Chapter 20
"Home Is"
~~
Feeling rather happy
Feeling rather fine
Feels so good just to get things off my mind
Feeling rather like I might fly
Because this day isn't so bad after all
Like I turned around and saw it all
A little differently
The kind of different that changes everything
That makes each bit seem completely new
The kind of different that I didn't know before
And after all
It was only the way I looked
That did anything
At all
Suddenly the sky is bright
Suddenly there is light
Where there was but shadows tall and grim
Suddenly a smile is on my face
Because I figured it out
The cord snapped that held the answer from me
It fell swiftly into my mind that moment
Whenever it happened
Didn't know
But now I see
It could have been one way
But I see another
Where there was nothing, I see something
Where there was a prison, I see choice
That is mine
Where there was fear, I let go
~~
##Elianne##
Of all the sights she'd dreamt of on the train, the one to meet her at the house after a silent car ride was not this.
Hermione's not speaking should have clued her up to the seriousness of what awaited her at home. But could she ever have guessed this?
Her father.
Standing in the door.
Smiling at her, wondrously.
Embracing her before she'd said hello.
Taking her tightly in his arms like he'd never seen her.
He hadn't had he.
She'd always seen him, in photos.
But to him, it was the first sight of his daughter past the age of one.
She hadn't expected this. It felt like nothing could ruin her holiday. She'd already been given the best present ever.
A parent, who loved her.
Her real parent.
Now she almost had two.
Almost a family. Just not quite.
Aunt and father would do though.
For now.
+++++
##Elianne##
The tree stood quite cheerfully in the centre of the far wall. Dangled off it were gorgeous enchanted glass baubles and star sparkling tinsel. However there were signs that Harry had taken a lot of effort to get it there. Twigs and soil littered a trail up to its place, indicating he all but dragged it to the spot.
Hermione merely laughed and walked out to the kitchen to make most likely more mince pies.
Elianne dropped the bags there, being careful to hide Harry's gifts deep down in it so he'd not be tempted to sneak a peek.
Speaking of her father, Elianne wondered where he was. Ever since he'd been back there had been much talking and catching up but still one question bugged her that she preferred not to bring up in front of her aunt.
She found him sitting in the study on the maroon sofa, reading some quidditch book.
"Dad?"
##Harry##
He looked up to the most amazing sight of his daughter.
Considering he'd not thought he'd ever see her again after the green light had struck him, it was a very cherished view.
"Yes?" he smiled warmly and padded the seat next to her.
She moved over to his side. Poised to say the words. Unsure if they'd hurt.
"I wanted to ask about my mother, my real mum. Kind of. Well, where do I get my red hair from?"
He chuckled at it. Happy it was nothing more difficult than that.
"Your mother had black hair as far as anyone knows but I always got the impression she charmed it like that, so it may well be she was a redhead." His chin quickly crumpled in a sudden thought "though thinking about it, it may just as likely be from your grandmother, my mother, lily. She had red hair. But I can't honestly say. Didn't know much about May's family. They're deceased and she wouldn't speak of them."
Elianne looked on at him
He sensed another question coming.
"What did she look like?"
He smiled inwardly at the memory before answering.
"Look in the mirror, gorgeous like you."
Elianne blushed a little.
But Harry carried on "Had black hair supposedly, at least to everyone other than her and violet eyes. And if you look real close you have violet specks…. just like your mother"
"….just like my mother"
They both completed the line at same time.
Elianne said out loud "jinx"
Harry's same response delayed by a few seconds, with a beam on his face.
And followed closely by his daughters kind cuddle, as her eyes teared up to some extent.
He cuddled her back, finding it fortunate she couldn't see his face anymore.
For it held a small anger for what May had put them through. The fact that Elianne was and always should be ignorant of that. The truth in this case being an emotionally expensive luxury. He squeezed her tighter, hoping she'd never have to know of whatever the answers became.
##Hermione##
Hermione walked in on the two relatives hugging. Elianne got up quickly and rushed off away, mumbling something about packing presents.
Harry gave Hermione a small wince, and a withdrawn sigh.
"Not going well?"
He wiped briefly at his eyes before responding.
"No, its fine. But I'm afraid. I don't want her to know about may. And I'm worried somehow that Elianne will get caught up in this danger, with her friends, at school. All the stuff she told me about Snape too."
Hermione didn't move from the edge of the sofa where she perched
"You know it's probably nothing." She said it in a way that had a mothering tone to it
"That's the thing, I don't think it is nothing. It isn't going away. The order believes…"
"The order?"
He flipped off the comment "Yeah, Ron's organisation. The order of Charadrius. They think they mean business. They're not the type of people who give up. I have a feeling bad will happen and this time I don't want any harm coming to others. I've seen a lot of loss and pain in my time. I couldn't handle it if I lost any more who I cared about, I don't want to lose the people I love."
His hand reached out across the cushion to hers, touching it briefly and then flitting back to his own lap and the pursed hold of his arms.
She glanced to him sideways in the silence.
Wondering what to say.
She didn't have to though.
Elianne burst through, catching one look at them sitting together and made a sly salutation.
Her father simply said "Hi El." Whilst Hermione glared at the figure, that held hands behind her back piously and bobbed on her feet up and down. With an ever eager twinkle in the eye that only interfering teenagers and Dumbledore could manage to pull off.
"Elianne", set in the name was a coded warning that mothers are so adept at.
And daughters it seems are also immune to.
She stared back at both of them, the happy if not unwilling parents as Elianne saw them. After eavesdropping on her fathers conversation her resolve to match make them over Christmas had only been further frozen.
+++++
##Snape##
Snape poised himself closer to his reading lamp, scrutinizing the papers that a large brown owl had delivered a few minutes past.
His office was now upstairs and had a window that of course allowed for owl mail more frequently. Something that had become a precedent in the years gone by.
Besides that the dungeons reminded him of a dank future, one he did without currently. A future needed hope and he saw it better not to lock himself up these days. It seemed rather important after the war that perhaps he initiate some sort of interaction with the world, the one he'd been trying to save for so long. The only outward change of this had been the move of quarters. Else wise his demeanour was as tender less as before. There had been certain events that had seen to that.
Its long path to the potions rooms, still in the dungeons also facilitated patrolling the corridors on his way to class and catching miscreants by the handful. Enough to make his day and ruin the Gryffindor head of houses'.
Today's papers were not the daily prophet or other wizarding monologues. Instead the heap on his desk were in a variety of languages from all around the world.
But all told the same tale.
Mosques, temples, churches; in every major city vandalised. The slogan triumph to khaos slashed and burnt into anything possible to damage.
He read over the headlines and the small summaries using the charmed linguistic glasses that allowed him to understand them.
The muggles claimed it was work of pagans or Satanists. A nice scapegoat for their world. The events coincided with Yule, a traditional pagan festival. A time indeed of great power for even wizards. The ordinary world interpreted it as mere malicious sabotage of the main religions places of worship, which was linked to the special time for the perpetrators.
Snape knew better. He feared for those they blamed. They weren't responsible. Still they'd be punished if they could be.
Instead the real culprits stalked those cities in waiting.
None knew exactly what they had wanted out of this but Snape considered it a showing of power. A message wrapped in folklore twisted.
The dark-holly lord and the oak-sun king made the 'normal' series of events by the pagan calendar. As one was ruling high, the opposite brought them down and the cycle continued. At Yule the dark lord reined over the world, he brought the emptiness of winter and on Yule he was slaughtered by the sun lord, who ended the dark days, brings with him the light of the spring and summer.
By this the members appeared to be saying that this year their Dark Lord would ever still reign.
Snape only hoped they were as ever being delusional in their religious fantasies.
Luckily so far no one had been hurt.
But that might change, depending singly on them.
On whether he and his associates could hinder their undoubtedly nefarious plans.
+++++
##Elianne##
The gathering of the friends and family was taut with tension.
The guests that had arrived were making use of the time by idly fumbling with the cutlery.
The Weasley family members, minus Ron sat uncomfortably. Not since December 1999 had they all celebrated like this. The last time some of them had seen their favourite friend or near-relation, Harry Potter.
Ginny especially sat still, quietly and in melancholy.
Molly was helping Hermione with the veritable feast in the kitchen.
Elianne was entertaining many new faces. She'd never met Charlie before and was quizzing him about dragons. If not for that topic Ron knew his brother would have been answering the questions rather dejectedly.
Elianne's bright green eyes reminded everyone of someone they didn't want to think of.
There were only a few people present who knew of the true meaning of the day.
A diminutive group of four, with a very large, very surprising secret.
Ron looked at his watch. Hermione had popped in five minutes before, telling of dinner around about this time.
He saw Elianne rush out the room as planned.
Hermione made a big fuss of making a noise as she and molly carried the last of the food, the enormous turkey in.
Elianne took the key as planned, leading out someone from the study that no one expected to see in a million lifetimes let alone that day.
The meal went on in good order.
The shock had by now dissipated. With some of them apologising for not getting Harry a present.
Harry flagged off the comments saying seeing them after the years was enough.
Hermione meanwhile had been explaining and reasoning with molly as to why Harry being alive must be kept closely guarded. Everyone else including Elianne had nodded in agreement when Harry had announced that this was between those in the room only.
Molly finally approved of it at the mention of the press and what they'd do to the family if they found out.
The meat disappeared slowly, with molly offering seconds and third to most of the guests despite being a guest in the home herself.
Finally the wishbone was in view and Elianne implemented her carefully thought out arrangement.
"Mum, why don't you take the wishbone?"
Hermione looked up stunned, Elianne barely referred to her like that.
"Ok, but I need someone to share it with."
Elianne smiled and moved to look at her father
"How about Harry?" she said it so fast, all in one sentence, "Dad, would you do the honours?"
Harry got up and went to the head of the table; he stood next to Hermione and took the other side of the v shaped bone.
He closed his eyes and pulled hard.
Hermione to Elianne's delight got the larger half
She clapped quickly in glee and shouted out "make a wish mum"
Hermione looked to be thinking of one and she closed her eyes shortly.
Elianne grinned inside. She hoped it all would be just enough to implant the idea in their minds. 'Mum' and 'Dad'. A family. The perfect lot.
+++++
##___##
The priestess graced the man with her presence finally, holding out her hand to him.
He took it delicately and placed upon it such a light and masterly kiss that it surprised her.
None would know of it though. She merely smiled serenely at his placid face.
She did not wait for him to say any such things as he might, neither did he show any signs of this. She paced the beat of the room telling over the tale she spun.
"Over the ages your family has served the faction on form. They knew of their place in the history that was yet to befall the world. And your father in particular was sighted to foresee your own part in our legacy. He named you as such, Adeodatus. But I ask now what is it that you can do for me?"
The man stared deeply to her, anticipating her every move, that she would find herself eerily looking to his black eyes as she finished her command.
He continued to stare into her, leaning in only to her it seemed. An unearthly expertise he held in it, that he could hold power and will over someone of her position.
She shivered, breathed in sharply, drawing away from his gaze.
It still dug into her bones.
This was what she knew he was made for.
He was to be their leader.
Theirs to follow where there had been none. Where a vacuum had been, he filled the void. In everyway she saw he was more than any other before.
He was the one who'd take them to the Cwendendia. He'd find her no matter what, no matter the cost.
And it was the right way, for any of them, even her, would give their lives to achieve the destiny that was previously denied. As it was just in waiting.
Now the time had come.
She stepped down from the wide pedestal she'd stood on and dropped down to her knees, bowing to him.
"We are yours."
~~
Thin tendrils of fire
My dreams cast in desire
Descended from angels
Fallen from earth
Last touches of grace bestowed
On the fragile life
A chain of people
To make a trail of events
Littering history with traces of hope
They provided enough, just
To save us, from
Our own self hate
Condemning their fate
Changing what would be
If hope does die,
Where will we be
They are gone
For us
The world differs
But is still the same
Their love
A wish, blown out into the wind
A final whisper
Taken, their voices
To speak for them,
For what they'd wanted
The cherished part, they had to save
They are done
The grace all but gone
Lingers just enough for one to see
Its ending flickering embers
Stayed to see that its end was seen
And that it would inspire
A single mind
To take on the quest
We have to want to change
~