Universes Involved: Estelle, Macie, Alexia, Cassiopeia, Mia, Adelaide, Founders Hermione, Golden Trio Hermione
Estelle wasn't even prepared for the transfiguration quiz on Monday, so she felt a justified amount of panic when numerous women of varying ages dropped themselves into her bedroom. She'd taken a trip home - something she did once a month - and was just lying in bed, trying to remember the core principles of transfiguring small animals when a bright, flashing light appeared out of nowhere, and suddenly, there were women falling all over, many of them cursing loudly as they hit the ground.
"Damn it-,"
"-off my foot!"
"-your hair out of my mouth-,"
"All of you shut up!" one loud voice snapped. Estelle stared along with the other women at one, who had long, black hair and looked deeply irritated. "We're going to take some deep breaths and figure this- hey, you're new."
"She is," another woman, also with black hair but this time with grey eyes, realized. "Who're you?"
"Who the hell are you?" the woman that they were talking to shot back.
"Get out of my room," Estelle said finally. "If my Dad hears you, he'll be so mad at me."
"Oh, there's a small one," one of the women with brown hair said, intrigued. "She's gotta be… eleven, twelve tops."
"Let's just take a second and step back," someone else said. "Roll call, please."
A woman let out a snort. "Adelaide."
"Cassiopeia," the younger woman with the grey eyes said.
"Hermione," someone else said. She paused. "Founders."
"Hermione," another one said. "You invaded my universe."
"Alexia," the first woman that had yelled stated.
"And Mia," finished the girl that asked for a roll call. "That just leaves this weird one glaring at us and the kid."
"I'm Estelle, and you ignored me," Estelle glared. "I have a test Monday."
"Hey!" Alexia exclaimed, looking at Cassiopeia. "You look not dead. Good!"
Cassiopeia let out a short laugh. "What, did you think you'd send me home and I'd immediately die?"
"Possibly, yes," Alexia rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know?"
"You know what's weird," Mia said with a frown. "My bonds with Jamie and Regulus are fine. They must be alive."
"Alive- of course they're alive," Estelle frowned at her. "We're kids."
"Oh," Mia blinked. "So… what year is it?"
"It's 1971," Estelle told them. She hesitated as she looked at them. "Are you guys from the future?"
"Generally, yes," Alexia confirmed. "What year varies between us. 1998 for me, 1996 for Cassiopeia… I think it's the same for Hermione of the Founders, but it's sort of hard to keep track."
"I'm going to need all of you to explain what the hell is going on," the one woman that hadn't introduced herself stated firmly. She looked hard, like she was ready to hex all of them.
"Alternate universe," Alexia waved her off. "We're sort of used to this."
"I wouldn't say one shitty day makes us used to multiverse travel," Mia rolled her eyes. Alexia shot a look back at her.
"One for you, maybe," she made a face. "Multiple for myself, Cassiopeia, and Salazar Slytherin Hermione "
Founders Hermione scoffed. "Can we please come up with something else to call me?"
"Have a unique name," Alexia laughed, earning herself a glare.
"Can we focus?" Adelaide requested. She offered the strange woman a smile. "What's your name?"
The woman eyed them all hesitantly before she replied. "Macie."
"Thank you, Macie," Adelaide nodded. "The six of us had an… adventure some time ago where we met. It's curious to us that we're now meeting you and Estelle."
There was a short knock on the door and, after a muttered "oh no," from Estelle, it opened. Alphard Black walked inside and stopped short at the sight before him. "Stella-,"
"I didn't do this!" she told him quickly. "I was just studying, I swear."
"Alphard," Adelaide's eyes widened at the sight of him. He glanced at her and then back at Estelle.
"Stella, these women… they look like you."
"From what I've gathered, they're from other universes," Estelle agreed. "But they're loud and irritating."
"Irritating? Little twits are irritating, not me."
Mia smacked the back of Alexia's head. "No Russian! No one even knows what you're saying!"
"Which is why I'm speaking it, so you can't hear me call you a cunt, or hear me say how stupid your hair looks."
Cassiopeia let out a sigh. "Lexi, please, don't make things worse."
Alexia let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest, but she did quiet.
"I know Russian, too," Estelle told Alexia. The woman blinked at her in shock.
"Oops."
"Right," Alphard said, looking them over. "Out of the room. We're going to the Ministry."
"There's no way in hell I'm going there," Macie said, tensing.
"I don't feel like letting Bertie spend two weeks testing me, either," Alexia sighed. "I can do the tests myself if they were important, but they're not. I know how my body reacts to being in the past, and I know what happens to my magic if I'm in a different universe."
"Shit, right, you work in the DOM," Cassiopeia remembered. "Did you ever get rid of the stupid fucking Veil?"
"The Veil is used to help people that are about to become an Obscurus," Adelaide cut in. "Getting rid of it would put everyone in a lot of danger."
"We didn't get rid of it, but my occasionally bursting into Fiendfyre did prompt Bertie to make a room to study the shit," Alexia shrugged. "Well deserved after everything that's happened."
"You work in the DOM?" Alphard asked. He was quietly guiding Estelle toward the door, and she moved only after grabbing her books. Once he'd pushed her out of the room, he closed the door and locked it. "You have information on this?"
"I know that being in the past won't hurt us," Alexia began slowly. "But I also know that our magic is taking a beating, being in a different universe. Nothing life threatening as long as you have a steady core. Which you do have now, right, Cassie?"
"I'm fine," she assured her. "I got a lot of rest. My core is back to normal, for the most part."
"Do you know of a way to fix this?" Alphard pressed. He was staring at Alexia as if she alone had the answers.
"Well, there are a few things," she said slowly. "Hermione - Founders Hermione - where were you when you left? How long until it gets back to the Founders?"
"In bed, reading," she grimaced. "It'll be a while. Maybe eight hours if Sirius actually wakes up when he's supposed to."
Cassiopeia scoffed. "Not likely. He sleeps like the dead."
"Which leaves Antonin," Alexia sighed. "After our trip to see Adelaide, I told Antonin and Bertie that it might be a good idea to make our own machine. We can't always rely on people in another universe to set things right."
"So you made one?" H.G Hermione asked, eyes wide. "How do you know you can trust Dolohov?"
"I just do," she insisted. "Besides, I was overseeing the project since I have more experience in this area. Issue is, it isn't quite finished. We needed to consult with someone in Brazil, and they weren't open for another two months."
"Alphard, we can solve at least one of our problems," Adelaide said, stepping closer. It was difficult for her to be near him once more, even after their last trip. She still missed the man. "When I spent some years in the past, you and I created a time travel device that eventually took some friends and myself to the future. We can do that now."
"What the hell could we know about the future here?" Macie cut in. "What if you send us to a future where we get murdered?"
"Cheery one, isn't she?" Mia muttered to Cassiopeia, who rolled her eyes.
"She's got a point, though," Alexia sighed. "You have to admit, Mia, our universes can be wildly different."
"Yeah, I mean, it's not like three of us spent an extended amount of time in the seventies and two others also went to the past," Mia rolled her eyes. "I don't think it's that different."
"You don't find it odd that she's twelve?" Cassiopeia pressed. "I mean, if she's twelve, how much do you think she knows about the future? What did we know about the war then?"
"Stella came to me when she was six," Alphard interrupted. "She knew nothing about magic."
Cassiopeia waved at him. "Thank you- holy shit, he's my uncle, isn't he?"
Adelaide paused. "You haven't met him… it didn't even occur to me. Yes, he's your uncle."
"Her uncle," Alphard repeated, staring at Cassiopeia.
"That isn't the point," Mia made a face at them. "Alphard, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia, Alphard. He's dead in your universe anyway, so don't get attached."
"I'm going to hex her hair off if she continues to be such a fucking nightmare," Alexia muttered to herself, earning a few glares. "What? If I'd said it in English, she would've hexed me. I'm trying to preserve the peace here."
"She looks ready to hex you anyway," Macie commented, looking between them.
"You know, Alexia literally died for you," Cassiopeia pointed out. "Like, threw herself in front of you and died. D'you think you guys could stop fighting?"
Alexia and Mia looked at each other for a long moment, almost silently communicating. Finally, they looked away and Mia addressed Alphard, completely moving on from the question. "Alphard, if Estelle doesn't know about the future, what are you doing?"
"I'm not sure I understand the question," he admitted.
"What she means," Adelaide cut in. "Is… how are you preventing the future from changing?"
"Well, as I have no way to know what the future is, there isn't much I can do to prevent changing it," Alphard told them. He seemed like he was getting irritated.
"Good point," Alexia made a face. "What's Arcturus think of this?"
"He approved of the adoption," he said slowly. "What else would he think? I don't plan to marry."
"What would Arcturus think of changing the future?" Alexia let out a short laugh. "Let's see. He had me babysat by Pollux. When I tried to change the future, Pollux held me at wandpoint until I swore an oath on my magic not to tell Jamie he was going to die."
"Jesus Christ," Mia stared at her. "You could die."
"Yeah," she made a face. "He's bloody lucky I didn't have another breakdown before everything happened or I'd be dead and the future would have changed."
"The world doesn't end when the future or the past changes," Macie spoke up. "I've been changing time in an alternate universe for months now."
"Wh- you- that's so irresponsible!" H.G. Hermione exclaimed, horrified. "You could destroy everything! Your own universe is one thing, but an innocent universe? You have no right!"
"Okay!" Alphard put his wand up. "I need all of you to calm down. Most of you know one another. Do you have any theories on how this happened?"
"Uh, we do," Cassiopeia pointed between herself and Alexia. "Sort of. We were told that, because of the bond we were forced to create during the last huge… experience, the six of us would be likely to be pulled to one another."
"Also that multiverse trips were going to happen more often," Alexia added. "I'd say it was a pretty credible source, too."
Cassiopeia snorted but didn't feel the need to add more.
"That's more of a why than a how," Alphard told them. "How did it happen last time?"
"Last time, Alexia got hit in the chest with a curse while Dolohov was Apparating them away," F. Hermione said calmly. "She almost died again."
"Lovely to see you without him, by the way," Adelaide told Alexia with a smile. Not insulted at all, Alexia smiled back.
"Before that?" Alphard pressed.
"Um," Cassiopeia frowned. "We're not… really sure. One second, I was in Hogwarts and the next, I was in this weird golden light that took me to Alexia and fed off of my core. When she touched it, we went to a different universe. We didn't really figure out what it was."
"Alexia seems to be involved in many of these events."
The woman in question put her hands up. "Hey, it's a coincidence. I had Antonin do a number of tests on me to see if I'm… cursed or something, but I'm not."
"Well, maybe not cursed," Adelaide raised an eyebrow. "But you were used to ground our bond, remember? Maybe that means you're being pulled between us and pulling us places."
"In different ways?" she scoffed.
"Well, what happened when you went with Cassiopeia?" Alphard wondered. "What were you doing? Any heightened emotions?"
Alexia looked between the women and thought back to that day. "I was walking with Draco in the DOM to my office. Maybe two minutes earlier, I'd nearly walked straight into a room filled with Fiendfyre, but I'd calmed down by the time I found Cassiopeia in my office."
"She was already there when you arrived?" he pressed.
"Yeah, just in the middle of my office."
"You're thinking her heightened emotions called Cassiopeia to her," Adelaide realized with a slight gasp. "That… could make sense."
"And what happened the next time?"
Alexia let out a sheepish cough. "I was in the middle of a battle in muggle London. It was a bad one."
"So you were emotional," Mia sighed deeply. "I'm trying really hard not to be mad at you, Potter."
"You're a Potter, too!" Alexia narrowed her eyes.
"Not anymore; I'm a Black now."
"And I'm married, too," she shrugged.
"Why are you two idiots fighting over your last names?" Macie asked them, lost. "What is wrong with them?"
"They hate each other," Adelaide sighed. At the looks of confusion from Macie and Alphard, she shrugged. "They dealt with the same problem in very different ways. They disagreed. They are fighting much less than usual, though. Progress."
"Moving on," Alphard looked back to Alexia. "What was happening now?"
She hesitated and bit her lip. "I was emotional."
"How so?" he wondered. "It may help us understand what's happened."
"It isn't important. I was emotional. You're right, it's me."
"Okay, she's taking blame for something that we don't even know is her fault," Cassiopeia told them. "Whatever it is, I'd say it's bad."
"It could also be important."
"I'm tired of alternate universe people telling us that," Cassiopeia snapped at him. "You don't know her or the bullshit she's been through."
"It's fine, Cassie," Alexia put her hand up. "We got news from the Wizengamot. A few people are being released from Azkaban for Merlin knows what bullshit reason… including Crabbe and Rowle."
Adelaide, Mia, and Cassiopeia grimaced together.
"That explains it, then," Mia said quietly. "I don't blame you, honestly. If you'd summoned us when he was there, we'd have beaten the shit out of him."
"I'm not sure what Rowle did, but should I assume it's the same as Crabbe and Goyle?" Adelaide asked softly. Alexia gave a jerky nod.
"He tried. Then, he flipped it around and told the Wizengamot that I came onto him, and I ended up telling everyone - including Jamie - what happened. It was bad. He went to Azkaban along with Rookwood and Crabbe, but they're out now, and Antonin says they're mad."
"What's the issue with them?" Alphard asked, earning himself multiple defensive glares. "I ask because it's important to know how panicked she needs to be before all of you are displaced."
So they told him. They took turns explaining, and by the end, his jaw was clenched and he had glanced back at the door a couple of times.
"So Rowle- he did this in this time?" he wondered. "Or in the future?"
"In 1977, I think," Alexia answered quietly.
"Well," he sighed. "I can understand the six of you being together, of course, but there are a few questions. Who bound you?"
"Antonin," Alexia told him. "He was in Russia today setting up a contract for Matvey with Delia Burke. I was going to do it, but fucking Feliks is there today, and every time I see him, I hex him. For his health, Antonin's decided keeping us apart is best."
"Why?" Alphard asked, lost.
"Because the bastard tried to force me to marry him!" she told him passionately. "Antonin wants to disown him, but Kir made the point that if we disown everyone that wanted to force me to marry them, we'd have one person left. As twisted as Kir is, at least he doesn't want to make me his own personal incubator."
"I am… so lost," H.G Hermione admitted. "How do you have so much access to the family? Are you guys working together since you're technically a Dolohov?"
Alexia's eyes widened slightly, and she looked to Cassiopeia. "Uh."
"Lexi married him," Cassiopeia said for her. "And we don't have time to unpack all of that, so forget that bastard."
"Right," Alphard looked between the women. Mia looked furious, but she was silent. "He should come with you since he-,"
"See, I don't think so," Alexia disagreed quickly. "Because while he did bind us, he and I have a different, overpowering type of bond. He definitely knows something is very wrong, and he probably felt our bond snap, but I don't think he'd be pulled with us unless he's right there with me."
"Alright. Assuming you're right, there is the question of why? Why did you come here? Why did you bring another woman, one that you've never met before?"
"Well, I mean, we appeared in a universe where the Norse gods are very real, and one is Harry's father," Cassiopeia shrugged. "Maybe it's… random. Maybe only some of it can be consistent."
"I don't believe in random," Alphard hummed. "You have something in common with this woman and my daughter. What that is, however, is the question."
"Maybe we can stop wondering and start working on getting us home," Macie cut in. "If I miss class today, Dumbledore will get suspicious, and that's exactly what we don't want."
"Issue is, it's on Antonin," Alexia shrugged. "I'm sure he's already working on it, though, and he probably got Bertie and even James."
"So you think you're stuck here until Dolohov… brings you back?" Alphard asked. She shrugged and gave a small nod.
"So what's the plan, then?" Macie asked the other women. "You've done this before. Alphard Black is-,"
"Okay!" Adelaide raised her voice. "Let's remember we're in the past and we don't want to change anything."
"What is the point of that?" Macie pressed. "They already are. We weren't meant to go to the past at six years old. Maybe he won't die this time."
Mia let out a groan of frustration and glanced at Alexia. "I think I like her less than I like you."
"Yeah, same for you," Alexia agreed.
"You guys know him," Macie continued. "Can you really say there's no chance he won't die? How'd he die in your universes?"
"Why are we even talking about this?" Cassiopeia frowned at her. "He's alive here and now, so who cares?"
"Getting back to the right time," Adelaide realized. She stared at Macie. "You're worried about if we make the timekeys, how do we know we'll be safe in the future."
"Exactly."
"Well…." Adelaide took in a deep breath. "In my universe… Alphard lived until a few years after I left for the future. I was pissed to find out he'd died when I got there, but it makes sense. He loves Sirius too much not to help him."
"We do not need to discuss my potential death," Alphard said, finally able to interrupt them. "I'm sure I can send you to people that will help."
"I don't know," Mia admitted, ignoring him. They all knew he couldn't truly offer them help in the future, especially if he was going to die. "I never really met him in the past aside from the whole… Sirius debacle with Bellatrix, so I don't know anything. Besides, I wasn't there for as long as you and Alexia. I left after ten months."
"Which leaves me," Alexia sighed. She rubbed her face, feeling guilt bloom within her once more. "I don't know how he was supposed to die. I just know it didn't happen that way."
"What do you mean?" Alphard asked her. "You changed time?"
"Not on purpose," she defended. "We were close. You helped me a lot, and we worked together a lot. You helped me when I was arrested a couple of times, too, but you were pissed about it. I stand by the fact that the second time was Pollux's fault."
"Father- what?"
Alexia shook her head at him. "There was an accident. You agreed to help me do something that was… dangerous. More dangerous than we'd originally assumed. It didn't go well, and it took me years to finally finish the spell itself. I had to wait until Fabian and Gideon came and were very not-dead."
"Ah shit, the spell?" Mia asked her, looking pained. Alexia gave a stiff nod. "Shit. I told you it was dangerous. How'd you get him killed?"
"You said fires can happen," she reminded her. At the raised eyebrow, she sighed. "For me, I gave off accidental Fiendfyre. Not the entire time - just after Fabian and Gideon died. So when it was getting closer to the end of my time in the past, Alphard asked me what I was going to do. I asked for his help again and planned to do it on my own if he said no. He helped me. It was- things went bad quick. I had a breakdown while casting the spell and began melting the elemental-proof room I'd been put in. He thought I was going to kill myself, so he came to try and put it out, but-,"
"But he died," Alphard gathered. She nodded. "That room is experimental. We don't know how to truly safety proof a room against elementals yet. We're many years away from that. He would have known that going in. He must've been desperate, putting you in there, to keep you safe from yourself."
"Sirius cursed me for it," Alexia sighed, glancing at the other girls. Adelaide in particular looked completely horrified, being the only other person that had been close with him. "He didn't talk to me for a long time, and when he finally did, it was in the middle of Abraxas's toast at Lucius and Narcissa's wedding. He cursed me and Reg and Antonin had to separate us. It was… it was bad for a while."
"Because you killed him," Adelaide said softly. Mia grimaced.
"She didn't kill him, Adelaide, not really. Alphard is a smart man, from what I've heard. He would've known the risks in going in there. Don't project your grief over losing him onto her."
"What, you're suddenly friends now?" H.G. Hermione asked curiously. Mia shrugged.
"Too much energy to hate her, I think. Especially if we're going to be meeting multiple times through our lives."
There was a short pause before Cassiopeia spoke. "I don't know much about how Uncle Alphard died. It's hard for Sirius to talk about, but I did ask Walburga once. After she finished sputtering about how I'm supposed to be dead, she did answer me. I guess he helped Sirius escape when… er, that one thing happened in his sixth year, and Bellatrix didn't like that."
"Bellatrix- oh my god," Mia's eyes widened. "Alphard, if we can give you any advice, it's to fucking kill Bellatrix as soon as possible. I'm not even joking, just fucking kill her."
Adelaide nodded. "She's hurt three of us pretty bad. Don't let her hurt your daughter."
"If we can move back to you," Alphard said to Alexia. She still looked incredibly upset and absolutely filled with guilt, but she nodded slightly. "You did change time, you're certain?"
"Well, yeah," she said quietly. "We've been working pretty hard to figure out how much I actually changed in the past, because we think a few things did change. I'm pretty sure Alphard originally died at some point during the war, the war efforts particularly. But when I told him I'd work on the spell alone since Fab and Gid were gone…"
"But why did you have to do it?" Adelaide asked her with a frown. "I mean, changing time-,"
"Would have been worth it," Alexia interrupted. "At the time, it was the only way I knew to save Jamie and the twins. If you had the chance to save James…"
Adelaide let out a slow breath. "I'd have done almost anything."
"And my limit was when I killed Alphard," Alexia confirmed. "I stopped. I never intended to start the spell again until I'd forced my own hand."
"Changing time, how did it affect things?" Alphard questioned. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"We're still studying it. Your- his death was the biggest thing I changed that we can tell so far. It looks like it's mostly the same. No negative reactions so far, but it'll take a long time to tell for sure."
Alphard nodded thoughtfully. "And this spell you used, what was it?"
"No," Alexia said sharply. "I got you killed once, I won't do it again."
"Stella doesn't belong here," he told her desperately. "I promised her I'd figure out how to send her back home. To her mother and father."
Mia scoffed. "If he's anything like my dad, keep her away."
"And mine," Adelaide agreed.
"Mine too," Alexia nodded. "Bastard called me a whore in the middle of my wedding."
"What the fuck," Cassiopeia whispered, staring at Alexia. "Did you curse him?"
"No, but Antonin did. Wasn't his best move since there was a muggle there. It was a mess that ended in Avery threatening to curse a crowd of Order members and Bertie threatening to Obliviate them all. I love my husband but his friends are fucking insane, and so is our boss."
Alphard looked completely torn, looking between the three women. "What did he do?"
"Like… physically or emotionally?" Mia wondered. "Cause he was good at fucking us up either way."
"Really," Cassiopeia said. She stepped forward to look at him honestly. "Take it from me. I was sent back to the Dursley's year after year, even after I'd found a family that loved me. Don't put her through that. Keep her safe and loved. From what I've pieced together from Sirius and Regulus, you're a good man. Take care of her."
There was a knock on the door, and Alphard opened it to find Estelle standing with her books in her hands. "Can I come back in and help now? I finished my Transfiguration and I'm bored."
Alphard looked to the women, who were all looking at him seriously. After a moment of consideration, he nodded. "We're discussing changing time and the potential of sending them to an unsafe future."
Estelle frowned slightly. "You know the future?"
"We're from there, kid," Mia confirmed. "Most of us spent some time in the past, though. I think Alexia and Adelaide tie for who was there the longest."
"Let's talk boltholes," Macie suggested. "I have none remaining to speak of in my universe and haven't set any up in the new one."
Alexis sighed. "I've got a few different places from different sources. Mum and Dad left me two places, Alphard left his flat to Sirius and I equally, and Arcturus left a place for me because he thought I'd marry Sirius or Regulus. Then there's the Dolohov houses, all of which I technically own. There's a couple I know of that, in my time and universe, had been abandoned for at least a decade."
"I've got Black homes," Adelaide said. "But I can't attest to the state of their wards in my universe, much less here. If they're anything like Black Manor-,"
"I wouldn't suggest testing them," Alphard nodded.
"Ah, I dunno," Mia shrugged. "Potter Manor, obviously. We've all got access to it. I've got the house in France, too."
Cassiopeia thought for a moment. "Sirius gave me Black Manor. Being heir, I can dismantle the wards if we need to."
"Assuming Arcturus is dead and this Sirius didn't miraculously decide to become Lord Black," Alexia cut in. "It's too risky."
Adelaide let out a small laugh. "I know of a Malfoy home in Germany, but we'd need a Malfoy. Was a pretty damn good place for Draco to hide for three months, though."
Alexia's lips spread into a slight grin. "Guys. Guys, you do realize I'm a Potter, Black, Dolohov, and Malfoy, right?"
"How?" Estelle asked her in disbelief. "That's just- just not possible!"
"I was blood adopted by Dorea and Charlus Potter-that's Potter," Alexia began, counting them off on her fingers. "Dorea is a Black- that's Black, not to mention the bond I made with Regulus makes me blood related to them very closely. My muggle- ah, squib father is a Dolohov- that's Dolohov, not to mention Antonin is my husband. And finally, I held the ceremonial necklace for Lucius and Narcissa's wedding, which bound me to them and therefore, their family- that's Malfoy."
"Merlin's sake, Dad, she's gotta be the most powerful woman in the Wizengamot," Estelle said, looking at Alphard in shock.
"So we can find a place," Cassiopeia summarized. "I really think we should get to the future. I'm not comfortable here."
"Neither am I," Mia added. "Don't wanna get stuck here."
"Me too," Alexia sighed. "I did my waiting."
"Twelve years of it in Azkaban?" Adelaide quirked an eyebrow. Alexia smacked her arm with a laugh.
"Shut up."
"Alright," Alphard agreed finally. "Alright, fine. Adelaide, you said we made this device together?"
She nodded. "I remember most of it. The adjustments got a little blurry after… the common room trip. Being Imperiused will do that to you."
Estelle looked at her with wide eyes. "You were Imperiused in the common room? Which one? Who did it?"
"Yes I was, Slytherin, and Dolohov," Adelaide answered one quick succession. "We can probably get these done in a half hour if we start now, Alphard."
"Right. Alright, well, let's get started."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Alphard and Adelaide had left five minutes earlier, and Estelle was watching the others curiously. She hadn't noticed as one came to sit by her until she sighed and reached for her book. "Oh."
"I know it's weird," the woman said. "Alternate universe versions of yourself. Seeing how different we can be, what we've gone through. It terrified me when we first met."
Estelle looked at her critically. She wore Gryffindor robes and looked to be in her sixth year. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she seemed resigned to what was happening. "So how are you different, then?"
"Well," she hummed. "My name is still Hermione, but I didn't spend time in the '70s. I went back to the Founders' time and they ended up coming to the future with Harry, Ron, and I to fix things. How are you different? What's your story?"
"I'm only twelve," Estelle defended. Still, Hermione looked curious so she spoke cautiously. It was a story she'd never told in her life. "When I was six, I wandered into Diagon Alley when passing it with my parents. I ended up in Knockturn Alley and touched a ring that sent me to 1965. Dad adopted me because he works in the DOM and he found me."
Hermione nodded with a hum. "Do you like it here?"
Estelle shrugged. "I didn't like it with my parents. My mum was alright, I guess, but my dad… I didn't really have many friends. Here, I have a lot of friends, I have Sirius and Regulus who are my cousins, but basically brothers. I have Dad, I have Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus, and then James. It's all I know. It's my home."
Hermione smiled kindly. "It sounds like you got pretty lucky, coming back here."
"They were talking about time changing," Estelle said slowly. "What's so bad in the future that you're scared of going to?"
"War," Macie said. She'd been standing alone in the corner, apparently listening in on their conversation. "Devastating war that kills everyone and everything it touches. If it's anything like my universe, we'll get there and be dead within an hour."
"Stop it," Cassiopeia told her loudly, looking over Alexia's shoulder at her. "I get it, you're bitter and hurt, but so are we. Don't take it out on her when, for right now, she's safe here."
"She deserves to know what's coming," Macie disagreed. "She deserves to know what they do to people that rebel against them. The torture, rape, murder-,"
Alexia shot off a spell and silenced her. "I'm going to fucking stun you if you keep going. Let the kid have some bloody peace for Merlin's sake."
"Well, this is totally a relaxing wait," Mia said sarcastically by Alexia's side. "Just for the record, I definitely don't like her. She's replaced you, Alexia."
Alexia rolled her eyes. "My dreams have come true."
Estelle looked at all of them in frustration. "What is wrong with you people? What happened to you? Why are you acting like the world's gonna end?"
Another Hermione, one who had opted to sit down and read while they waited, sighed. She'd been pulled from her book by Macie's voice rising and had witnessed the scene. "Some bad things happened to us, Estelle. They may not happen to you, but they did us."
"Well, tell me," Estelle ordered. "Or I can't very well avoid it, can I?"
Mia shrugged. "Stay the hell away from Dolohov. He'll hurt you really badly."
Estelle's expression turned cautious. "Antonin is one of my best friends. I trust him completely."
"He really would hurt you," Mia pressed.
"No, he won't."
"How could you know?"
"Stop," Alexia sighed. "Mia, I'm proof that we can't rely on him being a perpetually bad person. He's my husband. He might not hurt her. You've warned her, now drop it."
Founders Hermione looked at her curiously. "Couldn't you help them? If you work in the DOM and know more about the multiverse and, assumedly, time travel, wouldn't it help?"
Alexia shrugged. "I thought about it, but I don't think so. Addy figured it out in her own universe, and I don't want to potentially mess with perfection. If they need help, I'll help."
"And what do we do in the meantime?" Cassiopeia wondered, tapping her foot. "Maybe we can figure out how to get home once we are in the future."
"Well, it's up to them," Mia nodded at Founders Hermione and Alexia.
"We just have to get somewhere safe and wait," Hermione sighed. "Not the best option, but the only one we have."
"Great."
It was ten minutes later when Adelaide and Alphard came back, Adelaide with her hair cut to just below her shoulders. She walked over and started passing out small vials with sands of time in them. "Alright, so we need to go wherever we think we'll be safest before we use these."
Alexia sighed. "I think I know a house we can go to. I'd have complete control over the wards. It'll be safe."
"Can't we just go to Potter Manor like last time?" Hermione asked, but four of them shook their heads at her.
"We can't go to House Manors," Adelaide told her. "We don't know the state of the Houses in the future. If Lexi has a place that's safe, I trust her."
"Alright, fine, let's go," Macie said shortly.
Alexia looked around and nodded. "I'll go check it out and make sure it's empty and then come back and take you two at a time."
She didn't wait for a reply - she Apparated away immediately and came back soon after with a short nod. "Wards are up and responding to me, and it looks like it's been abandoned for a while. Cassie, Adelaide, you first."
"Thank you, Alphard," Adelaide said with a sad smile. She made her way over to Alexia and they waited for Cassiopeia who was looking at him thoughtfully.
"Don't send her back. It was nice to meet you, Uncle Alphard," she said. She grabbed Alexia's spare hand and was taken away quickly.
Alexia came back for Mia and Hermione, and then once again for Founders Hermione and Macie. She glanced at Alphard hesitantly but ultimately decided against saying goodbye - he wasn't hers and it would mean nothing to him.
They landed once more in a large, empty dining room off a kitchen and Alexia tightened the wards. Once they were appropriately adjusted, she looked to Adelaide. "So, what now?"
"We're safe?"
"All good."
Adelaide pulled out her own necklace - it was the one she'd used months ago to send herself home, and they'd just adjusted the time period. It would still work for her. "Alright, they're already programmed for you. When you're ready, just tap it with your wand and it'll activate. We'll be taken to 3rd September, 1998."
"We're sure we want to do this?" Founders Hermione asked, looking between them. "I doubt we can come back here."
"Certain," Mia said. Without warning, she tapped her own makeshift time turner and was taken away in a flash. With a shrug, Alexia followed her lead, then Macie, and Hermione, and Cassiopeia, and Founders Hermione. Finally, Adelaide was left. She took in a deep breath and tapped her necklace, disappearing.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Something was different. Alexia knew it right away. The room still looked the same, but the wards felt different, like she was sharing them with someone. She did her best to focus them on the room they were in but found it quickly difficult. Everyone else had gotten there and seemed to be getting their bearings, so she turned to them seriously. "Stay here. I'm going to leave the family magic here to protect you. I need to make sure no one else is here."
"You shouldn't go alone," Cassiopeia grabbed her arm. "Seriously, Lexi."
Alexia shook her hand off and called Sara, who began trotting around the room. "Sara, protect them. If anyone comes and means them harm, don't kill them but make sure they don't touch them. Also, keep them in this room until I come back."
While Sara bowed her head in understanding, Mia looked at her like she was stupid. "And if there's something dangerous here?"
"I'll handle it," she said firmly. "I'll be back."
"This is really stupid of you," Macie told her plainly.
Alexia ignored her and stepped out of the room. Directly down the dark hall was a sitting room that held a piano, a couch, some chairs, and a table. There was no one there, but there wasn't dust on things like she expected. It had her a bit nervous, so she continued on.
Up the stairs were bedrooms - four of them. The first one was empty, as well as the second. The third bedroom, however, had an unmade bed and clothes tossed carelessly into a hamper. Someone was clearly living there and if the struggle over the wards said anything, they knew she was there.
She continued on into the last room with her dagger out in front of her. That room was, once again, empty. She turned around to leave and found a wand digging up at her throat. She stopped short and didn't dare move to curse the man that, by the smell alone, she recognized. "Let me go, Nikita."
"Drop the knife, sladkiy," he whispered in her ear. She hesitated, so he pressed the wand harder against her. Finally, she dropped it to the floor. "Give me my wards back."
She couldn't do that. If he had full control of the wards in the house, he could do a number of things with them, including kill someone. Even if he took her daggers and wand, she'd have the wards. "Let me go and I will leave."
Nikita grabbed her jaw roughly and forced her to meet his eyes. "Release my wards now."
She struggled slightly, uncomfortable. "Go to hell."
His eyes flashed angrily and he threw her back into the room. She hit the bedside table and crumpled onto the bed. While she tried to right herself, he removed her sheaths and took her wand from her. With her disarmed, he shoved her down with a hand on her neck and the other hand used to point his wand at her. "Where did you come from, sladkiy? A gift from the heavens?"
She couldn't speak and she couldn't move, so she settled for attempting to give him a dirty look. She was fairly certain that by then, the others were aware of what was going on. She absolutely loathed that Mia was right. She also couldn't call Sara silently, especially disarmed. She'd tried casting silently and wandlessly, but Nikita was focusing the wards on preventing wandless magic, leaving her completely defenseless.
"Mm," he hummed, leaning down to sniff her hair. He kissed her neck, licked it, and moved down to bite her shoulder hard. She gasped in pain, and he chuckled as he moved to straddle her. She was still trying to struggle, but everytime she moved, he squeezed on her neck. She was more afraid of what would happen if she was unconscious than anything, so she did her best to work out a plan.
Nikita removed her shirt with his wand and chuckled as he looked down at her and her scars. "Who did this to you, sladkiy? Would you like more? I could certainly-,"
"Nikita!" They both looked over in surprise at Antonin, who had his wand pointed at Nikita. "Remove yourself immediately. Return to our home."
"She's-,"
"Now," Antonin snapped. Furious, Nikita got up, but not before slapping her across the face. He stormed out of the room and it wasn't until he was gone that Alexia let out a staggering breath and hurried to grab the closest weapon - one of her daggers. She pointed it at Antonin, far too aware that he wasn't hers and that they were in a different universe. He put his wand away slowly and raised his hands to calm her. "I am not here to hurt you."
"Then what the hell are you doing here?" she asked him sharply. Her hand shook as she pointed the dagger at him - as a matter of fact, all of her was shaking, including her voice.
"I feel you, just as I did all those years ago. This time, you were terrified."
Alexia stared at him and wanted to believe him. "I need- he took my shirt, I need to…"
Antonin nodded and pulled off his outer layer, which was a casual, muggle style t-shirt. He handed it to her carefully, and she looked at it hesitantly. "It is a shirt."
She put it on slowly, careful to still point her dagger at him. It was difficult to keep doing once it was on for the simple fact that the shirt smelled like him, a smell she'd come to associate with safety and love. Despite the complete and utter fear she felt, she lowered her dagger. "He wasn't… supposed to be here. It was supposed to be empty."
Antonin's eyes darkened slightly. "Nikita was placed here to keep him from the rest of the world. It is a wonder I arrived in time."
Alexia wrapped her arms around herself, wishing for nothing more than her husband to hold her. "He's dead where I'm from. He tried… the same thing before and was killed. Kastya was killed for helping him."
He stepped forward slowly, giving her time to react. She watched him carefully as he came to grab her hand within his own, and he began stroking the back of it with his thumb. "Kastya and Nikita are allowed nowhere near one another. The number of women they've killed together left them both with twenty-year sentences in Azkaban, and that is after Anatoly got it reduced."
Alexia glanced between him and the door. "I should… my friends are here. They'll know I'm… I need to get to them."
"Perhaps not until you've recovered," he suggested. She went to argue, but he squeezed her hand lightly. "You do not look well, Dorogaya."
Alexia's eyes closed tightly at the familiar pet name, and she willed the tears not to fall. She was startled by arms wrapping around her, but she returned the hug willingly, resting her head against his chest as she tried to breathe. "I'm sorry, I- I know you're not- I just can't…"
He stroked her hair gently and let her cry into his chest. "I do not know who you are, but I know you share a bond with some version of myself, and you are terrified. I would never betray myself so much that I would not protect or comfort you."
She didn't reply. She just let him hold her for nearly five minutes and tried her best to forget what had just happened. Once she'd stopped shaking, she took in a long, deep breath and stepped back slightly to look at him, though her hand slipped into his automatically. "I need to find my friends. Come with me."
He bowed his head and led her out of the room. With Nikita gone and them there, they shared the wards evenly, which meant he could tell where they were. He led her back to the dining room and stepped in with her, spotting their family magic curiously.
"Thank Merlin," Cassiopeia breathed. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Alexia tightly. "We were- I was terrified for you. What happened, Lexi?"
Alexia gave her a one armed hug, unwilling to let go of Antonin. "Nikita Dolohov. This time in my universe, he was dead. I… I miscalculated."
"Is that motherfucker dead now?" Mia asked, ready to fight.
"He has returned to our family home," Antonin spoke up. "He will be punished."
"Fucking kill him, you piece of-,"
"Mia," Alexia interrupted sharply. "He has no reason to kill his family for me, not like mine does. My husband… let's just put it this way- we'd better hope he doesn't find out what Nikita did, because he'll find him and kill him."
"So we've got Dolohov," Macie said. When they glanced over, they realized she had her wand pointed steadily at him. "I can take care of him."
Sara stepped forward, getting ready to attack. Neither Alexia nor Antonin immediately told her to stop, but Alexia did warn Macie. "Be careful. We're in a Dolohov home, and you're pointing your wand at the Lord and Lady. Sara will kill you even if we tell her not to - she's meant to protect the family."
Macie was angry, but she wasn't stupid. Eyeing the thestral, she lowered her wand carefully, but held it still. She clearly wasn't ready to give up on the idea, because Sara didn't turn away from her. "So, a plan?"
Founders Hermione let out a frustrated sigh. "I just don't think anyone's going to notice I'm gone for a while. I've been… disappearing a bit lately. It won't be unusual for my friends to not see me for a couple of days."
"Antonin will notice," Alexia assured them. Cassiopeia had stopped hugging her when Macie had raised her wand, but she stood by Alexia's side as if she was ready and willing to fight for her. "He'll have already started looking and working. I'm concerned that he'll do something a bit illegal to get to the woman in Brazil. If that's the case, the machine could be finished already and it'd be a matter of calibrating it and finding this universe. Using his and Jamie's bonds with me, it would be a little easier to find us."
"So what do we do in the meantime?" Hermione wondered.
"Wait," Mia shrugged. "Find Alexia a shirt that isn't see through enough to see her nipples."
Alexia stiffened, her mind drifting back to what happened. Antonin shot Mia a dirty look and pulled Alexia out of the room again with Cassiopeia following them. They stopped in the kitchen and closed the door, and Cassiopeia removed her sweater and handed it over.
"Lexi," Cassiopeia said softly. "Do you need any potions? Snape gave me some spares in case he…" she glanced at Antonin and winced as she tried to push down her own fear to focus on her friend. "I've got them in my bag."
"No," Alexia answered quietly. "He didn't get to…"
"She needs bruise paste, a calming draught, and something to clean out a cut and bandage it," Antonin told Cassiopeia calmly. He did note that she seemed rather afraid of him, but it was the least of his worries when she went looking for what he'd asked. The first thing she pulled out was the calming draught, and Alexia downed it immediately. Once she'd set the bruise past and some triple antibiotic on the table, Antonin got to work. "You need to move your shirt aside so I can clean your shoulder."
Alexia bit her lip hesitantly. "I'm sure it's fine."
"Alexia," he said, having caught her name earlier. "Let me help you."
With a grimace, she pushed her shirt to the side and looked at the bite mark. It hadn't done much more than slightly break skin, but there was a few drops of blood forming. The first thing Antonin did was spray it with water to rinse it off. Once that was done, he put some of the triple antibiotic on his finger and began gently spreading it over her shoulder.
"So is Estelle around somewhere?" Cassiopeia asked to break the silence. Antonin didn't look up when he answered her.
"Stella and her husband are out of the country for the next month with her cousin and his kids," he told them. When Cassiopeia stared, he raised an eyebrow.
"Which cousin has kids? Lucius married in, is it him?"
Antonin shook his head as he put the bandage on Alexia's shoulder. "Regulus. They were always closest."
Cassiopeia choked out a laugh. "Regulus? Regulus Arcturus Black? With kids? Children?"
"Regulus wants kids," Alexia spoke up quietly, her voice nearly a whisper. "He told me after we broke up. He wants at least two. Part of why he was glad we broke up - I can't have kids, and I don't want them."
Cassiopeia looked at her in surprise. "Really? I never thought to ask… he's been so focused on me, I just assumed…"
"Cassie, I doubt he wants kids now, at least for you," Alexia said. "He's got to make sure you're okay. He vowed to protect you to the best of his ability. Besides, you're his little sister, and he didn't get to be there while you grew up. I don't know about yours, but that would kill my Regulus. He'd put his entire life on hold for you if that were the case."
Antonin moved to stand in front of Alexia and held the bruise paste in his hands. He scooped some out and slowly, gently, he began rubbing it onto her throat. She didn't react well - she gasped and jumped back with wide eyes. "Alexia-,"
"Let me," Cassiopeia requested, holding her hand out to take the paste. He handed it over reluctantly and she stepped over. "Lexi, look at him. Talk to him. Ignore what I'm doing, okay?"
"Y-yeah," she nodded. Looking at the alternate version of her husband, she took in a deep breath. "You never married."
"By the time I found the only remaining female Dolohov, it was too late," he told her slowly. "She'd married someone else, and so had the only woman I'd ever loved. I rely on the others to give me an heir now."
"It was Estelle," Alexia guessed, wincing when Cassiopeia hit a particularly painful spot. She ignored the other woman's apologies. "You loved her."
"I still do," he corrected. "And she loved me for a time."
"So what happened?"
Antonin didn't answer the question. Instead, he shifted the topic. "You are from an alternate universe."
"We all are," she confirmed. "All different universes. The woman that pointed the wand at you, though, we never met until now. Don't like her much. Still, my husband will… he'll be here soon enough."
Cassiopeia sighed and put down the paste. "Okay, that's it. It helped a little, but-,"
"Bruises stay for a long time," Alexia said quietly. "I'm aware. It's probably not that bad-,"
"Holy shit," Cassiopeia exclaimed, looking over Alexia's shoulder. A portal had opened up and glowed for a moment before a man ran through. It was Antonin, and he didn't stop moving until he'd grabbed Alexia in his arms. She let out a gasp and hugged him back, her eyes closing even as James came through next.
"Ash!" James exclaimed. "Oh thank Merlin, I was so scared- you know there's two of Dolohov, right?"
"Oh," Cassiopeia stares at James with wide eyes.
When Antonin released Alexia, it was only enough to look her over closely. His eyes caught on the handprint on her throat and fury rose in him. "Who touched you?"
Alexia shook her head quickly. "Take me home."
"Hermione, answer me. Who touched you?"
"Why- why's she staring at me?" James asked Alexia in a loud whisper. She looked at Cassiopeia and grimaced.
"You adopted her and died."
"Oh, shit," he cursed with wide eyes. "Uh… sorry?"
"Alexia," Estelle's Antonin said. She looked at him while standing in her husband's arms. "He will be punished."
"Bring him to me," Antonin demanded furiously. Even with the fury in his voice or the glare on his face, he held Alexia gently and stroked her hair as he did so.
"I will take care of him."
"He hurt my wife!" Antonin snapped. "It is unacceptable. I will kill him."
"Are they- are they fighting?" James asked Alexia, who nodded. He resisted the urge to laugh, but moving closer to her, he caught sight of her state. "Oh, shit. Lexi, what the fuck happened?"
"I will tear this universe apart to find him," Antonin threatened. Alexia put a hand on his chest.
"Please, leave it. He saved me and he sent him away. I just want to go home, Antonin. Please." Antonin, glaring at his alternate self, gave a short nod. Letting out a small breath, she looked to James and Cassiopeia. "Can you go fill everyone in and get them in here?"
"Sure," James said. He walked with Cassiopeia toward the dining room and looked at her curiously. "I was really your dad?"
"For about a year, yeah," she confirmed. "I met you and Mum when Dolohov knocked me into the past. It was nice, but I still wish I'd known you."
"That's bullshit," he sighed. "You should've had us. Harry should've."
"I agree," she muttered as they entered the room. Everyone stopped and Adelaide was staring at James with wide eyes. "They're here. We need to get going before Alexia's Dolohov starts dueling this universe's Dolohov."
"Bets on who would win?" Mia wondered.
"Hers," Cassiopeia said easily. "But the last thing she needs right now is that, so let's go."
No one needed more convincing. They funneled into the kitchen where Alexia, Antonin, and Estelle's Antonin were arguing loudly in Russian.
"Well, that's interesting," Macie said, looking at them.
"Dolohov!" Mia yelled, getting all of their attention. Her gaze was solely on Alexia's husband. "Don't be an arse. Get your fucking wife home and try to be as good of a person as she makes you out to be."
"Yeah, if you stress Lexi out any more, I'll curse you," James added. Antonin's lips thinned and he looked out over the group.
"Bertie is waiting. Walk through and we will begin sending you home."
"Don't need to tell me again," Mia declared before stepping straight through the portal. People followed her lead until it was just Alexia, Antonin, and James left that needed to leave.
"Thank you," Alexia said quietly to Estelle's Antonin. "And… I'm sorry you lost her."
He looked at her fondly. "If you ever return, I would enjoy seeing you again."
"Take care," she said before walking into the portal with James. Once she was gone, Antonin looked at his alternate self.
"She will not return. If, for some reason, she does, you would do well to ensure Nikita is dead."
With that, he left as well, and the portal closed behind him. When he got back home, he saw Croaker accosting Alexia.
"Fascinating!" Bertie was saying as he waved his wand at Alexia's neck. "Family magic is often imbued in physical family fights but this, my dear, is cursed!"
"Cursed?" James repeated loudly. "How the hell-,"
"Not by anything as sophisticated as a spell, of course," Bertie continued. "Just the feeling and anger twisted into magic, which he pushed onto your neck! These will take quite a while to heal, my dear. Best glamour them."
"About getting them home," Alexia said as if she hadn't heard him. "Theoretically, we should be able to use my bond with everyone but Macie to get them home. Macie may be difficult as well as she doesn't live in her home universe."
"Well, let's get started," Bertie clapped his hands together. James came to grab Alexia's hand and squeezed it.
"Are you good if I let Lily know you're okay?" She nodded. "Right. Let me know if you need anything, Lex. I love you."
"I love you, too, Jamie," she replied. With a kiss to her forehead, he slipped out of the room, leaving them to work.
It would take quite a while to get everyone home, but with the fully functional Multiverse Machine, it was more than possible. It would be done, but all of them parted knowing better than before that they'd see one another again.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Hello!
So I wanted to note that a lot of these multiverse fics I've written, I wrote completely out of order, and/or when I wasn't feeling inspired for anything else. Because of this, there are a lot of inconsistencies I'm trying to smooth out, and I may not catch them all. If anyone notices ones I've missed, I'd really appreciate if you point them out!
With this quarantine, I obviously have a lot of time, so I'm working through which of these I can or can't post. Some of them are different versions of the same event, interfere with the way things happened in individual universes, or just aren't good enough. It does leave me a bit confused sometimes as I search for the few plot points I know I left somewhere in this mess. For clarity, I have 21 of these. Some are short, some are long, some make no sense.
These are really just a way for me to decompress, explore interesting situations, and feel better. So please be patient with me as I untangle and sort through this mess.
Also, I would love if you let me know who you want to see interact, situations you want to find them in, etc.
As always, thank you for reading and please review!