Looking up either Halley Potter or Evans had proven extremely difficult for Rita. She found a birth certificate that matched the one in St. Mungos as was standard policy when a child is born in Magical Britain, but after that, there were no more medical records. This confused Rita as it was supposed to be common practice in both her own and the non-magical world to keep medical files easy enough to find in the national database should the person be pulled into a hospital. For magicals, a little confundus to the records staff at the nearest Hospital should have revealed any pertinent information. Yet, there was nothing. No immunization records, no medical appointments or hospital visits. Rita felt something heavy settle into her stomach but she wasn't sure what it meant. If there weren't any records, then the girl didn't end up in an adoption, since the government oversaw the vaccinations of the orphans as quickly as possible. Perhaps she went to family instead?
While James Potter still had a decent amount of relatives, most were the Blacks through his mother. While there was one Rhea Black who was the right age for Halley and shared some similarities, the word on the street was that she was either the result of a one night stand for Black and the new Lady before he got incarcerated or she was the Lady Black's child which he later Blood Adopted. While she could dig further into the Black Heiress' past, she was aware of the Black's new political position and digging into the Heiress' past could anger them. An angry Lord Black was something any wise wixen avoided. There would also be no motivation for James to give up an extremely powerful magical child to someone he now hated, as that would go against all reason. Best leave the questions around Rhea Black alone for now. No, if the child didn't go to the family of James, it would likely have gone to his wife's family, which made all the sense in the world. Lily Potter was a muggleborn witch, meaning she was likely to have muggle relatives. Perfect place to leave a one year old squib if that was the reason.
Rita's search for Lily Evan's family wasn't as difficult, as the records for her time in the muggle world were far easier to find. Her parents, William and Jane Evans, were easily found through her own files in both the Ministry and the Non-magical archives. As was the existence of one Petunia Evans. The two shared a primary school until Lily went to Hogwarts, and then their records went down separate roads. The records do show she eventually married and had a son to one Vernon Dursley. The records also had something she didn't expect to find about Petunia Dursley. A death certificate. A quick search of Vernon and Dudley Dursley's files showed the same thing. The family died in a home fire on October 31, 1988. The Bones Heiress' comment about the obituary being only a lie for 7 years and Madam Bones finding a self-updating death certificate dating to 1988 in Halley Evans' file now made a lot more sense.
Still, Rita wasn't going to let a little thing like a lead's death get in the way of finding out what she could. She wasn't able to look up the police records, but the newspapers did cover quite a lot. A fire claiming the lives of all 3 members of the Dursley on October 31st 1988 was reported in #4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Despite a careful search, the article had no mention of a fourth victim or of the death of one Halley Evans, which struck Rita as quite odd. Perhaps she would have better luck seeing the property and interviewing the neighbours in person. A hop onto the Knight Bus and a noxious ride later, Rita Skeeter found herself in a muggle neighbourhood. The place gave her the chills with how uniformly made and repetitive the houses were. There was one spot though that wasn't uniform. Nestled between #2 and number #6 Privet Drive was a charred wreck of a house. A few steps forward Rita had to retreat back to the street, fighting the need to puke out her lunch. That had been no normal fire.
Rita wasn't sensitive enough to see wards or magic, but she could feel traces of it in the air. It was really useful in avoiding getting caught in traps or wards as an Animagus, though she stayed away from Potter Manor after Peter Pettrigrew's capture. She had refused to be caught. Here though there weren't any wards to catch her or identify her. There were no wards at all. What made Rita retreat was the feel of the place. The very air was filled with pain and despair, her lungs feeling a weight on them that she had never felt before. The place made her want to scream with the way the echoes of whatever happened lingered as if refusing to let the spot be washed away and forgotten. Rita had heard of places filled with the emotions of Wixen before their death, but this one was the first she ever visited and if she had any say it would be her last. She saw a woman walk her dog and look over at her and Rita decided that asking questions of the neighbours was better than digging into that place. She'd probably prefer a jaunt in Azkaban than an afternoon in that wreckage.
"Excuse me, I am doing a detailed Family Tree for the Evans Family and I was told that a Petunia Dursley, formerly Evans, might have lived here?" The dog pulled softly on its lead, trying to get as far away from the wreckage, and the lady just pulled him back before looking at Rita, nodding her head. "Yes, Petunia lived here with her husband and son. Decent, hard working people. The fire that took them was a vile thing. The firefighters couldn't get in and there was hardly anything left for Vernon's sister to bury of any of them." Rita looked at the woman carefully, "I also heard word of a little girl. Halley Evans?" The woman's eyes grew sad, "We… hardly ever talked about her. She lived with the family but she hardly said a word to anyone. Shy little girl of black hair and green eyes. Vernon and Petunia said she was a troublemaker, so they had her constantly doing chores. Keep her from getting ideas, they said."
Rita took out a notepad and a pencil and started writing down. "Did they say who was the mother? Was it Petunia's sister, Lily?" The woman scoffed, "Everyone here knew that. Petunia was often complaining about her sister, how fortunate she was and how completely distasteful of her to leave her daughter behind. Never met the woman myself though. Heard she was still alive, but the childcare payments that she arranged for her daughter ended before primary, which made Petunia and Vernon wasn't even at the funeral and she never looked in to see how her daughter was doing." Rita wrote those particular bits of information down. "The papers only talked about the Dursleys dying in the fire, no mention of Halley. Did she make it out?" The woman shook her, "No one really knows for sure. She was almost always in the house though. Would go whole summers never seeing her except to weed Petunia's flowers. Some here will tell you that the girl started the fire, but we honestly don't know. The government never found any trace of her among the bones."
Wanting to get more information, she asked around the neighborhood and got similar answers, though something more was showing up in the interviews. The girl was often seen with bruises, would never make eye contact and was jumpy at loud noises and around adults. She had no friends her own age as her cousin seemed to chase the other kids away and would never spend the night anywhere but at her Aunt's home. Rita went to the local school where she had to use a confundus to get more out of the staff. The Halley Evans had initially done poorly at school before her grades started climbing quickly until she was the top of her class, maybe even above her year group, only for all her grades to suddenly plummet unexpectedly. Never enough to repeat the year, but nothing as outstanding as she got before. She did note a name that stood out among the staff she interviewed. A teacher that had been laid off, rather quickly into the school year when Halley entered primary. Rita was able to find him at another school.
"I don't think I will ever forget that girl. Sometimes it feels like my conscience won't let it rest, telling me that somehow she mattered. Of course, they all matter, but knowing that you failed one never gets easy and I don't think it ever should." The man finished stacking some class assignments and rubbed his eyes. "I was assigned as her class's homeroom teacher. Make sure they all did their work, knew how to write her names and everything. On the very first day I knew something was wrong. She would hardly speak, her eyes darting across the classroom as if looking for places to run or hide. She even gave me a slip of paper with her name on it, though it had been wrong. The paper named her as Halley Potter, but our records had her as Evans. When I introduced her to the class she had looked at me as if surprised by her name. I went to pat her on the back and guide her to her seat when she suddenly flinched and pulled away from me. We are taught how to spot the signs now so I reported the matter to the headmaster. Next thing I know I am out of the job. Apparently our esteemed headmaster was a friend of Vernon Dursleys since high school and the two were thick as thieves. He refused to hear a word of what I said. Called me quite a few derogatory names too. News of his death in October from a drug deal gone bad didn't surprise anyone who ever worked with the man. Never heard a damn word about the poor girl since the fire took her relatives. I hope she found some peace and happiness, wherever she is."
Rita felt ill. This wasn't what she had been hoping to hear. She wanted a juicy story, something to embarrass the Potters, maybe get some much needed good will among the Dark faction. What she found made her feel dirty and worst of all, no one had done anything to stop it. The homeroom teacher had tried but lost his job over it and after that the girl just slipped through the cracks, never to be seen again. Her mind went back to the burned down house and wondered. Had a Witch or Wizard found out about the girl's treatment at the house and brought hell upon them, or did something else happen? There was no trace of anyone being at the property except the family, no evidence of foul play, though no one had a clue how the fire got so violent either. Rita knew of course. The magic of a cursed fire lingered in the area, like a festering wound, making the entire neighborhood recoil from the house. A wixen could have done it without a doubt, via obliviations and confundus charms to clean up any evidence they left behind. But that would leave too many questions unanswered. Rita had already started writing a story based on what she had found. Now all she had to do was check the Ministry Archives and decide if it was worth airing out this skeleton of the Potters.
The Ministry Archives was considered chaos personified by the inexperienced. The records were there of course, many of them were auto updating, the question was not only getting access but also knowing where to look for them at all. Her credentials with the Prophet were enough to get her in the door, just barely. Rita, of course, now knew how the Records formed and organized, so she knew the secret to navigating the mess was all about following the dates. Halley had been born July 31st, 1980, so Rita went straight to the records of that year and started looking for the births, followed by the month. Eventually she found the folder with Halley's name on it. There she found that the Bones Heiress had been right. The birth certificate was there, as was a death certificate dated 1988, not 81 like the obituary said. Rita decided to go through the rest of the file. Halley stopped being a Potter in 1985, just before her 5th birthday, signed by Lord James Potter.
There was evidence of payments being issued for her care, but those would have ended with the disownment, potentially exacerbating the abuse the girl suffered. She looked back at the page that was from Gringotts and stilled. Heiress Black by blood and will of Sirius Black, dated August 7th 1980. The file also listed Sirius Black as Godfather by Oath. Rita thought back at the hostility between the Lord Potter and the Lord Black. This would do it. Abandoning an Heiress without the Godfather's knowledge or approval would qualify as line theft, something all Noble Houses were careful never to do. The precedent alone could trigger open war amongst the old families. Rita then went back and thought about the Heiress part. Rhea Black was the current Heiress of House Black, as confirmed by the ring on her hand. The girl wore it with pride at the Yule Ball, along with a lunar bracelet that was clearly a family heirloom. But the Heiress Black had been unknown until she entered Hogwarts. Could she be the missing Halley, having supposedly avoided death a second time?
Halley's Death Certificate ends her file on October 31st, 1988. Rita makes the copies she would need for her article and proceeds towards the files listings dated after Halloween 1988. She would return to the Archives a few more times, even spending the New Year's Day in its massive rows of filing cabinets. Eventually she finds something that made her smile. Rhea Black-Prasinos. The file has no birth certificate, but it does have the legal fillings inside of it. The odd thing about it is that the only legal documents inside are dated June 1991, where the parents, legal and magical guardians are listed as Sirius Black and Sabrina Prasinos, which Rita recognized as the name of the now Lady Black. But she had found the file in a folder created in November 1988. A three year gap between Rhea's file being magically made and the documents being lawfully submitted. Sirius Black would only be released in August of 1990, so he wouldn't be responsible until almost two years after its creation.
Rita looked at the name at the end of the file. Prasinos. A massive family in the Continent, but no known members of the family here in Britain until the Lady and Heiresses Black. She had already made a small expose on the Lady Black and her quiet presence in Britain since late 1981; the beloved potions mistress and even midwife to the witches and wizards of London who wanted nothing to do with the Ministry. When she had made the interviews for the expose, she had asked about the daughter and everyone in their area of London had only great things to say about the girl. Overly polite, attached to her mother's leg, a charming little girl who dearly loved her mother above all else. Rita left the Archives with more copies of documents, intent on making one last set of interviews before she made any written conclusions. She wanted to be sure.
Hermione could tell Susan was missing Sally. The two had grown really close this year and they had been cute and inseparable during the entire Yule Ball. Hermione's own experience had been more disappointing. She had been at Henry's side during his long weeks of healing, most of it Potter Manor. Her friend had hardly spent a day in the magical hospital after having gone through the Cleansing Ritual before he was whisked away back home. At least Rhea's prognosis had been right. His body now had more scars on it but they had properly healed over and the skin didn't have any issues regrowing. His hair ended up getting a much shorter length than what he wanted but he still had it. If there was anything that was a serious injury on Henry, it would be to his pride.
Not only did he lose his Firebolt but he technically owed his life to Rhea Black. Hermione had listened quietly as Charlie Weasley and the dragon handlers all talked about the ward she had used to pin the Dragon down, leaving them, Henry and the Eggs unharmed. They were all making enquiries to the Black Family to either outright buy a set of warding runestoned or to get a contract with the Dragon Reserves to use the wards exclusively. Either way, House Black would make a hefty profit from a warding scheme that Rhea had apparently tested on Henry Potter. Henry had been besides himself when he heard about it and would get furious if someone mentioned the name Black. Eventually he was fine enough to be at the Yule Ball and Hermione had agreed to be his date. The dress she wore had been exquisite and the night had been mostly fine.
Henry, despite being an Heir to a Noble Family, hadn't learned to dance. Hermione was just glad her parents had seen fit to give her classes before Hogwarts. It was the only exercise she could do without feeling winded afterwards. So she ended up taking the lead for the first dance. Her only dance with him. Henry had gone to chat with his friends and Hermione ended up chatting with the girls who were taking breaks. At least Neville had been nice enough to take a break from his date, Hannah Abbott, to ask Hermione to dance. He was decent at it too. After that she spent some time with either Sally or Susan as they watched their friends dance. Hermione wanted to deny it but her eyes would almost always focus on Rhea and her date, Fleur.
Fleur's silver dress hugged her body well, leaving a good chunk of the boys and some of the girls salivating. Even Hermione felt warm from looking at her. But Rhea… Of course Rhea refused to wear a dress! Her choice of formal clothes were closer to what the guys wore, but she made it look absolutely stunning. Her friend had taken her relationship with Fleur seriously from the start and kept at it the entire night, her eyes almost never leaving Fleur for long. Hermione had laughed at Susan and Daphne both pointing out their friend was just barely able to dance, yet could jump on levitated slabs of rock as if it were just a morning run. They all had a point. Still, she and a few of the other girls felt a pang of jealousy watching Rhea and Fleur during the Yule Ball, because as far as they could see it had been a perfect date.
"Thinking of someone special?" Hermione's loud "eep" made Susan laugh as she sat down next to her on the Study Groups main table. Everyone else, including Sally, had gone home for what was left of the Holidays. Hermione glared at her redheaded friend. "Just lost in thought. I was curious though if you or your Aunt had any theories on what happened to Halley. I mean, there has to be a point where it ends, right?" Susan sighed, "Auntie thinks Halley was probably Blood Adopted. It explains everything except that death certificate. Other than that…" Susan went quiet and Hermione looked at her and waited. "I probably shouldn't say anything. If we're wrong, it's a bit of an insult and if we are right… it's best if it's never mentioned."
Hermione shook her head, "I can't let it go Susan. Rhea is my friend and so is Henry. I want to see them at least be cordial. You should have seen how angry Henry was after the First Task. He felt cheated, even though he got through the Task, he hates the fact he owes Rhea his life." Susan looked at Hermione, "You told me Rhea said not to get involved and to leave it to the adults. If I tell you what Aunti thinks, it will draw you into this mess and you won't like it." Susan sighed again and rubbed her hair, "It could also mean Rhea and Henry could never be anything but civil to each other. Are you willing to take that risk?" Hermione stared at Susan and refused to dignify that with an answer, neither blinking as they looked into each other's eyes. Susan closed hers first, looking resigned. "Aunti found something in the Archives. At first, she didn't think much of it but after spending time with the Blacks… "
Susan opened her eyes, "Halley wasn't just Sirius' goddaughter by oath. He named her his Heiress. That means that she would have been Lady Black if Sirius had died. So, who do we know is like a daughter to Sirius Black and his Heiress?" Hermione's mind just… stopped. She thought back to every interaction she ever had with Rhea, how caring she was, how gifted, but never arrogant, never making her feel like she didn't belong. Rhea was friendly to almost everyone, showing respect and consideration. She also remembered the night of Samhain and how the ritual had failed when she wrote down the name Halley Potter before the magic seemed to refuse to answer as if the soul couldn't respond. How she saw what she thought was Halley in her dreams, an image that resembled Rhea to some degree. Could she really… "How… sure are you about that…?" Susan shrugged, "It depends really. But to me, what matters is if it makes a difference to me. My answer to that is no. Whatever happens, I am sticking with Rhea and most of our friends will too."
Hermione had to agree with Susan's words. Rhea was just Rhea to the group. She had never really shared anything beyond her love of her family and that seemed to mean more to her than anything else. For Hermione, the question was more complicated. Would she stand by the Potters if everything goes down or would she pick the Black's and Rhea's friends. She didn't know. She really didn't know and it scared her. She couldn't stop the tears from coming out as Susan comforted her. Susan had been right. She might have been better off never suspecting or knowing the truth. Because now the doubt was seeded in her mind. If the Potters could do this to their own daughter, what else could they do? Thoughts of Henry's years at Hogwarts and the constant training and concerns over a seemingly unkillable Dark Lord filled her mind. Did they do right for either of their children? Hermione didn't know and that bothered her deeply.
"Are you certain about this article Rita? Sure, the story is worthy of the front page, it's full of the sorts of things that will make readers come back for more, but at what cost? You do know the Potters won't like this getting out and I don't even want to know what the Black's will do. That family is as strong now as it had been when Cassiopeia Black terrorized the entire Wizengamot with her book of secrets. They may not come after us for breaking this story but they will be looking at us from now on, waiting for a moment to catch us and burn us to the ground. You really want that attention?" Rita had thought about that every step of the way as she wrote down her findings.
Her jaunt back to the quiet side of London had told her exactly what she expected to see. The winter after 88 had seen the arrival of a dark haired, green eyed little girl living with Sabrina Prasinos, someone the witch dedicated her time to almost excessively. She was introduced as Rhea Prasinos then and in the years since her appearance began to change, her hair taking on highlights like her mother's, her skin going from deathly pale to getting more of a tan and her body being in better shape after the two were seen jogging almost every available day. The girl went from extremely shy, skittish and reserved to more open and warm, especially with the children. In August of 1990, Sirius Black started visiting the pair, taking on a father's role with the girl and eventually courting the young woman caring for her. The girl's last great change came in June of 1991, exactly at the same time as her legal documents were filled, with a notable change to her eye colour, the texture of her hair and the tone of her skin. All changes are consistent with a Blood Adoption.
There was no doubt in her mind that Rhea Black had at one time been Halley Potter and that something terrible had happened in the years before her new family took her in. The last photo of the girl among the Blacks had been of a radiant smile, her appearance at the Yule Ball was of a heartbreaker but a charming and caring person. No one at the Ball had missed the devotion the Black Heiress had shown the Beauxbatons' Triwizard Champion. The Witch Weekly article on the event had actually sold out and was reprinted with the demand of the witches of Magical Britain driving the sales as the event featured Victor Krum and his fiancée, Henry Potter with a lovely Hermione Granger at his side and two of the most lovely witches to have ever had such a public relationship.
Rita Skeeter knew her article would sell like wildfire. She only hoped her decision to stick to the facts and not embellish would earn her a reprieve when the wands started swinging. Besides, if her information was correct, the girl's life had been horrifying enough without adding any superfluous phrases. There was no need for embellishment here at all. She looked at her editor in chief, Barnabus Cuffe, and nodded. "Made up my mind when I brought it in Barnabus. Will you print it?" Her boss took a deep breath and nodded. "It will be out in the morning edition. See if you can get some people up to Hogwarts. I imagine the Castle will be quite a stir as soon as the paper is out." Rita nodded and turned to leave when her boss called out to her one last time. "And Rita, best stay clear of the Blacks at Hogwarts. I imagine the news will send them all straight there to care for their own. Best not get in the line of fire."
Rhea had felt odd from the moment she woke up. She could see that Nyx felt it too but wasn't sure what was going on. She had read that as Creature of Death, she and the others could have a bit of a sixth sense. A feeling of foreboding as events took place out of their control. Nyx, as a Death Omen, would have a stronger inclination and would often try and warn people in her own way. Sure, she left entire towns across the whole world terrified by her presence alone, outlandish stories of monstrous flying creatures with massive black wings and red eyes spawning in her wake, but that was the point. To make people aware of the danger around them and encourage them to enjoy their lives while they still can. A few would even be spared death by Nyx's presence alone. As her Familiar, that talent was dulled, so as to avoid having her Mistress interfere with natural events. This didn't stop Rhea from getting her own feelings and warnings. Her feelings at the First Task had been right on the money. So why was she feeling it now? Her one consoling thought as she entered the Great Hall was that Fleur was back in France with her family and would be back by next week, so whatever was bothering her had nothing to do with Fleur... Rhea had been planning a very warm and comforting welcome for her girlfriend. She sat down beside Luna and gave her a one armed hug as she started to serve herself some breakfast. Luna had looked at her oddly, "Are you ok Rhea? You feel unusually cold." Rhea allowed her senses to touch and scour her body. Everything seemed fine.
"Don't know. I feel a little off but I don't feel ill or anything." Luna kept looking at her with concern as more students sat down and started eating breakfast. She noted that Susan and Sally were sitting close together. They really were cute. Hannah was sitting with Longbottom at the Gryffindor table. Huh, Rhea hoped the girl knew what she was doing. Henry kept glaring every time their eyes met. The prat. Hermione… why did Hermione refuse to look towards her? Did she not like her Yule gift? She was sure the handcrafted Christmas ornament would have been well received by her parents. Rhea made plans to ask her what was bothering the cute bookworm as the morning mail arrived. She ate a few bites of breakfast before she noticed how quiet the Great Hall was. She looked up and noticed a lot of them were staring at her and then at the newspaper. Rhea turned to Cho, the closest person to her with a copy. "What?" Cho looked at her with a weird expression as she passed her copy of the Daily Prophet over. Rhea looked at the front page of the newspaper and she could honestly say her heart stopped beating.
Black Heiress formerly Halley Potter:
Twin of the Boy Who Lived Victim of Abuse!
She looked at the paper in her hands as it dissolved into ash. Wait. The paper was the only thing in Black and White, so why was the rest of the Great Hall now also in Greyscale? Her mind felt weird. She felt … cold. Well, the cold had never really bothered her but right now it felt odd. Why was she only feeling cold? Why was… Her heart. Oh, right. It had stopped beating a second ago. Wasn't it supposed to keep beating? She knew it beat very loudly and insistently when she shared her bed with Fleur. She also knew she felt really warm those nights. She liked going to sleep warm. So why… oh, there it goes! Her heart's beating again. That's a relief!
That would have been hard to explain to her parents! Wait, why is it going so fast? Why… Her ears were hurting now. It felt as if the noise was around her just kept getting louder and louder. She wanted to scream for the noise to stop. For it all to stop. Except she had a really bad feeling about opening her mouth right now. Like a super bad feeling. She feels something touch her mind. At first, she wanted to yell that this was a bad time, but it was just Nyx. Telling her to head for the 7th floor. Oh, right! The Come and Go Room! It would be nice and quiet there! Yup, time to go! Oh! That's weird, her legs weren't working right. Rhea was sure they had been working right just a minute ago. Didn't she get up from the table just fine? She had taken the stairs to the Hall this morning instead of cheating via the Veil, so she knew they were working right.
Probably not a good idea to cheat right now though. Nyx said not to and she should know as the owl always cheats on her deliveries. Huh, she feels cold hands on her sides, pulling her up and leading to the Seventh Floor. Oh, it's Helena. She's the best! Old English is a weird language but Helena had been teaching it to her. Mostly the songs! Helena's voice was so pretty. Rhea really hoped she found a good way of preserving sound indefinitely. She never wanted to not hear Helena's songs. Or Mom's. Laris… was Laris. Huh, what had she been doing again? She had been eating breakfast, Luna had said she felt cold. She was cold right now. Like really cold.
Helena, oh Helena was talking to her! "Rhea! I know it's hard to think right now but you're in the Room of Requirement. It's safe. You can let go, Rhea. Let it out. You're safe. Please, let it out before it starts eating away at you." Eating? Oh, right. She had been eating. Then everyone went really quiet and started being really rude. They kept staring at her! Why? Did she forget to leave the reanimated ravens back in her trunk? No, the ravens should be safe and back to bones. Reanimation wasn't as fun as the Light morons made it seem. Compartmentalizing the mind, giving the bones orders. It was tiring work! Not fun at all! Did she hurt someone? She wanted to hurt Henry for hurting Hermione, oh and Dumbledore and Lily Potter for what they did to her. Oh, that's right. The newspaper! That's what got everyone being weird.
What was it Helena had said? Let it out? Oh, she means her Magic. She loved magic! Even her scary magic. It was fun! Oh, her scary magic was the issue right now. She felt full. Like really, really full. Best to let it out! Rhea's mind simply ceased. No memory, no thought, no time. She only was. The stars surrounded her in their beautiful seemingly endless shows of light. Here she could be free. Here there wasn't a Halley or Rhea and nothing outside matters. She was free and at peace. So why did she feel like she wanted to wake up? Best not to think about it and just stare at the stars. She loved the stars, even if she was shit at remembering their names. Still, she loved looking at the stars. She wondered if she'd be there soon. Rhea felt her hair tingle. Ok, much better now.