A/N: Hello all! This is my first adventure into a crossover story. I REALLY hope you like it, I have been working this for about a month. I would love your opinions, reviews, thoughts, what you like, what you didn't.
-Summary: 13 years of pain, suffering, & a wish for death is suddenly taken away when a man with slate/blue eyes gently grabs my wrist and just gives me a smirk.
-Story revolves mostly in normal London, with some mentions of the WW, maybe an 'adventure' to it later on. fem!harry, nonromantic john/sherlock, differentish Mycroft (to a point) and Greg just being Greg.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but original characters. Duh. That is all I will say.
A/N: YOU GUYS! You just don't understand what the reviews and emails do for me. I'm not always the happiest person, but every notification brightens my day just a little bit more.
BUT, it is now time for current events. Back to the present. Time to see who's come to visit.
"Ms. Potter, how…delightful to see you unharmed."
Oh my, well here is one person I thought I would never see again, let alone in my dads' flat. Looking as posh and as stuck up as when I last saw him; why was he here?
"I cannot recall you ever being blind, Mr. Malfoy." I respond, slipping off dad's lap, who stood after me. I can feel his body tensing at the unknown man, & I can only guess the speed in which he was already dissecting him in his mind palace.
Lucius Malfoy, in all his blonde glory, stood in the doorway, his best robes looking quite out of place next to da in his brown jumper and gray slacks. His trademark cane was propping him up; actually, that pose reminded me of uncle Mycroft. Oh I just know that little tidbit would irritate the wealthy aristocrat.
With a raised brow, Lucius responded. "Well, it seems three years in the muggle world have only made you crasser, Ms. Potter."
"Holmes. Her name is Ms. Holmes."
Dad's voice was stiff; this meant he had not finished breaking down the man in front of him.
Lucius' eyes locked on him and narrowed. "I do not believe I was talking to you, filthy mug-"
"Take care in how you speak to my father, Mr. Malfoy." I find my own voice tight, both from trying to stop it from cracking & checked anger.
Malfoy hesitated a moment before inclining his head. "My apologizes, Ms. Holmes. Never meant to offend the muggle."
Really, pulling out the first year insults; very classy Lucius.
"Let's not waste time; why are you here? I told Lady Malfoy to tell you I was done with the wizarding world." Not letting dad respond in anyway; nope, not opening that Pandora's Box.
"But the wizarding world is not done with you, Ms. Holmes."
"The hell it isn't!" Da's voice is checked, not wanting to alert Mrs. Hudson.
'I wonder how long it will take before he is back.' This passes through my mind as I spy the spot of the latest bug; I can see dad looking too, sharing a wink with me.
"Regardless of her circumstances of leaving, she still has responsibilities to attend to. She is the last of the Potter family; as such, she needs to run the-"
"The hell I do, you arrogant prick. What part of 'I'm done' do you not understand? The goblins know that when I am of age, my inheritance with come to me, here. As it is my right to do what I want to with the blood money of my parents dying. Is this what all those bleeding letters from Fudge are about? Because he is not supposed to contact me in any way!" Ah there's da's attitude coming through. Just because I am a Holmes on paper doesn't mean I'm not a Watson as well.
"Him, nor anyone involved in any way with the wizarding government, Mr. Malfoy." Uncle Mycroft's voice was cold, his eyes locked onto the blonde.
If there is one thing I can count on, it's my uncle out sneering Lucius Malfoy. There is a reason why my uncle is called 'The Iceman' by his opponents and enemies. I can see Lucius' shoulders stiffen as he turned and faced my uncle, but an item in his fingers draws my attention; an envelope with my name written in several scrawls I recognized. I dart forward and grab the letter, eyes taking in my name written by people I thought I wouldn't hear from again.
"Stella, that was rude."
"Sorry Da, but I couldn't help it; why should I? He's the one holding a letter written by his son and my friends for me." I say all this while tearing into item, pulling out three letters and a pile of photos. There I go again, channeling dad.
Said man is looking over my shoulder, both of us taking in the images of the trio, three years older. The twins were standing arm in arm in front of what looked like….no, oh don't tell me they actually opened their joke shop? I wonder how Molly feels about that. Several more of them waving at the camera, pranking their customers and brothers. Then, another face…wait…is that….
"Neville?!" 'Well damn.' Puberty did good things for him. Filled out his baby fat, that's for sure. Oh, well there's classic Neville; surrounded by his plants in what looked like Greenhouse Five. 'Must be in advanced Herbology, no surprise there.' Oh, well looks like Luna wormed her way into the group. There are several pictures of my favorite little Ravenclaw with the twins, Neville and…and Draco. Who looked more like his mother now, his hair still short but his eyes were softer. One picture, he was holding up a sign…what does it say? Oh, well that little… 'Stop staring, Potter.' Funny Malfoy, real funny. I wonder if they knew I had been thinking about them a lot more recently, knowing I would be of legal age in that world in a few months. Is that why they were writing, now? After three years?
"Well, open them." Dad's whisper brings me from my thoughts, but I slip the letters into my pocket before turning my attention back to the elder Malfoy.
"Why are you really here?"
"Your efforts are needed in the war."
"No." Three voices, none of them mine, sounded in the flat.
Lucius glared them, mostly dad, who had a very scary grin on his face. "What are you grinning at, muggle?"
'Well, you're in for it now.' I did try to prevent this, but if the blonde man wants to open the dammed box, then allons-y.
Dad stepped out from behind me, his fingers laced up behind his back. "Age: 41, bad knees, hence the need for the cane no matter what you may think, thinks himself so proud, yet frequently bowing to your betters, arraigned marriage, don't actually like your wife…or any women at that, but never acted on this, you try to pull the strings of the government from the shadows for this Riddle character, but only manage a few laws here and there, as the minister is stubborn to anyone, even you, and judging by the look in your eyes, if you could even attempt it, you would murder us and bring Stella in yourself. But even without a wand and no training for the past three years, you know she could trounce you."
He takes a small breath, watching Lucius before finishing, "Did I miss anything?"
"Bad back, after taking on a house elf and losing, ending up down a flight of stairs." I reply, smirking at the memory.
Dad gives me a look, 'you'll have to share that one later.' But he turns back to Malfoy, who is glaring so fiercely at him, I didn't have to guess the first spell he would use if he could. But the elder Malfoy reigned in his rage before turning to me again.
"You are needed in this war, Ms. Holmes, wither you like it or not."
"I snapped my wand, I broke my contract and thus, purged any responsibilities you think you can try and shove onto me. Don't think I don't know that you managed to bring Voldemort back, I even know how, no don't ask me how we know just that we do. The minute you step into MY world and start messing with it, I will get involved and stop it, but not before. Nor will I help any side, light or dark. Tell your master, I do not care what drew our paths to each other all those years ago, I diverted from that path long ago and found a better one; when I was attacked in school & the people who were supposed to protect me failed and left me to hang, I knew I didn't belong. All anyone wanted was a solider, not a child new to the wonders around her. Tell Voldemort: stay away & So. Will. I." By the end, I'm rigged, standing tall at 5'11, my eyes burning into the other man.
I can see my uncle smirking while da was shaking his head, muttering to himself. I can't hear him, but I know he is conflicted about something. Dad on the other hand, was holding in his laughter, his shoulders shaking, but his eyes were lit up with pride, hand tight on my shoulder.
Lucius was still for a few moments before he composed himself. "Very well, Ms. Holmes. I shall relay the messages, but do not think this will stop the ministry."
"Very well. Have them contact Mycroft Holmes from now on, as you will do from now on; no more late night visits to my home. He will decide if I need to intervene at all, seeing as it would affect the health of Queen and Country."
I barely hold in the laughter that threatens me when Lucius's eye twitches at the thought of having to deal with my uncle in the future. He stiffly nods and leaves the flat, glaring at anything in front of him. The minute he is out of the flat, I hear him apparate and I let out a painful breath, leaning into dad, who guides me to da's chair.
"Just what we need, a mini Mycroft." Da's voice is light as he kisses my temple, pushing some over the counter pain relief in my hands, but I don't even attempt to take them.
"How'd I do, uncle Mycroft?"
Again, he gives me a smirk, this time though, his eyes are sparking. "A niece after my own heart. I'll call you when Athena can't be there." High praise from him, that is for sure. He wouldn't replace that woman for anyone.
"Time for bed. I'm thinking you need a few days off of school, don't you?" Da says, pulling me up to his side before turning towards the stair.
He walks me up, leaving the brothers alone before dad starts talking quietly with uncle Mycroft. Da's arm is tight around my shoulder while the other is gripping the closest hand; he didn't have to convey the stress the day had place over him, I could just tell.
"I'm sorry daddy." I whisper when we reach the second landing.
"Oh hush love, you did nothing wrong. I shouldn't condone fighting, but in this case, it was warranted. I would love to see this girl's father try and get her out of it; between the four of us, I would love to see him try." He replies, kissing my forehead before pushing into my room and onto my bed before plugging in the string lights lining my room and turning off the light.
The lights were my favorite part of my whole room at night: twenty feet of TARDIS lights were trailed around my room, a birthday gift my first year in the flat, after dad had gotten me hooked onto Doctor Who. I adore the science fiction show; it was one of many things that he used to help distract me from my many nightmares that woke me up constantly; it was never hard to find him downstairs, working on cases, his experiments or his music pieces when I needed him at two am. He was watching the telly one night, a man running from pepper pots with plungers and whisks attached to them, the most intense look on his face. When he realized I was up again, he simple pulled me into his lap, explaining what he was watching and the premise behind it; apparently he had been watching it since he was a child. Once he realized that I was fascinated by the program, he came home the next day with as many DVDs as he could carry and we had a marathon; that is, until da refused to move from in front of the telly until we both ate and slept.
I crawled under the cover, wincing as I twisted the wrong way, before I settled in, watching the TARDIS's gently dance as da moved around my room.
"Need to get you reorganized again, turning into your bloody father."
He turned at my chuckle, seeing me curled up.
"I'm sure Mycroft will inform the headmistress that you will be out of school for a bit, so just concentrate on resting, okay love?"
"Yes daddy. Goodnight."
He simply kisses my cheek, leaving me to fall asleep, which I finally do after a few minutes, forgetting about the letters pressing into my side.
Pain, I remember pain. Rough hands pulling me before a fist connects with my abdomen again, forcing the air out of my lungs.
"Little bint. Think you're better than us just because your poof dad is a knight and you met the bloody queen." That would be idiot bloke number one.
"I say we just throw her in the river." Ah, & there is idiot bloke number one's brother.
"Shut it, you twits!" Well shite, so she is here.
But before she says anything again, a different voice replaces it.
"Always knew precious Potter wasn't as saintly as they say."
Rough hands grab my throat.
"Someone finally taught you a lesson, huh freak?"
Suddenly, HER face in mine.
"I'll make you regret ever trying to take me down." She whispered before hitting me with a sharp rock across my face before holding me up, allowing idiot blokes one, two and three to have a go at me.
I shoot up, hissing in pain, covered in sweat, a scream on my lips. I haven't thought about that in years, repressing that event in the depths of my mind. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I find my whole body throbbing, blood dripping down my face onto my thigh. I hated this, I can never sleep after nightmares; they just cause my mind to get into a tizzy. Limping into the bathroom, I clean myself up again, seeing the blood was from a minor cut that I stretch when I jolted awake. Turning the water off, I simply stand on the cool wooden floor, trying to even my breaths. That's when I hear it: dad's violin. I move quietly down the steps, as da's door was closed, meaning he was dead to the world.
When I make it to the living room, I can see dad in front of the window, the violin tucked under his chin while he played what sounded like another original piece. I slide into dad's chair, staring up at his face; I love his face when he is lost in a piece, because that is when he is most relaxed. I just wish my body was relaxed; I should have taken those pills before I slept.
"Sara left you a couple doses of the pills. They are in a bottle in the side if John's chair." Dad's voice is gentle, flowing along with the music coming from the violin.
Nodding, I slowly stand, wincing, and move to da's chair. I find the pills and swallow them, aided by the cold tea in the cup da abandoned before sleeping. I relax into the plush, continuing to watch dad play his new piece. When he finished, he placed the item on the table before moving to me, carding his fingers through my bangs.
"Nightmare I take it?"
I nodded, but didn't answer, leaning into his touch. When he moves away, I lean back, pulling my knees up under me, watching him move to the telly, finding a half-finished Doctor Who episode. 'Oh, it's a Chris episode…OH it's Empty Child!' That is my favorite episode of the Ninth doctor's tenure. Dad just sits there, critiquing the episode like normal, pointing out things I have somehow missed, even after several viewings. After the episode ends, though, I can't avoid dad's stare. I sigh and turn, intending to head off another talk about my nightmares.
"It was just about-"
"That's not what I want to talk about. When did you decide that you need to police the wizards that might pop over on this side?"
"This is my home dad and I don't want them to think I'll just roll over just because I've been out of the world for three years; let them think I've lost my abilities."
"Mycroft has plans and several back up plans to prevent their plans and the Queen has authorized deadly force if needed. You are not required to get involved."
"I can protect you and da…protect Uncle Greg and…"
"We protect you, Stella."
"If I had done something, I wouldn't have lost you!" I cry out before shrinking back, tears flowing again. "I know why you left, I know why you had to do what you did, but I could have done something to stop that man. He destroyed our lives daddy and I could have stopped him."
He stands and gathers me into his arms. "Foolish girl, yes you could have, but his network would still have been out there and they could have hurt you and john…and the others. I could have lost you. I was not going to risk that, not when you are mine to keep." He moves back and gathers my face in his hands, keeping my eyes locked with his. "Stop trying to be the warrior of the family, ok? That's what John is for. You and me, we are going to solve crimes so many times John's fingers will fall off."
He kisses my forehead when I finally nod.
"Now, about those letters you received."
A/N: OK, so back to the matters at hand. I knew Lucius would be a fun one to throw in between Stella and her men. (snickers) I had fun with the deduction phase. Anyway, reviews, opinions, likes, dislikes. Feed the raven.