Lady Magic’s Interference

They were running. 

It wasn’t a very timely manner of travel but Hogwarts had been warded against apparition, floo and even brooms and house elves. And it wasn’t just the school that had been warded. The preliminary protections reached for miles and those were just the basic shield wards and intention wards that Hermione had created with help from Regulus Black’s old school notes. 

Which were bloody brilliant by the way. No one with any ill or malicious intent towards anyone in the facilities was even permitted to step pass. And when Hermione had grinned ferociously when Harry had asked what would happen if a Death eater were to pass… Maribella decided it was best to remain ignorant in this particular matter. 

Hermione could be scary when she wanted to be. 

Over the past couple of months they had been on the run, so they were quite used to the adrenaline rush and the cramps in their sides. 

No proper showers. No proper food. No clean drinking water. 

It was rough. They all looked more like skeletons than actual human beings. It didn’t help that Maribella, Hermione and Harry were both suffering from childhood abuse and neglect before Maribella got her heirship and packed the three of them up in one of her ancestral homes to live in. 

They’d been in their third year. And it was still just as sad as it had been three years prior. 

Everything had went to hell in their fourth year after Harry had ended up nearly killed by a madman in a graveyard and Maribella and Hermione had almost been arrested for blowing up said graveyard after Harry had triggered the emergency portkeys Maribella had given them all from her Gringotts vault. 

The ritual would be performed on Hogwarts ground, the most magically enriched soil in Britain right now. Maribella would have loved to perform the most powerful ritual known to man-kind in the most magical country in the realm…. Egypt.

But Maribella wasn’t really travelling lately… because of the war. 

It would be much more dangerous to leave the country than to attempt to perform the ritual in Britain. There were Torvak stationed at every exit and every border. Voldemort sure wanted to keep the wizarding lines pure if he was willing to kill off all of them but a couple families. 

The future generations would probably end up looking like he did from how inbred they’d be. 

“Emergency apparition ward up ahead.” Hermione warns and then there was a series of pops when all four of them were apparating in a memorised rhythm. The password to enter the wardline being the correct musical rhythm of the sounds that their apparating caused.

“Anyone who tries to get in here would most likely die from how much thinking they’d have to do to actually get past security,” Ron snorts as the group slows down to a rapid walk. 

Their fellow wixen would be up ahead at the next border and Harry would bet all his gold that Neville and the twins would be waiting for them. 

“You think Luna was able to take the horcrux out on the orphanage seaside?” Hermione hisses and Maribella nods. 

“Yeah. That was the easier assignment and you know it. The Torvak were concentrated in Malfoy manor because our snake-man was using it as a hideout.” She responds, “Plus Luna is a light fae. She can take down a couple inferi no problem.” 

Harry shudders at the mention of the undead corpses that were not so undead as he liked them to be. 

“You should ask your aunt to let you bring back Albus from the dead just to kill him again,” Ron scowls, watching his mate from the corner of his eye.

“Ahhh yes, because I’m so in contact with my actual mother to be able to talk to my bloody aunt.” Maribella scowls at the reminder. “But yes, I would actually like to strangle the old bastard. He had too much power and too much time to manipulate from behind the scenes.” 

They were nearing the boundary now and Maribella could see traces of her friends and allies. 

Luna herself was waiting serenely with a hovering Neville, who seemed just as anxious as he had been when they had left a couple weeks ago. The twins and Susan Bones were the ones that saw them first, pointing them out to the rest of their friends. 

There were five aurors on guard, stationed there by Kingsley no doubt. They all hold out wands in unison, waiting and guarded against them. 

Harry steps up first, a lumos on the tip of his wand. His wand proceeds to light on and off according to the morse code referring to his preferred nickname. 

In his case it was Prongslet . In Hermione’s case it was leviOsa , which yes still made them all crack up till this day. Ronald’s code name was chessmaster , a very self-absorbed name if you asked Hermione, which made Ron challenge her to a chess match, if she was so confident. Hermione never brought it up again. Maribella’s birth mother, Marlene Mckinnon had been one of the female marauders back in her school years and her father had told her that her name had been Vulpes -a testament for her fox animagus form. As a tribute for the mother she had never known, Maribella decided her code name would be the same as her mother’s…. Vulpette .

With the passwords exchanged and the formalities all through and done with; each of the four found themselves with an armful of friends. The twins all but pounced on Harry, who was blushing fairly hard if Maribella was watching it properly. She probably was because Ron looked more suspicious than usual. 

“Hey Nev,” Maribella smiles, engulfing her best friend in an arm-breaking grip. She might love Hermione, Ron and Harry but Neville had been her first friend at Hogwarts and he’d stuck with her through the thick and thin. The only reason he’d been so lenient in letting her leave without his help was due to the fact that he was needed elsewhere. 

Luna hops over to Ron, somehow crushing the redhead in her grip. And Susan greets Hermione with a gentle yet firm hug. Her hug said all it needed to be said about the girl’s personality. She was very similar to her aunt in that way. 

“How was the mission?” Susan asks, one of the designated leaders while Harry was away. 

“A success,” The green-eyed wizard replies. 

They all slump in relief but Neville was the one who always caught on to the shite they tried to hide. 

“What did you find?” The boy asks. His blue eyes were strained with exhaustion, but they were firm in their resolve. His inheritance had been a surprise but also not really considering his affinity for Herbology. He was a druid, and just like the rest of them yearned to visit Nevarah with everyone else. But he wouldn’t put the sanctuary in danger for his selfish desires. Opening a portal there with so many Torvaks around was simply a recipe for disaster. 

No, they had to end the war first. 

Neville watches as Hermione, Ron and Harry seem to hide in on themselves. It seemed like it was more out of guilt and desperation than it was for any sense of failure. His eyes flicker to the violet hue of his best friend and he pleads in his head to anyone listening or watching that he won’t have to give her up too. Not after he’d just lost his parents for good. 

“We’ll fill you in with the others,” Maribella announces, taking control of the situation with ease. “I need a bloody shower,” She grumbles, walking away with her arm linked tightly with Neville’s. 

Ah… so it was her. Something had happened then. Neville suspected that the ancient ritual Lady Magic had gifted them suddenly went from a last resort to a necessity and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

No. No. He did. He just hated it. 

They all head towards the Hogwarts gates bypassing the extra lines of security the aurors, purebloods and the rest of the wixen deemed necessary. Maribella didn’t want to talk about the basilisk babies that guarded the outer walls- she just didn’t. 

Maribella walked into the Great Hall, eyes flickering around silently. She couldn’t help the smile that spread on her lips as the hall exploded into rounds of applause. Her fellow classmates hurried over to welcome them back and she found both herself, Ron, Hermione and Harry swept into the arms of one Molly Weasley. The four of them sank into the hug, clutching at her. 

Molly had been a sort of pseudo mother for Hermione, Maribella and Harry. After she found out the three of them were practically living on their own, she made it her personal mission to visit every single day with food and warm hugs. 

She was the mum most people wished they had -without the three times bindings she had done on her children. Her fear for her family had caused a massive amount of issues and her children still had issues with trust from what Maribella could see but the Weasleys were working on it. It hadn’t helped that their inheritances all turned to the dragel side, while Arthur was clearly a Torvak- a renounced Torvak but a Torvak nonetheless. 

Despite her mistakes, Maribella never forgot her kindness towards her and her siblings-in-arms. For her kindness alone, Maribella didn’t judge her harshly for the simple fact that she’d been manipulated into it by Albus himself. 

A lot of people found themselves despising the old man. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Maribella included. 

The next couple of minutes were filled with hugs and heartfelt well wishes. It all came to a stop when Kingsley came to ask them about the mission. It was Ron, surprisingly, who filled everyone in.

“The ritual has become a necessity then,” Arthur says quietly and everyone’s eyes turn to look at Maribella. Half the gazes were filled with pity and the other half were fearful of a fight without the heir of Magic herself by their side. 

“I will survive,” She states calmly, but inside her heart was thudding quicker than a hummingbird could fly. “I don’t care if the odds are stacked against me. I don’t care if I might lose my magic in the process. I’ll do the bloody ritual and I’ll get the damned sword.” She snaps in anger. 

Harry places a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “I believe in you too. If there’s anyone who can summon Excalibur it's you Mari.” He said with a gentle smile and she couldn’t help but slump slightly, her grip on Neville’s hand tight. 

“Thanks Harry,” She whispers. The stares continued but they didn’t feel as suffocating as before. 

Neville stared at his best friend, terrified and even Luna seemed worried, her gaze never straying from their friend. 

“You’ll be fine.” Luna’s voice was as dreamy as always. And yet for the first time Neville didn’t believe the tiny seer. Her eyes were too hard for her words to be anything but lies. 

He wasn’t the only one that noticed from the tense set of Ron’s shoulders and the way he shifted closer to Maribella. 

This wasn’t going to be fun. 

It was the dead of night when Maribella woke up, the hairs on the nape of her neck standing on end. 

Something was dreadfully wrong. The magic in the air was absolutely screaming at her to get the bloody hell up and do something. 

Maribella stumbles to her feet. She was dressed in yoga pants and a sweatshirt and her feet were quickly adorned in socks with a wave of her hand. She fumbled with the slippers beside the bed and was racing away from the Ravenclaw corridors. 

She almost screamed when Luna appeared out of nowhere, a parchment in her hands. Luna stops her with a force Maribella didn’t know the fae girl had. 

“You need to perform the ritual tonight.” She demands and Maribella felt like she was choking on fear. 

“ Tonight?” She squeaks, “Why?!”

“They’re coming Mari,” Luna’s eyes were haunted and the girl with violet eyes trembles. 

 “I won’t survive, will I?” She whispers and Luna’s silence spoke more than words would ever convey. 

“Oh my god, ” Maribella breathes, her voice trembling. Her fingers were gripping the parchment Luna had thrown at her tightly in her hands. 

“I can’t see the result Mari,” Luna says softly. “I don’t know what is going to happen,” 

She swallows hard, taking in the fearful and panicked look in her friend’s eyes. At least that was better than a definite you’re going to die Mari.  

Luna watches as her friend breathes in deeply, her eyes going slightly holographic with the energy she was using to remain calm. Luna always thought Mari’s eyes were gorgeous. They combined all aspects of magic into a single colour; the light, the dark and the grey. “Okay, I can do this,” Maribella huffs, “Tell Harry and Teddy I love them, yeah?” She says gently and Luna smiles softly at her. 

“Tell them yourself Mari,” She huffs out and then she was gone rushing to wake up the others. 

It wasn’t even two minutes later before the alarms were going off and Maribella was racing out of the castle towards the ritual grounds in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. 

She could see the cracks in the wards from the Torvak’s natural wild magicks and Maribella was not one to dally oh no. She instantly strode towards the centre of the courtyard calling on aspects of her inheritance to keep her people safe, “ Aihumuhum eos, ” She whispers and the golden shimmery hue that was her magic leaped up at her command and intertwined with the damaged wards of Hogwarts. Even since the battle of Hogwarts five months ago, cursebreakers from all over the globe had joined in to protect Hogwarts from the wraith of the Torvak. 

It seemed normal wixen were no match for the Torvak’s natural wild magic. And Maribella, Harry, Hermione and Ron had severely pissed them off yesterday. 

“Great, just great…” She grumbles. 

“So you’re doing it?” Harry’s voice came from behind her and she was so surprised she squeaked. She whirls around, wand coming from the inside of her sleeve out towards the voice, only relaxing when recognition filled her features. 

“Give me another valid option and I’ll do it,” She says sternly and Harry looked grim, hands clenched at his sides and tears blurring his vision. “Harry…. Harry I’ll come back, I promise you.” She smiles, “You know I’ll do everything in my power to survive this, so you have to too okay?” She demands, her own eyes growing moist. She sniffles lunging to hug her godbrother close. 

His response was to hold her tighter, “Promise me Harry,” She demands, poking his cheek like they used to do when they were kids. 

“Promise,” He croaks and then they were letting go all too soon and Harry was staring into the distance at one of the last remaining family members he had, walk to her death.

“Sirius would be so proud of you Mari,” He whispers and looks up at the sky, shimmering with the remains of Lefay magic. “I hope he’s proud of me too,” 

King Edgar sat up rod-straight, “Did you feel that?” His voice reverberated through his chambers, the demand sharp and worried.

His circle members slowly got up, eyes wide. The magical influx had most definitely been felt by anyone with an ounce of magical blood in them. Queen Calla stood abrupt, eyes wide in shock.

“That was some magical outbreak,” The woman breathes and Edgar stares at her silently, lips pursed.

“We’ll need to set up a meeting,” He grumbles, “Send for Raspen, the crown royals will be required to attend.”  

It didn’t take long for the four acting royals to be congregated in one spot, looks of worry on their faces. Prince Raspen, Princesses Dawne and Ebony as well as King Alcandor were internally panicking slightly. They had been selected as the acting crown royals and as the acting royal, they all usually got together to make decisions regarding Nevarah’s future. 

The royals and their security were all tightly packed to discuss and debate what their next steps would be regarding the massive magical influx they had felt from the Earth realm. The earth King and Queen sat beside their respective heirs, much like the rest of royals. 

“I vote we send over a blood title,” The King of the fire dragels crosses his arms, a look of exhaustion and slight annoyance on his face. It was the dead of night and none of them wanted to be here, however it was the nature of the job they had. 

Dawne stares at her close friend’s father. It was indeed the best and most time-proficient option they had right now. Her mother, Queen Arista, had already voiced her opinion to her and it was similar to the fire King voiced.

“I agree,” She says lightly, at her mother’s curious gaze, smiling when Raspen nods as well. Alcandor seemed exasperated and was consistently fiddling with a charm on one of his bracelets. Dawne had it on good authority that the charm expanded into a deadly thirteen foot trident.

She hoped her old friend wouldn’t pull that thing out. Not with all their gheyic suites eyeing him warily.

Every royal had a gheyic suite set to protect and defend the royals of every crown. Hence the presence of all the gheyos in the large sitting area 

“Which one shall we send?” The Merrow King demands and wasn’t that a surprise, for her old time friend to not inform her of his coronation until five years had passed. 

Dawne was still annoyed. 

The Merrow Queen reagent Esperanza looked just as exasperated as her son probably felt. Alcandor had left his Queen in the Merrow waters for their safety. A decision that Esperanza wholly agreed with considering the discussion of today’s meeting. 

“We can send over the Blood Wraith Ilsa Gorgens,” King Edgar offers the Earth blood title up, forcing the rest of them to do the same with their prospective blood titles.

“I believe an earth user would be best for this hunt, no? They have the calmest despoliations out of us all.” Alcandor drawls out. 

The summons for the bearer of the earth blood title was performed almost instantaneously after that.

Ilsa Gorgens was more or less expecting the royal summons after the magic influx she had sensed an hour prior. It was as if a wardline cast by a very powerful being had suddenly snapped and the result was a catastrophic wave of power. She was highly concerned no one had survived the whole ordeal, especially if they could feel the result of such an incident realms away. 

So when she separated from her bonded, an unintended result of bringing her Theo back with her to Nevarah a year ago, and headed towards the royal quarters, she was stunned to find nearly every royal present for the discussion. 

It seems the discharge was much more hefty than she had expected. 

“Your majesties,” She greets with a respectful bow. She was able to keep her surprise to herself, however her eyes softened when they landed on her king, queen and acting prince. The royal family was kind to their subjects and as an earth clan, the Gorgens fell under their jurisdiction. The Gorgens were highly respected and quite powerful, so most deemed it necessary to stay in their good graces. 

“We have an investigation for you Lady Gorgens,” King Edgar says, getting to his feet in respect for the blood title of his domain. 

“I expected as such,” Lady Ilsa replies, a small knowing smile on her lips. She was a rather short dragel but she made up for it with her piercing eyes, martial prowess and the overall air of danger she exuded. 

“We require knowledge on the realm of Earth. The influx of magic came from there and it was much too powerful for it to be normal. There are dragels on this realm and we must know if we are required to recall them here.” Queen Arista states, her silver-grey eyes much like her daughter’s. 

Ilsa’s own brow furrows slightly. Earth was where her Theo came from. She’d deemed it necessary to remove him after his fourth year at that dreadful school when three students were somehow kidnapped from the school grounds and ended up blowing up the graveyard where they had been taken. It was all rather embarrassing for the once esteemed school. She didn’t even want to mention that dreadful death tournament that had been going on. Or the spell that had been cast at her Theo to provoke his full inheritance. Eventually enough had become enough and she’d taken him back to his true home. 

Her mentored student was fitting in quite well, if she said so herself. 

“I accept this mission,” Lady Ilsa muses and then she was dismissed to prepare for her travels. She decided to inform her student about all of this after she returned from earth. If the boy ended up wanting to accompany her and she remained clueless about the dangers they’d be facing… well that wasn’t an actual option in her books.