Chapter Text
“Stop getting gross lake water on my kitchen tiles”
“In case you’ve forgotten I’m dead, Ellie. The lake water isn’t real”
And he was right in both respects. The puddle of water that formed around his sodden shoes was intangible and Regulus himself was in fact quite dead.
“Stop calling me Ellie” she protested reflexively.
“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do Ellie? Kill me? Your lover boy already saw to that”
And he was just as much of a prick as Sirius.
“I could just stop summoning you” Eliza threatened, not for the first time, as she bustled about the kitchen making tea for herself.
“And then who would be your emotional support ghost?” Regulus commented drily, sitting down at her kitchen table and propping his chin up on his hand.
She had obviously never seen Regulus in life, but she had seen enough pictures to know that he didn’t look that much different in death. His grey eyes were still as sharp as ever, black hair falling down in waves just past his ears but his skin at times seemed translucent and his shoes had a bad habit of leaking lake water, the lake that he had died in.
“I’m sure Dumbledore would love to see what I’ve been up too” she returned, reaching up to her cupboards to grab a bowl “He might even be better company than you are”
Regulus sniffed haughtily “I’m the best company the likes of you could hope for, Potter Spawn”
“Okay Baby Black” she said dismissively, sliding into the chair across from him and stifled a smile as he let out an indignant huff.
“I’m your god-uncle – stop calling me that”
“You are quite literally the same age as me” Eliza dead-panned and Regulus let out a forlorn sigh.
“Only the good die young”
All in all Regulus was quite good natured about his death. She was sure if she had summoned him a decade ago he would have been frothing at the mouth, but now after so long he seemed almost content. He said nothing of ‘the other side’ that she pulled him from but she assumed in death at least he found a peace that life had never been able to offer him.
“You were a war criminal Regulus” Eliza pointed out and he rolled his eyes in return.
“Aren’t we all?”
Of course Eliza didn’t have a rebuttal for that. Regulus knew far too much for her to be able to lie her way out of that one convincingly. Eliza had initially thought that the ghost would be furious to find out that his death had practically been in vain. He had died to destroy the dark lord, and Eliza had in a way pieced him back together but Regulus had no qualms about it. Voldemort was gone, even if it was not in the way that he had originally intended.
“It doesn’t matter if I’d never gone for that horcrux” he’d said one night, eyes more misty than usual “I wouldn’t have made it out of that war alive anyway”
Regulus let out a dramatic sigh and practically floated out of his chair and over to the window of her small apartment, staring down at the street below them.
“Are we leaving soon?”
Regulus had been with her since October, Mexico, and when she had asked the spirit had decided he wanted to join her in her travels, see the world he had never gotten to experience and in his words ‘keep my god-niece – whatever, out of trouble’
Eliza had initially begun her travels in France, two weeks in a hotel in Paris although she’d left early after the small incident in the catacombs. From there she hadn’t bothered with fancy hotels and had instead booked a hostel for a fortnight in the Pyrenees mountains, famed for their alchemy research. There was a coffee shop on the corner that made the best muffins and she fell in love with the libraries, rich in magical theory that improved her alchemy leaps and bounds.
But the globe sat on her desk still remained rather empty, and so she once again packed her bags and decided to grab a portkey to Mexico. She booked a hotel room for a month in Taxco and was ready to start again. She travelled all round Mexico in the day, visiting ancient ruins and busy wizard shopping districts. She brought back books upon books and books and called Sirius and Remus on the mirror almost every night.
Sirius and Remus weren’t the only people from home she was still speaking too.
She and Tom still had their journals, and somewhere between her second and fifth post-card it had become a tradition to speak every night. Either Tom would ask first or Eliza would, but it always began with a simple ‘how was your day?’
And then Tom would complain about ministry officials and Eliza would gush about whatever city she had visited today. Tom would allude to whatever secret plans he was working on and recommend more places for her to visit and she would ramble about whatever came to her mind.
She missed him, but not enough to give up on all the fun she was having.
Her time in Mexico passed by quickly, almost too quickly. Everyone had invited her back home for their first legal Samhain celebration in England. Apparently Tom had convinced Alexander to open up Nott Manor again for a gigantic Samhain celebration, the first in decades.
But Eliza had a plan, a plan for Dias de Muertos, and she needed the time to prepare.
The day arrived faster than she thought it would and Eliza busied herself by checking and double checking her preparations. She didn’t like the idea of relying on the resurrection stone, even if she was the master of death, but she was a necromancer. Dealing with the dead was kind of her thing, even if the power thrumming through her today was unsettling. Again there was that disconnect between herself and her body, as if she had one foot in the grave almost literally.
Instead Eliza built a small altar in her apartment as people poured into the streets below her, celebrations in full swing. She could join them later, maybe, but right now she wanted to try something. Placing Regulus’ old snitch in the middle of the altar and a photograph Eliza focused on her breathing, centring herself as she slowly unfurled her magic.
And just to give herself a bit of help she pricked her thumb, smearing blood onto the snitch to amplify her innate magic.
Merlin she loved blood magic.
She could feel the magic building in the room, the candles she had placed flickering from their usual gentle orange flame to venomous green until suddenly the atmosphere surrounding here popped.
And there in front of her sat a very unimpressed Regulus Black.
“Hello” Eliza greeted casually twirling the Elder wand between her fingers. Regulus let out a long despairing groan and ran a ghostly hand through his hair.
“Merlin not the Potter Spawn”
She hadn’t told anyone about summoning Regulus that night, but he had become a permanent fixture in her life anyway. He was like a permanently grumpy Theo, full of sarcasm and snark, fiercely intelligent and yet just as studious and calm.
He laughed like Sirius – she wondered if he knew.
Either way Regulus had quickly become another reluctant family member, an uncle who was somehow the same age as her and perpetually angry about it. But he still followed her to Ireland anyway.
She missed Mexico, the warmth, the food, the buildings, but it was time to move on.
Ireland was fun, in a different way. She rented another apartment much to Regulus’ disgust (‘you have enough money to rent a manor why are you here?’) She went out exploring in the day, and finally took a small break from studying and went out drinking. She met a boy with Tom’s smile but none of his charm and the sharp burn of the whiskey did nothing to stop the brief feeling of homesickness that hit her. Instead she had another drink, danced with another stranger and woke up in the morning for another adventure.
She ventured into the darkened woods and wondered vaguely if the old stories about the Sidhe were true. She cast a tempus charm regularly and never strayed off the path. She swore the trees were closing in around her and when she encountered a dark loch, she knew it was time to turn around. She had been lucky with one kelpie, she didn’t want to see how she’d fare against another.
“I don’t know Regulus” Eliza mumbled, throwing her bowl into the sink as she joined him at the window “It’s almost Yule”
“Ah” he said with barely concealed distaste “Family”
“They’re your family too you know” she pointed out and Regulus wrinkled his nose.
“I was dead to them even when I was alive” he muttered, glaring at the lamp-post across the street “Besides I’m not the one who promised to visit them”
She had only been gone for three months, and she called her family every night. It felt like barely any time had passed at all and she was still restless. She still wanted to continue, to travel and move on and see new things. But at the end of the day she had made a promise.
“I won’t be staying long” Eliza said and Regulus let out a disbelieving hum.
“Go home Eliza”
And for once she agreed with him.
~
“Eliza” Sirius screeched the second she landed in the foyer of Grimmauld Place. Her luggage clattered around her when Sirius ran through it to envelope her in a massive hug and Eliza laughed as she returned it.
“You’re acting like I’ve been gone for a year, its only been a few months”
“And are we not allowed to miss you?” Remus chastised, coming to hug Eliza far more gently than Sirius had “Now come on, Kreacher has lunch ready for us. We can unpack your bags later”
Said elf was already herding them all into the kitchen muttering about how “The Little Mistress was far too thin” and how she had been “galivanting around on her own for too long”
“Tell us all about it” Sirius exclaimed as they settled into their chairs at the kitchen and Eliza broke into a bright smile when she found Blaise lounging on a chair at the table.
“You each called me almost every night” Eliza pointed out and hugged Blaise from behind before taking a seat next to him.
“Who cares” Blaise cut in “Tell us more anyway – I bet there are things you got up too that you didn’t tell us about”
The resurrection stone sat heavily in her pocket.
“Well actually there was this one pub in Ireland” she began with a grin which only grew when Remus let out a soft ‘oh no’
It was nice to be back with her family, back in the comfort of her own home. She spent time catching up with her court, with her family and the Malfoy’s over the next few days. It was rare that they actually got snow at Yule and even though Eliza didn’t like the stuff she could appreciate the aesthetic as she sat in one of the empty rooms of Grimmauld by the window. The snow dusted the streets below them, resting on the branches of the trees as she watched it fall.
She had returned home three days ago and had almost reflexively settled into her old routines and yet she was already feeling restless. Now that she had begun to travel she didn’t want to stop, she wanted to continue on her way. But she couldn’t deny that she was happy at home, happy to stay here for just a little bit longer.
“Moping over loverboy?” Regulus questioned as he popped into existence by the windowsill, eyeing the room in barely concealed disdain.
“Someone will see you” Eliza warned but didn’t withdraw the magic that sustained Regulus’ incorporeal existence. It wasn’t that trying truly. Eliza always had an excess of magic and with her title of master of death it only made it easier to connect with her necromancy.
“The occupants of this house have a brain cell between them, they won’t discover me even if I danced in front of them wearing Kreacher’s tea cosy” he said scathingly and Eliza barely smothered a laugh.
“You are allowed to see them you know” she pointed out and Regulus scoffed.
“And you are allowed to go see your dark lord and yet here we are”
“For the last time he’s away on business – he won’t be back until after Yule” she explained only somewhat mopingly. He was planning something apparently, something big but she wasn’t supposed to know about it. Tom had told her he’d return just before New Year’s, two days before Eliza would once again set off on her travels.
It wasn’t a lot but it was enough.
“I’m sure” Regulus drawled sarcastically, ever the sardonic prick.
“Shut up” she shot back, turning away from the window to glare at him only to pause when she saw nothing but empty air.
“Eliza?” Blaise questioned as he halted at the door, dark eyes narrowed in scrutiny “Who are you talking too?”
Regulus hadn’t been caught – but at what cost?
“Myself” Eliza offered up in answer, lying flawlessly.
Blaise continued to stare at her, Eliza stared back.
“Tea’s ready”
And that was that.
There were a few more near misses like that over the next few days. The prep for Yule kept everybody busy, there were gifts to buy and people to visit and Eliza had never been more aware of how fast time seemed to fly, and as such she was also a lot less careful.
She had just returned home to Grimmauld after visiting Daphne and Susan. The two girls had settled into an apartment by St Mungo’s so Daphne could be closer to her healing apprenticeship and had bullied Eliza into visiting them. She returned home through Diagon Alley and Regulus was still rambling about how things had changed when they stepped through the door of Grimmauld Place only to suddenly fall unnervingly quiet.
Because Sirius was on the other side of the door.
He was staring at the empty space beside her, confusion clearly on his face as he cocked his head not unlike the dog that he was. Giving himself a quick shake of the head he instead turned to Eliza, a warm smile sliding onto his face.
“I thought they were going to hold you hostage – we’re going out for tea tonight”
“Blaise’s idea?”
“Blaise’s idea”
It was a lucky escape, and Eliza warned Regulus again that they weren’t being as subtle as they could be and again Regulus waved off her concerns. She wouldn’t remove their connection though. Regulus didn’t talk a lot about where his spirit resided all these years, and Death’s words to her gave nothing away. In fact Eliza would go as far as to say that Death was an incredibly creepy being and Eliza had no idea what the afterlife was at all. But she knew enough to know that he would have been lonely.
He had died thinking his family despised him, and despising the family that didn’t. Any close friends that she knew he did have were still here in the living, Barty and Severus. And so if Regulus wanted to take advantage of the company, if he didn’t really mind that Sirius may discover his existence? Eliza wouldn’t say anything.
It all came to a head the night before Yule.
They had all sequestered themselves away in their rooms wrapping presents for tomorrow. Eliza knew this because when she had wandered over to Sirius’ he had practically duelled her so she wouldn’t peer around the door.
“Hey look Regulus” Eliza gained the spirit’s attention, pointing to a slip in Sirius’ detention folder “You’re in this one”
She had stolen the two files from Filch before she left Hogwarts and was curiously flipping through them as she wrapped her other presents. Regulus moved from his perch on the window and came to sit by her on the bed, crossing his legs as he peered at the particular slip in question.
“I remember this” he said, a slight smirk on his face “Cissa and Lucius had just run off with each other that summer and Rosier was badmouthing them. Now Cissa was a lot of things but she always stood up for us”
He spun the story for her and Eliza grinned when Regulus explained how he and Sirius had accidentally teamed up to get revenge on Rosier for insulting Narcissa, and how like idiots they had gotten caught almost immediately afterwards.
“Trouble runs in the family then” she quipped and Regulus sniffed pompously.
“I refuse to be associated with you, Potter Spawn”
A joke sat on Eliza’s tongue but whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a quiet pop.
Kreacher had just arrived in Eliza’s room.
Eliza stared at Kreacher, and Kreacher stared at Regulus and Regulus sat there in silent horror as they both tried to figure out how to explain their way out of this one.
And then, as if the situation couldn’t get any worse, Kreacher started screaming.
“So you’re telling me” Sirius said as they all sat in the living room “That instead of actually partying in Mexico you decided to dabble with even more necromancy”
“Yep”
“And you chose to revive a dead man and break all laws of nature as we know them?”
“Yep”
“And you brought back Regulus?” Sirius complained, glancing at his younger brother who was stiffly perched on the sofa beside Eliza “Why couldn’t you bring back Uncle Alphard? I loved Uncle Alphard”
“Obviously Potter wanted to bring back the only sane member of the family” Regulus drawled and Eliza grinned.
“Actually I just wanted to see if I could do it”
Sirius shoved his face into a cushion and let out a long muffled scream.
“This is just like you” Sirius grumpled and for a second Eliza couldn’t tell if he was talking to herself or to Regulus “Of course you go and get yourself half-way resurrected a decade later”
“I assure you when I died I very much intended to stay dead” Regulus snipped “It was hardly my choice to have the Potter Spawn resurrect me”
Instead of addressing the obvious deep seated trauma or beginning an emotional reunion Eliza should have expected them all to instead delve into arguing. Remus and Blaise were in the kitchen fixing up lunch and ignoring the ridiculous stand off that was happening between them in the living room.
“Then why haven’t you gone yet?” Sirius shot back and Regulus let out a scoff.
“Someone has to make sure the child doesn’t get into trouble”
“You are quite literally the same age as me” Eliza pointed out finally re-joining the discussion over Sirius’ offended squawk of ‘we do just fine’.
“Not the point” Regulus said before jumping right back into arguing with Sirius.
She was sure later the reality would set in for everyone, that Sirius and Regulus would finally get to say all the unsaid words between them. Maybe Sirius would open up another can of worms and ask about James and Lily or maybe they would never bring it up at all.
One thing was for sure though, it didn’t matter how far Eliza travelled it seemed her habit of bringing people into their crazy mis-matched family wouldn’t end.
~
Yule was a quiet affair but the difference was palpable, the magic a physical presence in the air. The wards were stronger, Diagon somehow brighter and there was a bounce in Eliza’s steps as she walked down the street. She had dropped by to visit Frank and had left with a pocket full of cookies and a promise to visit Greece in her travels, and if anyone would know the best places to travel too it would be Frank. She had no idea how long that man had been alive for but she knew he had more than enough knowledge to be trusted.
She twalked down the path carefully avoiding spots of black ice on the pavement, burrowing further into her leather jacket to block out the cold when someone fell into step beside her.
Turning her head Eliza smiled up at Tom who returned her smile with a Cheshire cat grin. His hand came up to the wave the compass between them, running a thumb over the shining metal.
“It seems that I’ve finally found you Little Star”
Eliza reached into her own pocket, past the cookies, and pulled out her own matching compass “How could I ever lose you?”
Tom blinked in surprise for a few moments before his smile somehow impossibly widened. Shoving the compass into her pocket Eliza reached down and intertwined their hands together and started swinging them.
“So Mr Riddle” she said teasingly “You’ve found me, now what?”
Tom let out a startled laugh, pulling Eliza closer into his side.
“The markets are still open – hot chocolates on me?”
“How could I say no to that?”
It was like they hadn’t been apart at all. And although the memory of their last night made her face burn the familiarity between them offered the same easy comfort it always did. They wandered through the markets as Eliza told Tom all about her travels, and the situation with the Dead Black family reunion happening at her house.
“When did you get back into England anyway?” Eliza questioned sipping her hot chocolate.
“About two hours ago” Tom commented and Eliza almost choked on her drink.
“Are you insane? The first thing you did when you got back was come and find me?”
Tom levelled her with a piecing gaze, a red tint settling in his glamoured hazel eyes “I missed you Little Star, what else would I have done?”
She took another sip of her hot-chocolate and held onto his hand just a bit tighter.
“Do I even get to know what you’re planning?” she tried to questioned but Tom obstinately shook his head.
“Can’t I have one scheme for myself Little Star? Just the one?” he pleaded with illegal puppy dog eyes that worked almost far too well. He should have just done that in his first attempt at global domination, forget arson and murder – the puppy dog eyes were undefeatable.
“Fine” Eliza pouted finishing her hot-chocolate “You best make it up to me”
A devilish grin slipped onto Tom’s face as he snaked a hand round her waist “Say no more”
Tom apparated them away except instead of landing in the foyer of Riddle Manor as she had expected they instead found themselves in a rather large penthouse.
“New place?” she asked scanning the room, noting the shelves stacked with books and odd trinkets from his place.
“I’m tired of every stray death eater wandering in and out of my manor when I just want tea – Bellatrix replaced my sugar with salt last week” Tom complained and she couldn’t stop the peeling laughter that escaped her.
“This is yours and yours alone then?” she said and wandered over to the plush black sofa, throwing herself on top of the silver cushions. Tom smiled slightly and disappeared into the kitchen, speaking over the sounds of clinking glasses.
“You’re always welcome”
Simple words that made something warm unfurl in her gut. She’d been away for months and had never met anyone like Tom. No one could match his easy quick wit, his burning ambition and liveliness but it was more than that. It was the familiarity between them, the deep understanding she couldn’t find anywhere else.
“Come on then” Eliza egged on as Tom came to sit by her, lifting her legs up so he could take a seat before dropping her back down “Catch me up on what I’ve missed”
Tom heaved a pained sigh and handed her a wine glass filled with butterbeer “Where do I even begin?”
They talked and talked and talked, outside of the secret project Tom refused to tell her about it he was more than happy to share the details about everything else. She was surprised to hear that Lady Abbot was still alive and unsurprised to find that Scrimgeour was on the firing lines. Apparently Tom was trying to find a replacement for the minister in his ranks, someone who would run the country for him so Tom could do whatever he liked and still be somewhat out of the public eye.
By the end of the night Eliza’s head was in his lap, his hands in her hair as a vinyl played lowly in the corner. It was peaceful, peace that they’d fought wars to obtain.
“You leave again soon?” Tom questioned attempting to messily braid her hair.
“Just before New Year’s, to Kenya or Zimbabwe. Not sure where I’ll be going exactly yet, wherever lets me see a Nundu”
“Can you not just leave terrifying magical creatures alone Little Star?” he despaired and she grinned in response.
“Nope” she said cheerily “I’ll bring one home for us, I’ll be like Newt Scamander”
Tom seemed to falter for a moment, red eyes narrowing from whatever thoughts were rattling about his skull before his lips twitched into a small smile.
“As long as you come back Eliza, you can bring anything with you”
She fell asleep in Tom’s arms, the soft jazz playing out into the room lulling her to sleep.
~
Kenya was hot, overwhelmingly hot, but as the weeks past she grew acclimatised to the overwhelming heat. Plus the villa she was staying in had a swimming pool that she admittedly took full advantage of. The magic here was so dizzyingly different that it took weeks for her to find a familiar rhythm, translator spells had never been so appreciated. From Kenya Eliza left for Zambia to see the Victoria Falls, and then to Morocco, just because. By mid February she ended up in Brazzaville, by the Congo River.
And there she really did see a Nundu.
It was absolutely terrifying, dun white fangs glaring in the bright sun as is growled menacingly at Eliza. She was at a conservation programme in Brazzaville, and the Nundu was the first animal to be so aggressive when Eliza neared it. The enclosure was gigantic, obviously an undetectable extension charm had been used but instead of turning away from her the Nundu impossibly grew taller, letting out a deep low growl. Backing away slowly Eliza retreated to other parts of the conservation programme, ignoring the tremor that had set into her hands at the Nundu’s growl.
Wandering around the rest of the conservation programme Eliza smiled to herself delightedly taking in the sights around her. She was just about to turn and go when an unexplored corner of the grounds caught her eye. Walking closer she practically stumbled to a halt when she caught sight of the creature staring right at her.
It was as small as a donkey, although it sort of looked like an antelope. It had two twin horns spiralling upwards, shining in the light of the burning sun and Eliza could barely breathe.
If unicorns were a rare sight, the abada was even rarer. Hunted to near extinction for its horns that were said to cure any ailment there were only a few left in existence and they were notoriously shy creatures.
Instead of shying away this one moved closer to her, until she could feel its warm breath on her face. Hesitantly Eliza raised a hand and laid it against the abada’s neck and almost collapsed in relief. Pure content spread through her, no more doubt, no more restlessness. Pure comfort overwhelmed her and Eliza held on tighter, burying her head in the fur as the abada let out a soft huff. A warm hug, the knowledge that everything would be okay. She didn’t want to let go, didn’t want to move away when for once she was inclined to believe in the happy endings the fairy tales promised.
The abada let out another huff and slowly shuffled away, big doe eyes meeting Eliza’s as it snuffled at her open hand, looking for snacks. Letting out a soft laugh she pulled her hands away and scratched behind the creatures ear instead. She didn’t want to go, didn’t want to leave the promised comfort that the abada gave her. Better than any potion, any cheering charm – even the patronus couldn’t compare.
(something else could though, nights on a sofa pressed against Tom, running down the streets with her friends at 4am and Sirius’ warm hugs)
She patted the abada one last time and walked away.
It was said that the Abada could fix any ailment, but Eliza had already found ways to dampen her restlessness herself.
~
“Blaise go get some more milk”
“But consider; I don’t want to”
“I will murder you” Eliza threatened, raising the butterknife towards Blaise’s spot at the kitchen table. Blaise stared at her completely nonplussed until she drew her wand, at which he leapt out of his chair almost immediately.
“Going to get some more milk”
Eliza laughed as he ran out of the door and went back to attending her pancakes.
She had been in Egypt for all of two weeks when she had been bombarded with mirror-calls from Blaise. He had finally been taken on as an apprentice curse-breaker and had his first trial run with the Egypt branch with none other than Bill Weasley.
Since then they had been living together.
Eliza spent most of her time buried in the library of Alexandria although she occasionally visited Blaise at the cure-breaking site, she had even helped out a few times but caused so much trouble that more often than not she was asked to leave.
Curse Breaking definitely wasn’t for her.
Living with Blaise wasn’t anything new, it was easy as breathing after all this time – but it was different not having any adult supervision.
She had not always been so good at making pancakes.
The court came round every fortnight, sleepovers becoming a regular occurrence now Eliza had settled down somewhere for longer than two weeks. She had even set up her own stall at one of the markets, selling small trinkets that she had started crafting in her spare time. Regulus visited occasionally, dropping by to make a few snarky comments before disappearing to wherever he spent the rest of his time, the void, the in between – whatever creepy place Death had created for them.
Life was, dare she say it, peaceful. Blaise worked, she studied and crafted and her court would come round to visit. But even with the never-ending knowledge of the library of Alexandria, and the burning sun and golden beaches and the presence of her best friends – she was growing bored.
“So” Blaise drawled annoyingly, dumping sugar onto his (not burnt) pancakes when he returned from the shops “Where are you going next?”
“What do you mean?” Eliza hedged, carefully shuffling her own pancake from the pan onto the plate.
“I mean that we’ve been here for almost two months now, so where are you going next?”
“You say that as if I’m not happy here living with you” she retorted, taking a seat across from him even when he let out an exasperated sigh.
“I’m sure you are happy Eliza, and I’m sure if you weren’t a compulsive obsessive borderline megalomaniac you’d love to stay in my wonderous presence forevermore-
She almost choked on her pancake.
“But you’re getting restless – and you can deny it all you want but you can’t deny that the walls of your room were covered in arithmancy equations yesterday”
“I ran out of paper” Eliza tried to defend herself but quietened under Blaise’s judging stare and chose instead to take another bite of her pancake.
“So I’ll ask again, where are you thinking of going? Because if you don’t know I may have a suggestion”
Eliza gave a defeated sigh and shrugged her shoulders “I was thinking of Greece but I don’t truly have anywhere in mind”
Blaise gave a smug smirk and grabbed his wand, casting a quick summoning spell as Eliza watched curiously when he deftly caught a piece of crumpled paper. Placing it between them Blaise smoothed it out and pushed it in Eliza’s direction who studied it curiously.
“The annual duelling championship” she read out, realisation dawning as Blaise’s grin widened.
“It’s taking place in America, in three weeks time”
“Oh” she uttered softly, taking the poster “Oh those poor souls”
She exchanged a wicked grin with Blaise, excitement thrumming through her veins “They’re not going to know what’s hit them”
~
She settled down in New Orleans, city of music and art and never-ending parties. Of course the necromancy element definitely helped sway her choice but in the end it came down to the fond memories Tom had of the city from his own travels. And so she decided she would get a small apartment in New Orleans and apparate to New York for the few days the championship took place in.
Her apartment had a balcony in the wizarding district, overlooking the constantly crowded streets below her, faint jazz music meeting her ears whenever she opened the doors. It also had a spare room which she had quickly converted into a small duelling room – it was nothing like the Chamber, or the one at Grimmauld, but it would do for now. In her heart of hearts she didn’t believe she would have to practice too hard anyway.
That was the great thing about duelling championships, no magic was off limits as long as you weren’t afraid to expose that you had it, discarding the Unforgivables of course. Sadly Eliza still had a reputation to maintain in the Britain Wizarding World and couldn’t perform any kind of magic that she wanted too, but even with the handicap she was sure she would be fine.
It had been too long since she’d had this kind of fun.
She spent her time before the championship exploring. She found a café five blocks down from her apartment that sold the best pastries and was open to anyone wishing to study, and there was a witch who worked both in the muggle and the wizard world having owned a voodoo store for the past decade who offered to teach Eliza all she knew about necromancy. The jazz was brilliant and the nights Eliza wasn’t writing letters or talking to Tom she was out on the streets and in the bars, loud music blaring everywhere and a drink in her hand. And in the mornings art filled the streets, and the music was never too far away.
She was falling in love with New Orleans, just a bit.
New York was different kind of loud.
Most of it was most likely due to the amphitheatre sized duelling arena, the wizarding district bustling with competitors and crowds alike. Eliza enjoyed her somewhat anonymity as she wandered in and out of the crowds as the day of the competition drew closer. No one cared too much to keep up with Wizarding Britain, having been the laughing stock of the world for so long – a few would recognize the girl who lived moniker but Eliza was happy to have at least outgrown that role back home. People knew her more for her actual achievements rather than her scar, and now it was time to add one more accolade to her name.
She’d watched the duels before her, making notes of any competitors who advanced who could pose a threat. She wasn’t surprised to find most of them were a lot older than herself, and some were veterans in regards to duelling championships. No one would be expecting much of her, a freshly graduated kid to actually pose a challenge. Hopefully some of them would be dumb enough to underestimate her.
Tossing her hair up into a ponytail, Eliza stepped into the arena automatically locking eyes onto her competitor as they strode across the arena to meet each other.
“And what a surprising match this is folks” the announcers voice echoed throughout the arena “Dominic Milton, a finalist in our past duelling championships but never quite making it to the top”
“You can back at now you know” Milton said arrogantly, running a hand through his brown, speckled with grey, hair “No-one would blame you kid”
“Maybe that’s why you’ve never won one of these yet” Eliza drawled, twirling her wand between her fingertips “Your arrogance just keeps blinding you”
“Facing against Eliza Potter, a recently graduated Hogwarts student from the UK”
Milton bristled before letting out an overly pronounced laugh “I’m sure you can hold your own on the playground kid but you’re with the adults now”
“Although she has no duelling experience I can tell you this match isn’t what you think it is” the commentator continued gleefully and Eliza allowed a manic smile to slip onto her face “As Eliza Potter is the one and only Triwizard Tournament Champion!”
There was a reason they let her into this championship with no prior ‘experience’ after all. Milton let out a choked gasp, stance shifting almost automatically as he started taking her just the slightest bit seriously.
“I won that when I was fourteen by the way” Eliza couldn’t help but slip in “But do go on telling me about how I’m not on the playground now”
The announcer finally started the count down. Eliza bowed with an overly exaggerated flourish and turned away, stepping to the countdown until finally-
She span around and cast a protego, whatever spells Milton sent her way being immediately repelled. She stayed on the defensive for a while enjoying the confusion that settled on Milton’s face as she continued to seamlessly dance around his attacks, deflecting those she couldn’t perfectly side-step.
“This is a duelling championship, are you going to attack at any point?” Milton called smarmily and she smiled slightly, deflecting another simple stupefy.
“Only if my enemy insists”
She dismissed her protego and immediately cast a simply first year leg-locking jinx at Milton. Whilst he took the time to laugh at her attack Eliza was already casting her next spells, summoning two snakes who landed with a disgruntled hiss in front of her. A near on ten foot King Cobra and a whole eight foot Black Mamba. Throwing a protego up to protect her and the snakes Eliza ignored the shocked gasps of the crowd and instead addressed the two snakes.
“Incapacitate the man in front of you, try not to kill him” she hissed, using parselmagic to slightly alter their will. The medics on standby would be able to save Milton if any of the venom got into his bloodstream, but better safe than sorry.
And as the snakes started moving Eliza finally launched on the offensive.
Milton was forced to parry her never-ending wave of attacks, trying to split his focus between stopping the carefully advancing snakes and deflecting her attacks at the same time. His stamina was already flagging, after being on the offensive for the whole first few minutes of their duel and now Eliza was steadily gaining ground, backing him into a corner.
The crowd was going mad behind them as the tension picked up but all those sounds became background noise as Eliza became wrapped up in the adrenaline of the duel. Casting an overpowered aguamenti to deflect Milton’s flames Eliza cheekily froze the remnants of the water on the floor as Milton lost his balance.
It gave her snakes the perfect time to strike and they carefully wrapped themselves around Milton as he tried to regain his balance, although he froze in fear as the snakes finally reached him, crawling around his arms and torso.
“Stop” Eliza hissed in parseltongue and the snakes froze immediately hearing her order. Eliza then stalked forward, a smirk on her face as she stopped in front of Milton, reaching out a hand and petting the Black Mamba.
“Do you yield?”
Milton couldn’t move his wand arm without aggravating the highly dangerous snakes, heaving a sigh Milton dropped his wand to the ground.
“I Yield”
It would have been second nature to step on the wand in front of her, to break it in two after so long duelling on actual battlefields. But she repressed the urge and instead she immediately banished the snakes. The crowd burst into an explosion of sound, the commentator barely distinguishable about the cheering.
“And Eliza Potter – our Youngest Competitor - has won her first match against seasoned duellist Milton!”
The announcer prattled on but instead Eliza turned her attention too Milton as he dusted himself off and held out a hand for her to shake.
“I suppose you were right” he said gruffly “I shouldn’t have underestimated you”
“You wouldn’t be the first” Eliza admitted shaking his hand in return before shoving them into her pockets.
“Still that parseltongue won’t win you every match kid” he warned, genuinely this time despite the moniker and she grinned wickedly up at him.
“I don’t need it to win every match, it just needed to win me this one”
Milton huffed good naturedly before walking away, yelling behind him as he left “I’m rooting for you now kid – don’t let my loss be in vain”
Eliza mock saluted before leaving the arena herself, she had another match to prepare for.
She only used parseltongue one more time in her next set of duels, and rarely used any serious magic at all. The first two days were knock-out rounds and Eliza hadn’t gone up against anyone who even dared to use a bone-breaking curse yet so she was taking it easy. She duelled just like she did with Sirius and Remus, half auror tactics, half just taking the piss. She gained a reputation of a mischief maker and heard rumours of a few people aiming to be the ones to make her ‘act serious’ for once. One woman, Zainab, had been a fierce enough dueller to make Eliza drop the theatrics but as of yet no one had really given her much of a challenge.
There was someone who provided a daily dose of annoyance however.
Apparently Milton had a little ‘protégé’ Erik Henson from Scandinavia who was determined to be Eliza’s main challenger even though the pair hadn’t even duelled against each other yet. He found her after every duel, made a few snide comments, returned some witty quips and disappeared with a determined grin.
It was entertaining, in a pathetic sort of way.
The final day of the championship arrived, and there were four of them left.
There was Eliza herself, Henson who she’d yet to face and two others. A black woman named Tanya who seemed to favour traditional duelling and a woman Sirius’ age with cropped blonde hair who apparently favoured illusion magic.
Henson and the stranger (Adelaide LaRue according to the announcer) entered the arena first and Eliza stayed in the wings, watching curiously alongside Tanya Heelen. It was an interesting fight to give credit where credit was due. As much as Eliza found Henson an irritating prick he was certainly skilled. LaRue’s skills laid within illusion and mind magic, dangerous – especially with the tensions in a duel. According to gossip LaRue had brought a competitor to their knees just through her mental assault. However that kind of magic took time and finesse and Henson was an aggressive dueller, relying on dark magic.
Eliza was sad when he won.
“He is too cocky” Heelen commented beside her, dark eyes full of judgement “Whoever goes against him out of the two of us, swear he will be beaten”
“It would be my honour” Eliza replied teasingly and Heelen let out a warm booming laugh.
“Ah I may be older than you but that does not make me slow”
Eliza smiled again and held out her hand to shake before they both entered the arena. She quite liked Heelen, talented and sure of herself and yet still friendly. She reminded Eliza of McGonagall in some strange way.
The crowd roared when Eliza walked into the arena and she grinned when the adrenaline already began flooding through her. Two more duels and she’ll have won the most prestigious duelling championship in the wizarding world.
Bowing to Heelen Eliza considered her options as the countdown began. Heelen was a traditional dueller, but she was quick and inventive meaning most of Eliza’s mischief making tricks wouldn’t work on her as easily. Heelen was powerful, but Eliza was a power-house herself, and if she started dipping into more darker inclined magic she knew she could win the duel.
She just wouldn’t have to go too far (blood under streetlamps, the bright green of the killing curse, rain and laughter and-)
No, she would just have to behave. She could do that.
The second the duel started Eliza went in hard and fast, Heelen falling back on the defensive instead of firing back. Feeling a bit mean Eliza decided on one of her favourite tricks and cast a bombarda, successfully hitting Heelen with a bone-breaking curse when she jumped out of the way of the explosive. She could vaguely hear the announcers shocked voice over Eliza revealing more than the golden light magic she had been working with but once again focused on the fight.
Instead of being held back by her broken arm Heelen had instead switched wand hands with an almost alarming amount of proficiency as the duel picked up again. Heelen was talented, Eliza admitted as she deflected a stupefy, but there were no killer instincts. The only experience the older woman had were that of championships, were any injury would be healed as it happened. Her reactions were slower when all she had known was safety.
Sighing Eliza cast a rapid fire repertoire of spells and grinned when the conjunctivitis curse hit. Instead of waiting for Heelen to heal herself, she cast a disillusionment charm on herself so that when Heelen recovered she still wouldn’t be able to be found.
Carefully skirting around the arena, Heelen began casting in random directions even when her sight recovered. When Eliza was finally behind the woman she dropped her disillusionment charm and cast a quick silent expelliarmus in quick succession.
Heelen’s wand went flying and Eliza cast a stupefy before she could attempt any wandless magic.
They announced her victory.
“I hope I posed a bit of a challenge” Heelen said as they walked out of the arena and Eliza smiled politely even if she still felt horribly restless, ignoring the blood lust that was creeping up on her.
“One of the best duels I’ve had in a while” she admitted truthfully, missing her sessions with Tom and the Death Eater’s.
“No-one would mind if you let loose a bit you know” Heelen said suddenly and Eliza raised an eyebrow curiously.
“I’m from New Orleans” she said with pride “We live and breathe dark magic and I can tell when someone’s been holding back”
Smiling ruefully Eliza shrugged “I’ve been staying in New Orleans actually, but I have a bit of a golden girl reputation to keep at home I’m afraid”
“Oi Potter” Henson interrupted their conversation with a cocky grin “Ready to lose?”
“I’m sure you can beat him either way honey – I’m rooting for ya” Heelen said good naturedly and began pushing her back towards the arena with a wave.
Her final fight.
“I didn’t know you had dark magic like that in you Potter” Henson jibed and Eliza grinned sharply.
“You wouldn’t want to know the things I do Henson”
“If you say so girl who lived”
She couldn’t stop the frown when she heard the moniker and bowed sharply when the countdown began. Henson would want a dark and messy fight, one which Eliza could match with ease. But she couldn’t go too far and, well – it would be a shame not to put what she had learnt on her travels to use.
The duel began as she predicted. Both her and Henson went straight on the offensive, trading violent spells as each tried to grab the upper hand. One of Eliza’s cutting spells hit his leg and she just about moved away from his bone-breaking curse. A few minutes into her duel Eliza smirked to herself and cast an overpowered aguamenti.
The water roared around her, forming a tidal wave between her and Henson, but before it hit Eliza froze it. A wall of lethal sharp ice separated her and Henson, and unless he cast Fiendfyre it would be taking him at least a minute to burn through her walls.
Grinning in giddy anticipation Eliza pointed her wand to the sole of her dragon hide boot and cast a small transfiguration. When her boot hit the ground now it left a soft trail of chalk on the first beneath her.
Breathing in deeply Eliza focused on her magic and began to move, using her boot to draw out an alchemy circle on the floor beneath her. Henson was steadily burning through her ice and Eliza hastily finished up her circle. It didn’t have to be accurate for a transformation like this, the materials weren’t picky even if the area was large – a rudimentary one would do.
Henson made it through a hole in the wall and Eliza grinned. She reversed the enchantment, water once again flooding the arena and just for the dramatics she stomped down on her alchemy circle as she pushed her magic through the spell. Not wanting to stick around for the effects Eliza cast an alarte ascendare and a fast arresto momentum as she watched the effects of her spell from above.
Henson, baffled beyond belief, was now stuck to his knees in quicksand.
Dirt to sand was an easy transmutation, and then Eliza just had to add water to the equation.
She had learnt a lot in her travels.
Slowly floating to the ground Eliza created a quick platform of ice so she too wouldn’t sink into her trap. Terraforming the whole arena had taken quite a bit out of her magic resources but it wasn’t a hard transformation, just a large one. She had plenty left to deal a finishing blow.
Henson was still valiantly fighting even though he could only deflect her incoming spells instead of moving away and Eliza felt her grin widen when her finishing blow hit.
Henson’s wand arm flopped grotesquely limp to his side, wand slipping out of boneless fingers. The bones in his right arm and hand had been banished.
Eliza smirked down at him from her perch and laughed happily when he yielded. She reversed her spells immediately (aside from the bones, she was afraid he’d have to grow them back himself) The crowd went mad, the commentator screaming with them crowning Eliza the winner of this years annual duelling championship.
She would accept the prize money later, return back to her flat in New Orleans but for now she basked in the applause, waving out at the crowd.
“At least it wasn’t snakes” Henson joked weakly as he stood behind her, running a hand through his cropped hair.
“Why?” Eliza asked, entertaining him for a while “Not a fan?”
“Damned terrified of them”
“Ah then you never would have lasted long against me” she joked, forever clinging onto her Slytherin pride.
“That was – that was insane” Henson exclaimed as they both wandered back into the wings to await the final announcements “I’ve never seen any alchemy on that scale, and that bone removing curse?”
He paused to poke his jelly arm.
“Man that is lethal – I knew you were holding out on us Potter”
“Is that why you were being such a prick? To annoy me into duelling properly?”
“He’s not the best at social interaction” Milton’s voice came from behind them and Eliza tensed briefly before relaxing.
“Shut up”
“No – be thankful buddy. She could have used snakes”
Henson shoved Milton’s arm from his shoulders with a pout and Eliza had to stifle a snicker at their dynamic.
“Who taught you how to do that by the way?” Milton questioned and she gave a smile.
“The alchemy? I spent a couple of months in the library of Alexandria. But the parselmagic? My boyfriend”
“And that is a terrifying answer, have a nice day”
Eliza laughed and ignored the fact that what she said wasn’t quite true.
At least Blaise was right – she did have fun.
~
She said goodbye to New Orleans with a heavy heart. She’d fallen in love with the city in what little time she had spent there and honestly she truly wouldn’t mind returning, perhaps with a certain dark lord. She packed up her belongings, gaining more and more from each city she stayed in and bought a new portkey for her new adventure.
The first two weeks of June were spent in Switzerland by the lakes and mountains and Eliza couldn’t believe the summer was here already. It had almost been a year now, of none stop travelling and it was everything she hoped it would be. She’d learnt so much, and she could tell she had grown. She had always been independent but now it felt different, as though she had finally grown into it instead of having it forced on her.
Regulus joined her more often than not these days and Eliza renewed the blood seal on the snitch quietly, it was up to him if the spirit wanted to visit or not. Eliza wouldn’t make him ask, Merlin knew even in Death Black’s were prideful bastards. Sending a box of chocolates to Remus Eliza packed up again, Switzerland too quiet for her liking, and ended up in Venice.
And she stayed in Venice, and in the blink of an eye her birthday was around the corner.
She should have been expecting the company.
She woke up lazily, morning rays of sun lighting up her bedroom as she padded over to her balcony. She was staying in a high rise apartment in the Wizarding District, overlooking the town and Eliza enjoyed lazing at the table watching the sun rise over the city.
“New Orleans was better” Regulus commented, figure appearing suddenly on the chair across from her “They’re all so pretentious here”
“I don’t think you have any room to comment about being pretentious” Eliza shot back and Regulus gave her a baleful glare.
“My pedigree might have a disturbingly incestuous background but you don’t have to be mean about it”
Eliza let out a bark of laughter and a faint pleased smile crossed over Regulus’ face as he gazed out at the city.
“Is this how you’re spending your birthday? Drinking your heathen coffee and eating cavity inducing pastries?”
“Just because you’re a tea-loving bastard-
“Excuse you-
Their fight was interrupted by a knock at the door. Regulus heaved a sigh before dramatically fading from existence and Eliza laughed again wandering over to her front door still basically dressed in her pyjamas. Flinging the door open she blinked in surprise as she took in the sight in front of her.
“Happy Birthday” her court cheered all together, holding up several garishly bright sparking bags with wide grins.
“Is that my sweatshirt?” Blaise questioned at the back of the group with a judging stare.
“No” she replied instantly, like the liar that she was.
“Are you going to let us in?” Draco complained “We haven’t seen you in months-
“Two months”
“And then you don’t even bother to let us into your flat” he continued as if she hadn’t even spoken. Sighing fondly she stepped away from the door and ushered them all in side, pausing to give Daphne a hug when she passed her.
“Welcome to Venice” Eliza said shutting the door and herding them into her front door “Now what’s this about presents?”
The day past in a blur.
Her court all piled into the living room around her as they gave her gifts and she traded the chocolate with them. Daphne was jealous of her tan, Blaise raided her coffee and Theo and Draco ended up having a pillow fight in her front room.
It was like things hadn’t changed at all.
Daphne complained about the work load at St Mungos and when Eliza offered some of the books she’d bought on healing magic the blonde almost cried.
“I need to beat Merryweather Eliza, she’s the most irritating witch I’ve ever met”
Of course Daphne would turn her degree competitive.
Draco was still working closely with the Weasley twins, evident by the canary cream he actually tricked Blaise into eating and Theo had been doing some travelling himself, ending up in France for a couple of months before returning to the Wizengamot.
Her court also wouldn’t tell her what Tom’s ‘top-secret’ plans were but they did bring her a bottle of Ogden’s Fire-Whiskey so she supposed she would forgive them.
The hours passed, they all piled into a local restaurant and then Draco had the brilliant idea to go grocery shopping together so Eliza would actually have things in for a ‘proper sleep-over’
“Sirius and Remus wanted to come round” Theo explained, tossing three bags of popcorn into their shopping trolley “But it was a rough full-moon yesterday and neither of them felt up to travelling”
“They’ll probably call later tonight though” Daphne chimed in, and Eliza paused to grab a jar of Nutella planning to introduce her court to the wonders of muggle food. They raided the supermarket for all it was worth, Blaise pushing Draco along in the shopping trolley. When they arrived back at the flat a gigantic blanket fort was already set up and her court all paused in a state of shock.
“Thank me later” Regulus complained from behind her but by the time she turned around he had already disappeared again. She wondered who taught him to make blanket forts, Sirius maybe?
They spent the rest of the night as they always did, and when Draco caught a piece of popcorn in his mouth they cheered loud enough to get a noise complaint from the neighbours below.
It was worth it.
Eliza woke up in the morning, before anyone else, to the sight of an owl perched comfortably on her kitchen table. Moving over quietly Eliza fixed herself up a coffee and got the owl some water before she grabbed the letter.
Little Star,
Happy belated birthday – the owl and I had a bit of a spat in regards to when the damned thing would actually deign to deliver you the letter but as long as you received it now I suppose all sins on the owls behalf can be forgiven.
You can just tell it’s a Malfoy Owl.
I’ve only just received your latest set of postcards – I’m not surprised you won the duelling championship. I wonder what they would do if we both entered the championship next year? It could be fun.
I’d love to prattle on darling, Merlin knows it’s been quiet around here without you, but I think you would appreciate your present more so I shall end here.
I hope you enjoy yourself,
Tom.
Smiling softly Eliza placed the letter to the side gently and opened up the envelope, letting out a choked gasp.
A VIP pass to one of the most renowned Magizoologist tours in Brazil.
She couldn’t wait.
~
August, per Tom’s ridiculous present, was spent in Brazil. It was blazing hot but the small swimming pool in her villa more than made up for it. She remembered summers spent in the orphanage, in a musty bedroom in the leaky cauldron and couldn’t help the burst of happiness that filled her. When she was younger she never thought she would have luxuries like this, and it was nice for once to take a break. Soon she was sure she’d return to the ruthless world of politics but for now it was strange, a nice strange, to relax.
Of course she was constantly moving and learning and pushing the boundaries, she didn’t think she could live in complete relaxation, but this was the closest she could get.
August moved on rapidly. The tour was everything she had wanted and more and the country itself was amazing to stay in, to be around. The atmosphere was lively and bright and Eliza was overjoyed to find that she had arrived in festival season. Soon the streets were crowded with vendors, dancers and crowds – bright colours and loud music at every turn. In her last week Eliza even joined in with the festivities. She found herself down on the streets, dancing amongst strangers and laughing brightly as they shared drinks and jokes and days together.
She wanted someone else by her side though, and at night in her dreams a strangers grip was replaced by Tom’s and she fell asleep to the sound of his laughter, echoing from memories long since passed.
~
More weeks, more travelling. Putting down roots had always been a strange concept to Eliza, she didn’t mind not returning home for a bit longer.
~
Summer had gone, leaving behind cold sharp air and the fading tan on her skin. October arrived just as Eliza arrived in Greece with suspicions crawling in her shadow. She had yet to have a peaceful Samhain, she doubted escaping the UK would stop that particular tradition.
~
Greece was nice, charming and almost quiet after how hectic Brazil had been. Not that Eliza minded, she enjoyed the new experiences but at heart she was a solitary creature – it was good to finally grab some time to herself.
She spent most of her time in the libraries, reading and reading and reading. Greece was well known for its necromantic practices and although Egypt was a wealth of knowledge there was no denying that Greece also had its own individual thoughts. She was so caught up in her usual day to day routine that she didn’t even notice Samhain was upon her until she woke up the next day.
Again, that horrid discomforting feeling was back and Eliza almost went home for the holidays just so she could have some company. Her body felt too confining, like she was something else, something more and it didn’t matter how much she clung to her coffee her hands remained unflinchingly cold throughout the day.
Rolling her shoulders and restraining a shudder Eliza wandered over to her desk, deciding to distract herself with a few books. She didn’t think she could bring herself to step outside today, couldn’t bring herself to brave the crowds. Instead she settled at her desk and draped a blanket over her shoulders as if it was a cape and ignored the ever building tension that refused to let her go.
The day moved on and then between one blink and the next, Eliza moved from one world to another.
It was not any less jarring, no sudden ease when Eliza once again found herself in Death’s realm. The darkness was still as heavy, still as oppressive and it was hard to get her bearings when Eliza still couldn’t exactly pinpoint her own body.
HELLO
She had never quite forgotten their voice, but hearing it again sent new sharp waves of terror flowing through her.
“Is this going to be an annual thing then?” Eliza spoke carefully, the darkness clearing around her to leave her in the same barren landscape they had inhabited before. Death stood in front of her, as intimidating as the last time. Their milky blank eyes were locked onto her own and when they smiled Eliza swore she couldn’t even move.
“You are only young Mater, I am here to give help, advice – provide a guiding hand”
Eliza nodded, not quite knowing what to say. Everything came with a price, of course she couldn't take the title without having to deal with its consequences.
“You have been learning more” Death’s voice came again, chapped lips moving to give the pretence of normalcy. But their voice came from all around and Eliza could do nothing more than listen “I see that you stole one of my favourites”
“I didn’t steal” Eliza rebutted immediately, feeling herself settle. Maybe that was what bothered her so much about this place, that as much as it was eerie and discomforting it would be easy to stay here, to begin to feel at home “I borrowed”
“Regulus Black” Death crooned and Eliza restrained a shudder “He didn’t want to die in the end. Did you know that? Oh he tried to be valiant but he was never made for that was he?”
Death didn’t move but for some reason Eliza swore they were closer to her. In her last meeting with Death she had thought they were levelled, in their own words they were inevitable, unchanging. Now Eliza wasn’t too sure.
“You could bring him back” Death suggested, and when they shrugged their shoulders it felt like the whole world around them echoed the movement “He still has a body, waterlogged though it may be. You have the power to bring him back, not forever though. No, no, no, never forever but you could”
Eliza didn’t like this, she really didn’t like this.
As if sensing her hesitance Death withdrew into themselves, the oppressive presence disappearing slightly as Eliza felt like she could finally breathe. Death heaved a sigh that rattled their lungs before they dusted off their suit jacket, the stark black velvet a contrast to the haziness surrounding them.
“Take your time Master – my promise is the one that you can trust”
“And what’s that?”
“You need not rush through your life – you have all the time in the world”
Death smiled, teeth pearly white perfect and at odds with everything else against them and for some reason that was more unsettling than the whole situation put together.
“I’ll be seeing you Master”
~
Eliza woke up with a choked gasp feeling colder than she ever had with goosebumps that wouldn’t leave. Her skin was crawling with the phantom remnants of Death no matter how long she stayed in the shower and she swore for a second that her usual green eyes were tinged with the milky white of Death’s. The books on her desk no longer held her interest, not after the unsettling encounter with Death themselves.
Regulus faded into her existence as she was throwing things into her suitcases.
“Fun Samhain?”
“Shut up” Eliza shot back, sliding all the books of her desk into an open suitcase “I don’t need your snark right now Black”
“I’m dead Ellie, if anyone knows about how creepy your spontaneous little travel to the afterlife was it would be me”
Stalking into her bedroom she began to pack all her clothes, throwing them haphazardly into the bag as well. She still felt too unsettled for magic right now, could feel it crackling uneasily beneath the surface of her skin.
“It wasn’t that bad last time” she muttered more to herself than Regulus but the spirit heard her anyway.
“Ah but you’ve meddled now Potter, that changes things” Regulus warned and floated towards her bed, absently fiddling with the Grimm plushie resting on her pillow.
“I thought Death was meant to be a neutral party” Eliza complained, giving up on her erratic packing and flopping on the bed herself.
“You’ve heard them – Death is a businessman, that doesn’t make them neutral” Regulus pointed out and Eliza had to pause at that, had to wonder how much Regulus actually knew about the entire situation before shoving those thoughts away.
“Just wish they wouldn’t seem so unhinged” she muttered, burrowing further into her pillows.
“Get some sleep Potter Spawn” he said somewhat fondly “You can run away in the morning”
“I don’t run away” she tried to defend herself but quickly found herself falling asleep, pulling the blankets around her to try and cling to the warmth.
By morning the apartment was empty, and Eliza was long gone.
~
In Rome Eliza the clinging feeling of Death left her alone. With days full of travelling and nights with friends, she finally left her encounter with Death behind her. And although it was easy to ignore the implications of her immortality, it wasn’t easy to ignore Regulus’ words.
She wasn’t running away.
She returned home every Yule, saw her family every birthday, spoke to Tom every other night. She’d always wanted to travel, always wanted to learn more than the magic Britain offered. But it had been a year now and Eliza found herself missing Grimmauld, missing gloomy weather and cobbled streets.
And as much as she prized herself on being independent, she was tired of waking up alone to an empty flat.
She had things at home, her family and her court, her responsibilities on the Wizengamot. Her ancient runes and enchanting work had improved leaps and bounds, she even had offers to start up her own business – had more than enough money to fund it too.
Tom was back home, waiting for her.
After revenge and bloodshed and Machiavellian machinations, after all the blood on their hands and secrets they would take to the grave what was waiting for them on the other side of it all? Could they even survive the soft domesticity of a relationship?
Doubt, doubt was her biggest enemy and maybe Regulus had a point when he said she was running away.
She had met a lot of people in her travels and not one of them had come close to Tom. She had a feeling she could travel the entire world, meet thousands and still nothing would compare to what she had found in him, in the history between them and the happiness he gave her every time she was just in the same damned room as him.
Maybe Regulus was right, maybe it was time to stop running away.
Maybe it was time to start running home instead.
It was almost Yule.
~
Grimmauld was achingly familiar, after years of not placing roots Eliza was near overwhelmed when she returned to her old bedroom unpacking with the intention to stay. She’d arrived back at home just in time for the Yule solstice, missing the Malfoy Yule Ball much to Narcissa’s dismay. She’d spent the night with Sirius and Remus, Blaise floo-ing from Egypt. It was just like the old days and she loved every minute.
She hadn’t told Tom she was back yet. She wanted to surprise him but all it would take would be for him to check the compass to realise she was back in the country. Eliza had recruited Barty into keeping him busy until it was his birthday but then again Tom was still as unpredictable as always, there was no telling what would happen.
As the days whiled away in that strange haze they always tend to between Yule and New Year Eliza spent her time with Sirius and Remus. She told them all about her travels (omitting her brief confrontation with Death) Regulus visited occasionally but stopped once he caught sight of her and Sirius tinkering with the motorbike again. If the spirit thought the silent treatment would stop them he had evidently not asked Remus.
The night before his birthday, Eliza got a knock at the door.
Tom stood on the other side, red eyes crinkling as he smiled down at her.
“I was supposed to be surprising you, you prick” was the first thing Eliza said to him, pretending to glare up at his stupid smug face. It had been a year since she had last seen him, almost a year and a half since she had left properly and he still took her breath away.
“Welcome home Little Star” he replied warmly and Eliza’s lungs tightened at the sound of his voice “I’m afraid I just can’t let you out-do me on this one”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she questioned but Tom didn’t say anything else. His smile impossibly grew smugger as they continued their ridiculous impasse.
“Tom” she repeated “What do you mean?”
“Go get changed” Tom ordered mockingly, eyes bright and cheerful “I refuse to go anywhere with you in Malfoy’s old Quidditch Jersey”
“Its comfy shut up”
She did in fact leave to get changed. Something told her that wherever Tom was taking her would require something more than a pair of ridiculous fluffy bunny slippers. And she couldn’t deny the giddiness rising within her, gleeful excitement at the thought of spending time with Tom after being apart for so long.
Throwing her leather jacket on for good measure Eliza practically jumped down the stairs only to find Sirius and Tom having a ridiculous staring competition in the foyer. Clearing her throat (an action that reminded her of Umbridge and she had to restrain a shudder at the memory) she tried to stop the staring competition to no avail.
“Sirius” she warned and shot a glare at Tom for good measure when his lips quirked into a brief smile.
“What” Sirius protested “I’m not doing anything”
Notably, he didn’t stop.
“You know maybe I’ll move in with Uncle Sev after all” Eliza complained dramatically “He would never do this to me”
“I think if I started darkening Severus’ doorstep the man would have a heart attack Little Star” Tom drawled and both Sirius and Eliza let out barks of laughter, ending the staring competition once and for all.
“Now come on; I have more surprises I have to show you”
Waving goodbye to Sirius she joined Tom on the doorstep, hesitantly looping their arms together as they walked down the street. It was cold, as always for England in winter, but at least it wasn’t snowing. Some of the Christmas lights were strung up all over the streets due to the Muggles but Eliza couldn’t deny that they looked pretty.
“And just where are you taking me Riddle?”
Tom let out a dramatic gasp, pretending he was fatally wounded “Here I am, trying to surprise you and I get the last name treatment? Oh cruel fate-
“How have you become even more dramatic?” Eliza despaired, smiling at his antics despite herself.
“That’s why you need to be around – my ego will only continue to grow at an exponential rate without you around” he replied promptly.
“Yeah? That’s the reason I need to be around?” she said teasingly only to blink in surprise when he took her bait.
“No” he said softly “That’s not the reason”
Merlin she wanted to kiss him.
“Come on” Tom said, tightening his arm around her “I’ve put a lot of effort into this, we’re doing it right”
The familiar sensation of apparition overtook her and Eliza was already glaring at Tom by the time they appeared elsewhere.
“Why do you always do that? Just apparate us with no warning” she complained with no real heat, steadying herself using Tom’s arm who took her whining good naturedly.
“As if you don’t give me enough heart-attacks in return”
She couldn’t argue with that one.
Glancing around them Eliza quirked a brow as she studied the ginnel they’d found themselves in, eyeing the old crumbling brick wall in front of them. Turning to look back at Tom who stood as the picture of innocence she could only give him a look of confusion.
“The brick wall is truly a riveting sight” she said drily and Tom snorted quietly, shaking his head.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of my secret project-
“I have no idea how you convinced Draco to keep his mouth shut”
Tom’s answering smile was nothing short of terrifying.
“You’re about to see it’s grand reveal” Tom said, placing his hand on the centre brick of the old wall. At first nothing seemed to happen and Eliza rocked back and forth on her heels as her gaze flickered between Tom and the mysterious wall.
A rumbling sound echoed from around them and she watched wide-eyed as the wall slowly slid apart, or more accurately she gawped at what was behind said wall.
Tom paid no attention to her slack-jawed silence and instead walked straight into the plaza, a spring in his step as he threw his arms about around him.
“Welcome darling” he proclaimed, coming to a stop in front of the fountain in the middle of the plaza “to the City of Stars”
The fountain itself was a beautiful thing, white carved marble with the water flowing around an intricately carved Kelpie, the rushing water filling the silence between them. The buildings all around the plaza were lit up with a beautiful golden glow and colourful lanterns hung from all the rafters. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted off-shoots from the main plaza, presumably filled with more soon to be open shops and cafes but what really took her breath away was the very floor she was standing on.
Inching further into the plaza to reach Tom she couldn’t stop the breathy laugh from escaping her.
It felt like she was walking on the sky itself.
The pavement was astonishingly clear and instead of the usual cobbled stone, a stunningly clear image of the night sky was under her foot. Constellations blinked and twinkled as Eliza walked across and even if the sight itself wasn’t enough to take a breath away, the sheer amount of magical power Tom must have used to make this possible was.
“That’s what you’ve been doing while I’ve been gone?” she questioned, still admiring her surroundings “I’ve been travelling and meanwhile you built an entire city”
“It’s nothing less than you deserve” Tom said so softly that for the first time since seeing the city Eliza’s head snapped towards Tom himself. And maybe it was the wrong word but merlin he was so pretty it almost killed her. The soft golden light of the buildings hit his face, red eyes warm in the starlight and they were so full of clear adoration it took her breath away. Tom’s mind was made for warfare and his hands were covered in bloodshed but when he took her own in his Eliza couldn’t see any of that.
“Do you remember what I said, in one of our first conversations with each other?” Tom questioned quietly and Eliza forcefully stopped her feet from shuffling and instead grinned up at him.
“The time you tried to kill me? Or the other time you tried to kill me? I’m sorry Tom but you’ll have to be a bit more specific”
“I- Tom began and cut himself off , giving a sharp exhale as he looked up at the skies as though he was begging the Gods themselves to give him strength “I’m trying to do something for once here darling and you’re being quite uncooperative”
Eliza rose her eyebrows, nodding her head in a gesture for him to continue but couldn’t stop the soft smile settling on her face, or the warmth curling in her veins as Tom obviously tried to disguise his nerves.
“You might not remember but I asked you if you believed in fate – I never got an answer”
She did remember that, with an unnerving amount of clarity. Moments with Tom blurred together most of the time, settling into her memory as bright bursts of happiness, soft contentment and rushing adrenaline, but she remembered that. She had asked him if he believed in fate in turn, she had never gotten an answer either.
“I didn’t believe in fate before.” Tom said eventually, hands still gripping her own “You know me Little Star, I’ve fought for everything I have tooth and nail, I’m a villain and I’m good at it and I chose that path myself”
“But you make me a better man Eliza” he said carefully, meeting her eyes earnestly “And I could travel the entire world, and live for another hundred years, and I’d never meet anyone like you. I told you once that I want you to be happy, and that I wasn’t good for you and that you should have everything you’ve ever wanted”
He cut himself, an internal war waging behind red eyes and Eliza tightened her grip on his hands.
“And if you still want me Eliza? After everything? I told you I’d wait forever and a day but if-
“It seems” Eliza cut in smoothly, heart pounding in her chest as she tugged Tom closer to her “That you’ve told me a lot of things”
“Then perhaps it’s time I say something new” Tom replied easily before taking a deep breath “I love you Eliza Potter. And if you shoot me down now I’ll still love you, I'd love you forever if you let me. I’d give you the world if I could, anything you could ever want”
The silence between them was suffocating and Eliza took a minute to stare up at Tom in complete bafflement. They were both fools, both ridiculous fools. For all their manipulations neither of them were truly good with words. Rousing speeches and cutting insults were their specialties but it had taken years for Eliza to even tell the closest thing she had to family that she loved them. It was easier to show affection by their actions but-
“I don’t need the world Tom, I never have”
She dropped his hands in favour of cupping his face, resting one hand on the nape of his neck even if she had to stand on her tip-toes to do it.
“I love you Tom Riddle, you’re all I’ll ever need”
They kissed in the middle of a city he had built for her, with the stars beneath their feet.
“Dance with me” he requested completely breathless and Eliza smiled, happiness threatening to overwhelm her.
“There’s no music”
“Dance with me” he repeated and Eliza rested her hands on his shoulders anyway. They slowly danced together in the empty plaza, the fountain bubbling behind them and Eliza swore the stars themselves seemed brighter.
No, they weren’t good with words. It was no dramatic proclamation (if she ignored the town he had apparently built in her honour) And although their spoken affections didn’t really change anything between them Eliza still felt the difference, bursting with happiness as the words echoed in her head.
“What now? Tax fraud? World domination?” she said and Tom chuckled warmly and span her gently, pulling her in even closer.
“Now” he said, moving them to the rhythm of a melody only he could hear “We have to work out what the hell we’re going to tell Narcissa”
Eliza tripped over her own feet and Tom’s laughter echoed loud and bright around them, her own manic giggles eventually joining the sound. They stopped moving, too busy clinging onto one another and some part of Eliza’s mind was still caught up in Tom’s softly spoken words, the weight of their confessions settling into her chest.
Monsters didn’t get happy endings, Tom wasn’t the prince and Eliza had never been the hero. Still now she believed fairytales didn’t truly exist and she didn’t know if their story would even ever have an ending.
But she was happy, and more importantly, she was loved.
“I love you Tom” she said again, just to see his smile widen, hear his breath hitch. And now, and every time that will come after, she was met with a reply.
“I love you too”
She couldn’t ask for anything more.