Chapter 4 - Little Cyprian Girl
Lizzie and Annie decided to drive to London to see Dudley's family. Annie was excited that her cousin, Alyssa, would be soon be attending school with her and hoped they would be in the same house. When Lizzie parked on the street and looked up at the house, she felt a twinge of trepidation. Janine saw them pull up and got to the door to greet them before they could knock.
"Oh, good. So good to see you, come in," she said shakily. She looked a little flustered and glanced nervously around the corner at Dudley, who was in the kitchen. Lizzie smelled brandy and thought it was early for him to be drinking.
Dudley entered the living room and immediately gave Lizzie and Annie tight hugs. "Good to see you, you need anything? Coffee?" He asked.
"Yes, coffee would be great, thanks," Lizzie said.
"Same," Annie said. "Thank you." Dudley gestured to Janine who headed to the kitchen to make it. He might not have completely taken after his dad, but he still must command obedience the way she automatically abided.
"My coffee tastes like ass," he said when he watched Lizzie's eyes follow Janine into the kitchen.
"Men... deliberately bad at things they can't be bothered with," Lizzie chucked to lighten the air.
"Strategy as old as time," he said with a smirk. "How are you? Annie, you've grown like five inches, at least," he said. She smiled.
"Where's Alyssa?" Lizzie asked. He looked upstairs.
"Ally! Ivy! Aunt Lizzie is here with Annie," he yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Ivy came down first and waved a little lazily at Lizzie. She was fifteen, the same age her mother had her.
"Am I chopped liver, suddenly?" Lizzie asked. Ivy smirked and caved to give her a hug.
"How's school?"
"Good, I'm prepping for Oxford," she said.
"That's because you're insanely smart. Good luck," Lizzie said with sparkling eyes. She could see the disappointment that her sister would be the adventurous one who goes to Hogwarts. Alyssa bounced down the stairs next.
"Sorry! Was in the loo, hi!" She yelled and rushed to give Lizzie and Annie bone crushing hugs.
"Congrats, sweetie, your dad told me the news. I teach there, and Annie starts this year, so we'll see you all the time," Lizzie said. Dudley gestured to the living room and they sat down as Janine set out coffee. The girls sat next to each other and caught up with some gossip. Ivy kept a distance and seemed to be preoccupied with the window.
"So, Lizzie we wanted to ask you something," Janine said a little timidly, she was eying Dudley warily and seemed cautious about what she was going to say.
"With Ally starting at Hogwarts, we really don't know much of anything about it. Maybe she should stay with you the week or two before term starts, to get an idea of everything, your godson has already started hasn't he?" She asked.
"Teddy, yes, he started last year. Ally is always welcome," Lizzie said.
"By extension..." Janine said. Dudley gave her a bit of a dark look. "We wanted to know if you would be Ally's godmother..." she said. Lizzie looked between them and could tell her cousin had mixed feelings. She understood why, he knew she'd killed his father and guilt over the way they treated her was his mother's ultimate demise.
"I would be honored, if that's what you both want," Lizzie said. "But, I'll always have the girls best interests at heart either way, I hope you know that," Lizzie said. She looked at Allyssa and smiled. Allyssa had auburn hair with green eyes similar to hers and Annie's. The witches in this family, all of those who decended from the first girl Riddle killed, had the same eyes. Lizzie saw a lot of herself in Allyssa and was grateful to Dudley for not hurting his girls the way his dad had hurt her, or the way the church dismissed them as disposible. They'd steered clear of the church to avoid being found by Janine's husband, Dennis.
"Yes, I think it's appropriate considering," Dudley said through some conflicting thoughts behind his eyes. He tried to soften his face around Lizzie because he knew his resemblance to Vernon was triggering.
"Stay for lunch, I'm making a strawberry salad, sandwiches, and some sangria," Janine said happily.
They stayed and chatted. Lizzie told them what they needed to know about the world their daughter was entering.
"Oh! Honey, I almost forgot!" Lizzie said, and pulled out a small box to give her.
"I missed your birthday - our birthday, last week, I got this for you..." she said. Ally opened the box and smiled down at a necklace with an opal shaped like a bird. "I always wanted to be a bird... and Hogwarts sort of granted that wish... Happy Birthday," Lizzie added. Annie put it on and obviously really liked it.
"Listen, next Saturday I'm going to Diagon Alley with Teddy and Annie to get their school things, why don't I come get Ally and I can take her with. I will happily foot the cost of the supplies for her. She can come stay with us after and if you want to meet us at Kings Cross on the first to see her off...?" Lizzie offered. Janine nodded, happily accepting.
"I work in London, if you want to pick Ally up from my coffee shop, her and Ivy usually work there with me on Saturdays to make some extra money... but do let us repay you..." Janine said.
"No, I have a lot of wizard money, inherited a fortune from my father and godfather, and made one after my books were published. You let me stay here when I needed help, I can get Ally whatever she needs, it's no burden. Never a burden," Lizzie said.
"It's a plan then. We will see you all soon!" Janine said. Dudley gave them hugs farewell and the girls went back upstairs to their rooms. Janine closed the door and looked back at Dudley who was looking extremely conflicted. Janine reached for him and he turned away.
"Dudley..." she pled.
"Jenny, stop," he said and pushed open the kitchen door a little harshly. "I didn't want to make her godmother, I told you that," he said.
"It makes sense, though. Why wouldn't it make sense?" Janine asked.
"You didn't get my say so," he said assertively, pointing a finger at her face with a threatening sort of gesture.
"Why are you against this?" Janine asked.
"She killed my dad, Jenny!" He hissed.
"But after what he did to her - " she stammered.
"You think she killed him in self defense? He was on a ventilator, he was tortured because of her, by her kind, she sought him out and poisoned him when he was the most vulnerable and couldn't fight back. We didn't get to say goodbye to him because she killed him for her satisfaction," he ranted.
"Dudley, he tortured her... you know that - you were there... how could you not... if he was alive and around our girls..." she argued.
"I KNOW!" He shouted. "You don't think I live with that guilt? My mum bloody couldn't! Lizzie attracts death, Lizzie is death, my cousin is a bloody omen!" He was getting anxious and angry.
"No... you're focusing on the worst point of her life, she's a mother, she's raised three kids, Annie is a sweetheart, her husband is a good man. She's a teacher, she's free of that! She's recovered and moved on. She knows how to protect them, let her protect our daughter, if anybody would be willing to throw themselves in harms way - it's her, you know that and you're letting the past get the better of you. Your dad deserved to die. If I could do that to Dennis, I would! Lizzie deserved to kill him. Your mum should have done more to protect her and not just you!" Janine ranted. Dudley's eyes went mean and he grabbed her face with some hostility.
"I've given you a lot of freedom. I've been good to you. Do not talk to me like this," he growled and let go.
"Or what? You'll send me back to my husband? You think I don't know I'm on a leash, you might have made it longer than most Cyprian men, but it's still a leash, isn't it?" She snapped reproachfully. Dudley slapped her before he could stop himself and it seemed to flip an off-switch on his hostility.
"Jen - Jenny honey, I'm sorry," he said as quickly and as softly as possible. She pushed him away and left the room before he saw her tears. Dudley downed another glass of brandy with a fast swig and gripped the counter.
Lizzie, Annie, and Teddy embarked back to London the following Saturday to pick up Allyssa from the coffee shop Janine worked at. She'd finished both high school and business school in the years since she left Dennis, and ran the place mostly on her own with investment funding from Dudley's corporate publishing job.
Ally pulled off the apron when she saw Lizzie and hurried over excitedly. "Rule number one about Lizzie, Ally, make her some coffee before you start talking," Ivy said. Lizzie belly laughed.
"I'm good, but wouldn't protest a latte," she said. Ivy started the espresso machine. "I can't tell you how many times I wanted to run away and work at coffee shop in London before the Hogwarts letter came," she said to the kids, loving the smell of the place.
"You ready to rock and roll?" Lizzie asked.
"Come back before you leave! I have her luggage packed in the back, I just want to see you before you head off, ok?" Janine asked, and gave her daughter a hug. Ally kissed Ivy on the cheek and squeezed her hand. Lizzie noticed some tension between the sisters as they left.
Upon entering the Łeaky Cauldron, Tom perked up and offered butterbeer, which was declined since the kids wanted to get to shopping sooner rather than later. They entered through the brick wall in the back and it took some pinching to break Allyssa from the shock of it. They went to the bank first and Lizzie pulled out enough for each of them to buy supplies and have some extra money on them for the start of term. It was obvious Ally was feeling overwhelmed, so they stopped at Madam Malkins first, Lizzie felt clothes shopping would be the most benign to start with.
Teddy knew the drill and didn't have much to buy. He needed new trousers because he grew a couple of inches. His robes were still in good shape and there was nobody to otherwise hand them to this year. Annie and Ally followed Madam Malkin to be fitted. Lizzie stopped abruptly at the sight of Pansy Parkinson, Now Pansy Zabini, fussing and being an absolute bitch to Malkin's helper about her daughter's robes. "Oh bloody fucking hell," Lizzie muttered to herself.
Pansy noticed Lizzie and smirked wickedly. "Well, Azalea," she said.
"Pleasure, Parkinson," Lizzie groaned.
"That's not my -" Pansy started to say.
"Yeah, I know, I just forgot who you slept with, I wasn't there that year, remember? Did the Carrows really not care what the Slytherines did at all or were they encouraging pure blood breeding ahead of graduation?" Lizzie asked with the kids now out of earshot.
"Zabini, and I hear you're teaching there. I find it fitting that old saying, those who can't do..." she retorted.
"Teach? I've done plenty, Pansy, thank you. What's your daughter's name?" She asked.
"Zoey, if I hear one complaint about you -" she said coldly.
"Me what? My teaching? Who are you going to report to, McGonagall? Good luck, we'll laugh about it over biscuits. The governors? They're scared of me, have at it. But rest assured, I don't discriminate on blood," Lizzie said threateningly and leaned in. "But as you know I can be extremely petty when someone is a bitch, I hope you didn't rub off too much on your daughter," she said quietly and Pansy scowled.
In the dressing area Madam Malkin was taking measurements of Allyssa. "Are you Azalea Potter's daughter?" Zoey asked.
"Her... goddaughter, she's technically my first cousin, but more like an aunt. Annie is her daughter," Ally said. Zoey looked Annie over with intensity. "You'd think a Weasley would have red hair," she said sarcastically.
"You're the one that was born after the battle..." Zoey said. "Interesting."
"Why is that interesting? I'm a Potter," Annie asked. Zoey shrugged and giggled, but her eyes were mean. Ally and Annie looked between one another warily.
"You're a Weasley then, surely?" She asked Ally.
"N-no... my dad is Lizzie's cousin..." she said.
"Azalea Potter doesn't have blood family - unless you're..." she stopped and laughed condescendingly.
"The muggle family, you're muggleborn," she said.
"Watch it," Annie growled reproachfully at Zoey, and shook her head at Ally not to say anything or look confused, it would only make it worse.
"Your mum looks like she hates her mum," Ally whispered to Annie, looking over her shoulder back at Lizzie and Pansy.
Teddy asked for a broom and insisted they visit the shop. "You can take Charlie's," Lizzie said. He had picked up a brilliant new Cleansweep and gave her an enticing look that was hard not to fall for.
"Make it on the team and I'll send you one," Lizzie offered.
"No, Liz, I'm going to buy it. Hence why I spent next to nothing on clothes," he insisted.
"As you wish..." Lizzie said and smirked at him.
"We fly on brooms, there's four balls," Annie was explaining quidditch to Alyssa in rapid English because, like Lizzie, she absolutely loved to fly. "...I'll show you! Teddy plays too, he's going to try out this year. My dad and Lizzie were champs at school, both record seekers for Gryffindor. My uncle George played, and his wife Angelina and my aunt Ginny play for the leagues, they just won the world cup. Quidditch blood in the Potter Weasley line. We bleed the sport," she rambled on excitedly.
Passing the pet emporium, Annie streaked across at a section full of kittens. Lizzie followed her and her heart panged a little for a long lost friend they reminded her of.
"Can I have a cat? As a pet for school?" She asked with a pouted lip.
"If you buy it and take good care of it," Lizzie said. Annie dug in her pouch for money and picked out a tabbykitten. Lizzie gaped and her heart sank. At least it didn't look like Nicks, she didn't protest.
"What are you naming her?" Ally asked.
"Stephanie, Stevie for short," Annie said. "Like Stevie Nicks, mum, get it?" She smiled. Lizzie smiled back and it felt like she was reliving something both wonderful and painful all at once.
"Ally, you should consider an owl, they're really handy, the school ones are shit for brains. We use them to send mail. Having your own, you don't need to pay postage..." she explained. "They live for 25 plus years. I still have my Hedwig, got her on my birthday when I was your age. I'll buy, don't tap into your money, birthday gift..." Ally nodded and picked out a gorgeous tawny owl.
"Liz, come here," Teddy said, waving her over. She stopped at the crate he was looking at and stared.
"Cute, isn't he?" Teddy said. Lizzie reached forward to touch a very scraggly black puppy. The eyes were uncanny.
"Padfoot, what do you reckon? Can I get him for dad?" He asked. Lizzie's eyes were watering.
"Yeah, let's get him," she said.
They made their way through the apothecary and Flourish and Blotts where Ally fell fascinated with the books Lizzie had written following the war. She scanned through them intently, floored by the gravity of it all. "You're not going to be able to learn everything in a day... try not to get too overwhelmed..." Lizzie said reassuringly.
"I'll buy a set of Lockhart books for you guys to share, proceeds now go straight to St. Mungos Hospital. Teddy's dad, Remus, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, likes to assign them as extra credit if you can write an essay on which witch or wizard actually did the things he boasts of... the guy was an asshat and an idiot, they're a fun read," Lizzie explained.
Ally picked up a death omens book and frowned at the cover before flipping through. "Oh, honey, don't with those. Trust me it's a maddening rabbit hole," Lizzie said when she noticed what she was looking at.
"Is my mum in there? Pretty sure she is a death omen," Annie said sarcastically, looking around Ally's shoulder.
"Shut it, Annie... Ally, what's the matter?" Lizzie asked. She was looking at a page that illustrated a phantom knock on a door.
"Nothing, I'm... nothing," she said. She glanced over at her owl, at the black dog Teddy had on a leash outside, then up at Lizzie who looked concerned. She caught the attention of a boy about Teddy's age who was staring fixedly between Lizzie, herself, and Annie. He didn't cast away his eyes when she caught his attention but gave a simple wave in her direction. It made her skin crawl for half a moment.
"You'll see death everywhere if you think about it too hard," Lizzie said. Ally nodded and set the book down before they ran through the list and purchased all of the required reading.
At Weasley Wizard Weezes, Lizzie caught up with George and Lee Jordan. They'd launched a new line of jaw glue bubble gum and quills that took the notes for you. "Interested in another investment, Lizzie-Liz," George said.
"If you promise to never test this stuff on your children..." she said, putting down a bottle of cavity crater creators.
"We are in planning phases of a new line of skincare products," Lee explained.
"Morphie," George said. "Polyjuice based, change whatever you like a la cart," he explained. "Effects are temporary."
"I'll think about giving you 1000 galleons, but you have to promise not to slip the kids stuff that's going to make my life hard, you know I have the patience level of a half eaten baby carrott," she said.
"No, ma'am," Lee agreed.
"We promise," George said. It wasn't convincing and she eyed them suspiciously.
"I'm going to find all kinds of stuff you gave them if I check the bags, aren't I?" Lizzie asked.
"On pretense of full disclosure to our loyal shareholder, yes, yes you will..." George admitted. Lizzie chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Last stop is the wand shop. Teddy, you can wander but don't run off, please. Meet us back here in twenty minutes," she saw him waving enthusiastically at his friend Ian and noticed the impulse to bolt in his direction.
"Yup! Be back in a few," he shouted as he bounced off with the dog.
Lizzie opened the door to Olivanders and saw him snoozing upright on his stool. She rang the bell lightly and coughed, he bolted awake. He was older now, more infirmed, but had continued to craft wands and would until he died no doubt in his shop one day.
"Ah, Lizzie..." he said hoarsely. He looked between the girls. "I thought you had one daughter, my dear," he said.
"Rhiannon is mine," Lizzie said, "Allyssa is my Goddaughter, my cousin's daughter," she added. He nodded and bowed slightly to them.
"Cousin on your mother's side, correct?" He asked as he scanned the shelves. "I'd imagine she has Lily's blood, as opposed to Potter Weasley blood," he said.
"Correct..." Lizzie said.
"Ten and a quarter, I think ash... with unicorn," he said to himself and handed Ally a wand. It was swishy but with a slight wave it made her body tense up and he quickly removed it. "No, alright, try Willow with unicorn," he said, handing her another. Her shoulders relaxed with this one, the core seemed to glow gold through the wood and Ally smiled. "That's the one," Olivander said and packaged it.
"Now, for you my dear, dragon heart string I'd think, like your father's, maybe Holly wood," he said and handed Annie a wand. She dropped it immediately, because it burned her hand, and she looked horrified. Olivander looked perplexed and apologized.
"Unicorn then, perhaps," but with a swish they heard a blood curdling scream deep in their ears. She tried every different wood combination, and each was met with broken glass. Lizzie stopped Olivander from retreating. "This is the hardest pairing I think I've ever encountered, some of the worst reactions to other wands too," he said quietly. This gave Lizzie pause and she drew her phoenix wand apprehensively. Olivander looked curious.
"Try mine, honey," Lizzie said. Not only did the room light up with blinding light, but the cast over sky outside cleared and the sun shone through the dusty window.
"Don't... say curious..." Lizzie whispered at Olivander and he kept his mouth closed.
"Well, I have two wands, you can have mine, obviously it's a match," Lizzie said casually, but her mind was racing some.
"You still have the elder wand? Does it fare well for you?" Olivander asked.
"Um, yes actually it's perfection, I just haven't cared to use it because of who..." she explained. Olivander nodded in understanding before she needed to finish her statement.
"I think your daughter will fare best with the Holly wand, Lizzie," he reassured. Lizzie nodded and smiled weakly.
"Thank you for your help, have a lovely day Mr. Olivander," Lizzie said as they left and the girls waved goodbye.
"Same to you," he said, but stared a little darkly at them as they met Teddy and retreated down the alley.
They stopped at the Leaky Cauldron for butterbeer before heading back to the coffee shop to get the rest of Ally's things. Lizzie packed up the car and they pulled up on the coffee shop to see a closed sign on the window. Janine ran out in a panic and Lizzie told the kids to stay in the car.
"Janine?" She asked, but she couldn't get words out between breaths.
"Ivy is gone," she vomited the words. Lizzie looked up and down the street anxiously.
"What?" She asked. Janine had fistfuls of her hair in her hands and was crying.
"She heard a knock on the back door I think, she said she was going to check to see if it was delivery. I was with customers for a while before I noticed she hadn't come back," she ranted feverishly.
"Ok, is there anywhere around here she would have gone?" Lizzie asked trying to think rationally. Ally got out of the car to console her mother and looked horror struck.
"No, I don't know. I've been up and down these blocks, I shut the store down," she said.
"Did you call authorities?" Lizzie asked. Janine shook her head.
"I can't, if it's discovered she's not Dudley's daughter... Ivy has been under the Evanston alias all her life," she said. "Dennis could get her."
"Ok, I um... I can get magical law enforcement involved and explain to them. We'll find her Janine, I promise... I'll go to the ministry now," she said.
"Take Ally, I have to go home and tell Dudley. She's safer with you..." Janine said breathlessly.
"Ok, Janine, look at me, we'll find her, I promise. Tell him I promise we'll find her," Lizzie said with Janine's face in her hands. She responded by crying desperately into her shoulder.
"He's going to blame you," she whispered into Lizzie's jacket. Her heart sank to her stomach.
"I know that," Lizzie said with her eyes welling in trepidation. Janine hugged her crying daughter as Allyssa washed over in shock and Lizzie helped her back to the car before getting in.
"Liz, are you ok?" Teddy asked, nervously. Annie had arms around Ally in the backseat. Lizzie looked in the rear view mirror at her goddaughter and something felt like it shattered behind her face. She pushed her forehead into the steering wheel and swallowed the urge to scream as to spare the kids more anxiety than they deserved.
"Ministry... we need to go to the ministry... you can take the floo network home and tell your dad and Charlie what happened," she said to Teddy, her intensity increasing with resolve. Ally had her eyes locked on the city in passing looking for any sign of her sister. Her skin trembled with apprehension and anxiety.
"It's Saturday," Teddy said.
"Ron usually works Saturdays, someone will be there, it's not like we can wait, muggle police aren't going to be able to help with this..." Lizzie reasoned.
"Allyssa, it'll be alright, sweetheart," Lizzie said, desperately hoping she could promise it.
"I think it's her dad," Ally said quietly. Lizzie looked back at her from the rear view. "She's 15," she whispered. Lizzie's hands shook on the wheel and she couldn't suppress an urge to scream any longer.