Chapter 6
Nelda jolted awake at the feeling of fear. She frantically looked around to see what caused it but she was in her bedroom alone. 'This must be like yesterday on the Hogwarts Express when I felt Rodolphus' feelings she thought. She felt a little relieved that she was with everyone the first time she felt his feelings. Seeing them worried about why she jolted awake the way she did out of her nap compelled her to tell them why, and who her soulmate was.
Flashback
She jolted awake. There in the center of her chest she could feel a foreign feeling of longing and felt dread. That wasn't even close to what her own emotions felt like. It must be Rodolphus. 'Oh god! What do I do?' She thought frantically, her face paling.
"Nelda what's wrong?" Azalea asked, drawing attention to her.
"Nel?" Theo asked when she didn't answer with a worried look on his face.
"I-I... " she stuttered out.
"Take a deep breath Nel. If you don't want to tell us we won't force you but you might feel better if you do tell us. We won't judge you no matter what it is." Daphne calmly stated staring her straight in her eyes.
Azalea who was sitting next to her shifted closer and wrapped her thin arms around her soothingly. "It's fine Nel. No matter what you have us!" She spoke softly, her voice heavy with affection.
"I-it's my s-soulmate. I-I can feel their emotions. I'm scared!" She sobbed out. "If I can feel him then he can feel me! I don't want him to know! He'll kill me if he finds me!"
"Who is it? I won't let him hurt you, Nel. Just tell me who it is and he won't get within ten feet of you." Theo said firmly, with Daphne agreeing with a firm nod.
"You can't Theo! He'll kill you! If you see him run. Run as fast as you can and don't look back!" She continued to sob out.
"Who." He insisted.
"R-Rodolphus Lestrange" Nel breathed out, her voice barely heard over the sound of the train running over the tracks.
Silence permeated the air. The shock of hearing the name took the words out of Theo and Daphne's mouth and mind.
"I don't care who he is, Nel I still will protect you no matter what" Azalea stated firmly.
Hearing Azaleas' voice broke the other two out of their trances. "I agree with Azalea. No matter who I have to face to protect my friends I will not falter. I will always stand with you guys. Though talk about bad luck Nel. Rodolphus' name alone will spread a miasma of fear throughout a crowd." Theo spoke softly but with a fierce look in his eyes.
"I concur with the other two." Daphne's soft voice flowed through the space. " I will start learning all the hexes I can along with anything else I can to help protect you and Azalea from your two soulmates. If they decide to hurt you they will have to go through me." She stated with such conviction that it settled Nelda's heart beat.
"Thank you. Thank you so much guys. You have no idea how much it means to me that you don't think ill of me for having him as my soulmate." Her voice soft with unyielding affection for the three people she has started to consider as family. "I will do everything in my power to protect you guys too, you know."
"We know." All three of them chorused.
Flashback End
'It seems I'm the first to wake up. I best find y Nan. She told me that she had something to talk about last night when Azalea and I met up with her at the train station.' She thought to herself. She got up and vegans to brush her hair out. She proceeded to braid it back leaving out a section on the left side to put into a four strand braid that hung down. It was clasped in a jade hand carved hairbead with the Longbottom crest. She padded over to her dresser and picked out a soft button down slate grey blouse and a high waisted navy blue skirt that had two rows of three buttons down the front that ended at her hips. The skirt itself flowed down to dill billow around her knees. She threw on nude stockings and her brown dragonhide boots and made her way to her Nans favorite sitting room in the manor.
As soon as she entered through the threshold she heard Nan's voice. "Ah there you are Nelda I was wanting to speak to you before Azalea woke up." August said without even putting down the prophet. "Have a seat we have much to discuss. Daisy, a pot of chamomile tea and two blueberry scones please." She requested from her personal elf as she finally put the prophet down and turned to look her granddaughter in the eyes. They look piercing and stern. "I went to Azkaban yesterday morning." Augusta stated.
Nelda froze. She couldn't believe what her Nan had just said. She could feel as her fingers began to tremble and the blood left her face. "Why?" She was able to finally whisper.
"I had to. I needed to make sure that you would be safe. If he had failed my test he would have been dead. I had coated the dagger I keep hidden in my stuffed vulture in a concoction of poisonous tree frog poison and castor oil. If I thought he was a threat he would have been dead in around ten minutes. You are too important to me to leave this situation to chance. It turns out that he is already protective of you. It seems that Rabastan and him are already planning ways to kill Bellatrix."
Nelda inhaled sharply at that. First of all, why didn't anyone ever check her Nan's hat. Haven't they learned yet that Augusta Longbottom is armed to the teeth. Second of all she went and saw Rodolphus in Azkaban and he is still alive. Third of all Rodolphus is planning to kill Bellatrix to keep her safe. What in the world has her life come too. "What did he say, Nan? Will he acknowledge the bond? You said I was safe? And Rabastan?" Her voice was weak as she asked.
Augusta's face softened as she saw how her granddaughter tried to stay strong. "He was polite when he greeted me. Even cracked jokes about how he was too chained down to properly greet me. He seemed to be sane. At least a lot saner than his wife. He has already acknowledged the bond and has given the first courting gift to show interest. And Rabastan has decided that you are already his new sister. He apparently hates Bellatrix and has also already given you and I the first gift of acceptance into the family in the form of a spell. The spell Rabastan gave is called
Aeris Filum Fulgur which can be classified as a non-lethal capture spell. He created it himself." Augusta informed.
"You said Rodolphus gave a gift as well right? What did he give?" Nelda inquired softly.
"He gave two spells that he created himself. Amino Iveniet Domum and Amino Claror which he said if cast together for a month straight might help your parents enough that there is a possibility of bringing them home." The words spoken so softly yet were heavy with hope.
As they registered in Nelda's mind a gear slipped out. For the first time in ten years there was hope for her parents to remember here. Hope given by one of the four people who caused the problem in the first place. Hope given by her soulmate. She felt conflicted
"You said that they were created by him? And his brother also created the other one?" Nelda asked.
"Yes. It seems that it is Lestrange tradition to creat at least one spell before the age of sixteen." Augusta answered. "Oh and I had told Rodolphus that I will allow you to write to him but not visit. I refuse to have you near dementors. I also don't want you to feel forced to see him face to face after what they put you through as a baby."
"I will write to him then. Since we are on the soulmate discussion, Azalea's is Barty Crouch Jr. It seems he had escaped prison and is very much alive. And another thing is the active blood feud going to affect our soul marks. '' Nelda blurted out.
"The blood feud will not interfere. Soulmarks take precedence and will cancel anything else out. I am shocked about Azalea's mark mate though. It seems that you two do not have the best luck when it comes to life partners. For Azalea to end up with a devout follower of He-Who-Must-Be-Named is worrisome. I don't want her to be hurt by Crouch. She is under my protection so I'll find out if she is in danger or not the same way I did yours. It shouldn't take me too long to figure it out."Augusta mused.
Nelda picked up her tea and took her first sip. The calming taste of chamomile with the sweet taste of honey soothed her fraying nerves. She was dreading the upheaval that her Nan will create to find Crouch. She had no doubt that Nan would find him. The only thing she doubted was whether he would still be alive after she was done with him.
"Also when you are done with your scone please wake Azalea up. I need to have a chat with her before I take you both to Diagon Alley. You need your wand and Azalea needs a new wardrobe. And check up along with glasses." Nan stated.
"Alright. I can do that. Should I give her one of my belted wrap-around tunics and a pair of black pants or one of my smaller dresses?" Nelda asked while looking deep in thought.
"Give her the tunic. She is so much smaller than you that the dress might not fit. The tunics at least can be adjusted to fit her better. We can stop in and visit your
Parents while Azalea gets a check up if you're feeling up to it." Augusta stood as she spoke. She gracefully made her way to Nelda's Side before stroking her cheek lovingly. "No matter what Nelda, I have your best interests at heart and I will always be in your corner. You are all I've had to protect for a decade now and I will continue to protect you till my last breath." Augusta's voice echoed with power as if she had spoken a vow.
"Thank you Nan. I love you." Nelda said softly as she herself stood up to leave. She paused just before the threshold. "Is he worth trying for? Is he worth fighting my nightmares for? Do you think I will be able to be myself with him without fear?" She asked with a trembling voice.
"My dear, all those are questions you would have to ask yourself. Would you regret not trying? Can you give him something as precious as yourself to someone who is morally compromised? When I met him he was hyper protective of you. He claimed that he would never harm you again. He said that if anyone had hurt you that he would make his previous crimes seem like a slap on the hand. Could you handle that?" Augusta shot back.
Without looking back she drifted off towards Azalea's room with furrowed brows and a slight pout. As soon as she entered Azalea's room she looked around. Three of the four walls were painted a deep purple
With the wall being directly opposite of the door the color of slate grey. There was an elegant desk overlooking the view of a forest of fir trees directly across from the door. On the right of the room, a small sitting area which had grey leather club chairs and a small fir table sitting in front of a cozy fireplace with a silver throw rug underneath the table and chairs. There were two fir bookcases that stood on either side of the fireplace. A soft light emitting from a fair orb hovering over the center of the oval coffee table. Next to the closest book self sat a wooden door painted a soft silver that led to the bathroom.
To the left of the room had a sturdy but elegant hand carved fir bed frame. The queen sized bed was covered in silver acromantula silk sheets, four feather pillows, and a lilac comforter. There was two fir bed tables on either side of the bed and a large dresser and wardrobe set to the left side of the bed along with a full body mirror. To the right of the bed sat a delicately carved vanity. The Carvings themselves were her namesake, azaleas, that winded up alongside the mirror. The matching bench seat had a soft grey cushion with hand embroidered plum colored azaleas around the edges. The floor itself was covered in a plush diver grey carpet.
There laying on the queen size bed was a tiny lump under the covers. With a mischievous smirk Nelda took off running across the room. When she reached the bed she jumped and flopped on her unexpecting victim. Azalea jolted awake with a gasp to look at who was sprawled across her waist only to break out into uncontrollable giggles.
"Nelly, that wasn't necessary!" She gasped out still giggling.
"But it did it's job perfectly." Was Nelda's reply. Her eyes glinted playfully and mischief practically oozing off of her. "It's time to wake up. We are going to Diagon Alley today. It's time to get my wand and your clothes and a check up. Do you have your gringotts key or should we stop their first for a new one or for the to summon it."
"We need to start at Gringotts first. I never received my gringotts key. I know Dumbledore has mine and when I asked for it back he changed the subject. I don't understand why he has it though." Azalea revealed.
"We'll have to ask Nan if she would know the reason why. It should be illegal for anyone not your family to have possession of a family vault key. Only business vault keys can be shared if the business is owned by more than one person." She Replied " Ivy could you bring me my old burnt orange belted wrap tunic and my smaller pair of black erumpent leather leggings. Can you also get my size 4 dragonhide boots out of storage please." Nelda asked her nany elf. Not even ten minutes later the clothes she asked for appeared neatly folded at the foot of the bed with the boots on the floor next to them. "Come on Aza get dressed and I'll do your hair." She told the smaller girl.
Azalea got out of bed. Grabbed and made her way to the bathroom while Nelda moved to sit in one of the club chairs. As azalea passed through the threshold to the bathroom she couldn't help but marvel at its magnificence. The back wall was covered in white granite that also covered half of the left wall. The rest of the walls were painted in a brilliant white. An open shower was connected to the left corner of the back wall that had a waterfall shower head. There were two shelves that held her lavender and sandalwood scented shampoo and conditioner and her amber musk and hibiscus body wash. To the right of the shower sat a smokey quartz freestanding bathtub. The majority of the right wall was a floor to ceiling length window that overlooked the forest. The toilet sat in the corner nestled units own room for privacy on the right hand side. And along the left wall was a dark grey granite sink with a mirrored medicine cabinet above it and a whit towel cabinet closet to the shower. The floor was made out of white marble but had a white fur throw rug that sat right outside of the tub. Also, nestled between the tub and shower sat a whit hamper to throw the dirty clothes into.
She stepped into the shower after putting down the borrowed clothes and throwing off one of Dudley's old shirts that she used as a nightgown. The water started flowing as soon as she steps in at a temperature of about eighty five degrees fahrenheit (around 29 degrees celsius). After thoroughly washing herself she stepped out and grabbed a white fluffy towel dried herself off and padded over to where she hat put her clothes on the counter. She slipped into the burnt orange tunic and took notice of the red embroidered vines and leave that took the place of hems. The tunic was a little loose and came down the her knees instead of mid thigh but she liked the color a lot. She then slipped on the leggings which were a little longer than she needed but fit good enough till she got her own. She stood in front of the sink to brush her hair land teeth the skipped out of the bathroom to where Nelda had sat herself and plopped down in front of her facing away.
Nelda could hold in the giggle at her friends' antics and started on the braid. This time though she left two sections out by her sideburns. After the Dutch braid was done she braided the two sections into a four strand braid that framed her face. When Azalea looked at her in question she couldn't help but explain. "The braid on your left signifies you as an heiress while the one on the right signifies that you are the head of your house. It's an old traditional hairstyle that isn't used much anymore and only those of old lines will know what it means. The four strands instead of three signify that you are of high noble descent instead of merely noble. You are technically the head to the Most Ancient and Righteous house of Potter. I tend not to wear mine this way too often because I don't go out of the manor a lot. I will today though so we can semi match." She said as she motioned to the clasp. "We can pick out your hair clasps at gringotts. Now let's go meet Nan at the floo entrance."
Azalea grabbed Nelda's hand and skipped to the door. Nelda huffed in amusement and ended up taking the lead and pulled the smaller girl towards the floo room on the first floor.
"Nan, we will need to stop at gringotts first. For some reason Dumbledore has Azalea's gringotts key. Isn't that illegal?" She asked as soon as she made it through the doorway.
August raised an eyebrow at that. "Yes it is highly illegal. Dumbledore isn't known for caring about legalities though. We shall get a new key and might as well get a full test done while we are at it. It could help with the visit to St Mungo's." She replied. She waved her hand to the floo before continuing. "I will go first, after me shall be Azalea and lastly Nelda. I want to make sure everyone arrives safe so speak clearly and with intent." She took a pinch of green powder before throwing it into the fire and stepping in. "Diagon Alley." And with that she was gone in a green flash.
"Wicked." Azalea muttered to herself. She stepped up the floo and glanced back at Nelda. She took a deep breath before stepping through just like Augusta had shown.
Nelda took a deep breath before sliding up to the floo. She had always hated floo travel because it left her disoriented and nauseous but it was better than apparition. She grabbed a pinch and off she went in a whirl. The feeling of being yanked around took hold but before she knew it she was spat out of the Leaky's floo into her Nan's steadying hands. She could feel her Nan swipe off some dust off her shoulder and another smaller hand intwine with hers.
"Nel it made me fly out, HA you should have seen it. I had to roll to stop." Azalea choked out in between laughter. Mrs Longbottom had to scourgify me to get rid of all the dust. Now let's go. I wanna see Griphook. He was the first goblin I've ever talked to ya know." She babbled out.
It took about fifteen minutes to reach Gringotts. Then it took another five minutes in the queue.
"Name and key." A gnarled goblin growled out.
"My name is Azalea Potter Mr. Goblin. I don't have my key though headmaster Dumbledore won't give it to me. I was wondering if I could cancel that one and have a new one made." Azalea replied.
"A new key will cost twenty galleons. We will have to verify that you are in fact Azalea Potter as well, anything else?" He huffed out.
"Yes I'm, Mrs Longbottom mentioned some kind of whole test and can Nelda and her be with me for the test please." She asked shyly, looking up from her lashes.
"Yes." He grunted out before waving over another goblin. "He will take you to a private room where the tests will be administered." He grunted out.
"Oh, hello Griphook. How are you today?" Azalea said as the other goblin made his way over. She completely missed the twin look of shock the goblins had at her knowing his name. Normal wizarding folk don't care enough to remember.
"Miss Potter if you would follow me." He said after he collected himself. He then waved to the other two to follow as well. He led them down the hall to a door labelled private conference room 3 B. " through here now. The Potter family vault manager will be with you soon. Have a nice day." He said before leaving.
There were three seats in front of a large oak desk. The carpet was blood red while the walls were a daunting gold marble. Azalea took the seat in the middle with the two Longbottoms on either side. Then the door banged open and in walked a goblin clad in red. He stalked over to the chair on the other side of the desk and at up a piece of parchment then laid a long, wickedly curved blade alongside it.
"Hello my name is Bloodfang. I am the Potters' vault manager and will be the one to administer today. I assume the one in the middle is Azalea. You look too much like Dorea to not be. What will happen is you are going to slice your palm open and let three drops of blood seep into the parchment. The cut will automatically heal when you are done." He spoke while sitting down. "Since you asked for the full test it will reveal what houses you are heiress of, what your parents' names are, your holding, if you have any spells or potions cast on you and who your soulmate is if you don't already know. Also when you leave the bank today a new vault key will be ready. Now let us proceed." He spoke while folding hands together.
"Alright let's do this." Azalea whispered to herself as she went to pick up the dagger. She inhaled as she put the edge against her palm and sliced as she exhaled, not even showing a flinch of pain as she held her bleeding hand over the parchment. After three drops of blood fell onto it the wound healed and the parchment smoked lightly. It took about a minute before it was full of information.
( key *living +dead)
Azalea Dorea Potter
Age: 11
Status: Pureblood
Father: James Charlus Potter +
Paternal Grandfather: Charlus Henry Potter +
Paternal Grandmother: Dorea Lyra Potter née Black +
Mother: Lillian Rhona Potter née Rosier +
Maternal Grandfather: Mattias Alexander Rosier +
Maternal Grandmother: Evangeline Rosier née Carrow +
Godfather: Sirius Orion Black* (blood adopted)
Godmother: Alice Elizabeth Longbottom née Fawley +
Magical Guardian: Augusta Evangeline Longbottom*
Previously
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore*
Surviving Family Members
Paternal: Arcturus Black
Cassiopeia Back
Sirius Black
Andromeda Tonks
Nymphodora Tonks
Narcissa Malfoy
Draco Malfoy
Bellatrix Lestrange
Thorros Nott
Theodore Nott
Maternal: Evan Rosier
Andromeda Tonks
Nymphodora Tonks
Narcissa Malfoy
Draco Malfoy
Bellatrix Lestrange
Amycus Carrow
Alecto Carrow
Flora Carrow
Hestia Carrow
Heiress Titles
Heiress to The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black
Heiress to The Most Ancient and Righteous House of Potter
Heiress to The most Ancient and Revered House of Peverell
Heiress to The Noble and Cunning House of Rosier
Holdings
Black Estate: 2 Billion Galleons; 525 Million Sickles; 800 Thousand Knuts
Black Manor (Scottish Highlands)
Black Cottage (Irish countryside)
Black Chateau (Catania, Italy)
Grimmauld Place (London. England)
Potter Estate: 700 million Galleons; 209 Million Sickles; 705 thousand knuts
Potter Manor (Worcestershire, England)
Potter Cottage (Godric's Hollow)
Potter Lodge (Swiss Alps)
Peverell Estate: Four Floor to Ceiling Bookcases on obscure books; 25 Trunks of Rare Potion Ingredients and Wand Cores (under stasis); Peverell Family Grimoire
Peverell Manor (Scottish Highlands)
Rosier Estate: 25 Million Galleons; 15 million Sickles; 507 Thousand Knuts
Rosier Manor (Staffordshire, England)
Rosier Chateau ( French Riviera)
Rosier Cottage (Illas Cies Ria De Vigo Galicia, Spain)
Magical Blocks, Spells , and Potions
Metamoramagus 95% Blocked (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Parselmagic 25% Blocked (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Magic Core 45% Blocked (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Mind magic 67% Blocked (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Horcrux (Tom Marvello Riddle)
Tracking spell (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Legilimens (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Confundus (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Loyalty potion keyed to Albus Dumbledore (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Distrust potion keyed to Slytherin (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Hate potion keyed to Dark Magic (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Aversion potion keyed to Theodore Nott (Magic signature Dumbledore) broken through by Azalea Potter
Soulmate: Bartimus Evrain Crouch Jr.
Silence permeated the room. None of the three occupants could believe their eyes. The amount of damage caused by one person let alone but someone they trusted was overwhelming. Nelda reached blindly for Azalea, eyes glued to the parchment and her hand trembling. " A- Aza? Aza Breath for me. Can you do that?" She said while peeling her eyes off the parchment. She glanced at her Nan who was paler than usual then her eyes flicked over to Azalea.
Azalea was pale and trembling. A cold sweat had broken out over her body and she had tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall. Her eyes were unblinking and wide. At Nelda's voice she took a large inhale and her head snapped towards her. Finally she blinked.
"Nelda." She breathed out reaching for Nelda's outstretched hand. "Nelda get check now!" She demanded, needing to make sure her first friend was safe.
That snapped Augusta out of her daze. She looked up at the goblin who was watching everything in silent interest.
"Is there any way we can have two more tests brought to this room manager Bloodfang." She asked in a firm voice. "It can be done with a fee. It'll cost 10 galleons." He replied. At her firm nod he pressed a button underneath the desk. Soon another goblin came in with two more rolls of parchment and daggers and laid them down in front of the two Longbottoms women. Without hesitation the two women repeated Azalea.
Augusta Evangeline Longbottom née MacMillan
Age: 58
Status: Pureblood
Father: Evan MacMillan
Mother: Agnes MacMillan née Flint
Titles
Dowager to The Most Ancient and Fertile House Longbottom
Holdings
Longbottom: 568 Million Galleons; 457 Million Sickles; 697 Thousand Knuts
Longbottom Manor (Orkney Island)
Longbottom Retreat (Secu, Romania)
Longbottom cabin (Nordherad,Norway)
Longbottom hideaway (Tatlisu, Cyprus)
Magical Blocks, Spells , and Potions
Obliviate (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Confundus (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Loyalty potion keyed to Albus Dumbledore (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Distrust potion keyed to Dark and grey Families (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Hate potion keyed to Dark Magic (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Soulmate
Silvainus Longbottom
Nelda Aveline Longbottom
Age: 11
Status: Pureblood
Father: Franklin Silvainus Longbottom
Mother: Alice Elizabeth Longbottom née Fawley
Heiress Titles
Heiress to The Most Ancient and Fertile House Longbottom
Holdings
Longbottom: 568 Million Galleons; 457 Million Sickles; 697 Thousand Knuts
Longbottom Manor (Orkney Island)
Longbottom Retreat (Secu, Romania)
Longbottom cabin (Nordherad,Norway)
Longbottom hideaway (Tatlisu, Cyprus)
Magical Blocks, Spells , and Potions
Magical Core blocked 34% (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Green Magic 43% Blocked (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Obliviate (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Confundus (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Loyalty potion keyed to Albus Dumbledore (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Distrust potion keyed to Dark and grey Families (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Hate potion keyed to Dark Magic (Magic signature Dumbledore)
Soulmate
Rodolphus Astor Lestrange
Nelda didnted think she could get any paler at this moment until she turned and looked at her Nan. Augusta was apoplectic. The amount of rage that was pooping out of her was starting to heat up the room.
She had never seen her this mad. Not even when she caught uncle Alae hitting her and she had nearly killed him then.
"Is there any way to flush all of this out of our systems." Augusta asked in a startlingly calm soft tone. The boiling rage kept completely out of her voice.
"Yes. Once again for a fee of course. It'll cost 20 galleons each." Bloodfang replied.
"Please. I would greatly appreciate it." Augusta said.
In a complete daze Nelda and Azalea followed after her was they were led even further into the halls of the bank. The two girls held onto each other's hands tightly almost as if they were scared to be separated. Their rose tinted glasses were violently and forcefully ripped away. The person everyone said was good and just didn't seem that way anymore. Who else was controlled without any knowledge. Who else had their abilities blocked and heritage hidden. This could mean any good for the wizarding world in general.
They soon reached the room they were being guided to. The tool was large with walls that were white marble and floors covered in plush cream carpeting. There were hospital beds that lined the walls in an orderly fashion. The room itself could fit well over fifty people within its walls comfortably.
They soon sat on the beds close enough that they could see each other but far enough to not be able to clearly hear details about the other. After they settled in, six female goblins came stalking in all dressed in a soft blue uniform type robe that was open to show grey leather armor and leggings along with dragonhide boots and weapons strategically placed on their bodies. Two had axes, one had at least two daggers that could be seen, another had a spear with a wickedly curved and serrated edge and the last two carried swords on their hips. Then they separated in an orderly fashion, two goblins to each patient.
Nelda sat patiently watching the happenings with a hint of apprehension. She didn't know what was going to happen but she bet it was going to be tiring and uncomfortable. She tensed up when two goblins started to approach. One of the axe carriers and one of the sword carriers to be precise.
"I am the healer Stonefist and this to my right is healing apprentice Silverfang. We will be administering the potion necessary to remove any blocks, spells, potion, rituals, and underlying health deficiencies. After taking the potion you might pass out. That is perfectly normal. The length of time that you could be unconscious depends on how hard the potion has to work. It could be anywhere from 15 minutes to 4 hours." The one with the axe said curtly. She took out a potion vial from her robes. The potion was a shimmery bluish green color that seemed to swirl endlessly. A soft blue smoke seemingly wafted off of the potion that released the scent of drying oak and honeysuckle. "Here, drink all of it." The healer said while handing it to her.
Nelda down it as fast as she could. The taste was metallic and bitter with a hint of ash. Then everything went blank. She didn't wake up until an hour and a half later. She opened her eyes and blearily looked around. She noticed that her Nan was awake taking to the other axe and sword pair who had been the ones to administer for her. She then looked at Azalea and noticed that she was still out cold. The goblin who wore the daggers was hovering over the petite girl with a frown stretched across her face. The one with the spear looking over the other's shoulder at her.
Before long her two healers started to scan her for any side effects before she was given the clear. She stretched as she stood, feeling less shaken than usual. Curious to this fact she held out her hands which normally tremble due to nerve damage caused by continuous cruciatus exposure and noticed that they were still for the first time. She couldn't help but smile. She felt like a normal girl and not a mistake like uncle Algae always said she was.
"Nan, look! My hands don't shake anymore!" She exclaimed while jogging over to her Nan.
"I see Nelda. That's wonderful. Do you know how Azalea is? I see she hasn't woken up yet." Augusta replied to her granddaughter.
"I think it'll take a while. She had a lot more on her test than we did and I think that it might be correcting abuse from before Hogwarts." Nelda replied softly looking over to her best friend. The smaller girl laid deathly still until she wasn't.
Azalea jolted up with a scream. Black smoke started to pour out of her scar and hover over her body. A goblin ran in suddenly with a jar with runic inscriptions covering it and handed it off to the dagger wielder. She opened the jar and started to chant in gobbledygook before the smoke started to funnel into the jar. This time instead of the girl screaming it was the smoke that let out an inhuman screech before all went quite and Azalea jolted up in confusion.
She looked around in a daze before feeling a trickle run down her forehead. She reached up to touch it then brought it eyelevel to see her fingers covered in blood. She turned to the dagger wielder in bemusement.
"Swiftbite what happened?" Azalea asked softly.
"It seems that the horcrux didn't want to be destroyed quitely. It tried to fight the potion but failed, young one. It will never cause a problem again, you fought against it well for one so young." Swiftbite replied to the small girl. She then ran her gnarled finger over the opened scar which closed up as the soft touch passed.
"Is it over then?" Azalea's soft voice came out haltingly.
"Yes. The malnourishment is healed along with the mild case of rickets caused by it. With the horcrux gone you eyesight should clear up. All of the potions have been flushed out along with any foreign magic that wasn't cast by your parents. Also the strain to your magical core is repaired. You just need to stay in a high magic area that has powerful wards to create ambient magic that your core can leach out of the atmosphere." Healer Swiftbite replied, tone surprisingly soft.
"Thank you. I really appreciate you healing me healer Swiftbite. I won't forget this." Azalea told the female goblin.
She stood up slowly and found that her legs were completely steady. The pain in her joints was gone, for the first time she could move unhindered. She made her way over to Nelda and grabbed onto her sleeve. She felt like a new person.
"Nelda are you okay?" She asked softly looking up into her best friend's eyes.
"Yea I'm perfectly fine. My nerve damage is gone. What about you Azalea?" Nelda replied back just as softly.
"I'm all healed now. My rickets are gone. I just need to be in a place of high magic output now. How is your Nan? Is everything fine?" She replied back.
"Yea. Nan is all healed too. It seems that it got rid of the arthritis in her right wrist. Are you ready to go to your vaults? You still have to get your heiress beads and heiress rings from your vaults." Nelda said while looking back towards her Nan.
"Alright let's go." She said before skipping back to healer Swiftbite. "Excuse me master hear let Swiftbite is it possible for someone to lease me to my vaults?" Azalea questioned.
"Yes, little one. I will summon Griphook. He will lead you to the Potter then the black vaults. Though word of warning when you enter the Black vaults a notice will be sent to the head of house of Black. You might receive a letter from him to meet. If you don't want to set off that chain of events it is understandable." The goblin healer said clearly while reaching out to pat her on the head causing Azalea to beam at her.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. If things go south I have Mrs. Longbottom to protect me. I have no doubt that she could take them down!" Azalea said cheerfully, turning when she heard a snort of amusement she spotted Mrs. Longbottom behind her.
"I thank you for the vote of confidence Azalea. I would be able to handle Arcturus well enough the problem would be his sister Cassiopeia. She is well know for her sharp tongue and sharper yet wand skills. Don't worry though, Arcturus and Cassiopeia are very family oriented people. To find out that they have an heiress that wasn't a Malfoy will have them leaping for joy." Augusta replied. "Oh and you might as well call me Nan too young one, you were meant to have been raised in my family after all."
The smile on Azalea's face was so bright it could have been mistaken for the sun. She grabbed on to Nelda's hand and basked in the serenity of the moment. Then Griphook came through the door and they were whisked down to the Potter vault.
"Since you don't have your key you need to swipe blood over the coat of arms, here." He said while handing her a clean dagger.
She took the blade and nicked her pointer finger then swiped it along the Potter crest. As soon as the blood touched it the doors swung open and she dragged Nelda inside while Augusta waited outside with the goblin.
They took about twenty minutes but Azalea came out with a new hair clasp in her hair. It was a hand carved ruby clasp with the Potter family crest carved into it with black paint in the carving to make it more distinguishable. On her right ring finger sat the Potter family's head of house ring. By wizarding law as the last of her family she would have been allowed to take the position at age ten. The ring was a vintage cushion cut 6x6 mm ruby set in platinum with round diamonds outlining the ruby. On the inside of the ruby was the Potter crest. On the inside of the gold band were runic inscriptions that made it so that the wearer could detect poisons and potions in food and increase the damage of any combative spell. It also had an undetectable port key that would take the wearer to the Potter Manor. Also in her waistband was a bag of 300 galleons and a wickedly curved 8 inch dagger. The blade was 5 1/2 inches and was matte black no reflective goblin silver that was soaked in Peruvian Vipertooth venom. The hilt was made out of a horn from a Peruvian Vipertooth that was carved into a roaring dragon head. The venom in the blade would cause flesh to be eaten away and organs to dissolve if not treated right away. It was cased in a sheath made out of the same Vipertooths hide made into leather. The tip of the sheath was dipped into melted Mithril and left to harden naturally.
Nelda followed right behind her with a faint blush and attached to her right arm was a holster that held five perfectly balanced non reflective goblin silver throwing knives. The guard-less handles had vines etched up the middle. On the blade was an etching of oleander. It was the last warning you'll get before it lands. The blades themselves were soaked in a poison made from said plant along with castor oil.
When Augusta saw the weapons she raised an eyebrow and waited.
"It was like they called up Nan. We couldn't leave them, they felt so right in our hands. I don't really know how to explain it." Nelda spoke with Azalea nodding her head along with the words.
"They wanted out. Who are we to Deny them. After all there is never too much protection, right?" Azalea added. Then suddenly she had a darker look in her eyes that made them glow with power. "I will not leave any threat that could harm my family. All it takes is one nick for the problem to be solved. Permanently."
"Alright then girls. I'll find a trainer to come out to the manor till the end of Yule. If by summer you want to continue, I'll write for them to come back. How does that sound?" Augusta said with an indulgent look plastered on her face.
"Yes please!" Both girls said together. Before skipping over to the cart they had one more vault to visit after all.
They went down one more floor before pulling up to vault 711. The Black family vault. The door was massive and as black as a ravens' wings. Azalea walked up and used Griphook's dagger again to nick her finger. She spread her blood on the door and it swung open. This time she went in by herself. To the left of the vault was where all the galleons were and to the right was the other belongings like jewelry, books, and weapons. She let her magic lead her to a large trunk sat in the farthest corner. She looked in the first compartment to find a handcraft onyx hair bead with the Black house crest inlaid with gold. She picked it up and immediately clasped it into her left heiress braid. After that she followed the pull again. She found another dagger. This one though was serrated on the back so it'll tear as it's pulled out. The non reflective charcoal grey mithril blade had runes carved down the side and was just over 6 inches. With just a bit of magic pushed into the blade it will curse the victim turning their blood into liquid fire burning them from the inside out. The handle was made out of the horn from a Hungarian Horntail along the handle had runes that when the owner's blood was added made it so the curse couldn't be turned onto them. And with Azalea's luck it just so happens that her finger was still bleeding. She didn't notice until the blade warmed in her hand. By then it was too late to do anything about it. The sheath was made out of Horntail leather and the tip was also dipped in mithril. She clipped it in front of the other dagger and made her way out of the vault. She still had a full day ahead of her.