Revelations
Britain.
Few Days Earlier.
October 2nd.
“My Lord… we managed to get an audience with a courtier of Lord Andrew Bennett. B-but…”
The death eater whimpered slightly and The Dark Lord hissed in anger which in turn made the death eater quake in fear as his Lord’s grip on his wand tightened.
“Speak you quibbling worm!”
For the first time in days, Wormtail sighed in the relief of not being faced with the Dark Lord’s anger as he stared sympathetically at the kneeling death eater.
“M-my Lord! We were told to depart! That Lord Bennett and his followers would never agree to your cause. They said the killing of humans was a waste and they would be no part of it.”
It was quiet for a second, before the Dark Lord’s angered screech filled the air.
“CRUCIO!!!!”
Angry red wisps of lights hit the kneeling death eater who howled out in pain as he quivered uncontrollably where he laid.
The other death eaters around shifted on their feet, if in fear or anticipation, they never said.
When he stopped, his red eyes shone with anger, filtering across the room like an unhinged dragon.
“That won’t do. No, that will not do. Have I not been kind enough, to invite Lord Bennett and his followers to feast on my enemies? Is he that much of a pacifist?? A disgrace to his fellow vampires even with the great power he holds!”
The Dark Lord got to his feet in anger as he placed while two death eaters levitated their unresponsive and fallen comrade from the room.
Lord Theodore Nott Sr. stepped forward and bowed as much as his rather aged bones would let him.
“My Lord… Lord Bennett might be one of the driving forces of vampires in the world… but there are others with power just the same.”
The Dark Lord sniffed, eyes focusing on his follower who looked at him with rather fanatical glee.
He was almost amused.
Almost.
“Oh? If you mention the father of vampires, need I remind you that Cain hasn’t been seen in thousands of years?”
He fingered his wand in slight irritation and Nott bowed once more.
“Yes, my Lord. But there is another. The former lover of Lord Bennett. She is called Mary. The Queen of Blood. She has a cult called the Blood Red Moon, and while not as feared as Lord Bennett, they are not aversive to feasting on those they see as weak. I think she will be very amenable to our invite.”
Nott’s face then took a smirk.
“It helps that she views Lord Bennett as a sworn enemy and vice versa. Perhaps if she hears of this rejection… she would like to know more.”
The Dark Lord was quiet for a moment, thinking the pros and cons though his mind was filled with anger, hatred and destruction.
But this… this was a good idea.
“Very well. Perhaps this time you shall go on this journey for me, Nott. Make yourself a group and hunt down some muggles as a gift to this woman. And take some mudbloods and half-bloods for enticement too. I hear the younger the blood the tastier they like. Make it so.”
Nott's smile was vicious as he bowed.
As The Dark Lord left his followers, Nagini slithered by his side, hissing out a greeting as together, they moved down cobbled pathways and into a large cave like place underground.
It smelt of rot and death and sorrow… and right in front and ahead, were hundreds and hundreds of dead bodies, both new and old.
Soon to be ripe enough and ready.
The Dark Lord smiled… very pleased.
And Chase Potter woke up screaming his throat out as he clawed at his angry red scar as it bled in pain.
“Are you sure you’re okay, mate?”
Ron asked his friend as they left the hospital wing later that afternoon as Chase was finally allowed to leave by Madam Pomfrey.
“I’m good, Ron. See? Not as red as this morning.”
He pointed at his scar as he raised his frontal hair slightly.
Hermione wrinkled her nose at the sight of it still looking angry red.
“I don’t know, Chase. It shouldn’t look like this. Scars shouldn’t hurt this much. I’ve read a lot on it—”
“What a surprise.”
Ron sarcastically added and Hermione threw a glare at him as he snorted, before she continued.
“Anyways, it is a curse scar. That means something about the killing curse makes it bother you. Have you talked to your parents about it?”
Chase frowned as he thought about his parents. Something was going on there and he didn’t know what. He’d noticed it, days before his resumption back to Hogwarts. The worried and anticipatory look in his mom’s eyes but he hadn’t wanted to worry them.
With the dreams he’s having and has been having…
Especially the one from last night…
He shivered, ignoring Ron and Hermione’s worried look.
“They have more to worry about, I reckon. With Fudge’s smear campaign on anything Potter and Dumbledore, I think dad was really worried he could lose his job.”
“Still though…”
Hermione tried to push but he cut her off.
“It’s nothing we can’t deal with ourselves anyways. Aren’t we dealing with our Umbridge problem already?”
He whispered slightly and Hermione huffed.
The vile and loathsome woman had made it her life mission to leave them all useless when it came to DADA. And then there was Chase who she seemed to despise, what with his cumbersome number of detentions almost every week.
Having him write lines upon lines upon lines just to get harsh words out of him. Chase knew if he hadn’t had the protection of his parents, it could have been worse than lines. After all, that glint in her eyes spoke of something nefarious than the norms.
Speaking of…
“Hey Hermione, Ron… do you guys know anyone called Lord Bennett?”
Hermione blinked, slightly startled.
“Lord Bennett? Who is that?”
Chase shrugged.
“Just something I heard in my… dream. Something about declining his invitation and something else about Blood Red Moon?”
Ron stifled a gasp making the other two stop and turn towards the boy with a pale face.
“Do you know who that is?”
The ginger haired boy grimaced.
“Only because of Charlie and Bill. They used to tell us scary bedtime stories as kids. If it’s who I think it is? Lord Bennett is one of the most strongest of the vampires alive. A childe of Cain, the original vampire.”
Hermione’s face adopted that of alarm while Chase’s looked to be deep in thought.
“Cain?? As in Cain and Abel??”
Ron scratched his neck slightly.
“I don’t know who Abel is, but Cain was cast out by God for some crime he committed but anyways he turned Lord Bennett who is apparently a pacifist of sorts and thinks humans are to be treated well seeing as we’re sort of their lives support. But his old lover thinks we’re basically human blood bags and it’s all crazy and very old story. Lord Bennett used to be a Lord in Queen Elizabeth’s court before he was turned. His nickname is ‘Lord of the Vampires’ for a reason.”
Ron shivered and Chase finally spoke up.
“I think Voldemort wanted him to join him.”
His two best friends immediately turned in horror but he continued.
“And I think he rejected the invite. But someone else mentioned another cult.”
Hermione swallowed tightly.
Years of being introduced to the Wizarding World didn’t stop her from getting surprised by the numerous things that existed in it. Even the muggle world got stranger and stranger whenever she went back to it.
But now was not the time to worry.
“We need to learn how to protect ourselves against vampires then. If you-know-who is looking to attract vampires to his army, we can’t just sit by and let them attack us.”
She whispered harshly and Chase sighed, feeling even more tired than should be.
“Well that’s what our Hog's Head meeting’s for, innit? To protect ourselves and learn.”
Ron shrugged and the other two nodded, but before Chase could speak again, another mocking voice resonated through the hallway.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Potter and his band of blood traitors and mudbloods. What are you up to? Detentions not enough for you anymore?”
Draco Malfoy sneered as he practically sauntered forward with his group of followers.
Crabbe and Goyle acting their usual dumb bodyguard, and Pansy Parkinson a little behind with a small sneer across her face.
Chase’s anger grew at the sight of the four Slytherins.
“Keep walking, Malfoy. Daddy’s money isn’t good enough to fix your ugly face if I bash it in.”
The redhead mocked and Draco puffed up in righteous anger, before he deflated and right in front of the trio, let out a loud laugh.
He turned to Crabbe and Goyle and the two dumbly joined in, even though it was evident enough that they had no idea why the git was laughing.
“Looks like someone’s growing an extra pair of balls. Oh boohoo, mummy and daddy ain’t here to dry your tears? Screaming about the Dark Lord like the filth you are?”
Chase’s fists curled up as he gritted in anger even as Ron’s face turned red.
“Oh wait, how about your mudblood mummy? Better kiss her goodbye cause when next you see her she’s gonna be tortured like the bitch she is—Arghh!!!”
Chase released his wand from it’s holster, releasing a wandless blast at the Slytherins who were thrown off their feet, landing painfully on the found.
Draco and his two goons bearing the brunt of it as Pansy had been behind them during the whole thing.
“Chase!”
Hermione gasped as she stared at the fallen quartet, a look of alarm on her face though Ron sniggered and fondly slapped his friend on the back.
“Way to go, mate!”
As Draco Malfoy whined on the floor, holding on to his back and Crabbe and Goyle wrestled over each other, Pansy whimpered slightly as she sat up with a groan, brushing her jet black hair out of her face.
She let out a huff, ready to screech out in anger when she paused as she caught sight of Chase.
His green eyes glittered with restrained fury and energy as parts of his hair ruffled as if caught in a slightly vicious wind, even as his frontal hair parted to show his angry red scar.
His eyes were what got her silent though… so green… so expressive.
Her breath caught and as his eyes met hers head on, it seemed almost an eternity as they stared at each other. A single tear fell from Pansy’s right eye and it seemed to do the trick as he finally turned to look at Draco struggling to his feet.
“Leave. Now.”
He commanded with a stiff voice and Draco stared at the boy-who-lived almost fearfully.
“Umbridge will hear about this, Potter!”
And with that, he limped off with his two goons behind him. Pansy slowly followed behind them after one last look at Potter.
October 8th.
Godric’s Hollow.
The room was deathly quiet.
Why wouldn’t it be?
After what Remus and Sirius had just told them.
It was quiet indeed… until it descended into chaos, with Lily bursting into panicked tears as James put his head in his palms in defeat.
“Oh God! My baby!”
Lily cried out, shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she stood up and swept out of the room.
“Lily…”
Remus called out softly but she ignored him as she walked off and Remus sighed, looking at Sirius who sat with his hands clasped in his laps, a morose look on his face while James struggled with the tears and fear he was currently feeling.
“I am… so sorry, Prongs… I wish we could have done more—”
“No. Don’t… don’t say that, Remus.”
James quietly spoke up, his voice slightly broken and Sirius swallowed, looking away with shiny eyes.
“I just… h-how?... My daughter… she…”
James stuttered out, not sure what to say before shuddering, squeezing his eyes tightly.
“James. We can still find her. She’s not in prison anymore—”
James scoffed, standing to his feet.
“Just because she isn’t in prison, it doesn’t mean everything is okay, Remus! My daughter spent 5 years in some muggle prison for killing 78 people. 78!!”
He bellowed out in anger and disbelief, his breathing becoming uncontrollable.
“How can I be calm!!! While I enjoyed and lived my life, my own daughter was sold to traffickers!!! For the satisfaction of those old enough t-to be her grandparents!! A-and here I am… w-with no idea where to start and… and… and I’m a failure of a father.”
He collapsed, weak.
“What would my parents say…?”
His head bent down and eyes closed, lips quivering and Sirius sniffled, standing up and facing away from his friends, hand over his mouth.
Remus moved to sit next to a defeated James who looked up at him hopelessly as tears sprang out of his eyes.
“W-What am I to do now? My son… is being hunted by a mad man… and my daughter… my daughter is… nowhere… and I know absolutely nothing about her… I just…”
He sighed, looking away and massaging his temples.
Remus removed his hand from James’ shoulders not sure what to say as he placed his hands in his lap, fisting them helplessly.
He’d never felt so useless.
“We need help.”
Sirius' voice cut through the silence of the room, and Remus looked up with a confused look.
“Help?... Help from who?”
“Dumbledore.”
The scion of House Black turned to his two friends with a glare.
“It’s safe to say we know nothing anymore. Everything we thought we knew seems to be a lie. Leilani… she has powers, of some sorts. I don’t know if it’s magic or she’s some bloody metahuman like those muggles and aliens and such, but we’re at a pause. I don’t know what to do, you don’t… but Dumbledore could help us.”
Sirius matched towards his brother in all but blood, kneeling on one knee and grasping the man’s shoulder, forcefully making him look into his eyes.
“You have too much on your shoulder now, James. With the threat of Voldemort. Chase. Fudge on your heels. You can’t do this on your own anymore. You told us not to involve Dumbledore, but it is safe to say we have no option anymore. Dumbledore has a lot of people both muggle and magical. He could help us out. He could even help us find her perhaps with blood magic or—”
“Sirius that is banned for a reason.”
Remus frowned disapprovingly but Sirius threw him a glare.
“Does it look like I give a fuck?! Too much is going on right now and I’ll be damned if I leave some stones unturned.”
He turned back to James who seemed to be gaining some strength back.
“We’ll find her, James. I promise you that. On my life as your brother.”
James sighed, nodding slightly with a wry smile.
“What else can I do?”
He stood up shakily, turning towards the stairs and he felt a small pang of pain.
“I should… I should go to Lily. I shouldn’t leave her alone—”
The angry stomps stopped him as Lily marched down the stares like a woman on a mission.
Her hair a wavy mess and green eyes sparkling with anger as she clenched at her wand.
The three men got to their feet, apprehension on their faces, and for a moment, James thought she was going to attack him.
But instead, she headed straight for their floo.
“Lily where—”
“St. Mungo’s!!”
She snarled out and vanished in a swirl of green fire.
“What the…”
Sirius whispered out and Remus turned on James.
“James? Why is she going to St. Mungo’s? Is there something we don’t know?”
James stared blankly for a second.
“Not that I know of. She isn’t sick. There’s nothing wrong with her except for—”
He let out a hiss.
“Merlin!”
And he lunged for the floo powder.
Lily.
“Welcome to St. Mungo’s, how can I help—”
“I need to see your hall of records. Now.”
Lily gritted out in restrained fury. The air around her filled with magic which made the secretary pause.
Some patients/victims waiting to be attended to stared from where they sat, and the secretary swallowed slightly, turning back to who she now recognized as Lily Potter.
“Ma’am, if you would please wait your then—”
“I will not be waiting my turn. I demand access to your hall of records. Your people have made a grave mistake with my child and I’ll be damned if they don’t come to face the law—”
The floo shone green and James Potter got out with a slight look of alarm. A few seconds after Sirius and Remus followed behind.
“Lily!”
James rushed over to her and she immediately turned to him with a desperate look.
“J-James! These people have stolen the life of my daughter! They took her from me, they lied about—”
Lily’s tears finally fell and James moved to hug his distraught wife.
“Ma’am we have done no such—”
That was obviously the wrong thing to say as Lily pushed herself from her husband and turned towards the Secretary with a look of fury.
“NO SUCH THING!!! Over 13 years ago, I brought my baby here and you LIED to me! My baby has magic and—”
“Lily stop!”
James tried to calm her down, dragging her away from the worried secretary, even as two healers popped their heads out of a room.
“No! James I have to know! I have to—”
“Apologies Miss. But is there someone we can talk to about this? Specifically Infant Cores and their testing.”
The secretary glanced at the fuming Lily Potter as her husband tried to calm her down before glancing back at Remus who smiled kindly at her.
“W-well, there is Head Healer Blishwick. He monitors everything that deals in magical cores no matter the age.”
Remus sighed.
“Wonderful. Now, if we can just get in touch.”
She opened her mouth to disagree but Sirius cut in this time with a glare.
“Look. A baby was determined to be a squib here and it turns out she just might not be after all. This is a criminal offense in the eyes of the Ministry. Now I won’t say this again, but we need Healer Blishwick now, or there will be HELL to pay.”
The secretary shook slightly at the look on the Auror’s face, before turning to her second who had leaned away from the confrontation right from the start.
“I-I’ll be right back.”
She told her, before clearing her throat and turning to the quarter.
“I-if you would follow me.”
The elevators took them past different floors and they got to their destination, and then directed to a door with the words ‘Head Healer Blishwick—Magical Cores.’
After a knock, they were told to come in, and Lily pushed her way through with an almost manic gleam in her eyes.
Sat behind a table was a man in his mid 50s. With black hair and circular glasses over his dull brown eyes as he looked at a parchment document.
“Healer Blishwick, you have… visitors…”
The secretary said and promptly skittered off, leaving the four with the man as he looked up.
He recognized the couple almost immediately.
“Lord Potter. Lady Potter. To what do I owe this unplanned meeting?”
James opened his mouth but Lily beat him to it.
“13 years ago, after Voldemort’s… passing.”
Healer Blishwick winced slightly at the name.
“I brought my children here, after they were exposed to dark magic. That night… my babies were tested.”
Lily shook here, swallowing tightly and Healer Blishwick sat up at the emotions in her eyes even as James took over.
“My daughter was declared a squib in this very halls. But Healer Blishwick, there is a possibility… no matter how minuscule it may seem—”
“Not minuscule.”
Sirius cut in, stepping forward with a frown.
“She can do things. Things a squib can’t do. So there is a possibility that a mistake was made here all those years back. And because of that… a child was denied her true home with her family. And now, we want to know the truth.”
Healer Blishwick’s eyes widened in shock and horror at such an accusation.
“Such accusations are unfounded, I assure you—”
He stood up with a calming hand but Lily would have none of it.
“I don’t care what you think! I demand the results of my children all those years ago! Everything had been so crazy then and I can’t remember who cast the spell, but I want to see the truth! I need it. Or I will sue to the best of my abilities!”
She snarled at the now pale man who swallowed but nodded.
“O-of course. Let me get them then…”
“I’ll accompany you.”
Sirius stepped forward and Healer Blishwick puffed in anger.
“Young Man! I—I”
Sirius bared his teeth, looking like the human version of his animagus form.
“I. Will. Come. With. You.”
Healer Blishwick shook slightly before practically scampering off with Sirius on his tail.
As he left, James pulled his wife into his arms, whispering sweet nonsense into her ears and she closed her eyes, though her stiff form didn’t relax one bit.
Remus sighed, driving his hands through his hair, pacing slightly as the silence became so stifling.
No one said anything, only the breathing of the room’s occupants could be heard.
After what seemed an eternity, which was actually about 30 minutes, the healer arrived with Sirius and then sat back in his seat with two parchments.
“These are the magical core tests of your children. As you know, this doesn’t test how powerful a child is or their power levels. We haven’t devised a spell for that yet. But we can tell if ones core is depleted or harmed like obscurials.”
He glanced at Chase Potter’s at first, humming and nodding over it before handing it to James.
“As you can see, everything seems to be in order. Quite powerful too for a child of 15 months.”
“And my daughter?”
Lily demanded and Blishwick sniffed before looking at the parchment. Humming with satisfaction.
“See? Nothing out of the ordinary. Reduced to a squib due to a Runes experiment gone wrong. Aged 3 years—”
The man paused as he read, face paling rapidly even as Lily’s eyes widened with unrestrained anger.
“Runes experiment?! 3 years?!”
Lily slammed at the desk and stood up menacingly.
And Healer Blishwick felt fear like never before.