I have posted an earlier version of this story but have decided on a rewrite of the story which will delve more into the Dumbledore family and link up more of the original characters and plot.
Oh, did I mention a lot of original characters?
Prologue
1885, Mould-on-the-Wold
Kendra glanced up from her book. Something was amiss, her mother's instincts warned. Beside her, her infant daughter slept peacefully in her crib. Her husband was not expected home from the Continent yet. Was it the boys? She threw on her shawl and went to the boys' room. She was relieved to see both her sons in the cot bed they shared. Perhaps her unease was caused by the late summer storm. She was a woman home alone with her children while her man was abroad, but unlike most middle-class wives of the era, she was a witch capable of protecting her own.
A crack of thunder, her little girl's wail. The boys dreamed on. Kendra hastened back to her youngest. She rocked the child and peered out the window. A flash of lightning illuminated the garden. Three silhouettes cloaked in grey. She could feel the wards of her house tremble. Holding her child against her with one arm, Kendra summoned her wand. She went back to the boys' room and placed Ariana with her brothers on the bed. Albus stirred but did not rouse.
"Ma?" Aberforth opened his eyes. Ariana was mewling in distress. The wards of her house were under attack.
Sleep… she mouthed the spell. Both brother and sister fell back into slumber. Their mother cast a protective ward on the children's room. So they have come for her.
Wand in hand, Kendra stepped out into the night. Two greycloaks were waiting, wands ready. The last was kneeling on the grass, spitting blood in great agony. The Dumbledore home wards had held. Kendra smiled grimly as she recognized the leader.
"Fleur Delance, what brings you to my doorstep this dark night?"
"The Council demands your attendance, Still Water," Fleur announced. "You should not have left the Americas without permission. You belong to the Council, as do your offspring…"
"We are no one's pawns!" Kendra shouted and drew her wand. The two standing greycloaks raised theirs. The air crackled with spells. Kendra knew she was outmatched. Yet she must protect her children.
"Hold!" a newcomer Apparated at the gate. His garments were of buckskin and his cloak of eagle feathers. He wielded a staff that crackled with power. He stunned Delance's companion when the wizard whipped his wand round to face him.
"Silent Thunder, meddling fool!" Delance shouted. "You dare defy the Council for a mere witch?"
"I speak for the Council of the Wise, Still Water is free to go, likewise her children…" Silent Thunder held out a medallion marked with the Council's sigil. "Still Water was of my lodge, my tribe – sister of heart if not by blood. A witch whose offspring might change the world someday… as decreed by Fate and Destiny. The Council has no claim."
"Her children must come with us!" Delance insisted.
"Do not test me, Fleur…" Kendra spat.
"Leave, madame, and take your friends with you. This business is over. Surely you are not fool enough to stand between a mother wampus and her cubs. The Council notes your insubordination in this pursuit and desires your attendance," Silent Thunder rumbled on. With a curse, the greycloaks Disapparated.
Silent Thunder smiled as Kendra Still Water Dumbledore shored up the wards of her home with a flick of her wand. "Do come in, brother, if you can spare the time…"
Kendra allowed the chieftain to throw dried sage on the fire to cleanse the lingering taint of malice left by Delance's visit. Rain pattered sedately on the window, the lightning and thunder now muted.
"How do your children fare?" he asked as he sipped his tea. He could use something stronger, but Kendra knew his weakness. Overindulgence in alcohol had undone many Seers.
"They are well and asleep… What does the Council want of me after all this while?"
"Nothing now that I see you have found yourself a worthy husband. You do realize that by tribal law, you are now bound to him and outside my protection - both tribe and Council. You were brought into the fold as a No-Maj orphan and educated in the magical traditions, both native and colonial. The Council had hopes that you would birth more magical children in the Americas and renew the magical bloodlines there…" Silent Thunder sipped at the hot tea he had been offered.
"I am no brood-cow," Kendra sighed. She had heard this from the elders many times.
"Of course not." A wry smile.
"There hasn't been a magical child born within our tribe for more than two decades. The Americas have traditionally been a hostile land for migrant wizarding families. Slavery and colonialism have gravely impacted the native populations, No-Maj and Magical. Much of the old knowledge and secret ways lost. I may be among the last generation of wizards in my tribe. The elders were upset, as much as they are upset about my sons turning out to be squibs. Here we stand, the last Magicals of our tribe."
A faraway look came to Silent Thunder's eyes as he peered into the flames. "This will likely be our last meeting in this world, my sister."
"Do you wish to see them, your nephews and niece?" Kendra asked warily. Silent Thunder inclined his head and gave a nod. The children were asleep where she had left them. Abe's chubby arm curled round little Ariana while Albus lay slightly apart from his siblings. Silent Thunder blessed the sleeping children.
"Still waters run deep. You are stronger than you would have us believe," Silent Thunder let her see him to the door. "My lodge is always open to you and your children, should the need ever arise…"
"And put my children in the hands of the Council? I think not."
Author's Notes:
It was hinted that Dumbledore's mother might have Native American blood and be Muggleborn. There are far stronger ties between Hogwarts and Ilvermorny in my fic than suggested in canon.