Hey ya'll! So glad you've been enjoying A NICE SWEET SNAPE, isn't he just lovely when he wants to be? đ This chapter is actually twice as long as my normal chapters, it's 10k words smh... that's why it took me so long to write it, sorry! I had to think through some important stuff, which also contributed to the delay, but I think I got it all worked out and I really hope you like this I think it is one of my favorites, for Penny. She deserved this, needed this, but I won't say more.
Happy reading!
Life at grimmauld place was a haze of drowsiness and noise. With so many people staying in the house as well as all the members of the Order who came and went as often as they did, there was never much quiet to be found, but Mrs. Weasley did her best to keep the others away from Penny, a task that was made much easier when the others discovered Snape was staying with her. Apparently, not even Fred and George were game enough to break the rules with him watching.
That did not mean, however, that any of them had given up, and according to Harry, all of them, especially Ginny, had been hounding him about her. Though he didn't outright say it, Penny could tell by the tone of his voice that he thought Penny should speak to Ginny, a prospect Penny had complicated feelings about. In truth, she'd been avoiding the pretty girl. What was Penny supposed to say? How was she supposed to act? She could not just pretend, go back to the ease with which she moved through her life before Voldemort had changed it all.
Everyday since waking, Penny stood before the mirror in the locked bathroom and uncovered her chest to expose her mutilated body. The longer Penny stared at it, the more loathsome it and her became. Like a reel at a picture show, Penny relived again and again being pinned to the floor as the hands of the man she trusted with her life were forced to carve the vile thing into her. The worst part being, how, in some twisted way, it made Penny feel closer to Snape despite his part. This secret of theirs, it coiled around them, threatening to strangle the life from them if they resisted. And yet she found it a comfort, not being alone, that someone else knew exactly what it'd been like at that moment. Or maybe it was because the truth made them both feel somehow lessâthe property of something grotesqueâfor Penny, something to be pitied and for Snape, someone to be accused. It was a truth that when held close, naturally pushed others away because it was now a part of Pennyâforeverâ a part she could not and did not want to share.
In what reality would Penny be able to keep this from Ginny? Not only would it be impossible to never take her shirt off again without questions, but Penny believed that staying in a relationship with something so large between them that would require her to lie was unfair to Ginny, and hurting the girl was not an option. Whatever the answer may be, Penny was terrified and confused, and she knew Ginny already had enough on her plate since Mr. Weasley had nearly died and was still staying at Saint Mungo's. So Penny did what she did best and avoided it, all the while wondering how she ever got sorted into Gryffindor when she was such a bloody coward.
A welcome distraction to her conundrum came in the form of Lupin's proposed trip, something that lifted Penny's spirits so much that Snape could not even bring himself to argue about it, or maybe he just conceded because he had to make his leave, Penny assuming he was summoned by the Dark Lord but too afraid to ask.
"You're not taking her like that," Snape said to Lupin, his typical sneer returning now that he seemed to have caught up on sleep.
"No, I don't imagine it'd be wise. I was thinking more of something like this," Lupin replied, waving his wand over Penny's head.
"Hey! What'd you do?" Penny demanded, looking up at Lupin, whose eyes were glinting mischievously.
"You're a little too recognizable with that beautiful hair of yours."
Looking down, Penny took some hair in her hand, and instead of the normal fiery red she found sleek black instead.
"How's it look?" Penny asked, amused because Lupin was definitely into dark hair.
"Awful," said Snape at the same moment Lupin said "Adorable."
Penny turned indignantly on her potions master, finding a distinct look of distaste on his face. "Is it because I look like Harry now?" Penny said with an eye roll, turning her green eyes on him, a gesture that seemed to startle him from whatever thought he was mulling over in irritation. His eyes widened, cheeks turned a violent shade of puce and his mouth hung open stupidly as he stared down at her, the feeling of annoyance coming off in ever stronger waves, but there was something else accompanying it, something Penny couldn't quite read.
"No, Penny, Harry doesn't quite have your girlish good looks. What I think Professor Snape is trying to say is that black brings out the color in your eyes marvelously," Lupin said, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips as he watched Snape flounder.
"You don't have to lie for him, I'm used to his ill manners, just the other day he called me oafish," Penny complained, turning back to Lupin.
"You would accuse me of lying to you? I thought you knew me better than that, my dear, but if you need proof, ask him," Lupin retorted, his eyebrows raised in challenge, brown eyes never leaving Snape's face.
"Is it really that hideous?" she said, turning back to Snape.
His black eyes narrowed on Lupin in obvious loathing before glancing back at her, jaw clenching and unclenching several times as the pink in his cheeks slowly receded. But as soon as he surveyed her, it returned and he looked away quickly as though he did not trust himself to answer while looking at her. Reaching for his bag he straightened himself up again before he finally answered "Don't be ridiculous, Potter, anyone who would describe anything about you as being hideous is very evidently lying."
The response surprised Penny, was Snape complimenting her? She couldn't be sure and she couldn't ask because he was already leaving, walking briskly out the door and making the heart in Penny's chest thump erratically, a new habit it seemed to have developed every time Snape had somewhere else to be.
A strong hand squeezed her shoulder and she looked up, finding warm brown eyes watching her. "Don't worry, he'll be back once he collects himself," he smiled. "But I think you owe me an apology."
"I didn't think you were lying, embellishing maybe," Penny argued.
"Are you accusing me of being biased now and Snape level headed?" Lupin said in mock indignation.
"Definitely not," Penny grinned. "His response was very strange though."
"You think?," Lupin said, the glint returning to his eyes.
"You don't?" she said, brows furrowed in confusion.
"I think his response was very predictable," he said evasively.
"Why are you being so vague, just spit out what you're thinking."
"I don't think I will," he said, looking much too smug for Penny's liking.
"That's not very fair," Penny frowned.
"You can't be cross with me for being selfish, Penny, not when Snape has had you all to himself this past week. It's my turn," said Lupin, his pointer finger taking up residence beneath her chin to tip her head back and look up into his pouting face.
"You know full well I could never be cross with you, and you have no cause for jealousy because you have my whole heart," Penny said, unable to help the smile spreading across her face.
"Would it make me a terrible person if I were to tell you that I love hearing you say so."
"I wouldn't care either way, you're mine now and forever."
"That's supposed to be my line," he accused.
"Is it? Let me hear you say it then," Penny said with a playful smirk.
Taking both her cheeks in his hands, eyes alight, he whispered, "Penny Potter, you are mine. . ." laying a soft kiss on her forehead; "now," he continued moving his lips to her left cheek, "and forever," he finished his lips linger on her right.
Feeling decidedly lightheaded, Penny grabbed his arm to steady herself as he pulled away. This caused him to laugh openly and he laid an arm across her shoulders and led her out of the room.
"Come my dear, our adventure awaits."
Being the middle of winter, the world outside was cold and covered with a blanket of snow so Penny was forced to bundle by Mrs. Weasley who was very fussed over the idea of Penny catching a chill. To appease the woman, she'd stolen a pair of oversized jeans from Harry and paired it with the Christmas sweater Mrs. Weasley had knit for her. Unlike the others' which were maroon, Penny's was an emerald green and embroidered in white across the back was her name, Penny Potter, and on the front pocket Mrs. Weasley added her initials, PEP. Over the top of that she wore a large wool jacket that Sirius had gifted her for Christmas, it was quite handsome and almost perfectly matched the one Lupin was wearing. A fact that made Penny's heart secretly skip with glee.
Being the furnace he was, Lupin himself wore fewer layers than Penny, adorning a salmon colored polo shirt and a pair of slacks, on his wrist the silver bracelet Sirius had gifted him for Christmas. He carried his jacket but did not bother to put it on. He looked quite handsome in Penny's opinion, something Sirius seemed to agree on because he gave him an embarrassingly long kiss that made Penny blush furiously. Shoving a hat over her newly dark hair, Penny made for the door, Lupin extracting himself from Sirius with some effort to follow.
When they'd made it to the street, Lupin had calmed his breathing and turned to smile at Penny, the world silent around them. Pulling her close, Lupin held her firmly against his chest, Grimmauld Place disappearing with a loud crack. The impact was as awful as Penny expected, and if it were not for Lupin holding her, she would have surely landed on her arse. Clinging to him for a long moment, Penny waited for the world spinning around her to settle.
"Does it ever get better," she said, feeling nauseous.
"For most it does, but you do seem to have a, uhh, uniquely adverse reaction to it."
"Great," she grumbled, as he stepped away from her, revealing a long, manicured path ahead of them. There was no snow on the path and in fact, it seemed the snow only fell around it, as though some barrier covered it. Lining each side of the path were brightly colored lanterns that hung in the air by magic. In the dim morning light, the spectacle was quite beautiful, Penny letting out an audible gasp as she laid eyes on it.
Taking the lead, Lupin stepped onto the path and as he did, the lights around him stirred, something exiting from them. Startled, Penny reached for Lupin, watching as the different-colored lights zoomed around them warily, her nerves still not quite recovered.
"Don't worry, they're just fey, they'll be following us to town.."
"Fairies?" Penny repeated, perking up. In muggle stories fairies were always decidedly good and she wanted them to stay that way. "But where are we going?"
"Valaki, it's an old wizarding town that guards Stonehenge, anyone wishing to see the stones must come through here first."
"But don't the muggles come and go as they please?" Penny asked, confused.
"That's a replica that the magical community created in Wiltshire, it's nothing more than a simple charm to keep them occupied. The real Stonehenge is a well kept magical secret. A family known as the Martikovs have been charged with its care and are its keepers."
"I don't think I understand, what do you mean by keepers? Isn't it just a pile of rocks?"
"Not just anyone is allowed to see the stones, but it's a very important site to the wizarding community," he said, Penny noting how a village was beginning to appear on the horizon.
"Why wouldn't someone be allowed to see them?"
"That is an answer only the Martikovs have, but it's said the stones have the power to bridge the world of living with that of the dead."
"What does that even mean?"
"As the academic that I am, I have not the faintest idea. But it is enough to draw people from all over the world," Lupin answered.
"But why come all that way if they might be rejected?"
"Being turned away is quite rare, the last known was actually Grindelwald, and by that time his reputation preceded him."
"They were able to turn him away? But I thought Dumbledore was the only person he was ever afraid of?"
"A question I've always wondered the answer to myself," Lupin mused. "But he never made it to the stones. It was naturally very publicized and he didn't try again."
"So, what do people do when they come here?"
"For some the journey is a bit of a pilgrimage and touching the stones is supposed to give a sense of clarity about one's life, especially if the path ahead is hard to see."
As they walked, more fey gathered, their numbers so large now they must look like a giant orb of light descending on the town to those watching. It took Penny a moment to realize that was probably the point, this town wanted to be informed when anyone approached, and as they neared the gate Penny could just make out the forms of a handful of people waiting for them.
"But why did you want to come here?" Penny said, more quietly as though the figures waiting for them might be eavesdropping.
Slowing to a stop, Lupin turned to Penny, looking suddenly unsure of himself.
"I wanted to bring you here. Part of me hoped it might help you see a future for yourself outside of all the pain you've endured. Though I know it may well be superstition, you can't blame a man for hoping. But I confess that isn't the only reason."
His eyes moved past her, focusing on something just above her head, his lips becoming a thin line.
"Remus, I hope you are not afraid of sharing your thoughts with me, because if you were it'd break my heart. Whatever it is, you can trust me to hear you out."
Glancing back to her with a small smile he sighed. "It's not you, Penny. It's my own regrets, but I wasn't entirely truthful with you on the day you used that ouija board with Sirius, and for that I'm sorry."
"What does that have to do with this?"
"Nothing and everything."
Penny waited, allowing him to collect his thoughts, something that looked unusually difficult for him. "I can't say when exactly it started happening, but at some point while we were at Hogwarts, James started having dreams, dreams he was adamant meant something."
"You mean like Harry seeing that snake attack Mr. Weasley?"
"No, not like that. Dumbledore thinks Harry's vision was more related to a connection Voldemort's failed spell created between himself and Harry. What I am talking about are visions like the door you described to me before you fell ill with that fever."
"You believe me, then? I wasn't just imaginingâ"
"I believe you, and I was a wretched man for making you think I didn't. A part of me just wanted to pretend it never happened, because then I'd never have to face. . ."
Penny reached for Lupin's hand and gave it a light kiss in an attempt to convey it was alright for him to share whatever it was he felt so ashamed of.
Trying again he said, "For many years James would tell me about these convoluted dreams that were often hard for him to recall unless he relayed them as soon as he awakened. Because Sirius is, well, Sirius, James confided them in me and I couldn't help but notice patterns in these dreams. He was always describing an endless array of doors, except the doors were central, almost a puzzle, and he constantly felt thwarted by them, telling me he'd made the wrong choices because nothing had changed. I tried to tell him they were just dreams, but sometimes the things he told me did come to pass, though not always in the ways he'd describe."
"Surely it was just a coincidence. . ." Penny said more to ease her own mind as a creeping sensation inched its way up her back.
"It certainly could have been and I never missed an opportunity to say so, but these plagued James for many years of his too-short life. Which brings me to why we're here. It was some time after you and Harry were born, he'd written to me saying his dreams had changed. He seemed quite worried about it but wouldn't give me any details in writing. At the end of the letter he'd left me a cypher that when broken, asked me to help him sneak out of Godric's Hollow so he could come here. At the time he'd just gone into hiding, so I didn't know the location, which as we both know was Sirius' doing. Against my better judgment, I wrote him back and agreed because I just couldn't fight the feeling this was important, that this time I couldn't brush it off. But he never did write back, whether Sirius intercepted my letter, or if he decided not to trust me there at the end, I'll never know. He died soon after and I can't help but feel I should have done something different."
"Remus, you can't feel regret over that. You have to know my dad would have never believed you would betray him. He confided these things in you because he trusted you."
"And I couldn't help him when he needed me most," Lupin said, his voice breaking with emotion.
"You cannot possibly berate yourself because you can't see the future," Penny said gently.
"And if he could, if I'd only tried harder to get him here?"
"You don't think he was a seer do you?" Penny said slowly.
"The only thing I know is James was adamant about getting to Stonehenge. No one comes here without a purpose and most are seers on a pilgrimage."
"You know that us going won't answer these question, right? I will be glad to go with you to fulfill my dad's wish, but I couldn't bear it if you came away even more unhappy because we don't find what you're looking for."
"My dear Penny, you give me more love than I am deserving of and forgiveness. But I didn't come here for James, I came for you. You see, after you told me about that incident I went back and re-read that letter your dad sent me and I've come to believe that James wasn't asking me to take him here, he was asking me to take you. He saw something or knew something, so he entrusted it to me. I know it may sound utterly insane and I can't prove it, but I feel it. I feel that there is something here for you, something you need now," Lupin said, cupping her cheek with his large, warm palm and looking down at her with more trepidation than she had ever seen in his eyes before.
Penny's heart stopping mid-beat, she blinked several times trying hard to process all that Lupin was telling her. There was a nervous excitement growing in her chest, the kind of juvenile hopefulness that had once convinced Penny when she was nine that her parents weren't dead, but captured and one day they would find her. She remembered all too vividly the day those dreams were dashed and she learned the most wicked wizard of their time had killed her parents in cold blood. It was a hope she knew she shouldn't run after her, but she didn't want to push it away. Her deepest burning desire was to follow this path Lupin passed onto her that had been laid out by her father. The thought that perhaps he had known what she would become, that even facing death he had wanted to leave something for her, it lit a fire in her heart, made her eyes burn.
"You r-really think he'd-he'd? For me?"
"I think that no matter how much you look like Lily, James knew the legacy of the Potter's would live on in you."
"And if there is nothing here?"
"There will only be nothing if nothing is what you are looking for. Keep your mind and heart open, Penny, don't limit yourself to only what you can imagine him leaving for you."
Taking a deep breath she nodded toward Valaki, and with one foot in front of the other, she reminded herself she was a Gryffindor and could be brave if she tried.
When they made it to the gate, a group of men approached them, Lupin noting how uneasy Penny had become by the newcomers, she still had not adjusted to normal social interactions, so he told her to wait and he would speak to them. Eternally grateful for his care, she could not help but berate herself. How was she going to return to Hogwarts when she was still such a basket case? Watching from a distance Penny couldn't help but notice how the group of men all looked over at her, one muttering to the one beside him before sprinting away.
Returning to Penny, Lupin said they could enter so she followed close behind him, avoiding the gaze of the group who shamelessly watched her pass. Thankfully, as soon as they entered the town Penny found the distraction she need on a street lined with little shops and houses, all of which were a vibrant array of colors that one did not typically see on buildings in London, or anywhere Penny had traveled before. With the sun fully over the horizon now, several people were coming and going along the street, most ignoring the pair of them, Penny entranced by several magical displays in some shop windows.
Watching her with the look of utter contentment, Lupin smiled as Penny vocalized her amazement about each thing she discovered until her teeth were chattering and he insisted they find somewhere to warm up. It didn't take long for them to stop at the Blue Water Inn, finding it bustling with people taking their breakfast. Penny saw the boy who'd run from the gate behind the bar, he was much younger than she'd thought from a distance and he was whispering something to a portly woman beside him, both of whom glanced at Penny before quickly breaking apart. Utterly perplexed by their behavior, Penny brushed it off, searching for a seat in the corner furthest from all the loud people who made her feel uneasy, Lupin seating himself beside her after obtaining a steaming pot of tea and some porridge.
"I think I've identified at least six different languages in the last 20 minutes. It's astounding," she said, sipping her tea as she admired the varying attire of the other patrons.
"And this is the slow season, not many people enjoy our English winters."
"All for some stones. Where do we find them, anyway?" Penny said. Now that her belly was full she felt anxious to start moving and solve their mystery.
"Ah, well, it seems we need approval first."
"Oh, from that shop where everyone was getting a stamp?"
"Normally, yes, but you, uhh, seem to be a unique case," Lupin said, delicately, looking conveniently down at his tea.
"That doesn't sound good."
"It depends on how you look at it," Lupin argued. "You've been asked to appear before Davian Martikov, which is a great honor, he's the patriarch of the family."
"Right, 'an honor'," Penny said, sardonically. "Isn't patriarch a bit of an outdated title?"
"It is, but best not to say that to him," Lupin said, resisting the urge to smile.
"But why would he want to see me?" Penny said out loud, looking past Lupin and finding that same boy watching her again, but this time he was speaking to another boy who looked just barely older than the first. They both shamelessly made eye contact with her before something in the kitchen caught their attention.
"Speculation only makes one more nervous, better to just ask him yourself," Lupin said in that wise tone of his, but Penny wasn't fooled, she could feel there was something he just didn't want to say.
Feeling it was probably better to mentally prepare herself for more overwhelming social interactions instead of arguing with him, Penny worked on the meditation practice Lupin had taught her, reminding her brain that noise was okay, and that the people around her meant her no harm. Lupin held her hand as she closed her eyes, letting the noise wash over her, willing her heart to remain calm. Thinking of all that she associated with calmness, Penny stayed like that, but for how long she did not know. It was Lupin who broke her trance, squeezing her hand and whispering, "It's time."
Despite her efforts, nerves ate away at her as they walked down the now much busier street, Lupin stopping her in front of The Wizard of Wines. In they went, finding a boy only a few years older than Penny pacing before a fireplace. As soon as the door swung shut, his dark eyes snapped to her face, startling her with the intensity with which he gazed at her, not bothering to acknowledge Lupin, he crossed the room making a b-line for Penny, stopping much too close for comfort, and making Penny jump. Unperturbed by her response, he took a lock of her hair in his hand, studying it with an odd expression. Looking down at her hair as well wondering what he could possibly find so fascinating,, Penny watched as the sleek black almost melted away, revealing the brilliant red beneath, and then without a word his eyes trailed back to her face and he smiled at her as though greeting an old friend and said, "Penny!"
The neat short black hair framing his angular face handsomely, his pearly whites beamed down at her in a way that felt much too intimate to Penny, it was like he knew her deepest darkest secrets while she did not know so much as his name.
Feeling suddenly claustrophobic, she took a step back, Lupin clearing his throat.
"Miss Potter is here is here see Davian," Lupin said, his tone reproachful as he eyed the boy with a certain weariness.
Turning in surprise as though he'd just noticed Lupin, he eyed the handsome man for a second before turning back to continue staring at Penny as he answered, "I am Adrian Martikov, Davians eldest son, I will show you to him," he offered, stepping aside and gesturing toward the door at the other side of the room.
Pulling Penny in close to him, Lupin walked with her through a series of doors ending in a drawing room that was strewn with a handful of people. One was an old man sitting in a chair at the head of a long table. Standing on either side of him were the boys Penny had seen at the Inn, and standing by the fireplace was a tall woman and another boy who looked to be only a year younger than Penny. All of them watched as Adrian, with a certain pep to his step, led Penny and Lupin through the room, offering them each a seat before taking his own opposite from them, his eyes fixed on Penny.
Knowing all other pairs of eyes were also watching her, Penny shifted uncomfortably, looking to Lupin for guidance.
"Mr. Martikov, it is a rare honor to meet one of your stature, I am Remus Lupinâ"
"I know who and what you are," Davian cut across him.
"Oh?" Lupin said, trying to sound pleasantly surprised but Davian's statement seemed to put him on edge.
"You'll not find we have the same inclination toward prejudice for your condition, in fact, lycanthropy is quite celebrated here," Davian added, his cunning eyes seeing right through Lupin.
"A welcome departure," Lupin replied, inclining his head.
"It's the whisperer beside you who isn't welcome," said Davian, not bothering to remove the hostility from his tone.
"Father, Penny is our guest, and a most esteemed one at that, or did you forget that the Pottersâ"
"I forget nothing, Adrian, and I do not need you to remind me of a lineage you have only read about. But you are different, are you not Miss Potter? Yes, you are more than a Potter, and therein lies our problem."
"If you are referring to Penny's expression, you need only say so," said Lupin. "Penny's giftâ"
"Gift?" Davian cackled. "A gift to whom? I remember the last time a whisperer came to Valaki. Many of my brethren died that day because Gellert Grindelwald did not like receiving no for an answer. While we were able to keep him from the stones and successfully banished him, it came at a great cost to my family."
"Penny is not Grindelwald," Adrian said fiercely. "You are a fool, father, for dismissing her based on the same prejudice you claim to despise in others."
"You have let an unknown future bias you, Adrian. Have you so soon forgotten what the Ministry of Magic was able to create because of her? Or did you fool yourself into believing werewolves were their only targets?"
"We already told you, father, the girl never gave willingly," the boy to his right said.
"Aye, they tied her to the chair, the entire ordeal was quite awful," the other affirmed.
"Regardless of how they obtained it, the fact is that the whisperer remains at the mercy of the ministry, her sympathies matter little when she has no recourse," the woman by the fireplace argued.
Penny stared dumbstruck at the squabbling family before her, totally flabbergasted as how these utter strangers knew so much about her and what had happened at the ministry. She had not so much as heard their names prior to this meeting and here she was, listening to them speak of her as though she'd known them her entire life. Unnerving still was the amount of details the boys had about her time with Yaxley, there had only ever been the five of them in that room, so how could they possibly know with any certainty she'd been forced?
"Excuse me," she said, all eyes turning to her. "Hello, yes I'm Penny, you know, the person ya'll are having a conversation about. Would you mind telling me how the hell you came to know all this," she said, causing Lupin to cough as he tried to hide his laughter. Adrian grinned and Davian's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"A wise talker, eh? Haven't they taught you manners at that school of yours? Or is it you think they're beneath you? It's the business of the Martikovs to know secrets hiding in plain sight, it's why we've survived here this long, but how we do so, well I won't be sharing that with a whisperer" Davian replied, his nose in the air.
Giving his father a look of warning, Adrian elaborated. "What my father meant to say is, much like your family, ours contains an ancient lineage of seers, that combined with our lycanthropy allows us to keep tabs on people, if you will."
"You're werewolves?" Penny said. She really shouldn't have been as surprised as she was seeing how much time she spent with Lupin, but she had never met any other werewolves before, and that Fenrir Greyback had made her think perhaps they were not as nice as Lupin.
"Wereravens," Adrian corrected with a crooked smile. "We are the wereravens of the Order."
"As in the Order of the Phoenix?"
"No, The Order of the Feather, but there has been a time or two that Dumbledore has asked for our assistance."
The two younger boys grinned and gave each other a little shove of approval, clearly remembering something they'd done in Dumbledore's service..
"Our family proudly passes on the lycanthropy, it's a great honor," Adrian said, gesturing to the room."The short one's Brom, the other Bray, the grouchy one is my sister, Stefania, and the quiet one is my younger brother, Evir. We are the Martikovs, though there are more of us, you'll find them milling about town."
"Good to meet you," Penny said awkwardly, studying them. There was a strong family resemblance between the younger folk and Davian, though he had a head of white hair while the others all adorned luscious locks of sleek black hair. There was something about their eyes and sharp jaws that they all inherited from Davian. Adrian, who's five o'clock shadow was in full force had a jovial nature to him while his two siblings remained stoic and intimidating. Brom and Bray had more childish qualities that reminded Penny heavily of Fred George and she suspected the four together could probably manage to get into a lot of trouble.
"And you, you're Adrian?" Penny said, still jarred by the way he conversed with her almost in a manner of intimate acquaintance. For some reason she felt certain there was more to it than it simply being his personality.
"Yes, sorry, I imagine it is all a lot to take in," he said, running his hand through his hair nervously. "But, well I've been dreaming of you for the last two years."
Penny felt her cheeks burn hot, and from the corner of her eyes she saw Lupin cover his mouth in an attempt to hide his chuckle. Resisting the urge to stomp on his foot, Penny gaped at the boy wondering if he'd actually just said that out loud to a room full of onlookers.
"Told you she wouldn't be interested, she's much too pretty for the likes of you," Bray snickered.
"Not like that," Adrian said quickly, his own cheeks going red as well. "I forgot to say, I'm a seer and I've known you'd be coming for a while."
"You saw my arrival?"
"Yes!" he said, not picking up the wariness in her tones and sounding very proud of his efforts.
"Did you see anything else?" she pressed, hoping to head off any more surprises this place might be hiding.
"Oh, well," he said looking conflicted "a few other things but they're not important nowâ"
"Bloody right they aren't because she can turn around and go right back where she came from," interjected Davian.
"Father," Elvir said, startling Penny by how low his voice was. "You can only send her away if the Mad Mage deems her impure, we cannot break custom," he warned.
"He is the patriarch, I do not see why custom cannot be changed," Stefania argued.
"Because it is not our way," Davian said almost as though he were reciting something from heart, but he still managed to look sour about it. "If the whisperer wishes to take the test, it will be under the eye of the Order with the understanding that should she try anything we will not hesitate," he grumbled, getting to his feet and stalking off toward the exit proving himself to be much more stout than Penny expected him to be.
"Please forgive my father's rudeness, you can rest assured no one will harm you, we are very honored to have you," Adrian said, apologetically once his father was out of earshot.
"Speak for yourself," Stefania said following after her father.
Adrian got to his feet and made for Penny, but Lupin was on his feet and pulling Penny's chair out for her before he could even make it around the table. Adrian stopped, looking slightly crestfallen and watched as Lupin placed a hand on Penny's shoulder and leaned in close. She was thankful for his assurance, the entire exchange had unsettled her and Penny did not know yet if these people were to be trusted.
"You don't have to do this," Lupin whispered in an attempt to bar their onlookers from the conversation. "I had no idea it would be like this, but we can go, just say the word."
"I want to stay, if you'll stay with me," she said, her eyes fluttering to find the dark eyes of Adrian, finding them full of a nervous eagerness.
"Lead the way," he said. "But if you change your mind just give my hand a good squeeze."
Adopting a cautiously pleasant expression, Lupin turned to Adrian, "I assume we are to make our introductions to this Mad Mage now?"
"Y-yes, this way," and he and the three others made their way out a different door than Davian had gone through, leading them down several dark hallways. He finally opened a door to a tiny circular room, at its center a hooded figure sat at a table, an empty chair waiting opposite them.
The others took up residence along the wall, all of them watching Penny with bated breath. The figure made Penny uneasy, she could not see their face and there was a strange aura coming from the person, one that sent a chill up her spine.
Taking a deep breath, Penny muttered "The bravest and the boldest," reminding herself to be as brave as her twin, and letting go of Lupin's hand she took a seat before the mage.
"Penelope Potter, daughter of James and Lily Potter, whisperer and witch, I am the Mad Mage, into your soul I will look and what I find you may not like, do you wish to proceed?" came the raspy sound of a man's voice from beneath the hood.
Feeling like there was no right way to respond to such an absurd introduction Penny said, "Yep," fully anticipating this entire thing to be an utter waste of time.
"Good, now give me your hand, child,"
Wanting very much to keep her hand to herself, Penny laid her hand in front of her, wincing when the mage's gnarled hand began probing her palm.
"A broken life line, things will not go as you expected, but you must have already known that," the mage said, his putrid breath hitting Penny straight in the face. "But your second will be better than the first, if you make it that far. There is great chaos in these lines, another would alter your destiny and it's unclear whether they will succeed or not. Walk with caution, the scales could tip in either direction," he said, letting her hand go.
A bowl of stones appearing before him, he slid it toward Penny. "Choose one," he said, a distinct note of amused-malice in his voice.
"Right. . ."
The stones beneath her were all different shapes, sizes and colors, but upon first glance they seemed like ordinary stones to her, making Penny wonder what exactly the point of the exercise was. Wanting the weird ritual to end quickly, she reached for the blue stone because blue was her favorite color but stopped just shy of it, her hand retracting toward her chest as though shocked. Doing a double take on the stones as the man chuckled softly, Penny realized the stones were humming much like Snape did, except they all had a distinct tone, and the blue one which she almost so carelessly selected was the only one that was whispering; reminding Penny of that awful veil.
Being overly meticulous so as not to even graze the blue stone, Penny chose the burgundy stone, its melody reminding her most of Snape's and putting her blissfully at ease. She turned it over in her hand, inspecting it and before she handed it to the mage, it did a most peculiar thing and began to glow. Uncertain how or why it happened, Penny dropped the stone as though it were a hot coal,
"The wine stone has chosen you," the mage said, sending everyone except Lupin in the room into a murmuring frenzy.
Waving his hand over the stones, they disappeared, a deck of cards replacing it. Murmuring in a language Penny did not know, the mage laid out the cards before her.
"Choose three."
She'd never had a card reading before, but her aunt had always said they were codswallop and Harry and Ron never seemed that convinced by the ones Trealawney forced them to do in divination, an opinion Penny wanted to have as well, but she couldn't ignore how she seemed pulled toward some cards and repelled by others. Penny pointed to the three cards, feeling it would be better not to touch them. And one-by-one the mage flipped them.
"The emperor, a guardian to watch over you; the lovers reversed, chaos and strife, or perhaps a new beginning; andâ " he paused, looking at the card before he broke out in a horrible screech of laughter that sent all the hair on Penny's arm standing on its end.
Pulling his hood from his head so she could finally look upon his face, a man with dirty, matted white hair looked back at her with a wide, toothless grin, one red eye fixing itself on the green eyes that stared back at him in horror, his other socket completely hollow. And then he slammed the card down and said "death!" before returning to his cackling.
Penny took one good look at the card, her brain screeching to a halt as the blood rushed to her ears, drowning out the horrendous laughter. The world tipping on it's side, Penny sprang to her feet and ran for the exit ignoring the yells that followed her, but her feet did not stop moving until she made it to the street, the frigid air blasting her in the face and reminding her she was still alive.
Death, why had she pulled the death card? She wanted it to just be some stupid joke, but Penny could not convince herself it was a coincidence, that there was not some bigger meaning to it, not after what she'd seen. There were just too many questions left to be answered, but the only people who might have a clue how to do so were long since dead. Whether the old man was an old kook and planned it all out to get to her, Penny could not shake the sense of dread pulling the death card left in the pit of her stomach.
"Penny," came Lupin's concerned voice as he stepped into her field of vision.
"Sorry-it was just a little stuffy in there," Penny said, shaking her head as though it would make things right again.
"It's more than that, and you don't have to pretend it's not, not with me" he said "You aren't required to believe a single word that mage uttered. For all we know he'd planned it just to get a reaction from you."
"I know, but I chose the cards, Remus."
"And you had a 3 in 12 chance of picking the death card so oddsâ"
"I know what the logic says, and this may sound utterly ridiculous, but I just feel there is some connection, something about my family, about death."
"I'll be frank, I don't trust these people, Penny. Whatever that all was, I think we should consider what comes next very cautiously. This is not at all what I thought it'd be."
"If by that you mean it feels like there is something they're not saying, I get that feeling too, but my dad wouldn't send me here for no reason" Penny said quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was in earshot.
"It's possible I was wrong, and this goose-chase is just one of my grief's making. But are you quite certain you've never met the boy? If it's just an act, it's a good one, because it honestly feels like he knows you."
"Not unless he went to Hogwarts for a year, it doesn't make sense. And why would he dream about me? The entire thing was a bit creepy."
"If he is a seer, like he says, it's not that unusual. I daresay any seer in the Martikov family spends more time with future possibilities than reality, it's probably how they stay so well informed."
"But what would they want from me?"
"I'd rather not find out," Lupin said, darkly. "I think it would be best if we took our leave now, Penny. I know I saidâ"
"No! We can't, not until I see the stones!" Penny exclaimed. "Please, you can't make me, not when I'm so close to finding out if dad really wanted me to come here," Penny said unleashing the power of her puppy-dog eyes on Lupin.
"That's not a very fair way to win this fight," he frowned.
"Are you really going to be stern with me and lecture me on our special day!"
Rubbing his face vigorously with his hands several times, he sighed. "You really are impossible to reason with."
"That explains why Snape just yells."
"Well I have neither the heart nor willpower you to deny you anything you ask of me."
Wrapping her hands around his waist, Penny smirked up at him, "And that's why you're the only one for me."
"I'll remind you of that when it's his lap you're going to sleep on," he glowered. "C'mon your admirer looks anxious for your attention," he said, a teasing smile playing at the corner of his lips as he dodged the hand that reached out to smack him in annoyance.
"I am sorry if the Mad Mage startled you, Penny. Having grown up with him it's easy to forget how off putting he is," Adrian said, taking her hands in his and looking profusely apologetic.
"It's not your fault, just had a few bad run-ins lately," Penny said, pulling her hands free from the boy as soon as she could do so without appearing rude. "So did I pass the test or am I to be drawn and quartered," she said sardonically.
Adrian resisted the urge to smile, but he could not hide the way his eyes twinkled in amusement. In a seemingly deliberate effort to tear his eyes from her he said, "I do hope my father has not set you against us. I wish for us to be friends."
"You have seen the future, shouldn't you already know if we will be friends or not?" she said, eyebrow arched.
"I don't see the future, I see possibilities," he said, his shiny golden skin becoming a little pinker beneath her gaze.
"Like a series of doors?" Penny said, more to herself than to anyone else. His words had jarred a distant memory from the recesses of her head. A dream where doors stood end to end. The details of the dream were hazy, but Penny remembered the desperation with which she'd been looking for someone.
"You have seen the pathsâ" he whispered, but before Penny could ask him what that meant he gave her a look of warning just as the door behind them opened and the Martikov family and a few others Penny had not yet met joined them, Brom carrying a large cloak which he handed to Adrian.
"Stonehenge has been emptied, you may visit now. It is customary for the members of the great seer families to wear the ritual cloak," Adrian conveyed to Penny, bowing his head as he offered it to her. "It's more for show," he added, Penny finally noticing how the street had started to become much more crowded, people stopping to point and whisper as Lupin helped her put the cloak on, pulling the hood over her head and appraising her with his handsome brown eyes saying, "Shall we go, your empress?" offering her his arm.
"Shut up," she muttered but accepted it nonetheless and followed Adrian, the Martikovs trailing behind them.
The walk through town was awful, people calling out to Penny, some trying to reach out to touch her, which made her thankful for her escorts that shooed them away or threatened the more adamant ones. It was like the world had turned upside down, and Penny was now living Harry's life. She'd never thought much of it but in the short trek she gained a new found appreciation for how hard Harry's life must be sometimes with everyone knowing who he was and hailing him as some savior.
At the edge of the town was a tall gate, which the guards opened upon seeing Adrian, allowing them entrance to a small path that wound its way through a small forest, Penny's mind wandering as she watched the birds zooming from tree to tree above her. There was a certain trepidation building in her chest, one that made her regret her impulsive decision to continue on. What if this entire thing was for nothing and when she saw and touched the stones nothing happened? Would the others think her a disappointment? Would it make Lupin feel worse about her father's letter? Would she feel even lonelier having allowed her heart to hope that James had, in his last days, sought some way to be connected to her? If Penny was truthful with herself, this was the most realistic possibilityâdisappointment waited ahead, and the more steps she took, the more foolish Penny realized she was. If only the entire family hadn't decided to tail along and she could find the answer without an audience.
Whatever was going to happen, there was no turning back now because Adrian stepped aside and revealed a grassy field, and somewhere near the opposite end was Stonehenge, standing tall and marvelous. Penny came to a stop and looked at it, she'd never even seen the muggle version, except in pictures, but they had not prepared her for the feelings the sight evoked in her. Looking at this relic, Penny suddenly felt small, like an ant lost in a world of giants, trying her best not to get stepped on.
Whoever had left the stones, Penny knew they'd had a reason, a reason her tiny mind could not comprehend, but that did not stop it from being lured into discovering it. Letting go of Lupin and completely forgetting those around her, Penny traipsed across the field, the dew clinging to the grass wetting the hem of her robes. It was clear many had walked this path, melting any remnants of snow that would have been foolish enough to linger. But in this moment, the only person entering was her, her own determined footsteps the only sound she heard.
Something inside of her drove her forward, gave her courage she did not know she had. With each step, a little piece of her own self awareness slid away and in its place she was given a taste of some purpose she did not quite yet understand, but it compelled her forward. The world around her becoming still, so still Penny was sure the wind must have forgotten itself, she stepped across the threshold, gazing up at the nearest monolith.
Her eyes looked and her ears listened, but Penny could not feel anything, not even the normal hum of life her magic was typically attuned to. It was perplexing and unnerving, but mostly frustrating. She touched several stones, and still nothing. So she closed her eyes and searched for the sounds, but silence and stillness was all she received. Realization that it might have all been a waste of time burgeoning in her heart, Penny let out a frustrated yell and kicked the rock nearest her.
"If I may be of assistance," a tentative voice said.
Turning, Penny found Adrian standing some distance away from her in what she assumed was a gesture of goodwill and not intrusion.
"Only if you want to waste your time."
"You give up much too easily, Penny, I thought you were more stubborn than that."
"I'm sorry if real Penny is a disappointment, but whatever you dreamed, I ain't it," Penny said in irritation.
"That's not true," he said, bridging the distance between them, his eyes full of light. "You have seen the paths, that means you are a seer, but not any seer, one of the Potter lineageâ"
"I'm sure that is all well and great but it means absolutely nothing to me," Penny blurted out, no longer trying to be polite. "I have never seen anything nor had anyone teach me."
"I will teach you," he said. "Right here, right now. The stones will speak to you."
The fierceness in his voice caught Penny off guard. Why was he so hellbent on helping her? What did he think she was capable of, or worse yet, deluded into believing she could do for him?
"As nice as the offer is, I think I've wasted enough of everyone's time," Penny said, making to step around him and take her leave, but his outstretched hand stopped her.
"Speak to them before you go, just once. . .Please.'
"And how does one speak to a rock?"
"Close your eyes."
"If I do this, you'll let me go?"
"You have my word."
Closing her eyes, Penny let out an impatient sigh. A soft hand took Penny's hand, leading it toward the nearest stone where he placed it palm down, his own covering Penny's. She wanted to flinch away from his touch, but it was a small price to pay to be able to make a quick exit and never have to see the weirdo again, so she bit her lip instead.
"It's silent because you have not knocked. I want you to imagine that the stone beneath your hand is a door, but you will not knock with your own hand, instead you will focus and give the command," he whispered.
"A command to whom exactly?"
"You'll see."
The world was no longer silent, Penny noticing how the energy around Adrian was different. An openness flowed from it, an openness Penny wanted to emulate. Resigning herself to at least giving it her best shot, she focused on the particles around her much in the way she did when she summoned her magic; Penny called them toward her and imagined them knocking in lieu of her own hand.
It started as a small tapping at first, but after a few attempts Penny made out an audible knock and Adrian even exclaimed "Good!" in her ear.
Ignoring the fact he had stepped much too far into her personal bubble, Penny made it knock again, but this time she received a reply in the form of a loud gong. It startled them both into stillness, Penny whispering "Was that supposed to happen?" But before Adrian could respond, the gong sounded again, and again, getting faster and much closer together as it did so.
The sound filling her ear drums and causing the ground beneath them to rumble and shake, Penny snapped her eyes open just as the exterior of the stone before her disappeared, becoming a swirling mass of color instead. Like a vortex it began to pull at them, Penny's feet sliding across the ground though she tried to dig them in. Adrian yelled something Penny could not hear, his hand clutching fervently to her shoulder. Without even enough time to try and turn around and escape the pull, one great gust of wind pushed them, sending them topping through the newly formed opening.
Trying to straighten herself as she tumbled, not that she knew which way was up, Penny watched in disorientation as image after image passed herâthings that were⌠things that are⌠and some things that have not yet come to pass. Sweeping past them, she came to an abrupt stop. But she did not land, or feel any sort of impact, everything around her merely stopped moving. Regardless, Penny still teetered, her hand reaching out and taking hold of a railing just to her right.
Blinking against the bright sun, Penny looked around realizing she was no longer in Stonehenge, instead she stood at just about the center of a very long bridge, beneath which a river raged loudly. Dragonflies buzzed around her and a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, making her feel that it was much too warm in her winter attire, but she thought better of taking it off. Realizing Adrian was no longer with her Penny looked behind her, searching for his head of dark hair. On the far side of the bridge she thought she saw him running toward her, waving his hands, but she could not make out what he seemed to be yelling at her. It was as though a barrier existed between them and everything he said bounced right off it.
Thinking it was probably a good idea to make for him, Penny took a step forward, pausing when the lovely yet unfamiliar tones of someone caught her attention.
"Penelope darling," he said, and Penny's heart bade her turn.
Making his way toward her from the other side of the bridge was a handsome tall man with a mop of untidy black hair that rustled in the breeze that wafted over the pair of them. He smiled wide when she looked at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. For a moment she thought she was staring at Harry, but something was not quite right about him and the tones of his voice were much too low. Surely it could not beâshe should not allow herself to be so desperate to believeâ but then her heart won the battle against her brain, and like a small child, Penny's legs moved, and she ran the distance between them, throwing herself into his waiting arms. Burying her face into his chest, she cried, breathing in the scent of him, her body numb with disbelief. Her hands reaching for his every limb and muscle as though to confirm he was real.
"I want to believe it's you, but I'm afraidâ"
"So believe, fear be damned," he said, his face pressed into her hair and arms laced tightly around her waist as he picked her off the ground and swung her in a circle, making Penny laugh, her tears flying off her cheeks and onto the bridge below. He spun her until she was sick with laughter and then he set her before him and she looked up into the hazel eyes that were both a part of her and yet so horribly foreign to her. James Potter beaming down at her, tears rolling down his much-to-youthful cheeks he said, "I knew you would come, my brilliant, clever girl."
Reaching out to touch his cheek and marvel at how beautiful he was, at how much her eyes loved to look upon him she said,"But how. . .dad," Penny's voice breaking as she uttered the last wordâ the same word she'd spent her entire life unable to use, envying all the other children who used it so carelessly. "How is any of this possible?"
"Because you are my daughter, and that makes you extraordinary just like your old man," he winked.
The joy emanating from James was infectious, spewing over into Penny and filling her up with such happiness that she could no longer imagine what darkness looked like or pain felt like. Staring up at the all-too-familiar head of jet back hair, his good natured face soaking her in as though she were the most precious thing in the world to him, Penny forgot everything else; what was behind; why she'd come; the people waiting for her. The world came crashing to a halt, and everything that she'd endured no longer mattered. In this world and this moment there was only Penny and James Potterâa girl meeting the father she'd so longed for.
"I've missed you so much," she whispered, looking at the ground as emotions overcame her for a second time.
Bending down so they were face-to-face, he said "I'm sorry I made you wait so long, my Penelope. To be honest, I didn't think it'd take so long for Moony to work out the message, he was supposed to be the clever one," he grinned.
"I don't think that's what happened, dad," Penny said with a roll of her eyes, knowing full-well James was just making trouble. The word was easier this time, Penny noting how James' eyes crinkled with happiness when she used it again.
"You can't blame me for not wanting to be the one to disappoint an angel like you," he shrugged. "But you're here now, so give me another hug so I can forget my abominable attempt at organizing this little rendezvous. . .Thank heavens for Moony," he said quietly as he wrapped her in another bone shattering hug.
"Thank heavens for both of you," Penny said, taking in another deep breath and committing the smell of him to memory.
"Freshly cut grass and pine," she muttered into his chest.
"Dahlias," he replied, surprising Penny.
Clinging harder to him, her world bursting with emotions, Penny allowed everything within herself to flow free, dumping anything that would prevent her from truly cherishing this moment into the river beneath her. Nothing else mattered, only him. Whatever stood waiting, whatever he needed to tell her, it could wait, everything could wait, just like she had waited for 15 years to finally look upon the face of her father; to tell him how much she loved him.
Locked together, they held each other, both unwilling to let the other go, both too keenly aware of all the years together they had been so cruelly denied. They held onto the singular moment destiny had granted them, a moment that would need to satisfy her for a lifetime but only left her more aware of exactly how cruel life had been to them.
đ So in book 4 and book 7 Harry got to see his parents and I felt that was important, he got that moment where they supported him when he needed them most. A dear reader and friend asked me to give Penny something similar, and here it is, Penny getting to feel some true comfort in this link she has to her father. She's been through so much and the only thing that can help her is a parent đ
We lost James Potter too soon, but I love him dearly and so does Penny and we hope you do too!
Part of this story line is also a crossover. for any DnD fans, the Martikovs come from the Curse of Strahd and I decided ti incorporate them because I like them so much. They are not my characters, but I have adapted them!