Warning - this is another chapter set in the present day. Just a reminder that the purpose of these is to show the contrast between Tori (the beautiful but slightly academically challenged Slytherin) and her granddaughter Vicki reading her story (the less beautiful but clever Ravenclaw). Vicki has flaws - but we don't see them as this isn't her story.
Present day
"She won't come out of her room. She's been trying to spend all of her time in there, reading a small little blue book. I've been forcing her out where I can. She's still going to that house on Grimmauld Place to spend time with the Weasleys, but I've noticed she's going there far less than what she was." Maureen Smith, mother of Victoria Hartwell informed her ex-husband, Maxwell.
Max sighed as he eyed his ex-wife in anger. The two had remained on good terms when they divorced many years ago, for their daughter Vicki's sake. Max had even spent time with Maureen's muggle partner, Alfred. But it were times like these that he remembered how incompatible they were together, and how his ex-wife could infuriate him.
"She's had a pretty tough summer, Maureen. Losing Cedric has been incredibly difficult for her." Max said between gritted teeth.
"I know. But she seemed to be showing improvement from her downward spiral at the start of summer. That Weasley boy has been a godsend for her. I just want her to be okay." Maureen sighed.
Max began to feel a bit bad for his ex-wife. They both had one thing in common, their daughter. Their common goal was for Vicki to be happy and healthy. Maureen also didn't know the full story of recent events.
When Mary Figglestill's perfectly preserved body had been found, Max was urgently but discreetly called to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He was filled in on a few things surrounding Mary's disappearance. He was told that his father Andrew was the love of her life, whilst his mother Victoria was a good friend. This was why Mary Figglestill's remaining family had reached out to him after the discovery.
Max was unaware that his daughter knew much more than he did. But he had been requested to attend the funeral of Mary which was being held in a few days. He figured the funeral is where he would be getting answers to questions he didn't even know he had.
"Vicki, love. Come on. I'm taking you out to dinner." Max said kindly as he rapped on the door of her bedroom.
Vicki quickly stashed her grandmother's diary under her bed before she jumped up to face her father. She was getting annoyed at the constant interruptions over the past few days, it was taking her much longer than it should to finish reading a simple diary. But each interruption was almost welcomed. As she knew her grandmother's fate she almost didn't want to finish reading the diary, and didn't know how well she would take the ending.
Moments after Vicki exited her bedroom and latched onto her father's arm for him to apparate, they found themselves in the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Vicki followed her father to her table and after telling her father what she wanted (Steak and Kidney pie, with mashed potatoes) he went to go place his order with Tom, the publican.
Max eventually made his way back to the table his daughter was seated at and placed a drink in front of her.
"Try your first firewhiskey. It's strong, but I guess a strong drink is needed after the week we've both had," Max grinned as he took a large swig of his drink, but narrowed his eyes at his daughter's guilty face. "This isn't your first firewhiskey is it?"
"No… last year, when Fred and I were still only friends, we managed to get a hold of a bottle. We had the Astronomy Tower to ourselves as I was the prefect in charge of making sure no students entered, as it turned out the dragons were being transported that night for the first task of the Triwizard tournament." Vicki confessed with a small smile.
Max nodded in approval at his daughter. He knew he should be livid that she had done something so reckless where she could have gotten into a lot of trouble. But instead he was glad his daughter was living. She had missed out on being a carefree and fun Gryffindor like the rest of his family, and as far as he knew, she was a bit of an uptight Ravenclaw. He was wrong about her being uptight, but he did not know this.
"So err, I spoke to Uncle William. He's flying here for Mary Figglestill's funeral." Max informed his daughter.
Vicki's eyes widened at this revelation. It was such a strange reality to her. It still felt like these people were just characters in a book to her. She had been reading about William Hartwell, the squib brother of Andrew Hartwell. Vicki had met William herself twice – once she was first born which she had no recollection of, and once more when he visited when she was ten.
After her father started his final year of Hogwarts and was of age, her Uncle William had moved to Melbourne, Australia. Therefore Vicki had only met him twice.
Even though she had met her great uncle, as her grandmother's diary was still fresh to her, William to her was the squib brother of the character Andrew. It took her a few moments to realise that Andrew was her grandfather and that William was her great uncle.
"Did he know her well?" Vicki asked curiously.
"No. When I was growing up he never even mentioned her. He recently told me only met her maybe once or twice. He felt guilty telling me this due to her fate, but apparently he didn't like her very much. He said he thought mum was a much better match for dad." Max grinned towards his daughter.
Hearing her father refer to Victoria and Andrew as 'mum and dad' made Vicki smile. She continued pressing on with her questions.
"Then why is he coming then? I know it's horrible to say. But the trip from Melbourne to London is pretty long for a funeral of a girl who only very briefly went out with his brother in school, who it turns out he didn't even like." Vicki asked, cringing as she knew she was being a little insensitive.
"Because it's the right thing to do. I don't expect a bloody Ravenclaw like you to understand with your logic and facts. But aside from you being a freak of nature, the Hartwells are traditionally Gryffindors. Even though Uncle William is a squib, he would have been a Gryffindor." Max cheekily stated, teasing his daughter.
Vicki just sent her father a small smile. She didn't know what else to say and wanted to change the topic to something a little happier.
Before she had the chance a scream rang out through the pub. Both Max and Vicki jumped to their feet immediately. They saw a mother hysterical over her little girl who was writhing around on the floor. Max stayed rooted to his spot, but Vicki ran over.
Another older gentleman who was seated at the bar had come over too, bringing his glass of liquor with him.
"What's wrong?" The older man asked the mother of the girl.
"I-I don't know. She's choking, I think." The mother sobbed.
"She's not choking on her food. It looks like an allergic reaction. Has she eaten something new or are there any allergies you're aware of?" Vicki asked the mother suddenly after quickly studying the small girl. Vicki had spent some of her time at Hogwarts volunteering in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey, to learn knowledge to help her with her aspirations to be a Healer. She certainly knew an allergic reaction when she saw one.
"W-well, she tried squid for the first time. I'm a horrible mother!" the mother the child wailed.
Vicki wanted to comfort the mother but knew time was precious. So instead she remained silent and turned her attention on the small girl. It was critically important to get this girl to calm down so when she was given a remedy it would work.
"Hi there. I'm Vicki. I promise you're going to be fine. I'm a Healer in training." Vicki slightly exaggerated, knowing both the little girl and her mother would most likely panic if they knew she was still a Hogwarts student.
"I can brew up an anti-allergy potion. I used to do quite a few when I taught at Hogwarts. What kind do you need? I should have most of the ingredients with me." The older gentleman asked, which surprised Vicki as she had forgotten he was there.
"If it's due to squid, it'll be a shellfish allergy. You brew those potions the same as peanut allergies but swish it clockwise instead of counter clockwise." Vicki responded, accepting the help.
The man said no more as he pulled a few things out of his coat's inside pockets. He quickly made his way to the fire in the corner of the pub, which had an empty cauldron lying nearby.
Whilst he made the potion, Vicki stayed with the little girl and attempted to calm her down by patting her back. She was still in danger and not breathing correctly, but as she was panicking slightly less she would be able to drink the potion once conjured.
The older gentleman quickly finished the potion and bustled over with its contents in a glass. Vicki took it off him and managed to get the girl to drink it up.
All eyes in the pub were on them as the commotion had grabbed everyone's attention. All the patrons (and Tom the publican) watched anxiously to see what the outcome would be.
Slowly the girl's breathing slowed as she was able to start taking normal breaths, until she was completely back to normal. Many loud cheers were had around the pub, with everyone sending a round of applause to Vicki and the older gentleman.
The mother couldn't stop thanking the two and remained for several more minutes as she sobbed and kept shaking their hands. She only left after Vicki convinced her to take her daughter to a fully qualified Healer to make sure she would be okay.
Vicki then turned to the stranger after they were alone.
"Hogwarts, eh? What did you teach?" Vicki asked the stranger.
Before he could respond, her father Max came bounding over with a proud grin on his face.
"Hello there, Horace. I can see you've met my brilliant daughter, Victoria?" Max beamed.
Vicki's mouth opened in shock as she put two and two together. There was most likely only one expert potion brewer named Horace who had worked at Hogwarts in all of its years in existence.
"Horace Slughorn? The famed potions master? Yes, I've heard quite a lot about you. I'm Victoria Hartwell" Vicki stated as she grabbed his hand to be polite.
She wanted nothing more but to be rude, considering how rude Slughorn had been to her grandmother according to her grandmother's diary. But considering how jovial her father was being to Slughorn, she knew it wasn't appropriate to be cold.
"So you're a Hartwell, which means you'd be a Gryffindor. Should have known considering how brave you were to rush over to help that girl." Slughorn remarked.
"She's a Ravenclaw, actually. Bit of a sore spot that she didn't join the family house, but I'm proud of her just the same." Max stated.
"I'm also rubbish at Quidditch too, I didn't inherit the family talent for it. But at least I'm Head Girl this upcoming year, so I'm not a complete disappointment." Vicki joked cheekily.
"Merlin, you're still in school? That's impressive. You definitely would have been handpicked by me to be in the Slug Club if I was still teaching at Hogwarts." Slughorn said proudly.
Max gave his daughter a proud squeeze of her shoulder. Vicki on the other hand looked down glumly as she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel by that comment. She should have been proud, it would have been a great honour to be considered worthy enough of the Slug Club. But her grandmother had never been awarded that privilege, and judging by her writings Vicki could tell it did upset her grandmother. Therefore Vicki felt guilty that in a parallel universe if Slughorn was still a teacher, Vicki had landed a spot in the privileged club.
"Of course she would be. She may not be a Gryffindor, or a skilled Quidditch player. But she's still a Hartwell, and every Hartwell that came through the school during your tenure was part of that club." Max stated.
"Well, it was just yourself and your father. But yes, that is true. Andrew was truly remarkable. Even in his seventh year when he was still at school he had many professional Quidditch teams vying to draft him. He gave it all away to be with Victoria before the tragic disappearance. He really did love her." Slughorn mused.
Both Max and Vicki smiled at this comment. It was a nice thing, to hear their family members spoken about in such a positive light. Slughorn could sense this positive energy and decided to continue.
"Both of you have acquired the Hartwell facial features, and look so much like Andrew. But Victoria, I must say that you inherited not only your grandmother's name, but her beauty as well. She was quite the stunner." Slughorn stated.
Vicki swelled with pride, and before she could even think of the consequences, the next line out of her mouth was one she said without thought.
"Newt Scamander said the same thing to me, but I don't see it." Vicki stated.
Her father shot her a confused look, as he didn't quite understand the importance of her words, or even that his mother had ever crossed with the esteemed Magizoologist. Slughorn on the other hand had a sly smile on his face, wondering how in depth he should go now that the conversation had gone down this path.
"You've met Scamander have you? What did he say?" Slughorn asked her curiously. Max didn't speak up but eyed his daughter for her response.
"Yeah, not too long ago actually. I was in Flourish and Blotts as a great Healer research textbook was recommended to me. Mr Scamander was in there doing a signing for his book, I thought I'd stop and say hi to a researcher, even if it's not in my field. He then mentioned my grandmother. He taught her in Care of the Magical Creatures in her seventh year." Vicki spoke up, trying to send out a shrug to make it seem like it was no big deal. She was stretching the truth as she wasn't in Flourish and Blotts for that reason, and she wasn't alone. But Dumbledore apparently didn't want it to be made public that she was in possession of her grandmother's diary. And now that Vicki knew the story (or, who was in the story) she understood why. It was a weapon to find out more about Tom Riddle.
"What else did he say? Did he speak about any of his relations between he and your grandmother?" Slughorn curiously asked.
Vicki raised an eyebrow at Slughorn. She almost didn't want to hear what he had to say as this would be a 'spoiler' for the story she was currently reading. But she was a Ravenclaw, and she loved knowledge. This was a rare opportunity to interview a person in a story she were reading. She wanted to hear what he had to say.
"What on earth are you trying to say? Was there some kind of weird thing that went on between my mother and Newt Scamander? That man that wrote that textbook we all have in our houses we got in our first year of school? That famous creatures person?" Max asked with wide-eyes, this topic being completely new to him.
"Maybe I've said too much." Slughorn mused.
Vicki felt bad for her dad. She would be getting answers in her grandmother's diary soon enough, but Slughorn had opened up a serious topic and didn't want to give her father answers. Therefore she would push him along with an anecdote of her own from a year ago she had completely forgotten about until right now.
"Well, last year during a Hogsmeade weekend, when I was still friends with Graham Montague, I stopped in at the Hogs Head to meet his grandmother. She was a nasty piece of work, absolutely vile. She admitted she had some rivalry with Tori and said she had an affair with a teacher, saying something like I too would have loose morals." Vicki admitted, remembering the story.
Her and Graham Montague were no longer friends after a large falling out, so she had basically attempted to wipe her mind clean of any memories with him. Until right now.
Instead of realising what Vicki was trying to insinuate, Max turned to his daughter in anger.
"Why on earth were you in the Hogs Head during a Hogsmeade weekend? That place is dangerous." He berated her.
"I promised Montague at the time I'd meet his grandmother, they picked the venue. It made sense why she was in there, she was horrid. I got under her skin as I told her she was going to die alone and no one cared about her. She also really couldn't stand her grandson was obsessed with me and that he took my side over hers. Her name was Drucilla." Vicki stated to her father.
It took a few seconds to dawn on her but then Vicki's eyes widened in shock as she realised who Montague's grandmother really was. There weren't too many Drucillas around, surely it had to be...
"Drucilla Carrow, I taught her. Nothing too special, she never came to any of my Slug Club parties. She did have a large disliking for your grandmother's beauty, so if her grandson was smitten with you I could see how that would be a sore spot for her." Slughorn stated with a small smile and a chuckle.
"Apparently my grandmother Victoria wasn't deemed special enough to be invited for her own merits either." Vicki spoke up. She attempted to sound light-hearted about the fact she was teasing Slughorn about her grandmother's exclusion from his elite club, but she wanted to hear what Slughorn would respond with.
"Yes, well I will admit I may have overlooked Victoria Black for a good chunk of her years at Hogwarts. But in her final year that girl finally learned how to use her natural charisma and I knew she was going places. At first she err, came to my parties accompanying her love interest. But by the end of the year she was getting her own invitations." Slughorn explained.
"Who was her love interest? I thought she and Andrew only got together at the end of the final year?" Vicki asked with a grin, knowing exactly who the 'love interest' was.
Slughorn looked uncomfortable and decided to move the topic away from the complete unmentionable by speaking about another slightly less taboo topic.
"Yes, Newt Scamander was one of the men that Tori was able to woo with her half-Veela charms. He was estranged from his wife at the time so it wasn't technically wrong, but the two certainly kept it under wraps as he was her teacher." Slughorn stated.
"WHAT?!" Max exclaimed loudly, his mouth opening in shock as this was the first he had ever heard of this.
"If it was under wraps how do you know about it? How do you know he wasn't just studying her Veela heritage for his research?" Vicki asked Slughorn curiously, mentioning what her grandmother had written about. Vicki was up to the part of her grandmother's diary where it appeared that Scamander was only interested in her to further his studies on Veela and their offspring when they bred with humans.
"Yes, Scamander took that defence too. Until I caught the two together once." Slughorn responded.
Vicki cringed at Slughorn's words. She felt sorry for her dear grandmother. Vicki felt it would be bad enough for a teacher to catch her and her boyfriend Fred snogging, imagine if she was snogging someone she shouldn't be. She wanted to ask Slughorn how he had 'caught' Tori but decided against it. She knew she'd read all about it soon enough and right now Vicki was feeling second hand embarrassment for Tori.
"I-I had no idea my mother was um, once so involved with someone so famous. Good on her though. Considering her life was cut short I'm glad she got to live a little." Max grinned widely.
"Maxwell, you've definitely inherited the Hartwell spirit, but also a healthy dose of your mother's character," Slughorn stated before clapping his hands together "Now I must be off. It was an absolute pleasure to see you again Maxwell."
"You too Horace. Always great to see one of my favourite professors from my school years." Max politely responded as he shook Slughorn's hands vigorously. Slughorn then turned his attention onto Vicki.
"Very lovely to meet you too, young Victoria. I can tell you're going to go on and do great things. I'm sure this won't be the last time I hear of you, or even see you." Slughorn said as he also shook Vicki's hand.
"I look forward to seeing you again." Vicki politely stated in an almost-faux fashion as she accepted Vicki's hand.
Slughorn bid them goodbye one last time as he finally turned around and left the pub. Vicki and her father sank back down in their chairs and remained silent as they absorbed the chance encounter with Horace Slughorn.
"So that's old Sluggy? I've heard a bit about him." Vicki mused.
"Alright Miss Vicki. I've been overloaded with lots of information tonight, your illegal underage drinking encounter at school and now the fact my mother had a hot and steamy affair with one of the most famous wizards of all time. If there's anything else you'd like to confess you should tell me now, whilst my brain is having troubles comprehending new and shocking information." Max proposed to Vicki.
She shot him a weird look. Normally this would be a parent leading their child into a trap in order to get information out of them. Vicki however could tell her father was in turmoil and needed a distraction. He had been exposed to very shocking and emotional facts tonight and it was a lot for him to take in. It had been a dark few weeks, and Vicki knew exactly what she needed to do. She needed to get his mind off what he had heard tonight. The best way to do this was to make her father mad about something a lot smaller. He needed something more minor to unleash his rage upon.
"Fine. You asked for it. One of the main reasons why Ludo Bagman took off and went missing wasn't just because of the goblins after him, or any of his other debtors. Fred, George and I blackmailed him earlier this year, as he stole from the twins." Vicki confessed.
She held back a cringe as she knew what was coming. Her father was going to go nuts, but at least he wouldn't be burning up inside from all the dark information that had been thrown at him recently.
She counted down in her head. Three, two, one...
"VICTORIA ALICE HARTWELL!"
Authors note - so it's been over a year and a half, but I'm back. Due to the controversial nature of this story I actually started getting death threats messaged to me privately so I decided to go onto a hiatus to stop triggering people. In that time I've re-written a few earlier chapters and added a trigger warning to the beginning to keep people happy. I've got more to say but I'll probably wait until I post the next chapter before I release my official authors note about how this story is going to be treated moving forward after the expansion of the Fantastic Beasts storyline through the new movie.