chapter 3

If someone had told Persephone that she would have Greyback at her mercy one day, left in her cellar with an overjoyed murderous house elf and a pissed of God of Death, she would have gladly laughed and told you to commit yourself to the Janus Thickey Ward of St Mungo's Hospital and to fucking stay there - but it seemed like even life enjoyed tricking her from time to time. Now, she was completely fazed by the complete normality of some things. Besides, after spending the last two days training her new powers, she finally understood why Dumbledore and Voldemort had both loved and cherished their magical ability and why they each fear the other.

But now, there was a new player on the board they were certainly not expecting.

Aside from her family last name and the history behind it that would surely rally a whole bunch of staunch purebloods to her side, she had kept her ability to converse with snakes - plucking another bunch of his followers that would discover that there was another heir, or marriageable age that they could try to "manipulate" to their cause. Even though she had hoped to cultivate some sort of relationship with her parents, she was well aware of their hatred of anything remotely related to Slytherin, and she counted on joining that particular House so she could shift the winds to her side. The majority of Voldemort's best Death Eaters had not graduated yet and they all craved one thing : power, and it just so happened that her and her brother had plenty of it. She didn't doubt that Harrison would perpetuate the long standing tradition of their family to join Gryffindor even though he might have trouble blending in with his silver hair and apparent family relation to Grindelwald.

That thought...made her stop right as she arrived close to the famous Nurmengard Castle.

In her first life, she had always thought that the physical differences between Petunia and Lilian Evans was so pronounced that it was weird they were remotely close to sisters. While one had beautiful emerald eyes and flamboyant red hair, the other was plainly blonde with a horse face and pretty basic blue eyes - they didn't even look like her twin's.

Was it possible that they had actually been related to the former Dark Lord this whole time? It would certainly explain some physical differences and some burst of their powers - even the speed that had been Harrison's quirk for so long. She had been so jealous at the time...aside from her form of telekinesis, she didn't have anything remotely as useful as him. Her true potential had only been unlocked once he had died and she had thought she would spend the rest of her life without any means to showcase what she was able to do - to dazzle him with how cool his sister was aside from the whole Girl-Who-Lived non-sense.

Still, Persephone shook her head and focused on her reasons for being here : if she was going to have a serious discussion with her grandfather, she didn't need a certain meddling and eye-twinkling Headmaster to interrupt them before they reached a consensus. She was not naive enough to believe he wouldn't barge in here whatever he was currently doing. Still, she felt some pretty powerful wards that were keyed to Dumbledore and would inform him whatever something happened that was out of the ordinary. No wonder Voldemort had rushed to meet his predecessor when the old coot died - nothing would stop him from doing so.

She raised her head and started inspecting the Castle from outside, not even believing that she was actually in such an important piece of history that had been completely wiped out by Riddle in her timeline. And for some reason...her magic, even the Chaotic part of her, felt settled by the magic emanating from the building. She had heard some rumors about Family Magic from time to time but never had any living relative that were knowledgeable enough about it, so she had never experienced it. But now? Being so close to her grandfather and a castle imbued with his magic felt almost like belonging and she was almost ashamed to acknowledge such a feeling was even remotely connected to a Dark Lord that had been the cause of death and destruction less than half a century ago.

Persephone was glad that she hadn't brought anything that could even be considered "magical" with her - there were many detection wards around the area that would inform any German auror that an unregistered wix had been here, but since the Hallows were undetectable and she was proficient in wandless magic, the witch didn't feel very worried. They would not be able to trace anything back to her since they were still pretty biased with Muggles and would never thing a Lady of such a high standing such as her would sully herself to using such means of travel and the Ministry would confirm that none had been awarded nor detected with her magical signature.

"Let's get to it," she whispered while inspecting Nurmengard Castle.

Muggles would only see the Black Sea. To the more observant, a fine mist might dance across its surface towards the horizon, blotting out the sun's rays. They would hear only the silence for which the region is famous. Not a bird chirping. No small animals venturing onto the sandy spits to bask in the sun. A few scattered tourists were taking advantage of the last rays of the summer sun to polish their tans before the end of the holidays. If these Muggles had been lucky enough to be wizards, they would have seen a huge tower on a small island of black rocks, barely above the water. As they approached, a wizard could have noted the inscription that was spelled out above the large, ornate door. For the greater good. But before he could read the motto, he would have been alerted to his whereabouts by the screams he heard. There was no such thing as the sweet silence of Muggles. Only pain, fear and death had their entrance to Nurmengard.

Still, there was something poetic to say about the fact Muggles feared them - and yet, felt alright living in complete ignorance of them. Then, it was safe to say the same thing was currently happening to the Dark and Light Faction of this war - they didn't know that their squabbles would one day anger the rest of the world and there might not be a Wizarding Community to save if the rest of the Muggles rally with each other and decide to wipe them out. After all, nothing binds more than a common enemy.

Hiding under her beloved Cloak, she walked inside the building, letting her Chaos Magic flow through her body and her soul - letting her instinct work around the wards and linking them to her, delicately severing their liaison with Dumbledore or any of his idiotic brood. Still, the red head smiled and enjoyed the rush of power working through her fingers - the exhilaration at the mention that she was actually besting Dumbledore, the Master Manipulator and that he would soon find himself lost in his heartbreak and confusion to care about the mysterious heir twins that decided to grace his halls - even though each one would be sorted elsewhere.

Using the memory from Voldemort's visit, she climbed the stairs towards the top-most cell in the highest tower - instead of opening the door, she decided to close her eyes and phase through it as to not alarm him. She almost gagged in disgust and pity when she saw the state of his accommodations : were wizards not bound by Geneva's law or something? Because, even though the Minister and the Members of the Wizengamot liked to use their power plays and scare each other, they were still all subjects of the Crown. Oh, how she wished the Queen was a witch in her own right that would have used her power and influence to...

Oh, wait right there...

That's...an unexpected thought.

Let's think: she was currently in 1976, which meant that she would be asked to join her sixth year - that didn't bother her since she would be in the same year as the rest of the Maraudeurs and her parents.

Nothing particularly interesting had happened in the Muggle World at the time from her memories, aside from a few Death Eaters attack she was sure she could deal with in complete discretion. Aside from a huge drought, nothing really had come up when she thought about it.

But still, they were subjects of the Crown under the Reign of Queen Elizabeth II and if their community wanted to hide the truth from her, Persephone would be delighted to be her eyes and ears in this time of need of cooperation between non-magicals and wizards.

It was almost heartbreaking to see such a powerful man like Gellert Grindelwald reduced to be shacked in this sort of cell, without any proper accomodation and treated like the scum of the Earth while Dumbledore and Voldemort were roaming free and wreaking havoc however they wished. Her hatred towards both men ran deep and she noticed too late that she had revealed herself to one of the most powerful Seers the world had ever seen - and from what she could understand, he had a keen understanding of Mage Sight.

"Ānogar ānograro, īlen waiting syt ao. isse bisa ābrar se se mōrī," muttered her grandfather, strangely calm compared to the time he had been visited by Voldemort. [𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖...𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕.]

She didn't understand why - or how, but he looked at her with a feeling of longing - and she could somehow understand how a Dark Lord in his prime had never really cared about legacy in the form of children before it was too late ; and here he was now confronted with the fact that he had had a son who he had never met. Persephone tried not to be spooked by his proclamation and by the fact he was the only other person aside from her brother that had spoken Valyrian to her.

She could barely stand straight being assaulted by a magic she couldn't understand - before she collapsed on the floor, the only thing she had been able to say was a faint "Ānogar ānograro". [𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅]

[𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞.]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬.]

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮...𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫? [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐬] 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭...𝐖𝐞'𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮...𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧...𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧? [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝] 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐚, 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲? [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲'𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫.]

𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲: 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲, 𝐝𝐚𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠!

[𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐒𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.]

𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲: 𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐚! 𝐀𝐡𝐡! 𝐀𝐡𝐡!!

[𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.]

𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬.

𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬: 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭.]

𝐌𝐚𝐧: 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐄!

[𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦. 𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜.]

𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲: 𝐌𝐨𝐦, 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲!

𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐚: [𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭] 𝐀𝐇𝐇!

𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲: 𝐌𝐨𝐦, 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩! 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞!

𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐚: 𝐌𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐲! 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?! 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐨𝐡, 𝐃𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲!

[𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐦.]

Sirius had been confused about the dreams ever since they had started - it was like the Cloak had been protecting them from far worse than the consequences of their pranks. Ever since it disappeared, he had been plagued with green eyes that resembled Evans' but with more pain...and hatred. He couldn't get himself to share anything about it to his best friend because he was aware of how jealous he would be if he thought his best friend would try to steal his crush - instead, he stayed silent and endured the strange visions, worried that it was just the beginning of the Black Madness people kept speaking about everytime they talked about his family. When he watched his Cousin Bella, it was easy to understand why people would fear their family and their traditions if their magic was able to twist their minds this way and turn them into blood-thirsty killers.

Well, that was before James had a distinct dream of being almost mauled by a tarantula and burned by a dragon and had rushed into his parents' solar to complain and beg them for a potion that would help him sleep soundly.

And it turned out...they were all plagued by the same dreams.

Even though rituals were now frowned upon, it didn't dissuade the Potters by enacting one tonight in order to be able to be together once they were in their mindscape and investigate what was happening. The former Black heir looked at his friend and elbowed him to gain his attention. "You never told me you had a secret twin," he whispered. To his stupor, James didn't rise to the joke and looked disturbed by the scene - like he was almost pained by the treatment of the two children. "Hey, don't be sad, they're Parselmouths, you heard 'em, they're already half evil."

For the first time, Fleamont did not laugh at one of his jokes. Nor did the family matriarch. They were focused on the scene - looking disturbed and pained for some foreign reason.

𝐎𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: [𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞] 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐌𝐬. 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱, 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫. [𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐀𝐧𝐝...𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝?

𝐎𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: 𝐎𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐌𝐬. 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐇𝐞-𝐖𝐡𝐨-𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭-𝐍𝐨𝐭-𝐁𝐞-𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬...𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭. [𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞.]

The scene changed quite fast - not even giving them the time to understand why Ollivander would take the time to say something so disturbing and traumatizing to a young orphan before sending her off. Her brother, who still looked like a clone of James with blue eyes and Malfoy-blond hair, looked angry and positively ready to throttle anyone who dared to hurt his sister. Sirius was reminded of his behavior before deciding to distance himself further from REgulus - which shamed him just to even think about it.

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐇𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨.

𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝: [𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲] 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, '𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐀 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐕-...𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐕-...

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧?

𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝: 𝐍𝐨, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. [𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲] 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭.

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭?

𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝: 𝐒𝐡𝐡!!

The Potters looked pretty surprised - they were clearly in the Leaky Cauldron even though it looked a bit different from what they knew and Hagrid, the current groundskeeper, was accompanying two Potters to school - but why didn't they contact them ? Even though they might have been a different branch, they would have been overjoyed to include them in their life, especially since they looked so similar to their own son.

They hadn't been able to conceive more children - not for lack of trying. While Sirius was thinking along the same lines, James felt some sort of…foreboding. Ever since he had heard the name "Persephone" when the letter explaining the whereabouts of the Cloak had been sent, something had settled within him, even more so when the dreams began waking him up in tears while not being able to clearly remember them.

𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝: 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. [𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐜'𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞. 𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.] 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 '𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 '𝐞𝐦. [𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝.] 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲...𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. '𝐂𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

[𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.]

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞: 𝐌𝐞? 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥...𝐦𝐞?

𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝: 𝐘𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞...𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨...𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮-𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐖𝐡𝐨?

𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐝: 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝. 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨𝐩𝐞, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥-𝐖𝐡𝐨-𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲-𝐖𝐡𝐨-𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.

"That was Evans," whispered James - usually, he would have leaped in joy that his dream deemed it important enough to include Evans in his fantasies, but he knew enough that a collective dream accompanied by a ritual would have stopped them from being shared with others. He didn't know what was happening - but they were actually…experiencing the future.

Fleamont had been hugging his wife who had vomited after seeing her own son being strict down by the Killing Curse and her supposed grandchildren being threatened by an actual Dark Lord while they were barely babies. Besides…if they had not taken custody of their grandchildren, it could only mean that even them had met their demise.

Sirius didn't know what he could say or do - so he decided to just hug his best friend and brother, hoping his presence could at least help with the small glimpse of the future they had seen.