The Speaker of Fate.
She can't move, can't speak, Nia just stares at the space Harry was in when he used her name. Her Harry sweet and caring and stupidly brave. She should have known this would happen or something like this. His first instinct was to put himself in danger to save others. She wants to scream as Lily's footsteps pass by but she can't even whimper. Eventually there's a light knock on the door.
"Harry? I know you’re upset at being left behind, I am too but they'll all probably need medical assistance when the get back so we could work on the potions together while we wait." She says softly, waiting for a reply. When there isn't one Lily sighs and walks away. Nia wants to scream, she does everything she can to move but nothing works. There's a shout and heavy thuds from downstairs as someone gets back. Regulus and Sirius probably. Though James, Remus and Harry shouldn't be far behind. There's another cry and two sets of footprints running towards the door. A flash of light unlocks the door and Lily runs in with Regulus.
"Remus just sent us a patronus, what happened?" Lily's angry and frantic and if Nia could express emotion she would be too.
"He used her name Evans. She couldn't stop him, I'd guess he stole her shape changing talisman. She can't move until he says her name again." Regulus explains.
"I don't accept that, there's another way she's basically a God for Merlin's sake there has to be a loophole. My husband and son are stuck in a cave full of zombies and your brother is in deatheater custody. She's all we have as backup." Lily rants and starts going through Nia's things searching for her name she assumes. Not that she'll find it.
"Every species has a weakness," Regulus paces back and forth before stopping in the middle of the room. "I have an idea but it's dangerous and stupid." Regulus has a look in his eye almost like Sirius'. The kind that makes Nia fear for her life
"We'll make a Gryffindor out of you yet Reg, that's the best kind of idea." Lily grins and Regulus sighs.
"We need James' cloak, and some polyjuice potion." he gives in and Lily runs off to her room as Regulus sits where Harry was meeting her eyes.
"I recognised what you were as soon as you walked into the cafe because you aren't the first speaker of Fate I've met. There's a woman in the dungeons of Grimmauld place, The Dark Lord discovered her name and as a last act of defiance she passed on her talisman early so he couldn't control the course of Fate. If she passed the talisman on to you then she knows your name and can free you. Then we can all get Sirius out and go save Lupin and the Potters." Regulus explains his plan simply and he's right about the Dangerous and Stupid part. If Nia could argue she would especially about the only other one of her kind being imprisoned this whole time and never mentioning it. She can't though, still frozen as though petrified, staring as Lily returns with Sookie and the cloak.
"Sookie there's a cafe across Grimmauld place, where you found me with Sirius' note please take us there." Reg asks and they apparate into a dark apartment that smells like death.
Orion Blacks body remains one the ground covered in flies Lily throws up into the kitchen sink. Regulus vanishes the body somewhere and casts a cleaning and air freshening charm on the room. It doesnt help
"We don't have much time. Isobel had a wheelchair in the Hallway corridor." Regulus states and Lily grabs it as Reggie manhandles Hope onto it. This is humiliating.
Taking the polyjuice and a short black hair that is surely James' Reggie's cover is safe as they plan their way in.
It's expected for James to come to Sirius' rescue, ideally with Remus but that's hardly an option. Reggie with James' face says he's going to lead them through the secret tunnels under the neighbours basements that with magic can get into Grimmauld. Walburga knows about them but the House of Black is always prideful and refuses to share said information with the Death Eaters and their master.
Lily and Nia hide under the cloak as they apparate into the basement of number thirteen. Reggie takes out his wand and begins almost writing on a brick wall with it.
"This is weird isn't it?" Lily asks after several moments of thick silence.
"I was hoping we'd ignore it." Reggie doesn't look away from the stone as he continues casting.
"Not in my nature, I'm not jealous if you're worried. I mean not really. I knew how you ended things before we got married." Lily says quickly and Regulus groans.
"Delightful." This isn't enough for Lily if the sound of her shuffling behind Nia is anything to go by.
"I would understand if you were jealous, or upset. He was your first everything. I can't imagine seeing him married with a kid is pleasant for you."
"And yet you're bringing it up."
"I'm just trying to clear the air before we never see you again."
"Well don't. I never hated you Lily. You are and always have been exactly the picture of kindness, passion and honour James deserves. I accepted that before we dated and It was part of why I left. It was always going to be you. I made my peace with that long ago." He answers finally and the wall swings open. He walks through without another word leaving Lily no choice but to follow.
The first thing they hear is the sound of Sirius screaming in the not so far off distance.
"She's in the last cell, there should be one guard if at all possible don't make it obvious you were there. I'm going to get Sirius. Meet me as soon as you can." Regulus orders and disappears into the dark.
"Bossy prick." Lily mumbles under her breath and they head in the opposite direction.
The single guard is easily knocked out by the invisible Lily and hit with a petrificus totalus just to be safe. Unlocking the door and wheeling Nia in, she sees a single bed in the corner of a tiny cramped room barely bigger than Harry's cupboard. Sitting on the bed is a frail sickly woman with long red hair but dark brown almost black eyes.
"Invisibility now? What is that supposed to accomplish?" This woman this Fae does sound Irish. Extremely so actually. Lily removes the cloak and the woman ignores Lili completely to stare at Nia with a look of horror.
"My child." There's another scream followed by shouts and curses and the woman looks to Lili. "Help your friends, she will be safe and leave this place with more power than she came." The redheaded Faerie promises with a flow of magic in her voice all too familiar. Lily takes the suggestion and runs back the way she came. Leaving Nia at the mercy of this Fae.
"Be free Evanna." The stiffness holding Nia in place disappears and she takes a gasping breath blinking rapidly to try and bring some moisture back into her eyes. It takes an embarrassingly long time for Nia to realise the obvious.
"That's not my name." She argues but it comes out like a question. "Who are you?"
"I was the Speaker of Fate. Now I am simply your mother," she sounds dramatic, like Draco level dramatic. Everything about her from her almost black eyes that catch against her too pale skin. She should have freckles but she hasn't seen the sun in God knows how long. Still she seems almost regal.
Nia, that somehow doesn't feel right in front of this Almost ethereal woman. Hope? Evanna? God that's pretentious. Then again Amelia always rubbed the wrong way and most nicknames associated make her wanna hurl. Stupid Fae and their fucking names.
"Right. You just magiced me better with a very pretentious name so I'm going to assume you're telling the truth for now. Wanna elaborate, maybe give me something to call you.
"Would Mother not do?" 'Hope' is closest to okay sitting well, because she's already a character. Hope wasn't quite her but close enough. It'll do for now. So Hope gives Miss Universe a bitch face and she smiles. "My name is not so easily shortened but I suppose it means Grace." There's another action cry, this time Lily's and Hope looks to Grace.
"Excellent, Grace. We're going to help you escape and then rescue my son and then you and I are going to have a long chat about suitable adoption options and how changelings are not one. What did you even do with the original Amelia?" Hope hears them heading in this direction and picks up the cloak and looks at the chair. What are the chances Sirius is in a state to walk?
"She was dying. She had maybe three painful years at most." There's fighting getting closer and Hope pulls Grace close to pull the Invisibility cloak over them. Fuck it, Hope grabs the chair as they follow the corridor to the secret passage.
"I assume you have the same immunity to direct magic I do?" She asks as she sees Jegulus carrying a half dead Sirius.
"Of course," Grace nods.
"Then get ready to play human shield, follow the redhead. Lily" She looks up and sees a bit of the wheels poking out the bottom and grabs Sirius' other side. Grace lifts the cloak and helps him down as Hope ditches the cloak. Not like anyone knows who she is here, She gets between their party and the death eaters as Jeg takes the chair. Grace joins Nia's wall of defence and they run through the maze that is the Grimmauld Place basement.
They barely make it through the secret passage and Lily calls for Sookie to apparate them all home.
The others still hadn't returned. Harry still hasn't returned. Sirius is out of action and Lily shouldn't have risked going into Grimmauld. Sookie goes in search of potions to help a clearly Crucio'd Sirius.
"Up for a rescue mission Grace?" Hope asks not even taking a moment to breathe while Harry is in pain. She has to go.
"I need a moment to regain my energy, where did the lady of the house go?" Grace does sit down, she honestly looks like she can barely stand and Hope feels guilty. She always feels invincible, even after the Chamber of Secrets fiasco she felt she could almost walk it off after she woke up.
"The Lady of the? Oh you mean Sookie." Lily calls her and the house Elf appears again, the lady of the house is way cooler and honestly more fitting. Sookie courtesies to Grace.
"Good morning my Lady," I've been separated from natural magic too long, might I use some of yours to replenish? It doesn't hurt and will naturally replenish in no time. " She asks and Sookie widens her eyes but nods offering both her arms. Almost the second Grace takes them her skin fills out and colours. The freckles that ghosted her face are in full force and the 'almost' is entirely dropped. She's ethereal.
"Woah." Lily says in awe and Hope agrees with the sentiment. As Grace drops Sookie's hands the glow fades and she looks human, unfairly beautiful but human.
"What is our Quest?" Grace asks, touching a ring on her finger and her tattered dress is replaced with leather armour.
"What century are you from?"
"Originally the Nineteenth but I've spent many years in various worlds and times. What century is this?"
"Twentieth, are you coming Reg?" Nia asks as Regulus's pale skin tone returns and his eyes lighten the polyjuice wearing off.
"Wasn't I meant to die in that cave?"
"Yeah well, we need the backup and you won't be alone. Are you in?" He nods and let's Lily take over helping Sirius.
Sookie appeared them to the cave entrance then returns to Lily and Sirius, Hope goes to cut her hand to open it but Grace stops her.
"It has to be human blood." She says and Hope turns to Regulus who nods solemnly and slices his hand with his wand. The boat is on the other side of the water and both Harry and James are unconscious with a crying Remus between them.
"How do we get over without triggering the inferi?" Reg asks and Hope blanks.
"Do you have a shape changing talisman? It's usually the first one made." Grace asks and Hope points across the Lake.
"Harry took it after he paralysed me to take my place on this mission." Hope answers and Grace makes a face that Hope can just tell is disapproving.
"I'll collect it then," Without another word Grace twists a different ring and transfigures herself into a small black bird, a Raven. The bird flies across the darkness and picks up the tossed aside pink pendant in her claws and flies back over dropping it in Hope's hands.
"I've only ever changed to my face. I'm normally possessing Harry's Aunt." She says to the bird Grace who if it were possible for birds to do so would be rolling her eyes.
"The Speaker of Fate has very few set powers because the Tuatha de danann use magic through talismans as they can't channel it on their own. The pendant should allow you to shape change into anything you've got the right level of familiarity with." Regulus explains and the bird nods on Hope's shoulder. Here goes nothing then. Hope pictures a bird she knows well and turns the pendant.
Shape changing feels odd. Especially as she shrinks exponentially until she's a small mass of white feathers and excellent eyesight. The bodies she can now see littering the water make Hope wonder if owls can vomit. Grace and Hope fly onto the crystal Island where James and Harry aren't just unconscious but seizing. They roll them onto their sides and check their pulse. Strong but erratic.
"Harry had three James had five." Remus mutters barely holding it together as he clutches the horcrux so hard his hands bleed.
"What did they drink?" Grace asks, holding her hands to James' forehead.
"Draught of despair, it forces you to relive your worst memories and the pain that goes with them." Hope answers, voice strained as Harry's breathing gets more erratic.
"You can help them." Grac promises taking Hope's wrist.
"How?"
"You are Tuatha De Danann, transferring energy is what we do, take their pain and give it to me. They won't wake but the potion won't be able to hurt them further."
"And you?"
"I'm not leaving this cave, Fate calls for a life lost this day, my name is compromised and my legacy is yours. It's been an Honour my child."
"Grace,"
"Siobhan, Riddle won't be long. We must do this now." Offering one hand Siobhan takes James' in the other and Hope matches the gesture with Harry's.
Search for the source of their pain and will it to follow your guidance. Siobhan speaks into Hope's mind and she listens. As much as Hope wants to flinch aways from the clear poison in her son and his father there's work to do. With focus and effort Hope draws the magic out through her own skin and pushes it towards her mother. She can see pale veins travel across her arms and Siobhan cries out in pain when they touch her.
The boys settle and their breathing stops being so laboured and Remus lifts Harry and carries him to the dingy quickly. James as well as Siobahn shakes and cries out.
"Hope." Remus calls her but she can't move.
"I'll fly back across. Go now." She orders unable to pull herself from Siobhan. "You'll be okay, Vonny. That really is an awful name to shorten." Siobhan was lucid for a minute asks she laughs and touches her palms to Hope's cheek.
"Do you like it?" She asks and Hope is confused. Like what? Oh Evanna.
"It's beautiful, thank you. Like a name for a princess." Evanna cries and Siobhan smiles and closes her eyes. "No come on stay with me. I just found you. Don't leave yet."
A rose gold glow surrounds Siobhan and swirls of magic form pictures, the same red hair in a million settings fighting and healing and protecting hero's across time. Remus and Regulus are calling her name at the open door frantically and With tears in her eyes Evanna stands breaking past the golden haze. On the outside she see's it isn't just illusionary but the energy is destroying the corpses as it touches them. Glowing brighter every second Hope see's the blow coming just in time and changes to Hedwig flying across the water and out the door just before it blows.