Opening Author's Notes
Holy moly, I didn't think I was going to be able to do this again this quickly. I also have to say I didn't imagine being able to include certain elements in this chapter, but I kind of stumbled into them and gave them a try. Dedication goes to Mikki (Her_Tulip on Wattpad), with co-dedication to Katherine (GoldsberryDiggs on Wattpad) for giving me a Patronus idea and an idea for the box that I incorporated into this chapter.
Do you think the dead we love ever truly leave us? You don't think we recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?
–Albus Dumbledore
Hogsmeade, Scotland, UK
Dumbledore's Army Command Post, High Street
Alex felt himself pale as he accepted the letter from McGonagall and opened it. He then made sure Harry was able to read it alongside him and saw that the letter went,
Dear Alexander,
If you are reading this, then it likely means that I am in great trouble. It may also mean that I have passed away once again, but do not mourn for me too much and do not blame yourself. I would have risked my life for our cause and your sake even if you'd dissuaded me because I would have wanted you to do the same if our roles were reversed.
Lean on your friends – including those you have made at Hogwarts – when you need to. Remember that though the world needs a Hamilton, it is not a burden you should ever have to bear alone because there are people who believe in you that way.
I will see you as soon as I can, whether it be in flesh or in spirit, in this life or the next. Until then, be brave.
Forever your friend,
Ian Laurentius
John Laurens
The last name was magically concealed to all who were there save Alex, and his breath caught in his throat as he finished reading. He looked up and saw Harry and McGonagall looking at him sympathetically. She then said,
"It was found on Diagon Alley in the midst of the fighting there," McGonagall said, "But that's not all. I do have good news, and I believe it's about the same man. Potter, this letter from Miss Delacour addressed to you reached me immediately after I found the letter from Mr. Laurentius."
Harry's eyes widened at the mention of Fleur's name. He took the second letter from McGonagall and opened it, inviting Alex to read it alongside him.
Cher Harry,
I apologize for not being able to write back to you and Hermione sooner, but I not only do I know Gilbert from Beauxbatons (though he is more famous by a different name), but the two of us are helping drive our British Ministry foes out of Diagon Alley and recover supplies. We found Alex's friend a short way away from the letter near Madam Malkin's and he's injured and barely conscious, but he'll be okay as long as he gets some more attention. Fighting is still ongoing here, but we will talk tomorrow because these dogs are getting their just desserts.
Bisoux,
Fleur
"Thank God..." Alex said, both relieved and still tense as Harry clapped him on the back. Unseen by Harry, his eyes had lit up when he had seen the name "Gilbert" there and guessed at what might be happening.
"What was your friend doing in Diagon Alley?" Harry asked.
"He did tell me that he was visiting relatives in London and was stopping there before making his way up here," Alex managed to say.
Not long after, Hermione spotted Luna coming back towards her with Ginny and Ron close behind. She was tucking her wand back behind an ear and rolling up one of several rolls of parchment with a look of grim satisfaction.
"What did you find?" Hermione asked.
"Plenty that would make bystanders more furious at the Ministry than afraid of reprisals," Luna said knowingly. "All that's left is to compile this into some stories and then go see Daddy and get this on the press along with a method for sending assistance or supplies."
"That's great," Hermione said with a smile as Luna got started drafting stories. "Ron, Ginny, did you want to tell Alex what happened at the Burrow when you and Alexwere talking with Mrs. Weasley about Alex?"
"I would still like to hear this – it'd take my mind off something I'm nervous about," Alex said, approaching. "What happened?"
"Gladly," Ron said. "Here's how it went..."
The Burrow (Weasley Residence)
Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England, UK
"A reincarnated American Muggle revolutionary?" Molly Weasley asked, her brow furrowed as she digested what she had heard in her kitchen from her two youngest children and her daughter's childhood friend.
While Harry, Hermione, Parvati and Dean had been talking to Alex in the Gryffindor common room, Ron, Ginny and Luna had been visiting and telling her what they had heard from Hermione and Harry about Alex and who they thought he was. They had understood Hermione and Harry when they said they hadn't told them everything they knew about him because they didn't want to swamp them with information that they were very new to.
"Yes, Mum, but that definitely doesn't mean we shouldn't do what we can to support him," Ron said firmly.
"Sorry, Ron. I wasn't trying to imply Alex was dark or anything – it's just that you probably know as well as anyone that things like these don't always happen, even when magic is involved," Molly said apologetically.
"You can say that again. But Luna and I agree with Ron – and personally, even though I don't know much Muggle history at all, much less American Muggle history," Ginny said, "I'm willing to bet my broomstick that he has his own weight to carry due to expectation and history."
"Yes..." Ron said solemnly, "And Ginny, you and I may know may how heavy that can be better than anyone just from our own history, never mind thanks to knowing Harry."
Luna and especially Ginny nodded at that with similar solemnity. Ron and Ginny might have become heroes in their own right, but there had been a time where they had to deal with not only being poor but also with the weight of their older brothers' legacies. Fred and George having good grades despite their pranking ways was part of that, but the bulk of it came from Charlie being Quidditch Captain and Bill and Percy both becoming Head Boy in their time.
When Ginny had arrived at Hogwarts, she had also had to deal with Ron being one of Harry's best friends and Ron's accomplishments during his first year...more accurately, during his first two years, as her first year had been marked with her being possessed by Voldemort during the Chamber of Secrets incident. Ron had also served as a Gryffindor male prefect for a year before ceding his badge to Harry when he had learned the truth of why Dumbledore had chosen him over Harry, while Ginny had been named a new Gryffindor female prefect earlier that summer.
"I think..." Luna said, "We all know to some extent how it feels to be compared to a relative or ancestor. The difference is that not only is that burden larger for some, but others are more comfortable carrying it–"
"Like you, Luna," Ginny said with a knowing smile.
"Thanks, Ginny," Luna replied, returning the smile. "But whereas I'm certainly comfortable enough, we don't know how comfortable Alex is with following in his ancestor's footsteps."
"What little I do know about Muggle history tells me that it can sometimes be sordid as wizarding history," Ron said. "And if I'm right, then I can guess something that Alex has tried his hardest to remember."
"What would that be, Ron?" Molly asked.
"'Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,'" Ron replied.
"I didn't know you knew Churchill, Ron!" Ginny remarked, beaming at him along with Molly. "I had better tell Hermione that that time spent with her is continuing to pay off!"
"Honestly, Ginny, I didn't know it was him – I heard the quote but not the name," Ron confided.
"Something's happening..." Molly remarked, looking up.
The others followed her gaze to the magical clock/indicator on the wall. Arthur Weasley's hand was frantically swinging about and then slowed down and nearly stopped on Mortal Peril for an agonizing second. Molly, Ron and Ginny were horrorstruck as they momentarily relived the night almost a year ago when Voldemort's snake familiar, Nagini, had brutally attacked Arthur when he had been on guard.
A moment later, his hand moved to You're Late and stopped with a chime – but it was also joined there by those belonging to Ron, Ginny and Molly. They quickly looked around at each other, and Ron, deducing what that meant, said, "We're all needed somewhere."
Molly and Ginny nodded weakly at that. As Ron had finished, the fireplace flashed green and Arthur's head had appeared.
"What's going on, Dad?" Ron asked. "Are you all right?"
"Is it Hogsmeade, Dad?" Ginny asked breathlessly.
"Don't worry, Ron, I'm all right. There's a lot of people who aren't, though...and you are right, Ginny, because they are making their way to Hogsmeade if they haven't already," Arthur narrated grimly.
As the children looked horrorstruck, he then turned to his wife and said, "Molly, make sure you bring the potion supplies and maybe some food too."
"They can count on me, Arthur!" She replied with a determined smile, quickly summoning her tools and ingredients.
"Ron, Ginny, Luna," Arthur continued, and he made sure the children had his attention before he finished, "Harry is also making sure the others know – he is assembling the DA in Hogsmeade while inspecting the situation and helping. He says to be ready for a fight, which means bringing anything you think you might need. Rendezvous point and command post is on the High Street outside the Three Broomsticks."
"We'll be there!" Ron replied determinedly, with Ginny and Luna nodding ardently next to him.
Hogsmeade, Scotland, UK
Dumbledore's Army Command Post, High Street
"Wow..." Alex breathed. "Ron, Ginny, Luna, thanks a lot for believing in me."
"Anytime, Alex," Ginny replied. "Oh, look, there are Fred and George..."
She was right. Fred and George were approaching the command post alongside Dean, Justin, Parvati and Padma, and the six of them were levitating a stretcher between them. Atop the stretcher was a boy who looked to be about Harry's and Alex's age, and like Alex, he had black hair tied in a ponytail, fair skin with a hint of tan that spoke to being Hispanic and an Ilvermony House crest on his robes, though in this case, it was that of Wampus instead of Alex's Thunderbird.
"John!" Alex screamed before he was able to stop himself, bolting towards the man on the stretcher.
"He has a broken non-wand arm and some internal bleeding, Alex," Justin informed Alex. "But that's not the worst of it...the bloody gits used Cruciatus on him at least once. The old chap's made of some stern stuff, though...he was still fighting as best as we could when we, Fleur and her friend found him!"
Alex smiled at hearing Justin talk about John with such pride. He then looked around, saw Molly pulling out several potions and moved aside so she was beside John's head.
"Don't worry, Alex, I'll have him in better shape soon," She assured him. She then turned to her twin sons and said both urgently and gently, "Fred, George, lift his head up slightly so I can administer these."
They nodded and tilted his head upwards slightly so that he could drink each potion, including a blood-replenishing one. After a minute, he coughed, opened his eyes, looked around and said weakly, "Alex?"
Alex nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile also grew as he quickly wrung Molly's hands in thanks. He said, "You're going to be all right, John. Mrs. Weasley's got you, and things should only get better once you get to the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey."
"That would be great," John replied, managing to prop himself up on his elbows. "Did you get my letter? I felt inside of my robes and didn't find it."
"Yes, I did," Alex replied, color draining from his face again, though slightly this time. "I was so scared..."
"I meant it," John said, strength coming back into his voice. "Remember, it's no longer just me, Hercules, Lafayette...and Eliza...who believe in what you can be. It's now also Harry, Hermione, Ron and the friends you've made here. Not only do I know are they good people and strong wizards and witches from what happened with Voldemort before we came here, but I know from what you've told me that they believe in you...and they don't just trust anyone like that."
Alex nodded, and as he did so, Harry, Hermione and Ron came up alongside him supportively. John managed a smile at them and laid back down.
"Wonderful work, everyone," Harry told the other six who were there gratefully and proudly.
"Thanks, Harry," Dean said. "It was our honor to help Alex's friend. When we left, Fleur and the other Frenchman who we met, along with some of their allies, were carving out a pocket from which we can extract supplies and goods."
"Pad and I'll get him up to the Hospital Wing and come back down." Parvati offered. "That'll leave Fred, George, Dean and Justin to go right back into the fray if they want. Fred and George say they can leave the bigots smarting if they manage to get to their supplies, which were still intact."
"What do you think?" Harry asked with a grin at them.
"We're right on it, sah!" Justin replied, saluting quickly.
"Excellent!" George exclaimed. "Now, little Justin, let me instruct you on the finer points of a Weasley Twin prank..."
As they split off, Alex turned back around to find Hermione thinking hard and trying to connect the proverbial dots.
"Ian Laurentius...John...John Laurens?" She asked quietly, comprehension dawning on her face. "The American abolitionist and soldier?"
Alex nodded gravely. He then said haltingly, "And one of Hamilton's close friends from the Revolution. He was the first of them to die..."
Harry and Hermione looked at him, terrified, before Alex explained, "He was shot from his saddle at Combahee River in South Carolina in 1782. Even though Yorktown had ensured American independence, Britain had not yet withdrawn from Charleston, and it led to a skirmish. Like me, John is a descendant of his who took the name to honor him."
"I'm sorry, Alex," Harry said consolingly, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I know how hard it can be to watch loved ones suffer for your sake...and worse, die. I can only imagine how bad it is, though, to have a friend come back only to lose them again, and I'm so glad that looks like it won't happen."
"Thanks, Harry..." Alex replied softly but sincerely. He looked back at Harry, and he recognized that his green eyes – the eyes of a mother he had barely known – not only held sympathy but also more sorrows than a person should have to hold.
Alex found himself reciting those specific sorrows to indicate he understood. "Cedric Diggory, Dumbledore, Sirius Black, your own parents..."
Harry nodded, sniffed and then revealed, "When I was near a dementor the first few times I encountered one three years ago, the worst memories it made me relive were those of my parents' deaths at Voldemort's hands. But Sirius's death hurt so badly too..."
A tear slipped down Harry's face as he found himself unable to continue. Hermione quickly went to his side and gently wiped it away before explaining, "Harry had been hoping to clear Sirius's name and live with him, which would have been fantastic given what happened with his Muggle relatives. Instead, all Sirius got was a posthumous pardon and the Order of Merlin, First Class."
"God, I'm so sorry..." Alex managed to say, terrified.
"Thanks, Alex," Harry said, and then he managed a smile and a darkened laugh. "As you probably know, though, it could have been so much worse...I nearly lost Hermione too."
Hermione rubbed Harry's shoulder at this and explained to Alex, "Antonin Dolohov cursed me, and probably the only reason I lived was because I'd Silenced him and prevented him from performing the curse at full power. You can imagine we all made sure we let Harry know that there was no way we would have decided otherwise even if we knew what would befall us...me most of all because I'm his girlfriend."
Harry nodded solemnly but also smiled. He then added, "It doesn't make the pain go away, but it does ease it. It has since allowed me to put things in perspective...looking back, I think I would have had the eye of history upon me because of Voldemort since he was a threat to me anyway...it just happened to be trained on me most of all because I defeated him as a baby and then eventually managed to defeat him."
He then continued, "But I honestly think being the Boy Who Lived only means so much. I'd like to be remembered as a good friend...and if I'm fortunate, a good husband and father–"
Hermione threw her arms around him at this, and not only Harry, Ron and Alex were unable to stop themselves from smiling along with her. Ron asked, "Who are you and what have you done with Harry James Potter?"
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, meeting someone who is at the very least a descendant and follower of an American revolutionary and Founding Father – maybe even a reincarnation – has that effect," Harry said, knowing it was unlike him. Alex's smile grew as Harry then finished,
"–I'd like to also be remembered as someone who did what was right instead of what was easy...and who helped those who could not help themselves. I am ready to do all I can...but I urge everyone who is here to look inside themselves, because especially at a moment like this, the eyes of history are on all of us and we all have to stand and deliver."
Many nodded, and not one person shook their head. Looking within his robes and seeing the box shimmering, Alex pulled it out and offered it to Harry, who nodded briskly. He then lined up his wand with one of the six shimmering keyholes and turned it, followed by Hermione, Alex and Ron. Ginny and Luna approached, and Harry nodded again, inviting them to line their wands up with the last two keyholes and turn them.
Alex then turned the crank, and as music started again, Harry nodded to the Frog Choir, who were still nearby. They began once again,
In the cauldron, boil and bake
Fillet of a fenny snake
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double, double, toil and trouble
Something wicked this way comes
The music faded for a moment to just some piano notes, and it was at this point that Harry stepped forward and began to sing, looking at Alex,
[Harry] I was younger than you are now
When I was given my first command
I led my friends straight into a massacre
I witnessed their deaths firsthand
It was easy enough to forget because it had led to Voldemort's demise, but Harry had gone to the Ministry with Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville because Harry had believed Sirius to be Voldemort's prisoner. Harry knew he would find it hard to forget as hard as he lived – and in the moment, he closed his eyes and could still see Hermione going down from Dolohov's curse and looking as if she was dead, Ron being attacked by brains, Neville fighting Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius going through the Veil.
[Harry] I made every mistake
And felt the shame rise in me
And even now, I lie awake
Knowing history has its eyes on me
[Hermione/Ron/Ginny/Luna] (Whoa, whoa, whoa-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, yeah)
[Harry] History has its eyes on me
[Frog Choir] (Whoa, whoa, whoa-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, yeah)
Harry's eyes then snapped back open, and he raised his wand skyward and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!" Almost as quickly, Hermione also joined in and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"
Watching in awe as Harry's stag and Hermione's otter flitted around near the crowd near the command post, Alex found himself thinking first of how his namesake must have felt at Yorktown. Then, almost unbidden, the face of his Eliza flashed before him and he raised his wand and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"
A silvery lion that was small but no less fierce-looking sprung from his wand and joined the stag and otter. Many in the crowd were awed, but beyond that, they were heartened as they felt Harry's, Hermione's and Alex's spirits and wills manifest themselves and project comforting, rousing energy. This had an effect on the Frog Choir, who continued Double Trouble but then changed to something else altogether.
Double, double, toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double, double, toil and trouble
Something wicked this way comes
Wait for it (Wait for it)
I'm willing to wait for it (Wait for it, wait for it)
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Alex had paled, but an even more awed expression had stretched across his face as he heard the choir take up the refrain he had introduced. Harry and Hermione smiled at that too before Harry turned back towards Alex.
[Harry] Let me tell you what I wish I'd known
When I was young and dreamed of glory:
Alex nodded in comprehension, his mouth slightly open.
[Alex] You have no control
[Harry/Hermione/Alex/Frog Choir] Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?
Hermione had moved next to Harry again, and he turned to her and kept singing,
[Harry] I know that we can win
[Hermione] Yes, we can
They then turned back to the others, making sure they met as many eyes as they could to underline their point, as they finished,
[Harry/Hermione] I know that greatness lies in you
So remember from here on in
[Harry/Hermione/Alex/Ron/Ginny/Luna] History has its eyes on you
[Crowd] (Whoa, whoa, whoa-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)
[All] History has its eyes on you
As the song finished, Harry and Hermione saw Alex saluting them. They then looked around to see everyone else in sight doing the same – which was everyone within earshot of the song, from Ron, Ginny, Luna, Fred and George all the way to townspeople, some refugees and even McGonagall herself. Deeply moved, they saluted back.
It might not have been as raucous as earlier that evening after Hermione had talked to McGonagall or as the day Alex had spoken out at the Three Broomsticks, but it was no less powerful. Anyone who saw the scene knew that everyone there stood with each other and behind Harry and Hermione.
Even as Hermione, Harry and Alex relaxed and allowed their Patronuses to vanish, they still saw the same glints of fellowship and determination in the eyes of those around them as no one dropped their salutes.
Closing Author's Notes
I definitely had fun with History Has its Eyes on You – hope I managed to get it right! I did also get an idea to incorporate bits of Wait For It and My Shot after listening to Hurricane a lot again (that's a little hint for later too!) What I meant at the start was that I wasn't planning to include Laurens initially this early (and Ian and Laurentius are alternatives to John and Laurens, hence the name), but the previous chapter's cliffhanger gave me an idea. I am also working towards having Lafayette in the next chapter, which will include two songs from Hamilton (including one very big one) – any guesses?