Chapter Text
It was a warm Thursday like any other when Lionel Hurst met Harriet Potter. Though if you’d asked Leo Hurst ten years ago if this was where he thought he’d end up, he wouldn’t have even gotten close to this. Twenty-seven with a six-year old daughter so obsessed with potions that she made him take her to meet her potions hero? He would have laughed. Now though, he found that he quite liked it. As it had become clear how fond Hanna was of potions, it had done wonders to bridge the gap that had grown between Leo and his Da. And he couldn’t be anything but grateful for that.
Hanna hadn’t been planned (and after her arrival—though he loved her with all his heart—he’d had a little magic done to ensure no future happy accidents occurred in the future), and honestly it had been quite a wake-up call when he took her in. Just a month after her birth, he gave up his crown to Marek Swiftknife. For Hanna had brought new meaning to his life, and he wasn’t going to risk her losing her father—even if he knew his parents would take her in and be excellent guardians for her.
“Papa, let’s go,” Hanna whined as she tugged on his sleeve. “We’re going to be late.”
Leo squatted to meet her at eye level. “There’s still three hours before the event is supposed to start, love.”
“So?” She asked, and Merlin did he love his daughter, but her sass was on a whole other level.
So he decided to try another tactic. “Why do you want to be there so early?”
“We have to get the best seats,” she said emphatically.
Well, he supposed this was a very special day for her. Leo rubbed her hair and nodded. “Alright, sweetling, I promise you we will leave within the next fifteen minutes.”
Hanna sat down on the bench by the Floo and went back and forth between staring at him and staring at the clock the whole time he rushed around making sure they had everything. As excited as she was, he was still a little worried about her getting tired and hangry, and he wanted to be prepared for that so that it wouldn’t prevent her from meeting her idol.
“Okay, Papa!” She jumped off the bench. “Time to go now.”
Leo double checked his bag and then nodded. “Right you are, sweetheart. Now, do you want to just go straight to Flourish and Blotts, or are you up to walking around Diagon Alley a bit?”
The look his daughter gave him could only be described as withering.
“Right,” Leo said. “Silly question. Straight to Flourish and Blotts we go.” He supposed they should buy a copy of Harriet Potter’s new book—he had packed Hanna’s collection of potions journals featuring her work, but they didn’t have her book yet. Leo suspected it was a bit too mature for Hanna right now, but they could get it signed now and she could read it later. Maybe he would read a bit of it during the three hours he’d agreed to sit in the store with Hanna.
“You go ahead first, alright?” He said. “I’ll be through right after you. Don’t forget to speak clearly.” Hanna had been using the Floo alone for just over a year now, but it still filled him with anxiety every time she stepped into the fireplace and threw the Floo powder down.
She nodded solemnly, and he grabbed the pot down so she could grab a handful. This really was an old routine now.
Hanna stepped into the fire, and said as clearly as she could manage, “Diagon Alley.” The flames wooshed her away through the network, and he grabbed a handful of Floo powder for himself.
It was difficult to balance giving her enough time to get out of the way and not leaving his daughter alone for too long. Yet another thing that would be easier and less stressful with a co-parent. And while he didn’t blame Hanna’s mother for realizing she didn’t want to be a parent at so young an age, when he looked at that girl, he couldn’t fathom not wanting to be involved in her life.
He threw the powder into the flames with a clearly spoken, “Diagon Alley,” and to his great relief saw Hanna standing right in front of the grate he came through.
“Alright, on to the bookstore,” he said, offering a hand to the girl. She took it and beamed up at him. “Thank you, Papa.”
“Oh, darling.” He squeezed her hand. “I’d do anything for you.” Leo wouldn’t say she was spoiled, but it was a near thing. No one had told him when he brought her home at just a few days old that it would be so difficult to say no to her. But here he was, investing more time into potions academia than he ever could have fathomed.
Hanna skipped along down the street until she saw Flourish and Blotts, and then she burst into a run.
She came to a stop in front of the window, where a large poster of Harriet Potter hung to promote the event today.
Hanna reached out toward the window, and Leo hurriedly grabbed her other hand. “You’ll get to see her for real in just a few hours,” he said, crouching down to be at eye level with his daughter again. “And you probably shouldn’t touch the window.”
She nodded solemnly, eyes only for the image of the young Potions Mistress.
Leo waited a minute before asking, “are you ready to go inside now?”
“Yes, Papa.”
With a relieved sigh, he opened the door and headed on in.
He could see another poster in the back of the shop in front of rows of chairs. “Look,” he pointed it out. “Why don’t you head back there and pick out where you want to sit? I’ll grab a copy of her book.”
Hanna barely stayed to nod before running off. “Careful!” He called after her quickly. If her special day was ruined because she tripped on a stack of books, they would both be devastated.
She made it to the event space alright though, so Leo turned to look for the books.
It wasn’t difficult; there was a large table with a full display of the Potter Heiress’s memoir: The Pureblood Pretense.
He approached it and picked up a copy, turning it over in his hands. It wasn’t anything he would have picked up if not for Hanna, but he did have to admit as a halfblood himself, he carried a bit of admiration for the first halfblood to attend Hogwarts since the eighties. Her determination had broken down barriers, and she didn’t seem to be done. From his Da, he knew there were a high number of issues with sexism in the Potions Guild, and what Harriet Potter had already accomplished there would benefit Hanna in the future.
Leo went and paid for the copy then walked over to the event seating. Sitting down beside his daughter, he said, “are you excited?”
She was practically jumping in her seat; the question really didn’t need to be asked. And there were still—Leo took a glance at his watch—more than two hours until the event was supposed to start.
“Yes!”
Leo gently shushed her, looking around the shop. “Let’s use our quiet voices, love.”
Chastened, Hanna’s voice instantly dropped to a whisper. “I really get to meet Harriet Potter?” She asked.
Leo nodded and pushed her hair out of her face. “Really. In just a few hours she’s going to be sitting right in front of you. She’ll do a little talk, and then a signing.”
Hanna squirmed and grabbed Leo’s arm. “I’m so excited,” she said, her voice still a whisper.
“I know you are.” He said and kissed her forehead. He suspected she’d be one of if not the youngest person in the audience, but from what he’d learned of Harriet Potter over the years, that was something she might appreciate or relate to.
Oh, how he hoped this event and meeting Mistress Potter would be everything his daughter dreamed about and more. He remembered the old adage about never meeting your heroes, and offered a quick prayer to Kyprioth—though perhaps he wasn’t the best god for the job, he was the only one Leo really had a relationship enough with to think he might listen.
“What are you most excited about, sweetling?” He asked.
“Everything!” Hanna’s voice raised above a whisper, but it wasn’t a yell so he was going to call that a win.
“Oh, of course I should have expected that.” Leo said. “Are you sure you want to sit here for the next two hours?”
He was more than a bit worried about all her adrenaline wearing off just in time for her to be all sleepy during the event itself.
She frowned up at him. “Yes.” And that was that.
Leo nodded and pulled his bag into his lap. “Do you want to maybe reread one of the potions journals while we wait? The one about shaped imbueing mayhaps?”
Hanna finally sat in the seat properly. “Yes, please.”
He leafed through the many journals he’d packed for the correct one—hopefully there wasn’t a limit to things Mistress Potter would sign. He had no idea how many people would show up to this event. While her memoir had been long awaited in certain circles, it had been over a decade since Harriet Potter’s ruse had been unraveled and furor about it had died down a bit. She was no longer the most recent half-blood to attend Hogwarts.
“Here you go,” he handed the journal over to his daughter, and it fell open to the article in a manner that exposed just how many times Hanna had returned to it.
That should hopefully keep her occupied for at least ten minutes, so after watching her a few moments, he cracked up Harriet Potter’s memoir.
He had just finished the introduction when Hanna started squirming beside him. He shut the book and set it down besides him. “You alright?”
She nodded but climbed into his lap, resting her head against his chest.
Ah, she seemed to be calming down now. He glanced at his watch again. Now was as good a time as any, he thought as he stroked her hair. She was nodding off in no time, and he carefully shifted her so that he could pick up the book again.
A few more people came wandering over to the event seating over the next half hour that Hanna slept, but he was so consumed by the book that he barely noticed. It was only when Hanna started to stir that he put it back down.
She looked up at him, eyes big. “I didn’t miss the event, right?”
“Of course not,” he said. “You think I’d let you sleep through it?”
She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “How much longer now, Papa?”
It would never grow old hearing her call him that. He checked his watch again. “Bit over an hour,” he said.
Hanna let out a loud exasperated sigh that had Leo stifling a chuckle.
“You’re the one who wanted to get here so early.”
She hopped down from his lap and gestured around the space. “We got the best seats.”
“Right, right.” He wouldn’t begrudge his daughter for wanting to get front row seats so no adults would block her view. Not that the Harriet Potter would be demonstrating any brewing techniques in the back of the bookstore.
Now there was a thought. He’d have to make sure to remember to ask his Da if he might invite Mistress Potter to do a demonstration of some sort at the Guild. After all, what was the point of being the Aldermaster’s son if not to arrange such things for his daughter, the Aldermaster’s potions-obsessed granddaughter. If it weren’t surrounding his own daughter, it’d be interesting to see how the battle between nepotism and guild sexism would play out, but as it was, he was quite apprehensive.
Hanna started walking up towards the table set up right in front of them. “Right here?” She asked.
“That’s right,” he said.
The large poster of Harriet Potter was right to the side of the table, and Hanna walked up to stand right in front of it. She adjusted her stance in a manner that was a bit confusing before Leo realized his daughter was copying Mistress Potter’s pose. Simply adorable.
He made another prayer to Kyprioth that the young potions mistress would be everything Hanna dreamt of. He couldn’t take his little girl’s heartbreak if it went poorly.
With fifteen minutes to go before the scheduled start, Flourish and Blotts was quite busy, and there were only a few chairs towards the back still free.
Hanna sat in her chair beside Leo, making an admirable if not entirely successful attempt to sit still. He offered his hand to her, and she took it, wrapping her small fingers around his much larger ones and squeezing.
“You ready?” He whispered, and hoped his daughter would remember to use her inside voice. Fortunately, she did. In fact, she seemed so overwhelmed with excitement now that she barely spoke at all.
A Flourish and Blotts employee came up to the front and set a pitcher of water and a few cups on the table. Hanna was positively quivering with excitement now. Another employee set a copy of the memoir up in front of each of the chairs.
And then there she was. Harriet Potter herself, walking out from behind a bookshelf to applause and in Hanna’s case, a tiny squeak that accompanied her squeezing his hand what was likely as tight as she possibly could, which was to say not that tight at all.
“Hello,” Mistress Potter said, raising a hand to them as she took her seat. “How are you all doing tonight?”
The response was of course positive and immediate.
She smiled. “Glad to hear that.” She tapped the memoir in front of her. “Now, I expect not many of you have read the book yet, but I’m excited to say we have a special guest tonight who was incredibly important to my journey here and whom I dedicate probably too many pages to.” She paused then, surveying the crowd. Hanna’s grip on his hand tightened again as the woman’s eyes fell upon them.
“Are you ready to meet him?”
“Yes!”
“Alright.” She turned towards the bookshelf she’d walked out from behind. “Come on out!”
Of course, it was the other bright young star of the British Potions community, Caelum Lestrange. He raised his hand acknowledging the new round of applause that greeted him and then took his seat beside Mistress Potter. “So,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her. “Here we are.”
“Here we are.” She grinned over at him and then out at the crowd again. “Would you have expected this?”
“You know I wouldn’t have,” he said. “But I should have known better to count out a stubborn little upstart like you.”
Mistress Potter put her hand on her heart. “Don’t worry, he means that with only the upmost affection. Insults are how he shows you his love, as you’ll discover while reading.”
Mister Lestrange shook his head at her, but he did wear the hints of a smile on his lips.
“Enough about me,” he said. “This is your event, your day.” He picked up the book in front of him. “The Pureblood Pretense. Tell us about it. The quick overview for those who somehow missed all the headlines.”
Mistress Potter let out a soft sigh. “The quick overview, huh?” She pointedly looks at the book. “Okay, before I start I just want to say there’s a reason this is over 400 pages.”
Mister Lestrange poured her a glass of water and nudged it over to her. After a little sip, she began. “So, at the age of eleven, my cousin and I hatched the marvellous idea of pretending to be each other so we could attend each other’s schools. Probably not the best idea a pair of eleven year olds have ever had, but somehow it worked out not too terribly.” She took another sip of her water.
“Archie and I make friends. I get to study under Severus Snape, just like I’d wanted to. He gets to continue in the healing program at AIM. All is great. I meet this guy over here,” these words are accompanied by a thumb pointing Mister Lestrange’s way, “kicking off several years of him trying and failing to best me, as he said, a stubborn little upstart, who also so happens to be several years his junior. Unfortunately I only make it one school year before I’m caught, but somehow that’s okay. Due to the friends I’ve made and the multiple pureblood heirs I saved during that nasty Sleeping Sickness business, the Hogwarts Board and the Wizengamot both decide to repeal some of the laws.
“And here I am today. Somehow not in Azkaban, and instead sitting here in front of you as a celebrated potions mistress. Who ever said a little blood identity theft hurt anyone?”
There was a roar of applause and laughter in response, and Mistress Potter grinned out at them.
Leo didn’t usually miss the Rogueship, but there was something about Mistress Potter owning her flouting of the rules that made him miss living outside the law in that way. It wasn’t enough to risk Hanna, but it still did tug at his heartstrings.
Glancing at his daughter, he saw that her attention was rapt on the woman in front of her. He should have expected as much.
The rest of the event continued on pretty much as expected, though Leo had to admit that he too found himself enthralled with the young potions mistress.
When they opened it up to questions from the audience, Leo nudged Hanna gently. “You want to ask a question?” He asked.
She clutched his hand tighter even as she sat up straighter and thrust her other hand into the air.
Leo chuckled to himself. He needn’t have even asked.
They took a few questions from others in the audience before Harriet Potter herself motioned to her, an fond seeming expression on her face. “Yes, you in the front.”
Hanna wiggled in an attempt to stand up even straighter.
“Hi!” She blurted out. “I just wanted to say, I want to be just like you when I grow up. And also, do you think you’ll be open to apprentices in ten years?”
Oh, his heart. His darling girl.
Fortunately, Mistress Potter’s expression only grew more fond. “Oh, I don’t know what will happen over the next decade, but yes, I’d quite like to be able to contribute to and help bring up the future of the potions community like that.” Her eyes flicked over to Leo briefly before settling back on Hanna. “And while I’m very honored, I hope you won’t be just like me. Your family would surely appreciate if you didn’t break so many laws.”
It was a striking statement. True, undoubtedly, but it also made him think of his parents and what he’d put them through during his years as Rogue—even if his Da hadn’t been aware of it all until he’d already left. Leo leaned over and kissed the top of Hanna’s head. He could only hope she wouldn’t break any laws, let alone even a fraction of the number he and Harriet Potter had both broken.
A few more questions were asked and answered, and then it was time for them to line up for the signing. They were in the middle of the line, and while Hanna was a bit antsy, Leo was mostly just impressed with the patience she was exhibiting.
Still, he was grateful it didn’t take too much time for them to reach the table Mistress Potter was set up at. When there were just a few people left in front of them, he grabbed a few of the potions journals out of his bag and handed them to his darling girl.
As precocious as ever, Hanna strode up to the table and set them down. “Hello!!”
“Hello,” Mistress Potter greeted in kind and slid the top journal towards her. “The future of British Potioneering, yes?” Mistress Potter said as she slid the top journal from the pile. “Who should I make this out too?”
“Hanna, H-A-N-N-A,” she said, spelling her name out proudly. “And Leo if you want as well.”
Leo smiled and lifted a hand to say hi. “Hanna is your biggest fan,” he said, and Hanna turned to give him yet another quivering glare. “I mean, she just really looks up to you.” That, it seemed, was more acceptable for the girl.
Surely Mistress Potter had to know that young potioneers looked up to her like that — after all Hanna herself had already expressed such a sentiment. Still, she looked a bit taken aback as she closed that journal and moved on to the next one.
It was as she was signing in the memoir itself, that she said, “Will you be able to stay back after the signing? Or, if it’s not a good time, you can send me an owl, I’d love to talk more with you both.”
Hanna immediately turned the biggest puppy dog eyes upon her Da, even as she was obviously a bit tired. Leo looked down the line of people remaining to get their books signed and then shook his head with an apologetic frown directed towards Hanna. “You should get to bed, dear one.” He said. “But you heard the Potions Mistress, we can owl her.”
He’d rubbed elbows with many of the great British Potioneers growing up, by virtue of who his father was, but Leo didn’t think this invitation had anything to do with that, for once. Instead, he hoped, it had everything to do with Mistress Potter seeing shades of herself in Hanna.
“And I know you won’t let me forget that,” he said, ruffling Hanna’s hair gently then looking up at the Potions Mistress. “That alright?”
“Of course,” she said and looked at Hanna with a serious expression on her face. “I eagerly await your owl.”