Disclaimer: I don't own anything that would count as fandoms here. Therefore, to all the IP holders out there, please don't sue me over this.
A/N: This is me rewriting my story again, especially since I have no idea where I was going to go with my prior version of a rewrite. I don't plan to pants my way through the whole thing, mind you, because this is not something I like to do as much as, say… what famous author is a seat-of-the-pants writer that I know of? Oh, right, it's George R. R. Martin. I'd rather be like Brandon Sanderson in this regard.
Speaking of whom, I got a strange package in the mail earlier (it was in May when I got the package), one that was him signing something for one of his Leather-bound books. I don't know why I have it, but I can only guess it was because I wrote a letter to him, and he decided to thank me for it somehow. It was a letter he answered in his 2021 Halloween live stream, and under my real name, too… don't you think that I'll share what that is here.
Anyway, to get onto the story itself, I plan to revise the whole thing from the beginning of what happens to Rin growing up away from Fuyuki City. Therefore, the story will be given all that extra punch by the time she's seven years old, to be fair.
Are you ready for new and exciting content? I hope so, though be warned that I plan to add older content to the beginning and end of this chapter. My reasoning for this is that I am terrible with destroying content that ultimately works, sadly. No, I'm not going to be destroying what worked from the beginning and end of the previous version's chapter 1, but I do plan to fix it up a lot. I plan to make it more satisfactory for readers to know who said what.
By the way, I bet you can't guess the crossover elements involved from this chapter onward, other than the obvious Harry Potter and Nasuverse stuff. If anyone can guess the entirety of the crossovers list by the time I release the eleventh chapter, I'll be very surprised, and I will award the first person to get it right a copy of my first novel upon its release. There's a very important caveat to keep in mind, though. I don't plan to mail this copy to guest users here on FFN, so that means I need you to be a registered user on the site so that I can send it your way that way.
Well, okay, that settles it here. I'll see you all on the fripSide.
Fate/Zero Cascade URE V2
by Xamusel
Chapter 01
It was a relatively normal day in the life of Tohsaka Aoi, the mother of very recently born Tohsaka Rin when her life shattered like a glass window against a rock.
Aoi was at the park with her firstborn daughter, having only the week before become pregnant for the second time, rocking her eldest in the portable cradle she was in. I wonder if she'll take on any traits from either myself or Tokiomi, she thought. Either way, I know she'll be a good Magus, though I do hope she'll be a better person, much like Kariya-kun. She shook her head wistfully. Although I still call him as such, I can't call him by his given name alone, due to cultural rules that I need to abide by.
Still, she noticed something out of the corner of her right eye, causing her to turn away and see what it was… Is that a phoenix? She certainly never expected one to appear outside of the enclaves of Wizardry and Witchcraft. I know it's not a Familiar belonging to anyone in any of the enclaves nearby, but what's one doing here of all places?
A cracking noise from where Rin was being rocked interrupted her thought process, causing her to jolt her head back to face where her daughter was supposed to be… she was gone from her portable cradle. "Rin?" she asked, not believing that it happened. A couple of seconds later, she raised her voice to ask, "Rin?!" Finally, an additional few seconds later, she cried out, "RIN?!"
The police took a few more minutes to arrive, with enough time for Aoi to frantically search all over the place for her daughter.
Tohsaka Tokiomi was mad… no, that was too soft a word for this occasion. He was livid that something happened to his wife without any way to prevent it. Whoever did this is going to get a Fire Element spell to the face, he thought, secrecy rules be damned! I want answers! Who did this?! Why did they do it?!
Still, he marched on over to the police station, where he was told his wife would be. He didn't know what was going on, but he was determined to find out, regardless of the circumstances.
Upon reaching the police station, he opened the door and headed inside, but calmed himself slightly so that he could go see his wife and the police in charge of consoling her. "Tohsaka Tokiomi here," he said to the receptionist. "My wife is supposed to be here after our daughter was abducted from her cradle in the park."
The receptionist nodded, before she said, "Room 1-D, Tohsaka-san. Take the left corridor, and it's the second door on the right."
Tokiomi nodded and muttered a quick thanks. He walked briskly to where his wife was, where a rookie police officer was standing guard. "Excuse me," he said to the rookie. "My wife, Tohsaka Aoi, is inside this room. May I enter?"
To the rookie's credit, he said, "I need to run this by the chief, sir, but I believe so." He then took out his radio and radioed the chief. "Chief Hasegawa, Tohsaka-san's husband, Tohsaka Tokiomi, is right outside the room. Should I let him in?"
There wasn't a reply right off the bat, but the door opened a few seconds later. "Ah, you must be Tohsaka Tokiomi-san," Chief Hasegawa said. "Please, come in and help us figure out what's going on."
Tokiomi nodded, before he entered the room, the door closing behind him. "Now," he said, "I know my daughter was kidnapped. However, I don't know what happened to cause it."
Chief Hasegawa nodded before he picked up a video cassette. "Your wife was telling us she saw something out of the corner of her right eye, turned to look at it, and then heard a cracking noise a short bit after that. She specifically said she didn't see the kidnapper, but thought the sight that caused her to look away was like a bird made of fire, or so she said," he answered. He then put the cassette into the VCR, letting it play out. "I tracked down her location in the park at the time via the CCTV that was in the park, so we'll be able to get a clearer understanding of what happened."
At first, the footage was going on as normal, even if the camera recorded from Aoi's left going to her right. A few minutes into the video, however, Tokiomi saw the bird in question, prompting him to exclaim, "Pause the footage!" After the footage was paused, which took a couple of seconds to do, he saw something strange in the filmed event. "Is it just me, or is that man's head appearing without the rest of his body?"
Chief Hasegawa looked incredulous at the footage. "I did not know that was even possible..." he admitted. "I guess this means the culprit is a magic user of some sort?"
Tokiomi and Aoi shared a look of consternation.
Around nine months later, Tokiomi and Aoi were welcoming into the world their second child, a daughter they named Sakura. Officially, the case was cold on finding Rin, but Tokiomi never gave up on finding her. It was a rough time, especially when the Japanese Ministry of Magic came knocking on their door, and had to be told why they were supposed to know what happened to their firstborn. Boy, that experience wasn't pleasant, not in the least. Tokiomi had to restrain himself from throttling the Wizards and Witches in question.
Still, they had gotten some answers from the Ministry. A Western Wizard thought it was a good idea to enter the country and abduct the child in question, it seemed. Who this Wizard was, they didn't know, but it was someone high up in the ICW. That was all they knew about the situation.
Either way, Tokiomi was going to convince Aoi to try for a third child, but she adamantly refused. Her mind and her heart seemed to agree, considering Rin was abducted shortly after they tried for Sakura, which meant there was no chance of that happening. She didn't care if her thoughts were illogical, she didn't want to risk it at all.
Tokiomi wouldn't admit it, but he had no other choice in the matter. He needed to make Sakura his heir, especially in the case where Rin remained missing. He still would look for her, but he needed to know where she was, and that wasn't looking to be a pleasant experience.
Still, he was preparing for the time when the Grail granted him his Command Spells so that he could get his truest wish from the wish-granting device. Of course, originally, he would have done his best to get access to the Root of All Things. However, with Rin no longer there, he wished for one thing only. He wished to be there and prevent Rin from being kidnapped in the first place.
Lillian "Lily" Potter nee Evans sighed as she walked into the garden of the Potter Estate in Wales. It had been a trying time for the last few years, especially since the current Dark Lord started his reign of terror. It was something she knew needed to be resolved properly, as in with authorization to permanently end a threat from the beginning. However, with Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore being incapable of allowing his soldiers (and the Order of the Phoenix, regardless of what anyone else thought, was a paramilitary group that was founded for this civil war) to kill, this reign of terror went longer than necessary.
Still, it wasn't so bad, especially since she had a third mouth to feed in the family, and at least one more along the way. The only sticking point about this third mouth was that she was adopted as the heir of the Potter Family… and yet, try as she and James Fleamont Potter might, they couldn't find any sign of where their new child's family came from. This was a mystery that she wanted to solve as much as anyone else in her shoes.
"Lily?" James's voice called out from outside the garden. "Are you still on the property?"
"I'm in the garden," Lily yelled from her spot in the garden. "I'm pondering what we've gotten ourselves into."
"Again?" James asked, popping his head into the garden from an entryway near Lily. "Lils, I get it, I do. You want to return Hyacinth to her family, but we still don't know where to find her parents. They aren't of recent wizarding blood, and none of the samples we had Saint Mungo's analyze said that she came from a pure-blood family of any renown from anywhere. It's likely someone kidnapped her from a family of muggles, or, Heaven forbid, Magi, but how are we supposed to explain this to the muggle authorities while we're still fighting a civil war?"
"I don't know, James," Lily snapped before she sighed. "I'm sorry, I guess carrying a child has made me more hormonal than I'd like."
"Hormonal? Oh, right, the mood swings," James said. "That makes sense. Still, if there's anything else we need to get ourselves out of, I'd appreciate a heads up on the matter, okay?"
"Of course," Lily said. "Now, I need to prepare for the event that the Dark Lord ends up coming after us for some reason."
"You mean about that strange thing that has Headmaster Dumbledore in such a tizzy?" James asked. "I mean, sure, we don't know what that thing is yet, but when are we supposed to know what it is?"
"I doubt we're supposed to find out," Lily said before she walked out of the garden to kiss James. "However, I know that this is the perfect opportunity to prepare for a ritual that might be problematic if we delay it."
"Are you sure you want to do it here on the estate, Lils?" James asked. "I mean, I'm certain that we'll be forced to go into hiding soon enough since we've survived the Dark Lord coming after us three times now."
"You might have a point," Lily said before she began walking over to the kitchen. "Come on, we need to get ready for today."
"Right behind you, love," James said, hurrying to match steps with his wife.
After a rather satisfying breakfast, James and Lily were about to clean their dishes when they heard the popping noise of a House Elf appearing in their presence. "Master James, Mistress Lily, you have a visitor," the House Elf said. "Shall I bring them over here?"
James and Lily looked each other in the eye, before Lily inclined her head that James should answer.
Way to make me more proactive, Lils, James thought.
With a turn of his head back to the House Elf, he said, "Sebastian, no need to worry. Send them to the sitting room, where I'll be headed after getting my dishes cleaned up from eating my breakfast just now."
"As you wish, Master James," Sebastian the House Elf said. "On my way now." With that, he popped back out of the kitchen over to the guest in question.
"Well, time to finish this task," Lily said. "I hope that this won't be a problem here."
"I'm sure it won't be a problem," James said, cleaning off his plate with soapy water and a clean dish towel. Putting away the plate, he repeated the process with his coffee mug, thankfully empty of black gold. "Now, here's to us surviving long enough to see our great-grandchildren."
Lily nodded. "James, you might want to head to the sitting room first. I'll be right behind you after I finish cleaning the dishes."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay," James said before he walked over to the sitting room.
When he got there, he saw the guest was a man who looked to be middle-aged, about 60 years old with graying hair and blood-red eyes. He wore an outfit that befit someone of high nobility, which James knew was not something anyone in the Wizarding World would ever wear in today's day and age, especially with the Dark Lord still on the loose. His hands rested on top of a jeweled cane, revealing that he had access to some form of mystical power revolving around gems, especially if he was able to find his way into a Wizarding estate.
"Ah, the man of the house is here," the man said, raising his right hand and extending it forward to James. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Schweinorg… Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, to be exact."
James took the offered hand in his right hand. "James Fleamont Potter, mister Schweinorg," he said, shaking hands with the newcomer. "Now, what brings you here to my home?"
"Is the Missus around? I don't want to repeat myself any more than necessary, and I need to ensure that this visit is swift enough for keeping everyone here safe," Zelretch said.
"Huh? Lily's in the kitchen for now," James said. "I'm here ahead of her today, but only because she sent me ahead."
"I see," Zelretch said, looking around for something. "Well, here's hoping that nobody plans to attack the property while I'm here. I'll help you defend the property, to be certain, but I can't offer monetary compensation for fixing the place up."
"Thank you for offering to help defend," James said. "I'm sure that Lils and I will enjoy fixing the place up as a challenge without using magic or whatever."
At that point, Lily arrived in the sitting room, holding onto an infant that had pitch-black hair and wore pink baby clothes. In her free hand, she had a bottle of baby formula she was feeding the infant. "Hyacinth, I know you're supposed to be breastfeeding, but I can't give you your milk that way," she said. At that moment, she looked up and saw Zelretch. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you our guest?"
Zelretch nodded. "I'm here in regards to helping you and your family stay safe, Missus Potter," he said. "Before I start talking about that, though, I have to ask. Is that child your flesh and blood daughter?"
James and Lily turned to face each other momentarily. With a brief nod from James, Lily sighed, turned to face Zelretch, and answered, "No, Hyacinth isn't our flesh and blood. She was placed on our doorstep the week after she was born, and nobody in our society could say where she came from. It's like everyone magically believes she's our firstborn."
"Is that right?" Zelretch asked. "Well, I hope that you tell her the truth when she's old enough to understand, and I also hope you help her find her actual parents."
James cleared his throat into a fist. "You mentioned wanting to help keep our family safe?" he asked. "How are you planning to do that?"
"Oh, yes, that's right," Zelretch said. "First off, there's a competition that's due to start in a little over six years from now, one that your family has a guaranteed spot in. It's a magical competition, mind you, but one that has a mortality rate if not careful. I'll make sure that your family gets past the tournament safely."
"How will you do that?" Lily asked.
Zelretch reached into his dress coat and pulled out a manila envelope. "Here's a copy of the requirements for getting into the tournament. All it takes is a simple ritual that needs to be done when you feel the most magically active, and then you'll have your spot confirmed. Follow the instructions to the letter, and you'll live long enough to die of old age."
James nodded. Well, at least this won't end horribly, he thought. However… I still have to wonder. What about the Dark Lord?
He raised his hand. "Do you know how likely we'll survive the current Dark Lord?" he asked.
"I do, yes," Zelretch said. He pulled out a small bag from within the outer pocket of his dress coat and handed it to James. "Use these magically powered gems to beat the stuffing out of him, and then you'll be able to live alongside your wife to the end of your natural life span."
"How am I supposed to use this bag of magically powered gems?" James asked. "I mean, what words do I say to use them?"
Zelretch sighed before he pulled another bag out from the outer pocket of his dress coat. "Allow me to explain what you need to do concerning this bag of empowered gems," he said, pulling out a ruby. "Think of a trigger in your mind, then use the magic that comes to you easily with a word of your choice as long as you have that trigger on. In my case, my trigger is a mental image of a boot to my head."
"That makes sense so far," James said. "How do you turn the trigger off, though?"
"Simple," Zelretch said. "Consciously think of something to calm yourself down from the use of magic you'd perform. For instance, think of your family that you have, and how you'll have fun with them."
"What do you plan to do with that ruby?" Lily asked. "I mean, is it anywhere near magical like the gems you said you gave James?"
Zelretch nodded before he stood up. "Each of these gems on my person, even the cane I'm holding right now, is filled with magical energy that needs to be attuned to the person using them. In your case, Mister Potter, I want you to put the bag I gave you under your pillow for five nights, and then sleep on top of said pillow each night. The bag does not need to be there all the time, mind you, just when you sleep in your bed."
"That didn't answer Lily's first question, mister Schweinorg," James said. "What do you plan to do with the ruby?"
"Ah, that," Zelretch said. "I plan to put this ruby under the garden of your estate to help preserve the property. This is the only ruby I have that can enhance barrier-type spells around a property. Do you understand?"
James and Lily gaped.
It was Halloween that same year, and Lily, who was cleaning up the nursery in Godric's Hollow, noticed that she had strange markings on the back of her right hand. Did James do this? No, he couldn't have, she thought. She then pulled out the papers that detailed the ritual that she and James still didn't have fulfilled yet. Wait, these markings are the catalyst needed to perform this ritual from the beginning? Well, I'd better take care of it, then… I mean… She turned her gaze to look at hers and James's children, blood and adopted. If I don't, then Hyacinth, Harrison, and Lilac won't have a future ahead of them, and I don't want that for them.
She then said, "Sebastian."
A popping noise entered the nursery. "Mistress Lily called Sebastian?" the House Elf asked.
"I did," Lily said, before handing Sebastian the notes for the ritual. "I need the right wood and metal for this summoning circle before noon, and I need it assembled precisely as shown here. Could you please assemble it in the basement?"
Sebastian blinked at the notes. "Of course, Mistress Lily," he said. "Do you want me to pay for this in the Muggle world?"
Lily shook her head. "In this case, no," she said. "Make sure it's explicitly magical materials that you'll use for this. This is especially so for the metal here."
Sebastian nodded. "Very well," he said. "I'll have to go to the stores, though, won't I?"
"I think you will, yes," Lily said before she handed the House Elf a bag of coins. "150 galleons are in this bag, meant to speed up the process of getting the wood and metal over here immediately. Make sure you don't spend more than you have on hand in that bag and return with the bag, okay?"
"Of course!" Sebastian nodded rather emphatically.
"Good," Lily said. "Before you go, please memorize the circle as shown in the diagram, then give me back the notes, and then head on your way to the store. Report to me when you finish building the circle in the basement."
"Yes, mistress Lily!"
Sirius Orion Black III was busy reading The Daily Prophet in his safe house when he heard a strange noise coming from his front door. Who could be at the door when I put Lily as the Secret Keeper of this place? He thought, getting up to answer the door. I don't know of anyone who would want to visit unless something came up at the Black Ironworks…
He got to the bolt on the door and undid it, allowing him to see his guest, a wizard under his employ. "Rufus?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
"We have a situation at the Ironworks, boss," Rufus Highwind said. "A House Elf calling itself Sebastian has come to the store to pay for some cold iron, stuff we normally don't sell to people through their House Elves. He claims he needs it for his Mistress Lily, but he wouldn't say why he needs the cold iron."
Sirius stood there, mouth agape, for a few seconds. "Which family does this House Elf belong to?" he finally asked.
"I checked the registry of House Elves and Noble Families to find out, and it seems like this is a Potter House Elf," Rufus said.
"Ah, okay, that makes sense," Sirius said. "I'll get to James and Lily Potter about this, just to find out why they need the cold iron. Trust me, it's probably outside even my pay grade."
"Okay, boss," Rufus said. "I'll wait outside the door, then."
"Thanks," Sirius said, before closing the door in full. A few moments later, he headed over to the fireplace, putting the Floo Network to use. Sticking his head in the fireplace, he asked, "James, is now a good time?"
"Sirius, what's the matter?" James asked. "Are you here for pleasure or something else?"
"Business matter, I'm afraid," Sirius answered. "Did Lily say why she had Sebastian go to the Black Ironworks for cold iron?"
"Sebastian's about to buy cold iron?" Lily asked, having stepped up from behind James. "I mean, true, that would be helpful for what I have in mind, but won't he be hurt in that process?"
"What did you have in mind?" James asked, turning to face his wife.
"The ritual that we were told about six months ago, James," Lily said. "Remember? Mister Schweinorg?"
"Oh, right, I remember now," James said, pounding a fist into an outstretched palm. "Okay, yeah, I forgot we were supposed to do it until you mentioned it now."
"So… do you want me to let Sebastian handle the cold iron?" Sirius asked.
"May as well," Lily said. "After this is over, we'll tell you about the ritual and its details, I promise."
Late that night, Lily began the ritual, unsure of what would happen if she didn't wait until much later. Let's see if this will work, she thought. I don't want to find out this was a huge mistake way too late.
Lily then started uttering the words that she needed to, her right hand outstretched and ready for the ritual.
"Bare and silver and iron. Stone for foundation and the Grand Duke of contracts. My great master Schweinorg for the ancestor. Let white be the color I pay tribute to. A wall for the descending winds. The four gates shall close and come out the crown. Let the three-forked road to the kingdom cycle."
Her concentration barely focused on the ritual, she could hear the sounds of children doing their routine of trick or treating outside of the house she and James lived in that day. Strange, it was getting late for children to be out, was it not? She paid it no mind.
"Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Enclose. Five times for each repetition. Just destroy the enclosed time."
She started to feel the sheer magical power flood through her, which was something that she normally never felt. She never knew why no wizard or witch ever felt this much magical power flow through them in their lives before, unless one counted Albus. Then again, he was the exception, or so the saying goes.
"Saa… Hajime!"
After reviewing the notes from Zelretch, Lily had come up with a trigger phrase that allowed her to access all that magical power, though she needed to let it flow out from her form. It was not exactly healthy to keep it stored for no reason within herself… even a grade-A moron knew better than that.
She needed to work out the details of how to stop the current Dark Lord, obviously, but that was to be expected. The info to use against him was restricted heavily… and she didn't know why. Was Albus being too pacifistic or something?
She mentally slapped herself on the back of the head. She didn't need distractions.
All the magical energy in her body felt like she had eaten a full nine-course meal that consisted of acid as the beverage of choice. She didn't realize that this would be a thing when she began the ritual, but she was already deeply involved in it, and James wouldn't want her to back out when the going was tough. Maybe it would be different if he were doing this, but who knows now?
"—I announce! Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword. Follow the call of the Holy Grail. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."
It was then that Lily started to notice something strange about her vision in this room… namely the fact that it was starting to shut down for some reason. She'd probably have to look at the notes again, to confirm one way or another what she was experiencing. Even so, she refused to stop. She was almost there, near the end of the ritual.
"Make an oath here. I am the one who shall become the virtue of all afterworld. I am the one who shall lay out the evil of all afterworld. Thou art Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words. Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance…!"
Just as she finished uttering the words that would finish the ritual, however, James banged on the door leading into the room and yelled, "Lils! The Dark Lord's here! Grab Hyacinth and get out of here while I stall for you! Harrison and Lilac are already safe!"
Lily barely had time to hear what James yelled to her when she heard an explosion of power in the room she stood in. Her vision cleared up rather swiftly, allowing her to see a woman who had a regal bearing, long black hair, and elfin ears. "What…?"
"I ask of you," the woman spoke. "Are you worthy of being my master?"
Lily barely had the opportunity to gape at the woman, her arm dropping to her leg in shock, showing the marking on the back of her right hand. What the… how come I didn't bother asking what the ritual was supposed to do?
It was at that moment that James yelled out, "Switch out!" Shortly after that, there was an explosion that shook the house, as if James had thrown a literal hand grenade at the Dark Lord… but how? He never knew what a hand grenade was at all… was it those gems?
Whoa… talk about collateral damage, James thought. Note to self: find a way to discern what each gem is supposed to do.
The gem he had thrown was a Topaz, one that seemed to have the explosive power of a Bombarda spell, but with none of the fire normally associated. He quickly pulled out another gem, this time a Ruby, and prepared to pull the metaphorical pin on it. As he gripped it in his hand, he felt the gem tell him it was packed with an incendiary property to go with the explosions, almost as if the gem were alive.
Well, there's that, then, he thought. Now, how many enemies are there, and how do I get them to back off without killing all of them by accident? He gave a light chuckle. Oh, right, knock their Dark Lord off his horse to get to his soldiers.
He looked around for any sign of Voldemort, who had to be still on the ground somewhere before he saw a flutter of movement from the corner of his eye. He ducked behind a wall to stay safe from any sign of spell movement, something that was rewarded when he heard a cry of the Killing Curse headed to where he was. That was close!
He was just about to pull the pin on the Ruby when he heard the voice of one of his prank victims back in his days at Hogwarts. "My lord, why not burn the house to the ground to flush out the Potters?"
That voice… Carlyle McKenzie? Why would a Hufflepuff from a Light family go join the Dark Lord?
"That is a great idea!" the Dark Lord declared. "Prepare to use Fiendfyre on this house!"
Ugh… no time to worry about it. I'd better end the threat to Lily and Hyacinth immediately!
James pulled the pin on the Ruby and tossed it into the destroyed living room, sending it up into a more manageable flame size than what the Dark Lord had in mind. As he heard the cries of the Death Eaters, he ran to the ritual room that had the circle he knew Sebastian built earlier that day. He forcefully opened the door and saw the sight that shocked Lily before his arrival, although…
Who is she? What's she doing here?
"Master, a bystander has arrived," the mysterious woman said, "Under the rules of the conflict, no witnesses are to be permitted. Therefore, I will eliminate the witness."
"Wait, wait, wait!" James declared. "I'm her husband! Don't eliminate the husband in this family!"
The mysterious woman barely began pulling out a dagger when she heard James' declaration. "Is this true, Master?"
Lily nodded in almost inhuman haste. "I don't think I introduced myself properly," she said. "My name is Lily Potter nee Evans. That's my husband, James Fleamont Potter."
"Very well," the woman said before she dematerialized from view. A few seconds later, she appeared between James and an approaching Death Eater that he barely noticed before she swung her dagger across the terrorist's neck. "Is there anyone else in this house that needs sparing?"
"Our eldest," James said. "Her name is Hyacinth, and she's in her crib in the nursery."
Mere moments later, diabolical laughter erupted from the living room. "So, you think you won, just because of some fancy spellwork on those gems?" Voldemort questioned the three working together. "I have no idea how you pulled that off, but I will only ask you with rather limited patience on my end. Let me pass to this nursery, so I can achieve immortality through the blood of your child!"
"No!" Lily exclaimed. "Take my life instead!"
Voldemort simply used a wandless spell to push the three of them backward a couple of meters, forcing them to the stairwell.
"Master, why are you acting like this?" the woman (who James needed a name for) hissed. "Why throw away your life?"
Before either James or Lily could respond, Voldemort said, "Let me pass to this nursery, so I can achieve immortality through the blood of your child!"
"No!" Lily exclaimed. "Take my life instead!"
Before the Dark Lord could do anything to force his point, James pulled out a Diamond and gripped it, getting the information that it produced a bright flash and a loud bang, allowing him to come up with a plan ever so briefly. "Think fast, Dark Tosser!" he yelled, metaphorically pulling the pin on the Diamond and throwing the gem at the Dark Lord.
Voldemort caught the Diamond in his off-hand, before yelling, "I do not need your insults!" He motioned with his wand to cast a spell. "Ave—"
"Run!" James yelled, running up the stairs to the nursery with Lily and the mysterious woman behind him, just in time for the Diamond to produce the effects needed.
As the Diamond blew up, James took his wife and the mysterious woman up to the nursery, James hiding behind the side of the door that swung inward to hit him, the mysterious woman on the other side, and Lily moving to collect Hyacinth. This is a right pain, or so my father would tell me, he thought.
"Master, why are you being suicidal to this degree?" the mysterious woman asked. "I won't let you die on me, not before we win the conflict that is at hand."
"What conflict, exactly?" James asked. "Also, you never said who you are, so how are we to trust you with anything important?"
Lily stopped before she could collect Hyacinth from her cradle. "He's right on both counts," she said. "What conflict? Who are you?"
The mysterious woman opened her mouth to speak, but stopped partway and dematerialized, as the Dark Lord began to storm into the room… though his off-hand and arm were smoking from the effects of the Diamond used earlier. Not only was that part of the body smoking, but he also walked with a lot of stumbling, as if he was blinded by the flash. "You've given me quite the runaround, Potter," Voldemort growled, stopping three meters away from Lily. "Now that I'm here… stand aside! I have promised one of my men that I would spare you alone from this battlefield, and I am a man of my word."
James was about to growl since he had a distinct idea who was responsible for this situation, when he heard Lily yell, "I told you already, take my life instead! I will not deprive Hyacinth of her very life!"
"You little… you leave me with no choice," Voldemort snarled. He moved his wand to perform his signature method of killing.
Think, James, think! What can I do to protect Lils?! James pulled out a gem at random, yet again before he took a look at the jewel. An Alexandrite? What will this do? He gripped the gem in his hand and gathered all the info he could on the subject before his jaw dropped. Perfect! I can protect Lils this way.
Just as the Dark Lord began to chant again, James pulled the metaphorical pin on the Alexandrite and tossed it at the Dark Lord, freezing him solidly in a block of ice.
"What the… James?" Lily asked, looking at her husband. "What did you do now?"
"I saved your life," James said. "I mean, given that I have to protect my family from a Dark Lord, what am I supposed to do?"
Before Lily could answer, the mysterious woman said, "I think that your wife might have been trying to do a ritual to protect your child, sir. We won't know unless and until we free the 'Dark Lord' from his prison, will we?"
"True," James said. Looking at the woman, he asked, "How about we talk about this at our safe house? It wouldn't do to be here, in case the Dark Lord can melt the ice or something equally ridiculous rather fast."
The women in the nursery nodded at his assessment. As soon as the three of them started walking to collect Hyacinth, however, they heard the sound of a motorcycle riding their way outside. "I'll stay astralized and report to you with what information I can gather from this mess, just get to your new safe house now, before whoever is on their way here interrupts what you need to do," the mysterious woman said.
"But—" Lily started before James motioned for her to shush up.
"We'll be waiting for your report," James said. "We'll be back as soon as we can, to collect you and Hyacinth."
Lily opened her mouth to say something, left it open for a few seconds, then closed it and nodded. "James, be prepared to go first," she said at last.
"Okay, Lils," James said, apparating out of Godric's Hollow to make it to the Potter Manor. Well… this situation is going to be a right pain to deal with normally. How do we handle what Albus has to say about this subject?
Moments later, both Lily and the mysterious woman arrived, though only Lily performed an Apparition. "Wait, I thought you were going to look after Hyacinth?" Lily asked the mysterious woman.
"Uh-oh…" the woman said. "This is not good at all."
I have to hurry it up, Sirius thought, riding his flying motorcycle to Godric's Hollow. I need to warn James and Lily that Peter betrayed them! Yes, I know that a flying motorcycle is not something one should expect, but what other way am I able to get past the anti-apparition and anti-disapparition spells? This is beyond crazy!
Taking a brief moment to park his motorcycle outside the estate, he hoofed it over to the front door, only to see a lot of bodies from the Death Eaters. Wow… who managed to kill all these Death Eaters? I want to shake their hand and learn from them how they pulled it off. He then shook his head rapidly. Now's not the time for this, me. I need to find out what happened to James and Lily, as well as Hyacinth… especially Hyacinth, my goddaughter.
He looked all over the ground floor of the estate before he heard a shattering noise as if someone was breaking a massive amount of ice with a sledgehammer from within the ice. He looked around for the source of the noise before he looked up. Is that noise upstairs?!
He ran to the stairwell and barely climbed up to the first landing when he heard Voldemort cry out, "Avada Kedavra!"
Oh, no! I'm too late!
Sirius ran the rest of the way up the stairs and a meter away from the stairs when he heard the sound of someone dying by Killing Curse, only it was Voldemort's voice, oddly enough. He couldn't even begin to comprehend how often he heard something like this. It was as if he only now experienced someone getting killed by his curse.
Wait for me, Hyacinth. Uncle Sirius is on the way now!
He ran forward, psyching himself to see the crying bodies of Hyacinth, Harrison, and Lilac. When he got to the nursery, however, he saw that the Dark Lord's clothes were the only thing left of Voldemort, and the cribs for Harrison and Lilac were empty. To add to the mystery, Hyacinth had a scar on her forehead that looked like a lightning bolt.
What in the world happened here? He couldn't figure it out… not as swiftly as he'd like.
"Sirius, what happened here?" a deeply accented voice called to him from behind. "Looks like a battlefield."
Sirius turned to see a giant of a man with obsidian hair and eyes, though calling him a giant would only be half-right. "I only got here a short bit ago, looking for James and Lily," Sirius said. "I'm in the process of figuring out what happened here. All I know is that Hyacinth somehow blocked a Killing Curse to the forehead, off-center and on her right… and that the Dark Lord fell to a blocked Killing Curse. Trust me, Hagrid, I'm not making a joke."
"I see," Hagrid said. "Well, I'm under orders to take Hyacinth to Professor Dumbledore for her safety, since he was worried that You-Know-Who had more followers willing to off her while she's defenseless."
While Hagrid walked towards Hyacinth, Sirius gaped at the sheer suddenness of the situation. Is he even going to listen to anyone else when they have something to say?
"Hagrid, wait," he said. "Instead of taking Hyacinth right this second, we need to find out what happened to Harrison and Lilac."
Hagrid, who had barely managed to reach Hyacinth's crib, paused as he was about to reach out to her. "What?" he asked. "Who are they?"
"James and Lily's twins. They were born a few days ago," Sirius said. "I was read in on that fact the day they were born."
Hagrid stroked his beard as he thought about what Sirius said. "Okay, let's look for the twins," he said. "However, this needs to wait until I get their older sister to safety."
Sirius sighed irritably. So, he's not going to stop what he's been told to do. Just my luck.
"Fine, Hagrid," he said. "However, take my motorcycle with you. It'll get you to the Headmaster faster."
"Thank you, Sirius," Hagrid replied. "I'll be sure to return the motorcycle right as soon as I finish this task. What about if you aren't here, though?"
"I'll leave a note for you to read on the front door… or what's left of the front door," Sirius said. "Please, make sure that you read it without assuming the worst."
Hagrid nodded, even as he gently picked up Hyacinth and made his way to Sirius's motorcycle.
If only anyone knew what was going to happen for the foreseeable future… even Trelawney.
Hyacinth Potter loathed her life to that point. She had many reasons for that, but the majority of those reasons had to do with her 'family'.
No, she didn't care what the people around her said. She refused to believe or acknowledge that she was related to them whatsoever. Not to Vernon, not to Petunia, and especially not to Dudley.
It was the day she was supposed to turn seven, and nobody dared to wish her a happy birthday, not after the one time back before she first started primary school. Petunia and Vernon tried to make her life even worse by refusing to acknowledge her birthday and even threatening everyone into following suit. There was someone who wished her a happy birthday, but it seemed like that person vanished without a trace. Oddly enough, she heard digging in the middle of the night after the fact… not that she was allowed to look into what the digging was for, but she could tell it was in the backyard.
Anyway, she was out of the house for the majority of the day, since she did not want to be stuck with the chores again… it was after lunch that she left, and she refused to return to the house until the next day. She didn't want to deal with the crap her so-called family was going to give her, even if Dudley was giving her less of it than usual. She didn't know why, either.
It was almost time for the Dursleys to return home, and she was hoping they wouldn't care enough to go looking for her. Her life was already terrible, to begin with, no need to let them make it any worse.
Fortunately for her, she knew how to camp out in the woods without much in the way of preparations. It was just going to be a right pain to do it in such a way that the well-meaning adults would be disinclined to send her to her supposed residence, even if she'd done it before… once… and with extenuating circumstances helping her.
Still, she didn't pay attention to her path headed to the woods, because she tripped on a rock that was jutting out of the ground. As she fell to the ground, she controlled herself well enough to keep the outcry down to a gasp. She didn't want to be caught by whoever was supposed to be monitoring the surrounding area for children running away. Even still, she scraped her right hand on the ground and barely gave a wince from that.
It wasn't the first time she got hurt like that. The first time was when she fell from a tree after Ripper, the pet dog of Vernon's older sister Marge, was caught trying to bite her and chased her up a tree. She broke her arm from the fall, which would've been hard to cover up in time for school since it was the Sunday after the start of the new term two years prior. Therefore, Petunia had to drive her to the hospital and get her checked over by a doctor, which… okay, that was undoubtedly the nicest thing she'd ever done for her because she'd been missing a lot of immunizations by that point. Who knew?
Without much in the way of keeping healthy, she simply found a small creek and washed the blood off of her hand, making sure to staunch the bleeding after the fact. After having sufficiently done so, she washed the blood off of her other hand, never noticing the strange pattern that appeared on her right hand.
A few minutes later, she found herself in front of her favorite tree, which was still young enough to grow into a bigger tree. She began climbing the tree, feeling more than a little safe from what was going on in the neighborhood she left, especially the Dursleys. Soon enough, she found herself at the point where she could see the stars, which were near the top of the tree.
After a few seconds, she saw the first star of the night, which prompted her to think of a wish. She knew logically that wishes were impossible to grant, but the sense of mystery was enough to make her want to get a wish granted by the stars.
"Star Light, Star Bright, the first star I see tonight," Hyacinth began her chant. "I wish I may, I wish I might… have the wish I wish tonight… I wish I had a friend or someone who cared enough to stick around, one who wouldn't be chased off so easily by those people… and…" she paused slightly. "I wish that we could learn of whatever life is outside of our solar system, or even outside of Earth itself, too."
The strange pattern on her right hand seemed to flare up with unknown heat. As the heat flared up further, she could feel a sense of power from it, even as the pattern glowed a bloody red.
On the ground near her, she saw a strange circle form with all sorts of odd symbols.
She could feel the power coming from the circle, as a man appeared.
His hair was spiked and pure white. His skin was a tan that could only come from long hours in the sun. His clothing was so obviously foreign that he would stand out in the drab neighborhood of Surrey within seconds of being there. He was also tall… much taller than her gym teacher, who was the tallest man in the area. He wore boots that were meant for hard combat, and the sort of easy confidence you'd expect from someone who had been in a lot of hard fights and knew how to handle any sort of combat situation.
In short, he was the most interesting thing to show up in Little Whinging, and it made her wonder what the heck was going on.
The man had the most beautiful amber-colored eyes she had ever seen… it was almost like looking into the sunset.
"I ask of you... are you my Master?"
She blinked.
"What?" she said baffled, staring at him.
That seemed to throw him off, as he looked up and spotted her. A strange sort of recognition flickered through his eyes.
"Why are you in a tree?" he asked.
"Because I don't want the adults to see me. They'll make me go back, and I would rather sleep outside," she replied honestly.
Something in her gut said to trust him completely, and since her instincts had never steered her wrong before she decided to go with it. Besides, the man was rather fascinating.
"Aren't you a little young to be camping alone?" he asked.
Ugh… I thought he wasn't like the rest… she thought. Then again… it seems like he can tell better than to force me back to that place, right?
"I'm not that young! I just turned seven!" she frowned at him.
A light dusting of humor crossed his face.
"What's your name?"
"Hyacinth. Hyacinth Potter. What's your name, Mister?"
"I don't remember."
Hyacinth looked at him sharply.
"If you don't want to say what it is, then at least have the decency not to lie to me," she pouted. "I hate liars."
The man gave her a measuring gaze.
"Fair enough. You may call me Archer," he said after a moment. "Miss Hyacinth, do you mind answering my question from earlier?"
She looked at him in slight confusion before she realized what he meant. "Well, I'm old enough to know that the residence I stayed at is so terrible, and yet everyone seems intent on keeping me there… I don't even know why, mister Archer," she answered, barely holding back her tears.
He quickly and carefully climbed up the tree, reaching her within the minute, before he allowed her to cry into his chest. That simple act would be enough to let out all the stress related to the abuse she went through. Soon enough, she was sleeping, content for the first time in her life.
Well, this is a shitty life, Archer thought as he sat in the tree, little Hyacinth asleep in his lap and arms. I have to wonder, is this because of the Counter Force requiring my attention? Am I required to kill people to preserve the safety of the world? A strange mental ping occurred in his head as if telling him something rather important. Ugh… very funny, Alaya. As if the Macross will show up in the next calendar year…
Archer, otherwise known as Counter Guardian EMIYA, was confused by the role he had to play for this summons. Then again, he knew that he couldn't exactly say no to saving someone, especially if they looked an awful lot like a younger Tohsaka Rin. Although… was his boss outside of the Grail Wars trying to tell him something outlandish?
Oh, wait, it's the Grail itself telling me stuff… he thought. Now… what point in the timeline am I in right now? Last I checked, the surroundings do not match the early to mid-1990s, and it's in the UK to boot… good grief.
Before he could get any further information from the Grail, however, he felt magical energy akin to a Wizard's sensory spell flow into the area from outside the forest. What's a wizard doing in this reality? He thought in confusion. I thought this was a realm free from the Ministry of… Magic… oh, wait, my mistake. Hyacinth is supposed to be a female Harry Potter, isn't she?
Still, with some quick thinking, he prepared a defense against being detected by this spell for himself and his Master, in case this was a case of a Death Eater trying to find Hyacinth. He Projected a copy of the Invisibility Cloak Deathly Hallow, allowing the two of them to be hidden with some success, even if he didn't know what the degree of success was at the time. He knew it would only be a matter of time, but he also knew that the spell needed to pass them by, which was why he needed to use Death's Cloak.
If only he knew what the result would be from his actions in protecting Hyacinth…
On a floating island in an alternate version of the Earth's Troposphere…
"Boss, we have confirmation," a technician reported to his superior. "There is a door to a different version of our world hidden within the clockwork city of Yggdrasil."
"Excellent," the superior, a woman wearing a cybernetic suit of armor that left little to the imagination about her curves, purred. "Prepare the scouting troops to investigate the structure of this different version. Make sure they know to keep the holograms active at all times." With that, she walked to the door.
"Boss, where are you headed?" the technician asked.
"To report to the supreme leader, Barnabas," the woman answered. "After all, Imperium is under his jurisdiction, is it not?"
"You have a point…"
"I hope you'll do your job, Rickard," the woman said before she opened the door and walked out. As she was about to close the door, she heard the technician, Rickard, say something that sent shivers down her spine.
"I hope you don't betray your true purpose, Elhazzared."
Within the deep void of space…
"Commander! Are you alright?" a lowly crewman in the Supervision Army asked the highest ranking officer, a man who fell to the ground somehow, on the ship he was on.
"I'm fine, Crewman," the commanding officer, one Namaon Croewl, said, picking himself up. "I must've bumped something by accident."
"What did you bump that caused you to bleed?"
"I'm bleeding? What do you… oh." He turned to look at the spot that was bleeding, a spot on the back of his left wrist. "I see now."
"Commander, this is serious! You need to see a doctor immediately!"
"Very well, I'll go see a doctor about this spot of bleeding. Now, set the Fold Coordinates to T-00000."
"Sir, what's at T-00000?" the crewman asked Namaon.
"I have a feeling we'll be uplifting a new species."
"A new species? Do you mean it, sir?"
"I'm positive," Commander Namaon answered. "Even if they're descended from the Protoculture, they need to be uplifted properly."
"I hope you're right…"
Near the center of the galaxy…
"Fellow Councilors, I have received word that one of the Specters is requesting permission to chase after a criminal," a birdlike alien said to his fellows in a massive space station.
"Why do they need permission, Councilor Vader?" a blue-skinned hairless woman asked the birdlike alien. "It's not like this criminal they're chasing is going past the allowed space, are they?"
"Actually," a fish-like alien said, getting the others' attention, "the criminal violated a major decree, and opened a Relay leading outside of the Terminus Sector."
"Exactly. Thank you, Councilor Squid…" Councilor Vader trailed off momentarily. "Why did you choose that name, again?"
"Because it was easier for everyone else to remember that instead of my actual name," Councilor 'Squid' said.
"If I may get the meeting back on track…?" the blue-skinned woman asked, a tone of irritation in her voice.
"Sorry, Councilor Tevos," Councilor Vader said. "The criminal had vacated allowed space by leaving through the until now unopened Relay 314, which is why the Specter requested permission to go after this one… a certain Sidious Arterius."
"Who is the pursuing Specter?" Councilor Tevos asked.
"Oddly enough? They never said their actual name." Councilor Vader shook his head. "They called themselves Agent Alpha."
"Ah, it's Agent Alpha," Councilor Tevos nodded, as if in understanding. "Tell them 'permission granted' and let them carry on."
"Are you sure, Councilor Tevos?" Councilor 'Squid' asked. "I mean, more than anything else, we know nothing about Agent Alpha, and how much of a wild card they can be in the intergalactic community. We don't even know what species the Specter is, either, so—"
"I'm more than sure about this, Councilor Electrum," Councilor Tevos said, the irritation returning to her voice. "Now, please have everyone call you by your actual name from now on."
"You're the only one who can be bothered to remember it, though, Councilor Tevos," Councilor Electrum said, shaking his head. "Nobody else can."
"Have you tried getting people to say it right?" Councilor Tevos asked.
"Yes," was Councilor Electrum's response.
Both Councilor Tevos and Councilor Vader were unable to say anything to counteract the sheer simplicity of the reply.
"See what I mean?" Councilor Electrum asked.
Over in Fuyuki City…
"Tokiomi-kun, why aren't your Command Spells visible any longer?" an elderly priest asked the current head of the Tohsaka clan.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Father Risei," Tokiomi said. He shook his head despondently. "It's like another member of the Tohsaka clan summoned a Servant before I could do it…" He then raised his head to face Risei. "Wait, could it be Rin who summoned one?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but it could be, Tokiomi-kun," Father Kotomine Risei of the Roman Catholic Church said. "I'll have one of my contacts look into this."
"Which contact are you thinking of?" Tokiomi asked.
"Someone who works within the Executors…" Risei replied, trailing off to recollect what he needed to. "Code name: Bow."
"Do you have a name for this Executor?" Tokiomi asked.
"I do, yes," Risei said. "Her name is Elesia Delacour, but she goes by the name Ciel these days."
"Alright…" Tokiomi said, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. "Hopefully Ciel-san can help find Rin and bring her home."
"With her Servant, maybe?" Risei asked Tokiomi.
"Of course, Father Risei, that went without saying," Tokiomi said.
A/N: Okay, this is where I have to stop for now. I have gotten over 10k words in this chapter, even as I've been trying to add some proper details that needed to be inserted correctly. I'd been busy with this chapter since I'd decided on this particular rewrite. Nothing more can be said on the subject, I feel.
Anyway, I hope that you all decide to continue supporting this story as best as possible. I'm honestly surprised this story is taking off as best as possible now. Now, to wrap this whole thing up, I'll give you all a teaser as to what I have in mind for a future chapter.
"I ask of you…" a young woman in a battle dress said to Hyacinth. "Are you worthy to be my master?"
"I… what?" Hyacinth asked.
A hearty laugh tore through the air of Number 4 Privet Drive. "Well, this looks better than I thought," Archer of Black declared. "I guess I'll be making you one of my fledglings, young woman!"
Before he could do more than bare his fangs, however, the young woman in a battle dress and Hyacinth's Archer struck him with such force, it knocked him flat on his ass, forcing him to the land of dreams for however long.
A/N: Okay, then, I'll see you all in the next chapter coming on up.
Until we meet again… farewell.
~Xamusel