Author's Note:
Wasn't sure I was going to get the time to post a chapter this weekend as I've been working like crazy for the holiday! 🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day everyone (1st July, but its the weekend lol)! 🇨🇦
Reviews and Comments: To Steelcode: Yes, a new love interest and Michael is a prat. Well said! As for Sirius and Harry, we shall see. Thank you! To Guest: Yes, I made her bald LOL. Thank you! To supersandman86: It is what Harry needs is a girlfriend of his own and Mandy is sweet. I do think that Harry was feeling a bit lonely and he needs to experience what having a good girlfriend is like. Cho was a disaster and Harley could have been more, but with only two weeks, he didn't get the chance to find out. Ginny definitely takes after Fred and George and when people hurt her friends, she is going to fight back! As to Dumbledore not sharing his knowledge of the Room of Requirement, I always thought that he vaguely believed it existed, but never knew exactly where it was or how it worked. His only reference to it in the books was that he found a room full of chamber pots one night when he really had to pee. I think once it is found, he will think, oh I knew about this, but otherwise doesn't have a clue. Thank you! To trekkifulron: As for McGonagall, I imagined her reaction similar to the 'have a biscuit, Potter' moment in Order of the Phoenix, where she doesn't necessarily agree with what was said or done and she knows that she can't outright approve of it so, she has to be subtle I thought the giving of points and a detention was a good way to do this. Thank you!
To Leaf Ranger: Yes, Michael has started to show his true colours a bit. Thanks for enjoying my Sirius and Zee smut. To scrappy8: Thank you! To iKingAnomalyII: Thank you! McGonagall definitely rocks! I wanted to show some tension between Ginny and Michael so we can see it breaking down there. I do think one of Ginny's best qualities is loyalty, which is why I wanted her to prank Romilda — no one messes with the people she cares about. Corner is beginning to show his true colours, but Ginny is not quite ready to leave him yet. Thanks for saying I wrote Harry quite in character there, I do agree, he would be more embarrassed than angry. Thank you! To Seriouslypadfoot: Thank you! Yes, we will see more of Mandy and Harry. I have no plans for runes in the future, but we shall see. Thank you!
To alix33: Classic songs, you should definitely look them up! I agree, I also think Dean is bisexual but he doesn't know it yet. Thank you! To MinervaMcGee: Ha, it's just flying around playing catch, I thought it was an excellent line myself. Thanks for noticing! To speedsONEandONLY: Ha, you think the glacier was melting but now it's freezing back up? LOL. I'm glad you enjoyed the steam and points for continuing the water metaphors! Haha to 'what teacher, two seconds ago he was necking with his girl' accurate, and also part of the reason why I had Sirius say as much. It's true, Harry does trust Ginny. Mandy is a song by Barry Manilow, not Rod Stewart, but it is a great song! Thank you! To coloredwords: Thanks for the congrats on hitting one million words! It is amazing to me. It's true, the good ones are always gay. Michael is definitely being a git. Ha you want Tonks or Zee to be pregnant? Well, you will have to wait and see what I have planned. Yes, I gave everyone a million kids in my Beginning Series. Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! To geekymom: Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: Yes, a steamy chapter! I love Ginny and she is a prank genius! Will Mandy take Harry's brains out of the gutter or bring them more into the gutter? LOL. Thank you!
To x-shadow-x-kisses-x: Ha, you're going ignore Mandy? Noted. To Guest: Haha, Harry has "moved on from the stage of I don't fancy Ginny to I don't love Ginny." Not wrong. Thank you! To Guest: Vane is a bitch. Thank you! To darkpegasuzz: Thanks for reading! To Gorea Denisa Maria: Thanks for reading! I love that you're from Romania and aww, Charlie says hi! Haha, hi back! Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying ASC. To Janugod: This is a slow-burn Hinny and we still have a while before they get together. Thank you! To Guest: Aw, you love Mandy already? Thank you! To Guest: Thanks for saying Mandy is a good character. You want her to stick around after Harry and her break up? They haven't even gone on one date yet, LOL. To Wolf's scream: Sirius is going with cheesy. McGonagall definitely doesn't have favourites, I don't know what you're talking about LOL. Harry is slowly starting to realize something important. Thank you! To storp930: Thank you! To Kit Vulpes: Thanks for catching up and reading!
To purplevictory: Thank you! I do love your reviews! Thanks for loving my Harry and Sirius moments and yes, Krum's accent is becoming more relatable because of Hermione's great tutoring! To Guest: Sorry you found the ending to be abrupt, but I will not be re-writing the last two chapters. To musemesmer: Thanks for saying ASC brings highlights to your week. Sirius will explain things to Harry when it's time. Thanks for loving my Hermione and Viktor! To RedheadLover: Thank you! You think there will be a moment where Harry is forced to accept what he feels for Ginny after the third task? We'll see. I can see Remus or Zee giving one of those speeches as well. Thank you! To Angel: Thank you! I can't promise not to kill Cedric. I make no promises on any character death. To Yami_Faerie: Thank you very much! Ginny to me will do anything for her friends and you do not mess with the people she cares about. Ginny and Michael will be just a bit longer ... You are right, canon Harry would not be able to compliment girls the way he does Mandy. I think he's being allowed to shine and his true colours are finally coming out. He does have the best dads ever! I like making Zee confident and secure in herself, in her sexuality and in her relationship with Sirius. I do think she is a great match for Sirius. I can't say about you and your husband, but I say just go for it one day when he's watching tv or something I'm sure he'd appreciate it ;)
To Soveliss: Thanks for finding Ginny pranking so funny and yes, Colin is definitely documenting it. I think Mandy will be good for Harry. Thank you very much! To Lady Phoenix: I am trying to make the story more detailed, more adult as you can see, and I want to show the other characters, Harry's friends and family, and show how he his evolving to become the man he should be. I think that there are some things that can't change no matter what, destined to happen a certain way, but that doesn't mean that Harry can't have good things in his life like Sirius and Remus who are the fathers he deserved. I like to think that they would have had an amazing life together if they had been given the chance. At this point, no, Harry has never told anyone outside of the one time he briefly said something to Neville when they were children, that he was mistreated by Muggles. At some point, he will come clean, but it's not something that he has to do because he is loved and well taken care of and that part of his life isn't something that he dwells on. Thank you!
Pottermore and Harry Potter wiki were my friends here in establishing the timeline which is from my own story notes. This is how it is written on the blackboard walls of FUVP, previously in the kitchen and now moved to the study under the new directive of the Marauder Charm, and only accessible to Sirius and Remus unless authorized.
I like to think that Hogwarts has many secrets: Extra rooms, hidden surprises, and things that our characters may not have gotten the chance to find when they went to school, even the Marauders, who we know most likely never even found the Room of Requirement or the Chamber of Secrets since they were not on the map. This is one of those secrets I believe for sure exists. Hope you like it.
Since a few of you keep commenting on my Gabaldonian names (which honestly was accidental), I figured I might as well toss a bone in here to one of my favourite series of all time. For those of you that don't know — Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is what I am referring to.
Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!
My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on weekends.
As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR:
The One With the Secret Swimming Pool
Harry found himself really enjoying spending time with Mandy. She was sweet and she was smart. He learned that she had two older brothers, who had both left school. One was a Potioneer named Hugo and the other a Curse Breaker in Hong Kong named Jack. She loved music and loved to sing and was actually really talented, since Harry had conned her into singing for him. She wanted to be a Curse Breaker as well and work with Ancient Runes and dig up historic things. Her fifteenth birthday had actually been the day before the Second Task and she told him how her friends had spoiled her with a girlie day; had done facials, manicures, and pedicures to celebrate. She had three dogs at home: An English Bull-Dog named Frankie, a Cocker Spaniel named Mellie, and a Cockapoo named Trixie.
He told her about his time in Georgia and at the Quidditch World Cup and he learned that she loved to swim, which according to her, was a real sport unlike Quidditch. They spent almost an hour arguing about that one. But he was surprised by how much he enjoyed himself.
By the time they had wrapped up their project, Harry found himself feeling a little depressed to not have a reason to see her outside of class. Every moment he spent with her had made him smile and reminded him that he couldn't spend his life pining after someone he couldn't have. That he had to find happiness where he could and Mandy made him feel happy. They were sitting in the library discussing how the presentation was going to go and as he watched her pack up her bag, he reached out to touch her arm.
"Mandy?"
"Yes?" she asked, tucking her glasses away into their case.
Harry stared at her for a moment, his eyes on her lips and then he slowly leaned in.
Mandy's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you —?"
He smiled, his face a breath away from hers. "I was thinking about it, yeah."
Mandy stared at his lips for a moment and then she closed the distance and gently pressed her lips to his before she pulled back and stared at him. "Um…"
Harry reached out and cupped her chin, kissing her again and she sighed into him. When he pulled away, her eyes fluttered open.
"Did—did I do it right?"
He chuckled. "Better than." He smiled at her. "Mandy, I'd really like to take you to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Would you come with me? On a date that is?"
She stared at him in surprise. "You — you want to take me out on a date?"
"I've enjoyed spending time with you and getting to know you. I'd really like the chance to learn more about you. Maybe if you go out with me tomorrow you can finish telling me all about Trixie's latest embarrassments. I'd really like to know how she ended up with her head stuck in the pot."
Mandy grinned. "Okay. I… I'd like that."
"Meet me by the doors for ten?"
She nodded, grabbed her bag and hurried off, sneaking one look at him as she did and when she saw that he was smiling at her, she smiled back.
Harry watched her go, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face. He was looking forward to tomorrow.
~ ASC ~
His heart was pounding so fast that he almost fell out of his bed.
Ron grabbed the canopy pole so tightly that his knuckles turned white as he tried to catch his breath. He rubbed his hand over his face and let out a slow sigh. There was no way that he was going back to sleep after that, he thought.
He grabbed a jumper and carefully snuck downstairs into the common room. He found himself pacing in front of the fire for almost ten minutes — which did nothing to soothe his nerves. He contemplated going back upstairs and waking Harry. He knew if anyone would understand what he was feeling it would be his best mate, but it wasn't Harry that he needed right now.
He didn't think about it. He transformed into his wolverine and ran up the stairs to the girls dormitory. He carefully snuck into the third year girls dorm and butted his head against his sister's leg until she woke up and blinked at him. He only turned and walked away as Ginny yawned.
It was only two minutes later when she shuffled downstairs in Fred's over-sized jumper.
"What's up, Ron? Are you okay?"
He nodded and gestured for her to sit with him. "I'm fine."
Ginny only quirked an eyebrow. She moved to sit next to him. "Mr Crouch again?"
He didn't answer her.
Ginny sighed and gently wrapped her arms around her brother. "You know it's okay to have a nightmare. Seeing something like that… I can't imagine it, and I don't want to. You and Harry both saw him like that. That level of monster that another human being can inflict on another, its horrifying and terrifying on every level. You're not just going to get over it, no matter how much you wish that you might."
Ron only nodded. "I can't stop seeing it, Dinny. I can't shut it out of mind."
"Shh," she said soothingly, nestling his head on her shoulder. "You will, Ron. I know you will. You just have to give yourself time. Trust me, I'm the Queen of the Insomniacs."
He smirked at that. "I thought Nott said that he was King."
"He wishes," Ginny said making him laugh.
"What exactly do you two do during your late night meetings anyway?"
Ginny gently ran her fingers through his hair the way their mum always did when they were sick or had a bad dream. "Lots of stuff. Sometimes we talk about aimless things; Theo likes to share his sex-capades with me, even though I have told him many times that I don't want to hear about them. Sometimes we talk about our nightmares and sometimes we just eat ice cream or scrambled eggs."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Ron said quietly. "I talked to Dad about it over Christmas break until I was blue in the face. Talking about it just makes me picture it all over again."
"The nightmares aren't every night anymore, right?"
He shook his head. "No. This is the first one I've had in weeks."
"Good," she said, softly. "Tell me about Lavender."
"Why?"
"Because she's your girlfriend and you don't want to talk about your nightmare."
Ron sighed. "I don't know. She's nice. Kind of giggly and we really just snog a whole lot."
"Mmm, that I've noticed."
"Oi, you're one to talk! Always sucking face with that stupid git Corner."
"He's not stupid."
"Oh, but he is a git?" When she hesitated, he sat up triumphantly. "I knew it! What did he do?"
"Nothing," Ginny said, quickly. "We just had an argument the other day and he still won't admit that he's wrong." At her brother's look, she sighed. "He's angry that I'm so supportive over Harry, especially after the love potion situation."
"That prank on Vane was genius. Fred and George were so proud."
"Michael thinks that everyone is blowing it out of proportion and that being slipped a love potion is nothing to be concerned with. He says that Harry was able to snog a pretty girl so he should stop complaining about it, and I told him that it wasn't that he kissed her, it was about her taking away his choice to kiss her. He doesn't see the difference. Well, no, he does, but he doesn't agree with it. He claims that if some pretty girl slipped him a love potion, he would be fine with it."
"Sounds like a git."
Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I hate most about having six big brothers?"
"Can't think of a single thing, actually," Ron said with a grin. "We're all pretty awesome."
"I hate how they always think that they're right and then when it turns out that maybe they kind of sort of maybe partially possibly were a teensy tiny bit right — they never let it go."
Ron grinned at her. "So, are you breaking up with the git or what?"
Ginny glared at him. "No."
"What? Why not?"
"Just to spite you."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ginny! The bloke is complete prat, get rid of him."
Ginny smiled at him. "He's entitled to his opinion, Ron. I'm not going to break up with him just because we share a different thought."
Ron scoffed at that. "Sure you're not."
"I like him, Ron. I'm going to give him another chance."
He nodded. "Fine. Lavender wants me to take her to Madam Puddifoot's tomorrow and the thought of going in there makes my head hurt. Harry asked out Mandy Brocklehurst today. He says that he's taking her to lunch at The Three Broomsticks."
Ginny looked surprised to hear that, but she quickly hid her reaction. "Good for him. After the Romilda situation, I wasn't sure that he would want anything to do with girls."
Ron only nodded. "I don't know if Mandy is the right girl for him though."
Ginny shrugged. "I think that she's nice. I met her the other day in the library when I was with Hermione. She's sweet and smart and according to Hermione, she makes Harry smile. He needs that. I think that he's a little taken with her."
Ron stared at her for a moment. "You're all of those things."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Ron, but I told Harry that I liked him as more than just a friend and he told me that he did not feel the same. He's one of my best friends, Ron, and I won't lose that friendship to something that's never going to happen. I'm not his type. I won't pine after him."
"I —"
"— No," she said, strongly. "I'm not his type, Ron. He's my friend and nothing more. I'm with Michael now. I'm going back up to bed. Are you going to be all right?"
Ron nodded, his eyes on her. "I'll be all right. Thanks for listening, Ginny."
Ginny hugged him and stood up. "You're welcome. And Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"Stop being a meddlesome git."
He just grinned at her. "Can't. It's my job as your big brother."
She only chuckled and shook her head.
Ron watched her go and he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He did think Mandy would be good for his friend, but he also wasn't as oblivious as people thought. He had noticed Harry's eyes staying a little longer on Ginny than was necessary and he knew that his friend's feelings were changing in her direction. He would let him fight it for a while, he thought. But eventually, they were both going to give in to it.
And he couldn't wait to tell them that he had told them so.
~ ASC ~
Hermione opened The Hogwarts Herald at breakfast the next morning, her eyebrows rising at the large photo of Romilda Vane, bald and hiding her face in embarrassment. She snorted at the image and nodded at Neville who was sitting across from her.
"Guess McGonagall approved the article that Ginny said Colin was taking photos for."
Harry looked over at his friend as he helped himself to some bacon. "What article?" He glanced over and saw Romilda's face and winced. "Ugh."
Hermione smiled and began to read aloud:
THERE'S NO LOVE IN A LOVE POTION
With the closing of the popular shop Venus Copia, many readers have been wondering why something like a love potion can be considered dangerous? A love potion is a magical means of getting that special someone to notice you. The smell of Amortentia is heaven on your nose, making you realize who you are attracted to. It can be used to boost the confidence of a loved one, give them the push they need to tell that special someone how they feel — but it does not create love.
Love is one of the greatest mysteries in the world. The Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic even studies it, and yet no one understands how it works or why. To love someone and to be loved by someone is in itself, the greatest experience that anyone can ever have. Love for a friend, for a parent, for a lover, or for a pet; there are many different kinds of love and each one shares a part of your soul with another being. Love cannot be created. Magic cannot force someone to love you. Amortentia is a potion that instills the idea of love, lustful feelings in another, but it does not create love.
This is where there is a danger.
Love is the strongest weapon we have, which means it is also the most dangerous. People will do almost anything for those they love and when you have been given a love potion, that urge rises to the next level.
"People under a love potion will do absolutely anything to be with the person the potion urges them too. Most of us have some semblance of control on our desires, but if the potion is potent enough, if that person's control is taken away, the potion can make that person act in ways that they never would," Professor Snape told this reporter sternly. "If you give a love potion to someone that you fancy and they kiss you and the potion kicks their lust up to overdrive, which is a lot easier to do in hormonal teenagers than in adults, then the person you gave the potion to is no longer responsible for their own actions."
No longer responsible for their actions — what does this mean? Lust. It fills all of us, and if one was juiced up on a love potion, they no longer have control of their actions. They are compliant and 'in love' with the person who gave them the substance meaning they are compliant to them completely. Compliant how, you may ask? Compliant enough to let that person do anything they wish… including sexual assault.
Doesn't seem so funny now, does it?
"It's not only about the person committing the assault," Professor Snape went on to say. "It's about the person they administered the substance to as well. If that person acted in a sexually aggressive way or in a violently aggressive way towards the person they 'love' or towards someone who was trying to get them away from the person they 'love', that person would not be responsible for their actions. They are in fact, the victim."
Love potions are a controlled substance and are labelled as such by the Ministry of Magic. Giving someone a love potion without their consent is considered illegal and is a crime with up to ten years in Azkaban Prison. The Department of Intoxicating Substances claims that Amortentia 'is a highly dangerous incapacitating agent which when administered to another person, incapacitates the person, and renders them vulnerable to a potion-facilitated sexual assault, including rape.'
This means that if an individual gave someone a love potion and the person they gave the potion to then raped them, the rapist would NOT be responsible, as they were in fact the victim. What do you mean by not be responsible, you ask? If someone was raped then they are the victim, right? Wrong! If the so-called victim of rape had given the 'rapist' a love potion beforehand, than the victim is in fact the rapist.
Regina and Rhea Vane, owners of the shop Venus Copia, were charged with distributing an illegal substance, administering a noxious substance without consent, second degree assault on a minor, and illegally manufacturing a controlled substance with the intent to sell. Both were fined, their shop closed down, and they were sentenced to five years in Azkaban Prison.
This is not a joke.
Romilda Vane, being a minor, was given three hundred hours of community service for her role in administering a love potion to Harry Potter without his consent.
Potter isn't a woman, he didn't have to worry about being raped, some of you might say, but his actions towards those who attempted to remove Vane from his presence were borderline dangerous. It is important to remember that men can be sexually assaulted just the same as women. Rape is about power and control — not sex. If someone is administering a controlled substance to you, they do not have your best interests in heart. Potter's only comment on the situation, "It was wrong of her to force me to fall in love with her. When I realized what had happened, I felt violated. I'm just glad it's over."
Did you know that 10% of all rape victims are male?
Did you know that only 3% of those male victims report it?
Rape is the extreme case-scenario in terms of a love potion being given without consent and it did not happen in the case of Potter and Vane, but the word needs to get out anyway. If anyone has any questions please speak to your Head of House or Madam Pomfrey.
Remember, speaking out is the first step.
Harry let out a slow breath when his friend finished reading. "That wasn't as bad as I thought. Thank you, Ginny."
Ginny smiled at them, taking a sip of orange juice. "I told you that the article was about the use of controlled substances and Pomfrey is the one who told me to add the rape statistics. It wasn't about you, Harry. I just felt if I wrote it, it would be… less about you and more about the issue at hand."
"I appreciate that," he said. "And you're a brilliant writer. The statistics were a nice touch."
"Thank you."
"I think the statistics really show how important everything is," Hermione said. "No one thinks about men being potential rape victims. Well done, Ginny."
"And what was the point of the bald Romilda picture?" Neville asked.
Ginny grinned and tapped her finger on the picture as Romilda went from bald, to the tomato hair and to half clumpy green hair and back to bald. "Read underneath."
Hermione flicked the paper and leaned forward to read it. "Romilda Vane was given a substance without her knowledge that did the above to her hair. The prank was used as a point to show her the severity of her actions. The offending party was properly punished accordingly." Hermione grinned. "Have you been properly punished, then?"
Ginny grinned. "McGonagall let me do my homework and practice my defence spells."
Harry nodded. "I just want to forget about the whole thing. But if this article helps others understand how much it sucks to not act like yourself, I'm okay with it."
Ginny squeezed his arm gently. "What time are you meeting Mandy?"
"Ten," he said with a smile. "She's great. I'm looking forward to it."
Ginny smiled warmly at him. "I'm sure that you'll have a great time. Michael and I are going to Honeydukes. Are you and Viktor going to Hogsmeade, Hermione?"
Hermione shook her head, blushing. "No, he's going to take me on the Durmstrang ship and show me around. I might even get to meet some of his professors."
"Swot," Harry said, making her laugh.
Hermione shrugged as Neville told them about his plans to grab butterbeer with Dean, Seamus, and Will. It was going to be a good day for everyone, she thought.
~ ASC ~
Sirius stepped into The Hog's Head that morning nodding at Aberforth Dumbledore who was behind the bar. He saw Fred and George Weasley sitting in a booth in the corner and he made his way over to them with a smile.
"Hello, pranksters."
Fred beamed at him. "Hi, Sirius! Thanks for meeting with us!"
Sirius nodded, sliding into the seat across from them. "Of course. What can I do for you blokes? You're not in any trouble, are you?"
Fred hesitated. "Not directly, no."
Sirius merely raised an eyebrow. "All right, that sounds rather ominous. What's going on?"
George sighed. "It's actually about Ludo Bagman."
Sirius nodded. "Not what I expected. What's going on with old Ludo?"
Fred let out a slow breath. "Sirius, do you remember how we made a bet with him at the World Cup?"
"I do. You boys won, did you not?" he asked, his eyes moving between them.
"Yes, and he paid us immediately, but he paid us in Leprechaun gold."
Sirius frowned at Fred's statement. "So, it all disappeared."
George nodded. "We thought maybe that it was an accident so, we wrote to him asking if he realized his mistake and well, he hasn't exactly been nice to us about it. Basically he told us that we were too young to be gambling anyway so, he wasn't going to pay us. So, then we asked him for our original money back, and he told us no. We tried to speak with him the few times that we've seen him at Hogwarts, but he's been avoiding us now. We, well, we know that you kind of know him…"
"How much money does he owe you boys?"
Fred hesitated. "Well, we bet on Ireland winning, but Krum catching the Snitch and the odds were twenty to one against it happening."
Sirius sighed. "So, you boys would have come out pretty well for yourselves then. I can see why he's been avoiding paying you. It's known that Bagman has more than a bit of a gambling problem. I heard it was even one of the main reasons why he ended up divorced a few years back. I can give you blokes the money he owes you and try to finagle it out of Bagman myself."
"What? Sirius, no, we don't want your money!" George protested. "We just want Bagman to pay us what he owes us!"
Fred nodded. "We're putting money aside to try to open a joke shop and I know that it's not much, but it was all that what we had saved up so far. We were hoping this would help us out."
Sirius smiled at them. "I admire the joke shop idea. In fact, I think it's absolutely brilliant and that the two of you have quite the creative genius. I'll pay you the money that Bagman owes you and I'll deal with him about the debt. I promise not to say anything to your parents."
George let out a sigh of relief. "Sirius, we appreciate this really, but we can't take money from you."
"You can and you will," he said. "The world needs a little laughter and you boys are well on your way to providing it. I told you, keep me posted on what you've come up with. Anything I can do to help you with it, I want to."
Fred nodded. "Yes, Sir."
Sirius grinned. "Trust me, you're not the only two that Bagman owes money to. There were some angry mutterings about him during the Second Task; it seems he's making bets on the champions for anyone interested."
Fred raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that illegal since he's kind of running the tournament especially with Crouch gone?"
Sirius shook his head. "Not strictly against the rules, no, but definitely not exactly in the acceptable category either. As to the money, the odds were twenty to one, you bet what forty-two Galleons, am I right?"
"Thirty-seven, but Bagman added the five for the fake wand."
He nodded, pulling out a little notebook from his pocket. "Forty-two and twenty to one odds, he should have supplied you with eight hundred and forty Galleons, when you add in the Sickles and Knuts… we'll round it up to an even eight hundred and sixty Galleons. How does that sound?"
Fred and George simply stared at him open mouthed.
George shifted nervously before he spoke. "Er, that's five Galleons more than Bagman paid us with the Leprechaun gold."
Sirius smiled at them. "We'll call it good faith money. Do you boys have your own account at Gringotts?"
"No," George said in surprise. "We just keep our money hidden in a jar in our bedroom. Sirius, we really can't accept this from you. This isn't why we called you here."
Sirius snorted. "Let's get you boys set up properly. I'll transfer your winnings into your new account and you can start saving for this joke shop of yours. I'm not taking no for an answer."
They both just nodded, wide-eyed.
He grinned at them. "Any new ideas you want to run past me?"
"Well, we did have this idea with a love potion. After what happened to Harry, we thought that it's not a good thing that people have such easy access to them so instead of a love potion, what about a romantic fantasy love potion? A few drops and you'll find yourself amidst a wonderful fantasy of your own creation with whomever you fancy," Fred explained. "It was George's idea and doesn't imply dosing anyone but yourself."
Sirius grinned. "You two really are quite the geniuses. All right, let's head to Gringotts. You boys can use Abe's Floo and meet me at The Leaky Cauldron. I think whether I am successful in getting Bagman to pay up or not, this will be a nice investment into your future. I want to be a silent partner in this venture."
George blushed. "You really think we'll be a hit?"
"If you two were selling any of these things when I was in school, James and I would have been your two biggest customers."
Fred and George simply beamed at him.
~ ASC ~
Harry saw Mandy waiting for him right away. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a low braid at her neck and she was wearing blue jeans and a black jumper. As he got closer, he noticed that she was also wearing small silver hoops in her ears.
"Hi, Mandy."
She smiled brightly at him. "Hi, Harry."
He offered her his arm and together they walked past Filch who checked off their names, scowling as usual, and headed across the bridge into Hogsmeade.
"Did you read that article this morning?" she asked him, as they stepped off the bridge.
He nodded. "Hermione read it aloud. I guess it had some good points in it."
Mandy smiled at him. "I know that you're just embarrassed and I get that, but I think the article will do a lot of good, not only in showing that what Romilda did was wrong, but in how dangerous it can be to give anyone any kind of potion without their consent."
"I agree with that," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm just glad it's over."
Mandy nodded. "Then I won't bring it up again." When he smiled, she grinned back. "Did you still want to know about Trixie?"
At his nod, she immediately launched into her story. Once Mandy got talking, she talked about everything. Harry found it a little fascinating and she made his head spin. She told him about her dogs: How Trixie got her head stuck in a pot (a crack of thunder had scared her and she ran, crashing into the cupboard, which opened, and the pot fell on her head), and all about her eldest brother Jack and his fiancée, Tazanna: How Tazanna was a sports writer, and all about how Mandy swam every morning in the pool.
"Wait — you swim? At Hogwarts? Where?"
"In the pool," Mandy said, smiling at him.
"Hogwarts doesn't have a swimming pool!"
Mandy laughed. "Yes, it does. It's a well kept secret, but the castle does have one."
Harry's eyebrow rose. "Where? How did you find out about it?" He had spent hours studying the Marauder's Map and he knew with absolute certainty that there was no swimming pool listed.
Mandy smiled. "It's just past the Hufflepuff common room and dormitories, near the kitchens. Just past the kitchens on the right, there's a portrait of a wizard blowing bubbles. It sits right in between a portrait of Merlin and that witch who invented sugar quills. You would never know it leads anywhere if you didn't know it was there. You touch the portrait and pop the bubbles; the door opens and it leads to the pool."
Harry's eyes widened. "You have to show me this later! Going for a swim some place, that is not the Black Lake, sounds amazing."
She chuckled. "Well, I can imagine that's true."
"How did you find out about it?"
"By accident. Halfway through my first year I was kind of feeling homesick so, I started exploring all of the portraits near Hufflepuff after I left Suzie and Hannah, and trying to learn who the people in the portraits were and why there was a portrait of them at Hogwarts. I just touched the bubbles out of curiosity — and voila!"
"That's brilliant," he said, grinning at her as they arrived at The Three Broomsticks.
It wasn't long before they were sipping butterbeer and Rosmerta had brought them over a menu. Harry ordered a club sandwich with chips and Mandy ordered the reuben with chips.
He told her about Zee moving in and how she had a pet panther who seemed to have decided it was her lot in life to protect him. He explained how the panther had been sleeping just next to his bed every night when he was home and how much he liked having Zee around.
Mandy smiled warmly at him. "She sounds wonderful. I couldn't imagine not having my mum around. She's the centre of our family and the absolute best. But my dad died when Mum was pregnant with me so I never even met him. He was killed in the war. Hugo and Jack are always telling me stories, but it's not the same."
He nodded. "My dads gave me memories of my parents for my birthday. It's brilliant, I can view them and learn what they are like, you know? Plus, I get to see Uncle Rem and Uncle Siri when they were young and that's always fun."
"Is it weird having someone you consider your father at Hogwarts?"
"No," Harry said simply. "He used to be my teacher before I came here so it just feels normal. And with the tournament going on this year, it's kind of nice having him so close by."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
She smiled at him. "I was just wondering, you call them both your fathers, but you call them by the name of uncle instead of dad, why?"
Harry frowned at that. "I guess it's just what I'm used to. They are my dads in every sense of the word, and they both know it, and they are uncles to me and godfathers and brothers… it's what I would have called them if my mum and dad had survived and I guess it just works for us. Is it weird that I don't call them dad?"
Mandy shook her head. "No! Not at all, I just wondered."
He nodded. "Well, now that Tonks and Zee are around, I kind of feel like I have extra parents too — well, Tonks is more like an annoying big sister really, but it's the same thing."
Mandy grinned. "That's nice. It's nice to have a family who cares about you. I'd love to meet them some time."
They talked about their friends.
Harry learned that Mandy's best friends weren't actually in Ravenclaw house, but were Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff House. She got along better with them and spent all of her time with those two girls and a great deal of time in their dorm in Hufflepuff. It wasn't that she didn't get along with the girls from her house, but she said that she really only had common ground with Padma Patil, who she considered a close friend as well.
Harry told her about how he had met Ginny, Ron, Neville, and Luna before Hogwarts as well and how happy he had been when they had all been sorted into the same house, outside of Luna. Mandy thought it was sweet that he had stayed friends with them all, especially Ginny and Luna, being that they were both a year younger. He explained about why she was important to him and Mandy just smiled.
"She's dating Michael Corner, isn't she?"
Harry nodded. "The git."
She laughed. "I've heard some stories about him myself. If she's as smart as you say she is, she'll figure it out on her own. He is very charming."
"I guess," he said, finishing his butterbeer. "I still think that he's a git."
They walked through Hogsmeade afterwards holding hands as Mandy smiled at him and he walked her back to the Ravenclaw common room.
"I don't want to say goodbye yet," he admitted. "I've really had a great time, Mandy. Talking to you has been great and I want to spend more time with you."
Mandy's face lit up. "I can't believe that Harry Potter wants to spend more time with me."
He smiled sheepishly. "I'm just Harry, Amanda."
She blushed. "I've noticed that today, too." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Why don't I show you that secret swimming pool?"
"That sounds brilliant."
"Get your swimsuit and meet me by the kitchens. There's somewhere in there where you can change."
He bent his head and kissed her softly. "Be back as quick as possible."
She smiled at him as he hurried off in the opposite direction.
Harry hurried to Gryffindor Tower. He had just put his swim trunks and a towel in a bag along with a pair of flip flop sandals that he was surprised to even find in his trunk to begin with when Ron came into the room.
"Hey, mate, how was your date?"
"Pretty great," Harry said with a grin. "I really like her."
Ron smiled at him. "Glad to hear it. Lavender and I are going for a walk by the lake, but if you wanted to join us…?"
"No, that's all right thanks, I'm going to meet Mandy again."
Ron's eyebrow rose in surprise. "You just left her. You must have had a good time. You sure didn't rush off to see Cho so quickly."
"Cho was… I actually like Mandy. She's sweet and she makes me smile and she listens."
Ron nodded. "You can tell me all about her later then. Have a good time."
Harry grinned and slapped Ron on the shoulder before he adjusted his bag and hurried out of the dorm and down the many flights of stairs. Mandy was already waiting for him near the kitchens.
"Hey, sorry I'm late, but us Gryffindors have a million stairs between us."
She smiled. "You're not late and us Ravenclaws have just as many stairs so stop complaining."
Harry grinned and took her outstretched hand as he followed her down the hall to the portrait of the wizard with the bubbles. He watched as she raised her hand up and carefully poked the three bubbles. They popped and then the portrait opened inward as the whole wall moved and they were immediately accosted with the heat of the room.
He followed her down the winding stairs that seemed to go on forever, but when they reached the bottom, it was incredible.
The pool itself covered most of the room, but it was pitted into the ground as if it had been born out of the castle. The walls were stone and rock and they looked like they had travelled under the ground. The room's ceiling was enchanted like the Great Hall and the night sky twinkled at them under the bright moon and stars; pixie lights danced along the rocks and the pool shone a deep blue. Harry noticed the pool was lit with bright blue lights that were imbedded in the edges of the pool.
"It's salt water as well, which means it's even more refreshing," she explained. "The door at the end there is a change room and a bathroom equipped with a shower. The water is always twenty-seven degrees and perfect."
He nodded, his mouth still open in amazement and when he turned and saw the waterfall that filtered into the pool, he gasped. "Whoa!"
There were two: One that had a window outside, filtering the sunlight into the cave and the other seemed to come from the cave itself.
Mandy grinned. "It's beautiful, right? I don't know who made it. But one of the seventh years said that they heard that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff built it together as a sanctuary for themselves; as a place to get away from the politics of dealing with Gryffindor and Slytherin all the time. I think that they just needed a man-free zone."
Harry chuckled. "Thanks for sharing this with me."
Mandy smiled. "Well, you can go change in there."
He nodded, turning when he saw her lift off her jumper. "You —?"
"I put it on underneath," she said with a smile.
Harry only nodded, but he couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched her undress. She wore a bright pink one piece suit underneath with a high neck and next to no back. She grinned at him and then dove seamlessly into the pool.
She brushed her hair back when she broke the surface. "Hurry up and change. The water's perfect."
Harry grinned and hurried off to do just that. He dove into the water next to her two minutes later, the warmth of the water and the room making him sigh. It really was perfect. It had been ages since he had enjoyed a good swim and training for the Second Task absolutely did not count, he thought.
She raced him around and he had to admit, she was a good swimmer. She was graceful and moved through the water as if she had been born in it. He lost every single time. He didn't care.
The third time he lost, he cornered her against the side of the pool. "I want to kiss you, Mandy."
Mandy smiled at him and bit her lip. "Okay."
He bent his head and kissed her and her arms came around his neck as they treaded water and he lost himself in the sweetness of her. He knew he was the only boy she had ever kissed and he found that he rather liked that. He softened his mouth, kissing her slowly, but quickly; soft nips and kisses that made her sigh. He kissed her cheek when he pulled away.
"You're so pretty, Mandy. Beautiful, really, and I really like you."
Her blue eyes sparked in the reflection of the pool. "I really like you, too."
"Will you go out with me again? Tomorrow?"
Mandy smiled, biting her bottom lip. "Yes."
Harry grinned and bent to kiss her again gently. "Race you to the waterfall? Loser gets to pick the date?"
"You're on! Wait — the loser?" she asked as Harry made a break for it.
She was laughing as she quickly caught up to him, kissing him softly under the waterfall when they arrived.
"Guess you have to pick the date. You lost."
Harry grinned. "Worth it."
And then they were kissing again and he thought that this was something he could get used to.
~ ASC ~
While Harry was enjoying his first date with Mandy, the knock on the front door of Black Cottage that Saturday afternoon startled Zee from her reading. She was deep into her book and had rather lost track of time. It was the third in a series of an English nurse who had travelled through time and had fallen in love with a Scottish highlander. Sirius had sent a Patronus saying that he was running late at the Ministry and she realized when she glanced up at the clock that he wasn't the only one.
Zee hopped to her feet, patting Lady Godiva on the head to urge her to stay where she was, and ordered Marauder to do the same. She tugged open the door and smiled warmly at the beautiful, lanky blonde woman who stood there with two babies in her arms
"Hello."
The blonde smiled brightly. "Zee! So lovely to see you again! We met once years ago, I'm Thea, a friend of Sirius."
She extended her hand and Zee shook it. "Yes, I remember you."
"Did Sirius not tell you that we were coming?"
Zee smiled. "He did. I'm afraid that I lost track of time, and he's running a bit late himself. Please, do come in."
Althea smiled and stepped inside. "My husband should be here in a moment as well. He was trying to reel in our three eldest terrors."
"No problem. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"If you have anything cold actually that would be wonderful!"
Zee nodded, inviting her inside. "Of course! I made fresh pink lemonade this morning."
"That sounds perfect," Althea said with a smile.
It was only a minute later when a second knock sounded on the door and Althea moved to let her husband in.
"Sorry I'm late, love; these three hellions decided to make a break for it!"
The hellions in question were each holding onto their father's hands, one on his waist, eyes wide as they were greeted by an intrigued Marauder.
The man smiled warmly at Zee. "Hi, I don't believe that we've met, I'm Xander Papakonstantinou, Thea's husband."
"Hi, please come in, I'm Zee Zacarias," she said urging him inside.
Xander smiled and motioned to the two boys. "This is Niko, and this is Nilo. They're four years old, and this is Phoenix he's two, and sorry to say, all little hellions."
Althea chuckled. "And then some!" She passed one of the babies to her husband with a smile. "This is Basil Kai, one of the twins and this is Bryony Iliana, our first baby girl, and twin brother to Basil. They're just shy of eight months old. And they were a surprise — we thought there was only one baby in there."
"They're beautiful," Zee said honestly, smiling at the happy little family.
She knew who Althea was in passing as Sirius talked about her and her family from time to time. She was a healer, Harry's first healer in fact, and she and Sirius had dated once upon a time. Seeing how beautiful she was, blonde and lanky, made her feel a little twinge of jealousy that surprised her. She had no reason to be jealous and she knew that. But this woman was gorgeous. She pushed it down and smiled brightly.
"Why don't we settle outside in the gazebo?" Zee suggested, attempting to get her bearings. It was the end of March and the weather had turned surprisingly warm over the last few days. "It's kind of warm out today and the boys might like to play in Harry's treehouse?"
Niko, Nilo, and Phoenix's eyes lit up at the words treehouse and she grinned at them.
Two minutes later, Zee had ushered them outside to sit in the gazebo. She did a quick charm on the treehouse to keep the kids out of the cabin and out of Harry's private things, but gave them a free rein on the treehouse itself. The boys were ecstatic and immediately made a beeline for the tire swing.
"That thing is a lifesaver! I still can't believe that Sirius designed that himself," Thea said with a smile. "I remember when he was building it. He was so proud. Xander, you should get his help designing one for our little demons."
He looked thoughtful as he stared out at the treehouse, cradling his baby daughter on his shoulder. "Maybe I will."
Zee served fresh pink lemonade and some fruit and crackers and cheese, smiling in surprise when Thea passed her Basil.
"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Zee! I feel like I know you already, Sirius talks about you so much. His letters are always so full of you and Harry. You know, I knew that he liked you before he knew it. That day we met here, he had just spent part of the morning ranting to me about this woman next door with a pet panther and then after you left I mentioned that he hadn't said that you were a pretty brunette and he told me that your hair wasn't brown as it had gold in it, and a few other things. He was quite taken with you right from the beginning."
"I was quite taken with him myself," Zee admitted with a smile. "And a little heartbroken when I thought the sexy bloke with the motorbikes was married."
Althea grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment." She kissed the top of Phoenix's head when he climbed into her lap. "You're good for him and for Harry. Anyone can see that. Sirius and I... we made much better friends than anything else and it never would have worked out between us even if I hadn't left to go to Sri Lanka. It was too soon after everything, and I had my own ambitions and my own desires to get married and to have kids and his only concern was Harry, which it should have been. He had just been released from prison. A relationship of any kind of outside of Harry wasn't even remotely on the horizon for him. It was a fling that turned into a friendship I treasure."
Zee nodded. She was glad to hear it, but it still unnerved her a bit to meet someone who had slept with her man once upon a time. She quashed the little slice of jealousy that rose up. This woman was happily married, and quite obviously madly in love with her husband, and she knew with absolute certainty that Sirius was hers, but the little bit of jealousy still surprised her.
"Xander, the boys?"
Xander nodded and stood up, passing Bryony to his wife. "Excuse me," he said, hurrying across the lawn to deal with the twins who were wrestling on the rotating tire swing.
"Hellions, like I said," Althea told her with a smile.
Zee nodded. "Doesn't make them less adorable. I can see that you love them and Xander. Sirius said that you more or less fooled around for a few weeks and then you took off to Sri Lanka and you became pen pals."
"That pretty much sums it up," she said with a laugh, taking Basil back from Zee when he began to fuss. Phoenix made a beeline for his fathers and brothers, toddling on his feet still. She watched Xander push the kids on the swing in the garden for a moment. "It was great sex, I will say that, and I can say with equal measure that being with Xander is everything that I ever wanted and more. He's my someone just like I know that you are Sirius' someone. I'm glad that he finally got off his high horse and asked you to move in. He needs you. More than I think he realizes."
"I like you," Zee said making her chuckle just as Sirius came out into the garden. He was still dressed in his Wizengamot apparel, but he moved in quickly, tugging Zee to her feet and kissing her, passionately.
"Why hello to you too," she said in surprise when he pulled away.
He grinned. "Anything Thea tells you about me is a complete lie."
Althea smirked at him. "Get your beautiful smart arse over here."
Sirius grinned and moved over to kiss her chastely on the lips before he scooped up Basil seamlessly. "Hello, Thea. Motherhood becomes you. Hello, little tyke."
The baby merely stared up at him, eyes wide.
"Thank you," Althea said with a smile. "You look happy yourself. I like this woman, Sirius. You make sure that you tell her how much you appreciate her every day."
He grinned wickedly. "I show her fairly often," he said, smirking back at Zee.
Zee laughed. "When are Remus and Tonks coming over?"
"Rem was just waiting for Tonks to get home and change. I'm going to run up and do that myself. Um, Thea, some of what Rem and I have to discuss is of a rather sensitive nature —"
"— Don't worry, I'm bringing the kids to my parents before we have dinner. I just wanted you to see them and to meet my newest two surprises."
"I'm glad that you finally got your baby girl, even though you got two for the price of one."
"Me too," she said with a smile. "And I'm hoping this one is a girl too," she added, placing a hand over her stomach.
Sirius' eyes widened. "Does the man never let you sleep, woman?"
Xander came up behind Sirius and grinned widely. "Other way around, Black. The woman is insatiable."
"This will be the last one, though, I swear it this time."
Xander grinned. "I'm getting myself fixed. Six children is plenty and we're very happy — and this time, we know that there's only one baby in there!"
"But this one will be a girl too," she said with a smile.
Xander grinned back at her, bending to kiss her softly. "Boy."
Althea scowled. "Shush!" She tugged her husband back down for a kiss before she smiled at Zee. "Basil was hiding behind his sister and Xander and I didn't even know he was there until I was already eight months pregnant. But he was a lovely surprise."
Niko and Nilo came running inside and Althea and Xander quickly sat them around the table to supply them with snacks as Sirius hurried into the house to change. By the time he came out, the happy family was eating snacks as Lady Godiva lay by the door of the gazebo, her eyes on the children, suspiciously. Marauder was happily letting the boys climb all over him.
Althea and Xander left an hour later to bring the three oldest boys to her parents' house before they all sat down to dinner. They returned twenty minutes later, looking much less stressed.
"We love them, but dropping them off sometimes is such a relief!" Althea admitted, with a smile. "But Bryony and Basil have to stay with us, I'm afraid. They're both still a bit needy."
Sirius grinned. "They're welcome. I just didn't want your boys to hear something that they shouldn't have."
"And I appreciate that," Althea said with a smile.
Remus and Tonks arrived a few minutes later and soon the six of them were situated in the kitchen as Sirius and Zee set the table. Zee served beef Wellington with garlic mashed potatoes and oven baked asparagus with garlic, olive oil, and black pepper. Zee tossed a fresh spinach, cranberry, and sunflower seed salad together and opened three bottles of Doppio Passo Botter Primitivo Salento red wine from Puglia before they all sat down to eat; Althea was still drinking pink lemonade.
Althea and Xander filled them in on life in Greece; their jobs and their growing family. Sirius told them about when he had last seen Apollo, who he was still fairly good friends with, when he had come to town last and discussed Apollo's growing family as he was now the proud father of three daughters: Daphne, Circe, and their two month old daughter, Cassie. Sirius and Zee told them about Harry and the TriWizard Tournament as Remus and Tonks explained how well he had done in the first two tasks.
It wasn't long after this that Sirius had steered the conversation to Xander's last letter.
"Are you finally going to tell me who the unlucky person is?" Xander asked, leaning back in his chair.
Sirius nodded, his eyes solemn as Zee took his hand in hers and squeezed. "It's Harry."
Althea nodded. "I told Xander that I suspected as much. I thought the original scans looked familiar."
"I didn't want to say that it was Harry until I knew for sure that there was even a slim chance that you could examine the magic with the intent to remove it."
"So, it's trapped in his scar then?" Xander asked.
Remus nodded. "It is."
"I'm going to assume that it happened the night He Who Must Not Be Named attacked him as a baby?" When Remus and Sirius nodded, Xander sighed. "He's been living with it for almost fourteen years and there's been no sign of it affecting him?"
Sirius hesitated. "Yes, and no. He's had it affect him slightly. Twinges and pain in the scar that he told me feels like someone is putting a hot wire to his forehead."
"He said it burns into his skull, but then the pain is gone as if it had never been," Remus explained. "And he had a dream about Voldemort that we think might have actually happened, like he connected to the mind of the dark wizard who gave him the scar."
Xander frowned at that. "That is something else entirely."
Remus nodded. "Xander, Thea, we know that the two of you have a home and a life in Greece and that it is definitely safer there for you both to stay. A war is coming here and we are determined to fight and to win."
"But we need your help," Sirius said honestly.
Xander took his wife's hand, helping her situate their daughter at her breast to feed as he held his son, before he spoke. "If you're asking me to help fight in the upcoming war, I can't. As much as I want to help, my life is in Greece and my family needs me. But, if you're asking for my help in other ways, in a way that I can help from my home in Greece, I'm yours to command."
Sirius smiled at him. "That means more than you can possibly know, Xander."
"We are working on a way to kill Voldemort," Remus said. "But it's top secret so —"
"— You need us to swear in," Althea said with a smile. "Whatever you need. Xander and I will be glad to help in any way that we can."
Sirius smiled gratefully at her, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. "Thank you."
Xander crossed his feet at the ankles, his hand resting on his wife's knee. "What do you need for us to do?"
Sirius smiled at him and he and Remus each passed over a sheet of parchment to Xander and Althea that read: 'Operation FUVP, Mission Report' and 'Operation FUVP, History Report.' They both read it and burned the parchment and then Sirius whispered the location into their ears.
Five minutes later, the six of them were sitting in the study in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Sirius had conjured armchairs for everyone to sit comfortably. Althea had put the twins down for a nap in the living room, the door open so that they could see them from across the hall, as Zee brought over the dessert that she had made: Brown sugar rum cannolis and tea. Xander and Althea both read the information on the blackboard covering the walls with their brows furrowed.
Althea's eyes were wide, taking in how old Voldemort was when he had committed his first murder; his first crimes.
"Merlin's beard, this is more than I expected. How long have you been accumulating this?"
"Almost three years," Zee told her. "It hasn't been easy, but I feel like we've done fairly well."
Remus moved over to the board, tapping each date as he went over the information with them.
31st March 1926: Merope Gaunt marries Tom Riddle (love potion?).
31st December 1926: Tom Marvolo Riddle born; Merope Gaunt dies in childbirth, Riddle left in orphanage.
September 1928: Morfin Gaunt returns home from Azkaban, sister and father both dead.
1936: A pet rabbit is strangled in the orphanage, matron believes it was Riddle.
1937: Riddle terrorizes Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop in a seaside cave.
August 1938: Dumbledore meets Riddle, tells him that he will be coming to Hogwarts; Riddle reveals he can speak to snakes; Riddle gets his wand from Ollivanders, a feather from Fawkes (Dumbledore's phoenix).
September 1939: Riddle learns about the Chamber of Secrets.
July 1942: Riddle murders his father and grandparents.
August 1942: Morfin Gaunt accused of Riddle murders.
September 1942: Riddle turns Marvolo's ring into Horcrux Number One.
May 1943: Riddle asks Slughorn about creating multiple Horcruxes.
13th June 1943: Riddle learns how to open the Chamber of Secrets and releases the Basilisk, killing Myrtle Warren, and framing Rubeus Hagrid, who is expelled.
September 1943: Riddle turns diary into Horcrux Number Two.
1944: School mates refer to Riddle as Lord Voldemort and his followers are known as the Knights of Walpurgis.
June 1945: Riddle asks Dippet for a job at Hogwats, denied; Riddle begins work at Borgin and Burkes.
1957: Riddle kills Hepzibah Smith (who collected the Locket of Salazar Slytherin and the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff), framing her house elf Hokey for her murder. Turns cup into Horcrux Number Three (death unknown). Turns locket into Horcrux Number Four by murdering a Muggle tramp. Riddle disappears.
1957-1967: Believed to have created Horcrux Number Five sometime in this time period (still TBD).
1967: Voldemort returns to Hogwarts and asks Dumbledore for a teaching job; denied.
1970s: Voldemort rises to power and his knights becomes known as Death Eaters along with his growing army.
1975: Minister Eugenia Jenkins forced out of office because of rising threat of Voldemort; Dumbledore asked to be Minister of Magic, declines offer, Harold Minchum steps up.
1977: Dumbledore starts the Order of the Phoenix.
1979: Kreacher and Voldemort hide the locket in the seaside cave. Regulus Black goes back with Kreacher, switches out the lockets, and dies. Peter Pettigrew starts passing information to Voldemort.
December 1979: Severus Snape overhears the prophecy and tells Voldemort.
31st July, 1980: Harry James Potter born.
1981: Learn of a spy within the Order of the Phoenix. The Potters go into hiding.
28th September 1981: The Potters use the Fidelius Charm.
31st October 1981: Murder of James and Lily Potter, Voldemort defeated & accidental Horcrux Number Six made.
1st November 1981: "Death" of Pettigrew and Sirius Black sent to Azkaban.
1990: Quirinus Quirrell takes a year off to study the dark arts, comes across Voldemort in Albania and returns to England with Voldemort in his possession.
31st July 1991: Voldemort fails to obtain the Philosopher's Stone and possesses Quirrell.
May 1992: Voldemort drinks unicorn blood to sustain himself.
June 1992: Harry defeats Quirrell and Voldemort is expelled from the dead man.
September 1992: Ginny Weasley possessed by the diary (Horcrux Number Two).
October 1992: The Chamber of Secrets is opened again.
29th May 1993: Harry destroys the diary Horcrux with Basilisk venom.
February 1994: Kata Novak kidnapped; her unborn child possessed by Voldemort.
July 1994: Bertha Jorkins is murdered by Voldemort.
August 1994: Harry dreams about Voldemort and Woodrow Selwyn; Death Eaters cause violent riots at the World Cup; learn Thaddeus Nott is also a Death Eater.
December 1994: Bartemius Crouch found murdered and tortured; believed to be done by Barty Crouch Jr; Dumbledore decides to recruit for the Order of the Phoenix again.
"This is all that we know so far pertaining to where he's at. He's working on returning, of that we know. If we can find and destroy all of the pieces of his soul before that, we have a shot at actually getting rid of him," Remus said, carefully. "But we need to keep Harry safe to do that and he won't stay safe if a piece of that mad man's soul is trapped inside of his scar."
Xander nodded and tapped the hit list with his finger, his lips moving silently as he read the board.
HORCRUXES:
➾ Invented by Herpo the Foul (also credited with creating the Basilisk)
1. Murder (unnecessary aka not in self-defence or to protect another).
2. Choose an object for the Horcrux, bathe object in blood of a dead Virgin.
3. Turn wand upon self, slice across heart, draw soul energy from the heart to wand top.
4. Move soul piece into chosen object to hold Horcrux.
5. Seal inside of intestines of living child until child's death, seals the Horcrux.
➾ 3 lives needed to create 1 Horcrux:
1. The unnecessary murder of someone.
2. The death of a virgin.
3. The death of a child.
FUVP HIT LIST:
1. SIGNET RING OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN (found on Gaunt abandoned property) ✓
2. DIARY OF TOM RIDDLE (found in Chamber of Secrets through vault of Abraxas Malfoy) ✓
3. CUP OF HELGA HUFFLEPUFF (found in vault of Bellatrix Lestrange) ✓
4. LOCKET OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN (found in seaside cave) ✓
5. UNKNOWN OBJECT
6. ACCIDENTAL
7. VOLDEMORT
He let out a slow breath. "You think that it's a Horcrux inside of his scar?"
Zee nodded. "An unintentional one. He planned to use Harry's death as a gateway to making another Horcrux, but something went wrong and we believe that his soul piece was blown back into Harry. It's not the same as the others, but we don't know if that makes it less or more dangerous than the planned Horcruxes either."
Xander nodded, his eyes moving back over the process of making a Horcrux.
"He did it by accident that much we're sure of," Tonks told him.
Xander nodded again and moved to sit on the arm of his wife's chair. "I do believe that given my findings on the dark magic residing inside of Harry's scar, the process would be similar. I did theorize that it seemed to be a living entity within his scar with its own personality and magical counterparts, which makes more sense now that I know its a soul piece. Though albeit very small one."
Althea tapped her fingers on the table as she spoke. "If creating one Horcrux implies slicing your soul in half, that means that by the time he made it to Harry, his soul was already desecrated way beyond repair. Half for the ring, which meant by the time he created the diary, half of his already half of a soul went into the diary, then the same for the cup, for the locket, and so on. Ultimately the broken upon broken fragment of that soul is what resides within Harry. The idea is the remains of his soul are taken as a full soul when it's split each time, making it more and more unstable with each Horcrux. I'm not saying that it won't be powerful, because it will be, but in comparison to the diary for instance, its strength would be quite diminished."
"Agreed," Zee told her. "But the part that we're most concerned about is how the Horcruxes fight back. If Xander goes in to remove it, is it possible for him to do so without injuring the Horcrux to prevent it from lashing out and creating an implosion dangerous for both Harry and Xander?"
Xander let out a slow breath. "I think it is. The method I was leaning towards using is a tricky one. It implies using a mix between a stunning charm, a numbing charm, a suction charm, and a shield charm and that's not even including the potions. I want to do everything possible to protect Harry and to protect his mind from any backlash that this Horcrux may put on him. I would essentially be unstitching the darkness from his brain one stitch at a time. At the same time, I don't know how well it will work. We might not be able to keep him under if the Horcrux fights back — he might wake up."
Remus let out a sigh of relief. "But you do think it's possible?"
"I do," Xander told them. "I would need help to perform it. Not the healing surgery itself, I have two assistant healers I would trust with that, but to help keep him calm and to hold him in place. You've said it already, that Harry is a powerful wizard, which means that he might be fighting me just as much as the soul piece is. He's going to need the four of you to be there for him."
"That won't be a problem," Zee said in determination. "But these healing assistants? Are they necessary?"
"Yes," Xander said. "I will need experienced assistants in there with me. That's not up for discussion."
Sirius nodded. "We'll figure out how to get around them. I don't want word of this getting out."
"I understand," Xander told him. "I will vet them myself and you can talk to them beforehand as well. We'll make sure everything is taken care of."
"You said that there was a twenty-five percent chance of serious risks involved?" Tonks asked, her eyes on Xander. "What kind of risks are we talking about?"
"The obvious ones," Xander said, sipping his tea. "Any time that we're dealing with neuro-healing, there's risk. I am planning to go into the brain, to work closely with the organ that makes Harry the wizard that he is. The brain controls almost everything. Therefore there's a risk of speech problems, memory loss, muscle weakness, a loss of balance or vision, and a loss of coordination. Now if any of the above does happen, it's not something to alarm ourselves with. Often these are short term risks that can easily be rectified; however there's also a small risk that they can be permanent. There's also a risk of blood clots in the brain, which can lead to bleeding in the brain or there can be seizures, a stroke, an infection that could turn deadly or cause swelling in the brain or he could fall into a coma. All of which again, could potentially be reversed, but could also be irreparable. If any of the above does happen, it could cause an influx in his magic: Unbalancing his power, weakening his power, or worse removing his magical ability all together."
Sirius swallowed. "He could be a Squib."
"More powerful than a Squib, but yes — his magic levels would be almost nonexistent. I doubt that he could summon enough magic to light the end of his wand. Again, this could be a simple fix, but it could also be permanent and potentially deadly. If the Horcrux shifts while I'm removing it, which I will be doing one thread at a time, and it affects any of his brain stems, Harry could fall into a permanent, vegetative state where he would ultimately die."
Remus swore and closed his eyes as Tonks took his hand in hers. "There's a twenty-five percent chance of any of that happening?"
Xander nodded. "Yes. But there's a seventy-five percent chance that it all could be just fine as well."
"He's going to want to do it, no matter what the risks are," Tonks said, quietly. "We all know what he's like. He's going to insist on it, claiming that it's unsafe for us to be around him while he has this inside of him; that if he doesn't get it done, it's dangerous for us."
"It's not dangerous for us!" Zee exclaimed. "Having that thing inside of him does not change who he is! It doesn't alter him in any way and he could live out his life with that inside of him!"
"No," Sirius said, quietly. "He couldn't; because as long as that thing resides in his scar, Voldemort can never die, and as long as he can never die, Harry will claim that his life isn't worth it."
"But it is!" Zee said, furiously, tears in her eyes. "He's only a boy with a full life ahead of him and he can't —" she wiped at her tears as Sirius put an arm around her.
"You know we're right, babe."
She nodded, laying her head against Sirius' shoulder. "That makes it worse."
They all sat quietly for a long moment until the sound of the twins crying interrupted them. Althea jumped to her feet to head into the living room off the study to deal with the twins as Xander spoke.
"It's a big decision. I know it and so do you. It sounds like you all know that Harry is going to want to do it. It's the end of March, I suggest that we let him finish out the school year and the tournament. I will set everything up at the hospital in Athens for the beginning of July. If you decide to go through with it, we'll be ready."
Sirius nodded and let out a slow breath. "We'll have to talk to him about it first. He's going to be furious that we lied to him."
Remus stared at his friend. "After the Third Task? The last thing we need is for him to be worried about this on top of the tournament."
Sirius swallowed slowly, his eyes meeting Zee's as he clenched her hands in his own. "After the Third Task."
End Author's Notes:
Helpful reminder on Althea and Xander Papakonstantinou:
1. Niko Alexander Papakonstantinou (turned 4 in February)
2. Nilo Alexander Papakonstantinou (turned 4 in February)
3. Phoenix Nikolas Papakonstantinou (turns 3 in April)
4. Basil Kai Papakonstantinou (8 months)
5. Bryony Iliana (8 months)
6. Baby is due in September of 1995
For anyone else who is an avid reader and may be interested, a few of my favourites (meaning I have read them more than once) outside of Harry Potter and Outlander are:
The Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Cotton Malone series by Steve Berry
The In Death series by JD Robb
The Chesapeake Bay Quartet by Nora Roberts (I cry every damn time)
The Wings in the Night series by Maggie Shayne
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paulina Simmons.
All wonderful works of fiction, some romance, some fantasy, some historical conspiracy, some mystery — I read a bit of everything and I haven't been posting as much this year due to my writing and therefore lack of reading, but feel free to follow my instagram brie_reads or the same on Goodreads, if you are a bookworm like me and want some recommendations.
Thanks for reading and please review!