Vengeance; hp universe

chapter the seventh: always needing a backup plan

Something I had learned quickly while living with the Dursleys? Blackmail was a powerful material, something that technically was illegal, but as long as you were careful, you couldn't be caught... you could reap the rewards in peace, living with that little extra pocket change, or the ability to maneuver a politician into becoming your lapdog...

It should be slightly worrying that my first reflex reaction, upon making the discoveries about Dumbledore's multi-generational plan, was to blackmail him. Thinking on it, there wasn't much I could actually blackmail him for without giving up my hand.

Besides, if I blackmailed him now, then I definitely wouldn't find the information I needed about him-- that was another thing I learned, from one time when Vernon overshot with an 'investor' and managed to lose any semblance of control when the investor went wild, gathering all the paper copies of things and throwing them into the fire. To prevent the arson of the documents I needed, I couldn't blackmail him.

Although, I couldn't deny, it would be so... fun to watch the 'world-renowned' headmaster get brought to his knees by an overzealous teenage girl. And yet... I set the parchment paper with a clear intention of blackmailing him aside; still within arm's reach if I heard something else about him to make me want to kill him.

I had a list of people's names on a parchment piece in front of me, and I went down it carefully.

1. Ronald Weasley
2. Hermione Granger
3. Mrs Weasley
4. Ginny Weasley (?)
5. Albus Dumbledore
6. Severus Snape
7. Neville Longbottom & Luna Lovegood

Neville and Luna had a note next to them: allies if possible. Ginny was an unknown in my plans; was she loyal to her family-- was she even aware of their plans? or was she a co-conspirator, another option if I had turned out to have a preference for women?

I had to find out, and of course, I was hyper-aware of how difficult it would be to find out. For once, I wish I had access to Dumbledore's office or something, to see if he was stupid enough to write down his plans...

He probably wasn't, but the idea was enough to calm me down.

***

Creating revenge plots was actually tiring work. It wasn't a big deal at first, when I was fueled by rage and the undeniable urge to shove the old dingbats once in charge of me off a roof; now, however, I just felt... empty.

I sat, sipping a mug of tea while talking to the Potters. It was nice, to sit and talk to them like we were a family, and when looking into their eyes, I could almost forget about the golden frame around them, the undeniable barrier between my world and theirs.

Lily brings up an old journal of hers, and that's when my plans began in earnest; something no longer as stupid and self-gratifying as dumping Ronald Weasley in the Black Lake and bribing the squid to hold him underwater until he died...

No, because my parents went to school with their parents. And anybody can tell you just how much of a person's personality is nature vs nurture...

Molly Weasley - or Prewett - I find out, from Lily's journal, is a mythic bitch. Reading pages upon pages of just "rumors" that involve her, it's hard to reconcile the image of the girl that stomped on Arthur Weasley's potions vial when they were fighting with the nice woman that gave me extra food when I arrived unexpectedly.

Then again, a narcissist shall be a narcissist. I spend the next few hours, after my unexpected leave to the attic to grab Lily's journals, with a fresh notebook and insight into their minds...

And I get a lot. I get ways to destroy them, ways to assault them and to leave them battered, mentally and emotionally done. I don't do physical violence; too messy, too violent.

Thanks to Lily's words, I don't have to even break a sweat. James seems to insist there's no way Minnie (McGonagall) knew, but when I point out just how much she knows, he agrees that I can't rely on her.

It grates, I'm sure, to admit that your favorite teacher, your second mother, might've helped orphan your 'child'. I didn't ask them what I was to them, not after that first night, and they didn't bring it up either. It was just one area of rip current, a rough patch in the ocean, a walled-up area of conversation that we didn't touch.

Other than that, it was smooth sailing. Not literally, of course, it had been raining almost every day since the day in Diagon Alley, so I hadn't been outside for much than to plant the seeds and have Mipsy keep an eye out for any abnormal affects.

It felt nice to wander the halls of Potter Manor, to explore some yet-undiscovered room, to look through boxes and find little snapshots of the past... I'd almost forgotten about Hogwarts.

***

Of course, it all comes roaring in with a bang on a window; not literally, but it really felt like one when it all happened. The feeling of peace I had so carefully curated in this little sliver away from the world all crumbled when I got a letter, dropped off on my desk in my study. There was technically a bang, when the poor owl hit the window, but she was okay, so we don't really count that-

It was a letter from Luna Lovegood, as if she had known I wrote down her name and deliberated about her just a few hours prior. It was a snippet of a few articles, clipped together...

An article about a Miss Molly Prewett and her physical assault of her then-boyfriend Cyrus Prye, a clip of one about Albus Dumbledore and his conflictingly accurate 'predictions' that he seemed to be making happen, and one about me. I stare, slightly gaping, at the article in front of me, with me as the centerpiece, and I sit down at the study desk, sighing.

"Let's see here," I mutter, picking up the article about me first, and instantly wishing I hadn't. "I'm not even fourteen," I murmur under my breath as I read; some of the stuff was... disgusting. "Rita Skeeter, journalist extraordinaire," I mock, and scribble down her name in a corner of the notepad. With how much she relied on rumors, she could easily be a pain in the ass later. So, a temporary outline that could be revised based on different situations.

Another thing I had learned from the Dursleys was to always have a backup plan; even dozens of backup plans, if possible, to cover every situation under the sun. So, I sit down with the article and note immediately her personality as far as I can discern. She seems selfish and vain, writing clearly without a single unwarped word from the person - or friend of the victim.

Blackmail in the form of the truth, I decide, witting a note on the list, adding Rita Skeeter's name. I wonder idly as I read about Snape's disturbingly accurate thoughts about me if she's an animagus... something small, something unnoticed... a bug.

If Rita Skeeter is an animagus - note, more research on such topics - then she must be a bug. And I doubt she would have it registered, she seems like the type to keep it illegal... oh, this would be fun.

For Ronald & Hermione, I make plans (separately and together) based on multiple contingencies for things i want to do. If I want to take them down together and savagely, I just get them arrested for one of the many things done over the years at Hogwarts. But that would run the risk of backfiring onto me, so I sort of think I should just get someone to take them out.

Not on a date. I mean, kill them. Painfully.

But still suspect #1, thanks to association. There's no way around this... I'm going to research hit men, and if I have to, I'll pull the 'girl who lived' card.

Putting a pin in them, I move on to different plans, having Mipsy make me a cup of coffee. I would need it. Time to plan.

(1390)
little short, but i'm rushing this during theatre rehearsal, and next week is show week, so i might do a double update two weeks from now :)
thank you for 3k reads, and enjoy