Seven
She stood on her old favorite spot on the battlements looking down at the once refugee camp that now was a town of sorts .
It was almost nightfall and she still couldn't believe her luck of being back at Skyhold .
" A Copper for your thoughts ", Varric spoke from behind her .
She didn't jump or anything . She was so used to people sneaking up to her .
She wasn't sure if he just arrived or had been standing there for a while .
" I'm thinking of the past mostly ", she says ," my thoughts wouldn't really interest you , Shorty ".
" Okay, if you say so , anyway some of your new friends is a bit strange , like that man Niklaus Mikealson , he got angry at Bull and Anthony had to restrain him when he tried killing Bull, these people don't know anything of this world , they like staring at some of our people ,especially Iron Bull".
" Don't worry ,Varric , soon enough they'll get used to it ".
" I wish I knew what he is ", Varric says after a moment's pause .
Siri nods " I wish I knew too ", she says .
She looks at Varric smiling .
" But enough of them , how are you really ,Varric ?".
Smiling back at her he says " Just fine ".
" Care for a round of wicked Grace ?, don't worry we won't gamble ".
Her face lightens up.
" Sure".
"Right then follow me ".
************
Siri stood inside the war room again . Everyone who came with her were there as well .
Anthony was speaking about a swamp deep inside an island just of the shore of the Storm Coast.
" I'm going there to investigate the Shadow sightings by some of the locals ", he says " since you're here ,you might as well just become part of the Inquisition for now ".
" I guess we could do that ", Elijah Mikealson says " it'll be something to do rather than just walk around this place doing nothing ".
" Good , I'm glad you agrees , anyway , Siri shall be going since she is part of this Inquisition by default ".
Perking up at his words Siri stands up straighter.
" I am ?, you're not thinking that I'm just a kid right now ?", she asks not believing her own ears.
Anthony smiles slightly " No, Siri, you're still part of the Inquisition even if you were gone for a long time, and a being a kid has its perks I suppose ".
She smiles back at him while wondering if she had chosen to stay ,would she have been with him still?.
" Why do you keep calling her Siri when her name is Rora ?", Neville Longbottom ask interrupting her thoughts.
With a sigh Siri answers for Anthony " Because that is my real name ,Neville , I was named so by my real parents , remember I was nameless when Hagrid and Fang found me , Professor Dumbledore gave me the name of Aurora and the Weasleys just added the surname , I am Siri ,though I haven't been myself for a very long time ".
Neville didn't know what to say about that . If she spoke the truth then there was nothing left to say about it.
No use arguing with her then .
" Well, now that ,that is out of the way , I'll just say that we'll be leaving in two days ",Anthony says " Be ready , those who want to come are welcome , but know this we won't stop for no one , and there's no way to turn around until we have finished the mission ".
Siri walked out with Harry wondering if they'll all be going .
" I'm coming with you , Rora ", Harry says .
Siri nods " Good , I'll be glad if you come , I hope Ron does too".
" Will there be fighting ?", Harry asks hoping for his own sake she didn't find the question stupid .
" Probably, I just hope everyone survives when it comes to that ".
" I don't know how to fight well enough ", Harry says feeling rather embarrassed at saying that to her.
" Don't be daft ,Harry , of course you can fight ", she says shaking her head at him . " You'll be using your staff skills and magic it's easy ".
" But I'm not a veteran like you , Rora, I didn't live two lives ,only one".
Siri sighs before glaring at him .
" You know it isn't even my fault that I ended up being a kid again , Harry , if I could choose I'd be traveling Skyrim doing my duty and if I could turn back time I'd make a whole other choice , to stay here , for Anthony , for Varric ,for everyone else or if I could I'd not go to Middle Earth and I'll be able to save my father , Harry there is so many wrong choices I have made and it cost me dearly , hope to not make the same ones is all I have left , anyway enough of me now , how are you holding up?, Ron told me what happened to Cedric , I'm sorry I couldn't help you in anyway , if I could I believe maybe I'd be the one and not Cedric laying there dead right now ".
Hearing this Harry's eyes almost bulges out of his head .
" No, Rora, No, don't say that !", he protests before storming away and she watches him leave not knowing what to think.
*********
Checking her bow , sword, shield and daggers ,Siri wondered if she would be strong enough for this whole mission.
She was a kid again. Not a woman who fought like a pro.
She looked up when she heard someone approach .
It was Niklaus Mikealson and he looked so different in armor she had to do a double take before recognising him.
" Well, don't you look dashing ", it slips over her lips before she can stop it .
With eyes as big as dinner plates she stares at him shocked at herself for saying such a thing .
Smirking at her he says " Should I say Thank You?, I don't know if you're mocking me or not".
She bites her lower lip as she eyes him ,wishing that her runaway mouth didn't go saying things that embarrassing.
" No , I'm not mocking you ", she says truthfully knowing that there is no way that she could lie .
His smirk grew into a full fledged smile .
" You know you're too young for me right?", he asks " I could have been an uncle or a father ".
" Pfft, you're not that old looking , for all the world you could be a twenty something man ", she scoffs .
" And that still is too old for you, Love".
" Who says I like you in that way ?", she asks " For all you know I'm just handing out compliments today ".
Folding his arms over his chest he glares at her not liking what she's saying right now .He would have loved it if she was older than fourteen .
He shook his head to clear it of any thoughts that concerns the girl with the beautiful ice blue eyes and took a step towards her, picking up a sword that laid next to a pack .
" So you are really going to fight ?, I saw you in action and I don't doubt that you're quite deadly , but you're too young for it , are you sure you want to , Love?".
She looked at him as he examined the sword .
" I don't know , Mister Mikealson , all I know is I don't have a choice but to do my duty as part of the Inquisition ".
" Well, at least I'll be there to help you if you need any help ", he comforts .
She smiles at those words causing him to almost let the sword fall as her smile dazzles him .
" Erm maybe I should take that before you hurt ...", she begins then pauses as a peculiar smell she had never smelled from him wafted up into her nostrils .
Her eyes widens slightly as she backs up away from him .
She knew that smell . She had that smell on herself before , but the smell was mixed with another smell which she also remembered from her life in Skyrim .
" Why do you smell like a werewolf and a vampire ?", she asks unthinkingly, eyeing him suspiciously .
He just stares at her saying nothing as he thinks of how she could smell him .
" I know those smells , Niklaus , " she says without realising that she used his name .
" How ?", he asks finding his voice .
" In Skyrim I was a werewolf for a while and I knew a vampire , she married my brother after taking the cure ".
He stares at her perplexed .
How on Earth could someone so beautiful exist and have such knowledge?.
" Anyway , what are you ?, are you both ?, can you be both?", she asks .
He nods " I am both , I'm the Original Hybrid , the only one , though I did create more of my kind , Tyler Lockwood is one , I sired him but he broke that bond , when you say that you've been a werewolf for a while, does it mean you were cured ?, and is there a cure?".
Picking up her pack and securing her weapons she says " I killed a Glenmoril Witch and casted her head into the flames at Ysgramor's tomb ".
He looks at her wondering if she lost some screws in her head .
" Let me get this straight , you killed a witch and burned her head just to get rid of the werewolf part of you ?, do you know how insane that sounds?".
" Yeah, but I did and don't think I'm lying because it is true ".
He didn't say anything more even if he wanted to .
*********
" Do we really have to go by ship ?", Varric groans eyeing the vessel that he had to board .
" If you want to swim , Shorty , be my guess , I for one am done swimming , and I don't like the thought of a ship either , it lead me to who I am right now , remember ?".
Siri was very serious as she said that .
" I drowned once before , I don't think I'll get a second chance if I do again ", Solas throws in his two gold coins worth .
Annoyed at them Anthony barks " Oh , come on you three , stop being so all doom and gloom like !, you won't be drowning any time soon , just get your asses on the ship so we can get a move on !".
With a sigh Siri obeys while Varric follows hesitantly .
Solas watches them with a dreaded look as if he was telling them that they were fools to obey the Inquisitor for once .
" Come on , Chuckles, the ship won't bite !", Varric calls to him .
He looks at Siri who didn't say a word getting an encouraging smile from her . That gives him the strength to get on .
Siri understood perfectly why Solas didn't want to board the ship . She too felt that it was a mistake .
She stood in between Harry and Klaus as the ship left port . Her insides felt constricted as she saw the port getting smaller and smaller .
Without thinking her hand found Niklaus's ,clutching it tightly as she stares at the waters of The Waking Sea .
He looks down at her frowning ,but when he sees the fear in her eyes he understands .
" Relax , Love , you're safe ", he says his voice gentle for once .
She looks up into his eyes as her fear for the sea grows .
Would she be transported again?. Drown ?. She wasn't sure ,but looking at him made it bearable .
Nodding she keeps her eyes on him , unaware of many eyes watching them . Some curiously ,others with disgust or anger.
Solas and Anthony frowns at the two , wondering if he was Siri's new conquest .
Siri didn't think of things like that . Instead she thought of how safe she felt as he held her hand . She also wished that she was older so she could hug him without anyone judging .
His dark blue eyes mesmerized her as she looked into it's depths . It calmed her galloping heart
Her eyes looked so trusting he didn't have the heart to tell her not to trust him .
It took the ship exactly four days to get to an island Siri never knew existed .
It was more swampy than any other place even the Fallow Mire .
She saw the disgusted look on Caroline's face and wanted to laugh at that .
" You can be glad we're not waist deep in murky , stinky water ", she says to the Blond .
" Yeah, I had to wash my boots for a week ", Bull says with a shudder .
" Oh, you know which place I'm talking about , eh?", Siri laughs .
Bull snorts " Of course I do , The Fallow Mire ."
"Okay , now that we know , let's just get a move on ".
Anthony sounds annoyed as he says that causing Siri to feel a little bit angry . How dare he feel annoyed at her and Bull?.
They starts walking in a general direction and Siri finds herself walking beside Klaus who just fell into step beside her .
She didn't mind , but it felt awkward as if she was doing something wrong by letting him walk with her .
" If you want ,I could hold your hand ", he says after a while , his voice barely a whisper .
She shakes her head . " I'm alright , Thank You".
" Okay, but if you want to later just take my hand ".
She nods before focusing on Fred and George who walked in front of them .
Fred looked tensed and it made her wonder if he heard Klaus .
They were almost to the swamps when they encounters a very familiar old woman , well familiar to Siri .
Staring at the woman Siri blurts " Olava The Feeble?, how in Oblivion did you end up here ?".
" Olava the who?", Ron asks.
" Olava The Feeble , she's a seer from Skyrim ," Siri explains .
" The Girl is right , I am Olava The Feeble ,and to answer her question , I do not know , Siri Snow-Heart Last Dragonborn of Tamriel,
I think I went to bed one night then woke up here , I have a few words to say to you Blessed Child of Akatosh , you will find many things here that might change you again , you will have a choice ,but choose wisely , a mistake made more than once cannot be corrected easily ".
With that said she smiles then vanishes before Siri and Everyone else's eyes .
" Oh, how come seer's always speaks in riddles ?, I hope she didn't send me into trouble again like the time she sent me to retrieve ancient assassin robes ", Siri groans staring at the place where Olava had been .
" Ancient Assassin Robes ?", Varric gasps " was she on too much Skooma or what ?".
Siri shakes her head . " No , Shorty , Olava isn't a Skooma addict , I would have known since I've lived in Whiterun you know ".
" I wonder what choice you'll have to make ", Elena muses " I hope it's something very great".
Siri looks at her ," I'm not sure , but I think it's about my age and the form I'm in right now , Ysmir I can't believe she called me Child of Akatosh , when was I ever ?, he's Alduin's father not mine ".
" Who is Akatosh ?", Finn Mikealson asks curiously .
" One of the Nine Aedra , god of time , he is portrayed as a golden dragon ", Siri says ." He is the one who created the Dragonborn by giving them his blood and blessing them with the soul of a dragon , and so in a sense I guess I am a Child of Akatosh then ".
Everyone stared at her , even those who knew her from before she became who she is now . None had thought about it that way until she explained.
***********
The swamps were worse than they thought ,so they had to use small boats to carry them to the small islands within this big island .
Siri felt drawn to something faraway ,deep into the swamps .It called to her like a siren .
" I think there's something in that direction , Anthony !", she calls when she have had enough of her failure to try and resist the call .
" Okay , we'll go there , whatever it is stay on alert !", he calls to everyone while giving Siri a nod .
As they moved deeper into the swamps the call got stronger until it was far more than she could bare .
" It's getting closer !", she calls her eyes wide with emotional turmoil .
" Can you feel what it is , Ma Vhenan ?", Solas calls his old nickname for her falling effortlessly over his lips .
She didn't question him about it because it wasn't the time or the place .
" No, but it is something bad !", she calls back causing everyone ,but the Thedasians to gasp , some cowering in fear , others panicking . Only the Vampires did not cower or panicked . They were used to trouble by now .
The boats suddenly rocked violently .
Siri finds herself grabbing Klaus's arm to steady herself , fear evidently in her eyes .
Then she felt it . That call and as she starts to look frantically around she didn't know what she'll see . It's when her eyes catches a group of eight or so shadowy figures that she realizes that some dangerous evil aura radiates from them .
She realizes what she thinks they are before Harry says it .
" Merlin , how can it be ?, Dementors aren't supposed to be here ".
Siri looked at the 'Dementors ' , seeing that they weren't like those she had seen at Hogwarts . No , these ones were far more advanced . They had eyes . Glowing brightly . So bright that Siri didn't know what colour it was .
Then they conjured staffs and pointed it at Siri and the others .
They started screeching out spells . Their voices sounded so much like the black riders' voices it made Siri cringe .
The spells didn't touch her and her friends because the mages and witches in her group had casted protection spells before they had left on the boats .
Her eyes catches the creatures hands that held the staffs ,causing her to smile viciously.
She lets go of Klause , stepping away from him , unsheathing her sword .
With a fierce Nord battlecry she leaps from the boat in a smooth motion ,landing almost on top of one .
" You are more human than the things you resembles ", she says crouching slightly into a fighting stance ." Let us see if you can bleed ".
With that she thrust her sword forward into one of them .
A warning scream from one of her friends is lost in the screeching sound the creature makes when the swords cuts into him .
A fight breaks out between the creatures and the people of the Inquisition .
Siri finds Klaus fighting next to her and before she knows it they start fighting in a synchronized manner . Something she hadn't done with anyone for so long .
She were deaf to the world around her as she blocked , slashed and thrusts .
She didn't hear Harry and the others from Hogwarts yell out spells like Expeliarmus and such .
All she did hear was her own breathing and that of Klaus .
They fought valiantly and not long after the fighting stops as The enemy flees . Well, the few that survived the onslaught .
Everyone cheers at that , but not Siri who hears something she never thought she'd hear again . The sound of a Word Wall , calling , beckoning .
She finds herself walking in that direction ignoring the others as they try to stop her . Klaus makes a choice to follow her . To keep her safe .The others follows him.
It isn't a Word Wall ,though .
It's something she had never seen before .
Huge mirrors stood inside a clearing . On their surfaces pictures moved . Siri halts in shock as she sees herself in them . It was strange to see it .Unnerving .
She was her old self in them . Wearing armor and fighting .
She saw other things that makes her move towards the mirrors .
She saw her real family .
" Arnbjorn ", she whispers as her eyes sees her brother .
She reaches out to touch the mirror ,but an unfamiliar voice stops her .
" Do not touch the mirror , it'll shatter and with it your past , present and future ".
The voice was male . She had never heard it before .
She and everyone turns to look at where the voice came from to see a brown haired man with piercing blue eyes wearing armor Siri had last seen on display in Cyrodil .
" You're an Imperial ", she says .
He nods as he walks towards her .
" I am , My name is Martin Septim ".
Siri gasps and pales .
With a curious look on his face Martin asks " Do you know that name ?".
She nods even though she don't know how to handle this new turn of events .
" Who are you ?",he asks .
Looking him straight in the eyes she says " Siri Snow-Heart ,I am the great great grand daughter of Siri Snow-Heart who was the Hero of Kvatch ".
Martin stares at her " She had children ?", he asks a strange emotion in his voice .
Siri sighs then nods " One , my Grandmother Grelka's mother Marta ".
" That is a Nord name , did Siri marry a Nord ?".
Siri shakes her head ." She never married , she gave birth to my great Grandmother mere months after you sacrificed yourself , you are her father ".
He stiffens slightly at that . He wasn't sure if the girl was speaking the truth or not .
" I am not lying ,I read her old journals , you were the last Dragonborn Septim ,though your blood flows through me , I am no Septim ".
" No , you are a Septim , even if you do not carry my name , Siri Snow-Heart , but this is not why I am here , or you for that matter , I was sent to give you the choices you'll have to make ,Traveler of Worlds ,remember if you
make a choice you cannot go back on it ".
She stares at him while she wonders what she'll do or say and what the choices are what she'll have to make .
" Siri Snow-Heart Last Dragonborn of Tamriel, you have but two choices , One to stay as you are and grow up as Rora Weasley and the other to become older ,nearer to the age you were once ".
" There's no choice to be who I was before then ?", she asks .
He shakes his head " No, you are only allowed to be some years younger than your old self , or be Aurora Weasley , think well on it, mistakes cannot be corrected ".
Her eyes widens at hearing the same words Olava said .
She looks at everyone wondering what choice to make .
" Will I still be Dragonborn ?", she asks Martin .
He nods " That part cannot be changed even if you choose to be Rora , but your past would vanish and you would go back to being Aurora Weasley ,if you choose to be older ,you will still have your past ,but you would have to stay here in Thedas ".
" And if I don't choose ?", she asks .
" You cease to exist ".
That scares her the most .
" Would I remember anything ?".
He shakes his head . " No , you would be part of the world you choose ".
Body trembling she turns to look at her old friends .
Varric looked sad as he looked back at her .
" I should never have brought you here", Anthony says looking at her just like Varric .
Solas watched her frowning as his mind rushed ,trying to find something that would change things . But he couldn't say anything or do anything to make Siri choose them .
She turns away from them to look at those from Hogwarts .
" I'm sorry ,Rora , we can't help you choose ", Harry says .
She sighs then nods . Her eyes catches the dark blue eyes of Niklaus Mikealson and she somehow knows that whatever she chooses will affect him .
She sighs and turn to the others again ." I think everyone should leave me now , I want to think without distractions ".
Her voice is laced with sadness .
***********
Sorry for taking long again . Hope you enjoyed this chapter . Next one would show what Siri chose . Please Vote and comment . Hugs to all readers .