no turning back, iii
In early August of 1980, Albus Dumbledore heard a prophecy that decreed a child born at the end of July would be destined to kill the Dark Lord—in layman's terms.
It wouldn’t be, Hailey thought, until sometime in the year of 1995 that the prophecy was discovered by the Dark Lord.
It was August 3rd, 1996, at 3:07 AM, Hailey confirmed, after casting a quick Tempus.
Since that day in the summer of 1995—when the Dark Lord began moving in response to the prophecy—it had been only chaos in the British Isles.
There were rumors going around, both in Hogwarts and outside, that it was the current Defense teacher, one Lord Sirius Black, who snitched to the Dark Lord. However, there were more credible rumors, according to her brother, that the Dark Lord ripped the information from the mind of a faithful servant who was, quote-unquote, "made to forget."
At the time, Hailey was seriously on the verge of punching Hadrian for his vagueness about it all, despite his alleged Sight, but alas, Charlie had stopped her before she could.
Hailey shuddered in distaste as she remembered the way he looked at her, completely ignoring Charlie, on the train the first time she went to Hogwarts. It had gone cold in that compartment a bit before her own prophecy had left his mouth; and it would take Charlie three hours after that to initiate conversation and for everything to go back to the way it was before.
Hailey shook her head, trying and failing to defend herself against the damned cursed words spoken that day. When death's shad- Hailey bit her lip hard, forcing her brain into silence. She relaxed back into bed, and for a moment, wondered if Rian felt the same when it came to his own prophecy, even if it remained unconfirmed to be his.
(Had the Death Eaters of the Dark Lord looked closer, they would have noticed a prophecy orb quite close to their target, glistening and shining. From H.J.P.B to H.E.P & C.H.P, it would have said, Hailey Elizabeth Potter, it would have had underneath.)
It wasn’t hard to do the math. Sixteen years ago, only two children fit the prophecy: Hadrian Potter-Black and Neville Longbottom. Four years after that, Charles was born on July 31st, while Hailey herself was born late on the 30th. By association, Hailey was one of the wizarding world's most wanted, along with the other three. Even if no one outside of Dumbledore and Voldemort (and Hadrian) knew the exact lines of the prophecy—even if Hadrian Potter was highly likely the child aforementioned—Hailey knew there was no surviving if Rian really did die. She ignored her prophecy like Snape couldn’t ignore her in lessons, but she couldn’t deny that it tied her to the war. It was very hard to ignore her future involvement considering her prophecy quite literally foretold the imminent war; even if by proxy.
At first, if Hadrian really failed, Neville would pick up the mantle. Then, if he fell as well, Charles would follow, and then her—and after that, any other child born around late July. It would be Moses two-point-o, Hailey realized, sick at the mere thought. Kill all the children until one escapes, only to return for revenge; to fulfill their legacy.
Hailey was a witch, as much as she preferred the sword over her wand. But stories are stories and they almost always have morals. She was quite like Hadrian in that regard, she belatedly realized—always consuming fiction that taught wisdom rather than merely increasing knowledge.
"Hey," Hailey said aloud to the dark, empty room, "do you think we can survive this?"
Silence answered her. Despite that, she wasn’t sure if she preferred it over the knowledge of someone, or something, lurking in her room unknowingly.
War messes with your head, especially when you're Nationally Undesirable Number Four—a title Rita Skeeter had actually used to headline the possible prophecy children. Not that anyone knew about the second prophecy, and Hailey planned to keep it that way. She couldn’t tell if the Dark Lord liked the headline, considering how he attacked Hogsmeade that day, but it wasn’t like she could ask for his humble opinion on the matter. They should form a band after the war business was done, she thought hysterically.
(That same day, Hailey recalled, Dumbledore negotiated for Hogsmeade to be added to the Neutrality Agreement. It took a while, but as part of Hogwarts' territory, it was eventually included. That didn’t change the fact that there were no longer Hogsmeade weekends.)
"War is upon us," was how Charlie broke their breakfast silence the next morning with.
Hailey wasn't a breakfast person. She was a eat when I'm hungry person to the point where Hadrian had to sit her down once in Hogwarts, back in her first year, and give her a lecture about how the body doesn't only need to eat when its hungry, that what she was doing was essentially starvation.
Hailey was still not a breakfast person. Nor was she a morning person.
"And pray do tell," Hailey started, imitating Hadrian to her best ability in his absence, "why is it that we start this fine morning with that?" She snapped, avoiding the veggies and eating only the egg.
"Ask Rita, not me," Charlie shrugged, throwing the newspaper her way.
War Is Upon Us, was the bold headline, followed by Written By Rita Skeeter.
"Lovely," Hailey muttered, mood soured, flicking through the paper. As her eyes scanned the article, a subheading caught her attention:"Nationally Undesirable Four: The Children Who Could End the War." Her stomach churned slightly as she read about the public’s fascination the prophecy. The article gossiped freely about the potential of Hadrian Potter-Black, Neville Longbottom, Charles Potter, and herself to shift the tide of the war.
"At least she didn’t call us ‘The Chosen Ones’ this time," Hailey muttered bitterly.
"When do you reckon your choice will be?" Charlie asked, nonchalant and uncaring. Which, future Hailey would admit in hindsight, was fair of him to ask. It was prophesied to be her choice that would end the war, after all. Present Hailey, however, cursed him and continued eating.
Charlie, the better of the two, only rolled his eyes and undid the curse. "Raid on Potters Continues," he read aloud, flipping the page after taking the newspaper back from her. "Dark Lord rages as Potter children remain unfound."
He flipped another page, ignoring Hailey’s seething silence as she stuffed food into her mouth to avoid more curses.
"Head Auror James Potter suffers minor injuries, Charms Master Lily Potter is reported to be unharmed," he read out, taking breaks to hear in between.
"Imagine hearing your parents survived from a newspaper," Hailey muttered in her seat, feeling her anger fade away.
"At least he's injured," Charlie offered.
"'Suffers minor injuries,'" Hailey quoted bitterly.
Charlie shrugged in response, and the meal continued in a soft silence that was occasionally broken by roosters crowing like it wasn't sunrise three (or more, now that Hailey thought about it) hours ago.
"You know," Charles-the-devil's-advocate-Potter started like thier morning wasnt just peaceful, "roosters don’t actually start crowing only in the morning. That’s a muggle thing. We just picked it up."
"How do you even know that?" Hailey briskly retorted, ignoring her rising discomfort.
"Wizarding twins," Charlie said matter-of-factly, "either bond by magic or cannibalize each other."
Hailey, though she could've sworn she knew something similar but not exact, didn't say anything in response; she just frowned at her plate and continued to force herself to eat what help like cardboard.
Hailey once ate a piece of cardboard out of curiosity. Her curiosity stayed curious after that when it came to taste testing. Especially in potions class, Hailey remembered with a shudder. That first year incident was a pure disaster Hailey was not willing to revisit. In hindsight, Snape may have had a reason to dislike her after that but its not like Hailey ever gave him a reason to outright loathe her existence.
"Hey is it just me," Charlie opened his Mordred damned mouth and said, "or is there banging right outside the manor?"
"It's morning," Hailey dismissed, innate wizarding twin intuition now kicking in for her, "their magnum opus was never attacking in broad daylight."
"Nor was it to attack neutral pureblood families in braod daylight," Charlie muttered softly in response, though Hailey didn't know if he was keeping quite out of fear or out of a need to keep an ear on the sounds.
"I dont hear anything," Hailey said, after what felt like an enternity of tense silence.
"The roosters went quite," Charlie told her in response, voice as soft and quiet as Hailey's has become.
Hailey didn't say anything, and neither did Charlie after that. They simply ate in silence, each consumed in thier own thoughts.
Sirius had left to do whatever it is he did in the mornings. Passing laws and regulations, Hadrian had told her once when Hailey had asked him, what felt like years ago.
It wouldn’t occur to Hailey until the following week, while reading that day's edition of the The Daily Prophet, that the roosters hadn’t crowed again.
Hailey denied being a social butterfly during her first year.
In hindsight, she was a social behemoth.
She had friends in Slytherin despite being a Gryffindor with little to no political power, studied with Ravenclaws in the Library, revised with them before their bimonthly tests, and had a bed in the Hufflepuff dorms after one too many sleepovers.
Hailey still denied all social butterfly allegations. But, sitting on her bed -well, laying on her bed- Hailey come to a realization.
She was bored, and craved the interactions of her inter-house friend group.
Hailey was so bored she moved the portraits of Cassiopeia Black and Dorea Potter nee Black from the ancestral hall to her room for conversations.
Had Charlie been invited, he would it call what it rightfully was; gossip. Except Hailey didn't invite him so she was able to converse freely with Aunt Cassie and Aunt Rea.
"Druella would have dreaded hearing about darling Bella," Cassiopeia lamented. "She always went on and on about that girl's potential."
Aunt Rea's portrait rolled her eyes, sipping her tea. Before this day, Hailey didn't even know portraits could have tea, but her Aunt Dorea somehow still drank like she wasn't an enchanted magical painting.
"Bellatrix was always a bit off in the head," Aunt Rea replied, "So was Narcissa for that matter," she continued, "she would not have married that Malfoy boy had the madness not seeped in her that young."
Hailey hummed in response, proceeding to write down the given information in a black leather-bound journal her Uncle Mooney got her for her birthday last year. And while Hailey didn't exactly have the time to pack it in the bag she took with her, she had that year's birthday in Black Manor. No offense to Uncle Mooney but Hailey of last year thought it was a lackluster gift and promptly forgot it here. Charlie getting the newest broom from Uncle Mooney and Hadrian getting a specialized book on Runes had nothing to do with it. Past Hailey probably thought it would be better to leave and it was.
"And let us not even mention Andromeda in this conversation!" The portrait continued.
The journal was empty, and Hailey was bored, so she aptly named it the 'The Black Drama of 1900-1990' and began writing notes like she never did in Potions. Or Charms, Transfiguration, or any other Hogwarts's class.
Hailey was still the top of her year regardless.
"Aunt Lysandra would have been greatly disappointed," Aunt Rea lamented, "Both in that damned boy and all the current members of our family."
Interesting, Hailey thought, linking Sirius's name on her journal to the title of 'damned boy' and making a note to ask about that later.
"Who was Aunt Lysandra, Aunt Rea?" Hailey asked now, making a profile page for one Lysandra Black.
"Mother," Cassiopeia supplied. "She married Arcturus the Second. Though she was born a Yaxley."
Hailey hastily added a 'nee Yaxley' to the name of Lysandra Black's information page and quickly noted down what the two women told her.
"Aunt Lysandra was a great woman," Aunt Rea added, "she was my role model growing up."
"Truly?" Aunt Cassie asked her, not believing that statment at all, "I wouldn't have known with the way you went off and married that Potter boy," Aunt Cassie told Aunt Dorea.
So Dorea Black's Marriage to Charlus Potter was not well received by her family, Hailey made sure to note that down. It would be very interesting going back to Hogwarts and adding more information to her journal from what Vaspera knows.
Hailey met Vaspera Yaxley in her potions class. Hailey was late, mood already soured from the shouting session she had with Snape outside, and sat in the only empty seat. A lot was said in that shouting match (mostly stuff Hailey knew from going through her mother's closet when she was bored bored) to the point where Snape threw her in detention for three months with Flinch of all people; just so he doesn't have to see her face. Needless to say, Hailey loathed the man since then, and surprisingly, so did her new seat mate.
She hit it off with Vaspera and they were friends since. Considering her parchment for gossip, Hailey was wiling to bet that Vaspera knew a lot. Not that Hailey was complaining, she almost woke up the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black before she found, and technically stole but it wasn't like she left the house yet, the portraits of Aunt Dorea and Aunt Cassie.
When informed about her wide inter-house friend group, Aunt Cassiopeia called it networking and proceeded to tell her that she was being a good little Slytherin.
Hailey closed the lights and went to sleep after that, ignoring the way Aunt Cassie cackled at her before jumping to another portrait frame and Aunt Dorea's look of disappointment at them both before jumping out herself.
Hailey tried not to feel too bitter about it.