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) This is a gender bender. 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
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For your references
"Talk"
"Thought"
"Parseltongue"
Chapter 22: The Goblins
Tom's POV
Tom was feeling a bit uneasy. Cordelia was staring at him. Not just staring, it was as if she was analyzing his every body part.
She hummed and then began to slash and streak her wand on the casual silk robes she had on bed.
She apparently carried robes of all sorts in free sizes inside her trunk.
She was just adjusting the size for him.
In her words, the tailoring would not be professional, but it will do. As if Tom was complaining.
It was a Bottle Green robe.
She herself was wearing a matching robe. Hers just matched with her eyes and had slightly feminine sleeves along with silver and gold accents streaking the robes on edges.
"Put this on… I will take out our cloaks. Nobody should be able to recognize us in the alley. We are flooing to Leaky Cauldron. I have asked the goblins to serve us breakfast between the inheritance and the emancipation ritual." She muttered.
"They will serve us breakfast." Tom gave her a surprised and questioning look.
"They are nice creatures. Deviousness is a natural element of goblins. They see gold everywhere. But they value respect, honor, loyalty, ambition, bravery. I just understand them. I also learnt Gobbledegook so that I could speak with them in their language. They consider that as a sign of honorable intentions. They help me out when they can. They are just general manipulators. It is in their nature." She muttered, holding up the robe.
Tom was, time and time again, taken aback by her easy acceptance of everything. This quality of her was novel. Still thinking, Tom put it on his sleek pants and white shirt.
She had popped the trunk open and had pulled out two long and wide black cloaks.
"We would look very suspicious in them." Tom immediately said.
"Yes, but we won't stand out. Most purebloods go to the Bank like this when they want something done secretly." She informed, putting on her cloak and pulling the hood over her head. Tom could still see her eyes though.
He nodded, pulling the cloak over himself as well. Suddenly, he remembered something. The fee for the rituals.
He had saved enough for the genealogical one, because that was all he knew about but…
He decided to ask.
Cordelia gave him a look, "Goblins are waiving it off. You will be opening one of the most loaded vaults back up. And I certainly give them a lot of business."
Tom did not say anything.
"Don't be embarrassed." She softly said. She was lacing her cloak from behind. It looked like a complicated knot.
Tom looked up. He was surprised that she caught him. But then he wondered why he was surprised at all.
"Not having money is nothing to be ashamed about. Frankly, I think the world would be a better place if people stopped being so proud of their money. I know it makes life easier. I know it has a lot of pull but it is material Tom. It can never give you the things you should be really proud of. It won't give you your magic or your brilliance, or your leadership or political shrewdness. It won't give you your goodness, your heart or your strength. It won't give you true friends or followers. It won't give you the vision to create something better. It is a fleeting thing. I know it is a very important means to achieve things and you will have ample money from today but your money does not determine your worth. At least, not to me." She said seriously.
"What did I do to get you?" Tom murmured. His eyes were glistening again.
"Now, now….don't be so emotional. We have places to be, work to do..." Cordelia gave him a mock reprimand.
Tom chuckled. Cordelia rolled her eyes, smiled and offered her hand, "C'mon."
Tom's POV
Diagon Alley sure looked different in winters. There was snow off the pavement. Most of the shops were not open. Perhaps getting a late start because of the cold weather.
Tom himself was feeling a bit warm.
The other Tom, the proprietor of leaky Cauldron was friendly with Cordelia. He had insisted that they drink hot cocoa before stepping out.
There were five minutes in their appointment and they were almost at the steps of Gringotts.
This would not be Tom's first time in there. He had entered this bank each summer to collect his student fund.
But today that warning, 'Enter stranger, Take heed' did not seem so hostile. He was entitled. He had something of his inside and he would have its ownership soon.
There was still some rush in the bank.
According to Cordelia, people were getting out funds for the Christmas presents and greetings. The pureblood families always sent token to most other pureblood families. Allies, family, friends, children, servants.
They had a long list and they needed a big haul.
That made Tom think. He would need presents too. He had never received one, nor given one. He might not receive one this time either. His eyes fell on Cordelia. He reconsidered. There was no way she was leaving a chance to give him presents. But he had presents to give. He would be staying with the Blacks and Malfoys. He needed to reciprocate. He could get tokens for his court members. And Cordelia. He had to get her something…If he got his money, that is.
But he shook himself out of the thoughts for they had reached a dais with a goblin.
"Merry met Master Goblin, my acquaintance and I have an appointment with Department of Blood and Lineage. My account manager Rook must have arranged it. Could you please inform him of my presence here and lend us an escort to the department?" Cordelia said kindly but not without assertiveness.
He did not understand how she was so kind.
"Yes, my lady. He will be informed and you will have your escort. Hornclaw, lead them to the Department of blood and Lineage. " The Goblin took one look at Cordelia's face and called forth a teller.
Once they were inside the maze of Gringotts Corridor, Cordelia removed her hood. Her hair was tied in a tight bun. Tom followed her move.
His heartbeat was increasing and he could feel the wetness of sweat even in this cold weather….Tom was nervous. He suddenly felt Cordelia's fingers interlacing with his firmly.
Well, he would brave it for her.
Cordelia's POV
Tom looked occupied when they walked out of Gringotts. As if a hundred thoughts were troubling him.
He had been ecstatic at first, at hearing the goblet accept his claim to the Lordship. He had a satisfied expression as the magic wrapped around his ring finger and the ring of Slytherin appeared, gleaming distinctly in the rays of sun that escaped from the window of the ritual room of Goblins.
But now, he looked like something was bothering him, not just a little, but a lot.
She still had his fingers interlaced in hers and she tightened her grip on him, making him look up to her.
She jerked her head to silently ask what was bothering him.
Tom sighed, "I once thought that things would get much simpler if I got my inheritance. They are anything but. I have to do so much. Take care of the vast Slytherin finances, hire lawyers, appoint an account manager, create an inventory of everything in the vaults, take care of the alliances….And I know so little. I mean I have read books about financial maintenance and stuff… but it is just so much. I don't even know if the alliances are still alive or where to find those creatures or families….understandably their names have changed over time…." Tom looked overwhelmed.
Cordelia did not bother about the crowd. They were covered in their cloaks anyway. Tom was engulfed in a hug, "And you need to realize that no one expects you to do wonders in a couple of hours. These things take time Tom. Even I who has been preparing to know the Black dealings inside out had taken years to come to a level where I am competent. And that is when my family and elders have a record of everything and are ready to assist me. You are figuring it out for the first time, in a long while. It is going to be fine. We have 20 days, we will at least accomplish something…. And if we don't, it is okay. You have until you are 17, that is when you 'need' to claim all your seats. Right now, the emancipation is just a way to get you away from the hellhole. " She muttered.
She never called it orphanage. It was not one. It was a forced cage for Tom and she understood that.
She felt tom's arms around her waist. He did not say anything, but his arms told her that he was, at least, considering her words.
"People will eat me alive…" Tom said reluctantly.
"There is no way they can do that, Tom. You are powerful, you are underestimating yourself. You can play the pureblood game with aces and come out at top. I am saying that we have time till your 17th but the truth is we will have it done by the end of this school year…." Cordelia argued back, looking him in the eye, "And they won't be able to do it anyway, because if they even try, I will fry them and serve them up to lions…" She said unabashedly.
The last bit, as she had thought, made Tom laugh.
"And where would you get the lions?" He teased her.
"Let me see…Father has some trading relations in India and Africa…I am sure I could buy some. I, anyway, think that the dungeons of Black manor are quite dull. I am sure I can convince my family." She said drily.
That sent Tom into another chuckle, "And Lions can brighten up the dungeons. Why not snakes?" He asked lightly.
"That is a good idea. We should unleash both Lions and Snakes. They are a formidable combination." She said in a determined voice.
"Not as formidable as you." Tom bent down and pecked her forehead to show how grateful he was.
"Of Course, they aren't…" She said sarcastically but leaned into him but then seriously said, 'I know I was supposed to tell you the blood thing, but we don't have time. We quickly need to buy you a few things before a search party arrives for me…" She said regretfully.
"Do you see me complaining?" Tom lightly asked.
She just rolled her eyes and dragged him away.
Tom's POV
They spent the next hour buying necessities as Cordelia put it, including clothing, of all forms, night wear, casual wears, formal wears, semi-formal wears, pants, shirts and underclothes. Cordelia had been picking fabrics, comparing color tones, materials and textures and placing them against Tom's skin tone.
But after they had gone into an alley and emerged without their cloaks.
She said Tom still needed a full wardrobe, but she would rather have her French seamstress do the rest for Tom. Tom could not imagine what a full wardrobe would look like. She had bought at least 30 robes and that did not even account for quarter of the wardrobe that Tom needed according to her.
They had bought a basic compartment trunk divided into a wardrobe, library and a large shelfed room for other Knick knacks. Apparently, the shopkeeper here was incapable of producing one like Cordelia. Cordelia said it was better to have two anyway. That way one could be a secret like hers.
Apparently, no one in her family knew about her secondary trunk. Cordelia had told him that happily with that mischievous smile.
Tom had wanted to ask her if she told her family anything. Like anything? But that did not mean that he was not heartened by her trust in him. She told him before she told her family, if she would tell them anything at all.
They spent part of the hour in the Apothecary and part in Flourish and Blotts.
Cordelia was determined for him to have everything available to him.
She also ordered high end stationaries, which included very expensive personalized quills, from another shop.
There were two other Book shops but she said they should save them for later. She would like to browse a little more leisurely.
She then proceeded to enter a shop that sold dragon hide products.
She bought several holsters. Half a dozen for him but few more, as she needed to send token gifts to people.
Next thing they bought were dragon hide boots. Another dozen of them.
"Well, they need to coordinate with your robes…." Cordelia gave him a look when he was about to protest, "Consider them my gift if you don't wish to spend on them."
That Tom had not allowed. For the first time, he could afford everything and he was not letting her pay.
He was carrying around a Gringotts bag of endless Galleons which was linked to one of his vaults.
Tom put an end to the shopping spree when he saw Cordelia's features getting pale. Her smiles and her cheeky mood had made him forget that she had just woken up from a grievous injury and they had not slept that long in the night. She had slept even less.
She had not protested, "Well, I assume we can come back for other stuff. We have the essentials. Let us have some ice cream…" She declared.
"It is cold…" Tom pointed out.
She just gave him a look that said you better not argue with me over ice cream.
"Okay, we will have ice cream…" Tom murmured in defeat.
So another half an hour later, Tom and Cordelia were sitting by the ice cream parlor and eating ice cream.
Cordelia was on her third sundae and munching the nuts happily. Tom was grudgingly on his second.
He liked ice cream, despite the cold.
Tom only remembered that Cordelia was not supposed to be out when a house elf popped next to them in some while and addressed Cordelia, "Mistress Corrie, the family is worried. They are on their way here. I came to warn you as you asked me to."
"Thank you Cherry. Now disappear before they see you. Can you prepare the guest room on the second floor of the manor, the one at the end? It will be for the rest of the break. Earth colors and neutrals and stock up on the toiletries. Tell Rigby, it is on my orders." Cordelia lightly patted her lips with the napkin.
She had just finished her sundae, a little after Tom finished his.
"I better pay the guy. They will most likely drag me home." Cordelia got up.
"I already did." Tom informed her, 'When we ordered."
"You should not have…" Cordelia admonished him.
"I owed you a treat, at least…" Tom raised his brow.
"Very well, Lord Slytherin…" Cordelia smiled at him.
Tom liked the sound of Lord Slytherin but it did not stop him from being honest, "I will always be Tom for you, Lia."
Cordelia's POV
Her uncle was glaring at her.
If Cordelia had not trained in composure, she would have laughed outright at his expression. She was currently wrapped in her mother's arm who also had arrived with her two Uncles (Arcturus and Hyperion), her Father, Orion, Alphard and Abraxas.
Her three cousins had been surprised to see Tom beside her but the adults were not paying them any attention. Their glares were set on her and Tom. Well, except for her mother and Uncle Rion.
Abraxas had relaxed after some time. He had likely linked the dots together in his head.
They were all currently standing in the hall of the Leaky Cauldron.
Her Uncle and Father's furious expression had sent the crowd scurrying. Even the proprietor had left the hall. And it was now laced in layers of privacy and silencing charms.
"I am fine…" She whispered to her mother, gently rubbing her shoulders.
Her mother gave her a dubious glance.
"Cordelia, this is highly rebellious. You were supposed to be in your bed, sleeping. Instead, you wandered off, to Diagon Alley of all the places. I did not expect such irresponsible shenanigans from you." Arcturus scolded with gritted teeth.
Her father was about to say something but Arcturus was not letting anyone speak.
That irritated Cordelia. He might be the head of family but he had no right to ignore her father like that.
"Well, I was feeling a bit peachy. I suppose I woke up earlier than I was meant to. I thought going out might change it, so I flooed over. I realized I had no money so went to Gringotts, I just happened to find Tom there. We spent some time in the shops under the heavy cloaks. I was perfectly safe since nobody could recognize me. He was keeping an eye on me. And then we had some ice cream because I wanted to and we were about to come to the manor. Completely safe." She explained leisurely.
"Cordelia…"Her uncle said in a warning tone.
"What did you mean by 'we'?" It was Altair Black who asked.
Cordelia ignored the smug smiles of Abraxas and Uncle Rion.
She instead pointedly looked at her father.
When he looked sheepish, she understood that her sarcastic message of 'Thank you so much for your help' had reached him.
Her uncle understandably missed all her talk with her father. The Father-daughter duo was used to secret public conversations after all. Instead, he looked miffed, "Answer him Cordelia. Who are we?"
"Oh, I thought it was quite obvious..." She took a dig at him and her amusement rose at her mother and Uncle Rion's sly smiles, "I invited Tom to spend the break with us at Black manor. I understand that Abraxas had planned to spend the break with him but due to unforeseen circumstances, they both dropped the plan in light of what happened to me. I simply could not allow their plan to go awry. So, since I ran into Tom in Gringotts today, I immediately took the opportunity to invite him. And fortunately, he had his luggage at hand in Leaky Cauldron." She smiled demurely at her uncle.
Sure, the farce would not last long but Cordelia had not technically lied. Tom's school trunk was packed and left in the inn. Alright, she had not lied too much. But well, she lied all the time.
"Cordelia, it is not safe.' Her uncle said pointedly.
"I believe that Uncle Rion told you about the oaths." Cordelia insisted.
"I do not understand how you could be taking this so lightly. You nearly died, Cordelia. And you insist on acting like a child. This is not the heiress I appointed. Think about the family." Arcturus argued.
"I am thinking about the family." Cordelia said forcefully. She considered Tom family. And her Uncle had made her raving mad now.
"Oh please explain to me how? You….." Her Uncle was forced to trail off because Cordelia interrupted him, "Accidents happen, Uncle. There are things beyond control. You can work your best to prevent them but they are a perennial inevitability. We knew that my life was in danger. I had people accompanying me to every place. Abraxas had me under a shield under that time. Not to mention that I was wearing my magic like a cloak. I did not expect that a blithering idiot, because he clearly does not know spell work, would cast a Stupefy Maxima on me. It addles the brain if it does not kill directly. I did not presume that a student would cast such a curse and go scot-free because the Auror department is that incompetent. Or maybe the Blacks don't carry as much influence as they like to portray. I am liking Britain less and less…" She spat, and continued, "But to insinuate that I am careless, as a person or as the heiress is an insult that I won't take silently. I, once I was made the heiress, had a will made ready. I am sure every 14 year old has the forethought of that. I also made contingencies, in case I was not dead but unable to perform my duties. You are welcome to ask Dorea if she received a missive from Gringotts or not. I appointed her as the interim Heiress. I have also been carrying out all my duties, as assigned by the family doctrine. I don't think that you have the right to call me irresponsible in light of that. Just because you all smothered me yesterday and upset me by insinuating that you would cage me within the house for private tutoring, I felt like I needed to get away. And I took precautions. I asked Cherry to put an elf shield over me. I was safe….." Cordelia had expected Tom to go rigid at the Hogwarts bit and he did.
"And it is not like that I am not coming back…three hours Uncle. Surely, I could be trusted to keep out of trouble in that." She spat again and she was planning to continue when a hand grabbed her arm gently. She knew that touch. It was Tom.
She turned to face him stoically.
"You might want to go easy on your Uncle, Lia. He looks properly chastised. And I think after you are done, your mother will have a word with him. She looks really angry." Tom hissed.
"Well, he can't get away with screaming at me like that…." Cordelia hissed back angrily.
"I don't think that anyone can leave unscathed after yelling at you..." Tom said wryly, "I just think that he has seen your confident side sufficiently to tie his tongue for a while. We should use the opportunity."
"Aren't we already? I am pretty sure that all the adults look ready to faint…" Cordelia quipped. It was a brilliant move by Tom. Talking in parseltongue was a perfect starter for the conversation about Tom's heritage as it saved so much explanation.
They both turned their heads away from each other to look at her Father and Uncles. They really did look like that cat got their tongue.
Her mother looked better. Just another proof that women were better at composure than men. She was instantly reminded of Draco, Sid and Ronald respectively. She nearly scoffed.
"You are a parselmouth." Her Uncle 'Arty' said, looking at Tom.
"Way to state the obvious, old man…"Cordelia muttered.
She was sure Tom was having a hard time hiding his grin.
Tom nodded.
"Cordelia, how could you?" her Uncle began again and then, Cordelia lost it.
"We both took the equal loyalty oath. Your family secret is safe." She said tartly. She was sure he did not care about her well being.
"Cordelia revealed it to me under extenuating circumstances," Tom began and Cordelia's eye met Alphard's, who thankfully looked abashed.
"She explained that she was no threat to my inheritance from Slytherin and well, we are allies…" Tom said simply.
"Slytherin..." Her Uncle muttered as if he had trouble comprehending.
As for the rest of the family, the faces were composed. Especially her cousins.
"I am the new Lord." Tom said carelessly.
She had told him that he was a natural. She turned around to give him a huge momentary beam before turning back with her haughty expression.
"You are a half blood." Her uncle said with accusation.
"Does not change the fact that the other half of my blood, which matters, is Slytherin or that I am wearing the Lord ring in my ring finger, Lord Black." Tom shot back.
Good. The only way you could get a pureblood to respect you was by showing that you had a backbone.
There was a dangerous silence for the next couple of minutes.
Tom had very subtly reminded her Uncle that both of them were at the same station despite Tom's age. In fact, Tom had an edge because he was the Lord of the founding family of one of the most prestigious magical schools in the world.
"You are 14. You cannot be a Lord." Her Uncle came up with a weak comeback.
"Well, we always have emancipation. In Slytherin's case, he did not even need that. The basic age for lordship in some really old families is 13. I am way over that." Tom swiftly informed.
It was the truth. Cordelia had not told this to Tom because she as a Black was not supposed to know this teensy detail. She had instead proposed emancipation.
"Of course, I am considered emancipated by default." Tom added.
There was a quiet silence.
"I really don't mean to cause trouble Lord Black. Abraxas and I had planned to spend the break together and Lord Malfoy had generously agreed. I declined his invitation in light of what happened to Cordelia. I did not think that it would be proper. But Cordelia was insistent. We need to work on some parselmagic techniques. Of course, we can do it in school but we were hoping to use the vacations. Since, she is well and on her way to recovery, I personally don't see a point of contention. I could, of course, take oaths to ensure safety of your family. However, the amount of oaths between Cordelia and I make them redundant. We cannot hurt each other because of our truce. And I assure you that Cordelia included her entire family in the protection oath. According to her, hurting her family is hurting her. You should really give her more credit, Sir." Tom said with a quiet confidence.
"Of course, I would understand if I am not welcome. I can make other arrangements for myself. However, I should warn you that revealing my heritage would cause anyone in your family a lot of pain. A curse took effect as soon as it was revealed to you. I plan to keep it under wraps until the war with Grindelwald blows over or I reach 17." Tom continued. He, very carefully did not mention how he cast the curse.
Cordelia had been ready to take oaths but Tom had reminded her of the tongue tying curse instead. She had still taken oaths. It would prevent her members from speaking about it without actively harming them. They just would not be able to speak about it.
Of course, they did not need to know that. They will just attribute it to the curse.
"There will be no need of other arrangements, Mr. Riddle or do you prefer Lord Slytherin?" It was Hyperion Malfoy who spoke.
"Riddle is fine, Lord Malfoy.' Tom nodded.
"I promised to host you this winter and I will see that the promise is fulfilled. Abraxas and I will move back to Malfoy Manor. You can stay with us. I am sure Cordelia would like to visit and will not be banned, considering both of you are hoping to learn more about a lost art." He offered.
It was a bait. Cordelia knew that and she knew that Tom understood. Uncle Rion had just threatened to take the Heir of Slytherin away from the Head of the house of Black and Uncle Arty would never permit that.
He would want the influence of Lord Slytherin for himself.
"That won't be necessary. I abhor that you are making me out to be irrational for my just fears regarding Cordelia's security. Mr. Riddle is welcome to join all of us at Black manor. However, as redundant as it may seem, I would still prefer an oath." He looked directly at Riddle.
"I, Lord of the House of Slytherin, swear on my magic that no harm will come to the guests and family of Cordelia Faye Black, including her for my stay at Black Manor in the winter break of 1942 should I be promised same." Magic swirled around Tom.
Cordelia wanted to chortle. She now knew why her cousins were tongue tied about Tom's inheritance. Tom was very specific about the oaths he took and gave.
And to top it off, he had made her the primary of the oath and not her Uncle. It really did not change anything except denote that Tom valued her more than her Uncle.
Tom had also not used his name. He had taken her advice about his middle name seriously.
She looked at her Uncle for permission. She did not want to but it was an obligation. He nodded.
"I Cordelia Faye Black, Heiress to the House of Black, accept the terms of Lord Slytherin and offer him the protection and hospitality of House of Black for the winter break of 1942. So mote it be" She said in her musical voice.
"So mote it is." Tom agreed. Magic entered everyone present but most of it went into Tom and her.
Cordelia was looking paler though. She leant back and Tom caught her to support her.
"You should sit down. You should not have involved yourself in this excitement." He gently said. The ice from his eyes had vanished at her condition.
She nodded and together her mother and Tom shifted her to a seat. Tom's palm did not leave her shoulder.
"I assume you have questions for me but I am afraid that they need to wait. Cordelia needs her bed." Tom did not look at them, as he cast Aguamenti silently into the glass he conjured and offered it to Cordelia.
She took it. She was really feeling dizzy.
Tom's POV
Cordelia's father took her to the Black Manor with a Side-along apparition. The rest of them flooed into the Black manor.
He received nods from Orion and Alphard. He knew that he had won Alphard over because of how he took care of Cordelia in both of her injuries.
Abraxas just nudged him as they were walking together to floo. They both shared a triumphant smile before flooing over to the Black manor.
He decided to write to Abraxas Malfoy in favor of sharing a grateful public gesture.
Once Tom entered the manor, he realized it was ostentatious. But he also got why Lia did not like it too much there.
It was a lot stiffer than anything he associated with her. Lia was smiles and spring. That cottage that they had stayed in her suited her but not this.
Cordelia had apparently been taken to bed. Dorea and Lucretia and Cordelia's mother (Tom was not sure what to call her, maybe Madame Black would work.) had fussed over her, given her potions and put her to bed. Her appointment with the healer had been shifted to 4 in the evening.
They had thankfully left her in peace.
Lord Black had looked miffed at that but a single glare from Adelaide Malfoy had silenced him.
He had a room on the second floor. That was where every kid of House of Black had a room. Although their rooms were in the west wing, he was at the juncture of where east met west and only Cordelia's room was on the east.
Apparently, she preferred a morning sun over evening sun and had thrown a fit as a child about it.
It was Dorea who told him that as she and Orion led him to his room.
It was their home.
Black Manor was the house of Arcturus Black and his family. Apparently, the other Blacks lived in a London Manor house, while Cordelia's parents lived in Black Chateau in France.
Dorea had a wistful expression as she talked about the Chateau in France.
"That place is like Corrie. Light, free, airy and absolutely delightful. The weather is also really nice…" Orion said informing.
They had, of course, congratulated him on his Lordship once they were safely inside his designated room.
"Don't mind Father. He is a little shaken by what happened to Cordelia. He is even more perturbed because the aurors have been unable to find anything. And he is also a little orthodox about the relation between a head and an heir or heiress…"Dorea told him.
Tom hid a smile at that. That is what Cordelia had said, but she had used a less kind word.
"His view on traditions is obsolete…"She had muttered as they were having ice-cream.
"We are not meeting formally for luncheon. Everybody is a little tired. An elf will serve you in the room. If you need to communicate with any of us, just call an elf and he will inform us." Dorea was a perfect hostess.
Tom nodded and thanked her and Orion.
As soon as they had left, Cordelia's elf Cherry popped into his form.
"Is she fine?" Tom asked in alarm.
"Yes, she is okay, Master Slytherin. She wanted me to give you this." She handed Tom an envelope.
It was a letter.
It was not Cordelia's handwriting but something mechanical. A dictation quill, perhaps.
Dear Tom,
I am sorry I am not there to greet you or get you adjusted. But I am too exhausted right now. I would have tried to stay up but I thought it would displease you as well as my family. I did not want to risk that.
Your room is closer to mine. I asked Cherry to arrange it for you. I hope it is fine. I should be up before evening since I have a healer's appointment. I hope they give me a clean slate. I hate being tied to my bed.
Tom snorted at that. Tied to bed! When did she ever obey decrees which bound her to bed?
I have asked Cherry to put an elf ward around the room so you will be safe if Uncle tries something untoward. Although, he shouldn't. Father, Mother and Uncle Rion will have his head. You have not met Uncle Polly and Aunt Ariel and Cassy. We should see them at dinner but I will be around and we can discuss it before the dinner. Although, I believe I provided you with enough background to be able to deal with them with tact without my presence.
Once I am cleared of my health ailment, I should be able to put a parseltongue ward around your room which will make it impervious. I was experimenting with wards and parseltongue before Hogwarts and I believe they will work like magic.
Eat Lunch properly. Don't hesitate to ask for something. Call Cherry if you need anything (I asked her to obey you too) and don't wander off. The Manor is a maze and there are some parts that are cursed. I don't want you to be caught in them and it will only raise Uncle's suspicion. And try and take some rest, you looked awful yesterday. I know you have not been sleeping.
I shall see you in the evening.
Love,
Lia
p.s. Since this is an unplottable magical property, you can do magic despite being underage. But you should be able to do it anyway because of the emancipation. So, you can put your own security spells should you wish.
Tom folded the letter carefully, thanked Cherry and looked around the room.
It was lighter than the rest of manor. Probably Cordelia's doing.
The window was open. He decided to change into Pajamas and try to sleep. He was uncertain about whether he will be able to sleep.
But when he lied down on the bed, he distinctly smelled Cordelia in the room. He did not know how, but before he knew, he was adrift.
I have been writing longer chapters than usual for some odd reason. But I don't mind you and I don't think you guys do it either.
I know people are waiting for this kiss. They have to safely get through the break first and there is Christmas. It will Tom's first where he gets celebrate. I am assuming Cordelia will make it memorable with her planning. And NO, she does not plan to seduce him.
This is the first betaed chapter. I have to thank mangoarcher1802 for taking up the task.
I did not go into the proceedings of Gringotts because they would have made a large and rather dull description. Most of the important stuff is in this chapter. A little would be revealed in conversations between Cordelia and Tom.
Yes, Lord Black will be an antagonist of sorts for the duration of this fic. He is not evil. He is just set in his ways.
Hope you liked the chapter. PLEASE REVIEW.
