Chapter 16
AN: Thank you for the support. I really hope you like this chapter, hope it lives up to expectations. Please let me know what you think.
Seconds after Bellatrix appears she sends the killing curse towards a family who are eating nearby. Reacting quickly, and knowing it is the family's only chance Mie quickly uses a wordless spell to cause a sign to fly up until the air and collide with the spell mid-air. While the sign is destroyed, and there is a small explosion, it isn't near enough to anyone to cause injuries and the family is saved.
"Expecto Patronum," Mie says, her voice shaking, focusing on the people she loves both in this time, and the future she is from, and thankfully she is able to conjure a Patronus on her first go something she wasn't certain she would be able to do. "Dad now," Mie tells the patronus and it hurries off.
Turning back to the others Mie sees that Death Eaters are sending fire charms at random shoppers who are running in fear, so Mie quickly casts multiple spells in quick successions, stunners and spells that either block the spells from hitting the intended targets, or to put the fires out. Anyone who looks at Mie will see her wand moving soo quickly that it it's only possible to make out flashes of the wand, and flashes of different light, impossible to pinpoint her exact wand movements.
"RUN," Mie yells, knowing she has to do whatever she can to protect people until backup arrives, sending several more stunners towards the junior Death Eaters, as she walks to the middle of the alley, facing Bellatrix who is clearly looking for the person who is sabotaging all her attacks.
As she faces Bellatrix Mie feels all her fear, all her terror rises up inside of her. Every single one of her instincts tell her to run, they tell her that no good will come from facing Bellatrix, but she doesn't run, she forces herself to stand her ground; facing her nightmare.
"Who the hell are you?" Bellatrix asks, frowning as it is clear that she is not happy that someone has ruin her plans.
"Annemie Dumbledore," Mie says, tightening the hold on her wand to stop herself from shaking, sounding more confident than she feels, and as soon as she speaks Bellatrix smirks, almost like Christmas has come early.
"Oh, you've made my day," Bellatrix says, smirking, looking just like the Bellatrix Mie knew in her future timeline. "Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix yells and because she was expecting it before Bellatrix even finishes the spell Mie has caused several tables to go flying into the air. Just like the last time the spell and objects meet in mid-air and the spell causes the objects to explode, because the force of the explosion is so strong both Mie and Bellatrix are knocked off their feet, and while Mie hits her head on the ground because she is holding onto her wand so tightly it remains in her hand.
"Madam Bellatrix!" A voice yells, sounding afraid.
"LEAVE HER, ANNEMIE DUMBLEDORE IS MINE!" Bellatrix yells, sounding furious.
Knowing that she only has seconds Mie, fighting disorientation, sends three stunners in quick succession towards where she assumes Bellatrix landed as she gets to her feet, feeling some soreness and being pretty sure she is bleeding, but she doesn't have time to dwell on either feeling, nor can she dwell on the terror she is feeling.
"You're going to have to do better than this, Dumbledore," Bellatrix tells Mie, clearly having gotten some minor injuries from the explosion, too.
"Who says I can't?" Mie says, sending a stunner back at Bellatrix while also sending a tripping jinx, both of which were cast nonverbally, and even though she did that Mie isn't at all surprised when Bellatrix manages to block both of them.
Clearly moving beyond just wanting to kill Mie and into wanting to 'play' with her first Bellatrix sends several non-lethal spells at Mie. Moving extremely quickly, so fast that her wand is impossible to see, Mie uses a shield charm and other methods including putting objects between them, to deflect the spells none of them actually affect her, something which clearly irritates Bellatrix, while attempting to fire back spells of her own which Bellatrix uses similar techniques to block.
"Is that the best you can do?" Mie asks, even though she knows the answer. Knowing Bellatrix like she does Mie knows that as long as Bellatrix is focused on her then she won't be able to hurt anyone else and the best way to get Bellatrix to focus on her is to annoy her; no matter how much it may scare her.
"Oh, little girl, you have no idea what I can do," Bellatrix says, moving back to wanting to Kill Mie rather than 'play' with her, as Mie has annoyed her, and she sends another killing curse at Mie, but this time, before Mie can move something in the way to protect herself a large pillar, that was broken off a building earlier, files from the ground and protects her, taking the curse that Bellatrix intended for her.
"Dumbledore," Bellatrix says, glaring at Mie, clearly saying that this isn't over, before disaaparting, just as Albus casts an anti-disaparating jinx.
"Gather them up," Albus instructs the members of the Order who have arrived with him, as he hurries over to Mie. "Annemie," Albus says, as he hurries towards her.
"I'm okay," Mie assures her father, turning to look at him.
"Your bleeding," Albus says worried, looking his daughter up and down, taking notice of her visible injuries.
"Yeah, I got a bit close to an explosion," Mie admits, as Albus puts his hand on the side of her face, clearly trying to see for himself whether she is okay, and Mie can't help but lean into the hand as it is bringing her back to reality rather than the heat of battle. "I'm okay, Dad," Mie assures him, as that's what she thinks.
"Are you sure?" Albus asks worried and Mie gives a small nod.
"I faced her," Mie says, her voice barely above a whisper, sounding amazed.
"You faced her," Albus confirms, giving his daughter a proud look, before hugging her. "I'm so proud of you," Albus assures his daughter, kissing her head, not noticing that someone has taken a picture of the moment.
"Albus!" A voice yells, causing Mie and Albus to break apart and turn towards where the voice came from.
As soon as Mie sees who spoke she recognizes him right away, and she is rather shocked as it is current Minister for Magic Harold Minchum who spoke, someone who Mie isn't the biggest fan of considering his polices and what he did to both Sirius and Remus in the other timeline.
"Minster, you got my message," Albus says to him, like it is no big deal, like parts of the alley aren't on fire, like there aren't multiple stunned Death Eaters on the ground.
"I did," Minchum confirms. "What happened?"" Michum asks.
"Death Eaters, it seems to be some kind of test," Albus explains, choosing his words carefully so that he doesn't give away that he has a spy, so it won't lead back to Regulus.
"How'd you know it was going to happen?" Michum asks confused.
"Cabot," Mie answers, causing the minster to look at her in confusion.
"Who are you?" Michum asks confused, having no idea who the girl could be.
"Minster, this is my daughter Annemie Dumbledore," Albus says. "Annemie this is Minister for Magic Harold Minchum," Albus says, even though he suspects Mie knows exactly who he is. "Annemie is the reason there were not causalities today," Albus says, and Mie feels a rush of pride.
"Really?" Michum asks, sounding disbelieving.
"Annemie discovered Cabot was a Death Eater, she noticed his words and realised that he let slip that there was something important occurring at Diagon Alley today," Albus explains. "As we didn't have proof, she suggested she come here see if there was something going on and call for me if something did happen," Albus explains, pride in his voice. "She also duelled Bellatrix Lestrange and protected people from the curses Bellatrix was using," Albus explains.
"Well, that is certainly impressive," Minchum tells Mie, looking like there is so much more than he wants to know.
"Minister we can talk about what happened today, but first I would like to allow Annemie to go back to my brother and then back to Hogwarts," Albus says, as he thinks it would be best, and he is pretty sure that considering her history Mie would want to avoid dealing with ministry people.
"Of course," Minchum says as he suspects that it won't end well for him to interrogate Dumbledore's daughter. While it is something he suspects he will need to do in the future he would rather leave that until a time where it is needed more urgently.
"Can I Apparate or do I have to use Floo?" Mie asks her father.
"You can Apparate, right to Uncle Ab," Albus tells his daughter, not even thinking that it might not be a good idea while Mie is injured, and Mie nods.
"I'll see you back at school," Mie tells her father, taking a step back, and once she is a little way away from her father Mie Apparates away, apparting to the back room of the Hogshead.
Feeling a little lightheaded as she realises that Apparating might not have been the best idea, Mie heads to the main area of the bar, needing to lean on the wall for support.
"Uncle Ab," Mie says, stumbling into the bar, and the last thing she sees before losing consciousness is her uncle hurrying towards her, looking terrified.
Far away from both Hogwarts and Diagon Alley Bellatrix is one knee in front of Voldemort, who looks extremely similar to the Voldemort Mie watched die forever in her timeline, explaining what just happened.
"It was Dumbledore My Lord, Annemie Dumbledore," Bellatrix explains. "She protected people, stunned, and restrained, our people," Bellatrix tells Voldemort.
"You are a skilled witch are you not, Bellatrix," Voldemort says to her.
"Of course, My Lord," Bellatrix tells her.
"And Annemie Dumbledore is eighteen years old," Voldemort says.
"That's what people say, My Lord," Bellatrix confirms.
"Then why didn't you stop her?" Voldemort asks, clearly unhappy with Bellatrix.
"I tried, I…. I will next time my Lord," Bellatrix says, realising that she doesn't really have an explanation as to why she didn't stop Annemie Dumbledore.
"There better not be a next time. Our plans are too important," Voldemort tells Bellatrix.
"Annemie Dumbledore will not cause us any more problems My Lord, I will make sure of it," Bellatrix says as she internally vows to do whatever she must to kill Annemie Dumbledore.
Still In Diagon Alley, not knowing how his daughter is, Albus is discussing matters with the Minster, using the story he, Mie and Regulus came up with to explain what happened.
"If you were aware of an attack, why didn't you alert the ministry?" Minchum asks Albus, clearly disapproving.
"I wasn't certain the information I had was correct," Albus lies. "And if it was correct, I knew that the Death Eaters would likely quickly retreat if they saw a lot of ministry personal or myself," Albus explains.
"So why did you allow your daughter to come alone?" Minchum asks, but before Albus can answer there is the sound of someone Apparirating and both Albus and Michum turn to see Minerva, looking very concerned.
"Albus, you have to come," Minerva tells her friend, worry in her voice.
"Why? What's happened?" Albus asks, walking over to her.
"It's Mie," Minerva says and Albus feels his blood run cold. "She apparated to Aberforth and collapsed not long after she arrived," Minerva says. "Aberforth took her to Poppy, and she is checking Mie for injuries, she's still unconscious," Minerva explains, and Albus feels more horror rise up inside of him with every word.
"Minister if you have any more questions direct them to my office," Albus tells the minister and without even waiting for a response he disapparates
"Give him time before you barrage him with questions," Minerva tells the minister before disapparating as well, leaving the ministry and Order with the remains of battle and a whole lot of questions.
As she appariration to the gates of Hogwarts Minerva sees that Albus is already hurrying towards the castle and so she hurries to catch up to him.
"What is Poppy saying about her injuries?" Albus asks, and Minerva can hear the worry in his voice.
"I don't know. Aberforth contacted me and as soon as we got Mie to Poppy, I left to get you," Minerva explains, as she thought that was best, and Albus nods.
After hearing Minerva's explanation Albus continues to walk towards the castle, walking even faster, as he is determined to get to his daughter as soon as possible.
Getting to the Hospital Wing as he walked incredibly fast Albus finds his daughter lying in a hospital bed with Poppy standing over him performing a spell while Aberforth is standing next to the bed watching with an apprehensive look on his face.
"What happened?" Albus asks his brother in a demanding voice.
"I'm not sure," Aberforth admits, being able to fee the power radiating off his brother because he is so worried, something that he hasn't experienced very often, and he knows what that means. "Mie stumbled out of the back room, and she collapsed," Aberforth tells his brother, trying to explain as quickly as possible.
"She duelled with Bellatrix, something must have happened," Albus says concerned, knowing it is the only thing that makes sense. "Poppy what are her injuries?" Albus asks, his tone a lot less pleasant than it usually is when speaking with Poppy, and needing to know about his daughter.
"She has some internal bleeding, and internal organ damage," Poppy answers. "No spell damage," Poppy says, knowing that is good news, as she summons the potions she needs. "I can't be sure, but it looks like the injuries were caused by blunt force," Poppy reveals.
"Bellatrix was sending killing curses at Annemie, I believe she would have put things in the way of the curse, that would have caused explosions," Albus says, knowing that as he knows how Mie is likely to fight.
"That would explain the injuries," Poppy confirms. "I have to administer the potions to Mie, Albus you may not want to watch that," Poppy says, looking at Albus, as she knows this isn't going to be pleasant.
"I'm not going anywhere," Albus says, as he conjures over a chair and sits down next to his daughter.
"Albus…" Aberforth says to say to his brother, knowing Albus well enough to know that he may not react well to watching what Poppy has to do.
"I'm not going anywhere," Albus repeats, and both Minerva and Aberforth know that that is the tone of voice that means Albus isn't going to be talked out of what he is going to do. It is a tone of voice that Aberforth very much hates.
"Okay," Poppy says with a sign, like Aberforth she is worried about how Albus is going to react, but she realises that there is no chance that Albus is going to leave.
Over the next few minutes, it is rather distressing as everyone watches as Poppy attempts to force multiple potions down Mie's throat, and even though she is unconscious Mie fights back, almost like it is her instinct to do so.
"Annemie, it's okay, Poppy is trying to help you," Albus says, his voice sounding distressed, as he hates seeing Mie in so much destress. "Don't fight, please, just let her help you," Albus says to his daughter, there being a begging undertone to his voice. "Annemie, you're safe, let Poppy help you, you trust her," Albus tells his daughter, and somehow his words get through to Mie and she stops fighting and allows Poppy to pour the potions down her throat, and once the last potion is poured Albus feels relieved as he knows Mie is going to be okay.
"When Mie wakes up, she will need more potions, but she'll be okay until then," Poppy assures Albus.
"Thank you, Poppy," Albus responds, giving her a grateful look.
"Of course," Poppy says, giving Albus a look. "Albus, about Mie's childhood injuries…." Poppy starts to say as she knows that they may affect the way Mie's treatment goes.
"Annemie said she will tell me herself, I will wait until then," Albus tells Poppy, who nods, as she notices Albus watching his daughter.
"If you need anything I'll be in my office," Poppy says before heading there, feeling that Albus needs some space and honestly not being sure if there is anything else she can do right now, giving Minerva a look as she goes.
"Albus, what do you need?" Minerva asks her friend, in a gentle voice.
"The Minister will likely reach out soon," Albus explains. "Wanting to know what is going on," Albus says, without looking away from Mie's face.
"I'll deal with him," Minerva responds. "I will also find a way to let those who know the truth what happened," Minerva tells Albus.
"Thank you," Albus says, knowing Mie will appreciate that, and that she would especially want Regulus to know.
"I'll be back later to check on things," Minerva says, looking at Aberforth and allowing an understanding to pass between them, before leaving.
Honestly having no idea what to say, and feeling that things between him and his brother are still awkward Aberforth pulls over a chair and sits down. While things between him and Albus might still be awkward, and he doesn't really know how to interact with Albus, he does care about his niece and he wants to make sure that she is okay.
For a while Albus and Aberforth just sit in silence, both watching Mie, feeling worried for her and just wanting to make sure she is okay.
"I should have made sure she was okay," Albus says, guilt in his voice, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Albus…." Aberforth starts to say.
"I knew she wasn't comfortable around the minster, so that's why I told her to go to you, I should have made sure she was okay first," Albus says guilt in his voice.
"You should have," Aberforth tells his brother. "But Mie wouldn't want you to blame yourself," Aberforth tells his brother, knowing that.
"She fought Bellatrix today," Albus tells his brother. "That's Annemie's biggest fear, and she faced her," Albus tells his brother. "I'm so proud of her, and this shouldn't be the price of Annemie doing what she fears the most," Albus says, pain in his voice.
"No, it shouldn't be," Aberforth confirms, looking worried.
About two hours after Minerva left the three Dumbledore's she is just finishing her sixth year transfiguration lesson.
"Mr Black, stay back, I would like to talk about your last essay," Minerva requests, as for the entire class she has been trying to figure out a way to tell Regulus what happened, and this is the only way she can think to tell him what happened without raising suspicion.
"Yes Professor," Regulus responds, a feeling of dread rising up inside of him.
Over the next minute Regulus waits for the rest of the sixth years to leave and once the last person has walked out of the room and the door is closed Regulus hurries up to the teaches desk.
"What happened? Is it Mie?" Regulus asks worried. "Did something go wrong with the plan?" Regulus asks worried.
"Mie fought Bellatrix, the junior Death Eaters were arrested," Minerva tells Regulus. "I don't know the details, but at some point, during her duel with Bellatrix, Mie was hurt. Madam Pomfrey said she had internal injuries that look to be from blunt force trauma and no spell damage," Minerva explains and as she speaks, she can see the horror rise up on Regulus's face. "Mie is being treated in the hospital wing, Albus and Aberforth are with her," Minerva explains and without saying anything in response Regulus goes running out of the classroom only having one thing on his mind, getting to Mie.