CHAPTER THIRTY

Walburga practically skipped down towards Hogsmeade that cold, cloudy but slightly sunny Saturday morning, giddily excited at the prospect of a good old shopping trip. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Harry, along with their friends, followed behind her at a more leisurely pace. "Speak for yourself," she grumbled, pulling her ruana closer around her as the cold autumn breeze picked up again and wrapped her Slytherin scarf further around her neck. She turned to Orion, who was looking just as exuberant. "Do you want your bribe before or after the torture fest?"

Altair and Arcturus snorted, as did Druella and Artemis.

Orion's face lit up. "After! Breakfast was amazing and so I'm still a little full."

"Somehow!" Artemis shook her head. "I still haven't figured out in six years how someone can eat that much and only be full after what seems like a four course meal."

"Black's ability to eat and stay thin is miraculous," Minerva agreed, shaking her head at him.

"What is miraculous is that people can get excited to go shopping," Harry shot back.

"Hush," Ygraine chaffed, smirking unabashedly. "Remember, Nott is buying you tea and cake afterwards."

"If she behaves," Altair baited, eyes glinting with mischief.

Harry mock-scowled at them but held her tongue. On the way to Twilfitt and Tattings', she spotted Riddle and his Knights going into Tomes and Scrolls. Harry was half tempted to call out to them but considering Walburga was forcing quite a pace towards the fashion sector of the village, she decided against it.

Harry had never been inside the Twilfitt and Tattings in Diagon Alley but the branch in Hogsmeade was housed in a small but elegant grey-stone building with an emerald green front window and door. Though the shop was rather small, Harry was blown away by what she saw. Mannequins wearing the latest in wealthy wizard fashions sat in the window display. The shop was lit by a giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the light of the candles causing the polished wood that made up the walls and some of the furnishings appear to glitter. Close to the window display was a sitting area – for exhausted husbands and children forced to come along with their wives and mothers no doubt – with plush velvet chairs and a beautifully carved wooden table. Tea and biscuits were already served for any potential customer. More mannequins line the shop, decked in beautiful wizard and witch wear – not a single item of Muggle-influenced clothing was in sight. Harry quickly noticed there were no racks in sight, giving Harry the quick impression that everything in the shop was made to order.

Harry shook her head at her surroundings, unabashedly gaping. She had no idea how long this branch of Twilfitt and Tattings had survived but she could take a guess why it no longer existed in the 90s – it was just opulent and she doubted many in Hogsmeade could afford to go here.

Whilst Harry had been distracted, Walburga had wasted no time in fetching the head seamstress, who was a stern looking woman, dressed in a black Victorian era dress and her hair up in a tight bun. Orion, Altair and Arcturus had quickly made themselves at home in the sitting area, Orion already munching on one of the biscuits.

"All right, ladies, down to business," Walburga stated as though she were a General giving orders to her troops. "Our Harry lacks just about everything a proper Lady Regnant would need so if you find any designs that could suit not just Harry's unique character but also her status, bring it over and Harry and I will give it the once over."

Artemis, Minerva, Loreley, Druella, Ophelia and Ygraine sprang into immediate action, knowing what crossing Walburga Black would mean. The seamstress eyed the odd Lady Regnant next to the Black heiress closely. She seemed to approve of Harry's odd but elegant boots and had found the ruana interesting enough but looked positively distasteful at Harry's leather jacket and more manly looking trousers. Harry, in turn, stared down the woman, silently daring her to say something insulting.

"I say, I have never seen a Lady in a jacket like that before," the seamstress commented slightly. "You have a … very unique style."

"I usually hate wearing dresses most days," Harry answered coolly.

"Something we will try to change today," Walburga added, giving Harry a pointed look. "Harry, do you have Loreley's design with you?"

"Of course. Druella practically tried to glue it to me this morning," Harry responded, fishing the design of the dress out of her jacket's inner pocket and passed it to Walburga, who immediately showed it to the seamstress.

"Now this is more like it," the seamstress nodded approvingly, looking at the design. "I will get some of my ladies onto it right away."

As the seamstress left towards the back rooms, Harry smiled slightly at her bossy, prissy friend. "You will be an amazing Lady Black in the future," she stated decidedly.

The comment took Walburga off-guard for a moment but made her smile smally, nonetheless. "Thank you, my friend. But I fear being Lady Black is more of a job than dressing a Lady Regnant with no proper clothing."

"Are you talking about the girls?" Harry asked, remembering Walburga's fear of only producing daughters.

"The House of Black is not as … forward-thinking as your family," Walburga replied with a tinge of sadness. "Otherwise Lucretia would be Heir Apparent, not her younger brother. We women – we're a bargaining tool, a way to cement alliances between other families. There are a few of my cousins, such as Lucretia, who are rebelling as much as they are able to against that principle but they are still expected to conform to … expectations. One expectation of Lady Black, or any pureblood wife, is to produce a son and heir."

Harry sighed with undisguised irritation. "Merlin, are we still keeping to these antiquated ideas? For the love of Avalon, the heir to the throne of this country is a girl and I am willing to bet that Her Royal Highness is going to be one heck of a Queen."

"That is not a sufficient argument for many, I'm afraid," Walburga countered lightly. "There are some pureblood families with some very unsavoury opinions about the Royal Family and the fact that our Minister also effectively answers to them. The fact the next Monarch is female means nothing to them."

Harry didn't get the chance to make a counter argument because Druella, Ophelia and Ygraine came almost running back with designs ranging from dresses to jackets to tunics. Artemis soon came hurrying back with designs for boots, trousers and cloaks. Among many of them Harry could imagine Narcissa Malfoy or Bellatrix Lestrange wearing the clothes and she hated to admit it – Harry did not outright hate any of them. The girls picked different colours too: reds, blues, greens, purples, and whites, to name a few.

Harry had to muster up all her patience when the fitting process started, especially when the measuring tape started coming out. She had always hated fitting her robes every single year – it was tedious and Harry got pricked by the pins every single time. This time, Harry bit her cheek and endured it all. What made it a little more worthwhile was the shocked looks of her friends when they saw her dressed in 'proper' attire. Harry especially enjoyed Altair's reaction; the Nott heir had to pick his mouth up from the floor every time, causing Arcturus to roll his eyes and Orion to giggle.

It was at the end of the madness – when Harry was finally back in her own clothes and had paid for the humongous order of clothes – that she saw the design of a gown that just hit her like a freight train. The top of the dress was made of a kind of silver metal that the dress was affixed to, making it look like a very fancy battle dress. The sleeves were extremely long and the fabric looked very flowy.

"Stunning," Loreley commented over her shoulder. "You should get that one too."

Harry scoffed. "Lorri, this trip is already costing an arm and a leg. Besides, I think by the time the clothes come I will have more than enough to choose from."

"I still think you should get it," Loreley shot back serenely.

Harry looked back at the dress doubtfully and shook her head eventually. "No. Not right now."

It was easy for Harry to be distracted from the gown because Walburga was extremely pleased with herself, Altair had taken up the mantle of complaining about 'girls and their shopping' and Orion was eagerly guiding the group towards Honeydukes Sweet Shop for his treat. Harry had not realised just how much she had missed seeing that bright blue door of Honeydukes until then. It was almost unchanged: there were still shelves upon shelves of succulent sweets from creamy chunks of nougat to fat, honey-coloured toffee and different kinds of chocolate all in a row. There was a large barrel of Every Flavour Beans and of Fizzing Whizzbees. Along another wall were the 'Special Effects' sweets that Harry had bought more than once. Her favourites, the tiny black Pepper Imps that made one breathe fire momentarily, were still being sold, as were the Ice Mice. The smell of chocolate and other sweet scents perfumed the air.

Altair and Arcturus went to the 'Special Effects' sweets while most of the girls went to the more brightly coloured sweets. Orion dragged Harry more towards the front of the shop to the glass cases holding his favourite treats. Harry could see why Orion loved them so much: the chocolates were clearly hand painted, probably with a paint brush, with portraits of famous witches and wizards and magical creatures. It was like an artist had decided to use chocolates as a canvas. It was almost a shame to eat them! As for the crystallised butterflies, they had realistic looking wing patterns – Harry, thanks to her time working in Aunt Petunia's garden, recognised the holly blue, the orange tip butterfly, the peacock butterfly, the red admiral, the painted lady and the small tortoiseshell among them.

"Whoa," she breathed.

"Amazing, are they not?" Orion grinned.

"Yes," she nodded. "Which ones are your favourites?"

Before Orion could answer, a Honeydukes employee approached them from behind the counter. "May I be of assistance?" he asked politely.

"Yes, I have a question. How much does a box of twenty of these chocolates and these butterflies cost?" Harry asked.

"Thirty Galleons, ma'am," the employee responded easily.

"Sold," Harry stated easily, fished thirty Galleons out of her purse, handed them over and grinned at Orion. "Take your pick!"

"You're the best!" Orion squealed and enthusiastically pointed out his favourites to the amused Honeydukes worker.

Altair, followed by Arcturus, joined them, munching on Jelly Slugs. "Orion is having fun I see," he commented with a grin to Harry.

"Something I have learned from a month and a bit being friends with Orion Black, is that it is quite easy to please him," Harry laughed fondly. "Besides, I do feel like I owe him for the presents he got me at Zonko's."

"Speaking of which, will Avery get a Nose-biting Tea cup in his bed soon?" Arcturus teased.

Harry chuckled. "No. I have something else planned for him."

"Uh oh," Altair grinned.

By the time the group got to Madam Paddifoot's Tea Shop, there were two happy Blacks and several amused purebloods amongst the group. Inside of the Tea Shop were several other groups of Hogwarts students, including Riddle and his Knights, enjoying tea and cake. There were one or two couples on a date. To Harry's surprise, Riddle, Avery, Lestrange and Mulciber had looked up the moment they heard the door open and greeted the group with a friendly wave. She did have to bite her cheek to stop herself from laughing at Artemis flushing red when Lestrange waved at her cheerily. Walburga and Orion quickly found a table for their group so Artemis' embarrassment was easy to conceal.

Harry looped her arm with her doppelgänger's. "I saw that."

"What?" Artemis tried to look and sound innocent.

Harry giggled. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

Artemis flushed brighter as they sat down. "Please tell me no one else noticed," she whispered.

"Loreley knows, but then again she knows things before they even tend to happen," Harry replied candidly but in a low voice to make sure the others couldn't hear her. "The rest are as far as I know completely oblivious."

Artemis sighed in relief.

"Harry, what tea and cake would you like?" Altair asked, looking at the menu. "There is green tea, lavender, Lady Grey, Earl Grey, cinnamon-"

"Oooo, cinnamon tea, please," Harry lit up.

"Genuinely did not see that one coming," Loreley chuckled. Harry laughed shortly at that, causing their friends to shake their heads at their strange pair.

"And the cake?" Altair nudged Harry gently, trying to get her attention back.

"You know what – surprise me," Harry decided with a grin.

Loreley's countenance was split further in half by her grin at this point. The Sighted Ravenclaw did have a slight giggle fit when the group at the table next to theirs left after paying for their tea and cakes, with the table quickly being taken by Riddle and his Knights before anyone else could get to it. She caught her brother's eyes, who not so subtly rolled them at his friends' antics.

"We have news about Lament," was the first thing Mulciber announced when the group had taken their seats and Loreley had managed to calm down. "I don't know if you guys have heard or not, but Dippet has expelled him."

"Thank Merlin!" rang the chorus amongst Harry and her friends.

"How do you know?" Harry quickly asked the follow up question.

"The Prewetts witnessed the Laments coming to get him – he is in some serious shit with his mother; apparently she was bellowing so loudly you could hear her at the beginning of Gargoyle Corridor. The Prewetts promptly told the Weasley menaces who told everyone they could get their hands on and one of those people happened to be Edward Diggory, who told Avery, who – you guessed it – told us," Mulciber listed with a grin.

"Ah yes, Avery's spy network doing its thing," Harry commented lightly, causing Avery, Lestrange, Malfoy, Mulciber and Dolohov to pale quite quickly. Her girls all snorted at the flummoxed expressions of the Knights; the Traveller rolled her eyes. "Come now, you think I haven't found out by now how you managed to get to the truth of who I am? What do you take me for?"

"We forgot she was almost Sorted into Ravenclaw, lads," Mulciber chuckled nervously.

"That, and I told her about it," Artemis added brightly. "I have been waiting to spill about Avery's little birds to someone for years!"

"How did you find out?" Lestrange asked curiously.

Artemis rolled her Imperius gold eyes. "Oh come on, Heron! No one socialises with Malcolm McLagan unless absolutely necessary."

That led to a collective chuckle around both groups.

Despite being happy about the news of the psychotic boy's expulsion, Harry tried her best to feel some sympathy for Lament, but ended up discovering she didn't feel any at all. The cretin had attacked a first year and three familiars; expulsion was a fate that he no doubt deserved. But still, Harry couldn't shake the slight guilt she did feel – Lament would likely have never been expelled had she not come to 1944.

Unfortunately for Harry, her countenance was very expressive, thus the miniscule guilt she felt had registered and had been translated by everyone who looked at her.

Altair, who knew Harry quite well by now, scowled. "No, no, no, I know what you're thinking, Harry – stop that thought right there! You are not to blame for this. Lament brought this onto himself."

"Agreed," Orion backed him up immediately. There was not one who disagreed with that sentiment. "Plus, Lament should consider himself lucky he isn't eighteen yet or it would have likely been a duel between the two of you, or a short stay in Azkaban. To be honest, I don't know which is scarier! Besides, the family will recover from this. They have two other sons, one who starts Hogwarts next year."

Harry paled further, which made Artemis take her Slytherin doppelgänger in a reassuring side hug.

"I, for one, will not be losing any sleep over this," Ophelia stated adamantly, quietly hoping it would help to ease Harry's guilt. "He had it coming the moment he raised his wand at Oizys. Attacking a child – the shame of it! At least you only disarmed the girl in self-defence; an unprovoked attack? Disgusting."

"Quite," Walburga concurred primly. "Oh, Harry, I know something that will cheer you up. I cannot believe I have forgotten this but there is a music store in Hogsmeade. Shall we go and see it?"

Harry's face lit in an instant. Dominic Maestro's Music Shop; it still existed? "Yes, please!"

Artemis pouted. "But I really want to go to Spintwitches Sporting Needs. My Quidditch boots have gotten too small and I didn't have time to pick up a new pair at Diagon Alley during the summer."

"Plus there are new brooms in store," Lestrange added quickly.

"That too," Artemis agreed with a small smile.

"I need to visit Dogweed and Deathcap for some extra books, but I can do that later. I really want to see the music store; I don't think I have ever been," Altair put in.

"I would not mind seeing those new brooms to be honest," Arcturus followed quickly afterwards.

"I want to see Harry's face when she sees the music store!" Orion clapped his hands excitedly.

"Well, it seems we have varied opinions on where to go next," Druella laughed. "What to do, what to do?"

"I say we split up for a bit," Minerva offered as three trays full of pots of tea, tea cups and cakes arrived at their table and everyone began to take the pots, cups and cakes off the tray, passing each other their particular order. "A few of us go to Spintwitches and a few of us go to the music store."

Artemis lit up. "Brilliant idea!"

"When the paths divide, hark! What clarity doth unfold," Loreley sang as she poured herself a cup of tea.

"Lorri, eat your cake," Artemis sighed while a good number of their group shook their heads despondently at Loreley. The Knights rolled their eyes at her, save for Lestrange, Tom and Abraxas.

Harry poured herself a cup of cinnamon tea, listening to Mulciber, Lestrange, Artemis and Arcturus discuss their favourite Quidditch teams, thankful to just be with her own thoughts for a moment. She had been quietly concerned at the fact Thanatos had been rather alarmed at Athenaïs' ability to defend herself from Lament, and Harry wanted to know exactly what has been going on with her Gargouille. Harry knew her dragon was changing – it wasn't just that she could understand Athenaïs, but for some reason the young Gargouille had some kind of power to help boost Harry's own projects.

Harry really wanted answers, sooner rather than later.

"… Harry … Harry! Earth calling Hera Evans!"

Harry was dragged out of her thoughts with a sigh and gave Orion a pointed look. "What?" she asked, trying not to sound irritated.

"Tom and his friends want to join our groups – Lestrange, Avery, Mulciber and Dolohov want to go to the sports shop and Tom and Malfoy want to come to the music store. You OK with that?" Orion answered with a grin.

Harry was rather caught out that Tom and his Knights were a) wanting to spend time with them and b) that they were actually asking permission to join them. She blinked a couple of times before shrugging. "Fine by me. Whatever floats their boat."

Internally, however, the Mistress of Death was not as nonchalant as she sounded. She could take a guess as to why Tom wanted to come: their game of Ask Tom As Many Questions As I Can was still unfinished. But why in the name of Merlin's broken boots would Abraxas Malfoy willingly spend time with the weirdos amongst the Slytherins, two Gryffindors and his dotty twin sister?

Something was not right here.

The Traveller forced herself to focus on eating her cake, which was a chocolate cake baked to take the shape of a baby dragon. Harry blinked at it rapidly, faced the turmoil of having to eat something that looked that adorable. "Altair?"

The Nott heir did his best attempt at a I-am-completely-innocent face. "Yes, dear Harry?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you are an evil cretin?" Harry inquired bluntly, shaking her head at the cake.

Altair grinned, looking very pleased with himself. "Adorable, is it not?"

Harry mock-scowled at him. "Yes, which is going to make eating this bloody painful. It's too cute!"

"Enjoy!" Altair laughed.

"There is no way Harry is going to be able to finish that," Ygraine commented, shaking her head, chuckling.

"I bet she will," Arcturus shot back with a grin.

"Ooooo, how much are we betting?" Orion asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together in a manner akin to a cartoon villain.

Harry gaped at him unabashedly. "Excuse me?!"

"Fifteen Galleons says she won't," Druella instantly offered, popping a piece of sponge cake into her mouth, grinning at her flummoxed friend.

Harry shook her head. "Now, see here-"

"Twenty says she will," Lestrange countered easily, smirking mischievously.

Harry harrumphed dramatically and sipped her tea. "Fantastic, thank you for that, Heron. Any more bloody bets?" she growled with her tone dipped in snark and sarcasm.

"I will up Rosier's bid and say twenty-five says she won't do it," Dolohov made a counter bid.

"That was a rhetorical question!" Harry exclaimed.

"Well it's not rhetorical anymore," Tom teased. "Don't worry: I am willing to bet thirty Galleons you will eat the cake just fine."

Orion giggled manically. "Now we're talking!"

"You are all aware you are betting on me eating a cake, right?" Harry cut in dryly.

"Yes!" came the collective chorus.

"Right, OK. I just wanted to make sure you were aware," the Traveller sighed with snark once more fully embedded in her tone, shaking her head at their antics.

"Thirty Galleons are on the line, Evans," Mulciber announced with a grin. "So, are you going to start eating?"

"For the record, I really hate you all right now," Harry stated, putting her tea cup down.

"Hey, I kept out of it!" Artemis protested. "So did the girls, Minnie, the Malfoys, Nott and Avery. Well, Nott started the problem, but still."

Harry rolled her eyes but picked up her fork and, silently apologising to the poor dragon cake in front of her, chopped off its right claw and popped it into her mouth, trying desperately to ignore the chuckling Slytherins and Gryffindors around her. Dealing with the other claw, the tail and the wings wasn't difficult; Harry did find she had more issues getting closer to the cake's head.

That was when Orion tried to do a spot of ventriloquism. "Pwease don't eat me, Hawwy."

"Orion, shut up!"

Harry finally plucked up the courage to behead the baby dragon cake's head and popped it into her mouth, glaring at the offending people in question who started this whole charade. Once she had swallowed it down, Harry looked at them all pointedly. "All right, children. I have eaten the cake. Pay your opponents and behave from now on."

Those who had betted against Harry deflated as they got their purses out. Loreley, Artemis, Walburga, Ophelia and Ygraine, who had all kept out of it, started giggling quite madly at the scowls of Druella, Mulciber and Dolohov. Arcturus, Tom, Orion and Lestrange looked extremely pleased with themselves.

"Never bet against Harry Evans," Arcturus stated as he pocketed his thirty Galleons.

"I could not agree more," Tom nodded with a slight smirk.

Harry grumbled incoherently but found she could not actually be truly irritated at them. She was rather glad that the group split up for a while. The Traveller had quietly laughed to herself as Artemis left with Arcturus, Lestrange, Avery, Dolohov and Mulciber in the direction of Spintwitches Sporting Needs – hopefully Artemis and Lestrange would get a moment to just talk. She had no idea how their possible relationship would affect the future, but Harry found she was OK with that little bit of uncertainty.

"We did not truly vex you, did we?"

Tom's slightly concerned question took Harry by surprise as their group set off in the direction of the music store, following Walburga and Orion's lead, Tom walking on Harry's right and Altair on her left, with the Malfoy twins and Minerva behind them. Harry blinked a couple of times before chuckling. "Only a little, but I am used to Orion and Altair's antics by now."

"Wish we could say the same," Altair teased. Harry gave him a playful nudge for that comment.

Harry turned back to Tom with a soft smile. "Anyway, do you mind if I continue asking questions?"

Tom smiled. "Not at all. I was actually hoping you would. Fire away."

Harry started with a question that she was genuinely curious to know the answer to. "What was your first impression of Diagon Alley?"

Tom chuckled at this. "To tell you the truth, it blew me away; it was almost overwhelming. To see this whole new world hidden from the one I grew up in – one that I was now a part of. It was … a baptism of a kind, I suppose. It sounds cheesy but that's how it was. Just seeing all those owls outside, the snakes, the cats, the witches and wizards bustling from one shop to another with these items I was always taught were a figment of human imagination – I realised just how privileged I am to be a part of it."

Harry nodded along to what he was saying; she had felt many of the same emotions when she was eleven and had come face to face with the magical world that time Hagrid had taken her to fetch her school supplies.

"I know we agreed that you ask the questions, but may I ask what your first impression was of Diagon Alley?" Tom queried.

Harry nodded. "It felt like coming home in a way," she admitted, making sure to choose her words carefully. "It has features that magical districts had that I knew very well and to be able to recognise names, labels – it didn't make me feel as foreign as one might think it should have done."

"James and Lily were English right?" Altair asked, for the first time deciding to join in.

"Absolutely," Harry nodded. Now it was time to do some improvising. "Their families simply lived in Europe but were all English. Mama and Papa spent some time in France, the Netherlands, Denmark but eventually we chose to settle for a bit in probably one of the most dangerous countries to be in, Austria."

"Right under Grindelwald's nose?" Tom's eyebrows shot up.

Harry nodded with a wry smile.

"Dangerous but gutsy," Altair commented, blowing air.

Harry turned the conversation back onto Tom. "Let's see, next question. Did you buy Frey in Diagon Alley?"

"Actually, she was a gift," Tom informed lightly. "I was first introduced to Malum and his family when I went to buy my robes at Madam Malkins' and they quickly took me under their wing. It was Malum's mother who paid for Frey when I found her."

That had taken Harry even more by surprise. That sounded eerily familiar to the situation she had faced in Madam Malkins' with Draco, except she had ended up at odds with Draco instead of friends. The Traveller would never admit it out loud but there had been moments back in her own time where she thought about what would have happened if she had accepted Draco's offer of friendship.

She felt someone put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Harry, are you all right? Your eyes have glazed slightly. Is it the Fainting Sickness?"

Harry shook herself out of her thoughts once more and shot an apologetic smile at Tom. "No, sorry, I completely spaced out there." She cleared her throat. "So, you met Avery first?"

Tom nodded.

"What was your first impression of him?" Harry quizzed.

"First impression?" Tom repeated, sounding genuinely surprised at that question. He had not expected it. "Honestly, I thought he was someone worth knowing. His parents were clearly well connected and carried themselves differently to most people I had met, which was admittedly not many." He chuckled a little. "I confess that I found him a little pompous at first. Malum kind of looked his nose down at me a bit, for how I was dressed and at the fact I live in a Muggle orphanage, but that changed when I told him I really wanted to learn wizarding customs."

"So how did you meet the others?" Harry continued, genuinely interested in the possible answer.

"Believe it or not, via owl mail," Tom answered with a small grin. "Avery put me in contact with some of his childhood friends. Heron and Caius were two of the first to write to me; I think Abraxas and Felix took some convincing! In hindsight, I don't really blame them. I was an outsider, a foreigner too in a way. I had to convince them that I did really want to learn about their traditions and customs and not expect to be catered to."

Harry wanted to continue her line of questioning, since it was genuinely getting to some interesting tit-bits about Tom that she didn't already know from the memories shown to her by Dumbledore and Slughorn, but Walburga and Orion soon had their troops come to a halt.

"Here we are, Harry! Welcome to Sethos Meret's Music Shop!" Walburga stated, Orion doing a dramatic flourish in front of the building.

Harry gaped. The shop was still almost in the exact same building as Dominic Maestro's Music Shop had been, very close to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. The wood of the display windows that faced the street were still painted in a beautiful burgundy colour but the name of the shop was written in silver letters rather than gold and had some Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics underneath the English. In one of the display windows was a wide array of fiddles, violins, one vielle and a hurdy gurdy. In the other window, Harry spotted an accordion, a trumpet, a trombone, a clarinet, a music stand with sheet music and an Irish harp.

"OK, some quick information about the shop and its owner," Ophelia spoke up with glee. "Sethos Meret is an Egyptian-English wizard who has won several awards in music and composition competitions. He took over the shop about five years ago and is the sole sponsor of the Hogwarts Choral Club. Members of the choir or those who take music as an extra subject can get repairs and retuning done for free and a ten per cent discount on all purchases. Oh, and he was one of us at Hogwarts!"

"A Slytherin?" Harry's eyebrows went up in surprise. During her own time, there were only one or two Slytherins in the choir; somehow the more musically inclined largely went to Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.

"Surprisingly," Minerva put in, looking a little put out. "Like you, Harry, he was a Hat Stall. If rumours are true, the Hat almost opted to put him into Gryffindor."

Harry nodded, taking the information in, led the way into the shop, eager to see what had changed and what hadn't changed in fifty years. There was still a warmth to the shop when one first entered it, and there was the sound of music was being played. Whether it was another composer or Mr. Meret's own work, one could only guess but Harry could not help but stop to listen to the melody for a moment before her friends encouraged her to go further into the shop. The mahogany shelves were lined with ointments, cleaning wipes and specialised spell books on instrument maintenance. Harry could not read the languages, but she spied a few of the books written in Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic. Other aisles were home to sheet music, ranging from rare codified medieval pieces to folk songs from the 19th century. There was also an extensive aisle home to records, record players and radios. In the back, there were three pianos, an organ and a harp; the rest of the instruments were being kept on their own shelves behind the counter.

Harry could not keep the smile off her face; it was so familiar yet there were still remarkable differences. Some of Orion's pep rubbed off on her because she was like Heir Black in Honeydukes Sweet Shop. "This is awesome!"

"I am glad you approve, miss." Harry looked to her right quite sharply to see a man in perhaps his early forties come out of the back of his shop, watching the Hogwarts students with a degree of amusement. He had an olive pallor, dark hair and coffee-coloured eyes and dressed in rather casual clothing for what Harry had seen the men of the 40s wear. The gentleman was not dressed in a suit, just a simple white shirt, over jumper and clean cut trousers.

"Hello, Mr. Meret," Ophelia greeted brightly. "How are you? How is business?"

"I am very well, thank you, Miss Rowle," Sethos Meret answered with a small smile. "As for business, I am quite short-staffed at the moment, but with everything that is going on – the wars and such – that is to be expected."

"Working on any new compositions, sir?" Minerva asked politely as Harry went to browse the sheet music and the string instruments with Tom and Altair, Orion picked up the accordion in the window display to investigate it, with the Malfoy twins keeping a close eye on him to make sure that Heir Black did not damage it in his fervent enthusiasm.

Mr. Meret shook his head. "That is the wonder and the burden of making music one's life. One can never hurry it, or it will lose its splendour. Hence, it is going painfully slow to come up with the right sound." He smiled weakly for a moment before pepping himself up. "But enough about my woes, how may I be of assistance?"

"Well, our friend Harry here is a musician and a singer," Walburga stated, gesturing towards where the Lady Regnant of House Peverell was standing with her nose in a tome full of compositions from 500-1000 CE, her eyes glittering as she read the notes. "We neglected to bring her here before, which was an honest mistake on our part."

Mr. Meret lit up and turned to look at the young Slytherin girl, who was still engrossed in the music. Altair and Tom gently nudged Harry to make her look up quite sharply and grin sheepishly at the fact she had only been paying half attention to what was going on around her.

"What kind of music do you play, Miss …?"

"Evans, sir," Harry answered with a smile. "I play this and that, to be honest. I have more experience with the violin than any other instrument, although my friend Luna and I once did a small concert by playing some music using water in wine glasses for the fun of it."

"Water in wine glasses?" Mr. Meret repeated, blinking twice. "Forgive me but I never heard of that before."

"Yes, sir, it is also known as the Glass Harp technique. It has also been called the angelic organ, glass glockenspiel and the Seraphim," Harry explained with a grin. She began fiddling with her hands nervously under the man's scrutinising gaze. "Would you like me to show you?"

The composer nodded enthusiastically.

Harry approached the counter and with a wave of her Dragon heartstring wand, conjured thirty-nine wine glasses, all of whom were sized from smallest to largest with quite a decent depth of water to them. "I warn you, I only know how to play a few songs," Harry stated before she began.

"That is perfectly fine," Mr. Meret reassured, watching in utter fascination already.

Without further ado, the Traveller began to play Bach's violin concerto Number Two in E major, Water Adagio, in the second movement. Everyone watched in fascination as the young Slytherin's hands went over the glasses almost effortlessly, a strange mystical sound filling the shop. It was indeed almost like watching someone play a very strange piano or organ. It was like hearing a strange kind of singing. At around two or three minutes in, the people in the shop heard a unique acoustic effect to the music, the harmonics clashing together to create an unusual but intriguing glissando overtone that none could discern if it was accidental or intentional.

Once she was finished with that song, Harry stopped for a moment, debating on which tune to do next momentarily, before starting on Greensleeves. As her hands darted over the glasses, she plucked up the courage to start singing.

# Alas my love you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously
And I have loved you oh so long
Delighting in your company,

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold,
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves,

Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity.

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold,
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves,

I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have
,

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold,
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves,

If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity
,

Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves my heart of gold,
Greensleeves was my heart of joy,
And who but my Lady Greensleeves.
#

Harry made a calculated decision not to sing the whole song and simply allowed the melody to start to very slowly fade away as she brought it to a close. Once she was finished, Harry bit her lip awkwardly and looked up at the award-winning composer, who was staring in utter bewilderment, nervously.

"Well?" she dared to ask. "What do you think?"

"I think you should have played this instrument more often," Altair stated candidly from behind her.

"Nott," Tom cajoled gently and in a low tone.

Mr. Meret blinked. "I think it is possibly one of the most unique ways I have seen people play music in a long time," he responded truthfully, "and that you clearly know your way around the Glass Harp." He smiled brightly. "Thank you for showing it to me."

Harry bowed her head as she banished the glasses of water with a flick of her wand. "You're welcome, sir."

BAAAAAAAAARP!

Everyone in the room collectively winced at the sharp, sudden, tone deaf note; it was a good thing the glasses were gone or they would have likely shattered because of the noise.

Walburga rounded on her fiancé. "Orion Nigellus Black, put that trumpet down this instant!"

"Yes, dear," Orion responded meekly, putting the trumpet down gently and stepping away from it. He then caught sight of one of the violins in the glass cases nearby and frowned as he studied it. Heir Black's face lit up as he looked up and turned back to his best-friend-next-to-Druella. "Harry, come and look at this violin!"

Harry obeyed and her eyes widened at it. It was a handsome instrument, made of a deep red wood and engraved with stunning spiral and floral patterns. She could tell that there were a few Runes carved into the instrument but couldn't see clearly what they were. Thanks to her Mistress of Death powers, Harry could sense that even through the enchanted glass that there was some serious magic attached to this thing.

"Ah! That one is a temperamental little darling," Mr. Meret informed as he stepped out from behind his counter. "I tried playing it once myself, but I got the distinct impression it did not like me all too much. It was reportedly made by the first Evren Peverell in 1587, and if rumours are to be believed, it was the weapon used to help conjure the storm that blew apart the Spanish Armada a year later."

"Evren Peverell?" Harry perked up, as did some of her friends.

She was the one who had caused Nicholas Flamel the most grief!

"Yes. She was a musician, composer, translator and a master in various branches of sorcery," Mr. Meret explained. "I have no idea if this is true or not, but it was often said about her that she could bring things to life or show memories by simply playing her violin, using it as a magical conduit instead of a wand. Indeed, the bow of the violin is reportedly what was left of her wand when it was destroyed in a duel."

"How did you come by it, if I may ask?" Harry asked eagerly.

"It was sold to me at auction," Mr. Meret responded readily. "I knew the moment I saw it was on auction that I had to try and get it. You never know when someone who is descended from that great family might come looking for it." He then frowned a little and tilted his head at Harry, studying her. "Now that I think about it … you have the look of Evren about you."

"Do I, sir?" Harry swallowed. Her friends had tensed in about five seconds.

"Yes. I saw her portrait at the music theatre I performed at several times. You have a similar air and your hair falls almost in the exact same curl shape and pattern. Except Evren did not have green eyes," Mr. Meret stated. "I wonder … are you interested in the violin?"

"Yes, she is," Orion readily answered for Harry, who looked set to protest.

"Harry, if you don't buy the damn violin I will do it for you," Walburga added immediately, accustomed to reading her friend's countenance quite well by this point.

Harry blanched. "First, I think we should ask how much it costs."

"100 Galleons." Harry was almost floored by Mr. Meret's answer.

"What?!"

Amusement flashed in those dark orbs, lightening the lines under his eyes a little. "Oh, I'm sorry, is that too dear?"

Harry scoffed. "No! It's absurdly cheap!"

Mr. Meret grinned. "It's original price was 500 Galleons, I'll admit. But I just can't shake this funny feeling that I am having right now – I can't put my finger on it, however I am convinced that the violin should go with you."

"And if I insist on paying the original price?" Harry questioned.

"Then you're an idiot and we'll pay full price," Druella commented, looking deadpan.

"Dru, you know how I feel about special treatment!"

Druella rolled her eyes and folded her arms, stepping closer to her friend. "Yes, and you keep looking gift horses in the mouth for the damn Greeks! There are no Greeks here. This violin belonged to your family! It is yours by right – don't you dare leave it behind," she hissed.

Harry saw in her peripheral vision that Loreley was smirking behind her hand. Oh, Merlin's beard. Bloody damn Seers and their Sight!

"OK then," Harry agreed, getting her purse from inside her jacket pocket and promptly began counting out one hundred Galleons.

The strange music shop owner grinned as he took the money. "Pleasure doing business with you, miss. I hope that the violin comes in useful to you."

So that was how Harry had ended up with an apparently lost family heirloom at the end of a tortuous shopping trip. Altair had also bought her several books of sheet music for her to practise with, which she had been very tempted to protest but didn't have the heart to when she saw Altair's delight. Fortunately there were no other surprises during Altair's trip to Dogweed and Deathcap to buy some supplies in preparation for tutoring sessions.

Harry was almost relieved that Artemis and Tom's Knights came back with a bunch of Quidditch items, launching into stories of size mishaps, enchanted brooms lashing out at customers and new Quidditch strategy guides. It also gave her time to observe Artemis and Lestrange a little more, or so she thought.

"Do you want to pick up from where we left off?" Tom asked Harry with a small grin as the Quidditch-obsessed boys and Potter heiress nattered the ears off everyone about an almost tiff between Avery and Wood about broom maintenance as the group headed back towards the castle.

"Sure," Harry agreed. "You were talking about how you met your friends."

"Indeed. Well, as I said, I first became acquainted with them through letters. I met them for the first time on Platform 9 ¾. I met Avery and his family at the gateway and they guided me through. The Averys introduced me formally to them. Caius and Heron were the first to greet me, then Felix, and then finally Abraxas. We went to find a compartment and well, it seemed that they knew where to go so I just followed them. They introduced me to the Rosier twins, Nott, Orion Black and Artemis Potter. We sat in the compartment opposite them so that Caius and the others could periodically check in with Rosier. Since then, we travelled in the same compartment every year."

So that lined up sort of with what Altair had said when he exploded at Arcturus. Harry saw Altair's face darken slightly; yep, it seems the story correlated quite well, only with a different perspective of what happened.

Harry decided to take a gamble on the next question. "The next one has kind of been eating at me, so I do feel the need to ask – you don't have to answer if you don't want to, by the way because it is a little intrusive perhaps – but …" Harry took a fortifying breath.

"Go on," Tom encouraged with a small smile.

"OK," Harry exhaled. "Is your Boggart related to experiences you have had at the orphanage you live in?"

Tom's face paled in a few seconds. Altair, who had been listening quietly, looked at Harry with a mixture of shock, fear and awe. Even Abraxas and Loreley, who had been half-listening to the conversation too, could hardly believe their ears at the question that had come out of her mouth.

Harry flushed red as the tense silence continued. "I over-stepped the mark didn't I? Merlin, I'm sorry, forget I said anything."

She tried to hasten her pace a little in her embarrassment to try and escape an angry Tom Riddle but was surprised when Tom gently took hold of her wrist and stopped her from leaving his side, giving her a kind, reassuring smile. "Don't go! You didn't over-step a boundary – I will answer. I just … did not expect that question." Tom sighed. "I … I think it might. When the bombs started dropping on London four years ago, we had to be rushed to the bomb shelters every night. Hiding under the beds and table in there, having to have a gas mask on us at all times." Tom swallowed, a haunted look in his eyes. "The ground shook every time a bomb dropped a block or three away from the orphanage … it was like hearing primeval roaring. It seemed to go on forever. At any moment we could be next. Almost every day we saw at least four bodies, especially if houses in our street were hit."

"Shit," Altair whispered.

Harry shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. She then raised her head again quite sharply when she realised something. "Wait, Dippet allowed you to go back to that? Year after year?"

"The bombing only lasted a year, but it did its damage I suppose," Tom's breath was overtly quivering with fear. "But the real damage is I think the places we have to go back to. Dippet usually allows orphans to stay at Hogwarts during Yule but … we spend two months in institutions that seem to hate us, which doesn't ever stop."

Harry had honestly no idea how to react to this. She didn't want to risk patronising Tom but also had an urge to hug him. The only thing that her brain thought to say was: "guess hot chocolate is in order later."

Much to her surprise, Tom laughed heartily at that. "Indeed, my Lady."

Harry refrained from asking any more questions that evening. She barely spoke unless directly addressed, mostly because she was still absorbed with her ancestor's violin and the meeting with her three divine friends. Harry also worked on her dissertation well past eleven o'clock when she felt the heavy, powerful presences of Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë enter Hogwarts. Time to get some answers.

Gathering her Cloak and weapons, the Mistress of Death and her Gargouille familiar slipped out of the dormitory, into the common room and then started the journey up to the Room of Requirement. As soon as Harry saw the pacing deities, she threw off her Cloak and gave them each a pointed look.

"OK, spill. What is going on with Athenaïs?" she quizzed, gently getting down the scythe, rapier, daggers and lantern.

The Gargouille cocked her head to one side, also curious to know the answer to the question. Athenaïs had a general idea of what was going on, but it was always nice to know precisely what she could do.

Thanatos smiled wryly. "Well, my dear, it seems that the powers of the Familiar have manifested themselves very differently to how we expected them to." He looked directly at the young stone dragon. "Using the amulet, it seems that Athenaïs is able to tap directly into some of your own power but also the powers of a few of the previous Familiars."

Harry blanched. "Excuse me?" she squeaked.

"Harry, have you tried your sensing powers on the amulet yet?" Hypnos wanted to know.

Harry frowned and looked at the amulet as she focused on her life-force sensing technique. Very soon, Harry saw that within the depths of the crystal itself were multiple tiny silver wisps zooming from one corner to the other. Merlin, Morgana and all the fairies of Avalon – the thing held souls within!

"Well, bugger," Harry commented dryly. She then frowned. "How is Athenaïs able to tap into their powers? Or mine for that matter?"

"Well, all the Familiars could tap into a part of their Master or Mistress's powers – it is how they could assist in battles or magical projects," Thanatos responded with a small smile. "But how she is able to use the souls inside the amulet … that is a new one, even for me."

"Well, how about we just ask Atty herself?" Melinoë suggested.

Athenaïs lit up and immediately began to chirp, sing and howl as she started miming, pointing towards her head and then at the amulet, and then doing an impression of talking. To Harry and the deities' amusement, the young dragon started mimicking a cat, several birds and various other animals.

"Well … what is she saying?" Hypnos asked, shaking his head.

"I think I get it," Harry laughed. "She's 'talking' to the souls of the other Familiars, and they essentially tell her what to do."

"What? How does she talk to them?" the God of Sleep's eyes almost popped out of his sockets.

Athenaïs pointed towards her head again.

"In her head," Thanatos translated easily, chuckling and shaking his head. "They have their own Link."

"Interesting," Melinoë grinned.

Harry then chuckled evilly. "Which means Lara could also give her ideas."

The smile was quickly gone from the Goddess of Ghosts' face. "She had better not bloody dare!"

Thanatos laughed heartily. "Ah, Lara! Bloody cat was a menace," he reminisced fondly. "So, let's see what Athenaïs has learned herself."

The Room had provided Athenaïs with enough targets to practise on. The young dragon enthusiastically showed her Mistress and the three gods her telekinetic powers, lifting various objects up around the room, her eyes flashing Killing Curse green and her wings spread out. She managed to keep the objects in the air a little longer this time – about two minutes. Then for her next trick the amulet started glowing and Athenaïs howled; her body became surrounded in a field of rainbow coloured energy that expanded outwards, destroying a good number of the furniture and wooden targets around the room. Harry had to shield her eyes from the bright light, but afterwards could see the damage for herself very clearly. Wood, cushions, broken dummies and Merlin-knows-what-else covered the floor of the Room of Requirement. They were quickly disposed of, but Harry knew enough.

"Damn," her whisper sounded more like a shout in the stunned silence.

"Of course the damn creature told Athenaïs how to do that!" Melinoë grumbled. "It is a damn good thing Atty did not use that against the boy who attacked or he'd have been toast."

"Wait, what was that?" Harry wanted to know.

"Fairy magic," Thanatos sighed. "Evren Peverell I had a Nathair Sídhe as Familiar – a fairy snake. I momentarily forgot that its soul was in that amulet as well."

Harry resisted the urge to do a facepalm.

"Quick question: is my entire family made up of these going-against-most-of-the-laws-of-magic kind of people?" she asked dryly with a great degree of snark.

"Oh, absolutely," Melinoë confirmed brightly.

"Yippee," Harry hung her head in exhaustion. "So I can expect some more surprises from Atty then?"

"Most likely," Hypnos confirmed. "Such as her 'helping' with your enchantments in the future."

"Speaking of which, to be honest, I don't have the foggiest idea what I've done to my own scythe," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"Then why don't we test it out?" Thanatos suggested. "Then we can see how well your practice has been going."

Harry rolled her eyes but felt very eager at the prospect of showing them her progress. As for the scythe, the moment Harry picked it up and focused on the magic she had embedded within it. The runes on its blade began to glow with a pinkish-silver hue and Harry was met with the sight of different creatures – a Ci Annwn, a black cat the size of a motorbike with glowing silver eyes amongst them – looking around the Room in bewilderment, some of them daring to greet Athenaïs.

"What have I done?" was all she could say.

"You called fairy creatures to our world," Hypnos laughed. "It seemed you have turned your scythe into a Summoning conduit. You should send them back soon before they start causing unnecessary mischief."

"And how do I do that?" Harry felt a little dumb for asking.

"Easily enough. Try saying a banishment spell while holding the scythe," Thanatos advised immediately.

Harry did so; each creature disappeared back into the mist with a sharp POP! Athenaïs pouted; she had really wanted to get to know the funny creatures.

"Well," the Traveller exhaled, "I won't be doing that again any time soon."

"OK, so now we have that out of the way, revision time!" Melinoë clapped her hands together.

The Room equipped itself promptly with everything that Harry would need. Her Soul Fire was bigger than the last time, Harry had managed to animate almost all the statues the Room had offered up – seven of them – with the cheetah, lion and crocodile souls but the dragon still proved difficult to wake, let alone animate, and finally showed off the fruits of her combat practise.

It was when her artic fox soul had dealt with the last counterfeit ghoul that the three deities decided to teach her the basics of the next two branches of the craft of being Mistress of Death: using Soul Fire in battle and using Shadow Shapeshifting, which is what Thanatos had used to get himself and the Flamels to turn into those shadowy hounds.

"Shadow Shapeshifting is quite closely related to an Animagus transformation, except without the extensive transformation process," Thanatos explained. "It has to use a combination of darkness, drawing on your Core and Soul Magic. Unlike us immortals, the forms that you are limited to using depend entirely on your Patronuses."

"So, stag, Grim, werewolf and dragon," Harry listed.

"Except the werewolf will most likely just be a giant wolf," Hypnos added. "It also has been known to be one of the more taxing abilities for the Masters and Mistress of Death so it's generally advised not to use it unless you absolutely have to."

"Fair enough," Harry nodded. "Let's begin."

The young Mistress of Death found using Soul Fire as an offensive weapon almost as easy as she did flying on a broomstick. The fireballs made of the silver flame were easy to sculpt and control; turning them into daggers and arrows had taken very little effort but naturally, the three deities were agile, so not many had managed to hit their targets. However, Harry found it was much more fun keeping her divine friends on their toes rather than actually hitting them.

Shadow Shapeshifting was possibly one of the most difficult Arts Harry had practised up until this point, second to Animancy. Following Thanatos and Hypnos' instructions, she pulled as much darkness around her as she could while also focusing on pulling magic from her Core and Soul Fire from her own soul towards her heart. Harry knew it was working the moment she felt her being hum and vibrate with the power she was drawing to herself. It was about five seconds after this feeling when Harry's legs buckled quite sharply. Her whole body felt like it was being charred at the centre of the Sun. Her skin felt like it was being melted away by a blow torch; her bones felt like they wanted to jump straight out of her body. But instead of feeling like she was being burnt alive, it was like a fiery renascence. The Traveller's bright green eyes glowed bright silver as the shadows engulfed her.

Then she heard it: the powerful beating of what sounded like multiple heartbeats. One heartbeat sounded so old and ancient that it could not have belonged to man or beast. The shadows moulded Harry's mortal shell into the first form and would only release her once they were finished with their work. Thanatos, Hypnos and Melinoë laughed in glee as the shadows pulled away like a curtain to reveal a beautiful and elegant, black and silver dragon. Athenaïs chirped in surprise and amazement at her witch. The serpentine eyes were a fierce, piercing silver and the way the ivory horns were arranged on her head, they looked like a crown. The Room had somehow expanded itself to accommodate the creature who was almost as big as a Hungarian Horntail. Harry, seeing the expressions of the three deities and her familiar, looked behind her. To her surprise and delight, she had two massive pair of wings with leaf-like silver membranes. The shadows had first turned her into a dragon!

"Now that is what I call a Shadow Transformation," Hypnos chuckled.

I am not exactly inconspicuous though, Harry commented through the Link. Plus, that whole process was weird – it was like someone was carving me up with a very hot knife but it didn't hurt!

"As Hypnos said before, it isn't wise to do it all that often," Thanatos answered. "The length of the process becomes shorter after a while but it still takes a lot of magic and energy to complete. Normally for Masters or Mistresses it is much easier to become an Animagus than to Shadow Transform, but it seems your Phoenix tears are finally coming in useful."

Good to know. Harry frowned. Stupid question: how do I get the shadows to turn me into something a little bit more normal?

"Like a Grim or a wolf?" Hypnos teased. "Call the shadows back, repeat the process but keep the image of the animal you want firmly in your mind. Do not at any point lose concentration; the outcome will not be pretty."

The Mistress of Death obeyed, keeping the image of the Grim in front of her. Only this time when the shadows gathered and her magic began reacting to the darkness, she didn't feel as fiery as she did the first time. Indeed, this time it was almost as though frost and ice were spreading through her veins and onto her bones, like she had been thrown into an icy lake and left to sink to the bottom. The shadows sculpted the dragon into a large, black hound with sharp claws, canines, the same menacing silver eyes but this time with green flecks. Once they were finished, the shadows pulled back and Harry studied her new form.

Yeah, I will never get used to walking on all fours, was all she said. This feels really weird. Cool, but weird.

Harry soon got the shadows to turn her back into her good old human form, much to the relief of Athenaïs, who had been utterly nonplussed at how her witch was changing shape so quickly. The Mistress of Death continued to sit on the floor for a bit, taking a breather.

"Not bad for your first attempts, though, my dear. Perhaps I can distract you with this slight tangent – a little raven told us you have received an invitation to the Malfoys' Yule Ball," Melinoë grinned. "Any idea who you want to take?"

Harry scoffed and flushed within seconds as she picked herself up from the floor. "I thought you were the Goddess of Ghosts, not the Goddess of Gossip! How did you even know I've been invited?"

"Because Tosti received an invite too," Hypnos informed with a smirk, earning himself a whack around the head from his brother. "But come on – surely you have your eye on someone?"

Yes, her Slytherin and Gryffindor voices teamed up against her.

Harry's cheeks were soon the same shade of red as strawberries as she quickly suppressed both of her subconscious whispers. "Maybe." She quickly looked at the God of Death curiously. "Who are you taking?"

"I thought Melinoë – better to make sure that there are two of us to be there should anything unsavoury happen," Thanatos answered, looking a little flustered, while the Goddess of Ghosts looked amused.

"I was about to say, since when do you go out to meet anyone?" Harry quipped.

Thanatos mock-scowled at her. "I honestly contemplated declining until Melinoë started insisting it was a good opportunity to also keep an eye on you. I have never been much fun at parties, mortal or immortal ones."

"Oh, come on, Thanatos. If I have to suffer then so do you – Mistress and Death in this together," Harry stated with a slight chuckle. She clapped her hands together and summoned some Soul Fire from her animal souls again, grinning. "So, who is up for Round Three?"

#############################

Abraxas Malfoy was still awake when he saw the first beams of light from the morning sun begin to appear in the depths of the Black Lake, waking Grindylows, kelpies and merpeople alike. Saturday evening he had gone to bed early in the hopes he could get some extra sleep and ponder upon the things he witnessed surrounding Harry Peverell that day. Her genuine lack of awareness of her own abilities was staggering and Abraxas had nearly done a facepalm when she had actually contemplated leaving her ancestor's violin behind because she was worried about finances. A Peverell who recently earned thirty thousand plus Galleons, with access to her family vaults no doubt, worried about money! He could still scarcely believe his own eyes and ears. The Malfoy heir had also noticed the sometimes conspiratorial look between the Lady Regnant and his own sister, like they were plotting something or in on a secret together. If Loreley was involved, that could only mean the Moirai had plans.

Despite hoping for a quiet night, it seemed that the Three Weavers were determined to make him suffer for the amount of visions he had managed to avoid. He had been forced to See catastrophic volcanic eruptions – twice – the Earth covered completely in ice, a giant meteorite striking the Earth, killing the behemoths Harry had called dinosaurs, and the birth of the first dragons from the ashes the meteor had left behind.

As for more personalised visions, Abraxas Saw a vision of a young woman who was a few years older than he was, with raven curls and a similar face shape like the Lady Peverell's, but eyes that were impossibly silver. She wore a black and white Renaissance gown that revealed her shoulders; Abraxas Saw several sigils, Runes and mystical symbols inked onto her alabaster skin. Around her neck hung a giant ruby amulet. The clearly aristocratic woman had been sitting in a study or personal library of sorts, sitting by the window, playing the violin. She had just finished playing her violin when someone ran into the room, the weather stormy, fierce and dark outside her window. The woman wore a pensive look on her countenance.

A silver bearded man, also dressed in Renaissance attire, had entered the room just as she had finished. The woman turned her unbended gaze onto the interloper. "You are supposed to be in Europe, John."

The man bowed to her, guilt furrowing his brow. "That much is true, my friend. But I had to return …" He looked to the storm outside."Tis done then, Lady Peverell?"

"Indeed, Dr. Dee, tis done."

The man smiled brightly. "Her Majesty will be pleased-"

"I will tell her it was an act of God, nothing more or less," Evren Peverell had answered, staring out of her window. "Or better still, I will simply inform her all your signs had pointed to this outcome. Perhaps it will soothe Her Majesty's ire at your departure from Court."

"She will know tis but a lie. The Queen knows you too well."

"It matters not what Her Majesty thinks. What will be written is what matters."

Dr. John Dee raised his eyebrows. "You wish to go uncredited once more?"

The expression in Evren Peverell's eyes scared the heebies out of Abraxas. "Tis for the best, old friend. You know as well as I."

The vision had changed before Abraxas could even grasp his head around who he had just Seen. The next vision Showed him something else that Abraxas knew could end up getting him killed.

He stood inside a small, rackety looking house in the village of Godric's Hollow, Seeing a seventeen-year-old boy with dark-blonde hair sitting at the kitchen table together with his younger brother, about two years younger, and their fourteen-year-old sister, who had honey coloured curls and was staring off into the distance. Abraxas recognised the girl in an instant from some of his previous visions: Ariana. All three children were dressed in full black and in fashion from the late 1800s. The boys were both nursing cold cups of tea.

"What do we do?" the younger brother had asked softly. "Mother's gone … Father is not coming out of Azkaban soon. What do we do?"

"Simple," the eldest responded, pulling a face as though he ate something sour. "I will take care of both of you. You're still in Hogwarts, Abe. You can't give it up to look after Ari, not with exams coming up soon."

"What about your plans with Doge, Albus?"

"I will have to cancel," Albus – Dumbledore? – responded with a sigh. A look of pure fury and bitterness was in those icy orbs, no matter how much the boy had tried to hide it.

The vision had shifted slightly to Abraxas joining a seventeen-year-old Albus Dumbledore for groceries shopping, looking about as downtrodden as someone could get. It also did not help that it was raining buckets. As the embittered boy walked along the messy, cobbled streets, someone approached. Abraxas could See the boy, who was around their age, was wearing a long dark coat, was carrying a suitcase, had shoulder length blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Frau Bathilda Bagshot lives?" the stranger asked, a distinct German accent on his English that also had a slightly musical lilt to it.

Albus stopped in his tracks, blinked a couple of times and pointed to one of the houses he just passed. "Over there."

"Danke sehr! I was hopelessly lost. I do not live here, you see. I am just visiting for a while," the boy grinned and stuck out his hand. "I am Gellert Grindelwald."

Albus looked at the hand for a moment before smiling. "Albus Dumbledore. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The image of Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore shaking hands melted away was still imprinted into the Malfoy heir's mind when Abraxas found himself in the garden of a house that looked about as Muggle and as ordinary as one could get. The garden was full of flowers of vibrant colours and was neatly cut. To his surprise, there was a child, no older than perhaps four, pulling the weeds from the earth, falling onto her bottom a couple of times with the effort. Abraxas' eyes widened; why in the name of his divine ancestor Melusina was a child doing an elf's work?

What made his heart stop was that the child had wild, raven curls, eyes as bright as peridots and an intricate Lichtenburg scar on her forehead. She was dressed in the most awful clothes – trousers, t-shirt and shirt that were way too big for her and clearly belonged to a boy, plus they were in the most horrendous fashion Abraxas had ever Seen, and seen. On her face was an ugly pair of full moon glasses.

Was this … no. It couldn't be.

Abraxas Saw a thin woman with a horse-like face, dressed in an awful frilly, flowery dress, blonde hair and a long neck come out of the house, scowling at the child. "HERA! Are you still not finished? It is time to start preparing dinner and don't you dare burn the meat this time!"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," the young Harry Evans replied obediently, stopping with her task immediately and rushing inside. Abraxas watched in horror as the young child, who could barely reach the cooker without standing on her tippy toes, began cooking dinner while the woman – her aunt?! – watched a box with moving images without so much as lifting a finger in the kitchen herself. The house itself was abominably Muggle looking and even too clean for Abraxas' tastes. The Malfoy heir caught sight of some photographs on the mantelpiece – all of whom depicted a fat man, the skinny woman and an equally rotund boy. None of Harry or a woman that Abraxas could guess at being Lily Evans.

The visions began becoming more rapid: watching Harry sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, dodging attacks from her aunt and the whale of a husband, getting hit with a sauce pan, getting chased by an almost rabid bulldog up a tree, a gang of boys chasing her down. Harry escaping onto the roof of a building – her school? – using her accidental magic to escape her attackers.

"Hera, it's time for the Hunting to begin! Run little freak."

"Stupid, useless, freakish girl."

"Ripper scared the freak up the tree, Mum!"

"You had better not do anything freaky or you will not have a meal for three days!"

It was this that had broken Abraxas' resolve; he had forced himself to wake up. His entire forehead was drenched, as was his pillow, in cold sweat. He was positively heaving from what he had just Seen. Abraxas had used Cleaning Charms to cleanse himself and the bed but it did nothing to stop his heart from practically trying to escape from his rib cage. Nausea and dizziness soon had taken over but Abraxas adamantly refused to close his eyes, preferring to use an Invigoration Draught he still had left to keep himself awake.

The Lady Regnant of House Peverell had suffered what could only be construed as horrendous abuse at the hands of her Muggle family. Abraxas knew that Hera had been put into a cupboard under the stairs as punishment – she had said so herself – but what she had failed to mention was that her aunt and uncle forced her to sleep there.

Why had James and Lily Evans not done anything?! Had they not known? Had Lily's Mudblood sister and her husband tried to pass off Hera's injuries as something else? Why did Hera have to stay with these mongrels? Abraxas was glad that Petunia Evans and her family were gone because he had a sudden bloodthirsty urge to end them for what he had Seen. Abraxas knew that if he told even the mild-mannered Orion Black what he had Seen, the Black Heir would seek a terrible retribution.

As for the Dumbledore family, Abraxas knew he could never look his Transfigurations professor in the eye ever again. Mother dead, Father in Azkaban and a young Albus was forced to become a surrogate parent. Abraxas had heard the rumours that Dumbledore and Grindelwald knew each other but to actually have it confirmed …

The Malfoy heir began quietly pacing from one end of the dormitory to the other, mindful not to wake the others sleeping in the dorm, trying to figure out what to do next. He could try talking to Peverell about her past with her Muggle family, but how to do it? The Lady Regnant was naturally suspicious of everyone around her, plus she knew that Abraxas did not really like Muggleborns.

Maybe he could pull a favour with one of the others who were more friendly with her? Heron had been on good terms with Peverell from the start and Tom was allowing her to ask personal questions about his own life. But, they did not have Hera's complete trust. Abraxas contemplated bribing Nott or Black but knew that would not work – both were fiercely loyal to her.

It seemed that the only sure way of getting information was by talking to the strange witch herself.

"Merlin, have mercy on me. I hope I come out of this alive," Abraxas whispered to himself.

###################################

Well, Abraxas has Seen more of the past than I think even he wanted to – I suppose this is only the beginning. Athenaïs and Harry are starting to explore their own powers some more, and Evren Peverell's violin has surfaced. Perhaps this is the calm before a storm? Samhain is fast approaching after all. Stay tuned to find out what happens when Monday comes …

Once again, thank you so much for reading my castle-made-from-JK's-sandpit!

A little fun things I decided to put in. The Glass Harp has been around for a good few centuries and is definitely one of the most beautiful ways of playing music I have ever heard. Harry/Hera's performance is based on the performance of one of my favourite Glass Harpists on YouTube. Also type Hedwig's Theme Glass Harp into YouTube, trust me you will not regret it.

Another thing, Greensleeves is a folk song that has been around for a good five hundred years' plus. It has often been said it was composed by King Henry VIII of England when Anne Boleyn first rebuked his advances, but the song predates the 16th century. I think this is probably one of my favourite Easter eggs in the story so far. There have been a good number of adaptations of the song, so I thought why not have Harry make one using the Glass Harp?

Orion: I don't know about everyone else, but I am now in love with the Glass Harp!

Same here, Orion. Sorry, that's my blabbing done. I will see you guys in the next one!

Kingmaker'sUmbreon