Prologue
“It’s over, Salazar,” Godric said, holding the sword before him. “Tell us where the chamber is.” Blowing a strand of blond hair from his eyes. He had been chasing Slytherin for weeks and now they stood in their very own forest, facing each other. Two former friends, comrades, who had shared a common goal, now reduced to enemies.
“I think not, Godric.” Slytherin said, his fingers lingering over the ring on his finger. “I’ve planted the seeds. My heir will open the chamber. That and one other thing is all that is needed.” The green stone on the silver ring glowed, the snake carved into the stone seeming to squirm. Then, with a sickly smile he flung himself forward.
Right onto the point of Gryffindor’s sword.
His ring glowed once, then the light in it died. Godric pulled his sword free and cleaned it, clutching the amulet around his neck. Two women appeared behind him, one gasped, it was Helga.
“Is that it then, is it over?” Rowena asked, her voice shaking.
Using a cloth to keep out of contact from the ring, Godric removed it. “No, Rowena, it isn’t over. Somehow I wonder if it ever will be....”
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A little over 500 years ago five members of the Hood family and five members of the Munchasen family turned to the Dark Arts. No one was ever sure why these particular members turned to evil, but they had. Even though the Hoods and the Munchasens never met, in their own parts of the world they did things so evil even years later the boy who would one day be Lord Voldermort shuddered to hear about them from his History Of Magic professor. No one was safe, not even purebloods. There was no rhyme or reason to their evil, to their killings. They just did it and enjoyed it. When each was caught there was no choice but to use the Killing Curse on them.
So the surviving, sane ones turned their back on magic. Some fell into drink. Others into religious fevers, any religion. They tried to marry just muggles, but love and magic finds a way. Some married squibs without realizing it until it was too late and they had children. Others had affairs with wizards. No matter what they taught their children to avoid magic at all costs.
All until the birth of Ashley Katrina Hood. Her parents, one a Hood, the other a Munchasen, hid the truth from her. That is how she grew to be 26 and unaware she was a witch until she inherented from a British cousin who hadn’t turned his back on magic, gaining the title of Lady Ashley Katrina Hood, and the truth coming out. For two years now she had been the oddity. The first and only adult student of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft & Wizardry. In those two years she had adventures all linked to her friend and ward, Harry Potter, the boy who lived.
Harry Potter’s parents had been killed by Lord Voldermort. Thru the sacrifice of his mother Voldermort had been unable to touch him. Until two years ago he had been living with his unbearable muggle relatives, the abusive Dursleys and their bully son, Dudley. Then the magic that protected Harry from Voldermort while there was compromised and Ashley had fouled up plans to have Hogwarts’ potion master, the insufferable former Death Eater, Severus Snape, to spy on Voldermort. So Harry came to live with her. During her 2nd year the Dursleys were killed. All three of them. Along with the unknown secret keeper, Arabella Figg.
Thoughts about Ashley’s family and his own flitted thru Harry’s mind as he looked around the house he had grown up in. It was his now. With no others alive the hated house fell to Harry.
“Harry,” Ashley said softly, rubbing his shoulder, “I don’t mean to rush you, but we’re not safe here.”
She was right, of course, Voldermort knew about this house now. He or one of his Death Eaters could come in here any second and kill them both. Harry sighed. “Tear it down. Put up a new house and sell it. But - make sure it doesn’t have a cupboard under the stairs.” His choice made he wandered over to the fireplace with it’s fake fire. It seemed like only yesterday that Arthur Weasley had blown the electric fire out and out tumbled him and three of his sons. His hand ran over the mantle.
There was two pinpoints of pain, then fire burning thru him. He was briefly aware of Ashley screaming his name and then her calling out, “Petrificus Totalus!” to something. She forced something down his throat, a potion of some sort - Ashley was a mistress of potions, naturally gifted at it. Harry swallowed weakly then all was blackness.
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The old man withdrew a small vial, inside was a pearly white liquid. “Pheniox tears.” He said. “More exactly, one eighth of a tear. Not enough to fully heal him, but it shall save his life. Hand me that healing potion you made, Lady Hood.” He sniffed the bottle of potion and smiled. “Very good. Professor Snape would be very proud.” Tipping the vial carefully he poured the single part of a tear into the potion and mixed the two.
Ashley lifted Harry’s head and massaged his throat, forcing him to swallow. She had just barely kept him alive. The spider that had bit him was in a jar, attacking the sides violently but thankfully unable to break thru. There was a reason she was keeping it alive. It was a baby Acromantula and Ashley only knew one place that held such a spider -
The Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
Harry coughed a few times and color returned to his face. The bite mark on his hand healed over slowly. Granted, thanks to the same tears Harry had lived thru a basilisk’s bite, but it had taken several undiluted tears to heal him from that. One small tear from an unknown Pheniox was not enough to fully heal him from the spider’s bite.
“The house will have to be checked for more of those.” The wizard doctor said. “What are you going to do with it?”
Ashley picked up the jar and glared at the creature inside that had almost cost her the boy she loved like a son. “I’m going to find out who put it there, and I know only one way to do that.”
“The ministry will want it destroyed.”
“I’ve already fought with the ministry about that.” Ashley smiled a strained smile. “They dare not refuse the guardian of The Boy Who Lived.”
Jenkins, Ashley’s wizard butler, entered the room. “Madam Hood,” he called her madam even though she wasn’t married simply because he had trouble pronouncing mademoiselle and Ashley abhorred the title “Lady”, “Mr. Hagrid has arrived.”
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It was amazing what one could arrange when they were titled, rich, and desperate. In a matter of twenty four hours Ashley had managed to purchase large amounts of livestock, special cages to hold the cows, pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep, and magical horseless carriages to pull the cages. Nervously Ashley rubbed her hands on her robes as Hagrid inspected the cages. The animals shifted inside their cages, as if they knew death awaited them. Thankfully they had been magically silenced.
Hagrid helped Ashley up onto the seat of the lead carriage and sat down next to her. He patted her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry, Ashley,” the half-giant said soothingly, “I’ll nay let any of them ‘arm ye.”
With that thin bit of comfort they were off. Ashley looked back at the empty school grounds, thinking out strange Hogwarts looked without children wandering the grounds. Then she turned around and faced the forest. As the time past and the woods grew darker and spider webs began to show Ashley curled closer to Hagrid, seeking the safety of his bulk. Sensing her dread Hagrid placed a fatherly arm around her shoulders, even though it felt like it weighed a ton Ashley didn’t care. She felt safer with it’s nearly crushing weight around her.
Too soon they were there. Before she could say a word Hagrid had swung her down to the ground. Ashley suppressed the urge to whimper. The silent animals behind her threw themselves around in their cages, knowing that death was too near.
“Hagrid, is that you?” A voice said as a black hairy leg appeared. Then another and another.... until all of the giant spider was before them. “You bring another human to our nest?”
“Yes, Aragog,” Hagrid said, “and I’d appreciate if ye extend her the same courtesy ye extend me. This is me friend, Ashley. Ashley, this is Aragog.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Lord Aragog.” Ashley said with a curtsey, the quiver in her voice betraying her.
“Why should I spare this human, Hagrid?” Aragog asked, ignoring Ashley as if she was - well, just a bug.
“Well, for one thing she brings gifts.” Hagrid motioned and the carts came forward. “Don’t let the silence fool ye, we ‘ad to put a silencing charm on them so we’d be able to speak to ye.”
“Mmm - that is much fresh meat. Too much, you want something, Ashley, friend of Hagrid.” Aragog said, finally looking at her.
“Y-Yes sir.” Ashley said.
“Call me Aragog, I am not human and do not wish human titles.”
“S-Sorry.” Ashley quaked in her dragon skin boots. “You see, Aragog, we found a spider of your species in a muggle house. It bit a wizard boy named Harry Potter. It’s too young to speak to us yet and we were hoping you could tell us if she was one of your children and whom might’ve put her in a muggle home.”
Now from his pocket Hagrid produced the spider who was already bigger then Ashley’s hand. Aragog reached out and touched the spider which reared back and hissed. The way the giant spider lord clicked his fangs together sounded strangely like laughter. He forced the littler spider to crawl onto his leg - and seemed to coo to her.
“She is not one of mine.” Aragog said, “But I will take her in exchange for telling you what she has to say. Once grown this feisty one will make a good bride for one of my sons. We need fresh blood in our line.” He clicked his fangs at the little one crawling over him now. “She says a wizard with long blond hair bought her and put a spell on her so she couldn’t feed until she bit two people.”
“Two people? That must be why Dumbledore insisted on seeing her before we brought her here.” Ashley said. Indeed, the headmaster had spent quite some time alone with the spider, he must’ve been breaking whatever spell was on her.
“Indeed, she was to bite Harry Potter,” Aragog confirmed. Then his eyes focused on Ashley. “And you. I should do it myself for you putting a spell on her yourself, but she says you actually fought very hard to keep her alive. For that I shall spare you. Now, how are we to get to the food you brought?”
“Oh, the cages,” Ashley said, looking sick and pale, “are enchanted so only the touch of a spider can open them. Um - when you’re done the carts will return to Hogwarts.” She just hoped they’d wait until she couldn’t see or hear before the spiders began to feed.
“Go now.” Aragog said even as spiders began to appear from everywhere. “I cannot guarantee my children will hold back from you, Ashley, friend of Hagrid, once they start to feast.”
Hagrid put his arm around Ashley and turned her around. As they walked the sea of spiders parted. One smaller one lunged for Ashley but was knocked aside by an angry Aragog who hissed violently at it.
Then Ashley heard the first spider open up one of the cages. Once open the silencing charm was gone and the blond’s stomach roiled as she heard the first - screams - of the cow followed by a crunching sound.
“Walk slowly,” Hagrid warned her, pulling her closer to his side. “If ye run they’ll think yer prey too.”
Ashley wondered if she could ever eat meat again as she heard the spiders feast behind her. Once they were out of the spider territory she paused to throw up. Hagrid rubbing her back and nearly knocking her down. He led the rubbery legged woman straight to the Hogwarts building. He wished he could take her to the hut first and calm her down but he had his orders straight from Dumbledore. He was to take her to the castle’s Great Hall. There she sat and sipped tea to calm her nerves. It was so weird being there without the laughter of her friends or even the sneers of Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy. The only wizard she knew with long blond hair was Draco Malfoy’s distasteful father, Lucius. He and Ashley had been enemies since the day she had accidently sent him thru a window. Since then he seemed determined to have her dead.
Ashley waited a good hour. Then a half hour more. But no one came. Ashley asked a House Elf what was keeping Dumbledore. It was worse then she could imagine.
Fudge, the head of the Ministry Of Magic, was there.
The first week of the first summer Ashley had taken care of Harry the disgusting minister tried to have Harry taken to Azkaban, the wizard’s prison, saying he was the one who killed Cedric Digotry. It didn’t last long as proof of Voldermort’s resurrection and that he had killed the popular Hogwarts’ student came forth thanks to blackmailing the annoying reporter Rita Skeeter. Fudge was very close to being kicked out of the ministry and was currently holding on by a thread.
Nature called as Ashley sat there. Too much tea and too much waiting around. The bathroom on the ground floor was closed - it seemed Peeves had been bored and threw some very sticky, stinky things all over the bathroom walls on every floor except the dungeons. So with her heart in her throat Ashley went to the realm of Severus Snape, potions master and head of Slytherin house. Everyone thought that last year he had proposed to her. That - that was a lie. Ashley let people think that but in reality Snape had offered to sponsor her for a special potions school in Africa. She had lied to Remus Lupin when he had proposed to her because she couldn’t tell him she just didn’t love him. He would think it was because he was a werewolf. It wasn’t.
It was because she was in love with someone else.
It was darker in the dungeons then usual. Probably since there was no students around there was no reason for much light. Ashley managed to find the bathroom and do what she needed to do. Her hands still damp from washing them, she stepped out into utter darkness.
“Oh, bloody beautiful.” Ashley muttered. While she had decent night vison, Ashley couldn’t see that well in this pitch blackness. Lifting her wand she attempted the Lumos spell, only to watch the light seem to get swallowed by darkness. Nothing penetrated the inky blackness around her. It was as if all light had been eaten by some great beast. Her hands in front of her, she carefully felt along the wall. Time seemed to stretch on forever as she found herself twisting and turning in the darkness. One or twice something skittered across her questing fingers but thankfully nothing bit. Then her fingers touched something and it moved with a grinding sound under her fingers. There was a creaking and cracking as a section of the wall opened and she had to blink several times as a bright green light burst forth like some alien sun.
It was just a simple little secret cupboard. Inside was a silver ring with a green stone. Carved into the stone was a snake that moved as if alive. As if in a trance, Ashley reached in and gently removed the ring. As she was about to slip it onto her finger footsteps sounded behind her. Without thinking about it she put the ring into her pocket and closed the cupboard.
“Lady Hood.” Severus Snape sneered, his beetle black eyes piercing into her mold green ones. “What are you doing down here?” Though she was the greatest potions student he had ever had Snape still treated her like he would any lowly Gryffindor.
“I had to use the bathroom - then - I got lost. It’s hard getting around Hogwarts without students....” The lies seemed natural. For some reason she just didn’t wish to give up the ring. Something about it called to her, begged her to put it on.
“Well,” Snape said, eyeing her as if he didn’t believe her, which he probably didn’t, “you’ve done that I assume? Then follow me, Dumbledore is waiting for you.” He turned, his robes billowing out behind him like bat wings. Gliding away. “So who was he, Lady Hood? Your other - admirer?” His voice held an edge to it.
Swallowing softly, Ashley played with the ring in her pocket. “There is no other admirer. I lied to Lupin to spare his feelings. I - I just don’t love him as anything more then a good friend. I hope someday he understands.”
Snape turned and stared at her for a moment. Was it a trick of the light or did her eyes suddenly look an ice cold blue? No, there was the warm mold green color he was use to. The color he saw in his dreams. “Well, good, love has no place in a potions master or mistress’ life.” He snapped. Then he turned, hiding from Ashley the pained look on his face. The same pain that was in Ashley’s eyes.
They moved in silence up the stairs and back to the Great Hall where Dumbledore waited. He smiled at Ashley, making her feel very relieved.
McGonagall, standing behind him, didn’t smile. Rather she gave Ashley a stern look. Now the adult sat down, squirming like a child about to get a spanking.
“How could you take him there?” McGonagall asked straight away. “You knew the danger! You are suppose to take care of him!”
“He said he had to see for himself.” Ashley said softly, wishing the floor would swallow her up. She looked both at Dumbledore who just nodded to her and to Snape who was unreadable. “He begged to see it. I couldn’t deny him. I doubt I could’ve stopped him.”
“Indeed you couldn’t.” Dumbledore said, reaching out and patting Ashley’s hand. “What did Aragog tell you?”
“The spider wasn’t one of his.” Ashley said, feeling a little stronger. “She was bought and a spell was put on her by “a wizard with long blond hair.” She was to bite Harry - and me.”
Dumbledore nodded. He had spent a lot of time figuring that particular spell out and breaking it. “Unfortunately we cannot prove it was Lucius Malfoy but we all know it was.” Dumbledore heaved a sigh. “Like our Mr. Potter, Miss Hood, you have a habit of making powerful enemies.”
Managing a weak smile, Ashley looked at everyone for a minute before plopping her head down on the table with a loud thunk that made everyone but Dumbledore wince. Taking a deep breath, she sighed and rocked her head side to side as if she was shaking her head. “Lucky me,” she muttered into the wood of the table.
A hand on her shoulder caused her to raise her head. Expecting it to be Dumbledore she was surprised to look up into a pair of beetle black eyes looking over a hooked nose.
“Time to go home, Lady Hood,” Severus Snape sneered, even as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
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For what seemed like the millionth time, Molly Weasley ran from the room. She had come right away to help nurse Harry back to health but seemed to spend most of her time vomiting. Harry didn’t understand why she bothered when she was obviously very ill herself. Though there seemed to be a - glow - about her all the same.
Pushing himself up in the bed, Harry looked at the plump redhead as she reentered the room. “Mrs. Weasley, are you alright?” His uncanny green eyes stared at her even as she pushing him back down and fluffed his pillow.
“Can you keep a secret, Harry?” Mrs. Weasley asked, glancing to the door. “I haven’t even told Arthur yet though I think he suspects it.” Very softly she whispered. “I’m pregnant.”
“That’s great, Mrs. Weasley!” Harry said, though he knew that the Weasleys could barely afford the children they had now. And from the look on her face that was exactly what was holding Mrs. Weasley from telling her husband. “But should you be caring for me? I’m much better and can get out of bed, you know.”
“Nonsense!” The redhead cried out. “Why I was pregnant with Ron when all four of my older boys all came down with the wlomping flu! Oh if you had seen it - four boys who bounced all over the floor whenever they sneezed. Had to tie them to the beds and keep myself healthy at the same time. If I can get thru that and raising Fred and George I can care for you while carrying triplets!”
“Are you really carrying triplets? How do you know? You’re not showing....” The questions rolled from Harry’s mouth and he thought of his girlfriend, Ginny. It was a good thing that his father had left him a lot of money for if he and Ginny married and she had children the way her mother had....
Molly Weasley just stroked Harry’s hair. “You have so much to learn yet, my lad. Now, you get some sleep. Ashley will be home any minute and she’ll have my head if you haven’t rested properly.”
Laying back Harry closed his eyes and slept. Though he hated to admit it he was tired. He hadn’t been this worn out in awhile. Someone had planted that spider to kill him and it drained him emotionally and mentally. In a few seconds he was deep asleep. He never saw Ashley, looking worried and drawn, walk in. Never saw her rubbing her own scar that went from the right corner of her mouth to just to the right earlobe, her nervous habit. But as he slept he did feel her brush the hair from his forehead and press her lips to the lighting bolt shaped scar on his forehead.
“Night, mommy.” He muttered in his sleep in a little boy’s voice. Sleep making him forget that his mother was long dead.
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