CHAPTER 9
Receiving Parlor, 11:12AM
Harry took a second to relax his jaw, not used to smiling as much as, and certainly not as insincerely as he just had. Beside him, he heard Jim snicker, somehow maintaining the pleasant and easy grin he'd been wearing for the past ten minutes of the impromptu press photoshoot. Today, the members of the press included three reporters from The Prophet (which unfortunately included Rita Skeeter) plus three photographer; Xenophilius Lovegood, owner and sole employee for The Quibbler (which Tom considered peak surrealist satire), two reporters for the Wizarding Wireless; three reporters from Teen Witch Weekly; plus another five from various foreign papers from France, Spain, Italy, India, and, surprisingly enough, Egypt.
True to his word, James Potter had provided an edited but plausible explanation about Harry's tumultuous history with House Potter. With more grace than Harry would have ever thought possible, James also asked the assembled journalists to "respect Harry's privacy and that of the family during this challenging time."
Despite that admonition, Harry actually did get a few questions, but mostly innocuous ones. "How are you adapting to being back in your family's life?" "What was life like with a divorced mum?" "Did you live in the Muggle world?" "What was it like being the first Potter Slytherin?" A question from Teen Witch Weekly about what kind of hair-care products he favored (he name-checked Lavender Brown as having introduced him to Sleekeazy, and Snape for customizing his own regimen). Finally, a pinched-face woman in a garish too-tight leopard-print bustier dress and pince-nez glasses who identified herself as Rita Skeeter asked about rumors that James had sent him a Howler on the first morning of classes out of anger over his Slytherin Sorting. James started to answer, but Harry interrupted with an answer of his own.
"As I'm sure you're aware, Miss Skeeter, the Howler was more than a rumor, seeing as how it went off in front of several hundred of my fellow students. However, that was nearly a year ago, and my father and I have worked diligently to move past it and rebuild our relationship." Harry turned towards James and smiled at him, and to his relief, the man at least had the good sense to smile back in front of the reporters. "While it was somewhat embarrassing at the time, I do understand that it was a great shock to everyone for me to be the first Slytherin Potter in over 200 years or more. Indeed, apparently the first Potter to go to any House other than Gryffindor in that time. However, my father has profusely apologized for sending it, I have accepted his apology, and together we've moved on. My goal now is to show the entire world that there's nothing wrong with being a Slytherin Potter. That I can uphold my family's traditions of honor and courage despite personally being more cunning than brave. And most importantly, that Slytherin House has more to offer Wizarding Britain than just the bigoted lackeys of a failed dark lord who was destroyed by my brother more than a decade ago."
"Well said, sir! Well said indeed!" exclaimed Xeno Lovegood, who started applauding, and several other reporters, after a moment of confusion, joined in. Skeeter just looked at Harry speculatively before writing something down on her pad. Harry wasn't sure, but he also thought she gave a quick furtive glance in the direction of Obediah while she was writing. 'Hmmm. Very curious.'
Soon after, the press conference ended, and Harry regrouped with his mother, Sirius, and solicitors. Together, they made their way over to the official party.
Front Lawn, 11:46AM
Rodney eagerly helped himself to the impressive spread at the muggle buffet table, which offered an incredible variety of foods he'd never tried. Shrimp cocktail, beef and veggie burgers, mini deep-fried meatballs, creamy veggie dip, and a plethora of other equally scrumptious offerings. He recalled how much he'd enjoyed the pizza at the Reunion Seminar, and eagerly helped himself to the mushroom and sausage variety. He made his way over to one of the smaller tables arranged for people to sit and eat, taking in the view.
On the opposite side of the lawn was a single long table already covered in gifts from Jim's adoring fans, as well as from people who merely found it politically or socially expedient to act like Jim's adoring fans. Looking towards the boy wonder in question, Rodney snorted at seeing him surrounded by a throng of adoring fans. Astoria Greengrass and Marietta Edgecombe were practically fluttering their eyelashes at the boy, who looked rather alarmed at the attention. Parvati Patil kept trying to monopolize Jim's attention in a similar manner, much to the annoyance of Dean and Seamus who were attempting to show Jim some muggle playing cards. Lavender Brown was also doing her best efforts to gain Jim's attention, though she kept leveling curious glances in Harry's direction. The younger Potter was currently holding court with Dumbledore, Minister Cornelius Fudge, and Chief Auror Rufus Scrimgeour, moving with the ease of a well-seasoned politician despite being a mere twelve year old. 'Naturally,' thought Rodney, snickering to himself.
"Mind if I join you?" Rodney turned at the sound of Lily Evans' voice, quickly nodding as he gestured to the seat next to him. With a flourish of her wand, a plate slowly rose from the buffet table and began filling with a veggie burger, bun, lettuce, and various condiments, before floating its way over to her. A tall glass of lemonade floated to land next to her plate, a snake shaped crazy straw appearing.
"Nice!" Lily snickered and raised her glass in a toast before digging in heartily.
"So," she said after a few bites, "how's everything going with your Auror training so far?"
Rodney smiled in satisfaction. "Really well. Sirius runs a pretty tight ship, but he really knows his stuff, very skilled. Feels like he can see, hear, and bloody well smell you coming from a mile away, can't get one over him." Lily laughed, knowing Sirius was using his secret Padfoot skills to his advantage. "Mad-Eye is… intense," Lily snorted, "but the man is practically a genius when it comes to defense. And offense. And everything in between that." The two laughed while looking in the direction of the grizzly auror, who was listening with a pinched expression while Nymphadora Tonks - young Auror trainee and daughter of Ted and Andromeda Tonks - seemingly talked his ear off about Merlin-knew what.
"I'm glad to hear everything is going so well Rodney," said Lily sincerely.
"I couldn't have done it without you, seriously. I mean, you came up with the idea in the first place, even going through with a DADA Mastery to provide the perfect cover." A unique loophole within the Auror Academy rules stated that an Auror trainee could undertake an accelerated program if they were apprenticing with a DADA Master. As luck would have it, Alastor Moody was one of three within the Department with a DADA Mastery, thereby allowing Rodney to officially apprentice with him, while Sirius served as the assistant mentor. As far as Lord Montague was concerned, Rodney was working to diligently earn a DADA Mastery to learn specialized magicks in protecting the Montague homestead when he assumed the lordship. Additionally, Rodney was making a disciplined effort to learn all he could about the family business and interest, pleasing Howard immensely.
"So, how is your father?" Lily noted the tightening of Rodney's expression.
"He's… he's doing as well as can be expected. He's pretty much confined to the house now, doing very limited physical activity. His elf monitors him and his activity, so he doesn't overdo it." He sighed, picking forlornly at his food. "There's still no cure for him and… I don't really know how much longer he has." Lily gently patted his hand, her expression completely sympathetic. Behind her mask, she crowed in delight that the wretched Death Eater would finally die in due manner. The man was the worst kind of sadist, taking pleasure in torturing and killing several Muggles at night, all while wearing a mask of imperious civility by day. Somehow, he'd always be able to escape arrest and imprisonment, slipping away like a slimy little eel. 'Not this time prick.'
12:29PM
"And then, James dropped like a fat sack of rocks to the floor, clutching at his ears while the Howlers took turns pummeling his head. Absolutely hysterical!"
Harry laughed merrily along with Rufus Scimgeour as the man related the "hilarious" tale of the three Howlers Lily had sent to James that went off like a cannon in the main office of the DMLE, giving the wizard in question onset tinnitus. Harry noted that the Scrimgeour, who had a reputation for being secretive and taciturn, today made a point of telling the story loudly enough for everyone (including James) to hear from across the yard. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought he could hear his father's teeth grinding from forty feet away. Knowing that one of the highest-ranking officials in the British wizarding government was also a Slytherin alumnus who strongly disliked James Potter gave Harry much joy on his birthday.
"Ah Marcus, there you are!" Harry waved his friend over, who looked keenly nervous at the sight of Scrimgeour. "Chief Auror, I'd like to introduce Mr. Marcus Flint." Harry watched approvingly as the two shook hands. "He's interested in pursuing the Auror Program once he graduates next year."
"Is that right?"
"Y-yes sir, I'm working diligently on my studies to make sure I get on the Auror track." Scrimgeour stared inscrutably at the sweating young wizard for a few uncomfortable seconds, before nodding approvingly.
"You know I knew your great-grandfather, Caractacus Flint." He was the same one who had been Prince of Slytherin in the 1870s, and until recently, the last male Flint to ever step foot within the Lair.
"Really?! I-wow!" Rufus chuckled.
"Indeed; the man was a legendary senior auror during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he'd been my personal mentor in my first days out of the academy. He died heroically in Spain in 1938 fighting against fascist wizards loyal to Grindelwald. He was the last man standing, and he made sure to take out eight of those bastards with him." The pride in his voice was tangible. "Keep your grades up Marcus, and, if they're satisfactory, come and see me after graduation." With that, he shook a shell-shocked Marcus' hand, shook Harry's hand, and made his way over to the direction of Tom and Libra, who were busily chatting with DMLE Director Amelia Bones.
"Did…did Rufus Scrimgeour just ask me to come and see him after graduation?!" Flint asked with a slight tremor in his voice, his skin uncommonly pale.
"Yes. Conditional on good grades, of course," replied Harry as he took a sip of punch.
"I nearly threw up on his shoes."
"I'm glad you didn't. You never have a second chance to make a good first impression. By the way, how are your grades?"
Marcus exhaled. "I retook my Potions and Transfiguration OWLS last week. Those were the two I flunked the first time. I have another week before I get my results back, and I'm a complete wreck over it. How's your Quidditch training coming?"
"I played a pickup game against Cedric Diggory. He beat me 7-4."
Marcus looked at him in surprise. "That's… that's actually not bad for your level of experience. We might have just found our new Seeker."
Harry shook his head no. "Actually, I think I prefer Chaser. Naturally, though, I'll take whatever position the Captain offers me."
The other boy rolled his eyes. "For Merlin's sake, Potter, stop trying to suck up to me. I'm already so deep in your pocket, I feel like yesterday's handkerchief. By the way," he said, his expression appraising. "Nice hair! The glasses too!" Harry laughed and thanked Marcus with the appropriate amount of grace, before directing Flint's attention towards Ludo Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Since professional Quidditch was Marcus's fallback plan if he didn't have the grades for a Ministry job, Harry felt it prudent to get the ball rolling early (just in case). The overly jovial man was busy chatting up an amused Gwenog Jones, stars practically dancing in his eyes. His crush on the woman was well known, as the man did very little to hide it.
Harry clapped Marcus on the shoulder. "Good luck mate!"
After separating from Marcus, Harry quickly made his rounds and eventually introduced himself to the parents of Justin Finch-Fletchley, remembering to thank them for accepting the invitation. Both the elder Finch-Fletchleys were appreciative and very polite, quite pleased to have made the guest list for the most exclusive social event of the year. Harry quickly moved on, noting Severus' nod of approval as he'd been in the vicinity of their conversation. Harry was well aware of his uncle's and the Finch-Fletchleys connection, and he was more than willing to play his part as needed.
Just as he was a few feet away from the punch bowl, Harry crossed paths with two more House-mates: Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis. After a year in the same House, the two were still a bit of a mystery to Harry. Individually, he thought he had them pegged: Daphne, the aloof raven-haired aristocratic beauty who carried herself like a forgotten member of the House of Windsor; and Tracey, whose "ditzy blonde" persona was a calculated performance that caused less astute Slytherins to soundly ignore her as a threat. The real mystery was how the Heir Presumptive of House Greengrass and a Halfblood being raised by her Muggle single mom were already best friends long before arriving at Hogwarts. Not to mention why Lord and Lady Greengrass would treat the apparently unrelated Halfbood practically like a third daughter. While they weren't the bigoted variety, Harry was still curious about their motivation in Tracey's affairs.
"Well, you look rather handsome today Potter." Tracey nodded her head in approval, while Daphne eyed him appraisingly. "Thanks for the invitation, unexpected as it was," said Tracey.
"Well, there's safety in numbers, so I invited every Slytherin in my class who I didn't think was an aspiring Death Eater. You need not feel obligated to me over it. And thank you for the compliment." He smiled with all his teeth, internally snickering when Tracey fidgeted in discomfort.
"Don't be stupid, Potter," snapped Daphne. "You invited my family to the social event of the season, one my mother has wanted to come to for as long as I can remember. Of course you think we both now owe you an obligation."
He sighed in a long-suffering manner, clutching at his heart. "Oh you wound me fair maiden." Daphne and Tracey snorted in unison. "But then again, you're both good at that. Plenty within Slytherin house still refuse to speak to me on a first-name basis, but you two are the only ones who invited me to use your first names. Well… that is until you changed your minds for some strange frivolous reason. Bad faith and all that." Daphne ground her teeth at the insinuation while Tracey scowled.
"Yes Harry, bad faith and all that." Daphne made to silence her but Tracey plowed on. "Draco and Pansy put pressure on Daphne to break ties with you. They threatened to make things difficult for me in the house because of… well... you know." And he did – Tracey's status in the House was at that time even more precarious that his own. They were both Halfbloods, but he was at least the son of a Pureblood lord and godson to another Pureblood lord. No one knew anything about Tracey's parentage except that her mother was a Muggle who had a liaison with an unidentified wizard.
"Well," said Harry, "Draco is no longer a concern of mine. Actually, he never was a concern of mine, but now he's… just sort of there, I guess." He sighed before continuing on. "Anyway, I promise you both that you owe me no obligation for your invitation to this party." He smiled. "Naturally, an invitation to the Potter Christmas Ball is another matter."
Daphne's eyes lit up and then narrowed dangerously. "What do you want in exchange?" she practically hissed with eagerness.
"Nothing specific right now. Let's just say you'll owe me a favor to be repaid later ... Daphne." He smiled with all his teeth, the intensity of his stare making the girls...weary.
"What do you want, Harry? Just to use our first names?"
"Please, don't insult me. Your sister Astoria already told me I could use her first name, and after ten minutes of chatting, your mother absolutely adores me. I think she's looking for a son-in-law… and I am the second-born son, so I technically could take on the Greengrass last name." He snickered (internally) at Daphne's outraged expression. "But thankfully, I'm not remotely interested in that right now, but give it three or four years and, eh, we'll see what develops. To answer your question, Daphne, I invited your family because I wanted to meet your father. And also to make sure your father met some other people."
Daphne looked around suspiciously and saw her father at a table some distance away talking animatedly with Augusta Longbottom, Lord Prince, and Madanapala Patil. "What are you scheming, Potter?"
"Scheming? Oh heavens no! I believe the term you're looking for is… 'bridge-building'. Your family is in the import-export business. The Longbottoms have magical plant nurseries and farms on three continents. Lord Prince is a world-renowned Potions Master who's well-versed in a plethora of ways to utilize all of those magical plants. The Patils have mining operations across India and Southeast Asia. If all the four families, say, pooled their resources, they could break the near-monopoly on imported potions supplies currently maintained by the Selwyn family. And for Circe's sake, call me Harry."
Tracey gave him a concerned look. "The Selwyns are a powerful family, Pott– ... Harry. And they'll make dangerous enemies."
"Good. That's the only kind worth having," Harry said with a wink. Then, he gave a slight bow and left the two girls behind to whisper furiously about what he'd said. Tracey was right, of course. The Selwyns were powerful and dangerous. They were also flagrant supporters of the Dark Lord who, in spite of their Heir confessing to Imperiusing key members of Wizengamot familie, had miraculously evaded prosecution. As far as Harry was concerned, it might be Jim's job to "fight the bad guys" with ridiculous heroics, but that wouldn't stop Harry from doing what preemptive damage he could before it ever got to that point. He had money, he had skilled political and legal mentors, he had the backing of Houses Black, Gaunt, Prince, and Longbottom, and, if need be, the status of his mother's ancestral house to back him if needed. The Death Eaters would be a lot less fearsome during the next War if they started off from a position of bankruptcy.
1:07 PM
"Those earrings are lovely!"
A bright tinkling voice sounded to Luna's left, alerting her of the presence of a young dark-skinned witch. Looking slightly above her head, Luna noted that her nargles were an unusually gorgeous shade of luminescent greens, pinks, and baby blues, forming an aurora borealis halo around her head. She wore a fetchingly bright green sundress of a lettuce garden, with small green snakes occasionally peeking in and out of the lettuce heads. Her thick mane of coiled-curly black hair hung down almost to her waist, the sides clipped back with fluttering dragonfly clips. Dangling from her ears were gilded mini lettuce heads, which matched the lettuce head ring she wore on her right hand, and the gilded lettuce-themed sandals on her feet.
"Thank you! They're radishes, my favorite!" Luna responded, her voice soft and airy.
"A sound choice," said the witchling, nodding sagely. "Radishes are an excellent means to improve blood flow, aiding the heart and mind in kind." Luna blinked, paying close attention to the girl's nargles to gauge her sincerity. nargles often wiggled if someone was being dishonest, or vibrated if they were being cruelly dishonest. To Luna's surprise, none of the girl's creatures did any of that, maintaining their usual languid pace and uncommonly bright luminescence. Luna looked directly into her eyes and smiled, pleased when she smiled back.
"My name is Luna, Luna Lovegood."
"Hello little moon," the witchling responded with a sweet smile. "I'm Eurus, Eurus Kolumbiko."
"Hello east wind," Luna replied as Eurus beamed at her.
"Why were you standing here by yourself?" Eurus asked, gesturing to the shadowy alcove Luna had chosen. The little witch sighed, rubbing her arms in seeming cold. Frowning, Eurus wrapped an arm firmly around Luna, shocking the blonde girl at the act of…kindness. Unwittingly, she leaned into the girl's embrace.
"I…I wasn't feeling too well. I was around Jim Potter for a touch too long, and all of his wrackspurts and fury-flies in his head kept growing more and more…agitated as his brother approached us. When Harry finally got close…" she shivered in spite of herself, causing Eurus to hug her a little tighter. "Their fury-flies, nargles, and wrackspurts got so aggressive, and I thought they were going to eat each other…" she shivered again. "I…I ran off before I could see the carnage." She sighed as she felt Eurus hug her a little tighter. "But…not before I heard Lavender and Marietta call me Looney."
Eurus frowned. Olivia had given her a fairly thorough dossier on the birthday party guests, and it was safe to say her sister didn't think much of either Marietta or Lavender, even in spite of the latter's status as Heir of House Brown. Still, she'd encouraged Eurus to be polite for the sake of optics. However, Eurus had never been fond of bullies.
"I can say Ginny didn't take too kindly to that." Luna gestured towards a petite ginger-haired girl who seemed to be reading a shell-shocked Marietta and Lavender the riot act, though she was doing so in a menacingly quiet manner that was infinitely more intimidating than if she'd been shouting. Eurus nodded approvingly.
"Well I'm glad she didn't." She rubbed Luna's arms comfortingly while she leaned into her embrace.
"Say…do I have wrackspurts, nargles, and fury-flies? I've never heard of them before… would be pretty neat if I did." Eurus wiggled her eyebrows teasingly as Luna looked up at her, once more staring slightly above her head to gauge her sincerity. A beat passed, and Luna smiled beatifically.
"As a matter of fact…"
2:24PM
"GAH!"
Harry jumped and almost dropped the punch ladle when he felt Hermione come up right behind him and whispered his name right in his ear. His Gryffindor friend giggled uproariously.
"Blimey Hermione! You probably took a year off my life with that stunt! Did you steal Jim's invisibility cloak or something?" The witch just cackled in response, though she did give him an appraising look.
"Oh don't be such a drama queen Harry. I have to say, the new hair and glasses look quite handsome." Harry posed imperiously, causing Hermione to giggle. "Now, be a dear and pour me some punch." She gestured to the ladle in his hand, snickering when he grumbled as he poured her a hearty cup. "Speaking of Jim, have you had a chance to talk with him yet?"
"Yes, we had a lovely family reunion when I arrived this morning," he replied.
"No Harry, I mean one-on-one." Harry noticed that his friend had grown serious.
"... not yet. I wasn't really planning on one either. Why do you ask?"
She hesitated before reaching into her small clutch, pulling out a beautifully painted fontage fan that bore a landscape of lazily floating sailboats. With an elegant flick of her wrist the fan unfurled, which she then used to shield her and Harry's faces so they wouldn't be overheard.
"Well, someone's enjoying Madame Milburga's classes." Harry gestured to the fan, snickering when she sniffed imperiously.
"If you must know, a lady always ensures she has the means to keep cool and not be overheard." She pinched Harry when he snickered. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, Jim pulled me aside earlier to talk to me in private. He wanted to apologize for arguing with me last September and calling me a 'Mudblood.'"
Harry sniffed disdainfully. "He's just now apologizing for that?"
"Shh," she hissed, not wanting to make a scene. "He apologized the day after it happened, but it was the sort of mealy-mouthed apology one might expect from a sulking boy whose parents made him give it. The apology he gave today seemed sincere. A bit too sincere, actually."
"How can an apology possibly seem too sincere?" Harry asked in confusion.
Hermione hesitated. "Maybe I'm just being overly dramatic but from the way he spoke... it felt like ... well, like the sort of apology you might give to someone you felt you'd wronged and wanted to make amends to while you were… in the process of putting your final affairs in order."
Surprised at that morbid description, Harry looked back towards Jim, who was surrounded by adoring fangirls and Cedric Diggory. Although it was too far away to hear clearly, it seemed like Cedric must have mentioned their Quidditch match at the Burrow. Harry noticed Cedric pointing at a blushing Ginny and then towards him. Jim looked over in his direction and frowned. Apparently, he was not pleased at the thought of his twin playing Quidditch for Slytherin.
"Well, Jim finally discovered that he is, in fact, fated to destroy the Dark Lord. I imagine that sobering bit of news would be enough to inspire anyone to get their affairs in order." Hermione smacked him on the shoulder in response.
"Be serious Harry!"
"That's my godfather's name, don't wear it- OW!" He jumped as Hermione smacked him again on the shoulder, pouting as he rubbed his sore spot.
"Honestly! You're supposed to mature with age." Harry just pouted some more. "But I'm very worried about him, it was… disconcerting to see him so… intense. I'm afraid he might end up doing something completely stupid."
"Oh trust me, he'll definitely end up doing something completely stupid."
"Harry…" said Hermione warningly.
"Fine," Harry sighed. "I'll do my best to keep an eye on him, and I will have my mum do the same. James finally gave her permission (he scoffed) to write her own son, so I'll have her monitor him as best she can. And…I hope you can do your fair share." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to snicker in spite of her severe expression.
Suddenly, Blaise appeared over Hermione's shoulder. standing alone near the door to the manor house aggressively not looking in his direction in a manner that would alert any competent Slytherin to the fact that he urgently wanted to talk. 'There are times' he thought to himself, 'when the Slytherin need for misdirection is just ... tiring.'
"Would you excuse me for a minute, Hermione," he said. "Blaise is over there pretending he doesn't want to speak to me. I better go see what he doesn't want me for."
Granger shook her head in amusement before snapping her fan to close. "Slytherins," she said.
Ignoring the witch's jibe, Harry made his way towards the house. When he got within twenty feet of Blaise, the other boy turned and walked through the front door into Potter Manor without giving any sign he'd even see Harry. With an annoyed sigh, Harry followed. Once inside, he found Blaise nonchalantly leaning against a wall next to the door leading to the billiard room.
"Why, Mr. Zabini!" exclaimed Harry, fluttering his eyelashes like a maiden. "Can I assume you wanted to speak with me about something important? You know, since you're being all cloak-and-daggery."
Blaise snorted. "First of all, daggery isn't a word. Second, my mother wants to speak with you. She's waiting in there." He nodded towards the door.
"Yeah, well, daggery should be a word in any world that has you in it. And why are you both being so mysterious? She's had two hours to come and speak to me and hasn't bothered. I did notice, however, that she found time to meet every eligible bachelor here, plus half the prominent married men, and to show each of them just enough interest to make all their girlfriends and wives jealous."
Blaise shrugged. "Everyone needs a hobby. Anyway, she planned on meeting with you later after the crowd thinned, but something happened that made her decide that we need to leave. Like, soon."
"What?" asked Harry, now concerned.
Blaise looked around conspiratorially. "She had a cup of tea," he whispered.
Harry just blinked. "Tasseography? That's what your mother wants to speak with me about? Tasseography? Really?"
Blaise snorted in amusement. "'m quite serious. Mom's had Divination training. Real training, not that garbage they offer at Hogwarts. And she says she saw a sign of impending danger in the leaves from the bottom of her teacup, so we're leaving early. But before we go, she wants to meet with you, so go in and talk to her. And be respectful. She's my mom and she's foreign nobility, so be at least as polite to her as you are to Molly Weasley."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I am always respectful to elders not named Potter, Blaise, even the parents of people as annoying as you." And with that, Harry swept imperiously past his snickering friend into the billiard room. Inside, a woman who looked like a Fellini-era bombshell sat elegantly in an overstuffed chair next to the window, as delicately sipping from a tea cup engraved with a golden "Z" crest.
"Countess Zabini, I presume. Piacere di conoscerti." Harry bowed respectfully.
"Il piacere è tutto mio," she replied in a dulcet cultured Italian accent, expression most pleased. "You may refer to me as Lady Serena, to keep things simple." She set her tea cup down and gestured for Harry to take the seat across from her. "Let us begin."
From his vantage, Tom stared with lightly narrowed eyes as he watched Harry disappear off with Blaise Zabini. From what he gleaned reading their lips, Countess Zabini wanted to perform tasseography on the boy, no doubt a means to ensnare him in her…schemes. Serena was neither to be trusted nor trifled with, and that Harry would be in close unguarded quarters with her was…troubling to Lord Gaunt.
With a wandless non-verbal spell, Tom summoned a small green garden snake, its grass-like scales created especially to blend in that of the lawn. He'd poured a good amount of magic into the snake, granting it more sentience (and consequently more intelligence) that he normally would for an errand serpent. With another more complex mental spell, he linked the serpent's visual receptors to the basilisk's eyes on his cuff, which would feed a direct and uninterrupted stream into his mind. With a mental command to observe everything, Tom watched the snake slither off to do his bidding.
3:33PM
Sometime later, Harry made his way outside, heading swiftly towards Hermione. From across the yard, Jim spoke to the assembled crowd, his voice magically amplified, as he opened each gift and described its contents for the public. "From the House of Longbottom – a Gringotts draft in the amount of 500 galleons." There was a smattering of polite applause, but Hermione's attention was fixed on Harry's intense expression.
"Oh dear," she said. "Something ... Slytherin has happened, hasn't it?"
Harry stopped, distracted by her question. "What exactly do you mean by 'something Slytherin'?"
"Something generally alarming but also so arcane and overly complicated that we mere Gryffindors can hardly begin to fathom it."
He stared at the girl for several seconds before huffing in amusement. "Yes, that's fair, I suppose. Anyway, I just spoke with Blaise's mom..."
"The Black Widow?!" Harry's eyes widened at her scandalized expression. "You…you didn't propose marriage, did you?!"
"From Zonko's Joke Shop – two dozen Fanged Frisbees," Jim announced to more applause.
"No! Blimey Hermione, I doubt that's even legal in this country! And stop that! She was actually quite kind and gave no outward sign of being a serial killer. She's apparently a foremost Divination expert. She read my tea leaves and performed some tarot for me. And…" he trailed off contemplatively, prompting Hermione to huff impatiently. "Well, her conclusion is that there's some sort of danger lurking around here. By the way, what does the word 'congeries' mean?"
"A disorderly jumble. What sort of danger?"
"From…the House of Malfoy – a Gringotts draft in the amount of 250 galleons," Jim announced. The applause was still polite but noticeably subdued.
"Weeeell ... it gets kind of vague at that point. Something to do with a 'striking warrior'. Which could mean… anything really. That someone may attack someone. That a Death Eater may appear and attack someone (Hermione's eyes bulged). Or that a wayward auror may go berserk and attack someone. Or all of us. I honestly don't know."
"From the House of Yaxley - a Gringotts draft in the amount of 500 galleons, along with a 200 galleon voucher to Quality Quidditch supplies in Hogsmeade," Jim announced, his expression noticeably tighter. The applause was even less polite and more subdued than for the Malfoy gift. While James had invited Corban and his sons Giles and Albert to the event, Lord Yaxley had cited a "preexisting familial obligation" that prevented both his and his sons' attendance. He'd sent the generous gift in their stead, with a promise to the birthday boys to "enjoy their momentous day".
"So, you want to ... what? Tell your father to evacuate the party because Countess Zabini says some…'striking warrior' event might occur?"
"I don't know!" he snapped irritably. "You're the intelligent and responsible Gryffindor. My instinct is to get my mother and uncles and run off! Or… figure out how I can profit off whatever happens." He wiggled his eyebrows cheekily, causing Hermione to roll her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't get stuck in the back of her head.
"From the Right Honorable Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic – a 1000-piece moving jigsaw puzzle depicting Hogwarts Castle and a Gringotts bank draft in the sum of 100 galleons," Jim announced. More applause.
"Well, you know it's a danger but not what kind…" said Hermione thoughtfully. "Have you considered the possibility that the prophecy is self-fulfilling and the danger is you causing a scene and making a fool of yourself in front of most of Wizarding high society and that awful gossip monger for the Daily Prophet?"
He opened his mouth to speak and then exhaled. "Well, I hadn't until now! How are you not a Slytherin yourself if you can think of that possibility on the fly?"
Hermione sniffed imperiously. "I shan't dignify that with a response. Anyway, assuming the worst, who among the guests do you think is the person most likely to want to harm or kill someone?"
"From Obediah Prewett, Esq., or as I like to call him, Uncle Obi – a handcrafted set of thirteen Nutcracker soldiers," Jim announced as he pulled out the display of gleaming toys to show it to the crowd. They were very detailed and beautifully hewn, bearing gleaming silvery swords, vibrantly colorful uniforms, and bright blue, almost glass-like eyes. Each was the size of Jim's arm, nearly arranged in a row on their wooden display, staring out harmlessly at their audience.
There was a smattering of applause interrupted by an excited exclamation from Obediah himself as he pushed his way through the crowd in a panic.
"Nutcracker soldiers?! It should be a new Quidditch broom! JIM! THAT'S NOT MY GIFT!"
Several things happened at once.
Almost as one, Tom, Lily, and Severus immediately unholstered their wands, using their cuffs to communicate a tactical plan.
Tom: "We need to ensure that every civilian makes it out of here in one piece. Those…toys are Erasmus' creations, making them extraordinarily dangerous. Severus, make sure your mother and the Finch-Fletchleys are out of here, keep watch over them at Prince Palace. Lily, have Sirius evacuate Harry immediately. I imagine James will do the same for Jim. You'll be watching my six.
Severus/Lily: "Aye!"
Since he was already close to the Finch-Fletchleys, Severus had each of them grab his arm and hold on. With a quick summoning spell, Eileen was pulled from the buffet table some thirty feet away directly into his arms. With a push of a button on his silver pocket watch, all five disappeared safely to Prince Palace. He was not the only one; Daniel Greengrass summoned his wife, his two daughters, and Tracey Davis to his side as he pulled out a three-foot long silken cord that served as a portkey big enough for five people. With a soft pop, they were safely away.
Molly Weasley screamed for all her children to come to her immediately, and thankfully they were all within vicinity to make it to her side in one piece. She screamed for Arthur, but the man (in an uncommonly commanding tone) told her to take the children to safety while he drew his wand - fourteen inch pear with unicorn hair - and marched forward. With a worried frown, Molly pulled out a twenty-foot long fairy lights cord and watched as all her children grabbed hold. With a louder pop, they all disappeared. Xenophilius and Luna made their exit right after, holding on to the man's favorite Jobberknoll writing quill as they disappeared.
With a hissed mental command, the libra scale symbol on Tom's cuff glowed white, activating the exit portkey he'd built into Libra's engagement ring. As she was already holding onto her nieces' arms, all three immediately disappeared to his study in Castle Basilicus.
Lily hadn't needed to warn Sirius; the man was already marching towards Harry and Hermione's direction, his wand tip glowing an ominous orange. He was around a hundred feet away from the two, and based on his pace, Lily didn't doubt that he'd get there in time.
Near the stage, James Potter immediately drew his wand and screamed for Jim to throw the nutcrackers back into their box. But before the Boy-Who-Lived could react, the nutcrackers' eyes all suddenly started to glow eldritch green as their expressions warped to become noticeably clown-like and…feral. As one, they let out a fiendish cackle as a maniacal voice loudly hissed a phrase the only four Parselmouths in attendance understood:
"WHY SsSsOOO SsSsERIOUSsS?!"
With a vicious cry the nutcracker closest to Jim slashed its silvery sword, causing Jim to scream and kick the toy away in reflex. From his limited vantage, Harry could see blood pouring from a thick gash on Jim's wand arm. Instead of flopping to the ground after it'd been kicked away, the nutcracker soldier cartwheeled in the air, using its dripping bloodied sword like a ski pole to rebalance itself when it landed on its feet. With a savage cry it ran with near superhuman speed to attack Jim again, but before it could do so, James lashed out with an overpowered Knockback Jinx and hurled it several feet away. With a snarl, Obediah jumped in front of Jim protectively with his wand drawn, its tip glowing an ominous red. Unfortunately, the nutcracker landed in the middle of the crowd of guests, most of whom began screaming and panicking as it turned its bloodied sword onto them. Taking that as their cue, the rest of the nutcrackers jumped from their position on the wooden display and began their attack on crowds of panicked and horrified guests. Bedlam erupted.
One of the younger and less experienced aurors on guard rushed forward and fired a stunner at a nutcracker that'd beelined for him and the terrified guests cowering behind him. Now, in any other context, a Stunner would have been effective against a humanoid automaton, due to the nature of its structural morphology. Unfortunately, this humanoid automaton was intelligent enough to use its gleaming silver sword to parry the spell away into an unsuspecting onlooker, who immediately fell down stunned. With superhuman speed it ran directly towards the auror, who had no time to react. At the last second, it leapt up into the air and with an ear-piercing war cry, plunged its sword and its entire body through the auror's chest. It wriggled and burrowed its way through the man's body while he screamed in agonized terror, falling to the ground and convulsing. His chest bulged grotesquely as the toy soldier's sword pierced through his back, drenched red with blood. With a disgustingly loud and wet pop, the nutcracker popped out victoriously as more blood sprayed macabrely…followed by two more identical soldiers! With a fiendish cackle, all three set themselves upon the terrified and screaming guests.
"Merlin's beard!" Hestia Jones gasped out in horror from her vantage. "That thing can replicate itself with each person it kills!" With a shaking hand she drew her wand and set out to find her sister, screaming her name and doing her best to not be attacked.
With an increased pace, Sirius strode determinately towards Harry and Hermione. About thirty feet away his Padfoot-senses suddenly tingled, causing him to duck and roll while throwing up a shield. It was a good thing too; two of the nutcrackers leapt from behind him and slashed through the air where his head had previously occupied, their silver swords glancing across and through the apex of his Protego shield.
'Orichalcum, bloody fantastic.'
The nutcrackers landed on their feet and began charging towards him with murderous purpose. Sirius was ready.
"DURO MAXIMA!" The two soldiers froze mid air, expressions growing comically panicked when they started to turn into stone. They slashed their swords furiously, but to no avail. Soon they both turned into solid stone statues, faces frozen in a rictus of angry distress. "CONFRINGO!" They blasted apart in a cloud of broken stone, successfully destroyed. He quickly resumed his way towards his godson, but a screaming group of guests crossed his path, furiously pursued by a trio of already bloodied soldiers who cackled in maniacal glee. With a growl, Sirius checked to make sure Harry was still unharmed, before engaging the three little beasties.
Over the crescendoing panicked screams of the guests, Tom opened a linked connection to Lily's mind, their cuffs syncing their thought processes to one as their respective symbols thrummed to their synchronized heartbeats. As one, they dilated their perception and fixed their minds' gazes betwixt the beats of their hearts.
THUMP. Everything in their surroundings lagged to a crawl, the super-fast nutcracker soldiers (now well over thirty in number) finally slowing down to a normal pace. Together, the two engaged a quintet set upon a terror-stricken Emma Squiggle, one of the Prophet reporters who was trying (and failing) to hide between the massive hedges near the perimeter of the lawn.
THUMP. "CARPE RETRACTUM!" Two glowing cords of light sprung from their wands and wrapped around the two closest to Emma, pulling them from her path. At their joint apogee, the cords suddenly turned to flaming whips, immediately burning them to ash. Seeing the fallen comrades, the remaining soldiers abandoned their initial quarry and charged towards the two magicals.
THUMP. "COLLOSHOO!" All three of their feet immediately stuck to the ground thanks to Lily's hex. "EXPULSO MAXIMA!" Tom's blasting curse rendered them dead chunks of useless wood.
To Tom and Lily's relief, their coordinated attack drew the attention of a group of nutcrackers (ten in number) away from civilians and onto them, seemingly seeking revenge for their downed compatriots.
THUMP. "WADDIWASI!" With the force of bullets, four thick green wads of slime shot out of Lily's wand, immediately blinding the quartet of nutcrackers set upon them. "EXPULSO MAXIMA!" blasted them apart with bright bursts of blue light.
THUMP. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The remainder of the soldiers froze at Tom's spell. "EXPELLIARMUS TOTALUS!" All dropped their silver swords, before a bright gout of white hot flame rendered them all to ash. A quartet of enraged toy soldiers changed course to attack the dynamic duo. The battle raged on.
Due to their dilated perceptions, their reactions and spellwork looked impossibly fast to shocked onlookers, seeming as though it'd taken mere seconds to dispatch the cursed soldiers. From their vantage, Harry, Hermione, and Marcus (who'd joined the two to provide extra protection) gawked at the scene, both impressed at the incredible magical display. However, their distraction was short-lived. An errant blood-soaked nutcracker sped towards the trio, leaping into the air with its sword plunged downward to strike. A figure protectively stepped in front of the terrified trio. It was Rufus Scrimgeour.
"PROTEGO HORRIBILIS!" the Chief Auror cried out, and a shimmering silver shield materialized in the soldier's path. To his shock, the sword of the soldier plunged right through, cracking the shield. Already knowing the true nature of the sword (having taken down two beasties already), Scrimgeour just grunted, pouring more power into the shield. "YOU THREE! GET OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT!" Before the trio could make a move, the Chief Auror's shield spell shattered, and the soldier lunged through the opening and directly into a terrified Harry's path. With rapid reflex Scrimgeour moved right into its path, screaming as the sword plunged right into his wand arm. As the maniacally cackling nutcracker attempted to burrow its entire body into a screaming Scrimgeour's chest cavity, Marcus darted forward holding his necktie in both hands like a garrote. Swiftly, he wrapped it twice around the soldier's chest and began pulling at the two ends of the tie with all his might.
"AURORS!" Mad-Eye Moody's magically amplified voice thundered out. "CORRAL ALL REMAINING CIVILIANS INTO THE MANOR, AND SEAL OFF THE EXITS! BEGIN PROTOCOL TWO TRIAGING FOR CRITICALLY INJURED CIVILIANS IF POSSIBLE. IF YOU ARE ABLE, USE A PATRONUS TO SUMMON MORE REINFORCEMENTS!"
Thinking fast, Harry cast an elongating charm on the remaining ends, lengthening them so he could grab on and help Marcus pull. Grunting, the two pulled and strained while Rufus Scrimgeour screamed in pain. Finally, the toy soldier's orichalcum sword pulled out of the hole it had made. With a triumphant roar, Flint whirled around with the soldier still caught in his bundled tie, and then he brought it down as hard as he could on a nearby table, dislodging its armed hand from its body.
"IMMOBULUS!" The hand froze thanks to Harry's spell, before he stomped down hard on the hand, rendering it to useless chunks of wood. With a grunt, he fiercely kicked the sword away. He checked to see Marcus repeatedly slam the screaming nutcracker into the table. A cry from Hermione pulled Harry's attention away from Flint's efforts to smash the infernal beastie.
"Harry! Give me your jacket!" Without even asking why, Harry pulled off his jacket and tossed it to the witch, who immediately used it to plug the absurdly large hole in Scrimgeour's wand arm. It was a macabre sight to see the cream-hued fabric turn blood red as the Chief Auror moaned in semi-conscious pain. "He's bleeding terribly. Understandable, since his subscapularis and bicep tendons have been severed. That, coupled with significant damage to his deltoid and pectoralis major muscles, and no doubt the damage to his thoracoacromial artery. Hence all the blood." Harry stared at her in amazement as she rattled off anatomy factoids with an impressively calm voice, though her expression grew increasingly pale. "We've got to get him to St. Mungo's immediately! If only we had a Portkey-"
With a groan, Harry smacked himself on the head. "Ugh, Harry you idiot!" He reached for his jacket, turning the blood-soaked garment around to the front. Still neatly tucked (and bearing drops of Scrimgeour's blood) was a beautifully embroidered pocket square. With quick efficiency, he removed the square and wrapped it around Hermione's hand, before clasping Scrimgeour's hand of his undamaged arm over hers.
"This is my emergency portkey, it will take you directly to the receiving parlor of my home. If she's not already there waiting for you, summon Mia and have her take you immediately to St. Mungo's. She'll stay with you until Scrimgeour is attended to." Hermione nodded firmly. "May the force be with you!" he exclaimed, and with a soft pop, Hermione and Scrimgeour disappeared. He went to check on Marcus, who had finally slammed the nutcracker into the table enough times for it to stop moving, with large chunks of wood missing from its face and body.
"Where did you send them?" he asked.
"To my house so my house elf can send them to St Mungo's."
Marcus frowned at him. "Pfft! Not very Slytherin that. You've got a portkey, and you give it away to two other people?"
"Scrimgeour's dying and Hermione is my friend. It was worth it."
Marcus leveled an appraising gaze at him, nodding after a few moments. He then bent over to examine the felled nutcracker hand. "Huh," he said curiously. "The thing is made of orichalcum."
"What?! How?!" Harry asked.
"Well, it's an alchemically-produced alloy of gold and some other metal, usually copper or aluminum but sometimes silver or platinum. It's-"
"I know what orichalcum is," replied Harry indignantly. "What I don't understand is how there could be so much! There was practically a horde of these things and all of them had the same orichalcum sword! How can orichalcum even replicate itself that way?" Marcus shrugged, not sure how to answer his question.
With a sigh, Harry looked around to see that the general level of chaos was winding down. Out of the horde, there were six surviving nutcrackers - Harry blanched at the implication of at least two more deaths - but all of them appeared to be contained in a floating sphere created by Headmaster Dumbledore, whose expression was more grim than Harry had ever seen. There were injured and crying people all about - Harry noticed his mum tightly hugging a distraught Emma Squiggle - but Tom, James, and various auror reinforcements were administering First Aid as needed. Obediah - who looked more serious than Harry had ever thought possible for the gratingly cheery man - was attending to Jim, who sat on a table apparently in a state of shock while "Uncle Obi" gently wrapped a handkerchief around his bleeding hand and consoled him.
Suddenly, a massive glowing Irish wolfhound Patronus bounded up to Harry and Marcus, startling the latter who started cursing. Snuffles jumped on a chuckling Harry and licked his face a few times, before curiously sniffing at a gawking Marcus' feet and hands. Sirius then appeared, scratching Snuffles behind his ears before he faded away. Without thinking Harry pulled his godfather into a fierce hug that Sirius returned. Though he was covered in splatters of blood and a few scratches, Lord Black was relatively unharmed. He clapped a firm arm on Marcus' shoulder, asking him if he was alright, nodding when the young wizard replied that he was fine.
"You ok Sirius?"
"All right Harry. Are you ok?" He roved a critical eye over his godson, finally exhaling when he realized that save a few scratches and bruises, Harry was fine.
"All good, no spells or swords got to me. Scrimgeour was attacked by one of them," Sirius' eyes bulged, "they damaged his arm, but he's with Hermione in St. Mungo's. I think he'll make it." His godfather's face sagged in relief.
"Good. Merlin's beard, this was complete madness!" Sirius rubbed a tired hand over his face. "Those… things were definitely a Toymaker signature." His expression darkened. "Which means some death eater somehow snuck those abominations into Jim's gifts. Which also means that there was a critical security breach that somehow evaded Lord Potter's notice." He leveled an intense scowl at James' head. "Mad-Eye's already given marching orders, we'll be investigating this fiasco thoroughly." Before Harry could respond, a blood-covered Artie staggered towards them, skin pale and eyes blown wide in shock.
"Artie! Are you alright? Come on, let's get you to a healer!"
"It's ... alright Harry," he replied in a dazed voice. "It's… it's not my blood."
All three froze. "What's happened, Artie?" asked Sirius in an urgent voice. "Who got hurt?"
Artie's face crumpled and he began to weep in earnest. "Those… nutcracker things! They…they…they killed three aurors... attacked me and Elizabeth!" Harry's eyes widened, thinking the worst had happened to the poor man's wife. "But…but Mad-Eye stopped them in time. But…but…Gwenog! One of them…almost killed Hestia…she jumped in…" Huge wracking sobs overtook the man's body. "Dear Merlin, I think Gwenog is dead!"
Harry froze, horrified, as he recalled Lady Serena's portentous warning about the fate that might befall those just for being his friend: Destiny is paid for in blood.
AN 1: Finally! Boy, that was a doozy! I'd initially had the two parts as one chapter, but decided it was overkill and split into parts. I think this flows quite better. I decided to omit Lady Serena's reading, bits will be revealed as the story progresses.
AN 2: The Little Moon and the East Wind, sounds like a mystery novel...we'll see how their adventure goes :) For Rufus Scrimgeour, I like still like Bill Nighy for the part. Dignified irascibility, that's how I imagine a (Slytherin) Scrimgeour.
AN 3: Hope you liked Tom & Lily's fight scene. A more in-depth one will be shown sometime in Year 3, where they fight off (with another Knight) against DEs.