Chapter 7: The Holidays End
Harriet awakened to find Hermione was already up. That was bad. It meant Harriet had overslept.
"What time is it?" wondered Harriet.
"It's 9:30, or thereabouts," said Sally, who was finishing packing.
Harriet swore. That meant that Ron had already left, along with the other Weasleys. Their pickup time had been 9:15! Luckily, Harriet wasn't feeling particularly rule abiding today. She got dressed, then packed her things with a single wave of her wand. She levitated them behind her as she ran downstairs.
Hermione was in the common room with her things. Harriet hugged her quickly, then made her way downstairs. She had to check in with Sirius.
Sirius was here helping coordinate with Fudge and his people, organizing the massive floo movement. Harriet waved at her godfather as she approached him.
"How was the Yule Ball?" asked Sirius.
"Good, until the very end at least," said Harriet, "Hey, uh, make sure my stuff gets home, if you would."
"You can take it yourself in about three hours," said Sirius.
"See, I had an argument with Ron," said Harriet, "So to keep it from festering in his mind, I don't have three hours to get to him. So I'd appreciate it if you could sign me out and say a friend picked me up."
"Harriet, why would I do that?" asked Sirius.
"Well, the thing is, I'm going to leave regardless of whether you sign me out or not," said Harriet, "So really, you are just making things easier on yourself by doing this. Don't worry, I won't use the floo! And I will be at the Weasleys, so if I splinch myself, help will be at hand."
"Harriet, are you going to apparate… you know what? I don't want to know. I'll sign you out, but you owe me an explanation when you get home."
Harriet knew she was in for a hell of chewing out when she got home tonight, but Sirius wouldn't try to stop her. She left her stuff by Sirius, then walked to a secluded place. She considered stopping by Luna's first, see how Christmas with her father had gone, but Harriet decided against it. Ron first.
Harriet apparated to the Burrow. She was a little unsure of the welcome she would get, but she also knew Molly was very fond of her. So when she knocked on the door, she was prepared for anything.
"Harriet," said Arthur Weasley, who opened the door, "How did you get here?"
"Someone apparated me here," said Harriet, which wasn't technically a lie, "I need to talk to Ron. We had an argument last night."
"Ah, I see," said Arthur sagely, "That explains why he hasn't come out of his room."
Harriet was ushered into the Burrow. Fred, George and Ginny were all downstairs, while Molly was in the kitchen.
"Harriet," shouted Molly, "How good to see you! Do you know why Ron's being so moody?"
"He misunderstood something I told him," said Harriet, "I came to clear it up. I know not to let things fester in his mind."
"Did you have a good Yule Ball, Ginny?" asked Harriet.
"Yeah," said Ginny, "Neville was a very conscientious date."
"Angelina was also a very conscientious date," said Fred with a savage grin.
Harriet laughed at that. She very well could guess what Angelina had done with him.
"I also had a good time, but apparently not as good a time as Fred," said George.
"I bet Alicia was apologetic about that," said Harriet.
"You know, she was," said George, "She and I aren't on the same level of seriousness as Fred and Angelina, apparently. But still, she would have been willing to go a little further if I'd asked though."
"You don't need to be going 'a little further' with your girlfriend George," said Molly, her tone cross.
"Well we know Fred sure doesn't!" said Harriet. All the students burst out into laughter, while Arthur did his best to ignore this conversation, while Molly looked vaguely offended. Hypocrite, thought Harriet, but there wasn't any bite to the thought. Molly was just being a mum.
"I'm gonna go talk to Ron," said Harriet to Fred quietly, so his parents couldn't hear, "Make sure no one disturbs us or listens in. My secret may be the most poorly hidden secret in history, but I would like to keep it out of the press if I can." That was only half a joke.
"Don't worry, if anyone but us three listens in, we'll hex them," said Fred, not bothering to stay quiet.
"Fred!" shouted Molly, "Don't listen in on people's private conversations."
"Nah they all know my secrets," said Harriet, "If they want to be bored out of their skulls let 'em."
And with that she headed upstairs towards the attic.
She knocked on Ron's door quietly. "Go away," said Ron.
"It's Harriet," she said.
There was a pause. Ron hadn't expected this. "I… I said go away!" he finally replied.
"Ron," said Harriet gently, "This door isn't going to stop me from coming in. You should just open it and let me in."
"No!" shouted Ron, "I'm, uh, naked! That's right!"
"Ooh, I like bare bottoms no matter who they belong to," said Harriet, "And I think penises are funny. Well maybe not creepy old man penis, but in the right context…"
The door opened a crack. "If I let you in, will you stop talking about penises?" said Ron, his face scarlet. He was not naked.
"For the moment," said Harriet.
Ron opened the door and ushered Harriet in. He shut the door. "Well, what do you have to say?"
"The reason I wanted you to wait to have this conversation is because I didn't want everyone in the whole school to know," said Harriet, "But I do want you to know. I'm a lesbian. I'm attracted to girls, not boys."
Ron blinked. "Oh. Oh wow. Oh wow! Blimey, you were really dropping hints like crazy yesterday, weren't you?"
"Yeah. I really was," admitted Harriet.
"So, you not wanting to date me… has nothing to do with how much you like me?" Ron asked.
Which was what it came down to, his stupid male pride. Harriet wanted to excoriate him, tell him women weren't his property and that he couldn't expect them to just like him because he wanted them. But Harriet realised that would just get his back up again. She decided to let the point lie.
"Yeah," she said grudgingly, "If I was interested in boys, I'd probably be interested in you. As it is, I do find you to be one of my closest friends."
"But, why were you constantly flirting with me?" asked Ron suddenly, "You almost as much as offered to let me touch your boob, you told me to wank to you, and you were constantly talking about how I will eventually see you naked."
"I just… I can't resist joking about some things," admitted Harriet, "especially with someone I trust."
"So…" said Ron, trying to apply this somehow, "This means I don't need to hold back all those dirty jokes I've been holding back then, doesn't it?"
"Fuck yeah!" said Harriet, "The dirtier the better!"
"And you are definitely not attracted to me," said Ron, not as a question, but as a clear capstone to this conversation.
"To your dangly bits, but yeah," agreed Harriet.
"I thought you weren't going to talk about penises," chided Ron.
"I said for the moment," said Harriet, "That moment has passed. You know, I kind of do want to know what it is like to just punch a dude in the dick. I figure it would be, like, really squishy…"
"Please Harriet," said Ron, shifting uncomfortably.
"Oh this is just too fun," said Harriet, "Think of the trouble we can get up to. I'm assuming you're still too chicken to do something with my boobs as a joke"
Harriet thrust her chest out. Ron looked at Harriet for a moment, raised a finger, then dropped it again.
"That's a bad idea," said Ron, a bit reluctantly.
"I'm doing it again, aren't I?" said Harriet, who immediately adjusted her posture.
"Just a bit," said Ron tactfully.
"Still we could prank other people with this," said Ron suddenly, "We could pretend that we…"
"... are up to all sorts of crazy stuff!" finished Harriet.
"Uh, yeah, something like that," agreed Ron with a laugh, "The twins would freak."
"The twins figured out I'm a lesbian last night, Ron," said Harriet, "They won't believe it.".
"Right," said Ron, "well we could fool some teachers."
"Yeah, except for Morgan," said Harriet, "She was the first person I told I was a lesbian to. She wasn't the first person to know though. Luna figured it out in second year. I don't know if Dumbledore knows. He should. If he's as queer as I am he probably noticed the signs from me that I noticed from him."
"Wait, Dumbledore's gay?" asked Ron incredulously.
"Oh yeah," said Harriet, "I've known that for ages though. I noticed before I knew I was a lesbian. Not that it's necessarily obvious, but I guess my mind was unconsciously looking for the signals. He doesn't give off a lot of them because he's a Headmaster of a school full of children, which is to his credit. He isn't exactly in a situation where he has a lot of potential partners."
"So is there anyone you…" started Ron before he hit himself on the forehead, "Blimey, you like Hermione!"
"Merlin," said Harriet, now blushing, "Even you figured it out? She can't have the same feelings for me though."
Ron paused for a long moment. Then he said, "I don't know about that. She clearly does like boys, but she could be bisexual."
"I… what?" asked Harriet. She hadn't really considered that.
"Listen, the only way to find out is to tell Hermione how you feel," said Ron, "She clearly won't care that you are a lesbian. And even if she isn't bisexual, she will probably be flattered by your crush more than anything. And telling her and knowing Hermione isn't bi should make it easier to move on. And if she is bi…"
Ron stopped. "Sorry, just had a mental picture there."
"Don't apologise," said Harriet, "Thinking of Hermione and myself making love gets me all hot and bothered, it would be hypocritical of me to criticize you for having the same reaction."
"Oh, and now I'm thinking about you pleasuring yourself," said Ron his eyes a little off kilter.
"Having fun?" asked Harriet, a little annoyed.
"Maybe we should tone this back like, I don't know, twenty percent," said Ron, "otherwise I'm going to be having issues. You probably don't want this going too far."
"Oh Merlin, no!" said Harriet with a laugh, "That's a recipe for disaster!"
"Yeah, dumb question," said Ron, face now scarlet again.
"Ron, you are making this difficult," said Harriet, "If you do something that's in good fun it's fine, if you do something because you are horny, then that's bad Ron! Ask the twins if you need help."
"Okay, I think I got that," said Ron.
And Harriet was pretty sure he did. For all his faults, Ron did actually care about her; he wouldn't have been attracted to her otherwise. It would just take him time to adjust.
Now she just had to explain to Sirius what she had been doing today. Without mentioning any of this.
XXXXX
Hermione's efforts to investigate Morgana had begun sooner than she had expected.
The start of it was simple, Hermione had arrived downstairs in plenty of time for her 10:05 floo time, only to discover that her parents would not arrive at Diagon Alley on time. They had been called in for an emergency procedure, and would be at least 2 hours late. Hermione was given the option of delaying her floo time, but she decided to head to Diagon anyway.
Unlike muggle Boxing Day, magical Boxing Day was not a shopping Holiday. Most of the Alley was closed, but there were exceptions. Madame Malkin's had a person there to do emergency resizings for Boxing Day. And Gringotts was open as well. Which suddenly gave Hermione an idea.
That was how Hermione, dragging all her school stuff, came marching through Gringotts to a very surprised looking goblin clerk.
"May I be of assistance?" said the goblin.
"I didn't know that Gringotts would be open," said Hermione, "Though I am a Muggleborn, so everything being closed on Boxing Day is a bit strange."
"The last thing Magical Britain needs is throngs of Magicals swarming into London on one of the busiest shopping days of the year," said the goblin, "Goblins and muggleborns, however, still do banking services today. So we are open for all financial services."
"I need something other than banking assistance," said Hermione.
"That is unfortunate," said the goblin, "Gringotts is a bank."
"It is also the political, historical and cultural center of the Goblin people in Britain," offered Hermione.
The goblin hesitated, then nodded. "True," he said grudgingly.
"So I am interested in some Goblin historical information," explained Hermione.
"And what would you pay for this information with?" asked the goblin suspiciously.
"I would pay in kind," said Hermione, "With information."
"Information about what? And what information do you want?" asked the Goblin.
"The topic, on both accounts, is Morgana Pendragon," said Hermione.
There was a long silence as the goblin seemed to change his entire attitude. Invoking the name Morgana had certainly gotten his attention. Finally the goblin rang a bell. Another goblin appeared. The first goblin whispered instructions to the second.
"Griphook here will take you to a room where an expert will meet with you," said the first goblin.
Hermione nodded, then followed Griphook. "Someone here must be interested in Morgana," she commented.
"Interested probably doesn't do it justice," admitted Griphook, "The order to refer anyone seeking or with information about Morgana to our experts came from high up."
"Ah, so they have their suspicions," said Hermione.
"I do not know," said Griphook casually. It was clear that he did not wish to say more. Indeed, he seemed to think he had said too much.
Hermione was led to a small room with comfortable chairs and a table. The room was quite ornate, but in a different way than she expected. Rather than the gaudy grandeur that was present in the lobby, the ornamentation here was all older. Yet the workmanship appeared far better than that in the lobby. And the crests here were not the familiar crests of the bank, Gringotts, but the old standard of the Goblin Nation, which Hermione recognized from the many historical accounts of the Goblin Rebellions. That crest was never used publicly, except in diplomatic correspondence with the Ministry of Magic, or in the case that the Goblins went to war. This was a room for conducting diplomacy. Or for declaring war.
Hermione hardly thought that the Goblins were about to declare war on her. Indeed the Goblin Nation did not really exist anymore. Much of its autonomy had been lost during the last Goblin Rebellion, and Goblins in different countries were no longer allowed to answer to a single leader. Each nation had its own ruling council. Hermione suspected that the goblins had their own ways around this, but at least in the case of negotiations with the individual Ministries, each Goblin enclave had to fare separately.
Hermione sat down, but quickly an older goblin entered the room and sat down in front of her.
"I am Roldak," said the goblin, "And I represent the Goblin people of Britain in the matter of historical and cultural exchange."
"I am Hermione Granger," said Hermione carefully, "I represent only myself, but I too am largely interested in historical exchange."
Roldak seemed to appreciate Hermione's exactness in defining her role. "You are the same Hermione Granger that discovered the memories of Rowena Ravenclaw?" asked Roldak, "And a copy of The Founders' Wars?"
"Yes," said Hermione, "Glad my name is familiar to you."
"You managed to lessen the influence of Salazar Slytherin on pureblood supremacy," said Roldak, "A good thing morally, I am sure, but utterly useless in terms of actual practicality. How does helping muggleborns help my people?"
"I am a muggleborn," said Hermione indignantly, "Surely you are familiar with self-preservation. The goblin people have certainly tried their hands at it. Though with precious little success. Are you just jealous that I did more to help muggleborns with some research and finding a few books as your entire race did for itself with multiple fruitless rebellions?"
"Oh, very well said Miss Granger," said Roldak, who was smiling, but with a closed mouth. No threat there, just amusement.
"Indeed, I think you have been well advised in regards to us," said the goblin reflectively, "By Miss Potter perhaps?"
"We've had discussions," said Hermione.
"As I thought," said Roldak, "She gets us as well as anyone, though she does sometimes needlessly feel as if she has to apologise for her boor of a godfather. She does not."
"Sirius' behavior towards you probably embarrasses her," guessed Hermione, "she considers him family."
"You know, we never considered that she was embarrassed. Yes, that actually does make her actions far more respectable, from a goblin point of view," said Roldak, "But enough about Potter. What do you hope to gain here?"
"Information about Morgana Pendragon," said Hermione, "In exchange, well I have a great deal of new information about her, some of which you may have begun to guess."
"Ahhhh," said Roldak, "Do you refer to Morgan Solaire?"
"I do," said Hermione, "Though I would know what you have in exchange first."
"There is a volume that only we goblins have, detailing the rise of Morgana after Camlann, and our troubles with her," said Roldak.
"Just the period I am interested in," said Hermione, "Whereas my information is current. I know for a fact that Morgan Solaire is Morgana."
"And you give this to me freely?" asked Roldak, seemingly disappointed.
He thought she wasn't taking him seriously. "Well, free is a relative term," said Hermione, "My own interests coincide with this information being spread as widely as possible, so I am already getting something out of the deed. But of course, my information is more valuable than that."
"Ah, so you play the long game," said Roldak, "very well, present your truths."
"Morgan Solaire admitted to me that she is a reincarnation of Morgana," said Hermione, "She used the ritual of Awakened Samsara. This was confirmed by Albus Dumbledore, as far as he was capable, and it was also strongly supported by the suspicions of Nicolas Flamel, who is a member of the Guardians of Atlantis."
"Flamel is a member of the Guardians?" asked Roldak.
"He doesn't really hide it," replied Hermione, "But it never comes up, so…"
"All we know of the Guardians we know through our contact with the Avalon elves," said Roldak contemplatively, "Flamel wasn't really on our radar, but a second's thought shows me that he should have been. Though you should be careful; the Unspeakables do not know the extent to which the Guardians are still around, and the Guardians are oddly keen on keeping it that way."
"As I said, Morgana used the ritual of Awakened Samsara to reincarnate herself," said Hermione, "Her knowledge of the ritual was certainly consistent with what we were able to determine about it."
"Was it even available for Morgana to use before she died?" asked Roldak.
"Merlin was the first to translate it into Latin," said Hermione, "So yes."
"Ah," said Roldak, "I did not know that, but I will admit, I know less of Merlin than I do of Morgana. Merlin had little to do with goblins."
"Because in general, goblins mind their own business and don't try to harness dark forces," observed Hermione.
"Probably true," agreed Roldak, "Merlin had little reason to bother with us."
Roldak stopped. "How do I know what you say is true?" he asked.
"I am willing to take Veritaserum to confirm my story," said Hermione.
"Unnecessary," said Roldak, "But I appreciate the offer. That you made it means I have little choice but to believe you. Not that I doubted. As you guessed, we had our suspicions."
Roldak considered. "Can you read Old Norse?" he asked finally.
"Yes," said Hermione, "Fluently. I cannot, however, read Gobbledygook."
"That's unsurprising, but not really your fault," admitted Roldak, "We discourage wizards from learning our written language. However, we will give you a copy of the seventh annal of Bloodspear the Broken. It predates the adoption of Gobbledygook, and is in Old Norse. We had a… unique experience with Morgana in the years she tried to rule Britain. And by unique, I mean horrific."
Roldak sat back, his face concerned, "But you have given us very valuable information. Morgana's return is of paramount concern. We owe you more than one book. And this book has not been given to humans because of human lack of interest, not because it is a secret. This is a trivial matter. We would gladly compensate you with other knowledge."
"Do you have any information on an old form of magical contract called a geas?" asked Hermione, "Not how to cast one, just the nature of that type of magical contract and how it actually functions as a contract."
"Another trivial matter," said Roldak, "We don't even need to go into Goblin written texts for that, though I daresay you are unlikely to find a copy of any work touching on this outside the Restricted Section at Hogwarts. Still, you may ask for another thing, and we will call it even."
"Goblins are quite good with Runic Magic, is that correct?" inquired Hermione.
"Quite so," said Roldak.
"I am interested in the way two Blood Runes from different people might interact," said Hermione, "I have a theory."
"Now that is a bit less trivial," said Roldak with a laugh, "I think I know what you are getting at. Yes, it will work, if you have the know-how. I will give you a book on Blood Runes, and will even make sure that it is in English."
"You know, I think I have been fleeced by a fifteen year old girl," said Roldak, with no malice in his voice, "I will have to remember this. If we have dealings in the future…"
"Unfortunately, I didn't really prepare for this meeting," said Hermione, "So I imagine if we were both prepared it would have gone more or less the same."
Roldak's eyes glistened. "I will give you one piece of advice. You seem to be opposed to Morgana in some way. Be warned: even without her full power, she is more than capable of disposing of you."
Roldak sent for Griphook, who led Hermione back to the lobby where her books were waiting for her. Hermione headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. She arrived to find her parents, just having arrived and demanding to know where she was. Well her mother was demanding, her father was suggesting she couldn't have gone far.
"Where were you?" her mother demanded.
"I went to Gringotts," said Hermione, "I had a chat with the goblins and came away with some new information."
"I told you she couldn't have gone many places," said Tom, the barkeep.
"You arrived at least twenty minutes sooner than I anticipated," said Hermione.
"That's true," admitted Robert.
"I don't suppose you could get up to all that much trouble just going to the bank," admitted Helen.
Hermione laughed.
XXXXX
The day after Boxing day, Amelia Bones had her hands full. Diagon Alley had opened up, and the DMLE had to deal with all the tensions of the post holiday shopping days. Not exceptionally difficult, but potentially annoying.
So when Cornelius Fudge came into her office, Amelia wasn't very pleased to see him. Fudge would not have anything for Amelia that would make her life easier. Indeed, on the rare occasions that he came to her office it usually meant trouble. The Department of Magical Transportation either ran smoothly or had big problems.
"I have a problem," said Fudge, "But unless I am very much mistaken, it is about to become your problem."
"That sounds ominous," said Amelia.
"Well, someone has screwed up, and I'm hoping that someone is Igor Karkaroff," said Fudge.
"Karkaroff," said Amelia slowly, "What about him?"
"I'm not 100% certain," said Fudge, "But I think he is in Britain."
"Explain," said Amelia, suddenly very anxious.
"I was keeping a close watch on the Floo network yesterday," explained Fudge, "Making sure we had good connections. Everything went well, except we had one connection coming in from France that seemed to be faulty. I sent a message to the French Ministry, to see what was going on, and they had a solid connection on their end. It was a little odd, but we did have a few people returning to Hogwarts, so it could have been nothing. However, later that night we got confirmation that the connection did go through on the French end. We couldn't see where they came out, so we asked them to try to triangulate where the connection was going, and where it came from."
"This morning they sent us a message saying that the floo was headed to somewhere in England, which was not right at all. And a few minutes ago they confirmed that the origin point was somewhere in Bordeaux. They added that Karkaroff was reportedly in Bordeaux yesterday. And that by all appearances he was not today."
Amelia swore. That was bad. There was no way to prove that Karkaroff had come back to Britain right now, but the chance of it…
"All right, I will have to go to the Minister with this," said Amelia, "Let Sirius Black know if you would. That way he can keep Harriet under wraps. If Death Eaters are gathering, we don't need her running loose."
"Right," said Fudge.
Amelia scowled. This was no coincidence. First the attack at the World Cup, now this. Something was happening. But what?
XXXXX
Harriet had to admit, Sirius had taken her little rebellion well. He had been duly impressed by Harriet's ability to apparate, and Harriet hadn't even told him that it was elf apparition yet. Sirius had simply cautioned Harriet about not getting caught. As long as she only apparated in a magic rich environment, that wasn't likely to be a problem.
However she had still been confined to #12 when Fudge reported that Karkaroff might be around. Karkaroff would never come to Britain unless he was planning something big. So his appearance was a big deal.
One thing that Harriet had noticed on her return to #12 was a noticeable warming in the relationship between Kreacher and Sirius. Sirius no longer seemed hostile to Kreacher. Sirius had explained his encounter with Valerii, the free elf of Avalon, and it made sense that this would shake Sirius to the core. He was now desperately ashamed of how he had treated Kreacher, and wanted to make it up to the elf. Kreacher was, naturally, suspicious, but also seemed to appreciate the new deference that Sirius now gave him.
Indeed the biggest conundrum for Harriet was whether she should tell Sirius about her sexual orientation. She loved him, and trusted him, and she now had a bit more confidence in herself. But something in her mind held her back. It wouldn't do for Sirius to ask too many questions about Morgan, now would it? Why that was the case eluded Harriet, yet somehow she knew it was so.
Harriet shook her head. At least she wasn't going to have to go to the New Year's gala this year.
XXXXX
Morgana knew that someone was watching her. It was that feeling between her shoulder blades like someone was about to stick a knife there. She hated that feeling worse than she had hated actually being stabbed in the back. But Diagon Alley was a big place, as far as places to hide went. She continued on to Gringotts.
There the feeling intensified. As soon as she entered she could feel the watchfulness of the goblins. All directed at her. She had felt a slight watchfulness on prior visits, but this was different. Someone had told the goblins who she was, apparently. Wonderful. She changed her money and left.
The first watchful presence was still there when Morgana left the bank. She decided to see how far it would follow her. She turned down Knockturn Alley and strode forward.
"Morgana," said a soft voice.
Morgana turned around, facing the very same little corner of the alley where she had told her name to Harriet Potter, over five years ago. Standing there was a figure that Morgana at first thought was some cippled beggar, but quickly recognized as an elf. The ears were sharpened to points but were less long than standard house elf ears. The face was less chubby and more like an adult human's. It was the face of a free elf, but this elf was almost as short as most house elves. So she had been freed in her youth. She wore a white robe, and carried a staff that was clearly a spell focus.
"You are one of the Guardians," said Morgana.
"Yes, Morgana," said the elf, "My name is Valerii."
"Stop calling me that," said Morgana "Someone might hear."
"I highly doubt that anyone can hear us," said Valerii.
Morgana was about to retort, but then something struck her. The hum and bustle of the Alley had stopped. A ways away she saw a bit of snow in the midst of falling off a roof, hanging still in midair.
"You can stop time," said Morgana, "Impressive, I never really could get the hang of that one. Even with Sorcery. My mind is too linear for it I guess. Still I prefer to be called Morgan these days. It avoids confusion."
"Very well Morgan," said Valerii, "I just thought the time had come for us to meet. I am the second in command of the Guardians of Atlantis. The master thinks you need to be contacted now."
Morgana suspected that Flamel was the current master, but she didn't say so yet.
"Did you tell my true identity to the goblins?" asked Morgana.
"No," said Valerii, "But they did ask me about you today. Hmmm, someone has decided to destroy your anonymity, that much is clear, but it isn't me. I am still undecided as to whether you will be a help or a hindrance. As is the Master."
"Your Master seems to know a lot about me," said Morgana, now actively fishing.
"You have met him," said Valerii, "And he is very old."
Ha! She was as much as telling Morgana that Flamel was the Master.
"We know of your… troubles at the end of the last school year," said Valerii, "Consuming a dementor like that is perilous."
"I know," replied Morgana, "But I have not tasted any measure of Dark Magic or The Darkness since." All that was true.
"I have difficulties with the hunger for it occasionally, that is true. But I have resisted. In a few months, I shall be cured of even that." Morgana wasn't the best with auras, but she put a little aura of sincerity up.
"We will see," said Valerii. Oh this one was someone to watch. She was cool as a cucumber, and had clearly detected Morgana's aura. In a fight, Morgana sensed, this elf couldn't challenge her, but the danger in this one was not her combat prowess.
"You gave Harriet Potter a copy of the oaths of the Guardians of Atlantis," said Valerii, "Why?"
"Oh my, did she read the oaths?" said Morgana mockingly, "And I bet Percival had made his test in the Path of the Founders count as a test for the Guardians, didn't he? Oh, silly Percival, but he was a good, trusting man."
"You did it intentionally," said Valerii, a smile showing on her lips.
"Voldemort is trying to kidnap Harriet, that much is clear," said Morgana, "And she was not ready for that fight. All of her battles so far have been at or near Hogwarts, a place so suffused in magical energy that she can easily fill her power many times over. If she faced Voldemort in a battle where she, for the first time, had to gather, collect, and ration her magical power, she would fall. So I sought to provide her with a source of power that would follow her anywhere. Now, she has a fighting chance. More than a fighting chance."
"Very well," said Valerii, "If it comes to it, I will do my best to guide her through that battle. No doubt what you intended."
Morgana nodded.
"Know that we are watching you Morgana," said Valerii, "You have come close to proving yourself, but trust has not been extended to you yet. You are within a hair's breadth of earning your redemption. Do not stumble now. You may hide from us for time, but we will find out if you fall."
And suddenly Valerii vanished from view. Time was moving along again, and Morgana sighed in frustration. This would all be so much easier if she could assign Harriet a task for her geas now. Once the geas was complete, Harriet would be Morgana's apprentice, and the real work could begin. She had to convince Voldemort to give up his stupid attempt to kill Harriet. But how?
XXXXX
Crouch Jr. was waiting for Morgana when she entered Riddle Manor. She should have known he would be here. It didn't matter, but it might mean she would have to be more persuasive.
"Things are bad out there," said Morgana, "Luckily I am not suspected of being a supporter of Voldemort. Still, Karkaroff's visit was ill advised."
"The Dark Lord commanded it," said Crouch, his tone making it clear he didn't agree with that.
"Hmm," was all Morgana said to that.
She was ushered into the sitting room where Voldemort was ensconced with Bellatrix and Nagini. The horrible eyes of that homunculus narrowed as she entered.
"You took your time," said Voldemort.
"I was being followed," said Morgana, "Someone has exposed my true identity to the goblins, and the Guardians of Atlantis were watching me like a hawk. However, they do not expect me to go out today, so I have some time. But only an hour or so. This situation was not made easier by the fact that there are now constant auror patrols. Karkaroff has complicated things."
"He did as the Dark Lord commanded," said Bellatrix haughtily.
"Then he shouldn't have commanded it," said Morgana, "You hadn't contacted the major Death Eaters yet, had you Bellatrix? How will you now do so when they are being watched? Karkaroff can easily be managed from afar, but Lucius Malfoy? Theodore Nott? You will not be able to contact them now. Not before they are summoned."
"It was an error," said Voldemort, "I can appreciate that. My apprehension got the better of me."
"It often does," said Morgana, "For example, do you still insist on trying to defeat Harriet Potter?"
"My servants must see me defeat her," said Voldemort simply.
"They won't," said Morgana, "But I won't belabor the point. I could neutralize the threat she poses to you. I have not given her a task for her geas yet. I could give her a simple task, give her a reward, and then she would be mine. You would not regret letting me ensnare her, and my loyalty to you would not waver."
"Your loyalty to me is non-existant, your loyalty to yourself would certainly not waver," said Voldemort, "And the dead do not have regrets. I see through your words, even with your occlumency."
Bellatrix and Crouch both pulled out their wands, and pointed them at Morgana. Morgana laughed.
"Put those away!" snapped Voldemort, "She has no intention of turning on me. She simply does not care what happens to me after she gets what she wants."
Bellatrix put her wand away immediately, but Crouch did so slowly.
"It is true that I have no real affection for you," said Morgana, "But I will fulfill my promises to you. I will teach you how to use the power of the Darkness."
"This isn't about me though," said Voldemort, "I suspect that Potter has shown greater resistance to your geas than you anticipated. You have her cowed now, but are not sure that this will remain true. So you seek permission from me to break the agreement, because even with Potter, you will still need my help."
"Just so," admitted Morgana freely.
Voldemort sighed heavily, "Unfortunately for you, my mistake with Karkaroff means I will not be able to reestablish my power with my Death Eaters before my rebirth. So I will need a demonstration. I might have agreed otherwise. Though all this is moot if we can't kidnap Potter."
"Oh, we don't need to really change anything with the plan," said Morgana, "we just need to add a bit. Harriet is friends with all four champions now. Abduct one of them. It doesn't matter which. Then have Crouch here show up and demand Harriet come with you to rescue them."
"Dumbledore will refuse to let her go," said Bellatrix.
"He won't be able to stop her," said Morgana. "Trust me."
"Potter will walk into this trap?" demanded Voldemort.
"Oh yes," said Morgana, "You see, the task I will provide Harriet to complete her geas will be to defeat you."
Voldemort laughed, a creaky horrible sound coming from the homunculus. "Very clever," he said.
"I thought so," said Morgana.
"Why not just complete the geas now, then send Potter to face the Dark Lord?" demanded Bellatrix.
"Once Harriet is fully under the geas I will be able to fully command her mind, directly," said Morgana, "I have no interest in giving her up once that happens. No, I will keep my part of the agreement."
"And I will keep mine," said Voldemort, "Very well, I will defer punishment for your failure to enter Harriet into the Tournament, Barty. Apparently, it isn't a problem."
Morgana grinned, "Barty must go into hiding though. It seems the net around him is closing."
Crouch snarled. Bellatrix laughed. "I could use some help around here," she said, "Though only I tend to the Dark Lord."
"A good point," said Voldemort, "any other news?"
"Yes," said Morgana, and began to discuss what she had just seen in the Prophet.
XXXXX
Morgana gave a "Hmph," as she left Riddle Manor. It had gone about how she had expected. Stupidity! Voldemort was insisting on that damned foolish spectacle. Well it was time for Morgana to take action then.
She transformed into her raven form, then flew off towards the nearby cemetery. She returned to her human form there and quickly searched for the grave. Finally she found the gravestone of Tom Riddle Sr.
With one sweep of her wand the earth on top of the grave tore out of the ground, but it did so silently. It levitated above the grave. There was a casket buried there. It opened under the power of Morgana's spell. There was a skeleton within. Morgana quickly pulled out a knife, then slid it across her wrist. Blood came pouring out, but Morgana collected it in a ball suspended in the air by her wand. With a flick of her wrist the ball of blood spattered the entire skeleton with her blood.
"Blood of an equal, given to weaken," said Morgana with a laugh as she healed the injury on her wrist. Whatever Voldemort did now, Harriet's blood would not be the blood bound in the ritual. But Morgana would… well she wasn't precisely sure what would happen. This was unexplored territory.
But she suspected that it would be good for her.
Author's Note: It has been a while! I have a writing update. One of the main reasons I haven't been updating this story is because I am still writing it, and am on part 7. I need to do some rewrites of part 5 before I publish the rest of it, but I've been busy on part 7. I just wrote the Battle for Hogwarts though, and while that isn't the end of Part 7, it is a big milestone. I still have three chapters to write in Part 7. So it may be a little while before I get to those rewrites, but not much longer.
I do want to make one note about this chapter though: some people may find it strange that I almost instantly healed the rift I spent so much time creating between Harriet and Ron. I will just say this: I've been building to this since Part 1, and the importance of what happened between them is actually one of my very favorite twists, small as it is. Ron's infatuation served a very important purpose, but that purpose has been served even if it hasn't been revealed yet. But don't worry, it will be!