Chapter 10: The Truth, or Something Like it.
The first thing Harriet felt as she woke up was a sharp stiffness in all her joints. Everything hurt. Everything. Aftereffects of the Cruciatus, Harriet suspected.
She turned to see Hermione lying by her side. Ron was on the floor, sleeping on a blanket that was propped up against the side of the bed.
"You didn't need to sleep on the floor," Harriet said, mostly to herself.
Ron's eyes opened. "I felt a bit awkward about just climbing in bed with you two. I know I promised to treat you like a boy, but it isn't that easy."
"Ronald was just raised to respect women," said Hermione, "I can't fault him there."
"Well okay, if it's what you want to do," said Harriet.
Suddenly her stomach rumbled. "I bet the one thing they don't have here is food," said Harriet, "No way that stayed magically preserved this long."
"Yeah," said Hermione.
Harriet forced herself to stand. It hurt a little bit, but wasn't terrible. Still she didn't fancy walking a long distance.
"Gonna go outside," said Harriet.
And with that, she walked over to the door and headed out into the meadow. It was a clear day outside. Nice and warm. The unicorn was nowhere to be seen. Harriet didn't want to think about how they were going to get back to Hogwarts.
And that's when she heard in the distance a voice. "Haaaarrrryyy!" said the booming voice. It was Hagrid's voice.
"Haaaaagriiiid!" screamed Harriet, "We're here!"
A few minutes later, Hagrid appeared out of the brush, Fang in tow.
"Well, bless my eyes, there you are Harry. You gave us quite the scare there!" said Hagrid.
Ron and Hermione ran out of the cave, both laughing as they saw Hagrid.
"They're over here!" yelled Hagrid.
A few minutes later, Amelia Bones and Sirius Black appeared.
"Sirius!" whooped Harriet as she ran and hugged her godfather. Sirius scooped her up and held her close to him. Harriet was probably a bit big for that, but neither of them cared.
"I was so, so scared," said Sirius.
"I'm sorry," said Harriet, "we panicked. Umbridge was using the Cruciatus curse on us."
Harriet felt Sirius' arms cling tighter. "My poor girl," he said, "it's all okay now. Umbridge is now in DMLE custody."
"We brought some food, just in case we found you," said Amelia, "You can eat here, and we can talk about what happened. Then I will send for a Portkey from the Ministry."
Sirius finally let go of Harriet. Soon the three children were eating as they relayed their harrowing adventure.
"Oh, we found your wand," said Sirius, pulling Harriet's wand from a pocket of his robe.
"Thanks," said Harriet, "I feel naked without it. Though it turns out, my runestone is pretty useful."
"So we guessed," said Amelia, "why don't you tell us all about what happened?"
XXXXX
Hermione was surprised when she was met by her parents when she returned to Hogwarts.
"What were you thinking!" shouted her mother as she ran over and hugged Hermione.
"They weren't," said Sirius, "but that's okay. Given what was done to them, running away as fast as they could was the correct option. We're going to head upstairs to talk to Madam Pomfrey."
Hermione led the way. She was glad that her parents were there and worried for her, but she didn't want them to worry too much.
Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey did not mollify their concerns.
"Cruciatus exposure is nasty," she said, "Hermione got lucky."
"I was only under the effects for a few seconds," said Hermione, "I'm not made of glass, you know. Yes, it hurt, but I'll recover."
"Yes, that is true," said Madame Pomfrey, "And you got less exposure than Cho or Draco."
"Thanks to Harry and Ron," said Hermione.
"I'm glad your friends helped you," said Helen, "but this is getting very dangerous. Is there no way to move you to another school?"
"No!" said Hermione, "I won't go!"
"Please see reason, Hermione," said Hermione's father, "you aren't safe here!"
Hermione was about to protest again when Morgan walked into the room.
"Hermione's safety has been compromised, it is true," said Morgan, "but let's be clear, she was the target of hate crimes. And we have taken steps towards making those crimes harder to commit."
"Such as?" asked Helen.
"Dolores Umbridge has been removed from the Board of Governors," said Morgan.
"How do we know her replacement won't be worse?" demanded Helen.
"Because, uh, it's me," said Sirius, "After the last two people to leave the board… well everyone wanted someone who would put the safety of the children first."
"That's… reassuring actually," said Helen.
"Here's the truth," said Morgan, "The last war? It didn't ever end. It just went cold. Muggleborns vs. Purebloods is a battle that has been fought all over the world. You can send Hermione to France, or America, but she'll still be fighting that same battle. Yes, here things are a bit more dangerous. But if you intend for Hermione to ever live in this country, it is a danger that she will have to live with. And it is her battle. It is a battle over her right to exist."
"The purebloods want Hermione broken. They want her to leave. Because she proves them wrong every day that she is here," finished Morgan.
"But she keeps being attacked!" objected Helen.
"Then I'll have to learn to defend myself," said Hermione, "No, not just me, but myself and my friends."
"Morgan, could you teach us to fight?" asked Harriet.
Morgan looked surprised at this request. As did Hermione. Still the idea had some merit. Fighting was one thing Morgan was really good at.
"I could, yes," said Morgan, "Perhaps that would be for the best. Special training. I think Harriet at least will need some, no reason not to include Hermione I guess. But it will have to wait a year, or at least until I finish my project."
"This doesn't entirely assuage my fears," said Helen, "what if Umbridge doesn't get convicted?"
"She will," said Sirius.
"But if she was mind controlled..." began Robert.
"That would have mattered," said Sirius, " if she hadn't used the Cruciatus. As it is, she's toast."
Helen nodded. "Well, you have been an ally to us Sirius," she said, "So I'll hold you to that. If she gets convicted, I suppose Hermione can stay."
Hermione grinned at Harriet, who beamed back at Hermione. There was no way Hermione would ever abandon her best friend. No matter what.
XXXXX
Two hours after being released from the infirmary, Harriet was summoned to the Headmaster's office. While she was curious what it was about, Harriet guessed it had to do with her using her runestone.
She found Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Morgan waiting for her. Sirius was also there, but he was giving her a look like he was just there as an observer.
"Harriet," said Dumbledore, "you performed some very impressive magic when you faced Madam Umbridge. It has made clear some things that should have been obvious to us. But we missed them, and for that, we apologise."
"Harriet," said Morgan, "you are a sorceress. You probably had a talent for it all along. But it would only emerge if you actually tried to do sorcery. Which you did for the first time when you were 10."
"That wasn't classified as accidental magic?" asked Harriet.
"It was, but that is immaterial," said Dumbeldore, "you did it on purpose. You cast magic not using any spell formula, but using only your will. And you do it so easily."
"It isn't just manipulation of raw magic," said McGonagall, "You are so confident that your magic is going to work, you can ignore the requirements for spells. Haven't you noticed that your spellwork is always sloppy, but your spells are always perfect? It is because you aren't casting spells. You are using sorcery. You have probably never actually cast a spell."
"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Harriet, "I'm doing really powerful magic!"
"But you are not doing so safely," said Dumbledore, "You have not learned how to focus your magic properly."
"Casting any magic requires the proper focus," said Morgan, "That is why we teach spells. Most people don't have the imagination to just trust that they can cast raw magic. But if they focus on casting a particular set of moves and words, that gives them the necessary focus. But that's a skill you've never had to pick up. You've simply been imitating your teachers' spells with sorcery. A neat trick, but it means you really haven't mastered them. You need to learn focus."
Harriet thought back to those first sorceries that she had cast, attacking the younger Runcorn. She had needed to focus on them a great deal. And it was true she hadn't been doing that since then.
"Wow, that makes sense," said Harriet.
"Good," said McGonagall, "It would be dangerous for you to go any further in your magical education without learning this! If we had known this when you arrived at Hogwarts we could have taught you spellcasting. As it is though, there isn't any point. Just remember, without focus, all of your magic will be like a bludgeon that only works on max power."
"And your emotions will empower that magic further," said Dumbledore, "that is what most witches and wizards learn after they learn focus. Your runestone does seem to help you with your power it seems."
"But her wand seems to help her focus," insisted McGonagall.
Morgan laughed. "Harriet, give me your wand and runestone," she said.
Harriet wasn't sure about this, but she pulled them both out and handed them to Morgan. Immediately Morgan took the runestone and put it in the pommel spot of her wand. It immediately snapped into place.
"You can use both," said Morgan, "That was why this wand was made for you. This wand will now allow you to use your sorcery to the best of your ability."
Morgan offered up the wand to Harriet theatrically, as if it were a sword. Harriet took the wand tentatively. And immediately she felt the difference.
"May it keep you from harm, lead you out of dark places, and shield you from your foes," said Morgan.
"What was that?" asked Harriet.
"That was what the Guardians of Atlantis said when they gave one of their own a new wand," said Morgan, "And what I said when I gave Arthur Excalibur."
"I thought Excalibur was a sword," said Harriet.
"It was a sword as well as a wand," said Morgan, "Mind you, it was a better sword than a wand, at least by modern standards. By the standards of the time it was an acceptable wand."
"Sirius?" said Dumbledore.
"I will make certain that when Harriet practises this summer we drill her on focus," he promised.
Harriet nodded excitedly. Finally, she had a weapon. When Voldemort came back she would…
"Wait," said Harriet, "Voldemort knows Sorcery as well, doesn't he?"
Dumbeldore nodded solemnly, "Indeed, he is most proficient," he said, "This is only the first step towards you being able to defeat him. The first of many."
Harriet sighed. She should have known it was too good to be true.
XXXXX
It was three days later that Morgan finally approached Harriet.
"So, it appears that you have decided to trust me," said Morgan.
"Provisionally," said Harriet, "Not unconditionally."
"What is your condition?" asked Morgan.
"You need to tell me why you became a dark witch," said Harriet.
"I made a mistake," said Morgan immediately.
"Did this mistake have anything to do with something called The Darkness?" asked Harriet.
Morgan hesitated, then nodded. "The Darkness was a temptation that I found I could not resist," Morgan explained, "Once I'd used it, I couldn't stop."
"Listen, I will tell you the whole story next year, " said Morgan, "It is… difficult to talk about. Far more difficult than anything else. To speak of this I will have to tell you of the Dementors' Harvest. And that is the worst thing that ever happened to me. That ever happened to just about anyone. Ever."
"What's to stop you from just using this power again?" asked Harriet.
"The fact that I can't," said Morgan, "Merlin sealed away The Darkness almost 1000 years ago. The only way that The Darkness interacts with our world now is via dementors and the…"
Harriet definitely noticed that Morgan trailed off.
"What was that last bit?" demanded Harriet.
"Just a rumour, about… well I don't want to sully their reputation," said Morgan, "There are a lot of unsavoury rumours about the Unspeakables. Most aren't true. I let my mouth speak before I thought."
"Yeah, they do attract conspiracy theories," said Harriet.
"And they will be contacting you soon," said Morgan.
"Why?" asked Harriet.
Morgan grinned. "You'll see soon enough."
XXXXX
Draco knocked on the door to Professor Snape's office.
"Enter," said the head of Slytherin.
Draco walked in and sat down in front of Snape's desk.
"Hello Professor," said Draco, "I just wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me these last two years. Looking back, I realise I was a brat who was mad that his father was losing influence. I now realise that it was my father's mistakes that caused that, not anything else."
"Very good," said Snape, "Have you had any other revelations?"
"The news about Slytherin is real, isn't it?" asked Draco.
"Apparently so," said Snape.
"I suppose it had to be," said Draco, "The Dark Lord is the Heir of Slytherin, isn't he?"
Snape nodded.
"He uses that as an excuse," said Draco, "an excuse to lash out at muggleborns. But that excuse won't hold anymore, will it? The truth is, he just hates them. Muggles and Muggleborns."
Snape seemed surprised at that level of introspection from Draco. Draco didn't blame him.
"Don't get me wrong," said Draco, "I get why he does it. It gives him a scapegoat. But it isn't a very pureblood thing to do, is it?"
"As you suspect," said Snape, "The Dark Lord is a half-blood. Though you would do well to not bring it up with any of his other followers."
"Do you want him to come back?" asked Draco.
"Why do you ask?" asked Snape.
"Because I think that I don't," said Draco.
Snape stood silently for a while. "Neither do I," said Snape, "but it doesn't matter. He is coming back. One way, or another."
"And then I won't have a choice," said Draco.
"None at all," said Snape. Yet there was something in Snape's voice, an invitation, that implied otherwise. Draco considered taking that offer, asking Snape about it. But he decided against it.
"This was what you've been building me towards, isn't it?" asked Draco, knowing the answer, "You wanted me to think for myself, rather than simply follow anyone's lead."
"I did," said Snape.
Draco thought back to the unspoken offer he had just passed up. Part of him wanted to take it. But what did he care if the Dark Lord came back and killed a bunch of mudbloods? It didn't affect him.
He will make you a murderer, said a voice in Draco's head, and you don't want to be a murderer. The voice had been his own voice.
"I hope you are wrong," said Draco, but there was no weight to it. He knew Snape was right. He'd just have to live with it. Live with the guilt that one day would be forced on his shoulders. There was no other way.
Wasn't there?
XXXXX
On Friday, Harriet and Hermione found themselves unexpectedly busy.
"What is this guy's name?" Harriet asked Morgan.
"Saul Croaker," said Morgan, "He's an Unspeakable."
"It is very uncommon for an Unspeakable to come to Hogwarts to interview second year students, so this is a tremendous honour for the both of you," said McGonagall.
"Just be careful," said Morgan, "The Unspeakables are extremely secretive. Rumours aside, Unspeakables are trained to deal with dangerous and powerful knowledge, knowledge that threatens the magical world as a whole. It isn't a safe line of work, so don't commit to anything."
Saul Croaker turned out to be a kindly man, if a little bit odd. He was very interested in the research Harriet and Hermione had done. But he was even more impressed by Harriet's magic.
"You may be a sorceress," said Croaker.
"Dumbledore is pretty sure I am," said Harriet. Harriet didn't mention Morgan. She was pretty sure that Morgan wouldn't want to be the topic of a conversation anyone held with an Unspeakable, much less someone like Harriet who knew Morgan's secrets.
"Well, I am going to follow both of your careers closely," said Croaker, "And I want you to know that both of you look like ideal candidates for our special Department of Mysteries training program. Once you graduate from Hogwarts, if you have taken the proper course load and get O's on your N.E.W.Ts you may be able to take one of the most difficult and comprehensive magical training courses ever developed."
"And what would we have to do then?" asked Hermione.
"Nothing," said Croaker, "the class exists solely to train exceptional wizards. Though if you complete the course, you are allowed to enter the middle ranks of the Unspeakables without having to work your way up first."
"Listen, I know my Department has a lot of rumours told about it," said Croaker, "But the Unspeakables are an old venerable institution, older than the Ministry. We were founded by Merlin, you know."
"Really?" said Harriet. "I hadn't heard that."
"It's true," said Croaker, "If you want to join, you should take Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy. N.E.W.T classes will include Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Runes, Arithmancy and Alchemy. An O.W.L in Magical Creatures, Herbology, Astronomy, and History will be sufficient, so long as it is an O. If not, any passing N.E.W.T in those classes will suffice."
Harriet and Hermione both wrote that down. "Thank you for coming out to see us," said Hermione.
"It was a pleasure," said Croaker.
A few minutes later, the two girls had a second meeting. This one was with Nicolas Flamel. Harriet quickly found she liked Flamel. There was just something about him.
"I might be interested in offering one or both of you an apprenticeship," said Flamel, "Albus speaks highly of both of you, as does Griselda."
"An apprenticeship? How would that work?" asked Hermione.
"Once you have completed your O.W.Ls I would offer you the chance to come study at Avalon," said Flamel, "Technically, it would be the Guardians of Atlantis that were training you, not just me. There are teachers among the Guardians. Like my wife. And some of the elves are experts in their fields."
"So, we'd be training to be Guardians of Atlantis?" asked Hermione.
"Yes," said Flamel.
"I wonder what Morgan would say to that?" muttered Harriet.
"Considering the fact that she used to be a Guardian somehow, I would hope she would recommend us," said Flamel.
"How did you know she used to be a Guardian?" asked Hermione, "How did you discover her identity?"
"Her soul was marked in the same way all Guardians are marked," said Flamel.
"So… you don't know who she really is," said Harriet quickly. Hermione apparently hadn't figured out that Flamel was here on a fishing expedition. He didn't know who Morgan was. He was trying to figure it out.
"I don't know," said Flamel, "but I suspect she is Morgana."
Harriet did her best to not react, but it didn't matter. Hermione's actions told the whole story. The shock on her face told the truth more eloquently than any words.
"Ah, so she is," said Flamel, "Well, I'll say this, she is certainly qualified to teach her subject."
"You don't seem worried," said Harriet.
"She seems fine now," agreed Flamel, "she doesn't appear to use any dark magic. I knew she had performed a ritual to be reborn, so this isn't really a surprise."
"In any event, I have heard you both have spoken to the Unspeakables," said Flamel, "How did you like their offer?"
"It was interesting," said Hermione.
"But the pitch was a bit odd," said Harriet, "they said Merlin founded the Unspeakables."
Flamel laughed. "They did, huh? Well they're consistent."
"What does that mean?" asked Harriet.
"It means that there is a nugget of truth in that statement, but the truth is far more complicated," said Flamel, "One day maybe I'll tell you what really happened."
In the end, Flamel didn't promise anything, nor did he give them lists of classes to take. All he wanted was for them to take the subjects they'd be best at. "That way you can make the most of your abilities!" he said.
Harriet wasn't sure what to think about this. Luckily she had years left to do it. Both Harriet and Hermione decided to just take the classes necessary for the Unspeakables. Hermione wanted to take all the classes, but Harriet talked her out of it.
"We won't have time for anything else!" said Harriet. That made Hermione thoughtful, and she nodded in agreement. Harriet knew that look. Hermione was up to something.
XXXXX
It was only an hour later that Hermione opened up. She took Harriet outside to the hill overlooking the lake.
"We need to know how to defend ourselves," said Hermione.
"Morgan said..." began Harriet.
"We need to do more than learn whatever Morgan will teach us," said Hermione, "we need to be teaching ourselves. We were helpless in the face of Umbridge, all of us except you. All of us need to work together to defend each other."
"All of us?" asked Harriet.
"All of our friends who will come," said Hermione, "because this next war, it will be our war."
"You're right," said Harriet.
Hermione smiled, and put an arm around Harriet's shoulders. Whatever would come, Harriet knew at least Hermione would have her back. It was comforting.
But more people wouldn't hurt.
XXXXX
After he returned to Avalon, Flamel moved quickly into the Hall of Memories. Valerii was there. Valerii was always waiting when he went out to look at potential recruits. Even though those trips never panned out.
"How were they?" asked Valerii. She was tall for a former house elf, almost four feet tall. She was also the second highest ranking member of the Guardians of Atlantis, and probably the most skilled healer alive.
"Promising," said Flamel, "They also confirmed that Morgan Solaire is Morgana."
Valerii hissed. "The master of the order will want to hear that."
"Why do you think I came here?" asked Flamel.
He strode confidently through the Hall of Memories. It had many artifacts of old Atlantis on display. Things long thought lost in the rest of the world were preserved here. Not so that they could be remade though. Only that they wouldn't be forgotten.
Beyond the Hall of Memories was the hall of Time. That was Flamel's destination. He opened the door. Immediately he felt the effects of the time dilation. Time in this room passed slowly, and it slowed further the deeper you went into this room. He walked down to the end of the room and crossed the line.
Here time had stopped, after a fashion. Time still flowed outside this zone, but it did not touch anything within it. It was here that the Master of the Guardians of Atlantis lived.
"Morgana has returned, Master," said Flamel.
"I knew she would," said the Master's voice. The Master stood and turned to look directly into Flamel's eyes. But his face was obscured by a bright light behind him.
"Is she dangerous?" asked Flamel.
"Of course Morgan Solaire is dangerous," said the Master, "The question is whether she is an enemy. If she has not used Dark Magic, perhaps not. Still, we should be careful. It may be my wishful thinking saying that."
The light behind the Master turned off suddenly. And Flamel found himself looking into the eyes of Merlin, First Wizard of Britain, and Master of the Order of the Guardians of Atlantis.
"After all," said Merlin, "I have no desire to kill my old friend. Again."
End of Part 3
Coming Soon:
Part 4 of Harriet Potter and the Guardians of Atlantis: Harriet Potter and the Dementors' Harvest
Author's Note: The next part of the story needs a little editing, but it is mostly good to go, so I may very well start posting it next week. From here on out the story is M rated, so don't be surprised if things get a bit more violent or crass. Also I deliberately used a few horror elements for the next story. Not a lot, but some of the scenes are definitely more horror scenes than anything I have written before. That being said, the very first thing I do in the next part is put Umbridge on trial, so look forward to that.
As far as writing has gone, I was stuck for a long time after the first 2 chapters of part 7. I have written 3 more rough draft chapters since then though, but part 7 is actually fairly long so I am probably less than a third done with that part. Part 7 is actually fairly complicated to write because there's a lot of parallel action going on. It's enjoyably challenging!