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Albus Potter and the Deathly Hallows | ||||||
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Category: Post-Hogwarts Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Romance Warnings: Death, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 77 Summary: Albus has his challenges during his first year. Cleopatra is obviously his soulmate, and has brilliant insights into magic, except she cannot do it like anyone else. Albus has to help her while keeping peace between the two brightest and most competitive students at Hogwarts, Scorpius and Rose. It doesn’t help that people are out to get Albus. Harry is not sure he can keep everyone safe. Then you have Ginny and Cleopatra. Hitcount: Story Total: 79321; Chapter Total: 2506 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: More of the fantastic corrections and consistency checking that Arnel does so well, plus a couple of very nice contributions. |
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On Christmas morning Cleopatra arose and looked at her new clothes. She picked out the nicest blouse and skirt outfit. The blouse was of some shiny fabric, just a little translucent. It had a modest scooped neck, detailing around her bust that highlighted her shape and would allow the blouse to grow as her bust grew, and was reasonably form fitting. You could just see the contrast between the white bra and her chocolate skin through the blouse. The skirt was again just form fitting enough to highlight her shape between her waist and hips, before it flared out. The blouse had three quarters sleeves, and the skirt was three quarters long, so although the entire outfit was very modest by Muggle standards, it was reasonably revealing by the standards of the robes of the old Magi families. Cleo didn’t quite know what to do with the accessories that Rose had bought for her, so she didn’t try to wear them. She came down to breakfast feeling reasonably put together. As Cleo walked into the dining room, Astoria took a good look at her, and attack. “MUGGLE CLOTHES! Who told you that you could wear Muggle clothes in this house? You look like a prostitute. Look at that neckline!” Astoria outlined the border of the neckline with her wand, stinging Cleo’s skin. “Look at those arms. That skirt is way too small!” Astoria said as she stung Cleo’s skin with her wand, touching all the bare skin. “And those little things that pass as shoes,” as Astoria stung the tops of her feet. “Trying to show breasts,” she said as she outlined the border between the bra and Cleo’s skin, again stinging the skin. “You do not need to pad that area to show what you don’t have. You will have boys wanting to paw you soon enough. Paw your breasts and touch all of you and put their tongue in your mouth. Eventually someone will violate your private parts, hurting you. It’s not fun. And then you will have to share your body with another person, and your back will hurt and you will have to use the loo all the time. Nine months of misery.” Great-Grandmother Malfoy cut Astoria off as she said to Cleo, “I think that is a nice outfit. Scorpius, do you like it?” Scorpius said, “I like it. Cleopatra has some nice clothes now.” Great-Grandmother Black said, “Just because the young Mrs. Malfoy is a frigid, sexually repressed bitch doesn’t mean you have to be, Cleopatra.” Great-Grandmother Black and Mrs. Astoria Malfoy glared at each other. Cleo could see Grandmother Narcissa and Mr. Draco Malfoy glaring at Mrs. Astoria, silently telling her to shut up. Cleo and Al, and to a lesser extent Rose and Scorpius, had spent part of the last few days trying to make perfume and shampoo. Reading personalities was important if you wanted the shampoo to smell like the person. Cleo had noticed a “coupleness” in all the couples when she was at the Weasley and Potter houses, and she could also see a difference in any female who had been a mother, or in a male who had been a father. Cleo could see that Great-Grandmother Malfoy and Great-Grandmother Black had been part of a couple, and although it was more mixed up and confused, so Grandmother Narcissa All three of them had been mothers. She tried to see the coupleness between Mrs. Astoria Malfoy and Mr. Draco Malfoy, but she could not see any coupleness. Mr. Draco Malfoy was obviously a father, but it was hard to see much mother in Mrs. Astoria Malfoy, even though Cleo could see that she was Scorpius’s mother. So she turned to Mr. Draco Malfoy and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Malfoy.” “Thank you,” Draco said. “I think you look perfectly acceptable. Please sit down so we can eat.” Cleo beamed as she sat down. “Perfectly acceptable” was high praise from Mr. Malfoy, who was not given to passing out many compliments. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy could not be much worse, and he would support her in the wearing of Muggle clothes, even though he never wore any. If she had Mr. Malfoy and Grandmother Narcissa on her side she would be able to wear anything she wanted. For some reason this was a victory Cleo thought she had to win, and she had. Cleo thought that, if she was fat and not particularly pretty, she could at least show she was female. Great-Grandmother Black said, “I still do not see why Hogwarts wants the students to wear Muggle clothes. The Black family has tried to stay hidden from those awful Muggles. I don’t believe all this nonsense about Muggle cameras that send moving pictures places, machines that keep information about us. We can stay hidden from Muggles, and who cares if we don’t. That Muggle Vice-Minister of Magic Weasley and half-Muggle Potter are just trying to make our lives miserable. After breakfast Cleo noticed Mr. Malfoy almost in tears, as he slowly left the table. Cleo went up to him and asked, “What is wrong, Mr. Malfoy?” Mr. Malfoy looked at Cleo, and said, “She never let me touch her, anywhere, except the minimum we needed to be married, and that with her as clothed as she could be.” Cleo said, “I’m sorry. It sounds like you have had a hard life.” She saw Scorpius starting to come over, and waived him away. She had never talked to Mr. Malfoy like this, and if he was willing to talk she wanted to listen. Mr. Malfoy looked at Cleo, and said, “My father blames me for his imprisonment, and for all sorts of things going wrong. I have been trying to earn his love for as long as I can remember, and ever since Voldemort was killed all I feel is hate. Astoria promised to love me, and I think I was used and betrayed. The only one who I knows loves me is my mother. Even the grandmothers fight, and blame me.” Cleo said, “Scorpius loves you. You are his father.” Draco said, “Do you? Have I been a father to you?” Cleo thought how Mr. Malfoy mostly avoided her. Actually, he sort of avoided Scorpius too. Grandmother Narcissa at least kissed her good night, and taught them, and knew them. Cleo did not know how to answer Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy finally turned and walked away. Cleo knew that the most important thing in her world was happy couples, and she was very sad for Scorpius’ parents. * Christmas day Ginny noticed that James was much more subdued than usual, and when he disappeared right after lunch she used one of Harry’s maps, found him alone in the bedroom he shared with Albus during Christmas, and went up to see him. The door was not closed all the way, and Ginny quietly looked in. On James bed was the Firebolt he had received for Christmas. James had said, seriously or in jest, “If you cannot heal these scars, you can at least get me a Firebolt, so Albus is not faster than me.” James’ reaction to the Firebolt broom was a little less excited than Ginny had expected. James was looking at his scarred arm, and then looking at the broom. Tears were running down, and James was sobbing. Ginny quietly walked into the room, making it obvious so James would not be startled. She sat down on the end of the bed, looked at James, and waited. He looked at her, at his arm, and back at her. Finally he said, “I thought Dad could fix anything, or find someone who could fix it. Am I going to be scarred like this forever?” He almost didn’t get the ‘forever’ out before bursting out into tears again. Ginny said, “Dad will do the best he can, but he never said he could fix everything. There are a lot of people from our generation that your father could not fix, and he still feels guilty that he cannot help everyone.” James said, “But Mum, I’m just a kid. Kids don’t get hurt like this!” Ginny said, “The witch your Grandmother Weasley killed at the Battle of Hogwarts killed Uncle Fabian, long before I was born. He was just a baby, born between Uncle Charlie and Uncle Percy. Grandmum bawls every time she thinks of him. Sometimes little children are caught up in battles and are hurt or killed. “Uncle Fred was a grown up, but he was killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, along with fifty other people. Grandmum lost two sons during the last war.” “You cannot fix this?” James asked, looking at his scarred arm, and then touching his scarred face. “We are going to try,” Ginny said. “We are going to do our best to find out what happened, and what we can do to remove your scars, or at least make them disappear as much as possible. I just cannot promise you that we will succeed.” Ginny had started to cry as she finished talking. She moved over next to James, and held onto him as they both cried. Harry had gone to the office, to try and help find out about the disturbances around St. Mungo and Merlin’s, or Ginny would have had him to come and help. She rubbed the start of her baby belly, and found herself worrying about all four (or was it five now) of her children. When the crying was over James asked his mum, “Is it more important for girls to be good looking than boys?” Ginny said, “It shouldn’t be, but I guess it is. Why are you asking?” James said, “The scarred skin feels different. How will I shave?” Ginny said, “Your Father has a shaving charm that should work. I can see you are starting to get a little hair on your face.” James rubbed the very start of a moustache, and then said, “What if no girl wants to kiss me? What if they don’t want me to touch them with the scarred hand?” Ginny said, “Your Uncle Bill has a scarred face, and he is married to Aunt Fleur. I would not be too worried about attracting girls. Why? Is there a girl you are interested in or that is interested in you?” James said, “Not really. I always knew that girls were different, but they are becoming more different than boys. The Lionhearts were always just people we played Quidditch with, but Erica wears a BRA now. I never thought of her like … She’s not just a kid I fly with, but a GIRL.” Ginny laughed, and said, “That happens. And about your age, or a little older, boys start to notice.” James said, “All I can think about are the scars. I hope you sort of forget about them eventually, or at least don’t think about them all the time.” Ginny said, “I notice the scar on my chest when I am getting dressed and undressed, but usually I don’t notice it at all, or think about it. You will probably be the same way.” James said, “Thank you, Mum. That helps. A Little. Don’t tell anyone I was crying.” Ginny said, “Your secret is safe with me.” She knew she would share this with Harry, but no one else. * Late Christmas afternoon Ginny and Molly were in the kitchen of Potter’s New Burrow, along with some Elves, making a Christmas Day meal. Molly thought of Cleo and Albus, and of what she knew of this girl that was a friend of Rose and more than a friend of Albus. Molly said, “What is going on between Albus and Cleo, Ginny?” “They are soulmates,” Ginny said. “They have been magically linked for years, and they both are very sure they are soulmates. It is just confirming some prophesies that Harry and I have been aware of for years.” Molly said, “Oh my, that serious! How many people know about this?” Ginny said, “At least the major prophets in Switzerland, and some other prophets. Minerva McGonagall and the Sorting Hat both know. The hat told both Albus and Cleo that they were soulmates. We are reasonably sure the evil powers in both the Caribbean and Asia know. Victoire knows now. I am not sure how many other people know.” Molly asked, “What is your relationship with her?” Ginny said, “I’m terrified, but as much as I try I cannot make it wrong. I told her she could call me ‘Mum Potter’ because she needs a mother figure to talk to her, and Mrs. Malfoy does not seem to be able to talk about personal things with her. “Mum, how am I going to handle being a mum to her? I didn’t expect to have two new children this year.” Molly said, “After the Battle of Hogwarts things happened so fast I was numb. I know some days I kept going just because I had to. “Ginny, you have plenty of loving family to support you. Cleo really likes me, and I like her. Please, if you need help ask for it. I’ve helped with plenty of granddaughters, and I can be a grandmother to her as well.” Ginny said, “Thank you, Mum. I needed that. I think she is going to need it too.” Molly said, “I guess I should finish the jumper I was knitting for her.” Ginny said, “You knitted her a jumper?” Molly said, “She sort of reminds me of Harry, no parents, sort of lost in some ways and a powerful and good person in other ways. I don’t know why, but as soon as I saw her I knew she somehow fit, like she was a missing part of the family.” * Thursday morning the twenty eight of December Narcissa brought Cleopatra and Scorpius back to Potters New Burrow, and again Ginny met them, along with Albus and Rose. Cleo said, “Hello, Mrs. Potter, Albus, Rose. Where is everybody else?” Ginny said, “Mr. Potter is working. He usually takes the week between Christmas and New Year off, but between the Dementors Christmas Eve, your family wanting you back, Cleo, and the attack yesterday, he is very worried. “Mrs. Weasley is at the Ministry, and Mr. Weasley is at the store.” Albus said, “The cousins are mostly next door.” He led the children out of the kitchen in the direction of the New Burrow. Narcissa sat down at the kitchen table, and Ginny sat next to her. Narcissa said, “Harry and I are going to talk later this afternoon, here. It is probably better for me not to be seen in the Ministry. We are all worried about all the attacks. It just feels too much like the start of another war.” Ginny said, “I asked my mother how she managed during the last war, and right after. I think she was scared, sometimes terrified. Sometimes she said she kept going because she had to, not because she felt like it.” Narcissa said, “There were times, when Voldemort was living at our house that I thought I should just walk away, and if I was killed it would be better than living with that monster. I am very glad I didn’t do that now.” “I am glad too, Narcissa,” Ginny said. “You have raised Scorpius to be a very nice boy, and I know you did your best with Cleo as well. She feels bad that you are not closer.” “I miss both of the children, Ginny,” Narcissa said. “They are much happier here, especially Cleopatra. I will be going home this evening, after dinner. “I wish I could bring Andromeda back to meet our mother, but Mum is still stuck in her pure-blood prejudice, and does not want to meet her daughter. It’s tragic, really.” * When the four children reached the New Burrow Rose and Scorpius went straight to the library of The Burrow. They were both students of history, and they had left a couple of books there to share. Draco had brought along a couple of books from the Malfoy library for Rose to read, and Rose had found a couple of books from her mother’s library for Scorpius to read. Cleo and Albus wandered over to the kitchen, where Molly was fussing with something, talking to a couple of the Elves. Molly saw the couple, and said, “Oh, hello Cleopatra. I have something for you. Merry Christmas.” She brought out a package. Cleo unwrapped it, and saw a hand knit jumper. It happened to clash gloriously with the blouse and skirt Cleo was wearing, but it didn’t clash with Albus’ jumper. Cleo immediately put it on, and gave Molly a big hug. Cleo said, “Thank you, Grandmum Weasley. It is just like Albus’ books. It makes me feel loved. It makes me feel part of this family.” Molly said, “Run along and have fun. I am working with the Elves on food for all of us for the next couple of days.” As they left, Cleo said to Al, “I would like to work on scents again.” Albus replied, “We can go to Grimmauld Place. I just have to make sure the Aurors know, as well as our Elves. Dad is really worried.” Cleo said, “How do you keep from being scared all the time, Al? I am still shaking from that attack yesterday.” Al said, “I think I am scared, or at least worried, most of the time. It is not a fun way to live.” Al brought out a map of the New Burrow and Potters New Burrow houses, and spotted Scorpius and Rose right away. He and Cleo went to find them. When they entered the library, Rose said to Cleo, “Grandmum made you a jumper!” Cleo said, “It makes me feel loved.” She followed up with a sappy smile. Then she asked, “Do you want to help us make shampoo? We may try some perfume too.” Rose said, “Maybe this afternoon.” Rose and Scorpius never did make it over to help with the shampoo. At dinner Cleo presented each of the cousins with their own personalized shampoo and soap, with instructions to try it. She wanted to examine each of them Friday morning to see if they liked the smell, and if it fitted their personality. Thursday evening after dinner Rose, Cleo and the girl cousins shut themselves in their room with a “no boys allowed” sign on the door. Albus and Scorpius were in the living room reading when Uncle Ron came into the room and said, “Does anyone want to play chess.” Scorpius said, “I will. I think it’s I the only game where I can beat Albus.” Albus continued to read, but he also listened as his Uncle Ron and his friend talked. They sat down to play, Ron keeping up a steady stream of chatter, asking Scorpius about school, about Rose, about everything he could think of. Finally Scorpius asked, “Mr. Weasley, are you just trying to distract me?” Ron smiled, and then said, “You are a bright boy, Scorpius. You would have to be to keep up with Rose. I guess it is a little of both.” Scorpius said, “I will just consider it part of my chess lessons, then. I will have to learn to play distracted.” Ron won all three games they played, but none of them was easy. Finally Ron said, “Who taught you to play chess?” Scorpius said, “My great-grandmother Black. We are not quite even yet, but I am getting close.” Ron said, “What else is she teaching you?” Scorpius said, “She is trying to teach me all about the pure-blood families. Some of it is pretty stupid. The only family with no Muggle blood, at least for a thousand years, was the Gault family. Great-grandmother considers it shameful that the Black family has three five hundred and twelfths Muggle blood. Nine generations back there were three Muggle ancestors.” Ron asked, “The Malfoy family?” Scorpius said, “They do not admit to any, but Great-grandmother says she thinks there is at least one sixty-fourth Muggle blood. The Lestrange family was purer, one or two five hundred and twelfths Muggle.” Ron asked, “What is your Great-grandmother Malfoy like?” Scorpius said, “She is like an observer. She asks questions, and she seems interested in Cleo and me. I don’t understand her. At least she is not complaining about all this pure-blood nonsense. She mostly complains that Grandpa is in prison.” Friday morning almost everybody was at breakfast together. Cleo went to all the cousins and asked about the soap and shampoo. Everybody was happy with the scent of their soap and shampoo, but Cleo was not satisfied with about half of them. Miriam, Fred II’s wife, asked Cleo, “Do you think you can make some baby soap and shampoo for us?” Cleo asked, “Do you know if your baby is going to be a boy or a girl?” Miriam said, “He is going to be a boy. We are going to name him Barack, which means blessing in Swahili. The Magi in Great Britain who go to church mostly go to the Wizard Christian Church, so we are going to join the church here, and baptize Barack.” Cleo asked, “Are you going to church Sunday?” Miriam said, “We will probably go with Albus and his father Saturday night.” Albus and Cleo spent most of the day working on the shampoo, soap, and perfume, or reading about them. About half of the time Rose and Scorpius helped. Friday at dinner, Cleo had new soap and shampoo for about half of the cousins, and soap and shampoo for some of the adults as well. She also had perfume for some of the women. Saturday morning Cleo again went to everyone who had used the shampoo or soap or perfume. Miriam said, “That was fantastic perfume, Cleo! Fred and I both loved it?” Roxanne said, “Frank Longbottom REALLY likes that perfume.” She then whispered in Cleo’s ear, “I am very glad I have birth control potions.” Albus was a little concerned about some of the perfume that Cleo was making, and was riding on the surface of her thoughts when Roxanne spoke to her. Later that morning Albus said to Cleo, “I know you love children, but you do not want the unmarried cousins to start having children.” “I don’t?” Cleo asked, and then she corrected herself, “Oh, I guess I don’t.” Albus worried that Cleo liked babies, and the idea of having babies, just a little too much. Saturday after lunch Al, Cleo Rose and Scorpius were together, and Cleopatra asked Albus, “Al, why do you go to church?” Al said, “I would like my dad to talk to us. I know why I go, but I started to go because he goes to church.” The four went up to Harry, and Albus said, “Will you talk to us about why you go to church, please. I think I go for mostly the same reasons, but maybe you can do a better job of explaining.” Harry sat down with them and said, “Some Muggles believe that when you die that is the end. They do not believe anybody lives on after they die. You have ghosts at Hogwarts, but they are really not the best beings to talk to about death. Ghosts are people who are afraid to pass on to the other side. “I know when Tom Riddle killed me I was in some sort of state between life and death, and I talked to Professor Dumbledore, and he talked to me. I learned some things that I never would have learned if it was all my imagination. I know that as I walked to face Riddle my parents were with me, more than ghosts, along with Sirius Black and Teddy’s father. “Christianity gives me a way of thinking about life after death. “Christianity, like most of the world’s major religions, also has a moral code. I have seen very bad people, and I knew that I wanted to be good, and I wanted to teach my children to be good. The Christian moral code is not a bad place to start. “What I have learned since, from listening to sermons and reading, is that if you take your faith seriously, and few people do, but if you do it is hard to be too proud. The ‘Boy Who Lived’ became ‘the Hero of Hogwarts.’ It would be easy to get real proud and arrogant with that type of resume. When I pray it reminds me that I was not alone, and that I am either very blessed or very lucky to have survived, and even prospered. “Many of the bad people have been concerned only with themselves. Tom Riddle was like that. I do not think he had any friends.” Albus said, “My skills as a Magi are very good, almost as good as the seventh year students. I am worried that I will have to prove myself, and if I succeed there is a great temptation to think you did it all by and for yourself. “I look at Tom Riddle, who could have done so much good, and instead he ruined not only his own life but so many others. I am afraid that if I don’t go to church and thank God for all he has given me I may actually believe I am a little god myself, because I can do things with a wand.” Cleo said, “Is that why Jesus was born in a stinky barn, and not in a palace?” Harry said, “I think that is one reason.” Cleo said, “Why do we not have church at Hogwarts?” Al said, “I would like to have church services at Hogwarts.” Cleo said, “I will play the organ!” Al said, “Thank you, but that’s not why we go to church.” * Ginny did not go to church Saturday evening, but the rest of Harry’s family went. Hermione took her mother and children. Scorpius and Cleo came along. Before they were back Narcissa was in the kitchen of Potters New Burrow waiting to take Scorpius and Cleopatra back to Malfoy Manor for the rest of the holidays. * Just before they went back to school Ginny had a chance to smell the shampoos. She was amazed. Al sent the message that he was trustworthy, an honest scent for a boy his age. Rose’s scent said, amazingly enough, “smart girl,” feminine but somehow with book overtones. Scorpius’ had another honest scent for a boy that said “smart and trustworthy.” Cleo’s scent was distinctive. It was very distinctly feminine, but not really so much like a little girl. It certainly did not say “cute” or “young men come and get me.” It had overtones of Ginny’s mother, Molly. It was almost more a mother’s scent than a little girl’s scent, almost, but not inappropriate for Cleo. It was a scent that both men and women would find comforting and not intimidating, and it and Al’s scents together gave you the impression that these two young people were very nice and could be trusted. When Ginny asked how they had created these scents and feelings Cleo said, “It’s mostly the scents, but partly the spells you use with the scents. Part of the secret is using very tiny amounts of some powerful spells and ingredients. It’s magic really!” Ginny thought that her reaction to these scents was how great a job Cleo had done, with just an overtone of apprehension. She certainly hoped Al and Cleo could be trusted. They had the top marks in school and not one detention among them. Almost too good to be true? She thought back to the days just after the battle of Hogwarts. Maybe too much too fast? There was something else that puzzled Ginny. When you saw Rose and Scorpius together you could tell that they were best friends, although there was a competitive tension between them. They were certainly not looking at each other in any romantic way yet. Almost a feeling that would reassure Hermione and not get Ron too apprehensive yet, but warn him that a romance could develop. Al and Cleo was another issue. How to describe their relationship, and what had Cleo and Al done with the scents and smells and spells to describe it? There was a maturity in Al far beyond his years, and it came across in the scents and smells. With Al and Cleo it was almost an “almost pre-sexual but fully committed” couple. Ginny was almost sure those two would get married, just from the scents. It was really strange. |
| Reviews 77 |
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