Emrys
Very good, Lord Black. Arianna heard in the back of her mind.
She startled at the masculine voice.
“Bloody hell, that’s strange,” she muttered.
“What is?” Remus demanded, looking between the befuddled woman and the frozen Sirius.
“Voice talking to me,” she muttered, even as her eyes went glossy.
I am Merlin Emyrs. She gasped at the announcement. And you are quite powerful. But power isn’t everything. Respect and an open mind are just as important. Yet, none before have fulfilled the requirements to inherit my title. It is perhaps a blessing that I spelled my Lordship ring with my memories to assist my heir and ensure the magics of my time didn’t disappear. Granted, I was not prepared for such time to pass before any earned the Emyrs title, but we can work around that.
“Arianna?” Charlie prodded.
“Merlin,” she muttered.
“What?” Sirius demanded, inching closer to her, concern plain on his somewhat gaunt face.
“No, really, Merlin,” she said, holding her hand out with a ring held in her palm. “Merlin Emyrs,” she said.
Instantly, the ring glowed and a golden light swirled from the ring, forming into a ghostly golden man. He was tall, dark haired, and thin. He didn’t fit at all with the typical depictions of him, depictions that would more closely resemble Dumbledore than the man in front of them. A man that smirked at those staring at him, mischief twinkling in his eyes.
“Well met, warlocks,” he greeted.
“Oh my gods,” Charlie said, sitting heavily on the nearest flat surface. It was sheer luck that he was near a bed. “I didn’t expect this when I got up this morning. Talking to the real Merlin…”
“Relax, warlocks, I am not really here. When I was just starting out, I realized I’d need a way to pass on my knowledge, and a book simply wouldn’t do in my time. Most couldn’t read, you see. So I empowered my ring to hold my memories and this is simply a projection of my mind, so I might actually instruct others. More along the lines of the magical portraits you’re familiar with than an abomination like a Horcrux. Lady Arianna here will be able to speak with me any time she wishes and I am able to give her access to information. Such as her Hogwarts ladyship. Salazaar and the others didn’t want their descendants to split due to their differences in personality or values so they made the decision to combine their titles should the divide become too much, so there could be a definite leader to assist restoring the balance. Since the heir would still need to qualify for each title on its own, meeting certain conditions, it would be extremely difficult for one person to inherit the Hogwarts title.”
“But she only has three,” Sirius pointed out.
“Oh, gods,” she muttered. “Harry.”
“Slytherin. He’s Heir Slytherin by conquest,” Charlie breathed. “Would that qualify Arianna, though?”
“If he names her heir, yes,” Merlin agreed. “He claimed the title for the family. As none of the Founders made their lines inherited through a male only, all children are heirs and can claim the lordship. Though I understand many think Rowena designated a matrilineal line. I’m sure it does not help that her children are rather well know for only having girls, but she did not specify. For your situation, Harry will still take the lordship, as he was the conqueror, but Arianna can claim the ladyship as the older heir if Harry requests her to until he’s of age. Therefore, she’ll be Lady Hogwarts until he takes the title back. It is also possible they will both maintain the title should young Harry fulfill the requirements of the other founders. Then they shall be Lord and Lady Hogwarts jointly.”
Before anyone could react to the startling news, Arianna collapsed back into Charlie’s arms, eyes wide in alarm and pain. Her body arched, lungs struggling to get a full breath, and the ring fell to the floor, cutting off the connection.
“Ari?!” Remus cried, lunging towards the woman and slamming into a protective bubble no one saw her erect.
As suddenly as it came, the pain left and Arianna went limp in the strong arms around her, the bubble popping with a soft snap. “They broke his blocks,” she muttered, suddenly exhausted but thrilled at the hum of her brother’s health in her chest.
She could feel a few pricks of pain, where there were newly healed bones still sensitive from the Skele-gro, but otherwise, her brother’s condition came through their bond loud and clear. It even seemed stronger than it had when they were children. Well, when she’d been a child and he’d been a baby.
“Healer Eir has requested you decide if you’d like the sibling bond to remain, as it is well past time it should have been removed,” a goblin asked, startling the room.
“Leave it for now, if Harry doesn’t care,” Arianna said weakly, trying to push herself up into a more comfortable position and offering a small smile when Charlie handed her the fallen ring. “I have a feeling it’s the least of our worries right now.”
The goblin nodded and darted out of the room.
“Why leave it?” Charlie asked.
“So I can keep better watch on the troublemaker,” Arianna answered without thought.
Sirius and Remus burst out laughing.
“Good luck with that,” Remus said dryly when he could breathe.
“Watch me,” she muttered.
*****
Elsewhere, a young girl smiled in her sleep. Her dreams were normally filled with warnings. Death and pain and blood and so much hurt. But tonight, something changed. Tonight, there was hope and her dreams shifted. Instead of guaranteed death, of sacrifices no one should be asking for, there was a small window of possibility. Of happiness for all involved.
Bindings were broken. The lost were found. And generations of hatred found forgiveness in the young.
She dreamed of a wonderful future.
But there was a warning as well. A role for everyone in order for it to be achieved. The right moves at the right time. So she would watch closely and work to ensure she was in the right place at the right time.
She was very tired of dreaming of death.
*****
“But, seriously, how are we going to handle this mess?” Sirius asked, settling into the chair next to Remus and shifting enough that he could rest his head on the werewolf’s shoulder. If he glared at the chair and Arianna before sitting, no one said a word. “I have a feeling there’s something you aren’t saying. After all, you still haven’t told us where you’ve been or why you didn’t claim your rings after you were cleansed at thirteen.”
“Because I didn’t want to upset Harry anymore,” Arianna grumbled. “This has already been extremely difficult for him. For all of you. I’ve had time to come to terms with the betrayal and manipulations.”
“Does this have something to do with you calling Dumbledore a bastard?” Remus questioned.
Sirius tensed, having missed that bit of the day.
“Yes,” Arianna said bluntly. “I was heading to my common room after my healing session to get some rest before I tried to claim the rings, but I was ambushed before I made it. I actually remember it all, too. Seems he wanted to be funny and cast the body bind instead of a stunner. I couldn’t move, too weak from the cleanse to fight back. And I hadn’t claimed any rings, so I didn’t have any family magics to protect me. He poured potions down my throat then sealed me in a coffin and was in the process of burying me alive at the far edge of the Forbidden Forest before the dreamless sleep took effect. I can only imagine he cast a stasis charm on the coffin, so I didn’t wake.”
No one thought it was possible to be more horrified. Especially since they all couldn’t picture kindhearted, champion of the light Dumbledore doing so to a thirteen-year-old girl. Then they all thought back to their own parchments and the potions for loyalty to the man. It seemed having knowledge of the potions were enough to counter them somewhat, as all three men were suddenly thirsting for blood.
“How are you so knowledgeable then?” Remus asked once he’d wrestled his anger under control. “You’re casting without a wand, a skill even magicals of Dumbledore’s age struggle with. You’re quoting history you should have no knowledge of if your education stopped in 3rd year. And the Emrys ring couldn’t possibly know!”
“Hogwarts has been feeding me lessons since I turned seventeen,” she explained. The soft ‘I knew the castle had a consciousness,’ from Remus was ignored. “Apparently, coming into my inheritance was enough to break at least the mental binds. I could think and mentally practice, but I couldn’t move or try to escape. And with the Founder inheritances, even without the rings, I had a connection with the old girl. She must have been too far away to release me, but she was close enough to feed me enough magic to stay alive and try to counter the potions the headmaster was pouring down my throat like clockwork. A castle that has been a school for a thousand years? She had a lot to teach and it wasn’t like I didn’t have the time. I honestly forgot about the lack of a wand. The magic listened anyway.”
“So, basically, you’re quite capable of eviscerating me with a thought and all you threw at me, even when you thought I had killed your parents, was a binding hex?”
“As much as I hated the thought, Uncle Siri, the fact of the matter is you helped raise me,” she admitted. “I could no sooner kill you than I could forget my brother.”
“So, raised by Marauders, trained by Hogwarts, and chosen by ancient houses,” Remus said with a smirk. “How do you want to deal with the bastard, then?”
“Bloody,” she said with a feral smile.
*****
“Aren’t Hufflepuffs supposed to be shy and hesitant?” Charlie asked, concerned.
“Whatever gave you that impression?” she asked, twisting in his arms again to look at him.
“That’s how they were when I was in school.”
“You obviously never pissed off a Hufflepuff then. Or saw me responding to bullies,” she said. “But good grief, man, I saw you. You are art on a broom,” she said.
“We were in school together?!” he exclaimed, blushing a bit at the compliment and ignoring the twin sputters from the men across from them.
“Do the math, honey,” she muttered, turning from him and staring at her godfathers. “So, my dear Gryffindors, we’ll do this my way. No rushing off after him without a plan. We’re doing this right and I’ll not have people question us until we’re ready.”
“I’m assuming you already have a plan?”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But none of it can be implemented until we’re all healthy. So, that means sticking around here until we’re all cleansed and anyone we want to bring in is as well,” she ordered.
“Why are we listening to Prongslette?” Sirius asked, half serious.
“Because she’ll hex you until you do what she wants anyway?” Remus offered. “If you haven’t noticed, mate, she’s very much like her parents.”
“Too true,” Sirius agreed, pulling back in his chair a bit to put some distance between him and the grinning redhead. “So, then, we need to talk about who to bring in. But that’s going to be a bit difficult. Since we have so many compulsions on us, I have a feeling anyone we want to include will need to be tested and cleansed before we explain fully.”
“Cleansed of what?” a voice interjected.
Arianna was on her feet and between the new wizard and the rest of the room before anyone could blink, a wandless shield separating them.
“And who are you?” she demanded of the redhead.
“You must be the surprise that broke the Gringotts wards,” the man said, studying her intently and unphased at the demand.
“Bill, stop geeking out and introduce yourself before she hexes your precious hair off,” Charlie said with an eyeroll.
“Wait, I broke them!?” Arianna almost screeched, stunned.
“Shattered,” Bill agreed, circling the protective bubble curiously and ignoring the sputtering he caused. “The goblins are very interested in how you did that, by the way. I haven’t seen them so enthusiastic at a business venture since the last of the Ceasers offered them the contract of the Grecian tombs a few years ago. Well, that and the twins’ joke shop ideas.”
“Bill…” Charlie groaned. “Focus on the powerful pissed off witch and less on the magic? You know, the people around you that can jinx you into next week?”
“You know him?” Arianna demanded, glaringly following the other redhead’s progress around the room.
“Unfortunately,” Charlie agreed. “Arianna, meet my older brother, William Weasley. Master Curse-Breaker for Gringotts.”
“And I’m assuming we want him?” she growled, still not satisfied there wasn’t a threat and reevaluating her belief that the man trusted to check the goblin wards could be trusted with her campaign against Dumbledore.
Sirius and Remus just exchanged amused grins, settling back in their chairs and willing to watch the chaos. They were Marauders, after all. Nothing like watching a spot of drama.
“Yes, we want him,” Charlie agreed, settling a hand on the woman’s wrist and coaxing her into his arms again. When her back was pressed to his chest, he hugged her tightly and surprised himself when he pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder. “He’s the best there is, and it wouldn’t hurt to have another in with the goblins.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, letting the shield fall but glaring at the curse-breaker as if daring him to try something. “I expect a test done and more information on the shattered wards. I didn’t even know it was possible to shatter the Gringotts wards.”
“Neither did they,” Bill said, absently studying the air where her shield had been and raising a hand with a parchment in it. “And I’m assuming that’s why Healer Eir had me take this with me when she sent me this way.”
“Yes,” Arianna snapped.
“Eir had it finalize before she let me go. It’s all set for review,” Bill muttered, handing it over to Charlie before taking his wand out and poking the area he was studying.
“Strange…. Never seen a remnant like this before…”
“While he’s being a right rude ponse, let’s have a look,” Charlie grumbled shooting his brother a chastising look while he turned to parchment.
“Oh, should give you this one too,” Bill muttered, quickly spelling another sheet to them. “This is from my entrance exam when I joined Gringotts.”
“Gods, Bill, there’s a dozen compulsions on this one!” Charlie said, horrified. “And now you have a marriage contract with some French girl.”
“The Beauxbaton champion, in fact,” Bill agreed. “I asked for that one. Note the first contract Mum set up. No way was I marrying that brat Edgecombe. So I asked Dad to cancel it, since I didn’t agree to it as the first heir, and set one up for me. He’s apparently friendly with her father. Met through some event where foreign Ministry employees were invited. I just don’t have the time to find an appropriate lady and whoever she is, she deserves my full attention when we’re together.”
“I’m sure that’ll end well,” Arianna snarked.
“Hey, I’m not giving up the job I love to date. And the women I meet at work are not proving what I want in a wife. I need someone to stand at my side, not an airhead who would try to stop me because it’s too dangerous or sleep around with anything because I’m gone constantly. I need a partner, not a servant or bedwarmer. The woman survived the Tri-Wizard Tournament and still managed to sit for 12 NEWTS. We’ve been writing to each other all year and from our letters, I’m sure we’ll get along splendidly. She’s even talked about requesting the Goblins assess her for potential positions in the bank so she can join me in the field, even if she’s not a curse-breaker. And remind me to thank Harry for saving my future sister-in-law,” Bill argued, poking at another spot of seemingly empty air.
Arianna turned her sight on for a moment to see if she could see what he was poking, to make sure it wasn’t something bad. Then went to stop him when she realized. Only she was too late.
There was a massive boom of sound and Bill ended up thrown across the room when the remnant protested the prod.
“Some magic you’ve got,” he said with a groan, pulling himself up off the floor and giving a shake of his head. “Never thought remnants could be booby-trapped. Usually just active magic.”
“I honestly didn’t realize it was,” Arianna said, instantly at his side and helping to guide him to a chair. She may not yet trust him, but that had been a nasty backlash and he’d hit very hard. “If I had, I wouldn’t have let you poke it. At least it’s gone now.”
“So, you were tested before you started work here,” Sirius finally said, ignoring the small burst of defensive magic and earning the attention of the shaken curse-breaker.
“Aren’t you-“
“Sirius Black, at your service. I’m innocent,” he said succinctly.
“I’m sure,” Bill said dryly. “And all those sent to Azkaban definitely don’t say the same.”
“Well, I’m not so sure they’re wrong,” Arianna grumbled. Now that he was settled, she backed away, once again putting herself between him and the rest of the room’s guests.
“Finally figured out old Dumbles, huh?” Bill asked, locking eyes with his brother and trying to suppress his hope.
“You knew?!” Charlie shouted, horrified at the thought his brother had known and done nothing.
“Well, I couldn’t exactly do much about it, could I?” Bill denied hotly. “He’s Headmaster of Hogwarts, the only magical school in the country so has taught literal generations of politicians and citizens alike, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the most powerful legal body in Britain, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, the most powerful magical legal body in the world. Tell me what one Heir of a blood traitor house could do against him?”
“And me? Our siblings?!” Charlie demanded.
“I did what I could! I put cleansers on every bit of parchment I sent to you. I tried to get Dad to be cautious. I tried to talk to Mum. She hexed me for speaking bad about the man. When that didn’t work, she made me take a vow to keep it to myself, which is why I didn’t just tell you.”
“And you can talk to us now because either the goblins broke the vow, or we’re not violating it,” Remus said.
“The goblins are quite capable when they want to be. They didn’t take kindly to my being forced to take a vow like that. They’ve been looking for a way around it for years and kept me as far away from the woman as they could to prevent any further issues. And they finally found the break last month,” Bill agreed. “It helps that employment comes with a cleansing ritual upon hiring and yearly cleansings if needed. Since Mum had me take the vow right after I started here, they made mine yearly and mandatory. Mum kept sending potioned chocolates. We didn’t realize until I had to be cleansed the second year in a row.”
“Gods, that’s why she kept sending them, even when you never had them when you visited!” Charlie bemoaned. Then tensed in realization. “She sends them to Harry too. How much you want to bet she’s the one giving him the love potion and all the potions are why he hasn’t been able to sleep? And overexposure of potions made him resistant to the things?”
Arianna growled at that. She would be having a word with the Weasley matriarch. Or several. But if this man was trusted by the goblins and valued as an employee enough that they spent precious and valuable time working to break a vow he’d been forced to take, she’d have to trust them. They were rarely wrong about a person and almost never trusted a wizard that much. She allowed herself to relax somewhat at the thought.
“I’ll admit, I’m still not sure who you are, miss,” Bill said, eyes fixed on her and obviously trying to place why she was familiar.
“Arianna Potter, at your service,” she said, unconsciously mimicking her godfather but adding to it to bow slightly. “Though you may remember me as Arianna Evans from our short time sharing Hogwarts, Mr. Prefect Weasley.”
*****
Bill stared at her in shock.
“No, I’m not kidding. Yes, I know you’ve never heard of me. No, I was not there the night my brother defeated Voldemort, so no I don’t have a similar scar. Yes, I hate Dumbledore, but probably a bit more than you. And I have a bit more of a leg to stand on to take the bastard down, both politically and magically. Yes, I have a slight American accent. Blame my foster parents,” she rattled off before shuffling over to Sirius’ other side and snuggling into his unoccupied side.
“Right,” Bill muttered, digging into his well of calm. “Then I’m assuming the inheritance tests prove I’m allowed to know your little secrets, like your name, and that I don’t need to be cleansed first.”
“Yes,” Arianna said simply. “Oh, and any help you could be in repairing the wards…. I do feel quite bad about that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bill waved it off. “The goblins have been moaning about needing to update them anyway. The Ministry has been putting them off since they would have needed to close the Gringotts branch briefly to do so. And if they can figure out how you did it, I’m sure they’ll wave the fee for breaking them.”
Arianna grumbled at that and it wasn’t hard to figure out the ‘don’t know myself’ she almost hissed.
“So, why are you all here? Black, I understand, since it’s the only neutral ground he’ll find in the Wizarding world, but Charlie? And I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, sir,” he finally said, looking at Remus.
“Remus Lupin,” the werewolf introduced himself. Charlie and Bill exchanged a glance at that.
“Professor Lupin? That taught DADA two years ago?” Bill finally asked.
“Yeah,” he agreed warily.
“Our brothers loved you,” Bill said with a smirk. “Said you were the first decent professor they’d had in the subject. Fred and George especially.”
“Well, they love him even more now,” Charlie grumbled. “Him and Lord Black.”
“They’ve met?”
“They’re here, keeping an eye on Harry’s cleansing,” Arianna said, words slurring slightly as she started to doze.
“Harry’s being cleansed?” Bill asked in shock. Charlie just handed over the parchment.
Bill growled at the ink. “I’ll kill them,” he swore. “I’ve seen mummies with less enchantments.”
“Me first,” Arianna denied.
“There’s a long que,” Sirius growled. “Wait until you see Arianna’s, though. It’s far worse.”
“He doesn’t know,” Arianna grumbled and Bill could tell it was a quickly tiring argument.
“Doesn’t matter, the stupid git,” Sirius snapped.
Only to yelp when Arianna sent a stinging hex to his ribs.
“So, why do the twins worship the man more now?” Bill asked quietly.
“Remember that map they told us about, of Hogwarts?” Charlie muttered to his brother, just as quietly as they watched the three others start to wrestle sleepily. As if it was old habit. Bill nodded, staring transfixed at the tangle of limbs and giggles. “Meet Messers Moony and Padfoot,” Charlie said with a soft laugh. “I’m assuming James Potter was Prongs, since they keep referring to Arianna as Prongslette and Harry as Bambi.”
“Are you serious?”
“No, I’m Sirius,” Sirius interjected, head popping out of the pile long enough to make eye contact before he was grunting at the elbow to the gut Arianna threw.
“Does that joke never get old, Pads?” she grumbled, taking full advantage of his lack of air to pin him to the floor and sit on his chest.
“Trust me, Prongslette, it never will with this goof,” Remus grumbled. “He’s been making it since I’ve known him.”
“Get some new material, Mr. Padfoot, or I shall have to rescind your Marauder status,” she grumbled, pushing to her feet and over to a bed. It didn’t seem to matter that she wasn’t an original Marauder, since Sirius looked quite stricken at the idea. “Now, I’ve been stuck in a magical coma for a number of years and I’d like to get some natural sleep before Harry’s done and it’s someone else’s turn, so shut it enough for me to fall asleep.” With that, she flopped onto a nearby bed and curled around a pillow, her back to the room and ignorant of the amused smirks she received.
“Full of fire, that one,” Bill muttered.
“Oi!” Charlie grumbled. It was incredibly hard for the room not to laugh at that.
“’m fi’e, ‘rge,” a voice slurred, getting louder as it approached.
“If you can say my name without slurring it, I may actually believe you,” George grumbled as he pushed his way into the room.
“Geo’ge,” Harry said from his levitated cot, obviously trying hard to annunciate the name.
“Pull the other one, oh non-healthy person,” Fred said, following the arguing pair.
“Harrikins, you just underwent extremely intense healing and then a ridiculous cleansing in the span of a few days,” George argued. “It’s alright not to be functioning right now.”
Bill glared at Charlie, mouthing a tense request for an explanation. Charlie nodded weakly and knew he was going to get an earful very soon….
“Bu’ I waan’ be ‘wake for ‘alk,” Harry protested.
“Then the talk will wait,” Sirius reassured, trying to school his face into one emotion. At the moment, it was attempting concerned and amused and neither would help the raven-haired teen to sleep. “After all, your sister is still sleeping as well.”
“’en all sho’d s’eep,” Harry ordered as sternly as possible without lifting his head.
Eir rolled her eyes as she maneuvered the bed next to the occupied one.
“He is not wrong,” she muttered. “You are all exhausted, with the exception of Curse-Breaker Weasley, so it may be best to rest for now. Curse-breaker, I trust you have put the fears of these people to bed, so if you could assist in the repairs.”
Bill nodded, pushing to his feet and heading out of the room with a promise to return when they’d all gotten a chance to sleep.
“As much as I’d like to take the next to be cleansed, we will have to wait for more healers to arrive,” Eir offered. “Mr. Potter’s cleansing was difficult and took far more time than normal due to his injuries. We are preparing multiple rooms and have put a call out to all Gringotts branches with a request. I shall return when we have had a chance to rest ourselves and are prepared for the next batch. I feel we will be able to take Messers Weasley together at that time, if not all of you save milady. She will need to wait until our healers have recovered as hers will be worse than Mr. Potter’s and our healers are the best, as we are the main branch. I would not trust her with any other.”
“Thank you, mistress Goblin,” Sirius muttered in Gobblygook. “I’m not sure how we would be getting on if the Goblin Nation was less than hospitable.”
“Quite simply dead, I’m sure,” Eir teased. “Sleep, Lord Black. I will return and to warn you, as all of you seem quite on edge, I shall flash the lanterns prior to my arrival so I do not have to contend with wands pointed in my face. I’m sure the change will be enough to wake the lighter sleepers.”
Sirius nodded gratefully, watching the healer leave the hall before turning to the others.
“You heard the lady, bed,” he ordered.
“Oh, Sirius, you can be serious!” Remus said with a chuckle.
The pillow to the face should have been expected. But they all settled into beds. The twins went so far as to push a pair of beds onto either side of Harry’s sleeping form.
Charlie wanted to do similar for Arianna, but resisted and instead stared at her bed from his own, wondering why he felt the urge.
*****
The pair of Marauders had a silent conversation about the obvious conflict on the dragon handler’s face and decided to let it play out. Arianna was proving to be quite capable of taking care of herself, despite their wish to take up their former relationship with her. It physically hurt for them to realize how much they’d missed with her. How much they’d missed with both the Potter kids. But Arianna had been old enough to know them. Old enough to cause an acute ache in each of their hearts when she’d vanished. Old enough to remember them and wonder why her Uncle Pads and Moony hadn’t come for her. But they couldn’t blame James and Lily. Not now. Not with these truths coming to light. Even if Remus had spent the last ten years looking for the last member of his pack he could possibly still have.
Those were thoughts for the morning, though. For now, the pair settled down near each other, unconsciously reaching out across the space between the beds to hold hands, as if assuring the other that, yes, they were together again, no, this wasn’t a dream, and yes, they felt that way too. After all, they’d had to spend much of the last year apart, while Sirius hid from the Ministry.