Author's Note: I'm super excited about this chapter! It sets off a lot of other important events coming up in the story ;)
Let me know what you think!
I truly appreciate every review, follow, and favorite, so thank you VERY much!
Special thanks to: amk41196, KimberlyJho-ann, and madiygeek!
Madiygeek: When Remus and Ava transform, they're more of a giant wolf than the wolf/person hybrid thing from the movies—hope that helps you picture them a bit better :)
I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything else resembling what J.K Rowling introduced us all to. Just the plot and OC are mine.
Chapter 63
As Avalynn made her way to the library to meet with the majority of her Slytherin study group, her mind wandered back over the past couple of days. After being able to defend herself quickly against McNair's Stinging Hex, her confidence had boosted enough to make a difference in the next training session with Moody. Granted, Ava's ability to detect what direction the magic was coming from wasn't perfect by any means, but her skills had improved so much so that the Auror had mentioned that he might bring in a second target dummy to give Ava multiple opponents for the standard dueling practice rounds.
She had hid a smirk from Moody considering it most definitely wouldn't be the first time she faced more than one opponent. Knowing the Room of Requirement was something one would need to see in order to believe it, Ava had smiled and merely asked if she could show him a training room that might prove useful. Moody had narrowed his eyes but nodded without asking any follow-up questions, which made Ava preen. It was another show of trust from the man who had taken on the role of mentor in her life.
Sure, she had Aunt Minerva, but the older witch still didn't like the idea of Willa training in such combative magic and never would've pushed Ava to the level that Moody did. She'd learned so many different things about magic from the Auror that she wouldn't have been able to from a book. She was a much better dueler already and she'd only been training with Moody for a few weeks.
Though, it helped that she could take what she learned from the gruff wizard and practice even more with Severus and Regulus. There was still a part of Ava that held back, not wanting to reveal her full abilities in front of the Marauders. And not just Peter, but James and Sirius too since they had no idea she was training with Moody.
Ava heaved open the large door that lead into the library, eyes scanning her surroundings in case McNair had decided to finally retaliate against her, though she doubted the brute would spend time studying on a Saturday, especially when it was a Hogsmeade weekend. The anticipation was driving her freaking nuts, and it had only been a couple of days. She let out a huff of annoyance as she strode to their usual tables.
She had decided to forgo the trip to the small Wizarding village in lieu of studying, despite the teasing and complaining James and Sirius had tried to employ. Today's study group would be just the first years, Severus, and Barty as Remus, Regulus, and Rabastan all planned to spend the day in Hogsmeade. Remus had even felt guilty at first and tried to change his plans to stay behind with Ava, but the rest of the Marauders had protested, claiming to need him for something—something secret. She had just rolled her eyes and told him to go with the others and be careful not to cause too much mischief.
Since Ava had arrived early to the library, she took out today's copy of the Daily Prophet. Her training with Moody the other night had preceded yet another tedious Order meeting, but she had at least come away with the idea to subscribe to the Wizarding newspaper. Hearing other Order members discussing current events forced Ava to realize that she was quite clueless about magical happenings in the world.
Fortunately, other students received the publication as well, so it wasn't out of place to have the newspaper delivered every morning in the Great Hall. The first several pages didn't mention anything noteworthy—at least to Ava's standards. She was keeping a lookout for any whispers of Death Eater activity.
The seemingly passive nature of the Order had grated on Ava's nerves at first, but considering that all the Death Eaters appeared to be up to was political maneuvers, with money and favors exchanging hands, there wasn't much for the Order to do other than much of the same. In actuality, she was grateful that the war hadn't progressed to physical attacks on people yet. It gave her hope that the nasty business of the Horcruxes and Voldemort could be wrapped up before anything more serious developed.
Ava made a mental note to catch up with Regulus about his progress with retrieving the Cup from the Black family vault as she folded up the newspaper, returning it to her bag.
Just in time too, as Benedict came barreling around the corner, cheeks red and hair windswept.
Her eyebrows rose. "What on earth have you been up to this morning?"
The little Slytherin beamed as he gave her a quick side hug before taking the seat next to her. "I was flying with Sirius! It was brilliant!"
Ava's mouth fell open. "Wha—what? When? Just you and Sirius?"
Benedict's smile and shoulders dropped. "Was I not supposed to?"
Shaking herself, Ava said, "Of course you can! I was just surprised is all. Sirius had mentioned doing a couple more practices with you, but I had meant to be there."
He perked up. "Oh. Well, it's okay if you don't come. And Sirius said we could keep meeting every couple of weeks to practice." Benedict bounced in his seat as he added, "He said I've already even gotten better than our last lesson."
She smiled, his enthusiasm infectious. Trying to keep her tone casual, Ava asked, "So, how many times have you guys met up after your first lesson that I went to?"
"Just twice," he said with a shrug, pulling supplies out of his schoolbag.
Ava's mind raced. Sirius was willingly interacting with a Slytherin. Albeit, Sirius had said he would and Benedict was an absolute delight to be around and only a first-year, but still. Sirius hadn't mentioned anything to her about the flying lessons. She would bet a considerable amount of money that Sirius had kept these follow-up lessons with Benedict to himself because he would've never wanted to admit that he enjoyed spending time with a Slytherin.
Maybe…If Sirius was warming up to Benedict, perhaps there was another Slytherin he'd deign to speak to. A plan started to form, but Ava would need to bring Severus and Remus on board.
Benedict's voice dragged Ava's attention away from her plotting. "Could you help me with my Potions essay?"
"Why don't you just wait for Severus?"
The little Slytherin gave her puppy dog eyes. "Please, Ava? You're so much nicer when explaining things."
He had her there. Severus was hardly the most patient and understanding of tutors. Besides, Ava never could resist those pleading eyes Benedict directed at her. "Alright, you win."
Benedict shot her a smile that was bordering on smug.
Of course, the little turd knew exactly what those puppy dog eyes did to her. She ruffled his hair, despite his protests at her treatment.
Her magic took notice at the contact and her wolfy side hummed in a familiar contentment, causing Ava to think of the Weasley boys. The feelings of happiness at Benedict's presence were quickly replaced with a faint sadness mixed with longing, reminding Ava of when she had tried to resist the bond between herself and Remus, though this was much more muted.
She mentally rolled her eyes. You can't possibly miss them this much. Her magic pulsed in response, the yearning to see the Weasley boys echoing through her once again. It's only been a week! Relax. Good grief.
Ava tried her best to ignore the tiny voice in the back of her mind that was whispering that her magic must've latched onto the little redheaded boys for some reason. Everyone else her magic or psuedo-wolf had chosen to bond to was someone she felt inclined to protect. But the Weasley boys had no business being anywhere near danger in the upcoming war. Maybe it's their connection to the Prewett twins? she pondered. Once the fighting was more out in the open, Ava would need to have a discussion with Dumbledore and his lieutenants about those most at risk.
She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her agitated magic and wolf. It was essentially pacing, waiting to identify a threat. Just thinking about everyone she cared for being in danger seemed to put her magic on edge.
A little post-orgasmic pillow talk yesterday with Remus had shed some light on her wolfish tendencies. Ava had asked her werewolf a handful of questions about what it felt like for him to hear and feel Moony in his mind, and then in turn, Ava had explained what sort of sensations and impulses she had been feeling.
Remus had found her descriptions interesting and slightly amusing, especially when she mentioned scenting Severus, but her soulmate had absolutely lost all composure when Ava had talked him through the moment Lily had challenged her friendships with her Slytherin packmates.
Ava had squeezed her eyes shut, cheeks flushed, while recounting to Remus how she'd almost leapt across the library table and forced Lily to submit and acknowledge that the Slytherins were to be protected. Remus's chuckles had quickly turned into a full-out belly laugh, and Ava had snapped her eyes open to glare at him.
"I'm sorry, love," Remus had said between laughs. "But I would've paid to see that. Besides, it's nice to know I'm not the only one with a wolf around here anymore."
Remus was confident that Ava had her own wolf, but it just wasn't as dominant as Moony, probably because she wasn't a full-blown werewolf. That helped explain why she would get impressions of emotions rather than explicit thoughts from her wolf, and boy was she glad to not have to fight for dominance with her wolf. Ava had ignored the part of her brain that had scoffed, bringing to the forefront of her mind when she had lost control of her magic, rather similarly to how Moony would take over Remus every now and then.
A poke to her side and an accompanying giggle from Benedict jarred Ava from her thoughts.
She quirked a brow. "Do you want help or not?"
The first year ducked his head. "Yes, please."
"Then hand over your essay, squirt," Ava said, ruffling Benedict's hair once again, causing a pout to form on his face. She smiled. Ava had to admit that spending time with the younger kids really did lift her spirits. Maybe I should owl Molly about seeing the boys again soon.
Ava bobbed up and down on her tiptoes, waiting for Moody to arrive to the abandoned classroom that doubled as their usual training spot. Severus was the only other person who had seen the full dueling masterpiece that she'd been able to create within the Room of Requirement, and she knew that Moody would appreciate her handiwork as well. She had even gone to the Room on Sunday just to perfect her requests for the dueling space.
She cast Tempus and sighed. It was still fifteen minutes until their training session started.
Though giddiness was the overwhelming emotion flowing through Ava's veins, there were trace amounts of frustration. Her reaction to the mere prospect of showing Moody the magical room confirmed a recent worry of hers. She wasn't ready to take the Marauders back to the Room of Requirement, at least not with Peter in tow. She had been debating doing so since her relationship with Peter had warmed considerably, but each time she thought about showing him the Room, her stomach churned. There was something holding her back. Ava wasn't sure if it was her prior prejudice against the rat Animagus from knowing how the original time line was supposed to play out, or if her magic or wolf still had some sort of hangup of their own.
The classroom door creaked open and revealed Moody, his eyebrows raised. "What are you doing here so early, Ava?"
A thrilled squeal slipped out of her as she raced across the classroom. "We have a field trip to go on! C'mon, I really want to show you that room I was talking about." Without waiting for a response from the Auror, Ava snagged his hand and pulled him out into the corridor, heading towards the stairs.
"I think you're going to love it. It's got everything you could possibly need," she told him, sights set on the Grand Staircase. "I actually practice in there all the time, it'll be nice to show…you…" Ava's words drifted off as she glanced to her side, blood draining from her face.
Moody was staring at their connected hands with an indecipherable look.
Her heart might've actually stopped as mortification flooded her body. "Moody—sir, I'm sor—sorry," Ava stuttered, yanking back her hand from the Auror.
"Easy, lass," he said in a soothing tone. "I'm not upset."
"But—but—," she continued to stumble over her words with a deep frown. Ava knew Moody wasn't the most touchy-feely guy on the planet, and she certainly didn't want to make him uncomfortable or angry with her slip of affection. She continued to stare at him, words escaping her. He really didn't seem upset, just thoughtful.
And now he was smirking.
She narrowed her eyes. "What?"
"Don't be so skittish, Ava." He quirked a brow at her beginnings of a protest.
Relenting with a huff, she muttered, "Fine."
Moody clapped Ava on the shoulder, jostling her slightly. "There's a good girl. Don't let your emotions get the better of you, they'll just distract you."
Ava tried to keep in the eye roll, she really did, but did everything have to circle back to dueling with this wizard?
The Auror moved towards the stairs and she followed. "Speaking of emotions," Moody said in a low voice, "how's the Occlumency training going?"
She peered around them, not spotting any students or professors in the immediate vicinity. "Pretty much the same as before. I'm practicing, and trying to lock down my emotions like you mentioned, but it's not like I'll really be able to test it out until something happens, you know?"
Moody grunted.
As they ascended the stairs, a handful of students passed by, some too absorbed in their conversations to notice an unfamiliar man walking through the castle, but some gave them curious looks. Ava smiled to herself, thinking that a particular Ravenclaw only resisted asking Moody who he was because the Auror threw the kid a look and the "don't fuck with me" vibes were too strong to disobey, sending the student scurrying past them down the stairs.
If she was being honest, Moody had scared her a little at first, but she had gotten used to his gruff demeanor—apparently she'd become too comfortable. Ava willed the returning blush in her cheeks to go away. We're cool. He said it was fine. Don't freak out.
"You had your first Apparition lesson, right?" Moody asked as they approached the seventh floor, not sounding nearly as out of breath as she would've expected from climbing several flights of stairs.
Ava beamed, pleased that he had remembered. "Yep. It wasn't anything too exciting though since it's just theory for the first few lessons."
The Apparition course offered lessons every week until May, but students only needed to attend six, on average, before mastering the skills necessary, and they were able to move through the course at their own pace. Ava was super grateful that the Ministry understood that seventh years were busy with N.E.W.T.S. and allowed them the flexibility to choose which weeks they'd attend the sessions.
Ava had chose to start out learning Apparition as soon as possible, and for their first lesson, it appeared that everyone else had the same idea. Though, she was sure attendance would taper off and the Great Hall wouldn't feel as crowded as it had the day before—an odd feeling in such a massive space. But the instructors had separated everyone in case there were any accidents, despite the fact that they were told to keep their wands away during the session.
She couldn't help but think that a "theory" lesson had gone awry in the past. Since it was the first Apparition session of the semester, everyone was stuck with learning just the theory for now, which had resulted in dozens of groans throughout the Great Hall when the instructors had made that particular announcement. Though Ava had to admit, if there was ever a magic to study the theory of before putting the spell into action, it would be Apparition. There would be no splinching for her, no sir.
The fascinating teleportation magic behind Apparition was definitely inching it's way to the top of Ava's list of her favorite magical topics, but even then, it still couldn't hold her attention when she had spotted McNair glaring at her from across the Great Hall. She'd tried to ignore him as best as she could, but it did worry her that it had been about a week since their confrontation and he had yet to come after her. Considering the animosity practically wafting off the baby Death Eater, Ava figured it was only a matter of time.
Moody let out a bark of laughter, drawing her attention back to the present. "Yes, there will be lots of theory learning to do before you can actually practice Apparition and good thing too. I've seen splinching plenty of times and it isn't a pretty sight, Ava." He shuddered, and she didn't think it was just for dramatic effect.
Ava led the Auror down the corridor, slowing to a stop in front of the blank wall. "Could you actually stand to the side?" she asked, gesturing a few feet down the hall.
Moody's brows furrowed, but he did as she asked.
She smiled. "I might look a little crazy at first, but give me a minute."
His slight frown remained, but he nodded.
Ava closed her eyes and focused, centering her thoughts around the training room that she and Hogwarts had created together before. Opening her eyes, she began to pace, keeping the image of the dueling space in her mind. She hadn't even spun around for her third lap in front of the blank wall when a large, wooden door appeared.
"Fucking hell," Moody growled, jumping in place.
Ava bit her lip to keep from laughing.
The older wizard glared at her.
"Don't be so skittish, sir," she said, trying not to grin too widely.
Amusement flashed in Moody's eyes, but he gave her his telltale annoyed grunt in response.
Not wanting to push the Auror too far, Ava headed to the door. "C'mon, sir." She bit her lip and stepped through before moving to the side to let Moody join her. I hope he likes it. Ava couldn't believe her stomach was in knots.
"Sweet Merlin," the Auror whispered, taking slow steps, eyes darting everywhere. "This is incredible."
Her nerves settled at the awe in his tone, and she took a few moments to appreciate the combined efforts of herself and the magical school.
As Ava's abilities had further developed, she had needed more variety in her practice targets, so now there was not only a spacious dueling mat, but two other dueling areas as well. One was a large circle, ringed by six target dummies, and the other was a small course of sorts with thin walls and cubes placed randomly.
The intention behind the last type of training area was to imitate a building, with multiple rooms, similar to what Ava knew Muggle police trained with, where there could be walls and obstacles hiding dark wizards. She'd gotten comfortable enough dueling in an open space, but wanted to test herself if the targets were to randomly attack her from where she couldn't necessarily see them. It was certainly more difficult than she had anticipated, but it served her purpose, helping hone her skills in a more realistic setting. At least she no longer jumped whenever a target dummy suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Severus had thought the faux building had been a silly idea at first, but he had quieted down at her insistence of being prepared for anything. She had no clue when Death Eater activity was supposed to pick up, officially starting the war, so who knew if the dark wizards could end up attacking somewhere like Hogsmeade where she'd need to defend herself and others?
Off to the side of the room was a seating area, complete with a fireplace and a bookshelf full of texts related to whatever magic Ava was interested in at the moment. It often changed to coincide with what she happened to be studying, so she was fairly certain the shelves would be full of tomes on Apparition and nonverbal spell-casting. On the other side of the fireplace was a cabinet that Ava knew held a variety of Healing potions.
"How is this here?" Moody asked, moving further into the room. "Where'd that door come from?"
"Well, it's called the Room of Requirement because it does exactly that," she told him, before launching into a more detailed explanation of how the magic worked.
His eyebrows had reached higher and higher as she spoke. "You essentially created all of this from nothing? From your imagination?"
"Yes," she said hesitantly. "Is it alright? We could change it if you want."
"No, of course not, lass," he blurted, seemingly rushing to reassure her. "It's impressive."
She stood up straighter and smiled.
Moody returned her grin. "It could rival the Auror Training Facility we have at the Ministry. Our space is a bit bigger and the courses are more elaborate, but this is a good start for something you've created on your own."
"Thank you, sir," she said, beaming. A gentle brush of warm magic caressed her shoulder, and she giggled. "I didn't exactly do it all on my own. Hogwarts says thank you too."
Surprise splashed across Moody's face.
"I did say the castle was intuitive and tended to listen."
He peered around the room, as if the walls themselves were watching them. "Aye, that you did."
Ava laughed. "You'll only need constant vigilance in this room if the dummies are activated."
The Auror gave her an unamused look, then tilted his head towards the circle of target dummies. "Fight all six at once, do ya?" he asked with a teasing lilt.
"No, not at full capacity. I'll have the Room use all six, but rotate between them, with only two at a time actually firing at me. I found six to be a good number to spread out the area of where attacks could potentially come from. It helps me be quicker to defend and stay on the move. But since the dummies don't have a magical core, I can't even try to keep an eye on them that way, so it'd be impossible to watch my back with all six activated."
Moody quirked a brow and nodded. "Sound reasoning." He swept a hand out, gesturing across the room. "Alright, girly, show me what you've got."
She growled under her breath at the Auror, knowing he was just trying to get a rise out of her. Fine. I'll give him a good show.
Whispering, Ava asked the Room, "Can you please activate three of the target dummies for combat? And can you place them along one side in a wide semi-circle?"
A warm breeze of magic indicated Hogwarts had heard her request.
"Use lethal force," she added, walking to the center of the mat.
Three of the dummies disappeared and the remaining ones rearranged themselves evenly along one edge of the dueling space before the circle enlarged slightly, halting only a foot away from where Moody was standing.
The Auror's jaw dropped. "And you just asked the Room to do that?"
She smiled. "Yep."
Palming her Blackthorn wand, Ava's magic tingled in anticipation. She rolled her shoulders, wondering if there was something seriously wrong with her, that she enjoyed dueling that much. It just felt good to excel at something and to be able to let out some of her pent up emotions, which Ava was self-aware enough to admit that she struggled with. It was soothing to know that she could fall back on muscle memory and reflexes to protect herself and those she cared about, if the need should arise.
Whenever thoughts of Voldemort and his most well-known followers crossed her mind, Ava couldn't help but compare herself to them. She was so woefully unprepared when she had first arrived in the Wizarding World, and though her skills had come far, there was no way she was going to slow down. If the Order wasn't able to stop Voldemort before the prophecy was created, there was no telling what kinds of situations Ava and her friends would be facing.
High up from the ground, in the center of the dueling mat, a burst of blue magic erupted. A thin shield expanded out and cascaded to the floor, enveloping the space that Ava and the target dummies occupied.
"Ava?" Moody called out, concern lacing his tone. "Why would I need to be worried about catching strays?"
"Don't worry about it, the Room always takes this precaution when someone else is in here with me."
"That didn't answer my question."
The dummies shook to life.
"Let me focus," she yelled back to him, belatedly realizing that her tone was more terse than she'd ever used with him before. Blessedly, Moody didn't respond.
Ava took a breath and bent slightly at the knees, "Ready," she whispered, feeling a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Definitely something wrong with me, she mused. But she couldn't linger on that thought as right out of the gate, a dummy fired a Slicing Hex at her, followed by two consecutive Stinging Hexes from the dummy next to it.
She leapt into action, alternating between shielding and firing off spells of her own. What Ava liked most about having the Room use lethal force was that the dummies were relentless. They wouldn't stop attacking her until she asked. It was only too easy to eradicate her opponent with something like an Entrail-Expelling Curse and be done with the duel too quickly.
And Ava did just that, forcing one dummy's midsection to burst and spill out onto the floor. With that target incapacitated momentarily, she shifted focus to the other two.
"Protego!" she shouted, deflecting Expulso, which would not have been pretty had it managed to hit her. Her shield flickered from the force of the exploding spell, allowing a Slicing Hex to slip through.
"Fuck," she cursed through gritted teeth when the spell caught her side. The ones that struck her torso always seemed to suck all of the breath out of her compared to the little stings of pain that she'd feel if they landed on her arms or legs. Annoyed, she snapped out her wand hand and fired off the Cascading Jinx, temporarily finishing off the remaining two dummies.
But Ava didn't have a moment of reprieve as the third was back up and running, and a sickly yellow spell was nearly upon her.
She rolled to the side, knowing there wasn't enough time for her shield to form, let alone her mouth actually produce the incantation. I really need to work on nonverbals. They just never seemed to be as strong as the spells she'd cast aloud, so she certainly wasn't going to chance it against the Entrail-Expelling Curse.
As Ava stood, the cut across her ribs and stomach tore open further and she sucked in a pained breath. She tightened the grip on her wand, knowing the Room would typically pick up the pace at this point.
Sure enough, a mini tornado formed, distorting her vision of the dummies slightly. She backed herself up to the edge of the circular dueling mat, simultaneously casting Ventus Duo to disrupt the spiraling wind that was beginning to make its way over to her.
Ava's eyes widened as a rare, maroon-colored jet of light hurtled towards her. "Protego Maxima!" she yelled. Between gasping breaths as Ava held the shield in place, she bellowed, "Fucking Bone-Breaking Curse?!"
She and Severus had been dueling just the other day, using the target dummies, and a Bone-Breaking Curse had managed to hit her ankle. The sudden, excruciating pain had been eye-opening because Ava had quickly learned how difficult it was to try to ignore the throbbing agony in her ankle while helping Severus defend against the dummies.
While a tiny part of her was thankful to have experienced that, knowing how to better handle immense pain during a duel, should something similar ever happen in the future, she was mostly pissed off. Ava resented the fact that the Room had chosen to use that particular spell against her again. It was the only other spell besides Slicing and Stinging Hexes that had ever managed to hit her, and it had been absolutely brutal until Severus brought her several Potions to force the bones to fuse back together and help reduce swelling. Because of her prior tolerance build up, her best friend still recommended abstaining from Pain Potions if at all possible, so she had laid suffering on the floor for a good two hours as the potions worked their magic.
Blocking out shouting from Moody, Ava stalked towards the target dummies, chest heaving, fuming with every fiber of her being. "Confringo!" she screamed, propelling as much of her magic into the words as she possibly could.
A fiery blast exploded from the tip of her wand, completely engulfing the three dummies simultaneously.
Ava sucked in a breath. The spell had never had that range before. I was rather angry, she mused, wondering if her emotion had fueled the power behind the spell. "Done," she murmured aloud to the Room, letting her wand drop to her side. "And that was rude, by the way," she sniped, glaring at the ceiling and various parts of the surrounding area, making sure the castle would feel her ire.
Cool, soothing magic swept over Ava, and she got the impression that Hogwarts was apologizing.
Well, now I just feel bad. I did ask for lethal force, after all. She sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry too."
A warm, friendly brush of magic tickled the backside of her arm and she giggled, then winced in pain. "Ouch—fuck." She'd forgotten about the Slicing Hex, but with the adrenaline wearing off now that the duel was over, the pain was returning full-force. Ava peeled her uniform button-down shirt away from her skin with a hiss.
"Avalynn McGonagall," Moody growled, as he stomped towards her.
"I'm fine," she muttered.
"I swear to Merlin, I—" His words halted as Ava lifted up her shirt to get a better look at the slice that cut across part of her waist and stomach.
"Episkey," she said, then clenched her teeth and looked to the ceiling as the wound began to seal itself. With another glance down to assess the damage, Ava cast Episkey twice more before the cut closed completely. Taking advantage of the pause in Moody's words, she closed her eyes and coaxed her magic out to scan her body, double checking for any other injuries.
Good thing too, as there was a minor burn on the back of her left calf. "I don't even know where that came from," she said with a frown, twisting around to look at the puffy, red welt.
"One of the dummies cast Confringo at the beginning there," Moody told her in a gravelly voice.
She turned back around to face the Auror.
His eyes were narrowed as he continued, "You barely shielded in time, but I didn't think the flames had reached you. You didn't even flinch, Ava."
With a shrug, she said, "It's nothing I haven't gotten before. We've both had minor injuries when training, Moody." Ava began to gingerly make her way towards the potions cabinet.
Moody huffed and joined her side. "Yes, it's quite obvious that you're well practiced from the way you move and push through the pain, it's no wonder you need the healing potions." He sped up and snatched a Burn Salve from the cabinet, handing it to Ava as she took a seat on the couch.
She bent awkwardly to rub the ointment on, the stinging sensation immediately receding along with the redness. In a few minutes, Ava would apply another application and she'd be good to go.
Moody sat across from her in a chair, settling in to give her a hard stare.
When they had first met, this intense gaze of his would've made her fidget, but instead she merely asked, "What?"
He huffed once again, sounding annoyed.
Ava sat up straighter. She'd never heard that particular noise from him before tonight.
Moody pointed a finger at her. "You, Avalynn McGonagall, have been holding out on me." His eyebrows were furrowed and she could've sworn the Auror's mouth was on the brink of forming into a pout.
Ava beamed, ecstatic that she had seemed to impress Moody, and it appeared that she would not be getting a lecture on how intense she had asked the Room to conduct the duel.
The frigid, winter wind whipped around the Quidditch stands, battering against everyone's repeatedly cast Warming Charms. Ava swallowed her umpteenth groan of annoyance—she wouldn't have been out in the elements had Gryffindor not been playing Slytherin this morning. James and Sirius better notice me here, she grumbled internally, but she knew the boys would definitely be aware if she slipped back into the warm castle half-way through the match.
Not to mention, the pair of Marauders had looked especially mischievous at breakfast in the Great Hall, whispering to each other. Ava had a sinking feeling they were planning their retaliation prank against her, and there was no way she was going to give them any more reason to play a trick on her by not watching their Quidditch match.
Ava was snuggled between Lily and Remus, but kept leaning around her soulmate to chat with Peter every now and then, doubling down on maintaining a friendly relationship with the Animagus in an attempt to sway her magic or wolf, whichever one of the two seemed to not trust him completely. She had scolded her magic on the way to the pitch and had worked hard to push Peter's seemingly potential betrayal of the future Mr. and Mrs. Potter out of her mind. He's not that person yet, and he won't be. He won't do it because he won't feel compelled to follow anyone. Not the Marauders, not Voldemort.
Her mind drifted to the wannabe Death Eater, McNair. Other than in Charms, Ava hadn't bumped into him anywhere, so it seemed that he was abiding by her request that they stay far away from each other. But that just felt too good to be true. It had also been almost a week and a half since their run-in. She would just have to keep her guard up. Constant vigilance and all that.
Other than Ava's extracurriculars, everything had been fairly uneventful. Her first meeting with Aunt Minerva, Severus, and Regulus for Animagus training was interesting, but similarly to her first Apparition lesson, it was purely based in theory. Professor McGonagall had outlined the main principles of the magic behind becoming an Animagus and had assigned them reading along with some meditation techniques. The three students had smirked at one another, assuming that their Occlumency skills would help in that department.
One thing that the three of them could not have prepared for was the Mandrake leaf. Aunt Minerva had given them each one to place on the roof of their mouth and applied a Sticking Charm. She was adamant that they reapply the spell each morning or night when they were to practice their meditations and breathing exercises as well. The leaf would need to stay for a whole month, so despite the unusual, slick texture, Ava sucked it up and accepted that the leaf was just a part of her mouth for the next month.
She giggled and pressed a kiss to Remus's cheek, thinking back to when he had kissed her for the first time after the Mandrake leaf had been placed. By that point, it had already been overnight for Ava, so she was getting used to the plant and just forgot to mention it to the werewolf. Suffice to say, Remus had freaked out a little when his tongue had brushed against the leaf affixed to the roof of her mouth.
"I can feel your amusement, Ava, and I can't help but think it's directed at me," Remus whispered into her ear, moving his attention away from the match.
She laughed again, recalling the girlish squeal her werewolf had released when he felt the leaf while kissing her.
"Don't push me, witch. I can punish you later if you misbehave."
Ava smiled and leaned into him. "Do you promise?"
He chuckled then deliberately sent his lust and affection through their bond.
She shifted in her seat. "Remus," Ava scolded.
The werewolf nuzzled her neck. "Then behave."
"Fine," she said snootily, sticking her nose up in the air as if he wasn't affecting her. Ava focused her thoughts on having sex with her soulmate, thinking about how his touch made her feel, and shoved it towards Remus across the bond.
"Ava," he growled, fingers squeezing her hip.
She grinned, looking forward to their alone time as soon as the match was over.
Ava forced her feet to move in the direction of Charms class, muscles protesting with each step. Last night was her second training session with Moody in the Room of Requirement, and the Auror had taken full advantage of being able to magically manipulate the space with ease. He now had her running drills through the obstacle course, but he had expanded it and added in more everyday objects, like tables and chairs, that could be used against her or by her.
She smiled briefly to herself. It was rather satisfying to throw Expulso towards a chair and have it blast into pieces, knocking out the target dummy standing behind it. Her grin dropped when the ache in her legs increased minutely, as if her calves could cramp at any second, but she needed to pick up the pace if she was ever going to make it to class.
Once again, Ava had taken to sleeping in and eating breakfast in her quarters rather than waking early enough to go down to the Great Hall. Exhaustion had been creeping in more and more recently, especially after the full moon a little over two weeks ago, but all the training with Moody had been wearing her down. Even the Auror himself had commented on the dark circles under her eyes last night.
I just need more sleep, she reasoned. And I should certainly catch up on it before this weekend. Her second babysitting gig with the Weasley boys was this upcoming weekend and her wolf and magic practically vibrated with excitement as it had been nearly three weeks since she'd seen the little ones. Fortunately, Gideon would be at the Burrow this time around, so it wouldn't be too difficult watching the boys. Even if her whole body was still sore and it hurt to sit on the floor for story time, Ava could let the boys' uncle wrangle them if they were too rambunctious.
She rounded the corner and found the entire Charms class, Gryffindor and Slytherin students alike, waiting outside the classroom. Not super unusual, given that there were still several minutes until class began and sometimes the professors would meet with a colleague or another student before and after lessons. But that didn't mean that tensions couldn't potentially rise between the rival houses as they lingered out in the hallway together.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wade through the Slytherins to reach her soulmate and friends. As Ava joined Remus and the other Gryffindors, she flashed Severus a quick smile and had to stop herself from instinctively doing the same with Lucius. "Good mornings" were exchanged all around from her friends and fellow housemates. James, Sirius, and Peter was whispering animatedly to one another, and barely gave her a second glance.
She shrugged and turned to Remus, reaching up to peck a chaste kiss to his lips.
"Morning, love," he said, before frowning as his green eyes roved over her face. "Have you been sleeping alright?"
Ava rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, just tired."
Remus gently grasped her elbow and turned their bodies away from the crowd of Gryffindors and Slytherins for some semblance of privacy. He whispered, "Ava, you've got to take care of yourself. If all of the studying and your…extracurriculars are taking their toll, then maybe you should pull back some."
She pressed her lips together, knowing that she wasn't about to drop any more of her training or studying time. She had already reduced it some. But maybe a check-up with Madame Pomfrey would be a good idea, just in case.
Ava opened her mouth to voice this thought aloud, when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
Her magic flared to life, zapping her with alertness. Attack! The magic seemed to warn, stretching out behind her.
McNair was finally taking his revenge.
There was a faint whisper of three active magical signatures prickling alongside hers, preparing to cast a spell.
Three?! Remus! With a flick of her wrist, Ava shouted, "Protego!" and a blue shield expanded from her wand, enveloping Remus as well, just in time for a spell to bounce off of it.
Not wanting to give her attackers the easy way out, Ava whispered, "Fumos."
Shouts and shrieks erupted throughout the hallway as the thick fog descended.
Heart pounding, pulsing in time with her magic, Ava let her schoolbag slide from her shoulder and spun around to face the general direction of where the magical attack had seemed to emanate from.
Trusting the instinctual nudging of her magic, she fired off Expelliarmus three times at her attackers, speaking aloud to be sure the spells would stick, followed with three shots of Incarcerous. The resulting grunts let Ava know she hit her targets.
She sneered, assuming McNair had decided to enlist two lackeys to help him take her down. Probably Nott and Avery. She felt slight disappointment at Avery following along, having thought he might choose a different path after all.
"Ventus!" an older, masculine voice called out.
Ava ignored the fact that a professor was now involved. She didn't care if she got detention for defending herself.
As the smoke cleared, she continued glaring in the direction of her attackers. Ava's stomach dropped to the floor as she took in the figures bound in ropes.
James and Peter were squirming, trying to get free, cursing under their breath, while Sirius appeared to be resigned to his fate.
What the hell? She frowned down at the boys, then glanced around her to find McNair, Avery, and Nott standing farther down on the opposite side of the corridor, looking completely dumbfounded.
No. How did I miss them? She shook herself. I didn't miss them. Ava turned back to the bound Marauders on the floor. That's where the magic was coming from!
A hand gripped her shoulder.
Ava spun, wand raised, but immediately lowered it at the sight of Professor Fell with Flitwick standing at his side. "I'm so sorry, sir! I didn't mean—"
Professor Fell held up a hand. "I understand, Miss McGonagall. I startled you, forgive me." He smiled and nodded his head towards her friends still tied up in ropes on the ground. "I saw—well, heard—how quickly you incapacitated them. Fantastic display of skills, young lady. Twenty points to Gryffindor."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "What?" No detention?
The Defense professor gently patted Ava's shoulder and stepped around her. "I hope everyone was paying attention, that's exactly how you're to defend yourself." He looked to the Marauders on the floor. "I certainly hope you three have learned your lesson." He tsked. "It isn't polite to prank young ladies, anyhow."
Prank?
Professor Fell cast Finite, setting free James, Peter, and Sirius.
Ava clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath through her nose, trying her best to cool her temper. Absolute idiots. She narrowed her eyes at the boys, who had refused to meet her eyes thus far.
Fell approached her again. "I see that congratulations are in order, Miss McGonagall. Even when provoked, your elemental magic didn't make an appearance this time."
She pretended not to hear the gasps and murmurs around them, the professor's words only further confirming the rumor from a few weeks ago. Once again, it seemed that an outburst of her magic was going to be the talk of the school.
"You seem to have it under control, good job," Fell continued.
She gave him a weak smile, knowing that wasn't the case at all.
Fell sighed wistfully and looked at the Charms professor. "Almost makes you wish we hadn't disbanded the Dueling Club, doesn't it Flitwick?"
Professor Flitwick made a choking noise. "Not exactly."
Ava's pretend smile turned real at the exasperated expression on Flitwick's face.
"What about me!?" a high-pitched voice shrieked, causing everyone to tilt their heads back.
A portrait near the ceiling of the corridor was covered in some sort of hot pick substance.
Ava swiveled her head to glare at James, Sirius, and Peter, but they were busy gazing up at the portrait as the professors attempted to help the painting's occupant.
That would've been her. In front of all of the Slytherins. But no, now they've just seen her dueling abilities instead. No harm there, she sniped sarcastically in her head.
With the adrenaline receding, Ava's hurt was beginning to drown out her anger. They were going to prank me in front of the Slytherins. With my back turned. What the fuck? They don't do that to each other.
A lump formed in her throat as worry sunk in. This is bad. SO bad. Why? Why would they do this in front of the Slytherins? I'm supposed to be laying low, not drawing attention to myself. Fuck.
Beyond glowering at the Marauders and catching Severus's concerned gaze, Ava couldn't bring herself to look at anyone, feeling her eyes begin to prick with frustrated tears. Ava cleared her throat and turned to Professor Flitwick. "Sir, can I have a moment, please?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"Of course, dear," the Charms teacher said kindly.
Without a word, Ava spun and took off down the corridor, scooping up her schoolbag along the way, not even bothering to speak to Remus.
Over her shoulder, she could hear Flitwick addressing the rest of the seventh years. "To your seats, everyone."
Ava was hoping to find an empty classroom to gather herself in. She'd even take a broom closet at this point. Just anywhere where no one would see her cry over a stupid prank. I completely overreacted, she lamented. McNair never would've attacked in broad daylight, in front of witnesses. Stupid, childish pranks.
"Fucking assholes," Ava muttered to herself, throwing her weight behind the first unlocked door she stumbled upon.
It appeared to be a study room of sorts. Much smaller than the typical classroom, it had a handful of larger tables rather than individual desks. It was also dusty as all hell, so Ava let out a breath of relief knowing she wasn't about to get booted from the quiet space. While her tears seemed to have dried up, her concern mounted and she slid down the wall, pulling her knees up to her chest, letting the schoolbag drop from her shoulder.
Ava rested her forehead against the tops of her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Fuck."
The door banged open, causing her head to whip up in surprise.
At the sight of James and Sirius, she groaned, returning her head to her knees. "Go away," she grounded out, closing her eyes.
"We're sorry," Sirius said, sounding remorseful.
"Yeah, really sorry, Ava," James added, guilt coating his words as well.
She sighed into her bent legs. "Fine, whatever. I accept your apologies. Now, go away."
"Don't be embarrassed, you were a total badass," James told her.
Ava lifted her head slowly and leveled a glare harsh enough to leave permanent damage at her friend.
His slight smile dropped and he took a step back.
"James," she snapped. "That was not a good thing that just happened." Her eyes bounced back and forth between the two boys. "Did you really think it was a good idea to prank me in front of the Slytherins? That it was a funny thing to do?"
Ava shot up from the floor and began to pace. "Sure, I pranked you guys first, but come on," she complained, throwing her arms wide. "I didn't even do it at school for fuck's sake. And then you try to get back at me in front of them?"
She stood facing them with her arms crossed, waiting to see what good reason they would've had for trying to play a trick on her in that specific moment. Ava brushed off the satisfaction of having stopped them, too annoyed to congratulate herself right now.
Sirius's brow was furrowed when he asked, "This is about more than just the prank, isn't it?"
James looked at him in confusion before turning back to Ava. "What's that mean?"
Ava rolled her eyes and cast Muffliato, not bothering to respond to the boys' questions about the privacy spell. "You do know I'm trying to keep a low profile, right, James?"
He nodded.
"So," Sirius explained. "It wasn't smart for Ava to, uh—show off in front of the enemy, so to speak."
"Nope," she said, drawn out, popping the "p."
But what exactly would the baby Death Eaters do? Beyond informing their parents that there was a skilled blood traitor at Hogwarts, what could happen? Ava closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. It could bring more attention to Aunt Minerva, maybe Dumbledore, not to mention the Order. But what if Voldemort got curious enough to do some digging after hearing my name associated with somewhat impressive dueling skills? I already got his attention at the Malfoys' New Year's Eve Ball.
Ava let out a laugh that sounded a little manic even to her own ears as she began to pace once again.
God fucking forbid Voldemort got it in his head to try to recruit her. She wouldn't put it past him to make exceptions for witches and wizards that appeared to be more skilled or powerful than the average person. She wasn't trying to sound cocky, but even Alastor Moody himself had said that she was a better dueler than most Hogwarts graduates. Ava shook herself. That would never happen. She never planned on meeting the dark wizard face to face ever again.
But at the very least, he could use his resources and discover that I'm not who I say I am. Sure, Professor McGonagall had adopted her, and Ava was now a registered citizen of Wizarding Britain, but Voldemort had fingers in all of the Ministry pies from what she'd learned at the Order meetings. It wouldn't be too difficult for him to figure out that she hadn't actually existed before 1977. What if he had similar connection as Aunt Minerva? Like the Department of Mysteries?
Her stomach plummeted to the floor. He definitely would. Voldemort would have at least one follower in that particular department, keeping an eye on the prophecies on the off chance that one would involve himself. What if he poked around, asking about Avalynn McGonagall who appeared out of nowhere? How long would it be before someone revealed, willingly or not, that Aunt Minerva had been inquiring about alternate realities and time travel?
She collapsed against the edge of a table. "Fuck," she whispered.
"Ava?" James asked hesitantly, slowly approaching her.
"What's wrong?" Sirius added.
Ava stared off into space for a moment. How did I not think of this before? I need to talk to Dumbledore. She shook herself. "Nothing."
The boys eyed her speculatively.
"You're not completely off the hook, you know," she told them, annoyance returning despite the fact that it was obvious the boys hadn't thought much of their prank beyond getting revenge on her. "Did you even stop to think what could've happened had my elemental magic come out to play?"
James paled slightly and swallowed, and Sirius's mouth dropped open.
A laugh burst from Ava before she could stop it. "Oh my God, do you two ever think?" She shook her head. "I swear, you're two of the most intelligent, inventive people I know—"
"Thank you," the boys chirped simultaneously with matching grins.
She rolled her eyes and continued, "But you are so dumb sometimes." Ava giggled at the affronted looks on their faces.
Sirius leaned against the table beside her and gently nudged her shoulder. "We're not that bad, are we?"
James joined them, sitting on her other side. "We are sorry, Ava."
"I know," she said with a sigh.
"Hey," James piped up. "Why didn't your fire magic attack us?"
Ava shrugged. "Maybe my magic knew deep down that you weren't actually a threat?"
"Well," Sirius said. "Elemental magic tends to be used for defense and the other times that it's appeared, you've been in momma bear mode, protecting others."
She and James both snorted at "momma bear mode."
Sirius continued, "So maybe it just comes out when you're protecting someone other than yourself?"
"Yeah, maybe," Ava said, knowing Moody had pointed out a similar observation, but then again, she'd been protecting Remus too. But she wasn't about to let the boys know that they had free rein on Remus where her instinctual magic was concerned. "Or maybe you're just lucky my temper didn't have enough time to boil over and burn you two and Peter to a crisp."
James gave an uneasy laugh, rubbing the back of his neck, while Sirius just flicked her playfully.
"Speaking of which," she said, "where is that little shit? Why isn't he apologizing? Too much of a coward?"
"Hey now," James said, tone reproachful.
"No, James, she's right," Sirius said, frowning. "Why isn't Pete here too?"
Ava crossed her arms with a huff. "Whatever."
She'd pretty much forgiven James and Sirius already, she couldn't deny Peter her forgiveness too. They clearly hadn't meant to be malicious with their prank. Besides, as long as Peter apologized, they would be good. She had really thought their friendship was going somewhere. Though, he really shouldn't have been a part of James and Sirius's plan. The rat Animagus had pranked the boys with her too over the holiday break, he shouldn't be helping them seek revenge. She said as much to the boys.
James nodded emphatically. "Peter will apologize, Ava, I know he will."
Sirius agreed. "He won't want to be on the outs with the rest of us."
She hummed, thinking back to when she and Sirius were fighting or when James had deemed her friendship with Severus unsafe, even after Sirius had come around. The Marauders never picked sides for too long, someone always gave in, swallowing their pride and apologizing.
Ava pushed off from the table and picked up her schoolbag. "We should really get back to Charms."
The boys nodded and headed out the door, with a startled yelp escaping from James and a curse from Sirius.
She peeked around them to find Remus leaning against the wall beside the door, smirking at his fellow Marauders.
"Merlin, Moony, your ugly mug can give a poor man a fright," Sirius exclaimed, grabbing his chest.
Remus shoved him half-heartedly. "You two go to class, I'd like to talk with Ava."
The boys gracefully accepted his request without more teasing, leaving Ava to walk back to Charms with her soulmate, hand in hand.
"So," she said, "how long were you waiting outside in the hallway?"
Remus shrugged. "Are you okay?"
Ava sighed. "Yeah, I think so." She peered up at him. "I'm guessing you felt my little freak out there?"
He chuckled softly. "Yes, if that's what you want to call it." Remus squeezed her fingers and lowered his voice, almost to a whisper. "I felt everything, Ava. Your fear, slight embarrassment, and overwhelming worry."
"I don't think anything will come of it," she told him honestly.
"But you think something might. Since some of them saw your abilities?"
Ava nodded.
Remus slowed her to a stop as they neared the Charms classroom and pulled her in for a slow kiss, taking his time exploring her mouth.
She smiled against his lips when he didn't even hesitate at the presence of the Mandrake leaf.
He drew away, letting out a tiny huff of annoyance, though there was a hint of a grin on his face. He softly kissed her forehead. "I just want you to be safe."
Ava opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted.
"I'm well aware that you can take care of yourself, love." He leaned away and cupped her cheeks. "When I said I felt everything from you earlier, I meant it. Maybe it's just because you were standing next to me, but every little bit of emotion came through. Before you shielded us, just a split second after I felt your fear, there was a deep, fierce wave of determination and focus. Nothing was going to hurt you, or me, you wouldn't have let it."
He frowned. "But Ava, all this hyper-vigilance is bound to wear you down." Remus gently swiped a thumb across her face, tracing under her eye. "You've got to take care of yourself, or you won't be able to protect anyone at all, including yourself. So, please, for my sake, get some sleep, take more breaks, and maybe see Madame Pomfrey."
She bit her lip, trying to keep it from wobbling as wetness gathered in her eyes. "I'll try," she whispered. Remus was the sweetest man in the world and she couldn't bear disappointing him. Ava let her forehead drop against his chest. "It's just hard sometimes." She sniffled and blinked away the tears.
"Shh, love, I know." He soothingly rubbed a hand down her back. "But you've said it yourself, everything seems to be on track."
Ava nodded as well as she could, leaning against him.
"Right," Remus said. "So maybe for now, since things seem to be holding steady, you can take time for yourself?"
She took a deep breath and chewed over his words. He's right. Hell, she'd even thought to herself about seeing Madame Pomfrey before he mentioned it. "Yeah, I'll take it easy." She would try at least.
Finally reaching the seventh floor, Ava crested the top of the staircase to find Moody already waiting for her on the landing. While it had only been a day since Remus's request that she slow down with all of her studying and training, Ava couldn't give up her time with Moody. And not just because Dumbledore had essentially ordered the training sessions, or even because she was improving her dueling skills each and every time they met, but simply because she liked the gruff, old wizard.
Moody understood her drive to learn and encouraged her to ask questions. He never ran out of patience with Ava, despite her temper, and he didn't treat her as a delicate flower. Even Severus had berated her at first for the intensity of her duels, but not Moody. The Auror pushed her in the best possible ways to become a better fighter and critical thinker. Ava even found herself looking to him for guidance occasionally about which branches of magic she should pursue and spend her time researching.
She couldn't wait to tell him how she whooped her friends' butts—three against one—and didn't even get detention for it.
But Moody threw her for a loop when he greeted her. "We're meeting with Dumbledore instead of training."
"Why?" she asked, frowning.
He chuckled. "Don't pout, Ava. I'll get you back in the torture chamber in no time."
She rolled her eyes. One time—only one time—she gave the tiniest compliant about Moody's methods being of the torturing variety, and now the wizard kept cracking jokes about it.
She followed the Auror back down the stairs. "You couldn't have sent me an owl or something so I wouldn't have had to climb all these stairs for nothing?"
Moody grunted. "I didn't know we were meeting with him until I got to Hogwarts tonight."
"Oh." Ava glanced around and upon seeing no one, she whispered, "Do you think it's Order business?"
"Aye."
Curiosity bubbled up. Maybe Dumbledore needed her to clarify some information, or he could have a question about the list of potential targets she supplied him with.
As Ava and Moody made their way to the Headmaster's Office, they discussed combative magic, the Auror not wanting to miss any more of her training time. He would present her with various scenarios, asking her to hypothetically incapacitate her opponents given the parameters he would create on the spot and then alter depending on her choices. It was like mental chess mixed with dueling and Ava found it to be her new favorite game.
At the gargoyle statue, Moody muttered, "Jaw breakers."
Ava snickered at the befuddlement in the Auror's tone. "It's a Muggle candy."
He grunted, which only made her laugh harder as they climbed the staircase.
"Good evening." Dumbledore welcomed them into his office and offered them tea and lemon drops, to which they both declined. He gestured for them to take a seat.
Ava glanced up at the portraits lining the circular wall of the office, catching Phineas's eye.
The former Headmaster winked and she smiled in return.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "You're probably wondering why I've asked you to join me this evening."
They waited for him to continue.
"Alastor, what's your opinion on Miss McGonagall's skill level? How are her trainings with you progressing?"
He called us in here for that? Just to check in?
Moody looked at Ava for a moment, then turned to Dumbledore. "Her performance has been adequate."
Before she even had time to be offended at the Auror's assessment, Dumbledore chuckled. "Come now, Alastor, I'm sure you can be more descriptive than that. Didn't you tell me that you would run through the Auror training program with her?"
Ava's jaw dropped to the floor and she stared at Moody.
The Auror shifted in his chair. "Aye, that's what I said. And that's what I've done." He sighed. "She's nearly finished with training, but she could probably give the Prewetts a run for their money."
She sucked in a breath at that bit of information. Yeah, their training had been brutal, but she'd had no idea that Moody was basically preparing her to be an Auror. Once that had hit home, Ava's stomach flipped, and she looked to the Headmaster with narrowed eyes.
"And why does the quality of my training or skills matter so much, Dumbledore?" Ava asked.
Moody gave his familiar grunt of agreement.
Dread pooled in her gut. That means he doesn't know either. Why would Moody not know?
The old wizard cleared his throat and sat forward in his high-backed chair, steepling his fingers under his chin, eyes twinkling.
Ava's fists clenched as she restrained herself from smacking that damned look off his face. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
"I'd like for Ava to participate in a few upcoming Order missions."
The silence was deafening.
Her eyes bounced between the two wizards, waiting for the Headmaster to explain or Moody to adamantly disagree—but no.
The Auror looked at her with his lips pressed together and then turned to Dumbledore. "Which missions, sir?"
Wow, so that's how it is. Ava's brows shot up. "Are you shitting me?"
Their heads whipped towards her.
Dumbledore's eyebrow was raised.
Moody's jaw ticked.
"Miss McGonagall," Dumbledore said in a firm voice. "I believe when you first came to me, you stated that you would do anything in your power to stop Tom Riddle."
"I did," she grounded out. Albeit, under Veritaserum, asshole.
"And are you still willing to help our cause?"
"Albus—," Moody started.
"Of course I am," she snapped, popping up from her seat, fingers curling and uncurling at her sides. Her magic bristled at the Headmaster's line of questioning, and her wolf seemed to have its hackles raised as well.
Dumbledore nodded. "Good. Then what's the harm in shadowing some fellow Order members to get some…experience under your belt, as the Muggles say, and continue striving towards our goal, all while protecting those you love and hold dear along the way?"
Her skin warmed, magic rising to the surface as she narrowed her eyes. "Is that a threat?"
"Ava," Moody growled warningly.
The Headmaster had the audacity to look disappointed. He shook his head. "No, child. I was merely reminding you of what is at stake here."
She scoffed and crossed her arms. "I'm not likely to forget, considering they're my friends." Her magic continued to flare in her chest with agitation at his words.
"Well, with that settled—," Dumbledore said.
Hardly, Ava seethed internally. She was willing to bet he would dismiss every single one of her concerns until she agreed to his directive. It most certainly had not been a simple request.
"—I'd like to address any hesitance you may have surrounding your capabilities, Miss McGonagall. I only intend for you to participate in some reconnaissance missions, nothing more. But even if some trouble were to occur, I believe you could hold your own very well. Especially with your elemental magic."
Ava froze, not realizing Dumbledore was aware of that little feature in her arsenal of skills.
He gave her a small smile. "Dear child, did you really think I wouldn't know about that? It was the talk of the school the day everyone returned from Christmas break."
She sat back down in her seat, feeling small and rather stupid. She should've known better. Of course he would know. What else does he know? Did he know about Remus? Anything more than the fact that she and the werewolf were dating? C'mon Ava, this is Dumbledore. He isn't stupid. He probably realizes by now that you're mated to Remus. She took a breath, trying to keep her head. Maybe not though, no one's really an expert on werewolf relationships.
The Headmaster continued, "Not to mention, the display of your abilities just yesterday morning."
"What? What happened?" Moody asked gruffly, concern trickling into his voice. "Did someone go after you, Ava?"
She scoffed. Oh now he cares? But Ava didn't answer his questions, let alone look at the Auror. He's ready to feed me to the wolves as soon as Dumbledore says so. Moody must've known that any number of things could go wrong during Order missions, even if the goal was just reconnaissance.
Dumbledore excitedly recounted Ava's, mostly one-sided, duel with James, Sirius, and Peter, to Moody.
Ava had tuned out the Headmaster, mind racing with thoughts of her new role in the Order, but she listened once more when Dumbledore uttered phrases like "she's fairly advanced" and "magical prowess."
Her heart beat frantically. She was so worried about putting a target on her back for the Slytherins and Death Eaters, she hadn't thought to consider that Dumbledore would take interest in her little show outside the Charms classroom. This was exactly what she had tried to avoid by going to Professor McGonagall when she had first arrived here.
She bit her lip, not sure that there was anyway out of this. Especially not if Moody agreed with Dumbledore. Ava cast a glance at the Auror that she thought for sure would've had her back—would've made Dumbledore see sense and not send her out into a world with Death Eaters who'd be frothing at the mouth to bring someone like her to Voldemort if they knew who she really was.
Moody was staring at her intensely as Dumbledore finished telling him about the interaction outside of Charms and how impressed Professor Fell was with her. But he only stared at her. Nothing on his face gave any emotions or thoughts away. And Moody certainly didn't speak up, even once Dumbledore was done droning on.
Ava clenched her jaw and looked away from her mentor.
She had joined the Order and given the truth to Dumbledore with the intention of making a difference—of keeping the original time line from happening. So far, her plan seemed to be working. Would she risk everything going to shit just because she didn't like the idea of doing some little missions here and there? Ava dismissed the errant thought that the missions could always go wrong. It would definitely increase her chances of encountering true Death Eaters, not just the seventh-year wannabes, but Ava had no idea how Dumbledore would react if she tried to resist his command. What if he didn't let her be involved at all anymore? She'd be completely blind and wouldn't be able to influence anything for the better.
"Fine," she practically growled out at the Headmaster. "But I need you to do something for me."
He rose a brow.
"Have Order members positioned in the Ministry keep an ear out for anyone asking questions about me," she explained.
Both of the wizards looked at her in confusion.
"The Baby Death Eaters, they—" Ava started.
Moody let out a laugh that he tried to cover with a cough.
"—they saw my display of skills as well, you know. If one of them happens to mention off-hand to daddy dearest about the blood traitor who incapacitated three students before anyone had the chance to blink, I'd rather not find out too late that Voldemort has taken an interest in me."
Dumbledore looked solemn, appearing to take her words to heart. He nodded. "It will be taken care of."
"Thank you," she said. "Is that all? May I go now?"
"Of course," the Headmaster said. "Have a good night, Miss McGonagall."
She fled from his office, racing down the stairs. Fuck. This. Shit. Her chest was heaving with anxious breaths. I'm not ready. I'm not ready for this. Missions? Actual missions?! Around every corner there was just another pile of bullshit to deal with.
Ava was at the bottom of the stairs before she realized Moody was yelling her name. She ignored the Auror. He didn't stand up for her. She couldn't believe he didn't even try.
"Ava!" he repeated, sounding closer now.
She picked up speed, almost running down the corridor to the next set of stairs that would get her the hell out of this damn tower.
Moody grabbed her shoulder. "Ava, wait."
She ripped herself out of his grasp and spun around to face him. "Don't touch me," she snarled, some of her wolf rising to the surface.
A flicker of hurt flashed across Moody's face, but then his features hardened back into Head Auror mode. His tone was stern when he asked, "Will you follow Dumbledore's orders, or are we going to have a problem?"
Ava's heart cracked open. He had never been so harsh with her before. But of course, she was just another soldier in the war against Voldemort. She sneered. "No, sir. No problems here."
Ava turned her back on Moody and resumed her quick walk down the hallway, blood boiling. Is this the real Moody? The hard-ass Auror everyone worships? He's an asshole.
"Ava," he called, his quick footsteps drawing nearer as she descended the staircase. "Lass, please."
Her pace slowed, the trace amount of desperation in his voice causing a pang in her chest.
"I didn't know about Dumbledore's plans," Moody said from behind her.
She had looked up to the Auror, admired him even, and he just let the manipulative Headmaster walk all over her without a word.
Whipping around to face Moody with an accusing finger, she snapped at him, "I'm not even mad at him. He is what he is, and I knew that going into this, but you—"
Moody's brows shot up.
"—you let him," she said, glaring at the Auror. "You let him shove me into a corner. You didn't even stick up for me. But I'll do whatever needs to be done. You know this. I've worked hard, so hard." Her voice caught and she swallowed. "I took everything you threw at me and pushed through it because I know it's for the best, because I thought it'd make you proud—make me worth your time."
His eyes widened. "Lass—"
"Don't," she cut him off and lowered her voice to a whisper, "I had thought that, at least, you'd look out for my best interests, and you know it's incredibly dangerous to increase my chances of exposure to Death Eaters and Voldemort. But you just went along with Dumbledore's merry plan like it was just another day in the office."
"Dumbledore said it himself," Moody rushed to say, "any mission you'll be a part of will just be some minor recon, you won't be anywhere near all of that."
She shook her head. "You have no way of guaranteeing that, and you know it."
Moody was silent, his eyes seeming to search hers. But once again, his expression was hard, giving Ava the impression that Auror Moody was not to be swayed.
She ducked her head and whispered, "I trusted you," furiously blinking away the tears that gathered in her eyes. I have to get out of here. I will not cry in front of him. Not over this. Ava took a breath, hoping her voice wouldn't crack.
"I'll report for duty, sir. Just owl me the details," she said in a clipped tone, unable to look Moody in the eyes. This time when she walked away from the Auror, he didn't call out.
Clenching her fists, Ava stormed down the corridor. Her emotions were running rampant, cycling through anger, hurt, fear, and even guilt. As much as she blamed Moody for allowing Dumbledore to manipulate them both, she couldn't deny that this whole fucked up situation was partly her fault.
You wanted to help, didn't you? Well, you got what you wanted. Deal with it, she thought, briskly descending the Grand Staircase. But her heart ached with the knowledge that Moody didn't even try to talk the Headmaster out of this plan. Suck it up, Avalynn. Moody isn't here to coddle you.
"Ain't that the truth," she muttered aloud, hovering on a landing.
To her left was the hallway that lead to her quarters and it was nearly curfew. Her fingers were itching for her Blackthorn wand, and her magic was swirling in a rage, beyond ready to destroy something.
Fuck it. Ava Disillusioned herself and pivoted on her heel, sprinting up the stairs—her destination the Room of Requirement.