October 4, 1992
Roderick Harrington handed his wife the latest letter from their son.
"What do you make of this?" he asked.
Samira skimmed it over. "Well that is a rather particular request, but I don't see why it should be a problem."
Roderick waved her off. "Of course it's not a problem, but why now? Did something happen? Is there something he's not telling us? What if…"
Samira laughed. "Oh you worry far too much, darling. I'm sure everything is fine, and if it were otherwise Thomas would tell us right away."
Roderick let out a breath. "I'm sure you're right." Catching his wife's smirk he added, "as usual," and leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"He probably just got a girlfriend and wants a better way to stay in touch."
Roderick gasped, to Samira's amusement. "What do you mean? He hasn't said anything about a girlfriend. Where would he have met a girl any… Oh right, Hogwarts. But, if he had a girlfriend there he wouldn't need an owl, right?" He paused to see his wife's response, but the knowing smile she had was no source of comfort. "Right?" he added once more.
October 5, 1992
Thomas walked into his dorm room only to see Eric reading over the letter from his father.
"Since when do you have a girlfriend?"
"Since when do you read other people's letters?"
"Since they are sitting on top of a book on courting etiquette."
Merlin, he had forgotten to stash that book away somewhere. He was now officially doomed. There was no way this wasn't going to get out by the end of the day.
"Right, well, let me just move these out of the way…"
"So, who's the girl?"
"…"
"Or…guy?"
"…" Think, Thomas, think. Make up something, fast.
"Hey Thomas, I'm going to go see Hilda. Do you want to come?"
Thomas had never been more happy to hear Ivy Potter's voice and he didn't even care that she was suggesting he go see a basilisk. Again.
"Who's Hilda? Is that your girlfriend?"
The sudden look of pure joy on Ivy's face made his heart sink into his gut and he shot a glare at Eric, who looked confused as if he didn't know exactly what kind of trouble he was causing Thomas at the moment. The fact that he probably did not, in fact, know what he was doing was of little comfort and therefore ignored.
Meanwhile, by this point Ivy's face had reached impressive heights of unadulterated joy and excitement. Thanks, Eric. You're the worst.
"You have a girlfriend?"
Thomas winced and braced himself for the oncoming onslaught.
"How long? Is she pretty? Do I know her? Is she in Slytherin? Or one of the other houses? Is she in your year? What's her name? Does she go to Hogwarts? Can I meet her? Do you…"
"FRENCH," Thomas shouted, slightly startling Eric, Ivy, and Corvin who had been sitting inconspicuously on his bed up until this moment. Seeing the three stares he cleared his throat and continued on with the falsehood he hoped wouldn't come back to haunt him. "She's French," he said again, "so you probably don't know her."
Ivy's excitement did not abate in the slightest. "So what's her name?"
His two roommates stared at him expectantly. Well, in for a penny…
"Adélie." And now he really needed to write her and see if she'd be okay with this for the foreseeable future. If he was lucky he wouldn't get a cursed note back.
"So… who's Hilda then?"
"My owl," Thomas said a little too quickly, wondering if Azkaban was worth strangling Eric. "We're going to go see my owl."
Ivy opened her mouth but Thomas rushed over and escorted her out before anyone could say anything else and further complicate his day, existence, and life expectancy.
As they left out he heard Eric ask Corvin, "Since when does Thomas have an owl?"
"So you named your owl Hilda?" Ivy asked, stroking the bird's feathers.
"Yes…"
Ivy beamed up at him. "I knew you liked her. I'll tell her. She'll be so happy to hear. I tell her about all my friends you know."
Thomas couldn't figure out a way to tell Ivy that he had an owl for the express purpose of covering up any evidence that she went to go see a giant basilisk regularly and just nodded his head.
"So who's Adélie?"
Thomas groaned. How had this reached Percy of all people already?
October 6, 1992
"We need to talk."
Remus watched bemusedly as Snape barged into his office and tossed down a newspaper on his desk. Remus looked at it for a moment and then back at the agitated Snape.
"That's yesterday's newspaper," he noted, not sure why he felt the need to point that out.
"Yes, I know that is yesterday's paper. What I want to know is why it says this," Snape said, gesturing to the headline.
PEVERELL CLAIMS SLYTHERIN TITLE
Remus winced. Yeah, this hadn't been the best headline to wake up to yesterday. He had already sent a strongly worded letter to Harry and Sirius.
He cleared his throat. "Well, it seems that Lord Peverell is also Lord Slytherin."
Snape did not appear at all impressed with that response. "Thank you, Lupin, for stating the obvious. I am already aware that Lord Peverell somehow claimed the title. My question is why this is coming out now and not a month or two ago?"
Remus opened his mouth and closed it again. "You, uh, already knew about that?"
Snape just glared at him.
Remus sighed. "What do you want to know?" he asked resignedly, reminding himself that Harry had said Snape was ultimately trustworthy. He really hoped this wasn't a mistake.
"How was he able to claim the title? The last known claimant was…"
"The Dark Lord, I know." If Snape was surprised by his choice of name he didn't show it.
"But even he never claimed the full title."
Remus nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, about that. Seems like your soul has to be fully in tact to be able to claim a title."
"Explain," Snape demanded.
"What do you know about horcruxes?"
Snape paled and Remus sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.
"Are you suggesting that the Dark Lord created one?"
Remus nodded grimly. "More than one."
Snape paled further. "How many?"
"Five intentional, one accidental."
"Accidental?"
"Ivy," Remus said, interrupting whatever disbelieving exclamation Snape was going to make. "That night, the curse… Part of him was left behind. Ivy's scar…"
"So she does have a scar."
Remus nodded. "Yes. It was on her forehead, but when Harry took her to Gringotts they removed the horcrux and moved the scar to a less visible location."
"Albus wasn't thrilled about that," Snape muttered.
Remus huffed. "No surprise there."
Snape raised an eyebrow.
"He has a bit too much interest in Ivy for ou… for my liking."
Snape's eyebrow remained raised but he didn't comment on that further, for which Remus was thankful.
"So the Horcrux in Potter is gone."
Remus nodded.
"And there are five others?"
Remus nodded again. "All destroyed now."
Snape didn't hide his surprise at that.
"After finding the one in Ivy, Harry found the others and destroyed them all." Not the entire truth, but not exactly a lie.
"And now he holds the title," Snape mused. Speaking louder he said, "and I take it the headmaster has not been informed of any of these events?"
Snape must of caught the darkening look on Remus's face because he sat up a little and his hand tightened around his wand.
"No," Remus said, trying (but somewhat failing) to relax and resume a less agitated expression. "He hasn't been told any of this." Remus gave Snape a pointed stare that he hoped conveyed the expectation that Dumbledore wouldn't hear it from Snape either.
Snape gave him a nod, his hand loosening its grip on his wand slightly.
"And what of Lord Peverell?"
"What of him?"
"What are his aims? His goals?"
Remus caught the unasked question. Was Harry looking to replace Voldemort in more than one title. "No, he's…" Remus wasn't sure what more to share. "He's on Ivy's side. He wants her safe, and happy. He… Harry cares. So much. He cares about the people around him, and about Ivy most of all."
Snape looked like he was about to mumble something about Gryffindor sensibilities or something like that, but to Remus's surprise he stuck out his hand.
"Well then I believe I would very much like to make his acquaintance," he said as Remus took his hand. "He seems like an… interesting man."
Remus let out a dry snort. "You have no idea," he said softly.
Severus couldn't believe himself. Only a few minutes in Lupins office and the Gryffindorness was already rubbing off on him. He had practically just committed himself to being on their side, whatever that was. A side that included (as far as he could tell), Lupin, Black, and Lord Peverell-Slytherin who he had never actually met, though based on the company he kept Severus wasn't going to keep his hopes up. Although it apparently also included Lucius to some extent. Did Lucius know about the defeat of the Dark Lord? It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that they did not speak about the Dark Lord if at all possible. It was actually a rather easy topic to avoid. But now it might be time to broach it once more…
October 7, 1992
Fleur looked at her friend who had nearly toppled off her bed from laughter.
"Qu'est-ce qui t'amuse autant?"
Adélie handed her the letter that was nearly crumpled from her rolling on top of it during her giggling fit.
Fleur tried to read it but it was in English and she didn't know a lot of the words. She scrunched her nose. "Ça dit quoi?"
"Thomas…" Adélie gasped for breath as she tried to regain her composure. "Thomas a besoin d'une fausse petite amie."
"Pourquoi?" Fleur asked, frowning. She remembered Adélie talking about the English boy she had become friend with, but wasn't sure why he would be writing her with something like this. That didn't seem like a good way to ask a girl out.
"Tout le monde pense qu'il a une petite amie et il essaie de les distraire du fait qu'il n'en a pas."
"Et donc il vous a écrit?" Fleur said, still frowning.
"Il m'a demandé s'il pouvait parfois m'écrire. Félicitez-moi, Fleur, j'ai un faux copain maintenant," Adélie said saucily. With that she burst out laughing again and this time Fleur joined in, if not quite as exuberantly, wondering if all English boys were this strange. Why ask her to be his fake girlfriend instead of his real one? Was this some strange English custom she was unaware of?
October 10, 1992
"Ah, Severus, come in, my boy."
Severus gritted his teeth and walked into the headmaster's office. He was thirty two for Merlin's sake.
Resignedly he sat down and prepared for the oncoming interrogation, conspiracy theory, or lecture, whatever it might be today. It was probably about Peverell, though why Albus had waited this long to bring it up was beyond him. Maybe he had exhausted his own avenues of inquiry and was now looking to Severus to provide more details? Merlin, he hoped not.
Two hours. It took two hours to convince Albus bloody something something Dumbledore that he didn't know anything about Peverell-Slytherin, Lockhart's demise (except for the rumours that Severus knew Albus had already heard), Voldemort's status or whereabouts, or anything else that Albus might possibly be interested in. It was all a lie, of course, but Severus had been successfully lying to accomplished Legilimens for years. No point stopping now.
Thank Merlin it was Saturday and he wasn't needed in the castle this particular day. Finally reaching the end of the school's wards he apparated on the spot. Time to deal with this, and if he was acting like a bloody Gryffindor it was probably Lupin's fault.
Lucius was enjoying his afternoon tea in peace until the wards alerted him to the presence of someone who was freely admitted. That list was rather short, so Lucius got up quickly to see what was going on. He wasn't expecting anyone today, and few people dropped by unannounced except…
"Ah, Severus. This is a surprise. Would you care for some tea?"
Severus was obviously not in the best of moods and Lucius sighed internally. His afternoon had been so pleasant up until now, and he had a suspicion that the pleasantness was about to come to an abrupt end.
"No. I need to meet Lord Peverell."
Lucius raised a single brow at that. "Indeed. And what is the occasion, might I ask?" An unbidden thought crossed his mind. "Ivy is fine, right? Nothing happened?"
Severus's eye twitched but otherwise, he remained as stoic as ever. "All the students are alive and accounted for last I checked."
Lucius sighed in relief, glad that he didn't have to be the one to bear the bad news to Lord Peverell who was also Lord Slytherin who confused Lucius to no end while simultaneously managing to intimidate him. And Lucius Malfoy was not easily intimidated.
Harry felt the little ping of someone seeking access through the floo.
"Hey, Barty, see who it is, will you?"
Barty yelled back that he'd go check, and Harry turned back to his dinner preparations, only to come face to face with two angry house elves.
If anyone claimed he jumped and let out a very unmanly squeak in that particular moment he would deny it. Emphatically.
"Master Deathy be doing Winky's job," Winky declared, glaring Harry down. He absolutely did not take a small step backwards.
"Master Deathy be doing all our jobs, not leaving anything for poor Kreacher. Master Deathy be being a bad master."
Harry looked at the two elves glaring up at him and, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, made a tactical retreat.
Just as he left the kitchen he heard Barty call out. "Hey, it's Malfoy. Should we let him in?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Time to see if their identity thing held. It'd better, for all the trouble it'd caused him.
"Oh, looks like he brought someone else with him."
Please let it be Narcissa, please let it be Narcissa.
"Oh, would you look at that? He brought Snape."
Bollocks.
Severus sat uncomfortably on the sofa. Despite everything he had heard about Lord Peverell thus far, he was still rather shocked to actually meet the man. And the other wizard here, who kept alternatively throwing both him and Lucius either glares or looks of amused interest, looked very much like that Crouch kid who had died several… Suddenly Severus was much more worried about his sudden Gryffindor tendencies in showing up to Lucius's home demanding he accompany him to meet Peverell. Also, maybe Albus wasn't entirely insane, because either that was Barty Crouch Jr., or the Crouch family was much larger than Severus had known. The fact that Crouch was supposedly dead meant nothing at this particular moment.
"So, what can I do for you, Professor?"
Severus cleared his throat. "I had an interesting meeting with Lupin the other day."
He watched Peverell's reaction carefully. Intrigued, but wary. He could work with that.
"He explained some of the circumstances surrounding your…" Severus couldn't help but shoot a quick glance at the person he was growing more and more confident was Crouch. "…new title," he finished lamely, forcing himself to make eye contact with Peverell.
Peverell stared at him for a moment. He did not feel any sign of legilimency, but he still felt like his very soul was being assessed.
After what felt like an eternity but apparently wasn't long enough to make anyone else uncomfortable, Peverell finally spoke.
"I see," he said. "And you are here now because…"
Severus cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his seat. Merlin, he was doing terribly at this. He, who managed to remain calm and composed in practically any situation was now reduced to a nervous mess by a man he had just met, who had only said maybe a couple dozen words to him, and hadn't even appeared upset.
"I wanted to know for sure."
Peverell raised an eyebrow.
"That he's gone," Snape clarified, wincing on the inside as he did so. Great move there, Severus. Way to give up personal information right from the start. Also, not the direction he had planned to take this.
He noticed Peverell shoot a glance at Lucius. Oh, did Lucius not know then? He had suspected not, but it hadn't really been on his mind when he had made this impulsive decision that he was absolutely regretting.
"Very well," Peverell said after a moment. "Yes, the Dark Lord is gone."
Lucius's breath hitched a little but Severus paid him no mind. "As to the events leading up to his ultimate demise, I believe you said Remus already explained some of it to you?"
"Yes, he told me about the…" Severus glances over at Lucius. "…pieces."
Peverell frowned, nodded, and sighed a bit. Crouch or the Crouch impersonator looked positively giddy. It a disconcerting combination for Severus at the moment, as memories of a certain very insane woman came to the forefront of his mind. Merlin, what was he thinking coming here? He wasn't, that's what.
"Well, I suppose I might as well tell the two of you everything since if you do anything objectionable with it I know right where to find you."
Peverell sounded cheery enough but Severus was absolutely terrified in that particular moment at the not-so-subtly implied threat. Lucius didn't look nearly as disturbed but Severus could tell that even he was a little disconcerted.
"And we'll need to wait for Sirius, of course. He should be back any minute now."
The tight smile on Peverell's face did nothing to reassure Severus. Neither did his next statement.
"Also, I'm sure both of you remember Barty? He's legally dead but we got that all taken care of."
Sirius strode through the front door, whistling cheerfully. Today had been a great day, and he had escaped Barty's pranks for thirty six hours straight now. It was glorious. It was…
"Hi, Sirius. We have company. Why don't you come join us."
…the worst day of his life, at least in the last three weeks.
He had already heard from Lupin about the Horcruxes, but the retelling was just as horrific, especially now that much greater detail was being added. Lucius looked downright sick, and wasn't even upset when Peverell admitted to stealing one from Lucius's own house. Quite the opposite, in fact. If anything he looked relieved.
And it was clear Peverell had the aid of the goblins. That in and of itself was remarkable, since it was something neither the Dark Lord nor Dumbledore had ever managed to accomplish. It made Peverell that much more intimidating if Severus forced himself to be completely honest with himself.
"Does Dumbledore know?" he found himself asking softly.
"Pardon?"
He cleared his throat. "Does Dumbledore know about the horcruxes?"
Black's face darkened, and he went to say something but Peverell stopped him.
"Yes," he said simply. "Or at least, I believe he suspects."
Severus drew in a breath. Of course Dumbledore believed Voldemort was still around then. But if he only suspected, how did Peverell come to know?
"How did you find them?"
"I have my ways," Peverell replied, cryptically. "I am very well-informed."
Severus felt like that was a bit of an understatement. "Indeed," was all he could reply.
Soon the topic shifted and came around to Hogwarts and the going ons there. Inevitably the Lockhart debacle was brought up.
"And why that fool decided to go searching for Slytherin's monster is beyond me."
At Severus's statement Lucius choked a bit, and all eyes turned towards him.
"Something you'd care to share?" Peverell asked, though he appeared amused.
"I may have… hinted that Lockhart was engaged in such an endeavor, yes."
"Still don't see why we couldn't just use the file," Severus heard Black mutter.
"So now everyone thinks Lockhart was eaten by a basilisk?" Peverell did not seem at all perturbed by that admission. Wait, basilisk?
"Slytherin's monster is a basilisk?"
Peverell winced and Black burst out laughing. Severus did not see how this was a laughing matter.
"Ha! And I wasn't even the one to say it," Black crowed. Lucius too looked amused, and Severus couldn't help but feel that he was missing something here.
"Ah, yes," Peverell said, clearing his throat. "Slytherin's monster is a basilisk. Makes sense though, if you think about it. What else would he have had besides the king of snakes. Or queen, I suppose, in this case. In any event, it does make sense that Lockhart would try to find it, and be, er, caught, so to speak."
Severus frowned. "Wait, what do you mean queen? Are you saying the basilisk is female?" How on earth would Peverell know something like that?
Black burst out laughing for the second time as Peverell's face flushed slightly.
Lucius frowned slightly though and asked, "So it appears the rumour has spread successfully, but what had the reaction been?"
All eyes turned back towards Severus and he resisted the urge to gulp. The meeting with Dumbledore was still fresh in his mind and he wasn't sure he wanted to divulge the man's suspicions to their subject. Oh well. He was already apparently a Gryffindor for the day. May as well get it out of his system entirely so he could never, ever, act in this way ever again.
"Well, Dumbledore seems to think that you may be somehow responsible for both Lockhart and Quirrell and that you may be working with the Dark Lord or may actually be the Dark Lord reincarnated or…" He trailed off, seeing the looks on the faces around him. He knew when he was outmatched, and against Peverell he was sorely, bitterly outmatched. He only hoped that that anger was not directed at him.
"Harry," Sirius said softly. "Harry, calm down."
Harry glanced up at the frightened faces around him and deflated. He was not Voldemort, and he was determined never to be Voldemort or anything like him, regardless of what Dumbledore apparently believed. Couldn't that man just leave them alone?
Making a conscious effort to rein back his magic, he used every trick he could think of to force his anger down. It would do none of them any good for him to lose control right here in this moment. Later he could let it out, but right now he needed to be in control.
"Sorry," he said, hoping he was giving a reassuring look. "Sorry, I just… All I wanted was Voldemort gone, and Ivy safe and now, to think something believes I could be like him, or actually be him, I just…" He placed a hand over his face and Sirius put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"What do you need us to do?"
Severus wasn't sure how he was getting roped into this, but not seeing a way out, he too leaned in in anticipation of what Peverell might say. How was he going to handle this? Severus's curiosity was getting the better of him. Every reasonable part of his mind told him to get away while he still could, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do so.
Today had been a day of revelations for Lucius, and he wasn't sure he could handle any more. The Dark Lord was gone. He had hoped for such, but there had always been a traitorous part of his mind that told him the Dark Lord wasn't gone for good. Until last spring, that is, when his mark had vanished, and he had allowed himself greater hope that he would not have to face the Dark Lord again. And now he knew why.
He could understand why Peverell had not trusted him with this information until now, even if he disliked that fact, but he wasn't quite sure how to take the sudden trust placed in him now. Despite bearing the Slytherin name, Peverell was unlike any Slytherin he had ever met. He could be the perfect pureblood Lord one moment, and then behave shockingly Gryffindorish the next, part of which he felt he could attribute to Black's influence, but part of which he felt was likely just Peverell's nature, as confusing as it was.
If Lucius came out of today with one certainty, however, it would be that Peverell was not aiming to be the next Dark Lord. In fact, the entire idea seemed completely revolting to him, regardless of the power he possessed or the striking similarities he bore to the previous one.
And Severus… Severus's behavior had been unusual to say the least. He had behaved in a way unlike anything Lucius had seen from him before, but he had not had time to press Severus for an explanation before he had had to return to Hogwarts. What was going on with him?
He had shown more emotion than Lucius could ever remember him showing before, and he had seemed quite intimidated by Peverell, who, to be fair, was rather intimidating when angered. Or anytime, really. Best to just stay on his good side. But for Severus to show anything of the sort meant that he had been deeply affected. Lucius would have to keep a close eye on his friend.
October 12, 1992
"Harry, you have to leave the house sometime."
"No, I don't. And you can't make me."
Sirius sighed, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. Then again in French, and once more in Italian. Peeking his eyes open he saw Harry sitting with his arms firmly crossed in front of his chest and closed his eyes again, repeating the exercise in Bulgarian, Russian, Latin, Greek, and German for good measure.
"I didn't know you spoke all those languages," Harry said, drawing Sirius out of his musings over the number eight in Estonian… He couldn't quite remember…
"Oh, I don't," Sirius replied.
"But, you're speaking them," Harry countered.
Sirius chuckled. "I can count to ten, maybe twenty, ask a girl out, and insult your family honour, but that's about as far as I got in most of them."
Harry laughed. Good. Distract him, then drag him out when his guard is down. "Any you do speak?"
Sirius shrugged. "My French is fine, my Italian is decent, and I can get by in Russian in a pinch, but everything else is limited to flirting and insults, mostly."
Harry grinned. "So maybe not things to go teach Ivy then?"
Sirius mock shuddered. "I don't need Lily coming back from the afterlife to kick my arse, thank you very much."
Harry laughed again and Sirius saw his chance. He lunched at Harry, pulled him towards the fireplace and shouted out their destination as he threw a hidden handful of floo powder in. Time for Lord Peverell-Slytherin to make an appearance.
"I hate you."
"I know."
"So much."
"I know."
"You owe me for this."
"Always."
Sirius was not at all affected by Harry's scowl, although plenty of other people were giving them a wide berth.
"Where are we even going?" Harry demanded.
"Public," Sirius replied.
"I hate the public."
"I know."
"I still hate you."
"I know."
Harry, finally noticing the people giving him wary looks and parting the way as he stormed down the road, gave in a little and slowed his place, putting on the I'm-not-happy-but-you're-never-going-to-be-able-to-tell face that was part of the standard Pureblood facial expression arsenal. Sirius was actually rather impressed that he could pull those faces off.
He wiped a fake tear off. "If only James could see you now. He'd be so horrified he'd probably roll over in his grave," he teased. Harry's face broke into a sneer worthy of any member of the Wizengamot, but he wasn't able to hold it an instead burst out laughing.
"I take it he wasn't a fan?"
Sirius scoffed. "Understatement of the century right there," he said. "Probably because he couldn't pull a face like that to save his skin," he stage whispered.
Harry rolled his eyes. "And you could?"
Sirius puffed up. "Of course, I could. I learned from the bastards. I mean best," he said, obviously not at all sorry about the "slip."
Harry snorted.
"How else do you think he managed to get the most detentions out of all of us?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "By causing the most trouble perhaps?"
Sirius smirked. "No, that honour would have to go to Remus."
He thoroughly enjoyed the shocked expression on Harry's face.
"You can't be serious," Harry said, before realizing what he said and groaning.
"Well as a matter of fact," Sirius said, laughing at Harry's put-upon expression.
A few minutes later they had arrived at what was apparently their destination.
Harry's face fell. "You can't be…" He caught himself just in time. "Please tell me you're joking," he said, sending a pleading look Sirius's way.
"Nope." Sirius looked far too smug.
"I hate you."
"I know."
Harry breathed in, resigning himself to his fate and thinking of creative suggestions he could give Barty when they got home.
As they entered, Harry caught sight of some familiar faces (as well as a few unfamiliar ones), and his heart sank. Sirius was so in for it when they got home.
"Ladies," Sirius said, greeting the group. "Thank you for joining us."
Harry gulped and managed a nod at the six ladies seated at the large table.
"Harry, you know Narcissa, Sabrina, and Anthea, of course, but may I present Lady Samira Harrington, Lady Remei Parkinson, and Lady Carita Burke."
Harry suppressed an eye twitch. For supposedly hating Slytherins Sirius sure knew a lot of them. Or at least the witches. Actually, no, that made sense. Then again, it was possible they weren't actually all Slytherins, not that it mattered entirely, but still. And of course it was entirely coincidence that these were all the mothers of children Ivy associated with regularly…
Right. Coincidence.
"Did Ivy put you up to this?" Harry asked, although not quietly enough it seemed because all six ladies gave him a knowing smirk. It was scary.
"Nope. I can ask her if you want," Sirius said with a grin.
All of them laughed at Harry's scowl.
"So, Sirius tells us that you are single," Lady Harrington said. At least he was pretty sure that's who it was.
Harry's face must have betrayed him because Sirius chuckled and said, "Don't worry. All these lovely ladies are married or otherwise engaged…"
"I'm not so sure about that," Sabrina chimed in. "I'd consider an upgrade."
Harry's face flushed at her wink and Sirius continued on as if he hadn't heard a thing, although a bit louder than before.
"All spoken for, and none of them have daughters they'd try to pair off with you so you're safe from that at least."
"Thank Merlin," Harry muttered. All the ladies (and Sirius) laughed. "Great, so why am I here?"
Narcissa placed a hand on his arm. "Sirius told us how uncomfortable you are in society, dear, and we thought we could all lend you a hand."
Harry let himself relax and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"And maybe help you find a nice young woman…"
He'd let his guard down too early. He looked at Narcissa and panicked. He'd seen that expression before. Draco's twenty first birthday, to be exact, to which he had reluctantly gone, per Narcissa's persistent request. The command was perhaps the more accurate description. Regardless, he had shown up fully prepared to stand unnoticed on the sidelines, but Narcissa had grabbed him and introduced him to so many witches… So many. He let go a mental shudder at the memory. Narcissa's face looked far too similar at the moment for his liking, and he knew that if she (and the other ladies present he suspected) had her (their) way, he would find himself married within the year. He had held out once but Narcissa had been acting alone with only occasional assistance from Andy. Now there were six of them.
Harry gulped.
"So, how did it go?"
Harry glared at Barty. "You knew?"
Barty looked puzzled. "Of course I knew. Black said it was important."
Harry's eye twitched.
Barty grinned. "And I was the one who suggested Lady Burke. She used to set everyone up."
Harry's eye twitched some more, but Barty looked so proud of himself that Harry couldn't bring himself to say anything. Instead he decided on a different plan of attack.
"So Barty, Sirius was the absolute worst today, and…"
"Torture?"
"What? No. But maybe a prank or two."
"I'm in."
If Barty was determined to be Harry's minion, well, at least there was some benefit.
"So here's what I was thinking…"
Lucius and Narcissa looked up startled as Sirius Black came hurtling through their floo.
"How did he…" Lucius started to say. "You know what? Never mind. Black," he said, turning his attention to their unexpected guest, "what are you doing here?"
"Narcissa, you've got to help me. He's after me and he won't stop."
Lucius muttered a "thank Merlin" and left his wife to deal with her relative.
Narcissa smirked. "So he didn't appreciate being ambushed after all?"
"What? No, but he'll live. No. It's the other one. Barty won't give up. And Harry put him up to it I just know it."
Narcissa laughed. "And you didn't go to Sabrina because."
Sirius mumbled something she didn't quite catch.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"She laughed at me," Sirius muttered a little louder. Narcissa smirked.
Just then Barty came flying through the floo as well.
Sirius squeaked and ran behind Narcissa. "You have to hide me."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "You are a grown man, Sirius. You can handle it yourself."
Sirius gasped. "You can't prove that!"
Suddenly Barty was nearly on top of him but paused suddenly at the sight of Lady Malfoy.
"Oh, uh, hello, Lady Malfoy," he said, clearly debating whether he should focus on his manners or on catching Sirius.
"He's all yours, Barty dear," Narcissa said.
Sirius gasped again. "You would side with him against me? But we're family," he whined.
"He came to my wedding."
"He was thirteen."
"But he was there."
"You're never going to let that go, are you."
Narcissa smiled serenely and Sirius knew he was on his own. Only one thing left to do.
"LUCIUS!"
Lucius, hearing some commotion or other in his house and figuring his wife could deal with it, took a seat in his study, opening up a book and settling in for a nice relaxing evening. It would be better if Narcissa was there to join him, but she was rather preoccupied with family matters at the moment, so he would leave her alone to take care of it as she wished.
A few minutes later he heard his name being shouted and the unmistakable sound of footsteps drawing closer. Muttering a curse he grabbed a handful of floo powder and called out the first address that came to mind. There was not enough gold in the world to convince him to deal with his wife's family.
Harry looked up, expecting to see Sirius or Barty, since by now at least one of them must have tired from the chase. He was actually sincerely impressed at both of them for having lasted this long. But instead of either of his somewhat permanent houseguests, he was greeted with the sight of Lucius Malfoy stumbling out of the floo. He had left it open for emergencies, since two people he was somewhat responsible for were chasing each other across Wizarding Britain, but he still hadn't expected anyone else to actually show up.
Lucius looked frazzled but it only took a moment for him to regain his composure and his standard pureblood mask.
"Would you mind terribly if I joined you for a little while this evening? I apologize for showing up unannounced."
Harry gestured for Lucius to take a seat. "I think it's probably my fault for making you leave int the first place, so make yourself at home. Tea?"
Lucius thanked him and settled into a seat.
"So. Sirius?"
Lucius nodded, only slightly betraying his displeasure at the evening's events.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Like I said, it's probably my fault. I… Actually, you know what? It is Sirius's fault. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like though."
Lucius thanked him again and Harry settled into one of the strangest one on one conversations he had had in a long time, mentally calculating the chances that Sirius would capitulate before Barty.
"Thank you, Winky. Now, how is the deal for new school brooms going?"
When Harry didn't receive an answer he looked up to see Lucius staring blankly at the space Winky had occupied just a moment ago.
"Um, Lucius? You alright?"
Lucius was broken out of his trance and turned his focus to Harry. "That was a…"
"House elf?" Harry finished for him. "Yes, that's Winky. I thought you had house elves," he said, frowning, thinking of Dobby. Ah, bloody… He'd forgotten to get Dobby out. Hermione was going to show up from another universe at some point and kill him. Brutally.
"Yes, but you were…"
Harry sighed, bracing himself for the oncoming discussion of house elves and their welfare. It wasn't that he didn't care, it was just… Hermione was way better at this than he was, or at least more dedicated. He tried so hard to explain it to people in a way that didn't involve calling them stupid, heartless monsters at some point while simultaneously offending the elves themselves, but he was really bad at it and failed most of the time.
"Yes, I find it works better when I am polite to them, don't you?" He wasn't sure why he had said it that way, but he was still grumpy from Sirius's "intervention" that afternoon and he was feeling a tad snarky.
"Oh, um, no, I mean, I…"
Never mind. Seeing Lucius Malfoy trip up on something like this was worth all the pain he had suffered today up to this point.
Lucius was panicking and using all his willpower to not show it. This was clearly a test of some kind, and he had no idea what the correct response was. And house elves? No one cared about house elves, hence his complete unpreparedness for this situation. Worst of all, Peverell seemed amused at his discomfort.
This was terrible. What was it about this man that caused everyone around him to lose their composure? Severus had been his way just the other day as well. And why was Lucius so desperate to be in his good graces? His usual answers of political leverage, influence, business connections, and so on and so forth seemed inadequate to describe this particular situation.
October 14, 1992
"Hey, are you writing to your girlfriend again?"
Thomas cringed. He was never, ever, going to live this down. Someone would find out eventually and he would be doomed. "No, just writing mum."
Ivy looked excited at that for some unknown reason. "Perfect! Would you mind sending my letter with yours?"
"Why are you writing to my mum?"
"Well she is helping Sirius help Henry meet people to date and I wrote all of them telling them exactly what they ought to look for."
Thomas's eye twitched. "You godfather asked my mum to help play matchmaker?"
Ivy nodded. "And Kenneth's mum, and Draco's mum, and Daphne's mum, and Pansy's mum, and Blaise's mum," she said, counting off on her fingers.
Thomas suddenly felt the distinct need to absolve himself of any responsibility regarding any possible outcomes of this situation. "Here," he said, handing his newly finished letter to Ivy. "Would you mind sending them both off?"
Ivy took the letter. "You want to come see Hilda with me?"
"No, I'm good."
Ivy shrugged and began walking away. "Say hi to my owl for me," he called out for the benefit of no one in particular. Better safe than sorry.
October 15, 1992
Harry had received plenty of strange letters over his lifetime but this had to rank somewhere up there.
Dear Lord Peverell,
I promise I had absolutely nothing to do with Ivy's letters and would like to assure you of my complete innocence in the entire matter. Also, please do not hold my mother's actions against me and if she tries to suggest you meet one of her cousins I would advise you to please decline.
Sincerely,
Thomas Harrington
Harry walked around for a minute until he found Sirius, who was seated next to Sabrina, both poring over something or other.
"Hey Sirius, do you know anything about some letters Ivy sent out?"
The panicked look that turned to sheer, unconvincing innocence was enough answer for Harry.
"Is it true you despise the color orange and prefer plums to any other fruit?" Sabrina asked amusedly.
"What? Where did you hear that?"
"Ivy sent me a letter."
Ivy sent her a… Oh no. Oh no no no.
"And was yours the only one sent?" Unlikely, but he deserved hope.
"Remei and Samira both commented on the lovely letters they received for Ivy."
Harry let his head fall forward to the table with a bang and groaned. It was going to be Montréal all over again.
LORD PEVERELL-SLYTHERIN: MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR LOOKING FOR LOVE?
"I hate you."
Sirius winced. "I know."
"This is all your fault."
"Would it help if I said I originally got the idea from Ivy?"
"What would possibly make you think that would help?"
"It was worth a shot?"
Harry's eye twitched continuously for nearly an hour. It was a record even Ivy hadn't beaten yet, and he was determined she would never find out. She didn't need any more encouragement.