Authours' Notes:

All names, places, events, etc. that appear in the Harry Potter series are the property of JK Rowling.

Synopsis: The year is 2017, and the next generation of wizards is starting their first year at Hogwarts. In part one, we meet our title character, Lavinia (DUH!!) as she unravels her bizzare past. In the process, she discovers that the old war may be about to restart, even as a new nitemare looms from across the Atlantic.

As "Part One" implies, certain subplots have been deliberately left open for parts 2 and beyond.


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The Lavinia Chronicles
Part One: Black Stones and Red Herrings
by anin


Prologue: The Baby on the Doorstep

Little Hangleton, UK, 31 October 2006

The war has been over for eight years; and the Ministry has since seized Voldemorts' estate at Little Hangleton, including Marvolo Gaunts' cottage, and converted it into a museum of his horrors. Its main exhibit, in the room where Voldemort had murdered his father and grandparents, consisted of Voldemorts' skeleton surrounded by the remains of his six horcruxes; which stood as a monument to his colossal failure at cheating death. Among the relics was a gold ring that was missing a stone, and the skull of a large snake. In the cemetary stood the empty cauldron where his ill-fated servant, Peter Pettigrew, had restored Voldemorts' body in 1995 to begin the second war. A complex series of disillusionment charms was used to keep the museum and its guests and employees hidden from Muggles.

Ella and Nella Montgomery [authours' note: see HBP[472-3]] worked as tour guides at the museum on alternating days and lived in the nearby Muggle village. It was a job that was deeply personal to them: they had watched in horror in the winter of 1996 when their 5-year old brother was brutally murdered by a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback acting on Voldemorts' behest. Their father was subsequently killed when he tried to go after the people who were responsible. Their mother clung on to life long enough to see her daughters to graduate from Hogwarts before she comitted suicide. The job did give them a daily dose of reassurance that justice had been served, but did little else to ease the pain.

Today it was Nellas' turn. But when she opened the front door she found a baby laying on the front seat, with a small parchment pinned on to its diaper:



Nella placed her wand in Lavinias' tiny hand. A spark flew out of the end, which showed that Lavinia was a wizard baby. But Nella missed the colour of the spark.

"Ella! Come Quickly!", shouted Nella.
Ella sauntered to the door, still exhausted from the previous days' work.
"Blimey", said Ella, "Its a byby. Were'd it come from?"
"Someone just left 'er there", said Nella. "I already checked. Shes' a wizard".
"She looks Indian", said Ella, referring to Lavinias' darkish skin tone.

The Montgomery sisters knew that they had to keep Lavinia. Following the instruction that came with her would finally lead them into a life beyond the war. In most cases, the legalities involved would have been nitemarish. But Ella and Nella had a contact at the ministry; a senior solicitor whom they knew would plead their case before the Wizengamot.

"Tyke 'er inside", Nella said as she handed Lavinia to Ella. "An' send an owl to Hermione at the Ministry".

A routine custody hearing ensued; and the Wizengamot granted the Montgomery sisters' petition to adopt the baby Lavinia. As was customary when no parentage nor date-of-birth could be established, she was assigned a birthdate on 31 December of the previous year.

Lavinias' early childhood was for the most part uneventful, except for the occasional run-in with a gang of troublemakers led by a boy named Andrew Yaxley. But as she got older, Ella and Nella began to notice something familiar in her appearance that they couldnt quite pin down, but seemed to gradually come more into focus as time went on.

In either case, the owl arrived, as scheduled, on a bright but chilly New Years' Eve ten years later...



Chapter One: The Sorting Hat



Lavinia went with her aunt Ella to Diagon Alley the week before school started. Ollivander looked like he had seen a ghost when Lavinia walked into his store. He immediately selected a wand: walnut, dragon heartstring, 12 3/4 inches. Ollivander bit his nails as Lavinia took the wand in her hand and it emitted a shower of bright green sparks.

September 1st arrived, and Ella and Nella were relieved to see no trace of Andrew Yaxley &co at Platform 9 3/4, where they met up with the Potters and the Weasleys. [authours' note: this scene would take place at the bottom of HPDH[758]]

"Aunt Nella, what does "5972" mean?", said Lavinia, referring to the number on the front of the Hogwarts Express.

"I always wondered what it meant too", said Nella, "But i never bothered to ask anyone".

"I never knew what it meant either", Hermione laughed.
"And if she doesnt know, then nobody does", said Ron.

Meanwhile, James and Albus Potter eyed the stunning Lavinia, who even at age 11 was already beginning to look like a young woman.

"Are you still sure you dont want to be in Slytherin, Albus??", said James
"Bloody 'ell", muttered Ginny.
"Dont mind 'im", said Rose, "James thinks everybodys' going to be in Slytherin".

"C'mon, we better get on board", said James.

Lavinia kissed her aunts goodbye and boarded the Hogwarts Express with James, Albus, and Rose. And they caught a snippet of a chilling conversation as they searched for an empty compartment:

"You know those Americans might be Muggles, but their pure Death-Eaters at heart", said Andrew Yaxley.

"Yeah, bu' its too bad their Muggles", laughed a hard-faced blonde girl with a face like a pug, whom Albus recognized as Wendy Rowle.

"Oh, i wouldnt say that", said another voice that Lavinia recognized as Graham Goyle, "I mean, this "waterboarding" they do sounds like fun, even if its not the Cruciatus curse".

Wendy laughed.

They found an empty compartment as the train started to move.

"Bet their in Slytherin", said Rose.
"There hasnt' been a witch or wizard that went bad that wasnt in Slytherin", said Albus.
"Including Lord Voldemort", said James.

"And my dad told me that Salazar Slytherins' the one started all that "pureblood" rubbish too", said Rose.

"Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old looney", laughed James.
"Whats so funny??", snapped Lavinia, "If your so bloody sure im in Slytherin??".
"Dont worry", laughed James, "Because not all Slytherins are as crazy as him. Professor Slughorns' a brilliant wizard, and of course there was Severus Snape".

"Maybe Salazar Slytherin wasnt crazy", said Rose, "I mean, all we know is Gryffindors' side of the story; and 1000 years is more than enough time for something that someone said to get twisted around".

"Into legends and folklore far removed from reality", said Albus, "And as Rose pointed out, history is written by the winning side".

"Thats still no excuse for leavin' a basilisk sittin' 'bout the castle to kill Muggle-Born children", said James.

"I remember your dad telling us that story", said Lavinia, "But we still dont know if thats reallly what he had in mind. We simply dont know what really happened back then"

"You three have just opened my eyes to the possibility that there might be more to History of Magic than Binns", said James.

The train arrived at Hogsmeade on a chilly, rainy evening.

"What are those things pulling the carriages?", said Lavinia.
"Wait. You can see them?", said Rose. "Who died?".
"Wha' you mean: who died?", said Lavinia.
"You cant see them unless you watched someone die", said Rose.
"But i never saw anyone die". said Lavinia.
"FIRST YEARS FOLLOW ME", bellowed Hagrid.

James headed towards the carriages while Hagrid led Lavinia, Rose, Albus, and the other first years through the driving rain, to the lakefront and a series of small boats which were already ankle-deep in water.

"Ballocks", said Albus.
"They might as well make us swim there", half-shouted Lavinia.

And by the time they arrived at the castle, the class of 2025 looked as if they really had swum across the lake fully-clothed; they were soaking wet and shaking violently. Rose was crying; Lavinia was sobbing, barely conscious; Albus was muttering a steady stream of profanities under his breath, which Andrew Yaxley was shouting.

"The first-years, Professor Slughorn", said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid", yawned an elderly, obese wizard. "Oh, so sorry", he continued as he waved his wand.Lavinia and the others were suddenly warm and dry again, but Rose had to wake her up.

"The start of term feast will began shortly", said Slughorn. But before you can be seated in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses...The four houses are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin...

Alan Abbot was the first to be sorted into Hufflepuff; followed by Mei Lin Corner to Ravenclaw; Diana Dean--Gryffindor; Fiona Finnegan--Gryffindor; Graham Goyle--Slytherin;
Michael Hunt--Hufflepuff; Scorpius Malfoy--Slytherin;

"Montgomery, Lavinia", said Slughorn.
Lavinia sat down on the stool; the Sorting Hat had barely touched her scalp when it shouted: "Slytherin!!"

Lavinia put on a faint smile as she marched to the Slytherin table, where she sat as far away as she could get from Goyle, knowing that he would be joined by Andrew Yaxley and Wendy Rowle before dinner.

Albus Potter was sorted into Ravenclaw; Wendy Rowle to Slytherin; and finally Rose Weasley to Gryffindor and Andrew Yaxley to Slytherin.

Lavinia didnt have any problem with being sorted into Slytherin, but she did have a problem with being put in the same bin with people that actually seemed to admire the Americans and thought that waterboarding "sounded like fun". She also wondered if she would see Rose and Albus again; they had all been sorted into three different Houses. But Lavinia was nonetheless curious about how the hat had reached its decision; and then she felt her intestines tighten up as she realized that the answer was inextricably linked to who she was. And Lavinia had not the slightest clue as to who she really was; up until now it never mattered.

"Welcome to Hogwarts", said Professor Lovegood. "As always, we begin the feast with a short speech: Teaspoonari. Catpoop. Sugarack. Volvox.

Let the feast begin".

Lavinia was relieved the next morning when Slughorn handed out the class schedules. Most of her classes, it turned out, were shared with one of the other houses, which would provide an opportunity for her to see her freinds.



Chapter Two: The Stone

History of Magic was easily the most boring subject; any hopes that Lavinia had that it might satisfy her earlier curiosity about Salazar Slytherin and his monster were quickly dashed when she fell asleep within five minutes of listening to Binns. She didnt even wake up until the next class arrived.

Lavinias' Herbology teacher was Professor Neville Longbottom; a decorated war hero that seemed to hold some kind of grudge against Slytherin House in general, and especially Lavinia. Lavinia intuitively knew that this was because her appearence reminded Longbottom of someone whom he intensely disliked; but she knew likewise that Longbottom himself might not know who it was off the top of his head.

"Today we will be hunting mushrooms", said Longbottom, "Open your books to page 13".

Page 13 of 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi contained a photo of a large mushroom with a white stem and a bright red, white-speckled cap.

"Amanita muscaria", said Longbottom, "is a key ingredient in Veritaserum, and in many medicinal potions. And of course, Professor Trelawney also claims that opens her "inner eye"".

The class laughed.

"Enough", said Longbottom. "These mushrooms can be extremely dangerous if misused, as witness Trelawney. So i definitely dont recommend swallowing them. And that means you, Miss Montgomery".

Lavinia had in fact been staring at the picture in the book longer than anyone else.
"Lets go", said Longbottom.

Longbottom led the class out of the greenhouse, past Hagrids' hut, and into the dark forest. Lavinia was the first to spot a patch of mushrooms in a clearing not far off the main path.

"Professor!!", shouted Lavinia, "I found some!!"
But Longbottom either didnt hear or else deliberately ignored her.

Lavinia realized that there was enough time for her to scamper off and grab a few mushrooms before she was missed. The clearing was overhung with the remains of large spider webs. Lavinia quickly began collecting the mushrooms, when her fingers stumbled on something cold and hard amidst the mushrooms. She picked it up: it was a small black stone, like a black onyx, engraved with a design of a circle within a triangle bisected by a straight line. The stone had been cracked, but it was still in one piece. She put the stone in her pocket and grabbed some more mushrooms. She squirreled a cap away in her knapsack before heading back to the main path.

As she walked the narrow trail back to the main path, Lavinias' thoughts again turned to why Longbottom was being such a prick to her. Exactly who did she remind him of?? Longbottom was a war hero; were her parents on the other side in the war?? Lavinia twiddled the stone around in her pocket as these thoughts swam around in her mind, when suddenly an enormous snake appeared in front of her. But it was not quite solid; more like hologramic, and it seemed to have a sort of sheen around it. Lavinia had seen pictures of this snake before; she was sure of it. But overcome with shock, she could not remember all the details offhand.

"Lavinia", said the snake. "My name is Nagini. I was your mother. I am dead. You have called me".

"But -- how?", said Lavinia. Lavinia could talk to snakes. Until now she never knew she had this ability.

"With the stone", said Nagini.

Lavinia had no reason to disbelieve Nagini; after all, she knew how to talk to her; she also knew of wizards that could turn themselves into animals; and Nagini had an Indian name that was consistent with Lavinias' dark skin. But she also seemed to remember that the snake she had seen in the pictures had been dead for several years before she was born. Something didnt add up if it really was the same snake.

"Were you an animagus?", said Lavinia, "Can you change back?".
"I am a snake", said Nagini. "Follow me. You have also called your father, and he is waiting".
Only now was Lavinia confused; if her mother was a snake, then what did that make her??

Nagini led Lavinia back the other way and off the trail to a small, dark clearing. Suddenly Lavinia felt an icy chill and realized that she was all alone; Nagini having disappeared. She turned around, and sitting on the ground next to her foot was a verminous creature, in the same state of unlife as Nagini, with a huge deformed head and a tail-like body with vestigial human limbs; its mouth resembled a pigs' snout turned inside out with four fangs arranged in an "X"; it had no discernable eyes or nose. Its pale skin appeared to be irritated and bleeding in some spots. But before Lavinia could scream, it jumped at her chest and disappeared.

The pain was excrutiating; Lavinia felt as if her whole body had been dumped into a vat of boiling oil. Her skin resembled that of the thing that she had just glimpsed. She heard the horrible neighing, laughing screams, which she knew to be her own but which still seemed detatched from her body; which was writhing and flailing about trying as it struggled in vain to escape the pain that had become a part of it. Finally, Lavinias' conscious mind ceased to function as it became one with the pain that consumed it. At that moment, the pain left her body, but not her mind.

Lavinia slithered rapidly across the pleasently cool forest floor. She "felt" the sound of a hoof, and a greatly amplified sense of smell located the unicorn nearby. The unicorns' heart did not have time to finish its beat before the snake coiled tightly around its neck; nor did
its limbs have time to flail about as it rolled over on its back as its breathing was cut off. The serpent uncoiled itself and sank its teeth into the dead unicorns' neck.

The chaos that had engulfed Lavinias' mind subsided as the silvery unicorn blood gushed down her throat. And now she knew: if there were people that could turn themselves into animals, then it could also work in reverse if one of her parents had been a human animagus. She had been hatched as a snake; but for whatever reason she had transformed shortly afterwards and remained in human form ever since. The big problem was that Nagini seemed to imply that her father was the thing that had attacked her, which was neither human nor animal. But time was running out, and Lavinia had to return to class before she was missed. She slithered back to the mushroom patch and changed back into human; and she grabbed her knapsack and the bag of mushrooms. She ran back to the main path in time to meet Longbottom and the others returning empty-handed.

"Im deducting 20 points from Slytherin", said Longbottom, "because you went missing, Miss Montgomery".

Lavinia did not answer, but simply whipped out the bag of mushrooms.
"And i'll award 10 points to Slytherin for finding the mushrooms", said Longbottom.

Longbottom waved his wand. Lavinias' knapsack flew open and the stolen mushroom cap flew into Longbottoms' hand.

"Next time, dont leave the stem in the bag", said Longbottom. Much to Lavinias' relief, however, he did not deduct any more house points.



Chapter Three: The Unicorn

Lavinia had to get more information about that creature without revealing the details of what happened to her in the woods. Her teachers might know what the creature was, and it was simple enough to inquire without giving too much away. She was also more than a little skeptical of what Nagini had said, although she could not deny that she was a snake woman. At least now she knew why she was in Slytherin.

Lavinia drew a sketch of the creature, which she would show to Professor Hagrid at tomorrows' Care of Magical Creatures class with the Gryffindors. Rose would also be there, and she might know something about it too. Meanwhile Lavinia could only pray that she wouldnt have any nitemares. Fat chance. Lavinia woke up soaking wet in the middle of the nite when Wendy Rowle threw a bucket of water on her and told her to stop screaming. Several other girls in the dorm who had also been awoken by her screaming were staring at her with an evil look on their faces.

Lavinia arrived a little early to Hagrids' class the next morning to show her the sketch. Hagrid seemed none too fond of Slytherin House either, but unlike Longbottom, he was a little nicer to Lavinia than he was to the rest of her House.

"Professor Hagrid", said Lavinia, "I saw this thing in the forest in Herbology class yesterday", and she whipped out the drawing. "D'ya know what it is?".

The detail was excrutiating; even Hagrid seemed a bit shocked by its appearence.

"Aint no animal lives in these woods", said Hagrid, "An' i been roamin' 'ese woods o'er 70 years".

Just then a small scream interrupted the conversation. It was Rose, who had also glimpsed Lavinias' drawing.

"Whats that thing?", said Rose.
"Lavinny claims she saw it in the forest", said Hagrid. "Codswollop if y'ask me".
The rest of the class filed in.
"Now take yer seats", said Hagrid.

Hagrid then began the class: "Today were going on a Unicorn safari. Everyone get up an' follow me".

Hagrid led them back along the same path; past the amanitas and across the same clearing where Lavinia had been attacked; and then along a small trail to the left.

"What the-- bloody 'ell", said Hagrid as he stumbled upon the dead unicorn.

Hagrid crouched down to examine the remains. Its blood had been drained except for a few spots.

"Maybe it was that thing Lavinia saw", said Rose.

"Maybe. But if it was it didnt leave any tracks", said Hagrid. "Lets get outta 'ere". And he hurriedly led the class back to his hut.

Lavinia breathed a sigh of relief. She knew exactly what killed that unicorn. Fortunately Rose had that creature to blame.

"Lavinny", said Hagrid, "Lemme see that drawing again".

Lavinia gave him the picture and Hagrid, who now had a proper wand, pointed his wand at it and shouted: "geronimo!!" and the picture copied itself. Hagrid kept the copy and returned the original to Lavinia.

"You do realize what this means", said Rose as her and Lavinia headed back to the castle, "If Hagrid doesnt know what it is, then its a dark magical creature of some kind".

"I have Defense Agains the Dark Arts next", said Lavinia. "Maybe Professor Malfoy can identify it".

"I doubt it", said Rose. "Lucius Malfoy was just an old stooley of Voldemorts' during the war. His knowledge of dark arts is purely practical. He might know something about a few curses, but nothing like this".

Lavinia shared Malfoys' class with Albus and the Ravenclaws. Rose was to be proven right about Malfoy, who dismissed the creature as a sick joke. She met up with Albus in the corridor after class.

"My dad might know what that is", said Albus. "Rose told me that it killed a unicorn and drank its blood".

Again Lavinia knew this not to be the case, but she didnt say anything. Nor was it entirely untrue; she would have not done what she did if that thing hadnt attacked her. Lavinia had memorized Hagrids' copying spell and used it to duplicate the drawing again.

"Thanks", said Albus. "I'll send 'im an owl".




There was another way to find out more about that thing, and it was dangerous: she would have to sneak off and use the stone again. If that thing showed up again, then she would have to kill another unicorn or worse. That nite, Lavinia left the dungeon and turned back into a snake.

She slithered along the wainscotting with an almost blinding speed until she reached the door. She had to turn back into human to open it, but Filch was nowhere to be found. She did so; turned back into a snake as soon as she was out the door; and slithered off towards the woods.

Along the way, she noticed the lite was on in Hagrids' hut. She slithered over to a low window where she could spy. Sounds were very different to a snake; she felt them instead of hearing them. To do so, she had to be in contact with the windowpane.

Hagrid was in his hut with Professor Grubbly-Plank, who served mostly as veteranarian. The dead unicorn was laid out neatly on a table.

"The neck has been broken in several places", said Grubbly-Plank as she bent down over the unicorn, "This is consistent with a large snake. But snakes swallow their prey whole. They dont strangle them and drink their blood".

"Couple o' my students this morning said it was this thing", said Hagrid, as he whipped out Lavinias' drawing. "Seen one o' these before?"

"Someones' idea of a sick joke??", said Grubbly-Plank. "Anyway, all i can think of right now is that the unicorn was killed by a snake; and then a chupacabra happened along and frightened the snake off and then drank the unicorns' blood".

Hagrid and Lavinia both broke into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"I know it sounds crazy", said Grubbly-Plank, "But even if this drawing was real, theres only two puncture wounds on the unicorns' neck; and this thing has four fangs".

"Fine", chuckled Hagrid, "Ill go ask Aberforth if any of 'is goats 'ad their blood drained".

Lavinia had got a good a laugh, but that wasnt why she was here. She continued into the woods to the same clearing where she had been attacked. There was no sign of the thing. Lavinia did not by any means want to repeat her experience with it, but she had to know. She turned back into a human and whipped out her wand.

"Lumos", said Lavinia.
She reached into her pocket and started twiddling the stone around and muttered: "I want to meet my father again".

Nothing happened. She twiddled the stone around again.

"Mother", said Lavinia.
Nagini promptly appeared in front of her.
"So you really are my mother", said Lavinia.
"Of course", said Nagini, "Why would i lie?"

"Because last time you said that my father would come back too. But he didnt, and i was attacked by a monster. I just tried to call my father back with the stone again; and nothing happened so hes' still alive. Would you care to explain?".

"I have no answer", said Nagini "I witnessed your fathers' death shortly after my own. But i too have been unable to meet my husband in death".

"But then why did you lead me here, where i was attacked?"

"I heard you call for both of us, but i only felt someone else being called through the stone at the same time, on this spot. So i assumed it was him. But he wasnt here when i arrived, and i was pushed back to the other side".

"Do you know what that thing was?", said Lavinia.
"No", said Nagini. "I never saw it".
"Well it came from wherever you are now", said Lavinia. "And im leaving before it comes back. Goodbye".
Nagini disappeared.

Lavinia didnt know if she could believe that Nagini was letting on everything she knew about that thing. The thing didnt come back with the stone, so it might be safe to use; but it could also be lurking around somewhere. In either case, it was not a good idea to hang around in the dark forest at nite. Lavinia turned back into a snake and hurried back to the castle. The trip had taken her 15 minutes as a human, but less than one minute as a snake.

She returned to the same door where she had left and turned back into human to open it. But no sooner had she stepped inside than she heard the sound of "Meow". It was that disgusting cat, and that meant that Filch was not far behind. Lavinia immedately turned back into a snake and lunged at Mrs. Norris.

"Ryaarrr!! Ryaarrr!! Ryaa---", the cats screams were replaced by the sound of its bones snapping as the snake twisted itself around her. Filch arrived in time to watch it swallow Mrs. Norris whole.

Lavinia reared her head and hissed menacingly at Filch, who promptly peed himself.

Lavinia couldnt move as fast with her belly full of Mrs. Norris, but she didnt have to as she laughed all the way back to the Slytherin dungeon. She couldnt stop laughing as the sight of Filch peeing himself continually replayed itself in her mind; but she had to stick her head
under her pillow in order to avoid waking up Wendy Rowle. But soon exhaustion began to weigh in, and she felt a strange sort of melting feeling all over her body as her consciousness finally faded.

But Lavinia was in for a nasty shock the next morning when she saw Mrs. Norris sitting in Filchs' lap at breakfast, alive and well. She had forgotten that a cat has 9 lives. Lavinia didnt know how many lives Mrs. Norris had left, but she resolved that there would be none by the time she graduated.

And then Lavinia suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to ask Nagini who her mate had been.

Albus received the response from his father later that day:



"Albus", said Lavinia, "Whats s "shell creature"?"
"I dunno", said Albus. "And i doubt Malfoy would either"

Albus was to prove correct, but Professor Malfoy was more than happy to write them a restricted pass for the Library.

But information about "shell creatures" was not to be found even in the restricted section. On the other hand, the trip to the library quickly refreshed Lavinias' memory as to who Nagini was. There was no way she could deny that her mother had been Voldemorts' pet snake, who was decapitated by none other than her Herbology teacher. But that created a host of new problems: first of all, Nagini had been dead at least 7 years before Lavinia could have been hatched, which meant that Nagini had to have laid an egg that waited that at least that long to hatch on Ella and Nellas' doorstep. Lavinia silently laughed at this thought. Second of all, this narrowed Lavinias' father down to a small handful of people that could have gotten close to Nagini; out of them, only Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were both alive and out of Azkaban. Third of all, any animagus that turned into a snake would necessarily be a Parselmouth; and the only known Parselmouth within that circle was Lord Voldemort himself. And the stone had proved that Voldemort could not have been Lavinias' father. But Lavinia still held out hope that her father might have been Severus Snape.

In any case, the woods would be full of Aurors tomorrow, and would likely be under surveillance long afterwards. And Lavinia didnt dare sneak out into the woods to use the stone as long as this was so.

----------------

Extra link to feedback thread.

Because you asked for it, heres caps 4-7:




Chatper Four: Harry on the Case

The next morning, the students were seated in the Great Hall for breakfast, when Professor Lovegood stood up to make an announcement."Sonerus, he said, waving his wand. "Before we begin breakfast, i have the following announcement to make. There is a dangerous wild creature loose in the forest..."

Lavinia laughed under her breath.

"All students are forbidden from entering the forest until further notice. Students Rose Weasley and Lavinia Montgomery will report to my office after breakfast. Bon appetite"

Lavinia met Rose outside the Headmasters' office after breakfast. The gargoyle opened up immediately when they arrived, and they ascended the stairs to find Harry Potter and another man sitting in front of Lovegoods' desk.

"Good morning, ladies", said Professor Lovegood. "Im told you already know Mr. Potter; and this is Mr. Croaker from the Department of Mysteries. Hagrid is waiting for us with a dead unicorn".

They left the office for Hagrids' hut, where two more aurors were waiting.

"Good ta see ya' 'arry!!", said Hagrid, "Mornin' perfessor, Rose, Lavinny. Too bads its got to be 'cause o' dead unicorn".

They entered the hut to find the unicorn on the table where Lavinia saw it the nite before.

"Grubbly-Plank reckons a snake killed it an' a chupacabra drank its blood", said Hagrid. "Codswollop. I mean why in 'ell'd a chupacabra go after a unicorn when Aberforths gotta whole 'erd o' goats??".

"Theres no bloody chupacabras in England", laughed Harry. "So you found this unicorn"
"With its blood drained", said Hagrid.
"And where did this creature come in?", said Harry.

"I saw Lavinia showing it to Hagrid", said Rose. "And then we found the unicorn and it was the only thing i could think of".

"Lavinia", said Harry, "Take us to where you saw that creature".

Lavinia led them into the woods. Harry immediately recognized the clearing with the amanita patch, and did a cursory search for a certain stone that he had left there 19 years earlier, where the amanitas were now growing. He didnt see it, but neither did he look for it that carefully. Lavinia led them on to the cold, dark clearing.

"There", she said, pointing to the center of the clearing. "Thats where i saw it".
"Theres no tracks", muttered Harry. "Was it solid flesh or more like an image?", said Harry
"Couldnt tell", said Lavinia.
"And what were you doing here anyway?", said Harry.

"Longbottom sent us out to pick the amanitas", Lavinia said, "So i found'm back there, but then i had to pee", she lied.

"And what did the creature do when you saw it?", said Harry.
"Took off like a scared rabbit", Lavinia lied again.
Croaker winced.

"Mosely", said Harry, "You and Purpleton stay here and wait for my signal. Hagrid, take us to where you found the unicorn".

"Lavinia", said Harry, "Did you by any chance find a black stone with this symbol on it?" Harry waved his wand and the design on the stone appeared in the dirt.

Lavinia shook her head.

Hagrid led the party back out the way they came in and to the spot where the unicorn was found. Harry lifted his wand over his head where it emitted what looked like a flair; the auror named Mosely shot up a similar signal in response from the clearing.

"Well", said Harry, "It took us several minutes to walk from there to here. But a scared rabbit, as Lavinia called it, could have made the trip within a heartbeat".

They walked back towards Hagrids' hut; the other two aurors meeting them along the way.

"Professor Lovegood", said Harry, "You can send the kids back to class now".

Lovegood complied. "Mosely, Purpleton. You two go back to the clearing and look for a black stone with this symbol on it". Harry waved his wand and drew the sign of the Deathly Hallows in dirt again; and handed it to Mosely. "Croaker, you and me and the Professor will return to the Headmasters' office.

"Croaker", said Harry.

"The Weasley girl checks out alright", said Croaker. "But i couldnt get into the other one. Shes' a top notch Occlumens, and she didnt even seem to know what she was doing either".

"Now wait just a minute", snapped Lovegood. "Who the hell said you could use enhanced interrogation techniques on my students??"

"I have an authourization from the Wizengamot to employ the services of a Legilimens", said Harry as he whipped out a parchement and shoved it in Lovegoods' face. "And i should remind you that you havent always been completely honest with me either, Lovegood". Harry continued: "Anyway, such an ability could be acquired as the result of a possession, but there are some wizards that are born with it too. So thats not enough to go on by itself".

"Whats all this ballocks about possession??", said Lovegood.

"Well", said Harry, "If this things' what i think it is, then it couldnt have killed that unicorn by itself. It would have to take possession of some person or animal. But the nearest candidate was Lavinia. And if you notice the perspective of this sketch, she was looking at its face, and long enough to get this level of detail"

"Possession has been known to induce superhuman strength and other unnatural abilities", said Croaker. "Even so, i doubt that girls' body could ever be pushed to where she could wrestle a full-grown unicorn and break its neck in three places"

"And even if that was the case", said Harry, "She couldnt have made those bite marks. This actually does look like a snake, so that thing probably possessed a snake and then used it to get the unicorn blood. But keep an eye out on Lavinia anyway, Professor Lovegood".

"I most certainly will not", bellowed Lovegood. "Good day sirs".

But Harry had nonetheless failed to make the crucial link. Meanwhile, Mosely and Purpleton could not find the Resurrection Stone in the clearing. Harry could only order them back into the woods to watch for animals attacking unicorns.



Chapter Five: Diagonally

The mild autumn quickly became a brutal winter, and the memory of the creature and the events of that day were forced to the back of Lavinias' mind as the pressures of schoolwork mounted and midterm examinations approached; currently the most difficult assignment was a 12-page Muggle Studies paper on the etiologies of serveral different Muggle persecutions. Lavinia, Rose, and Albus met each other at the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall at times when the houses were not assembled.

"One thing that doesnt make sense", said Albus, "is that there were some persecutions centuries Muggles had already taken over the world and we were no longer a threat. So if Muggles had nothing to fear from wizards, then maybe it was wizards that had something to fear from wizards. I mean, what if the wars' really something much bigger than Voldemort; and the Muggle church got caught up in one side or the others' dirty work?"

"Or else maybe it was the dirty work", said Lavinia.
"You should have been in Ravenclaw", said Albus.

Rose suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "Are you saying that theres some kind of circle of dark wizards that have been orchestrating all this behind everyones' backs?? You two sound like a couple of Muggle conspiracy theorists"

"What the 'ells that?" said Albus.

"My mum used to tell me bedtime stories about Muggles that tried to blame all the worlds' evil on something called an "Illuminatus Conspiracy"", laughed Rose, "which is basically what your talking about".

"But what if there really is such a thing?", said Lavinia.

Rose laughed even louder. "Muggles have been making those kinds of accusations for centuries, and no one has ever produced a single shred of evidence to back them up. And i can guarentee you that you'll both get "T"s if you do your paper on that kind of ballocks with the evidence thats out there now".

"With the evidence that Muggles have", said Albus. "But did your mum ever try to tell you the story from a wizarding perspective?"

"No", said Rose, "She told it strictly as a Muggle folk tale. But i suppose it might be different if you take us into account".

Lavinia decided to go along Albus' tack. Albus was right; there was considerably more evidence for a conspiracy when viewed from a wizarding perspective. But still she could only find enough of it to manage an "A" on the paper. Albus, on the other hand, had been much more incisive and correlated patterns in the different persecutions to build a much stronger case for a conspiracy; and he got an "E". Rose stuck to an in-the-box approach and like Lavinia, only got an "A".

Midterms were otherwise uneventful, and soon it was time to go home for Xmas. Likewise, the most exciting part of the train ride home was Rose' bat-bogey hex on Andrew Yaxley. Aside from that, Lavinia spent most of the ride studying Albus' Muggle Studies paper, apparently intrigued at the notion of a conspiracy, which Albus had named "The Octopus" in his paper.

The Hogwarts Express arrived at Kings Cross that evening, where Lavinia found her aunt Ella waiting for her. Lavinia dreaded the thought of a boring nite at her aunts'; unlike Rose and Albus, she had no siblings going home with her nor waiting for her there. But she was pleasantly surprised when Hermione invited her and aunt Ella to come to spend the evening at the Burrow. Ella accepted, and agreed to let Lavinia stay the nite there; but she would have to go to Diagon Alley with aunt Nella the next day for Xmas shopping.

Nella arrived in the fireplace at the Burrow the next morning to collect Lavinia; it was dangerously cold and windy outside; but this would be the last day for Xmas shopping before the crowds became a problem.

"Warmicus" said Nella as she waved her wand at Lavinia. "This'll keep you warm, but i have to renew the charm after an hour, or else you'll 'ave burns from the cold".

Nella grabbed a handful of floo powder and jumped in the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!!", she shouted, and disappeared in a flash of green flame.
Lavinia followed, but she said "Diagonally", and quite deliberately.
Lavinia materialized, as intended, in Borgin & Burkes.
"'ello young lydy", said Borgin. "Can we 'elp you??"
"Just looking around", said Lavinia.
"Blimey", said Burke, "She looks a bit familiar"
"She looks just like --", said Borgin.
"I look like Lavinia", snapped Lavinia.

Lavinia purchased a scary-looking instrument that looked like a multi-legged pair of tweezers that crawled up her shoulder and tried to nip her; and a music box that played a lilting melody which rendered the listeners unconscious until the box was closed.

"Tha 'll be foive Galleons", said Borgin, "And ya beh'her tike the floo"
"Its no' sife fer a young girl to be seen on Knockturn Alley", said Burke.

Lavinia had to get back to aunt Nella before the Warmicus charm wore off, but there was still time for her to duck into a jeweller and get her stone made into a ring, after which she flooed to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Her aunt Nella didnt notice her arrival, as she was busy talking to George Weasley.

"I know", said George, "Why dont you try you-no-poo?"

"No thanks, i dont want you-no-poo", said Nella. "But i will a have a medium box Weasleys' Wizard Whizbangs".

"For New Years' Eve??", said Ron
"No, its for my Burffdye", interrupted Lavinia.
Aunt Nella jumped; Lavinia having seemed to appear out of thin air.
"Burffdye??", said George, "Where th'ell'd you learn to talk American??"
"Muggle Studies", said Lavinia sheepishly.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and ended with a trip to Brutus Bakers to pick up a tray of biscuits to bring to the Xmas dinner party at the Burrow. But Lavinia was not going to the Burrow tonite; she would have to return home with Nella instead, where she spent the long evening droning over a geronimo'ed copy of Albus' Octopus paper.




Chapter Six: Merry Xmas and Happy Unburffday

The monotony was broken Xmas evening when it was time to go the Burrow for dinner with the Weasleys and the Potters. But something within Lavinia told her that it was best not to wear the stone around Harry Potter, and she obeyed her instinct.

"This was a fire-breathing turkey", said Arthur Weasley has he began serving the Xmas tukery.

Lily Potter broke into a fit of laughter.

"Hes not joking, Lily", laughed Harry. "You see theres these vandals that go around charming biting toilet seats; fire breathing turkeys"

"And flying cars", Molly Weasley butted in.

The dinnertime conversation turned from biting-toilets to more serious subjects; and back again to Ron and Georges' latest product: Poopmonster Pellets, which when dropped into a toilet, caused a fecal mass to emerge as a tentacled monster after a specified time delay. It was purely by accident that Albus popped the question:

"Dad, what was that thing Lavinia saw in the woods last fall?"
"You called it a "shell creature"", said Lavinia.
"There was nothing about them in the Library", said Rose.

"Well", said Harry, "Theres not much information available on shells, and many people doubt that they even exist, at least not in our world. But thats not the position of the Ministry. Unfortunately, much of what little information we do have on them is classified"

"I hate when he uses that word", muttered Albus".

"But to make a long story short", Harry continued, "A shell creature is a dead wizard who, through the use of dark magic, has corrupted his or her soul until it is no longer human. In this state, its shade becomes larval, like what Lavinia drew". Nobody has ever produced concrete evidence that shells even exist; so such claims are only taken seriously when, for example, a dead unicorn turns up the next day".

"So their just like shades of people", said Rose, "except that these things can kill unicorns".

"For the most part thats correct", said Harry, "You should consider yourself priviledged, Lavinia. There have been only 13 reported sightings of a shell that have warranted further investigation by the Ministry; yours being the most recent".

"Have they found anything yet?", said Rose.

Harry shook his head. "No, and the Ministry might pull the funding pretty soon. Its been too long and theres more pressing concerns".

"You mean the Americans", said James, speaking up for the first time.

"We've managed to steer clear of them so far", said Harry, "But we dont know how long it can last. And thats assuming that they hold back in Central Asia".

"Blimey", said Lavinia.
"Bloody Octopus again", muttered Albus.
"Octopus?", said Hermione.

"Albus has this rediculous idea about this conspiracy of dark wizards running the world that he calls "The Octopus"", said James, "He wrote a paper on them for Gribulom and he got an "E"--".

"And Lavinia cant take her nose out of it", Rose interrupted, laughing.
"--Which is not surprising given how far Gribuloms' got his head up his arse", said James.

The children opened their gifts after dinner. Albus got the multilegged tweezer thing, which immediately jumped out of the box and ran wildly about nipping several guests before Ginny rolled up a copy of Witch Weekly and smacked it; which had the effect of resetting the tweezers. Rose lay snoring, having wound up the music box; she awoke when James closed the lid on the box. Meanwhile, Lavinia and several other guests were laughing to the point of nearly vomiting.

"Blimey", said Ron, "Thats all that rubbish we cleaned outta the old 'eadquarters"
"Mundungus must have sold it to Borg--", began Hermione
"And of course Lavinia bought it while i never even noticed she was missing", said Nella.
"The hat di'nt pu' 'er in Slytherin for nothing", lauhged Ella.

The week between Xmas and New Years was for the most part grismal. The chill did not show any sign of lifting; and the Wizarding Wireless was dominated by news on the brewing political controversy as to whether the wizarding community could or should intervene in the American terror. On the one hand, it seemed immoral to allow the Americans to continue bombing and torturing millions of people to death, including many of their own people. But on the other hand, intervention was not by any means easy, not even for wizards. However, if Albus was right and there really was an Octopus, then maybe finding out who they were and removing them might end the terror. But that was no easier than taking on the Muggle Americans and their super-weapons directly, since the Octopus had eluded both Wizards and Muggles alike for centuries, to the point where most people doubted its existence. And if Albus was wrong and there were no wizards backing the Americans, then Andrew Yaxley and his cohorts would be more than happy to make it so.

Lavinia had never had a real birthday; and now she finally knew why: because she had been hatched rather than born. But the rationale in the ministry was that you cant have a birthday if nobody knew when you were born; so all such babies were assigned a birth date on New Years' Eve when nobody would remember; an un-burffday if you will. Nevertheless, aunts Ella and Nella always brought Lavinias' birthday cake to the Burrow for the New Years' Eve party. Such parties typically went on well into the next morning, and this year was no exception. But by that time Lavinia had already fallen asleep on the sofa in Hermiones' Library.

Lavinia was also one of the first to awaken early the following afternoon, on a blizzardy New Years' day that was so dark she thought that it was still nitetime. She stumbled to the toilet and barely made it there. Her whole body ached and she felt slightly nauseous, but had avoided getting sick. On the way back she noticed her aunt Ella curled up underneath the dining room table. She stumbled back to the library and flopped back down on the sofa hard enough to dislodge a book that almost hit her on the head:






Lavinia had failed to immediately grasp the significance of what she had just read, but still curious, she looked on the shelf for a book called Liber Elenin; there was none. At this point she realized that Liber Elenin was probably what Harry Potter had meant by "classified". As she replaced the book she noticed right next to it an equally ancient book. She took it off the shelf and thumbed through it. She couldnt read it because it was written in ancient runes, but was shocked to come across a page with a drawing identical to the design on the stone. She put the book back on the shelf and fell back asleep on the sofa.

She was again awoken at dawn the next morning, not by a full bladder but by Hermione.

"Im afraid your aunt Ellas' gonna be out for a good bit longer", said Hermione. "Here, drink this", and she handed her a jigger of bitter-tasting potion and a cup of seltzer water.

Lavinia suddenly felt warm; and then her hangover disappeared. But she still smelled like stale butterbeer.

"Your aunt Nellas' heads in the fireplace", said Hermione.
Lavinia walked to the fireplace where Ron was waiting for them.

"Lavinia", said aunt Nella, "Go with Rose and Mr. Weasley on the Knight Bus to Kings' Cross. Ill meet you there. And Ron, Hermione, d'ya think you could send Ella back".

"Of course", said Ron. He waved his wand at Ella, who was still curled up under the table, and shouted: "Mobilicorpus!!"

Ellas' body slowly floated out from under the table and towards the fireplace as Ron guided it with his wand.

Nellas' head disappeared.

Hermione threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and shouted out Nellas' home address as Ron heaved Ella's levitated body into the fireplace, where it disappeared in a flash of green flames.




Chapter Seven: The Trip

Ron led Rose and Lavinia outside to the curbside and held out his wand. Suddenly there appeared a violently purple, triple-decker bus. They had been outside for no more than 20 seconds, but that was enough to turn the exposed portions of their skins pink from the cold. The train ride back after New Years' was easily the smelliest; everyone at the very least smelled like stale Butterbeer, and many of them had crystallized vomit in their hair and/or on their clothes. They arrived at Hogsmeade Station that evening, where Hagrid put Warmicus charms on the students as they left the train and headed for the carriages back to the castle, which was not even visible through the blizzard.

The chill lifted slowly in the weeks that followed. As Harry had predicted, the Ministry cancelled its investigation into the shell creature Lavinia had seen the previous autumn. The woods were once again "safe", but it would be months before it was warm enough for Lavinia to sneak out as a snake at nite without the cold putting her to sleep; and right now it was still cold enough to freeze her to death. In the meantime, there was potions class.

"For todays' lesson", said Professor Slughorn, "You will each require one cap of amanita muscaria. Slughorn emptied a large burlap sack full of dehydrated amanita caps onto a table near the front of the class. Several of them fell onto the floor and rolled under the table. The class queued up to get their mushroom caps. Lavinia recognized the mushroom cap she had tried to steal last fall sitting on the table; but she put that one in her cauldron while she accioed another off the floor into her robe pocket.

That nite, Lavinia lay awake in bed until her dorm-mates were snoring loudly. She rummaged around in her trunk quietly until she found her robe with the mushroom cap and her wand in the pocket, and ate the mushroom [WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. IT CAN KILL YOU]. Nothing happened for another half-hour, when she felt a drowsy,dizzy sort of feeling which became more intense. And then she suddenly felt nauseous and ran to the bathroom. She barely made it to a stall in time to avoid making a mess. She had never been that sick before in her life. Her stomach went into painful spasms between vomits.

And then Lavinia heard the bathroom door fly open. She knew the sound of those footsteps; it was Wendy Rowle coming to dunk Lavinias' head in the toilet she was vomiting in. With an herculean effort over the pain, Lavinia managed to grab her wand, turn around and shout: "petrificus totalus. She heard Wendys' body collapse in a heap outside the stall as she prepared to vomit again. Her body kept trying to vomit several times even after there was nothing left to vomit, before her stomach finally began to settle down enough for her to trample over Wendys' body and back into her bed.

There, Lavinia fell not quite asleep but rather into a sort of twilight sleep. She dreamed very differently; in a series of frames that resembled 3-dimensional Monet paintings and took several seconds to form; dissolve into indistinct swirls of colour; and then reform into the next frame. But unlike a painting, she was completely immersed in it. She recognized the scenery with the mansion and the cottage as the museum where her aunts worked, but it wasnt the museum. A large cauldron was still smoking in the background. She saw her mother, Nagini, slither off into the woods behind the cemetary. The next frame showed Nagini next to a clutch of eggs she had just laid. One egg, which Lavinia knew to be hers, was larger than the others and glowed eerily. The next frame showed the other eggs hatching while Lavinias' did not; the next few frames showed the egg being buried under accumulating detritus. And then Lavinia saw herself emerging from beneath the accumulated detritus as a tiny, skinny snakelet. In the next series of frames, she made her way to Marvolo Gaunts cottage, where the next frame showed a much younger aunt Ella leading a tour group in the newly commissioned Museum of Horrors. Lavinia saw herself slither up a table leg and into aunt Ellas' purse. The next scene shifted to her aunts' house, where she slithered out of the purse, underneath the crack in the front door and onto the doorstep. The final frame showed Lavinia laying on her aunts' doorstep as a human infant.

Lavinia woke up the next morning to find herself lying naked on the floor of a sunlit corridor outside the Slytherin dungeon. No sooner had she begun to open her eyes that she heard the familiar "Meow" followed immediately be a loud, evil laugh over the sound of trousers unzipping.

"That will be enough, Filch", she heard Professor Slughorns' voice say. "Go and fetch Madam Pomfrey".

"Aw, ballocks", muttered Filch as he zipped up his trousers and stomped off.

Slughorn waved his wand to cast a disillusionment charm on Lavinia; which felt like cold egg white being poured over her body.

Madam Pomfrey arrived a few minutes later. Slughorn lifted the charm and Madam Pomfrey put a blanket around Lavinia and escorted her to the hospital wing where she sat her down on an examining bed and shoved a bezoar down her throat.

"She ate an amanita", Madam Pomfrey said to Slughorn.

"Every year theres a nitwit or two that tries it", yawned Slughorn. And then he turned to Lavinia: "I hope you've learned your lesson, young lady. And i wont stop Filch next time either, if your styoopid enough to do it again".

Lavinia had indeed learned a lesson, namely that a snakes' egg really did wait several years for the right time to find aunt Ella, and hatch into Lavinia on her aunts' doorstep. But the price was definitely not worth it.


-----------------

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OK kiddies, its time to spill the beans. Enjoy...




Chapter Eight: The Museum

The snow finally began to melt after what seemed like an endless winter; and long-forgotten patches of ground were once again becoming visible. The breakfast dishes disappeared, and Professor Lovegood stood up to give an announcement:

"First-year Slytherin and Ravenclaw students will report to Professor Malfoys' classroom after breakfast for a trip to the Museum of Horrors in Little Hangleton. That is all"

Malfoy led the crowed of students to the carriages to Hogsmeade, where the Knight Bus was waiting for them.

"And you will be quizzed on this trip tomorrow", said Malfoy, "So pay close attention".

Lavinia had been to the museum a few times in her childhood, but she had never bothered to read the fine print on the exhibits, which she took Malfoys' statement to mean would be the topic of the quiz. But the museum looked very different after her experience with the amanita. The class met near the foot of a large tree a few yards from Marvolos' cottage; which Lavinia immediately recognized as the spot where she had been hatched. She kicked aside the loose topsoil and sure enough found some fragments of eggshells, none of which were discernable as her own.

Aunt Ella led the class into Marvolos' cottage and stood at the same table leg that Lavinia had slithered up into her purse in the first minute of her life. The next stop was the cauldron in the cemetary. Lavinia remembered that the cauldron was still smoking in her amanita dream; and that meant that her egg had been laid in 1995, and waited 10-11 years to hatch.

The tour then moved to the mansion. Lavinia already knew what was there. But aunt Ella had assembled the class in a corridor outside the main exhibit known as "Hall of Shame" dedicated to Voldemorts inner circle. A small group of students seemed to be crowding around one large
photograph on the wall. Lavinia waited until the others moved on and then went to look at the picture. Again she felt her intestines tighten up. It was the picture of a witch that looked exactly like Lavinia but with white skin. The caption read:



So this was who Lavinia reminded Professor Longbottom of to elicit his ill behaviour. Borgin, Burkes, and Ollivander had also seen through the difference in skin colours; but apparently others had not. Bellatrix's wand lay in a small display case underneath the photo. It was nearly the same design as Lavinias' wand, but somewhat thicker and appeared unyielding.

By now the Hall of Shame had emptied, and Lavinia followed the rest of the class into the main exhibit, where she proceeded immediately to the display case containing her mothers' skull. Her mother had been a Horcrux, which explained how she was able to lay that wierd egg; and Voldemort might well have had to mate with Nagini in order to make her into a Horcrux.

And then it suddenly clicked in her mind; something that she had read in Mrs. Weasleys' library a few months ago: that a wizard that made two or more Horcruxes would become a shell creature if both of them were destroyed and he or she died. And Voldemorts' skeleton stood here amidst the remains of his six Horcruxes. By all accounts, Lord Voldemort was now a shell creature like the one that had attacked Lavinia the first time she used the stone. And if Voldemort was a shell, then it could also explain why Nagini could not find him in the afterlife. She had, after all, called her parents with the stone and got her mother and a shell. Furthermore, out of everyone in that inner circle, only Voldemort, Snape, and Bellatrix were known to have had enough skill to be an Animagus. Bellatrix was automatically eliminated, and Snape would definitely not be a shell creature.

Everything seemed to fit, except that Voldemort did not appear, as a shell creature or otherwise, when Lavinia had tried to call her father with the stone. The only other explanation, which the stone seemed to be pointing towards, was that Lavinias' father was someone less well-known. And that raised the chilling possibility that a powerful dark wizard -- a Parselmouth and an Animagus -- had escaped undetected and may still be at large, although he was more likely to be rotting in Azkaban. But this alternative was equally problematic, since unlike Voldemort, this man would not have any reason to mate with Nagini; when any wizard that powerful could easily have imperiused some poor woman under the
sheets.

In either case, however, the overwhelming probability was that Lavinia was an unintended consequence.

The tour ended, and the class returned to Hogwarts.




Chapter Nine: Slytherin Speaks

Lavinias' first year at Hogwarts was nearly at an end. Soon it would be time to study for end-of-term examinations. In the meantime it was once again warm enough at nite for her to sneak out as a snake and use the stone. She returned to the spot where she had been attacked by the shell creature. She wasnt sure who she wanted to call. Nagini didnt have any answers. And to call Lord Voldemort would only result in her being attacked by another shell creature. But there was someone else she could try, someone who knew something about shell creatures:

"I want to talk to Salazar Slytherin", Lavinia said as she twiddled the stone around.

Suddenly there appeared an image of a tall, thin wizard, ancient and somewhat simian in appearence, wearing long emerald-green robes.

"Professor Slytherin", said Lavinia

"Lavinia", said Slytherin in Parseltongue. "I knew you would call me. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything.

Lavinia sat down on a nearby log.

"Your first question concerns your parentage", said Slytherin, "Now Lavinia, what happened the first time you used the stone?"

Lavinia paused. "I tried to call my parents; and then i met my mother; and then i was attacked by a shell creature", she said, also in Parseltongue.

"Correct", said Slytherin, "And what the happened the next time when you tried to call your father?"

"Nothing", said Lavinia.

"Exactly", said Slytherin, "And to understand why this is so, you must understand something about shells. Shells inhabit the Nexus between your world and mine, where they remain trapped forever in eternal torment. The shell has left your world, but since it has not crossed over into mine, it can possess people and animals if its called back -- human shades like myself cannot; and it could in theory return to your world. For this to happen, the shell must possess a human host whose lower chakras are in resonnance with the shell, which typically retains only the two lower chakras. If this is so, then the shell may regenerate the wizards' brain consciousness and higher chakras within the host; in effect cannibalizing the hosts' soul, leaving only enough of the personality intact to conceal itself if necessary".

"Thats horrible", said Lavinia. That much was clear, although all this talk about "chakras" and "resonnance" was way over her head.

"Yes, horrible", said Slytherin, "And that was the pain you experienced when that shell tried to do it to you. He lasted long enough to force you to kill the unicorn. My guess is that the unicorn blood might have momentarily strengthened his imprint somewhat, but in doing so also threw it further out of resonnance with yours. In this situation, the shell will typically flee the host. If it doesnt get enough unicorn blood, it will be immediately thrown back from whence it came. If it waits too long, its soul will disintergrate.

In your case, i can only be sure that the shell was removed from the Nexus. That means that it could have moved to a different host; or else that it could have disintergrated. And thats why nothing happened when you tried to call it the second time you used the stone. In either
case, i cannot say how much of its imprint you may have absorbed and how it might affect you"

"Then that shell that attacked me was --", said Lavinia.

"Your father, Lord Voldemort", said Slytherin, "And you would have figured that much sooner, had the stone not thrown you a red herring. You are Lavinia Riddle, the next heiress of Slytherin.

"Well im not about to change my name", said Lavinia.

Slytherin continued: "However, your father was unaware that he had conceived a child when he made your mother into a Horcrux; much less did his shell know that it was attacking his own daughter, although that could explain why he lasted so long".

"Your father had never been an Animagus before then, but he had more than enough talent to figure out how to do it when the time came".

"And what did you mean by "chakras" being in "resonnance"?", said Lavinia

"Its too difficult to explain it to a first-year student", said Slytherin. "You'll learn about it in NEWT level arithmancy. In the meantime, i would strongly recommend that you take Ancient Runes, especially Coptic Greek and Syriac, next year".

Lavinia burst into a fit of laughter.
"Whats' so funny?", said Slytherin

"I was told", said Lavinia, "That you had been just like my father, and i couldnt picture you actually talking like a Hogwarts teacher"

"Why not??", said Slytherin, "Thats what i was. But i know what you mean."

"I was never a dark wizard, despite the title of my book that you read. I was a student of the Mysteries, what would today be called an "Unspeakable"".

"Nor did i wish to ban Muggle-born students from Hogwarts either. I merely advised caution in cases where allowing a Muggle-Born student to attend Hogwarts could result in the inquisitors attacking his or her family, and sometimes even an entire town"

"The most disturbing misinformation about me concerns the Chamber of Secrets; that being that i left the Basilisk there with the intention that it would be turned loose on Muggle-born children. The chamber was constructed by Gryffindor, including the statue. I bred the Basilisk
and charmed the entrances so that only a Parselmouth could open them. The Basilisk was meant to be a weapon of last resort should the castle ever be attacked. And back then we could have been attacked not only by the inquisitors, but by invading Viking hordes as well, who were just as nice as the Americans. But only a Parselmouth could control the Basilisk, and all Parselmouths, including yourself, are descended from a single pureblood line; unfortunately, the trait may become dormant for several generations at times. But that is nevertheless the source of my reputation"

"But as you also know, i was later expelled from Hogwarts. Naturally, it was because of a fight over a girl. Gryffindor had been engaged to marry Rowena Ravenclaw. But Rowena became fascinated with my work on the Higher Mysteries concerning link fields. And Gryffindor was none too pleased as Rowena and i drew closer to each other. Push inevitably came to shove, and we all know who won. The other heads-of-houses held a vote to determine my fate; but only Rowena voted in my favour, after which she very wisely called off the wedding. In return, Gryffindor charmed that rediculous hat to sort all the right-wing crackpots, like your father and Andrew Yaxley, into my House"

"History is written by the winning side", said Lavinia.
"And whats this thing?", Lavinia changed the subject and pointed at the stone.

"That is the Resurrection Stone from the Tale of the Three Brothers. It was fashioned by the second brother, Cadmus Peverell, long before i was born", said Slytherin, "Contrary to popular myth, Cadmus was not trying to cheat death, but rather he meant to use the stone exactly as you are now: to get information from shades of the dead. Your fathers' bloodline was also descended from Cadmus Peverell, so you are its rightful owner".

"And why do i look like that Bellatrix woman?", Lavinia said.

"Purely by accident", said Slytherin. "However, your father did find her attractive".

"The sun will be up soon and you must return before then. But before we part company i must warn you: never tell anyone of your experiences in these woods"

A rooster crowed in the background.

"You must leave now, Lavinia", said Slytherin. "But always remember that my assistance will be available whenever you should require it, even if -- may the gods forbid -- you should lose the stone. Goodbye, Lavinia".

"Thank you, Professor", said Lavinia

Slytherin disappeared, and Lavinia turned back into a snake and returned to the castle. Unfortunately, she did not get an opportunity to bump the countdown on Mrs. Norris. She did not get a wink of sleep for the short remainder of the nite as she thought about the ramifications of what she had just heard; the most disturbing being that a wizard evil enough to become a shell might actually cheat death if he or she got lucky enough. She had Slytherins' version of events; and she could perhaps use the stone to ask Rowena Ravenclaw for verification, but it would have to wait until next fall; the end-of-term crunch had come to Hogwarts with the sun that morning.

Lavinia was obviously shaken by the revelation that she was part Voldemort, part Nagini, and part Bellatrix. But on the other hand, she had no intention of following in their footsteps either. Voldemorts' shell had not cannibalized her soul; she was still Lavinia. Nevertheless, her butt was quite obviously toast if her true identity should ever be discovered.




Epilogue

Harry Potter arrived for tea at the Burrow one Sunday afternoon that summer. The kids were out in the back playing a mock game Quidditch.

Arthur and Molly Weasley sat in the living room listening intently to a report on the Wizarding Wireless about the Americans amassing military assets near the Khazakstan border. Having no desire to hear about it, Ron and Hermione began clearing out the table in the library for the tea, when Hermione came across Roses' copy of Lavinias' drawing of the shell creature. Its appearence with its excrutiating detail after it had been forgotten so long elicited a bit of a shock.

"Blimey", said Ron, "Thats that thing Lavinia saw last fall".
"You called it a shell creature. I remember you talking about it last Xmas", said Hermione.
"Yeah, how'd that go anyway?", said Ron.

"The Ministry cancelled the investigation", said Harry, "which if you ask me, was foolish. You'll recall what i said at Xmas about what a shell was. But what i didnt say back than was that while the shell has left our world, it hasnt crossed over into death either. And that means
that unlike a human shade, a shell can take possession of people and animals if its called"

"Posssing animals. A snake no less. And using them to drink unicorn blood. Does that sound familiar??"

"Yes", said Ron. "But you saw him die. We all did".
"Well if that shell wasnt Voldemort, then it was someone just as nasty", said Harry.
"But if thats so", said Hermione, "then how was it called, and by whom?"

"The Ressurection Stone is missing", said Harry, "20 years ago, i dropped it in the spot where Lavinia was picking mushrooms for Neville on the day that she saw that thing. That doesnt mean much by itself, since theres many ways the stone could have been removed. But Lavinia got much too close to that thing for comfort".

"But even if she did find the stone", said Hermione, "Then why the hell would she want to call Lord Voldemort??"

"She had reason to do so", said Harry, "without which i dont have a leg to stand on, even if i did manage to find that stone on her. But on the other hand, she was using Occlumency on Croaker, which means that she might still be hiding something of importance".

"Or maybe it just means that she dont want 'er mind bein' read", said Ron.
"In any case", said Harry, "If Voldemort is --"
"A Flobberworm??", Ron butted in, "Load o' ballocks if y'ask me. And stop pickin' on Lavinia".

"That will be enough", snapped Hermione. She grabbed the drawing and pointed her wand at it and shoted: "Incendido!!", and the drawing disintergrated into a puff of orange flames.

Harry drank his tea and looked outside the window, where an approaching cold front was visible on the horizon. Meanwhile in the foreground, he watched Albus pass the Quaffle to Lavinia, who in turn shot a goal past James.






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