Chapter 3 – Beginnings
When Harry was settled for his afternoon nap, Lily manifested. Using Harry's body was not sustainable, but until she had an alternative she was stuck.
"Mimsy?" She raised Harry's head up from his pillow.
A sharp crack announced the arrival of the small elf. She moved towards Harry. "Lady Lily?"
"Yes, Mimsy. Thank you for bringing Harry here. I cannot believe what Petunia has become." Lily changed the subject. "That's behind us now. Can you tell me why James and my wishes for Harry were not followed?"
"It was a mess, Lady Lily! We tried. When wes' heard what happened to you and Lord James, we waited as you asked." Mimsy looked as if she wanted to punish herself for her failure. "Mimsy heard that the wills were frozen until Harry becomes an adult. The Wizengamut be making that rule."
"Why would they…" Lily began and then remembered who the Chief Warlock is. "Of course, Dumbledore. I'm sorry for interrupting you, Mimsy. Did our memories get delivered?"
"Yous don't need to apologize. Mimsy is sorry to tell that wes' couldn't give the memories to Mr. Sirius or Mr. Frank and Ms. Alice." Mimsy dropped her gaze to the floor, ears drooping. "Mr. Black be in Azkaban. He was sent there for betraying yous to You-Know-Who."
"What! There's no way. He wasn't the Secret Keeper, Peter was. Dumbledore wouldn't send an innocent man to Azkaban." Lily was aghast. "I'm afraid to ask. What happened to Frank and Alice?"
"They's was tortured. They's be in St. Mungos." Mimsy started crying. "They's don't be knowing who they's are. They's be sitting in a room every day."
"Oh no," Lily began crying. Frank and Alice were friends who always had a smile for anyone. Alice was always there to listen to others problems. "Who got to them?"
"It was after yous and James were killed. Everyone be celebrating You-Know-Who's death. They were home and were attacked. The attackers were caught and are in Azkaban. Mimsy thinks a Bellatricks, a couch, and some stranges bes doing it?"
Lily deciphered Mimsy's comment. Bellatricks? Bellatrix LeStrange? Stranges? Rudolphus or Rabastan, maybe both? Couch? She had no clue. The only Crouch she knew was Barty. He was the head of the DMLE. That didn't make sense. She needed to see some back issues of the Daily Prophet.
That didn't matter. What mattered was doing what she could to help Sirius and let Augusta Longbottom know what her and James' wishes were. "Mimsy, can you bring me my old wand? I'd like to see if it works for me."
"Mimsy be getting it for you, Lady Lily." Mimsy popped away.
While she awaited Mimsy's return, she focused on the blocks on Harry's core. With the increases in size from the merging with her and Voldemort's cores, the blocks were under extreme strain. The strain was beginning to hurt his connections to it. With any braid, she knew that if she could find the tie-off point and release it, it could be undone. She noticed that there was a remnant of the magic that the binder had lain upon the core. It had a distinctive feel to it. If she had to guess, she would wager that Dumbledore had placed them. Whoever it was, when she found them, they would receive the same treatment. They would be bound.
There was a pop that broke her concentration. "Mimsy be back." The little elf was there with her old wand in hand. "Here be the wand, Lady Lily." Mimsy handed the elf to her.
Harry's hands were almost too small to grasp the wand, so Lily used a two-handed grip. She allowed some magic to flow into the wand and felt it accept her. It recognized her spirit even in Harry's body. "Lumos."
A magical light formed at the tip of the wand. With her spirit directly interacting with the wand, the magic powering the spell flowed without any resistance. She smiled as the light was very bright even though the amount of magic she used was the lowest she'd ever used for the cantrip.
"Mimsy, can you get me some memory vials? I need to copy some memories."
"Yes, Lady Lily. How many do you be needing?" Mimsy asked.
"Just two for now." Lily stated. Mimsy snapped her fingers. Two memory vials appeared.
Lily brought forth the memory of Dumbledore's casting of the Fidelius and the choosing of Peter as the Secret Keeper. She added both Sirius' and Dumbledore's arguments for Peter. She placed a copy of them into the first vial.
In the second vial, she placed the memory of Dumbledore's account of the prophecy and why the Potter family needed to go into hiding. To this, she added the memory of her conversations with Alice where Alice divulged that Dumbledore said almost the same thing to Frank and her.
She labelled the vials.
"Please deliver the first vial to an elf belonging to Arcturus Black, the current Lord Black. When you give it to them, make sure that they know that Sirius Black was not the Potter Secret Keeper. I hope that Lord Black does what is needed and right in finding out what happened to Sirius. Let them know that in two weeks a series of memories and documents that were to go to Sirius will be given to Lord Black, if he wishes to see them." She paused and passed the two vials to Mimsy. "This second vial should go to Lady Augusta Longbottom. Her elf should be told the same. In two weeks, if Lady Longbottom chooses, a series of memories and documents that were to go the Frank and Alice should go to her. In addition, her elf should be warned that magical binds may have been placed upon her grandson. Do not under any circumstance let them know who you are. Can you do this safely?"
"Yes, my Lady, Mimsy can do it."
She looked at the elf closely. Mimsy looked confident. "Okay, Mimsy, be very careful."
Mimsy popped away. There was nothing more that she could do. It would be up to Lord Black and Lady Longbottom to do anything more. She hoped that they would accept the second delivery.
Two weeks quickly passed, both Lady Longbottom and Lord Black wanted the memories and documents that James and she had put together as their fail-safes. During that time, the Potter elves had found back issues of the Daily Prophet where she found the trial coverage of the "Longbottom Four." Bellatrix, the LeStrange brothers, and Bartemius Crouch Jr. were decried as the last gasp of Lord Voldemort's followers in the aftermath of his defeat. She was enraged when she saw the Death Eaters who walked free with the use of both the banned use of Veritaserum on purebloods and the spurious Imperious defense. Dumbledore was quoted multiple times stating that people should recognize the need for second chances, especially for those who were coerced in their wrong doings.
She knew better. Having Lord Voldemort's memories, she knew that no one could be forced to take the mark. In her researches, she had focused on his later years. She needed to understand his organization. She was surprised to find his original name. However, she decided to know who his followers were and what his plans were before looking to his past. This was secondary to keeping Harry safe and his magic cleared.
She was getting closer to removing the blocks on Harry's core. She had found the end of the braids and had been able to separate the caster's magical remnant from Harry's magic. It was this remnant that gave her the wedge to begin the unravelling.
It took her another six months before the breakthrough she needed occurred. She found that if she found the ends of the braid, followed the foreign taint, coated the strands with her power, and traced them to their staring points that the blocks could be removed. She removed both blocks.
In the interim, Boro and Grov traded days at the Dursleys.
On the day after Harry's rescue, Grov took Harry's place in the Dursley home. At 4:30 am, he was startled when Petunia banged on the door to the cupboard. "Freak, time to get up. Your cooking lesson starts in fifteen minutes." He heard he stalk into the kitchen. Grov cast a glamour upon himself to look like his charge. Remembering the injuries he was to mimic, he slowly walked out from the cupboard.
"Harry be ready, Aunt Petunia." He said as he walked into the kitchen.
Petunia looked over at him with disdain. "We are making a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, muffins and tea." She motioned at the refrigerator. "Go on, get the eggs, milk and bacon out of the fridge. They aren't going to cook themselves."
Grov looked at her. When she began to look angry, he went to the appliance and carefully opened the door with his right arm. How did she expect a four-year old child to open anything with two broken arms? He cracked it open and interposed his body to wedge it open. He then grabbed the eggs and started to move back.
"Get everything. We don't have time to waste getting the ingredients one at a time."
He placed the eggs between his left arm and his body. He grabbed the bacon. This was placed on top of the eggs. Lastly, he grabbed the milk. He turned around and slowly walked towards the counter next to Petunia. He couldn't swing the milk onto the counter. "Aunt Petunia, can you help Harry?" he asked in Harry's voice.
"You are worthless." She rolled her eyes standing up and moving towards him. She grabbed the items and put them on the counter. "Get the skillet out and start the bacon. Then start a pot of tea water." She sat back down. "Since you couldn't get the stuff from the fridge without help, you won't get any of the bacon with your breakfast."
He had to pull a stool to the range top in order to see what he was doing. As a house elf, he loved to serve a family. This woman was treating what she thought was an injured child worse than he ever had been treated. He was not a happy elf. He continued under her directions until the breakfast was ready and served. He had lost the privilege of eating anything but one muffin by the time it as ready.
When the family sat down to eat, Petunia announced, "The freak made the food this morning. It's probably awful. He can barely do anything. He should be eating a full meal with us. His incompetence is leaving him with a muffin." Hearing this, Dudley and Vernon grabbed all of the muffins, leaving none for their supposed nephew.
"Serves you right, boy." Vernon smirked at Grov. "You didn't make enough."
"Yeah!" Dudley chuckled. "The eggs and bacon are burnt!" He exclaimed without having taken a bite.
The day continued forward in the same manner. He didn't get any lunch as he hadn't finished his morning chores before 10:00. The chores were to clean the kitchen and breakfast dishes, make all of the beds, place clean linens in the bathrooms, vacuum the house, and finally dust the living areas.
Without using magic and feigning Harry's injuries, Grov completed the work at 11:00. Petunia was upset because he wasn't able to have her lunch ready at 11:30. Once lunch was over, Grov again cleaned the kitchen and dishes, cleaned the bathrooms, and then was pushed outside to take care of the garden.
Shortly after, Petunia followed after him. She locked the door. "I'm going shopping for the groceries for tonight's dinner. Don't do anything. Stay here and don't do anything freakish. If you do, you may get to eat some dinner tonight."
Grov didn't say anything. He watched her strut down the street. She looked back once. To his eye, it was to make sure that no one could see him in the back yard. Once she was out of sight, he popped some food in and ate.
When she returned, the same process that he went through with breakfast occurred in making the family's dinner. By the time dinner was prepared, he once again was only fit for a roll and water. There were leftovers, but Petunia ensured that that they were either packed for Vernon's and Dudley's lunches or thrown out. Dudley went to an all-day Pre-K. It was supposed to teach him how to act around others and be ready for school.
Grov accidentally discovered why Harry had been injured. While he was cleaning the kitchen, he made some noise that caused Vernon to miss the punchline to a comedy show. He stormed into the kitchen yelling and struck the elf in the back. Grov told himself that he was doing this for Harry and took it.
Each day soon fell into a routine. The only difference being that Petunia soon left "Harry" without supervision. It didn't matter to her if the freak starved because he couldn't do his chores.
When Lily was told of the continuing violence, she told both elves to keep from being punished. She allowed them to spin small illusions to trick the family into believing that they did what they intended.
Since they enjoyed cleaning and cooking, the two elves began playing with the family. They would complete all tasks early. Petunia would claim that they did something freakish and not allow them to eat. They would fail to complete them on time, Petunia would restrict them to bread and water. It was a rare day when they were allowed lunch or something other than bread. They both learned that Vernon was a walking time bomb. He seethed with anger looking for outlets.
Lily knew that she needed to find a way to separate from Harry. Not permanently, they both connected to the same magical core. She needed to lessen the effect her psyche was having on Harry. Harry's maturity was far beyond what would be expected of an almost five-year old child. With the release of the binds on his core, his intelligence and reasoning were approaching that of a young adult. She wanted him to mature as naturally as one could with their mother's spirit stuck to them. She absolutely refused to allow her emotions to bleed onto him.
From what she could find in the Potter library, this was unprecedented. Therefore, the solution would have to come from her. Off the top off her head, she could envision a modified Expecto Patronum with which her consciousness could be projected into. Another option would be modifying the spell that animates a doll or mannequin to allow her spirit to control it. A third possibility would be to animate a painting. This would not be ideal as she would be unable to interact with her son. The magic required for them would be heavy, but Harry's core currently was the combination of Voldemort's, hers, and Harry's own growing core. In addition, as a spirit, she could see and utilize the ambient magic of the environment. Unsatisfied, she delved into Voldemort's knowledge. While detesting the man, she did respect the depth of knowledge he accumulated over the course of his life.
As she browsed what she started calling the "Thomas Riddle Memorial Library" or TRM, she came across his attempts to cheat death. Starting with the most current, she saw that he meant to use her family's death to create a horcux. She didn't know what that was. She drove through his memories. She found Professor Slughorn telling Tom about them.
These Horcruxes were Salazar Slytherin's locket, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Nagini, the Gaunt ring, Riddle Diary, Ravenclaw's diadem, and Harry. Harry was not supposed to receive the soul shard. It was to go into the Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting awarded to Albus Dumbledore. Tom had stolen it when he graduated from Hogwarts. He had created a copy and left it behind. Lily was sickened at what Tom had done. She placed the knowledge of what they were and where they had been left in a special cubby hole in the TRM. This had to be taken care of, but her priority was creating a separate identity outside of Harry.
Tom had never attempted research in projecting his consciousness. He had focused on staying in the land of the living. She decided to work on her first two options.
Harry had completed his recuperation. He gained normal weight and height for his age. With the defeat of Voldemort's soul piece, his scar had healed. There was now a small line on his forehead which would fade by his eighth birthday. Mentally, he still bore scars of his abuse. These were being tackled with Mimsy and his mother's help.
Once his mental block was removed, Harry could hear his mother's thoughts. "Who's there?" he said aloud.
"Harry?" Lily said mentally. She knew no one was in the playroom Harry was in.
Now frightened, Harry moved to a corner, "Where are you lady?" He was going to call Mimsy if she didn't show.
"You can hear me, Harry? It's me, your mum." Lily started excitedly, "I've dreamed of talking to you again."
"Mimsy!" Harry yelled.
With a pop, Mimsy came in, "Yes, Master Harry?"
"There's a woman here I can't see. She says she's my Mum!" Harry ran to her.
Mimsy held him in her arms. "Master Harry, ask her to say something to you."
"Harry, tell Mimsy that I'm Lady Lily." Lily cooed.
"She says she's Lady Lily. Do you know who that is? Why can't I see her?" Harry queried.
"Mimsy didn't hear anything. Mimsy thinks youse hearing your Mum in your head." She calmly answered.
"That's right, Honey. My spirit has been with you since your Father and I were killed." Lily continued. "I don't know how or why, but my spirit was connected with you that night."
"How come I've never heard you before?" Harry looked around still trying to find his Mum.
"Harry, someone had put some blocks on you. I think that one of those blocks stopped us from talking." She knew he wouldn't understand a full answer. "Can you try something for me?"
"Sure, M,Mum." He was calming down. His Mum was a ghost?
"Harry, try talking to me without moving your lips. Just think what you want to say to me." Lily asked of him.
"Okay, I'm talking to you with my lips sealed!" He giggled.
"Honey, I'm so happy that we can talk." Lily gushed. "I am so sorry that your Father and I haven't been there for you."
"That's Okay, Mum. I've missed you." Harry startled sniffling.
"I wish I could hold you, baby." Lily wished she could cry. "I'm with you and trying to find a way to hold you."
"Mum?"
"Yes, son?"
"Will I have to go back to Aunt Petunia's?"
"Honey, you'll never go back there again." Lily told him. "I won't let them."
"Thanks, Mum." Harry cried. Mimsy started crying in empathy with the little boy. She didn't know what was said. It didn't matter. He was crying in happiness. He was talking with Lady Lily for the first time since Voldemort's attack.
Lily yearned for a pair of arms to wrap around her son. She promised herself that she would. They may not be flesh, but she would hold her son again.
Mimsy looked at the boy in her arms. "Master Harry, when did your hair turn blue?" His hair was a placid sky blue.
"It's not blue, it's black." He answered with a laugh. He thought she was making a joke.
"Nos, Master Harry, your hair it be blue!" She used her elfin magic to create a small hand mirror. She showed him.
He smiled in excitement. "My hair's blue! When did that happen. It looks cool!" As his excitement grew, his hair color cycled from blue to green to yellow to orange and landed on a bright scarlet. "Cool! My hair can change colors!"
"Harry, I think I know what this is. Can you ask Mimsy a question for me?" She was never going to take control of Harry's body while he was awake.
"Sure, Mum!" He was wanting to turn the left side of his hair black and the other side white. It did.
"Can you ask Mimsy if she can find any information an metamorphmagi?" Lily waited.
Harry wondered if he could turn his hair orange. It did. He thought it would be cool if his hair matched the color of a tiger. The orange changed shade and black stripes formed in it. He wished he could see his hair without the mirror. It grew past his shoulders. He could look down and directly see his hair.
"Harry, the question?" Lily patiently nudged her son.
"Oh, right." Harry was having fun.
"Mimsy, Mum asked if you could find information on meta, metamor," He was mentally interrupted.
"Metamorphagi, Harry" Lily prompted.
"Thanks Mum! Metamorphmagi." Harry carefully pronounced.
"Mimsy will get on it for Lady Lily."
"Tell her thank you, Harry."
"Mum said to tell you Thank you, Harry." He laughed. "Harry James." He kept laughing, "Just thank you, she says."
Mimsy smiled that he was laughing. With what he went through with the Dursleys and his healing, he hadn't smiled much since they recovered him.
Harry spent the rest of the day playing with his hair. He left it long so that he could always see it. His imagination was boundless. Both Mimsy and Lily were left wondering how one could get polka dots in long hair. They both chalked it up to magic doing what the user wanted.
Lily was surprised by the ease that Harry controlled the changes. She looked at his core. None of his magic caused it to diminish. It was as if he wasn't using any at all. She looked more closely. She noticed that his core was pulling in ambient magic to replenish his natural magic. He may only be five, but he needed training. His magical core was simply too large to allow accidental magics.
"Harry, how would you like to learn how to do magic?" She asked him.
"Magic? Like what Mimsy, Boro, and Grov do?" He changed his hair from tiger stripes to zebra stripes.
"Wizard magic, Harry."
"That would be cool!"
"We'll start in a couple of days."
After Harry went to sleep that night, Lily took control. She sat up in the bed and called Mimsy to her. Once the elf arrived, she spoke.
"Mimsy, did you find anything on metamorphmagi?" she asked.
"Yes, Lady Lily. It be a gift that the Black family has. There be a girl in Hogwarts now that is one. She be Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Ted Tonks, a muggle born, and Andromeda Tonks a Black."
"Did you find any books that describe their abilities?"
"Not yet, Mimsy's not finished looking. There might be one in the vaults or a book store." Mimsy answered he mistress. She hated not being able to produce what she needed.
"That's okay, Mimsy. If we can find out what the limits of a metamorph are, we can start teaching Harry." Lily thought for a second, "It might be better to let Harry find out his limits. There is no reason to make him follow rules that we don't really know. On a different note, can you bring my old Arithmancy books and notes to me? I want to review them. I need to develop a way to split from Harry occasionally."
"Mimsy can have them for you tomorrow." Mimsy smiled.
"Thank you. Can you pop me to the training room in the basement? I want to practice my magic and see what my limits are since I am hitch-hiking on Harry." She reached over to the nightstand grabbing her old wand.
Mimsy reached over and clasped the hand of the young boy. "We be going now, Lady Lily."n Mimsy brought them to an empty seven by fourteen meter room. It was made of granite. There were a few small air vents in the ceiling, but no door. The only way in was to be brought or apparate into it.
"Lumos!" She lifted the wand. She cast with the percentage of magic that she was used to using. The room was lit with a harsh actinic light. She quickly cancelled the spell. She thought and realized her mistake. The core she was using made her natural core seem small. Harry's core, which she was tied to, was not only huge and growing larger, but was automatically pulling in ambient magic like a ghost would. She would have to relearn most of her spells in order to not overpower them. She repeated the Lumos until she could cast it at whatever brightness she wanted. When she cast the one that gave the light a torch would, she noticed that the core's capacity to pull in more power was greater than it was using.
On a whim, she cast a Patronus. The doe came out quickly. It went beyond the normal corporeal version. It coalesced from white vapors. She was surprised to see her doe take on natural coloration. It no longer glowed. The doe walked around the room and was able to physically interact with Mimsy and herself. She checked the power usage for the spell. While it used much more than the Lumos she had practiced, Harry's core was barely feeling the draw. As she watched, the draw of ambient magic increased until the amount matched the spells draw. She smiled. This was looking good for modification.
"Lady Lily?" Mimsy queried wonderingly.
"Yes, Mimsy?" Lily looked over at Mimsy. Mimsy looked much shorter for some reason.
"Hows you feel?" Mimsy asked.
Lily didn't understand the question. She had been focusing on relearning magic. She paused. "I feel fine. In fact, I feel comfortable."
Mimsy brought a mirror into the room. She motioned Lily to look into it.
Lily looked at her quizzically, but walked over and looked in. When she did, she gasped. She was looking at herself. Not herself in Harry's body, but herself, as she looked when she was killed. Even Harry's pajamas had been transformed into a witch's gown. "When did this happen?"
"Mimsy be watching you practice. As you were casting, Lady Lily your hair changed color to red. After a bit, Harry's body became a girl. Mimsy was afraid to say anything. Whens you made the doe, you changed. Cans Master Harry be back?" She almost cried.
"Mimsy, I'm pretty sure that he can. We know he is a metamorphmagi. His ability probably keyed off of my self-image. Let me look at his core." Lily sat down. She had to admit to herself, it was nice to be back. It was not a temptation. What mother would trade her child for her own life? She'd already faced that.
When she looked, she found where the ability lay within the core. It was an offshoot of the secondary bind that had been on Harry's core. She saw two body images. The first, and smaller, was of Harry. The second, overlaying the first, was of her body. She experimented. She decided to her image with Mimsy's image including clothing. She heard a gasp.
"Lady Lily? You be Mimsy now."
Opening her eyes, she looked directly into the elf's eyes. She strange. She could hear better and see better than as a human. She smiled at Mimsy. "I'm going to try something else." She overlaid Sirius Black's Padfoot form. She felt a shift and she was standing on four legs. "I think we know how to train Harry in his changing abilities." She removed the overlays. The body shifted and she saw Harry in his PJs standing in front of the mirror. If she didn't have her spirit sight, she wouldn't have been able to understand how the ability works. She could only imagine how hard it would be if your body changed without conscious thought. At the least, one would be clumsy.
"I think we've done all we can tonight, Mimsy. Let's get back to Harry's room."
After a quick apparition, Mimsy brought them back. "Can Mimsy be doing anything else for Lady Lily?"
"Yes, can you have a few mannequins that are ready to be animated brought here? I'm going to need them for my research. Also, please look through the library for anything on the making of wands. We'll need to create something for Harry to practice with. I'm sure that he'll be able to use my wand. With his power and inexperience, he could easily burn it out." She sat in the bed.
"Mimsy be doing this." Mimsy looked tired.
Seeing this, Lily realized the poor thing was able to fall over, "Mimsy, I think Harry's body needs some rest. I'm going to walk through some of Voldemort's memories. Why don't you get some rest?"
"Yes, Lady Lily. Call Mimsy if you be needing me." Mimsy popped away.
Section Break - A Mother's Love - Section Break
Lily closed Harry's eyes. Her vision sharpened. She was a spirit and when she disconnected from Harry's senses, she used her own. She was used to it. Sighing, she wished she had James to talk with. She was doing her best. She prayed it would be enough to keep Harry safe. There were two people she felt she could trust. Sirius was in Azkaban. The last she knew, Remus was somewhere on the continent. Could she owl him? Not yet. She didn't know enough.
Sighing, she went to her mental landscape and entered the TRM. She decided to review an initiation of a Death Eater. The Dark Mark was more than a magical tattoo. If she understood how one was added and the enchantments, the Death Eaters lives would be shortened. Dumbledore may believe in multiple chances. They had killed James and her. They wanted Harry dead. That was not going to happen.
She found the initiation of Lucius Malfoy. In the Daily Prophet issuess she had seen, he had been the most vocal in the use of the Imperius defense.
She dove into the memory. She stood in a forest. Rather, Lord Voldemort stood in a forest. He was surrounded by a small cadre of ten people. They were in black robes. Each had a white mask upon their face. In the middle stood a young, blond man.
"Lucius, my friend. You have asked to become a Death Eater. One of my chosen. What can you do for your Lord?" Voldemort sneered.
Malfoy dropped to his knee and bowed his head in obeisance. "My Lord, I bring my family's name, power, and treasure. I wish to work with you to remove the stain of impurity on our world."
Voldemort strode forward. Reaching out with his right hand, he lifted Malfoy's chin forcing him to look him in the eyes. He immediately invaded the other's mind. Lucius was scared. He knew that he would be killed if he wasn't found worthy. Voldemort quickly sorted through the fool's memories. Malfoy had never been around anyone not considered a pure-blood until he entered Hogwarts. Even then, as a Slytherin, he controlled the half-bloods. There were no Mudbloods. When any were sorted in, they quickly had fatal accidents. Neither Slughorn nor Dumbledore took notice.
Voldemort chuckled to himself. What a fool. A useful fool, but a fool nonetheless. "You know the three tests?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Very well. Crucio!" Voldemort smiled as the sounds of agony filled the area. He held the curse until the man in front of him had voided himself. Immediately cancelling it, he called out, "How long?"
The person on his right stated in a female voice, "Forty-one seconds, My Lord. He barely met your standard of forty seconds." A sneer invaded her voice. "I lasted ninety. With all due respect, my Lord, are you sure he's worthy of continuing?"
Casting a Crucio on her, he answered in a light tone, "Good question. I set the standard so that even the weakest of us would be stronger than ninety percent of Wizards and Witches." His voice turning darker, "Never question me, my pet. Do you understand?" He cancelled the curse.
Gasping, she struggled to her knees. "Yes, my Lord. I am sorry. I didn't mean to question you." She reached for his hand to kiss it. He pulled it away.
Smiling at the others, "Any other questions or concerns? No? Then let us continue."
While the woman on his right had recovered enough to shakily stand. Lucius was struggling back to his knees.
In a concerned voice, Voldemort leaned over the man. "Do you need a moment?" The members of the circle tensed. They knew the wrong answer would end in a death.
Lucius clenched his jaws together and attempted to quell the quivering of his hands. "No, my Lord. I am ready to continue."
"Good, good." Voldemort stood back. "Then continue we shall. Imperio!" He mentally ordered Lucius to disrobe.
Malfoy struggled, but complied. Voldemort was impressed. Usually by this point, the person was fully broken or had dispelled the influence. Lucius was strong enough to still be fighting. In order to more fully shame the man, he told him to masturbate. He felt Lucius' will strengthen at this and he broke the compulsion.
"Good, Lucius! I'm proud of you. Clean yourself up." Voldemort and the others watched as the man cleansed himself and his clothes. They waited while he put his robes on. "Are you ready for the last step?"
Back on his knee, bowing to Voldemort, Lucius replied, "Yes, my Lord."
"Very well. Bring out the Muggle." A young girl, no older than twelve was brought out.
Lily couldn't stomach what she knew was coming and skipped ahead to the branding.
The group had come back together. Voldemort smiled at Lucius. "You've done well. You've proven an ability to withstand both the Cruciatus and Imperius curses. Lastly, you've shown dominance of those inferior to you." Looking at the others, "What say you all? Shall he join you as a Death Eater?"
Silence reigned. Lucius Malfoy's fear increased. He waited stoically for the answer.
Voldemort liked this. This was no democracy. His Death Eaters all had to pass this last fourth test. He looked right and then left. The signal to his minions. A chorus of "Ayes" quickly sounded.
He smiled at the rich, young bigot. "Lucius, you have been approved. Your membership as a Death Eater begins tonight."
He turned to the woman on his right. "Bellatrix, bring me the knife and bowl."
The woman quickly retrieved the items. The bowl was made of hematite. It could hold several cups of liquid. The knife was made from flint. She handed the knife to Voldemort. She moved beside Lucius. She kneeled beside him on his left side placing the bowl underneath the arm.
Voldemort used the knife to lightly slice his own left arm so that his blood fell first on Malfoy's arm before flowing into the bowl. He staunched the bleeding. Looking into Malfoy's eyes, he grabbed the man's left arm plunging the knife through the arm. His blood flowed into the bowl.
Voldemort and Malfoy continued staring until Bellatrix whispered, "It is full, my Lord."
He ripped the knife from Lucius' arm. He felt the man tremble. Malfoy made no sound. "State your part, Lucius."
"I, Lucius Malfoy, hereby pledge my fealty to Lord Voldemort. My life is his life. My magic is his magic. By my blood, freely given, mingled with my Lord's blood, I swear on my magic, soul, and life to be known as his forever more."
"I, Lord Voldemort, hereby accept the fealty of Lucius Malfoy. As true as my name is Lord Voldemort, I pledge that I shall treat him no better or worse than any other sworn to me." Voldemort's magic mingled with the blood in the basin turning it black. "On this day, I ask magic to judge the worth of Lucius Malfoy's pledge. If he, in truth, will honestly serve me and my causes let him be marked. If he be false, then let magic be the judge." A black miasma flowed from the bowl. It briefly covered the two. It shrank until the mark began forming on Lucius.
At a nod from Voldemort, they both ended the ceremony, "So mote it be!"
Smiling at his newest minion, Voldemort stepped back, "Rise Lucius! Let your brothers and sisters greet you."
A Death Eater robe and mask were handed to the man. He put them on.
Lily ended the memory at that point. She couldn't believe the lies that Voldemort put into the ceremony. Even so, it did what he wanted. His words were simple filler words, they added nothing to the efficacy of the spell. Their use was to mislead his followers. She went back into the memory to when the actual tattoo was placed. She used her spirit sight to drive more deeply into the magic of the event.
When the blood became an aerosol, and covered them both, she watched as the spell leached onto Malfoy. It powered itself from the man's core. However, it also attached a fail-safe onto the core. She saw that at a command, he could be rendered a Squib. Another portion of the spell slithered to Malfoy's heart, it wrapped around it. Similarly to the fail-safe, the heart could be stopped at a command.
Within the Dark Mark, she found four separate functions. The first was the ability to summon all Death Eaters to the position of the summoner. Each Dark Mark could initiate the summoning. The second was the ability to drain the core of the marked person. The energy drained would go to the one who forced the drain. The third was the most innocuous. It caused the color of the tattoo to reflect the health of Voldemort. The fourth allowed a Cruciatus curse to be cast. It would be powered by the Death Eaters own power. Once started, it would end only when the person's core was drained or they died. These spells were all creations of Voldemort. Therefore, he put no effort in putting extra security on these. If one knew the spells and how to trigger them, they would.
Lily smiled darkly. Voldemort created the functions so that he could control them mentally. His hubris would be the downfall of his "Imperiused" Death Eaters. There was no magical requirement that limited the control to him. He never expected anyone else to know how to use the mark. If she could find someone to trust with this information, she would be sending the memory. She would not add in the analysis and other memories of Voldemort that would allow one to use the spells or their triggers. That knowledge would stay with her for now.
Arcturus Black sat in his office. Sitting at his desk, he reviewed the information he had come into. The revelation regarding his grandson Sirius was disturbing. The Scion of the Light Albus Dumbledore has publicly declared Sirius as the Secret Keeper of the Potter family. The memory showed the Supreme Mugwump cast the Fidelius. The last male of the Black line thrown into Azkaban on the word of the head of the DMLE, Barty Crouch, and Dumbledore. This amounted to the murder of the Black name. This could not stand. However, he knew he must move carefully. Being a dark family, the Blacks automatically had enemies on the side of the light. Sirius in befriending the Potters had moved to the light. That worked well for him. Betrayed by his friends and rotting in prison.
His lawyers had been contacted. They were under strict orders to not owl any information regarding the case. Progress had been made in getting his grandson a trial. Yet, nothing could be done openly. If any group, Light or former Death Eaters learned of what he was attempting, Sirius' life expectancy would become hours.
He needed an ally on the side of the light. Based on the fail-safe memories and documents the Potters had somehow gotten to him, the only one he felt he could approach was August Longbottom. Her relationship with the Supreme Mugwump had deteriorated around the same time his information appeared. If he was a betting man, and he wasn't, he would wager that she had received the Potter's fail-safe information also.
Augusta and her grandson, Neville, had just returned from a six-month tour of Europe. His informants told him that Neville had left showing no signs of magic. His family feared that he was a Squib. With their return, Augusta proudly let everyone know of the strength of his accidental magic. According to her, he had a tantrum in Italy. He had wanted a frozen dessert. His Grandmother had refused telling him that he must have his lunch first. The next thing she knew, all the food in the restaurant had been transformed into Orange Sherbet. At this point, she laughed and let him have the dessert. Knowing the rule of transformations, she knew he was still getting a good meal. She got out of hearing him complain until lunch was finished.
Decided on a course, he wrote an invitation to Lady Longbottom. He paused when finished. Should he owl it? No, the same secrecy still applied. No one must know of their contact, if his plans were to come to fruition. He called his favorite elf, Puritas, to him. "Puri!"
A pop was heard. At his right, Puri stood, "Yes, Master Lord Black? Puri is ready to helps."
"I need you to take this invitation and deliver it to Lady Augusta Longbottom or one of her elves that will." Lord Black leaned back in his chair. "Do not under any circumstances let anyone other than Lady Longbottom know of this."
"Yes, Master Lord Black, Puri will personally deliver it." Puri paused to see if his master had any further comments.
Lord Black smiled at his servant. "Thank you, Puri. My trust in you has never faltered. Let me know when you've finished this errand."
With a small pop, Puri was gone.
Puri appeared at the edge of the Longbottom wards. He snapped his fingers and announced his arrival to the Longbottom elves. An elderly female popped near him. She stood within the wards.
It is incredibly rare for elves of one family to visit another family. She eyed him warily, "What bes you doing here?"
"Puri is here on a task for Master Lord Black. Puri has a letter for your Mistress." Puri bowed to the other elf.
Staring at the Puri, the other elf stood thinking. "Elves be not owls." She complained. "I's be Airy. You be allowed once and only to deliver the letter."
"Puri thanks Airy." Puri walked through the ward. "Will Airy take me to Lady Longbottom?" It would be very rude to pop directly to the mistress of the manor. Her elves would be insulted.
"Grab Airy's hand." She reached her left hand out. Puri grabbed it and with a large pop, they vanished.
Augusta Longbottom sat on the deck overlooking her gardens. She smiled as she watched her grandson playing with the plants. He wasn't old enough yet to work in the gardens. Whenever the weather was nice and he had no lessons, Neville would be found in the garden. She wondered if he had a magical affinity with nature.
She heard a POP. Appearing at her side was Airy and an elf she didn't know. She raised an eyebrow to Airy.
"Airy be bringing Lord Black's elf, Puri. He be sent here to you." Airy looked put upon. She did not think elves should lower themselves to being post owls. "Puri, this be Airy's Mistress Lady Longbottom."
Augusta looked at the new elf. He stood proudly. He held a rolled parchment in his right hand. "Is this for me?" She asked kindly.
"Yes, Lady Longbottom. Puri's Master Lord Black be giving this invite to Lady Longbottom." He held out the missive.
She leaned over and took the letter from Puri. "Would you like to stay while I read this? Or, do you need to be getting back to your Lord?"
The little elf stood and thought for a moment. "Puri can stay for a whiles. If Puri needs to leave, would Lady Longbottom be not hurt?"
She smiled at him. "No, I understand you have duties. Let me read this quickly and if I can will give you a response."
She opened the scroll.
Lady Augusta Longbottom
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom
Member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight
Madam,
It is a strange occurrence where I am compelled to invite you to my manor. We have been political opposites throughout our lives. Yet, I find that we now have common goals. I refer, of course, to the information regarding certain parties and prophecies that recently came to both our hands.
I wish to express my happiness for you and your family that little Neville has found his magic.
Would you be able to attend a private meeting with myself tomorrow at 14:00? If so, have an elf transport you to the edge of my lands. I will have Puri transport you into my home.
I understand that this is an unusual request. However, I find myself distrustful of any method of travel or communication that can be easily tracked.
To prove that I harbor no ill intent to you our yours, I will allow you to create a port key to your home once you are on my estate. Your safety will be paramount to me whilst you are here.
We have much to discuss. There have been injustices made upon both our families and mutual friends.
I look forward to meeting with you.
Yours,
Lord Arcturus Black
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight
Augusta's eyes widened as she read the letter. When finished, she looked at Puri. "Tell your Master that I will come tomorrow. His honor has always been above suspicion in my eyes."
Author's Note
I was aiming for ten thousand words, but this felt like where this chapter should end. I am still in world-building. As obvious, this is an AU. Other than the ghostly powers that Lily has, I plan to stay close to canon capabilities. The divergence from canon will continue to grow.
I would like someone to discuss the plotlines with. I have several strands and am struggling with how and when to interleave them. If you are interested in being a beta reader, let me know.