Well, what did you all think of chapter one? I couldn't post it up when I was done, due to crapping out on me… of course.
Anyways, here's the next chapter. As always, reviews are more than welcome, and a beta reader wouldn't be that bad… unless of course the beta readers say that I should be a beta reader instead of asking for one. That would be funny. And girls… please help a guy out in writing a girl!Harry fic… it's not even remotely easy…
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or FFXII. Happy? Good!
P.S: Wow… that's a lot of alerts… didn't think I would get that many people interested in this so quickly… but you know what I like more than alert notices? Reviews. You see the little green button? It's not going to cast the killing curse on you, so go ahead, click it, and review. Thanks again.
*********************************************************
Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, quill in hand, parchment in front of him, tears dripping down his face. Just the day before, he had realized that Harry Potter was innocent of the four murders of which he had been accused. And yet, even with that realization, Dumbledore hadn't arrived on time. Harry Potter was dead… and he was to blame.
After seeing Harry's dead body, Dumbledore and Fudge paid visits to both the Weasley and Granger households, confirming more of their suspicions: both Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley had been placed under the Imperius curse, so that they could not offer support, or press for a trial. They couldn't do anything, really. They had been turned into mindless puppets by means of the Imperius curse, and could do nothing to aid their best friend.
Upon further investigation, Dumbledore had found remnants of a rage-inducing potion in the food and beverage of all the Hogwarts staff the night that Harry had been sentenced. The potion inhibited the drinker's ability to feel any emotion aside from rage, and transferred all emotions to said rage. The professors didn't want to rant at Harry, well, aside from one Severus Snape. They had wanted to help Harry, but due to the potion, they could do nothing to help him. Instead, they were forced to be pawns in the Dark Lord's game.
Somehow, Dumbledore pulled himself together long enough to inform the student and parent body of Hogwarts that Harry Potter was dead, Granger and Weasley had been under the Imperius curse during the sentencing, and the entire staff had been drugged. The parchment had multiple tearstains on it, and as Dumbledore cast a duplication spell on the parchment to make enough for all the students, and sent it out, the tears kept spilling down his face.
Dumbledore buried his head in his hands, the tears streaming down his face. What had he done?...
Manor of the Zodiac Keepers
After Samantha had woken up, Leah the house elf had presented her with enough food to feed a small army. She couldn't finish even close to all of it, and once she had had her fill, she got up, took a much-needed shower (Azkaban wasn't exactly known for its cleanliness), and accustomed herself to putting on female clothing. She would have to do that for the rest of her life anyways.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Samantha noticed that her eyes didn't have the Zodiac signs or the strange center symbol at the moment. Instead, her eyes were a startling silver color that seemed to gleam in the sunlight that was streaming through the window.
Satisfied with her appearance, Samantha went down to the library, and gathered up the fourteen books Leonidas had instructed her to, but also found a note on top of them. She opened up the note, and read it.
To whom it may concern:
I trust that whoever you are, you are the new heir to the House of the Zodiac, and the most recent Zodiac Keeper. I know you have been instructed to enter the Temporal Displacement chamber, and practice with your new abilities, but I must insist that first you go to Diagon Alley, and retrieve certain family heirlooms that will aid in this process. There is a vault key enclosed, leading to the largest vault in Gringotts' Bank. Use the contents of the vault wisely.
Your predecessor,
Leonidas Zodiarkus
Samantha finished reading the letter, and turned the envelope over, feeling a key slip into her hand. It was, in fact, a vault key. She quickly pocketed it, and closed her eyes, concentrating on Diagon Alley. A brief flash of light later, and Samantha was gone.
Diagon Alley
Upon arrival in Diagon Alley, Samantha had gone to Gringotts' first. The goblin (who just so happened to be Griphook) looked as if his eyes were about to fall out and start rolling on the floor when he saw that Samantha was the heir to House Zodiarkus. He led her down to the largest vault in Gringotts', and when he opened it, Samantha couldn't help but be utterly amazed at what she saw.
On the left wall, there was the equivalent of an entire armory of weapons. She could sense an intense amount of magic coming off of each and every weapon, with a placard underneath attesting to each and every weapon's name, identity, and magical properties. Upon further investigation, one of the great swords there even happened to be Excalibur!
Next to the weaponry collection, there was a large set of armor. Samantha picked up one piece of armor that looked to be worked completely from mirrors. She pulled out a placard, and read it.
Object: Mirror Mail. Reflects every form of spell imaginable, including the Killing Curse, unless the caster is channeling his or her spells through an opal.
Samantha wasn't sure why an opal stopped the armor from working, but she quickly placed it in her bag (found in the Zodiac Keeper's manor), which was charmed to make any items inside weightless, and also to have infinite capacity. Whoever had created it deserved a pat on the back, Samantha thought.
On the right side of the vault, an enormous pile of galleons lay on the floor. Quickly, Samantha scooped up four bags of galleons, with each bag holding ten thousand. Thank goodness for lightening charms! Chancing another look at the vault, Samantha was amazed to see a library of unique books that would make Dumbledore green with envy. Samantha picked out a few promising ones on Forgotten Magics and wandless magic, and left the rest in the vault.
However, Samantha stopped as her eyes fell upon the centerpiece of the vault. There was a single weapon separated from the veritable armory occupying the left wall, and she couldn't venture a guess as to why. Slowly, she approached the weapon.
It was a brilliant, gold and silver spear, whose surface seemed to shimmer as though the metals were blending together. Upon closer inspection, a little voice in the back of her head informed Samantha that the weapon was worked in orichalcum and adamantite.
There was a main handle in the middle of the shaft, and a secondary handle closer to the head. The blade itself was charmed to go through any shields and to stop any spells, Samantha noticed. All along the blade, the Zodiac signs were carved at varying intervals, in a repeating pattern spiraling downwards along the weapon. On the blade itself, the house coat of arms could be seen emblazoned proudly.
Samantha looked down, and saw a letter on the spear's stand. With shaky hands, she leaned down to pick it up, opened it, and read.
To whom it may concern,
The weapon in front of you is the Zodiac Spear. It is a weapon that may only be used by the heir to the House of the Zodiac, and is ensorcelled in such a way that anybody else who attempts to use the weapon will be unable to lift it off the ground. The weapon also transfigures itself into a powerful wand with thirteen separate magical cores; the first twelve being the gemstones associated with the Zodiac signs, and the thirteenth being a rare gem that as of yet has no name, and has been called a soul essence by some. The spear transfigures to a wand via the will of the wielder, and returns to normal form at a whim as well. Should the wand or spear be dropped, it will return to the Zodiac Keeper's pocket or wand holster in wand form within ten seconds. Use its power wisely, and be careful who you let see the Spear in its true form.
Your predecessor,
Leonidas Zodiarkus
It seemed that the old spirit had thought of everything before he'd died. Samantha reached out to touch the spear, and felt a strange comforting sensation upon holding it. She willed it to become a wand, and the next moment she was holding a thirteen-inch long wand in her hand. She was certain that Ollivander would have paid anything to be able to see the wand, but she knew from the letter that he would be unable to hold it.
Samantha went over to the weapon rack, pulled off a few of the more powerful-looking weapons (Excalibur and a sword whose placard said Durandal included, as well as a bow that was called Sagittarius) into her bottomless bag. Satisfied, she left the vault, and Griphook took her back up to the surface.
Now for some new robes, Samantha thought, when somebody bumped into her, dropping their books and belongings.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Samantha said, helping to gather up the books. She straightened the stack of books… and froze.
"I'm sorry, thanks for helping me!" Ginny Weasley said as she accepted her books from Samantha. The latter girl was having a hard time fighting down her emotions, but she was glad it was Ginny and not Ron or Hermione; Mrs. Weasley had kept Ginny home for the sentencing, whereas Ron and Hermione had been allowed to come as her two closest friends. Fat lot of good they did her.
"I don't think I've seen you around here before," Ginny said, reaching her hand out. "Ginny Weasley. And you are?"
"Samantha Zodiarkus," Samantha said, extending her own hand, and shaking Ginny's lightly.
"I don't think I've ever heard that last name before… and I've never seen you at Hogwarts either." Ginny was slightly confused over the unfamiliar name, and Samantha realized she would have to spin a lie fast.
"That's because I've been home schooled," Samantha said quickly, as this was the most believable statement she could think of. "If I went to Hogwarts this year, which I'm thinking of doing, I would end up in fifth year."
"I'm going into my fourth year," Ginny replied back, and then blushed as her stomach grumbled. Samantha looked down and checked her watch, startled to see that it was past noon. "What time is it?" Ginny asked.
"Half past noon," Samantha replied. "Why don't we get lunch at the Leaky Cauldron?" Ginny promptly agreed, and the two of them headed over to the pub.
The Leaky Cauldron
"So where did you come from before we bumped into each other?" Ginny asked her new friend, taking a small bite out of her hamburger.
"I had to get some money and other things out of Gringotts', including a few special books for my home schooling," Samantha fibbed. She was acting more and more feminine by the minute; for example, she wasn't eating in even a remotely similar fashion to how she had eaten when she was Harry. As a boy, she would just shove the food into her mouth until there wasn't any left. Instead, she was taking her time, daintily taking small bites, and (for once) not speaking with her mouth full… though it certainly helped in not tipping Ginny off that something was different about her new friend. (A/N: Yes, I do eat by shoving all food in sight into my mouth… as such, I have a tendency to overeat, but hey, it tastes so good!)
"That sounds neat," Ginny replied. "Hogwarts is incredibly interesting; one of the strangest things though is that every new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we get doesn't usually last through the whole year. Every year I've been there, I've had a different teacher, and the first one, Gilderoy Lockhart, was a fraud! I can't believe that—" Ginny immediately stopped talking, as she looked up and waved at somebody. "I hope you don't mind, but my brother and his friend were in the area, so they're coming to say hello. You don't mind, do you?"
Samantha very nearly froze, but instead shook her head and gave a small smile. Ginny wouldn't have been able to tell that it was one of unease; Samantha knew that the only brother of hers that would have a friend with him would be Ron, because she'd known for years that Ron and Hermione were likely to become a couple.
And speak of the devil; Ron and Hermione were standing in front of the table. Samantha looked up at Ron, and knew something was off. She knew him almost better than he knew himself, and she could tell when he was in a funk. Hermione, on the other hand, was fairly cheery on the outside, but Samantha could practically see the waves of discomfort just beneath the surface.
"Ron, Hermione, how are you two?" Ginny said cheerfully.
"Ron's still drowning in a river in Egypt… I can't quite put it through his head that somebody actually got the Imperius curse off on us, and that he couldn't fight it. The reason it's an Unforgivable is because of its power, but somehow he can't stop beating himself up about it." Hermione paused for a second, her eyes falling on Samantha. The silver-haired girl took a quiet, sharp hiss of breath (how this was possible she didn't know) and continued breathing. "It seems you've made a new friend, Ginny. I'm Hermione Granger. Do I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"
Samantha scooted aside so that Hermione could sit next to her, and Ginny did the same for Ron, the two of them waiting for the new arrivals to get comfortable.
"My name's Samantha Zodiarkus. I've been home schooled for the past four years, though I'm considering applying for Hogwarts," Samantha replied, carefully placing a mask of cheer on her face and enthusiasm in her voice to hide the shock at hearing that Ron and Hermione had been under the Imperius. Was that why they hadn't pushed for a trial? Samantha banished the thought from her mind, to see a very wide-eyed Hermione.
"Did you just say Zodiarkus? I've read of that house!" Hermione paused for a second, thinking. "But how is that possible, the last one died three hundred years ago…" Hermione trailed off, lost in thought. Samantha heard a small voice in the back of her head again, prompting her what to say, even though at the time she didn't know the information that was to come from her mouth.
"That is true, the last one died three hundred years ago. The family has its own quirks, though. The heir to the house must be of the opposite gender each time, and every third generation a Bloodline Alteration spell must be used to bring a new member into the house and prevent inbreeding, and to designate this new member as the heir. Also, every single heir is predetermined centuries in advance, so if something were to happen and the generations skipped, the next heir would already be chosen." Samantha could hardly believe what she had just said; her becoming the next heir had been predetermined centuries in advance?!
"That is strange," Hermione said.
"That's a bloody load," Ron said in a very pissed off voice. "How the bloody hell could they know that somebody was going to be born centuries in advance?" Samantha had to hide her irritation with her—Harry's—best friend. Eventually she'd tell them… just not now.
"How should I know? I just happen to be the first member of the House for three centuries. I just got back from the Gringotts' vault; it's the largest vault in the bank!"
"Were there any rare books in it?" Samantha sighed. Of course, leave it to Hermione to associate Gringotts' vaults and books. With a defeated look, Samantha reached into her bag and pulled out a book on wandless magic, almost accidentally pulling out Excalibur. Now that would have caused some havoc. Hermione squealed in delight when she saw the book, and proceeded to attempt a duplication charm… with attempt being the key word. No sooner than she had cast it did three daisies sprout from her wand. She tried three more times, only to result in twelve daisies total sprouting. "Anti-duplication charms?" Hermione pouted. "Are there any ways around them?"
"I think only the heir is allowed to duplicate them," Samantha said, holding her hand out for the book. Hermione handed it to the silver-haired girl, who proceeded to cast a duplication charm… successfully. Hermione squealed louder than before, and quickly reached out, snatched the duplicate, and hugged it to her chest. "Er… you're welcome?" Samantha asked, clearly surprised. She had known Hermione for a long time, but had never seen her react like this!
The four friends proceeded to talk for an unknown period of time, with the conversation winding its way back to Harry Potter every ten minutes or so, only for Samantha to switch the topic, being careful not to let her former identity slip. Eventually, Ron got fed up with Samantha's seeming anathema towards talking about Harry Potter.
"Samantha, not to be rude or anything, but is there a reason you keep changing the topic off of my best mate? I'm still having a hard time thinking he's gone, and maybe talking about it could help! Why do you have such a problem talking about him?"
"Because I believe that somebody who's dead deserves a little peace!" Samantha snapped, and her three friends all winced, not at her statement, but something else. "What, is there something in my teeth?" she asked sheepishly.
"Samantha… your eyes…" Hermione said cautiously, pulling out a make-up compact (she hadn't even known Hermione carried one of those… she always presumed Hermione never wore make-up almost on principle) and showed it to Samantha, revealing that her eyes had changed to the strange Zodiac symbol again.
"There's nothing wrong with my eyes, Hermione. They just do that." Hermione was very accepting of the strangeness, and Ginny was as well. As for Ron…
"Ronald Billius Weasley, please stop looking at me like I'm some kind of freak." Ron stopped staring, only to have his jaw drop. Hermione and Ginny turned to look at Samantha, surprised. She was inwardly cursing herself; she shouldn't have known Ron's full name. Or should she have?...
"How the bloody hell did you know my middle name?" a very surprised Ron said, spilling pumpkin juice down his shirt. Samantha cast a quick charm to remove the juice from Ron's shirt before answering.
"I know a lot of things about a lot of people and a lot of places." Samantha paused for a second, hoping that the little voice that was somehow in the back of her head would assist her again. It came through. "I also happen to know that the Loch Ness Monster was a failed experiment by a dark wizard who tried to artificially create a leviathan," she said, thanking the little voice in the back of her head again. She could have sworn she heard it say 'don't mention it', but it must have been her imagination.
"Blimey, mate! That's brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, spilling pumpkin juice on himself… again. This time Hermione removed it with a quick charm, while an evil grin spread across Ron's face. "Then do you happen to know what Ginny's real—"
"Ginevra Weasley," Samantha interrupted, causing Hermione to shoot a look at Ginny, who was turning as red as her hair.
"How… what… nobody's supposed to know that! Or call me that!" Ginny was turning beet-red now, and Ron was laughing very hard.
Once everybody finished laughing, the conversation went back to normal. That is, until Samantha noticed the time.
"Dear lord, it's nearly four o'clock! We've been talking for hours!" Samantha quickly grabbed her bag, pulled out another book, duplicated it, and handed the duplicate to Hermione. "Here's a parting gift; hopefully I'll see you at Hogwarts this year, assuming I can get in. So long!" Samantha bolted out of the Leaky Cauldron, turned down an alley, and teleported back to her manor.
Back inside, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were busy talking personally now that Samantha had left.
"Something about that girl seems a little… I don't know," Ron said. "Familiar is the word I'm thinking of, but… I've never met that girl before! Have I?"
"Ron," Ginny started, cross-eyed, "if you had met a girl as pretty as her you'd have remembered it." Ron looked slightly offended by this, while Hermione was quickly glancing over the two books.
"This is incredible… these books are talking about incredibly powerful spells that can only be cast wandless! I didn't know that these existed…"
"Hermione…" Ginny said, exasperated.
"I mean, these all look so powerful… and this one, Nitesco… what does it do? I wonder…"
"Hermione," Ron and Ginny said in unison, even more perturbed.
"But still, I wonder where she would have gotten these… I mean, they're so old, and I've never seen anything like—"
"HERMIONE!" Ron and Ginny yelled in stereo. Hermione dropped the books she was holding, quickly scrabbling to pick them back up.
"Yes?" Hermione replied meekly. Ginny leaned forward, and motioned for Ron and Hermione to do the same.
"I think there's something a little too coincidental about all this," Ginny said softly. "I run into some girl I've never met, who somehow befriends the three of us as if she's known us all her life, and who also seems unable to talk about Harry Potter no matter what… anybody seeing the puzzle pieces fall into place?" Ron still looked somewhat clueless, when an awkward expression crossed his face.
"Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Harry isn't dead? You heard what that girl said about her family: every third heir must come from outside the family, and every new heir must be of the opposite gender of the previous. The Bloodline Alteration spell can also change gender, so maybe—"
"That still doesn't explain how they found Harry's corpse lying on the floor of his cell in Azkaban, Ronald," Hermione explained.
"Damn it Hermione, have a little faith, will you?!" Ron hissed, banging softly on the table. "Just because they found a body doesn't mean he's dead. Sometimes the Bloodline Alteration spell makes a second body for the recipient to inhabit, especially if the changes are drastic. And I thought you would have read about a spell like that!"
"But the only one I read could do that was the Heir Transfer spe—"
"They're the same thing," Ron and Ginny chorused. Hermione blushed in amazement over the fact that she had missed a detail such as that.
"Like I said," Ginny murmured, "this all seems too coincidental. Let's all keep some tabs on Samantha, and who knows, maybe she is Harry. Although why would Harry agree to change genders? I always thought he was proud of his—"
"Ginny!" Ron and Hermione yelled. Ginny blushed furiously.
"Okay, I'll drop that topic. Anyways, how about we all meet back in Diagon Alley tomorrow? I'm fairly certain Samantha forgot about whatever other errands she had to run because she bumped into me. Sounds good?" Ron and Hermione nodded, getting up from the table. Hermione went outside to catch the Knight Bus back home (which after riding upon she violently vomited) while Ron and Ginny Flooed back to their home.
None of the four had noticed the Auror watching the four of them from the bar…