Chapter Ten
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does and unfortunately I am not her.
Summary: After the Second Wizarding War, a Guardian was given to each child of the main families that helped in the war. They were all tasked with a simple job, protect their allocated person with their life. Somehow, Freya screwed it up in the biggest way. She fell in love.
There are going to be a lot of OCs, but the focus is going to be on Freya.
HARRY POTTER
One week later
It had been a week since the Battle of the Beasts and things had calmed down since then. Each pair had three months until the next challenge. Freya had written down the clue before secretly giving Albus the key and the box so to let him hear the clue. Freya still had no idea what the next challenge was going to be, but she wasn't worried for the time being, the next challenge was quite a while away at the moment and she focused on guarding James again. James had been doing his usual stuff – pranking. But he seemed to be targeting the Durmstrang boys more which frustrated Freya more than anything in the world. It was like James didn't understand that what he was doing was dangerous and Freya always had to clean up his messes.
Freya now sat in DADA class. As usual, Katrina and Freya sat together and Cordelia sat at the desk in front of them. Freya felt bored and she didn't like her teacher in the slightest, she felt nothing but contempt for him. She glared at him when he entered the room with a large grin on his face.
Teddy cleared his throat. "Today class, we're going to be learning about the Patronus charm, which is a defensive charm. It is one of the most powerful defensive charms known to wizardkind, the Patronus can also be used as a messenger between wizards." As Teddy spoke, a piece of enchanted chalk floated up to the board and began writing down what he was saying.
Freya leaned back in her chair, already bored. She watched James, he looked excited about this lesson. He was grinning in his seat looking quite smug. James had already learnt the Patronus charm from his dad. It was this summer just gone he had learnt it after pestering his dad for ages to learn it. James had always wanted to do the spell after hearing his dad learnt it in his third year.
"Now, what creature are Patronus' effective against?" Teddy asked, looking around the room.
Fred raised his hand. "Dementors!"
Teddy grinned, "Yes. Five-points to Gryffindor!"
James and Fred high-fived each other grins on their faces. It wasn't often they actually gained points. More times than not they ended up with points taken away from them because of their pranks. There were times their pranks did get out of hand but never that bad.
"There are two forms when it comes to Patronus', does anyone know what they are?" Teddy asked, smiling at his students. This caused most girls in the class to sigh and stare at him dreamily.
Frank raised his hand. "They're corporeal and incorporeal forms." When people looked at him, Frank looked to the ground, flushing in embarrassment.
Katrina smiled at him, giggling at his embarrassment.
Teddy grinned, "Correct, five points to Hufflepuff! Now, today we're going to be trying the Patronus charm. Don't be disappointed if you can't make a corporeal form, even the best Wizards can't produce one." He said, sending reassuring looks to everyone. He didn't want anyone to feel disappointed with the outcome today. It was a hard spell to learn and make it corporeal.
James' hand shot up. "Why don't you show us how it's done, Professor?" He suggested with a grin.
Teddy smiled and nodded his head. "Excellent idea James. Expecto Patronum!" Taking out his wand, he cast the spell. Silver light burst from his wand and a medium sized wolf began running around the room. Many students gasped as they looked at the Patronus, even Freya looked mildly interested for a moment. Honestly, Freya wasn't surprised that his Patronus was a wolf, his father's Patronus was a Werewolf and his mother's Patronus was a wolf. After a few more seconds, Teddy cancelled the spell, the wolf disappearing into thin air.
"Now, it's your turn," Teddy said, putting away his wand.
Everyone stood up and began to have a go at the spell. Most people looked excited to participate, but Katrina and Cordelia looked at Freya. They were almost asking for permission if they could take part. They really wanted to because of how much fun it looked.
Seeing the looks she was getting, Freya sighed and stood up. "Fine." She muttered lowly, getting her own wand out.
Katrina's eyes lit as she stood up along with Cordelia.
"To make the spell work, you need to think of your happiest memory!" Teddy explained loudly, making sure that everybody heard him.
Cordelia took a deep breath and began thinking of a happy memory. "Expecto Patronum!" Silver smoke appeared from her wand and then disappeared. She looked extremely happy, though she did want to know what her Patronus would be.
Katrina went next. She easily found a happy memory and grinned as she took out her wand. "Expecto Patronum!" Silver light burst from her wand and a Black Mare appeared as it began running around the room wildly. Katrina stared in awe at her Patronus, feeling amazed that she actually produced one in the first place.
Freya sighed as she readied her hand. For a moment, Freya did nothing as she was trying to find a happy memory but she wasn't coming up with many. Regardless, Freya did the spell anyway. "Expecto Patronum!" However, nothing came out. No silver smoke or a Patronus.
Freya frowned and tried again, only to no avail.
"Freya…" Katrina muttered, looking at her friend sadly.
Freya scowled and put away her wand. This lesson was stupid anyway. Cordelia and Katrina shared a look but don't say anything.
Taking this opportunity, Freya watched the others in the class. Eric was there along with some other Slytherins. The reason Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were together was to create some house unity. There were some classes were all Houses were put together in groups, this was implemented by McGonagall after the Wizarding War so to decrease the animosity there was against the Slytherin House. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had agreed with this and had pushed this forward in the Ministry.
Eric also looked like he was having trouble, not being able to cast anything either. He scowled darkly and refused to try anymore.
Freya's attention soon went over to James and Fred. Fred had already made his Patronus, it a Spider Monkey. His Patronus was climbing the walls and throwing things on the ground.
James stood up and raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" A ball of light exploded from his wand as a Lion ran around the room. His Patronus by far was the most detailed out of the all the ones that had been cast around the room. The lion roared before disappearing into thin air.
Teddy cleared his throat. "That's all for today class, now off to your next lesson!" He announced as everyone put away their wands and left the room.
Freya, Cordelia and Katrina left the room after packing their stuff up, but Freya stood outside the door alongside Cordelia. They were waiting for James and Fred to walk out. Katrina walked off, waving them off as she watched over Frank and followed him to his next lesson of Herbology. However, when James and Fred didn't come out, they peeked inside the classroom and saw James and Fred talking to Teddy. They seemed to be talking in hushed whispers. Reaching into her bag, Freya took out some Extendable Ears that she had bought from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. She had followed James into the shop in the third year and saw them. Freya had bought them instantly, knowing that they would be useful. She plugged one end into her ear and pointed the other end into the classroom and listened in.
HARRY POTTER
James was ecstatic about the outcome of the lesson. He was one of the only people to produce a Patronus Charm. He couldn't wait to send a letter to his mum and dad, telling them about the news. Just as James and Fred were about to leave for their next lesson, Teddy stopped them. "Hey, I need to speak to you a moment." He said, looking excited but nervous at the same time.
James and Fred looked at one another. "Are you going to write us a note for the next period?" Fred asked with a hopeful expression.
Teddy sent them an exasperated look. "It won't take that long, don't worry." He said, the smile only growing bigger on his face.
Fred shrugged, he had tried.
"What's up, Teddy?" James asked, looking at him with a curious expression.
Teddy breathed in deeply. "Well… Victoire's pregnant." He said, his eyes lighting up when he remembered her telling him. She had sat him down just yesterday and it was the happiest day of his life. Victoire and he had been trying for a baby for the past year with no results. But hearing this news had made his day, he was so excited to become a father.
James' eyes widened and Fred's jaw dropped. "Congratulations!" James exclaimed, a large grin appearing on his own face. He knew how much becoming a father meant to Teddy and was happy for him.
Teddy let out a shaky sigh in relief. "You guys are the first we've told. We plan on telling everyone soon, we just want to enjoy it at the moment." He knew the moment his family found out Victoire was pregnant there was going to be a big reaction. Right now, he just wanted him and his wife to have an intimate moment but he couldn't tell someone the news.
Fred mock saluted. "Don't worry, we won't breathe a word."
"But I think you'd best tell Lily. She'd kill you if you didn't tell her." James said with a thoughtful expression. Lily and Teddy were always the closest, she was the biggest supporter of Teddy and Victoire when they first got together. If she didn't get told soon then she would throw a fit and a big one at that.
Teddy laughed. "I know. Now off you guys go." He said, shooing them away so they aren't late for their next lesson.
HARRY POTTER
Freya dropped her Extendable Ears in shock. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was dropped. She didn't even notice when James and Fred walked past her. She couldn't believe what she just heard.
Cordelia looked at her. "What's wrong?" She had never seen Freya look so shocked and out of it before. It really worried her seeing her friend like this.
"Victoire is pregnant," Freya whispered softly, coming out of her shock slowly. She didn't know why she was so shocked. It was only natural, they had got married and now they were having a family of their own. It was almost expected of them, she just didn't understand why this was affecting her so much when it shouldn't.
Cordelia's eyes widened. "We need to tell Lance, don't we?" She whispered, a sad gleam in her eyes.
Freya nodded her head. "I'll do it. You make sure they don't get into any trouble." Freya said before walking away.
Cordelia wanted to call after Freya to stop her, but she couldn't do it. She frowned and went after Fred and James with a heavy heart.
As Freya walked down the empty halls, she felt annoyed. Teddy and Victoire were having a child together, they were creating a family together. The very thought made her bitter and annoyed. It was times like this that really reminded Freya about the differences between Guardians and their charges. They could grow up, do what they want, and become what they want. Whereas Guardians had to follow their charges around until either one of them dies.
It didn't take Freya long before she reached Lance's temporary office. He had demanded an office during his stay here and McGonagall granted him his wish – though it was mainly to get rid of him more than anything because he kept bugging her until she gave in. Harry had gone back to the Ministry until the next challenge though because of how busy he was. Knocking on his door, she waited for his response. When she heard it, she opened the door and closed it behind her, not moving closer until he invited her in.
Lance looked up and smiled. "Ah, Freya! What a lovely surprise. What can I do for you?" His smile grew bigger as she walked closer.
Freya sat down. "I've found out some news. Victoire Lupin is pregnant." Even as she said this, she felt bitter, but she made sure to hide it. If Lance even had an inkling that she was bitter then he would want to know why and the results wouldn't be pretty.
Lance frowned with a thoughtful expression. "And you've just heard this?" He asked, leaning back into his seat.
Freya nodded her head. "Yes. Edward has just told James and Fred the news a few moments ago, sir." She said, her face revealing nothing.
Lance said nothing for a moment. He began writing something down on a piece of parchment and he soon sent it off. He had sent a magical note to someone. Freya sat in silence, not looking at Lance. His silence was actually more disturbing than him speaking. However, neither had to wait too long. Someone appeared in the fireplace and they stepped out. It was Amy Fisher – Victoire Lupin's third Guardian. Amy was a tall woman of nineteen years with long auburn hair and green eyes.
Amy nodded her head, "You called, sir?" She asked, her voice polite and even.
Lance motioned for her to sit down, which she does gracefully. "I've been informed of some delightful news. Victoire Lupin is pregnant." Lance hissed out, his eye twitching in anger. His fingers were twitching for his wand, an act that unsettled both Amy and Freya.
Amy nodded her head. "I was just writing a report up, sir. I discovered this myself just this morning." She answered back, her own face revealing nothing of her nerves.
However, Lance doesn't look impressed. "Is that so?" He said, his voice sounding airy and disbelieving.
Nodding her head, Amy reached into her robes and took out a sealed letter. She handed it over to Lance, who swiped it and tore into the letter. He quickly read it, a frown settling on his face. His fingers began tapping on the desk – which was the only sound in the office other than the low breathing of Amy and Freya.
Freya stealthily looked over at Amy. Amy had been the one to show her the ropes of being a Guardian – she was the one who took her under her wing. Without Amy, Freya probably would have been failed ages ago. Seeing Amy still alive made Freya feel relieved, she hadn't seen much of Amy anymore because of how busy the older girl was Guarding Victoire. Just then, Freya was snapped out of her thoughts when Amy began shaking, her eye twitching in pain as her body shook. Looking back to Lance, Freya saw that Lance had his wand out and he had activated her Guardian Mark.
"You should have sent this letter earlier." Lance hissed softly, glaring at the older girl.
"I-I'm s-sorry, si-sir," Amy said through gritted teeth.
Freya could see the blood on Amy's hands. Her nails were digging into the palms of her hands to distract her from the pain she feeling, but it didn't work. Freya looked down at her own palms and saw the scars on her palms. They weren't going away any time soon but Freya wanted that. Every time she looked at her hands she knew what the punishment was for disobeying Lance – it was a constant reminder and it was keeping her alive.
Lance sighed before putting away his wand.
Amy relaxed in her seat, the pain has stopped. Her breathing had become laboured from the pain and there were tremors in her hands.
Lance stood up. "Excuse me, girls, I must attend to some urgent matters." He said before leaving the room.
Once he was gone, the atmosphere in the room became less tense. Both Freya and Amy relaxed, though Freya was still cautious.
Amy looked at the younger girl. "You told him."
Freya nodded her head. "I did yes."
Sighing, Amy leaned forward and rubbed her temples with her hands. "You don't realise what you've done." She stood up and began pacing around the room with a worried expression on her face.
Freya sent her a confused look. "But you were about to send that letter." She pointed out, not understanding why Amy was reacting this way.
Amy shook her head. "You wouldn't understand, you're still a child."
Freya frowned, she didn't like being referred to as a child. There were only three years between Amy and Freya. Also, Freya was one of the most mature Guardians that they had. She felt a little insulted that the Guardian who helped her was calling her a child.
"I was doing my job," Freya said softly, glaring at the older woman.
Amy stopped pacing and looked at her, a saddened expression on her face. "Freya, do you realise what is going to happen now?" She asked, her voice low and barely above a whisper.
Freya said nothing. She actually didn't know what was going to happen now, but she had a feeling that Amy did. It didn't look good, based on Amy's expression and body language.
"Lance will be trying to find a Guardian for that child," Amy said softly.
At that moment, it clicked with Freya. All the ex-Death Eaters had stopped having children now – most of them would be too old to have children. But there needed to be a Guardian for Teddy and Victoire's baby. This could mean one of two things; either Lance was going to bring innocent people into the program to create a child or he was going to force an existing Guardian to procreate. That innocent child would be brought into this mess, they would be trained from birth to become a Guardian – they won't have a childhood at all.
"Crap," Freya muttered lowly. The guilt was creeping in, she had been the one to tell Lance about the pregnancy.
Amy sighed and sat back down, slumping into her seat. "This is why I didn't want you telling him."
Freya said nothing and just stared at the ground.
"He's more than likely looking for the perfect candidate to become a breeding machine," Amy said, scorn in her tone.
Freya's eyes widened. There were only two older Guardians that were of age: Amy and Logan – Teddy's Guardian. It was possible that one of them would have to procreate or even both of them. But this was uncharted territory for Freya so she didn't know. They were all the first generation Guardians and now the second generation of Guardians was beginning already. There was a rule that Guardians couldn't fall in love, but there wasn't a rule about procreating for the Guardian Programme.
The room was silent for a moment. Amy was looking at Freya with a critical look and Freya was looking at her back, meeting her eyes every now and again, but neither one saying anything.
"You've changed so much," Amy whispered.
Freya sneered.
"You used to smile. But now…" Amy trailed off, looking at the younger Gryffindor with a saddened expression. Amy could clearly remember the days when Freya didn't know what she was doing, but she still had a smile on her face. Amy had only left three years ago but she could see the dramatic change in Freya and she didn't like it at all. Amy could remember calming Freya down when she was having panic attacks and giving her advice.
A stormy expression filled Freya's face.
Amy sighed. "Your sister would be turning in her grave if she saw you now."
Freya bristled. "Well maybe if she wasn't stupid then maybe she'd still be here." She hissed out lowly, her fists clenched. She didn't like her sister being mentioned by people, it was too much of a reminder of what happened. Her sister's death was like a shadow over her, one that Freya refused to stay under. It was bad enough with her parents constantly reminding her, but now Amy.
Amy's eyes widened at her tone. "Freya…"
"This conversation is over." Freya stood up and walked out. She didn't want to hear it anymore and she wasn't going to put up with it either.
Amy watched her leave, sighing heavily.
HARRY POTTER
Later that day
It was now night time and nearly everyone was asleep in the Castle. Except Freya wasn't asleep – she should be but she wasn't. Freya stood in an empty classroom in the far corners of Hogwarts. She had placed a silencing charm around the room and she had locked the door so no one could enter without her knowing. She was practising the Patronus Charm because she wasn't satisfied with herself. The fact she couldn't get the spell right frustrated her and made her annoyed. Usually, Freya was great at spells – she could give Katrina's dad a run for his money when it came to duelling but she couldn't do this one damn spell.
"Expecto Patronum!" Freya yelled for what was the tenth time already. She pointed her wand and watched, but nothing came out. No silvery smoke. Absolutely nothing.
"Goddammit!" Freya exclaimed, throwing a nearby book against the wall. Her breathing was heard and she was sweating slightly. She was using up quite a bit of magic trying this spell to no avail and her frustration was only draining her magic now. Sighing deeply, Freya sat on a nearby chair. She couldn't get this spell right, no matter how hard she tried. Freya mentally cursed this spell for being focused on happy memories. Why did it have to be happy memories of all things?
"Having trouble I see."
Freya looked up and saw McGonagall standing at the entrance of the door. She wasn't surprised to see McGonagall, she was probably the only person who could undo her locking charm. McGonagall was looking at Freya with a blank expression, revealing nothing.
"I just can't get it right," Freya admitted slowly. McGonagall was the one person she could admit this too. Freya didn't trust many people – a handful at most – but she knew that McGonagall would never exploit her because of this.
McGonagall nodded her head, walking into the room.
Freya looked up at McGonagall, "What's your Patronus?" She asked, looking at her curiously.
Smiling slightly, McGonagall took out her wand. "Expecto Patronum!" A burst of silver exploded from her wand and a tabby cat appears, running around the room freely. The tabby cat came up to Freya and rubbed its head against her calf.
Freya smirked slightly, but this one was softer than her usual ones.
After a few moments, McGonagall dispelled her Patronus, letting the tabby cat disappear into thin air.
"What were you thinking of?" Freya asked.
McGonagall laughed lightly. "I was thinking of my late husband. The day he proposed to me by the Black Lake on a walk in Hogwarts." Elphinstone Urquart and she had been fond of each other for years, but she had been in love with another man. It was only after his death did McGonagall truly realised how much she was in love with Elphinstone.
Freya frowned. She had read somewhere that Patronus' is a projection of a person's most positive feelings and it seemed that love was the biggest factor. When researching, she had found that Snape was the only Death Eater who managed to summon a Patronus and it was Doe – just like Lily Potter's was. The thought of love disgusted Freya. It was pointless and made people weak as far as she was concerned.
"Miss Williams, this is very advance magic. You don't need to worry about it." McGonagall said.
Freya shook her head. "I know, but if my parents ever found out…" Her voice trailed off. She didn't even want to think about what her parent's reaction would be if they found out she couldn't do a spell right. It had been drilled into her for years that nothing is acceptable unless it was perfect, anything less wasn't good enough.
McGonagall's gaze narrowed at the mention of her parents.
Sighing, Freya stood up. "I'll leave it for now." She would come back to it another day. She would master it one day, she would make sure of that.
"Before you go, I would like to add another charm to your pendant," McGonagall said, her wand still in her hand.
Saying nothing, Freya brought her pendant out from under her clothes, but never removed it. Once on the show, McGonagall positioned her wand over the pendant and whispered something Freya couldn't hear. The tip of McGonagall's wand lit up and engulfed the pendant before it disappeared. Once done, McGonagall put her wand away.
"I've strengthened the healing charm and added a shield charm into it. This should help protect you." McGonagall said, satisfied with her work.
Freya nodded her head, "Thank you."
McGonagall smiled slightly and motioned with her hands. "Now, off to bed with you."
Without saying anything, Freya left the room and headed off to bed.
HARRY POTTER
Another chapter done!
When it came to the Patronus', I chose Katrina's for a reason. Black Mares are meant to represent an appetite for freedom.
Also, what do you reckon Freya's Patronus would be? I already know what it would be (of course I would since I'm the author) but what do you think it would be?
This chapter does contain a hint about what happened to Freya's sister, which will not be revealed until much further on into the story. But would anyone be able to guess what happened to dear old Lydia?
Leave a review and tell me what you think!