Chapter 05

• Potential •

Jasmine's room was an oddity in such a formal house. It was what I had once imagined I'd like my room to be like. Posters covered the wall, though not as Ron's had been. They were arranged neatly, and none of them clashed with the others.

The most predominate poster, the one that stood alone and shining brightly as you walked through the door, was of me. I winced as I saw a cheery smile on my face and my emerald green eyes sparkling brightly. The one poster I'd ever allowed to be created of me. I was alone at the time, and had just gained my first major victory over Voldemort. It was one of the last times I'd ever been happy. Pictures surrounded it, mostly pictures of me standing alone or conversing with others, but a few with Ron and Hermione in them. Looking at them made me angry again and I had to look away before I started the wall on fire.

The rest of the room was painted darkly, a glimmering purple color, it set the whole room in a dark mood and I rather liked it. Her bed was in the middle, the same sort of four-poster with hangings that I had slept in at Hogwarts and it was raised up a little making it seem like she was sleeping above everything. I wondered if Aja had arranged at least some of the room. All of the drawers were inset into the wall making the room seem even bigger and at the same time bare. It was odd that a room with so much could seem empty, but it was the truth.

On the far wall, concealed by the bed as I had stepped in, and right next to my poster, was a broom in a case and below it a box that I recognized for holding Quidditch gear. I had had a smaller one, but very similar. She was sitting on the carpeted floor, completely still, waiting for me to judge the room.

I looked down to her slightly surprised. "You play Quidditch?" I asked, startled, though somehow I shouldn't have been. It seemed that it ran through the family even my grandfather had played. She wasn't tall, nor was she short, but she was slender and now that I looked at her I knew she would make an excellent seeker.

"Of course," she said, a smile on her face. "I can't be letting such skills go to waste. The only reason Gryffindor is going to win the cup this year is because they finally have someone who'll let me play like I want to."

"You're going to win the Quidditch cup this year?" I asked excited, emotion was flooding over me as if a huge damn had broken. I hadn't felt true excitement since the last battle I'd had with Voldemort, the one before I was captured. The last time I had fought with him wasn't a battle in my mind, but rather a slaughter.

"Yeah," she said smirking. "There's only one game left and they'd have to beat us by four hundred points to win."

I felt slightly stunned, the Gryffindors must either have an excellent team, or the other teams were lousy. "And what about the house cup?" I wondered out loud, it was odd to have feelings like this again, but as surely as I thought I'd never feel it, pride welled up in me. I had a daughter who was a seeker, just like me, and a good one by the sounds of it.

She laughed lightly, and smirked. "Gryffindor hasn't won the house cup since I've been a member. In fact, this last year we made it a point to lose as many point as possible. Our cup can't keep points even for the few that try and get them."

I looked at her confused, the house cup was a great honor to receive, it always had been, why would Gryffindor purposefully lose it?

Seeing the concerned look on my face and taking it exactly how it was, she explained. "There are only four teachers at teaching who weren't Slytherin, or something like it at the schools they attended. We can't get many house-points anyway, so we had a meeting as Gryffindors and determined rather than to try and get house points we would try and lose as many as possible without getting kicked out of school. I think we have the record for longest time at zero house points now."

I sniggered wondering what McGonagall would think about that and wondering if she was still there.

"Aja suggested it," Jasmine added as an after thought.

Looking up slowly I tried to make my face appear as blank as possible. It was hard, she had done exactly what I would have done, made a suggestion that would infuriate the teachers to no end. "How long have you known Aja?" I asked as informal as possible, trying to find out how much time Aja had been planning things.

"Since before Mom even came back," Jasmine said. "She was visiting America and happened to meet mom. They became really good friends and Mom came back because Aja told her it was a good idea. She... also told me that my real dad was a famous person. That's why I stole mums diary to see who it was. I was only seven at the time, but Aja taught me a spell to copy it without mum knowing."

"She knows too, about you being my father, she and Harry are the only one's who know. I think uncle Fred and George do, but they never say anything about it they only tell me I'm really, really special."

"I thought your mother didn't speak to any of the family?" I asked a little surprised.

"She doesn't," Jasmine offered, shrugging, "Aja takes me there. As long as they don't talk to mum, she doesn't know, Aja is good at keeping secrets."

I smiled smugly, Jasmine had no idea at how good Aja was at keeping secrets. "Well do you talk to anyone else in the family?" I asked interested to see just how much of a role Aja was playing in Jasmine's life. It was becoming apparent that she was doing a lot, almost as if she'd taken on a role as a parent.

Nodding Jasmine smiled brightly, "Just Bill and Charlie usually. Sometimes grandmum if she'll see me, but I don't think she likes me very much. Percy doesn't like me at all."

"And Ron?" I inquired, trying to discover more about him.

The moment I mentioned his name Jasmine's face darkened. "Aja told me what he did," she said angrily. "If I ever meet him I don't think he'll like me at all because I'll make him suffer for hurting you."

It was apparent that Aja had been doing a very good job at keeping my daughter from the wrong influences and I was happy that she was like that. It still disturbed me a bit, the way she knew everything about me, how she could do anything I wanted without me even knowing beforehand. "He's already got a wound," I said, smiling. "He came to Azkaban once and I put a scar across his face."

"Really?" she asked, perking up. "Why didn't you just kill him?"

The way she asked made me stop for a minute. No matter how much I was prepared for I hadn't been ready for that, I didn't think Jasmine would just be so calm about it, killing her own uncle, killing anyone for that matter. Yet she stood before me calmly asking why I hadn't. Aja was certainly a wonderful person to mold my daughter so well.

Finally I laughed and waved my hand over her face. A memory washed through her mind and she saw it happen, felt my anger and pain, saw me tear right through the magical bars and touch him magically. When the memory was gone I thought I might have pressed it too far, given her too much too quick, but she just stood there dazed, so I waited.

It was then that I felt something touch me, and I realized what I had done. When I shared the memories I had shared my feelings, the release, the understanding. She had just come to understand it herself, she was changing right before my eyes. She opened her eyes again and they were blazing green like an emerald fire and I could feel her feeding off me, feeding off the whole house. I jumped forward and held her to me, giving her the energy she needed. When she was filled she looked at me and then hugged me tightly. "It's alright," she said, "we'll find him together."

While my energy had been significantly drained, I still felt a sort of energy welling up in me and I hugged her back, just letting our powers mingle. I wondered why Aja hadn't done this, it was more than just energizing it was like pleasure of a different sort, as the powers lapped against each other like an ocean touching land. It was calming and blissful.

Someone knocked on the door and I ignored it, holding Jasmine tightly to me. The door finally opened and Aja stepped in looking as elated as I must have looked at that moment. Her eyes burned with desire, and she walked towards me slowly without saying anything. When she was finally standing next to me she reached out tentatively to touch me almost as if she wasn't sure if she should or even could. There was a crackle as her hand approached mine as energy sparked between us.

It seemed to make her even hungrier and she touched me quickly, letting the power mingle with hers. It was different than with Jasmine, Aja was a part of me and it filled me to the point of ecstasy and then lept out from me finding other places to go to. Objects all over the house which had once been magical, but had lost it over the years, flared back to life. I could feel them all at once like hundreds of miniature storms. The guests, the few who had not left yet, felt it to like a chill running down their spine and felt me in a way they had never experienced – like a soft presence in the back of their minds.

It wasn't enough though, the power continued forward, crossing the boundaries of the house and into the animals beyond. The dogs in the kennels and the other magical creatures were touched, each expressing themselves in a different manner. Some of the animals that Aja kept on the land disturbed me, I wondered briefly how she'd gotten them.

The rust abated, and I found that all of us had collapsed upon each other on the floor in Jasmine's room.

Bobby was standing above me, I could feel him there, waiting. Gently I pushed Aja to the side and looked at his enlarged eyes. "The guests, they is gone sir," he spoke timidly, almost scared. "They is saying they all felt too well to stay inside and is wanting to thank the hostess for everything she is doing for them. Bobby and the other elves is feeling odd too, some is feeling... young again, and some is wanting to work harder. They is asking Bobby to thank you sir."

Jasmine opened her eyes next to me lazily, content. She didn't seem to care that Bobby was there, or maybe she wasn't even paying attention. She hummed an almost purring sound and wrapped her arms around me again, burying her head into my chest. She pulled away slowly and looked to bobby with a vague smile. "Did my father drink the soup Bobby?" she asked lethargically, a smile slowly spreading across her lips.

Bobby nodded and Jasmine sighed and then closed her eyes, "good" she whispered as she dozed off again.

The energy – whatever it had been – was like a flame burning inside me, but I was also worn out so much so that I was having trouble keeping my eyelids open, I just closed them after a minute and sighed. "You can go now Bobby, please close and lock the door behind you when you when you leave."

I didn't see Bobby nod, but I imagined he did and I heard him pad across the floor, closing the door behind him as he left. "That was the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced," Aja said behind me, and she curled up closer, spooning against me. "I had no idea that was possible."

I smiled inside, my mouth had quit even trying to work.

•

"Dad!" I heard someone say, cutting through my sleep. "Get up, let's go do something today before I have to go back home."

I opened my eyes slowly to find Jasmine dressed and sitting on her bed, staring at me. She looked positively perky, more than I could say for myself. Aja was still curled up against me tightly and her arm had slipped over my stomach during the night. I sat up slowly and she woke up beside me a lazy smile on her face. "Morning," I said as she looked up at me she just smiled a bit more and sighed, sitting up as slowly as I was.

"Come on," Jasmine moaned. "You're not that old."

I grinned and looked over to her, "Actually technically I'm a lot older than I look."

"Yeah, the time thing," Jasmine said as I stood, "I know all about it how time around you was slower so they could monitor you easier. You're really only 22 or 23, just like you look."

"Something like that," I muttered. "So," I said looking over to her. "What is it that you want to do today?"

"Let's go to Diagon Alley, they've got a new broom I want to show you."

I suspected it wasn't that she was going to show me, rather she was going to ask me to buy it for her, I wasn't sure if I could at the moment but I didn't mind going anyway. Besides, I wanted to see how much the world had changed in 13 years.

After stretching a little Aja answered, "let us go change and then we'll go. We need to let your father see the world as it is right now before we go and start making changes."

It was absurd to think that I would like the world as it was but I didn't say anything. Neither did Jasmine though it didn't surprise me, Aja seemed to have done a good job with her.

Once Aja and I were in her room I pressed her up against the door of the bathroom and looked into her eyes. "How did you know about Jasmine?" I asked calmly. I hadn't even known and we seemed to share memories, or at least she shared mine, I didn't seem to remember anything of her past.

"I didn't at first," she replied in the same composed voice. "I sought Ginny Weasley because you had been lovers, I wanted to ask her about you in real life. It took a great deal of resources and time to find her, she was living as a muggle, rarely using magic at all. When I discovered she had a daughter and had not given the fathers name I suspected you as the father. It took some more research, but I decided that I was correct. I was only 16 at the time so Ginny found it easy to trust me. She had left her life behind at 17 and never really grew up much because she did not have any friends there – she related to me very well."

Pausing, Aja looked up, a sly smile on her face. "You're not angry with me, are you?" she asked silkily, putting her hand around my waist. "I tried to make sure she was raised like your daughter even though Ginny ended up marrying Draco once she'd returned. Even with all my council she still believed him still to be a good man and trusted him so I adjusted myself and have dealt with her new lover. It was the best I could do at the time, I hope you're not angry."

"Why didn't you just kill him then?" I asked, trying to not be angry. She had done the right thing, leaving him for me, but it hurt that Malfoy in some ways had as more of a right to be Jasmine's father than I did. Though, I would remedy that quick enough.

The kisses started on my collarbone and I pulled away, she didn't have to answer, but I didn't want to get sidetracked. It was hard enough as it was and my daughter was waiting for us.

"Shower..." I breathed and, grabbing the clothing I'd picked out, I disappeared into the bathroom. It was so difficult for me to control myself now, in part because Aja knew me as well as I knew myself, if not better, partly because I'd be in imprisoned only a few days before without the company of a woman for many years. However I now had a daughter and would not allow myself to loose myself around her.

The cold of the shower was enough to help me focus again. There were things to do today; among them was the trip to Diagon Alley and that came first.

Jasmine was talking to Bobby outside and looked up, smiling brightly. "Dobby is getting better," she said delighted. "Something about what we did last night made him better."

A smile was about all I produce, last night had been quite interesting, and it was something I would not forget nor ignore. It was pushed into the back of my mind at the moment, or had been until Jasmine brought it back up. If last night was making Dobby better than perhaps more had happened than I had first assumed. It would be something I would need to investigate, I had thought it only a magical high for all of those in the immediate area, somewhat like what had happened between the three of us, only muted. Now I wondered if the magic was used in a different manner by different beings.

Jasmine didn't seem to remember everything that happened, or at least she made no mention of it except that it was curing Dobby. I could feel her new power simmering just beneath the surface, a damn ready to be let loose. Soon she would need training, so that she could control herself, that was something that I noted. It had taken me a great deal of time to master my own power when it finally was brought forth, but I had no one to train me and I still doubted I had full control.

"There are some things you and I will have to do before you go to school, what happened last night..."

"... was amazing," Aja said from behind me. "And you must not speak of it to anyone, not even Harry. He'll figure it out soon enough, he's sharp as a tack, but just because you will soon developed new powers does not mean you must flaunt them, even with a mask on."

The phrase sounded odd, but Jasmine had a wide grin on her face. "We never finished up last night," she said with a smile that told her there was something else she wanted to tell me.

"Alright then," I said, "let's hear it."

"See, this one was my idea, but Aja helped me. In school you were the 'dream-team', you didn't play pranks or anything but you were still troublemakers and were well known for it, even now. There were of course 'The Marauders' and my uncles who are only called 'The Twins', so I figured Ronny and I could do something like that."

From within her pocket she pulled out a silver diamond shape and handed it to me. It glimmered strangely, and was warm, I noticed it was filled with magic and fit perfectly into me hand. A large 'H' that formed from a series of jesters hats was in the middle.

"We're the Harlequins," she explained, though the only thing I understood was that she had formed group of mischief makers. Dramatically, and in a jester-like manner. Her face changed first, her lips turning blue and her skin the blackest of blacks. The hair on her face came next, growing slightly and also turning a silky black. She grew taller by several inches and then, with a touch of her hand her right cheek was marred by a silver diamond. "Harry and I," she said, her blue lips turning into an evil smirk.

"We have been labeled the worst group of mischief makers since The Marauders and it's only our second year. I am Loki," she said with a rolling hand and a stately bow. "The master of shapes and mischief. Harry is Prometheus, the master of fire and cleverness. We have yet to be caught, even after sending a few Slytherins to St. Mungo's last year. Neither returned this year."

The reference to the Norse trickster deity Loki got a smile from me. Jasmine certainly fit the bill almost perfectly, she was a metamorph at least, though I wasn't yet sure about her changing into animals – after last night she probably could. It seemed she loved to defy everyone, craft and malicious, the name and personality matched well. I didn't know Harry yet, I did know he was not his father, he had to be far different if he was sharp as a tack as Aja had mentioned. They had thought the whole thing through well and I was sure that if he was named Prometheus there was a good reason, perhaps he had a certain affinity with fire.

Jasmine was silent, watching me, and when I grinned at her she smiled back and took my hand. It was like nothing else really mattered to her but me and my opinion. I wondered how Aja had done it, how she'd molded Jasmine so perfectly so dedicated to an absent father who knew nothing of her. I was more than pleased, I was elated and it was something I would never forget.

"I'm grateful that you felt the need to raise her properly," I said quietly into Aja's ear as Jasmine waved her hand again and she shrunk, taking on her former appearance. Aja squeezed my hand gently but said nothing.

At the bottom of the stairs there was an assembly waiting for us, Dobby standing at the head of it looking far different than he had the previous night. In fact, he looked very much like he had at Hogwarts and had a huge smile to match it.

"Master," he said, bowing so low that his nose touched the ground. I reached down to pull him back up and I found his large green eyes filled with tears and the moment he pulled up he threw his arms around me and started bawling loudly.

It was difficult to see him so emotional and I felt more emotions inside me. Coming out of the box had been such a change and it was odd that I'd had so many emotions in two days when I thought I'd never feel them again. Jasmine slipped her hand into mine from behind me and I could feel her crying softly. "We fixed him dad," she whispered. "Last night when you showed me... we fixed them all."

"It's alright Dobby," I said after he'd cried for a few minutes. "I'm glad I could help you after everything you've done for me. I never thought I'd be able to get close to repaying the debt I owe and this is the least I can do for someone so loyal to me."

There were seven other elves who were looking to Harry as if he were a god. He smiled as best as possible to them and he stood up as Dobby pulled away finally. "I hope you're happy here with me Dobby, things won't be so simple soon."

"Always Master," he said, tears still leaking down his eyes.

•

The trip to Hogsmeade took no time whatsoever, there was a huge fireplace set up to Floo in and though I despised using Floo powder it was much easier than walking. I still needed time to recuperate from the cell I'd been in and walking several miles wasn't going to make things better.

Coming shooting out of the fireplace I stood and brushed myself off as my daughter followed. Aja was giving orders after I left, at the moment I didn't care though; my mind was focusing on the strange déjà vu of coming to this place once more. At one time in my imprisonment I had actually thought I might never see the active crowds of witches and wizards scurrying around to get whatever it is they were looking for. But I was here again and the place was busier the ever. The town had grown in the time I'd spent in prison and there were happy faces all around scurrying about like mice. They didn't know that a predator was in their midst.

Once Aja had joined us she turned sharply and beckoned us to follow her. I didn't know where we were going, but I followed behind anyway, studying the people moving about. Jasmine bounced ahead full of energy and knowing exactly where we were going, it worried me but I stayed quiet.

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," the sign proclaimed from the outside. I remembered it as Honeydukes and wondered where the sweats shop had gone to. I was a little angry that I'd been given no warning, but I was curious to know what the twins were up to.

"Good morning," a young woman said as we entered, smiling from the roof. "I'm a little hung up right now, but enjoy the store and let me know if I can help. Oh... Jasmine!" she said when she recognized my daughter. "Your uncles are both in the back waiting for you," she said immediately, dropping down from the ceiling.

She smiled at Jasmine and Aja and then gave me a piercing look which I easily matched. Her knees became week as she found she couldn't tear her eyes away from me and eventually she collapsed with a whimper. It didn't take much really, she wasn't that powerful and what little energy she had would come back in a few minutes. Aja slapped my arm as we headed into the back, glancing at the poor attendant. "Be careful about using your abilities so blatantly, you're liable to tip someone off," she whispered.

We moved through the back curtain and I saw that the twins had been spending their money wisely. The room was about ten times as large as it should be and there were all sorts of potions brewing along with half completed magic projects lying about. "We've got something for you!" Fred said cheerfully and pulled out a mask.

"You did it?" Jasmine asked excitedly and reached out to grab it. George and Fred both nodded simultaneously as she took it and slipped it on her face.

The clothing that Jasmine was wearing changed immediately to a black and silver diamond patterned body suit. "You did!" she exclaimed happily and hugged them both. I looked to Aja and she just smiled and nodded back. She took off the mask but nothing happened and Fred looked a little downcast. "Yeah, but we still need to figure out how to transfigure the clothing back once you take off the mask."

I laughed heartily as Jasmine gave them both a warning stare. The two hadn't changed a bit.

Fred and George looked up at me as if suddenly realizing that there were more people in the room. George stepped across the room quickly, offering me his hand. I took it and felt a slight shudder run through my whole body, there was something magical in his hands but I absorbed the magic and didn't show that it had affected me. "Hello," George said with a puzzled expression on his face. "I'm George Weasley, co-founder of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes where we provide tricks and mischief for the most wanton of customers."

"And I am Lord Persecutus," I said, bowing slightly as any nobleman would do.

The red-heads eyes widened almost excitedly. "You really exist," he said almost in awe. "After everything that Aja has told us about you we thought you might just be someone she made up in her imagination." Then, taking a step back he sized me up. "Is it really true that you can fly without a broom?"

I looked over to Aja startled and she just shrugged. Then, hoping to avoid any further badgering on the subject I took a deep breath and levitated myself off the ground. "It is true!" George said behind Fred. "You're a right genius to pull that off."

It wasn't really all the complicated if you knew what you were doing, just no one did know.

Jasmine was fiddling with her clothing, trying to change it back she could have if she knew what she was doing, but she had no practice. I flicked my hand and the harlequin costume she was wearing faded into the robes she'd been wearing when we entered the store. She smiled a thank you and the twin's mouths hung open like fish.

"A costume to better disguise yourself I assume?" I asked her as she examined the mask.

She nodded, "Harry and I have to transfigure our clothing every time before we make an appearance and if Harry's going to be there we have to change his appearance too. Uncles Gred and Forge," I glanced over at them as she spoke seeing their happy smile at the mention of their names, "have been working on things to make it quicker for us so that it's harder to discover who we are. I typically use black and silver clothing while Harry usually uses reds and yellows and blue sometimes. Some of the time I play a different person though so that they can't figure out how many of us there are. The most that has ever been seen together at once is three, but there's a dozen different descriptions of us, if not more. There are others too sometimes that want to help, but usually they can't stand the pranks after a while and they leave again. Only Harry and I know who everyone is."

"He knows about that?" Fred asked, astonished. "How long have you known him?"

"All my life," Jasmine said in a whisper so soft that only I heard it. Then smiled and looked up. "Long enough to trust him," she said in a normal voice. "He can help too maybe, I'm sure he'd love to see Hogwarts again and he'll be able to help us pull some good pranks."

"How are you going to do that?" George asked and I smiled. I knew exactly what my daughter was talking about. I whirled quickly and my face changed along with my clothing. When I was looking at them again my face was painted white and I was wearing a fool's costume and I looked like I was 16 years old.

"It's simple really. There's always a way into Hogwarts, isn't there?" I asked, smiling maliciously and glancing at the floor. In the cellar below I knew there was a passage that led to Hogwarts, all I had to do was make sure it was still usable. No one had ever discovered it other than those who'd known about it when I was still attending, and half of them that were alive were standing in the room. The look I got from the twins confirmed that that was probably at least one of the reasons that they'd set up shop here.

"Of course there is darling, it's why I bought the place," Aja said, startling me. Aja owned Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes? That was almost too much, it was as if she'd just scooped up everything relating to my previous life and made it her own. "I don't own the store; I just let the two rent the place at a discount. They weren't doing too well a few years ago, some of the larger stores tried to put them out of business, but I made sure that was taken care of as well. We have an agreement about this place and Jasmine, they help make sure that everything's all right for her and we're settled."

George nodded. "We pay rent and make sure to supply Jasmine with enough supplies to make the school a riot and that's pretty much it."

"Well there are a few things they help me with," she said, playing with the necklace that she'd concealed me in. The meaning wasn't lost on me and I turned to see what the twins thought. I tried to probe their minds but found them a bit more difficult than I would have thought. I glanced at Jasmine and she winked and nodded back to them.

They were both staring at me a little confused. "You know about him then?" Fred finally asked. "Is that why you're here?"

Jasmine looked at the both of them confused but Aja distracted her and the twins bore down on me, moving me to the other side of the room. "You support Harry Potter?" They whispered in extremely hushed tones. I smiled when I understood as I finally moved past their erected shields. "I believe that the world has gone to shit and he's the only one who can help us. I'm also aware of what he's thinking most of the time, it's a gift I've been given, a connection."

Fred stooped in closer, his eyes looking pleadingly to me. "Do you know where he is?" he asked quietly. "Where they've imprisoned him? We know he's in a time-box, but we've never been able to figure out where even with Aja's help."

I shook my head, not wanting to reveal that I was no longer locked up. I would pretend to know some, but not everything.

"Then can you tell us what he's thinking of right now?" George asked desperately. Is he alright, I mean is the place he's at really that bad?

"It is, it's always dark and there's nothing at all to do. Nothing ever changes day after day after day. He has his memories and his thoughts and right now he's thinking about his daughter and how much he wants to know her."

The two glanced between themselves and Fred glanced discreetly at Jasmine. I noticed it only because I was expecting it, otherwise I would have missed it completely. "Who's his daughter?" George asked trying to feign lack of knowledge. I smiled disarmingly glancing meaningfully at Jasmine. "Are you telling me you don't know after all this time? It didn't take me long to figure it out once I'd met her."

"But how does he know?" Fred asked.

"He knows a great deal of things," I said quietly. "Being trapped in a box doesn't mean he can't see into this world. He didn't know before hand and he regrets it but now... there's nothing he can do about it."

Someone wandered through the curtain and the woman who I'd zapped looked around for me. When her eyes came to rest on me she stared as if unsure if I was the same person who'd hurt her but I smiled and she glared then came stomping my way. I bent over and when I came back up again I was back to my former disguise. It bothered her a little bit to see me change so fast and she slowed down. The twins both turned to her, almost as if standing as guards over me. I gently pushed them aside though, waiting to see how she'd react. When she was finally in front of me she fell forward on her knees and started crying.

The twins looked startled as she wrapped her hands around my legs. "Please do it again," she begged as she cried into my robes. I felt a bit shocked but smiled as I drained her again and she fainted at my feet with a smile on her lips.

"That's new," George said.

"Exactly what is it that you did to her?" Fred asked as he leaned over her, checking her pulse.

I grinned, reaching down and picking her up with some work. Then I summoned a bed out of thin air and laid her on it. "She's a masochist, nothing to be too worried about, but I think that when I made her faint earlier she liked it a lot."

George and Fred exchanged looks that made me curious. "That's probably why she's wanted to work as a tester," Fred said with a smirk, "she likes it when she gets injured while testing the new products."

The woman was laid out and the two were looking at me a little uncomfortably. "Are you planning on trying to break him out?" Fred asked me silently glancing over at the two women who were still talking.

I didn't answer immediately. George bent in closer again, "don't worry," he said barely above a whisper. "We've been trying to figure out how to do it for years now. Aja had a few suggestions, but they never turned up anything. We've got a friend on the inside working on finding out his location though."

"Neville?" I asked, knowing the answer even before I asked. Their minds were so easily read once I'd gotten past the barriers. I wasn't sure if they were the ones that had erected the barriers because of that, but I ignored the fact for now; I needed to find exactly how many people I had to work with. When I'd been in the cell I had thought I had no one, and yet somehow I'd already found a handful of people who had stayed loyal to me in the end. There were of course those idiots who didn't know and believed I'd died as hero, I wasn't particularly interested in them, I was about to take over the world and reform it and most of them wouldn't be happy about that. For now I needed to find people that would understand the truth of my cause.

I wanted to meet Neville, and sometimes soon, I wanted to know how he'd survived after he disappeared. It was also curious that he had a son who was the same age as my daughter – I should have known something about that. I was still free when both of them were born.

The two seemed more and more surprised as I continually knew who and what they were talking about. "Are you an empath?" George finally asked. "You're reading us even through our walls. No one's ever been able to do that."

"Walls are easily fallen," I said quietly.

"You can read Harry," Fred pointed out.

Smiling, I close my eyes for a moment. "That, is a special case," I said clearly, but not overdoing it.

Aja came up behind me, slipping her hand into mine. "It's time we go," she said. "Neville is expecting to see us."

Good, there were some things I would like to speak with him about.

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