Chapter 57: How to Spend the HolidaysSummary:Hazel and the others make plans. Some of which come to fruition.
Chapter TextGinny came over, eyes bloodshot, and sat down on her knee. "What are you planning now, Hazel? I know that look on your face."
Hazel shrugged. "Just thinking about how to spend the holidays, that's all."
Ginny giggled tiredly and leaned in to whisper something naughty in her ear. Hazel grinned and hugged her close. Then she frowned. "Is this really the best time for that? Your dad's been attacked, and all."
She pouted. "I know that, but there's no use worrying ourselves sick. You warned Grindelwald and got the Order on it, and Mum's got that clock that let her know too. So it'll be fine, he's probably in St Mungo's even as we speak."
Right as she said that, a new voice called out. "Headmistress!" It belonged to a sallow-faced wizard with short black bangs who had just crammed himself into a portrait on the wall, above some bookshelves full of books and trinkets Hazel was sure no one but Hermione had so much as glanced at in centuries. "Good news, they found him several minutes ago, I saw the night staff hauling him upstairs after I yelled about a noise from downstairs. Had a honking big snake with 'em too, dead as a doornail!"
An elderly witch with long silver ringlets appeared next to him. "And I saw him being brought into St Mungo's earlier myself, his wife in attendance!"
"Thank you both, Dilys, Everard. Back to your own portraits now." McGonagall gave the previous Headmasters a nod, and turned to the students. "Each of you have twenty minutes to pack your things and be ready to take the Floo to Sirius' house in London. Miss Granger, Miss Potter, I assume each of you will wish to go as well?" They both nodded. "Very well. You lot may use the fireplace up here once Professor Burbage has undone the wards; Miss Potter, Professor Sinistra will oversee your departure from your own common room."
"Yes, Headmistress." Hazel nudged Ginny off her, stood and bowed, and hurried from the Gryffindor common room. Nice place overall, but way too cluttered and waytoo gold.
Back downstairs, she stepped quietly into her dorm and gathered what she would need for the holidays; clothes, books, homework, her toys. Everything went neatly into her trunk, and she shrunk it down to fit in her pocket. Thus prepared she stepped out to the common room, where Sinistra waited for her by the fireplace. "Ready, Potter?"
"Yes, Professor."
Sinistra nodded and faced the fire, twirling her wand and muttering a long incantation of unwinding. When she was done she stepped aside, handing Hazel a pouch of Floo powder; Hazel took a pinch of powder in her hand and tossed it in the fire before stepping into the flames. "12 Grimmauld Place!"
The ferocious whirling engulfed her, the green flames, the flickering of living rooms and sitting rooms and kitchens, and then it slowed down until she was coughed out into Sirius' kitchen. Sirius was waiting there, and he grinned but gestured her aside. "Watch out kiddo, the others are coming through any second."
Hazel stepped to one side, and sure enough the Weasleys began coming through the fire. Ron stumbled slightly as he stepped through, Ginny kept her feet, and Hermione also avoided falling over. Fred and then George came last, one after another, and they kept their feet too.
Ron went and sat down at the table. "Where's Mum, at the hospital?"
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, she's making sure your dad's being situated. I was there when that clock went off, she jumped up immediately and was away before I could pull my cloak on!"
Fred and George stayed standing. "Shouldn't we be there too?"
"Our dad's been attacked, after all!"
Sirius shook his head. "No, you should wait for Molly to send word. If you show up asking for Arthur before Molly has a chance to tell us what happened it'll look suspicious, especially for Hazel."
Hazel rolled her eyes as she took a seat. "I appreciate it, Sirius, but you don't need to worry about me. Voldemort already knows, I tried to stop his snake from attacking Mr Weasley and he was in there, guiding her."
The others did their reactions to that stupid name, but Sirius ignored them. "Sure, Voldemort knows. But we don't need the Ministry finding out, or the press. Any attention they give you is attention that should be on Fudge and Voldemort."
Hermione wasn't sitting down, she stood in the doorway looking anxious. "Sirius, can I borrow an owl? I need to send a note to Mum and Dad letting them know not to expect me for our skiing trip this year."
Ron bit back a laugh with difficulty. "Come off it, Hermione, we'll be fine, you don't need to-"
Ginny made a sudden movement, and Ron yelped; she must have stamped on his foot. Hermione spared him a glacial glare, then turned back to Sirius, who nodded and didn't bother biting back his laughter. Hermione flounced from the room, leaving Ron to sulk and the others glaring at him. Hazel cocked an eyebrow. "What are you on about, Ronald?"
He scoffed. "Come off it, it's this skiing thing, you know, where Muggles-"
"I know what skiing is, what's it got to do with this?"
"Everything! It's ridiculous, the mad things Muggles do to pass the time, and Hermione was gonna go with them!"
"So? Why wouldn't she want to spend Christmas with her family?"
"Because… well, you know… skiing… mad things Muggles do…"
Fred and George gave matching groans, and Ginny rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ronald, when will you get a hint?"
It was Hazel's turn to scoff. "Probably never. He'll pine for her until the day he dies~"
"I am not pining after Hermione!"
Which was true, even if Ron didn't know it. Hazel figured he just wanted the idea of Hermione, beneath all his protests and his insistence that she was like a sister to him. She hid a smirk, wondering if he realized what Hermione actually looked for in a partner.
Although she had to be fair to Hermione, she hadbroadened her horizons since joining Hazel and the other girls in their post-meeting orgies.
In any event, it seemed like the Weasleys were gearing up to pass the time by arguing amongst themselves, so Hazel decided to bow out and head downstairs. But before she could so much as stand up the fireplace flared and Molly stepped out.
"Mum!" She was instantly swarmed by her children, and she hugged them all.
"Arthur's going to be fine, our clock went off the instant the attack happened and I was able to warn everyone. We can see him in the morning!" She looked round at Hazel. "Hazel dear, you caught a warning too? Oh thank you dear, thank you-!"
Hazel endured being hugged by the redheaded matron, and gamely hugged back. Her hugs weren't like Narcissa's hugs, or the ones she got from her girlfriends, but still nice enough. "No problem, Mrs Weasley, I did what I could."
"Sirius, be a dear and get some butterbeers, would you? Hazel, tell me what happened."
Sirius got drinks for everyone, and they gathered around to hear her story. Hermione came back in and accepted a bottle too, and gave Hazel an expectant look. Hazel cleared her throat and began speaking. "Well, I was sitting with Professor Grindelwald, going over a few pointers on Legilimency, when I started having an out-of-body experience. I slipped through the wards around Hogwarts and found myself in the Ministry, inside Nagini."
"Who's Nagini?"
"Nagini was Voldemort's snake, Ron. Anyway, I was there, and someone else was directing the snake, and we saw Mr Weasley at the end of the hall, guarding a door. I recognized the hallway leading to the Department of Mysteries. Nagini tried to go around him, but he woke up and drew his wand and she had no choice but to attack!"
She had told part of this story already, but everyone was hanging off every word regardless. "That was when I tried to take control and stop the snake from biting him. I couldn't get a grip on her mind, Voldemort's influence was too strong, but I stopped her for a few seconds anyway. Mr Weasley tried a few spells but they bounced off, and right as she was throwing me off and attacking he used the Killing Curse instead."
Molly shuddered and closed her eyes. "I guess there was no other option, it wasn't like the snake was human anyway."
"Nope. The snake died, I was thrown back into my body, and that was it. I told Grindelwald what I saw and he sent a Patronus to Mad-Eye immediately." They didn't need to know about the whole Horcrux thing. "What happened on your end, Mrs Weasley?"
"Well, Sirius and I were at the Burrow, and that clock of ours went off. I looked over and saw Arthur's hand at mortal peril! So I dashed off quick as you please to warn anyone I could think of and to get people searching for Arthur; the right people, mind you! We can't have it known too widely that we've still got people inside the Ministry, after all."
Ginny frowned. "What did you tell the Healers, Mum?"
"I told them he was attacked and bitten and showed them the great big beast that did it, of course! They were drawing venom from the creature to prepare antidotes when I left."
Hazel wondered if the Healers would be able to identify what breed of snake Nagini had been, or if it was some transmuted mutant created by Voldemort. That was neither here nor there, though.
"I've got a question, myself." That was Sirius, taking a fortifying drink and putting his bottle down. "Hazel, Dumbledore mentioned these mad things called Horcruxes months ago, said they were how Voldemort clung to life all these years and how he was gonna hunt 'em all down. You knew before, didn't you?"
Welp, so much for not telling everyone about them. Though she'd forgotten Dumbledore had publicized that information, so that was on her. "Yes sir. I've been destroying or purging his Horcruxes since second year, when that mad diary nearly drove Ginny and I to insanity. That Slytherin locket was also a Horcrux, and so was this funny ring we found in Little Hangleton too. Nagini was also a Horcrux, which is probably why only the Killing Curse could work on it."
Sirius frowned. "If Nagini was a Horcrux, why did Voldemort put her at risk? Surely he would have kept her closer to hand."
Hazel shrugged. "Either he's lost his mind or he still has Horcruxes left out there."
He could tell she was hiding something, but didn't feel like pressing. Instead he clapped his hands. "Kreacher, Dobby, Winky! Make us a light supper and prepare everyone's rooms, would you kindly?"
The three elves appeared and got to work, Winky going to the stove while Kreacher cleared the table and brought out plates and cutlery and Dobby blinked away upstairs. The humans sat down, and the mood lifted with the good news of Arthur's survival.
Once the food was ready, Hazel found herself between Ginny and Sirius. She ignored Ginny's provocative looks and ate with both hands above the table. "Sirius, how did it go at the Crouch manor?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, that. Meh." He shrugged. "There wasn't much left, to be honest, not after Voldemort and his goons had stayed there for so long. Winky's cleaned up the place though, and as you commanded we didn't throw anything anyway. But there was nothing interesting; if there was, they took it with them when they left."
Hazel looked to Winky for confirmation, and she nodded eagerly. "Winky didn't let Master Sirius disobey Mistress Hazel! Everything is still there, even if it was gross and stinky! But Winky cleaned everything!"
"Alright. We'll swing by tomorrow after we're done visiting Mr Weasley."
Ron gave her a stink eye. "We will, will we?"
"Yes, Ronald, we will." Hazel glared back at him. "What's your problem now?"
Molly intervened before Ron could dig himself any deeper. "Kids, it's late, I want all of you in bed as soon as you're finished eating. We've all got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She spared a glare for Ron and a slightly less intense glare for Hazel and Ginny, and the message was clear.
That was alright. Hazel could look after herself just fine. And later, after cleaning up and working out, she did exactly that. And it felt great.
And she slept like a baby! Or maybe it was the sleep of the damned, who knew. Not her, she was too busy sleeping!
Chapter 58: St Mungo'sSummary:Our heroine and her friends visit the fallen warrior.
Chapter TextIn the morning, Winky got Hazel out of bed and washed her hair, and she applied cleaning and scouring charms to herself in lieu of a proper shower. Breakfast was pleasant enough, and everyone was keen to see Arthur and to learn what the Healers had ascertained.
"So what's the plan for getting everyone to St Mungo's? I assume a Portkey would be too dangerous for a hospital."
Molly beamed. "Actually, Hazel, they've got a whole room off to one side just for Portkeying in, so we'll have an easy time of it. Remus is getting it set up now."
Just then, Remus came in holding a skip rope. "We're all set for a ten-fifteen appearance, you lot, so eat up."
Hazel was glad the Ministry was mostly toothless, and wondered what kind of bullshit they'd have to deal with if it wasn't. Probably sneaking around on the Underground, going from tube to tube, Mad-Eye lurking and leering along in the back. In any event she finished eating and made sure she had her wand, then put her things away and went to join Remus in the foyer.
Fortunately the usual Weasley chaos was on hold this morning, and they all gathered around Remus with time to spare. Everyone got a firm grip on some portion of the skip rope as Remus made the final countdown. "3… 2… 1…"
Yoink! That feeling of being yanked along by the belly button slammed into them all, and Hazel closed her eyes to keep from getting sick. They all jostled back and forth until the ground slammed into their feet, and Hazel barely remembered to brace herself to keep from falling over.
"Ten-fifteen, priority from Islington." That belonged to a sturdy wizard wearing lime-green robes, which had an emblem of a crossed wand and bone embroidered into its chest. Remus handed the skip rope over, and the wizard tossed it into a bin without a second thought. "Clear off, we got a ten-twenty arrival."
The lot of them left the room, stepping out the door and into a crowded, noisy waiting room; Hazel saw more witches and wizards in lime-green robes scurrying about speaking to potential patients, and the patients themselves were as varied as they were loud. One witch, fanning herself and sweating profusely, was emitting steam from her mouth and ears, and emitted a high-pitched whistle like a tea kettle at regular intervals. A grubby warlock in the corner clanged like a bell every time he moved, and his head vibrated so badly he had to seize himself by the ears. There was a wizard with an elephant trunk and a younger witch with extra hands poking from her elbows, and a harassed-looking father whose infant daughter flapped about like a bird with large feathery wings, and a desperate young wizard who hopped about in some kind of painful jig while trying to explain to the buxom blonde reception witch that his brother had given him shoes which were currently eating his feet.
The wall behind the receptionist was covered in notices and posters saying things like A clean cauldron keeps potions from becoming poisons and Antidotes are anti-don'ts unless approved by a qualified healer.There was also a large portrait of a familiar witch with long silver ringlets, beneath which was a placard:
DILYS DERWENT
St. Mungo's Healer 1722–1741
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, 1741–1768
She seemed to be counting the Weasley party; when she reached Hazel she winked and stepped out of sight. The queue moved up, and Hazel got a look at the floor guide:
ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ground Floor
(Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)
CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First Floor
(Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.)
MAGICAL BUGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second Floor
(Contagious maladies, e.g., dragon pox, vanishing sickness,
Scrofungulus, etc.)
POTION AND PLANT POISONING. . . . . . . . . . . . . Third Floor
(Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.)
SPELL DAMAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fourth Floor
(Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)
VISITORS' TEAROOM AND HOSPITAL SHOP. . . . .Fifth Floor
If you are unsure where to go, incapable of normal speech, or
unable to remember why you are here, our Welcome Witch will
be pleased to help.
Eventually they made it to the front, and Molly stepped forward. "Hello dear, it's me again. Is Arthur still in the same ward?"
"Arthur Weasley?" The buxom witch checked a list in front of her, trailing her finger down the names. "No, actually he's been moved to the Dai Llewellyn Ward. Still on the first floor, but it'll be the second door on your right."
"Thank you, dear." Molly smiled warmly at the witch, and turned to the brood behind her. "You heard the lady, let's go!"
Hazel followed after the rest of them. "Have any of you heard of Dai Llewellyn before today?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah, he played for the Caerphilly Catapults back in the 40s. Got eaten by a chimera in 1952 while on holiday in Greece. He was a guy who lived hard!"
"Interesting." It wasn't, really, but now she knew who it was.
They passed through a narrow corridor bustling with more witches and wizards in lime-green robes. Portraits of famous Healers dotted the walls, and crystal balls full of candles drifted up by the ceiling like giant soapsuds. A foul-smelling yellow gas was leaking out from behind a tightly shut door, and distant wailing could be heard; whatever was in there was none of their business, so they hurried on by.
One flight of stairs later and they found themselves on the first floor, the "creature-induced injuries" ward. The second door on the right bore the words "DANGEROUS" DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES. Underneath this was a card in a brass holder on which had been handwritten Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye.
Sirius was conjuring chairs. "Family first for now, I reckon. Arthur doesn't need all of us swarming him at once."
Hazel made to sit down too, but Molly beckoned her ahead. "Come now, Hazel, Arthur wants to thank you!" She wouldn't take no for an answer, so Hazel shrugged and went on in after the excited clan of redheads.
The Dai Llewellyn Ward was clean, but small and somehow dingy despite the cleanliness. Maybe it was the weak light making everything look faded? There were more of those crystal bubble lights, and the only source of natural light was a high, narrow window at the far end. The walls were made of some sort of hardwood, and Hazel recognized Urquhart Rackharrow on a poster; he had invented the Entrail-Expelling Curse, one of her favorite curses!
There were only three people in the ward at the moment. Arthur was at the far end, beneath the narrow window; there was also a wizard who looked rather green in the bed opposite him, and a witch right by the door who had a sly and secretive air about her. Well, she wanted to, but her leg was bleeding right through the dressings and she was clearly in a great deal of pain. "One o' you be a dear an' poke yer 'ead out the door, call up one a' them limey sorts?"
Eager for an excuse to hang back, Hazel did as she requested, yelling for a Healer while the others swarmed their father. She made a face at Remus and turned back to the others; they were happy indeed to see their father alive and well, and he laughed and hugged them all in turn. "Hello hello! Good to see all of you!"
Molly had tears in her eyes as she leaned in and hugged him fiercely, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. "How are you feeling, dear? You're still a bit peaky, aren't you?"
Arthur chuckled. "Only a bit, I'd say. It was a stroke of luck I killed that creature, they were able to bring it in and get samples of its venom! Already brewed up an antidote and everything!"
Behind them, a pair of Healers had entered the ward and were attending to the woman by the door. "Gonna tell us what bit ya then, love?"
The woman was recalcitrant. "Sod off an' change them bandages, will ya? Ain't payin' ya t'- ugh!"
'Ugh' was right, the wound beneath the bandages stank so badly they could smell it clear down at the other end. Hazel couldn't help but gag; the green-faced man retched; Molly scowled and cast a few clean-air charms to lessen the stench. "Merlin's beard, that's awful!"
Arthur grimaced. "Poor woman. Won't tell anyone what bit her, so everyone's assuming she was handling something illegal. Took a great chunk of her leg, whatever it was!"
Ginny jerked a thumb at the other man, who had finished retching and yanked the curtains over his bed. "What's his story?"
"Bitten by a werewolf, the poor man! No cure whatsoever! Healers been trying to convince him he can live normally, so long as he isolates himself once a month."
The mention of a werewolf caused a collective shudder. Molly was especially alarmed. "Is it safe to leave him on a public ward? Shouldn't he have a private room?"
Hazel shook her head. "Full moon's not for another couple weeks, Mrs Weasley. I'll see if he wants to chat with Remus while we're here."
There was a rattling from inside the curtains. "Fuck off! I ain't talkin' a' no one!"
"You fuck off, ya bleeding sod!" Hazel threw up a few muffling charms to ensure their privacy.
Arthur chuckled again, then winced at his wound. "Hazel, I owe you my life, you've made a terrific habit of rescuing us Weasleys. Quite the altruist for a Slytherin!"
"Well, helping you lot just so happens to coincide with my own self-interest, so I've no reason not to." She grinned down at him and shook his hand. "What did they learn from the snake?"
"Ah, well, funny thing, that. Nagini wasn't actually a snake!" He chuckled ruefully at the astonishment in Hazel's face. "I'm serious, they were cutting the creature open to get more venom samples when it began changing right before our eyes! Turned into a woman, it did, very old and withered, but you could tell she had been pretty in her youth."
Hazel had had no clue whatsoever before now, and wondered why Nagini hadn't felt human when she tried to take over. "So that's why I couldn't control her…"
"Possibly, yes. Thankfully they had gotten enough venom beforehand that they could alchemize an antidote, and my recovery is moving along much faster for it! I've still got to take blood replenishing potions every few hours though, just to be on the safe side."
"Will you get in trouble because she was human?"
"For the Killing Curse? Not a bit, I had no idea she wasn't a snake when she attacked, and regular spells weren't working. My life was on the line against what I had every reason to believe was a feral creature! So no, I won't be in any trouble, and the Ministry is in no state to prosecute anyway."
"Right. So what were you guarding down there, anyway?"
Arthur hesitated, and Molly cut in. "Never mind, we can't discuss such things here. Wait until we're in private, please."
Hazel rolled her eyes and cast more muffling and privacy charms. "It's as private as private can get, now spill. Um, please."
Molly started to protest again, but Arthur held up a hand. "We can tell her some things, dear, she knows enough by now she can guess most of it anyway." She glowered at that, but gave up and flounced off, shooing her kids ahead of her.
Once they were gone, Sirius and Remus also came in, and they huddled around Arthur's bed. Hazel got right down to it. "Right then. I know you were at the entrance to the Department of Mysteries, sir, and I know there's a prophecy somewhere in there that Voldemort wants to get his hands on. I know he thinks it will tell him how to defeat me and win the war."
Remus chuckled. "I told you she'd figure it out on her own."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of course she did, with that old bastard feeding her clues."
"Who, Grindelwald? He might have mentioned prophecies. He does teach Divination, after all."
"Smart ass."
"Smart she may be, Albus still gave us explicit orders not to discuss this matter any further with her." Arthur sounded stern, as much as could be for a man confined to a bed. "If she wants to know more, she'll have to appeal to him directly."
"She's already guessed most of it, Arthur, what's the harm in confirming any of it?"
"Albus gave us those orders for a reason, Sirius!"
Hazel huffed an irritated sigh. She was honestly getting so sick and tired of all these Dumbledore simps! "He thinks Voldemort can get inside my head, even when I'm inside the wards at Hogwarts. Which he might be able to, I know I can get inside his head any time I please and there doesn't seem to be much he can do about it."
"Exactly, and there's nothing to suggest it can't go both ways, either. Now, as I said, you'll have to appeal to Dumbledore if you want to know more."
"Ugh! Fine." Smug bastards.
Chapter 59: Losing TimeSummary:Hazel is through letting people stand in her way.
Notes:This chapter is replete with scenes of violence, FYI. And some of it can get a smidge bloody.
Chapter TextHazel sulked while the men talked about stuff she didn't care about, at least until Sirius noticed her sulking. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You alright, kiddo?"
"No, Sirius, I'm not alright." She scowled and pulled away from him. "I'm so sick and fucking tired of being underestimated! I've been actively fighting Voldemort since my first year at Hogwarts and you people still act like I'm a child!"
Remus cocked an eyebrow. "And outbursts like this are supposed to convince us you aren't a child?"
"Bugger off, Remus~"
Arthur shook his head. "Hazel, this has nothing to do with your age or your maturity, and everything to do with Dumbledore's direct orders. And he's directly ordered us not to reveal more of the prophecy than you already know. Like it or not, he's in charge, he's the general, and we have to respect the chain of command."
"Because he's afraid Voldemort will peek inside and find out about it. But I've been practicing Occlumency for years, so that's not an issue!"
Sirius crossed his arms. "And who taught you Occlumency, anyway? Snape, right?" She hesitated a moment too long, and he rolled his eyes. "Exactly. Leave it to him to set up a gap where his master can sneak through without you knowing!"
She'd barely been holding onto her emotions up til then, but hearing Sirius talk shit about Snape pushed her right over the edge! "You smug son of a bitch!" She shot to her feet and had her wand halfway out, and it was only Remus' quick reactions that kept her from doing anything she'd regret later; he snapped his fingers and made her wand stick in its holster.
Sirius had whipped his wand out as well, all amusement wiped from his face, and Remus quickly stepped between him and Hazel. "We've spoken enough! Hazel, you need to leave, now! Go have some tea and cool off or something, I'll come get you when we're ready to head back."
"Whatever!" She stormed out of the room without bowing, dodging around Healers and Weasleys on her way to the stairwell. But she didn't make for the top; she went down to the ground floor and Floo'd back to Grimmauld Place. Remus could take his doublespeak and his judgements and go fuck himself with them; she would get what she needed to know, one way or another! Visiting the Crouch manor could wait!
She grabbed the Cloak of Invisibility from her trunk, as well as the Resurrection Stone and all her rings and jewelry, and made sure her wand was secure in its holster. Then she went back to the fireplace and prepared to Floo her way to the Ministry. Her plan was simple; in the chaos of Fudge's ongoing downfall, security at the Ministry was likely to be lax, especially with no Aurors and only a militia of underpaid mercenaries and dark wizards slouching around.
She'd sneak down to the bottom floor, put an Unspeakable under the Imperius Curse and make them bring her to the prophecies, and then she'd finally have what she needed. At this point she wasn't even sure anymore why she needed it, she was just so sick and tired of things being hidden from her!
She had just grabbed a pinch of Floo powder when a very quiet pop sounded from behind her. "I was afraid I'd find you here, my dear."
Slowly, she turned around, wand already in hand, emotions surging in her head. "Dumbledore."
At a glance he took in the Stone on her finger, the Cloak in her bag, the powder in her fingers. "I know where you are going, Hazel, and I must urge you to reconsider."
"Go fuck yourself, old man! I've had it with this prophecy shit being hidden from me!"
"Hazel, I don't want to use force against you, but I will if I must." He too drew his wand, but slowly and regretfully. "Please, you must understand what is at-"
"I know what's at stake! I know what the prophecy is about, I know everything! I know you're scared Voldemort can get into my head, but he can't!"
"You don't know that, and for this reason I must forbid you from departing for the Ministry of Magic, today or ever."
She scoffed and turned back to the fireplace; he flicked his wand and scattered the Floo powder in her fingers, made the pot on the shelf disappear. "I will not warn you again, Miss Potter. If you do not stand down, I will be forced to duel you."
Hazel took a moment to clamp down on her mind with Occlumency, then turned back to face him again. They were really doing this, they were really about to duel each other. She remembered the first time they had fought, how he had used Transfiguration and basic spells at such a high level that she and all her friends were brought down without obvious effort. Her only hope was to take him by surprise…
She met his gaze, felt the probe against her mental defenses, and smirked when he found nothing. "If I can keep you out, I can damn sure keep him out."
"Hm." After a moment he withdrew. "What exactly do you intend to do at the Ministry, Miss Potter?"
"Break into the Department of Mysteries and get my hands on that prophecy, of course. I know that only the subject of a prophecy can remove its record, and I'm sure I can find someone weak enough that I can Imperio them into helping me."
"Indeed? On top of breaking and entering you would add the Unforgivable Curses to your arrest warrant?"
"What warrant? There aren't any Aurors left to arrest me, and the only member of the Order who can see through my Cloak is old Mad-Eye. They won't let him anywhere near the place!"
She held his gaze a moment longer, then sighed and lowered her wand. "It is a bit half-baked, though. Maybe I'll wait for another day."
His relief was palpable. "Thank you for admitting as much, my dear. Now, put your wand away and let's head back to St Mungo's, shall we?"
She made as if to slide it back into her holster, and he turned toward the fireplace, flicking his wand to put the Floo powder pot back in its place.
And that was when she struck! She cast a silent Sectumsempra as powerfully as she could, and the old man was too slow to react! His face was slashed and his chest began bleeding beneath his robes as the magic went right through the cloth!
No time to stand and marvel at how her plan actually worked. She brought her wand up again! Petrificus Totalus! Expelliarmus! Incarcerous! All cast nonverbally, in the split second it took her to think the spells. Dumbledore deflected the Body-Bind jinx, but not the second two spells, and he was brought down!
Quickly she ran over and snatched up the wand; she felt a sudden surge of power, but was too busy to consider it. "Too slow, old man!"
"So I see." He was breathless and in pain, swiftly bleeding to death, yet had buried the shock of his loss with his usual calm demeanor. "You really are determined, aren't you…"
"Damn straight I am." Dimly she wondered how he could still speak, he should be in too much pain to… whatever, no time for that. "I guess since I defeated you, I've earned the Elder Wand?"
"Indeed you have." The fight had gone out of the old man, and she carefully released him from the ropes. "I don't suppose I can get you to heal me before leaving?"
"Get a Healer to fix you up, I'm losing time." She turned away for a third time, threw the Cloak over herself, grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. "Ministry of Magic!"
Like before there was a great green whirling, which she closed her eyes against, and she was ejected into the Ministry's atrium. She saw she was smart to put the Cloak on before stepping through; a gaggle of grubby warlocks were wandering about the vast hall, and they happened to be down at the Floo end as she emerged. Naturally they saw the flames going off, but seemingly no one coming through. "Wot's all 'is then?"
Hazel cast a silent Confundus Charm and slipped around the goons before they could recover, trusting that they'd be too stupid to recognize when someone had just cursed them. The Ministry had really gone to shit; the atrium was filthy, with graffiti everywhere and the Fountain defiled. Grubby warlocks and mercenaries were scattered about, and as she had counted on, not an Auror to be seen.
She slipped right past them all, and lingered by the elevators waiting for someone to enter. Someone eventually approached, a tall and pock-marked man; without hesitation she put him under the Imperius Curse with the Elder Wand, smirking at the tingling sensation flowing down her arm from her mind, and made him send the lift down to the Department of Mysteries. Once there she forced the man to walk ahead of her. "Take me to the place they keep the prophecies."
"Yes ma'am." She could feel him struggling against her control, but either she was too strong for him or the Elder Wand increased her power that much, because she had no difficulty maneuvering him along. They reached a plain black door, which he opened for her; past that was a circular room, its floor of dark marble, lit only by candles burning with a cool blue flame. "Mark the door before you close it, or we'll lose our way."
Without a word she marked the door with green flames and then shut it; immediately the room rumbled and began whirling about, the blue flames like streaks of neon in her vision; she jammed her wand against the man's throat and closed her eyes, to keep from getting dizzy and having her vision ruined by those blue streaks.
Once the rumbling stopped she opened her eyes; the green-marked door was to her left. "The door opposite that one is the one you want, ma'am."
"Right. Lead the way."
Obediently he marched ahead, still under her control no matter how he fought against her. Through that new door a room full of clocks awaited them, big and small, thousands of them, filling the room with a relentless ticking like tiny soldiers on the march. At the far end was a crystal bell jar glowing with a surreal diamond-bright light, so bright it lit the whole room. "I guess they study Time in here, huh?"
"Yes ma'am. The Hall of Prophecy is through there." He pointed at another door across the room, plain and black and unmarked like all the others.
She nudged him ahead, and he walked onward. Passing by the bell jar she noticed a jeweled egg inside, wafting up and down on an invisible draft; as it wafted to the top of the jar it hatched, revealing a hummingbird, and the egg encased the bird once more as it fell back down to the bottom.
She didn't have time to study it, unfortunately. The door beyond led them into a vast cold hall like an arctic cathedral, with endless rows of shelves all full of dusty glass orbs the size of baseballs. Some were lit from within by a faint, eerie glow, while others were as dead as burnt-out lightbulbs.
"Where's mine?"
"Right this way, down shelf 97." The man led her to the right, and she saw that each towering shelf was numbered. The door came out near shelf 53, labeled as such by silver numbers stamped into the wood below more of those cold blue candles. She cast a warming charm on herself as she followed the man.
Eventually they reached shelf 97, and the man led her down, stopping a little way from the other end. "There it is, ma'am."
Curious that he knew exactly where it was. "Why can't anyone pick these up?"
"Anyone who isn't the subject of a prophecy cannot touch the record, on pain of madness. Two of us have already been sent to St Mungo's because of it."
Us? "Who are you?"
"Augustus Rookwood, ma'am."
"Show me your Dark Mark."
He rolled up his left sleeve without hesitation, and there it was. The grim black skull and snake. Well, that would certainly simplify matters. She turned and looked at the little orb. It had a faded paper label beneath it, and she could barely make out the words:
S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.
Dark Lord
and (?) Hazel Potter
S.P.T. was probably Sybill Trelawney, whatever her middle name was. A.P.W.B.D. had to be Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Christ, his parents must have hated him to give him a name as pretentious as that.
"How do I access the prophecy?"
"Most of the time you smash the orb, but that would be a bit obvious. You could use Legilimency to see inside the orb and access it without breaking it."
"Good idea, thank you." She knocked him out cold with a flick of her wand, and focused on the orb; it was warm to the touch as she picked it up, fitting easily in the palm of her hand. It was easy to sink into Legilimency…
Hazel found herself in a foggy expanse, where a woman in heavy shawls, scarves and necklaces was staring sightlessly into the void, eyes hugely magnified by thick glasses. She approached the woman, recognizing her as Professor Trelawney. Or at least, a projection of her 16 years ago, when she made this prophecy. She opened her mouth…
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark her as his equal, but she will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...."
Chapter 60: Power the Dark Lord Knows NotSummary:Hazel really needs time to decompress before too long.
Chapter TextHazel came back into herself, though it didn't feel like it. This was what Dumbledore wanted to keep from her, and by extension, from Voldemort? What was so special about it? What did this prophecy mean? Confusion and anger fought for supremacy, and she pushed them both down; there was no sense wasting time thinking about it here and now, she had to get the hell out.
She wiped the glass orb with her sleeve, put it in Rookwood's hands for a moment to get his prints and magic all over it, used Rookwood's own wand to put it back in its place on the shelf, and aimed his wand at him. "Avada Kedavra." A rush of green light, and the man's life was snuffed out as easily as breathing. Hazel felt nothing; she didn't allow herself to feel anything; she wiped the wand down before putting it in his hand, drew her Cloak back over herself and hurried to the exit, departing through the Time Room and back into the swirling chamber; the green flame still marked the exit, so once it was done spinning she was able to exit quickly and head for the lifts, dismissing the flames as an afterthought.
She was in luck, a random employee was approaching the gates. She slipped in behind them and waited idly for the lift to reach the atrium, then stopped it and used another Confundus charm on the employee to keep them from questioning why the lift had stopped.
The grubby warlocks were still patrolling half-heartedly about, and it was easy to evade them. Hazel wondered to herself where to go once she reached the Floos; back to St Mungo's, or to Grimmauld Place? She decided on Grimmauld Place; she couldn't very well process her feelings surrounded by Healers and Weasleys, after all. Even if everyone had gone back, she could just get to her room. Maybe. Hopefully. If everyone wasn't all pissed at her for sneaking off or for attacking Dumbledore.
Fuck it. That old man needed to get beaten up now and then, or else he'd wind up all static and useless and fossilized.
She went through the Floo, emerging into the kitchen at her destination. Dumbledore was still there, and to her surprise, so was Snape. Both men turned to face her; something about Snape's demeanor made her think he was angry at her, though it didn't show on his face. "Potter."
"Sir." Sucker-punching Dumbledore was one thing, she doubted she'd be able to pull it off a second time against Snape. "What are you doing here?"
"The wounds you inflicted upon Albus require specialized healing to mend, something the average St Mungo's Healer does not have access to. You must have been aware of this when you left him to bleed out."
"I… I wasn't, actually."
"Peace, Severus, what's done is done. Tell us how it went at the Ministry, Hazel."
Nervously she sat down and told them about her excursion, how she used the Cloak of Invisibility to slip by the mercenaries and how she ran into Rookwood and used the Imperius Curse to force his aid in getting down to the Hall of Prophecy. She told them of her plan to erase his memory after she was done with him, but upon learning he was a Death Eater she decided to kill him instead, leaving his body in the Hall where Fudge's goons and Voldemort's spies were sure to find it.
Snape's expression did not change. "And the record of the prophecy?"
"Left behind after I used Legilimency to view the record without smashing it. I wiped it down and put it in his hands before I killed him, too. It should look like Rookwood tried to grab the prophecy, went mad and killed himself."
"You would make Salazar proud, my dear." The old man didn't seem angry at all, in fact he almost seemed pleased.
And that set off alarms in Hazel's head. Why would he be pleased at this turn of events? "Did you plan all this, sir?"
He chuckled ruefully. "The specifics of you attacking me with Severus' own spells? No. But the rest, you getting angry with me and doing rash things, yes, I did in fact anticipate a very similar course of action." He chuckled again at the look on her face. "Come, my dear, you think I don't know you after watching over you for so long?"
"Fair enough, I guess." She cocked an eyebrow at Snape, who still seemed angry at her. "And what's your problem, sir?"
Snape sneered. "My problem is that for all my attempts to teach you subtlety and discretion, you resorted to untested magic when attempting to duel Albus, magic you did not understand and had no way of undoing."
She could only shrug. "Gimme a break, I had like three seconds to come up with a plan that wouldn't kill either of us or humiliate me. Besides, he was able to summon you, wasn't he?"
Now he looked angry. "That is not the point! He nearly died, and would have if I hadn't been able to come here!"
"Peace, Severus!" Dumbledore glowered at Snape until he subsided, then softened his expression as he looked to Hazel once more. "Now, my dear, do you have questions about the prophecy?"
"Plenty. But do we have time? The Weasleys could be back any moment, I was supposed to go inspect the Crouch estate with Sirius and Remus today."
"An excellent point. Severus, if you would finish your ministrations, you can return to your other duties."
"Pay attention, Potter. If you will insist on using my spells, you will know how to undo them as well." She stepped closer and listened as he waved his wand, chanting a long string of Latin she struggled to keep up with. Luckily he didn't expect her to master it right away, and after making sure the old man drank a blood-replenishing potion, he handed Hazel a vial of silvery fluid. "Upon your return to Hogwarts, make your way to the Headmistress' office and view these in the Pensieve."
"Yes sir." She took the vial and he turned on the spot, disapparating with a faint pop. After a moment she put the vial away and turned to Dumbledore again. "You're really not mad at me, sir?"
"Hardly, my dear. There is only one Horcrux remaining, and once it is purged we can lure Voldemort into a trap of our choosing. Your actions today will simply accelerate matters."
Right, the last Horcrux. "No need to talk in circles anymore, sir, I know the Horcrux is me. We talked about it before, remember?"
"I do indeed remember. I also remember you had not yet determined an acceptable means of purging his soul from your person. Has this changed?"
"I mean…" She hesitated, then sighed. "Apart from dying, no, not really. But I don't wanna die! Not for that bastard!" Her voice rose indignantly at the last few words, and she cringed on the inside.
He gave her a look of endless sympathy. "No one wants you to die, my dear. However, I would urge you to consider the wording of the prophecy. Which part of it stands out to you?"
Here it was, the point of all this palaver. "Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives, I guess. One of us has to kill the other."
"I suspect he would fixate on those words as well. But think a little further back. She will have power the Dark Lord knows not."
Hazel considered those words. "I'm not sure I have any such power, sir. He's even got my mother's protection since he took my blood." Even as she spoke those words, she realized it was a lie; she totally had powers he knew not, like guns. Or the Hallows! But mentioning those would derail their chat so she kept them to herself.
The old man nodded. "While you were down there, did you bother to explore the Department of Mysteries at all?"
"No sir, I was in a hurry. Didn't wanna get caught using Unforgivables on people, you know? Even if he was a Death Eater all along."
"Well. It so happens that there is a room down there which is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. And it is this force that I believe is your greatest weapon in the fight against Voldemort."
"The power the Dark Lord knows not, sure. So what is it?"
He smiled enigmatically. "You'll doubtless find this anticlimactic, but… love."
She blinked in response, waiting for him to finish his thought. When he only smiled wider, she blinked again. "Love?"
"Love~"
She could swear her mind was about to break, trying to make that make sense. So she gave up and decided to make Dumbledore do the thinking for her. "You're right, it is anticlimactic. It also doesn't make one lick of sense! How could love be the power he knows not?"
Before he could answer, there was a chime from the fireplace. "We're almost out of time, my dear. Review Severus' memories at your earliest convenience, they were not easy for him to extract."
"Wha? But-"
That was when the fireplace flared green, and Sirius stepped out. He saw Hazel and scowled. "There you are, you little slag! Where've you been? We've been tearing St Mungo's apart trying to find you for an hour!"
Hazel scowled back. "If you must know, I took a cheap shot at the Professor in a duel, then stole his wand and broke into the Ministry of Magic to get my hands on a prophecy about me and Voldemort."
"Har har." He didn't believe her for a second, she could tell. He shifted his glare to Dumbledore. "Albus, has she been with you this whole time?"
"Not the whole time, dear boy, but otherwise I can vouch that she was safe and sound." That twinkle was back in his eyes, and Hazel felt herself relax.
The fireplace flared again, and Sirius dove out of the way in time for Remus to appear. He saw Hazel, then he saw Dumbledore, and shook his head. "Figures."
"How is Arthur doing?"
Remus moved aside before he could get displaced himself. "He's bound to make a full recovery, but even with a full suite of antidotes that venom was nasty shit. It'll take time to purge the stuff from his body."
One by one the others stepped through the fireplace too, some handling it worse than the rest. Ron and Hermione made a big to-do about Hazel not being around, and she scoffed but let herself get hugged and thumped on the back.
By the time Molly emerged, Dumbledore had left without a word, and Hazel had to justify her disappearance by herself. She decided not to tell the truth, since judging by Sirius' reaction, no one would believe her if she did tell the truth; they would underestimate her again, though she wondered if it was really that unbelievable. So she made up a story about how she came back here to sulk, ran into the old man instead and just sat around talking about feelings and things, which they believed. Gullible fools.
Well. Maybe it was a little unbelievable.
Whatever. "So, lunch and then the Crouch place?"
Sirius and Remus looked at each other, then they both shrugged. "Sure, kiddo."
During lunch, Ron leaned over. "You didn't really attack Dumbledore, did you?"
Hazel cocked an eyebrow, wondering if Sirius had blabbed. "What do you think?"
"I think anyone would be suicidal to duel him, honestly."
"There's a difference between dueling someone and attacking them, Ronald, as you ought to know if you've been paying attention all year. And it doesn't seem like you have."
"Yeah, well…" He had nothing to say to that, and fumed in silence instead.
Remus leaned forward. "Hypothetically, if you did attack him, how would you do it?"
That was easy. "I'd pretend to give up and wait for him to turn his back, then cast nonverbal spells to disarm and disable him. You wouldn't wanna take any chances acting all chivalrous with an opponent like that, after all; trying to stand toe-to-toe with him really would be suicidal."
"Hm." He didn't remark further, and Hazel wondered if she should have told the truth earlier.
It didn't matter in hindsight. She might be Hazel Potter, but who would get away with attacking Albus Dumbledore? Nobody, that's who. He would squash them like a roach if they even thought about trying. The fact that she had not only succeeded but gotten away with it made her feel incredibly smug.
And yet, that smugness was tempered by knowing the old man had accounted for her little act of rebellion (fit of pique?) in his schemes. Honestly, how much of the whole "keep Hazel from learning about the prophecy" thing had been political theater designed to piss her off? How many of her moves had the old man predicted anyway? Christ on a cracker.
Well. Whatever. She had an inheritance to inspect. Just as soon as she was done with this amazing roast beef sandwich~
Chapter 61: The Crouch EstateSummary:Hazel visits her inheritance. It is not what she had expected.
Chapter TextAs soon as she finished the amazing roast beef sandwich, she stood up to take her plate away and wash her hands. "That was lovely. So, are we ready?"
"Winky is always ready to help Miss Hazel!"
Sirius finished up too, though he left his plate for Kreacher to take care of. "Let's get going then. Anyone else wanna come?"
Ginny and Hermione said they would, the others shook their heads. Winky disappeared with a pop and the others took the Floo. "The place is near Burnham-on-Crouch, on the shores of the River Crouch. Real original, I know." He pinched some powder in his fingers and lit the fire, throwing it down. "Crouch estate!"
Hazel went next, and when the green whirling slowed down and spat her out she landed on her feet, moving aside to prevent any collisions. "Wow, this place is… newer than I expected."
Indeed, the room she was standing in looked like it belonged in a modern Muggle house, built in the late 70s or so like the houses along Privet Drive. Only much larger, obviously.
Ginny and Hermione appeared one after another, and they shared similar thoughts. Winky appeared with a pop and a wide smile. "Welcome home, Miss Hazel! Winky hopes you will like it!"
"Why is this place so new, Winky? I had the impression the Crouches were an old family."
"They were! But Master Barty decided to tear it all down and build new! Is still many old things below the foundation, of course…"
"Right." Those were her priority, but for now she'd have to survey her new fiefdom. "Show us around, Winky."
The manor was indeed new, and though Winky had done her best to clean up, Hazel could still tell where it had been left in squalor and filth from before. Stains in the walls and carpets, for instance, or furniture that was torn and mutilated. The kitchen, weirdly, was left mostly untouched, and Hazel was glad they had consumed all the perishable food from the fridge; she was certain Winky would have taken her orders literally and left everything in there to rot.
The bedrooms were the worst. Shredded clothing was everywhere, and the beds reeked of men despite Winky's efforts. Winky clutched miserably at her ears. "Winky was ordered not to throw anything away."
"I don't blame you, Winky." Hazel patted her on the head reassuringly. "Let's take a closer look, make sure there's nothing worth keeping." There were a few books and a wand, which Winky identified as belonging to Crouch Jr.
The master bedroom was where most of Crouch Sr's old life could be seen, and was least damaged. Shelves full of spellbooks and law books, a desk and a king-size bed. A walk-in closet held a plethora of men's robes and clothes, and some of it was even fairly modern. "Did the old man come back here after he was cleared to return to work?"
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, but without a house-elf he probably didn't see a point in restoring the rest of the manor. He knew his days were numbered, and he had other priorities than tidying up."
"Right." Hazel looked down at Winky again. "Winky, we're gonna look downstairs at the old things you mentioned, then I want you to clean this place properly. Burn the old furniture, pack up all your old master's things and put them away. Paint the walls and replace the carpeting, make sure there's power and water and all that, and restore the wards and anti-Muggle jinxes if they've slipped."
"Right away, Miss Hazel!" Clearly ecstatic to be able to properly attend to the mess at last, Winky led them outside. The frozen grounds were somewhat overgrown and the exterior of the house looked abandoned, and Hazel didn't see a driveway or a mailbox, or even a road. But it was clearly hooked up to local power, so how did meter readers get here?
Hermione frowned at the disrepair. "I've always wondered, how do wizard families keep the Muggle authorities off their backs? Especially places like this, with power and water and such."
It was Sirius who answered. "Old Barty probably drew water from the river, either purifying it as he needed to or with some sort of automated system. As far as power, there's a special branch of the Ministry that monitors wizard electricity usage, collects money from those households in Galleons, and pays the relevant Muggle authorities after converting the coins and taking a percentage."
Ginny snickered. "I bet that's a busy office. Half the wizards in this country wouldn't know what electricity was if they got shocked!"
Winky was leading them around the side of the building, where an exterior trap door like a storm shelter could be seen. Hazel knew cellars weren't very common in newer homes, and decided this led to the remnants of the old house.
Sure enough, the steps were carved from stone, and the door was heavy and ironshod. Past this was a long, dreary hallway like a dungeon, and Winky snapped her fingers, lighting the torches set in the walls. Hazel smiled. "I feel right at home down here." The others gave her weird looks, but she ignored them and kept going.
There were indeed dark things down here, spellbooks and artifacts and a ritual circle, and Hazel got the impression that before Barty Sr came along, the Crouches had been neck-deep in the Dark Arts, maybe even supporters of pureblood ideology. She could easily imagine Barty making a show of denouncing his old family ways and parading his so-called purity around, all for the sake of his political career. Then his son went off the deep end and took his ambitions with him!
"Winky, I want you to tidy up down here as well, but don't throw anything away unless it's obviously trash. Once the house above is livable I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time down here. Bring Kreacher and Dobby over too and have them help you set up a shooting range, like the one at Grimmauld Place."
"Yes, Miss Hazel!"
Sirius glared at her but couldn't say anything. She was mistress of this house, after all, and Winky was tied to her, not to him.
In any event, they went back upstairs and took the Floo back to Grimmauld Place, and Hazel got her guns and went down to practice with them for a bit. Sirius followed after her, and they fired a few rounds in silence for a few minutes. Then he put his pistol down and turned to her. "Hazel, did you really attack Dumbledore today?"
She cocked an eyebrow at him. "So what if I did?"
"Don't be pedantic. Did you or did you not attack Albus Dumbledore earlier?"
That got an eye roll. "Yes, I attacked him. He was trying to prevent me from going to the Ministry to learn about the prophecy."
Sirius groaned and facepalmed. "Dammit, Hazel…"
Her irritation flared up immediately. "Don't you 'dammit Hazel' me, Sirius! Don't you dare!"
"Alright alright, I'm sorry." He held his hands up placatingly, and Hazel made herself calm down.
"You saw him when you all showed up again, he was just fine. I didn't maim him at all." She went back to shooting, hoping he would take the hint and either shoot some more or fuck off.
He didn't take the hint, annoyingly enough. "Hazel, look at me, will you? Put the gun down and look at me. You can't just go around attacking people when you don't get your way, got that?"
She rolled her eyes again, but lowered the weapon and looked at him. "When have I ever done that? Except that one time, which you all deliberately left me in the dark and wound me up for weeks, need I remind you!"
"Hazel-"
"I KNOW! I know I'm not supposed to randomly attack people!" She poked him in the chest hard enough to make him stumble backward. "And I don't do that! But Dumbledore was goading me on! He was counting on my attacking him!"
"Huh?" Sirius blinked. "What do you mean, counting on it?"
"Just what it sounds like! He provoked me into attacking him, and then I took his wand!"
There was wonder and confusion in his eyes. "And he let you take it?"
Hazel wondered if Sirius was aware of the Elder Wand, or if he knew more about the legend of the Deathly Hallows than most people did. That reminded her she still had the Stone on her finger, the Cloak in her bag and the Wand in her holster. She further wondered if that meant she was formally the Mistress of Death, or if there was some ritual she had to perform.
"Hello? Earth to Hazel?"
Oh, right. Now was not the time or place to get lost in her own head. "Yes, he let me take it. Sorry. I have to go." She cleaned her guns, put them away, cleaned off her hands and walked out, heading back upstairs and ignoring his further protests.
She went straight to her room and sat down at her desk, grabbing a pen and a sheet of parchment.
Professor Grindelwald,
I defeated Dumbledore and won the Elder Wand. I also control the other two Deathly Hallows. What do I do to become Mistress of Death?
-HJP
Letter written, she rolled it up into a scroll and sealed it so that only Grindelwald could open it. "Wake up, Hedwig, I've got a letter for you to deliver. Make sure he sends a response." She crossed the room and woke her owl up with some treats, and she hooted sleepily but took the scroll in her beak after swallowing the treats and some water. Hazel then carried her to the window, made sure no Muggles were in view, and threw her out; she got the wind under her wings and was aloft quickly.
After that she worked out and took a nap, figuring Hedwig would wake her up once she returned.
An hour later, someone was knocking on the door. "Hazel? You've got a visitor." It was Ron, and he sounded weird.
Wondering who the hell would come here, and more importantly who could get through the wards and charms and shit, she got dressed and slouched downstairs.
She was very surprised to see Grindelwald standing in the foyer, quite at his ease in another of his Victorian-era men's suits. "Professor?"
"Miss Potter." He grinned at her, and his silver eye glinted. "My delay in coming here was only due to having to receive permission from Albus and Lord Black to bypass the Fidelius Charm on this building. Do you have access to a ritual circle?"
"I do, actually, it's at the Crouch manor."
Ron and Hermione looked nervous. "What's this about, Hazel?"
"You're not seriously going off alone with him, are you?"
"I am, and you can't stop me. Dumbledore told him how to get here, so it's fine."
The adults, especially Molly, gave the old warlord distrustful glares, but since Dumbledore had given his permission, there was nothing they could do. Hazel led him to the fireplace and told him how to reach the manor, then proceeded through first.
On the other side, the old warlord marveled at how new the place was, and she agreed with him but led the way outside and around the side of the house. Downstairs into the old foundation, which was much more in line with wizarding aesthetic. Grindelwald smiled. "Mm, this is more like it. I see old Barty's lily-white reputation was but a facade."
"Yeah, pretty much. The ritual circle is through here."
"Are you not worried I might try to reclaim the Wand from you, Potter?"
"No. You lost it before, and Dumbledore trusted you enough to send you here."
"Dumbledore is a trusting old fool."
"I know he is. So if you try to take it from me, I'll kill you."
He just chuckled at that. "You are lucky my repentance is genuine, Miss Potter. Now, to business."