Hey, Everyone! The Scavenger Hunt continues this chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 15: The Holidays, pt. 2
The British Isles are older and more mysterious than even the most learned scholars know. For example, when St. Patrick banished all the snakes and serpents from Ireland, there was one man who saved them all from drowning in the sea. Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; furious at the audacity of this upstart "saint", rescued the reptiles and gave them a home on his private hidden island 100 miles off the western coast of Cornwall. This same secret island was the home to which he retreated after his falling out with the other founders and leaving Hogwarts.
This same island into which the Death Eater Corban Yaxley entered the castle known as the Snake Pit, seeking the rumored 'lost wand of Salazar Slytherin'. Not his well-known original wand of snakewood with basilisk horn core, no. This was the wand he crafted in anger, fueled by rage at the so-called 'saint'. A wand that would break the stalemate between the twin wands and give the Dark Lord the advantage over the Potter brat, and perhaps even Dumbledore himself!
Yaxley had avoided the swarms of serpents thus far, but as he went deeper into Slytherin's sanctum he got more worried. Finally, he opened a door and there on a pedestal in the center of the room was a curved, bone-white wand on a green cushion. And the floor was virtually carpeted in hissing, venomous snakes!
Gulping nervously, Yaxley cast the Dark Mark at the ceiling of the room as he'd been instructed. The snakes appeared to be hypnotized by the glowing skull and serpent, enabling Yaxley to carefully pick his way through them. When he reached the pedestal, he saw that the wand was not wood, but an enormous fang! He picked it up carefully and activated his portkey.
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(Potter Island, Dec. 23)
The Grangers all stumbled and fell while the Delacours landed gracefully on the beach still holding the hula-hoop portkey.
"All right there, Hermione?", Harry chuckled, offering her a hand up, while Sirius and Remus helped her parents.
"Portkeys just don't like me", she grumbled, dusting the sand off her sun-dress.
"Welcome to Potter Island, Everyone", Margaret greeted, for Jean-Pierre and Appoline to both give their old friend the French cheek-to-cheek-kissing greeting between friends while Fleur practically tackled Duncan.
"Mon Amour!", the lovely young veela squealed, deeply kissing her mate. Hermione and Harry smiled knowingly at the sight until a platinum-blond missile slammed into Harry, hugging him firmly and babbling excitedly in French!
"Whoa-whoa! It's nice to see you again, too, Gabrielle, but I don't understand French", Harry chuckled at Fleur's little sister.
"She said she's 'so very happy to see her hero again'*giggle!*", Hermione translated the excited girl's words.
"Gabby, he can't understand you. Use your English", Appoline admonished gently in giggly French.
"Oui, Maman", she replied, then turned back to Harry. "Forgive me, 'Arry. I could not contain my excitement seeing my savior again."
"It's ok, Gabrielle. Don't worry about it", he said. Then he noticed that she was not only taller, but had also filled out more than a girl of 12-13 should be since he last saw her. "Is it just me or have you grown, like, a lot since we last saw you?"
"Oui, I 'ave", she smiled, both coy and a bit…. naughty? Then she winked! "You like?"
"Gabby!", her father barked with a knowing smile. "Do not tease our host!"
"Maman? Papa?", Fleur called, her arms wrapped around one of Duncan's. "Zhis is Duncan. My mate."
"Sir. Madam", Duncan nodded respectfully, shaking Jean-Pierre's hand firmly and kissing Appoline's.
"Oh pish! Now zhat we 'ave met properly, Duncan, zhere is no need to be so formal", Appoline giggled warmly, surprising the young man with a hug. "We are family now. You and our Fleur are mates, and a perfect match, at zhat. Few Veela are so lucky as to find zheir perfect match. Becoming husband and wife is merely a legal formality zhat we will turn into zhe most beautiful marriage ceremony since…"
"Since our wedding, my Sweet Apple?", Jean-Pierre grinned.
"Oui, Mon Amour", she smiled lovingly. "And our 'oneymoon~…"
"Maman!", Fleur blushed while Gabby giggled at her embarrassment.
"What?", Appoline feigned innocence. "Is nozhing to be ashamed of. True, we nevair left our room, but it gave us you, our beautiful Flower."
"MAMAN!", both young veela squawked, turning bright red while nearly everyone else laughed.
"I never thought I'd see a veela blush, let alone two", Margaret smiled as the laughter died down. "But let's get you all settled in. The elves have already placed your luggage in your rooms in the manor. Right this way."
"Not you, my sweet", Duncan smiled at Fleur, taking her hand. "We're this way. I think you'll like it."
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"Well, what do you think?", Duncan grinned.
"Oh, eet is magnifique, Mon Amour!", Fleur gushed, beholding the great treehouse in the towering tree overlooking the entrance to the cove. "Eet is just like zhe tree'ouse from zhat wonderful Disney 'Tarzan' movie. Beautiful and very private, no?", she winked naughtily. They wouldn't need to worry about using silencing charms at night on their bedroom this far from the manor-house!
"*chuckle*Very~. The author Johann David Wyss was once a guest of the Potters here, and this treehouse inspired part of his book 'The Swiss Family Robinson'. Plus the sounds of the breeze and waves; I tell you, my sleep has been so peaceful", he added. "And when the mer-folk come into the cove to sing…"
"Mer-folk?!", Fleur echoed, a frightened edge in her voice, remembering her experience in Hogwarts Black Lake during the Second Task of the Tri-Wizard. The centuries-long feud between the veela and mer races was well known.
"Take it easy, Fleur", he said hugging her. "I've spoken to the pod leader already. This pod spends most of their time around the reefs on the other sides of the island. And the Caribbean mer-folk have no quarrel with the veela, so you and your family are safe and can swim freely. It seems that the animosity between your races is only found in Britain, Europe and the Mediterranean Sea."
Fleur relaxed and muttered something under her breath in French, then, "Well zhat is a relief to 'ear. Zhis tree'ouse looks old, if updated with modern conveniences and very well cared for, but why was it built 'ere?"
"It was originally the Watchtower for the cove and settlement", Duncan explained. "See that big bell hanging out there on the sea-side balcony? The watchmen here would use it to ring signals to the settlement concerning any approaching ships or weather. Small teams of them would be stationed here for days at a time with provisions of food and drink. They would keep a log of who rotated on watch or rest, any incidents of note, ships, meals, and even 'comely wenches' who would come to warm their beds from time to time", he smirked.
"Eet is also perfect to take off on flights from 'ere", the lovely veela pointed out with a smile.
"Or just dive right into the water", Duncan added. "Now, we have some time before dinner, Fleur…."
Duncan stopped and turned to her when he heard the sound of her clothes hitting the floor. They both smiled broadly as his board-shorts quickly followed suit. But she quirked an eyebrow when he stepped back out on the balcony, looking out over the cove. He removed his glamour ring shifted into his more feral 'full-kaiju' form.
"You know, I was just a kid the last time I came here", he said as she joined him, her naked assets pressed into his bare back as she embraced him. "Even then, this place seemed to bring out something…. primal inside me. But now, with you here with me~, it's even stronger."
"Oui, I understand completely, Mon Cher~", she cooed, her inner-veela bringing out her more avian form. "Take me, Mon Amour! Right here, right now! Take me like zhe primal beasts we are!"
With a purring growl of animalistic lust, Duncan turned and lifted her in his embrace, kissing her fiercely. Fleur wrapped her shapely, now hawk-like legs around his waist as he thrust his rod into her dripping pussy.
A short time later, everyone up at the manor heard a roar and the keening cry of a bird-of-prey echo through the air.
"What the bloody hell was that?!", Dudley said shakily, having heard nothing like it before on the island.
"Language, Dudley", Margaret admonished, sharing a knowing smile with Appoline.
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"…Then she says, 'Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed…. Or worse; expelled'.", Harry regaled in his best imitation of 11 y/o Hermione Granger, to the chuckles and giggles of everyone as they ate dinner on the huge veranda of the manor, with Duncan manning the large grill.
"Oh honestly, Harry", the brilliant witch in question gave him her famous 'annoyed' look, belied by her small smile of amusement.
"The more I learn about you, Hermione, the more you remind me of Lily", Margaret said as her giggles subsided and she wiped away a tear.
"Since we're all exchanging stories, Hermione", Dan Granger said, "maybe now you could tell us about your new bracelet?"
"Yes", his wife Emma agreed. "You told us it would be better to wait until we got here so you would only have to explain it once. Isn't it just an early gift from the Delacours?"
"Well, not exactly, Mum", Hermione replied sheepishly. She then retold the events at the French Ministry, with Fleur's input at times as needed. To say they were surprised was an understatement, topped off by Hermione activating the relic, and they watched the ornate bracelet 'unfold' to form the Witchblade gauntlet on her hand and forearm.
"I'm not sure which is more concerning", Margaret said. "That the Witchblade is bonded to Hermione, or that Bellatrix LeStrange got that close to stealing it from within the French Ministry itself."
"Oui, our best aurors are interrogating zheir French accomplices as we speak", Appoline said gravely.
"It is worryingly clear that Voldemort 'as found allies and followers within our own magical government", Jean-Pierre added. "We 'ad thought we were long past such prejudices after zo many years of peaceful coexistence and effective government. But it seems zhere are still some who resent zhe equality and liberty given to our veela population years ago."
For his part, Dudley wasn't following the conversation, because he couldn't. Not that he couldn't comprehend, it wasn't completely over his head; but even the contained allure of Fleur, Gabrielle, and their mother had him a stupefied, almost drooling mess. He was eating mechanically, his attention totally focused on the gorgeous veelas.
Gabrielle, on the other hand, kept staring dreamily at Harry—her savior. She saw his aura as plainly as her sister had when they first met at the start of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, including that foreign grain of darkness in his head that had driven her away from a potential good match. But then he had saved her life during the second task in the Black Lake. This incurred a life-debt to the-Boy-Who-Lived. That new bond enabled her to see passed that dark-spot within him….and what she saw staggered her. He was her Perfect Match! At the tender age of 12, her heart and inner-veela were instantly and irrevocably hooked, triggering her recent "growth spurt". She started her periods the month following the Task, then her breasts and other curves began to grow rather quickly. Thankfully, she would not start lactating until she becomes intimate with her mate.
But she was at a loss on what to do to secure her mate. She was, after all, now only 13. Fortunately, she had another year from the anniversary of the day the debt was incurred to do so. What worried her was this 'Cho Chang' Harry kept mentioning, and the obvious feelings that Hermione had for him. Her brilliant British friend hid them well, but it was crystal clear to any veela; Hermione was in love with her best friend.
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(Longbottom Manor, Dec. 24, mid-afternoon)
Augusta Longbottom was listening to her grandson Neville talking about two girls that he liked at school and his confusion of which of the two he should attempt a relationship with. The first was fellow Gryffindor Ginny Weasley, youngest and only girl of the Weasley brood, who had also been Neville's date for the Yule Ball a year earlier. The other was Hannah Abbot, from Hufflepuff House, his frequent partner in Herbology Class.
The Longbottom Dowager was well-informed, moreso than most realized, including her grandson. The Weasleys, while financially strapped, were a fine family for the most part and the patriarch Arthur was a good if eccentric man who took his job at the Ministry very seriously. His wife Molly, however, was known for her explosive temper and controlling nature. A devoted wife and a loving and doting mother to be sure, but…. And rumors abound that Ginny was obsessed with The-Boy-Who-Lived, despite apparently "playing-the-field" at school; probably hoping to get Harry Potter's attention by showing herself as a desirable mate. She was apparently a very pretty young witch, one of the prettiest in her year, if not the school. But the 'baggage' the girl had was…. concerning.
The Abbot girl, on the other hand, would be a good match. Family one of the Sacred 28, seat on the Wizengamot, Ancient and Noble, but not blood purists or bigots. And the girl had an outgoing, but not overly exuberant personality that balanced well with Neville. Plus, from what Augusta could glean from Neville, the girl seemed to genuinely like and care about her grandson. Perhaps she should approach Lord Abbot with the possibility of a Betrothal Contract?
Augusta was also proud that her grandson was coming out of his shell and starting to find his strength, thanks to the aforementioned Harry Potter. And with James' sister returning from America to help Harry claim his birthright, and now proxy for the Potter seat in the Wizengamot, it seems the Great Alliance will return to its former glory as a powerhouse in the Ministry! Augusta looked forward to rejoining the Alliance and sticking it to the pureblood bigots that had turned the Ministry into a festering sewer!
Augusta was pulled from her thoughts by her grandson asking to be dismissed to tend the greenhouse. She nodded with a smile and turned back to the book she was reading that she'd recently borrowed from the Bones family; the Grimoire of Eglantine Pryce, a witch that had married a squib of the Browne Family during WW2, who's witch daughter then married Amelia Bones' father. She hoped to find a lesser known spell or two that could be used to strengthen the wards and defenses of the Manor; especially with the return of the Dark Lord.
What's this? 'Substitutiary Locomotion' ? Hmmmm….
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Beneath the gleaming snow and under the ground outside the manor, a badger was tunneling diligently toward the house. Odd but not remarkable, until one noted the fox and Scottish wildcat following it in the tunnel! Thorfin Rowle urged his fellow Death Eater animagi forward. These two were relatively new recruits, and eager to prove themselves to the Dark Lord.
Rotfang, a Gringotts goblin they had bribed to be their informant, had reported that Amelia Bones had met Augusta Longbottom a few days earlier at Gringotts to loan her the Grimoire of Eglantine Pryce. There would never be a better opportunity to acquire it. And if they could finish off the troublesome Longbottom family as well, all the better.
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Neville was tending his plants diligently. The greenhouse was attached directly to the back of the Manor and magically maintained the perfect temperatures for all the various plants from around the world within. And the far quarter of the floor was left as bare ground for planting directly into the soil.
He had truly found his niche in Herbology at Hogwarts. Professor Sprout was already encouraging him to pursue a Mastery in the subject after he graduates. He was planning to take Advanced Herbology with her in the mysterious "Greenhouse 13" after passing his OWLs this year. This would also entail field-trips gathering samples from the wild!
Neville was pulled from his thoughts by a strange sound. Curious, he went to investigate. As he got closer, he saw a hole appear in the dirt floor near the back of the greenhouse and a badger emerge and shake the dirt off itself. Strange. His surprise turned to alarm when a fox and a wildcat followed suit! Then his fear was confirmed when all three morphed into human form. The badger and fox turned into a wizard and witch he didn't recognize, but he knew the wildcat; Thorfin Rowle, suspected Death Eater!
"Well, if it isn't ickle Neville Longbottom tending his flowers like the pansy squib he is", Rowle sneered. "The Longbottom line ends today, boy."
"Lumos Sol-Flarus!", Neville yelled, shutting his eyes tight as the light from his wand merged with the afternoon sunlight glaring off the snow outside in a blindingly painful flash!
"AAAUGH!"
"MY EYES!"
"CAN'T SEE!"
Neville turned and ran unimpeded back into the manor. He found his Gran in the sitting room. Were those dolls dancing?
"Gran! Death Eaters in the greenhouse!"
"WHAT?!", Augusta snarled. How DARE they! "How did they get passed the wards?!"
"They're animagi, and they tunneled their way in", he told her, then revealed their forms. "And the wildcat is Thorfin Rowle!"
"Rowle?! I might have known! Daisy! Dodger!", Augusta called. The two house-elves appeared with a *pop!*
"Yes, Mistress?"
"There are three intruders in the manor, coming from the greenhouse. Keep them busy until Neville and I reach the Gallery, but do not put yourselves at risk! I will teach these fools the folly of trifling with the Longbottom Family."
"As you say, Mistress", Dodger grinned while Daisy rolled her large eyes knowingly. Dodger was known for his rather mischievous streak. He would've gotten along famously with a certain pair of red-headed twins.
"The Gallery, Gran? Why are we going there? It's not very defensible, even with what I learned from Harry."
"Because I have a surprise for those Death Eater scum thanks to Eglantine Pryce", she grinned wickedly, holding the Grimoire as they hurried through the halls.
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The interference of the house-elves had been annoying but not unexpected. Useless though, as before beginning the tunnel they had set up anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards while a Ministry spy had shut-down the Longbottom floo from the network. They were trapped. However, the sheer madness of what the elves did and threw at them had seriously slowed them down.
Then the elves stopped and disappeared. That didn't make sense. Unless the squib and old hag had somehow escaped, or they had ordered the elves to back off.
"LOOKING FOR US, YOU DEATH EATER SCUM!", the old woman's voice echoed through the manor. "WE'RE WAITING! HURRY UP! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY! WE HAVE A HOLIDAY PARTY TO ATTEND TONIGHT!"
"Why that arrogant old crone!", the witch Nannette hissed. "Who does she think she is?"
"Don't underestimate her", Rowle warned. "She's a crafty old witch. Let's just find them and get what we came for. We can kill them both after."
The three reached some open double-doors on their left. A gallery of the Longbottom Family; portraits of ancestors all over the walls and standing vigil along each side were six fully armed suits of armor, worn by twelve Longbottom mages who had proudly served as Knights. And at the far-end, the squib and the crone stood looking over a stone barricade, wands out and at the ready.
"One warning; get out of our house, Death Eater Scum!", Augusta shouted.
"Now-now, no need for hostility, Lady Longbottom", Rowle said smoothly, restraining the rookies with him. "All we want is the Grimoire of Eglantine Pryce. Just hand it over and no one has to die here today."
"How dare you?", Augusta hissed. "How dare you?! You vermin trespass into my home and think you can make demands of me?! Get out!"
"You are in no position to make demands, hag!", Nannette bristled, then sneered. "The brat is hardly more than a squib, and you don't have the strength to stop us by yourself."
"You're right", Augusta smirked. "Now, Neville!"
"Protego-Maxima!", Neville incanted, pouring all his power and concentration into the shield just as multiple curses slammed into it. His face twisted with the effort of sustaining it, but combined with the stone barricade, it was holding for now. This would never have worked with his old wand; his father's wand. Harry had managed to convince his Gran to get him a new one at Ollivander's that suited him. The difference it made was astounding!
Meanwhile, Augusta was concentrating as she brandished her wand. "Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee!"
Rowle smirked as he sensed the punk's shield weakening. The strength of his Protego had been surprising given the intel on the boy stated he was barely more than a squib. But more worrisome was what the blazes was the old crone doing? Why wasn't she fighting back? What was she up to?
Then, amid the spell-fire, he heard a strange sound…..a creaking, metallic sound. Then he caught movement in the periphery…. Ah crap!
"The suits of armor are moving!", he warned. The suits formed two columns, drew their weapons, and marched toward the intruding Death Eaters! The rookies threw curse after curse, only for them to splash harmlessly off the animated armor. Rowle fired a Reducto, to see one of the front suits block it with its shield bearing the Longbottom Family Crest! It began to dawn on them that the ancestral Longbottom mage-knights had likely done extensive charms and runework on their armors to protect themselves from magical attacks. In moments, the Death Eaters were forced to retreat from the swinging swords, maces, and axes of the attacking suits!
"We have to get out of here!", Haden cried, panicking, just before morphing back into his badger animagus form and scrambling back toward the greenhouse as fast as his furry legs would carry him. He was quickly followed by Nannette's fox form.
"You've not heard the end of this!", Rowle yelled defiantly to the Longbottoms before following his comrads. They all squeezed back through the tunnel to escape, though they feared reporting their failure.
"Go tell it to your Dork Lord", Neville said sarcsastically, then cringed slightly. "Sorry, Gran. That was rude of me."
"Indeed. And as your Regent I simply cannot condone it", Augusta agreed as she directed the suits back to their proper places, and Neville looked ashamed. Then she smirked playfully. "But as your grandmother, I say 'well said', my boy. And you handled yourself well in this crisis. You followed the plan and protected me long enough to get the job done. I'm very proud of you, Neville."
Neville beamed with joy. He knew his Gran loved him dearly, but she was a strict woman—a hard woman. Life had made her that way. So compliments from her were rare and far in between. To receive such praise from her was a high point in his young life! Then his curiosity got the best of him as his Gran transfigured the stone barricade back into the antique case displaying many family heirlooms.
"Gran, what was that spell you used? I've never heard of it before. It really saved our lives."
"It's called 'Substitutiary Locomotion', she replied. "It was created by the ancient wizard Astoroth, re-discovered and mastered by Eglantine Pryce during the war with Grindelwald. The incantation gives temporary life to inanimate objects."
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(Malfoy Manor)
"Ah, the legendary 'Lost Wand of Slytherin'; crafted by my ancestor's own hand from the fang of a horned-serpent and basilisk heart-string core", Voldemort drawled appreciatively as he tested the 'feel' of the wand in his hand. The power was intoxicating. "Yaxley, you have performed admirably."
"I live to serve, my Lord", Yaxley beamed as the Dark Lord rounded on a frightened Bella and Rabistan.
"Unlike Bellatrix here; who somehow managed to lose the Witchblade and her husband to a mudblood child!", Voldemort hissed. Bellatrix dropped to her knees.
"Forgive me, my Lord!", she begged. "I knew there could be unforeseen interference, and we should have been able to easily overcome a mere mudblood girl and a…"
"…Veela whore? Yeees, you should have! However", his voice softened as he lifted her chin to look up at him, "you have always been the most faithful of my followers, Bellatrix. And you make no excuses for your failure. Therefore, I believe your humiliation and the loss of your 'beloved' husband are punishment enough. But I warn you, never fail me again."
"I shall not! Thank you, my Lord", Bellatrix replied fawningly.
"Fortunately, several more relics remain in play", Voldemort added. "And I have every confidence in my Death Eaters to…."
Just then, Francis Crabbe and Gregory Goyle Sr. entered, looking very much the worse for wear: robes ripped, cuts, bruises, burns, even a few minor bullet wounds!
"Can you believe what those American muggles did to us?!", Crabbe griped.
"Did you retrieve the relics?!", Voldemort demanded, striding angrily up to them. They had been sent to San Francisco to acquire the Talismans of Shendu and the Oni Masks.
"No, Master", Goyle said contritely. "They were too well protected by magically aware muggles, and they had the help of a surprisingly powerful Chinese Chi Wizard."
"CRUCIO!", Voldemort vented his anger on the two, watching them writhe in agony on the floor for several moments before releasing them. "You allowed mere muggles and a single wizard to stop you?! Get them out of my sight."
Voldemort retook his throne as the others dragged Crabbe and Goyle out to be healed. Their failure was a….disappointment, as was Bella's. But he still had several teams out retrieving relics, as well as Doomclaw; any one of which could easily tip the scales in his favor.
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Author's notes: Can anyone guess the inspiration for the spell and history of it used by Augusta Longbottom?
Who wants to see what Crabbe and Goyle had to deal with at Section 13 in San Francisco? LOL!
Yes, the treehouse on Potter Island is just like the one in Disney's "Tarzan" animated film and "Legend of Tarzan" animated series.
There's a reason I have Voldemort gaining the 'Lost Wand of Slytherin' rather than going after the Elder Wand, but that won't be revealed until the sequel.
Speaking of the sequel, I give you one, partial spoiler: Harry will be getting a harem. That's why so many girls are being revealed as having powerful feelings and/or bonds with him. Hermione WILL be the future Lady Potter, but further details will not be revealed until the sequel.
As always long reviews, questions, and suggestions are welcome! Flames will be used by my grill for summer cook-outs.
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