SCATHACH (REVISED)

CHAPTER 2:

BACK FROM THE DEAD

Harry tensed, almost about to flee, before Nymphadora grabbed his shoulder. "Believe me, Harry, if she's an impostor, she knows way too much to be a usual one," the Metamorphmagus hissed. "She told me a few embarrassing babysitting stories I'd wished she had bloody well forgotten!"

"In future, Nymphadora," the woman wearing his mother's face said, rolling her eyes, "check the label on the bottle."

"But…but…I saw your body! You were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital!" Harry protested. "Unless there's some necromancer or cloning lab or…"

"Harry, this isn't a clone or a Homunculus or a revenant," Croaker said. The older man had been almost an uncle figure to Harry from an early age. "I did some checking, including a variation of the Gringotts Inheritance Test. The girl you saw earlier is her actual body, which doesn't share any of your mother's DNA, but the soul is most definitely that of your mother, Lily."

"What, you know about DNA?" Nymphadora asked.

"Young Dora, unlike our colleagues elsewhere in the Ministry, we keep abreast of modern science. Our work often requires investigating the intersection between science and magic."

Harry interjected before anything further could be said. "…I have a lot of questions."

"I'm sure you do," the doppelganger said.

"…Then…why do you look like a teenager when you've been dead for…three years? And why haven't you come back before now?" he asked in a tight voice, years of anger and resentment beginning to bubble to the surface.

"Oi!" snapped one of the other girls who had been wearing a similar black bodysuit to the doppelganger. She had dark hair and purple eyes…and, Harry realised, wolf-like ears, with a bit bushy tail protruding from her rear, swishing agitatedly. "Boss has been trying to find a way back home for ages! She only found it a week ago, and she wanted to make sure it was safe!"

"Sarah, I can fight my own battles," the doppelganger said sharply to the wolf-like girl.

"Sarah?" Harry asked, recognising the wolf-girl's voice from last night. "Didn't you call her Delta last night?"

"Delta's…a codename, of sorts. I'll explain it later, Harry, but I need to answer your questions first…as best as I can," the doppelganger said. And then, she indicated the other two girls. "This is Alpha and Beta, though their birthnames were Esther and Elizabeth."

Harry stared at them. Both were buxom girls about his age with sapphire eyes, one calm, with long golden hair, while the other had silvery hair. They both had pointed ears, oddly enough, not the dog-like ears of Sarah, but rather…

"They're Elves?" Harry asked. "Like, actual Elves, not House-Elves?"

"Yes. Believe it or not, I was reborn on another world entirely," the doppelganger said. "We'll discuss it in the drawing room."

With that, the quartet moved off. Harry took a while to follow them, partly because he had been stunned by the various claims made, and partly because he was distracted by the sight of some rather callipygian rears clad in that skintight black stuff…until his gaze strayed to the doppelganger's rear. He cringed, screaming internally at the Oedipal thoughts he nearly fell into.

Shuddering, he followed them, hoping this day wasn't going to get any worse…

Once they had all gathered (well, Sarah or Delta or whatever her name was was poking and prodding at various items around the room, even sniffing them), the doppelganger sighed. "Okay, so, I am not sure how the Hell I ended up being reborn, let alone what had to be fourteen years in the past. Our only working hypothesis had to do with my Time-Turner. You saw it broken after the accident, right, Harry?"

Harry nodded mutely. "Our current hypothesis," Croaker said, "is that it somehow interacted with her blood, a potent medium for magic, and while it did not send her body back in time, it did send her soul back in time. Of course, there could be other reasons, but Lily and I would be damned if we had any other substantial hypotheses."

"In any case," the doppelganger said, reverting her form to the teenager Harry saw earlier, the voice changing as well, "I was reborn as Belladonna Kagenou, second daughter to the Kagenou noble line. It sounds like something out of a story, but believe me, I was surprised to be living it. Once I was in command of my memories, I resolved to start searching for a way home. My new family was a loving one, my new sister is far better than that jealous cow Petunia, but…I knew my sons would be missing me. Especially you. My last memory as Lily Potter was of you watching me die. I'd give you a hug, but…you're still coming to terms with this, unable to tell whether I'm your mother or not. And, well…I ended up getting embroiled in certain matters."

"Certain matters?" Harry asked.

At this, Esther or Alpha or whatever her name was spoke up. "On our world, there is a disease dubbed 'Demonic Possession' by the Three Heroes Church. Those suffering from it become rotting lumps of flesh, unable to die. The Three Heroes Church claims this to be possession by a demon, and sufferers are either banished, killed, or sent to the Church for 'purification'. All four of us suffered from the disease, though Belladonna…sorry, Lily was fortunate in that she found a cure before she began to suffer from it. She also acted as a vigilante throughout the Kagenou family's lands, as banditry was rife. It was there in one bandit camp that she stumbled across me. I had been banished from my home when I began suffering from Possession. I was suffering for long enough that I was little more than a blob with eyes and a mouth by the time Lily found me. But Lily found a cure."

The doppelganger nodded, giving a grim smile. "Those bandits were not just any bandits. I used Legilimency on their leader. Aside from being a royal knight wannabe, he was also a cultist, and he had orders to take Esther to the Three Heroes Church, which itself is actually a front for the Cult of Diablos."

"…Diablos? Seriously?" Harry said flatly.

"Yeah, I'm with Harry here, that sounds like an edgelord's name," Nymphadora said. "It's like with V-V-Voldemort, you know?"

"True, but Diablos was, centuries ago, a real demon, defeated by the Three Heroes. Propaganda claimed them to be men, but in fact, they were women, women cursed by Diablos with the demon's dying breath. The Demonic Possession is the curse taking hold in their descendants, causing certain foreign cells to warp the body, combined with unnatural surges in magical energy," the doppelganger said. "But I found a way to cure the Demonic Possession. Esther was the first to be cured, with Elizabeth, myself, and my sister in this life, Claire, cured soon afterwards."

"And the wolf-girl?" Harry asked.

"Wolf Therianthrope, technically," the doppelganger said. "Sarah was found by us later."

The wolf-girl in question nodded, turning from where she had been peering at a moving portrait, who had been staring at her warily. "Sarah got Demonic Possession, and got kicked out of the clan by my father, the chieftain. He hunted me too. But Sarah's the best at hunting, and at hide-and-seek," she proclaimed proudly, her massive, bushy tail wagging, mirroring that pride.

"Wait, wait a moment!" Andromeda said. "Sarah's father…hunted her, all because she had this disease?" The outrage in her voice was matched by Harry's own, even if he kept it hidden. Assuming they were telling the truth, this was horrifying.

"She was one child amongst literally hundreds, and thus was considered disposable," the doppelganger said, looking disgusted. "And believe it or not, Sarah is actually quite compassionate compared to others of her kind. While she's savage in battle, she's kind to others outside of it. If a touch…energetic and playful. In any case, more or less by accident, I've formed an…organisation. I didn't want to draw these girls into battle, but…"

"…But we intend to stop the Cult of Diablos," Esther said. "Countless lives have suffered thanks to their influence, and they intend to use those suffering from Demonic Possession as a means to resurrect the vile demon they worship. I have to admit, Elizabeth and I did drag your mother into our crusade somewhat. I don't know whether that delayed her finding a way home, or expediting it. But when we found a new base of operations, we found a rift in space and time in a chamber we only recently uncovered."

"And that rift ended up in the Department of Mysteries," Croaker said. "Imagine my surprise when, in one of our lesser-used chambers, a rift long sealed opened up, and various objects were thrown through on fishing lines, only to be reeled back in, including a clock. Eventually, Lily and a few others emerged. They came with me to the Quidditch World Cup, where…"

"Were you spying on me?" Harry asked. "I thought I was being watched, but I chalked that down to paranoia and a bad mood!"

"I…I wanted to see what had become of my children, of my…former husband," the doppelganger said. "I'd already been told by Saul what had happened, but I needed to witness it. I did approach the Tonks family while you were out cold, telling them about this, but…I wanted to wait until after the Quidditch World Cup to approach you. I didn't think those so-called former Death Eaters would start attacking."

"You killed them," Harry said. His tone wasn't accusatory, he was glad this girl, whoever she actually was, killed Walden Macnair. He was already a nasty piece of work even before he wanted to kill Harry.

"Dun Scaith exists to protect the innocent and punish evil that hides in the shadows," Elizabeth said, the more reserved Elf speaking up for the first time. "The Death Eaters did not care about what they did to innocent people. I don't like killing, but people like that, who get away with murder, rape, and all kinds of crimes…why should they be allowed to roam free?"

"Yeah, well, speaking as an Auror, rookie or not, I technically should be bringing you guys in," Nymphadora said. "But I'm sure that, if I tried, you'd break my limbs."

"Sarah would," the doppelganger said, jabbing a thumb at the Therianthrope in question, who nodded eagerly and proudly, her tail wagging. "And that's her being gentle."

"Yeah, well, I like to avoid being made to drink Skele-Gro. That stuff tastes like shit and feels even worse when your bones are regrowing."

"Ugh, tell me about it," Harry said. On the doppelganger's look, he said, "It's a long story involving a Quidditch match, Gilderoy Lockhart's incompetence with healing spells, and the Malfoys' former House-Elf. I learned what it was like to have an arm shattered by a Bludger, then no bones in said arm, and then have them regrown in rapid succession."

The doppelganger glared up at Croaker. "And where is Lockhart? I wish to express my…displeasure."

Croaker snorted. "Good luck with that. Stupid bastard was using Memory Charms to steal other people's monster-hunting exploits and pass them off as his own. He used the wrong wand, a badly-damaged one, to try and Obliviate Charles, along with Ronald Weasley, and it literally backfired on him. He remembers nothing of his actual life, and so is basically a long-term patient at St Mungo's."

"Does he remember his toilet training?" the doppelganger asked. "Because if so, then he hasn't forgotten enough."

"And that's the Lily I knew," Andromeda sighed, before standing. "Listen, I need to get back to Dartmoor and the campsite, help Ted with the injured. But Lily, if you decide to take Harry back wherever you've been…just make sure it's with his permission. Harry's been through a lot since you got hit by that damned lorry, and I mean a lot, and that bloody father of his, to say nothing of the so-called Boy Who Lived, haven't helped matters."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Andy," the doppelganger said. "And it's good to see you and Dora again. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure. Goodbye, Lily. I'll be back later today, I hope. Assuming Crouch doesn't do something that makes me want to beat him to death with the stick he has up where the sun doesn't shine."

Farewells were exchanged, and after Andromeda left, the doppelganger sighed. "Harry…I know this is hard to believe. All I have to give to try and persuade you is the memories of our time together, and even that may not be enough. But I give you my word that the moment I could, I began searching for a way to come back to you. And…I'm very disappointed in James, to say the least. And very angry too. I didn't tell you or Charlie this, but…I caught him in bed with another woman, Bertha Jorkins. I dunno why he wanted to jump into bed with that vapid little gossip, but we had arguments. I threatened divorce, and he threatened to ensure I got nothing, not even one of my sons. That was a few weeks before your birthday, when we went to Regent's Park. But our marriage had been coming apart at the seams for a time before that. When you showed Parselmouth abilities, and James reacted badly, that was the last straw. I was thinking of divorcing him anyway, and trying what I could to get custody of you, at least. But when you fled, I had to follow. And we know how that ended up."

Before Harry could comment, one way or the other, Nymphadora said, "Wait, Bertha Jorkins? Apparently she's been missing from the Ministry for a while. Crouch tried pushing Bagman into investigating, but Bagman seemed to think she would turn up again like a bad penny. Supposedly, her memory's been playing up a lot lately."

"…That's strange," the doppelganger said. "Jorkins was a vapid little idiot, but she had a good memory, for gossip if nothing else. Anyway, back to Harry and myself. Harry…all I ask is that you give me a chance to prove myself, to prove I am who I am, to make up for the years we spent apart."

Harry looked at her, trying to consider matters. True, it was unlikely that someone could bamboozle not only Andromeda Tonks (who, as a Black by birth, paranoia and intrigue was as natural to them as breathing), but Croaker, an Unspeakable, and someone who wouldn't take something as gospel until he had enough proof. It was Croaker who instilled in him a need to question as much as possible, after all. If he believed this girl was actually Lily reborn, then Harry would give her a chance.

But after over three years, it still felt like a cruel joke might yet be being played on him. That if he accepted, someone would pull the rug out from underneath him, and say it was just a prank. His father was a notorious prankster, as was his friends, and Charlie had inherited a particularly mean-spirited streak from James Potter, given his actions towards Harry at home and at Hogwarts. He couldn't help but be paranoid, in case this was some dream, born of concussion.

And it wasn't just that. It was the guilt, inflicted by others, and by himself. That he had gotten his mother killed that day. That he didn't deserve this, that if she really was real, she should be blaming him for her demise, something that ate away with him, even after others tried to counsel and console him.

"…I'll give you a chance," Harry eventually conceded. "But…one last question. Why did you call yourselves Dun Scaith? Isn't that the Land of Shadows, presided over by its queen Scathach? I mean, you read that myth to me once, about Scathach and her tutelage of Cu Chulainn."

After exchanging looks with Esther, Elizabeth, and Sarah, maybe-Lily said, "…That's because we, or rather, Esther and Elizabeth, formed an organisation to fight the Cult of Diablos. I didn't want to put them in danger, but…things ran away from me. They wanted to call it Shadow Garden, for we hunt and fight the dark and evil things from within the shadows, but…I decided to call it Dun Scaith. And when they wanted to give me a codename…I chose Scathach…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

And there you have it. A title drop, and some exposition about Lily, her past, and this fic's version of Shadow Garden.

Why was Lily reluctant to create Shadow Garden, or at least to allow Esther and Elizabeth to fight? Umm, hello? She fought in the war against Voldemort, she knows what fighting against a shadowy organisation is like. She won't let injustice lie, but she won't exactly seek out trouble at its source. Esther and Elizabeth, aka Alpha and Beta, however, would not let it lie, and they dragged Lily into it, albeit inadvertently.

Of course, while Lily is crazy-awesome when in full Scathach mode, and is also powerful enough to rival Cid, unlike Cid, she's not a near-psychopathic chuunibyou. She knows full well the reality of the situation. Her empathy and experience as a parent helps her with Shadow Garden…and she is almost the complete opposite of Cid's delusional obliviousness.

It also helps that she trusts the Kagenou family enough to let them in on at least part of the secret. Claire knows the full story, while the parents don't really know about Dun Scaith, though they suspect something. Claire knew before the Viscount Grease incident.

Harry's scepticism is understandable in some regards, despite Croaker and the Tonks' corroboration. He's been given grief by James and Charles via mean-spirited, even cruel pranks, and he saw his mother die in front of him, and he has one hell of a guilt complex given that he feels responsible for her demise. But he'll come round, sooner rather than later…

Oh, and the scene where Harry's gaze strays to his mother in a figure-hugging suit and cringes? I wanted to do something like the scene where Trunks is hit on by Bulma in Dragonball Z Abridged. I love the scene where Bulma says, flirtatiously, "I'LL be your mommy", and Trunks is internally screaming. And no, even though she isn't biologically related to him anymore, this will NOT be an incest fic. Seriously, I don't get why there's so many Harry/Lily fics on this website, which is to say any at all…

No numbered annotations this time.