Unfinished Gems

Sands of Time - 11

It took them a few weeks, but eventually a certain pair of twins (and two extras) had made their way to Japan.

You could imagine their shock seeing the stark change in Lotus. She had gone from a scrawny, unsure teenager to a queen. They knew something major had changed, because when they jokingly called her scarhead (though the scar had somehow disappeared since she had vanished so abruptly) the guards that flanked her left and right tensed and had their hands on obviously spelled sabers.

Lotus snorted.

"It's not scarhead anymore, Gred and Forge," said Lotus smiling. "And as for you Luna, come over here already!"

Luna cheerfully glomped her.

"You look better, big sister. Happier."

"I should hope so. After all, I did give you full warning what was to happen after I saved your mother's life. How is Selene by the way?"

"Mother is doing well. Also, father would love to interview the magical Queen of Egypt," said Luna with a chirp.

"Magical queen of Egypt?" repeated Hermione incredulously.

Lotus smiled at her. Hermione felt somewhat uncomfortable because it was becoming obvious the girl she had known as her close friend had been replaced with someone else. She wasn't sure how to handle that.

"Let's just say that the Egyptian Ministry of Magic isn't as corrupt as the English for certain reasons and leave it at that. In fact it's one of the most progressive in terms of employment for muggleborns, among other things."

Mostly because the Egyptian magical government was under her complete control. It was one of the few countries that allowed werewolves to be employed without prejudice for their condition. Hence why she had sent Remus there with Sirius...it was likely one of the few places he could live in peace and not be hated for being a werewolf.

"As for your father's request to an interview...I see no reason why we can't do one later once we get those who want to stay settled in. I daresay it's going to be rather...exciting...to stay in England since I reminded them that pushing someone too far will only end in destruction."

"Why did you do it? Why did you kill all those people?" asked Hermione, upset.

"I'll not argue and claim semantics over who did the actual killing. Either way it was done on my order," said Lotus bluntly. "As for why, the answer is simple. I am tired of Dumbledore's bumbling attempts at playing the king in the shadows to rule my life. The best way to nip his attempts at control over my life was to cause such an upset that they are forced to consider the very real and terrifying consequences."

"Shadow king?" repeated Fred.

"Dumbledore had the power to keep Umbitch out of Hogwarts, and yet he allowed those fools to inflict her upon us. Rather than use his considerable influence to keep that foul woman out of the school using the number of favors and blackmail he had undoubtedly acquired over the years. He can pretend the 'humble grandfather' role all he likes, but in reality he is a bumbling shadow king who should remember his place," said Lotus flatly.

"That's a rather bold thing to say," said George.

Lotus smirked at him, leaning her head on her hand.

"Fun fact about the Phoenix Crown...it doesn't contain the soul of the Undying Queen, only her knowledge and the required aura of a queen so that my claim will remain unchallenged. Rowena's fabled Diadem was a lesser copy of the crown."

Made after Rowena made extensive study of the actual thing, with Avatre's permission. The diadem would impart all the knowledge of Rowena until the moment she died, but her imposing aura was left out.