Chapter 9:
Normal Pov
The second their feet touched the floor and Juliunna took their hand off of the portkey, the head they were holding onto fell onto the floor.
"Well, Daughter of the Dark Lord." Harry said lifelessly.
"I don't want to be-!"
"I know that!" He said, and the two of them sauntered over to Dumbledore's desk.
"I'm sorry about Sirius." Juliunna said, and they both sat down. "You shouldn't be." He spoke, his voice light and dead. Harry took a deep breath, and then the two of them were sitting in silence.
They couldn't have been there for more then ten minutes when the door opened. "Professor," Harry started, turning around. He and Juliunna expected to see Dumbledore, but Professor Snape was standing there. He strode inside.
"Juliunna, let's go."
"What?" But Harry and Juliunna said. The two of them stood up, but Snape walked forward and wrapped a thin hand around Juliunna's upper arm.
"Urgent owl from the Headmaster. I need to transport you to a safe house now."
"What? But why? He's not going to strike again, so soon-!"
"Silence Potter!" Snape said, and started to pull Juliunna towards the door. "We have to act quickly. Once Bella gets the Dark Lord to believe her, he'll act fast. Let's go-!"
"Are you kidding?!" Both Harry and Juliunna said.
"You were told to wait here Potter! Stay!"
"What? But if he's coming here, would it make much sense for me to go to a safe house too-!"
"Stay down! The order knows what they are doing." Snape snarled at Harry. But he followed Snape and Juliunna out the door anyway.
"But aren't their protective spells keeping dark forces from penetration the school?" She asked as Snape pushed her to the stairs. He nodded grimly.
"Yes. But if You Know Who wants to get inside, I suppose that there isn't much we can do if he decides to go full fledged power on us. Until Dumbledore gets here to put more up, we're defenseless. Potter go back to the Headmaster's office, this instant!" Snape yelled, and Harry jumped backwards as he pulled out his wand.
"But I want to help."
"There is nothing you can do." Snape snarled at him, and when they reached the top of the vanishing staircase, Snape steered her to the right.
"Umbridge's office?" She asked. Snape nodded. "Yes, it's the only fireplace in the school not being trafficked." He said, and as they entered the office, Harry slipped into the room right after them. "Now, there's some floo powder in the-! Potter I will hex you into unconsciousness! I'll pass on the story that your fell and tripped on the stairs." Snape snarled, but Juliunna looked at the fireplace softly.
"Um… Floo Powder. Floo Powder. Floo-!"
"You've never traveled like that, have you?" Snape sighed.
"No."
"You really have no idea?"
"Well I do have the idea." Juliunna shrugged. She walked forward and grabbed the single cup of Floo Powder, which she compared to Peruvian Powder. She grabbed a fist full of powder and turned to Professor Snape. "Where do I go?"
"The Borrow."
"She's going to the Weasleys?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Snape said. "I believe the Headmaster will arrange for her to stay elsewhere soon. But she needs to stay somewhere unexpected. Here, give this to Molly, it's from Dumbledore. She'll understand." Snape said. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Juliunna, who pocketed easily. Juliunna turned to the fireplace. She stepped inside and turned around. "The Burrow!" She threw the powder down and was immediately engulfed in green flames. She spun around and then, a dining room was coming into view. When everything was still again, she stepped out and looked around at the kitchen that she had only seen in movies.
"Hello?!" She called out. Immediately, Molly Weasley ran into the kitchen still dressed in her night gown. "Hello? Who are you?" She asked, and Juliunna took the note out of her pocket. "Here you go." She said nicely. "From Professor Dumbledore Mrs. Weasley. There's been an incident." She said, and striding forward, Mr. Weasley took the note quickly. As she read it, Juliunna looked around the room, and spotted the clock. Ginny and Ron's clock hands were pointed toward School. Dumbledore must have gotten them back safely.
Mrs. Weasley finished reading, her hand clasped tightly against her chest. She dropped the letter on the table and turned to Juliunna, who was gazing around innocently. "You poor dear. Have you heard about anything?" She asked. I shook my head no.
"Okay. I want you to go straight upstairs and check out Ginny's room, you can sleep in her room. First door you see on the stair case, GW on the door, can't miss it. I'm going to bring you a nice dinner. But first, I have to go outside and do some protection spells. I'm so sorry this is happening dear." She added. She patted Juliunna warmly on the shoulder, making her smile. "Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Juliunna said, and they both strode off in the same direction. Mrs. Weasley ran outside, brandishing her wand.
Juliunna stopped at Ginny's door and looked up. There were more stairs, but halfway up them was a small walk space that led to a door with the letters GW written on the door.
Juliunna Pov
I opened the door and walked inside. It was a neat, room with a bunk bed against the wall. The walls were red, and there was a lot of posters up on the wall. Boy bands and Quidditch Games and decorations of average sparkly stuff. It was a typical teenage girls room. I walked forward and sat down on the bunk. I could see Mrs. Weasley outside, her arm outstretched into the sky. Little tuffs of silvery substance were shooting out of her wand and into the sky forming a large dome that was stretching for about a mile. The Weasley's yard and area was large, and I was amazed at how much square land they had! But surrounding the yard was miles and acres of a tall cornfield. I always wanted to go through one of those. It's like a huge maze!
I got up and opened the door, for there was movement in the hall. I was then looking down at Arthur Weasley. He turned to me. He was almost at the bottom of the stairs when he turned around, hearing the door.
"Oh. Hello." He said jollily. "Hello Mr. Weasley."
"And you are?" He asked. And I walked down the stairs to shake his hand.
"Juliunna. Juliunna Riddle." I said, he paled. "Um… Riddle?"
"Yes, yes you see, I'm here on orders."
"Does, does Molly know you're here?" He asked, walking backwards slowly. When he reached the floor, he started to backpedal.
"Yes. In fact, she agreed to the plan that we are going to put in place. Signed on the instant she finished reading." I said with a smirk. Oh, I know playing the pronoun game in this situation is cruel, but the fear on his face is priceless!
"Really? But Molly… Molly would never!" Arthur said, and his back hit the wall. His eyes were wide.
"Oh, but she did." I said, and started to walk down the stairs. I opened my mouth, in a wide smirked.
"Now, I only have one thing to tell you Mr. Weasley." I said, my hands etching towards my waist.
"And what is that?" He asked, his own hands etching towards his pockets.
"What's for dinner?" I asked with a smile. Arthur stopped his hand from entering his pocket. "Din… Dinner?"
"Yes. I'm afraid I'm really hungry." I said, and then walked pass him and into the kitchen. I heard him utter a small breath of relief.
"What happened to Molly?" He asked from the next room.
"Mr. Weasley, she's outside putting up protective charms." I yelled. He yelled back a thank you, and within seconds I could hear the sound of a screen door, and then a regular door opening. I sat down at the Kitchen table and propped my chin up on my hand. I looked around and noticed the note sitting on the table. I picked it up and raised it to eye level.
Molly,
I am flooing Juliunna Marie Riddle to your house now. There was a massive incident at the Ministry and I need you to take care of her for a short while. I will be here in an hour, time, to discuss the details. Your children are safe, but heed my waning Molly. The girl in your custody is Voldemort's daughter. He will know that she is alive and at close hand. Whether or not he will attack Hogwarts to find her, is half and half a chance. Put protection spells around your house. If there is the slightest chance that they brainstorm and try to check a well known Order of the Phoenix member's house, it will not be pretty. Keep her inside.
I promise that explanations are in order when I arrive. Stay safe and hoping you are well,
Dumbledore.
In a few minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came inside. They were both tucking their wands back into their pockets. "Oh, have you checked out Ginny's room? Is it alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked, and walked to the refrigerator. She started pulling out toast and packages of food.
"Yes, thank you." I smiled. She took out her wand again and Arthur sat down next to me. "Is everyone okay with spaghetti for dinner?"
"Yes Mrs. Weasley." I smiled, standing up.
"Of course Molly." Arthur said.
"Alright. Juliunna, I want you to go upstairs and wash up for dinner. Give me ten minutes to make dinner, okay?" She asked. I nodded. "Yes Mrs. Weasley."
"Now I don't have any of your clothes, but your welcome to any of the boys clothes. I'm sorry to say that Ginny brought all of hers to school with her. I know the boys dressers are full. Is that okay?"
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley." I smiled with a slight strain. "I'll just go borrow something of Ron's. I'm sure he won't mind." I said, shaking my hand at her. She smiled at me as I walked around the corner. As I took the stairs two at a time, I couldn't help but smile. She was just so motherly! When I reached the top of the staircase, passed Ginny's room, and entered the second floor, I opened the first door on the left. It was empty and stripped down. "This must be Percy's." I said. I opened the next door and saw that there were two twin beds. "Fred and George." There were cauldrons littering the floor and brightly colored candies wrapped in clear wrappings. "Ooh." I said aloud. I was about to grab a candy on the floor, when I retreated my hand as if I was burned.
"Those aren't candies." I backed away and shut the door. I wondered if it what I was about to grab was a nosebleed nougat, or Fever Fudges. Or whatever made Dudley Dursleys tongue grow six feet in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I opened the last door on the left, and smiled.
"Yep. Here are the Quidditch Posters covering every inch of his wall, and the sloping ceiling. Here's the comics too." I said with a shrug. I walked over to Ron's dresser and pulled out a large grey shirt. "Hmm." I tossed it back inside. "Blue." I smiled. There was an overlarge blue shirt. I really hope I get more clothes soon. It's going to be really awkward if I have to keep borrowing Ron's clothes. I made sure to get dressed as quick as I could, and, to my embarrassment, wondered if I was out of luck for bottoms. But to my surprise, Ron had a whole box of shorts with the price tag still on. They were a gift from his Auntie Muriel, judging by the sign on this box. A few of them were swim trunks, and I realized at once why Ron wouldn't wear them. Not only did they look as if they were made for a small boy, their decorations were for boys, not teenagers. The shorts I were wearing went down to my knees, and had pictures of small fire trucks on them.
I walked down the stairs when I was finished, and was glad that Mrs. Weasley had magic to help her. There were four plates of steaming spaghetti and meatballs on the table. Mrs. Weasley was pocketing her wand when I entered.
"Oh, sweetie, right next to Arthur. I see you've found Muriel's gift." Mrs. Weasley smiled. I nodded and sat down next to Arthur. "Why are there-!" I was going to ask why there were four plates, but then, the fireplace shone brightly. Professor Dumbledore stepped out, brushed off his shoulders gravely, and then walked forward to exchange pleasantries with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Molly, Arthur, I'm afraid I can't stay for long. I've got an angry Mr. Potter back at my office. I'm afraid that Sirius has left us, forever." Dumbledore said, and Molly gripped her chest tightly. "What?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so." Dumbledore said. Arthur pulled out a chair for him, and then everyone was seated. I lifted up my fork and skewered a small meatball. I plopped it into my mouth.
"Yes, Lord Voldemort used the mind connection that he and Harry shared to lure him, and a few other children to the Department of Ministries. Including your youngest son and daughter, and the young lady enjoying a plate a spaghetti right here." Dumbledore said, casting a smile my way.
"Are they alright?!" Molly asked.
"Yes. Madame Pomfrey is tending to them all now. You have no need to worry about them. Only minor injuries."
"I don't understand. What happened when, when You Know Who lured them to the Department of Ministries?" Arthur asked. "He didn't get…It. Did it?" Arthur asked, trying to be discreet we me standing right here.
"You mean the Prophecy?" I smiled, and Arthur winced.
"Lord Voldemort did not get it. His team of Death Eaters pursued the children, and managed to escape to a select room. The Order and I managed to capture all but one Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange. She murdered Sirius, and sent Nymphadora into a state that sent her to St. Mungo's. She will be fine, eventually. I had to fight off Lord Voldemort, but he fled with Bellatrix. Now, she wasn't able to communicate that his daughter was less then ten feet from him. But I'm sure she'll get the point across. Juliunna has no official home or family to return to during the summer-!"
"Well, she's saying with us of course!" Mrs. Weasley said, smiling.
"Molly, I couldn't do that."
"What? We let Harry stay here during the summer. What's the difference?"
"I'm afraid that Voldemort finds her more useful then Harry. It won't take long for him to start searching-!"
"Who's going to take care of her?" Mrs. Weasley said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Molly, if he comes here on a whim, looking for her, what about your children?"
"We'll go off the map. More Protection charms. Besides, we have floo powder if we need to make a quick escape. And there's always side along Apparation. It doesn't matter." Molly said. Dumbledore nodded.
"Alright then. It's going to be alright, now, I believe Mrs. Riddle needs to be aware of some rules and safety concerns." Dumbledore said, and I quickly swallowed the forkful of spaghetti.
"Yes?"
"Owling Mr. Malfoy is out of the question. You'll just have to cope with that. Owling any of your Slytherin friends, including Mr. Malfoy, is dangerous. I believe that Lord Voldemort is in contact with his family."
"Fine." I shrugged, popping another meatball in my mouth.
"You are not to leave the house. If you must, stay close and inside the protective barriers. You are to, under no reason except to flee danger, to exit the protective borealis that I will put up. I believe that a Fidelus charm is in order. Molly, Arthur, will you both be secret keepers?" Dumbledore asked, and I scowled. He was going to lock me up, just like Sirius! It didn't really work out for him, after all. And I bet it won't go well for me.
"Of course." Both Molly and Arthur said.
"I suspect that you both should act as if nothing has changed. No one except for the Order should know that she is here. And your children of course." Dumbledore smiled at Molly and Arthur. I continued to spoon feed myself warm spaghetti, listening to them talk.
"And the children, should they no owl anyone else too?" Arthur asked.
"I believe that they will be okay, but I think you should make sure your children know that when its time to send an owl out, you should be discreet in mentioning Mrs. Riddle. Or any subject, really. Mrs. Riddle, do you think that Mr. Malfoy would have any reason to believe that you would go to the Weasleys? And if he did, would he tell Voldemort?" Albus asked me, adjusting the moon spectacles on his face.
"Yes. Well no. When Ron heard that I was going to the Malfoy's, he invited me to spend the summer here, instead. But I declined. That was weeks ago, and he's probably forgot about the whole thing., and Draco told me to stay at Hogwarts anyway. That was the original plan, of course. And I very much doubt that Draco would tell our dear friend Voldy, my whereabouts." I said with a shrug. Albus nodded, listening to my story.
"Now, I suppose that by now, Draco Malfoy has told you all you need to know about your parentage?"
"Yep."
"Well, Miss Riddle, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I have to attend to Mr. Potter. And I daresay," Dumbledore looked to me, raising a fluffy eyebrow. "We will be meeting again. Hopefully, not on different sides of the war. I do hope what I see in your eyes, isn't what I saw in Tom Riddle's eyes when he was your age." He smiled. He grabbed his plate after Mrs. Weasley made him, and he flooed back to Hogwarts. I was gripping my fork tight, my wrist shaking. Mrs. Weasley sat down, and looked to me with soft eyes. "Do unclench your fork sweetie, that's the good kind. And if you need more food, just ask."
…
I slept in Ginny's bed, a pretty comfortable one with springs in the mattress. I spent the day cleaning her room. It was very much the opposite of neat. I couldn't see the floor. Toys, comic books, dresses that I refused to wear no matter what Mrs. Weasley said, and more were scattered along the floor. I cleaned it all without magic, and when I awoke the next day, I suspected that Ginny would be very surprised to see that her room was no longer comparable to a pigsty. When I woke up the next morning, I had one thing determined.
I was going to clean the whole second floor before Ron and Ginny get home tomorrow morning.