Ron and Ginny were slumped against the door, an Extendable Ear trained on it. Harry and Hermione stood in the hallways- Hermione was in the process of delivering a slow motion chop to Harry's neck. "Bring your right arm up to block while at the same time, swing with your left," Hermione instructed. He raised his left leg to kick at her waist, but Hermione slammed down on his foot with her right, pinning it to the ground. "Harry, if you aren't going to listen to what I say, I won't bother," Hermione huffed, backing up. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized grumpily, squaring his body again. Hermione glared at him.
Ginny had originally been part of the defense lesson, but had decided to back off of it as Hermione was playing Military Commander. The stern voice had been prevalent throughout the entire lesson, made even worse by the fact that Harry seemed to have his own ideas about how moves should be made, and seemed keen to catch Hermione off her guard. It hadn't worked so far and Harry was now sporting a bruise on his left forearm that was blooming into a beautiful purple color, not to mention probably a bruised foot. It had been half an hour since Esme and Percy had disappeared into the room together and Ron had spent the entire time straining to hear their conversation. Esme had spent most of the time talking about her life- going to school in America, working for a pharmaceutical company that dealt with werewolves in some place called Silicon Valley. At least it explained the muddled accent. The discussion had shifted to Percy's glowing career at the ministry. At the mention of Fudge's name, Esme had erupted. Her voice had diminished at Percy's insistence, but to Ron's surprise, the language spoken had taken a definite left turn from English. And while he couldn't understand a word of it, he could recognize it from his dreams.
"Alright, I'm going to speed it up slightly, so keep on your toes," Hermione warned. She feigned with her left foot, dropped it down and spun, kicking out with her right. Harry grabbed her foot. "No! Block it, don't grab. It causes imbalance and it prevents them from doing this!" Hermione jumped off her left foot and turned her hips, slamming her foot into Harry's head. Harry dropped Hermione's foot and she fell to the ground, Harry swerving into the wall. Ron and Ginny turned their head to watch.
"That's IT! There are so many other things I could be doing besides wasting my time with an arrogant asshole who can't follow simple directions," Hermione shouted, righting herself and stomping down the stairs. Harry rubbed the side of his head, fixing his glasses. "She's just a bit tetchy," Harry said sarcastically, sitting down next to Ginny. "She's been under a lot of stress, and you weren't exactly helping," Ginny shot back, giving him a look. Harry glared back. He looked over at Ron, who was focused on listening to the door.
And then promptly fell through it.
Percy peeked his head out of the doorway and then down, giving a small chuckle when he saw his brother on the floor. "Er... come on in," Percy said, backing away from the door. Harry and Ginny got to their feet and hopped over the laid-out form of Ron.
This room wasn't a bedroom- it looked like a small library. Bookshelves lined the walls, extending to the vaulted ceiling. Chipped molding lined the juncture between wall and ceiling, and the windows looked straight out of a church. Light streamed in on the dusty embroidered couches and chairs. Esme sat in one of the chairs, her eyes focused on her feet. She looked up and gave the three of them a forced smile, before returning her gaze downwards. Percy dropped down into the seat next to her and gestured towards the couch. The three of them plopped down, dust flying into the light like glitter.
"You should know. About the diary and all that," Percy started by saying. He was having trouble meeting their eyes as well. "Are you sure?" Ron asked quietly. Esme opened her mouth, but Percy silenced her. "Yes. I think... well. I thought that I could protect the family from all this... but it hasn't worked. Or, it won't work, rather. Whether I like it or not, you're involved in this war more than any adult is, I think, and you need to be prepared for what may come." He looked over at Esme, who was actively studying the lamp to her right. "However, I didn't lie when I said I couldn't tell you. It was made very clear to me that I couldn't." "I can though," Esme remarked, her voice hoarse. "There is a loophole, we think. If not, you'll be Obliviated and it won't matter in any case." Esme looked back down at the floor and took a deep, shuddering breath.
"There is a theory about how wizards gained the ability to do magic. There are two schools of thought on this subject: one is that it is within our DNA, that the ability is a mutation that the muggles lack. It's a relatively new idea held by mostly muggle-born wizards, as they are generally the only ones who even know what a mutation in DNA is. But another school of theory is that something in the soul has the ability to touch magic and shape it. While it is generally not known why, the second theory is based upon the remains of a race of magical beings, humanoid in look with several differences- adults height averaged 6'5", 24 functional fingers and toes, less dense bone structure, and a vestigial loop of bone that sat low in the back. They used magic like we breath air, no need for wands. They believed in reincarnation, practiced polytheism, had councils as opposed to kings. Lots of stuff. Those that believe in the second theory have incorporated this knowledge and believe that it is the reincarnated souls of these ancestors that give us our ability- but our bodies aren't entirely compatible with them and therefore, we need wands as a conduit. Wandless magic happens when we are able to override the mental and physical contraints and connect directly with the magic. It was a theory that my mother was particularly fond of... you can come in, Hermione," Esme explained, finishing by looking up towards the door. The heavy wooden door creaked open as Hermione dragged the Extendable Ear with her. With a slightly embarrassed look on her face, she sat down on the couch.
"My mother, Sadie Wilkes-Rosier was a major proponent of this theory, even wrote a special NEWT dissertation on it her last year at Hogwarts. She left school and worked as a cultural anthropologist, trying to uncover more on this ancient race. Caught the attention of You-Know-Who. The Rosier name is practically synonymous with him, and for good reason. She loved the attention." Esme looked up for the first time at the four of them on the couch, listening in rapture. "Some of the adult Death Eaters liked to give parties for the pure-blood families. My father met my mother there, and after getting extremely drunk... well... I was conceived. Dad was 16 at the time, she was 22. She kept the pregnancy a secret and 9 months later I was born."
"You-Know-Who was very interested in finding a way to uncover the reincarnated soul of our ancestors within people. It would not only make warriors that could best any wizard alive in a magical based conflict, but remains suggest that their muscle tone, bone density and body shape allowed them to be ultimately stronger with less effort- better conditioned and the like. And, eventually when the technique was perfected, allow him to be unstoppable. So my mother was commissioned to do as such. She received a laboratory, a staff of two, and anything she needed in her pursuit. I'm guessing you can see where this is going," she said, almost at a whisper.
Esme stopped there and looked over at Percy, who looked back at her. "What about the pictures, my memories?" Ginny asked tentatively. Percy frowned. He looked over at Esme. "Just nod if I'm right," Esme said, and then began to think. "I don't know... but I would guess that the pictures were created to serve the purpose that they did- give him an alibi. They built us a history- everything from schools we attended to people we invited to our birthday parties. But I didn't get any pictures of my childhood- the only family I have is my Dad and he didn't need to be fooled." Esme checked it out with Percy, who nodded. "How many years aren't real?" Ginny continued, her eyes looking a bit wet. "Er... you're a year younger than I am... that would have put you at nine... two plus four... anything between ages 3 and 9 would have been falsified." Both Ginny and Ron looked desolate. Percy eyes tried to be comforting.
"What about the sketches," Harry asked. Percy gulped, but Esme looked confused. Percy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black leather diary- the edges were less frayed than the diary Ron and Ginny has found. He passed it to her and she opened it. Her pale face became almost ghostly as she slammed the book closed. She blinked hard several times, as if trying to push back tears that weren't there and pulled herself into some semblance of composure. "When they train Navy Seals in the US, they push them to the brink... until either one of two things happens. One, they quit. Two, they develop the ability to hide away in their minds from the stress- it's a survival reflex, well documented. Navy Seals go several days with 2 hours of sleep, little food, pushing their body to the limit. My mother favored a more... brutal approach, as you've no doubt seen. Anything to be right," Esme answered curtly.
"Was she right?" Hermione asked. A small smile appeared on Percy's face. Esme bit her lip. "Yes... for the most part. Which is why you had to know. There have been lots of precautions taken to make sure we can't... fully exploit... don't get me wrong. There are very strict caveats in regards to what we can and can't do and some... more physical means of prevention. Which," Esme turned to Percy, "are unbreakable. What does he think he's playing at? Imperius and other compulsion spells don't work on us. I know he probably thought he had me in his back pocket because of my father, but you're a blood traitor and have always sided with Dumbledore." "The snake was probably sent to kill me, which means he doesn't know the extent of everything. All he would need was one of us, why leave anyone around to challenge?" Percy responded nonchalantly. At the four's questioning look, Percy squirmed down in her chair, digging in his pocket. Pulling out a set of keys attached to a ring, he separated one key out and raised it above his head. He stared at his hand a moment. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He slammed the key down on his left hand. A bellow of pain shot out of his mouth and he ripped the key out, blood pouring down the middle of his hand. He tipped his head back, sucking in breath through his teeth.
The wound sealed before their eyes, leaving only the old blood trailing down his hand. "Killing Curse is the only thing that will do it. Just so you know," Percy said, his voice hollow as he bent and extended his fingers experimentally. They worked with ease. Esme shot up out of her seat and ran out of the room, her hand over her mouth. The door slammed behind her, echoing through the room.
"Are you going to say anything, Ron?" Percy asked. Ron looked up from his hands. He opened his mouth to say something and stopped. He tried again. Nothing. "I'd wager this wasn't exactly what you were expecting. Mild mannered brother by day..." a strange smile crept onto Percy's face. "How did you..." "Survive? Who knows. Probably luck. Two years of constant therapy after they found us didn't hurt. I was only there 4 years- believe me, I got off easy. By the time I came around, they had it down to practically an art form," Percy tried to joke and failed. Silence purveyed through the room. Everyone seemed to be looking at something other than each other. Suddenly, Ginny pulled out of her seat and collapsed onto Percy, hugging him and sobbing, arms wrapped around his waist. Percy gave a half smile and rubbed her back. "It's okay, Gin. I've gotten this far, haven't I? It'll turn out alright, you'll see," Percy comforted her.
Ginny wound back and punched him in the jaw. Percy's head snapped back, and Ginny scrambled off of his lap. "You bastard! We're in a fucking war and you have the nerve to run out on this family when you are needed the most. We have nothing but each other and how dare you try to ruin that!" Percy rubbed his jaw. "I deserved that," Percy conceded, testing his jaw back and forth, "but I, admittedly, was trying to protect you. Merlin knows Harry Potter gets you into enough trouble, you didn't need another reason to be targetted." Harry shot Percy a dangerous look. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You don't think I know the road you're going down? If you don't start looking on the bright side of life you are going to end up looking on the bright side of a white-padded room and taking the lot of them with you," Percy stood up and stopped in front of Harry. He looked Harry plainly in the eye. "You're not the only one Voldemort wants dead," he added sharply. Harry's eyes flashed. "But I'm the only one that can kill him," he said sharply and leaned back in his chair. "Neither can live while the other survives," he shot out, lounging back on the couch cushions with a grim grin pasted on his face. Percy looked over at Hermione and Ginny's shocked face, and Ron's morbid one. He didn't look surprised. "The prophecy, right? The one... Voldemort," Percy involuntarily shuddered, "came looking for in the D.O.M. The one Neville said broke, right?" Ron inquired, looking over at Harry, who nodded a bit surprisedly.
"Can't get anything past him nowadays," Ginny shot at Ron, followed by a glare. Ron sent one back her way, but said nothing. Percy's head cocked in thought. "Harry wins... Percy." Esme was clutching the door, her eyes and cheeks red. She gave a perfunctory wipe under each eye. "Dad wants us downstairs- Mr. Dumbledore wants to run a few tests... and to see if we can track down Ani and Di," her voice hovering above a whisper. She blinked several times, her eyes wide, like she was trying to recenter a contact lense. Percy looked back at Harry, who was trembling slightly as he was trying to look empty of emotion. "Right," Percy replied at more of a grunt and left in his spot an awkward silence.
Author's Notes: Damn, I must have re-written this chapter 4 times. I have all this information to give and was having a problem figuring out how to get it told. So here it is, part of Big Explanation. It's not as long as some of my other chapters, but I think it's a bit of an information overload so yeah. In addition, I also wanted to smack Harry in OotP. At least someone gets to :) Hope the build up was worth it! ::gives an uneasy smile::