chapter 52

Hope had managed to convince Daphne to have mercy on her when the Tribrid had traced the alluring landscape to a reasonable degree (that didn't involve Daphne mounting Fleur or the Veela switching their positions as Daphne writhed in pleasure at the hands trailing over her body and under her clothing). The auburn haired girl slotted herself behind Fleur as her arms securely wrapped around the Veela's stomach causing the taller woman to sit back on her knees as Hope nibbled at her neck.

Daphne whined at the loss of sensation until she opened her eyes to see Fleur with her head thrown back, her hair shining bright from the sun reflecting off the silver-blonde strands. Daphne pushed herself up so she was still sitting underneath the Veela but she could now reach the enticing body in front of her.

"You are so beautiful Fleur." Daphne breathed as she cupped the Veela's face between her cold hands and kissed her slowly, drawing out a long moan of ecstasy at the taste of snowy crisp on Daphne's breath.

Hope was so much more happier with her position now as she watched the two blonde's kiss in utter fascination, wondering how she could be so lucky to have both of these women in her life. Although Hope was hardly one to remain immobile so she coaxed more vexing noises from the French girl sandwiched between them as she lightly nipped at Fleur's ear as the Veela shuddered.

The Vampire in Hope so desperately wanted to bite down on the Veela's long and alluring neck to see if she tasted as good as she looked but Hope had to restrain herself from that impulse as Fleur has expressly stated that she didn't want to be bitten.

Hope was a woman of her word but she did occasionally have trouble reigning in her more bloodthirsty side. Daphne was usually aware of Hope's bloodlust the second the Tribrid had these impulses as the bond would convey intense hunger so suddenly that it threw Daphne through a loop the first time she felt it. The other obvious indicator was the dark veins that protruded from the bottom of Hope's eyes like darkened tree roots.

Whenever Hope's bloodlust would kick in suddenly at school, Daphne would generally find Hope and tilt her head seductively to the side, showcasing the steady thrum of an artery just beneath the surface. If this happened during class Daphne would have a wicked smirk on her face as she brushed some of her long blonde hair out of the way so the Tribrid could have an unobstructed view of her soft skin, taunting the other girl.

Daphne would still be focused on her school work as she teased her wife silently but the Tribrid would be staring holes in the back of Daphne's head as she used their bond to describe in great and extensive detail what she was going to do to the blonde when class was let out. By the end of class Daphne is not so subtly rubbing her legs together to alleviate the arousal pooling in her stomach as she gulped in anticipation.

However Daphne was a glutton for punishment.

The Slytherin Ice Witch took her time to leave the classroom as she lagged behind to talk to Tracey or Blaise, sticking by their sides the entire time as they made it to the next classroom. Sometimes Hope never gets the opportunity to feed from Daphne before the next class begins and Hope would in turn send lewd images through their bond throughout the entire lesson making it impossible for either girl to get any work done. Sheda once caught them during one of these days and was scrunching up her nose as she smelt the arousal between the two girls and sent them outside under the pretence of collecting supplies for class.

Hope leaned back from Fleur as Daphne took her place at the Veela's neck as she decided to make some hickeys that would disappear within minutes thanks to Fleur's natural healing, but it was the process of making them that counted. Fleur always groaned in appreciation at being marked in such a lustful manner, her Veela preening at the action.

The Tribrid kept her hands active on Fleur's body as her thumbs moved in small circles on the sliver of bare skin showing along the taller girl's hips as she leaned around to the other side of Daphne's neck and bit down gently.

"Fuck." Daphne moaned into the flowery scent in front of her nose as the Pureblood princess bit down harder than she normally would.

Fleur sucked in a breath at the small pain in her neck before it ebbed into something transcendent as Daphne licked and sucked at the mark in a frenzy as an apology for biting too hard. Fleur would happily take the small amount of pain if this is how the blonde offers an apology.

Eventually Hope was the one to break them up from their little scandalous escapade as she wanted to shift into her wolf for a bit before heading back to Hogwarts. The other two girls hummed their agreement as Daphne shifted into her sleek blonde wolf form and bounced her way down the summit like an overexcited puppy.

Hope looked at Fleur with pursed lips as she tried not to laugh at her wife bouncing up and down like a lunatic. Fleur couldn't help herself as she let out a tiny snort of laughter escaped her lips. "She is quite cute, no?"

The Tribrid facade cracked as she gave a hearty laugh at her soulmate's antics. "Very cute. But don't tell her that in either of her animal forms. The claws make a fatal appearance if you do… Unless you're Luna, otherwise she'll curl up in little moon's lap and purr the night away."

Fleur shakes her head in amusement as her wings unfurled gracefully from her back with a rustle of feathers. "I would normally be jealous of Luna with the amount of time you spend with her if I didn't know she was practically your little sister."

"Little sisters…" Hope trailed off with a small smile on her face as she felt the first bone break then the other 205 bones followed in quick succession as she transitioned into her powerful wolf form.

Hope shook out her fur with a huff before stretching her limbs. The snowy wolf turned to Fleur as she made her way over the winged woman with confident strides. The Veela knelt down so she was face to face with the slightly larger wolf without any fear on her face.

"Hello beautiful." Fleur held out a hand as the wolf placed her fluffy cheek into the proffered hand as soft amber eyes looked up at the French girl.

Hope moved back slightly as her tongue lolled out in happiness as her tail shook rapidly in excitement. The wolf brushed up against Fleur's legs one last time before shooting off after Daphne with impressive speed.

Fleur let out a laugh as she took off into the sky to perform some aerial manoeuvres to strengthen her wings. Myrddin and Alexandria joined the woman in the air, flying around her in neat spirals that the Veela was envious of since she didn't have that amount of control in the air yet to perform those tight spirals.

The two wolves were staring up at their lover with their tongues hanging out as they swayed lightly against each other, purring quietly in the other's presence. The birds swooped down above the wolves heads causing them to duck with a yelp before bounding after the smaller animals.

Fleur laughed as she watched the 4 animals create a small game of chase. Daphne looked back at Fleur with expectant ice blue eyes and Fleur flew low to the ground as she joined in the game albeit in the birds side much to the wolves annoyance.

Myrddin had flashed them back to Hope's room as it approached dinner time before flaming out again. Alexandria let out a tired tweet as she fluttered over to the perch at the end of the bed before promptly falling asleep.

Hope kissed both girls on the cheek as they parted ways for the end of their date. Daphne went to find Astoria so she could explain some of the events that happened last night. The silver-blonde girl headed off to the Beauxbaton carriage as her Headmistress, when she wasn't with the Hogwarts Groundskeeper, Hagrid, was doing her best to suffocate her students with all the rules she was enforcing upon them after Hope killed the Death Eaters last night.

With the time Hope had left before dinner she glanced over the letter Greyback sent her again as she noticed it only mentioned what would happen if she used her magic during the fight. It never mentioned what would happen to him if he used magic.

"Well… At least he's not stupid. Finally, the first person who wrote a letter in such a way that would be considered cunning. About bloody time!" Hope mumbled to herself as she took a seat at her desk.

Hope placed the letter next to the piece of parchment she pulled out so she could reply to Greyback.

To Fenrir Greyback, Alpha of the Werewolves.

You think that just because you hold the title of Alpha, that the same rules don't apply to you? If I am unable to use my magic then the same can be said for you.

As Queen of the Werewolves, I accept this challenge under 3 circumstances:

1) No magic from either competitor can be used otherwise it will result in death. You wished for a hand to hand fight? Then that is what we have.

2) We can each take 5 people to watch the challenge but they can not interfere nor attack anyone from the other's party.

3) This is a fight to the death as you proclaimed in your challenge to me. This stipulation can not be altered. There is no submission or quitting. Only one of our death's will lower the barrier surrounding the arena.

If you do not respond to this letter within the 24 hour time limit you will be branded as a coward and the title of 'Alpha' will be stripped from you.

I'll be waiting at 10pm inside the stone circle of the Stonehenge on the 13th of June 1995 for your appearance… That is if you show.

Hope Mikaelson - Queen of the Werewolves, Lady Emrys, Heiress Flamel and Consort Greengrass. (I have other titles but these are the only ones you're worthy of receiving).

P.S. If you don't believe me about my status as Queen of the Werewolves that's your problem, not mine, although the Goblin Nation ran an Inheritance Test on me to prove that I'm Lady Emrys. Do you seriously believe that the Inheritance Test wouldn't pick up my royal status to the Werewolves?

Hope sighed as she called Myrddin back holding a Fire Seed in the air with her magic as the Phoenix flamed into the room and gobbled up the treat before flame travelling the young Tribrid to Diagon Alley, just outside Gringotts Bank.

"Thank you Myrddin." Hope praised the bird as he flew onto her right shoulder as the Tribrid advanced into the bank.

Hope greeted the first teller she saw and he immediately ushered her off towards King Ragnok's office.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Was the first cheeky words from the elderly Goblin.

Hope shrugged. "Technically. But then again, the Wizengamot now knows that I'm a Werewolf thanks to the 3rd Tri-Wizard Task. So I might not be able to stay in Hogwarts for much longer, being a 'danger to society' and all that."

The Goblin King rolled his eyes with a loud groan. "They can't kick a student out of a school until they have at least completed their OWL's… Unless you did something to get you expelled?" He raised an eyebrow at the girl in question.

"Not to my knowledge." Hope replied and was about to follow up with a request but Ragnok beat her to the punch.

"I'll locate the rule in the old texts so I can present it to the Wizengamot session on the 30th of June. Is there another reason you are here? You could've just written a letter about that."

Hope produced the challenge from Greyback as well as her draft and placed them on Ragnok's desk, the text facing towards the Goblin.

The Goblin King's beady eyes rose in shock. "Someone actually challenged you?? What moron would do such a thing? Fenrir Greyback? Oh… And he also threatened your wife. I see he chose death today."

"I think it's actually called a delayed death considering I can't fight him for another month." Hope grumbled.

"3 weeks." The Goblin corrected.

Hope made a small grunt at the correction as Ragnok read through Hope's reply. "This is good but I'll get the Daily Prophet and Quibbler to write an article about your status as Queen of the Werewolves as a gentle nudge. Greyback could feign ignorance at your royalty. Stated he never saw it because he was incarcerated."

"Thank you." Hope gave a small bow to show her appreciation.

"Why didn't you mention in your titles your Warrior status?" The Goblin asked curiously as he knew Hope was aware of this title.

Hope gave a feral grin as she locked eyes with the Goblin. "Why should I tell him I know how to fight? I want it to be a surprise."

The Goblin King laughed as he realised what Hope's play was. Keep her enemy guessing, never give away the entire picture of what you are capable of until it's too late for them to counteract your plan.

"So I see that you are still keeping the 'Princess of the Vampires' hidden from the Wizards. Are you ever going to reveal that to the world?" The Goblin King asked as the young Queen wrote on a challenge letter that he had supplied for the Tribrid.

Hope looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think that… I'll inform the world of my Vampiric side after my OWL year. Professors Babbling and Flitwick had suggested that I'm able to test ahead. So… I'm thinking I'll take the NEWT test at the end of my 5th year at Hogwarts. That way I don't have to deal with another Wizengamot session declaring that I'm a threat to society."

The Tribrid turned her head to the Goblin King as she frowned. "Do you know how bad they will slander me?"

Ragnok sighed as he took a seat. "I imagine that they will try to prove that you are a threat, I'd expect that they will purposely push any, or all your buttons so you'll lose control in front of them."

Hope groaned as that was exactly what she was expecting the Ministry of Magic to pull.

"You also can't have your Aunt silence them again either, otherwise they could eject her from the session." Another groan sounded as King Ragnok informed her what would be to come.

"Is there any way that we can set a timeframe for how long they can badmouth me? Because listening to them for hours on end or perhaps even days, bores me to death at the thought."

Ragnok frowned as he shut his eyes as if trying to bring back a lost thought. "Actually, I think there is something like that… But I can't recall the minimum timeframe the Wizengamot will allow. I know that the Goblin Nation only allows a subject to be talked about for 10 minutes. It's all we truly require. If a Goblin wishes to continue, usually a fight is ensured as Goblins are creatures of action. Not words."

"I've heard what you're able to achieve with only your words. The Goblins are skilled in both. You just prefer to handle any disputes with fights." Hope replied with a small smile as the memory the Goblin King shared with her flashed through her mind. "I wish the Wizengamot was more like that. It would make our life so much easier."

"Unfortunately for us, the Ministry of Magic prefers to use words as they don't enjoy the thrill of battle. How utterly boring." Ragnok replied with a roll of his eyes as he shook his head in disappointment.

Ragnok and Hope looked at each other with grins on their faces before they both burst out in laughter.

"I will see you sometime over the summer holidays, Ragnok. I think I'll need the release this year." Hope mentioned with a sigh as she was about to leave.

"I honestly wouldn't expect anything else. You are always welcome here Warrior Emrys."

Hope smiled at the open invitation as she walked out of the office. The Tribrid's hand gripped the doorframe as she remembered something. "Oh! Before I go, I was wondering if you would be one of my observers for the challenge against Greyback?"

A feral grin stretched across the Goblin's face. "I would be honoured to watch you destroy your enemy. I've always wanted to see what you are capable of without your need to hold back some of your strength to safeguard your sparring partners."

The Queen of the Wolves gave a short nod as the memory of her killing her friends and family popped into her head. Myrddin's head popped up as he felt Hope's anguish overtake her and sang quietly into her ear. "Believe me when I say, I'll still be holding back a bit."

Ragnok's eyes glazed up from his parchment work as he regarded Hope warily. "What happened to make you say that?"

"A Wampus Cat put me into a hypnotic state while a Dementor's presence altered the hypnosis to show my worst fears." The Goblin's eyebrows rose at the description as Hope continued. "I turned off my humanity. I was brutal, efficient and deadly just because I could be. I don't want to fall down that path that everyone fears me."

"You won't, Hope." Ragnok told the girl in the most gentle voice a Goblin could produce. "You have too much love in your heart to ever go down that road. Besides, Daphne can bring your humanity back without much trouble thanks to your soulbond. She can make you feel again thanks to the bond."

"I shouldn't have to rely on Daphne to keep me human! I should be able to do it myself… But I can feel how my emotions have been heightened. I'm quicker to anger. My eyes and fangs show themselves anytime someone threatens my Mate. I can sort of stop it from happening with my parents, Fleur, Luna… But sometimes it just comes out. The Wizengamot, if they are smart, will use this to show that I'm too dangerous in Hogwarts and if they get that approved then trying to kick me out of the Wizengamot will be the next priority on their list." Hope frowned as she expressed her concerns with the Goblin King while she brushed her fingers over Myrddin's fluffy feathers in an attempt to calm herself.

"You've amassed friends here Hope. They won't let you down." Ragnok reminded her as the Phoenix voiced his agreement as he trailed his beak softly against her cheek.

Hope gave a tiny scoff as she moved her face away from Myrddin, contempt in her eyes and her body language as her muscles tensed. "I've yet to see this happen when it comes to me. Only my family has ever put me first. Everyone else expects the worst of me."

"Not here." Ragnok repeated. "You have the Goblins, the Flamels, your Familiars Myrddin and Alexandria, the Most Ancient and Noble Houses Greengrass, Potter, Black, Bones and Longbottom. From my understanding you also have the next Veela Wing Leader as an ally. You have people who care about you Hope."

The tension in Hope's body left her as she released a shuddering breath, unshed tears coated her sea blue eyes making them look ethereal in the soft light. Hope gave a small nod to the Goblin as she tried to produce a smile but failed to make it convincing.

"I guess I'll find out soon." Hope shakily murmured. "Thank you for your time Ragnok." The Tribrid gave a small bow of her head as she excused herself and left the bank before the Goblin King could stop her.

Myrddin whistled quietly as he flame travelled the girl back to her room in Hogwarts. Alexandria woke up as she felt the sadness radiating off her person and flew over to perch on Hope's left shoulder. The Phoenix remained where he was on Hope's shoulder as he released near inaudible trills to calm the Tribrid.

As Hope left her room she felt the bulky Flamel Heiress ring on her right ring finger heat up slightly causing Hope to stop suddenly and pulse her magic through the school as her magic worked to locate where her parents were. Hope's legs moved before her brain could catch up. Hope found herself walking towards the Infirmary in a quickened pace as the students around her moved out of the distressed girl's way.

Hope entered the Infirmary, bypassing Madam Pomfrey as the Healer strongly questioned the girl why she entered the room with a worried look on her face. Hope ignored the Mediwitch as she turned a corner to see her parents, who looked exceptionally pale as they were looking down at the newspaper in front of them.

There was fear and regret easily depicted in their soulful eyes that have experienced and watched some of the most extraordinary and horrendous things the world has to offer as Nelle shuddered violently against Nicolas.

"What's wrong?" Hope asked quietly so she wouldn't frighten them but they still jumped at their daughter's sudden appearance.

"Hope." Nelle whimpered as she held her arms out.

The Tribrid moved with quick efficiency as she moved towards Perenelle and wrapped her in a tight hug as the 650+ year old woman broke down in Hope's warm embrace. "Oh, mum."

Nic moved behind Nelle as he held Nelle between both himself and Hope as he muttered reassurances in French to his wife. Hope purred lightly in her chest as she looked over Nelle's head to see Madam Pomfrey close the door quietly to the Flamel's office, giving them the semblance of privacy. Hope subconsciously erected a privacy ward as well as a notice me not ward as she rubbed her thumb softly along Nelle's back.

Hope locked eyes with Nic who was terrified beyond belief as he held Nelle but did his best to comfort her. Hope's eyes darted over to the newspaper again as she wondered why her parents would be traumatised about Voldemort's return or the people she killed. Nic and Nelle were both completely aware of Hope's actions that occurred last night even if she hasn't had the opportunity to tell them yet.

Fleur's voice suddenly fills her thoughts as Hope recalled that Gregori Rasputin was a sworn enemy of the Flamels causing Hope to pull Nelle tighter against her chest as the woman cried.

"How can I help?" Hope asks the Immortal Alchemist with a look of determination on her face.

Nelle nearly choked on a sob as her nails dug into Hope's back. "No! Please! D-Don't! I can't l-lose another one!"

Hope frowned. "Another one?"

Perenelle broke down in Hope's arms and could no longer form sentences other than 'please' in both English and French. Nic laid his chin on his wife's head after she ducked down to press the side of her face against Hope's chest so she could hear her daughter's heartbeat.

Without either Nic or Nelle answering her, Hope was able to put the pieces together. The immortal couple lost a child to Rasputin during the height of the Russian Revolution, perhaps one of the Romanov children. Hope could only remember Anastasia from the history books but she knows that there were more kids but for the life of her couldn't recall who they were and she couldn't just simply do a Google search as easily as she used to. She'd have to go to a library to access a computer since magical homes are unable to properly process electricity.

Hope held Nelle in her arms until the French woman began to stop shaking so much before moving slowly while cradling the Healer over to the desk so she could lean against it as Hope carefully unfurled herself from Nelle's grip but kept their hands interlocked as Hope knelt in front of Nelle.

"Mum." Hope softly called out forcing Nelle to look down at Hope holding her hands.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." The young woman promised as she looked directly into Nelle's hazel eyes, not removing her gaze for one second.

Nelle shuddered as she moved her head forward to press against Hope's head as she cradled the younger girl's head in support.

After what felt like hours, Hope pulled back slightly and sat down on her heels as she gathered Nelle's hands back into her own. Hope knew that she would miss dinner but she didn't care. Nic and Nelle needed her. So she would stay with them.

Hope had telepathically told Daphne where she was and asked if she could have some time with them until they felt comfortable. Daphne understood Hope's need for privacy and told Fleur what was happening to which the silver-blonde girl nodded solemnly.

"Guys… Do you think you can tell me what's on your minds? I'd like to help, but other than killing Rasputin, I don't know how to help you." Hope softly spoke as she gazed up to Nic who had taken up residence next to Nelle on the desk with an arm draped over her shoulders in order to provide the Healer some comfort.

Nic sighed as he pulled Nelle against his chest. "Gregori Rasputin." Nelle's breath hitched at his name and Hope rubbed small circles into Nelle's hands, giving a small smile to the woman before turning back to face Nic.

"Rasputin caused a lot of conflict in both the magical and no-maj world, mainly because the Romanov family were wizards as was Rasputin. He created a scandal among the no-maj government. Everyone was terrified due to the World War and took any accusation seriously. He practically caused the death of the entire Romanov family due to the allocations he told the world. The Romanovs were hunted down. We were able to save one of the children."

"Anastasia?" Hope offered.

Nic shook his head. "No. Titania and her daughter, Katerina."

"Titania returned back to Russia but left Katerina with us to raise. She was 8 years old before Rasputin found her. He used his skills in necromancy to raise an army of the dead. We requested the help of many French magical families to fight against him. But one of his creations managed to slip past and kill her." Nic continued.

"I tried to save her but she died in my arms." Nelle added as tears fell in streams down her face. "I failed her."

Hope pressed her lips against Nelle's knuckles. "Mum… I know this will be hypocritical coming from me but Katerina's death is not on you or Nic or any of your allies. Her death lies solely on Rasputin's conscience. You shouldn't blame yourself."

"I'm afraid he'll come after you to get back at us. Titania had a son before her death and asked us to hide him." Nelle admitted remorsefully to the auburn haired girl. "Which is what we did. We hid him under a Fidelius charm that Rasputin couldn't break and it drove him insane… Well more insane. Legend has it that Rasputin split his soul and created a Horcrux so he could hunt the Romanovs into extinction."

"So what I'm gathering is that Rasputin's motives at the moment would either be revenge against you and any of the families that fought against him, locating the remaining members of the Romanov family if there is any left or potentially coming after me to hurt the two of you."

Nelle looked at Hope with fear in her eyes at the prospect of the Russian 'Holy Man' going after Hope. "Non! He can take you away from me too! I can't lose another child! Not again. Please I can't lose you Hope!" Perenelle blurted out in rapid French.

Hope blinked a couple of times as her brain translated the words Nelle spoke. "You won't lose me. I'm immortal, remember? I can't die."

The reassurances that Hope gave did nothing but cause Nelle to cry. "Nelle? I promise I'm not going to die. Not by Voldemort. Not by Rasputin and not by Greyback… Who I forgot to mention until now that he challenged me to a fight to the death on the 15th of June." Hope trailed off as she realised that this was not the time to drop that bomb but it was too late. "Fuck."

"WHAT?" Nic and Nelle shouted in disarray.

Hope clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as her eyes averted off to the side so she wasn't looking at the concerned face of the immortal couple. Hope pulled one of her hands out of Nelle's hand and placed the challenge Greyback had sent her as well as a copy of the return message Hope had written up into Nic's hand that was resting on Perenelle's thigh.

Nic unfolded the first letter and held it between himself and his wife so they could both read the letter. Nelle and Nic shared a concerned look before holding Hope's reply up to read over that before voicing their thoughts.

"Does Freya know about this?" Nelle asked with a frown.

Hope pursed her lips as she answered. "Not yet. But I planned on telling her tonight."

"Were you going to tell us?" Nic questioned with an unreadable look on his face.

Sea blue eyes looked up to meet Nic's eyes. "I… I would've told you both once we returned home from Hogwarts. I wouldn't have kept this secret from you. I just have a bad tendency to deal with everything on my own. I'm sorry for not telling you earlier but I didn't want you to worry. Especially now that you're already worried about Rasputin. You don't need that kind of stress."

"But you'd tell your aunt before us?" Nelle murmured as she brought her other hand to hold Hope's.

Hope looked horribly chastised as Nelle voiced her opinion, not realising how much her choice would affect Nic and Nelle. "I'm sorry… My whole life. Any time there was a problem or an issue I would go to Aunt Freya to help me. Mum didn't always understand that I needed help controlling my powers. Only Aunt Freya could teach me. We formed a bond. She told me to come to her any time I was having problems and she would help me through it. It became my default setting going to Aunt Freya. I'm sorry for thinking that you wouldn't want to know immediately."

Nelle sighed sadly as she realised that Hope truly didn't mean to hurt them. "Oh, sweetheart. I know you mean well but please come to us. We're your parents. We want to help you."

Hope shuffled forward from her position on the ground and wrapped her arms around Nelle's waist as she laid her head down on the French woman's legs. Nic moved his hand to rest on Hope's head as he ran his fingers through her hair.

The following day Hogwarts students said their farewells to the delegations from the Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic as the large ship sank under the water in the Black Lake, practically vanishing from sight within the first second it was submerged.

Hope and Daphne shared a kiss before Fleur had to join her school delegation to return home. The French girl had requested to stay behind as she received permission from her parents to stay in Britain until her grandmother requested an audience with her to start her training but Madam Maxine was a stickler for the rules. She promised that all students she took with her to Hogwarts would return back to France.

Hope wasn't too bothered by this as she had Myrddin and Alexandria to help travel between France and Britain as a backup plan. Fleur questioned the Tribrid what her method of travel would be and Hope happily informed the Veela that both Daphne and herself can apparate large distances without any dramas. Daphne mentioned that Hope apparated them to New Orleans for their first date from Hogsmeade which had Fleur gaping in shock.

Hope had her arm wrapped around Daphne as they watched the carriage be lifted into the sky by the Abraxan horses.

Fred and George somehow managed to slinker their way up beside Hope and Daphne to which the Slytherin Pureblood Heiress noticed immediately and raised an eyebrow in their direction as they held their empty hands up, showing that they had no tricks planned.

Hope turned her head to face the twin red heads. "What's up Forge, Gred?"

The boys made a dramatic bow as they addressed Hope, trading off between the other as they talked.

"Our messiah." Fred started.

"Our fair Lady."

"We have some news to share with you and your resourceful wife."

"We learned recently that there will be a secret meeting held over the summer holidays to discuss how a faction of Light Wizards will deal with the threat of Voldemort." Hope and Daphne were impressed that George didn't even hesitate or stutter as he said the Dark Lord's name.

"And we thought, who better to help than you?"

"Lady Emrys, the wielder of Excalibur!"

"Tri-Wizard Champion!"

"Honorary leader of the Wizarding world!"

"Even if no one says it aloud." Fred murmured under his breath although loud enough for the two Slytherins to hear him causing Daphne to scoff in amusement.

Hope chuckled quietly to herself. "I'm sure Dumbledore can lead a group of 'Light Wizards' without my help."

"You've already amassed an army." George replies with such certainty that Hope couldn't help but let out a soft laugh to herself.

"And we'd like to join!" The amusement on Hope's face disappeared as she heard the boy's declaration.

Harry and Hermione had also made their way next to the small group hand in hand as they overheard the ending of the twins request.

"Actually we were hoping that we could join you as well?" Harry inputted as he and Hermione stopped in front of the two girls.

Hermione sheepishly shrugged as she looked directly at Hope. "I kinda put it together that you were building an army and we want to help."

Daphne remained silent but glanced over to Hope as she wondered how her wife would answer them. But before Hope could reply Luna, Astoria, Susan, Hannah, Neville, Su, Padma, Parvati and a reluctant Tracey all walked up to Hope and Daphne.

The Greengrass Heiress looked at Astoria with wide eyes before immediately shaking her head. "No! Just hell no! You are not joining this Stori! It's too dangerous!"

Astoria puffed up her chest before looking at Luna for some courage. "Yes, I am! Otherwise I'll tell mum and dad that you're going to battle Voldemort."

Daphne's ice blue eyes widened whereas Hope laughed quietly behind her hand.

"Look… I appreciate your offer but I'm not creating an army. Especially an army of school kids. I've seen what that looks like and I never want to see it again." Hope admitted with a solemn look on her face as she recalled all the times Alaric sent her and his own daughters off to fight the weekly monster of the week.

The Emrys Consort looked over to Hope with a sad look on her face as she understood Hope's thought process.

"However I was thinking that if I don't get booted from Hogwarts next year, I was thinking of starting a Defence Against the Dark Arts club next year. If you're interested?" Hope mentioned with a small smile.

The twins looked skeptical as they tried to decipher Hope's words to see if there was an underlying meaning behind her words. Susan, Hannah and Neville squinted their eyes at Hope as they knew Hope had a masterful silver tongue. Neville turned to look behind him and saw Snape and let out a small 'eep' at the bat-like Professor.

This caused the entire group to look in Snape's direction before looking back at Hope, understanding in their eyes as they assumed Hope couldn't talk about building an army straight out of school.

"Sounds good to me… Hang on. Why wouldn't you be able to come back to school?" Susan answered gleefully before the rest of Hope's sentence caught up with her.

"There's a Wizengamot session being held at the end of June to decide whether or not my status as a Werewolf will affect my ability to stay in the school." Hope informed the group 13 excluding herself and her wife.

The group blinked while Astoria blurted out. "But you've been a wolf since I met you."

Hope froze momentarily at the exclamation before she and Daphne turned to face Astoria with expectant looks on their faces. Stori rubbed at the back of her neck as she awkwardly giggled to herself.

"You spied on us?" Daphne glared at her little sister.

"Uh… Maybe?"

Hope frowned as she wondered when Astoria would've seen her as a wolf. "When did you see me as a wolf? I don't remember ever shifting around you?"

"Technically you didn't. I used the Floo System without mum and dad noticing just after Nelle cured me of… My personal problem." Astoria quietly admitted.

"Huh." Hope responded before shrugging nonchalantly at Daphne. "You learn something new every day."

Daphne groaned as she pulled her sister away from the rest of the group so she could give her sister a lecture about privacy she would never forget.

"Well… With that in the open now I will now take my leave and make sure Daph doesn't figure out a way to kill her little sister for eavesdropping on us. In any case, you can all mail me whenever you want and I'll probably see you sometime over the holidays if your parents think I'm safe to have over." Hope offered with a polite smile.

"I'd offer Emrys Castle as a place to visit but the restrictions on the Castle are ridiculously annoying to overwrite." Hope started while everyone around her, except Luna, looked at Hope with hope in their eyes at the offer.

Hope sighed. "I'll check the other Emrys properties and see if they're a little more friendly than the Castle."

"Does it have traps?" Hermione asked with a frown.

Hope nodded with dramatically wide eyes as she forced a tight smile on her face. "Yep."

Harry's emerald eyes widened. "That bad?"

"Oh yeah. I'll see you all later." Hope turned around to try and find Daphne and sighed loudly. "I really shouldn't have taught her that invisibility spell." Hope muttered to herself.

"Do you mean the Disillusionment charm?" George attempted to correct Lady Emrys.

Hope smirked as she faced the Weasley twins one last time. "Nope. I meant what I said. Talk to you boys later."

Hope collapsed onto her bed with an audible thud when she got back home to the Flamel Cottage and let out a sigh of content at the soft mattress under her. Daphne stood behind Hope as she watched the Tribrid flop unceremoniously onto her bed with a small smirk on her face as she turned to face Nic and Nelle shaking their heads at Hope's antics.

Freya had decided to check out the other Emrys properties as well as the Castle as Hope told her aunt how to access the Wardstone in Emrys Castle. Hope theorised that the other two stands in the triangles would hold other items belonging to Merlin. She expected the well of stones would be a perfect fit for Merlin's Staff, but if it didn't work then Hope would join Freya and give her aunt access to the Wardstone.

Mixy greeted her Master and Mistresses enthusiastically as he provided the four witches and wizards with a hearty dinner. Hope groaned as she realised that she had to get back up.

After dinner Daphne was called away by her parents as they wanted to discuss what happened at school with her. Hope's introduction as Lady Emrys during the middle of the school year, her classmates reaction to her marriage to Hope, Voldemort's return, Fleur Delacour and a conversation Daphne had with Astoria at the end of year. The Greengrass Heiress groaned quietly but obeyed her parents request as she asked if she could come back to sleep here tonight. The Flamels were happy to have her and Hope kissed her before telling her that she is always welcome to stay with her.

The Flamel House-Elf wringed his little hands together nervously as he approached the Flamels with a twisted newspaper in his grasp.

"What happened Mixy?" Hope asked softly.

The small creature let out a wail as he tossed the paper in front of Hope and threw his tiny body into Nic's legs, hugging them tight. Nicolas blinked in confusion as he stared down at the distraught Elf. The Immortal Alchemist placed a gentle hand on the back of Mixy's head, rubbing small circles into the smooth skin behind one of his large ears. A very sensitive spot for House-Elves as it instantly relaxes them and puts them to sleep if the motion continues for over a minute.

Hope squinted at the newspaper as it was in another language, most likely Russian, if Hope had to guess. "I can't read this."

Nelle pulled the paper towards herself and read the heading as she let out a gasp, moving her hand in front of her mouth as she tried to hold in her tears.

"Nelle?" Hope prompted the woman quietly as she didn't want to seem inconsiderate since she could easily see that the newspaper triggered something horrible for Nelle as she withdrew into herself.

Nic closed his eyes in shame as he read the heading himself. "Nikolai Romanov was murdered earlier today. The last male heir to the Russian Empire."

Hope released a sigh as she stood up from the table to move around until she moved behind Nelle and wrapped her arms around the immobile woman, murmuring to the Healer that what happened wasn't her fault.

The Tribrid turned to face Nic as a thought crossed her mind. "You said 'male' heir… Are there any 'female' heirs alive? Actually you said that you hid Tatiana's son. Could he have had children that the world doesn't know about?"

"There could be, but we have no way to know for certain." Nic replied with a small shake of his head as he read through the article. "This was Rasputin. He's going after the Romanovs again. If there are any more Romanovs alive he would be able to feel it due to his Vow. We made a promise to protect the Romanov line and we have failed."

"No you haven't." Hope stated with determination. "You have no idea what magic my Aunt and I are capable of. We can permanently hide any member of the Russian royal family if you have the blood of a family member. Tatania's? Katerina's?"

A frown appeared on Nic's face as he thought back to nearly 100 years ago. "Actually I think we do have some of Alexandra's blood as well as Aleksey's. Nelle wanted to see if she could find a way to cure the effects of haemophilia from Aleksey's body. She might still have some?"

"Mum? Can you get me some of the Romanovs blood?" Hope softly asked the Healer as Nelle's hazel eyes focused in on Hope for a second before she stiffly stood up and walked out of the room without a word.

Hope shared a look with Nic who looked concerned as he watched his wife disappear. The two didn't have to wait long as Nelle came back with a crystal vial with a dark red substance inside it that Hope can only assume is blood.

Nelle blankly held the vial out to Hope. "Can you save them, if there are any left?"

"Yes. I promise." Hope told her pseudo-mother without a hint of deception in her voice as she accepted the vial.

Hope summoned a world map from her room as well as some sandalwood. "I will warn you. I can cloak them from him but I can't uncloak them without being in the same room as the person I cloaked. I learned that lesson the hard way when I hid my mum." Hope swallowed painfully at the memory.

Hope also grabbed a piece of paper and conjured a pin. She dipped the pin into the vial and placed it tip first onto the parchment as she chanted a spell quietly under her breath. Hope was hoping to copy the spell from the Inheritance Test the Goblins perform to see if there was anyone left in the Romanov line before casting her cloaking spell.

The blood on the pin soaked into the paper as dark red words started to form within the parchment itself.

Alexandra Feodorovna (born 6th June 1872) DECEASED married Nicolas II (1894). DECEASED

Olga Nikolaevna (born 1895) DECEASED

Tatiana Nikolaevna (born 1897) DECEASED - Katerina Nikolaevna (1914) DECEASED, Dmitri Nikolaevich (1918) DECEASED - - Ivan Nikolaevich (1952) DECEASED - - - Natalia Nikolaevna (1984) ALIVE

Marie Nikolaevna (born 1899) DECEASED

Anastasia Nikolaevna (born 1901) DECEASED

Aleksey Nikolaevich later changed to Alexei Romanov (born 1904) DECEASED - Vladimir Romanov (1930) DECEASED - - Sofia Romanova (1952) DECEASED - - - Nikolai Romanov (1975) DECEASED

"Damn… That doesn't look good at all." Hope muttered to herself.

Hope did a quick blood locator spell on the map to see where the last remaining Romanov was, only to discover that she was in Russia living in an orphanage that housed only girls. "Poor girl. I'm sorry."

- - -

Gregori was so close to victory that he could almost taste it. He finally located the last Romanov back to the Motherland and was following his senses and the Vow etched into his arm when suddenly the mark on his arm no longer allowed him to track his prey. He could still tell that the girl was alive but he could no longer sense her.

He let out a horrible scream as he was once again denied from finishing his Vow.

His sunken eyes narrowed as he came to the realisation that only one family in the world would try to stop him from completing his Vow and that family recently took in the newly named Lady Emrys. If the stories are true. Then the power that girl possesses could potentially be powerful enough to indefinitely hide the last Romanov from him until the day she died.

Rasputin gave a grin that showcased his rotting teeth. "I guess it's time for the Emrys line to also become extinct and then I will finally be able to rid myself of this Vow once and for all!" The madman shouted to the sky before unleashing an evil cackle, he then fired off some Killing Curses at the Muggles that looked at him strangely.

The Muggles ran away in fear but the Russian Immortal massacred everyone within the small village.