I'm deeply sorry about the long wait. I actually kept forgetting I had to update this. And my house has been under remodeling, and since I had to supervise the works, it makes me even more forgetful than usual…which is actually bad enough.
Just in case any of you has forgotten, this is where we left off:
"Because I have that information of course." Sirius announced proudly. "I know the most recent names of those seven lineages."
Now for this chapter:
Chapter 32. Lineages
The silence that followed Sirius's statement that he knew the most recent names of those seven lineages was only because they were all too shocked to say anything.
"How, exactly, do you know that, Black?" Severus asked, being the first one to somehow manage to get his bearings.
"Do you think you are the first to ever think about invoking the Ancient Justice upon those pompous and greedy idiots that are most of the members of the Wizengamot?" Sirius asked in return with a snort.
"What is the problem with the Wizengamot, really?" Tomoyo asked with a tired sigh.
It was one thing for them to know it was bad in that moment, for them to want to bring the whole system down; but to think it had been that bad for two generations in a row, that they weren't the first ones to want to change everything so radically…Something had to be really wrong in the Wizengamot…
"I think the problems of the Wizengamot, and really, the Wizarding World in general is that the truly Noble families have long since stepped down from the positions that granted them great power in our society, leaving others to take charge." Sirius said solemnly. "They thought the Wizarding World needed to be modernized, and for that the government had to be more democratic, less authoritarian, and so they willingly stepped down…" he shook his head. "The problem was that the Wizarding World as a whole wasn't ready for that kind of change. The families that were considered high-middle class back then, you could also called them the 'New Purebloods', who have a few centuries of just magical in their families, and yet aren't Ancient like the truly Noble Ones; they also have money, as most of those families began as merchants, intermediaries in services and such. Those families, instead of helping lead our World to the democracy the Nobles wished for everyone, instead tried to take the place of the Noble Families…They didn't always have that kind of power, but once they did…it was obvious they wouldn't let go of it willingly. Each with their own agenda." He shook his head again and sighed. "The Wizengamot is full of people like that, so really, it's not that surprising that our world is in the state it is."
"And why didn't the Heirs of those Lines come back to make things right?" Ron asked. "If they had done it when the trouble began all of what's happening now, or at least a good part of it, would have never happened."
"That may be true." Sirius admitted thoughtfully. "But it's not as easy as you may want to think. I told you, it's something my generation wanted to do, but we weren't able. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get seven people with completely different upbringings, ideals and statuses to work together for one common goal?" he focused, remembering something else. "In fact, if I remember correctly, not even we were the first generation to try it, it has been attempted before, but never have seven heirs been able to come together and agree on a course of action. And unless the decision is unanimous, the invocation won't work."
All the teenagers nodded, they'd known that part already; and as logical as it sounded it that moment that other generations had tried themselves and failed…they really had never so much as considered that possibility. On the positive side, thanks to those facts they now knew Sirius had the information they so badly needed…
"Will you tell us the names of those Lines?" Harry asked. "So we can begin to try and track them down. If we're fast enough we might even find them before the Ministry does something to try and block us…again."
All the other teens nodded grimly.
It was something they all were aware of, not just because of the information Zabini had passed to them through Neville, but there were some DA members who had parents, siblings or other close family members working in the Ministry, who had heard things, or being told directly, and they had passed the message to Harry and the others as soon as they were able. The Ministry didn't know yet about The Plan, but they knew something was brewing in Hogwarts, something dangerous for the status quo, and if there was something those in power weren't about to allow, it was a change in the status quo.
"I can do one better." Sirius assured his godson. "Almost twenty years ago, which is when we attempted this, we actually managed to gather together six of the seven heirs. I can give you the names of those six, and I can also tell you the names of the heirs of each and every one of them, we all knew each other, we were friends, and we knew the children, as all of them were born in a lapse of a few years…"
"If that was so, why didn't it work back then?" Ron asked, confused by what Sirius specific words seemed to imply.
"Because of the seventh." Sirius answered honestly. "The seventh Lineage, by the time we discovered the name, the last member of it had disappeared, into the muggle world in fact. We could never find her." He sighed. "No one attended Hogwarts in those years bearing the same name, so we have no idea what happened on that end."
Hermione bit her lip hard, it was bad, what Sirius was saying forced them to consider the possibility of one of the Lineages no longer existing, and if that was so…then The Plan would be completely impossible. Still, she forced herself to focus, they had access to the names of six of the Lineages, and even, possibly, the current Heirs; they would worry about the last family once they had settled things with the other six.
"Well, are you going to tell us or what Sirius?" Sonomi practically demanded.
"Very well." Sirius nodded solemnly. "The ones who came together two decades ago were: Loraine Hiiragizawa, Christopher Bones, Selene Lynch-Lovegood, Franklin Longbottom, James and Lily Evans Potter, as well as myself."
Several brows raised at the names mentioned, particularly because everyone in the room could recognize every single surname.
"Wait." Long said suddenly. "You said seven names, not six."
"That's because, as we found out, both Lily and James are part of the same Lineage." Sirius explained. "I don't know if to consider it coincidence or destiny, the fact that James and Lily came to be together, and not because of convenience, they truly loved each other dearly, one of the few true love-matches I got to see in my time."
"Ok, so six Lineages then…" Eriol commented. "Which is which? Aside from my mother, which is obvious enough."
Sirius took a deep breath at that. He knew that the following revelations would be more than shocking, they had been shocking enough when he and his generations had found out the truth. Still, it's not like he wanted to keep things hidden either…
"Bones for Hufflepuff, Lynch for Ravenclaw, Longbottom for Gryffindor." Sirius practically blurted out.
The reaction was practically instantaneous:
"Longbottom is the Heir of Godric Gryffindor?!" Long and Severus snapped in unison.
Naoko couldn't help it, she burst into giggles at that.
"I really cannot see it." Severus insisted.
"That's because you don't really know Neville." Harry stated seriously. "You see him in Potions, or in the halls, and you see a boy who fears you. The truth is quite different. The truth is that, for the longest time, Neville had no self-esteem and no self-confidence whatsoever. The way you acted and still act in Potions, it makes him nervous, which causes him to make mistakes. I'm not saying it's your fault, I'm just saying that's how things are."
"Then there's also the fact of his wand, until sixth year he'd been using his father's wand, which wasn't a match for him." Hermione added pointedly. "He didn't get a matched wand until after his own broke during the battle in the Department of Mysteries."
Harry and Sirius both flinched at the reminder of that battle, even if all the bad that had happened that day had been erased three weeks before, they still didn't like the reminder.
"I still cannot see him as anything but the squib." Long admitted.
This time it was Ron who burst out laughing.
"What do you find so funny?" Long asked, confused.
Truth is that not just the blonde, but everyone in the room had expected at least the Gryffindor trio to take offense at Long's comment, but even Harry and Hermione were snickering.
"Let me show you just how much of a squib Neville is." Hermione decided.
While Harry was a bit more powerful at such things than she was, she had more control, which was necessary for something as specific as what she wanted to do.
Hermione placed one of her palms against her own forehead, and the other before her, and began projecting a scene most of them recognized, if only from the stories: the battle six Hogwarts students between the ages of 14 and 16 had waged against Voldemort's own Inner Circle in the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic nearly two years before.
Eventually Harry placed one palm against his own forehead and the other over Hermione's extended hand, to allow her to project his memories as at one point she'd blacked out and Harry knew what had happened afterwards.
By the end of the projection: seeing Neville with blood on his face, his nose and possibly his jaw broken, and still fighting with all he had to make sure the DEs wouldn't get the prophecy he was holding in his hand…they all finally saw it: Neville Longbottom was, indeed, a worthy heir of Godric Gryffindor.
And it wasn't only him, Luna, who was the next heiress of Rowena Ravenclaw, had been there as well, and she too had proven to be quite the witch; not many survived a battle against so many of the most powerful followers of the Dark Lord, and to do it all shortly after turning fifteen, with no more knowledge than that of a fourth year student…
"So Neville and Luna are the heirs of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw." Ron commented.
"Yes." Hermione nodded. "And I suppose Hufflepuff's is Susan Bones?"
"Yes." Sirius nodded, with some sadness. "Chris was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement back then, and a very good friend. He married a muggle woman actually. He was so strong, and so affixed to his moral code, Voldemort considered him a threat, serious enough that he lead the attack on the Bones family, killed Chris, his wife, his cousin Edgar, along with his wife and children; the only ones who survived the attack were Chris's only daughter: Susan, and his cousin, Edgar's sister, Amelia; and I believe that was because Amelia was babysitting Susan that night, otherwise…"
"Amelia Bones is dead." Eriol informed Sirius. "Voldemort himself killed her the summer after his return was made public, after that battle in the Ministry…"
"She was a good woman." Sirius commented. "Powerful and very fair. Who's become head of the DMLE in her place?"
"Rufus Scrimgeour." Sonomi said, with obvious distaste. "Kingsley Shacklebolt was made Head Auror in his place."
"Something tells me you don't like Scrimgeour…" Sirius commented.
"I don't." Sonomi didn't bother trying to hide it.
"Why?" Sirius didn't understand. "I mean, I know he's pretty stubborn, very hard and a bit on the vicious and grudge-holding side but…"
"He's as much of an idiot as Fudge, Malfoy and the rest of them." Sonomi huffed.
Sirius nodded, understanding then; Scrimgeour was one of those who refused to believe the teens about the battle at Hogwarts the previous June; he would be angry too in her place.
"What about Slytherin's Heir?" Long asked, deciding they needed to get back to the main topic. "I mean, we're assuming here that since Riddle pretty much snuffed it back in 81 he isn't the legitimate Heir of Slytherin anymore but…"
"He isn't." Sirius reassured them all. "And even before his death he wasn't, not really. But that's the heir we're missing. We searched for her everywhere we could and never found her. Maybe, with your powers you'll be luckier, at least in finding any children of hers, though in that case her name would have changed again, and with that I cannot help you."
They all nodded, at least they still had some hope on that end.
"What about mom, dad and you?" Harry asked, very curious on that front. "To what Lineages do you belong?"
"If you saw the list of the original pillars, you know already the answer to that question Harry, at least to a point." Sirius pointed out with a half-smirk.
Hermione's jaw dropped instantly, she'd been focusing on remembering the last two names on the list and she had, practically at the same time as Sirius had made that last comment. She couldn't help it, the whole thing was so absolutely shocking.
"Hermy?" Harry asked, a bit worried about her.
"Arthur and Merlin…" Hermione muttered, still not quite over the shock.
That sent everyone reeling instantly. They had been so focused on the heirs of the Hogwarts's founders that they had forgotten the other two names in the list.
"Actually not exactly." Sirius said with a bigger smirk. "After all, King Arthur was a muggle, his wife Queen Ginebra was the witch, and the pillar was Princess Ariadna Pendragon; but I suppose for all intents and purposes… Merlin was already dead, or at least far away from the public eye by that point, that lineage comes from Ambrosius Wylt. Though, like with the princess, I suppose it can be considered pretty much the same in the end."
No one said a word, still waiting for Sirius to finish his explanations.
"So, I am the heir of Princess Ariadna, as is Naoko." Sirius went on, more focused.
"Could any Black be an heir?" Long asked, biting his lips slightly in contemplation.
They all knew what he worried, not all Blacks were good, there were people like Narcissa Malfoy née Black, and the psycho Bellatrix Lestrange née Black; if any of them qualified to be an heiress of Princess that could cause very serious trouble.
"No, not anyone can be an heir." Sirius said, thinking very hard on the facts. "There's only one per generation; they need to be as direct a descendant as possible, they also need to follow the ideals of their ancestor. Then, to become a pillar they would all need to agree. So no, Narcissa and Bellatrix will never have any chance of being an heiress though…if I weren't here, and if my daughter didn't exist, you could be D…Long, or if not you Andy, that's Narcissa's and Bellatrix's older sister, or even her daughter Nym."
"Why us and not the others?" Long asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable by the attention. "I don't even bear the Black name."
"Neither does Nym, or even her mother for that matter." Sirius pointed out. "And it doesn't matter, you're still part of the Line, and a candidate to heir because you share the same kind of ideals our ancestor did."
Everyone nodded at that.
"Ok, so let me see if I have understood everything." Tomoyo said seriously. "We need to get Neville, Susan and Luna, explain about the Lineages to them, in case they don't know, which I suspect they won't. At least they're part of the core group already aware of The Plan…" she sighed. "So they will join Eriol, Harry and Sirius…"
"Naoko." Sirius corrected. "It would be better, since she'll be of the same generation as the others. Besides, she's the one who has the connection to the others involved in this."
They all nodded, while Naoko couldn't help but blush at the idea of having such a responsibility, and such an honor…
"All that's well and good." Sonomi declared. "But it won't help any if we don't find the Slytherin Heir first."
"True." Harry nodded. "Do you still remember the name of the last known member of the Lineage, Sirius? Maybe we can find a descendant of hers, or even her if she still lives…as long as the person is a witch or wizard, and we can convince him/her of the plan…"
"First we need to find him/her." Hermione interrupted as she noticed he was beginning to ramble in his nervousness.
Harry nodded, and then everyone's attention was back on Sirius.
"Well, like I said, we searched, all of us." Sirius reminded them. "We never found her, or anyone that seemed connected to her. There hasn't been any student bearing the same name since, though, if she truly married and took her husband's name that might explain that part." He took a deep breath before finally revealing it. "The last known member of Slytherin's Lineage was a woman by the name of Prince, Eileen Prince."
Hermione immediately closed her eyes, trying to remember if she'd ever read that name somewhere, anywhere, Harry could vaguely remember borrowing a book in sixth year, when he had forgotten his, someone had written on the inside of the book: 'Property of the Half-blood Prince'. The emerald-eyed sorcerer thought it might be connected. Ron, and the Asians had no idea whatsoever who that Prince might be. Eriol for his part had heard the name before, from his mother, but that was many years ago. Sonomi didn't seem to have any idea about it either but…
"Are you sure?" Severus sudden steel-hard voice caught everyone by surprise.
"What…?" Sirius hadn't been expecting that at all.
"I asked if you're sure." Severus insisted, anxiety clear in his voice. "Are you sure the name of Slytherin's last heiress was Eileen Prince?"
"Absolutely." Sirius nodded empathically. "What does that…?" Sirius eyes widened as he suddenly realized something. "You know who she is? Where she is?"
"Eileen Prince is dead, has been so for twenty-three years." Severus answered in a cold, hard tone of voice.
"Wha…?" Sirius hadn't been expecting that. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure!" The Potions' Master practically snapped.
Sakura was the first to notice the pain hidden in the shadows of the professor's eyes, and she couldn't help but worry about him.
"You knew her, didn't you professor?" She asked softly, compassionately.
Severus turned to look at her, shocked by the unexpected question, and even more so by the feelings he could read in her eyes, her green eyes…he could remember so clearly what he'd thought the first time he'd seen the young woman, how much she'd reminded him of Lily, his dearest friend…and there it was again, the same kind of compassion, of empathy in those green eyes, the young woman cared, perhaps too much.
"Uncle Severus?" Tomoyo asked softly, realizing the same as Sakura.
"I knew her, by Merlin I did." Severus admitted, closing his eyes tightly before adding. "Eileen Prince was my mother. She died when I was fifteen."
He heard several gasps all around, but kept his eyes closed, the last thing he wanted was to see any pity, from anyone in the room, particularly those he hadn't always been fair or understanding to, like the Gryffindor trio…
"Oh Severus…" Sonomi whispered.
Then, before he could do anything, or even think about trying to stop her, she pulled him towards her, holding him in a tight embrace, or as tight as he would allow; after all, he hadn't forgotten she was pregnant.
"Strange…" Harry's voice broke the silence after what seemed like forever. "So strange, and yet also incredibly fitting."
Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what was running through his mind.
"Whatever do you mean mate?" Ron asked, having no idea whatsoever.
But Harry remained silent, he didn't say a word until, once he began running out of patience, Severus opened his eyes again, staring straight into the emerald orbs of the boy-who-lived and 'chosen-one', those eyes were fixed straight on Severus, and yet there was no pity in them; no pity, and no hate either, only acceptance, and a certain degree of…amusement?
"Don't any of you see it?" Harry asked, never taking his eyes off Severus. "Severus Snape is the Heir of Slytherin. More so than Vol…than Tom Riddle will ever be…"
"The Heir of Slytherin…" Ron and Long repeated at the same time.
Each of them had different thoughts running through their minds, each considering their own more important than anything else.
"Oh my god, remember second year?" Ron asked turning to his two friends.
"The twins are going to have a cow." Harry chuckled.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a certain adventure of ours in the Slytherin Tower…" Ron's voice broke off when he noticed the suspicious looks from two certain Slytherins.
"Right…" Harry nodded, then began laughing outright.
"What exactly are you talking about?" Severus asked, suspiciously.
"It's a long story professor." Hermione said, trying to distract him. "We might tell you sometime later…" she thought better of it and added. "Probably after graduation."
That caused most of those present to laugh.
"What I was thinking was more along the lines of all the good we could achieve with this." Long said in a very serious voice.
"The good?" Sirius asked, wondering what the blonde had in mind.
"Whether you may believe it or not, not all of those who follow the Dark Lord do so willingly." Long pointed out solemnly. "While some may be pretty stuck-up and agree with his 'pureblood supremacist' views, and a few might even be insane psychos who like killing, maiming and destroying…there are some who either follow him under duress, or because of the place he's claimed as the heir of Slytherin." He took a deep breath before adding. "What do you think would happen if they had someone else, someone better, to follow?"
That idea actually stuck into everyone's mind. Severus remembered how he'd become a spy after realizing the DEs weren't the kind of honorable proactive group he'd expected when he'd first joined, when he'd realized all the chaos, destruction and pain they were causing. The dark-eyed man had become a double-agent, not only to try and make amendments for the pain the mistakes from his younger years had caused, but also to try and make a difference, do something good, the way he'd originally expected the DEs to. And there he was being presented with another opportunity, to do something, to help people, simply by taking something that was being offered practically in a silver platter.
"Oh Holy Spirits!" Hermione cried out suddenly.
No one had expected the young sorceress/witch's sudden cry, and several actually jumped slightly at it; however, they also immediately turned in her direction, wondering what could have caused that reaction from her.
"What the hell was that Gr…Hermione?" Long demanded with a racing heart.
The blonde really didn't like being surprised; back in Malfoy Manor, surprises had never been good, not at all…
"Hermy?" Harry asked in a softer voice, though not liking the shock either.
"Don't you see?" She asked them softly, awe permeating every single word. "We have all seven heirs…"
Indeed they did, now the question was, would they be able to make The Plan work?
.-.
***Dream/Vision***
A court full of witches and wizards, screaming, arguing, fighting for their own agenda; no acceptance, no tolerance, no compassion, no harmony…and a shadow laying upon them.
Three men acting as leaders: one surrounded in parchment, unable to move, another looking everywhere and yet doing nothing, and the other keeping his eyes away from everything that might be happening around him.
Seven individuals standing up for what's right, refusing to back down, taking on the shadow and pushing it away with their own will.
An army of darkness standing at the gates, an army of light getting ready to fight back and protect, once the sun rises the battle will begin…
The Avatar of Evil ready to cause mayhem, destruction, pain and horror…
The Avatars of Light ready to fight for what's right, ready to protect, ready to die, for evil must not be allowed to prevail at the end of this war…
One mother that refuses to give up, one daughter that refuses to give in, each fighting from the shadows on opposite sides, both aiming for the same one to win.
A cold almost stone-like woman, laying in silks, covered in a translucent veil, inside a hidden mausoleum, waiting…
A coldness that chills the bones, a grief that tears at the heart, an absolute fear that aims to destroy all happiness…and a darkness that threatens to consume the soul.
Flying shadows, seeming like demons, an unnatural darkness, by so many unseen, to most nearly invincible; but it can be fought, it can be destroyed, by the wielders of the silver light…
The insane cries of those long ago pushed behind bars, those that seem to have almost been forgotten, by those who refuse to revisit the horrors of the past; if released, they will only bring about even more grief and chaos than the first time around.
Tears…blood…grief…pain…
Two sides that clash: Evil and Good…Darkness and Light…Black and White…Who will emerge victorious from this war?
***End of Dream/Vision***
In their respective rooms, four young women and a young man woke up, with the images still engraved in their minds, words echoing in their memories…the climax of the war was coming, that much they could sense. The question was: who would win in the end?
And here it is, the beginning of the end...so to speak. A lot of things will happen in the next few chapters. Not 'The Plan', not just yet. A few things need to be set in motion before that. But make no mistake. It is coming. From here on, a lot of stuff will be happening, very quickly (as quickly as I can write the chapter). Three are actually mostly ready right now, and I'll endevour to update as fast as possible. Just please, please, review, I miss your words!
In the next chapters, the lines of this vision begin to come true, one by one, as the path to destiny is unveiled...
