Hey everyone,
WOW! IT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN! The chapter we have been waiting for since we first read about the ever so mysterious file is about to come up and I cannot tell you how absolutely excited I am over this chapter as – while I know people like us shouldn't have these – do I have to admit that this is my absolute favorite.
Also, I will have to play onto the rule of this all being fanfiction, because of one very important thing; Alice, Frank, Molly, Emily, David & Narcissa will all arrive at Hogwarts at the same time, which should be considered impossible, seeing as how David and Emily are traveling to the north by the car – but this is fanfiction.
So – yeah, while this group of characters may be traveling by various, different means – Molly and Alice by floo, Narcissa by House Elf and Emily by car – will they be the first to meet each other before they meet with the readers and this will mean that the start of the chapter – might get confusing due to change of POV's.
Sorry about that,
Venquine1990
Chapter 15
Reading And Reuniting
Alice's POV
It barely took me any effort to convince the Healers ordered to care for me and my reawakened husband to let us go and reunite with our son, yet neither of us actually spoke of what, I knew just by looking him in the eye, we both have remembered on the same time that our state of physical paralysis became undone.
No, just because we both saw Harry look way more like James than he should – and even more because he suddenly had Lily's eyes when he's supposed to have his father's eyes – did we know that more has happened to the world since before and after the attack on our psyche than anyone might currently even know.
Still, while I am traveling through the floo system to the office of the Headmaster, having been told by the Healer that, thankfully, Dumbledore is still in charge of the school before we left, do I still silently and sincerely hope that I won't be met by too many shocked and confused and unknown people when I arrive at my destination.
Yet to my shock and relief, am I not the only one to arrive there as, the minute I roll out of the floo, does a very familiar woman with blonde hair and sharp features arrive by House Elf, her eyes wide when she sees me and, just after my husband got out of the floo, does a smaller, plumb looking red-haired woman arrive as well.
The both of them are shocked like no other to see me and my husband, probably because of how we are supposed to resemble plants in our beds and room right now, yet while I hate how their shock proves just how long we have been left incapable, do I decide not to let their shock stall either them or us as I ask:
"You had visions of kids you believed you didn't have as well? Stolen by someone who used magic to hide their identity?" The two of them nod and then I share another look with my husband and I say: "We did too. Ours helped us recover our mental states. However, there is more to all this than you both know, even now."
The two women, of who I know their husbands have been rivals since their own school days, share a look and then Frank shows that he is not just a Hufflepuff, but also has the Gryffindor Strength of Heart that drew me to him so many years ago as he bluntly tells them both the truth: "Harry – is not who you think he is."
The two of them look at him and I say: "Well, he is, only his parents aren't who you think they are. The kidnapper didn't change our memories like he obviously did yours, because he relied on the state Bellatrix and the others put us in to keep us from revealing the truth." Yet while this shocks the others, do I also get shocked.
"It's not just them, my dear. Everyone in magical England has been affected by this spell." The very first Headmaster to ever rule over Hogwarts then tells me from inside his portrait and this draws all of our attention to him as he says: "Some bastard stole a sliver of my portrait and used it to use Hogwarts' ancient magic.
Thanks to that did he manage to not just enchant the entire kingdom, but also use the power of the ever existing wards to keep the spell going. I am just surprised that the Time Sand that has sent those kids back from 1998 to here was strong enough to actually break through such powerful magic, though I do believe I attributed to that."
"You did? How?" Molly then asks, but then we get another shock as the door to the Headmaster's door opens and while a beautiful snow owl flies in, does she get followed by two people whose very cloths prove me that they are Muggles, yet the look in their eyes also proves me that they are fighting the Muggle repellent charms.
"Muggles able to enter Hogwarts thanks to the bond between them, their daughter and their daughter's friend's pet? These events are becoming more and more amazing by the second." The headmaster then says and then I get told why these two are here as the woman looks from him to my companions and husband before she says:
"I am Emily and this is David. We are the parents of Hermione, but – well, we just got attacked by magic and –." And then Narcissa asks: "You remembered a child you didn't know you had, am I right? It seems to be the whole reason all of us have arrived here." And while shocked, do the new parents nod in agreement.
Then Narcissa turns to me and asks: "So what did you and Frank mean when you said that Potter's parents aren't who we think they are?" To which I sigh and say: "Harry has been charmed to look like James and Lily and, well, while James is definitely one of his parent – Lily is not." This shocks the others and Molly asks:
"Who is?" And Frank's answer unleashes something I really couldn't have expected, though I really should have. "The Veela, Sirius." And while there is a hint of confusion on the faces of the Muggles, do their jaws drop, while Narcissa's eyes widen beyond belief, yet it is Molly's response that really makes me worry.
"Sirius? Wait, no, you – you – you can't – YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY MEAN THAT MURDERER!" And while Frank almost falls down in shock, can I only look at the woman with great worry in my eyes as I can only think a single thought: "How much damage did that stranger cause to our unity over the years?"
Lucius' POV
"This is definitely something Narcissa would never do unless it has a great urgent need behind it. I can only hope that those upstarts from the future haven't done anything with Draco." Goes through my mind as I quickly converse with the diplomats I am supposed to be meeting with, with an anxious House Elf waiting at my heels.
Still, for some reason can I not keep up the belief that these nine kids – near adults would be the better term seeing they were apparently Draco's age, just older or a few years younger than him, and from only 5 years into the future – would do anything to hurt my Dragon, yet I am not above using this excuse to leave the meeting.
The diplomats, to my luck all parents themselves, understand my dire need and agree to postpone the meeting before the House Elf and I leave for a different room where it takes me to my new destination – which is apparently the office of Headmaster Dumbledore where my wife is, shockingly enough, surrounded by unexpected others.
Two of them, I can tell just by barely a glance, are Muggles and are only here because Potter's owl is somehow magical enough to help them breach through the Muggle Repellent Wards. The other is that banshee wife of my rival since youth, Arthur Weasley. Yet the sight of Frank and Alice Longbottom – astounds me.
The two of them seem just as surprised to see some of their fellow office residents, yet it's also easy to see that they just dropped some kind of bombshell of information that apparently didn't sit well with the red-haired mother of too many kids as she has a face that is almost redder than her hair and a look of pure furious disbelief on her.
"You cannot seriously be talking about the same person, ARE YOU?" The woman asks, completely obvious of my arrival and I send a quick, questioning look at my wife, the bond we have grown to share allowing me easy access to part of her mind, where she tells me: "Frank just said that Potter – is Black's son."
And that bit of news is enough to even shock me enough I drop my cane, the sound finally making Molly – the banshee – Weasley acknowledge my presence, yet before she can ask, does something amazing happen. "You know, that does make a lot of what happened these last few days make a lot more sense than before."
We all look at where the voice is coming from; the first Headmaster to have ever ruled over Hogwarts after the departure of Salazar Slytherin and the deaths of the other founders. "What on Earth do you mean? How does such a statement make sense?" Molly then raves and the man cringes as he says: "Right, I forgot the public doesn't know."
"Know what?" The Muggle female asks and while I can't deny that her looks are slightly attractive for a Muggle, do I also feel a hint of repulsion for sharing the same room and confusion as her before the man says: "Well – the books revealed that Black – is not a murderer. He got framed and he's actually seeking evidence to prove this."
This shocks even me as I had always been sure that Black had used his own heritage to hide his true nature – as Blacks often loved doing – and so I had easily believed that Black was the spy the Order had been so anxious to find during the last few years of the war after he had been ousted, arrested and sent to Azkaban.
"He – he's not?" Molly and Narcissa ask, their voices different in tones and emotion, yet their words sounding in perfect sync and the man goes on: "No, he's even been in on the readings since yesterday. Also, he's been diagnosed by Poppy and she discovered that his Veela side is worst affected by this worldwide spell.
So for him to be James' Veela mate and for him to have forgotten this – yes, I can see how that can be used to weaken us. If Sirius doesn't remember just how deeply he felt for James, yet his Veela still cared for and grieved for his lost mate –." And while the man stops there, do I feel no more words are needed as I think:
"It would slowly break his mental and emotional stability and because he is Potter's parent/godfather, would this indirectly break Potter as well, giving the Dark Lord a much easier chance of beating the brat and taking over." And while this worries me, do I then get the shock of a lifetime as Narcissa approaches me.
Just the look in her eyes as she lies her hand on my upper arm makes me worry, yet not for Draco as I usually do before she says: "Lucius, I know the House Elf didn't tell you much, but the spell that the Headmaster is talking about has weakened around me. Lucius, we – we have more than a son. We have a daughter too."
This shocks me to the core, yet also makes me think: "So that's why. I always felt extremely protective of Draco, because my emotions never felt fulfilled. But they never felt fulfilled, because – while my mind forgot, this caster didn't make for my heart to forget as well, so I instinctively worried for Draco in my care for him.
It all makes sense. I didn't want any harm to come to Draco and made him live the pampered life of a spoiled prince – because I feared anything else could make me lose him like I lost all memories of my actual daughter. But – but who –." And then I ask the most important question of the last twelve years: "Who is she?"
Molly's POV
"This is all just – just so surreal. That there is actually a spell relying on the ancient magic of Hogwarts to wipe our memories of our stolen kids and make us believe that Harry is the child of Lily and James, when his actual parent is someone we have believed a right bastard and a murderer for more than a decade.
And – and Malfoy. He – he looks so devastated and confused. But – but why did he look as if things suddenly made sense before? Was there something about his past, before he heard of this, that confused him? And why do I care? I just want to let Harry know that he has been living alongside my daughter for years."
Yet while I think this, can I not agree with the question that Lucius asks and while I have no doubt that his girl might be one of the kids I saw Harry and my daughter grow up with, do I take a deep breath and say: "I know this might be hard to believe, but I might have at least a bit of a clue." Making the Malfoy Lord turn to me.
A flash of annoyance and disgust definitely flashes over his face for a single moment and while I have no doubt this is because of the rivalry between him and my husband, do I not allow for my own annoyance with him to spring up because of this as, instead of this, do I look at the other arrivals around me and ask:
"Let me see if I get this straight, we all had a vision where we saw one of our kids – who we had actually forgotten about – get kidnapped and then left in a Muggle neighborhood, am I right?" And while Malfoy whitens at the idea of his daughter having been raised a Muggle, do all the others nod and I continue:
"And we all awoke from this vision when we saw a group of kids joining said child of ours, alongside a very familiar face, am I correct?" And while this again shocks and – dare I say it – worries the Malfoy Lord, do his wife, Alice, Frank and the Muggles nod before I tell them: "Then we all know what to do."
And while the Malfoy Lord looks cross with this, obviously not entirely in the know, does Alice say: "We have to let Harry know, make sure he gets told of his true parentage and then see if the Time Sand Travelers are indeed our own kids from the future. The only question is, if they are – what will we do with their present selves?"
Yet while this shocks and astounds the others, do I snap at them: "Change their names and take them in, of course! They're our kids! They're as much our kidnapped babies as their future selves! We can't abandon them with those – those – WHAT ARE YOU EVEN THINKING ASKING THAT QUESTION, ALICE?"
I can't help but scream in the end and while the woman looks ashamed with herself, does a single look at Lord and Lady Malfoy make me know one thing. Lord Malfoy may have had a feud with my husband since the late sixties, at the current moment he, I, soon my husband and his wife will all be sharing a common goal; Our kidnapped babies.
David's POV
"That woman has some voice. And definitely her heart in the right place, too." I can't help but think as I listen to everything that happens around me, grasping the feather that Hedwig the owl shed before she helped us pass what still feels like some sort of barrier of magic, while I also hold a flower from the grounds in the same hand.
This combination had apparently allowed me to pass through wards that, I'm guessing, would have usually made me turn around and do other things and while I am amazed that my daughter's best friend has a pet whose body possesses this much magic even after shedding her feathers, do I not let it distract me.
Just like I didn't let that strange woman, who had long black hair, a nose that grew slightly over her upper lip and brownish black eyes that looked tearful with exhilarated determination, distract me as she dashed out of the courtyard that I entered before entering the office I am currently sharing with all these other people.
There is no doubt just looking at these other five that there is definitely a difference between the world I have lived in and the one they have grown up in, if only shown by their outfits, yet the fact that our lost – hopefully soon to be reunited – kids unites us makes me finally decide to be the one to take action regarding the next step.
I share a look with my wife and then say: "Okay, so we all agree on this?" The others nod, the newly arrived blonde apparently having some issues talking with me, yet I ignore this and say: "Good. Well, Emily and I know the Muggle world best, so – you guys go relay the truth here, we will go fetch our – present-time kids? I think?"
I end with hesitation, the whole time-travel thing being way over my head even if Hermione had actually written us about it the day after her first week of classes and the others nod before the blonde woman asks: "And you – you think you can bring them here?" To which I nod and my wife takes over as she says:
"They are magical like you. As long as David and I keep hold of Hedwig's feather and the flower she picked for us from the grounds, we can brace the wards, which will not be the case for the kids as their magic will make the wards unnecessary. Just give us a few hours, we – well, I still don't get how we got here so quickly from London."
The others nod, their eyes shocked but aimed at Hedwig and while I have no doubt that the owl might have something to do with it as we suddenly lost what we thought would be a terrible case of a rush hour traffic jam and got on a road near the mountains of Hogwarts the next minute and the owl rushes back through the opened door.
I look at the other parents and Emily says: "Tell Hermione of how we got here and tell her we'll be back shortly, okay Molly?" The kind, but sometimes a little loud woman nods with a loving smile and while I have no doubt that the five of them have an amazingly difficult task ahead, am I really looking forward to my own mission.
"Especially – taking care of that bastard of a motorcycle hiker and making him think twice of taking in and abusing a clearly kidnapped child, all to get gold that obviously didn't belong to either him or that disgusting kidnapper. Good Founders, I wish that bastard hadn't changed his voice." Goes through my mind as I drive off.
Rosie's POV
The others had definitely been worried when I woke from my trance, yet I had been too excited and had only said: "Wait for me. Do not read the file before I'm back." Before I had charmed a thick cloak onto my person and rushed out of the Great Hall, leaving the shocked and confused shouts of my friends behind me.
Yet this doesn't matter to me as I only want one thing; to take action and come true to my vision and the thoughts that had run through my head as I woke from the trance, but also to make sure that, if Pettigrew has an accomplice, this person can't do what I fear and hurt those I want to save and free and bring back here.
I rush out of the Hall and Entrance Courtyard, barely registering how Hedwig, Harry's owl, flies past me while followed by two people of my own age before I pass the grounds of Hogwarts and once I am sure I am outside the wards do I Apparate away, focused with all that I am on all the surroundings I studied before the vision ended.
And, as if the magic of Hogwarts, the Time Sand or maybe some even greater force helps me, does this actually work and do I arrive in the middle of – what is currently – a completely deserted road, making me feel relieved I didn't accidentally breach the Stature of Secrecy in my need to see this rescue mission fulfilled.
Then I focus on my desires and with my wand hidden in the sleeve of my jacket, do I approach the house, my eyes constantly searching for someone who could be spotting where I am heading, yet I see no one, not even the kind of nosy neighbors that I have had to deal with back at Little Winging for all the years I lived there.
No, not a single curtain gets slightly inched aside or moved and, because this street has no front yards, are there also no people trying and failing to inconspicuously spy over the top of the fence as I move to the house that, as far as this street is concerned, is state property and this makes me feel relieved as I cast the Alohomora charm.
The door opens, yet barely creeks and before it can, do I quickly cast the necessary spells to make the whole structure of the door good as new, making sure I can enter the residence without anyone hearing any strange movement and once the door has closed behind me, do I breath in a sigh of relief, before regaining my focus.
Feeling more freedom now that I am in the house of a man that was once a wizard, do I cast all kinds of spells that I know I studied in my younger days, if only because of the war, yet to my surprise do none of my spells pick up any kind of alarm, ward against intruders or even spells to fend off unwanted guests.
"Pettigrew, clearly your arrogance just became your downfall." Goes through my mind before I cast the last spell I know is mandatory in a place like this and my eyes widen as the spell Homenum Revelio actually makes me feel the presences of five other souls in this very house and I think: "Yes, arrogant, indeed."
And with that and the knowledge that there are no spells anywhere here or in the other room, do I follow where my last spell leads me, which is exactly the same route as my vision showed me, but then in the opposite direction, yet when I approach the wall where I know the door is, do I also face the first obstacle.
The wall itself is actually as solid as it looks and I feel relieved I have my wand out as else I would have bumped right into it. Instead of that, does my wand press into the exact center of the wall, where the cement meets the wood and I instantly look at what is standing on the small side table on the right of where I stand.
And again I find evidence of how arrogant Pettigrew was when he left his prisoners here as the trick to getting through the wall is only too obvious as there are several pictures shown on the table. Yet only one of them stands out as it has both the brightest color in the picture itself – as well as the simplest design in the framework.
"It's definitely clever to make this your little lever, Pettigrew, seeing how everyone believed you loyal to the Potters to your dying day. Too bad that anyone who knows the real you instantly sees this lever for what it is. Your arrogance precedes you, I will give you that." I think angrily as I move the picture to lie face down.
And indeed, the wall in front of me changes, a single rectangular bit of space becoming as transparent to the eye as I was in my vision and with a spell from my wand to light the tip – and a quick extra one to keep the picture lying face down for another hour – do I pass through the enchantment and down into the cellar.
The descent down the stairs, which I don't partake in until I have again checked the whole hallway with my security spells – and again come up blank and unscathed – is easy and peaceful, yet the same obstacle faces me at the end as the door I have to pass through to get into the cellar is just as solid as the fake wall from earlier.
Using my wand to make every corner of where I stand light up, do I look around, suddenly finding that in the two corners above me on the two corners at my feet, all at both my sides, have markings on them and upon closer inspection, do I see a full moon, a wand, a large M, a large MoM, the Hogwarts symbol and the Dark Mark.
The moon and the M are both duplicated, yet the others each have their own spot and I think: "Lupin, magic itself, the M must stand for Marauders, MoM is short for Ministry of Magic. So which one do I pick? The obvious choice would be the Marauder symbol or the Dark Mark – but I think I know which to go for. Nice try, Pettigrew."
And with that do I put the very tip of my wand against the tip of the wand in front of my right foot, yet this does nothing. It doesn't activate any traps, yet it also doesn't open the door and I frown at this, before getting an epiphany and think: "You cold-hearted bastard." And with resignation, do I say: "Reducio."
The minimizing charm hits the tip of the wand and while the wand and the brick on which it was carved shrink down, does the wall in front of me do the same until it is nothing more than a single small brick lying in front of my feet, yet I know better than to just kick it aside as I have no doubt this will activate traps.
Yet, as I step into the room, do I finally face the one challenge I have no idea how to beat. Because in front of me are actually Lily, James, the two strange lookalikes to Fred and George Weasley and the obvious sibling to Sirius Black, yet while they seem shocked and then excuberant to see me, can I not help but think:
"How do I undo this magic, unshrink them, not alert the spells that keep them prisoner and get them out of here – without wasting every last bit of my magical core?" And while I have no doubt that this is exactly why Pettigrew charmed them to have been reduced to this state, do I suddenly notice something very odd.
While trying to think of a solution to this issue, while desiring to look around the cellar for a possible solution, do my eyes stay stuck to the sight before me, the five prisoners dashing for the invisible wall that keeps them captive inside the dollhouse and while they bash their hands against the wall, am I unable to look away.
Realizing what is happening, do I move my wand over to my face and shout: "Collorportus." Casting the closing charm on my eyes and making them snap shut, which instantly makes some kind of magic release me from its grasp and while I have no doubt that I shocked the subjects of my rescue mission, do I move to look away.
Knowing that the dollhouse is located in the very center of the room, do I move to look at the front right corner before undoing the spell and instantly I see something that, while not ideal, is the solution I had been hoping to find as a second dollhouse – this one old, molted, rotten and with actual vermin in it – is right in front of me.
I aim my wand at it and shrink it just enough to fit under the dollhouse and then aim my eyes for the floor, moving them back to the dollhouse, but not looking at the dollhouse itself and then smile as Pettigrew made yet another mistake; the pedestal that the dollhouse is on is only supporting the exact center of the dollhouse.
"Both a clever structure and a good method of intimidation as well as yet another clear sign of supreme arrogance." I think, focusing my gaze back at the shrunk dollhouse and using a moving charm to make it be positioned under the right of the dollhouse before I cast a sticking charm on its roof and the other's ground floor.
I then risk a quick but imperative look at the prisoners, telling them to hang on tightly before recasting the closing spell to make sure my eyes can't again be captured by the spell and once I am sure I am again focusing on the other dollhouse, do I undo the magic on my eyes and recast the moving charm on the now united dollhouses.
A swish up and the upper dollhouse moves away from the pedestal, yet before any weight-applied magic can activate, do I allow for the abridged roof of the lower dollhouse to rest on the side of the pedestal and once I am sure that this has cancelled any possible dangerous spellwork do I continue my movement of the two.
Another swish up and the dollhouse's ground floor is now equal in height with the top of the pedestal and while worrying for the dollhouse above it, do I move it so that the lower one is now centered onto the pedestal. Instantly I feel the spells that had hold of the upper dollhouse take hold of this one and this makes me change focus.
Aiming my wand for the upper dollhouse and those within it, who are holding onto the chairs they had been sitting on earlier with shock and slight fear in their eyes, do I cast a quick series of spells; a severing charm to separate it from the lower dollhouse, followed by a levitation, cushioning and summoning charm.
And this chain of spells proves successful as the dollhouse, the walls now made of soft cushions instead of hard wood, flies into my open arms and while I take a slight step back at the catch, do I then smile at the five within and say: "I don't know any magic to undo your current state, but I do stay at a castle where others just might."
And with that – and a quick last few rounds of spells to make sure that each of the rooms that I pass through as well as the hallway upstairs isn't rigged or hasn't become charmed against intruders due to the events that took place in the center of the cellar, do I head for the small entrance hallway – before Apparating back to Hogwarts.
Harry's POV
The whole reading had been very exciting and even slightly dramatic at certain points, yet Aunt Rosie makes no sense. Having been excited, slightly curious and confused during the reading and then furious once she realized who the caged creature before us is, do I just not get her reaction to her own sudden screaming.
The woman had obviously gone through the same stuff as the teachers had gone through yesterday, when the older Headmaster had used my Patronus to weaken the Magical Mind Block, yet her reaction – especially how she seemed to grow happier the longer the vision lasted – before suddenly dashing off leaves me utterly confused.
And the fact that she asked me not to read the file that so many of us have been dying to even touch since this all started shocks me even more and makes me wonder what it could be that either Hogwarts, said ex-Headmaster or even the breaking of the Magical Mind Block could have possibly gone and shown her.
Yet it actually doesn't take the woman all that long to get back from wherever the vision send her, yet before she arrives – do five others, all of which make either Malfoy, the Weasleys or even Neville and the adults gasp in shock and makes Ron be the one who asks: "Mum, what – what are you doing here? And – and with the – the Malfoys?"
Yes, I will admit, the sight of Lucius and what I can only assume is Narcissa Malfoy standing with Molly Weasley is definitely a confusing one, yet for some reason my eyes are drawn to the other two, the ones that made Neville gasp and that make me think only a single question: "Are those two – Neville's parents?"
And Neville confirms this as he suddenly becomes teary eyed, proving that there has indeed always been a reason as to why he was taken to the train station by his gran and received only letters from her and not the two adults before us before he, with a slightly broken voice that further proves his emotions, asks: "How?"
"The Magical Mind Block, son. It showed us all something some of us forgot, while your mother and I just couldn't voice it because of our state. Yet, everything those three bastards caused us was undone when the magic helped even us remember. And boy, kiddo, do we have a story for you. Well, you and one of your friends."
And before I can even so much as expect it, does the man turn to me, his brown eyes reminding me of his son as they are warm and kind before suddenly 2 men rush at them, one of them brown-haired and the other black-haired and rushes for Neville's mum and the both of us can only smile as Sirius and Lupin reunite with old friends.
I quickly glance at Mrs. Weasley, yet she seems to have already been told of my godfather's innocence and then grandpa asks: "Frank, how long ago was it that you got your visions?" And the man hums before he says: "I'd say – twenty minutes now." And the glance shared between me and my elder speaks volumes.
"What? Is something wrong, Albus?" Mrs. Weasley asks and grandpa answers: "No Molly, but one of our guests, Mss. Rosie or as we know her Auntie Rosie, also had a vision at the same time and it made her rush out of the Great Hall just minutes before you came in. She told us she'd be right back, so I suggest we wait for her."
"Sorry Albus, but Harry deserves the truth. Plus, we have our personal reasons for being here." Mrs. Longbottom then says and while the Malfoys move over to their son, Mrs. Malfoy obviously instantly noticing how there is something wrong with her son and the rest of his House Mates, do the others come over to us.
Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom then hug Neville tightly before sharing a look with Sirius and Lupin, who nod and move from where they had desired to sit next to me and after sending a quick look at their own son, Neville nodding to show he understands, do they seat themselves at either side of me, their closeness warm and comforting.
Yet while their smiles are as warm as their close presence, can I clearly detect a hint of nervousness and trepidation in their eyes, making me look from Neville to my own two friends and Ron and Hermione share a nervous glance before they both nod at me, their determination fueling my own before I say:
"Don't worry, I know already." The two look shocked and I say: "I – I at least have a strong guess of what is in the file we all want to read and – and I am sure that the info there is the same you want to tell me right now. Yet, Ron already figured it out and while there is still one aspect confusing us, are we still sure that we are right."
And with that, do I smile at the two shocked but relieved adults to the man I have no doubt is suspecting the same thing as he must have realized this thanks to his vision of the other day and because he had hinted at it this morning before the reading and I ask him: "I'm your son, aren't I Sirius?" And the man nods.
"Wait, what's so confusing about that?" Dean then asks and Ron answers: "We know Sirius is Veela and we just don't get how he could have survived all these years with a dead mate, but we think it's because Harry is his last link to his mate and thus Harry's survival allows that of Sirius." Yet at this do I decide to be honest.
"They're alive." The others look at me and I turn my gaze from my newfound father to the Gang as I say: "On his first night here did Wind Brother Jeffrey inhabit the body of someone who, during the Hogsmeade chapter, felt remembered, yet who got told that he had been trapped by Pettigrew too well for this to be possible.
Wind Brother Jeffrey studied the body he inhabited as well as the appearances of those speaking with his host and discerned that the body he was sharing with had messy black hair, a pair of glasses, wobbly knees and a lanky frame. In other words – my other parent, James Potter. And one of his fellow prisoners – was a ginger female."
The others all look shocked as I turn back from Jeffrey to my parent, the eyes of said parent wider than I have ever seen them and I say: "That is what the Gang and I discussed in our Gang meetings, the ones that Jeffrey constantly assured to be private through his Wind Elemental powers rushing around us and blocking sounds.
We are certain that, wherever –." And then the epiphany hits me and my own eyes widen, my voice dying in my throat as the very distant sound of someone Apparating reaches us all before, to my shock and everyone's confusion, Auntie Rosie returns to our fold, her wand out and being used to transport a huge dollhouse over to us.
"No, he wouldn't have." Do I mutter to myself, yet the insistent, horrified and – dare I say it – incensed squeaks that come from the cage that is still center stage between me, Ron and Hermione – the latter two still with their wands aimed for the little being – prove me that yes, the disgusting bastard actually did.
The woman then moves the dollhouse so that it stands sideways with the rat cage itself, the open front facing me, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom and while Auntie Rosie seems temporarily shocked when she sees them, do I focus only on one thing; the sight of my actual parent, miniaturized and gazing at me with the deepest love.
I keep my gaze locked with the man I have always been told I look so much alike, yet at the same time does my body react out of instinct as a hand reaches for where I know my Gang is and indeed does Irma reach out to me with the infamous file and only when I have it opened in front of me, do I look down. And the 1st words I read are:
Harrison Alphard Black-Potter
Father: Sirius Orion Black
Mother: James Christian Potter
Younger brother: Jeffrey Charles Potter-Black
Born: 31st of July, at 9:38 AM
Godmother: Lillian Eleanor Lupin née Evans
Godfather: Frank Sylvester Longbottom
Grandfather: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Grandfather: Aberforth Dumbledore
Grandmother: Arrianna Dumbledore (under Magical Status)
Wait – WHAT?
Okay, I am going to be completely honest! That last sentence – I DID NOT PLAN THAT! I have no idea what I am going to do with Arriana, but I do know that she will not be dead. How she survived what, in Cannon, killed her – like I said, this was a plot twist that came totally out of nowhere at the very last second.
As for the rescue scene; it may not have a lot of speaking, but I am still very, very happy with it. Also, anyone complaining that you can't apparate somewhere you've never been to before, Cannon states that Visualization is one of the three key elements and that's exactly what I used for all of this to actually work.
Now, next chapter – is going to be a lot of fun and I kind of wish I had added it to this one, yet this chapter, like last one, is becoming endless and I don't want you guys getting bored – though I doubt that's even possible seeing what is going on here. Anyway, next chapter will be the premiere of the present time Elemental Gang.
WHOOPIE,
Venquine1990
PS. For inspiration – and source of madness – check out Silver-Quill, a Youtuber – and right nut in the good way.
