Sacrifice

Chapter 1

Until the Last Hazel Witch Stands

June 28th, 866

Somewhere in Scotland

The blood of her sister flowed over her hands like warm honey.

"No!" Edwina Hazel cried in anguish, "Elizabeth!" but nothing could be done. The pair would be separated; one would soon be dead.

Through her raspy breath Madrelis laughed, high, cackling, and cold. "You may have prevailed with me, Edwina, but nothing can save your sister. You'll live the rest of your days with the loss of your precious twin, as will your pitiful brother, and all the generations to come will feel my curse." She continued in The Tongue, the language of incantations,

"Upon every generation,

Will my curse be felt.

Upon every Hazel,

Shall my curse be dealt.

"Hazel witches,

Never shall they mate.

Hazel wizards,

Carry another fate..."

The incantation continued, Edwina was paralyzed, the full meaning of the curse swept over her. As more of it was revealed, Edwina came to know how poisoned Madrelis' mind had become from the hatred and the vengeance

Madrelis finished her incantation, her voice becoming raspier and raspier,

"My dying wish,

The last curse at my hands,

Shall plague you all,

Until the last Hazel witch stands."

*

June 28th, 1977

Whimsic Alley

London, England

Josephine Hazel and her older twin sister Julianne Hazel skipped along the cobblestoned street, swinging from either of their father's hands. Thackary Hazel had been promising to take them shopping for their Aunt's birthday for a fortnight. Both girls knew that Cordelia Hazel loved the beautiful shops of Whimsic Alley more than any other place. They spent the whole afternoon and well into the evening wandering the shops, until Jo and Julie spotted it. Just the perfect gift. A glittering crystal wolf hanging on the thinnest gold chain you've ever seen. Jo and Julie paid three galleons and twelve sickles each, and Thackary had slipped two more galleons and ten sickles onto the counter without the girls noticing to cover the total cost of ten galleons for the necklace. They were only nine years old, for Merlin's sake, how could they be expected to scrape up ten galleons between the two of them?

"Can it be a white wolf?" asked Jo, who got to stow the present in the front pocket of her jumper. Julie had gotten to carry it in hers last year.

"I suppose it can." Thackary smiled at his daughters. "What do you think Julie?"

"I like tawny wolves better," she said honestly, "but I got to chose the dragon colour last year."

"There's a good girl."

"Dad, are we still going to go to Florean Fortescue's?"

"You don't forget anything, do you? Do you feel up to Ice-Cream, Jo? Jo?"

But Jo was miles away. She was thinking about Anamagi, and what she would become if she could, it was between a black panther and a white wolf. She was, today, leaning heavily towards the panther. She hadn't even heard her sister ask about Ice-Cream. "Sorry?" she asked, resurfacing.

"We thought we might like some Ice-Cream," Thackary told her, eyes dancing with humour, "want to join us?"

Jo thought for a moment, it was getting dusk, the perfect time to sit out at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, with a cherry and vanilla sundae maybe. "All right."

"Okay we have to make it short though, you're mother will be home from-"

Jo knew that Lindsay Henderson-Hazel would be home from training, but her father never got to tell her so. Several people screamed, as several more people in black cloaks and hoods Apparated in the alleyway connecting Whimsic Alley with Diagon Alley. They advanced upon them, and Jo froze with fear. Death Eaters, she thought, panic twisting her insides.

Thackary reacted quickly; "RUN GIRLS!" he ordered his daughters, "stay together!"

Not knowing where to go, but not daring to defy their father at this moment, both girls took off as fast as their feet could carry them. They were halfway down to the other end of the alley, where they had a much better chance of escaping, when Jo looked over her shoulder expecting to see her father bringing up the rear. Instead, she saw a man more terrifying than anything her wild imagination had ever conjured, standing over his crumpled body, laughing with hysterical delight.

"NOOOOOO!" she screamed, she was beginning to turn back around. A moment later, she tripped over her own feet, so much had she turned without realizing it, and landed face first in the dirt. It saved her life.

Upon the sound of Jo screaming, the terrifying man took aim with his wand again and yelled, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The curse just barely missed Jo's falling body. But it hit Julie, who was running back to her sister's aid. She fell. Jo tried to cry out for her but such was the pain of watching her twin sister go rigid with death, all she could do was form the word with her mouth, for no sound would come. Jo didn't know what to do. Her sister was most definitely dead, and her father probably was too. This man was going to kill her; they were all going to die today. How could she stop it? Should she even bother? Jo didn't notice the people, the ones who weren't dressed like the Death Eaters or him. The ones who were coming toward her. All of the sudden a pair of hands grabbed her wrists as another person stepped in front of her. She was being hauled to her feet, and then scooped up in that person's arms.

"Be still, I promise not to hurt you," a voice whispered. Jo still couldn't speak. She nodded.

"There is nothing to be gained by killing this child!" shouted the voice of the man in front of them.

"She is the child of a blood traitor and Muggle scum!"

"You will not harm her without killing me!"

"So be it, fool." The man raised his wand again, "AVADA-"

Several people Apparated at once, each with a resounding CRACK! The odds immediately turned in their favour.

And still he only paused for a moment, to laugh. "Do you really think that even your combined strength can stop Lord Voldemort?"

"It can save the girl," the man in front of her told him.

"All of you would sacrifice yourselves for a HALF-BREED? You insolent fools."

"Sacrifice ourselves for an innocent life."

"Weaklings!" Lord Voldemort retorted. "You shall all die!"

CRACK!

"All of us, Voldemort?" A man with long white hair was now in front of the man in front of Jo.

"Dumbledore."

"There are many Aurors on their way, is this child worth your arrest?"

"A half-breed is worthless! Just as worthless as a Mudblood! MORSMORDRE!" What every witch and wizard over the age of a year could recognize as the Dark Mark, flew into the air. And with that, the man who would haunt Jo's dreams for many years to come, Disapparated.

*

Another man and a woman had joined the two men who had protected Jo. They had Apparated near to them when all the witches and wizards had joined the confrontation. The man who had lifter her up carried her to the Leaky Cauldron, one of the others asked the bartender for a parlour and they all walked into it and sat down. It was then, that the wizard who had stood in front of her, pushed his glasses up his nose and asked, "What's your name, child?"

Jo, who still couldn't utter a real word if it could have saved the entire world, gave a tiny squeak and started to cry.

The witch immediately came forward with a tissue. She took Jo's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Poor thing. You've seen far too much today. Maybe we should let you rest before we talk, would that be better?"

Jo nodded. She was angry with herself. She was nine years old, why couldn't she just smarten up and speak? But she wasn't so angry that she could forget her father's body lying on the cobblestone path, or her sister falling forwards, dead, to the ground.

"Someone's going to be looking for her," said the man who had picked her up off the ground.

"I know, but she's not in a state right now."

Jo shifted uncomfortably, she didn't want to be the cause of an argument. But as she shifted, the pretty white box from the shop in Whimsic Alley fell out of her pocket, and the man who had Apparated picked it up.

"I know this shop. I'll bet that if we go back to Whimsic Alley we could find out her name."

"I'll go with you, Remus," said the bespectacled man who'd asked her name. He turned to the red haired witch, "Lily, stay here with Sirius and the girl. We'll be back soon."

*

Jo awoke from a brief, dreamless sleep. Not wanting it to be real, not wanting it to be anything more than a horrible nightmare, she didn't dare open her eyes, the bed felt funny, and she couldn't hear Julie breathing heavily. Oh please let it have been a dream, she begged silently.

"James, are you sure?" came a woman's voice.

"Yes, I am. The owner said it was most definitely Thackary Hazel and his twin daughters who bought that necklace, Lily. That girl is Cody Hazel's niece," answered James. Jo thought she was going to be ill; it wasn't a dream, they were dead.

"But which?" came a third voice.

"We don't know, Sirius," a fourth voice told him, "it could have be Julianne or Josephine. The merchant couldn't tell them apart."

"So what do we do now?" the woman, Lily, asked no one in particular.

"We contact Cody, and when the girl is awake we take her to her Aunt's." James, Jo thought it was, answered.

"That is if Cody doesn't break the door down looking for her niece." Jo was relatively certain it was the man called Sirius who added that comment.

*

Cordelia Hazel was fixing herself a cup of tea, just back home at her tiny flat in London, from her third shift as a Junior Member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. Nearly eighteen years old and quite proud of herself for having such a job straight out of Hogwarts, she couldn't possibly expect what was coming.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of someone at the door made Cody jump and splash boiling water on her hand. She dropped the both the kettle and the teacup, with the loud clatter of the kettle and the delicate tinkle of breaking china. She inserted her unscalded hand into her mouth and bit down hard to keep from screaming.

Tap, tap tap, was heard again and Cody removed the hand from her mouth.

"Who could possibly feel the need to call at this hour?" she muttered irritably, stalking haughtily to answer the door.

The sight of Remus Lupin at her door was enough to stun her much better than any spell she had ever learnt.

"Good evening, Cody," he greeted, his voice hollow.

She gasped. "Remus!" Not only for the shock but also for the way he looked, even more tired than the last time she had seen him, and that was saying something.

"There's been an attack Cody, perhaps you'd best accompany me to the Leaky Cauldron."

The pain in her hand melted like snow. Cody was completely numb but for the sickly dread that was beginning to fester in her stomach. "What is it Remus? What's happened?"

"Can you Apparate yet?" he asked quickly, avoiding the question.

"Of course I can. Remus, what-"

CRACK!

Remus was gone. "Damn you!" she swore. And with a CRACK of her own, she was gone from her flat and outside the grubby little pub, The Leaky Cauldron.

"Inside, Cody."

Cody jumped; she'd Apparated just ahead of where Remus was standing. "Remus..."

"Just come with me." He laid a hand on her shoulder and propelled her into the pub, past the bar, and up the stairs. Lily and Sirius had rented the child a room just incase they couldn't find anyone. He opened the door to number eight.

"JO!" Cody exclaimed. For there on the bed, was her niece, sitting between a witch she recognized as Lily Potter, and a wizard she knew to be Sirius Black. Jo was staring straight ahead, a haunted look in her eyes and scrapes on her face.

"How can you be sure it's Jo?" Remus asked gently.

"Because I can tell my nieces apart," Cody snapped. "That's definitely Jo. Didn't they tell you?"

"Cody..." James Potter, who was also there, stood up from the chair in the corner.

"What?" The realization swept through her, cold and cutting. "No James, don't say it."

"Voldemort attacked Whimsic Alley. Remus, Sirius, and I were there when it happened. Remus went for help; Sirius and I could only get to Jo in time. Thackary and Julianne didn't survive."

The world had begun to spin. Cody couldn't hold on to the words James had spoken, didn't survive? Was he mad? Of course Thackary survived, her brother wasn't dead; he couldn't be, she'd have known, she'd have felt him go...

Jo watched in horror as her aunt swayed and hit the floor. When her aunt impacted she gave the most blood-chilling scream any of the four conscious people in the room had ever heard. Sirius, who had properly introduced himself when she had let on that she was awake, grabbed her by the shoulders.

"She's alright Jo, it's fine, she's just fainted; she'll be okay."

Jo whimpered, but she nodded.

James was already lifting Aunt Cody off the floor. Lily jumped up off the bed. "Put her here."

James, shifting Aunt Cody in his arms, turned to Remus. "Maybe you should take Jo downstairs and see if Tom can scrounge up some Butterbeer," he then, feeling like a spinning top, turned to Jo, who had Sirius' hand in a death grip, "just while we bring Cody around."

It was nearly empty downstairs. Sirius came with Remus and Jo because Jo still hadn't let go of his hand. Tom the bartender had given them two bottles of Butterbeer and a small cup for Jo.

"On the house," he'd said.

They sat in the corner of the pub, Jo not touching her drink. Neither wizard knew what to say to her. What do you say to a child who's just witnessed her father and sister's murder? They stayed silent for nearly a quarter of an hour

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Both Remus and Sirius jumped as though they'd received a shock.

"Sorry for what?" Remus had recovered first.

"Julie."

"Voldemort killed your sister. You couldn't have stopped it." Sirius told her, his expression grim.

"I fell, Julie-" Jo's voice was cracking. Unsure of what else he could do, Sirius, who was sitting beside her, took her in a bone-crunching hug.

"He would have killed Julie anyway, one way or another. James and I couldn't have gotten to her in time."

"It's not your fault, Jo." Remus added.

"The curse would have hit me."

"And then the way would be clear to curse her. And you both would have died." James appeared, seemingly unaffected by Jo's newfound voice. "Cody's awake."

Jo was beginning to understand the feeling inside her, emptiness. She thought about what James had said, and wondered if it maybe wouldn't have been such a bad thing.

*

It had taken only moments for Cody to regain consciousness. Two alarmingly green eyes were peering into hers, worry clearly evident in them. For a moment she had no idea what was going on, and like her niece, she was praying to higher powers that she'd only had a nightmare. When it occurred to her that Lily Potter was not usually known to stop by her flat just to wake her, Cody had no choice but to believe it. She cried, cried like she hadn't since her twin sister had died, ten years before. First Constance, now Thackary and Julie, she thought bitterly, Jo's all that's left of us. Not then realising the significance of her interior monologue, she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Does her mother know?" Cody was reasonably certain that she knew this answer, no one in the wizarding world knew who Lindsay was. Just as no one in the Muggle world really knew about the Hazel family.

"We don't know where to contact her, Jo hasn't uttered a word since the attack." Lily explained.

"What happened?"

James sighed very heavily. "They were shopping, I suppose, when the attack broke out, Thackary tried to protect the girls. He had them run for it, Jo saw her father fall, this tripped her up, and Julie caught the second curse. If Jo hadn't have tripped both girls would be dead. Julie was well beyond our reach when Jo fell. We couldn't have gotten her out of there, even with Remus collecting wizards and Aurors."

Tears were flowing freely down Cody's cheeks. In a croaky voice she asked, "How's Jo? Is she all right?"

"Physically, Jo only has some scrapes and bruises." James removed his glasses and made to clean them on his sleeve, ineffectively. "But she's seen much more than anyone ought to see in their lifetime. Her mother is in for some very difficult weeks."

"That is if losing Thackary doesn't kill her," Cody said aloud without meaning to. Seeing the look on Lily's face, she moved to explain, "Lindsay's a Muggle, magic is like a some fanciful natural affinity that doesn't really have a use. She's bright, she really is, but magic often exceeds the common Muggle's field of logic, it doesn't occur to her that magic can be used to hurt people. No matter what Thackary did, he couldn't make her understand what You-Know-Who is doing. She believes the unspeakable curses to be impossible, a myth or something. She'll never understand what happened in that alley, she never understood what bearing twins meant either. It was a fluke of science, not a centuries old enchantment. She's not afraid of magic, she just doesn't completely believe in it."

"How did she ignore it when her husband and children could all do magic?" asked Lily.

"I'm not sure. She's supportive of Thackary and the girls, but she insisted on living a Muggle lifestyle as much as possible. Her family may well be directly descended from the same Muggles who began witch burning; Lindsay had to tell her parents that Thackary was an insurance claims investigator."

"Sounds like my sister-in-law," James muttered, daringly ignoring the reprimanding look from his wife. He glanced at his pocket watch. "I'd better collect Jo, she was very distressed when you fainted. And I daresay you have much to discuss with your sister-in-law."

*

Cody nearly cracked Jo's ribs with the embrace she caught her in. And though it was very nearly the last thing Cody wanted to do, she thanked them all, Sirius and James in particular, for saving her niece's life, and she left the pub to Apparate to Jo's home in Hertfordshire, where she knew Lindsay would be waiting for her husband to arrive home, and wondering why he's late. Lily offered to keep Jo at the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the night. Cody felt that this would be for the best. The coming scene would not be pretty.

She was just in the car when it occurred to her. It took time to penetrate her mind, her mind being sufficiently clouded by grief, among other highly painful emotions. But now that it had presented itself in Cody's mind, she wondered how it had taken so long for her to grasp it. The last Hazel wizard was dead; the name couldn't be carried on. There couldn't be another Hazel witch after Jo; she was the last of them. Meaning Jo, as it turned out, was the long anticipated, Witch Hazel.