AN:
Nightwing2013 - Thank you! Yes, I messed up on that slight continuity issue and fixed it. Haha, yeah, I cannot compete with the colossal chapter lengths of Breanie. I haven't read anything by PotterSloth yet, but you mentioning them made me look them up, and I have their first story in an open tab for when I've got some time. Well, I am flattered to be compared to Breanie. I don't think I quite compare, but again, I am quite flattered to even be up there in comparison to you.
GreengrassRebel - I'm glad Theseus came off how I wanted him to. I thought he was a good contrast to have, showing someone strongly supportive of the Ministry, but still an objectively good person. Haha, that is an interesting thought, about Dumbledore having a wardrobe full of enchanted clothing. He probably would have quite a bit. Though, maybe not quite as much as we think. I haven't stated whether Dumbledore is a mage or not, or whether he's a mage for multiple deities. He's a Grand Sorcerer, and has mastered all the elements, but not necessarily a mage.
Xager-the-Chaos-King - Glad you enjoyed Lord Theseus Scamander. Umbridge indeed is doomed. It's just a matter of how long she lasts. I thought it was very poetic to make her use her blood quill. Happy to see you enjoyed it. His magehood is approaching fast . . . real fast.
stars90 - Yeah, you want to feel bad . . . but it's Umbridge. It's pretty much impossible not to feel glee at her suffering.
scrappy8 - Thanks! Umbridge definitely deserves the punishments.
Guest - Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. Your wish is soon to be granted.
Mando-Vet - Thank you! I do wish this site and AO3 had something like Kudos for chapters. It'd be helpful to see what chapters people really enjoyed. This story is way more popular here on , and I have a lot more like you who give me feedback and compliments, so I'm a bit biased towards this site for this story. It's flipped for my Star Wars story. Far more popular and way more discussions on AO3. I guess that's the joy of using both. Different types of fandoms and fans.
flight of the phoenix 86 - Thanks! Yes, Umbitch is finally reaping what she sowed. I'm glad you liked Scamander, and while I can claim credit for my portrayal of him, I sadly can't claim credit for creating him. That credit goes to JK Rowling. Also, for some reason, I can't type your name exactly as it is without the editor removing everything but the periods and the number. Very
Chapter 58
Dora, Sirius, Alexis, and Remus all made their way into the Quidditch stands, sitting in the Professor and guest portions of the stands. They had already had a nice quick chat with Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Ginny, Ron, and Harry as the starting team and reserve team all suited up, prepared to face Slytherin. She knew that Harry and Angelina were a bit nervous about Ron, who hadn't been playing very well, letting the Slytherin's taunts get to him He'd never really been actively bullied like Harry had been, and like Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Fred, and George had been, having been members of the team for a few years now.
She knew how much Angelina wanted this win though. It was everything to her sister, which meant it was everything to Harry, even if he hadn't already wanted the win himself. Still, they had faith, and Dora had faith in them.
Dora wanted to scowl seeing Umbridge eyeing the Gryffindor Quidditch Team with a malevolent glare. She'd been quite humbled in the almost two weeks since Theseus Scamander had first dressed her down. Since then, Theseus and one other, whether that was Dora, Sirius, Remus, or Mad-Eye, were there to observe, and frankly teach, Umbridge three out of five class days a week. Umbridge always glared at Dora and Sirius, was clearly unnerved by Mad-Eye, but she'd actively tried to protest Remus, calling him a dangerous halfbreed and a host of other slurs, and Theseus had once again forced her to use her own blood quill for several hours, threatening further administrative punishments.
The blood quill punishments caused pain and hurt her ego, but that had just been the tip of the spear. Theseus had reported back to the Wizengamot that Umbridge's two months as High Inquisitor had been a complete waste of funding, and he considered it fraud waste, and so, the gold had been retrieved from her and Fudge, both of whom paid the full amount as a punishment. Then she'd lost her position as High Inquisitor, and the position had been removed, the duties of the position being pushed onto the Department of Education, who would now come out and review a couple classes weekly, and provide their honest opinion to the Wizengamot, to the Headmaster, and to the Board of Governors. Umbridge, who had shown up to that particular Wizengamot meeting to plead her case, had been floored when ninety percent of the Wizengamot flat out supported everything Theseus said, and basically reiterated Theseus's threat that she deal with it or she clear out, both from the school and the Ministry. Then Theseus had hit her and Fudge again on their choice of textbook and the curriculum they had been using, since now that he was observing, it was clear that Umbridge's set of instruction would likely result in a very large portion of the OWL students failing, and a large number of the remaining NEWT students failing. The Wizengamot agreed, so Fudge and Umbridge were fined, further, the amount of gold it would take to replace the textbooks that the students had bought with a new, Education Authority approved, course book.
Still, she hadn't been beaten. Dora knew that if she could get away with something, she was going to. She still would do everything she could to punish Dora's family, and someday Dora felt sure that the bitch would go too far, and when she did, Dora would crush her. That was a vow.
Dora doubted that day would be today though. With Dora, Sirius, and Alexis there, the toad would have a hard time getting away with much. Now that Dawlish, Travers, and Robards had been taken care of and Savage and Kingsley were near the top with Scrimgeor being watched carefully, neither she nor Sirius were being railroaded anymore, and the Wizengamot was doing its best not to piss them off. While she still was on the lookout for Greyback, both officially and for the Order, she also was back to normal duties, and was openly able to prepare for her Defense Mastery, which she was going to be done with by the Christmas holidays. Just another thing to celebrate when everyone was home.
Dora cheered as Lee Jordan announced the two teams walking out onto the pitch, but Dora's smile and cheers didn't stick as her attention was drawn to the song that the Slytherins were singing.
"Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King.
"Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our King."
Dora scowled and glanced over at Umbridge who was now smiling, clearly enjoying the song. Around the stands, people were whistling and cheering, trying to be heard over the song. Trust the Slytherins to be rather cheap with their tactics.
"Bloody hell, it's going to be annoying if we get to listen to that the whole match," Sirius muttered.
Alexis, Remus, and Dora nodded in agreement as the singing grew louder.
Dora tried to ignore the singing, and focused on the two teams that had met on the field. She saw Angelina shaking the new Slytherin's captain's hand. Rather than immediately mount their brooms though, Dora saw Angelina basically signal for a timeout and pull her team together.
"What's going on there?" Remus asked.
"I think Angelina's giving another pep talk," Dora said.
"Whatever she's saying seems to be working," Alexis noted, and Dora could agree watching the team almost looking amped up . . . almost feral.
Soon they were mounting their brooms and Hooch was blowing her whistle
The balls were released and the fourteen players shot upwards. Dora watched Harry shoot off, but instead of going high, following his normal strategy, he shot off right at the Slytherin chasers blocking their attempt at getting the quaffle. They all rolled out of the way of Harry speeding at them like a bullet and one of them rolled straight into Fred and George having intercepted the bludgers at their release and both smashed into the chaser near the end of his roll, when he was off balance and he flew off his broom and slammed down hard onto the ground, flat in his back. The Slytherin's stopped singing at once in shock.
"Unbelievable!" Lee Jordan said. "Potter runs interference and the Weasley twins unseat Warrington!"
Dora whistled as Ron shot for the goal hoops while Angelina took control of the quaffle.
"And it's Potter – that's right, Potter with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still prefers to date a red-haired specky git–"
"JORDAN!"
Dora chuckled, knowing that George and Angelina both enjoyed the teasing from their good friend.
"Oh Potters diving! He's seen the snitch! Malfoy's hot on his tail!"
"Already?!" Sirius exclaimed
Apparently not as Harry pulled out of his dive at the last possible moment, lightly brushing the grass, but Malfoy wasn't so lucky as he slammed into the ground.
"I don't believe it!" Lee said. "A perfect Wronski Feint! Malfoy's down!"
"I think our team is sending a message," Remus said in awe.
"Bell, Spinnet, and Potter heading up the pitch, Pucey and Montegue trying to keep up! Bell passes to Spinnet, to Potter, back to Spinnet, to Bell — nice bludger there from George Wesley — just Pucey and the keeper — Bell back to Potter, she shoots — she scores! Ten points Gryffindor."
Cheers sounded around and the Slytherin's started singing again as the quaffle was thrown to Pucey. Warrington was just now getting back onto his broom and taking to the air. Malfoy was moving slowly, walking gingerly.
"And the quaffle is thrown to Pucey and -"
That was as far as he got as Katie and Alicia slammed into the boy's sides, trapping him as Angelina came in from the front, fast and hard, and he barely had time to brace before she slammed into him, hurling him from his broom with a scream, and Alicia rushed to recover the quaffle.
"ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL PARKIN'S PINCER FROM THE GRYFFINDOR CHASERS! THAT'S THREE SLYTHERINS DOWN IN AS MANY MINUTES!" Jordan screamed, once again, as the Slytherins were silenced in horror.
One of the teachers had already quickly raised their wand to slow Pucey's fall, which would save the boy from major injury, but slow his return to the pitch.
"And it's Spinnet, reverses to Potter, over to Bell – she shoots – and she rings the Bell! Another ten points to Gryffindor!"
"Bloody hell," Alexis said, with an impressed look on her face.
"I think we're about to see a couple years of repressed rage unleashed," Dora said, a smile blooming on her face.
With the Slytherins still down a chaser, Alicia, Katie, and Angelina dominated once again, stealing back the quaffle and soon the score was thirty to nil, with Angelina sinking a second shot, and then it was forty to nil with Alicia recovering a pass and sinking a shot. The Slytherin section was quiet, looking at their haggard chasers and keeper in only five minutes of play.
Finally the three Slytherin chasers were back together and sweeping up the field, and the Slytherin section started singing loudly again, clearly trying to regain their momentum, but as Dora looked over at Ron, she could see his changed posture. His nervous, almost panicking attitude was replaced with a gleeful expression, and she knew that Harry and the three girls' actions had motivated him.
"Pucey reverses to Warrington – nice bludger work by Crabbe – back to Pucey, over to Montegue – so it's the first test for new Gryffindor Keeper Weasley, brother of Beaters Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team – Montegue shoots – and he's blocked it! Well done, Ron!" Jordan called out.
The quaffle was heading back up the field with the three girls passing quickly, with Fred and George now covering them while Harry ran interference on Crabbe and Goyle, and Dora could hear the Slytherins getting back into their song even more loudly, clearly happy to see that this was now turning into a real match again, rather than the slaughterfest it had been for the first five minutes of play.
"Bell to Spinnet, reverses to Potter – she shoots! Oh, great block by Bletchley – you'll get the next one Angelina!"
The Slytherins were flying back up the field, with their section singing louder and more confidently again, now that they'd had a save and the horror of the first few minutes seemed to be over.
Then Harry came in again, using his broom to deflect a pass from Warrington, and Katie recovered it land soon Gryffindor was racing down the field again, with Harry flipping around and starting to interfere with the two Slytherin beaters, while Fred and George targeted the Slytherin chasers, and within moments the score was fifty-nil with Alicia's first shot being deflected only for Angelina to recover the quaffle and sink it back in.
"We are getting a master class on Seeker interference from Harry Potter today, folks!" Jordan said.
Fred and George kept up the pressure and Harry ran another speedy, terrifying run at the Slytherin chaser with the quaffle who froze on instinct only to lose the quaffle and then cost the Slytherins another ten points.
"Sixty points, Gryffindor!" Jordan exclaimed. "It's Warrington with the quaffle heading back up the pitch – pass to Pucey – to Montegue – back to Pucey – OH MY GODS!"
Like deja-vu, Katie and Alicia slammed into Pucey's sides, trapping him, with Fred and George having managed to disrupt Warrington with bludgers and Harry buzzing Montegue, and Angelina came in fast and hard and Dora could see the look of panic on Pucey's face as he was once again slammed into hard and hurled from his broom.
"ANOTHER BRUTAL PARKIN'S PINCER!" Jordan was jumping up and down in the commentator's box. "Bell to Potter - reverse to Spinnet – back to Potter – to Bell – she shoots! She scores! Seventy points Gryffindor!"
The Slytherins were once again silenced in horror.
With the outnumbered Slytherin chasers, they were once again unable to keep the quaffle and the score jumped up another twenty points.
"Fucking hell," Sirius exclaimed. "They're going to give that boy some PTSD!"
Angelina flew on her victory turn near the silent Slytherin section.
"WHERE'S THE SINGING NOW!" She called out.
She flew on with Alicia and Katie flanking her as they moved to intercept the Slytherin chasers who had just gotten the quaffle back into play.
Now the three Slytherin chasers were starting to look a mixture of furious and desperate as they roughly pushed up the field, with their beaters providing cover, and that's when they started doing reckless things. Harry flew at the beaters and both Crabbe and Goyle swung at him with their bats, which he gracefully avoided.
Hooch blew her whistle!
"Two penalty shots to Gryffindor for two attempted fouls by the Slytherin beaters on the Gryffindor seeker," Jordan called out. "Cheating, foul —"
"JORDAN!"
"I'm just calling it like it is, Professor!"
Dora could see that the three chasers didn't take the attempted bludgeoning lightly as Angelina and Alicia put two forceful shots past the Slytherin keeper.
"110 to nil, Gryffindor!" Lee called after the last penalty shot.
Dora glanced at Malfoy who was desperately searching for the snitch.
The match went back to a more standard match, but unfortunately the Slytherins were more battered, weary, or disheartened, while the Gryffindors were still amped up, so it was nearly thirty more points in Gryffindor's favor before Ron finally let a shot through
"First score by Slytherin!" Jordan called out as Warrington managed to sink a shot.
The Slytherin section started singing loudly again.
"Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our King."
That's when Harry came flying in once again, forcing Warrington to roll out of the way, and again, it was like deja-vu as two bludgers flew towards him, but while one hit his chest, like at the start of the match, the other smashed into his head and he dropped like a sack of potatoes off of his broom.
Hooch blew her whistle, calling a timeout, and she went down to where Warrington was unconscious on the ground. She gave him a quick check before she signaled for a few students off to the side of the pitch to come and grab him to take him to the hospital wing.
She flew back into the air, and blew her whistle again to continue the match, but now with the captain of the Slytherins out, and them down a chaser, the Gryffindors started pushing even more aggressively, and Pucey and Montegue were doing everything they could simply to try and keep the score down.
"And it looks like Malfoy and Potter are after the snitch!" Jordan called, and everyone focused on the two seekers who were in a race, with Harry pulling ahead steadily, being on a faster broom and Malfoy not flying nearly as elegantly as normal.
However, once Harry had a proper lead, he moved and blocked Malfoy from the snitch, causing them both to lose it, rather than Harry finishing the match.
"Oh, they're sending a message," Sirius said in shock.
"They're going for straight murder," Remus agreed.
Angelina scored another goal and once again flew near the Slytherin stands.
"WE'LL END THIS WHEN WE FEEL LIKE IT!" she called out. "NOW, WHERE'S THE SINGING?"
She flew off with Alicia and Katie to crush the Slytherin chasers again.
"Your sister is terrifying," Alexis said, and Dora nodded in pride.
"Yes, she is."
The game went for another hour with the Slytherin team getting absolutely pummeled. A small group of Slytherins tried to protest, calling the Gryffindors dirty cheaters and started singing again . . . which resulted in a third brutal Parkin's Pincer on Pucey and Malfoy being escorted off the pitch and to the hospital wing after slamming into the ground from another Wronski Feint . . . which promptly shut the small group up, especially with the rest of the House actively stopping them. Finally Harry ended the match with an easy dive to snatch the snitch out of the air.
"And Harry Potter puts the Slytherins out of their misery!" Jordan called out. "Final score 550 to 20. This was also a record breaking match for Angelina Potter as she now holds the record for most goals scored by a single chaser in a single match!"
"Harry!" Dora called out in alarm as beyond late, and completely on purpose, Goyle slammed a bludger towards Harry's back, and it smashed into him and launched him forward off his broom to fall the last meter to the ground and he landed flat on his back.
Hooch's shrill whistle sounded along with the uproar in the stands, compounded with catcalls, angry yells, and jeering.
Dora, Sirius, Remus, and Alexis made their way down out of the stands and they saw Harry already on his feet with Angelina and the rest of the team exchanging harsh words with the remaining Slytherin players, save for Goyle who was being yelled at by Hooch.
They sped up when they saw tensions rising and then Montegue, Crabbe, and Bletchley went for their wands, and Harry and his team were quick to respond when Astra appeared between the two groups with a snarl. She was the size of a full grown timber wolf. Dora had never seen her so large.
"What is going on here?!" Hooch yelled, quickly moving over and putting herself between Astra and the Slytherins.
"They're trying to attack us," Montegue spat. "They weren't happy with only sending two of us to the hospital wing."
"He's lying," Alexis said, as they finally got close enough, and Hooch glanced at them. "They drew their wands first."
"Hem, hem," a girlish voice from hell said, causing them to turn their heads. "I can hardly blame them for drawing their wands. They clearly feared for their safety. After that brutish and violent display on the pitch, you can't blame them. No, clearly the Gryffindor were trying to get even for perceived slights against them. I think we need to consider banning the whole team for their performance."
"They didn't commit a single foul the entire match," Hooch said with a look of disbelief. "They were rough, yes, but they played a clean match."
"And the Slytherin team instigated the altercation," Dora said, crossing her arms and glaring at Umbridge. "The team is standing right where Harry fell after Mr. Goyle's end of match bludger hit. The Slytherins came to them."
"You also have no say in the matter, Professor Umbridge," McGonagall said, moving next to Hooch. "You are out of bounds suggesting any sort of permanent punishment. That will fall to the Heads of Houses, myself as Deputy Headmistress or Professor Dumbledore."
"They injured two pure bloods of major Houses," Umbridge said coldly. "The Wizengamot will not —"
"Quidditch is a rough game," McGonagall cut her off. "The Wizengamot will do nothing. While the Gryffindor team might have played rough," she glanced at the team in question, "they played a clean game. In fact, other than the fouls made by Messrs. Crabbe and Goyle, and that act of retaliation and poor sportsmanship after the game by Mr. Goyle, this was the cleanest game of Quidditch we've had between Gryffindor and Slytherin in many years."
"So you're not going to do anything?" Umbridge demanded.
"You want me to punish pupils who have not committed an offense," McGonagall said acidly. "I could punish them for drawing their wands, but as Captain Montgomery has stated that Messrs. Montegue, Crabbe, and Bletchley drew them first. I also agree with Auror Potter that the Slytherin team started the altercation by choosing to accost the Gryffindor team where they were already gathered, so I will take fifteen points from each of the three players who instigated this fight. The only person who might deserve a permanent ban, since you feel that is something that needs brought up, is Mr. Goyle, who intended great harm on Mr. Potter in the match, and then retaliated after the match, also with the intent to commit bodily harm. However, as I have said, that it outside of your jurisdiction, Professor. I believe this was the exact type of situation that Lord Scamander brought up when considering removing your punishment privileges."
Umbridge looked like she'd been slapped.
"Now, I have a few students to discipline. You are dismissed, Professor," McGonagall said sternly.
"You don't have the permission –"
"I believe I do," McGonagall cut her off, stepping forward. "If you have forgotten, I am the Deputy Headmistress and have authority over all teachers and Heads of Houses. You are also no longer the High Inquisitor. You will do as directed or I will bring up your insubordination with Lord Scamander."
Umbridge gaped, her eyes wide in shock.
"Now, you are dismissed," McGonagall said with a bite in her tone.
Umbridge turned and stormed away, and Dora turned back to her family and friends. Now that the danger of any punishment was past, the team was starting to smile again.
"We won!" Katie exclaimed. "Come on, you guys! It's time to celebrate!"
Angelina and Alicia both grinned and soon the three of them were pulling the whole team into a group hug, as they all let their good mood replace the anger that had plagued them the whole match.
Dora grinned seeing Katie pull Harry into a solid kiss, while Angelina did the same with George, and the smile widened as Ginny fought through the rest of the team and slammed into both Katie and Ginny with an exuberant hug and cheer.
"We didn't just win!" Fred disagreed with Katie's earlier statement. "We destroyed them! That had to have been the worst loss in Slytherin history!"
"Party in the Common Room!" George called out.
"Good job you guys," Dora said, knowing they did indeed have a party to get to, and wanting to congratulate them before they left.
"Yeah, you all did bloody brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed. "That was a massacre."
"You certainly sent a message," Remus remarked dryly.
"A message not to fuck with you," Alexis agreed.
"Then everyone understood the message just fine," Angelina said smugly.
"It wasn't exactly subtle," Alicia said with a chuckle, but also a smug smile.
"Enjoy your party," Dora said.
"See you tomorrow?" Harry asked.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Dora said, with a nod.
*HP*
"Hey sis!" Dora said happily, and quickly hugged Angelina, while others greeted each other in the Entrance hall.
"Hey, sis," Angelina responded with a grin. "So, you ready for our little brother to outshine us once again?"
"Oh, what else is new," Dora said sardonically, and Angelina chuckled, before Dora turned to get hugs and greetings from the rest of the Hogwarts aged crew that was present, while Angelina did the opposite, greeting those that had come with Dora.
The Hogwarts students were those Dora expected to see. There was Harry, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Alicia, Katie, Ginny, Fred, and George, though she was pleasantly surprised to see Neville with them. Dora knew that they'd gotten pretty friendly with several of their other members of the Grim Consortium, but Harry had chosen to restrict this to those he considered very good friends or family. With Dora was Sirius, Alexis, Remus, and Mad-Eye, but also Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, Bill, Sarah and Jamie Spinnet, Penny, Chiara, Kingsley, Savage, Siobhan, and even little Aisling. Dora knew that Oliver, Skye, and Erika had all been invited as well, but were unable to make it.
Definitely a good sized crew, but still fairly core members. Harry often wrote to every "adult" that had shown, with them often writing back as well. That included Siobhan, who often included little letters from Aisling, who adored Harry. It always made Dora's heart swell thinking how many others had gathered around and showed their unconditional support for both her and Harry, whether they be old school friends, colleagues and mentors, or those who had basically become family, adopted officially or not.
"I'm surprised Umbridge isn't here to greet us," Dora said, after everyone had exchanged their hugs and greetings.
"Oh, she wanted to," Harry said with a smirk. "She wanted to interfere with my mage exam this morning, but Master Croaker shut her down, of course. Then she demanded to sit in on this ritual, but I told her she wasn't invited."
Savage whistled.
"I bet she didn't take that all that kindly."
"No, she went on her normal rant," Alicia agreed. "Lack of respect, he should know his place, he'll be punished, yada, yada."
Mrs. Weasley sniffed in disapproval, looking like she wanted her own chance to ream out Dolores Umbridge.
"Of course then McGonagall and Croaker shut her down again, saying he was well within his rights to deny her being present for this," Katie said with a smirk. "The hag nearly screeched in displeasure until McGonagall mentioned her lack of decorum as a Professor and how Lord Scamander would hear about it. That shut her up."
"He'll still hear about it," Dora vowed, though she was quite confident that Minerva would have done so as well.
"I think Theseus is about done with her," Kingsley said with a shake of his head. "Her teaching has gotten better, from what he said, but he's confident that if he gave her even an ounce of freedom, she'd revert back to her old ways on grading, teaching, and overall decorum. I think he just wants to survive till the Christmas holidays to give her a real chance to shape up, but also to give them time to figure out a possible replacement. Plus it will be less disruptive to have a new Professor start with the new term."
"I wish Professor Scamander would take the job," Hermione said with a sigh. "Every time he steps in, or walks around and assists, I learn something new. He's a fantastic teacher."
"I'll let him know the general consensus is that you all want him as your teacher," Kingsley said, with a wink. "If enough of us push, we might convince him to take the job for the last term. He is retired after all, and I suspect he gets bored."
"That would be brilliant," Ron said, agreeing with Hermione.
"Well, we're not here to talk about that toad," Alicia said. "We're here for Harry!"
"Yeah, let's take this back to the Room," Katie agreed.
"I'm interested to see this famous Room," Kingsley said.
"I wish I'd known about it back in school," Dora said with a sigh.
Conversation stayed light as they made their way to the seventh floor, everyone catching up with various people. Aisling was being held in Harry's arms, the little girl chattering away, and Harry smiling and nodding, showing that overly interested look that people tended to use with young children. Dora grinned seeing Katie and Ginny shamelessly admiring how he was with the adorable young girl, as they both flanked him and joined in with the patented, "How cool," or "That's awesome," that just made the girl beam and continue to chatter away.
Dora couldn't help but notice the Weasley parents eyeing Harry, Ginny, and Katie too. She knew they knew about them dating, but clearly the two were looking to see how their daughter was, now that she was in a relationship with not one, but two people. Mr. Weasley seemed as easy going as normal. Mrs. Weasley had a soft smile, looking at them, which made Dora relax. There would be no overbearing mother getting involved.
Bill was catching up with his other siblings, Sarah and Jamie were talking with Sirius and Remus, but that wasn't unusual. The Spinnets and the Bells, who sadly couldn't be there, were regulars at Shadow Hold anymore, coming over for dinner or drinks often enough for both business and pleasure. Fleur was happily talking to Angelina with Alexis. Chiara and Alicia were comparing and contrasting healing with muggle medicine. Kingsley seemed to be talking to Neville about his parents and some of the things they'd gotten up to recently.
"He's definitely being hired as a babysitter this summer," Siobhan whispered to Dora, observing Harry as well. "I'd trust any of those girls too. Rick and I can have a nice night out without relying on you, King, Alex, and Lexie when she gets back."
"You know I don't mind," Dora replied. "I love my time with Aisling."
"Yes, and she loves her Auntie Tonks," Siobhan agreed, "but you can have a date night out with Remus, and leave the kids at home."
"No complaints there," Dora said with a snort. "If you bring her over, Astra and Harry can wear her out in the woods."
"That's the idea," Siobhan said with a laugh.
Finally they made it to the seventh floor and all the 'adults' were properly impressed as the teens showed them how to use the Room and revealed it, and were even more impressed once they got inside
It was spacious enough for them all, with room for Harry's ritual, but otherwise fairly cozy, with couches around the ritual space for people to with and watch.
Kingsley and Savage were gifted with front row seats, since they were the "objective" witnesses, though both would have gotten the invite to begin with. Still, you were supposed to have witnesses that weren't family and had the magical expertise to understand what they were seeing, and the two fit the bill. Add that every gaining of magehood was a different experience, and they were all eager to see what would happen. Something would happen when Harry completed his last set of divine clothing and donned a full set, but none of them knew what.
Everyone found some seats, except for Harry, Ginny, and Katie, the latter two of whom helped ensure that everything was good to go for the ritual, having learned a lot about this exact ritual in the past couple months. He'd done the belts earlier in the day so that they only had to witness one ritual before they'd see the completion of his magehood.
Finally though, Harry was ready, and Astra along with six other hellhounds appeared.
"Doggies!" Asiling said ecstatically, and Harry grinned.
"Yes, but later, sweetie," Siobhan whispered and Harry chuckled
The seven hounds started howling, feeding energy into the darkness of the room. Harry took a slow deep breath and he started waving his wand slowly, reciting a long chant in Ancient Greek, repeating it over and over again, causing the darkness in the room to flow and extinguish all the lights getting a scream of delight from Aisling, rather than fear as most little kids would, but a cry of exclamation that was echoed in some form from others in the room.
Finally the darkness started to fade, before it turned into a misty haze that had a silvery light, which illuminated the room enough for them to see. The observers looked at Harry noting his almost mirage-like appearance because of his shadow robes. He put on the gloves and then above him, Hades's helm appeared.
The dark mist in the room swirled, and everyone felt the rush of magic fill the room. Aisling slumped in Siobhan's arms and Siobhan let out a gasp of alarm, and they all looked over.
"There's no need to worry," a female voice echoed softly in the room. "The child will be fine. She is being given a pleasant dream filled with playful shadow hounds, but what is to be revealed is not for a child's ears."
The darkness all continued to swirl before in the center of the room, it started to pull together and suddenly there were seven people standing there, and yet everyone could tell that something was different about them. They seemed slightly transparent, but yet still had the definition of real people. Something more than a ghost, but less than a person.
"I've seen you all before," Harry said in wonder.
There were three men and four women. The man in the center was the man with long black hair, and grey piercing eyes. He had a slender, but well-defined frame. On his left and right were both women Harry had seen with the man. Both brunettes, with athletic builds, but the one on his right was shorter, had a fierce look on her face, and shared the man's stormy grey eyes. It wasn't hard to assume they were siblings. The other woman was nearly as tall as the man, with light blue eyes, and a pleasant smile.
To the right of the center trio was the man with auburn hair, worn short, and a trimmed beard. He had blueish-grey eyes that seemed to hold great pain, and was wearing battle armor, but despite everything he seemed to radiate a calming aura. Next to him was his counterpart, a blonde hair, blue eyed woman with a fierce expression, wearing open robes over some sort of body-suit.
To the left of the center trio was another man and woman wearing ancient style armor. The man had disheveled jet-black hair, sea-green eyes, and a mischievous smile, while the woman was blonde hair, with piercing grey eyes, and seemed to have a calculating look on her face.
"In your visions of the past," the auburn haired man said with a rather refined accent and a nod.
"So, they're all dead . . . " Hermione said in disbelief, "but . . . but no spell can awaken the dead . . ."
"None of your magic can awaken the dead," the blue-eyed blonde woman next to the auburn haired man corrected. "The deities are not bound by the same laws. The God of the Dead and the God of the Underworld shepards, protects, rewards, and punishes all souls that enter their domain. Those you see here served in life and we have the honor to continue to serve in death."
"Why are you here?" Harry asked. "I mean . . . I don't understand."
"You have completed your magehood, Harry Potter," the man in the center said. "However your bond to our lord is not yet complete. It is blocked."
"Blocked by what?" Dora asked, a hint of worry.
"By the curse that failed," the kinder looking blue-eyed brunette said softly. "The bond must be broken for you to truly connect with your soul."
"But . . ." Kingsley said with a frown. "If the bond is blocking his soul from connecting then . . ."
All of the dead nodded, and the blonde with grey eyes shot Kingsley a nod of approval.
"Yes, Voldemort has imprinted a piece of soul into Harry," the blonde said. "It was unintentional, but Voldemort cannot die while it remains in place . . . and Harry cannot obtain his true potential."
Savage and Mad-Eye swore.
"But you can't do that unintentionally," Mad-Eye growled out. "That's among one of the foulest magics ever created."
"Yes, it is," all seven departed agreed together.
"You can do it unintentionally if your soul is already fractured and separated beyond salvage, and if you've prepared your soul for the ritual," the grey-eyed blonde said. "He didn't make one of the vile containers. He has made seven, though one was unintentional as we said."
"What are you all talking about?" Dora said, not having ever seen her three mentors unsettled like this.
"A horcrux," Kingsley said softly. "A foul creation. It's a container in which someone stores a portion of their soul after having committed a murder and doing a dark ritual. While that container remains, the dark witch or wizard can't truly die."
"Well that explains why he didn't die back in 1981," Dora said, "but if you know about these things, why hasn't anyone done anything?"
"Lass, you don't understand how much of a monster Voldemort truly is," Mad-Eye growled.
"Horcruxes aren't the only way to avoid death," Savage said, "and Voldemort was confirmed to have done a few of the other methods. You also don't realize how little we still understand about what happened the night he disappeared."
"Voldemort is feared for a reason," Kingsley said. "When he first started his rise to power, he was relatively unknown. There had been rumors of some of his actions abroad, but very little, so nobody feared him, and he was naturally opposed."
"To earn his reputation he started by killing some of the most powerful witches and wizards in our country, our best duelists," Mad-Eye said with a glare. "When things started getting bad, many of our friends and allies from abroad, some of the best duelists in the world came to our aid, and he killed nearly all of them as well."
"I know this. I get it," Dora said impatiently. "He's an incredible duelist."
"It's not just that," Kingsley said with a shake of his head. "He is an incredible duelist, and he does have a knowledge and grasp of magic that perhaps only a dozen others in the world have, but you of all people know that magical knowledge isn't everything in a duel. Voldemort is an older man now, but when he started he was younger facing others that had more knowledge and, in a few cases even, more power than him. Sometimes people are just faster, stronger, or they get in a tricky hit, or get lucky. We have some of the best duelists of multiple generations in this room right now, and we've all lost duels."
"He faced many opponents who landed hits that should have finished him," Sirius said quietly. "He had holes blown through his stomach. He was cut, stabbed, pierced, had limbs cut off, was burned, electrocuted, and almost anything else you can think of. You could see it hurt him, he'd scream in pain . . . but then you could only stare in horror as the wounds you caused healed right in front of your eyes and then he'd be trying to kill you with a ferocity and zeal that was unmatched."
"I was part of a fire team of Aurors during one of the open skirmishes with the Death Eaters," Mad-Eye said softly. "Some of our best. We saw an opening and went for Voldemort in the middle of the last war. We had him. He was able to mostly keep up with us, but the four of us were enough to get him . . . or so we thought. I amputated his non-wand arm, and my teammate blew a hole through Voldemort's hip . . . but he just screamed in pain and kept coming at us. No matter how hard we hit him, he just kept coming. Finally he blew me through the wall of a building . . . I spent the next three weeks in a coma, recovering, and never fully physically recovered. Two of my other teammates were killed . . . and the last one . . . well whatever horrors Voldemort subjected him to, he killed himself two weeks later."
All the younger ones in the room stared in horror. Even many of the older ones did as well, since not all of them had fought in the previous war, and even if they had, they hadn't actually fought Voldemort in person.
"He's done so many dark rituals that he's damn near impossible to kill," Remus said. "Those rituals have flaws, of course. He can be killed if you could decapitate him, blow his heart away, or blow his entire body away, but that's easier said than done . . . and even that belief was all theoretical since nobody had ever managed to do so."
"There was a joint task force in the Ministry, between the Aurors, the Department of Mysteries, and Albus Dumbledore, dedicated to trying to undo his rituals so he could be killed, in theory," Alexis said. "The problem was that everything anyone created required Voldemort to stay relatively stationary, trapped in an area . . . and you wouldn't be trapping him, you'd be trapping yourself in that area with him."
"It was going to require a large venture with Dumbledore and others to keep that monster at bay, while others held control of anti-disapparation, anti-portkey, and anti-elemental travel wards," Sirius said. "We were basically asking possibly dozens of people to die just to hopefully kill him."
"Which leads up to the night he disappeared," Savage said. "The bloody tosser was gone, but even with our sensory spells, nobody truly understood what happened that night . . . and nobody was truly sure what a rebounding killing curse . . . a curse that can't be blocked or deflected . . . would do. There's a team in the Department of Mysteries that is still studying that night."
"That brings us to horcruxes," Kingsley said. "While it was possible he had made one, we had no real proof. He'd never been killed up until that night, and the way he was defeated was so strange and uncertain that it wasn't clear proof of a horcrux, let alone multiple horcruxes."
"One thing in our favor is that a horcrux's container must be something you truly care about," Kingsley said, "However, in this case, even if we just went on the assumption he had horcruxes it wouldn't make things easier. So few know much about him."
"The vast majority of those who knew him best, his so-called friends, were his earliest followers," Mad-Eye growled. "Most of the others who didn't join him died or disappeared long ago. There's only a handful that know anything about him, and those are people like Dumbledore who taught him, but never were in Voldemort's circle of trust."
"Okay, I see your point," Dora said, chastised. "How does that affect Harry?"
"Badly," Mad-Eye growled. "Those containers have to be destroyed beyond repair . . . and live containers have to die."
"No!" a chorus of voices said fiercely.
Harry took a step back in shock and horror.
"He's not dying," Dora said angrily. "There's got to be another way."
"There is," the central ancient warrior said, bringing their focus back to the dead, with a huff of relief. "A ritual of our own creation."
"Your creation?" Bill said in wonder.
The dead all smiled.
"Just because we're dead doesn't mean we stop learning," the grey-eyed brunette said with a smirk. "We were all formidable warriors in our time, but every single one of us would crush our old selves if we were to fight now."
"Four thousand years of studying on an entirely different plane of being, and fighting the deities' battles in other realms does that," the green-eyed man said with a grin.
"Fascinating," Hermione, Chiara, and Penny all breathed out, while everyone else stared in shock at their "guests."
"What does this ritual do?" Mad-Eye asked cautiously.
"Simply put, we'll send off three pieces of Voldemort's soul in exchange for keeping Harry's on this plane of existence," the blue-eyed brunette said.
"Wait, three?!" Dora said. "We only have the one!'
"No, you don't," the center man answered with a smile. "This ritual has very specific parameters . . . and nearly all of them have been met. Having possession of three horcruxes is one of the parameters met."
Eyes widened in confusion and shock before the dead all looked at Astra who traveled away and then reappeared holding a familiar locket, and an old tiara of some sort. Two of the other five hounds had disappeared at some point, leaving Astra with four other hellhounds with her, all of whom glared at the objects with barely-held snarls.
"That was the one at Grimmauld Place, that we couldn't open," Mrs. Weasley said with a frown, eyeing the locket. "The one Astra growled at."
"But if that's a horcrux, then how did it get into my house?" Sirius asked.
"Regulus Black sacrificed his life to retrieve it from a cave, using Kreacher to ensure it was acquired," the auburn-haired man replied.
"Reg - Reg did that," Sirius said in shock.
"Hellhounds can track souls," the grey-eyed blonde said. "Astra was able to get the scent from Salazar Slytherin's Locket and she found a second one, the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, which was hidden in a different configuration of this very room."
"These are both priceless artifacts if they belonged to the Founders," Bill said in horror, looking at them. "He defiled history!"
"With Harry Potter's soul imprint, we now have three pieces," the blue-eyd blonde said. "This ritual is based on expanding magical numbers. Harry's soul will be preserved. Three pieces of Tom Riddle's soul will be sacrificed. Five hellhounds will use their power to draw forth the souls in the containers and banish them to the underworld. The last thing needed is seven people to help anchor and protect Harry's soul from banishment and his body from destruction."
"Seven people?" Fred said with a snort, looking around. "I'd say we have that in spades."
"Are there any specific requirements for these people?" Mad-Eye asked, shooting a glare at Fred.
"They must be kin to Harry Potter," the green-eyed man answered, causing slumps around the room.
"Angelina, Dora, and me only make three," Sirius said. "We need four more."
"Well, we can do blood adoptions here and now," Penny said. "I know how to make the potion. It is very simple."
"I can do the charm," Chiara said.
"I volunteer," Hermione said.
"You can't without a formal disownment or agreement by your parents," Dora said with a shake of her head. "It doesn't matter that your parents are muggles."
"We fall under House Prewett," Arthur said slowly. "I'm not Head of House, so we're in the same situation. Without a formal disownment or agreement from Ignatius, we are also out."
"I can," Remus said.
"No, you can't," Harry said, and Remus frowned. "That would make you closely related to Dora, and unless you want to end your relationship then you can't."
"I can though," Mad-Eye said gruffly. "Not like I have any other family."
"We can too," Sarah said softly, glancing at Jamie and Alicia, both of whom nodded in agreement.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked with a frown. "It's asking a lot, joining my family. Gods knows that I think of you as family too, but this will put a target on your back."
"Yes, but we already have that," Sarah said with a sigh and a shrug. "With Jamie's career and Alicia's close and open friendship with you, we already had a target on our back."
"Besides, while this might make that target worse, they will also gain some protection from certain reprisal due to your family's and the Black family influence," Sirius said. "They will be a branch family under the Potters, which is a branch of the Blacks."
"We already consider each other family, Harry," Alicia said with a shrug. "This is just a further step."
"Thank you," Harry said gratefully, and he moved forward and the three Spinnets met him in a group hug, something which Angelina and Dora were only too happy to join in on.
It didn't take long for them to quickly gather the ingredients needed for the potions, and Penny easily made them, with the last ingredient being a few drops of blood from all involved. Some quick charm work, and the Spinnets and Mad-Eye were officially cousins to Harry, Angelina, Dora, and Sirius. Mad-Eye and Sarah chose to bond as first cousins to Sirius, while Jamie and Alicia bonded to Dora, Angelina, and Harry.
"Very well," the central man said with a nod. "We are ready to begin. For this, each of us will guide one of the anchors, us not being able to use magic on this plane on our own. Harry Potter, please lie down in your runic circle."
Harry did as directed and then two of the hellhounds put the two horcruxes equidistant from his feet, making a triangle between the three horcruxes, with his body bisecting the triangle. The five hounds surrounded him and the horcruxes in a circle, and Siobhan gasped.
"The sign of the Deathly Hallows," she whispered.
"Indeed," the green-eyed man said with a nod. "There is some truth in legend. Now, for our anchors."
The departed all seemed to turn into smoke before flowing into the 'anchors' all of whom flinched at the approaching smoke before their expressions cleared and they moved to form another circle around the hellhounds, and they pulled out their wands.
Everyone else watched as in an incredibly synchronized manner, the seven started speaking swiftly, their wands moving slowly and deliberately. The hounds started growling, and dark smoke started to swirl around the circle.
Harry started to scream, a scream that was echoed in stereo by the locket, the diadem, and Harry's scar.
Everyone stared in horror as the seven continued to speak rapidly in a language none of them understood, their wands moving deliberately, all still synchronized and Harry's back began to arch as he twisted in pain before one final loud scream tore from Harry's throat and they all watched the diadem and locket dissolve away with two black pieces of vapor rising to be met by a third piece that came from Harry's scar. The hounds snarled and howled and all three pieces of vapor seemed to scream before bursting and fading away, and the magic poured through the room and darkness took everyone.
*HP*
Dora opened her eyes and looked around wildly, noticing she was in some sort of dark void with bright silvery starlight illuminating her open and empty surroundings. Her breath started moving quicker as she started to panic somewhat. Where was everybody? What had happened?
"There's nothing for you to worry about," an achingly familiar voice said, and Dora turned slowly and saw her mother and father standing together, smiling at her softly.
"Mum? Dad?" Dora said hesitantly.
"My beautiful daughter," Andromeda Tonks said, her smile widening. "We have been so proud of you."
"You did an incredible job, Dora," Ted Tonks said. "Now you can rest."
"Rest . . . rest?" Dora said, eyes widening. "I'm dead? No, I can't be dead. Harry isn't safe yet. Life's just starting to turn around. There's so much to do . . . and I . . . I . . ."
Dora started nearly hyperventilating, babbling about all she had yet to accomplish when her parents burst in laughter and she stopped and stared at them with wide eyes.
"Oh, that was too good, love," Ted said, wiping away tears. "I'm sorry, Dora, but we just couldn't resist. You got your love of pranks from us after all."
Dora's jaw dropped. "You were screwing with me?"
"Indeed we were," Andromeda said, smiling brightly.
"You – you . . . agh!" Dora screamed before she let out a joyous laugh and rushed forward and slammed into her parents hugging them tightly, and they hugged her back and tears poured down her face. "I hate you both . . . and I miss you so much."
Ted and Andromeda chuckled, hugging her tightly.
"Oh, sweetie, we're so sorry that we aren't there in person, but we're always watching," Andromeda said.
"I hope not always," Dora said off-handedly, and Andromeda snorted, as Ted coughed to cover up a laugh.
"Well, maybe not always," Ted agreed, pulling back and smiling at his daughter. "There are some things a father doesn't want to know about his daughter."
"We are so proud of you though," Andromeda said. "You've done so well for yourself, and you've created a wonderful life."
"An incredible auror, impressive qualifications, fantastic friends, and a wonderful family," Ted said with a grin. "We are very proud indeed."
"I feel like Harry deserves the credit for at least half of those," Dora said sheepishly. "I can't imagine where I'd be if he hadn't entered my life. Probably an Auror a year later, less qualified, not as close to Kingsley, Savage, Siobhan, Lexie . . . or even many of my other friends for that matter . . . and no family."
"Except Mad-Eye," Andromeda said, and Dora nodded with a slight smile.
"Harry helped," Ted agreed, "but you did the work. You, a young girl just out of Hogwarts, with almost no support system, took on the caring of an abused, forgotten boy, and you did it marvelously. You gave him the home he desperately needed, the safety he wanted, the family he dreamed of . . . the protection he craved."
"You saved his life," Andromeda said softly. "He's said it, and he knows it. You are just as responsible for many of his greatest accomplishments as he is for yours. You have both helped each other so much. You have a wonderful family now. The brother you always wanted, along with new siblings and cousins, my mangy cousin, Mad-Eye . . . hopefully even Bella, someday."
"You weathered a burden not meant for you, and you changed the course of his life and your world by doing so," Ted said. "Do not discount the good you have done. Sirius has done much to rise to his role and take much of it off your shoulders, but it all started with you."
Dora wiped away some tears, and her parents smiled.
"Just be proud, Nymphadora," Andromeda said. "You've done well."
"It's been so hard at times," Dora admitted.
"I know, sweetheart," Ted said softly. "We're sorry you had to go through that, but you did wonderfully, and you still have a long life to live, at least you better make sure you do. We want grandkids."
"Dad," Dora protested, and Ted laughed.
"Listen to your father," Andromeda said teasingly.
Dora huffed before she smiled, drinking in the sight of her parents. "How are you here? Is this real?"
"A gift from the Lord of the Underworld," Andromeda answered.
"It is very real," Ted said. "A once in an eon type of event, but Lord Hades judged Harry, and those Harry deemed worthy of being at the culmination of his magehood, as worthy of this gift."
"So, everybody is getting to meet someone who passed on?" Dora asked in amazement.
"Some individually, and some in groups," Ted agreed. "Molly Weasley, for instance, is getting to see her departed brothers before she'll get to enjoy watching her brothers interact with her children. Sarah is seeing her husband, and Alicia and Jamie get to spend time with their father. Everyone has someone they are getting to see."
"Wow," Dora said.
"Indeed," Andromeda agreed. "While time is immaterial here in one aspect, we are still about out of time."
"No," Dora said swiftly, her eyes locking on her mothers, her hair turning back to her normal mousy brown. "I'm not ready to say goodbye."
"You're not ready to join us either," Andromeda said firmly.
"Dora, this isn't really goodbye," Ted said softly. "It's 'see you later'. We'll be watching. Continue to live a good life. Fight for what you love, continue to find joy in life . . . and after you've lived your life to its fullest, you can come tell us all about it."
Dora hugged them both tightly, and Andromeda softly stroked her hair.
"We love you darling. Now, you have two more people to visit before you'll rejoin the living . . ."
*HP*
Harry seemed to flow through the dark mist, not really stopping, but occasionally seeing scenes. He saw Sirius hugging a man that was slightly shorter than him that Harry recognized as Regulus Black before that faded and he saw Katie hugging her father . . . Alexis, Savage, Siobhan, and Kingsley laughing with a small group of people . . . the Weasleys around two unfamiliar looking, but cheerful men . . . Fleur happily embracing an older, but kind looking woman . . . Angelina arguing with a woman Harry didn't recognize, but had similar features to Angelina . . . before he finally felt like he landed on his feet in a void of darkness, but with starry light helping him to see the complete darkness and emptiness in all directions.
He turned around, feeling something niggling at his mind, and he saw two people standing there beaming at him. He would have recognized them anywhere.
"Mum . . . dad," said Harry quietly.
"Oh, my beautiful boy," Lily Potter said, eyes shining with tears. "We're so proud of you."
"More than you'll ever know," James Potter agreed, grinning, though he too had eyes shining with unshed tears.
Harry moved forward swiftly and the Potters embraced tightly, and Harry let out some sobs as his parents soothed him for the first time in his memory.
"I've tried to be worthy of your sacrifice," Harry finally gasped out.
"Oh, honey," Lily said, rubbing his back softly. "You didn't have to do anything to be worthy. Do not bear that burden."
"We love you so much, and all we want is for you to live however you want," James said firmly, and smiled as Harry pulled back. "You have a wonderful family who just needs you to keep being the boy they love and who loves them."
"I do have a great family," Harry agreed with a smile. "Dora saved my life. She really did."
"We're well aware of that," Lily agreed. "I always loved little Dora, but I didn't realize how much I truly would love her until I'd seen just how far she'd go for you. Watching her, your other adoptive sisters, Sirius, Remus . . . all of them. We're so grateful. So grateful."
"We also highly approve of those two beautiful young ladies who managed to smarten you up," James said with a teasing grin, and Harry blushed.
"Yes, you better be good to them Harry Potter," Lily said with a slight smile, wagging her finger sternly. "If you ruin things with them by acting like your father, I'm going to be quite put out with you. I'm already quite attached to my hopefully future daughters-in-law."
"Hey!" James protested, and Harry laughed, even if he was blushing even harder now.
"I'll do my best, mom, dad," Harry said, meaning it even if he wasn't talking to them. "They might be my girlfriends, but they're also some of my best friends too."
"Of course," Lily said, and she turned, "and now, it's time for us to meet a few more people."
Harry turned as Angelina materialized in the void, a sad frown on her face, her eyes downcast
"Lina?" Harry said in concern, and she glanced up at him, and then her eyes widened as she took in the people next to him. "Are you okay?" he asked, moving towards her protectively.
Angelina smiled slightly, her eyes focusing on him.
"I'm fine Harry," she answered. "I just guess I hoped for something different."
"What happened?" he asked.
"She met her mother," Lily answered, and the two elder Potters moved towards them.
Harry's eyes widened and he turned back to Angelina and she shrugged a bit sadly. "She's like dad . . . I guess I just hoped . . ."
"You hoped she'd see you for the absolutely wonderful girl you are," Lily finished, and Angelina's eyes focused on Lily Potter, and gaped slightly. She looked unsure of what to say, and then finally nodded.
"Harry really does have your eyes," Angelina finally said, and Lily smiled.
"Well, at least one of my children got my eyes," Lily said, and Angelina frowned.
"One of your . . ." Angelina said in confusion.
"Well, the way I see it, I currently have four beautiful daughters and a son," Lily said, and Angelina's eyes widened and she let out a gasp. "There are a few other wonderful mothers who I share custody with, but that doesn't make you any less than the beautiful, stubborn, smart, and passionate daughter that I always wanted."
Angelina let out a whimper in the back of her throat, and Lily opened her arms, and Angelina quickly buried herself in her chest, and Lily hugged her tightly, cooing softly.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you growing up," Lily whispered, "but know you're loved, and you are mine."
Harry smiled proudly, and then grinned happily as his father put his arm around Harry's shoulders, watching them. He winked at Harry as Lily and Angelina finally started to separate.
"Well, at least I have my priorities right," James said, drawing everyone's gaze, and moving towards Angelina. "I always assumed my daughter would be incredible, but even I couldn't have assumed that my daughter would be one of the greatest Quidditch players I'd ever seen play at Hogwarts."
Angelina smiled wide, and James opened his arms and Angelina crashed into him, and he grinned as he hugged her tightly.
"At least you followed after me as a chaser, unlike my only son," James said loftily, shooting a mock disappointed look at Harry, and both Harry and Angelina chuckled. James pulled back from Angelina.
"Now, you both have one more group of people to see," Lily said with a smile. "Shared custody of course. Your father and I have four more people to see."
"Shared custody?" Angelina said.
"Four more people?" Harry asked.
"Well, we're only going to get this one time to meet your significant others," Lily said innocently, and James grinned as both Angelina's and Harry's jaws dropped, "at least before you join us for good."
"So, that means we really have to make the most out of embarrassing you both," James said exuberantly, "and from here, we were able to witness all your most embarrassing moments. Time after all is of little consequence to the dead."
Harry and Angelina stared at them in horror and the two elder Potters laughed.
Lily moved forward and hugged both of them, and kissed them both on their foreheads, something which James matched.
"Goodbye, my loves," Lily said.
"We'll be watching," James said with a teasing wink.
Lily and James laughed as Harry and Angelina glanced at each other before the elder Potters faded away.
"Your mum and dad were so cool, Harry," Angelina said wistfully.
"Our mum and dad were cool," Harry corrected firmly, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You heard them."
"I did," Angelina said softly, her smile wide.
"Well, as cool as Lily and James are, your favorite sibling is my biological daughter, so I think that makes us cooler by default," a male voice said, and Angelina and Harry both turned around to see two people they recognized from photos.
"Mr. and Mrs. Tonks," Harry and Angelina both said in surprise.
"Oh, none of that," Andromeda scolded with a smile. "Are we family or not?"
*HP*
"Aunt Lily? Uncle James?" Dora said in wonder.
"Oh, my wonderful girl," Lily said and she moved forward and embraced Dora hard. "You've been so good to him."
Lily let out a choked sob, and Dora was right with her as she and Lily were both hugged from the side by James.
"So good to him," Lily sobbed out. "I can't thank you enough for everything."
"You don't owe me any thanks," Dora choked back. "I love him so much."
"We know," James said, his voice thick, "but you saved him, and for that we'll always be grateful."
"He saved me too," Dora whispered back.
"Yes, but you got him out of the hell he'd been dumped into," James said. "You gave him a home when you had little for yourself. You accept and show him only love and support when everything just keeps getting harder. You fight bloody Albus Dumbledore for him!"
"You've worked so hard and suffered so much for him," Lily said softly. "We love you more every single day and we just wanted you to know that. We're so proud of you, Dora."
"You and your freaking son," Dora said, tearing me up. "Turning me into a freaking hosepipe!"
James and Lily both gave watery chuckles, and hugged her tightly again.
"We love you, Dora," Lily said. "Live a great life, and watch out for your brother and your sisters. Gods know that they need you."
"I will," Dora said firmly. "You just keep annoying my parents, alright?"
"We will," James said, as Dora started to fade away.
*HP*
Harry woke up feeling better than he had in years. The ever present pain he was used to having from his scar was gone, and he could feel the magic in his body flowing more freely, like a block of pressure was gone. He didn't necessarily feel stronger, but he felt more balanced, more in control. With the pain gone, he felt more focused as well.
He sat up slowly, glancing around to see everyone else in the room still where he'd last seen them standing or sitting, and they were all blinking, coming back into their bodies. Harry suspected that they hadn't lost more than a couple seconds since the horcruxes had been destroyed and they'd all seen their departed friends and family.
He saw smiles reflected on everyone's faces, though he could also see tears and wet faces showing just how affected they all were by the experience. Harry saw all seven of the ancient heroes were still there, smiling softly.
"You all truly appreciate the gift you were given, and I sense no desperation to beg for more," the blue-eyed blonde said softly. "It shows just how rare this group is."
"Your path forward is open, Mage Potter," the auburn haired man said. "The dreams of us and others will continue, and now they will start to feature lessons. You may not be able to physically or magically practice in your sleep . . . but you can learn."
"You won't be able to learn all the magic you'd need to catch up to Voldemort in the time you have, but you can shorten the gap," the green-eyed man continued.
"Knowledge is power . . . but it doesn't guarantee victory," the grey-eyed blonde said. "The right strike at the right moment can bring victory. Your family is with you. Do not fight alone if you don't have to."
"Your foe and his followers are a plague. Right now, they hate you," the grey-eyed brunette said. "They hate you for who you are and what you are, but you have done nothing to earn that hate." Her look grew feral. "Change that. Make them hate you."
"And then, make them fear you," the central man finished.
Several people in the room shivered at the expression on the dead people's faces.
The blue-eyed brunette sighed. "My whole family is so bloodthirsty." She smiled. "Live a good life, Harry . . . but also kill the bastards." Her own expression grew ferocious.
Harry and most of his friends suddenly felt like they'd misjudged the woman . . . and she might even be one of the more dangerous of the group.
"Thank you," Harry said. "For everything." But then he latched onto something she said, and he glanced at them all curiously. "You're all family? Can we finally learn your names?"
"You of all people should know that family isn't just your blood," the green-eyed man said with a smirk. "As for our names? They're ancient history. If you do some research, you might find them . . . if not, you'll learn them when you join us . . . someday."
"That's all we get?" Harry asked, a bit put out.
"Good hunting, Mage Potter," the central man said with a chuckle, and they all faded away into mist, and they all stared at the now empty spot
They were all silent for a moment, before Fred broke the silence.
"We just got pranked by a bunch of dead people," Fred said, looking like he couldn't decide if he was impressed or offended.
"James, Lily, Andromeda, and Ted got me too," Sirius muttered.
"Harry, you get involved in the craziest shit," George said. "That was incredible and terrifying at the same time."
"Welcome to our world," Ron and Hermione both muttered.
"Well, there isn't a single one of us who can't say we didn't just get the experience of a lifetime," Dora said, and there were exuberant nods all around.
"Well, we can talk all about it during the party," Angelina said with a grin. "My little brother just became a mage in full. I think it's time to celebrate!"
A cheer echoed around the room, and Harry smiled as everyone went to hug him or clap him on the shoulders. He'd made a step forward in his journey to becoming Voldemort's equal, and he and his friends and family managed to get some closure that they'd all longed for.