A/N: Hello everyone.
Here is the next chapter with some good news. I have finalized the next two chapters in advance. However, you will have to wait two days each. I am terribly sorry for not posting them earlier; sometimes you are so busy that you have to put away things you like temporarily.
I have noticed that some of my earlier chapters were full of grammatical and typo errors. If anyone is interested in helping with them please feel free to contact me at telegram. My ID is venerable.
Now, I need to clarify a few things:
One: Lucinda was never Lucinda to begin with. She had always been Lilith from the very beginning and while she was feigning being rebellious, she was helping the Dark side. She, for long, had tried to convince Moriarty that she had lost her ability to duplicate herself in order to use it to her advantage when her plan was close to fruition. However in order to perfectly mimic Lucinda she put her … in a place which I will not spoil yet … and then created a mental bridge between her and the real Lucinda. This allowed her to use her mind as she saw fit without her ever finding out. You might ask how she could do it without Lucinda suspecting her. Well, time might have been on her side. ;)
Two: Walburga Black was impersonated by Lilith a few times, but Sirius and Regulus are Lilith's. Morningstar fabricated that lie in order to divert the attention from a spy within the order – which was herself posing as Lucinda. In fact she had never needed to infiltrate the party. She was the bride. I am sorry that I forced Sirius to sleep with her.
Three: Orion is not a Magi but he could have been. Lilith knew that her experiments were about to give proper results once Orion was born.
Four: Dora Potter neé Black never existed. John Dee convinced Cygnus Black the second – Orion and Cygnus the third's father to pretend that she was. She then married Charles Potter and gave birth to James. So yes, James is her son. She used James to cover up Harry's identity until the right time.
Five: It should be no surprise to you that she made the potion that was used to maintain Hermione and Harry's identity secret. Although I need to mention that you don't need to be a magi to make that potion unless you wish it to work on other Magi.
Six: Lord Voldemort is one of the central elements of Lilith's plan. He was targeted from the very beginning by her.
Seven: I will explain later on how she could predict that Harry and Hermione would be born the way they did.
Thanks for supporting this fanfiction. Don't forget to contact me on telegram if you wish to help with this fanfiction.
Chapter 57: The Weasley Cousin
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..
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Lord Voldemort had no rest. He had barely slept last night. One of his daughters was in another universe and the other was in the hands of the enemy. Despite being sleep deprived Voldemort looked better than usual. His eyes had lost a bit of their red shine and a tinge of sky blue had replaced them. His skin tone looked more human, and his voice sounded more human. That would have worried him any other time, but now his focus was on getting Delphini back.
"My Lord, you must rest," said Bellatrix.
"Quiet, Bella. I need to concentrate," said Voldemort. His eyes were locked on the artifact he was working on. It would be Voldemort's next greatest invention. A translocation device that could circumvent any ward and break through any place. He only needed to get the rune setting right and perhaps a few spells needed to be created. That was nothing to him. He was the greatest wizard of the century.
Bellatrix looked at Voldemort nervously. He had not even touched his food.
"My Lord, Malfoy is here," said a man behind the door.
"Let him in," said Voldemort curtly. He carved one more rune on a tiny gold cube which he put in place when Lucius entered.
"Milord, I have news," said Lucius. His face was pale but Voldemort couldn't see that.
"They better be worth hearing, Lucius," said Voldemort as he turned around. "I'm tired of useless reports."
"My Lord, Moriarty has caught another spy," said Lucius.
"Who?" asked Bellatrix.
"Lucinda," said Lucius weakly.
"Your sister?" said Bellatrix incredulously.
"Explain, Lucius," growled Voldemort, gripping his wand slightly harder than before.
"It seems that Morningstar has been posing as Lucinda for a few years," said Lucius. Voldemort looked into his eyes. He felt his mixed feelings and disbelief, but Lucius was telling the truth.
"And where is your sister?" he asked softly. "Assuming that she is alive."
"From What Moriarty has gathered, they have put her under a spell that induces sleep."
"Her body is going to ache badly when she wakes up," said Bellatrix with a chortle.
"How did Morningstar manage to trick Moriarty?" asked Voldemort.
"Lucius?" said Bellatrix, encouraging the man to talk, who was reluctant to reply.
"She let him think that she was Walburga Black, and that she couldn't clone herself like Orion Black. That made Moriarty miss the fact that she had replaced her clones with Dorea Black and Lucinda."
"I see," said Voldemort.
It made sense. If Lilith was Sirius Black's mother, she would not marry Sirius as Lucinda Malfoy. Now, he could see it. The question was how the fake Lucinda Malfoy had managed to gain Moriarty's trust without exposing herself. Moriarty was an excellent Legilimens and concealing your thoughts when that person is teaching you to harness your mental power could not have been easy.
"So, that time Lucinda was getting married…"
"Yes, that's how she had sneaked in," said Lucius. "Moriarty couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of the possibility."
"Send a couple of Death Eaters to watch Black's residence," ordered Voldemort.
"But my Lord –"
"It no longer is the Headquarters of the Order of Phoenix," said Voldemort softly. "Fidelius has certain conditions to be met. One of them is for the secret to be true."
Lucius was surprised he was not tortured for asking too many questions.
Voldemort returned to his invention and continued, "That house could be important to Morningstar if she wanted Moriarty out of it."
"I'll have our best men watch it, my Lord."
Lucius bowed curly and left. Voldemort had been different that day, dare he say, more human. Lucius ordered a couple of Death Eaters who he could trust to go and watch Black's house.
He then went back to Hogwarts to meet up with Moriarty. He was going to visit one of the most dangerous witches in the world, if not the most dangerous.
"I cannot believe you are allowing this," said Filch as he let Lucius in.
"Me too," said Sirius. "You won't let me see her."
"Sirius, it's for the best if you don't see someone who has hurt you so badly. I'm afraid Morningstar will only make it worse for you," said Dumbledore.
"Yes," said Morriary who was staring at the odd black book that had been laying on his desk for days. His eyes were watching it so intensely that Lucius wondered if some kind of monster would jump out of it and attack everyone.
"Sirius, I'll let you see her after Lucius," said Moriarty quietly.
"No! Hell no! You silly brats," spat Filch.
Moriarty ignored him and stood up. Looking at Lucius in the eyes.
"Don't look her in the eyes," he warned. "Take my hand."
Lucius walked forward and got close to Moriarty who was staring at him with his piercing eyes. The monument his hand touched the Professor's, he found himself in a totally different atmosphere.
He looked around and realized he still could see other people, but they couldn't see him.
"I will not explain where we are as it goes under Confidential Information Class A Classification. And you will never tell anyone about whatever you see or experience here."
"I understand, sir."
"Lucius, your father, and yourself have been in service of the Department of Mysteries for a long time, haven't you?"
"Yes, sir," said Malfoy.
"I know what you are thinking; You have the clearance to see a class A secret, yet for some reason I'm not telling you. Do I not trust you?"
Lucius said nothing. Moriarty as a teacher and ally was soft and gentle. Yet as the Head of the Department of Mysteries he held a rigid character.
"I want you to know that you are still an employee of the Department and nothing changes that. We must adhere to the rules."
Ah, so this was his way of saying it. Lucius waited for Moriarty to continue.
"As of this day you will be replacing Mr. Rattenfanger and will have access to class A information. Congratulations. This is the Reverse World. Our official policy declares that it doesn't exist."
Moriarty indeed had a peculiar way of announcing promotions.
"But that means –"
"Yes, the transition has already begun," said Moriarty grimly. "Mr. Rattenfanger will replace Mr. Stiltskin in a month and he in turn will replace me. So good luck my friend."
"That means I'll no longer be able to contact Voldemort."
"Well, he already knew you were my spy, and honestly you are an exposed spy. I'll have to use you as a public figure from now on. And you certainly don't want to do research."
Lucius nodded excitedly. He did not want to be sent to a research division.
"There might come a time that I am no longer with you," said Moriarty softly. "That is in the literal sense. I have a feeling that I am not going to survive this battle."
Lucius froze in his place. Moriarty walked a few steps and he stopped too.
"It's possible, and has been possible for the last six thousands years, that I die the next morning. My immortality has been the longest amongst our kind. We humans are not built to live forever, Lucius. One day my body won't take it anymore and I'll go crazy, or burst into flames or both given how rotten my luck is. But even if I survive, I'll just go to another continent. Who knows? The thing is, that I want some good people to keep my department running if they cannot access me."
"You're not asking me –"
"Oh, no. I wouldn't dare," said Moriarty with a bitter smile. "No. I only need you to be strong if I'm no longer here to keep things under control. Never lose hope, and try to get as much help as you can."
Moriarty smiled warmly at Malfoy's horrified face.
"I had to bring her here," he changed the subject. "I set wards on her cell in the real world. She will be affected in the Reverse world but she cannot influence the wards. Someone from outside needs to get rid of them. And they cannot know where exactly she is."
"How long will you be able to keep her?" asked Lucius.
"I don't know. She has never been captured before. She's not trying to escape. I think Morningstar is waiting for something."
"How did she fool us all?" said Lucius. "I never suspected her."
"I'll tell you momentarily."
They were almost on the third floor. Moriarty tapped his wand on a wall and the bricks began to move away one by one, opening a hole to the very room that Dumbledore had hid the Philosopher's Stone.
"This room is the most protected place in the world. She can hear us only when we open the door. Lucius, Morningstar knew you so well because she was Lucinda to some extent."
"What?" asked Lucius.
"It's not something ordinary people can do. Moringstar can use Legilimency to connect two minds to one another. That's what she did with Barty Crouch Junior and Remus Lupin. I never saw any trace of it. I suspect Barty used a lesser form of it to impersonate Alastor. That is good news, Lucius. Lucinda is alive."
The expression in Moriarty's face was scary. It was the first time Lucius had seen him so madly excited.
"I had underestimated her. She is too powerful, Lucius," said Moriarty. "I hate to imagine what she will be able to do at the height of her power."
Moriarty then got the hang of himself and used a series of complicated spells to open the door.
"Hello, Lucy," said Lucinda with a familiar smile.
"I know who you are," said Lucius briskly.
"Yes. And I know who you are, too. Lucius, how many times have I saved you? I lead you to become the man you are today," said Lucinda, but something was different in her voice. Malfoy realized that Morningstar was talking to them.
"What have you done to my sister?" he aed.
"Nothing harmful. She will wake up in an hour. I've been severing the connection gradually."
"You want to give us Lucinda back?" asked Moriarty. He chuckled.
"You seem to doubt me. I told you already, I have nothing but good intentions, James. The world will benefit from me. I'm not Voldemort."
"No, you are not," said Moriarty. "You're just the one who turned Tom Riddle into Lord Voldemort. Those who he killed were indirectly killed by you."
Morningstar smiled. She could not move much. The magical restrictions did not permit it.
"And They will all be united with their dear ones, once I change the order of things."
"I won't let you," said Moriarty calmly.
"I'm sure you'll try, James," said Morningstar. "But my plan is almost complete. You have played your part. It's best to be reasonable and accept defeat."
"Voldemort, Harry, Hermione, Orion and all the others involved in this are all pawns to to, aren't they?" asked Moriarty. "Am I also one of those pawns?"
"In a game everyone is a pawn, James," said Morningstar. "Well, I'm a queen but that makes little difference. All that matters is the goal. Winning is more important than surviving."
Moriarty shook his left hand in an involuntary impulse. He was disturbed by how confident Morningstar looked. He controlled his hand and slowly walked back.
"Sirius, will come to see you," said Moriarty. "I expect you to assure him that you were not Walburga. You have harmed him enough."
"I'm truly sorry that Sirius had to go through such a terrible experience. But some sacrifices are necessary. I'm sure he'll understand."
"I doubt he will ever be sympathetic with you, Miss Morningstar," said Lucius. "You have hurt him. And you will pay if you have hurt Lucinda as well. Mark my words."
"She is not hurt," said Morningstar softly. "Even if she was, you are in no position to harm me in any way, dear Lucy. After all, I am the Lucinda that you have known for the majority of your life."
"Well, only my Lucinda may use that name. So please shut your filthy mouth," said Lucius coldly.
"You've got quite a temper, Lucius," said Morningstar silkily and smiled even more broadly. "I hope you will understand one that day that you all were dear to me. Every single one of you has always been important to me."
"Enough of empty words," said Moriarty. "Your actions have always affirmed the opposite of what you say. We are nothing but a tool for you and your husband to grab power."
Morningstar burst into laughter.
"What's so funny, Eve?" asked Moriarty, feeling that he had already lost control over the conversation.
Eve did not respond. She simply kept laughing. Eventually the hysterical laughter subsided.
"You do not understand how funny that was. It's a disappointment that I cannot tell you why."
Moriarty closed the door and walked back as if he had seen a ghost. His face was pale. Lucius knew that Moriarty was deeply disturbed by what he had heard.
"She's just messing with you," whispered Moriarty to himself. He then began to chant words in an ancient language Lucius could not understand.
"Shall we go back to my office," said Moriarty. "I need to bring Sirius here as well."
"Why?" asked Lucius.
"Because he deserves it," said Moriarty. "And because I feel this will help Lucinda wake up faster."
**In Avalon**
"Arachne must be nearby," said Dionysus, looking at the pinkish spider webs that were getting thicker and thicker.
"Maybe we should not go this way," said Harry nervously. He had once had a terrible experience following spiders into woods. And this Arachne had to be one.
"They say she used to be human," said Anubis. "Although I am not sure. I was mostly away when she got famous on Earth."
"I knew her," said Dionysus. "She used to be my human girlfriend. That was until she and Minerva got into a fight and Minerva turned her into a spider and squished her with her bare feet."
"Ouch," said Kaminari.
"Poor Minerva. Must have been a very bad day for her."
"Yes, it was. And it was a terrible day for me. I got married," said Dionysus. "That's terrible considering that I already had a wife. Wait! I actually married Arachne before Ariande!"
Upon that realization, Dionysus turns around to flee when Anubis grabs his collar, and upsets his balance.
"Hey, you can't force me to meet her. She'll skin me alive."
"Why? Don't be silly. We need her help. She was prominent during the Roman empire, and all true Roman Gods dislike The Serpent," said Anubis. He faced Harry and Hermione. "We need to be smart with this particular goddess. Call me Pluto in front of her. And Dionysus is Bacchus from now on."
Dionysus tried to stay close to Harry and Hermione as they went deeper into the forest.
"Fun fact, there is actually another Bacchus that people don't know about, and he is apt in wine making, too."
They camped after a couple of miles. Dionysus patrolled the area to make sure no one was around. Kaminari sat by Harry and Hermione to prepare some food, while Anubis was trying to communicate with Moriarty. They were close to Arachne, and Kaminari was sure that she would turn up soon.
"You seem upset, Harry," said Kaminari.
Harry did not reply. He just stared at Kaminari's hands working with utensils appearing out of nowhere.
"Harry's upset about his father," said Hermione.
Kaminari nodded as he turned some wood into coal and let them burn. There was no flame or smoke but the coals seemed hot.
"People change here, Harry. Humans come to a world where Magi hold power. And Mr. Potter thought your mother was in danger as I have heard."
"I know," sighed Harry.
"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't be upset," said Kaminari kindly. "You were betrayed by your father –"
"And my idiocy," said Anubis with a tinge of shame. "And Potter is not his real father. We simply thought he was for many years."
Kaminari said something in the old Magi language that Harry did not understand.
"Harry, did you understand what he said?" asked Hermione quietly.
"No, that sounded like gibberish," he replied.
"Don't worry it will come to you," said Kaminari. "Give it a couple of years."
"If we survive Morningstar, I will."
"You will survive her. I don't believe that she wants to destroy you. Even if she does, you are immortal. Give it a few decades and you pop back into the material world."
"Yes, you can't be killed," said Anubis. "Shouldn't that give you some peace of mind?"
"It does not," said Hermione. "It only worries us more. An endless chase and flee is the last thing we want."
"You never told us what happened to you. How did you get here?" asked Dionysus who had just returned from him patrolling.
"Well, it's a long story," said Harry.
"And a confusing one," added Hermione.
"We love long and confusing stories," said Kaminari with a broad smile.
"Well, it started with some changes in my body," said Hermione. "Then I was told that I was the child of Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange which they had to get rid of."
"But then it turned out that her father was in fact Voldemort," continued Harry. "Voldemort is a wizard who has split his soul into pieces to create objects called Horcruxes, and as you know one of those pieces is within me. Voldemort has killed my parents. Knowing that Hermione was his daughter was difficult for both of us."
"But then things took a wild turn," continued Hermione. "We had two new teachers – Horace Slughorn and James Moriarty. Horace Slughorn was in fact a man called Orion Black. Before escaping with one of the Horcruxes, he revealed that Harry was his grandson."
Harry and Hermione cringed a bit and she looked at Harry silently asking his permission. Harry nodded reluctantly.
"He told us that Harry was the child of Lily Evans and Sirius Black who were both his children."
"Oh my!" said Dionysus and burst into laughter. "Must have been a shock for you."
Hermione squinted her eyes disapprovingly. He was making fun of something so terrible.
"Yes, it was," Harry mumbled.
"That's interesting," said Kaminari. "Say more. I think I see where this is going."
"Then Lily Evans came back to life," said Hermione. "Morningstar sent her our way. It was her way of causing doubt."
"I'm sure she succeeded to some degree," said Anubis. "Human kind is terrified of death. They do anything to escape it just as Lord Voldemort did."
"Yes," said Harry. "And that's what she took advantage of. Orion Black who was under her influence, set Voldemort on his destructive path. She hoped that we would cooperate as well, just because she gave my mother back to me."
"And she never brought back James Potter who you saw as your father for years," said Kaminari thoughtfully. "I see. Harry, don't you think she expected you not to follow her? That she only wanted James Moriarty to think that way? Perhaps she had other plans for your mother."
"Why?" asked Anubis. His head morphed into the dog head for a second and then morphed back into its Olivander form.
"She let them know it all," said Kaminari. "She let her plan be exposed. She intentionally drew attention. It's the perfect misdirection. Moriarty thinks she needs Harry and Hermione on Earth and their cooperation. She does not. She needs them here. And no one would have suspected anything if I hadn't seen them. Only a few have seen these faces of God. It was well planned indeed. And despite Apollo's interventions, she is on her path to success."
"What do you mean?" asked Dionysus.
"Incarnations are magically bound to the original Magi. They are connected. By having Hermione and Harry here, The Serpent can draw from their power and this world. When the time is right she will do that."
"Why would she do that?" said Harry.
"To reattach her heart to her body," sighed Anubis. "I knew there would be a loophole to the solution of The Mad Scientist. With that power she can come back to power."
"Yes," said Kaminari. "And the kids are exactly where she wants them. In Avalon."
*.*.* Our World, America*.*.*
Ginny Weasley was rather surprised to see their new guest. A man who had not visited her for many years.
"Bernard Weasley," said Mr. Stiltskin. "What an honor to see you here."
"Weren't you supposed to look different?" asked bernard. He was wearing a nice muggle suit. With him he had a compact briefcase. He put it on their only table, and opened it.
"I have my tools," he said. "Isn't this room too small for you guys?"
"We have been traveling around. We don't stay in any place for too long," said Mr. Stiltskin. "Does your computer need power?"
"This one does," said Bernard, pulling out a large boxy item. "It's the latest model I could buy on such short notice. The old one exploded in Beijing. I am happy with it though."
Ginny watched him as he set up the laptop and turned it on.
"This one however does not need power," he drew out a sleek sheet of dark glass from his bag. "The Director gave it to me."
"And you can work with it?"
"Sure?"
"Wait," said Ginny. "Cousin Barney, aren't you … a squibb?"
"No," Bernard looked at her passively and replied softly, "And that's classified."
He carefully laid the sheet on the table.
"I work for the Department of Mysteries. Don't tell Molly."
"Miss Weasley, you should be working on your own tasks," said Stiltskin. "Start working on your transfiguration essay as we work on our own project."
Ginny did as she was asked, but that didn't mean that she was not curious about what they did.
"Well, here is the second layer," said Bernard after an hour. "The muggle computer can only read the codes that are compiled by a similar machine."
"I doubt your computer could even detect the hardware," said Stiltskin. "Magi computers are not binary. They use a completely different method of coding, and they always use magnetic fields."
He tapped the class and it was lit up instantly. "However, a Magi computer is designed to learn how other less sophisticated computers work."
The more Mr. Stiltskin worked the less confident he seemed. Eventually he stopped and kicked himself back into his chair.
"I need a more powerful device," he murmured to himself. "The one that Morningstar is using must be more complex than what we have here."
"Do we have a more powerful computer?" asked Barney.
"Currently we don't."
Barney did not like the smile Mr. Stiltskin was giving him.
A/N: I have not updated the seemingly insignificant problem for so long. I'm sure most of you had lost hope of it ever being completed.
I am going to complete it.
