Chapter 5- Hadrian's Birthday, and new discoveries.
Monday July 31st 1989.
Harriet smiled softly. The past few months with Sirius were great. She was slowly building a relationship with both Remus and Sirius, but watching them with Hadrian broke her heart.
They loved him. It was easy to see. Both were telling him tails of his parent's, something they didn't quite manage to do back in her timeline. It hurt knowing what they had probably wouldn't happen here.
Harriet shoved back the tears threatening to fill her eyes.
Today was Hadrian's ninth birthday. It was supposed to be a happy occasion, not a sad one.
Quite a few people were here. Along with Sirius, Remus and Thanatos, the Malfoy's, Zabini's, Nott's and other families with young children Hadrian's age had come. It was good seeing him around other children.
"You're feeling melancholy, My Lady," Thanatos murmured into her ear. "Shall we go to the parlour and talk?"
"Please," Harriet replied.
They both slipped out unnoticed by everyone apart from Remus and Sirius, who moved to follow them.
Harriet was glad Thanatos had asked her to talk. He was the only person who fully knew what was happening. The sacrifice she had made.
"What is the matter, Harriet?" Thanatos drew her into his arms.
"Everything," she huffed out a laugh. "I haven't had much of an opportunity to deal with my grief, and it's getting harder to force myself to smile in Sirius's and Remus's presence."
"Talk to me," Thanatos softly stroked her hair.
"I miss them," Harriet admitted. "I miss the bond I had with those two back in my timeline. The Sirius there was the Father I never had. Remus as well. I trusted them above all others. When we fought against Voldemort, it was Sirius who pushed for me to have all the information I needed, information Dumbledore didn't want to give. He treated me like an equal, but did have his limits."
"Was he alive when you bonded with Severus?"
"No. I started my relationship with Severus in sixth year. We bonded the summer before seventh year. Remus knew, though. He probably knew it was happening before we did," Harriet laughed. "That nose of his, I swear."
Thanatos chuckled. "How are you dealing with being back here?"
"It's strange seeing myself as a boy. It's hard to keep my secrets, even though I know I need to. I have to fight myself every single moment not to go straight to Severus right now and tell him everything."
Thanatos rubbed her back and she continued. "I'm terrified, Than. What if this Severus is nothing like my Severus? What if he doesn't accept me. I'm practically my Mother's double, and he felt strongly for her."
"You know as well as I do that Severus did not love your Mother. Yes, he was attracted to her, probably fancied himself in love. But, you know it wasn't Lily he was truly attached too, it was you. He would have sensed you before you were even born. Plus, Mates predetermined, no matter the timeline. You will find your way back to him. He will probably be different from your Severus, but he will also be the same."
Harriet hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Thanatos. I never thought my closest confidant would be Death himself."
Thanatos laughed softly. "I am anything you need me to be, My Lady."
"And I thank you, truly I do," Harriet said. "But I'm wondering if I made a mistake. Sirius and Remus in my timeline had a child. Brodie-Lee, I was named Godmother. I didn't even think of her when I asked you to bring me back. I just couldn't live without Severus."
"I can see if she is fine, Harriet," Thanatos told her. "And do not think that this was a mistake. You did what you needed to do, My Lady. It is difficult living without ones Mate, as you probably saw with Remus. You had the chance to not go through that, and you took it."
"I've never really been selfish before. I was groomed to be the perfect little Light soldier, the fate I'm trying to save Hadrian from. I'm not used to just taking what I want, which is what I'm going to need to do."
"You will manage fine. I believe in you."
"You're going to regret ever letting me be your Master," Harriet leaned her head back so she could see his face "I'm a trouble magnet."
"At least my immortality won't be boring."
"Hm, you saw that now."
"Come, let us return to the party. Hadrian will notice if you're gone."
"No he won't," Harriet denied but stood up anyway. "His friend's are here, plus he has all his new toys to try out with them."
"You still have guests," Thanatos told her. "If you do need to chat again, Harriet, I am always here."
"Thank you," she smiled, then opened the door to two shocked faces.
Well fuck.
"I'm guessing you both heard everything we were speaking about," Harriet spoke neutrally.
"Yes," Sirius replied. "What the fuck was that about?"
"Perhaps we should take this conversation inside," Thanatos said quietly. "It wouldn't do for our guests to overhear this."
They both followed them inside, still wearing faces of disbelieve. It wasn't long before Sirius launched into a rant of what they had heard.
"So, let me get this straight, you're from a different timeline? How the fuck did you manage that? You are bonded to Snape, we were like parents to you, and your actual parents are James and Lily? Please, explain to us what the hell is happening?"
"It does explain why she looked so much like Lily," Remus spoke.
"Please, can you both just sit down," Harriet said tiredly. When they sat, she started asked them both to take a vow of silence, which the did.
"Right, yes I'm from a different timeline. I am Hadrian of my timeline. My real age is seventeen, and the time I came from was 1998, so I didn't jump back that far in time. I didn't do the time jumping, Thanatos did."
"How come Harry's a boy in his timeline, yet you're a girl?" Sirius questioned.
"You cannot see yourself in any timeline," Thanatos took up explanation. "It does nasty mental damage to the person. I, however, can bend the rules a little bit. So I changed Harriet's gender."
"Why did you call him Death?" Remus asked.
"Because he is Death," Harriet lip twitched. "His name is Thanatos, which if you did your research, is basically another name for Death."
"You're actually the Death? Grim Reaper?" Sirius asked in wonder.
"Yes," Thanatos smirked. "Harriet is my Master. She has full control over me, which she is quite reluctant to use."
Harriet rolled her eyes, "You know what I've been through, Than. I would never take your free will away."
"How well did you know us?" Sirius wondered.
"Not really that long," Harriet admitted. "I knew Remus when I was in my third year, he was the Defence Against the Dark Art's teacher. The best we had. You escaped prison the same year."
"Was I a good teacher?"
"Was I really in prison that long?"
"Yes, Remus. You taught me the Patronus Charm that year," Harriet smiled at the memory. "Dementors were stationed outside of Hogwarts, and around Hogsmeade, looking for Sirius. I didn't have the best experience with them, so you taught me to defend myself. And yes, Sirius, you were in prison for twelve years."
"I'm shocked, yet very proud you managed that charm at thirteen," Remus gave her a small smile.
"And I'm shocked I was locked up for twelve fucking years!"
"I saved you that year. Everyone, including me, thought you were out to kill me. But you were after Pettigrew. When the Dementors caught you, me and my friend went back in time to rescue you. You were a parent to me ever since."
"Why did you come back in time?" Remus leaned forward.
"Quite a few reasons. I had lost my Mate at the final battle. I didn't want to live without him. He wasn't supposed to die, he was supposed to be here with me. We had planned for a while about going back in time as we found out that Dumbledore isn't the Light wizard he proclaims to be."
"I agree with that," Sirius snorted. "That old bastard left me to rot!"
"Yes, he did a lot of horrible things," Thanatos said. "He let Harriet, and Hadrian, live with abusive Muggles. Muggles who beat them, made them live in a cupboard, made them to all the housework, hardly fed them, belittled them, and so much more."
"I couldn't allow Dumbledore to do the same thing. I was planning on joining Voldemort, and make him more sane."
"Voldemort's worse than Dumbledore ever could be! He murdered your parents!" Sirius raged.
"No, he isn't," Harriet said quietly but firmly. "Dumbledore made Voldemort into who he is. I have a way of restoring Voldemort back to how he used to be. He won't be good, but he is the lesser of two evils."
"I agree with her, Sirius," Remus raised a hand to stop Sirius speaking. "If Dumbledore can do that to both Hadrian and Harriet, then what else is he capable of? At least Voldemort tells you the truth."
"I still don't think it's a good idea," Sirius replied. "What if he turns on Harry?"
"I would never allow anything to hurt Hadrian," Harriet said coolly. "Voldemort can never hurt me either, since I am the Master of Death."
"You said in your timeline we had a daughter," Remus moved the conversation along. "What was she like? What age was she? Who is looking after her now?"
"She was the cutest kid I've ever seen," Harriet grinned. "She had both of you wrapped around her little finger. One of my best memories of her was when Sirius tried to change her nappy, and she levitated it on top of his head. When I left, she was three years old, and Andromeda Tonks is looking after her."
"She really did that to Sirius?" Remus laughed loudly.
"Yes. Was hilarious," Harriet laughed back.
"So, you know everything that's going to happen in the future?" Sirius changed the conversation this time.
"Some, yes, but I'm planning to change majority of it as it will keep Hadrian safe."
"Like what?"
"I can't tell you. Not until after it has happened. All you need to know is that Hadrian will have a choice in this war. He will not be forced to fight."
"We best head back to his party," Thanatos said. "They will be missing us now, and it does you no good to be neglecting your guests."
"Yes," Harriet agreed. "I promise to give you both the information when I can, but I must return to the party. I have business to take care of."
With that, the group stood up and made their way back to the party. Harriet was surprised by how well they both were taking the information. She thought Sirius would have made more of a fuss, but was glad he didn't. She wondered why neither of them mentioned Severus much.
Ah, well, leave that thought for another day. It's time to continue to build her connections.
Thursday, 3rd August 1989.
"You need to do the paperwork, My Lady," Thanatos dumped a huge pile in front of her. "Cannot have you slacking in your duties."
"Why the hell does Death need paperwork?" Harriet grumbled. "They're dead."
"The paperwork is needed for the Angels and Demons," Thanatos explained patiently. "I have to provide a certain number of souls to each of them every year. The paperwork is needed so the they know how much souls they have, and if they request more, then they owe me, and you, favours in the future."
"How much souls do you give them each year?" Harriet asked curiously.
"Roughly two billion," Harriet's eyes widened. "Do remember that I have millions of timelines to go through. My reapers do half of the work."
"Can you ever die, Than?"
"Yes. Only if human beings have died out. Then there wouldn't be a use of me, so I would simply fade away."
"Hasn't it been lonely all these years?"
"Sometimes, yes," Thanatos admitted. "I have my reapers to keep me company, along with War, Famine and such, but majority of the time, I just drift."
"Oh."
"In a few years, once you have become more comfortable with your duties, you will have to meet Michael, the head Archangel, and Lucifer, the King of Hell."
"Oh, joy," Harriet replied dryly, then tackled the mounting paperwork.
Saturday, 5th August 1989.
"Are you sure about this, My Lady?" Thanatos said.
"Yes. It is time."
Harriet was ready to go to this evenings Wizengamot meeting. After months of watching, and learning about each side, she was finally ready to join the Dark Sect.
"I will be meeting Lucius beforehand," Harriet told him.
"Does he know which side you will be joining?"
"No. He will find out when everybody else finds out."
"You are one hundred percent certain in your choice?"
"Absolutely. The Light Sect is completely in Dumbledore's pocket, and the Neutral Sect are split half in half. The Dark Sect is mostly in Lucius's pocket, but I'd rather be in his, than Dumbledore's."
Harriet fastened her cloak around her, and looked at herself in the mirror. She barely recognised the person she had become. Gone was the insecure, skinny, naive girl. Now, she was someone to take seriously. Her magic sizzled around he, warning would be enemies to be cautious. Her previous skinny frame had filled out with her height.
She looked the Lady of multiple Houses.
"Just be careful, My Lady."
"I promise."
Harriet stepped out of the Floo inside Malfoy Manor and was greeted by Dobby. This was the first time she had seen the Elf since being here, and her throat constricted. Images of his death flew to the front of her mind, and she battled to keep her face expressionless.
"Dobby bes taking Missy to Masters office," Dobby squeaked at her. "Missy best bes following Dobby."
"Thank you for coming, Harriet," Lucius smiled, and kissed the top of her hand.
"My pleasure, Lucius," Harriet smiled back. "I never had the chance to thank you for your support at Sirius's trial."
"It is no matter," Lucius dismissed her thanks. "Black is Narcissa's cousin, he is family. We Malfoy's put family above everything."
The months following Sirius's trial were difficult. The press were constantly at their home as Sirius had accepted her invitation to stay. The public were half and half on Sirius's innocence. The Purebloods and important Halfbloods that were not in Dumbledore's pocket, were firmly on Sirius's side. The Muggleborns and Dumbledore supports were firmly not.
Because of this, Harriet didn't have a chance to speak with Lucius or anyone.
"I believe you will enjoy this evenings meeting," Harriet said.
"And why is that?"
"Let's just say that some will be happy, others will rage. Everyone though, will certainly be surprised," Harriet smirked.
They continued to chat about nothing, and Harriet let herself relax into the conversation. The Malfoy's were very different to how she imagined. She realised that the masks they worse in public were just that. They weren't nice people, but they weren't as evil as she thought them to be.
"Shall we take our leave then?" Lucius asked as he stood up.
"Yes," Harriet replied. They then made there way to Lucius's Floo, and shouted out the entrance to the Ministry.
The Wizengamot was full when they had arrived, and Harriet quietly made her goodbyes and went over to the Neutral Sect.
Before the meeting would fully start, Harriet stood at her seat, and waited for Dumbledore to acknowledge her. He took his time, making sure all his paperwork was where it was supposed to be, checking over the Light Sect.
The longer Harriet was made to stand, the more furious the Dark Sect got, and some others from different Sects. It was insulting that Dumbledore, Lord of nothing, was doing to her, a Lady of four Houses.
"Is this how a Dumbledore treats a Lady, Supreme Mugwump?" Lord Lestrange asked.
"I was wondering that as well," Lord Harrowing spoke from the Neutral Sect. "It is rude to keep a Lady waiting, especially one who is of higher class."
"Do not trouble yourselves, My Lords," Harriet smiled as she spoke to them. "Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore is more than welcome to take his time. He isn't as young as he once was."
Light snickers met her comment, and finally Dumbledore took notice of her. He wasn't happy, she could plainly see that. If he wants to humiliate someone, then he should be prepared to be humiliated back.
"Please excuse my behaviour, Lady Potter," Dumbledore smiled. "You are correct in saying I am not as young as I once was. Please step forward and speak your mind."
Harriet made her way in front of Dumbledore. "I have been watching the Wizengamot meetings for quite some time, and I feel that it is my time to choose my Sect."
"Very well then," Dumbledore said. "Please press your hand against the identification stone, call out your Houses and which Sect they will go to."
Harriet did.
"First, House Avery to the Dark Sect."
Low murmurings were heard across the room.
"Second, House Peverell to the Dark Sect."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucius's eyes widen slightly.
"Thirdly, House Gryffindor to the Dark Sect."
The Light Sect's murmurings got slightly louder, and more angry.
"And finally," Harriet looked straight at Dumbledore. "House Potter to the Dark Sect."
The room erupted in angry shouts from the Light Sect, and exclamations from the Dark. She smirked at Lucius, who was still looking at her in surprise. She then nodded her head to the hourglass, which showed that the Dark Sect had taken over the Light, meaning that Dumbledore couldn't be Supreme Mugwump any longer.
Lucius then stood up and spoke. "If everyone please could look at the hourglass, you will notice that the Dark Sect has token over the Light, meaning that Dumbledore cannot sit in that chair. As I am the head of the Dark Sect, that means I am now Supreme Mugwump."
"What is the meaning of this?! You are a Potter! Potter's have always been light!" Lord Septimus Weasley shouted. "You are a disgrace to your House!"
"Excuse me, Lord Weasley," Lord Ogden replied from the Neutral Sect. "Need I remind you that House Weasley used to be completely Neutral before you came along? Or did you suddenly forget your family history?"
The shouting continued for some time, everyone taking the opportunity to insult one another. Harriet struggled to keep the smile off her face, and made her way over to where Lucius was sitting.
Let the games begin.
A.N. This is mostly just a filler chapter.. Soon there will be a time jump but I haven't finished writing that yet. Gonna try write about 6 chapter or so before I start posting again so I'm sorry if it's a long wait for you guys! Will try my hardest to post as fast as I can! Hope you're all enjoying this, remember reviews keep me motivated to keep writing!
