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 Marauder'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.
4) THE RATING OF THE FIC HAS BEEN CHANGED TO 'M' because of slightly more graphic descriptions of violence.
Trigger Warning: Voyeurism, mild bullying and slurs
Note: There are some references to WW II. While I have done my best to research and be factually correct, if I make some error, please accept my advance apologies. I do not mean to be patronizing. Moreover, please leave a review or PM me and I will duly correct it after researching more. Thanks!
For your references
"Talk"
"Parseltongue"
Chapter 33
Tom's Deepest Desire?
Tom's POV
They had entered the 2nd week of February without much climax. Sunday was quite relaxing, with a late morning, a leisurely long and late breakfast in Great Hall with too many non-Slytherins at their table. People were kind of excited about the project and well, night was a good time to ruminate and ideate so it was not entirely surprising that a lot of people had fine-tuned ideas or come up with new ones the upcoming morning after the icebreaker.
They had stopped by at the Slytherin table to jot the ideas in Burke's ledger in case they forgot. Cordelia had threatened him to take some responsibility in light of his ambitious bet against Bagnold and Burke had deflated and accepted.
But of course, no one could stay silent about the ideas or the commentary, so Cordelia and Dorea being the kind hostesses had invited every single visitor to join them for breakfast, which had served as a beacon for other people part of the project and it just spiraled a little out of control.
For one, there were more non-slytherins than Slytherins on their table. Not that Tom minded too much, but he was sure that the predicament was going to earn frowns. Of course, the frowns were mostly because of the 'norm', not because the Slytherin table was failing to accommodate the actual Slytherins.
Slytherins, if Tom could be quite frank, were lazy sods, just as much as the Lions.
The early risers were fewer in both the Lions and snakes than in the hardworking Puffs where early rising was a good habit or in the case of wise Ravenclaws where it was a necessity to gain knowledge (because library opened early and well it closed half an hour before curfew). So, on the weekends, the Slytherin table was unequivocally emptier than the rest of the Great Hall. Gryffindors still made it barely to hoggle down food at the last minute but the aristocratic approach of Slytherin was above it. No, the snakes would devour sweets and delicacies that their elves had kindly packed and sent for them from their respective homes.
So, the usual group at Slytherin table was just Tom and Cordelia's inner circle usually minus Zabini and Alphard and Flint if it was not a day for Quidditch practice. Flint was part of the inner circle and Tom and Cordelia counted on his vote on everything but he was not politically astute or interested so he just went ahead with whatever Burke or Tom or Cordelia suggested. Like Tom had said, no original thought beyond Quidditch.
Evan Rosier was an ally but not quite in the same circle. Marius Avery himself was a good lad and friends with Zabini and Alphard but his sister (Julia Avery), her betrothed (Albert Carrow) and the betrothed's company (Parkinson and Lestrange) had forced Tom and Cordelia to be cordial but distant with him. And as per Zabini, Marius understood.
Nott and Pritchard sometimes joined in and so did Cole and Meads. But mostly that was it, unless someone wanted to show off something really badly (which could arrive as the morning post or in the Daily Prophet) or thwart someone else's show of superiority.
Slytherin was a constant case of power shuffles. Not entirely repulsive but the maturity of his housemates in animating the power shuffles was certainly a tad bit too pretentious. Tom had a tolerance for it but Cordelia's vocalness about pointless facades had compelled him to dedicate his energies to other avenues other than maintaining a tolerance that he should not have to maintain.
Of course, there were a few others, sparse people in ones or twos that might grace the breakfast but their group was assimilating and popular so it had not been an issue ever. Today, even that had not happened.
But well, that meant Slytherin did not have anybody but their inner circle and of course, almost every member of the 'Bonanza'. Apparently, Evelyn had called the project that in her incredulousness at Burke's competitiveness and Abraxas had shortened the entire concept of the project to that word because it suited it.
Well, to each its own but the word had quickly gained popularity likely because everyone liked to have an identity that set them apart from plebeians.
Owl posts had arrived and everyone just took everything without really seeing or registering anything. Daily Prophet had a small section of an accident at Hogwarts but it had taken a back seat in light of Grindelwald's movement. A half blood reporter reported that while muggle Germans had been defeated in a battle at and against Soviet Union, Grindelwald was using that as a giant distraction. As it happened, muggle allied powers had the support of USSR but magical stakeholders in the war had different quotients. Portions of USSR were quite radically 'dark' in their magic and it was difficult to keep track because magical borders were different than muggle ones.
But the pieces of news were recycled on Sunday. Of course, there was a whole series of articles about maintaining safety, assuring safety and the like. And of course, the front page was scattered with Quidditch related news.
No, that day the thought of war was away from everyone's minds. Cordelia had grown pensive at reading a couple of headlines and so had Zabini, but Zabini had quickly bounced back and distracted her.
The situation was similar as USSR for France and Italy. Grindelwald's stance was more about light and dark than magical borders so there were no singular stances in those countries. However, Grindelwald's guerilla attacks and 'vigilantism' (different terms by light and dark sections respectively) were nonetheless not appreciated by any section and he was being thwarted by most magical governments officially.
Of course, magical wars and wars along ideologies were a whole different scenario than the muggle one. The stakes were similar, common people were dying, but the methods and the whole battlefield was of a different kind.
Grindelwald's was a slumber attack. He had started settling his roots near World War 1 and the magical world was still reckoning with those clandestine and insidious roots.
And of course, while the muggle governments were not trying to minimize damage of the magicals, because they did not know the existence of magic, most magical governments were spread a little thin as they tried providing resources for the smaller but spread out magical populations and provide adequate magical support to the large numbers of muggles who were being targeted by Grindelwad left, right and center. After all, his campaign was 'For the greater good' and was based on subjugating muggles.
Most nobles had not been too daunted by Grindelwald, he was but a nuisance. But the stances were rapidly being changed and reevaluated as per Cordelia's information, who had deduced that from a letter Lord Malfoy had sent about political lobbies. But she was still not hopeful that nobles would actively do something. Most of them lived behind warded manors that Grindelwald would not attack. Even if he somehow managed to rattle the order of magical world, he still valued old blood and as it were, nobles were old blood. Even with some of their radically light stances, they would be quite safe.
Of course, there were those who thought such cowardice and inaction was beneath the nobility, but they were fewer and the people who verbalized such discontent were even less. For nobles, this was about survival of their lives, their finances and their influence. Muggles did not exist, muggleborns did not matter, half-bloods would fight of their behalf and lesser purebloods were simply lesser. Of course, nobles had not deterred ministry action in the least but nobles could do more.
They had money, shelters and homes, magical totems and a vast set of magical family grimoires that could be useful. But that would mean directly engaging with Grindelwald and people, well, nobles would not do it because it was an incredibly risky move unless Grindelwald directly targeted nobles, which was very less likely.
Of course, Hogwarts was a bit aloof in this. Grindelwald was decidedly staying away from Britain. Most of the efforts of the ministry were being done to aid other countries and the muggle war effort. Britain remained safe and Hogwarts even more so.
The dementors which had swarmed the Hogwarts ground and the road to Hogsmeade, and attacked him (though no one knew about the attack on him) had been rogue and from what the reports said, they were flying away from Britain and had taken a route that went above Hogwarts and of course, the juice of children's souls and emotions had been too much for them to resist.
There had been no attack from them since.
So, overall, breakfast was a merry affair. From discussing the British and Irish Quidditch leagues to the products Penelope Gambol's elder brother had come up with his best friend whose last name was Jape, everything was discussed. There was a fair bit of teasing and leg pulling and even an egg eating competition between Zabini and Cadwaddler.
By the end of it, Tom had eaten too much and just wanted to collapse somewhere and so had Cordelia.
Tom had collapsed in their bed and Cordelia had sleepily and drowsily joined him when Blubber popped her back from her dorm room to their bed.
They had slept well past lunch into the evening and had only woken up once Nyx and Lux climbed their bed and started licking their faces to get attention, impatient after their long, long nap.
They did not really mind because the kneazles had actually done them a favor. Just because there was no urgency to work, did not mean that sleeping all day was something that they wanted to do.
After playing with and entertaining both the kneazles for a bit, they had settled down in the Lord's study with their correspondence and parcels with the kneazles lightly exploring the room for a bit.
All of it was in Cordelia's satchel who pulled it out and started dividing them into two larger piles; Tom's and hers.
Tom knew that the majority of letters were for her. Her family and extended family was very proactive with writing them. Also, though Cordelia usually received her weekly missive from her parents on Saturday, this time the letter had been slightly delayed because of Cordelia's second letter regarding Carrow. So, Zephyr had flew till France and then had probably rested for a bit before Mr. and Mrs. Black had sent the reply with him.
Tom was expecting a letter from Gringotts, a letter and list from his account manager, a book parcel from Flourish and Blotts, and food supply from Eeylops owl emporium and Magical menagerie.
He had two additional things: one letter from Lord Malfoy and a missive and a desert basket from Cordelia's mother. Tom blinked in surprise.
Now, the letter from Lord Malfoy was not entirely surprising. Tom and he had corresponded a bit after Tom sent a letter of gratitude for his interference with Lord Black at the Diagon Alley in the beginning of the winter break. His letters were also not filled with machinations but a genuine curiosity and interest, and he always addressed Tom as an equal, never patronizing or superior.
The missives had mostly surrounded around concern for Cordelia and how she was adjusting to her peers. Of course, Tom had only understood the reason for that concern completely on Thursday when Cordelia had carelessly admitted that people had been comparing her to a she- demon in her previous school. She had never admitted that she had braved such nasty rumors but it also explained why she intuitively understood Tom's struggles. Of course, it explained Lord Malfoy's concern who likely heard about it from his sister, Cordelia's mother.
But Tom kept this one aside for now. He was more curious about the one he had got from Cordelia's mother.
He gave a look to Cordelia, who was busy pouring over what looked like Cassiopeia's handwriting, wondering if she knew something and then gingerly opened his own missive.
First, Adelaide Black had apologized for the abrupt missive and admitted that while she had been tempted to write to him in the previous month, she thought she was being presumptive in his willingness to receive something from her. Then, it said that all those thoughts flew away when Cordelia wrote to them about his injury. She, of course, hoped that he would not mind her forwardness.
Of course, last week, Cordelia had merely written a hasty, small scrawl that said that she was fine but occupied and a promise to send a more detailed letter by the end of week, which she had sent on Thursday. She had asked his permission to mention his injury in order to explain the delay and Tom had given her a roll of eyes and ushered her to write it. Lia was always so concerned about not violating his boundaries.
Cordelia had mentioned the malicious letter, though not in too much detail.
The letter from her mother proceeded to ask after him, and clear concern shone in its words. She advised him to report to Gringotts that somebody had deceptively used their cover to harm him because goblins took such violations seriously. Even if they would not be able to detect magical signature or the like because it used ingredients instead of spell, a note in their records was the ideal route. Cordelia had suggested something similar and they had packed the envelope and shipped it to Gringotts for an investigation already. However, the advice of Mrs. Black was not unappreciated by Tom. It was quite nice of her to offer it at all.
The last bit was that she was attaching a portable sneakoscope in the desert basket and while it would not be as accurate as the bigger ones, it would still help detect nefariousness. The letter added that she hoped that he would accept it as a late Christmas or Birthday present because her previous gifts were mere tokens as she had not known him that well.
And the post script said that if he wanted more baked sweets, then he should ask Cordelia to request more of something and she would send extra stuff.
Tom pulled the shrunk desert basket and tapped his wand to revert it to its normal size and removed the top pouches of chocolates to find his personal detector.
"You would not believe the scoops Aunty Cassy has sent me…" Cordelia began speaking and turned around with a smile, only to replace it with a mild surprised look, which then turned wary.
Tom was getting confused about it until she carefully said, "You don't have to accept that if you think it carries other enchantments. We can make something up to send Mother…"
Tom took her hand and pulled her closer until she was lightly seated on his one thigh and placed an affectionate kiss just below her eye.
"No, we do not have to make anything up. They are your parents, Lia and they trust and respect you and they extended that to me while we were on break and I am honest to Morgana, grateful to them because they are in part responsible for the woman I love…" He murmured gently but with conviction.
Cordelia's posture relaxed a bit, "That is good to know, but if you feel even remotely unsafe or stuck in propriety, then you should know that I will not take your cautiousness otherwise. You should not accept stuff from my family merely because you think it will offend me if you don't," She gently said and Tom could not help but smile.
Morgana, he loved her and he said so, pulling her in a hug.
And Cordelia wrapped her arms around him with a loving smile.
Cordelia's POV
She was still perched on Tom's lap. From the snug and firm way his arm encased her waist, she realized his reluctance to let go of her. So, she had remained there as she summarized her missives to him.
"Uncle Arty is still being curt, but I think he appreciated my insights into Lucretia's Betrothal contract, at least some of them. He also approves of the Court move that we have played and sees the perks but I think his emotions range from envy to pride to certain greed about allegiance of so many houses. Of course, he scarcely mentions it but between Father, Aunt Cassy and Uncle Rion's missives, it was not hard to puzzle it together. He thanked me for the quick and complete update of Carrow bit but nothing more.
"However, Aunt Cassy confirmed that he has Uncle Polly looking into any binding contract and relation with Carrows for the next few decades, that is for the duration of Albert's heirship and lordship and is looking for ways to subvert or break them or profit from them. If only he had been open with me and asked me, I would have pointed him to all of them. I made a list in the previous term after seeing Carrow's drunken stupors and all of them have clauses that will allow the Black to profiteer if Uncle plays his cards right," Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"You are going to send him a list?" Tom asked in amusement.
"Of course, I am. I am a little miffed at him but it does not mean that I don't want the best for the Blacks. Of course, there is an added benefit of rubbing my forethought in his face…" Cordelia clapped her hand in mischief.
Tom laughed, ruffling her hair a bit and then she leaned in and kissed his nose. He looked so kissable and adorable when he laughed like that.
"Uncle Rion wrote normal stuff. Aunt Cassy is on the forefront of extorting money and assets from the Carrows. She is not just using this incident but has dug up gossips from ages ago… Aunt Callie is grateful that I managed to get her a letter from Ian. Father was a bit worried, so was Mother and they approved of the move to get house elves to screen the mail. People often underestimate the magical power of elves but they are very gifted and that ensures that people don't add wards or spells against them and elves are often able to bypass stuff that would hurt humans.
"Uncle Polly sounded very scattered, but he did inform me that Uncle Arty is meeting Lord and Heir Prewett to decide the wedding date for Lucy and Ignatius Prewett. Tentatively, it is scheduled for summer because that is when Ignatius wants it." Cordelia filled him in completely.
"And Lucretia?" Tom asked.
"I doubt anyone cares," Cordelia's expression got forlorn.
Tom gave her an alarmed look.
"Look, the Blacks are expected to negotiate on her behalf. Uncle Arty is cold, Aunt Ariel is complacent, Polly and Cassy only care about Cygnus because he is the son and he, well, he had family magic on him courtesy of me, so they think he is powerful and favored. Lucretia is too quiet to argue anything. She is smart but she is only assertive at places. Walburga or I have had to fight battles on behalf of her for very long.
"Prewetts are obviously going to honor Ignatius' wishes more and while they will consider Lucy's wishes, I doubt she is going to raise her voice about what she wants. Ignatius is quite dominant and so are both of my Uncles. All they care about is the joining of two noble families. That is still a thing. I did not speak too much because Lucy frets and I, I was not charging against my Uncles head on without waiting for their responses on everything. Though, I am planning to sneak a few clauses when the contract comes to Hogwarts where Lucretia is supposed to sign it.
"The thing is that I do not have any incriminating information against Ignatius. He is controlling, dominant, a bit brash. The first two are considered normal for men and the last bit is considered a typical Gryffindor trait. Any behavior that I cite, like how he demands Lucretia to arrange her schedule to cater to him while he prances around, or how he got miffed at her about his exclusion in our Court are going to be considered legitimate concerns for him because women need to be subservient and defer to their husbands and I will be accused of being disrespectful to my cousin's betrothed. Because Ignatius has not crossed a line at all in their eyes and well, Lucy is too bullied and dominated by everyone to voice anything. I am keeping a close eye on him but…" Cordelia shook her head.
"Do you need help in looking up clauses? Maybe we could insert a few that will protect her autonomy in some ways; I mean not giving him access to her trust fund and the like. These are small sneaky ways that we can use. Of course, if you need help challenging bigger obstacles, we can tackle them head on as well..." Tom suggested quietly and seriously, "And maybe, I could put her under the protection of House of Slytherin if we cannot do all of that…"
Cordelia knew that there was a palpable relief on her face and she nodded, "I wish I could convince Lucy to talk, at least to me, " She shook her head, "She should know that I care about her well being and opinions and that I am not going to sacrifice her just because of social protocols…"
"Perhaps you could have a chat about what equal rights should mean with all the women. They should know what rights they do have as people and their wishes and desires and words and voice are just as relevant in personal settings just as much as in public setting such as the court," Tom suggested.
Cordelia gave him a curious look.
"Not everyone understands what social protocols is another systematic way of silencing women. Dorea understands it somewhat occasionally but nobody is as aware of the prejudice and the insidious innate unfairness of it all. I think you might need to spell it out in simpler terms," Tom elaborated.
Cordelia tilted her neck, carefully considering his words and then meeting Tom's eyes, thoughtfully nodded.
Tom's POV
Bolton handed over the script and translated verses to Cordelia over Breakfast on Tuesday and Cordelia, Evelyn, Applebee and Podmore had quickly convened over a mutually free time slot and finalized the script.
Unfortunately, Cordelia and he were still coming short of a charm that could copy written word. In the end, Cordelia had taken over an empty classroom and collectively, they had charmed several dictation quills to make simultaneous copies. One master copy remained with Cordelia, while 12 others were dispatched to different houses with three copies per house. How they used the copies; either simultaneously reading and creating notes or scheduling different time slots was left up to individual house members.
Dumbledore had gone quieter. He just came to classes and taught and did not even make any additional comments. The rest of the classes went on as per usual but Herbology, whose venue had been switched temporarily to a spare classroom. The Auror department and Board of Governors had made the decision to close down all Greenhouses for a week for security inspections just to calm down parents. Of course, Greenhouse 3 was sealed further as it was an active part of an investigation.
Madam Underhill had arrived on Sunday evening and had been available again from Monday morning, so Cordelia's shifts in the infirmary had ended as well.
Most prefects had barely dedicated an hour or two over the whole of 3 days. Cordelia had sat for 2 hours on Friday, and 4 hours each on Saturday and Sunday. That was ten hours, though she did not have to deal with any serious injury, apart from a broken ankle and a few deep bruises of idiotic first years who decided that playing tag in rainy, damp weather with icy, slippery terrain was fun.
Cordelia had mostly been bemused by them, but she claimed to have played the role of a stern mediwitch with threats and reprimands all the way despite it.
Though, no one was entirely convinced about the threatening part because Zabini and Alphard had come and accused her of changing favorites by giving away chocolate frogs to a bunch of first years on Sunday.
"Oh, grow up, the poor thing broke his ankle and he was so apologetic and he…he was crying…what would you have me do after giving him a nasty tasting potion? Let him suffer…" Cordelia huffed as she folded her arms and glared at the duo.
"I don't see how giving away Chocolate frogs is being threatening…" Abraxas blinked at her in confusion.
"How nasty did you expect me to be to a bunch of eleven years old kids? Have you seen how tiny and little they are?" Cordelia rolled her eyes and cried out.
"Yes," Burke nodded fervently, "Annoying, little buggers…"
"All of you are missing the point here. The point was that she had to warn them about remaining safe while not scaring them off from the infirmary. If she was nasty to them, she would have likely scarred their healing experience and probably put them on a path where they would have avoided infirmary despite injuries. Why does no one in this common room besides both of us think?" Tom had retorted back in agitation.
He was angry at them, pretty much all of them, well except for Titania. They constantly undermined and underestimated Cordelia and on top of it, none of them had yet apologized for the drama hey had pulled in the inner circle meeting.
An apology was the least that they could offer or 'we will try to do better', something! And while the current slight was not anything above normal teasing, Tom was reacting to it in anger all the same.
There was a silence as everyone pretty much considered him, a little afraid. Well, they should be. Tom had not lost his anger like this for a long time now and they were quite familiar with how nasty he could get when he was angry. While Tom regretted his earlier tyrannical tendencies, right this instance, all of them deserved the fear.
"Well, that is a valid point," Burke said slowly with an attempt at diplomacy, breaking the deathly and quite awkward silence.
Tom snorted as he took their journal from Cordelia and started jotting down something in it as both of them lightly and softly conversed, completely ignoring everyone else. Everyone eventually left them alone.
Tom's POV
It was Tuesday night now. Both of them were tired and had turned in early.
But they awoke suddenly sometime after midnight as the ward on Cordelia's dorm room's door tripped. Someone was knocking in urgency.
Cordelia immediately muttered, "Dorea…"
She got out, covered him in blankets and called Binny, the night elf appointed by Oddment, who popped her to the dorm room.
Tom fell asleep again. While he did not like her absence, he was comfortable and secure enough in their relation that sleeping without her for small amount of time had gotten easier over time.
When he woke up next morning, quite ripe and early, he discovered that Cordelia's side was cold. She had not returned in the night. That was probably why he rose early as well.
His heart was racing a little in panic but he calmed himself down in a bit. The elves would not let anything happen to her. Maybe Dorea had needed some assistance or something. Despite calming down, Tom was not able to fall back asleep, so he just showered and got ready.
Despite taking leisurely time, he was down in the common room by 6:20. He had an urge to go to Girls' dormitory but he managed to control his instincts. Cordelia was capable of handling things and situations, whatever crisis it may have been. He should trust her. So, he just sat down and began reading an advanced volume on Mind Arts. He had nearly mastered Occlumency by now. Cordelia had tested his shield with numerous powerful and stealthy attacks continuously and she had not once been able to break through his shields.
It was nearly 6:50 when the entrance to the common room opened and he heard gentle shuffles of feet. He could pinpoint Cordelia's footsteps anywhere, so he immediately dropped the book and got up.
And it was Cordelia who entered the common room with Dorea following her.
Cordelia was fine, if looking utterly exhausted with huge bags under her eyes. She had not gotten any sleep at all from the looks of it. She was not even making the effort to lift her feet, dragging them along across the Black marble.
In that moment, Cordelia raised her head and their eyes met.
Her dull eyes brightened a little and before both of them knew, they were standing a mere inch apart from each other, holding each other's palms.
Tom would have hugged her but she was still in her nightdress with an open and hanging housecoat. They both had no qualms about it but Dorea was present. They had to keep up appearances.
Dorea's eyes had merely taken their appearance in. She looked worse than Cordelia, barely registering anything.
"You are up early…" Cordelia murmured softly and weakly.
'Couldn't sleep…" Tom muttered. He did not need to explain why because Cordelia would understand. And of course, he could not say that he missed her because Dorea was there.
He instead gently asked, taking in the bags under her eyes as he grasped her cheeks in a gentle caress between his palms, "What happened?"
"One of the second years, Orla, fell really sick. Her friends Joyce and Diana called Dorea who woke me up. She was in a pitiful state but even Madam Underhill would not have been able to do anything that I could not and I did not deem it wise to move her, so we sent her friends to bed and I did some healing and gave her a few potions and used some remedies. We basically waited it out until she felt a little better and monitored her all night.
"She woke up again around 5 after passing out at nearly 3. She was better than before but still not well, so I conjured a stretcher and finally took her to Underhill because she needs care that Dorea and I cannot provide through the day. Orla was really scared and homesick and upset, so we just stayed with her for her ease and comfort until Underhill managed to cajole her into sleep by giving her a sedative. After ensuring that she was stable and writing her a note from us, we came back…" Cordelia spoke in the same tired, low voice.
"You should both sleep." Tom murmured, after nodding to her information.
Dorea just sighed as she covered up a yawn.
"No, really! Both of you go up to any guest room in my living quarters and sleep. I will send along an elf to get a fire going. The Dorms will be a racket starting in a few minutes and lasting until last minute before the class. You both are in no condition to cast advanced silencing wards and a simple charm would not suffice. I will inform Slughorn and get a note for both of you from him and Underhill. I will give yours to Luther , Dorea and of course, I can take care of giving it to Lia's Professors.
"You can sleep undisturbed there till whenever you please. It is also warded properly so both of you will be safe as well. I do not trust Parkinsons or Avery or Carrow or Lestrange. While it would be a stupid move to attack you, we know that you are a bit vulnerable right now. Let us not give them an opportunity. I will also duly inform Charlie, Dorea. And I will also officially clear about the elves delivering you food once you wake up and are hungry." Tom quickly suggested and offered.
Cordelia and Dorea both nodded.
Tom gently planted a kiss on Cordelia's forehead who gave him the smallest of smiles and just rested her forehead against his chin momentarily before grabbing Dorea's arm and pulling her along to the quarters.
Tom's POV
Tom had checked up on Cordelia over lunch. She had still been fast asleep buried beneath the blankets and Dorea was similarly wrapped on the other side of the same bed.
Tom had not lingered, simply because while Cordelia would not have minded his presence, by being there longer, he was also invading Dorea's space.
History of magic was the last lecture of the day and Tom was doodling on one of his rough journals.
He realized what he was drawing much later, when the almond shape of the two figures struck him; Cordelia's eyes.
He looked up and tried to figure out what Binns was saying. He never paid attention in this class before and it became even lesser when Cordelia told him about the unchecked propaganda the ghost sprouted.
Rosier was sucking on a sugar quill with watering eyes. Renatus was sitting stiffly with out of focus eyes as Parkinson whispered furiously to him. Tara was trying to do something about Bulstrode's hair, braiding them in some fashion.
Abraxas was attempting to tickle the back of Orion's neck with delicate movements of the tip of quill over it. Orion was fast asleep, occasionally twitching in irritation much to Abraxas' amusement.
He glanced over at the Hufflepuffs.
Darrow, Rickett and Edison were in the middle of a muggle card game.
Macmillan and Vector were pouring over what appeared to be Charms. McAvoy and Turner were reading Witch weekly. Zeller and Caldwell were arguing over Quidditch and Mary seemed to be doodling, the same as him.
When Binns got into graphic descriptions of the bloodthirsty goblins an umpteenth time, Tom just had it. He looked around desperately. The only way he and Lia made it through this class was through both of their sarcastic commentary.
In the end, he just packed everything and left the class. Abraxas raised his brow questioningly and Tom just shook his head at Binns with a roll of eyes. He marched outside as Abraxas gave an understanding nod and thumbs up.
It was a cold day. The raindrops and dew from last night were semi frozen all over and the lack of sun and a cool breeze just added to it. It was quite aesthetically pleasing and it was also not unbearably cold when you were wrapped in warmer clothes.
Tom proceeded towards the stairwell that would take him back to dungeons. Technically, he should have gone to the Study area adjacent to the library, where most of the Bonanza groups were meeting after this class to figure out magical elements of the story as they worked in smaller groups. But Tom had shrugged himself off. He needed to be near Cordelia.
It was not his paranoia or a withdrawal that was making him antsy today. Today was Valentine's day and he, he wanted to spend some time with her. As it happened through circumstances, he had been unable to even greet her properly today, much less wish her his love.
His eyes flew to the fourth floor balcony, one of the few balconies in Hogwarts. He wondered how different it was from the one in Slytherin living quarters. Of course, it was probably bigger and Cordelia had told him that Tofty, Geoffrey and Foster had created a sort of nice terrace garden there, which was where she got the idea of plants and fountains from.
His eyes though got stuck on a familiar figure. He would recognize Cordelia anywhere, so he took a reverse turn and proceeded to enter the garden.
She likely recognized his footsteps because she turned within a moment with a huge smile and dashed to him, spreading her arms wide and hugging the life into him. He wrapped her instinctively and buried his head in her hair.
"Happy Valentine's day…" She murmured in contentment.
He produced the half bloomed, red Rose pin that was still in his robe and returned her greeting.
"It is for your hair…" He murmured, "I just ordered a bouquet as I thought if I went crazy like our courtship present, you might not talk to me. It is in our room and this came along and I just placed it in my pocket for no reason…" He shrugged.
Cordelia lips kissed his nose and then she tilted head to the right side, prompting him to pin it behind her ear.
"That was a good decision, Lord Slytherin," She murmured, referring to no presents for today.
"How can one not learn when they are with you, Heiress Black?" Tom murmured back, kissing her temple.
"How are you out so early? I thought I would come and wait for the class to get over…"Cordelia asked in confusion.
"Binns was unbearable without you," He rolled his eyes and then regarded her seriously with his lovelorn eyes.
"So was the bed!" Cordelia quipped and they both burst into gentle laughter before nuzzling each other with their noses.
Cordelia took his right palm and stretched it up and proceeded to extricate something from her robe pocket and then place the intricately carved box on that palm.
"I believe it is my turn," She said with affection saturating her eyes.
Before he could open it though, her palm encased the top, as her eyes seriously regarded him, "Are you familiar with magical family clocks?"
Tom curiously shook his head.
"They are rare," Cordelia said, "In fact, the only one family clock in the western world is a family heirloom of the Weasleys. During one of the wars, the tutelage to make one and all the other clocks were destroyed. Weasleys have since been bribed by a lot of people to give up the clock so that people or research groups can reverse-engineer it. But Weasleys have always refused; valuing what the clock offers more than the monetary benefits. Every generation, the clock is passed to one sub-family, that is, to the family of one son by a roll of dice.
"What they do is keep track of each immediate family member. The Weasley clock has capacity of 12 hands. Each hand is linked to one family member with blood magic and is activated when a strand of their hair is placed within the hand and instead of the time dial, there are descriptors like sleeping, home, eating, working, danger, mortal peril, flying etc, etc. Theirs is a mantel clock with I believe 12 descriptors. I… I came across a journal in the room of requirement that had preliminary research by the man who invented this. Through some manipulations, I was able to recreate a miniature version…" Cordelia informed him and opened the box with a click.
There in all its glory, lay a pocket watch. It was blackish and silvery metal, titanium if Tom's eyes were registering it correctly.
"I got a Swiss watchmaker to send me the ornate watch shell and I charmed its working and dials and hands. It features you, me, Lux, Nyx, Erin and Jormy. Of course, we can add more people as…." Cordelia trailed off seeing his hand reach for the watch and gingerly open the round intricate lid.
There in all its glory was his family watch. Tom was represented with a thin Sapphire hand, Lia with an Emerald hand, Erin with Golden Beryl, Jormy with Black opal, Lux with Blue Topaz and Nyx with Peridot. All of them were representative of the eyes. Much poetry described eyes as the mirrors to the soul and it was true for mind arts. To give access to the mindscape and soulscape, you needed to look in the eyes. But that was beside the point. In his watch, each of their names was scripted in tiny, neat engraved calligraphy, Cordelia's hand, over tiny, delicate ivory nameplates that hovered over each of the gemstone hands. (The hands are represented (in the order the names occur) in the Avatar)
The dial consisted of various activities and locations: eating, sleeping, reading, flying, in danger, mortal peril, home, traveling, lost, injured, common room, great hall, library, class.
He just stared at it as Cordelia spoke again, "Not all of them apply to the zoo. They cannot read, for instance. And well home is subjective, but currently I have charmed it to be Slytherin quarters. And well, they are jumbled up a bit and too many…"
Tom just kept staring at his palm, at the watch that proclaimed and told him that Cordelia…Cordelia was his family. He could not believe that he had a ….that he had a family. Cordelia had no idea how meaningful….perhaps she did, otherwise why would she go to such efforts to tell him that he had one and that she considered him one with family too.
And before he knew, he had shoved the watch and box in his robe pocket and he was pulling her towards him and lifting her in his arms as he proceeded to kiss her within every inch of her face and then her lips…needless to say, Cordelia responded back.
Evelyn's POV
Evelyn was in the study area with Kelsie Wildsmith, Timothy Rowle, Garret Ollivander and Garnet Ettington, working through the scripts for the project earlier than everybody because fourth year Ravenclaws had no compulsory class, when a commotion just disturbed them.
"What has happened now?" Rowle said in curiosity.
"Oh, come on, we will miss the gossip…." Kelsie smiled in excitement and all of them just proceeded outside at her prompt.
The arched windows of the balcony had a wide collection of people, seemingly oogling at something.
Evelyn even spotted Slughorn.
She joined the Inner circle where Abraxas, Anastius, Alphard, Orion, Cole, Meads, Lucretia, Prince, Walburga with Sebastian, Ogden, Bones, Gore, Shafiq, Jade Marks and Applebee. The group easily parted to include her and Rowle.
What Evelyn saw would forever be imprinted on her mindscape. Tom and Cordelia, in each other's arms! More than that, they were kissing…they were kissing each other on lips, not just innocently….quite intimately.
Seemingly oblivious to the crowd and to the noise everyone was making with the hooting and laughter and encouragement.
"Slughorn erected privacy and silencing wards separating the balcony and this side. They can't hear a thing or see the crowd," Anastius answered her question, seemingly understanding her direction of thoughts.
"What is it? What great spectacle should Charlie, King, Gambol, Pritchard, Burke, Titania and I not miss?" Dorea's grumbling voice entered as the crowds parted to let in too.
As soon as she saw the scene, her jaw dropped the same as for the rest of the entrants.
Then, Dorea clapped her hands together and squealed, "This is so great…." And the tension in the entire circle dissipated as everyone began chattering about how great it was that the two were finally together.
"On Valentine's day, nonetheless…" Bones said with his easy smile. As the three Black sisters chattered with each other where Evelyn was pulled and Charlie, Ogden, Gambol and Gore started talking about their chemistry. Cole, Meads, Shafiq, Pritchard, Titania and Burke discussed something with easy grins.
Rowle, Marks, Applebee and Longbottom were in another group.
Anastius and Alphard were dealing somewhat with the crowds while Orion and Abraxas kept an eye out on them.
Of course, everyone still keenly watched the continuing kiss.
Slughorn was laughing along with Bagnold and Nott stood by them, smiling.
There were disgruntled people as well. Lyra Greengrass for one.
A lot of people were coming to Zabini and Alphard with eager faces and leaving with disappointed, hung necks.
"What are you doing? Why are they grumbling and why are you patting on their backs?" Abraxas raised the question to Zabini and Alphard that most of the group was curious about.
"They all lost their bets about when the couple will kiss…" Alphard told them to a general roll of eyes and laughter.
"Who won?" Gore grinned.
"Does not matter…" Abraxas cried, "If Corrie discovers this, you both and the person who won the bet….you will need to run to some remote hills to save your hide!" Abraxas tried to caution them.
"Well, then, Abraxas, you should tell your Father to pack his bags and find a remote hillock…" Anastius said with great amusement.
Abraxas blinked at him and then, a moment later, all of them understood. Lord Malfoy was the one who won the bet. Wait a minute; Lord Malfoy placed a bet on when his niece would kiss Tom…?
"You are not serious…"Abraxas said with a withering look of disbelief, albeit a very weak and nervous one.
"Why would I lie? Besides, lying is bad for gambling business!" Anastius said as he waved away another second year about his claim on money.
"This is insane!" Abraxas waved around his hands in agitation.
"It is. Enjoy it Abraxas, Cordelia is more likely to go after Slughorn considering he charmed the walls to enable students to hear and see this undisturbed," Burke patted his back genially and glanced towards the balcony.
Everyone again started enjoying it.
Evelyn also heard two second years in crowd proclaim what beautiful babies Tom and Cordelia would make…
This was juvenile…so juvenile, the way people were performing voyeurism so casually.
Alphard, who had left them for a bit, returned to their circle with a grim look and said one word, "Dumbledore."
Titania and Dorea exchanged looks with Ogden as Evelyn wondered just how Dumbledore was going to play this match.
A few minutes later…
"This is highly irregular…Public displays of affection are against school policy…."
"The school is over, Deputy Headmaster," Walburga said coldly.
"Besides, it is not a public display of affection. The Balcony is quite sheltered and considered a private spot. It is not Tom or Cordelia's fault that much of Hogwarts enjoys voyeurism, including a bunch of Professors." Titania added to the argument and fixed Slughorn and him with a deathly look.
"But they are still proceeding—" Dumbledore began.
"They do not know Deputy Headmaster. I am surprised you did not realize that your colleague has erected a ward to prevent interruptions to the two students," Ogden informed and said quite calmly.
They did not accuse Slughorn directly but they had stated enough to dropping of an inquiry.
Dumbledore's veins in his neck and forehead twitched but he left without another word.
Between Ogden, Burke, Dorea, Titania, Gambol, Charlie, Pritchard, they managed to disperse the crowd and Dorea got Slughorn to undo the charm once everyone else had left.
So…
Tom and Cordelia were together. Hogwarts, if possible, got more interesting.
However, Evelyn was wary.
The people were not just disgruntled about the bets. There were others who felt cheated just by the virtue of that relationship's existence.
Lyra Greengrass was just one of them. Bulstrode siblings' eyes had steel as well. So did Farley, Whiddon, and Umbridge. Travers' face was composed and a little defeated as if he had expected this but he still did not like it.
Other houses were similarly scattered across disappointment, dislike and disapproval.
Brendon Longbottom and Heir Fawley looked sad. Prewett looked irritated and McGonagall had her nostrils flaring.
Ravenclaws were also in solidarity. Her year mates, Stratton and McLaird were going to be really disappointed. So was Elizabeth Corner. Heir Zabini, Heir Yaxley and Lockhart were going to be unbearable about this too.
Tuner, Diggory and Edgecombe from Hufflepuff did not appear happy either.
The court will have to be very careful.
Cordelia's POV
She did not know how long they kept kissing. She could feel emotions rolling off Tom as he tried to express it all through his affection.
When they ended it, it was nearly dark. As Tom placed her back on her feet, his eyes were alit with a different light as he cradled her cheeks in his palms carefully.
She could see the struggle in his eyes. He wanted to say something, tons of stuff but words were failing him.
They were failing her too.
Before another moment could pass, they were in another tight embrace until Cordelia softly murmured, "I am not presuming a lot, am I?"
A little hint of doubt and insecurity leaked into her voice.
They separated and Tom looked at her, his eyes imploring as he realized that she was serious.
His eyes softened and he pulled her head as he plopped kisses on her forehead, "Cordelia Faye Black, you are the most precious, remarkable, endearing person I have come across and I am utterly besotted with every inch of you. That said; you are the tiniest bit of a nincompoop too…" Tom teased gently at her with a glint in his eyes.
"Do you love the nincompoop part too?" Cordelia's lips twitched.
"I would be stupid not to." Tom murmured back as he gently kissed her right earlobe, just below the rose pin to which Cordelia gently laughed.
"Well, you are a bit of a doofus too," Cordelia said quite teasingly.
"I see," Tom raised his brows and then asked, "Do you still like me?"
"Like you?" Cordelia said in mock scandal, then raised herself on her toes and plopped a kiss on his nose, "I adore every tiny speck of your personhood!"
They entered dinner some 15 minutes later and there was a sort of suspicious silence in the room. That was when Cordelia realized that both of them were still holding hands and she still wore the red rose pin in her hair and it was Valentine's Day.
Of course, people were not clueless. Of course, people were a bit stupefied about what to say or do. Of course, they were also going to talk, eventually.
Hers and Tom's eyes met briefly. They did a tiny shrug and joined their friends at Slytherin. It was bound to come out eventually and honestly, they were tired to people staking claims on them publicly.
Nobody mentioned that they were together or questioned them about it but the general sense was of happiness for them.
Cordelia did not eat much. She and Dorea had a late meal when they woke up and her stomach did not have much room.
She chattered with Dorea and Titania and egged on Flint as he, for a change, made a mickey out of Burke. Pritchard helped.
Tom and Abraxas were whispering about Binns. Their lobbying had worked. Currently, the board of governors was wondering whether to involve the spirit division of Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures. Francis Osbert, the in charge of the spirit division, was a bit thick in the head. As the analysis of Heirs and Lords had decreed Binns to be deliberately spiteful and vicious, they were wary of releasing him out of Hogwarts. That could do more harm if Binns managed to influence or retaliate. The other option was a sort of spirit trap or in the worst case scenario, an exorcism. They were still weighing their options and wanted Osbert to do exactly what they wanted. And that would take some political maneuvering.
Cordelia squeezed Tom's hand and left the table when she realized that she had not seen Nyx and Lux for a while and the kittens probably needed some attention. Most of the hall was still eating. Tom had given her a concerned look but when he saw her fingers reaching for the Slytherin locket, he had relaxed. He knew she won't be harmed even if she navigated the space alone.
Cordelia's POV
In her giant bubble of happiness, Cordelia forgot something. She did not tally the people who were missing in the great hall.
So, when she entered the Slytherin dorm, she was surprised to see Lyra Greengrass, with blood and rage in her eyes glaring down at her.
Cordelia just considered the girl and almost snorted, but she maintained the decorum, "Can I help you Ms. Greengrass?"
"How dare you?" Greengrass gritted her teeth in agitation.
Cordelia just raised her brow.
"How dare you lay your filthy paws on Lord Slytherin? What do you think…you will just swing into Hogwarts, enchant him with your unnaturally good looks and you will gain more social power? What did you think….He is mine…I laid my eyes on him first? But you are so characterless, so utterly wanton that you could not just stay, could you? You had to have the wizard who was the most handsome of all, who had so much power. Charming the pureblood society was not enough…making all of us look plain in front of you was not enough….you had to come, charge in, take over my love and rub it my face by vulgarly kissing him for everyone to see?" Greengrass hissed in anger, pointing her finger at Cordelia.
Cordelia's brows were so high that they almost touched her hair. Cordelia would have taken accusations seriously if Greengrass was not so obviously dense, hence, this rant more of amused Cordelia. She refrained from giving in the urge to twitch her lips to give away the fact that just how ridiculous this was. For the same reason, she did not say anything either. This was just so below her intellect.
She understood Greengrass' urgency to land a decent husband. The girl had been brought up with probably one goal in mind; to marry a rich, handsome and powerful wizard. She did not know any different, which was why Cordelia was refraining from destroying the woman in her verbiage. Just because she did not get Lyra's priorities did not mean that she had a right to be condescending about it by default. However, Greengrass was crossing several lines by accusing Cordelia of vulgarity and wantonness. Yes, Cordelia had not expected to receive the same consideration that she was extending Greengrass but she had expected certain decorum.
"What are you looking like that? Cat got your tongue or you lost it when you seduced Lord Slytherin to play with it?" Greengrass hissed.
The nerve of this girl…
Cordelia froze because if she moved, Lyra Greengrass would be so injured…
She calmed down and merely said in a measured tone, "This is not worth my time."
She swung around and moved towards the giant fireplace but was bodily stopped and pulled back by her shoulder by Greengrass.
The Slytherin locket swung out from her blouse and the egg shaped locket came to a rest outside of her blouse on her bosom.
"Where did you get that? You stole it, you stole Slytherin's legacy. Now you have done it you whore, you are not just wanton and characterless about your personal honor, you are also a thief…" Greengrass raised her wand and before she could do anything, a burst of powerful magic from the locket blasted her onto the circular firepit, knocking the wind out and burning a lot of layers and volume of her precious honey blonde and blemishing her skin with soot and…
The door to the common room opened and in came several people, supporters of both the witches.
Cordelia stood calmly, as the magic of the locket encased her in a strong goblin and runic magical shield, untouchable by anything and anyone.
And Greengrass wailed in pity, pointing fingers at her, screaming hysterically about Cordelia being a whore, being a thief, being characterless.
Everyone watched by, not completely understanding anything but that did not stop their inner circle from forming a protective circle around her.
It did not stop Julia, Renatus, the Parkinsons,Violetta Bulstrode and Farley to hurl acccusations and even curses at them.
It all went on until the person whom Cordelia really wanted to see, came and blasted everyone on the other side to the other end of the room.
Tom's wand was pointed at Lyra, he was furious, the veins in his neck throbbing, his palms and fingers shaking in rage. His other palm found hers, as others separated to let him give access and he pulled her tenderly into an embrace to assure himself of her safety, her shield subsiding to allow it. Tom would not hurt her.
Cordelia felt a strange calm take over at his presence. He was here, he was here. This time no one would call her unjustifiable names and get away with it, not because she would not let them but because Tom would not let them.
"What is the meaning of this?" Tom hissed in English, his anger shining and the threatening sibilants of Parseltongue making an appearance.
The other gang was properly disarmed by Tom's spell and Dorea and Titania had used summoning charms to throw those wands out of reach.
"She is a freaking whore, a seductive veela, she has ensnared you with love potions or her evil magic and she even stole the legendary Slytherin locket and was stupid and cocky enough to wear it, thinking no one would notice, no one would question the freaking queen of Hogwarts….And when I held her responsible, she threw me across the room. Look at her smug face….you must see the truth Tom." Lyra yelled hysterically, her tears, perhaps genuine, rolling down her cheeks seamlessly.
"That is Lord Slytherin to you, Ms. Greengrass." Tom quietly said, "Moreover, if I hear one deplorable and unjustified address referring to Cordelia, I will burn your tongue in accordance to the number of your utterances."
Lyra gaped at him.
"See, she has ensnared you, and all of her cousins are in on the game…" Aimee yelled.
"How you grew up in a noble family, Ms. Parkinson, I would not know. I am wearing an ancient lord ring. Mind Compulsions are useless against that and that includes love potions and any veela charm." Tom replied back with a deathly calm.
"While both of us owe you no explanation, I will say a few things right now and if you value your hide, life and safety, you will not question it or attack either of us about it. Cordelia and I are very much in love, we have been in a courtship for a while. We do not care what you think, we do not care when you mind, and we also have no interests in entertaining any other suitors.
"The locket of Slytherin was a present to Cordelia. Yes, I gave it to her even before we confessed our love for each other. That is how important she is to me. The locket is encased with Slytherin family magic and other numerous shields and it reacts in accordance to any threat and its size. So, the magic that threw you across the room was mine and it deterred you because you wished or intended to harm Cordelia bodily.
"We are reporting the incident, the harm you intended and the accusations and profanity you flung to Prof Slughorn, our Head of house, and the Headmaster and also to the Board of Governors, including the Head of the Governors, that is, Lord Black. We will also be duly writing to your father and the Greengrass Head of house for exact proportionate penalty that you and your house hold to Cordelia and her house, and the penalty you hold to the nobility, and the penalty you hold to the house of Greengrass for your attitude and lack of respect. Am I clear?" Tom's said slowly, enunciating every word in an address that demanded attention and compliance.
The face of Greengrass was white and everyone was frozen.
"Moreover, I am giving everyone who raised the wand against Cordelia a free pass right now because it can be argued that you did not know anything and were just reacting. Rest assured, if you raise it another time, you will not just get a legal or disciplinary warning/punishment. Consider it your last warning. If even a modicum of this repeats, you will have to reckon with what my magic does to you. Ms. Parkinson, ask your Head of house to expect a fine and warning in regards to you." Tom ended with solid strong roving eyes on everyone, "Understood?"
Lestrange reached for his wand but before he could, the Black totem appeared and hissed warningly over him and he dropped the wand with trembling fingers.
"Herbert, Titania, if one of you would be kind enough to bring in Slughorn?" Tom gently requested.
Burke gave a sharp nod and left.
Cordelia's green eyes shone in threat and power. She had not removed her unnerving gaze from Greengrass for even a moment. Not even when she called the black totem wandlessly, bloodlessly and non-verbally.
Tom and she still held each other's hand strongly.
The Black totem returned to her, lightly wrapping itself around her right arm and using her right shoulder as the base.
She did not think that they would have any more disgruntlement about them being together.
Hello dear readers,
This is yet another update before the mark of a month passes. Today is my birthday and I updated the fic last time on this day as well.
This Chapter is meant as a thank you for the support, constructive criticisms, love and respect I have received from this community and all of my readers. I am a better person and a writer today because I chose to write for this fandom and you all stopped by to read, comment and wish me luck. Your support and understanding through my struggles not just as a writer but with my health is greatly appreciated and loved.
I hope to do even better in coming years and I hope you can stick by and more people join us and stop by.
Thanks a ton,
With love and hugs,
Katoptris
Next Update: A month from now
