FAN FICTION AU AND TIME TRAVEL

Flipped

Summary

Female Harry Potter (Juniper) wins the war but the cost is too much so she performs a ritual and performs dimension travel after much research when she is 24. Her counterpart is Cordelia Faye Black, the daughter of Altair Black and Adelaide Malfoy. Has memories of both the worlds. Lives in France. When Juniper (Harry) seeps into consciousness, she is 14. Born on Beltane. Thus even though she is a girl, she has a high standing among the Blacks. Has gone to Beauxabatons for her first three years. Born on May 1, 1927. Start school in 1938. Goes to Hogwarts in 1942. Meets Tom Riddle. (Romance and power play)

Disclaimer: The characters and the world in the story belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not earning any profit from it.

Note: I have been a fanfiction reader for quite a lot of years before I gave this fic a shot, so if you see any ideas seeping in that I do not openly acknowledge, just let me know and I will add the credits. I have read too many to keep a track of them but I will try my best.

1) The idea of totems belongs to Catsarecool who is writing A Maurader's plan .

2) The basic idea of dimension travel comes from Hollow Thunder, Vital Lightning by Aariya07. You will see quite a few similarities in the first couple of chapters but it diverges after that.

3) Harry was born a girl as Juniper Anastasia Potter. Everything is as it is in canon except for her romances. This is not because I don't read slash or like it. You will see a lot of them in my favorites but because I don't think that I could do justice to that genre and because I want to do this. If you do not like such fics, do not read. Please do not flame. I will welcome criticisms, I know I am not perfect, just don't meaninglessly bash me for nothing.


For your references

"Talk"

"Thought"

"Parseltongue"


Chapter 15: The Feminist Stance

Tom's POV

"Absolutely not. No, I don't care what Ms. Underhill said about your health. You will be sleeping, not watching over me." Tom was arguing very strongly against Cordelia.

"I have work to do. I slept enough the last night." She said very patiently, looking through some documents while sitting in Tom's study table in his room.

"What work could you possibly have? You even asked Burke about the assignments of the first month of second term and we both finished them a week ago. The Goblins agreed for a meet for the inheritance test and everything is in place and I don't know what else you could have in mind." Tom argued back.

'Not that work. I have to find who cursed Charlie!" She replied back, again very patiently.

"Then I am going to stay up with you." Tom said stubbornly.

"I am going to meditate and look and re-watch my memory of the match over and over again until I find something. You cannot do anything." Cordelia pointed out.

"That's all?" Tom asked.

"No, I am going to look through the Hogwarts charter, look at the spell again, search laws, make sure I have a rule in hand that can keep Dumbledore at bay and stuff. But it does not matter, you did not sleep last night as you were keeping watch over me and you are sleeping tonight and that is final." Cordelia was talking to him like he was a petulant child and he did not like it one bit.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Riddle snapped.

"Like what?" It had no effect on Cordelia who did not even look up and continued swifting through her parchments.

"Like I am a bloody, stubborn and petulant child, Lia. We both know that is you." Riddle was now angry.

She finally did look up, but there was a soft, surprised expression on her face, "Lia?" She asked.

And then Riddle realized what he called her in in angry moment and he looked sheepish and slightly flabbergasted, "Well, you yourself said Cordelia is a mouthful."

When she did not say anything, just stared at him, he added, "And I was thinking last night. Corrie is too plebeian." he trailed off.

"I like it." She muttered softly, "but that does not mean that you get to stay up! On the bed now. You can stay up tomorrow night if you want to." She said strictly.

"I just asked you not to treat me like a child." Riddle said irritably.

"Well, I will treat you however I please and as your behavior deems. In this instance, you are unnecessarily being stubborn." She prompted.

"Am I then to understand that you will be sleeping tomorrow night and not working?" Riddle asked in a dangerous tone.

"Yeah, I will be sleeping part of the night. I have the whole day to work. Like I will sleep at around 4 in the morning tonight as well." She said, again distracted with her papers.

"Ahmm, you won't stretch yourself?" Tom questioned.

"What is with the inquisition?" She patiently asked.

'Well, it is not as if you almost died." Tom said sarcastically and a little angrily but Cordelia could hear the slight fear and insecurity in his voice.

"But I didn't." She replied softly, "Tom, I know what I am doing, just like I knew what I was doing at the match. I knew that I could manage the magic and I know that I can manage without a little sleep. Trust me on that, will you?"

Tom sighed. He didn't argue but he very noisily went to bed, almost stomping his feet.

Cordelia hid her grin at his petulant act, but shook her head and reverted back to her papers.

Tom's POV

"What are you looking at the papers for?" Tom asked, "And how did the meditation go?" It was the breakfast next morning.

"The meditation went well. I think I have clues. I could not believe I did not see the connection yesterday." Cordelia said, again distractedly, then looked at him, "6 o'clock, Room of Requirement." she whispered the last bit.

"What for?" Tom asked.

"Animagus."She murmured back.

He gave her a questioning look.

"I am not putting a hold on our plans just because somebody decided to attack Charlie." Cordelia said, giving him a look. He nodded, looking slightly surprised and touched, and then he took a glance at her papers.

"You are looking at rules on how to drag an heir of the Ancient and Noble houses to the Wizarding court?" Tom asked in disbelief.

"To be technical, a minor heir." She murmured back.

Tom was wrapping his head around it.

"Tell you in the room." She murmured swiftly as she saw her cousins approaching the breakfast table.

Cordelia's POV

"Oh, this is a bit freaky." Cordelia muttered looking at their transformed paws.

It had been her who wanted to be a panther and Tom who thought about being a wolf. She had made enough jokes about him being the Slytherin king and Alpha. Tom had not been amused.

She had a black coat, with thick claws at the end. Tom's coat was a dark gray mixed with a little white.

"I can't believe we managed to transform our one arm in under a month." Tom murmured back, looking at his arm, flexing his paws and claws.

"Well, we are special.' Cordelia said in a chirpy voice, but she closed her eyes, focusing and her human arm and palm were back in under a minute.

Tom did the same, flexed his fingers and sighed. 'Why were you looking at the legalities?"

"Well, in the spur of the moment, we forgot the most plausible candidate for the confounding." Cordelia said, "Renatus had a spat with me over Heir Potter and the next thing, Charlie gets attacked. Too close to be coincidental." She got up.

"You mean a spat with us." Tom corrected.

'Technicalities. He had nothing against you until you decided to support me." Cordelia pointed out.

"He does not actually willingly follows me, you know. He is not 'devoted'. He is playing a game. It will not take him a blink to change his loyalties and priorities." Tom pointed out.

"Going against you does not benefit him in any way right now. He will do it someday but not right away. You should not give him excuses to give up your cause by siding with me." Cordelia pointed out astutely.

"You are more important than him." Tom murmured in a very low voice, but Cordelia heard it.

She gave him a wry smile and whispered back, "You are more important than both of us. We should focus on you getting a leverage, not on my or his vendetta against each other. I will go after him, you need not be a part of it and getting him is a priority but getting you your title takes precedence. I will not let anyone, not even you, jeopardize it. You are not to be a part of any action that I take against him." Her voice got a little louder after her first sentence.

Tom rolled his eyes and Cordelia gave a full blown smile at his reaction. She bit her lower lip and shook her head.


Tom's POV

The Court meeting was in procession.

Tom and Abraxas had approached certain key members beforehand to have ample support when they decided to bring in the women into the court.

Zabini, Burke and Flint had not been difficult to convince. They adored Cordelia and both Burke and Zabini had been impressed by Dorea's work as a liaison to the court .Titania was also a part of their study group and they valued her similarly, majorly because of her knowledge of her native magic and her belief in it. She understood the plight of the dark. She did not like that her magic was banned simply because the Ministry did not understand it.

Rosier was next. He respected Tom and Tom thought that he had a soft spot for Cordelia but not quite like Burke, Zabini or Flint. He did not quite understand it but even though Rosier had pegged Cordelia as a Hufflepuff, he seemed to respect her a lot. He was in too.

The rest of the court was fairly divided. Avery was scared of Tom, but he got along well with Zabini and Alphard so he would not protest.

Carrow, Lestrange and Parkinson were going to be very difficult. He expected them to throw fits.

He was not quite sure about the stance of Travers and Nott. They liked and respected Cordelia well enough but not the kind where they would tolerate her presence in official capacity over them. He did not think that it would suit their egos well, but he was a bit perturbed by the casual way Travers had referred Cordelia by her first name, so he was not sure. Pucey and Montague's opinion would not carry much weight.

But Tom still had majority in his favour and there was also the fact that they were scared of him. He did not want to quite use the latter one. He agreed with Cordelia, he needed to be very subtle and cautious in how he asked things out of his courtiers.

Well, it was all going to resolve in the next hour.

He took a deep breath and interlaced his fingers and looked expectantly at the rest of the court and gave a half smile that promised trouble.


Tom's POV

Tom's eyes met Cordelia as Zabini argued back and forth with Renatus. She looked amused. Carrow was butting in and Orion and Abraxas were putting their inputs to Zabini's arguments.

"This is a ploy of the House of Black. You just want the control by the means of court." Parkinson spat.

"As the heiress of the House of Black, if I may?" She said softly.

Parkinson glared at her. It did not deter Cordelia who used the small silence to add her bit," The House of Black is indeed a large family. We are a lot of cousins and I daresay that all of us, including Dorea and I are accomplished sufficiently to be part of the court. As for the need of control, we do not need it. We have it. I think it is prudent to remind you that House of Black has seven seats in the Wizangomat and is the oldest house in it as well. As for Hogwarts, we are the leader of the seats of governors from the dark faction. We also have numerous alliances in all factions. I do not see how we could gain more control. Heir Slytherin is independent of the House of Black. He will have our aid but all the House of Black wants from him is a structured and systematic strategy and action to stabilize the footing of the dark and I do not think that anybody in this court does not wish that."

They were stumped.

"I still do not see why women need to be a part. They need only take care of the household and are no way as accomplished as men." Carrow said, his eyes half droopy.

"How many Owls did you get Heir Carrow?"Cordelia asked.

"7" Hew replied haughtily.

"How many languages do you speak?" She asked.

He just glared, "I only need English."

"Dorea got 10 Owls, including Political theory in which she got an O. She speaks three languages apart from English; Latin, French and Portuguese." She replied back, her tone neutral.

Carrow just sneered.

"How does that make you eligible for it?" Parkinson asked, a snooty expression for it.

It was Tom who took the stage, "She is at par with me Perseus which is why Cordelia will not be merely a part of the court. She will be running it with me." Tom threw in his two shillings. He had been waiting for an opportune moment to declare that.

There was a stumped silence. Those who were in with the idea were calm and happy. Those who were not appeared confused.

"You are taking it well, good." Tom ignored the period of confusion and said without preamble. "Moving ahead…"

"If I may?" It was Nott who interrupted him.

He and Travers had confusion. It had resolved in Travers' eyes but Nott still looked perplexed.

"Yes Nott, speak your mind." Tom said patiently.

"Why?" Nott simply asked.

"I will take the question if you do not mind Tom. If we, the women, need to work with them, then my justification should be as good to them as yours." Cordelia requested softly.

Tom looked at her. She was taking charge readily for the first time, perhaps because she realized that this acceptance was bigger than her.

"You are free to disagree with me but I request you to let me finish before you ask questions or dissent over my or Tom's logic." Cordelia addressed the men.

Most nodded. Parkinson and Carrow sneered.

Cordelia just gave a sardonic smile to them.

"Please name the founders of Hogwarts. One of you." She asked.

They looked perplexed. Even the ones that were in on the plan.

"Salazar Slytherin" It was Rosier who spoke.

Cordelia nodded.

"Godric Gryffindor" Alphard spoke, his expression filled with doubt.

It was Abraxas who spoke with more resolve and pride, "Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Helga Hufflepuff." It was Tom who completed the list.

"Two men and two women. They together made Hogwarts. Rowena Ravenclaw was responsible for the runic wards in the place. Helga Hufflepuff bred the Forbidden forest as a safeguard for the Castle. Salazar concocted the mortar that fixed this place and designed the castle and Godric Gryffindor was the strength, responsible for the fortifications of the castle. They worked together and that is how Hogwarts came to be. Not men alone, but women and men. I know that Gryffindor and Slytherin far outrank the other houses in popularity. That reflects how our society views women. Women are present but not necessary. Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were matrilineal lines that died because, because the world eventually would not view women as competent or equal to men, even though they were in the same position at some point.

"I am not going to point fingers. I probably cannot even do a proper genealogical analysis of how it happened. How women lost their..? I don't even know what to call it. Every term is vague because the tongue we speak was created by men. I, as a woman, find it somewhat limiting to communicate in a tongue that was not meant for me. But yes, women once held power. That should not be the reason why you let us be a part of court. You should let us be a part of the court because men and women collectively are called humans.

"Even if we were not powerful in the magical past, even if Hogwarts was not created by two of the best magic wielders the British Wizardry and witchcraft knows. You cannot give us power, because it is not yours to give. We have the power as we had it since ages and we are choosing to exercise it after a long time. It is time that that we be represented in choices and decisions that affect us.

"There is nothing that differentiates us from Wizards, apart from anatomy and that does not affect our magic in the slightest. Neither does it affect our will to utilize the magic or our intellect. It is just that over the years women have been forced to think about themselves in a certain way. And I personally refuse to see myself that way.

"Throw me a challenge, I will best you in any magic you want me to and even if I could not, you don't have any right to take away my rights because I am a magic wielder, I am someone, just like you. And I say that you need to hear me, not just when you need me but on the onus that I exist.

"This might sound novel to you, but I, Dorea, Titania, and the others in the house are living, breathing creatures with as much brains, magic and hearts as you do. The court's decisions affect the house, a house that includes women and we will partake in the decision-making. Be prepared to hear us and work with us." Cordelia said.

There was a long silence. Her speech, monologue had silenced and shocked everyone, even women.

Tom's eyes held pride, 'And that is why they are working with us and Cordelia is working over you."

"I invoked the example of Hogwarts because men and women came together to create a symbol, a meaningful symbol and hearth for people who knew magic. They worked together in harmony. I would like this court to function like that. You can express your doubt now. I am sure you have many." Cordelia spoke.

"I am struggling to comprehend it properly but I do not deny that what you say does make a valid point. Women are affected by our decisions. And I think we witnessed that all three of you were a vital part of our plans with Binns. It was in fact your initiative, Cordelia," Travers spoke, "However, not all women are cut out for politics."

"And not all men are adept at it." Cordelia responded, "We need to begin somewhere. No, not every woman will be a part of the court. But they will contribute and they will be recognised for their contribution. We cannot expect immediate change, no, but working with us is a very good beginning."

"Fair enough." Nott conceded.

"Oh, I know it is not as simple as that Heir Nott. I will have to prove myself every day. I accept that challenge. My sisters will have to prove themselves every day and they will. Just remember, nobody asked men to constantly give exams and prove their worth. It is unfair for women, it will be unfair for a very long time but yes, we are implementing practices to make things fair." Cordelia said pointedly.

"I agree." Tom concurred, "There are many expectations that are not just unjust but illogical. For instance, the unspoken rule of not letting women play in Slytherin Quidditch team is illogical and for players like Cordelia, downright unjust. She is good at Quidditch, if I take the liberty to quote you Flint?" Tom questioned.

Flint nodded seriously. Cordelia looked curious.

Tom continued, "Cordelia is easily the best player in the team, perhaps the best quidditch player in Hogwarts. If she were a man, English National team would snatch her in a moment, but they won't because she is a woman. Slytherin would have let her be in the stands because of a rule that does not make sense to me. And I need not point out her brilliance in the field in the last Quidditch match, I believe everyone witnessed it. Of course, Quidditch is a mere example of her accomplishments." Tom eyed all the members of the court.

Renatus looked like he had swallowed something extremely bitter. Tom would need to keep an eye on him. If what Cordelia suspected was true, then her induction in the court would only enrage him further.


Tom's POV

Tom and Cordelia were both sitting in the study in the Cordelia's trunk which was inside Tom's room. Cordelia was sitting on the main table with books wide open on every corner. Tom was sitting on an equally large desk on the side.

Both of them had split the work. Tom was researching on the befuddlement charm and gathering as much literature on it as he could to build a case. Cordelia was researching laws. Both of them had arrived on consensus that she was much better at interpreting and understanding the jargon of pureblood law.

Tom quickly glanced at the clock. It was half past midnight. He sighed and looked at Cordelia. Her expression was dead serious and she was skimming through the charter that was written down at the formation of the Wizarding House of Lords.

"Lia..." He softly called.

Cordelia looked up from the book. Her eyes looked slightly tired but she smiled softly at him.

It was a beautiful smile. He thought he would never get tired of thinking that or seeing her smile.

"What's up?" She quietly asked, shutting the charter.

"Err. Ceiling." He answered in a confused tone, looking up briefly.

She looked surprised, then shook herself with an amused smile, "My bad. What were you saying?"

"How much do you know Travers?" he asked hesitantly, "and Nott?"

"Honestly you spend more time with them than I do but Travers is a decent bloke if a bit dominated by his father. His father is quite hard on him on being the ideal Heir. Nott is logical and shrewd. His every step is very calculated but his heart seems to be in the right place. But what context are you asking in?" She easily replied, thinking and rubbing her chin in between and then resting her arms and head on the desk and giving him a questioning look.

"No, nothing, I just noticed that they call you by your first name and I did not see you socialize with them a lot, so…" Tom tried to act nonchalant.

"Oh that…"Cordelia got up. She stretched and yawned, "It is nothing, stupid patriarchy. Travers is Orion's first cousin. We sometimes met and socialised through our childhood before school. He tried to call me Corrie but I think his father admonished him. Nott is an intelligent conversationalist. He was quite interested to talk to me when he heard that I was moving to Hogwarts and we talked at length in Lucretia's coming of Age. There is no love lost between us but there is no enmity either." She shrugged.

"They seemed partial toward you…" Tom probed hesitantly.

Cordelia let out laughter and threw her head back.

"What?" Tom asked, a little irritation in his tone.

She calmed down, "I am sorry, I did not mean to… sometimes those boys just amuse me a lot, that's all."

"Amuse you…"Tom could not keep his interrogative instinct down. He was feeling very possessive right now. He always had been possessive. There were so few things that he could call his. Cordelia was no thing, and he was not sure that she was 'his' to own but, she was his friend and it was enough that he had to share her with her brigade of family members and quidditch team. He did not want to entertain the idea of any other elements taking her time.

"Like I said, patriarchy. I turned 14. It is the ideal time of courting me. I have been expecting courting proposals in the near future. I have always been on the top of the list of the women that men would like to have as their wife, or as the mother of their children, considering my good looks and raw magical power. Now that I am also the Heiress of house of Black, they think if they marry me, I would defer to my husband and let him take charge of House of black as well which is not going to happen but I am no one to stop them from dreaming…" Cordelia's voice and eyes turned dark.

"And are you going to take the proposals?" Tom asked carefully. He was feeling very angry.

"Of course not. I am not a commodity which they are thinking of in terms of profit." Cordelia snorted, "Even if by chance, Uncle manages to convince me for a match, which is unlikely, he is going to make sure that the Headship of black House stays with me, either by primacy of the House of Black, or some other contractual feature."

"Contractual…" Tom asked in confusion.

"Oh, I forgot, they have scraped the cultural class… Every time a Wizard or witch marries from the old families, there is always a contract that indicates bride price, the terms of the wedding like number and genders of the children they need to bear within a certain time frame, the vaults each spouse would have, the inheritability of it. Marriage is essentially a business transaction that involves people as commodities." Cordelia's voice was bitter, "it is worse for women but it is not much better for men."

"You will tell me if you need help." Tom said seriously.

"I am afraid your courtiers are not going to listen to you when it comes to me Tom…I am too desirable, more so than the favour of heir of Slytherin. That is why Travers backed off today, because he did not want to anger me… He think if he pretends to be compliant with my wishes right now, I would agree to the match when he requests a courtship and later…"She said, her eyes having a far away look.

"I won't let them do that to you…" Tom said heatedly.

"I won't let them do that to me either. I am a fighter Tom. And you need to worry about yourself. As soon as you come out as the Heir of Slytherin, there will be girls and women swarming you, trying to get your attention so that you can court them. You will be in your own nightmare…"Cordelia said pointedly.

Tom's mouth opened but no noise came out. He looked startled and confused at the same time.

"You need to be careful, very careful. You cannot send the wrong signal. There will be plenty of families eyeing the Slytherin bloodline and gold, and they would think that they can get access to it if they marry you. And then they would try to dispose you off because you are most likely a half-blood. Trust me, your end is worse than mine." She rapidly informed as she started moving parchments and books to search something.

"How do you know all this?" Tom just asked. He was lost on words.

"History." Cordelia eyed him, "Real history of the Wizarding World, if only the history of the old families. Limiting but better than their stance on Goblins alone…"She sent him a fleeting smile, "And there are books of course, on courtships, on how to create contracts, passed down from families… The books on courtships have become inventive in the recent times, with new editions coming out to common public, on how to woo your other half…It is quite a riveting and revolting genre of books, but it exists."

She was looking for something, and then she found it, "As revolting as it is, it is useful nonetheless." She tossed him a book, "Read that so that you don't accidentally send a wrong signal to a woman you want nothing to do with. You just need the basics… It is a dead boring read, but we are in a desperate need. If you do not want that, well, we have another option. I know sufficiently about courtships, but my disdain would hinder me in actual 'teaching', if I may use the word.

"Dorea, on the other hand, knows it inside out and has a certain level of regard and respect for it that I lack. If you would not mind, I will talk to her and she can probably do the needful. However, I am not sure if you would be comfortable sharing your 'vulnerabilities' with anybody else, so I would advise you to use the book." She stopped and gave him a look, "And oh yeah, do not be seen with it. You don't want people to speculate about this."

Tom did not say anything. As much as the thing about Courtships was a lot to take in, he still did not like the fact that Nott and Travers thought that they had certain level of ownership over Cordelia.

He decided to mention that.

"Well, I gave them leave to use my name once. If I take my word back without a situation that warrants the rescinding of the right, I would be insulting them." Cordelia said thoughtfully, "That will not make me or the Blacks popular and that has its pros and cons. It might leave me with two less proposed contracts to deal with, or maybe more, but it will also make a sort of pariah.

"I would have difficulty navigating in our world and I do not want that. On the other hand, Cordelia is still formal. Not many people have the right to call me Corrie and it is mostly family. Not even the Quidditch team calls me by that nickname. So, I am not sending a wrong signal by letting them use my given name." Cordelia mused, thoughtfully rubbing her chin and then looked at him, "And only 'you' call me Lia, so there is not much of a problem but misinterpretation on their part, which I can live with it, as long as I can prove my 'innocence' to the society."

"Yeah, only I call you Lia…" he muttered and off a sudden, he was feeling very satisfied with himself. He dropped the quill back in the inkpot and looked up to Cordelia who was yawing and stretching.

"I am going to turn in." She shook her head and widened her eyes to shake sleep away. She yawned again but hid her face under the polite gesture of hiding her mouth as she did it.

"You should…" He muttered. He got up and went to her desk and started to collect stuff, "I will clean up your desk, go change and sleep." He said softly.

"No, no, I can," She began but seeing his persisting stubborn look, she just smiled and put her head back on the desk and said, "Okay… I will go to bed…" She slid back her chair, got up and went out of the study in midst of her own persisting yawing.


Another Update. I am doing much better. Thank you all of you for your concerns.

Answering some general queries: I got some complains about the flow and grammar of the story. I am in the process of getting a Beta but it will only begin from Chapters on Yule.

THERE WILL BE NO UPDATE NEXT WEEK, MOST PROBABLY. I am swamped with work and having migraines does not help. I might utilize the week to go back to the beginning of the fic and correct some grammar issues. Editing is easier than writing for me. There will be no changes in plot, so rest easy. But feel free to go back and give it a read after next Saturday. Next Update: 14/05/2016.

I might change the update schedule to fortnightly instead of weekly but I have not completely decided yet. I would rather take some time to write the chapters than give half-baked stuff.

As always, constructive feedback is welcome. I have grown as a writer in four months of writing this fic. Thank you all for that.

Please Review.