Augusta
Samantha felt her hands shake as she sat within the Minister of Magic's office. Duke was under her hat and she could feel his claws dug into her braid.
It had been confirmed, Freya Jade was after her and everyone she cared for.
With Atticus being released from his curse, he revealed that Hermione's suspicions were true. Freya Jade had attacked him, and sent him to plant the evidence before finding a way to kill Samantha. Hermione and Rose were both perfectly safe and headed home with a very concerned Ron.
Her brother would thankfully be released. With the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the memory, it was being more closely investigated and it had a few distinctions of being a fake memory. His charges weren't being dropped quite yet, but since Jack's life was now in danger he was being sent into hiding under the protection of the Ministry. They had been allowed to hug briefly. He was promised he could pick up Cherry Blossom and take her along in his hiding.
Samantha was now waiting inside of Kingsley's office to discuss the potential security measures she would need for the Prophet. Her staff didn't need to be in danger because of her. She had asked him to at least check on Neville, but not to tell him what had happened. It was exams and he didn't need the extra stress. She also figured he was safe at Hogwarts, and she wanted him to stay there, where he was safe.
As she waited she wondered if maybe she'd be allowed to help find Freya, she did know a lot about her after all. A large part of Kai's story was his love for Freya. They were unconventional, but they did at one point, by all accounts, love each other deeply. Samantha couldn't understand how she could have killed him after sharing a love like that.
Kingsley returned to his office with Harry in tow. She shoved her shaking hands into her pockets, hoping they wouldn't see them.
"Hi Harry."
He smiled and stood by the door, "Hi Sam."
"We have the Prophet taken care of." Kingsley insisted as he sat down, "Business will resume as normal tomorrow, with a small security detail and a different headline."
Samantha insisted a different article to be published in place of the one about her brother since it was now being more thoroughly investigated. Thankfully, because she had shut down the office, it hadn't been allowed to run.
"You may give Mr. Weaving whatever you'd like published about the attack, can't look like we are hiding anything." Kingsley nodded noticing the ink on Samantha's fingers. She admittedly had taken a few moments and written down her experience.
"Have all the Aurors been questioned, no one else is under a curse right?" Samantha asked with a quick gulp, trying to hide her genuine fear.
"Of course, and a thorough investigation is being conducted as to how she was able to infiltrate our security." Kingsley handed her a paper. "Here is every precaution we will set up for the Prophet and it's staff."
"We also have Aurors with your parents. We are taking them to a safe location." Kingsley stated before Samantha could ask. "And Mr. Longbottom is in fact perfectly safe."
"Alright, how are we catching Freya then?" Samantha smiled, breathing a long sigh of relief.
"We, the Ministry, will handle Freya, she is under our jurisdiction," Kingsley grumbled.
"Great, then I should just go ahead and go home then." She was disappointed they didn't want her help. However, she was more than ready to go home for a long bath and a bit of fire whiskey to calm her headache.
"We haven't discussed your personal security." Kingsley said motioning for her to sit back down.
"I don't need security." Samantha insisted before rubbing her head, the headache had now spread from just above her nose to her temples. "I'm pretty capable on my own. I've done more research on Freya than maybe anyone alive, for my book."
"No one is denying that." Kingsley chuckled before sitting down behind his desk. "You shouldn't go back to your apartment. Freya obviously knows you just as well as you know her. She knows you live alone. We are sending you to a safe location. Your Creative Director has been made aware he is in charge until further notice."
"I will not hide from her Minister." Samantha insisted, "I will not give her that satisfaction."
"You need to be in a safe place. Potter will go with you for now." Kingsley insisted without answering her question.
"Is that even necessary?" Samantha asked.
"If I don't, my wife will murder me." Harry chuckled causing Kingsley to also chuckle.
"You should be with Ginny and the boys. Your lives could be in danger too." Samantha reminded with a roll of her eyes. She was taken aback slightly when the eye roll hurt.
"Not the first time." Harry smirked. "Besides, she and the boys are with her parents."
"Not to mention Ginny is going to pop any day, and you can't be trailing me the whole time." Samantha snipped.
"Potter is only going to be with you until his replacement arrives." Kingsley nodded.
"So I need to put my head in the sand?"
"Put my mind at ease, please Miss Fyre?" Kingsley insisted. "You are a high ranking employee of my Ministry. You understand what it is like to worry for your staff. Were they not one of your first thoughts today?"
There was no arguing with them. She was watched very closely by Harry as she gathered her necessary things from her apartment before she Apparated with Harry to the location which had been deemed safe.
She cursed out loud when they arrived to the countryside, "Augusta's?"
"Yeah, that's why Kingsley wouldn't tell you." Harry shrugged. "Neville's Gran heard from your mum about the attack and insisted you'd be safest here." Harry said as they began walking up to the victorian style farmhouse. It was bigger than one's average home. Samantha loved the wrap around porch and pretty white trim. The property was pretty large, with woods and a pond. There was a little greenhouse where Neville brought his plants in the Summer, it was empty at the moment.
"At least she likes me I guess." Samantha remarked now rubbing her neck, her headache had spread to her neck. Duke flew off of her shoulder and around the perimeter. Artie cooed watching Duke fly.
Harry looked around, "Yeah, we all know how she was with Susan. She picked her apart"
"Poor Susan." Samantha shook her head, "I still have no idea why she didn't like her. Susan has always been so nice."
"What'd you do to get her to like you?" Harry asked.
"Not a damn clue." Samantha shrugged looking down to the engagement ring on her hand that had not only belonged to Neville's mother, it had also belonged to Augusta.
"I mean, she barely even likes me." Harry shrugged and put his hands in his pockets.
"I mean, you only defeated Voldemort. But if it makes you feel any better, she barely likes Neville." Samantha rolled her eyes.
Augusta greeted them outside the front door. She always had perfect posture and a constant sternness about her expression. She smiled, but showed no teeth as she saw them arrive. Harry asked her questions to confirm she wasn't an imposter.
"Good to see you dear." Augusta said putting her hand on Samantha's shoulder. Artie rolled to Samantha's other shoulder to move away from Augusta.
Augusta looked back at Harry with a nod. "Mr. Potter, should I be assuming that you are the security for my granddaughter?"
Augusta had a weird habit of saying that Samantha was already her granddaughter. Samantha was still caught off guard by the idea she was getting married and gaining new family. It had always been her small Fyre family and the idea of being a part of another one seemed so incredulously foreign.
Harry nodded, "Yes Mam."
"I told that Minister that we didn't need anyone." She turned back to Samantha with a tilt upward of her head, "You and I could take that woman any day, but The Minister unfortunately insisted."
"Oh we definitely could." Samantha smirked. "Besides, Harry should be home with his wife."
"Oh yes, how far along is Mrs. Potter now?" Mrs. Longbottom asked Harry from her doorway.
"Eight and a half months, but James was early so we aren't sure if this one will be too." Harry said as a smile spread across his face. "She thinks it's another boy, but I hope it's a girl."
"A little girl would be nice for you, I'm sure. I am hoping to have some little great grandchildren around here soon enough." She turned her head to look at Samantha.
Samantha felt all of the blood leave her face. She felt dizzy where she stood.
"Are you alright dear?" Augusta asked looking at her over her long nose.
"I have a nasty headache." Samantha realized Neville still hadn't had that talk with his grandmother yet. She knew why, Augusta was big on pride in her family and the integrity it held. She was still fairly stern to Neville about it.
"I am going to go set the protection enchantments." Harry nodded before leaving, almost evaporating from the porch after observing Samantha's change in expression. Duke flew past them both, and onto Samantha's opposite shoulder beside Artie.
"You look dreadful dear. I'd expect as much, with you being attacked." Augusta said as they both stepped inside the rather dreary inside. Her eyes scanned Samantha. "I hope you are not hurt."
"Not at all." Samantha shrugged. "I appreciate your hospitality in having me here."
"Oh no hospitality here, we are family now." Augusta mentioned with an edge of softness to her words.
"Go take your things upstairs, lie down a bit before supper." Augusta mentioned softly touching under her chin.
She dropped her things in the guest room on the second floor and placed Artie into her traveling cage. She took off her hat and unbraided her hair. Maybe that would help the headache. She then made her way up to Neville's old room on the third floor. She knew where Neville hid his Whiskey when he stayed there.
His room was pretty simple, nothing too spectacular and it was impossibly tidy. He had a book shelf with a few Herbology titles and a little shiny gold metal displayed on his dresser. She listened at the door to make sure Augusta wasn't nearby, before climbing beneath his bed. Here was truly where his personality presented itself. It was dark underneath thanks to the bedskirt, but there were tiny little stars under his bed that he'd charmed to glimmer.
He said his grandmother didn't like frivolous decorations so he kept his favorite things under his bed where they couldn't be seen. It had obviously been expanded magically underneath for more space. He'd shown her the Summer before, when they'd spent a few weeks there. He'd shown her his collection and they'd laughed like little school children for a few hours underneath remembering school days.
She slid past the sword of Gryffindor, a Remembrall, and a record player with Weird Sisters and Spellbound albums. She slid past a few other trinkets from his years, like pictures and Gryffindor pennants before reaching underneath one of the boards. Duke crawled underneath, behind her and curled up in what looked to be an old Gryffindor sweater.
She found the little flask he kept his white rat whiskey in. As she did, she found a small piece of folded paper. She was more than curious to what it was. She'd never seen it before.
It was a Gazette newspaper, a very old one, it was wrinkled and worn out. She took a quick swig of whiskey as she looked it over. It was wrapped around a picture of the Gazette in their sixth year. She knew the picture well, she kept it in her apartment. His was more folded and worn.
She looked at the date of the paper it had been wrapped in. November 26th, 1994. There were photographs of dragons and she recognized the second article very well. It was the one she'd had the opportunity to meet with the dragon trainers.
"Look Duke." She said calmly nudging the paper towards him. "It's when we met."
Duke looked over the paper curiously.
"And when I met Kai." She whispered, feeling her heart enter her throat. She remembered meeting him and Duke, she never would have imagined the impact Kai would have on her life. She wouldn't have imagined when she had given him the interview that Freya was also present. She was a part of the dragon team and it was right before she betrayed Kai.
Duke laid his head on her hand affectionately as she read the article she'd written.
She wondered briefly why Neville had kept this paper of all of them, until she looked to see he had written the profile on Professor Sprout that was hidden near the bottom. He was a horrible writer back then. She flipped the paper over to see his dreadful handwriting. She strained her eyes to look and understand it.
First Real Article, Sam Helped -N.L.
She smiled before hiding it again. She took another sip of whiskey as her head continued throbbing. It hurt worse than it had just a few moments before. This had been a ride of a day and she hated hiding. She would rather fight Freya herself than hide away somewhere. That bitch probably thought she'd run her off. She wanted to make a plan, something to take her down, but her headache was preventing any real decisions.
She felt her eyes droop a little as Duke came closer and put his head on her neck. She decided she should probably make her way back downstairs to the guest room. Once she slept a bit, she'd find a way to show Freya she wasn't afraid of her. She couldn't think straight enough to piece together a plan.
She put the whiskey flask back under the bed before sliding out from under the bedskirt. She stood and fixed her dress before leaving the room.
She made her way down the stairs. She thought maybe it was just the dizziness from her headache, but she could have sworn it was Neville at the bottom of the stairs.
It wasn't until he'd taken her face into his hands and kissed her directly, that she realized it was in fact him.
"Are you alright?" He asked after letting go.
"Of course I am." She said and noticed his eyes weren't leaving her face. He hadn't looked at her like that since the war, and he'd certainly never kissed her like that before. "It wasn't that big of a deal."
"Someone tried to kill you."
She shrugged, "And I'm fine."
"You look very pale Sam." He insisted, "You aren't ill too right?"
"No, just a headache, I think all the stress has caused me a migraine."
"Were you sneaking into my whiskey?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Sorry, I'll get you more." She offered with a shrug. "You need to go back. I won't get you sacked, it's exams."
"McGonagall told me she'd sack me if you somehow managed to send me back." He nudged his nose against her's. "So if you don't want me sacked, you will keep me around."
"Yeah, but you being here will just make me worry more. Hogwarts is safer." She went to roll her eyes, but it hurt too much.
"Someone has to keep an eye on you."
"Kingsley said I'm supposed to have some numpty Auror trailing me, so you don't have to worry about it." Samantha looked around making sure his Gran wasn't listening.
Neville looked down and scratched his neck, "I'm the numpty Sam."
"What?"
"I am technically a trained Auror." He smiled boyishly.
Samantha swore louder than she had intended.
Augusta could be heard laughing from the kitchen after hearing Samantha's swear.