Content Warning: The rest of Part 5 contains scenes with a teacher/student grooming relationship. While there is no sex in these scenes, some people may find them disturbing.
Chapter 2: A Forbidding Start
"I need a new dress," said Harriet as she walked into Madam Malkins.
"Another one?" demanded Sirius.
Sirius had to admit that he was glad that Harriet was showing interest in her appearance, even if it was just occasionally. Harriet's tomboy tendencies were fine with him, but eventually they would elicit comment from people. If Harriet publicly showed a more 'feminine' side, it would dampen rumours for a while. Sirius wasn't absolutely sure that Harriet was only attracted to women, but he thought it more likely than not. He didn't want the press speculating about that, and certainly not while Harriet was still a child. The magical world didn't deal with same-sex relationships very well.
Still he was a little surprised at this request. "You just got a dress for the New Year's Gala. What is wrong with that one?" he asked curiously.
"Well, for one thing, it is the wrong type of dress," said Harriet.
"The Yule Ball is a Christmas event," injected Sirius, "Surely a dress for a New Year's event would work for a Christmas event."
"A school dance is not the same type of event as a snobby pureblood social gathering," explained Harriet, "In any event I need to be able to dance in this dress. My other dress is nice, but it has too much stuff around the knees to be a good dancing dress."
"Okay," admitted Sirius, "That's a pretty good explanation."
"The other problem," began Harriet with a vicious smile, "Is that the old dress was a little daring at the neckline. Eight months ago, that was fine, my boobs were flat as a board. But now…"
Harriet thrust out her chest. And indeed, there was now a slight curve to her chest. Not a lot, but some.
"Ah," said Sirius, "So it wouldn't be appropriate?"
"I mean, it wouldn't be scandalous or anything," explained Harriet, "but it would be a bit more attention than I want to gather from a bunch of teenage boys right now. Now if they banned boys from the dance it might be an option, but since that sensible suggestion is unlikely to be taken up…"
"Well have fun," said Sirius, "Choose your dress, and I will be back soon. Griselda wanted to meet with me at the Leaky Cauldron. I want to see this dress before you get it though."
Not that he intended to veto her dress choice in any event, thought Sirius as he walked briskly towards the Leaky Cauldron. He did trust her, and he wasn't completely comfortable telling her what to wear in any case. He was just fortunate that Harry hadn't decided to use clothes as a means of rebellion. Yet.
He supposed it wasn't fair to term Harriet as rebellious. She was mischievous, true, and she would abandon the explicit instructions of any adult the moment she thought she needed to. But she was generally well behaved.
Inside the Leaky Cauldron he met with Griselda, who ushered him into a private dining room.
"What's with the secrecy?" asked Sirius.
"Valerii just prefers not to walk around openly too much in the magical world," said Griselda as she shut the door.
"Free elves are not common in Britain, unfortunately," said a high pitched voice. Sirius turned to see a middle-aged female elf. Her face was less chubby and cherubic than that of a normal elf. She was dressed in a white robe and carried a staff. Sirius opened his magical senses up, and sure enough he could feel a resonance from the staff. The staff was a spell focus! Which technically did not violate the elven wand ban, Sirius realised.
"This is Valerii, second in command of the Guardians of Atlantis," said Griselda.
"You are from Avalon?" Sirius asked politely.
"Currently," agreed Valerii, "I was born into servitude. Luckily, the master of the order saw my skills, and freed me. In more ways than one."
"The master of the order?" asked Sirius.
"He doesn't like us using his name outside Avalon," said Griselda.
"But that will need to change, for this conversation anyway," said Valerii, nodding to Griselda. Griselda began casting silencing charms around the doors and windows.
Once she was done, Valerii looked Sirius in the eye. "You will not tell anyone of this. Not even Harriet. I trust your goddaughter as much as I trust any who are not members of the Guardians, but she is still young. What our leader says you may relay to her, if you see fit. But not his identity."
"I… agree," said Sirius after a moment of thought.
"Merlin," said Valerii, "Merlin is the Master of the Guardians of Atlantis."
"Merlin is alive?!" demanded Sirius.
"Yes," said Griselda, "though he cannot exist within our timestream for longer than a few hours at a time due to his extreme age. He is no longer capable of taking direct action unless it is extremely urgent. The details need not concern you."
"Morgana!" shouted Sirius, "Does Merlin know that Morgan Solaire is Morgana?"
"That is precisely why we have contacted you," explained Valerii, "Morgan underwent a traumatic experience recently. Merlin believes that absorbing the power of those dementors has caused her to hunger for the power of The Darkness once more. However, Merlin sealed away The Darkness approximately 1,000 years ago. In order to gain that power again, she would need to destroy the wards that separate our world from The Darkness."
"Wards that are anchored on the Atlantean keystone at Hogwarts," expanded Griselda.
"Where Morgan teaches," finished Sirius.
"We need to keep a very close eye on Morgan," said Valerii, "In a year or so, provided that Morgan does not encounter any more instances of The Darkness, and does not use any Dark magics, her hunger should fade."
"But until then she might try something," concluded Sirius, to Valerii's nod.
"Should I tell Harriet?" asked Sirius.
"A more complicated question than you realise," said Griselda, "Can Harriet keep our suspicions secret from Morgan?"
"Probably not," said Sirius, "Harriet is a terrible liar, and she wears her emotions on her sleeve. She can do that thing where you lie without actually saying anything false, but that only works in very specific situations."
"In that case, whether Harriet should be told depends on whether you think Morgan poses any danger to Harriet," said Valerii, "You know her best, Sirius. I do not think that if she has genuine affection for Harriet that Morgan would willingly use her as a pawn in her efforts to free The Darkness. But I am no seer. I am not privy to all the workings of Morgan Solaire's mind. I cannot guarantee Harriet's safety if we do not inform her."
"Well, we can always tell her later if we need to, I guess," said Sirius, "I don't see Morgan intentionally hurting her. She seems to think that there is something special about Harriet's power."
"There is indeed something special about Harriet," agreed Valerii, "but this is not the place to discuss that. But I would not take too much comfort from Morgan expressing that opinion. It implies that she may have some other designs on Harriet. Still, if you haven't seen any signs of Morgan trying to use Harriet for her own ends before, it is likely safe enough now."
"We'll keep an eye on her this year," said Griselda.
"Along with Barty Crouch Jr.?" asked Sirius, "Who, you should know, may be in contact with Voldemort's spirit."
"That is news to me," said Valerii, "The Guardians generally do not get involved in conflicts against Dark Wizards unless there is no other recourse. But Voldemort has attracted The Master's interest, what with him having created multiple horcruxes."
"Do you mind if I tell Harriet about you?" asked Sirius, "She would be delighted to hear more about the free elves of Avalon. Who are you?"
"There is little to say," said Valerii, "70 years ago, I was bound to a family of wizards. Nicolas Flamel recognized my talent and my discontent. Merlin freed me. Though my 'family' did not willingly give me leave to be free."
"They didn't try to hunt you down?" asked Sirius.
"They tried," acknowledged Valerii, "but they could not enter Avalon. None can, save those we grant access to. And even in later days, when I left Avalon, they did try to hunt me down. But they were looking for a male elf, named Noddy."
Valerii smiled, "Not a description that applies to me anymore, I think you'd agree."
"A transgender elf?" asked Sirius, "I have never heard of such a thing."
"How could you?" demanded Valerii, "A good house elf does not talk about what they want. They talk about the good of their family, their master. Who would be willing to tell you, 'No I am a woman, despite what you say'? We have been turned into a race of slaves, and we are expected to act the part!"
"That makes a lot of sense," agreed Sirius, "I will admit, I haven't been the best with my house elf…"
"I am not here to hold you accountable for your sins Sirius," waved off Valerii, "But by all accounts, Kreacher is a broken elf, and the patience necessary to deal with such a one is not found in everyone. In a better world, you could get him help. But as things are, Harriet is correct that all you can do for him is give him a home to care for. He will not willingly come and be free in Avalon, of that I am certain."
"Do you know Kreacher?" asked Sirius, surprised.
"He is my uncle," said Valerii sadly, "Your family was very cruel to him, once upon a time. However badly you treated him, I guarantee, he felt worse in the days before you were born. Not that it excuses your failings, mind you. I'm certainly not absolving you of bad behavior. But I admit that I have come to expect very little of most wizards."
A deep well of shame filled Sirius suddenly. It was only by Harriet's determined browbeating that he had ceased treating Kreacher poorly. He knew he would not have done so on his own.
"Harriet is the one who you should trust, not me," admitted Sirius, "When it comes to morality and ethics, it seems I follow her more than I set an example."
"In this, perhaps," said Griselda, "But she tries to be the person she is because she wants to be more like you. You are more of an inspiration than you think."
"Well I had better get back to her," said Sirius, "She's buying a dress. But if I give her too much time she'll find the most revealing one and put it on just so I have a heart attack when I get back."
Sirius left, his eybrows furrowed. He now had a lot to think about. And he wasn't sure what to think. About Morgan. About elves. About himself.
XXXXX
Morgana was not having a very productive summer.
Oh, she had contacted Gerhard and he was doing his best to make sure she was ready for the next school year, but he could only do so much of the prep work. Unfortunately, Voldemort didn't trust her yet, so she was on a short leash.
Which just went to show that Voldemort wasn't a complete idiot. Morgana absolutely did not have his best interests in mind. But Morgana needed his help, so for the moment she had to play the part. But it was annoying. Today at least promised to be a little more interesting.
As she entered the sitting room in Riddle Manor that Voldemort was currently in, Morgana made sure that her face showed no displeasure. She was a skilled enough occlumens to keep Voldemort out of her mind, so the less information she gave him, the better.
He was sitting in the chair, his homunculus form still as terrifying as ever. Morgana had to admit, even with her desire to unlock The Darkness, if she had arrived before Bellatrix had performed the ritual that sped up the process of creating this body, she would probably have stopped it, and to hell with the consequences. That ritual had required an infant sacrifice, and even Morgana was not willing to do that (yet). Fortunately for Morgana, (but unfortunately for the baby) she had arrived too late to stop it. She had let him kill the infant's mother to create a horcrux, but that was different.
"Good Morning, your Lordship," said Morgana, "I heard that Bellatrix made contact with Igor Karkaroff, finally."
"Supposedly, he's been loyal," said Voldemort, "On the run since my downfall. I can use someone like that. It shows that he is resourceful, if nothing else."
"I know Bellatrix has downplayed his loyalty," said Morgana, "But that is because he refused to help her torture the Longbottoms, and instead tried to salvage his network of contacts. I actually tried to join the Death Eaters back then, you know. Karkaroff smuggled me into the country the very day you were defeated. Well, the day after."
"Why would you have joined the Death Eaters?" asked Voldemort curiously, "You have made it clear that you will not truly join now."
"My host body was more naive than I am," admitted Morgana, "But I suppose I didn't have the credentials back then to approach you directly. Now, my skills are a bit more obvious, so the fact that I am Morgana is less of a hard sell."
Of course she hadn't revealed that she had only been trying to join in order to kill Voldemort. This had been a hard enough sell as it was. Voldemort had been open to the idea that she could be Morgana, but he had wanted proof that she was Morgana. And such proof was hard to provide. Especially when he had grown mad when she confirmed that Salazar Slytherin had opposed pureblood supremacy. That had led to Bellatrix attacking her again. Morgana had not been gentle.
Still, eventually Morgana's deep knowledge of Dark magic had convinced Voldemort that even if she wasn't Morgana, she at least was more powerful than any other dark witch or wizard he had ever met. He respected her power, and so he was willing to give her some benefit of the doubt.
"I will leave for Hogwarts later today," said Morgana.
"I have not given you leave to go," said Voldemort.
"As I do not serve you, I do not require your leave," said Morgana calmly, "You would do well to remember that I am offering you incredible power. Treat me like a subordinate at your own peril."
Not that Morgana ever intended to let Voldemort use that power. No, the moment she had the power of The Darkness at her disposal, his usefulness would be at an end. Morgana could freely destroy him then, and would be able to do so easily, as Voldemort could not possibly use the power of The Darkness unaided. Not right at first. It would take time for him to learn it. Time she wouldn't give him. Or maybe she'd let Harriet kill him. The girl deserved her revenge, that much was clear.
"I have yet to see any of this power," sniped Voldemort.
"Well, if it was easy to find and get, you would have been able to do it on your own," said Morgana, "You do have some skill in the Dark Arts, after all."
"Some skill?" demanded Voldemort dangerously.
"Oh, you aren't going to be one of those morons who takes offense at completely innocuous statements are you?" asked Morgana, "Blasting people away because they insult you? That is so wasteful."
"I don't 'blow people away' for insulting me," said Voldemort, "but neither do I let it pass lightly."
"Well there certainly is a balance to be struck, I will grant you that," agreed Morgana, "You have to command some respect after all. But dramatic understatement should not be something that gets you angry. The fact that it does shows your insecurity, and actually makes you less effective at command."
"We all have our different styles," said Voldemort dryly.
"The only reason I am not currently in my thousandth year of ruling the world as its immortal god queen is that Merlin stabbed me in the back with a dagger," said Morgana chidingly, "I came far closer to achieving my goals than you did to achieving yours. I conquered Britain once. My style worked. Yours, not so much."
Voldemort was about to retort, but at that moment Bellatrix entered the room, with Karkaroff in tow.
"I have returned to your side, my Lord," said Karkaroff, kneeling before Voldemort's ridiculous homunculus body.
"Morgana here says that you have been fighting to keep your network of foreign fighters intact, is that correct?" asked Voldemort.
"Morgan Solaire!" shouted Karkaroff, clearly surprised to see her, but catching himself before he could be accused of ignoring Voldemort, "It is correct my Lord. Morgan was to be one of your recruits, once upon a time."
"She has mentioned that," said Voldemort quietly, "I am inclined to credit your freedom to your resourcefulness, rather than any disloyalty. It is well for you that I do. How is your network faring?"
"As well as can be expected," replied Karkaroff, "we have few new recruits, but many old hands willing to stand up if they are called. I may say, without you, damage control was all I could do. It was your influence that won us new allies. I merely sought to relay that to the people in other countries."
"Soon, my influence will fill your recruitment drives once again," said Voldemort, "How long can you stay in Britain?"
"Not long," said Karkaroff, "I am 'arrest on sight' here. Indeed, I am 'arrest on sight' in all Western European countries. Only in Eastern Europe can I find some safety, and then only temporarily. The locals do not seek me out there, but if western spies learn of my location, the locals will attempt to arrest me for them."
"If there are any who you trust absolutely, let them know that my return is nigh," said Voldemort.
Morgana sighed inwardly as Voldemort and Karkaroff talked specifics. She had urged complete secrecy, but Voldemort wanted to create a shroud of fear and uncertainty. So he wanted rumours of his return popping up. Foolishness.
Finally, Voldemort completed his conference with Karkaroff, and sent him on his way. Bellatrix had remained largely silent through the whole thing, but she felt that relying on foreigners was degrading. She didn't approve of any of this. More foolishness.
"You aren't going to lecture me on secrecy?" asked Voldemort.
Morgana laughed. "What's the point? In any case, your plan will guarantee with certainty that your return will be marked by everyone who matters."
"Not if I kill Potter," said Voldemort dangerously.
"With certainty," repeated Morgana, "Give up chasing that prophecy, your Lordship. It will destroy you."
"Are you certain you don't want to help more with setting things up?" asked Voldemort, ignoring her advice.
"We have an agreement," said Morgana, "I don't want you to accuse me of sabotaging it. No, let the loyal Barty Crouch deal with it. That way you can be sure that I am upholding my end of the deal."
Of course, the truth was that Barty Crouch was going to fail. Morgana did feel it was a little unfair that she was going to to be making him look incompetent. But not that unfair. The man had tried to kidnap Harriet and kill Hermione.
No, Morgana didn't feel sorry for what she was going to do to Crouch Jr. at all.
XXXXX
It was on the train to Hogwarts that Hermione Granger began to wonder what was wrong with Harriet. Because something was clearly eating at her.
First she hadn't wanted to sit with Ron. That was fine with Hermione, she preferred the company of Parvati or Padma or even Luna. It was Harriet that usually pressed to spend time with Ron. Hermione had assumed that this meant that Harriet had a crush on Ron. But now that Harriet seemed to be aware of Ron's crush on her, she was trying to limit her contact with him. Something in that was satisfying, but Hermione wasn't quite able to pinpoint that it was jealousy. And not jealousy towards Harriet.
Hermione just thought that her best friend deserved better than Ron Weasley, or at least that was what she told herself. Ron wasn't a bad guy, but Hermione knew first hand how his insecurities could make him lash out. Harriet deserved someone like… well Hermione couldn't think of anyone, but someone famous and handsome certainly.
They ended up sitting with Lavender, Parvati and Fay. But all conversation was still on the events of the World Cup, but now shifted to the aftermath.
"Susan told me that her aunt said that there were going to be raids on the homes of former Death Eaters soon," said Parvati, "Amelia Bones has apparently been given a very free hand to deal with this situation."
"Good," said Lavender, "This has gone entirely too far. I can't believe things have become this bad."
"I can," said Harriet.
"Things have always been this bad," argued Hermione, "That's why we are training ourselves in self-defense."
Then Parvati and Lavender had demanded that Hermione give them a full account of the events at the World Cup. Hermione gave a rather matter-of-fact version, though she did mention the veela and the reactions they had received from the various men present.
Harriet scowled at the mention of the Veela. Hermione had noticed that Harriet had seemed to be uncomfortable with the Veela for some reason, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Parvati also seemed to notice that, and her eyes narrowed.
"In any event, someone trampled our tent, so Harriet and I ended up sharing a bed," finished Hermione, "Just as well, as I didn't want to be alone right then."
"Anytime," said Harriet quietly, but seriously. Parvati's eyes narrowed again.
"My mother had a fit about it," sighed Hermione, "The attack I mean. I don't know what to do about her."
"She really doesn't like me," said Harriet glumly, prompting another eye narrowing from Parvati.
"She isn't as bad as she was," insisted Hermione, "She just wishes I was friends with someone who didn't have people trying to kill them."
"I am with her on that," said Harriet with a grin.
The look Parvati was giving Harriet was very odd all of a sudden. Hermione didn't know what to make of it. However Parvati quickly went back to her normal self, and Hermione didn't think any more of it.
"Some other news," said Fay, "But it is related. Ludo Bagman has been arrested. Apparently he was running a shady betting ring at the tournament. He also owes some Goblin bigshots some money. The Minister realised that the goblins were being a bit… aggressive in chasing him down so he had the DMLE look into it. He cheated a lot of people."
"He tried to cheat Fred and George Weasley," said Hermione, "Harriet figured out something was wrong with the numbers he was offering."
"I can't say that anyone will miss him," said Harriet
XXXXX
Ronald Weasley wasn't stupid.
A lot of people thought he was, of course. And he was the first to admit that he could be a bit slow on the uptake. But given enough time, eventually he would figure out just about anything. And some things were just obvious.
Like the reason Harriet had elected not to sit with him on the Hogwarts Express. It had necessitated his sitting with Neville, Seamus and Dean. But it was clearly because Harriet was not entirely comfortable with what had happened between them the day of the Quidditch World Cup.
As far as Ron could tell, it was the first time she had obviously noticed that he was attracted to her. The truth was, he had only realised it himself for a short time. But previously, Harriet had been oblivious. It made sense. She had wanted to be treated like one of the guys, and she hadn't been looking for any sort of romantic relationship. The idea probably hadn't entered her mind.
But now she clearly knew, and her reaction had confused him. She had seemed to be flirting with him, at least a bit, but he also got the impression that she didn't want him to keep putting pressure on her. In the end he concluded that she might like him, but she wasn't interested in a relationship in general right now. And Ron could appreciate that.
Ron smiled. But maybe, just maybe, if he played his cards right, he could find a way to get Harriet to open up to him.
Seamus made a joke, and Ron forced himself to turn back to his friends. He could think on his plans later.
XXXXX
Angelina Johnson was angry. But as she sat down in the Great Hall for the Welcome Feast she wasn't exactly sure who she should be angry with.
She had been appointed Quidditch captain for Gryffindor over the summer. She had to admit that she hadn't expected otherwise, Alicia had been uninterested in the position, and the idea that Fred or George would get it was kind of laughable. So Angelina should have had two years as Quidditch captain.
Except the school had canceled Quidditch this year. That had been made clear. She had been appointed as captain so that she could enjoy the privileges of being a captain, such as using the prefect's bathroom, but for no other reason. McGonagall had admitted that she was also frustrated by the decision. But it had been made above her head. In fact, even the Board of Governors hadn't had much of a say. Once they had approved the Triwizard Tournament the Department of Magical Games and Sports had taken over.
So now Angelina Johnson's favourite pastime had been canceled for the year, and her tenure as Quidditch captain would effectively be one year instead of two. It wasn't fair, but Angelina had come to terms with it. Maybe she'd enter the Tournament herself, that might give her something to do.
She heard a burst of chatter from the fourth years. Harriet Potter of course. That was an interesting conundrum there. Angelina had pretty conclusively decided that Harriet was a lesbian. She wanted to do something to support the girl, but Angelina had to admit, she didn't know what she could do.
Of course before everyone ate, there was the sorting. It was a big class this year, but that was relatively meaningless, because the difference was only about five people. The number of students rarely went up though, so Angelina had to think that was hopeful. Hogwarts always seemed so empty. It had been built for roughly five times as many students as it had. Angelina had to admit that something was wrong with the magical world, but she didn't know what. There were just less magicals these days.
Fred Weasley made some joke to Lee Jordan, which she had missed. It caused George and Lee to start laughing uproariously. Alicia Spinnett rolled her eyes, then gave Angelina a knowing look. Fred followed her eyes and winked at Angelina.
That was going to need to be dealt with, and probably sooner rather than later. The problem was, Angelina wasn't exactly sure how she wanted to deal with it. Fred and George were two of her closest friends. Angelina had resisted any advances either of them had made for some time, but it seemed that it was only Fred who was flirting with her recently. And despite the fact that Angelina still wasn't completely sure she could tell them apart, she had to admit the feeling was a bit mutual.
Angelina didn't need to deal with that quite yet though. Fred was just immature enough that he wasn't really interested in a relationship. Oh, he was certainly interested in girls generally, and Angelina specifically, he'd made that quite clear, but he was more interested in practical jokes right now. And actually, Angelina was more interested in Quidditch, so she sympathized. Still, she felt it would be a shame if she didn't do something about how she felt before she left school.
The sorting had ended, and Dumbledore was making announcements. At this point she noticed that several members of the Board of Governors had entered the room, including Griselda Marchbanks and Sirius Black. All of them looked angry. Harriet Potter waved at her godfather, and he smiled briefly and waved back, but immediately went back to looking angry.
"Something's about to go down," Angelina whispered to Fred.
Fred looked around the room and nodded. "Don't tell me that they're…" Fred stopped whispering suddenly.
"What?" asked Angelina.
"Later," replied Fred quietly, "Not in public."
"To present the Triwizard Tournament in the place of the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," said Dumbledore uncharacteristically gruffly, "is the Head of the Department of Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch Jr."
"Motherfucker," swore Fred quietly, "No wonder Sirius is pissed."
George nodded, "Dumbledore seems annoyed as well. Must be a last minute change."
The mood in the Great Hall didn't noticeably change, but looking around Angelina noticed pockets of students looking angry. Draco Malfoy seemed especially agitated. Of course no one was as angry as Harriet. All the other fourth year girls were holding her down, and Hermione was whispering something to her. But Angelina could see in Harriet's eyes that if she hadn't been restrained she would have stood up and attacked Crouch.
Angelina might be out of the loop, but she wasn't dumb. She knew someone had tried to abduct Harriet last year. If Crouch had been behind it… well that would explain a great deal. She figured that Fred would know more. Angelina wondered why all these adults were covering for Crouch.
Angelina realised he had begun talking. "As a result," Crouch was saying, "we are taking special precautions with this tournament. Only students 17 or older as of Halloween will be allowed to participate."
There was a loud groan from Fred and George, as well as many other sixth years. Angelina smiled. It didn't matter to her. Her birthday was in three days.
XXXXX
On the first day of classes back, the Gryffindor fourth years had Defense. Hermione was still very concerned about Morgan, but she had to admit Morgan was a good teacher. But Morgan's seriousness as she entered the room was more significant than usual.
"Today," began Morgan, "we are going to discuss the three Unforgivable Curses. Dumbledore has asked that I cover them, and so I will. Who can name one of the three Unforgivable curses?"
Hermione raised her hand, more hesitantly than normal.
"You do not have to answer this if you do not want to," said Morgan softly, her eyes somehow just as soft as her voice, yet also somehow fixed on Hermione.
"It… will help, I think," said Hermione, "The Cruciatus Curse."
Hermione saw Neville quaver at that mention. Ron had put a hand on his shoulder. At that point Hermione noticed that Harriet had a hand on her own shoulder. Hermione smiled thankfully. Though she wondered why neither Ron or Harriet seemed so adversely affected at the mention of the Cruciatus. Both of them had experienced it.
"The torture curse," said Morgan, "Like all Unforgivables it is unblockable. It causes horrible pain. But it is not possible to cast unless you really want the subject of the spell to feel pain. The pain is horrible beyond description."
"I feel no sorrow for those who are locked away for using this curse," said Harriet, "From experience, I can say that no one should ever, ever use this spell."
"What is another Unforgivable Curse?" asked Morgan.
"The Imperius Curse," said Ron absently, forgetting to raise his hand.
"Yes!" acknowledged Morgan, "It is also Unblockable, but it can be resisted. This spell tries to compel the will of a person to be subjected to your own. But a strong willed person can resist it, especially against a weaker will. But even if the caster has a stronger will, a sufficiently strong will can still keep this spell from working."
"How do you know if you can resist it?" asked Harriet.
"Someone would have to cast the spell on you," answered Morgan, "not something I am allowed to do, and for good reason!"
Hermione nodded to that. At least Morgan knew what her barriers should be.
"What is the final Curse?" asked Morgan. There was a long silence.
" Avada Kedavra," said Harriet quietly after a long time.
"Yes," said Morgan, "The Killing Curse. It cannot be blocked, and it destroys any inanimate object that it hits. The only drawback is that like the Cruciatus, it requires the caster to have intent. You have to want the person you are casting it at dead. You have to really hate them. Only hate can power this spell."
The rest of the class covered techniques to avoid or defend yourself from these curses. Hermione was interested, but she noticed Harriet seemed preoccupied.
After class, Harriet waited around, so Hermione did as well. Hermione wondered what was eating her friend.
When everyone else was gone, Harriet opened up. "Test me to see if I can resist the Imperius," she told Morgan.
"Out of the question," insisted Morgan, "It is an Unforgivable curse! That means casting it means a lifetime in Azkaban."
"Surely that only counts for the Imperius if the subject does not approve," said Harriet.
"You are a minor," said Morgan stubbornly, "You cannot legally give consent to this."
"Oh for goodness sake, I am not asking for anything inappropriate, I just want to know if I can protect myself!" snapped Harriet.
"Harriet!" interjected Hermione, "This is not a good idea!"
Morgan looked at Hermione sharply. "I agree with Miss Granger," she said, "it is not a good idea. Why do you care so much?"
"I want to make sure that Voldemort won't be able to turn me against the people I love," said Harriet, "I want to make sure that I won't be used that way. By anyone."
Morgan stared at Harriet for a while. Then she smiled.
"Well, I understand that," she replied finally, "I will do this, but only if Hermione agrees to stay and act as a witness. It is not appropriate for me to do this without someone keeping an eye on matters."
"Hermione…" began Harriet, but Hermione held out her hand to stop her.
"I will only let this happen if there is some verifiable way to make sure she is not under mind control," said Hermione.
"My Patronus," said Harriet instantly, "The Imperius can't make you feel anything. A person under an Imperius can't be forced to cast any emotion driven spell."
"Okay," said Hermione, "in that case I agree."
Morgan pulled out her wand and levelled it at Harriet. " Imperio," she cast.
Harriet shifted a bit uncomfortably.
"Now," said Morgan, "Jump on the table." Morgan gestured at the nearby desk.
"No," said Harriet quietly.
"I said jump on the table!" shouted Morgan.
"I said no," said Harriet, her tone annoyed.
"Did she just completely resist it?" demanded Hermione.
" Expecto Patronum!" shouted Harriet happily. A giant stag erupted from her wand.
"I would say so," confirmed Morgan.
Hermione's heart lifted. At least that was one thing she wouldn't have to worry about now, no one would turn her friend against her.
"Harriet," said Morgan, "I would like to teach you some special things this year. Special abilities that Voldemort will not expect you to have. Would you come back tonight?"
"Can Hermione come?" asked Harriet.
"I have no objection to that," said Morgan, "But she will just be extremely bored. I will tell you more of my history of course, but the magic I teach will require your sorcery. Hermione will not be able to keep up until she learns sorcery herself. I have no doubt she would be able to learn it, given time, but I don't really have time to teach her right now."
Hermione was suspicious, but she didn't fancy watching Harriet learn spells she couldn't even attempt to use. She supposed she would have to learn sorcery, though she had no idea where to start with that. And Hermione had to admit, now that she knew that Morgan couldn't place Harriet under the Imperius, she was less worried. Especially since Harriet would certainly tell Hermione everything.
Harriet was giving Hermione a look. Of course she would stick up for Hermione if asked to. But Hermione knew that Harriet would want to do this.
"Oh just do it Harry," said Hermione, "You can fill me in later."
Harriet threw her arms around Hermione's neck in thanks. Morgan's face remained the same. Something was bugging Hermione, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Hermione resolved to keep an eye out for anything off.
XXXXX
Morgana ran through her mental checklist. Tonight was important; the most important moment in Morgana's entire plan. Or at least the most hazardous. A single mistake tonight would cost Morgana everything. She had luckily managed to convince Hermione not to come, but Morgana suspected she would have to keep an eye on the clever Gryffindor. She clearly didn't fully trust Morgana. Which, in Morgana's opinion, meant that Hermione was a very clever young woman indeed.
Not that Morgana actually wished Harriet any harm. Far from it! But Morgana knew that any reasonable person would object to her plans for Harriet. Many would say that her plan was no better than the Imperius curse, but that wasn't true. Over time, Harriet would come to understand what Morgana was doing. She would truly accept Morgana's goals and ambitions. Morgana just needed to get past the way Dumbledore had programmed her. Sirius Black at least had taught Harriet to be sceptical of magical society and the Statute of Secrecy. That would help, but it wasn't enough. Not for Morgana's new plan.
No, Harriet's will would have to be bound, and Morgana now knew how difficult that would be. Not that she was upset that Harriet had resisted the Imperius Curse. She was ecstatic. Morgana was now virtually certain that no one but herself or a potions master would be able to control Harriet's mind. And once Morgana was done with Harriet even a Potions Master wouldn't be able to control her.
Harriet entered Morgana's office and sat down. There was a hesitance to her steps. Something was weighing on her mind. Morgana might have to be careful here. She suspected that Griselda Marchbanks was a member of the Guardians of Atlantis. If so, she had almost certainly warned Sirius and Dumbledore to keep an eye on Morgana. Still, she did not think they would be expecting this.
"First, I wanted to see how you were doing," asked Morgana, "Seeing Crouch the other day clearly upset you."
"The fact that he will have access to the school for the next several months does not make me happy," agreed Harriet, "Who knows what mischief he will get up to?"
Morgana knew exactly what mischief he was going to get up to. He was going to try to enter Harriet in the Triwizard Tournament. Supposedly they would then rig the tournament so that Harriet would win and in winning she would be portkeyed to Voldemort. An unnecessarily complicated plan. Morgana saw through it though. Crouch didn't want Voldemort to confront Harriet. He clearly thought Voldemort's obsession with the girl was dangerous, which just went to show that Crouch was the smartest of Voldemort's followers. Crouch intended Harriet to die in the tournament.
That wasn't going to happen of course. First, there was no way that Harriet wouldn't survive the Triwizard Tournament. Even if she was entered. She was a sorceress. Under that sort of duress she would likely be able to conjure some exceptionally powerful magic. But more importantly, Morgana wasn't about to let Harriet enter the Tournament. First, there was always a chance of something going wrong. But more importantly, if Harriet entered the Tournament, Morgana would have to stop tutoring her privately. There was no doubt that Harriet would have to face Voldemort at the end of this year, but Morgana intended to have her prepared for that confrontation. No, Crouch was going to make a very serious 'error' when he tried to enter Harriet's name in the Goblet of Fire, and that would be that. It would reflect poorly on poor Crouch, but once Harriet killed Voldemort, Morgana intended to make it up to him. If he survived.
"I understand your concern," said Morgana, "Rest assured, I am keeping my eye on him."
"That means a lot," replied Harriet thankfully.
Harriet paused, but she clearly had something more to say. Finally, she opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"Something troubling you?" asked Morgana.
"I uh… I had something happen to me at the Quidditch World Cup," said Harriet carefully, "were you there?"
"I was," replied Morgana, "but I apparated away before the attack."
"I wasn't referring to the attack," corrected Harriet, "You saw the Veela, right? The Bulgarian mascots?"
A sudden thrill struck Morgana. Was this actually happening? It would be oh so convenient for her if it was, yet Morgana could not quite believe that her luck was this good.
"Well if I hadn't seen them," said Morgana calmly, "The men in the stadium would have pointed them out."
"Men, yeah…" said Harriet with a twitch of her cheek into a slight smile, "Is it… unusual for women to be affected by the allure?"
"Somewhat," said Morgana, "but it is not unheard of. If you experienced it, it does not necessarily imply same-sex attraction. It can, of course, but it doesn't necessarily."
"The thing is, that isn't the only time I have been attracted to another girl," said Harriet quietly, "And I'm not attracted to boys. I think I'm a lesbian."
Morgana exulted internally. This was perfect! A perfectly legitimate reason for Harriet to keep these sessions private. And if Morgana handled this right she could become Harriet's closest confidante. And in the back of Morgana's mind she remembered her own relationship with a Hogwarts professor. But she ruthlessly suppressed that idea. Morgana had been an adult when she and Rowena had forged a relationship. Harriet was too young for that. Still Harriet would grow up…
Morgana shook her head. What was she thinking? Morgana was already grooming Harriet to be a Dark Witch, she didn't need to add grooming her sexually to the list of her own crimes.
And then Morgana understood. Harriet was exuding an aura! Harriet's confusion about her sexuality had caused her to start projecting waves of attraction in all directions. The aura was responsible for what she had just felt! Morgana conveniently ignored the fact that the aura didn't specifically make you attracted to Harriet, it just awakened your latent attractions and desires. This absolved her of nothing.
"Well, I understand why you came to me then," said Morgana, "I will keep your secret of course. But it will not do to have it generally known, not yet anyway."
"I agree," said Harriet, her tone relieved.
"Eventually you will probably be able to tell most of your good friends I would imagine," said Morgana, "indeed, many of them probably have guessed already. Most magicals are not individually particularly bigoted against homosexual behavior, but structurally, the magical world is, and there are some very big caveats and exceptions to that most people. The current Minister, for example."
"That's how I see it as well," acknowledged Harriet.
"Whatever you do though," said Morgana, "Stay true to yourself."
"Thanks," said Harriet, "I knew you'd understand."
"I am more than happy to provide advice," said Morgana.
Morgana suddenly looked at Harriet slyly, "You have a crush on Hermione Granger," she said factually.
Harriet blushed and looked down. It was the exact opportunity Morgan had been waiting for. She extended her wand hand out and began slowly weaving the spell, wordlessly.
"I don't know if she likes me back though," said Harriet.
"It is hard to tell sometimes," said Morgana as her hand continued to weave the spell. Part of her wanted to tell Harriet to talk to Hermione about it. Hermione wouldn't judge Harriet, and it was possible she shared Harriet's feelings a bit. But that would give Harriet another outlet to talk about this. No, she reluctantly put away the good advice she wanted to tell Harriet.
Morgana finished weaving her spell and pulled back her arm. And she could now see, because she was looking for it, the shape of her geas lying on top of Harriet's mind. A magical contract that once activated, would make Harriet Morgana's servant, until she chose to release her. Of course this one layer wouldn't be enough, Harriet's resistance to mind control was too strong. But Morgana would add more layers at future meetings.
"Why don't we get started?" asked Morgana.
And then, for some reason she couldn't understand, she poked the geas again. Turning Harriet's aura on to full, without Harriet even knowing she had an aura. That would cause some chaos! Every emotion Harriet felt too strongly would now be directed at all the people around her.
Morgana smiled. One way or another, Harriet Potter would serve her and become her dark apprentice.
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, long story short is I got a cold and have been feeling under the weather for a while, so I just wasn't in the mood to work on this.
Finally I'm showing you a hint of Morgana's plan. She intends to use Voldemort for her own purposes, but she really does hate him and his pureblood rhetoric. What she'd be doing would be good if it didn't involve twisting Harriet into a dark witch and freeing one of the most powerful wells of dark magic. Also, Morgana's latent attraction to Harriet probably doesn't bode well either.
You may argue that Voldemort is being extra passive in regards to Morgana and her plots, but remember, we're just getting Morgana's view of Voldemort right now. She obviously thinks she's fooling him, though she's aware that he's suspicious as hell of her motivations.
Making Valerii a trans character was sort of a happy accident. For a long time I had wanted to make a character who was not just a token trans character and had her own identity and role in the story. I didn't want to simply say "Neville is trans now" or something like that. That being said, I recognize that I am not trans, so I didn't make Valerii's story primarily about her transness. Valerii existed as a character long before I made her trans, but as I developed the character it became clear to me that making her trans fit her story as an elf who took control of her life from the humans who enslaved her. It's not a central plot point though. Far more central are the elements of her work with the Guardians, her mistrust of the Ministry and wizard society, and her relationship with her uncle, Kreacher.
If I had infinite time I really would like to mine the relationship between Valerii and Sirius for drama. Valerii is both in complete sympathy with her uncle, but at the same time aware of the family pressures that caused Sirius to loathe Kreacher. As a matter of survival Kreacher had to take the side of Sirius' parents. This would inevitably put them at odds. Valerii understands this even though she doesn't find it acceptable that Sirius took his wrath out of Kreacher. Still, Sirius never actually physically harmed Kreacher, which is why Valerii will deal with him in the first place. Her opinion of Sirius is consequently extremely mixed, but she does seem to approve of how he's raised Harriet.
I know this has been a very long note, so I'll leave it here. But I have a few more things to cover regarding the way I use characters over the course of Part 5 so I will discuss that after the next chapter.