CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Wednesday fortunately passed quite normally with very little fuss. Billy Prewett had begun the process of printing the photos he and Harry had been taking with her camera in preparation to send to Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus while Harry and Binns had their first debate since a long time during the lesson on the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, with Binns defending most of the legislation that was passed and Harry questioning the political as well as ethical reason for some of the decisions made. Much to Harry's delight and Binns' shock, others joined the debate as well with the majority taking Binns' side but a few also pointing out Harry had many good points. The ghostly professor did begrudgingly admit to her after class that the Revision Club was working a treat, as he noted to her that the quality of the essays of his fifth and seventh years had already improved quite a bit. He also noted that his fifth years had been more animate in class than normal, which pleased Harry greatly.
One of the highlights of the day was when Harry, Altair, Loreley and Orion went to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch practise session. Loreley was only permitted to attend by Wood if she swore not to breathe – or draw, or sign or sing – a word about what she saw to Turpin. The Sighted Ravenclaw had smiled angelically and consented to the agreement. Surprisingly, Wood didn't threaten the Slytherins in the exact same way.
Throughout practise, Altair and Orion were discussing the Gryffindors' skill on a broom, assessing their technique and posture, with Harry and Loreley listening along in silence. Harry could easily admit that Artemis was skilled on a broom and, unlike Lament and Diggory, had a keen Seeker's eye for hunting down the Snitch. With every blur of gold, Artemis reacted with viper speed but Harry's own Seeker eyes noticed something that perhaps the others didn't. Her Gryffindor doppelgänger was exhausted, that much was obvious, but it fortunately didn't show during practise.
Septimus and Octavius were skilled Beaters; it was clear that Fred and George inherited the talent from them. The twins were in complete sync with each other and didn't even need verbal communication in order to make coordinated attacks; it was uncanny. Their aim was also spot on, almost lethally so. Their team mates had to make some very dangerous and creative manoeuvres to dodge the Bludgers hurtling towards them at break-neck speed. It did make Harry slightly nervous about Slytherin facing the Lions – that is, if the Lions won their game and the Snakes won their rematch.
Part of her was glad that she had agreed to Dippet's deal to be commentator instead of Seeker. Harry knew a part of her would go slightly easy on Artemis because of their friendship and Avery would not be too happy about that. Avery was likely not going to be happy that she wasn't going to be Seeker at all, but Harry already had promised herself to help give the new Slytherin Seeker some tips. After all, she did want that Quidditch Cup, her old competitive spirit would not allow anything else.
"How did you get into Quidditch in the first place?" the question from Altair had taken her by surprise, knocking Harry out of her train of thought.
"By accident," she scoffed as she pulled her arisaid closer around her as the already nippy wind began blowing a little harder. "When I was eleven, my old rival had taken Neville's Remembrall and I demanded that he give it back. He refused, got up on his broom, taunted me to come and get it – stupidly enough I fell for it and he threw it through the air. I chased after it and caught it just before it could crash into the outside wall of our Transfigurations' tutor's office. She had seen me and well … when she came out, I thought I was in trouble. As did everyone else. As it turned out, she actually wanted me to become the Seeker for her team."
She shivered slightly, causing Altair to frown slightly and immediately put a Warming Charm around her. "It might start snowing soon at this rate," she commented with a short laugh.
"Do you have a scarf and gloves at least?" Altair had wanted to know.
"Yes, don't worry," Harry had reassured with a smile.
"Did you have a House system or something with your unofficial school?" Orion had asked eagerly, wanting to get the topic back onto Quidditch.
"Of a kind," Harry smiled smally. "There was a lot of competitiveness between us. Some that were a bit more vicious than others. I admit that it wasn't always pretty. There was a lot of dirty play if we could get away with it."
"I know I never asked, but you don't have a favourite Quidditch team, do you?" Altair had questioned.
"Not really," the Traveller had admitted. "I wasn't obsessively invested in it, like Ron and Ginny were. I just played for fun. What about you? Do you have a team you support?"
"Oh, I support the Falmouth Falcons," Altair had responded easily.
"I like an underdog, so I support Chuddley Cannons," Orion added.
Altair had breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin for that! If you support the Wimborne Wasps, we would have a problem."
Orion had scoffed. "Not bloody likely!"
Harry had frowned at that. "Why? What's wrong with that team?"
"They're a bunch of vicious maniacs who are not above playing dirty," Altair had frowned. "They got their name from a match they had against the Appleby Arrows around two hundred years ago when they had thrown a wasp nest at the Arrows' Seeker to try and stop them from catching the Snitch. Instead of being ashamed of themselves, they named themselves after this incident."
Harry had blanched at that.
After practise, the group had gone their separate ways to study in their common rooms. Orion had given Harry the latest assignment from Sirius Black II for Ancient Runes and she decided to try and get cracking on it before dealing with her dissertation. It was a translation assignment; the curse of Andvari's ring apparently. As she worked, the Traveller found she didn't need to put the radio on for music because the common room was more crowded than usual, with the amount of fifth and seventh years that sat there, preparing for their mocks. The noises of murmuring, students practising together and the rustling of pages and parchment were rather soothing.
Harry had been more than happy to throw herself into her work and ignore the world around her; it distracted her from the fact that the next day she was once more summoned to Gringotts to explain her actions during an assignment. At this rate, her reputation in Cursebreaking circles would not be a good one!
Harry could count herself lucky that Gringotts had her back!
As it got later and later, the students started to retire one by one to bed until the only people left still burning some oil for the night were Harry, Altair and Tom. The former working on her dissertation, the middle doing the same and the latter going through his Divination notes with a frown on his face. There was a comfortable silence between them but eventually the silence did get to Harry, as it always inevitably ended up doing. She subconsciously started humming the tunes to Greensleeves, Whistle While You Work and Once Upon a Dream as she finally finished her rather long section on the Ashwinder's egg use as a cure for ague and the pox.
It felt like an eternity later when Tom was the first one to speak up. "We should go to bed. It's getting late."
Altair visibly pouted as he looked up from his dissertation. "But I was finally in a writing flow! I finally had enough peace to work and know what I am talking about; I could hear myself think. What if I forget my point tomorrow?"
"Just finish it off, there's no rush," Harry smiled as she put away her quill and put the top back on her ink jar and folded up her blotting paper.
"Well, there is a rush – points could be deduced by the Head Boy," Altair pointed out with a small, teasing smirk.
Tom, to Harry's shock, scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I am not that petty, Nott."
Altair scoffed lightly, laughing. "Yes you are! You did it to me once!"
Tom's charming grin was back. "Yes, because you went out for a midnight snack and didn't think about bringing any muffins back for the rest of us."
Harry snorted with laughter at that as did Altair. "Touché," the Nott heir was forced to concur.
Tom, mirth dancing in those burgundy orbs, turned to Harry. "Are you prepared for your meeting?" he asked, genuine concern slowly replacing the mirth in his eyes.
Harry sighed. "On one hand, yes, because I have my paper work and memories straight, but on the other hand, I know I am going to have to be extremely careful since I am dealing with Aurors and Unspeakables."
"You think they are going to try and create a shit storm out of this?" Altair's eyes and tone of voice had turned quite dark.
"I think they are at least going to try," Harry sighed. "I know I am bloody lucky that Gringotts is likely to back me up, considering the fact I work for them and they had no choice but to put me under a gag order. We kept our side of the bargain – the Aurors and Unspeakables just don't like how we did it."
"You will be fine; you have Goblin Law on your side," Tom gave a quick reassuring smile, which quickly vanished again. The boy's hands subconsciously began to curl slightly. "I … just hope this will not cause you more trouble."
"Ditto," Altair agreed readily.
Harry shrugged. "Just as long as the papers don't get a hold of who I am, I should be fine."
"Should be," Altair repeated darkly, shaking his head.
The Traveller smiled at him warmly and hugged him close; the Nott heir returned the embrace immediately. "I will survive. I just need to get some sleep. Good night, Altair."
"Sleep well, Harry," Altair answered softly.
Tom, who had been keeping his eyes to the floor to not be an unwelcome voyeur to a moment that felt too private, looked up again and was surprised by an offer of a good night hug from Harry as well, which he cautiously accepted.
"Night, Tom," she stated in a tone that was little more than a whisper.
Tom smiled to himself. "Good night, Harry."
The Mistress of Death went to bed contented, and was even more at bliss at the fact she didn't have Psychopomp Sorting duty that night – but was not very happy at the fact she was woken up in the early morning by Sigyn acting up, this time being chased by Seraphina and Athenaïs instead of the girls. Apparently, Sigyn had accidentally used Seraphina's bed as a scratching pole during the night and the haughty familiar belonging to Walburga Black had been none too happy about that. Athenaïs had supposedly tried to calm the situation down but had ended up trying to stop Seraphina from catching Sigyn and dumping her into the font in the middle of the room.
It was safe to say that Harry, Druella, Walburga, Ophelia and Ygraine were not very joyful mood with this rude excuse for an alarm clock at six o'clock in the morning but that was nothing in comparison to the strange occurrence that followed not twenty minutes after Sigyn, Seraphina and Athenaïs had been forced to calm down and the girls started to prepare for the day ahead.
Harry had managed to take her shower first and just as she emerged to pack her bags, with Ygraine quickly bolting for the shower room before Walburga could get any ideas, all the girls suddenly heard some very dulcet tones from one of the dormitories a little way down the corridor. Druella, Ophelia and Ygraine groaned quietly at this and seemed to be internally praying for patience.
Specifically, the noise was coming from the direction of Bletchley's dorm room, which was their 'neighbour' dorm room. Because of this, Harry had quickly theorised that Bletchley's Potions revision was going poorly, but it wasn't the usual exasperation she was used to hearing around one of Bletchley's accidents. No, these tones were angry. Very angry.
Because they were some of the more decently dressed – i.e. not in a state of undress – Harry, Druella and Ophelia went to investigate. The three of them carefully and as quietly as they could opened their dorm room door. When the three seventh years stuck their heads around their door frame, they were met with a sight they thought they would never see: the other seventh and sixth year girls were practically at each other's throats, shouting about make-up, magical hair curlers and shoes being interfered with.
"Damn you, Greengrass! Open this damn door!"
"We know it was you; this isn't funny!"
"I refuse to go outside with no make-up on my face! I have acne, you insensitive hag, Bulstrode!"
The Traveller blinked in pure shock at seeing pureblood heiresses acting like irate Gryffindors, especially when several different coloured lightning bolts were flung towards Greengrass and Bulstrode's dorm room door!
"What in the name of everything that is good and holy has happened?" Harry found herself wondering out loud.
"I don't know but it can't be good," Druella responded, shaking her head.
"Exam stress is already starting to get to everyone," Ophelia added. "I remember it being just as bad last year; don't even get me started how our own fifth year was!"
Druella snorted as the three of them withdrew back into their room and shut the door, the shouting still clearly audible. "Wally was practically unbearable during fifth year!"
"And you were extra moody as well, do not forget," Ophelia shot back with a raised eyebrow. "The slightest hiccup and you would explode like a volcano."
The Rosier heiress flushed red but did not refute that statement. "Yeah well, we also had a murder and the possible closure of the school to deal with back then, so forgive me if I was a little jumpy. We had an excuse to act the way we did."
"I say we leave them to their problems," Harry sighed, shaking her head as she heard someone from Bletchley's dorm curse rather creatively. "It's too early in the morning for this and I haven't had my coffee yet."
"Indeed," Ophelia smirked. "Spending extra time with Nott and Riddle instead of going to bed early will ensure one needs more coffee in the morning."
The Traveller flushed. "We were working. I have only just crossed into the 4500 word mark and Altair is catching up fast, which is needed considering we only have a few months before we have to hand the damn things in! Tom was studying Divination."
"In each other's company," the Rowle heiress took great pleasure to point it out. Athenaïs was smirking also. Druella too was trying not to laugh at Harry's beetroot face, as was Ygraine, who was busy getting dressed.
Harry huffed as she packed her bag for the day. "When are you going to stop this teasing and turning something innocent into something that it isn't?"
"I will stop the teasing once I know the three of you are courting," Ophelia stated firmly, folding her arms. Druella and Ygraine exchanged a look of agreement; it was a good thing Walburga was taking a shower or it would have been quadruple the ignominy.
The Lady Regnant of House Peverell scoffed to herself. "You are being ridiculous."
"You admitted you have feelings for one, and growing feelings for another. We are not going to let you forget that, I'm afraid," Ygraine grinned.
"Yippee," Harry muttered sarcastically. "I hope you don't plan on interfering. Loreley has already warned me about Athenaïs and her possible plot to interfere, so I don't need you four wadding in on that."
The young Gargouille, who looked like a deer caught in headlights, tried to appear as innocent as possible. Druella, Ophelia and Ygraine, however, looked suitably impressed at the young dragon's nerve.
"How does Loreley even know about Athenaïs' plots?" Ophelia frowned thoughtfully.
"Who knows, or cares? Maybe it has something to do with her Boggart? I don't know," Druella chuckled with mirth. "That girl has always been an enigma. I have stopped questioning it a long time ago."
"I am glad she and Abraxas are on speaking terms again at least," Ygraine commented as she packed her quill box into her bag. "There is just something about a feud going on between twins that doesn't sit right with me."
Druella nodded despondently. "Yeah … it hurts more than you can know. I try not to fight with Arcturus all that much because of it. I mean, he has always been closer to Altair than to me but even then, he knew instinctively when I would need him and vice versa. Having your twin as an enemy … it doesn't bear thinking about."
"Or doppelgänger," Ophelia pointed out. "I hear arguments between doppelgängers can be really explosive and vicious."
"Well, I don't intend to find out," Harry stated as she put on her boots.
By the time the girls were all ready and had set off for breakfast, the fight between the other seventh years and the sixth years was still ongoing. Druella, Walburga, Ophelia and Ygraine strategically decided to have breakfast at the Slytherin table to make sure they could catch the gossip first hand while Harry went to join Artemis, Loreley, Minerva and the twins at the rather sparsely filled Gryffindor table.
"Morning!" she stated jovially. "Everyone sleep well?"
"Please, don't mention sleep – I already want to crawl back into bed and not go through the day," Artemis sighed, quickly finishing what Harry guessed was her third or fourth cup of coffee. "I already took a Pepper-Up Potion and had two cups of coffee, now three, and I still feel like I might end up falling asleep into my cauldron today."
"Erm, please don't. I don't fancy failing my first Potions class," Harry replied, trying to put some levity into her tone as she put her bag down and sat down next to Artemis. "Did you have nightmares last night?"
"Of a kind," Artemis scoffed. "I woke up this morning in the most odd position you can imagine with my arm stretched out – do you know what I was doing in my sleep? I was chasing the Snitch in my sleep! That has never happened!"
"Guess the dream gods thought you need extra practise," Loreley quipped over her scone.
"Lorri, I am not in the mood," Artemis responded coolly.
"Wood is being extra militant, I admit," Minerva frowned, shaking her head as she stirred her tea. "Don't get me wrong, I want Gryffindor to win! But at this rate, none of you will have enough energy to get onto a broom, let alone play tomorrow!"
"I am going early to bed today, I don't give a rat's arse what Wood has to say about it," Septimus stated firmly.
"I am half tempted to knock him out as well," Octavius admitted, stabbing his fruit salad with his fork. "Or put him into the Vanishing Cupboard we found not too long ago and see what happens."
Minerva tried not to look amused at this. Harry poured herself a coffee, and decided to distract herself from her own woes with porridge and by doing some more drawing, trying to ignore the adrenaline coursing through her own veins.
Minerva, sharp-eyed as ever, seemed to notice her nerves. "How are you feeling, Harry? For your meeting?"
"I have all my paper work, that isn't the issue. I just … don't know what to expect," Harry admitted, stopping on the half-finished drawing of Altair and Tom at the café in Kelpie's Hollow. "I am more nervous about facing unknown Aurors and Unspeakables than anything else. I like an opponent I know I can read. I don't have that luxury at present."
"You're quicky becoming Gringotts' pride and joy; you have nothing to worry about," Artemis smiled reassuringly and took a curious peek at one of the sketches on the page of the sketchbook open next to her and gaped at the sketch of the Slytherins conversing with Luna, Neville, Ron, Ginny and Hermione. "Damn! You should consider going into portraiture. These are so good! I especially like this one of Ron and Orion."
Harry flushed with embarrassment. "Thanks."
"I'm serious!" Artemis insisted, giving her doppelgänger a small nudge.
The Traveller smirked to herself. "No, Sirius is Orion's grandfather," she quipped easily.
"You know what I mean!" Artemis spluttered. Minerva, Loreley and the twins laughed too at least. "I would not mind hiring you for my official portrait."
"Official portrait?" Harry frowned with slight confusion.
"It is customary amongst pureblood families to commission portraits of their son or daughter once they are off-age or courting," Loreley explained. "Abraxas and I had ours done together, as twins but to show a united front as scions of House Malfoy."
"Mum and Dad haven't commissioned ours yet, thank Merlin," Octavius chuckled.
"Father says mine will be done once I have … a suitable suitor," Artemis admitted while going beetroot in the face as the Weasley twins began to snicker.
"So that means I can definitely send a copy to Heron then?" Harry jested with a grin.
"I hate you," Artemis grumbled in faux-annoyance as her friends laughed at her embarrassment.
The atmosphere around the group had improved marginally by the time Orion, Altair, Tom, Heron, Arcturus, Avery and Mulciber joined them. Abraxas and Dolohov had opted to eat at the Slytherin table, mostly to avoid more Quidditch chatter but also to try and see why the seventh and sixth year girls seemed to have imploded on themselves.
Orion wasted no time in trying to fish information from Harry as soon as he sat down next to her. "We heard that there was a commotion down in your dorms. What happened?"
Harry shook her head. "No idea. We know as much as you do, but apparently someone messed with someone else's make-up. And no, before you start assuming it was me up to something, I didn't prank the girls and allow them to blame each other."
"Missed opportunity there, Evans," Avery grinned as he peeled an apple.
"I know better than to mess with stressed out girls," Harry rolled her eyes. "I made the mistake of pranking Hermione once during end of year exams. She made me regret it and I never tried to do it again."
"What did you do?" Arcturus asked curiously, a grin already appearing on his face in anticipation.
"Made her curtains spew confetti the moment she woke up," Harry responded, having to bite her own cheek to stop herself from laughing at the memory. "Hermione was not pleased at all."
"Well, that is certainly one way to wake up in the morning!" Tom grinned, shaking his head. "Oh, Harry. Why would you do that?"
"It was funny at the time! What made it less fun were the minor hexes and jinxes flung at me, and then the books and shoes," Harry informed, causing chuckles to evolve into laughter. "I have faced a lot of things in my life – from Dark Lords to Dark creatures that wanted to eat me – but the one thing I know I would never want to face again is an angry Hermione."
"I'll say! That girl had a temper," Altair stated, remembering how Hermione had chased Ron around the Great Hall for stealing her soul cake.
"It really is such a pity Hermione and Lucretia will never get to meet," Orion smiled wistfully. "Those two would hit it off instantly!"
"I don't know if bonding over a bad temperament is such a good thing," Minerva commented, shaking her head as she tucked into her boiled egg.
"It is when you're a Black, apparently," Harry laughed as she carefully shaded in Altair's eyes of her sketch, taking extra care to get the colour exactly right.
"Well, I wouldn't mind-"
"Some Black viciousness-"
"-to take Wood sound a peg or two," the Weasley twins chorused.
"Oh, yes! You guys had practise again. No wonder you look so knackered," Mulciber sounded way too happy for Harry and the Gryffindors' liking, judging by the amount of bristling and cold looks that he was receiving for that comment.
"You have our permission to sound a little less cheerful, Mulci," Artemis growled, her liquid Imperius eyes glowing menacingly.
"Too bad. I don't want to be," Mulciber replied brightly as he chewed on his toast.
"Felix," Tom stated in a dangerously calm tone. "Now is not the time to be antagonising the Lions."
"Any time is a good time to be antagonising the Lions," Mulciber disagreed. "But I guess I could oblige, considering the fact that they will need all the luck they can get to defeat Ravenclaw tomorrow."
Altair turned to look at Loreley, who was conspicuously hiding behind a book on Advanced Creative Charms. "You don't happen to have one of your weird feelings about the game tomorrow, Malfoy?" he inquired curiously.
"The weather will determine victory," was the cryptic answer that came out of the Sighted Ravenclaw's mouth, causing a cacophony of groans to ensue. Harry, though, frowned at that. Knowing Loreley and knowing the Weavers, that could mean a variety of things, especially it wasn't clear whose victory Loreley was referring to.
"Well, at least her bias for her own House isn't showing too much," Avery grumbled.
Loreley rolled her eyes at this comment. Harry snorted at this unladylike reaction from the Malfoy heiress. Then Loreley turned her saffron eyes onto her Traveller friend. "Do not divulge everything today. Remember the Queen's advice. It will serve you well today."
Harry froze for a moment, her eyes widening for a millisecond before hardening again with a stone-cold determination. She nodded curtly. "I will bear that in mind."
"Women," Mulciber commented, scoffing under his breath, once more earning himself glares. Only this time he received death-glares from Tom, Altair and Orion.
"Idiot," Minerva shot back just as quickly.
Breakfast passed quickly with no issue after this. Unfortunately, Potions did cause a bit of stir. The reason why: Slughorn had decided it was time for his seventh year class to revise and cover Amortentia again. No one was happy about this, least of all Tom. Harry had stolen a covert glance at him and she could see that he made Tosti look healthy, that's how pale he was.
This was the potion that his mother had used to seduce his father; of course this would cause some issues!
Professor Slughorn, however, did not seem to notice the discomfort amongst his students. If he did, he chose to ignore it. "So, does anyone remember how one can identify Amortentia?"
Utterly unwilling to answer but also determined to make sure Slughorn did not force Tom into talking about this damn potion any more than he needed to, Harry raised her hand. The Head of Slytherin House lit up. "Yes, Miss Evans?"
"Amortentia has a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen to it and has smoke that spirals up into the air," Harry responded easily. "It is also supposed to smell differently, according to what attracts a person."
"Excellent, ten points to Slytherin! What are a few main ingredients of Amortentia?"
"Ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, pearl dust, powdered moonstone and peppermint," Harry replied easily.
"Another five points to Slytherin," Professor Slughorn beamed at her. Harry didn't have the energy to smile back. "Because Amortentia is so difficult and dangerous to brew, we will only be sticking to theory today I am afraid. But I do have a freshly brewed batch that I made for the purpose of this lesson. Who wants to have a whiff first?"
No one was really that keen, so the Potions Professor started calling on people, much to the horror of everyone. One by one, Slytherin and Gryffindor was summoned to take a whiff of the potion and very soon, it was Tom Riddle's turn.
"Mr. Riddle, you next!"
Tom paled. "Sir … forgive me, but I would rather not …"
Of course, Slughorn didn't get the point. "There is no harm in it, Mr. Riddle. You are not at risk of harm unless you drink it."
As Tom began to turn a sicky green colour, there was only one thought going through Harry's head: distract Slughorn, right now!
Harry at this pointed decided to do something that was possibly very stupid. She lowered the Occlumency shields that blocked the rest of her visions of possible psychopomp candidates dying. Almost immediately, she was hit with a barrage of violent and non-violent deaths from people of all ages, Muggle or magical, blacking out all of her senses to the world around her. She really had not missed this feeling at all!
Eventually, there were distant voices calling her name and she followed the sound of the nervous and worried tones. The Traveller had no idea how long she was facing the headache-inducing avalanche of deaths but once she managed to raise her Occlumency shields back up, she found that she was no longer in the Potions classroom.
She was propped up against a wall of the corridor in the dungeons though, surrounded by an extremely worried Minerva, Tom, Altair, Orion and Artemis, all of whom were close to panicking and crouching to her level. A pang of guilt suddenly hit Harry; she momentarily forgot just how worried everyone was about her Fainting Sickness. She was very much distracted by the smell of lemon-and-lime coming from the left of her and the lavender scent coming from the right.
"Harry! Merlin and Morgana, are you OK?" Minerva questioned immediately.
"Yep, still breathing," Harry chuckled, clutching her head. "Just … headache."
"It was the Fainting Sickness again, wasn't it?" Orion questioned.
Harry carefully nodded her head in affirmation.
"Your stress about your meeting has led to this, hasn't it?" Altair guessed, shaking his head. "Your Fainting Sickness has been behaving itself until now, and you were worried last night. Tell us the truth; does the meeting have anything to do with this?"
Harry opened up her mouth to refute the statement but quickly closed it again. She decided it was best to simply use the assumption, for now. "… Maybe?"
"Oh Harry," Orion sighed. "Why did you not just say so? Slughorn was calling on Tom to come and smell that stupid love potion and then you collapsed. Artemis just managed to catch you to stop you from falling onto the floor, helped by Octavius and Altair. You're lucky we managed to convince Slughorn you just needed some air because he was set to bring you to Madam Abernathy."
So my distraction tactic worked! Harry almost smirked with satisfaction. She kept her countenance though.
"I'm OK. I'm used to this," she tried to reassure them.
"Are you sure that it is a good idea for you to go to this damn meeting?" Tom's hands were curling into fists.
"I don't exactly have a choice in the matter," Harry reminded him lightly.
"You can postpone it," Artemis suggested. "Cite illness, which is bloody true!"
"And face the prospect of slander from the Aurors and Unspeakables?" Harry scoffed. "I don't think so."
The burgundy orbs next to her started glowing ominously.
"You would sacrifice your health to save your pride?" Tom's jaw clenched.
"It's not just my pride at stake here. It is Gringotts as well," the Lady Regnant reminded him. "I would be letting down my employers. I would be letting down people I have come to like and respect. I have to just grit my teeth and get through it."
"And what if you have an episode in the meeting?" Minerva demanded.
"Well, then my employers have the honour of telling our clients why I am on the floor, spasming," Harry was perhaps a little too blasé for her friends' liking, her light-hearted tone only furthering their frowns.
"Will there be someone with you at the meeting?" Altair wanted to know.
"Mr. Burke will be there," Harry reassured him.
"Good," Tom stated, nodding to himself.
Harry smiled at him and then began picking herself up from the floor, assisted by Altair. Her friends immediately followed suit. "OK, how much have we missed from the lesson?"
"Who cares? You're not going back in there," Artemis responded firmly, shaking her head at her doppelgänger.
"Artemis, I am not missing important information because of my stupid illness," Harry gave her a pointed look. "I told you before, I refuse to be given special treatment of something that can happen."
Her friends were not happy, but they knew there was no dissuading Harry. Professor Slughorn, to the Lady Regnant's horror, apologised if the subject inadvertently stressed her out to the point her Sickness was triggered! Fortunately, the Head of Slytherin didn't make anyone come up to the cauldron anymore and he kept to much safer topics, such as the current academic research into the effects of Amortentia and the current political debates surrounding the legislation concerning dangerous love potions.
She was rather relieved when her classmates carried on as normal as though nothing had happened.
Part of Harry was rather relieved that she had to leave Charms early in order to get to the Headmaster's office on time – they were practising Lumos Solem and her headache started returning with the amount of fierce light that was sent into the room in quick succession. The Headmaster's gargoyle gave her a cold look as it stood aside for her; clearly it remembered what she had done to the other gargoyles at Samhain and had been less than amused!
Headmaster Dippet greeted Harry with a small smile as she stepped into his office. "Punctual as ever, Miss Evans. I daresay you may be more than ten minutes early to your meeting! I think I should try and get your own access to the Floo Network at this rate!"
"Apologies, sir," the Lady Regnant answered weakly.
"Nonsense! Considering the fact you had been put under a gag order, I expected this to happen," the Headmaster reassured as he clicked his fingers and the fires in his fireplace turned lime green. "All I can do is wish you luck."
"Thank you, sir," Harry bowed her head respectfully to the man and then turned and walked to the giant fireplace, taking some Floo Powder from the pot on the mantlepiece. She walked into the giant fireplace and clearly stated, "Gringotts Bank!" before throwing the powder and being engulfed in green flames.
At least when she was spat out of one of the Gringotts fireplaces, the Lady Regnant was not entirely covered in soot, for once. She was met immediately by Thanatos – disguised as Thomas Burke – Rollo Rowle and Griphook, as she had expected.
"Ah! You're actually fifteen minutes early, my Lady. Well done," Rollo chuckled.
Harry chuckled shortly. "Hello, Mr. Rowle. How are you?"
"I have had my better days," the Head Cursebreaker responded rather candidly, with a small smile.
Harry then turned to her immortal friend. "Who is looking after the shop?" she asked curiously.
Thanatos' eyes danced with amusement. "Melanie doesn't have classes or work today, so she is."
The Traveller nodded and then turned to her goblin ally. "So, tell me, what are the proceedings?"
"Straight down to business – excellent," Griphook grinned as the group turned and started to make their journey towards the meeting rooms. "We will start with a round of introductions and then we will open the floor to our clients to begin their line of questioning, starting with the most senior of the party, and ending with the novices. As usual, you are expected to tell the whole truth, but if you believe that a question could harm the integrity of our Cursebreakers or Gringotts itself, you are permitted to … circumvent the question a little."
Harry's eyes narrowed almost instinctively. "What constitutes 'circumventing'?" she wanted to know.
Griphook chuckled. "You are a Slytherin, my Lady. Think like a Slytherin, especially here."
Loreley's words suddenly began echoing in Harry's head. Do not divulge everything today. Remember the Queen's advice. It will serve you well today.
Harry gave a curt nod. "I understand, sir," she responded, sounding more like a soldier than she ever had done.
"I had no doubt that you would," Griphook grinned. "There is also something else that you need to be made aware of. We are not allowed to intervene on your behalf unless our clients start throwing accusations that you have broken Goblin Law or overstepped beyond your station during their questioning. We are simply witnesses, and that includes Mr. Burke. His Grace, King Ragnok, will also be in attendance as will Mr. Jiri, Mr. de Vere, Hirano-san and Miss Vasilyeva. We can only intervene in later proceedings."
Thanatos did not look to happy about this but Harry kept her countenance and gave a sharp nod of affirmation.
"Do you have any questions?" Rollo wanted to know.
"What if our clients ask some awkward questions about who I am?" Harry inquired subtly.
Griphook understood her meaning immediately.
"Then you have our express permission to avoid those at all costs, my Lady," Griphook responded candidly. "They are not entitled to know who you are unless you choose to divulge it, or you choose to enter the Wizengamot."
The Lady Regnant chuckled with dark humour. "I have no intention of entering that cesspit any time soon, Griphook. I am not ready to take down the fastidious, antiquated old men just yet."
The goblin, the Head Cursebreaker and the immortal bookstore owner laughed heartily at this.
"I almost pity the wand-wielders if and when you change your mind, my Lady," Griphook's look had turned into one of almost sadistic pleasure. "I daresay it will be just as entertaining to read about as it is entertaining to read your reports and listening to confused wand-wielders discuss our mysterious young Cursebreaker!"
"Now, now, Griphook – let's first get through this meeting before we start imagining ways the Lady Regnant could vex the rest of the wizarding nobility," Rollo chuckled, shaking his head.
"A goblin can dream, Mr. Rowle," Griphook smirked.
Clearly Hypnos needs to ask Morpheus to control his dreams a bit more, Harry heard Thanatos quip.
Griphook led the way to one of the larger meeting rooms. Rollo's leading Cursebreakers were already present, along with a slightly vexed-looking King Ragnok. The Aurors and Unspeakables had not arrived yet, thank Merlin. As soon as Harry stepped foot into the room, the Goblin King smiled apologetically at her. Harry dipped him a curtsey.
"Are you ready, my Lady?" the King asked kindly.
"As ready as I can be," Harry answered candidly, putting her bag down. She turned to greet Miles, Oscar, Katerina and Satoshi. "Hello. Sorry for this. I am sure all of you have better things to do."
"If you call doing paper work, reading reports and attending tedious meetings 'better things'," Oscar de Vere snorted. "Frankly, everyone just wants to get rid of these pesky Aurors and Unspeakables breathing down our necks. We are very sorry we had to involve you, though, my Lady."
"I am suitably impressed you managed to keep to Statute 611 D at Hogwarts," Katerina praised through a beaming smile. "You managed to impress even the toughest of critics amongst our Cursebreakers!"
Harry flushed but couldn't help and feel slightly pleased with herself. "Despite the fact that the Time Compass got … obliterated?"
"You are young and your instinct to protect yourself is strong, for obvious reasons," Satoshi answered with a tone of authority. "No one is holding that against you here. The Aurors and the Unspeakables, however …"
"I am already prepared for that," the Lady Regnant reassured with a cold smile.
"Would you like a cup of tea or coffee while we wait for them to show up?" Miles asked amicably.
"A cup of coffee would be lovely," Harry smiled gratefully.
"Mr. Burke?"
The disguised deity smiled. "Tea, please, Mr. Jiri."
Miles went to make the drinks at the beverages corner. Rollo and his Cursebreakers began quietly to discuss possible points the Aurors and Unspeakables were likely to bring up while King Ragnok, Griphook and Thanatos quietly debated whether or not the 'house guests' that were still being hidden should be moved to a different location. Harry covertly listened to this discussion, still utterly nonplussed at how stupid it had been to hide the Flamels in a Peverell property.
Coffee quickly distracted Harry from her irritation, and not a moment too soon. She had just put some milk and sugar into her coffee when the door to the meeting room opened once more and a militant-looking goblin with intimidating grey eyes came into the room, followed by four people. Harry slowly turned around to look at her interrogators.
One of the men reminded her eerily of Augustus Rookwood, only slightly younger and he had the same colour eyes and eye shape as the young Rookwood Harry knew. He was dressed from head to toe in black robes. But something about him told the Traveller that he was not the senior member of the party.
That status belonged to one of the other gentlemen, dressed in black, who was large and muscular; he looked more akin to someone who would have likely been a member of the S.A.S. Harry didn't know why but the shape of his eyes and the cold look inside of them reminded her strongly of Graham Montague.
Her gaze then moved to the only woman amongst them, and her heart skipped multiple beats. The woman had a clear Potter family resemblance, mainly because she looked like an older Artemis, only with sharper facial features and eyes that were brown flecked with grey. Though she was considerably shorter than the men with her, she carried herself with the grace of a panther and Harry knew this woman likely was as deadly as one.
Finally, the last gentleman was clearly a Black. Those eyes were almost a carbon copy of Walburga's, just with an extra coldness in them. Harry recognised several facial features that she had noted in Sirius Black II, especially the almost permanent serious expression. He was only a few years older than her, but there was already something in the way he acted that gave her the impression he had seen some things. Harry had enough experience with that herself.
The large, muscular man regarded Harry coolly. "So, this is the young Cursebreaker everyone has been talking about."
Harry met his gaze unflinchingly and held out her hand and gave him an amicable smile. "Harry Evans, at your service."
The man regarded her hand distastefully but took it regardless. "Unspeakable Clement Montague."
Ah, that explains it, her Slytherin voice sneered.
The woman rolled her eyes as the two withdrew their hands. "Clement, simmer down," she smiled at Harry kindly, though there was an assessing look in her eyes that had a certain degree of controlled shock in them. She offered the young Cursebreaker her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Evans. I am Auror Hecuba Potter."
Harry's eyes widened as she returned the handshake. "You are Artemis' sister!"
Auror Potter looked surprised but quickly recovered. "Yes, indeed. You know my half-sister Artemis?"
"She is my friend," Harry grinned.
"That's surprising. A Gryffindor willingly making friends with a Slytherin. Lions and Snakes haven't been on the best of terms for a while," the man who reminded her of Rookwood sneered and regarded Harry with a dark look. "Evans – that does not sound like a pureblood name."
"I am half-blood," Harry answered with a cool tone to her voice, withdrawing her hand.
"I see," the man's countenance contorted into one of distaste, which caused the goblins, Thanatos and Rollo's Cursebreakers to glare at him.
Unspeakable Montague noticed the shift in tensions immediately. "Julius, settle down," he ordered. "Introduce yourself, man, before you give the impression you have forgotten your manners."
Julius' jaws clenched but he did as he was told, but didn't extend his hand. "Unspeakable Julius Rookwood," he stated coldly.
"Pleasure," Harry drawled in a manner Snape would have been proud of.
"Please forgive Julius. He has some unresolved issues," the last man teased with a smirk, once more high-lighting his relation to the former Lord Black and Orion. That smirk seems to be genetic too! Harry almost wanted to roll her eyes when the man bowed his head to her in a dramatic flourish. "I am Auror Alphard Black, scion of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. You are the same Harry Evans I have been hearing so much about, aren't you?"
"That depends on what Walburga or Orion have been saying," Harry grinned.
Alphard Black chuckled.
King Ragnok, mirth dancing in his eyes, stood up on his chair and looked at the disgruntled goblin who had led the group in. "Thank you, Ironfang. You may go." Ironfang was gone in seconds. The King turned back to his 'guests'. "Gringotts welcomes you back, Aurors Potter and Black, and Unspeakables Montague and Rookwood. Present on behalf of Gringotts are myself, Accountant Griphook, Head of Cursebreaking, Rollo Rowle and his best Cursebreakers: Miles Jiri, Oscar de Vere, Katerina Vasilyeva and Hirano Satoshi. On behalf of Miss Evans, we have Mr. Thomas Burke, informal guardian and family ally."
The four newcomers bowed their heads almost woodenly.
Auror Potter cleared her throat. "Right, now that we are all acquainted, shall we get down to business?"
"Indeed. We are all busy people after all," the King agreed serenely, gesturing to the four vacant chairs on the opposite side of the desk; the ones directly opposite Harry.
The Lady Regnant took a quiet, fortifying breath and sip from her coffee as the four adults walked around the table and took their seats, Auror Potter taking the seat that was parallel to Harry's. Subconsciously, Harry's hands began to fumble with each other around the cup she was holding as the Aurors and Unspeakables began unpacking papers and files out of their bags. Out of the corner of her eye, Harry noticed Ragnok and Griphook doing the same, so she decided to get her official paper work from her bag in preparation.
Once everyone was settled, Auror Potter spoke up again. "Let us first begin by establishing why the four of us are here, for the sake of clarity. We are here in the capacity as Gringotts clients to show in the most overt manner we are able to, our dissatisfaction at how the assignment we left in Gringotts' usually capable hands has been completed." She ignored the bristling auras of the goblins and the Cursebreakers and continued. "We came to Gringotts with an item that needed to be dealt with discreetly. Discretion was maintained, however the item in question ended up suffering irreparable damage during the Cursebreaking process. For reasons that have not been disclosed to us, Gringotts opted to give the assignment to their freelance Cursebreaker." Auror Potter looked Harry directly in the eyes at this point. "So, I think my first question has to be: under what circumstances was the item in question given to you?"
Harry blinked a couple of times. "Forgive me, Auror Potter, that question sounds a little vague. Are you referring to the condition that the goblins saw fit to make me work under, or the circumstances that led them to sending it to me?"
"Both," Auror Potter responded curtly.
"As I was informed, the item in question was passed from Cursebreaker to Cursebreaker with a request to work on it. None of them agreed to it, including the four witnesses next to you," Miles, Oscar, Katerina and Satoshi did look slightly guilty at this point. Harry continued. "Considering the fact that I am a freelancer, thus under a stricter contract, I had very little say in the matter. As for the condition the goblins decided to make me work under, considering the nature of our clients and the item in question, they put me under Gringotts Statute 611 D."
This information took only Julius Rookwood and Alphard Black by surprise; clearly Hecuba Potter and Clement Montague had already been informed when they came to berate King Ragnok since they didn't so much as blink at this knowledge.
"For those of us who are not well-versed in Goblin Law, what is Statute 611 D?" Clement Montague inquired crisply.
"I call it the Spy Condition," Harry responded. "Statute 611 D dictates that a Cursebreaker is not permitted to ask for any outside help concerning a particular assignment. Should they need a hospital, according to the law, an outside party is not allowed to bring them to one, due to the fact awkward questions may arise."
Julius Rookwood and Alphard Black paled considerably at hearing this. Apparently, their superiors had neglected to mention that the Cursebreaker had been forced to work alone. Interesting.
"And I assume you kept to the conditions of Statute 611 D?" Montague continued, the frosty tone still present in his tone.
"Of course, sir," Harry replied coolly.
"Can you prove that?" the Unspeakable continued, raising an eyebrow incredulously.
"You're welcome to look at my memories," the Traveller replied, her tone turning a little icier at this point.
"That will not be necessary, for now," Auror Potter intervened. "How long were you working on this assignment?"
"Actively? Not even a day. Inactively, four days, just about," Harry replied, her hands curling subconsciously at the memory of the Siren-song like pull that had plagued her, sending shivers down her spine.
"What do you mean by that?" Unspeakable Montague cross-examined as he noted something down.
"What I mean by that, is that the item that was sent to me had a pull to it that tried to charm or lure me to it – one that I tried to resist for as long as I was able to because I didn't trust myself to deal with it properly if I was put under some kind of spell," Harry informed, getting slightly agitated. "The Time Compass had a magic that made one want to pick it up and likely use it. Eventually, after trying to ignore it, I forced myself to try and deal with it. I tried to study the Compass from afar, first dealing with the file and journals sent with it, but eventually I was given no other choice. The journals made no sense to me, especially since I was not permitted to ask help from a friend who is good at Arithmancy and I don't take the subject. Plus, it also didn't help that the file's most important details were redacted-"
"They were redacted for a reason," Unspeakable Julius Rookwood sneered. "We cannot have anyone just reading it."
"Yes, well, for a Cursebreaker who needed them to do her job it was a terrible inconvenience," Harry shot back. "Especially since the spell was fortified. Anyway, it came to the point that I first used a History Revelation spell to try and get answers and quickly concluded I had to get up close and personal. I had it in my own suppression cell but it was still under another suppression dome so one had to give and I removed the dome. That was when … it tried to invade my mind."
This took everyone except Thanatos by surprise.
Harry continued. "Oh, yes, the item was sentient; it spoke to me in my mind, loud and clearly. The Time Compass tried to … convince me to use it by playing a song my late friend Luna loved to sing and it played it in her voice."
"What? A perfect mimicry of your friend's voice?" Auror Alphard Black could barely believe what he was hearing.
"Yes, sir. Hourglass apparently wasn't as mad as people thought he was," Harry fought the urge to give Montague and Potter a pointed look and fortunately, her pettiness was curbed in favour of keeping her composure. She ignored the vitriolic glares she received from Rookwood and Montague.
"What happened after the item … spoke to you?" Auror Potter continued the cross-examination.
"I panicked," Harry decided to go for full honesty. "I put it back under its suppression dome, dumped it and the documents back into its box, put more suppression Runes on the box to try and control the Siren-song in its magic and tried to avoid it."
It was here that the Cursebreaker took another fortifying breath, shaking her head. "Over the day and a bit that I managed to calm down and think about it more clearly and I … came to the conclusion that the item … wasn't cursed. And that was confirmed to me when I plucked up my courage, took the damn thing-"
"Miss Evans, please continue using the appropriate language," Unspeakable Julius Rookwood sneered.
Harry gave him a venomous look. "You were the ones who didn't even bother to try and deal with this problem yourself, Unspeakable Rookwood. When referring to an object that showed itself to be a dangerous liability to me, Hourglass and anyone else, I will use whatever language I damn well please!"
The man swallowed slightly when he noticed the silver hue suddenly entering those bright verdant orbs of the strange, young Cursebreaker Gringotts had chosen to hire.
"Continue, please, Miss Evans," Auror Potter encouraged gently.
Harry composed herself, her fingers curling momentarily around her cup and her eyes closing for a good five seconds. "I took it to the Forbidden Forest because I knew it was the only place that I could work and keep to Statute 611 D." Everyone who had been educated at Hogwarts had wide eyes at this point. "I took some reassurance with me and I faced the Compass again. A debate ensued once more, which was when it confessed to me that Hourglass had made a mistake in one of his Arithmantic formulas. Do not ask me which, but one of them made sure that sentience was encoded into the Compass. Ergo, this thing was not cursed."
"Higgs, what did you do?" she heard Montague whisper under his breath.
"The Compass once more tried to convince me to use it to go back and save my friends and family from dying in the war. We were … all involved in the fight against the Dark Lord. I myself was a child soldier; that is all I am willing to say," Harry clicked her tongue, ignoring the shock she could feel from opposite her. "The issue was for it, I don't want to go back – what's done is done and frankly, I rather like not having to face Dark wizards on a battle field at any given moment."
"Merlin," Alphard Black muttered.
"I … went on a bit of a monologue," Harry admitted with a small smile. "Then I took one of my weapons, thinking that it perhaps was immune to magic, and the only thought that was going through my head at the time was: 'this thing needs to go'. It could endanger time lines in the wrong hands and … I remember it begging for mercy and I … stabbed it."
"Stabbed it?" Montague blinked. "With what?"
"Does that really matter?" King Ragnok spoke up for the first time since the proceedings began.
"She was meant to de-curse it, not stab it," Unspeakable Rookwood sneered. "It matters."
"Julius, hold your tongue. It is not your turn," Unspeakable Montague chastised curtly. He turned back to Harry. "It was a question mostly for my own curiosity. You do not need to answer it. Now, afterwards I am assuming you immediately sent the item, the documents and a letter to your employers?"
"Correct," Harry confirmed with a curt nod.
"OK, now that we have gotten through our main questions, I have a query: why did you choose to believe the item when it said its sentience was encoded into its magic?" Auror Potter questioned.
"Because the kind of magic within it was unlike anything I had worked with before, including the portrait I worked with," Harry answered candidly. "The power it had – that could only come from within the fabric of the magic itself. Plus, I saw no reason why the thing would lie. It was a machine; machines do not have ulterior motives, unlike humans. It told me itself: it wanted to be used. That's it."
"So, you are wholly convinced there was no Dark magic involved? Categorically?" Artemis' sister pressed a little more.
"Entirely," Harry responded firmly.
Unspeakable Rookwood glowered at her. "If what you say is true, why did you survive with your mind intact and not one of our best Unspeakables?"
"Because your man was human who was tempted to use his creation and couldn't handle what it could show him," Harry responded with almost icy bluntness. "That's the truth of the matter. That Compass could mess with your mind and if you didn't have some kind of mental strength, it could fry your brain! I was lucky; Hourglass wasn't. It's just that simple."
Unspeakable Rookwood's jaw clenched at this.
"Categorically, are you convinced that you did everything in your power to deal with the item in question and that your stabbing of the item was a last resort?" Alphard Black questioned once more.
"Absolutely," Harry replied easily with conviction.
"Could you not have tried to rid the Compass of its sentience?" Unspeakable Montague followed with yet another question.
"How?" Harry shot back. "I told you, the secret to the sentience lay in Hourglass' Arithmantic formulas. I am not taking Arithmancy at Hogwarts, I am self-studying Ancient Runes! Lucky for me I am because I could easily have ended up in a bed next to Hourglass. How can I get rid of something if I don't know how to? I wasn't permitted to ask for help, remember?"
The Aurors and Unspeakables were not happy with this answer, but they also knew that there was nothing they could do or say to refute that. Statute 611 D had blocked any accusation of Harry cutting corners or acting out of laziness.
Alphard Black turned to King Ragnok. "Do your Cursebreakers all have to know Ancient Runes, Your Grace?"
"Absolutely," the King responded easily.
"What about Arithmancy?" Auror Potter wanted to know.
"We have no requirement for Arithmancy, yet," the King informed. "It has been discussed and debated for quite some time now."
"There are those who are for Arithmancy to become a requirement, and there are those amongst my Cursebreakers who are violently opposed," Rollo informed their 'guests'. "Many have stated and I quote, 'we are not Aurors or Hit Wizards; tracking someone is their job'."
Hecuba Potter and Alphard Black looked affronted at this statement.
"Arithmancy is more than just about predicting someone's movements!" Auror Black protested.
"We know, but one cannot force a person to change their opinion," Griphook informed him coolly.
Once more, none of the Aurors or Unspeakables looked contented with the answers they were getting.
"Do you have any more questions for Miss Evans that you need answers to?" Thanatos regarded these wizards coldly.
"Well, I'd say the situation has been elucidated much more clearly than I thought it would," Auror Potter admitted. "But I would like to see the memories of your encounters with the Compass, Miss Evans."
"On what grounds?" Katerina was the one who spoke this time.
"To get a proper look at the events in question," Auror Potter reassured her.
Harry meanwhile was quietly panicking. She had hoped that it would not come to this, despite the fact she offered it. These people were not allowed to find out her secret! Her entire life would be over; she was not going to allow these people to ruin what Harry had sacrificed her other loved ones for.
Queen Anne's words suddenly rang in her head. For in this game, a woman's weapons have to be sharp at all times and appear benign when they are not. Show your hand only when you know you can win.
Harry knew she needed to win, but also needed to ensure that these people did not get the full truth and continued to see her as nothing more than a young Cursebreaker who had a difficult assignment. But how?
Don't panic. You will win, Thanatos somehow had heard her fretting. Give it to them. It will be all right.
Harry nodded; she knew she could trust Tosti's judgement. Meanwhile, the Aurors, the Unspeakables and the Cursebreakers were bickering amongst themselves and barely noticed Harry nod to the King to summon a Pensieve and begin to put the memories into the watery basin. They were only knocked out of their arguing as the first memory starting playing and kept they eyes trained on the images, and then the images of the second memory.
The Traveller waited with bated breath to see what would happen but, by some miracle, only the visual images were shown – there was no audio, for some reason. She was momentarily confused until she realised why this was happening: her Occlumency shields were not only protecting her memories, but her secrets too!
The fact no audio was heard, vexed Rookwood, Montague and Potter greatly.
Rookwood's lip curled into an ugly sneer at Harry as the second memory finished. "Where is the sound?" he demanded.
Harry simply shrugged and pulled a face of, 'I don't know.' This irked the young Unspeakable further. "I swear to Merlin if you think you can be clever with us-"
"Julius, shut up!" Alphard snapped.
Auror Potter regarded Harry more coldly than she had done so up until this moment. "I also wish to know where the sound is."
Harry, though, pursed her lips and said nothing. To her surprise, it was Unspeakable Montague who asked, "Miss Evans, do you by any chance have Occlumency shields?"
At this point, the Traveller felt she could nod her head. Unspeakable Montague smiled slightly. "Yes, I thought so."
"Care to explain, Clement?" Alphard prodded.
"You did not listen to her, did you? She was a child soldier in the Resistance," Unspeakable Montague reminded him. "I am obviously not allowed to say too much, but I know Occlumency shields are mandatory in certain underground branches of the Resistances. Branches that barely are acknowledged, even by the Resistance itself. I have heard Occlumency shields could shield audio elements of memories."
"Bloody hell," Unspeakable Rookwood was not happy at this.
"Are you satisfied?" Rollo growled as Harry fished her memories back out of the Pensieve and put them back into her head.
There was a moment of almost palpable tension, where there seemed to be a quiet stand-off between the clients, the Cursebreakers and even the King.
"Yes, I think this clears this up sufficiently," Auror Potter was forced to admit after a while. She looked at Harry with a look that the Lady Regnant could not discern. "I thank Miss Evans for her time and candour."
"Ah, before I forget, Miss Evans, do you have that document with the list of confidantes for us?" the King asked jovially.
Harry immediately fished her document out of her bag and handed it to the Goblin King. She then rose to her feet, feeling a no certain amount of relief. Everyone else did the same. Just as she was about to leave, Hecuba Potter actually hurried around the table to catch up with her.
The Auror lowered her voice considerably when she spoke. "I apologise for being curt with you during proceedings but it's protocol I'm afraid. I hope you do not take this the wrong way, Miss Evans, but if I didn't know better, from what I have seen just now, I'd say you were a Potter."
Harry couldn't help but laugh at this statement.
Fortunately, Thanatos and Rollo rescued her from anymore awkward questions or statements as she was led back towards the fireplaces.
"Well done in there, my Lady," Rollo stated as soon as they were out of ear-shot.
"Not going to lie, I did feel like hexing some of them once or twice," Harry admitted.
"I think we all did," Thanatos scoffed. "Good grief, one would think they were trying to get you to confess to a crime!"
"They are definitely unhappy at the fact that they have lost the Time Compass and the person who could translate his own nonsense. They will try and get their own people onto it again but still," Rollo shook his head. "A Time Turner that tries to recreate the powers of a Traveller. That is pure madness!"
"Ambition knows no bounds," Harry sighed.
"Touché, my Lady," the Head Cursebreaker agreed. "We will keep you apprised of any news. For now, try to enjoy the rest of your day."
Harry cast a quick Tempus. 12:20pm. Lunch would be in around forty minutes.
"What class do you have now?" Thanatos asked amicably.
"Herbology," Harry replied with a smile.
"No doubt to study which plants to use best as weapons," Rollo chuckled. Harry flushed at this.
Thanatos chuckled, shaking his head at Ophelia's cousin before pulling Harry into a close hug. "Stay out of trouble. Good luck with commentating tomorrow!"
"Thanks, Thomas," Harry smirked and stepped into the fireplace once again, Floo Powder in hand.
She was rather relieved to be back at Hogwarts when the fireplace spat her out into the Headmaster's study once more, Dippet sitting behind his desk almost expectantly with the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses chuckling heartily.
"Ah, you have come back to us in one piece!" Dippet stated jovially. "Good, good. Phineas, I am afraid you will have to eat your hat now."
The portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black was muttering something incoherently that Harry gauged that would have ensured that a sponge and bucket would be painted into the portrait in order to wash his mouth out.
"You should have thought about underestimating the girl before betting against her, Phineas," the portrait of Dilys Derwent teased him.
"Phineas has never been very bright, you know this, Dilys my friend!" Headmaster Everard's portrait chortled.
"Now, now, settle down. We do not wish for Miss Evans to get a poor first impression of all of you," Headmaster Dippet laughed, giving Harry a subtle wink, which she giggled at. "Miss Evans, you have Herbology next correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"I have been asked by Aneurin to tell you that in the event you had enough time to join the class, your class is being held in Greenhouse Six this time. I have no idea why this is important but there you are."
Harry snorted to herself. "Thank you, sir. Have a good day!"
"Likewise, Miss Evans."
#######################################
Sirius Black II was not a sociable person by nature, which is why he had been so well suited to his Unspeakable work. However, his old politician senses had been tingling again and the former Lord Black simply could not resist the urge to invite Orion, Walburga, Druella, Heir Lestrange, the strange Cursebreaker and some of their friends to his guest quarters to join him for lunch. Sirius already decided he hated eating in the Great Hall – it was too big, too noisy and his colleagues expected him to participate in petty debates and squabbles and bets about which student would get another P on their next essay.
It was all he could do not faint for something to do in such tedious company!
Naturally, Sirius had an ulterior motive for inviting his grandson and his friends for lunch. He had heard rumours of possible shifts in alliances in the Heirs of some of the most prominent families in the Wizengamot and he wanted to see if there was any truth to the matter. Plus, Orion had not stopped talking about a certain meeting Harry Evans had to attend at Gringotts and Sirius hoped he would be getting some inside scoop on that as well.
As usual, the arrival of Orion was announced by an exuberant amount of chatter.
"-I mean I still cannot believe they had the audacity to even think you were cutting corners with that damn thing! It is genuinely appalling – hello, Grandfather!" Once again, Orion was easily distracted, much to Sirius' amusement. At least the boy always paid close attention in his studies.
"Good afternoon, Orion. Walburga, Druella! How are you, my dears?"
Walburga bowed her head respectfully. "Great-Uncle Sirius," she greeted formally. "I am well, thank you."
"Hello, sir," Druella responded in a similar manner. "Exam stress is weighing us down, but other than that all is well."
"Yes, I can imagine," Sirius smiled kindly to the extensive group. Other than Heron and Harry, he was rather surprised to see a Potter amongst the group – Artemis, from Henry Potter's second marriage, Sirius suddenly remembered. The former Lord Black was pleased to see Loreley Malfoy in attendance as well. Altair Nott, Arcturus Rosier, Ophelia Rowle, Ygraine White, and Tom Riddle.
Sirius remembered seeing the boy at the Malfoy Yule Ball every year since the boy was eleven, though never spoke with him.
"No Prewetts amongst the group?" Sirius joked, trying to alleviate the nerves he felt run through the seventh years.
"They were too scared. We also asked Minerva and the Weasley twins if they wanted to come but they looked set to faint as well," Orion blabbed bluntly, causing Walburga to give him a sharp jab in the ribs.
"Orion!" she scolded.
Orion pouted as he rubbed his side. It was perhaps perfect timing when Sirius spotted his table filling up with some nice options for lunch, including several hot meal options! The wars were really causing a terrible inconvenience regarding choice for one's meal. There was only so much magic could do to alleviate the issues – conjured food really wasn't all that good.
"Ah, food's here! All right, children, help yourselves," Sirius grinned. His smile broadened as the teenagers immediately leapt to their feet and hurried towards the bigger dining table. The substitute Ancient Runes professor watched them carefully.
Orion and Walburga were being their normal bickering selves with Walburga already acting like a proper wife now and again – they weren't even married yet! Sirius had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. Druella, Ophelia Rowle and Ygraine White were already tucking into their food and chatting amongst themselves. Heron, Artemis, Loreley, Harry, Altair, Arcturus and Tom seemed to be discussing something more serious, judging by the looks on their faces. Despite this, Sirius did note the gallantry and attentiveness Heron Lestrange was showing the Potter heiress and there seemed to be a deep connection between the Nott heir and Hogwarts' resident Cursebreaker.
It seemed that Hesper was once again right on the money.
Sirius was quietly disappointed, but reminded himself that the girl wanted to go into business with Orion. The man carefully approached the table, trying to make sure he caught onto the conversation as he decided to serve himself some stew.
"-I still cannot believe that my own sister was responsible for ensuring you were stuck with the damn thing," Artemis Potter shook her head in disbelief, those strange amber eyes glinting with a dark look Sirius had never seen in the eyes of a Potter before. "I will write to her and Father later! Better yet, I think a Howler might be in order!"
"Artemis, no," the verdant-eyed witch stated firmly. "It is not worth the trouble you could get yourself into. Proceedings are not entirely concluded yet. They have simply finished with me, but I got the impression they weren't finished with Gringotts."
"I am still going to hex Alphard the next time I see him," Walburga, who had by now also eavesdropped on the conversation, commented.
Sirius blanched slightly at this.
"To be fair, they had no way of knowing I was involved," Harry Evans tried to reason with her friends.
"What is going on?" Sirius could not stop the question flying out of his mouth.
"Grandfather, do you remember me mentioning a meeting Harry was going to today at Gringotts? Well, as it turns out two of the Aurors who helped to send her an assignment for which she was gagged were Hecuba Potter and our Alphard!" Orion informed, looking absolutely scandalised.
Sirius blinked in surprise. "I didn't realise Alphard's training involved bringing assignments to Gringotts."
"It usually isn't, but apparently this one was a one-off," Artemis Potter huffed. "I shouldn't be surprised that Hecuba was involved. I mean, this is exactly the kind of thing she would do."
"Indeed, your sister does have quite the reputation amongst the Aurors," Loreley sang whimsically. "What does Electra do again?"
"She's a journalist for The Sly Sphinx newspaper," Artemis replied with a small smile.
"Oh, I have heard of that. It is a fast growing rival for the Prophet as it focuses on investigative journalism," Tom stated.
"Yep," Artemis confirmed, popping the 'p'. "Father isn't too happy about it though. He doesn't think that The Sly Sphinx will survive the decade."
"What are your ambitions after Hogwarts, Miss Potter?" Sirius inquired curiously.
The Potter heiress looked embarrassed. "To be honest, sir, I haven't really thought about it. Honestly, I think I would settle for owl trainer or assistant breeder if it means I can escape my father's house."
Sirius offered her an apologetic smile. He had heard some rumours about Henry's third wife, Eleanor. He hoped that Artemis' eagerness to leave her father's home had nothing to do with them. "So, what about the rest of you?"
"I am thinking about taking a course on Healing offered by St. Mungo's in the summer," Heron admitted. "If one gets high enough marks, one gets offered an internship at the hospital."
"Father wants me to join him at the Ministry, learn the art of politics," Arcturus Rosier answered, looking a little deflated.
"I have no idea what I want to do," Altair looked sombre at this.
Loreley seemed to perk up. "I have been doing some more research for Scythe and Raven. I may need some help in the legal and client hunting department. Would that interest you?"
The Nott heir lit up instantly. That was an emphatic yes!
"I would love to become Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts," Tom was the last to speak up. "But I … do fear that Headmaster Dippet may deem me to be too young to be a teacher."
Sirius frowned. "I don't see why. I have been hearing glowing reports about your Revision Club and Galatea remarked to me only today during our break that Cassius Smith's wand work has improved by leaps and bounds. I heard the same from other teachers, including Binns! Why would the Headmaster hold your age against you?"
"Because he still has Dumbledore as Deputy Headmaster," Harry responded bluntly, much to the surprise of Sirius, which caused the purebloods in the room to wince.
The former Lord Black sighed. "Yes, my father always expressed his concern about Albus Dumbledore when he was alive, and no doubt he continues to do so in his portrait."
"Your father, sir?" the young Cursebreaker frowned.
"Merlin, I sometimes forget you were raised in Europe! Great-Uncle Sirius is referring to Phineas Nigellus Black," Walburga kindly clarified for her, causing Harry to gape in realisation.
"My father was Headmaster of Hogwarts until 1925, when Armando Dippet took over, despite being over two hundred years old," Sirius continued, ignoring the looks of surprise from several of the students – apparently they had not realised Dippet was practically ancient! "He knew Dumbledore when he was still a young teacher, who – back then – actually taught Defence Against the Dark Arts-"
"No way!" Artemis and Harry chorused, sounding eerily similar, while the purebloods tried to keep their shock contained.
Sirius chuckled. "I do not jest. Apparently, the man once had a fondness for tweed suits and hats instead of those ugly, eccentric robes he now sports."
"Professor Griffith and Professor McCullagh once put him into a tweed suit as revenge for his biased behaviour," Altair informed him, with a grin. "It was disconcerting; I am half glad it didn't last long because it was scary to see the man look normal. I cannot believe he ever dressed appropriately!"
"He did," Sirius nodded his head. "It only started to change in the late twenties, apparently. You would have to ask my father for those details, though."
"Gathering information on the Head of Gryffindor?" Ygraine White smirked. "I am not saying no to that!"
"I'll keep Professor Dumbledore distracted. Just give me a head's up," Sirius Black had not expected Artemis Potter to be so blasé about this! Perhaps it was true – not all Potters were as Light as they seemed.
"I think you should concentrate on catching that Snitch tomorrow first," Loreley giggled.
"Oh, please! Us Lions are going to have you Eagles for lunch," Artemis shot back with a smirk.
"You will just have to wait what the weather gods have to say."
"The weather gods can kiss my-"
"Artemis!" Harry, Walburga, Heron and Ophelia interrupted.
The Malfoy heiress only smiled serenely, and the former Lord Black resisted the urge to gulp only just. A smiling Malfoy, that meant one of two things: you could end up with poison in your food, your finger prints on a murder weapon or you wake up with boils on your face.
What worried him a tad more, was the fact none of the Slytherins were remotely concerned about the safety of either Potter or Malfoy, as though they were completely used to this behaviour. The amusement and fondness on Heron Lestrange's countenance especially unsettled him slightly.
An alliance between Houses Lestrange and Potter; that would be something for the papers! Sirius quietly could not wait to report his suspicions back to Hesper.
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Athenaïs was in a bad mood. Because of winter, as usual, her options for good prey had drastically decreased due to many birds already gone on their migration. Once more, she had to settle for some more challenging prey, and Scottish winter wildlife was much more challenging than French ones. The animals actually fought back! Sigyn, Seraphina and Frey had tried to warn her but the Gargouille had naïvely thought it wouldn't be that different.
Another reason why the young dragon was morose was because none of her friends – Sigyn, Seraphina, Frey or Aragog – had wanted to help her with getting Harry's stupid mates to finally make a move on Harry. Lara and Eve had warned her, but Athenaïs had been in no mood to listen.
"The hearts of humans shouldn't be interfered with," Aragog had told her before he went to take his winter nap. "They are very fragile, especially early in courting."
Frey had said essentially said the same thing. As for Sigyn and Seraphina, they were off the opinion if Altair and Tom wanted to be stupid, it was on them. Athenaïs had been sourly tempted to dunk them both into the font in their dorm room.
To try and cheer herself up, Athenaïs decided to take an evening walk and flying session on the castle roof to try and gather her thoughts. She knew that the young hatchlings would not be having Astronomy lessons anytime soon, since it was just after dinner time, so she knew she could get away with it.
The young Gargouille had expected to be left alone with the darkening sky and her own thoughts, watching the sun go down. What took her by surprise, was that someone seemed to be waiting for her atop the Astronomy Tower.
It was Loreley, Harry's friend. She was watching Athenaïs closely with a smile. Curious, the Gargouille flew up the Tower to join the strange witch.
"Good evening, Athenaïs! It is such a lovely evening, isn't it?" the girl sighed wistfully.
Kyyuuuooo!
"Indeed, I have always loved watching sunsets. There is something so soothing about the colours they produce," the Sighted Witch smiled, a melancholy look in her saffron eyes. "I daresay I understand why Muggles think them romantic. My own father proposed to my mother with a sunset in the background, you know?"
Athenaïs cocked her head to one side curiously.
"I love watching nightlife too. It's such a different world, the night. You meet creatures and people you likely wouldn't during the day," Loreley continued. "It helped to keep me sane after seeing visions of future events I know there is no way I could stop or change because they were set in stone. My brother had his potions; I made do with sunsets and being an unwelcome voyeur to nightlife."
Kyyuuuooo!
Loreley smiled knowingly. "You are very sweet. But I suppose I do have an ulterior motive for coming up here this time. I wanted to talk to you privately."
The Gargouille was taken aback by this.
Why? She is a Seer; she likely knows what you have been trying to do, Lara pointed out.
The answer came quite quickly. "Yes, I know what you have been up to."
The stone dragon tried not to look like a deer caught in the headlights at this point. Loreley smiled gently. "I know it is tempting to interfere with events, especially when it concerns someone you love. But take it from me, young one, doing nothing and simply being there to maybe nudge them in the right direction is difficult, but it must be done."
Athenaïs deflated visibly. Haaayyuooouao …
"I know you want Harry to be happy. So do I, but I want to make sure her mission isn't jeopardised. The three of them … they're in a fragile state. Be patient, Atty. It will be OK. Can you trust me on this?"
Athenaïs considered for a moment. Eve and Lara had told her about witches with True Sight. They didn't See everything but sometimes their visions couldn't be stopped, which meant they were prophecies of some kind. Loreley likely had Seen something regarding Harry and her mates … Athenaïs could only hope it would go well.
"Would you like to play a game with me?" Loreley's offer knocked the young dragon out of her train of thought.
Athenaïs lit up and nodded enthusiastically. She watched as the young Seer sat down on the floor and took out a pack of strange, colourful cards.
"OK, shall we play one of my favourites? It's called Match the Picture. You pick up a card and turn a second – if they are the same picture, you get the card and a point. If they don't match you put the cards back. Got it?"
Kyyuuuooo!
Loreley laughed. "Good. I will go first."
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The members of the Alliance and their prisoners were never happier to hear the Muggle songs on the Dark Lord's gramophone through the corridors and rooms of Nurmengard. They had already been relieved when the petty man had finally been given a cup of coffee and another chocolate chip cookie but when Grindelwald got news from Rollo regarding the meeting between Gringotts' latest clients and the young Cursebreaker, the music was turned back on. Apparently, considering the sensitive nature of the assignment, the clients couldn't make a great stink out of the fact she had destroyed their precious little trinket – Rollo had not really specified what it was but it mattered little to Grindelwald.
His little favourite had triumphed and that was all that mattered to him.
True, the sleeper agents had not been in touch yet and everyone was waiting with bated breath but they at least for now could rest easier and get on with their jobs without fretting whether they were going to get hit by a yellow lightning bolt, or a Cruciatus or a Colour Changing Charm for just breathing incorrectly!
But quietly, whilst humming to his music, drinking his coffee and enjoying his tea – as well as planning Credence's next outfit – Gellert Grindelwald had been waiting impatiently for any news from the sleeper agents. He knew that something was badly wrong and it likely meant that the four winged beings had succeeded in thwarting his last ditch attempt at finding an easy way of finding the Flamels. The longer it took for them to respond, the more convinced Gellert became that his vision had come to fruition.
The Elder Wand was continuing its campaign of petty rebellion, selecting which spells it would work for and which ones it wouldn't work for. It sometimes even decided to perform some magic on its own, like turning Vida's hair into an ugly shade of yellow during the meeting. Gellert had to pretend to be annoyed with her report in order to cover up the fact he had not been the one to cast the spell. Vida was now not talking to him.
Gellert needed to know why the Wand was choosing to be a petulant child now and not years previously? He was half tempted to kidnap Gregorovitch to force the man to explain why dealing with hormonal women and screaming toddlers was far easier than dealing with the Elder Wand at present! But Gellert had a feeling that the only person who could give him the answers that he needed, was a damn Peverell.
Gellert would not have admitted this to anyone, unless Queenie decided to take a peek inside of his head again, but he was tempted to write to the young Cursebreaker himself and enlist her help in tracking the Flamels down. However, he knew not even Rollo would be able to convince those stupid goblins to actually send his letter to her, considering how much they were still up-in-arms. Bloody goblins; they needed to drink just calm down and have some cake.
He had hoped for a vision, or any kind of clue, about the girl but so far, the Weavers were being deliberately unforthcoming. But maybe there was a chance that the Cursebreaker would be going to the Malfoy Yule Ball. Now that would be an opportune moment to have one of his people observe her and report back to him!
The Dark Lord smirked to himself. He had not met a girl who could resist a good ball! But first – "CAN EVERYONE PLEASE KEEP THEIR EYES TO THE SKIES AND LOOK OUT FOR BERT AND PERRIE PLEASE?! ALSO DID CREDENCE KEEP HIS OUTFIT ON FOR THE RAID JUST NOW?"
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So, Harry had survived her meeting with the Aurors and the Unspeakables, Loreley has put a stopper to Athenaïs' plans and Grindelwald is as impatient as ever, which usually means more trouble for Queenie, Vida and Credence! Hopefully they don't go ruining another Quidditch match or they'd have a bunch of angry students on their hands. Who will win: Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? Stay tuned to find out!
Orion: GO RAVENCLAW
Harry: Orion, shut up before summon Artemis!
Grindelwald: Isn't that her with a giant stick?
(Orion flees in fear)
Grindelwald: Oh no, it was just Harry's reflection holding her scythe. Whoops.
Harry: Oh Gellert…
Oh boy. See you guys in the next chapter!
Kingmaker'sUmbreon
