Prologue: A Mother's Fears
Minister Hermione sent a Stone message to join her in her kitchen for breakfast. Yes, right away worked best. At least I was dressed, so I scurried next door to learn what prompted this urgent meeting.
Hermione enjoys preparing breakfast and always serves a very tasting and varied to the point of being overwhelming breakfast. Today there was toast, jam, and tea. I knew I would not be pleased by what I was about to hear. Since Ron was present, I knew it had something to do with security.
"Remember, I told you several weeks back that we had to release the Montaigne formerly known as Lord? Well, he just repeated his past threats, saying 'the time for retribution is finally at hand. I suffered. My Bruce suffered. Now it time for you and the British public to suffered. I gave you my most reasonable terms and Arthur Weasley, then Harry Potter, then you refused to do what was right. I promise that within the month, you will be very sorry for how you treated Bruce and me. I was just a father trying to protect a sick son.' He surprised me yesterday in the shop area of the Department of Magical Secrets at the Ministry this morning. I pulled my wand and called for the aurors, but he just vanished. Nobody should be able to Apparate from there and the Former Lord was thought never to have learned Apparation."
"That's serious. Since you're telling this, either you suspect Harry will hide it from me so I don't worry, or else this seriously concerns me and the children."
"Harry is investigating a problem in Egypt. He should be home at the normal time today. He doesn't know about this, it just happened, and I want his mind fully on the Egypt job. He and two aurors are under-cover and there is some danger. It is a very complicated mission, so he needs to be fully focused. In answer to your question, I fear that all of us and our children are at risk. I have aurors searching for the Former Lord."
"We don't expect to find him any time soon," my brother added. "He has planned this for a long time. His ally Roderick also disappeared at almost the same time. Slipped the auror who was surveilling him. The auror's report reads 'I would swear on my soul that he just Apparated, from not twenty feet away from me, but Muggles can't Apparate.' There have been past doubts about Roderick's true parentage. He's not in the New Start Society records, but the Former Lord could have arranged that."
"I know you already were worried about sending Lily off to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, this is another worry added atop your previous worry. I'm worried about Hugo. I'm confident that we've prepared our children, really all the new Hogwarts students from Potter's forest, to be as safe as possible. A long-winded way of admitting that, yes, I do think Hogwarts will be a target of the Former Lord. It sits on his former property and the children of many of his enemies will be there. He isn't a Death Eater sympathizer, but he probably was a Grindelwald fan. We will provide added security at Hogwarts and aboard the Hogwarts Express this term. But, the Ministry has magical protections, which are as good as Hogwart's protections. I don't know how the Former Lord breached them. Ellie and her Department of Magical Secrets are already working on that, as are several aurors."
"Now you really have me worried. I want the children to have everything they need to be safe, but I don't want to spook them. That could disable their ability to protect themselves and would certainly ruin their Hogwarts experience. We can get together later and decide if there are any other magical defences we need to teach them. They know so much, already."
"I'm sorry, but we have to get back to the Ministry. I'm leaving an additional auror here in the Forest."
I so worry about sending Lily off to Hogwarts, both because I don't believe last term's problems were completely solved and because she is small for her age. There is the matter of the large group of upper-level Slytherins, who planned to join the battle at Hogwarts, after the small group who arrived on time had tested Neville's seriousness. When he closed Hogwarts to new arrivals in the third week, they were forced to wait until this term. They will come at the start of term and trouble will follow. Lily is such a small child, looking more like an eight- than an eleven-year old. I know that small children tend to be picked on. It isn't that Lily is defenceless or that she walks around wearing a perpetual 'kick-me' sign. She is the most magical of my three children. I foolishly missed the need for Fred to learn non-magical fighting skills. I arranged instruction after his lack of these skills put him at risk. I don't think such fighting skills appropriate for Lily. She is too small. Her feistiness might get her into trouble if she tried to use fisticuffs or judo in self-defence. She will have to use magic as her first defence, regardless of school rules.
Minister Hermione, perhaps to assuage my fear, had intervened to get Lily her own personal wand, just one month after Fred arrived at Hogwarts - something about defence of a former Minister's family.
My worry bothered Harry. He forced me to verbally recognise that Lily is not at all timid or unwilling to stick up for herself. If anything, she is overly bold and somewhat bossy. She has a sense for danger, as if possessing eyes in the back of her head. She runs extremely fast and is quite athletic, a born Seeker, both by eyesight and broom skill.
I taught Lily a lot of magic, even more than I taught Fred. She seemed to have a knack for truth-telling, so I also taught her that. While I taught Lily, I also worried that all of this instruction would cause her to worry and fear the whole world. Harry complained that "Lily is now her Mum's little auror."
I kept myself busy. I taught the future first-years, forcing myself to be calm. I planned a normal dinner for the family, but although the children and I delayed dinner an hour, Harry has not returned. A gloom fell over us, as rain fell outside and we ate in silence, wondering if Harry was in danger. As Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he seldom ventured 'into the field'. As Director of the Auror Corps, that was Ron's job. He was great at that job and both Harry and Hermione trusted him completely. So, why was Harry in Egypt and why was he late?
Harry returned at midnight. I couldn't sleep and was sitting up reading the old Hemerocallis account of Bruce and the Former Lord Montaigne. We sat and talked for an hour. He had heard about the Former Lord's new threat and is almost as worried as I am. His trip to Egypt ended well, although there were serious problems. They were investigating a gang of magical outlaws, who had taken up piracy. He found their ship, but they were ambushed. One auror was wounded. They managed to capture two prisoners and Apparate away from the ship. Because they had two Petrificused prisoners and a wounded auror, Harry and the other Auror had to Apparate back to the Ministry in three steps. Harry ate at the Ministry to gather strength for the Apparate home. Here he was, totally sapped of energy. Off to bed and each of us instantly asleep. No need for me to access the whale song to put myself to slumber.
I woke at dawn drenched in sweat.
It was a vivid night dream. It was in color. I forced myself to remain almost asleep, so I didn't miss one bit of the message. Then I shook Harry awake. As he stared at me with blurry eyes, I blurted: "the Prophecy. That's why I'm so worried! I don't know which of the cousins, but I'm certain that their prophecy kicks in this year and that it begins at Hogwarts. That probably means not the youngest, who are still at home, but..."
"Calm down. Give me a minute to take this all in. For all your magical ability and strength, prophesy isn't a strength of yours. Are you sure it wasn't just a bad dream caused by all your worry? Tell me what you remember from the dream."
As I recounted my vision, I realised how sparse the detail was. I had seen 'Danger', then 'Beware!' in big black letters on a blood red background. Then an ominous voice spoke "the cousins' mettle will surely be tested, as will your preparation of them for this test. You cannot give away the details of the prophecy or the great secrets, or all shall perish. Now, just sit back and wait, like a good little Witch." That last part was fairly sneered at me. Then I heard most unpleasant laughter.
Harry was now fully awake and almost as frightened as I was. We made the circuit of each of our children's rooms, assuring ourselves that they were still breathing and giving a little kiss on the forehead. Fred woke while we were in the room. We told him to go back to sleep, but he demanded a hug. We all needed a hug. Badly! That set the tone for the rest of the summer, at least for Harry and me. The kids were oblivious. I certainly hope the kids were oblivious.
I tamped down my fears. I taught Lily and Hugo. I also taught Luna's son, Xeno, Maxwell's brother Merlin, and Neville's daughter, Asphodel, as well as other first-years from Potter's Forest. Many in the coven helped me get these little ones prepared for their introduction into Hogwarts. I was debating if it would be best to make an especially early trip to Diagon Alley, as we had done last year. All four of us decided that we would shop ten days early. The day before we planned to shop, there was a big scare in Diagon Alley. It wasn't exactly a bomb. It was what looked exactly like the bombs that the Death Eaters used, but it didn't explode. When the aurors investigated, there was a note inside the not-a-bomb that just said 'it would have been so easy for this to have been a real bomb. Consider this a test. We passed. You failed. Expect to hear from us again'. It was signed 'The Society for Proper Change and Decorum'.
Because Hermione is Minister and we both have auror husbands, we learned about this right after it happened. The rest of the community learned of it through banner headlines in the next morning's papers. We were determined to travel to Diagon Alley, despite the threat. A dozen of the families in Potter's Forest chose to travel with us. We had no difficulty. We were the only group shopping that morning, there were aurors present in the Alley, and the shopkeepers were all extra alert. Everyone got all their texts and school supplies. Lily bought the largest owl I have ever seen. It was two-and-a-half feet tall and required a special cage. The shopkeeper called it 'a rare Russian fish-eating owl'. He promised "just let him fly free at night and he'll pluck the fish right out of the loch."
I was wrong. We weren't alone as shoppers. Parvati Patil walked into the pet shop, with a young child, and her husband - Dennis Creevey. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you were still leading the magical community in India."
"No. We decided that Suresh should be educated at Hogwarts. It was important to Dennis and I didn't think it right to make Suresh attend a small school, where his mother was one of only five faculty. So... here we are. We stay until Suresh boards the train, then it's back to India for us. It's good to see all of you again. I read about you. You're all as famous as Harry was."
Suresh, who - delight of delights, was no taller than Lily was teasing Lily about buying an owl, which was as big as her. "How can you expect to carry the cage, or is it magicked.? It looks like our parents are friends, perhaps we can be, also. I know nobody in this country. Wow! You actually lifted the cage."
The size of the owl also seemed absurd to me: the smallest student in the school, with a cage she couldn't even carry by herself. Lily had such an instant attraction to the bird, and it to her, that I couldn't say no. I felt very stupid for not saying no, but Lily was telling Hugo and Suresh that she and the owl would be each other's protectors. I hadn't even intended to buy an owl. Fred had taken one of my special Asgard ravens as his pet. Hugo was determined to also take a raven.
Suresh chose a flying beast, which the shopkeeper called the Pixie Dragon. Hermione strode over, pointed at the creature, declaring "that's a Welsh Green and it's a killer. You can't sell that. You can't even own it. I thought this was a reputable shop. I guess not!" She was told that she was welcome to simply take it and do whatever was appropriate. Hermione had been in the corner of the shop, looking at ferrets, since Hugo already had his raven. The shopkeeper hadn't realised the Minister had come into his shop. Parvati chose a medium-sized tawny owl for her son. The shopkeeper's assistant would finalise both purchases.
I paid for the owl and after a detailed discussion with the shopkeeper on proper care and feeding discovered that he knew little more about this species of owl than I did. My truth-teller skills said that far from being as sorry to part with this fine specimen as he claimed, he was feeling that he had shed a very great burden. I thanked him just to shut down the false facts he was reciting to me - Hermione would research this when we got home. As I turned to leave, I saw that Lily, Hugo, and Suresh already seemed to be fast friends. What could I do? I invited the Creevey's to join us back home in Potter's Forest. They readily accepted, Parvati whispering to me "you can't imagine how awful the Leaky Cauldron has become. The rooms are dirty, and the food is something I couldn't possibly eat a second time. You're a life saver."
Diagon Alley was returning to normal by the day before the major back-to-school shopping day. All was fine until mid-afternoon when there was another bomb. It was a real bomb, but fortunately it was only designed to emit a big cloud of red smoke. It too bore a warning message. I was quite certain that many students would be arriving at Hogwarts less than totally outfitted. Hermione, Harry, and Ron had to go to Diagon Alley to investigate the bomb. When Harry returned home, he told me that another small bomb had exploded at the top of the Gringotts building, severing the flagpole and sending it crashing down on the entry stairs. A cloud of purple smoke hovered atop the bank. Each bomb carried a message. The first said 'it appears we can do this whenever we like. Don't assume future bombs will be this harmless.' The second note was more ominous. It said 'Diagon Alley is only for humans.' That was serious. Even Voldemort hadn't objected to the presence of Goblins at the bank.
Parvati, who had joined Hermione and me for tea, worried "what is happening? I thought England would be safe for Suresh. It's starting to seem like the Death Eaters all over again. The end of Mr. Tsieh should have made Britain safe."
Hermione assured her that Hogwarts was very well protected. Parvati said that was all well and good, but we all knew how much injury the students could inflict. She asked that we encourage Hugo and Lily to watch out for Suresh. I agreed, saying the three of them already seemed to be friends.
Hermione was distracted by Hugo, whose robes had ripped. While Hermione repaired the clothes, Parvati pointed a finger at me and demanded "now, what is really going on?"
I confessed that I had no idea, but that these were the second and third almost-bombs in about a week. A knock at my kitchen door yielded Cissy, who wanted to discuss expanding our manufacturing business to do what we did best: actual sculptures in bronze, stainless steel, stone, and wood. "The profit margins per Witch sculpt would be so much higher. We could make them here and ship them to America. We don't have many truly magical workers there. The business could fail! It would have failed if we hadn't taken turns spending time there."
Cissy saw Parvati and joined us for an afternoon tea, which was morphing into a sherry fest. She quickly picked up on the worried vibes from all three of us and added her own concern "we aren't all that far from the time when the former-Lord-who-isn't-really-my-father threatened a nasty surprise. He vowed to move up the date, so it could be any time, although I think it likeliest, if he has been tracking my life at all, to be a year from now, when my daughter enters Hogwarts. That worries me. So many of my friends have children starting this year, that I'm thinking little Ida should start this year. She has my brains and her fathers' magic, plus she's big for her age. Not many kids from our crowd starting Hogwarts next year. You pretty much swept out the garbage last term. With all the second-years to help I feel safer this year. I want to catch my not-father by surprise. What do you think?"
I told her it sounded like a wise idea. I couldn't help but notice that Ida was two inches taller than Lily and perhaps fifteen pounds heavier. She was still very slim.
The trip to Platform 9-3/4 and boarding the train were uneventful. We encountered a lost British-born family with a Hogwarts-bound daughter and guided them through the barrier to the magical side of the platform. Hermione and I chatted with the parents, while Hugo, Lily, Ida and Suresh talked to the daughter. The five of them boarded the train together and all waved to us from the same compartment. I learned from the mother that the daughter's name was Sadie Brown.
Hermione pointed a little farther down the track. I saw Tendra and her mother, Torva, and a smaller Goblin child, holding onto her mother's hand. We walked over to join the group. "My youngest sister is going to Hogwarts," Tendra announced. This is Tigrid, she just turned ten, but father says that Goblin children must mature more rapidly than Wizards. Tigrid has been intensively educated. She speaks perfect English. She has practiced a little magic with my wand. Father bought her a broom. She flew up and down our street."
As Hermione and the others in our group spoke with Torva and Tigrid, Tendra drew me away from the group. "Tigrid is putting on as brave a face as she can, but she is apprehensive about going to Hogwarts. She's younger than I was and not as brave or bold as I was. I was a rebel. Tigrid has been the very well-behaved youngest child, whom my parents doted upon. She might need help. Please ask Lily and her friends to help. I can vouch that Tigrid is a good and loyal Goblin. She would make an exceptionally good friend for Lily."
We ended this very brief conversation and returned to the group, before we were missed. The train whistle blew, and I didn't have time to ask Lily to befriend Tigrid, as all the children rushed to the train. Ron has stressed the importance of getting onboard promptly, so they could get their own compartment. This could be tough for first years. Lily and her friends rushed aboard the train. Tigrid said a final goodbye to her family and was one of the last students to board.
I saw Suresh waving from Lily's compartment. Then Hugo lifted Tigrid to the window, so that she could wave goodbye to her mother as the train pulled out of sight and the other children had long stopped waving, I realised that Lily had followed her brother's example and neither clung to us nor shed a tear. Perhaps she was glad to be shut of her worry-wart mother until the Winter break.
We headed home. I had a sense that great adventures lurked on the horizon. I also sensed that those adventures likely would not be mine. I needed my own version of Mum's family clock. Hogwarts during interesting times could be harder on the parents than on its students.
