Chapter Text
Dorea stared at herself in the mirror, almost not recognizing herself. The last time she wore a dress was at the Yule Ball which had been red and gold, an insistence by Hermione and Padma that it would look great on her. She didn't deny that she definitely looked good in the colors, especially as her date at the time had a matching tie of the same shade of gold. But she never felt like a true Gryffindor and wearing the colors never felt fully like her. But the dress, ball gown in all reality, that Niklaus had given her was emerald green, which made her eyes and hair stand out. The slight curling that Kreacher had done made her hair frame her face perfectly even while it hid her lightning bolt perfectly. Her pendant of a howling wolf helps bring it together along with the earrings that Niklaus had given her, telling her that it will match her outfit perfectly.
Taking a deep breath and straightening her spine, she reminded herself she was a Lady of the House of Potter and the House of Black. She will not show fear; she is strong and will prevail. Feeling the bracelet on her wrist, she gently took her original wand given by Ollivander and gently poked it through her bun for easy access and a warning for anyone who dared come across her. She was armed, she would show her face without fear and show them just who she was.
This was part of her and Niklaus' plans. She found his brother who was currently in Montana, United States and with that, they went back to her plan. But after killing nearly 64 people, Death Eaters were finally getting smart and realizing someone was killing them off, baiting them into their deaths. Voldemort's curse on his name had to be retracted because it ended up being a good 68% of the death of the Death Eaters, a small part of their plan in truth, while the rest had been killed in their own homes. A way to show them they weren't safe even outside of their masks. This plan was something Niklaus had thought of, the summer was nearly ending and with it, Dorea had to decide whether she would go back to school or to continue their mission.
The answer was easy, she didn't have a future past killing Voldemort, she knew all the magic she needed to be successful and what she didn't know, was Niklaus was easily supplying her because of his many years being alive and collecting things like old books. She probably knows more obscure magic than any other person currently alive, in truth, including how to put up and take down wards with a rune scheme in her head that she can easily put down somewhere without even needing to lift a finger or wand. Magic users of the old used to channel their magic not through their bodies, but through their minds. It was why Merlin and Morgana were considered so powerful, they were one of the few near the end who were born with the innate ability to use their mind to perform magic. That combined with Merlin having Parseltongue and that section of magic meant he was strong, not that anyone remembered him for the "dark ability" but it still helped contribute to his power.
With one last glance at the mirror, Dorea left her room (her room!) which had slowly transformed into something of her liking. She had a desk with her notebook surrounded by bookshelves, a large cork board filled wall that had locations and different plans sections out onto it, a small part tracking Elijah Mikaelson's movement, and a list of material she would need to track something Niklaus called a Doppelganger. Then there were the more personal touches she put around, her bed had a covering of a black and blond wolf howling at the moon, a custom-made commission that Niklaus had done for her when she finally answered what she truly desired for her bed. There was a stuffed deer, dog, and wolf just by her main two pillows that Niklaus had gotten her as a late birthday present to celebrate her 15th birthday. Then on the nightstand was a white Lily that was planted in a small pot that was magically filled with nutrients and water so it would hopefully not die. After some begging, he finally relented and they planned on going to a tattoo parlor in a week. She had a design she wanted for her left shoulder and she had hesitantly told him that she had a surprise tattoo for him as well, if he was consent. He hesitated but confirmed he didn't mind as he could always remove it if he wanted it gone. It meant they would have to bring a vervain ink so the tattoo wouldn't be instantly healed.
She had designed it after the calm evenings they both spent within Niklaus' art studio, one of the rooms he decorated in soft beige colors with a large window facing out toward the city. His easel positions so he could look out the window whenever he wanted to, especially to get a view of Big Ben which was his current inspiration. Dorea enjoyed those evenings because she never really had a hobby of her own, she usually hung out with Hermione while she read and with Ron when he would play Chess or talk about Quidditch. She never really developed her own type of hobby that spiraled away from her two friends, and that translated into her spending quiet evenings with Niklaus. But there had only been so much reading she could handle since it wasn't her favorite pastime (though Niklaus' old books certainly held her attention longer than any book ever did, including the few diaries he let her read). So she would watch him sometimes, and one day sitting on her desk was an unused artbook with a set of different graphite pencils.
It took her a little bit to get used to them, and when she felt comfortable she even let Niklaus show her a few other types of material to create art. She didn't really like crayons, colored pencils, markers, or paints. Charcoals were a close favorite but there was something about creating shaded black, gray, and white drawings that settled her the most. It wasn't like charcoal left much of a mess behind for her either since she used her magic to clean up after herself, but she found that the graphite drawings of Niklaus or their house always ended up being her favorite. She practiced for a while before finally sharing Niklaus the one drawing of him that she tried to do off of memory alone instead of the still-life of him painting. It was a moment when they were first learning one another, she had said something that startled him and he had a grin that felt true to himself. It had his dimples but it wasn't the overpronounced boyish grin he gave others. It was softer and made his face look a little younger. Combined with his hair gently falling across his forehead and his eyes softer, almost fondly staring at her, she had to admit to herself he had looked incredibly dashing.
Niklaus had seemed blown away by the drawing and even framed it on his desk right next to a carved wooden knight, it never failed to make her blush but she carefully carved the frame with sigils at his soft assistance so it was unbreakable, fireproof, waterproof, and could only be opened by himself or her. His reaction to the drawing and the drawing itself is what inspired the tattoo she created for him after a quote he once told her, and she was both excited and nervous to show him it. She pondered for a moment why he decided to frame her drawing but shook it off as she reached the stairs.
She refrained from adjusting her dress and hair as she knew everything was perfectly in place, she finally started to go down the stairs. As she turned the small corner she saw Niklaus waiting at the bottom, his black suit hugging his body in all the right places and seemed to pull attention to the emerald green tie he was wearing. He was frowning at his phone, most likely bad news about locating the previous doppelganger turned vampire Katherine, if they can't find her by Samhain to get a drop of her blood they'll have to do the alter location spell. Niklaus had wanted to avoid it, as previous attempts showed that dead Nature Witches were often guarding the location and could be forceful in telling whoever was doing the spell for him that they wouldn't find it. The only reason they might attempt it is because Dorea was stubborn and they thought with Samhain being a magical holiday that her parents or Sirius might be able to at least help stop the nature witches from being as forceful with her.
Dorea could tell the instant that Niklaus noticed her, his hand fell a little bit more at his side, his grip tightening just a little that she could hear the small crack of his phone from a too-tight supernatural grip. His posture straightened, his lips twisted into a boyish grin but his eyes softened, their green-grey-blue softening as he stared at her.
He extended his arm out and she took it without hesitation, adjusting so they were standing side-by-side, arm-in-arm. Perfect partners ready to take on the world. "Are you ready?" she asked him softly, this would be the first time he'd re-entered magical society after nearly 200 years. He won't know anyone and the likelihood of anyone recognizing him was extremely low as most creature supernatural beings avoided wand-wielders and Wiccans due to their supremacy ideology.
"I believe I should be asking you that, luv. We're about to announce to all of the magical world that it's just been us two who have been taking out the dark side. We're about to anger not only him but his followers. That isn't talking about what Dumbledor and his little order are going to do or think."
Dorea straightened her back and stared Niklaus in the eye. "We cannot control what other people do or think. What we can do it act and think for ourselves. We've gotten this far being in the shadows, but the Death Eaters are getting smarter and we need to continue to be one step ahead of them. They think we'll stay in the shadows, so let's not. I'm ready," Dorea told Niklaus with commitment.
The smirk he got was devious borderline bloodthirsty. "Perfect, then I do believe we have somewhere we need to be, Little Witch."
Dorea tightened her grip on Niklaus, not fearing the side apparition she was going to do, this was hardly their first or even tenth time, but she always worried about accidentally leaving a part of herself or Niklaus behind. She didn't want him in unnecessary pain even if he were to heal within minutes if not seconds. They arrived at the booth that she remembered Mr.Weasley once taking her to that led to the Atrium, at the time she had been very nervous about the idea of getting her wand broken and being expelled from Hogwarts for something she didn't do, but the Slytherin part of her mind still memorized everything around her.
Entering the booth and directing to the location of the Atrium, they stepped out and followed the line that led to a temporary Security Desk. The Atrium had been slightly altered for the following Lughnasadh Ball, the side floor entrance and exits were now sectioned into rooms, each having a security desk with a wand-weigher and invitation checker to make sure everyone coming to the ball was invited and part of the Wizamount.
They were waiting for a couple in front of them when Niklaus shifted and leaned into her ear. "You look like a queen going to battle," he told her softly his voice causing a shiver to run down through her spine.
She glared at the couple in front of her as she refrained from looking toward Nikluas. "If you don't remove your mouth from my ear, I will curse your bits," she threatened under her breath knowing full well he could hear her perfectly clear.
There was a huff of a laugh in her ear even as he shifted somehow closer to her, his voice somehow dropping an octave deeper as his arm slid from as he let his hand linger at the dip of her back, his hand making her skin even through her gown feel on fire. "Did you forget, luv, that vampires have supernaturally enhanced senses, including smell?" As if to punctuate his sentence, she heard him breathe in a deep breath.
She felt embarrassment flush over her as she froze, her mind battling her emotions to fight the goddam blush that was crawling up her spine toward her cheeks. She would not let Niklaus Mikaelson make her feel embarrassed for the feeling he produced in her. Instead, he forced her mind to curl into her magic and strike him.
Sadly the arsehole didn't even deign to flinch, but merely adjusted his stance, a tad stiffer, his fingers caressed her back before they casually shifted to holding onto her arm once more. She finally gave him a small glare-side eye and found him smirking in amusement. "Minx," he told her under his breath this time, just loud enough for her to hear it.
Dorea's lips twitched, it was the first time they'd gone from the neutral mask she put on to something that was more her true self. "You know, for being a thousand years old, you still act like a teenager whose cat got the canary," she muttered to him in amusement.
"I am essentially a frozen 19-year-old, though I must say growing out the beard certainly makes me look more mid-20s doesn't it," he cheekily told her.
"Also how you act, your body posture too," she told him as they both fell into step with one another and walked to the desk security clerk, a brown-haired young lad with the name Jenkins on his name tag.
"Wand and Invitation," the boy said with a smile that was definitely fake and held a certain tiredness to it.
Dorea reached up to her hair and gently pulled her wand out before handing it over, then she handed her invitation to the boy as well. He barely glanced at it as he put her wand into the Wand Weigher to get the wand's information, when it finally spat out the information he handed her her wand back and stared at Niklaus for his wand.
"Turned Vampire, he doesn't have a wand but is invited per Ministry Policy as my guest," Dorea told Jenkins who shifted uncomfortably, seeming to be one of the ones who were biased against dark creatures and thought they might kill him without a thought. Instead, she merely glanced at her invitation and watched him fumble it open.
"D-Dorea Pot-Potter. The Girl-Who-Lived," he whispered in awe, but his voice penetrated the room. The few people behind Niklaus and Dorea muttered instantly and Dorea refrained from eye-rolling as the boy in front of her stared with a mixture of awe and fear.
"And guest," Niklaus cut in, his tone a little dark as his hand clenched beside him. Dorea reached up and gently laid her free hand against his elbow, leaning into him slightly more but offering support. It was one thing for her to tell him about her fame, another for him to know it briefly from his contacts within the world, but it was another thing to see it in action.
"R-right. H-How may I h-help you L-Lady P-Potter-B-Black?" Jenkins stuttered over, his face overly eager.
"My guest and I would like to enter the atrium for the Lughnasadh's Ball hosted by the Ministry of Magic," Dorea told the boy with as much polite ladyness as she could.
"Y-Your G-Guest's name?" Jenkins asked, his hand poised over the quill to sign off on the invitation and put it with the rest of the pile without thought along with her wand information.
"Callum Klaus Black," Niklaus said without hesitation, staring at the boy with an unimpressed glance.
Everything about this was designed to make Tom mad, with Dorea showing herself out in the open, without fear, it was to taunt him to show himself once more. The ministry tightened security for tonight, yes, but there were plenty of Dark Familes sworn to Voldemort that would be attending and it was sure to be brought to Tom's attention that Dorea was here in the open with a Turned Vampire. Whether he asks for Niklaus' name or not they didn't really care, but if he did the fact he won't find any information on a Callum Klaus Black will infuriate the man as it would mean that Dorea outsmarted the ministry itself, though not through illegal means. It was common within the ministry that vampires lived long lives, and during that time they often went through name changes. The invitation was supposed to have their true name written on it, but the desk attendants were supposed to use magic to determine whether the name written on it was true or not before letting people in, because vampires were known for having altering names, they were often given a warning and reminder that ministry official business needed their true name. So long as the vampire in question gave it then all was well. Using Dorea's fame to blind the poor security guard meant that Dorea and Niklaus were essentially letting him get away with a fake name that contained no past information.
It would cause Voldemort to want to get any information on Niklaus, and this would in turn cause him to turn to his creature contacts. That was how they were going after their next set of targets. Because Callum Black meant nothing to creatures, but a vampire named Klaus. Well, there was only one so well-known, and vampires, werewolves, and everything in between would want to know exactly where Klaus Mikaelson was so they could run far far away from his influence. And those that didn't run? Well, it was a war after all, and neither Niklaus nor herself were going to let themselves be victims of this tantrum of Voldemort's. It was why they didn't just find where Elijah Mikaelson was, but rather set up a map to constantly track the man himself so they would know the second he might turn his attention to Europe and make his way there.
"H-Have a great ball, Ms.Potter-Black!" Jenkins said a little too loudly as he stashed her invitation and wand information with the rest of the pile, his eyes a little too wide and lingered a little too long as she and Niklaus breezed past the boy.
"If I had my way, I would have torn his eyes from his head for the way he looked at you. All of them," Niklaus hissed out under his breath, she watched the black veins she was used to slither under his eyes in his anger as the predator in him glanced around the ball they were near the entrance of, most likely hearing the many heartbeats echoing around the room.
"Klaus," Dorea said softly and winkled her nose, this was the first time she'd ever called him by the nickname, and found it didn't quite fit as smoothly as Niklaus but knew she would need to practice for the evening. "this is going to plan, with him being as star-struck, everyone knows your theoretical first and last name. Questions will come, and we will draw attention. That's all we're doing today, is getting his attention. But I don't care about anyone else here, I'm only surviving this right now because you're beside me. So please, just...focus on me, help me get through this. We're here together. You said I look like a queen about to go into battle, well I need you to be my king right now."
The veins from Niklaus' face fell aware, easing back into his face even as his normal mask fell and he gave her a soft look, "I will not let a drop of blood be spilled on you, My Little Witch. You ask me to be your king tonight, and I shall. Would you like a drink and mingle, or perhaps can I have this dance?" Niklaus asked, taking a step back from her and holding an open palm toward her, a slight bow in his posture.
"I...I don't have any fond memories of dancing, last year was...pretty awful at a school ball. I don't really know how to dance," Dorea admitted even as she stepped forward and laid her hand into his palm.
"Trust me," Niklaus told her in a serious tone she rarely heard. He was normally flirty, murderous, mischievous, or melodramatic. Serious wasn't something he often was.
"Always," she found herself saying without thought and startled herself by how true it was. She trusted him, a man she barely knew for more than two months who helped her murder, and yet she trusted him implicitly. Does she trust Ron or Hermione this much? Maybe before she found out their families were getting paid with her money, it made her doubt their friendship, as she didn't know if they knew or not.
She followed Niklaus onto the dance floor and ignored the eyes that lingered on them, whispers spreading like rapid-fire as people realized the young beauty in Slytherin colors was Dorea Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived and who had recently in the past year been besmirched by the Ministry only to recently be proven right by Voldemort revealing himself in front of many witnesses. The masses hadn't heard anything about the young Gryffindor since so seeing her here was a shock for many especially as she looked like the young lady that she was.
Then a whisper followed about her plus-one being a vampire with the surname Black and there were many questions being whispered about, Dorea couldn't help but enjoy herself as Niklaus gently led her through a Wizardry Walts, even with the few couples around them she knew most only had eyes on them. "How mad do you think we're making him?" Dorea asked with a mischievous smile.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a camera flash but paid it no attention as Klaus smirked at her. "I believe no matter the scale, you, darling, will always exceed it," Niklaus flirted with his own mischievous smile.
Dorea gave a startled genuine laugh even as she gently moved away from Niklaus at the queue and twirled. "Why Mr.Black, one would think you were flirting with me," she teased knowing the couples around them would hear them.
"There was a time I wondered whether meeting you that starry night was going to end with your blood on my hands, but it brings me joy to know that our story had not ended that day, for you have lit a spark that I had not known was missing for so long and that I will truly miss once our time together has run it's course. I will mourn you, Dorea Potter-Black, when all is said and done and your life finds your natural end. But until that day, I will gladly be beside you for however long you'll have me."
Dorea...had no idea what to do with those words, her heart thudded within her chest as she felt her expression melt into a gentle smile even as the song ended and he gently shepherded her toward the the refreshment table for a small break. She thought about reaching out to him, to maybe ask him to discuss more about that when they were at home when a voice caused her to tense instantly, her smile and softness vanishing into a harsh blank mask.
"Ahem, my Dear Girl. What have you done?"
Dorea turned to the soft voice, the hand gripping Niklaus tightened.
She felt like the little 11-year-old begging to not be sent back to the Dursleys for the summer. Niklaus moved his arm to wrap around her waist, and she remembered who she was. She was Lady Dorea Jasmine Potter-Black, she was 15 years old and doing more for the war effort than Dumbledore ever did.
She wasn't alone.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," she told him blankly, no emotions present in her voice as she stared at the man she once thought cared and loved her.
It was time for the next part of their plan.