Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Due to the fact that I made you all wait for this chapter, I am giving you a BONUS! Two chapters in one, and the end of Odette's first year at Hogwarts comes to a wrap. Also, a Tony Stark surprise!
ENJOY! XD
Chapter 22:
The resonance clicking of a pair of heels ascending the staircase echoed in Tony Stark's Malibu Mansion; the disturbance only blending in with a ruckus of clanging tools emanating from the ground floor where the workshop was situated. Rolling her cornflower blue eyes in annoyance, the willowy blonde garbed in a navy blue professional dress-suit strode toward the master bedroom and halted in front of the king-sized bed where a redhead laid on her stomach, the bedspread barely cloaking her naked form. Letting out a loud huff of aggravation, she purposely ambled toward the celling-length window and aggressively yanked the curtains open, allowing the intense sun-rays to fill the room, successfully waking up the redhead with an abrupt start.
With a yelp, the gorgeous redhead shot upright in the bed and held an arm over her bleary eyes to block the sunlight, and after blinking repeatedly and noticing she wasn't alone in the room, grabbed the bedspread and covered her ample breasts from view. "Wh-, huh, who are you? Where's Tony?" the redhead shot her a glare, presuming the willowy blonde to be a threat in her quest of bagging the billionaire playboy.
Barely sparing the gold-digger a glance, the blonde grabbed the strewn scanty dress from the ground and tossed it at the redhead's bewildered face. "I'm Tony Stark's personal assistance, and I have been tasked with the 'prestigious honor' in showing you the way out," Pepper Potts gave her a bland smile and used the methodical honeyed tone of forced politeness engrained due to the many morning's spent kicking the plethora of brainless bimbo's to the curb as per Tony's instructions.
"Ex-Excuse me!" the redhead narrowed her sapphire orbs in disdain but nevertheless, she quickly donned on what remained of her torn slutty red dress. Inwardly, Pepper sympathized with the myriad of women who probably thought, as they finally succumbed to sleep in the devilishly captivating billionaire's arms after a night of wild sex, that they were the one Tony, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Stark would finally settle down with; but alas, being Tony's personal assistance for years now, along with the tiresome routine of throwing them out due to Tony's cowardice in confronting them in the morning and rejecting them, made Pepper Potts immune to their plight, after all, they should have known better before they agreed to return home with the notorious playboy.
Repressing the urge to roll her eyes and massage her temples in exasperation, Pepper flashed the redhead another bland smile and hurled a plain woman's coat usually left in the coatroom for the purpose of covering the many bimbos' ripped ensembles before they journeyed through the walk of shame. "Here, you can cover yourself with this coat. Mr. Stark's personal driver, Happy is outside waiting to drop you off at your destination. Have a good day." Thankfully, the redhead had two neurons to rub together and didn't make a fight, like most of the other sexscapades who planted themselves firmly in denial and began proclaiming in hysterical tones that Tony loved them and promised a future, and thereby, leaving it up to security to wrestle them out the door.
After a moment of standing in Tony's room, the British accent of Tony's A.I., Jarvis, permeated around the room, "She has left with Happy Ms. Potts."
"Thank you, Jarvis. Where is Mr. Stark?"
"Master Stark is in his workshop. Shall I call him?"
Ten minutes later, a sheepish Tony Stark grinned at his personal assistance who wouldn't stop glaring daggers into his brain, but the genius didn't try defending himself or spewing out lame excuses; the daily routine had already been established between them years ago, and he always made sure to give Pepper a hefty bonus every month with her paycheck. The morning was spent with Pepper handing over documents to the billionaire, where after he meticulously read through them, he would either sign them or toss them. However, on this particular day, an uninvited guest was announced by Jarvis, prompting confused looks from Tony and Pepper.
The intruder had an impassive face, light brown hair that was fully-shaven and was donned in a professional suit, his stance screaming practicality and solemnity. Removing his black tinted shades, Tony was honestly surprised by the warm brown eyes staring back at him, especially since they controverted deeply with his 'don't bullshit me' persona. "Mr. Stark, I apologize for showing up without an appointment, and to your mansion instead of Stark Industries, however, a personal matter of importance must be discussed between us where we could not be overhead. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
Raising an eyebrow, Tony took the offered card from the Agent, and quipped, "That's quite a mouthful." The Agent sighed wearily, "I know. We're working on it." giving Tony an impression that he heard that statement a lot. Placing the card on the table, Tony leaned against the island nonchalantly with his arms crossed and scrutinized the agent suspiciously while Pepper tentatively addressed him; "You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…" she trailed off uncertainly.
Phil smiled, the first genuine smile since barging into Tony's Malibu Mansion unannounced, "We're more of a separate division with a more specific focus," he explained, and Tony's astute acuity didn't fail to notice that despite the Agent's emotionless visage, his fingers would twitch in resemblance to a worried tick, "Why are you here, Agent?"
"I need to debrief you on a matter of great importance, Mr. Stark," Phil uncomfortably placed his twitching hands in his pocket, giving Tony an ominous feeling as he gestured the Agent toward the sitting room. "Mr. Stark, have you heard about Shadow Swan?"
"Shadow Swan, Shadow Swan, Shadow Swan," Tony muttered repeatedly under his breath, his eidetic memory went into overdrive before he finally snapped his fingers in remembrance, "Sure I have. There isn't much about this person, no gender, no name but the plastered moniker. Lethal assassin shocking the nation for nearly four, five years now, and hasn't been caught, not even a whiff. What's this got to do with me?" Pepper too, was as confused as Tony, her brows furrowing together in thought.
Phil grimaced; before answering the enquiry, the impassive Agent opened his suitcase and disclosed a thick folder, "Personally, Mr. Stark, nothing. However, career-wise has yet to be seen. We have received intelligence that, and this is mostly hypothetically Mr. Stark, Shadow Swan may be looking into buying weapons from you. I am here to plead my case in regards to S.H.I.E.L.D. that you do not sell to her."
"I'm sorry, her? So this Shadow Swan is female," Tony interjected, accepting the handed portfolio from the Agent. Phil merely nodded and patiently waited for Tony to skim through Shadow Swan's list of horrific and gruesome felonies S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to collect throughout the years of their investigation. A loud whistle escaped Tony's full lips, and his sun-kissed complexion turned ashen gray, his usually warm chocolate orbs that twinkled with mirth dulled completely as his mien twisted to one of utter revulsion. Pepper watched in awe as the usually laidback Tony Stark who barely took anything seriously, hurled the portfolio far away from him and clenched his eyes shut as though wishing the intelligence he received would dissipate from his memory; unfortunately, due to his eidetic memory, all the disturbing, violent carnages Shadow Swan generated were engrained, never to be erased from mind.
"Not to be sexist or anything. I'm a guy who holds great respect to women, and I do believe that a woman can do what a man can, but… that's, that's-, a woman did all that? A… as in only one?!" Tony snapped in disgust, staring at the file as though it would sprout legs and suddenly devour him brutally. Pepper decided she was better off not knowing if this Shadow Swan managed to instill fear in the arrogant Tony Stark. A bitter smile etched itself onto Agent Phil's visage and he shook his head in negative, "Not just a woman, Mr. Stark. Shadow Swan is a kid."
"WHAT?!" Tony made a beeline toward his convenient bar, filled himself a hearty glass of bourbon and knocked it back in one gulp before returning his full attention to the Agent. "Two of our Agents managed to receive full visual of the assassin Shadow Swan, and from our estimation, the kid was not even a teenager. But then again, she's cunning, very tricky. She appeared to two of our best Agents on purpose, she wanted to be found. She's always ten steps ahead of us, and everything she does, she does it for a reason, which is why my boss had me come to you," Phil explained grimly.
Phil Coulson had been unfortunate enough to see many gruesome things with his choice of career, but nothing… nothing could be compared to the machinations of the child. Even Natasha before joining S.H.I.E.L.D. never stooped as low as Shadow Swan and she'd been an assassin decades longer. Naturally, the Red Room could morph an angel into a killer so deftly. Since Agent Romanoff's stay at the Red Room and after Agent Barton managed to indoctrinate her into switching sides, they left the conundrum of the Red Room on the back burner, but since their spy informed them of Odette Potter's random induction at the age of four, S.H.I.E.L.D. began brainstorming ways of ending the Red Room's reign, along with eliminating Shadow Swan.
With an audible gulp, Tony hastily nodded, "Don't worry; the last thing I want to do is sell weapons to that deranged child."
Phil's entire countenance changed into palpable relief, "Just in case, Shadow Swan's real name is Odette Potter. Her distinguished features are ruby red hair and emerald green eyes. That's all we got." The information would barely aid them, for Shadow Swan was elusive, and hard to pin down, and she was known for going by many different names and disguises. Currently, Phil Coulson was tasked by Director Fury to locate every single Potter in the globe, before narrowing it down to an Odette Potter; nearly a year had gone by, and Agent Coulson hadn't struck gold yet.
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
Albus Dumbledore was not a happy camper. Years of scheming and plotting and he had hit a stalemate all because of one slip of a girl, an eleven-year-old! With him being heralded as the most powerful wizard in a century, attaining the esteemed position as Headmaster in the prestigious school where he could mold children from a young and fragile age into becoming his pawns, and with his many venerable titles, Albus Dumbledore believed he had finally achieved greatness, and nobody, nobody could relinquish his title as the Leader of the Light. And then, one night, eleven years ago, everything changed due to that decrepit batty seer's untimely prophecy claiming that a child shall be born, and that certain child shall be the Wizarding World's hope, a title that would be easily taken from him all because of an insipid child's birth, one whose only feat was being born, unlike him who had worked tirelessly to arrive at where he currently was.
His sharp mind quickly processed the prophecy uttered, and in a sheer minute, he cooked up a new scheme, one that would reach fruition with him once again being celebrated as the Wizarding World's savior. Naturally, he knew Severus Snape overheard the entire prophecy, and so, after dismissing Sibyll, he planted a fake memory of kicking Snape out of Hogshead into his Aberforth's mind, and swiftly caught up with the novice Death Eater and obliviated the other half of the prophecy, banishing it completely from memory and ordering him to immediately relay his discovery to Tom.
For once, Albus was excited. He felt a thrill at there being a new playing field, and he began dreaming of the day where he would be heralded as not only the Defeater of Grindelwald, but Voldemort too, and for that reason, he was in dire need of a spy, and who better than Severus Snape, a skilled Occlumens and a prodigy potion-maker. Peter Pettigrew was a sad excuse of a spy, and Albus could not trust him not to rat him out – pun intended. No, Snape was the best choice, especially since his beloved Lily's life was in danger due to him overhearing Sibyll's prophecy. Of course, Albus knew the Potters' spawn would be chosen by Tom due to their similarities in being a Half-Blood, but upon the twin's birth, a problem struck with the enchanting day-old girl who so happened to be the first female Potter in existence.
When newborn Odette began bawling her lungs out at the mere presence of Pettigrew, his suspicions of her being the prophecy child cemented, and with trepidation he cradled her in his arms, only to seethe inwardly when she bawled loudly at his presence, too. The child was astute and she had barely been out of her mother's womb. He was stupefied however when the clever child who had been able to sense his manipulative aura and the rat's traitorous one, had barely any magical energy, too low for a child born into the powerful family of the Potters. The dilemma remained, Odette was a quiet child, who never cried, except when in the presence of him and Pettigrew, and even after he claimed her to be a Squib that Halloween night, the girl avoided him completely, disturbed by his presence – a remarkable feat for a Squib.
Albus' machination was simple, with little to lose, and too much to gain; train the prophecy child to be a scapegoat, and once Voldemort killed him, he would swoop in with the final blow thereby ending the Dark Lord Voldemort's reign of terror. Of course, they would all mourn the courageous Boy-Who-Lived, but in the end, he, Albus Dumbledore, would be celebrated, and with the fool Flammel's trusting nature, with the Sorcerer's Stone in his possession, he would remain an immortal hero. Detecting the welcome surprise of Voldemort's unintended Horcrux embedded in young Charlus was merely the icing on the cake; now, Charlus Potter's death was inevitable, and all he had to do, was remain in the sidelines and watch it happen… for the greater good.
Sirius and his harlot of a wife, Angelica, proved to be loose cannons. The Warren Family distrusted him ever since Lord Liam Warren became the American Representative to the ICW, and with Sirius marrying into the Warren Line, Albus lost one of his staunchest supporters. Luckily, Sirius Black deplored the treatment of his precious goddaughter, and quarantined himself in the Ministry or in America, allowing him leeway to mold James, Lily and Charlus Potter. And then, the brat received her Hogwarts letter and ruined everything! James Potter no longer trusted him without a doubt; and why would he? After all, he was the person to inform the Potters that their daughter was a Squib, only to end up a witch ten years later!
But never mind; Albus was adaptable whenever his plans hit a snag, and so, he decided Odette would be better off shadowing Charlus around Hogwarts with his sidekick Ronald Weasley… and then she got sorted into Slytherin. Changing his scheme yet again, Albus presumed Odette would be a wonderful spy in Slytherin, until he witnessed the determination and utter malice in her eyes whenever their eyes met, prompting him to increase the potion dosage on the offered lemon drops. The blasted loyalty and compulsion potion blended with a light drop of a weak truth serum into his lemon drops still brought him fruitless results. Odette Potter seemed to be immune to his compulsion potions, and he now reached an impasse.
To make matters worse, a distressed and revolted James and Lily informed him that Odette spent Christmas Eve at the Malfoys. The Malfoys! He knew that the Lestrange Family and the Zabini Family would be congregated at Malfoy Manor as well since they're all related by marriage. Albus would have been ecstatic with the prospect of having a spy entrenched with the group of Voldemort's most loyal, fearsome and ruthless Death Eaters who managed to gain their utmost trust. Unfortunately, the girl proved to be unmalleable.
The brat had to go.
Sensing the girl's arrival, he morphed his face back into its regular grandfatherly visage, and smiled benignly before calling out, "Enter, Ms. Potter." And there she was; the blasted, rebellious brat glaring at him apathetically, "You called, Headmaster."
Ten Hours Ago:
A flash of black fire in a humanoid form appeared in a dark room where only a long-length mirror stood in the middle. "Thank you, Divus," Odette smiled at her trusty familiar as she approached the Mirror of Erised she overheard her blithering idiot of a twin crowing about to his sidekick, Ron and the bushy-haired beaver, Hermione. Looking into the mirror, a sinister smile grew on her gorgeous, cherubic mien as a result of what she had seen.
The death of the Petrovich brothers, and Ivan Vanko at her hands; them screaming in agony as their bodies deteriorated; her liquefying their organs, melting the skin off their bones, carving out their eyeballs and then their tongues, before disintegrating their bones, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ash, the metallic smell of blood, and the smell of charred skin. Or, maybe she would chop out each of their ten fingers and ten toes, let them decompose, then take the bones and make a finger bone necklace out of it. Ah, many possibilities.
"What a delightful mirror," Odette smirked to herself. Oh, how she could barely wait for her desire to become reality. To have her revenge!
"You know. Talking to yourself is considered to be one of the first signs of madness," the rich silky tone of Loki's voice boomed from behind her, "But then again, when you consider those gore images you conjured up, I reassess." Odette whipped around and beamed at the sight of Loki, "I achieved madness years ago, Loki. They," she spat with deep malice, "Made sure of it. Besides, talking to yourself is a sign of imminent genius, not madness per say."
Chuckling, Loki ruffled her hair fondly and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead making sure to keep his orbs averted from the dratted mirror; he already knew what his greatest desire was; the All-Father accepting him for who he was, and showing the same care and compassion and favoritism he bestowed to Thor. The sound of Odette's voice snapped him from his wishful thinking, "How are you here, Loki?"
"Grænn gimsteinn minn, I am a God, these asinine wards spelled by mortals cannot keep me out. You should know this by now."
"Yeah, yeah, cool it down with the God complex would ya. I can barely breathe with your massive ego in the room," Odette jested cheekily, prompting a fond smile from Loki. "No, but seriously, what are you doing here? I already visited you yesterday."
"I have come forth to your aid, Grænn gimsteinn minn. I vowed to help you, and I would never purposely break my oath regarding you. Put me to use," Loki smirked; the thought of those two working together would give Lexi a conniption fit, but what she doesn't know, wouldn't hurt her, and Odette was planning on relaying her scheme to the blonde vamp after. Odette narrowed her eyes at the mirror, ignoring the delightful images it was conjuring of the endless possibilities of killing the Petrovich brothers and Vanko as she concentrated on her mission, "Fawkes informed me that the Stone in the Mirror is real and that Dumbledore plans on keeping it for himself once Quirrellmort fails in his little act of larceny. He elaborated this whole maze of horrors for my insipid brother and his kowtowing sidekicks for some ulterior motive; probably to get Charlus to battle Voldemort and herald him a hero again. I believe the esteemed alchemist should know of Dumbledore's betrayal, don't you think?" Loki grinned like a Cheshire cat in response to the sly look on his Grænn gimsteinn's mien.
Together, with Loki's unique brand of magic and Odette's astute mind, they broke into Dumbledore's intricate charms and claimed the Sorcerer's Stone. While Loki unraveled the Alarm-Ward placed by Dumbledore to inform him when somebody received the Stone, Odette tediously conjured an exact replica of the Stone, and intricately spelled a strong Discombobulating Charm Frigga taught her for this specific purpose; meant to trick even the most proficient wizards. After two hours, Odette sprawled onto the ground, inhaling and exhaling deeply due to the tiring spellwork.
"Well?" Loki simply inquired from where he had been leaning against the wall for the better part of an hour after successfully unraveling Dumbledore's ward. Leaning her weight onto one elbow, Odette wearily gave him a thumbs-up gesture with her hand, "Success! Dumbledore and Voldemort would be tricked by the Stone for at least an hour until they realize it's a fake. Remind me to thank your mother for her brilliancy."
In mock-offense, Loki huffed, "I would have trained you in casting that spell if you asked."
"I know. I wanted to spend some quality time with Frigga. You already have me most of the time. Sharing is caring, ya know," Odette smirked; only around Loki, Lexi, Lee and Bree, could Odette let down her emotionless, hardcore mask and allow herself to jest good-naturedly. Muttering under his breath, he waved his hands in complicated circles, entangling the Alarm-Ward once again so that the old fart wouldn't get suspicious, "We Gods are selfish beings, Odette Arielle. I hate sharing."
"Whatever," Odette huffed, grabbing Loki's hand. He teleported her back to Asgard where they began planning the next part of their scheme since Odette was to meet Dumbledore in a few hours. Seven hours later, she found herself sitting in the chair opposite to the old goat with her barriers firmly in place and ignoring the annoying twinkle in his blasted eyes.
"Lemon Drop?" he offered with a benign smile.
Like I would eat your damn laced sweets, you old goat.
Odette gave him a saccharine smile making sure to radiate the right amount of hatred, "No thank you. Why did you ask for me, Headmaster?" She tired of the entire act and wanted to oust the old manipulator once and for all. He let out a deep sigh that oozed insincerity, interlocked his fingers and held eye-contact, "Ms. Potter, your family means a lot to me, and when James and Lily came to be, distressed over your behavior during Yule, I thought it was best if you and I had some words. Your parents love you, Odette."
Snarling with rage, Odette dropped all pretenses and slammed her tiny hand on the table receiving a cacophony of shocked sounds from the portraits of the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses, "I don't recall me giving you permission to call me by my name, and STOP trying to read my mind! Cut the fake niceties crap, Dumbledore, I know what you did," and she reveled in the flicker of fear that appeared for a mere second in those manipulative blue orbs, "If a witch or wizard doesn't do accidental magic at least by the age of four, then there is a probability of the child being a squib; yet at 18 months, on that Halloween night, you declared me a Squib. Oh how the mighty Dumbledore have fallen just by that one gross error in judgment. Not so much of a Squib, am I?!" she retorted scathingly.
"How do you-"
"Know?" Odette raised a cynical crimson brow before letting out an evil cackle worthy of Bellatrix Lestrange during her deranged days as a Death Eater, eliciting shivers down Dumbledore's spine. "I. Remember. Everything. Everything," she enunciated clearly, "I remember crying when that traitorous rat held me, and when you, you old goat, did too. I remember your myriad of visits when you constantly checked my magical core, and I remember every second of Voldemort's arrival at Godric's Hollow. I. Remember. Everything," she repeated once more for the added impact.
Despite the sliver of fear in result of Odette's announcement, Dumbledore couldn't repress his famous curiosity, "What happened when Voldemort cast the Killing Curse in the nursery?" Odette watched as the old goat tucked a weathered hand into his pocket and popping one of his lemon drops from his secret stash into his mouth with utmost glee. Leaning forward, she whispered in a biting tone, "Now that would be telling, wouldn't it, Headmaster? Besides you're the ubiquitous wizard, you're already so sure of what happened… why ask me?!"
But Dumbledore was given no chance to retort with a well-crafted response as his eyes rolled into the back of his head which drooped down face-first into his desk with a loud thud. Odette didn't dare move an inch until the old goat's snores permeated the room a minute later, and she jumped out of her seat with a sinister grin, "Perfect! Thanks Fawkes!" For it was Fawkes who stole one of the lemon drops from his secret stash, allowing her to lace it with a potent Old-Norse Sleeping Spell and sneak it back into his pocket.
Your welcome my Queen, Fawkes trilled in her head. The portraits began yelling at the top of their lungs, each one of them glaring at her in disdain, disapproval and disbelief. Odette whipped out her wand, and a loud firework emanated from the tip of her wand, quieting them all down. "Listen up!" she shouted, her emerald orbs flickering to each and every one of them, "I, Lady Odette Arielle Potter-Slytherin-Ravenclaw-Peverell-Le Fay-Emrys order you to keep my secrets! As Lady Slytherin, Lady Ravenclaw, and a descendant of Godric Gryffindor, I own most of the school, and you will obey me!" She allowed her Slytherin and Ravenclaw ring to materialize from her finger, prompting awed gasps of reverence from the portraits, and they immediately began chanting praises to her and vowing future silence.
"Loki!" The attractive God materialized into the office, once again setting the portraits into tumultuous uproar of sycophantic fawning at being given the honor to witness a God. "Great, increase his ego why don't you. Ignore them Loki, and get to work."
"Bossy," Loki harrumphed good-naturedly, saluting her in the process. Drowning out the chattering portraits, Odette concentrated on the God of Lies as he placed both hands on the old goat's temples and transported himself into the recess of the manipulator's mind. Sweat beaded down from his forehead after an hour and he grunted, "By the Norns. Even unconscious the old codger has strong barriers."
Odette shrugged, not the least bit surprised, "He is an evil overlord, no shit he'd have powerful barriers." The words barely escaped her lips when Loki's forest-green orbs lit up with knowledge and he released Dumbledore from his spell.
"Found it!"
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
"YOU WHAT?!" Lexi screeched, succeeding in nearly shattering Odette's eardrums, "Did you stop and think what Dumbledore could have done to you if you were caught? Of all the idiotic, hotheaded, asinine things to do, Odette Arielle Potter!"
Burrowing herself deeper into Lee's arms for comfort, Odette rolled her eyes and drawled, "Oh please, Lex. Not to be arrogant or anything, but I'm Shadow Swan, a highly trained assassin with years of experience, not to forget I was helped by a GOD, the God of lies, mischief and chaos who is a superb sorcerer and has a silver-tongue, I wouldn't have gotten caught!"
"But-but, still, bu-"it was obvious Lexi lost the argument, and so, she slumped into the couch in defeat and weakly said, "You have your end of the year exams next week. You should be studying, not scheming."
Lee and Odette burst out into hysterical laughter, much to Lexi's indignation. "Weak argument, Lexi-Wexi, and you know it. I'm already years ahead in my magical education. I didn't go to Hogwarts to practice magic and you know it.
There was a moment of silence in the room as the disgruntled blonde grumbled to herself. Odette knew the female vampire merely worried about her, for no reason really, but the thought was appreciated all the same. "Now, you gonna help me out or what?"
"What would you have us do?" Lee grinned, excited to be a part of Odette's adventurous schemes.
Beaming, Odette scribbled down a location on a piece of paper and handed out two runic amulets to the two vampires. "When Divus appears to you, she will take you to that location. You each have an amulet that would allow you to permission to enter the protected fortress since there's Anti-Apparition Wards. Loki's spellwork, he's so brilliant," she mumbled to herself. The clearing of an amused Lexi's throat brought her back to the present, and she sheepishly smiled, "Right. So, when Divus comes, she'll take you there. Kill everyone that stands in your way, get him out of there pronto and take him to Bree for healing and make sure he remains unconscious. I cannot have him figuring me out or our secrets."
Frowning in thought, Lee said, "This sounds like a foolproof plan. You really think it'll work?"
"Oh please," Odette rolled her eyes, "You two are three-century-year-old vampires. You can easily take them."
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
The six Slytherins continuously stared at Odette in suspicion as they completed their final exam; for the past three months, Odette had been disappearing, only to return in the middle of the night, never once getting caught after curfew. As Slytherins, suspiciousness was ingrained into their personalities, along with natural curiosity. Whenever they questioned Odette on her disappearing act, she would give them an icy glare and snap at them to mind their own business, ordaining herself as the Ice Queen of Slytherin.
Odette knew that it was only natural for her frien… acquaintances to be curious about her peculiar disposition throughout the last few months, but Odette was used to working alone, cutting all ties with her surroundings and ebbing from view when she was on a mission or on Shadow Swan duty. A part of her wished she could impart the whole Dumbledore-Scheme to them, but unfortunately, it took a lot for the young assassin to trust others like she wholeheartedly trusted Loki, Lee, Lexi and Bree.
It was nighttime, just after curfew when Fawkes whispered through their mental connection that Charlus and his simpleton sidekicks were on the move toward the third floor corridor under the Invisibility Cloak. Ignoring the calls of her friends and their suspicious glances, Odette shot up from the couch and ran out of the Slytherin Common Room without a backward glance.
"Divus! Fawkes!"
The Daemonion phoenix appeared and bobbed her head in comprehension before letting out a loud trill and flashing out of the castle in black flames. Odette then proceeded to fasten a package around Fawkes' leg, and after stroking her head in mute thanks, the Fire Phoenix flashed out of the castle in red flames.
"Okay. Let's see how my daft twin acts under pressure," Odette mumbled under her breath before shadow-traveling to the Chamber that held the Mirror of Erised under the Trapdoor. She concealed herself under a Silencing Charm and a Disillusionment Charm and watched as Quirrell stared at the Mirror in a trance while he mumbled to himself about achieving the Sorcerer's Stone for his Master and waited for Charlus' arrival.
An hour later, the black flames placed by the entrance of the chamber flickered, and Charlus arrogantly walked through; Odette enjoyed the look of utter shock on his mien, his jaw gaping comically at the sight of Quirrell and not Snape.
"You!I But I thought-, Snape-"
"Ah yes, Severus," Quirrell let out a cold, sharp laugh, forgoing the annoying stuttering that irked her throughout the year, "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stu-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"
I did you little fuck!
And much to Odette's tangible shock, Charlus defiantly snapped, "My sister did! She-She was, oh god, all along she was right…" Quirrell's cocky smirk disappeared at the mention of her, and he snarled, "Yes, her. She was on to me from the very beginning, she thought I didn't know that she joined forces with Snape, but I did."
That was the plan you imbecile, Odette clenched her fist, still astonished over Charlus' words regarding her. But Quirrell wasn't done with his speech, "You should have listened to her, Potter. Odette Potter is a true Slytherin, uses her mind first and foremost, but it matters not. Once I have the Stone in my possession, I will kill you, and then I will kill her for my Master."
Odette scoffed loudly in derision, glad for the Silencing Charm. Whether Charlus was enraged over the threat to his life or hers, Odette didn't know, nor did she care, the purpose for her keeping vigilant watch and remaining hidden was to keep the damn parasite hanging off the back of Quirrell's head and safely ensconced underneath that revolting, lurid turban, from divulging the fact that she was the Child-Who-Lived and not him. It was not the time for the truth to come out, for Odette still had much planned for the foolish British Community and her family.
The minutes ticked by slowly and Odette was getting bored with the inactivity as Quirrell forced Charlus to look into the Mirror of Erised. When her insipid twin foolishly proclaimed that he saw himself winning the House Cup and shaking hands with Dumbledore, Odette desperately wanted to let out a cackle of derisive laughter, but she managed to hold it in as her eyes narrowed in on the new bulge that appeared in his right pocket in the exact shape of the fake Stone, and finally, the familiar cold voice of Voldemort echoed around the room, and she watched in morbid fascination as the turban slowly unraveled, showing the face of the abomination.
"Charlus Potter," Voldemort hissed, and for a second, Odette felt pity for her twin who was currently frozen in an immobile stance with a look of utter terror on his visage. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor … I have form only when I can share another's body … but have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds … no, what I find surprising is that they claim you as the Bo-"he was unable to continue with his diatribe as Odette sent him a Stinging Hex and a yelp emanated from Quirrell's mouth. Charlus took advantage of Voldemort's momentary distraction, and forgetting that he had a wand, the foolish boy pounced onto Quirrell and tried to throttle him.
Deciding to wrap things up, Odette channeled one of the spells Bree educated her in from her family's grimoire and muttered a string of fluent Latin under her breath, burning Quirrell alive. Charlus watched in wide-eyed shock, awe and revulsion as Quirrell screamed in agony, and disintegrated right before his eyes; a wisp of dark vapor that seemed to be screaming in apoplectic rage and pain, escaped the chamber, but not before colliding through Charlus, prompting him to collapse onto the ground.
Before Odette Shadow-Traveled out of the Mirror Chamber, she witnessed Dumbledore levitate an unconscious Charlus into air and pocket the Sorcerer's Stone with an evil gleam of triumph in his eyes.
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
Two humanoid figures donned in black hooded cloaks appeared in black flames near the entrance of a grim towering building, decorated in gloomy jet black stone that had a forbidding appearance. Using their uncanny speed, the two figures agilely made their way to the highest tower, thankfully surpassing all the lower guards as they appeared to be nothing but transparent blurs in the dark ambience.
Unfortunately, their good fortune ran out when they halted outside a dark and ominous room that had the slogan: 'For the Greater Good' carved over the prison cell's entrance. Five muscular guards with yellowed teeth, their faces littered with scars, had their wands pointed at them, their cold eyes daring them to take a step further as they barked out vulgar words in rapid Bulgarian.
"Oh for the love of…"Lexi pounced high into the air, the distraction greatly costing three of the five guards as their dumbstruck eyes followed the abnormal occurrence, and Lee took the advantage to swiftly snap two necks consecutively before plunging his hand into the third one's heart. The remaining two guards watched in utter shock and horror as the light left their three comrades' eyes and a heart dropped with a soft plunk onto their feet with incredible nonchalance.
"One would think they would learn from experience," Lexi grinned from behind them, plunging both hands into their backs and consecutively pulling out their hearts, "I mean seriously," she clarified jestingly as they dropped lifelessly face-first onto the ground beside their ripped out organs, "Never keep your eye off thy enemy."
Lee snorted, and despite their current location, pulled Lexi flush against his chest and kissed her passionately, "Lex, you should know by now that Odette is always right. Wizards lack any and all form of common sense. Now, let's get the poor guy out," Lee nudged his head in the direction of the tall, filthy emaciated figure lying on an uncomfortable stone bed that was shivering from under a ragged, thin blanket.
Lexi watched the prisoner in horror, disgusted at his state, "A thin blanket! That's all they gave him? How fucking barbaric! LOKI!"
The Asgardian Prince grinned cheekily at his favorite vampires once he materialized in front of them, "What took you lovebirds so long?"
Snorting with humor, Lee clapped the God on the back in a camaraderie fashion, "Lexi was horrified at the poor dude's state." Lexi smacked him atop the head and pushed Loki forward, who upon taking a look at the prisoner's state frowned in appallment as well. The silver-tongue God immediately went to work, using his exceptional brand of magic to unlock the intricate cell open, and finally after ten agonizing minutes, succeeded.
"I'll join you at Bree's Bar. Together with my brand of healing magic, Bree and I will get him back to good form in haste," Loki offered helpfully; the two grateful vampires nodded, grabbed on to the unconscious prisoner and allowed Divus to flame them to Georgia and away from the derelict cell.
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
Nicholas and Perenelle Flammel were huddled together by the fireplace, basking in the comforting sounds of crackling and the warm embers in their chateau in France when suddenly a disturbance infiltrated the peaceful ambience and the couple whirled around with impeccable deftness, their wands already whipped out in a defensive stance despite their impressive age.
"Fawkes?" Nicholas frowned in confusion upon seeing the familiar phoenix of his old friend. Although Nicholas and Perenelle were well over the age of six-hundred, they didn't look older than their early thirties. Nicholas with his wavy dirty blonde hair, cerulean eyes and hardened jaw looked devastatingly handsome, while Perenelle had the appearance of a divine beauty with her curly mahogany locks, grey orbs and porcelain white complexion.
"Nick L'amour, were you waiting on a missive from Albus?" Perenelle asked as she crooned over the beautiful phoenix she had grown so fond of. Nicholas shook his head in negative, strongly perplexed by the peculiar event… that was until, he unloaded Fawkes from her burden.
Dear Mr. Nicholas Flammel,
This letter may strike you as odd, but I am a friend who means you no harm.
Your old friend Albus Dumbledore is not who he appears to be, but a manipulative old goat up to his eyeballs in deceits and trickery to fulfill his evil agenda and you unfortunately got caught in his web. The alleged friend of yours hid the Sorcerer's Stone in the Mirror of Erised with weak defenses hoping that Voldemort would be stopped by Charlus Potter in his path to immortality.
Dumbledore planned on keeping the Stone for himself by claiming that its existence was a risk to the Dark Lord. He planned on persuading you to allow him to destroy it and he would give you proof by destroying a fake stone, therefore keeping the Elixir of Life for himself.
I managed to prevent the old fool from succeeding and with this letter, return the Sorcerer's Stone to its rightful owner.
If you are interested in meeting with me, I will be waiting on the front steps of Gringotts in Liberty Lane, the Wizarding District in New York on the first of July, where I would show you my true identity and confide in you the truth about your supposed old friend, Albus Dumbledore.
Many regards,
A friend & hopefully, an ally.
Perenelle let out a guttural gasp as she had been reading the cryptic missive from over Nicholas' shoulder. Nicholas Flammel quickly unfastened the parcel that arrived with the letter and after murmuring a few complex spells under his breath, slumped in relief, "This is the true Sorcerer's Stone, my dear."
"But-, why would Albus betray us?" Perenelle cried out; Nicholas never deemed her enquiry with a response, for he understood the hidden words behind the cryptic message and he would definitely disembark to Liberty Lane on the first of July.
***THE FORGOTTEN POTTER***
Three days into Charlus' coma, James and Lily Potter along with Sirius and Angelica Black were congregated in the Headmaster's office, yelling at the top of their lungs about endangering his life and the abysmal protection given to their precious Boy-Who-Lived.
Suddenly, the door was blasted open, and much to the five adults' surprise, an emotionless Odette, her emerald orbs resembling a glacier, was boring a hole into the Headmaster's forehead, and bringing the rear, was Severus Snape, his wand drawn out and looking as menacing as ever; but what had the adults completely astonished, was the fact that the Head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones stood by their side, a look of uncertainty and skepticism on her visage despite her determined stance.
"Amelia, Severus, what is the meaning of this?" Albus spoke benignly, yet there was an undercurrent of steel in his tone at their impolite entrance. Simultaneously, the Potters and the Blacks gasped out, "Odette?"
Disregarding them, Odette scathingly snapped, "Cut the crap, Headmaster," and before any words could be exchanged, she wandlessly disarmed him, the fifteen-inch wand hurling in mid-air from his grasp and firmly in her possession. For some reason, a tingling of darkness and euphoric potency tingled in her veins and she could have sworn the wand was singing merrily, but she batted the oddity away. Shocks permeated the air at her impressive display of wandless and non-verbal magic, but Odette paid them no mind, her emerald orbs locked on to steely blue and she flicked her wand, shouting, "Incarcerous! Stupefy! Stupefy!" In a string of consecutive successful spell-casting, thin black cords erupted from her wand and tied the Headmaster in a tight coil and two red jets of light impacted with his forehead and his torso, simultaneously, rendering the old goat unconscious.
"ODETTE!"
"You attacked Albus Dumbledore, for Merlin's sake!"
"I knew Slytherin would make you evil," James snarled, staring at his daughter in disgust, eliciting gasps from Amelia, Angelica and Sirius. Severus glared with utmost malice at his nemesis and to the audience's shock, placed a comforting arm on an undisturbed Odette's shoulder, "I'll have you know, Potter, your daughter is a beacon of good in this moment, you simple minded fool! You do not deserve to have a smart daughter like Odette, and she is a marvel to my House!"
"James," Amelia snapped in distaste, ashamed of her Auror's behavior in regards to his daughter – his own flesh and blood, "Keep your mouth shut for now, this is a Ministry investigation brought forth by your daughter who managed to piece the puzzle together throughout the years," ignoring the baffled and perplexed looks of the Potters and the Blacks, she smiled supportively at Odette, "Go ahead."
"Professor, do your magic," Odette winked, nearly causing James and Sirius to go into cardiac arrest at the scene of her joking around with Snivellus.
Snape ambled toward the unconscious headmaster and took out a vial of colorless, odorless liquid from his pocket, managing to repress the eye roll at Lily's gasp of, "That's Veritaserum!" Odette, on the other hand, held nothing back as she wittily retorted, "No shit, Sherlock!" The Potions Master then supplied five drops into his gaping mouth instead of the allocated three due to Dumbledore being a skilled Occlumens before thrusting a vial of a brown murky liquid into his mouth and he massaged his throat, forcing him to imbibe every single drop.
Right before their very eyes, the immobile form of Dumbledore began quivering sporadically; his wrinkles surmounted in number, burrowing deeper; the impressive long silver hair and beard renowned as Dumbledore's signature style, receded into his skull and lower face, and the circle-shaped face lacked any hair whatsoever. He shrunk in size and bloated in weight, and right before the seven spectators' eyes, Albus Dumbledore withered from view, announcing a complete stranger in his place.
With determination, Odette took a few confident steps toward the stranger, pointed her wand at him, and hissed, "Rennervate!"
Milky blue eyes snapped open and once the stranger recovered from his daze, glared at Odette with narrowed eyes, "What-" he immediately ceased speaking, taking note that his voice lacked the soft husky sound of Dumbledore's and instead was deep and guttural, more hoarse, and finally, recognition flickered in his eyes and he growled, "YOU BITCH!"
"HEY!" James and Sirius yelled, and Odette repressed the eye roll that threatened to reveal itself; yeah, now you defend me… too little, too late. Despite Amelia's shocked stance, she managed to stride forward and shackle him with magic-repressor cuffs, "Who are you?"
The stranger struggled with the truth that threatened to burst. Odette noticed that he was actually going so far as to bite off his tongue and placed a well-aimed Stinging Hex on him. "Gellert Grindelwald!" he furiously yelled in defeat, "You wait, Odette Potter, just you wait! I'll fucking kill you!"
"Over my dead body," Sirius hissed, his face paling rapidly at the outrageous discovery.
"How long have you been imitating Albus Dumbledore?" Odette snapped, disregarding the myriad of pallid faces and gaping jaws at his confession. An evil grin etched itself onto his mien showing crooked, yellowing teeth and a few missing ones, "Eighteen years!"
Gasps permeated the room; the Greatest Leader of the Light, the most powerful wizard in a century had been impersonated by the Dark Lord Grindelwald for eighteen years without their knowledge was earth-shattering news.
"Where is he?" Amelia recovered from her state of numbed shock and regained her professional stance.
"Alive… for now-"
"Oh, he's very much alive," Odette interrupted, diverting all attention onto her, but she never allowed her eyes to disconnect from the soulless milky blues as she spoke, "You see, Fawkes didn't like being bound to an evil Lord, and she came to me with your personal stash of Lemon Drops. I managed to test them during the winter holidays and with the help of Professor Snape, brought forth the real Albus Dumbledore's location for your mind," she knew that Snape would cover up her lie; it wasn't like Odette could mention Loki to them, "Despite my age, I have friends in high places, and three nights ago they broke into Nurmengard and freed him. He's currently healing with the aid of my friend who is a superb healer. You failed Grindelwald!"
"Od-Odette, how, what?" James stammered, rendered speechless at the actions of his daughter; she really was too cunning for her own good, and he cursed himself for treating her dismally. Amelia grinned at her, "I will pretend that I didn't hear you admit to breaking into a fortress. Well done, Miss Potter," she then glared at Grindelwald, "Why did you impersonate Dumbledore?"
And from thereon, the truth that came forth from Grindelwald's mouth shocked them all to the core; he admitted everything… his plan on conquering the world for the 'Greater Good', molding the younger generation at such a malleable age and alienating Slytherins to increase the number of bigoted Purebloods and Death Eaters, and then he confessed his machinations regarding Voldemort … every sliver of information from obliviating the other half of the prophecy from Snape's mind, to his terminating plan of allowing Charlus Potter to walk to his death against Voldemort, therefore allowing him to cast the Killing blow and being heralded the conqueror of Lord Voldemort, easily planting him in a position to take over the world and capturing and exterminating Muggles and Muggleborns.
"It's your entire fault you bitch! I knew I should have killed you the second you began bawling in my arms upon your birth! You always knew my true colors, just like you did Pettigrew! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!" Grindelwald screamed in hysterical rage.
James, Lily, Sirius, Angelica, Amelia and Severus shot him a menacing glare, each one of them yelling expletives at him; Odette ignored them and wandlessly cast a Silencing Charm around them before the Veritaserum left his system. Leaning forward and dismissing them, Odette stared into those evil milky orbs and whispered, "Did you have anything to do with my family ignoring me, or hating me and my existence all these years?"
Grindelwald's orbs glimmered with malicious glee and he let loose a string of hair-raising cackles before spitting out in creepy delight, "No. Their actions regarding you were of their own volition."
Odette hated the fact that she allowed herself to assemble even a sliver of hope, but she took the truth with grace and turned her back on the evil overlord. The Potters and the Blacks lost any hope of forgiveness years ago, the truth didn't change anything even though it was a blow to the little lost girl who always wished to be cherished and loved and held in her parents' arms before being ripped apart by Vanko and being transformed into a soulless killing machine by the Petrovich brothers.
The first year definitely ended with a bang, and now, Odette had many plans for the summer, plans that would aid her in her quest for revenge.
A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter!? Yay? Nay!? XD
Nobody guessed Polyjuice Potion! LOL! Did I surprise you? Here's my plot-twist. (I adore Dumbledore, and the plan had always been from the beginning that Grindelwald was impersonating Dumbledore, so I am truly sorry of none of you are happy with the plot-twist) The story of how Grindelwald managed to escape Nurmengard will be mentioned next chapter.
(1)You think Dumbledore will be a worthy ally to Odette? I have many surprises out there regarding Odette/Dumbledore. (2) I am sorry that I didn't show the Slytherins much, this chapter was about unearthing the truth. (3) Next chapter I will show Odette's friends, uh, acquaintances, more as it will be the summer holidays. (4) Did you like the scene with Tony Stark? I decided to show a scene with him since everybody kept asking when he would make an appearance and I totally adore him! (5) Did you enjoy the Loki/Odette/Bree/Lexi/Lee teaming up together? Team Odette! LOL!
Next chapter; many more surprises to come & we will see how Odette spends her summer; and we'll see how the Potters & the Blacks react around Odette after the discovery of her revealing Grindelwald.
R&R.