Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.
Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.
Awaken Sleeper.
Chapter Twenty: Mr. and Mrs. Potter
by: Water Mage
Light poured onto the hilltop, radiant gold and blue meeting to bathe the area in a surreal halo. All sound ceased as the illumination revealed Titania and Mab, and their courts. The Queens of Faerie were resplendent in their battle gowns and finery similar in looks, but Mab's hair was winter white, and Titania's was more silvery and wavy, and her features were softer yet no less gorgeous. To Mab's right Maeve stood there in her white armor, and Mother Winter stood behind her, all shrouded in black. The Winter Queen herself was clothed in a gown of white silk, a vision of cold beauty, with a smile that cut like a knife. She was here for her justice, otherwise known as punishment.
Queen Titania surveyed the hilltop with interest. Puck was on her left with his hand on his sword hilt, crystalline plate smeared with blue fey blood. Behind him was Mother Summer glittering green eyes watching Harry with too much interest. Armored soldiers in full plate formed a semi-ring around their respective monarchy. The Courts of Faerie were gathered with every queen of past, present, and future. Aurora faced her peers and there was much to answer for.
"So many mortals, how delightful," said Maeve, looking around. She stared at Michael and licked her lips, smiling slowly when the Knight of the Cross fixed her with a judging gaze. "And Heaven's toy, I want to play with him."
Mab held up a hand, and the Winter Lady shrunk back still wearing a little smirk. "Quiet, Maeve. Mind your manners. I will have answers and I will have them now." She looked directly at Aurora, her eyes turning as white as moonlight. "I will show you why the words of my House are, cold is the fury."
"And my own are, burn them all to ash," said Aurora, facing Mab without a trace of fear. "Youngest queen of Summer I am, but I am not someone to threaten."
Well shit. Harry swallowed, feeling like he was standing in the middle of ground zero.
A smile touched Mab's lips. Even as shitty as he felt, Harry could see through it. "The summer is over, child queen. Winter's coming and all slights and wounds will be returned in kind. Shall we discuss your treason against thy court privately?"
Aurora was going to say something, when Titania's ringing voice called out, "Enough! Grave charges have been laid against you, daughter. Even I cannot hold at bay Winter's right for justice."
Such a Seelie thing to say. Titania was the Queen of Light and Illusion and has shaped her court as such. Scheming and lying was easy in the Summer Court, they're big on illusions like that. The motto what you see is what you get originated from them. If it looks good it must be, right? The Unseelie fae might be considered the bad faeries, but usually they were more honest in the Winter Court, most of the time. Titania said she couldn't stop Mab from having her justice, but she didn't claim to not retaliate in kind.
Dresden and Harry exchanged a glance, too quick for anyone to see. Their thoughts were in line with each other. Being anywhere near two fighting Faerie Queens was asking for a death sentence. If Mab and Titania went head up directly they'd lay waste to this entire valley, turning anything living into paste. Chicago down below would be crushed from the fallout.
"You played a very stupid game, girl," Mab said with a cold smile. "Stand and be judged."
Puck folded his arms across his chest imperviously. "She's of Summer, she deserves better than the mockery of Winter justice."
"Would you like a cut on your left cheek to match the ugly one on the right," said Maeve, tapping at her own cheek for emphasis. She grinned at the Sidhe's bleeding gash, and Puck's eyes narrowed as his hand drifted to his sword's hilt.
"Stay your hand, General," murmured Mother Summer from directly behind him. His movement stilled, but he kept his glare on Maeve's smirking face.
Mab regarded Dresden and the wizard went still beneath that haughty, superior stare. "Wizard, come here."
Dresden leaned against his staff, and he looked dead on his feet. "I'm fine, thanks."
Instead of tearing out his heart and freezing it in her hand, Mab let out a rolling little laugh. Harry blinked in disbelief. Merlin's might, she must actually like Dresden. Anyone else would've eaten ice for back talking the Winter Queen.
"Come here, wizard, and I will not repeat myself again," commanded Mab, her voice turning hard.
Ah, there we go.
The tone left no room for argument. Dresden went over to her with a sigh, and really, Harry had to say the man had some balls. He'd seen Mab furious and it had been like staring into Death's face. She was like the mother all of dementors in the flesh, a living calamity. And apparently she and Dresden were on civil terms, kind of. Oh boy. He was judging his own taste in acquaintances, to be honest. Sad, but Hermione still remained the brightest friend he'd ever made.
"Uh, yeah," he said, voice tired. He looked at her wearily.
Mab's raspberry blue lips twisted into a smile. "Tell us what happened, my emissary. Tell it all, and tell it true. Your word will be witnessed by Faerie itself."
Dresden frowned. "We had a deal. I held up my end."
"Of course. Your White Council will have safe transport through the Nevernever by way of Winter territory."
"Not that deal," said Dresden, staring her down. "Our deal. I owe you two more favors and my debt you bought from my godmother will be paid."
Mab didn't blink as she looked into his eyes and purred, "Two more favors, and you will be free of me." Her cat eyes narrowed, and Dresden grabbed at his throat, eyes widening as he struggled for breath. "Normally I like your fire. Such anger. Such boldness. But when I ask something you will obey. This is a trial of Sidhe. Matters dealing with mortals are periphery."
Dresden took a sudden deep gasp of breath, and even wheezing still managed a decent glare at the queen. "You could've just said so."
"Pain makes a good motivator, no?"
"Emperor Palpatine thinks so, too," said Dresden, rubbing his throat. At her blank stare, he exhaled and said, "It went down like I told you when I first got here. Aurora killed Reuel and masterminded this whole thing. She tried to throw the Courts off balance by pouring the power of the Summer Knight into Winter."
"Untrue."
All eyes landed on Elaine. She didn't take her eyes off Dresden's incredulous stare; her own opaque expression gave nothing away. "Did Aurora kill Reuel herself?"
What the. Dresden looked at her and said slowly, "No, but—"
"Who killed him then, wizard?" Aurora's eyes glittered as she posed the question.
Dresden gritted his teeth. "Lloyd Slate killed him, but—"
"Be that as it may Lloyd Slate was a traitor," said Mab, holding out a hand to silence Dresden's retort. "You called him into service. He was your weapon. So his actions will be held accountable by you."
Aurora lifted her chin. "And that's where you're mistaken. It was I who was the weapon. Your Knight called me into service. He used me."
The statement brought on surprise that filled the air like a thick cloud. It was on everyone's face except for the Sidhe. There was something wholly inhuman about how expression drained from their faces. Their faces looked totally alien. Nothing reflected in their eyes. It was positively eerie to see the Courts regard her with empty silence.
"How can that be?" Titania murmured, frowning.
Mab's expression was cold and distant. "Slate had no means to do such a thing. What you speak of is magic from Before."
Mother Summer's chortle was rough, worn and short. Her power was waning as time ticked. Winter was on the rise. "But it can be done."
"Halcyon Queen speaks true," Mother Winter's brusque voice came from beneath her veil. "Servants of balance our kind once was. There are arts that can revive those bindings when the stars come around again to the right positions in the cycle of eternity."
"There are serpents hiding from the light," said Mother Summer, quietly. "They stand in shadow and whisper."
"He would need help bewitching a Sidhe. Slate was nothing but muscle," said Maeve, looking like it displeased her to even agree with the Summer Mother.
Mab regarded Aurora with empty silence. A cold shiver danced down Harry's spine. The Winter Queen didn't look appeased. At all. She spoke and her voice was a chilling caress that was haunting and made you want to lean in to hear her more clearly and simultaneously go running for the hills.
"So you were possessed this entire time?" Mab whispered. Her iridescent eyes were dark and something dangerous lurked there. "None of this matter was your doing?"
Aurora's battle gown was scorched and blackened. She was a bloody mess, but her eyes were clear and her face wasn't the terrifying nightmare of before. She shook her head at the Winter Queen.
"My thoughts were someone else's," said Aurora, meeting that cold stare. "It's been so for a long time now."
A savage wind kicked up from nowhere blowing through the hilltop in a cold fury. Ice sped along the ground and Mab's eyes were like two stars set upon her lovely and furious face. One second she was there and in a blur of motion two long strides had her in Aurora's space, lifting the young queen up into the air by her neck.
"Lies!" Mab spat, drawing everyone into action.
There was a flurry of abrupt motion. Michael drew his sword, Meryl stepped in front of Lily and Fix, and Dresden's staff went up as Harry drew his wand. Adrenaline flooded him as both Queens' own guards sprung into motion to close ranks on the rest of the nobility. Golden radiance and blue suddenly exploded together in a cerulean supernova of light and sound. The ground shook and the wolves howled as they were the closest to the blast, and the shockwave hit them like a train.
Mab and Titania faced each other both glowing with a visible aura of power that cracked the earth beneath their feet. Aurora stood behind her mother and there was hardness in her eyes that shone with her own gathering strength.
"You know that none of the fae, great or small, may lie," said Titania, voice echoing with authority.
That was true. He didn't know how Aurora was lying through her teeth, because he knew damn well she used glamour on Slate. He was her bitch for this entire con. A flash of insight hit him like a brick, and his eyes widened finally getting it. What if, maybe…It all fit. He knew how she was doing it.
White teeth flashed as Mab's lips twisted in a snarl. "I won't be deceived, Titania."
"Your Knight killed mine. Then my Hand killed your Knight, he's Aequitas Lumina. Judge, jury, and executioner," said the Summer Queen. Deadly golden energy gathered in her hands, contradictory to her words. "The matter is closed. Balance is restored and the war is over."
Anger, cold and terrible flashed in her eyes. "This isn't over."
"Your Final Frost was in my rooms within my domain in the mortal world," said Aurora, raising her voice over the static in the air from the tangible waves of building power. She narrowed her eyes. "Care to discuss that?"
The ice on the ground grew suddenly thick and frost formed over every surface, including Harry's eyebrows. Mab's eyes filled with terrible rage that twisted her cold and lovely face into a snarling monstrosity from some dark fairytale.
"It was you who sent me his head. You killed Yahkphrust," Mab snarled, hair crackled around her head like spider silk. Her voice was full of such absolute rage, every vowel felt like a sledgehammer against their ears, and within it crawled other sounds; cracking, frigid sounds, like ice shattering on the surface of a lake. It sent the mortals to their knees, and pain danced just under their skin filling their veins with ice.
Aurora blinked at her, making the innocent gesture seem anything but, as she titled her head and said with such blithe confidence, "Prove it."
The world exploded into chaos.
Events took a turn for the wicked as Puck lunged at Maeve, and she moved to counter in a blur. The ring of guards readied to defend the Mothers, but the old queens were already acting in concert as if they even needed such protection. And then, from behind the wall of armor, unspeakably beautiful light surged upward from the Mothers' positions and showered over Dresden and his company whisking them away some place, hopefully far away from here, in motes of glittery faerielight. The chaos didn't leave Harry time to question why the light didn't take him, too, when sheer magical might rolled through the land.
A small typhoon was birthed into existence in a crescendo of incredible green light. Waves of eldritch power roiled forth, as the Queens Who Are dispersed into blazing comets that ascended on high burning the aether apart with their presence.
There was a deafening explosion that made everyone cry out when they collided in the skies above, two globular masses of terrifying power that shook the entire valley and left devastation in their wake below. Rain turned to snow, hurricane force winds blasted across the hills, and lightning struck the earth in rapid bursts. Where the lightning touched ice formed over flesh and stone alike instantly, and then in another stroke ice became flame. It was a painting of nightmare and wonder as this all happened in the span of a few minutes.
They were going to kill them all.
There was chaos everywhere as the world turned frozen and white as the snow deepened. The golden comet and the cold star swelled mid combat and raw, primal terror rose up in Harry's mind, and it nearly unmade him. He struggled to stand as the forces pressed down upon him like a great weight. This was the power of the Faerie Queens, who were the forces of nature itself made flesh, and white spots appeared in his vision as it nearly made him blackout. He couldn't take too much more of this. Gravity warped, and his body felt heavy and light all at once. Great crags opened in the ground as the valley was splintered and torn apart all around them. Tir Na Nog turned into ground zero and was spiraling rapidly toward destruction.
Aurora appeared in front of him as the Sidhe courts dispersed, simply vanishing away as they fled to safety. "Come along now," she called over the roar of noise, hair flapping in the force winds.
Harry's eyes looked behind her and widened. "Watch out!"
Brandishing the White Wand before the warning was completed, a bright silver shield formed with a snap to protect Aurora's unprotected backside. Deadly blue energy lashed against the barrier with enough power to not only blind them both, but send Aurora tumbling three meters past him.
A bulk of Harry's power was already extended to the shield shimmering around Aurora when the second bolt slammed into him. Every sense that Harry possessed screamed agony, all the while his body went careening through the air. He didn't feel himself land or his leg and arm break on impact. This was pain beyond pain. It felt as if somebody had taken his body, pulled it inside out and tossed him into a pit filled with supercharged plasma. Everything was white and there was nothing but excruciating agony. His battered body laid there wheezing as all around him the shaking valley froze in arctic winds, fractured and burned in waves of immolating fire.
This is how I'm going to die.
With that forlorn thought it was about then that he heard the sound, and even as he did, he realized it had been there with him through the pain all along. It sounded like someone reassuring him, whispering in his mind comforting words, and then his vision was filled with faint yet vibrant light, it was beautiful and it was terrible. And within that light was music—a lullaby, maybe—and he fell into that burning light. There was another spike of unbearable pain before the sweet mercy of black wrapped him up.
And then there was silence.
Noises drifted through the haze of Harry's unconsciousness as he struggled to open his eyes. The attempt was met by darkness and then the dim glow of candlelight. He lay there feeling dizzy, tired and sore but alive. Merlin help him, he didn't know how he still lived, but he was thankful for small favors. Even if he did feel like shit.
"Easy there, Houdini."
The words hung around the haze he floated in. This time Harry opened his eyes and focused. The world slowly went right as the glaze in Harry's green eyes cleared, and he confirmed the voice's owner. Dresden scratched at his five o'clock shadow before taking a seat on the coffee table beside the couch Harry lay on.
"Uh, here you go," said Dresden, handing him a glass of water and some pills. "It's only Tylenol, but it's better than nothing. It should help with the pain some."
Harry downed the pills with a gulp of water. He took stock of himself. His leg and arm were in makeshift splints and bandages covered a good portion of his body. Dresden or someone else had taken time to clean him up. He was in good company.
"How'd I get here?" asked Harry.
Dresden raised his eyebrows. "You don't remember? You dropped out of the sky at the wharves right after we got beamed down."
No, he didn't remember because he was once again arm wrestling with Death. Harry barely nodded, accepting the information quietly. "Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah, Michael and the wolves all made it out safe," Dresden answered with a half smile tinged with relief. "Those kids did good up there." His smile slipped into a frown when he tracked his eyes over Harry. "You're going to be out of commission for awhile, buddy. You broke your leg, your left arm and three ribs including—"
Harry held up his hand gritting his teeth when pain flooded his nervous system. "Wand, please?"
His request caused Dresden to pause. "Is this a cry for help?"
"Really, even when I'm on my deathbed?"
"I'm hilarious and you know it," said Dresden, handing him the white ash wand perched on the table's edge. "You aren't even dying quit playing it up. You'll be up and going—"
"Ferula," Harry muttered with his eyes closed, followed by, "Venera Sanentur." The wounds on his body knitted and bones mended in a hot and cold sensation of healing magic. The incantation sounded almost like a song as he repeatedly cast the spell, and by the third time removed most of his visible injuries.
"…in no time." Dresden finished, staring as Harry pulled himself up so he was sitting comfortably on the couch. He ran a hand down his shocked face and let out a harsh sigh. "Okay, game over. I was going to wait until you felt better, but I guess that's now. Hell's bells what's going on! Why did Aurora wave a white flag, how in the hell did you go up against a Faerie Queen and live? If you say you're a wizard one more time, so help me Potter I'll open a can on you. What are you?"
Harry quirked an eyebrow. "I'm a wizard."
Dresden looked him dead in the eyes. "I will smack your teeth straight."
"Honestly," said Harry, letting the seriousness pool into his eyes. This man fought at his back and he deserved some answers, some not all.This wasn't some chick flick, Harry didn't do sharing."I am a wizard. Look, a long time ago all wizards used staffs."
"Yeah, yeah," Dresden interjected. He looked a little less irritated. "I know all that. Merlin started that trend, and then he rallied wizards together to form the White Council."
"What if some wizards splintered off and their choice of focus was the wand and not the staff?" Harry looked at the pale white stick in his lap, and Dresden followed his gaze with a thoughtful frown. "A different technique of magic was taught to reflect the new order. I'm a disciple of this off branch of wizardry."
A flat look was what he earned. "So, let me get this straight. You're a wizard, but a different order? Like I'm a Jedi and you're Sith."
Harry blinked. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Are those bands?"
Dresden throttled the sudden smile trying to fight its way onto his face. And really, it's not like Harry was telling an outright lie. It was a truth of sorts only from his universe. Sure he liked Dresden, but he wasn't up for telling his deepest secret—he didn't belong here.
"So where's the rest of your Sith order?"
"Once there were many of us—something happened." He paused, eyes going distant. He couldn't help the melancholy that slipped into his voice. "Now there's just me."
Dresden leaned forward, frowning. "What happened?"
Harry shook his head. That he honestly didn't know. Three years later, and he still didn't know how he got here. "Good question. When you find out tell me."
The frustration was real and it translated in the way he held his shoulders and the line of tension running down his jaw. Dresden got up and stepped into the little alcove that served as his kitchen. Harry didn't see what he was doing, but he returned about a minute later. Dresden handed Harry a mug of coffee and took his seat, clutching his own cup. He took the peace offering for what it was. No doubt he wasn't completely off the hook.
"So Aurora," said Dresden readily, and Harry was all down for changing the subject. "Why'd she give up, and how was she flat out lying? That's a faerie no no."
"She has a soul."
Dresden snorted. "Come on. Only humans have souls. That's why we're hated on by every big nasty without one."
"Regardless, she's got one," sad Harry frankly. He decided to get right down to it. He needed to bounce ideas off someone. "Here's the deal, a few years ago there was an accident and some ritual went down. Now Aurora and I are linked because of it, and since I'm me and I always screw things up, something unprecedented happened—she gained some of my magic and I have summer power in me. I think—" Here he paused to gather his thoughts. "I think it's because of me she has a soul. If our link triggered her to grow one, or if she absorbed a piece of mine and its now maturing… I can't say."
The emotions on Dresden's ran gamut confusion, shock and fascination all at once as he took in the details and allowed the ramifications to sink in. He was completely speechless, his mouth opening and closing before he let out a curse and looked intently at Harry.
"Are you sure she has a soul?"
The spark of something beautiful like the sunrise flashed through his mind, and Harry nodded, saying, "Her soulgazing me pretty much confirms it, yeah?"
"A Faerie Queen with a soul," Dresden murmured, his face darkening at the thought. "No wonder she was lying out of her ass, she could. A soul gives her willpower to bypass nature's laws. And she has mortal magic going for her. When Aurora becomes monarch of the Seelie fae the Summer Court will be untouchable."
That was Harry's working theory. A soul was a priceless thing. Often disregarded by mortals but jealously coveted by those without, like demons and their ilk to marvel upon and collect. A soul was a mesh of human spirit, willpower, memory and a right to exist in the light and dark. It was the power of choice and it was beautiful.
Faeries were soulless creatures. It was a fact of nature. They were beings of the earth given flesh and purpose. Lack of soul left them susceptible to laws that were as old as the Earth itself, certain checks and balances, formed by compacts and wars of aeons gone to protect the mortal purchase upon the world. It was those same laws of nature that prevented the Mothers from acting directly in the faerie war. With a soul nothing could prevent Aurora from acting as any mortal could. She could lie, cheat, kill anyone she wanted just like any other person with a soul.
Even Mab and Titania were compelled by treaties formed from the broken bodies of gods of Before and neo faith burned throughout time marjoram. And now Aurora wasn't—the thought was frightening.
"Shit." Dresden swore, and he downed the rest of his coffee like a shot.
Harry frowned into his own cup. "You said it."
Rubbing at his temple, Dresden closed his eyes and composed himself. When he opened them his dark eyes were clear and sharp. He was all business again. "Okay, so she has a soul and she has mortal magic. But what's behind door number two? Why did she throw in the towel up there?"
"Did Lily come back with you guys?" asked Harry, remembering the surprise turn around of the Summer Knight changeling. "She's got a lot to answer for."
His mouth tightened with anger, and Dresden glared at a point on the ground. "That bitch incinerated Toot and the rest of those Little Folk. I asked those faeries to help me, and now they're dead. That's on me."
It was a brilliant maneuver bringing the faeries into the fight to be his secret weapon, armed with iron. No one expected the Little Folk to be called into service, especially for the task of assassinating a Faerie Queen. They were often overlooked because of their size, like house elves.
"Sorry, mate," Harry offered wearing a sympathetic look.
"Lily vanished with the Summer fae, and the Winter Court whisked off Meryl. Fix is kind of a mess right now."
"Poor kid."
They shared a moment of silence thinking of the little changeling who was on his own now. Both his friends were in the service of the Sidhe courts and he was all alone.
Dresden jabbed his finger on the tabletop. "Elaine's got some explaining to do. Whose side is really on? She helped me get through Aurora's wall of thorns. And she let me break through her binding back in the Nevernever."
"She said she was forced to follow a plan, but not hers…. The war was a diversion," said Harry slowly, remembering Aurora's words and still trying to make sense of them.
"A diversion from what?"
Two green eyes locked with a single pair of brown and Harry nodded. "It's time Aurora explained herself."
.-.
The lands of Faerie within the Nevernever were constantly shifting because it reflected the changing mortal world, but it was simple to navigate once you got the gist of it. The Summer territories Harry was most familiar with by association. They followed a trail that led out of the forest of golden trees, with its haunting song and whispers that grew louder with each footstep. Across the sea of green grass was the white castle of Lux Sanctum sitting on the coastline and beyond it was an ocean of glistening blue water.
"You see that?" asked Dresden, pointing.
Harry tracked the plumes of black smoke curling up from Titania's stronghold. "An attack, you think?"
"Definitely." The taller wizard replied with certainty. "Looks like it happened recently."
Summer's had the edge on Winter for awhile now. Global warming was a testament to that. Whoever attacked Titania's seat of power was either asking for a death wish, or they knew they could get away with it. The latter made him nervous.
"That's not where we're going, though." Harry remarked casually. Titania could clean up her own mess. He pointed into the distance at a tiny speck on the ocean's horizon. "There."
Dresden made a show of looking down at his leather coat and staff. "Gee golly, I must have forgotten you mentioning we were going for a swim, Aquaman."
"That's rude. I could have a boat." Harry grinned at the flat look Dresden aimed at him. "Okay, we both know I don't have a boat."
"And that's where Aurora is? Are you sure?" Dresden stressed, leaning on his staff.
The thing was this wasn't the first unnatural connection Harry's had with another person. It wasn't quite a horcrux link but Harry had experience, and he manipulated the bond in the same fashion. Voldemort left himself exposed to mental intrusion during strong bouts of emotion. Aurora was no different. Right now she was immensely pleased. That worried him. Harry locked up his Occlumency barriers tight.
"I'm sure," he answered, pulling at the thread of knowledge he gleamed from his spying. "On that island is castle Fyrethroat. That's where Aurora is and that's where we need to be."
Dresden's face crinkled with confusion. "How are we supposed to get over there? There's always opening a Way from—"
Harry didn't let Dresden finish. He grabbed the wizard's arm and dark eyes went wide as the world went black and lurched sideways as they twisted through space and time. The awful squeezing sensation was short lived, and Harry's side-along apparation deposited them successfully in a quiet courtyard. Dresden stumbled backward as Harry stood there admiring the masonry, hands behind his back and whistling up at the towering walls made of clear crystal like quartz.
"Stars and stones, what was that?" Dresden demanded, face dreadfully white. "Do you do that every time you Houdini off?"
Harry shrugged. "You get used to it. At least you didn't throw up. Pretty good for your first time."
Dresden gave him the finger eliciting a grin from the younger man. They looked around the empty courtyard and it was silent except for the soft splashing of water from the fountain shooting clear water into a little pool. Tall trees, wild roses and exotic flowers flowed throughout the yard that was easily the size of a gymnasium. A silver bird trilled a strange song and flew between the branches. The quartz crystal shaped into starbursts formed archways leading into the main keep. Harry quirked an eyebrow and swept his arm out.
"Age before beauty."
Dresden jabbed his thumb at himself. "Leave the one-liners to me, Potter."
Nevertheless he stalked forward through the archway with his staff held ready. The walls of the hallway Dresden lead them into were warm to the touch. If Harry had to guess he would say the strange crystal was dragonglass. Elaine told him eons ago dragons controlled this part of the Nevernever and the entire region was once filled with active volcanoes that they made their home. In fact this island might've been created by one of those volcanoes. The Summer fae version of a vacation home. Classy.
"Can you feel her out?" asked Dresden. At Harry's what the hell face, he elaborated, "You know, use the Force? You're the Sith Lord. I thought you had her lowjacked."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Just because I get your Star Wars jokes now doesn't make them funny, okay?"
"They're always funny," Dresden rebuffed, genuinely offended.
"And it doesn't work like that," said Harry, following beside him through the torch lit hallway. Their footsteps were loud in the silence. "Where's everyone?"
A small smirk found its way to Dresden's face. "Probably dealing with what's going down in Lux Sanctum."
"Good point."
They came to a point where the hallway split into two corridors. Both looked identical and Harry shrugged at Dresden's questioning stare. He was tempted to just start throwing around blasting curses until Aurora came running around, but they were going for subtlety here.
"You take left and I take right?"
"Or you could go left and that'd lead you to the parlour where Aurora is," said Elaine, appearing in a shimmer from under a dropped veil. She adjusted her green cloak and only stared at the ends of both focuses trained on her. "Really, guys?"
Harry glared. "Funny. Start talking, Elaine."
Dresden nodded. "It's not often me and him are in agreement. Are you on our side or not?"
"Just follow me and you'll get your answers," Elaine replied cryptically.
That was not the right answer. Dresden grabbed Harry as he whipped back his wand arm. "Stop! I believe her. She's a liar, but she's been a helpful one so far.
Elaine looked at him, personally affronted. "You were really going to curse me?"
"I have trust issues. You know that."
It wasn't like he was going to curse her with an Unforgivable. She broke his trust, but that didn't warrant anything fatal. He was just going to transfigure her into a toad or something. They did use to be friends, after all. Dresden gave him one of those silent looks, and he sighed, begrudgingly lowering his wand.
"I'm sorry, really," said Elaine, fully away at how inadequate it sounded given the situation. "Please, just come with me. Aurora will explain, okay?"
That earned a mirthless smile from Dresden. "This should be a good one."
There was a pause before she replied, "Promise."
Dresden didn't try to make small talk with her as she showed them to the parlour room, which Harry took that to mean he was still giving her the cold shoulder. Fyrethroat was a lot less grand than the dazzling edifices and countless servants of Lux Sanctum. It was smaller, too, but there was strength here in these crystal walls that made him think it wouldn't easily fall under siege. His mind then drifted to Aurora and he stopped that thought before it began otherwise he would hex her on sight, or, or… he wasn't sure what he was going to do.
The parlour room's crystal walls refracted the soft light from the ceiling in an impossible array of prismatic color. Looking at the walls was like staring at a kaleidoscope and it was an entrancing sight that drew the eye away from the ornate furniture around the room. The same couldn't be said about the massive growling dog with glowing red eyes. It barred its teeth as the three wizards entered, and it was easily the size of a small pony. One huge paw stepped in their direction, and its body jerked forcefully from the chain tied around its neck.
The thick chain was held by Aurora's hands perched delicately in her lap. She sat in the room's armchair wearing a yellow gown that shimmered like stardust in the room's light. The gown was cut low, and left her shoulders and arms bare. Her chartreuse eyes shifted colors as she watched them enter, and rose red lips split into a smile. The hellhound growled once more and then draped its massive body at her feet, red eyes tracking them with apparent hunger. Elaine moved past them and came to stand at the right of her chair.
"Well," Dresden said, "all we need is some organ music, and we'll be good to go."
Aurora tilted her head, confused. "I'm glad you're in good spirits." She looked at Harry, and her smile was wider. "An impressive recovery, my husband. Being bonded to me makes you harder to kill, but death is a possibility even so."
Harry arched an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to thank you for getting me out of there?"
The glance Aurora and Elaine traded was short, but he caught it. She shook her head. "You escaped before I could take you with me. I thought you departed under your own power."
Trying to recall a face past the burning light and comforting words was impossible. All he remembered was pain and the vague sense that he was going to be okay in the end. If that hadn't been Aurora then he didn't have a clue who saved him. Couldn't say it was a death eater turned spy this time. Whatever, he was alive and a mysterious savior was the least of his worries right now.
"So what's with the empty castle?" asked Dresden, getting right down to it. He held her with a lidded glare. "Is this where they put little girls when they've been naughty?"
Harry made a face. "Be less creepy."
"You know what I meant," the wizard huffed, grimacing at the double meaning.
Aurora ignored their banter. "My mother has recalled most of the Seelie to deal with the matter at Lux Sanctum. I'm here because I'm going to deal with it my own way." The Summer Lady's unease manifested in the subtle change in her posture. "Sometime during the battle Lux Sanctum was attacked, and Oberon was broken out from his prison."
"As in Oberon the Mighty?" said Dresden, thoroughly shocked.
Aurora nodded an affirmative. "My father once again walks unchained."
Harry paled noticeably. He wasn't sure exactly how much trouble they were in, but he had seen that Sidhe's formidable prison, and he witnessed firsthand how deceptive Oberon could be even slapped behind a ton of wards. Harry caught the unmistakable flicker of horror on Dresden's face before he wiped it away.
"You know him?"
Dresden blinked back, completely caught off guard by the question. "Who doesn't know the story? Oberon was bad as bad got. Think Hitler of the Faerie world. He annihilated anything that wasn't Sidhe. Merlin was close to the Little Folk, so challenged him in open combat. Oberon cheated and killed him."
"He was imprisoned and has been so ever since, until now," returned the Summer Lady, staring pensively at the chain in her hands.
Harry's mouth fell open. "Bloody hell, Merlin's murderer is your dad?" He rubbed at his temples. It still wasn't adding up. "So the battle was a diversion so someone could free him? But you're not helping him."
Aurora's serenity melted away like ice, and fury gathered in her eyes piercing him in place. Soul she may have, but she was still Sidhe and there was nothing human how the expression seeped out of her face. She was very still like a predator about to pounce, and so very angry.
"I used to visit my father everyday even when my mother forbade it," her voice was bland, lacking the searing power that thrummed in her veins. "He would tell me stories and make me feel like I was the only thing that ever mattered. It went on like that for uncounted years. Then I met you."
"Me?" Harry blinked, then frowned deeply. "I didn't do anything."
"But you did…" Aurora considered him thoughtfully. "The Vow of Clasped Hands was only supposed to share energy between us in a bond that would anchor our lifeforce to the other. A mortal normally wouldn't survive the process. My power would consume you and incinerate you from the inside out."
"Well that's," Harry opened his mouth, then let it snap shut as his brain had trouble processing the fact that he was only alive on a freaking whim. "But…you seemed so sure."
Aurora nodded and leaned forward to stare intently. "The way the Nevernever hums around you… I knew you were made of different substance than normal humans. I took a risk and it worked, only—I gained your magic and a piece of your soul, too."
Horcrux! Harry's eyes widened and his fingers twitched toward his wand. "That's my soul inside of you growing?"
"It started out that way, but the fires of Summer inside me purified it, changed it, and now it's mine," she laid a hand over her chest, and there was no denying the real heat in her voice. She was telling the truth. "It took time for it to evolve and it still is. But it's given me clarity. I know what love is. I know what happiness truly is. My head's clear and I see truly that Oberon was using me. He bewitched me into doing his bidding. This whole scheme was his plan and I went along with it, and while my soul gave me new vision I plotted, too."
Harry found himself sitting down on the lounge without conscious thought. This was throwing him off, and a stiff drink was very much needed. He was almost afraid to ask her what her plan was. He didn't have to because Dresden asked, and she cracked a humorless smile that sent a shiver down his spine.
"I let Oberon escape. He and his allies want a regime change the likes of which hasn't been seen since the Outsiders were banished."
Dresden frowned. "Allies? Like who?"
"Denarians, council wizards, court vampires and old gods of ages gone," Aurora let it sink in and her smile gained a sharp edge. "He's going to lead me right to them, and I'm going to kill them all."
That drink was a must at this point. "You can't kill all of them."
"It's either that or let them break down the Outer Gates like they're planning on," Aurora answered Harry's skeptical tone with a steely stare.
Well when you put it like that. He swallowed heavily. Dresden was in a similar state of shock. An ice age was a godsend to having those unholy terrors unleashed onto the Earth. The Outsiders were monsters to the monsters, and if they came then it was only matter of time before they ushered the way for the Old Ones. All the while Elaine stood by Aurora's chair leaning against the armrest, watching their reactions closely. She spoke up for the first time.
"Now you see what's on the line," said Elaine. She stared them down. "The apocalypse is coming up, boys. We need your help."
Dresden shook his head. He was pale as a sheet. "When you said council wizards, you don't mean the White Council? There's no way—"
"So young," Aurora murmured. "Wheels within wheels, wizard. As long as there's been a White Council there's been those sitting in its shadows waiting to seize power."
Elaine sighed at Dresden's incredulous face. "Do the math. Every wizard with enough power and training sits on the White Council. All that magical juice gathered under one banner is an army waiting to happen."
Aurora laid a hand on Elaine's arm. "At peace, my friend. Take him back to the mortal world. He's gotten a lot of information in a short amount of time. He needs to gather himself." She turned her cat-like eyes onto Dresden. "You'll have to make a decision soon. Dark times are on the horizon. Choose where you'll stand."
The bombshell left him beyond shaken, and Harry could only tell because he'd gotten quite good at reading Dresden. He downplayed it well, though. Five points to Gryffindor. Harry was a few seconds away from just throwing back his head and screaming. Life was never going to get done throwing shit at him. He got up to follow Dresden when Aurora quietly asked him to stay.
"I'll be fine," said Harry, waving Dresden off. He looked at Elaine, standing at Dresden's side and he spoke to her directly, "Take him to a bar. He needs a drink, and you might want to have one ready for me, too."
She smiled then, understanding the undertone of acceptance of her apology. "Done and done, Harry."
They left and there was no one in the shining room except for Aurora and Harry, and the growling hellhound. He almost forgot about the beast sitting on the floor glaring at him like fresh meat. Harry tapped his wand against his knee. It made him feel safer with that hellhound around.
"I swear Aurora if you're lying again—"
"Where did you get that?" Aurora queried eyes wide as she stared at the wand. There was something like horrified fascination on her face.
How did she realize? Harry slowly held up the White Wand knowing his secret was out. "I got it from Mother Summer before you and your crew ambushed us outside her cottage."
The way she looked at the wand made him nervous. "A gift from my kind is always two fold, dear husband. Do not over rely on it. Never."
He glanced at her and then back at the wand. It hadn't let him down so far, but the same could be said of the Elder Wand. The most powerful wand often left its master's cold dead fingers when it changed hands. He slipped the wand in his pocket musing on the matter.
"Uh, okay. So, are you going to tell me whole truth," he commented casually.
Aurora's smile was radiant, and it had the effect of making him crack a small one in response."You know me well."
"Not that well or I would've seen this coming," Harry remarked. He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "The battle was a diversion that you willingly let happen, but why didn't you tell any of this to Titania or Mab? Why are you holed up here instead of Solaria Garden?"
Her smile widened and she laughed, so high and clear you could have bottled it. "You always surprise me. This island was once my father's. While all of Earth and the Nevernever are being turned inside out looking for Oberon, what better place to hide than the one least suspected. Fyrethroat is directly under mother's nose."
"So you are hiding," he pointed out, and then narrowed his eyes at her growing smirk. "What did you do?"
Aurora laughed again. The hellhound let out a sound in its chest like a rumble in response. She looked at him through her lashes and Harry was momentarily struck dumb by her beauty. Her lips quirked at the corners, she noticed.
"Lux Sanctum wasn't the only stronghold attacked."
Harry sucked in a breath. "Did you assault Arctis Tor?"
"Hardly," she quipped, and it looked like she was enjoying this too much. "I sent a team on a retrieval mission to the Leanansidhe's frozen citadel. They breached the defenses of Frostfang itself, which was only possible because you kept that cursed priestess busy."
A frown tugged at his lips. He didn't know how he felt with inadvertently helping her. "What did they retrieve?"
"Years ago there was a wizard who was a great friend to the fae. She was bold and arrogant, idealistic and there was no place she knew better than the Ways of the Nevernever. Vampires, wizards, faeries all shared their secrets with her, and they knew none of hers. Except one. Leaninsidhe and this wizard made many deals and bargains."
"Nice story, so what happened to this wizard?"
"She was cursed fatally, but the Leaninsidhe stepped in. She wouldn't let death cheat her from their bargain," said Aurora, her fingers slid into the thick black fur of the hellhound.
And then beneath her fingers, fur reverted to pale flesh and red eyes faded to dark brown. The beast's body rippled and all at once became human. The woman let out a strangled noise and scrambled backward until her back hit the wall. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and stared warily up at them from under a tangle of matted black hair. Harry gaped at the dirty, naked woman, stunned.
"You stole one of Lea's hellhounds?"
Aurora stood from her chair and surveyed the woman with interest. "This is the woman I spoke of. She's a wizard who knows more about Oberon and his allies' plans than anyone else alive."
Grand statement, but right now she looked like she might be one screw loose. "Who is she?"
"Harry Potter, meet Margaret Dresden."
His head snapped around to meet her iridescent eyes. "Any relation to…"
Aurora nodded, decisively. "His mother."
Margaret threw back her head and suddenly cackled. Harry tore his gaze from Aurora's pleased smirk to stare at the laughing woman. Dresden wasn't an orphan anymore and his mom was insane apparently.
Oh boy.