Chapter 10
Nelda slammed opened the door while Azalea and the two animals trailed behind her. "Nan! Where are you?" She called out into the corridors.
"I'm right here." Augusta said as she rounded the corner only to stop dead at the sight of a wolf and bear sitting in her entrance hall. "Nelda what have I told you about bringing home animals. I know you want a pet but a bear and a wolf are a bit much." She deadpanned.
"They aren't pets. Azalea bonded to the wolf, Herne, and I bonded to Macha here." She said while stroking the animal's fur.
"I see. And just where did you find Herne and Macha?" She asked with a raised brow.
"In Longbottom Coille, past the gate. We were heading to the fresh water spring when we came across a dead lynx. When we found it we decided to head back to the manor but Herne found us. He locked eyes with Azalea and had an immediate Familiar bond. We were right outside of the gate when Macha emerged from the forest behind us and I bonded to the sweet girl." She explained to her Nan. She tilted in contemplation, she had a lot of questions that she hoped her Nan could answer.
"What is Hogwarts policy on familiar bonds?" Was the first question out of her mouth.
"All bonded familiars are permitted on Hogwarts grounds though only smaller familiars are allowed in the castle itself with the exception of danger to the magic user." Augusta explained. She had to hold in a chuckle at the pouts that the two girls were sporting. "If someone tells you differently then they are going against the Hogwarts charter. It is in Article V section IIX. It states that all magical familiars are allowed within the wards of Hogwarts due to the familiar bond causing discomfort to the magic user if the animal is more than 200 meters away. Dangerous Familiars are not permitted in the castle but will be allowed in the forest and grounds. You may get a special permission form from the ministry but you would need at least two heads of houses and one regular teacher to sign it." She informed the two girls.
"Would we be able to get that form? I don't want Herne to be away from me. He helps keep me calm." Azalea asked with puppy dog eyes while stroking the massive wolf like it was a regular domestic dog. The wolf himself seemed to be soaking up the attention that his young bonded was giving him. Next to them Nelda nodded in agreement having taken to leaning against the brown bear to soak up the warmth the creature radiated.
"Yes I'll send out an owl to the magical creature regulations for two forms." The older woman answered.
"Nan, is it normal to have wild animals as familiars? Uncle Algie said that I was too weak to ever form the bond. How is this possible?" Nelda asked with a hint of hysteria in her voice.
"Yes well Algie wouldn't know sense if it smacked him in the face. Nor does Enid, that air headed sassenach." She muttered the last part under her breath but the two girls heard it anyway. Augusta still hasn't forgiven her brother in law and his wife for the neglect and abuse her granddaughter suffered under their supervision. When she found out that Algie had dropped Nelda out of the window she had been apoplectic with rage. She had cut off his visits to the main manor unless she was there to supervise and even then sometimes he just couldn't keep his unneeded opinions to himself.
"Nan, why did we bond with such powerful animals? I thought that witches only bonded with smaller animals like cats, reptiles, amphibians or birds. I have never heard of a wolf or bear as a familiar." She rambled
"Well dear it's not too rare actually, especially in areas that have an abundance of wild animals like The Americas, Russia, the Nordic countries and Africa. You won't find any here due to the fact that most animals were hunted to extinction. Also it only happens when the animals themselves have magic. Your animals are most likely that of magical descent. The wolf is bigger than average and that color of slate grey that points to it being an ice wolf while the bear is also bigger than an average bear. The grayish tint to the brown fur makes me believe that it is an Iron blood brown bear. Both would be classified as XXXX creatures. Ice wolves are impervious to the cold and can inject shards of ice into the bloodstream with a bite. They can also freeze areas of their victim by slashing at them with their claws; they also are semi-magic resistant. The iron blood bear on the other hand is completely magic resistant. They also are one of the most physically powerful land animals that graced the world; they regularly hunt fully grown moose and have been known to be able to defend themselves against smaller dragons. Both of your animals are still in the adolescent stage. They're not done growing yet. The wolf will grow to be five to five and a half feet at the shoulders. From nose to tail it'll be eight feet long Azalea, be prepared for that. Nelda, your bear will be able to reach twelve feet on its hind legs and six and a half feet at the shoulders, a truly massive animal that dwarfs it's brown bear cousins. Both breeds had been driven to extinction in the UK about two thousand years ago so if any asks we took a trip to Sweden and found them while hiking up north in the country." She lectured. She was thanking any deity that she followed that her father was a magizoologist otherwise she wouldn't be able to answer any of this. She was a dueler, not a magical creature expert.
"So we're not freaks?" Azalea asked meekly.
"No. In fact your grandfather found his Familiar in Africa on a trip to the school there. It was a leopard that had Nundu ancestry. Everyone was scared of it when he brought it home. Unfortunately it died protecting Charlus from Grindelwald. He was devastated." Augusta informed the young potter. "Oh and Nelda Algie was never strong enough to form the bond. Give that info a thought. Silvainus had a snow Lynx. It stayed with him even after he died. It wouldn't leave the crypts. One day it laid down and never got back up so I had it's ashes put in an urn that was inside his crypt." She told her granddaughter.
"Did you have a familiar?" Nel asked.
"Yes. I have a raven. Well it really is a nightmare raven but it is as sweet as pie." She with a hint of a smile.
"How come I've never seen it Nan?" Nelda asked intrigued.
"Well when you were little you used to be afraid of birds. Plus I keep him in my room away from the aviary after all, owls hate all other birds. Would you like to see him?" She asked the two girls.
At their nods she let out a shrill whistle. There was silence for about a minute before they heard the flapping of wings. Augusta raised her right arm as a black bird the size of a golden eagle landed on her outstretched arm.
It surveyed the area, keeping the two predators within eyesight.
"This is Elowen. I've had her since I was twenty. She tends to stay in the shadows since she can move through them. They are known predatory birds. You can tell this by looking at the beak. See how it looks like a hawk or eagle instead of being straighter?" She asked while pointing at it. When the two girls nodded she continued. "The curve helps them tear at the meat. This is the only carnivorous black bird. All of the others are omnivores. Also if you look at the foot it has talons instead of claws. They use it to catch their prey which typically are hares or foxes with the occasional bird, cat, fish and rodent. They are opportunistic hunters and have been known to kill excessively and stock up." She lectured while the raven preened.
"Why are they called Nightmare Ravens?" Azalea asked in interest.
"That's a good question. People used to believe that the caw of the bird could cause nightmares at night which is not true. They also used to believe that it was a dark creature which is also false. There is a lot of stigma associated with the bird but really they are intelligent birds. I have seen Elowen solve complex problems and she loves the warmth of the fireplace. She likes to lay in front of the fire in winter and has covered herself with blankets to nap there." She said as she looked lovingly down at the bird who let out a deep caw. Just then an elf popped into the room.
"Madam, the guests will be arriving in thirty minutes shall Daisy start on a tea tray."
"Tha tí math Daisy. Tapadh leat."(Tea is good Daisy. Thank you.) Augusta said to the elf slipping into Gaidhlig without thought. "Let's calm down everyone. Our guests will be here for a bit. When they come make sure to keep a hand on your familiars. Position them on your right, it will tell the older guests what they are to you. The bond is too new for you to be separated for any reason." With that said Augusta waved her wand and fixed the two girls' hair and clothes.
It took the whole thirty minutes for the two girls to settle. When the clock reached 11:00 the first guests arrived. Theo was first through the floo with Thorros right behind. Both the lord and heir Nott looked surprised at the two animals that were at the girls' sides. Azalea of course ignored all protocol and pounced on her older brother figure as soon as she saw him.
"Theo! Look, look! Nelda and I found our familiars. Mine is the wolf, isn't he cute. I named him Herne!" She squealed in his arms.
"I see Azalea. Herne looks quite ferocious. What kind of wolf is he?" He asked while looking down into her eyes.
"Nan said he is an Ice Wolf. Neld's bear is Macha by the way. Aren't her ears cute? Like a teddy bear right?" She continued in excitement.
"Yea actually now that you mention it it does look like a more intimidating teddy bear." He said with a flat look on his face. He was starting to worry about his Pseudo-sisters definition of cute because his was not predators that could eat his face off.
Azalea let go of her death grip on Theo and turned her gaze onto Thorros. He had a split second to brace himself before he had an arm full of the small girl. Knocking him back a step. It was this sight that Arcturus and Cassiopeia Black flooded in on.
"Uncle Thorros, don't you think Herne and Macha are cute?" She asked while gazing into his eyes with puppy dog eyes. He cracked as soon as she pulled that look.
"Of course, sweet girl. Herne is a very handsome wolf. I'm sure he is lucky to be your familiar." He said, well aware of the wolf's gaze on him. The massive wolf walked over to his son and took in his scent before stopping next to him, doing the same while keeping the girl in his line of sight.
"Theo come here I'll introduce you to Macha." Nelda said to her friend. She watched as he made his way over to her. "Theo this is Macha, my familiar. Macha this is Theo, he is family." She said to the bear looking into the brown eyes of her familiar.
"Welcome to our home Thorros and Theo. You as well Lord and Lady Black." Augusta said when she noticed that the kids were preoccupied with the Notts.
At the sound of the Blacks name being said Thorros stiffened in shock. He was not aware that the two older Black family members knew of Azalea but he guessed that they were notified when the goblins found out that she was a viable heiress.
"Grandpa, aunt Cia welcome back. Let me show you Herne." Azalea chirped while skipping over to her family members with the already massive wolf at her side. "This is my familiar Herne. He is an ice wolf. I met him today." She told the two Blacks she knew that people weren't around to know where the bear was found but she just couldn't lie to her head of house, magic basically made that impossible.
"I see Azalea. You have a magnificent familiar befitting of the heiress of house Black." Arcturus said while bending down to kiss Azalea's forehead.
Cassiopeia laid a hand on Azalea's head in an affectionate ruffle. "I'm proud of you little one." She told the small girl.
"Lord Nott, how wonderful to see you. I see you have your heir with you." Arcturus said while striding over to the other lord. He had his mask firmly in place. He knew this man was important to his heiress but didn't know if he had any hidden motives.
"Yes Lord Black. There next to heiress Longbottom is my son Theodore. I would apologize about the lack of formality but I'm not sorry one bit. My son is here to spend time with his friends. He is not here for politics." He told the Black Lord.
"Well said. Call me Arcturus. I'm just here to spend time with my grandniece and honestly could care less for politics." He told the younger man.
"Then call me Thorros. I'm here to spend time with my son and his pseudo sisters." He responded. It was important that he didn't cause strife with Arcturus. He had noticed the heir ring on Azalea's little hand, it was impossible to not. He was determined to not be cut out of little Azalea's life; she was his son's heart sister therefore she was his new daughter and he would protect her as such. She would have him at her back for as long as he lived now for the unconditional love that she gave the both of them.
Then the floo flailed again and Daphne stepped out in a purple silk wrap tunic with a silver belt and dark grey leather pants with dragon hide ankle boots. Her blonde hair was braided back away from her face, her blue eyes stoically took in the sight of the wolf and bear with nary an ounce of fear.
"I see you both have quite cute familiars." She said as if she were talking about puppies instead of apex predators.
Azalea beamed as she knew they were cute. Theo's face went deadpan. He was surrounded by crazy girls. None of them had any sense.
Before any of the children could greet Daphne a slim, tall woman stepped out into the entrance hall. Her light brown hair pulled back into a French twist and her blue eyes were sharp with intellect. Her willowy body was clad in an A line dark grey dress with long sleeves made out of lace and a flowing skirt that reached to just below her knees. Her feet were clad in grey suede 3 inch pumps that had a thin ankle strap. On her head she wore a dark grey fascinator that sat on the left side of her head. She wore a set of grey pearl jewelry to tie everything together. All in all Cassandra Greengrass née Farley was an exquisite example of a pureblood lady
"Welcome, Lady Greengrass to Longbottom manor. May I introduce you to Arcturus and Cassiopeia Black, Thorros and Theo Nott, Azalea Potter and her familiar Herne and finally my heiress Nelda Longbottom and her familiar Macha. The familiar bond is so new so excuse us for not separating the children from the animals." Augusta said as she pointed out who was who.
"Thank you for inviting my Daphne and I over to your manor. I understand that our children have become great friends though excuse my curiosity. How are the Blacks involved in this get together?" She asked politely. She had been taken aback at seeing suck politically powerful people for such an negligible event.
"We are here to spend time with family." Arcturus answered while not hinting at who that was. He knew how gossip got around in the pureblood women's circles. He had no desire to have that insignificant worm Malfoy snooping around his business. He has been trying for years to make his son Draco heir. He had to reinstate Andromeda to make her daughter become secondary heiress just so Lucius wouldn't get his way. He of course has yet to let Andromeda know yet as he had just done it last night but he was sure to get an owl from her sooner or later.
"I see. Well as you know this is Daphne heiress of the Greengrass family. She has been excited to see the other children." She told the other adults as the children separated from their guardians.
Nelda looked at all of her friends here in her home. This was the first time that she had friends come and visit her not counting having Azalea living with her. She felt content and happiness. She felt like she was worth something. Just by being around the three friends she made her confidence started to repair itself.
"Come on guys, let's go to the greenhouse. I have some interesting things to show you." She said as she reached out and grabbed both Dee and Aza's hands. When she started to pull them along Aza reached out and snagged Theo's arm and dragged him with them.
The greenhouse was warm but comfortable. It was massive enough to have a sitting area in the middle of it. There plants that they didn't even know splattered around them in pristine condition.
"What's up Nelda? Why did you drag us off?" Dee asked calmly.
"I wanted to fill you in on what's been happening. Theo knows most of it but not all. First off, my Nan went to Azkaban to visit Rodolphus to see if he would be a danger to me, which thankfully he isn't." Nelda told the girl.
"I found out that Dumbledore sealed my magical core by around half and sealed my metamorphmagus abilities and mind magics." Azalea told the girl nonchalantly, as if she didn't just shake the girl's world view.
"Dumbledore also put a magic block on me too." Nelda chipped in.
"I found out that I am the Black heiress and that Dumbledore tried to potion me against Theo. Also my mother was a Rosier." Azalea added in.
"I will be writing a letter to Rodolphus and maybe Rabastan as well since he will be my brother in law I guess." Nelda fired off after Azalea finished.
"Guys slow down. I have some news that I haven't spoken about since I found out as well." Daphne said shyly, looking down at her hands. "I found out who my soulmate was on my eleventh birthday but tried to ignore it. My soulmate is a death eater who is in Azkaban for Arson with intent to kill, homicide, aggravated assault, manslaughter and destruction of private property. I couldn't tell my mom who my soulmate was. I told her it didn't show up yet. His name is Thorfinn Rowle. I don't know what to do. I'm scared." Her blue eyes watered as she whispered the last part quitely. She truly had no idea what was in store for her with what seemed to be such a volatile man.
"It's okay Dee if your death eater gets out and hurts you I'll sick my death eater on him." Nelda said, trying to lighten the mood with Azalea nodding along.
"Forget your death eater Nelda, I'll get to him first or my father will." Theo said with a protective gleam in his eyes causing the three girls to giggle.
It looked as if a weight had been lifted off Daphne's shoulders. Truthfully, Theo had a semi relaxed break so far with no shocking revelations or secrets that weighed as if the world had been dropped on your shoulders.
They four children felt complete again. It's as if they felt like an incomplete puzzle without each other. That sat on the floor underneath a blooming wisteria that was tucked away in the corner of the greenhouse. They chatted about anything and everything that crossed their minds when the topic of school came back up.
"I almost forgot. Grandpa Arcturus offered for me to have my friends join in on tutoring. He and Cassiopeia will be helping me with runes, Defense, potions, occlumency, and enchanting. Would you two like to join me and Nelda in the tutoring sessions?" Azalea asked hopefully.
Daphne contemplated the offer. She wanted to accept it but honestly she would have to figure out a way to ask her father so that he didn't overthink the offer and decline due to politics. "I will bring it up to y parents and get back to you on that. I appreciate the offer Azalea" she said in a soft tone.
"Yea I'm sure dad wouldn't mind. He adores you after all. Maybe when we are in fourth year I'll ask him to teach us how to set up small wards for privacy and the basics of dismantling them." He said contemplatively. Warding was in his blood. All Notts started to learn that skill young as it had been a major skill of his ancestors just like herbology was for the Longbottom line or fighting in the Potter line. It just was.
Before they one it the clock struck six in the evening and it was time for supper. Daisy has popped in and alerted Nelda of that fact before popping away again. The children had completely slipped lunch in favour of catching up privately.
As a unit they separated Nelda and Daphne on one side of the table with Azalea and Theo on the other side. As soon as they sat down Azalea started off by pouring four cups of Earl Grey tea and passing them around while Theo filled her plate. It was as if they had never left Hogwarts. They were completely unaware of the adults watching them.
Arcturus had been shocked at the easy way the children moved around each other. Back in his day such friendships were unheard of. The adults ate in relative silence s as the children chatted on with deceptively innocent looks on their faces. The looks of innocence caused the adults to listen in to what the children were plotting.
"No Dee we should slip powdered daffodil stems into his drink. We don't want to kill him yet just make him uncomfortable or maybe henbane. He would catch on to oleander poisoning. Same with castor oil…" Nelda continued on as if she wasn't debating what poison to use against some poor sod as one the adults tuned back out of their conversation. It was probably best for their peace of mind if they just ignored everything they heard though it did impress the two older Blacks, not that they would say it with people they don't trust in the room.
Soon everyone left to go back to their homes. The two girls and two animals made it into the brown parlour. The manor was quiet again and Nelda decided it was probably the best time to write a letter to Rodolphus and get it out of the way now. She reached down and threaded her fingers through her familiar's fur seeking strength. Then a thought popped into her head.
"Azalea, can you take a picture of me and Macha?" Nelda asked the small girl.
"Sure. Do you have a camera?" Azalea asked.
"Yea we do. Daisy, can you bring me a camera please?" She asked the main elf. Not even five minutes later a camera was hovering over the table waiting to be picked up. "Thank you Daisy." She called out. "Let me go get my winter robe on." She told her friend.
Azalea nodded and settled back against the back of a brown colored leather chaise lounge with Herne laying against her side. The room had a rustic feel to it with walnut wood panelling on the walls and mahogany floors. There was a fireplace to the side with a white fur throw rug in front of it. There was another chaise lounge against the adjacent wall and in the middle were four leather club chairs sitting across from each other with a mahogany table in between them. Finally at one corner there was a heavy mahogany seat framed by two book shelves.
Azalea turned her head when she heard footsteps entering the room and saw Nelda. As soon as she entered she went to stand in front of the lite fireplace and called Macha over to her to her left. She had a fierce look about her with her dark green long sleeve tunic that went down to mid thigh and brown leather leggings and boots with her knives still strapped to her brown belt that laid upon her waist. The jade cloak hung over her left shoulder, swirling at her ankles. She had her hair braided back as always with the Longbottom crest in the heir braid. She stood straight with her shoulders back and her chin up with her hazel green eyes blazing with an inner fire.
It only took a minute for Azalea to snap a photo and for it to develop. With the picture in hand Nelda padded over to the desk and pulled out a quill, an inkwell and two pieces of parchment while sitting down. She took a deep breath to Center herself before she started to write.
Dear Rodolphus Lestrange,
This is a little weird. I honestly never thought that I would write a letter to you after what happened in the past. Sometimes I still see a blue eyed man or a jade eyed man standing over me in my nightmares so you'll have to forgive me if I get nervous.
Let me introduce myself a little. My name is Nelda Longbottom and I am the heiress of the Most Ancient And Fertile House of Longbottom as well as the Countess of Orkney though my Grandmother does all of that paperwork in my stead. I am 11 years old with my birthday being at the end of July and I have just found my Familiar in an Iron Blood Brown Bear. I love plants and can be found in my greenhouse on Most days. My best friends are Daphne Greengrass, Azalea Potter-Black and her pseudo brother Theodore Nott. I meet Azalea on the train ride to Hogwarts and Theo and Daphne on the boat ride.
My favorite plant is the foxglove due to the beautiful flowers it sprouts. My favorite colour is Forest green. My favorite food is cedar plank grilled salmon and my favorite drink is Earl Grey tea. My hero is my Nan and I do not trust Dumbledore due to personal reasons. My favorite season is spring and I don't like being cold.
On a final note I want you to be aware that I grow twenty different poisonous and deadly plants in my greenhouse. Remember that.
With regards,
Nelda Aveline Longbottom
Heiress to House Longbottom
Countess of Orkney
Your Soulmate
She took a deep breath as she centered herself. She felt like she was missing something that she should add before a thought came to her mind. Maybe she should spritz the letter with her perfume, after all maybe he would like a new scent to distracted him from the torment of Azkaban. With that thought she called out to Daisy to retrieve the perfume bottle and misted the paper with it, giving it the scent of woodlands, Lily of the valley, hydrangeas and Iris. She lightly kissed the paper before she folded it to put in an envelope. She looked towards the blank piece of paper after she put down the envelope and let out a soft sigh.
Dear Rabastan Lestrange,
My name Nelda and I am your brother's soulmate. I wanted to write you a letter seeing how by law I will be your sister in law and would like to start off on decent footing. Well as decent as it can get what with us only meeting once with a disastrous outcome.
I would like to thank you for the spell that you gave us. I'm sure I'll put it to good use, most likely to be used on Ron Weasley or Draco Malfoy.
I will tell you a bit about me. I like plants and anything green. I don't like flying and I'm best friends with Azalea Potter, Theo Nott, and Daphne Greengrass. For some odd reason Azalea, Daphne, and myself all have death eater soulmates, which is bad luck on Azalea's part seeing how she is the girl who lived and everything. I live with my Nan and Azalea at my Manor and my familiar is a giant Iron Blood brown bear named Macha.
I suppose I'll have to start calling you mo bhràthair now.
With regards
Nelda Longbottom
Heiress to House Longbottom
Countess of Orkney
Do piuthar bheag
She sealed up both envelopes and wrote their names on it with care before having her elf Ivy give them over to her grandmother. After that she walked to her room with Macha trailing behind her. It took her about fifteen minutes to change into pajamas and slip into bed with Macha laying in front of the fireplace. It had been a long day and she needed rest.