Chapter 14 – What It Means To Be Forgiven
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Previously on The Forgiven: Grimm, Liar, and Norse were able to perform true Cruciatus Curses and in doing so, crossed a line they can never return from. They successfully rescued Kingsley; though, it was impossible to completely save the Longbottoms. In the end, listening to Alice's last words of coherence, they vowed to protect Neville on the couple's behalf.
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(A few weeks have passed, since the battle at the Lestranges' Villa)
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"This is dark—even by your standards, Grimm," Liar commented.
I must concur…
Norse and Liar stared at the corpse of their latest assassination. Except instead of it being an immobile, dead body, the lifeless husk was moving about, helping the Forgiven clean the victim's own apartment. The zombie-like being even seemed to prance and dance around as it carried out its duties.
Its controller, none other than the leader of the Forgiven.
"Really? I thought it was a rather brilliant idea. I mean, we have been practicing the Inferius Curse for some time now."
"That's our great leader for us. Nothing shames her, no matter how unsightly or disgusting if it is in the name of pragmatism. No, but really, please say something, Norse. I find it disturbing to have to clean next to a walking, crawling, corpse."
Meh. I am over it now. It is surprising this does not fit your twisted sense of humor.
Liar sighed as he joined them in erasing all traces of their visit.
"So, how long do you think this probationary period is going to last? We haven't had any free leave for weeks! It's just mission after mission after mission. Not even exciting ones either…" Liar complained.
You assume the Forgiven will not be disbanded after our insubordination.
"We won't get disbanded," Grimm chimed. "…or else Albus will have to find three new children to do his dirty work."
"Still, not as if they could just set us free. Unless they elect to 'forgive' us prematurely."
"Not happening. I wonder if we'll even live long enough to be 'forgiven'."
Norse shrugged.
Forgiven or not. I will die with a wand in my hand, surrounded by the dead remains of my fallen foes!
"The substance of epics and childhood fairy tales." Liar turned to Grimm. "Well? What will you do with your freedom and new identity, if you ever live to attain it?"
"Marry the love of my life and go adventuring, I think."
Liar and Norse spat.
""So pure…"" They both awed.
"Finish cleaning!" Grimm barked. "Our probation's going to be lifted soon and I want to make some preparations."
"Hm? You speak as if you know for sure it will be lifted."
"Because Moody would be insane, if he thinks I'll stay grounded for tomorrow."
Norse and Liar shared a glance, and then turned to Grimm.
""What's tomorrow?""
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In one of the Order of the Phoenix's safe houses, Dumbledore, Mad Eye, and Kingsley held a secret meeting.
"You made sure you were not followed?" asked the Headmaster.
"I have, Albus. I doubt they could have tracked any of us out here," Kingsley answered.
"Heh! Wouldn't put it past them," Moody said, almost proudly.
"Now, we will move on to the business at hand." Dumbledore paused for a moment before speaking again. "Kingsley. What do you believe their motivation was behind saving you?"
"I believe they did so out of the goodness of their hearts."
"You do not think they have learned the truth?"
"….No. I do not think so. And I am still of the belief we should inform them of the true conditions of being 'forgiven'."
"We cannot. There is no telling how they would react."
"Do you have so little faith in them, Dumbledore?! As much as you would not believe, and even they themselves believe, they are kind individuals."
"Alastor?"
They both turned to Mad Eye for a third opinion to weigh in.
The veteran Auror closed his one real eye, while his artificial one darted between his two comrades. After contemplating for a moment, he exhaled a tired breath.
"Norse could care less, but Liar's reaction is unpredictable. Grimm even more so. If they learned one Forgiver could only 'forgive' one person each, they might try to take matters into their own hands."
"In some ways, they already have," Dumbledore warned. "Their capabilities are far surpassing everything we have come to expect. We must exercise caution. If they should learn the truth, the actions they could take would be….hazardous to our cause."
Kingsley grimaced inside. It was one of the bylaws of their covenant that he hated most.
After the Forgiven performed distinguished duty, they were to be "forgiven" by the guild's handlers, the Forgivers. The three under contract would be pardoned with freedom and a new identity. Powerful tracking magic, almost impossible to ward off, would recognize the persons in question under a brand new existence. But there was one critical point they had lied to Grimm, Liar, and Norse about.
Only one Forgiven could be relieved per Forgiver. This meant if Kingsley had been killed by the Death Eaters in the previous incident, only two of them would have an opportunity to be freed from the contract.
Kingsley frowned.
"You think they would turn against us?"
"It is not outside the realm of possibilities. They have been trained to a point where no one is truly safe from them."
"I disagree!" Kingsley stood. "I refuse to believe they would do any of one of us harm! We have seen their good will. Nobility and loyalty rare in any measure of person!"
"To each other. No one else," Dumbledore worded calmly.
Kingsley opened his mouth to say something, but was unable to put anything together. Dumbledore looked to him with sympathy.
"To anyone outside the three, they are fully capable of inflicting cruelty beyond measure. We cannot deny this."
"They…are not like that."
"Enough of what ifs!" Moody growled. "I agree we shouldn't let them know everything yet, but placing more restrictions on them will only backfire! We will tell them the one Forgiver, one Forgiven rule in due time. Let us agree, in the event should any of us die, those three will be informed of the truth immediately. Norse doesn't care about getting a second chance at life since she's perfectly happy where she is now, but the other two are different."
Dumbledore pondered the conditions and agreed. Kingsley also gave an apprehensive nod to the established middle ground.
"And about their probation! We should lift it already. Otherwise Grimm is likely to blow a hole through my basement," the veteran Auror proposed.
Kingsley brightened.
"It's tomorrow, is it?"
"Ah…Yes. Young love," Dumbledore mused, as he stroked his beard.
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(Back in the Underground Base)
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"I just recolored your hair last week. It's barely faded at all."
"Just do it, man."
Liar groaned and ran his wand through Grimm's hair. The blue strands glowed and faded with a soft light.
"Is there some special occasion, perhaps? Going to see a secret boyfriend we were never aware of?"
"Yes."
The wand almost toppled out of Liar's hand.
"….What?"
"Just kidding."
"No, you weren't….What?!"
Grimm threw Liar a dirty look.
*Sigh* "You need to stop using Legilimens."
"Well, thanks to your strides in Occlumency, I couldn't discern the identity of the lucky gentlemen."
Norse, who was reading a book nearby, closed it and began writing furiously with her wand.
You have a lover?! How is that possible?!
"You two aren't going to let this go, are you?"
Liar and Norse shook their heads with excited expressions.
Grimm sighed a long drawn out breath.
"You can come with me tomorrow and I'll explain. I've been meaning to tell you two about this for a while now anyway."
"….I can't believe you have a counterpart willing to put up with you."
Unfathomable.
"Shut up, both of you! Sorry if I'm not the most likable person ever. You lot put up with me, though?!"
"But a lover…?" Liar massaged his chin. "You could use the Unforgivable Curses on them if you ever got into a spat. Don't tell me you Imperiused them into going out with you?!"
Grimm is capable of such cruelty and pragmatism.
"Prick assholes," she grunted.
And she possesses such a vulgar mouth too.
"Truly lacking in the finer feminine qualities and attractive elegance of traddle da deedle dee dee," Liar joked, barely able to hold his laughter.
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The next day, the Forgiven met with Moody to go outside the Base.
"Your lover is Mad Eye?!"
"Shut up, Liar, or I swear, I will put you under Crucio," Grimm threatened.
With hats and hoods worn to hide their faces, the Forgiven proceeded to King's Cross Station. There, they boarded a train bound for Hogwarts.
During the long ride, the three teenagers couldn't help but grumble about how they could simply Apparate to the school under Dumbledore's authority. Moody scolded them and reminded they weren't there on business, but for a personal matter.
The train compartments were filled with parents, excited to attend the graduation of their children from Hogwarts. Some of the adults approached and greeted Mad Eye when they saw him through the glass door. It reached a point where the old Auror decided to join another carriage to prevent further attention being drawn to his three mysterious traveling companions.
As soon as the Forgiven were left alone, they pulled out their galleons and bought a whole horde of sweets from the passing cart.
"You still haven't told us the purpose of our excursion. I mean, I love school graduations as much as the next person, having never attended an academy myself, but… Who exactly is your boyfriend?"
Even Mad Eye is acting strange.
"For seriously. I don't believe I've ever seen you two so distracted. Mad Eye's forgotten to scream 'constant vigilance!' the whole day. I may actually, quite possibly…..*Gasp!* be concerned."
Grimm chucked a few chocolate frogs at the two and left them to stew in their curiosity.
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The party of four stepped off the train and proceeded to the outdoor graduating ceremony. While many of the guests were seated, the three Forgiven opted to watch the whole display from afar; near the tree line of the Forbidden Forest.
Grimm eyed two particular parents in the audience with hawk-like focus. When Liar and Norse followed her line of sight, they didn't find anything too special about the subjects of her gaze.
Their leader saw her teammates trying to guess her intent and decided to give them a small peace of mind.
"Those two are like the Longbottoms. They're really good people and they took care of me in a really bad time."
"Who are they?" Liar squinted.
They do not seem to be Aurors.
Before they could bombard Grimm with more questions, they saw the couple in question stand up. The two parents clapped jovially for the graduating student on stage.
"That is who we're here for."
""Huh?""
Norse and Liar stared blankly at the small figure taking a diploma from Professor McGonagall.
"Not exactly a boyfriend."
The mousy haired girl with bright pink hair bowed to the crowd and to the rambunctious cheers of her peers. She then proceeded to morph her face into different personas before ending her performance with a flip off stage.
"Tonks."
The name tickled Grimm's lips as she spoke it, and the edges of her mouth pulled into a smile.
She closed her eyes and established Legilimens with Liar and Norse. Memories of her childhood began flooding into her friends' minds like an opened dam. The emotions attached to the thoughts were so intense, they overwhelmed the other two.
But rather than fight it, Norse and Liar chose to let it happen. They could tell from the initial sensations that Grimm had elected to share her deepest, most treasured memories with them.
And they received it, and her with open arms….