Chapter 8
[Rune Room]
It was a large circular room filled with multiple plush pillow chairs of various sizes and colors, the floor was covered in fuzzy purple carpet, the walls were stone like the rest of the castle, but they were smooth to the touch and covered in black drapes. There weren't any windows but there was a fireplace surrounded by polished wooden flooring and various drawings of runes floating above that let off a glow of light. A moveable desk and various papers were scattered around the room, some with rejected rune drawings while others were in various stages of completion.
A sigh escaped her as she found herself in one of her little havens away from everything and everyone.
'Why did I let that out after all this time? Ugh, maybe I'm irritated from being hurt but now they are all interested in me for what I can do and how much I have hidden from them. May Merlin give me strength.'
She shifted her clothes into an oversized sweater with a pair of pink booty shorts and a sleeveless black t-shirt. She tied up her hair into buns and put on a pair of glasses as she made to work on some of her spare projects. Once made her way to the nearest plush chair and fell back on it, as the warming rune she stitched into it activated, enveloping her into a nice warmth that wasn't too much or too little.
Then with a snap of her fingers, she summoned her moveable desk to move before her as she made to overlook some of her previous work and see if she could complete several of them before the day was out.
Mixy suddenly appeared before her.
"Hello, Mixy. What brings you here?"
She handed her a milkshake.
"Mint julep?"
"The very same, just the way you like it, Nicky."
She grinned, "Thank you, Mixy."
"Of course," She smiled in return before vanishing, leaving her alone in her room once again.
She loved how Mixy made her milkshakes, they would remain cold and never melt. The wonderful beauty of magic and cooking.
She snapped her fingers and found the ale that was given to her earlier in the day in hand, she popped it open and wafted the scent near her with her hand.
'I don't smell anything off.'
She resealed it and created an observation rune into the bottle by tracing the rune with her magic and activated it. After a long moment, she turned it off, "Nothing added to it, just a simple bottle of ale. Good. I have no desire to start a fight in my state."
She felt her wounds ache before it faded away as a flash of Lucian's accursed smirk appeared in the front of her mind before she pushed it away, a growl of discontent passed her lips before she calmed herself with a shake of her head.
'He doesn't matter. He will be dealt with soon enough.'
Then she saw a letter addressed her, or rather two letters.
Making her way over, she checked both of them for anything foul, after finding nothing, she made to open them.
The first was from Lady Zabini
Good day, Ms. Potter,
You should have gotten my gift of the Black Sabbath Ale before this letter, and I swore that I have not tampered with it in any way. The thought the gift would be fitting as it is a rare gem among ales and could be used for a special occasion. I want to thank you for sacrificing your health and well-being for protecting my son and the rest of his housemates. He written to me about what you have done before the newspaper about what happened at Hogwarts reached my table. Especially about how injured you were when you redirected that madman's attack into your own body. I'm well-aware of the bad blood between your family and those who fall under the banner of Slytherin, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for protecting them. Various other mothers feel the same way and I am sure you will receive a surplus of letters later on. I hope I get to meet you in person soon enough and make amends for a debt I will never be able to repay.
~ Aurora Zabini, Lady of the Noble House of Zabini
She smiled at the end, 'It seems I have drug up several favors, huh? No matter, I have no will to abuse such favors, and to make sure James and Lily don't tattle to Albus and abuse those favors.'
She summoned a piece of parchment with a quill and a pot of ink and started to write.
Dear Lady Zabini from the Noble house of Zabini,
I thank you for the gift, I will treasure it and savor it after I finish healing. I'm glad you gave me such an interesting and thoughtful gift, especially one that hasn't been on the market for ages. What I did for your son and his housemates is what any person of moral fiber would have, even if I have been injured from that madman's attack, I would still do it again. I am just happy that no injuries were sustained to anyone from your son and his housemates to the rest of the Hogwarts and its' staff. Hopefully, the rest of this year will be peaceful and I wish you and your son the best of health and well-wishes.
~ Nicole Aster Potter, Eldest Daughter of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter
She would have Mixy send the letter to her, in due time, she then turned her attention to the other letter.
She opened it and it read,
Good day, Ms. Potter,
I hope this letter finds you in good health and you are recovering well from your injuries. However, I must keep this letter brief as I would prefer a meeting with you about the current state of your wand and what should be done next. Please arrive sometime today. If you cannot meet with me, today, I would prefer it if you pen me a letter detailing when would be an appropriate time for us to meet.
~ Garrick Ollivander
'I guess, I'll make a stop at his shop, later today. I had a feeling my wand wouldn't be fixed completely. Considering my previous modifications and the way black magic taints and corrodes everything it touches, I'm not really surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised.'
She finished her milkshake as she leaned back in her chair, as she hoped her wounds would finally heal, she had enough of bandage chafing to last a lifetime and after. But it needed to be fixed in the proper way unless she wanted her skin to be as fragile as paper.
As she pushed the empty glass away, Mixy appeared to take it.
"Mixy, before you go. May you please give this letter to Lady Zabini?"
"Of course, Nicky."
She soon vanished as Nicole made to savor the peace and quiet as she worked on multiple runes. As time flowed past her, she found another letter before her in the hands of Mixy.
"Well, well, another letter?"
"Apparently so, Nicky."
"Nothing to note?"
The small elf shook her head, "Just a simple letter, Nicky."
"Thank you, Mixy."
She bowed and left with a pop.
When she read it, she found herself interested as she placed the letter back on the desk and looked up at the runes floating above her.
"It seems the Head Unspeakable wants to speak to little old me. How interesting. and to think I was going to have a semi-productive day today. Oh well, no rest for the weary."
She got up with a yawn and arched her back that popped several vertebrae of her spine into place. Leaving her rune room, she made her way back to the bedroom to change only to come across Luna who smiled at her.
"What are you going to do today?"
"I got a letter from the Head Unspeakable asking for a meeting."
"I see."
"It won't take too long, then after I visit them, I'm going to visit Ollivander on the state of my wand."
"Alright, well I hope the meetings are pleasant, I'll see you when you get back."
"Yep. Be safe and be mindful of Theodore and his ilk."
"Will do."
However, in the shadows, Hermione and Theodore overhead them and made to watch them as Nicole walked Luna back to their room and they made to enter with them trying to follow them after a moment only to see a painting of a pot filled with various flowers. They tried to open it with various passwords, but they failed, much to their dismay as could wonder what they were doing in there.
Hermione was hellbent on exposing Nicole's deeds as a dark witch, her vile words stuck to her like glue and the underlying threat that was imprinted in bold and underlined in her mind. If she could expose her dark side, then she would be out on her ass and she would have her position of being the smartest witch cemented into place.
Theodore was of the same wavelength, the icy, neutral glare that remained on her face whenever they were together irritated him to no end. She never acknowledged him as everyone else did, she looked at him as if he was a bug-no even less than that. He thought that he was better than her, then when he got to Hogwarts, she was the top student, no detentions since she began, smart, polite, decent, and quiet, compared to him. When he pulled pranks on her, she either got out of the way or didn't let the prank affect her. As if, it wasn't even on her radar to acknowledge them, when he tried to use her previous work to supplement her grades, he nearly failed and got scolded for using her previous work by Flitwick that made him turn a Weasley red.
Even when his parents punished her, she refused to cry, she refused to show any amount of her displeasure other than that same, stupid scowl.
He needed any type of dirt to finally put her in her place in his mind, in his shadow, eating his dust.
[Home away from Home]
Luna relaxed on the couch as Nicole changed into a black spaghetti top with a dark jean jacket over it, then a pair of skinny jeans with a pair of high-tops completing her outfit.
"Cute outfit as always, Nicole."
"Thank you, little moon. I should really take you on a shopping trip."
"Maybe during the summer or upcoming break."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll be back soon."
She left the portrait and saw the frizzy split ends of Granger hiding behind the wall with Theodore as they watched her. She closed the portrait firmly and whispered in French, "paradis caché."
The flowers in the pot in the painting turned into a simple gathering of red and black roses.
Nicole then made to leave only to run into Professor Snape, "Oh, my apologies, professor."
He nodded as he looked over her, "Ms. Potter, why are you out of uniform?"
"I got a letter from a Ministry official asking for an audience, then I need to go Ollivander to check on the current state of my wand which was damaged from the madman's attack."
"I see... Do not let me keep you, then."
She bowed her head, "Yes, sir. Have a good day. Oh, and Theodore and Granger are hiding behind the wall a few feet away as they have been spying on me since I left a classroom."
He nodded, "Thank you for informing me."
Hermione and Theodore stepped out to see Snape's dark eyes boring into them while he removed a multitude of points as their glares bore holes into her back. She didn't bother to look back at them as she left the scene while Snape forced them to move along as they slunk off to the Gryffindor common room. Once they were gone, the situation just cemented the difference between the Potter siblings.
He had just finished a meeting with Albus who complained about Nicole and what she had done to him and her family along with him theorizing that she used dark magic as he rambled upon, he glanced at the first and last Slytherin Headmaster who rolled his eyes at Albus' uneducated babbling, but when he described what she had done, it made him recall one memory in one of the darkest times of his life as a Death Eater.
Voldemort was at the height of his power, it was brimming off of him and Bellatrix was nearly orgasmic from just being in his presence, when he performed a new spell on an uppity new recruit, the violent feeling of hatred and rage sunk into everything and everyone, especially on the arrogant recruit who stiffened, then collapsed, first shivering which quickly revved up to full-on spasms until he bit through his own tongue before he commanded Nagini to eat him while he was alive.
It was that memory that was engrained into all the inner circle members and how, the price of failure was very steep and if they did, their ends would be slow and a slice of pure hell. It also showed them that Voldemort was far above any of them and rebelling would only lead to pain.
'Albus, I do not know what sort of game you are planning, but you may be overestimating your prized Rook as an unworthy pawn and a supposed rebellious pawn as an unpredictable Queen piece on your chessboard.'
[The Ministry]
Nicole landed softly on the ground, after flying from Hogwarts and made her way inside. As she stepped in, conversations immediately stopped and stared, as she made her way further into the building.
As she made her way over to the main desk, she asked where the Unspeakables reside, as she got a message that the Head Unspeakable wanted to meet with me?
"Ah, yes."
She shuffled through multiple papers as Nicole waited patiently before telling her to take the elevator and it would take her where she needed to go.
Nicole thanked her softly in turn as she made her way on, it and people continued to stare until the door closed and she sighed.
'How Theodore relishes in the gazes of the populace, I'll never know. Fame is far too fickle to enjoy, especially due to the wishy-washy mentality of most of the populace.'
Soon enough, she arrived on the floor of the Unspeakables and made her way forward, only to find the Head Unspeakable's office down the hall, which was grateful for. After knocking, she waited and heard a voice call out, "Please come in."
She opened it with a thank you and said, "Good morning, you wrote to me, stating that you wanted a meeting with me?"
"Yes, Ms. Potter. Come in, come in. Make yourself comfortable."
She closed the door behind her and sat in a comfortable seat and he summoned a tray of tea, "Would you like a cup?"
"Please, two sugars."
After relishing in the peaceful silence, he started off.
"First off, I would like to thank you for your hard work in protecting Hogwarts from that madman. I have to say I was very impressed with what you have done, especially the damage to the Quidditch pitch. How did you manage to do that?"
She smiled, "I am a Ravenclaw, but you don't cause that kind of damage with the garden variety of spells found in the library of the castle. I study a lot of them, then I tweak them to suit my needs."
"I see. Do you create your spells as well?"
"I do. It's always a fun way to pass time."
"I'm glad there are still those who have the willpower to create their own spells. But, my apologies, I couldn't help my own curiosity."
"It's perfectly fine. I had a feeling I would be asked about what happened."
"And since we are on the topic of your magic, the runes I saw in the newspaper..."
"I carved them into my skin. I found the subject through an interesting read and I made to mimic it on my body. Since that...bastard's attack on my person, it caused multiple cracks and burns I have to start over."
"I have to assume, you must be pretty upset?"
After taking a sip of her tea, "I was, but it is a good opportunity for a new design."
"How did you begin such a project?"
"Discovering and studying a variety of runes, I made sure they wouldn't either cancel each other out or have adverse effects on myself through any means. It took many tries, I'm not going to lie to you. And then preparing the skin and the placement of each rune, I did the same for my wand is it could handle my spellwork."
He nodded with a smile, "How interesting. And the state of your wand?
"Sadly, due to the attack, it has become tainted with dark magic and I sent it to Ollivander, but I do not have high hopes he can fix it, so I may have to get another one, whether pre-made or crafted has yet to be seen."
"I hope nothing but the best for your wand."
"Thank you, sir."
"Is there anything you would like to talk about?"
"A couple of things, one of which being a selfish request."
"And what does that selfish request entail?"
"I would like to see one magical spell of your creation?"
She smiled, gathered magic at her fingertips before she formed a black sphere centered in the palm of her hand. This is one of the spells I used to make several of those massive crevices on the Quidditch pitch.
"Pardon me for damaging your floor, but this is the lowest I can set it without my wand as she tossed it on the floor making a dent, she separated it into three smaller balls and had them twirl around her left hand if I cause them to explode..."
"It would cause damage to that area. Practically like that of a muggle landmine."
"I take it you have explored the world for knowledge."
"I cannot have my seat as the Head Unspeakable if my world view is just magical Britain, Ms. Potter."
"Wonderful. There's nothing better than someone who has a wide worldview."
"Glad you appreciate my mindset."
"I truly do."
"Now, what are your plans after graduating from Hogwarts?"
"I wish to tour the world, explore multiple areas of study, participating in Japan's War Games at least once and make new discoveries before settling down with someone who will like me for me, not my name or what I could do for them."
He nodded, "All admirable. Now, about the madman who attacked Hogwarts."
A cold sneer fell on her lips as her eyes darken, "I hope I never see that mad bastard again."
He took a large gulp of his tea, finishing it as he sighed.
"Is there something a matter?"
"Can I be assured that this matter will be kept between us?"
"If it doesn't threaten the safety of those important to me or I need outside help within reason, then of course."
He smiled into his cup before it turned into a frown, "He escaped."
*SMASH!*
Her cup shattered to pieces in her grip as the rest of her now cold tea fell in her lap, every muscle of her face froze, then she collected herself, softly cursed, cleaned herself with ease, "My apologies, sir."
'The sliver of the ever-so feared Potter rage. It seems all the power skipped James and went straight to his eldest.'
"How did he escape?"
He fixed her another cup of tea and placed it before her as she nodded in thanks.
"He escaped through the use of a rookie Auror who was stationed to watch him."
"He should have been held in tight capacity in a prisoner medical ward or in Azkaban. Why was he in a Ministry holding cell?"
He gave her a sad, exasperated look.
"Fudge...That accursed idiot."
"I shattered half the bones in his body, how could he escape, it shouldn't be possible."
"The Aurors thought the same, that he wouldn't be a threat and they would watch him, interrogate him after getting him healed to the bare minimum in the morning, but he used some version of the imperious curse on her that made her follow his every order."
"Any causalities?"
He shook his head, "No, thankfully."
"Is there anything off about the Auror he used to escape?"
"He left the Auror several miles away from the Ministry and she is in critical care, what is strange is that her body, it became like that of a ghoul, gray skin, sunken eyes, hair falling out into clumps, but the strangest part was the markings on her body. It's like that of a leech mark."
She quickly placed her cup down before she could crush it once again as she pinched the space between her eyebrows.
"Sweet hell, I should have crushed his head as soon as I had the ability to."
"What do you mean?"
"That madman goes by the name Lucian Apollyon, I should have crushed him in the very beginning and now it cost me."
"May you please explain?"
A sigh escaped her, "Considering the description of the state of the Auror you told me about, there is only one dark clan that could do that which was supposed to be wiped from the face of the Earth centuries ago, basically from the age of the founders of Hogwarts were in their prime. He is a part of a clan that has a cursed name that no one can utter, but in the Queen's English, it can be roughly translated to Leech, this is due to the markings they leave on their victims. There are multiple families under that clan who followed their accursed leader, but they were hunted down and stripped down to their very bones. All memories of that accursed clan were burned and purged with a vengeance from most knowledge centers except for Ancient families and those of the most loyal battle mages who swore their souls against corruption."
He was fully drawn into her story and asked, "What happened to those who followed in their footsteps?"
She shook her head, "Those who followed or rather attempted to follow had their tongues ripped out, had their voices forever gagged, were neutered, every single bone in the body was cracked, not to the point of severing but to cause extreme pain as they were forced to walk until death, forced to be forever shamed for their crimes. No one was exempt from this punishment, it didn't matter your status from noble to new blood, if anyone violated that taboo, they would be hunted down and those who helped the violater will be maimed along with them. It didn't help that the sick bastard of the clan thought of himself to be a God before he was sealed away."
"His name?"
She closed her eyes, "It's forever unknown and cursed. Those who attempt to speak his name have their tongues literally rot out of their mouth."
A snort fell out, despite not wanting it too, "It makes the curse of the supposed Dark Lord Voldemort seem pitful in comparison, huh?"
He tried not to show any semblance of a wince as he softly stated, "You don't fear his name?"
"Names are nothing to be feared as they are just names and I refuse to be cowed by a bastard who needed to kill a babe in a crip to feel safe about himself."
He swallowed as he looked at the powerful woman before him, "I see. You have given me a lot to think about. But, who sealed him away?"
"An ancestor of mine, Edmund Abraham Potter, who managed to wear him down so he could be sealed away in an undisclosed location, away from any civilization, practically away from any life that has bloomed on Earth from the time he was sealed away. Regardless, the fucker is no longer in the country and is probably recovering and Hogwarts needs to be protected. A bastard like him won't stay down forever and I know he'll be gunning for me this time and it won't matter who is in his way. I'll rip his fucking head off his shoulders, even if I have to blow up half of Hogwarts."
Her words fully cemented her a perfect candidate to be an Unspeakable, he swore if Albus drove her to escape the country, he'd never forgive the old codger and piss on his grave when died. He already knew half a dozen who would gladly join him anyway when he passed for his next grand adventure.
"Regardless, Hogwarts needs to be protected, but not by Fudge, can you please help me."
He gave her a warm smile, "It will be done."
She stood up, bowed, and thanked him sincerely.
"Now, is there anything else you wish to discuss with me?"
"No, Ms. Potter, thank you for the discussion."
"It is not a problem. Please take care."
As she exited and made her way out of the Ministry, he smiled at the thought of the young woman, he wished her the best, and then made to get started as he started to pen a letter and made a note that she owed the eldest Potter a favor and placed it on his desk as he made to inform several workers of this new predicament and what their next project would be.
[With Nicole]
She quickly made her way over to Ollivander's shop and entered to find the man waiting for her, gesturing to her damaged wand and the sad tune that it let out.
"I take it you couldn't manage to fix it?"
He shook his head, "Far too damaged and tainted."
"I'm not really surprised, dark magic has a way of fucking up everything."
He gave a sad nod at the fact before he placed the tainted wand on the counter and said, "So, let's see on which wand will suit you?"
"Any hope?"
"A little bit, but you never know until you try. But we will go with a different method, I'm sure you are able to flare your magic?"
"Of course."
"Please follow me."
She did as he led her to the back of his shop and she flared her magic at his signal, placing her hands around each wand, but no reaction from any of them, much to her disappointment.
He tutted, "It seems you have outgrown every wand in my shop. Not surprised, I'm sure you had restraining runes engraved into your skin along with the rest of your work, correct?"
She nodded. "What now?"
"Crafting a unique wand just for yourself. However, I am not a crafter although I would love to see what your new wand would be."
"I'll make sure to visit you when it is crafted. But any recommendations?"
He pulled out a parchment, writing, 'Reverse London' in his unique scrawl.
When he handed it to her, she raised an eyebrow, "Reverse London? You are going to make me hunt for it, aren't you?"
"As if you wouldn't enjoy the challenge?"
"True."
"However, I will give you a hint, Reverse London has an entrance just like Diagon Alley does, however, it's in London. Just follow the flow of magic and you will see it."
"Thank you for the opportunity."
After she bowed, she left for Hogwarts, once she left his shop, he clasped his fingers together and wished her well.
As she flew, she felt her stomach growl, "Ah, it's lunchtime."
When she made her way to the Great Hall after arriving, she saw a squad of Aurors standing behind Dolores Umbridge arguing with James and Sirius over Nicole Potter and her arrest warrant given to her by the Minister. She continued to silently observe as she watched Dolores demanding for her to come forward, James telling her that she couldn't just take his daughter even under the Minister's orders and Sirius keeping the other Auror members from entering any further into the Great Hall.
She saw Hermione, Theodore, and Ronald looking ecstatic over the fact that Nicole would be arrested and soon be put in her place.
Cedric looked physically ill at the prospect of her in Umbridge's grip, various flashes of worry, interest, fear, or neutrality were among the faces in the rest of the hall.
'No rest for the weary...'
She made her way behind them and whistled, gathering their attention.
"Nicole Aster Potter?" One of the Aurors stated
"The one and only. Apparently, you are looking for me?"
Umbridge made her way before her, sneering at her outfit, scoffing, 'Of course...muggle clothing. How foul.'
"Any day now, Ms?"
Her sneer twisted her fugly features as she stated firmly, "I am Dolores Jane Umbridge! Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic."
"And? Why are you here?"
"Where have you been? You have been ordered to surrender yourself to the Ministry an hour ago."
"Through what message, Undersecretary?"
Soon enough an owl came forward with said letter, Nicole simply tutted, "Tasteless. Simply tasteless, but I suppose it suits you."
"How dare you?!"
"Moving on, why am I called to surrender myself? I have done nothing wrong."
Her voice raised in pitch as it had a hint of smugness in it, "You have been accused of dark magic and we have to make sure you are not a danger to the public."
"Miserable excuse, Dolores. You are here to be seen doing something just like what you did to Hagrid during the year 1993. Why you are really here is because Fudge fucked up. Again."
"You uppity little cur! How dare you, arrest her!"
Before the Aurors could move, or either James or Sirius could stop them or protect Nicole, she coldly stated, "Prostrate yourselves."
They immediately fell down, much to the shock of the entire hall and the quickly dawning horror of several. As she made her way forward, Umbridge backed up and tripped up on her own feet to land on her butt as Nicole stood before her.
"Your Minister allowed that madman to escape to recover because he made a foolish mistake in tossing him in a Ministry cell instead of the standard procedure of a prison medical ward or in Azkaban where he could be kept in line. Now, due to his mistake, it led to the crippling of an Auror and the damage of her comrades as he used her as a puppet to attack them and escape."
She paled at the apathetic face of Nicole who stared down at her, like that of a bug, "I-I I am the Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic!"
"You are an overpaid bullshit promoter that licks Fudge's shoes. If the Minister wants me, he knows where he can find me. I suggest you leave, your presence is putting people off their food."
She trembled in rage as her face purpled, "Why, you little-" She shot a curse at her, but Nicole made it backfire much to her horror as her hand was mangled and her wand destroyed.
Dolores wailed, "My hand! My hand! What did you do?!"
"I did nothing, Umbridge. Considering your agitated state, your wand blew back your spell, it can happen...to witches and wizards of your standards. However, I suggest you get immediate help, the longer your hand is mangled the harder it will be to fix."
The older woman stood up with tears rolling down her pudgy face as she made to leave quickly, holding her wand hand as she hoped she would still be able to use her wand once it was healed and she would plan to put Nicole Potter in her rightful place below her.
Once the toad left, she turned to the prostrating Aurors and released them to which they begged her not to hurt them.
Raising her hand to silence them, she said, "You know impersonating an Auror is a crime, right?"
"Please, wait!" One of them cried out, "We were forced!"
"Forced?"
"Forced by Umbridge, she said that if we didn't follow her, she would fire us and blacklist us from any legitimate work with Fudge's say-so."
A sigh escaped her as she crossed her arms, "Get out of here and inform Madam Bones immediately, if anything she'll protect your jobs and keep the miserable toad from pulling your jobs. If you do such a thing again, I won't be as merciful."
They thanked her repeatedly as they got up and left, moving around her as they raced out of the castle as fast as they could.
She raised an eyebrow at everyone staring at her, "What?"
"How...How did you do that?" Sirius asked softly
"Do what?"
"That, how you got them to bow?"
"Ah...that, studying."
"Studying?!" He nearly shrieked in frustration, "Just like in the office? You'll say that is from studying too?"
"That too." She shrugged, "But to be fair, I was rather annoyed, the Headmaster's suggestion was...revolting and it slipped out of my control. My apologies."
"It slipped?" James questioned
"Yes. It. Not a creature if that is what you are asking, but rather an ability that was lost through peaceful times. To be brutally honest, I stumbled upon the skill by accident. Regardless, it's done and over with. Luna?"
She stood up and made her way over, "Did everything go alright with the meetings?"
"Yeah, he wanted to question me and well, I'll have more visitors later. The school needs to be protected."
"I see. And your wand?"
"The black magic tainted it beyond repair so I have to get a new one crafted for me. I outgrew all of Ollivander's pre-crafted ones."
Her words struck a chord within many seated at the teacher's table.
"No matter. I'm gonna go tomorrow. Any announcements that I missed?"
"Other than the fact that the two schools are coming tomorrow, nothing else."
"Fair enough. Have you eaten already?"
She nodded, "Very well. Come on, I want to throw back ideas."
"Rune room?"
"Yep. I'll eat lunch there, I'm starving."
Sirius and James followed after them with questions as the Great Hall exploded with conversations, especially over the scene they have witnessed. Cedric found himself completed interested in Nicole, more and more she continued to interest him. If he discovered one thing, there were more than ten things that were just waiting to be discovered.
If he didn't know her, he would have been scared of her, and her abilities but he wasn't. All he felt was curiosity and a desire to learn more about her, regardless of whether his parents supported him on the matter.
Various other Hufflepuffs could only be fearful of what she has done to Umbridge and the fake Aurors before her, some even thought of her as a soon-to-be Dark Lady before they were crushed by others defending her as she has never done anything wrong and saved one of their own.
Ravenclaw was completely invested in her abilities, several even planning on how to get into her inner circle, whether through her or Luna, the only one who seems to have a full grasp on her abilities, they needed to know, their inquisitive minds wouldn't rest until they got all the answers they desired.
Slytherin simply watched and waited, although many were curious about her abilities, they still owed the eldest Potter a favor for sticking her neck out for them, the fact that she possible scared Albus along with James and Sirius and caused the fake Aurors to prostrate themselves, only made their interest stronger.
Gryffindor was extremely rowdy, some proclaiming she was a Dark Lady in the making, while others refuted and it nearly led to a brawl that was stopped by McGonagall gives out several detentions and point loss and had them return to their seats.
Overall, this situation seemed to grow more and more like a powderkeg and who knew when it was going to blow up.
Theodore was furious, another showing of a power he deserved to have, that should have been his. Hermione was on the same wavelength as she knew she had to be lying, there were no books on that type of ability, it had to be dark magic, how couldn't it be. She would be exposed as the Dark witch she was and get the punishment she deserved.
Meanwhile, in the Potter home...
Lily was sitting on the couch, having just finished her meal, but had just finished re-reading the newspaper. She pondered the thought of sending Nicole a letter, but out of all the letters, she never responded.
'Does she even read them? I mean, we have scolded her many times, but...maybe I can make this right.'
She got a piece of parchment and an ink well and started to write.
Remus felt the full moon was coming and made to retire early to save his strength for the brutal transformation, his days were sad and heart-wrenching, ever since the meeting with Nicole and what she released, it was cold and vile, like she would rip out his throat in a single moment and wouldn't lose a bit of sleep over it.
He could feel Mooney whimpering from inside of him, and for the few times in his life he agreed with his monster, there were no happy memories he could recall between them. He could only hope Nicole would give him a chance to right his wrongs.
Soon enough, the day turned to night as the pair lost the two Aurors as they had to go back to the Ministry for a new assignment.
Nicole just wanted a peaceful year, but it seemed that Fate had no intentions of letting her have that simple peace the common man relished in. Before she knew it, tomorrow would be the day when two schools would be arriving for the Tournament.
Ending the chapter, here. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Thank you for your reviews!
Devilsummoner666 - Dumbledore trying to infringe his will on her, combined with her still recovering from the attack made her show a hint of her power. She showed just a sliver of it, that killing intent, which unnerved everyone in the room. He's just stating that as an opinion for the future as a way to keep her in line, but it backfired as it cemented the fact that she has no love for him, her parents, Sirius, or Remus, the people in his prominent inner circle who are the source of loathing for Nicole. I put the scene with Hermione because it needed to be done as Nicole would not tolerate any bullshit from a bootlicker. If Hermione tried to attack her, Nicole would have crushed her in a way that would make Draco green with envy and fear.
Guest#1 - I'm sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
zero fullbuster - Thank you and I hope you enjoy this update.
Jackie970408 - Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful May.
Skull Flame - Lucian does and he's working for an ancient enemy that overshadows both Voldemort and Grindelwald due to how vile he was. But you'll see more of him later on in the story. Alastor is a businessman and sees potential where others do not. The musket is a special type of weapon and Nicole is going to upgrade it for her own benefit. Not a secret admirer, but rather a mother who is extremely appreciative. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I wrote it. Nicole would murder Ron before he even got close and even with Dumbledore's blessing, any person who Albus planned to set up with Nicole would suffer and well, Albus's opinions are far from favorable anyway.
Perserus12 - I'm glad you enjoyed it and Nicole will show her stuff further into the story.
AsashiOfSapphire - Round 3, indeed.
dannyrockon122 - Thank you!
jack3160 - I fully plan on writing this story to completion and we will see on your idea, although it's a very nice idea, I plan for the final battle to be...interesting. And well, the Potters and their associates will have their jaws will be on the floor. Take care and be safe.
~Kourtney Uzu Yato!