chapter 68

With a sudden crack of apparation Hope, Daphne and Astoria arrived in the main lounge room at the Greengrass Farm. The elder Greengrass daughter fell to her knees and let out a mournful wail as Hope followed her wife to the floor and cradled the crying girl to her chest to comfort her crying wife.

The young Tribrid whispered sweet nothings in Daphne's ear even though Hope was positive that the blonde wasn't truly paying any attention to what she was saying. From her own experience, it was the right thing to do when a loved one dies, another was to always be present and provide support. It's what her family did for her. This is the least she could do for her wife.

Astoria looked down at her normally composed and cold sister as the blonde cried loudly in Hope's arms. Stori's heart was breaking as she watched her sister break down in front of her, silently wondering why Daphne and Hope had apparated themselves back to the Greengrass Farm instead of basking in their victory.

Astoria was well aware that Hope wouldn't have left Hogwarts without killing Voldemort and his forces would also need to be dismantled or at the bare minimum restrained by someone Hope trusted. The Goblins or Amelia Bones would be at the top of her list.

Neither her sister or Hope would leave the school defenceless, yet here they are at the Greengrass Farm and Daphne in shambles as she soaks Hope's white school shirt with her tears.

The Greengrass matriarch must've sensed their arrival as the tall blonde woman streaked into the room at an amazing speed before seeing her daughters. The woman let out a relieved sigh as she practically engulfed Astoria in a powerful and desperate hug as a sob escaped her lips, softly moving Stori's long brunette hair as the younger girl returned the hug in confusion.

It suddenly clicked for Astoria. The youngest Greengrass looked over her mother's shoulder expecting to see her father just a few moments later but he never showed. Stori's heart dropped as she unconsciously tightened her grip on her mother. Astoria's chocolate brown eyes, so similar to her mother's, dropped down to her left hand, she sucked in a shuddering breath as she finally saw the Greengrass Heiress ring on her left index finger.

Since Daphne is obviously in the same room, crying loudly into Hope and since her father still hasn't appeared yet she was able to come to the obvious conclusion.

Her father is dead.

"Mum?" Stori brokenly whispered into her mother's ear, horror coating that single word.

Anna collapsed into Stori fully and the young girl was unable to support both her own weight and her mother's as she fell to her knees with a solid thud. "I'm so sorry sweetheart."

That was all it took for Astoria to release her tears of sorrow as she buried her face into her mother's warmth.

As the 3 Greengrass women were mourning the loss of their father and husband, Hope had diligently moved around the house to collect anything that they needed. Myrddin and Alexandria had arrived sometime in the early morning once they had finished up at the school, helping Madam Bones gather up the remaining Death Eaters along with Freya and Lizzie. The Tribrid asked if Alexandria could expand in size and pull the family into a comforting embrace.

Hope had wanted to ask Myrddin to sing for them but she was concerned that by using a Phoenix's song to cheer them up would only act as a temporary crutch, instead of giving them the opportunity to mourn properly.

Although what is the proper way to grieve?

Hope's fairly certain that her method in grieving is definitely not the recommended way of going about grieving. Hope had constantly shifted into her wolf at the slowest speed she was able to in an attempt to cause herself consistent pain instead of dealing with her loss. The youngest Mikealson wanted to feel anything other than the pain she had in her heart as her family sacrificed themselves for her.

So this time Hope promised herself that she wouldn't let Daphne or her in-laws go down, possibly the worst method of handling one's grief like she did. But she also didn't want to use any spells or shortcuts, unless they had specifically asked for it and even then Hope would try to convince them to talk about their feelings first before resorting to magical means.

Over the last 4 nights Myrddin has only sung his song at night when Hope was able to convince Stori and Anna to go to bed in the youngest Greengrass's room as it hurt too much for the matriarch to sleep in her bed. The memories of her late husband kept Anna up at night and Myrddin's song was the only reason she was able to get any sleep.

Hope didn't want the Greengrass' to have to deal with handling Marcus's body or seeing him dead on the ground. She performed a silent and non-invasive Legilimens on Anna on the first night, quickly discovering where Marcus's body was.

Hope waited until the middle of the first night Hope after leaving Myrddin with Astoria and Anna while Alexandria had basically bundled Daphne up in a feathery cocoon. Hope wanted to stay with Daphne through the night but this was the only time that she had to clear out the house of the decomposing bodies. Because according to Hope's nose there was certainly more than 1 dead body in the house.

Lady Emrys was standing outside of Lord Greengrass' office and the Tribrid's eyebrows rose. Hope was very impressed as she looked down, seeing the amount of dead Death Eaters on the ground. This included Peter Pettigrew who was stuck in a mid-Animagus shift as his body had taken on the feature of his rat form.

There were also more than 2 dozen bodies on the ground or leaning against the walls.

Marcus and Anna certainly put up a remarkable fight.

Hope could feel the effects of the Cruciatus Curse still lingering on Daphne's father and a muscle in Lady Emrys' jaw twitched in anger at the knowledge of an Unforgivable being used on her Father-in-Law.

The Tribrid could practically see what happened in a vision as Marcus heard the spell aiming for his wife and he placed himself between them to take the Unforgivable Curse.

Hope growled softly as she waved her hand apparating all the Death Eaters into the Veil Chamber in the Department of Mysteries before apparating herself to the Chamber room. Lady Emrys levitated them through the ominous archway, watching as their bodies vanished from sight with a small smirk.

From the details she remembered about the Veil, anyone who went through the archway would never be able to reincarnate or come back as a ghost like the Hogwarts ghosts. Basically they would remain dead without any way for them to come back to life which made Hope incredibly grateful. Obviously the Resurrection Stone is the exception as it was made by Death herself.

The universal traveller didn't need any more people to come back to life. Hope's had enough people returning back to life to last a lifetime.

In Marcus' case, Hope decided that he deserved an honourable funeral but she wasn't sure what kind of service that the Greengrass's wished to hold.

Since the Greengrass' are married into a Legendary family, Hope would have the final say on how Marcus would be buried since she was from a higher political standing. A Viking pyre or burial at sea seemed like a nice method to Hope, but ultimately it was the Greengrass' choice in Hope's mind.

Usually a Wizard's funeral would normally consist of burying the dead on magical land, either in a magical village like Godric Hollow, or they are buried on their own land, most likely on the Greengrass Farm. The funerals would also take place within 7 days of the date of death for the deceased.

Hope basically got everything organised with Ragnok's and Gareth's help to have a private funeral on the Greengrass Farm. Whereas Hope decided that if anyone else wanted to hold a memorial for Marcus Greengrass then they were more than welcome to do so. Hope decided that she will personally pay for the first drinks for anyone who wished to pay their respects at either the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley or The Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade.

The Greengrass women were standing around the edge of a lake that was mostly located within the Greengrass' wards. Close enough to hold the funeral inside the Greengrass' wards as required and also the location allowed them to bury Marcus at sea.

The Greengrass family along with some friends that Anna, Daphne and Astroia invited to witness the late Lord Greengrass' funeral. Anna requested Perenelle, Nicolas, Amelia and a couple others who were close with the family. Daphne asked for Fleur, Tracey, Susan and surprisingly enough Harry and Hermione were also on her list to invite. Whereas Stori wished for Gabi and Luna's presence.

Shockingly enough Hope was also allowed to invite whomever she wanted as well since she was also a member of the Greengrass family by marriage. Hope asked for her Aunt and Lizzie to join her. The Greengrass Consort considered asking Ragnok out of courtesy, due to their close friendship but he told her not to worry about it as his people were still recovering from their battle against the Erklings.

Hope had her arm wrapped around Daphne's waist as they watched the service in silence as she tried to hold in her tears. A tiny sob brought Hope's attention to Astoria who had her face buried into Gabi's collarbone. Anna was bracketed by the Flamels as they each had a hand placed on the blonde's shoulders.

A pit of dread and loss settled in Hope's chest as she watched the service. Hope willed herself not to cry and stay strong for Daphne as her emotions raged heavily on their soulbond and having both of their emotions portraying sadness and despair. Hope pushed as much love as she could through their bond.

After the ceremony the remaining Greengrass' moved over to where the body was laid under a Acromantula silk blanket. Hope joined the grieving family at the body since she was also a part of the Greengrass family as Daphne's Consort.

Each of the family members performed their duty in the funeral as they held their left hand over the expensive cloth, allowing their magic to recognise the man under the tarp. The Greengrass rings on their index fingers flashed in acknowledgement, encasing the former Lord Greengrass in a magical green aura. The colour of the Greengrass' familial magic.

The Tribrid could feel Unspeakable Greengrass' magic joined theirs and subtly glanced over to where she could sense Marcus' father. Anna pulled out her wand and muttered a familiar spell under her breath as she performed the specific wand movements of the 'swish and flick' "Wingardium Leviosa."

The wooden canoe was slowly lifted up into the air as the Greengrass' followed in the matriarch's footsteps until they came up to the bank of the lake. Anna released the spell as she gently placed the canoe into the lake. Daphne and Astoria approached next as they used their magic to push the boat further out into the water.

The Greengrass women all turned to look at Hope as she was the highest ranking member in their family to finish the funeral service. The Tribrid robotically looked down to her right hand as she formed a fireball in the palm of her hand as her body went through the motions.

Flashes of her mother's funeral passed through her mind as she threw the fireball with remarkable accuracy as it arched into the air and fell down onto the boat, igniting the canoe.

The wood slowly caught fire as Hope only used a low heat fireball so the boat could burn properly before the integrity of the boat weakened and would sink to the bottom of the lake.

Hope discussed how she would normally send her family members off into the afterlife and how she used more Viking based practices. Anna and Astoria were willing to go ahead with the Viking funeral but Anna did make the request that they hold the funeral somewhere on the Greengrass Farm.

This left Hope with 2 options for the funeral and one of them involved a lot of manual labour, creating a pyre and surrounding it with large rocks as they left provisions with the body to take into the next life. The other method was the burial at sea which was easier to prepare as all they had to do was line the boat with food and possessions before laying the body on top.

"Crescat herba in vita post vitam viridius ad tuitionem et prosperitatem, semper et in perpetuum." Daphne clearly announced in Latin with her left hand against her heart as she turned to Hope at the end, a forlorn smile on her face as she used her wife's family motto in her father's final send off.

Considering Latin was used frequently in their spells, books, and potion ingredients everyone knew what Daphne had portrayed as he last word to her father. It was a combination of the Greengrass' familial motto and also the Mikaelson's promise.

Daphne had to give the last rights as she was the new Head of the Greengrass House so the responsibility fell to the younger blonde Greengrass rather than her mother.

Everyone moved to place their hands over their hearts although the Greengrass' used their left hands and the family rings flash as a chorus of voices repeated Daphne's last rights in English. "May the grass in the afterlife grow greener to provide protection and prosperity, Always and Forever."

This signalled the end of the ceremony. Everyone joined the Greengrass' at the bank of the lakeside as Gabi took Astoria into her arms as the youngest Greengrass finally allowed her tears to fall as she buried her face into the younger Veela's body.

Fleur looked between her little sister and her ex-lovers as she wondered where she should go but a gentle pull on her arm by the only other silver-eyed girl at the funeral gained her attention as she turned to face Luna. Fleur followed the young Seer's lead as Luna directed Fluer to her little sister and Astoria.

The newest Wing Leader of the Veela's felt her sister's pain as she looked at the younger blonde. The silver-blonde haired woman immediately wrapped her arms around Gabi and as much of Astoria as she could as Fleur unfurled her wings to cradle both of the girls to give them privacy from the rest of the observers.

Luna gave a whimsical little smile as she walked over to Tracey and Susan who simply blinked at the younger blonde. They followed the Ravenclaw girl without hesitation over to where Daphne was.

Susan quickly took Hope's hand in her own for a moment as they shared a meaningful little glance. Hope gave a grateful little nod as she released Daphne into her friend's embrace but remained close by just in case her wife needed her.

Freya and Lizzie moved up to Hope as the eldest Mikaelson pulled her niece into an all-consuming hug as she murmured her condolences. The Viking Witch pulled back and gave Hope a long look to see if her niece was alright. Hope put on a brave face as she nodded and motioned for Freya to make her rounds to the rest of the Greengrass'.

Freya observed Hope for a little longer before giving a small smile and nodding slightly as she moved on but not before she gave a quick glance to Lizzie to check on the young girl. The youngest Saltzman looked fairly out of place as she leaned over and quietly murmured her condolences to Hope.

Lizzie tried, she really did, but other than saying goodbye to her birth-mum, Lizzie hasn't really had too many experiences with attending funerals and what she had to do while there as she was only 4 when her Uncle Stefan, well… since life in her universe likes to throw curve balls. Stefan was also her step-father at the time of his death.

After Freya had moved away to where Anna was with the Flamels, Amelia and her friends. Hope had turned to face her old friend from her time and universe as she gave a small smirk that didn't quite make it to her eyes. "I see that you and Aunt Freya are getting close."

"Yeah. She's amazing. Kinda wish that my dad would've let her teach at school more often then he did… Although lets' keep the fire spells away from Josie." Lizzie joked awkwardly as she wasn't exactly sure what to do at funerals, especially ones that she knew nothing about the person who died other than the fact he was Hope's girlfriend/wife's father.

Hope gave a wet chuckle. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Wouldn't want Joise burning anything else. My room, her girlfriend… well her ex--"

"The school." Lizzie added helpfully.

Hope's eyes widened, "The school?"

"There's a lot to fill you in on and vice versa. You still owe me a long story on what you've been doing here in this universe." Lizzie raised a demanding eyebrow in Hope's direction as it turned into a frown. "Jo set her ex on fire? Who?"

"Penelope. Why do you think she randomly started to rock a bob?" Hope responded with a tiny smirk of amusement.

Lizzie laughed heartily. "Oh that's gold! How did I not know that?" Hope shrugged as a small genuine smile appeared on her face for a few moments before disappearing.

"I guess I can't call her 'The Dark Lord' anymore huh?" Lizzie mentioned a haunted look etched onto her face which quickly gained Hope's complete attention as the Tribrid moved over to the blonde girl and placed a comforting hand on the Siphoner's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Hope worriedly questioned as she softly turned Lizzie so their backs were facing everyone else in an attempt to garner some privacy.

Lizzie sucked in a deep breath at the question and the concern that Hope conveyed in her voice before turning into the Tribrid and letting out a harsh sob as she crashed into Hope's strong form. The events of the last couple of months finally caught up to her.

The auburn haired girl jolted momentarily at the force of another tear-stricken blonde girl in the Tribrid's arms as Hope carefully and gently wrapped her arms around her taller friend.

Hope tightened her hold on Lizzie as she felt the other girl put all her weight into Hope, forcing the Tribrid to hold her up instead which Hope had absolutely had no problem doing as she tried to calm the other girl.

"Hey, Liz. I'm sorry that I haven't been around." Hope murmured quietly as she rubbed Lizzie's back. "I know I've been busy, but I promise, I'm going to make more time to catch up with you very soon."

"But for right now, I'm all yours." Hope told her oldest friend after doing a quick check over to where Daphne was standing with Susan and Tracey.

"If you ever want to tell me what's going on, I'll listen and help you however I can." The Tribrid promised the other girl as Lizzie curled her body around Hope placing Lizzie's neck directly in front of Hope's nose.

The first thing that Hope noticed was the artery in Lizzie's neck throbbing in time with her heartbeat. Surprisingly enough Hope's eyes remained her normal sea-blue colour as she ignored her Vampire instincts. The classic Vampiric darkened veins under the eyes didn't even make an appearance showcasing Hope's amazing control and restraint when it comes to her supernatural sides.

Hope realised over the years, both in this universe and her own, that she considered Lizzie and Josie family in her mind. Having Lizzie this close to her, in this universe as well as this time, filled Hope with an immense happiness that she didn't know that she was missing in her life. There was no way that Hope would ever hurt the youngest Saltzman. Instead Hope inhaled the Siphoner's scent consisting of a very earthy and magic base with a mint choc chip ice cream aftertaste.

Hope committed the scent to memory as she internally chuckled at the last scent as she recalled all the times that Lizzie came into her room, stressed out with her fight with Josie. The girls watched movies on Hope's laptop as they rested against the headboard eating ice cream. It was one of the most peaceful memories she has from her universe and with the youngest Saltzman due to their complicated history.

Hope felt Lizzie nod against her back signalling to Hope that the younger girl was in fact listening to her but obviously wasn't ready to talk. Hope bit the inside of her lip as she tried to think of a way to calm Lizzie.

A potentially stupid thought came to mind and Hope considered it for a moment, wondering whether doing this would be a good choice or not. The Tribrid pursed her lips slightly as she decided to go ahead with her idea.

Hope cleared her throat slightly as she began to gently sway back and forth as she quietly hummed out a tune from memory. One that she remembered from their school's talent show.

Lizzie tensed up at the familiar tune as Hope hummed out her sister's song 'Stepping into the light'. The blonde Siphoner let out a wet chuckle at the memory as she buried her face into the Tribrid's neck in an effort to get closer to the vibrations from Hope's vocal chords.

When Hope finished Josie's song Lizzie pulled back from the hug slightly to look at the shockingly sea-blue eyes as she regarded Hope with an unidentifiable expression. "I can't believe you remember that."

"Why wouldn't I? She's my friend and that was a very impressive performance. I was so proud of her for breaking out of her shell." Hope replied simply with a small smile as the memory crossed her mind.

"Yeah. It was… Thank you Hope." Lizzie gratefully replied as she replaced her cheek on Hope's shoulder.

"Of course. I miss her too… I missed you Lizzie." Hope mentioned quietly as she threaded her fingers through the other girl's wavy hair as she breathed in Lizzie's comforting scent.

The Saltzman girl pulled back with a mischievous chuckle as Hope tilted her head like a confused puppy as she looked at Lizzie at the very sudden change of pace. "Bet you never imagined that you would miss me."

Hope rolled her eyes as she held back her laugh as a genuine smile crossed her features as she nudged Lizzie's shoulder. "Shut up." The Tribrid playfully remarked.

Harry and Hermione had made their way over to Hope and Lizzie. The Gryffindor couple carefully observed the newcomer as she poked at Hope without any fear of repercussions. Hope was smiling back at her American friend as they obviously shared stories of their past.

Harry was always skeptical when meeting new people as when he lived with the Dursleys. He quickly developed a sixth sense as he basically had to play survival of the fittest to avoid Dudley's 'Harry Hunting' sport with his friends.

Alternatively when he started at Hogwarts, everyone seemingly knew who he was and tried to force friendship upon him like the Weasleys and Draco Malfoy. With this information in mind Harry would normally remain very standoffish with new people until he could figure out if these people meant him or his friends ill-will.

But watching Hope Mikaelson, possibly one of the most isolated and reserved girls that he knew, enjoying being around someone other than family. He decided that this is someone that he would like to know.

Hermione had a soft smile on her face as she watched Hope and Lizzie interact. Seeing Lady Emrys actually act like the young girl she looks like rather than a woman with the weight of the world on her shoulder basically told Hermione that this girl was good for Hope. To remind her that she didn't always have to be on alert and that she was still a kid.

"Hi Hope. I'm sorry for your loss." Hermione started as she waited for a gap between when the two girls were talking before interrupting.

Hope turned to Hermione and Harry which also gathered Lizzie's attention as well. "Thank you Hermione."

The orphaned children, Harry and Hope, shared a grim expression as they gave a small nod of acknowledgement to one another.

Harry knew that condolences don't really fix anything especially when it's family and Hope understood that Harry was one of the only few people who she would never expect to receive condolences from.

Lizzie looked between the two Gryffindor's in complete amazement as she reached over blindly towards Hope as she whacked Hope's shoulder a few times surprising the auburn haired girl as the Siphoner excitedly. "Oh my God! You never told me that my OTP was together here! Hope Andrea Mikaelson! Explain yourself!"

Hope actually flinched slightly at the volume at which Lizzie practically shouted at her before her brain finally processed the words and she couldn't help but laugh at Lizzie's sudden outburst.

"OTP?" Harry muttered over in Hermione's direction.

Hermione blinked strangely at Lizzie as she wondered what the blonde girl meant but replied, "It means 'Original True Pairing'. Usually the term is used in movies, TV shows, books and sometimes even celebrities."

"We're an OTP?" Harry replied in confusion.

Hope groaned quietly as she wished Lizzie was a little more discreet with her excitement.

"Well as it turns out the Weasleys were potioning Harry and Hermione with loyalty potions, love potions and another type of potion that slowly dismantles any romantic feelings between these two." Hope motioned between Harry and Hermione.

Lizzie blinked as she turned to Hope with a disbelieving look on her face. "Wait, what?"

"Apparently." Hermione answered Harry before pursing her lips awkwardly as she faced Hope again.

"Speaking of Weasleys… Ronald tried to attack Harry from behind but I managed to deflect the spell before it reached Harry." Hermione admitted.

"He did WHAT?" Hope almost shouted but managed to keep her voice down so she didn't disrupt the funeral.

"Ron attacked me and Ginny was stupid enough to try and attack Hermione head on. I challenged Ron to an Honour Duel to the death and Ginny butted her way in to make the match 2 on 1 so I invited Hermione into the Duel." Harry admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulder.

"Holy shit… What did you do to this universe Hope?" Lizzie questioned the auburn haired girl with wide eyes as she tried to follow what was going on, only hearing that the Weasleys are apparently not friends with Harry or Hermione.

Hope clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "A lot apparently."

Lady Emrys turned to Harry as she checked her friends over for any injuries. "Are either of you two hurt?"

"No." "Nope." Hermione and Harry replied to Hope's concerned query.

"What happened with the… Honour Duel?" Lizzie questioned, confusion coating her voice as she looked over to Hope for confirmation.

Harry and Hermione just looked over to Hope wondering how to answer that question.

Hope sighed as she answered Lizzie's question. "Ronald and Ginerva are dead, Lizzie. They attacked a member of a Most Ancient and Noble House and were challenged to an Honour Duel they couldn't refuse otherwise they would die since the Honour Duel was to the death."

Lizzie blinked. "Wow… This universe certainly has some interesting quirks."

Hope looked at Lizzie with an unimpressed expression as she made an observation. "Lizzie…" The Tribrid began with a deadpan expression on her face. "Our universe literally has Gemini witches compete in the Merge to basically kill their twin in order to determine who would lead the coven. One of your Aunts has the same face as three other women throughout history and also was sacrificed by my father but came back to life, became a Vampire, was Cured of being a Vampire which should be impossible, before being forced into a slumber - -"

"By my Bio-Uncle. Yeah I get your point. Our world is weird." Lizzie finished Hope's sentence.

Hope frowned. "Your… Bio-Uncle??"

"Yeah. He also killed our Bio-Mum, became a Heretic and Aunt Bonnie locked him up in the Ascendant." At Hope's clueless gaze Lizzie expands on her answer. "Remember when we found that box hidden in our Dad's office by a cloaking spell?"

Hope nods at the memory.

"Well that was an Ascendant, basically the container for a Prison World. Looks exactly like our world but it is forever stuck to repeat a single day for all eternity…"

Lizzie's jaw clenched as she forced herself to tell Hope what happened after Hope jumped into the Malivore pit. "Dad… Dad had abused the Ascendant. He placed school kids into the Prison World and they freed Uncle Kai from his bonds. The kids were so angry and tried to kill us after Alyssa managed to hi-jack the creation of a second Ascendant in order to yeet Dad, Josie and I into the same prison world as Kai. Since we weren't placed into the Ascendant by normal means the day doesn't repeat for us, meaning if they kill us we die. If we kill them, they come back to life when the day resets."

"What the fuck!?" Hermione sputtered in disbelief.

Even Harry and Hope looked appalled at Lizzie's story. The Boy-Who-Lived turned to Hope as he looked at the Slytherin girl, a stressed chuckle escaping his lips as he spoke. "And here I was thinking that Dumbledore was bad at looking after kids."

Lizzie opened her mouth to defend her father but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Lizzie also didn't believe what her father did was right and she didn't even want to speak to him again but then Josie was infected with Dark Magic. The youngest Salzman wasn't able to express her anger towards her father before Jo tried to kill her and tried to force them to go ahead with the Merge early.

"Dumbledore was a terrible Headmaster. But the more I hear about Dr Saltzman…" Hope paused for a second before shaking her head in disgust.

"I wouldn't trust either men to protect me or my friends and I seriously question how either of them could be put in charge of a school and looking after children." Hope mentioned with an angry lilt in her voice before she realised who she was speaking about and looked over to Lizzie with a guilty expression on her face.

Lizzie could only sigh in disappointment.

"I wouldn't either." The blonde Siphoner muttered under her breath.

The boat and body had finally sunk under the water after an hour of standing around, quietly talking to the others as they occasionally looked out to the lake to observe the fire roaring above the water. The funeral came to a conclusion as the fire died out over the water.

Hope left Lizzie with Harry and Hermione as the auburn haired girl moved to rejoin Daphne placing an arm around her waist and stuck by her wife's side for the rest of the day. The Greengrass' managed to correal everyone into the house after an hour for the reception.

The Tribrid played host as well as she could while the Greengrass women shared some stories of Marcus with their friends and family gathered. Daphne even gave a story from her perspective on how Hope had asked Marcus for her hand in marriage which got a few laughs from the group.

Surprisingly Anna also offered up some stories from how Marcus described some of the interactions he had with Hope when she announced herself as Lady Emrys and a member of the Neutral Faction. They butted heads in the beginning for a while until Marcus quickly realised that Hope knew exactly what she was doing and started going to Hope for advice.

Nearly everyone was able to share some sort of story about Marcus Greengrass, except those few like Lizzie, Harry, Hermione, Fluer and Gabi, who have either never met him for long periods of time or simply not at all.

The next few weeks were hard for the Greengrass' especially for Anna as both her daughters have gone back to school although from time to time Freya, Nelle or Nic would visit the grieving widow when they weren't too busy at the school. Although it was mostly Freya and Pernelle at this point. The Headmistress was able to work together with the other Professors to outright ban bullying which means there were no more Honour Duels for Freya to make. The remaining students at the school no longer accept bullying.

Hope had pulled the Weasley twins off to the side to offer her condolences and to also make a deal with them. She would offer a substantial amount of money for them to start their dream Joke Shop in Diagon Alley. If the twins didn't pull any harmful or irreversible pranks until the end of the year she would gift them 20,000 galleons. If they couldn't contain their pranks then Hope would only offer them 500 galleons, the same amount that Harry had gifted them after he won the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Fred and George were appreciative but quietly subdued as they nodded their heads in understanding. Hope would try to offer them more but until they were able to get out from under Molly Weasley's grasp and became as-of-age Wizards, Hope couldn't trust the Weasley matriarch not to steal from her two sons.

Astoria was having a bit of trouble readjusting back into schooling until she suddenly wasn't and the brunette seemed lighter as a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Hope's eyes narrowed on the younger girl until she managed to pick up on a familiar scent emulating from the youngest Greengrass; lust, roses and jasmine.

Apparently after teaching Gabi how to access her magic she was making the most of the barrier being down around the school and apparating to check on Astoria. Daphne had also managed to pick up on what was happening with her sister which managed to bring a small smile to the usually frigid girl's face.

Daphne on the other hand had too many people looking out for her, that she felt like she was being suffocated by all their worry they had for her. Eventually the only people she would talk to were Hope, Tracey, Susan, sometimes Harry and/or Hermione and surprisingly enough Lizzie as the two blonde girls hit it off. Hope was wondering if she should run and hide or jump with joy that her wife and best friend were getting along.

After the funeral Hope and Freya did end up taking Lizzie to Diagon Alley to get her some clothes and magical equipment including a wand. (Unfortunately Lizzie's magic still couldn't be channelled through a wand unless she had siphoned from someone or something first). Although the wand did allow her to use her magic in a much more gradual way.

Instead of using all the magic in a single burst Lizzie could store the magic in her wand. Since the magic is more pure in this universe, the Siphoner's wand still acts as a magnifying glass for Lizzie so only a small amount of magic is used at a time.

If Lizzie siphoned from Hope at the beginning of a school day the magic from Hope would normally last for the entire school day. Lizzie was ecstatic that she no longer had to siphon magic from someone every time she needed to use magic.

The Mikaelsons brought Lizzie to Gringotts to either set up her account in this universe and transfer some Galleons across if needed or to see if she belonged to a House that already existed. Lizzie followed the instructions from Ragnok to the 't' as Hope and Freya had both stressed how important it is to treat the Goblins with respect.

As it turns out the Parker family line exists in this universe as well even if the line was extinct before Lizzie reactivated it. The Parker House was a Noble and Ancient House so they have been around for quite a while.

The Head of House ring for the Parker family depicted the Gemini star sign which caused Lizzie to roll her eyes and Hope to ask Ragnok if Lizzie could visit her vault. Mentioning that each family has a family codex. This Codex would also feature any spells that were created by any member of the Parker family. Lizzie looked confused at why this would matter until Freya had offered her insight.

The Immortal Viking witch believed that one of Lizzie's ancestors created the Merge in order to control their family as Siphoners are revered. Dangerous. Powerful. Her ancestors were concerned that Siphoners in their family would eventually end up taking over the magical world.

Ragnok informed Lizzie that the Parker family were hunted into extinction due to this very reason as the Parker family had mental problems stemming back hundreds of years and a power-hungry addiction to siphoning magic.

Lizzie was appalled at what her ancestors had done to this universe and promised the King of the Goblins that she would never follow in her family's footsteps. Lizzie also promised that if she ever did use her powers against the occupants in this universe then she would have Hope or Freya stop her by any means necessary.

The Mikaelson women glanced at each other with a distressed expression on their faces as they didn't feel comfortable agreeing to Lizzie's promise but slowly bobbed their heads in reluctant agreement.

So the small group of Goblins and Witches from another universe made a quick pitstop as Lizzie picked up the Parker Codex. Hope quickly ran through how to use the book before they apparated into the school.

The Headmistress greeted Lizzie in the Courtyard as Hope became the Siphoner's guide and joined up with Daphne when they passed by the Dungeons. Hope, Daphne and Lizzie strolled through the castle at a nice and slow pace as they had managed to get the day off from Duelling class with Flitwick.

The Head of Ravenclaw House knew that Hope would be inviting her Siphoner friend to Hogwarts at least for this school year. Hope had mentioned to Lizzie that she would be finishing up this year at school with her O.W.L.s before following this up with her N.E.W.T.s at the Ministry of Magic.

Lizzie didn't really want to stay at Hogwarts without Hope there as the only people she could safely siphon from are those who Hope has taught to access their magical core. Without Hope being here after 5th year, Daphne would most likely follow in Hope's footsteps and finish up early as well. With Daphne's grades Lizzie had no doubt that the new Lady Greengrass would pass her N.E.W.Ts with Outstanding results.

Freya would have no reason to stick around and neither would the Flamels.

The only person that Lizzie could siphon from at the school would be Luna or possibly Astoria since Daphne plans on teaching her sister how to unlock her magical core after she finishes this school year.

To Hope's utmost displeasure Lizzie and Daphne found great amusement in making fun of the youngest Mikaelson which threw the entire student body into a state of utter confusion as they watched the interaction between the Emrys couple and the newest Hogwarts student.

The newly instated Headmistress had introduced Lizzie as the young Siphoner was brought to the front of the Hall to be Sorted into her Hogwarts House. The Sorting Hat managed to bring out a laugh from the young girl as she bantered with the Hat.

Eventually the Sorting Hat shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!"

A polite clap sounded through the Great Hall as Lizzie hopped up and handed the Sorting Hat back to McGonnagall before giving the woman a small shrug. "Sorry. I convinced the Hat to place me into Slytherin. The Hat told me I'd do well in Gryffindor but I have to admit… I'm a little bit too much like Hope when it comes to doing whatever it takes to protect those I care about."

"I'm sure you'd make any House you are sorted into proud and Slytherin has certainly turned a new leaf since Hope killed Voldemort. Besides, thanks to your help we were able to dissolve the ward that causes animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin students. The school has finally become all inclusive so I expect you would fit in with any House if you put your mind to it."

Lizzie nodded her head as the edges of her robes gained the emerald green trim and the tie around her neck changed to reflect the classic Slytherin's emerald and silver colours. The youngest Saltzman made her way down to the Slytherin table to sit opposite of the Emrys couple.

Hope was smirking at Lizzie and the blonde rolled her eyes at her old former enemy. "Not a word Hope Andrea Mikaelson." Daphne chuckled under her breath as she watched Lizzie quickly put Hope in her place with only a few words.

"Sweet God, I'm going to regret the day you two met aren't I?" Hope groaned to herself as she threw her head back in a mixture of annoyed amusement.

"I really hope so." Lizzie quickly snapped back as she grinned.

Hope let out a long suffering sigh as she wondered how school would play out with Lizzie here and all of Voldemort's supporters removed from the school.

The Death Eaters who were captured during the Battle of Hogwarts gave up any plants or moles hidden within the school, ministry and other magical industries. Freya had made some appearances to the Death Eaters' Trials as she performed a truth spell with permission from the new Minister of Magic and Madam Bones.

The Death Eaters didn't believe that it was possible to use a spell that would force people to speak the truth so they were surprised and shocked when they started spilling their secrets to Heir Emrys.

How they planned on using the next generation that were still in school to cause disarray and chaos. They mentioned how Bellatrix was pregnant with Riddle's child and how this child would lead the new order.

Freya pursed her lips as Myrddin let out a sad sigh, knowing that if Hope found out she would most likely beat herself up about killing an unborn child due to her own experiences. The Viking Witch chose to tell her niece about Tom's and Bellatrix's child.

Hope blinked when she learned about Bellatrix's pregnancy and sighed as recalled Delphini in 'The Cursed Child'. "I didn't realise that Delphini was conceived so early on… I always thought that Bella had the baby in Harry's year 6. Guess I was wrong… How far along was she?"

Freya shrugged as she didn't know. Lizzie looked awkward as she answered. "About 2 months."

Hope's jaw clenched as she looked down in regret. "Sorry Delphini. You didn't deserve to die. I'm sorry."