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🕑 Added 2022-05-04 12:56:09 +0000 UTCChapter 16- Strike One
Andromeda was on cloud nine. She was very happy. She and Ted were living very happily. Ted had been taking very good care of her. He was working very hard. He provided her with everything and anything she needed.
But it was the sex that was wild. He was aggressive and though it was not very satisfying for her, she felt herself obeying him so that he is happy.
She did notice that he usually has a maniacal gleam in his eyes during sex. She didn't know why, but that gleam did give her the creeps. She always put it off to her imagination.
She felt dizzy this morning. She felt a bit weak on her legs as well. She didn't want to go to a healer. She would be identified within minutes and her family would be informed.
She decided that she would go see a muggle doctor. She left to see the doctor and after a check up, the doctor had sat her down.
"Congratulations." She said excitedly.
"You are about to become a mother."
Andromeda had frozen in place. Her eyes wide with surprise.
She was having a baby. She was becoming a mother. She was overjoyed.
She had rushed home as quickly as possible, waiting for Ted to come home.
She heard the door open and Ted walked in with a smile on his face.
"Ted?" He raised his eyebrows.
"What has you so happy, Andi?" She couldn't control her excitement.
"I have a surprise for you." She said happily, her eyes alight with joy.
She took his hands in hers and placed it on her belly. She watched the young man who frowned in confusion before his eyes lit up with shock.
"You are…?" Andromeda nodded. "Yes!" She hugged the boy, her eyes letting tears of happiness out. She failed to notice the tightening of his jaw and twitching of his eye.
Ted plastered a fake smile on his face.
"That is great Andromeda." He broke the hug.
"Isn't this great, Ted? We are starting a family. Our own family." Ted nodded, less enthusiastically, but Andromeda failed to notice it.
"Now go and rest for a while. You must not be exerting yourself. It won't go well for the little one." He patted her belly softly.
She nodded and kissed him briefly and left for her room.
—---&&&&------
Theodore Tonks's smile disappeared as soon as the girl left the place. This was bad.
"Crap!" He cursed under his breath. He had not expected to get the girl pregnant. She was just entertainment to him. He wanted the girl for her body. Nothing more.
Now, she has ended up getting pregnant.
He collapsed on the couch. What can he do now? He had been too arrogant in his accomplishment, that he had failed to think of this situation.
This was one situation that he didn't have a backup for.
He had planned this very well. Potion the girl. Get her away from her family. He had come of inheritance since his parents had passed away. His parents were filthy rich. He need not work for a single day in his life. He could live happily.
He had spent a lot to get one of his family homes warded. He had to ward off the trackers and also the owls and also Potter's Phoenix. He had a plan for all of his obstacles, but somehow the issue of pregnancy slipped past him.
He took a deep breath. He would not panic for a simple issue. The baby isn't due for a long time now. He would decide what to do. He quickly got up and straightened his hair. He had a beautiful girl waiting for him back at his hotel room that he had booked for the night.
—--&&&&&-----
Harry frowned as he watched Peter slip away from the group. This had become a recurring occurrence recently. Peter would be as usual as he normally is, until times like this where he would slip off.
Harry suddenly had become wary of Peter. He wanted to know what this was. He wanted to know what Peter was up to. He couldn't afford to have his family torn apart by him once more. His parents made the same mistake once and paid the price for it with their life. This time, he would take a life if it means that his family is safe.
"Where are you going, Peter ?" Harry asked suddenly, and the boy almost fell over in surprise.
He turned back to Harry and avoided meeting his eyes.
"N…nowhere."
Harry hummed. He watched discreetly as the boy slipped away from the common room.
He took out his map and watched every movement of the boy.
He was expecting to see him go to a secluded area and meet somebody. Who, he didn't know.
What he didn't expect was the name that was meeting Peter.
"Remus?" He watched the boy get up and approach him. "What is the matter, Harry?"
"What do you know of Florella Parkinson?" Remus frowned. "Nothing much. She is a quiet girl. Slytherin seventh year. She always remains behind. In short, she is another Peter, but of Slytherin House."
Harry nodded.
"Why do you ask, Harry?" Remus's voice interrupted his thought process. Harry shook his head.
"Nothing, mate. I just asked. I didn't know that there was a Parkinson heiress in Hogwarts. I thought they had a male heir." Remus shook his head.
"He is still younger. A fourth-year." Harry hummed dismissively, his brain already working on overload.
"Thanks, Remus." Harry smiled at the boy as he stood up and left the common room.
"What is he doing?' Harry wondered. 'Why is he meeting Parkinson of all people and why is he all secretive?' He needed answers. He would get the answers at any cost.
—&&&-----
Peter reached his destination, keeping an eye out for his friends. It was not that he was ashamed of what he was doing. No.
It was that he felt weak around his friends.
He was not from a powerful family like Harry, James, or Sirius.
Nor was he handsome or smart enough like the others. He always felt insecure among his friends.
He entered the room softly and looked around. "Ella?" He whispered and he heard a small gasp of surprise.
He entered the room and closed the door before he was hit by a smaller body.
"Peter?" He nodded into her head as she held him tightly. Florella stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly, sighing in contentment.
"How are you?" Peter asked, brushing her hair away from her face. She smiled gently at him.
"I am fine, Peter. Very good. But I am scared, Peter." She whispered.
"My father is looking for a match." She whispered. "He is trying to get me to marry Crabbe." She sobbed.
Peter went rigid. "Is…is it…"
She shook her head. "No. I haven't agreed to it. My father has been writing letter after letter. I haven't budged." She assured him.
"What should we do now, Peter? What other way do we have?" Peter didn't know what to do.
"The Dark Lord. He says that even if Crabbe is in Azkaban, my father must wait and secure their family support. So, he is waiting to sell me off." Florella said.
"What can I do now, Ella?" Peter muttered as he wrung his hands in tension.
He started to walk all around the place. He started biting his nails.
"What you do is come to us and speak, you stupid bastard." Peter and Florella jumped in fright when they heard a third voice near them.
Harry removed the disillusionment charm and stood with his arms folded, a grim look on his face.
"Ha…Harry?" Peter squeaked, his facing paling in fear and uncertainty.
"Who…what are you doing here?" Harry walked forward and stood imposingly in front of the couple.
He silently stared at the two of them, as the two shuffled in front of him.
"Harry… I…uhm… I can explain…." Peter chuckled nervously when Harry punched the boy in his face.
"Peter!" Florella exclaimed in shock and surprise as she rushed forward and stood in front of the fallen boy and Harry Potter.
"What are you doing?" She questioned the taller boy, anger coming to the forefront of her mind.
Harry didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the boy. He watched as he stood up and stepped in front of the girl.
"Harry….please. I can explain?"
Harry raised his hand, silencing the boy.
"You stupid fool." He vanished the mess on his face with a snap of his fingers.
"Are you fucking stupid, Pettigrew?" Harry noticed him flinching but didn't waver from his spot in front of the girl.
"Oh….bloody Merlin!" Harry groaned.
"I was worried sick, damn it."
Peter looked sheepish.
"Is this a matter of silence, Peter? Why didn't you just tell us?" Harry asked
"We would have helped you. Why did you hide this of all things? We would have been ecstatic if you had just confessed this matter."
Peter looked away from the young man's field of vision.
FLASHBACK
Peter hurried towards the transfiguration classroom. Why was transfiguration the first class most of the days? He was not good at waking up on time.
He hastily made his way towards the class, but failed to see another person rushing towards him. The two clashed into each other and fell on top of the other.
"Sorry!" The two voices groaned together.
Peter looked into a pair of curious and clam brown eyes. He felt like ages passed by the time his eyes were drawn elsewhere.
He noticed it was a girl and her green robes showed that she was Slytherin.
"Would you get up?" Her voice was soft and comfortable. He felt relatively at ease.
Peter then noticed that he was lying on top of the girl. "Sorry." He blushed lightly as he stood up and helped the girl up.
"Are you alright?" She asked. Peter nodded. She turned to leave, but Peter suddenly blurted out.
"What is your name?" The dark-haired girl eyed the boy curiously.
"Florella Parkinson." She sniffed at the boy and turned back.
"Wait!" Peter rushed back to her side.
"My name is Peter. Peter Pettigrew."
The girl smiled softly at the boy.
"Come on. McGonagall will be furious that we were late. I don't want to be chewed off just so that somebody decided to crash into me." The two quickly rushed off to the class.
An hour and ten points later, Peter searched for the curious girl. She was nowhere to be seen.
'Maybe she left.' Peter walked back to his dorm.
—&&----
"Oh… I am dead this time." Peter grumbled as he rushed to the Transfiguration class. Just as he was about to reach the class, he crashed into by someone, and collapsed.
He rubbed his head as he tried to rub the bruise. The other person had stood up.
"We crashed into each other once again, didn't we?" Peter glanced up to see the very same girl he had crashed into a few days ago.
"Get up Pettigrew, we will be late once again." The boy nodded and followed her.
After the class was done, the two bumped into each other.
"If you want to study, I know of a place. Come to the fifth floor near the painting of the knight." She whispered before leaving.
Peter stared at the girl, dumbfounded by her offer. He couldn't make out what to do about the offer from the girl. He watched her walk away and he couldn't help but smile.
He would take her on the offer.
FLASHBACK ENDS
"It is not like that, Harry. It's just…" he trailed off, not knowing what to tell the persistent Potter as the first time he met her appeared in his mind.
"Peter is very intimidated by the likes of you and his other friends." Florella spoke from behind Peter.
Harry frowned, not understanding where this was going. "I don't get it. What is he intimidated by?"
"Ella….no." Peter muttered hurriedly, but the girl shrugged his hand off.
"Not scared. No. It is just that he feels a bit intimidated by you lot. Powerful friends, coming from powerful backgrounds and that makes him a bit self-conscious. He doesn't say it. He hates to feel weak in front of me. It took me two years to understand his hesitation to let you guys know about me." She pointed out exasperatedly.
"It's because I am afraid," Peter spoke after a moment. His voice was resigned.
"I am scared that when I bring you guys into the fold, I will not be able to match up to you guys in any way. I was scared that I might lose her. She will see me as somebody weak and leave me. I dreaded that day. I hate that I am weak. I hate the fact that I had to fall in love with someone like her of all people." Peter muttered.
Peter felt a hand turn his neck back to themselves and suddenly the room rang as he received a slap.
Peter stumbled back as Florella slapped him. He was still dazed when she pulled him by his shirt and kissed him passionately, not caring that Harry was still nearby.
Harry watched the two go on with amusement. He still felt a little guilty that he could not see what was troubling a friend.
But in his defense, lots of ill things happened just because of the young man in front of him. He lost his entire world because of him. So, he was apprehensive around the boy. Now, he felt a little bad about not seeing things properly.
He cleared his throat and the couple pulled apart. Florella caressed his now red cheek. "Why would you think that?" She hissed as she held him tightly.
"Do you take me to be so shallow?" She questioned. "It was you, Peter. I was always you. It was you from the very first time we met, though I tried not to show it." She smiled at his gobsmacked expression.
"I love you, Peter. I love you with all my heart. There can never be anybody else. Not for me." She pointed out seriously.
The two remained silent for sometime. They didn't speak a word until Peter broke the silence. "I love you too. More than you can imagine." He muttered.
Harry broke them from their trance.
"So, will you be telling the others about this?" Peter nodded.
"We will." Florella announced defiantly, her head raised in the air.
"But your father…your brother…." Peter trailed.
"Don't have any say in my decision." She argued. "I will not have it any other way, Peter."
"You are very stupid sometimes, Wormtail." Harry shook his head.
"You come out and speak, Peter. That's why we are called friends. We stand by you at all cost. No questions asked if it's the right thing to do." Harry pointed out.
"You two will not have anything to worry about. I give you my word that nothing will come in between the two of you." Harry promised.
"I will leave it to the two of you. Enjoy." Harry waved his hand and walked out of the room.
"Oh…do be careful and use protection, would you? We don't need a mini version of you running around soon, do we?" He laughed as he heard Peter groan in embarrassment.
"Well, whatever it was, I was glad that this was the answer to my question. This is way better than all the scenarios I had in my head." Harry muttered as he walked back to the Gryffindor common room.
The past few months had been very quiet. No trace of Tom or any of his followers. Almost everything had calmed down. Harry though had urged his father and Lord Black to stay alert.
He knew what was coming. He knew why it was silent. He knew that something big was happening. Something very big.
And as luck would have it, that was exactly what was happening without Harry's knowledge.
—-&&&------
"Your plan has failed admirably, Mrs Black." Walburga shivered at the condescending tone of the Dark Lord.
His voice was so casual and yet carried a dangerous glint to it.
"I am sorry, my Lord." She muttered, not daring to look the man in the eye.
"Quite with these apologies, woman. What do you think I am doing here, running a circus?" Lord Voldemort snapped.
"Didn't you tell me that you would have the family split by now?" The woman whimpered when his eyes turned crimson red.
"I did, my lord. But that….that didn't happen." Tom growled at her words.
"I waited for weeks. Weeks now so that your plan would bore some kind of fruit, but that wasn't the case."
"Igor!" He snapped. The Hogwarts defense professor hurried next to the woman.
"News. Is there any news regarding the girl?" He had placed Igor Karkaroff in Hogwarts for only two reasons. One was the Black girl and Harry Potter.
"No my lord. The families have done well to keep this issue under wraps. Nothing is known to anybody about this issue. Students were curious, but then again, nobody would like to draw the ire of Harry Potter and Bellatrix Black." He answered.
Voldemort hummed curiously. "Bellatrix Black, you say." He looked towards Walburga seeking an explanation.
"She is a terror, my lord. Very dangerous. Very good with her wand. Potter himself has trained her and she loves dueling." Walburga explained.
"She would have made a fantastic ally and fighter to our side." Walburga finished.
"Truly….?" The Dark Lord trailed off. He then sat up.
"Macnair?" The burly man stepped up.
"Take a group of my best men. The Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. It's time to plan a few surprises for our very own Mr Potter. Let's see what Bellatrix Black can do in his absence."
—-&&&----
Thomas Avery Sr led the group to the fairly impressive looking house. This task was fairly simple. They were given a target. Their objective, bring the heads of the two people residing in this house.
Fairly easy that they were in a muggle house.
The group of five made it in quietly, before knocking on the door. A few seconds later, an elderly man answered the door.
"Yes? How can I help you?"
Avery sneered. "You can, but we don't need your help." He kicked the man almost suddenly, taking him by surprise.
Another scream, this time feminine rang through the house. Avery smirked.
"No use with that, woman. Your mudblood daughter should have thought this through before she decided to get close to the Potters."
The other men that had stood around Avery trained their wands on the couple.
"Can't say it was a pleasure to meet you." He spat with disgust before a hoard of torture curses left their wands and the couple screamed in pain.
'This would take a while.' He thought with a cruel smile on his face. 'Merlin I am enjoying this.'
—--&&&&------
"Would you look at that?" Avery laughed as the crying and writhing woman dragged pathetically to her husband. He lay still, blood dripping out of his mouth, his body marred with wounds, his breathing almost non-existent.
"Ben…" she muttered weakly, her voice cracking as she tried to shake her husband awake. "Ben…ple…please." She begged, moaning in pain as she dragged his head onto her lap.
"Wake up. ..love." She started sobbing, now desperate to get her husband to respond.
"How touching….." Avery drawled.
"We won't keep you away from him much longer. Soon, you will be right next to him and going on as a foolish old man likes to say, 'the next great adventure'." He quoted.
Avery trained his wand on the woman who had refused to stop shaking her husband.
"Avada……"
Boom!!!!!!
The door burst open and the men jumped at the sudden intrusion. As the dust began to settle down, a flame, a glowing flame of emerald, furious emeralds stared back at them.
"It's Potter." One of the men's voices was heard and Avery froze in his place.
One of the group screamed a hurried killing curse and the boy gracefully stepped away. The next moment the man was raised in the air, as his arms and legs twisted in the reverse direction and snapped, killing the man in mid-air.
Before anybody could reply, the dead man exploded into such fine pieces that blood-spattered around the room, but there was no evidence of a dead body.
Avery dropped his wand as he almost emptied his dinner when the blood splashed against him. Before he could gather his bearings, he felt a solid punch connecting right on his jaw, knocking him out cold.
"You dare?" Harry hissed, the cold tone of his voice and his magic, freezing the surroundings as he glared down at the man.
"You fucking dare?" He roared and the men flinched expecting another rebuttal. When it didn't come, their guard was let down, but that's when Harry struck again. His wand was a blur as he took down the men with lethal and brute force. He showed no mercy.
Within seconds, the other five men were torn apart by Harry. Harry didn't bother with them as he quickly knelt by his actual maternal grandmother.
"Mrs Evans?" The woman flinched when Harry tried to touch her shoulder.
"Mrs Evans. It's fine. They won't be harming you. My name is Harry Potter. I have dealt with them for now." The woman sniffed as she looked back up.
"Are….you…. my Lily's friend?" Harry nodded. "That James boy's brother?" He nodded again.
"Are you all right Mrs Evans?" Harry crouched down next to the fallen couple.
He placed a finger under the older man's nostrils and his heart plummeted when there was no sign of life. He tried a wandless renervate, but it was of no use.
"Can you please call for help?" She begged desperately, still cradling her husband's head.
"I am sorry, Mam. He is no more." Harry whispered.
"No!" She screamed as she pulled on her husband's bloody shirt. "No! He is just injured. Stop joking and call the cops or somebody." She wailed.
Harry allowed the woman to vent. He had no other choice than to be quiet and let the truth sink in.
She took his hands in hers. "Please. Please help him. He is still alive. Please do something!" She screamed into his face.
Reality started to set in as the woman started shaking heavily. Harry could do nothing when the woman collapsed in his arms crying her heart out.
How could he soothe a grieving woman? One who has lost her back bone?
If only he had arrived here faster.
FLASHBACK
Igor Karkaroff raced towards the Gryffindor quarters. "Oh, this will get me killed one way or another." He panted as he came to a stop in front of the tower.
The portrait of the Fat Lady stared down at him. "Open the door." He asked. The lady didn't. "Password?" She asked.
"I don't have one. It's urgent. Please. Make it quick." The woman shook her head.
"No password…no entry."
He felt like pulling his hair one by one.
"Damn it, woman! I am a professor here. Please let me in."
The fat lady didn't budge.
Karkaroff raised his wand. "I'll force myself if that is the case." He was about to cast when he was pushed back by a tremendous force.
"Igor?" Dumbledore stood, his wand out, his eyes absent of the twinkle.
"What are you up to?" His voice contained steel that shook the Bulgarian.
"Headmaster. It is not what it looks like. I need Mr Potter. It's very urgent." He replied as the Headmaster narrowed his eyes.
The Headmaster stood in front of the portrait of the entrance of the Gryffindors.
"Can you please tell Mr Potter, Harry…?" The defense professor nodded when he was asked. "That professor Karkaroff needs him and it's apparently very urgent." The fat lady bowed politely. "Of course Headmaster." She disappeared from the portrait.
"Crazy bint," Karkaroff grumbled.
The Portrait Door opened and Harry stepped out.
He noticed the two men on the outside.
"What are you doing here?" Harry questioned the man.
"The Dark Lord. He has ordered an attack. Your muggle-born friend's house."
Harry froze in place, his face paling.
"Hedwig!" He roared and the Phoenix of Harry Potter burst alive before the two vanished in a flash.
FLASHBACK ENDS
"I am sorry, Mrs Evans. I am truly sorry." Harry whispered, caressing her shoulder to comfort the crying woman.
"Why….why did they do this? They said that my daughter got involved with your family…and now that she paid the price."
Harry winced at this statement. How can he tell her how close to the truth she was?
"Mrs Evans. I will get Lily. Please can you leave this place? This is not safe for you anymore." Harry pleaded with the woman.
"My Ben?" She sobbed. Harry couldn't help but tear up slowly. "We will take him with us." Harry assured.
"We will take you somewhere safe and we will make sure that your husband gets a proper send-off." He promised.
The woman nodded, not finding any words to speak. Harry summoned Tippy and Matty.
The two elves popped in and stared at the carnage brought forth by their master.
"Guys. Can you please bring the two of them to Potter Manor?" Harry whispered.
The two elves nodded. The elves silently approached the older couple and disappeared quietly.
Harry stared at the fallen body of Avery. He felt his fury bubble up to the surface of his brain.
He held the man by his robes and called Hedwig before disappearing.
—-&&&&-----
A tired Harry Potter appeared near the front gates of Hogwarts. He had a huge task on his shoulders. He cursed his fate. He cursed his luck. Why? Why should things happen this way?
He slowly trudged to the Great Hall. Breakfast had begun and he knew the others were expecting him.
Sure enough, Bellatrix and Narcisss rushed to him.
"What happened? Where did you disappear to?" Harry's eyes told them that something had happened
"Lily?" He asked the girls who pointed to his now approaching friends.
"Where did you disappear to?" Harry didn't answer James's question.
"Come with me." Harry turned back to the door. "All of you." The others were curious.
The group had only grown in numbers.
Lily and James had begun dating a long time back and now, Marlene, Alice and Frank joined the group as well. Harry liked these guys. They were good people to have around. The group had become more tight-knit than ever.
"Harry?" Amelia gathered his attention.
"What is the matter?" She asked as they reached the secluded room.
"Lily…." The girl frowned when Harry hesitated to speak to her.
"You can tell me, Harry. What is it?"
Harry steeled his nerves.
"There was a Death Eater attack yesterday night, Lily. I am sorry, but it was at your place and your father didn't make it." Stunned silence met his answer.
The silence was broken when a slap rang through the air.
"You bastard! What kind of prank is this?" She hissed as her hand met Harry's cheek.
Harry didn't stop her. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "They attacked your parents so as to get back at me. This was revenge for Hogsmeade." He explained.
"I was too late, but just in time to save your mother."
"She is in Potter Manor right now and she is expecting you."
Lily was silent for some time. Before Harry could start speaking she slapped him again. And again and again. Harry let the girl vent, as she poured her agony out at him. She began to scream as she started hitting him on his chest and tears poured out of her eyes.
"It's you. You were the reason for this. It was you that caused all of this to happen.
You took away my father." She screamed.
"Go to hell and rot, you bastard. "She slapped him once more and left the room.
" Go after her. Take her home." Harry instructed James. His brother nodded and silently left the room, shooting a sad glance at his brother.
"Oh Merlin." Harry muttered as he went to the corner of the room and slumped against the wall.
"I fucked up royally." Harry muttered as he dropped his head in his hands.
—---&&&------
“Lily…please wait.” James called out to the girl who was leaving very quickly. The girl stopped and turned back to face her boyfriend. James felt extremely sad to watch the usual brilliant glow in Lily’s eyes now looking dead. The very same eyes that Harry carried when they met him for the first time.
James offered the girl his arms and Lily collapsed into his grip, as her body began to shake extremely. James held the girl, offering soft assurances in her ears. The girl’s grip was vice like right now and he wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Come on.” James muttered as he slowly led the girl to the Headmaster’s office. He would floo her to Potter Manor from there. The Headmaster watched the couple enter the room with pity. His usual twinkle in his eyes, absent as he learnt of the fate befallen to the poor girl.
He didn’t try to interfere with the grieving girl and let the couple floo to their destination.
James and Lily flooed into the waiting room of Potter Manor. The house was not lively. It almost seemed dead. James had never seen such silence in his home for a long time. Yes, there were only three members in their home for all these years, but there never used to be such uncomfortable silence around his family home.
They were greeted by his father, whose face was grim and tired. “Ms Evans. I am truly sorry for your loss, my dear.” He soothed the girl who just nodded.
“Just go straight my dear. Your mother has been expecting you for sometime now. I need to have a few words with James.” She didn’t seem to be listening as she stumbled into the corridor and quickly rushed inside.
The two Potters watched the poor girl go. “What about him? How is he doing?”
James chuckled, but any sense of humor was absent from the boy’s tone.
“He is devastated. He was trying very hard to not mind her words, but he was hurt. His eyes shut down completely. I hope Bellatrix and Narcissa are able to help him out of his state.” James really hoped that the girls would be able to distract him. He has a lot on his mind and now this will eat him up from the inside.
“In the meantime, I think it's time for us to reveal a few things to them. I hope I am doing the right thing, but I owe it to Harry.”
Charlus understood what his son was talking about. He didn't know if this was the right decision to make, but he sincerely hoped that his son was taking the right decision. If this fails, the resulting factor will not do well for any of the parties.
TBC-------------
