-"Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are."
― Markus Zusak
I stare at them all in silence. "Well... Baby Val was completely insane... no shocker there." I shrug and then look at Lily. "What's up with the Primrose thing?"
"You were Primrose. That was your name. Your legal name before Petunia changed it to Valentine."
I blink at her. "I am not a damn Primrose. What were they thinking?! What kind of a name is that?! Do they have a problem with flowers? Cause it's getting really repetitive! First Petunia then Lily and now Primrose?!"
"I'm pretty sure there's a flower out there called Valentine too. Don't think you're safe." Lily scoffs. "You and Tom are more connected than you thought." She changes the topic to a more serious note.
"Voldemort linked your souls that day. That single decision made the fates reconsider his future, and they agreed to tether you to him. He spared you. Showed you the most mercy he'd ever shown in his life." The voice comes from behind me, and I whirl around to stare at the woman who seemed to dress in the flames that she appeared to be made out of.
"Well, they must be having a field day with the amounts of times he's saved me now."
"We can not lie and say you have not influenced him."
"So does that mean we're soulmates? Cause that would be weird... I was a baby back then." I stick my tongue out in disgust.
"A soulmate doesn't necessarily mean a romantic interest. A soulmate is your other half." Photia speaks, amused.
"But now it does?"
"You love him, do you not?" She asks as if her question answered my own. Then she's in front of me, her eyes a fiery whirlwind of smoke and heat. "Will you take the oath?"
"The oath to make me a Hell bearer? No, I don't really want to. Why?" I tell her, and I could tell her patience with me was wearing thin.
"You are a Hell bearer with or without the oath. You will see the monsters regardless, and they will rip you apart." She threatens.
"Cool."
"Valentine, this is serious!" Lily snaps, making me I sigh.
"Yes. I'm aware." I muse annoyed. "Photia... Means fire." I point out, not knowing how I knew that.
"It does. It's who I am. So will you finally accept your fate and become the person you are meant to be?" She asks me.
I pause and give her a look. "We will die if I don't do this?" I ask Lily, who looks at me startled.
"Well, most likely, yes. You can't perform any magic since the bonds around you, and your friends restrict the use of wizarding magic. And Credence can control the use of your demonic magic." James tells me, answering on behalf of his wife.
"If I become a Hell bearer, then I can use other types of magic?" I ask, confused.
"Angelic magic. Not demonic. Not wizardry. True and pure angelic magic." Lily answers with a smile.
"Alright. I'll take the oath then. You best be warned, though. Hell is not ready for Valentine Evans."
"I thought it was Valentine Dumbledore?" Lily muses with a hint of bitterness in her tone.
"I'm both," I answer her.
"Hold out your hand," Photia demands, ignoring the banter, and I do as she says. She literally proceeds to rip off her own arm.
"OH MY GOSH!!! HER ARM!!! AHHHHH!!! LILY!!!" I screech, trying to jump back.
"She's not human Valentine. She doesn't bleed nor feel pain." James muses. "Although I can't blame you since I had a similar reaction." And in fact, an arm grows out and moulds perfectly from her previous stub.
"Wicked." I stare at her befuddled.
I observe in horror as her she swings the hand once, and it transforms into a sword. Long and sharp, crafted from the fires of Hell itself. It lights up, covering us in a light so extravagant it looked angelic.
"This is yours. A Hell Bearer's sword made from Hell." She states calmly and then slams the sword onto my arm. Instead of feeling the coolness of the blade's handle in my palm, the sword sets into my skin, sinking deeper and deeper until there was nothing left.
It didn't hurt. The burn felt mildly uncomfortable.
"James was screaming bloody murder when that happened to him." Lily drawls, amused. Her husband goes scarlet, causing me to giggle amused.
"There's a slight burn to it, I guess." I muse, staring in shock at my hand. There was a long tattoo that ran up the length of my arm. The blade was drawn into the middle of my palm, and the blade extended up and past my shoulders to wound around my neck. It acted like a snake.
"It needs a name," Photia states calmly.
"A name?" I give her a confused look.
Lily and James stride forward, lifting up their arms to show similar tattoos on their own forearms. "You can never lose the sword. If it is out of your grip for more then three minutes, it'll come back to you as that mark on your arm." Photia exclaims and then nods at Lily.
"Zesto." Lilly's voice was cold. But the second she said the words, her hand lit up like a firecracker.
The sword becomes solid, and the tattoo disappeared entirely from her arm. The handle lands in her already awaiting hand and she swings the sword expertly, twirling it in her fingers until she stood in a defensive position, ready to strike.
"Damnnnnnnn." I whistle. "That is hella cool. Why didn't you just tell me there'd be swords?! I would have agreed instantly." I scoff at them.
"Zesto means hot. That's not very original." I muse at my sister who scowls at me.
"Hey I was thinking on the spot, alright!?" She snaps, and then I look at James.
"What is yours called?"
James grins and then says, "Spathi."
"Sword?! Seriously." I give him an unamused look. "You named your sword, sword."
"I thought it was original." He shrugs, whirling the sword around like it was nothing but a dagger.
"Well, give your blade a name, child." Photia interrupts again, not the patient type at all.
I sigh slightly, and then I feel something take me over.... my Seer gifts. Then I was reciting in a voice that was not my own.
"Made and crafted from the tethers of pain
Those who oppose me shall yield to my blade.
Hell Fire and blood ignited as one
Destruction and chaos will amount all because of one."
"Why the Hell does she get a prophecy with her damn sword? Do you know how cool that was!? HER EYES WERE WHITE. COMPLETELY WHITE!!!" James was screeching at the top of his lungs.
"I am a demon brother. And I hold the powers of a Seer." I sigh, smiling at him. "This shit is my normal," I state calmly.
"Anathema." I state, holding out my newly tattooed arm. The sword springs into my grasp in less than a second. "Good god this is heavy. It's made from Hell fire, not bricks." I grumble, flipping it up into my arm.
"Accursed." Photia translates the meaning, and then all three of them are looking at me with Really looks.
"Hey, don't look at me!! James named his sword!!?" I snap, annoyed.
"Look for my father in your timeline," James says suddenly, and my eyes snap up to his.
"That would be quite weird." I muse, making him smile. "You won't be born until quite a long time, James." I say.
"No, not until 1960." He grins ruefully.
"Is there a reason behind you asking me this?" I ask him, confused.
James hesitates slightly and then nods. "Yes. Just.... take care of him and my mother until I'm born. They were quite lonely without a child for all those years. I'd be eternally grateful to you."
I nod slowly, eyes wide. "O- Of course. I'd be honoured." I nod at him with a smile. "But, you aren't dead yet. And you aren't born yet/" I gaze at him and Lily in confusion. They seem to understand my words.
"We're in limbo." Lily muses, and Photia nods.
"They and everyone else killed by Voldemort and their followers were brought to Limbo when you travelled back in time. Their fates are in your hands."
"Yeah, but like no pressure or anything, right?"
All three of them give me matching looks of disapproval.
"I use humour as a defence mechanism. Sue me." I snap, angrily at them all. "I want to go back now. I need to save myself and my friends." I demand, and Lily nods.
"Take the oath." Photia nods at me. Then the words are coming out of my mouth, without any control.
"Dino ti zoi mou stin aitia /I give my life to the cause," I announce and nothing happens. "Wait that's it? No lights? No magic? No nothing?" I demand, let down by the lack of excitement this whole thing had.
"You will report back here tomorrow night for training. You will find the angelic power given to you shall be more than enough to keep you, your family and your friends safe." Photia announces and then touches a fiery hand to my forehead. "Till the next time, my child."
The second she touches me, my entire line of sight disappears. Then the whole world goes white.
➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶
My eyes flicker open, and all I can hear is Ariana sobbing in the bed beside mine. There was a face overhead me, making me flinch back in surprise. The woman smirks.
She had blue eyes and chestnut brown hair up in a long ponytail.
"So, you finally stopped screaming to wake up." The woman preens. She was standing dreadfully close to the edge of my bed.
"It was so annoying coming in here and having to wear earmuffs all the time. They made my poor ears itch." She pouts, blue eyes blazing with evil intent.
She strokes a couple of locks on my head. But I was unable to punch her like I wanted. I was physically restrained to the bed. My arms and legs were locked in place. The only indication of my fury was my eyes, flickering back and forth between their blue and black colour.
"She calls you mom." The woman looked disgusted. "Miranda was her mother, not some demon filth such as yourself." She hisses enraged. "I'm going to grab each and every one of your friends in that prison cell -you know the ones who turned themselves in to save you- and torture them in front of you. They'll wish they'd never ever met you."
I slam my head into hers hard. She tethers back in pain. "Why you little-"
"Anathema." The word comes effortlessly off my tongue, and then my left arm is free, the sword cutting through the binds like it was butter. I slam the sword down on my right arm's restraints, sitting up and glaring at the horrified woman.
I'd never ever wanted to hurt anyone so severely. "Enkavma." I snarl and from my hand erupts a mountain of flames.
She hits the ground screaming, pressing a button off to the side. Alarms immediately start blaring.
In seconds my restraints were cut loose, and I cut Ariana free, holding her in my arms.
"Mom!! MOMMY!!" She shrieks, in tears, hugging me tightly.
"Hey, sweetie." I smile at her tiredly. "We are getting out of here, okay. You need to follow me and don't let go of my hand. You understand me?" I ask, and she nods, eyeing the massive sword in my hand in disbelief.
She nods, eyes hardened by years of agony and pain.
"You aren't going anywhere!!" The woman screeches, wand pointing at Ariana. She blasts a spell, but my sword comes in front of us, deflecting the spell at the wall where it explodes like a bomb.
I was furious. "Not my daughter, you bitch!" I snarl. Then my arms are coming up, and I blast her into a wall. My arm latches around her neck, sword sinking back to a tattoo, while the other hand is snapping her wand in half.
"Pyrkagia." My Greek was fluent and effortless. The spells coming into my mind like I'd spent years and years memorizing them.
She starts screaming. Screams of utter agony and pain. I was burning off the layer of her neck, choking her like the scum she was.
"Mom!!! People are coming!!!" Ariana latches onto me, eyes wide in fear, and then I'm throwing the woman to the side so hard, the wall cracks under the spell I used.
I grab the woman's ID card and scan it, unlocking the door to see five men holding guns.
Smashing the scanner with my fist, I lock the doors behind us, smirking at their scared faces. Oh they'd better be afraid. "You have five seconds to leave. After that, I will kill each and every single one of you. And you will beg me to end the pain, but I won't because I'll be enjoying your agony's sweet sounds." My voice was sarcastically sweet, too sweet.... sweet like poison.
"Put your hands above your heads!!! You can't use magic here!!!" The man orders, wand up. I realized he was wearing the same bracelet that woman had been wearing.
The bracelet allowed them use of their powers here. The puzzle pieces fit in my brain with a snap.
"Five bracelets.... " My voice was like a melody, haunting and low. My hand snaps up, and a ball of flames erupts in my palm. I flick it over my shoulder, at the horrendous room Ariana and I had been held captive in, setting it aflame.
"Five...." I start counting. A couple of them flinch back in surprise. I'd pulled Ariana protectively behind me as my sword flips into my hands. I twirl it once, twice and thank the lord for not dropping it. God damn, this thing was heavy. "Four...." They pale, and one of them even shoots.
It stops millimetres away from my face, and then it twirls around at my command. It shoots backwards, killing the man instantly.
"Ariana, sweetie. Go unclasp his bracelet for daddy, please." I smile at her warmly, and then my eyes blaze up at the men in anger as the child scampers over ripping the bracelet away and returning back to my side, staring up at me eyes wide and trusting
"Oppps too late! One." They go flying into the opposing wall, hitting it so hard they slump in an unconscious fit.
I unclasp all their bracelets with a single thought and bring them over, placing them on the hilt of my sword for safe-keeping.
"Where's Abi and Dad?" Ariana whispers to me.
"One room over," I answer, grabbing her arm and leading her to the highly guarded prison room they were in.
Soldiers were flung into opposing walls; the second they were in my line of sight. The telepathic protection surrounding Ariana and myself was impenetrable.
"This is so cool." She beams up at me, and I smile.
"A bit of help from an angel." I shrug, reaching the prison door.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!" The Acolytes guarding the room scream enraged.
"Oh? Are you talking to us?" I giggle madly, which makes Ariana laugh too. "Nah pal. I don't think so." I grin. My arm goes up, and the huge thick wall of steel containing my friends and family falls blows up.
I send it flying backwards, instantly killing the people who had been keeping us hostage with its horrendous weight.
We both climb through the door opening only to see everyone gaping at us in utter shock.
What a sight we must've been! We were both in hospital gowns stained red by our blood. Barefoot and hair let loose so that we looked like how I envisioned Bloody Mary would look like if I actually did that mirror ritual thing.
In seconds all the doors burst outwards in loud crashes. I sent all three of the doors hurling into the guards that had been sneaking up on us.
Tom strides out of the prison with an impassive smirk. "Took you long enough Dumpledore."
"Not my daughter, you bitch!"
― J.K. Rowling