Disclaimer: As always other than plot and new characters, I do not make the money. It belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Author Notes:
I just reread what I've written so far and just to clear up things George and Fred have a shop in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade in my little world. The main shop is in Diagon Alley right now at this is where the twins are. The Hog's Head is in Hogsmeade. So wherever people are in Diagon Alley and magically end up at the Order headquarters under the Hog's head or when someone goes to visit the twins, pretend they had port key. I will fix this when I have time to.
Also, at first I wasn't sure about this whole Avalon thing and the Celtic legend threads, but they seem to fit in well with what I had already planned to do. Looks like this project will be around 38 chapters long, and a sequel is inevitable seeing as this is my book 6. I just hadn't realized that I might actually get to see my favorite two characters end up with each other. Not in this book but almost positively in the next. But that's for you to stew on.
Everybody gets to Hogwarts in the next chapter, so Snape can be his usual snarky self again and the students can finally go looking for Blanche.
Oh, and don't worry Snape will never be Sirius. He was just tired and vulnerable over the summer. Don't expect too many niceties where Harry is concerned from now on, though Harry has finally come to respect the man. They will have to deal with each other anyway.
Chapter 11-Back to SafetyThe witch in the blue robes sighed as she looked up from the gates. It had been a long time since she had thought about her past and now seeing Hogwarts in all its glory she felt a wave of anxiety, peace, and something she couldn't let herself remember. Petunia Evans had finally come back to Hogwarts and now she wanted nothing more than to leave. A hand was gently placed on her right shoulder. The hand steadied and moved her closer to the castle. Petunia looked at her cousin and Molly gave her a comforting smile.
'Well, nothing to it. I just appartated for the first time, maybe I'm not the dunderhead I thought I was,' Petunia thought to herself. Then, a familiar voice echoed in her mind,
'No, Petunia you never were, but that is the past. You choices have lead you back to this place, Lady. Have faith in your decisions. I trust you are here to see me?'
'Yes, professor.'
'Good. You know where my office is. Bring Molly. The password is Hershey Hugs. Oh, and Lady?'
'Yes?'
'Call me Albus. Your title alone would warrant that. And besides I am no longer your professor, dear.'
'Thank you, Albus.'
'See you in moments.'
"Well, let's get going shall we?" Petunia asked Molly a little more confidently than before.
Petunia looked at the Headmaster's gargoyle with a little trepidation. The last time, and only time she'd been in the Headmaster's office was to declare her choice to transfer back to her muggle school. Thinking back to who she was then and where her choices lead her she felt weak. How was she Petunia Evans, ex-Hufflepuff, wife to a human pig, and mother to Dudley the dunderhead, supposed to pull this escapade off? Just as she began to turn to leave, the gargoyle rose up revealing the stairs. In all her thoughts, Petunia hadn't realized it was she that said the password. With Molly holding her arm in her own, Petunia sucked up her feelings and stepped onto the moving stairway.
Petunia and Molly entered Dumbledore's office quietly and proceeded towards his desk and the leather wing-backed chairs provided for guests. Before they got there, they heard Albus murmuring to his Phoenix. The ladies turned toward him and he welcomed them,
"Lady Petunia. Molly. I am pleased to finally see you've made it back, Miss Evans." Petunia looking around and remembering too much so quickly weakly replied,
"Albus. You know I am no longer Miss Evans. I'm still Mrs. Dursley."
"Yes. Yes. And now also just the Lady we need." The headmaster sensing her fear decided to move them to a more comfortable place. "Ladies why don't we skip the formalities and move to a more comfortable area. The sitting room is just through this door." The two women followed him into his red and gold decorated room filled with more bookshelves and a cozy fireplace.
"Well, Petunia, I trust you've begun to see your powers much changed since you were last here."
"Yes. I thought I wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to even use a wand. As you recall that was my problem when I was here."
"Umm Humm."
"It appears my powers have done quite the opposite really. I barely even have to think to perform what used to be so hard for me."
"Yes. I think I can explain that. It seems to stem from the fact that your powers became evident so late in childhood. In fact, were you not already in puberty when your powers first appeared?"
"Yes, just. That was why I came to Hogwarts and was placed a year lower than Lily even though I was two years older than she."
"That's right. Usually if a child is magical, their powers begin to show as early as the first week after birth. Normally, the first magical episode shows up while the child is still an infant but no later than the final stages of the toddler state. I was surprised when Lily came here so early, since your father was a squib and your mother, at least, appeared to be muggle. When she came to Hogwarts I looked into your family history, partly out of curiosity but more so out of a hunch I got from a vision of sorts."
"What I found was that your father's side was entirely magical, but that he was caste off because of his less magical presence, and that your mother was not who she appeared to be. It seems your mother was the first in a long line of matriarchs to take her husband's name and not pass on her name through her daughters. She was in fact the only daughter left of the Lefay line before you and Lily were born. She still had tremendous power, but instead of wielding it she decided the most prudent thing to do at the time was to lie low. I learned of this the same way I got the hunch.
I am of the last in line of the Druid Catha. I know much of Avalon and the priestesses. Before I found out who your mother was, I had thought all of the great priestesses' blood had died off, other than the last matriarchal family, Molly's family." Dumbledore nodded toward Molly. "You may not have inherited magic from your father's side as Lily did, but you did get the power of the lake from your mother. All daughters do. Ancient druid writings show that priestesses didn't begin learning to wield their powers until they were in puberty, so it would make sense that the powers didn't begin to show until a girl approached their puberty stage. Your mother knew this, I am certain. That is why she sent you to Hogwarts, but also why she didn't force you to stay. I think in her great wisdom she knew one daughter would need to be hidden. She probably foresaw Lily's fate. If she didn't, I'm sure Lily saw it."
"All this time, they actually cared for me." Petunia's eyes began to fill with tears and her mind saw her mother and sister and felt them there with her comforting her and giving her strength. 'They are a part of me. They are a part of all this. A part of the Goddess.' She nodded and realized what she had accidentally thought was true. It may have been hidden all those years from her, but it was true. They were together in all of it, and they had cared more than Petunia could have believed minutes before now. Somehow this truth she felt was pure and the hate and bitterness that had built up over time was forgotten. Finally, with the strength of herself, her mother, and sister combined, Petunia steadied her gaze toward the fireplace and said,
"What needs to be done? How do we defeat this monster, Albus?"
"With our ancient power and strength and above all with love."
After what amounted to a long discussion about Harry, the war, and the Order of the Phoenix, Albus decided it was for the best that Petunia pretend to not be Harry's aunt until such time as all must be revealed to him. That was to say when the time came for Petunia to take a front position in the war and return to Avalon to begin bringing young witches back to the to the island to become priestesses, and give the power of Excalibur to the person the Goddess saw fit to.
First, Petunia needed to learn to wield her powers herself and it seemed Molly would be there with her also learning to use her own motherly powers. Second, Petunia could not return to her home. Albus had decided it would be safer for both Petunia and Harry in the long run if not even Vernon and Dudley knew where they were. Albus seemed to think Voldemort was sure to have found out that Petunia had left her husband to go find Harry, and he would be wondering why all of a sudden an aunt who didn't seemed to care out of no where began to. He may be watching her home right now to see if she was coming back. An owl was sent to Vernon to explain that Petunia did not intend on coming back, that she felt it was for the best considering how she knew Vernon despised the wizarding kind. Petunia knew to expect this, but she felt pain in that her son would believe she'd abandoned him for Harry. Inwardly, she vowed she would set it right for him as soon as she could.
The next thing on the agenda was for Petunia to go into hiding. She would need an extensive glamour that only the most powerful wizards could possibly see through, and she would have to be placed with the Order for protection until she could wield her powers properly. With that, Albus performed the glamour spell holding Petunia's hands to increase the strength of the charm. When he was finished the Lady of the Lake looked regal and powerful. She had long dark raven hair to her waist, the darkest blue eyes ever seen, and a sharp chin to match her cheekbones and nose. Her blue crescent tattoo faded away into her pale ivory skin. All in all she pulled it off nicely. The final thing to be done was for Petunia to go to headquarters with Molly and Albus in tow to be introduced to the Order at tonight's meeting, as Molly's cousin, Vivianne.
While most of the adults were having heavy thoughts at the moment, there were at least two supposedly adult males wandering about from one dodgy place to another looking for the perfect mischievous gift for the famous boy wonder's birthday. Harry would be turning seventeen in less than a week. The twins wanted something special for him, since he actually would be around people who love him for the first time on his birthday, and because they were the infamous Weasley twins, special equaled devious and dodgy. They had walked around all the back alley shops of Diagon Alley before they finally decided they could risk a try in Knockturn Alley.
They put a glamour charm on themselves making them look like they would belong wandering the dirty place and made their way through the various relic and artifact shops. In the particular shop they were scavenging, they found shrunken heads used for fertility potions, vampire teeth, black unicorn horn, and other dark potion ingredients. As the boys passed through the shop they decided none of these items were a Harry gift, a gift Hermione would like maybe, but never Harry. Just as they were about to head out Fred notice a canvas lying on the front desk wrapped in brown paper.
The canvas sat next to a hand blaster, so they had to creep toward the desk very carefully in order to unwrap the paper. The canvas was starting to yellow, and obviously had seen better days. Hidden behind the paper was a painting. Not just any painting. It was a painting of a woman with long red hair sitting in front of a tree with a book in her lap. This may not have fazed the boys much given what family they came from but looking to her eyes they saw Harry's eyes. The other peculiar thing about the painting was that though it was of a known witch it did not move. The twins looked at each other astonished and knew they had found the gift. It may not be the kind of special they were searching for, but it was indeed a very special find. The crabby wizard behind the desk scowled and said to them,
"I don't know why anyone even thought to bring that canvas here. There is no magic dark or light in it. All it does is collect dust."
"Well, we will take it off your hands if your don't want it."
"Why would anyone want the damn thing?"
"Well, she is a pretty little thing don't you think?" George said. "Not many people have hair that color."
"Only Weasleys," snorted the clerk. "Well, what will you give me for it?"
"10 galleons."
The wizard looked astounded at this, and thinking he had quite the bargain for a worthless piece of canvas, he handed the precious portrait to them and took the galleons. It took every inch of their being not to scream and cheer excitedly as they left the dark establishment, but they managed and they knew they had it. They had the best present they could ever have found for Harry Potter.
Molly Weasley entered headquarters exhaustion apparent on her face. She had left a bit early so she could prepare the rooms for the evening's Order meeting. As she walked to the kitchen she couldn't help but wonder how she would survive all this. Having a family almost entirely part of the war against Voldemort, maintaining the headquarters, being den mother to aurors and children alike, and now having to help train and learn about the ways of Avalon, suddenly felt very overwhelming. Molly sighed and poured herself a strong mix of calming tea. The chamille bits swirled around the brim of the cup making a purple stain against the white ceramic. She stared into it almost hoping she would feel the calm overtake her and give her the peace of mind to keep going. The swirls made her dizzy and she thought of Sibyl Trelawney madly looking to the cup for a dreary prediction of Harry's future.
Then, when she thought her tiredness was overtaking her, she fell into a trace watching the swirling purple of her tea. She saw Excalibur in the hands of the Lady of the Lake. The runes on the blades shone green and silver and enclosed the lady with a man with dark raven hair. Suddenly, the Lady was strikingly beautiful and larger than life. The Goddess spoke in an ancient way to the man and the man replied. The words seemed extended from time and inborn not taught. The Goddess looked at the man and asked him if he was worthy. The man said that he could never be worthy of such a gift. The Goddess nodded and said, "With the power of the Goddess you are he. Behold Excalibur chosen knight. Behold your destiny." With this the Lady of the Lake hands Excalibur to the tall dark-haired man, and the bright light dissipated. The lady looked from Excalibur up to the man's face, a face she knew as well as her own. Before Molly could see who the man was, two hands grabbed at her from behind and threatened to take her away. Screaming bloody murder at the hands, Molly woke from her trance to find Harry Potter shaking her shoulders.
"Mrs. Weasley, you were completely gone. Are you alright?"
"Yes, Harry. Just a bit tired. Are you ready for the meeting?" She steadied herself on the table feeling a bit dizzy.
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about it. Do you need help getting things ready?"
"Actually yes. It would be nice if you three could set the meeting rooms up to accommodate everyone while I make the coffee and such. Could you do that, Harry?"
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley. Anytime."
"Thank you, dear."
Albus and Petunia arrived about an hour after Molly. Albus put a concealing charm on Petunia so he could take her to her rooms without questions from the curious trio. When they arrived to the rooms assigned to the new guest, Petunia's jaw dropped in awe at what was given to her. The rooms were decorated as if they were the Lady's stone buildings on her isle. The living quarters had a large water pool surrounded by rough grey stone wide enough to sit and gaze into the trickling water fountain. The top of the fountain was the source of the beautiful flowers and vines that cascaded from the ceiling of the outer room and matched the flora of Avalon Petunia had only just seen.
To the right of the fountain was a sitting room with a couch and three chairs made of light brown bent branches whose leaves still were growing upon them. The down cushions of the furniture were covered with the same elegant fabric of the Lady's robes, but dyed a deep purple. A lovely chandelier made from the same bended wood lit the room with soft muted light. To the left of the fountain was the bathroom.
As exquisite as the sitting room, the bath had a pond of water constantly cleansed by a small trickling waterfall. Water lilies held fireflies that lit the pond up in the dark. The stone vanity and toilet set were housed in a hollow sequoia tree with firelights in the canopy.
In the bedroom the natural setting continued to offer a calming, peaceful setting with the same woods making up the armoire, canopy bed, and desk set. The blues and purples of the fabric flowed through the room and made it without a doubt the coziest place Petunia had ever been. The stucco walls of the bedroom were a soft mellow tan which added to the natural atmosphere. Murals on the walls were primitive and yet fitting, picturing hippogriphs and unicorns feasting in fields while priestesses bathed in a calm brook. Petunia was floored.
"It's so beautiful. It's too much Albus."
"Oh, not to worry, Lady. It is all glamour. Just enjoy it. It is nothing compared to Avalon, as you are aware." Petunia took Albus's hand and squeezed it,
"Thank you for being so generous."
"It is nothing any druid would not do for the Lady of the Lake. Remember who you are, child. Don't forget it." Albus touched her cheek in a grandfatherly way and walked from her rooms. "Oh, the Order meeting starts soon, Lady. Come as soon as you freshen up and remember you new name is Viviane Fay."
Ron and Harry hurried into the library looking for the last of the golden trio. Hermione was still engrossed in her Celtic myths and legend research an hour before the meeting and wasn't able to pull herself away to help fix the meeting rooms up. She was still in the library while Order members flittered into the prepared meeting rooms, and she was still there as the meeting began. Anxious to be present but needing their more reliable memory with them, the boys grabbed the book she was reading, cast a silencing spell on her, and dragged her to the Order meeting. When they finally made it into the meeting room, Snape was briefing the members on what he had discovered over the past week spying in Voldemort's camp. As the trio crept into the room, the heavy door slammed behind Hermione and brought everyone's attention to the Dream Team. And of course, Snape couldn't just ignore it.
"I know it isn't customary for the Dream Team to take responsibility for their actions, but if they must be here, would it be so impossible to ask them to be on time and not make a dramatic appearance in the middle of difficult announcements, Albus?"
"It was my fault professor. I'm sorry we won't interrupt again."
"Oh, Miss Granger. I suppose you were too engrossed in your research to be bothered by this meeting. So sorry to interrupt you."
"Severus. Now that everyone knows Harry, Ron, and Hermione are present could you please continue. We have much to get through and I have yet to introduce our newest member."
"Of course, Headmaster. It seems the Dark Lord is becoming more cautious of his Death Eaters. He continually suspects any of us to be spying for the Order. He is particularly weary of the new recruits coming out of Hogwarts because he feels the influence of both Harry and Albus might be swaying even the likes of Slytherin students from him. I can say that he is right to be weary of a couple new recruits, but the rest I fear are as loyal as their fathers before them.
Draco, however, has not chosen he side yet. He seems to be waiting on the fence to see what side will win before he chooses the winning side. The fact that he has not chosen while his friends Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkingson are without a doubt loyal to the Dark Lord, is at least a glimmer of hope for the future. The Dark Lord has asked all his followers to be present at this year's initiation as always, but this year he will also be replacing our masks. At the initiation the Dark Lord gives the tattoo and uniform to the new recruits, but he has never given new masks to the veterans. To lose a mask or uniform is a cause for death under the Dark Lord. I believe the masks will be used to keep track of us and possibly to make sure we remain loyal to him. How I am not sure, but I have a gut feeling that there will be a new set of charms placed on them and this time they will not be only for protection."
"Any ideas on what he could do to the masks to get his followers to remain loyal to him?" Dumbledore asked his members. "No one? Yes, Hermione." Hermione bit her lip a bit and then quietly began to ask,
"Where did Voldemort get the idea of the mask?"
"Speak up Miss Granger I don't think even you could have heard yourself," commented a long drawling voice.
"Sorry, sir. I only asked where Voldemort got his idea for the masks to begin with."
"No one really knows except possibly a muggle horror film called Halloween I believe. Who is this Michael anyway?"
"Oh, well if that is true than what I have to say is of little importance."
"Oh, no go on Miss Granger, I'm sure you extensive knowledge will, of course, enlighten the rest of us with less expertise," Snape said sarcastically.
"Indeed, Professor. Well, since you asked, I'll just bore you with the fact that Salazar Slytherin himself designed masks for the students of his house during the beginnings of Hogwarts. As far as I know no one ever found the original masks in our time, but I thought Voldemort may have knowledge of them and perhaps took yet another page from your demented house founder's book. If what you say is true, Voldemort would have only known of the masks and not the powers Slytherin cast into them. Your mask now is only for protection of the wearer, but Slytherin's masks were created to force his students to protect him at all costs. It is said the use of these masks was what started the whole rivalry between his house and the other three."
"Oh, Miss Granger you mythical knowledge astounds me as usual. Your source would be what? Gryffindor's Journals? Wherever you found that information has an obvious bias toward Slytherin. It is definitely not a story passed down in Slytherin house. Why wouldn't the masks be available to Slytherin's Head of House?"
"Because the Bloody Baron hid them so Hogwarts students would not be forced to comply with evil, even Slytherins. The masks are the reason the Bloody Baron chooses to remain at Hogwarts. He is the protector of the masks. So you must see that my source is quite a solid one, well transparent, but solid source. Slytherin used ancient magic known to very few to bind the wearers of the masks to him by force and fear. If a wearer hated and absolutely opposed the master before he wore the mask he would have no remembrance of his disloyalty to the master while the mask is worn. It is much stronger than casting Imperious. The wearer has no way of challenging the power of it. There is no indication that anything is wrong while the mask is on. There is no defense if they do not know the mask's powers beforehand."
"And what if they do know beforehand?" Harry asked, actually interested.
"They can choose to not wear it. That's all the Bloody Baron knew."
"And where are these masks Miss Granger, since you know everything else as usual?" Snape smirked with his eyes rolling.
"I wouldn't tell you even if I did know, Professor. No one should be allowed to possess them. No, only the Bloody Baron knows and I would not let him tell me."
"You mean you can control your curiosity, Miss Granger. I find that hard to believe."
"With respect sir, some things are better left not found."
"Perhaps it is better that good finds them before Voldemort does. Severus, you will talk to the Bloody Baron to determine how safe and protected the masks are. If they are in a place Voldemort cannot reach them, we will leave them, if not we will move and protect them. They may already be found in which case we need to think of some way to protect you from falling influenced by them. Miss Granger, thank you for your information. Had you not spoken up we may not have ever known. Can you do something for us?"
"Professor?"
"I want you to look into the Founder's archives for anything that may hint at the curses used on the masks and possible remedies or prevention that we may use to protect Professor Snape. Will you do this?"
"Of course, professor. I am more than willing."
"Good. You will have a pass to use my personal library at anytime during this school year. You already will have the passwords as prefect." Hermione glowed at the possibilities.
"Thank you, professor."
"I also need to talk to you after the meeting, dear."
"Yes, sir."
Snape looked at the girl glowing with enthusiasm and scowled. He was just about to say something biting about basking in the limelight, when a woman with dark eyes and hair dressed in blue velveteen robes entered the room. Dumbledore rose, approached her, and announced,
"This my friends is Viviane Fay a distant cousin of Molly Weasley. She will be staying at headquarters to help her cousin and also as an expert in ancient relics. It appears it is good to have her on our side. Please welcome her to us." With that everyone clapped. "That ends the boring part of tonight's session, and now for the big surprise! Happy Birthday, Harry! Molly has refreshments ready in the other room for everyone if you just go there now. Hermione, please stay behind."
The hundred or so body that filled the room vanished in mere seconds. All except a brooding dark professor, a short know-it-all, and one twinkling headmaster. "I sincerely hope you aren't trusting the little girl's advice, Albus. It is my life on the line you know," Snape hissed lowly.
"I am well aware, my son, and that is why she is more than trustworthy. She didn't say she could magically make it better, did she? As far as she knows there is no way to deflect the masks' powers. I am worried that this might be what Voldemort needs to take control of you and many more. I don't want to see that happen. She is the best researcher we have. She will succeed. I believe in her and I know you do to." Snape rolled his eyes as the girl in question reported for her inquiry.
"How is it that the Bloody Baron told you about Slytherin's masks, Hermione?"
"I had been researching in the library . . ."
"Big surprise there," Snape smirked.
"When he happened over my shoulder and I noticed that the binding of the history book I was reading was coming apart. I looked at the paper holding the cover together and noticed another paper behind it. There was a poem on the paper written ages ago about a mask Slytherin had Rowena Ravenclaw wear to a masquerade. Rowena did not like Salazar much at all, but the mask was beautiful and she so rarely was offered beautiful things that she accepted it. All during the dance Rowena never left Salazar's side, which was unusual. The author of the poem thought it was the mask. The Bloody Baron read the poem with me and I asked him if he had ever seen the poem before. From there he told me the real story and how there were many masks like it that Slytherin gave first year students as they came in. They were Slytherin's way of keeping peace in his house, but when his ego got the better of him, it was the beginning of the end so to speak. The Bloody Baron was one of his students. He figured out the power of the masks and managed to never put his on. When Slytherin was banished from Hogwarts, Baron Michaels was asked to collect the masks and Rowena Ravenclaw hid them away somewhere secret."
"Delightful story, Miss Granger, but why on God's green earth would the Slytherin guardian trust you, a Gryffindor, with such information?"
"I honestly think he was lonely, sir."
"Lonely, a ghost?"
"Yes. I had been helping him sort Peeves out for quite sometime and after each escapade we would chat. It seems no students, not even ghosts, talk to him unless they need to have Peeves handled. Everyone is too scared of him. Don't know why. He is quite intelligent and honorable. Sure he can snark and scare with the best of them, but he at least was human. Everyone needs friends." Suddenly, shock took Albus and Hermione over as they saw the potion's master eyes fill with tears. Not from sadness or empathy, but because he was laughing hysterically. Still laughing Snape said,
"Leave it to the Gryffindor know-it-all to find the scariest, hard-assed ghost's weakness."
"Are you okay, sir?"
"What would be wrong with me?"
"It's just . . . I've never seen you laugh."
"You've never been around me when there would be reason to."
"Ah, well, thank you Miss Granger. If that is all of you story, you may go join the party next door." She stood, sighed, looked at Snape's re-found scowl and went on her way. "Oh, and Miss Granger you need to tell Professor Snape something else later on I think, don't you?" Hermione looked to the headmaster, unsurprised that he already knew what was on her mind.
"Yes, yes I do." After she left, Dumbledore looked at his potion's master,
"Don't you socialize with your guardian, Severus?"
"Why would a ghost be any different than anyone else?"
"Well, the fact that you are so much alike occurs to me."
"I have about as much in common with the Bloody Baron as I do with your Miss Granger."
"You know I think you're right."
"What do you mean by that, Albus?"
"You'll figure it out at some point." Dumbledore headed to the party leaving his adopted son to scowl and roll his eyes in private.