Disclaimer: I don't HP, I only own Evan and Iris Potter.
AN: I've made some edits to the last chapter of FSSC, to fix some mistakes. Nothing major, but I've made it so Sirius and Dumbledore aren't sure what the diary is, but know it's definitely key to Voldie's survival, as otherwise Sirius' team would probably have found all the horcruxes by Aludra's 6th year (I'm being generous with my estimates, seeing as 3 17-year-olds with zero resources found them all in less than a year, I can't imagine a fully-equipped/trained Auror team specializing in Voldemort wouldn't find them even quicker).
Read, enjoy and review!
Published 21-2-2024
Chapter Sixteen
Hagrid's Heritage
A few days after the Yule Ball, Aludra told George (now her boyfriend), Fred, Susan, Evan and Neville about the clue.
"Do you think they're going to take a person?" Neville wondered gravely.
"Granddad would never let anyone be hurt!" Aludra protested immediately.
"But even if you knew they were safe, you'd still do everything in your power to get them back safely as soon as possible, wouldn't you?" Susan pointed out reasonably, which Aludra was forced to acknowledge as the truth. "The question is, who would they take?"
"Probably George," Evan stated after a moment of silence as they looked at each other with unhappy frowns. "He's your boyfriend, after all."
"It does seem the most likely possibility," Susan agreed.
Aludra bit her lip, tightening her grip on George's hand. He stroked the back of her hand comfortingly, giving her a smile that made her smile back automatically.
Fred scowled, taking the whole thing very seriously (despite what Molly Weasley would accuse her twins of, they were very capable of putting humour aside when necessary). "Are you sure that whoever they take will be safe?" He asked suspiciously, giving a protective glance at his younger-by-four-minutes brother. "The poem did say-"
"Granddad would never agree to something that put innocent people in harm's way," Aludra declared uncompromisingly. "The-hostages, I suppose-didn't agree to take part in this. They'll be safe. And I'll get George back safely and quickly. I promise, Fred."
He softened and tilted his head in acceptance. "Alright," he sighed. "So the question is, how are you going to breathe under water for an hour and defend yourself from any angry fishes?"
"You could always use Gillyweed," Neville suggested after a moment's thought by them all. "The only thing is, there's a theory that the type of water affects how long the effects lasts, and there's no study."
"Then it's best not to risk it," Aludra frowned. "Thanks for the suggestion, though. Maybe the Bubble-head Charm would work? But I just don't think I'll get the hang of silent casting in time. I've been trying and while I might be able to get one or two spells, it's just too complicated to manage more than that, and you can't speak properly when using the Charm. It muddles the words."
George suddenly hit the armrest of his chair in a eureka moment. "I've got it!" He exclaimed. "You can build a boat or raft from magic using the wood of the platform the Champions dive off of, then you sail to the area above the Mermish village, use the Bubble-head Charm and dive down. It's perfect!"
"It is perfect, especially if I practice beforehand so I know where the village is and how long everything will take me," Aludra agreed in delight. She rewarded her boyfriend's creativity with a kiss that had Evan groaning.
"Ugh, Ally you're like my sister!" He complained. "Do you have to kiss George in front of me?"
Aludra forced herself to fake a smirk and a wink at him, covering up the distress she felt at his casual words, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that George had noticed something. She quickly focused the subject on the Second Task to distract him, and herself, from the effects of Evan's declaration.
Aludra was horrified the first day of term when she opened the Daily Prophet to find the front page. Evan and Iris had reported the conversation they'd overheard between Hagrid and Madame Maxime during the Yule Ball, but they had all agreed that it didn't matter. Hagrid was still Hagrid, after all.
But this...this could ruin her old friend.
"Ally? What is it?" Evan asked. Quietly, Aludra showed them the Prophet, and they gasped in dismay.
DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE
Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly, when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.
Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the Headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.
An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons which many admit to be 'very frightening'.
"He's been bullying us from the start," says Draco Malfoy, fourth year Slytherin student. "And he terrifies everyone with the beasts he brings in, like that mad Hippogriff last year. It nearly attacked me!"
As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not – as he has always pretended – a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring among themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle-killings of his reign of terror.
While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.
In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought about You-Know-Who's fall from power – thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Evan Potter and his close friend, Triwixen Champion Aludra Black, the Headmaster's magical-granddaughter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Evan Potter, Aludra Black and their fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.
"How?" Neville exclaimed. "Hagrid isn't the best at keeping secrets, but even he would know better than to talk about this to Rita Skeeter of all people!"
"Unless he didn't know," Susan said darkly. "I bet she was under a Disillusionment Charm, or something. Rotten old hag."
"And what's this nonsense about Malfoy almost being attack by a Hippogriff?" Evan demanded indignantly. "Sure Buckbeak didn't bow back to him, but he was fine because Hagrid dragged him out of the way!"
That had been near the end of last year, when they were introduced to Hippogriffs. Each of them were shown how to bow respectfully, but those who weren't given a return bow (mostly Malfoy and his followers) were quickly ushered away by Hagrid before the animals could lash out.
"And saying that Hagrid of all people is a bully," Susan scoffed in disgust. "Oh, I'm so sick of Draco bloody Malfoy."
"Come on," Aludra, who had been silently seething in rage, ordered as she made a decision about what to do with her cousin. She shoved her copy of the newspaper into the bag and swung it over her shoulder. "We've got COMC first. We can talk to Hagrid there."
Hagrid wasn't in class. Instead a grey-haired woman, Professor Grubbly-Plank, who Aludra knew was a famous Magi-zoologist, was there instead.
Malfoy and his cronies were laughing smugly in the corner, and Aludra stormed over to them, shoving Parkinson out of the way to glare viciously at her cousin. He was a head taller than her, but she let her magic out and he stopped laughing, his smirk vanishing and a glint of fear sparking to life in his cold grey eyes when she lashed out at him with the Black Family Magic, reminding him just who he was messing with.
"What is wrong with you, that you take satisfaction in others' pain?" Aludra spat him, disgust and contempt coating her words. "You're pathetic! An embarrassment to the Black name!"
"I'm a more deserving Heir to the Black Family than you'll ever be!" Malfoy exclaimed, flushing a dull red.
Aludra spat at him. "Blacks don't strut around, calling on their daddies to save them from detentions!" She cried angrily. "They don't go around with their noses in the air, pretending to be better than others! They don't need to. A Black knows their worth, their power.
You're a Malfoy, a member of a family too young to be called 'Ancient' and meaning bad faith of all things. You're the scion of a disgraced Black daughter who had sex out of wedlock and a merchant who was willing to accept her disgrace so long as he got a link to the most powerful family in Britain!
Don't ever forget that, Malfoy. Let this be a reminder to you. Per Familiam Nigram Magia, tibi mando!" Her braided hair began to swing in non-existent wind and her eyes glowed with power as the Black Family Magic chained him to her following words. "You will send a letter admitting your lies to the Daily Prophet and other than that, you will have no communication with Rita Skeeter or any other reporter, and if you see her on the grounds in violation of the Headmaster's decree, you will inform the nearest teacher, is that understood?"
He broke quickly, casting his eyes to the ground, his shoulders tight with rage. But he wouldn't dare touch her. The Family Magic would kill him, violently, if he lost his mind and tried.
"I understand," he spat out, loathing spewing from his grey eyes.
She turned away, smirking coldly as his followers stumbled out of the way in fear. That would show them not to mess with the people she cared about.
"What is going on here?" Professor Grubbly-Plank demanded indignantly.
Aludra smiled at her calmly, reigning the vicious Magic back into herself. It was only since Phineas Nigellus that the Blacks had become Dark blood purists. Before that, and now once again, they were known for their fierce, all-consuming love for those they cared for, and the lengths they would go to protect them. The Magic felt her pain on Hagrid's behalf and reacted to it, leaving her Heir ring hot on her finger.
"Family Business, Professor," Aludra replied coolly. "Our apologies for interrupting the lesson. Draco? Don't you want to apologize to the Professor for our little scene?" She edged her tone with a warning, and saw him swallow, mumbling an apology.
She stormed over to her friends, still seething in anger beneath her calm veneer, as Grubbly-Plank continued the lesson on unicorns.
When the school week passed without any sign of Hagrid returning, Aludra and her friends decided to go down to get him out of his hut where he seemed to be hiding on Friday, the day before the Hogsmeade visit which Aludra was to attend with George.
They hammered on the door furiously, yelling to Hagrid that they didn't care about his heritage and demanding he let them in for what seemed like hours, until it finally opened.
"Granddad!" Aludra exclaimed in surprise at the sight of her smiling grandfather in place of her half-giant friend. "What are you doing here?"
"The same as you, I believe, my dear," he replied cheerfully. "I am attempting to convince Hagrid to return to work. Please, come in."
They went in, finding Hagrid slumped at his rickety wooden table, looking bleak. "'Lo," he said glumly. "What're you lot doin' 'ere?"
"We've come to get you out of here, Hagrid!" Susan declared. "You mustn't let Skeeter win! She's a rotten crone, eager to ruin people's lives for the sake of a story!"
"Nobody cares you're half-giant," Neville added earnestly, and it was (mostly) true. Most people had been indifferent after a stern talking to by Aludra, and everybody else was keeping their mouths shut after she'd shown herself willing to use Family Magic on Malfoy. Family Magic was serious business. If Aludra could use that in Hagrid's defence (and so easily, without even a nosebleed, the mildest reaction most people had to the use of Family Magic), nobody wanted to see what else she would do.
Although in hindsight Aludra felt a tiny bit guilty about giving Malfoy a Familial Magical Order, basically removing his ability to communicate with reporters completely unless she, Sirius or Emma reversed it, she was mostly pleased about it. He had pushed her too far, and Aludra was too stressed to deal with his petty tantrums this year.
Malfoy had pushed her temper to the limit. It was time he remembered who Heiress Black was, and learned to hold his rotten little tongue, before he did something that forced Sirius to remove his ability to tap into the pool of Family Magic from which so much of his strength came entirely, rendering him nearly a Squib. Actually, that was a very attractive thought. Only the Head of the Family could cut someone off from the Magic and Sirius wasn't likely to do so to a teenager just because he was a purist bully, but Aludra could dream.
"More tea, I think," Granddad stated decisively, closing the door behind the foursome, drawing out his wand and twiddling it; a revolving tea-tray appeared in mid-air, along with a plate of cakes. Granddad magicked the tray onto the table, and everybody sat down. There was a slight pause, and then Granddad said gently, "Did you by any chance hear what the children were shouting, Hagrid? Aludra, Susan, Neville and Evan still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door.'
"Of course we still want to know you!" Evan exclaimed, staring at Hagrid. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow – sorry, Professor," he added quickly, looking at Granddad.
"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Evan," said Granddad, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling.
"Er – right," Evan agreed sheepishly. "I just meant – Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that – woman – wrote about you?"
Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and fell slowly into his tangled beard.
"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," said Granddad, still looking carefully up at the ceiling. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that, if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it –"
"Not all of 'em," Hagrid interrupted him hoarsely. "Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."
"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," Granddad answered briskly, now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed, since I became Headmaster of this school, when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"
"Yeh – yeh're not half-giant!" said Hagrid croakily.
"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!" Aludra pointed out stubbornly. "Look at the Lestranges and the Malfoys! If Daddy and I were judged by them, we'd both be rotting in Azkaban right now!"'
"An excellent point," Professor Dumbledore agreed. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practising inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery …"
"Granddad!" Aludra hissed at him. She didn't want to think of Great-Uncle Aberforth's predilections, and the last part had been uncharacteristically mean of her grandfather.
Of course, Granddad had told her when she was younger that he and Aberforth had been on bad terms since the death of their younger sister, Ariana, so she wasn't too surprised at it, though she didn't know the details.
"Ahem, anyway," Granddad said quickly. "The point of the matter is-"
"Come back and teach, Hagrid," Susan asked softly, "please come back, we really miss you."
"We do," Aludra added earnestly. "Look!" She presented him with her trump card, a petition from every COMC student save the blood purists, requesting Hagrid come back and teach. Professor Grubbly-Plank was nice enough, but Hagrid was passionate and made every lesson enjoyable. The students wanted him back.
Hagrid gulped, his bottom lip trembling as he read the long list of students who wanted him to come back. More tears leaked out down his cheeks and into his tangled beard. Granddad stood up.
"Well, I believe that says everything, doesn't it?" Granddad smiled approvingly at Aludra before turning to Hagrid. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday," he stated firmly. "You will join me for breakfast at eight thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."
Granddad left the cabin, pausing only to scratch Fang's ears. When the door had shut behind him, Hagrid began to sob into his dustbin-lid-sized hands. Aludra and Susan kept patting his arms, and at last Hagrid looked up, his eyes very red indeed, and said, "Great man, Dumbledore … great man …"
"Yes he is," Aludra said proudly. Despite the knowledge that he hadn't intended to adopt her as his granddaughter, she was proud to be the descendant of Albus Dumbledore, more because he was a good, wise and kind man than because of his power and famous defeat of Grindelwald.
"Aye, he is," Hagrid agreed again, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "Ar, he's righ', o' course – yeh're all righ' … I bin stupid … my ol' dad woulda bin ashamed o' the way I've bin behavin' …' More tears leaked out, but he wiped them away more forcefully, and said, "Never shown you a picture of my old dad, have I? Here …"
Hagrid got up, went over to his dresser, opened a drawer and pulled out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was a good seven or eight feet tall, judging by the apple tree beside him, but his face was beardless, young, round and smooth – he looked hardly older than eleven.
"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," said Hagrid, croakily. "Dad was dead chuffed … thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum … well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really … but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year …
Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job … trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances … tha's what sets him apar' from other Heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out OK even if their families weren' … well … all tha' respectable.
But some don' understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh … there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say – I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. "Never be ashamed," my ol' dad used ter say, "there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with." An' he was right. I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones … I'll give her big bones."
The next day found Aludra and her friends, along with the twins and Angelina, heading down to Hogsmeade.
"Hey, is that your parents, guys?" Evan said suddenly.
Aludra followed his finger and stopped suddenly along with Neville and Susan, biting the inside of her cheek. They exchanged nervous looks, silently communicating with each other 'we're in big trouble'.
Her father, uncle, Neville's mother and Susan's aunt were all striding up the grounds, their long strides quickly eating up the ground between them and the group of teenagers. They were all looking thunderous with anger and Aludra quickly released George's hand, interlacing her hands tightly to keep from wringing them. No need to make things any worse.
"Uh, hi Mum," Neville said in a slightly high-pitched voice. "Hey, Uncle Sirius, Remus. Aunt Mia."
"Hello Neville," Aunt Alice answered, voice sharp. "Nice to see you're doing alright, given your father, grandmother and I haven't heard anything from you in weeks beyond a note saying you're staying at Hogwarts."
Neville looked down at the ground. Susan was avoiding her aunt's stony gaze, and Aludra was suddenly fascinated by a daisy peeking out of the melting snow. She could feel the bemused gazes of her boyfriend and the others, but didn't dare meet their eyes. They hadn't told them their suspicions, and she wasn't looking forward to explaining what this was all about, either, though she knew it was inevitable now.
"Excuse us, boys, Miss Johnson," her father said curtly, taking a firm grip of her shoulder. "We need to speak to our children right now. They can meet you at the Three Broomsticks afterwards."
"Uhm, okay," Evan said unsurely.
Aludra shot George a wan smile seeing her boyfriend looking at her in confused concern as she was marched to her doom.
Their group headed to the pub in silence. They said nothing until Sirius spoke to Madam Rosmerta, requesting they be taken to a private room he had organized.
Once there, the three friends were pushed into chairs seated side by side and their guardians lined up in front of them, all of them with arms crossed and stony faces.
"Well, Aludra Scarlet?" Her father finally broke the silence. "Do you have any explanation for why you haven't contacted me since November, save for one single line note saying you weren't coming home after all, despite what we'd agreed? And this while someone's out to kill you!"
"What were you all thinking?" Aunt Alice, usually the gentlest and most level-headed person in the extended family, demanded furiously. "Of all the foolishness!"
"Have you any idea how worried we've been?" Aunt Mia added, voice cold with anger. "Not a single word from any of you, for weeks!"
"I just- we didn't see any other option," Aludra defended herself weakly. Her father had never been so angry with her before. "We were going over the evidence and- well, you've always said that there's no such thing as the perfect crime so we thought-"
"Thought what, Aludra?" Her father said exasperatedly.
"You thought there's a spy on the team," Remus, who had been quiet up until now, finished off in understanding.
The three fourteen-year-olds nodded silently.
The other three adults deflated immediately.
"Susan, Ally, Neville, do you think that possibility hadn't occurred to us as well?" Aunt Mia said in a gentler tone. "We tested the members of the team weeks ago. Annabelle has been discreetly checking upper-level Ministerial workers ever since we cleared the team. We just have to be slow and discreet so nobody catches on."
"But Auntie, nobody from the Ministry has been at Hogwarts lately!" Susan objected. "Except for Bagman and Percy, of course."
"Percy?" Aunt Alice repeated in bemusement. "Percy Weasley? What's he doing at Hogwarts?"
"Mr Crouch is still sick, apparently, and Percy's been running the department," Aludra explained. The four adults looked at one another, expressions turning suspicious.
"Have we cleared Crouch yet?" Sirius asked Amelia, who shook her head.
"No, he's never there to be checked," she replied.
"But Crouch is the biggest Dark-hater in the Ministry!" Aludra objected. "And why would he want me dead, anyway? We don't associate with the Crouchs, and he's too far distant to be vying for the Heirship." Charis Crouch, Barty Crouch's mother, had been a Black, cousin to Sirius' grandfather. Several dozen people would have to die for Barty to become Head of House Black, but Aludra couldn't think of any other reason he'd target her. They'd barely met when she visited the Ministry to see her father or for the galas.
"But he could be under the Imperius Curse," Sirius mused. "And if he's fighting it, that would explain why he hasn't been at work. His controller wouldn't want to risk tipping anybody off that's something's wrong."
"He's got no family left, nobody close to ask awkward questions," Aunt Alice mused. "He'd be the perfect candidate to go after, especially with his security clearance as a Departmental Head."
"Have Annabelle check him out," Aunt Mia ordered Sirius, who nodded.
They turned back to the teenagers.
"Now that we've cleared that up, I trust there'll be no more 'forgetting' to answer our letters and my mirror calls?" Sirius said sternly.
The teens nodded hastily, and the adults relaxed.
"Good," Aunt Alice said. "We'll let you lot go and enjoy the rest of the day, but I expect an extra-long letter from you to each of us, explaining what's been going on lately. I especially want to hear about the Yule Ball."
"And while we're answering questions, I have one," Sirius said, his face going stern again. "Why was George Weasley holding your hand earlier, Aludra?"
Aludra suddenly wished she had Evan's Invisibility Cloak to escape. Nothing good came of Sirius wearing that look.