Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Marethyu, Beans, Mike God of Lore
The Celestial Professor
Chapter 08: First Strike
– Narcissa Malfoy –
As Lyra arrived, she hid her emotions perfectly. Lyra looked… normal, not the sobbing mess they'd dragged away after forcing her to watch her father die. She was confused, looking between Narcissa and Robin, then to Nymphadora and Fleur with her brows furrowed in thought.
"Mother?" Lyra asked, as Narcissa glanced at Robin. Robin nodded, confirming that this wasn't someone who had shapeshifted to look like Lyra. This was the real deal. "What's going on?"
Lyra's confusion only grew as she clearly picked up the tense atmosphere, and Narcissa turned to look at the pair near the door. Lyra, picking up on this, turned as well to look at her cousin and the French girl.
And that was when Narcissa immediately stunned her daughter from behind, with zero hesitation as her stunning spell hit Lyra's back and her daughter crumpled.
"Damn, Auntie Cissy," Nymphadora said, making her roll her eyes.
"Narcissa, Nymphadora," Narcissa reminded, making her niece scowl as her hair changed colours. Honestly, had Andromeda taught Nymphadora nothing? The first Metamorphmagus in the family, and she couldn't even control her reactions? Clearly, Nymphadora was awful at Occlumency, which was strange given how good Andromeda was at it. "And I see no reason to delay or drag this out. If this is truly my daughter, her memories have been altered and there's no point in talking to her like this."
Robin chuckled quietly, but then he'd know best of all how ruthless Blacks could be. He carefully placed Lyra onto a seat as she moved closer. As Robin opened Lyra's eyes, Narcissa delved into her daughter's mind. Eye contact helped, even if it wasn't entirely necessary. Robin wasn't a Legilimens and neither were the other two, so it was either her or they brought in someone like Dumbledore, and she wasn't having that old man in Lyra's head. She'd taught Lyra some Occlumency, but she also knew her daughter's mind better than most, so Lyra's minor defences were easily breached.
As she pulled back, her face dropped into a scowl.
"Narcissa?" Robin asked.
"Her memories seem correct up until the start of summer. The summer she remembers was far more peaceful than the one we experienced. Whoever did this was very good with memory charms. I can only tell the memories are fake because I already know the real version," Narcissa said with a deep scowl. "She's gone on trips with 'Lucius' over the summer, remembers giving him her blood. She's always been too eager to please her father; she didn't even question why he wanted it. She's also been on trips abroad with him, but those memories are clearly the most fake. Even I can tell they're sloppily faked; whoever did those ones was nowhere near as good at memory charms."
Robin nodded, conjuring that golden sword again. She still had no idea where he'd found Gram, but she was hoping it was as powerful as he thought, as he approached her daughter.
"I can see the mental bindings on her. It's certainly a unique sight," Robin agreed, looking to her for a moment. When she nodded, Robin stepped forward and swung Gram at Lyra. Nymphadora and Fleur both flinched as the blade went clean through her daughter, but Narcissa simply watched, still inside Lyra's mind.
Unique was certainly a word for it as she watched the false memories be cleaved apart, vanishing as the true memories resurfaced. How that sword worked, she hadn't got a clue, but right now she also didn't care. It worked, that was what mattered. The rest was a problem for someone who knew a lot more about magic than her.
The true summer flashed through her mind, watching Lucius' death again from Lyra's point of view before she was taken away. Narcissa watched, taking in every detail as Lyra was side-along apparated to a castle in Eastern Europe from the surroundings, but she was hardly an expert in geography so that was merely a guess.
She watched her daughter be placed into a proper dungeon, rows of cells with enchanted bars, before Voldemort returned. Even as Voldemort twisted Lyra's memories, Narcissa's eyes were on someone else. Her gaze remained on a woman she'd never seen before, with silvery hair poking out from her hood, who was watching from the shadows with a dark smile on her face.
Narcissa watched with dispassionate eyes as Lyra was tortured, her emotions tightly locked up. As Lyra… broke, her mind fracturing, Voldemort pieced the broken mind back together with instructions deep within it. Hidden from even Lyra herself, who was left unaware of her actions.
She watched as Lyra imperius cursed several other students, her own eyes blank, leading them through a secret passage to Honeydukes, only for them to go through the same experience she did. Their minds broken and reforged.
She made a note of each and every student that had been turned into a sleeper agent within Hogwarts, mentally cursing Dumbledore for leaving so many backdoors into Hogwarts. Sure, the Wards (allegedly) prevented people from entering without permission, but it had done nothing to stop several students from being kidnapped and broken.
Narcissa pulled out of her daughter's mind without showing a hint of her inner turmoil on her face as she turned to Robin.
"She's not the only one. They had implanted commands for her to kidnap other students and hand them over to the Dark Lord for… reconditioning," Narcissa explained, hearing Nymphadora gasp in horror while Robin's grip on his blade tightened. "We need to keep her asleep. I fear for her mental state after the torture she was put through. I know the names of the other students."
"We'll have to bring Dumbledore in on this," Robin pointed out, getting a nod from her despite her dislike for the man. This wasn't just her daughter being affected, and she wasn't going to let her personal dislike risk this.
"I think they replaced the owner of Honeydukes as well. That's where Lyra was unknowingly taking them," Narcissa continued, making him nod with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.
Despite her cold outward expression, she felt her eyes being tugged back towards her unconscious daughter. Her hand stroked Lyra's hair for a moment as she swore that everyone involved with this was going to die, painfully.
– Albus Dumbledore –
It truly was the end of days to have Narcissa Malfoy in his office asking for his help. Still, as he listened, his face was set into an uncharacteristically grim expression. With great reluctance, she'd permitted him into Lyra's fractured mind, and what he'd found within was horrifying to say the least.
The image of Tom Riddle's face was burned into his mind. Tom looked… good, for someone who Rose claimed had looked like a deformed snake after his resurrection. In fact, he looked like he could pass for a seventh year.
Gathering up the other students had been easy, because none of them even knew anything was wrong with them. Sure, they might have been confused as to why he was requesting that they come to his office, but none of them had a reason to refuse.
Robin's unique skills and strange collection of artefacts once more proved truly useful as he looked upon Gram. Gram was used by Sigurd to slay a dragon in Norse Mythology and the real-life wizard who had inspired them. Sigurd was a wizard, sharing some similarities with Godric Gryffindor… but the real Gram was on display in the Norwegian Ministry of Magic.
And yet, this was no fake. The magic is possessed, its age and the runes carved onto the golden blade were undeniable. The 'real' Gram was a Goblin-forged blade, but this did not share the telltale signs of Goblin craftsmanship. He was grateful Robin had been willing to leave it with him while Robin took Nymphadora and Fleur to apprehend the owner of Honeydukes (with Amelia's permission, of course).
He felt a heavy weight settle on his chest as he thought about the seven students currently in the sealed Hospital Wing. Lyra had not wasted time, capturing several students from all houses and years. She hadn't been given specific targets, but instead simply sent to grab people she thought she could sneak away without being caught.
Tom had certainly upgraded his tactics, and that was a worrying concept. Tom was already dangerous, but it was his descent into madness that caused his downfall in the first war. A Tom who had regained his sanity was a fearsome opponent indeed.
His floo flared up, Amelia's face appearing in it as he turned to her.
"Albus, are you free?" Amelia asked, making him nod.
"We have captured each of the affected students, and I have had Madam Pompfrey seal the Hospital Wing," Albus confirmed. "I'll take it there were… complications?"
"It might be better if you saw this for yourself," Amelia said, making him walk toward the Floo. Within moments, he was within the Ministry, Amelia guiding him to a closed-off section. The panic on Cornelius' face was clear as several Aurors, many of whom were Order members, surrounded a dead body.
"We took him down easily enough, even if he put up more of a fight than we expected, but…" Kingsley started, trailing off as Albus looked down at the body of Lucius Malfoy. His robes were destroyed, with blackened runes burnt into his body and face, still… steaming. "After we stunned him, he just… started screaming, and these marks appeared all over him. They were glowing bright red."
He recognised some of the runes. It was the same he found on the bodies of the Beauxbatons students and upon the ritual circle they had almost been killed in.
"Headmaster, I must insist that you tell me what in Merlin's name is going on here," Cornelius insisted, red-faced and sweating. He shared a look with Amelia, and she shook her head. Whatever means Robin had shared with her to expose people's true faces, it claimed that this was indeed Cornelius Fudge. He wondered what it said about the Minister that they didn't even bother replacing him.
"War, Minister," Albus stated, his tone soft but firm. "Voldemort has returned, Minister. And your refusal to accept that has given him an entire summer to infiltrate the Ministry. This is not Lucius Malfoy. I'm afraid Lucius has been dead for over a month."
"W-what- preposterous! I'd know if one of my closest supporters was replaced!" Cornelius waffled, making Amelia step forward.
"Evidently not, Minister. We have Lucius' body, and his wife's word that he was murdered by You-Know-Who during the summer. Narcissa has been kept prisoner in her own home ever since," Amelia said firmly, making Fudge stare in shock.
He silently slipped into Cornelius' mind, searching for any falsified memories. He found none. Cornelius was not a sleeper agent, fortunately. What he did find was a politician desperately looking for a way to pass on the blame and save his career as he pulled out.
The break-out was bad enough, but for Cornelius' own advisor to have been replaced without him noticing was a bad look, and they could only dread how many others had also been replaced within the Ministry. Of course, Albus knew he was equally responsible for this failure, knowing he had a series of very unpleasant conversations with the parents of the students he'd failed coming up.
As he helped Amelia force Cornelius to accept reality, he felt his mind go back to Robin and the growing pile of secrets around him. For everything Robin revealed, it left a dozen new questions.
– Robin Scamander –
"I can't believe I nearly got cursed by a fucking candy shop owner," Nym whines, making me chuckle dryly as I look at the stunned owner.
"He isn't a candy shop owner, that's why we stunned him," Fleur corrects tiredly. Admittedly, we all came into this with far too much arrogance given how powerful this… random nobody proved to be.
The runes on his body almost killed him, but I summoned Gram and stabbed it into his chest to try to sever the bindings, which seemed to work.
"When we have a moment, I want to teach you two how to use my shield spell," I say, knowing that [Covenant Leader] will let me teach them [Nayru's Love]. At least a weaker version of it. They both give me a smile at that, even if they both look more shaken than they want to admit.
Much like Rookwood, this guy was too strong. Maybe Voldemort picked someone powerful to sit around pretending to be the owner of a candy shop in Hogsmeade, but it seems more likely that he's found a way to empower his followers.
A part of me wonders if he has the Celestial System as well, but I dismiss that as my power itself reassures me that he doesn't.
100cp granted, 100cp total.
Feat Achieved: Prevent Voldemort's Hogwarts Scheme from occurring, 200cp granted. 300cp total.
Somehow, I doubt this will be the end. Voldemort was a petty man during the first war, and those who ruined his plans found themselves high on his list of targets.
Delivering the captured man to Amelia, I listen as they explain what happened to the fake Lucius. A grim fate, sacrificed when you are no longer useful. And yet, not one that Voldemort is using for everyone. Why else would Bellatrix have had to personally kill Rookwood?
It seems a memory charm expert will be coming to try to modify Lyra's memories. Narcissa attempted to wake her up, but Lyra was frankly a broken girl, and Narcissa put her back to sleep with a potion. My mind goes back to the Longbottoms, tortured into insanity.
Narcissa is hopeful that obliviating the torture will help Lyra's mind return. If it doesn't, I will try to take Lyra into my Covenant and give her [Mind of Water] to see if that can help.
[Muggles Don't See Nothing, Do They?] - 100cp, 200cp remaining.
Hiding your magic from Muggles can sometimes be a difficult task, especially when they can be more perceptive than you might think. But for you, and with this, keeping your magic secret won't be that big of a problem. In your presence, Muggles always seem to rationalise or even ignore minor uses of magic. For example, floating small objects or creating a bit of fire and light will be thought of as a clever use of strings and Muggle technology such as lighters and the like. Of course, this isn't going to be quite as effective if you try to perform greater feats of magic such as setting an entire forest ablaze with nothing more than a stick in your hands. In that case, you better have one handy-dandy explanation ready for them.
As my power throws out another gift, I shrug. I very much don't use magic around muggles, but I suppose it is better to have this and never need it. The Statute of Secrecy exists for a reason.
[Gross Incandescence] - 200cp, 0cp remaining
Your presence is like that of Fire itself, filling those around you with a comfortable warmth that soothes the soul, making you popular to keep around indeed. You give off a holy aura that not only illuminates you like golden fire in a cave but will fill any nearby allies with extra vigor and stamina, allowing them to last much longer than they could have before.
…I suppose I'm glad I just got the other one, given that I now glow. Admittedly, I can suppress the visual effect, but I feel the warmth I'm giving off, and it can't be explained with mere body heat. I ignore Fleur's comment on how good of a pillow I would make as I go back to trying to teach them.
As I bring Fleur and Nym into the Covenant and teach them Nayru's Love, I have to admit that I don't pity Dumbledore right now. Hogwarts is regularly called the safest place in the world, so having to tell multiple sets of parents that their children were kidnapped and tortured to the brink of insanity is not going to be a fun experience for anyone.
Neither of them is able to make a shield as complete or as fast as I can, but as we call the session to an end, they are both able to cast a weaker version of Nayru's Love. I've also started them on the path to learning [Cantrip Master].
So far, they can only twist spells to change their direction mid-flight, but it's a start.
Dinner is a somber affair, the great hall quiet as Dumbledore surprises me by admitting to what happened. He's vague on the exact details, and doesn't tell anyone that Lyra was the unknowing abductor, but he doesn't sugarcoat things either as he apologises for failing and assures them that the staff are currently sealing the secret passageways, asking for people who know a way in or out of the school to tell their head of house.
I don't normally use my God's Eyes everywhere, for multiple reasons. Firstly, my eyes literally glow when I'm doing it, which is a little attention-grabbing. Second, it's tiring and gives me a headache to use it too much, feeling mentally and magically draining. It's not as bad as trying to peer into the past or future, but it still leaves my eyes feeling tired and sore if I use it for too long.
Frankly, I've not used it much because how often was I expecting to run into shapeshifters? They're extremely rare, with Polyjuice being restricted (and also obvious when the person keeps drinking on the hour) and Metamorphamagus being one of the rarest magical gifts.
As Dumbledore speaks, I move my eyes over the staff and student body. I am slightly relieved to find no Doppelgangers, but naturally, things can't be that smooth. I make eye contact with Rose Potter, seeing her fidgeting in her seat as she whispers with Miss Granger about something.
The sickening black mist leaking from her scar doesn't seem to be hurting her, but I can't say it is an encouraging sight to see. Taking a chance, I peer into the future as best I can, my eyes straining as I focus on the mist. For just a moment, I see Rose's lifeless body on the ground.
Well, that certainly won't do.
– Albus Dumbledore –
Sitting opposite Robin, he considered his options. A large part of him wanted to shut down this inquiry. The fewer people who knew about the Horcruxes, the better. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that Robin seemed aware that Rose was fated to die to get rid of the piece of Tom's soul within her.
As long as Rose lived, Voldemort could not be defeated. The cruelest twist of fate.
This was something he had kept carefully secret this entire time. Rose's destiny, from the moment he'd identified what her cursed scar really was, he knew she was doomed. That wasn't to say he hadn't spent countless hours, resources and effort in finding a solution, but he had found nothing that could free her.
But as he was about to deny Robin's question, he stopped himself as he reminded himself of what he had recently realised. He knew far less than he thought, because he could explain none of Robin's powers. Robin was not an ally of Voldemort, that much was clear, and did he not owe it to Rose to explore every avenue that could lead to her survival?
As he began to explain, he couldn't help but let out a dry laugh as Robin admitted he'd already worked out that Voldemort had used a Horcrux to survive, explaining that Rose had told him about the Chamber incident. That Robin already knew of Horcruxes from his research into Herpo the Foul made things easier. Robin had already theorised that Voldemort had more than one, despite the sheer insanity that would be involved in making more than one of the cursed artefacts.
As he admitted that Rose herself was a Horcrux, that he did not know a way to remove the Horcrux without killing Rose herself, he watched as Robin paused for a moment before he laughed. Albus blinked, watching as Robin produced a glowing white orb with unknown runes upon it.
"Fate truly is a funny thing. This is the Orb of Ramjarin, made to deal with possessions by forcing the spirit into a corporeal form where they can be slain without hurting the host," Robin explained softly, Albus' eyes widening as he realised the source of Robin's strange amusement.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me where you found this artefact?" Albus asked, making Robin hesitate for just a moment before he smiled softly.
"Perhaps eventually, but not today," Robin admitted, making Albus chuckle despite the refusal. That was more or less what he'd expected. "Rose doesn't know, does she?"
"No. I wanted her to have a normal life, while I searched for a solution that would let her survive and prepared for the worst," Albus admitted, a hint of shame on his face.
"Rose wants me to teach her how to modify spells like I do. I plan to accept, and I won't keep such a secret from her," Robin admitted, making Albus nod solemnly. Robin may not know of the prophecy, but he could tell Rose was going to be important going forward. "Frankly, I fear what Voldemort could do with a piece of his soul inside her, given his new capabilities."
"A very good point, my friend," Albus agreed. He didn't think Tom could actively affect it, but then he'd not thought Tom could do a lot of things, and that had been proven thoroughly wrong recently.
– Rose Potter –
Learning that you had been raised to die was not exactly how she'd wanted to spend her night, as she tried to hide her anger at the Headmaster. She got it, logically, why he'd never told her that a piece of Voldemort's soul was lodged in her scar, but learning that she was part of what was keeping the Dark Lord alive and would have to die if they didn't find an answer was less than pleasant.
But there was a lot of that going around, wasn't there? She really didn't like Lyra, but she didn't deserve whatever had happened to her. Rumours were going wild with almost a dozen students missing and a Hospital Wing locked down like a Gringotts vault, but the Headmaster had made it clear to everyone that it was bad.
She had to admit, she was scared. Looking around the Great Hall, now empty of students and tables, she saw the grim looks on the faces of several professors and adults she didn't know. She wished Sirius could be here, but Amelia Bones' presence made that… difficult as Robin grasped the weird orb with both hands.
"We call thee forth, spirit of Tom Riddle, we command you, leave our minds and join us on this, the physical plane. We invoke thee by the power of the orb of priests of Ramjarin. What was once in our thoughts, be now in our midst." Robin chanted, his tone confident as the candles seemed to flicker and blow in an impossible wind, and as he finished, she felt it.
Pain coursed through her body as her scar burst open, blood pouring down her face as a blackened fog was ejected from her skull. In truth, she was barely conscious as she saw the figure start to take form above her.
She clung on, eyes fixed on the piece of the Dark Lord as what seemed like five dozen different spells rained down on it, making it screech and cry out in agony. There was no kill like overkill, and some of the spells looked dark. One from Narcissa made it screech in pain, and got a very dark look from Amelia Bones, but Rose just stared at the reason she'd suffered so much.
This was why her scar had hurt her so often, because she'd had the decrepit soul of a Dark Lord who just wouldn't fucking stay dead living in it. Daggers of crystal carved into the dispersing form as Robin held out his hand, Dumbledore wasted no time in blasting it with some intense-looking magic, and as the body was reduced to nothing but shreds of cloth and smoke, she felt a weight lift from her body.
She'd never noticed it, having carried it all her life, but the moment she saw that thing die, it was like the oppressive weight that had been pushing her down her entire life was suddenly gone. Finally, she let herself pass out, exhausted but incredibly satisfied.
— Bonus Scene — Narcissa Malfoy
As the memory expert did his work, she knew she had to distance herself from the Hospital Wing. Lyra wasn't going to be woken up today, and she'd nearly cursed the very man she'd paid a lot of money to bring to England when he drew his wand.
Instead, she looked over a series of reports as she sat in Robin's office in his little house. It was a quaint place, nowhere near as impressive as his grand manor, but she could see the benefits of being able to take your house with you wherever you went.
Robin had once again surprised her with a confession. He was the owner of a series of… rougher pubs and inns across Europe. Pubs that fed him information, even if he'd been too busy travelling the world to pay attention to it. She understood his lax behaviour, the war had been over for nearly fifteen years. Why would he still be watching for any unusual behaviour?
And frankly, people were not Robin's speciality. He was wonderful with magic and animals, but the reports meant little to him unless they had blaring red flags. Robin was (reluctantly) accepting that he was not able to do everything alone, and she was fairly certain he knew she needed a distraction, and wasn't eager for sex after what she'd seen in her daughter's mind.
No, she needed to weaponise the despair she felt, the hatred. So, he'd put her in charge of the reports from his ill-reputed businesses. It wasn't something he'd want to admit he owned to the likes of Amelia Bones, after all.
They weren't illegal, even if they were gathering hubs for Europe's scum, but it would still raise several questions and possibly risk the entire business chain if Amelia used her usual tact. No, this needed a more… gentle hand.
She'd shared the memory of the castle with Robin, and he'd both confirmed her suspicions that the castle was in Eastern Europe and also narrowed it down, claiming that he suspected it was almost certainly around central Romania.
There was an uptick in hooded figures seeking lowlifes to recruit, promising gold, in the same area. Still, that was something that anyone with this information and these reports could put together. Laying out all the reports in front of her, she got to work as she scoured them for any minor detail that she could use to hurt the bastards who'd crossed her.
A dark smile crossed her lips as she swore to show those bastards what it meant to cross the Black family. She'd made sure to spill her heroic rescue to the Ministry, subtle actions that made the affection she held for Robin 'clear'. She hadn't 'admitted' to anything, but she'd left enough breadcrumbs that she might as well have worn Robin's cum instead of her jewelry for how blatant she'd made the fact that she'd slept with him.
Now, to see if Bella was still so very bad at sharing her toys.