Chapter Seven, The Truth

As soon as the words had left Tauri's mouth she was scooped up in her uncles arms followed by Jacob, Bella, Esme and then Jasper. She froze for a moment unsure how to react and so did everyone else. As Jasper was about to let go realising what he'd done. Tauri hugged him back hesitantly at first, before resting her head on his chest as she was suddenly succumbed by feeling the most relaxed and safest she's ever been.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rush you, after what we just heard, I just I couldn't help myself." Jasper apologised when he let her go and it seemed her sisters were in the same predicament as her.

"No it's okay. You didn't use your power on me did you?" Tauri asked confused.
"No why?" Jasper asked frowning in confusion.
"I just... I was just succumbed by the most relaxing and safest feeling I've ever felt." Tauri explained hesitantly.
"We felt the same." Thea and Larissa added.
"If I'm to take a guess, that would be the bond solidifying between all of you." Carlisle explained.
"But we're not going to rush you girls into anything I promise." Garrett swore which eased the three sisters.

"Right, I want the truth about what happened to you three. I don't care how gruesome it is. You're my best friends, my sisters and I want to know so I can help!" Jacob demanded as the girls sat next to Charlie who was entertaining Teddy. Jasper, Garrett and Emmett sitting on a sofa close by but far enough away so it didn't seem like they were rushing them.
"Jacob!" Bella hissed.
"No. No it's okay Bella. Severus said we had to tell you." Larissa sighed. "Bella send Renesemee out of the room." Bella doing as she was asked sent her daughter out of the room and up to her bedroom to play, as Tauri set up a ward so she wouldn't be able to hear anything.
"But instead we can show you from our memories." Amalthea sighed as Tauri reached into her beaded bag drawing out a pensive and enlarging it.

"Can we connect this to the tv?" Tauri asked Esme and Carlisle. Thanking them once they had agreed even if they were confused. After a few complicated movements of her wand the pensive was connected to the tv. The three sisters stood around the floating pensive placing their wands to their temples and drawing memory after memory out and into the pensive. Once they were done Amalthea flicked her wand as they returned to their seat as the first memory started playing.

~ First memory ~

Three little girls, babies only fifteen months old by the looks of it, obviously triplets but yet so different. For, the first baby had black hair and hazel brown eyes, the second had auburn and hazel green eyes and the third with blood red hair and emerald green eyes, were sat on the floor giggling as they tried to catch coloured puffs of smoke that a bespectacled black haired man with hazel brown eyes, like the first little girl, was making the smoke come from his wand. Laughing along with his daughters until a red haired, green eyed woman entered the room.

"James don't get them too excited, you know they won't sleep." The woman scolded but she had a soft smile on her face as she looked at her three giggling daughters.
"Sorry Lily-flower. I just love their laughter." James apologised as he stopped the puffs of smoke smiling when the three pouted. Standing up from the sofa he threw his wand onto the sofa stretching his arms above his head as Lily scooped her three daughters up into her arms.
"Now my little loves. You go to sleep for Mama, like my good princesses." James said kissing each of his daughters foreheads and then his wife's when the door was suddenly thrown open with a loud bang.

Grabbing his wand James ran out of the room while Lily stood holding their children, obviously scared and trying not to show it. When her husband's frantic voice called back to her.
"Lily! Go! It's him! Take the girls and run! I'll hold him off!"
Lily looked to the door where a battle was sounding to her daughters and tried to spin on the spot to disapperate but nothing happened. With a desperate cry, Lily ran out of the room shielding her children and ran up the stairs. As she reached the top of the stairs, the man James was fighting with, struck him with a bright sickenly green light and James fell limp to the floor.

"No!" Lily cried as she watched her husband die, her babies crying and calling out for their Dada. Turning away as the man was advancing on them she ran into the nursery placing her daughters into the cot. She barricaded the door with a shield, as she turned back to her daughters as the man was trying to break in.
Crouching down she kissed each of their heads before kneeling in front of the cot.
"My babies, you are loved. So loved. My girls Mama loves all of you. Dada loves of all of you too. Thea, Lissa, Ri be safe. Be strong. And always love and protect each other." Lily told her daughters as tears ran down her cheeks.

At that moment the door burst open wood flying everywhere as the man entered the room Lily jumped to her feet, standing in front of the cot her arms spread wide trying to protect her children.
"Stand aside!" The man ordered.
"No please! Not my daughters. Not my daughters. Take me. Kill me instead!" Lily begged.
"Stand aside you foolish girl and I will spear your life!" The man hissed almost snake like.
"No! Please have mercy! Not my daughters! Have mercy!" Lily begged desperately.
"Stand aside now!" The man ordered.
"No! Not my daughters! Have mercy! Kill me instead! Not my daughters!" Lily begged.

"Very well. Avada Kedavra!" The man cast the same spell that killed James. A bright sickening green light struck Lily and she fell limp in front of the cot on the floor, the three girls crying more so now for their mother as well as their father, as they all held hands. The man smirked maliciously at the woman and at her children as he turned his wand now on them and fired the curse but put more power and will into it so it was larger and split off into three. The three curses struck the triplets on their foreheads before rebounding and hitting him causing him to cry out in agony.

~ End of first memory ~

There was silence in the living room as Jacob, Charlie, Tauri, Larissa and Amalthea all had tears running down their faces and if the others could cry then they would be too.
"That...that is your first memory?" Jacob asked shakily, now regretting what he'd asked them.
"Yes." They said simply wiping away their tears. Everyone felt greatly saddened by what they had just witnessed and all swore they would protect them from here on out. The memories continued showing glimpses of their first year at Hogwarts.

Where they made friends, got sorted into Gryffindor, the Quidditch game, found a baby dragon, went into the forest for a detention and came across Voldemort drinking unicorn blood, finding the mirror of Erised and seeing their parents in the mirror and then the battle with Quirrell who had Voldemort on the back of his head. The memories continued in a similar fashion for their second year including where the sisters got separated from their Professor and Ron after the Professor had caused a cave in.

~ Second Memory ~

"Ron?! Ron? Are you okay?" The sisters shouted once the rumble and stopped falling.
"I'm fine are you three alright?" Ron shouted.
"We're fine." Thea insisted.
"Good. This gits not. His memory charm back fired on him, serves him right." Ron scoffed before a thud was heard obviously Ron hitting the teacher over the head. "What do we do now?" Ron asked.
"We'll go on ahead and try and find Ginny." Tauri told him.
"Try and shift some of this, so we can get back through." Larissa added.
"Okay. Girls..." Ron's voice trailed off.
"See you soon." Thea added.

The three sisters walked off holding hands and their wands at the ready, when they reached a snake covered round door and spoke Parseltongue. Entering into the main chamber they saw Ginny laying unconscious at the bottom of a statue. After a brief conversation with Tom Riddle where they found out, after he took Larissa's wand that he was the younger version of Voldemort preserved in the diary, and then called the Basilisk to kill them. Just as the giant snake was about to kill them Fawkes arrived blinding it and bringing with it the sorting hat that Tauri pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor from.

"Thea guard Ginny. I'll help Ri." Larissa shouted running over to the snake as Ri was climbing up the Salazar Slytherin statue dodging attack's from the snake.
Grabbing some of the rubble that had fallen off of the statue, Larissa stabbed the snake repeatedly in the tail, hoping to distract it long enough so Ri could get to the top without falling. It worked. The snake was distracted long enough that Ri made it to the top, but as Larissa had been distracted by watching her sister, she didn't notice the tail coming up and striking her in the head knocking her unconscious and sliding across the floor from the blow. Thea and Ri screamed for their sister, fear gripping them as tight as a constrictor. Thea, abandoning Ginny for a moment rushed to Larissa and checked her over. Relief filled her when she found her sister alive with a bump on her head, gathering her up she pulled her over towards Ginny.

Until, Ri let out a scream. Snapping her head up a scream tearing its way out of her throat when she saw her sister get bitten by the snake as she stabbed it through the roof of it's mouth.
"Ri." Thea sobbed catching her sister in her arms as she lay dying.
"I'm sorry Thea." Tauri coughed tears falling down her own cheeks but Thea just shook her head.
"Don't worry Tauri you'll be with your dear mudblood mother soon." Tom Riddle sneered a malicious gleam in his eyes. "It's fascinating how quickly the venom penetrates the body. I'd say you have a little more than a minute left."

Glaring at the man before her, for mocking them, for her sister dying Thea pulled the fang out of her sister's elbow and stabbed the diary repeatedly until Tom Riddle vanished in an explosion of light. Which caused Ginny to wake up and then Larissa who came around groggily holding her head before she noticed her sisters and crawled towards them crying.
"No Ri. You can't leave us. You can't." Larissa begged when Fawkes flew down and cried into the wound healing it and Tauri as her skin that had been going grey turned back to her normal pale colour. Thea, Lissa and Ginny pulled Tauri into a tight hug before they escaped the chamber on the back of Forks along with Ron and Professor Lockhart.

~ End of memory ~

Much like they did when watching the memory of them as a baby and then the end of their first year where all three of them were knocked unconscious. Everyone was speechless at what the three had gone through and this was when they were only twelve.
"I'm starting to see a pattern." Jasper growled. "Please tell me these were not trials like I think they are and it's not a common occurrence?"
"Pretty much yeah." Thea agreed. "Dumbledore wanted to test us to see if we were able to go against Voldemort. He basically was training us into soldiers, into pawns from the moment we stepped foot in that castle."

And it was proved right as they went through more memories. Through their third year that proved to be their safest even with the Dementors, and then their fourth year where they were all entered into the Triwizard Tournament playing as one person. Thea going up against the dragon, Larissa rescuing Tauri from the bottom of the lake, and then all three of them in the maze. Where they were transported along with Cedric Diggory to a graveyard that they had been having nightmares about. They were succumbed to the pain from their scars that was nearly blinding them, begging Cedric to leave them and go back to the cup, back to Hogwarts.

But he ignored them standing guard over the three sisters, over his friends, his wand pointing at the man before him, demanding who he is and what does he want. When Voldemort's voice filled the air telling Wormtail to kill him and he did without question as they shouted for their friend. They were tied together to a large gravestone that had a statue on top that was holding them as Worntail started the ritual to bring back Voldemort. Dropping the small deformed version of Voldemort into a large cauldron, getting bones out of Tom Riddle Sr's grave, cutting off his own hand and then taking the blood from the three girls. Who screamed in agony as Voldemort had risen again.

His first action was calling his followers who laughed as Voldemort tortured them as they screamed in agony thrashing against each other and the gravestone. They were freed from the statue, and their wands returned to them, and then tortured two more times before the battle started. All four wands joining together, locked in a spell because they all had the same core. Seeing the ghostly figures of a woman, a muggle man, Cedric who asked them to take his body back to his parents and then their parents. Their mother praising them for being so brave and their father coming up with a plan to protect his daughters so they could escape. The two parents coming up with plans to protect their children even from beyond the grave.

Everyone watched as the Dursley's hated the three girls and withheld food from them. Watched as they were ignored and they and their cousin were attacked by a dementor. Watched how they were rescued and taken to Sirius' old house. Saw the love between Sirius, Remus and the triplets. How they had to have a trial which they won, how were tortured by a teacher and refused to tell anyone, despite Hermione and Ron begging them to as no one believed that Voldemort was back. Their fifth year taking a turn for the worse after Arthur Weasley was attacked by Voldemort's snake. Until, they had a vision of Sirius being tortured after their exam and escaped on Thestrals to the Ministry to rescue him after they couldn't contact him. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville accompanying them.

Being attacked by Death Eaters only to escape into the Death Veil room hearing voices come from the veil that only they and Luna could hear much like the situation with the Thestrals. Being attacked by the Death Eaters again, only to be rescued by members of the Order of the Phoenix.

~ Third memory ~

"Did you truly believe, or were you really naive enough to think children stood a chance against us." Lucius sneered. "Now, give me the Prophecy or watch your friends die."
"Don't give it to him, Ri!" Neville shouted.
"Quiet!" Bellatrix snapped hitting her wand against his throat. Not wanting their friends to die Tauri handed Lucius the prophecy, when a bright light suddenly appeared behind him. Turning around he came face to face with none other than Sirius Black.

"Get away from my goddaughters!" Sirius growled punching Lucius in the face making him fall to the floor dropping the prophecy where it smashed. Sirius fathered his goddaughters into his arms as Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Mad-eye Moody appeared. Remus and Tonks rescuing the teenagers, hiding them under the Dias where Sirius stood with his goddaughters, while Moody and Kingsley battled the Death Eaters. Once the teens were safe Remus and Tonks joined in the fight, Sirius protecting his goddaughters when Dolohov tried to curse them.

"Listen to me. I want you to take the others and get out of here." Sirius ordered.
"No. Sirius we want to stay with you." The girls protested.
"And you three, have done beautifully." Sirius said placing a hand on their cheeks. "Now, let me take it from here." But before anyone could move a voice snarled from behind them.
"Black!" Lucius snarled drawing his wand an angry red mark around his eye from where Sirius punched him that would surely bruise. Sirius stood in front of the girls protectively his wand at the ready.

Until Dolohov, Patrick Parkinson and Theodore Nott Sr appeared besides Lucius. Thea jumped up facing Dolohov, Tauri in front of Nott and Larissa in front of Parkinson as they all engaged in a ferocious battle. Their friends watching intensely from below both scared for their friends and also in awe as the triplets all made their opponents fly to the opposite side of the room slumping down unconscious.
"Nice one girls!" Sirius praised in impressed as he disarmed Lucius of his wand and then his cane before he flew to where the others were, slumping down unconscious.

As Sirius turned to smile at his goddaughters, Bellatrix appeared.
"Avada Kedavra!" She shouted. Sirius pushed the girls out of the way being struck by the spell himself and falling backwards into the veil behind him as the girls screamed for him. As they were about to follow their godfather into the veil Remus grabbed them as they screamed and cried, fighting against his hold denying he was gone. Remus insisted he was, when they let out the most heart breaking scream slumping in Remus' arms in anguish and defeat. That is, until they saw Bellatrix smirking at them. They were suddenly filled with a rage they'd never felt before, glaring at Bellatrix they threw off Remus' arm and took off after her ignoring everyone's calls to stop.

They finally caught up with her in the atrium of the Ministry and fired off a spell they never thought they would cast.
"Cruico!" They cried at the same time. The three spells struck Bellatrix in the back sending her to the floor. But the spells weren't powerful enough and only stung her and made her breathless.
"You three know the spell." A voice whispered in their ears, Voldemort's voice, as they pointed their wands at Bellatrix.

"She killed him. She deserves it. You know the spell. Do it!" Voldemort ordered trying to coax them to kill Bellatrix. But instead they pointed their wands at him, only for them to be flung out of their hands, as Bellatrix laughed gleefully.
"So weak. So vulnerable." Voldemort sneered. At that moment Dumbledore appeared and a battle started between the two. Only to end when Voldemort possessed the three girls. In an attempt to get Dumbledore to kill them to kill him. He was slowly and painfully killing them from the inside, as their friends and Remus watched helplessly as the girls twitched and screamed on the ground.

"You're the weak one." Thea stared her voice hoarse.
"Because you'll never know love or friendship." Larissa added.
"And I feel sorry for you." Tauri added as they fought him off and expelled him.
"You're fools Potters. And you will lose...everything." Voldemort sneered as he stood over them pointing his wand at them, as they struggled to stay awake. Only for Voldemort to be caught by the Ministry workers who had finally arrived, seeing the three Potters had been speaking the truth all along. It was only after Voldemort left did they succumb to the darkness.

~ End of memory ~

Charlie let Bella hold Teddy as he pulled his nieces into his arms knowing how hard that was for them to watch.
"Oh girls. I'm so sorry." Charlie apologised as they sobbed in his arms.

They watched as the sisters stuck together through the summer, hardly staying in the Dursley residence. Where they were forced by Dumbledore to coerce an ex-Professor back to Hogwarts. Then at Hogwarts they learned about Voldemort's past, before going on a hunt with Dumbledore for a Horcrux at the end of the year. Feeding him poison, and being attacked by Inferi. Once they reached the castle they had to hide as Death Eaters swarmed the Astronomy tower, Snape killed Dumbledore instead of Draco, and another battle ensued.

During the summer a week before their birthday they were rescued from the Dursley's some polyjuciing as them for their protection only to be ambushed by Death Eaters in the sky. George ended up losing an ear, Mad-eye was killed and their owls Midnight, Moonlight and Hedwig were killed trying to protect them. Which summoned Voldemort to them and attacked them, only to escape barely after they destroyed Lucius' wand when their wand spewed golden fire. The next memory was that they went on the run with Ron and Hermione, on their birthday after the Death Eaters attacked Bill and Fleur's wedding. Starting their Horcrux hunt earlier then anticipated.

Finding then the story about the real Horcrux locket from Kreacher, breaking into the Ministry to get it. Ron and the girls fighting which ended up with Ron leaving. On Christmas Eve they went back to Godrics Hollow to visit their parents grave for the first time and seeing their house, that was half destroyed with a hole in the roof where the nursery was said to be. They ended up being attacked by Nagini and bitten, the locket imbedding into Thea's chest. Hermione only just managing to get them out of there seconds before Voldemort arrived.

After their fever had subsided they found the sword, Ron returned and destroyed the locket. Visiting Luna's father and finding out Luna had been captured and finding out about the Peverell brothers. Just managing to escape when Xenophilius said Voldemort's name which was taboo'd as he was desperate to get Luna back. But they just knocked him unconscious and destroyed his home. Being captured by Fenrir Greyback and his team of snatchers who took them to Malfoy Manor. Where Bellatrix threw Ron in the dungeon with Luna, Mr Ollivander, Griphook and Dean Thomas.

Bellatrix tortured the girls and Hermione before she sent Thea and Lissa into the dungeon and continued to torture Tauri and Hermione. She carved Mudblood into Hermione's arm and almost slicing Tauri's throat. Thea, Lissa and Ron escaped the dungeon rescuing Hermione and Tauri with the help of Dobby who was killed by Bellatrix's knife. Dying in Thea's arms at Shell Cottage. The triplets held a funeral for Dobby, refusing to use magic and burying him the Muggle way. Digging the hole. They only used magic to carve his headstone. Once they had recovered they made a plan to break into Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts to steal the Horcrux.

It was only when they had spoken to Griphook did they find out that the Potter's were actually descended from Ignotus Peverell. After breaking into Gringotts and escaping on the back of a dragon, they found out a Horcrux was at Hogwarts so that is where they went. However, Voldemort found out and a ferocious battle started that lasted eight hours, from ten in the evening until six in the morning. There had been many casualties including; Colin Creevey, Remus and Dora Lupin, Fred and Ginny Weasley, Padma Patil, Lavender Brown and many more. They had found out that Dumbledore had been raising them like lambs to the slaughter, also they found out that the Resurrection Stone was in the snitch that Dumbledore gave them.

~ Final Memory ~

As they entered the Forest holding hands Tauri took the stone out of the snitch, the three closed their eyes as Tauri twirled it thrice in hand.
"We're ready to die." They all muttered. As they opened their eyes they saw their parents, Sirius and Remus stood around them. They gasped as they saw their family around them tears filling their eyes. Lily held her hands out to her daughters who rushed to their mother only for their hands to go through Lily's.

"You've been so brave my loves." Lily told her daughters softly.
"You'll stay with us?" Thea asked.
"Until the very end." James assured.
"Remus, I'm sorry...Teddy." Tauri apologised tearfully.
"It's okay sweetheart. Like you three, Teddy will know his mother and father died to make the world a better place for him." Remus assured sadly.
"Does it hurt, dying? They won't be able to see you?" Larissa asked scared.
"Quicker and easier then falling asleep and we're with all of you, in here." Sirius said pointing to their hearts.
"Stay close to us?" Tauri asked.
"Always." Lily assured.

With that the triplets walked to their death ignoring Hagrid's cries, who was tied up as they were shot with the curse, embracing it. When they came to they were in a white train station and met by Death, who told them they could move on or go back to kill Voldemort. They chose to go back and because of that they became the Mistresses of Death. Narcissa pretended they were dead, which shocked everyone then they dropped out of Hagrid's arms. Another battle started and some Death Eaters escaped. Whereas, others were killed including Bellatrix by Molly. The battle ended when Neville killed the snake and when the triplets finally killed Voldemort for good out in the courtyard. After they battled him all over the castle.

~ End of memory ~

When the memories finally ended everyone was in shock over what the triplets had gone through in the last seventeen years. Charlie and Bella felt horrible that in the first few years after them going to that school, that they never noticed the scars or the trauma. But everyone swore they would protect them no matter what.