When an elderly woman shows up on the doorstep of Cherry House Orphanage claiming to be a witch, Morgana Black doesn't believe her. Which is fair enough, really. But before she knows it, Morgana is drawn into a world which she never knew existed, an...
Morgana's feet found solid ground once more. She opened her eyes and saw the front door of the Potter house. Harry had grabbed her and Teddy by the hand and disapparated. Everything was coming together, though her vision was a little fuzzy around the edges. She clung to Harry's hand, not letting go even when he led her into the living room and sat her down on the sofa.
Ginny arrived a moment later, with the two Fortis twins. Emma ran over and sat down beside Morgana, looking anxious. "Morgana? You alright?" Morgana didn't know. Suddenly Hermione arrived through the door, her face streaked with tears. Teddy leapt up with a gasp. "Kingsley?" Morgana was confused. "What about him?" Hermione sat down with a heavy sigh. "He's dead."
Morgana's heart seemed to drop in an instant, almost like a stone plunging to the bottom of a lake. "Dead?" She choked out. Teddy nodded. Hermione brushed a tear off her cheek with the palm of her hand. "I brought his body back to the ministry and then apparated here. I've informed the aurors of what happened, Harry. I just - I should probably be there. But I can't. I need to be with you lot."
Morgana was trembling when Teddy switched positions with Harry and put his arm around her gently. "It's my fault," she whimpered into his shoulder. Teddy shook his head. "Listen Morgana. It's my fault. He shoved me out of the way and the curse hit him. I should be dead, not Kingsley."
Eventually Hermione went to the Weasley's shop to tell Ron and George what had happened. She took the twins with her and left them home on the way. Andromeda came and took Teddy home, and suddenly it was just Morgana and her godparents in the room.
"Where are the kids?" She asked Ginny with a sniff. "Over at the Scamanders'," Ginny replied. "Luna was minding them." Morgana nodded, and buried her head in Harry's shoulder, her tear-stained cheeks dampening the fabric of his jumper. "I'm going over to pick them up now," Ginny said quietly, slipping out of the room.
Harry put his arm around Morgana, pulling her closer into him. "It's alright," he promised her, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than her. "You're safe. I've got you."
Morgana continued to weep into his jumper, her voice muffled as she spoke. "It's all my fault." She sat up and Harry looked at her. Her face was pale, greyish-white. Her dark eyes had more of a grey tinge to them than usual, as though clouded with doubt. Her tousled dark hair hung limply around her shoulders, and her face was wet with tears.
"What's your fault?" Harry asked her, sounding concerned. "Kingsley," Morgana whispered. Harry shook his head. "How is that your fault?" Morgana was trembling. "I was the reason you lot were there in the first place. He was there to help me." Harry placed his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Morgana Black," he said sternly. "I want you to listen to me. I know how you feel. I can't count the number of people who died for me. Morgana, people will think that makes you feel powerful, loved, strong. People will think it's worth it to die for someone else. That they'll feel grateful once you've done it. Morgana, believe me, I know the truth. I know it just makes you feel like a horrible person. Your dad died trying to protect me. My parents died trying to protect me. Teddy's parents died in a war that I was fighting. And I can't make up for that to you two, no matter how hard I try.
"Morgana, you need to understand something. Anyone who ever makes a sacrifice like that for you, they did it because they cared more about you than they did about themselves. That might make you feel guilty, but it shouldn't. I think we need to be grateful for them. We need to remember them Morgana. They're the reason we'll eventually be victorious."
Morgana was still shaking. She nodded. "Yeah," she whimpered. "Victorious. That's a good word. So you think we stand a chance at winning?" Harry looked at her, his heart bursting with pride. "Morgana, I think we have a huge chance at winning. But that's all it is, really, isn't it? Chance. Luck. And Morgana Black, you're lucky. We're lucky. People like Kingsley, they're the people who we fight for. The Death Eaters don't care about anyone. So they have nothing worthwhile to fight for. Morgana, we're going to lose some battles. But good always conquers evil, Morgana. We will win the war."
Morgana couldn't help but laugh through her tears. "I can see why the made you head of the Auror Department. Truly inspirational, Potter." Harry ruffled her hair fondly. "I hope so, Morgana," he sighed. "I really hope so."
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A/N:
Thank you for reading. Happy Halloween everyone! And also, anniversary of Voldemort's first downfall, not to mention the death of Lily and James. To Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, and to his parents, whose courage enabled him to live.
I have been tagged in a post which is going around Wattpad at the moment, so I'm going to complete it just here in my author's notes. Thank you @blondeweasley for tagging me.
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