The Elden Lion - A Hard Awakening. (Patreon)

Alice Longbottom, Longbottom Manor – England.

"Mmm," Lady Longbottom moaned softly, burying her face even deeper into the exquisite softness of her matrimonial bed, before rolling onto her side and beginning to stretch.

"OHHH," the blonde woman sighed in relief as she stretched her body, opening her eyes and looking, as she did every day, at her beloved husband lying beside her, still snoring and undoubtedly exhausted after the pleasurable activities of the previous night.

Alice could not help but smile at the sight, rolling over until she was on top of Frank's body and beginning to gently caress his face, lost in her thoughts and in what her life had been like since the fall of the Dark Lord.

Dumbledore fought against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and defeated him, freeing the Magical World from such a despicable being. His disgusting followers were captured and locked away like the dogs they were, and now they were rotting in Azkaban.

Everything was fine… everyone was safe.

"Good morning," her husband whispered, opening his eyes gently and making Alice smile radiantly, before taking his face in her hands and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Good morning, my love," the blonde woman said, but before her beloved Frank could answer, the door burst open as four missiles of blonde and brown hair entered the room, screaming and laughing.

"IT'S TODAY! IT'S TODAY!" shouted little Lily Longbottom, letting out a loud laugh and throwing herself onto her parents' bed, beginning to jump all over the place, followed closely by little Augusta, who imitated her older sister, climbing onto the bed and beginning to laugh and clap without stopping, all while Agatha and Neville watched them with smiles.

"It's the first of September, Mother," Neville said excitedly, making a proud smile appear on Alice's face.

Today… was the great day.

The moment when her beloved firstborn would begin his adventure at Hogwarts.

Frank and Alice had everything prepared. A couple of weeks ago they had gone to Diagon Alley as was customary, accompanying their beloved son at the beginning of his adventure.

They had visited Ollivander, watching in wonder as Neville obtained his wand, ebony and dragon heartstring, a powerful wand for the future Lord Longbottom, Alice thought excitedly.

She had been there, watching as Madame Malkin took her beloved Neville's measurements, watching Lily and Augusta run around causing mischief, and how the reserved Agatha tried, unsuccessfully, to calm the two little terrors.

"It certainly is, my love," Alice said radiantly, while hugging little Lily and covering her with kisses, making the little girl laugh endlessly, everything… everything was happy, everything was perfect.

Everything was…

"A LIE!" a powerful, ethereal male voice spat, shaking Lady Longbottom to her very core, making her begin to look around in surprise and with a hint of fear.

"Who said that?" the woman exclaimed cautiously, her eyes wide as she looked erratically around.

"Mommy?" little Lily said, confused and frightened by her mother's sudden attitude, while the rest of the Longbottom clan looked at her with concern.

"No… no, it's nothing, my love, it's nothing," Alice said with a smile, excusing herself to quickly go to the bathroom.

Her entire family watched her with concern, but they let her leave without much trouble, although the caution in their eyes did not diminish for a single second.

Alice closed the bathroom door behind her and remained for a few seconds with her back against the wood. Frank and the children's laughter sounded from the bedroom, warm and welcoming, making her feel an incredible warmth. It was deep, almost too deep to feel natural.

She could only hear the crackling of the enchanted candles, with those… strange flames. They moved in a… periodic manner, as if performing a dance, nothing like the chaos and ferocity so natural to fire, almost unnatural…

"Wake up."

Alice closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her temples. What was happening? Who did this voice belong to?

Alice had no idea of its origin, but she wanted only one thing: to be left alone, with her family, in her perfect life.

In her perfect world.

"I'm awake," she murmured, although even she did not seem convinced, her hands trembling and her feet feeling heavy, the voices of Frank and the little ones sounding increasingly distant…

More distant…

She forced herself to walk toward the enormous marble sink that occupied one of the walls. The bathroom was beautiful, much more luxurious than Alice remembered, with dark stone, carved wood, and delicate golden ornaments reflecting the candlelight. A large mirror with a golden frame rested above the sink, surrounded by small glass bottles and flasks of magical perfumes. Alice turned on the faucet and let the cold water run over her hands.

Everything was perfect, everything was in its place, Alice's luxurious perfumes, brought exclusively from the most exclusive boutiques in Magical Paris, the bath salts originating from Spain, even Frank's Portuguese beard oil, everything was in…

"Beard oil? But… Frank did not have a beard, her beloved husband shaved every day since Hogwarts, even during the war, he…"

Alice quickly shook her head. There had been no war, no pain.

"There was no war in England," the woman said firmly and determinedly, trying to drown out the voice in her mind.

She had to relax, she had to focus her mind, so Alice slowly leaned forward, opened the tap of the luxurious bear-shaped faucet, and deliberately brought the water to her face.

The cold made her shudder.

She did it again.

Then a third time.

She breathed deeply, allowing a few drops to descend from her chin. For several seconds she remained leaning over the sink, her eyes closed, trying to remember when she had last felt completely like herself. There were too many empty spaces in her memory, too many moments that seemed to have been ripped from her life.

Frank's and the children's laughter and voices had completely disappeared, leaving the only thing invading Alice's ears the sound of water striking the polished metal of the sink, while the rhythmic sound of the old clock invaded her ears, sounding louder and more ferocious with every passing second.

Tick Tock…

Tick Tock…

"Wake up, Godmother, wake up."

Tick Tock…

"You need to accept the truth."

"AHHHHHHG!" Alice screamed, while closing her eyes and shaking her head over and over again.

"No! That was not true. The only truth was her, Frank, and her little ones, Neville and his first year at Hogwarts… and… and…"

"You're just tired," she told herself, nodding and trying, unsuccessfully, to suppress the voice in her thoughts.

Alice simply shook her head and sighed before slowly raising her head, making her gaze meet the mirror above her sink, her hands trembling and her eyes moving erratically.

Alice did not immediately understand what was wrong. The golden frame was still there, the candles continued burning, becoming stranger and stranger, and the sink appeared perfectly reflected in the glass. She could even distinguish the shadows of the columns behind her.

But something was missing.

Her…

Alice stopped breathing.

The mirror did not show her face.

For several seconds she simply stared at that empty surface, incapable of accepting what she was seeing. There was no reflection whatsoever of the woman standing before the sink; instead, the glass seemed to contain a deep, motionless darkness, completely alien to the bathroom. Alice slowly stepped backward, feeling a shiver beginning to climb up her spine.

"No…" she whispered in terror, shaking her head again and again, her hands trembling as the darkness in the mirror began to move, taking shape… a shape… familiar.

It was not a shadow caused by the candles. Something had changed inside the mirror, as if a figure were approaching from a place far beyond the glass. First a blurry silhouette appeared, then shoulders, and finally the face of a man who remained completely motionless before her.

"I… I know you… you… you are," Alice said, trembling and unsteady, as her gaze focused on the mysterious man.

He was tall.

Even through the mirror he seemed to possess an imposing presence. His black hair was disheveled, falling around his face without any order, while his snow-white skin contrasted violently with the darkness surrounding him. Alice felt that something inside her recognized that face, although her memory refused to tell her where from.

Then she saw his eyes.

One was golden.

The other emerald green.

Alice felt her heart pounding violently against her ribs. There was nothing monstrous about the stranger's face, and precisely because of that, it was even more unsettling. He looked like a real man, completely aware of her, watching her from the other side of the mirror with a patience that made the silence unbearable.

Looking at her with concern, why was he looking at her like that?

"Who are you?" Lady Longbottom spat, demanding an explanation.

The man did not answer. He simply continued looking at her, waiting for an answer, a recognition, something in particular.

Alice quickly looked toward the door.

Part of her wanted to run to the infirmary and call the healers. Another, deeper and more difficult to understand, told her not to take her eyes off that figure. When she looked at the mirror again, the man was still exactly where he had been, watching her with those two impossible eyes.

"Who are you?" Alice repeated, this time more firmly.

The man tilted his head slightly.

"Wake up, Godmother. Many await your return anxiously. Neville needs you, Alice."

Hearing her own name in that voice made her stomach contract. It was not a threatening voice; it was low, calm, and soothing, filling her with calm and intrigue, but not fear.

"How do you know my name?"

The stranger watched her for several seconds before answering.

"You know the answer. This… fantasy is a sweet poison. You have to wake up," the man said with a little more firmness than before, while the bathroom candles began to shine with golden flames.

Alice slowly shook her head.

"I don't know you, I… I…" the blonde woman said, before shaking her head over and over again, stepping away from the sink and heading toward the bathroom door.

"Not yet, but you will."

Alice ran through the bathroom door, more than ready to find comfort in her beloved Frank and her beautiful little ones, but what she found…

"Crucio!!!"

"AAAHHHHHHHG!"

Alice began shaking her head over and over again, watching as three hooded figures pointed their wands, laughing with cruelty and hatred, while her beloved Frank writhed in agony.

"CRUCIO!!!!"

"NOOOOOO!!" Alice screamed, falling to her knees, watching helplessly as the light in her beloved Frank's eyes slowly disappeared, amid the laughter of the three men, while the man from moments ago appeared again, much taller and more powerful than the others, looking directly at her.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!! NO… I DON'T WANT ANY MORE PAIN! I WANT MY FAMILY!!" Alice roared, before falling to her knees and beginning to cry at what she had just witnessed. The hooded figures disappeared, while the stranger walked toward her, kneeling down until he looked directly into her eyes.

There was no malice or hatred in his gaze, only… pity and comfort.

"You have suffered much, Godmother, but… it is time to wake up. Neville needs you, and I promise I will punish those responsible for everything that happened. Tell me who you are," the man asked with extreme care.

Alice burst into tears, clinging to the mysterious man's body and releasing years of frustration.

"I… I am Alice, wife of Frank and mother of Neville, and this… this is not… this isn't real," the blonde woman said with her heart shattered, while everything around her began to crack.

She thought of her beloved children, of the birthdays she had with Lily, Agatha, and Augusta, their birthdays, everything…

Her beloved children… were not real, no…

"WAKE UP!" the man roared, making a golden radiance invade Alice's face, blinding her instantly and making the entire room disappear in an instant.

"AHHHHHG!" the blonde woman screamed, feeling something… a monstrous magical force ripping her out of her thoughts, making Alice begin to hear voices, some familiar, like those of Lily and Augusta, others unknown.

But in an instant, Alice Longbottom found herself in a hospital room, her eyes, for the first time in years, focused on the figure before her, on…

"James?" she asked, her voice hoarse, but that simple word was taken as a miracle by everyone else present.

Augusta and Lily gasped, while treacherous tears began to emerge from their eyes, while the imposing man shook his head and answered cautiously.

"Harry," he replied with a smile, making Alice's eyes widen.

"The little Harry? But… you were barely four years old when… when… when," the woman said, grimacing in pain as she remembered everything that had happened to her.

"A lot has happened, Godmother, more than a decade, but I am sure that Lady Augusta and my mother will be able to bring you up to date as soon as possible. I still have to save Frank from his own mind," he said with a smile, making the blonde woman look at him in surprise before softly nodding, her eyes widening completely as Alice screamed.

"NEVILLE! MY BABY! MY…"

Lily interrupted her, placing her hand on Alice's chest and answering.

"Neville is fine. Harry sent Amelia for him. She should arrive just in time when Harry rescues Frank," the red-haired woman said with a radiant smile, only to be moved aside by Augusta, who embraced Alice tightly, tears on her severe face.

"Mother," the blonde whispered, returning her husband's mother's embrace with equal strength.

"By Merlin, I'm glad you're here, dear," the woman whispered, while traitorous spasms shook the usually implacable woman.

"I need… I need to know what happened," the blonde woman said, while the man who called himself her godson placed his finger against Frank's forehead, making her beloved husband's eyes glow softly as he released a gasp.

"That… will take quite some time," Lily said with a sigh, before making herself comfortable.

Apparently, they would be here for quite some time.

Albus Dumbledore, the Great Hall – Hogwarts.

"News?" the Headmaster asked Severus, who was standing beside him, paler and more trembling than usual.

The Potions Professor merely grimaced uncomfortably, while unconsciously clutching his arm, undoubtedly remembering the agony to which he had been subjected not long ago.

"Nothing at all. All my contacts reported the same thing. The Dark Mark shone with a golden radiance, followed by the most unbearable agony they had ever witnessed, making the Cruciatus Curse look merciful, and then… Harry Potter's voice, powerful and deep, saying that they had unfinished business, that he could run, but Harry would find him sooner or later and then, fear… wherever the Dark Lord is hiding, he was afraid, Albus, more afraid than he had ever been in his entire life, and he punished his followers for the same reason. It was hours of agony, but even during the punishment, we all felt the same thing. He is terrified, he fears Harry Potter, and all his followers know it," Severus said, and those words made Albus sigh heavily, remembering the failures of the past few days.

With Harry's return, he had reactivated the old guard, hoping for support in his mission to prevent the rise of a new Dark Lord. However… he encountered more… problems than he would have liked to imagine.

Flashback.

"Excuse me?" Albus said, stunned by what he had just heard from his old friend.

Alastor snorted before sighing and answering.

"No, Albus. I am not going to help you with this, simply because I do not believe that Harry Potter is a threat to the Magical World as you predict," his old friend said, while several men and women around them, companions from the past, nodded in agreement.

"But… what happened with Cornelius, with the Goblins and…"

However, Alastor interrupted.

"Cornelius was an idiot who meddled in the affairs of House Potter. He believed he could obtain an economic benefit by granting lands that belonged to the Potters. The goblins were accomplices, and Malfoy and his lackeys were the fools who believed they could meddle in Lord Potter's affairs and live to tell the tale."

At those words, several members nodded softly, even Kingsley intervened.

"We are investigating, at Lady Bones' request, the dirty laundry of the conquered families. Ladies Malfoy, Parkinson, and Greengrass are more than happy to cooperate, handing over records and all the dirty laundry of the deceased Lords. We have detected hundreds of irregularities, and by order of Lord Potter, the corresponding reparations are being made. The abused families are being compensated," Kingsley said, as Dedalus intervened.

"Furthermore, Lord Potter does not seem to be a cruel man without reason. The Abbotts and the Diggorys managed to reach an agreement without bloodbaths. Gold and daughters were exchanged, but now the lands are officially theirs, so your assumptions that Lord Potter is unreasonable are incorrect," the man said.

And so, one by one, the Order of the Phoenix crumbled before his eyes, no one being foolish enough to challenge the Golden Lion.

Flashback End.

Albus's thoughts were interrupted when the doors of the Great Hall slowly opened, revealing the sight of Amelia, escorted by a regiment of her Aurors.

She looked as usual, elegant, beautiful, and unreachable, her red hair in a long and elegant braid, leaving her feminine and strong face exposed. She was dressed in the classic Auror robes, her expression serious and determined.

"Auntie?" Miss Bones said from the Hufflepuff table, but Amelia merely smiled and continued walking toward the great table.

Albus, curious, stood up and asked kindly.

"Amelia, welcome to Hogwarts. I'm afraid I was unaware that you would be visiting the castle," the old man said, trying to understand what was happening.

"It was something unexpected, Albus. There was… a situation," the red-haired woman said, before caressing his face and handing the Headmaster a sealed parchment bearing an unknown symbol, although Albus could deduce who it belonged to.

After all, few would have the courage to use the seal of the Golden Lion in these times.

The Headmaster cautiously opened the parchment, making his eyes widen more and more with every word he read, to the evident curiosity of the other professors present.

"Everything in order, Albus?" Minerva asked curiously, the entire castle silent as everyone tried to figure out what was happening.

And Albus, distractedly, answered.

"Lord Potter cured Frank and Alice Longbottom," he said incredulously, as if expecting the words to disappear from the parchment.

However, what happened was that gasps came from all the professors around them, including Severus, while rumors began spreading throughout the castle.

Amelia took advantage of the commotion and spoke again.

"Lord Potter ordered Neville Longbottom to be brought before his parents as soon as possible, as well as requesting an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. Apparently, House Longbottom has declared a Blood Feud with House Selwyn. Lord Sirius, Lady Augusta, and Lord Harry are preparing for war," Amelia said before taking her leave and walking toward a stunned Neville, ready to escort him out of the school.

But Albus's mind was elsewhere. He was genuinely happy for Frank and Alice's well-being; that was excellent news, but it seemed far too coincidental that yet another important family of the Wizengamot was, coincidentally, about to be exterminated.

The balance of power would be lost. Amelia had spoken of Black, Longbottom, and Potter as a real political alliance, as if Franklin, Fleamont, and Arcturus had returned once again.

The castle could not stop murmuring as the Aurors escorted Neville out of the place. No one, not even Albus, could possibly guess what the hell would happen from now on.

Harry Potter had begun expanding his influence into the political sphere, something Tom had lacked in his youth. At this rate… the Golden Lion would dominate the entire Magical World within a couple of years.

His plans had to be accelerated. There was no time to lose.