Chapter 23 Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave Dear journal, I can't begin to explain my feelings. Cate is going to need all the help she can possibly get. I think I no longer feel any hate towards her. She has lost some of the people she has loved dearly, as I have times and times over. I remember the time I lost James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all at one time. It was a cold October night. The thirty-first, it was, when I saw the souls of Lily and James Potter torn from their bodies and thrown into that nowhere land where the Founders plot our lives. I remember running, screaming, lunging at Voldemort when he turned on Harry. I remember screaming, "Lily! Protect your son!" and shouting the spell that enabled Lily's soul to protect Harry for as long as she possibly could. I remember the hatred I felt for Peter. I remember the pity I felt for him. I wondered how he could just take Harry's parents away when they had befriended him. Tears had come to my eyes over the loss of my friends. I thought the Marauders would never reunite. I thought all was lost for Marykate and I, who were stuck at the age of sixteen. It was then I vowed to get Voldemort whatever the cause. I didn't care if I died. I wanted revenge. I also vowed to care for Harry. When Cate and Lizzie lost Sirius I tried, I really did. When you are sixteen you don't receive many privileges. I remember the pain I felt those days. I felt helpless. I felt like Harry and Cate would hate Sirius, Remus, and the others for not being there for him. I thought that he would be mad at me. When I died and found that I was an heir I realized how precious I was to others. I realized I had a reason to live, to love, to protect, and to care. I tried to stop Cate. I didn't mean to yell, but I had lost both my parents when I could've stopped it and was very rash towards everyone. Then Harry and I fell in love and got married. We had children who are now at ages twelve, eleven, ten, and nine, and one that isn't even born. Now I have everything I dreamed I had. I even have James, Sirius, and Lupin back. Now Cate has lost everyone and I realize that how she is now is how I had been when I lost all my loved ones. I no longer hate Cate anymore. On the contrary, I love her like one of my own. I'm afraid to show it, though. I hope that drastic of a change will not scar Cate anymore. I don't want her to think that I pity her, for I know she hates when people pity her. I know how she feels. I wish I could just tell her that. Now I sit here and write this journal entry. The only thing I can rely is this. I hope that one day, when I am dead and gone and that she is still living, Cate reads this. This is what I really feel. I wish I could just tell her that. Entry From: Meagan Cassandra Potter (formerly Meagan Cassandra Delmore), a.k.a. Blue Eyes ~*~ Godric Gryffindor looked down upon his created heir. She was hunched over a journal that contained memories of long ago in her life. Tears were slipping silently down her face. Her hair drew a curtain around her face. She was glowing softly and her eyes shown most brightly of all. They were deep, royal blue. She was singing softly to herself without knowing it. Godric kissed his fingers and blew it away. He saw his heir's hair blow back from her face as a breeze blew it back from her face. She looked up with her tear-stained face and whispered, "Thank you, Godric, thank you." Godric felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder and saw Rowena Ravenclaw standing there. She was looking down at Meagan also. "She is beautiful." She said. "I know." Godric said. They both looked down at Meagan, who was still crying and seemed to be looking right at them. "She is a sweat and gentle person, down there, through all of her heart. She cares greatly for her friends and family. I think she is just like you. Not just in appearance, but in her soul." Rowena said, stroking Godric's hair. He nodded and didn't say anything, reflecting on Meagan's journal entry. "I love her. She is my child in reality. I love her a lot. She knows it, too." He said after a long while. Rowena nodded in reply, closing her eyes. "We all love her." Said a new voice. Godric and Rowena turned to see Helga Hufflepuff and her created heir Michael Shoemaker. "She was a great person. She still is. I love her like my sister." Michael said, his eyes misting over as he watched Meagan staring up at them, eyes navy blue with tears. "She was always there for me. When I needed someone to lean on, she let me with a glad heart," Michael continued, "She was always smiling like the sun. She was always laughing with one of the Marauders, Marykate, or I. She loved us like family. We love her back. She never wanted to see us hurt. She never does again. Her heart has been broken and repaired by Harry. If it's ever broken again she'll go nuts. I don't want that to happen. As I said, she's like family to me." His eyes were shining as he said this. He leaned his head on Helga's shoulder. "She deserves the love she receives from her friends. She has been faithful and loyal to them, laughed with them, cried with them, and walked with them along every step of the way. I almost wish she was my heir sometimes." Helga said, running her fingers through Michael's hair. "I think Helga is right." Said another new voice. Salazar Slytherin looked down at Meagan too. "I wish my heir was like her. Yet, with my bad reputation, he turned out wrong. I'm grateful to her for trying to stop him. I hope she does, eventually." "She will. I will make sure she will. She will protect her friends and family while she's at it. She would give up her life for them." Godric said. He closed his eyes. "In fact, I think she will. I was a Seer in my life, as she is now. The picture is very vague. When she dies, I will be there. You all will be too." Michael stepped away from Helga. His chest rose and fell, in a motion that made it look like he was breathing. "I'm ready." He said. Godric and the other Founders didn't need to ask what he meant. Godric put his hand on Michael's head. "I wish you luck." He said to the boy that was Hufflepuff's heir. Michael nodded. "Goodbye. I hope to see you again." Michael said, and was swallowed by darkness. ~*~ Crystal's eyes snapped open. She leapt out of bed, her heart racing. Blood pounded in her ears. "Brain. The MDMs. I need them. Quick!" She sprinted down the spiral staircase and up to the boys' dorms. She jumped on Brain and covered his mouth. 'Quick! Something's wrong! I feel it. It's in my bones. In my very veins it's now boiling! Get up! HURRY!' Crystal shouted in a mind-wave that extended over to Fred and George. They both jumped out of bed, feeling what Crystal was feeling. Fred broke out into a cold sweat. They ran without the protection of invisibility and fled through the dark school corridors, their wands lit. Their cloaks and hair (well, in Crystal's case) flew out behind them. They ran over to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. "That's a girls' bathroom!" Brain said, outraged, as Crystal dragged him in with her brute strength. She ran over to the sink her father had told her about so many times. "He's right! It is here!" she said breathlessly as she examined the snake etched into the faucet. "I can't open it!" Crystal shouted in panic. "Use your head Crys!" Fred said, exasperated, "You may not be able to talk to animals, but your dead was a Parselmouth! You have it in your blood!" Crystal, breath coming out in large gasps, uttered one word in Parseltongue: "Open." The sink did, as she had demanded of it. It glowed white and opened. Using all the courage she possessed, she jumped down it. Something evil was stirring deep below the school's foundation. "Are you INSANE!" she heard Brian yell as she slid down the pipe leading to the one and only Chamber of Secrets. There was a thud and a yell as Brian came zipping past her. She suspected that Fred or George had given him a push to get him started. They ran for what seemed miles when they landed. Then, they heard voices. "Nox!" The four children muttered hurriedly. Crystal cast invisibility over all of them when three small figures sauntered past. Crystal recognized their voices. She also recognized the marks on their arms: Dark Marks. ~*~ Harry walked into the room Meagan was in. His sparkling eyes traveled over the things in this room. Meagan never allowed her children into this room; for fear that they would discover that she was as old as their grandfather. The room's walls were covered in pictures from the years when Meagan was a Marauder. Trinkets from those years rested on shelves that never grew dusty from frequent touching and cleaning. Some of the things were the O.U.P., the Book of Everywhere she had gotten from Lupin in 7th year as a Christmas present, the sapphire, Quidditch trophies, and so on. Meagan and James visited this room a lot. Meagan lay asleep in a chair pushed up to a desk by the window. Her head lay on the desktop and her hair spilled out over the pages of the journal. Harry carefully removed the journal from her hair. He was about to close it when the names Lily, James, and Cate caught his eye. Before he could stop himself, he read the entire entry. The four pages that it filled were wet with what were undoubtedly tears. He flipped through the thick book whose pages were yellow with age and read more entries. Harry, being as quiet as he could, copied some of the entries word for word. He glanced over at Meagan now and then to see that she was still sleeping peacefully. He closed the journal, placed it back where he had found it, and turned back to Meagan. Carefully, he picked her up (which was no easy feat) and placed her back in bed. He kissed her lightly on her cool, moist lips. Taking the entries carefully, he tied them up and sent to the one person he thought could use seeing something like them: Cate Pugnare. ~*~ Cate open and closed her mouth, but not a sound came out. She plunked down on thin air and sat staring. "I missed you." Bellum said again. He reached out his hand and put it on Cate's shoulder. Cate shivered as she felt like she had been dunked in ice-cold water. Tears were racing quietly down Bellum's face. He couldn't find anything to say. It was then Paige came racing down the hall. She glanced at her father and mother and ran on. She looked back and didn't turn around this time, causing her to run straight into the wall. She slid down it, twitching. "No." Cate uttered finally, "You can't be a ghost." She seemed to be looking right through him now. Bellum looked down and saw that you could see through his body and decided that she was looking right through him. She backed into the walled and scrambled up to her feet. Bellum scratched the back of his head out of habit. He sighed and looked down to see he was hovering inches above the ground. Paige had sunk to the floor in dead faint. "I am, Catie darling, I am. Godric let me come. He let me come here so I could see my children and you. You most of all." Bellum said, stroking Cate's hair. Cate shuddered and rubbed her arms. "You always were so cold to the touch." She said softly, looking up at Bellum's gray and slightly transparent face. "I know, you were always so hot to touch." He said in reply, his sad eyes examining himself again. Sirius, who was hearing voices from upstairs, decided to go and check up on his daughter. With a forlorn sigh, he climbed the stairs to see his daughter and ghost of a son-in-law standing in the corridor, staring at each other. "Will the insanity ever end!?" he yelled, taking both of them by surprise. "No." said Bellum, shaking his head sadly. ~*~ Crystal floated on the stop, unable to move or even breathe. Brain gave a faint whimper as he looked at his niece's Dark Mark. Fred and George were gripping each other's arms, mouths wide open. 'We have to tell my dad!' Crystal said in mind-wave to her three friends. "Who was that?" hissed Felicity. Crystal almost groaned. She had forgotten that until her mind-waving strength increased, anyone with powers like hers or could read minds could hear her. It would have been better to have just whispered. "Potter." said Felicity, malice in her voice. Crystal grabbed Brain by the arm and fled out the opening through the sink. Fred and George came after her. They reappeared and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. A spell whizzed pass Crystal's ear. "RUN!" shrieked Brian. Something triggered in the back of Crystal's legs and she was off like a rocket. "Wait for me!" Brain said. Crystal slowed for long enough to pick Brain up (Brain didn't like this at all and yelled in frustration) and run again. Crystal ran past Fred and George, who stared until the same feeling triggered in their legs and they ran as fast as she. Soon, Felicity, Blick, and Malicia were no longer in sight. The four's wand light cast eerie shadows on wall and made the statues seem alive. Crystal slowed and dropped Brain. She leaned on the wall and panted. "I suppose I should be grateful for that." Brain said, gold flecks in his eyes glinting. Crystal shuddered involuntarily as spasms shook her body. She fell to her knees as fifth wand light fell over them. "Dad." Crystal gasped, "I need to see. Dad. Trouble! Dark Mark!" "Well, well, well," sneered a voice, "We are in trouble, now aren't we? It seems running around the school at night runs in the family." Snape leered down at them and laughed evilly. ~*~ Meagan woke with a start. She grabbed Harry's arm. Harry gave a yell and sat up to look at his wife. "What?" he asked urgently. She looked at him with her startling blue-green eyes. That was all he needed. "JO! JESS! NITA!" Harry shouted, running in and out of the room packing. Three groggy children entered the room, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. "What is it?" Jo asked, yawning. "We need to get to the hospital!" Harry said, waving his wand at his children and getting them into their clothes. "Now?" Nita asked, suddenly wide-awake. "Yes. We have to get going!" Harry said. He scribbled a hasty note and sent it over to Hogwarts asking for Crystal and Neil. Dear kids, We are at the hospital. Come immediately. Love, Dad While Harry was tying it to Hedwig's leg, Meagan clicked her fingers. "Don't. bother." She gasped. Harry helped her out of bed and with a pop they were all gone. ~*~ Neil was running. He was screaming and running from an unseen force that was hunting him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the black hulk catching up with him. He ran. The black hulk ran faster. It leaped. Neil lunged. He slid across the ground and ripped his robes. The Gryffindor emblem was gleaming. Neil crab walked backward and dragged his body as fast as he could, but the black thing was on its feet and could go faster. It lunged and this time its aim was true. It was on top of him and all Neil could see was its gleaming white teeth. With its paw the thing lifted its paw, extended its claws, and hit Neil in the back of the head. The pain was excruciating. He yelled and struggled and fought but it was all over him now. No matter where he felt he felt the beast on him. It felt like velvet. At least I'll die comfy. he thought. His eyes suddenly flew open. He was staring up at the canvas of his bed curtains. A thin line of moonlight fell across his face. He pulled an arm out of the bed sheets and pushed his glasses on. He looked down. He was wrapped tightly in his velvet bed sheets. He untangled himself from the sheets and sat up. His head still hurt. He rubbed the back of his head. The pain was real. He looked down on his pillow and saw a hastily written letter. He read it. It was from his father. Apparently, they were at the hospital. He jumped out of bed and ran to get Crystal. 'Crys!' he yelled in mind-wave. 'In Snape's office.' Crystal said. She sounded scared. That made Neil more urgent. He appeared in Snape's office. Snape jumped, taken aback by Neil's sudden appearance. "Crys! Mom and Dad are at the hospital! We have to go!" He said, extremely frightened. He showed his sister the letter. Her jaw dropped open. "Please!" she implored to Snape, "Please let us go! I beseech thee!" "Let me see that letter." Snape said, yanking the letter out of Neil's white and shaking hands. Before Snape could even say no, Crystal and Neil were gone. They had appeared at the hospital in their nightclothes. They spotted their siblings, who were waiting eagerly. Crystal ran over to them and collapsed. "What happened?" she begged impatiently. Jo's purple eyes swiveled in her eldest sister's direction. "Mom's having the baby!" said Nita excitedly. "WHAT?" Crystal and Neil shouted at the same time. "The baby!" said Jess, bouncing in her seat. Neil sat down quickly. Crystal sat down beside him. There was a scream from the next room over, and the doors swung open as a pair of operating scissors flew out directly at Neil's forehead. Crystal screamed, not wanting to see her brother murdered on the spot. Neil fixed his eyes on the scissors and they slowed and stopped two inches from Neil's forehead. They started to shake and flew off to the right and into the wall. Crystal breathed again. "Nice job." She said, giving Neil a high five. "Thanks." He said. "It's a girl!" Harry yelled, running into the waiting room. Crystal, Jo, Jess, and Nita all squealed in excitement. Neil sighed, crestfallen because he was still the only boy in his family. Harry went back into the room and came out again after a few minutes. "Twins!" he shouted. "Two girls!" Jo and Jess looked at each other and grinned widely. Harry ran back in, Jo and Jess grinning from ear-to-ear. Harry ran out again, this time he looked tired. "Triplets!" he said, falling into a chair, "All girls!" No one said anything. Harry wearily got up and walked back into the room. He stuck his head out of the door and said, "You can see them now." The five quivering children walked into the delivery room. Meagan sat in one of the beds, two babies in her arms and drenched in sweat. Harry held the third and he was rocking her to sleep. "Angelina, Abigail, and Ashleigh." Meagan said, her finger being held by one of the baby girls. "They're so cute." Crystal said, her eyes gleaming pale yellow in awe. The nurse came in and looked at the five gawking children. "Good luck. You're gonna need it." She said to Harry and Meagan. Meagan nodded, finding nothing to say. The doors swung open and expelled a bedraggled James Potter. "Why didn't you wake me up? I want to see my new grandchildren!" he said, giving Meagan the evil eye. "Twins?" he asked suddenly, spotting the two baby girls in her arms. "No." said Harry, sitting down. "Triplets?" James asked, his eyes widening. Meagan nodded, looking extremely tired. Crystal and the other children didn't see what was so horrible about it. But that was because they had forgotten what it's like to have a baby in the family. ~*~ Crystal and Neil returned to Hogwarts, exhausted from lack of sleep. "The whole House has been looking for you all night!" Fred yelled when Crystal came back. She sunk into a big fluffy chair and sighed. "Triplets." She muttered under her breath. "What?" asked George. Crystal opened her eyes. "My mom had triplets." She said. "WHAT?" shouted Brian, Fred, and George at the same time. "That was my reaction." Crystal said, looking at her friends wearily. "What are they: girls or boys?" Brain asked, memories of that night forgotten. "Girls. Their names are Angelina, Abigail, and Ashleigh." "There is the culprit!" Brynn said, pointing at Crystal. It took two hours to explain where she had been. Finally, when the entire confused din was over, Crystal fell into a deep, well-deserved slumber. ~*~ "This is the time for a celebration! How about. in two days!" Meagan said cheerfully two days later. Harry looked at her wearily. "Party? The kids aren't even home." He said. "Tomorrow they will be. If you are forgetting, Christmas vacation starts today." Harry scratched his head. "Oh." Meagan quickly wrote up invitations to her friends and family. She sent them out. "C'mon. We have to go pick up the kids." She put the triplets in their elongated carriage and prepared to leave. "Jo! Jess! Nita! Come on! We're going to pick Crystal and Neil up!" Tired and groggy from being awakened by their new family addition, the twins and Nita dragged themselves down the stairs. "Do we-!" Jo started, "Have to?" finished Jess. "Yes." Said Meagan sternly. In a few seconds, the whole Potter family (with an exception to James) was at Platform 9 ¾. Brynn and Bryce were the first ones off the train, probably because they jumped off while it was still moving. They met Sirius, Lizzie, Meagan, Harry, and the kids who were all in a huddled group. Sirius had filled Meagan in on Bellum's return and Cate's reaction. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh, ohohoh!" squealed Brynn, catching sight of the triplets. "You can hold one, if you want." Meagan volunteered. Brynn swooped down and picked up Abigail. "She's so darling!" she squealed. Bryce looked disgusted at his sister's reaction to the sight of the Potter triplets. Angelina started to cry. Meagan picked her up. Ashleigh started to fuss, causing Harry to sigh and pick her up. Crystal and Neil came running. Crystal bounced up and down excitedly. "Come, come, it's time to go home. We have to get ready!" Meagan said, winking at Harry. "Don't forget, tonight it's your turn to hold the triplets when they wake up at one a.m." Harry said. ~*~ Two days later: Ding-dong! Meagan snapped into consciousness. Thinking she had imagined the doorbell ringing, she rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Ding-dong! With a groan, she pushed herself out of bed. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and groggily walked down the stairs. She pulled her shimmering bathrobe on and tried to tie it as she made her way to the door. Snapping her fingers, she made her hair neat again. Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell chimed in her ears. "I'm coming! I'm coming all ready!" Meagan said grumpily. Yawning, she pulled the door open. She groaned. "Hello Mark." She said, staring at Mark, his wife Kristina, and his children. "Do you have any idea what the time is?" Mark looked at his watch. "According to this, 3 P.M." He said. "It's 5 A.M.!" She said, pulling her brother inside. A baby's cry sounded from upstairs. Harry, his mouth wide open in a yawn, ambled down the stairs with Angelina and Abigail in his arms. "Harry, we have company." Meagan said. "What?" Harry asked. "You had more kids?" Mark said. Meagan nodded, another cry sounding from upstairs. "I don't have anymore arms." Said Harry, sitting on the couch. Meagan went upstairs and came down with Ashleigh. "Triplets?" asked Kristina, looking at her own three triplets. Meagan nodded wearily. "Good luck." Said Mark. "I'm getting a lot of that." Meagan said, eyeing her little brother. "Mom! Who," Jess started, walking down the stairs, "Is it?" finished Jo, following her. "Your Uncle Mark, Aunt Kristina, and cousins." Meagan said. Harry was starting to nod off. She poked him in the side and he gave a startled jump. "What was that for?" he demanded. "You were falling asleep." Meagan said simply. One by one, each of the Potter children traipsed downstairs, startled to have guests this early. "I don't even get up this early at Hogwarts!" Crystal complained, sitting down huffily. "I did." Meagan said, smiling and a dreamy look flitting across her face. "Wonderful place, Hogwarts." "There's a full moon outside," said a voice, drifting down the stairs. Meagan looked over and saw James. He was smiling dreamily. "Yeah, and only God knows where Moony is." She said, grinning. "What's the big deal about a full moon?" inquired Mark. "The werewolves are out tonight." Meagan said. Mark snorted. "Yeah right." He said, disbelieving. "It's true. When I used the Time Turner, Hermione and I almost got bitten." Harry said. A scratching sound came at the door. "Maybe that's Remus. maybe he took the Wolfsbane potion." Meagan said, rising and walking to the door. "Moony, that you?" she asked when she pulled the door open. A wolf stood in the door, panting, its tongue lolling out. The wolf nodded its head energetically. Meagan smiled wryly. Werewolves couldn't talk in animal or human tongue when in transformation. For that, she pitied him. "Come, come, my little brother is in, you can come too." Meagan said, standing aside for the werewolf to enter. Lupin strolled on in. Meagan led the way down the corridor and Lupin warily followed, glancing at the windows now and then. "We have another guest." She said as she entered the living room. "Ya-hah-ha!" Crystal yelled, spotting Lupin. Lupin looked hurt. "Now that's not polite, Crystal, that's my friend Remus Lupin! Now, apologize! Besides, the sun's almost up. He'll be returning to his real form shortly." Meagan said, scolding her oldest child. Mark didn't seem to be able to take it all in. His oldest sister was scolding her child for yelling because she saw a wolf. "Sorry, Mr. Lupin." Grumbled Crystal. The Delmore triplets were staring and Mary tried to look as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Suddenly, the moon went down. Lupin gave a howl and fell in a crumpled heap on the ground. Mark and his family stared, transfixed. Lupin went ridged and began to shake. His muzzle started to incline towards his face and was suddenly sucked in with a slurping sound. He gave a pitiful whimper. "Oh, Moony, you should be used to it by now." Meagan said, shaking her head as Lupin's fur started to disappear. The ones watching could hear the crunching of bone as his joints reversed direction. The amber eyes with large pupils began to shrink and change to the color of brown. The fur that still remained on his head became fine and not course and was speckled with the remaining brown hair. His teeth shrunk and became flat, except for his eyeteeth, which remained wolf teeth, which was one of the signs of being a werewolf. His nose melted and became flesh colored once more. His tail suddenly disappeared and his legs became longer. The three toes on his paws elongated and multiplied, becoming fingers and toes. The claws became soft and became fingernails. He moaned softly as his throat and voice box contorted and made him capable of human speech. His lungs, stomach, and other organs squished and stretched and shrunk to form human organs. When he was finished, he lies in a crumpled heap in his robes on the floor and breathed deeply. "No one can ever get used to werewolf transformations." Lupin croaked after a few minutes in the astonished silence. Meagan helped him to his feet. "Well, how should I know, Moony? I have never undergone a werewolf transformation." She said, grinning. "True." He said, nodding. "Wow." Mark breathed. ~*~ The time for the party finally arrived. Wizards and Muggles of all kinds arrived there. Meagan was glad at the turnout. She beamed every time someone congratulated her. When she thought the last guest had arrived, the doorbell rang. She ran and opened the door. Her jaw dropped open. She shut it as quickly as she could. "'Allo, Meagan." Colin Creevey said, the camera around his neck swinging. Ginny was with him. "Harry!" Meagan called. Harry came running, spotted Colin and Ginny, and almost swore. "Hello Colin, Ginny." Harry said wearily. "I'm Mrs. Creevey now." Said Ginny, beaming. Meagan and Harry looked at each other. "This is our son, Harry. Harry Creevey. Harry in your honor, Harry." Colin said, patting a boy with ginger hair on the shoulder. Harry (C) had a camera dangling around his neck like his father. He was a scrawny boy, not unlike Colin when he was young. His face was dappled with freckles, one of the Weasley trademarks. His brown eyes sparkled with excitement. Harry rubbed the back of his head. "C'mon in?" Meagan volunteered. "Okay!" Ginny said brightly and entered. Colin immediately started to take pictures. "Here we go!" Meagan muttered to herself, and dived into the party.