"That should do it," Mortem smiled at Lydia, "one disconnected life force."
"Thank you Lord Mortem," Lydia smiled slightly, "did you remove the trace as well?"
"Of course Mistress," Mortem swore, "I would never disobey an order from you."
"Bye then," Lydia hugged Mortem, "see you another time."
"I will never get over seeing you hug the personification of Death itself," Regulus's eyes were wide, "and this whole thing is so crazy."
"Same future Regulus," Andromeda shook her head, "I most definitely agree."
"You're taking this better than Benjy," Lydia laughed loudly, "he fainted on the spot when I told him."
"Honestly," Kingsley said, "fair."
"Speaking of Benjy," Sirius pointed out, "what are we going to tell him? We're faking Regulus's death, but storing him in your house?"
"I'm not an object," Regulus hisses, "you can't store me."
"Sorry," Sirius said, but really wasn't.
"I'll deal with it," Lydia brushed the two off, "but you're going to have to get used to Benjy. He's going to be your housemate after all. And I expect you to help me plan my wedding as well. It's really stressful, you know."
"Benjy!" Lydia jumped on her fiancee minutes later, "it's time for you to officially meet Regulus."
"What is going on, love?" Benjy pinches his nose, "is this another dumb prank of yours?"
"Ouch," Lydia faked a heart attack, "and from my own fiancee as well."
"As your fiancè," Benjy doesn't fall to her bait, "I know you better than that. So I'll repeat myself. What is going on?"
"He'll be good for you little heart," Fleamont whispers to his daughter, "help keep you on track."
"He will, won't he?" Lydia whispered softly. The toll of her life being displayed to the world was finally being taken. She wasn't a fool, despite what others liked to say. She was a scarily intelligent and capable witch, who simply lived in the moment. She possessed an excellent sense of humor, but far too often, to her regret, she found herself going too far. She couldn't help but show off, twirling her hair like a princess. She wasn't afraid to expose herself to the world. The only secrets she kept were those that didn't fully belong to her. Most people hide their crushes, afraid of rejection. She never did. People were just too dumb to connect the dots. Anyone who spent enough time with her knew she was smitten. She lived life in the moment, relishing in things like quidditch and dueling. The only issue was these were not fit for a mother. She failed her daughter. She left her alone to the mercy of her enemies. Enemies, had she been a little more thoughtful, that wouldn't have existed in the first place.
Sirius, knowing where his sister's thoughts probably were, squeezed her hand. "Never doubt your goodness," he tells her, "you've saved and cared for more people than the other way around."
"Regulus here has defected from the death eaters," Lydia gets straight to the point, "so we've faked his death. He'll be living with us now."
"Okay then," Benjy shrugged, "welcome Regulus. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Benjy Fenwick."
"Regulus Black," Regulus nodded, "although you were already aware."
"I have to get to work," Benjy kisses Lydia, "hurry up. Mad-Eye will kill me if you're late."
"I'm going to set Regulus up in the library," Lydia smiles, "and then I'll be right there."
"Seems they have a healthy dynamic," Pandora observes, "I'm happy. Lydia deserves to finally get what she's wanted for so long."
"Watch out Siri!" Lydia shouts, on a battlefield with Sirius. Lydia snaps her wand in the direction of Sirius's opponent, sending a powerful curse in his direction. 5 shards of ice formed, and went barreling into the death eater. The man collapsed on the floor, and Lydia sent the shards in the other direction, and straight into the remaining death eaters.
"Thanks Prongs," Sirius breathed in relief, "glad you have my back."
"Ms. Potter!" journalists flooded the area in Diagon Alley, "that was impressive!" "Can we have a word?!" "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"
"Poor Lydia," Sirius shakes his head, "they don't seem to be leaving her alone."
"No comment," Lydia smiled, although it was strained, "I have to go file mission reports, or Mad-Eye will burn me alive."
"I can't believe such an English rose would get so dirty and bloody!" a woman on the side remarked, "makes her more of a bloody rose." People in the crowd seem to be picking up on the idea, and the gears in the journalist's mind turn. Lydia sighs. This will not end well.
The scene shifts to her home, where Regulus and Sirius are pouring over some old maps and books. "'Lo," Lydia greeted, "anything new Regulus?"
"I've figured an important factor out," he pointed in a notebook, "I took some of that polyjuice you gave me, and pretended to be a journalist. I asked around Diagon Alley, and barely any information was given. I asked things like, "How do you think Gringotts defends itself?" or "Do you think Gringotts really has dragons?" The only piece of relevant information was from a diplomat looking person. He told me about something he heard called thief's downfall."
"I've heard mention of it before," Sirius said, "so Regulus and I have been looking. The best we've been able to figure out is that it can cancel all detectable magic."
"Interesting," Lydia pulled out a chair, "I think we should go for it next week."
"She is so casual about breaking into Gringotts," Euphemia clutched at her heart, "oh Monty, what have we done to deserve such a heart-attack inducing daughter?"
"Raise her to be like that," Fleamont shrugged, "we can't really complain. We were very similar as youngsters."
"You make a good point," Euphemia sighs, "this is how our parents must have felt."
"What?!" Sirius shouts, "we've only been planning for a week. We can't do it just yet!"
"Why not?" Lydia challenged, "we have it all figured out."
"She's not wrong," Regulus pulls out a long piece of parchment, "The first issue is how to find the right vault. That's solved easily with you and Lydia's sensitivity to spirits and souls. You'd be able to sense it from miles away. The second issue is getting in."
"Which is simple in itself," Lydia latches onto Regulus, "the cloak of death is undetectable, so it should keep me hidden. Sirius can turn into Padfoot, and hide under the cloak with me. Since Regulus is legally dead, we can dye his hair, get him some of those muggle contact eye changers Benjy told me about, and slap on a pair of glasses. Then he'll go in as a new vault opener."
"Step three would be knocking out our goblin," Regulus continued, "and using mobillicorpus to give the impression that he is still conscious and driving the cart. Then we get our goblin to open the vault, and take the horcrux out."
"Easy as pie," Lydia says, high-fiving Regulus. Regulus was a little shocked at the positive interaction, but smiled in response.
"Oh no," Euphemia gasped, "they're feeding off of each other!"
"Oh the chaos we'll cause!" Sirius grinned broadly, "Regulus, it seems I've misjudged you. You're much more like your older brother than I thought. We're going to have a blast."
"I know," Lydia piped up, "you'll fit into our dynamic perfectly. The Voldybusters aren't quite the same energy as the marauders, but it sill seems to be a lot of fun."
"I guess," Regulus had never received this amount of positive reinforcement, "then I'm excited for the future."
"Oh my Merlin," Sirius grins, "you two work so much better together than I thought you would. This Voldybuster thing may work out after all."
The scene switches to the invasion of Gringotts.
"I'm not sure I like this very much," Regulus tugs on his shirt, "this disguise is itchy."
"Shut up," Lydia hissed from under the cloak, dog Sirius on her back, "we can't blow this."
"Sorry," Regulus mumbles, before standing in the line.
"How can Gringotts help you today?" a stern-faced goblin growls out roughly.
"I'd like to open a vault," Regulus confidently proclaims, "I've just moved here from the countryside, and I'd like to get a job in the ministry of magic. I really hope they'll accept a homeschooled wizard, but I'm really worried that they won't."
The scene flashes to Lydia telling Regulus how to put his act on. "You need to talk a lot," she tells him. If you babble confidently, not nervously, then people won't take you as seriously. You need to make yourself as suspicionless as possible." The scene flashes back to Regulus.
"Excellent advice," Moody commented, "she'll do well in the auror force. I can see how she becomes one of the greatest of them all."
"Do you have your first deposit?" The goblin snarls impatiently.
"Yes," Regulus pulls out a bag that Lydia had given him earlier that day, "My Mum and dad gave me a lot of their savings. They really want me to succeed in life. That's why I can't mess this up. Here you go Mister."
"Then I'll take you to an empty vault," the goblin stood up abruptly, "and have a key minted for you. Please follow me to the carts." Regulus began following the goblin, but not before giving a subtle nod for Lydia to follow.
"How do these carts work?" Regulus asked in false curiosity, stalling to allow Lydia to secretly board the cart.
"We use levers," the goblin deadpanned, "and we have secret ways of locating the vaults."
"Wow!" Regulus deserved an award for his acting, "I hope I can do cool magic like that one day."
Lydia lifted her wand under the cloak, and dragged it in a 'z' shape. The goblin began falling asleep, and Regulus quickly grabbed onto the lever. Lydia cast a non-verbal moblicorpus, and began controlling the goblin like a puppet.
"They're really doing it!" someone in the crowd cheered, causing many to join her. Yes it was a normally looked down upon act, stealing that is. But no one had ever broken into Gringotts before. Therefore, many were intrigued. Also, it was for an extremely good cause, so many brushed aside the moral complications.
"I think it's working," Sirius shifts back, "also, I can feel the object's aura from here. It's really gross."
"It is," Lydia's skin begins paling, "and a natural disgust to anyone like Siri and I. Let's do this quickly." They guided themselves through Gringotts, slow and steady, based on Lydia's internal compass. They finally arrived at the Lestrange Vault.
"Bellatrix's vault?" Regulus gasped, "why did the dark Lord entrust 2 objects to daughters of House Black?"
"The Dark Lord gives me a piece of his soul?!" Bellatrix nearly faints, "isn't this excellent Rodo?!"
"It is my love," the Lestrange Heir agreed. He and his family were one of the Dark lOrd's few remaining supporters. Many had mentally deserted him upon finding out the horrors he performed to magic itself.
"I don't know," Sirius remarks, "but just consider yourself lucky that you're out now."
"Extremely lucky," Regulus agreed, "and thankful. I can't believe Lord Mortem was able to remove my mark as well."
"He's nice like that," Lydia dismissed, "now we need to figure out how to open this vault."
"When I went to the Black Vault," Sirius pointed out, "the goblin's had to put their hands on the door."
"You're right," Regulus said, "let's do this quickly."
They awakened the goblin, and Lydia placed a small confundus charm on the goblin. He let them in, before being put back to sleep.
"Be careful," Sirius whispered, "the Lestranges are the type to put powerful curses on their things. Try not to touch much."
The three of them walk carefully through the vault, and finally, Lydia finds what was pulling her.
"I found it," she whispers, and then gasps in shock, "Hufflepuff's cup. What blasphemy! Is he going to defile all the founder's objects!"
"How dare he?!" Hufflepuffs all shout in indignation, "our founder's item will need to be destroyed!"
"I can't believe we're going to have to destroy this," Sirius mourns, and accidentally bangs into a few things. They suddenly begin duplicating. Sirius hisses as deep burns adorn his hand.
"They put flagrante and gemino," Regulus quickly surmises, "brilliant. We need to fix the order of the vault though. We cannot allow them to realize that we broke in." The three flick their wands, and float the objects back where they should be, and hightailed out of there.
Lydia slipped the cloak back on, Sirius transformed, and Regulus boarded the cart. Slowly but surely, they made their way back up to the surface. They awakened the goblin, and Lydia quickly modified his memories. As they all left the bank, they traveled in silence. Finally Regulus broke it.
"That was anticlimactic," Regulus deadpans, and the other two couldn't help but laugh. They walk throughout the alley, laughing as they joked. The scene once again shifts, and this time, it's Lydia at Hogwarts.
"Pleasure to see you Ms. Potter," Slughorn greets her joyously, "what brings you here to visit me?"
"So I'm their excuse to get into Hogwarts," Horace sighs, "I deserve it. I'm the one who caused Voldemort to get this idea in the first place."
"I just had a few questions I wanted to ask," Lydia lied smoothly, "but it seems you're teaching a class. I'll go take a walk, and come find you by your break."
"Excellent," Slughorn laughs, "you see class. This is Lydia Potter. She was one of my greatest students."
"You taught the Bloody Rose?!" Slughorn's students freak out.
"The what now?" Lydia asks, confused.
"It's all over the news," Slughorn laughs, "ever since your last public battle, the media has dubbed you England's Bloody Rose. Seems like another name to join Mad-Eye Moody's team."
"This world has a stranger sense of humor than me," Lydia shakes her head, "I'll see you later professor."
Lydia walked calmly through the halls, and after a bit of walking (and stair climbing) reached the room of requirement. Turning three times, she thought "I need the room that hides the horcrux, I need the room that hides the horcrux, I need the room that hides the horcrux." Suddenly, the room of hidden things appeared, and Lydia quickly entered.
Rushing past all the things in the room, Lydia crashed in horror when she found the horcrux. Rowena's missing diadem sat there, defiled by dark, spiteful magic. She could hear the energy of the diadem crying in pain, and Lydia herself began to cry. It was so cruel, yet predictable. Voldemort had defiled yet another aspect of wizarding history and culture. For a man that claimed to be trying to restore the glory of witches and wizards, he committed horrible atrocities to their culture.
"Rowena's diadem as well!" people cried out, "what more will he do!"
"Morgana!" Kingsley gasped, "he defiled our legacy."
"What was it that you wanted to discuss with me?" Slughorn asked Lydia cheerfully, once they had settled in his office.
"Well," Lydia prepared one of her many excuses, "you were always one of my favorite teachers back in school. And now that I'm getting married, Benjy and I wanted to invite you to our wedding. We sent Flitwick his invite in the mail, but I wanted to give you your in person. That's because I wanted to ask you a question about my potion." Lydia quickly launched an impressive discussion about the nature of blood in potions. Mission success.
"You invited me to your wedding?" Flitwick asks his students.
"Of course Professor," Lydia replied, "you're my favorite teacher after all."
"You're my head of house," Benjy shrugged, "not surprised I invited you.
The scene switches to Lydia's wedding day. JUne 28th 1979 flashes. Regulus is there, of course, in a polyjuice disguise. The event is rather small, trying to avoid attracting any attention from death eaters. Lydia, in all her glory, was seen being fussed over by Sirius.
"Oh Lyddie," Augusta wipes a tear, "you look so stunning."
"I agree," Tina was mesmerized, "you really look angelic."
"Thanks aunties" Lydia thanks, "I can't believe future me is getting married. In June of all times."
"Look at our little pearl" Euphemia sobs in Fleamont's arms, "all grown up."
"She is," Fleamont himself is teary, "getting married, going to have a kid. It's all too fast."
"You look great," Sirius fusses, "and I'm sure it will all go well. I can't believe my Prongs is getting married."
"Go bother Dorcas," Lydia swatted at him, "I need to find Uncle Newt. I still haven't asked him to walk me down yet. Worse comes to worst I ask Frank to walk me down."
"You want me to walk you down the aisle?!" Newt asks Lydia teary-eyed, "really Lyddie?"
"Of course Uncle Newt," Lydia smiles mournfully, "if Daddy's gone, then you're the only older man in my life. There's no one else I'd rather ask."
"Uncle Newt?" Lydia glides towards where the Scamanders were standing, "can I ask you for a huge favor?"
"Of course," Newt, in all his 82 year old glory answers, "what can I do for you Lyddie?"
"Will you walk me down the aisle?" Lydia bursts out, nearly crying, "with Daddy not here anymore, I have no one else to do it."
"Of course," Newt grabs her into a hug, "I'm honored that you asked."
"The wedding is starting," Lyetta, holding her small newborn, interrupts, "you need to bring her now Daddy."
"Let's go Lyddie," Newt offers his hand, and Lydia slips her hand into his. They begin, Alina and Yusuf Scamander, Bart's youngest two, as flower girl and ring bearer. Finally, Lydia and Newt meet Benjy at the altar. The two perform the muggle ceremony, slipping old Peverell marriage rings on.
The magical ceremony is performed, both wands glowing a bright golden light. Sirius, Lydia's servant of honor, gives them the blessing of prosperitas and Kingsley, Benjy's best man, gives the blessing of felicitas. The two kiss, and the scene ends with the two of them dancing.