Two hours later, Natalia Evans lay in her bed with the practiced stillness of someone who had once waited fourteen hours in a Bratislava safe house while monitoring three separate extraction routes, her body completely relaxed while her mind remained on high alert. One hand absently stroked Laika's impossibly soft fur as the kitsune pup maintained her perfect disguise as an ordinary Shiba Inu, though her intelligent amber eyes tracked every shadow that moved across the moonlit walls with the precision of a supernatural early warning system.
The steady rhythm of Lily's breathing indicated her sister had fallen into the deep, trusting sleep of someone whose most pressing concern was whether she'd correctly identified the seven uses of dragon's blood for tomorrow's study session. Down the hall, their parents' voices had finally ceased after what sounded like an extensively satisfied analysis of the day's unprecedented success in magical-Muggle cultural diplomacy.
Natalia allowed herself a small smile of professional satisfaction. The Evans family had officially achieved "seamlessly integrated cover identity" status, complete with cookie-baking collaborations that would have made her former handlers weep with envy at the quality of her domestic infiltration work.
*Time for the real briefing,* she thought, feeling the familiar mental shift that settled over her like slipping into tactical gear. She carefully extracted the magical diary from her nightstand drawer, its leather cover warm under her fingertips and humming with the kind of sophisticated energy that still made her espionage instincts purr with appreciation for truly elegant communication technology.
Laika's pointed ears immediately perked up as she sensed the artifact's activation, her posture shifting from drowsy pet to alert familiar with the efficiency of a well-trained operative responding to a mission signal. The kitsune had proven remarkably adept at magical sensitivity over the past few weeks, often alerting Natalia to supernatural phenomena before her own enhanced senses could detect anything unusual.
"Stay quiet, sweetheart," Natalia whispered, scratching behind Laika's ears in exactly the spot that made the familiar practically melt with contentment despite her professional alertness. "We're going operational tonight."
She traced the cover three times with her finger, the motion now as automatic as checking her sidearm or confirming exit routes. The familiar tingle of magical connection sparked against her skin, and she considered her opening message with the same careful calculation she'd once applied to establishing contact with foreign assets who could vanish permanently if she chose the wrong tone.
*Hadrian? Please tell me you're not actually following a sensible eleven-year-old sleep schedule, because I have approximately seventeen different strategic concerns that require immediate discussion and I'm experiencing some mild withdrawal symptoms from not having conducted proper intelligence analysis in over six hours.*
The response materialized almost instantly in elegant script that somehow managed to convey both relief and dry amusement through magical ink - which was particularly impressive for what was technically handwriting on enchanted paper.
*Thank Merlin. I was beginning to think you'd developed a sudden case of age-appropriate bedtime habits, which would have been deeply concerning given your professional background and my current need for someone who actually understands operational planning. How did the Evans family tactical assessment go? Did Lily deploy her terrifying intellectual curiosity, or are we still maintaining operational security?*
Natalia snorted softly, settling back against her pillows with the satisfaction of reconnecting with her operational partner after a long day of maintaining civilian cover.
*About as successfully as you'd expect when a naturally suspicious redhead with an IQ that could qualify her for intelligence work starts connecting dots I shouldn't have given her in the first place. I managed some creative deflection involving academic obsessions and your boy Severus's tutoring contributions, but she's definitely filing away inconsistencies for future reference. My sister has investigative instincts that would make MI6 recruiters weep with joy.*
*Ah, the classic intelligence problem - possessing advanced knowledge while maintaining credible ignorance about things you should obviously know, all while pretending your expertise comes from completely innocent sources. James has started commenting on my 'unusual insight into complex situations,' and Sirius keeps giving me these looks when I react to events before they happen. Apparently, family resemblance only explains so much when you're displaying emotional intelligence that technically shouldn't exist yet.*
*At least you're dealing with boys,* Natalia wrote back, her mental voice carrying the particular exasperation of someone who'd learned to navigate significantly more complex social dynamics under much higher stakes. *Lily has that absolutely terrifying combination of intellectual curiosity, emotional intelligence, and big sister protective instincts that makes her approximately as easy to fool as a particularly paranoid spy handler who's had four cups of coffee and suspects everyone of being a potential double agent.*
*That sounds exponentially more challenging than my current 'mysterious childhood wisdom' management situation. My condolences on your counterintelligence difficulties.*
*Oh, it gets so much better. She's also started doing that thing where she analyzes my facial expressions when she thinks I'm not looking, which means she's actively building a psychological profile of my behavioral patterns. I swear to God, sometimes I think she missed her true calling as an intelligence analyst. The girl could probably run background checks on people just by watching them eat breakfast.*
*That's genuinely terrifying. Remind me never to attempt any form of deception around your sister - she sounds like she could see through a professional cover identity before I finished introducing myself.*
*Incredibly smart man. Now, speaking of intelligence analysis, we need to have a comprehensive conversation about our assets, potential threats, and operational parameters. If we're going to prevent your timeline's extensive collection of tragedies from recurring, I need complete intelligence on what went wrong, why it went wrong, and who we can trust with various levels of classified information.*
There was a pause long enough that Natalia began to wonder if Hadrian had fallen asleep mid-conversation or been discovered by family members conducting suspicious nighttime activities, before new text appeared with what seemed like reluctant weight behind each carefully chosen word.
*That's going to be a particularly difficult briefing, and I want to make absolutely certain you're prepared for the emotional impact. Some of this intelligence is... well, 'brutal' doesn't really begin to cover the scope of what happened. Are you completely certain you want those details? Because once I brief you on our friends' original fates, you can't unknow any of it, and some of these outcomes are genuinely disturbing.*
Natalia's expression hardened with the kind of professional resolve that had carried her through briefings about human trafficking networks, arms dealing operations, and psychological torture techniques that most people couldn't even conceptualize without requiring extensive therapy.
*Hadrian, in my previous life, I once spent five days reviewing detailed intelligence files on international human trafficking operations to plan a deep-cover infiltration mission that required me to maintain operational security while surrounded by people who bought and sold children for entertainment purposes. I've read classified reports on enhanced interrogation techniques, assassination methodologies, and psychological manipulation tactics that would give most people recurring nightmares for months. I can handle whatever happened to our friends.*
*And just to be completely transparent,* she continued, her writing somehow conveying the steel in her voice even through magical ink, *these aren't abstract intelligence targets we're discussing - these are children I spent today with, who laughed at my terrible jokes and got genuinely excited about engineering principles and helped bake cookies while asking impossibly thoughtful questions. So yes, I absolutely want every single detail, because I refuse to let anything happen to them. Not on my watch.*
*All right,* came the response after another pause. *But don't say I didn't warn you about the psychological impact. Some of this information is going to be genuinely disturbing, and I need you to understand that before we proceed.*
*I'll manage the emotional fallout. That's what professional compartmentalization training is for. Start with Severus - he seems like our most immediate concern for recruitment prevention, and I need to understand exactly what vulnerability factors we're working with.*
Another pause, even longer this time, and when the response came, Natalia could practically sense Hadrian's reluctance bleeding through the magical connection.
*Severus became a Death Eater at eighteen, recruited by Lucius Malfoy and other pureblood supremacists who systematically exploited his social isolation, academic obsessions with dark magic research, and complete absence of positive peer relationships or adult support systems.*
Natalia felt her blood temperature drop several degrees as she processed the implications with automatic threat assessment protocols. Their brilliant, sensitive friend who had spent the afternoon patiently explaining mechanical engineering principles to fascinated magical children - the same boy who had blushed adorably when her mother complimented his cookie-decorating skills and practically glowed when Lily asked intelligent questions about his research interests - had become a terrorist.
*Explain his vulnerability factors in comprehensive detail. What specific social dynamics made him susceptible to extremist recruitment techniques?*
*Complete social isolation throughout his school years, persistent academic bullying from popular students, and total absence of positive peer relationships or supportive adult mentorship. James and Sirius tormented him relentlessly throughout our education, with the most damaging incident occurring in fifth year when they publicly humiliated him by hanging him upside-down with magic and exposing his underwear to a crowd of students, including Lily, while he was completely helpless to defend himself.*
Natalia's grip on the diary tightened until her knuckles went white, her professional composure cracking slightly as she imagined anyone daring to do that to the sweet, brilliant boy who had been so excited to share his interests with them. Beside her in the darkness, Laika whimpered softly and pressed closer, sensing her rising fury through their familiar bond.
*They fucking what?*
*Language, Agent Evans.*
*Don't you dare lecture me about appropriate language when you've just informed me that your supposed friends thought public sexual humiliation was entertaining recreational activity. What kind of absolute psychopaths think that's acceptable behavior toward another human being?*
*It gets significantly worse.*
*How does it possibly get worse than sexual humiliation conducted in front of the entire school population?*
*When Lily tried to intervene and help him - because of course she did, she's Lily and she can't stand watching people get hurt - Severus was so completely humiliated and enraged that he called her a Mudblood in front of everyone.*
For several long moments, Natalia couldn't write anything at all, too busy cycling through increasingly creative and violent fantasies involving what she'd like to do to anyone who would dare use that slur against her sister. The fury was so intense it was almost physical, a white-hot rage that made her want to track down teenage James Potter and introduce him to some enhanced interrogation techniques she'd learned from professionals.
*He called Lily WHAT.*
*The worst possible slur for Muggle-born witches and wizards. Essentially the magical equivalent of calling someone - well, you understand the historical and social implications. He was so completely humiliated and emotionally devastated that he lashed out at the one person actually trying to help him, using the most hurtful language he could think of.*
*And that permanently destroyed their friendship.*
*Irreversibly. Lily never forgave him for using that word, and he never forgave himself for hurting her when she was trying to protect him. That guilt, combined with his ongoing social isolation and academic fascination with powerful magic, made him perfect prey for recruiters offering belonging, purpose, and the promise that he could actually matter to someone.*
Natalia had to set the diary down for a moment, her hands shaking slightly with the combination of professional rage and analytical assessment. The sweet, brilliant boy who had explained engineering principles with such passionate enthusiasm was destined for seventeen years of terrorism because his classmates thought humiliation was amusing entertainment and he'd responded to trauma by hurting the person who tried to help him.
*What happened to him after he joined the Death Eaters? Complete operational history.*
*He spent a couple of years as an active Death Eater, participating in raids, providing strategic intelligence, and advancing Voldemort's agenda through various operations until he learned that Voldemort specifically planned to murder Lily. Only then did he approach Dumbledore to become a double agent.*
*He tried to save her.*
*Far too late. James, Lily, and baby Harry were all targeted for assassination because of intelligence information that Severus had provided during his earlier operations. He spent the rest of his life attempting to atone by protecting me at Hogwarts, but he was bitter, cruel, and borderline psychologically abusive in his methods - especially toward me, because seeing me reminded him of James and everything he'd lost. He died in 1998, murdered by Voldemort for information about the Elder Wand location. His final act was giving me memory fragments that revealed he'd loved Lily his entire life and never stopped regretting what he'd said to her.*
Natalia had to set the diary down again to process the absolute catastrophe of tragedy, missed opportunities, and completely preventable destruction that comprised Severus Snape's original timeline. The sweet, intelligent boy who had helped her bake cookies and explained engineering concepts with such genuine passion was destined for seventeen years of terrorism followed by years of barely-disguised child abuse, all because of a few moments of public humiliation and systematic social isolation.
*That's completely preventable,* she finally wrote with professional certainty. *All of it. The bullying, the isolation, the recruitment pipeline - absolutely everything.*
*Completely and utterly preventable with proper intervention,* Hadrian agreed. *Which is why establishing his support network now is absolutely crucial for our operational success. But it means understanding the exact social dynamics that led to his complete destruction.*
*Tell me about the bullying situation in comprehensive detail. I need to understand James and Sirius's specific motivations if I'm going to prevent them from accidentally destroying our friend's life through adolescent stupidity and poor impulse control.*
*James was... genuinely complicated. Part legitimate concern about Severus's academic interest in dark magic research, part adolescent jealousy over his close friendship with Lily, part typical teenage cruelty amplified by social status and peer pressure dynamics. He genuinely believed he was protecting other students from someone potentially dangerous, but his methods were completely inappropriate and counterproductive.*
*And Sirius's motivations?*
*Sirius participated primarily because James was his best friend and because he'd never learned healthy methods for processing his own extensive family trauma. His parents routinely used psychological torture and dark magic as disciplinary techniques, so he'd completely normalized cruelty as acceptable behavior between people who weren't considered allies. He literally didn't understand that what they were doing was psychologically damaging.*
*But they eventually matured out of this behavior?*
*James did, significantly. He underwent major personal growth during seventh year, completely stopped the bullying behavior, and eventually won Lily over through genuine change and persistent efforts to become a better person. But by then, the psychological damage with Severus was completely irreversible. Even when James attempted to make amends as Head Boy, Severus's hatred was too deep and too justified for any possibility of reconciliation.*
*What about our other primary assets? Give me the complete threat assessment for Alice and Frank Longbottom.*
The pause was even longer this time, and Natalia found herself dreading whatever was coming next based on the established pattern of increasingly disturbing revelations.
*Alice and Frank became Aurors immediately after graduation and developed into among the most effective fighters against Death Eater operations during the first war. Their success at disrupting terrorist activities and protecting civilian targets made them extremely high-priority targets for retaliation operations.*
Natalia's professional training kicked in with automatic threat assessment protocols, but even her extensive experience with worst-case scenarios couldn't quite prepare her for what came next.
*What was their ultimate fate? Standard assassination protocols?*
*Significantly worse than assassination. In late 1981, shortly after Voldemort's first defeat, they were captured by Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange during an operation designed to locate Voldemort's remaining active supporters.*
*Standard enhanced interrogation techniques?*
*Prolonged Cruciatus Curse torture applied systematically until their minds broke completely and permanently. They spent the remainder of their lives in St. Mungo's long-term psychiatric ward, unable to recognize their own son or remember their own names. Neville was raised by his grandmother, never knowing his parents except as empty shells who couldn't even remember that he existed.*
This time, Natalia did have to set the diary down completely, her hands shaking as she processed the casual, deliberate cruelty of the operation. The enthusiastic eleven-year-old who had asked genuinely intelligent questions about Muggle technology, declared engineering "absolutely fascinating," and gotten visibly excited about collaborative problem-solving approaches - reduced to a psychiatric patient who couldn't recognize her own child.
*That's not interrogation,* she finally wrote with controlled fury. *That's deliberate psychological destruction conducted for entertainment purposes.*
*Bellatrix personally led the operation and was reportedly proud of her artistic work. During their public trial, she actually laughed about what she'd accomplished and declared the results artistically satisfying and politically necessary.*
*Our Bellatrix? The girl who declared her intensity 'perfectly calibrated for everything' and got genuinely excited about collaborative baking projects and engineering discussions?*
*The exact same person. By adulthood, she'd become the most feared Death Eater after Voldemort himself. She personally murdered Sirius, tortured countless other victims, and participated enthusiastically in some of the war's absolute worst atrocities before being killed by Molly Weasley during the final battle.*
The disconnect was so jarring that Natalia had trouble processing the information through normal analytical frameworks. The sweet, dramatically enthusiastic eleven-year-old who had helped bake cookies, declared Muggle engineering "surprisingly elegant," and thrown herself into collaborative projects with obvious joy had become a sadistic torturer who laughed about destroying minds for recreational purposes.
*How the actual fuck does that transformation happen?* she wrote, abandoning professional language entirely. *How does someone go from baking cookies and getting excited about engineering principles to torturing friends until their minds permanently break?*
*Gradual corruption through systematic exposure and progressive normalization techniques. Sustained family pressure, comprehensive ideological indoctrination, and progressive introduction to violence until it becomes routine entertainment rather than moral horror. Bellatrix was always naturally intense - in this timeline, that intensity is being channeled into curiosity, friendship, and collaborative problem-solving. In mine, it was systematically redirected toward fanaticism and what she considered artistic cruelty.*
*The Black family dynamics - I need a comprehensive assessment of those specific threat factors and how they operate.*
*Calling them 'psychologically toxic' is like calling the Titanic 'slightly damp' - it completely understates the scope of the problem. Sirius was formally disowned at sixteen for refusing to embrace pureblood supremacist ideology and lived with James's family for his final two years at Hogwarts. Regulus joined the Death Eaters at sixteen specifically to please his parents but eventually tried to betray Voldemort when he discovered the Horcrux program's true scope. He died at eighteen, drowned by Inferi while attempting to destroy Voldemort's locket Horcrux in a cave specifically designed to kill intruders.*
*Wait. Regulus actually tried to stop Voldemort?*
*He figured out what the Horcruxes represented and couldn't psychologically live with being part of a plan that involved splitting human souls and achieving immortality through systematic mass murder. But he was far too young, completely inexperienced with advanced magic, and had absolutely no support system for the attempt. His heroic gesture killed him and barely inconvenienced Voldemort's operational timeline.*
Natalia thought of the thoughtful nine-year-old who had analyzed Quidditch maintenance protocols with mathematical precision, described engineering as "fundamentally democratic," and asked genuinely intelligent questions about collaborative problem-solving methodologies. That analytical mind, eventually turned toward understanding ultimate evil and destroyed by the attempt to stop it alone.
*What happened to Narcissa and Andromeda in your timeline?*
*Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy and became complicit in Death Eater activities, though she was primarily focused on protecting her immediate family rather than advancing ideological objectives. She participated when operationally necessary but avoided the most brutal atrocities when possible. Andromeda was completely disowned for marrying Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born wizard, and cut off from all family support systems entirely.*
*Children and extended family outcomes?*
*Andromeda and Ted had a daughter, Nymphadora, who became an Auror and eventually married Remus Lupin. Ted was killed by Death Eaters, and both Remus and Nymphadora died during the final battle, leaving Andromeda to raise her orphaned grandson completely alone with no family support.*
*So every single one of our friends was destined for tragedy, death, psychological destruction, or complete corruption.*
*Every single one without exception. The cheerful, enthusiastic group that spent this afternoon learning about Muggle technology, getting genuinely excited about collaborative baking, and asking intelligent questions about engineering principles was collectively headed for a future involving terrorism, systematic torture, murder, and complete psychological destruction.*
Natalia was quiet for several minutes, processing the comprehensive scope of what they were facing with the same systematic analysis she'd once applied to international criminal networks. The crucial difference was that this time, the potential victims weren't abstract intelligence targets - they were children she'd laughed with, who had been excited by her stories and fascinated by her knowledge and genuinely thrilled to be included in collaborative projects.
*Strategic assessment time,* she finally wrote with professional focus. *What are our primary operational objectives, listed in order of tactical priority and strategic importance?*
*First priority: prevent Severus's recruitment through establishing comprehensive support systems and positive peer relationships that make him psychologically resistant to extremist messaging techniques. Second: prevent the Black family's systematic destruction by supporting healthier dynamics between the siblings and providing genuine alternatives to family pressure. Third: strengthen general societal opposition to blood purist ideology through sustained cultural bridge-building and comprehensive educational initiatives. Fourth: identify and systematically counter Voldemort's recruitment strategies before he can implement them effectively.*
*Long-term strategic goals beyond immediate threat prevention?*
*Create a wizarding society where the fundamental social conditions enabling Voldemort's rise simply cannot develop organically. Comprehensive educational reform, systematic political reform, sustained cultural change initiatives, and institutional strengthening sufficient to resist extremist manipulation attempts on a generational level.*
*That's a multigenerational project requiring sustained coordination and strategic patience over decades.*
*Exactly correct. Which is why we begin now, while we're young enough to directly influence our peer group and build relationships that will naturally last for decades. We're not just preventing immediate tragedies - we're systematically engineering long-term social change that will prevent these conditions from recurring.*
Natalia considered the operational scope with the kind of strategic planning that had once defined her most complex international missions. The scale was absolutely staggering, but the alternative outcomes were completely unacceptable.
*Resource assessment,* she wrote with professional analysis. *What specific advantages do we have available that didn't exist in your original timeline?*
*You, first and foremost. Lily having a sister with professional-level strategic planning capabilities and comprehensive intelligence training changes absolutely everything - she has protection and support systems she never had access to before. Me, with complete adult knowledge and magically enhanced capabilities. Severus developing in a loving family environment instead of isolation and systematic abuse. Our familiar bonds providing magical advantages that didn't exist in the original timeline.*
Laika's ears perked up at the indirect mention, and she nuzzled against Natalia's hand with what seemed like professional agreement and justifiable pride in her contributions.
*What about adult allies and institutional support systems?*
*Your parents are actively building magical-Muggle cultural bridges, creating systematic opportunities for social change at the community level that compound over time. The Potter family influence supports progressive policies and can provide political cover for our activities when necessary. Even relatively small changes in social dynamics are creating ripple effects throughout the broader community that compound exponentially.*
*Threat assessment and opposition forces? What specific advantages does Voldemort currently have that we need to counter immediately?*
*He's already systematically gathering followers and building his operational network, though public revelation won't occur until 1976. Tom Riddle is working from the shadows, collecting dark magical artifacts, recruiting through existing social connections, and exploiting systematic prejudices already embedded in wizarding society. He possesses natural charisma, strategic patience, and comprehensive understanding of wizarding society's specific psychological vulnerabilities.*
*But he doesn't know about us or our enhanced capabilities.*
*Not yet, which provides crucial operational advantage if we can avoid drawing attention while systematically building our network and establishing comprehensive countermeasures.*
Natalia felt her strategic instincts fully engaging with the complex planning that had always energized her most challenging operations. This was exactly the kind of long-term infiltration and cultural influence mission she'd trained extensively for, even if the magical context represented completely unprecedented operational territory.
*Operational security protocols,* she wrote with complete professional focus. *We need absolutely secure communication methods, regular intelligence briefings, careful coordination to avoid detection, and compartmentalized information management systems to prevent catastrophic security breaches if we're compromised.*
*Agreed completely. This diary connection is secure for current operations, but we'll need additional communication methods as our network expands and operational requirements become increasingly complex. We also need extremely careful information compartmentalization - even trusted allies become potential security risks if they have access to too much strategic intelligence.*
*What about Dumbledore? Ally, useful asset, or potential operational threat?*
Another long pause preceded Hadrian's response, and Natalia could practically sense him considering multiple political angles and strategic implications.
*Complicated ally with significant strategic value but serious trust and operational security issues. He opposed Voldemort effectively and worked toward broadly positive outcomes, but his operational methods were frequently ethically questionable and strategically problematic. He consistently kept crucial information secret from people whose lives directly depended on having access to it, manipulated allies for strategic purposes without their knowledge, and made unilateral decisions that directly cost lives because he preferred orchestrating predetermined outcomes to trusting others with informed choices.*
*He knew about the prophecy that specifically targeted your family?*
*He heard the complete prophecy and decided unilaterally how to interpret its meaning, then shaped my entire life around his strategic interpretation without my knowledge, consent, or input. His choices about information management directly resulted in my parents' deaths and my systematically traumatic childhood designed to prepare me for what he considered necessary sacrifice.*
*So potentially useful ally for large-scale strategic objectives, but absolutely not trustworthy with operational details or comprehensive strategic intelligence.*
*Exactly correct. He'll support our general objectives while simultaneously trying to control our specific methods if he decides we're not following his preferred strategic vision. Useful for resources and political cover when our goals align, genuinely dangerous for operational security if he decides we're too independent.*
*Noted and filed. We coordinate with him when our goals naturally align but maintain complete operational independence and never provide sufficient information for potential mission compromise.*
*You genuinely think like a professional intelligence operative. It's remarkably reassuring.*
*I was a professional intelligence operative for several years, remember? This is exactly the kind of long-term infiltration and systematic cultural influence operation I trained extensively for - it just happens to involve magic instead of international politics and criminal organizations.*
*That level of professional expertise is incredibly reassuring. I've been feeling completely overwhelmed by the comprehensive scope of what we're attempting to accomplish.*
*It's overwhelming because it's genuinely massive and unprecedented,* Natalia wrote back with professional understanding. *But massive operations succeed through careful planning, strategic patience, and systematically coordinating multiple small actions toward larger strategic objectives. We don't attempt to fix everything simultaneously - we ensure each individual step moves us in the correct direction and builds operational foundation for the next phase.*
*What's our immediate tactical priority then?*
Natalia considered the question with the kind of professional assessment she'd once applied to complex mission planning, carefully weighing various operational requirements against current resources and realistic time constraints.
*Building our inner circle with people who understand the comprehensive threat scope and can help coordinate broader efforts effectively. Severus definitely - he represents the most immediate recruitment risk and possesses the technical knowledge we need for advanced operations. Probably James and Sirius once we establish better security protocols, since they're natural leaders and will influence peer group dynamics regardless of our involvement.*
*What about bringing Lily into full operational knowledge?*
*Eventually, but carefully and gradually with appropriate psychological preparation. She absolutely deserves to know about direct threats to her safety and the people she cares about, but she also deserves as much normal childhood as we can possibly provide while maintaining operational security. We tell her what she needs to know when she operationally needs to know it, not everything simultaneously.*
*I completely understand that approach. What about the Black sisters for operational recruitment?*
*Andromeda has the highest probability of becoming a full operational ally - she's already demonstrating independent thinking and systematic resistance to family pressure. Narcissa could prove valuable but will always prioritize immediate family loyalty over broader strategic principles. Bellatrix... she's our complete wild card with the highest potential impact in either direction.*
*How so?*
*Her natural intensity could make her either our greatest strategic asset or most dangerous potential enemy, depending entirely on how her psychological development trajectory unfolds over the next several years. She possesses genuine leadership abilities and passionate commitment that could revolutionize our entire cause - or destroy it completely if channeled in destructive directions.*
*That matches my tactical assessment exactly. Bellatrix represents revolutionary potential in either direction.*
*Which makes carefully managing her social environment absolutely crucial for operational success,* Natalia continued with strategic focus. *She needs consistent positive outlets for her intensity, relationships that systematically reinforce prosocial values, and collaborative projects that channel her energy constructively rather than allowing it to develop destructively.*
*Like she's receiving now, with engineering discussions and collaborative baking lessons that channel her enthusiasm toward productive problem-solving.*
*Exactly right. Every positive experience channeling her energy toward collaborative problem-solving makes future extremist recruitment less psychologically appealing and healthier development trajectories more probable.*
Natalia glanced toward her window, noting the sky beginning to lighten with dawn's first hints. They'd been conducting intelligence briefings for hours, and she had extensive strategic information that required careful processing and comprehensive operational planning.
*We should probably attempt some sleep before our families notice we're operating on three hours and start asking inconvenient questions about our nighttime activities,* she wrote with professional awareness. *But I want to continue this tomorrow night. We still need to discuss individual detailed threat assessments, comprehensive operational planning, and specific tactical approaches for each target.*
*Same time tomorrow night?*
*Absolutely confirmed. And Hadrian?*
*Yes?*
*Thank you for trusting me with this intelligence. I know sharing those specific details about our friends' original fates wasn't psychologically easy, and the comprehensive scope of what happened to them... it's genuinely disturbing even by my professional standards.*
*Thank you for asking exactly the right questions and approaching this like the professional operation it absolutely needs to be. Having someone who understands operational complexity, strategic planning, and long-term coordination requirements - it's the first time since arriving in this timeline that I've felt genuinely hopeful about our chances of complete success.*
*We will succeed,* Natalia wrote with absolute professional certainty. *Different timeline, significantly better resources, professional-level planning capabilities, and now we have each other for coordination and strategic support. This time, everyone gets to live genuinely happy lives.*
*This time,* Hadrian confirmed with matching conviction, *everyone gets to live genuinely happy lives.*
As the diary's pages returned to blank parchment, Natalia carefully secured it in her nightstand and settled back into bed with the satisfied exhaustion of someone who'd just completed crucial mission planning under optimal conditions. Laika immediately curled against her side, the kitsune pup's warm presence providing comfort after hours of processing disturbing intelligence about potential futures that would never be permitted to occur.
Her mind continued buzzing with strategic possibilities, tactical considerations, and operational frameworks, but underneath the professional analysis ran fierce, protective determination that belonged entirely to her new life and the people she'd sworn to protect. In the bed beside hers, Lily slept peacefully, red hair spread across her pillow and breathing deep and even with the complete trust of someone who knew she was absolutely safe and protected.
Somewhere across London, their new friends were safely asleep in their own homes, completely unaware of the dark futures they'd been spared or the careful planning that would keep them safe, happy, and innocent for as long as possible.
*This time,* Natalia promised silently as she finally drifted toward sleep, one hand resting on Laika's impossibly soft fur and her mind already working through tactical approaches and strategic timelines, *we get absolutely everything right.*
The morning sun was rising over Magnolia Crescent, bringing with it new possibilities and the continuing work of building a world where eleven-year-olds could focus on engineering discussions and cookie baking instead of preparing for war.
---
Hey fellow fanfic enthusiasts!
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Whether you loved it, hated it, or have some constructive criticism, your feedback is super important to me. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a message with your thoughts. Can't wait to hear from you!
If you're passionate about fanfiction and love discussing stories, characters, and plot twists, then you're in the right place! I've created a Discord (HHHwRsB6wd) server dedicated to diving deep into the world of fanfiction, especially my own stories. Whether you're a reader, a writer, or just someone who enjoys a good tale, I welcome you to join us for lively discussions, feedback sessions, and maybe even some sneak peeks into upcoming chapters, along with artwork related to the stories. Let's nerd out together over our favorite fandoms and explore the endless possibilities of storytelling!
Can't wait to see you there!