Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to their otherwise respective owners.
Author's Notes: Alright this should now be up on both sites in its (current) entirety now. Sorry about the delay (again, since I'm posting/updating this story a day late lmao) for FFN!
This chapter finishes the setup before everything else, which I am excited about. I hope you guys are, too. :)
As always, until next chapter,
~TGWSI/Selene Borealis
~daughter of briganti~
~meet me in the woods~
~chapter 3~
1 September 1995
Hogwarts, Scotland, Great Britain
Once Dumbledore had dismissed the students, Ron and Hermione had to lead the first years up to Gryffindor Tower. They started to gather them around. "Hey – hey, you lot!" Ron said. "Midgets!"
"Ron!" Hermione chastised him.
"Well, they are! They're titchy..."
"We'll see you guys later," Hyleth said. "After we're done with Dumbledore."
"Yeah," Ron said.
Their beta best friend nodded.
But she purposefully didn't look at Hyleth, Ginny, or Theo.
"Come on," Theo said, interlocking his arm with Hyleth's. "Let's go. The faster we get done with Dumbledore, the faster you can explain everything to her."
While Hyleth's insides felt like they were tying themselves into knots, she knew that he was right. So they went off on their own way, off to the headmaster's office.
Like Theo had before, Ginny grabbed her hand once they were away from the rest of the student body. She pressed a kiss to her cheek, too. "Don't worry," she whispered. "It's going to be fine."
Hyleth knew that.
She still wished she could truly believe it.
When they reached where the gargoyle that led to the circular entrance of the headmaster's office was on the third floor, it only then occurred to the female alpha that they hadn't been told the password for the start of term by McGonagall.
But, she needn't have worried. Without being prompted, the gargoyle moved aside of its own accord.
"Well, here goes nothing," she muttered.
Theo grabbed her other hand.
Together, she and her two mates stood on the currently bottom step of the circular moving staircase, though it would not be that way for long. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they made it work.
When they got to the top of the stairs, without any of them needing to knock at the door, Dumbledore said as it swung open, "Come in."
His office hadn't really changed too much from the last time she'd seen it. The only differences were the trinkets that were on his desk, but several of them were the same. Fawkes was resting on his perch, as always.
The portraits of the former headmasters on the wall were all wide awake. Phineas Nigellus Black, one of Hyleth's ancestors through both of her fathers, was eyeing them with particular interest.
Or rather, he was eyeing Theo.
But if he wanted to say something, he did not get a chance to speak it.
Dumbledore was standing behind his desk, looking out through the windows. His hands were clasped behind his back. "Hyleth, Ginevra, Theodore," he said. "I trust you all had a good summer?"
Ginny and Theo each made faces at being called by their full first names.
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," Hyleth responded.
"I hope you do not mind I have called you away from your friends," the headmaster continued as he turned around. "But I do not think that this should take too long."
He sounded so...formal about it.
Not that he hadn't sounded formal before; he was their headmaster and an old wizard. Younger than many, yet older than most.
But in the past, he had always been more than cordial with Hyleth. More like a grandfatherly figure, and less like the headmaster that he was for everybody else.
Hyleth glanced at Theo and Ginny, and then said, "Professor, before we go on much further, I think you should know: you don't have to worry about the Horcrux within me. It's been contained."
Never before had she seen the headmaster so shocked. He almost stumbled, and had to grip his chair for support. "I beg your pardon?"
"Voldemort's Horcrux," Hyleth stated. "The piece of his soul that inadvertently latched onto mine the night that he died for the first time. We decided not to get rid of it yet – it's too much of an advantage. But the person who was helping us for the past month and a half put one-way blocks around it. I can see what Voldemort sends through our bond, accidentally or purposefully, but he can't see anything from my mind. You don't have to worry about me accidentally sending information back to him."
"Is that so?" Dumbledore breathed. He gained control over himself quickly, gesturing over to the chairs that were in front of his desk, meant for guests to sit in. There were three, a deviation from the normal two, showing that he'd done some preparation for this meeting. "Please, sit. You must tell me who this person is."
"Actually, we can't," Ginny interrupted him.
He frowned, pausing. "And why not?"
"We made a vow to keep their identity a secret. Not because they demanded it or forced us, but because they asked, and we agreed," Theo spoke. He stared at Dumbledore baldly. "Because of the vow, you won't be able to wrest it from my or Ginny's minds. And Hyleth is now a natural Occlumens to most attacks. You-Know – Voldemort," he corrected himself. He was still getting used to that, "is an exception because of the Horcrux."
The headmaster's frown deepened. "I'm afraid that I do not understand."
"We know," Hyleth said. "To be frank, we still don't understand everything about it, even though we know as much as there is to know."
Strangely – though perhaps not too strangely, considering who it was coming from – Dumbledore let out a wry chuckle. "I imagine so. There are many things in life that are that way, as I too have come to discover."
They all finally sat down, Hyleth, Ginny, and Theo in the chairs on their side of his desk, and Dumbledore in his. "I told you that this would not take too long, and I mean to stay true to my word. The extent of your recollection to me can wait for another day – perhaps Sunday," he said, to which the trio nodded tentatively. "But, there are some things that I must know. Where have you three and Sirius been for the past month and a half."
Hyleth said the same as she had before, since it was the truth: "Greece."
Dumbledore clasped his hands together on top of his desk. "I see. At your great-grandmother's property in Crete?"
She wasn't surprised that he knew about that. "Yes."
He inclined his head. "Do your father or elder brother know that you are married, Mr. Black."
"They will by tomorrow, I'm sure," Theo responded. He sniffled; the dreary British climate had already been getting to his sinuses in comparison to Greece, which had done wonders with its warmth and dry air. "I don't expect Father to give too much of a reaction besides perhaps disowning me by letter – for my own safety. Theron might be different, though there's not much that he can do.
"But honestly, Father will probably be happy that I made my own way out, now that Voldemort's returned. I probably would've died far sooner than my mother did if he'd been forced to marry me off."
He said it so nonchalantly, as if the prospect of himself dying was nothing more than a debate about the weather. Although, up until recently, for him, it had been that casual of a prospect.
Nevertheless, Hyleth stiffened at the reminder.
"Is your health better now?" Dumbledore pressed. "I understand that Madam Pomfrey was concerned with the progression of your illness last year."
Theo shrugged. "I've gone into remission again. We'll have to see if it remains that way."
Hyleth's right hand clenched into a fist. "They told you that it would."
"Yes, well, they don't know everything about my illness." Theo scowled at her. "I've told you once and I'll tell you again, Potter, this has been my reality much longer than it's been yours."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.
Too late, they realized that they were bickering in front of him.
"...Sorry," Hyleth apologized.
"I have seen worse," he assured her. To Ginny, "I know that your parents did not know this morning what all has transpired while you've been away."
She wilted. "Mum's going to kill me."
"Not, I daresay, on Hogwarts grounds, although I must tell you that she and your father are coming up tomorrow," Dumbledore said. His lips twitched. "Your mother was...most insistent on coming up today when she contacted me by Floo, but between your father, Sirius, and Mr. Lupin, they were able to convince her to wait until tomorrow."
"That's just going to make her worse," Ginny sighed. "She'll have time to stew on what all she wants to say."
The headmaster did not disagree. "Likely so," he spoke, before he readjusted his position. "Now, before we discuss your living arrangements for this school year and beyond, is there anything else that I should know?"
It was the perfect segue for what they really needed to talk about with him.
"Well, first off," Ginny started slowly, taking the lead when neither Hyleth nor Theo did automatically. "Part of the reason why my mum – and dad, too – are going to be so upset is because I'm...pregnant."
Now, both of Dumbledore's eyebrows rose.
"I am, too," Theo said.
"I see," the headmaster spoke. "You both understand that this will not only affect your living arrangements for this year and beyond, but additionally some of your classwork? You may have to sit out entire lessons of Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures."
It was apparent to them that he was talking beyond that, but implying how the pregnancies were not only going to impact their academic careers, but their entire lives.
Which they'd already known.
Such was the experience for all parents, even those who were much older and thought that they were truly ready for the experience.
"Yes."
"We know."
He was not willing to leave it only there. "And I trust that you would not have elected to go down this path unless it was absolutely necessary?"
"Of – of course!" Hyleth spluttered out.
Once again, Ginny picked up her slack, even as her freckles momentarily became blotted out. "Contraception just doesn't...work the first time around, Professor."
At the mention of the word "ritual," his face became gravely serious. "What ritual, if I may ask?"
The three of them hesitated.
But they did not hesitate for long.
"Professor Dumbledore," Hyleth hedged, "what do you know about the Ritual of Briganti?"
Even for a relatively "short" meeting, they still ended up talking with Dumbledore for almost an hour and a half.
At the end, he told them where their quarters would be, given the current and future requirements of their circumstances. They were going to be in the married wing, which wasn't currently being occupied by anyone else but had been as recently as two years ago.
The mention served as a reminder that it could be again, that things could very soon became not as safe there as they would be now, given who was the type to occupy the wing.
The married wing was on the fourth floor, so they did not have too far to walk to get to it. When they got there, the young bride, in the full traditional regalia for an omega in the Wizarding world on their wedding day, in the painting guarding the entrance eyed them shrewdly. "Password?" she asked, as if she did not believe that they were to be the future residents here.
In her defense, this had been decided upon with short notice for all parties involved.
"Noti morte," Hyleth said. It was the first half of the Potter family motto.
The painting turned as if on a hinge, just like the Fat Lady's did.
Inside, the common area was more like the Gryffindor common room than the Slytherin one: nice and cozy with the fireplace already lit, but with rather muted colors which were more representative of the four houses yet still blended well with one another and did not make the room look too dreary.
Moreover, it was big enough that it would be more than able to fit all of the people they were planning to invite here tonight.
But first:
"I think our room's over there," Theo said to Hyleth and Ginny – but mostly Ginny, given the context – as he pointed to one of the doors. Sure enough, it had both of the omegas' names printed on it.
They opened the door and walked inside. A king-sized poster bed took up the majority of the room, but there was along with that a dresser, two desks, a full-length mirror in one corner, and a door to what had to be the bathroom. As Theo instantly dove for the bed, Hyleth went over to the other door and opened it.
She saw that she was right. The bathroom had a shower, a large bath which could easily fit four people, and two sinks.
All of their things – hers included, for now – had already been stocked in each of the two rooms.
"Oh, gods, this is so comfy," Theo groaned, his voice muffled by a pillow.
"It is nice," Ginny concurred, but there was an edge to her voice. "But I don't like what Dumbledore said."
"You mean about us needing to be careful?" the male omega clarified, referring to what Dumbledore had told them just before they'd left.
"Yeah," Ginny said.
"I don't like what Umbridge being here means, either," Theo said. Then, he sniffled again. "Gods dammit, I hate the weather here. I miss being able to breathe. Can't we just tell your friends to wait until tomorrow night?"
"They're your friends, too," Ginny protested.
"No, they're not," Theo rebuked, sitting up and grabbing his handkerchief out of his pocket so he could blow his nose. Hyleth watched them with a grin from where she was leaning against the open doorway to the bathroom, despite what her mates were discussing and/or arguing about. She'd come to like watching them. "They're only going to be my friends because they're your and Hyleth's friends – which is fine. But I'd rather not pretend the ones who aren't going to be with Hyleth were my friends before all this. The same goes for the ones who will be, really."
Ginny pouted playfully. "Does that include me?"
"No. But you're also you," Theo returned. He made a face. "I suppose Luna can be an exception too, but she's also my cousin. It's a little weird for me to think about."
"We really shouldn't make them wait another night," Ginny said. "We have no idea what my mum and dad are going to do when they get here tomorrow..."
Despite what she said, however, at once, both of Hyleth's mates turned to look at her. She could easily tell what they were thinking of.
"No, we're not doing that tonight." She crossed her arms. "We made a promise. We're going to keep it."
"But, Alpha – " Ginny purred coyly.
Hyleth refused to squirm. She refused to show how much either of them calling her that name went straight to her head.
"No," she insisted. "We told Ron, Hermione, and your other brothers that we would do this tonight. We're doing it tonight."
With that, she took out her wand before Theo and Ginny could succeed in convincing her otherwise. She wordlessly cast a Patronus charm. Her mates watched as the stag leaped into existence.
A lot had changed, but much had remained the same.
Hyleth instructed the stag to make its rounds and gather up Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, Luna, Cedric, and Tonks, and tell them how to find the married wing and what the password to it was. To be honest, she wasn't sure at all if the latter two were going to come, but she reasoned that it was better to try and be disappointed than to never have attempted at all.
As if in proof of this, Cedric was the very first to arrive. "Hyleth, Ginny!" he greeted them as he walked through the portrait hole. "It's good to see you!"
Hyleth couldn't stop the beam from coming to her face. "Cedric!" She reached out and shook his hand, as was expected now since she was an alpha and he an omega who were unrelated. Ginny mirrored her. Theo gave the older male omega an awkward wave. "Are you feeling better?"
Cedric told her that he was, giving her a brief overview of what had happened since she, Ginny, Theo, and her father had left the country, as well as giving them his own congratulations on their marriage. "I think you've given everyone here at Hogwarts the surprise of their lives," he said, laughing. But he did not let that part of their discussion linger, as he tacked on, "And I have to say, I was a little surprised by your Patronus coming to me tonight. It said that this was important – "
"Very important," Theo cut in, causing Cedric to glance over at him.
" – So I came, I just wasn't expecting it," he finished.
"You're my friend, Cedric," Hyleth replied. Briefly, she paused. "I know that we didn't even really know each other until last year, but after the Triwizard Tournament and that night – " their expressions darkened at this " – you deserve to be here along with everyone else, even if it is cutting things a little late."
"That's alright. It won't be the first late night I've pulled, and I'm honored," he said back. Then he focused on Theo, going over to him where he was sitting on one of the couches. They made their introductions.
They did not get much farther than that, which Hyleth thought was probably a good thing.
Next to arrive was Luna. "Hello," she spoke pleasantly, before she blinked owlishly as she surveyed the room. "Oh, this is lovely. No wonder our mothers thought the Ritual of Briganti was a good idea for you, Hyleth."
Cedric, who had already sat down in one of the armchairs and had been talking amiably with them up until Luna had entered the room, coughed. "What?"
Luna did not seem to get the context of his question. "They had their main reason for it, too, of course: to ensure Hyleth's survival against Voldemort." She blinked again. "But I suspect this wing must have had something else to do with it. My mother and father were bonded when they were sixteen and seventeen, respectively, after my and Theo's grandparents and aunt were killed in the war. And our mothers were such good friends, so yours had to have been familiar with it, Hyleth.
"Now that I think about it, we won't be breaking that tradition too much when we become bonded."
Cedric's eyes just about fell out of his head. "You're joking."
Hyleth, meanwhile, had the strong desire to smack her hand to her forehead.
"Oh, no, she's quite serious," Ginny deadpanned. "Luna, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to reveal that straightaway?"
"We agreed to not tell your brothers and Hermione about it right away, yes. But shouldn't Cedric know all the cards that are on the table?"
"He was going to know them soon enough anyways!"
Theo smothered a laugh.
"Why would I need to know them?" Cedric asked slowly, drawing out the first word into multiple syllables.
"You'll see," Hyleth interjected sharply. "Thank you, Luna."
The blonde smiled sunnily. "You're welcome."
Theo pretended to cough as his laughter became almost impossible to hide.
Then came Ron, Hermione, and the elder Weasley twins. "Sorry we're late," Hermione apologized, sending pointed looks the latter two's way. "Some people took their time to come down the stairs."
"We were catching up with Lee and Alicia, what did you expect?" Fred objected. "Besides, we came downstairs! We could've not come at all!"
"Then I would've boxed your ears," Ginny told them. "If I didn't decide to throw a Bat-Bogey Hex at you, that is."
Fred and George shirked back. Hell hath no fury like an omega scorned, as the saying went. The Weasley family just so happened to have three of them in Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Charlie, and each of them could be more than terrifying when they wanted to be. So Hyleth had heard about Charlie as well, anyways. He was the one who had taught Ginny the Bat-Bogey Hex.
"Right," George muttered.
"Sorry, GinGin."
Last, but not certainly least, was Tonks. The metamorphmagus nearly tripped in her quest to get in through the portrait, letting out a yelp. Cedric looked primed to get up and help her, but she stopped herself from falling at the last second. Her usually bubblegum pink hair, thanks to her abilities, was a darkish red, showcasing her irritation. "Right, what is this all about?" she huffed. "Why did I get a Patronus from you saying that we needed to talk about 'Black Family business,' Hy?"
"Because we need to talk about Black Family business," Hyleth said simply.
"Why are all the others here, then? And why are we having this meeting so late? I could be in bed right now!"
Cedric shifted uncomfortably, no doubt thinking about Luna had said earlier. "This is...quite the eclectic group of people."
"I know. Now that we're all here, I'll explain. Tonks, sit."
The metamorphmagus sat, though not without some reluctance. "You and Sirius could have told my mother you lot were going to leave the country, you know. She was worried sick when you just upped and vanished. And getting married at fifteen – "
"Remind me again when your parents got married?" Theo piped up.
Tonks glowered. "Why, you – "
Hyleth held up her hand. "Alright!" Her mate and cousin fell silent. She let out a puff of air, causing a piece of hair that had either fallen out of her ponytail or wasn't long enough to go into it in the first place, to go flying. "Yes, I'm aware that this seems rather strange to you all. Not just that we've called you here tonight, but everything on top of it, too."
"I'm surprised that Mum hasn't come to give you a piece of her mind," George said to Ginny.
She sighed again. "That's happening tomorrow."
They withered under Hyleth's glare.
"Sorry, Hy," Ginny went.
"Anyways, I wouldn't have called you here if it wasn't important. You're either our family – " Ron, Fred, George, and Tonks perked up slightly at the reminder " – or some of our closest friends – " Cedric smiled. Luna's expression was as serene as ever. Hermione looked like she was trying to smile, but she ultimately wasn't very successful. Hyleth tried not to think about what that meant " – and you deserve to know why we left over the summer and what we've been up to, especially since..." She trailed off.
It was still hard for her to acknowledge out loud what her and Luna's mothers had done. Her life had changed quickly over the past month and a half because of their actions, but that did not mean she was not still trying to wrap her head around it.
"It has to do with why you survived the Killing Curse, doesn't it?"
Hyleth was not surprised that Hermione had figured it out. Nor were, really, any of the other occupants in the room. The beta was the brightest witch of their age, after all.
Cedric's eyes did widen, though. "Hang on. I know that we're friends now, Hyleth, but do you really think this is something that I should know?"
Tonks was ready to agree with him. She and Hyleth were cousins, but it wasn't like they were close. Neither of them had even known that they were cousins until last year, when Sirius had revealed to Hyleth the truth about her parentage, how James Potter had been infertile and he and Lily had sought out Sirius' help to have their daughter.
How that, in turn, made Hyleth heir to the Potter and Black Houses. Another responsibility for her to bear on top all the others.
"I wouldn't have asked you here if I didn't think you deserved to know. I saved your life Cedric, but you saved mine, too," Hyleth reaffirmed. She didn't leave room for any more arguments as she leaned forwards in her seat. "Just let me tell what of it that I can to you. It'll make sense once I do, I promise."
"Okay," Ron said almost immediately.
The other occupants in the room gave their assents: Luna, Fred and George, Hermione, Tonks, and, at last, Cedric.
Thus, Hyleth began her tale.
The tale about the truth of why she had become the Girl-Who-Lived, and all that came with it.
Word Count: 4,097