)
After walking together in what looked a lot like clouds for some reason, Reggie and Death arrived in a spacious room. White walls, flowers everywhere, comfy chairs, and a huge table with books on it. At that point, Reggie decided to just go with it. Seeing one’s own dead body put things in perceptive. Her life up to that point was filled with hunger, pain, and humiliation. She was never hugged, never comforted, and until she went to elementary school, she thought her name was Freak. Now that she was dead, she somehow felt better. Death was nice, warm even. She never trusted adults, but Death was different.
‘I take it you must have some questions for me, but I would like to explain a few things first. Is that okay with you?’ Reggie nodded and they both sat down in comfy chairs. ‘I would offer you something to eat, but alas, until you fully agree to my plan, you are, in fact, a ghost who cannot eat.’ Death looked sad. Reggie shrugged. She really felt fine. She looked up to the ceiling and saw there was none. Just the night sky. In the far corner, she saw more light, indicating it would be dawn soon. It really was a beautiful place.
‘I am fine ma’am, really. Actually, I am a bit curious why I am not freaking out a bit more,’ she chuckled. Death smiled at her. ‘After passing, what seemed important fades slowly. That’s why I need to start explaining things before you lose all interest.’
Death took a comfortable position and started her story.
‘Your full name is Regina Lilian Potter. You are the daughter of James Charles Potter and Lily Rose Evans. Your parents were both wixen. Your father was a wizard, your mother was a witch. This means that you are a witch too.’
Death looked at the girl, who listened intently. Good.
‘Does that mean I have magic ma’am?’ Death nodded, pleased that the child was catching up. Reggie smiled. Magic didn’t exist huh…stupid Uncle Vernon.
‘When you were 15 months old, a Dark Wizard called Voldemort attacked your parents and sadly killed them both. And then he tried to kill you.’ Reggie’s eyes widened for a second. ‘The curse he used backfired and hit him instead, destroying his body. Your mother sacrificed herself for you, begging Voldemort to kill her but let you live. When he killed her after she refused to step aside, Old magic made sure he could not touch you. This led to his demise. I was there and saw everything. Your mother and father went with me, and I had to leave you there. It was not yet your time.’
It was a difficult story to tell a small child. That she basically abandoned her to her fate. ‘I assure you, I never would have thought that you would be placed with your aunt and uncle. After their deaths, your parents spoke of Sirius Black, their best friend, and that he was your godfather. He was supposed to take care of you. I was not around after that, it was not until you were 3 years old, that I was curious about you and started looking. I found you here, already suffering, but as I am Death, I cannot interfere with the living.’
Reggie smiled, she understood. It was painful to hear about the deaths of her mum and dad, even though she was glad someone finally told her.
‘Over the years I checked in with you, until tonight. I sensed your time had come, even though it was not supposed to be. I will explain this later on. You are a witch, but at this moment, also a ghost. I cannot bring you back…yet.’
Reggie peered up. ‘So what you are saying is that I can live again, but not right now?’ Death stood and walked over to Reggie’s chair. She kneeled and took Reggie’s hand in her own. ‘If I used the ritual to restore your soul now, you would succumb to your injuries after a little while. It would be in vain. That is why I have another idea. But to understand that, I will have to elaborate. Can I?’
And Death explained to Reggie about Voldemort. His rise to power, who he used to be. About what he had done with his soul. That he created Horcruxes and that Reggie was one. Or used to be one, because she died, her own soul lived on. The soul fragment of Voldemort died in her place.
‘But if his soul piece died, how come I am now a ghost?’ It was all very confusing. Death steeled herself…this answer would change everything.
‘Because I collected you before your own soul could take over. You would have died, for over an hour, but then you would have come back. And if that happened, you would be at the mercy of Albus Dumbledore. And I would not be able to help you anymore.’
Death expected Regina to be angry. To yell, scream, or have a tantrum. But none of that happened. To her utter shock, Reggie asked in a shy voice if she could hug her. Death opened her arms and embraced the child. ‘You saved me, thank you.’ Death heard the child whispered.
Reggie understood why Death had acted the way she had. This Dumbledore, she didn’t know him, but Death must have had a reason to interfere. So the way Reggie saw it, Death helped her. For someone who had never known love or care, this meant something. She was very curious about the next part of the story. She was also never hugged before and decided that Death gave the best hugs.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In Surrey, there was utter silence, after the discovery of Regina’s lifeless body. Anyone could see the girl was basically beaten to death. Severus had alerted Minerva and Albus to the cupboard. Minerva had started crying and Severus saw Albus looking very sad. But that was probably an act.
‘We have to call the Aurors, Albus. This needs to be done the right way. The person responsible should be sentenced. Severus knew in his gut that either Petunia or that whale of a husband had something to do with this, but if he cursed them into oblivion, he would be shipped off to Azkaban. Not bloody likely…he was never going back there if he had any say in it.
At that point, Petunia had woken up to voices. At first, she thought it was the telly, but Vernon was lying next to her and Dudley was a good sleeper, so it could not be him. The Freak would not dare to watch the telly…so who was downstairs? Nudging Vernon until he was awake, she demanded he would check it out. Grumpily Vernon put on a scowl and went downstairs. He stopped in terror as he saw three people in his hallway. At their clothes, he judged they were freaks.
‘You, you have no right to be here! Get out of my house this instant!’ He was met with three wooden sticks. Before he knew it, he was knocked unconscious and fell down the stairs, where he landed with a loud thump. Severus went upstairs, entered Petunia’s bedroom, smiled wickedly when she recognized him, and stunned her before she could scream. He then did the same to the boy, who was still sleeping. Severus preferred him to stay that way.
Minerva send her Patronus to the Auror office and then they waited. It wasn’t long before the sounds of Apparition were heard and Albus welcomed the Aurors with a somber face.
Evidence was collected, the body was transported to St. Mungo’s, and the Muggles were placed into custody, still out of it. The mood was grim. A magical child was murdered, by a Muggle relative. Ever since the war, the number of wixen in Greater Britain was low, so children were revered. And this was The-Girl-Who-Lived…
Around 5 in the morning the house was empty and the Aurors left. Severus, Minerva, and Albus returned to Hogwarts, each lost in their thoughts. Severus was fuming with rage. His trust in the old meddler was misplaced. He had served two masters. One was insane, the other did everything for the so-called Greater Good.
Minerva was sad, that poor girl. She was also very angry with Albus, who had disregarded her warnings about the Muggles. This could have been avoided. There were plenty of families who could have taken the girl.
And Albus…the Leader of the Light was already scheming. Sure, he lost one soldier, but not all was lost. There was another child who could be the prophesied child…Neville Longbottom.
Little did Albus know, that his whole world would be turned upside down in a couple of days, thanks to a scheming Severus and Minerva.