Chapter 6 - Periculum
AN: just to clear up some small facts, here Lily is an Unspeakable, namely a Healer for the Department. And Lady Greengrass is with the Department R&D. Since the last time anything was published, we recieved few revies, so there will be no review replies for now…. Enjoy.
P.S: Disclaimer still applies (and always will)... and there are 3 eater eggs to find
The entire world will stare/ Into this battlefield tonight/ As I stand before you/ With a warrior's heart now/ I can feel the strength that will/ Ensure my victory this time.
Last time with Sirius and Lily
"Where to?" [Sirius] asked, forcing himself to smile.
"Greengrass Manor. I need Evelyn's help."
Now, back to our regularly scheduled mayhem…
Night time, between October 31st and November 1st
"Lily, are you sure going there is safe? Dumbledore's intel says her husband financed the Death Eaters."
"Sirius, Dumbledore has recently proved to be as reliable as a chocolate teapot. I wouldn't believe him telling me the sun is up without looking out a window." Lily replied, moving towards the forest at the edge of the village. Sirius, still in shock, jogged to keep up with her fast striding. "Plus, Evelyn and I were friends in Hogwarts, even though she's a few years older than me. And she did help train me when I started working in the Department of Mysteries. Aaand, while our dear Headmaster did tell us mere minions the bare minimum of info to get us by, her information was far more reliable. Wish I had listened to her when we she told me our house was not as safe as it should have been. But James went along with Dumbledore's oh-so-great plan of hiding under a Fidelius. I was the one to cast the bloody charm, and even that didn't make me feel any better."
Reaching the treeline just outside the edge of the village, Lily turned to Sirius. "We're clear of any remaining detection wards. They shouldn't be able to track us as easily as from within the house. I want you to go ahead and get in touch with Remus."
"What of Peter?" Sirius asked.
"Don't try to track him. I'll help you with that little chore, after I get some things done." Sirius nodded. Lily continued, without looking at him.
"James' will reading will probably be within the next few days. James had the goblins send a copy to you. Hide it in your vault. Better yet, duplicate it and keep the second on you. I want evidence of James' last wishes, just in case Dumbledore or Barty Crouch decide to do something stupid. Not that they have been using their brains all that much lately." Both of them chuckled.
"And Harry? What will you do about him?"
"I will keep him safe," the young mother said. "If everything goes my way, the Wizarding World will not be seeing hide nor hair of him until he goes to school. I will contact you soon." With that, she clutched her still sleeping son tighter to her chest and vanished quietly.
The place she reappeared in was a thickly wooded area. A cobbled lane led to a wrought iron gate, adorned with runes and bearing a darkened coat of arms. She levitated a pebble and shot it at the gate. It disintegrated into sand before it reached the gate. With a pop, a small creature appeared before her, it's garb consisting in a handkerchief with the same coat of arms embroidered just over where its heart would be.
"What is the reason for this disturbance?" the creature asked, in a piping voice, trying to sound as irked as possible. "The Masters never said anything of guests this late at night." Lily sighed, trying to suppress a small smile, and looked the creature in the eyes.
"I would like an audience with the lady of the house. Inform your Mistress Evelyn that her colleague from That Place is here with news of the fate of a certain snake face delusional bastard. I will wait for her response." The small creature nodded and disappeared.
While she was waiting, Lily took her time to decipher the runes on the sides of the gate. If what she saw just seconds ago was any indication, this place would prove a far safer location than their home in Godric's Hollow. Only then did she realize that she could no longer call that place 'Home'. A single tear welled up at the corner of her eye.
'If war taught me anything, it would be this,' Jeanne said, a quiet chime later. 'Home is where the heart is, not a building, not a plot of land.'
'Spying on me, are you? That's not very nice, is it now?' Lily replied, wiping the tear off.
'It cannot be helped. I can hear your thoughts as clearly as if they were shouted by a town crier.' A small bitter smile crept on Lily's face. 'The fight might be over, but the war, most certainly, is not. I am not your enemy, but if I am able to hear your thoughts this clearly under duress, so will others, which would definitely be detrimental to your future plans.'
'Thank you for letting me know. I'll need to brush up on my Occlumency.'
A quiet pop announced the return of the small creature. It looked oblivious as it announced her 'Mistress Evie' would be down momentarily and disappeared, without another word.
'House elves… Gotta love 'em,' Lily mused. Shortly after, she felt a familiar presence approaching. "Entertaining little creatures, don't you agree, Evie?" she asked before turning to face her host.
"They may very well be. I wouldn't know. At times, your Muggle upbringing is refreshing, no wizard-born would even consider them. I, for one, have never bothered analyzing the way they think, or how much they think for themselves. They just do what they are told. And THAT can get annoying."
Evelyn Greengrass made her way through the gate, under an orb of blue light. She appeared to be in her late twenties, with long wavy blond hair falling past her shoulders in a tight braid. The perfect shape of her body did not show any hint her real age. She was beautiful, but it wasn't a feminine kind of beauty; her beauty was rougher, with a hint of exoticness, the most obvious feature were her large blue eyes. She wore a black housecoat over a long black velvet dress and low boots. She had her wand at the ready in one hand and a rapier in the other.
"We live in dangerous times and one can't be too cautious about who crosses your threshold. If you truly are Lily Evans, you won't mind telling me who were you going to ask for a date before Samhain in your third year, would you?" Evelyn inquired, a well trimmed eyebrow raised questioningly, her wand aimed straight at Lily's heart.
"Remus Lupin." Lily replied, rolling her eyes. "That was before the other moronic marauders stole all my undergarments and hung them from the chandelier in the Common Room. The bloody coward of course did nothing about it." The woman laughed.
"And when I thought James Potter couldn't do anything dumber, his unofficial brother, Regulus Black goes and hangs all your granny panties from the light fixtures." This time it was Lily's eyebrow that rose to question something.
"I think you meant Sirius. By the way, those were boxer briefs. Less chafing." Evelyn's wand hand dropped and a smile bloomed on her face.
"It's good to see you, Lily. We missed you at work. And you'd think working in the DOM couldn't get dreary." Lily didn't share the smile.
"Evie, The Dark Lord is dead." The woman's eyes widened.
"You don't look like you're joking. So, I'm going to be direct. How did you come by this information?" Lily's eyes hardened.
"Less than 2 hours ago, he attacked us in our own home, came after Harry. James died trying to keep the bastard out. When he reached me and Harry, he offered to spare me if I step aside and let him kill my son. Needless to say, I refused, he attacked and I, somehow, managed to kill the wanker."
"Are you sure he's expired?"
"He's missing his head. He can't be anything BUT dead."
"Far more experienced wizards and witches fell beneath the bastard's wand… How can it be that you have managed to end him?"
"Call it luck, call it sloppy planning on his side. One thing I know, he never took into account what a mother is capable of and willing to do to protect her child," Lily said, in a weary tone. Evie sighed, and motioned towards the gate.
"You got that right. Please come in, you must be exhausted. I'll have your son put to bed with my daughter. Less work for the elves that way."
- section break -
Evelyn and Lily sat down in the house's kitchen, warming up over a cup of hot loose leaf tea. It was about as lavish as it could be expected of a manor kitchen - polished white marble, African blackwood panelling, brass hardware, pots and pans, antique kitchen furnishings, all perfectly maintained, most likely by house elves, eager to please their masters. The stark contrast of the colour scheme was broken emphasized by the elves' uniforms - all wore the same white silk pillowcases with the Greengrass coat of arms embroidered in black. The only one whose colours were reversed was the one who answered the summons at the manor's gate, with a slight difference, the embroidery on his improvised toga was gold thread.
"That should take the chill out of your bones," said Evie, gracefully setting down her cup.
"Mhmm" replied Lily, munching on a crumpet.
"More tea? Milk? Scones perhaps?" asked her host, somewhat amused, sly smile on her lips, yet, keeping her composure.
"Mmno, thank you. I really needed that." Lily said wiping her mouth.
The few elves still present were scurrying about, cleaning plates, and transfiguring the left overs. With a sigh, her host put her cup down and motioned for the elves to leave.
"You said, HE is dead. How did that happen?"
"Evie, you are definitely NOT going to believe me, so I'd better show you. Fetch a Pensieve and get yourself something stronger than tea. We're going to need it, if I am to relive it and you to believe it." Evelyn's brow rose.
"Dolly, fetch the master's Pensieve. And a bottle of Ableforth gin, Navy Strength," she asked one of the elves. Dolly disappeared with a quiet pop and returned moments later with a large stone bowl and a bottle levitating behind her and holding a pair of glasses in her hands. After setting them on the table, she stepped back and looked as though she was waiting for more orders. Evelyn dismissed her with a simple nod, then proceeded to pour the spirit in the glasses.
"Navy strength?" Lily looked puzzled.
"The benefits of having a Squib uncle, with a strange taste for adventure, and obscure navy lore" said Evelyn, with a sad smile, as though she remembered a bittersweet memory, and handed Lily her glass. "He told me that the Royal British Navy demanded gin to be bottled at a minimum of 57% alcohol, so that, if it was accidentally splashed on gunpowder, the powder would still ignite." She took a sip of the drink. "My uncle said they just wanted something to keep the sailors from complaining about the food. Or lack thereof." Lily read enough through the lines not to pry. She took a gulp as well and felt the juniper taste invading her nostrils, as well as the warmth spreading through her body.
"That's better," she said. "Thank you, Evie. Really." She sat straighter in the chair. "Now, back to the matter at hand. I do owe you an answer to your question. But…" Lily paused as she set the empty glass down on the kitchen table, "…before I show you anything, I want your promise you will not say anything to anyone, especially in the Department… The last thing I need would be to have them draft me as a 'volunteer' for some… artefact research." The silence went on for a few more seconds.
"This better be scandalous or impressive, Lily," she said. "I promise. Actually, I will do one better," she added, a couple seconds later, pulling her wand out. "I, Evelyn Greengrass swear on my magic that I will keep the information that Lily Evans-Potter provides me secret, until released by her. So mote it be."
"Thank you, Evie. However, a promise would have sufficed."
"Wouldn't want you to hold out on any juicy bits, would I now?"
Lily pulled her own wand, and put it to her temple. The silvery strand was quite large. As it fell into the bowl, Lily put a hand on the other woman's shoulder.
"One more question, before we go in: To the extent of your knowledge, is there anything in this world that could stop a fully powered Killing Curse? I mean, I have read accounts of Goblin-forged armor withstanding the blow of the curse, but no proof." Her interlocutor raised an eyebrow yet again.
"That is a strangely pointed question. I know 3 things, but for one, you aren't a parselmouth, secondly, no human can power battle wards strong enough to work for that purpose, and the third is being inside a non-magic zone created by a disjunction. All books on disjunctions in the UK are in the DOM, and only the director has the clearance to go in there."
"Well… I think there might be something else you can add on that list, after you finish witnessing tonight's events. This," Lily said, pointing at the silvery blue swirling mist within the Pensieve, "will also answer one of your other oftenly asked questions."
"Which one?" Evie asked.
"What on earth got into me, that I ended up marrying the part-time jackass and full-time Gryffindor poster boy, Mr. James Potter," Lily replied in a dramatic voice and extended her hand.
Evie rolled her eyes at the theatrics and took her hand. Both of them dipped their free hands in the swirling surface of the Pensieve. Lily felt as though she dived in head first into an icy pool. She kept her breathing normal, knowing full well it was all an illusion, and watched, in silence, as Evelyn Greengrass witnessed the events of the past week unfold, void of any expression. The older woman, to her credit, contained her surprise at the sight of the artefact and its unique tenant, the utter disgust at the memories it unlocked, as well as the shock of her friend's battle with the darkest wizard of their age. Yet, the manner of that death did manage break the stern facade, just in time for the memories provided by her friend to turn to silvery white wisps. She turned and nodded. It was time to return.
The moment they were back in the kitchen, Evie stood up from her chair with an incredulous look on her face. She grabbed the bottle and poured, filling the glasses to the brim, then one-shotted her own.
"He practically kidnapped you and tortured you… Forced an anything but freely given vow to marry him, then wiped your memory of it, basically letting the magics of the vow run their course. That is the last thing I would have thought of to explain your wedding. And Professor Dumbledore's involvement…" She picked up Lily's glass and swirled it around, inhaling the alcohol vapors it was giving off. "At least you managed to break those shackles. But why not leave right then and there?"
"Two words: my son. Dumbledore was the architect of my predicament, I didn't know who I could trust, nor if I could take Voldemort on by myself." Evie winced at the sound of the name, but recovered quickly.
"One thing I don't understand is, if you broke free, in a very spectacular fashion I might add, why did HE stay?"
"Not leaving Harry's side… might have been Dumbledore's orders, might have been paternal instinct showing through." Lily looked a little sad as she spoke. "I mean, he never treated Harry as anything else but as his son, not as the Professor's weapon."
"His only redeeming action. For all of his other misdeeds, he got what was coming to him," Evie said in monotone.
"What about the … other thing?" Lily asked a couple moments later. Evie stared deeply in the glass, as though she was trying to find the bottom of an abyss, then downed it in a single sip.
"Merlin help us all. There is more than one. And the Potters were hiding it in Gringotts."
"Yes."
"And you killed the Dark Lord with it's help."
"Exactly."
"At least something good came of it." Evelyn had her head in her hands. "This is WAAAAY beyond our pay grade Lily. I am going to pretend I know nothing of what you got forevermore. In fact, I will do whatever I can to forget it as soon as possible. Do what you will." Lily gave her friend a wan smile.
"I will."
"And what will you be telling the people who will be asking for details about what happened tonight?"
"The same thing I told Sirius. The madman broke through badly cast wards, with the aid of a certain mangy rat. James tried to stall him while I attempted to escape with Harry via Portkey to Hogwarts through the Shrieking Shack. The Portkey failed in a spectacularly explosive fashion. The intruder crashed into the nursery, badly wounded after the fight with the boy's father. Still cocky as the King of Spades, attitude that made him sloppy enough to take our own duel lightly, let his guard slip open, wide enough for me to get a lucky Severing Charm in and took off his head. Then, to add insult to injury, I blew his head up with a blasting curse." Lily picked up the gin bottle and took a swig. Evelyn shook her head.
"That story might be the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The public will eat it up nicely, masses always love a tragic sob story. However, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement might not be so inclined to believe your account without consistent proof, especially with Dumbledore whispering in his ear, in his usual advisory capacity."
"What do you think he'll do?" Lily asked.
"If it were up to Dumbledore, he would do whatever he can to get his hands on Harry. Most likely he would make him out as the Savior of wizard-kind, make it look as though your son was the one who dispatched He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by some unknown ancient magic. Being mentor to the Child of Prophecy, it would be one helluva PR gambit to remain a relevant chess piece, even if he was to lose any and all political office."
"And how would he do that?"
"In order for that to work, you definitely need to be out of the picture. You said our dear professor was the one who created the Portkey to the Shrieking Shack? You would have to be particularly reckless when creating a Portkey to have one fail in the manner yours did. That or straight up malicious intent. Now he has to think of another way of disposing of you. This is where Eldritch Graves comes in. Dumbledore had a hand in his rise within the Aurors and DMLE, so of course he would owe him favors from time to time. And what better time for Dumbledore to cash one in?"
"Does that damn geezer think he could simply have me arrested…"
"No, just have Graves petition for termination of parental rights. This way he would have him take Harry away, saying something along the lines of you being an unfit mother, due to the use of excessive force around the child. I did see a scar on Harry's forehead, he'll definitely try to pin that one on you as well. If you want I can try to find a good magical solicitor to help you combat Dumbledore, but can get messy… The other option would be to disappear alongside your son… Maybe somewhere out of the country." Lily was trying to wrap her head around Evelyn's explanation. She was about to yawn when she felt the faint vibration of her bracelet.
'Lily' the Blade's voice chimed in 'You need to find yourself a place to rest for a while.'
'Worried about my health are you? Or do you wish me to grieve for my jailer?'
'There is one more step you must take before you can access my full power. That requires solitude. Request quarters for a couple days, until the process is finished.' Lily sighed.
'Fine,' she replied. Evie did not seem to notice the interruption in her friend's speech.
"Eeevieee, your geeenius is shoooowing," Lily said in a childish drawl and yawned. Evie chalked her reaction to the alcohol and exhaustion getting the better of her friend.
"And you are drunk… and after tonight's events, you must be dead tired."
"Hope you don't mind us crashing here for a couple of days." Lily's speech was still a little slurred, but no longer had that childish tone. "Until I figure out how to handle Dumbledore and the Ministry." Evelyn snapped her fingers.
"Dot, lead my friend to a guest room."
"Thank you, Dot," Lily said when the house elf led her to one of the smaller guest rooms. The little creature looked as though she was deeply offended.
"Do not thank, Dot lives to follow Mistress Evie's order," she replied and disappeared with a loud pop, to show her indignation.
'Note to self: never show her any gratitude,' the young mother muttered under her breath, as she took in her surroundings. The guest room was spartan at best, to put it mildly. The room had the bare basic amenities: a bed with a fluffy white duvet, a nightstand with a simple lamp, a single door wardrobe and a child-sized desk, nothing else.
'Evie, you and I need to have a talk about giving vague orders to the servants,' Lily mused angrily. She was standing right between the bed and the desk, when her mini rant was abruptly interrupted. Her knees gave way and the world faded out of view. A moment of darkness later, the room was replaced by the familiar gray fog of the mindscape. A few feet before her stood the avatar of the Witchblade, Jeanne, clad in her armored battle dress.
'For the love of … Jeanne, if, when I wake up, I see that I banged my head against anything, I swear I will pour battery acid on the gauntlet.'
'That would be unwise. If you intend to cause damage to my physical form, I am obliged to remind we share the same body, I can not guarantee your own physical well-being.'
'That would be going against your own vow to protect me, wouldn't it?' asked Lily, cocking her head to the left.
'If one truly desires to inflict damage upon oneself, I can not stop them. As I have promised you, I will not interfere with the freedom of your own body.'
'Hmmm… Can't really argue with that logic.'
'On the other side, battery acid will do little to nothing to the metal. One would need a far more potent concoction to damage the armor in this manner,' Jeanne continued, matter of factly. Her demeanor changed on a dime, from calm to what Lily could call battle ready. 'Time is short. Your trial is about to begin.'
'What trial? What needs to happen?'
'You need to face the spirits of previous wielders and pass whatever tests they have for you.'
The mindscape turned dark. Lily squinted, trying to see where her partner had disappeared. Not too far from her, she spotted armors gleaming in a cone of light. When she stepped towards it, she could hear the echoes of steps reverberating off the walls of what seemed a cave. Upon closer inspection, there were few pieces of armor still whole, most of it were pieces of torn leather and metal, scattered liberally on the floor.
From the shadows walked a figure dressed in white and grey armor, head uncovered, a sword on her hip, a spear in her right hand and a white shield on her left arm. The red gem of the witchblade was shining from her right vambrace. The figure looked directly at her, rose her spear high and planted it firmly into the ground.
"So you're Joan of Arc. The only other wielder, save for me." Joan acknowledged the compliment.
"This is the Periculum, a test devised to ascertain your worthiness to be granted full use of l'arme de la sorcière, the Witchblade's true power. A trial by fire, to be concluded in your victory or your death. Are you ready?" Lily let out a determined huff.
"Of course I am. I will not leave my son an orphan. Failure is not an option." The figure smiled. For a few tense seconds, the manifestation of Joan of Arc stood silent, looking at the woman in front of her. After what felt an eternity, she continued.
"Lily Evans-Potter, you have been chosen by this Witchblade. To WEAR it, to WIELD it, to SERVE it. Of all the women of your time, YOU." The words were like a ritual, and seemed to make the atmosphere feel more oppressive.
"It was locked away. It didn't seem she had much choice to me." As the figure before her raised an eyebrow, Lily felt like she was under the disapproving eye of her mother. "I do not understand, why ME. It's not like I am the first woman in the Potter family to enter the vault. There most likely would have been a dozen generations of mothers, daughters, wives of the Potter men who entered that same vault."
"A wielder's genesis is complex. She always arises when the dark forces reach a certain critical mass. The reverse is also true." Lily nodded in understanding.
"She appears when evil thrives, and the evil is drawn to the wielder? That explains a few things." The figure before her smiled once more, and resumed the ritual words.
"The blade arises to balance the darkness. It is not good or evil by your standards. You must answer questions now, not ask them. The Witchblade has initiated you. It has deemed you worthy of our examination. So answer well, and truly, for on your answers hangs your fate."
"Ask your questions then. I WILL NOT FAIL." Joan started to pace around the circle.
"In my time, my nation was suffering under the lash of a foreign army. Your sisters, chosen by the Prime, have chosen revolution, enslavement, genocide." Lily snorted.
"Genocide. Something my own nation has been experiencing recently." Taking the sword from its sheath, Joan pointed it at Lily.
"What is YOUR crisis, Chosen of the blade? What is your battlefield?" Lily pushed the sword away from her.
"My whole damned community. A power-hungry madman sought to exterminate those he deemed unworthy to live and thrive…"
"Symptoms. Name the disease, Chosen of the Blade. The root, the cause."
"You seem to misunderstand me, Jeanne," Lily retorted, with a lot more steel in her voice. "A good chunk of the British magical population has gone insane! They willingly and knowingly followed a racist… THING that actively encouraged them to assault, rape and murder anyone doesn't fit his worldview, be it witches and wizards who opposes him or even stooping as low as targeting children and non-magical folk, all supposedly to purify the gene pool. I may have ended the leader, but his idiocy will not disappear so easily. And that pursuit is utter madness and idiocy! They're driving our people to extinction and weakening themselves!"
"Well named. INSANE, from the latin insanus, unclean. YOU are the cleansing. You will make them clean, pure of heart again."
"The Witchblade couldn't help you fulfill YOUR mission, Jeanne. You were captured, tortured, and burned at the stake," Joan's smile was grim.
"That thrice-damned Gilbert Potter somehow warded my cell in such a way that both him and the priests could enter, but no violence could be visited upon me under any circumstance. He was the only one able to remove me from my cell. He at least had the courtesy to treat me with some chivalry." As silence enveloped the area, Lily walked a few steps closer to Joan, and put her hand on the other woman's shoulder.
"The witchblade failed you, How do I know it won't abandon me in my hour of need in the hands of my enemies?" Joan suddenly cuffed Lily, and raised the sword to strike her, and on Lily's wrist the gauntlet and sword blade formed, stopping the other woman's strike. Inches from the side of her neck.
"You don't look abandoned. And with a will such as yours, you will never be."
Joan faded from the cave, and Lily was alone. Then, another woman appeared in her place, the new apparition was dressed in a white cassock, bound with a band of a different fabric, and a black hood. Her head was lowered. As the newer apparition came closer, she raised her eyes, saw the gauntlet and her eyes widened.
"It appears the daughter of darkness has found herself a new host. The girl who used it before you did not know what she was getting into. I hope you do, young one." With those words, the apparition vanished.
Joan appeared once again, only without her weapons and armor. She was dressed in a simple white dress that fell to her ankles, her feet bare, her hair unbound.
"I suspect you feel that possessing this Witchblade will bring only death to those close to you. This is far from the truth." Joan spoke suddenly, and seeing Lily was lost for words, she sat on a breastplate a few feet from Lily. "What ARE you willing to sacrifice to achieve your destiny, Lily? Bringing sanity and purity of heart to your country is a worthy cause, but such pursuits must be handled with some degree of planning ahead. Are you ready to lay down your life on the line to achieve this goal?" the apparition of Joan asked, turning her head to the side, now looking as innocent as a child, rather than the warrior of light she appeared as the first time.
"To fulfill this destiny, I am," Lily replied, glaring at her, streaks of anger coloring her voice. "But I would rather not allow any child of mine to live his life an orphan, with that THING's filthy servants and Dumbledore's sycophants fighting over his father's money and political capital." Joan raised her head and fixed Lily with her gaze.
"ARE YOU WILLING OR NOT? Your life is not the only one on the line here. Should you fail, not only will the Witchblade probably disappear, but your contingencies for your son will probably be for naught as well.. The manipulative wretch will find a way to further his agenda, regardless of the law. He might as well run the entire country from the shadows. HE is the one you should be most wary of. No dragging your feet!" The silence stretched for a few more seconds.
"I am ready to lay down my life for the completion of my goal," Lily replied with a sigh, looking Joan straight in the eyes. "But I will do so, while being a mother to Harry and trying to lead him away from some of his father's more deplorable habits. I will utterly destroy the imbeciles peddling bigotry and racism. Is that a satisfactory answer to your question, shade?" Joan smiled and the space around them started to fade.
"Today, Lily Evans-Potter, you have become a true warrior. Walk with conviction in your truth. Lay your trust in the Witchblade, alongside your own powers. And when it provides guidance, lend your ear and follow."
"So, I've passed the test? I don't feel like any of my answers were that good. And I could see the disappointment welling on your face throughout our discussion."
"There are no correct answers to the riddles of the Periculum, only true ones. You said you are ready, and will protect your child just as fiercely as complete your mission. That was the true answer." Lily released the breath she did not know she was holding.
"Before you go, tell me how I can find more about the Witchblade."
"Giles. Once he learned of my burden, he got hold, through all possible means, of all the information available in our land. If his castle still stands, his secret library will still contain the books. Let me show you." Joan said as she took Lily's hand in her own.
A series of flashes. A man saying the name Tiffauges. A yew tree right next to a wall that did not seem part of anything bigger. Third brick from the left at chest height. The word vindicta. A stack of red books embossed with a symbol resembling a pair of inverted wings.
-section break-
Lily awoke with a groan. All her muscles were aching and she had quite a crick in her neck, not to mention she felt extremely hot and stuffy. Surprisingly, she was in bed, under the covers, not on the floor. She removed the duvet and felt a welcomed chill coming from the partially open window. The night's ordeals left her sweaty.
After washing up in the basin on the dresser, she changed into the fresh clothes, set aside by the elves. A quiet pop drew her attention, but when she turned around, there was no one there. Less than a minute later, Evelyn walked in with a stroller. Lily came closer and what she saw brought a smile to her face: a blue-eyed, blonde baby who could only be Evelyn's daughter was hugging a sleeping Harry, and her baby boy looked quite happy with the contact his fellow toddler was maintaining.
"You put them together from the start, Evie?" Lily asked, still smiling.
"No," the woman replied, shaking her head."He woke up after a while, didn't see you there and started calling for you. Since you couldn't be awakened, our nanny elf put them together. My Daphne decided to hug Harry, and they've been like that ever since."
"How long was I…. indisposed?" Lily asked with a little apprehension.
"Just the night. It's Hallowmas morning, November 1st."
Lily sighed. She felt conflicted. She felt that looking for Gilles de Rais' books on Witchblades was the best plan for now, but she was at a loss as to what to do with Harry. On one hand, she knew taking him along would allow her to keep a close eye on her son. On the other, she didn't know what traps the Frenchman had lain to protect his lair. And she definitely knew she couldn't leave Harry with Sirius. The Marauder might have been the boy's godfather, but he had no clue how to take proper care of a toddler. Not to mention, he would be susceptible to Dumbledore's emotional blackmail. No, she knew she could not leave Sirius alone with Harry any time soon. With a sigh, she looked to Evelyn.
"Evie, I need your help yet again."
"You already know you need only ask."
"I need to go to France, to follow the trail of some books on my… tennant. I would take Harry with me, but I doubt it would be in his best interest, since I would not be giving him the attention he deserves. Also, I have no idea what we would be up against."
"He can stay here with my Daphne. The nanny elves will mind him while you are away."
"What about your husband? Wouldn't he object to you making these decisions without consulting him?" Evelyn laughed in a malicious way.
"You forget one thing, my dear. I rule this house. I am Greengrass by blood, he married into the family. He can only make financial decisions. The entire household, as well as the Wizengamot seat are mine by rights," Evelyn said, matter of factly. "Actually, I don't have any intention of telling him you were here, nor that Harry will stay here while you are away."
"Best idea I heard recently. Should I call one of your elves to let you know when I am done with my business?"
"Call for Dot. I'll let her know she is allowed to respond to your call."
"Thank you, Evie. Now, all I have to do is get to France without going through the normal channels."
"Leave that to me, Lily. I have the perfect solution in mind," Evelyn replied, with a smirk.