Last time...

It is as she's leaving the room that she tripped over something in the floor, and landed hard against a curtain, ripping it off the rods holding it up. Cue screaming, earsplitting, bloodcurdling screeches the likes of which could be pulled from torture victims, and Hera was all too familiar with what that sounded likethrough dreams and memories not entirely her own. However, this was not someone being tortured. It was, Hera realized, a painting of an older woman; drooling, her eyes rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed; and because she screamed, other portraits woke up and began screaming too. She screeched louder as more people started filtering into the hallway.

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-"

When Hera heard the word freak, she lost it. Charging her hand with magic, she slammed it against the painting. Ice traveled over the painting from her hand, and the screaming stopped. If that weren't enough, there was a loud crack as the painting split from the wall, shattering as it fell to the floor. The adults looked on in shock, though she didn't know why.

"I don't like being called a freak." She mumbled, as she looked anywhere but at them.

"I'm just impressed you managed to remove her from the wall." Sirius insisted with a whistle. "She'd put a permanent sticking charm on that thing. How'd you like my mother, by the way? Piece of work, right?"

"Piece of something." She grumbled, causing him to snort in amusement.

Chapter 57

Sitting on her bed at Sirius' place, Hera curled up with Fen and Jör. Ron and Hermione had decided to join her when they realized they weren't going to be allowed into the Order meeting either. Hermione had had to explain to her parents why she'd had a person trapped as a beetle in a jar, which had lead to a few more other uncomfortable conversations, and they weren't happy at all. They'd known somewhat that Hermione would face challenges due to her heritage, but she'd had to tell them everything. After that, she'd explained her friendship to Hera, changing Houses, and the new friendship with a previous bully. It was an adjustment, but by the end of the conversation the family felt closer than they had in years.

It had taken the day to get her there, thanks to Hera sending a thank you via Hedwig, but Hermione was able to send a request to be picked up. Tony and Hera went to go get her, and the Grangers officially met the girl that was their daughter's best friend. They'd seen her flitting about, hiding from reporters, but they'd not had more than a passing conversation or two. Once Hera told her side of things, Hermione putting in the odd commentary when she felt her friend was underselling her own efforts, they seemed much more settled about things. It certainly explained why their little girl was looking into defense, survival, and all manner of things; trouble seemed to find Hera Potter without her looking for it, and their little girl wanted to be there for her.

"Alright." Ron declared, once they had all settled in. "We've got snacks, drinks, and comfy blankets. We're as prepared for story time as we're ever gonna get, so…How was your summer? Tell us everything."

Hera hesitated, unsure of how to start, but she needn't have worried.

"Hera, you literally walked into the Ministry of Magic with your very own basilisk." Hermione pointed out, glaring a little at Hera and her opened mouthed expression, and pointed to Fenrir. "That is a wolf, but I'm willing to bet he isn't of the non-magical variety. They simply don't get this big."

Hera grimaced, but slumped as she relented. "I know I should have said something about the Chamber before, but-"

"Not a problem." Hermione insisted quickly. "We were fighting, and I was being stupid. You found somewhere safe to be. I can't fault you for that, and afterwards it's not like it came up in conversation, you know."

"I…" Hera hesitated, faltering. "Some of it…Some of it is…private…I'm not ready to talk about a lot of that."

In the end, it was Ron that came up with a solution.

"What do you feel comfortable with sharing?"

Hera talked about the day at the Ministry, running into a muggle that could see magic after having been blinded by toxic waste, getting to know her brother, the way she'd handled the reporters, and getting wished away. That last one made Hermione's blood boil, and she could tell just by looking at Ron that he was thinking of all the ways he could find that person and punch them in the face, which could possibly explain why Hera was so reluctant to talk about the specifics. Hermione listened as Hera explained how she had gotten out of the contract while still holding to it. The Wisher had to make the Run, and even if they made it in time, they couldn't complete the run if the wished away had managed to free themselves first. It was a petty move, but one that Hermione completely understood.

Because of this, Hera was now a subject of the Goblin Kingdom. She'd even managed to outsmart the Goblin King himself, though whether that was on purpose or not was a matter for debate, interpreting his words quite differently than how he'd meant them. The state Hera described finding Fen in was…horrifying. That someone would leave any being in such a state did not speak well of them, and in a place not even the Goblin King could reach. Perhaps they had suspected that the Goblin King would try something, and had taken steps to prevent it.

In any case, Hera's story continued with goat stealing, though she'd not been party to it. There was no point in trying to give them back, and she did look taller, if only just a little; though Hermione made it a point to show that she disapproved of stealing. It was mostly for show anyway, considering that she herself had kept a witch hostage in a jar as a beetle, and their habitual night raids on the Hogwarts library together; Hera's arched eyebrow let her know that she knew it too. The prank Hera had pulled on the woman in her brother's bed had been absolutely scandalous, and they had laughed upon hearing her description of it.

After that, there wasn't much in the way of excitement, if one didn't count meeting with a couple of leaders from the various Mutant factions; just time spent with her brother in his workshop, or wherever they happened to be, just…learning to be siblings. Hermione was happy for her friend, as was Ron. Hera went on to describe being shocked by Dudley, who'd wanted to make amends. Good on him for becoming more than what his parents made him, Hermione thought as she listened to Hera's description of the rather tense meeting. She giggled just a little when Hera described Fen looking particularly intimidating just to worry Dudley though.

Dementors. Why did it have to be Dementors? Hera might have been able to talk to them, but that didn't mean that they were loyal to her. That both Dudley and Tony wanted her to stay with them even as Hera objected the wards were failing, spoke well of their wish to protect her, though not their ability to see reason during such a stressful time. That both Dobby and Winky brought things for her to use in the fight raised more than a few eyebrows, especially when Hera described the items in such vague terms. Hermione could only surmise that they were magical artifacts of great power, things most witches and wizards couldn't touch, but she'd always suspected her friend was a grade above the rest of them; if what else she suspected was true, it certainly explained a lot.

After that, there wasn't much for Hera to really say, so Hermione began talking about her summer. It didn't have as much adventure in it, but they had been traveling quite a bit due to all Hermione's new survival interests. It certainly sounded interesting to Hera, and the girl had suggested a few additions to look into over break. Ron sounded unsure what the point was when you could just magic up something with your wand, but Hermione argued that not everyone had the gumption for wandless magic like Hera did, and what if they got their wands taken away? What if Hera got injured and couldn't help them then? Once she was through, Ron relayed his summer happenings, which involved a lot more Order things than expected.

...

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Hera sighed in exhaustion, once they'd gotten through the summer events, playing with Fen's fur as she sat on the bed. "The Order of the Phoenix is Dumbledore's army from the last war. Most of the fighters from that time are either dead, or beyond paranoid, so all that's really left are the information gatherers."

Ron nodded.

"I'm starting to see why they needed to sacrifice a baby last time." Hera commented idly. Ron choked on whatever he'd been snacking on, and Hermione snorted at her macabre humour. "You can't win a war the way he fought it last time. All accounts had his side as losing before that. How'd he even win against Grindelwald anyway? We need to look into that. Moving on. They're not going to let us in on the meetings out of some misguided sense of trying to keep us safe. Meanwhile, you're in even more danger because you're friends with me, and we're all in the dark about whatever it is they know that we don't. If they'd truly wanted to protect you, they'd either keep us informed because forewarned is forearmed, or they'd have warned you away from ever becoming friends with me in the first place."

"Mum wouldn't do that!" Ron objected, voice still strained from choking.

"Ron, you're mum's already been making decisions for all of you and myself included based on the fear of loss. It's why she wants to keep her children close, because if they're close, they're safe. It's why she wants you all to get nice safe jobs at the Ministry. It's why she keeps on nagging Charlie and Bill about moving back home, and quitting their dangerous careers, and why she doesn't want Ginny to chase her Quidditch dreams." Hera pointed out. "She lost family in the last war, I'd wager, so she fears losing you. She hopes that keeping you out of danger will keep you safe. It's why she's trying to hard to keep you ignorant of what's going on now, thinking it will keep you out of the fight, because no one should want to hurt innocent children. That logic is flawed however, and involves willfully ignoring the fact that the other side doesn't care what you know or don't know. They care that you're connected to the people opposing them, and they care that you're connected to me; if only because What's-his-name is so focused on me. If there are rules of engagement for a Wizarding war, you can bet his side won't follow them. They won't care that it's dishonourable to stoop so low as to kill children. They'll do it anyway, because if you want to hit someone where it hurts, you go after their kids."

They stayed up late, talking well into the night. Despite that, Hera found herself unable to sleep, and headed down to the kitchen. She'd always walked light, but not tripping the silent alarm on the stairs was child's play for one who could see hidden magics the way she could. After a minute of blearily trying to make sense of the kitchen with the state her mind was in, Hera sighed and sat with her forehead on the kitchen island. It did have conveniently located chairs, after all.

When she looked up again, it was to see a house elf staring at her. Except for the filthy rag tied like a loincloth around its middle, the house elf was completely naked. They looked very old. Their eyes were a bloodshot and watery gray, and their fleshy nose was large and rather snout like. Whoever this house elf was, their staring was starting to get uncomfortable, but neither of them talked for a moment.

"Is it true? Is it Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the one who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how she did it." The house elf, Kreacher, muttered as if she were not able to hear him. "Dobby and Winky speaks well of her, but she froze Mistress' portrait, shattered it even-"

"I apologize for that." Hera stated quietly, causing the house elf to still upon hearing her voice. "She called me a freak, and I…reacted badly."

She eyes the house elf a bit more closely.

"You have an unfinished task attached to you." She noticed, seeing the magic of it. "Seeing as how the magic of it is so pressing, you've not completed it for years. Is that why the house is…like it is? What was your task?"

"Kreacher wonders if she could help. Dobby says she can, but Kreacher still wonders." He muttered. "Kreacher is not supposed to be telling family."

"I'm not family, no matter that Sirius is my godfather." Hera pointed out, a lot more awake than she'd been before. Damn, there goes that idea about sleep. This had the feeling of a now problem. "You are not beholden unto me. You could tell me, if you so chose."

What follows is a story of heartbreak, at least it looked that way for Kreacher. A boy not yet a man discovers his leader is doing magic that splits the soul in ways it was never meant to allow, something he'd only discovered because Riddle had asked for the use of his house elf. The egotistical arse hadn't expected the elf to survive, and Regulus had tried to destroy the vessel. He couldn't, and his last order – before the poison took him, of course – was for Kreacher to find a way to do what he himself could not, and to not tell anyone in the family about it. Hera didn't have to look over at the door to know that someone else had heard them, someone that shouldn't have.

"Come on out, Sirius. I know you're there." Hera called, not pulling her eyes away from Kreacher, who had stilled once more upon knowing that Sirius had heard them. "I can help you destroy it, Kreacher. I know how."

There was a strangled sort of sound that came out of the man then, confirming for her something she'd already known, but she didn't acknowledge it.

"We can do it now, if you like."

...

Sirius knows that he should stop whatever this is, but a part of him can't bring himself to do that. He's torn between the dawning understanding that Hera knows what her scar technically is, if maybe not what it's called, and the knowledge that the young girl before him is the personification of the god he'd chosen to follow when he was but a young boy. He has no idea if she knows this about herself, but he can't imagine she won't figure it out at some point, if she hasn't already. One does not fling their soul across the aether without discovering something. He doesn't know when his mind wandered, but his attention is pulled back to the scene when Kreacher pulls out the heavy locket they'd tried to throw away earlier.

"Sirius, I'm going to need a sound dampening field on this room." Hera warned him. He's obeying before he can even think to ask why, and he'll question the sanity of that decision later. "Kreacher, I need you to place the locket on the floor, and then step away."

"Hera, what are you going to-"

His words were cut off the moment Hera pulled out a halberd from literally nowhere. There's something to her expression, her very stance, that screams caution now. Kreacher has done what Hera suggested, backing away as requested, and waits. Sirius wonders at the cold that's slowly surrounding them, at the breath he can see forming crystals in the air as he breathes, at Hera's skin turning blue. The locket itself becomes coated with a thick frost, but nothing else in the room is touched with it, save the cold in the air.

When the tip of the halberd meets the locket, the screams of a thousand souls seems to reverberate through the room, and Sirius has to strengthen the sound dampening spell. He did not want to explain to a raving mad Molly that he'd let Hera do something this risky just now, never mind that he also had enough brains to realize it wasn't exactly like he could stop her either. Hera raises the halberd again, because of course the piece of soul isn't quite done yet, and strikes true once more. The locket breaks, the soul piece gives one last shriek of agony as a thin smoke rose up, and Sirius could swear that there had been a face in the smoke for a moment before it was gone.

"Kreacher did not think it could be done…Kreacher has tried many things…" Kreacher whispered to himself, coming over and cradling the now broken locket. "Harry Potter truly is as great as Dobby claims."

"Er…Kreacher? Would it be alright if I took the locket?" Hera asked, kneeling down to be more level with the elf, her skin and the temperature of the room slowly returning to what it had been. "It's just…If this is what I think it is, I know someone who would honour it as it was always meant to be."

"Kreacher will see to it that it is repaired, and will return it to you at once!" Kreacher declared happily, and popped out of the room.

"Did you…Did you know that was going to happen?" Sirius can't help but ask.

Hera shrugged. "Last time a magical artifact was draining my life like what this one was doing to Kreacher, Jör just drooled some venom on a book, and it sort of gurgled to death on it's own ink. He should return to full health in time, hopefully. I have no idea what lasting damage he will have from keeping such a thing on him for so long."

Sirius didn't know what to think about that.

"I need a drink." He mutters to himself.

He was not expecting his goddaughter to break out into a grin, before pulling out a crystal container. They were going to have to talk about destructive behaviour or something at some point, but for now he took the proffered bottle. One drink later, and holy shite this stuff was strong! He took a moment to make sure he could even move properly, not thinking over what a colossally bad decision it was to hand her back the bottle, and watched as she took a swig like the best of them. Maybe that talk on destructive behaviour might need to happen now instead of later.

"Hera, what the hell is that?" Sirius asked, as he tried to breathe without burning his throat with the air. "Merlin's froggy bollocks, that stuff was stronger than anything James and I tried to make. Where did you even get it?"

"Straight from the goat's udders." Hera deadpanned, looking at him like he was the one that had lost his mind. "Where else?"

AN: Alright, this week has one more chapter after this, and then I might have to take a break. I have a few prewritten chapters left, but the plot bunnies keep trying to rewrite them, so they aren't happy. Really was not expecting to have gone through the reserves so quickly, but oh well. We'll see how things go, and maybe this warning will have been for nothing! Fingers crossed!