This is up late from when I told you it would be. That is totally my fault this time. I apparently have the attention span of a goldfish when I'm introduced to a new ship. James finally got Dakota and I to sit down and watch Kingsmen. Two hours later, Dakota and I are up to our necks in fanfiction. I crashed last night about five after going on a two day reading binge. Apologies.
This chapter is a bit choppy. We tried to smooth it out but it wasn't working unless we wanted a 30,000 word chapter. *sigh* There was a lot of infor we wanted to pack in here without getting too wordy so you may want to read it twice.
Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Will add as needed.
Severus made his way through LeFay Castle with a purposeful stride. He had been monitoring the sick thestral colt for the last two days after having given it the Cure All. It seemed to be working perfectly, the colt was no longer sporting a peeling coat and it had regained its energy.
Now, Severus was going to attempt the second test on the Maximoff boy. From what little he had gathered in overheard conversations and the short one with Harriet, the boy's advanced healing factor needed to be regained. Some muggle cocktail of chemicals had apparently blocked the ability, leaving the boy on the teetering edge of life. He was held in a magical coma at the moment, to reduce any strain or aggravation to his current wounds and Harriet and Doctor Strange had been hesitant to give him any other potions while the unknown chemicals were in his blood stream.
Severus was hoping that the Cure All would work for the boy, both so that he could take the other Cure Alls to Dumbledore and so that the Maximoff twins could get out of the castle. He wasn't blind. Even with him spending most of his time in the lab, he could practically feel Harriet's tension and he knew it came from their presence. He wasn't entirely sure why Harriet was so wary of them (apparently he had missed an explanation somewhere) but he trusted Harriet enough at the moment to himself be wary of their presence.
Entering the infirmary, Severus spotted the two down near the end of the wing, where most of the windows were situated. Dr. Strange was also with them, checking the boy's vitals and trying to ascertain if his healing ability had kicked in yet. "Any change?" the girl asked from her spot next to her brother.
"None." Doctor Strange replied, "If there is no improvement by the time Harriet returns we will have to start potions regardless of what is in his system if we don't want to risk losing him."
The girl bit her lip and nodded, "Alright."
"Excuse me." Severus said tightly, the Doctor and the girl looked over at him, "I actually have something that may be able to help him."
"What is it?" Strange asked.
"It is the Cure All potion." Severus said, "It is an incredibly powerful healing potion."
Stephan's eyes seemed to light up as he zeroed in on Severus, "Really?" he asked, curiosity clear in his voice.
"Yes." Severus replied, his lips quirking up at the side. He focused on the girl in front of him, "I am aware that we have not been able to figure out what is keeping your brothers healing from returning but I believe the potion could help him."
"What's the catch." The brown haired girl asked warily.
"Depending on what exactly is in your brother's blood stream it could react negatively with the potion." Severus said, "However, that is the same risk you would be taking when Harriet returns and you try the milder potions."
The girl bit her lip again, her gaze shooting to Strange before going back to her brother, "Do you think it would help?"
Severus really didn't have all of the facts on her brother's case to make such a call but with the short shelf life of the potion he couldn't afford to wait. "I believe that if any potions can force the bad chemicals from your brothers' body completely it would be this one." He said truthfully, being careful to not make any promises.
The girl nodded, "Give it to him please." Severus nodded.
Severus and Strange monitored the boy, Pietro, as Severus had been informed by an irritated Wanda, closely for the next several hours after the potion was administered.
It was a true potion marvel.
The potion moved through Pietro like a wildfire, burning all of the dangerous chemicals from his blood stream, which he sweated out. Once that had been cleared out, the potion moved on to the injuries, healing and fortifying, repairing all of the damage done by Hydra in the last year or so. Pietro also started regaining his color and his cheeks began to look a little less hollow. By the end of the evening, Severus and Strange both felt safe saying that Pietro was healed.
They decided to leave him in the coma one last night to make sure there weren't any sudden adverse effects.
Severus sent Harriet a patronus that night to keep her informed before he sent an owl to Dumbledore, alerting him to the potions completion and final testing stages so that he could prepare whatever surely shady way he would get St. Mungo's to allow a Ministry banned potion to be used on two patients. He made sure to remind Dumbledore of the short shelf life on the potion, hoping the old coot would heed his warnings for once.
Severus settled in his rooms with a book and a cup of tea, taking this moment of relaxation for himself as he knew the coming couple weeks would be hectic.
Over in Finland, lounging against Fred who was sitting against a tree and with George's head in her lap, Harriet listened to Severus patronus message attentively before it dissipated. "The Cure All really packs a punch huh?" Fred commented.
"Oh definitely." Harri hummed, "Saw it take on even an Asgardian illness before. And those ones are a bitch to overcome in mortals."
George quirked an eyebrow, "What happened?"
Harri smiled down at him, "Remember me showing the time you guys pranked Odin?" George nodded, "Amora was really pissed about Loki trying to shift the blame on her, which accidently exposed some plans she had for trapping Thor in one of her crazy marriage schemes. She infected us with Asgard's equivalent of the flu. Of course we're mortals so it turned pretty deadly for us."
"And just where did we get a Cure All in all of that?" Fred huffed.
Harri looked up at him, "You fought the sickness off and brewed it yourself."
Fred's eyes widened, "Even sick? That potion is supposed to be almost impossible on its own!"
"You're just that good." Harriet said smugly, George chuckled.
"No seriously!" Fred deadpanned, "Loki helped right?"
"Nope." Harri said, popping her 'p', "He was off delivering a beat down on Amora for me." She ran a hand absently through George's hair, making him blush but grin.
"How many tries did it take me?" Fred asked.
"Only three."
"Three! Snape has been at it for weeks!" Fred exclaimed in surprise.
Harri smiled, "You had a better motivation at the time. The second time you succeeded in brewing it, it took you a few more tries, but that time wasn't as urgent."
"Woah." Fred breathed, George smiled up at his brother.
The small quite space they had managed to sneak off to was suddenly intruded on by Fenrir crashing through the bushes. *Luna told me to come get you! There are poachers coming!*
Harriet sighed, "Potter luck strikes again." Fred and George laughed.
Dumbledore sat in his, unfortunately still iced over, office with Severus' missive in hand, feeling elated.
Finally, something was going right!
Even since that blasted bint Skeeter had leaked the DMLE's claims, he hadn't had a break. His staff had been demanding answers that he didn't seem to be able to work around. The board members had also been crawling down his neck and around his castle; sticking their noses where ever they could, disrupting the work he needed to be doing, the least of which being getting rid of Skeeter herself. He hadn't been able to do anything productive during this intensified scrutiny, even getting out to see his apprentice to further her studies. It was maddening.
So the fact that Severus had managed to finish the Cure All, that he would soon once again have Harriet Potter back where he needed her, was something that finally put a smile on his face. His plans could be salvaged; loose ends could be tied up. It would run on patchwork for a while but he would get things back on track and moving toward his goals.
Soon the Longbottoms would be up and about and under his strict influence. He had to plan things carefully. He had to set compulsions and manipulate minds within St. Mungos to get the couple not only the Cure All but the slew of other potions that would be required to have them completely under his control. He needed to get them back on top of Harriet's conditioning. Just one year out of the Dursleys special care and he could already see her improved attitude and outlook, he couldn't allow that to happen. She needed to complete the prophecy and then die, preferably while married to Ron so he didn't have to fight the ministry for all of her assets.
Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his mouth. Yes, things were looking up with just this one letter from Severus.
The next morning, Severus and Strange made their way back into the infirmary to check on their patient.
Wanda was sitting attentively by his bedside as usual, but this time with a wide smile across her face, "He looks even better this morning!"
"Excellent." Severus said, the only outward sign that he was pleased coming from the upturned corner of his mouth.
Strange was doing his own tests on the boy, a strange mix of his muggle doctor background and the mystic arts. "He is completely healthy." Strange announced, a small smile coming on his face as Wanda cheered, all but tackling her still comatose brother in a hug.
Severus cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at her as she drew back sheepishly, "Yes, well. I can take him out of his coma now." Wanda nodded eagerly. Severus drew his wand and started the complex pattern of movements that would unweave Harriet's magic from Pietro. It wasn't as difficult as he imagined; knowing Harriet herself and having dueled her, Severus expected her magic to be stubborn. Now though it was releasing Pietro easily. The boy's breathing deepened as he slipped into a regular sleep. Severus looked to Wanda again, "Now he is just sleeping. He will wake up on his own but you can wake him now if you want."
"Thank you." Wanda said, moving down to hug her brother again, tears making it into her eyes when Pietro hummed and rolled toward her slightly. "Thank you so much."
Severus bowed stiffly and exited with a quite farewell to Strange. It was time to go see an old goat.
Dumbledore was once more in his office, this time with significantly less sleep. He knew better than to disregard Severus' warning about the delicateness of the Cure All's shelf life and as such had been up all night working to ready the St. Mungo's staff. It had been a long night full of compulsions and manipulations and a dash of blackmail but everything was in place. All he was waiting on was Severus to bring him the potions. He had taken his breakfast in his office this morning, informing Minerva that he had some business to attend to today. Dumbledore knew it would raise the suspicions of the board members and the staff who believed what they read in the paper but he knew that this was something he needed to take the risk with. His grip on Harriet was slipping and though Ligia's presence as his new spy on Harriet gave him some insight, he really needed the home life covered.
The sound of the floo interrupted his musings and he looked up to see Severus' stepping through with his usual graceful stride, "Ah Severus my boy! How are you? I trust finding some quiet helped you in your task."
"Yes Headmaster." Snape answered, his mask in place. "I was able to complete the Cure All as you asked. The animal and human trials were successful." He pulled a flat case from a hidden robe pocket and laid it on Dumbledore's table. "As you can see there are six vials left." Severus said as Dumbledore opened the case to find those six vials and two empty spaces, "With the Longbottoms having been in their condition for so long you may need to give them all of the remaining Cure All. The test I did were on recently injured, there was certainly no time for me to duplicate the Longbottoms circumstances."
"Of course my boy. I understand." Albus said, his grandfatherly mask in place as he smiled at Severus, "I appreciate your hard work Severus."
Snape bowed his head slightly, "Is that all Headmaster?" he asked stiffly.
Albus hummed, "If you could lend me your time and attempt to get rid of the board members skulking about Hogwarts I would be grateful Severus. They are hindering our peaceful holiday and I fear Minerva is about to burst." He said genially. Severus sneered but walked from his office with a purposeful stride. Albus chuckled, "So defiant. Remember I own you boy." He pulled out one of the vials and eyed the liquid within gleefully, "And with this I shall own Harriet Potter."
Harriet shivered mid-kick, reducing the power it delivered to one of the poachers she was currently fighting.
"Are you alright Harri?" Loki asked from close by, he was fighting a few others with a bored expression, truly unimpressed with their skill.
"Fine, just felt a sense of dread hit me. Someone must be scheming." Harri replied easily.
"The old man must be planning now." Loki chuckled.
"It would explain why it was so small." Harriet giggled, Loki gave a short laugh.
An explosion sounded nearby and their fighting stopped as everyone looked over to see smoke rising from the poachers' caravan. Loki looked back to his opponents, "Looks like Fred and George just blew your equipment."
"You want to leave now without your haul or get dragged back to civilization in the cages you put them in?" Harri asked dangerously.
It was around noon that day that Dumbledore managed to give the Longbottom's the Cure All. He gave them both two vials to begin with, just to be safe. Then, unfortunately, it was just a waiting game.
At LeFay castle, after having visited Harriet for direction, Dianna moved the Maximoff twins into the guest wing and Stephan Strange into the family wing. All of Harriet's group had teased her about bringing the Mystic Arts Master into the private wing after her insistence that he wasn't family. Harri countered it was just to keep him away from Wanda but she couldn't hide her smile and couldn't deny (even to herself) the pleased cooing Glacia was making at having Strange moved into flock space. The Maximoff twins themselves were doing much better with Pietro's recovery, Wanda had sobbed her way through apologies once her brother had woken up and he had soothed her to the point she could actually tell him what was going on. They had holed up in their new rooms that Dianna had led them to and stayed there, catching each other up on what had been happening while they waited for Harriet's return so they could speak with her.
In Finland, the family (still minus a few members) was celebrating the take down of the pitiful poachers. Despite the terrible Potter luck that had brought the poachers to them, everyone had had fun getting rid of them and freeing the animals. Harriet, Fred, and George had left the camp only for a little while to turn the poachers in to the relatively small magical community in Finland. Returning to the camp site, Luna had informed Harriet that some of the animals they had freed from the poachers were returning to the castle with them, to which Harriet of course agreed; what her little sister wanted, she got. They spent the rest of their trip getting to know and cataloging the animals and various eggs that would be returning with them on Luna's insistence.
However, it was in St. Mungos that the real interesting stuff was happening. Atrophied muscles were repairing. Bones gone brittle were strengthening. Skinny forms were filling out. Pale cheeks were coloring. Long dead synapses were firing. Minds tortured past the brink were waking up; stretching, reaching, crawling for their sanity.
Four days passed.
Blue-gray eyes snapped open, awareness alight in them for the first time in almost twelve years. "Neville."
Neville Longbottom was screaming on the inside as he all but ran to keep up with his Gran's long strides.
St. Mungos had owled them this morning, telling them that their presence was needed immediately and Neville couldn't help but panic. He had been dreading this owl for years. It could only be one thing in his mind. He had been waiting for it and honestly he wasn't sure whether to grieve or be relieved.
His parents had finally died or were dying.
On the one hand, he didn't want them to die. He didn't know anyone who would want their parents to die. But on the other hand Neville had long come to terms with the fact that his parents were just suffering in the state they were in. As terrible as it was for him to know or think this at the age of twelve (thirteen in a couple days), Neville knew they were suffering and knew that death would be the only peace they would get. He couldn't help but thank anyone who was listening that his parents were finally dying, that they were finally going to be at peace, that they…
"What do you mean I can't leave! I want to go see my son!" a voice sounded through the halls. Neville's eyes shot to his Gran when she gasped, a hand going to her mouth.
"Frank calm down!" A woman's voice echoed through the sterile space, "I'm sure the healer is keeping us for a reason."
"There is no reason Alice! You heard her! We're perfectly healthy!" the male voice shot back.
Augusta and Neville rounded the corner that led to the Janus Thickey Ward and came to an abrupt stop at the sight before them.
Something began to rise in Neville's throat as he realized just who the two people facing off against a healer and four medi-witches were. They were just outside of the doors leading to the Ward, still dressed in hospital gowns and looking rather disheveled. The man, tall with a slightly stocky frame, had scruffy brown hair and a proud face with clear aristocratic lines; a face that Neville shared. The woman, shorter than the man by a couple inches but with a willowy figure, had long blonde hair and a heart shaped face that was dominated by blue grey eyes; eyes that were Neville's as well. The pressure in Neville's throat increased as tears strayed from his eyes and his heart began to pound.
"Frank?" Augusta rasped, the hand at her mouth fluttering in disbelief.
All eyes turned to them and the healer signaled the medi-witches to stand down at the man frowned, "Mother?"
"Neville!" the woman cried, pushing past her husband and, very quickly thereafter, Augusta to pull the stunned Neville into her arms.
"Mum?" he said shakily as the woman kissed at his head, hugging him tight.
"It's me baby. It's me. I'm right here. Oh my baby boy, look at you." Her words were a constant stream as she held Neville and his tears came faster.
"Mum!" he sobbed, burying his face against her as he hugged her back.
Neville felt a large hand on his shoulder and flinched instinctively, alerting his mother who looked up and smiled at who she saw. "Frank. Look at our baby! He's all grown up." Neville looked back to see his father looking down at him with a soft smile.
"So he has." Frank said, his voice watery as he quickly joined Alice in hugging Neville. Neville could only cry harder at the sensation of having both of his parents hugging him, holding him. Around them, the medi-witches were tearing up at the heartfelt reunion, all of them ignoring Augusta Longbottom who had begun to demand answers as to how this had happened from the healer, why it had taken so long, why they were trying to keep them here if they were healthy.
It was all background noise for Frank, Alice, and Neville who were finding family again.
They're awake.
That was all the note said.
Dumbledore smiled and popped a candy in his mouth as a reward for himself. Once the third day had rolled around with no change he had considered going to give them the last vials but luckily he had waited. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait for his carefully laid plans to fall into place.
The healer at St. Mungos would insist that the Longbottoms take his swapped out potions before they left as standard procedure. The potions would kick in shortly there-after and Dumbledore would send his owl of congratulations, layered with the extra compulsions to give them the extra nudge they needed to seek out Harriet in the first place. They would claim her and she would be taken into a new home, a new home where she would again be conditioned for his purposes. He, of course, would be available for them to talk to when they had doubts, when the potions began to fail, so he could reassure them, and top off their compulsions of course.
Harriet and the group arriving from Finland appeared in her standard flash of flame; like any trip, their luggage seeming to have tripled in size since when they left. Strange and Severus were waiting for them in the family room, watching in amusement as much of the group disbursed in short order to put away souvenirs in their room and get cleaned up. Luna, Xeno, and Bucky were actually headed to the forest with an expanded bag full of the rescued animals that they were keeping, the ones still in eggs would be cared for by Luna and Twilight in the castle until they hatched, and a very select few of the already grown animals would be staying inside the castle. Soon it was just Harriet, the twins, the Marauders, Strange, and Severus standing in the family common room which already looked like a tornado hit it.
Harri smiled at Severus and Strange before focusing on Stephan, "Report."
"Pietro made a full recovery with the Cure All, Dianna moved them to their new rooms and they have been there ever since. They are waiting to speak with you, I have been monitoring their rooms along with the elves. They aren't sure if they are welcome here so they will wait until they meet with you." Strange laid out quickly, he smirked, "Thanks for my new room by the way. Moving up the ranks it seems."
Harri smiled, "Yes, well, I'd rather have the cloak closer to keep me company."
"It's still my cloak." Strange huffed, Harri rolled her eyes and gave him a wave to continue, "My task is pretty slow going. My having to sneak around is causing setbacks. The current librarian at Kamar-Taj is actually less strict than Wong but more attentive. It's hard to portal in but it will be suspicious if I wear a shadowed hood inside the sanctums. All in all, I'm working on it still."
Harriet nodded, "Good. Don't forget to check Morgana's Mystic Arts section here. It has her notes on your discipline as well as what she learned from past Masters and ideas for combining our magic types. That may help." Strange nodded and Harri looked over to Snape, "Severus?"
"They woke up yesterday." He reported succinctly, "They were allowed to go home with Lady Longbottom and Neville. There were still rather disoriented with the sudden time shift for them but they are well. This morning they began making demands at the DMLE, wanting to see you. Last I heard, Amelia Bones were examining their claims of having a right to see you and take custody. With Dumbledore being behind this, I 'm sure that won't take very long."
Harri nodded, "So I should expect them at Potter Manor sooner rather than later."
"It's a safe bet." Severus said, Harri hummed, "Did you want me to work on anything else? Now that I have delivered the Cure All, Dumbledore seems to be giving me a bit of a break."
Harri nodded, "I need you to make up a list of all current and past Slytherins that are alive. We're having the reunion so that I can deal with them all at once." Severus' eyebrows shot up, "I've already got the form letters done with the portkey to Slytherin Manor, I just need to know who to send them too."
"Very well."
Harri let out a breath, "Alright, I can deal with the Maximoffs later. Right now I need to get over to Potter Manor." She turned to her mates, "I'm not sure how this is going to go. Would you like to come with me or stay?"
They snorted, "Really, you shouldn't"
"even have to ask."
Harriet giggled, "I know, I just like to give you the choice."
Harriet swept her mates and her fathers away to Potter Manor quickly to give them enough time to freshen up before they had to put on the show for whoever decided to call through the floo. They all managed to shower, change, and move to the den to relax a little before Poe appeared to say that there were people at the floo.
"Let them through and bring them here please Poe." Harriet said, sitting back on the couch as her fathers took their snake forms and curled next to her where she was reading a book. Fred and George were actually at the coffee table planning some prank for next year, looking deep in thought already.
A few minutes later Harriet looked up in confusion when she heard Neville calling her name, she hadn't thought they would bring Neville, Fred and George drew their wands under the coffee table. Neville burst into the room, his eyes finding her immediately, "Harriet. Something is wrong!"
Harri closed her book, "What happened Neville? Are alright?" she stood and made her way to her fellow Gryffindor.
"My parents! They w-woke up! An-d th-hey were fine! U-until this morning! Th-they demanded to se-ee you and ke-pt talking abo-ut custody. Gr-ran said they we-re acting really strange! T-they've gone mental!" Neville stuttered out, his breathing harsh.
Harriet nearly growled, she had hopped Dumbledore would take it easy on them after just having been healed rapidly after years of vegetative states. It would seem not. "It's alright Neville." Harri reassured, pulling her friend into a hug, "Did you bring them with you?"
"Neville!" came a male voice that Harri was unfamiliar with, she looked over Neville's shoulder as he tensed and found Tonks walking in with two people who could only be Frank and Alice Longbottom.
Glacia gave a warning noise from within her and Harri was quick to note the sweat on their forehead that seemed out of place with their easy breathing, their eyes were fever bright. The Cure All should have restored them completely and Dumbledore's potions should have no outward sign, her only guess was the remnants of the stronger potion was warring with the new ones, making the behavior more startling and aggressive. She didn't doubt that Dumbledore had added compulsions along the line somewhere as well.
"Neville get away from her!" Alice snapped, Harri's eyes narrowed as Neville tensed even further.
"Did you give your father back his wand yet?" Harri asked softly.
"No." Neville answered shakily.
"Has your mother got hers?"
"No."
Harri pulled back and looked at her friend, "Neville do you trust me?" Neville looked at her with wide eyes before nodding hesitantly. "Good." Harri said before she spun Neville behind her and shot off two stunners, each hitting an unprepared Alice and Frank square in the chest.
"Harriet!" Tonks exclaimed in shock.
"They're fine." Harri said, rolling her eyes.
"Why did you stun them!" Tonks snapped, getting down to check the two former aurors.
"Because I'm not having potioned up, compulsion happy people running amuck in my manor!" Harri huffed.
"Potions?" Tonks asked with a frown.
"What compulsions?" Neville asked from behind her.
Harri turned to him and smiled, "Don't worry Neville. We'll get them off." She looked over at Fred, "Do you have…"
"Cleansers?" Fred asked, he already had his emergency potions kit out and was pulling two vials free, "Right here dearest."
Harri beamed, "Thanks Fred." She skipped over to him and gave him a quick kiss as he handed her the vials.
Neville blushed at the casual affection as George pouted, "I see, we have to help to get a kiss." Harri smiled and moved over behind George, her arms going over his shoulders, he turned his head to meet her gaze and she met him with a kiss of his own. This one was deeper than Fred's and when Fred complained halfheartedly, George flipped him off.
"Harriet stop snogging your boyfriends before Neville's head explodes!" Tonks yelled.
*Kids gonna need so much brain bleach.* Sirius chuckled at Neville who was as red as a tomato.
*Neville? What about us?* Remus hissed in distress, James had already wisely hidden his head in his coils.
"Get over here and help me with them please!" Tonks continued. Harri broke off her kiss with George and moved over to help Tonks, effectively leaving the blushing Neville with Fred and George.
"S-so you guys ar-re da-ating Harrie-et?" Neville stuttered nervously.
Fred and George looked up to where Neville was standing, "We're more than just dating her Neville."
"She's our soulmate."
"We're going to marry her." They stated together firmly, they narrowed their eyes are the shocked looking lion, "Got a problem with that?"
Neville shook his head quickly, eyes wide and hands out in surrender, "N-no! I think it's re-really sweet!"
Fred and George smiled, "Good." Neville let out a sigh of relief.
Neville looked over to his parents when he heard a groan, his father was rolling over and just managed to move out of the way of Tonks before he threw up. "Bloody hell." He moaned, clutching at his head.
Alice jerked awake, her fist lashing out at the easiest thing to get to, which happened to be Harriet's face, making her reel backward. "Shit." Alice muttered, rubbing at her forehead. She looked up when she noticed someone kneeling beside her and squinted up at Harriet, "Lilly? Why do you have black hair?"
Harriet grinned, barring bloody teeth at her mother's best friend, "Hello! I'm Harriet Potter! It's very nice to meet my Godmother!" she took Alice's hand and shook it as the older witch just started at her in shock, "Once you and Frank get cleaned up we have a lot to talk about!"
Check out all the amazing fan art on Ao3! It's the second part of the series with artists by chapter!