Chapter 247: Forewarnings

4^th October 2012, Potter Manor

(Hermione Granger POV)

Hermione was interrupted by a cough behind her and she jumped in fear. In front of her was the demon that she saw fighting in the memories of her subordinate. In a small way, she had hoped that she was mistaken, that Jasmine Potter had died and that this was an imposter.

But now, she knew that this was a vain hope. She couldn’t mistake the sheer presence the other woman had. She was standing by the doorway, next to her younger sister, and gave Hermione an amused look, “Go on, a tremendous asset for what exactly?”

Hermione gulped. Well, that was a horrible start to their meeting.

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

I had just teleported to Nathan’s home. It was my first time ever coming here, considering that he built the entire place from scratch. It would be interesting to see if he would introduce me to his wife and children. I hadn’t seen Tracy since the mess with the Tri Wizard tournament, where I barely spoke to the girl at all. As for the kids, I barely know anything more than their names, but in the end, they’re Nathan’s family and if he doesn’t want me to meet them, then it’s his prerogative.

I frowned subtly as I felt the wards on this place. They were disappointing, especially since this was the home of the Minister for Magic, one of the most politically powerful people in magical Britain, not some random guy. The wards barely covered apparition and portkey travel, and some weak security access to only recognized people. It was just bad; there were no intent based wards, anti dark magic wards, hell, a strong attack from outside could shatter the entire structure.

Let’s just say that a few seconds in, I already had a poor impression of my brother. I didn’t even want to come, but Rose had forced me to, saying something about being accountable for my actions. Still, it wasn’t my fault, Ego was the one to attack me in an obviously populated area, additionally, I made sure that none of the people were even hit by his attacks, and as soon as I could, I took the fight elsewhere.

I understood on a fundamental level that what I did constituted as a public relations mess in magical Britain. They were not supposed to be aware of threats of this caliber. They were always happy in their own little world that I created thanks to the Statute of Secrecy that I enforced using the mist. I guess that earlier today, I had shattered the illusion that they were the apex predators in the world, a laughable concept since even the non-magical population could wipe them out if they actually knew about them, and that’s not even mentioning the other threats from beyond.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have even considered doing this if I wasn’t too tired to argue. Because I had just fought a celestial, and while I hadn’t exhausted my entire core, I was still tired, mentally, from the use of an infinity stone without a buffer.

The bigger problem with this fight wasn’t really the magical world, it was the fact that the death of a celestial was bound to alert the others of his kind, even Arishem who already keeps a close eye on the planet. I sigh in exasperation; I will need to explain everything to him soon. I really hated dealing with him, especially since he was angry that I was actively preventing the hatching of the celestial child that was inside the core of the planet.

My thoughts were interrupted by Rose who spoke up, “Please don’t be too antagonistic Jasmine.”

I gave her an innocent look, causing her to growl, “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Just tell him that you fought some space alien god and that he isn’t coming back. After that we’ll be on our way.”

“I still don’t understand why I have to tell him myself.”

Rose released a deep sigh, “Seriously, Jasmine. Do you think that he’ll take me seriously if I utter the words ‘space alien god’ to him? You, being there, would provide at least some veracity to the situation.”

“He’s your brother. He’s supposed to trust you, Rose.”

“He’s your brother too, Jasmine.” Rose snapped back at me.

I gave her an incredulous look, “This isn’t about the fight at all. You want me to be here just to fulfill this ridiculous fantasy of yours where we’re all one big happy family.”

Rose looked like she wanted to protest, but I continued before she could speak up, “Look Rose, I don’t have time for things like that. If you’re going to keep holding your position as my heir over me and only accept just so that I would join the rest of your family, then I will choose another heir. You’re obviously not interested enough in your future responsibilities if all you think about is your family. I will not repeat this again, I will never consider James and Lily Potter to be my parents, nor will I ever consider Nathan to be my brother. Nothing is ever going to change that, not because I don’t want to, but because I just don’t have the time to cultivate a relationship like that from the beginning, especially with our history, just to appease you. I have bigger problems ahead of me, something that you’re supposed to understand.”

Rose’s eyes watered slightly, and she just nodded in answer. It pained me to hurt her like this, but she had to take things seriously. I really have to stop humoring her. Even Wanda doesn’t get this kind of favoritism from me, and she’s my adopted daughter.

I followed Rose towards the door to Nathan’s office and we discreetly entered the room. I noticed that Hermione Granger was there speaking with him, and Rose stiffened when she realized who was with her brother.

I heard Granger say something about me being an asset, and I snorted. I couldn’t help but interrupt her with a cough. I relished her surprised look and almost bursted into laughter as she blanched in fear. I looked at her with amusement in my eyes and spoke up, “Go on, a tremendous asset for what exactly?”

She started stammering and blabbering away. I could feel Rose’s vindictive amusement at the sight. This was the woman that had practically banished her from her home.

I ignored the obviously uncomfortable witch in front of me and looked at my former twin, “Nathan, our sister said something about you wanting an explanation from me.”

This was the first time that I had spoken with him in decades, and I was going to keep things professional. He had proven, long ago, that he wasn’t to be trusted. It’s a shame really; he had a lot of potential. Mordred had seen this in him when he was younger. But look at him now, the man was overweight, and looked more like a bureaucrat than the mighty wizard he was supposed to be. I started to feel for his magic and suppressed a sneer. He was barely more powerful than the average Auror. How little did he use his magic for it to atrophy to this level. I remembered Nathan having a potential greater than both Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore. What happened to the brave and ambitious young wizard that he used to be? As far as I can tell, this man will gain no respect from me.

Nathan straightened up, thankful at my professionalism, and responded, “Yes. I wanted to know what happened in Hogsmeade.”

I shrugged, “I’m not going into details, but an old enemy found me when I was relaxing in the Three Broomsticks. He tried to get me to join him, then attacked me when I refused, I won. He won’t be a problem anymore.”

The Granger girl who seemed to have recollected her wits screeched at me, “Is that it? People like him do not live unnoticed. Why haven’t we heard of him at all.”

I gave the girl a scathing look, “The universe is a far bigger and more complex place than you can even fathom, little witch. Just because you are beneath the notice of higher beings, doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. There are things far more terrifying than your mind could even comprehend; there are demonic lords with entire realms at their disposal, there are gods who could destroy the entire wizarding world with nothing but a whisper, there are beings that can create stars with nary a thought. Do not think yourself entitled to know of what is beyond you, girl, for that road will only lead to misery and death.”

The witch however seemed to explode at this, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

I grin at her, “That’s not for you to know, little witch.”

Granger then looked towards Nathan asking for help who looked down and ignored her unsaid plight. Instead, the Minister for Magic asked me, “So, he’s really gone? We won’t have to deal with things like him anymore?”

I nodded, “I was only fighting an avatar, an energy projection with his consciousness. I killed him entirely, but had he come here in his full might, he could have easily destroyed the entire planet. He was barely using a shard of his true power when we fought. It didn’t take a lot out of me either. A true fight between us would have been a lot more destructive and could have easily resulted in my loss.”

Nathan blanched at the thought that Ego was barely using his true power. And what I said was true. Had we fought on even grounds, on his planet, then it would have been considerably more difficult to kill him.

Granger on the other hand seemed to want to change the subject, “Alright, with that out of the way, it’s good to see you come back, Jasmine. The wizarding world will be overjoyed to learn of your return.”

I gave her a bemused look, “I am not returning to the wizarding world. I have bigger problems to deal with than some pointless meetings in the Wizengamot. This is only a one-off thing.”

Hermione didn’t seem to like this answer, “You have a responsibility to the entire magical community to help them progress to a brighter future, to lend your hand so that magical Britain becomes a true utopia for all magical people and races.”

I raised an eyebrow, “I have a responsibility to nothing. I can tell that all you want to do is use my name and rumors of my power to pressure the rest of the Wizengamot to accept your little reforms. I have already heard enough about how you treat my sister. So, let me make things very clear, if you use my name or even mention me to get your way, then I will personally come to your house, destroy your meager protections, and kill you in your sleep. You will just disappear one day, and no one will ever find your body. Did I make things clear, Hermione Granger?”

“You can’t just threaten me…”

“Yes, I can. I’m doing it right now. I’m not going to say that it’s a promise and whatnot. This is a threat. Should you do anything of the above, I will kill you. It will be slow, and it will be painful. I will flay your mind open and play on your fears and insecurities. And you know the best thing, no one will ever do anything about it, because they won’t be able to do anything about it. So, play your little power plays, with your pathetic goals and ambitions. Rule the pitiable empire you have made up in your mind. Play with the media, drag my name through the mud, and I won’t give a shit about any of it. I won’t even notice it, probably. But don’t think for one second that I’m not watching you. All it would take for everything to come crumbling down is a single mistake. Pray that we do not meet again, Hermione Granger.”

I took one last look at the trembling girl and left alongside my sister. She gave me a warm smile; she must have wanted to do this to her for years, but couldn’t because her brother would take his friend’s side. I turned towards Nathan and looked him in the eyes, “You’re a disappointment, Potter.”

I then grab my sister’s hand and teleport away.

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