Chapter 44: I finally posted
As soon as Pepper reentered the Three Broomsticks, she knew that there was a problem. Tables were overturned, students hiding behind them, and there were demons scattered all over the pub.
Pepper's eyes widened. A few of the brave students and the adults there had their wands out and were firing spells frantically at the demons. Pepper froze the scene at once. Harry was the only one that didn't freeze, since he had been trained by Professor Ardel to resist that power.
"Harry, what the hell happened?" Pepper asked, horrified.
"They all just appeared and started attacking," Harry explained, out of breath from fighting. "I think they're looking for you, Pep."
Pepper looked towards the ceiling. "UNCLE LEO!" she shouted. "UNCLE LEO! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"
Leo appeared a few seconds later in a swirl of blue-white lights. "Pepper," he said, looking surprised that she knew how to call him. "What is it?"
"Look around, Uncle Leo," Pepper said dryly. "There are demons everywhere. They appeared and started attacking and Harry thinks they're after me."
"Well of course they are," Leo said. He glanced around the pub. "They're all lower level demons," he said. "Piper should be able to blow them up easily. I'll go get her, Phoebe and Paige." He orbed away, leaving Pepper, Harry, and the frozen occupants of the Three Broomsticks to deal with the demons until Leo returned.
"Great," Pepper said, "leave Harry and me to deal with all the demons."
"I told you they wouldn't be able to get into Hogwarts," Voldemort sneered at the Source, clearly delighted with himself. "It's protected by too many shields to penetrate."
"Well they're close enough," the Source said. "Surely the Halliwell girl will be there, since it is a student weekend."
"Excuse me, my Lords," Lucius Malfoy entered the dark room. The flickering fire in the fireplace was the only light source, and it was dying. "My son is here. You wished to see him?"
"Bring him here."
Cautiously, Draco crept into the room. He knew what was coming. He bowed low in front of Voldemort and the Source, trying not to convey any fear. "You wanted to see me?" he said.
"Silence!" commanded Voldemort. "Boy, you were supposed to bring the Halliwell girl to us! It has been over a month! Surely you have seen her since then!"
"She is well protected, my Lord," Draco quivered. "Potter, Weasley and that filthy Mudblood always hang around her and the teachers have been watching her like hawks." He failed to mention the fact that she had been in a coma for weeks and then had been without a memory for added weeks.
"Then sending demons to Hogsmeade was a good idea," muttered the Source.
Draco was in shock. He had no idea that they were going to do something so drastic…he was planning to take his time on kidnapping Pepper. After all, he had to come up with a plan so that she didn't have to die. Voldemort and the Source thought Pepper was now four months pregnant, though, and he supposed they wanted the next Voldemort to start being evil as early as possible.
"I'm sure the demons can do a better job at kidnapping the child than you can," the Source spat at Draco.
Right before Draco's very eyes, the Source conjured a fireball and threw it at the crumbling wall behind the Slytherin, whose eyes were wide in fear. "You're lucky," the Source growled. "If you weren't so useful, I wouldn't have missed."
It was at this point that Draco realized how much more powerful the Source was than Voldemort.
"Have you visited her lately, Eowyn?" Sadie Montgomery asked, putting her feet on the table in front of her. She crossed her ankles lazily and licked her lips, waiting for the frightened Siren's answer.
Eowyn Cuomo was pacing the wooden floor of the storage room. The back of a Knockturn Alley shop was the only place the two could meet and here they were now, much to Eowyn's discomfort. "Things haven't worked out the way we planned," she said in her slightly accented voice. "Harry has been too focused on that damn Halliwell girl to even notice me."
"You didn't answer my question," Sadie said, her eyebrow cocked as she stared coolly at the girl.
"I haven't seen her for months!" Eowyn exploded, spinning on the red heel of her shoe to face the Slytherin. Her usual sleek and sharp look was now dull and dim. She was obviously discouraged.
"Lucius isn't going to like that bit of information," said Sadie, shaking her head. "I myself just visited young Miss Spada the other day."
"You don't have to rub it in," Eowyn hissed. "I know Lucius isn't going to like it and that's why you're not going to tell him! It isn't as easy for me to slip past Dumbledore as it is for you! He has his eye on me every minute because of the attraction the boys have to me."
Sadie pulled her feet off the table, sitting at attention to talk to the Ravenclaw about something of importance. "We have got to find a way for Potter to take his attention from Halliwell to you. Without that diversion we have nothing. He will be impossible to defeat, what with Weasel and that Mudblood backing him up. If he moves on from Halliwell to you I'm sure it will be a blow to the poor Muggle-lover. We'll weaken the bonds between all four of them and then we'll be free to attack…"
"Have you had words with Bellatrix lately? Is everything ready on her end—"
"I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut about that, Cuomo, seeing as you're not supposed to know anything about it," Sadie warned.
"I was just wondering…" Eowyn mumbled.
"THEY'VE MADE THE ATTACK! ALL STUDENTS OUT OF HOGSMEADE AT ONCE!"
Hogsmeade was evacuated at once, after Piper froze the premises and blew up every last demon in sight. Dumbledore ushered every student and teacher into the Great Hall and shut the doors, reminding Harry much of the night in his third year when there was a scare that Sirius Black was in the castle.
Everyone sat at their house tables, clearly scared, as they waited for the headmaster's explanation. The student body also noticed that there were four new seats next to Professor Giancarlo at the high table, three of which were filled by women as good-looking as the professor, and the other chair was filled by a man.
Dumbledore tapped his fork on the side of his glass to get everyone's attention. Immediately, the Great Hall quieted and the attention was focused on Professor Dumbledore. "I suppose all of you are looking for an explanation," he said. He seemed to be very calm and not at all disturbed by the demon attack. "And rightly so, I should say."
"What were those things?" someone shouted out.
"Those were demons," said Dumbledore. Surprised chatter broke out throughout the Hall. Dumbledore tapped on his glass again to regain the attention of the students. "Settle down, settle down," he urged. "I think all of you who helped to fight the demons off; however, it is unfortunate that you needed to apply the knowledge you attained from Professor Giancarlo and now I feel I owe you all an explanation.
"For the past month or so, we have been housing three talented witches to help protect the school. Voldemort seems to have teamed up with the demon leader and they are after something…or someone."
"After what?" another student asked.
Pepper's stomach tightened. This is it, she thought, Dumbledore's going to reveal to the whole school, even the Death Eaters' children, that Voldemort and the Source are after me.
"We're not sure of what they are after," Dumbledore replied, but he caught Pepper's eye and winked. Pepper let out the breath she was holding.
"And who are they?" asked another voice, referring to the Charmed Ones. "I saw them coming into the pub in a swirl of blue lights!"
Dumbledore motioned for Pepper's aunts and uncle to stand up, and they did. "These three women are the Charmed Ones, Miss Phoebe Halliwell, Mrs. Piper Halliwell and Miss Paige Matthews."
"Halliwell?" said the surprised voice of Dean Thomas from the Gryffindor table.
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Mr. Thomas, these women are our own Pepper Halliwell's aunts and her uncle, Mr. Leo Wyatt."
Pepper's face burned as a thousand students turned to look at her. Under the table, Harry grabbed her hand for comfort. She didn't protest.
The next hour and a half was spent asking and answering questions about demons, Death Eaters, the Charmed Ones, Voldemort and the Source and eating dinner. When Dumbledore managed to assure the students that demons couldn't get inside the castle, he sent them all back to their dormitories. Piper, Paige, Phoebe, Pepper, Leo, Harry, Ron and Hermione all headed to the room of the Charmed Ones to discuss this growing problem.
"Do you think demons will come back?" Pepper asked as the eight of them sat down in various places in the common room.
"Probably not," Leo replied. "I doubt they can get into Hogwarts. Pepper…I'd like to know how you got your memory back."
Pepper blushed, she didn't really care to tell her uncle about the heated kiss she had shared with Harry. Granted, it was only to get her memory back, but they both had gotten into it quite a bit. She had been hoping that this topic wouldn't come up. She cleared her throat. "Erm, Harry can tell you," she said, smiling sweetly in Harry's direction. He had gone unusually white.
All eyes turned expectantly in Harry's direction. When he hadn't said anything for a few seconds Hermione said, "Harry jogged Pepper's memory."
"With a kiss," Ron added. Harry's white face turned pink.
"He was trying to remind her of past…er…a past situation," continued Hermione.
"I see," said Piper, smirking at her niece.
"Well, I'm glad it worked," Paige said, trying to contain a smirk of her own.
"Why do you think the demons came to Hogsmeade?" Pepper asked, hoping to get the subject away from herself and Harry.
"Because they couldn't get into Hogwarts, I'd bet," Piper said. "It's a very good thing that this place is so protected."
"Why did a kiss work?" Leo asked. It seemed he was a little suspicious of Harry's intentions.
"So since I have my memory back you guys will be leaving, right?" Pepper said hurriedly, not wanting at all to dwell on the kiss subject. "I mean, you've got to fight demons at home and everything."
Her aunts and uncle exchanged nervous glances.
"What aren't you telling me?" Pepper asked, looking at each of them in turn.
Leo and Phoebe looked warily from Pepper to Hermione, Ron and Harry. Hermione took the hint. "Well, we'll be going now," she said. "I'm sure there's a lot you all have to talk about. Good night." Harry, Ron and Hermione left the tower to return to the Gryffindor common room, leaving Pepper to pry the information out of her family.
"Alright, now spit it out!" Pepper said.
"Cole's disappeared," Leo said, sounding strained. "And there hasn't been a demon attack in three weeks. The Elders think that the team of Voldemort and the Source has managed to take control of the factions."
"And of all–powerful, indestructible Cole," Phoebe added, clearly very distressed.
"Wow," Pepper said. "This is bad. This is very bad."
"But we're on it," said Paige, "so don't worry." Pepper raised a questioning eyebrow at her aunt. "Okay, so Dumbledore and the Elders are on it too," Paige finished reluctantly. "So for now don't worry about it. Evil can't get into Hogwarts anyway."
"Evil already is here," Pepper said. "The sons and daughters of Death Eaters tell their parents everything, I'm sure. We'll figure it out though, like you always say. I hope, at least. Even so, you're staying here a while longer, right?"
"I'm still staying at the Manor," Leo said.
"The three of us will be here for a while longer," Piper said.
"Well, I've got to get back," said Leo. "I'll keep you posted." He kissed his wife, Pepper, and Piper's pregnant stomach before Orbing away.
"And I'm going to get to bed," Paige announced, standing up from her chair. "Good night all. I'm glad you're back, Pep. I'll see you all tomorrow." Paige left the room and made her way up the staircase that led to her temporary bedroom.
Pepper got up and sat on the couch with her Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe. "I've missed so much," she sighed. "Especially with you, Aunt Piper! I missed the most important part of your pregnancy." She rested her hand on her aunt's obviously pregnant stomach. "I can't believe you're going to have a baby."
Piper brushed her niece's hand off. "Well the mommy is tired of her stomach getting all of the attention," she said.
Phoebe, who had been leaning over Pepper and making high-pitched noises directed towards the baby, stopped and sat up. "I'm going to have another niece!" she beamed. She was quick to forget the trying events of the day.
"And I'm going to have a cousin!" Pepper cried happily. "See, I missed all the excitement for a whole month so now I have to be doubly excited."
"No you don't," Piper said dryly.
Pepper laughed. "Aunt Phoebe, were you as excited for me to be born as you are for Aunt Piper's baby to be born? You can be honest, I just want to know."
"I was only ten at the time, so I don't think I was," Phoebe replied.
"We both thought Prue was making a big mistake," Piper said. "Sirius was five years older than she was only fifteen. We knew she had had huge dreams and we thought she was throwing them all away."
"She wanted to be a lawyer," Phoebe remembered with a smile.
"A lawyer!" Are you serious?" Pepper said, very surprised.
"Yep, that was her dream: to become a big, successful lawyer and move to New York City," Piper recalled.
"But then Sirius got her pregnant."
"Did she ever consider getting an…an abortion?" Pepper asked, slightly afraid of knowing the answer.
"No way. We thought she would be shaken by the news and look for a way to get out of it, but she never did. When the doctor told her she was pregnant, she was ecstatic. It was like she had been trying to get pregnant…"
"And perhaps she was, you never really knew with Prue."
"Grams was so supportive, I couldn't believe it. Pheebs and I…well…I don't think we were as accommodating as Prue needed us to be."
"She covered up her pregnancy with a Concealment Charm. She was so happy that year…And Sirius couldn't stay away from her, either. He took a job with Madam Pomfrey just so he could be close to her."
"Did he want Mom to keep me?" Pepper asked, intrigued at the story her aunts were telling.
"Of course he did, are you kidding?" said Phoebe. "He spent the entire summer after you were born at the Manor. Though there was a spell where he was off fighting Voldemort while she was pregnant."
"I remember Prue used to dance around the house with you, Pep," Piper chuckled.
"She did?" Phoebe said.
"Yea, don't you remember?" Piper asked. Phoebe shook her head. "Grams loved having Sirius around," Piper continued. "He really was the sweetest guy, and he helped out with everything. He moved out of the flat he shared with James and Grams and Prue let him share Prue's room. He and Prue would visit Lily and James constantly, though, since both Prue and Lily were having a baby."
"So does that mean Harry and I were friends when we were babies?" Pepper wondered, the thought just occurring to her.
"Yes, you were," Piper laughed.
"You two even used to take baths together," Phoebe added.
"Ew!" Pepper exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. "Is that why the two of you were amused by our, er, relationship?"
"Yea," Phoebe chuckled. "But it makes sense, doesn't it, that you were best friends; since Sirius was his godfather and James was yours? Not to mention the fact that they were all the best of friends."
"Wait, I had a godfather?" Pepper said.
"Yes, you did," said Piper. "I suppose your parents didn't tell you because James died before you knew him…"
"This is all just too crazy," said Pepper. "I mean, I'm related to Malfoy, Harry and I used to take baths together, and I had a godfather? I think I'm going to bed. This is too much information to process. We can continue this story later. Besides, it's almost curfew and I don't want to get detention. Night." She kissed her aunts before making her way to the portrait hole to leave.
"Oh Pepper?" Phoebe said as the portrait swung open to let her niece exit.
Pepper turned around. "What is it?" she asked.
"How was that kiss, anyway?" Phoebe said, unable to control her laughter.
Pepper grimaced and went back to Gryffindor Tower.