Harry Potter and the Sorceress of the Stars

"Happy birthday, Oleandra!" Astoria, Tracey and Tonks chorused.

Startled, Oleandra nearly jumped back a few feet— she hadn't been expecting such an enthusiastic welcome upon opening the front door to her hideout, after spending the entire night fighting the Death Eaters that had accompanied Voldemort to assassinate Amelia Bones.

Speaking of which… upon feeling their master's disappearance through their Mark, the Death Eaters had panicked and scattered in all directions, firing Curses wildly into neighbouring houses. Of course, that is when the Muggle policemen and firefighters had finally decided to show up in their flashy vehicles and their loud blaring sirens— which, of course, had roused the neighbours from their beds and drawn them to their windows, to see what all the fuss was about.

Naturally, the matter had escalated, with the fleeing Death Eaters firing potshots at the men in uniform, which had prompted them to radio for yet more backup. Without firearms, the policemen were powerless to fight back against Wizards— which was a silver lining to this nightmarish scenario, because it meant that they were equally helpless to stop Oleandra and Amelia from saving them. In their eyes, the masked Death Eaters slinging Curses and the two women firing off Stunners were one and the same!

In the end, all of the Death Eaters had escaped, and Amelia Bones had been forced to set up a Muggle Repelling Charm— to keep the police's firearms units from entering the perimeter surrounding her neighbourhood, and to flush out any Muggle witnesses from their homes, so that they could be gathered up and Obliviated efficiently.

All in all, it had been a harrowing experience, but most of all, Oleandra had been very impressed by Madam Bones's ability to uphold the Statute of Secrecy, even without any backup of her own. If anything, knowing the Ministry's tactics in advance would be a huge help, when the time would finally come for Oleandra to do away with the Statute, for the sake of her ambitions…

…

"Right, with everything that's happened, I almost forgot!" Oleandra managed to squeak out. "But Tracey, what are you doing here? I thought you and your parents had left the country for America?"

Due to her participation in the scramble battle for the Prophecy Record in the Department of Mysteries, Tracey had become an easy target for retaliation for the Death Eaters. Since neither Tracey nor her pure-blooded father were particularly good duellists, and since her mother was powerless Muggle lawyer, they had elected to emigrate to the United States earlier in the month.

"She ran away from home," said Astoria giddily. "I caught her scent while I was shopping in Diagon Alley, and guess what? She was hiding out in…"

"Don't spoil my story!" said Tracey moodily. "And I wasn't hiding, okay? I just wanted some ice cream, so I went to Fortescue's, but since it was abandoned…"

"…you never left," Astoria completed.

Tracey scowled at her, and Astoria giggled.

"Wait, what do you mean, you caught her scent?" asked Oleandra curiously. "As in, you smelled her?"

The Bloodline Atavism Potion's effects on her sisters would never cease to amaze Oleandra.

It was a shame that she could no longer make use of it herself, as Salazar Slytherin had conceived it for Wizards such as himself. The potion worked by first purifying one's human bloodline, eliminating any traces of useless vestigial DNA, before isolating the dominant inhuman bloodline factor and reintroducing it into the body to a much greater degree, thereby artificially inducing one's rebirth as a half-human magical beast.

The potion wouldn't function for half-humans like Hagrid, since such people had naturally already achieved the potion's end result; and since Oleandra's bloodline factor had been polluted by the Dusk Elf's genetic information to an extreme degree, taking the potion would effectively kill her.

"That's right," said Astoria, who then wrinkled her nose. "And you reek of burnt stuff— you need a bath."

Oleandra entered the hideout and brushed past Tracey and Tonks, who had begun arguing whether smelling people from a certain range constituted a breach of privacy— and Astoria watched on curiously as her sister stalked through the Entrance Hall.

Ever since their escape from Malfoy Manor, her sister's scent had suddenly changed, somehow becoming much more subdued. Oleandra was covered in blood, sweat and soot, and yet, Astoria's sharp nose could only detect the smoky and acrid smell of burnt wood and plastic from her body…

As Oleandra moved through the dining room on her way to the bathroom upstairs, she spotted a large banner hung from the ceiling that stated, 'Happy 16th Birthday to Daphne and Oleandra!'

"From the look on your face, I'd wager you've succeeded," came Daphne's voice from above. "You've managed to warn Bones in time?"

Oleandra looked up at her twin sister, who was leaning against the railings at the top of the stairs.

"I was a bit too late for that," said Oleandra dismissively. "We got into a bit of a tussle with Voldemort, but—"

"Don't say that name," said Daphne quietly.

Oleandra had got used to saying the Dark Lord's name in vain a long time ago, and it had become a guilty pleasure of hers to loudly mention the name in conversations to terrify eavesdroppers.

"What, you mean the name Voldemort?" said Oleandra in confusion. "Why shouldn't I say his name? I just managed to repel him with some quick thinking, and honestly, I don't think he's that much stronger than any of us, so there's really no need to be so scared…"

"Just don't— or at the very least, don't say the name unless we're in Hogwarts," said Daphne urgently. "You need to trust me on this."

Oleandra was unconvinced, but she didn't see any reason to go out of her way to say the word, if it would make Daphne unhappy. And to be perfectly honest, as Oleandra always was, bringing up the topic of You-Know-Who was an absolute conversation downer. Today was the Greengrass twins' special day, and Oleandra had every intention of enjoying their shared birthday to its fullest— just as soon as she took a bath.

…

And so, the Greengrass twins celebrated their birthday with their guests, sharing anecdotes about their past adventures, eating slices of cake, and finally, exchanging gifts— though Astoria had been the only one to bring any presents for the birthday girls.

Astoria gave Oleandra a copy of The Untold Adventures of Gilderoy Lockhart, a Memoir, by Ismina Bagshot, and she gave Daphne a brand-new, shiny cauldron.

"The base is made out of pewter, while the sides are made out of a copper-silver alloy," Astoria explained. "So, you can turn up the heat all you want, and you won't have to scrape off burnt residue from the bottom any more."

She paused for a second.

"At least, that's what the Sales Witch told me," Astoria added sheepishly.

Oleandra and Daphne hadn't had the time to prepare any presents for each other due to their unexpected reunion, and since Tracey and Tonks hadn't expected to attend a birthday party today, they hadn't brought any gifts, either.

Still, they compensated in other ways— Tonks used her Metamorphmagus talents to entertain everyone during dinner, while Tracey very cornily declared herself to be Oleandra's present— and by the end of the night, they were glued to each other's lips.