you commit incest?"