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 24
Dawn of Walpurgis
Cordelia's POV
She had just finished her bath and other rituals. She was currently standing right outside her Uncle Arcturus' study. She and Tom had managed to talk right after breakfast. Both of them had agreed that appeasing her Uncle's ego was a necessity. Otherwise, he would prove to be a problem. She would need to keep her temper in check and well, also her fierce need to defend and protect Tom from her Uncle's probable mindless verbiage against him, which she was sure would come. If not today, then soon.
Cordelia morphed her set jaw to a more demure expression. She was not sure if she succeeded. But deciding that it must be better than nothing, she pulled the heavy snake shaped knocker and let it hit the Mahogany wood with a sharp clang.
"Enter," came her Uncle's austere reply.
She opened the heavy door a little. Strength was not Cordelia's strong suit, it was agility. But she was slim enough to enter through the small opening her arms has wedged between the door and the frame.
Arcturus was sitting and writing away with a quill. He did not look up. He did not need to. Family Magic would have already alerted him that it was her.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Cordelia?" He asked, looking up.
He did not look happy.
"I figured that my actions claim a more detailed explanation." She replied back. She did not smile but her stance was docile.
"And what would that explanation be?" Her uncle asked severely.
"One of the reasons why I wanted to come to Hogwarts was the illustrious history of Slytherins as parselmouths. I had hoped to find some clue to the gift the Naga gave me. Imagine my surprise when I entered the House of Slytherin and found that there was another parselmouth there. Quite probably the Heir of house Slytherin. I was furious with my cousins. They had known the fact or nearly 3 years and they had not spoken a word about it, not even a slightest hint. I knew that it was an oath. He had invoked Heir privilege. Meaning as soon as I was sorted to Slytherin, I was bound by an oath to keep his Heir status a secret." Cordelia told her Uncle. Of course, it was bullshit but her cousins would neither confirm nor deny her story. They were not allowed to speak about Tom to her Uncle.
"Since I did not know the specific wordings of the oath, I did not try to subvert. I am glad that I had the forethought because as you probably noticed, Tom is very specific about his oaths. He did not like me much even though I had not revealed my parselmouth status. I was too independent to bow. All the Blacks in the school are oath bound to him. Even I do not know the exact nature of his bond. But it did surprise me that none of them could find a way beyond their oath to warn us about him. Tom is formidable. Brilliant, as powerful as me if not more and has ancient blood. He is a force to reckon with now. I wondered what would the end be when he turns 17 and takes over the seats and political power of Slytherin. I spent much of the beginning of the year trying to come up with a way to warn the family. The only suitable way was if Tom let me tell you. So, I gained his trust. As he gained mine."
"As for the explanation, I am just going to say that it took me mere four months to tell you about Tom. At least I found a way to inform you, even if you disapprove of it. The oath prevents you from disclosing about him to anyone. It does not prevent you from using the knowledge in other ways." Cordelia gave him a pointed look.
"He has your trust?" Her uncle spoke with great difficulty. He was angry.
"He does. We became friends." Cordelia said simply.
"And what have you told your 'friend' about the House of Black?" Her uncle mocked.
"House of Black is my concern, not Tom's. He does not know anything he was not required to know." Cordelia knew that her tone was a little sharper now.
"And what did he require to know?" Her uncle asked her again.
"You should not have appointed me Heiress if you did not trust my abilities or discretion, Uncle. You have your allies, I have mine. I am not going to depend on your legacy alone. No, that would make me a very poor Heiress. I am going to build and add more to the legacy. I would just say that Black family magic approved." Cordelia replied sharply.
"As for Tom, well, he does not put his nose in the business that has nothing to do with him." She gave him a challenging look, "And I do not see how his lordship is yours? I was not harmed by him and he is no threat to us since he considers me and by extension House of Black a friend."
"Are you questioning me Cordelia?" Her Uncle asked dangerously.
"Yes, I believe I am. What is a Lord if the Heiress cannot even pose him a simple question? But today I am just taking cues from you. What has he done to you? Rather, what have I done to you? I know I have done nothing to warrant such hostility. " Cordelia asked simply.
The appeasement was not going as planned but licking anybody's boots was not Cordelia's style. If she did not let Tom get away with acting high and mighty with her, she would not let anybody get away.
Her uncle just glared.
"Very well. I will avoid your presence until you can give a legitimate reply. You can contact me through father and mother should you need anything." Cordelia said easily and stepped outside without giving him a chance to speak.
She did not actually understand why he was so pissed. Maybe, he thought that Tom was manipulating her. But really, he knew her better than that. Or maybe, he thought of Tom as a manipulator because he himself attempted to manipulate Cordelia.
One thing Cordelia knew for sure, he was afraid of her autonomy.
Too bad, he will learn to live with it.
Cordelia's POV
"Apparently, there is no other room more suitable than this one in the entirety of this large manor." Tom complained to her in a whisper as she joined him and her cousins in the Lounge.
She understood Tom's contention. The room had too many portraits and all of them would report back to her uncle.
"Zigby, Willy, Cherry." She softly called out.
"Yes Mistress Corrie. " They all popped and said in sync.
"I want the large dungeon and the adjoining sitting room completely cleared. We will down in 10 minutes. See that it is done?" She commanded though her last bit was a question for the time negotiation.
"Yes, Mistress Corrie." They popped away.
"Dungeons…" Walburga pinched her nose.
"The elves clean it weakly Burga. It is not dirty. And I am having them cleared all the same. We can put the furniture I have in store from Beauxabatons. It should provide a cozy setting for what we want to achieve." Cordelia said with an amused smile.
Tom's POV
When they entered the dungeons, it reminded Tom of the Hogwarts dungeons. Torches were lit on the either side for light and made the old stone glint.
Of course, Black manor was not as old as or as large as Hogwarts.
"What did you clear out the large hall for?" Dorea murmured, 'that is no room for a meeting."
"Dueling…I thought we might sneak in a few sessions over the break. We will use the other room for our meeting." Cordelia replied back and threw open the doors of the said room ajar.
It reminded Tom eerily of Cordelia's trunk because the furniture was of similar state. It was a large rectangular room, not too big but about one-third the size of the Slytherin common room.
There was a fireplace in the center which divided the room into equal halves. One-half had couches and armchairs in a neat oval whereas the other half had a giant table with straight-backed chairs. The room also had Ventilators at the top. They were closed right now unsurprisingly. There were huge layers of snow outside. The room would flood.
"It will do…" Cordelia muttered, "Won't it?
"Do…" Abraxas looked at her incredulously.
"Why? I thought it looks quite nice…" Cordelia got defensive.
"It is more than nice Cordelia…" Dorea intervened.
"Yes, it is." Abraxas concurred, "You have inherited Aunt Adelaide's eye for aesthetic."
"Why! Thank you…" Cordelia gave a small curtsy in amusement.
"Shall we get on? Some of us have work…"Walburga insisted.
"Yes, I have to write to Ignatius…" Lucretia intoned.
"You don't look pleased about that…" Alphard shot at Lucretia.
"Alphard…" Dorea admonished.
"Alright, quiet. We can argue about the trivial once we are out of here. I agree with Burga, let us begin. Sit…"Cordelia gave a sharp reprimand.
"Yes, it will be optimal to start right away. We have a lot to do..." Tom murmured lazily as he shared a look with Cordelia.
"I should not have to say that we discuss will not leave the room," Cordelia said seriously.
Tom's eyes were analyzing the structure he and Cordelia had come up with. It was not exhaustive but it was a start.
He and Cordelia went to the big table. He turned around a chair and sat on it. He smiled a little as he saw Cordelia plop herself on the table.
She loved her tables.
"What is it about?" Abraxas asked once all of them had settled.
"We needed opinions. It is pretty much set but I wanted an estimate of the plausibility of our plan." Cordelia said. Tom shared a look with her as he said without preamble, "We are disbanding the Slytherin Court."
There was a silence.
"Why?" It was Abraxas who articulated the confusion, "Are we no longer trying to change the structure…"
"We are, if anything, I and Tom's plans have expanded," Cordelia said.
"Then what?" Dorea asked.
"The plans have also changed a bit after my numerous conversations with Cordelia. They have also changed in the light of my inheritance. I had not anticipated that I would have it so soon. The old court or its premise was not in concordance with new ideation. We needed something 'fresh' for the execution of this. We are still going to recruit and ideate and change for the acceptance of the dark arts but it is a one of the goals now instead of the larger purpose." Tom said in his silk voice, speaking languidly.
"And…" It was Alphard who asked impatiently
"Cordelia is quite insistent on a Hogwarts Court." Tom at last spoke.
"And while I was at it, we thought why curtail it to just Hogwarts, so we will accept and recruit anybody who sympathetic to our cause and is more or less below 25 years of age." Cordelia told.
"A Hogwarts Court…" Abraxas spoke with wonder.
"Well, we want to change the magical world and not just the Slytherins and other houses form the citizens of British Magical World. Don't they?" Cordelia said simply.
"They do….but their acceptance of it depends entirely on our goals.' Dorea pointed out.
"I don't see Gryffindors supporting the cause of the dark." Walburga sneered.
"Well, thankfully, it is not just about the dark and the Gryffindors are not so bigoted that they fail to see the necessity of dark in the larger scheme of things." Cordelia pointed out.
"Our main goal is equality…" Tom continued.
"For everyone. Dark, Light should not be divisive." Cordelia completed.
"We can discuss that when we actually expand but for right now, we are going to work to make Hogwarts a better and inclusive place," Tom said.
"You mean to let muggleborns in the court," Walburga said. It was not a question but a statement laced in derision.
"We do," Cordelia said and both she and Tom nodded.
"The system is unfair, Walburga. They come into a strange world, they are treated as strangers, and for their sanity they cling to the familiar instead of adapting to the wizarding alien." It was Dorea who spoke.
"We will be taking steps to ensure that wizarding culture is not alien to them. There was a wizarding culture class. I confirmed with father and in the school records. We will be advocating to restart it. But in the meanwhile, we were thinking to form an informal club where we can educate them about it. But yes, we cannot have clueless simpletons partaking in court. They will have one or two courtiers as their representatives. The majority of the court will come from the old Houses since they can simulate wizangomot and can actually influence things. The Court is not going to be in name." Cordelia informed.
"And the court is not going to be the only segment of the Knights. We have decided to branch out. There will be two forms of administrative divisions. One is Courtier and non-courtier and the other is more detailed. Both Courtiers and non-courtiers will be Knights and will serve in different capacities to embolden and execute our cause and plans respectively." Tom gave the details.
"Halfbloods and Muggleborns will be a bigger part of the non-courtiers. With time, when they learn, they can be pulled into the court. So will be the case of women. There are more women in court than there are muggleborns but the number is less than men. That will be remedied over time. " Cordelia said and gave them an expectant look.
She was asking for their questions.
Tom glanced at all her cousins. Orion and Lucretia looked amenable. Alphard devotional. Abraxas looked thoughtful whereas Dorea looked proud. None of them truly surprised him.
He saved the last glance for the most problematic element of the Blacks. Walburga's jaw was set. There was conflict in her eyes. Good, she was not out rightly dismissing their vision. There was hope. Her reaction was the one that they would get from most Slytherins and a few others.
'Speak your mind Burga. We will not lambaste you. You hold the view that majority do and even if we disagree with it, we will respect it. I might poke holes in it though. " Cordelia said slowly, sipping water from a goblet that her elf had appeared with.
Cherry was another anomaly. She seemed to know what Cordelia needed instinctively. She also seemed to know what he needed but Tom was sure that was Cordelia's doing and not an elfin venture.
"Is it not fair? To have them? To teach them? They are a part of our world too. We are hoping that the tutoring in old ways would bridge the gap, make them more respectful of our traditions. Does that not remedy our major contention with them?" Cordelia softly asked.
Her voice was always so silky, smooth. It made something rise in him. She could be so soft spoken but so assertive. And so very sharp when the need arose.
The other cousins were watching with bated breath. Tom found himself relaxing. He was not bothered about Walburga's hesitation.
For some reason, he was oddly feeling very accomplished. Walburga's nasal expressions would not deter him from his jovial mood.
"They dilute our blood. Pollute it." Walburga spat.
"What is the color of their blood sister?" Cordelia asked in her soft tenor.
Walburga did not answer.
Cordelia produced a knife from under the skirts of her layered gown and streaked it across her palm. Crimson shone against her golden pale skin.
That irritated Tom. She did not have to make herself bleed.
"Crimson, like mine or yours," Cordelia said softly again.
It seemed like today Walburga could not anger her. But she had already angered Tom. He grabbed Cordelia's palm and healed it wordlessly. Cordelia did not even look at him.
Her green emeralds were fixed at her cousin.
"It is nice to know that you think my blood is polluted. Diluted even." Tom could not resist himself. He had put Walburga in a tight spot. Cordelia had promised to go easy on her. He had not. He thought that the 'we' Cordelia spoke was loosely defined.
He gave a cheeky stare to Cordelia at her mildly admonishing look and he swore that he saw a ghost of smile make way to her lips before he fixed Walburga with a look.
Tom took Cordelia's goblet of water and took a sip himself.
"I didn't…" Walburga began and stopped.
'Would you have me bleed to see?" Tom quirked his eyebrow.
He felt a sharp sting on his lower back. Cordelia had long nails indeed and her pinch had been anything but harmless. He was sure that it would bruise.
But she did not speak in her cousin's defense. He was sure he would listen to some harsh words when they were alone but she would not fight him in front her cousins. Not over something this trivial.
"I heard from Charlie that all the inbreeding had turned most of royal lines in Europe sickly." It was Dorea who came to her cousin's rescue by breaking the dooming silence. She killed the silence but she spoke in his favor.
"Inbreeding is what they call when close relations marry each other. Their blood becomes so…they don't have a word for it… it renders them weak and sickly. Most magical world is inbred. A latest study by Department of mysteries says that if we keep going at this rate, there will no pureblood wizards left. All will be squibs." Cordelia added her bit, looking at Walburga.
"I understand the need people feel to keep the bloodlines pure. But the notion of purity is spurious Burga. Once upon a time, our oldest ancestor was a muggleborn. We did not just pop out of nowhere." She said after a couple of minutes lapsed in silence.
"Toujours pur." Walburga glared at Cordelia.
"Yes, our family motto says 'Always Pure'. But does it refer to blood? There are many kinds of purity. Of heart. Of Honor. Of love. Of Kindness." Cordelia fought back.
"Of course, it is about blood." Walburga's eyes reflected her insanity then.
"I could show you all the family grimoires if you cared. They don't mention blood at all. Or I could call the totem and ask it about it. If you do not trust my translation, I am sure Lord Slytherin will acquiesce. " Cordelia offered.
Of course, Walburga could not say anything about him. It was one thing to question the honor of her cousin in a family setting, another to question his.
And it looked like that Cordelia had abandoned her plans to go easy on her. There was a sharp edge in her eyes now.
"It does not matter. You are still going to do what you have set your mind to." Walburga said hastily.
"It matters. What you think matters? You are a part of the family. You will be a part of the Knights. It matters." Cordelia said firmly.
"I know it is a lot to take in. I know I cannot change your opinion with a few words. I need you to promise me that you will give them a chance and not be openly hostile or prove detrimental to our work. If interacting with them does not change it for you, then we will talk again and you can rationally argue your side. I will not force you to spend time with people you don't want to after you have done your bit." Cordelia gave Walburga her final decision.
"I think that is more than fair." It was Orion who spoke.
"Are you planning to do this with any pureblood who disagrees?" Abraxas asked, his voice filled with slight doubt.
"No. Not everyone gets the privilege my cousins do." Cordelia said firmly.
"We have a plan of action to deal with it. Since most of Slytherins derive their ideology from the tales about the origin of our house. I and Cordelia are fairly confident that the legacy we pretend to be ours is a farce. We have been able to trace the changing views of blood in the Slytherin lines close to 500 years and it has more difference of opinion than advocacy about the blood purity. We are fairly sure that a visit to the main vault will corroborate our theory for the rest of years as well. If we raise questions on the very foundation of the notion of blood purity, I am sure opinions can be changed." Tom answered that.
"That is a sound plan…"Dorea muttered thoughtfully.
"We have given this a great deal of thought in the past months." Tom accepted her praise.
'So, the political structure has two divisions. Courtiers will be called Metieta and non-courtiers will be Dem."
"The Wise counselors." It was Dorea who gave them a surprised look.
Tom and Cordelia nodded.
"It is an allusion to a phrase in Homeric poems," Cordelia informed the rest.
"Dem means people in latin," Abraxas said swiftly.
"We thought we would keep it simple." Cordelia shrugged.
"I like it." Abraxas nodded.
'Abraxas, Dorea and Orion will be a part of the Metieta from all of you." It was Cordelia who said that. She and Tom were gauging the reactions.
"Why not the others?" It was Dorea who asked.
"People are a bit wary of the House of Black. I think it will be unwise and unfair to other houses if the Court is dominated by my family. Anyway, Lucretia and Alphard are not that accomplished in politics. It bores Alphard and makes Lucretia anxious. They have other forte. They will work with Knights in different capacities. As for Walburga, I have a task for her that will work against the sanctity of the court. I would not give her two conflicting roles." Cordelia said, "I will tell the roles once we discuss the second structure."
"The second structure is less exhaustive. It functions a bit like a Ministry as it has different departments. We have a tentative list and names but we can always add more if needs arise." Tom said, "We have five of them right now."
"One for our best duelers: Mars. We need people trained if Grindelwald looks towards Hogwarts. The dementors will not be the last attack. He hates Dumbledore. We need to be an army if we are to defend and protect ourselves. The second is Inquest which has two sections: Phoebus for Research and Thesis for Development. We are going to research arcane magics and bring them back to curriculum hopefully. The third is Delphi, for spies and intelligence. We need to know the inner goings of Ministry and Professors and Board of Governors and other news. Lucretia, you are one and so is Walburga."
"Me…" Lucretia looked at them in surprise.
She was really too quiet. This was the second sentence of the entire evening.
"People think you harmless. They will let their guard down around you. You can listen in on conversations and report." Cordelia informed with a small smile.
"That could work…" Lucretia said in wonder. As if she could not believe that she could contribute.
"I think we all agree that no one considers me harmless. So what is your plan for me?" Walburga asked wryly.
That send the entire room into laughter. Walburga was everything but harmless.
"You will have a different role. You see the worst in people before anyone does. You love critiquing. Your job is to build detailed profiles of all the Knights. What makes them tick? What is their weakness? Inclinations. We will start with the court and we can go from there. We will slowly move to Wizangomot and Ministry. Also, you and Lucretia are both good looking. Men like to impress you by telling you what they know. You will report that if you are comfortable." Cordelia informed with a smile.
"I don't mind. Boys who make such statements are dumb." Lucretia said with a smile. She was examining her nails for some odd reason.
'That surprisingly suits me." Walburga too agreed.
'Well, Cordelia knows all of your strengths." Tom said, giving her most of the credit.
Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"We have one we call Hermes. They are a sub-department under Metieta for diplomats or hagglers. They will be proposing our deals and bringing other deals to us." Tom informed.
"And the last is Asclepius. We can call the people Plius. That will be the faction of healers. I will be personally leading that. It is both for research and practice. But since healing requires specialization, I thought it was best to separate it from Inquest." Cordelia said.
"I like the organization. Departments. Are we preparing for future?" It was Abraxas who asked.
"I am very sure that the Knights will be joining Ministry, assuming political roles, gaining subject masteries and we are hoping that the Knighthood surpasses the years in school to a lifelong kinship. A network where we help each other out." Cordelia gave a nod.
"There is a precedent in Hogwarts charter about Hogwarts court. It has previously served as a mediator between the school and students. The process is fairly simple. You need to meet the requirements set down by the Founders. When you are sure, you meet them, you rally people to choose their representatives from each house. Those reps come together and meet the potential King or the Queen. They pass on the regards and our policies to their houses. Once, set in motion, the formation cannot be dissolved until a better candidate comes forth for the head of the court or somebody is able to produce strong contention point against the original candidate. Of course, some of the rules are waived off if you are an Heir or Heiress of the founders. But we will be going by the normal procedure since we won't have a 'King or Queen'. I and Cordelia will be running it together and we are thinking of calling ourselves the ruling Council." Tom informed.
'Do we have a name?" It was Alphard who asked, "I mean we are not traditional knights. Not all of us will be warriors."
"We do," Cordelia grinned.
Tom shared a look with Cordelia, interlaced her fingers with hers and looked straight ahead, "We will all be Knights of Walpurgis."
I swear this chapter was the most difficult one yet. I just could not type it. I have literally written it one dialogue at a time. But it was kind of important for the future term since there will be more powerplay and more characters from other houses coming in with their I think,, despite the hard time I faced, it has turned out decent.
I thank annabelsmith for a really tip that got me going and got me to finish this.
And yes, the chapter title is inspired from batman vs. Superman: Dawn of justice. Couldn't resist.
I stuck with names of Greek Gods and Goddesses for the councils and some Latin translation. I have been using google translate quite liberally. What can I say? I need to learn Latin.
Next Chapter is Christmas. We get some sweet surprises.
The kiss is coming soon. Don't worry. I know how it is going to happen. I just have to write it.
Cheers.
Please Review.
