Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Hello, again! Sorry for yet another late update. I needed some time to sit and work with this chapter. But I think I've got it where I want it now. :)

One note on last chapter, though, that I forgot to add then: in the book-canon, the Cruciatus Curse does not have a visible color or known casting pattern. According to the wiki, it is only in Hogwarts Legacy that it is red. I have not played that game and I never will, I just wanted to note this is a change that I did not come up with on my own.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Until next chapter,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

Edited 1/27/25

~daughter of briganti~

~meet me in the woods~

~chapter 22~

9 October 1995
Hogwarts, Scotland, Great Britain

Hyleth was just walking off the Quidditch pitch when she heard George say behind her, "Hey, what's McGonagall doing here?"

Surprised, she looked up.

Angelina had told them during dinner to come down to the Quidditch pitch at their usually scheduled practice time. Their Quidditch team hadn't been officially reinstated yet, again only Slytherin's and Ravenclaw's had, even if it looked like Hufflepuff's would be soon also, but she hadn't cared. "I already talked with McGonagall, and she said she would talk with Umbridge about it for me tonight at the staff table," she'd said.

"You didn't go to Umbridge first?" Hermione had asked.

Angelina had scoffed. "Fuck, no. I bet that bitch would've told me 'no' if I tried. But McGonagall said she didn't see why we wouldn't get reinstated after she'd talk with her, I'll just need to check in with Umbridge before our practice."

In the end, their captain had been over thirty minutes late to the pitch, but she'd been triumphant. She'd walked down with victory in her eyes and a determined smirk on her face. "Alright, you lot!" she'd shouted. "We're reinstated! Let's get to work!"

"That's my girl," Fred had said with a grin as the rest of them had cheered.

She'd glared at him. "Just for that, you get to go give me five laps around the pitch, Weasley!"

George and Alicia had both laughed as Fred had spluttered. Still, he'd done as he'd been told with a wink at his girlfriend.

So Hyleth didn't understand at first why McGonagall was walking towards them – had Umbridge changed her mind? Were they and Ginny, who had come with them to the pitch due to the explicit loophole in "Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four," about to get in trouble? Was Umbridge going to try and have them all expelled?

But then, she saw the somber expression on McGonagall's face, and she realized that whatever this was, it went far beyond Quidditch and even Umbridge's interference at Hogwarts.

What felt like a stone fell into the pit of her stomach.

"Ms. and Mrs. Potter? Oh, thank the heavens, you're both here," the Transfiguration Professor said when she got close enough.

"Professor McGonagall? What is it?" Ginny asked whilst she came to stand right next to Hyleth. Her hand instinctively sought her alpha's out.

"I need you both to come with me," McGonagall said. Not for the first time in Hyleth's years of knowing her, but for the first time in a while, she appeared frazzled. "Something...well, something has happened."

No.

"It has to do with Mr. Black and Ms. Tonks."

No, no, no...

The doors to the infirmary were flung open by what could've been mistaken for a gust of wind. Hyleth marched through the entrance, the anger, the rage, the magic swirling within her so strongly, so deeply, it had the result of also coming off her in waves.

"Where are they?" she snarled.

Professor Snape turned around. At first he sneered at her, only for his eyes to widen fractionally when he took in the sheer amount of power radiating from her. "Ms. Potter – "

"Where – Where are they?" the female alpha repeated.

"Alpha, it's okay," a voice said – and it was Theo's. He rushed forwards and grabbed her gently by the arms. His butterscotch gold eyes were like the first sight of the sun after a lifetime spent in darkness, regardless of how they were glistening with tears. "I mean, it's not okay, but I'm fine. The baby and I are – oomph!"

He was cut off by Hyleth wrapping her arms around him and pressing her nose up against his mating gland, urging on his pheromones – and he did smell alright. She could smell his emotional distress, but there along with it was the burgeoning scent of his pregnancy, which she had started to be able to smell from him and Ginny over the past week or so.

The sound of a throat being cleared registered in her brain.

"Ms. Potter," Professor Dumbledore said.

She reluctantly separated from her second mate. "...Headmaster," she spoke. Her eyes flickered about the room. "Where is Antonius Rookwood? And where is – ?"

"I've given Ms. Tonks a Sleeping Draught for now, to help with the pain," said Madam Pomfrey, coming around the side of a privacy screen. She was visibly irritated. "Although, if you maintain your volume, she may just wake up anyways!"

"As for Mr. Rookwood, he is being held in an abandoned classroom under the watch of Professor Flitwick, until his elder brother, Regent Augustus Rookwood Jr., and Madam Bones and her aurors arrive," Dumbledore said. "And since Mr. Malfoy was mostly unharmed by the ordeal, he is with Professor Sprout in another."

"Which, combined with there being no other students in the Hospital Wing tonight, is most fortunate for Mr. Black's sake, unless you were wanting his condition to be found out already with your display," drawled Professor Snape.

Hyleth flinched back. She glanced at Theo, closed her eyes, and inhaled through her nose sharply.

When she opened her eyes again, she nodded.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

"I was on my way back to the Slytherin common room when I heard Malfoy and Rookwood arguing," began Theo. His eyes focused on something unseen while his face twisted. "Rookwood...he was trying to get Malfoy to do...things with him. He said he used his Voice on him."

"What?" Hyleth growled.

"I had to stop him. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just knew I had to," he pressed on. "Then...he tried using the Cruciatus Curse on me. I was able to dodge it, the first time. Malfoy tried to stop him. It didn't work. Rookwood said he wanted to...hurt me to earn favor with V – Voldemort – "

"Wait, does he have the Mark?" Hyleth demanded, interrupting him. She looked over at Dumbledore and Snape. They were the most likely to know, after all.

"It does not appear so," Dumbledore said. "His arm is bare."

"Nor do I think the Dark Lord would desire such a pitiful, even if brazen, attempt on Mr. Black's life," added Snape.

Hyleth mulled it over quickly. She could see no fault immediately in his logic. "Right."

"Then Rookwood Ordered both of us," Theo went back to his retelling. "He cast the Cruciatus at me a second time. But Tonks...she stepped in front of me before it could hit."

"But what was she even doing there?"

"Ms. Tonks had just left my office hours," Snape explained. "Obviously, she must have overheard Rookwood on her way back to the Hufflepuff common room."

"She probably saved my life," said Theo.

Hyleth looked over at the privacy screen. Due to the dim light on the other side, she could just see the outline of Tonks' form. She swallowed thickly. "And how long was she under it?"

"Three minutes," informed her Snape. "I was alerted as soon as Rookwood cast the Curse the second time, but it took me as long to locate them."

"I couldn't move because of the Order. I couldn't stop him," whispered Theo. "I'm – "

"Please don't say you're 'sorry' again," Hyleth begged him weakly. "Please."

Theo's mouth clamped shut.

She didn't know if that was better or worse.

"Hold on, what does that mean?" Ginny asked. It made Hyleth jolt; she'd forgotten Ginny and McGonagall had, of course, come with her.

"Most healthy witches and wizards can withstand the Cruciatus Curse for a few minutes without suffering any permanent damage," spoke Madam Pomfrey. "Which, from what I can tell, will be the case for Ms. Tonks. But she will have to refrain from using her magic at all for the next few weeks. This includes any..." The matron peered over at the doors to the infirmary briefly, and even though no one was there, meaning there should have been no need for her to speak around the subject with present company, she continued with, "...contracts or bindings she may have agreed to previously."

Hyleth's jaw locked. "Do you honestly think I care about that right now?"

Snape's ever-present scowl abruptly deepened. "Ms. Potter, I would watch your – "

"Severus, I think we can afford to give Ms. Potter some grace," Dumbledore interjected, raising his hand. "Moreover, we and Professor McGonagall must depart as it is, to sign off on and witness Mr. Rookwood's expulsion when Madam Bones arrests him."

McGonagall's nostrils flared, though she didn't say anything.

Snape nodded stiffly.

"Madam Pomfrey, I trust Ms. Potter and her spouses will be allowed to stay with Ms. Tonks for a while, as well as, say...Mr. Diggory?"

"I suppose," she grumbled. "As long as they remain quiet."

"We will," Ginny promised before Hyleth could say anything.

"Come with me," Pomfrey sighed. "I will gather up some more chairs."

She led them back behind the privacy screen; Hyleth followed after her with bated breath. She remembered what Cedric had been like just after the cemetery in Little Hangleton, how he'd been writhing and moaning even while unconscious...

Tonks wasn't as bad as then, since she'd been under the Cruciatus for less than half of the time he had in total. It was clear she wasn't having a restful sleep – her eyebrows were furrowed, her face pale, and her usually short and spiky bubblegum pink hair was in its natural, shoulder-length wavy brown form. But she wasn't outright in agony.

Hyleth sat down in the chair closest to her, the anger feeling like it was being sapped right out of her. She ran a hand over her face. "Merlin," she whispered.

She could've lost Tonks. She could've lost her, and Theo, and Theo and hers' baby, and even with the bond between her and the male omega, she wouldn't have known it. Not until it would've been too late.

Theo seemed to be thinking similarly. "I didn't even really think about trying to run or fight back until...well, until it was basically too late," he said. "Gods, what kind of a wizard am I?"

"You couldn't have known he was going to do that," said Ginny comfortingly, reaching out and squeezing his hand.

He shook his head. "That's the thing. He'd already admitted to using his Voice, it's basically the Imperius for anyone not an alpha or a theta, so it stands to reason he could, and would, do worse. And something about him, besides everything else, seemed...off."

Hyleth looked at him sharply. "Like what?"

"I don't know," he said. "I really don't know. But I wish I did."

Cedric and, not so surprisingly, Luna (who'd been studying by herself in their wing) arrived after an indeterminate amount of time. Neither Hyleth nor Ginny had said anything in response to Theo's last statement, and he hadn't said anything himself, albeit he'd looked a few times like he'd wanted to. They'd sat in silence, with Hyleth alternating between holding Tonks' hand and scenting Theo's mating gland, reminding herself that both he and their baby were alright.

"Oh, gods," Cedric groaned the second he saw Tonks, practically swaying on his feet.

"She's going to be alright, Cedric," said Ginny.

"I know," he said. "I just...I remember what it was like for me, directly afterwards. It's not something anybody deserves to go through."

Hyleth's gaze darkened at the unknowing echo of her thoughts.

A bit later still, her father came. "Pup," he said, rushing into the room like the hounds of hell were at his tail.

She blinked in surprise. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

"My son-in-law was almost murdered and my cousin's daughter was attacked," he deadpanned while he pulled her in for a hug. "What do you think?"

"Hello, Sirius," Theo said.

"Theo," he returned after he'd separated from his daughter. He nodded at him. "I sent my house-elf, Kreacher, to your father. I know he has not had contact with you since this summer, but he deserves to know what's happened."

Theo smiled weakly. "Thank you."

"Do you know what's going on with Rookwood?" asked Ginny.

"The professors have already verified his expulsion. His wand has been snapped, and he is going to be held in a cell in the Ministry pending his trial, in which he will almost certainly be sentenced to life in Azkaban, and hopefully then thrown into the cell right next to his father's," Hyleth's father reported. "Amelia Bones is furious. It hasn't been often in the years since the last war that the Unforgivables have been performed, and even then, they were never cast at Hogwarts."

"As she should be," muttered Hyleth.

Sirius redirected his focus. "Amelia did tell me that she will need to get your witness statement, Theo, after she's finished with Draco's. Technically, since you are emancipated, you do not need a guardian or your familial Head of House to be there. But I will warn you now: Dolores Umbridge was in the Headmaster's office when we arrived, and I think she is going to try to sit in on your interview somehow."

"In that case, please," said Theo. His hands curled into fists on his lap. "I don't want to deal with her tonight without some sort of support."

Her dad's eyes softened. "Of course."

Hyleth frowned. "Shouldn't I also be coming with you, then?"

"Not with her there. It's almost undoubtedly going to be difficult enough to say that Rookwood wanted to – to kill me because of Voldemort, and if she says that I'm lying, you know you're not going to be able to keep yourself from arguing with her. Please," Theo spoke the last word just as she'd opened her mouth again. "It's okay. I understand. But it's what's best, and I don't want to argue about it tonight."

"We need you here, too, Alpha," Luna tacked on after a moment, her silvery eyes bright.

With two of her mates in agreement, and especially with Luna being so direct about it for a change, Hyleth glowered, but relented. "Fine."

Amelia Bones arrived about another twenty minutes after that – because by now, Hyleth had regained enough self-awareness to recognize the passage of time. The Head of the DMLE came with two of her aurors, Gawain Robards and the Order of the Phoenix member Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professors Dumbledore and Snape, and...yes, Professor Umbridge.

The "High Inquisitor" of Hogwarts did not look nearly as upset as the others, at least to Hyleth. Not until Theo was pulled aside and he presumably told them his request to have Sirius present at his witness statement, that is, because then her expression soured.

But even then, there was not much she could do. Amelia Bones inclined her head, and Hyleth was pretty sure she saw her say, "That is your right."

Soon after, they were gone.

"Hyleth?"

She turned back around in her chair. "What is it, Cedric?"

He shifted in his seat, clearly uncertain. "I know you probably don't want it to be brought up now, but I was just wondering," he began slowly. "What, exactly...are your plans now for the 21st?"

Luna and Ginny suddenly appeared equally as interested in her answer.

"Oh," said Hyleth, flatly. "Well, I already told Pomfrey I didn't care about that, and I don't."

Cedric's head tilted slightly. "But the...time constraints – "

"Are supposed to be at least somewhat longer than every two to three months, remember? That's how it worked for Wulfnoð Peverell," she countered. She rubbed a hand at her temple. She didn't really want to be arguing about this tonight, either. Although, that was not to say it necessarily would become an argument. "So if I...we have to skip a month, then we have to skip a month. I mean, have you actually told your parents about everything yet?"

He smiled abashedly. "I've told my mother that there is an alpha I'm interested in, and I think it is serious. I thought I would lead them into it a bit slowly at first...but, of course I would be willing to switch months with Tonks if you need me to."

"I'm not worried about it," she said. "You can be next in November, Isra will be in December, and Tonks can be in...January, I don't know. It's fine. The intent is not to ignore my responsibilities. I know what I have to do, and I fully mean to do it. These are just extenuating circumstances. Right?"

None of them really answered her.

She sighed.

"Let's just focus on Tonks for now," Hyleth said. "What's important is that she gets better."

"Of course," Ginny said quickly, with a tone that left no room for argument.

Cedric's smile returned more genuinely. "Yeah."

They stayed at Tonks' bedside until Pomfrey finally kicked them out of the Hospital Wing, apparently having received word that her parents were coming, Ted and Andromeda. Hyleth knew from one look at the matron that there would be no point in her trying to argue to stay longer, if only so she could get the chance to talk with the parents of her future bride. It would've been the first real opportunity for her to do so in the capacity since Tonks had volunteered herself.

But, there would always be another time.

She had to convince herself of that.

She kissed the back of the beta girl's hand as they were getting ready to leave. "I love you," she murmured, saying the words for the second time that day. It was a new record for her.

And it might've only been her imagination, but she thought she might've seen Tonks' eyebrows relax somewhat.

Cedric said his goodbyes to them once they walked out of the infirmary, since it was on the first floor. Hyleth, Ginny, and Luna went up to the fourth floor and said their password to the young bride in the portrait. Both of the omegas looked tired, circles forming under their eyes.

"You two should go to bed," Hyleth told them.

"You're not coming with me?" Ginny inquired. It was technically Theo's night on the rotation, but since he and Ginny shared the same room...

"I'm going to wait for Theo to get back," Hyleth replied.

"Oh." Ginny kissed her on the lips briefly. "Well, goodnight, Alpha. Don't stay up too long once he gets back. I want you in our bed tonight, and you need the sleep."

Luna kissed her on the lips, too. "Goodnight, Alpha."

"'Night."

They went into their respective rooms. Hyleth sat down on one of the couches, gazing at the softly crackling fire in its hearth. She thought maybe it should've calmed her.

Yet, it didn't. Her nerves were too frayed from the events of the night; her thoughts of what would've happened if it had been too late were still haunting her. If Snape hadn't been alerted and Tonks would've been under the Cruciatus Curse for far longer, if Antonius Rookwood would've then cast the spell at Theo for the third time and it would've then struck, if he would've lost their baby or, even worse...

Antonius Rookwood was going to get off easy with a life sentence in Azkaban, that was for sure.

It therefore came as a surprise when Hyleth felt herself falling asleep. She initially tried to resist it once she realized her eyelids were slipping shut – she had said she would wait for Theo to come back before calling it a night, and she once again fully meant to keep her promise. She shifted into a position that wasn't quite as comfortable and crossed her arms...

...Only to find herself repeating the action a few minutes afterwards.

And then again another few minutes more.

Because it seemed like the harder she tried to fight falling asleep, the more her body succumbed to it. In fact, before she knew it –

"Hello again, my dear. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Briganti," Hyleth said, staring at the goddess warily.

They both were back in the center of the thirteen stones in the forest of the Potter family's ancestral home. As before, Briganti was adorned in her white dress, and her feet did not touch the ground.

"Peace, Hyleth," she spoke. She raised her hand placatingly. "I know how our last conversation here went, but I have summoned you tonight, in part, to give you my sympathies. I saw what occurred earlier. It was a horrible thing, what Antonius Rookwood did to young Nymphadora, what he intended to do to your Theo."

"You didn't try to stop it," Hyleth pointed out. She couldn't help herself.

Briganti smiled. "As I have told you, I am not all-knowing or all-powerful like the Christians like to believe their God is. Why else would I allow Voldemort to continue to live, or have you vanquish him in my name when I could do it myself?"

Hyleth bit the inside of her cheek.

She...didn't really have an answer for that.

But there was something else said that was nagging at her.

"You said you brought me here 'in part' to give me your sympathies, so obviously there's another reason. Especially when you can just speak in my head whenever you want to," she stated. "What is it?"

"You are as perceptive and untrusting of authority figures you do not truly believe deserve it as ever, even myself, when I became your mother in all the ways that count," Briganti sighed. "Such is the thanks I continue to receive."

Hyleth bristled.

The goddess shook her head. "But, no matter. You are correct, my dear. There is another reason. I do not condone what Antonius Rookwood did, nor will I punish you for his actions. Wulfnoð Peverell wanted to wait longer after his marriage to Aelyth Mōna before taking on another spouse; he wanted to pretend he did not understand what was required of him. You do not suffer from the same illusions. But...there is an opportunity that has arisen now I fear you will let slip by you."

Something trickled down the back of Hyleth's neck.

An ominous feeling.

"What do you mean?"

Briganti looked away from her, at one of the stones nearest to them. Hyleth did not know how, but she knew it must have been the fourth stone to be placed in the circle when it had first been built, thousands and thousands of years ago. Just as the one directly behind the goddess had been the first.

"I have not, and I will never, choose your spouses for you. They are yours alone to decide upon, and thus far, you have decided well," she said. "But there is one out there whom I know you love, and who I know loves you in return."

Hyleth's mouth went dry. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do not play the fool with me, my dear," Briganti chastised. "I know your heart and mind, for they are mine, and I know hers. She loves you, but she will not be the one to make the first move. Nor will she wait forever. If you do not tell her how you feel for her soon, Hermione Granger will become lost to you in that way permanently."

"Good!" Hyleth cried. "Then she can live a normal life! She can do whatever she wants!"

"Except have you," Briganti returned. Her mouth twisted wryly. "And what if that is what she wants most of all?"

"Well, that's what she thinks!" exclaimed Hyleth. "But it's not the truth!"

"Hyleth – "

"No! It's not! I don't care what you say!"

The silence from earlier came back. Louder, if that was possible.

"...Perhaps I should not have brought this up to you tonight. Your emotions and instincts are still raw," mused Briganti. "But there truly is not much more time for you to become one with her. Or part of the whole of your unions, be as it may."

"But it's not going to – !"

"Please, consider what I have said, Hyleth," Briganti went over her. She clasped her hands together, just to the off-center of her midriff. "Consider Hermione, and consider her well. Do not let your worries for her, however noble or in her best interests you think they may be, get in the way of true happiness, yours and hers. And continue to do as I have commanded. Until we meet this way again."

So having spoken, she snapped her fingers, and Hyleth's vision turned to black.

Word Count: 4,079