Summary: On the 31st of October 1978, a prophecy was foretold that Dumbledore would meet his end at the hands of a Samhain Witch. Theodora Sayre Gaunt is haunted by the traumatic loss of her mother, when she is dragged into an old pure-blood marriage law and married to three Death Eaters and a former Marauder. Co – Written with Artrastic23. Rated M. Death Eaters/OC, Draco/Lydia Granger, Luna/Rabastan, Blaise/Tracey, Bill/Fleur, and various other pairings. Dumbledore bashing, Potter bashing, and Light bashing.
I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters if I did then Sirius would be alive, and Hermione wouldn't be with Ron. J.K. Rowling has that privilege of owning the stories.
Warning: This story will have upsetting scenes, child abuse, attempted rape, depression and same sex, and m/f/m relationships. If you don't like it, don't read it. This is also a Marriage Law story and will be a poly fic.
Italics is for Parseltongue, Occlumency and Legilimency.
Co – Writer: Artrastic23.
Season of The Witch
Chapter 1
24 August 1998 Sayre Chateau, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
"AAAHHHHHH!" The young woman woke with a start drenched in sweat, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. Lately the nightmare of her mother being murdered had been plaguing her, ever since the Order of the Phoenix had been pardoned for any war crimes that had been committed by Minister Millicent Bangold.
Theodora crawled out of her bed and went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. Panting heavily, she stared at her tired reflection in the mirror. It was a little past dawn, and she sighs. Washing her face and taking a quick shower she wandered over to her closet to get ready for her day.
The meowing of her cats brings her back to reality. Slipping into her heeled slippers she walked to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast. She took her time chopping the salmon into bite sized pieces for the meowing cats at her feet. Theodora ate a simple berry smoothie bowl topped with nuts and honey for breakfast while the cats scarfed down their food.
She just put the dishes in the sink to clean when the owl with the Daily Prophet and a few letters swooped in perching itself on the counter proudly. She paid for the Prophet then untied the letters giving the owl a treat for working so hard and flying so far. The Prophet was filled with praise for Dumbledore after his latest 'accomplishments' and Theodora threw the paper into the fire. She knew the man did not deserve the praise he was receiving let alone be allowed to walk freely after all the crimes he'd committed.
With a sigh she opened her letters from her friends and read them the speed at which she read increasing with every word. She dropped the last letter in shock. Then a thick envelope with a Ministry seal caught her eye. She ripped it open and read. Dropping to the floor she read and reread the letter numerous times refusing to believe it. There was no way. Not now. Not now of all times.
Another owl swooped in dropping a letter into her lap and flying back out. It was from her boss. They'd received the same notification and had bought her a plane ticket back to London where she could accept the contents of the letter the Ministry had sent. She stared in shock at the plane ticket. She got to her feet and began cleaning up. The cats were none too happy to be put in their carriers. It didn't take her long to pack and she was at the airport within the hour.
She landed and took her things to her mother's cottage. She let the cats out of their carriers and sent a letter to the Ministry letting them know she was on her way.
She looked at the letter that the Ministry had sent to her, reading it over again in a state of shock. The Ministry of Magic representing Great Britain, Ireland and Scotland were declaring a soulmate Marriage Law to save the community from becoming extinct in the next six years.
It wasn't surprising, she thought seriously as she made herself a quick cup of tea before leaving. The wizarding population in Great Britain had dwindled following the First Wizarding War, and it unbalanced Mother Magic.
Magical pregnancies were a delicate balance, it wasn't like in the muggles world where you have IVF treatment. That wouldn't work for magical couples in the wizarding community, so the ministry had taken drastic action.
The Soulmate Bonding Marriage Law had been overwhelmingly approved by the Wizengamot council. Surprisingly, the Prewetts, McKinnons, and Longbottom families had supported the marriage bill.
After feeding the cats and making sure they had fresh water, Theodora prepared to arrive at the ministry. She had only been there once before, and it was a memory that she'd much rather forget about. Using the Floo Network, she arrived at the Ministry and wasn't surprised by the long queue. She went to stand behind a young witch with bushy, dark brown and she was complaining about the law to someone.
"This is barbaric, they can't seriously expect us to marry people that are supposedly our soulmate? It's ridiculous! This is just so the Pure-Bloods can keep us in line!" The witch said disgusted, a look of self-righteousness on her face.
Theodora didn't know the witch, but she was already starting to dislike her in this very moment. Before she could say something however to put the Muggle-Born in her place, someone beat her to it.
A young man no older than in his mid-late twenties strode up towards the young witch, a cold look in his hazel eyes. He looked vaguely familiar, but she had no idea where they had met before.
"I'll have you know Miss Granger, that you are the one in the wrong right now. The House-Elves of Hogwarts have issued a complaint against you, for trying to kill them," the man answered coldly, his hazel eyes flashing gold briefly.
The young witch blanched then, her face turning the colour of sour milk as she realised the Auror wasn't joking. Swallowing quickly, she turned away from the two of them with a petulant expression.
Theodora gave the man a thankful smile, which he returned as the Ministry called out names to speak with them.
Number 12 Grimmauld Place
Dorea had arrived at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, after her nephew Orion had written to her about the Black family tapestry. Walburga showed her into the drawing room, where the Black Family tapestry was in the centre.
The tapestry showed everyone with Black blood, no matter how weak it was, as well as their spouses. James had Black blood from his mother Dorea, who was born a Black. So, Lily, as well as their children should be on it as well. He wanted to see if Lily had been adopted, as her true name would show up on the tapestry and not her adopted one.
It took her a couple of minutes to find what he was looking for and the words 'Theodora Peverell Sayre Gaunt' was very telling.
Dorea knew who the Gaunts were, of course. Nearly every pure-blood House knew of them. The last of the noble line of Slytherin, living in squalor and disgrace with barely any magic to speak of. Everyone thought the House had gone extinct.
But what shocked her, was seeing the name of her supposedly dead granddaughter on the tapestry. There was no skull next to the name, meaning that Theodora was alive.
Her granddaughter was alive.
Dorea's knees hit the floor as she collapses in shock relieved tears flowing down her face freely. "Do get off the floor. It must hurt. What is it?" Walburga asked with worry.
"My granddaughter is ALIVE!" Dorea whispered wiping her happy tears away. Sure enough, the picture on the tapestry was that of her granddaughter. Not of the baby, she'd last seen her as but a young woman now. "Kreacher go fetch us some drinks?" Walburga snaps hurriedly trying to help Dorea to the couch by the fire.
"Why is she popping up just now? Could it be the Soulmate Bonding Marriage Law? There's no way, right?" Walburga whispered.
"No, no, no. There's no way. It can't be!" Dorea gasped going to examine the tapestry. Kreacher hurried in with a tray of sandwiches, Firewhiskey tea, and red wine. Dorea gulped down the tea. "I have to find her. That I'm sure of." Dorea nods to herself. "We'll find her." Walburga promises. "I don't think I'll have to search very far." Dorea whispers.
"What do you mean?" Walburga asks getting to her feet. "The new law. The tapestry!" Dorea gasps. Walburga hurries over in time to see new lines of dark purple stitching themselves in the tapestry.
The two watched in surprise as the lines connected Theodora to Sirius and Regulus. Two more faces began two stitches onto the tapestry connecting with Theodora, Evan, and Jacob Rosier. Dorea hurried over to a desk in the corner and began scribbling letters to the family, friends, and her granddaughter.
Something was happening. Something was brewing. Of what, she had no idea. One thing she knew for certain was that her family needed to be notified and she needed to protect Theodora and not have the past repeat itself. She'd failed to protect her family then, but she swore she'd protect them until her last breath. There was no way she'd let her granddaughter be torn away from her again.
Theodora collapsed onto her bed reliving her day at the Ministry. They would notify her once her soulmates had been found but most people were just upset the law passed. It was insanity if she was being honest with herself. She barely heard the owl at the window. With a great sigh she rose and let the owl in. It hooted angrily then calmed when she looked at it.
There was something familiar about the owl, but she couldn't place it. Like the man at the Ministry who told off the uppity young woman. She felt as if old memories had been tugging at her mind ever since she set foot in London and a massive headache was plaguing her.
She untied the letter which looked to be last in what was once a huge bundle. The owl shook with relief, and she fed and watered the owl. It hooted gratefully as she examined the letter eyes growing wide. She stumbled backwards to her bed. Her grandmother was looking for her. Had been looking for her all this time. Tears sprung up into her eyes.
Writing a quick response, she sent the owl off with it. If anyone could help her get through this, it would be her grandmother. She was one of the few people left that she trusted. She smacked herself wondering why she hadn't tried to track her grandmother down. Then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have done it.
First thing in the morning, she would go to Gringotts to discuss the family finances with the goblins. She knew her mother had ensured that she wasn't destitute, thanks to the trust fund vault that had been set up for her.
Making up her mind, she resolved to go to Gringotts early in the morning to check on the finances. Not only that, but she wanted to know why Dumbledore had controlled her life during her time at Hogwarts for the first four years.
Rosier Manor, Crawley
Jacob Marius Rosier sighed in relief, when he arrived at his family ancestral home. It had been a long day, and he just wanted to rest as his mind wandered to the young woman that he'd encountered at the ministry earlier this afternoon. His soulmate rune had burned like hell, when he'd seen that young woman almost as if she was calling him. He frowned to himself, as he went to the study and began doing some paperwork.
He and his cousin, Evan was the last of the Rosiers in the male line after his cousin Caden had been killed during the Wizarding War. As a result, that left him and Evan as the sole remaining males, aside from Felix but he was married and had children.
He had seen a lot in his lifetime and his hatred of Dumbledore had deepened since 1899. Jacob saw first-hand the devastation that the wizard was causing, even back then and he felt his fangs lengthen in anger as he remembered Dumbledore's arrogance even then. He hated that wizard with his very soul, he would never forgive him for what the old wizard and his Order had done to his family. He wasn't the only one, who held a grudge against Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.
They liked to preach that they were followers of the light, but a majority of them were prejudiced people. Especially, Dodge, Diggle, McKinnon and James Potter.
He poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey, as he started on some paperwork that was from cases. The Auror department needed more aurors, but a lot of the applicants just simply weren't good enough or quit during training.
It was going to be a long night.
Theodora woke up early and showered before getting ready to go to Gringotts to discuss her finances. She had arranged to meet her grandmother and the rest of the family, at Number 12 Grimmauld Place in the afternoon.
If they had issues with her hatred of Dumbledore and his followers or her gifts, then she would handle the rejection. It would hurt, but it wasn't the first time she'd been let down by family or supposed friends.
Sliding into her travelling cloak she set out into the early morning. Gringotts wasn't busy and there were very few witches and wizards out this early. Theodora hurried up the steps to Gringotts and inside. Being back made her slightly uncomfortable but only slightly. Rolling her shoulders back she walked to the first goblin she saw. "I need to discuss my financial situation." she stated sliding her vault keys across the counter.
The goblin examined the keys with curious eyes. "Someone has been by recently with the same keys." he chuckles. Theodora freezes and stares openly at the now laughing goblin. "What do you mean? I've been out of the country for years now and the only other person who should have access to my vaults died nearly two decades ago!" she whispers.
"Quite a few people have been by. Taking things from the vaults. They had the proper paperwork showing they were your guardian." The goblin cackles. Theodora frowned slowly getting upset. Nothing had gone her way since she set foot in London. After two hours checking her vaults and setting up new privacy charms and getting her 'guardians' off of her vault files she wandered down the street to Grimmauld Place.
She'd barely knocked on the door when it flung open, and she was pulled into someone's warm embrace. "My precious granddaughter. Home at last. We've been looking for you for ages." Dorea cried.
Dorea pulled her lost granddaughter inside and into the living room where the rest of the family sat waiting. After a tearful reunion and a bit of catching up Dorea took Theodora's hands "I heard about the new law. Are you alright?"
"As good as can be expected. If I'm completely honest the law is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. Grandmother, someone's been stealing from both mine and mother's vaults. I don't know for how long they've been stealing but they've been stealing my funds and family heirlooms too." Theodora groaned pulling the papers from her bag.
"Someone dares to steal from the noble house of Black?!" Walburga scoffs. "That's the thing, the goblin said they were listed as my guardian and were allowed access to my vaults since mother died." Theodora looked at the tapestry. "Oh, this won't do. Get up. I'm going to have words with them and then we shall find out who the thief is." Walburga jumped to her feet. Dorea shot her granddaughter a worried smile.
"It'll be ok now. You're back home. We'll find out what's happening. I just want you to be happy." she brushes Theodora's hair out of her face. Theodora smiles and nods. The women leave in their cloaks to the bank. The goblin is less than thrilled to see them when they arrive.
"How can I help you?" He forces the words out with a fake smile. Dorea and Walburga instantly began to voice their dissatisfaction.
Theodora however is slightly distracted. She'd thought she'd seen someone familiar. With a gasp she waves, and the familiar person walks over. "Bill?!" she smiles as he hugs her.
"Long time no sees girlie! What are you doing back? The new law?" He smiles.
"Yes. I'm having some theft troubles too." She sighs running a hand through her hair. "Theft? What's going on Griphok?" Bill asks frowning at the sulking goblin.
The goblin explains repeating the same thing he'd told Theodora that morning, "Who was on the paperwork as her guardian?" Bill asks leaning onto the counter. "Why, Dumbledore of course. Though sometimes he'd send others in his stead." The goblin smiles mischievously. Bill's frown deepens.
"How about we go down to the vaults?" Walburga smiles.
Griphok stops smiling and waves for them to follow. One hectic cart ride later and they were outside the vaults that contained the wealth of Gaunt and Sayre family. Theodora walked in after her grandmother. She knew her grandmother was searching for and noting the stolen heirlooms and such. Theodora looked around and froze.
"Mother's jewellery! It's gone!" She gasps.
AN: We hope you enjoy the story so far :)