FIC: "Blood Magic" by ladychi
To: tosca1390
Title: Blood Magic
Author/Artist: ladychi
Pairing: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Teddy Lupin
Rating: M for language, violence and adult situations
Word Count: 4450
Summary: At a Grande Ball held in his honor just 3 years after defeating Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter's godson is kidnapped. Harry and Ginny (with the help of Ron and Hermione) must save young Teddy Lupin before he becomes the victim of a terrible magical crime.
Author/Artist's Notes: First of all, Emma, I sincerely apologize for being a bum about this. I've been on and off of pain meds for my stupid knee with various degrees of success and also, as you know, I'm also just sort of a bum.
I tried to incorporate all those things which I know you like in a story: plot, mystery, adventure, banter, angst and... you know. No babies. In a perfect world, this would be 15K longer but you've done the college thing. Forgive me. Mea culpa.
Thanks to flyingcarpet for the encouragement, the poking, the prodding, and the reminders. I'm so glad to have you as a mod for this competition.
PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING WARNING SERIOUSLY. The way I write Adult Harry Potter is NOT to everyone's liking. It's darker. It's political, sometimes, it's angsty, it's bleak and there is profanity. But if you enjoy that kind of thing, I hope you enjoy this.
Blood Magic
Lights flashed all around them, one right after the other until it seemed one constant bright light was shining in Ginny’s eyes. She and Harry both blinked furiously to try and combat it, Ginny’s hand loosely on Harry’s elbow.
“Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter!” Reporters practically climbed on top of each other to try and get Harry’s attention, but he steadfastedly ignored them.
He bent to whisper in Ginny’s ear. “Can we go inside now?”
“This is your party,” Ginny reminded him, her mouth quirked up in amusement. “We can go in whenever you want, Mr. Guest of Honor.”
“Oh God, don’t remind me,” Harry groaned, but he forced a smile as they passed the line of frenzied reporters. A pair of guards opened the doors to the Ministry’s Hall of Celebration, and they stepped off the red carpet into a grand ballroom.
“Can I take your cloak, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley?”
“Uh -- yes. Sure,” Harry said, still a little flustered. He slipped out of his first and handed it to the waiter. They all stood awkwardly for a moment. “Oh,” Harry said, stepping around to help Ginny out of hers. “Sorry.”
Ginny chuckled. “I would have done it myself, but I’m enjoying watching you squirm too much.”
“Hello there, Mr. Potter!” An anonymous man, presumably one of Harry’s colleagues at the Auror Department, rushed over to their table. “Is this the famous Miss Weasley we’ve heard so much about?”
“Yeah.” Harry’s ears tinged red, but he smiled. “Bert Hayes, this is Ginny Weasley. My -- uh, date. For the, um... you know. Evening.”
Ginny shook Bert’s hand. A waiter came by, carrying a tray of fizzy alocholic drinks and she grabbed two of them. “Here you are,” she said softly. “Drink that and stop swallowing your tongue.”
“This is humiliating.”
“A grand ball, given in your honor?” Ginny pinched his side. “Yeah, I can see how that would be humiliating.”
“If they weren’t doing it for the Orphans of the War fund...”
“They would have never gotten you out of the house,” Ginny said. “I know.”
“Harry!” George beamed at him, reaching out a hand as he approached the table. “Spiffing to see you, old chap. If I do say so, you’re looking positively barmy. Who’s the dame?”
“Shut it, George,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes.
“I say, you’d better keep a low profile, mate. She looks a bit too much like my sister. Only, you know. Classy. People are gonna start to talk.”
“George...” Ginny’s voice trailed off.
“Oh! Look at that. It is my sister. You look lovely, Ginny. Stunning, really. I’d imagine that’s what’s got our boy so tongue-tied.”
“Good to see you,” Harry said, feeling at ease for the first time all evening. “You’re looking well.”
“Ron and I are working on a new product,” George began. “You’re gonna love it. It’s designed to look like your average textbook, but...”
“I assume you are not talking about anymore irresponsible products to interrupt the atmosphere of my classroom, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall’s voice cut through the discussion.
“No! No! Of course not. And speaking of stunning women...”
McGonagall rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Potter. It’s good to see you, Miss Weasley.”
“Thank you for coming,” Harry said sincerely. “It wouldn’t seem right without you.”
“A full three years,” McGonagall said. “It doesn’t seem right, but then time does seem to pass much quicker when you’re older.”
“Uncle Harry!” A streak blurred past the other guests to jump into Harry’s arms. His hair was a shocking bright blue and he was dressed in a set of mini dress-robes decorated with flying brooms.
“Hello, Teddy,” Harry said, squeezing his godson. “How are you today?”
“Good,” he said, tucking his head underneath Harry’s chin. “Grandma says I’m supposed to say thank you for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome,” Harry said. “I’m just glad she let you come.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Andromeda Tonks said, leaning slightly on a cane as she approached the table.
“How’s the ankle?” Ginny asked, pulling out a chair.
“These old bones don’t heal as well as they used to,” Andromeda said, but waved a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing.”
“We could take Teddy for the weekend if you need a break,” Harry said.
“I might very well take you up on that.”
“Sorry we’re late!” Mrs. Weasley said loudly as she approached the table, embracing Harry. “This one,” she gestured to Mr. Weasley, “got out of work a bit late and then I was certain I’d left the kettle on. We simply had to go back. Come here and let me kiss you, Ginny.”
Ginny rolled her eyes, but returned her mother’s affection with genuine warmth. “Hello, Mum.”
“You look lovely. Interesting color on you.... but I think...” Ginny’s conversation with her mother gradually drifted into topics Harry could care less about, so he caught a glimpse of Ron and Hermione as they came through the door, the last of his party that could make it. He left the table and greeted them with open arms. Despite the clearly posted sign that photography wasn’t allowed inside the event, he could see the flashes and hear the clicks of several dozen cameras go off.
“This is why we don’t go places with you anymore, mate,” Ron said, slapping Harry’s back. “Damages the eyesight.”
“Shut up, Ronald,” Hermione said without heat. “I’m surprised you went through with this, actually.”
Harry shrugged. “They were pretty persuasive over at the Orphan’s Fund.”
“They sent their secret weapon,” Ginny said with a grin as she embraced him from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Me.”
“Witches and wizards,” Kingsley’s voice boomed across the room, obviously benefiting from the Sonorus charm. “We welcome and honor a national hero tonight: Harry Potter.”
The room burst into applause. Harry managed to prevent an eyeroll, partially because Ginny had such a firm grip on his hand, subtly reminding him of the rules they’d agreed to.
“Of course, all of the proceeds from the evening will go to fund the War Orphans, an organization both Mr. Potter and myself are extremely fond of.” More polite applause this time. Harry looked up to the head dais where Kingsley was standing. The Minister gestured behind him to a long table. “We will begin serving the meal in ten minutes. Please take your seats.”
The room rumbled as the best and brightest (and rich and obnoxious, Harry thought with a cynical laugh, spotting the Malfoys, in a discrete corner of the room) of the wizarding world pulled chairs out and sat themselves down for a feast.
Harry had tried to get out of the habit of reflecting overmuch on what his life had been like before Hogwarts, before the Weasleys, before the War, but he couldn’t help but think that the eleven-year-old boy he had been would have been shocked to have been allowed to eat such a meal, let alone have one held in his honor. All things good adorned the table. Hams, turkeys, steaming pies. Wine goblets filled with a deep red liquid that was cool and refreshing on the tongue. Conversation was overly polite and a little boring, but Ginny sat next to him, tapping her fingers on his thigh as they both struggled to stay awake while the Minister of Muggle Affairs droned on and on while they ate.
It passed quickly, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief when the remaining food was whisked away with the aid of magic, and a band began to play. Kingsley gestured out to the newly-cleared floor, and Harry fought down the wave of nausea.
“Relax, Harry,” Ginny whispered in his ear as he led her out to the dancefloor. “Just sway with me.”
“You are going to owe me for this,” Harry muttered in her ear. “I’m thinking... costumes.”
Ginny laughed. At some point her girlish giggle had developed into a woman’s chuckle and it ran down his spine like water. It was beautiful. Enchanting.
That was his excuse for being caught unaware.
The doors to the grand ballroom flung open. A wild-eyed woman stepped inside. Her hair was black and scraggly and she looked like she’d been out in the middle of a storm -- leaves and twigs were stuck in her hair and her robes were plastered to her body. She half-staggered to the table where Andromeda was attempting to wrestle a struggling Teddy Lupin away from her, but the preschooler seemed drawn to the stranger.
“Hello, little one,” she half-sang. “You want to come with me, don’t you?”
Harry rushed forward to save his godson, but found himself stopped by something -- he hadn’t felt this out of control of his own body since the first time he’d encountered the Veela. It was different than being under the Imperious Curse, but just as inescapable.
“Harry Potter,” the stranger said, turning to him with a burning glare, “catch me if you can.”
And just as suddenly as she’d appeared, she was gone, Teddy Lupin’s hand in her own. The crowd at the ball broke into chaos as Andromeda let out a scream.
**
“We need to work out what that spell was that held us all back. If we can figure out which spell she used, maybe we can isolate what she wants with Harry.” Hermione said, as she, Ron, Harry and Ginny rushed toward the Auror Department. “I’m going to need access to the library.”
Ron laughed. “Nothing unusual there, right Harry?”
Harry said nothing, his face as closed as it had ever been as he led them through the halls of the Ministry’s maze-like headquarters. Ginny was close on his heels as they pushed their way through hundreds of officials suddenly called back.
“Potter!” Kingsley’s voice stopped them in the corridor. “You should stay out of this case.”
Harry fingered the wand he kept in his holster. “I don’t think so. That’s my godson. My responsibility.”
“You won’t be able to stay objective about this one, Potter,” Kingsley insisted.
“Why don’t we step inside my office, Minister?” Harry asked, icily. The others glanced at each other. He could feel their eyes on him as he and the Minister engaged in a power-struggle, but finally the Minister caved, and they stepped inside Harry’s office together, shutting his friends outside the door.
“This is not the way to go about getting promoted, Harry,” Kingsley said softly.
Harry waved a hand. “I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about being promoted at the moment. That’s my godson some lunatic has, and you are slowing me down with this...” he searched for the word, but could only come up with one... “bullshit. So get out of my way, Minister, and let me have the full power of this Department, or send me home and I’ll kick this psycho’s arse the way I sent Voldemort back to hell.”
Kingsley tapped the desk with one large knuckle. “Harry...”
“I thought, after this ended, you know... that the hardest part of my life was over. I’d be able to have the things I’d wanted because I’d given it all up before,” Harry said darkly. “Well, that’s a bit like thinking the universe owes me something and I mostly figure that’s a bunch of shit, but you’ve got to give me this. That’s my godson. That’s the only family I’ve got left, right there, and someone is trying to take him from me. From his grandmother. I’m the one you want on this, Kingsley, because I’m not going to let this go.”
The Minister drew up his shoulders and took a deep breath. “All right. But no going rogue hero on me, Potter. You use your team. You use your friends. You probably couldn’t stand to lose your family. I don’t know if the world could stand to lose you.”
**
Several hours and no leads later, Ron peaked his head in through the doorway. “Harry? They wanted me to let you know they’ve got a description out on the wireless, and wizards going around asking if anybody’s seen anything suspicious. They’ve shut down all the international Apparition points. If she tries to get out of the country with him...”
“Thanks,” Harry said. “Can you check on Hermione?”
“She just gets annoyed if I keep...” Ron trailed off at the look on Harry’s face. “Sorry, mate. I’ll just, uh... go check on Hermione, then.”
“Thanks.”
**
Six hours had gone by when Ginny opened the door to his office. She shut it behind her, leaning her weight against the frame. She studied the picture before her: Harry’s head bent, his hand scratching out notes on a spare piece of parchment, the stress and exhaustion coming off of him in waves. “I bet this isn’t what you thought you’d be doing as an Auror.”
“What?” Harry looked up from the reports he was reading as fast as he possibly could.
“I bet you thought you’d be breaking down doors, running through alleyways... camping.”
Harry’s lips curved up in a smile. “It’s been... less exciting than the brochure. But... it has its moments.”
“I imagine so.” Ginny sat down in the chair across from his desk. “Your team’s pretty amazing. Hermione might be getting close to answer on the woman and her magic.”
“I wish she’d come work for us full-time,” Harry said absently.
“Do you really?” Ginny crossed her legs and waited for that comment to sink in.
“Wait. What was that supposed to mean?”
“Everyone understands why you’re acting like a bit of an arse now, Harry. Your godson’s been kidnapped. Of course you’re going to go a bit ‘round the bend. But after this over, you should remember how nobody slept and everyone pitched in. You should remember how Esme has consistently refilled your tea cup all night so it’s always hot and you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I...”
“Don’t feel guilty yet. We need you to be an arse for a little bit longer,” Ginny said with a smile. “But we’re going to get Teddy home. It’s going to be soon. And then you’re going to say thank you to everyone who helped, because that’s the man I happen to be crazy about.”
“We don’t know for certain yet that...”
“The universe owes you, Harry. You may not believe in universal balance or karma or... whatever you want to call it. But I do. The universe owes you this.”
Just then there was a knock on the door. Ginny and Harry both sat up straighter. “Come on in,” Harry called.
Hermione and Ron rushed in, pushing past Harry’s well-meaning assistant who had been blocking their way.
“We may have a lead!” Ron announced.
“We?”
“Hermione may have a lead, because she is the most brilliant witch in all of England,” Ron amended.
“The spell she used, that’s not traditional magic. That’s dark magic -- the kind Voldemort rejected as being too passe, actually,” Hermione said. “It’s old. Nobody’s practiced magic like this for centuries.”
“So what does that tell us that’s useful?” Harry asked.
“Well, for ages, there have been rumors of these pockets of... revival witches and wizards,” Hermione said. “I’d mostly dismissed them as flights of academic fancy, but....”
“Hermione,” Ginny said softly, “something Harry can use right now.”
“Oh. Right, yes, of course.” Hermione waved her wand, a map of magical Britain forming on Harry’s desk, rearranged from some of the useless reports Harry had tossed away. “I’ve marked here some of the most likely pockets.”
“Good,” Harry said, jumping to his feet and reaching for his cloak. “That gives us some new places to search.”
“Wait, Harry, I can do one better than that,” Hermione insisted. “This township, here...” she gestured, “Drwg Blaidd. You’ll remember from magical history, of course, that one of the largest massacres of magical kind by Muggles took place here in the second century.”
Harry and Ron exchanged looks. “Yeah, we, uh... remember.”
“No you don’t,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “Honestly. Anyway, the site of the massacre is considered sort of holy by a certain sect of witches and wizards. If this is some kind of, of... political statement, which it could be because none of us recognized her, then...”
“Hermione,” Ginny and Harry said at the same time.
“That’s where I would look. If she’s trying to gain attention for her movement, then... that would be a good place to make one.”
“Okay, we’re on the move,” Harry said, securing his cloak.
“Wait! One more... final... tiny thing,” Hermione said.
“What?”
“This type of magic is... very primal. A lot of it is blood-based. It’s hard to counter-act because, well, Harry, you know.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” Hermione said, her face paling, “that Teddy may not be out of danger when we retrieve him. Or, worse yet, he could be intended for a sacrifice.”
Harry fought off the wave of nausea. “Let’s move!” he shouted to all of the Aurors under his command.
“I’m coming with you,” Ginny said, following close behind him.
“Ginny, you’re not a trained...”
“Teddy knows me. And you’re going to be in full-on Auror mode. Plus, I’ve got some training, through the War Orphans. If anything has, you know... happened, then I can help.”
“All right, but stay behind me, and stay out of trouble.”
Ginny rolled her eyes as soon as she was out of Harry’s sight and crossed her fingers. “I promise.”
**
Apparating into the area on the map was easy enough. Still, for a moment, Harry and all the of the Aurors that went with him were stunned.
“There’s nothing here,” one of them said.
“Wait,” a voice that sounded disturbingly like Hermione’s said. Harry turned, and there she was. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“If I pointed out this was an Auror Department operation and none of you are supposed to be here,” Harry began....
“I’d hex you before you even started,” Ginny said. “Take the help, Harry.”
“Of course, if they’re here or using Teddy for one of their rituals then they won’t be obvious,” Hermione said, talking over Harry and Ginny. “They will have covered their tracks. Cloaking spells, curses.”
“Luckily, Bill taught me nearly everything he knows,” Ginny said, pulling out her wand. “Between the four of us, we probably don’t have much to worry about.”
As soon as she said that, the ground dropped out from underneath of them. They let out a startled yell as they fell for a few seconds. Their fall was broken by a soft patch of... something.
“I swear, if this is Devil’s Snare,” Ron muttered, “someone else gets to be the knight. I’m too old to take a beating like that anymore.”
Ginny pulled out her wand. “Lumos.” A flood of light filled the chamber they found themselves in. They each lit their wands and began to investigate the room. It wasn’t large, and it didn’t take long for them to spot the door at one end of it. An inscription scrolled over the top of it.
“What does it say,” Hermione asked, “‘Abandon hope, all ye who enter here?’” she snickered at her own joke, but no one else got it. “Honestly. Muggle Studies should be mandatory.”
“I say we do what we always do when we encounter a door when we’re unsure of what’s on the other side,” Ron said brightly.
“Recklessly endanger our lives like brainless first-years?” Hermione asked.
“I was going to say ‘Bravely storm the castle and rescue fair maiden’, but you know. Whatever,” Ron grinned at Hermione when she obliged him with an eyeroll.
“What do you think opens the door?” Harry asked.
“Could be a key, a spell,” Hermione approached the door, laying her hands on the wood as though she’d be able to divine something from it.
Ginny sighed and reached around them, turning the handle. It creaked, but it opened. “Alternately, you could turn the knob.”
“Very funny, Gin,” Ron said. “Now I remember why we left you in the dormitories all the time.”
“Wands out,” Harry said, his voice sharp. “Keep a look out. We’re probably walking into a trap.”
“You think?” Ron asked. “The fact that I’m alive boggles the mind sometimes...”
“Shush, Ronald,” Hermione said, pulling her wand out.
The original trio of them moved into a formation that had kept them safe the year that they’d been on their own, watching each others’ backs. Ginny took the end point on the diamond, walking backwards, her wand brandished and her eyes sharp.
They were entering what clearly once had been a town. Thatched roofs. Cracked stone walls. Cobbled streets. A smell in the air of dust, decay, mold and mildew. There was a stillness in the air, a heaviness that weighed in the lungs and made breathing difficult.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Hermione said softly.
“Shut it, Trelawney,” Ron teased, but his spare hand found hers and squeezed.
They were approaching the town center when it happened.
A ring of ruined houses caught on fire around them, instantly hot and high, leaping into the night sky that was just turning into dawn.
“You come at the in-between time, Harry Potter,” a voice said. Harry whirled to try and determine where the sound had come from, but he couldn’t see through the thick smoke produced by the flaming ruins.
“I come for my godson,” he said. “Give him back to me and we can end this.”
“Blood magic saved your life,” the voice hissed, sounding like it was right by his ear. “You owe us to a demonstration of the old arts -- to decide whether or not to devote your life to it.”
“Harry doesn’t give the time of day to crazies,” Ginny said boldly. “Give us Teddy back and we’ll leave peacefully. Otherwise...”
“Your threats are meaningless.”
They backed together, shoulder to shoulder. Hearts racing, the turned in a wide circle to try and find the voice. Finally, Ginny raised her voice and yelled a spell Harry vaguely remembered from his school days. The fire to the south of them extinguished. She did it again. And again. And again.
“A powerful witch,” the voice murmured. “A powerful witch indeed. Yours? Yes, you would need that in a mate. That part of you that was Voldemort would be attracted to a witch like her.”
Harry felt Ginny stiffen at his back. He reached for her hand. “There was no part of me that was ever Voldemort.”
“Tsk, tsk, now you’re lying to Old Yasmine.”
“Give us Teddy,” Ron shouted.
“Oh, the valiant knight who swings his sword blindly in the dark,” Yasmine hissed. “Do be quiet. What have you ever contributed, anyway? And do not rush to his defense, Muggleborn. You are not to speak.”
Harry looked over his shoulder. Hermione’s mouth was sealed shut, though she fought against it.
“I’m not interested,” Harry said. “Give me back who you took from me.”
“Voldemort went back to the ancient times to gather all of his power. Your mother did the same to protect you.” Yasmine slowly materialized, as though someone poured the sand of her body out of some invisible jar. “What will you do to retrieve your young godson, one wonders?”
“What do you want?”
“The blood of the Boy Who Lived.”
“Easy enough.” Harry reached for his knife.
“No!” Ginny grabbed his hand. “Harry, if you give her your blood, she can use it to control you.”
As quick as a cat, Yasmine had Ginny’s hand in her own. “Oh, an interesting palm indeed.”
“Let go of me.”
“Perhaps it is your blood I should be seeking,” she said softly. “Seventh daughter. Mother of the children of the Boy Who Lived. You will see dark times. Very dark times.”
She laughed and then a fit came upon her. She dropped to the ground and seized, her body jerking this way and that. Hermione and Ron took the opportunity to look high and low for Teddy. Harry ran off in the other direction, but Ginny felt compelled to help her, and she dropped to her knees. She laid her head on the woman’s chest, trying to hear her breath.
Yasmine grabbed her hair, and dragged her up. “I bring you a message,” she said softly. “You will be betrayed by one you trust. Perhaps you should choose to leave the young one here.”
“Prophecies don’t scare me,” Ginny said. “And Harry and I will never choose to leave one of our children behind.”
“You may believe that now. But much is beyond your control.”
Ginny sat back while the woman gasped for air. “You tried to take Harry’s godson. You tried to scare me into leaving him. So I choose to leave you. That’s the key word here. Choice. I won’t have his life destroyed by another meaningless piece of prophecy. Harry and I will cross whatever bridges we come to as we come to them.”
“Foolish woman,” Yasmine coughed. “But then, they will also say of you that you were a brave woman.”
Ginny got to her feet. “Gryffindor forever.”
“Ginny!” Harry shouted. “Ginny! I found Teddy!”
“Good,” she called. “Be there in a minute!”
And she stood, and she watched Yasmine die.
**
“It’s not all that surprising,” Hermione said, as they drank tea in Harry’s living room, which was stacked high with beer bottles and takeout boxes. “There’s a reason we don’t practice blood magic anymore.”
“It makes you a loony tunes kidnapper?” Ron asked.
“Well, there’s that. It’s very difficult to hold onto sanity while practicing it,” Hermione acknowledged. “And the other part of it is that it’s fatal. A... revelation like Yasmine had, as old as she must have been... far too much magic coursing through her body at one time. Her system couldn’t take it.”
“That’s why we she wanted the blood of the Boy Who Lived,” Ginny said. “She figured he must be powerful.”
“Yes, using his blood in her magics would have granted her a certain, largely symbolic power. Especially among witches of her kind.”
Harry sighed. “So is this going to be the next thing? Blood magicians making a return?”
Hermione shrugged. “It could be. It’s terribly illegal, of course.” Harry and Ron grinned at each other. Hermione sighed. “That’s more of a deterrent for other people than it is for you, of course.”
“We’re just lucky we got Teddy away before she did any lasting damage, or took any of his blood,” Ron said.
Harry and Ginny nodded, but they both crossed their fingers behind their back.
Title: Blood Magic
Author/Artist: ladychi
Pairing: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Teddy Lupin
Rating: M for language, violence and adult situations
Word Count: 4450
Summary: At a Grande Ball held in his honor just 3 years after defeating Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter's godson is kidnapped. Harry and Ginny (with the help of Ron and Hermione) must save young Teddy Lupin before he becomes the victim of a terrible magical crime.
Author/Artist's Notes: First of all, Emma, I sincerely apologize for being a bum about this. I've been on and off of pain meds for my stupid knee with various degrees of success and also, as you know, I'm also just sort of a bum.
I tried to incorporate all those things which I know you like in a story: plot, mystery, adventure, banter, angst and... you know. No babies. In a perfect world, this would be 15K longer but you've done the college thing. Forgive me. Mea culpa.
Thanks to flyingcarpet for the encouragement, the poking, the prodding, and the reminders. I'm so glad to have you as a mod for this competition.
PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING WARNING SERIOUSLY. The way I write Adult Harry Potter is NOT to everyone's liking. It's darker. It's political, sometimes, it's angsty, it's bleak and there is profanity. But if you enjoy that kind of thing, I hope you enjoy this.
Blood Magic
Lights flashed all around them, one right after the other until it seemed one constant bright light was shining in Ginny’s eyes. She and Harry both blinked furiously to try and combat it, Ginny’s hand loosely on Harry’s elbow.
“Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter!” Reporters practically climbed on top of each other to try and get Harry’s attention, but he steadfastedly ignored them.
He bent to whisper in Ginny’s ear. “Can we go inside now?”
“This is your party,” Ginny reminded him, her mouth quirked up in amusement. “We can go in whenever you want, Mr. Guest of Honor.”
“Oh God, don’t remind me,” Harry groaned, but he forced a smile as they passed the line of frenzied reporters. A pair of guards opened the doors to the Ministry’s Hall of Celebration, and they stepped off the red carpet into a grand ballroom.
“Can I take your cloak, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley?”
“Uh -- yes. Sure,” Harry said, still a little flustered. He slipped out of his first and handed it to the waiter. They all stood awkwardly for a moment. “Oh,” Harry said, stepping around to help Ginny out of hers. “Sorry.”
Ginny chuckled. “I would have done it myself, but I’m enjoying watching you squirm too much.”
“Hello there, Mr. Potter!” An anonymous man, presumably one of Harry’s colleagues at the Auror Department, rushed over to their table. “Is this the famous Miss Weasley we’ve heard so much about?”
“Yeah.” Harry’s ears tinged red, but he smiled. “Bert Hayes, this is Ginny Weasley. My -- uh, date. For the, um... you know. Evening.”
Ginny shook Bert’s hand. A waiter came by, carrying a tray of fizzy alocholic drinks and she grabbed two of them. “Here you are,” she said softly. “Drink that and stop swallowing your tongue.”
“This is humiliating.”
“A grand ball, given in your honor?” Ginny pinched his side. “Yeah, I can see how that would be humiliating.”
“If they weren’t doing it for the Orphans of the War fund...”
“They would have never gotten you out of the house,” Ginny said. “I know.”
“Harry!” George beamed at him, reaching out a hand as he approached the table. “Spiffing to see you, old chap. If I do say so, you’re looking positively barmy. Who’s the dame?”
“Shut it, George,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes.
“I say, you’d better keep a low profile, mate. She looks a bit too much like my sister. Only, you know. Classy. People are gonna start to talk.”
“George...” Ginny’s voice trailed off.
“Oh! Look at that. It is my sister. You look lovely, Ginny. Stunning, really. I’d imagine that’s what’s got our boy so tongue-tied.”
“Good to see you,” Harry said, feeling at ease for the first time all evening. “You’re looking well.”
“Ron and I are working on a new product,” George began. “You’re gonna love it. It’s designed to look like your average textbook, but...”
“I assume you are not talking about anymore irresponsible products to interrupt the atmosphere of my classroom, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall’s voice cut through the discussion.
“No! No! Of course not. And speaking of stunning women...”
McGonagall rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Potter. It’s good to see you, Miss Weasley.”
“Thank you for coming,” Harry said sincerely. “It wouldn’t seem right without you.”
“A full three years,” McGonagall said. “It doesn’t seem right, but then time does seem to pass much quicker when you’re older.”
“Uncle Harry!” A streak blurred past the other guests to jump into Harry’s arms. His hair was a shocking bright blue and he was dressed in a set of mini dress-robes decorated with flying brooms.
“Hello, Teddy,” Harry said, squeezing his godson. “How are you today?”
“Good,” he said, tucking his head underneath Harry’s chin. “Grandma says I’m supposed to say thank you for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome,” Harry said. “I’m just glad she let you come.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Andromeda Tonks said, leaning slightly on a cane as she approached the table.
“How’s the ankle?” Ginny asked, pulling out a chair.
“These old bones don’t heal as well as they used to,” Andromeda said, but waved a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing.”
“We could take Teddy for the weekend if you need a break,” Harry said.
“I might very well take you up on that.”
“Sorry we’re late!” Mrs. Weasley said loudly as she approached the table, embracing Harry. “This one,” she gestured to Mr. Weasley, “got out of work a bit late and then I was certain I’d left the kettle on. We simply had to go back. Come here and let me kiss you, Ginny.”
Ginny rolled her eyes, but returned her mother’s affection with genuine warmth. “Hello, Mum.”
“You look lovely. Interesting color on you.... but I think...” Ginny’s conversation with her mother gradually drifted into topics Harry could care less about, so he caught a glimpse of Ron and Hermione as they came through the door, the last of his party that could make it. He left the table and greeted them with open arms. Despite the clearly posted sign that photography wasn’t allowed inside the event, he could see the flashes and hear the clicks of several dozen cameras go off.
“This is why we don’t go places with you anymore, mate,” Ron said, slapping Harry’s back. “Damages the eyesight.”
“Shut up, Ronald,” Hermione said without heat. “I’m surprised you went through with this, actually.”
Harry shrugged. “They were pretty persuasive over at the Orphan’s Fund.”
“They sent their secret weapon,” Ginny said with a grin as she embraced him from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Me.”
“Witches and wizards,” Kingsley’s voice boomed across the room, obviously benefiting from the Sonorus charm. “We welcome and honor a national hero tonight: Harry Potter.”
The room burst into applause. Harry managed to prevent an eyeroll, partially because Ginny had such a firm grip on his hand, subtly reminding him of the rules they’d agreed to.
“Of course, all of the proceeds from the evening will go to fund the War Orphans, an organization both Mr. Potter and myself are extremely fond of.” More polite applause this time. Harry looked up to the head dais where Kingsley was standing. The Minister gestured behind him to a long table. “We will begin serving the meal in ten minutes. Please take your seats.”
The room rumbled as the best and brightest (and rich and obnoxious, Harry thought with a cynical laugh, spotting the Malfoys, in a discrete corner of the room) of the wizarding world pulled chairs out and sat themselves down for a feast.
Harry had tried to get out of the habit of reflecting overmuch on what his life had been like before Hogwarts, before the Weasleys, before the War, but he couldn’t help but think that the eleven-year-old boy he had been would have been shocked to have been allowed to eat such a meal, let alone have one held in his honor. All things good adorned the table. Hams, turkeys, steaming pies. Wine goblets filled with a deep red liquid that was cool and refreshing on the tongue. Conversation was overly polite and a little boring, but Ginny sat next to him, tapping her fingers on his thigh as they both struggled to stay awake while the Minister of Muggle Affairs droned on and on while they ate.
It passed quickly, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief when the remaining food was whisked away with the aid of magic, and a band began to play. Kingsley gestured out to the newly-cleared floor, and Harry fought down the wave of nausea.
“Relax, Harry,” Ginny whispered in his ear as he led her out to the dancefloor. “Just sway with me.”
“You are going to owe me for this,” Harry muttered in her ear. “I’m thinking... costumes.”
Ginny laughed. At some point her girlish giggle had developed into a woman’s chuckle and it ran down his spine like water. It was beautiful. Enchanting.
That was his excuse for being caught unaware.
The doors to the grand ballroom flung open. A wild-eyed woman stepped inside. Her hair was black and scraggly and she looked like she’d been out in the middle of a storm -- leaves and twigs were stuck in her hair and her robes were plastered to her body. She half-staggered to the table where Andromeda was attempting to wrestle a struggling Teddy Lupin away from her, but the preschooler seemed drawn to the stranger.
“Hello, little one,” she half-sang. “You want to come with me, don’t you?”
Harry rushed forward to save his godson, but found himself stopped by something -- he hadn’t felt this out of control of his own body since the first time he’d encountered the Veela. It was different than being under the Imperious Curse, but just as inescapable.
“Harry Potter,” the stranger said, turning to him with a burning glare, “catch me if you can.”
And just as suddenly as she’d appeared, she was gone, Teddy Lupin’s hand in her own. The crowd at the ball broke into chaos as Andromeda let out a scream.
**
“We need to work out what that spell was that held us all back. If we can figure out which spell she used, maybe we can isolate what she wants with Harry.” Hermione said, as she, Ron, Harry and Ginny rushed toward the Auror Department. “I’m going to need access to the library.”
Ron laughed. “Nothing unusual there, right Harry?”
Harry said nothing, his face as closed as it had ever been as he led them through the halls of the Ministry’s maze-like headquarters. Ginny was close on his heels as they pushed their way through hundreds of officials suddenly called back.
“Potter!” Kingsley’s voice stopped them in the corridor. “You should stay out of this case.”
Harry fingered the wand he kept in his holster. “I don’t think so. That’s my godson. My responsibility.”
“You won’t be able to stay objective about this one, Potter,” Kingsley insisted.
“Why don’t we step inside my office, Minister?” Harry asked, icily. The others glanced at each other. He could feel their eyes on him as he and the Minister engaged in a power-struggle, but finally the Minister caved, and they stepped inside Harry’s office together, shutting his friends outside the door.
“This is not the way to go about getting promoted, Harry,” Kingsley said softly.
Harry waved a hand. “I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about being promoted at the moment. That’s my godson some lunatic has, and you are slowing me down with this...” he searched for the word, but could only come up with one... “bullshit. So get out of my way, Minister, and let me have the full power of this Department, or send me home and I’ll kick this psycho’s arse the way I sent Voldemort back to hell.”
Kingsley tapped the desk with one large knuckle. “Harry...”
“I thought, after this ended, you know... that the hardest part of my life was over. I’d be able to have the things I’d wanted because I’d given it all up before,” Harry said darkly. “Well, that’s a bit like thinking the universe owes me something and I mostly figure that’s a bunch of shit, but you’ve got to give me this. That’s my godson. That’s the only family I’ve got left, right there, and someone is trying to take him from me. From his grandmother. I’m the one you want on this, Kingsley, because I’m not going to let this go.”
The Minister drew up his shoulders and took a deep breath. “All right. But no going rogue hero on me, Potter. You use your team. You use your friends. You probably couldn’t stand to lose your family. I don’t know if the world could stand to lose you.”
**
Several hours and no leads later, Ron peaked his head in through the doorway. “Harry? They wanted me to let you know they’ve got a description out on the wireless, and wizards going around asking if anybody’s seen anything suspicious. They’ve shut down all the international Apparition points. If she tries to get out of the country with him...”
“Thanks,” Harry said. “Can you check on Hermione?”
“She just gets annoyed if I keep...” Ron trailed off at the look on Harry’s face. “Sorry, mate. I’ll just, uh... go check on Hermione, then.”
“Thanks.”
**
Six hours had gone by when Ginny opened the door to his office. She shut it behind her, leaning her weight against the frame. She studied the picture before her: Harry’s head bent, his hand scratching out notes on a spare piece of parchment, the stress and exhaustion coming off of him in waves. “I bet this isn’t what you thought you’d be doing as an Auror.”
“What?” Harry looked up from the reports he was reading as fast as he possibly could.
“I bet you thought you’d be breaking down doors, running through alleyways... camping.”
Harry’s lips curved up in a smile. “It’s been... less exciting than the brochure. But... it has its moments.”
“I imagine so.” Ginny sat down in the chair across from his desk. “Your team’s pretty amazing. Hermione might be getting close to answer on the woman and her magic.”
“I wish she’d come work for us full-time,” Harry said absently.
“Do you really?” Ginny crossed her legs and waited for that comment to sink in.
“Wait. What was that supposed to mean?”
“Everyone understands why you’re acting like a bit of an arse now, Harry. Your godson’s been kidnapped. Of course you’re going to go a bit ‘round the bend. But after this over, you should remember how nobody slept and everyone pitched in. You should remember how Esme has consistently refilled your tea cup all night so it’s always hot and you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I...”
“Don’t feel guilty yet. We need you to be an arse for a little bit longer,” Ginny said with a smile. “But we’re going to get Teddy home. It’s going to be soon. And then you’re going to say thank you to everyone who helped, because that’s the man I happen to be crazy about.”
“We don’t know for certain yet that...”
“The universe owes you, Harry. You may not believe in universal balance or karma or... whatever you want to call it. But I do. The universe owes you this.”
Just then there was a knock on the door. Ginny and Harry both sat up straighter. “Come on in,” Harry called.
Hermione and Ron rushed in, pushing past Harry’s well-meaning assistant who had been blocking their way.
“We may have a lead!” Ron announced.
“We?”
“Hermione may have a lead, because she is the most brilliant witch in all of England,” Ron amended.
“The spell she used, that’s not traditional magic. That’s dark magic -- the kind Voldemort rejected as being too passe, actually,” Hermione said. “It’s old. Nobody’s practiced magic like this for centuries.”
“So what does that tell us that’s useful?” Harry asked.
“Well, for ages, there have been rumors of these pockets of... revival witches and wizards,” Hermione said. “I’d mostly dismissed them as flights of academic fancy, but....”
“Hermione,” Ginny said softly, “something Harry can use right now.”
“Oh. Right, yes, of course.” Hermione waved her wand, a map of magical Britain forming on Harry’s desk, rearranged from some of the useless reports Harry had tossed away. “I’ve marked here some of the most likely pockets.”
“Good,” Harry said, jumping to his feet and reaching for his cloak. “That gives us some new places to search.”
“Wait, Harry, I can do one better than that,” Hermione insisted. “This township, here...” she gestured, “Drwg Blaidd. You’ll remember from magical history, of course, that one of the largest massacres of magical kind by Muggles took place here in the second century.”
Harry and Ron exchanged looks. “Yeah, we, uh... remember.”
“No you don’t,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “Honestly. Anyway, the site of the massacre is considered sort of holy by a certain sect of witches and wizards. If this is some kind of, of... political statement, which it could be because none of us recognized her, then...”
“Hermione,” Ginny and Harry said at the same time.
“That’s where I would look. If she’s trying to gain attention for her movement, then... that would be a good place to make one.”
“Okay, we’re on the move,” Harry said, securing his cloak.
“Wait! One more... final... tiny thing,” Hermione said.
“What?”
“This type of magic is... very primal. A lot of it is blood-based. It’s hard to counter-act because, well, Harry, you know.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” Hermione said, her face paling, “that Teddy may not be out of danger when we retrieve him. Or, worse yet, he could be intended for a sacrifice.”
Harry fought off the wave of nausea. “Let’s move!” he shouted to all of the Aurors under his command.
“I’m coming with you,” Ginny said, following close behind him.
“Ginny, you’re not a trained...”
“Teddy knows me. And you’re going to be in full-on Auror mode. Plus, I’ve got some training, through the War Orphans. If anything has, you know... happened, then I can help.”
“All right, but stay behind me, and stay out of trouble.”
Ginny rolled her eyes as soon as she was out of Harry’s sight and crossed her fingers. “I promise.”
**
Apparating into the area on the map was easy enough. Still, for a moment, Harry and all the of the Aurors that went with him were stunned.
“There’s nothing here,” one of them said.
“Wait,” a voice that sounded disturbingly like Hermione’s said. Harry turned, and there she was. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“If I pointed out this was an Auror Department operation and none of you are supposed to be here,” Harry began....
“I’d hex you before you even started,” Ginny said. “Take the help, Harry.”
“Of course, if they’re here or using Teddy for one of their rituals then they won’t be obvious,” Hermione said, talking over Harry and Ginny. “They will have covered their tracks. Cloaking spells, curses.”
“Luckily, Bill taught me nearly everything he knows,” Ginny said, pulling out her wand. “Between the four of us, we probably don’t have much to worry about.”
As soon as she said that, the ground dropped out from underneath of them. They let out a startled yell as they fell for a few seconds. Their fall was broken by a soft patch of... something.
“I swear, if this is Devil’s Snare,” Ron muttered, “someone else gets to be the knight. I’m too old to take a beating like that anymore.”
Ginny pulled out her wand. “Lumos.” A flood of light filled the chamber they found themselves in. They each lit their wands and began to investigate the room. It wasn’t large, and it didn’t take long for them to spot the door at one end of it. An inscription scrolled over the top of it.
“What does it say,” Hermione asked, “‘Abandon hope, all ye who enter here?’” she snickered at her own joke, but no one else got it. “Honestly. Muggle Studies should be mandatory.”
“I say we do what we always do when we encounter a door when we’re unsure of what’s on the other side,” Ron said brightly.
“Recklessly endanger our lives like brainless first-years?” Hermione asked.
“I was going to say ‘Bravely storm the castle and rescue fair maiden’, but you know. Whatever,” Ron grinned at Hermione when she obliged him with an eyeroll.
“What do you think opens the door?” Harry asked.
“Could be a key, a spell,” Hermione approached the door, laying her hands on the wood as though she’d be able to divine something from it.
Ginny sighed and reached around them, turning the handle. It creaked, but it opened. “Alternately, you could turn the knob.”
“Very funny, Gin,” Ron said. “Now I remember why we left you in the dormitories all the time.”
“Wands out,” Harry said, his voice sharp. “Keep a look out. We’re probably walking into a trap.”
“You think?” Ron asked. “The fact that I’m alive boggles the mind sometimes...”
“Shush, Ronald,” Hermione said, pulling her wand out.
The original trio of them moved into a formation that had kept them safe the year that they’d been on their own, watching each others’ backs. Ginny took the end point on the diamond, walking backwards, her wand brandished and her eyes sharp.
They were entering what clearly once had been a town. Thatched roofs. Cracked stone walls. Cobbled streets. A smell in the air of dust, decay, mold and mildew. There was a stillness in the air, a heaviness that weighed in the lungs and made breathing difficult.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Hermione said softly.
“Shut it, Trelawney,” Ron teased, but his spare hand found hers and squeezed.
They were approaching the town center when it happened.
A ring of ruined houses caught on fire around them, instantly hot and high, leaping into the night sky that was just turning into dawn.
“You come at the in-between time, Harry Potter,” a voice said. Harry whirled to try and determine where the sound had come from, but he couldn’t see through the thick smoke produced by the flaming ruins.
“I come for my godson,” he said. “Give him back to me and we can end this.”
“Blood magic saved your life,” the voice hissed, sounding like it was right by his ear. “You owe us to a demonstration of the old arts -- to decide whether or not to devote your life to it.”
“Harry doesn’t give the time of day to crazies,” Ginny said boldly. “Give us Teddy back and we’ll leave peacefully. Otherwise...”
“Your threats are meaningless.”
They backed together, shoulder to shoulder. Hearts racing, the turned in a wide circle to try and find the voice. Finally, Ginny raised her voice and yelled a spell Harry vaguely remembered from his school days. The fire to the south of them extinguished. She did it again. And again. And again.
“A powerful witch,” the voice murmured. “A powerful witch indeed. Yours? Yes, you would need that in a mate. That part of you that was Voldemort would be attracted to a witch like her.”
Harry felt Ginny stiffen at his back. He reached for her hand. “There was no part of me that was ever Voldemort.”
“Tsk, tsk, now you’re lying to Old Yasmine.”
“Give us Teddy,” Ron shouted.
“Oh, the valiant knight who swings his sword blindly in the dark,” Yasmine hissed. “Do be quiet. What have you ever contributed, anyway? And do not rush to his defense, Muggleborn. You are not to speak.”
Harry looked over his shoulder. Hermione’s mouth was sealed shut, though she fought against it.
“I’m not interested,” Harry said. “Give me back who you took from me.”
“Voldemort went back to the ancient times to gather all of his power. Your mother did the same to protect you.” Yasmine slowly materialized, as though someone poured the sand of her body out of some invisible jar. “What will you do to retrieve your young godson, one wonders?”
“What do you want?”
“The blood of the Boy Who Lived.”
“Easy enough.” Harry reached for his knife.
“No!” Ginny grabbed his hand. “Harry, if you give her your blood, she can use it to control you.”
As quick as a cat, Yasmine had Ginny’s hand in her own. “Oh, an interesting palm indeed.”
“Let go of me.”
“Perhaps it is your blood I should be seeking,” she said softly. “Seventh daughter. Mother of the children of the Boy Who Lived. You will see dark times. Very dark times.”
She laughed and then a fit came upon her. She dropped to the ground and seized, her body jerking this way and that. Hermione and Ron took the opportunity to look high and low for Teddy. Harry ran off in the other direction, but Ginny felt compelled to help her, and she dropped to her knees. She laid her head on the woman’s chest, trying to hear her breath.
Yasmine grabbed her hair, and dragged her up. “I bring you a message,” she said softly. “You will be betrayed by one you trust. Perhaps you should choose to leave the young one here.”
“Prophecies don’t scare me,” Ginny said. “And Harry and I will never choose to leave one of our children behind.”
“You may believe that now. But much is beyond your control.”
Ginny sat back while the woman gasped for air. “You tried to take Harry’s godson. You tried to scare me into leaving him. So I choose to leave you. That’s the key word here. Choice. I won’t have his life destroyed by another meaningless piece of prophecy. Harry and I will cross whatever bridges we come to as we come to them.”
“Foolish woman,” Yasmine coughed. “But then, they will also say of you that you were a brave woman.”
Ginny got to her feet. “Gryffindor forever.”
“Ginny!” Harry shouted. “Ginny! I found Teddy!”
“Good,” she called. “Be there in a minute!”
And she stood, and she watched Yasmine die.
**
“It’s not all that surprising,” Hermione said, as they drank tea in Harry’s living room, which was stacked high with beer bottles and takeout boxes. “There’s a reason we don’t practice blood magic anymore.”
“It makes you a loony tunes kidnapper?” Ron asked.
“Well, there’s that. It’s very difficult to hold onto sanity while practicing it,” Hermione acknowledged. “And the other part of it is that it’s fatal. A... revelation like Yasmine had, as old as she must have been... far too much magic coursing through her body at one time. Her system couldn’t take it.”
“That’s why we she wanted the blood of the Boy Who Lived,” Ginny said. “She figured he must be powerful.”
“Yes, using his blood in her magics would have granted her a certain, largely symbolic power. Especially among witches of her kind.”
Harry sighed. “So is this going to be the next thing? Blood magicians making a return?”
Hermione shrugged. “It could be. It’s terribly illegal, of course.” Harry and Ron grinned at each other. Hermione sighed. “That’s more of a deterrent for other people than it is for you, of course.”
“We’re just lucky we got Teddy away before she did any lasting damage, or took any of his blood,” Ron said.
Harry and Ginny nodded, but they both crossed their fingers behind their back.