A Mild Shade of Perfection

Welcome to A Mild Shade of Perfection, the long awaited sequel to Always Remember What You Can’t Forget (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=73845). I’d highly suggest reading that first. Our story starts one and a half years after the epilogue in Always. I do hope you enjoy the ride, and if you have any comments or constructive criticism, or just want to ramble about your day, please drop by at the shiny new feedback thread to chat. Link is in my sig. The full cast list is also posted on the feedback thread, so if you get confused by all the characters, that’s the place for you. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I own a lot of things like paperclips, flip-flops, and even a computer, but I certainly don’t own Harry Potter. That belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling, although I’d gladly buy Sirius if she was selling. The things I could do...

Update as of Deathly Hallows: This story is now, obviously, AU. =) That's Alternate Universe, folks.

I present now, for your enjoyment and critique, A Mild Shade of Perfection:


Chapter 1: With Arms Wide Open

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open

~Creed

It wasn’t the sunlight streaming through the bay window that woke Sirius Lupin up on the morning after Christmas. It wasn’t the sound of running water either. It wasn’t even the alarm clock he forgot to set before he went to bed last night. No, what woke the nineteen year old auror up was a very wet tongue in his ear.

“Urgh, Moony, get off,” he grumbled, sitting up and pushing the large Newfoundland over to the other side of the bed. “Liz is going to kill you if she sees you on the bed. You have a perfectly good pillow on the other side of the room.” Moony gave him an irresistible puppy dog look. “Oh fine, stay up here. Where is Liz anyway?” he asked, noticing the absence of his wife of five months.

Sirius stood up and stretched, yawning widely. Usually, Liz didn’t get up until about an hour before he had to be at work. Seeing as healers could pick their shifts, she didn’t go in until ten o’clock every morning. Aurors, on the other hand, had to be into the office by eight.

He threw a T-shirt on over his pajama pants, which were adorned with fat little reindeer with red noses, and knocked on the closed door to the bathroom.

“Liz?” he called softly. “You okay?”

“Yeah sweetie, I’m fine,” she answered weakly. Brow furrowed, he opened the door and stepped inside. Liz was standing at the sink, splashing cold water on her face, her complection pale.

“What is it?” he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders. She sighed and drew closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“It’s nothing, I’m just a little nauseous all of a sudden, that’s all.”

He looked at her with concern, “Maybe you should skip work today.”

“No, I can’t, I’m still a trainee. It wouldn’t make a very good impression.”

“But you’re not feeling well. Your aunt is your boss, I’m sure she’d understand.”

“Your mum’s your boss, but would you take a day off because of a stomach bug?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well...no, but my mum’s scary.”

She chuckled quietly, snuggling further into his chest. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, Moony did,” he answered. She looked up at him.

“He’s not on the bed, is he?” Sirius looked shifty. “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on.” He groaned as she pulled away from him and grabbed his hand, leading him into their bedroom. The dog in question was laying on the foot of the bed, looking innocently up at them and wagging his tail.

Liz looked at him for a moment before sighing in defeat. “Alright, I see your point, he’s too cute.” She sat down on the bed with her head in her hands.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Sirius asked his wife, opening the curtains fully. They lived in a small town called Victory, just down the road from Godric’s Hollow. Their home was a nice cottage with plenty of room for the two of them, a decent sized library, and a cozy guest room. The property was spacious, and they were planning on building on when they started a family.

“Mmhmm, I’ll be fine,” she said distractedly. “I’m just going to sit down for a few minutes.”

“Are you positive there’s nothing wrong?”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled at him nonetheless. “I’ll ask Aunt Katie about it at work if it’ll make you feel better. But it’s probably just a twenty four hour thing. With the excitement of Christmas and all... but I’ll check just to make sure, alright?”

“Alright,” he said reluctantly, “I’m going to take Moony for a walk. Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

She shot him a look, “I’m a healer Sirius, one would hope.”

“Just looking after my favorite girl, that’s all,” he smiled, kissing her on the forehead. “Come on Moons, let’s go!” The dog leapt off the bed and bounded towards the front door, barking impatiently. Sirius shot Liz one last worried look, but she waved him off.

“Go! And wear a coat!” she called toward his retreating back. She listened to the front door close before another wave of nausea hit her, and she bolted to the bathroom.

************

When Sirius returned from a brisk walk around the neighborhood with a soaking wet Moony (he’d chased a bird through a waist deep snow pile), the smell of breakfast cooking greeted him. Surprised, he followed the scent into their brightly colored kitchen and found the most peculiar scene waiting for him. Liz was leaning against the counter top, eating her way through a large plate of bacon.

She smiled brightly when she saw him. “Have a good walk?”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my wife?”

She wrinkled her nose as Moony walked past her. “Why is he all wet?”

“Why are you eating bacon?”

She looked down at her plate and shrugged, “I guess it sounded good.”

“Liz,” he said in disbelief, “you hate bacon. You despise bacon. You are the most anti-bacon person I’ve ever met.” She shrugged again, taking another bite. “Weren’t you just not feeling well?”

“Oh, I feel fine now,” she assured him.

“That was the shortest twenty four hour bug I’ve ever seen.”

“It can’t be a twenty four hour bug if it didn’t last twenty four hours, Sirius,” she said smartly.

“Very funny,” he retorted, sticking his tongue out at her. She grinned at him, setting down her plate to kiss him good morning.

“Go get dressed, you can’t go to the ministry in your pajamas,” she told him, squeezing his nose. “I’ll make you breakfast. What do you want?”

“Bacon,” he answered, leaving to look for a pair of robes. Liz rolled her eyes.

An hour later, Sirius was rushing around in search of a report he had to turn in first thing that morning, and managed to lose. At least, he was rushing around until he tripped over the coffee table in the sitting room, and ended up sprawled on the floor.

“Ow,” he groaned quietly. A pair of slipper clad feet stopped right beside his head, and he looked up to see his wife carrying a thick folder.

“Is this it?”

“Yes!” he exclaimed in relief, recognizing the Ministry seal on the front cover. She kneeled down on her knees beside him, thrusting the paperwork into his chest along with a bright red cloak, trademark of an auror.

“You’re going to be late if you don’t get going,” she admonished, kissing him on the cheek. “And wear your cloak, that’s what it’s for. I don’t need you getting a cold.”

He jumped to his feet, pulling her with him, and pecked her on the lips. “Promise you’ll ask Aunt Katie?”

She sighed in exasperation, “I’m fine now.” He gave her a stern look. “But yes, I’ll ask her.”

“Good.” He yelped when he saw the clock, and realized he was already five minutes late. “I’ve got to go, I’ll see you tonight.” He kissed her quickly and rushed to the back door, spinning on his heal and apparating with a crack as soon as he reached the yard.

He reappeared in the middle of the lobby, frightening a poor old woman out of her wits. After a hurried apology, he dashed to the lifts, and pummeled the number two button. He hated being late. His mum really was mean.

After the lift finally jingled into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he tried to inconspicuously slip through all of the cubicles to his own, which was near the back. He was surprised when none of the senior aurors stopped him. Maybe it was their idea of Christmas cheer.

He closed the door to his cubicle and sighed, but was startled by a voice coming from behind him. “Late on the job Auror Lupin, tsk tsk. What to do with hooligans such as yourself these days...”

Sirius grinned, and spun around to see the smiling face of his friend and partner. “Mate, you’re back! How was the honeymoon?”

“Paris was phenomenal,” Ax answered earnestly. “We’re talking about going back in a couple of years, you and Liz should come with us.”

“So how life amongst us old married folks?” Sirius asked, sitting down behind his own desk and dropping the troublesome report into the out-tray. It promptly disappeared, being automatically sent to the correct department. This was a recent addition to the Ministry, and a great improvement over the flying memo system.

“It’s good,” he answered honestly. “Not really much different, seeing as we’ve been living together since we got out of Hogwarts, but it’s nice being husband and wife, you know. Except for the kneazle, that is.”

“The kneazle?”

Ax rolled his eyes. “Never get Liz anything cute and cuddly.”

“Hey!” Sirius exclaimed, affronted. “I’m cute and cuddly!” The other auror raised an eyebrow. “Okay, what do you mean?”

“Well, we were walking down one of the wizarding streets on our third day there, and Marissa saw some kneazle kittens in a window. She was talking about how cute they were and how they were supposed to make great pets. So me, being an idiot, went back and picked one up for her,” he said darkly.

“Why is this bad? Is it mean?”

“Oh no, it’s a very sweet kneazle. But Marissa treats it like it was a baby! She has clothes for it, and a bag to carry it around in, and she even brought it to work with her today. Is that normal?”

“I don’t know, Liz isn’t that weird with Moony or anything. What’s it’s name?” he asked curiously.

“Lorena Abigail Malfoy, Ren for short,” he answered with another eye roll.

“It, sorry I mean she, has a middle name?”

“Yes. Marissa said she wanted to name her after me, but Abigail was the closest she could get.” Sirius burst out laughing.

“You’ve been replaced by a cat!”

“Kneazle,” Ax grunted.

“Kneazle, of course. You’ve been replaced by a kneazle,” he snickered.

“Stuff it.”

“Ooh, are we a wittle jeawous?” Ax threw a piece of parchment at his head.

“Oi, rejects!” They both jumped, and turned to the new voice at the door of their ‘office’. Megan Shacklebolt, who helped out in the department when she was on holiday from school, stood with a large stack of parchment. “Dad wants all these filed by the end of the day. Enjoy!” They dropped with a heavy thunk on Sirius’s desk. He groaned.

“Why is it that you’re always the bearer of bad news?”

“It’s my job,” she answered, sitting on his desk beside the paperwork. She turned to Ax, “Did you get those French chocolates I gave you the money for?” He tossed her a brown paper bag. “Thanks, you’re a dear.”

“So, how are things at Hogwarts?” Sirius asked.

“Interesting,” she said truthfully. “Some of the Slytherins have gone completely off their rockers. I think they’re trying to restart the Death Eaters or something mental like that, but I don’t think it’s gotten past a little group of students so far, and it’s only like six of them. Ask Mira about it, she probably knows more than I do.”

“Will do,” he agreed. “Are you coming to the New Year’s party? It’s at the Burrow this year.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said, sliding off the desk. “Tell Liz and Marissa I said hello.”

“Thanks Shackles!” Sirius yelled after her. They could hear her groan all the way down the hall. Chuckling, Sirius said, “Speaking of New Years, I have to owl Nick about that still.”

“How is he doing?” Ax asked.

“Better,” he answered. “He’s happier, I think, just not his usual self. Hailey just leaving like that took a toll on him.”

“He never found out what happened to her, did he?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Never saw her after graduation. She didn’t go back to Hogwarts in the fall, and she wasn’t living where she told him she would be. He tried owling her every day for a few weeks, but the owls all came back disoriented and confused.”

“That almost sounds like...”

“She’s untraceable, yeah,” Sirius finished. “But, why?”

Ax shook his head, bewildered, before changing the subject. “How’s Liz?”

“It was weird this morning,” Sirius said with his brow furrowed. “When I woke up, she wasn’t feeling well, but when I got back from walking Moony, she was eating bacon like there was no tomorrow.”

“Bacon? Doesn’t she...”

“Hate bacon? Yes. That was what’s so strange about it.”

************

Liz was walking down the hallway of the fourth floor of St. Mungo’s with a large box full of potion vials when she heard her name called. She turned around to see Eva Jordan rushing down the hall towards her. Eva was a year behind Liz, but they were both healers in training, and they’d gotten quite close over the past six months.

“Where are you headed?” Eva asked.

“Creature induced, you?”

“Same,” she smiled. “How was your Christmas?”

She grinned, “Wonderful. It’s nice spending Christmas as Mrs. Lupin. Wait until you get married.”

“Mrs. Lupin, that makes you sound so old!” Eva said bluntly. One of the things Liz adored about the younger girl was that she always said exactly what was on her mind.

“Yeah, I guess it does,” she agreed. “It’s nice, though. Oh, but I have to tell you, Sirius has this really cute pair of boxers...”

“Liz! Merlin, I don’t want to know that!”

Liz giggled. “I was just joking. Although now that I think about it...” Eva stomped on her foot. “Alright, alright! You’ve gone on a date with him before.”

“Did I?” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Oh! Back in fifth year! That was awful, he talked about you the entire time.”

“Did he really?” she asked with a soft expression.

“Yeah. I don’t even think he meant to.”

Liz was about to reply when they were interrupted by a bubbly voice. “Healer Lupin, Healer Jordan!” Healer Pye, their Creature Induced Injuries instructor, came wobbling up to them. He was a jolly and mildly overweight man of about fifty, and all the students loved him. “How are you lovely ladies this morning?”

“Excellent, Healer Pye,” Liz replied.

“Positively spiffing,” Eva confirmed.

“I hope you both had wonderful Christmases?”

“We did,” Eva answered.

“What about you?” Liz asked.

“Magnificent. My daughter came home from Brazil. She’s an exchange student over there, you know. She’s grown so much. And of course, my son and his wife brought the baby over. Oh, I think my younger son goes to school with your sister,” he said to Liz. “Jonathan?”

“Oh yes, I think I’ve met him before,” she nodded.

“Ah, best be getting down to business,” he said, checking his watch. “I’ve got a class soon, you see. I was wondering, would either of you two ladies be interested in running to the Ministry?”

“I’ll go,” Eva said immediately. “I’ve been meaning to stop by anyway.” She seemed to blush slightly, and Liz noted to ask her about it later.

“Alright, I need you to take this to the Magical Creature Department. One of the Unspeakables just got back from Greece, and the Runespoor population is up. She got bit while she was there apparently. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but I just want some extra anti-venom to be sure,” he said, handing her a note. “I’ll see you two in class.”

“Bye, Healer Pye,” they both said.

“Alright, I’m off to the Ministry,” Eva said brightly.

“I’ll see you later,” Liz said. “You’re coming to the New Year’s party, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by. As long as you promise not to talk about Sirius’s boxers ever again.”

“Oh, get out of here,” she grinned.

“Bye.” After Eva apparated to the Ministry, Liz dropped off the vials at the reception area of the ward and continued on to her aunt’s office. She would just poke her head in to make sure there was nothing going around to make Sirius happy. She really felt perfectly fine now.

Knocking on the side of the open door, she said, “Aunt Katie?” to get the older healer’s attention. She used her name to let her know this was a personal call.

Katie looked up at Liz and smiled, her eyes crinkling slightly in the beginnings of wrinkles. “Come in dear, I’m just finishing up this report.”

Liz stepped into her office and sat down, feeling very silly. “Now, what’s the problem?” her aunt asked.

“I really shouldn’t be wasting your time, but...” she bit her lip. “Well, I wasn’t feeling well this morning, and I promised Sirius I’d ask you, so if you’ll just tell me I’m fine, I can be out of your hair.”

Liz saw the aunt part of Katie kick into effect and groaned. She’d been hoping to avoid twenty questions. “Not feeling well how?”

“Oh, it was nothing. I was just a little nauseous this morning, but I was sick, and then I was perfectly fine,” she insisted.

“What have you had to eat today?” Liz turned red and mumbled something to her shoes. “What was that dear?”

“A half a pound of bacon.”

Katie raised an eyebrow. “Any other... abnormal behavior?”

“Well, now that you mention it,” she started, not knowing what possessed her into telling her aunt, “I’ve been really emotional. Like yesterday for example. Dobby got me a pair of socks with little snowmen on them, and I started crying because they were so cute.”

Katie was smiling at her now. “Well Liz, you’re a healer, how would you diagnose yourself?”

She thought about it for a long moment before laughing, “Well, actually, I’d say I was... but I couldn’t be...” The smile dropped off her face, and she got up out of the chair to pace around the office. “Could I?”

“One way to find out.” Katie pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at Liz’s abdomen, mumbling a few choice words. The tip of her wand immediately glowed blue.

Liz dropped back into the chair, her expression completely blank. “I’m pregnant.” Blank changed to ecstatic. “I’m pregnant!” Ecstatic changed to panicky. “I’m pregnant? But I can’t be! I’m not finish with training yet! Sirius isn’t finished with training yet! We’ll have to build on to the house! What if I don’t even know what to do with a baby? Oh god, Aunt Katie, what am I going to do?!”

“You’re going to take the rest of the day off, go home, and tell your husband the good news,” Katie said calmly.

“No, I can’t leave...”

“Yes, you can, and you will,” she said sternly. “I’m your boss, and I’m demanding that you take the day off.” Liz nodded, and both women got up. Liz hugged her aunt, then added, “Please don’t tell anyone yet. I don’t want anyone owling Sirius before I have a chance to tell him.”

“I won’t,” she assured, smiling widely. “Now get off the property before I have to have a security guard escort you.”

*************

Sirius had barely gotten the door closed that evening before Liz jumped into his arms, knocking him against the door while kissing him like she hadn’t seen him in months. After several minutes of this activity, they finally broke apart.

“Wow,” Sirius said. “If this is your new way of greeting me, I like it.” Something in his brain clicked. Liz shouldn’t have been home so early. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here. Remember those vows you took...”

“No, I mean, home. You should be at work still.”

She grinned widely, and there was a sparkle in her bright green eyes that told Sirius he was missing something. “I have something to tell you.” She took his hand, leading him into the sitting room where she pushed him down on the couch and slid right into his lap.

“You’re cuddly today,” was all he got out before she kissed him again.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

“I love you too,” he replied, bemused. “What’s going on?”

“You know those eight kids you want to have?”

“Yeah...”

“We only need seven more.”

He blinked twice. “You’re...”

“I’m pregnant,” she said. “About a month along.”

His face split into the happiest grin of his life. “I’m going to be a father?” She nodded. “We’re having a little Sirius Jr.?”

“Or a Liz Jr.,” she contradicted. He kissed her passionately before jumping off the couch and running to the door. “Sirius what are you doing?”

He ran out into the street and shot a string of fireworks out of the tip of his wand. “Sirius, the muggles!” Liz exclaimed in shock.

“I don’t care, I’ll obliviate them all later, I’M GOING TO BE A FATHER! We have to tell everyone! I’M GOING TO BE A FATHER!” He ran off down the street shouting that same phrase over and over again. Liz just stood in the doorway and laughed as their neighbors all poked their heads out to see what was going on.

It was a perfect day.

This would be the chapter where you begin to realize, I like country music...


Chapter 2: I Can’t Unlove You

I wish I could unremember,
Everything my heart's been through.
I'm finding out it's impossible to do.
Oh, it's no use: I can't unlove you.

~Kenny Rogers

Lynn Longbottom stomped up the stairs at the Burrow on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, in hot pursuit of a pair of twins who had most likely stolen her Head Girl badge. They taken it, they’d stolen it from her, they’d taken the precious...

Okay, so maybe she’d been reading a little too much muggle literature. It was an assignment for Muggle Studies! And it wasn’t her fault that Professor Springsdale was a bit of a Tolkien fan.

Andrew and Ryan seemed to think it was hysterical to constantly steal and hide her badge. It was their fault she even had it today, seeing as she didn’t usually bring it to set up for parties. They’d taken it on the train ride home for the holidays when she had been looking the other way and held it for a ransom of fifty chocolate frogs. It had taken all of break for Lynn to convince her father that she didn’t just want them for herself, and then they’d gone and stolen it again. When she got her hands on them, they’d be seeing some very colorful charmwork.

But first she needed reinforcements.

Pushing open the door to the attic, she dodged the ghoul going in the other direction, and sighed with relief when she saw the tall, lanky figure she’d been looking for standing by the window.

“Art, have you seen Andrew or Ryan, I think they stole...” Arthur Weasley turned around to face her with an innocent look on his freckled face, her Head Girl badge proudly displayed on his navy blue sweater. “My badge!” she finished, stomping her foot in disbelief. “Art! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Sorry Lynn, I couldn’t resist,” he said, grinning sheepishly. “You know I’ve always had a dream of being Head Girl and all.”

“Give it back, and I won’t have to hurt you,” she said, trying not to crack a smile as she held out a hand expectantly. Arthur had a very dry, witty sense of humor, but few people ever saw this side of him. Lynn was one of the ‘lucky ones’. He gave in, slapping the tiny piece of metal into her outstretched palm. “I don’t get how you’re so shy at school, around here you’re a regular pain in the you know what.”

“No, what?”

She rolled her eyes dramatically, but couldn’t hold back a grin. “Come on, Arthur dear, we have work to do,” she said, grabbing his sleeve and tugging him towards the stairs.

“Who’s all here?”

“Have you been up in the attic all day?” He just shrugged. “Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry, along with their lot, I think Renee and Steve just got here, Dad, your folks, Jane, Emma, Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, Fred with the twins, and Mira,” she summed up. “Liz and Sirius flooed a couple of minutes ago to say they were on their way as soon as they finished the cake they’re bringing.”

“I still can’t believe Liz is pregnant,” Arthur mentioned on their way downstairs.

“I know,” she replied. “She’s only a few years older than us too. Could you imagine being pregnant?” A strange expression crossed her face as she thought about her words.

“Oh certainly, Lynn,” he said dryly, “I think about it all the time! It’s right up with becoming Head Girl on my goal’s list. It’s all written down on pretty pink stationery...”

“Oh, hush you,” she retorted, swatting his arm. She unfortunately lost her balance and tripped down the last few stairs, tumbling straight into a pair of strong arms.

“Look Lynn, I know you’re happy to see me and all, but you can’t go falling around like this. You’ll hurt yourself.” Lynn scowled up into the face of Philip Weasley. “That, and you almost squished my poor, innocent, little sister.” He had a point there. Little Shayla Weasley was peacefully sleeping, supported by Phil’s left arm, quite close to the point of impact.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, turning a bit red. “But you don’t have to be such a git, you know.”

“Ah, you know you missed me,” he said airily.

“Like a fungus,” she grumbled.

“What was that? Oh Phil, you’re dashingly handsome, let’s elope? Well, if you say so...ow!” Lynn had smacked his right arm. Hard. He was about to go on about the pain when his sister woke up with a little yawn, opening her dark blue eyes and lifting her full head of curly, dark red hair off his shoulder.

“Philly, I’m hungry,” she said sheepishly, tugging on her brother’s ear. Lynn had to smile. Shayla was very small for a two year old, but she was one of the most adorable toddlers she’d ever met, and she’d met a lot of them.

“You are?” Phil said in one of the overly-excited voices you use around small children. “Well, I think we can do something about that! Let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.” He started toward the door, grabbing Lynn’s hand along the way. She in turn grabbed Arthur’s hand, mumbling, “You’re not leaving me alone with him.”

Phil sat Shayla down right on the tabletop, and Lynn and Arthur pulled up two chairs while he started boiling some pasta. “Where are your parents?” Lynn asked Phil.

“Still at home,” he answered. “Shayla came to work with me this morning.”

“You took her to work with you?” she asked in surprise. Phil worked for the Department of International Magical Cooperation as a translator, not a job most young children would find entertaining.

“Yeah, she’s gone with me before. She certainly thinks watching all the French diplomats arguing is a lot funnier than I’ve ever found it, and all the ladies love her.”

“You bring your sister to your office to pick up girls?”

He looked over at her. “I meant ladies as in my bosses. You’re still the only girl for me.” Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but Lynn didn’t take her gaze away from the other Weasley.

“Stop making comments like that when you know they aren’t true,” she said tonelessly.

He looked back to the stove, murmuring, “What if they are?”

Arthur dropped a fork with a loud clatter. Lynn, who had a feeling it was on purpose, snorted. “Sorry,” she whispered to him. “You know how he gets.”

“Yeah...” he replied vaguely, looking a bit irritated.

“So, how’s Hogwarts, you two?” Phil asked, changing the subject.

Arthur said, “Boring.”

Lynn said, “Interesting.”

Shayla said, “Do we have cookies?”

“Ah, conflicting reports. And no dessert yet, we’re having a party later,” he said to his sister, setting a plate of macaroni in front of her.

“Why are we having a party?” she asked, reaching out a little hand to pick up a piece of pasta.

“Because it’s New Years.”

“What’s that?” While Phil explained New Years to a wide eyed Shayla, Lynn took the time to study the two Weasleys. They were completely different in appearance and personality, but got along surprisingly well for being polar opposites.

Arthur was taller and more lanky than Phil, who wasn’t exactly short himself, but more muscular. His face was covered in freckles, whereas Phil’s was basically void of them aside from a few dotting his nose. Their hair colors were even different, Phil’s being ginger, while Arthur’s was tomato red.

Phil was attractive, there was no getting around that. He had a well-defined face, piercing sapphire blue eyes, and a perfect smile. He was loud and showy, but Lynn would never describe him as a bad person. He was very friendly, and had a huge heart, but he just irked her for some reason.

Arthur wasn’t classically handsome, but he was such a genuine person that his kindness showed through to his outward appearance. Lynn had always suspected that he was disappointed with himself for being sorted into Hufflepuff, but she thought it was a perfect fit. You could see his kindness, his loyalty, and his determination all displayed in his light blue eyes. He was just so shy around most people that it held him back.

It took Lynn a moment to realize both of them were looking at her with concern. Phil was even poking her. “Oh sorry, did you say something?” she asked.

“We were discussing Liz and Sirius,” Arthur answered. “Phil asked if you think it’ll be a boy or a girl.”

“A girl. I don’t know why, I just have that feeling,” she answered.

“I think it’ll be a boy,” Phil contradicted. “Either way though, it’ll be fun to have another midget running around,” he said, ruffling Shayla’s hair. “What do you think, Art?”

“I don’t know,” he said thoughtfully. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. I hope they tell us as soon as they know.”

“I think Uncle Phil has quite the ring to it, don’t you?” Phil asked appraisingly.

“Yeah, but you won’t be it’s uncle,” Lynn answered.

“Close enough. You still call all the Weasley’s aunt and uncle, and you’re not even related to us,” he retorted. “Thank god.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, affronted.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way, I just meant it would be kind of gross if I was...” he stopped suddenly, actually turning red. Lynn’s brow furrowed. It was a rare sight, Phil blushing. What was he going to say?

Their musings were interrupted by a frazzled Ron carrying Emma, who was wailing loudly. Phil immediately grabbed Shayla and ran for cover. Things tended to break when Emma was upset.

“Arthur, can you please take her for a minute? You seem to be able to calm her down. I need to go find your aunt.” Without waiting for a reply, Ron dumped the toddler in Arthur’s arms and ran out of the room, yelling, “GINNY! WHERE DO YOU WANT THE SCONES?”

Arthur sighed, bouncing his sister on his knee. Emma continued crying, her face bright red and her brown eyes puffy. “Emma, what is it?” The vase on the table broke, and Lynn grabbed Arthur’s arm in surprise. “Emma, no breaking things, you’ve got to stop that.” Phil, who was standing at the corner of the room, muttered a quick reparo, and the vase was back to new. Arthur started making silly faces at Emma, and although it did nothing to calm her down, it caused the rest of them to laugh.

“Would you three stop that and help me out here?” he asked, including Shayla, who was giggling.

Lynn laughed some more, turning to the little girl, “Emma! Don’t cry sweetie!” She looked around for inspiration. “We’re going to have cake later!”

“Yeah, cake!” Phil said, walking back over to stand by them. “And ice cream too! And then you’re going to get more presents!”

“Phil!” Lynn exclaimed. “Don’t lie to her!”

“Be quiet, I’ll just go get her a stuffed animal or something.”

“But Christmas was last week, you’ll confuse her!”

“Have you ever met a kid who doesn’t want Christmas twice a year?”

“That’s not the point! What if she thinks there’s going to be two Christmases every year? How is she going to take it when she finds out there’s only one?”

“Don’t you think you’re making a big deal out of nothing?” Lynn was about to retort when Emma let out a loud giggle. They both looked over at her in shock, and saw that she had stopped crying.

“Apparently, she likes us arguing,” she muttered.

“Yeah, we should do it more often. How about we meet for regularly scheduled arguing. All the children are invited, of course. After that, we can have a good snog...”

“PHILIP HORATIO WEASLEY!”

“You look adorable all red like that, you know.”

“No wonder the French ambassador is out for your blood!”

“That’s just because I wouldn’t take his daughter to the Ministry ball,” he snorted. “I wouldn’t have minded the mustache if she hadn’t threatened to beat me up. If you would have just agreed to come with me, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

“Since when have I agreed to go anywhere with you?” she retorted.

“I seem to recall a time when I was five, and you were very happy to come look at the dragons with me when you lot were all in Romania.”

“Yeah, and you almost got me killed! I’ve been petrified of fire ever since!”

“Really? You remember that? I just remember it because you started crying, and I thought you were pretty when you cried. Now I think you’re prettier when you don’t, because you close your eyes when you cry.” Lynn started sputtering at him. As much as she hated it when Phil was goofy, she hated it even more when he was serious.

“You two done?” Arthur finally asked. They both jumped, having forgotten he was there.

“Sorry,” Lynn muttered again. “Blame this idiot.”

“You started it,” Phil replied.

“Enough, you two,” Arthur said in a monotone.

“What’s got you all bothered, cousin?” Phil asked. He shrugged. When Phil turned around to pick his sister up off the table, where he’d set her again in the midst of their arguing (he had a tendency to wave his hands around quite a bit), Lynn looked at Arthur more closely.

“Hey,” she said, touching his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

His eyes softened. “It’s nothing, Lynn, really. I just have a lot on my mind.”

She sighed, knowing that once the wall went up, she’d never get it back down, and squeezed his shoulder. “Alright then.”

“Lynn, are you still dating that Squash bloke?” Phil asked, handing Shayla to her when she reached out to take the tiny girl.

“It’s Scranch, and no. He was cheating on me with some fifth year or something.”

“That’s good, because Lynn Scranch sounds awful.”

“I’m going to have to agree with him on this one,” Arthur said, nodding.

“I suppose you think Lynn Weasley sounds better, don’t you?” she asked while she was putting a tea kettle on the stove to boil.

“Well, it does,” both boys said at the same time. Arthur blushed scarlet, and Phil raised an eyebrow at him. Lucky for him, Lynn’s back was turned.

“I don’t think anything sounds good with Scranch though.”

Before anyone could comment, a lot of shrieking from the front hall drifted into the kitchen, and they saw little James Potter run by. “Liz and Sirius are here,” Lynn commented idly.

“Well come on you lot, we’ve got to go congratulate them,” Phil said, picking up both little girls. Out in the entrance hall, Liz was being smothered by Molly Weasley, while the original Arthur Weasley shook Sirius’s hand enthusiastically. After her grandmother had let Liz go, she was immediately bombarded by Ginny.

“You know Sirius,” Harry was saying while his wife hugged the life out of their eldest daughter. “When I gave you permission to marry my daughter, I never thought you’d actually be touching her.”

“Now you know how I feel every time you impregnate my sister, mate,” Ron cut in, clapping Harry on the back.

“Daddy,” Liz said in exasperation, hugging him. “Or should I say Papa Potter.”

“I don’t even have grey hair yet,” he mused in mock despair.

“You’re not even forty yet,” Ginny said with a snort.

“I just can’t believe my baby’s having a baby,” Harry admitted truthfully. Ron nodded sympathetically, patting him on the back.

“You should probably get used to it, they want eight of them,” Phil announced, grinning. Liz and Sirius rolled their eyes simultaneously, but nodded.

“Eight!” Harry squeaked, turning to Sirius. “I think I might have to kill you.”

*************

Copernicus Black sighed, looking around the deserted joke shop. Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes had been very busy on the morning of New Year’s Eve, with people coming in to buy their last minute supply of fireworks, but now it was late in the afternoon, and business was starting to wind down.

He enjoyed working for Fred and George, but he still hoped the job would only be temporary. He’d put in his application to Hogwarts every time there was an opening, but he knew his young age was causing him the most problems. He’d already been passed up for the Charms position when Professor Flitwick decided to retire for an older, more experienced candidate.

Of course, Mira had told him all the students despised their new Charms professor, but that was beside the point.

He sighed heavily again, wishing he could close the shop early and head to the Burrow. He wasn’t really in the mood for a party, but he rarely was anymore, and he had promised he’d go. Maybe it would be good for him. He also wanted to see Liz and Sirius. They’d sent him a letter the day after Christmas, saying that Liz was pregnant and that they had something very important to discuss with him.

Nick was really looking forward to this baby being born, even though Liz was only a month along. He could be ‘Uncle Nick’, and spoil it rotten, watch it grow up from day one, something none of his relatives got to do with him. He just hoped that someday, the little Lupin would have a cousin to play with.

His love life was nonexistent, aside from the blind dates Liz and Sirius insisted on setting him up with every once in a while. They usually ended in disaster. Truth be told, every time Nick went out with a girl, he felt like he was somehow cheating on Hailey, even though she obviously didn’t feel the same way about him.

The question that tortured him everyday was, why had she left? Was it because he kissed her? Or was it something completely different?

He missed her. He missed her more than even he knew. Sometimes when something interesting would happen, or when some funny incident occurred, he’d immediately want to find her and tell her all about it, only to come to the painful realization that he had no idea where she was. He wanted to come home to his lonely flat at night and be able to look into her beautiful blue eyes. He wanted to tell her he loved her.

He loved her. Maybe he should have told her that. Maybe then, she wouldn’t have left.

He’d tried everything to find her. He sent her owl upon owl the first couple of weeks that summer after he graduated, but they all came back confused, with the letters still attached to their legs. He couldn’t believe that she would have dropped out of Hogwarts just because of him, so he started to wonder if something could be wrong. That thought scared him more than anything. His worst nightmare was that she was out there somewhere, hurt, and he wasn’t there to protect her.

Once in a while, he’d see someone on the street who looked like her, and he’d call out her name. But then the stranger would turn around, and he’d realized that, in fact, it was a stranger and not the girl who’d stolen his heart. He’d come to expect it, but it still devastated him every time.

If she’d walked through the door right at that moment, Nick honestly didn’t know whether he’d demand answers, or just sweep her into his arms and never let go. Both would be quite tempting.

Wherever she was, he just hoped that she was happy. He hoped that she had a thousand reasons to smile everyday. He hoped that she was loved, even if the thought made him sick with jealousy inside.

He hoped that he’d see her at least once more someday, even if only for a moment.

The shop door jingled, breaking into his thoughts, and the hooded figure of a woman crossed the room towards the practical items section, a list in her gloved hand. She had a Ministry crest on her cloak, so Nick hastened to ask her if she needed any help. He followed her into the back room, where she was studying the ingredients of a bottle of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

“Excuse me, ma’am, can I help you?” he asked politely. She turned around to face him, throwing back the hood of her cloak, and gasped. She dropped the bottle, plunging them into darkness, but not before Nick recognized her.

“Hailey?”

I wouldn’t get too used to the quick posting, I’m just very excited. There seems to be a lot of kissing in this chapter. Hmm... The guest kneazle appearance is for Lorena, of course.

Chapter 3: Bless The Broken Road

Every long lost dream lead me to where you are,
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars,
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms.
This much I know is true,
That God blessed the broken road,
That led me straight to you.

~Rascal Flatts

Was he dreaming?

“Hailey, is that really you?” he asked quietly, voice cracking in suppressed emotion. He didn’t think he could take it again if it was just another stranger. He heard her shift slightly in the darkness.

“How long does this stuff last?” He breathed a sigh of relief. That was Hailey’s voice. It was her. Either that, or he had gone completely mental and was seeing apparitions.

“A few minutes, varying slightly in accordance to temperature, air density, humidity, and... oh no, you don’t!” He grabbed her before she could bolt for the door, trapping her between himself and the wall. “I’ve been waiting around for you for a year and a half, and now I’m going to get some answers.”

Silence.

“You’ve been waiting around?” she asked finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I thought about you everyday,” he said in answer.

“Your voice...” she said quietly. “It’s different than when I left.” He knew she was referring to the beginnings of an English accent that was starting to affect his American dialect.

“My voice? You left me without so much as a ‘Goodbye Nick, sure has been fun,’ and the first thing you comment on is my voice?!” He took a deep breath, and said through gritted teeth, “All I want to know, is why.”

“I n-never meant to hurt you, honest...” If he could have seen her, he knew there would be tears in her eyes. He couldn’t help the guilt he immediately felt.

“Oh, please don’t cry,” he said in a much calmer voice. “I’ve just been so worried about you. Your father didn’t find you, did he? I swear to god, if that ******* hurt you in any way, I’ll kill him!” Before he could go on, he felt a shaking hand reach out to touch his face, and he took a shuddering breath. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again.”

“It wasn’t my father. I don’t even know where he is. It’s...” she stopped short. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about explaining why you didn’t go back to Hogwarts for your seventh year?” Nick suggested. She dropped her hand, shifting uncomfortably.

“I took an internship with the Ministry, and started my Unspeakable training a year early. That’s where I’ve been this entire time, Untraceable.”

He tried for a moment to make sense of this, but gave up quickly. “What?”

“Part of an Unspeakable’s training is to spend one year completely cut off from the people and places they know best. They send you to a random place around the world to study a specific branch of magic. For me, it was Greece, studying Ancient and Blood magic,” she sighed. “Part of the deal is, you can’t tell anyone before you leave.”

He was silent for a moment, processing this information. So it wasn’t him. It was her job. Maybe she did want to be with him. But if she did, wouldn’t she have told him, regardless of the Ministry’s rules? He voiced this last thought. “You could have told me. They never would have known.”

“They would have when I failed the Veritaserum test,” she replied immediately.

“They made you drink Veritaserum?” he sputtered in shock.

“Yes. They need to know their Unspeakables can keep a secret.” It did make sense, in an odd way. Nick sighed, leaning his elbows against the shelves behind her. “At first, I wasn’t going to go, you know. Because of you. But I knew that if I stayed, I’d be miserable in a job I didn’t want,” she paused. “I wish I’d stayed now.”

“Hailey, it’s your dream,” he protested, suddenly feeling a lot more compassionate.

“I know. And I love it. It’s just...” she paused, and he could almost see her trying to gather her courage. “Nick, I missed you so bad.”

The lights suddenly reappeared just as Nick said, “I missed you worse.”

They both realized immediately how close they were. Nick still had Hailey trapped against the shelves with both his arms leaning on either side of her, their faces only a few inches apart. Hailey flushed, but neither of them made much of an attempt to move. The tension between the two of them was so thick you could cut it with a knife. So was the attraction.

Nick brought a hand to the side of her face, his fingertips feather light on her soft skin. Hailey’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment as she leaned into his touch.

“You don’t have your glasses on,” he realized, studying every inch of her face. She was more tan than he remembered, a few sun-kissed freckles dotting her nose. Her curly hair had grown even longer, and a small smile appeared on her lips as she heard his comment. She was more beautiful than ever.

“I never fixed them after you broke them,” she explained. “It was time for me to stop hiding.”

“I can’t believe you’re here. After months of hoping, wishing that you’d walk in that door, you finally did.” Her eyes opened, the brilliant ice blue leaving him breathless, just like it always did. Currently, they were filled with tears.

“I was so afraid you’d never want to see me again.”

“Hailey, all I’ve wanted for the past year and a half was to see you again,” he said quietly. His brow furrowed as something dawned on him. “Wait, year and a half. You said training was a year.”

She nodded. “I would have been back six months ago if it wasn’t for that bloody Runespoor.”

“Runespoor?” he asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you know, those snake type things,” she continued, shaking back the left sleeve of her robes. What could have been a large bruise if it wasn’t for the odd greenish glow and the visible spider veins stemming from it took up most of her forearm. “I got bit by one a week before I was set to return home. Stumbled into a nest of them by accident. Apparently, it’s hard to watch all three heads at once.”

“It took six months to recover from a Runespoor bite?” he asked, a bit scared.

“Without anti-venom, yeah. I was lucky some of the locals were around, otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. Unless I came back as a ghost, that is.” He shuddered involuntarily.

“You’re different,” he said quietly, moving even closer to her. “You’re not as timid.”

She smiled slightly, one of her hands brushing some hair out of his eyes. “I know. I think being on your own for so long makes you appreciate people more. I haven’t changed that much, so don’t ask me to go streaking anytime soon.”

“Better change my plans for tonight then,” he said in mock disappointment. She laughed. “Not everything’s different though,” he said, his hand trailing down her face.

“Oh? And what’s not different?” she asked.

“Well, you’re still short,” he started, earning himself a glare. He chuckled, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. “I could still drown in those eyes of yours, but I doubt that will ever change. I’m still every bit as crazy about you as I was the day you left.” She blushed. “And I bet if I kissed you right now, it would be just as perfect.”

She tilted her head sideways slightly as she asked, “Would you like to find out?”

He had to.

He leaned forward to brush the corner of her mouth with his lips before saying, “This time around, there won’t be any of this ‘just friends’ nonsense. I want to be so much more than a friend to you.”

“That’s good, Nick. Because I want to be more than a friend to you,” she whispered, her eyes closed.

He said, “Well, I must respect the lady’s wishes,” before bringing his lips to hers.

He was right. Her kiss was every bit as sweet, as fiery, and as intoxicating as he could remember. She gasped as the kiss grew more passionate, her hands fisting into his shaggy hair, dragging him closer. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other hand resting at the base of her neck. How long they kissed, neither of them knew, their embrace varying from tender at times, to hungry at others, both trying to make up for the year and a half they could have spent together.

A loud, indignant hoot eventually caused them to break apart. Breathing hard, Nick turned around to see a stoic grey owl perched on one of the shelves, a very official letter clutched in his claws. He rolled his eyes, turning back to Hailey. Her lips were swollen, her hair a mess, her eyes smokey. Nick knew he probably didn’t look much different.

“I have to go,” she said quietly. “I’m on the clock.”

“I see you’re very diligent about being punctual.”

“Shush,” she said, slipping out from between him and the wall to gather the few items she was supposed to be picking up.

“I’m not complaining,” he retorted with a grin.

“How are Liz and Sirius?” she asked.

He laughed. “Perfect, as always. Married since July, and expecting a baby.”

“Mira?”

“As ill-tempered as ever. She’ll be so happy to see you again.”

She turned around, grinning. “You know, I half expected you to be working at Hogwarts by now, but I was still hoping you’d be here.”

“Worth the trip?” he asked with a smirk.

“I suppose so,” she joked. “I think this will be it.” she added, gesturing to her purchases.

“On the house. When can I see you again?” he asked softly.

“Send me an owl,” she said. “I promise they’ll get to me this time.” She stood on her tip toes, and Nick bent down a bit so she could reach to kiss him on the cheek. She waved on her way towards the door. “Oh, and Nick?”

“Yeah?” he asked, turning back towards the front of the shop to face her.

“Thank you. For forgiving me, I mean.”

She was gone before he could tell her there was nothing to forgive.

*************

Nick walked into Liz and Sirius’s house whistling, with a goofy grin on his face and a letter clutched in his left hand.

No one was there.

He next apparated to the Burrow, still whistling, still with a goofy grin on his face, and a letter still clutched in his left hand. He rang the bell, and was quickly ushered inside by a frazzled looking Molly Weasley, who hugged him before admonishing him for not just coming in.

“It’s good to see you again, Grandma Weasley,” he said.

“Oh dear, you’re welcome here anytime, you know that,” she said in response. “Food’s in the kitchen, and everyone’s out in the backyard.”

She bustled off to pick up one of the little ones, and Nick made his way out towards the enchanted yard. He located Liz and Sirius quickly, sitting at the corner of one of the long tables, and his grin widened.

He scooped Liz up off the ground in a hug, laughing as she squealed in surprise. “I am going to buy this baby the biggest and the best of everything!” he declared, setting her back down and tackling Sirius to the ground.

He got back up, the grin still fixed in place, and dragged Sirius back to his feet as well. His cousin and cousin-in-law were both gaping at him. “What?”

“We haven’t seen you in this good of a mood since graduation,” Sirius explained.

“Oh!” he said, nodding in understanding. “I’ll explain that in a minute. But first off, congratulations! Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?”

“No, it’s too early,” Liz answered. “We’ll find out soon though.”

“Actually, mate, we need to talk to you about the baby,” Sirius added. “Come on, let’s go in the house for a few minutes.” Nick followed Liz and Sirius into the sitting room, where he sat down on an overstuffed couch, waiting for them to speak. Sirius flopped into an armchair, where Liz sat on his knee a little more gracefully. He absentmindedly wrapped his arms around her waist, peering at Nick intently.

“Well, we wanted to ask you something,” Sirius started.

“But first, we need to tell you a few things,” Liz continued.

“You’ve always been there for us these past few years.”

“And we both love you so much.”

“We want you to be a large part of our baby’s life.”

“And we know, that if anything ever happens to us, you’ll love this child like it was your own.”

“And that is why we want to ask you to be our baby’s godfather,” Sirius finished.

Nick gaped at them. “You want me to be godfather?” They both smiled and nodded. “Don’t you want someone else? Like Ax and Marissa, with a husband and a wife?”

“No Nick, we want to give this title to you,” Liz insisted. “If for some reason we couldn’t raise this child, you are the one we want to take our place.”

“You want me to be godfather,” he repeated, smiling to himself. “Godfather...”

“Will you do it?” Sirius asked impatiently.

“Of course! How could I say no?” He jumped up and hugged both of them at the same time. “If it’s a boy, I can take him to Quidditch games and give him advice on girls. If it’s a girl, I can spoil her rotten and kill anyone who tries to date her. Oh guys, you have no idea how much this means to me! Are you positive?”

“Yes!” they both exclaimed at the same time.

He sat back down again, the beaming grin once again in place. “Uncle Nick. I like it. ‘Uncle Nick, the godfather. Godfather,” he sighed.

“What about Uncle Copie?” Sirius suggested.

“Copie?” Liz repeated, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah. Copie-Wopie! I think it’s sweet.” He fluttered his eyelashes in Nick’s direction.

“You know what, I think I’m going to stick with Nick.” Sirius laughed loudly. “What?”

“That rhymed.” Liz turned around to look at him questioningly, but he just pulled her closer to him and asked Nick in a completely normal way, “Now what’s the good mood about?”

Nick immediately grinned widely, jumping up in his excitement and thrusting the letter into his cousin’s hands. “Old Roshwick kicked the bucket, I’ve got a job at Hogwarts!”

Liz looked up at him severely. “Copernicus Black! Professor Roshwick was a nice old man, you should be a little more compassionate... wait... You got the job?!” she squealed, leaning back against Sirius so that they could read the letter together.

Dear Mr. Copernicus Black,

Due to the recent and regrettable death of Professor M. Roshwick, your request for the position of Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been accepted. However, because of your young age, the next six months will be a trial period, ending with a review of your teaching abilities at the end of term. If possible, it would be appreciated if you could be prepared to teach the first day back for the students, but we will expect you no later than the ninth of January. Please send all, concerns, requests, or inquiries to the Headmistress.

Inclosed is a list of rules and regulations, a student roster, and the password to your office and sleeping quarters.

Sincerely,

M. McGonagall

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Liz stood up to hug him, saying, “Oh Nick, this is so wonderful! But you have to start on your lesson plans! Maybe you can have Uncle Remus...”

“They’re already finished. I did them all after I graduated, just in case. The whole year’s finished, I sent them to Professor McGon...Minerva...oh, that’s weird. Well anyway, I sent them to her to review already.”

“Mate,” Sirius interrupted. “You’re going to pass this review at the end of the year with your eyes closed.”

Nick beamed.

“Why do I get the feeling this job isn’t the only thing making you so happy?” Liz asked.

“Ooh!” Sirius grinned. “Did you meet a girl?”

“Well, sort of,” Nick said sheepishly, blushing a bit. “I saw Hailey again.” Two pairs of eyes widened in disbelief. “Yeah, I know.” He quickly described the entire visit, minus the kissing, and ending with, “She wants to see me again.”

“So, she just walked into the shop?” Liz asked, scowling slightly.

“Yeah,” he replied. Her scowl deepened. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked Hailey.”

“I do. I did,” she sighed. “Nick, she already broke your heart once. I just don’t want it to happen again.”

“It won’t,” he assured, still grinning. Nothing could dampen his good mood. “I think I’m going to go owl her now, tell her about Hogwarts. And being godfather. Oh guys, I’m so happy for you two!” He kissed Liz on the cheek, clapped Sirius on the shoulder, and rushed out of the room, presumably looking for an owl.

Liz stood there for a moment with a thoughtful look on her face before she turned to her husband. “Well, what do you think?”

“About what?” he asked, leaning back in his chair and reaching for her hands. She slipped them into his, intertwining their fingers.

“This whole Hailey thing.”

“You know what, I think it’ll be okay. I mean, he’s been miserable without her here.”

“I know, but what if she...”

“Hurts him again? I know, I don’t want it to happen either. But I think not at least giving it a try would hurt him worse.” She nodded, her brow furrowed. “You know what you look like, when you’re all cute and puzzled like that?”

“What?”

She squealed as he pulled her into his lap in one swift movement. “You look like you need a good snog.”

************

Lynn leaned against the kitchen counter, resting her forehead on one of the cupboards. She was wearing her favorite pair of light blue dress robes, her shoulder length hair set in bouncy curls, but she didn’t feel very pretty tonight. She just had yet another fight with Phil. And not the playful banter of the afternoon, a real verbal sparring. They’d both said some pretty hurtful things.

A soft mewing around her ankles made her eyes snap open. Looking down, she saw a small ball of chocolate brown fur in an overlarge, fluffy pink sweater peering up at her with golden eyes. She smiled slightly, bending down to pick up what she recognized as Ax and Marissa’s kneazle, Ren.

“Hi there sweetheart,” she cooed, stroking the kitten’s tiny head with her index finger. Ren gave a contented purr. “You’re just a little cutie, aren’t you? Yeah. It must be nice, not having to worry about fights, or school work, or power hungry Slytherins, or...” she sighed. “Falling in love. To just look forward to your next meal, or your mid-afternoon nap, and to never have to wonder what’s wrong with you. You don’t ever feel like you need to be braver, or smarter, or prettier, you’re content just the way you are, just as long as there’s someone around to pet you. Look at me, talking to a cat.” Ren hissed. “Sorry, kneazle. You’re a good listener, you know that? Too bad you can’t tell me what to do.”

A single tear slid down her cheek as her mind replayed a memory from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Phil, where are we going?” Lynn was a short, chubby four year old, wearing a yellow summer dress with purple polka dots, her hair tied in two long braids on either side of her head. A five year old Phil was tugging on one of her pudgy hands. He had a pudding bowl haircut and no shoes on, his bright green shorts clashing horribly with his orange T-shirt.

“You said you wanted to see the dragons,” he said, pulling her down the steep slope of one of the mountains in Romania. “They’re this way,” he explained, pointing off in the distance.

“But Daddy said not to go farther than the fence!” she protested, looking back towards the white picket fence surrounding Charlie and Leslie Weasley’s home. It was barely a speck on the horizon.

“It’s okay, my Daddy took me down here before, it’s not scary.”

Lynn gave an indignant little huff. “Shouldn’t we have asked Lizzie if she wanted to come?”

Phil shook his head. “Her and Sirius were playing with the flobberworms. I think she likes him,” he added in a sing song voice.

“Eww, he’s a boy!” Lynn squealed in disgust.

“I’m a boy!”

“I never said I liked you, did I?”

He stopped to turn around and face her, his big blue eyes hurt. “You don’t like me?”

She looked down at her feet bashfully. “I don’t know...”

“I like you,” he admitted quietly.

Her head snapped back to his face, her own blue eyes widening. “You do?”

Before he could reply, he saw something over her shoulder, and yelled, “GET DOWN!”

“Huh?” she asked in confusion. He shoved her to the rocky ground, landing on top of her, but she saw something huge flap by. A fountain of fire landed much too close to the two children for comfort. As soon as the sound of huge wings beating faded into the distance, Phil got up, pulling Lynn into a sitting position.

“Hunglawian Horntail,” he said quietly, butchering the pronunciation.

“You’re hurt!” she exclaimed, pointing to his glistening left forearm. He looked down at the burn, wincing slightly, but showing no other sign of pain.

“It’s okay, Daddy gets them all the time. Mummy will fix it when we get back.” He looked over at her to see fat tears sliding down her round cheeks. “Lynn, don’t cry, it’s okay! It doesn’t even hurt that bad, honest! Come on, let’s go back home.” She nodded, wiping the tears off her cheeks. “You look all pretty when you cry, you know that?”

“Lynn?” Whoever was calling her name now definitely wasn’t a five year old. She opened her eyes to see the present day Phil leaning against the counter a few feet away from her.

“Phil, please, just go away,” she pleaded softly, suddenly aware that more tears were falling out of her eyes. “I don’t want to fight anymore right now.”

“I’m sorry,” he said bluntly. “I’m sorry I said you were stupid. You’re not stupid, you’re one of the smartest people I know.” She looked over at him in shock. He was apologizing? “If it’s any consolation, you look beautiful tonight.”

She paused for a moment, debating something with herself. “Phil, come here.” She reached over and tugged on his hand until he was standing in front of her, and pulled his left sleeve upward. A darkened area still marked the spot where a very nasty burn existed thirteen years ago.

“Reliving your past?” he asked.

“I was just thinking about it, I don’t know why.” She laughed slightly. “Do you remember how much trouble we got in that day?”

“Mmhmm,” he said, smiling fondly. “Mum refused to heal this with magic, said if I was going to pull stunts like that, I could deal with it like a muggle.” He grinned at her. “Even then, I would have braved a dragon for you.”

She blushed, suddenly feeling like that pudgy, confused four year old. He covered one of her hands leaning on the counter top with his own, tucking a lock of hair behind her left ear. “You were already beautiful back then too.”

“You’re telling the truth,” she said out loud, looking straight into his eyes. He smiled.

“Of course. You know you drive me mad, with that pretty little smile and that damn strawberry perfume.”

And with that, he kissed her. She dropped Ren, who gave a loud hiss, but luckily, kneazles always land on their feet. His lips rubbed against hers tenderly, as though he was afraid she would pull away. She would have if her brain hadn’t jammed. But it did, and she didn’t. Her eyes slipped closed as she nipped his lower lip slightly. He was just about to deepen the kiss when they heard a loud voice coming down the hallway.

“PHILLY, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

He pulled away from her regretfully, whispering, “Shayla. I told her to yell if she needed anything.” She nodded, slightly punch drunk, and he spun on his heel to go find his sister. Lynn leaned back against the counter with her eyes closed until it hit her. It hit her like a lightning bolt.

She’d kissed Phil Weasley. Again.

And she’d liked it.

Next chapter is up! I got a bit of writer’s block, so it’s probably not very good. About the first part, I don’t know whether guys actually talk like that, but I like it, so it’s staying. I tried to make it as un-girly as possible, but I’m a large pile of mush at heart, so bear with me. *grins*


Chapter 4: Life Ain’t Always Beautiful

No, life aint always beautiful.
But I know I'll be fine.
Hey, life ain't always beautiful,
But it's a beautiful ride.

~Gary Allan

“Mate, what are we doing tonight?” Jonathan Pye asked through a yawn. He was staying at Rob Creevey’s house for the last week of the holidays, before both Gryffindors went back to Hogwarts for the rest of their fifth year. Rob was just about to answer when the most unwelcome of voices interrupted them.

“Robbie-kins, you’ve got a letter!” Rob grimaced, turning around to see his eight year old sister, Reagan, standing in the doorway to his bedroom. His sister was a holy terror, always had been, and seemed to make it her life goal to drive him completely mad.

“Who from, Reagan?” he asked tiredly.

She grinned evilly, and sang, “Mira...”

Rob let out a noise between a squeak and a growl and jumped off the bed, tripping over his own feet in his haste to reach his sister. “You didn’t read it, did you? You’d better not of, you little flobberworm.”

“Maybe,” she giggled.

“Give me the letter!”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Avada Kedavra?” he asked in a hopeful voice. “Umm... Accio Pitchfork? No? Oh wait, I know. Rictusempra.”

Her eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t dare...”

“Wouldn’t I?” His sister’s only weakness was that she was very ticklish.

“I’ll tell Mum,” she threatened with her jaw jutting out defiantly.

“And I’ll tell her you read my mail,” he retorted.

“I didn’t read it!” she protested, and he smiled smugly.

“That’s good. Now give it to me.” She handed him the letter regretfully, a very sour look on her face. The moment he took it, she yelled downstairs, “MUM! Rob’s being mean to me again!”

Rob slammed his door, rolling his eyes and shooting Jon, who was laughing in the armchair at the corner of the room, a glare. He flopped back down on his bed and opened the letter with a gleeful expression on his face.

His smile grew wider with every line he read, and threatened to split his face open when he pulled out the picture Mira had sent him. She was sitting on the front steps of her house petting her beloved cat, Mittens, her four year old cousin sitting beside her. He carefully set the letter on his bedside table, propping the photograph up on the base of his his lamp, and turned back to the other boy.

He had only been friends with Jon since halfway through their third year, when he’d had a falling out with the other boys in their dormitory and started hanging out with Rob and the girls. Rob had to admit, it was nice having another guy around.

“You done drooling now?” Jon asked him, pushing some dark brown hair out of his pale blue eyes. “Or are you never going to answer my question?”

“What was the question?” he asked, then added indignantly, “Hey, I wasn’t drooling!”

“Yeah, you kind of were mate. But anyway, what’s the plan for tonight?”

“I figured we’d go to the Weasley’s New Year’s party. Mira invited me,” he grinned momentarily, “and Nicole... well, she invited me too, but I’m extending one of those invitations to you.”

“Sounds like a plan. No offence, but I don’t want to snog you at midnight.”

“None taken. But who are you planning on snogging?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s got to be some good-looking humanoid of the female persuasion there, right? Nikki’s got an older sister, doesn’t she?”

“Liz?!” he asked in shock, rolling his eyes. “She’s four years older than you, she’s married, and Mira said she’s pregnant. I don’t think you’ll be snogging her.”

He grinned, “I was just joking, she works for my dad. She is pretty though.”

“Don’t let her husband hear you say that,” Rob warned.

“Oh don’t worry, I won’t.” He smirked, “So, who are you hoping to snog?”

He rolled his eyes, “Who do you think?”

“Let me rephrase. Who are you hoping to snog who has actually shown some inkling of interest in you?”

He scowled. “This is the year. This is the year Mira will fall for me.” Jon rolled his eyes, shaking his head in despair.

“I don’t get you, Rob. You have Nikki...” Rob interrupted him.

“You do realize you’re the only person that calls her Nikki, right?” And she hates it too, he added in his head, thinking about how Nicole Potter wanted to hex Jon out of his boots every time he called her Nikki.

“That’s beside the point. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you have Nikki, who is hot...” Rob cut in again.

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to hear you say that.”

“Would you zip it! Thank you,” Jon snapped before continuing. “Anyway, hot or not, she obviously likes you. Mira, on the other hand, doesn’t, but you’re still hung up on her.”

“I’m not ‘hung up’ on her, I’m just...” he trailed off. “She’s different, okay?”

“How?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.

“I don’t know, why are you so fascinated?” Jon shrugged. “Well, she’s prettier than the rest of the girls, for one.”

“No, she’s not,” Jon contradicted. “I mean, she’s alright looking and all, but I don’t see where you get ‘prettier than the rest of the girls’ from.”

“I’ve always thought she was pretty, even when we were both puny second years,” he murmured.

“Rob, Mira’s still puny, her head just fits her body now.”

“Well, when we were second years, she was the only one shorter than me, okay?” he said, exasperated. “And... I don’t know, she’s just....amazing...”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re going to have to explain this one to me,” he snorted.

“What?” Rob asked in confusion. “You’ve always liked Mira.”

“Yeah, she’s a great friend and all, but I wouldn’t call her amazing. I mean, she’s nice, but the girl has a temper straight out of Hades.”

“She’s fiery, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“And don’t you ever wonder how it is that she can do everything in class on the first try? She must spend all her time practicing so that she can get it right, and even then it’s weird,” he added. “You can’t tell me you never wonder.”

“No, I don’t,” Rob replied truthfully. I don’t wonder because I know how she does it, he thought to himself.

“And even if she was the best looking girl on the planet who had a perfectly sweet temperament, and no freakishly strange abilities, there’s still her brother. He’d murder you if you’d ever so much as thought about touching her.”

“Okay, so throughout this entire conversation, you’ve made one good point. Would you like a cookie?”

“Actually, I’d love one. Especially if your mother makes them, she’s a real good cook. Pretty too...”

“Oi, watch it!”

“Sorry mate,” he grinned. “At least I didn’t say your mother was hideous to look at.”

Rob decided it was safer to change the subject. “How’s your sister?”

His face went purple. “Why? Are you interested in her?”

“Erm... no Jon, I was just asking politely.”

“Oh. Right. She’s fine, just left for Brazil again,” he paused. “Sorry about that, brother’s natural reaction. You’ll understand when Reagan’s old enough to date.”

“Actually, I think I might congratulate whoever’s brave or crazy enough to put up with her,” he laughed. “Well, I’m going to find my mum, make sure it’s alright for us to go. Erm... stay here, and don’t touch anything.” He grabbed his picture of Mira just in case. As good of a friend as Jon was, he didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him.

He found his mother in the kitchen, frosting a cake. Demelza Robins Creevey was a pretty woman in her mid-thirties, who worked part time as a cook at a little restaurant in Diagon Alley.

“Mum?” She looked up and smiled at her son. “Mum, we’re going to the Weasley’s New Year’s party tonight, is that alright?” Rob asked his mother.

“Of course sweetheart. It’s at the Minister’s house this year, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, please be on your best behavior, you two. And wear your best dress robes. And don’t say or do anything too terribly embarrassing. Minister Weasley may be a very nice man, but he’s still the Minister of Magic,” she said sternly, although her eyes were smiling.

“Yes Mum, don’t worry, I won’t kill anyone, I promise,” he laughed, grabbing an apple off the table and biting into it. “When’s Dad getting home?”

“Probably in a few minutes actually,” she said, looking at the clock. It was six in the evening. “Now I do need to talk to you. Your sister said you threatened to stab her with a pitchfork.”

He sputtered indignantly. “NO! I threatened to tickle her, and that was only because she wouldn’t give me my letter, and...”

His mother was laughing. “I know honey, I just wanted to see what you would say.” She looked to the picture still in his hand. “What’s that?” He handed it to her, and she smiled. “How is Mira? Didn’t you invite her over to spend Christmas with us this year?”

“I did, but her aunt and uncle wanted her home. She’s fine, though,” he answered, smiling fondly. “Top of the class as usual.”

“So, has there been any progress on your relationship yet?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Rob blushed deeply.

“How...how did you...?”

“I’m your mother, Rob, I know everything.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, that’s alright dear, she’ll come around. Mira’s a sweet girl though, and I do want grandchildren...”

“Mum, we’re not about to get married!”

“Did I hear the words ‘Mira’ and ‘grandchildren’?” Colin, Rob’s father, asked as he walked into the kitchen and kissed his wife on the cheek. “You haven’t been acting on your feelings a little too much, have you son?”

Rob looked at his father in disbelief. “Does everybody know?”

“You’d better just hope he doesn’t make her mad anytime soon, Mrs. Creevey,” Jon added, walking into the kitchen as well. “You won’t get any grandchildren if he’s incapable of reproducing.”

“Why does everyone hate me?” Rob asked dramatically, throwing his hands up in despair.

*************

“You know Mira, if you keep using your brain like that...”

“... it’ll shrivel up and die.”

Mira Black sighed mock dramatically as Jacob and William Weasley sat down on either arm of her chair in front of the fire. “Why? Talking from personal experience?” she asked.

“Why do you think Phil’s so weird?” Jake asked her.

“He thought too much,” Will finished.

“I highly doubt that,” she snorted, leaning back in the chair to look at the two boys. They were a year apart, but they acted like twins, both Gryffindors, and both very funny. They even looked a lot alike, with their mother’s dark red hair and their father’s chocolate brown eyes. The biggest difference was the numerous amount of freckles on Jake’s face.

They didn’t have their older brother’s good looks, but Jake had more than enough charm to make up for it. He knew just what to say to make just about any girl blush, and he used his ‘skills’ to date his way through half the female population of Hogwarts. Will was a bit more low key, but he was still very popular, and he wasn’t lacking in smooth pick-up lines either. He was also very bookish, something most girls seemed to find attractive for some reason.

To Mira, however, they were family. Nothing less, nothing more.

“So, what were you thinking about?” Will asked.

“My brother’s going to be our new Transfiguration teacher,” she replied, yawning slightly. She’d gotten up very early that morning to help set up for the party.

“Seriously? Sweet!” Jake exclaimed. “Now we might get off easy!”

“I doubt it. If he was going to favor family members, that would still be about half the school,” Mira pointed out.

“That’s true,” he conceded. “But it can’t hurt.”

“No, I suppose not. Will, did you finish your potions essay yet?”

“No, actually.” She raised an eyebrow. He usually had most of his homework done on the second day of break. “I really don’t get it, I think Guige has finally flipped her wig. I mean, the similarities between Veritaserum and the Draught of Living Death? I don’t even think there are any.”

“Oh good, it’s not just me then? I hate potions! And that Charms assignment is ridiculous too.”

“That old bat should die,” Jake interjected, referring to Professor Edgecome. “Do you realize she gave me a detention for sneezing a couple of weeks ago? I thought only Filch pulled those kind of stunts.”

“Who gave you a detention for sneezing?” Three heads snapped up to see Percy Weasley standing in the doorway, holding his three month old daughter, Alexandria.

“Hi Uncle Percy,” the three said in unison, then Jake added, “The new Charms professor.”

“Oh, Marietta. Yes, she’s...interesting,” he nodded. Coming from Percy, this was full out slander. “She used to work at the Ministry, but in a very low position, so I never had much contact with her.” He puffed out his chest pompously as he left the room. The three kids burst out laughing.

“Well, I’ll see you two later,” Mira said, still chuckling. “I’m going to see if I can track down my brother.”

“Save me a dance!” both boys called after her. She gave them a thumbs up to show that she heard.

Before she could find Nick, however, her attention was diverted to a small boy with untidy, jet black hair and small, round glasses, who was running down the hall yelling, “Miwa!” James Potter had a bit of a speech impediment, but Mira thought it was adorable.

“Hey little guy!” she said smiling brightly. James stopped in front of her, looking out of breath, and tugged on her hand.

“Come on Miwa, you have to see my new bwoom!” She laughed, realizing he was three years old and already Quidditch obsessed. After being dragged across the yard by a very excited young boy, the two finally reached the broom shed, and James pulled her inside. Amongst the full size brooms was a very short, fat one that Mira assumed was James’s.

“See!” James squealed, holding it up proudly. “Siwius got it for me,” he said smugly. James looked up to Mira’s older cousin, and in turn, Sirius was very fond of his very young brother-in-law. “Viowet said it was ugwy,” he added, pouting a bit.

Mira laughed out loud, thinking about how jealous Violet was when Sirius gave other kids attention. “I’m sure she would. But it’s not ugly, James. Have you tried it out yet?”

He nodded eagerly. “I can fly all around the house! Want to see?”

“Oh, no, that’s alright...” She was going to stop him, but he was already out the door. “James!” He had already taken off on the broom, which Mira quickly realized was fully working instead of one of the hovering toy brooms most children owned. Ginny was already running after him. “Sorry!” she yelled, covering her face with her hand.

“Mira, there you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” She looked through her fingers to see who was talking to her and grinned.

“Rob, you came!” she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek. Someone snorted. “Oh, hello Jon,” she said unenthusiastically.

“No need to sound so happy to see me, Mira darling,” he said smartly. She raised an eyebrow at Rob, who shrugged.

“Who invited him?” she whispered in his ear.

“Technically? No one, but I had two invitations, and I wasn’t going to leave him alone. He’s not that bad.” Mira rolled her eyes. She’d heard the ‘Give Jon a Chance’ speech a few too many times.

“Of course he’s not, he’s just a self-righteous prat who thinks with his.... you know what,” she paused. “Nicole’s not going to be happy, and I’m not responsible in any way when she cuts that specific body part off.”

“What body part are you two discussing?” Jon asked cheekily.

“Your foot,” they said in unison. There was a silence in which they all looked at each other questioningly.

“Come on, let’s dance,” Rob said to Mira, grabbing her hand. “Jon, be good, and don’t flirt with anyone who’s not in school.”

An hour later, Mira was having a lot of fun, but she was exhausted. After dancing with anyone who’d asked her, she was once again in Rob’s arms, this time for a slow song. Yawning slightly, she leaned her head on his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat and wishing she could just fall asleep. But of course, fate was cruel, and her cousin had to show up to inquire about her brother’s whereabouts at that exact moment.

“Squirt! Have you seen your brother lately?” Groaning, she lifted her head to see Sirius with James and Violet both clinging to one of his legs. “Hi Rob, my little cousin’s not scaring you, is she?”

“I’m shaking in my boots,” he replied. Mira swatted his arm. “Congratulations on the baby, Sirius.”

He grinned. “Thanks, we’re really excited. Can I borrow Squirt for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure.” Mira groaned, but Sirius tugged on her hand, and she allowed him to lead her into the kitchen. Liz was sitting at the table with Alexandria on her lap, and she smiled when Mira sat down across from her. Sirius pulled up a chair beside his wife, pulling both his sister and James into his lap. They immediately started tugging on each other’s ears.

“You two, stop that,” Sirius scolded gently. They both pouted adorably. “Mira, has your brother talked to you about anything lately?”

“You mean Hailey?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yes.”

“Yes, he has. Why?” she asked suspiciously. “What do you two want to know?”

“Mira, you know your brother better than anyone,” Liz explained. “We just want to know if you think this is going to work out for the best.”

“You’re worried that Nick will get hurt?” They nodded. “I think it’ll be okay. I’m pretty sure Hailey’s back for good this time. And guys, he loves her. And.... I think they’re just right for each other, you know? Like you two.”

Sirius smiled. “I hope you’re right.” Alexandria made a gurgling sound, and all three of them began cooing over the baby.

“I’ll be Aunt Mira soon, won’t I?” Mira asked in disbelief. “You two thinking of names yet?”

“We decided to wait until we know the baby’s gender to decide, but we’ve got a few in mind,” Liz answered.

“Besides, you’ll be Aunt Squirt if I have anything to say about it,” Sirius added.

“I’m honored,” she said sarcastically, smacking him upside the head. “Liz, you deal with this thing every day?”

“Mmhmm,” she said, planting a kiss on his lips. “You learn to live with it.”

*************

Mira walked into the Potter’s house the next morning to ask Nicole if she finished her potions essay yet, and immediately noticed that the house seemed very quiet. The second odd thing she noticed as she was walking down the hall was that the kitchen door was closed. In the three years since she moved here, Mira had never seen the Potter’s kitchen door closed.

They always said curiosity killed the cat, but they never said anything about an overly nosy witch.

Pressing her ear to the door, she faintly heard Harry and Ginny’s voices. They were whispering. She pulled out her wand, thinking about something to help her hear better, and an extendable ear materialized in her hand. Having rare and freakishly strange abilities had it’s perks sometimes.

“I’ve been wondering ever since her birth, actually,” Ginny was saying, “With the way Hermione’s heart stopped for a moment.”

Huh?

“So, you really think Emma could be a... a... augnorisis thing?”

“Auctoritus, Harry,” Ginny said impatiently. Mira stiffened, straining her ears even though she could clearly hear every word. Of course Ginny would know about Auctoriti, she was a Magical Abilities and Disabilities Research Specialist at the Ministry! Why hadn’t she thought about asking her before?

“But why? I mean, besides the birth, what else makes you think so?” Harry asked. Mira had the impression that this was the first time Ginny was sharing her concerns with him.

“Auctoriti have a natural inclination to magic, so they do unintentional magic a lot more than normal children. You’ve had to have noticed that every time Emma’s angry, something blows up, right? That seems to be a classic symptom. And then there was something at Christmas. She told Ron that she wanted a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, but they didn’t have any peanut butter. He left her in the kitchen to get the paper, and when he came back, she was eating a peanut butter sandwich,” she paused, and Mira could almost see Harry’s brow furrowing. “It was like she conjured it.”

“Wow, this is...” Harry stuttered. “This is weird, Gin. Do you really think so?”

“I do,” she confirmed. “I wish there was some kind of test to confirm it, but so little is known about Auctoritism as it is. I really shouldn’t be telling you this, it’s a bit of a taboo topic, but I thought you should know. We’re Emma’s godparents, and I think we’re going to have to explain this all to Ron and Hermione soon.”

“That’s....that’s a lot to think about,” he sighed heavily. “Ginny, I’ve got to get to work. How about we talk about this later?”

“Sure, sweetie. Have a good day,” she replied. Mira hurriedly vanished the extendable ear, and a moment later the kitchen door opened and Harry stepped out.

“Morning, Mira,” he greeted, barely looking at her.

“Morning Uncle Harry,” she said, hoping he wasn’t going to ask her why she was standing outside the kitchen door. He was so distracted that he didn’t even seem to notice.

She glanced into the kitchen where Ginny was making breakfast, and wondered if she was brave enough to ask her about it. She’d been looking for answers for so long, and now that they were a question away, she didn’t know if she wanted them. But some part of her knew that not knowing would torment her, so she took a deep breath, and walked into the kitchen.

“Morning, Aunt Ginny,” she said in a would be casual voice.

“Good morning dear, would you like a cup of tea?” the woman asked her.

“No thank you,” she answered, biting her lip. “Aunt Ginny, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Ginny answered without turning around.

“What do you know about Auctoriti?” Ginny dropped her frying pan, spinning around to face Mira.

“You know about Auctoriti?” She nodded. “How...?” She raised her hand, and pointed a finger at the tea kettle. It promptly shattered into a thousand peices.

“I am one,” she confirmed unnecessarily.

Ginny’s eyes went as round as saucers. “I’ve been looking for one for so long, ever since I started working. And...oh, Mira, I’m sorry, you must think I’m crazy. But I’ve been studying Auctoritism for several years now, and I haven’t met one since I started working, they’re harder to come by than ever!” Her enthusiasm was infectious, and Mira couldn’t help but grin. “Enough of that, if you don’t mind me asking, what can you do?”

She thought for a minute. “Well, I can do almost any spell without knowing the incantation. I just started using controlled wandless magic, but I can only do really simple spells, or...well...blow things up.”

“How much do you know?”

She snorted, “I’m sure you know more than me. I found out my first New Years here, you remember that whole fiasco, don’t you?” Ginny nodded. “Nick had somehow realized it a long time ago, but all he told me was that it meant I had a natural ability to do magic. That, and not to go digging for information.”

She nodded again. “So naturally, you’ve been reading every book with an off mention of Auctoritism ever since.”

Mira grinned, saying, “Yes, but I haven’t found anything useful.” Ginny nodded in understanding. “Aunt Ginny? Do you think you can tell me why I haven’t been able to find anything useful?”

The older woman sighed, taking the seat across from her. “You’re not going to like it, Mira.”

“Please, just tell me,” she said desperately. “I’m begging you.”

“Alright,” Ginny conceded. “There have been several famous Auctoriti in wizarding history, but very few of them did any good. You have to understand that having so much power makes people want more. Having an ability that is fundamentally good, like Auctoritism, is often used to the advantage of the people with that power, with no concern for anyone else,” she sighed. “Three Auctoriti that have used their power for evil were Salazar Slytherin, Grindelwald, and... Lord Voldemort.”

Mira bit her lip, looking down at her feet. “Everyone’s going to think I’m evil now, is that it? Am I evil? What if I end up like them?”

“No, Mira, it’s not like that at all! That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. There have been good Auctoriti as well, you know. You could end up being like Albus Dumbledore.”

Her head snapped up. “Dumbledore was one?”

Ginny smiled, “Yes. If you’d like, I can get some books for you. There’s not a lot of information out there, but it’s something.”

Mira felt unexplainable tears prickle in her eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She jumped to her feet. “I’ve got to go send an owl, but if you ever need any help with Emma, I’ll do whatever I can. I’ve taught myself to control it, so I might be able to help.”

She rushed out of the room. The second Ginny heard the front door click shut, the smile dropped off her face as she threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and stuck her head in. As soon as it stopped spinning, she shouted, “COPERNICUS BLACK, GET YOUR TEACHING BUM OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!”

She stepped back to allow a bemused Nick to climb out of the grate. “What’s going on?”

“Mira’s an Auctoritus!”

“Yes,” he agreed.

“And you haven’t told her a thing!”

He sighed in realization. “If this is about our mother...”

“Of course it’s about your mother, you haven’t told her! She’ll find out, you know!” she raged.

Nick tugged on his earlobe, looking down at his feet. “I know. I just can’t bring myself to tell her. It’ll crush her, Aunt Ginny, and I don’t think I can take seeing the look on her face.”

“Do you think it’ll be easier to see the look on her face when she finds out you didn’t tell her?” she asked softly. “You have to do it, before she finds out from someone else.”

He nodded, but was saved from further comment by the front door opening again. “Mum?” They both recognized Liz’s voice. “Mum, are you home?”

“In here, sweetheart!” Ginny called.

“Hi Nick,” Liz greeted, walking into the kitchen. “Mum, do you have any bacon? We’re out.”

Sorry it’s so late guys, but I got MAJOR writer’s block. And it sucked. Oh, and the lyrics don’t make sense, I know, but the title does, and I love that song, so sue me. This chapter is probably sooooo boring, and I’m really sorry, but it needed to be done. By the way, Micah remind you of anyone?


Chapter 5: Renegade

Dear Mama I can hear you cryin', you're so scared and all alone,
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long...

~Styx

With two loud pops, Lynn and Arthur apparated to Platform Nine and Three Quarters at ten-thirty to see the gleaming Hogwarts Express waiting for them. Lynn turned to her friend, grinning.

“You have both of your ears this time?” He had failed his first apparation test after leaving his left ear with the instructors.

“Very funny,” Arthur replied flatly.

“Really? You don’t look very amused. But then again most people with only one eyebrow don’t.”

“What?” he squeaked, reaching up a hand to hastily check on his eyebrows. Thankfully, they were both still there. “Lynn...” he whined.

“You know, you believe me every time I tell you something’s missing.”

“That’s because the only time I won’t believe you will be the time I’m actually missing something.”

She grinned. “Alright, we’d better go find some compartments. I’ll meet you back here in five minutes, alright?” He nodded, and Lynn made her way to the front of the train while Arthur made his way to the back. They never sat together because their friends had what they liked to call ‘creative differences’.

They completely despised each other.

It wasn’t any specific incident that made them so opposed to each other’s company, more of the fact that they were so different. Each group was exactly what the other disliked.

When Arthur exited the train, Lynn’s two best friends, Elise Abercrombie and Courtney Linsini, were chatting by the pillar where he was supposed to meet Lynn. He sighed, and made his way over to them. It was too early for so much giggling.

Elise was often mistaken for a Weasley at first, with her bright orange hair and freckled face. She was loud and outgoing, and she didn’t care what people thought of her. Courtney had extremely pale skin, contrasting sharply with her dark brown hair and navy eyes. She was Hogwarts’s resident gossip queen, and although she never started rumors, she’d definitely encourage them. Arthur didn’t particularly mind them, but sometimes they were a little hard to take.

He forced a smile and greeted them cheerfully. “Morning girls.”

“Hi Arthur,” they said in unison, craning their necks to look behind him.

“They’re not here,” he told them in a bored tone.

“Who?” Elise asked in surprise.

“Celia and Amelia. They’re not here yet, you can breathe.”

“Oh, we don’t really mind them...” Courtney lied.

“Yeah, and my name’s Helga Hufflepuff.”

“Funny, I thought Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron named you Arthur,” a voice from behind him said. Elise and Courtney both turned red and started whispering.

“What are you doing here?” Arthur asked Phil, slightly grateful for the distraction from Giggle 1 and Giggle 2.

“I dropped my adorable little brothers off. They’ve been awfully cheeky lately, I don’t know what’s gotten into them.” Actually, Phil seemed to be playing babysitter today, seeing as he had Shayla hanging off one of his arms and Mercury attached to his leg. “Ah, the charming Courtney and the lovely Elise, wonderful to see you both again.”

“How’s the Ministry?” Elise managed to ask through her laughter.

“Dull,” he answered truthfully before turning back to his cousin. “So, Artie-wartie...”

“I’m going to kill Jane.”

“As I was saying, Artie, where’s Miss Longbottom today?”

“On the train putting her trunk away. She should be back soon.” Phil nodded, and seemed like he was going to say something else, but Arthur looked over his shoulder and spotted someone before he had the chance.

“AMY!” he yelled. “Where are you going?”

Amelia Corner, one of Arthur’s only two friends outside his family, turned red and changed direction, now heading towards their group. Amelia was extremely shy, and so quiet some people were actually under the impression that she was mute. She had a fairly plain appearance, tall with medium brown hair, olive skin, and hazel eyes. Knowing her, she probably saw Arthur with a group of people and tried to slip past him so she didn’t have to talk to anyone.

She gave him a small smile when she reached the group, looking down at her feet. Courtney and Elise snickered, and Arthur shot them a look. Amelia was actually so shy she was afraid of people, and those two did nothing to help.

“Good morning Amelia, how was your holiday?” Phil asked cheerfully.

“Fine,” she said quietly, looking surprised that he remembered her name. Lynn’s friends had a sour look on their faces.

“Arthur, I’ve been meaning to ask you...” Phil started, but was interrupted this time by Lynn herself.

“My god the first years are annoying this year! They actually shoved me over to get to a compartment. And I’m head girl! I should have given them a detention...” she trailed off, seeming to notice Phil’s presence for the first time. “Oh....hi...”

“Hi,” he said, blushing slightly. “I was wondering if I could have a word?”

“Yeah, sure,” she answered quietly. Phil took her hand and led her over to another part of the platform. Elise and Courtney started chatting happily about so and so dating whoever, and Amelia was looking for an owl treat in her bag. Arthur sat down on her trunk and watched Phil and Lynn closely. They had been acting very strange ever since the New Years Party, and he really wanted to know why.

“OH, DON’T YOU DARE GIVE ME THAT SLYTHERIN BULL, MICAH!”

“Celia’s here,” Amelia said conversationally.

A good way to describe Celia Macmillan would be absolutely barking mad. She loved everything muggle, from muggle clothing, muggle music, muggle food, muggle films, anything. She was the bane of her pureblood obsessed twin brother’s existence, she wore parkas in summer and tank tops in winter, she celebrated Christmas a full two months early, and then didn’t stop until well into February, and she generally did things just to annoy anyone conventional.

Arthur grinned when he caught sight of his friend, currently glaring daggers at her brother, Micah. Celia was naturally very pretty, but she didn’t really bother much with her appearance, aside from her eccentric collection of clothes. Today it was her favorite knee-high socks, covered in Santa hats, black moccasins, a black skirt, a red scarf, and a white T-shirt. No coat.

She grinned when she spotted Amelia and Arthur, running over to them like an excited little girl and planting a kiss on both of their cheeks. “Hello my darlings, smashing to see you again.”

“Cece, you’re going to die of pneumonia some day,” Arthur said, offering her his cloak.

“Oh Art, always the practical one,” she smiled, shoving the garment back towards him. “I’m not cold.”

“Of course you’re not,” he rolled his eyes. Many people often wondered how three people so different could become such good friends. The answer was simple, really. They were all misfits. There was practical, down to earth Arthur, born into one of the most famous Wizarding families of his time and being completely different than all of them, excruciatingly shy Amelia, and batty Celia. They had each other, because they had no one else.

“Hey, did you get us a compartment yet?” Amelia asked Arthur.

“Yup, last one,” he answered.

“As long as it’s plenty far away from my brother,” Celia grumbled.

“He’s being a git again?” Amelia asked sympathetically.

“You have no idea,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I swear he thinks he’s some kind of savior to the Wizarding world and Merlin’s gift to women. He’s mental, and not in a good way.” She visibly shook herself. “Ready to go?”

Arthur nodded, taking one glance behind him where he saw Lynn and Phil standing very close together. He heard both girls give a loud sigh in unison.

“Art, when are you going to realize that she’s just not interested?” Celia asked.

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Wow, Celia, I would really love it if you’d actually say exactly what you were thinking sometimes. Don’t spare my feelings, honestly...”

“Oh hush, you horse’s behind, just because I speak the truth doesn’t mean you should ridicule my wise ways. Us prophets have a very rough life as it is...”

“Did you just call me a horse’s behind?”

“And if I did?” she asked, jaw jutting out defiantly.

“She’s right, you know,” Amelia cut in. “She’s not interested.”

“Not you too!” Arthur cried dramatically, before sighing. “I know. But I’d like to live in blissful denial for the rest of term, okay?”

“Whatever you say, Seabiscuit,” Celia conceded.

“Sea-what?”

“Nevermind,” she said, grabbing Amelia by the arm and heading towards the back of the train. Arthur turned around once more to see Phil kiss Lynn on the cheek. He sighed, before turning around and following his friends.

************

Annabelle Malfoy slid out of the muggle taxi quickly, mildly worried that the contraption would blow up. She was always surprised her parents let her take muggle transportation to and from the train every year, but she guessed anything to save them the trouble of picking her up was good enough. She paid the grumbling old man, fumbling the notes a bit, and rushed through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

She was a bit on the early side (her mother always said punctuality was of the utmost importance), so she had her pick of compartments. Choosing one near the back of the train, Annie levitated her trunk into the luggage rack and changed immediately into her Hogwarts robes, pinning her prefect’s badge onto them. She then pulled out a mirror and gave her make-up a once over before curling up in a seat and flipping open a Charms book.

Annie was pretty, and she knew it. She was blessed with the Malfoy genes, with almond shaped grey eyes, a tall, slim frame, and silky white blond hair. She’d thankfully been spared her mother’s pug nose, but had gotten her high cheekbones, porcelain white skin, and delicate hands. Like any good pure-blooded witch, she always used her looks to her advantage. She was smart too, but she didn’t let on too much. No man wanted their girlfriend to know more than them. It helped her get what she wanted though.

So she was a little conceited. Everyone had their flaws, right?

While she was brushing up on Patronuses, the compartment door slid open, and Annie’s boyfriend walked in.

Matthias Crabbe was not good looking in any way, with lank hair the color of straw, coal black eyes, and an oily complection with a constant outbreak of acne on his forehead. He wasn’t particularly interesting or intelligent either. But he was a good kisser, and his bloodline satisfied her father.

Without so much as a ‘hello’, Matthias pushed her roughly against the wall of the compartment and crushed his mouth against hers. She pushed him away almost immediately, coughing and trying not to vomit.

“Have you been smoking a pipe?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” he answered in a low grunt. “My father says it looks more dignified than cigarettes. Why, that bad?”

She grimaced, “Let me just get you a mint.”

While she was rummaging in her trunk for the said item, the compartment door slid open again, and the rest of their little group of Slytherins walked in. They weren’t particularly close, just friends of convenience. They all had the same interests at heart.

Most Slytherins didn’t really stand by the old way of doing things anymore. Meaning, they didn’t limit themselves to pureblooded marriages, they fraternized with the other houses, they didn’t care about bloodlines, and they didn’t practice dark magic. Truth be told, Annie didn’t give a rat’s furry **** about bloodlines either. She pretended like she did to please her father, satisfy her mother, and punish her brother and the Davies ***** that stole him from her.

She only called her mudblood because she knew it bothered him. She wasn’t even muggleborn, she was halfblood. She could have been Merlin’s direct descendant for all Annie cared, she still took her brother away from her.

And now he’d gone and married her. Annie hoped they’d have lots of little bratty children together.

She finally found a peppermint in the bottom of her trunk, and tossed it to Matthias before sliding into his lap and greeting the others.

Stella Goyle was in Annie’s year, and the two had been friends since the first train ride. She was slightly on the timid side for a Slytherin, but could be vicious if you got her riled up enough. She was a bit chunky, with round cheeks, shiny chestnut hair, and dark eyes. Stella was the bookworm of the group, and Annie was under the impression that she actually did Emilian and Matthias’s homework half the time.

Twins Eleni and Emilian Zabini were both stunning in appearance, with dark skin, high, aristocratic cheekbones, midnight black hair, and light eyes of a pale lavender. Eleni was nothing short of cruel. She was the type to throw curses now and ask questions later, and the curses weren’t tickling charms. Emilian was slightly dim, but he was very strong and also quite charming. He was the muscle of the group.

The last member was their unofficial leader, Micah Macmillan. He was shrewd and calculating, although sometimes extremely reckless, and he was also unbelievably intelligent. He was in good graces with the staff, proven by his title as Head Boy. Micah looked like some kind of twisted version of a Greek god, with his golden blond hair, lightly tanned skin, and piercing blue eyes. Right now, he was standing by the doorway brooding.

“You look happy to see us, Micah,” Annie commented.

He shot her a look. “Lasting effects from spending a holiday at home.”

“Which one was it this time, the parents or the sister?” Eleni asked.

“Both,” he answered darkly. “My parents are just so bloody nice, and Celia’s so *******’ weird. And they’re proud of her! A few weeks with those three and I’m about ready to crucio myself.”

“Too bad you can’t even crucio a spider, eh?” Eleni shot back.

“Can it, not everyone was born with the Dark Arts sprouting out of their nostrils,” he snapped. “And I’m getting there.”

“I still can’t believe Emil got imperio before you, though.”

“Oi, what happened to brotherly love?” Emilian asked in mock outrage.

“It died along with the Weird Sisters,” Annie answered without missing a beat. They all snickered a bit.

“So, no luck with Freaky Cece then?” Eleni asked Micah. Annie thought they were a little too harsh on his sister, but then again, she wasn’t really one to talk about falling out with siblings.

“I’ve given up,” Micah announced. “She’s not my sister anymore, so she’s fair game.”

“Fair game for what, a dungbomb?” Eleni questioned with a raised eyebrow. “We haven’t accomplished much along the lines of actual action, you know.”

“These things take planning, girl. We can’t just go rampaging through the school whenever we feel like it.”

“This coming from the person who slipped a sleeping potion in Professor Guige’s pumpkin juice and stole half her potion’s ingredients in broad daylight, just because he felt like it.”

He grinned, shrugging. “Didn’t get caught, did I?”

“I’m just saying we should do something about scum like your sister,” she shrugged.

“And I’m agreeing with you. But something as big as this needs to be carefully thought out. And we’ll need more than six students to pull it off.”

Annie was starting to get confused. Since when was there going to be an operation? All they did was practice curses and read up on old Dark Lords.

“Wait, what are we planning on doing to the scum?” she asked, confused.

Micah turned his gaze on her, eyes cold. “Eliminate them.”

Annie went even more pale than usual. “Eliminate them?”

“What did you think we were doing Annie, playing around?”

“Well, no, but eliminate them?”

He sighed patiently. “Look, if you’re going to get anywhere in life, you need to learn who you can allow to live and who you need to... eliminate. Surely your father’s been over this with you.”

“Micah, my father had a daughter so he could marry her off, not teach her how to be a Death Eater.”

He smirked. “Well, let this be your first lesson. We aren’t Death Eaters, because we’re not going to lose.”

************

Lynn was staring out the window of the unmoving train blankly, thinking about Phil, a topic that had been occupying far too much of her brain lately. She’d been avoiding him ever since their kiss on New Years, but today he’d cornered her with no escape. It wasn’t as awful as she thought it would be.

Actually, it wasn’t awful at all. That’s what was so horrible about it.

They didn’t fight at all. They’d stood so close to each other they were touching, but neither of them bothered to move. Their conversation itself was nothing of real consequence, but at the end of it Phil had kissed her on the cheek and made her promise to write to him. He seemed so worried that she wouldn’t that she was actually going to.

“Earth to Lynn...”

“Huh?” she asked stupidly. Elise was waving a hand in front of her face, and Courtney was giggling.

“We asked who you think the new Transfiguration teacher will be?”

She grinned widely, “I know.”

Both of her friends’s eyes went wide. “You know and you didn’t tell us!” Elise exclaimed.

“Who is it?” Courtney asked eagerly.

Lynn sighed. “I don’t know if I should tell you...”

“Please,” Courtney whined.

Lynn grinned again. “You remember Nick Black, don’t you?”

“No. Way!” Elise cried.

“He’s so dreamy!” Courtney interjected.

“Transfiguration’s my new favorite class.”

“Elise, you hate Transfiguration,” Lynn said reasonably.

“Yeah, when Roshwick taught it! Who cares about the bloody subject as long as the professor’s nice to look at!” Lynn rolled her eyes, shaking her head at their silliness.

“Shouldn’t you be patrolling?” Courtney asked Lynn, pointing to the scenery moving passed the train. Lynn yelped. She hadn’t realized the train had started moving.

“Hey guys...” she said hopefully, smiling sweetly at the other two girls.

“No,” they said in unison. Her face dropped. Lynn hated patrolling by herself, and there was no point in asking the bloody Head Boy to help. The times they were forced to interact, he alternatively insulted her and the people she knew and tried to flirt with her. She’d dragged both Elise and Courtney once, but patrolling wasn’t exactly one of the most enjoyable of experiences.

“Please?” she begged.

“No, the underclassmen are too cheeky,” Elise said truthfully.

She gave up, “Fine. I’ll go see if I can talk Arthur or Mira into it, but you guys are mean.”

“We know,” Courtney agreed. Lynn left the compartment sighing, and was shocked when an owl landed on her shoulder. She pulled out a small slip of parchment and unrolled it to read:

I miss you already.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t suppress a tiny grin as she pulled out a quill and wrote back, Really? I’m enjoying the freedom, and sent Mrs. Gilderstein on her way.

A few minutes later, Lynn poked her head into Arthur’s compartment to see him, Celia, and Amelia tossing chocolate frogs back and forth. “Hey guys,” she smiled.

Amelia waved, clamming up as usual, Celia tossed a chocolate frog to her, which she caught gratefully, and Arthur got up. “What can we do to be of service?”

“Art, will you patrol with me?” she asked, giving him a puppy dog look.

“Sure,” he said reluctantly.

“You will?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh thank you!” she squeaked, giving him a hug. “I hate doing it on my own.”

Lynn was so happy to have someone to go with her as they set out down the hall that she didn’t notice a compartment door sliding open until she ran right into someone. She looked up to apologize, but stopped suddenly when she realized who she’d run into. The Head Boy himself was looking at her with a revolting smirk on his face. Lynn glanced behind her to see the Zabini twins and Arthur having a bit of a struggle, resulting in Emilian putting Arthur in a head lock, and Eleni turning to observe the other two.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Always being in places you shouldn’t be, eh Longbottom?”

There was a reason Lynn wasn’t in Gryffindor. Standing in a corridor with three potentially dangerous Slytherins, one of which who had his face just inches from hers, was something she found very frightening. If she would just take a step back, it would have helped some, but her pride wouldn’t let her.

She was a Ravenclaw, after all.

“Oh dear, someone forgot to brush their teeth this morning,” she bit back.

“Ooh, we’re feisty.”

“Leave her alone!” Arthur shouted.

Eleni snickered, “Oh, now I’m scared. Micah, we’d better get out of here before this one pops a blood vessel.” The door to their compartment slid open, and Annabelle Malfoy, Matthias Crabbe, and Stella Goyle joined the group.

Oh, Lynn thought, that helps...

“Who do we have here?” Matthias asked.

“Well, this right here is our darling Head Girl,” Micah started, sneering down at a narrow-eyed Lynn. “And over there, we have a Weasley, the Hufflepuff one. What’s your name, Allen?”

“Arthur,” Annie corrected, leaning against the wall and looking at the nails on her left hand.

“Arthur, that’s it. Anyway, they decided they’d pay us a visit.”

“I say we actually do some damage this time,” Eleni suggested, twirling her wand through her fingers.

“Not all damage is physical, Eleni,” Micah said to her before turning back to Lynn. “You’re a pretty one,” he cooed sickeningly, trailing a finger down the side of her face. “Too bad about the mudblood loving...” Arthur broke out of Emilian’s grasp and punched Micah right in the jaw.

“Don’t touch her again,” he growled, surprised at his own behavior. He’d never even been in a fight before. The young man he’d punched, however, looked furious.

“Why you little...” He brought his hand back to throw a punch at Arthur, but Annie grabbed his arm.

“Micah, stop, it’s not worth it. You could get your badge taken away,” she said quietly. “Why don’t we just go sit down...” She rather forcefully shoved the older boy toward the open door of their compartment, keeping a cautious hand on his arm. She looked back towards Arthur, and their eyes connected. When cold slate grey met warm sky blue, Arthur thought he saw something he recognized.

Fear.

They held their intense gaze for a few long seconds before Annie mentally shook herself and followed her fellow Slytherins into their compartment. Arthur was sure he must have imagined it. People like Annabelle Malfoy didn’t get scared.

Both he and Lynn watched the compartment door shut, but not before they heard someone yell, “DAMNIT ANNIE, WHAT WAS THAT?!”

I was going to wait until Friday to finish this, but I decided to be nice and post the part I had done now. So, part 2 will hopefully be up Friday! Please excuse the first part, that’s what happens when the poor author suffers from a month long writer’s block. And hey, after forty-six chapters, you finally get to see what Draco does for a living! No, I didn’t withhold the information for dramatic appeal, I just decided, lol.


Chapter 6: Like The Rain (Part 1)

I hear it falling in the night, and filling up my mind,
All the heaven's rivers come to light, I see it all unwind.
I hear it talking through the trees, and on the window pane,
When I hear it, I just can't believe I never liked the rain.

~Clint Black

Mira sat down at the Slytherin table next to Daniella Weasley on the Saturday they returned to Hogwarts, mildly depressed that she still had three essays to do before Monday’s classes. It was then that she heard it, the first of many inquiries that would plague her everywhere she went for the next few days.

“Oi, Black!” She lifted her head to see a seventh year girl she had never spoken to before sitting across from her. “I heard your brother’s the new Transfiguration teacher.”

“Yes,” Mira confirmed. Well, duh, he’s sitting at the staff table, you nitwit...

“Is he single?” the girl asked hopefully. Mira realized where this conversation was leading.

“No,” she answered immediately.

“Ah, that’s too bad. Nice backside, that one.” Mira started choking, and Dani thumped her on the back, laughing.

“That’s my brother!” she exclaimed to the blonde girl once the seventh year had returned to her own friends.

Dani shrugged, “Not hers. And she does have a point, you know.”

Mira rolled her eyes, “Thanks Dan, that’s a huge help.”

“Just warning you...” she said defensively, chuckling to herself.

Mira glanced up at her brother, who was sitting at the staff table beside their Uncle Remus, grinning as the werewolf said something to him. Looking around the Great Hall, Mira saw that much of the female population of Hogwarts was staring in the same direction, gazing at Nick dreamily with their heads in their hands.

“This is going to be a long week.”

Meanwhile, Nick sat beside his uncle at the staff table nervously, looking around the Great Hall with some trepidation. What had he been thinking? He couldn’t honestly expect to teach all these students, could he? There were hundreds of them! How stupid was he, thinking he could handle this? Maybe he should just back out now and save himself the embarrassment...

“You’ll do fine,” Remus said quietly, as though he knew exactly what his nephew had been thinking.

“Did you just legilimens me again?” he asked.

“Didn’t need to,” the older man answered. “You had that deer in the headlights look. It looks like there’s a lot of them, but once they’re broken up into classes it’s not that bad,” he added, gesturing to the students.

“I’m going to make a complete fool of myself,” he said despairingly.

“No, you’re not,” Remus assured again as the last of the students filtered into the hall.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve actually always wanted to teach Divination for a reason. I looked into your future during my session with the crystal ball this afternoon, and you’re going to be the best Transfiguration teacher this school has ever seen. You’re also going to have thirteen blue-haired children and play professional Quidditch at the age of ninety.” Nick grinned in spite of himself. “I just know. And even if you do make a fool of yourself, the girls will still like you,” he said, chuckling. Nick looked around the hall, startled to find most of the girls staring at him.

“Are they going to do that for long?” he asked, his voice slightly squeaky.

“Probably just a few weeks before they get used to you,” Remus answered, a grin playing across his lips as he looked towards the Slytherin table. “Look at Mira though.”

His sister was sitting beside Dani with a very unamused expression on her face while a overly-excited sixth year chatted away in the seat beside her, pointing every so often at the staff table. “She’s going to have a lot of new friends,” Remus chuckled.

“She’ll be thrilled,” Nick agreed dryly.

“Your mother would be very proud of you, you know,” Remus said suddenly. He rarely talked about his sister.

“I hope so,” he said quietly, glancing up at the sky briefly before changing the conversation’s direction. “So, feeling old yet Grandpa?”

“I’ve always felt old, now I just have proof.”

“Ah, you’re not old, Liz and Sirius are just having kids far too young,” he grinned.

“That excuse may work for Harry and Ginny, but...”

“You’re twenty-five at heart.”

“That’s what I’ll keep telling myself,” he chuckled. “I’m just glad Liz hasn’t been morning sick these last couple of days. I remember when your aunt was pregnant with Becca, it seemed like all she did was vomit.”

“Sirius said she’s been really crabby though.”

“She’ll be like that the entire time then, he’d better get used to it. Tonks was like that with Violet. With Sirius, she cried over everything, and with Becca she wanted to cuddle constantly. Pregnant women are one of the mysteries of the universe. Well, women in general really...”

“Isn’t that the truth,” he sighed. Both men laughed a bit as Minerva (Nick still hadn’t gotten used to calling her that) got up to make a speech.

“Welcome back students! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday, and that you’ve come back well rested and ready to learn.” A few of the kids groaned. “Now, as most of you have probably noticed, we have a new Transfiguration professor. I’d like you all to welcome Professor Black.”

Nick waved while grinning at the students. Most of the girls in the room sighed, and the boys were looking at him suspiciously. He had a feeling it was going to be a long week.

The headmistress was looking rather amused. “Now, without further delay, tuck in!” Food appeared on all five tables, and hands immediately began reaching out for various dishes. Nick was still getting used to seeing the Great Hall from this angle, and was now thinking how the scene looked like feeding time at the zoo. Chuckling to himself, he reached for a chicken leg as an owl landed in front of him.

“Got your times confused, do you?” Remus asked the owl as though expecting it to answer.

“Nah, it’s probably from Hailey. I sent her a letter earlier today,” he explained. His aunt and uncle had taken the news of Hailey’s return very well after the initial shock wore off, Tonks insisting on Nick telling her to drop by for tea sometime so they could catch up.

In his letter, he’d asked her to meet him in Hogsmeade tomorrow afternoon. He had one day before classes started, and he intended to put it to good use.

She seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

Nick,

I’d love to meet you in Hogsmeade! I’m so happy for you, and I can’t wait to see you again. I have to work until four, so how about we meet at the Three Broomsticks at six? I’m really looking forward to it.

With love,
Hailey

He grinned, pocketing the letter and giving the owl a piece of his roll. His mood brightening considerably as he looked around the hall again, he noticed that there weren’t as many students as he had originally thought.

************

Hailey was poking a brain experimentally with a long stick Sunday morning, ducking just in time to avoid a spurt of some type of green slime. And to think, she had one of these in her head. She really didn’t like the Intelligence Chamber all that much, the brains were far too temperamental. But as a trainee Unspeakable, she went where she was assigned and did as she was told. Or at least that’s what her boss told her.

The man was a first class ******.

She moved around the tank gingerly, as she was always afraid she would spill some of the potent greenish liquid. Who would have thought of all things, Basilisk venom would keep detached brains functioning?

Poking a different brain, she didn’t get out of the way in time before she got a face full of blue gunk. Coughing and sputtering, she vaguely noticed that it tasted a bit like spaghetti before she managed to evanesco it. Checking for any damage, she jotted down a few notes about how the...fluids... seemed to be case specific. Like they didn’t know that already. Could have at least warned her...

Her boss hated her, she knew it. You’d think after getting bitten by that stupid, six eyed, deranged snake while the rest of the apprentices were sitting on their lazy bums and studying out of books, she’d get a better assignment than goo.

When Hailey looked down at her hand, she realized why she didn’t get a better assignment. She had the attention span of a fly.

“Eep!”

The tentacle-like memories on the brain (honestly, why do memories look like tentacles?), had wound themselves all the way up her pole and were now attached to her wrist. She pulled the stick out of the water so that the brain was swinging around wildly in midair as she shrieked. The scene would have been comical if it wasn’t for the fact that she was literally being attacked by a ball of nerves.

“Get it off me, get it off me!” Hey, she was a girl after all.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!”

Oh great...

Her boss, the infamous Draco Malfoy, looked livid. He had a rather unattractive vein popping out of his forehead, and his face was blotchy with anger. How this man had fathered a kind, sensitive man like Ax was beyond her.

“It attacked me, Sir...” she sputtered, still swinging the brain around with one hand. He rolled his eyes and waved his wand, causing the memories to squeak and curl back. Hailey dropped the stick, feeling very foolish, and the brain seemed to deflate with an odd squelching sound.

“Why didn’t you use your wand, Cullingwood!” he roared. She didn’t answer. “Are you a witch or not!? That’s the problem with you muggleborns, you don’t think! You’ve just ruined a very valuable specimen!”

Why don’t we replace it with yours then, it obviously isn’t getting any use, she thought.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Malfoy,” she stuttered.

“No, you’re not, but you certainly will be. If it were up to me, you’d be jobless right now. Off to the Death Chamber with you, while I clean this mess up.” She hung her head, walking to the door without a word. It was situations like these that brought her shyness bubbling to the surface.

She knew she heard Malfoy mutter, “Stupid mudbloods,” before she closed the door.

“Bloody Slytherins,” she whispered to herself.

Alright guys, here’s part two! Finally, I’ll be done with this awful chapter! And just don’t expect Shakespeare, it’s not my best. To clear something up from the last chapter, Draco isn’t the head Unspeakable, he’s just the trainee’s boss. He can’t fire anyone, so that’s why Hailey still has a job. I didn’t make that very clear, so I just thought I’d mention it. Oh, and Nia and Eliza, there’s something in here just for you two...


“Hailey!”

Hailey was in much better spirits when she walked through the jingling door of the Three Broomsticks at five to six later that evening, carrying the small bundle. She’d taken a page out of Liz’s book and gotten Nick a puppy, thinking it was a good gift for his new job. The little female beagle was currently fast asleep, her tail twitching slightly. She must have been having a good dream.

The person who was calling her name was the new professor himself, leaning against the bar and talking to the middle aged Rosmerta. Her face split into a grin as she made her way across the crowded room, noticing that Sirius was there too.

Suddenly nervous, she slowed her pace, wondering how Nick’s cousin had taken to her abrupt return. Her worries were dismissed, however, when Sirius spotted her and grinned boyishly.

“Hi,” she said brightly, being tousled slightly by the crowd around the bar.

“Whoa, I forgot how short you are,” Sirius said, looking down at her appraisingly.

“Nice to see you too,” she shot back. “Shouldn’t you be home with your pregnant wife? Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you, and I’m here officially. Apparently a resident thought their neighbor had his wife under the Imperius curse. Turned out that she was just a bit ditzy. Royal waste of time. So we just stopped by to grab some food. Of course, if my partner doesn’t hurry up, we’ll be late!” he ranted, shooting a glance over his shoulder with the last few words.

Hailey glanced around him, noticing Ax, who stuck his tongue out at Sirius before resuming his conversation with one of the waiters. “Wait, you and Ax are partners?”

“Yup,” Sirius confirmed. “So, how have you been?”

She glanced at Nick, who she realized was being ignored, and smiled before answering, “Not too bad, aside from the crazed snake.”

“Which one, the Runespoor or your boss?” Nick interjected. She snorted.

“Why, who’s your boss?” Sirius asked, just as Ax joined their conversation. Nick and Hailey both shot uneasy looks toward him.

“Oh,” he said in realization, handing a bag of food to Sirius. “My father?”

“Yeah,” Hailey nodded. Sirius winced sympathetically.

“Sorry about that,” Ax said, smiling slightly. “So, how have you been?”

“Good. What about you?”

“Couldn’t be better. Got everything I could have wanted, aside from better assignments. That woman calls the Ministry twice a month about the Imperius curse...”

“So, how’s the rest of the gang been?” she asked curiously, shifting the puppy slightly in her arms.

“Let’s see, Liz is crabby...” Sirius started.

“Marissa’s obsessed with a kneazle,” Ax continued, rolling his eyes.

“Landen and Angenette bicker constantly as usual,” Nick added.

“And Christian’s been in Egypt for the past few months, so we haven’t heard much from him. We’re hoping he’s found himself a girl,” Sirius finished.

“Egypt? Seriously?” Hailey asked.

“As Sirius as I am,” he answered.

“So he’s not in Egypt?” Sirius looked confused, and she sighed theatrically. His eyes widened as it clicked.

“Hey, I’m very serious!” Nick raised an eyebrow. “I’m Sirius!”

“We know,” Ax said in a babying tone, patting him on the back.

“Why do you have a puppy?” Nick asked Hailey, changing the subject.

“Oh!” she replied, having forgot about the beagle. “She’s for you. I thought about how Moony used to be our class pet in Defense before you lot graduated, so I figured the kids would like her.”

“Really?” he asked quietly, looking truly touched.

“Of course, I had to do something, didn’t I?” she answered, smiling up at him. Ax and Sirius were making gagging noises behind their backs.

“Mate, I think she got you the dog so the students would have something to look at besides your ugly face,” Sirius said in a mock pitying tone.

“I’d watch it if I were you, seeing as everyone says we look alike.”

“Children,” Ax interjected. “Sirius, we’ve got to leave. Your mum will have our heads.”

Sirius nodded absentmindedly, plucking the dog out of Nick’s arms. “We’ll take this so you two don’t have to worry about her all night. I’ll drop her off first thing tomorrow. Have fun,” he said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Sirius. Nice to see you, Ax.”

“Later, guys,” both aurors said in unison, heading towards the door while the puppy wiggled in Sirius’s arms.

“They’ve changed a lot,” Hailey mentioned after they left.

“I remember when they couldn’t stand the sight of each other. That was even before I met you though. Of course, me and Sirius weren’t exactly pals at first either,” Nick added.

“Really?” He nodded. “But you two are so...”

“I know, but it was complicated at first. I kind of just showed up,” he sighed. “But that’s in the past now.”

“I’ve missed so much,” Hailey realized.

“In a way. But in a way, we’re still all the same, just different.”

“The same but different, eh?”

“That’s right,” he grinned. “Hey, what do you say we get out of here? It’s too crowded anyway, and I want to show you Hogwarts.”

“Sounds good to me,” Hailey agreed, sick of being jostled by the crowd around the bar. Nick grabbed her hand and led her to the door, but didn’t let go when they made it out onto the street. Hailey decided it had been far too long since she’d been to Hogsmeade. The little snow covered village looked perfect that January night, just like she remembered it. For a moment, it seemed like no time had passed.

Nick, on the other hand, was groaning, for he had immediately spotted five very familiar people. “Look, students out of bounds,” he said, chuckling slightly. His sister, Nicole Potter, Celeste Longbottom, Robert Creevey, and Jonathan Pye were all stopped on the side of the road peering into one of the shop windows. He noticed that the Creevey boy had an arm casually over his sister’s shoulders, and frowned.

“Oh dear...” Hailey replied, grinning slightly. “You’re not going to do anything to them, are you?” Nick smirked evilly, pulling her over to where they were standing.

“Ahem...” They all jumped, turning around in shock. Mira’s surprise was short lived, however, for she immediately spotted Hailey, squealed, and threw her arms around the older woman.

“I can’t believe you’re back!”

“I can’t believe how much you’ve grown!” Hailey said, tears prickling in her eyes. “Here, let me have a look at you,” she said, holding Mira at arm’s length. She was still shorter than her (and that was saying something), and still young looking for her age, but she’d definitely changed a lot. “Oh, come here, you silly girl,” she grinned, hugging her again.

“So, are you going to punish us, Professor?” Nicole asked Nick, raising an eyebrow and fighting a grin.

“Well, you know, I’d hate to give out a detention before my first class...” he said in mock consideration. Mira broke away from Hailey to pout.

“Nick...” she whined.

“No puppy dog eyes,” he pleaded, covering his face jokingly.

“Maybe you should punish us. Wouldn’t want to look soft in front of your girlfriend...”

“Shut up, Jon!” four people snapped quickly. Nick just laughed.

“Well, you guys, if I see you again, I’ll have to punish you. Hence the word ‘see’. We’re heading towards the main gates. By the way, nice map Nicole.” The red head stuck her tongue out at him, shoving the Marauder’s Map farther into her pocket.

“Bye Nick,” Mira said quickly, hugging her brother. “Thanks. See you later Hailey.” The three girls linked arms and walked away giggling, the boys shaking their heads behind them.

“Robert,” Nick coughed uncomfortably. Hailey rolled her eyes. Some things never change...

“Copernicus,” Rob replied, hanging back.

“You... you take care of her, you hear me?”

The Gryffindor nodded. “I was planning on it.”

“Don’t you hurt her, or I’ll kill you.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

Nick sighed. “I guess I’m trying to say, if it has to be someone, I want it to be you. We clear?”

“Clear,” Rob said, smiling slightly. They shook hands quickly, before Rob turned around to catch up with his friends.

“Oh, and kid?” Nick added. “She likes you too, just give it time.” His smile widened as he nodded, running off to catch up with the other four.

Nick sighed loudly. “That was hard.”

“I’m very proud of you,” Hailey said, fighting laughter. “Even if it was three years coming.”

“Oh shut it,” he shot back, slipping an arm around her shoulders and steering her towards the gates. It had started to snow lightly by this point. “So, how was work?”

“Mysterious.”

“I suppose you’ll never be able to tell me what you do there, right?”

“Nick, half the time I don’t even know what I’m doing. I got attacked by a brain today, you know.”

He looked puzzled for a moment. “What?”

“Look.” She shook back the sleeve of her jumper to show him a deep welt in the side of her hand. “That’s what a brain can do to you if you’re not paying attention. Slimy things too...”

“I can’t believe that,” he murmured, holding her hand close to his face for inspection. “Does it hurt?”

“It did at first, but now it’s just warm. It’s the memories that do it, they look like tentacles. Mr. Malfoy almost had my head for it.”

“*******.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” she murmured. “So, how was the feast yesterday?”

“Weird. You should see the Great Hall from the staff table sometime, it looks like the students haven’t eaten in weeks.”

“Bet all the girls just loved you,” she smirked.

“Don’t joke about that, it was awful!”

“Oh, I’m sure...” she laughed.

“So, Miss Cullingwood, have you ever wanted to see the inside of a teacher’s room?”

“Why Professor Black, you naughty, naughty boy.”

“Shh, we have to be quiet so Filch doesn’t catch us.” The snow was coming down harder now, quickly turning their hair white.

“Meet you there,” Hailey laughed, taking off running. Nick laughed and took after her, catching up almost immediately and pulling them both down into a snow bank.

“Stupid short legs,” she muttered distractedly, brushing some of the snow off her clothes. Nick said nothing, just leaned down and kissed her like he’d been wanting to for the past week. Warmth spread through her whole body, as thought she’d just taken an extra large gulp of butterbeer.

The absurdness of snogging in a snow bank on the grounds of Hogwarts didn’t strike either of them until they heard a high pitched giggle. They both jumped up to see three first year girls staring at them.

“Shouldn’t you three be in your common rooms?” Nick asked, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

“It’s only seven-thirty,” one of them piped up.

“Is it?” He checked his watch. “Well, it’s snowing. You don’t want to catch a cold, so how about going inside, eh?”

They nodded and trudged off toward the school, Hailey and Nick following. “Well, now that we’ve traumatized a few eleven year olds...” Nick started.

“I don’t think they were too offended, Nick.”

“Well, no, but I am a teacher...” he said, grinning sheepishly.

“Hey, it could have been McGonagall. I think they’d rather it be you.” She caught his eye, and they both burst out laughing.

“Minerva snogging, now that was an image I didn’t need,” he said with a slight shudder.

“It’s Minerva now, eh? Should I be jealous?”

He gagged. “No, I think it’s safe to say you’re definitely the one I’d pick out of that selection.”

“That’s good to know,” she laughed. “Now am I ever going to get to see what goes on in these teacher’s quarters of yours?”

“Ah, it’s not the teacher’s quarters you have to worry about. It’s the staff room where the real fun is.”

Hailey raised an eyebrow. “Dirty.”

Alright, ladies and gentleman, I’m pleased to present the first winner of the first Chapterly Random Quote Contest: Psyche3 (better known as Kim)! Her line will appear in this chapter. Kim was chosen not only for the humor of her quote, but for how wonderfully it fit into my plans for this chapter. It was a tough decision, and I loved reading everyone’s entries. For more information on this contest, and others like it, see the feedback thread. I’ll stop sounding like a salesman now, and let you get on with the next post.


Chapter 7: My Wish

I hope that days come easy and moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.

~Rascal Flatts


Mira knocked on her brother’s door early Monday morning, hoping to wish him good luck before his first class. She knew he didn’t need it though, he would be a great teacher. The only time he’d need good fortune was when escaping the gaggle of girls that would probably be stalking him. But that was another matter entirely.

She still didn’t see what there was to obsess about.

She felt kind of guilty about getting caught in Hogsmeade his first weekend on the job, and then getting away with it. But it wasn’t as though she’d asked him not to punish them... well, alright she had, but that wasn’t the point. She understood that he wouldn’t just let her break the rules because she was his sister though. Yes, he’d let her off the hook, but he would have let anyone off last night.

She knocked again, louder this time, wondering what was taking him so long. The door finally swung open a few moments later, revealing a very drowsy Nick clad in nothing but his boxers, his hair tousled from sleep.

“Good god Nick, what if I was McGonagall?”

“I have a thing that tells me who’s at the door.”

“A thing? You’re awfully technical there Professor,” she smarted.

“It’s early, little sis. What do you want?”

“Not much, just a million galleons and a pony.”

“You’re not a pony kind of girl, Mira.”

“How about a motorcycle then? One of those flying ones?” She actually looked slightly eager.

“Oh yeah, Uncle Remus would love that. His little girl flying around on a motorcycle.”

“He’d learn to love it,” she disagreed. “Don’t you have a bathrobe?”

“Er...” he said looking uncomfortable. Mira noticed a strange noise coming from inside his room for the first time.

“Nick, you should go turn the shower off before you waste all the water.” As soon as she said that, the sound of running water stopped. Mira raised an eyebrow.

“Now big brother, either you’ve got a very smart shower, or you’re not alone in there...”

“Umm...”

“Nick, do you have a... woops...” Hailey appeared at Nick’s elbow, giving him a sheepish smile. She figured out where Nick’s bathrobe had gone. “Hi Mira.”

“Hi Hailey,” Mira replied, a mischievous grin on her face.

“Not a word, little sis,” Nick warned. “Now, what did you need?” he asked Hailey.

“I was wondering if you had a hairbrush?”

“First drawer down on the left,” he answered, placing a small kiss on her forehead.

“Thanks.” As soon as she was out of earshot, Nick turned back to his grinning sister, reaching for his wallet on the dresser.

“Alright, how much to buy your silence?”

“Oh, Nick, I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“Seriously, how much?”

“I won’t tell, I promise!”

Nick looked skeptical. “If Sirius finds out about this, I’ll have your head.”

“Professor Black, threatening a student!” Mira laughed. Nick glared at her like a hurt puppy. “Alright, alright, I’ll drop it. Who’s your first class?”

“Seventh years.”

Mira snorted, “Bet that’s an interesting group.”

“What do you mean?” Nick asked in panic.

“It has both the Macmillan twins and the Weasley twins in it,” she said as way of explanation.

“And that means...”

She patted her older brother on the arm sympathetically. “When the first pair aren’t fighting, the second pair are causing trouble.”

“Oh great, scare the new teacher, that’s a wonderful way to make points Mira,” he sighed.

“Hey, I could be blackmailing you.”

“This is the last time I’m going to ask, how much do you want?!” She burst out laughing.

“You scare way too easily. I won’t tell anyone, you have my word.”

He sighed, looking resigned to the worst. “So, when do you have Transfiguration?”

“This afternoon,” she answered with a grin. “I’m hoping you’ll be dressed, although most of the girls in my class would probably prefer it if you weren’t.”

“Oh, is that the trick to keeping a class’s attention?”

“Copernicus Regulus, don’t you dare!” she warned. “All I hear about is you as it is!”

“Aww, don’t you want to have a class taught by your brother in his undergarments?”

“No, actually, I don’t. And why don’t you put a paper bag over your head while you’re at it?” He stuck his tongue out at her. “Mature, Professor.”

“You, go back to your dormitory, now,” he said, pointing in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

“Alright,” she conceded. “I’ll see you at breakfast then.”

“And yes, you have to call me Professor Black.”

“I know, I know,” she grumbled. “Have fun.”

“NOT A WORD!” he shouted after her. Shutting his door, he turned around to see Hailey sitting on his bed, smirking at him. “I’m never going to live that down.”

**************

Arthur was picking at his bacon at the Hufflepuff table early Monday morning, staring at the Slytherin table in fascination. Well, one group of Slytherins to be exact. The group he and Lynn had been unlucky enough to meet on the train.

The dynamic was strange. They didn’t even seem to care much for each other, but for the most part they stuck to each other like glue. They all listened blindly to what Micah Macmillan told them, never questioning his motives, never wondering if he just might be using them.

All except the group’s oddball, that is.

It had surprised him at first, realizing just who this oddball was. With her name and her father, she should have been first in line to take a dish of the **** Macmillan was dealing out. But she seemed to go along with the rest of them for the sole purpose of having no better option. Knowing her older brother, he’d wondered about her ever since Ax left home years ago, and the incident on the train had only heightened his curiosity.

Why in the world would she have stopped Macmillan, especially when there was nothing in it for her?

The look in her eyes as she pulled that big buffoon back into their compartment was enough to get anyone curious. Fear, coupled with a sense of being absolutely lost, instead of the frostiness and arrogance he’d always expected from Annabelle Malfoy.

What did she have to be afraid of? Why was she so lost?

“Arthur.... Arthur.... Arthur...”

“Huh?” he yelped, startled.

“Did you forget what planet you were on, or did your brain just get lost on your way from the common room?” Celia asked him, waving a hand in front of his face. He turned his head to look at her, and snorted with laughter. Her hair was up in two ponytails, with pink bows that made her look like a little girl.

“Nice hair,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Only her...

“Thanks,” she replied, striking a pose. “I was going for the first year look. Now, who or what were you staring at?”

"Well dear, I wasn’t staring at anyone. I was observing.”

“Not staring my foot, you had drool coming out of the side of your mouth,” she interrupted. His hand immediately flew to his chin, and she laughed. “You’re so easy.”

“Hahaha,” he said humorlessly. “As I was saying, I was observing the Malfoy girl.”

“Malfoy!” she sputtered. “Crazed lunatic, licks my brother’s shoes, that Malfoy!” she asked, pointing to the Slytherin table where said girl was picking at her porridge. “Oh Art, Lynn’s bad enough, but at least she’s sane!”

“No, I wasn’t staring like that Celia, she just fascinates me, that’s all,” he said passively. “Hey, what’s wrong with Lynn!?”

“I don’t have the time nor the patience, Art. And I don’t like my wife staring at other women, you know. If you want to leave me that badly, just be truthful about it, alright?” she said dramatically.

“Wait, why am I your wife?” He shouldn’t have asked. After seven years of being friends with an absolute nutter, he should have known better than to ask.

“Oh, you don’t even remember our wedding now? We’re you really that drunk? Why I even put up with you is beyond me, I deserve so much better...”

Amelia interrupted her mad ranting by sitting down. “What’s going on?”

“Apparently, Celia’s my husband now,” Arthur began.

“Yes, and my wife is staring at other women.”

“Observing!” he corrected impatiently.

“Why, who was he staring at?” Amelia asked.

“You’ll never guess Amy,” she paused dramatically. “Malfoy!”

Amelia looked at Arthur in disgust. “Oh no Arthur, Lynn’s bad enough...”

“What is wrong with Lynn!?” he asked again.

“Well, I guess she’s tolerable, but those friends of hers...” Celia started to explain.

“They’re not that bad,” Arthur interjected.

“Yes, they are,” Amelia disagreed. “I don’t know how anyone can stand them, all they think about is their hair and getting boyfriends. I bet they’ll be unbearable in Transfiguration, with the new professor and all.”

“Well, to be fair, he is very good looking,” Celia said matter-of-factly, glancing wistfully at the staff table.

“Why is my husband drooling over the new Transfiguration professor?” Arthur exclaimed in mock outrage.

“Because everyone’s drooling over the new Transfiguration professor,” another voice interjected.

“Coming from the new Transfiguration professor’s sister, this comment is very disturbing,” he commented as Mira sat down beside him.

“I really don’t get what the big deal is,” Mira said in exasperation.

“You’re his sister, you wouldn’t,” Celia answered dreamily. “Or at least I’d hope not,” she added.

“Well, she does have Black blood in her,” Arthur said evenly. Mira smacked his arm. “What? You lot’s family tree never branches...”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re hilarious. Lynn’s right about you, you can be a pain in the behind when you want to be.”

“Lynn talks about me?” he asked, completely forgetting to act insulted.

“You’re her friend, why shouldn’t she?” she asked. “Hey Celia?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Robert Creevey trying to steal a Danish right now?” she asked, since Celia was facing the Gryffindor table.

“Yeah, why?”

“Hang on,” she turned toward the Gryffindor table, “Robert Creevey, don’t you dare eat that!” The boy dropped the pastry he’d lifted off what appeared to be Mira’s plate, and sent her a wink. She blushed ever so slightly as she stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to Arthur. She continued, “As I was saying...”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Arthur interjected. “What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing, why?” Mira answered quickly, her cheeks reddening even more.

“No reason... tomato face!”

“Erm... it’s nothing really, I just.... I don’t know what to do about the... erm... thing...” she sputtered.

“Mira,” Arthur said paternally. “It’s alright darling. There comes a moment in everyone’s life where they begin to notice the opposite sex...”

“Oh shut up, you idiot! You’re worse than Sirius!”

“Alright, that’s an insult. There’s no need to punch below the belt.”

“Why does he have a puppy?” Mira asked no one in particular with a questioning look on her face.

“Who?” She pointed at the staff table where, sure enough, Nick was holding a small beagle puppy. Arthur snorted. “As if the girls needed another reason to love him.”

Celia sighed. “He sure does have a nice backside...”

************

Nick flopped down at his desk after lunch, reflecting on his first morning as a teacher. His little beagle, who he’d named Glory this morning after seeing how she always wanted to be the center of attention, was snoozing away on her pillow beside his feet. He’d thought both his classes went well, especially for his first day on the job. The late Professor Roshwick had left detailed notes about each class and their abilities, so it had just been a matter of picking up where he had left off.

The seventh years hadn’t been nearly as bad as he had expected after hearing Mira’s warning. The Weasley twins did cause trouble, but he thought they may have gone easy on him considering he was ‘one of the family’. The Macmillan twins glared daggers across the room at each other all throughout the lesson, but they did behave. Overall, he thought they were a very advanced group, even though the subject for the day was complete human transfiguration, which was very tricky for most adults.

The first years were a different story. They were a very timid bunch, and every time he asked one of the girls a question, they’d blush and mumble the answer to their desk. He’d have to work on them.

He took his feet off the desk and grinned at the first fifth years that were filtering in. His sister grinned at him, and he gave her a thumbs-up as Glory’s ears perked at the sound of voices. The rest of the students assembled and took their seats quickly, and Nick stood up to greet the class.

“Hi, I’m Professor Black, your new Transfiguration teacher.” He chuckled at the chorus of ‘hello, Professor Black’.

“This is my able-bodied assistant, Glory,” he added, gesturing to the beagle who was now wagging her tail. All the girls said ‘aww’ in unison, “and I’m hoping to get to know all of you very well. Now, I don’t like to waste time, so if you are not here, please raise your hand.”

The students laughed, and he sighed mentally in relief. He still had it...

“Well, today I thought we’d take a look at alternative forms of Transfiguration. There are many different variations of changing something’s form around the world, although the version you learn is the most widely accepted. In Ancient Egypt, for example, Transfiguration was used to preserve the dead. If any of you ever get the opportunity to visit the tombs, I’d suggest you’d jump at the chance. Not only is it very educational, but it’s really creepy too...”

“FIELD TRIP!” Mira yelled from the back of the room. Nick rolled his eyes, grinning. How did he know she’d be his worst student?


Next Chapter’s Challenge!

Think up a line a pregnant wife would say to her husband.

Post all entries on the feedback thread!

How's that for some fast posting? Happy Vetern's Day everyone!:D The TWO winners of the second chapterly challenge is... *drumroll*... Mama Roach and Hermione3000! (Although I did cut and rearrange them both a bit to make them fit better, I hope you don’t mind!) And you were all dead on when you suggested Liz thinking she was fat in this chapter, since that’s what I was planning. Hope it wasn’t too lame...


Chapter 8: Afraid of Changing

Well, I've been afraid of changing cause I've,
Built my life around you.
Time makes you bolder,
Even children get older.
And I'm getting older, too,
I'm getting older, too.

~Smashing Pumpkins, Landslide

“Liz, I can’t believe you still wear that stupid jacket!”

Elizabeth Lupin clutched her husband’s old Quidditch jacket defensively, pouting at the blonde sitting across from her. “I happen to love this jacket, Angenette.”

“Don’t you think it’s time to retire it, though?”

“No!” Liz exclaimed in outrage. “Ask Marissa, I bet she still has hers!”

The other woman looked up from her barely touched fish and chips, and said, “Well yeah, but mine’s hanging up in my closet.”

“Well, it’s comfy, alright!? What’s with the inquisition?”

“You won’t fit into it soon, you know,” Angenette said appraisingly.

“Urgh,” Liz replied. “Don’t remind me, I feel like a cow already.”

“Liz, sweetie, you’re not even showing,” Marissa pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter, I still feel like a cow. My emotions are all out of whack, I feel so bad for Sirius. I don’t know how he’s going to put up with me for nine months,” she said sadly, waving Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, over to order more drinks.

Marissa paled slightly. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“No, it’s not bad, just certain aspects of it aren’t the most pleasant experiences, that’s all. I could really do without the morning sickness. It came back again,” she added, rolling her eyes. She’d been blessed with no morning sickness for about a week before it started up again. “Hi Tom, can I have a refill, please?” she asked the ageing man, gesturing to her empty glass of water. Another thing about being pregnant... “And maybe some more bacon as well?”

“Sure thing, Mrs. Lupin,” he said, giving her a toothless grin. “Anything for you ladies?”

“Umm, yes, actually. Can I please have a side of sauerkraut and a side of cottage cheese, please?” Marissa asked suddenly. Angenette choked on her mead, and Liz looked at her friend strangely.

“Are the fish and chips alright, madam?” Tom asked, eyeing her full plate with concern.

“Oh yes, they’re excellent, I just found I wasn’t in the mood for them today,” she answered, smiling.

“Alright, I’ll have that out for you in just a moment.”

“Sauerkraut and cottage cheese?” Liz asked immediately. “I didn’t even know that was on the menu...”

“I just feel strange, I guess,” Marissa muttered, almost to herself, while picking up her overlarge handbag and feeding her kneazle a chip. She’d taken to carrying Lorena around with her everywhere, something that annoyed Ax to no end, but she hated to see the look on the kitten’s face when she left her alone.

“Ange, have you and Landen set a date yet?” Liz asked, changing the subject. She’d have to talk to Marissa later.

“No,” the other woman answered, rolling her eyes. “At this rate, I think we’ll be engaged forever. I think he’s scared. He probably thinks he’s too young and carefree to settle down, although he’s not nearly as bad when Christian’s in Egypt.”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’ll come around,” Liz assured. “If I can get Sirius to settle down, Landen will be no problem. Just leave a few bridal magazines around his apartment, he’ll get the picture.”

Angenette snorted, “Have you met him? He probably wouldn’t even notice unless I put one on his dinner plate.”

“Well, that works too,” Liz answered, looking on in disgust as Marissa mixed sauerkraut and cottage cheese and preceded to take a large bite. “Marissa, are you alright?”

“Yeah, fine,” she said, looking confused. “Oh, you mean the food? It’s good! Want to try some?”

“No!” both women exclaimed at the same time. Marissa pouted.

“Alright, pregnant lady needs to go to the loo. Be right back,” Liz said, standing up and then looking down at her feet in distaste. “Uck, they look exactly like my great-aunt Marge’s. I can barely get my fat toes into the straps! Remind me not to wear sandals from now on...”

“Why did you wear them in the middle of January anyway?” Angenette asked.

“Because I didn’t want to bend over to tie my trainers and Sirius wouldn’t do it for me,” she said, sulking. “He said his back hurt from auror training. He’s not the one carrying around another human being...” She continued muttering all the way to the bathroom.

“She’s not even two months along!” Angenette exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Marissa just shrugged, and continued to shovel large amounts of the most disgusting food combination known to mankind into her mouth.

************

Marissa opened the door to her apartment later that evening to be greeted by the sound of banging pots and pans.

“Metà-spirito marcio, egoista, vicino occupato di guastato sanguinante!”**

Uh-oh...

“Ax?” she called sheepishly, poking her head into the kitchen. “You alright, sweetie?”

“Come sono supposto di funzionare come questo?”**

“Baby, you’re cursing in Italian again. Which one is it this time, your father, your mother, or your sister?” Marissa asked, stepping into the kitchen and setting her bag on the table, placing Ren on the floor.

“La mia sorella!”** he cleared his throat, slamming a large pot on the stove. “Sorry, I mean my sister.”

Marissa sighed. His sister was the worst. “What happened this time?”

“She sent me this letter...” bang “...going on and on about...” bang “.... me being a disgrace...” bang “and how she wishes... crash “well, here, just read it.”

She quickly skimmed the note, which basically said Annabelle wished nothing but ill will on her brother and his ‘mudblood wife’, and hoped he’d drop off the face of the earth.

“Why can’t she just leave you alone?” Marissa asked, rolling her eyes. That girl really needed to learn when to stop beating a dead horse...

“I don’t know,” her husband answered.

“What are you cooking, anyway?” she asked, eyeing the many pots and pans now sitting either on the stove or on the counter.

“I don’t know,” he said again.

“Oh...” she nodded, then for some unexplainable reason, burst into tears.

Ax’s eyes widened, dumbfounded. “Marissa? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know!” she said thickly, echoing his answer from before.

“Did I do something?”

“No, I’m just... I don’t know!” she cried hysterically, dropping unceremoniously into a chair. Ax ran a hand through his hair, looking baffled, before he sat down beside her.

“Sweetie... I have no idea what’s going on, but anything you need, just tell me, alright?”

“Thanks,” Marissa whispered sheepishly, wiping her eyes. “I think I’m going to go take a nap. Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, anything.”

“Pick me up some sauerkraut?”

He looked at her strangely, but decided not to ask. “Sure thing,” he said, kissing her on the forehead. As she walked through the living room, she heard him mutter, “Fratelli germani sanguinanti...”

“I think it would just be easier to learn Italian.”

*************

Liz flopped on the couch in the sitting room at about six in the evening with a large bowl of chocolate ice cream, wiggling her toes slightly. Her sandals must have been so tight she’d lost feeling in them. And Sirius had the nerve to tell her it was all in her head... like she couldn’t tell the difference between a frozen toe and a toe without circulation...

She was feeling very...fat. She knew she wasn’t visibly showing yet, but her pants were all feeling a bit tight around the waist. Although she wasn’t sure if this was because of the baby or because of the large amounts of bacon she’d been consuming, it was still a big deal for her.

And Sirius kept telling her she looked beautiful. She snorted out loud. Yeah. Right.

They had an appointment in early March to find out the sex of the baby, having decided early on that neither of them were patient enough to wait nine months to find out. A contractor was coming over tomorrow to discuss their plans for building on to the house, and she had to babysit James and Gen the same day while her parents went to Dedalus Diggle’s retirement party. She’d accidentally mis-filed two patient files at work the other day, causing a state of minor confusion in the spell damage ward, when an intern mistook the long term resident ward for the minor injuries area, and reported that some seemingly uninjured man thought he was a famous author.

All in all, she was a very stressed out witch.

Sirius walked into the room, planted a sloppy kiss on her forehead, and collapsed into an armchair by the fireplace, groaning.

“Bad day?” Liz asked sympathetically.

“The worst,” he moaned, leaning back and closing his eyes. “Mad-eye came in to ‘see what a mess they’d made of us hooligans’. So, in honor of his special visit, they let him teach for the day. I think he was trying to kill us. Then Ax got a letter from his sister, so I got to hear him swear in Italian for about three hours.” He rubbed his face tiredly, attempting a smile. “How was your day?”

“Pretty good,” she answered, smiling as Moony laid his head on Sirius’s leg. “I went shopping with the girls. Oh, by the way, can you drop some wedding hints next time you see Landen? Angenette’s getting impatient.”

“I’ll put it on my to-do list,” he said, scratching Moony behind the ears. “Anything else of consequence?”

“Marissa’s acting weird, I still haven’t figured that one out yet.”

“How do you mean?”

“She’s been kind of... jumpy almost, and she was eating some pretty strange things...” she looked thoughtful for a moment. “Speaking of eating, do we...”

“I pre-fried some bacon, it’s sitting on the stove.”

“You’re amazing,” she said honestly.

“Don’t need to tell me twice.”

Neither of them moved.

Liz sighed, “Sirius...”

“Liz, please don’t make me get up!” he begged.

“You mean you won’t get one thing for your poor, old, fat wife, who’s carrying around your child. All I want is bacon, you know...”

“Urgh, fine!” he grumbled, stomping into the next room.

Liz sighed, looking down at Moony, who was giving her puppy dog eyes. She started stroking his head, muttering, “You understand me, right?”

************

When Sirius returned to the sitting room with a large plate of bacon, ignoring the steady twinge of pain in his back, he found Liz sitting up and looking guilty. She patted the spot beside her on the couch, and he sat down, placing the plate on the coffee table.

“I’m sorry I made you do that,” she said sheepishly, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder.

“It’s okay sweetie, I don’t mind,” he replied, relieved that she was out of her mood.

“No, I’m sorry. You had a bad day, and there was no reason I couldn’t get up and walk to the kitchen myself.”

“Don’t worry about it Liz, I’ll always be willing to fetch your bacon for you,” he chuckled, brushing some of the hair out of her face. She sighed contentedly, closing her eyes. “Speaking of the bacon though, are you sure eating so much of it is healthy?”

Her eyes snapped open immediately, and she sat up straight. “What, are you saying I’m fat?”

Sirius’s eyes widened, horrified. “No! I just mean, bacon’s not the most healthy thing ever, and...”

“And you don’t want a fat wife, is that it? You’re worried I’m going to get fat and ugly!” she yelled, jumping to her feet.

“Liz!” he cried in disbelief.

“I suppose if I get fat you won’t love me any more, is that it?!”

“Liz, no! You know I’ll always love you...”

“You’re going to leave me for someone skinnier, aren’t you?!”

He got up and tried to place a hand on her arm, “Liz, sweetie, calm down...”

“Don’t you sweetie me! Why don’t you just say it, huh? Just tell me I’m fat and get it over with!”

“But you’re not...”

“I know, Sirius, I’m not the woman you married,” she finished dramatically, turning on her heel and storming to the fireplace. She threw a handful of floo powder into it and disappeared in the green flames.

“Liz...” Sirius muttered pathetically after her. “You’re not wearing any shoes...”

He groaned, throwing himself back onto the couch and burying his face in his hands, gripping his hair in frustration. Barely two minutes later, the fireplace roared to life again, and he raised his head hopefully.

Instead of his wife, he watched Marissa stumble out of the grate, dusting off her cloak. “Oh, it’s you,” he said, disappointed.

“Don’t sound so excited,” she replied dryly. “Is Liz here?”

“No, she just...erm... left...”

She groaned loudly, letting herself fall onto the couch beside him, and buried her face in her hands just as he’d done moments before.

“Are you alright?” he asked, noticing her puffy eyes and pale complection. “Ax didn’t do anything stupid, did he?”

“No, it’s not that,” she said quietly, looking up at him. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything,” he answered.

She sighed quietly, biting her lower lip. “I think I’m pregnant.”




Dun, dun, dun... I know it was a shortie, but I took some stuff out and saved it for the next chapter.

** Bloody, spoiled rotten, selfish, close minded half wit!

**How am I supposed to function like this?

**My sister!

**Bloody siblings...

Next Chapter’s challenge!

If you were a deranged Slytherin, what kind of philosophical advice would you give?

Well, we’ll finally see just who’s the most evil. Have fun guys!

Next chappie up! The winner of the chapterly contest is once again a tie: marauderfan and Roach76 (again)! Honorable mention goes to Ginger98 for hitting the nail right on the head with her guess of who’s talking and who he’s talking to. She was even extremely close with their ‘plan’. This is the second time she’s done this, I think she’s bugging my phone lines... And also we can’t forget baseballblondie and her classic suggestions for Micah giving love advice. I really wish I could have fit it in somewhere. But I did finally fit in the Mortality Munchers thing! Hehe!


Chapter 9: Stand

Life's like a novel,
With the end ripped out.
The edge of a canyon,
With only one way down.
Take what you're given before its gone,
Start holding on, keep holding on.

~Rascal Flatts

Sirius blinked.

“You think you’re what?” he asked in surprise. Oh no, not another one... he thought to himself.

“Pregnant,” she said again, looking near tears.

“Does Ax know?”

She shook her head. “No. I wanted to be sure, before I told him,” she whispered. “We talked about this, we were going to wait a few years until we were ready! How did this happen?”

“Marissa...”

“What if he’s angry?” she asked, looking stricken. “I hadn’t thought about that. I didn’t mean to get pregnant, I swear! We don’t have the money for a baby!”

“Marissa...”

“Oh, I’m going to be an awful mother, I just know it!” she exclaimed hysterically.

“MARISSA!” That got her attention. She quieted down a bit, although she was still sniffling slightly. Sirius handed her a tissue. “Alright, no more of this hysterical girl stuff, okay? Everything is going to be fine, you hear me? You’ll be a wonderful mother. And as for Ax being angry with you, there is no way that would happen. You know he’s not the type to get angry now and ask questions later...”

“But he’s been under so much stress with training, and his sister’s being a little difficult again, and...” she interrupted.

“I still don’t believe he’d take it out on you. And if he does, I’ll knock some sense into him, I promise.”

She smiled slightly. “Thank you, Sirius. Now where is Liz anyway?”

Sirius bit his lip. “Erm...”

“What did you do this time?” she asked in exasperation.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear! She’s gone mental! She’s convinced I think she’s fat!” he answered indignantly. Marissa actually giggled. “Not funny...”

The fireplace roared to life before he could go on, revealing his wife, who was looking very sheepish.

He jumped up immediately. “Liz! Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, sounding as though she had a bad head cold.

Sirius smiled softly. Liz was studying her feet intently. “Oh, it’s okay. Just don’t run off again like that, alright? You worry me. Where did you go anyway?”

“My parents’s. James was the one who made me come to my senses though. He kept asking we where you were, and when I told him you didn’t come, he said, ‘Why not? Siwius always comes with you.’” Sirius laughed. “Oh, hi Marissa,” Liz added, finally noticing the presence of her friend.

“Umm, I’ll let you girls talk. How about some biscuits?” He left the room without waiting for an answer, closing the door just after hearing Marissa say, “Liz, I need your help.”

Sirius was in the process of making tea when someone apparated right behind him, causing him to jump and spill water down the front of his robes.

“Ax!” he yelled, turning around to see the other man grinning sheepishly at him. “Couldn’t you have apparated outside and knocked?”

“Aren’t you glad to see me?” he asked innocently.

“Not in particular, I see enough of you at work, thank you.”

Ax snorted. “Is Marissa here? I managed to lose track of her.”

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Yeah, she’s here. You’d better go talk to her though.”

“What?”

“You guys need to talk.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Sirius, you’re scaring me.”

“It’s not bad, don’t worry. Just go talk to her, alright?”

“Okay,” he replied uncertainly. A few moments after he left the kitchen, Liz pushed the door open and sat down at the table next to Sirius, grabbing a piece of bacon as she went.

“So, is she?” Sirius asked immediately, putting the newspaper down and turning to face her.

“Yes,” she answered. “I managed to calm her down some, I just hope Ax is okay with it. If he does something stupid, I swear I’ll...”

Sirius laughed slightly, grabbing her hand. “Don’t worry, I don’t think he will.”

“I hope not.”

They were both silent for a moment before Sirius spoke quietly. “Liz? You know I’ll think you’re beautiful no matter what, right?” She looked down at her feet. “Liz?”

“Oh Sirius, I love you so much,” she said in a rush, jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly.

They both heard a loud exclamation of, “WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO BE SORRY FOR!? THIS IS WONDERFUL!” from the next room, and they laughed a bit harder than the situation warranted.

*************

“This is so STUPID!”

Annie jumped about a foot in the air when Eleni slammed a large book on the table, breaking her away from her thoughts. She was supposed to be researching Grindelwald’s downfall, but she’d zoned out long ago.

“How is reading about people who failed going to teach us how to succeed?” the girl exclaimed, glaring at Micah.

“We’re going to learn from their mistakes,” Micah offered simply. Annie rolled her eyes. They had this conversation at least once a week, and he always had the same answer to that question.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. Don’t trust anyone. Don’t get involved with muggle matters. Don’t get distracted by one problem. When we’ve finished learning what we already know, then what are we going to do?”

“There’s no such thing as learning all there is to know, Eleni.”

“Then how is it that you claim to have all the answers, eh?” Annie’s interest perked up. Those two fought all the time, but never quite like this. No one questioned Micah. Ever.

He raised an eyebrow. “I have never claimed to have all the answers. If I did, I wouldn’t be sitting here trying to learn, would I?” Stella and Annie exchanged a glance. Micah was far too calm, making the situation even more explosive.

“Then tell us, oh great one, what was this failing of Grindelwald’s that is so important to us?”

“Easy,” Micah smirked. “He didn’t take steps to prevent death.”

“Voldemort did. He still failed.”

“Ah yes, but Voldemort got distracted by one problem. A problem named Harry Potter, to be exact. His steps against death were not effective once they were eliminated. It’s all or nothing. Your enemies will eventually figure out your weakness, and the only way to prevent failure is to not have a weakness in the first place.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Stella interrupted, surprising everyone, seeing as she rarely shared her opinions. “You’re not actually suggesting that we make horcruxes, are you?”

Micah shrugged. “Maybe not horcruxes, but...”

“What’s a horcrux?” Annie asked stupidly. Five pairs of eyes stared at her as though she had just asked what planet they were on. “What?”

“Please say you’re joking,” Eleni pleaded.

“You don’t know what a horcrux is?” Micah asked in disbelief.

Annie shook her head. “I don’t get what the big deal is. We never went over that in Defense...”

“Of course not! Especially not with Lupin, he wouldn’t want to give us ideas. Where have you been, Annie?”

“What do you mean?”

“When we’ve been doing this research! Have you even been paying attention?” She looked down at her hands, too afraid to answer. “You can't be thinking about rainbows and bunnies while you're trying to perform an Unforgivable, Annie. This is important, and we can’t afford to have people who don’t take it as such. They just make mistakes. Your mind shouldn’t be on your dinner, and it certainly shouldn’t be on Arthur Weasley.”

Her head snapped up, a look of outrage on her face. “Excuse me!?”

“I don’t know what that little episode on the train was about, but I do know that he’s been staring at you ever since,” he explained cooly.

“It’s a free country Micah, he can stare at whoever he pleases! I can’t do anything about it.”

“Then why did you stop me on the train?”

“You weren’t thinking clearly! Who knows how far it would have gone. You could have ended up killing him...”

“But that’s my choice, Annie!” he interrupted. “Maybe killing him was in our best interest. I can’t afford for you to get cold feet now!”

“I didn’t sign up to be a murderer, Micah!” she cried hysterically, standing up. Micah sighed, putting a hand on her arm and pulling her back into her seat.

“Annie, you are not a murderer if what you are killing isn’t human.”

“Not human? Micah, that’s crazy...”

“No, it’s true. Mudbloods, blood-traitors, half-breeds, they are below us. If we are human, what does that make them? Think of the inferior as a fish, and you are the hook. After observing the simpleton’s surroundings, you will find the necessary bait to dangle in front of their pathetic nose and lure them in. Once ensnared, you stuff them. You don’t devour them, like some suggest, for who would want something so unclean? No, you mount them. You make them a trophy, an example of how the unworthy are dealt with. They are not people, they are nothing more than a message. When you catch a fish, do you lobby for the fish’s rights? Do you wonder if the fish is happy? Are you concerned for the fish’s feelings? No, you are glad to have caught it, and you hope to catch a bigger one the next time. The substandard have a choice to surrender or die, it’s just that simple.”

But it’s not simple, she thought to herself. Not when you’re scared.

“Do you understand now?” Micah asked, peering intently at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” she lied.

“Good. Now I believe Eleni wants some action, so why don’t we make that happen?”

“Yes, lets,” Eleni agreed, looking eager.

“How about some revenge on that Weasley character? I know just what bait to use...”

“Wait, we’re going to attack Weasley?” Eleni asked in surprise.

“No,” he answered shortly.

“But you just said...”

“I said we’d get revenge on Weasley, I never said he’d be the target.”

************

“Alright, what about... Megan Shacklebolt? Now there’s a girl with a brain in her head!”

Arthur sighed for the hundredth time that day. Having his friends (or Celia, essentially, Amelia just listened) run through a list of girls at Hogwarts in hopes of finding one that would strike his fancy was getting very annoying.

“No,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Amber Pye?”

“She has a boyfriend in Brazil,” Amelia said before Arthur had a chance to shoot that idea down.

“Alright, what about... nah, she’s related to you...” Arthur looked startled, but Celia waved it off. “Amy, you have anything to add? Ah, come on, I need some help.”

“Maybe you should just give up...” Arthur suggested feebly.

“Ooh! I’ve got it! Mira Black!”

Arthur coughed loudly. “Are you joking? She’s like another sister to me, just not as annoying!” he sputtered indignantly. “Cece, look, I know you mean well, but it’s just not going to change anything. I. Like. Lynn. Okay? And nothing’s going to change that.”

She pouted. “Fine, I’ll drop it. But I just hate seeing her hurt you.”

“She’s not hurting me, Celia.”

“Yes, she is! You must think I’m either stupid or blind Arthur, because I’d have to be both to not see how sad you are when no one’s looking. I’m your best friend, do you think you can hide it? You’re miserable, and it’s all her fault!”

“Cece, it’s not like that...”

She stopped abruptly, sitting down in the middle of the corridor and putting her face in her hands, heaving a dramatic sigh. “I just want to find someone for you that will love you like you deserve.”

Arthur was speechless. Grasping for words, an odd choking noise came out before the sound of a loud argument drifted down the hallway, saving him from comment.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, YOU STUPID SNAKE!”

“And I don’t feel like dealing with my brother today!” Celia added in frustration. “Well, come on, we’d best go stop the possible decapitation of whatever poor soul offended his highness. Someone help me up.”

Arthur and Amelia each took a hand and pulled their friend to her feet, all three of them heading in the direction of the voices. Sure enough, Celia’s brother, along with his usual Slytherin posse were surrounding none other than Lynn Longbottom.

“Well, here you go Art, you can go play hero now.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, muttering to himself, “Why can’t everyone just get along?”

“Ah, that would make things boring,” Celia answered, grinning slightly.

“You should be a Gryffindor,” Arthur laughed.

“Where’s the fun in that? I’d never surprise people,” she replied before raising her voice and alerting the Slytherins of their presence. “Oh Micy-Wicy-Pumpkin-Pie! What’s the goofy-woofy wittle boy doing with his wand out? I thought Mummy said no!”

“Oh, look, Hufflepuffs,” Eleni Zabini said in mock excitement.

Micah rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you go back to your common room and sing songs about rainbows and unicorns? Or better yet, go take a long walk off the Astronomy tower, but just get out of here. We have things to do.”

“Leave Lynn alone, you git!” Arthur interjected. Celia stomped on his foot while the others roared with laughter.

“What?” he asked her quietly.

“We have to get them riled up, not the other way around. Don’t get angry, that’s what he wants. Believe me, I’m a pro at dealing with this idiot. The trick is acting like nothing bothers you.” She winked, turning back to her brother. “Now brother darling, what is it that you think you’re doing? You know you’re not supposed to be playing with magic.”

“You’re no sister of mine,” he shot back.

“I think our parents may dispute that matter, but that’s not really the point of this conversation, now is it? What I just don’t understand is why you waste your time cursing innocent people trying to walk down the hall. Are you going to be kicking puppies next? Because I’m scared, Micah, I’m real scared...”

“Shut up, you little *****!”

“Ooh, someone’s feisty today. What are you going to do, turn my hair green and call yourselves the Mortality Munchers? Maybe rename yourself Lord I’m-a-dork?”

“Why you...” he began, lunging at her before he finished his sentence. She side-stepped him, and he fell flat on his face, earning laughter from Arthur, a weary chuckle from Amelia and Lynn, and a cry of outrage from Eleni.

Lynn gave Micah a swift kick in the side, pulling out her want as Emilian started towards her. If they weren’t careful they’d end up with a very sticky situation on their hands.

Celia sat on her brother, inhibiting his attempts to get up. “Oh, I’m sorry, I insulted your hero, didn’t I?”

“Get off me, you filth!”

She laughed. “You know Micah, you say blood is everything. Well, we’ve got the same blood, so if I’m filth, what does that make you?”

That did it. The Slytherins blew their tops and began firing off curses like mad. The other four tried their best to protect themselves, but they all got caught in the confusion. Celia had somehow sprouted an extra arm, which was protruding out of her head. Amelia had turned blue, and it most definitely wasn’t from holding her breath. All Arthur ended up with was a small cut on his cheek.

Lynn got the worst. She had managed to sustain a nasty gash on her arm before being stupefied and then trampled over by Matthias Crabbe. Thankfully and unfortunately, the fight was cut short by a very angry headmistress.

“WHAT is going on here?” Arthur had never seen her mouth so thin. “Never... in all my days... a brawl in the hallway...” She was practically shaking with rage, and was seemingly having trouble forming sentences. “Detention, and fifty points each. I can’t believe.... and both the Heads as well... Miss Corner, Miss Macmillan, take Miss Longbottom up to the hospital wing, and do something about that arm. The rest of you, back to your common rooms, now. I’ll send word of your detentions tomorrow.”

“Professor, can’t I accompany them to the hospital...” Arthur began.

“Common room, NOW!”

He nodded silently, turning on his heal and heading for the kitchens slowly. Malfoy was right in front of him, and seemed to be trying to lose the rest of the Slytherins. He slowed his pace even more, thinking about her strange actions. She hadn’t really done much during that scuffle, just fired off a spell whenever Micah looked her way.

He made a snap decision, hoping he wouldn’t come to regret it.

“Malfoy! Wait up a minute!”



Next contest:

Something that could be done or said in detention. The more creative the better!

The winner for this chapter is RavenLH! (Even though I think she might have been joking, lol). Yay! Also, the brilliant marauderfan’s line describing Micah was used as well. Alright, here’s the thing I need to explain. I made a whoopsie with the time-line when I moved something that was originally in the last chapter to this one, so there’s a time jump in the middle of the chapter. The first part of the LAST chapter was mid-January, the second part of the LAST chapter was the first week in February. Now the first part of THIS chapter is the same day as the second part of the LAST chapter, and the second part of THIS chapter is a week later. If that doesn’t make sense, just ignore me. That was just for those of you who are obsessed with stupid little details like me, lolz.


Chapter 10: Over My Head

I never knew that everything was falling through,
That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue,
To turn and run when all I needed was the truth.

~ The Fray

Nick was walking down the third floor corridor at Hogwarts in early February, whistling cheerfully. He was in a ‘sickeningly good mood’, as Mira had called it, for it seemed like nothing in his life could go wrong. He had everything; amazing friends and family, the job he’d always wanted, and the love of the woman of his dreams.

For the first time ever, he was truly happy.

He couldn’t help but snort when he heard the headmistress reprimanding some students down the hall. Something along the lines of ‘an all out brawl’ and ‘never... in all her years of teaching’. Sometimes it was pretty hard to punish students, especially whenever he found what they were doing amusing. He’d have to ask Minerva for some pointers.

Another wonderful thing was how everyone seemed to be having babies. First Liz and Sirius, now Marissa and Ax, who would be next?

He pushed open the door to his sleeping quarters, surprised to find the light was on. Hailey was the only one who visited him here, and he didn’t expect her until tomorrow night. Vaguely hoping nothing had happened to anyone, he headed towards his miniature common room.

He immediately recognized Hailey’s hair when he stepped into the room. She was sitting on the couch, facing away from him and seemed to have her head in her hands. He cleared his throat, and she jumped, turning around to face him. Her eyes were red and puffy.

“Hey,” he said softly, sitting down beside her. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m really sorry Nick, I know you weren’t expecting me until tomorrow, and I hope I’m not bothering you, but I just had to...”

“Hailey, you’re never a bother, you should know that. Now what happened that’s got you so upset? Your boss didn’t do anything, did he?” he asked, knowing that although Hailey said Malfoy’s comments didn’t bother her, they really did.

“No, it’s not him,” she assured. “It’s just... I don’t know how it happened... Oh god, I’m so stupid...”

“Hailey?” She was beginning to worry him.

“I don’t even know what to say... we’re barely out of school...”

“Hailey, what...”

“I’m pregnant, alright!?”

He coughed slightly, convinced he must have heard her wrong. “You’re what?”

“Pregnant! P-R-E-G-...”

“And I’m the father?” he asked stupidly. The glare she gave him was quite scary. “Alright, just making sure...”

“You’re kind of calm about this whole thing, don’t you think?” she asked hysterically, starting to cry again. He rubbed her back soothingly.

“No, I’m just in shock I think,” he answered, staring vaguely into the fire. And he’d just been wondering who would be next...

“What are we going to do, Nick?”

He was silent for a moment before blurting, “Marry me.”

Hailey lifted her head out of her hands to look at him. “What?”

“Marry me,” he said again. “Be my wife.”

“Oh Nick, you don’t have to do that,” she said quietly.

“But I want to,” he whispered, getting down on one knee in front of her and taking her hand. Pressing a small kiss to the back of it, he said, “Hailey, I love you more than anyone or anything, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

She was still crying, but she was smiling now as well. “How could I say no? Of course, I’ll marry you.”

He grinned, then started to look around frantically. “Well, I don’t have a ring, but I do have this piece of string here,” he said as he picked up a blue piece of yarn off the floor and tied it to her finger. “I thought of you immediately when I saw it. You see, it matches your eyes.” She giggled. “Seriously though, I’ll get you a ring as soon as I have a chance.”

“Well, we should probably set a date. I’d rather not get married when I look like a blimp.”

“How far along are you?” he asked, getting up off the floor and sitting back down beside her.

“Nearly a month.”

“Hmm...” he contemplated for a moment. “How about March 13th?”

“That was random,” she commented.

“It was my mother’s birthday, and my parent’s anniversary as well. But if you don’t like it, we can...”

“No, it’s perfect! We’ve got so much to do though! Where do you think we should have it? And oh dear lord, I need a dress. And we’ll need a big enough yard for the whole Weasley family... Do you think Harry and Ginny will let us use their garden? And we haven’t even talked about the baby...”

“Hailey, we’ll work that all out later, I promise. But right now, we need to celebrate. How about some sparkling grape juice?”

*************

Nick waltzed into Liz and Sirius’s house without knocking on Saturday morning, and plopped down into a chair at their kitchen table, where the two were having breakfast. “Well, I’m getting married,” he said casually.

“Oh, you are?” Sirius said, just as nonchalantly.

“I hate to interrupt, but WHAT?” Liz asked, eyes wide.

“Hailey and I are getting married,” Nick repeated, helping himself to some fruit.

“But why?”

“Because we want to. We’re in love, why wait?”

“When?” Sirius asked before Liz could open her mouth again.

“Next month.”

“Why so soon?” Liz demanded, startled.

Siris laughed, “What did you do, knock her up?” Nick bit his lower lip, looking down at his feet. “Oh Merlin, you did knock her up?”

“Well...yeah,” he admitted, grinning sheepishly. “Hey, is there any bacon left?”

“Alright, first off, no one touches the bacon,” Liz growled threateningly.

“It’s true,” Sirius added. “I don’t even get any.”

“And second, before you gorge yourself, how do you feel about this?”

“I’m okay with it, surprisingly,” he answered calmly, taking a bite of melon. “I mean, it’s bad timing, but a baby’s a blessing no matter what. And look at it this way, our kids can grow up with each other. That was something we always wanted, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” Liz agreed. “And it’s such a miracle, life. There’s nothing like having a child growing inside of you...” her eyes started to fill with tears. “It’s so beautiful, the love two people share being able to create something so precious, don’t you think Sirius? Sirius?”

“Of course, sweetie. But not as beautiful as you,” he replied, sounding as though he’d memorized the answer.

“You’re just so sweet! I think I need a tissue... excuse me...”

Nick turned to his cousin, who had gone on with his breakfast, with wide eyes. “Is she like that a lot?”

“All the time,” Sirius answered casually.

“Do they all get like that?” he asked, his voice coming out in more of a squeak.

Sirius patted his back sympathetically. “Yep.”

***********

“Malfoy! Wait up a minute!”

Surprisingly, she actually stopped. He didn’t know if it was out of shock, curiosity, or just instinct, but she stopped, turned around, and waited for him to catch up to her. “I just wanted to ask...” he panted.

“Shh!” she hissed immediately. “Are you stupid? If the others see me talking to you, I’m dead!” She shot an uneasy look around before grabbing his arm. “In here.”

“This is a broom cupboard,” he said after taking in his surroundings.

“No, really?” Malfoy replied dryly. “And here I was thinking it was Switzerland. Pity...”

Arthur rolled his eyes, deciding it was safer not to reply. “I just wanted to ask you why you even bother.”

“Bother with what?” she asked sharply.

“Pretending like you actually care about all the pureblood junk your cronies are so keen on. You don’t care about blood anymore than I do, you just want to do what’s expected of you so as not to complicate matters even more.”

She bit her lip delicately for a moment, looking unsure, and Arthur thought he may have actually cracked her. But then she looked up at him with an annoyingly superior smirk, and said, “Wrong, Hufflepuff, very wrong.”

She was turning to leave when he blurted, “She’s pregnant, did you know that? Your brother’s wife, that is. She’s pregnant.”

Malfoy froze, and he could have sworn he heard a sharp intake of breath. When she turned back to face him, the calm in her voice was very forced.

“I’ll give you one piece of advice Weasley, and I suggest you listen. That friend of yours, Celia, she’s smart. Take her advice, and don’t let Micah rattle you. It just might cost you your life.”

It was one week after ‘the incident’, and this conversation replayed in Arthur’s head for the thousandth time on his way to detention. It seemed Professor McGonagall had decided to split them up, seeing as all three of his friends were in a different place. He was headed towards the dungeons, Celia had detention with Remus, Amelia had gotten stuck with Trelawney, and Lynn had ironically ended up being Nick’s first detention.

His musings about Slytherins and detentions carried him to Professor Guige’s door, where he knocked quietly, stifling a yawn. The seventh year’s amount of homework had reached new levels, causing most of them to be up writing and practicing into the wee hours of the morning. With N.E.W.T’s only a few months away, it was no wonder sleep had become low on the priority list.

The short professor finally opened the door, spitting on his robes slightly as she said, “Ah, there you are Mr. Weasley. Now we can begin. You might do well to try to be on time next time.”

He was ten minutes early.

“Professor...”

“Oh, it’s okay dear, I know how busy kids are these days. You probably just forgot, I know. Now where has my quill gotten to?” Arthur was used to the scatterbrained Potions Professor by now, but honestly, it was in her hand for Merlin’s sake.

“It’s in your hand, Professor,” another cool female voice answered before he even opened his mouth, alerting him to the presence of the third person in the room.

“Oh, right you are, Miss Malfoy.” Said girl rolled her eyes slightly, sliding off the desk she had been sitting on.

“What exactly will we be doing today?” she asked in a bored tone.

“Well, the first years had a bit of an accident with their Sterilizing Solution today, so the walls are a bit dirty.” Arthur looked around to see the stone walls were indeed covered with a thick green slime. ‘A bit dirty’ was a bit of an understatement. “So I thought you two could just give them a quick scrub. Soap and water is on the counter. I’ll be back in a few hours to see how well you’ve gotten along.”

She left without waiting for a response, muttering something about Gilderoy Lockheart and a hippogriff. Malfoy burst out laughing as soon as she left. “Imbecilic woman, she forgot to take our wands!” She proceeded to pull her’s out, and an instant later the walls were so clean they sparkled. Arthur just stared at her.

“What?” she asked sharply, stowing her wand back in her pocket.

“Don’t you think she’s going to get suspicious?” She raised an eyebrow. “Alright, so maybe she won’t, but still...”

“‘Still’ what? She never said not to use our wands.”

“She told us where the soap and water was, though.”

“Maybe she was just trying to give us an option,” she said innocently.

“Very Slytherin of you.”

“If the shoe fits,” she replied, smiling only slightly.

“That it certainly does.”

“Interesting you’d say that.” He gave her a strange look. “I mean, you’re a Hufflepuff, but you don’t act like one.”

He tilted his head to one side, trying to figure out what she met. How was a Hufflepuff supposed to act? “And how many Hufflepuffs have you talked to exactly?”

She looked contemplative for a moment before yielding. “Point taken. But you’ve never talked to me before, how is it that you can say I’m a Slytherin?

He snorted. “With some people, you can just tell.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m just another crazy, pureblood obsessed, power hungry scoundrel, right Weasley?” It was funny. She almost sounded bitter.

He shook his head, “No, that’s not how I think of you.” She didn’t respond, and he let the silence linger, not really up for any more conversation. However, curiosity must have eventually proved too much for her.

“So,” she started, leaning her elbow against one of the damp walls. “What exactly do you think of me?”

“Besides being a spoiled rotten little princess?” he snorted. “I think you’re just a scared, confused little girl who’s desperately seeking the attention your father never gave you and your brother isn’t around to give you anymore.”

For a moment her eyes flickered, and she actually seemed to be hurt by his words. But then she just smirked her usual smirk, saying, “Well that was very Slytherin of you.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not immune,” he growled, a blush tinting his cheeks.

She smirked again, crossing the room to sit on a desk, and examining her nails idly. “Well, maybe I am spoiled rotten, I’ll give you that. And maybe I’m a little confused as well. But I’m certainly not scared,” she replied. Yes you are, the little voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Ax argued.

Arthur snorted. “What, are you trying to be a Gryffindor now? I see your face when your around those idiots you call friends, you think they’re just as nuts as I do.”

She blanched, but recovered quickly. “Yeah, well, we’re all a little crazy on the inside, aren’t we?”

“Don’t compare normal people to those sick *******s,” he said in disgust. She was starting to get on his nerves. “What do you want anyway? Why are you even talking to me? I never expected you to.”

He caught her. “I need a favor,” she admitted slowly.

He was curious, he admitted it. What could she possibly need from him? After all, he was a Weasley, and a Hufflepuff at that. “And what exactly would this ‘favor’ be?”

She sighed loudly. “I need to talk to my brother.”

His brow furrowed. “Have you ever thought of, oh I don’t know, owling him?”

“In person, that is. I need to talk to him in person.”

“Okay...” he said slowly. “And I’m helpful to you, how exactly?”

“Professor Black’s wedding, you’ll be invited, right?”

“How did you...”

“Don’t ask how I know about it. But you’re going, correct?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, Ax will be going too. As in, you’ll both be there. In the same place. Understand now?”

“No, not really.”

She rolled her eyes, looking at him as if he’d just asked the stupidest question imaginable. “I see the Hufflepuff thing now. If I go as your date, I’ll be there too.”

“You know Malfoy, it’s not good to insult the person you want help from,” he snapped.

She looked down at the desk, seeming to change completely. “You’re right,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry. You were right you know. I am scared. Micah and the rest of them, they’re crazy, and I don’t know what to do. But I know Ax can fix it, because he fixes everything. Or at least he used to, when we were younger. When he still loved me...”

“You know, you do the innocent act very well,” he interrupted. Her head snapped up. “That’s a good thing. I have the feeling you’re going to need it soon.”

Annie was shocked, to say the least. That act always worked, even on her parents. He was the first person ever who saw right through her...

Arthur sighed, running a hand haphazardly through his hair. “Fine. I’ll do it.” She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Only because Ax is like family, and I know he misses you.”

“Thank you,” she said. He even detected more than a hint of sincerity.

“Why now though? I mean, you seemed pretty opposed to getting away from the Slytherins a week ago.”

When she answered, she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “That’s none of your business.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “If you say so. Just one more question. Why me?”

“If it has to be a Weasley, why not you? I’m sure the one in my year has a date already, and the other ones are probably taking their broomsticks. Besides, you’re not awful looking, and you’re not completely dull either.”

“Gee thanks,” he spat sarcastically.

“Your welcome, any time,” she replied, waving a careless hand delicately. “That, and I could get you to do it because there’s something in it for you.”

“There’s something in it for me, is there?”

“Definitely. If you’re ever going to get Longbottom to notice you, it’s by making her jealous.”

He couldn’t even say he was surprised. “Been watching me, Malfoy?”


*************

Meanwhile, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, one Macmillan twin was singing loudly, causing the other to grind his teeth in annoyance.

“One-hundred bottles of beer on the wall, one-hundred bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall!”

“Celia!”

“Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer!”

“ARRRUGAA!”

Celia stopped singing only when she burst out laughing. “Well, that was a strange sound.”

“This is the third bloody time one hundred bottles of beer have been on the wall! Would you bloody give it up already?!”

“Well, little brother, you’re not the most entertaining of company. If you’d just try and...”

“We’re twins.”

“No. Way.” she replied sarcastically, eyes widening.

He rolled his eyes, snapping, “You called me ‘little brother’.”

“Yeah, I’m four minutes older than you. Therefore, that makes you my little brother. Aww, wittle baby Micah! I just want to pinch your chubby wittle cheeks!”

He gave her a look that clearly communicated disgust. “You are beyond stupid.”

“No, I think you would be the stupid one.” He emitted a low growl. “What’s got you in a mood tonight? Not that you usually aren’t, but it’s even uglier than usual. It’s only lines, we could be doing something much worse.”

“You know as well as I do that Lupin bloke doesn’t like me.”

Celia rolled her eyes. “Oh, poor thing, you can’t fool one of the teachers. How awful...”

“Is it your goal in life to annoy me?”

“Nah, it’s just how I get my laughs. Maybe you're losing your touch Micah. Next thing you know, you won’t be able to brainwash one of your little Slytherin minions.”

“There’s a big difference in brainwashing and what I do, Celia. They come willing and ready, I just tell them what they want to hear.”

“Is that what your ‘friend’ told you?” she asked cuttingly.

The look he gave her would have stopped a weaker person’s heart. “I told you never to speak of her.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t really have much of a right to boss me around anymore, do you? Seeing as how I’m quote, ‘no sister of yours’.”

“If you would just see my side of things...”

She cracked, slamming down her quill and shoving him hard in the shoulder. “What was so wrong with your life before?!”

“Now I have power, respect, a future. What did I have before? I’ll tell you what, nothing.”

“You had me!” she replied, cursing the catch in her voice. “You had me. We used to finish each others sentences, don’t you remember. We used to know what each other was thinking too. Until you met her. Who is she, anyway? And what did she do to you to make you like you are?”

He said nothing. As far as he was concerned, he owed her nothing. She’d made her choice. It wasn’t his fault that she made the wrong one.

************

Lynn stumbled tiredly into her dormitory at around eleven, in a very bad mood. Not only did she have a ton of homework to do over the weekend, but three hours of cleaning mice cages with Eleni Zabini had done nothing to improve her day. That girl couldn't even be described as annoying. She was downright scary.

“You have a letter from Prince Charming,” Courtney said as soon as she entered the room.

“Who’s Prince Charming?” she asked curiously.

“Never mind, muggle thing,” she answered, pointing to her bed where Mrs. Gilderstein was waiting patiently.

“Hey boy,” she said softly, feeling kind of strange calling him ‘boy’. Fredrika Gilderstein, honestly. “What do you have for me today?” The owl lifted his leg, where an envelope was tied. “Just a letter? No dungbombs or toilet seats, is he sick?”

Mrs. Gilderstein hooted. Lynn sighed, and opened the letter.

Dear Lynn,

A little birdie told me that you were hurt? What happened? Are you alright? I was highly considering coming to visit you, but I figured McG wouldn’t be too chuffed about the whole thing. I’ve missed you something terrible though, and I know with how busy you are, you probably haven’t had time to think about what I said at the train station, but I hope you know I meant every word.

Things are pretty calm on the home front, as far as the Weasleys go. I finally managed to find my own flat, so I’m in the process of moving right now. It’s a right pain in the you know what, especially since Liz insists that it needs ‘a feminine touch’, and Shayla insists on ‘helping’. I don’t know what’s worse, the lace or the crayon marks on the walls. It’s a good thing I have a wand, that’s all I have to say. And I know you think I can cook, but I’ve come to realize my expertise is limited to boiling water and throwing pasta into it. I tried to make a pot roast the other day and almost burned the building down.

My neighbors are all muggles though, it’s pretty fun messing with them.

“He’ll never grow up,” she muttered to herself.

I know what you’re thinking right now. Something along the lines of ‘he’ll never grow up’, right? Don’t worry, it’s nothing I’d get in trouble for, I just mutter about dragons when I go down the hall sometimes. I’m surprised they haven’t called one of their psychliomist thingies yet.

As for the rest of the family, it seems like everyone having babies, doesn’t it? Like we needed more of them... You know I’m just kidding, little kids are the best. Although I will feel bad if the little Lupin looks like Sirius and has Liz’s temper, the poor thing won’t know what to do.

I’ll be at your next Hogsmeade visit, since Jake and Will are dorks and can’t keep track of their robes, so I was hoping we could grab a drink. I want to ask you something.

Still as lovely as ever,
Phil

P.S. Shayla says ‘hi’. She’s tugging on my robes right now. Who gave me the job as ‘official babysitter’ anyway?

The fact that there was only one postscript really made Lynn wonder if something was wrong.



Yeah, it got pretty long, but I was having fun. Hope you liked!

Next Chapter’s contest:

Something poor Nick would say when he’s dragged shopping for bridesmaids dresses. Poor guy...

The winner for this chapter is baseballblondie! Oh, and Roach76, and Ginger98 gave me an idea about getting Phil housewarming gifts, so they both make a guest appearance as his co-workers. Only one more chapter until the wedding, guys!


Chapter 11: Far Away

On my knees, I'll ask,
Last chance for one last dance.
'Cause with you, I'd withstand,
All of hell to hold your hand.
I'd give it all,
I'd give for us,
Give anything but I won't give up.

~Nickelback

“Remind me why I’m here again?” Sirius asked impatiently. He was being dragged shopping by a sickeningly blissful Nick and Hailey. Shopping for a wedding, of all things.

“Because if I have to be here, you do too,” Mira answered, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck. “Why did we have to go in the middle of a blizzard anyway?”

“Because you had a Hogsmeade visit,” Nick answered.

“But we’re not even in Hogsmeade!” she protested. “See that sign, it says Diagon Alley.”

“Oh, no more whining, you two. If you’re good, we’ll buy you an ice cream,” Hailey interrupted.

“Ooh...” they both said in unison.

“Hey, where’s Liz anyway? She needs fitted too...” Nick asked Sirius, interrupting his and Mira’s argument over whether chocolate or strawberry ice cream was better.

“She had to work this morning, so she’s meeting us at Madam Malkins in an hour.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Hailey nodded, pulling out a piece of parchment that looked a bit like a battle plan. “Well, I want muggle dresses for the bridesmaids, so we can pick out the men’s robes first, meet Liz, and then head over to muggle London. How’s that sound?”

“Great,” the other three chorused.

“Now what about the flower girl and the ring bearer? I figured we’d use Violet and James, but should we use wizarding or muggle clothes?”

“Eh, I’d go with muggle,” Sirius answered immediately. “James hates dress robes, he’ll throw a fit. And Violet likes getting all dressed up. Besides, muggle little girl’s dresses are much prettier than dress robes. I can go get them while you two look for Nick’s robes if you want,” he added hopefully.

“I’ll go with you!” Mira replied. Before either Nick or Hailey had a chance to respond, Mira had grabbed Sirius’s arm, and they’d apparated away.

“I think they were just trying to get away from me...” Hailey muttered to herself.

Nick laughed. “Nah, they just both hate to shop.”

A half an hour later, Nick was trying on his twentieth pair of robes, and Mira and Sirius stepped back into the shop, two children in tow.

“Jamie, you’re stupid!”

“Viowet, you’re stupider!” Violet stuck her tongue out at the bespectacled boy, causing Sirius to laugh.

“Now you two, let’s try to get through this with as little fighting as possible, okay? If you’re both good, we’ll get you ice cream,” he bribed, taking a page out of Hailey’s book.

“Chocolate?” James asked hopefully.

“No, strawberry!” Violet protested. Sirius and Mira exchanged glances.

“What about these ones?” Nick interrupted the children’s fight, his fingers crossed behind his back. How could basic black robes all be so different?

Hailey squealed, “They’re perfect!” He sighed in relief. “Oh wait... I’m not sure about the trim on the sleeves...” Mira waved her hand when she wasn’t looking, and the trim promptly disappeared.

“What trim?” Nick asked, none the wiser.

“The trim right...” she paused, looking confused. “Oh, I guess there’s not any. I could have sworn...”

“So that’s a yes?” Sirius interrupted.

“Yes, I guess so.”

“I saw that,” Sirius whispered to Mira while Hailey set out to find his robes.

“Did you want to be here for another six hours? Trim, honestly... Remind me never to get married if I’m going to turn into that.”

“Ah, you’ll be singing a different tune then,” he grinned. “Your wandless magic is getting a lot better though.”

“I’ve been practicing.”

They both heard a loud groan, and Hailey came to stand in front of him with her brow furrowed. “Yes?”

“I’m just thinking,” she explained. “Nick!”

“Yes, dear?” his voice answered, coming from behind a large rack of navy blue robes.

“What do you think?”

He emerged, coming to stand beside his bride to be. “I think that no robes can help this. It’s too ugly.”

She whacked him soundly on the arm, “Be serious.”

Sirius cleared his throat, “Actually, I think that I...”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Sirius Theodore,” Liz’s voice interrupted from behind him.

He yelped. “Babe, I told you not to sneak up on me like that!”

“Can’t help myself,” she replied, kissing him on the cheek. She turned to Hailey, and both women started squealing, hugging the life out of each other. Sirius looked at Nick, who mouthed ‘women’.

“We’re pregnant!”

“I know!”

“Not bad so far, neither of them have started crying yet,” Sirius whispered to Mira.

“Don’t say that!” she muttered back. “You might jinx us!”

Luckily, neither of them started crying, and the conversation quickly turned back to Sirius’s dress robes. “I just don’t know. I’m thinking we should just go with black, since I don’t know what color the bridesmaids dresses will be yet. But I don’t want him to look just like Nick,” Hailey was saying.

“How about dark grey with black trim?”

“Not the trim!” Mira interrupted.

Hailey looked thoughtful for a moment. “You know, that might be alright. Even with the trim.”

And so it began.

“How many bloody robes have I tried on?” Sirius asked impatiently.

“Fifty-three,” Mira answered promptly, tracing patterns on the ceiling with her wand.

“Oh, Hailey, doesn’t he look cute in these ones?” Liz asked excitedly.

“You think he looks cute in everything,” Nick retorted.

“Yeah, I like these ones too,” Hailey agreed, ignoring Nick.

“This kid is going to be so messed up,” Mira stated randomly.

“Which one, his or mine?” Sirius asked.

“Both.” She glanced over at the chairs beside her, where both James and Violet had fallen asleep. “Guys, I’m thinking we should probably get out of here before these two die of boredom.”

Hailey bit her lip. “Yeah, you’re probably right. We’ll just pay for these, and we’ll be on our way.”

After Sirius had changed, Hailey took the two garments up to the counter. “Finished, dear?” Madam Malkin asked.

“Yes, ma’am, thank you.”

She gave the black robes a quizzical look. “I could have sworn these had trim on them.”

Mira and Sirius nearly broke a rib laughing silently while Hailey replied, “You know, I thought they did too at first, but when I looked closely it just seemed to disappear.”

*************

Thankfully, it didn’t take long at all to pick out James’ and Violet’s clothes. Unfortunately, the bridesmaids’ dresses had already exceeded the time spent on Sirius and Nick by an hour, and they looked nowhere near finishing.

Sirius was snoring. Mira nudged him experimentally, but he didn’t even flinch. Grinning evilly, she plugged his nose, giggling at the strange sound he made as he flailed awake.

“I really don’t like you, you know,” he whined grumpily.

“Poor baby,” she replied with a mock pout.

“Nick what do you think of this one? Won't Mira look beautiful in it?” Hailey was holding up the ugliest gown Mira had ever seen. It was yellow, but not a tasteful, pale yellow. It was bright yellow. Making it even worse were sleeves so puffy she was sure there must be something holding them up, and a wide skirt that seemed to be covered in feathers.

“Beautiful,” Nick said with a glazed expression. Mira wanted to yell ‘traitor!’ at him.

“You... you don’t like it?” Hailey asked, her eyes quickly filling with tears.

“Oh honey, it’s fine,” he said, getting out of his chair to place his hands on her shoulders.

“As were the past two hundred dresses we’ve seen,” Sirius muttered.

“If you want Mira to wear that fluffy yellow creation, then she'll wear it. And look beautiful. Though no where near as beautiful as the bride.” She sniffled, smiling up at him. “Now no more of this crying, alright? Whatever you decide is fine with us.”

“You know...” Hailey said, looking appraisingly at the dress. Mira gulped. “I don’t really like yellow all that much anyway.” Mira sighed in relief as she put the dress back on the rack.

“Maybe something in a nice red...” Sirius groaned. There were at least twenty red dresses in the store.

They were going to be there for days...

**************

Lynn was mildly perturbed. For once in her life, it seemed like she could not find a single Weasley in Hogsmeade. Usually their red hair made them stick out like sore thumbs, and there were enough of them to have their own Quidditch league, but they must have planned a ‘Hide From Lynn Day’ today. Well, with the twins, she wouldn’t really be surprised, but that was beside the point.

Around noon, she finally spotted a head of red hair, walking with his two friends down the road some distance ahead of her. “AHA!”

Deciding not to cause a scene by running through the middle of Hogsmeade, she chose instead to ‘walk quickly’. She sighed in relief when he stopped to glance at a window display.

“Arthur! I’ve been looking for you all morning!”

He turned around at the sound of her voice, grinning slightly. “Really?”

“Well, a Weasley at any rate,” she explained. “Lynn Longbottom’s Daily Lapse of Memory, I’m afraid.”

“It’s 2019,” he replied cheekily.

“I’m not that bad,” she said with an eye roll. “What day is Nick and Hailey’s wedding? I asked my dad, but he couldn’t remember either.”

“March 13th,” he answered promptly.

“Oh, wow, that’s soon...” she muttered, almost to herself. “Do you have a date yet?”

“Well, yeah, actually...”

“You do?” Celia and Amelia asked in unison, exchanging looks.

“And who is it?” Lynn asked impatiently. “Must be pretty special to catch your attention.”

“Well, it’s Annabelle Malfoy actually, but...”

“WHAT!?” Celia interrupted. “Arthur Bilius Weasley, what in creation were you thinking? You know that girl is trouble!”

“It’s a long story, actually...”

“Write a novel about it for all I care! You can call it Sleeping With The Enemy, I’m sure it’d sell...”

“Well, I wouldn’t really go as far as enemy... But if you’d just let me explain...”

“No time, I’m afraid. I mean, if this is the way things are going, Amelia needs to go ask my brother out for drinks.”

“Hey!” Amelia interjected.

“Just listen for a second!” Arthur begged.

“Actually, I think I saw Matthias Crabbe earlier, maybe I’ll go give him a good snog...”

“CELIA! I’ll explain later, alright? But could you just shut it for a couple of minutes?”

“Fine,” she spat. “But this explanation of yours better be good.”

He sighed in relief, turning back to Lynn. “Anything else?”

“No, I think I’ll just be going,” she said awkwardly. “You haven’t seen Phil anywhere, have you?”

“Nope, not hide nor hair,” he answered, looking a bit sour. “I’ll see you later, okay?” he lowered his voice a bit. “I’ve got some explaining to do.”

“You know, I’d like to hear this one myself, actually.”

“Later, I promise.”

“Alright,” she conceded. “Good luck.”

“You too.”

Lynn walked away with a puzzled expression on her face, muttering, “Malfoy?”

“I’m pretty sure Ax is married, Lynn,” a voice she knew far too well interrupted her musings. She could practically hear his grin. “You might want to reconsider your romantic options.”

“Oh, there you are,” she said casually, ignoring the butterflies dancing the tango in her stomach. “And I was referring to the other Malfoy.”

“Pretty sure his father’s married too. And I think you might be considered a blood traitor,” Phil replied, his grin widening.

“Har har,” she responded. “Arthur’s bringing the Malfoy girl to the wedding.”

He raised an eyebrow. “As if we needed more drama.”

“Tell me about it,” she agreed. “But his friend Celia, you know, the nutty one...”

“How could I forget? The girl’s practically my rival.”

“Well, she gave him an earful about it. Apparently, he hadn’t told her yet either.”

“He’s mental,” Phil laughed, shaking his head. “From what I heard about that girl, she’s foul.”

“Yeah...” Lynn said vaguely.

“But enough about those two, I came here to see you.”

“I thought you came here to give Jake and Will their robes,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“Robes can be mailed, Lynn,” he replied, smirking slightly. She blushed. “Now, don’t I even get a hug?”

She shrugged awkwardly, and figuring that was the best he was going to get, he scooped her up in a tight hug. The scent of strawberries almost made him dizzy. She was tense for a moment before melting against him, returning the embrace with a slight hesitancy that he found incredibly endearing. Phil didn’t know exactly how long it was before they broke apart, but he would have been content to stay like that forever. He figured Lynn wouldn’t have appreciated it though.

“So, where are we headed exactly?” Lynn asked as they set off down the road.

“I’m not really sure. Any place in particular you’d like to go?”

“No, not really. Somewhere inside though, it’s starting to snow again.”

“Aye,” Phil replied, holding up a finger and adopting the voice of an elderly Irishman. “Jimminy H. Potato Fritters, it’s gonna be a cold one, lads and lasses.” Lynn giggled despite herself. “How about a butterbeer?”

“Sounds good,” she nodded. “Just don’t take me to the Hog’s Head, or I may have to hex you.”

He grinned down at her. “Three Broomsticks it is, then.”

“So, how are things going with your apartment?” Lynn asked as they strolled slowly down the main street.

He laughed slightly when he answered. “You know how I told you I almost burnt down the building with a pot roast? Well, my co-workers thought it was hilarious. One of them, Jennifer, bought me a crock-pot for a housewarming gift, and then her friend Rose got me a fire extinguisher. It was all very funny... to them.”

He held the door open for her when they reached the packed pub, while she asked, “So how old are these women?”

“Mid-twenties I guess. Why?” he asked, eyes twinkling.

“Oh, no reason! Just curious I suppose..” she answered, cheeks a bit red.

“Now Lynn, you wouldn’t happen to be jealous, would you?”

She scowled up at his amused face. “Of course not.”

“Whatever you say,” he conceded. “Why don’t you go grab a table while I get the drinks.”

“Alright,” she nodded grumpily, muttering, ‘bimbos’, to herself. Oh for pity’s sake Lynn, snap out of it! the practical voice in her head insisted. You’re jealous of a crock-pot, honestly...

“I am not jealous!” she whispered furiously to herself.

“Whatever you say, darling.” Phil’s voice made her jump, and she blushed deeply as he set a tankard of butterbeer down in front of her.

“You said you had a question to ask me in your letter,” Lynn said, deciding to get to the point before she could embarrass herself further.

He nodded seriously, taking her hand in his own. She cursed the furious blush on her cheeks, and the way his gentle touch set her nerves on fire. Why, oh why, can’t you choose who you fall in love with?

She did not just think that...

“Lynn?” Phil asked, concerned by her glassy expression.

She jumped. “Oh, yes, go on,” she said in a squeak, mind reeling. Had she just basically told herself she was in love with Phil? This day just kept getting weirder...

“Well, I just wanted to tell you that I care about you. I care about you more than anything. And I know I act stupid, and that sometimes you really can’t stand me...”

“Phil...”

“No, don’t interrupt me while I still have my nerve,” he said before she could get another word out. “But that’s just how you make me. You make me stupid, Lynn, and I don’t know why. But I’ll do anything. I’m desperate. I’ll change everything about me if you’ll just give me a chance.”

“Phil...”

“Please, Lynn, just one chance. Just let me take you to the wedding, and if I mess up, I’ll never bother you again. Please.”

She sighed. “Alright.”

He looked up in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she said, feeling slightly awkward. “Well, I think I should be going. I’ll owl you later, okay?”

“Alright,” he said, only slightly disappointed. He was still in a state of shock. “And Lynn? Thank you.”

She smiled softly at him before turning around and heading back out into the raging blizzard outside. He leaned back in the bench, a dopey smile splashed across his face, completely at peace with the world.

“Since when did you become so smooth?” Phil looked up, grinning at the fifth year who had taken the seat across from him.

“Hey Mira,” he replied.

“Answer the question, Philip.”

He sighed. “Fine. Do you promise you won’t laugh?”

“Sure,” she agreed, humoring him.

“I asked Sirius for advice.”

Mira tried, she really did. But she just couldn’t hold back a burst of hysterical laughter.



Oh wow, that ended up soooo much longer than I expected! Sorry guys, Phil and Lynn got out of control. They just kept talking, you know....

Next chapter’s challenge!

Suggest the worst name possible for a baby.

Lots of winners this time! The wonderful suggestions I used came from these even more wonderful people: MarauderGrl, Baseballblondie, and Bogart! Thanks guys! A special Christmas surprise is at the end of the post, even though it’s a little late. Enjoy!


Chapter 12: Unwritten

Drench yourself in words unspoken,
Live your life with arms wide open.
Today is where your book begins,
The rest is still unwritten.

~Natasha Bedingfield

Potions like the Polyjuice potion are part of a higher class of potion-making. Some would call it an artform...

Annie didn’t think this book could get any more boring. The author had obviously either never seen a Polyjuice potion, or thought mud was some strange form of modern art. She checked the title of the book. Potions: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

“Who wrote this, Gilderoy Lockheart?”

She was starting to think all the fumes were getting to Professor Guige. Or maybe she and Professor Trelawney had been drinking together.

Annie sighed, deciding just to get started on her essay. She smirked, titling the paper, ‘Potions At Their Most Artistic’.

“Annie?”

She growled slightly, turning around to see Micah tapping his foot impatiently. “Yes?”

“Can I have a moment?”

“Sit down and spit it out, I’ve got a lot of work to do,” she answered reluctantly. She knew what this was going to be about, and she didn’t like it. Well, Weasley, you wanted to know what changed my mind. How about a little thing I like to call Pureblood Real Estate...

“Have you thought any more on my offer?” He’s too predictable for his own good.

“No,” she said bluntly. “I gave you an answer when you asked me the first time.”

“That wasn’t an answer,” he argued stubbornly.

“You asked me a question, and I said no. How much more of an answer do you need?”

“You must admit it would be a good idea.”

“Yeah, for you maybe!”

“No, Annie, for you as well. I’ve spoken to your father, and he thinks it’s an excellent way to...”

“You WHAT!?” she asked sharply, jumping up out of her seat. “How could you do that without telling me? Do you have any idea what...”

“Annie, your father was all for my idea...”

“That’s the problem! Micah, my answer is no. My answer is always going to be no. But now I’ve got my father to tell that to as well, and he’s going to be a lot more persistent than you are!”

“What is wrong with you?” he asked suddenly. “What happened that has you acting like this? What happened to that girl I met three years ago, who was so angry with her brother that she’d do anything to get her revenge?”

“She grew up,” Annie answered quietly. “She grew up and realized that revenge is a child’s game.”

“We are not playing a child’s game here, Annie!” he burst out angrily.

“Yeah, I know. That’s the problem.” She had every intention of walking away, but he grabbed her arm forcefully before she had the chance.

“Don’t you walk away from me, you stupid girl!” he hissed, shaking her slightly. “Don’t you see the chance I’m offering you? There are many who would kill for it!”

“Then go find one of them and leave me alone!”

“I’m quickly losing my patience with you...”

“Good, because I don’t want anything to do with you! I don’t want to be involved with you, I don’t want to be involved with any of your little schemes, and I certainly don’t want to ma—”

“Shut up!” he interrupted, shaking her more forcefully. “You’ll regret this, you little...”

“Leave her alone,” a girl’s voice said in a deadly calm. Annie saw a wand pointed at the base of Micah’s neck.

“You’ll be regretting that, Black,” Micah told the younger girl, letting go of Annie and stepping back a few feet.

“I think I can handle myself Macmillan, but thanks for the concern,” she replied sweetly, still pointing her wand at him. “Now why don’t you run along and bash your head in with your beater’s bat. Merlin knows you can’t hit anything else with it.”

He sneered at her but refrained from comment. Looking directly at Annie, he said, “You’ll be back. You need me.” And with that, he left.

The girl rolled her eyes. “Been looking for a reason to pop his ego ever since he joined the Quidditch team this year. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Annie answered in shock. “Thank you... Mira, right?”

“Yup, the one and only,” she said, putting her wand back in her pocket. “Just don’t make me regret helping you, alright?”

All Annie could do was nod, watching as Mira Black walked away as though she’d just done nothing more interesting than butter a piece of toast. This was the second time within a week Annie had been unexpectedly helped by someone from families her father had always warned her about.

She was really beginning to wonder about this Weasley lot.

**********

“Arthur, have I mentioned lately that you are the bestest best friend in the whole wide world?” Said boy raised an eyebrow.

“Does someone have Transfiguration homework?” he asked Celia in a voice one would use on a small toddler. She grinned sheepishly. The two of them and Amelia were sitting at a secluded table in the library, attempting to finish their mountain of essays for Monday.

“I hate N.E.W.T.’s!” all three of them burst out simultaneously.

“You see, this is what’s wrong with education,” Celia began, laying down her quill. “They base a person’s intelligence level on how well they score on a test. We could sit around and twiddle our thumbs for seven years, just as long as we score well on our O.W.L.’s and our N.E.W.T.’s. It’s so stupid! And who’s brilliant idea was it to name them after animals anyway?”

“You should work in the Education Department at the Ministry,” Amelia said evenly.

“I’d advise not,” Arthur disagreed. “A family friend of ours works there, and he says it’s the most boring job in the history of the world.”

“I can imagine,” Celia muttered to herself, picking her quill up again. “So, how about some help?”

“Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” Arthur asked hopefully.

“No, I’m still mad at you, I just can’t stay mad at you.”

There was a moment of silence, before Amelia said, “Okay, you don’t usually make sense, but that really didn’t make sense.”

“Oh, and I suppose that made sense,” Celia retorted.

“No, actually that did make sense. You, however, didn’t make sense,” Arthur added.

“How did I not make sense?”

“You said you were mad at me, but that you couldn’t stay mad at me. How did that make sense?”

“Well it made sense to me!”

“Well, that’s because you’re touched in the head, sweetie,” he said, patting her arm sympathetically.

“Now I’m mad at you again!”

“According to yourself, you never stopped being mad at me in the first place!”

They just looked at each other for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. Celia finally said, “Alright, look, this Malfoy thing isn’t worth us fighting over, so let’s just not talk about it. Truce?”

“Truce,” Arthur agreed. They shook hands formally, asking Amelia to bear witness to the moment.

“So, what are we going to do for our annual “Let’s All Get Together and Act Like Idiots Over Easter Break” this year,” Celia asked.

“I don’t know, but we are not going to your house again. Between your brother and your dog, I have scars in places where no scars should be,” Arthur said immediately.

“And that right there is what nightmares are made out of, little cousin,” a voice from behind them interrupted.

“It’s only nine days, David,” Arthur said without looking up.

“It’s really scary how you can tell all of us apart by our voices, you know,” his cousin replied, sitting down on Celia’s other side.

“Hi David, long time no see,” she said, grinning at him.

“Hello Celia, Amelia,” the Weasley said cordially, nodding his head to each girl. Amelia blushed, looking back at her book. “Did you two know your names rhymed?”

“Only when you remind us every time you see us,” Celia answered.

“It’s fun to say. Celia, Amelia, Amelia, Celia...”

“Yes, well, guacamole is fun to say too,” Arthur interrupted.

“You’re right...” David said in apparent discovery. “Guacamole!” Arthur reached around Celia and smacked him upside the head. “Ow!”

“Do you need something, cousin dear?”

“Do you have a date for this wedding thingie yet?”

“Yes, but please, I’m begging you, do not ask who it is,” he responded. “I don’t feel like explaining again.”

“Urgh, am I the only one with no date? Who’s Mira going with?”

“Rob Creevey.”

“Lynn?”

“Phil,” Arthur answered, trying to appear nonchalant.

“No way!”

“They’ve been getting along a lot better lately,” he said, suppressing a gag.

“Don’t try and sound too happy there mate,” David said, slightly amused.

“Who are the twins going with?”

“Ryan’s going with Megan Shacklebolt even though they were both invited. They figured it would be easier to go together than to find dates. Andrew’s going with some Ravenclaw who’s name escapes me at present.”

“You could always just accompany your sister,” Arthur suggested.

“No, even she has a date. Some guy on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Little trollop...” He suddenly looked at Celia. “Hey, do you want to go with me?”

“Me?” she asked stupidly.

“No, the girl behind you.”

“Oh, don’t call Arthur a girl, he’s just sensitive.” She grinned at her friend’s indignant ‘hey!’. “But sure, I’ll go with you.”

“Excellent,” he grinned. “Now seeing as that’s taken care of, who exactly are you going with Arthur?”

**********

“So, are you two going to tell me what happened at your appointment today, or are you going to let me die of suspense?” Nick asked Liz and Sirius impatiently. The couple had seen a healer about the gender of their baby today, and he was naturally very curious.

“Well, we’ve been looking for a way to get rid of you...” Liz answered slowly.

Nick pouted.

“If you want to know, you’ll have to guess,” Sirius said stubbornly.

The other man rolled his eyes. “Well, I’ve got a fifty percent chance of getting it right, this is going to be tough.” His cousin just grinned. “A boy?”

“Nope,” Sirius answered.

“A little girl?”

“Nope,” Liz said this time.

Nick’s brow furrowed, looking puzzled. “A sheep?”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

“Well, if it’s not a boy, and it’s not a girl, then what the heck is it?”

“Do you want to tell him, baby?” Sirius asked Liz.

“Oh, I’m sure you want to tell him sweetheart, go ahead,” she replied.

“No, that’s okay, if you want to tell him...”

“Someone tell him before he goes crazy!” Nick interrupted impatiently.

“Twins!” they both exclaimed.

“A boy and a girl,” Sirius clarified.

“Twins...” he murmured to himself, a vague grin on his face. “Well, look at it this way. Liz will only have to be pregnant seven times!”

“Yeah, easy for you to say...” Liz muttered.

The cousins both laughed. “Well, being the wonderful future-godfather that I am, I brought you a book.”

“A book?” Sirius asked as Nick laid a huge book in front of them.

“Yep, a book full of about every name imaginable. I know you’ll put it to good use.”

“But you’re going to need it too, Daddy,” Liz said, smirking.

“I have my own copy, Mum.”

“Boy does that sound weird,” Sirius interjected thoughtfully.

“Yeah, it does...” Nick agreed, “Well, I’m going to go raid the fridge, anybody want anything?” Liz opened her mouth. “Bacon, I know. Anything else?”

“Be a doll and grab some ice cream, would you?” Sirius asked.

“You’re not pregnant,” Nick stated.

“How do you know?”

“Yeah, yeah....” he said while heading for the kitchen. “You’re pregnant and I’m the Queen of England.”

“You kind of look like her!” Sirius shouted after him.

Liz rolled her eyes at their antics, pulling the book towards her and flipping to the first page. “Abdukrahman.”

“Or not,” Sirius suggested. His wife grinned at him.

“Look at this one.” Liz cleared her throat dramatically. “Acacallis.”

“I always knew the Greeks were weird.”

“What about Benedict?” Liz suggested.

“Nah, to traitor-y,” Sirius replied immediately.

“Traitor-y?”

“Yeah, something about the American Revolution. Mira was going on about it a couple of months ago. How about Adolf?”

Liz coughed. “You’re joking, right?”

“What?”

“Adolf Hitler ringing any bells?” He shook his head. “Never mind, just trust me on this one.”

“Ooh, I’ve got it!” Sirius said, looking terribly excited. “Elirius! You know, like a combination between Elizabeth and Sirius?”

Liz blinked a couple of times before responding. “You’re joking, right?”

His eyes were twinkling as he said, “Totally.”

“Elirius though? I mean, how did you even think of that?”

“Don’t question the genius, Liz, embrace it.”

She snorted. “Elirius...”

They were both chuckling when Nick returned from his raid of the refrigerator, balancing three plates of grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches on a carton of ice cream. “What’s so funny?”

It took them a moment to calm down, and Sirius took one look at Nick and burst out laughing again. “Copernailey!”

“Abrissa!” Liz added, clutching her sides.

“What in the world are you two doing?” he asked, startled.

“Trying to pick out names,” Liz explained when she’d caught her breath.

He looked horrified. “I’m hoping you were joking.”



Special Christmas Challenge!

A lot of you guys have mentioned that you’d like to see more of certain characters. So instead of having a chapter challenge where I’d use your line in the next chapter like usual, I decided to have a one-shot challenge instead. All you have to do is pick any character that has appeared in my fic in any situation you’d like, and send me a brief summary of what the one-shot would be about. There’s only a couple of rules:

-The character must have appeared in my fic at least once. It doesn’t have to be my character, but they must have at least appeared. And portraits do count. (Example: You could use Percy, but not Cornelius Fudge.)

-You also can’t request characters like, “the character who dies,” or, “Lynn’s future husband,” to try to get information out of me. I know one of you sneaky folks would have tried it, so don’t act all innocent. I can see you, remember...

-Summaries should be no more than five sentences long.

-All entries must be OWLED to me.

-You can only have one entry, but you can change your entry if you think of another one later on.

Aside from this, you can do whatever you want. I’ll keep the contest open for a week, and then I’ll post all the entries on the feedback thread where you guys can vote on which one you like the best. The winner will then be allowed to tell me everything they want in the one-shot, beyond their original five sentences. As in, they can say what other characters they’d like to appear, lines they want people to say, what genre or tone they’d like it to be written in, whatever they’d like. They could even write it themselves if they want to. So that’s just about it, if you have any questions, you can owl me or ask me on the feedback thread.

Sidebar: Hehe, that was fun! I always wanted to have a real contest-y list of rules thingie. *runs off to giggle* I hope you guys have fun with this!!!

Happy New Year! The first post of 2007, yay!


Chapter 13: Broken

Little girl don't be so blue,
I know what you're goin' through.
Don't let it beat you up.
Heaven knows that getting scars,
Only makes you who you are,
Only makes you who you are.

~Lindsey Haun


Malfoy,

Meet me in the Entrance Hall at one in the afternoon today. I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t be late.

Arthur Weasley

Annie crumpled up the piece of parchment and tossed it in the vague direction of the foot of her bed, pulling on a pair of silver heels. She was starting to have second thoughts about going through with this. After all, she could keep away from the Junior Death Eater club without her brother’s help, couldn’t she?

No...

Well, maybe she couldn’t, but there just had to be a better way than this! She would be going somewhere where she was surrounded by...well... Weasleys! It went against everything her father ever taught her, everything she was raised to believe.

Well, isn’t that what you’re trying to do, stupid? the Ax-like voice in her head asked slyly.

“Oh shut up,” she snapped irritably, grabbing her handbag to make sure she had her wand.

“Talking to yourself, never a good sign,” Eleni said casually, walking into their dormitory and rummaging in her trunk for a book.

“Hello Eleni,” Annie said glumly. She had been hoping to escape interrogation.

“So Micah tells me that you...” the other girl broke off, seeming to finally notice Annie’s rather out of the ordinary clothing. “Where are you going?”

“Never mind that, what did Micah say?”

“He said you were turning coward on us, is that true?”

“Well, I wouldn’t use those exact words, but I’ve decided not to be part of your little group anymore, yes,” she said evenly.

Eleni was silent for a moment. “You’re not going to want to do that.”

“Am I not?” Annie asked, a speck of amusement present in her voice. “And why is that? Going to send your flying monkeys after me?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Annie had no idea actually, she’d just thought it was appropriate. Where had she heard that expression? “Figure it out yourself if you’re so smart,” she said to Eleni, shrugging.

She looked quite confused. “Well, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but Micah said that...”

“Oh, and when did Micah say this all? During your romantic night in your favorite broom cupboard with all the mops and the spiders?”

Eleni sneered at her. “You’re just jealous because Micah tells me everything!”

“Oh yeah Eleni, I’m real jealous. I’m so jealous I can barely see straight. I’d just love to set your face on fire!” She snorted. “Oh wait, that’s not jealousy, that’s charity. After all, anything you can do to that thing you call a nose could only be an improvement.”

“Why you little...” Eleni started, whipping out her wand.

“Oh please, Zabini. I don’t have time for this.” Annie rolled her eyes, getting up and heading towards the door, the skirt of her dress swishing along the way. “Oh, and by the way, I wouldn’t put too much faith in how much Micah tells you.”

Leaving the other girl sputtering indignantly behind her, Annie stomped through the common room, ignoring the strange looks she was getting due to her choice of clothing. Had these people never seen a dress before, honestly?

“Annie!”

“Oh for god’s sake, can’t a girl have some peace around here!” she muttered to herself, turning around to see one person she most definitely did not want to deal with.

“What, Micah?!” she spat. “I think I’ve made myself crystal clear over the past week, so why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because I...” he began, but then stopped short. “Where in the world are you going dressed like that?”

“That’s none of your business,” she said stiffly.

“No really, what’s with the dress?”

“I have a date, alright?”

“With who?”

“Salazar Slytherin, the Pope, whoever you like,” she said impatiently, trying to sidestep around him. He’d somehow gotten between her and the door.

“Look, I know you were just angry last week, so I’m willing to give you a second chance...”

“I’m leaving now,” she announced, trying to bodily push her way past him now.

“Now just wait a second!”

“Oh for goodness sake,” she exclaimed in frustration, pulling out her wand. “Stupefy!”

Micah keeled over like a board, laying rigid on the floor. “You know, for all your talk, you have really bad reflexes,” she told the immobile Head Boy. “Someone take care of this, eh?” she asked the common room at large, seeing as many of them had been watching the scene with fascination.

***********

Arthur was sitting on a step in the Entrance hall at 12:59, waiting for his ‘date’. He was beginning to wonder why exactly he’d agreed to this whole scheme in the first place. Maybe she changed her mind and won’t show up...

No such luck.

The clicking of heels on the stone floor announced the arrival of the Slytherin girl, looking sour. He nearly snorted out loud when he saw her. Talk about ironic.

She was wearing a long, floaty dress of the palest pink, trimmed with lace on the bodice and giving the very false impression of innocence. Her hair was mostly up and curled, with a few long strands framing her face. Arthur thought she would have looked sweet if it wasn’t for her ‘go curl up and die’ expression.

“You’re...” he started, checking his watch.

“Right on time, I know. Let’s get this over with,” she cut him off curtly, brushing past him on her way to the door. He did snort out loud this time. The dress had practically no back.

“Pink?” he asked smartly, catching up with her quickly.

“It was the only muggle dress I owned, for your information.”

“You’re not wearing a cloak,” he pointed out.

Damn, he was right...

“I know,” she lied, “Malfoys don’t wear cloaks in March.” It sounded stupid even to her, and judging by her date’s expression, he wasn’t quite foolish enough to believe her.

“You’re going to get cold,” he said in a sing-song voice.

“That’s none of your concern, Weasley,” she replied stiffly, walking a bit faster.

“Whatever you say, Malfoy,” Arthur replied, obviously amused. They fell into an awkward silence.

“So, how are we getting wherever we’re going? Floo? Portkey?”

“Well, I figured we’d just apparate, but...”

“I don’t have a license, Weasley.”

“Ever heard of sidelong apparation, Princess?” She scowled at him. “Unless you’d rather take the Knight Bus...”

“No, that’s quite alright, thank you,” she answered immediately.

“Let me guess. Malfoys don’t ride purple buses in March either?”

“Malfoys don’t ride purple buses period,” she corrected. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Potter Manor.”

“Potter Manor? As in, Harry Potter?”

“One in the same, yes. Is that a problem?” he asked defensively.

“Just for the fact that my father is going to skin me alive,” she muttered quietly.

“Malfoy, you’re attending the wedding of a blood traitor with the son of Ron Weasley, a man your father hates just as much as Harry Potter, if not more. I’d say your goose is already cooked. Why not add a little seasoning?”

She couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing. “That was actually pretty funny, Weasley.”

“Glad I amuse you,” he replied dryly, turning into a back alley. “We’ll just apparate from here, I guess.”

“Okay then.” He held out a hand to her. “What?”

“You’re going to need to hold on, you know,” he answered. She looked unsure for a moment, and he rolled his eyes. “I don’t have cooties, I promise.”

She sneered at him, grabbing his hand. He gave a small turn and they disappeared with a pop, only to reappear seconds later in the Potter’s garage. Annie looked around vaguely, noticing a sleek, black muggle car and a large collection of broomsticks lining the far wall, before Arthur tugged on her hand and pulled her toward a side door.

“Why couldn’t we have just apparated outside in the first place,” she asked as they trudged across the yard towards the large, happy looking house. Annie didn’t really know how a house could look happy, but this one managed it. Of course, she was comparing it to Malfoy Manor...

“Muggle neighborhood,” Arthur answered. “One of my uncles tried it once, the folks across the street called the police.”

“What’s that?”

“What, police? They’re muggle law enforcement.”

“Kind of like aurors?”

“More like a hit squad, actually.”

“Oh,” she said, nodding. “Doesn’t it look weird when people randomly appear out of their garage too?”

“You would think so, but no one’s said anything about it yet.”

They both grew silent again. Annie, finding the quiet unnerving, searched for a subject. “So, this is Potter Manor.”

“Yup,” Arthur confirmed unnecessarily.

“It’s cute,” she continued.

“Cute?” he asked in disbelief. The house practically as old as Hogwarts, and as big as a palace. He’d never heard it described as ‘cute’ before.

“Yeah, it’s cute. I like it.”

“Well, I mean, I know it’s not painted in gold or anything, but...”

“I was just trying to make conversation, you know!” she said indignantly, stomping off quickly in the direction of the house. Arthur rolled his eyes, realizing that this was going to be a really, really long day.

“Malfoy, wait! I didn’t mean it!”

She whirled around, giving him a disbelieving look. “Yes you did, don’t insult my intelligence by lying to me! I know all I am is a ‘spoiled rotten little princess’, but you don’t need to remind me every few minutes!”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry. Let’s just try to get through this day without killing each other, okay?”

She nodded in agreement, rubbing her bare arms while her teeth chattered slightly. “Fine.”

He softened slightly. “You’re freezing.”

“Nonsense, I’m fine.”

He unfastened his cloak and handed it to her. “Here.”

“Don’t try to be a gentleman, Weasley, I’m fine.”

“Just take the cloak, okay? Call it a peace offering.”

She bit her lip, but the desire to be warm seemed to finally outweigh her pride. “Alright. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped suddenly.

He half-grinned. “Why not? Would you rather be Queen?”

“No,” she replied grumpily. “For your information, my father used to call me that when I was little and he was normal!”

“Oh,” he replied, feeling extremely embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know why I told you that,” she admitted quietly as they started walking towards the house again. They had come to a standstill without either of them realizing it.

“To make me feel like a complete jerk?” he suggested, ears burning.

She laughed quietly as they reached the front door. “Maybe.”

Arthur reached out to knock, but drew his hand back quickly. “Malfoy, can I ask you something?”

“You just did.”

“I’m going to choose to ignore how cliched that comment was and just ask. When you said ‘when your father was normal’, what did you mean?” He didn’t really expect her to answer, and was surprised when she did.

“He wasn’t always so cold,” she said to her feet. “He used to be...well... normal. A loving father, a devoted husband, the whole nine yards.”

“What changed?” he asked, truly curious. He was slowly beginning to realize that there was more to this girl than met the eye. There was something deeper, something unexpected, just beneath the surface. And anything that could help explain her, anything he could do to unravel just a bit of the enigma that she was, he was going to do. Because deep down, he knew it wasn’t too late for her. He could save her, if she let him. And for some unexplainable reason, he felt it was his duty to help her.

And that was why he’d agreed to bring her to the wedding. Not because he had some foolish idea of making Lynn jealous. Not because he was simply curious. But because he knew that inside this cold young woman, there was the heart of a broken, scared little girl.

He should hate her. But he couldn’t.

“My mother had an affair with a man my father considered to be his best friend. I think he decided from that day onward that he just wouldn’t love anymore, because loving hurt too much when it went wrong.” She looked surprised with herself. “Bet you never thought you’d hear those words coming out of my mouth, did you?”

He couldn’t think of anything to say in response. “That actually reminds me of Celia and her brother,” he finally choked out.

“Micah? What do you mean?”

“Well, I remember Micah as a first year. He had always been ambitious, otherwise he never would have been sorted into Slytherin, but he was never so... so...” he struggled to find a good word to describe what Micah was.

“Evil?” Annie suggested.

“Well, yeah,” he agreed sheepishly. “They used to be close, you know. As close as twins could be. But then Micah met someone, between his first and second year at Hogwarts. Celia never knew who it was, but it changed him. It broke her heart the first time he wouldn’t acknowledge her in the hallways, and she’s never been the same since.”

Annie whispered something to herself. “What was that?” Arthur asked.

“Nothing, it’s just, Micah talks about this woman all the time. I think that must be who you mean. She taught him the Dark Arts.”

He was about to reply, to ask her exactly how deep into the Dark Arts they were, when a very familiar voice interrupted them.

“Are you going to knock, or just stand out here all day?”

“Dad?” Both he and Annie spun around to see a grinning Ron Weasley standing behind them, along with Hermione and their two little girls. “Hi Mum, Dad, how have you guys been?” he asked, taking turns hugging them.

“Fine, fine,” his mother answered. “I think you’ve gotten taller since Christmas! I swear, you have some sort of spell on you just to drive me crazy...”

“Ah, he’s a growing boy. Just like a weed, can’t keep him down.”

“Are you likening me to a household aggravation you can’t get rid of? I should be offended...”

“Oh hush you,” Hermione admonished with a smile.

“You get more like your mother every time we see you too. And who’s this lovely young lady accompanying you?” his father asked him curiously.

“Er...” was all Arthur managed.

“Annabelle Malfoy , sir,” she answered for him, shaking Ron’s limp hand.

“Malfoy, did you say?” Hermione was now standing beside him, her brow furrowed slightly.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Weasley, just an arrangement, I assure you. I needed to speak to my brother in person, and this was the perfect opportunity. Your son was just kind enough to escort me. Nice to meet you, by the way.”

“N...nice to meet you too?” It came out as more of a question than a statement.

“Oh, and you must be Mrs. Weasley,” Annie said, turning to Hermione and shaking her hand as well. “I do love your dress, you must tell me where you got it.”

Hermione had opened her mouth to reply when Arthur interrupted. “Well, maybe you two can talk later, but we really must be going. People to see, horses to buy, that type of thing. See you later, Mum, Dad...” He grabbed Annie’s arm, leading her away from the older couple.

“Oh Ronald, close your mouth, it’s not attractive in the least,” Hermione reprimanded, smiling slightly.

Ron struggled for words for a moment before choking out, “He does not know what he’s getting into with that one.”

Hermione shrugged. “I like her.”

“What?”

“I like her. She’s got spunk.”

“Yeah,” he snorted, “that’s the word for it.”

Meanwhile, Annie and Arthur had finally made it to the backyard where the ceremony would take place, only to be bombarded by the one person Annie had been hoping to avoid.

“Arthur, hi!” Annie yelped when she saw who was calling, and did her best to hide behind him.

“Hey Marissa, how are you?” he asked, giving her a one-armed hug while trying to distract her from the girl currently crouching behind him.

“I’m great! Now, are you going to introduce me to your date, or are you going to make me live in suspense?”

“Well...”

“It’s okay, Weasley,” Annie interrupted, stepping out from behind him. “I’m thinking introductions aren’t going to be necessary."

Marissa stared at her blankly for a few long moments before she opened her mouth, sputtering incoherently. “I... I... AX!”

Annie’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, Davies...er...Malfoy...er....whoever you are, there’s no need to call my brother just yet...”

“AX!” she yelled again.

“Just keep your knickers on!”

“ABRAXAS MALFOY!”

“What is it, sweetheart?” Ax asked when he finally made his way through the crowd towards them. “Do you feel okay? Is it the baby? Do you need a healer?”

“No, it’s not the baby, its...” she stuttered, pointing toward’s her husband’s estranged sister, who looked as though she was waiting for death or some equally painful experience.

Ax paled considerably when he saw her. “Annie?”

She shrugged. “Hi Ax! I’m a little late, but if it’s any consolation, you were right.”

*************

“I don’t deserve him,” Hailey was saying despairingly.

“Oh, yes you do,” Mira replied vaguely, adjusting a rose in the older woman’s hair.

“I look fat,” Liz said self-critically while looking in the mirror.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Mira said without looking at her.

“Yes I do, look at me!”

“You look fat?” Hailey said in disbelief. “You’re not the one wearing white!”

“Alright, you both look fat, are you happy now?” Mira cried in exasperation.

“I can get a new maid of honor, you know,” Hailey said with a mock glare, accepting the piece of bacon Liz was offering her.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Sure you can. And I don’t want to hear it when you both have bacon grease on your dresses!”



Hehe, I just added the last part so the entire post wasn’t nothing but Arthur and Annie bickering. Hope you liked it!

Challenge: Find me the most romantic, sappy, gushy love song you’ve ever heard. It’s for the next chapter’s title. I was sorely tempted to use ‘Back in Black’ by ACDC, just for a joke, but I think I’ll save it for when the baby is born, lol. And don’t worry, you’ve still got plenty of time to enter the Christmas Challenge!

Oh my gosh guys, do you know how many song lyrics I’ve read in the last few days? But in the end, I chose MissGryffindor’s suggestion, which also happens to be a favorite of mine. It really was perfect for Nick and Hailey. So, enjoy the wedding! I tried to make it nice and fluffy.


Chapter 14: Amazed

Every time our eyes meet,
This feeling inside me,
Is almost more than I can take.
Every time you touch me,
I can feel how much you love me.
And it just blows me away...

And though it feels like the first time, every time,
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes...

~Lonestar

“I don’t deserve her,” Nick told Sirius despairingly as they stood side by side under an archway of red roses. The Potter’s garden looked incredible, draped in red and white flowers and fabric, with many rows of black silk chairs set up for the guests. The long aisle was lined with white, rose petals scattered around for a small touch of color. Everything seemed to shimmer with a magical light that had nothing to do with wands.

“Yes, Nick, you do,” Sirius replied, slightly amused. “Believe me, you two definitely deserve each other.”

“I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.”

The other man grinned. “Since it’s your wedding day, take it as a compliment.”

“Thanks, I think,” Nick responded, fidgeting nervously with his sleeve and looking around as the guests began to take their seats. “What if it rains? I didn’t even think about that.” Sirius looked at him with exasperation before pointing out that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

“What if I forget my vows?” Nick continued. “What if dark wizards attack? What if the world ends? What if...”

“What if I punch you? Honestly, Nick, how many ‘what if’s’ can you think up?”

“Can you blame me for being nervous? This is the most important day of my life!”

“And it will also be the happiest,” Sirius said passively. “You just need to calm down and enjoy it.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay, maybe you’re right. I can do this.” He then proceeded to close his eyes and started muttering to himself. Sirius heaved a sigh, patting his cousin on the back, and mouthing, ‘He’s gone crazy,’ to Ax, who was sitting in the front row. The insensitive turkey just pointed and laughed. Marissa looked at him strangely, so he grinned and whispered something in her ear. She glanced back up at Sirius and Nick, looking half sympathetic and half amused.

Christian had returned from Egypt just before the wedding, and was now sitting on Marissa’s other side, trying to catch up with everything that had happened in the past few months. He was very tan, and his blonde hair seemed to be a shade lighter than it had been when he’d left. Landen, who was sitting in between Christian and Angenette, seemed very happy to have his best friend back in England, even if it was only for a couple of days.

Sirius glanced around at the other guests, all chatting happily to each other while waiting for the ceremony to start. His mother was sitting in the front row along with Becca, who was bouncing slightly in her seat. His little sister saw him looking around, and waved enthusiastically. He grinned while waving back. He didn’t know how Hogwarts was ever going to handle her.

Phil and Lynn were sitting in the second row, and actually seemed to be getting along quite well. Phil had a lazy arm draped across the back of Lynn’s chair, and was absentmindedly combing his fingers through her hair. They didn’t even seem to be talking, but instead just enjoying the rather nice day. Sirius smiled, glad to see his advice had been put to good use.

Arthur was sitting on the other side of the aisle with a blonde girl that looked vaguely familiar to him. They both looked acutely uncomfortable, and were staring determinately in opposite directions. The longer he studied this girl, the more familiar she seemed. She looked quite a bit like Ax, actually...

Shrugging and mentally noting to ask Arthur about it later, he saw that Nick was now looking a bit green. Smirking evilly, he decided that a bit of a joke would take his mind off his nervousness.

Patting his pockets frantically for show, he gasped theatrically before saying, “Ummm, Nick?” in a bashful voice.

“What?” his cousin snapped.

“I think I might have, sort of, kind of, lost the rings?” he said quietly.

“WHAT!” Nick exclaimed loudly, earning startled looks from the guests. “You... how could...” Sirius bit his lip to stop laughing while something seemed to click in Nick’s brain. “Wait a minute... James has the rings!”

Sirius burst out in hysterical laughter, doubling over and clutching his knees as he cried, “You should have seen your face!”

“Oh very funny, give the poor man a heart attack on his wedding day,” Nick said dryly, trying to glare.

“Must I remind you that you told me you and Liz had decided to run away together two hours before my wedding? You didn’t honestly expect to get off the hook without payback, did you?”

“Well, I had hoped,” he answered, seeming to be a bit more relaxed.

“A fool’s hope, mate, a fool’s hope,” Sirius replied, clapping him on the back. “Look, you’ve got to calm down a little. This is just one day, so enjoy it. You’ve got the rest of your life to be nervous about.”

Nick rolled his eyes, feeling a bit better despite himself. “Thanks, Sirius.”

They were both saved from more conversation by the music starting. “Well, here it goes,” Nick said quietly as Violet and James started down the aisle.

James was grinning widely, soaking up the attention like a sponge. Violet was grabbing large fistfuls of petals and throwing them down rather violently instead of scattering them about. Everyone ‘awwed’ in unison.

Liz came next, in a long halter dress of a deep wine red, and carrying a bouquet of red roses. Sirius smiled softly at her as she passed them and took her place on the other side of the archway, thinking that she got more beautiful by the minute.

Nick couldn’t keep the protective older brother side of him from acting up when Mira appeared in the doorway, despite the current situation. It was at that moment that Nick realized his sister wasn’t a little girl anymore. Her dress was the same style as Liz’s, just a brighter shade of red, and the bouquet she was carrying was identical to the older woman’s. Instead of looking like she’d been playing dress up in her mother’s closet like she usually did when she was in a gown, she looked more graceful and elegant than Nick even thought possible.

However, all thoughts of his sister growing up disappeared from Nick’s head when he caught sight of Hailey for the first time, taking Remus’s arm so that he could walk her down the aisle. His heart literally skipped a beat.

She was beautiful.

Her dress was a simple, sleeveless gown that fit her tiny frame loosely, and nicely hid the fact that she was pregnant. Nick knew that the baby was her ‘something new’. Her ‘something old’ were the antique diamond earrings she was wearing, for they had been her mother’s. Her ‘something borrowed’ was Remus, claiming that if it wasn’t for the fact that she already had a handsome man, she might not give him back. Remus had replied that he was just glad she hadn’t asked him to be her ‘something old’. Her ‘something blue’ wasn’t visible, but Nick knew it was the piece of string he’d given her as a substitute for a proper engagement ring. It was now sewn into the hem of her dress.

She had decided not to have a veil, so her hair was half up and adorned with white roses just like the ones in her bouquet. But it was not any of these things that had him so enraptured. It was the fact that she was glowing.

From her eyes to her smile, every bit of her was shining with happiness and love. It was no wonder that Nick had never been able to resist her. What he’d done to deserve her, he didn’t know. But he knew that he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

When the pair reached the end of the aisle, Remus kissed Hailey on the cheek and handed her over to Nick, shaking his nephew’s hand with a smile. Nick kissed the back of Hailey’s hand before whispering, “You look beautiful.” He also noticed that she already had tears in her eyes.

“Dearly beloved, we gather here today...” Nick couldn’t help but letting his mind wander as the short, balding man droned on and on. He thought of the past, and all it had taken to get to this point. He also thought of the future, a future with the woman he loved and their unborn child.

“...in sickness and in health, for better or worse, as long as you both shall live. Now, I believe the bride and groom have their own vows they’d like to add?”

Nick cleared his throat nervously. “Yes. I’ll start.” He took a deep breath, smiling at Hailey as he began. “Hailey, you’ve shown me what it means to love someone with all of my heart. You’ve taught me that life is only worth living when you share it with someone else, that every day is special, and that happiness is there for anyone who is willing to search for it. But most of all, you’ve shown me that the most beautiful things in life are those that are just under the surface. I now understand that flawed can be perfect, and that perfect is almost always flawed. You are my perfect, despite your flaws, and I know our life together will be perfect as well, even if it’s only a mild shade. For a mild shade of perfection can shine brighter than any sun if it lasts for a lifetime. And you are the only one I ever want to share that lifetime with. Hailey, I don’t know why you love me, but I’m glad you do. And I promise you now that I will love you forever.” His voice was becoming a bit choked near the end, and he had to blink a few times to compose himself.

Hailey sniffed slightly before beginning her vows, her big blue eyes looking ready to spill over with tears. “Nick, when I sat down to write my vows to you a few weeks ago, I quickly realized that I could have gone on forever. The things I could say today are endless, as is my love for you. But most of all, I’d just like to say thank you. You saw me when no one else did. You saved me when no one else would. And on top of it all, you love me the way no one else ever could. You’ve forgiven my mistakes, you’ve looked past all my faults, and you’ve shown me that there is a reason for life. You’ve shown me that although the shadows may be safe, it is much warmer in the sunlight. I met you when I was fifteen years old, but I’ve known you my entire life. For you’ve always been in my dreams, and in my heart. You will always be in my heart, and I’m glad that I’ve found a way into yours as well. And I promise you that I will always love you like you deserve. I never believed anyone could ever love me until you. Now I just can’t believe how lucky I’ve been. I will love you forever, this I promise you.”

The official blew his nose before continuing with the ceremony. “Are there any objections to the union of these two people? Speak now or forever hold your peace.” No one said a word. “Very well. Do you, Hailey Cullingwood, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” Hailey replied, taking one of the rings off the pillow James was holding and placing it on Nick’s finger.

“And do you, Copernicus Black, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” Nick said as well, taking the other ring and slipping it on Hailey’s finger.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Nick was just about to do as requested when Sirius yelled, “Wait!”

Nick shot him a confused look while Liz and Mira rolled their eyes and shared a glance. Sirius just reached behind the archway and pulled out a step-stool, placing it in front of Hailey before saying, “Carry on.”

Hailey giggled, stepping onto it so that she was nearly Nick’s height for once in her life, and they shared a soft kiss that she would never forget.

Her first kiss as Mrs. Hailey Black.

*************

The reception took place on the third floor of the Potter’s house, where a ballroom that hadn’t been used in a good century had been fixed up for the occasion. Nick and Hailey were acting the part of newlyweds very well by holding hands, feeding each other, and staring romantically into each other’s eyes. Mira was currently giggling over her brother and his new wife’s behavior.

“Look at them, it’s sickening,” she said to Rob, not able to get rid of the huge grin on her face.

“Yeah, Mira, you look really disgusted by the whole display,” he replied with a smirk, shaking his head in amusement.

“What? Is it my fault that I’m happy for them?”

“No, you’re just adorable,” he told her quietly, sincerity evident in his voice. She blushed, but was saved from comment by Sirius, who had stood up and was now banging on his champagne glass to get everyone’s attention.

“This should be fun,” she commented, leaning back in her seat and waiting for the show to start.

“Yes, yes, it’s time for the best part of the wedding. The best man’s words of wisdom. Before I start, who honestly thought I’d ever be standing here making this speech? I mean, I’m the obvious choice for best man, but this situation in general? Who would want to marry this thing? It’s hideous!” Laughter rang out from the guests while the groom had a sour look on his face. “Yes, but it’s hard to believe my little Nicky has grown up. I mean, he’s got a real job now, he’s responsible, the mutinous traitor, and he even impregnated a girl in his office.” Nick whirled around to glare at Mira, while the family and friends laughed even louder. Professor McGonagall even looked amused.

“Hide me,” Mira whispered to Rob.

“You’re on your own with this one, I finally got your brother to like me.”

Sirius waited for all the chuckles to die down before continuing. “Now that the jokes have been made and the ice has been broken, it’s time to pay tribute to this couple before us, and all they represent. Nick and Hailey, Hailey and Nick, you are still two separate entities, but you have now also become one. No one in this room will ever again think of one of you without thinking of the other. You two are love at it’s finest, and I hope you cherish that love for the rest of your lives.” He raised his glass, and everyone else did the same. “To my cousin and his beautiful bride! Let us all drink to a wonderful couple who deserve only the best in life. And please help me in welcoming to the dance floor the new Mr. and Mrs. Black, as they share their first dance as husband and wife.”

Everyone applauded as they drained their glasses, and Nick and Hailey both hugged Sirius before moving towards the dance floor. More couples joined them as the song progressed, and Rob was just about to ask Mira to dance when he noticed the tears in her eyes.

“Hey,” he said, scooting his chair closer to hers and wrapping an arm around her. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, happy tears,” she explained with a small smile. “I just didn’t really know Sirius had that in him.”

“Hey, us guys have our moments, you know.”

“Yeah, guys do. Sirius, however...”

“Squirt! Are you implicating that I am not of the male persuasion?”

She groaned, turning around to face her cousin. “Why is it that you’re everywhere?”

“Ah, you know you couldn’t live without me.”

“I’m just glad I don’t have to live with you anymore. Do you realize I found moldy cheese in your old room this summer? I think I should demand payment.”

“You’re too expensive. I’m only on a trainee auror’s salary.”

“Ah, I don’t ask for much. Just eternal admiration and a temple built in my honor. Oh, and name one of your kids after me while you’re at it.”

“Why in the world would I name my child Squirt.”

Mira stuck her tongue out at him, and he was about to say something else when Fred and George threw a large amount of champagne onto Percy. Sirius rolled his eyes. “Well, best go do some damage control. We’ll continue this conversation later.”

“Your family is so weird,” Rob commented with an air of resigned acceptance.

“Yeah, but I love them for it.”

He chuckled a bit, watching Percy chase his twin brothers around with a turkey leg. “Hey, do you want to dance?”

“Sure!” she answered eagerly, jumping up and grabbing his hand. “Let’s see who has two left feet, shall we? Want to put a galleon on it?”

She promptly tripped over a chair.

“I think it’s safe to say my money’s secure,” he replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Bloody heels.”

*************

The rest of the reception went off without a hitch. Highlights included Nick and Hailey smearing cake all over each other’s faces, and then proceeding to lick it off, causing the crowd to groan as one. Rita Skeeter had attempted to scale a fence, trying to get pictures of the Minister ‘enjoying a day with the family’, but Hermione had gotten out her wand and began twirling it through her fingers. The reporter had immediately vacated the premises.

Fred and George seemed to have gotten poor Percy drunk, and he was now wobbling around with a dictionary, shouting out random words. His wife was taking pictures.

Mira and Rob were walking hand in hand to the punch table, Mira having ditched her shoes long ago. She snorted slightly when she saw Arthur and Annie Malfoy sitting at a table with two chairs in between them, looking bored out of their minds.

“Hey, check out the lovebirds over there,” she whispered in Rob’s ear. He followed her line of sight and laughed slightly.

“Such a happy couple. What’s with those two anyway?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I think it has something to do with Arthur’s good Samaritan syndrom.”

“ARMISTICE!” Percy shouted randomly.

“Is he going to do that for long?”

“No idea.”

“Hey, where are we going?” Rob asked when Mira suddenly changed direction, dragging him with her.

She shrugged. “To make conversation.”

He groaned, whining like a little boy, “Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“Yes, Mum.” She stuck her tongue out at him, dragging him the last few feet to stand in front of Arthur and Annie.

“You two look cheerful,” she commented mildly. They both looked up at her in surprise. “Has Madame Nuts-For-Brains been bothering you anymore?” she directed towards Annie.

“I’m assuming you mean Micah, and only by continuing to breathe.”

“Well, if you ever need help cleaning his clock, sign me up.”

“Will do.”

Mira then turned to the Weasley. “Now Arthur dear, have you even gotten out of this chair all night? I know for a fact your mother has taught you how to be sociable.”

“Hi Mira, nice to see you too,” he replied grumpily.

“Oh, stop being such a grouch, you look constipated. Come on, dance with me,” she said, tugging on his hand.

“Urgh, you know I hate dancing...” She pouted. “Fine, but just once.”

“We’ll be right back,” Mira told Rob and Annie. “You two get to know each other.”

“So...” Rob said vaguely to the girl on his left. “Nice day, isn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“A bit chilly, but not bad.”

“Yep.”

“Great day for a ritualistic blood sacrifice. We should go get the lambs.”

“Yep.”

Rob rolled his eyes, slumped in his seat, and began tapping his foot with impatience. He was hoping this would be a short song.

Meanwhile, Mira was grilling Arthur about his choice for a date. “I mean, honestly, if you were going to ignore the girl the entire time...”

“We’re ignoring each other. It’s mutual.”

“Then why did you even bring her in the first place?”

“Look, she needed a favor. She wanted to talk to her brother, and I just helped her with that.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

“Couldn’t I have just been being nice?”

Mira studied him for a moment before blurting, “Oh, you’re not trying to make Lynn jealous, are you?”

“How did you know that...”

“I may be short Arthur, but I’m not blind.”

“No, I’m not trying to make her jealous, although Malfoy thinks I am. And am I really that obvious?”

“No, you’re not. It took me a while to figure it out, don’t worry.”

“Lynn doesn’t know, does she?” he asked suddenly.

“No,” she assured him. “Phil does though.”

Arthur gulped. “Great, now I’m going to have some type of family feud on my hands.”

“Phil wouldn’t do that, and you know it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“He does want to talk to you about it though,” Mira admitted.

Arthur sighed. “Looking forward to it. You’re a right little ray of sunshine, you know that?”

“Of course I am!” she said cheerfully, glancing at Rob and Annie. “We’d best go save those two.”

“When will someone save me?” Arthur muttered under his breath.

“I heard that.”

“Good.”

Mira grinned at her best friend’s obvious discomfort. “Come on Rob, Arthur has two left feet.”

“And you don’t?” Rob asked smartly.

“Shush. Bye Annie, don’t castrate him. Arthur, be good.”

“Yes Mum,” he replied dutifully.

“That seems to be popular today,” she said vaguely to herself.

A few minutes later, Mira had stepped on Rob’s foot three times and he hadn’t teased her about it yet. She was starting to become concerned. “Hey, is there something wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just...” he paused. “You don’t fancy Arthur Weasley, do you?”

Mira stared at him in complete shock for a moment before she burst out laughing. He looked at her strangely. “I’m sorry, it’s just, can you imagine how ridiculous we’d look together? The four foot seven girl with the six foot five guy? It’s just really funny!”

Rob frowned. “I’m serious, Mira.”

She stopped laughing, looking up at him in surprise. “You are, aren’t you?” He nodded. “Of course not. He’s just family.”

“But he’s not, that the whole point!”

“Yes, he is, Rob,” she sighed. “Look, I know it’s weird, but I have so many people that I consider family, even though I’m not related to them.”

“But you’re not even as close to Will as you are to Arthur, and he’s in our year.”

“But like in any family, I’m closer to some relatives than I am to others. Arthur’s just like Phil, or Dani, or even my Aunt Ginny. He’s like a cousin to me, or even a brother.”

“Is that how you feel about me too?” he asked unexpectedly.

Mira blushed, looking down at her feet. “No,” she answered. “You’re different. You’re more than a brother to me.”

They were both awkwardly silent for a moment before Rob blurted, “You look really beautiful tonight.”

“Th-thank you,” she whispered, still looking downward. He lifted her chin with his index finger, seeing that she was blushing furiously.

“Mira, I...”

She never found out what he was going to say, for at that moment, Sirius started banging on a glass again, and everyone turned their attention toward him. He grabbed the microphone from it’s stand and motioned towards the band to start a new song. “To all of you fathers out there, grab your daughters and dance with them one last time before some stupid boy can steal them away. Or, if they’ve already be stolen, steal them back for a few minutes. And since the lovely Hailey’s father isn’t present, I might just have to do the honor of dancing with her myself.” He blew a kiss to Hailey, and Nick shouted, “Hey!” and put a protective arm around her waist.

Mira looked from where Remus was gesturing for her to dance with him, back to Rob, who was staring bashfully at his feet, and bit her lip. “What were you saying?”

“Never mind,” he said quietly. “Go dance with your uncle before someone gets to him first.”

“Alright,” she said reluctantly. She turned in the opposite direction and began walking off, but not without looking back once. Rob was slumped in a chair, running his hands through his hair and looking for all the world like his puppy had just died.

For the first time since her second year, Mira didn’t know exactly what was going on with him, and she didn’t like it one bit.




These chapters have been going nuts lately, haven’t they? This time Mira and Rob wouldn’t shut up, don’t know what was with those two! And yes, before anyone can ask, Mira really is that short. The title line was also a complete surprise, I hadn’t really expected it to make an appearance in this chapter. It will appear at least once more though.

There’s going to be no contest this week, because I really can’t think of a thing for the next chapter. I think it’s just too well planned out to be open for anything. But don’t worry, the contest will be back for chapter 16!

Oh, and Nia... :yuhup:

Well, here it is! Er.... do me a favor and lower your expectations before you start reading.... I’ve been looking forward to this chapter for so long that when I finally got to it I had no idea what to do with it!

Chapter 15: Collide

Even the best fall down sometimes,
Even the stars refuse to shine.
Out of the back you fall in time,
I somehow find,
You and I collide.

~Howie Day

Annie and Arthur were in just about the same position that they had been all night when Sirius announced the father/daughter dance, and they didn’t bother moving then either. Seeing as Arthur wasn’t a daughter, and Annie’s father wasn’t present for obvious reasons, there was really no point in getting up.

It made her kind of sad to watch all the men happily twirling their children around, no matter how old or young. She knew her father would never be like that. He would never look at her with pride, or tell her he loved her, or dance with her at a wedding, even if it was her own. She caught sight of Harry Potter, twirling both his older daughters around with separate hands while his younger one clung to his shoulders, and for the first time she wondered what it would be like to have him as a father.

She could barely remember a time when her father was a father to her. She had been very young when Draco had found out about Pansy’s affair. However, she did remember the day everything changed.

Five year old Annie was sitting in the library, watching her eight year old brother read with a glazed expression. Ax could be a real bore sometimes, but she didn’t have anything better to do. Her mother was having tea with her grandmother, and her father was still at work.

The front door opened and closed, and Annie bolted out of her chair, running downstairs screaming, “DADDY!” just like she did every day. Her grandmother would fuss about running in the house and decorum of a young lady, just like Florence Parkinson always did. But she didn’t care. Her father wouldn’t care. He never did.

Until today.

Annie stopped when she reached the entrance hall, a puzzled look on her face. Draco wasn’t kneeling in front of the door, ready to scoop her up in his arms like he usually was. Instead he was calmly hanging his hat and coat in the closet, not even looking at her.

“You must stop with these ridiculous affectionate names, Annabelle. You are a young lady now, and you must represent yourself as thus.”

Annie’s brow furrowed further. Since when had she been Annabelle to him?

“What?” she asked in a small voice.

“You shall call me Father, not Daddy, or Dad, or Papa, or any of these other sickening names, do you understand? Now where is your brother?”

Annie just looked up at him with her mouth hanging slightly open.

“Don’t just stand there like some insolent gob, girl, I asked you a question!”

Her lower lip trembled, and a tear slipped down her cheek. Draco gave her a look of revulsion, and stomped off while yelling, “Abraxas!” Annie didn’t realize that he was not disgusted with her, but instead with himself.

Her five year old little heart broke right then and there, and she promised herself that she would do anything she could to make her father love her again.

She still hadn’t succeeded, but it had become an almost obsolete goal now. Right now, her concern was her brother, because her brother had been there at times where her father was not. He had become the only person Annie truly cared about, and she’d lost him in a moment of adolescent stupidity.

She knew that Ax would someday meet someone he could fall in love with, but it had happened far too fast. She hadn’t even had time to adjust to the fact that she wasn’t the only girl in her brother’s life anymore. She knew jealousy was no excuse for the things she had done, but she hoped it would be enough to gain forgiveness.

As she watched him now, dancing happily with his wife in his arms, she knew she needed to make the first move. She needed him now more than ever.

Making her decision, she got up from her chair, muttering, “I’ll be right back,” to the boy beside her, and made her way determinedly over towards Ax.

She tapped Marissa on the shoulder with a shaking hand. The older woman turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Ax just looked flabbergasted. “May I cut in?” Annie asked politely.

Her sister in law eyed her strangely. “I suppose...”

Ax seemed to come out of his trance and grabbed his wife’s arm before she walked away. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Yes,” she answered, looking directly at Annie, “it’s fine. I’ll be over by Liz and Sirius if you need me.”

After she left, Ax held out a hand to Annie, and she took it, being reminded of all the dancing lessons they had been forced to endure when they were kids.

“I don’t know what you’re doing,” Ax began quietly, “but if you think you’re going to play me as a fool again, you’d better walk away right now. I have a life now. I’m happy, and you can’t do anything that’s going to change that.”

His words cut her like a knife. She really, truly wanted to make amends with him, and he still thought she had some sort of ulterior motive.

“Ax, I just want my brother back,” she whispered. “I don’t want anything from you but your forgiveness, I promise.”

“But why, Annie? Why is this so important to you all of a sudden? It’s been three years.”

“Because I need you. Because I’m in over my head, and I need your help getting out of this horrible mess I’ve gotten myself caught in. Because you’re the only one I trust, the only one I love. Because you’re my brother, and I miss you. Do you need any more reasons?”

“You know that if I become part of your life again, Marissa becomes part of it too, right?”

She nodded. “I know. I’ll try to make amends with her as well.”

“I know you hate her, but I think if you two just got to know each other...”

“I don’t hate her,” Annie corrected. “I’ve never hated her. I was just jealous. There’s only two people on this earth that I truly hate, and she’s not even close.”

“Who is that, Mother and Father?” he asked curiously.

“No, I don’t hate Father, he just disappoints me. Mother and Micah Macmillan.”

“Micah Macmillan?” he asked curiously. “Was he a fifth year with a bad attitude when I graduated?”

“That would be him. He’s one of the things I need to talk to you about, actually,” she admitted.

Ax sighed, blurting out the question he’d been wanting to ask her for months. “Annie, what’s going on at Hogwarts? I’ve been hearing things about you being part of some kind of group that could possibly be a threat to the other students. What have you gotten yourself into?”

Annie looked shocked. “How did you know about...”

“I’m an Auror,” he explained simply, “Aurors hear things. I also have a friend who works at the school, and a lot more who have relatives at Hogwarts. I probably know more gossip than you do.”

She bit her lip, not prepared to see Ax’s patented disappointed look. “When Micah was a third year, he started a group for Slytherin purebloods who wanted to purify society. I joined them after you ran away.”

The look was already present. “Oh Annie...”

“I didn’t know what else to do! I was just so angry at you, and I wanted to do anything that would hurt you. So I joined them, even though I knew it was wrong, even though I didn’t give a damn about blood, just because I knew it was something you wouldn’t have done. I wanted desperately to make Father proud, and I wanted even more so to make you suffer.”

“Why didn’t you send me a howler or something? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? You could have been expelled, or hurt, or even... even killed. These people, they could be dangerous. Don’t you see what...”

“Ax, I know, alright! That’s why I’m here. They are dangerous,” she explained. “I didn’t even realize just how serious they were until this year, and by then I was in too deep.” Ax closed his eyes as though hoping to open them and find out this was a dream. “I know I was stupid, but...”

He grabbed her arm and dragged her out the nearest door into a hallway. “Stupid, Annie?! This goes way past stupid. What were you thinking, showing up here? They’re not going to be happy when they find out! If they’re really as dangerous as you say, they could... they could...”

“Kill me?” she finished feebly. “I know.”

“What were you thinking?!” he asked in a harsh whisper.

Annie took a deep breath, her voice a bit choked. “I need out, Ax. This was the only way.”

“But you could...”

“Don’t you see what I’m trying to say? If death is the only way out, then I have no choice! If it was just a matter of putting up with a bunch of crazies and throwing a few curses around once in a while, then maybe I’d stay with them. But it’s more complicated than that. I won’t spend the rest of my life with someone I hate, Ax! I refuse to end up like Mother and Father. I’d rather just die,” she finished dramatically.

“What are you talking about?”

“Micah Macmillan asked Father for my hand,” she said bluntly, meeting his eyes for the first time in years. He saw something deep inside the slate grey orbs, nearly identical to his own, that startled him. True, genuine fear. The fact that she was more afraid of an arranged marriage than death shocked him. He realized that part of her deeply embedded Slytherin mentality was gone. The part of her that would choose to save her own life, no matter what the costs, had been greatly diminished.

He didn’t even know his own sister anymore.

What was worse was that he couldn’t decide whether to trust her or not. He wanted nothing more than to trust her, but it wasn’t just his decision. He had a wife, and a baby on the way. It wasn’t just his own life that would be affected by his decision. But the fact remained that this was his only sister, and he was all she had left.

“Annie, you know I’d give my life for you, but I won’t put my family in harms way.”

“I’m not asking you to,” she whispered. “I don’t want you or anyone else to get hurt. All I need from you is your forgiveness. Please.”

Ax smiled slightly, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I forgive you, Annie. I forgave you a long time ago. And if you need anything, I’m always going to be here for you, okay? I...” he hesitated a bit. “I won’t lose you again.”

“Thank you,” she replied softly. “I promise, I’ll do the right thing from now on.”

He nodded. “You know Marissa’s pregnant, right?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Weasley told me.”

“When this baby is born, I want him or her to know their aunt, alright?”

She looked up at him, and smiled a real smile. “Alright. I think I can deal with that.” She sighed, glancing back at the door. “Well, you’d better get back before they send out a search party.”

“Yeah, I guess I’d better,” he agreed. “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” He had reached the door when he turned back to face her. “And Annie? Happy birthday.”

**************

Arthur was sitting at his table with his feet propped up on the chair across from him, counting spots on the ceiling while waiting for his date’s return. Not that he was eager to sit in awkward silence for a couple more hours, but he was actually curious as to how her conversation with her brother was going.

He heard someone sit down beside him, and turned to interrogate Malfoy, but instead came face to face with his cousin.

“Hey Phil,” he said with some trepidation. Ever since his conversation with Mira, he’d been hoping to avoid the other Weasley, but he knew his efforts were in vain. You couldn’t avoid anyone for long in his family.

“Hi there Artie-Wartie.”

“My sister’s a bad influence on you,” he commented, hoping to prolong small talk as long as possible.

“Someone has to raise her up right.”

“You’re disturbing. Remind me never to leave my children with you.” He wracked his brain for a topic. “So, how’s the Ministry?”

“As dull as ever. Hogwarts?”

“Likewise.”

“Now, now, if Hogwarts is anything, it’s certainly not dull.”

Arthur shrugged, and they lapsed into silence. Deciding that he might as well get the worst over with, he soon brought up the topic of Lynn himself. “So, where’s Lynn?”

“Catching up with Liz and Renee, you know how she hates being away from everyone for so long,” he said with a slight grin. “You know why I’m over here, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he admitted reluctantly. “Mira let the cat out of the bag.”

“Figured that,” Phil said with an eye roll. “I don’t know why I bother telling the girl things.”

“It’s the lack of height, you underestimate her,” Arthur explained with a smile before saying seriously, “You don’t owe me an explanation, you know.”

“I know,” Phil agreed. “But you deserve one.”

Arthur sighed, deciding that this conversation would be less painful if it was short. “Look, I’m not going to lie to you by pretending that I don’t have feelings for Lynn,” he swallowed heavily. “But I’m also not going to lie to myself by pretending that I can make her happy the way you can.”

“I love her,” Phil said quietly.

Arthur nodded, “I know you do.”

“And I don’t know if I’ll ever make her happy, but I promise you that I’m going to try.”

“Take care of her, that’s all I ask.”

“I will,” Phil promised. “So, no hard feelings, right mate?”

“None at all,” he said truthfully. He didn’t blame Phil in any way, and he knew that if their roles had been reversed, Phil would feel exactly the same way towards him. “And it does mean a lot to me that you’d talk to me first.”

“Hey, we’re family. Family comes first.”

Arthur’s smile was slightly sad. “Family first,” he agreed. “Good luck, Phil.”

He grinned, patting his cousin on the back. “I’d wish you good luck too, but I know you don’t need it. You’ll find the perfect girl for you too, I just know it.”

How he wished he was right.

As he watched Phil walk away, probably to find Lynn, he couldn’t help but feel jealous. Phil had always been everything he wished he could be. Confident, funny, handsome, and now he was about to get the only thing Arthur had ever wanted. If he had been more like Phil, would Lynn have loved him instead?

Did he even care if Lynn loved him, or did he just want someone to love him?

That question had plagued him all year, ever since Phil and Lynn’s feelings for each other became so pronounced that even he couldn’t deny them anymore. He couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t Lynn loving him that he cared about, but instead the idea of Lynn loving him. She had always been the only one he’d ever considered, the only one he’d ever seen, and the thought of going on with his life without the hope of his schoolboy crush developing into something more powerful was strange.

She was all he’d ever concentrated on, for as long as he could remember. And now that it was all over, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do with himself.

He didn’t even know who he really was.

“Weasley?” He nearly jumped out of his skin when Malfoy said his name. She must have been sitting by him for a while.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I said you looked miles away.”

“Yeah,” he responded. “I was.” Turning his head to look at her, he was slightly startled to see that she was smiling. The change in her was remarkable.

“I see that your chat with Ax went well.”

“Very,” she confirmed. “Come on, Weasley, let’s dance.” He gave her a funny look. “First step to making someone jealous is actually looking like you’re having a good time.”

“I don’t dance,” he replied simply.

“Yes you do, you were dancing with Black earlier.”

“Alright, I don’t dance with Malfoys in March, is that better?”

“No,” she said with a pout. “Come on, I’ll feel bad if you don’t get anything out of this little arrangement we have.”

“There’s no point in it, Malfoy,” he snapped. “There’s no way Lynn will ever notice me when she’s in love with someone else. So just leave it alone, alright?”

They were both quiet for a long moment, but Arthur could feel her eyes on him.

“I’m sorry, Weasley,” she said eventually. She looked like she meant it too.

It didn’t even hurt as bad as he thought it would.

**************

The tossing of the bouquet and garter caused a bit of a stir, when none other than Minerva McGonagall caught the bouquet, and an unfortunate Christian was unlucky enough to catch the garter. Sirius got several nice pictures of a flustered Christian putting the garment on an equally embarrassed Headmistress’s leg.

“Well, that was fun,” Phil commented to Sirius idly as a beet red Christian came to stand beside them. Everyone tried to control their laughter as he glared at Nick as though it was his fault.

“So, when are you two setting a date?” Landen asked in a strained voice. None of them would have been surprised if smoke came out of the poor man’s ears.

“I’ll never live that down, will I?”

“Neither will McGonagall, I guarantee it,” Sirius added, shooting a grin at Nick.

“It would be rather funny if those pictures ended up all over the staff room, wouldn’t it?” Landen asked innocently.

“Yes, that it would,” Sirius agreed.

“You guys are awful,” Hailey said, giggling as Nick nibbled on her ear.

“And you guys are disgusting,” Christian retorted.

“What?” they both asked.

“You’re slobbering all over the poor girl.”

“Oh hush, Mr. Bachelor,” Liz laughed. “Although it seems like you and a certain Headmistress may be settling down soon...”

“You guys are mean,” he whined.

“Just like old times, eh?” Sirius replied, throwing an arm over his shoulders. “But really, we’ve all decided that you need to find yourself a girl.”

“What do you lot do, have meetings about me while I’m off in Egypt?” he asked.

“No, our meetings are about the pathetic in general, you just get brought up a lot.”

“Hey! I’m not pathetic!”

“If you say so,” Sirius, Landen, and Ax said in unison.

**************

Lynn was standing on a small balcony watching the sun go down when she felt someone gently drape a cloak across her shoulders. “You’ll freeze out here, you know,” Phil smiled, coming to stand beside her.

She grinned at him. “I was going to come in soon, I was just watching the sunset. It’s a nice day for March, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I can think of a few things that would make it nicer,” he replied, nudging her arm slightly. She gave him a half-hearted glare.

“Phil, can I ask you a question?”

“I daresay you can.”

“Why are you at the Ministry?” She turned to face him with a look that suggested she’d been wanting to ask this question for a very long time. “It doesn’t take a genius to tell you hate it there. You’re not stupid, you could get another job. Why do you stay?”

“It’s a good job, even if it is a little dull.” He continued to look out over the grounds instead of at her. “It pays well, there’s lots of room for promotion, there’s...”

“Oh Phil, you’ve never cared about that kind of hogwash. You’re not fooling anyone! What’s the real reason?”

“Don’t you get it?” he asked, facing her with a questioning look. “I do it for you.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked with surprise.

“You want someone with a respectable, boring job. You want someone who’s secure, and calm, and who never makes you mad, so that’s who I’m trying to be. And it’s working. We’ve had more civil conversation today than the rest of our lives put together.”

“Phil...” she started quietly. “Why would you do this? Why would you make yourself miserable, just for me? I don’t understand why...”

“Lynn, I’m not miserable. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. It doesn’t matter how much I hate my job, or how calm I have to be, because as long as I have you, it’s okay.”

She looked down at her hands, murmuring, “You can’t do that.”

“Yes, I can. And I have.”

“Phil, you don’t understand what you’re throwing away here. You’ve always been so free, and so crazy, and so.... so Phil, and now you’re not that person anymore. You can’t lose yourself, because you’ll just end up regretting it.” She met his eyes again. “You’ll blame me for it.”

“No, I won’t, I’ll...”

She took a step closer to him so that they were almost touching. “Look, you’ve changed so much in the last year. Like you said, you’ve become secure, and calm, and more mature than I ever thought you could be. And you know what? I hate it.”

“What?” he asked with a nervous laugh.

“You heard me. I hate it, because it’s not you. I don’t want security, and I don’t want calm, and as strange as it may sound, I don’t want someone who’s never going to make me mad.” She paused for a moment, as though gathering enough courage to say something she’s wanted to say for an age. “I don’t want any of that. I just want you.”

Phil tried to say something, he really did. But he just couldn’t think of what could make that moment any better.

Lynn brought a hand up to his cheek, her next words in barely a whisper. “I love you.” He coughed uncertainly. “I love you, and I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out.”

His grin was slightly dazed. “Don’t worry, it only took you forever.”

“I knew you were in there somewhere,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“You can’t keep an insufferable git hidden for long,” he replied with their foreheads touching. “By the way, I love you too.”

“That’s good to know. Might have complicated matters if you’d changed your mind about me.”

“Never,” he smirked. “You’re stuck with me, Strawberry girl.”

And when he kissed her this time, he knew she wouldn’t slap him when they broke apart. There were no little sisters to interrupt them. And what was even better was that he knew that this time, it wasn’t a one time thing.

It was forever.




Urgh... I know I say it sucks a lot, but that really sucked. Don’t hurt me please! I hope it wasn’t a complete let-down. And I know I said there would be a challenge for the next chapter, but there’s not. I really tried, but I couldn’t think of anything. There will be a challenge for Chapter 17 though, because I already know what it is!

Special note to all Shy Guys shippers: Sorry guys! I know that one hurt... So I hope you guys find some nice driftwood to float on, and I really do love you all to death. *hugs and kisses*

Oh dear lord, this ended up so sappy! *gags on sweetness* Hope you enjoy it, because you know, I never write fluff. *coughs* Why is everyone laughing themselves silly? Hey...


Chapter 16: Some People Change

Here’s to the strong,
Thanks to the brave.
Don’t give up hope,
Some people change.
Against all odds,
Against the grain.
Love finds a way,
Some people change.

~Montgomery Gentry


“What the hell is this?”

Annie rolled her eyes and gave the object Micah was holding an inch in front of her face a half-hearted glance. “That appears to be a piece of parchment.”

“That is not just any piece of parchment,” he exclaimed angrily. “Read it!”

Shooting him an icy glare, she snatched the parchment from him and began to read, “Malfoy, meet me in the Entrance Hall at... oh damn...”

“What were you doing with Arthur Weasley?!”

“Where did you get this?”

“Eleni found it crumpled up on the floor beside your bed.”

She really needed to be more careful...

“Now what were you doing with that blood traitor weasel?”

“Weasel? Really original, you should be a comedian.” She swore steam actually came out of his ears. “And what I was doing with him is none of your business. I’m a big girl, I can fraternize with whoever I want.”

“They are a disgrace to our kind! Although they aren’t really purebloods anymore, I suppose...” he trailed off thoughtfully. “But honestly Annie, why would you be seen with such riffraff as a Weasley?”

“Why do you care? I’ve told both you and your little bloodhound that it is my wish not to associate with you lot any longer.”

“I like to keep track of what my investments are up to,” he answered icily.

“Oh, I’m an investment now, am I?” she said with a slight laugh. “Gee, Micah, you sure know the way to a girl’s heart. I’m quite surprised my father even accepted your little offer, seeing as the Macmillan family isn’t exactly known for it’s prestige. Why he would want to be related to a bunch of Hufflepuffs is beyond me.”

“My tolerance for your little game is waning, girl...”

“And furthermore, it’s quite obvious that you’re only in this all for my money and my name...”

He laughed out loud at this. “Honestly, Annie, why do you think anyone gets married?” She didn’t answer. “Oh holy Hogwarts, you don’t honestly believe people fall in love, now do you?”

Annie grabbed her bag and stood up, deciding she’d had quite enough of this. “You don’t know the first thing about love.”

“Oh, and you do?” he asked, still laughing. “Whoever would love you must either be stupid or insane. Who would want an ignorant, whiny little ice princess anyway? Your parents don’t even give a rat’s tail about you, why would anyone else?”

“Go to hell, Macmillan,” she snapped, stomping off. He usually didn’t get to her, but that time he’d hit a little too close to home.

Micah smirked, leaning back in his chair and watching her slam the door to the common room shut. “Ladies first,” he whispered to himself.

**************

Arthur had done a lot of strange things in his life, but this had to top them all. Logically, one would think that when one spent an entire day arguing with a person they did not know and did not really wish to know, one would not seek them out the very next day. One would not express any desire to speak to them again. One would not be chasing them down a fourth floor corridor like they’d stolen all of one’s money.

Now that he thought about it, she did still have his cloak...

But that was beside the point. The point was that Arthur was currently trailing after Annie Malfoy for no other reason than she had passed him in the hall and looked rather upset. Why he cared, he didn’t know, since he’d decided just earlier that morning not to get involved in any more of her problems. She’d resolved things with her brother, so his job was done. Besides, he shouldn’t be meddling in the Slytherins’ affairs anyway. It was none of his business. He didn’t know how they would react to his interference. He was a Hufflepuff for a reason. He was no Gryffindor. He didn’t want trouble. He didn’t want to be noble...

“Malfoy!” he shouted. He also wasn’t much of a Ravenclaw, seeing as this wasn’t logical in the least.

Of course, she kept walking. Why did everything have to be difficult? “MALFOY!”

Still walking...

“Oh sod it,” he muttered to himself. “ANNIE!”

That stopped her.

She whirled around with a questioning look on her face, and asked, “What did you just call me?”

“Annie. That was your name the last time I checked.”

“That it is...” she murmured distractedly. “Can I help you with something?”

“Er...” Now that he actually got her to listen to him, he had no idea what to say. “You looked kind of upset...”

“Well spotted,” she replied with a raised eyebrow. “Alright, you’ve done your good deed for the day, I’m fine. You don’t have to waste any more of your time on me. Oh, and you’re probably wanting your cloak back,” she added, tugging it out of her bag. “Here.”

He took it, dumbfounded, as she began to walk away again. “Wait! It wasn’t just the cloak, I...” She turned back around with a bemused expression, waiting for him to gather his thoughts. “I just thought since you aren’t really going to be around the other Slytherins anymore, that you might like...”

“Like what, Weasley?”

“Some company?” he suggested feebly.

She stared at him with an emotionless expression for the better part of a minute before asking, “What are you hoping to accomplish here? Because if this is some kind of joke...”

“It’s not a joke!” he protested. Could this girl be any more suspicious? “I just thought you could use a friend, but I guess I was wrong!”

He was completely prepared to leave, but she said, “Wait. You want to be my... friend?” She looked like she’d never had one before.

But now that he thought about it, she probably never had.

He shrugged. “Guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“But why?” she asked with obvious surprise.

“Truthfully?” he answered. “I have a feeling you’re about to have a lot of choices to make. I’d hate to see you make the wrong ones.”

“And why should you care?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he said truthfully. “Sometimes you just have to go with what your conscience is telling you, you know?”

“Well, Weasley, you’d better know what you’re getting into,” she said, feeling slightly awkward. “I’m not...well... I’m not normal...”

He snorted. “Oh believe me, I knew that.”

“Har har,” she retorted dryly. “I’m just saying, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“And there’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he returned.

“That may be true, but I have some pretty nasty skeletons in my closet.” He wasn’t exactly sure if she was trying to scare him off, or if she was just trying to make sure he wouldn’t abandon her later when everything about her past came out into the open.

“Oh, that’s disgusting, at least bury the poor things!”

Her lips twitched for a moment, and she looked like she wanted to laugh. But she turned serious again when she said, “I’m not joking.”

“I can handle it, I promise.”

“Fine. It’s your own head.” He wondered vaguely how much longer she was going to try to dissuade him. “Why are you doing this, Weasley?”

“Because you need a friend and I need a project.”

She laughed quietly. “You know, when I was little, I always dreamed of being someone’s project...”

“Then I guess we’re even,” he grinned. “Only one other thing. You’re not allowed to call me Weasley anymore.”

“Alright, that’s fair I suppose,” she agreed, then added, “Arthur.”

**************

“Stop, stop, STOP!” Mira yelled at the rest of the Slytherin quidditch team. They were having practice in the freezing rain, seeing as this was the only time they could book the pitch. “What the hell are you doing Macmillan!? You’re supposed to hit the bludgers, not give them mouth to mouth!”

“It’s her fault!” Micah shouted back, pointing at Dani, who rolled her eyes and sped off to the other end of the pitch.

“Get down here!” Mira shouted furiously to him. He grudgingly landed in front of her. “Do you even know the meaning of good sportsmanship? I’m no expert, but I think not blaming your teammates for your mistakes is pretty high up on the list!” she reprimanded. It would have been a lot more effective if it wasn’t for the fact that the top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulders. “Now how do you reckon it was Dani’s fault?”

“She kept hitting bludgers at me!”

“Oh, you’ve got to be joking...” she murmured under her breath, counting to ten in her head. “That’s called teamwork, you idiot,” she said to him. “That’s why this is called a Quidditch team, not a Quidditch you. Now run three laps.”

“It’s poring out here! You can’t tell me what to do, little girl.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I can’t, can I? Well, this captain’s badge says different, so if you want to stay on the team, you’ll run three laps. Actually, make it four.”

“I don’t take directions from a filthy mudblood lover like you!”

Mira really hated her temper sometimes. Before she could think about it, she raised a hand and sent him flying across the field. Immediately realizing her mistake, she scrambled for her wand to make it look like she’d had it the entire time, but it was too late. He’d seen her.

“You freak!” he shouted, eyes wide. “You FREAK!” He turned and took off towards the castle. Mira was shaking when she turned around to find the other five players watching her in stunned silence.

“Practice is over,” she croaked in a quavering voice, tossing her broom in the vague direction of the changing room and taking off running in the opposite direction.

***************

“Jon, I’m beginning to think that you have no brain.”

His fellow Gryffindor looked rather insulted, but Rob just rolled his eyes. It was his own fault for saying extremely stupid things. When someone says something extremely stupid, the natural reaction of the people around them is to speculate about their lack of a brain.

“All I’m saying is that you two have been acting weird since you got back from that wedding. The logical conclusion is that you snogged,” Jon said matter-of-factly.

“First off, there was no snogging. Second off, we haven’t been acting weird. And third off, THERE WAS NO SNOGGING!”

“A bit defensive, no?” he asked.

“I can be as defensive as I bloody well want when there was, in fact, no snogging!”

“Then there was at least attempted snogging! I know the signs, Rob, don’t try to fool me!”

“And tell me, oh brilliant one, what are these signs you speak of?”

He really shouldn’t have asked.

“There was awkwardness, and touchy-feely-ness, and secret glances, and what was with the feeding each other at breakfast?”

“We weren’t feeding each other at breakfast...” Rob replied uncertainly.

“I know what I saw, Robert. I have good eyesight, Madam Pomfrey even said so,” he whined like a little boy. “There was feeding of toast, and we were all there. Go ask Nikki if you don’t believe me. In fact, I’ll go get her right now and ask her if there was snogging at the wedding. NIKKI!”

“Jon, Nicole’s at Quidditch practice. She can’t hear you from there.”

“Oh yeah...” he trailed off. “Well, there was still feeding.”

“I gave her a bite of my toast, what’s the big deal?”

“But you didn’t just pass your toast to her like people who have never snogged do, you held onto it while she took a bite, like people who have snogged would. And then she giggled!” he concluded triumphantly.

“You are completely and utterly whacked.”

“And you are completely and utterly snogged!”

“That made no sense.”

“Yes it did! You look like a person who has just been snogged. You’re acting like a person who’s just been snogged. You’re talking like a person who’s...”

“I haven’t been snogged!” he snapped.

“Ever?” Jon asked cheekily, causing Rob to roll his eyes again.

“No, not ever, just not recently.”

“But all the signs point to snogging!”

“Look,” Rob said patiently with a tone one would use when talking to a disobedient toddler. “Whether or not there was snogging, which there wasn’t, attempted snogging, which there wasn’t, or any other type of snog-like activity, which there wasn’t, is really none of your business.”

Jon opened his mouth to protest when someone knocked on the door to their dormitory, effectively halting their conversation. Rob yelled, “Come in!” gratefully.

Mira herself walked in, grumbled a vague, “Hey Jon,” flopped on Rob’s bed, and groaned. She looked a bit worse for the wear, seeing as she was muddy, still in her Quidditch clothes even though her practice ended over an hour ago, and it looked as though she had been crying.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to your non-snogging activities,” Jon said cheerfully, skipping out of the room. Rob flashed him a rude hand gesture, and he blew them a kiss before closing the door.

“What was that all about?” Mira asked curiously.

“Nothing,” he replied, waving a dismissive hand. “What happened? You look awful.”

“Thanks,” she said dryly. “I really try.”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, sitting down beside her.

“I know. Sorry,” she apologized quietly before saying, “Well, I’ve done it this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Micah Macmillan was being a jerk at Quidditch practice, and I accidentally threw him halfway across the field.”

“Mira, it’s not really a big deal, you might have to serve a detention, but...”

“Without my wand, Rob.”

He paused. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” she said angrily. “It’s like ever single time I think I’ve finally gotten some control over these stupid powers, every time I think I’ve gotten control over my temper, something happens and I have to start all over again. And now look what I’ve done! Now the biggest pompous prat ever to walk the halls of Hogwarts knows I’m a freak of nature, and Merlin knows what he’s going to do about it.”

Rob sighed, wrapping her in a tight hug and brushing some of the hair out of her eyes. “Okay, first off, you’re not a freak. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that before it will sink in. As for your temper, I wouldn’t have you any other way. And I know you want to find some control over your magic, but I think you’re overlooking the fact that you’re a sixteen year old girl who is bound to make a mistake once in a while. You’re just too hard on yourself.”

“I have to be hard on myself! Other people have learned to control it, I can too, I just need to be more... more...”

“Mira, let me ask you a question. Do you honestly think these people learned to control it when they were your age?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied stubbornly. “I almost killed someone when I was twelve, Rob.”

“The only person you hurt was yourself.”

“But I could have just as easily hurt anyone in that house.”

“No, you couldn’t have. You want to know why? Because you’re you. Anyone has the potential to kill someone. Anyone, not just Auctoriti. My little sister couldn’t perform a killing curse, but she could pick up a rock and chuck it at someone’s head. It may not be magic, but they could end up just as dead. A curse can’t kill someone, it’s the choice of the person behind it. You’d never choose to kill someone, and you never will.”

“You don’t know that,” she murmured weakly.

“Yes I do,” he whispered. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to control it, I’m just saying you have to cut yourself some slack once in a while. And when you do find a way, I’ll be right by your side.”

“You don’t have to do all this for me, you know,” she replied, glancing up at him.

“But I want to,” he said with a slight smile. “You see? Everyone has a choice.”

“I just want someone to tell me it’s going to be okay, you know?”

He nodded before saying, “It is going to be okay. I know it will be.”

She just looked at him for a long moment before saying, “I couldn’t do this without you. You know that, right?”

“Yes you could,” he told her, “but I’m glad you don’t want to.”

As she hugged him so tightly he was slightly concerned for his circulatory system, he couldn’t help but think that she usually went to her brother for help at times like these. He knew she probably just didn’t want to bother him the day after he got married with something like this, but it still meant a lot that she came to him instead.

**************

Arthur was sitting on the edge of a fountain in the courtyard later that evening, watching water drizzle off the side of the castle. It had just stopped raining a half an hour ago, and by the looks of the sky it was very likely to start up again soon, but he needed some time to think. Between the wedding and the events that followed, his life had taken quite the turn in the last couple of days.

When Lynn came over to talk to him at lunch earlier that day, he could barely look at her. He knew it wasn’t fair to blame her, seeing as she had no idea what had transpired at the wedding, or even of his feelings for her, but he couldn’t help but feel as though she was somehow at fault. It was immature, he knew that, but he couldn’t help but blaming her for not picking him.

He also thought about his recent conversation with one Annabelle Malfoy. She was such a complete opposite of Lynn in every way possible, that it really wasn’t a surprise that Arthur felt safe when talking to her right now. Where Lynn was sweet, she was sarcastic. Where Lynn was passionate, she was indifferent. And in areas that Lynn knew nothing about, she found her passion. Even in appearance, they differed, Lynn’s dark hair and clear blue eyes opposing Annie’s white-blonde and stormy grey. They were like sugar and spice, light and dark, sunlight and rain.

Maybe helping a girl who was nothing like the one he’d lost was exactly what Arthur needed right now.

He had been quite shocked earlier when he had discovered that Annie was pretty. He knew that she was attractive, she was a Malfoy after all, but she had some strange quality of innocence that made her more than just a pretty face. Of course, there was nothing innocent about her, but there was still something about the way she looked at him when he said the word ‘friend’ that tugged at his heartstrings.

After they had their original conversation, Arthur showed her how to get into the kitchens (he was quite surprised to find out that she didn’t know where they were), and they found that they had a mutual love of chocolate pie. She told him that she was actually a complete chocoholic, and had enough to feed the Russian army stashed in her trunk. When she added that she always thought Ax was weird for only eating it on the first day of every month, they began discussing their families.

Arthur talked about how crazy Jane was, and how Emma blew something up every time she was angry, and she looked quite surprised that his parents let that kind of behavior continue. He realized that she never really knew what a real parent was, and that thought depressed him even more.

“Arthur?”

“Huh?” he asked stupidly, glancing up to see Celia looking rather concerned. “Oh, hi.”

“What’s up? You looked like your best friend just died.”

“Nah, just thinking,” he replied, smiling slightly. “What’s up?”

“Not much, just checking on the wife, I guess,” she said, sitting down beside him. “Apparently I’m supposed to do that.”

“I feel so loved. I have the best husband in the world!” he said in an exaggerated girly voice.

She smiled, still looking slightly worried. “Are you doing okay?”

“Oh, now I see what this is about,” he said. “I’ll live, don’t worry.”

“It’s my job to worry. Are you wearing perfume?” she added.

“What?” he asked, eying her strangely.

She sniffed his cloak and said, “Whatever it is, it’s definitely not manly.”

He quickly took off his cloak and gave it a good sniff, expecting something flowery or fruity. Instead, the offending scent was rather subtle for perfume. He actually thought it was quite nice. A bit like the ocean...

He shook his head with an eye roll, realizing that he really needed to stop befriending girls. They were turning him into one. “I guess I’ll have to wash it,” he said absentmindedly. “So, are you dating my cousin now or what?”

Celia shrugged. “I guess so.”

“You guess so?” he asked with a grin.

“Well, he hasn’t really asked me out, but he said he wanted to see me again, so I guess so.”

“Huh,” he replied. He couldn’t think of anything else to say on that subject so he decided to get the worst over with. “I talked to Annie Malfoy today.” She opened her mouth to interrupt, but he continued before she had the chance. “Before you can say anything, just know that she’s not all that bad, that I know what I’m getting myself into, and that I promise I won’t let myself get hurt, alright?”

He didn’t know what he expected her to do, but he certainly didn’t expect her to burst out laughing. “Sorry, but you just know me far too well.”

He started laughing as well. “So, you trust me, right?”

“Of course I trust you,” she said sincerely. “I just...”

She was interrupted by the arrival of Amelia with her little brother. Michael Corner Jr. was a shy little first year Ravenclaw, who also happened to have a huge crush on Celia. Arthur thought it was kind of funny to see how red he turned when he was around the trio.

“Hi there Mike, how have you been?” Celia asked.

“F-f-fine,” he stuttered. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but must have thought better of it, because he turned and ran back to the castle as though his life depended on it. All three seventh years burst out laughing.

“Why must you do that to the poor thing?” Amelia asked through tears of laughter.

“What can I say?” Celia replied smugly. “I’m just that irresistible.”

“As irresistible as a flobberworm, you mean,” Arthur contradicted.

“Are you saying my brother fancies flobberworms?”

“Who am I to argue with facts?”

He had a very nice bruise on his arm from where Celia punched him.



Hey, it’s a quick update! Don’t know if it’s any good, but it’s quick!

Challenge: Something poor little Nick would say when he’s on one of his overprotective brother rampages.... in class....

Feedback if you want some chocolate pie!

July 21st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have real mixed feelings about it, because I really, really don’t want the series to end, but I still can’t wait to read it! But in the meantime... Here we go, Chapter 17! I used a lot of my brilliant reader’s ideas in this one. Finally got the whole Auntie Annie pretzel thing in here too. I love you guys to death! And the winner of the contest is asdf123!


Chapter 17: Learning to Live Again

I'm gonna smile my best smile,
And I'm gonna laugh like it's going out of style.
Look into her eyes and pray that she don't see,
That learning to live again is killing me.

~Garth Brooks


“What in the world?” Arthur muttered to himself, watching as a ship’s mast seemed to rise up out of the lake.

“What is it?” Amelia asked as she and Celia came to stand on either side of him. They were looking out a window in the middle of a fifth floor corridor around noon, seeing as they’d been on their way to lunch when Arthur spotted the disturbance in the water.

“Look!” he answered, pointing to where a grimy, wooden ship had risen from the steel gray water.

“Oh what do you know, it’s Captain Jack Sparrow,” Celia remarked casually.

“Who?” Arthur asked, startled.

“You don’t know who Captain Jack Sparrow is?” The bemused boy shook his head. “Amy?” She shrugged. “Oh, you two are so deprived!”

“So, who or what is this Jack Sparrow fellow?”

“Captain Jack Sparrow,” she growled, before sighing dreamily. “He’s beautiful.” Arthur and Amelia shared a glance as four figures stepped off of the mystery boat. The largest one, who seemed to be leading the group, was a burly looking man covered in thick furs. A short, wiry man was walking beside him and seemed to be chattering away a mile a minute. Two smaller forms were trailing behind the others.

“What are you lot looking at?” The three Hufflepuffs turned around to see Annie Malfoy looking at them with a curious expression. It had been three weeks since the wedding, and she and Arthur had been spending quite a bit of time with each other. Celia and Amelia had not exactly... taken to her like their friend had, but they had now gotten to the point where they could all be in one room with each other without any verbal altercation. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day...

“I’m not really sure, but it’s definitely not Captain Jack Sparrow,” Celia answered.

Annie, figuring it was better not to ask, peered out the window herself and muttered, “Crumbs?”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s not that either.”

“No, not crumbs,” she corrected. “Krums.”

“Come again?” Arthur interjected.

“You see the big one? That’s Viktor Krum.”

“The Quidditch player?” Arthur asked in surprise.

“More currently the Headmaster of Durmstrang,” Annie added.

“Really?” the other three said in unison. Arthur had known that the former seeker had gotten a job teaching at his old school, but Headmaster? It must have been a recent development.

“Yup. My father does a lot of business with him. The other man is his brother and assistant, and the two kids are his sons. They basically go everywhere with him. He’s got a daughter around our age too, but she doesn’t really like to travel,” she explained. “I wonder what he’s doing here...”

“What does your father do anyway?” Arthur asked.

“I have no idea.”

“How can you know who he does business with but not what he does?” Celia asked, bewildered.

“No, I mean, I literally don’t know. He’s an Unspeakable, so I really have no clue what he gets up to. But people are always in and out of the manor, it’s hard to keep track of them sometimes. He just makes a fuss over Mr. Krum because he’s famous and he has a boatload of money. That, and for a while he was hoping to set Ax up with the daughter. That obviously didn’t happen. Almost broke his heart, kind of pathetic really.”

“He’s not trying to marry you off to one of the sons, is he?” Arthur asked cheekily.

Annie made a face. “The oldest one’s eight!”

“Purebloods are weird,” Celia remarked casually.

“You would know,” Annie muttered, thinking of her brother.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Celia asked indignantly, obviously thinking her comment was meant to be an insult.

“What do you think I meant?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell us what you meant?”

“Girls!” Arthur interrupted. “You were doing so well,” he said in a slight whine. He’d been breaking up little spats for weeks, and he was starting to get grey hair from it.

“She started it,” they both snapped at the same time, then promptly started glaring in opposite directions. He looked to Amelia for support, but she just gave him an apologetic smile and began to ‘walk quickly’ in the opposite direction.

He had to resist the urge to flop melodramatically on the floor and start twitching.

*************

Minerva McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose and gave the portrait of Albus Dumbledore a stern look. She swore he looked amused. “Couldn’t you go bother Harry for a while?”

“He’s not home,” the painting replied. “Although I did have a rather pleasant conversation with that son of his the other day. Surprisingly sharp for a three year old... but that’s another story. Besides, I’m not concerned for Harry’s health.”

“Thank you for your concern, but being told that I essentially look like a tired old maid is really not the way I wish to end an all around horrible day.”

“All I’m saying is that you look like you could do with a good vacation,” the man’s likeness said cheerfully.

“Are you saying I’m old, Albus?”

The former headmaster chuckled quietly, before replying, “Now, now Minerva, age is debilitating only in one’s mind.”

“I don’t have time for your musings on my apparent weariness,” she said, fighting a smile. “Viktor Krum’s due here any minute, and he has something ‘very invortant’ to discuss with me.”

“Ah yes, how is young Viktor?”

“Not so young anymore,” she answered. “His daughter’s graduating this year, you know.”

“Ah, how time tends to escape you when you are a portrait.” He was cut off by a knock at the door. “That must be him now. I will detain you no longer with my waffling.”

“Thank you,” she said with only slight exasperation. “None of the other portraits talk nearly as much as you.”

“I take offense at that,” Phineas Nigellus piped up.

“You take offense at everything, Phineas,” the current headmistress commented.

“I take offense... wait...” She smirked at him before opening the door. “Bloody Gryffindors.”

“Viktor, it’s good to see you again,” she said briskly, ushering the party of four into her office and resisting the urge to light the grouchy old man’s portrait on fire.

The other headmaster bowed deeply to her. “Minerva, you are looking vell,” he said in a thick Bulgarian accent.

Minerva smiled. The man had always had impeccable manners. “Mikhail, Pavel, you’ve both grown considerably since I’ve seen you last,” she added, nodding to Viktor’s two sons. They both bowed like miniature versions of their father. “And...” she began to address the fourth man, but realized she didn’t know his name.

“This is my brother, Yakov,” he introduced. “Yakov, this is Headmistress McVonagall.” He bowed like the other members of his family.

“How are Anya and Irina?” she asked as they all sat down, referring to his wife and daughter.

“Vell,” he answered. “Anya is feeling a bit under the veather, but she sends her regards. As does Irina, but you know how she dislikes the ship.”

“Yes, I must say I don’t blame the girl,” Minerva said with a smile, pouring tea for her visitors. Dumbledore chortled from his portrait. “What brings you to Scotland?”

“A varning,” he answered, their conversation taking on a more serious tone. Minerva’s eyebrows shot up immediately.

“A warning?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Unvortunately, I haf some bad news to share vith you. I vill not syrup-coat it, so to say.” She didn’t bother correcting the misused expression. “I believe there is a dark wizard ring hiding somevhere in Bulgaria.”

His statement was followed by a very pregnant pause.

“A dark wizard ring?” Viktor nodded. “But there have been no active dark wizards in any part of the world since...”

“The end of the second var, I know. But all the same, there haf been strange happenings...”

“What kind of strange happenings?”

“There haf been disappearances. A message was also sent to our Ministry, telling of things to come. It does not look good,” he explained vaguely. “And there is more. I believe there is a plan for these dark wizards to eventually return to Britain.”

“Return?” she asked quietly. “Are you meaning to say that these... wizards... are left over Death Eaters from the second war?”

“I believe so,” he confirmed. “Also, I believe they may haf already infiltrated...”

“The Ministry? Oh, you should have gone straight there! I’ll owl...”

“No, not your Ministry,” he interrupted. “Hogvarts.”

“Hogwarts?” she repeated, paling considerably. “You think they’ve gotten to Hogwarts? You mean, the staff?” He shook his head sadly. “The students?”

He sighed heavily, saying, “I think it is time to contact the Order.”

“I do believe you’re right, Mr. Krum.” She turned to Albus’s portrait, where she found him listening intently. “Albus, I think you may be making another run to Potter Manor today after all.”

**************

Mira sat down in her usual seat between Rob and Celeste in Transfiguration, tossing her bag on the table and pulling out her wand idly. It had been a long couple of weeks. Quidditch practice had not been fun, seeing as how Micah would leer at her every time he had an opportunity, making her increasingly uncomfortable. Dani had gotten so angry with him that she chucked her beater’s bat directly at his head. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had a very important match coming up, she would have kicked him off the team without worrying about the consequences.

She was really afraid that he would figure out just how she was able to throw him across the field that day. There was a very limited list of people that knew her secret, and she definitely did not want it to include Micah Macmillan.

Something tugged at her robes, and she looked down to see Glory pawing at them. Mira smiled, picking the puppy up and scratching her behind the ears while she chewed on a bit of her hair that had come loose from her ponytail. Glory was at the awkward stage where her legs and head were far too big for her body, but she was still too adorable for words.

It was the unanimous conclusion of the students at Hogwarts that Nick was the coolest professor ever. He played Quidditch games on the wireless while they were working, he gave them snacks on Fridays, and he even awarded points for pure cheek. However, they still learned a ton, and they were always eager for class to start.

Jon plunked down in his seat on Rob’s other side just as the bell rang, trying desperately to hide behind his Transfiguration book. Mira realized why a moment later when Rob pulled it down and burst out laughing.

He was not only dressed in ripped jeans that looked like they’d been dragged through the mud a few too many times along with a faded black T-shirt bearing the slogan ‘Hobgoblins’ in bold red letters, but he was also wearing eyeliner. Eyeliner...

Mira joined in laughing, clutching the desk for support. Glory bolted from her lap in fear. “What in the world happened to you?!”

“Nikki did it,” he grumbled, his face turning steadily redder. “I lost a bet.”

“He’s supposed to look like Stubby Boardman, but he refused to let me pierce his ear and die his hair blue,” Nicole explained, grinning at her handiwork. “I think he turned out fairly well though.”

“What was the bet?” Rob asked, his voice coming out a bit choked from laughter.

“It’s you two’s fault, actually,” he replied, gesturing towards Mira and Rob. “If you would have just snogged, I wouldn’t be in this state right now, and Nikki over here would be dressed up as McGonagall.”

Mira and Rob both stopped laughing and turned identical shades of bright red. They were saved from comment by the professor coming out of his office and beginning roll call, ignoring the ‘witty’ answers the students came up with in place of ‘here’.

“Mira?”

“Yar.”

“Rob?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Jon?”

“Unfortunately.” Nick paused to look at his rather strange attire.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but where is your uniform?”

“My dog ate it,” Jon answered, deadpan.

He smirked, “Don’t let the headmistress see it.”

As Nick continued on with his list of names, Rob leaned over to whisper, “I think Jon did a fairly good job with the eyeliner, don’t you?” She giggled, suppressing a shiver as his lips brushed her ear. She really had to get over this little... whatever it was she had. It was getting to the point where she couldn’t be around her bloody best friend without turning into ‘the Amazing Human Tomato Girl’.

“Now, I believe the Magpies and the Harpies are playing today,” Nick said while passing around a basket of chocolate muffins. “So it would be a shame if you guys didn’t get to listen to it because I was lecturing. So, I think we’ll just practice our vanishing spells.”

While Nick was going over the uses of a vanishing spell, Nicole leaned over and whispered, “Mira, isn’t the Magpies one of the teams Sirius was offered a spot on?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“One of the teams?” Rob asked, his eyes bugging out. “How many teams offered him one?”

“Three,” Mira answered. “The Magpies, the Tornadoes, and Puddlemore, I believe.”

“And he decided to be an auror,” he asked in disbelief. “I mean, not that an auror’s not a great job, but is he out of his bloody mind?!”

“My father was offered four spots, but he did the same thing,” Nicole added. Mira thought Rob’s eyes were going to pop out of his head. “Yeah, I don’t get it either.”

“Not everyone who plays Quidditch in school wants to go pro, you know,” Mira said, laughing at the pair of them.

“... so instead of animals today, we’re going to practice selective vanishing spells by vanishing each other’s arms.”

The class all looked at Nick like he was crazy. “Only one arm!” he said in what Mira assumed to be a reassuring voice. “Don’t worry, I’m fairly sure I’ll be able to undue any damage.” He grinned as he watched them pale at the words, ‘fairly sure’. “I’m just kidding guys, did you think I’d actually let you vanish each other’s arms?”

“Yes,” Mira replied immediately.

“Very funny, Mira. No, I just wanted to see if you lot were paying even the slightest bit of attention. Now that I’ve established that you were, indeed, slightly listening, I’ll pass out the snails. Now, I only want you to vanish their shell today, nothing else. Any questions?” No one said anything. “Good.”

The snail looked up at Mira innocently as she vanished it’s shell. “Urgh, I always hate doing this.”

“You know, I think you’re the only person ever who thinks snails are cute,” Rob commented, watching her pat the snail on the head with a finger.

“Shush, I wouldn’t feel so bad if it was your arm,” she shot back, raising her hand. “Professor, can I put the shell back now? He looks really sad.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “How do you know it’s a ‘he’?”

“I can just tell,” she replied, waving her wand so that the snail was intact. “Homework?”

“Just to practice, but I don’t think you need to.” She smiled, turning back to where Rob was looking at his snail with his head tilted to one side.

“I really don’t see it,” he muttered. “Would you really rather vanish my poor arm?”

“At least you would know why I’m doing it. The poor snail didn’t know what hit him.”

“Mira, you’re unique, that’s for sure,” he grinned, managing to get rid of half of his snail’s shell. “I wouldn’t want to vanish your arm. You’ve got a pretty little arm.”

“It’s scrawny and weird,” she replied, hiding her blush behind her hair. For Merlin’s sake, Mira, he just said your arm was pretty! It’s not like he asked you to marry him...

“Well, maybe I like scrawny and weird,” he murmured, so quietly that she barely heard him. In fact, she wasn’t sure if she was meant to hear him. He finished vanishing his snail, gave an exaggerated yawn, and threw an arm around her shoulders. “So, who’s cuter, the snail or me?”

She laughed, and was about to reply with a definite, ‘the snail,’ when Nick started talking agin and she decided that she’d better listen to him this time.

“I see some of you are having trouble, and I think I may have spotted the problem. Public displays of affection!”

The rest of the class shot confused glances around the classroom while Mira and Rob jumped away from each other quickly.

“Who can tell me why public displays of affection may be a distraction,” he didn’t wait for anyone to raise their hand. “Mr. Creevey?”

“Erm... because they’re distracting?” he suggested feebly, deciding not to point out that he’d already completed his assignment.

“Exactly! Public displays of affection are distracting, therefore they are a distraction, and they have no place in a classroom of knowledge,” he ranted semi-fanatically. The rest of the class laughed, thinking it was a joke, and continued on with their transfiguring. Nick leaned down so he was face to face with Rob, and growled, “Especially with my sister.”

Mira put her head in her hands. She swore some things never changed.

**************

Mrs. Marissa Davies Malfoy,

I know it may come as a surprise to receive a letter from me, especially when it contains no ill wishes or immature insults. In light of recent events, I have been reflecting on many of my bad choices, and I have come to realize that quite a few of those choices have personally affected you. I have judged you wrongly and without reason, and I would like to be given an opportunity to apologize. I was unsure of how to go about this, but I eventually decided a letter would be best. That way, you may pursue it and respond when you feel ready.

There are many matters I’d like to discuss with you, but for now, I will limit myself to saying how sorry I am. I have caused much grief that neither you or my brother deserve, and I hope you can eventually forgive me, not just for Ax’s sake, but for our own as well. I want to be a part of my niece or nephew’s life, and I’d like us to be at least civil to each other, if not to the point of being actual friends.

I hope we can meet face to face and discuss these matters sometime over spring break.

Sincerely,
Annabelle Malfoy.

P.S. Arthur says hi.

The post script was scrawled in a handwriting very different from Marissa’s sister in law’s neat, meticulous penmanship, and she had to giggle when she read it. It seemed Annie was finally spending time with the right people after all.

Marissa sighed, reading the letter through for what seemed like the thousandth time that morning, and glancing hopelessly at the blank piece of parchment that was supposed to be her reply. She didn’t even have a heading on it, seeing as she couldn’t decide what name she should use. Glancing back at the original letter, she had to chuckle at the Mrs. Marissa Davies Malfoy. It seemed she wasn’t the only one with that problem.

Although she was sorely tempted to address it Miss Annabelle Malfoy just to be cheeky, she figured it wasn’t the best way to win the girl over.

The apartment door opened and closed, announcing the arrival of her husband. Maybe he’d know what to do about all this.

“Hey,” he said when he entered the kitchen, tossing his cloak on a chair and pecking her on the lips. She glanced at the cloak with a sigh. How many times would she have to tell him to hang it up...

“How was work?” she asked like usual, taking a sip of tea and watching him begin to pull random things out of the cupboards.

“Boring,” he answered. “Although Sirius was lighting things on fire to amuse himself, and he ended up giving himself a new haircut.”

“Oh no,” she relied, shoulders shaking with laughter. “Liz is going to flip, she loves Sirius’s hair.”

“Poor guy,” Ax agreed, shaking his head while pulling a butterbeer our of the refrigerator and popping the top off it. “So, who has better hair, me or Sirius?”

“I don’t know about hair, but you’ve definitely got a better bum that Sirius,” she answered promptly. He spat butterbeer all over the counter.

“When were you looking at Sirius’s bum?!”

She grinned impishly. “That’s for me to know and you never to find out.”

He sputtered indignantly for a moment before realizing she was having him on. “Women,” he grunted with a mock glare. “Anything interesting happen to you today?”

“Yes, actually,” she replied, “your sister wrote me a letter.”

“My sister?”

“Yes, your sister.”

He cringed. “What did it say?”

“It was actually very respectful,” she answered, watching his eyes widen in slight surprise. “Here, read it.”

Marissa was trying not to laugh at the multitude of faces he made as he read through the letter. When he was finished, he looked up at her and said, “Arthur said hi?”

She snorted, not being able to hold it in any longer. “I have no idea what that’s all about, but I really don’t know what to do here.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” she answered with a heavy sigh. “I’d love to make amends with her, really make her part of our family, you know. But it’s hard. I know she’s your sister, but I don’t know if I should trust her or not.”

“I know. I’m not sure if I trust her quite yet either. But like you said, she’s my sister. I have to give her a chance.” He paused for a moment. “You, however, should do what you think is right, not what I want to think is right.”

“I will write her back, Ax, I promise. As soon as I figure out what to say,” she said softly. “Not only for you, but for this little one,” she added, patting her growing tummy.

Ax put a hand over the lump that was their child, smiling genuinely. “After all, little Malfoy here will need all the family he or she can get. Not that they’re not going to have enough people doting on them,” he said as an afterthought, thinking of all their friends. Marissa suddenly burst out laughing. “What?”

“I just thought, she’ll be Auntie Annie! Like the muggle pretzel company!”

“Oh, you’re right,” he said with a grin. “Well, hope the kid likes pretzels.”

“A pretzel sounds good, actually. Maybe with some sauerkraut...”

Ax turned a light shade of green. “I think I’m going to take a shower...”

She watched him bolt out of the room with a bemused expression. “What did I say?” Shrugging a moment later and looking back at her blank piece of parchment, she picked up a quill. It was now or never.

Dear Annie...



Well, there it is! Excuse any glaring spelling errors or general grammatical weirdness, I seemed to be missing a lot when I was writing it. And please ignore Viktor’s awful accent. I tried, I really did.

Challenge: Invent a Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes product. Make sure to give it a name and explain it’s function.

Oh, and I don’t own Captain Jack Sparrow...

Finally managed to finish the next post. I completely hate it, by the way, but I figured I’d just put it up since I don’t think it’ll be getting any better. You know, you guys have a bad influence on me. I was thinking about the whole Pride and Prejudice thing, so I named a toad Mr. Darcy! So, this one I’m completely blaming on you lot. And I don’t own Mr. Darcy (unfortunate, no?). And while I’m at it, I don’t own Edgar Allen Poe or the poem Annabel Lee either. Now on with the post! Oh, and the winner of the contest is marauderfan and the Slimeorific!


Chapter 18: Fallen

Heaven bent to take my hand,
And lead me through the fire.
Be the long awaited answer,
To a long and painful fight.

~Sarah Mclachlan


“Alright, alright, scariest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Arthur and Annie were sitting by the lake on Friday night, their conversation having turned into an extended version of twenty questions. The large amount of time they’d been spending together lately surprised the both of them, but it was by no means an unpleasant surprise. The more they talked, the more they found out they had in common.

“Jane,” Arthur answered Annie’s question immediately.

She gave him an amused look. “Seriously?”

“Seriously! When you meet the girl, you’ll understand.” She rolled her eyes, and he grinned. “How about... favorite memory?”

“Easy,” Annie replied after only a moment of thought. “It was my fourth birthday, and Ax decided he wanted to bake me a cake, so he asked my father for help. Of course, Ax was seven, and my father was... well... him, so neither of them had any clue how to bake a cake. So when I walked into the kitchen that morning, both of them were covered from head to toe in flour, arguing about whether I would want chocolate or vanilla frosting. I just looked at them for a minute before saying, ‘Chocolate, duh.’ Then Ax turned to my father and said, ‘Hah, I win!’ After that, they gave up on the cake and we all just had a big food fight. It was the best birthday I ever had.”

Arthur gave up on trying to imagine Draco Malfoy covered in flour and instead asked, “When is your birthday, anyway?”

“That’s two questions, my dear.” She grinned at his exasperated look. “March 13th.”

“Your birthday was the same day as the wedding?” he asked in surprise.

“Yeah.”

“That must have been awful, spending your seventeenth birthday with a bunch of strangers. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“We weren’t exactly bosom buddies at that time, you know. Besides, I’d have rather been with a bunch of strangers than the other Slytherins.”

“Yeah, I guess given that choice, I’d take the strangers too.”

Annie nodded thoughtfully before grinning evilly. “Most embarrassing moment?”

“Oh, but there’s so many of them...” Arthur replied thoughtfully. She laughed. “No, really, you’re talking to a person who’s led a very embarrassing life.”

“I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”

“You’d be surprised,” he said seriously. “Okay, I’ve got it. It was between my first and second year at Hogwarts, and I was packing my trunk the day before we went back to school. So I walked into my sitting room while asking my mother about the location of certain... undergarments, and the entire Wizengamot was in there. They all just looked at me. And my mother just says, ‘They’re in your cauldron, dear,’ perfectly calm like that.” He noticed Annie was shaking with silent laughter. “It’s not that funny!”

“Yes, Arthur, yes it is.”

“One of them still calls me ‘Underwear Boy’. This is a 110 year old man, mind you.”

“You’ll go far in the Ministry someday with a reputation like that...”

“Okay, moving on!” he interrupted loudly. “Middle name?”

She made a distasteful face. “Lee. I hate it, it’s far too masculine.”

Arthur snorted. “Is it seriously Lee?”

“Yeah. It’s not that funny,” she replied grumpily. “If I recall correctly, your middle name is Bilius.”

“Nah, it’s not funny, it’s just ironic. There’s a muggle writer named Edgar Allan Poe who wrote a poem called ‘Annabel Lee’. Annabelle is spelled different, and I’m sure your parents didn’t know this when they named you, but it is pretty funny.”

“What’s it about? The poem, that is.”

“Lovers being separated by death, true Poe style. I know a bit of it. Something like this: ‘But our love it was stronger by far that the love, Of those who were older than we — Of many far wiser than we — And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul, Of the beautiful Annabel Lee’,” he recited by memory.

“And a muggle wrote it?”

“As far as we know. I guess he could have been a wizard. He did marry his cousin, so maybe he’s one of your relatives.”

“Oh shut up, Mr. I Memorize Poetry.”

**************

Celia knew that if a professor happened to walk by her right now, she’d be in for the biggest scolding of her life. After all, it was ‘stupid, irresponsible, and unnecessarily dangerous’ to sit on windowsills, especially ones on the seventh floor. Or at least that’s what Arthur said every time he caught her. The boy really needed some risk in his life.

This particular window was her favorite. It was the best place in the entire castle to watch a sunset over the lake, except for perhaps the Owlery. But she’d never really liked the Owlery. There were too many... owls. She didn’t really liked owls, truthfully. Which was strange, seeing as she’d been around them since before she could walk, but she didn’t like them all the same.

Toads, now those were fine creatures.

Her toad’s name was Mr. Darcy, like the character in Pride and Prejudice. It was a muggle book, so few of the students at Hogwarts had read it, and she was constantly having to explain his name. She really thought magical people should expand their horizons a bit. After all, in terms of good wizarding novels, there was next to nothing.

Gilderoy Lockhart’s early stuff wouldn’t have been bad if he hadn’t been trying to pass it off as non-fiction...

Her foot hit the stone side of the castle with a muffled thunk, frightening a bird perched on the ledge below her. She’d always thought it was odd that she could be sitting a hundred feet off the ground and not have the height bother her at all, but she couldn’t get three feet in the air on a broomstick without panicking. She loved Quidditch, but she loved to watch Quidditch. Not play it, that was for sure.

A hand touched her shoulder gently, making her jump slightly. “I wish you wouldn’t do dangerous things like this, you know.”

Celia rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide a grin. “Hello David, it’s nice to see you too. I’m fine, thanks for asking...”

“You're welcome,” he replied, hooking an arm around her waist and pulling her away from the window. She laughed, turning to face him as soon as her feet were firmly on the floor. “But seriously, we’re on the seventh floor.”

“I have a net charm on the window, it’s perfectly safe,” she said calmly. “And besides, I’m not the one who flies around at ridiculous heights every day at Quidditch practice.”

“Yeah, but I’m on a broom.”

“Exactly. You fly around on a narrow, flimsy strip of wood. The castle’s stone, in case you hadn’t noticed,” she pointed out.

“Point taken,” he conceded, grinning slightly. She noticed for the first time that he had glasses on. She’d never seen them before.

“Since when do you wear glasses?” she asked curiously.

“I only need them for reading. I just came from the library,” he explained.

“You can read?”

“Haha, very funny,” he said, offering her a hand, which she took. “I wanted to talk to you though. Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” she agreed, and they set off down the corridor together. Celia looked up at him and noticed that he was blushing. She found it odd, seeing as she had never seen him blush before. His ears turned as red as his hair, just like Arthur’s always did when he was embarrassed. It must have been a Weasley thing.

Now that she thought about it, he looked adorable in his glasses. She should hang out with him when he was reading more often...

“So, there’s a Hogsmeade trip coming up...” David began, trailing off and turning even redder. Celia smirked. This could be fun...

“Is there? Oh, that’s good, I really need a new quill. Fitzwilliam gnawed mine down to a stub...”

“Fitzwilliam’s a toad, Celia, he can’t chew a quill.”

“Shows how much you know about toads,” she maintained stubbornly, grinning on the inside. “Besides, you’re just jealous because he’s better looking than you are.”

“You did not just say that!”

She giggled, “He’s a very handsome toad!”

“As lovely as a foot,” he said dryly. She pouted. “But as I was saying, the Hogsmeade trip...”

“Is that this Saturday or Sunday? Oh wait, it has to be Saturday, we go home Sunday...”

David sighed, deciding to try a new approach. “Celia, I know we’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, talking and getting to know each other, and...”

“Snogging,” Celia interrupted, trying extremely hard not to laugh as he turned even redder.

“That too,” he agreed. “And I know that we’ve practically been together since the wedding, but I haven’t really asked you properly, so I was wondering if... if...”

“Whatever are you trying to say, David?” she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

“Just that...” His jaw dropped in outrage when something clicked. “You’ve known what I was going to ask this whole time, haven’t you?!”

She laughed, not being able to hold it back any longer. “You should have known when I claimed my toad chewed my quill.” His outrage melted into a smile. “And yes, I’ll go out with you.”

“Oh good,” he said, sighing in relief.

“What’s that thing?” she asked, noticing that he had something clutched in his other hand.

“This?” he replied, revealing a small green cube. “This, my dear, is the Slimeorific. Throw it at your target and watched them be covered in a sticky green slime. It’s a new Weasley Wizard Wheezes product, my dad wants me to ‘test it out’.”

Celia was thoughtful for a moment before she grinned evilly. “David? Can I borrow that?”

************

Micah walked into an empty classroom later that day dripping in green slime, ignoring the curious looks of the other four Slytherins. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” he growled, plunking into a chair and pulling out a piece of parchment.

“What happened to you?” Emilian asked, looking as though he was trying not to snicker. One look from Micah, and he quickly dropped his smirk.

“Nothing,” he answered dangerously, pulling out his wand and getting rid of the slime with a quick evanesco. “Now can we get down to business?”

“Where’s Annie?” Stella asked curiously. They usually never started meetings unless everyone was present.

Micah and Eleni shared a dark look before Eleni replied, “Annie... won’t be joining us anymore.”

“Why not?” her twin continued.

“Because we can’t afford to have people who are not dedicated to our cause involved in our plans!” Micah roared. “Annie’s decided that she’d much rather fraternize with blood traitors than do what’s best for herself, so let’s leave it at that and get on with business.” His face had turned a nice shade of puce.

“We should discuss what we’re going to do about her though,” Eleni interjected before he could change the subject. “She knows too much.”

“That’s true, I suppose,” Micah grumbled.

“So, we should dispose of her then?” she continued, looking slightly eager.

“No, we can’t. I still need her for something.”

“What could you possibly need her for!” Eleni snapped. “You’ve heard her! She doesn’t want anything to do with us! You’ve seen her with Weasley, I know you have! You can’t possibly think she’s going to do anything you want her to!”

“She will if we persuade her.”

“Why do you want her so badly anyway?”

“Eleni, this is no concern to you,” he said, his tone final. “I’ll handle Annie. In the meantime, we have other business to attend to. Something has come to my attention recently. Or rather someone, who I think we should pay a bit more attention to.”

“Who is it?” Emilian asked.

“Black.”

“The professor?” Stella asked with a strange look on her face. “Don’t you think that’s a bit ambitious?”

“No, not the professor, you fool, the girl.”

“What about the girl?” Eleni interrupted with a raised eyebrow. “She’s about the least threatening person I’ve ever seen.”

“Don’t let looks deceive you. I think she has a secret, a secret that may just prove to be helpful to us. And I want you lot to find out what it is...”

**************

Annie reached the portrait of the jolly clown she knew guarded the Hufflepuff Common Room early Saturday morning, yawning widely and raising a hand to knock. The painting swung open before she had the chance, however, it’s frame nearly smacking her in the face.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was...” the voice paused. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Hi Celia,” Annie said with a forced smile as the other girl jumped down from the portrait hole. “Is Arthur in there?”

“No,” she answered cooly, then turned away from her and began walking down the corridor without another word.

“Well, do you know where he is?” she called after her, rolling her eyes.

“Yep,” Celia answered nonchalantly.

“Well, do you think you could...” Annie groaned as she went around the corner, taking off after her. “Where are you going anyway?”

“To find Arthur,” Celia answered with a shrug when Annie had caught up to her, showing her the envelope in her left hand. “His mother sent him a letter.”

“You really don’t like me, do you?”

“I don’t trust, you,” she corrected without looking at her.

“Is there a difference?”

“Yes. Not liking someone requires knowing them.”

“Oh, and I suppose you trust everyone you know, right?”

She snorted. “In a perfect world, perhaps.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to trust someone to know them. I know my brother, for example. I know him better than he’d like to think. But I certainly don’t trust him.”

“And why don’t you trust me?” Celia gave her a look that clearly communicated how stupid she thought that question was, but Annie didn’t care. She was allowed to ask a stupid question once in a while.

“Like I said, I know my brother. I tend not to trust the people he associates with.”

“I’m done with him now,” she said defensively.

“So you say. But how do any of us really know that?” Annie opened her mouth to protest, but Celia continued before she had the chance. “How do we know that Arthur doesn’t have something Micah wants, and that he sent you to get it? Arthur trusts too easily, he always has. He likes to see the good in people. And you know what? I’m jealous of him. I’d love to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, to believe that people can change, but it’s not easy to do when your own twin turned into a monster overnight.”

Annie was too shocked to think up much of a response. With what she knew about Celia, she’d never have expected such a monologue to come from her.

“And I know that some people do change, but I’m not naive enough to think that some of the people looking to be ‘redeemed’ don’t have an agenda. And I may just be Celia Macmillan, Hogwarts’ resident weirdo, but my friends are all I have, and I’d do anything for them. Anything.”

“Look, I know your not going to believe me, but I’m going to say this anyway. Arthur is the first real friend I’ve ever had. He was there when I needed someone the most, and I won’t be forgetting that anytime soon. Half of me thinks he’s a raving lunatic for even bothering, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what he’s done for me. I don’t have an agenda, and I really am just trying to do the right thing for once in my life.”

Celia nodded, smiling ever so slightly. “I’m not saying you couldn’t be telling the truth, you know. Maybe I am just a little too paranoid. And I know Arthur doesn’t need protecting. He’s not stupid, and he can make his own decisions. But he’s not his usual self quite yet. He hides it well, but he’s not really doing all that great,” she laughed humorlessly. “You know, I’d been hoping for years that something would force him to give up on her, because I knew he’d never do it on his own. And I think he was finally starting to realize he never had a chance, but a big part of him is still heartbroken.”

She glanced at Annie’s surprised expression. Arthur didn’t seem like someone who was heartbroken. But then again, she’d never really been around many heartbroken people, and she supposed not all of them started wearing all black and writing poetry. She nearly laughed at the mental image of Arthur wearing a black turtleneck and composing the ‘Sonnets of a Tortured Soul’, but she didn’t think it would be the appropriate reaction.

“Like I said, he hides it well,” Celia continued. “You know, it’s not fair. People like Arthur don’t come along everyday. And the thing that makes him so unique is that he doesn’t realize how amazing he is. He thinks he ordinary, did you know that? Ordinary...”

“She didn’t deserve him anyway,” Annie blurted. Celia looked surprised for a moment before smiling ironically.

“That’s the thing. No one does,” she paused, heaving a sigh before saying, “Look, for what it’s worth, I do want to be able to trust you someday. I just don’t want Arthur to get hurt if he doesn’t have to. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes. As much as I can, anyway,” she answered. “You’d die for him, wouldn’t you?”

“In a heartbeat.” It hadn’t even taken her a second to answer. Annie couldn’t help but wonder what it felt like, being willing to die for someone without a second thought. The only person who would even come close in her book would be Ax, and even then she didn’t know if she’d have the courage if it really came down to making that choice. And Ax was her brother. To have that close of a bond with a friend was something that she couldn’t even begin to fathom.

“You Hufflepuff lot are as loyal as a pack of wolves, you know that?”

Celia snorted, truly grinning for the first time in their conversation. “That’s not just a Hufflepuff thing, you know. Anyone can be loyal if they want to be.”

They reached the library after what seemed like years, both with a lot to think about. “And for the record, I still don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” Celia added when they spotted Arthur at a back table and made their way over to him.

“And I still think you’re barking mad. Let’s call it even, shall we?”

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

Arthur looked up at the sound of their voices (seeing as the library was completely deserted except for him), and raised an eyebrow. He was quite surprised they’d both made it all the way to the library with their heads still attached.

“Hi girls...” he started, deciding not to ask. “What brings the both of you here?”



I’m really not so sure about this chapter, but I feel like it needed to be done. Arthur and Annie desperately needed some bonding time before everyone goes home for Easter break, and I wanted you guys to see a bit of Celia’s less bonkers side. And speaking of Celia, don’t expect her and Annie to be all buddy-buddy now. When they bicker now, it will just be with a better understanding of each other.

Oh, and no contest this week, because I’m out of creativity. I think you guys are getting sick of it anyway.

Well, I was writing the next post, and I thought to myself... why not just end the whole thing now? So here we go...

Chapter 19:

Everyone dies. Everyone.




The End.

























































APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!

(I can't believe no one's done anything for it this year... I was going to post the entire chapter in Chinese, but it's not done yet, so this will have to do.:lol: )

Love ya guys!

Spring break, yay! For both them and me, how convenient. You know, I wasn’t even going to write Nick and Hailey’s honeymoon, but they had other ideas. It’s in two parts though. So bear with me for this quick geography lesson: Cleveland is a city in Northeastern Ohio (a state in the Midwestern U.S.) Here’s a map if you’re really interested: http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d152/beki14/Other/ohio.jpg Conneaut is a small town at the most Northeastern tip of Ohio. And Lake Erie’s kind of self-explanatory. So, I think that’s about it. If something confuses you, feel free to ask. And when you do, leave feedback! Oh, and by the way, I’m going on vacation for a week, so don’t be alarmed by the lack of my presence. (I know you guys would have been sick with worry otherwise, right? Hehe!) These author’s notes keep getting longer and longer, don’t they?


Chapter 19: For Good

I”ve heard it said,
That people come into our lives for a reason.
Bringing something we must learn,
And we are led,
To those who help us most to grow.
If we let them,
And we help them in return,
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true,
But I know I’m who I am today,
Because I knew you.

~Wicked, the Musical


“Am I supposed to turn here?”

“I don’t know, you’re the one who’s lived here most of your life.”

“You have the map! And I haven’t been here in almost four years...”

“Well, this whole other side of the road thing confuses me.”

“How would that mess up a map,” Nick asked, taking his eyes off the road to look at his wife quizzically. “And besides, we would have made the portkey this morning if someone hadn’t slept in!”

“For your information, it takes a lot of energy to carry around your child.”

“It takes two to tango, you know.”

“You were supposed to turn about a mile back, by the way.”

“Hailey!”

“And besides, I think it’s rather nice to drive. You really get to see the countryside.”

“Countryside?” She nodded. “Hailey, we’re in downtown Cleveland.”

“Well, there’s still plenty to see!” she replied stubbornly as the turned around in a parking lot.

“Oh yeah, sure there is. Look there, it’s the post office! And to your left, you’ll find the wild pedestrian! Quick, or you’ll miss it!”

“You’re very mean to me, you know,” she pouted.

Nick sighed heavily, saying, “Sorry,” through gritted teeth.

“Ooh, what’s that?” she asked, pointing to the large body of water to their left.

“Lake Erie.”

“What’s Lake Erie?”

He gave her a disbelieving look. “It’s a lake, Hailey.”

************

Arthur Weasley had just closed the door to an end compartment on the Hogwarts Express when that door was unceremoniously flung open and he was bowled over by a very short girl in an awful panic. When he attempted to ask what in creation was going on, he was immediately shushed, and forced to watch in fascination as the offending girl cast a Silencing charm. Amelia and Celia were a great help to matters by doing what they did best: laughing at his expense.

Judging by this event, a normal train ride home was out of the question.

“Mira, what in the name of Hufflepuff are you doing?” he asked as soon as he thought it acceptable to speak.

“Nothing, really,” she answered casually. “Emilian Zabini was following me, and I wanted to get away from him. Why are you on the floor?”

“You tackled me. My shriek of surprise ring any bells?”

“That was you? It sounded like a girl...”

“She’s got a point,” Celia agreed.

“You shut up,” he said mock seriously. She pouted, causing him to roll his eyes and turn back to Mira. “Now why is Zabini following you?”

“Good question. He really is an idiot though. I was walking down the corridor with what sounded like a herd of elephants behind me, but when I turned around, he was standing there staring ‘innocently’ at the wall. If he was any more obvious, he would have been wearing a sign saying, ‘Hey Mira, I’m Following You!’ Good grief...” She heaved a dramatic sigh. “Oh, and by the way, Annie’s sitting alone halfway down the train, in case you’d like to go retrieve her.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, I told her to sit with us!”

“Well, who did she say she was sitting with?”

“Something about friends from Prefect meetings,” he rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your compartment.”

“Oh, you don’t have to. If there’s anything I know how to deal with, it’s idiots.”

“He may be an idiot, but he’s a big idiot. No arguing, it’ll make me feel better.”

“Alright, Dad.”

“You’re grounded.”

“You’re hysterical.”

“Abomination of my flesh.”

“Embarrassment.”

“Disgrace.”

“Old timer.”

“Shrimp.”

“Hey now!” Mira said indignantly. “It was your genes that made me this way.”

“Okay, this is weird.”

“Tell me about it.” They both started laughing, but stopped quickly when they reached the compartment Annie was in. Unfortunately, she wasn’t alone anymore.

Arthur groaned loudly, “Why can’t things be simple?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of this,” Mira said, causing Arthur to nod in agreement. “I’ve always wanted to threaten someone...” She flung the door open, revealing Annie curled up in a ball in the corner of the compartment, and Micah leering over her.

“Out,” Mira said simply.

“Oh, look who decided to join us, a freak and a giant monkey. How charming,” Micah replied with a simpering smirk on his face. Arthur grabbed Annie’s hand and pulled her out of her seat, forcing her to stand behind him. “Aww, and it’s a protective primate too. Lovely.”

“Out,” Mira repeated.

“Oh I’m sorry, I don’t take orders from goblins.”

“Oh look guys, he’s making jokes about me being short now! Isn’t it cute?”

“Such a Slytherin, too,” he said in a patronizing tone. “Such a waste... You could be great, you know.”

“Sorry, I don’t take orders from big buffoons. If you manage to acquire a brain, then we’ll talk.”

“You better watch yourself, girl.” Mira mimed shaking in her boots. “I have connections you couldn’t even dream of...”

She snorted loudly, and replied, “Connections? You have connections? I don’t know if you’ve met my friend here, his name’s Arthur Weasley? His grandfather just has this little position. You know, he’s only the Minister of Magic. Not to mention his mother is a member of the Wizengamot. Let’s see, what else? My brother and my uncle are both teachers, that’s always helpful. Might I also mention that I know more aurors than you could count, but then again, I guess that’s not saying much. So as far as ‘connections’ go, I think I win.”

“You...”

“So, next time you think about dishing out your little threats, think about this. If you so much as lay a finger on Arthur, Annie, or anyone else, I’ll do my best to make sure you end up in Azkaban for the rest of your life. Or maybe I should just curse you into a million pieces right now, and save everyone the trouble. It’s your choice.”

Micah seemed to fight with himself for a moment, but eventually he left the compartment, stopping only long enough to say, “You three better watch yourselves.”

Mira rolled her eyes. “And I thought he would never leave.” She seemed to notice Arthur and Annie’s flabbergasted expressions for the first time. “What?”

“You scare me sometimes, you know that?” Arthur answered with a slight smile.

“Could you have actually cursed him into a million pieces?” Annie asked curiously.

“Probably,” Mira answered truthfully. “But it would have made an awful mess.”

************

Thunk!

Another dart hit the bulletin board on the wall of two aurors’s cubicle, this time spearing a notice bearing the slogan, ‘A tidy office is a productive office’. Sirius, looking rather pleased with himself, lobbed another one towards the Ministry code of conduct.

“Sirius, could you please stop tossing pointy objects over my head?” Ax asked tetchily, not bothering to look up from the report he was filling out. “I enjoy the use of both of my eyes, thank you.”

“What’s got your knickers in a twist, mate?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Sirius gave him a stern look, and he sighed. “My sister.”

“I thought you two patched things up?” he asked, confused. “I just took the earplugs out of my desk too. Don’t start on the Italian please...”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just worried about her, that’s all,” he paused for a moment. “You had earplugs in your desk?”

“That’s not the point. Mira mentioned her in the last letter I got from her, it seems like she’s doing quite well.”

“That’s what scares me.” Sirius gave him a questioning look. “The kids all go home for Easter break today. I don’t know how my father will react if he finds out about all of this.”

“Oh...” Sirius began, but was saved from further elaboration by a dog barking. “Moony, shush! I told you, if you’re going to come to work with me, you have to be quiet!” he reprimanded the Newfoundland as though he could understand.

“Why do you have Moony and Glory, anyway?” Ax asked, gesturing to the beagle currently sitting under his desk.

“Because, we’re dog-sitting Glory while Nick and Hailey are in America, and the renovators are over at the house today, so we didn’t want the dogs getting in their hair.”

“Renovators?”

“Yeah, they’re building the twins' room,” he explained with a grin. Ax was about to reply when their conversation was interrupted by a commotion out in the hall, followed by a string of colorful curse words. Christian stumbled into their office a moment later, still muttering to himself.

“You lot do realize that this is the most cluttered department I have ever seen in my life...”

“Mate,” Ax said calmly. “Both Sirius and his mother make it through here every day without tripping.”

“Yeah, well...”

“What are you doing here?” Sirius interrupted.

“Nice to see you too,” Christian replied, looking mildly offended.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in Egypt?”

“Oh. That,” he murmured. “That’s actually what I’m here for. I’ve put in for a transfer to a position closer to home.”

“How much closer, exactly?”

“Diagon Alley?”

“Well, that’s... close...” Sirius said uncertainly. “But why?”

Christian sighed, saying, “Basically, as much as I love my job, it’s a very lonely job, and I’m not doing too great with lonely.”

Sirius grinned. “Aww, look Axikins, Cwissy-Wissy misses us!”

After Ax and Christian rolled their eyes simultaneously, Christian said, “Very funny. Besides, I figure your offspring will need their favorite person ever around to teach them right from wrong.”

“You won’t be anywhere near my children.”

“Well, that’s kind of silly, seeing as you’ll be naming them both after me.”

“I’m not naming either of my children Idiot.”

“You two have such a loving relationship,” Ax interrupted with something like awe.

“Don’t worry, mate, there’s plenty to go around.”

“Good morning, degenerate scum!” said a cheerful voice from the doorway. Ax and Sirius groaned in unison.

“What do you want?” Ax whined.

“Now is that any way to talk to your boss’s daughter?” Megan Shacklebolt asked cheekily, shoving Christian aside to gain access to the room.

“I’m my other boss’s son, and I talk to myself like that all the time,” Sirius argued.

“So you finally admit to talking to yourself. Well, acceptance is the first step.” She spotted Christian and thrust a stack of files into his arms. “Here, hold these.”

“I...I don’t work here...” he sputtered.

She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “You have arms, don’t you?”

Sirius turned his snort into a cough. “I see you come bearing gifts.”

“I always do,” she grinned. “These need to be done by the end of the day,” she gestured to the stack she dropped on Sirius’s desk. “And those by tomorrow,” she added, pointing to the stack Christian was holding. “Oh, and Old Lady Fritzenheimer owled about another cat under the Imperius curse.” Both aurors groaned again.

Megan blew them a kiss, grinning at their annoyed faces. “Goodbye, my dear minions.” She left their cubicle with a little twirl, probably off to find someone else to torment.

“I can’t wait until next year when we get to boss her around!” Sirius grumbled, reaching for the first folder on top of the pile and pulling it towards him.

“Who was that?” Christian asked with a dazed expression, staring blankly at the spot where Megan had been standing.

His friend rolled his eyes. “You know Megan Shacklebolt. Did someone hit you with a memory charm? It’s not like that is forgettable...”

“That’s not Megan Shacklebolt,” Christian said definitively. “That was a girl.”

This time, Sirius didn’t bother covering up his snort. “Hate to break it to you, but Megan’s a girl.”

“Well, I know Megan’s a girl, but she’s not a girl.” This statement was met by two quizzical looks. “I mean, she’s Shackles, the tomboy.”

“She’s still a tomboy, Christian.”

“Yeah, but she’s a tomboy girl. A pretty tomboy girl...”

This statement was met by a long silence.

And then, in a touching moment of friendship, Sirius Lupin, Auror, husband, and father to be, showed just how mature he really was.

“Eww! I can’t believe you fancy Shackles!”

Christian sputtered indignantly. “I don’t fancy her! I just think she’s grown into a rather attractive young woman!”

“You fancy her! Christian and Shackles, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

************

After dropping Mira off at her compartment, and thanking her for her skills at intimidation, Arthur and Annie set off to the other side of the train once more. Arthur sent a side glance at Annie every two seconds. She looked closer to crying than he’d ever seen her look before.

“So, doing anything interesting over spring break?” she asked weakly, looking desperate to break the silence.

“Not really. Celia and Amelia are coming over, so we’ll just mess around, probably. What about you?” He could have slapped himself as soon as he asked. With parents like hers, her breaks probably weren’t terribly enjoyable.

“Oh, just the usual. Trying to avoid my parents, that kind of thing. I’m hoping to get away for a while so I can go visit my brother, but I don’t know...”

“Annie, what did he say to you?” Arthur blurted before he could stop himself.

He was mildly surprised when she answered. “Just threatened me, Ax...” she hesistated. “You. Nothing I haven’t heard before, really. I should have been able to handle it. I really shouldn’t let him get to me, but he just...” she trailed off, sounding immensely frustrated with herself.

“He just does,” Arthur finished. She nodded, clearly fighting tears again. “It’s okay to cry once in a while, you know.”

Annie just looked at him intensely for a moment before she threw her arms around him and held on as though her life depended on it. He hugged her back, the scent of the ocean (he’d realized it was her perfume long ago) making it difficult for him to think. When she answered him, her voice was a bit choked. “Malfoys don’t cry.”

He suppressed an eye roll with difficulty. “Well, Malfoys don’t usually go around hugging Weasleys either, so you’ve already broken one rule.”

She gave a weak chuckle, pulling away from him and kissing him swiftly on the cheek. “Arthur, you’re such an idiot.”

She continued to walk down the corridor, but he seemed to be frozen in place, touching the place where she’d kissed him and wondering why it was still tingling.

************

“Morning, Mum,” Arthur said the next morning, pouring himself a cup of tea while his mother looked up from stirring her cauldron to smile at him. “What are you making?”

“Amortentia,” she answered vaguely. He choked a bit.

“Exactly what have you been doing to Dad all these years?”

“Very funny,” she said, smacking him jokingly upside the head. “Your father needs a sample for work, and you know how he is with potions.”

“Like Uncle Harry and eggnog without the singing, yeah.”

“But with more embarrassing pictures,” Hermione added thoughtfully. “Have I ever shown you the one after he tried to make Veritaserum by himself? He turned pink!”

Arthur laughed. “I’m pretty sure I would have remembered that one,” he said as Hermione added the last ingredient. He’d readied himself for the powerful aroma of the potion, but it’s strength still took him aback a bit.

He took a moment to inhale deeply, savoring the scent of freshly brewed coffee, chocolate, and a slight ocean breeze.

His eyes popped open in shock, and in that moment he realized that there was something seriously wrong with him.

He’d smelled Amortentia many a time in his short life, and he knew what three scents he was supposed to be inhaling right now. Coffee, chocolate, and strawberries. He’d never smelled anything even remotely like the ocean, but it was unmistakable now. Not as overpowering as the coffee or the chocolate, it somehow stood out the most in it’s own subtlety. Not only was it present, but he would say it was the dominant scent, growing stronger the longer he stayed in the room.

And not a hint of a strawberry.

He needed to sit down...

Arthur flopped into a chair, still slightly punch-drunk, and warranting a concerned look from his mother.

“Are you alright, dear?”

“Yeah, I’m f-fine,” he answered, trying to convince himself as much as her. This was not good, no, it was not good at all...

“Oi, did someone drop a whole tub of ink in here? That’s all I can smell,” Ron said, stepping into the kitchen in his pajamas, his hair tousled slightly.

“Anyone else smell something minty?” Celia asked cheerfully, joining them a moment later.

“Who’s polishing a broomstick?” Amelia chimed in.

Jane skidded onto the tiled floor, looking painfully excited. “What’s burning?! I smell sulfur!”

“SULFUR!” Arthur and Hermione exclaimed at the same time, Arthur coming out of his trance slightly. Great, he was in love with Annie and his sister was a pyromaniac.

Wait a minute... He was not in love with Annie!

There could have been a lot of explanations for him smelling her perfume in the strongest love potion ever made. Maybe he just happened to like the ocean and didn’t realize it until now. Or maybe he just liked the way she smelled. It didn’t necessarily mean he was in love with her. He didn’t even have feelings for her, for Merlin’s sake! After all, he smelled coffee too, but he definitely didn’t want to snog a coffee pot any time soon.

That must be it. He didn’t even really know her that well, honestly.

No, that wasn’t true. He couldn’t even convince himself that he didn’t know her that well. They’d only known each other for a couple of months, but he understood her better than anyone he’d ever met. But he wasn’t in love with her.

He couldn’t be.

It was impossible.

Maybe if he said it to himself enough, the potion would figure it out too and stop smelling like the bloody ocean for a few seconds so he could think straight!




Okay, so kind of melodrama-y, but I like it. Next post will hopefully be up soon after I get back!

Edit: Woops, I just realized Megan seems to have managed to get to Auror Headquarters before the rest of the students even got off the train. Ummm... Let's say she apparated or something... Hehe.

Sorry this has taken soooooo long, I really have been super busy. This is just the first half, but the second should be up fairly soon. I think. Thanks to Kim (Psyche3 Kim, that is. I guess there's two of you now:lol:) for the inspiration on the title, I was having trouble with this chapter. And the Pirates of the Caribbean thing was just for my own amusement.


Chapter 20: All You Wanted

If you want to,
I can save you,
I can take you away from here.
So lonely inside,
So busy out there,
And all you wanted was somebody who cares.

~Michelle Branch



Anyone walking into the home of Ron and Hermione Weasley on the day before Easter would have found three very bored teenagers. Amelia had resorted to writing a letter to her brother, Celia was braiding Emma’s hair, and Arthur was counting spots on the ceiling. He was up to twenty-eight when Jane’s voice made him lose count.

“Artie-Wartie!”

Rolling his eyes, he yelled back, “Up in my room, Jane!”

The whirlwind of curly brown hair burst into his room a second later, talking a mile a minute. “There’s a letter for you, it came with some funny looking owl. And Mum says you have to take me to Uncle Harry’s today, no excuses, and that Emma can come too if she wants. Oh, and she said that you three can go to Diagon Alley after you take me to Uncle Harry’s, which you have to do. But if you do go to Diagon Alley, she wants you to pick up a few things form the apothecary for her, there’s a list down on the table. Can we go now, Artie, pretty please? Please, please, please...”

“Alright, alright, let me go get my letter first, and then I’ll take you over there, okay?” She grinned, nodding enthusiastically. “Don’t destroy anything.”

“Aww, you’re no fun!” Celia shouted after him. Jane giggled.

Arthur came back two minutes later, two pieces of parchment clutched in his hand. “Who’s the letter from?” Amelia asked.

“Just Liz. Something about Sirius wanting to name their child Volkner. Those two shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce.” He grabbed a jacket off his desk. “I was hoping it would be from Annie. I’m getting sort of worried about her.”

He missed the look Celia and Amelia shared. “I’m sure she’s perfectly fine, Art,” Celia replied.

“Who’s Annie?” Jane asked nosily. “Is that your girlfriend?”

“No, Jane,” he answered in exasperation. “Go get a coat, it’s raining.”

“Okay!” she said brightly. “MUM! DADDY! ARTIE’S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!”

Arthur rolled his eyes, looking back at Celia and Amelia, who were both laughing. “You two want to go to Diagon Alley?”

“Most definitely,” Celia answered while Amelia nodded in agreement.

“Alright, grab that one, and I’ll go get the devil incarnate, we’ll take them to the Potters’ first.”

Celia snorted, finishing Emma’s braid before picking her up. “Let’s go save your brother from the horrors of Jane.” Emma giggled. “Make sure to call him Artie-Wartie.”

Five minutes later, three green teenagers and two giggling girls were stumbling out of Harry and Ginny Potter’s fireplace. “We’re apparating to the Leaky Cauldron,” Celia said matter-of-factly. “Bleeding floo powder.”

“Uncle Harry?” Arthur shouted up the stairs. There seemed to be some sort of awful commotion on the second floor, judging by the screaming. “Aunt Ginny? Anyone?”

Gen bolted down the stairs a second later, screaming her head off and passing the five of them without a second glance. James was running after her brandishing a wand while giggling like mad, and Nicole was right on his heels. “JAMES HARRY POTTER, YOU GIVE MY WAND BACK RIGHT NOW!”

A sigh of exasperation announced Ginny, walking down the stairs after her children. “You three, don’t break anything!” she shouted before noticing Arthur and the others. “Hi kids, I suppose you’re dropping Jane and Emma off.”

“Yup,” Arthur agreed. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full already.”

“Eh, it happens,” she laughed, “I’m surprised your mother doesn’t have you home cleaning.” The Easter party was at Arthur’s house this year.

“Oh, she invented some new spell that cleans the whole house all at once,” he said, waving a hand casually. “She’s been in quite the good mood ever since she figured it out.”

“Well, tell her she can do mine next,” Ginny said. “Anyway, your uncle and I have a bit of an announcement to make tomorrow.”

Arthur’s eyes widened. “Oh no, not another one...”

Ginny snorted, “No, no, no, I’m not pregnant.”

“Then what?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” she answered, winking mysteriously.

“Don’t try to crack her, it doesn’t work,” Nicole interjected, stuffing her wand into the back pocket of her jeans. “They won’t even tell us yet.”

“You’re sister knows,” Ginny replied. “And what would Mad-Eye say if he saw you put your wand there?”

“I’ve seen better witches than you loose a buttocks like that, girl!” she imitated in a gruff voice. “Like anyone’s ever lost a buttocks.”

“Actually, your Uncle Ron had a close call a couple of years ago when...”

“Mother! I don’t want to hear about Uncle Ron’s buttocks! And why does Liz get to know everything?”

“Because she’s an adult.”

“And doesn’t live here!”

“Exactly.”

“How does that make sense?”

“I love the Potters,” Celia said with awe.

“We all do,” Arthur replied. “Let’s head out, they could be at it for a while.” He led his friends to the garage, where they apparated with three simultaneous pops to the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron.

“Both ears?” Amelia and Celia asked him in unison.

“I’ll never live that down, will I,” he asked as Amelia pulled out her wand and tapped the bricks to reveal the archway. She shook her head.

“So, I figured we’d go get my mum’s potions ingredients first, then look around. Maybe later we can take a trip over to muggle London.”

“Ooh, we can go to the movies!” Celia squealed. “Pirates of the Caribbean 12 is playing!”

“Huh?” Amelia and Arthur both asked as they stepped into the apothecary.

“Jack Sparrow!” she shrieked.

“Oh, not that bloke again,” Arthur muttered.

“You must appreciate the brilliance!”

He coughed, looking for a change of subject. “Umm... the bezoars are in the back.”

“Why does she need a bezoar?” Celia asked curiously.

“She always carries one around with her. Has ever since my dad was poisoned in their sixth year of school.”

“So, what happened to her old one?”

“They go bad after two years.”

“Oh, that’s good,” she said. “I was hoping no one was poisoned.”

“No, that’s only when you cook.”

“Hey!”

They continued bickering over Celia’s cooking (Amelia agreed that it was truly awful) all the way to the back of the store, and only stopped when they started fighting over how to tell which bezoar was the best.

“The harder the better, I’m telling you,” Celia said.

“No, no, no, the biggest ones are the best,” Arthur maintained.

“Actually, I think the lightest colored ones are the most potent,” Amelia contradicted.

“Why in the world would that make a difference?”

“What’s next on the list, Annabelle?” Arthur’s head snapped up as soon as he heard the voice on the other side of the shelf.

“Bezoars,” the voice that was unmistakably Annie’s answered. Arthur shot a panicked glance towards Celia and Amelia, but before any of them could even move, the two Malfoys rounded the corner, walking purposefully towards the barrels containing the stones. A man who looked exactly like an older version of Ax shot them a disgusted look, as though insulted that they thought themselves worthy of breathing the same air he did.

Annie’s reaction scared Arthur a bit. She quickly lost all the color in her face, and tried desperately to gesture for them to leave behind her father’s back. Arthur had the mad urge to grab her and run, to take her somewhere where her father could never find her. He had actually started to step forward, but Celia grabbed his arm. She shook her head, mouthing ‘let’s go’.

As much as he didn’t want to, he knew it was for the best. But as they tried to file silently past the two, Draco spoke.

“What is your name?”

Arthur was half expecting something like this, but as he turned around to reply with an ‘Arthur Weasley, and proud of it,’ he realized the man was not looking at him. “No, not you boy,” he said impatiently, nodding in Celia’s direction. “You.”

“Celia Macmillan,” she replied in surprise.

Draco nodded. “I thought as much. So this is the Micah boy’s sister, Annabelle?”

Annie, however, wasn’t looking at Celia. In fact, her eyes hadn’t left Arthur since the moment she’d first seen him. “Annabelle?”

“Yes, I’m Micah’s sister,” Celia interjected, taking pity on her.

He nodded again. “Good, good.”

“I myself find it rather unfortunate,” she responded, “but to each his own, I suppose.”

“You don’t get along with your brother?”

“About as well as one would get along with a slug, although I reckon the slug would be a bit more intelligent.”

“Annabelle, do you know these three from school?”

Annie, once again, failed to answer. “We’re acquainted,” Celia said. “But don’t worry, we haven’t corrupted her. Let’s go.” She grabbed both Arthur and Amelia’s arms and started walking towards the door. They didn’t stop when they heard Draco mutter, “Gryffindor.”

Arthur did stop, however, when he heard Annie reply, “Hufflepuff, actually,” with a slight edge in her voice.

“Really? Didn’t know one would have it in them...” he seemed to finally notice where his daughter’s gaze still was. “For Merlin’s sake, Annabelle, stop eyeing that boy!” Arthur swore he actually heard her neck snap as she turned her head to look at her father.

“I was not eyeing him!” she said defensively.

“Arthur, we need to go,” Celia whispered.

“You two go ahead, I’ll just be a minute,” he murmured back.

“Art, I know everyone needs an ego boost once in a while, but this isn’t the time.”

“I just want to make sure she’s okay!” he said defensively, ducking behind a shelf unnoticed. Both his friends followed him, to his dismay.

“You were looking at him like he was a piece of meat, and with your betrothed’s sister right there!” Draco continued.

“For the last time, I am not marrying Micah Macmillan!”

“It is not proper for a lady to agree to something and then change her mind!”

“I never agreed to marry him in the first place!”

“That’s not what I heard from him.”

“So, you’re going to believe some thick headed git over your own daughter?!”

“What or what you did not agree to is not the issue here. The issue is that the boy you were just ogling is clearly a Weasley!”

“Weasleys are not the only people on earth to have red hair, Father,” she said in exasperation. “And so what if it was a Weasley?”

“The Weasley family is beneath you, Annabelle.”

“Perhaps I like the Weasleys.”

“You don’t mean that,” he said, voice shaking.

“And if I do?” Annie asked, her voice shaking just as badly as his.

He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders so hard his knuckles were white, shaking her slightly. “I will NOT have a repeat of your brother, girl!”

By this point, Arthur had seen enough. He grabbed Celia, who was closest to him, and whispered, “Go back to my house, tell my mum what happened. I’m taking her to her brother’s.”

Her eyes widened. “No, I won’t leave you. He could be dangerous.”

He shook his head. “Just go. Please. I’ll be fine.” And I don’t want you to get hurt... he added mentally. “Go that way, quickly.”

Looking like she swallowed something extremely sour, she nodded reluctantly, grabbed Amelia’s arm, and steered her in the direction Arthur had pointed. He turned back to the father and daughter, reaching for his wand while hoping he wouldn’t need to use it at the same time.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, just let me go...” Annie whimpered. She seemed to have lost her momentary urge to stand up to her father. “Please, let me go.”

Still breathing heavily, Draco released her. However, he seemed to decide at the last moment that she hadn’t been taught enough of a lesson. It was the cue Arthur had been waiting for. He raised a hand to strike her across the face, but Arthur stepped out from behind the shelf and grabbed his arm. “Never, never touch her again,” he growled, shoving the older man so hard when he released his arm that he stumbled backwards.

Arthur grabbed Annie’s arm. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asked, glancing back over her shoulder at her fuming father. He knew the only reason Draco hadn’t cursed him yet was that he was too angry and surprised to think rationally.

“I’m taking you to your brother’s,” he whispered, slamming the shop door in their wake.

“But...my father...”

“Is an abusive *******, and you’re not going to be around him.”

“I can’t just leave, he’ll go mental,” she protested, starting to struggle against him a bit.

“Annabelle Malfoy, you’re going to your brother’s if I have to carry you!”

“Arthur, I can’t!” she replied stubbornly.

He sighed theatrically before hooking an arm around her waist and throwing her over his shoulder. “Annie, has anyone ever told you that you’re very high maintenance?”

“Arthur Weasley, put me down this instant!”

“Well, I would, but I really don’t think I can trust you,” he replied, a hint of a smirk on his face.

“You’re causing a scene!”

“No, Annie dear, you’re causing a scene. And the flailing about really does not help all that much,” he said, waving at an elderly lady giving the pair a strange look.

“Where are Celia and Amelia anyway?” she asked, still squirming a bit.

“I sent them off to notify reinforcements. You’ll have the whole Weasley clan fussing over you soon.”

“Joy,” she replied, wondering how many times over she was going to have to explain her situation. “Can you put me down now?” she asked sweetly.

“Not until I know you won’t run off,” he said in a singsong voice as they passed through the gates of Diagon Alley. Before she had a chance to reply, he apparated them to the alley by Ax and Marissa’s apartment building.

After deeming it safe to let Annie walk on her own, he set her down gently, where she promptly kicked him in the shin. “Ow!”

“Never do that again,” she said sternly, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek at the same time. “And thank you.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Like bloody Jackal and Hyde with you. Do you know what number their apartment is?”

“414,” she answered promptly as they stepped inside the lobby and pressed the ‘up’ button on the lift. “I don’t really trust these things.”

“They’re just like the lifts at the Ministry, aside from the fact that they run on cables instead of magic.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“You’re silly,” he replied, grabbing her hand and pulling her inside the tiny box, pushing the number four button. Funnily enough, she actually seemed to be afraid of the muggle lift, judging by the death grip she hand on Arthur’s hand. He was beginning to worry about permanent damage to the circulation in his little finger when the lift clattered to a stop and they stepped out.

“Annie, what about your trunk and all your school things?”

She hadn’t thought about it, but the solution was easy enough. “I’ll just floo my grandmother, I’m sure she’ll pick up anything I need from the manor.”

“Would she do that?” Arthur asked skeptically.

“She helped Ax out a lot after he ran away,” she explained. “Truthfully, I think she’s the only one of our relatives who cares about us.”

Not really knowing how to reply, Arthur instead called attention to the fact that they had reached number 414. He rang the doorbell, leaning against the doorframe. “So, you were eyeing me like a piece of meat, eh?”

He’d expected her to sputter indignantly, but instead she just smirked and said, “Well, Arthur, you may be a pasty, freckle-faced, boring Hufflepuff, but you happen to have a very nice backside.”

His jaw dropped. “I...”

She grinned and the door cracked open. “Your ears are flaming, Weasley.” She turned to her brother, who was now standing in the doorway with a bemused expression on his face. “Hey Ax, you have room for one homeless sister in there?”

Ax took one look at the both of them, let out a short snort of laugher, and said, “Well, we Malfoy children do seem to have a thing for Easter breaks, don’t we?”

************

Draco Malfoy collapsed in a high-backed leather armchair in front of a marble fireplace that evening, with a very large migraine and an equally large glass of Vodka in his hand. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly as the shrieking he was hoping he wouldn’t have to hear tonight filled his ears.

“Draco!” his wife screeched. “Draco, where is Annabelle?”

“Where have you been?” he asked Pansy as she appeared in the doorway. He didn’t really care, but he was trying to delay this conversation for as long as possible.

Her eyes bulged out of her pug-like face. “Where is our daughter, Draco?”

“With her brother, I imagine.”

There was a moment of tense silence before Pansy blew her top. “WHAT!?”

“Apparently, she had enough.”

“You will go retrieve her this instant!”

“No, I will not,” he replied, his voice a forced calm. “She’s better off there.”

“She’s... she’s... what did you just say?”

“I said she’s better off there,” he said, speaking very slowly. “I will not go after her, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave them be as well.”

“I will NOT lose another child to you!”

“YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT THEM ANYWAY!” he roared. “You never cared about anything...”

“Draco!” she reprimanded in disgust.

“Go to hell, Pansy. You and your damn lover.”

She huffed indignantly, stomping off, and Draco knew he’d gone too far. But he just didn’t care anymore. He threw the glass into the empty fireplace, watching it shatter. Shattered glass, just like his life. He couldn’t hold back the flood of emotion and tears any longer. He’d become the exact thing he swore to himself he’d never be. He’d become his father.

He’d pushed his children away all those years ago so it wouldn’t hurt as much when they disappointed him. But it didn’t work.

Because they didn’t disappoint him.

And it hurt.

Here’s the next part. Not very proud of it, but oh well.



Annie couldn’t believe she was doing this.

If you had asked her a year ago what the least likely place for her to be was, a Weasley family party would have been pretty high up on the list. Although not as adverse to the idea as she once was, she still was very unsure about the whole thing. After all, these people were a lot different than what she was used to.

Although that was probably a good thing.

“Ax, they’re going to hate me,” she said for the millionth time.

“No, they won’t,” he replied once again. He always said the same thing, which really wasn’t much help.

“Yes, they will,” Annie replied.

“Annie, when this family met your brother, not only did they not hate him, but they fed and housed him for a year and a half,” Marissa said, cutting her off before she could argue further. “You worry too much.”

“But you of all people know how... how...”

“How completely vile you were?” her sister-in-law supplied cheerfully.

“Thanks, Marissa.”

“Well, it’s true,” Ax interjected.

“As I was saying, you of all people know how brainwashed and completely misunderstood I was...”

“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?” Ax asked.

“You’re not helping!”

“Look,” Marissa started, nudging Ax in the side with her elbow. “Like you said, we know what you were like. If we’re letting you stay in our house, everyone else will accept you for a couple of hours.”

“How do you know though?”

“Because they’re too nice not to,” Ax answered.

“And because you’ve changed,” Marissa added, rolling her eyes at her husband. Siblings...

Annie sighed. “Why are you being so nice to me anyway? I wouldn’t be if I were you.”

“Because we’ve wrote enough letters back and forth in the past month that I feel comfortable in saying that I trust you,” she answered. “That, and everyone deserves a second chance.”

There was a slightly awkward silence where all three of them wondered what they were supposed to say. Ax coughed loudly, and said, “We’re here.”

They had stopped in front of a medium sized house with blue shudders, a white picket fence, and a neat and tidy garden off to the side. There were what looked to be ordinary muggle Easter decorations in the front yard, and there was a shiny black Cadillac in the driveway. No one would have ever suspected that wizards lived here, let alone that Harry Potter’s two best friends called this place home.

Ax stepped out of the taxi first, giving both his wife and his sister a hand before paying the driver. “So this is where the Weasleys live,” Annie commented, not able to keep the dread out of her voice.

“Annie, don’t look so cheerful, you’ll hurt yourself,” her brother said sarcastically. “You know Arthur and Mira right?”

“Ax, that’s two people, out of what, fifty?”

Both he and Marissa snorted. “You’ve obviously never been to a Weasley party.”

“What?” she said, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see,” Ax replied as he knocked on the door.

***********

Arthur had been opening the door for an hour already, and was starting to get very bored with the entire process. Of course, his mother had made it worse when she decided to send Jane to ‘help’.

Unlike most of his relatives, parties didn’t thrill Arthur. He loved his family more than anything, but when they were all together, things got a little crazy. He’d like to say that his friends were there to keep him sane, but Celia and ‘sane’ didn’t really belong in the same sentence. At least Amelia was halfway normal. If you could call barely talking normal...

So, all and all, he could have done without the parties. Although he had taken a rather long time picking out his pants for some unexplainable reason...

The doorbell rang, and he opened it to reveal Phil and Lynn, holding hands and looking very cheerful. Swallowing a very slight twinge of jealously, he plastered on a smile and said, “Hey guys, cold night for April, isn’t it?”

“Artie-Wartie, smashing to see you old chap!” Phil greeted, ruffling his hair as he hung his cloak up in the closet.

“Hey, why is he allowed to call you Artie-Wartie?” Jane asked with a pout.

Shooting a half-hearted glare at Phil, Arthur replied, “He’s not.”

“Ah, don’t be a spoil sport, ickle-Artykins.”

He was about to reply when Lynn smacked him soundly on the arm. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“I’ve barely spoken to you all term! Who said you were allowed to become a stranger?” He accepted her hug with a bit of guilt. Lynn had always been a very good friend of his, and he had been ignoring her.

“Sorry Lynn, I guess I’ve just been busy,” he lied, ignoring the raised eyebrow Phil was giving him. “So, any guesses on what horrid names Liz and Sirius are going to saddle their children with?”

“Last I heard was something about Volkner...” Lynn said with bemusement.

“Oh, you got that letter too?” Arthur asked.

“Me too,” Phil added. “Liz must have made copies in bulk.”

“They haven’t killed each other yet, have they?” Lynn asked, looking like she was afraid to know.

“Nah, they were both walking when they got here,” Arthur said as someone knocked on the door. “See you two later.”

He opened the door to see Ax and Marissa, arms linked and wearing matching blue dress robes. Marissa was getting to the point in her pregnancy where she was starting to show a lot more, but she seemed as energetic as ever, and she and Ax looked to have been bickering about something.

“Told you,” Marissa said. “Hi Arthur, how are you?”

“Bored,” he said jokingly (even though it was completely true). “How are you two?”

“Never better,” Ax replied. “Annie, stop hiding, they’re not going to bite.”

As said girl emerged from behind her brother, Arthur went through a series of emotions that he couldn’t quite explain to himself. His stomach dropped and his mouth went dry, even as a genuine smile spread across his face. He hadn’t really expected her to come. He’d hoped, but he hadn’t really expected it.

She was wearing all red. A red dress that came down to her knees, a red cloak with silver fastenings, red heels that seemed too painful to walk in. Even the bow in her lightly curled hair was red. Arthur decided that he liked her hair curled. It made her look softer, younger, somehow more vulnerable. It made her look less like the woman she tried to be and more like the girl he’d come to know.

He realized as she looked down at her feet in an uncharacteristically shy moment that she wasn’t just pretty. She was beautiful. And not the kind of beautiful he’d call a relative. Not even the kind of beautiful he’d call a friend. No, she was the kind of beautiful that took his breath away.

She mesmerized him. She mesmerized him, and he didn’t even know why.

It wasn’t something he could put a finger on. He couldn’t say for certain that it was her eyes, or her smile. It was just her, nothing more and nothing less.

It was the way her eyes twinkled when she was trying not to laugh. It was that half smirk that almost seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face. It was the way she could be a confident and self-assured woman one moment, and a timid, scared little girl the next. It was the way she said, “Hi,” in barely a whisper. It was the way he could barely choke out a ‘hi’ in return. It was the way all he wanted to do was kiss her. It was the way he’d never felt this way before. It was the way he had no idea where this all was coming from. It was everything and nothing, all at the same time.

It was the way she made him forget about everything but her.

Effectively ruining the moment, Jane interrupted the two’s staring contest by shoving Arthur aside. “Hi, I’m Jane. I’ve never seen you before, what’s your name?”

Looking amused, she replied, “I’m Annie Malfoy,” while shaking the younger girl’s hand.

“Oh, you’re Artie’s girlfriend,” she said knowledgeably. “He keeps saying you’re not, but I know the truth.”

“Jane! She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s just shy. But you should be Artie’s girlfriend, I quite like you.”

“Well, thank you... I think...” Annie replied, shooting a questioning glance at Arthur.

“You’re prettier than Artie’s last girlfriend...”

“Jane!” Arthur exclaimed, ears reddening. “Why don’t you go help Mum in the kitchen?”

She made a face, “I don’t like the kitchen, it’s boring!”

“It’s not open for negotiation,” he said quietly, pointing towards the kitchen door. She stuck her tongue out at him before running off, most likely to cause mayhem somewhere else.

“So, that was the infamous Jane,” Annie said, grinning. “She doesn’t look too dangerous.”

“Don’t underestimate her,” Arthur warned. “Where’d Ax and Marissa go?”

“I think they ran away when they saw your sister,” she laughed.

“Probably. She likes to poke Ax for some reason.” They stood in silence for a moment, before Arthur said, “Annie, I’m really glad you came...”

They were interrupted once again, this time by Arthur’s grandmother. “Arthur dear, we’re about to eat...” she spotted Annie, and Arthur groaned. The last thing Molly Weasley needed was someone else to mother. “Oh, you must be Annie, you poor girl. Hermione told me all about you. Are you hungry, dear? You look hungry. Don’t worry, we’ll get you nice and fattened up...” and with that, Molly swept her toward the dining room. Arthur sighed, following them a moment later and taking his usual seat in between his mother and Celia. Annie had been situated a little farther down the magically expanded table, beside her brother and Liz. Arthur snorted, thinking that between his grandmother and Liz, who was going through a very maternal phase, Annie wasn’t going anywhere until she’d had at least three helpings.

“Arthur, your sister has informed me that you have a girlfriend,” his mother said to him, eyes twinkling. He gave Jane an exasperated look, and was about to reply when Harry started tapping on his glass.

It turned out that Harry and Ginny’s announcement was that they had bought the abandoned restaurant next to their house. Ginny had quit her job, and she was planning on restoring it this summer, and hopefully open it for business in the fall. They’d offered anyone who wanted to help out a job, and Arthur was surprised when Phil immediately stood up to go have a word with them. When asked what he was doing, he replied simply, “I’m already sick of politics.”

Arthur glanced over to see Lynn’s reaction to this, and was again surprised to see that she was beaming. He shook his head bewilderedly, wondering what was happening to the world.

Further confirming his suspicions about the coming apocalypse, dinner was a fairly normal affair. Barring Fred and George’s rousing interpretation of ‘The Little House-Elf That Could’, nothing of real consequence (or strangeness) happened.

After dessert was complete, the large table magically divided into many smaller ones, and a dance floor was cleared. The WWN was turned on, and couples started to make their way to the dance floor. David had stolen Celia from them, so Arthur and Amelia helped themselves to some punch, watching the others step on each other’s toes. Arthur was currently trying to decide whether or not he should ask Annie to dance. She was halfway across the room, and looked to be in a conversation with Liz and his mother.

Just as he was about to make his way toward the three women, he was bombarded by one of his mother’s colleagues. Ethel Symani was a large woman with little neck and a bit of a mustache, a mass of wiry white hair sitting in a pouf on the top of her head. Her make-up was overly bright, her robes an obnoxious floral print, and she had a personality to match.

“Sonny!” she cried dramatically, kissing a rather frightened Arthur on the cheek. “Why exactly haven’t you been over for tea lately?”

“Well, I’ve been at school,” he explained reluctantly. Yeah, the first time he came over for tea would be when pigs flied...

“School,” she scoffed. “Who needs school?” Deciding not to point out that she was a judge on the Wizengamot and that school was very important, he just smiled politely.

“Ah, you’ve grown into such a handsome boy,” she said pinching his cheek. “I’ll bet you have the girls lining up for you.”

“Er, not exactly,” he replied uncertainly. He saw Annie slip out of the room out of the corner of his eye.

“Tell me, sonny, have you ever thought about older women?” she asked suggestively, winking at him.

He gulped, looking around for an escape route. “Well, my father’s calling me,” he invented. “It’s been nice talking to you.”

He vaguely heard her call, “There’s no need to be shy,” and shuddered.

Ducking out of the room, he made his way down the hall, saying hello to the few people who were in this part of the house. He was about halfway toward the library when he heard music. A very different kind of music from that playing on the radio.

Following the melodious sound to the parlor, he spotted a certain pair of red shoes sitting outside the door. He didn’t blame her. If he’d been wearing those, he’d have taken them off the first chance he got too.

Annie was sitting at the Weasley’s mahogany grand piano, playing a soft melody he didn’t recognize. She looked so peaceful that he just watched her for a moment before speaking.

“No one ever plays that piano.” He must have startled her, because she played a rather bad chord before turning around and smiling at him.

“Why not?” she asked, sliding over on the bench so he could sit down beside her.

“None of us can,” he explained. “It was my grandmother’s. She used to play for us all the time, actually. When she died, my mum couldn’t bear to part with it, so it ended up here. I didn’t know you could play.”

She nodded. “All purebloods should be versed in at least three languages, know all the respectable dances, and play the piano.”

“The piano’s a muggle instrument, you know.”

She snorted slightly. “Try telling my father that.”

“How are you doing with all of this?” he asked in concern.

“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,” she answered in a quiet voice. “That this is real. That I’m never going back there. It just hasn’t hit me...”

Looking at her, Arthur realized she was right. It hadn’t hit her. But when it did, he knew he’d be there. He knew he’d want to be there.

He waved his wand so the piano began to play itself, standing up and holding out a hand to Annie. “Come on, let’s dance.”

She smirked. “I thought you didn’t dance.”

He smiled back. “Well, there’s a first time for everything, I suppose.”

And so they danced. Even when the music stopped, they danced.

*************

Rob, feeling very content as he rode in the backseat of the Lupins’ car, closed his eyes and let the current conversation wash over him. Mira had fallen asleep on his shoulder a half an hour ago. He’d always loved spending holidays with his best friend’s family, and this break had been his favorite so far. Remus and Tonks, as they insisted on being called, had always treated him like another son, and he’d grown very fond of Mira’s little cousins over the years. Being called Robbie-wobbie and poked constantly may not have been most adolescent boys’ idea of a good time, but it was alright with him.

Mira shifted slightly in her sleep, one of her hands accidentally brushing his cheek. He smiled, wondering vaguely to himself how she managed to get prettier by the minute.

Effectively interrupting his staring, Violet crawled right across her cousin and onto his lap, saying, “Robbie, will you tell me a story?”

“Sure,” he replied, looking around for inspiration. “What do you want to hear a story about?”

“A princess!” she replied. He chuckled. Typical little girl...

“Alright,” he agreed. “A princess it is. Once upon a time, there was an orphan girl who came to live in a castle...”

“Hogwarts?” Violet asked demandingly.

“Yes, Hogwarts,” he answered. “Now, this girl didn’t know it, but she was a...”

“A vampire?”

“No, a princess.” Seeing how strangely disappointed Violet looked, he added quickly, “A vampire princess, that is.”

“Oooh!” the girl squealed.

“Yes. Well, this girl came to Hogwarts where she met a boy. And this boy was also a vampire, so he knew that she was royalty. But when the boy tried to explain to her who she was, she...”

“Murdered him!” Violet concluded triumphantly. Rob vaguely heard Remus snort from the front seat. What kind of fairy tales had this girl been hearing?

“No, she just didn’t believe him. So then she ran off and was kidnaped by...”

“Giant killer spiders?” she asked eagerly. He decided just to go along with it.

“Yes, giant killer spiders. But the boy saved her from them, and they fell in love. He then took her to her real family, where they lived happily ever after ruling the vampires. The end.”

“That’s it?” Violet asked him. He nodded. “Well, that was a stupid story.”

“Sorry...” he said uncertainly.

“What were their names?”

“Nicole and Jon,” Rob answered promptly, grinning to himself.

“Sirius tells better stories, Robbie.” Well, that explained a lot...

Not bothering to hide his laughter, Remus turned around and said, “We’re almost home, you’d better wake the dead.”

Rob grinned, turning to Violet and saying, “Why don’t you wake Mira up?”

He ended up with a rather large bruise on his shoulder where Mira punched him after Violet screamed in her ear, but the look on her face was worth it.

“You’re a git sometimes, you know that?” Mira grumbled, rubbing her ear as they got out of the car and made their way toward the front door of the Lupin’s home.

“That’s why you love me,” he replied nonchalantly.

“Like a hole in the head,” she responded, eyes twinkling.

The pair made their way toward the stairs after reaching the door, muttering vague ‘goodnight’s to Remus and Tonks on the way. Rob was staying in Nick’s old room, so when they reached the middle of the second floor hallway, they stopped in front of Mira’s door to talk.

“I am so tired,” Mira said, yawning tremendously as she said so. “What time is it anyway?”

“I think about two in the morning,” he answered. “Did you hear that Violet made me tell her a story?”

“Oh no, did she want you to put violence in it?”

“Yeah, what exactly...?”

“This one isn’t my fault!” she said defensively. “It’s all Sirius and Nick. I had nothing to do with it, I swear...”

He chortled, saying, “I believe you, don’t worry. When is Nick getting back from America anyway?”

“Sometime tomorrow, I think,” she said, yawning again. “Poor child...”

He chuckled, “I’ll let you get some sleep. Goodnight, Mira.”

“Night, Rob,” she echoed, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

He didn’t know what made him do it. All he knew was that standing in that hallway, looking at the girl he’d been crazy about since the moment he first laid eyes on her, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

He kissed her.

It was a sweet, light kiss full of uncertainty, but it was a kiss all the same. Rob, uncertain of whether or not kissing her was a good idea. Mira, uncertain of whether she should pull away like her brain was telling her to do, or kiss him back like her heart was telling her to do. But one thing Rob was certain about was that he’d never felt more whole in his life.

They both seemed to pull away at the same time, and Rob, seeing the blank look on Mira’s face, panicked.

“I’m s-sorry, I shouldn’t have done that...” he stuttered. “I’ll just go... I’m sorry...”

He murmured another apology, quickly stumbled into his room, promptly tripped over something, and landed flat on his face. Muttering a few choice words, he got to his feet and looked around for the culprit.

It turned out that he had tripped over a loose floorboard. He frowned. He’d never noticed that before...

Curiosity getting the best of him, he bent down and pried the board up, reaching into the space underneath and pulling out something fairly large.

It was a book. A book simply titled Auctoritism.

Rob could feel his breath catch in his throat. Were these the answers Mira had been searching so desperately for? Had they really been right in front of their noses this whole time?

He cracked open the book, read the first page, and snapped it shut. However, one line in particular seemed to have been burned into his memory. The unexplained surge of magical energy at the moment of an Auctoritus’s birth often results in the mother’s death.

Now he understood. Now he knew why Nick had kept this bit of information from Mira.

Heck, he was considering keeping this information from her too...

Fate, however, seemed to have other ideas. Mira chose that moment to burst into the room, saying, “Rob, look, you’re my best friend. We should be able to talk about this kind of... what’s that?”




A/N: So, as you guys can probably guess, I was desperate to write something mushy and romantic. Arthur felt a lot of things that he wasn’t supposed to be feeling yet, but oh well... And yes, the character of Ethel Symani was inspired by Mae Peterson from Bye Bye Birdie. Next chapter gets into more serious matters. So, coming up: Will Mira learn the truth about what happened to her mother? What happens when there is an ‘attack’ by our least favorite group of snakes? And what is the Order doing during all of this? Also, we finally get to meet the mysterious ‘she’. Kinda...

Sorry this took a while, and I’m really sorry if it’s kind of weird, but those of you who have finished DH (and if you haven’t by now, then what in the heck are you doing reading fanfiction!?!) will understand how hard this was to write. Things are starting to get darker here....

WARNING: Slightly gruesome imagery. If you’re squeamish, you might not want to eat while reading this chapter.

Mini-Disclaimer: ‘Stare them down,’ does belong to Grey’s Anatomy, but it was too perfect in this situation. Lets just say Tonks was a Bailey fan.



Chapter 21: I Know Why the River Runs

There’s a silence that I don’t want to keep,
There’s a hole now where my heart used to be.
They say that healing comes in time,
But I don’t know what that means.

~Lee Ann Womack



There was a silence following this question, only broken by the shuffling of Rob’s feet.

“Rob,” Mira repeated, stepping further into the room. “What is that?”

“Nothing,” he said squeakily, trying fruitlessly to hide it behind his back. “Just a bit of light reading, that’s all...”

She raised an eyebrow, taking the advice her aunt once said was the secret to dealing with men. Stare them down...

Rob lasted about a minute before he broke. “Fine! It’s a book I found under a loose floorboard. It must have been your brother’s, but you’ve got to believe me when I say you don’t want to know what’s in it.”

“Oh, come on, how bad can it be?” she asked, trying to snatch it from him. When he refused to hand it over, she just rolled her eyes and performed a wandless summoning charm.

“You’re getting too good at that,” he grumbled, but stopped when he saw her face. She’d paled considerably when she read the title, and her hands were shaking as she started to open the book.

“Mira, please, don’t,” he begged, placing a hand on top of hers in an attempt to force the book closed.

“I have to know, Rob,” she replied. “I have to know.”

“No, you don’t. Trust me, you don’t want to know,” he said desperately. She just pushed his hand aside and flipped open the cover before he could stop her. He watched helplessly as she read the first page, her eyes changing from curious, to disbelieving, to horrified, and finally filling with tears.

“Mira, it’s not your fault, it...”

“I killed my own mother,” she whispered, staring up at him pitifully. “I killed my own mother.”

He caught her just before she hit the ground, sobbing.


*************

“Good turnout, don’t you think?” Harry Potter said brightly, surveying the people crowded in the dingy kitchen. Although not thrilled about having to go back to Grimmauld Place after all these years, Harry admitted it was a fine place to have as headquarters. That, and it was tradition...

“Harry, you sound like we’re having a barbeque,” Ginny replied in amusement.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. We should have some food, refreshments, cheerful decorations...”

“It’s an Order meeting!” Hermione exclaimed in disbelief, shaking her head at her friend.

“So?” Harry asked. “That doesn’t mean we have to be all gloom and doom. I know the house isn’t exactly cheerful, but I do think it’s better now that we finally had Sirius’s mum removed...”

“Someone say my name?” Sirius Lupin asked as he and Liz entered the room, looking around the old kitchen curiously.

“Other Sirius,” Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione said in unison.

“So, how’s my daughter been treating you?” Harry asked.

“Horribly, as always,” his son-in-law replied.

“What was that?” Liz interjected, coming over to stand beside her husband.

“Just saying how much I love you.”

“Uh-huh,” she said in disbelief. “So, is there any type of initiation rite for this?”

“Not really, you just have to promise not to go blabbing,” Ron answered. “Where are Nick and Hailey anyway?”

“Their portkey came in about a half an hour ago, so they should be on their way,” Sirius answered. “I think Ax and Marissa brought cookies.”

“See, someone has the right idea!” Harry exclaimed.

“We might have to do something with Landen and Christian when they start acting like five year olds though,” Sirius added, eyes twinkling. “You know how they are with sugar...”

“Oh, that reminds me, I can pick Jane and Emma up after the Order meeting if you’d like,” Hermione said to Ginny, remembering that her daughters were currently at the Potters.

“No, let them spend the night. They’ll probably be sleeping when we get home anyway, and Nicole’s enjoying babysitting.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me Nicole was babysitting? I could have left the twins with her,” Fred interjected, joining in on their conversation. Ginny snorted. “I’m not joking, they’re probably outside the door trying to find a way to listen in right now.”

“You didn’t see fit to leave your seventeen year old children at home alone?” his sister asked, amused.

“Have you met the twins?”

“Don’t worry, Megan’s out there too,” Kingsley added, coming over to say hello. “I’m sure she’ll be helping them in their attempts at eavesdropping.”

Sirius snickered slightly, shooting a glance at Christian and ignoring the strange looks he got from the rest of the group.

Saving poor Christian from awkward questions, Nick and Hailey arrived, causing everyone to converge on them. After about fifteen minutes of interrogation, Harry saw it fit to start the meeting with a shout of, “Hey everyone, listen up!”

“He never did have Dumbledore’s flair,” Tonks commented mildly.

He cleared his throat, shooting her a glare. “Anyway... we are here today to discuss a matter of great importance. Minerva McGonagall recently received a visit from Viktor Krum, the headmaster of Durmstrang. Since Minerva could not be here today, I will try to restate that warning to the best of my ability. Viktor believes that there is a dark wizard ring hiding somewhere in Bulgaria or the surrounding areas. He also believes that this ring is made up of left over Death Eaters from the last war. Now, we all know that there were those who got away, and even more who we never caught.”

“But why now?” Kingsley asked. “Why wait twenty years?”

“Viktor also believes that these dark wizards have infiltrated Hogwarts. I’ve come to believe that their goal is not to come back to England and fight, but to train the next generation to fight for them.”

The silence in the room was only broken when Ax suddenly said, “Micah Macmillan.”

“Who?” Harry asked in surprise.

“The Head Boy,” Nick answered, also sounding surprised.

“He seems a bit.... enthusiastic.... about some of the ideas we thought died out with the war,” Remus continued. “I’ve been a bit concerned about his little group of Slytherins for a while now. Their interactions are almost cult-like. But I must confess, I never thought it was truly something to worry about. Given this new information, however, I think it’s best if we look into it.”

“Hell yes, I think we should look into it!” Ax exclaimed, uncharacteristically angry. “That ******* threatened my sister, and then tried to force her to marry him!”

This outburst resulted in another silence, this time punctuated by the ringing of the doorbell.

“Who in the world could that be?” Harry wondered out loud as he made his way toward the door. Sudden whispers broke out, discussing the mysterious visitor as well as the previous topic of conversation.

Harry returned a moment later, shaking his head in disbelief and accompanied by another man, who greeted the others by saying, “I hope I didn’t miss anything too important.”

The room’s reaction was instantaneous. Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ax all jumped to their feet, protesting loudly. Harry slumped back into his seat, groaning. The others seemed to be a mixture of confused and annoyed.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, COMING HERE?”

“I WILL NOT BE IN THE SAME ROOM WITH HIM!”

“JUST GO HOME TO YOUR MONEY AND LEAVE US BE!”

Draco Malfoy just smiled slightly, taking an empty seat at the end of the table, between Hailey and Hermione. Both women looked thrilled.

“I see you’re back in town, Cullingwood. I’ll expect you at work tomorrow morning.” Hailey rolled her eyes, muttering, ‘It’s Black!’ under her breath. “Granger, you’ve lost weight.”

“I had a baby!” Hermione exclaimed. This seemed to send Ron over the edge.

“What are you doing here, Malfoy?” he asked. It looked like it was painful for him to keep his voice down.

“I invited him,” Harry answered reluctantly. His wife stared at him in disbelief.

“Oh, why would you do that, Harry?”

“Well, I never actually expected him to show up.”

“Wait just a second now. I was a member of the Order too,” Draco protested, looking slightly amused with the situation.

“And very reluctantly so, if I recall correctly,” George grumbled.

“I think it’s best if we continue with the meeting,” Harry said quietly, ignoring the mutinous looks he was getting from half the Order. Everyone calmed down slightly. “I think we’d better split into teams to monitor this situation. I want anyone working at Hogwarts to watch this. I’ll need a few people to actually go to Durmstrang and see if you can dig up anything else on this ring. Kingsley, do you think you can get yourself and Ron off work for a few days?”

“Not a problem,” he replied.

“Hermione, what about you?”

“We don’t have any cases scheduled for the next two weeks. We’ll need someone to watch the kids though.”

“We’ll take them, Hermione,” Ginny said immediately.

Harry nodded, sighing reluctantly. “Draco?”

“What!” Ron exclaimed loudly. “No way! Why him?”

“He’s looking for people who personally know Viktor Krum, you dolt,” Draco replied. “And I can definitely get off work.”

Ron looked like he wanted to argue further, but was interrupted by memos popping out of thin air in front of all the aurors in the room. In one motion, they all flipped the notes open, read them quickly, and paled.

“There’s been an attack on St. Mungo’s,” Harry said in disbelief. “Meeting adjourned.”

************

It was dark.

Between the near pitch black of the sky and the heavy fog, she couldn’t see more than two feet in front of her. However, some part of her must have known the steps she was to take, for she did not trip or falter. She moved forward, slowly, deliberately, not looking left or right.

And it was cold.

The chill in the air was so all-consuming that it felt like she was walking toward a hundred thousand dementors all at once. The air itself was tingling, as though the forest itself was quivering in fear. Fear of what, she didn’t know, but the sensible part of her was screaming for her to turn back.

It started to rain.

The rain was as cold as the air. It felt as though it was raining inside of her, not just around her. It felt as though the rain was her own tears, the tears she now knew she was crying.

She didn’t understand this feeling of sheer helplessness, but it was overwhelming her.

Light suddenly flooded the forest as though someone had flipped a switch. With the light came an anguished, painful scream.

She vaguely realized it was coming from her.

She wished it was still dark.

Dead. All of them.

Acquaintances, friends, distant family members, eyes wide and staring, littering the ground like leaves. Rain mixing with blood. Her worst nightmare come true.

Some curled in tight balls as though trembling in fear. Some still in half-sitting positions, their hands reaching out to her. Some with their mouths still open in what she knew must have been desperate screams. All with their eyes glassy, open, staring, accusing.

Some force she didn’t understand drove her on, and she continued walking. Walking toward an eerily glowing light ahead of her. As she continued down this path of death, the people lining it slowly became more familiar, more dear to her. She began to wonder what she would find at the end.

As hard as she tried, she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away from their eyes.

Finally reaching the end, she came upon a lone figure, draped in a long black cloak, standing on a raised platform where four bodies had been placed. Ernie and Hannah Macmillan were lying to his right, Amelia Corner and Arthur Weasley to his left.

“I see you’ve finally joined us,” the voice of the figure said. It cut through her like a white-hot knife, and she felt a painful squeezing of her heart. A sob tore her throat as she dropped to her knees in front of her parents and best friends. No, they couldn’t be dead too, not them too...

“Did you enjoy the trail of breadcrumbs I left for you?”

She found it hard to say anything over her hysterical sobs. Only one word came to mind, and that was the word she choked out with great difficulty. “Why?”

“Why?” the voice said with a mocking laugh. “Why? You should know why. This is all your fault, you know.”

“No,” she whispered. “No...”

“Yes. You did not do as we said. So we were forced to take away everything you hold dear.”

“No,” she repeated in a pitiful, pleading voice.

“They’ll never forgive you, you know. You’re the reason they’re dead. And they’ll never forgive you.”

“NO!”

“There is a way to bring them back,” the voice continued, ignoring her screams. “If you join us, we can bring them all back.”

“I don’t believe you!” she said, braver than she felt. “No one can bring back the dead.”

“Can’t we?” As though just to prove her wrong, he waved his wand at Arthur’s body, which suddenly gave a great, shuddering gasp. Half blinded with tears and tripping over her own feet, Celia ran toward the platform, falling to her friend’s side.

Eyes wild, grabbing the sleeve of her robes frantically, Arthur whispered, “Don’t do it, don’t join them. He’ll kill us all anyway, don’t do it.”

“He lies, of course,” the towering, cloaked figure replied from above them. “If you join us, I will bring them all back.”

“Don’t believe him! Please, don’t believe him! Please...”

“Join us! Join us, and you’ll never feel the pain of death again!”

“NO!” she screamed. “Kill me, just kill me, because I’ll never join you!”

“No, I won’t kill you,” he replied with a cold laugh. “Killing you would be merciful.” He turned his wand toward Arthur. “Avada Kedavra!”

Celia woke up, drenched in cold sweat and her own tears, and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Arthur and Amelia burst into the room only a few seconds later, wands out and looking as though they expected Voldemort himself to be standing there. Taking one look at her face, Arthur’s wand fell limply to his side as he sat down beside her. Amelia was staring at something in the corner of the room with a gobsmacked expression. Celia gave a quiet sniff before launching herself into Arthur’s arms, where she clung to him as though he was a lifeline, dissolving into hysterical sobs.

“Celia, what in the world...?” he started, looking terribly confused as he patted her on the back.

“Arthur...” Amelia said quietly.

“You’re alive, you’re both alive...”

“Of course we’re alive, why wouldn’t we be?”

“Arthur!” Amelia said, a bit more persistently.

“Hang on,” he replied, continuing to Celia, “It was just a nightmare, nothing to worry about...”

“ARTHUR!” Amelia half shouted.

“What?” he asked, turning to face her with an exasperated expression.

She pointed to the mirror on the other side of the room. “She’s got one too.”

Celia looked up from where she had her face buried in Arthur’s shoulder curiously. Words, in what looked suspiciously like blood, were written on her mirror. The meaning of the message was unmistakable.

Watch your back, dear sister, or your nightmares may just come true.

This sent her into a fresh wave of tears.

A loud, shrill alarm pierced the silence not a moment later, and Amelia groaned in frustration. “What now?”

“Intruder charms,” Arthur said, face going deathly pale. “Here, get behind me.” Shoving Amelia, who looked ready to argue, toward Celia, he stepped in front of both girls and held out his wand as they heard someone running up the stairs.

“Who’s there?” he asked demandingly, unable to keep a slight shake out of his voice. “Identify yourself!”

“It’s Annie,” the person replied as she rushed into the room, wearing a dressing gown and looking uncharacteristically disheveled. Before Arthur could ask what in creation was going on, Annie took one look at Celia’s mirror, dropped onto the bed unceremoniously with her head in her hands, and groaned. “Oh Merlin, I’m going to get us all killed...”

“You’ve got one too?” Arthur asked, surprised, wand still pointed at the door.

Annie peeked through her fingers at him, whispering, “Yes. Don’t tell me you both have one.”

Arthur sighed, plopping down in between the two girls, and nodded jerkily. Celia immediately resumed her previous act of clinging to him as he asked, “What did your’s say?”

“‘Last chance. Join us, or suffer the consequences.’ You?”

“‘Keep your nose out of places it doesn’t belong’,” he answered. “Is that why you came? To warn us?”

“Yes,” she replied, seeming to notice Celia’s distressed state for the first time. “Is she okay?”

“No,” he replied. “I’m suspecting this was the work of a very powerful boggart charm.”

“Arthur,” Amelia said slowly. “If someone was here, wouldn’t the alarms have gone off for them too?”

“They weren’t here,” he answered. “I was awake when my message appeared. It just...appeared. There was no one here.”

The silence following this statement was thick with tension.

“Where are your parents anyway?”

“Order meeting. They’re regrouping.”

“That’s were Ax and Marissa are,” Annie added quietly. “I... I didn’t want to be alone.”

Arthur reached out the hand that wasn’t absentmindedly stroking Celia’s hair and squeezed her shoulder. “It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Then, to his complete and utter shock, Annabelle Malfoy, the girl who never cried, burst into tears. Burying her face in Arthur’s unoccupied shoulder, this action seemed to send Celia into a fresh wave of the water works, and he soon had two sobbing, hysterical girls clinging to him as though he were the last person on earth. Looking fearfully at Amelia as though expecting her to join the crying at any moment, he reached for his wand with some difficulty, and quickly sent his silvery, small, dog-like patronus to his mother. He needed reinforcements. And possibly a few strong sleeping droughts.

“Arthur...” Amelia began reluctantly. “What’s going on?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” he answered quietly as the ‘pop’ of apparation signaled the return of Hermione.

He heard his mother run up the stairs at full speed, bursting into the guest room wildly. She was paler than he’d seen her in a very long time, and Arthur had a feeling his patronus wasn’t the only thing causing her worry.

“What happened?” she asked immediately. “Why is Annie here? And who, young man, taught you the transmitter patronus?”

Arthur pointed wordlessly to Celia’s mirror. “Annie and I both have one too. I also suspect Celia’s been put under a very strong boggart charm. And Uncle Harry.”

“Should have figured,” Hermione mumbled vaguely, examining the mirror. Arthur glanced down at the girls. Annie had pulled herself together a bit, and was now looking very embarrassed. Celia, however, was starting to scare him a bit. She was still pale, and had now fallen completely silent. He’d never seen her this upset before.

Hermione waved her wand at the mirror, frowning when nothing happened. “Didn’t the alarms go off?” she asked her son.

“No, not until Annie got here. No one else was within the grounds.”

“That’s strange,” she replied, almost to herself. “I can understand the mirrors, that would be easy. But the boggart charm is what stumps me. I don’t see how they could have produced it so strongly without actually being here.”

“Could they have put it on a timer before school let out?” Arthur asked.

“No, the charm’s too unstable,” Hermione muttered, abandoning her examination of the mirror and coming to stand in front of them. “I’m going to give Celia a dreamless sleep potion. Arthur, I want you to take Annie home. Marissa should be there, but Ax might be a while...”

“Mum, did something happen?” he asked suspiciously.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair haphazardly. “There was an attack on Saint Mungo’s.” Noticing the color draining out of her son’s face, she quickly added, “Nothing serious really, only a few very minor injuries, but it’s just... it was...” Arthur didn’t need for her to finish. It was the first attack since the end of the war.

“The aurors were all called in to investigate,” she continued. “Stay with them until Ax gets there. And then I’d really appreciate it if you’d stop by the Potters’ and make sure your aunt got home alright. Harry’s third in command, he’ll be all night.”

“Do you want me to bring Emma and Jane home?” he asked, standing up and offering Annie a hand. Hermione had taken his seat, and was now forcing a steaming goblet into Celia’s hand. She drank it obediently, her eyes immediately beginning to droop.

“Yes, that’s seems like a good idea. I’d like everyone together...” she replied. It seemed to him that she was more shaken by this event than she was letting on, but that was for a different time.

He turned toward the door, but stopped immediately when he heard Celia murmur, “Don’t leave...” This plea was so quietly, so feebly spoken, that he almost didn’t hear her, but hear her he did. Seeing someone as vivacious as his friend reduced to such a shaken state by a single charm broke his heart. This madness had to stop.

He strode back to her side, watching her fight a losing battle with her eyelids, and replied in a quiet whisper, “Celia, I’m not going anywhere.”

Her whole body relaxed, and she even managed the slightest of smiles, before she drifted off into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

**********

Micah knocked on the door of the towering manor impatiently, pulling the hood of his cloak closer against the howling wind. He strongly disliked Northeastern Europe, but he figured desperate times did call for desperate measures.

An ancient and minuscule house-elf opened the door, crying out in apparent joy, “Mister Macmillan! Is you’s here to see The Lady?”

“Yes, Gappy, she should be expecting me.”

“Oh, she is, Sir, of course,” Gappy replied, ushering him into the entrance hall and shutting the door with a bit of difficulty. “She’s in the study. Would you like me to show you the way...?”

“No thank you, I’m quite capable,” he answered, already making his way down the side hallway. Reaching the last door on the left, he knocked three times before hearing a quiet, “Come in.”

“My Lady,” he said, bowing toward the figure sitting behind the desk. She looked up from her book with interest.

“It is done?”

“Yes.”

“Just as I instructed?”

“Only a few minor injuries and some property damage. Just enough to make them realize it could have been much worse.”

“Excellent. And the warnings have been sent?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. I must say, you’ve done an excellent job.”

“Thank you, My Lady.”

“Come, join me for a drink. I’ll tell you some of what I’ve been planning.”

My pleasure, he thought, following her into the next room.



A/N: Well, there it is. I know it’s not exactly great, but don’t be too mean to me. I really tried. And Mira and Nick will get into it during the next chapter, I promise.

유감스러운 이것은 동안을 걸리고, 얼마쯤 괴괴망측하면 나는 진짜로 유감스럽다, 그러나DH을 끝낸 너의 그들 이다 (과 너가 지금쯤은 이미 있지 않으면, 그때 독서fanfiction을 해 너는 이는 지옥안에 무엇!?!) 단단했던 이것이 쓰는것을 이던 까 라고 이해할 것이다. 것은....더 어둡게 여기 얻는것을 시작하고 있다 경고: 경미하게 처참한 심상. 너가 꾀까다롭, 이 지부를 읽고 있는 동안 너는 먹고 싶는. 소형 포기: `은 그들 아래로 빤히 본다,'회색 해부학에 속한다, 그러나 이 상황안에 너무 완전했다. 정당한 할말Tonks을 있었다 베일리 팬 시킨다. 제21지부: 강이 달리는 까 왜 나는 ississ_ta [지키고 나가 싶지 않는I]There's침묵, 나의 심혼이 있었었다 곳에 구멍 지금 있는다. 평균 저 무엇을 치유가 시간 들어오는 그들은, 그러나 나 모른다 말한다. ~Lee앤Womack[/I] 약탈 발의 뒤섞기에 의하여 부서진 다만 이 질문다음 침묵 있었다. 방으로 더 족답하는 "약탈," 반복되는Mira. "저것은 무엇 이는?" "아무것," 그는squeakily말해, 그의것뒤에 그것을 후에 숨긴것을 무익하게 해본. "다만 소량 가벼운 독서는, 저것 모두..." 이다 말한 하자마자 그녀는 남자를 다루기에 통보에게 그녀의 아줌마를 가지고 가는 눈썹을 이었다 비밀 치켜올렸다. Stare...[/I의 아래 그들] 그가 끊을 전에 약탈은 대략 분을 계속했다. "정밀한! 나가 느슨한 마루청의 밑에 발견한 책 이다. 너의 형제 이었음 에, 그러나 너는 나 믿는 갖고 있는다 나가 말할 때 너가."있는 것이 그것안에 알 싶지 않는 "뒤?" 이을 수 있는 까 라고, 지내는 오하이오 그녀는 물어, 그에게서 그것을 날치기한것을 해본. 그가 그것을 넘어서 수교하라고 사절할 때, 그녀의 눈이 그녀에 의하여 다만 구르고wandless소환 매력을 실행했다. "너는 저것에 너무 좋게 얻고 있다, 그가 그녀의 얼굴을 볼 때" 그는 불평하고, 그러나 멈췄다. 그녀가 제목을 읽을 때 그녀는 상당하게 창백해져 하고자 했다, 그리고 그녀가 책을 열는것을 시작하는 때 그녀의 손은 동요하고 있었다. "Mira,,"은 그 구걸해, 닫는 책을 강제하기 위하여 손을 그녀의 것의 위에 둔. "나는 알아야 한다," 그녀는 회답했다 강탈하기 위하여. "나는 알아야 한다." "아니오, 너는. 신뢰한다 나, 너는, "그는 절망하 말했다, 그의 손을 은 제쳐놓고 밀 알 싶고지 않 그가 그녀를 멈출 수 있을 전에 튀겨서 덮개를 열십시요. 그녀가 첫번째 페이지, 소름끼치게 하는에 변화하는 그녀의 눈을 눈물에 믿지 않고는, 마지막으로 채우는에 흥미로울 것이에서, 읽는 때 그는 무력하게 봤다. "Mira, 너의 결함이 아니다, 그것..." "나는 나의 자신의 어머니를," 그녀 속삭여 죽여, 위로 가엾게 그에 빤히 본. "나는 죽였다 나의 자신의 어머니를." 그녀가 지상을 명중했기 바로 전에 그는 그녀를 붙잡아, 흐느낀. ************* "좋은 생산고, 너는 생각하지 않는다?" 해리 도공은 밝게 말해, 거무스름한 부엌안에 군집된 사람을 조사한. 모든 이 년다음에Grimmauld장소, 해리등을맞댄 가야것을 하기에 관하여 오싹하지 않아 사령부로 있을 정밀한 장소 이었다 것 을 승인했다. 저것 및 그것[I]was전통... "우리는 바비큐가 있고 있는 처럼 해리 의 너는," 오락안에 회답하는Ginny을 소리가 난다. "너는 있있다, 저것은 나쁜 아이디어가 아니다. 우리는... "약간 음식, 다과, 쾌활한 훈장을 먹어야 한다 "이다Order회의는!" Hermione은 불신앙으로 영탄해, 그녀의 고개를 그녀의 친구에 흔들n. "이렇게?" 해리에게 묻. "의미하지 않는 우리는 모든 어둠 및 운명 이어야 한다. 우리가 마지막으로Sirius's미라에게... "제거해 달라고 할 이니까 더 낫다 것 을 집이 엄정하게 쾌활하지 않다, 그러나 나가 생각한다 것 을 나는 있있다 "누구 할말 나의 이름은?" 그와Liz이 방에 들어갔다 대로 묻는Sirius루핀콩, 흥미롭게 오래 되는 부엌의 주위에 본. "다른Sirius,"은 해리, 조화안에Ginny,Ron, 및Hermione말했다. "너를 대우해 나의 딸이?" 이는 까 라고, 이렇게 해리에게 묻. "무섭게, 언제나," 그의 사위는 회답했다. "저것은 무엇 이던?" Liz은 말참견해, 그녀의 남편의 옆에 서기 위하여 건너온. "나가 너를." 사랑하는 까 얼마이라고 정당한 말 "Uh-huh," 그녀는 불신앙으로 말했다. "이렇게, 있는다 이것을 위해 개시 종교 의식의 어떤 유형?" "진짜로, 너는," 응답되는Ron다만 지절거린 가지 말라고 약속해야 한다. "곳에 이는Nick과Hailey이 어쨌든?" "그들의portkey전에 대략 30분 들어왔다, 그래서 그들은 그들의 방법에,"은 응답되는Sirius있는 일 것인다. "나는 생각한다 도끼와Marissa에 의하여 가져오는 과자를." "보십시요, 누구 있는다 우측 아이디어를!" 해리는 영탄했다. "5년olds 그러나 행동 시작할 때 우리는,"Sirius추가했다, 반짝이는 눈Landen과 기독교인과 무언가를 해야 한. "그들이 설탕에..." 이는 까 라고 너는 있있다 "나가 오하이오에 의하여, 저것 남는다, 너가 좋아하면 나는," 그녀의 딸이 도공에 현재 이던 것을 생각하는Ginny에 말하는Hermione순서 회의다음에Jane그리고Emma을 위로 뽑을 수 있는다. "아니오는, 그들을 보낸다 밤을 시켰다. 우리가 가정에 어쨌든 얻을 경우 그들은 가능하게 자고, 그리고Nicole즐기에게 어린아이를 보아줌." "누군가는 왜 나에게 말하지 않았는가Nicole은 어린아이를 보아주고 있었는가? 나는 그녀를 쌍둥이를, "말참견된Fred줄 수 있어, 안으로 그들의 대화에 결합한. Ginny은snorted. "나는 안으로 지금 듣는 방법을 발견한것을 해보는 문이상으로 농담하고 있지 않다, 그들 이다 가능하게." "너의 17 살 아이들을 집에서 내버려두기 위하여 너는 보지 않았다 적합을?" 그의 자매는, 즐겁게 해 물었다. "있으십시요 너를met쌍둥이는?" ",Megan's밖으로 거기서 너무," 고민해 할말에, 추가되는Kingsley여보세요 건너온. "그녀가 엿듣기에 그들 시도안에 그들을." 돕라 있을 것 을 나는 확실하다 Sirius은 경미하게snickered, 섬광을 기독교인에 쏘고 그가 그룹의 나머지에게서 얻은 이상한 보기를 묵살한. 서두른 질문에서 저장 가난한 기독교인,Nick및Hailey은 도착해, 그들에 한데 모아지는 모두를 일으키는 원인이 된. 심문의 대략 15 분다음에, 환성에 회의를의 시작하기 위하여 그것이 적합했던 해리 톱은, "어이 모두, 듣는다 위로!" "그는 결코Dumbledore's천부적 재능이,"Tonks논평했다 온화하게 있지 않았다. 그는 그녀를 쏘는 그의 인후를 눈총 맑게했다. "Anyway[/I은]... 우리는 여기 오늘 중요성의 사정을 토론하는 있는다. Durmstrang의 교장,MinervaMcGonagall은ViktorKrum에서 최근에 방문을 받았다. Minerva이 여기 오늘 있기 수 없었기 때문에, 나는 저 경고를 내가 할 수 있는 최대의 노력으로 다시 말한것을 해볼 것이다. 불가리아 또는 주변 지역안에 어딘가에 숨기는 어두운 마법사 반지 있는 고Viktor은 믿는다. 이 반지가 마지막 전쟁에서 죽음 먹는 사람에 좌측의 변상되는 고 그는 또한 믿는다. 떠난 그들 있은 것을 지금, 우리는 모두 있있다, 그리고 우리가 결코."붙잡지 않은 까 누구를 더군다나 "그러나 왜 지금?" 묻는Kingsley. "왜 기대 20 년이?" "이 어두운 마법사가Hogwarts을 침투한 고Viktor은 또한 믿는다. 나는 그들의 목표가 영국과 전투에 돌아오는 고 믿고기 위하여, 그러나 그들을 위해 싸우기 위하여 차세대를 훈련하기 위하여 왔다." 도끼가 급격하게 말할 때 방안에 침묵은 이었다 단 끊은, "Micah맥밀란." "누구?" 해리는 놀람안에 물었다. 또한 소리가 나는 "수석 학생,"은 응답된Nick, 놀랬다. "그는 우리가 밖으로 전쟁에 죽어 생각한 아이디어의 어떤에 관하여....열성 조금에....," 계속되는Remus보인다. "나는 계속Slytherins의 그의 작은 그룹에 관하여 잠시 동안 관계하는 조금 지금 이다. 그들의 상호 작용은 거읫웅배 같이 있는다. 우려한것을 그러나 그것이 진실하게 무언가 이었다 것 을 나는, 나 결코 생각했다 고죄해야 하지 않는다. 이 새로운 정보를, 그런데 제공해, 나는 생각한다 우리가 그것으로."보면 제일 이다 것 을 그렇다의 "우리가 그것으로!" 봐야 한다 것 을 나락, 나는 생각한다 도끼는, 특색 없 성나던 영탄했다. "저*******나의 자매를 위협하고, 그때 그녀에 그와 결혼한 해봤다!"은 이 폭발은 다른 침묵, 현관의 벨의 둥글게 되기에 의하여 구두점을 찍은 이 시간안에 유래했다. "할 수 있은 까?" 있는 세계안에 누구가 그가 문으로 그의 방법을 만들는 때 해리는 밖으로 큰 소리로 경이했다. 급격한 속삭임은 돌발해, 신비한 방문자를 대화의 이전 화제아울러 토론한. 나가 중요했던 아무것도를 너무."놓치지 않았다 것 을 순간 늦게, 그의 고개를 불신앙으로 흔들어서 돌려보내고 말해서 다른 사람을 인사한, 다른 남자와 함께 해리" 나는 희망한다 방 반응은 즉석 이었다. Ron,Fred, 조지,Ginny, 및 도끼는 시끄럽게 항의하는 그들의 발에 전부 뛰어올랐다. 해리는 신음하는 그의 좌석으로 급락했다. 다른 사람은 혼합물 혼동한의 그리고 괴롭힌 이것을 보였다. "생각해 너는 이던 무엇, 여기에 온?" "나는 그와 동일할 방에 있지 않을 것이다!" "다만 집으로 너의 돈에 가고 떠나십시요 미국을 있는다!" DracoMalfoy은 테이블의 끝에 다만 경미하게 미소해, 공석을,Hailey과Hermione사이에 가지고 간. 양쪽 여자는 오싹해 봤다. "너가 도시,Cullingwood안에 돌아온다 것 을 나는 본다. 나는 일에 기다릴 것이다 너를 내일 아침." 중얼거리는 그녀의 눈, 까만!'`이Hailey에 의하여 굴렀다 그녀의 흡입의 밑에. "Granger의 너는 잃었다 무게를." "나는 있었다 아기가!" Hermione은 영탄했다. 이것은 가장자리에Ron을 보낸것을 보였다. "여기 해 너는 이는 무엇,Malfoy은?" 그는 물었다. 그의 음성을 아래로 지키는것은 그것 그가 괴로웠다 봤다. "나는 그를," 꺼리게 응답된 해리 초대했다. 그의 아내는 그에 불신앙으로 빤히 봤다. "하고자 한 까 왜 오하이오, 너는 한다 저것을, 해리?" "잘, 나는 결코 실제적으로 위로 보이는 예기했다 그를." "다만 초를 지금 기다리십시요. 나는 순서의 일원 너무, "항의된Draco이어, 상황에 경미하게 즐겁게 해 본. "나가 정확하게 되부르면, 아주 꺼리게 이렇게" 조지는 불평하고. "나는 생각해, 조용하게 말하는 제일," 해리 이다 것 을 우리가 회의에 계속하면 그가 순서 반에게서 얻고 있던 폭동 보기를 묵살한. 모두는 아래로 경미하게 진정시켰다. "이 상황을 감시하기 위하여 우리가 팀으로 쪼개야 한다 것 을 나는 생각한다. 나는thisI'll이 약간 사람을 실제적으로Durmstrang에 가고, 너가 이 반지에 다른것높은 쪽으로 팔 수 있으면 보는 필요로 할것을 보기 위하여Hogwarts에 일하는 누군가를 원한다. Kingsley, 너는 일떨어져 생각한다 너를과Ron을 며칠동안 얻을 수 있는다?" "아니다 문제," 그는 회답했다. "?" 너는 어때가,Hermione "우리는 다음 2 주를 위해 계획되는 어떤 케이스가 있지 않는다. 우리는 아이를 그러나 보는 필요로 할 것이다 누구를." "우리는 그들을,Hermione," 즉시 말한Ginny가지고 갈 것이다. 해리는 끄덕여, 꺼리게 탄식한. "Draco?"은 "무엇!" Ron은 시끄럽게 영탄했다. "방법! 왜[I]him[/I은]?" "그는 개인으로ViktorKrum을 있있는 사람, 너를 얼간이," 회답하는Draco찾고 있다. "나는 일떨어져 명확하게 얻고." 그가 더 변론하고는 싶었는 처럼Ron은 보, 그러나 메모에의해 주단해 방안에 모든aurors앞에서 희박한 공기에서 터진. 1개의 동의안에, 그들은 전부 열려있고은, 읽고 그들이라고 빠르게, 창백해진 주를 튀겼다. "가Mungo에 공격," 불신앙으로 말하는 해리 있는다. "회의 연기했다."은 ************ [I]It은 어두웠다. 하늘의 가까운 칠흑 어둠과 진한 안개사이에, 그녀는 그녀앞에서 2개 이상 발을 볼 수 없었다. 그런데, 그녀의 어떤 부분은 필요물 그녀가 가지고 간것을 이던 단계를 있어있었다, 왜냐하면 그녀는 넘어지지 않으나 비플거리지 않았다. 그녀는, 느리게, 신중하게 전진해, 왼쪽이나 오른쪽에 보지 않는. 그리고 그것은 차다. 그녀가로 천dementors즉시 걷고 있었는 처럼 느꼈다 고 공기안에 오한은 이렇게 모든 소모하고 있었다. 숲 자체가 공포안에 떨리고 있었다 처럼, 공기 자체는 쑤시고 있었다. , 그녀가 모른 것을의 공포, 그러나 그녀의 분별있는 부분은 그녀를 위해 후에 돌고 고함치고 있었다. 그것은 비가 온것을 시작했다. 비는 공기 차다. 그녀의 안쪽으로 비가 오고 있었다 처럼 그것은, 다만 느꼈다 그녀의 주위에. 비는 그녀의 자신의 눈물 이었다 처럼 그것은, 그녀는 있어있었다 것 을 그녀가 지금 알고있은 눈물 느꼈다. 그녀는 투명한 백계무책의 이 감각을 이해하지 않았다, 그러나 그녀를 압도하고 있었다. 누구가 스위치를 튀겼었다 처럼 빛은 급격하게 숲을 범람했다. 빛에 괴로워하고, 괴로운 비명은 왔다. 그것이 그녀에게서 오고 있었다 것 을 그녀는 막연하게 실현했다. 아직도 암흑 이었다 것 을 그녀는 바랬다. 죽는. 모두. 지인, 친구, 잎 지상을 흩뜨려 격원한 가족 구성원, 넓은 빤히 보는 눈. 혈액에 섞는 비. 그녀의 가장 나쁜 악몽은 진실한 온다. 공포안에 떨n 처럼 어떤은 단단한 공안에 컬했다. 반 앉는 위치, 그녀에게 밖으로 도달하는 그들의 손안에 어떤 아직도. 그녀가 절망하는 비명 이음 에 있있던 것을안에 그들의 입에 어떤은 아직도 열n다. 고소하는, 열려있는 투명한, 그들의 눈에 모두 빤히 본. 그녀가 이해하지 않은 약간 힘은 그녀를 위에 몰, 그녀는 걷는 계속했다. 섬뜩하게 그녀앞서서 가볍게 빛을내기로 걷. 그녀가 죽음의 이 경로의 아래 계속하는 때, 사람 안대기 느리게 더 친밀하게, 그녀에게 더 귀중했던 되었다. 그녀는 그녀가 끝에 발견할텐데 것을 경이한것을 시작했다. 그녀가 해봤다 만큼 열심히, 그녀는 그들의 눈에서 그녀의 시선을 멀리 찢는것을 보일 수 없었다. 마지막으로 끝을 도달해서, 그녀는 서는 긴 까만 외투안에 주름잡아 드리운 곳에 4개의 몸이 두었었던 올린 플래트홈에 혼자 숫자에 왔다. Ernie과Hannah맥밀란은 그의 좌측에 그의 오른쪽, 무지증 구석 및 아서Weasley에게 속이고 있었다. "나는 너를," 말하는 숫자의 음성 마지막으로 우리들을 결합할것을 본다. 그것은white-hot칼 그녀를 극복하고, 그녀는 그녀의 심혼의 괴로운 짜내기 느꼈다. 그녀가 그녀의 부모 및 가장 친한 친구앞에서 그녀의 무릎에 떨어지는 때 흐느낌은 그녀의 인후를 찢었다. 아니오, 그들은, 아니다 그들 너무... 죽을 너무 수 없었다 "너는 너를 위해 즐겼다 빵부스러기의 가신을i좌로?" 그녀는 그녀의 히스테리 흐느낌에 아무거나를 말하게 단단했던 발견했다. 단 1개의 낱말은 꺼리기 위하여 오고, 저것은 그녀가 중대한 곤란에 밖으로 질식시킨 낱말 이었다. "왜?" "왜?" 음성은 조롱 웃음에 말했다. "왜? 너는 왜 알아야 한다. 이것은 모든 너의 결함 이다, 너는 있있다." "아니오," 그녀는 속삭였다. "..." "그렇다. 우리가 말했다것과 같이 너는 하지 않았다. 이렇게 우리는 너가 귀중한."kacikoiss는 모두를 나른 "아니오," 그녀는 가엾은 것안에 반복해, 음성을 변론한. "그들은 결코 너를 용서하지 않을 것이다, 너는 있있다. 너는 그들이 죽는 이유 이다. 그리고 그들은 결코 용서하지 않을 것이다 너를." "아니오!" 그들을, "계속되는 음성 찾아오는 있어," 방법 그녀를 비명 묵살한. "너가 우리들을 결합하면, 우리는 그들을 모두 찾아올 수 있는다." "나는 믿지 않는다 너를!" 그녀가 느꼈다 더 용감했던 그녀는, 말했다. "아무도는 사자를 찾아올 수 있는다." "할 수 있지 않는다 우리는?" 다만 그녀의 부정을 시험하기 위하여, 그가 급격하게 중대했던 것 준 아서 몸에 그의 지팡이를 물결쳤다 처럼, 헐떡거림을 떨n. 그녀의 자신의 발,Celia에 눈물 그리고 넘어지기에 누멀게 한 반은 그녀의 친구 측에게 떨어지는 플래트홈으로 달렸다. , 그녀의 겉옷의 소매를 광란적으로 강포한, 눈은 속삭이는 아서 움켜잡아서, "그것을, 결합하지 않는다 그들을 하지 않는다. 그는 죽일 것이다 우리들을 모두 어쨌든, 하지 않는다 그것을." "그는, 당연히," 우뚝 솟음 의 상기에서 회답하는 외투를 입은 숫자 그들 속인다. "너가 우리들을 결합하면, 나는 찾아올 것이다 그들을 모두." "그를 믿지 말라! , 그를 믿지 말라! ... " "우리들을 결합하십시요! 우리들을 결합하거든, 너는 결코 느끼지 않을 것이다 죽음의 고통을 다시!" "아니오!"은 그녀는 고함쳤다. "나가 결코 너를!" 결합하지 않을 것이기 때문에, 나를, 정당한 죽인다 나를 죽이십시요 "아니오, 나는 차 웃음에 너를," 그 회답했다 죽이지 않을 것이다. "너를 죽임것은 자비로울 것이." 그는 아서로 그의 지팡이를 돌았다. "AvadaKedavra!" Celia은 식은 땀안에 일어나고, 흠뻑적시고 그녀의 자신은 찢고, 밖으로 심혼 비틀는 비명을 시켰다. Voldemort그 자신을 거기서 서기 위하여 예기했다 처럼 아서와 무지증은 방으로 단 약간 초 후, 지팡이를 밖으로 그리고 본 파열해. 그가 그녀의 옆에 앉는 때 1개의 그녀의 얼굴에 보아서, 아서 지팡이는 그 측에 맥빠지게 떨어졌다. 무지증은a에 방의 구석안에 무언가에gobsmacked표정을 빤히 보고 있었다. Celia은 곳에 그녀가 그에게 달라붙은 아서 팔으로 발사하기의 앞에 조용한 냄새 맡음을 줘, 그가 생명줄 이었다 처럼 히스테리 흐느낌으로 녹인. 참담하게 혼동하는 보는 "그가 뒤에 그녀를 가볍게 쳤다 대로 세계안에...?" 그가 시작한 무엇을Celia의. "아서..."은 무지증은 조용하게 말했다. "너는 살아 있는다, 너 양쪽 살아 있는다..." "당연히 우리가?" 이지 않을텐데 까 왜, 우리는 살아 있는다 "아서!" 무지증은, 지속적으로 말했다. 위에의 "걸림새," 그는Celia에 회답해, "그것 정당했다 악몽,에 관하여 고민한것을 아무것..." 계속한 "아서!"은 무지증 반은 질호했다. "무엇이?" 그는 물어, 격노케 한 표정에 그녀를 직면하기 위하여 돌n. 그녀는 방의 상대방에 거울에 조준했다. "그녀는 받는다 1개을 너무." 그녀가 그녀의 얼굴을 아서 어깨안에 흥미롭게 매장해 달라고 한 곳에에서Celia은 위로 봤다. , 그녀의 거울에 쓴 혈액 거동수상하게 본 것을안에 낱말. 메시지의 의미는 명백해다. Watch은 너의 뒤, 친애하는 자매, 또는 너의 악몽 진실한 다만 올지도 모른다. 이것은 눈물의 신선한 파로 그녀를 보냈다. 시끄럽고, 날카로운 경보는 침묵을 아니다 순간 늦게 관통하고, 무지증은 격파안에 신음했다. "무엇이 지금?" "침입자,"은 말하는 아서, 치명적 가는 얼굴 창백해진다 매혹한다. "여기, 얻으십시요 나뒤에." 누구를 층계높은 쪽으로 달리는 듣는 때 준비되어 있,Celia으로, 그를 변론하게 본 무지증을 밀쳐서, 양쪽 여아앞에서 족답하고 그의 지팡이에서 붙들었다. "누구가 있는 거기서?" 그는demandingly, 그의 음성에서 경미한 동요를 지키게 물었다. "확인하십시요!" "그녀가 실내복을 착용하고는 및 특색 없 난잡하게 해 보는 방으로 돌진했다 대로Annie," 회답하는 사람 이다. 일어나고 있던 창조안에 것이 아서가 물을 수 있을 전에,Annie은 침대의 위에 허물없게 그녀의 손안에 그녀의 머리에 떨어뜨리고는, 그리고 신음한Celia's거울에 1개의 보았다. "오하이오Merlin, 나는..." 우리들을 전부 죽여 얻기 위하여 가고 있다 "너는 가지고 있는다 1개을 너무?" 아서는, 놀래, 아직도 문에 조준된 지팡이 물었다. Annie은 그에 그녀의 손가락을 통해서 엿보아, "그렇다 속삭인. 너는 양쪽 1개이."있는다 것 을 나에게 말하지 말라 아서는 끄덕였다, 탄식하, 변덕스럽게 2명의 여아의 중간의 아래 풍덩 떨어진. 너의 할말을?"한 무엇이 그가 물었다시피Celia은 즉시 그에게 달라붙기의 그녀의 이전 행위를," 다시 시작했다 "`Last기회. 우리들을 결합하나, 겪으십시요 결과를.' 너?" "`Keep장소에서 너의 코 그것은'속하지 않는다," 그는 응답했다. "너가 온 까 왜 고 있는다? 우리들을 경고한 위하여?" "그렇다," 그녀는 고시Celia's괴롭힌 국가에 회답해, 처음으로 보인. "이다 그녀는 승인한다?" "아니오," 그는 회답했다. "이것이 아주 강력한boggart매력의 일." 이었다 것 을 나는 의심하고 있다 "아서,"은 무지증 느리게 말했다. "누구가 여기 있으면, 경보는 그들을 위해 가지 않을텐데 떨어져 너무?" "그들은 여기 없었다," 그는 응답했다. "나의 메시지가 나타날 때 나는 깨어있었다. 그것은 다만... 나타났다. 있었다 아무도 여기." 이 계산서다음 침묵은 긴장에 두꺼웠다. "곳에 이는 너의 부모가 어쨌든?" "순서 회의. 그들은 재편성하고 있다." "이는 도끼는 이고Marissa은," 조용하게 추가되는Annie이다. "나는... 나는 혼자서 이고 싶지 않았다." 얼빠지게Celia's머리를 치고 있지 않은 손이 아서에 의하여 밖으로 도달하고 그녀의 어깨를 짜냈다. "그것은 그렇을 것이다, 나는 약속한다." 눈물으로 파열, 그때, 그의 완전하고 완전한 충격에,AnnabelleMalfoy의 결코 않않은 여아. 그녀의 얼굴을 아서 비어 있는 어깨안에 매장해서, 이 활동은 급수 시설의 신선한 파로Celia을 보낸것을 보이고, 그가 지구에 마지막 사람 이었다 처럼 그는 빨리 2이, 그에게 달라붙어 히스테리 여아 흐느낀 있었다. 울 금방 결합하는 그녀를 예기해서, 그가 어떤 곤란에 그의 지팡이를 위해 도달했다 처럼 무섭게 무지증을 봄것은 그의 어머니에게, 빠르게 그의 은빛, 작고, 충실한patronus을 보내고. 그는 증강을 필요로 했다. 그리고 가능하게 약간 강한 잔 가뭄. "아서..."은 무지증은 꺼리게 시작되었다. "무엇이 일어나고 있는?" "나는 절대로 아이디어가 있지 않는다,apparation의`대중 음악이'Hermione의 반환을 신호하는 때" 그는 조용하게 응답했다. 그는 그의 어머니가 객실으로 강포하게 파열하는 전속도에 층계높은 쪽으로 달릴것을 들었다. 그가 아주 장시간안에 그녀이라고 봐 하고자 하고, 아서는 그의patronus이 그녀의 걱정을 일으키는 원인이 되는 유일한 것이 아니어 감각이 있었다 더 창백했다 그녀는. "무엇이 일어난?" 그녀는 즉시 물었다. "Annie은 왜 여기 있는가? 그리고who, 너에게 전송기patronus을 가르치는 젊은이는?" 아서는Celia's거울에wordlessly조준했다. "Annie에는과I에는 양쪽 1개이 너무 있는다. 나는 또한Celia's을 아주 강한boggart매력의 밑에 둬 의심한다. 해리는 그리고 삼촌." "," 막연하게 중얼거리는Hermione은 계산했음 에 틀림없어, 거울을 시험한. 아서는 여아를 아래로 언뜻 보았다. Annie은 조금 회복하고, 지금 아주 당황하게 해 보고 있었다. Celia은, 그런데, 조금 그를 위협한것을 시작하고 있었다. 그녀는 아직도 창백하, 지금 떨어진 완전하게 침묵하는 있었다. 그는 결코 그녀의 이 전복이라고 전에 봐 하고자 하지 않았다. 아무것이 일어나지 않을 때Hermione은 눈살을 찌푸리는 거울에 그녀의 지팡이를 물결쳤다. "경보는 가지 않았다 떨어져?" 그녀는 그녀의 아들에게 물었다. "Annie까지 아니오는, 아니다 여기 얻었다. 또 다른 사람은 지상안에 있었다." "이상한," 그녀는 그녀 자신에게, 거의 회답했다. "나는 쉬울 것이 거울을, 저것 이해할 수 있는다. 그러나boggart매력은 나를 바싹 자르는 것이 이다. 그들이 실제적으로 여기 있음없이."그것을 이렇게 강하게 생성할 수 있은 까 라고 나는 보지 않는다 "그것을 둘 수 있었다 그들은 학교의 앞에 타이머에 시켰다 밖으로?" 아서는 물었다. "아니오, 불안정한 매력 너무,"은Hermione중얼거려, 거울의 그녀의 검사를 포기하고 그들앞에서 서기 위하여 온. "나는Celia에게 잠 마약을 주기 위하여 가고 있다. 아서, 나는 너를Annie가정을 가지고 가는 원한다. Marissa은 거기서 있는 일 것인다, 그러나 도끼는... "동안 이 "미라, 했다 무언가를 일어난다?"은 그는 거동수상하게 물었다. 그녀는 탄식해, 손을 무작정으로 그녀의 머리를 통해서 달린. "있었다 성자Mungo에 공격." 약간 아주 경상, 그러나 정당하다... 그것 이었다... "다만, 그녀의 아들 얼굴에서 배수 색깔을 주의해서, 그녀는 빠르게," 심각했던 아무것 진짜로 덧붙였다 아서는 그녀를 위해 끝낸것을 필요로 하지 않았다. It은war.[/I의 말부터 첫번째 공격 이었다] "aurors모두 수사하라고 안으로,"은 그녀 계속했다 불렀다. "도끼까지 그들에 체재는 도착한다. 그리고 너가 도공을 들르고 너의 아줌마 확인함것은 가정에 확실히 얻으면 그때 나는 진짜로 평가할텐데. 명령안에 해리 제 3 의, 그는 이을 것이다 철야." "너는Emma과Jane가정을 가져오는 원한다 나를?" 그는 물어, 위와 제안Annie에 손 선. Hermione은 그의 좌석을 가지고 가고,Celia's손으로 지금 찌는 받침 달린 컵을 강제하고 있었다. 그녀는 그것을 공순하게, 처진것을 즉시 시작되는 그녀의 눈 마셨다. "그렇다, 저것은 좋은 아이디어같이 보인다 이다. 나는 모두를 좋아할텐데 함께... "그녀가 회답한. 그녀가 위에 시키고 있었다, 그러나 저것이 다른 시간을 위해 이었다보다는 그녀가 이 사건에의해 좀더 동요되었다 고에 그에게 보였다. 그가Celia속삭임을 들을 때 그는 문으로 돌, 그러나 멈췄다 즉시, "떠나지 않는다..." 그가 거의 그녀를 듣지 않았다 고, 이 탄원은 이렇게 조용하게, 이렇게 미약하게 말해 이고 그러나 그가 한 그녀 것 을 듣는다. 단순한 매력에의해 그런 동요한 국가에 감소한 그의 친구 활발했던 누구를 봄것은 그의 마음을 아프게XX다. 이 광증은 멈춰야 했다. 그는 그녀의 옆등을맞댄 회답했다, 그녀의 전투를 그녀의 눈꺼풀에 지는 전투 활보하, 조용한 속삭임안에 본, "Celia, 나는 가고 있지 않다 어느 곳에서든지." 그녀가 행복하게 잠으로 떨어져 편류할 전에, 그녀의 몸 전체는 이완하고, 그녀는 조차 미소의 가장 경미했던 것 처리했다. ********** Micah은 짖는 바람향하여 더 가까웠던 그의 외투의 두건을 당기는 높이 솟는 영지의 문에 성급하게 두드렸다. 그는 강하게 북동 유럽을 좋아하지 않았다, 그러나 절망하는 시간이 절망하는 측정을 위해 불렀다 것 을 그는 계산했다. 맥밀란 고대와 소문자 집 꼬마요정은 명백한 기쁨안에 밖으로 울는 문을, "미스터 열었다! 있는다 숙녀를 보는 너는 여기?" "그렇다,Gappy, 그녀는 나를 기다렸음 에." "오하이오, 그녀는, 그를 현관 홀으로 안내하고 소량 곤란에 문을 닫아 각하, 당연히," 회답하는Gappy이다. "그녀는 학문안에 이다. 너는 너에게 방법을 보일것을 좋아한다 나가...?"하고자 했다 "이미 옆 복도의 아래 그의 방법을 만들어 너를, 나는 확실히 가능하다," 그는 응답했다, 감사하십시요. 좌측에 마지막 문을 도달해서, 그는 고요함을 듣기의 앞에 두드렸다 3 번을, "들어와." "나의 숙녀," 그는 말해, 책상뒤에 앉는 숫자로 머리를 숙인. 그녀는 관심사에 그녀의 책에서 위로 봤다. "그것은 한다?" "그렇다." "다만 대로 나가 교시했다?" "단 약간 경상 및 약간 재산 피해. 충족될 만큼 그들에 그것을 실현한 매우 더 나쁠 수 있었다." "우수한. 그리고 경고는 보냈다?" "그렇다." "아주 잘. 나는 말해야 한다, 너 했다 우수한 일을." "감사하십시요 너를 의 나의 숙녀." "오고십시요, 음료를 위해 나를 결합하십시요. 나가."계획하고 있는 것을의 나는 너에게 어떤을 말할 것이다 [I]Mypleasure, 그는 생각해, 그녀를 다음 방으로 따른. A/N: 잘, 거기서 그것은 이다. 그것이 엄정하게 중대하지 않고, 그러나 나에게 너무 비열하지 않다 것 을 나는 있있다. 나는 진짜로 해봤다. 그리고Mira과Nick은 다음 지부동안에 그것으로 얻을 것이다, 나는 약속한다.






















April Fools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You guys asked for it...:lol::evil:

Hi guys....

I don't know if any of you are still around, and if you are, you're probably very angry with me, and I don't honestly know if I have an explaination for leaving without a word. However, I will try to explain it all to you in detail and very soon.

I have done some soul searching, dug Always and Mild out of my recycle bin, and am currently in the process of rereading them. After much consideration, I've decided to finish this. And I promise that this time, I will.

A full explaination for my absence, as well as a new chapter, should hopefully be up this weekend.

I still love you guys. :)

-Becky

Okay, first chapter in a year and a half… not too long, right? :whistle:

First off, an explanation. I won’t pretend this is an excuse, because it’s not, just a reason. If you don’t really care why I stopped and just want to read the next post, just skip this next paragraph:

I had been slowing down quite a bit when I was writing these last few chapters, and I’m sure you all noticed. Instead of a post every week, I’d be lucky to turn one out every month. I was extremely busy, with school, too many extracurriculars, and a part-time job, and I seemed to get busier by the moment. Added to that was the fact that I seemed to hate every single thing I wrote (in retrospect, I realize these were some of my better chapters, but I really, REALLY hated them at the time). After the seventh book came out (I will admit, I was upset/sad/disappointed by how it all ended), it just got harder and harder. That girl stealing my story was the last straw. I was much more upset than the situation warranted, and it was at that point that I realized that this story was my life, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I needed to step back for awhile, reassess everything, and finally get to a place where I could write and enjoy it for what it is; a relaxing hobby.

I’m at that point now. And I plan on enjoying every moment of this story.


Alright, here’s the next chapter! (Finally.) Mira does have a bit of a tantrum (which was terribly fun to write), as well as a bit of a potty mouth, but can you really blame her? I thought she handled it quite well, being Mira and all. And of course, all the potty mouth-ness is censored, lol. She definitely has the Black temper. And Draco may seem a little.. un-Draco in some places, but he’s a Draco-In-Progress. And yes, I know that probably didn’t make much sense. Oh, and if anyone’s confused about Shacklebolt and/or Krum family history, feel free to ask.

In review: Mira has just found out that she ‘killed’ her own mother, and that Nick has kept this information from her. Micah and crew have ‘attacked’ St. Mungo’s and left threatening messages for Arthur, Annie, and Celia. The Order has regrouped, and Kingsley, Draco, Hermione, and Ron have been sent on a mission to Durmstrang.


Chapter 22: At The Beginning

We were strangers,
Starting out on a journey.
Never dreaming,
What we'd have to go through.
Now here we are,
And I'm suddenly standing,
At the beginning with you.

No one told me,
I was going to find you.
Unexpected,
What you did to my heart.
When I lost hope,
You were there to remind me,
This is the start.

-Richard Marx and Donna Lewis (Anastasia)



It was the morning the Hogwarts students were due back at school, and Arthur Weasley found himself, once again, doing the unexpected. Celia and Amelia had both left to spend time with their families the night before, although Celia only agreed to go home after being assured several times that Micah had not visited nor written to her parents all break. So, on this particular morning, Arthur was seeking out another girl’s company.

Annie had let slip to him that she’d never made the journey to King’s Cross in anything other than a muggle taxi, and was fully intending to do it again. Ax and Marissa had both protested a bit, but she was insistent. Arthur, however, was more insistent, so she’d eventually agreed to let him apparate her to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

She still didn’t know that he didn’t exactly have apparating in mind.

That’s how he found himself knocking on the door to the Malfoy’s apartment at 9:30 in the morning, wearing a plain blue T-shirt and jeans, a denim jacket draped across his arm. Marissa answered the door, holding a plate of sauerkraut and eggs. His stomach automatically turned.

"Oh, hi Arthur, you’re early," she said cheerfully, gesturing for him to come in. "Annie, your transportation’s here!"

Annie herself came dashing out of the guest bedroom a moment later, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes. Arthur rolled his eyes. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

"Arthur! What are you doing here so early?" she demanded, glancing at the clock. "It won’t take us an hour and a half to apparate."

He sighed theatrically. "You really shouldn’t assume things, you know. I never said we were apparating."

"But then, how are we getting there?"

"Well, I figured since your education in the muggle world is severely lacking, we’d take a little walk," he answered.

"No bad neighborhoods," Marissa said, overhearing. "Muggles may not have wands, but guns aren’t exactly fun either."

He laughed, nodding in agreement. "Now, where’s your trunk?"

"In the hallway. Where’s yours?" she asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"In my pocket,” he answered, moving toward the previously mentioned hallway with a grin. “Muggles like to stare.”

“You really don’t need to go to all this trouble,” she protested feebly, watching him shrink her trunk to the size of a thimble and slipping it into his pocket along with his own. “It’s really no problem for me to take a taxi.”

“Annie, it’s a beautiful day, and we’re only a few blocks away from the station. I know you like taxis about as much as you like the Knight Bus, and I happen to like spending time with you. It’s about time you realize that you don’t have to be alone anymore,” he replied, his expression softening.

If she was honest with herself, she had been very happy when he’d offered to accompany her to King’s Cross. The very thought of her usual lonely ride had been a constant source of dread all break. After all Ax and Marissa had done for her, she refused to inconvenience them any further, and she thought she’d done a halfway decent job in convincing them that she didn’t mind going alone. Arthur’s suggestion had been a nice solution to both problems. These were the types of things friends did for each other, after all.

They were friends; she couldn’t even deny this to herself anymore. After all he’d done for her over break, and the way he’d treated her at his own family’s Easter party, she couldn’t convince herself he was just being nice because he felt sorry for her. And if she was honest with herself about that, she’d have to admit that the idea of Arthur truly being her friend warmed her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.

“Very well then, if you insist,” she answered, heading towards the door. Arthur gently grabbed the back of her robes to stop her, thrusting a bundle of clothing into her arms. “What’s this?”

“Muggle clothes. I figured you wouldn’t have many.” Noting her confused expression, he elaborated. “As lovely as you look in your Hogwarts robes, they’re not really attire suited for blending in, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I can see your point,” she replied, smirking. “I’ll just go change, then.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he responded, thinking of nothing but how cute she looked when she smirked. He caught a whiff of her perfume as she turned, and was again forced to curse that stupid potion. Ever since he’d smelled Annie’s perfume in the Amortentia, his thoughts of her had become increasingly non-friendly. And although he’d told himself repeatedly that a potion-induced crush was extremely stupid and not at all good for his health, the thoughts just wouldn’t stop. After all, Annie was a very pretty girl. It stood to reason that when a teenaged boy befriended a very pretty girl, his thoughts would turn from friendly to just a tad too friendly at some point.

He ignored the voice in his head that reminded him he’d been friends with two pretty girls for seven years, and he’d never thought about either of them this way.

They were like his sisters, after all. Annie was… not like his sister, that was for sure.

While Arthur was busy cursing his masculine nature, Annie was staring at her reflection in the mirror, contemplating her friend’s clothing choice. She was dressed in a simple red T-shirt made of soft cotton and jeans, artfully faded and ripped in all the right places. Both garments fit her perfectly, a fact she was quite curious about.

The denim jacket was obviously Arthur’s. It was too long on her, despite the fact that she was rather tall for a girl, and she had to roll the sleeves three times to regain the use of her hands. It was well-worn, paint-splattered, and extremely comfortable. Most telling of all, it smelled like him.

Most boys her age marinated in cologne. Arthur, however, always smelled clean and fresh. If she had to give it a name, she would say he smelled like the wind. It was a nice scent. Not that she would be saying that out loud anytime soon. Malfoys might be friends with Weasleys now, but they most certainly did not go around telling them they smelled nice.

After pulling on the only muggle shoes she had to match her new outfit, the red heels she’d worn to the Weasley Easter Party, she opened the door to see Arthur leaning against the wall opposite her bedroom. He smiled at the fact that she was swimming in his jacket. “Took you long enough.”

She rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her smile, “I’m a girl, Weasley. We’re like that.”

“Oh, back to Weasley now, eh? I’m wounded, Malfoy, I’m wounded.”

“Very funny,” she said with an eye roll. “We should probably be going.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” he agreed, throwing a casual arm around her shoulders. “Although if you hadn’t taken so long changing, we could have verbally berated each other much longer.”

“Pity, that,” she said with a laugh as they reached the front room. “We’re leaving, Marissa.”

“Finally,” Arthur interjected.

“Tell Ax I said good-bye,” Annie continued, ignoring him.

“Are you sure you have everything?” her sister-in-law asked. After Annie nodded, Marissa surprised the younger girl by giving her a brief hug. “Alright then, we’ll be there to pick you up at the end of the year. You take care of yourself.”

“I always do,” she replied with a smile. “Take care of my niece or nephew .”

“I always do,” Marissa echoed. “Bye, Arthur. You two have a good rest of term.”

“Bye,” they said in unison, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind them.

“Um, Arthur?” Annie said a moment later. “Do we really have to take that muggle lift thing?”

He laughed out loud. “Annie, you’re something else, you know that?” She scowled, making him laugh harder. He pressed a finger to his lips, taking her hand in his own. “Shh. Don’t tell anyone I’m going to do this.” With that, he apparated them into a shadowy corner of the lobby.

“Why, Weasley, I do believe you just broke the law.”

“Don’t tell my mother,” he chuckled, leading them outside and ignoring the muggle behind the front desk who was giving them a strange look. Annie noticed that instead of releasing her hand, he just laced his fingers with hers. It was a nice feeling, walking down the sidewalk holding hands, with the sun shining for once. It was almost easy to pretend she was a simple, normal girl, with a simple, normal life.

“I’m quite curious about these clothes. They fit perfectly,” she said as they both got a coffee at a quaint little shop.

“I borrowed them from Celia. She’s about your size, just a little shorter, so I only had to lengthen them.”

“Don’t you think she’ll mind?” she asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“I asked her permission first, Annie,” he replied with a smile. “Celia doesn’t mind you, she’s just too stubborn to admit it.”

“How is she? I mean, after the whole Boggart thing?”

“She’s determined not to think about it. I wouldn’t say she’s okay, but she doesn’t want to let it get to her. She refused to talk about it, and when Celia sets her mind to something, she sticks with it.”

“I can understand that,” she said quietly.

“Me too,” he agreed.

Deciding this conversation was getting a bit too serious, she asked another question. “How did you know my favorite color was red?”

It was now Arthur’s turn to look uncomfortable. “Lucky guess, I suppose. You were wearing a lot of red at the Easter party.” In all honestly, he hadn’t known it was her favorite color. He’d just liked how she looked in it.

“I know it’s not very Slytherin of me, but it’s a good color, you know? Passionate…” He made a noncommittal grunting sound. “What’s your favorite?”

“Red,” he blurted without thinking. Odd, his favorite color had always been blue…

She smiled. “Just another thing we have in common.”

They had a very nice time window shopping, and they were nearing King’s Cross when Arthur stopped to look at some flowers being sold by an elderly Irish man. Annie noticed the fellow’s eyes on her, and gave a very hesitant smile.

He gave her a wide, toothless grin in return. “My, my, if you two aren’t a handsome couple!”

“Oh, we’re not…” Arthur began automatically.

“Aye, but ye will be. Trust me, when ye get to be my age, these things are obvious.” His eyes were long in the past. “You must excuse me for staring, Miss. It’s just, ye remind me of my dear wife. She was a pretty, delicate thing like you, but she had hair as red as your boy’s there. Ah, she was beautiful, she was, my Maggie. I lost her thirteen years ago, but I still see her every day, be it in a person on the street, or the face of a flower, or even in the wind. She’s still with me, waiting until the time I can join her on the other side.”

Annie was speechless. That kind of undying love this old muggle man had for his wife was something she couldn’t even begin to contemplate, let alone understand.

Arthur just smiled. “I’ll take a dozen of your best roses,” he said to the man, glancing at Annie. “Red.”

************

Rob wasn’t just nervous. He was scared.

Ever since Mira’s initial crying fit the night they’d found the book, she hadn’t spoken to her brother, spoken about her brother, or spoken much at all. As far as he knew, she hadn’t told anyone about what they’d discovered, but everyone could see that something was very wrong.

Nick had tried to talk to her, but she’d locked herself in her room and feigned sleep every time he visited his aunt and uncle’s home. She’d been eerily calm about the matter whenever Rob had brought it up, swiftly changing the subject, but not getting angry like he had expected. Even when they had returned to school, a place where she couldn’t avoid her brother, she hadn’t mentioned it.

This being the first day of classes, Mira had two options.

She could pretend that everything was fine and dandy. Not likely.

Option two was that she had a plan. A plan no one at Hogwarts was soon to forget.

Rob was hoping for an option three.

Breakfast was almost over when he heard the collective gasp that dashed his hopes. He’d foolishly thought that Mira might have just decided to skip classes altogether today, but no such luck. A sea of whispering, as well as a few wolf-whistles, had broken out before Rob found the courage to look up from his porridge.

Mira had forsaken her school uniform for a black mini-skirt he didn’t even know she had and a Hobgoblins T-shirt that looked like it had been in a fight with a lawn mower. She seemed to have given up on shoes all together, walking barefoot across the stone floor. A girl who rarely wore makeup now looked something like a racoon.

Worst of all, she’d cut off most of her hair. The black curls that had hung almost to her waist earlier that morning now barely reached her jaw.

Rob almost cried.

Fortunately, Professors Black, Lupin, and Hagrid were the only ones left at the staff table. She wouldn’t be expelled just yet.

She wasn’t finished with just her appearance either. On the short walk to the Gryffindor table, she stunned an owl, kicked a first year, and pelted many unsuspecting Ravenclaws with pieces of toast. When she finally reached Rob, who was debating whether or not to throw her over his shoulder and drag her out of the Great Hall, she sat on the table in front of him.

"Good morning, Robert. Cold in here, isn’t it?"

"Mira..." he choked out. "What are you wearing?"

"What, this old thing?" she asked nonchalantly. "I felt a need to show my appreciation for classic rock."

He chanced a glance at the staff table, where Nick and Remus, both very red in the face, were whispering urgently, and Hagrid looked slightly flabbergasting. "Look, I know you’re angry with your brother, but getting expelled isn’t going to help anything."

She looked at him seriously for a moment, and he saw the pain in her eyes. "It’ll make me feel better." In the next instant, she was standing on the table, shouting for the whole hall to hear, "Well, we’d better get going, guys! We don’t want to be late for ******* Transfiguration, the best ******* class in the whole ******* WORLD!"

She then summoned her broom and, laughing manically and singing a rather rude song, flew off to her brother’s class.

The students of Hogwarts had never been more surprised.

"What in the world is going on?" Nicole asked as she, Jon, and Celeste followed Rob out of the hall as he rushed after Mira.

"Mira’s a bit angry with her brother," he said shortly.

"A bit angry!?"

"Remind me not to get on her bad side," Jon muttered.

By the time they reached Nick’s classroom, Mira had her broom whizzing around on its own, and was sitting at her brother’s desk, drawing pictures on the ceiling with her wand. The other three fifth years hung back, but Rob decided to give reason one more chance.

"Mira," he said gently, kneeling down beside her. "Please, think about this."

“There’s nothing to think about, Rob,” she replied quietly, not meeting his eyes. “I know it’s stupid and immature, and I know it’s not going to solve anything, but I just don’t care anymore.”

“Look, I know you’re upset that Nick didn’t tell you about your mother…” She looked ready to interrupt, but he plowed on. “But honestly, I don’t blame him! He was just trying to protect you. You should have seen the look on your face when you read that line. I’m not even sure I would have told you if you hadn’t have walked in when you did.”

She looked angry, but he could also see that her eyes had filled with tears. “But what about honestly? Don’t you think I had a right to know? Don’t you think I deserved to know how much of a monster I truly am?”

“Mira! You are not a monster, you’re…”

“Just leave me alone, Rob,” she said in a broken whisper, turning her head so she didn’t have to look at him any longer. At that moment, Nick burst through the door of his classroom, Remus right on his heels. Ignoring the rest of the class, both men marched to the front of the classroom, stopping in front of the desk.

“Just what do you think you’re doing, young lady?” Nick asked in a whisper, his voice a deadly calm.

“Just living up to my fate, Nick. I’ve been trouble for you since the moment I was born, haven’t I?” Both men looked confused.

“Mira, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but…”

“Tell me Nick, how does it feel to be the one left in the dark for once?”

“Why don’t we all go to my office and discuss this,” Remus interjected.

“No, Uncle Remus, I think the time for discussion has passed. I’m an action kind of girl. After all, I’ve been acting since birth. Pretending to be someone I’m not, pretending to be a human being when I’m really just a monster.”

It hit Nick like a ton of bricks. She knew.

“Mira, I can explain…”

“The time for explanations has passed too, Nick,” she replied. “Bet you wish I’d died with Mom now, huh?”

With that, she walked out, the windows shattering on her way. Although this time, it wasn’t intentional.


*************

"Bloody Slytherins."

This heartfelt exclamation, uttered by one Ron Weasley, was just the most recent of a string of declarations made on the journey to Durmstrang. It was cold, it was raining, and he was not in the mood for Draco Malfoy.

"Your extensive vocabulary never ceases to amaze me, Weasley," the ‘bloody Slytherin’ himself replied. "You always knew how to pick ‘em, Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes, muttering something about being married for twenty years before decided to ignore the comment altogether. "Kingsley, how much farther?"

"We’re just reaching the outskirts of the grounds now," the auror answered in his deep, calming voice. "It’s about five miles to the castle."

"Five miles!" Ron squeaked. "Why can’t we just apparate in?"

"Because Durmstrang has more protective spells on it than Hogwarts, Gringotts, and the Ministry put together, you dolt!" Draco answered condescendingly. "They’ll let anyone on these missions these days."

"Yes, including former Death Eaters, apparently!"

"Ron, just ignore him," Hermione interjected, shooting Draco a glare. "He’s not worth bothering with."

Ron swallowed back the comment he was itching to make, and with what looked like a Herculean effort, turned to Kingsley. "Now, how did you come to know the Krums, anyway?"

"I grew up with Viktor’s brother, actually. Yakov’s quite a bit older than his other siblings, only a year younger than me."

"You’re pureblood?" Draco interrupted, sounding surprised.

"What’s that have to do with anything?" Ron asked angrily.

"It’s okay, Ron. I think Draco was just referring to the fact that the elder Krums wouldn’t have allowed anyone who wasn’t pure of blood to be around their children." Draco gave Ron a mocking look. "And yes, I am. Shacklebolt wasn’t my father’s original name, if that’s what you’re wondering. My parents were both from Egyptian wizarding families, ones that happened to have been feuding for hundreds of years. Needless to say, their families didn’t take well to the fact that they were in love. They left for England shortly after marrying, changing their name as soon as possible. They kept in contact with their childhood friends, however, and the Krums in particular were able to overlook the fact that they were technically blood traitors. Despite being halfway across the continent, I became fairly good friends with Yakov, and later Viktor and their sisters."

"Have you... spoken to Yakov recently?" Draco asked.

"No, I’m afraid not. Yakov doesn’t share his brother’s more modern views of the Wizarding world." he answered uncomfortably.

"You married a muggle, didn’t you?" Draco persisted.

Hermione rolled her eyes, being familiar enough with Kingsley’s story to know that he wouldn’t want to discuss it with Draco Malfoy of all people. "He obviously doesn’t want to talk about it, Draco."

"It’s alright, Hermione," he said calmly, turning back to Draco. "Yes, Christine was a muggle. I met her during the war when I pulled her out of the rubble that was left of her apartment building. It was love at first sight."

"I may vomit," Draco muttered to himself.

Kingsley chose to ignore this. "Anyway, Yakov seemed to think I’d taken a step down or something of the sort. He never spoke to me again, even after Christine’s death. Viktor kept in contact though. He still sends Megan gifts on her birthday."

"Yakov Krum is a spineless, good-for-nothing dunderhead. You’re better off," Draco said ardently.

"You two must get along quite well, then," Ron replied.

"Do you have something you’d like to say, Weasley?"

"Oh, I have quite a few things I’d like to say, as a matter of fact!"

"Well, why don’t you say them? Wouldn’t want you to explode, after all."

"Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull with the whole Order business, but I was there when your son showed up on Harry’s doorstep. We all were. We saw what you did to him, and we’re only just starting to see what you did to your daughter."

"I never touched my daughter..." he growled.

"That’s not what my son said."

"You keep your son away from my daughter," he hissed, taking a step towards Ron.

"My son is the best thing that’s ever happened to your daughter," Ron retorted. "If he hadn’t stepped in, she’d probably have turned out just like you!"

“Watch yourself, Weasley! If your son so much as lays a finger on Annabelle…”

“Better my son than one of the Death Eater idolizers we’re supposed to be fighting against right now,” Ron snarled.

Draco chose not to respond to this statement. Because, honestly, there was too much truth in it to argue.

*************

Mira had locked herself in her dormitory immediately after the Transfiguration fiasco, ignoring the disgruntled protests of her dorm mates. They would live for one day, and she sincerely doubted any of them would want to witness her latest breakdown.

She realized that her entire demonstration was rather overdramatic, but she just didn’t care what people thought anymore. They couldn’t be thinking anything worse about her than she already thought about herself.

Her brother, her uncle, every member of the Weasley family still at Hogwarts, Nicole, Celeste, Rob, and even Jon had taken a turn pounding on her door, but none of them had gained entrance. Some of them had been there more than once, and she was under the impression that Rob and Nick had taken up camp in the hallway. Mira knew she should at least let them know that she was alive and in one piece, but she just couldn’t bear to see the people she loved right now.

In all honestly, her anger at her brother had passed the moment she saw his face after she’d made her last comment in his classroom. She knew it was below the belt, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t true. How could he not resent her? She was the reason he grew up without a mother.

“Mira…” She heard Rob’s voice, as quiet as a whisper, on the other side of her door, and she had to stifle another sob. “Mira, you’re brother just left. Could you please let me in?”

Silence.

“******, Mira, I just want to know if you’re okay! I know you’re upset, but the thought of you in there all alone is killing me! Please, please, just promise me you won’t do anything to hurt yourself. Please…”

He’d sounded so frightened that she got up, fully intending to tell him she was alright and lock the door immediately afterward, when he spoke again. “Mira, I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but you’re not a monster. You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever known. You’re beautiful, inside and out. Your brother doesn’t hate you. He didn’t tell you because he loves you, and he didn’t want you to see you hurt. I love you, and I don’t want to see you hurt either. Please, Mira. I just want to see you smile again.”

She opened the door a crack, to see that he was just on the other side. “I’m okay, Rob,” she said quietly, reaching a shaking hand to run her fingers down his cheek. “I’ll come see you later, I promise. I just need to get myself together.”

He covered her hand with his own, closing his eyes. “Please, just let me help you.”

“You already have,” she whispered. “Later. I promise.” With one last glance, she shut the door, not wanting him to see her cry. Throwing herself onto her bed, she cried herself out of tears she didn’t know she had left, then drifted off into a very restless sleep.

She was awoken what seemed like minutes later by a person shaking her arm. Groaning and glancing at the clock, she discovered it had actually been three hours since Rob left. Unfortunately, she didn’t feel rested at all.

“Squirt, wake up!”

“Sirius?” she asked blearily. “What in the name of Merlin’s great uncle are you doing here?”

“Your brother retrieved me. He’s a right wreck, you know that? You really did a number on him. But anyway, I’m here to cheer you up.”

“You’re not doing a very good job,” she muttered under her breath. “There was really no need to come all the way out here. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. No offense, Mira, but you look like Merlin’s great uncle’s backside.”

“Thank you,” she replied testily.

“You’re welcome,” he said, then sighed. “Seriously, though, what’s going on?”

“Oh, just the usual Black family drama. Mira the freak causing trouble for everyone,” she answered, sitting up.

He sighed again. “Mira, you know we all love you, right?”

Her sigh echoed his. “You know, don’t you?”

With a third sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes, I know. I knew before you even knew you were an Auctoritus. I’m sorry.”

“Who else?”

“Hmm?”

“Who else knows?”

“Liz, Mum, Dad, I’m assuming Hailey, Ginny, probably Harry…” he listed quietly, growing more sheepish with each name.

“And no one told me?!” she exclaimed in disbelief.

“Squirt, it wasn’t really our place! Please don’t be mad, we were just trying to look out for you. That’s why your brother never told you. He never wanted you to find out. He knew how much it would hurt you. And honestly, Mira, what good has the information done you? Now you’re not only angry at Nick, you’re locked in your dormitory and calling yourself a monster every chance you get. Can you really blame us for not telling you?”

“Well, I guess when you put it like that…” she admitted reluctantly. “I’m really not angry, not anymore. I’m just so disgusted with myself.”

“Mira…”

“No, it’s just… What I am…” she struggled to explain. “I always knew that being what I am isn’t a good thing. But killing my own mother? That takes it to a whole other level. What kind of a person commits murder before she draws her first breath? I don’t even know how my brother can stand to look at me. I’m the reason he grew up without a mother. And what about Uncle Remus? I’m the reason his sister is dead. And my father! I hadn’t even thought about him. Did he spend the rest of his life resenting me? I’ll never know! And…”

“MIRA!” He was surprised when she actually stopped. “Why is this any different from when you thought your mother died in childbirth?”

“It just… it just is, Sirius. It can’t be blamed on a medical accident, or a pre-existing condition, or even bad luck. It was me.”

“You can’t blame yourself for being born, sweetie,” he said gently.

“I guess I just don’t understand why my mother had to be one of the ones that died.”

“What are you talking about? When a woman gives birth to an…”

“Emma’s an Auctoritus too, Sirius. Hermione didn’t die.”

Sirius sputtered for a moment. “Maybe you’re just a more powerful witch.”

“Or a more evil one,” she contradicted quietly. She wasn’t going to make this easy on him…

He decided to try a new tactic. "Remember when you first came here? You were a freaky little thing with no friends."

"Are you sure they sent you to cheer me up?" she asked, affronted.

“Well, it’s true,” he replied defensively. ”You were awkward, and insecure, and you had quite a short fuse… still do as a matter of fact…”

“Is there a point to this?” Judging by the look on her face, her short fuse was about to make an appearance.

“Yes. The point is, we all loved you anyway. We all saw what a wonderful person you were underneath the mask. In the past three years, we watched that mask fall away. We’ve watched that awkward, insecure twelve year old evolve into a confident, kind-hearted, beautiful young woman. We love her more than ever, and we wish she would see herself the way we do. Mira, you have a brother who would do anything for you. You have a cousin who would do the same, as a matter of fact. You’re one of the most popular people at Hogwarts, you fit in seamlessly with the family, and you’ve got a great group of friends. You’ve even got a best friend who’s head over heels in love with you.” Mira blushed, and Sirius chuckled. “You are many things, Squirt, but evil is not one of them. I don’t know why you are what you are, but I do know that it is not a bad thing. And most importantly, it is not your fault. Do you understand me?” She nodded. “Good. Now, no more hiding in your dormitory. You’re not the type of girl who hides from the world.”

“You’re right. About the hiding part at least,” she admitted, feeling ashamed for her actions earlier that day. “Sirius, I really am sorry for what I did today…”

“Hush. We’re all entitled to a stupid moment or two. Just know that your brother was only thinking of you.”

“I know that now. I’ll apologize to him in the morning.”

“Good. And you might want to let young Mr. Creevey know you’re okay. I had to practically force him to go back to his own common room.”

“He was still out there?” she asked in surprise. She thought he’d left hours ago.

“Yes. Never seen someone staring so intently at a door in my life,” he said with a laugh. “He really does love you.”

Mira just nodded. She’d be finding out for herself very soon. About as soon as Sirius left.

“Sirius? Thank you. For everything.”

He grinned, kissing the top of her head and ruffling her hair. “No problem, Squirt. That’s what family is for.”




Well, there it is. I know it probably isn’t necessarily worth the wait, but I hope you at least enjoyed it. And if you didn’t, could you lie and pretend you did, just this once? (Lol, I’m kidding… I think…)

More Rob/Mira cuteness, conversations with Krums, and general craziness to come!

Feedback?

And the next installment of this action-packed story has arrived! Check your local listings! Haha, this chapter is kind of a catch-all chapter, before things get really messy. All the drama with Micah and the Mortality Munchers (that sounds like it could be a band) will be coming to a head very soon, so prepare yourselves. It’s gonna be crazy!


Chapter 23: These Times In Which We Live

In these most uncertain hours,
Where the balance of power,
Is a fight that is fought every day.
And freedom is a word,
Some cry out and some whisper,
And some are just too quick to give away.
Blessed be the one who stands by the one,
On the battle line,
For these times in which we live.

~Martina McBride



Robert Creevey was not a happy camper.

While staring at the top of his four poster, the fifth year Gryffindor reflected on what had been an extremely long day. After waking up that morning with a worry induced ulcer about whether or not his best friend would have a breakdown in front of the entire school, he then witnessed his best friend (who he happened to be crazy in love with) have an epic breakdown in front of the entire school. He then spent the rest of the day having a staring contest with her dormitory door, with only her distraught brother for company.

Making matters even worse, he then proceeded to confess his love to her previously mentioned door. After seeing Mira for all of two seconds, he listened to her cry herself to sleep, and was then forced back to his own common room by her cousin.

He just hoped Sirius had managed to calm her down.

It was now one o’clock in the morning, and poor Robert Creevey had resigned himself to the fact that he was not getting any sleep tonight.

Aside from the obvious, one of the things keeping him awake was his own unsolicited confession. He’d imagined sharing his feelings with Mira many times, but yelling them at a slab of mahogany had never been part of his plan.

Maybe Mira would take ‘I love you’ to mean ‘I really value your friendship’ and not ask questions.

Or maybe not.

He barely noticed when the door to his dormitory opened, assuming it was just one of the other guys returning from a late night. He didn’t pay attention up until when the footsteps stopped right beside his bed. Someone cast a very quiet silencing charm on his curtains.

He really hoped he wasn’t about to be kidnapped. Or killed. That would be a really crappy ending to an all-around craptastic day.

To his surprise, it was Mira who finally parted his curtains. That was definitely an improvement over the murderer he was expecting.

Furthering his shock, she just smiled softly at him for a moment, before crawling into his bed and wrapping her arms tightly around him.

While Rob was struggling for words, she gave a contented sigh, snuggling even closer. He didn’t think he’d ever been this close to her. If he had been, he definitely would have remembered it.

As she lifted her head slightly to look at him, her lips brushed his neck, sending a shiver right through him. That was probably an accident…

“Rob?” she said quietly as he struggled with his last remaining bit of composure. “Have I told you lately that you are the absolute best person I’ve ever met?”

“I can always hear it again,” he joked nervously. She laughed quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to his jaw. That was no accident…

“Mira…” he warned, as her lips trailed from his jaw to his ear. “Let’s… discuss this for a moment…”

She sighed, propping herself up with an elbow and looking at him seriously. “The way I see it, there’s not much to discuss. You’re my best friend, and I happen to have some very strong, more than friendly feelings for you. Judging by what you were shouting at my door earlier, you have some more than friendly feelings for me too. So, as a friend, I’m asking you for a few favors.” She brushed his fringe out of his eyes, running her index finger down his cheek.

“And what would these favors be, exactly?” He never could deny her anything…

She smiled his favorite smile. “First off, I want you to hold me. All of my problems go away when you hold me.” She kissed his cheek. “Then, I want you to look at me with those lovely eyes of yours and tell me you love me.” Her lips moved to the corner of his mouth. “After that, I would like you to kiss me. I want you to kiss me until I forget about everything but you. I want you to kiss me until I forget my own name.” She brushed his lips gently with her own. “Then, I want to fall asleep in your arms.”

His last remaining bit if self-control snapped. He knew there were probably a hundred reasons why this was a bad idea, but he just couldn’t think straight when she was looking at him like that.

Taking her face gently in his hands, he whispered, “Mira, I love you. You have no idea what you do to me. I…”

She smiled, pressing a finger to his lips while her other hand tangled in his hair. “Rob,” she whispered back, “stop talking.” With that, she brought her lips to his in the sweetest kiss he’d ever known.

They both forgot their names. They both forgot everything but each other. They both fell into the soundest sleep of their lives.

Until they were awoken three hours later by a disgruntled yell.

“For Godric’s sake, guys, couldn’t you have done this a month ago?! Now I owe Nikki twenty galleons!”

***********

A very tired Mira Black knocked on her brother’s door at six-thirty the next morning. He would probably still be in bed, but she wanted to make sure she had enough time to talk to him before classes started.

To her shock, Nick answered the door only seconds after she knocked, fully dressed, with dark circles under his eyes. He took one look at her, let out a relieved sigh, and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Oh thank Merlin!”

“Nick…” she started, her voice muffled by his robes.

“I was so worried about you, Mira, you have no idea…”

“Nick…” she began again.

“You never do anything like that again, you hear?!”

“Nick…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I was just trying to do what’s best for you. You understand that, right? We always do what’s best for each other. Isn’t that what we promised after Dad died, that we’d always do what’s best for each other? That’s all I was trying to do, I swear…”

“Nick!” He stopped. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled back to look at her seriously for a moment. “Me too.”

They both nodded at each other, reaching an understanding. That was all it took for the two siblings to forgive each other.

“Come on in and say ‘hi’ to everyone,” Nick said, pulling her into his sitting room.

“Everyone?” she asked. Explanation was unnecessary, however, because Nick’s sitting room contained what seemed like half Mira’s family. Hailey was pouring tea for her aunt and uncle, while Liz and Sirius sat with Phil in chairs near the fire. Harry and Ginny were even there.

“Been talking about me, have you?” Mira joked in disbelief.

“We were planning an intervention,” Phil replied, ignoring the ‘shut up!’ looks he was getting from the other occupants of the room. “You know, in case your thick head got in the way of your senses for much longer.”

Mira maintained a straight face for all of two seconds before she burst out laughing. Everyone else looked relieved. “Seriously, guys, I’m not a hand grenade. You can relax.”

“Mira, dear, do you really understand why we didn’t tell you?” Remus asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Uncle Remus, I understand. I don’t necessarily agree with it. But I understand.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for my outburst yesterday. And I’m sorry for worrying you all. I just… I…”

“Have a flair for the dramatic?” Phil suggested.

She gave him a look, but couldn’t quite bring herself to contradict him.

“Mira, there is something else we wanted to tell you,” Nick began.

“Oh no…” she said immediately, sitting in the nearest chair.

“No, it’s nothing bad,” he assured. “It was supposed to be a surprise, for when you came of age, but due to certain recent developments…”

“Certain Slytherins,” Sirius elaborated.

“We thought it best to tell you now,” Nick concluded.

Mira was very confused.

Nick sighed. “We’re rich, Mira.”

“What, like, rich in love? Friends? Because I know we never exactly went hungry, but we weren’t exactly rich either.”

“No, we’re rich. As in, money rich. We’re rolling in it.”

Mira’s head was starting to hurt. “I think you’re going to have to explain this one a little better.”

“Well, when our uncle, Sirius Black that is, died, his estate should have gone to the next Black relative. But since our father was “dead”, it went to Harry here instead.”

“Yes, I know that, but…” It dawned on her. She turned to Harry in disbelief. “You didn’t!”

“It’s your money, Mira. And besides, it’s not like I’m destitute. The Potter estate is quite substantial as well.”

Mira opened her mouth to argue further, but Nick stopped her. “Don’t bother, sis. I’ve already talked myself blue in the face, he’s not budging on this one. Here’s your key to your own personal Gringotts vault. Congratulations. You never have to work a day in your life if you’re so inclined.”

Mira took the key, more out of shock than anything. “What does all this have to do with the Slytherins?”

“They seem to know things,” Sirius answered. “We don’t know how, but they have informants everywhere. They might already know about your wealth. And they probably need money to finance their… projects.”

“So, in other words, I might find myself experiencing a sudden spike in popularity with my housemates?”

“Precisely,” Liz nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be on the lookout. I promise.” She bit her lip. “And guys? Thank you.”

They all hugged her before they left, whispering words of encouragement or comfort. She was reminded once again of how much she loved her family.

Finally, she was left with just Nick and Hailey. Hailey, recognizing that the siblings needed a moment, hugged Mira and kissed her husband. “I’m off to work. I’ll see you both later tonight. Mira, why don’t you join us for dinner?”

“Sure,” she agreed with a smile.

“Have a good day, babe,” Nick said as she stepped into the fire to floo to the Ministry.

“You too, sweetheart.”

After she disappeared into the green flames, Mira turned to her brother. “Nick, I really am so sorry. I overreacted.”

“It’s okay, Mira. I’m not angry, I never was. I was just concerned.” He hesitated. “Mira, you know you’re not a monster, right?”

“Yes, I know. Sometimes I forget, but deep down, I know.” She hugged him again. “I love you, big brother.”

“I love you too, little sis.”

She smirked a bit, trying to hold back a laugh. “I figure this might be a good time to ask you for a favor.”

He laughed, “What is this favor, exactly?”

“Well, you see, I’m sort of dating Rob. I would like for you not to kill him.”

Nick turned a nice shade of puce.

***********

“Velcome, friends!” Viktor Krum said cheerfully, shaking all the men’s hands and kissing Hermione on the cheek. “Please, sit, I vill ring for refreshments.”

Viktor’s private sitting room at Durmstrang was a handsome room. Decorated in dark reds and blacks, with a warm fire burning in the marble fireplace, it not only fit its owner, but the school itself. Five chairs of soft red leather had been placed in a semi-circle by the fire. The visitors took four of these chairs while Viktor called for a house-elf.

They were shortly joined by Anya Krum, Viktor’s wife. She was wraithlike in appearance; tall, willowy, pale with dark hair and eyes. She greeted her husband’s guests quietly, kissing both Draco and Kingsley on the cheek, and shaking Ron and Hermione’s hands.

“It is nice to finally meet you,” she said to the Weasley couple. They were both surprised by her lack of an accent. “Viktor has told me much about his Hogwarts friends, but Draco and Kingsley are the only ones I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I do hope you will enjoy your stay here.”

“You have a lovely home… school…” Hermione corrected herself.

Anya laughed, “We’ve lived here for a very long time. Our children were raised here. We consider the school our home.”

“Speaking of the children, they may come and visit later if they wish. I’m sure they’re eager to see Draco and Kingsley again, and I’d like for them to meet Ron and Hermione. Would you like to stay for our discussion, my dear? I can conjour another chair…” Viktor said uncertainly.

“No, that’s alright, sweetheart. I have some papers to grade that I’ve been avoiding. I’ll send the children up later.” He kissed her hand, and she smiled at all of them once more. “It was nice to see you all.”

“You too,” they all chorused.

“I vill go fetch our food and drink. The kitchen staff should have something prepared by now. Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Viktor said, exiting the room behind his wife. Hermione smiled at the fact that he’d called the house elves ‘staff’ and gone to retrieve their refreshments himself.

“Does Anya always look like…” Ron struggled for words.

“Like a good breeze could blow her over?” Kingsley suggested. Ron nodded. “Yes, she does. Don’t let that fool you though. Anya Krum is one of the strongest women I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”

“Does she teach here as well?” Hermione asked, remembering her comment about grading papers.

“Yes.” It was Draco who answered this time. “Anya is an extremely gifted Potion’s Mistress. The students of Durmstrang are lucky to have her.”

“Is she… native to this area?” Hermione asked delicately.

Kingsley laughed. “No, Anya went to Hogwarts. I’m surprised you don’t remember her.”

“She was a Slytherin, they wouldn’t have,” Draco interjected. “She was a few years behind us.”

“Her parents were Russian,” Kingsley elaborated. “They were exiled by the government sometime in the 1980’s. They moved to England and never looked back. Anya grew up not knowing anything about her parent’s past or their homeland. When she graduated from Hogwarts, she decided she wanted to get in touch with her roots. Her parents went to Durmstrang, so it was a natural stop for her. Viktor was already teaching here at the time. He offered to show her around, and the rest is history.”

“That’s terribly romantic,” Hermione said quietly. Kingsley nodded. Draco snorted, and looked about ready to make a comment, when Viktor entered with a large tray.

He set a plate of sandwiches on the coffee table, as well as five goblets filled with a beverage that was not only smoking, but emitting sparks. “Please, enjoy.”

“What is this, exactly?” Hermione asked, eyeing her goblet with trepidation.

“True Bulgarian firevhiskey,” he replied proudly. “None of that vatered down stuff you have in England. Puts hair on chest, so you say.” The men all took a cautious sip. Hermione politely declined.

“We’d best be getting down to business,” Kingsley said by way of changing the subject.

“Yes,” Viktor agreed. “It is unvortunate that your visit comes at such a dark time. Conditions have deteriorated further since I spoke to Minerva earlier this year. The disappearances have increased. One of my teachers went missing last week, an undersecretary to the Bulgarian ministry the week before. I fear no one is safe.”

“Has anyone claimed credit for these disappearances?” Hermione asked.

“They haf a symbol. It’s a bit… so you say… macabre. A hatchet crossed with a wand, both dripping blood. I can show it to you tomorrow, if you’d like. It’s still in my missing teacher’s quarters, where he was taken.”

“Yes,” Kingsley answered. “We’d like to have a look around as well, if you don’t mind. Perhaps you can take us to the Ministry.”

“Of course,” Viktor agreed. “It is late. You must be vary tired. Why don’t we leave the rest of our business for tomorrow?”

“An excellent idea,” Kingsley agreed.

“My sons will show you to your quarters,” he said quietly, then louder. “Pavel, Mikhail, come in. I know you’re out there.”

Two young boys burst into the room immediately, both chattering at their father at once. “One at a time, one at a time!” Viktor cried with a smile.

"‘Rina won’t come out of her room again, Papa," the older of the two boys complained. "We even told her Mr. Malfoy was here, and she adores him." Ron snorted. "As soon as we said there were strangers, she told us to go away!"

“Boys, leave your sister be,” he reprimanded quietly before turning to his guests. “I apologize. My daughter is vary shy.”

“I will go visit Irina later, boys, don’t worry,” Draco told them. “Now who wants to see the gifts I brought?”

“Me first!” Mikhail, the oldest, shouted, tugging on the man’s robes.

“No, me first!” Pavel protested, shoving his brother out of the way. Draco chuckled. Ron looked flabbergasted.

“How about both at the same time?” he asked, pulling out two actual Sneakascopes. “Now you’ll be able to tell when your mother’s lying about too many Chocolate Frogs stunting your growth.”

“Awesome!”

“Thanks, Mr. Malfoy!”

“You’re the best!”

Ron’s mouth was now hanging fully open.

Draco couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. “What, Weasley? So hard to believe some people actually like me?”

***********

Annie quietly took her now customary seat in the back of the potions classroom moments before the bell rang. She would be sitting alone during this class. She sat alone during every class now.

It wasn’t that she regretted her decision to leave the other Slytherins. It was the best course of action; the only course of action, as she saw it. But it did make things rather lonely.

She hadn’t expected the Zabini twins to continue associating with her, nor had she really wanted them to. She had never really enjoyed their company, and honestly, Eleni frightened her more than a little bit. She’d never cared about Matthias Crabbe; he was as dull as a rock.

However, Stella Goyle had sat beside her in every class since their first year. She’d only joined Micah’s group because Annie had suggested it. And Annie had foolishly hoped that when she left the group, Stella would do the same.

But no, Annie realized as she glanced at the other girl, who was sitting beside some nameless Ravenclaw, Stella was changed forever. And it was her fault.

“This seat open?” This question startled Annie out of her musings, and it took a moment for her to realize that the question was directed at her. Looking up, she saw that the voice belonged to a red haired, freckle-faced Gryffindor.

“Yes, go ahead,” she said, trying to keep the foolish excitement out of her voice. The boy was obviously a Weasley, and in her year, so that meant he was… “Jacob, right?”

“Jake,” he said with a grin, shaking her outstretched hand. “Annabelle, isn’t it?”

“Annie,” she corrected with a smile of her own.

She had a feeling Arthur had something to do with this. By all accounts, Jake was a popular kid. She was sure he had someone to sit with. But she couldn’t bring herself to protest.

“Well, Annie, I hear you’re quite good at potions,” he said cheerfully, pulling out his wand and rolling up his sleeves as Professor Guige walked into the room, then proceeded to walk back out again. She must have forgotten something…

“I’m okay,” she said truthfully. It wasn’t her best subject, but she was decent.

“Well, I’m complete rubbish, so if you want to rethink our seating arrangement, now would be the time,” he joked, knowing very well she wasn’t going to send him anywhere.

“Well, in that case…” she said mock-thoughtfully, “I could go sit with those Slytherins glaring daggers at me.” She gestured to the Zabini twins halfway across the room. “They look like a friendly lot.”

Jake laughed, “You’re alright, you know that?”

“I try,” she replied with a laugh of her own.

He was about to make another comment when their professor returned to the classroom, dragging a very large cauldron behind her. A few of the boys in the front row got up to help her lift it on to her desk.

“Do you remember what today’s lesson was supposed to be about?” Jake asked her in an undertone.

“She said it would be a surprise,” she replied curiously.

At that moment, Professor Guige lifted the top off the cauldron, and the classroom was filled with the most wonderful, comforting, breathtaking scent any of the students have ever smelled. They all sighed in unison.

“Amortentia,” she announced proudly, “the most powerful love potion in the world.”

They all sighed again. It really was heavenly.

“It doesn’t create true love, of course. Only strong infatuation. Don’t be fooled by its lovely scent and pretty appearance. This is one of the most dangerous potions ever created by wizardkind.” She realized most of the class wasn’t listening. “Okay, I see I’m fighting a losing battle here. We’ll have the lecture portion of this lesson next class, after you’ve completed your assignment.” She waved her wand, and the scent of the potion immediately dissipated. Most of the class complained loudly. “Don’t worry, I’ll put it back in a second. I’m going to be sending a sample of the potion with all of you tonight.” At this, the class looked alarmed, and she laughed. “I’ll have a tracking spell on the potion, so don’t think it’ll end up in anyone’s pumpkin juice. I want you to analyze its properties, as well as its effect on yourself and the people around you, and write an essay on what makes this potion so dangerous. Right now, I want you to discuss what you smell with your partner. And remember, the potion may know things about yourself that you do not.”

She waved her wand, and the class was content again.

“So, what do you smell?” Annie asked Jake lazily, taking a deep breath.

“My mum’s pumpkin pie, fresh soil, and some kind of herb, I think,” he said, looking slightly puzzled. “What do you reckon that means?”

“Uh, Professor Longbottom?” she suggested cheekily.

“Haha, very funny,” he responded. “What about you?”

She took a deep breath. She’d been so distracted by the warm, potion-induced feelings filling her that she hadn’t bothered to analyze the individual scents. “Hot chocolate, of the Hogwarts variety, fresh roses, and…” Her eyes snapped open.

Oh good grief…

“And…” Jake insisted.

“The wind,” she said with a sigh.

“The wind?” he said in disbelief, “What in the world does the wind smell like?”

“Fresh, clean, free, gentle, perfect,” she listed, growing more depressed with every word.

“Is something wrong, Annie?” he asked in concern, noticing her despairing expression.

“No, not really,” she replied, forcing a smile. “It’s just, you know when Guige said the potion knew things about us that we might not?” He nodded. “I think she was right.”

***********

Celia Macmillan was having a very bad day.

She’d woken up a half hour late, had to rush to get ready, and entered the Great Hall just as all the breakfast food disappeared. Arthur, good friend as he was, had saved her a cup of coffee, but his stupid owl swooped down and knocked it out of his hand just as she reached out to take it.

Horrid, feathery monstrosity…

She’d been late to every class, had actually blown something up in Potions, missed lunch so she could write the Defense essay she’d forgotten about, and only realized when she got to Defense that she’d written it on the wrong topic. She was now running down the corridor towards the Charms classroom, which was thankfully her last class of the day.

Unfortunately, she was already five minutes late.

Edgecombe was totally going to give her a detention for this.

She rounded a corner, now sprinting full out, and ran smack into another person.

“Oh, gosh, I’m so, so sorry. I know I shouldn’t be running in the corridors, but I’m just really late, and…” she stopped short, seeing exactly who she ran into for the first time.

“Why, hello, sister mine. Sleeping well?” Micah chuckled quietly.

Celia stared at him blankly for a moment. Then she lunged at him.

“YOU *******!” she shouted, beating his chest with her fists and wishing it was inflicting more damage.

He rolled his eyes, pulling out his wand. She was suddenly unable to move her arms or her legs.

“Feisty, feisty, feisty… guess nightmares will do that to you. I guess they make you stupid too.” He laughed again. “That’s the problem with you muggle lovers. You always forget to use your wand.”

She just glared at him. He leered over her, using the tip of his wand to lift her chin. “I bet you wish I’d make the nightmares go away.”

“I’m not going to beg, if that’s what you’re suggesting,” she spat.

“No, not beg. Just do as the dreams tell you. Join me,” he smirked. “Join me, and it’ll all go away. Defy me, and it will only get worse for you.”

“You don’t frighten me, Micah,” she said quietly, wishing it was true.

“Oh, but I should, dear sister. I should.”

“I’d lower that wand if I were you,” a voice behind him whispered in a deadly calm. He felt a different wand pointed at the base of his neck.

“Annie. Nice of you to join us.”

“Put it down,” she repeated. He complied, turning to face her.

“How is my lovely betrothed today?” Celia looked disgusted, shooting her a pitying glance. Annie just rolled her eyes.

“Still hung up on that nonsense, are you?” she asked. “Micah, I’m a blood traitor now. I don’t understand why you’d even want to marry me, let alone how you’ve deluded yourself into believing that I would.”

“Your father would forgive you in a heartbeat. You know that as well as I do. And it’s not you I want as much as your name,” he replied honestly. “That, and your money.”

“Wow, Micah, you really know the way to a girl’s heart,” she snapped, rolling her eyes again. “Why don’t you marry Eleni? She’s just as rich as I am, and I’m sure she’d be only too happy to oblige.”

“True. But the name Zabini doesn’t carry nearly as much weight as Malfoy does. And besides, Eleni isn’t exactly wife material. Not obedient enough.”

Celia looked completely revolted, “Who are you?”

“I’m a man who knows what he wants,” he replied, running a finger down Annie’s cheek. She slapped him.

“You touch me again, and you’ll lose that hand,” she growled. “Maybe you missed the memo. I’m not obedient anymore.”

His eyes flashed. “I may have to rethink touching you after you’ve finished whoring yourself out to every Weasley who crosses your path.”

Annie dove at him with a snarl. He just managed to grab her wrists before her nails made contact with his face, when a sharp electric current made him spring back with a yelp.

“Leave them alone,” Mira Black said calmly, stowing her wand back in her pocket.

“Aww, a third freak to complete the picture,” he laughed, ignoring his stinging hands.

“A freak, and a proud one at that,” Mira replied. “Now why don’t you run along and play with your minions like a good little boy before this freak kicks your ***.”

“I know what you are,” Micah taunted with a smirk.

Mira’s blood ran cold. “Excuse me?”

“I said, I know what you are, Black,” he said again. “I know what you’ve done. I know what you can do.”

“You know, Macmillan, that’s a very bad thing,” she replied. He smirked. “A very bad thing for you.”

His smirk disappeared. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, since you already know what I can do,” she began, lifting a hand and slamming him against the wall, “I’m not going to bother hiding it from you.”

Celia and Annie’s gasps of surprise barely registered. She was seeing red. “Now you listen, and you listen close.” Her hand twitched, and his head jerked as though he’d been slapped. “If you so much as think about touching any of my family, any of my friends, or any other innocent person, I will kill you.” Her hand twitched again, and blood spurted from his nose. “Don’t think I’m kidding. I will kill you, and I will make you suffer first.” Another twitch of the hand, and his head slammed back into the wall. “Understand?”

He just laughed. “Such potential.”

With a disgusted glare, Mira lifted her hand, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the floor with a loud thud. She kicked him in the stomach for good measure, turning to face two very flabbergasted girls. Celia opened her mouth.

“Just do me a favor,” Mira began, wincing. “Don’t say anything.”

Celia smiled slightly, “My lips are sealed.” Annie just nodded. “What do you suggest we do about that?” she asked, pointing to Micah.

“Leave him. He’s not going anywhere for a while,” Mira replied, unconcerned. “We do have to discuss what we’re going to do about him in the future though. He’s not joking around. I have no doubt he’d really like to do us harm.”

“Mira’s right,” Celia said, “We’re all in this together. We need a plan.”

Annie nodded in agreement, “What do you suggest?”

“Well, first off, I don’t think we should be alone, unless it really can’t be helped. Annie, it might be a good idea for you to put protective spells on your curtains at night,” Celia began.

“Oh, I already do, trust me,” Annie snorted.

“I also think we should put the Weasleys on red alert,” Mira added. “Safety in numbers and all that.”

“What about the teachers?” Annie asked.

“My brother and my uncle already have them monitoring things. Students see more though,” Mira sighed. “Last but not least, I say that if Micah and his cronies want to play, we give them the game of their lives.”

“We fight,” Celia said.

“We fight,” Mira confirmed.

“We fight,” Annie echoed.

***********

“How would you say this affects you?”

Well, this night was off to a strange start.

Arthur had been minding his own business at the Hufflepuff table when his cousin rudely shoved a bottle in front of his nose.

Stranger yet, it smelled strongly of Annie’s perfume.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Jake had gotten a hold of Amortentia.

What the…?

“Jake, where in the name of Merlin’s pants did you get Amortentia?”

“Ah, so you recognize it?”

“Of course I recognize it, it smells like…” he stopped short.

“It smells like…?” Jake goaded.

“Nothing. Never mind. Don’t worry about it,” Arthur muttered. “Where did you get that and was it illegal?”

“Guige gave them to us. Research and all that. Which leads me to my previous question. How does this affect you?” He waved the bottle in front of Arthur’s face again.

“Okay, Jake, I know what it smells like!”

“And what would that be? What would you say is the dominating scent?” Arthur determinately ignored him. “C’mon, cuz, it for an assignment! Wouldn’t want me to fail, now would you?”

“Ocean,” he murmured.

“What was that? I’m going deaf in my old age and all that.”

“It smells like the ocean!” he practically shouted, earning a strange look from a group of first years sitting near him.

“The ocean, huh? That’s interesting, that is,” Jake said, taking the seat beside him. “Never figured you for a water type, Art.”

“I’m not,” he admitted quietly.

“You know, I never noticed before. You’re a rather fresh smelling fellow,” Jake continued, deadpan.

“Excuse me!?”

“You smell quite fresh. And clean. A bit like the wind, actually,” he elaborated, trying not to laugh.

“Did I miss something?”

“Oh, Art, you’re missing several things. But that’s a topic for another time.” His grin was threatening to split his face. “So I sat by your friend Annie in potions today. She’s quite a nice girl.”

“That she is,” he replied suspiciously.

“Pretty as a picture too,” he continued.

Arthur grunted.

“So…” Jake persisted, reminding himself to buy his cousin a clue for Christmas. “She have a boyfriend?”

Arthur spat out his pumpkin juice. “No, Jake!”

“Didn’t think so. Think she’d go to Hogsmeade with me?”

“By no, I mean, no, you will not date her. You will not touch her. She’s not one of your date and drop bimbos, she’s… she’s special. And she’s been hurt enough.”

Jake whistled. “Relax, mate, I’m just jerking your chain. She’s too serious for me. She is pretty though.” Arthur just grunted again. “You fancy the pants off her, don’t you?”

“Yes.” He realized what he’d just said. “I mean, no, of course not!” Jake raised an eyebrow, and Arthur sighed. “Okay, maybe I fancy her. Just a bit. And probably nothing will ever come of it. So don’t tell anyone.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied with a grin.

“That was the first time I said it out loud.”

“I’m honored,” Jake laughed.

At that moment, a very unlikely trio of girls entered the Great Hall, making their way toward the two Weasleys.

“That’s interesting,” Jake commented right before Celia, Mira, and Annie sat down across from them.

“I am done, I’m just done!”Annie said in disgust. “After all this drama, that pig still thinks I’m going to marry him! How delusional can one person be?!”

“Apparently very,” Mira interjected. “Did I do the right thing, not killing him? Someone please tell me I did the right thing.”

“You did the right thing, as much as it pains me to admit it,” Celia answered. “Art, can you do all three of us a favor and obliviate us until we have no memory of the creature genetics tells me is my brother?”

“That imbecilic, insufferable boy-man! I have half a mind to take his precious wand and shove it straight up his…” she eyed a first year down the table from them, “…nose.” Prim and proper Annabelle Malfoy then proceeded to mutter a string of curse words that would make a sailor blush. Celia looked rather impressed.

Arthur was beginning to think they were a bad influence on her after all.