Chapter Thirteen
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.
Pullynnhah: Thank you for the question! I hadn't actually thought about what would happen if a Guardian were to use the Killing Curse on Lance until now, so I've added an explanation in. Hope this answers your question!
Digiflip: Thank you for the heads up! I do realise that I need to work on my grammar. I am using Grammarly now so I hope it's a bit better this chapter. Last chapter was rushed and I didn't proof read it much because of how much I wanted to get that chapter out!
HARRY POTTER
One week later
It was Halloween and Freya was on edge. It seemed as though she wasn't the only one though. The whole Potter family was slightly sombre because this was the day their grandparents, James and Lily Potter had died protecting Harry from Voldemort. However, Freya was unnerved for another reason altogether. Halloween had never been a pleasant holiday for Freya because something bad always happened on this day – it could be small and then it could be disastrous. But it was because of this unwanted tradition that Freya had come to hate Halloween. However, Freya felt as though she could breathe a bit easier because Lance wasn't in the castle, he had gone back to the Ministry to sort out some matters. He wasn't specific but he said he would be back the next day. Freya had a feeling that Lance was sorting out another Guardian for Lorcan Scamander.
It was in the afternoon that Freya had called a Guardian meeting. All Guardians were now present in the Chamber of Secrets, standing in formation with Freya standing in front of everyone. It had been well over a month since Freya had given Castiel and Katrina the assignment of tracking Eric. Now, Freya wanted the results.
Freya cleared her throat. "What have you found?" She asked, looking at them both.
Katrina went first. "I've found out that he is a Muggleborn and is from a quite poor background. His parents divorced and he currently lives with his dad – who doesn't treat him very nicely. He has absolutely no relation to Voldemort from what I've found." Katrina commented with a sad frown. Finding out his past had made Katrina feel more sympathetic towards him, and in a way, she could understand his bitterness. But that didn't mean she agreed with his behaviour.
Freya nodded her head and then looked to Castiel.
"I've found that he's quite the loner in Slytherin. He dislikes Purebloods with a passion and anyone who is wealthier than his own family." Castiel explained clearly.
Nodding her head again, Freya spoke. "And what of the Seventh years he was speaking to?" She asked, not leaving any detail untouched. If Eric was in cohorts with the Seventh years then there is a possibility that he had asked one of them to place Albus' name into the Goblet of Fire.
Katrina frowned. "It would seem that the Seventh year he was talking to was a distant family member, but they don't get on." Katrina had watched their interactions and they weren't very friendly. Eric would taunt his older cousin for being in Hufflepuff and usually, the cousin would ignore the taunting. However, the cousin's friends didn't sit back and would stand up for their friend.
Ryan looked thoughtful. "From the sounds of it, Eric is just jealous of the Potters," He said, turning to face Freya.
Cordelia nodded her head in agreement. Other Guardians seemed to think the same thing as no one spoke up to say they thought any differently.
Freya agreed with him. "It would seem so. What are your opinions?" Freya asked looking to Katrina and Castiel. She wanted to know what they thought on the matter itself since they were the two people observing him.
"He's not Voldemort's spawn, just an angsty teenager who has anger issues," Katrina said, being very frank for once. However, she had a smile on her face, making her words and facial expressions contradict one another.
Freya smirked, mentally agreeing with her wording. With that, she looked over to Castiel and awaited his answer.
"I still think there is a possibility," Castiel said with a thoughtful expression.
Cordelia groaned loudly. "Will you give it up? Katrina was the one who did the background check on him, not you." She said loudly, sending him a pointed look.
Castiel turned around and glared at her.
Before a fight could break out, Freya spoke. "And what do you suggest we do then, Castiel?" Freya asked, arching a brow. He was usually all talk and no bite, so she wanted to see what he would do if actually given the opportunity.
Castiel turned back around, looking slightly surprised. Usually, his ideas were shot down and in all honesty, he didn't think he'd get this far. Clearing his throat, Castiel spoke. "I think we need to interrogate him."
"Then we'll take a vote," Freya said, surprising Castiel even further. "Everyone who is against interrogating Eric Payne raise your hand." Freya raised her voice slightly so everyone in the room could hear her.
Cordelia, Katrina, Connor, Ryan, Rebecca and quite a few others raised their hands. There were only four hands that weren't raised and Freya wasn't surprised. Those four hands belonged to Castiel's group of Guardians: Joseph, Miles and Simon. Castiel, of course, didn't have his hand raised and he glared at everyone who did have their hands raised. He had been trying to work his way with the other Guardians to get them on his side, but unfortunately for him, they were still loyal to Freya and not him.
Freya nodded her head. "Then it's decided, we're not interrogating him." She felt like this was very fair as everyone had decided and it wasn't just her. Freya had also done this on purpose so Castiel could see that people didn't agree with him and wouldn't side with him. She had noticed that he had got the younger Guardians on his side and that was because most of them didn't know him like the older ones did. When Castiel didn't get his own way, he would try and intimidate people. However, a group vote would prevent that chance from happening.
"That's unfair!" Castiel yelled out, his face contorted in anger.
Freya looked over at him, an apathetic expression on her face. "I think you'll find that was very fair." She arched a brow at him, silently challenging him. Freya had expected this reaction and Castiel didn't disappoint.
Castiel sent her a furious look, his eyes met hers in a challenging manner. Freya's eyes narrowed and her magic pulsed, sending him a silent message to back down, now. He had felt the silent cue which made his face flush red because he knew he wouldn't win. Castiel didn't like being defeated, especially not by Freya.
"If you want to continue investigating him, then you're more than welcome to Castiel." Freya offered him as a small smirk grew on her face. She was mocking him, but she couldn't help it. Freya found his temper fun to play with because of how short his fuse was.
Castiel flushed slightly as other Guardians began sniggering around him. Having enough, Castiel stormed out of the Chamber of Secrets, with his followers running after him.
"Dismissed," Freya announced, letting everyone go. It was nearly dinner time and she sensed that some of the Guardians were becoming fidgety. Freya was actually feeling hungry herself and wouldn't mind getting some dinner now. Immediately, people began leaving the Chamber of Secrets, walking off in their own little groups. They travelled to where their charges were, which was mainly in the Great Hall at this point. Katrina, Ryan and Cordelia travelled over to Freya, all of them sniggering.
"You're a tease Freya," Ryan said, a smile on his face.
"I know! Did you see his face?" Cordelia snorted loudly as she threw her head back. There was just something so satisfying about seeing Castiel get his nose rubbed in it.
Freya smirked but said nothing. They all began walking to the Great Hall to get some dinner. However, the unsettling feeling in her stomach didn't go away, no matter how much she tried not to think about it.
Just then, Connor ran up to them, pure panic on his face. It was only when he saw Freya did he relax slightly, but not much. He stopped in front of them, out of breath and shaking violently. "F-Freya!" He yelled out, stuttering slightly.
Freya stopped and looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"What is wrong Connor?" Ryan asked, looking concerned. He and Connor were cousins – distant ones but they were still family. He hadn't seen his cousin this unnerved in a long time and that concerned him.
"G-Gretchen Thomas is missing!" Connor exclaimed out, finally getting out what he needed to say. He had seen Nina Marks having a breakdown near the Great Hall, heavily crying and sobbing her heart out. When he had seen this, he knew that he needed to tell Freya because all the Guardians there were on the scene were also panicking. Connor knew that Freya would be able to sort things out, she had that aura of a leader around her.
Freya's eyes widened slightly. "Where?" She demanded, stepping closer to Connor.
"N-near the Great Hall," Connor said in one breathe, still trying to get his breath back from the running he had done. He was also trying to get his heart rate back to normal and under control.
Without another word, Freya dashed to the Great Hall at a quick pace. Having to keep up with James for years had done wonders for legs, also having longer legs made her a faster walker. Sometimes she would have to jog after James because he was always rushing around and she needed to stay close by. Freya would also have to jog in the mornings around Hogwarts because James had picked up the habit in the second year. It didn't take her long to reach where Nina was. It was quite a few feet away from the Great Hall, but it was close enough where it could cause a commotion, especially since Nina was loudly sobbing. Freya heard footstep behind her and knew that it was Katrina, Ryan, Connor and Cordelia close behind her.
"You three, secure the area. Now." Freya commanded sternly as she only turned her head slightly. She had kept her eyes trained on Nina, who was rocking back and forth on the floor, sobbing.
Nodding their heads, they rushed off to make sure no other student had access to this area. Each Guardian had the memory charm in their pendant but this was just a precaution and it would stop McGonagall from intervening too as this was Guardian business.
Freya marched over to Nina – who was curled up into a ball on the floor. Nina was a petite little Guardian of fourteen years. She was a Hufflepuff that Katrina had taken under her wing to help. Nina has long blonde hair and brown eyes, but her eyes were red from crying and bloodshot.
"Nina, tell me what happened?" Freya asked, her voice softer than moments ago.
Nina looked up at her and her sobs grew harder. Nina looked away and buried her head in her lap. She couldn't look at Freya at the moment without sobbing. She was too ashamed to admit what happened to Freya – someone who was regarded as perfect in their community. Nina also couldn't help but feel afraid of the older girl.
Sighing lightly, Freya turned to Georgia Hutton – Roxanne Weasley's Guardian and Nina's friend. "What happened?" She asked, more forcefully. She didn't see the need to act nice when Georgia wasn't as emotional hysterical as Nina.
Georgia looked at Freya with wide eyes. "A black shadow came out of nowhere and took Gretchen." She whispered, still in shock in what she had seen. Georgia almost didn't know if what she had just seen was actually real, but Nina's reaction had chased away any doubts that she had.
Freya frowned and mentally cursed to herself. A black shadow was the exact same thing described at the kidnapping of Caitlin Finnegan by Kyle. In his trial, Kyle had described that when he looked back at the mirror he placed in the Finnegan household. Kyle had seen a black shadow appear and grab Caitlin and then disappear as if it was never there. It wasn't proven to be Death Eaters until the black shadow was mentioned because that's how they supposedly travelled.
"Did anyone see anything?" Freya demanded, she needed to know if anything else had to be reported.
Georgia shook her head frantically. "No, I walked by just as Gretchen was being taken away." She said honestly. She had seen Gretchen being flown out of Hogwarts with the black shadow and she had seen Nina break down. No one else was present, but Guardians had made their way over, wondering what was happening. No one else had seen the kidnapping other than herself and Nina. The only reason other Guardians knew what happened to Gretchen was that Nina had begun shrieking and shouted out like a mad woman.
Freya stood up, having heard enough for now. She had enough evidence to know what to do next, and it wasn't something Freya was proud of. She turned to the younger Hufflepuff. "Nina Marks, you are hereby under arrest for neglecting your charge," Freya said, her voice blank of any emotion. She had no choice in this matter, she had to arrest Nina. Gretchen had gone missing when Nina was right behind her and didn't protect her charge.
Nina screamed loudly in anguish, sobbing even harder. She knew what this meant, Nina knew that she was going to die.
Taking out her wand, Freya spoke. "Accio wand." Nina's wand flew out of her robe pocket and into Freya's outstretched hand. The one thing a Guardian had to do when arresting someone was to remove their wand. Pointing her wand again, Freya spoke. "Incarcerous." Ropes appeared from her wand and wrapped itself around Nina's wrists, binding her so she couldn't escape.
As Freya led Nina away, she spotted Castiel standing not too far away. He was standing there with wide eyes, he looked shocked and horrified.
"Write a letter to Lance, now," Freya demanded, glaring at him. She was waiting to see if he would try and fight against her like he always did. However, Freya was surprised when Castiel nodded his head sombrely. Turning around, Castiel went to inform Lance of what just happened. With that sorted, Freya led a sobbing Nina down to the Dungeons.
HARRY POTTER
Later that same day
It was now night time and nearly everyone was asleep. Except for a certain group of people who were still awake. All the Guardians stood in Lance's office in their formations. However, today was different. Lance was sat at his desk, with Nina sitting on a chair next to him. Castiel had sent off the letter and Lance had responded back almost immediately and arrived back in Hogwarts. Lance had spoken to everyone involved separately, trying to work out what happened. After that, he had spoked to Nina privately and now they were having Nina's trial right here and now. Usually, one would be done in the Ministry but Lance had labelled this as an emergency.
Lance stood from his seat. "We're here today because a crime has been committed. Nina Marks has neglected her charge and now she is missing!" He exclaimed, sending Nina accusing stares.
Nina had not stopped crying since her arrest. She was slumped in the chair with tears still running down her face. She looked absolutely terrible – her hair messy, eyes bloodshot and her face puffy and swollen.
"Nina Marks had committed something unforgivable. She neglected her charge and now Gretchen Thomas is missing! Aurors have spent hours searching and have come up with nothing." Lance said as he paced around the room with an unhappy expression.
Freya watched on, saying nothing. She had given her side of the story – which wasn't much. She had tried speaking to Nina alone, but Freya couldn't get anything out of the younger girl. She was too hysterical at this point. Freya knew how much Lance hated Auror intervention in his Guardian program because there was always a risk that they would find out more than they should. Aurors were the one group of people Lance couldn't wipe the memory of because they were now trained in resisting memory charms – something that had seriously agitated Lance.
"Nina Marks, what is your plea?" Lance demanded as he glared at the younger girl.
Nina looked up, her lip quivering. "It's not my fault!" She exclaimed out, more tears falling from her face. How was she meant to know this would happen? There was nothing she could have done, the dark shadow was too quick. One minute it was there and the next it was gone. It had taken Nina more time to realise what had actually happened.
The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees.
"It's not your fault?" Lance icily mocked, his gaze filled with fury.
Freya inhaled sharply, this wasn't going to end well.
"Don't you tell me it's not your fault?!" Lance yelled, raising his wand and waved it in a complicated motion. The tip of his wand turned a red colour as he activated Nina's, Guardian Mark. Nina fell to the ground, withering and shouting in pain. Lance had activated it to the second highest setting – any higher and it would instantly kill the Guardian. It was designed as a deterrent for the Guardians to not say anything. If they tried, it would hurt them and get progressively worse if the Guardian continued to resist. However, if anyone tried to fight through the pain, the last level would kick in and kill them. Nina screeched and rolled around on the floor. A putrid smell wafted around the room, and Freya realised that it was the smell of urine, Nina had soiled herself from the pain.
After five minutes, Lance stopped the spell. Nina relaxed her body and she curled into herself as if to protect her from any more pain. She was twitching violently from the torture she endured.
"What is your plea?" Lance demanded, his tone icy.
Nina whimpered softly.
Lance raised his wand once more, ready to use the same spell.
"G-guilty!" Nina yelled out, holding her hands out, shaking. She couldn't go through it again, once was bad enough. She hadn't even noticed that she had soiled herself as she was in far too much pain. One of the worst parts of the Guardian mark was the lingering after-effects.
Lance lowered his wand with a satisfying smile. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Lance turned away from Nina to face the rest of the Guardians. "She has admitted to her sin, you have all witnessed that."
Freya's face portrayed nothing. But on the inside, she was rolling her eyes at Lance. He had tortured the answer he wanted out of Nina. But no one was allowed to comment on that otherwise they would be in the same position as Nina.
"Nina Marks, you have broken one of the most important Guardian rules. But you have admitted to your sins, so I will be reliant." Lance said, his tone much softer than before. Giving Nina a false sense of security.
Nina looked up at him with a hopeful expression.
Lance took out his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" A jet of green lightning shot out and hit Nina in the chest. The effect was instant; Nina fell limp to the ground – lifeless.
The room was silent as everyone stared at Nina's lifeless body. Some Guardians couldn't bear to look. Freya stared at Nina's open lifeless eyes with a blank stare. Nina was only fourteen years old and had just recently become Guardian, but she didn't live very long. This was a very common theme and one that didn't look to be stopping anytime soon.
Lance cleared his throat. "I expect nothing but perfection from now on. Do you understand me?" He hisses lowly, his narrowed gaze sweeping over every Guardian in the room. He seemed angrier than before because this was the second person to openly defy him within the last two weeks. With a wave of his hand, Lance violently dismissed everyone, not even looking at them as he did. He seemed to be far too angry.
As everyone silently left Lance's office, Freya noticed that something was wrong with Ryan. He had a look of despair in his eyes and his body was hunched over. He walked out of Lance's office like a zombie and seeing him like this unsettled Freya immediately. Seeing this, she followed close behind him, watching him bump into people in Hogwarts and nearly into a wall or two. Ryan didn't seem to be paying attention to anything around him which was very unusual for him. After following him for a few minutes, Freya had enough and sped walked closer to him and grabbed him by his arm. Ryan didn't even react when Freya began dragging him to a dark corner of the Hogwarts' Castle.
"What's wrong?" Freya asked, but only after she cast a silencing spell around the area so no one could overhear them.
Ryan slowly looked up, "…Nothing." He muttered slowly, almost slurring his words.
Freya was silent for a moment and stared at him at blankly. "It is because of Nina's death?" She asked, having a feeling that this would be the reason. All the Guardians had just witnessed someone being killed by Lance again. It was an understatement when this would get to Guardians and cause many breakdowns.
Ryan's lips began to quiver. "I-I should have been able to predict it…" He whispered softly, tears beginning to form in his eyes. He was a Seer, he should have been able to see Gretchen being taken away. He should have been able to predict it. Maybe if he had, Nina would still be alive. It was all his fault.
Freya frowned, she stared at Ryan with no emotion in her eyes. Freya raised her hand, swung it down and slapped Ryan across the face. She didn't use enough force to knock him to the ground, but enough to bring him out of his zombie-like state.
"Get over yourself. True Seers predict prophecies, not glimpses into the future. There is no way you could have done that." Freya sneered at him, hoping that her words would resonate with him. Not very much was actually known about Seers because of how rare they are, but it was a known fact that they only predicated prophecies.
Ryan slowly brought his hand to his cheek – which was bright red from Freya slapping him. "But…" He tried to argue.
"Do I need to slap you again?" Freya arched a brow at him as she slowly raised her hand again. She was very much prepared to slap him once more if it meant he would understand.
Ryan immediately shook his head. His cheek stung like hell, he certainly didn't want Freya to slap him again, once was enough. "No! I'm fine." He muttered the last part and looked at the ground. He was anything but okay in all honesty. It seemed like everyone around him was dying and it was happening at a much faster rate.
Freya watched him for a few seconds before she nodded her head and lowered her arm down. She didn't usually resort to physical violence – she much preferred using magic. But if it meant she could get through to him then she was willing to do it.
"I just don't understand. Why doesn't someone just… you know…" Ryan made a motion with his wand, the one used when performing the Killing Curse. He couldn't say it out loud. Even with the silencing spell around them, he didn't want to risk anyone listening in because he had just mentioned treason – something that Lance would not tolerate. Ryan did begin to wonder what would happen if the Killing Curse was used on Lance.
For a moment, Freya didn't say anything, but her eyes hardened. "You know why we can't." She hissed lowly, her hand traced her Guardian mark on the back of her neck harshly. Each Guardian mark was laced with Lance's magic – that's what kept the mark functional and it meant that every Guardian was linked to Lance in some way. If a Guardian were to turn on Lance and use the Killing Curse to kill him then the mark would activate and act as a self-destruct button. This was Lance's fail-safe, so that if anyone finds out about the Guardians or kills him, then his secrets would be taken to the grave.
Ryan didn't say anything either. He already knew the answer as to when he was first inducted for the position he was informed. His mother had stressed to him the consequences of disobeying Lance and made sure to scare him away from that. But in this moment, that was all he could think about.
"If it would make you feel better, why don't we get you help to use your powers," Freya suggested slowly, feeling unsure for a moment. Freya didn't want Ryan going into himself like he had just now. Ever since he had discovered his powers a week ago, he had been second-guessing himself when something bad happens – blaming himself. Today had just been a particularly bad day. The only issue was, Freya had no idea who he could get training from.
Ryan's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "That's a great idea! But where?" He asked, his tone thoughtful. He began thinking about who could help him. Ryan remembered that his great-great-grandmother had a diary hidden somewhere in the house, it was practically a family treasure. But he had never been interested in it before and he didn't want his parents to become suspicious.
However, there was one other person…
"No," Freya said immediately, already knowing who Ryan thought of.
Ryan sent her a pleading look. "Oh come on Freya! She's my best hope that this point."
Freya rolled her eyes. She knew that Ryan wanted to go see Professor Trelawney. She was the only 'Seer' in the Castle, but Freya didn't believe it in the slightest. However, Freya would admit that Trelawney may be the best option. She was also easily accessible as she was only in the North Tower which wasn't very far away.
Eventually, Freya nodded her head and sighed lightly. "Fine. Tell me how it goes." She said as she took down the silencing charm. With that done, Freya turned around to walk away. However, she didn't get far. Freya stopped when she felt Ryan grab her arm. Freya flinched but turned to him, only for Ryan to quickly withdraw his hand.
"Sorry," Ryan muttered lowly, flushing. Inwardly, he was berating himself. He had actually grabbed Freya's arm. In all honesty, he was scared to have offended her in any way. Ryan knew how much Freya disliked anyone touching her.
Freya looked at him with an arched brow, "What is it?" She knew he wouldn't just grab her for nothing. Ryan knew how much she detested anyone touching her, and he had done so.
"W-will you come with me?" Ryan asked nervously, his gaze locked on the ground.
She stared at him for a moment before she smirked. "Fine," Freya said, walking in the direction of the North Tower.
Ryan's eyes lit up and he quickly rushed after her, not wanting to be left behind.
HARRY POTTER
It didn't take long to reach the North Tower. Freya and Ryan stood in Trelawney's classroom, looking around. There were at least twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside the room, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little pouffes. Everything was lit with dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It was stiflingly warm, and the fire which was burning under the crowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silvery crystal balls and a huge array of teacups. Further ahead, there was another door and that door leads to Trelawney's room. Trelawney had a tendency to stay in the North Tower because she didn't like to interact with many people who she believed to be 'non-believers'. Many people avoided the Divination teacher because people either saw her as a fraud or weird.
"Do you think she's in?" Ryan muttered lowly, looking nervous.
Freya opened her mouth to say something, but she sensed a magical signature behind her. Instinctively, Freya drew her wand, ready to fight it necessary.
"Of course I am here." A voice echoed behind the two Guardians.
Ryan jumped in surprise and turned around. Freya also turned around to see Trelawney looking at both of them, her wide and curious eyes hidden behind her massive glasses. Freya didn't like the way Trelawney was looking at her, it made Freya tighten the grip she had on her wand. Ryan was staring at Trelawney with wide eyes since he hadn't noticed she was there.
"So, you've finally arrived," Trelawney said slowly as she walked closer to the two Guardians. She stopped when she was a few feet away. Trelawney had noticed that the girl had a hostile aura around her and knew to approach the student with caution. However, the boy was the one who interested her.
Ryan looked bewildered by her comment.
"And how would you know?" Freya asked, looking sceptical.
Trelawney smiled at her, "The tea cups told me."
Freya's eye twitched at this response. She mentally cursed Ryan for bringing her here and she cursed herself for agreeing to come here in the first place. Freya wholeheartedly agreed with McGonagall when she believed that Trelawney was a fraud.
"I-I was wondering if you could help me," Ryan asked, getting back to the matter of hand. He could see that Freya looked unhappy and he knew he needed to move the conversation on before she did something.
Trelawney looked at him and smiled. "Of course, you want training?" She asked as she tilted her head to the side.
Ryan nodded his head. "Yes. I want to be able to control them."
Trelawney shook her head. "Then I am afraid I cannot help you. Visions cannot be controlled. They must be allowed to come freely." She said, her tone almost breathless.
"Then what can you do?" Freya asked bluntly.
Trelawney stilled for a moment, seeming to ignore Freya's words. "But, I can teach you the ways of a Seer." She said as she sent a reassuring smile at the young child's direction.
Ryan nodded his head. "That would be great."
Freya sighed, having had enough of this situation. "Good luck." She whispered into Ryan's ear before leaving. The smell of the room was beginning to give Freya a headache and she refused to be near that woman. There was something about Trelawney that unnerved her.
Ryan looked like he wanted to protest, but he held back. Instead, he turned his attention back to Trelawney.