Chapter Text
Chapter 1: It Begins
Vendetta Létourneau was a formidable woman, as dangerous as she was beautiful. She was renowned as one of the best Aurors in Wizarding Britain and quickly rose among the ranks to the position of Head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Although rumoured to be a creature herself, no one would accuse her outright lest they incurred the wrath of Vendetta.
She was a successful woman with a successful husband. Aaron Létourneau was the Head Healer in charge of the Magical Bugs Ward at St Mungo’s; treating wizards and witches ailed with diseases ranging from Wizard’s flu to Dragon pox. Together they were a powerful couple with a lot of influence in Wizarding Britain.
The House of Létourneau was an Ancient and Noble House that held nine seats in the Wizengamot. Originally from France, similar to the House of Malfoy, the House of Létourneau settled in Britain and claimed a large plot of land where their Ancestral home, Maison de Létourneau still stands.
There was, however, one thing that the Létourneaus desired dearly but had remained unattainable for the longest time. They wanted a child. As the Head of the family, Vendetta needed an heir to carry on her legacy but after over twenty years of marriage without conceiving even once, they lost a little more hope as each day goes by.
Until the day she met the boy that would become her little miracle, her legacy.
That fateful day had started out uneventful but it would soon become one of the most exciting nights Vendetta could have experienced.
Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, October 31st 1981 4:15pm
Vendetta was holding a meeting with some wizards from the Pest Advisory Board about the infestation of Nogtails on several farms.
“For the last time Deighton, simply obtain some albino bloodhounds and handle the situation, after all it is your job.” Vendetta sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming as she tried to sort out her subordinates.
Edward Deighton nearly whined in his response. “But Head Auror Vendetta we don’t have the funding for them.”
The woman heaved another exasperated sigh and cursed under her breath in French as she pushed her fingers through her long, black hair. “Fine, speak to my secretary and have him arrange a grant for the-“
“-Head Auror Vendetta there’s been an emergency.” Her secretary, Pinkerton, interrupted her as he barged into the meeting room. Vendetta hated disruptions during meetings and hated being interrupted even more. If it wasn’t for the fact that there truly was an emergency and that he was 6 months pregnant, Pinkerton might have feared for his life.
Still, the look Vendetta gave him nearly made him shudder in fear. His hand came up to rest on his baby bump to bring himself some comfort. “Erm, there’s a magical creature running rampage in a Muggle neighbourhood.”
Vendetta noticed the scared state of her secretary and lowered the intensity of her glare, she would never do anything to inadvertently hurt a baby, such as cause the mother undue stress. “I am quite sure there are many competent wizards on duty that would-“
“-it’s a Level 5X creature ma’am.” Pinkerton interrupted her for the second time that day.
Vendetta was already out of her seat before Pinkerton could finish his sentence.
Pinkerton followed her out, barely able to keep up with her hurried footsteps, while briefing her on details of the rampage and the location.
Vendetta stopped abruptly. “Immédiatement, get me Aurors Nibley, Harlan and Graeme. They are to leave whatever it is they are doing. Have them meet me at Privet Drive immediately.” Were her last instructions before she apparated away, Pinkerton didn’t even get a chance to tell her Auror Harlan was still on a sabbatical.
Once Vendetta arrived at the scene she couldn't help but gasp. It had been a while since they’ve had to deal with a creature of this magnitude and if the scene in front of her was anything to go by, these Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement knew nothing about handling such a situation.
“Fall back! Immediately! Stand down you incompetent imbeciles!” Vendetta yelled at the dim-witted Aurors who were trying to go up against a lycanthrope with just their wands yet judging by the amount of unconscious bodies that littered the floor, it should have been pretty obvious to them that it was a stupid idea.
The remaining Aurors were only too happy to escape with their lives intact. They barely spared Vendetta a second glance before turning tail. Foolish lily-livered cowards, they were only there in the first place to get credit for being the first on the scene, regardless of whether or not they were qualified to deal with such threat.
She heard three pops behind her signifying the arrival of her most competent Aurors.
“Graeme, secure the area, round up any stray muggles and prepare them for an obliviating session. Harlan, check for casualties and use a portkey to get them to St. Mungos. Nibley, work on throwing up a disillutionment charm around the entire neighbourhood. Last thing we need is to draw more attention to this situation.” Vendetta instructed without needing to look at her Aurors to know they had already carried out her instructions.
The dark-skinned woman faced the monster head-on; she’s a vampire, one of the only other creatures durable enough to withstand the onslaught of an attack from a lycanthrope.
She circled the Lycan, drawing its attention solely onto her. The beast growled, baring its long, sharp teeth at Vendetta; its muzzle dripping with saliva and the blood of its victims.
This wasn’t a fight for mere witches or wizards.
Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, 9:12pm
Pinkerton was hurrying from one office to the other as he had done all night, running himself ragged as a result of taking over Vendetta’s abandoned tasks – seeing as her second in command was also out in the field – coupled with dealing with the collateral damage of the rampage while trying to prevent the news that a level 5X monster was on the loose.
He barely stopped long enough in one place to catch his breath never mind take a seat. A persistent throb had developed in his lower back but the blonde refused to acknowledge it, instead focusing on the important issues at hand.
“Pinkerton, slow down for Merlin’s sake, take a breather.” Deighton urged the small pregnant man who was rushing around the office, arms laden with a ridiculous amount of paperwork.
Pinkerton huffed in annoyance, now was not the time for any distractions whatsoever, even if it was a well-meaning co-worker. Just as he was about to politely tell Deighton to fuck off, the ache in his back increased tenfold and spikes of pain shot up his spine.
He dropped the papers in his arms and reached out to grab the nearest thing, which just happened to be Deighton, in order to steady himself.
“What happened, are you okay?” came the worried voice of the man he had a death grip on.
“I’m fine. Just, need second.” Pinkerton could barely string a sentence together as he focused on breathing through the pain.
After a few minutes, Pinkerton was able to straighten up and he gave Deighton a smile. “See I’m fine.” He winced and squeezed Deighton’s hand again. “But it seems that my water just broke.”