Most people woke up Monday morning to a calming cup of tea and a plate of toast. Remus woke up to the news that Albus Dumbledore was a missing war criminal and that his pseudo-niece had probably killed him.
“At what point does all of this just become a bit too strange?” Remus asked Sirius as he stared down at the paper.
“I think life became a bit too strange when I found out my best mate turns into a wolf and chews on poor innocent bunny’s once a month to be honest” Sirius said and Remus couldn’t even be bothered being offended over it. He had a point really.
“Do we ground her for this? Is murdering Albus Dumbledore a ground-able offence?”
Sirius shrugged slightly, a pondering look on his face “I mean I’m not particularly upset about it. Are you upset about it?”
“Not really”
“Then its fine right?”
Why did James and Lily ever think he and Sirius were fit to look after a kid.
“Yeah its probably fine”
They picked Eliza up from the station, along with Blaise and after a brief show-down with his horrible mother the four of them return home. The house was instantly louder, brighter almost, now that the kids were home. Not that Eliza and Blaise were really children anymore but they always would be in Remus’ eyes. He remembered them from third year and smiled into his tea. They had been mature for their age yes, and he couldn’t deny they were above average in terms of their skill level but Remus had always seen them as kids. Even if the other staff found them a bit abnormal.
He found Blaise and the Weasley twins causing chaos on numerous occasions, let them hide in his office, and Eliza had always been so mischievous even in her brief Sunday visits.
Yes they would always be kids in Remus’ eyes, even if they were highly independent war criminals. Although perhaps Blaise hadn’t committed a war crime yet, he would probably be the only one in the house if that was the case.
Eliza came down the stairs, footsteps near silent as she wandered into the kitchen pausing to give Remus a quick good morning as she and Kreacher battled over who could make the coffee. Sirius was still passed out in bed but Remus was sure he’d be up soon. Sirius and Eliza had made plans to go and ride the Merlin-damned motorbike this Sunday.
“Is Blaise joining us for breakfast?” he asked as Eliza took a contented sip of her coffee. She stilled slightly, green eyes narrowing as if she was trying to scrutinise Remus’ intentions. It was fine though, he knew what she was like. Eliza had come so far in such little time and if sometimes she still had to examine for non-existent threats or weigh up escape routes and dangers then Remus would let her. He and Sirius couldn’t re-write thirteen years of history, it was more than enough that Eliza chose to stay with them in the first place.
She had off-days often, when she needed space and time to herself – the least they could do was respect that.
He watched as Eliza have a sharp shake of her head, as if to knock any intrusive thoughts from her mind.
“Blaise is having a bad day today” she said simply before pausing, continuing to stare at Remus “I’m not quite sure how to help him”
There was a question hidden in there somewhere and Remus smiled slightly “Do you think he would mind if I went to check on him?”
Eliza gave another little shrug and poured her coffee into a flask “I’ll be down in the garage waiting for Sirius – we’ll try and be back for tea”
“Have fun” Remus called after her and she gave a two fingered salute in response. Smiling Remus pushed himself to his feet and wandered up stairs only stopping to bang on Sirius’ door to wake him up as he headed towards Blaise’s room.
“Blaise?” Remus called, softly rapping on the door “Can I come in?”
There was a muffled shout from inside and the door unlocked itself, swinging open to let Remus step inside the room. They had decorated it with Blaise last summer, cream coloured walls and ebony shelves holding the majority of Blaise’s possessions.
Blaise himself was sat on the windowsill, legs dangling outside the open window as he stared down at the street outside. Walking over Remus hoisted himself up on the other side, joining the boy in watching the street down below.
“Bad day?”
Blaise nodded mutely and Remus gave the boy his silence, not pressuring him into speaking.
“My mother has a bit of a reputation, of killing her husbands” Blaise said in an airy tone, fists clenching slightly “The reputation isn’t a lie”
“You’re here now” Remus said, wanting nothing more than to just pull Blaise in for a hug “With us, and Eliza – nothing can get you here”
“I saw her kill one of them once – he had always been so nice to me”
Remus wanted to kill the woman. These kids, his kids, didn’t deserve anything that had happened to them. He had always been protective of his friends growing up, had even tried to curse Sirius’ mother once, now he was even worse.
“I know it’s stupid but I just keep seeing it happen over and over in my brain and I always used to wonder when is she going to get sick of me? When am I the one who’s going to have poison in their cup? And-
Blaise took a shuddering breath, leaning further out the window to take a gulp of the fresh air “I’m sorry”
“Blaise?” Remus asked and waited until the boy tuned to look at him, dark eyes shining wetly and Remus felt his heart break “Is it okay if I hug you?”
Blaise blinked in surprise before drawing his legs back inside the house giving a tiny nod of his head. Remus didn’t waste a moment and jumped down to wrap his arms around the boy. Blaise shuddered in his hold, gripping onto his sweater and Remus didn’t mention the tears dampening his shoulder. Merely murmured soft words of comfort as he held Blaise closer. When was the last time an adult had given a damn about this kid? When was the last time Blaise had anything resembling a parent?
Eventually Blaise’s silent cries came to a stop but Remus made no move to pull away.
“Eliza and Sirius are out all day today – how about we have a little adventure of our own?”
Blaise pulled away, looking at him with a slightly guarded look that pulled at Remus’ heartstrings.
“What do you want to do?”
“Well” Remus said brightly “You like the garden right? And Eliza mentioned you’re always climbing the trees at Hogwarts so I say we go out and make a tree-house”
Blaise smiled slightly rubbing at the back of his neck “I’ve never made a tree-house before”
Remus grinned “There’s no time like the present, now come on – we can even ban Sirius from it”
Blaise let out a startled little laugh and Remus smiled smugly at the thought of cheering him up.
He’d go to hell and back for these kids – even if they were all war criminals.
~
By the time Tom decided to visit Eliza it was already dark. Night had captured Eliza’s street in a sleepy haze, separating it from the rest of maddeningly busy London. It was quiet here, walking down the empty streets – it made Tom feel like he was the only person awake in the world. Except for the light coming from Eliza’s bedroom window, the golden light warming the night beyond it.
Alas what light through yonder window breaks?
Tom grinned to himself full of a childish glee that was usually foreign to him and came to a stop beneath the window. He could have knocked on the door, could have asked for Eliza to come down, could have done a lot of things which would have left him with his dignity intact.
Instead, he scaled the wall in front of him, using the old crumbling brick as handholds as he tried to manoeuvre himself from ledge to ledge until he was clambering up onto Eliza’s windowsill. Rapping on the window he shot Eliza a smug smile when she startled coming over to let him in.
“We have a door you know” she said as Tom swung himself in through the now open window and decided to stay relaxing on the edge of the windowsill.
“You also have a dog-father guarding said door – I’ll take my chances thank you” he replied primly and Eliza let out choked muffled laughter, casting cursory glances to her bedroom door. Knowing her she probably had silencing wards up anyway.
“Happy Birthday Little Star” Tom wished and her gaze snapped back towards him, curiosity resting in her eyes.
“Do you come bearing gifts? Seventeen is quite a big birthday after all” she probed wandering closer to Tom’s perch.
Tom could have given her rare books, fine jewels, necklaces from royalty or lost wards from forgotten emperors. He was a bit of a magpie and he felt no reluctance in sharing his hoard with Eliza. But he knew for all that she coveted knowledge Eliza was far more sentimental than she would like to be.
“It isn’t much for a Seventeenth” Tom began, pulling the present out from his pocket and unshrinking it “But I thought you would appreciate it all the same”
He watched as Eliza carefully tore away the wrapping paper, watched as her breath hitched and eyes shone as she took in the picture she now held in her hands. Barty had taken it, a picture of him and Eliza messing around in the snow and the image practically radiated pure unrestrained happiness.
And if Tom had also kept a copy of the picture than no-one else had to know.
Eliza grinned widely and reverently placed the framed photo by her bed-side table.
“Thank you Tom, really – you always seem to get me exactly what I want”
“Anything for you Eliza” he replied and hated how achingly sincere he sounded. Eliza hovered uncomfortably for a few seconds before grabbing Tom by the hand and yanking him from his perch. He stumbled slightly as Eliza led them to the bed rambling on about the holidays and the places she’d visited and the plans she’d yet to enact.
Tom was sat on the bed listening indulgently as Eliza pulled out a stash of post-cards and Honeydukes chocolate. They stayed up well into the night idly taking about nothing and everything all at once. Eventually Eliza’s yawns became more frequent, her speech more slurred until she dozed off mid-conversation, passing out on the bed.
He paused only to drape a blanket over her as he left.
Anything for you Eliza.
For Eliza, he would give the world.
~
There were a lot of places Sirius had never wanted to see again.
Azkaban was one of them, obviously, then there was Gordric’s Hollow, a pub somewhere in Cornwall that his memories were too hazy to properly recall, and Potter Manor.
What he would give to be in Cornwall right now.
The manor felt almost hauntingly empty, hollowed out and covered in dust and Sirius felt like every time he rounded a corner he was confronted by another ghost. By this front door The Potters had seen a kid worth keeping around. He spent Yule in this living room, baked cookies in this kitchen. He had found a family in these halls, spent nights curled up with his best mates in these bedrooms.
He’d had a home here, before the war.
He’d had a family.
It wasn’t his actual family. Not his father’s despondency or his mother’s harsh curses or a little brother he could have done more for, should have done more for. No he’d found a family in Euphemia’s warm smiles, Fleamont’s laughter, the smell of butterbeer cookies and mock Quidditch games in the garden.
The house felt wrong without them here, without James here.
Eliza slipped away from them, murmuring something about raiding the attic as Sirius came to a shaky halt outside his old bedroom door.
“We don’t have to do this Padfoot” Remus murmured, placing a comforting hand on Sirius’ arm “We can wait for Eliza outside”
Sirius scoffed, trying to muster up some false bravado as he pushed the old door open “I’m not a coward Moony”
The door creaked as it opened, it never did that before.
The curtains were drawn back, sunlight flooding his childhood room. It was frozen in a moment, a memory from before everything, before the war, before the death. Posters were still stuck across all the walls, odd bits and pieces scattered everywhere that he had sworn he would come back for. Motorbike models and old charms textbooks. His bed, Gryffindor red and gold, was made – ready for an occupant who would never return and Sirius was waiting for James to burst though the door.
He always used to barge in, talking about the next prank, the next transfiguration essay, his next step in the woo-ing of Lily Evans. He used to sneak in after nightmares, stay up well into the night when Sirius couldn’t sleep himself. Loud and reckless and brave. And kind, so unrelentingly kind. He took Sirius in, cared for him as a brother, gave him a family.
And he would never hear his voice again.
He had died being as brave and as selfless as they all knew he could be. He had died without a wand, facing down a monster, giving his family enough time to run, all alone.
Sirius didn’t know when he had started crying all he knew was that his face was wet and his throat was burning and why did James have to leave us moony? Where did it all go wrong-
“I know Pads” Moony murmured, bringing him in for a hug that was just a bit too tight, a bit too desperate “I miss him too”
“She’s so much like him, the best of him” Sirius found himself saying, clinging to his best friend in the middle of his old bedroom that felt more and more like a mausoleum.
“He’d be so smug” Moony said, voice strangled “He’s got Lily Evans all too himself now and we’re still just two unemployed bastards”
Sirius barked a laugh remembering all the times they had raided Gordrics Hollow to tease James about settling down so early. The wife, the marriage, the kid. Who would have thought that James was the one out of all of them to have it all sorted out?
Wiping away the tears Sirius grinned at Remus, pulling him out of the room letting the door shut for the last time.
“Let’s see what out god-daughter is getting up to shall we?”
“And then we can go home”
And then they could all go home.
He hoped James was proud of him.
~
Draco could cry.
The biscuit he had been dunking into his tea had promptly decided to drown itself in its milky depths leaving him with no actual biscuit and disgusting clumpy tea and he was going to cry over it. In the long run a biscuit cemetery tea wasn’t a big deal, in fact it was almost inconsequential.
But it was his last year at Hogwarts, he had no idea what he was doing with his life, he wasn’t particularly amazing at anything and his biscuit had just committed tea suicide.
“Why do you look like you’re about to drown yourself in that tea-cup?” Daphne questioned, glancing up from her potions textbook and casting a worried look over him.
“Don’t be silly Daph’ the tea cup isn’t big enough for that”
Daphne let out a snort, flinging her textbook onto the coffee table in front of them “Seriously what’s wrong?”
“I’m just admiring my reflection. Don’t you think I look unbelievably handsome today?”
“Yes Draco” Theo intoned dully, checking into the conversation solely to mock Draco “You’re as a handsome and arrogant as always”
Draco nodded to himself primly, sniffing pompously as he banished the biscuit tea in his cup “Why thank you Theo, I knew you’d all see sense eventually”
Daphne laughed and went back to studying, Draco made himself a new cup of tea and life carried on.
“You’ve been moping” Eliza accused him one day. He had been staring at his care of magical creatures essay for the past two hours and had so far successfully written out the question he was supposed to be answering.
The plate of biscuits sat beside him, untouched and currently not drowned.
“I’ve not been moping” Draco defended weakly, dunking his quill back into the ink-pot to give himself the pretence that he would actually write something down.
“Okay then, you’ve not been moping, Blaise has never been inside a broom cupboard and I’m a saint. Glad we’ve sorted all that out”
Eliza flung herself onto the sofa next to him, obnoxiously slinging her legs onto his lap as he stared down his essay.
“So” she drawled out, voice deadpan “What’s wrong?”
“Do you happen to know what impact habitat destruction has on dragons in the UK?” He replied promptly, eyes not leaving his essay.
“I will bully you”
“You can try” he replied with the bravery of a man who had nothing to lose. There was nothing she could do to him anymore, he had witnessed the devastation of a drowned biscuit and was now nothing but an empty husk. He had seen horrors beyond all comprehension, witnessed travesties-
“I’ll just go and speak to Astoria then”
“What do you want?” Draco said whirling around to see Eliza’s stupid smug face.
“I’m bored Draco”
“That’s nice”
“I’m so bored”
Draco sighed and glanced at his essay and chose to accept defeat.
“How about we play some quidditch?”
He had never seen her move faster in his life.
They messed around at the quidditch pitch for the rest of the afternoon, stumbling back in to steal snacks for the kitchen and Draco already felt happier, a bounce in his step as they walked. In fact he felt so much better he had forgotten why Eliza had chosen to harass him in the first place.
“So” she stared out nonchalantly “What’s been bothering you?”
They were perched in an alcove on the sixth floor, the window behind them as they sat on the ledge sharing out sandwiches and snacks.
He wasn’t getting out of this.
“I don’t know what I’m doing” he admitted finally, brushing a hand through his hair. Eliza didn’t say anything and Draco couldn’t tell if it was out of consideration or emotional awkwardness but at least she was giving him time to speak.
“You want to take over the world, Daphne wants to go into healing, Blaise is considering becoming a curse breaker, Theo is already going to take over the seat on the Wizengamot the second he graduates or he’s going to work in the archives” Draco rattled off before giving a helpless shrug.
“It’s our last year, I’m not good at anything and I have no idea what I’m doing”
He was starting to feel like that drowned biscuit. Soggy and sad.
Eliza hummed consideringly before picking up a strawberry. Draco had no time to duck before it was bouncing off his head.
“You’re a moron”
“Thank you for the emotional support in these trying times”
The next strawberry missed.
“First of all, you’re good at loads of things Draco, otherwise I never would have bothered speaking to you”
Despite himself Draco let out a laugh.
“You’ve got the Malfoy seat”
“But that’s a Malfoy thing, not a Draco thing”
“You’re great in charms-
“I’m average at charms”
“You’re amazing at quidditch”
“Everyone knows Quidditch can never be a real career”
“You’re brilliant with potions”
“I’ve never even managed to create my own, I’d never get a masters”
“Can you stop being so bloody pessimistic” Eliza growled threatening to lob another strawberry at his head “I’m trying to be wholesome here”
“And I appreciate it” Draco said sincerely, truly appreciating Eliza’s attempts “But that doesn’t change the fact that right now I’m nothing but a sorry sad biscuit drowning in the cup of tea of life”
Eliza paused and Draco smiled as she obviously tried to work through his insane comparison before she shook her head, as if to physically rid herself of his words.
“And what of it” she exclaimed finally, hands waving wildly as she spoke “Guess what Draco? You’re seventeen. We’re still kids and asking us to decide on one job occupation for the rest of our lives is absolutely ludicrous-
“You know what you want to do”
“I’m also a borderline megalomaniac, I’m not exactly your best comparison here” she said wryly and Draco let out a soft laugh, she wasn’t exactly wrong.
“You have all the time in the world to figure out what you want to do. Play Quidditch at the weekends, get a potions mastery, take over the family seat – go and live out in the wilderness to discover what impact habitat destruction has on dragons”
“You’ll be brilliant wherever you end up Draco, we all know it. It’s about time you do as well”
Heartachingly sincere even when she was threatening bodily harm with a picnic basket – where would he be without her?
“Alright” Draco agreed, taking her words to heart “Alright”
Eliza grinned, a terrifying grin that spelt nothing but trouble, and jumped up from their seat backing away into the empty corridor.
“I’m still bored Draco” she said chipperly and he braced himself for whatever plan she had concocted.
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Well” she began “I may have promised a certain dark lord a tango at the next Yule Ball, you need to teach me”
McGonagall bumped into them on her patrols a few hours later. Draco and Eliza paused in their disastrous attempts of a tango as the tabby cat levelled them with that trademark McGonagall glare.
They laughed until they couldn’t breathe.
~
Minerva had been teaching at Hogwarts for decades and never had she taught a student quite like Eliza Potter.
She remembered James and Lily, of course she remembered James and Lily. She remembered them getting into trouble, remembered them trying to get out of it. She remembered James’ little gang, the marauders they called themselves, remembered the multiple attempts to ‘woo’ Lily.
She remembered winning a bet with Slughorn when they finally got together.
And of course she remembered the way Dumbledore – their wise gallant heroic leader. She remembered Remus and Sirius, James and Lily – kids. Just kids fighting a war they shouldn’t have been a part of, and she remembered seeing the damage that took. The betrayal, the mistrust, the mischief that had surrounded them all dulling and fading into almost nothing.
Eliza Potter was born into war-time and when her parents were killed Minerva could do nothing but helplessly watch.
The child that arrived at Hogwarts was not the one she had been expecting. Cold, sharp, calculating. Intelligent and closed off she seemed like the quintessential Slytherin instead of as bright and as loud as her two Gryffindor parents.
The child (seventeen now but all her students were children in Minerva’s eyes) was nothing like that. Eliza sat across from her desk with a charming smile and bright eyes, a plate of biscuits between them. Her smile wasn’t sincere just yet, Minerva could tell the difference.
Eliza had always been manipulative, charismatic maybe. Minerva had watched the way the girl acted, the way she impressed her tutors, brought people onto her side, sugar coated words and pleasant smiles. Not many others could see the falsity in the actions but Minerva was different for she had seen the real Eliza Potter.
Eliza Potter from Order meetings who was a bit too sharp, a bit too ruthless. Eliza Potter sneaking around the castle at night when she though no one was around, soft smiles and silent footsteps that could only be gained from years of practice. She saw Eliza laugh and shout with her friends when they thought they were being sneaky and had seen the girl interact with Severus, with Sirius and Remus.
No the smile on the girls face right now wasn’t a real one, but Minerva could change that.
“Have a biscuit Miss Potter”
Eliza took one but made no move to eat it as she and Minerva engaged in a staring competition.
“So Miss Granger tells me you seek to establish your own extra-curricular”
Eliza nodded calmly “Granger and I have had a few discussions and decided that now in our seventh year we finally have enough authority between us to implement something to help out the younger years”
What a perfect politician answer.
“Miss Granger has talked me though the brief guideline of the club”
Minerva wasn’t given a chance to finish before Eliza was pulling out a large file, dumping it onto the table. After a brief cursory glance she could see that the file actually contained lesson plans, enough for a full term if not more.
“All the information you would need is in there” Eliza said delicately, standing up and wandering to the door evidently believing her job to be done “You can let us know if you give us permission to begin our club if you find these plans satisfactory”
“Miss Potter” Minerva called and Eliza stopped by the door, walking back to her seat as told “I don’t need to hear the lesson plans, I want to know why you want to start this club”
Eliza blinked in surprise and Minerva had to wonder if she’d ever been asked that before. Or if Dumbledore had simply treated her as another child soldier who existed only at his beck and call. She wouldn’t put it past the man, after finding out all he had done.
“When I got to Hogwarts I had no idea about anything. I was sorted into Slytherin which comes with its own hierarchical rules and social expectations. I didn’t even know how to use a quill properly”
“It was humiliating and disorientating and I had no one to teach me – Granger had no one to teach her”
“And you want to change that” Minerva said, less a question and more a statement. Eliza nodded and finally bit into her biscuit, dunking it into the thus far untouched tea in front of her.
Minerva always knew more than she let on.
She knew it was no coincidence that when Eliza had joined the order their ranks started to diminish. She knew Dumbledore had been having private lessons with the girl before he had mysteriously disappeared. She knew that Lord Gaunt was more than what he said he was and Minerva knew that Eliza was still as close to the man as she had been in her fourth year. And she knew from her talks with Nymphadora that Voldemort and Eris had shown them mercy, a brief chance of peace in their past confrontations.
Looking at Eliza Minerva more than anything saw memories. James’ unruly hair and Lily’s eyes of course. The mischief was all them but the way she quirked an eyebrow was Severus. The leather jacket she often sported screamed Sirius and she made her tea exactly like Remus. Eliza Potter was an amalgamation of every person she had ever cared for, every person Minerva had failed to protect.
“War-time is over now and we should act like it. By teaching these kids what it actually means to live in the wizarding world instead of raising them to be canon fodder for the inevitable front line”
And if Eliza Potter was saying that war-time was over than Minerva had no choice but to believe her.
Perhaps the prophecy had been right after all.
Eliza didn’t leave until the plate of biscuits between them was empty.
~
Blaise was rather tempted to skip Alchemy. It wasn’t exactly his favourite class and if he left now he had a chance to steal the box of French pastries Narcissa had mailed to Draco this morning. Draco never really bothered to lock his door unlike Eliza whose secret stash of sugar quills was an impossible target.
Or he could just go to the kitchen and grab some cookies before class. He was pretty sure that was a danger hazard though, Eliza could probably accidentally transmute his cookies into explosives and then they’d all be doomed and Blaise would never get to try those French pastries.
He wished he hadn’t missed breakfast today.
Sighing dramatically to himself Blaise rounded the corner only to pause when he heard gruff raised voices.
Two younger Slytherins were back into the corner, second years he vaguely recognised, and three Gryffindors had cornered them, wands raised and mouths spewing vicious angry words. Blaise had never been so thankful Eliza had implemented that ridiculous buddy system in his life, strength in numbers indeed.
“You slimy snakes shouldn’t be walking about alone”
“They’re probably up to no good – we should teach them a lesson”
“And what” Blaise said clearly, lazily walking down the corridor as he drew his wand “Do you propose you’d be teaching them?”
The three Gryffindors, fourth years maybe, exchanged glances between them, shifting nervously. Blaise didn’t blame them – he had quite a reputation, everyone in the court did. They had been taught how to duel by Eliza and the dark lord and held some of the top spots across the school.
Blaise smiled sharply and felt a flash of satisfaction when they all tensed.
“You – you can’t fight us” one of them stuttered out foolishly “You’re a seventh year, that’s unfair”
“And my two house mates over there a second years – that doesn’t seem to be stopping you” Blaise said calmly, twirling his wand absently. All those hours he had spent bullying Eliza into teaching him how to do it clearly paid off as the three Gryffindors paled in front of him.
“What is going on here?”
Granger came striding down the corridor, dark eyes blazing in righteous anger as she subtly drew her own wand.
“Granger” Blaise greeted pleasantly “It’s always a pleasure to be blessed by fine company, I’m afraid your house mates are severely lacking in that department”
Granger levelled him with a dead-pan stare, gaze shifting as she took in the situation around them “I repeat – what is going on here?”
“Authoritative, I like it” Blaise quipped, raising his eyebrows and laughed when Granger let out a despairing sigh. The atmosphere quickly changed however when he caught sight of the three moronic Gryffidnors trying to slip away.
“I suggest you wrangle your house-mates into some semblance of good behaviour Granger” Blaise warned and though his tone was casual he made sure everyone could hear the warning hidden in his words “Otherwise they’ll find out just how unfair us Slytherins can be”
It was almost refreshing, the way Granger trusted his words and immediately rounded on the three boys in front of her. He absently heard them stuttering out excuses and Granger admonishing them but instead he turned his attention onto the two younger Slytherins who was still shuffling nervously by the wall.
Bending down slightly Blaise ruffled the boys hair and rested a comforting hand on the girls shoulder – he’d have to find out their names off Eliza later.
“Are you two okay now?” Blaise asked softly and smiled when they both nodded their heads eagerly, not letting go of each other’s hands.
“We could have taken them” the girl said and Blaise thought she might be Parkinson’s younger cousin, he laughed slightly at her words and nodded his head.
“I’m sure you could have – I think your damsel in distress needed some saving though”
The boy let out a shout of protest before almost tripping over his own feet leading Blaise to valiantly try and muffle his laughter.
“You should run along to class now” he said, shooing them along the corridor once he noticed the moronic trio of gryffidnors had sulked away “I don’t want you getting into trouble”
“You’re not in class” the boy pointed out and Blaise grinned.
“But I’m always in trouble anyway”
The two kids let out a stream of laughter and started hopping down the corridor in brighter spirits. He was already almost late to alchemy now, maybe he should just dip and go to the kitchens.
“I didn’t know you were that good with kids” Granger said and Blaise almost jumped in surprise, forgetting that the girl was still here.
“I’m a man of many talents Granger” Blaise replied whirling around to face the girl with a flirty grin “You could find out more of them if you’d like”
“Do you ever stop flirting?” Granger dead-panned before turning on her heels and striding away. All thoughts of acquiring cookies falling from his mind Blaise dutifully trotted after her.
“It’s hard when I’m in the presence of such a pretty girl”
“Zabini I will castrate you” Granger replied promptly and Blaise grinned falling into step beside her as they walked towards the alchemy classroom.
“Then we might as well be on a first name basis”
Granger’s steps faltered before she picked up the pace, the alchemy corridor coming into view.
“Whatever you say Zabini-
“Blaise”
Hermione gave a sigh of defeat “Whatever you say Blaise”
They parted at the sight of the classroom, Blaise leaning against the wall as Eliza meandered over.
“What happened to you?” she questioned immediately.
“What do you mean” he deflected instantly.
She was never going to let him live this down.
~
It would be so easy to murder everyone in this room.
The ex-aurors among them would put up a fight but ultimately Tom could easily incapacitate a good majority of the light sect. He had several faithful followers in the Wizengamot as well and although they would be disappointed Tom could guarantee they’d help him in his mass homicide.
He’d save Lady Abbot to the end, as a treat.
Eliza had been on the Wizengamot for near on three months and she had already caused more chaos than the chamber had seen in all decades put together. It made the usually tedious meetings entertaining and Tom wasn’t going to complain about spending some time with Eliza whilst she was still at Hogwarts.
Of course that didn’t matter too much in the scheme of things, really.
“We could celebrate together?” Tom asked after the meeting, hoping that Eliza would abandon Hogwarts for the night and come celebrate Samhain with him instead. He could feel the eyes on them, the stragglers remaining behind after the meeting watching their interaction closely and Tom smiled proudly when Eliza impressed them all with her patronus.
The Hippogriff trotted around him in a circle before disappearing in a trail of silver with Eliza’s message.
“Well then Little Star” he said, the nickname falling from his lips easily as ever “Shall we?”
“We shall” she returned, bounding ahead of Him even though she was half his size “You best catch me on the other side though”
For a moment it felt like they weren’t talking about the floo network. For a moment Tom could imagine themselves in a world where they confessed to each other then and there, a world where he wasn’t a coward and Eliza wasn’t out of his reach.
“Of course Little Star” he said easily before flinging down a handful of floo powder. Emotional introspection could be put aside for later (or never) but for now they had a Samhain to celebrate.
And it would have been nice as well, to celebrate Samhain with Eliza.
Unfortunately they could never seem to catch a break.
The candle was pushed aside, table cleared hastily as he rushed to Eliza’s side. One moment they had been conducting the ritual and the next she was gone. Face pale and bright eyes unusually dim Tom caught her just before she slumped off the chair.
He wasn’t panicking, he had gone head to head with Dumbledore in duels, someone fainting wasn’t enough to make him panic.
But it was.
Frantically checking for her pulse Tom almost collapsed in on himself in relief when he felt it pounding, slow and steady but frowned at how cold Eliza felt. Her skin was clammy and freezing, unusually pale and Tom didn’t quite know what to do with himself.
Would she wake up soon? Was it something about the ritual?
She seemed completely down for the count, slumped over the table and barely breathing. But it wasn’t like last time, there was no wound or blood or fatal injury. Tom couldn’t decide if this was worse or better. She wasn’t injured from what he could see but now what the hell was he supposed to do. Wait? Try and heal an injury he couldn’t see? Or would he just make matters worse, as he always did.
Shivering slightly over how cold Eliza was Tom lifted her up from the chair, hefting her up into his arms as he walked.
First thing first, warm Eliza up. She was far too cold for it to be healthy and when she woke up Tom was sure she’d appreciate the warmth. Because she would wake up, there was no other option here.
Placing her down on the bed Tom wrapped her up in a spare blanket, and then another one. And then after deciding she still looked far too cold he found yet another and draped it over her. He was lucky Nagini loved hoarding blankets so much, otherwise he wouldn’t have enough. Panic seized his lungs when her breathing stuttered but it soon evened out again, leaving Tom with more fear than he’d had before.
“Master” Nagini hissed and Tom paused in his endless pacing. Eliza had been unconscious for far too long now – possibly. How long had it been? His brain felt scattered, panicked and worried as he waited and waited.
“Master the little speaker doesn’t need another blanket”
Tom dropped the blanket in his hands, anxiously running a hand though his hair instead “I don’t know what to do Nagini. She’s not waking up and I don’t know what to do-
“Silly master” Nagini cut in and she sounded so much like Jormugand for a moment it made him balk. He had forgotten the pair of them had spent some time together those years back. When it had been Tom lying comatose in a bed instead of Eliza. A part of him wished he could trade places with her but that thought worried him far too much to examine it.
Love, devotion, care – all unfamiliar beasts that had escaped their cages.
“She will wake up soon master, just be there for her”
Tom took a seat next to Eliza, clutching her still cold hand in his own.
Just be there, he could do that.
Gods did not listen to people like him but he prayed that she would wake up anyway, he prayed to anything that was willing to listen.
She woke up with a gasp and Tom ignored how for a second it felt like that bone-chilling cold that gathered around Eliza had settled into him instead.
He held onto her hand as though she would disappear, made sure she was safe, made sure she was happy and inwardly chastised himself over how horrifically domestic he was being. And as he held her hand he had to will the tension that had flooded him away.
The only person he had ever cared for, loved even if the Malfoy’s were to be believed, was the closest thing to Death he had ever met. The Master of Death. Eliza was as much dead as she was alive and the juxtaposition made his heart ache. She was everything he feared, the one thing he feared, and she was curled up on his bed beneath a mountain of blankets as if she didn’t have the entire universe at her fingertips.
That night he dreamt of darkness.
The sirens screeched all around him and all he could smell was smoke and sweat and decay. He choked on it as it filled his lungs, as the flames blistered his skin. He was running for something, running away from something – he didn’t know what or when he just knew this was it. His heart thudded loudly as he tried to escape, to run, to live.
His ears rang, his lungs faltered, he was alone, alone, alone-
Silence, a soothing voice, a comforting warmth.
Awareness tugged at his consciousness, enough to feel a dainty hand slip into his own, a warm body pressed against him, before he fell back into darkness once more.
That night he dreamt of warm laughter, bright smiles and even brighter eyes.
~
Elijah was remarkably bored. Lessons were boring, teachers were boring, this school was boring – France was boring.
“Moping over loverboy are we?” his best friend questioned, pointing an accusatory fork at him.
Elodie was perhaps the only nonboring thing in the whole world right now. They were the only one who brought him daily entertainment and the only one who supported his magical creature adventures, even if they were often dragged along unwillingly. They didn’t speak of the crup incident, nothing needed to be said.
Elodie wasn’t much of an outdoors person, aside from Quidditch, and would much rather spend their days indoors reading and painting and sewing. Elijah didn’t have the patience for any of those things but he did appreciate the new knitted scarf he was most likely getting for Yule.
“I don’t mope” Elijah complained and stole a piece of the pancake off the end of the accusing fork, munching on it happy as Elodie glared at him.
“You so do” they shot back, blue eyes distinctly unimpressed “You don’t get a letter at breakfast and you act as if you’ve been forsaken.
“I have been forsaken”
“No you just have to use continental owl delivery – it’s not the same thing”
“It’s basically the same thing”
Elodie didn’t argue with him, one point to Elijah.
“I bet any second now an owl is going to arrive for you”
“I don’t take bets” Elijah replied promptly “I’ve heard it’s a slippery slope”
“Yeah” Elodie said victoriously “From loverboy”
An owl flew in through the open windows, landing directly on top of Elijah’s magical creatures textbook.
Another reason to not take any bets.
Opening up the letter Elijah ignored Elodie’s stupid smug face in favour of reading the letter, instantly recognising Theo’s handwriting.
Dear Eli,
Nothing too bad happened on Samhain this year which is pretty unusual. As you know I don’t want to scare you off with the details from previous Samhains but I’m sure that from the knowledge of trolls, basilisks and mass murderers you can ascertain they’re all usually eventful.
I hope you had a good celebration as well, also pass my regards onto Elodie – I know they’re reading this over your shoulder.
I sent along some history of magic notes in thanks for your ten paged letter about bowtruckles. Your cousin has never gotten a higher grade in Care Of Magical Creatures in his life, it’s only fair that I return to favour.
Speaking of your cousin he was wondering if you would be returning to England for the Malfoy Yule Ball this year.
I must admit that I’m curious to know the answer as well, it would be nice to see you face to face again instead of being permanently stuck as pen-pals.
As always I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Theo Nott.
“He’s a keeper” Elodie said wisely and Elijah retaliated by mussing up their brown hair. Elodie grumbled out complaints as they desperately tried to fix their hair but ultimately gave up, slumping down on the table.
“You only bully me because you know I’m right”
“I’ve not seen him in almost a year” Elijah pointed out and Elodie rolled their eyes.
“Go get him then”
Maybe, just maybe he would.
~
As always the Slug Club parties were roaring with life.
Tom felt a wave of nostalgia hit him as he slipped in and out of the crowd – Slughorn still even had those god awful drapes from when he was younger.
It all felt the same, except somewhere in the crowd tonight was Eliza. She looked stunning, as always and Tom could only watch when she walked away from him, choosing to dance with someone else. Which was fine. Tom didn’t own Eliza, she wasn’t his and he most certainly wasn’t hers. She could dance with anyone, flirt with whoever she wanted too.
That didn’t change the fact that Tom wanted himself to be the one she was smiling at.
The night pattered on in its usual Slug Club tradition, full of alcohol and nepotism. Tom was just about to call it quits when the old jukebox once again crackled to life and filled the air with old familiar swing music.
If Tom had thought the nostalgia was bad before, it was nothing compared to now.
Slughorn caught his gaze from across the room, moustache twitching as he smiled as though he had done Tom some great favour. The floor cleared, these new guests not familiar with Slughorn’s choice of song until as always it was just him and Eliza.
“Come on now Eliza – not even for old times sake?” Tom implored, holding out a hand towards Eliza across the way. The space between them suddenly felt far too wide and for a second Tom feared she’d leave him standing there alone and find someone else to dance with.
Instead she placed her hand in his.
“I suppose I can grace you with my presence for one dance” she said teasingly “I wonder if you can still keep up?”
They danced until they were breathless and then when the old waltz music began playing again Eliza still didn’t let go of his hand.
“Everyone here is judging us for knowing how to swing dance” Eliza joked “This is the thing that will ruin your disguise, no one our age should know how to do it”
“Or maybe they’ll be so amazed by our skills that they don’t even spare it a thought”
“Narcissism and paranoia, our two modes of conversation” Eliza quipped and Tom didn’t even try to stop his laughter.
The night passed quickly, hours slipping from his grasp until it was once again time for him to leave
The same old story every time.
Maybe one day Tom would find enough courage to give them an ending.
~
Theo wouldn’t exactly call himself a nervous person. Sure he had deep rooted trauma like the rest of them but aside from that he considered himself to be quite calm for the most part.
Except he wasn’t feeling calm right now.
There was a pretty boy in front of him and Theo wanted to cry.
Theo was eighteen and he enjoyed being a hermit. He didn’t particularly like socialising, he preferred staying with his books and essays and close friends. He was a bit of a mess but that was okay because his friends were worse. He was eighteen and he’d never even kissed anybody and up until now it had seemed more likely that he would murder someone instead of ending up in a relationship.
There was a pretty boy in front of him and Theo wanted to cry.
Because Elijah was loud and witty and handsome, charismatic beyond belief and he had just asked Theo if he could kiss him.
“A year is far too long” Eli had complained instantly sidling closer to him the second he had found Theo in the crowd “I demand that you let me visit you at least once a month”
“If you want to break into Hogwarts than that’s on you” he’d responded trying to fight back a blush when Elijah slowly intertwined his fingers with his own.
“Oh come on now Theo – I bet you know all the secret passageways. You’re a regular delinquent”
“I’m not a delinquent” he protested immediately, complying with Elijah’s insistent tugging and moving towards the ball room floor.
“You’re a down right criminal Theo Nott” Elijah grinned easily falling into the steps of the dance and Theo followed him effortlessly.
“I’ve never committed a crime in my life”
“But Theo” Elijah simpered “You’ve stolen my heart”
“I will walk away”
“No you won’t”
No he wouldn’t.
They danced until they grew bored of the monotonous waltzes, Theo steered them away from Eliza’s chaos and soon they ended up sneaking away into the Malfoy Gardens. The snow was falling but Theo didn’t mind, he didn’t think there was anything that could ruin this moment right now.
“I know where the stables are, The Malfoy’s actually do own abraxans although you’ve probably already seen them considering” Theo rambled on but was cut off when Elijah tugged them to a halt.
“Theo Nott, can I kiss you right now?”
Elijah was everything Theo was not, practically a Gryffindor. He used corny pick up lines and had an intense obsession with magical creatures and his handwriting was truly atrocious. And for some reason he seemed to have set his sights on Theo.
And unlike a certain long-suffering, oblivious, ridiculous ‘not couple’ Theo swore he wouldn’t be throwing away his shot.
Standing on his tip toes Theo gave Elijah his answer.
~
“It’s cold” Daphne complained, her breath fogging up in front of her.
“Warming charms exist you know” Blaise shot back looking perfectly content which only made Daphne more annoyed.
“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s cold”
“Ignore her” Draco said flippantly “She’s just annoyed that we’re outside right now instead of in her posh little manor”
“Please tell me” Eliza announced her presence, jumping off the steps of Grimmauld to land in front of their little cluster “That I didn’t hear Draco calling someone else posh?”
“You know I can’t lie to you” Blaise quipped and Eliza brought a heel down on his toes.
“What’s the plan Eliza?” Daphne dragged out “I’d do a lot for you but freezing my arse off in Muggle London isn’t one”
“Warming charm” Blaise whispered, Daphne stomped on his other foot.
Eliza smiled a bit, sweeping her arm wide as she gestured around her “The fireworks always look brilliant New Years, I figured we could all freeze in Muggle London together”
Daphne let out a false put-upon sigh “And to think I gave up a night with Susan for this”
“Just apparate to her at midnight” Eliza said.
“Is that what you plan on doing?” Theo cut in smoothly, speaking for the first time in their whole conversation. Eliza looked flustered for a moment and the rest of them traded victorious looks.
Tossing her hair behind her Daphne clicked her tongue “Shall we get this night started then?”
She did end up casting a warming charm.
The hours passed by quickly, far too quickly. Eliza knew London like the back of her hand and they all laughed until they couldn’t breathe when she changed into a fox to chase the pigeons. They had drinks and candyfloss and chased each other down the cobbled streets, dodging passer-by’s as they went. A fair few markets were open and the smell of gingerbread seemed to be permanently in the air, it was almost unfair how fast their night was coming to an end.
“To seven years of friendship” Blaise toasted as the clock ticked down to midnight. Daphne had found an abandoned park and had promptly decided to make camp. She and Theo had made quick work of the monkey bars, propping themselves right on the top of the frame so they could see the sky unobstructed. Draco and Blaise had battled over the rope climbing frame before Draco accepted defeat and made a camp for himself atop the slide.
“To Seven years of friendship” Eliza responded, waving her bottle in Blaise’s direction.
Eliza, ridiculous in every sense of the word, had forgone the swings and had instead climbed on top of the bars of the swings themselves. She was precariously balanced and Daphne would bet her last galleon that she was using a sticking charm.
“Any New Years Resolutions?” Daphne asked as the clock ticked down, Big Ben in the far distance.
“Beat Eliza in history of magic” Theo responded immediately which launched them all into a few rounds of competitive banter.
“I want to spend more time with my sister” Daphne said when they settled down again, she loved Susan and she loved her friends but next year Astoria would be at Hogwarts without her. She wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before they went separate ways.
“I spoke to Fred and George” Blaise began “And being the helpful morons they are they got me in touch with Bill Weasley – he said he’d look into helping me get a start in curse breaking”
“Nepotism” Draco said fondly “We love to see it”
Laughing slightly Blaise nodded his head “So I guess my new years revolution is to move on, start afresh. I don’t want to get stuck in a post-graduation rut”
Loud laughter came from the distance, breaking their quiet as a group of strangers ran down the street.
“I’m going to start believing in myself more” Draco said quietly, eyes locked onto the distant blinking lights of the city “I don’t really have a plan but I guess I want to have more faith in myself”
“Damn right” Daphne encouraged strongly. Draco, for all of his Malfoy posturing, was probably the one who needed the encouragement most. He was like their friendship groups puppy and Daphne would personally kill anyone who ever hurt him.
“What about you Theo?” Blaise pestered “Give us your character development resolution, wow us with your lofty promises”
Theo chuckled slightly before giving a shrug of his shoulders “New years resolution? I guess I want to take a visit to France”
“I bet you do” Daphne shot back, shoving him with her shoulder glad that after these years if them teasing her and Susan she could now tease Theo in return. The height of friendship.
“What about you Eliza?” Daphne asked her noticing how quiet the other girl had been “World domination?”
“Always” she replied immediately before pushing out a sigh “I’m not sure, well – I have an idea but I don’t think any of you are going to like it”
“It must be a horrible idea then” Blaise said immediately “You never care about us hating your ideas before”
Eliza grinned guiltily before turning serious, running a hand through her messy hair taking a swig of the bottle with the other.
“It’s just – its never been about world domination has it? I wanted my revenge and I got it, I started making changes along the way and I’ve done that. It’s Tom who wants the power, who wants to run magical Britain. I’m just doing my bit”
“And once that bits over” Eliza trailed off with another shrug “You know me, far too well if I’m being honest-
“And you’d get bored staying in one place” Theo said softly, understandingly, saying what all of them had been thinking. They had always known it, that Eliza was just too much of a flighty thing to settle down in one place. That leaving Hogwarts didn’t just mean leaving the castle, it meant leaving behind seeing each other every day, spending every breakfast together. They were all going their separate ways.
“I’m sticking around to help Tom for a while but there’s a whole world out there. Full of magic and people and memories I’ve never had a chance to make” she explained, eyes bright and voice practically crackling with energy “I’ve never even seen outside of England and lets face it it’s going to be quite some time before magical Britain ever comes to accept necromancy again”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this haven’t you?” Blaise asked and Eliza nodded smally.
“So I do have a new years resolution” she said, staring up at the sky as the clock ticked down to midnight “And its that even though I’m leaving I promise to see you all, at least once a fortnight. I’ll even brave the floo”
“Is that how much we mean to you?” Daphne teased hoping to lift the atmosphere, but Eliza only let out a soft laugh, turning from her perch on the swings so she could see them.
“All that and more”
Big Ben struck midnight, and bright fireworks exploded in the sky. Showers of brilliant bursts of colour filling the sky above them.
“To seven years of friendship” Eliza repeated Blaise’s earlier words and Daphne laughed, in awe of the fireworks above them before catching Eliza’s words.
“To seven years and more”
A resolution, a promise.
They sat back and watched the fireworks.
~
“We stand for tradition” Lady Abbot screeched, the Wizengamot meeting was long since over and Tom was tired but the banshee had cornered him before he could leave “And you two young up-starts are butting in where you don’t belong”
“I apologise for being under the impression that I was entitled to my own family seat” Tom remarked drily and fondly reminisced over a time when he could simply pull out his wand and torture her until she would never speak again. He could just banish her tongue and all his problems would be fixed. But no because Eliza was correct and conquering magical Britain would not guarantee a long and healthy reign. He needed to manipulate the public into thinking they liked him instead of forcing them to listen.
Of course Eliza didn’t phrase it like that but he could read between the lines.
“Magical Britain is based on long-standing traditions and you think you can over turn it at the snap of your fingers” she continued to argue, unaware of Tom’s blatant disinterest.
“I’m afraid you are confusing tradition with stagnation. Wizarding Britain has no traditions and we contribute nothing to society beyond our pathetic high streets” Tom said sharply, mildly enjoying the attention on them as the other members stopped their conversations to look over. Lady Abbot spluttered indignantly trying to form a rebuttal.
“Any traditions we had were outlawed when I was nothing but a child, for the better part of a century we’ve lived under threats of war and civil wars with only brief respites of peace. We have contributed nothing to wider fields of research and we are the laughing stock of the world. Should I continue?”
“Your arrogance will ruin you” Lady Abbot said pettily ignoring the harsh realities Tom had laid at her feet.
“And your pride will be your downfall” Tom returned evenly and barely resisted the urge to curse her in the back as she left. Breathing out a sigh Tom forced himself to relax before scanning the room for Eliza only to find that she had already disappeared. Rita Skeeter was amongst the crowd instead and Tom was unsurprised that by the next day and article of their brief altercation had made the front page of The Insider.
He was gaining more and more support as time went on and he felt a brief flash of satisfaction at Barty’s congratulations when they both saw the amount of letters proclaiming their support of the ‘new upstart Lord Gaunt’
But even his usual prideful boasting felt hollow, empty now that Eliza wasn’t filling the space next to him with bright laughter and sharp remarks. She was avoiding him and even if he tried to convince himself it was for the better those thoughts felt hollow as well.
He had no time to wallow, he had a country to conquer.
~
Frank could not remember what it was like to be human. It had been a long time since he’d had to eat for the necessity of eating, had to breathe due to the fact that he truly lived. He had moved through the years and the decades and the centuries experiencing them a day at a time. He was a sampler, a collector, a critique. Frank couldn’t count on one hand the amount of languages he could speak and he would never be able to even remember how many houses he’s had or how many people he had met.
But some people had a tendency to stick out.
His wife, obviously, his first love, his first life. The memories of his human life slipped away from him until they felt more like a dream. A comforting one that you held close to your heart and thought fondly of every time you closed your eyes. He remembered the vampire that had turned him. He had been stumbling from the barricade, bleeding out from a wound in his leg and the ringing of canons and shouts of revolution ringing in his ears.
From there he left France and travelled and travelled and travelled. He met famous thinkers and brilliant artists long before any of them knew they were making history, he had found life long friends and brief enemies. It was in a speakeasy in New Orleans where he had met his first necromancer.
The girl walking into his antique store now carried the same mark of Death. At first he couldn’t understand, necromancy wasn’t a common art anymore, and as a bloodline gift it was even rarer and never, never had he seen one so young so fully covered in Death’s shadow. But the more he looked the more he saw. She moved with predatory grace, silent footsteps and sharp eyes and even as she scanned the shelves her hand never moved that far from what he presumed was her wand.
She was a soldier without a war, hardened and restless – Frank had lived long enough to recognise the signs.
And so it only made sense to say hello. That was how everything started after all. Frank had lived a long life of hello’s and his shop was the testament to it.
Eliza, as he had learnt her name was, had barely lived a fraction of his life and Frank found she nearly beat him when it came to stories. The life she had lived was far from peaceful one but despite it all Frank was happy to see she was happy, as happy as she could be.
“And is there a boy?” Frank asked ignoring the dirty look she sent his way. He had once called Charles Darwin a moronic idiot and then the man had gone on to make scientific history, nothing could faze him anymore.
“Or a girl – in fact I once knew a chap who tried to marry Westminster”
A strange fellow he was as well, had put Frank off coming back to England for years. Instead he’d returned home to France for a spell where at least no one was trying to marry the bloody Eiffel Tower.
Shaking his head he turned his attention back to Eliza, listening as she rambled on about Tom – Britain’s latest dark lord. Absently he wondered if he had found a new moronic idiot to bully. Frank knew if the boy ever showed up at his shop he would give him a right talking too. All he had ever wanted was one more day with his wife, and he regretted never meeting her sooner.
“Come on now” Frank ushered the girl away from his cat when he noticed the time. She’d have to get back to that school of hers soon “Lets find you that compass – I know I have one in here somewhere. Do you know I once stole a ship? I thought it was a brilliant idea at the time but obviously I’d never tried to steer a ship before”
He hoped she would come back to visit him soon.
He had lived long enough to know a lot of things, and he knew he had never met anyone quite like Eliza Potter.
~
Hyde Park was empty apart from the two of them. The lamppost light flickered, golden shafts of light breaking through the grey gloom surrounding them. Eliza stood there, bathed in the golden light, and Tom knew that this moment was going to be every mistake he would ever make.
“What do you want Tom?”
He remembered that night, the kiss, the candle. He remembered her walking away from him and everything that happened afterwards. And he remembered everything that he didn’t say. That he was a coward and he was scared and he wasn’t capable of love (even if that last part may be a lie)
And what could he say now? That he wanted Eliza? That he wanted to kiss her and hold her and give her anything she could ever ask for, anything she could ever want.
“I want you to be happy” he said truthfully, looking at the girl that did nothing but haunt him, what-if’s in a physical form “I want you to get everything you have ever wanted”
He remembered her bleeding out beneath his hands, pale and shaking and cold, cold, cold. He remembered brief respites of tenderness, seconds of pure happiness that inevitably disappeared from their grasps. He remembered that for all of his attempts Tom’s hands were good for nothing but violence and they would never be fit to hold hers.
“I want you to know peace, and I can’t give you that Eliza”
This had never been a love story, Tom had always been a part of war. Fire and ash and bloodshed his longest standing company.
“I’m not good for you”
He was not the prince of this story, he would always be trapped in the part of a villain.
“I’m sorry”
Monsters never had happy endings.
~
Hermione sat in front of McGonagall and the biscuits were doing nothing to ease her nerves.
“Now in our last careers check” McGonagall said, pausing only to give Hermione a steady glare until she ate a biscuit “You mentioned wanting to gain a place in the ministry and working your way up to being a head of department”
Hermione nodded her head, fiddling with her hands in her lap.
“You’ve had an offer from the department of mysteries to be a researcher and an offer from the magical creatures department last we spoke, have you given anymore thoughts on either of those?”
There would never be a day where Hermione wouldn’t find McGonagall intimidating. But even if it was mildly terrifying to speak to the woman Hermione treasured her professors advice more than anything else. And so without any hesitation she reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter that had arrived for her a few days prior.
“I have actually had another offer that I thought we could speak about”
McGonagall’s eyebrows rose as she read through the letter and Hermione bit her lip nervously, awaiting her professor’s reaction.
“You’ve never mentioned an interest in journalism before”
Hermione let out a righteous scoff “Because whatever the Daily Prophet prints could barely be counted as journalism and I would honestly rather die than even look at a copy of Witch Weekly. I’d hardly call Rita Skeeter a reputable journalist but ever since she started writing for The Insider even I can agree that she’s worth her salt” she rambled on, stopping herself hurriedly when she realised how long she had been speaking for.
“And this offer to become a writer for The Insider is something you’re interested in?”
Hermione nodded her head “I know it’s a gamble but I would have access to more than just one department in the ministry. Plus it allows me to research across multiple fields and not just one and-
“And?” McGonagall prompted.
“I know it sounds ridiculous but it feels like this paper is actually changing things”
When Hermione had read the article on muggle-borns her heart had been in her throat. To think she could have been in the wizarding world since the beginning. That she would have known her home, belonged somewhere instead of struggling and struggling and struggling. And then she and Eliza were on the front lines in the Wizengamot actually making some changes happen.
She would lose her position on the Wizengamot when she left Hogwarts – but she could keep helping put those changes into motion.
“I think its an excellent idea” McGonagall announced with a barely there smile and Hermione couldn’t even stifle her glee.
“Yeah?”
“Your essays always read more like articles anyway”
Hermione was too happy to be embarrassed and dashed out of the door, grabbing a biscuit to take wit her.
She had a letter of acceptance to write.
She had thought Ron would be happy for her. For all their up’s and down’s they were still best friends through out it all. Ron was going to train to be an auror and Hermione had helped him every step of the way, she hadn’t been expecting this reaction at all.
“The Insider? Are you bloody mental!”
“What’s wrong with The Insider?” Hermione protested indignantly, already feeling her temper flare.
“First you hang out with Potter and now this-
“Why can’t you just be happy for me for once?” she shouted back having enough of his petty grudges. They weren’t kids anymore, the war was over, people changed.
Apart from Ron.
“That paper is obviously a front for your precious Lord Gaunt” he snapped, ears growing red and Hermione rolled her eyes.
“Whose bene proven to have nothing but unfortunate family – he’s been nothing but nice to me and-
“He’s the bloody dark lord Hermione” Ron said and he was suddenly thankful for the abandoned common room.
“According to your hero Dumbledore, but it turns out Dumbledore was wrong about a lot of things wasn’t he?”
Ron fell silent and Hermione had never felt so lost. Sure they’d had arguments over the years but it had always been her and Ron, together, facing anything and beating the odds. He was her first ever friend and through thick and thin she had stood by him.
“The Hermione I knew wouldn’t take that job”
And yet it seemed he wasn’t willing to stand by her.
“I’m taking the job” Hermione said finally and desperately tried to dampen down her tears “And I hope that the Ron Weasley I knew will be happy for me”
She walked away and didn’t look back. She was furious and devastated and all she wanted to do was punch something. Which probably explained why she wasn’t looking where she was going.
“Whoa whoa Hermione” Blaise’s voice jolted her out of her spiral “What’s wrong?”
“Nothings wrong” she responded immediately, she had fought with Ron before. And it would be forgotten like it always was, it was fine “I’m fine”
“I don’t believe you” Blaise teased before falling disconcertingly serious. Any time Hermione had seen him he always seemed to be dancing through life, a quick quip or a flirty comment.
“Listen if you say you really want to be left alone then okay, I’ll let you snap another persons head off. But in good conscience I can’t leave a pretty girl like you looking so sad all alone”
Hermione wasn’t going to cry over such cheesy words.
But maybe some company was exactly what she needed.
~
There were no snakes in London.
He had found a stray cat once, its company brief and welcoming. Tom had tried to sneak it back into the orphanage not wanting to part from the warmth of another being, the soft comfort of the fur beneath his hands as the cat pushed its head against him.
Billy Stubbs had grassed on him and the one comfort Tom had was gone.
There were no snakes in London, there had been some at Hogwarts however. And then of course there was Jormugand.
Jormugand, his first ever friend.
Jormugand, dying in the chamber that he had never been able to leave.
“Have you come to bring me rabbits?” Jormugand pleaded and Tom swallowed around the lump in his throat. Yes, he wanted to say, rabbits today, rabbits tomorrow. Because rabbits meant another day alive and another day alive meant another day Tom didn’t have to say goodbye.
He didn’t know how to say goodbye – had never learnt.
Tom prattled on, saying words he didn’t believe in as he tried to comfort his friend. Death was cold and harsh and absolutely nothing at all. Eliza may be its master but that didn’t change the fact that once someone died they were gone, no matter what anyone told him.
He wished he’d spent more time with Jormy, wished he didn’t take for granted what time he’d had.
Eliza started singing softly beside him, tears slipping down her face and when she fell silent so too did Jormugand. Still and cold and dead, forever gone to them both. Jormugand had been his first friend, his councillor. He wasn’t just a basilisk, he had gifted Tom a snakes wisdom and unconditional love.
And now he was gone.
It had been forever since he had cried, but he couldn’t stop the tears falling down his face even as Eliza broke down next to him.
And then impossibly the nightmare became worse.
The thing in front of him was not Jormugand. It spoke in Jormugand’s tongue and moved Jormugand’s scales but it was an imposter. A memory possessing the body of the friend he had once known.
“We need to let him go Eliza” Tom whispered as if he wouldn’t go to war, wouldn’t attempt to defeat Death itself to bring Jormugand back. But he knew he couldn’t, he had bought himself immortality and without Eliza he would have broken under the price. He felt empty, carved out and chewed up and trodden down. He couldn’t stop staring at the body, couldn’t stop wondering how Jormugand had been here one second and gone the next.
Grief was unfamiliar and it was relentless in making itself known.
He and Eliza wandered back to the common rooms, the familiar halls doing nothing to ease the fresh pain inside him. He had once thought Hogwarts was more than just the castle, that his home was as ancient as magic itself and would do anything to help its occupants.
He could feel the familiar warming magic of the grounds around him but it couldn’t cut through the wave of grief.
Eliza fell asleep quickly curled up next to him, a mercy he wasn’t granted. Her breathing stuttered occasionally, face puffy from tears as she buried herself deeper beneath her covers. He hoped she was having a nice dream, hoped that come morning things would seem just a little bit better.
“I’m sorry” he murmured into the dark around them, the faint glow of the lake coming from behind her curtains illuminating the cluttered desk, the photo frames, her sleeping face.
What would he do if he lost Eliza? Tom couldn’t bring himself to think about it. He’d always been scared of death, he had no need to give new faces for his boggart to take the form of.
“I’m sorry about what I said because it wasn’t the truth. The truth is that I’m a coward. I’m too scared to have you in fear that I’ll lose you, and I’m scared one day you’ll realise you can do a lot better than me”
“I’m sorry that I’m too much of a coward to say that I love you”
Tom pressed a kiss against her head before carefully manoeuvring himself out of the covers.
He had some things to do before he left.
~
Severus was a cruel man but he wasn’t cruel enough to deprive his Slytherins of the hangover cures they oh so desperately needed.
“Do you know where I found them?” Minerva said by his side as they ate lunch in the great hall “They were trying to break in here for pancakes at 5am”
“Those parties get worse and worse every year”
“It’s going to be a lot quieter these days, once this year leaves”
“Peace and quiet will be known once again” Severus said drily ignoring the slight pang in his heart. His Slytherins weren’t the only ones leaving, he too would be stepping down from his post this year. He had promised to stay for Eliza and Draco’s last year and no longer. He had a feeling Minerva wouldn’t be having trouble keeping the defence position filled anymore.
“The castle won’t be the same”
Severus would have replied to Minerva’s overwhelming sentimentality if they hadn’t been interrupted by the devil herself.
“Uncle Sev”
“How many times have I told you not to call me that” Severus despaired as Eliza popped up in front of their table with a shit eating grin.
“What are you going to do? Give me detention?”
“I will”
“You won’t”
“Don’t test me”
Minerva thankfully interrupted before he lost an argument with a child half his age.
“What are you planning to do with your last day Miss Potter?”
Eliza paused, stilling in that unnerving way of hers as she stared out blankly into the distance. Severus couldn’t even begin to guess what she was thinking of, what she was remembering.
“Say my goodbyes I suppose. For all that I have Sirius and Remus, Hogwarts was still the first home I’d ever known”
No pandering or lying or false bravado – just heartachingly sincere and Severus had to stifle down the urge to hug her. She wasn’t his kid, or even a blood relative. He wasn’t her god-father’s or the Malfoy’s.
But he had protected her for seven years, to the best of his ability.
It was a rather strange feeling knowing that they were now going their separate ways.
“You best be seeing me off tomorrow” she ended jokingly and Severus rolled his eyes.
“Gladly”
Peeling laughter filled the hall and Eliza bounded away, pausing only to ruffle Draco’s hair as she left.
No he supposed, it really wouldn’t be the same.
“Minerva if you steal that last blueberry scone I will kill you here and now”
Despite himself he thought he would miss the brat.
~
Hogwarts watches the students leave, a great looming shadow behind them, a monument of memories. They sail across the lake until the castle turrets disappear from view, leaving the warmth of its protective wards as they leave their first home.
The Common Room doors closed behind them, one last time.