The Aftermath
Chapter 4
Chance Encounter for Christmas
December 25th 1999 (3:00 AM)
She woke up in a cold sweat, a scream on her lips, heart stopping in fear, with the phantom pains of the Cruciatus Curse. Her own shrieks of dream agony lingered in her ears, as did high pitched laughter and the thump of dead bodies. First her dad, then her mum, then Cedric, and finally her own. Ghost faces flashed before her eyes and the whispers of unquiet spirits egged her forwards while pulling her back. Her nightmares had stopped having just one scene. Now it was a combination of all the horrific things that had happened to or before her. But it always ended with two words that were hissed, and she was looking at herself when saying it. Avada Kedavra.
Adelaide got out of bed, putting on her fluffy white bathrobe over her red and black checkered flannel pajamas. She put the baby monitor in her robe pocket and slipped out her apartment, careful to lock the door and put up wards so no one would get in and no one would get out without her knowing instantly. She went to the elevator and travelled to the ground floor, where she walked out of the building and onto the snow-covered streets of New York for some fresh air.
That was when she noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes—thank the gods for warming charms.
Adelaide was just breathing in a deep breath of icy air when she noticed two young teenagers walking down the street towards her, both huddling in their too-light jackets. The boy had sandy blond hair and appeared to be a bit older than his companion. Said companion was a girl with short black hair, a pale face, and a small freckle spotted nose. They both looked exhausted, and dirty, and Adelaide immediately knew that they were either street kids or runaways. Either way, she couldn't leave two children in the cold knowing she had a perfectly warm home with room for them, especially on Christmas.
"Excuse me," Adelaide said when they got closer. They immediately took a fighting stance, looking so suspicious of her it was as if they expected her to eat them. They both had blue eyes, but of different shades: the boys were a soft blue, while the girls were dark and electrifying. "You shouldn't be out in the cold like this; would you like to come inside and have something to eat? I could make you something warm."
The girls hand was inching towards a bracelet on her wrist and the boys was going for something inside his jacket. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but Adelaide beat him to it.
"I'm not going to ask about your parents or call the police—ahh!" The boy had lunged forward, holding a bronze dagger, and attempted to bury it into her chest. Adelaide almost had a heart attack, thinking that she was going to be leaving her four children alone parentless just like she had been. Thankfully the dagger just passed through her without doing any harm. She was gasping quietly in panic when the boy pulled back abruptly, startled. He looked sheepishly towards the girl, who was groaning and cursing.
Adelaide did her best to recover her wits, "I won't call the p-police or child services, as I'm s-sure you have a good reason for living the way you d-do." She took another deep breath, imagining all of her panic leaking away through her pores. She tried to slow her heart rate. "Would you like to come up?" She asked faintly.
The boy coughed, "Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you." The girl put in.
The ride up was quiet and awkward. Awkward because the boy had tried to kill Adelaide when she was offering them somewhere to rest and eat freely and quiet because what were you supposed to say after that? When they entered her apartment Adelaide immediately ushered them into the kitchen and sat them at her dining table. It was open concept, so while Adelaide was in the kitchen cooking, she could still feel like she was in the same room as the teenagers—and keep an eye on them. They both fidgeted like it was impossible for them to keep still as Adelaide made bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and whole grain toast for them, as well as some hot chocolate.
She loaded up two plates when she was done and set them in front of the two teens. They looked at it with wide eyes, as if they had never seen so much food before. All of their suspicion seemed to fly out the window or crawl under a very large rock for the time being as they started to stuff their faces. Adelaide got their hot chocolate and her own tea, then sat down to watch them eat. They were both skinny. Not as skinny as she had been at their age, but like they weren't quite getting enough. They both needed a shower, with their greasy hair, dirty faces, and smelly bodies.
Adelaide sipped quietly on her Earl Grey tea until they were done and had relaxed against the chair back behind them, gulping down their now pleasantly warm hot chocolate. "What are your names?"
They both jumped slightly. "Luke Castellan." The boy said warily.
"Thalia." The girl said shortly, then stared Adelaide strait in the eyes, as if daring her to ask for a last name.
Adelaide only nodded and smiled warmly. "My name is Adelaide Potter. How old are the two of you?"
"Eleven." Thalia said.
"Thirteen." Luke said, "We're not imposing are we? Because we can leave—"
"Oh no," Adelaide interrupted, "we celebrated Christmas yesterday so there's nothing to worry about. And I'm nineteen." Adelaide offered. She noticed their drooping eyelids; the way their heads were nodding wearily. "Would you like to take a nap before we get to know each other better?" She nearly sighed when they both snapped to attention and shook their heads. Of course they wouldn't feel safe going to sleep in a stranger's home. That's when they're at their most vulnerable. "Well alright, but let's at least move into the living room where we'll be more comfortable." She sat them down on her couch and said, "You just relax. I'm going to wash the dishes."
She washed the dishes the muggle way, because that's what she grew up doing, so it was a bit before she came back into her living room, and what she saw made her smile triumphantly. They were both sound asleep on her obnoxiously yellow sofa, curled into each other for warmth. They had even taken their shoes off in order to put their feet up. Adelaide went into a hallway closet and brought out a warm quilt, spreading it over the two sleeping teenagers.
Sure that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep herself, Adelaide got changed into some sweatpants and a tee-shirt then went to exercise on her treadmill. When Artemis had come to Adelaide's birthday last year, just before she left she had given Adelaide a gift. That gift being the treadmill. It really was a very practical present too, because Adelaide didn't get to go out that often, so she didn't get much physical activity. Now, whenever Adelaide woke up from a nightmare she would run until she was either feeling like her legs were made of jelly or it was time to have a shower before waking her children up.
Thalia opened her eyes to see four curious faces staring back at her. And they were poking her cheeks. "Luke." She hissed.
Luke woke and jumped. "What the f—"
Thalia slapped a hand over his mouth, "No cussing in front of the children!" She scolded.
The little black haired girl opened her mouth, "Mama! Stinky people are up!"
Then, as if that was a silent cue, they all scattered into where Thalia remembered the kitchen was from earlier. Thalia and Luke both sat up. She glanced around the room. There were a lot of books, so this was definitely not her kind of person; and the colors were way too bright. A yellow couch? Purple rug? Green loveseat? And if she remembered correctly, the front door was red. Thalia preferred black. Maybe blue, she thought, looking into Luke's eyes.
"Stinky people?" Luke asked incredulously, "Were we just insulted by a midget?" Then he sniffed his armpit unashamedly, "Plus, we don't smell that bad right?"
Thalia raised a skeptical eyebrow, knowing full well that she smelled like shit and Luke smelled worse.
"Good morning." The British woman she and Luke had met earlier—Adelaide Potter, Thalia remembered—walked into the room. She wore her shower-damp red hair in a single braid, a pair of blue jeans and a red knitted sweater that was much too large on her with a gold 'F' in the center. She was pretty, Thalia could recognize, and her emerald green eyes were stunning. They were identical to the little girls she was holding, the one that had called her and Luke 'stinky people'. The three other munchkins were trailing behind her—the identical twins and teal haired kid.
Then the teal haired kid tripped over his own feet and fell forward. His hands took in the impact, but Thalia remembered when Jason fell like that and would start crying. It was more out of shock than pain. Just as Thalia had suspected, the kid started to whimper and big fat slow tears made their way down his cheeks. Adelaide Potter put the little girl down and picked up the crying boy.
"You're fine, Teddy." She soothed, "It was just a tiny fall." The kid—Teddy—calmed down remarkably fast, but still buried his face in Adelaide's shoulder. The little black haired girl pulled on her mother's pant leg impatiently, reaching up in plea to be picked back up. "I'm holding Teddy right now Lily. You must wait your turn." Adelaide said calmly.
Lily crossed her arms and pouted stubbornly, and probably would have thrown a tantrum, but the other two boys—the red headed identical twins—sandwiched her in a hug and she started laughing.
Thalia watched all this admiringly. She remembered how stubborn Jason had been at points, so for this Adelaide woman to be able to take care of four toddlers to the point where they're actually helping her was amazing.
"I thought you were nineteen," Luke blurted.
Thalia groaned in embarrassment.
Adelaide laughed, "I am."
"But—" Thalia elbowed him before he could say anything else.
"Would you mind if I used your shower?" Thalia asked hopefully.
"Of course not," Adelaide said, "I've laid out some of my old clothes for you, and for Luke I put out some of my brothers clothing in the bathroom. You can go first Thalia. If you go down the hallway, the one door that's open is the bathroom. Luke, you can go after Thalia."
Luke nodded, and Thalia walked as fast as she could without running to the shower. Thalia barely paid attention to what the bathroom looked like; all she saw was a sink, toilet, and a bath-shower combo. After that she stripped and blasted the hot water while using the grapefruit scented body wash that probably cost a bomb liberally, as well as the citrus shampoo and conditioner. And she actually got the dirt that had been under her nails for what felt like a year out. When she stopped the water—making sure that there was still enough hot left for Luke—and stepped out of the tub onto the cold tiles she snatched a fluffy floral towel from the counter by the sink and dried off.
Then she finally gave the bathroom a good look.
Green walls and white porcelain. There was a basket of kiddie toys by the tub: rubber ducks, toy boats, and foam bath animals that absorb water. There was nothing on the counter, but there was a medicine cabinet. Thalia fastened her towel under her armpits and opened it—hey, just because she could respect the woman didn't mean Thalia had any qualms about snooping. Four little toothbrushes and one adult sized toothbrush, mint toothpaste and the bubble-gum flavored shit that was safe for kids to accidentally swallow, and some weird vials. They said stuff like Wound Cleaning, Dreamless Sleep, Pepper-Up Potion, Skele-Gro, Blood-Replenishing, and Calming Draught. There was even a small container of yellow paste that was labeled: Burn Healing.
O-o-kay, Thalia thought, so she's one of those herbalists who make their own homemade concoctions. Nothing wrong with that. She closed the cabinet and went over to the pile of girls' clothing. It was a simple pair of black jeans and an equally black tee-shirt—Ms. Potter had obviously noticed Thalia's preference in colors… to not have them. Thalia almost smiled. Balling up her dirty clothing, Thalia walked out into the living room and stood there awkwardly. Luke and Ms. Potter were sitting on the couch talking, Ms. Potter having both the twin boys on her lap, while Lily and Teddy were lying on their stomachs on the purple rug with a picture book in front of them. Ms. Potter looked up and smiled, "Good, you're done," she noticed the dirty clothes Thalia was carrying, "just put your those in the hamper outside of the bathroom, same with you Luke when you're done."
Thalia nodded. Luke stood up and started walking down the hallway, Thalia following. "So?" She asked quietly once they were out of hearing range.
Luke smirked and raised an eyebrow, "So, what?"
Thalia glared, "So, is she okay or not?"
Luke sobered, "She's great. She's exactly what anyone would wish for in a mom." His tone was bitter, but he tried to shake it off, "Look, just talk to her and you'll understand. I've already told her a bit—like how we're demigods and that I'm a son of Hermes—don't worry, I said nothing about who your dad was, that's your job." He paused, and said softly, "She's trustworthy, Thalia." Then he closed the door to the bathroom with her standing in the hallway.
So Luke trusts her already, Thalia mused as she dumped her clothes in the hamper and walked back to the living room. She couldn't be that bad then, maybe Luke and I could get a few free meals out of this. Once Thalia was sitting where Luke had been previously on the couch, she got strait to the point.
"You know about the gods." She had never been one to beat around the bush.
Ms. Potter didn't appear startled by her bluntness, just kept stroking the heads of the twins on her lap. The boys were making faces at each other. "Yes, I've met Apollo, Artemis, and Thanatos."
"Who's Thanatos?" Thalia scrunched her nose.
"Personification of Death, son of Nyx and Erebus."
"Oh."
"So," Ms. Potter said, "if Luke is the son of Hermes, who is your godly parent?"
It was said so kindly, with only polite curiosity, that Thalia felt herself telling Ms. Potter. And then everything just began bubbling to the surface—she was only eleven after all—and before Thalia knew it she was telling Adelaide about how her home life was—though she did edit out Jason; that was still too personal—and her head was resting against Adelaide's shoulder, with the woman carding her fingers through Thalia's choppy black hair, the twins having joined Teddy and Lily on the floor.
Thalia marveled at herself. She had never been so open with anybody save Luke, and she felt somehow less burdened then before. She still felt heavy with life, like she had lived too long despite her short eleven years, but it was somehow more… bearable. Thalia thought that this might be what it was supposed to be like between a mother and daughter. Something she had never had with her drunk of a mother.
"Are they demigods?" Thalia asked when she recovered herself, gesturing at the toddlers.
"No," Adelaide said sadly and twisted a ring on her finger. An engagement ring, Thalia realized. "My fiancé, Fred Weasley, is the father of three of them: James, Frederick, and Lily. Teddy's my godson and adopted son. Fred and Teddy's parents all died." And left you alone, Thalia finished.
Teddy stood up and wobbled uncertainly towards Adelaide—his mum—and smiled in triumph when he didn't fall and Adelaide scooped him up. She hugged him close, his own arms going around her neck, and kissed his cheek. "Look at you Teddy! Before you know it you'll be running circles around James and Frederick!" Thalia thought it unlikely that Teddy actually understood what Adelaide was saying, but the enthusiasm made him giggle happily.
He looked towards Thalia and she saw that his eyes were the exact same blue as her own, but she could have sworn that they had been green before—or was it gold? Luke walked in, shaking his head like a dog. He wore too-big jeans that must have been held up by a tight belt, the pant legs were rolled up several times just so he was able to walk. He wore a sweater that was similar to the one Adelaide donned but smaller; it fit him pretty well actually, and was emerald green. Thalia had to swallow a laugh; she thought that the sweater must be one of Adelaide's old things, because someone with those long pants would not be that small in the torso. Luke didn't seem to notice that he was wearing a girl's sweater.
"Whoa!" Luke exclaimed suddenly, jumping back a step, "I thought Teddy's hair was blue-green before!" If Thalia hadn't been busy staring at Teddy in shock, she would have rolled her eyes: trust a guy to say 'blue-green' when they're talking about teal.
Teddy's hair had changed. His previously blue-green hair had turned a sandy blond—the exact same as Luke's. His eyes still looked the same as Thalia's stormy blue, so the result left Thalia blinking furiously. He didn't really look like Jason. He could just be another blond-haired blue-eyed baby, but Jason had also been a blond-haired blue-eyed baby.
"Well," Adelaide smiled mysteriously, "Teddy's always been special." Teddy beamed at her, obviously knowing what 'special' meant, and to show his affection turned his hair dark red and his eyes emerald green. He looked like Adelaide's biological child. For Thalia it was as if a spell had been broken, and she remembered that Jason was gone and wasn't coming back, just like she was never going back to her mom.
Adelaide had insisted they stay until the weather improved. There was never any doubt that they would leave, and Adelaide never tried to force them to stay no matter how much she obviously wanted to. Luke and Thalia did their best to help her out, which mostly meant entertaining Teddy, James, Frederick, and Lily. Adelaide almost always carried a camera around with her, and seemed almost desperate to get as many photos of Thalia and Luke as she could before they left for an undetermined amount of time. Probably forever.
Both the demigods got their own room and three meals a day and got to shower whenever they wanted. Adelaide bought them their own clothing, going so far as to buy Thalia the expensive combat boots that she had been eyeing but hadn't wanted to say anything. It was like having a mom, addressing all of their needs and making sure they were taken care of and comfortable without being spoiled. They met George as well, when he came through the Floo—Adelaide had given them the basic rundown on witches and wizards—and he always insisted on giving them some of his prank products, which they mostly used on each other. He was like a fun uncle.
At the end of January both Thalia and Luke started getting antsy. They didn't want to stay and put Adelaide and her children in danger, and knew that if they stayed any longer they were putting them in jeopardy—they were already pushing it by staying a month. So on February first early in the morning Adelaide saw them off with backpacks full of supplies and warm clothing.
It would be a long time before Adelaide saw them again, and when she did, they would be very different from the children she remembered.
February 2nd 2000 (The day after Thalia and Luke left)
Adelaide tried to go on with life as usual. She woke up, ran on her treadmill, had a shower, woke up the kids, made breakfast, and made sure the children were entertained before settling down on the sofa with a book. She had recently started taking muggle books out of the local library, because all the books she had inherited and owned were spell or potions texts, and sometimes she liked a little fantasy. She couldn't focus though; her eyes kept drifting from the page to the framed photos that she had finally started putting up around her apartment. It was the most recent ones that her eyes lingered on though, the ones of Thalia and Luke.
Her favorite was the one from when the two demigods had attempted giving James and Frederick a bath. The twins had always had a love-hate relationship with bath time. Both boys always ran for it whenever they could, regardless of their state of dress and the fact that all Adelaide would do was pick them up and plop them back into the soapy water. When they actually got settled into the bath though, they had tons of fun. They threw bubbles and splashed water, giggling the whole time. This picture captured such an example of their bath time fun, and right there, caught in the crossfire were Luke and Thalia. Both of them looked like drowned cats.
The sound of her doorbell knocked her out of her daydreams. All four of her children looked up from their game—at least Adelaide thought it was some sort of game; it seemed to involve a lot of jumping and running around in circles, as well as throwing stuffed animals. "Mama?" James and Frederick asked in unison.
"Stay here," Adelaide told them, "I won't be long." Lily scowled childishly and reached her arms up, "Oh, alright sweetie," Adelaide acquiesced, then said sternly to the boys, "Be good."
Lily firmly settled on her hip, Adelaide opened her front door to see a man. He wore a dark blue pinstriped suit, had a beard of marbled black and grey, black hair, and his eyes… Adelaide knew those eyes. Though they were far more old and grim then the ones she had seen just the day before, there was no doubt who this person must be. Those stormy and electric blue eyes weren't very common after all, but even without that giveaway, the fact he smelled of ozone made Adelaide sure who this man was.
"Ms. Potter?" He asked commandingly, and it was so similar to what Thalia looked like when she was ordering Luke or one of the toddlers to do something it made Adelaide smile slightly.
"Just Adelaide will be fine, Lord Zeus." She said, "Would you like to come in? I could make you some tea."
Zeus nodded and walked right in, letting Adelaide lead him into the dining room where he sat at the table. Adel adjusted Lily on her hip and went to the kitchen to make the tea. She had become an expert at multitasking, like carrying a toddler and preparing beverages. Adelaide cleared her throat awkwardly, "Are you here about Thalia… my Lord?" Usually after the initial greeting, Adelaide felt comfortable enough to drop the 'Lord' or 'Lady'. She hadn't felt they were needed with either Thanatos or Artemis, and had never once called Apollo 'My Lord', which he had actually seemed to like. But with Zeus, for some reason Adelaide was uncomfortable. She found herself hyperaware of everything going on around her in a way she hadn't been since the end of the war. She gripped Lily tighter than usual, and strained to hear what was going on in the living room with Teddy, James and Frederick. She felt like she was in danger and while this was completely normal for her, Adelaide also felt immensely and fantastically outmatched.
She was in the presence on the king of the gods, and should tread carefully, for her children's sake—because Adelaide had a feeling that if she displeased this god even slightly, he would have no trouble blasting her whole apartment building and sending them all on a one-way ticket to the Underworld. Just in case, when Adel was passing by the bowl she kept out that held loose change on her way to give Lord Zeus his tea, she grabbed as much as she could in one hand and stuffed it into her jeans pocket. At least if her and her family did get blasted she would be able to pay Charon to get to the Underworld with her children.
For the first time, Adelaide found herself regretting getting mixed up with these immortal beings.
"Yes," the god said carelessly after a moment's pause. He took the tea Adelaide had prepared for him without a word of thanks, just a nod of his head as if dismissing a servant, and took a sip. He pursed his lips and put the cup and saucer down onto the dining table with a deliberate clatter. "How much do you want in recompense?"
"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand Lord Zeus," indeed, Adelaide felt as the figurative gears in her head had frozen over and rusted beyond repair, so the spiders had gathered and covered everything in sticky cobwebs. "Recompense for what?"
"For taking care of my daughter, of course." He waved his hand and a check book and gold fountain pen materialized in front of him. He picked up the pen and flipped open the check book, looking at Adelaide expectantly, "How much do you require?"
Adelaide breathed out sharply through her nose. Her eyes blazed. She placed Lily on the ground gently, "Go play with your brothers sweetie."
Lily looked pleadingly at Adelaide, "But mama…" she whined.
"Go Lily," Adel told her sternly, "I'm sure Teddy will play with you."
At the mention of Teddy, Lily's eyes brightened and with only a small push from Adelaide she was walking clumsily to where her brothers and Teddy were.
"Well?" Zeus asked impatiently once they were alone.
"Nothing." Zeus raised an eyebrow skeptically, and the expression was the same one that Thalia used. Adelaide elaborated, "I don't want any money; I have more of that then I know what to do with. What I would like from you is a promise." She made sure to stay polite, even if she wanted to breathe fire, "I want you to keep her alive."
"We have Laws." Zeus said disapprovingly.
"I don't care," Adelaide said simply.
There was silence, the likes of which Adelaide had never experienced before, not even when she was waiting for the pregnancy test to show her if it was positive or negative. It was dense, like the fruitcake her aunt Petunia baked but nobody ever ate, and it swelled like a balloon being filled with corn syrup. Zeus didn't give anything away from his expression. He stared at her, his face unreadable, his eyes now a rainy grey. Adelaide was frozen where she sat, but she tried to keep eye contact and look adamant. As if she wasn't scared that he was going to kill her and her children.
"Very well." Then he stood and reached out towards her. Adelaide's breath stuck somewhere in her throat, but all he did was touch her lightning bolt curse scar. It tingled, and Adelaide knew without looking that it was gone now. Adelaide wasn't sure if that was his way of rewarding her by taking away her curse scar, or trying to disgrace her by taking away his symbol of power because he felt that she had been disrespectful and this was his way of showing his displeasure. He showed himself to the door.
Adelaide sat still for a long time, just breathing in and out and listening to the inane chatter and childish laughter coming from the living room. Then she stood and collected the cold cup of tea, dumping it down the drain.