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"
Previously…
"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.
Chapter 16: The passage
Tom's POV
When Tom went to their bedroom, he was not surprised to see joined beds and Cordelia sprawled on the left side under her Black and cream duvet. However, the way he addressed the bedroom was surprising. "When had the bedroom become 'theirs'?" He silently wondered. He quickly changed in the adjoining dressing room and went and lay next to her.
Her eyes fluttered open gently. He found himself staring at her green eyes. She was staring at him too and then she leaned in, touched his forehead gently, and seemed to be looking at his nose, "I think you are getting the flu that has been running around. Make a stop at infirmary before you start the classes. I think we can stop it from developing. The cold winds in the Quidditch must have…" She muttered very sleepily.
Tom was about to say that is such a case she should maybe stay away from him so that she does not get sick too, but Lia had laid her head on his chest and had promptly shut her eyes and slept off.
He wondered whether she had been talking in her sleep. He gently tucked one of her curls fluttering on her face and towards him behind her ear, lay his one hand gently on the back of her head and closed his eyes.
Cordelia's POV
Tom was dragging her somewhere. Cordelia was downright worried because dragging somebody like an excitable child was not one of the things that she associated with him. Tom was a completely different person. She did not think that he was acting. He was just too vulnerable and …She wondered if her little care and attention could bring this out in him, then what if Voldemort had not been the heartless bastard that everyone assumed to be. All he had needed was somebody who gave a fuck…
"Are you listening?" Tom's excited and nervous voice came and shook her out of her thoughts.
"Sorry, I was thinking something else…" She politely said, meeting his midnight blue eyes.
"Are you okay? You look slightly shaken?" Tom asked.
"I am fine." She muttered with a small smile even though she could feel her throat burn.
"I found this alcove today." He pointed towards a wall near his earlier practice room.
She went up to it, lifted her hand and knocked, "Looks solid, what alcove?"
He took her hand and took it towards the darker section of the wall…
"It feels like a curved line. That is strange, did somebody carve something there?" She asked, "And this has a round depression."
Tom wordlessly cast a lumos and pointed where there hands were. There, in all its glory was a carved serpent.
"You think…'She did not need to complete her sentence.
"It is not a passage, as far as I could tell. Just an alcove. Maybe you could spot something. Open." He shook his head.
The wall went inside and then slid to a side.
Cordelia windlessly conjured two light orbs.
"You have to teach me that one.' Tom muttered.
"Few things at a time, Tom. This is not as important." She muttered.
The orbs flitted ahead. It was an alcove alright, the size of a broom closet.
"Have you found other places locked with parseltongue?"She asked, "I forgot to ask earlier."
'Apart from the Slytherin common room wall, no." Tom shook his head.
"Be very careful. It could be booby trapped or years of locking down might have given rise to some infestation." She muttered.
Tom immediately put a bubblehead charm on both of them.
She pointed to the wall on the left and they began knocking it to check if it was hollow on the other side.
It took them awhile but they had checked all the walls.
"Nothing" Tom said in a depressed tone.
'We are not done yet." Cordelia muttered.
Tom looked at her. She was very carefully eyeing the floor.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Just a feeling." She muttered, "We are not standing on the actual floor. This is uneven. It is caked in dust."
Tom appeared confused.
"Trapdoors." She muttered one word, "Old families loved them. Hogwarts itself in littered with plenty of them. We might be standing on one."
"Or this is just a storage room?" Tom said in a disheartened tone.
"We might be standing on a trapdoor but it might still lead to a storage room." Cordelia said, not coddling him this once. She knew all the parseltongue pathways, courtesy of Salazar. This one did not take them remotely near to the chamber of secrets.
"Evanesco?" Tom questioned her.
"Too weak," Cordelia shook her head, 'Let us try Skurgo. And let us refrain from using parseltongue. What if we accidentally trigger and open the trapdoor and fall?" She said.
Tom nodded.
"Skurgo" She flicked her wand and pointed to one direction. A square patch of clean floor appeared.
Tom sighed and took the other corner.
"We are standing on a coiled snake" Cordelia said when all sides were cleaned and only a large rectangular patch of dust remained in the centre, "See we can spot the tail and the head."
Tom squinted his eyes but he could not see it.
"Don't kill me. I am trying something." Cordelia waved her wand in an intricate pattern, "Skurgo maxima."
The entire floor became clean.
They were indeed standing on a coiled snake.
"How do we open this?" Tom asked.
"The correct question is do we open this?" Cordelia asked weakly, "We could be unleashing something…I think we should consider it carefully."
Tom looked at her, his face troubled but then he nodded, "I know what you mean. What is Slytherin's monster just attacks us..?" He shook his head.
"Animatio revelio Penetro antrum maxima." She muttered.
'A few mice, a couple of rats, an infestation of doxies but it appears to be dying. Nothing else." She muttered a little later, "I think it is safe."
"And also does not lead to the chamber." Tom said dejectedly.
"Hey this cavity might have another opening somewhere. It is a start." Cordelia shrugged, "I think we need to stand outside the coil."
"OPEN" Tom hissed once they stood outside the coils of the snake.
The centremost coil begun descending until the rest of the coils followed it in a spiral. It was a staircase.
They exchanged looks.
Cordelia created more light orbs and sent them along the stairs.
"You are not going first, it could be dangerous." Tom stopped her as she begun to step towards the staircase.
She nodded, 'Together."
He nodded and grasped her hand tightly as they both took the first step together. The stairs were wide enough to do that.
Tom's POV
"There is absolutely nothing here. We have been walking for about 15 minutes since the stairs ended." Tom muttered agitatedly.
"Be patient, Tom. I reckon that this is just a passageway, like the other secret ones in the castle, only this one requires parseltongue instead of a password." Cordelia muttered.
"That is a possibility." Tom nodded, his disappointment ebbing away slightly.
A few minutes later.
'This is a deadend." Cordelia muttered.
"Or there is another trapdoor, this time above us." Tom said pointedly, looking above and throwing a large lumos on the ceiling.
"Scalarium appearo." She quickly muttered and a ladder appeared.
"How do you know all these spells?" Tom muttered.
"Household charms. I like learning them even though most people think that they will never be useful considering elves do all the work for us. But they come in handy." She muttered.
Tom climbed up the ladder and pushed the door.
"It is jammed.' He muttered, "Pondus expello." He muttered at the trapdoor.
"Nice one." Cordelia murmured in approval.
He then easily pushed the trapdoor and put it aside.
He climbed out. As Cordelia was climbing out, Tom's urgent voice called, "Stay where you are Cordelia, this opens into the forbidden forest."
"I am coming." Cordelia snorted and climbed out to stare at the thick canopy of the forest.
"It is not a safe time to be in the forest. It is around 10 if not later." Tom muttered.
"We will go back Tom. It is not as if I am asking for a rendezvous in the forest." She said sarcastically, holding her wand steady.
"I was just saying..." Tom muttered.
"We should go before we grab attention. We will come later and try and plot our distance from the school. This is a much shorter passage. If we walk through grounds, it takes at least 40 minutes to get to the edge of the forest and we seem to have gone in deeper within 25 minutes." She quickly said.
"You are right." He muttered, "On both accounts. Let us go."
They both climbed down, Tom pulled the trapdoor stone back in place.
"We cannot leave it like this. What is somebody tries to sneak in the castle? I know you need parseltongue, but still… After the dementors." Tom quickly said.
'You are right. I will ward it. I will need help though." She nodded.
"Show me." He said.
"I will say the incantation but we need two wands. You need to move your wand such that we are creating a helix and we need to go around in the square. It is a fairly simple locking and notice me not ward." She directed.
They both did it.
Then Cordelia begun muttering spells, "Protego horribilis, Concelo essentia….."
Tom muttered a couple of jinxes and curses and placed them as well.
"That should do it." They said together and then laughed abruptly.
Cordelia's POV
"I saw the aurors in the entrance hall." Abraxas informed Tom and Cordelia as he sat down for breakfast.
"About time." Cordelia muttered darkly, "Dumbledore and Dippet brought up some excuse about weekends and delayed the entire call. Old coot and his gullible master."
Tom hid a smile and Alphard sniggered openly. Abraxas chuckled.
"I will go and see Charlie. You guys have not allowed me outside the dungeons with your watch. You coming, Dory?" Cordelia asked.
"I was with him last night, go ahead. I have an essay to finish." Dorea said distractedly.
'I will come." Tom immediately said.
Cordelia gave him a dubious look but Tom pretended that it was completely normal for him to go to Gryffindor table and greet the Lions. She did not say anything though.
Cordelia's POV
"Oh, no, it was a well-played plot move. Today is Monday, therefore the Professors can possibly deny us leave from their classes." Cordelia told the lions as they all collectively speculated what Dumbledore could have gained from the delay.
"That is a good point." Sebastian said. Brendon nodded eagerly. Charlie was in deep thought.
"We can always invoke the law regarding obstruction of justice against said Professors." Tom pointed out astutely.
"We can and we will, that is if Dumbledore drops that low. How did Lord Potter take it? I can say that Blacks, Longbottoms and Malfoys are not pleased, nor are Burke, Nott and Travers." Cordelia asked, "Aunt Callidora specifically wrote to me to ask if I could ward yours and Brendon's beds, Ian." She addressed both the heirs.
"He is worried, not as much as mother, but very worried. He almost came to the school but there were two major wizangomot sessions that were scheduled abruptly." Charlie shrugged, "But he is grateful to you. He asked me to pass on his regards and thanks. We are indebted, Cordelia."
Cordelia just made a tsk noise, "I did what my honour dictated. I do not think you would sat idle had anything happened to me Charlie, so stop putting me on a pedestal."
"Mum wrote to me too. If you can put up wards, please do that. She was quite insistent." Sebastian confessed.
"I can. I will do it after classes today, but stay vigilant, stay in groups, even if it means staying with members of other houses." Cordelia nodded and warned.
"Grab hold of any Slytherin if you feel you are unsafe or alone." Tom also proposed.
"Yeah, we can float the word in the house. This is a 'pureblood' cause, Slytherins will be supportive." Cordelia quickly picked on Tom's cue. Truthfully, it would be Tom's explicit orders but the rest of the school was not yet aware of the hierarchy of the school. It was better if it stayed that way until his inheritance.
Tom and her eyes met and their eyes communicated effectively.
"That is generous." Brendon offered.
"This is bigger than any house rivalry." Tom answered.
"You speak the truth, Mr. Riddle." Charlie eyed him gratefully, "This is a grave matter indeed."
Even though Tom and Charlie had seen a lot of each other because of Dorea and Cordelia, they had not spoken much to each other except for the friendly jabbing before the Quidditch match. Tom inclined his head in response.
"Alright, we will meet each other either during the auror interviews, or I will see all of you after classes." Cordelia got up. Tom followed.
Cordelia's POV
The interviews with aurors and the investigation was a deadhole. There was no way that there could be residual evidence after two days of downpour and if any wand had held evidence, it had long been buried under numerous spells.
Cordelia had not even suggested that Renatus was a suspect, though she had given an account of her day and that had included her argument with Renatus over Charles Potter. She had given bare facts, her tone dry.
Though she had made a snide remark about school's administration and their slow and ignorant response.
The aurors had hung on her every word. The one investigating was the lead auror, his eyes had narrowed when she had mentioned her spat with Renatus but he did not comment or ask follow up questions. He just asked her memory of both the events, the spat and the match and Cordelia readily gave both.
Tom had stayed away from giving an interview, or giving too much information. Cordelia had advised that it was best that he stayed off the spotlight in ministry until the inheritance. Though he had very determinedly stayed during her interview, saying that Abraxas Malfoy had requested him to keep a watch over his cousin. The Aurors had readily bought up the fact that Heir Malfoy had ordered Tom to do something. He and Cordelia had shared a look. She had given him a cool, considering look. He thought she was playing the part of the pureblood heiress, but it still unsettled him. He was so used to her smiles.
As soon as they left, Cordelia had muttered, "I could not insinuate Renatus' name without proof. He is the heir of the house of Renatus. What I had said about Charlie's honour also applies to him. All we have is circumstantial evidence. If aurors had come down immediately and if people in stadium had been restrained where they were, then maybe we could have caught the culprit, but it is a long, long shot now. Damn Dumbledore, and damn this school. It is as if this place is cursed to cause injuries to its inhabitants."
"For some of us, it is home." Tom said in a clipped tone.
"It is home for me too, does not mean that I cannot hope for a safer home." Cordelia said lightly, "I did not mean to…I did not mean to insult Hogwarts. You do not realize how much it has come to mean to me in three months, definitely more than Beauxabatons came to mean to me in three years. I just do not like it when my loved ones are in danger. Whatever the reason might be, I have seen people get hurt here and I have seen the faculty stay silent about it. I have seen bullying and I have seen cruelty and I don't like seeing that in my home, our home. Dementors, Homicidal classmates, I don't think I want the list to grow any longer." Cordelia said, looking at his eyes.
Tom sighed, he put his hand on his eyes and shook his head, "I did not mean…I did not mean to…" He gave a helpless one shoulder shrug.
"I know. However it is, it is our home. And nobody likes to be told that their home is bad. I should have been more tactful with my words. I apologize." Cordelia said immediately in a tone of regret.
"You know, I am not an Erumpent Horn Lia. I should have understood. Stop taking blame and accountability for everything." Tom said sharply, "I am not that bad in controlling my anger. And if am, I should learn better control"
Cordelia hid a smile, "Very well. I concede, you should not have misinterpret my words. Your fault." She poked a finger in his chest.
Tom's face split in an involuntary smile and he rolled his eyes, "I apologize, Heiress Black."
"Well Heir Slytherin, I accept." Cordelia inclined her head playfully.
Cordelia's POV
It was evening and Cordelia had ventured into the library. She was hoping to find the records of the books that Lestrange had withdrawn and tally the spells in it with the grey befuddlement charm.
She had, as expected, found nothing. She logically knew that Lestrange likely had a very large library in his house and likely had the book there. In fact, she knew that he did because as heiress Black, June had received all the contents of the Lestrange vault. She had kept the books and artefacts but had split all the gold between rebuilding of Hogwarts and establishing places for war orphans.
She would have to examine the contents in her trunk today. She was slowly walking through the library, looking for a quiet place to sit, biting her lower lip slightly as she thought, when her eyes fell on an empty table.
Well, almost empty. Evelyn Adler sat there working on the next essay for History of magic by the looks of the books surrounding her.
Cordelia stopped the trail of her thoughts and her walking and went and sat across Evelyn decisively.
Evelyn got startled and she accidentally shoved her inkpot and spilled the ink across the table.
"Tergeo" Cordelia said evenly and the ink vanished before it did any harm.
"Thank you." Evelyn said softly.
"I think that was my fault more than yours. I apologize for startling you." Cordelia said calmly.
She wanted to help this girl but something about her also annoyed Cordelia to the core. Just like Hermione got on Juniper's Nerves, she reminded herself and without wasting any emotion on it she looked straight ahead.
'We never got to chat. I thought I would break the ice. Where do you live, Ms. Adler?" She asked.
"It is Evelyn." She muttered hesitantly and lowered her eyes.
'Evelyn then. Where do you live?" Cordelia was still giving a business like look.
'Why are you interested?" Evelyn whispered back, but with a little force.
Now, that amused Cordelia, so the girl did have a backbone.
"Nothing, just small talk. I live in France in Black Chateau in country. It is unplottable so I cannot tell you where it is." She shrugged with a little smile.
"I lived in Wales, but we are moving to London this year." Evelyn replied.
"I did not hear a welsh tongue on you." She asked promptly.
"My governess was a Londoner." Evelyn replied, "before…"
"Before you got the Hogwarts letter…"Cordelia finished, "That must have been a difficult decision for you, considering your affluent status in muggle world."
"How do you know that?" Evelyn wondered.
"I am just observant. Your clothes and your mannerisms gave you away, but who am I lecturing? You are pretty observant yourself, aren't you?" Cordelia opened her book and then looked at her as she passed her final comment.
Evelyn's mouth was hanging open.
"Oh, C'mon Evelyn, what would your mother say? A hanging mouth is unbecoming of a young lady." Cordelia tutted, and then gave her mischievous smile.
Evelyn closed her mouth but she was extremely flustered.
"I am not spying on you, don't worry. I just happen to read Muggle newspapers and your father was featured in the London Times as the new advisor to the Prime Minister. He had an uncanny resemblance to you and in further pages, I also found a family picture. It just made me wonder how your presence at Hogwarts year around is being explained. It could not have been easy. I would have apologized for my nosiness if you were not keeping such a close eye on me and Tom." Cordelia gave her a knowing look.
"What do you mean?" Evelyn gathered courage.
"Believe me, I feel it when someone watches me. Trained myself that way, you see. Even though, you have been discreet. So, I wanted to know what I did to warrant your attention." Cordelia asked conversationally, and added as an afterthought "Beside the fact that I did not erase your memory."
There was a looming silence. Evelyn did not speak and Cordelia regarded her carefully.
"I was just curious. You are unusual, different from the purebloods…"Evelyn said faintly.
"Yet, you have trouble believing my niceness, don't you?" Cordelia nodded.
Evelyn did not say anything but met Cordelia's eyes fleetingly.
"Thought so…" Cordelia said, perusing her lips, "I don't have nefarious intentions. Believe me. I just happen to not belong to this century. It is just difficult to adjust."
"Yes, you are quite forward, aren't you?" Evelyn blurted.
"Now, there is the courage…you have been keeping things from me..," Cordelia said in a sing-song voice.
"I did not mean to…" Evelyn began but Cordelia cut her off, "Relax, Evelyn. I am not going to hold anything against you. Being careful is a necessity and I admit, I am unusual and warrant some observation. You did not commit a crime. I am just annoyed at somebody else and am taking it out on you. I apologize." Cordelia said firmly.
"You found the person who hurt Charles Potter…"Evelyn whispered.
"I know who he is. I just do not have proof." Cordelia said bitterly.
"Can I help?" Evelyn asked, her eyes curious.
"It is a pureblood matter. For your health and safety, I would recommend you to stay away from it right now. But I appreciate the offer." Cordelia shook her head.
"Be careful…"Evelyn blurted.
"What do you know?' Cordelia asked with interest.
Evelyn looked hesitant. Cordelia looked at her patiently.
Evelyn hesitantly whispered, "Lestrange watches you…he does not look happy. I have rarely seen such hatred in someone's eyes."
"Oh, Renatus, he does not have a subtle bone is his body. How did he end up in Slytherin? I am careful. Do not worry and do not repeat this to anybody. I can deal with Lestrange, you probably won't be able to." Cordelia mocked Lestrange and then added seriously.
Evelyn nodded.
For the next hour, as the two girls pretended to work where in reality, their minds were racing. Cordelia was thinking of nabbing Renatus and Evelyn was getting scared at the prospect of what would Lestrange do.
Whoohoo! Another chapter! I have been unable to respond to the reviews. But I hope this is more actions than dialogues (one of you pointed that out, so thanks).
And please, please point out typos and grammatical errors. I try and do not make them but I would appreciate if you helped me correct it.
The first three updates have been reedited, so if you would like to go back and give them a read, do that. There is no change in content but they flow better.
Please Review.
