Author: Hadlee May
Word Count: 4447 including introduction
First installment of Antediluvian
Summary: It's Harry Potter's last and final year at Hogwarts, and the adventures in store are greater then ever before. (Cheesy, I know.) Includes daring sword fights, magical spells, and wonderful princes with bright green eyes (and cheesier)
Disclaimer: Can you say JK Rowling?
AN: So I worked my butt of on this…whether the actual writing, gathering, or making of the banner (which, since I'm posting here, is completely useless outside the realm of my own entertainment). I developed personalities, spent hours in over time studying astrology as to make the characters as realistic (though one character is an Aquarius and she's acting like a mix of Virgo and Sagittarius, but I'm working on it) But alas, a final product, the offspring of my blood, sweat, and tears (all are metaphorical, save for the tears, though that was caused, mostly, because my computer sucks) Please, read, and review. I think my ego needs a boost after this.
Thanks to Blaze for the bit of betaing she did. I'm forever grateful, because she lit a fire under my ass.
-Hadlee
TIMELINE:
Post Half Blood Prince. Albus Dumbledore is dead, and with his death, Hogwarts closes her doors as well. With hundreds of wizarding students out of a source of education, and an impending war with Voldemort on the horizon, a school and a whole world that has only been myth among wizarding folk comes out of hiding, offering their land and halls to the students of Hogwarts. Two representatives, teenage girls who are at the top of their pre-auror training (there's a program at the school) are sent to retrieve Harry and inform him of the plans the order has made for him and the rest of the Hogwarts students.
It was raining when they arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, lightning streaking across the sky, the loud sound of thunder drowning out the secret keepers words as they were relayed the secret location of the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix to anyone who shouldn't have been listening.
The two teenage girls; Sue Darling, who was rather short with black hair, her blue eyes glowing in the night, and Rayleigh Dorn, graceful, with brown locks traveling past her back watched with a pair of green eyes, scrutinizing the empty space, waiting patiently for the door to appear in between the two homes. The door she was watching for appeared, soon followed by the rest of the dark and dreary manor, which loomed over them in the dark. "Talk about creepy." Sue whispered to her companion, only to elbowed softly in the gut, a green eye giving her a look that said one thing: "Shut up."
For once, Sue didn't say anything in return, but followed the secret keeper into the manor, glad to get out of the rain, which had drenched them in the short time they'd spent out in it. They were greeted by a plump, red haired woman who met them with a wide smile in welcome. "Oh dears! Remus, girls! I was concerned when it began to storm. I feared it would hold you up." She rambled, helping the aging wizard out of robes, hanging it up on a coat rack that stood by the now closed door.
Sue and Rayleigh slowly pulled their soaking robes off, shaking themselves out quietly as they hung up the articles of clothing.
"I haven't seen rain like that in years." Rayleigh whispered as she whipped out her wand and performed a quick drying spell on both herself and Sue before following Molly further into the house.
It's décor was almost as one would expect it to look if one were to glance it's outside. The walls were dark and wooden, ceilings towering high into the air, making it's residents look small in comparison. The walls were lined carefully with paintings of an entire generation or more of members of the Black family. Despite it's darkness, though it could have easily have been called beautiful.
Wooden panels lined each door way, designs intricately carved into the wood, a labor of love for whomever the artist had been, and the furniture, which was surely artifacts of generations past, still looked neat, and almost inviting.
Both girls eyed the rooms as they passed through them, each one more interesting the next. Their journey, though ended in the kitchen were a long wooden table had been set up to hold a small crowd of people, which was partially full, a few people left over, still chewing on their nearly finished dinner.
"Sorry you've missed dinner, I'm sure there's something I can make for you, if you want." Molly Weasley smiled kindly at them, already heading through the swinging door and into the kitchen. Sue and Rayleigh glanced at each other before shaking their heads and following the older woman into the kitchen, protesting the work she'd already begun doing.
"Mrs. Weasley, really, it's fine, we ate before we left." It wasn't a complete lie. Their headmaster had offered to give them a small meal before they'd left for Number 12 Grimmauld Place nearly two hours earlier, but they'd refused, saying that eating before port keying was a not a good idea. It'd been a reasonable excuse, and he hadn't said anything more, confidently putting them in the hands of Remus Lupin before he himself made his way to the dining hall to have a small dinner with the rest of his staff.
"Nonsense girls," Mrs. Weasley argued. "You're much to thin as it is, I wont allow you to go up to bed without at least a little bit of food in your bellies." She insisted, doing a good job at ignoring her guests looks of objection, though they said nothing. It was already evident that when it came to subjects such as the well being of teenagers, especially with food involved, there was no arguing with the mother hen of Grimmauld Place. The two silently decided bending to her will was their safest bet. They had quickly resigned to the fact that they were going to have a meal, whether they liked it or not.
"If you want," Remus entered the kitchen after a beat, "you can go upstairs and meet Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They're Harry's two closest friends. It might do you some good to get to know them." Remus opened the swinging kitchen door and motioned for the girls to follow him towards the dark winding staircase that seemed to lead into a gloomy oblivion of absolute nothingness.
"So, do we need to have our wands at the ready?" Sue couldn't help but joke as they made their up the stair case, which, like the manor's hallways, were lined with paintings of deceased family members once you were close enough to see them. Remus gave her a curious look.
"What my counterpart means to say is that most likely these two aren't happy about us, two complete strangers, being appointed as Harry's advanced guard…are they likely to pull a full frontal." Rayleigh translated almost effortlessly to Remus who smiled and shook his head no.
"They might not be happy about, but they understand, with much protest, that there's a reason you two were chosen to do this task." Remus said softly.
"Well that's good. Do either of them know how to brew a good truth potion. Just to make sure if it's safe to accept drinks from them." Sue continued.
"Sue, honestly, shut up. It's highly unlikely they're going to attempt to murder us in the presence of any member of the order." Rayleigh rolled her eyes.
Cheekily, Sue grinned. "Geez, Ray, I'd figure you'd be used to my sense of humor by now."
Rayleigh didn't attempt to dignify the statement with a response. True, the two girls had been good friends since their first year at the Zenith Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but that didn't make them any bit alike. While Rayleigh had a tendency to be a bit of insufferable at times when it came to study schedules, deadlines, and following rules, Sue was the exact opposite. She enjoyed the small pleasures in life, like chatting with friends, playing quidditch, dancing, and practicing the latest wand techniques on hair styles. But the differences balanced the two out, paving the way for a friendship that gratifying and rewarding all at once.
This, of course, didn't stop Rayleigh from getting upset with her friends lack of seriousness when it come to the more serious points of life, like the situation at hand.
It had been a true honor to be chosen to represent the wizarding school at a small gathering of Order of the Phoenix members earlier in the summer. Only Sue Darling could make such light of the situation.
"I assure, you Sue, you have nothing to fear from these two." Remus let out a small chuckle before knocking on one of the closed doors, waiting patiently for a reply that came with a high pitched creaking of the door, being greeted by a tall female, red hair tied back in a loose bun, her face dotted with a sprinkle of freckles, her brown eyes wide with greeting at seeing the man standing at the door.
"Remus! I didn't know you were returning tonight." She smiled, pulling into a friendly hug before pulling him into the room. Taking this as a greeting, the two girls followed them into the room.
"We had to move up the day when this storm began, we weren't sure how the electrical energy would affect our means of travel." Remus explained coolly, before turning to the two strangers standing close to the door. "Anyways, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, these are the two representatives from the other wizarding academy. Sue Darling," Remus pointed, "and Rayleigh Dorn. Sue and Rayleigh, these are Harry Potter's friends."
Automatically, Sue stepped forward shaking the Hermione Granger's proffered hand, smiling kindly at the other girl, her old thoughts of harm and treachery against her far behind her now that she'd met the mentioned friends face to face. Rayleigh was less enthusiastic in her greeting, nodding in a businesslike manor, shaking each of the four teenager's hands before falling into silence.
Sue, though was wandering about the room, looking at pictures set on the bedside tables, each showing a small representation of life of the owners. "So, what do you do at the most noble ancient house of Black for fun?" She asked nonchalantly. Ron let out a annoyed noise.
"We clean." Her replied.
"Ooh. Fun." Sue turned around, setting a frame she had picked up back in it's original place and spun around. "That's what we got stuck doing our last day at Zenith. What with the students gone for the summer, and the professor's Merlin knows where, we were assigned by our headmaster to aide the house elves in preparing for the transfers."
Hermione opened her mouth to ask what Sue had meant by the comment, but was stopped by Ginny who launched them into another topic involving some random event that had happened to them their last year at Hogwarts. No one noticed Remus Lupin's departure from the room. From them on, conversation flowed easily in the room. And when they were joined by two more members of the Weasley family (Fred and George who'd come in baring treats that Ginny had quickly warned Sue and Rayleigh about, much to the twins disappointment.)
Time quickly flew by, and by the time Mrs. Weasley had made her way up the steps to the occupied room, she found Sue enraptured in a fast paced game of exploding snap with Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George, and Hermione and Rayleigh were having a flowing conversation about the similarities and differences between their curriculums and their own respective schools.
She announced quickly that Rayleigh and Sue were to come and eat, while everyone else was supposed to begin preparing for bed.
Despite loud protests, Fred, George, and Ron trudged out of the room and went to their own sleeping areas, while Sue and Rayleigh followed Molly downstairs.
In the dining area, more people had gathered, but it wasn't the same people who had been dining there earlier. The occupants now were more sinister, and more serious looking. One of them, who Sue recognized immediately from her trips to the ministry she'd taken with her father as a child, was Mad Eye Moody, who slumped haphazardly in his chair, his magic eyeball wondering wildly in his head taking in the two girls, checking them for anything that would set off his dark wizard sensors.
Satisfied at last that neither of the two girls were evil wizards in disguise, he greeted them with a nod of his head.
"Hi, sir. I'm Rayleigh Dorn." Rayleigh quickly stepped forward, eager to greet the famous dark wizard hunter.
"And I'm Sue." She flashed the table a charming grin. "Sue Darling."
"Darling you say?" Moody interrupted. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a Braden Darling, now would you?"
"Yes sir." She nodded, "He was my father." She stated proudly.
"Great man, your father was. Great auror too. It was sad to see him go out like he did." Moody's voice lowered and his head bowed in respect for one of his former colleagues. "I'm sorry for your loss." It was a rare moment of sincerity for the old man and it ended just as quickly as it had started. "Now I'm sure Headmaster Brizzio has briefed you on what's been going on here." Moody questioned.
"Yes sir." Sue nodded.
"And he's surely stressed to seriousness of the matter."
"Check." Sue replied, earning her a elbow in the stomach from Rayleigh.
"And he's probably mentioned that I completely disagree with the sending of two students, whether they be aurors in training or not to gather the most important person in the wizarding world." Moody continued.
"He mentioned that one, yes." Rayleigh nodded.
"And despite my protest, it seems I have no other choice to put his life in your hands. If you two weren't the top students in your program, I would have no problem hexing the two of you and gathering Harry up my self."
"You will certainly do no such thing, Alastor." Molly tensed.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley, we understand his concern, and we're treating this with the most seriousness one can approach the situation with." Sue spoke clearly, earning her a look from Remus who had only seen the girl all smiles since the moment he'd met her. This kind of seriousness didn't suit her personality, but she was obviously trying to impress the retired auror, hoping to gain the same respect that the old wizard had for her late father.
…
Dinner, of course, lasted longer then planned, their eating constantly interrupted by Moody's repetition of the plan he'd devise in the retrieving of Harry Potter.
"You'll arrive at Number Four Privet Drive at noon tomorrow…"
Once they'd gotten the plan in their head, and were able to repeat it more then once to Moody by memory did he allow them to finish eating and eventually up to bed. Molly led them to the room across the hall from Hermione and Ginny's, nearly the same size, if a bit smaller, with twin sized bed lining opposite walls.
"We tried our best to fix it up for you, but like so many other things in this house, it wasn't easy." Molly smiled apologetically, to which Rayleigh and Sue shook their heads, thanked her for the hospitality…and dinner and got ready for bed.
After thirty minutes of Sue's mindless rambles, the two fell into an even sleep, one they would need to make sure they pulled off the plan tomorrow.
… … …
Vernon Dursley had never looked this angry in all his years, his face heat up as, he glared at the two teenaged girls that stood on his doorstep. To him, this was worse then the year the family of red heads had come out of the chimney, though the means of travel was almost preferred to having anyone like Harry being seen near his home.
At least Harry's freak teacher had the decency to show up under the cloak of darkness, instead of showing up at his door like they were, a beacon in broad daylight that would certainly alert the neighbors to a presence of abnormality in his house.
Unlike the Weasley's, and much like Dumbledore, they stood tall in front of him, wearing ankle length black cloaks with silver fastenings, looking every bit the freaks thy were, dark hoods pulled over their heads, masking their features to any superfluous eyes.
"Sir." Sue began. "We wish to speak to Harry-" But she'd hardly finished her sentence before Mr. Dursley growled, cutting her off in annoyance.
"There is no one here by that name." Vernon barked madly, his eyes darting across the street to see if any of the neighbors had sighted his unwelcome company yet.
"Yeah." Rayleigh spoke, stepping closer to Mr. Dursley, "and Sue here is the queen on England." Rayleigh smirked smartly, removing her cloak, rolling her green eyes at the older man's attempts to turn the two of them away. She tossed her dark locks over her shoulder in defiance.
"Listen, Mr. Dursley, we're here on behalf of the Order of the Phoenix, and we need to speak with Harry Potter." Sue stated clearly, opening her robe to give him a revealing view of the wand sticking inside her cloak pocket. Vernon's eyes went wide in fear.
"You wouldn't." Vernon stuttered, looking from the girls hard blue eyes to the wand.
'Oh, I'm sure I would. I'm quite the loose cannon, you know. Hard to control. Lights not always on upstairs, if you catch my wave." It was enough for Vernon to do one more pass around the neighborhood before opening the door wider, allowing the two witches inside.
Petunia and Dudley Dursley, who'd been on the edge of the sofa, hanging on to every word spoken, were no cowering in fear at the sight of the two witches standing in the middle of the living room. Sue boldly stepped around the room, ignoring Vernon's glares, as she tinkered with a few objects left out. Eyeing the mantel, she lifted a photo of Dursley off the wood and looked at it for a moment. "This one could do with a bit of a work out. You should look into that, Dursley." She smirked, before rejoining her friend in the middle of the room.
There was a moment of silence in the room before Vernon snarled at the two girls the whereabouts of his nephew. Rolling her eyes Sue muttered, "Stupid muggle." under her breath as they began their way up the stairs.
Upstairs, Harry Potter was far worse off then anyone had originally thought. His anxiety and utter boredom had taken a toll on him, and he was rested quietly, his head collapsed on his desk, books he'd bought in Diagon Alley before returning to Privet Drive, opened beneath him. And had it not been for his hope for anything out of the ordinary to happen, he would never had heard the voices that were coming closer and closer to his room as they climbed the stair case.
The chances of it being any of the Dursley's were high, especially since the voices seemed to belong to a set of young girls, and not his cousin, uncle, or aunt. Careful not to make any noise, he slid his body off the chair and slipped his wand out of his back pocket, standing up straight, wand at the ready, waiting for, what he was certain, the death eaters that had found their way into the Dursley's home, disposed of his family, and were no on their way to find him.
So caught up in his presumptions, he jumped when he heard a knock at the door. "Harry?" A female voice whispered. "Are you decent?"
That, of course, was something he'd never expected to hear a death eater say, and was taken slightly off guard, but was quick to regain his senses. "What do you want?" He asked sharply, his body pounding with adrenaline.
"To enter." The death eater replied, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.
"Um, no." Harry replied, gripping his wand tighter as he stepped a small step closer to the door, prepared, completely to defend himself if the need arose.
"Come on, Harry." Another female voice pleaded. "We're here from the order." When the silence resumed on Harry's part, the first speaker let out a frustrated groan.
"I knew we should have sent him a letter, warning him that we were on our way." They fussed. "But no, we just had to listen to Moody's mumbo jumbo about death eater interference."
"Hey! Moody's a great man!" The other was quick to defend.
"Doesn't bloody matter, though, does it. I bet Potter's on the other side, ready to hex us into oblivion." The girl argued. Harry looked down at his arm, extended, pointing towards the door, ready to hex whomever it was that wanted to enter into oblivion. "Remus warned us that he would." The girl continued.
Deciding it was a good time to see who exactly was standing outside his door, now that they were off guard, caught up in the throws of their argument, he swung open the door, it banging against the wall as he let it go. Both girls turned towards him, eyes wide, each letting out a startled shriek.
Then, after a moment of silence, "About bloody time."
"Shush, Sue. He probably thought we were going to attempt his life." The other one reasoned.
"I might've if he was any slower. Nothing like getting a fire lit under you ass like imposing death." Sue said with a smirk. "Hi. We're your advanced guard."
Harry eyed her curiously. She couldn't have been older then he was. With long brown hair, and wide blue eyes, standing head shorter then him. With pale skin, she had a air of innocence about her that he found quite arresting.
The other girl seemed to hold a bit of authority. She was taller, stunningly beautiful, but seemed more in control, unlike her counterpart who wore a large grin, trying hard not to giggle at the uncomfortable silence that had swelled in the small area of where Harry stood in his doorway to where they stood in the hallway.
Finally the taller girl stepped forward.
"I'm Rayleigh." She introduced. "This is Sue."
"And you two are members of the order?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Not yet, but after we graduate." Rayleigh informed. Sue opened her mouth to say something, but Rayleigh, on instinct, cut her off with a loud, "But, any questions you have can be answered once we get back to the headquarters. Now's not the place."
"So, are you ready to go?" Sue asked impatiently, glaring at Rayleigh for a moment before turning to Harry, fixing her gaze on the boy who lived.
"Um, almost. I never really unpacked after last semester." Harry stammered under her impatient gaze.
"Great, then hurry. All the while, I'm going back downstairs to stand completely still, all the while completely intimidating your family." She smiled before skipping out of the room, leaving Rayleigh and Harry on their own.
"She's usually not like this." Rayleigh said after a beat. "She's usually more in control. This world just makes her nervous." She explained quietly.
"The muggle world?" Harry asked.
"No, but that's one of those topics that will have to wait until we get back to the headquarters." She smiled.
"Oh. Well, done." he snapped his trunk shut after he'd finished loading the rest of his life inside and made a move to grab his bird cage. Rayleigh shook her head and grabbed it first.
"I got her." She stated calmly, before walking out of his room. After spending a moment in the doorway, making sure everything he owned was safely in his school trunk, Harry followed suit. He didn't look back as he made his way down the hallway and down the steps, his trunk making a loud thud sound as it hit each step. He was surprised when he didn't hear any complaints from the Dursley's. He found out why when he made his way into the living room. Sue was standing in the center, just like she had said she would, twirling her wand in her fingers murmuring what sounded to be a nursery rhyme in Latin.
She spun around when she heard them arrive. "OOoh, pretty bird." She chirped, seeing the cage Rayleigh was holding. Hedwig hooted in response, making Sue grin. "Anyways, let's go." She told the two before turning towards her hosts and sending them a big grin. "Thanks for the hospitality, Mr. And Mrs. Dursley! Nice meeting you Dudley!" She called as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She instructed Harry and Rayleigh to grab on and immediately, Harry felt that familiar tug on his belly button as he was lifted off the ground and found himself on his way to whatever lay ahead of him.
Harry had traveled several times by port key since his first time the summer before his fourth year, but no matter times he felt that familiar jerk and the sudden flight of the key leading him to his destination, he would never get used to the nauseous feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach. And if it was the odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, it was the lack of landing skills that got him. He tumbled forward as he his feet hit the sidewalk, unable to keep his balance after the force of release from the traveling device.
Behind him, Sue Darling landed unsteadily on her feet, though kept her equilibrium, not falling as he had, Rayleigh landing perfectly on pointed toes, smiling at her accomplishment.
Standing up after a moment, he dusted his pants off, and shifted his glasses to rest evenly on his nose, his vision quickly coming to him. He immediately recognized his surroundings
"Hogsmeade? We're at Hogsmeade?"
