A/N -First of all: Thank you so much for your reviews and supporting it by putting the story in your alerts/favorites!
I'm sorry it has been so long since I've updated. I have finally realized that I only update when I'm majorly stressed out and I'm trying to break away from that. We'll see how that goes. I've had urges to post up new YYH/HP stories but I had to restrain myself from doing so. I might post up the one-shot later on though.
I hope everyone enjoys the chapter!
Warnings:Disjointed parts. OC. The switching of verb tenses and some spelling errors. Also, the time sense of this chapter. I tried to arrange the sections so that they were close in time but it seems Shiori's sections are slightly ahead.
.
.
"Maybe it's because I feel guilty.
Maybe because I feel like I'm one of those mother-devouring children.
I feel...I broke my mother's spirit…"
- Kurama, YYH Episode 7*
II. Minamino Shuichi/The Dissolving of Family
When James Potter asks Lily Evans out during their third year, she flat out said no. She can't stand James Potter and his group of friends. If she was forced to date one of them, Lily would rather go out with Remus, the quiet sickly studious boy than James, who thought the world revolved around him and strutted like he owned Hogwarts.
But if she was truly honest with herself, Lily Evans would much rather go out with Sev, her best friend. She had developed a slight crush on him back when they were children but it seemed to be one-sided. There were occasions when she thought Sev might feel something more for her but perhaps Sev was afraid of ruining their friendship.
Or it could just be wishful thinking.
'I'll ask him out next year.' she thought quietly to herself. Lily Evans was a Gryffindor after all, and she was willing to risk their friendship for more.
Fourth year comes and James decides being rejected once every month was not enough. Every week, he asks her out and every time she says no, her heart hoping for Sev to declare his undying love for her.
But her heart sinks as Lily Evans began to realize that Sev was hanging out with "purists," the ones who didn't want muggle-borns such as her to learn magic. Who thought her place was beneath them. Her Sev was becoming one of them and she tried her best to remain ignorant of his wrongdoings.
Others noticed too but when they told Lily, she denies all they say about Sev.
Because she simply doesn't want to think of Sev, her kind gentle friend, killing people like her.
Because secretly her nightmares are of Sev killing her without hesitating in front of his purist friends.
0o0o0
Her time was running out.
Hidden in the shadows, she watched her target. The moment the target lets down his guard, she was going to kill him quickly. Her cloak hid her perfectly from sight, the vivid reddish-orange hair would've given her away immediately otherwise.
Darker than the black cloth made of, on the edge of her cloak were two words stitched in: The Kuchikukan.
The Kuchikukan did not gained her name just because. It had been hard earned, having killed an S-class demon during her childhood at the cost of half of her life energy. She had barely recovered when approached by Spirit World officials and taken away from her family, for they wanted to mold her into a great bounty hunter.
Due to that, she technically died a long time ago.
Since then, the Kuchikukan had trained hard and fought deadly opponents. Her name was feared and whispered throughout the Makai by demons. But her time was running out, the spirit energy she was left with was only enough to go after one more demon.
The Kuchikukan had planned to go against one of the three Demon Kings or a random S-class demon at the very least as a tribute to the way she entered her profession but Spirit World had other plans.
So Youko Kurama, the King of Theives, would have to do.
0o0o0
He ran.
Behind him the earth came alive, reaching for the cloaked bounty hunter that was quickly catching up. Youko Kurama had underestimated this hunter and was paying for the mistake. How could he have miscalculated his opponent? The hunter flew above, the seconds spent weaving in and out of the earth's reach buying Youko Kurama more time. This hunter was skilled in the element of air, of which few humans have mastered.
"Do you think you can lose me?" challenged the bounty hunter. A quick look to the edge of the cloak revealed the hunter to be the Kuchikukan, the Destroyer, who only went after the Most Wanted of the Makai-the highest payout to get from one kill alone. Even with the kuchikukan gaining on him, Youko Kurama couldn't help but to feel very proud of himself. He was the Thief King and one of the most feared in the Makai, after the Kings of course.
"I know I can, human." he disdainfully answered before transforming into his fox form and running faster. His superb hearing caught the low cry of surprise coming from the hunter and Youko Kurama grinned.
It was much harder to catch a fox after all.
0o0o0
The pregnancy was good for the Minamino family and even to the Evans family.
Petunia Evans had written back with congratulations and demands to be kept updated while telling her she had begun to date a man named Vernon Dursley and how brilliant he was. A letter from Grandmother had soon followed after with congratulations and like any other mother facing a new to be mother, advice on what to eat and how to prepare for the baby's arrival.
Glowing with joy, Shiori did her best to keep them updated as her belly slowly extended to accommodate the baby growing within. Shiori and her husband had delighted in feeling the baby moving about and kicking.
I wish you could've been here yesterday, Petunia! Hisoka and Sasaki spent the whole day remodeling one of the guestrooms into a nursery. It is such a beautiful room and I can't wait for the baby to be born. The quilt Grandmother sent is in the crib and the blanket you have carefully knitted is packed in my bag. I can't thank you enough, Petunia!
Soon though, the baby stops kicking and moving.
Worried, Shiori goes to her doctor where he runs tests and listens to the baby's heartbeat. The doctor is worried also but reassures Shiori that her pregnancy is still in smooth sailing.
"Your baby's heartbeat is strong but just in case, rest more and don't overstrain yourself." he prescribed.
Upon hearing the news, Hisoka decides to take a vacation immediately, but Shiori convinces him otherwise. She doesn't reveal the new development to her grandmother and Petunia.
0o0o0
Youko Kurama was not the first demon to pull a surprising move. The Kuchikukan recovered quickly and pulled back her hood to be able to see better where he went as she slashed herself free of the demonic vines that held her captive.
Her grey eyes glowed and she immediately spotted the kitsune up ahead. She did not expect him to shift immediately into his fox form but she had planned for it. Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a tightly knitted patch that as soon as it touched the chaplet adorning her wrist, enlarged to become a barely there net. Infusing it with her spirit energy, she quickly threw it at the fox spirit.
Youko Kurama dodged but the end of the net grazed his tails and latched on to his spirit energy. He faltered in his running and she immediately executed her next move. The Kuchikukan threw two intertwining balls that raveled around his four legs and tightened against the kitsune.
He was caught.
The Kuchikukan then raised her right hand and focused to materialize a glowing ball of energy. She felt herself grow weaker and her vision momentarily blacked out. Blinking, she used her final bit of life energy to shape it into a dagger and flung it at Youko Kurama, who was struggling to be freed. The momentum of the throw caused her to lose her balance and she fell to the ground unconscious.
The dagger landed perfectly within the net, sinking into the ground.
She did not see Youko Kurama had escaped just as the dagger was launched into the air. Giving up his tails, his soul entered the Human World just as a ferry girl came to reap his soul for punishment.
The Kuchikukan's bounty hunter days were over.
And Youko Kurama's spirit haunted Ningenkai, searching.
0o0o0
During the summer before their fifth year, Sev is so sweet, so gentle to her, that any troubling thoughts Lily had about him were erased in an instant. In fact, she fell in love with him more. Nothing can bring her down as long as Sev was besides her.
Some days she catches Sev looking at her in a way that reminded her of legendary love.
Potter keeps on harassing her or "asking her out" if the letters she gets every other day were any indication. The owls annoy Petunia, who just pursues her lips and shoots a disapproving frown at her, before leaving the house. Lily just rolls her eyes and burns the letters. She never replies.
She does, however, reads them before burning them with a sweet smile on her face.
.
.
.
"Have you ever thought of just not going back?"
She blurts out the question without thinking, watching clouds pass by in the sky.
From the corner of her eye, she sees Sev roll to his side to look at her. They were in their spot by the tree, their bare feet barely grazing the pond in front of them.
"What do you mean by not going back?" he asked.
She mirrors his move and locks gaze with Sev.
"I meant, have you ever thought of just not going on the train and leaving magic behind?" asked Lily.
His reaction to her question was one she feared getting. Unfortunately, Lily understood everything about his reaction. The muggle world had disappointed Sev so far. But Lily has not let Sev down in all of their years of friendship and as she caught the softening look Sev slyly gave her, she gathered her courage to ask the next question:
"Would you do it for me?"
The look on Severus Snape was priceless. Always armed with a quick retort, he opened and closed his mouth multiple times. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he settled for one.
"Always."
0o0o0
Fifth year: Mudblood.
The word slaps Lily Evans in the face and she tried to regain her composure. To make sure no one saw how the word destroyed her heart.
During the summer, they had planned on taking their O.W.L.s and take off independently from there. They had been certain they could study for N.E.W.T.S. on their own.
But then, Potter and his gang decided to agonize Sev further.
Mudblood.
Sev comes to apologize soon after but she shrugs him off coldly.
It was too late.
Lily Evans knew just how skilled Sev was at masking his emotions. Knew that Sev was skilled at playing people and pushing their buttons. Sev had seen her reaction and by the way he is upset of what he slipped out, he tried to explain to her how he didn't mean it but she doesn't let him.
She doesn't let her heart give him a second chance.
Had he always called her that in his mind? Did he kept his friendship to her as amusement? Was he laughing at her during that day in the summer? The doubts kept on running through her mind even as she finished the fifth year, during the summer, receiving her O.W.L.S. results and as she accidentally catches Sev's kicked puppy gaze from across the room during the Sorting Ceremony.
'You're just a mudblood whore.' whispered Mulciber in her ear as he passed her by.
Mudblood.
Rather than turning the other cheek, Lily Evans retaliates back by showing more interest in James Potter during sixth year.
Obviously, James Potter was thrilled.
0o0o0
One evening, on a whim of inspiration, Shiori decides to surprise Hisoka when he gets off his shift. She takes her time dressing up and making sure she looks pretty before leaving the house. Although the breeze had a hint of cold to it, the evening was lovely and she decided to cut through the park. It was lively, with couples and teenagers hanging about, and Shiori smiled, thinking of the future when her child would be one of them until a sharp pain in her womb makes her stagger to a stop.
For a moment, Shiori doubles over as the sharp pain diminished and a sudden burning sensation began to spread in her stomach and she felt dizzy. It passes but the result leaves Shiori afraid at the possibility of having just miscarried the baby. She continues on to visit Hisoka who is pleased to see her but notices she is pale and there is traces of panic on her face. After she tells him what had occurred, Hisoka whisked her off for an emergency checkup where the doctor tells them the baby is fine. Reassured, they went home.
But Shiori's pregnancy, a smooth criusing to motherhood, turns into a pregnancy every mother feared over the remaining months.
Once so silent, the baby kicks and kicks. Stretches this way and that way. Moves and positions itself as if it simply can't get comfortable. Her baby is more restless in the night, robbing her of sleep. She craves aburage sushi and rice with a force that leaves Hisoka astonished. No matter how much she ate, Shiori was constantly hungry and looked like a strong wind would push her over.
Shiori was delighted that her baby was strong and lively. It meant the doctor shouldn't be worried anymore, meant she was guaranteed a live child at birth.
But her body rebelled.
There was no other ways to explain it. It was as if her body was punishing her, the way she felt two forces within her body were fighting for dominance. Shiori felt tired and dizzy, her feet became swollen, and her heart beated faster than ever as if trying hard to keep her body constant.
But Shiori didn't voiced her concerns out loud or on paper to either one of her confidants and that almost became her downfall.
0o0o0
One night, her baby is not as restless and moves softly within, letting Shiori have a peaceful night. She dreams of a handsome man in white, lounging in what appears to be a chair made of different vines. There was just something about him that screamed otherworldly and she approached him quietly.
A twitch of his right ear drew her attention to the fact that the man not only had dog ears of some sort, he also had a tail that swished and flicked in annoyance as she drew closer to him. He was also taller than her even sitting down. A demon.
'That is close enough, human. Stop.' he warned in a dangerous tone, narrowed gold eyes watching her. Shiori had stopped at just over an arm's length away and drawing up her courage, she asked the one question on her mind.
'Just who are you?' she whispered.
He looks down at her in contempt, those golden eyes glimmering in the darkness.
'My identitiy is also none of your concern, human.' He responds in a mocking whisper and the sound sends shivers of fear down her spine.
She knows what this dream meant. Shiori had heard about such a dream often enough from grandmothers and mothers she had encountered during her pregnancy that she would've been disappointed if she hadn't dreamnt of it.
"Your past life doesn't matter to me, my son. I will love you with all my heart." she stated, looking deep into his eyes and smiling softly.
Her statement had the opposite effect she wanted. He visibly recoiled back from her as his eyes widen in shock before his handsome face turns to stony anger. He straightened up in his vine chair, the scent of roses drifting from the cascade of silver hair into the air around them as he stood up to tower above her.
Before fleeing into the forest behind him, he viciously declared, "But I will never love you, human."
Shiori wakes up sobbing, sharp pains piercing through her body, startling her poor husband awake.
"What's wrong, Shiori?" he asked as he turned on the nearby lamp and quickly put on his glasses. As a reply, she flung back the covers of their bed to show the spreading stain of her broken water.
.
.
.
"Minamino-san, there is no time. Prepare for an emergency cesarean." ordered the Doctor as he left the room.
The nurses all but shoved him away from Shiori's bedside as the activity increased to move her. There was not time for gentle goodbyes -a faint reassuring squeeze on his hand was all his wife did before she let go and the nurses quickly wheeled her to the surgery room.
The labor had gone wrong from the start.
Shiori's blood pressure had been moderately high when they checked in seven hours ago but it had slowly rose to the point that combined with the fact she hadn't dilated enough to match the increasing contractions, the doctor had decided that if he didn't perform a c-section immediately, Shiori was likely to die from the birthing process.
Now it was time for Hisoka to play the waiting game and even though it was a familiar one he had played constantly as a cop, he hated this version of it.
0o0o0
"Would you like to hold your son?" asked the nurse hesitatingly as she held a bundle in her arms.
Shiori marveled at the fear the nurse displayed while asking such a question and nodded eagerly. Shiori was ashamed to realize that it had been two days after the birth of her son and she was just going to hold him for the first time now once the doctor declared her strong enough for it.
"Don't move too much, dear. I'll get him for you." fussed Hisoka as he got up, took the child from the nurse (who had fled immediately from the room), and gently placed him in her arms.
Already a joyful smile on her face, Shiori held her first-born, Minamino Shuichi, and looked down at him.
And almost dropped him in shock.
Minamino Shuichi could've been part of the Evans family. It seemed what skipped her over decided to show up strongly in her sweet child. A tuft of red hair on his delicate head brought to mind the vivid cascade of red hair of her Grandmother and Aunt Lily. Besides the nose that he inherited from her, his facial features were unclear and she couldn't figure out if he favored her or Hisoka.
Shuichi opened his almond-shaped eyes to reveal he also inherited the striking green eyes of his grandfather. Her child didn't stare at her in wonder like so many others did but instead he seemed to look down at her with steely almond-shaped green eyes.
Green eyes that told her she was beneath him –unworthy of him.
She recalled a portion of a dream-"But I will never love you, human."-and began to cry.
(It is only later that Shiori is told by the doctor that she has postpartum depression and not to worry, it was common among women to have so.)
Her husband, bless him; had said nothing of their weird foreign-looking child when he had been first presented with Shuichi and merely said, "He favors your father's side of the family already."
He had seen Shiori's father at a distance and also the pictures of the English side of her family. He had studied the genetics of biology enough during his years of University to realize that while it had skipped Shiori, the English blood was more prominent in his newborn son.
But that doesn't stop the nurses from whispering gossip about their child or about his so-called cheating wife. He thought about calling them out on it but instead, Hisoka decided to approach the doctor and see if he can take his dear wife home early before she overhears what they were saying. The doctor agreed and signed the papers of approval.
Then Minamino quietly took his wife and child home.
0o0o0
When Lily Evans receives the Head Girl badge with her Hogwarts letter, she's thrilled beyond relief and immediately tells her parents the news right there during breakfast.
While their parents reacted with the expected joy and excitement, it was Petunia's reaction that surprised Lily. Instead of the usual reaction-lips twisted, a frown, abruptly leaving the table-Petunia continues to eat, a smile on her face.
"Congratulations, Lily." Petunia told her before she turned to her mother and continued, "Mum, I got a call from Shiori yesterday night when you were out at the restaurant with Daddy. Everything went well. It's a boy!"
This announcement makes their mother drop what she was about to say to Lily and turns to Petunia with a look of joy.
"We have to go shopping for material then! We can't have her son going without some cute clothes!" Mum announced as she quickly got up.
"I'm sure Petunia's friend bought baby clothes." Dad said dryly.
"Nonsense, dear. Babies grow out of their clothes quickly."
With that, Petunia and Mum left the table, leaving Lily confused about what just happened.
.
.
.
A regal owl perched impatiently on the back of her chair was the sight that greeted Lily when she entered her room. It was Mercury, James Potter's personal owl, who also had the proudness of his owner.
She cautiously untied the letter and opened it.
"You've got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed in shock.
Lily,
Guess who made Head Boy? Sirius and Remus are still in shock.
-JP
Even though Lily started to talk more to James, the fact remains that she still strongly disliked him. During their sixth year, she had come to terms that the fact she used to loathe James Potter was due to the way he treated Severus Snape.
He was actually sort of decent.
But still, Lily thought Remus had been a shoo in for the Head Boy Position and wondered what seventh year was going to be like. It was certainly going to be an interesting last year.
0o0o0
Although he loved his wife dearly and lavished her with signs of his affection constantly, Minamino Hisoka was hardly seen with his child. To be honest –though he would never say it to his wife –his son freaks him out.
It wasn't the fact that Shuichi took after his foreign maternal grandfather in looks. No, it was the fact that his child was not normal.
Shuuichi never cried. He rarely fussed or moved. He never acknowledged his parents by cooing at them like other babies did. In fact, Shuichi was a genius in the way he sat up earlier than most babies, the way he began to walk steadily after a couple of days of practice.
And it wasn't the loud steps he often heard from other toddlers either. Shuichi walked quietly like if he had been a ninja in his past life, he held himself like any proud confident man would. Despite having experiences in people sneaking up on him, Hisoka would flinch each time he turned around and saw his son behind him. Each time, Shuichi would throw him a haughty look before moving on to the next room where Shiori would attempt to dote on him.
At the age of one and a half, Shuichi could be perfectly understood by everyone despite the slight slurring of words all toddlers had. Hisoka had come home one day to the sight of his toddler son peering down at magazines, his angelic face full of frustration instead of playing with the heirloom blocks Shiori had received from her grandmother like all other children did. His son, barely two, already knew how to wear a mask. The look of contempt and loathing Shuichi casted at them occasionally was so brief, Hisoka almost missed it but he had often interviewed people, looking for nonverbal clues, that he picked it up immediately.
But still...
He was a bad father. He knows it. He watched his gentle wife try to reach out to their child but Shuichi spurned her attempts at every turn. Shiori loved Shuichi infinitely and strongly. Of that, Hisoka had no doubt as every day she hugged and kissed her son despite the fact he immediately slips from her grasp like an expert escapist, the way the inherited green eyes glanced at her coldly afterwards.
It was the cold glance that always wounded Shiori deeply. Shiori had grown up seeing emerald eyes full of love and to see them filled with hate damaged her.
It was for that reason alone that Hisoka distanced himself from his son with only one thought running through his mind.
This is not my son.
0o0o0
Lily Evans doesn't know the exact moment she fell for James Potter.
One minute she was giving the so-called Head Boy a tongue lashing for setting off pranks in occupied broom closets and the next minute, their tongues were lashing against each other as they fought for dominance inside a broom closet. After that, he smugly asked her out and, figuring she should at least date him once before making him the one to call up for a shag every once in a while, she agreed.
And they kept on dating.
The constant fights disappeared from the public eye, having been moved to inside the bedroom, where each tried to make the other submit to passionate release first. They discovered they were compatible and each told the other what they planned for the future. During Christmas break, Lily brought him home to meet her parents, who were delighted and approved of the lively young man, and to Petunia and her future husband. It was to Lily's mortification to find out that Petunia was engaged already. The engagement ring was exquisite, more beautiful than their mother's (which both girls had coveted and dreamed of inheriting when they were in their younger years), and the wedding had been set to be in June. It was going to be an elaborate wedding but Petunia had chosen to have only three bridesmaids and it was revealed that none of her choices included Lily.
Trying to get over the awkward silence that descended upon them from that particular revelation, their mother suggested they double-date for dinner and they did.
It was a disaster.
Lily and Petunia could get along if they tried, a diplomatic tactic often seen with rival politicians instead of siblings, but Vernon and James clashed.
Vernon Dursley came from a humble background, who did his best to move up in life-which he did upon receiving a scholarship to the prestigious Smeltings. There, he had been humiliated often by companions similar to James Potter-spoiled, old money, and arrogant.
And if there was one thing James Charlus Potter was good at, it was showing off by shining brighter than everyone else and knowing it. Despite the fact that James revealed he was "old money," it had been Vernon who had paid for the expensive dinner since all James had were galleons.
While showing off his car (the new racing model of the year), James had scoffed and mentioned his broom went faster than that. At that comment, Lily became pale, Vernon became flustered and angry at being laughed at, and Petunia's lips thinned to a familiar barely there line that James wondered if the Evans family was related to Professor McGonagall in any way.
Petunia casted a look at James that would've killed him faster than the Killing curse if looks could kill before saying to Vernon, "Let's go dear. My sister and her friend can get home by themselves."
And they did. As soon as they left, Lily turned and punched James as hard as she could in the stomach.
He doubled over, groaning.
"Vernon doesn't know about magic." she hissed at him furiously.
"You could've mentioned that sooner." he wheezed out.
.
.
.
After that incident, the months flew and graduation was upon them. When James Potter asked Lily Evans to marry him during the reception after the graduation ceremony, she automatically said no.
Professor Flitwick and Professor Slughorn had both offered her a chance to complete a mastery with them and upon finding out from her best friend Alice that Severus had been offered the chance of completing a potion mastery-and had accepted-decided to pursue her Charms mastery first. While telling Professor Slughorn the sad news that she will sit on his offer, she had gifted him an elaborate charms/transfiguration fish bowl that left him quite pleased. He will keep the offer on the table until she was ready.
Not only that, Lily Evans didn't want to act like the rest-getting married as soon as possible because there was a chance they might die soon since Voldemort and his followers started getting bolder in their actions to be rid of muggle-borns.
James sulked and the rest of the Marauders wondered at what happened between the two, but Lily refused to rethink her decision. They drifted apart and went out only once in the summer to Petunia's wedding where Lily barely restrained James from pranking Vernon for his comment of "being a sorry wanker of a magician."
That was the last time Lily Evans saw her sister for a long time.
0o0o0
It had been Shiori who approached Hisoka about trying for another child. Their house was big enough to have three children and live comfortably within its boundaries. Having been an only child and knew how lonely it could get occasionally, Shiori figured a sibling or two would draw Shuichi out from his quiet self. Hisoka agreed.
But once again, her body rebelled against her.
Getting pregnant was the easy part. Making it until the nine months were over was not. The earliest had been two months and the latest had been five months. Every one of them had ended with a hospital trip in the middle of the night, Shuichi being quickly handed over to Sasaki to be watched over.
In each pregnancy, Shiori felt there was something foreign within that her body was trying to win against as her energy drained and her health grew worse with each one. Finally, the doctor told Shiori she had to stop or else she would be at death's door soon.
That day, Shiori went and hugged Shuichi, making his hair dark with the tears she shed. He squirmed and was about to escape out of her tight grip when Hisoka came and casted a look at Shuichi. It was a look he normally reserved for people trying to resist arrest or when Sasaki tried to weasel out of doing the necessary paperwork.
Returning it with a look that promised retribution, the two and a half-year old Shuichi slumped in his mother's arms and with a sad sweet voice, he whispered, "Stop crying."
In response, Shiori tightened her grip even more and sobbed even harder that Hisoka came and hugged them both.
(And if Shuichi accidentally kicked his father hard in the ribs, Hisoka bore the pain well.)
And if the foreign something within her flared whenever she hugged Shuichi, bringing to mind the dream, Shiori did her best to ignore it.
0o0o0
It was no secret that many muggle-born witches and wizards were fleeing the country as well as the half-bloods of lesser pure-blood families and the unfortunate that were descended from squibs blasted off influential pure-blood family trees.
But it was a secret that Lily Anne Evans was considering following their example.
It had been a year since graduation and while she was on her way to become the youngest Charms Mistress in more than two centuries, the logical side within her wondered why she even bothered to think about leaving the country.
She should just leave.
There was a nagging feel of urgency and dread, as if Death was coming soon for her, and Lily wasn't going to wait around until it happened. She was going to be cautious and make sure she was one of the survivors.
She knew James Potter would follow her into hell if she even mentioned she was heading there and that the rest of the Marauders would soon follow after. Her parents had mentioned they were thinking of traveling the world, of "resolving regrets" whatever that meant to them, and Petunia had done her best to distance herself from Lily and the wizarding community to the point that Lily was confident no one would connect the dots that Petunia Evans was in fact Mrs. Petunia Dursley. So her family was protected better than she.
But her obligations to the Order (which Alice Longbottom had talked her into joining) prevented her from just disappearing back into the Muggle world. And if she mentioned to Dumbledore that she was leaving, he would convince her to stay because no one in the Order had her expertise in Potions (Except Slughorn who refused to join and quickly disappeared off the radar as soon as Severus Snape became the youngest Potion Master) except for Severus Snape, whose loyalty to Voldemort was well known.
Since Charms played a role in warding, Lily researched ways to protect the small apartment she lived in and came across one paragraph that changed everything.
Besides the Egyptian wards (of which only 15% had been deciphered and replicated successfully), the protection and curse wards of the Original Twelve Noble and Most Ancient Houses in England that are the most coveted for it is said Merlin himself casted them. They are unbreakable, the curses inflicted at those who attempt to break it horrifying, the Families well protected. The Original Twelve Families are Bones, Potter...
Potter!
Lily had known that James and his family were well-established in the wizarding world but to the point that warders coveted discovering the secrets of the wards around their manors, that Merlin himself had shared those secrets...
.
.
.
In two weeks, after Lily had approached James and proposed they get married, Lily Anne Evans became Lily Anne Potter nee Evans. It had been a small rushed wedding where only those closest to them had attended. Lily's parents had been there and they brought with them the apologies of the Dursley couple, who couldn't manage to attend, but sent a gift in their stead. It had been to Lily's embarassment that the wedding had been the first time she met her In-Laws and even though Charlus and Dorea Potter were kind to everyone, more so to their daughter-in-law, she felt they were distant with her. As if they knew the reason Lily spontaneously decided to marry James wasn't because she was "afraid to keep living cautiously when all I ever want is to live life dangeously with you" but something else.
And despite living in the grand Potter manor behind the wards said to be unbreakable, the nagging feeling grew worse each day.
0o0o0
It had been a great surprise to Shiori when she read that her grandparents were going to visit her in Japan in one month.
They are old, wrote Petunia, but want to travel the world at least once before moving to the countryside. Dad says Mummy has a gypsy soul and he wants to complete her youthful dream. Not only that, but Dad wants to see his son again and see what has happened to him in Japan all these years. Mummy doesn't have the courage to tell him that Hadley has preceded him a long time ago. She thinks that if he meets your family before finding out, the revelation would be less painful. Still, the destination is uncertain. Mummy wants to go visit and see her granddaughter and her great-grandson but Dad wants to go to France to start the trip off gently. We shall have to see what happens!
Absent-minded, Shiori patted Shuichi's hair down gently as she tucked the letter away in her apron.
"What does it say?" demanded Shuichi to know as he quickly pieced the border to a 1000 piece puzzle. He paused to shoot her a look and jerked his head to the side when she merely began to smooth down his hair. The red hair soon became untamed again.
"Tell me." he ordered and if he hadn't looked so cute with his chubby cheeks, the emerald eyes framed by his red bangs, Shiori might have been intimidated by the threatening look he sent at her.
"We might have guests in a month. They aren't really sure if they should come or not." she said as she knelt down to marvel at how fast Shuichi could find the piece he needed with just a glance. Finally, after a few minutes, he looked at her pointedly and said, "The rice is burning."
0o0o0
When the Order meeting was over, Albus Dumbledore asked Lily Evans to stay behind and gently gave her the news everyone feared during these dark times.
Her parents were dead.
They had been part of the "mysterious killings" in the muggle world that were executed a couple of days ago. The muggles may not know the victims were killed with the killing curse or that magic truly existed but were smart enough to catch on to the fact people were dropping dead. Faced with the choice of declaring an unknown epidemic disease that could cause worldwide panic or declaring an unknown serial killer was roaming the streets of England, the muggle authorities went with the latter.
In reality, a group of Death Eaters decided to go "muggle hunting" and had apparated to a random neighborhood. Not only had her parents died but so did the neighbors she's known growing up. It had been a headache to cover it up from the muggle authorities but they had succeeded. It had been Mark Addison, former Ravenclaw perfect and an old study partner of Lily, who had alerted Dumbledore to the deceased Mr. and Mrs. Evans.
After talking to one of the muggle officers before coming to the Order meeting, Dumbledore found out the funeral details was set for tomorrow and gave a still shocked Lily the information on a piece of parchment.
She wasn't surprised when she exited the meeting room to find James leaning against the wall. Nor when he softly said, "Do you want me to go with you?"
Dorea and Charlus Potter had been in the third wave of casualties weeks ago, killed by their refusal to join the Dark or to look the other way. It had devastated James, their only child who had been spoiled and loved fiercely, to the point that James had to be monitored along with Sirius (who had looked at them as his parents) for possible suicide by Remus and Lily.
He knew what it was like to go down that road paved with grief.
"I...don't." she said while shaking her head. Petunia, as the eldest and easily accessible by the proper authorities, most likely had arranged the funeral and would be there along with her husband. The disastrous double date came to mind along with Vernon's sniding remarks about James made her worry that a potential fight could break out during her parents' funeral
James nodded and said no more. The death of the Potters had transformed the brotherhood friendship he and Sirius Black shared into a true brother kinship and he expected the same would happen to Lily and Petunia.
Lily hoped that something good can come out of the bad. She hoped her parents' death would knit together the strong bond she once had with Petunia.
.
.
.
Petunia Marie Dursley nee Evans, when her sister hadn't been born yet, had actually been a good-looking child.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been a gorgeous couple, the kind that appeared only in gloss magazines in perfect clothes. The reason why they were called a gorgeous couple by all was due to Mrs. Evans' striking beauty of emerald eyes and vivid red cascade of curls, passed down by the mixture of Irish and Scottish genes in her blood. Mr. Evans, blond-haired and blue eyed, had been called handsome in his skirt-chasing youth.
Although Petunia had inherited her father's coloring and height, Petunia had inherited her mother's features. In her childhood, Petunia had been doted on by strangers complimenting her mother-What a sweet child! She looks just like her gorgeous mother-until Lily was born and it became clear she had inherited the complete beauty their mother had.
Except for Mrs. Evans' cascade of curls. Petunia was the only child to inherit that particular feature.
The blond curls were Petunia's pride and joy, the one thing Lily envied her sister of to this current day and Petunia knew it. She knew it and flaunted it every chance she had.
In Lily's mind, she still saw Petunia as the fashion conscious, sharply-dressed, twenty-two year old slender woman with cold disdainful blue eyes and beautiful perfect blond curls that cascaded to her lower back from the wedding.
So when she came face to face with Petunia Marie Dursley, Lily Anne Potter almost recoiled away from shock.
0o0o0
It wasn't until noon on Saturday that Shuichi realized that something was wrong with the human who called herself his mother.
She was always the first one he saw in the mornings and most timely in her affections. When he woke up, it was Hisoka who had fixed him breakfast and made sure he had everything before locking himself with case files.
Shuichi frowned down at the new puzzle he was about to start. What if that excuse of a human father of his convinced her that he was to be banished from them? He still needed time to let his energy grow enough that he could survive the Makai by himself. He didn't need them to provide for him but human strangers were drawn to his looks enough that the headache of dealing with them as a runaway child was troublesome.
But maybe she was sick.
At lunchtime, when Hisoka withdrew from his office to make lunch for Shuichi and himself, Shuichi asked,"What happened to her?"
This is not the first time Hisoka noticed that unless they were around other people, Shuichi rarely referred to them as "Mother" and "Father." He filed the information away for later and answered the question.
"Your mother received some upsetting news the other day about our potential guests and she's taking a break to sort out through her emotions." Hisoka answered as he placed lunch in front of Shuichi.
The child merely nodded and said nothing more. But Hisoka could've sworn he saw faint relief in those emerald eyes.
0o0o0
Petunia Marie Dursley was hugely pregnant.
"You're pregnant?" exclaimed Lily, bewildered as she looked her sister over again.
Her bulging stomach made Petunia look unnaturally thin to the point that she could've been declared anorexic and while her neck had once been described as swanlike by crushes, Lily couldn't help but think that she looked more like a horse especially when Petunia pursed her lips and her eyes widen to glare at Lily.
Lily also couldn't help the thought that immediately came after which was that the pregnancy glow was a sham. Petunia's blue eyes were pale and dull and the curls that had been her pride and joy were gone, replaced by stick straight hair that solidfied the image of Petunia as horselike.
Petunia sniffed at her sister's undignified reaction. Their parents were dead and this was what she thought of upon seeing her?
"I would have thought that was obvious enough," she stated as she patted her stomach lovingly before continuing, "I'm four months along but I already look like I'm heading to the maternity ward, doesn't it? Yvonne constantly brings it up."
"I can clearly see that." Lily responded drily.
"The funeral is starting in five minutes. Let's go." Petunia said as she turned and walked away from her youngest sister.
.
.
.
After the funeral, Petunia mentioned to Lily that she was heading over to their parents' house to start sorting through their belongings.
"If I put it off for tomorrow, I'll never deal with it. It's easier if we both go now because then I don't have to deal with the hassle of tracking you down."
At that particular comment, Lily felt guilty and agreed. Maybe it was Lily's fault that the sisters had grown apart through her years at Hogwarts. Maybe if she had written letters to her sister, had tried to talk to her instead of showing off the magic she knew, maybe if Lily had gotten an owl like her parents wanted her to...
The sisters got along suprisingly well while sorting through their parents' belongings. Lily had thought Petunia would fight to keep everything to herself but that was not true at all. It seemed the death of their parents had taken the fight out of Petunia, who had been closer to them than Lily ever been (a side effect of going to a boarding school).
In a act of kindness, Petunia told Lily she could have the first pick of the jewelry box while she got the tea ready for tea time.
Lily gently shook out the contents unto the quilted bedspread and was surprised when the bottom also fell out accompanied by papers. Her curiousity awakened, Lily grabbed the papers and shifted through them quickly. Most of them were yellowed letters and academic certificates that she was about to drop them back into the jewelry box when she saw the pictures.
There were pictures of a baby, a boy, a man, who had blond hair and green eyes. He greatly resembled the late Mrs. Evans and Lily herself. She flipped the last picture to see the inscription "Hadley Conrad Evans on his graduation day."
With her heart pounding and shaking hands, Lily grabbed the stack of letters. Skimming through the stack of letters, Lily discovered that Hadley Evans was actually her oldest brother, who left their family roughly two years before Petunia had been born.
So intent was she on trying to figure out more about the brother she never knew that she never heard the loud slow footsteps on the stairs until the loud shriek near her ear made her jump and the letters were ripped from her hands.
"What are you doing?" Petunia asked furiously.
"Petunia! You startled me! I was looking through the jewelry pieces and the bottom opened up to reveal all this-I discovered we have an older brother!" she exclaimed as she waved the photographs in front of Petunia.
At Lily's words, Petunia became deadly pale and turned away to go down the stairs, the letters crushed tightly in her hand.
"The teapot will be whistling soon." was all she said to Lily's disappointment.
0o0o0
"What is the verdict on Yoko Kurama?"
At that, her companion fidgeted and twirled her hair around her fingers.
"Well...we...that is to say...it's classified information that you're no longer privy to." She said quickly as she patted the patient's arm reassuredly before continuing, "We're so happy you finally woke up from your coma! Rest and recover your energy. Your obligations to Reikai has been completed and you are officially released from us. Everything you need to know is in the file on your nightstand."
The patient sighed as she watched her leave the room by using the window and began to gather her thoughts. For her excellent service, Reikai had given her another chance at life, to live the normal life she had dreamt of, but now she felt empty.
If she was no longer the Destroyer, who was she now?
0o0o0
Petunia was furious with herself.
She had thought she had taken every letter and hidden them in her house but she had forgotten about her mother's hiding place inside the jewelry box. She placed the letters on the table and turned to check on the tea. It still wasn't ready.
"You knew about Hadley, already, didn't you?" accused Lily, slightly red-faced, from behind her.
Petunia merely looked at her sister before she began to set the table for two.
"Yes, I did. I knew since your first year at Hogwarts."
At her sister's words, Lily's temper rose to a level the Mauraders were most familiar with.
"And you didn't tell me? You didn't think that I deserved to know about our brother too?" She exclaimed furiously as she grabbed the letters and waved them in Petunia's face. Petunia swatted her hand away before she began one of her infamous rants.
"It was our parents' secret to tell! If Mum and Dad decided not to tell you, that is not my fault. Maybe if you had spent more time with them instead of just lazying around with that brat husband of yours-" Petunia's rant was cut off by the furious whistling of the teapot before it exploded.
And then...
Petunia screamed and clutched her arm, the same arm that had been hit by a broken tree branch caused by Snape years ago. She had automatically shielded her baby bump first and the water had seared her arm instead.
The burn was an ugly red, painful to look at. Petunia began to whimper from the pain and quickly walked to turn on the water faucet to cool the burn down. Immediately shamefaced at what her temper had caused, Lily stepped closer and tried to fix her wrong but Petunia pushed her away forcefully. Caught off guard by Petunia's strength, Lily fell to the floor, letters raining down as they spilled from her hand.
"Get away from me, you freak! Did you manage to realize that Hadley didn't receive a letter either? That you're the only one in our family that's freakish? If it weren't for the fact that you look like Mummy, then I would say you're adopted. You ruin things!" spat Petunia, clutching her arm as she looked down at her sister before running from the kitchen. The slam of the front door echoed through the empty house and Lily wondered how Petunia would manage to get to the hospital, being heavily pregnant.
You ruin things.
Alone, Lily began to cry.
.
.
.
"How did everything go?" asked James, barely looking up from the cards in his hand. He figured his wife was gathering strength to yell at them all for the mess the living room was in as a result of Sirius winning the last poker tournament and didn't bother to be worried when Lily didn't reply immediately.
"Er...James." Sirius prodded James with the fireplace poker he won. James looked up to see the terrible sight that was his wife. It was obvious that she had been crying.
He immediately handed his cards over to Remus, trusting that he will deal his turn fairly and went to her side.
"Everything was going great...and then...Petunia..." Lily trailed off, clutching the old jewelry box closer to her.
"It's okay, you'll never see her again unless absolutely necessary." He reassured her, soothingly rubbing her arms. At his statement, she nodded.
But it would be the actions of Lord Voldemort and the prophecy later on that would cause Lily Anne Potter nee Evans to reach out and attempt to repair her broken relationship with her sister, Petunia Marie Dursley nee Evans.
But sometimes, it's too late to try to even pick up the pieces.
A/N - I would like to read everyone's thoughts on this chapter. I'm sort of neutral about it. About the OC, don't worry, this is the last we see of her for a very long time. I had originally decided to split the story into a trilogy but thinking about it more, I decided to split this story into two arcs.
I know, we're barely at the beginning and I'm planning sequels .
*Kurama says something of this nature in the anime which I love. I can't remember which was it but there was an episode where Kuwabara had to transfer some of his energy to Yusuke. Kurama and Hiei could not do it because they had demon energy and it would clash against Yusuke's or kill him. At least, that's how I remember it and based on that, I concluded that in order for Kurama to keep his demon energy, he had to bring it with him inside Shiori's body and caused Shiori to go through difficult times.
Until next time.
Chapter 3 preview: A revelation, the Prophecy, two spells