Alina Barbu tapped her wand to her chest, and her features shifted: blue eyes bled away into a dark red of startling intensity, her painted nails grew out to become long, curved claws, her sole remaining ear became pointed, and her veins turned an oily black to stand out under her sickly pale skin.
Daisy gazed up at her with a keen interest, unflinching. "You changed your eye color," she stated.
Alina gazed down at her, uncertain. Gauging her. "I did..." she agreed.
"Why?" Daisy asked.
"Well, because this is how my eyes normally look," said Alina.
"But then why were they blue in the first place?" Daisy pressed.
"I like to try and make new people more comfortable around me," Alina replied.
Daisy stared up at Alina. Then she outright scoffed. She tossed her head and brushed her hair back behind her ears. "You think I'm scared of you 'cause you're a vampire? Even if I was, it's dumb to hide yourself because other people don't like how you look! You're not bad, or evil, you're just sick. Nobody should treat you bad because of that."
Alina blinked down at Daisy. She smiled widely, showing off very long, pointed fangs. "You are right, of course...that's true." Her dark red eyes flickered to Harry. "Shall we get her acquainted with some of the children?"
Harry nodded, offering up a smile of his own (and shoving hard past the feelings that rose in him at those red eyes). "Yeah. I mean, you'd know best who to...match her up with here. We'll follow your lead on that. Whatever way you think is best to do this - whoever..."
"Yes..." Alina's gaze swept the area, unfocused (more than usual, that was). She raised a hand of claws, pointing with one long digit toward a large tree with a boy sitting under it. The one with the yellow eye and injured face - another vampire. "Ritchie just turned six a couple months ago. It wasn't much of a party, as he likes to keep away from crowds - but he does enjoy one on one interactions with the other children. He tends to rotate between them all, depending on the day. Or, rather, the others all take turns asking to spend time with him," she concluded wryly.
"Will he...want to play with me?" Daisy said, hesitant - nervous.
"Sometimes he says yes, and sometimes he doesn't," Alina spoke lightly. "We'll have to ask and find out, yes?"
"Yes..." Daisy said slowly. She blew a breath and raised herself tall, her face becoming a smooth mask. "We can ask, but if he says no...that's ok. You always listen when somebody says no to you."
"That's right," Harry said.
"Come," Alina said, leading the way forward.
Daisy grabbed at Harry's hand and started after Alina, pulling him along rather forcefully.
Why, Harry reflected, did he have a human bulldozer for a daughter? At times it was a great strength for her, while other times...
And which time was this? A boy who preferred to be off on his own might not take too well to a girl with Daisy's personality. Harry supposed that if it didn't work out, it just wouldn't work out. But that at least remained to be seen; Daisy had wanted this chance, at least, so Harry would let her have it.
"So, exactly how many people live here?" Harry asked as they moved across the grass.
"A few dozen families, at present," Alina answered. "Frequently, we tend to have more people pass through on their way to other locations - other safehouses, or to places where arrangements are made to take them abroad. People stay as long as they need to - and move on when they feel it's time to, as well. We do our best for everyone here - muggles, muggleborns, halfbloods...half, part, and non-humans, as well."
Harry nodded. "And, erm, is it just you running all of this, or-?"
"Oh no," Alina laughed quietly. "I couldn't manage that. You already know that we have extra help coming in from time to time - but we have a permanent set of twenty-seven dedicated workers, myself included."
"How do the muggle - residents - handle all this?" Harry said. "It has to be...I mean, one day you're living a normal life, and the next..."
"Strangely enough, I receive less fear or aggression about my vampirism from muggles and muggleborns than I do the mages raised in half-blooded families," Alina said humorously. "Once I reassure them I'm not going to strap them down to a bed and bite their necks, they tend to warm up to me. They're usually very interested, actually, even disregarding my powers," she stressed, with a little shake of her head and a secretive look Harry's way.
Harry flushed, looking at her with sympathy.
"Curiosity and interest are better than hate or fear," Alina said mildly. "And I very much enjoy clearing up all the misconceptions muggle literature has about my kind - there's a surprising amount of that out there. Even since the Statute, sightings and stories persist. Even if most of what they come up with is highly fictitious, they still have an awareness of us that can never be erased."
"True enough, I suppose," Harry agreed.
"Is this boy muggleborn?" Daisy spoke up to Alina.
"Daisy, you know that doesn't matter," Harry said swiftly.
"Is his family here?" Daisy persisted in questioning Alina, ignoring Harry.
Alina gave Daisy a smile. "Why don't you ask him? That's all part of getting to know someone..."
"I will ask him - but I like knowing what I'm walking into first," Daisy said, entirely serious. "His eye looks yellow - is he a vampire, like you? Vampire eyes are yellow and red - I read that."
They stopped their journey across the indoor park. Alina and Harry shared a look.
Harry shook his head. "She could stand to know the basics - whatever you can tell. Trust me, she really does like to know things beforehand...best to just tell her..."
"He is a vampire, yes," Alina told Daisy lightly. "And he was born in the muggle world - to muggle parents. He's very new to all of this."
Daisy's expression turned thoughtful. She looked toward the tree, the boy beneath it, and gave a nod. "Ok. Thank you for telling me."
Alina's face showed surprise. "You're welcome."
Daisy looked up at Harry, giving his hand a hard tug. "Come on, daddy - but don't stand too close. I don't want to crowd him or he might not say yes."
Harry held back an amused smile. "Right - course, sweetie. I wouldn't want to hurt your chances."
"That's right," Daisy stated, resuming a fast pace for the tree. A direct and purposeful beeline. "Thanks for understanding, daddy."
"Of course," Harry repeated, keeping his face straight.
They proceeded onward until finally they came under the tree's shade, those great reaching branches of thick greenery above.
The boy - Ritchie - drew himself up at their approach, that yellow eye widening. His face (the part of it that was distinguishable and intact) shone with anxiety, sudden and spiking. He snatched up a large water bottle sloshing with dark red liquid and stuffed the long straw in his mouth. His gaze lowered to his lap as he drew his legs in.
"Hello, Ritchie," Alina spoke warmly, lowering herself into an uneven squat before the child. A clawed hand was lain on the grass to steady herself. "How are we feeling today?"
The boy's eye met Alina's, and held it firmly. He reluctantly stopped sipping from his drink. "Good..." he spoke, in a quiet voice of nervousness.
"Good," Alina repeated. She turned to gesture. "This is Daisy and Harry Potter. They're going to be visiting us from time to time."
Ritchie's eyes roamed over Harry - then Daisy. Even more nervousness in face of another child.
Daisy gazed right back at him, her eyes roaming his injured face. Critical, a tad grossed out...but largely sympathetic. Not pity on her face - compassion. Harry was proud to see it.
"Hi...?" Ritchie addressed Daisy, raising a shaky hand to wave.
Daisy pulled on a big smile and gave a very full wave in return. "Hello." She took a step forward, letting go of Harry's hand. "Do you want to play with me?"
Ritchie stared at her. He looked to Alina. His pale cheeks were flushed. "'M too tired today..." he murmured out. "Sorry..."
Daisy scrutinized him further. Her head tilted back, her gaze going skyward. "Because of the sun? It's making you all tired? I know that happens to vampires," she stated quietly.
Ritchie nodded, dropping his gaze.
"Can I sit and talk to you, then?" Daisy offered. "We don't have to get up or do anything."
The boy raised his head quickly. He met her eyes briefly - a small, shy smile appeared. "I'd like to talk to you."
Daisy strode forward and put her back to the tree, sliding down it to sit next to the boy. She smiled a genuine smile. She pointed to the large bottle he clutched in his lap. "Is that blood?"
Ritchie nodded again, fiddling with the bottle. "Yes...I know it's gross," he added swiftly, mumbling the words.
Daisy's smile became something of a grin. "I like gross."
Ritchie looked at her like she was crazy. But he smiled again.
Alina straightened and cleared her throat a little. "Well, I think we should leave you two to get to know one another. Thank you for agreeing to talk with her, Ritchie. That's kind of you."
"I'll be close by if you need me," Harry told Daisy.
Daisy gave him a look and a quiet snort that clearly expressed: why would I need you here?
Harry bowed to his daughter's whim, and reluctantly began to walk away with Alina.
The adults found a clean, white table to seat themselves at together - only a few dozen feet away from the tree where the children sat.
Alina waved her wand, and a tea tray appeared with a variety of bags laid out. "Would you like a cup, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah - thank you. Just...black, would be fine with me."
Alina flicked her wand, and the tea began making itself. Her wand tip was aimed at the cups, and a rush of heat billowed out onto them.
Harry took his in hand as he watched his daughter from afar.
She appeared deep in conversation with Ritchie now - enjoyable and animated.
No matter how much Daisy could be mature for her age - or considered herself more mature - it was when she was acting exactly her age that Harry felt the happiest for her.
"I know you want to ask me the same questions - and it's only fair that you do."
Harry met his old professor's gaze. He had just spent a long while telling Alina Barbu all about his life since leaving Hogwarts - the years after. He had finally come to the end, and now...
"You don't have to," he told her, shaking his head.
"I'm not hiding from it," Alina responded.
Harry thought that much was evident about her - her injuries were on very purposeful display, with the modifications to her black dress. Nothing hidden away, nothing covered up in that regard. "Okay," he breathed. "What...happened to you after I left Hogwarts?"
Alina straightened her back, adjusting herself in her seat again (her lopsided stance). "I continued teaching the rest of that year - until the end came. You must know about the Death Eater attack that happened...?"
"Yeah."
"I fought for the school in that battle, and I stayed on for a few more weeks into the summer," Alina continued. Her eyes were unfocused, but not because of exhaustion due to heat - it was memory. A far, distant place she was going to. Her words became more and more slurred, and quieter. "When the staff got word that the Ministry was under You-Know-Who's control, I knew I had to leave - for obvious reasons."
Harry nodded, leaning forward and folding his hands on the table. "Where did you go?"
"Anywhere - everywhere," Alina replied. "I was on the run, for the better part of a year. I knew it was pointless to appeal to the average mage to shelter me, and I didn't want to put anyone in danger like that anyway. So I stayed to the muggle world, stayed...true to my kind. I moved in the night - my advantage - I fed off of animals wherever I could, rats and strays in the cities, and deer and such when I could apparate out into the woods. I lived in alleys and abandoned buildings. I moved between cities every few months. But...muggles know of us."
"There were close calls, rumors, talks of vampires in these places. Until, one unlucky day, a muggle actually saw me." Alina frowned, lowering her gaze. "I was feeding on a stray dog when they came across me. They saw my fangs, my eyes - all of me. They ran from me, and I let them go, and I...made a wrong choice."
"What choice?"
"I told myself they wouldn't be believed, that word among muggles couldn't reach Death Eaters or Snatchers. Not in any good amount of time, anyway. And what would that be, except noise to go along with all the other muggle rumors about such things? Plenty of muggles lie about encounters as much as actually do," Alina said ruefully. "I liked where I was, or maybe I was too tired to want to move on again...but I didn't leave when I should have. I dismissed my own mind's worries. And that is how the Death Eaters caught me."
Alina's claws jittered in chaotic tapping against her teacup, clinging and clacking loudly into the air. A big breath was inhaled, and let loose. "I wasn't a pureblood traitor, I wasn't a halfblood filth, I wasn't even a muggleborn low-life. And neither was I even one of the teeming, faceless muggles for them to pluck up and play with as they do. I wasn't even human to them. The camps had just been established around then, but I wasn't sent to one of those places, either."
"You know the Department of Mysteries," Alina spoke on, quavering. "has always been a place that no one knows very much about. What goes on in there, what...the people do in there."
Harry nodded. "Yeah..."
"They learn, they experiment, they do things that most would call morally...dubious. And that was before Voldemort took hold of it all." Alina shut her eyes, her black lips pressing tightly. "For the sake of research and advancement, restrictions were lifted across the board. Things that never would have been dreamed of before were now allowed. And in the process, they had a convenient place to begin holding nonhuman beings."
Alina let a quick breath go, opening her eyes again. They were empty. Her lips parted, moving soundlessly for several moments. Stray noises and wisps escaped, and to Harry it seemed like she was...reciting something. A prayer, a mantra? "I was, for seven months, a subject in experiments. The flimsiest of excuses were given to me at first - that I was going to help all vampires out there to become human again - but those faded fast. It was pure sadism, the pleasure and joy of my captors, in a deep, dark place no one else could reach or know about. Not even the thinnest veneer of public decency - because there was no public scrutiny."
"I'm sorry." Harry had no idea what else he could even offer her. What could anyone?
Alina blinked, and those red eyes glistened with life again. A thin smile stretched across her lips. "At any rate, after months in that place, there must have been someone who disagreed with what was going on - or perhaps someone escaped and I never heard about it - but the Order appeared one day in force, having gotten through with disguises and careful planning, and they rescued myself and others. I spent some weeks in recovery, in a small safehouse of theirs. But, after I had, I knew I wanted to do what they had for me: I wanted to keep any other part humans from experiencing those horrors - and everyone else, of course. With the help of a small group at first, we came here and we made this place into a refuge for all. No, in truth, it seemed ready made for us..." she concluded softly.
"What did this place used to be, anyway?" Harry questioned.
"A muggle school from decades ago," Alina answered. "It was abandoned long ago. Children from surrounding towns used to come to it, but they closed it for reasons I've never been certain of." She shrugged a little, giving a small smile. "Regardless, it was the perfect place to turn into a haven for anyone who needs it - though, admittedly, we tend to prioritize families and children. We've poured so much magic into it that it might even rival the likes of the Ministry or Hogwarts. And we've only grown over the last two years, becoming quite the expansive operation, working closely with the Order all the while."
Harry smiled, too. "It's an amazing place already, I can tell. This is brilliant, good work you've been doing here, Alina."
"Yes, well, some people still aren't very grateful," Alina said absently. "While I did say earlier that I get the least trouble from muggleborns and muggles, that isn't to say that I don't still sometimes get trouble from them. It's understandable - fear, panic, loss of control, upending of their whole lives and world-view - but it can be difficult at times."
Footsteps across the grass.
A shadow fell over their table.
"...Harry?"
Harry turned at the voice, instantly familiar to him. And he stared in shock.
He had never bothered, he realized, to even ask what had happened to them over the years. Had never given them a thought. Yes, he had told his wife a bit about his past when she had asked, and he had even told his daughter in a very trying conversation for both of them that he had grown up in a home that was not kind to him - that he had been "called names, and other bad things" before. That his blood relatives had wanted nothing to do with him, had actively hated him. The basis of his belief, instilled in Daisy, that family was not blood or genetics - it was who you chose it to be. Who you cared for, who you loved, who you spent time with. That family could be anyone you wanted it to be, that you made a family with other people.
Harry had never given them a single thought over these years, content with the family he had chosen for himself. Content to never see the old one again, the one of blood.
He had never expected to see a single one of them again - least of all in an extremely magical, secret location like this.
But now that he was blinking and seeing it in front of him - seeing him - Harry realized that of course it made sense. They had to have been told of the threat, had to have been moved by the Order (willing or not), especially after Harry's disappearance, which would have probably left them as a likely avenue for information in Voldemort's eyes...
Harry gazed on the man standing before him.
Same blonde hair, same features, same eyes - but he was less of a whale and more like a slightly overweight human being now. A significant drop in mass, really...
"Dudley?" Harry spoke the name, still in disbelief.
His cousin, a young adult man, gave a hesitant nod, looking more uncertain than Harry had ever seen him. Looking...afraid, almost. "I- I...saw you come in with Ms. Barbu, and I- I debated coming over here at all...you didn't need this now - if you're here, you must have gone through something awful..." He trailed off into a mumble, looking away.
Harry stood, wand in his hand before he realized it.
Dudley Dursley took a step back, flinching.
Alina stood too, gazing between them. "You know each other?"
"He's my cousin," Harry said numbly. "What are you doing here?"
"Just, you know, living..." Dudley gulped. "Something I'd like to keep doing, please," he added, his gaze glued to Harry's wand.
"Please?" Harry echoed. Since when did Dudley Dursley say please?
"Since he almost had his soul sucked out by Dementors," came Dudley's quavering voice, brimming with shame - and with gratitude?
Wait, had Harry said that last part out loud? Weird.
Dudley's words jogged Harry's memories. He did remember that day, the Dementors, and he remembered wondering...what it was his cousin might have seen. What were Dudley's worst fears?
Thinking back on his summer before sixth year, Harry did also recall his cousin being...oddly subdued the whole time. In fact, he had not once messed with Harry - not once had he insulted or harassed him. He'd stayed clear away from him, honestly. Something Harry had been glad for, at the time! But now, looking back on it, the reason for it...
Had the Dementor incident...possibly changed Dudley?
No way, he thought firmly. Impossible.
It was as unlikely that Dudley Dursley would become a better person - let alone somebody who seemed fine with being in a huge magical refuge - as it was that Lord Voldemort would decide to stop ruling magical Britain and turn himself in for life imprisonment after claiming to have seen the errors of his ways!
Not a chance in hell.
But...
Dudley was here, right in front of Harry. He knew Alina, it seemed. Unless Dudley was a hallucination, then that had to mean something, right?
Or it meant nothing except that Dudley had grudgingly accepted being here for his own skin's sake, and was still a spoiled manbaby of a man entitled to everything here...
Alina had just said she still got trouble from some muggles, didn't she?
Surely that had to mean this muggle.
Who else but Dudley Dursley?
"I'm sorry, Harry," Dudley spoke again clearly, meeting his eye. "I've meant to tell you this for years, but I'm...sorry for- for the years that I- tormented you, and humiliated you, and...I never treated you like a cousin, like family, just...like an annoyance and a punching bag, and I- I'm so sorry for it all. You never deserved anything you grew up with - you never deserved anything I did to you. I know that can't make up for anything, but...I am sorry. If I had one of those- Time-Twister things I'd go do it right. I'd treat you right."
"Time-Turner," Harry corrected absently, still in shock.
"Oh, yeah. That sounds more right," Dudley agreed quietly.
Harry stared at him in silence.
Dudley shifted on his feet. "Right, well, I- I'll leave you be. I just...I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to ambush you like this, yeah? Should've found a better way to do it, but I couldn't so I just- thought I'd...come up and do it. Marnie would say that's thoughtless of me - I guess I am thoughtless...sorry for that, too." He turned and walked away, marching across the grass.
Harry watched him go. Watched him as he joined another table, where a young woman and two children were together. A girl who looked about Daisy's age, and a boy who might have been two or three years old. The girl looked a lot like the woman - while the boy looked a lot like Dudley.
Harry felt for his chair, sinking back into it and putting his wand away.
"I'm terribly sorry for that - I didn't know you were related," Alina said swiftly, seating herself as well. "He-"
"How long has he been here?" Harry asked.
"Almost a year now," Alina replied. "Before that, he went through several Order safehouses; the smaller ones keep a rotation to ensure the most space is freed up, and for safety purposes - if one is ever found and invaded, they won't catch nearly as many people out."
Harry nodded dumbly. "Right. And who're those people he's with?"
"His wife and children."
"His...wife? And kids?"
"That's correct."
"How long has that been a thing?" Harry choked out.
Alina had a careful, neutral expression on her face. The bad history was obvious between the two. "From previous conversations, they met several years ago, in another safehouse of the Order's."
"And they live...here now?"
"Yes. Is this going to be a problem?" Alina spoke sternly. "We don't need problems in the Refuge, Harry. We're all here to escape our worst problems. This is a safe, peaceful place for everyone."
"No, no- problems," Harry stammered, shaking his head. "Just...I just..."
"I did hear what he said," Alina sighed. "I never knew you grew up that way."
"I wasn't exactly close with any of my teachers," Harry said seriously. "It's okay."
"No, you weren't."
"I won't cause a problem if he doesn't," Harry stated.
"Then we won't have any," Alina said, nodding.
"Still - just - a wife?! Kids?!" Harry burst out.
Alina raised an eyebrow.
Harry put his head in his hands.
Thank you, world, for throwing me such a huge curveball. I really appreciate it. It's not like I needed any more complications in life lately! Just pile it all on, why don't you? At least you did your worst...