April 20th, 1998
Sirius, James, Mia, and Regulus stood in the large clearing behind Potter Manor. The cup was sitting on a rock with Regulus standing in front of it, twisting his wand in his hand while they got in position. There had been a short argument over who would be present after Harry and Mia had described the destruction of the Horcruxes so far. Sirius and James had been trained in containing fiendfyre as aurors, and they'd insisted on being there to control the area just in case. All three boys shouted at Mia when she said she'd be coming, but when she pointed out that Regulus had just gone through the cave for the locket the day before, they reluctantly admitted that whatever he'd be shown, she might be useful in disproving.
With Sirius and James on the sides with their wands out and already casting the containment spell and Mia behind Regulus, he sucked in a deep breath and cast the spell. The effect was instantaneous. Water rushed out of it at impossible speeds. It was quickly clear that it wasn't real water by the way that the fire didn't boil it away. An image showed up, flying toward Regulus. A large and unsettlingly realistic image of Mia lying bloody on the ground showed up. Water rushed around her, showing her a room that looked eerily like the Veil room. She could hear a voice, her voice, crying out in pain and begging for release. It was painful to hear, and she only hoped it wasn't a real memory.
Regulus screamed, recasting the spell and destroying the cup fully. The water dropped to the ground and disappeared, leaving all four of them a little bit wet. Regulus dropped to the ground and Mia rushed forward, wrapping her arms around him. He leaned against her, burying his face into her neck while Sirius and James made their way to the cup to ensure it was really destroyed.
"I'm here, I'm okay," she whispered, stroking his back gently with her fingers. "Everything is okay, Reg."
Sirius jogged back over, the cup levitating ahead of him. "It's dead. What do you wanna do with this?"
"Get rid of it," she suggested lightly. Regulus pulled back from the hug and grabbed her hand. He looked pale and while she was worried, she knew it wasn't the time. Even if she tried comforting him, he'd just tell her to focus. There was too much to do.
The group made their way back inside to find Remus had gone home to get Tonks and her parents and Harry had left to get the Weasleys. Charlus and Dorea had offered their home for the Order. It was more than big enough, and safer. No one knew they were alive. As far as the Death Eaters were aware, every Potter that could access the place was dead.
Sirius tossed the cup into a trash can and paced over to the table in the small room off of the kitchen. "So, what next? Dodd?"
"Not yet," Mia gave him a hesitant smile. "We have to go confirm you as Lord Black."
"Can't we just… not?"
She shook her head, pulling her beaded bag back over her shoulder, having set it down before they'd gone outside. "We should hurry, though. When we'd gone back, Sev hadn't told them about it, but it's been awhile. A Death Eater caught us while escaping the Ministry and caught sight of it. Ron actually got splinched when we apparated out so quick after that. We need to be careful. Get the rings and papers and get out."
"How can you be sure they won't still be there?" James asked her with a frown.
"I can't really," she admitted. "But it's been months since we've been there and I doubt they'd think we're stupid enough to go back."
"But we are."
"...yeah."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Sirius let go of James right before Regulus apparated Mia inside. It was dark and dustier than it had been the last time he'd been there, which to him, was only days earlier. Kreacher was nowhere obvious, much to his relief.
"The next issue is how to get into Orion's office," Mia muttered as the group climbed the stairs, wands out as they kept watch for anyone waiting for them. As they reached the third floor, they took a sharp turn to the first door on the left.
"Since both are dead, their personal wards should've fallen. I haven't truthfully given a shit about the room," Sirius shrugged at her. "So I never tried to go inside."
Mia waved him on impatiently and he made a rather childish face at her as he stepped over and opened the door. A shimmer of magic fell over him as he entered the room. It disappeared completely by the time James followed him in.
It had been over twenty years since he'd been in the room. It was much the same as before. There were a few files of papers on the desk, but not much else. It was an elegant room, nothing like the rest of the house. It was full of dark, polished wood and warm colors, no black. As a child, it had been one of Sirius's favorite places. He'd hide out in there from his studies when he needed a break.
"Well, let's hurry," Sirius muttered, moving around the desk to the safe while Regulus fingered the papers, looking through the files with his brow furrowed.
"Mia," he called. She looked to her boyfriend curiously. "What did you tell my father about the day you died or the other attacks?"
She blinked in surprise, thinking. "Not much, really. Why?"
"He has files on Dolohov, Bellatrix, Rebastan, and Tom Riddle. Extensive files. Did he know…?"
She shook her head but stopped, remembering the ball. "I mean… he interrupted my dance with Dolohov. He said I looked uncomfortable, scared."
"Bella?" Regulus pushed.
"I'm not sure. I didn't tell him. Perhaps he saw…?" she bit her lip, rubbing her arm. "I can't imagine I lifted my sleeve, but Marlene and Emmaline saw it on accident one day, so it's possible."
"What's in the files?" James asked, looking over Regulus' shoulder while Sirius listened and kept working on the wards around the safe.
"A detailed list of everything he's witnessed Bella do, for one," Regulus threw a glance at Sirius. "Including attacking and torturing the heir of an Ancient and Noble House for hours. There's a note, it says… it says he put vials of memories in the safe as well. I'd imagine it's the same for Rebastan…"
"And… Dolohov?" Mia asked in a small voice. Regulus took a deep breath and flipped open the file again, tensing as he read, his lips thinning into an angry line. "Reg?"
"Sirius, open the safe," Regulus snapped, his voice tight.
"I'm trying," Sirius growled back, flicking his wand as he removed another ward.
"Regulus, what's in there?" Mia asked again, louder.
"Sirius!" Regulus yelled. "Now!"
His brother didn't respond, working silently for another few seconds before he took a step back, the safe door swinging open. Before Sirius could look inside, Regulus pushed his way over, pulling out a small, clear bag of vials that contained memories. He slammed them on the table and began searching through them until he found a small pile that had 'Dolohov' written on the side.
"Regulus!" Mia grabbed his arm, forcing his attention to her. "Answer me!"
"Mia," he said slowly, sucking in a sharp breath as he rolled the vials around in his hands. "My father did something despicable to get this evidence. I'm getting rid of it."
"What is it?"
Regulus set the vials down on the desk and took her face in his hands. Sirius and James were watching now, both equally concerned. "Mia, the mind is a delicate thing. In the file for Dolohov, he'd written two letters. One to the Wizengamot and one to you."
"Me?"
"An apology letter," he confirmed, looking as if it was all he could do to contain his anger. "For trying to enter your mind without permission and then when he couldn't, he…" Regulus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "My father slipped you Veritiserum and asked you as many questions as he could. When he'd figured out what happened, he tried once more to slip into your mind. Veritiserum often temporarily disrupts mental barriers, so it was easy. He took the memories of everything that happened to you, and when he was done, he took you home and Obliviated you."
Mia stared at him numbly. She'd trusted Orion. Every time they met, he only worried for her and for his sons. He did everything he could to help her, and he'd cared about what happened to his children before what happened to his House. To hear that he'd done that… she wasn't sure what to think. All she could think about was the way Voldemort had waited until she couldn't resist and had slipped into her mind. It made her sick.
"Don't get rid of them."
"Excuse me?" Regulus stared at her. "Mia, you know what's in here. It's everything he did to you. All of it. Intended to be shown to the Wizengamot for evidence."
"I- I know," she shook her head at him. "I don't know what I want to do yet, okay? Just don't get rid of them… can we just… get the things and go?"
"Of course, kitten," Sirius rubbed her arm, turning back to the safe. He was furious, but it was the last thing she needed. She was hurt and scared, and talking more about it would do nothing to help. Without the vials in the safe, there was only a single file labeled 'Regulus' and the rings. Trying not to cringe, he plucked the rings out of the safe and pocketed them, handing the papers over to Regulus, who held them with reverence with one hand, his other one held tightly within Mia's.
"Ready?" He asked, looking at his small family. They all nodded and quickly moved back to Potter Manor together.
Harry walked into the room, rubbing a DA galleon between his fingers, a thoughtful look on his face. "I asked Luna how they're getting in and out of the castle."
Mia's face lit up, pushing the news she'd just received to the back of her mind. They had more important things to focus on. "Really? How?"
"Turns out it's just Aberforth," he told her. "He's got a portrait that has a tunnel straight into the Room of Requirement. That's how they get supplies and smuggle students in and out of school. She said that if we can find a safe way there, he can get us the rest of the way."
"That's incredible!" Mia grinned, hugging him tightly. "One less thing to figure out. After we take care of the Black House, we can go over there and work on evacuating. It'll be tough with Death Eaters still inside, but Draco can help."
Harry scowled at her. "I'm still not sure about him, Mione. He's always been cruel to us."
"So was Sev, but I made him do that," she pointed out. "He genuinely hates Ron, but he doesn't mind us."
"What other Death Eaters did you grab?" he asked skeptically. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini."
Harry shook his head. "At least it wasn't Crabbe and Goyle."
Mia screwed up her face in disgust. "Ew."
"Kitten," Sirius got her attention, looking sick. "Do we have to do this? We'll have plenty of political leverage with Dad."
Mia fixed him with a stern look. "It's not just about politics, Sirius. Once you reclaim the House of Black, you and your heir - Regulus - will be able to call upon the House magic, which is about ten times stronger than regular magic being channeled through a wand."
"Hey, I said you would be the heir," Sirius replied.
She shrugged. "I thought about it, but Reg has prepared his entire life for this. I'm sure I'll gain a seat for one reason or another. Don't limit our options in the future, Sirius."
"Fine, let's just hurry," Sirius pouted, plucking a ring from the counter. Mia put her hand on his arm, lowering it back down.
"We have to do it on Black property," she reminded him.
"But we did the heir ritual in the middle of Diagon Alley!"
Mia and Harry both blinked at him, though it was Harry that spoke. "Why?"
"Walburga was threatening to kill me and make Reg the heir instead," he made a face at them. "Orion did the ritual right there just to keep me alive."
"Right…" Mia shook her head. She had a feeling he didn't even realize that what he'd said was so terrifying. "One of you know where Black Manor is, right?"
"We've both been there," Regulus confirmed for her, grabbing her hand. Sirius took James' and went to apparate, but Harry stopped him.
"I'd like to come," he told them hurriedly. Sirius shrugged and put a hand on his godson's shoulder and sent them away.
They appeared in a large library, and the sight made Mia's heart skip a beat. It was possibly the biggest personal library she'd ever seen. Regulus slipped his hand out of hers and she watched him move to a nearby table with Sirius, who summoned an old looking knife and set it on the table with the rings. A basin-like bowl sat in front of them as well, and it all looked very official and ritualistic.
"So, what exactly do you… do?" Harry wondered, standing at his father's side to watch them work.
"We'll need someone to officiate," Sirius glanced between James and Mia before settling on James, who nodded once and moved forward. "James is the only one here that knows it already."
"Aw, thanks, Pads," James rolled his eyes. "I love being picked by default."
"Anyway," Regulus looked to Harry. "James will recite the incantation and tell us the Vow we'll take, which… we should probably write beforehand."
"It's not the same every time?" Mia wondered curiously. All three pureblood raised boys shook their heads.
"It's dependent on the state of the family, mostly," James explained to her. "As well as the goals for the family under that leadership, or in the case of the heir, the hopes for the future."
"For generations, the Black family has had the same Vow," Sirius said, placing his wand on the table next to Regulus's. "It talks about purity and keeping it in the family. Lots of stuff about oppression, too. A real buzzkill, honestly. I figure we need a new one."
"If we're the only ones to run this family," Mia nodded firmly. "We should turn it around completely."
After that, the two Black brothers set to work writing the new Vows. While they did that, Mia browsed the large library around them. She came to a stop at a peculiarly labeled section that caught her eye - Light/Dark Lords and Ladies and Legendaries. She bit her lip and stepped closer, plucking a book from the shelf. It seemed to be written by the same person that had written the book on Horcruxes she'd found. She slipped it into her beaded bag for later, continuing to walk. There was a book sitting on a table at the end of a row, and she flipped it over, glaring at it when she saw it was Tales of Beedle the Bard. She opened it, noting the initials - OPB. She grabbed it, walking back over to where Regulus and Sirius were just finishing up.
"Who is OPB?" she asked them curiously. She'd done research on the Black line, but most books didn't include their middle names, the entire reason it had taken them so long to realize Regulus was RAB.
Both boys gave her an odd look.
"That's my father," Regulus explained, his voice tight once more. "Orion Pollux Black." Mia frowned deeper, holding up the book to show them.
"That's odd," Sirius muttered. "He never liked fairy tales or bedtime stories."
She bit her lip. She'd talked to Ollivander before being sent away. He'd made it clear enough that he believed in the tale of the three brothers, and so had Xenophilius Lovegood. While she was skeptical, she also had experienced enough impossible things to not rule it out completely.
"Dumbledore seemed to think these stories were important," she admitted reluctantly.
"Do you think Orion was looking into the Deathly Hollows, too?" Harry asked her curiously. She frowned at him, unsure.
"He might've… seen it in my mind, but it sounded like he was mostly working on finding evidence against Death Eaters," she suggested. "I suppose it's like the prophecy. It doesn't matter what we think about it. Riddle obviously believes in it, and on the off chance that it is true and he does have the Elder Wand… I think it's important we prepare for that."
"You're not seriously suggesting that we all sit in a circle and read a children's book, are you?" Sirius asked her in disbelief. She just shrugged.
"Right," James drawled. "Well, if we can move on, please. We all have things to do, Mia Mine."
"Of course," she shook her head and stood next to Harry. Sirius and Regulus stood on opposite sides of the circular table with James in the middle. The Lord ring was in the basin, and James picked up the dagger.
"Sirius Orion Black," he began slowly, his voice barely shaking. "You are the sole heir of the House of Black. Today, you shall become Lord Black until the day you are unable to support the House of Black. Do you accept?"
"I accept."
"Will you ensure to uphold the new laws of the House, being always pure of heart and intentions?"
"I will."
"Will you respect your fellow wizards and muggles alike and protect those that cannot protect themselves?"
"I will."
"Will you use the magic of the House of Black for justice and protection of those that deserve it?"
"I will."
James grabbed Sirius's hand gently and held it over the bowl, where he sliced it deeply before turning it over to let the blood drip on the ring. The blood sizzled, soaking into the ring until it was no longer visible. James picked up the ring and handed it over. "You are now Lord Sirius Orion Black."
Sirius winced visibly as he put the ring on his right-hand ring finger, but said nothing else. James vanished the extra blood from the bowl and the knife and turned to Regulus while Sirius used his wand to heal his hand.
"Regulus Arcturus Black," James began. It was shorter since he was only pledging to be the heir instead of actually acting and running the House. "You are the appointed Heir by Sirius Orion Black. Do you accept this responsibility?"
"I do."
"Will you protect the image of the House of Black and make decisions in its best interest?"
"I will."
"Will you help guide the House of Black to redemption with the help of Lord Black?"
"I will."
James slid the dagger across Regulus's hand and both Regulus and Mia twitched in pain. Blood dripped into the bowl and on the heir ring, which absorbed it all the same way that Sirius's ring had. When it was done, James plucked it from the basin and handed it to Regulus, who put it on proudly while Mia healed his hand.
"That was easy enough," Harry said appreciatively, looking to his dad. "You're heir, too?"
James nodded. "Your grandfather made me his heir when I was seventeen. He said he didn't want that pressure on me as a child."
"I'm just glad we've got them," Mia sighed with a small smile. "There's so much going on. I'm glad they're here."
"Dad'll be great for corralling the old bitter wizards," James nudged her with his shoulder. "I can just imagine it now."
Mia let out a laugh. "Me too."
"We should probably win the war first," Harry reminded them gently. "We can't take advantage of any of this if we don't win."
"Don't worry, pup," Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and winked at Mia. "She's got it covered."
"But no pressure or anything," James smacked the back of Sirius's head hard. "Merlin, Padfoot."
"Sorry."
"Right, well," she glanced at all of them. "I guess we should get to Aberforth."
"Should we bring Alice and Frank?" Sirius asked her. She shifted uncomfortably.
"No, not yet. Get things organized and then get them over when Neville has a second. I don't want to explain why they're back from the near dead."
"Mia," Regulus touched her arm gently. "There's four of us that are literally back from the dead. I think after all of that, fixing Alice and Frank won't be much of a shock to them, yeah?"
She paused, blinking to herself. He had a point. "Yeah, okay. But they come last. I hate breaking it up the way that we do but it's necessary. Cast first, ask questions later and all."
"I'd say you sound like Moody, but we all do," Harry shook his head. "It is safer to do it slowly."
"Well, let's go."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
"Bloody fools, what are you thinking, coming here?"
Mia looked up at Aberforth, rolling her eyes.
"Have you any idea how dangerous it is?"
"Oh, shut up," Mia scoffed. "I fought with you twenty years ago before I was captured and killed, I bloody well do know how dangerous it is. How else do you expect us to get into Hogwarts?"
"Half of you are supposed to be dead," he said, finally taking a moment to look past Harry at the others in the room. "You were all dead yesterday."
"Two days ago," Sirius corrected. "We've been back for a day."
"And you!" Abe pointed at Mia. "If you're a bloody Light Lady, you need to get the hell away from here before they kill you again. Putting yourself and the bloody Boy Who Lived in danger."
"Stop yelling," she huffed. "Now that I'm back, we have a plan. We have a few things to do in the castle before we end it."
"You're a fool," he shook his head at her. "The Order is finished. You Know Who has won. Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves."
"Well excuse the rest of us for not being as bloody depressing as you," Ron rolled his eyes.
"I'm sorry you've lost hope, Aberforth, I really am, but we don't have time for this shit. Will you help us to Hogwarts or not? Because our only other choice is to get in the loud way, and that'll get more of us killed than necessary."
Aberforth scowled and waved his hand at the portrait on the wall behind her. "I won't have any part in watching kids be killed so keep me out of it."
"Whatever," Sirius made a face.
Before Abe could walk away, Mia glanced at the portrait again. "That's your sister Ariana, isn't it? She died very young, didn't she?"
"My brother sacrificed many things, Potter, on his journey to find power. Including Ariana," he told them, looking between the group. "She was devoted to him. He gave her everything."
"Thanks, Abe," James spoke up. "We appreciate this."
The man looked between them again and nodded once, leaving the room and closing the door behind himself.
"What crawled up his butt and died?" Sirius questioned. Mia smacked his arm.
"He's lost everything to these wars," she told him. "The last of his family, his freedom. He's protecting kids that his brother was supposed to protect. I don't really blame him for losing hope."
"Yeah, but he was a dick."
"She's coming back," Ron called. They looked over to see he was right and Mia smiled brightly at the sight of who was behind her.
"It's Neville," she told Alice and Frank. "You guys stay back and catch up while we go ahead, okay?"
"Thank you, Mia," Frank said honestly. "You've given us so much."
"I had a chance to spare one of my friends more pain," she smiled. "And you guys became my friends, too. I did what anyone would do."
The portrait opened and Neville stopped in his tracks. "Is that Sirius Black?"
"Yeah, a lot has happened," Harry shrugged. "Don't think Sirius will be the most interesting thing here for you, though."
"Neville," Alice called, gaining his attention. He froze, his eyes widening in wonder. "Oh, my boy."
"M-mum? Dad?" Neville looked to his friends in confusion. "How is this possible?"
"Mia," Alice answered, waving at the girl. "She preserved our minds and set a trigger word so that, when she came back, she could release it."
"I don't understand… literally any of that," the boy admitted, his eyes falling on Harry. "Is it actually them?"
"It is," Harry nodded. "It's a hell of a story, but it's all true. My dad's here, too. And Sirius, and Sirius's brother, and someone else that should be dead. Plus the Prewett twins, who are so much like Fred and George that it's freaky. We don't need two sets of them. It'll be chaos."
Neville followed as Harry pointed at each person, recognizing it to be true. "But what happened? Why did you call Hermione Mia?"
"Quick version?" Mia shrugged. "I went to the past, was adopted by Harry's grandparents - they're alive too, apparently, though I had nothing to do with that - and I helped Frank and Alice use Occlumency to make a sort of backup of their minds so that when I got back to my time, I could help them release their minds from what Bellatrix did. It was easy enough, knowing firsthand how she can affect the mind."
Neville nodded slowly as he processed her words. When he seemed to understand, he ran to his parents and wrapped his arms around them, and they hugged him back just as tight.
"Let's go," James tugged at Mia's arm lightly. "We should give them some privacy."
"Mmhm," she agreed, climbing into the portrait hole with her friends and family. "Remember, Harry, Ron, and I go first. We'll call you out when I've explained and put up a strong enough shield because there's a lot of them and they're powerful and paranoid."
"I don't like it, Little Lion," Regulus frowned at her. "What if they hurt you?"
"They won't," she shook her head firmly. "These are my friends. I trust them completely and more than that, they trust me. I'll be okay, Reg. I promise."
"Let's go," Harry said, obviously anxious to see his friends. She didn't blame him. They'd been gone for so long and they were all worried about who had managed to survive the year of Death Eaters at Hogwarts. The portrait hole opened and the Golden Trio stepped down to claps and cheers from the group, who noticed them almost immediately.
"Okay!" Mia yelled, sending sparks into the air. "Quiet! We're excited to see you guys, too, but we've got a lot to tell you and it'll take some time, okay?"
"Where's Neville?" Ginny asked her. Mia felt her breath catch at her fiery red hair and felt unexpected tears well up, unable to think of anyone but Lily.
"He's busy with Abe," Ron answered for her. "He'll be coming back in awhile."
"So what's up, Harry?" Dean asked. "We didn't think you'd be coming back so soon."
"Uh," Harry frowned, looking to Mia. "Neither did I. But some things have happened and… er, it's best if she explains."
Mia rolled her eyes at him but nodded. "Security questions first, okay? I need you all to be sure of who I am."
"Why?"
"Because you're all about to think I lost my fucking mind."
"Holy shit," Ginny laughed, grinning. "You swore!"
"I've got one," Cho called. "What was the first thing you said to me fifth year?"
Mia frowned. "I told you that Cedric would be proud of how strong you are and that if you needed to talk to anyone, I'm here."
Cho nodded quietly, confirming that she was Hermione.
"Oh, I have one," Dean grinned. "What'd you say when I started dating Ginny?"
"I told you that if you hurt her I'd hex your bollocks off," Mia narrowed her eyes. "You didn't listen to my warning, did you?"
"Merlin, Mione, relax," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know! What was the first thing you said to me when we got back to Hogwarts after Christmas sixth year?"
"I went to your dorm and told you that Ron was an idiot and then asked you how you ever managed to grow up with him, to which you replied that the twins usually hexed him when he made you cry."
"Hey!" Ron exclaimed with a frown.
"Okay, so it's Hermione," Ginny shrugged. "What's going on?"
Mia frowned at Harry. "How do you think is best?"
"We don't have Moony or Kingsley or Emmaline here," he shrugged. "Just tell them and if they don't believe you, we've got some proof waiting."
"Okay. Well, Fred lost a game of Exploding Snap and hit my cracked time turner and he and I were sent to 1976."
"Oh, come on," Seamus complained. "Be serious!"
Mia waved her hand quickly at the portrait hole so that it couldn't open, slamming it shut an inch when Sirius went to make his signature joke and expose himself. "God, he has no self-control," she complained, shaking her head. "But I am being honest. We were sent back and when we found a way back, we decided to save a few people in the meantime, mostly because Fred threw a fucking hissy fit. My name was changed to Mia Potter, by the way, because I was adopted by Harry's grandparents. That's what I go by now but I know it'll take time to adjust."
"Wait, what do you mean, you brought some people back?" Parvati asked her.
Mia waved her hand in front of her and put up the strongest shield she could manage while focusing on other things as well. "Okay, let's start with the twins."
The portrait hole opened and the twins came out, stopping on either side of her and each resting an arm on her shoulder. "Why don't we ever get hexed at?" Gideon asked her.
"Yeah, we're dangerous!" Fabian agreed.
"You're revered aurors," Mia rolled her eyes as everyone stared. "You held your own against five Death Eaters before you had to leave."
"Yeah but everyone else gets hexed."
"Because they're all supposed to be dead or evil," she pointed out as Ginny ran up. Mia let down the shield long enough for her to pass through to look at them closely.
"Holy shit," Ginny let out a short laugh. "Mum's gonna lose her shit!"
"She already did, kiddo," Gideon grinned.
"Yeah, we went there first," Fabian agreed.
"Because I disappeared from there and I didn't want Bill to think we were fucking dead," Mia reasoned at Ginny's glare. The girl looked between them for a minute longer.
"So now I have two pairs of twins to hex Ron when he's an arse?"
"Unfortunately, I don't think we can hex our nephew," Fabian disagreed.
"Remember when I taught everyone Avis and Oppugno?" Mia questioned. The twins nodded a little. "The boy I sent it at was Ron."
"It was bloody terrifying," Ron agreed.
"This is all lovely," Cho called. "But is this all?"
"Oh, definitely not," Mia shook her head and waved Ginny and the twins into the crowd. Once they'd gone, she put up a shield again. "Okay, so. Jamie, I think."
That time, nearly everyone had their wands out.
"Stop hexing at him!" Mia called, upset. "Merlin, I promise none of these people will hurt anyone but Death Eaters."
"But he's dead!"
"Obviously not."
"Mia gave me a way to escape at the last minute," James explained to everyone. "We all arrived yesterday afternoon."
"Why not Lily?" someone Mia didn't recognize asked. All of the Potters tensed a little.
"She chose not to use it," Mia explained slowly. "She decided to save Harry instead."
"Oh."
"Alright," she shook her head, strengthening the shield. "Reg, Avery."
A few confused people put their wands up, but no one hexed, much to her relief. They took their typical places on either side of her, and she grabbed Regulus's hand within her own, breathing out in relief at the touch.
"Okay, but who are they?" Terry Boot questioned after a long moment.
"Regulus Black," Mia nodded at her boyfriend. "Put your wands down, he's not an evil Death Eater. Merlin."
"But Mione," Ginny called. "I have an extremely important question about him."
"What?"
"Why're you holding his hand?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Mia rolled her eyes. "You're a child."
"Hermione has a boyfriend!"
"And this is Frederick Avery," Mia interrupted before her friend could continue. "He also is not some sort of evil Death Eater, okay? I expect you all to treat them nicely and if any of you hurt them, I'll fucking destroy you."
"Is that it, then?"
"Not exactly. They're at Abe's, but I helped to repair Neville's parents' minds. They're fine and catching up with him now. Aside from that… we have one more, but there are a few important things you'll need to know first."
"Aside from the fact that you have a boyfriend?"
"Shut up, Ginny," Mia narrowed her eyes. "Jamie?"
"Right," James shook himself, having been snickering at his sister with Harry. "You all know someone betrayed me and my family to You Know Who. It was not, however, Sirius Black. We made a blood brothers bond in first year which means that we quite literally cannot betray one another. Aside from that, we traded secret keepers at the last minute because Sirius was too obvious. Peter Pettigrew betrayed us. Sirius is innocent."
"Okay…"
"In the past, I was… upset that Sirius was dead," Mia began slowly. "He and I became close there and I looked into some… interesting areas of magic to find a way to bring him back."
"Sano," Avery rolled his eyes at her. "Tell them what it really is."
"Fine," she made a face. "It's dark blood magic."
"That's illegal," Susan gasped. Mia let out a laugh.
"It's the only reason Sirius or I are alive today."
"Wait, so you're saying Sirius Black is alive?"
The portrait hole opened again and Mia smiled as Sirius came and pushed his way to her side, leaving Avery annoyed and forced to move to stand next to Regulus. She grabbed Sirius's hand tight within her own, grateful when no one hexed him.
"Our bond means that we can bring each other back to life when we die," she explained. "So when I got back, I snuck into the ministry - much more successful this time than last - and brought him back from the Veil."
"That place sucks," Sirius made a face. "Lots of shitty memories there. I'd rather not go back, so try not to die."
Mia rolled her eyes. "That's basically it. Our parents are alive, too, but that wasn't me. Well, it wasn't directly me. It was sort of my fault that they had to fake their deaths but-,"
"It wasn't," James disagreed with a frown. "You had no control over that."
"I mean, if I'd kept my damn mouth shut, it wouldn't have happened."
"It's Dodd's fault," Regulus put in, earning himself a dirty look from his girlfriend. "It is, Mia. He should've protected his mind better."
"You know what? Let's blame Riddle because the entire thing was his fault," Fabian suggested. "Or even Dolohov."
"Or we could pretend Dolohov doesn't exist," Mia replied tiredly.
"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Ginny looked between them, just as confused as everyone else.
"Riddle found out that I was from the future and knew a lot about him and how to end the war officially and he captured me. Later on after I left to come back to this time, he started going after my family and friends to see if I'd told them anything. Which I had, not that I wanted to. I'm just lucky they didn't get to you guys since you knew the most about how I got back," Mia said, looking to the twins, who exchanged a look. She deflated. "No."
"Sorry, pet. We didn't want to tell you. They didn't get anything out of us, but it seemed like a good time to go," Fabian admitted with a smile.
"Shit. I'm the reason Molly lost her brothers for twenty years?"
"You said you've got a lot to tell us," Michael Corner reminded her. "Is there more?"
"Oh boy," she sighed. "Yeah. Okay… Avery-,"
"Mia-,"
"Shirt!"
Avery looked to Regulus, his lips thinned. "She has a problem, Black."
"One that we continue to indulge," Regulus agreed.
Avery shook his head, exasperated, and pulled his shirt up. Mia tapped her wand against the mark.
"So, this is my mark. Both of these boys have it and it's officially registered among Order members as the mark of a good Death Eater - yes, they are both Death Eaters. A few others have it and it means that they're on our side. Do not harm them."
"Who else?"
"Let's see… Leon Gibbon, Samson Dodd, Rodolphus Lestrange- hey! I know who his wife is. She's tortured me quite a few times now, okay? Chill. He's not his wife. I, more than anyone else, know that."
"Anyone else?" Justin asked her, making a face, one that she fought not to return.
"Yes. Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott, and…" she looked around. "Okay. When I finished our way back here, everyone thought I was dead - it's a long story, obviously I'm fine. The point is, I was supposed to be dead and I wasn't. I called a meeting with a woman that I trusted, one of Sirius and Regulus's cousins. I told her I knew her heir in school and requested that she raise him to be a spy. That meant, of course, that he had to act like he hated us and was extremely bigoted, meanwhile he wasn't. The Black family has primacy over… everyone, basically, so it meant that she was meant to teach him what she wanted him to know, anyway. I've spoken to him and I personally know that he is not who we've all known him to be for so many years."
"Who is it?" Ernie questioned impatiently. Mia hesitated.
"Narcissa Malfoy. Draco is the spy."
"What the hell, Hermione?" Ginny called among the other shouts. "He's called you a mudblood so many times. He's hexed you! He grew your teeth! He tried to kill you the night Dumbledore died!"
"Malfoy tried to kill you?" Harry asked loudly.
Mia winced. "Thanks, Gin. Remember when I told you not to tell anyone about that?"
Ginny paused. "Right. Sorry."
"I know he's done all that, okay? I know he was awful to us. But even before I went to the past, I knew something was off. He… he was there when we were captured. He refused to identify Harry and he looked miserable while I was being tortured. He doesn't want to be where he is."
"You really expect us to believe that?" Seamus asked her. "You're not the only one he treated like shit."
"I know," she sighed. "But he told me himself, the only one he really hated was Ron - sorry Ron - and he feels awful. Doesn't it say anything that he surrounded himself now with friends who immediately jumped at the chance to leave the Death Eaters? None of them want to be there."
"You really think so?"
"I know so. Reg?"
Regulus frowned. "It is true that he looked to be in the same situation I was in. His father made him join. I was close with Narcissa. She never would have let him believe the bigoted things Lucius did. She was not as foolish as Andromeda to run away from the family, which stuck her with Malfoy. I believe Draco, however violent he may be."
"I agree," Sirius spoke up. "Cissa had flaws, but she'd have protected the kid as best as she could. I can't imagine how she took it when he got the Mark."
"Fine," Ginny sighed. "Is that it, then?"
Mia looked between her friends, hesitating. "No. Someone else has my mark. A high ranking Death Eater that is close to Riddle. The issue is… he doesn't remember me. To get him to play the part in time that he had to play, I had to, with his consent, hide his memories of me and twist some others so that he was much more bitter than before. Once I do remove this, he will be the same person I knew, but… I understand if you cannot forgive him, but I ask of you to just avoid him in battle. Do not engage. Let him handle himself. If he attacks you, protect yourself but do not aim to kill."
"Hermione, who is it?"
"It's Snape."
"What?" Dean yelled. "He killed Dumbledore!"
"Dumbledore was a terribly flawed man that, considering the decaying arm, was already dying," she shot back. "I believe completely that Dumbledore asked Severus to kill him so that Draco wouldn't have to. It makes sense. Severus would likely know that Draco was a spy and therefore, Dumbledore knew. I know it's confusing, but please trust me. I know what I'm talking about."
"Okay, well, are you going to fix him soon?" Ron asked her. She hadn't discussed Snape much with them, mostly because she had many fears and insecurities on the matter.
"No," she sighed. "There's too much to do and I don't believe I could currently get to him without being captured again. Since Riddle knows I'm alive now and is looking for me-,"
"Hold up," Padma interrupted. "He knows you're alive? After disappearing for, what, twenty years?"
"Er- yeah," she shrugged. "I told Narcissa to tell Riddle on April 19th, 1998 that I was alive and well. With any luck, the man that was supposed to get rid of me got killed for it. But Riddle will be looking for me over Harry because Riddle wants and needs me dead."
"Riddle will want to kill me still," Harry added. "But in the end, he's going to go after Mione- er, Mia."
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Sano," Avery muttered, moving over to talk to her quietly. "I believe they should know about Dolohov."
"No."
"Wait," Regulus touched her arm. "I think he's right. They need to know how much danger you're in from him."
"I don't want to."
"I know."
Mia sighed, tense, and looked back to the curious crowd. "Okay. The man that tried to kill me has a huge fucking issue with me. He's going to be super pissed that I'm not dead and, on the off chance that he's still alive, he'll probably come after me."
"Who is it?"
"Dolohov," she said. "He was alive a couple of years ago. He grabbed me at the DOM and said some… creepy stuff that indicated that he definitely knew that Hermione would become me. He's dangerous and I don't suggest anyone engage him. Just if anyone sees him, send me a message to let me know."
"He did some patrols here," a voice called. Mia turned to see Neville walking down to them with his parents. "Terrifying. He killed a kid with torture."
Mia winced. "Yeah, he has a worse Crucio than Bellatrix."
It was only when everyone stared at her with a mixture of horror and pity that she realized she'd said something pretty depressing. It reminded her of Sirius's slip up and she wondered how they'd both become so desensitized to the traumatic events they'd gone through.
"So, do you guys have a plan for what needs to happen?" he asked her, looking between the group surrounding her.
"Yep," she nodded, surprising her friends. She hadn't told them, mostly because she'd been thinking it up on the way through the tunnel. "I'm going to sneak into Slytherin and give our friends a few jobs. We need to get the third year and under students down to the Chamber of Secrets - Harry will go down first and move the basilisk corpse because they shouldn't be around that - and once they're out, everyone needs to gather in here. From there, we can start slowly picking away the Death Eaters stationed around the school. After that, we'll start putting up some wards and protection around the school and prepare for the end."
"The… end?"
Mia nodded with a small smile. "No one has to fight if you don't want to, okay? But yes, we're going to end this and we're going to end it soon."
The group all seemed to agree with her so she set to setting up groups while Harry and James took the Invisibility Cloak and went to open the Chamber, clear a path to it, and move the basilisk corpse, though she made sure they knew to grab a few fangs so that Regulus wouldn't be forced to destroy the rest of the Horcruxes.
Before she went down to the dungeons, she stopped to make sure everyone was clear on what was happening.
"How are you planning on taking care of the Death Eaters around the castle?" the question came from Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff that Mia had only seen a few times before but that she knew had been in the DA.
"Draco, Theo, Blaise, and a couple others will help," she promised. "I've already sent a message to my friends outside of the castle and I'll be heading to see Draco and them before I give you the signal to start working. Does everyone know how to disillusion themselves?" At the blank looks, she stared back in shock. "How have you all survived so long?"
"Professor McGonagall," Neville and Ginny replied together. She accepted the response easily. It made total sense.
"Right," she looked between Harry and Ron to Fabian and Gideon. "So all of us will work on teaching you. It's not difficult, so it probably won't take long. Anyone that can't cast it can't leave this room, got it?"
So, they set to work. Mia, Ron, the twins, Regulus, Avery, and Sirius all took small groups of students and taught them the spell. In total, it probably took about an hour and a half, and nearly everyone had gotten it down, only the younger kids having issues with the fourth year spell.
In the end, Dean had picked Seamus and Ginny to help him evacuate the students. Ron yelled in argument of the choice, but was overruled by the twins and Mia, who simply said it wasn't his choice. Luna had chosen Cho and Anthony Goldstein to help her, while Susan took Hannah and Ernie Macmillan to grab the Hufflepuff students. With the teams in place, Mia disillusioned herself, using the Map to guide her through the halls and away from Death Eaters, taking note of who was in the castle as she did so. It was a stressful trip to the dungeons and when she got there, she snuck up to the seventh year boys' dorm.
Mia dropped the disillusionment, startling all three boys. One shield and five seconds later, they were swearing at her angrily. "Okay, I'm sorry. I wanted to see you in person about this, okay?"
"What is it, Grang-," Draco cut himself off. "Potter?"
"We're working on evacuating students," she explained. "I'd like to keep Slytherin students out of the fight as well, so I figured we'd put them where the others are going but… apart. We don't need any fights while everything is happening."
"How do you plan to move such a large amount of kids without anyone noticing?" Theo stared at her in disbelief.
"Disillusionment, for one," she shrugged. "Also, you three have to help distract Death Eaters on the way. We'll all take care of Slytherin together and then you'll split up, each of you going with a different House. I'd help, but I've got other things I need to take care of."
"How the hell do you expect us to do that?" Draco frowned at her.
"You can figure it out," she promised. "I've invited Leon Gibbon and Rodolphus Lestrange to come help. If there's any problems, send them a Patronus."
"You won't have much time after it's done," Blaise pointed out. "Maybe the night and some of the morning at most. All students are supposed to be in dorms by 4pm, so that'll help. We don't get up until 9am."
"And it's only 6 now," she nodded in relief. It was a good cover. "Good. That's enough time. Might not be able to go get Dodd until it's all over, but that's fine."
Draco let out a dramatic sigh as he stood. "Let's get this over with, Potter."
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Mia looked around at the groups of Slytherin students. She was still disillusioned while they settled in different rooms based off of year. They'd be allowed to mix after she met with them. First was the seventh years, and she frowned at the group. There were much fewer students than she'd expected. It seemed as if the seventh years were made up of essentially Draco, Blaise, Theo, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Daphne Greengrass, and a girl she didn't know. She already knew she'd only have luck with Daphne, so she snuck up to Theo, glad that he didn't jump when she touched his arm. She leaned over to whisper to him quiet enough that no one else would hear her.
"Hey, I want to talk to just Daphne. I doubt Crabbe, Goyle, or Pansy will have anything positive to say to me."
Theo didn't respond and just pulled his arm away from her. She watched him mutter quietly to Daphne before pulling her out of the room and walking down the hall. Mia followed and put up a few privacy wards before dropping the spells on her.
"Granger?" Daphne blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, this is all me," she shrugged. "You're not a Death Eater, right? Your family is mostly in the grey area."
"Of course not," Daphne confirmed. "Astoria isn't either. You didn't bring us down here to kill us, right?"
Mia let out a startled laugh. "No, Merlin. Did I really give off that murderous vibe in school?"
"Not in school, no, but you certainly are now."
"Yeah that makes sense," she shrugged. "No, I'm trying to keep you all safe. The battle is coming soon. I don't want to disclude the entire House, I'm a fucking Slytherin for Merlin's sake-,"
"What?" Daphne looked at Theo, who was just shaking his head at her.
"Perhaps you should wait to disclose odd, nonsensical facts about the last few months of your life until you've gotten everyone you'd like," Theo suggested. Mia's lips twitched.
"Yeah, good idea. I'll get myself hexed and then Regulus will probably fucking destroy you all for it."
"Mia," Theo threw his head back and she laughed a little.
"Sorry. So, Daphne, would you like to take my mark? It'll ensure your freedom when this is over. The entire light recognizes it. Dumbledore spread it around in the seventies so it's been legit for around twenty-two years."
Daphne looked to Theo for confirmation that the girl hadn't lost her mind and he just nodded a little. "Only if you'll offer the same to Astoria. Oh, and a couple friends of mine."
"Sure," Mia shrugged. "As long as they want it. Astoria is a sixth year, right?"
"Yes. My friend, Kat, is a seventh year. Her sister graduated, but Kat said she's getting in and out of the school somehow."
"Mm, I bet I know how," Mia commented, nodding at Theo. He went to go find the two girls in question for her, leaving Mia and Daphne alone. "I'm glad to see you're surviving here. You were always so kind to me."
"You're a brilliant witch," Daphne shrugged.
"Daph!"
"Ah, Story," Daphne grabbed her sister in a hug. "Thank Merlin you're okay."
"Theo's being weird," Astoria commented, glaring at the boy in question as he came to stand next to Mia. "Holy shit, Granger?"
"Mm," Mia hummed, watching another girl walk over. She had long, black wavy hair and pale skin with dark brown eyes, and Mia suddenly realized she'd gone to school with her for years. "Huh. What's your name?"
"Kat Miles," the girl narrowed her eyes. "We've been in class together for six years, Granger."
Mia shrugged. "I have a valid excuse for every single year. A lot of shit has happened."
"Fair."
"Theo, Daphne, do you know anyone else down to fourth year that would be willing?"
The two considered her for a moment, thinking.
"Not that I can think of," Theo shrugged. "With the resorting this year, things have gotten even more selective, especially the younger years."
"Resorting?" Mia stared. "I begged to be resorted and Dumbledore told me to suck it up. Nasty old man."
"Daph, did she hit her head?" Astoria wondered. "Don't you and your friends adore Dumbledore?"
"No," Mia scowled. "Dumblecunt was a nasty man that did horrible things for his so-called Greater Good and ruined many lives, resulting in the death of my blood bound brother and-,"
"Hey, Mia," Theo interrupted. "We all know he was shit. We should focus."
"Right," she shook her head. "Okay. Well, I'll give you the quick story… oh, Draco might be able to help."
Theo stepped back a little bit and grabbed the boy by his collar as he was walking away, pulling him into the privacy wards.
"The fuck, Nott?" Draco snapped, smacking his hand away. He noticed the group and sighed a little. "What are you doing, Potter?"
"I need you for proof," she explained. "So, okay. After Bellatrix tortured me, I was not doing well. I was resting and Fred Weasley came to visit and Harry was playing a game of exploding snap with him. He was sitting next to me and my cracked time turner and when he lost, we got sent back to 1976. Long story short, lots of people that should be dead aren't and I've collected myself a few Death Eaters, as well as people associated with Death Eaters like Draco's mum and Blaise. It's for protection but also to make sure you're all on my side. I'm not asking you to fight for us, I'm just asking you not to fight for them. Stay safe down here if you'd like to."
"Draco, you really expect us to believe this?" Astoria asked him. He sighed.
"I'm sorry, Astoria. I never wanted to lie to you. My mother raised me to be a spy, or at the very least not truly loyal to the Dark Lord. She is telling the truth."
"And your name is Mia Potter now?" Daphne asked her. She nodded a little.
"I was adopted by Dorea and Charlus Potter."
"Who is alive?" Kat asked.
"Hmm. James Potter, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Frederick Avery, Sirius Black, and Regulus Black. Oh, and my parents, Dorea and Charlus."
"Wait, but Sirius died a few years ago," Astoria shook her head. Mia blushed and uncovered her arm for them. They gasped at the sight, being purebloods with knowledge of that sort of dark magic.
"I was pissed that he died. It's really useful. If either of us die again, as long as the other one is fine, we can come back," she explained. "Which is cool because I'm supposed to live for a long time."
"Few questions," Kat told her. "First, why are you supposed to live for a long time?"
"Okay… well, I'm a Light Lady- er, I'm actually supposedly a Legendary, which sounds shit to me."
"Holy shit, we haven't had one of those in centuries," Astoria exclaimed.
"Next question," Kat said. "You've both died?"
"I hate Slytherins."
"You are a Slytherin," Theo reminded her with a laugh. She made a face at him.
"Yes, I died. Dolohov killed me, it was fucking horrible. Riddle is pissed as hell, he wants me dead and he wants Harry dead. Harry has to die - he will come back - and then he has to fight me after that. It'll all be very dramatic, I'm sure."
"So how will these marks work?"
"Oh," she shook her head. "Draco, could you lift your shirt?"
"Is this how your bloody guards feel?" he asked her, lifting his shirt up to show the girls the mark. Astoria smirked at the sight, and her sister rolled her eyes. Mia tapped her wand to the mark quietly and watched as it lit up.
"Any member of the light can touch it and know that you're on our side. It takes just a moment and doesn't hurt too bad."
"Okay," Kat lifted her shirt up, making both boys blush. "Merlin, get over yourselves. I'm not stripping. We're literally in the middle of a war."
Mia drew the rune on her gently, hissing in pain when she felt it light hers up, which could be seen through her light white tank top.
"You have one too?" Daphne wondered. She nodded a little as she moved onto Astoria.
"Yeah, it burns me every time I give it. It was pretty shitty having to remark everyone after I died, honestly," she made a face as she moved to stand in front of Daphne. "Shit still hurts. I've got a lot of extensive damage from that so it hurts more than it did the first time I gave it, which was to Avery, Regulus, and Severus."
"Severus- Snape?" Astoria asked her in surprise. "He's been an arse to you for six years!"
"Yeah, I made him do that," Mia sighed sadly. "To uphold time. He doesn't remember me, so don't try to make him. He'll only remember when we have time for that. I've made sure no one will attack him, so if you see him attack anyone, maybe just try to help protect them. They won't go on the offensive."
"I have an important question," Kat raised an eyebrow. "What was Snape like as a teenager?"
Mia rolled her eyes and turned back to the boys. "I'll answer that after we all survive this war. Is everyone here and accounted for?"
"Yep, all seven years. We put up some anti-magic wards around Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. They're generally the most dangerous of everyone."
"Great," Mia grinned, looking back to the girls. "If any of you would like to stay here, you can. Anyone that wants to leave can come back with me to continue organizing the DA and Order."
"They won't hex us?" Kat questioned.
"Nah, they got that out of them when Sirius and everyone was revealed," she rolled her eyes.
"We're in," Daphne said, nodding at her sister.
"Me, too," Kat agreed. "I want to find Jess."
"Your sister? I had an idea about her. I think she's with my friends. It's the only way in and out of the castle. Was she a Slytherin?"
"No, a Ravenclaw."
"Let's go see if we can find her, then."
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