Chapter Five: Embers
Time: Late Evening, July 13, 1995
After the meal, Sapphire and Sirius sat alone in the kitchen watching the embers in the hearth burn themselves out. He was nursing the last ounces of a butterbeer, while she absently traced the engraving on her empty wine goblet with a finger tip. Although the others had excused themselves rather subtly, Sapphire thought it was a good sign that Sirius had not risen to go, or suggested that she must be tired and would want to get to bed early. Still, neither of them seemed able to begin a conversation.
She felt her stomach tighten around the remains of Molly's good meal. She stole a look at Sirius' face. The deep shadows of dying firelight etched tales of hardship there -- the years since their last meeting had been unkind. She wondered how much of the cold steel in his eyes, the anger that sometimes set his mouth when he looked at her, was really caused by her unexpected arrival. Maybe, after so long spent wrongfully imprisoned, it was just his habit now to be bitter. Surely this bitterness was only a shell, and the man she remembered as playful, protective and passionate, would be just underneath.
She took a deep breath, like someone about to dive into deep water. "It's such a relief to see you again. I'm sorry I had to surprise you. If I could have told you I was coming I would have. "
"I suppose fugitive murderers are often hard to contact." Sirius said mirthlessly, eyes fixed on his beer.
She smiled weakly and looked at her hands, which were twisting nervously into the blue cotton of her skirt. She shook them free, laid them in her lap and looked up at Sirius.
"You're angry. I wish you weren't, but I can understand." The forced smile returned as she added, "I still would have come even if I had believed you'd be mad enough to turn me into a toad."
"I never learned how to transform muggles into toads. Would you settle for being a coat tree?" he said, not smiling at all, though he did raise one eyebrow as he glanced her way.
Sapphire coughed out one nervous giggle, and protested that she was too short to be good at that. Then the tense silence descended again. The irregular ticking of the kitchen clock seemed to grow louder and the tightness in her stomach was extending it's grip to her chest. She took another deep breath.
"You said you were in prison twelve years for a crime you didn't commit ?" she blurted.
"I'd be there still if I hadn't escaped." he replied.
She saw his fist tighten as he set his mug down firmly on the table. "And in all this time, no evidence that would get you a new trial has surfaced?"
"Trial?" said Sirius with a harsh laugh. "I had no trial!"
"No trial! Do wizards not have courts of law?" Sapphire was incredulous.
"We have them all right," he snarled, "but there was a war. It's very important for the Ministry to display a number of properly punished villains during wars, you see."
She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, nodding her comprehension. "This is the war that separated us in '81?"
"Yes."
"And you say a failed attack on your godson Harry ended it then?" Sirius nodded, his eyes now fixed on some private place beyond the dull flames in the hearth.
"You said that you expect the war to resume?" she asked.
"Any day now." After a pause he added, "You should get out of here before you're caught in the middle of it."
"I was caught in the middle when I gave my heart to a wizard," Sapphire said quietly.
Sirius turned his head; shadowed gray eyes engaged wide brown ones. Time stretched itself thin as spider silk while unspoken questions took shape in the space between them.
Finally, Sirius whispered almost to himself, "Why? After so long, why did you look for me?"
Now Sapphire looked away into the fire and swallowed hard before speaking. "The summer of '82, I stayed at the cabin waiting for you until I'd missed the first two weeks of the term. I would have lost my assistantship if two of my professors hadn't taken pity on me. Everyone could tell I wasn't myself. Most thought I was still grieving for Granny, and I didn't tell them any different. I left a note for you on the door when I finally closed the place up for winter."
"When I came back in the spring and found the note still hanging there, I cried for days. After that, for a while it was pretty bad. I'd come across the sword in my closet," (Sirius shifted and drew breath but remained silent), "or I'd be currying Blackie, and I'd just start feeling sad. Daddy would start singing "Danny Boy", and I'd have to pretend there was something in my eye." Here she smiled wanly and shook her head. "People must have thought me the worst sort of sentimental fool, but I didn't dare tell a soul what was wrong. There were days I truly thought I'd die keeping it all inside."
Here she paused and turned toward Sirius, but he had dropped his gaze to the floor. She shut her eyes hard and turned back toward the fire, swallowing twice before going on. "After a few years, I tried to tell myself that you were gone for good and I would have to get on with my life. I even pretended I wanted to date a bit, but the truth was it just made me think of you. I finally decided since I couldn't lie to myself about my feelings, I'd just have to try and forget - something I don't do well, as you may remember."
Sapphire turned back to Sirius with a tremulous smile. He looked again as though he were about to speak, but she went on quickly. "You understand, I didn't really want to forget, but it was the only thing I could think of to survive. I put all my energy - my feeling -- into my work. I got involved in a project to try and catalogue all the plants in the Appalachians; it seemed the perfect opportunity to be busy infinitely. Finally I almost believed I had succeeded in crowding you out of my head.
Then in July of '93 I woke up at the cabin, and smelled the rose. I was afraid to look at first, in case it was just a dream; but when I came out on the porch, I saw it was full of pink blooms. I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but as I stood there, watching the morning sun slip through the canopy and burn the dew off those roses, I was convinced that you were still alive somewhere and that we still had a connection. I found hope again. Really, I think it never left, I had just drowned it out with business."
"So when the wizards and dementors showed up last year, I knew I had to act, even if I had to break my word not to come after you." She heard herself pleading now. "Sirius, please understand I just couldn't go on not knowing."
Sirius looked at her as though he had just noticed her. "The rose bloomed pink when I escaped Azkaban," he said slowly. Then he inhaled loudly and looked away again. "Well, now you do know. You can see for yourself what I've been reduced to. I don't see how you expect to go back to what we were after all this time, and in the middle of this trouble." He sounded as tired as he looked.
"I don't know what to expect; I'm just asking that you consider all the possibilities," Sapphire said, straining not to sound tearful.
Sirius jerked his head around to look straight at her. "You don't understand the possibilities!" he barked impatiently, bouncing a fist on the chair arm to punctuate his words . "People died in this war before; my best friend and his wife, two of Molly's brothers, my brother, not to mention plenty of random muggles who just got in the way! I wasn't kidding when I told you in '81 it would be dangerous to follow me. It just as true now."
Sapphire spat back, "People die everyday, Sirius; in wars, and in their beds at home! Blackie's dead and it was supposed to be me." She saw Sirius tense at her last remark. Moving her chair to face him more directly, she continued softly. "I don't mean to make light of your troubles, but why just roll over and be defeated by them? We may turn out losers in this war, or at least I might," she said with the grimmest of smiles, "but why give up without trying? Why shouldn't we see if there is something between us that's still worth fighting for?"
Sirius leaned forward in his chair, looked hard into her eyes and asked, "Are you still in love with me?"
She lifted her chin to match his gaze. "I think that is what I am here to find out."
There was silence except for the crackling of the dying fire and the limping clock. When Sirius resumed staring at the hearth and didn't speak again for some minutes, Sapphire, desperate to fan those sparks of feeling that had just erupted from below Sirius' icy facade, felt herself grow reckless with impatience. She blinked and suppressed a small shiver as she heard herself ask, "I suppose it is too much to hope you kept my pendant?"
Sirius sat back with a surprised sounding sniff, knit his brow and asked, "What's that?"
Sapphire was the surprised one now. "The heart shaped sapphire pendant I gave you as token of our engagement. It wasn't worth much money, I'll admit- certainly not compared with your gift to me," she explained, trying to sound more casual than she felt. "But it was a gift to me from daddy, and the best I could think of on short notice. After all, your first quasi proposal was something of a surprise to me,... See Sirius, you aren't the only one in this relationship who's been surprised by the other!"
She felt that she had added this last a little too triumphantly, and dropped her gaze to her lap. When, after a long pause, she looked up again, Sirius was sitting motionless with his mouth open a bit, as though wanting to speak but not able to.
Finally, he said, "I remember the pendant." He continued to squint into space, as though trying to recall some lost information.
"I should hope you would remember it." Sapphire felt slapped, and made her words cold rather than let the hurt show. "The sentiment with which it was given was...., sincere."
Sirius looked at her now, his tone soft but restrained. "It was taken from me when I was put in Azkaban. I don't know what was done with it."
"Oh!" She felt her face heating with embarrassment. "That must have been hard. I mean, to have nothing to remember me by." Her words sounded lame, and she looked away, wishing she had kept quiet.
"I couldn't remember you there." Sirius said.
She looked up at him, trying to understand what he had just said. "You couldn't remember me?"
"I couldn't think of you at all," he said.
Sapphire shook her head slightly. This wasn't making sense.
He leaned forward again, immobilizing her with his gaze. "I couldn't think of you," he repeated slowly, as though explaining something difficult to a child. "I couldn't even try to think of you. For twelve years I couldn't think of anything except the irony of my own situation."
Sapphire stared at him for a long minute, searching his impassive face for clues, then dropped her eyes. She was near tears and almost babbling. "You mean for twelve years you sat there being angry and found no comfort in knowing that I loved you and was waiting for you? Did you not believe me? Is that why you never sent a message to ..."
Sirius interrupted curtly. "You don't understand." Pushing his chair back with an obscenely loud scritch, he stood towering over her. "If you could reclaim all your memories of those dementors, you'd know that you could only think of horrible things while they were near. They get their sustenance from draining people of happy and hopeful feelings. Trying to think of you would have killed me."
He reached down one hand and firmly raised her chin until she looked straight into his eyes again. The gesture was without tenderness. Sapphire, holding her breath, felt her own eyes widen with apprehension; but she neither moved nor looked away.
His next words, Sirius articulated like teeth on a saw blade. "Feelings of love and hope attracted them like Red Caps to blood. If I had dwelt on any happiness we had known, they would have devoured my soul; I would have gone insane. Memory in that place is death."
As fragmented impressions of a darkness that froze the very marrow of her soul reasserted themselves, the first dawning of horrible understanding contorted Sapphire's face, and she squeezed her eyes shut with a shudder. He let go of her chin.
When she could speak, she addressed the floor. "You were forced to have unhappy thoughts for twelve years?"
"It isn't something I like to remember," he growled.
"And yet, here I am reminding you of it," she said softly.
"It wasn't my wish to forget you; but the few times I let myself remember, it almost cost me everything." He drew in his breath, as though surprised at his own words. Sitting again, he fell silent, staring at nothing.
Finally, she asked, "So... , I'm almost a stranger to you now?"
Sirius looked at her a moment before answering. "Not completely. When I saw you wearing that blanket and heard you sing, some memories began to return. I feel like I'm waking from a charmed sleep, sorting out the nightmares from reality."
"Are all the memories nightmares?" she asked, tremulously.
"The memories are of all sorts, but the remembering is painful. Having a single thought for 12 years had distracted me somewhat from the idea that those years are stolen from me and not retrievable." Sirius almost spat those last words.
Sapphire heard herself pleading again. "Maybe we can get back something of the years before those twelve?" She looked up, searching his face. He stared at nothing and didn't answer. A full minute passed.
"Sirius?" she said, sounding tearful again.
"Let's talk about it in the morning, " he said hoarsely. "I'll see you to your room."
_____________
In Arthur and Molly's room, the heatless fire they had set in the hearth was dying. In the big four poster, Molly snuggled against Arthur, glad of his company. During the day, housework pushed sinister thoughts from her mind, but at night, if Arthur was on duty and she lay alone in this unfriendly house, her worst nightmares paraded across the canopy above the bed. This night, however, she had something new to ponder. Thoughts that , blessedly, did not involve the welfare of her own flesh and blood.
"What do you make of our muggle guest?" she asked.
"She's something else, isn't she?" Arthur volunteered with obvious enthusiasm. "Finding Sirius in this house, and after all this time! I've always said muggles sometimes have a sort of magic all their own, and she seems to have it in spades."
"Well, she did have the sword that Sirius enchanted to lead her here," Molly pointed out.
"True, but she also inspired his, shall we say, 'inspired' enchantment. And I don't really think the thing would have worked without her remarkable determination."
"If she's interested in Sirius, she'll need remarkable determination, and a bit more," Molly snorted.
Arthur turned his head to see his wife's face in the last of the firelight. "Dearest, what do you mean?"
"Oh, I suppose after all the years in Azkaban and so forth, he really can't help being a bit, er, erratic. You've got to admit that Sirius can be difficult to live with."
Arthur was slow to answer. "I suppose he might be... sometimes."
"Most times," Molly said flatly.
"He's very generous to let us have this house," Arthur ventured.
"Well, yes, but ..." Molly decided not to pursue this course of conversation. "Do you think they have a chance?"
"A chance at love?" Arthur asked. "Didn't Snape discover they were engaged? That seems more than a chance to me."
"I'm not sure that either of them is positive about that engagement's having survived all these years. When Sapphire looks at Sirius, her brow furrows like she's trying to solve a puzzle, and when he looks at her..., well, he mostly avoids eye contact, but he looks like he feels very uncomfortable with her and not a little angry."
"Oh, I wouldn't put too much weight on a few scowls. After all, 'the course of true love' and all that," Arthur said dismissively and, Molly thought, naively.
"All is not well with those two." Molly persisted.
"When she thought he might be in trouble, she looked for him till she found him, even against all odds, didn't she?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, she did that."
"And Sirius summoned her in, you said."
"Only because Severus was about to cast goodness-knows-what to quiet her."
"Sirius could have quieted her himself, " he pointed out.
"Maybe," she allowed, "although I get the impression that Sirius learned the hard way to think twice before pointing his wand at Sapphire. But, I do know one thing. She wants desperately to show Sirius that she could live among us. I thought she would cry in the kitchen this afternoon when she discovered most of the cooking and cleaning is done with magic."
"Why would that upset her?" Arthur sounded genuinely puzzled; Molly found that truly fetching.
"If she can't do much cooking or cleaning, she probably feels he'll think her less desirable as a potential wife."
"Hmm." Arthur pondered this thought a bit. "I never thought of Sirius as the kind who was much interested in a woman's domestic skills."
"Maybe not up front, but I guarantee it figures in when a man is thinking of a permanent arrangement. 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach', after all." Molly patted Arthur's not too flat mid-section.
Arthur laughed, then captured her hand and, after kissing it warmly, folded it against his heart.
She burrowed her head into the pillow by his shoulder before speaking. "On short acquaintance, I get the impression she's got the spirit to stand up to him. If she stays a while, we'll soon find out whether she has enough nerve to live in a wizard's house. This particular house certainly tests my nerves." Molly felt Arthur squeeze her hand.
"Mollywobbles, I think Sirius has a fine woman there. It's about time something good came his way. I hope they'll be very happy."
@3270 words
Chapter Four: Savory Stew and Pudding
Time: Supper, July 13, 1995
The dank smell of the kitchen was masked by aromas of good food as Molly showed Sapphire an assortment of iron pots. Sapphire was explaining the difference between what Americans call biscuits and what Molly would, and wondering if biscuits made in a dutch oven beside open flames would brown at all, or if a flat griddle would work better, when there was a loud chime from up the stairs, followed by the sound of a woman shrieking as though she were being murdered.
"Molly! What's that?" Sapphire's eyes widened with alarm.
"Nothing really, just Mrs. Black... Sirius' mother, I mean."
Sirius voice was now heard amidst the shrieks, yelling at someone to 'shut up'." Yet another voice, this one female, added itself to the din.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I always forget about the stupid picture..."
"His mother is here?" Sapphire's eyes were darting about the room now like a trapped animal.
"No, of course not! Oh, let Sirius explain." Molly was hastily directing pots back onto hooks.
There was a small crash and the shrieking woman increased in volume, as did Sirius' demands that she be quiet.
"Wait here," Molly called over her shoulder.
In a moment the noises stopped and Molly reappeared in the kitchen leading a young witch with unnaturally bright pink hair. "Nymphadora, this is Miss Sapphire... er... sorry dear, what is the rest of your name?" Molly grimaced apologetically.
"The family name is McNiven, but just call me Sapphire. And your name is Nympha...?"
"Tonks! Call me Tonks, please!" The young witch shot out a hand and caught Sapphire's. The result was that they both yelped and jumped.
"That does it!" Sapphire said, and proceeded to unbuckle the rapier from her waist. "This kitchen is too small to go armed. Now what could possibly happen if I hang this here?" She looped the belt over a peg just inside the door, and turned back to offer a hand to the newcomer with reassurances that there would be no surprises this time.
"Nym..., I mean Tonks is Sirius' cousin." Molly explained.
"'Tonks" is an unusual name. Is it short for something?" asked Sapphire.
"It's her family name." Sirius had just entered the kitchen. "She doesn't like her first name, Nymphad..."
"Oh, stop!" Tonks interrupted Sirius. "We don't even need to bring that name up!"
Sapphire smiled. "Fine, if you'll ignore my first, second and fourth names, I will ignore that one. Deal?"
"You have four names?" Tonks' asked with obvious interest.
"Family name makes five," Sapphire shrugged.
"Like Dumbledore," Sirius added.
"Five names like Dumbledore?" asked two male voices from the stairs.
"Good, you're here in time to give me a hand with dinner," Molly said as she herded identical red haired teen boys into the kitchen. "Fred, George, this is Miss McNiven. She's an old friend of Sirius'"
Sapphire looked from one to the other and back again.
"I'm usually George," said one boy.
"Even mom can't always tell us apart," Fred said as he took Sapphire's hand.
"Hey!" Sirius shouted, causing them all to stare at him. He looked puzzled, then spoke sternly to Sapphire. "You aren't wearing it, are you?"
"It's right there," she said, pointing at the peg. "I can't always be zapping everyone in the house."
"You shouldn't take it off. What if something dangerous pops up."
"I promise I won't take it off if I'm alone, OK?"
"Wow, " said one of the twins, stepping up to the hanging rapier to get a better look. "Ron said you tied up Snape in his own spell with this thing!"
The other twin followed. "May we see how it works?"
"No, you may not," Molly said, firmly steering the boys toward the sideboard, where the plates were stacked. "That sword is not a toy for you to invent mischief with. Now, set the table. And no levitating the dishes!"
Just then there were subdued voices from the upper hall, and the tread of heavy feet on the kitchen stairs. Two men entered the kitchen, and Molly exchanged a kiss with one.
"Arthur, here's the muggle I owled about. Meet Miss McNiven."
"Call me Sapphire, please."
"Miss Sapphire! What an unexpected pleasure." Arthur took her hand so gently he might have been holding a Ming vase, and his face flushed wonderfully.
Molly laughed. "You can see that my husband has a great interest in muggles. When he meets a new one, he's just a kid in a candy store."
Sapphire laughed also. "I don't know that I'm anything special, but it's nice to meet you. Until now, I haven't really met any wizards other then Sirius- not unless you count the ones that tried to obliviate me last summer."
"And I want to hear all about that," said the second new arrival, putting out his hand for a good deal firmer shake than Arthur's.
"Kingsley Shackelbolt is in charge of the search for me," Sirius offered. "He has access to information that should confirm if those wizards were looking for me and who sent them - and the Dementors."
Now it was Sapphire's turn to look fascinated. "You can tell me what happened last July? Maybe if I know the details, the nightmares will let up."
"Nightmares?" Kingsley looked puzzled.
"When she's been obliviated the suppressed memories surface as nightmares," Sirius said. "I wouldn't noise that about. It could be dangerous for her."
"Understood." Kingsley pursed his lips and studied Sapphire until she started to fidget.
"Sapphire, tell him what happened," Sirius prompted.
She briefly related the tale of waking from a bad dream to find wizards talking in the yard and her mule unresponsive.
"I'll be looking at any shared files," Kingsley offered when she finished, "but I probably won't request any from AWIB- that's the American Wizards Investigation Bureau- for risk of calling attention to you. From here forward, I'll be keeping a close eye on any further activity in your area.
"I do recall a Ministry request to AWIB to follow leads that Black had been sighted rafting in the Southern Appalachians, and a complaint from AWIB about some Ministry employed Dementors that made my supervisors pretty upset at about the date you mentioned. At the time, I tried to plant some doubts about the AWIB report that there was no evidence of Sirius there, just to keep them hunting in the wrong place. AWIB was so bothered about the Dementors, though, that they pretty much refused to cooperate on that project any further. Turns out I was more right than I knew." Kingsley looked grave as he added, "I'm glad you weren't hurt. We really had no idea Sirius had an American connection."
Sapphire looked from Kingsley to Sirius and back before responding. "No, you couldn't have known. I'm sure what happened is no fault of yours, and if looking for me kept them away from Sirius, perhaps it was worth it, but I'm still very sad about my mule."
Sirius, his eyes fixed on the floor, added, "when I brought that animal, I thought it might warn of wizards - maybe even keep away some of the superstitious ones with it's thestral-like appearance, or even help you outrun an animal or muggle assailant. I'm sure I never thought of it standing between you and a dementor." With that, he suddenly left the kitchen.
As Sapphire watched him go, Arthur patted her arm and said, "He's not keen on the subject of dementors since he left Azkaban, but he'll be all right. Don't you worry about Sirius."
Sirius didn't return until after Molly had begun serving the stew.
_____________
The rest of supper was a jolly affair, with Sapphire managing seconds of stew even as she was forced to talk almost non-stop about herself. The tales of her grandmother's Cherokee heritage and the herb lore that had been passed down for generations seemed particularly to fascinate her magical audience.
"My great, great grandmother was orphaned during the Cherokee removal and adopted by Presbyterian Missionaries from Scotland. She was only about fourteen then, but her birth family had already passed on to her large amounts of their traditional knowledge. Perhaps they felt some great urgency about preserving their culture. In any case, they say she was a good mid-wife, able to ease labor, stop bleeding and speed recovery using just the plants she could gather herself. That probably saved her later on.
"The story goes that she spent most days wandering the hills to gather plants. When she was about seventeen, it became evident she didn't spend her days all alone. She never would tell the name of the baby's father, and those who tried to follow her afterward were led on long circles. The child was believed to be a full blooded Cherokee, perhaps the daughter of some young warrior who had hidden in the hills rather than be sent west.
"In any event, I suppose she and the girl were pretty much outcasts until someone was sick, or in labor. Then they were as welcome as any 'proper' folks, and worth a fair price for their services. When she was around fourty years old, that daughter -- my great grandmother -- married Angus Buchan, who was well past fifty and had sense enough to know the value of a younger wife who could nurse the sick. Angus had other children already, but granny was their only offspring, and her mother taught her the healing arts too. So it was only natural that when I came along, she wanted me to learn. "
"Wouldn't she have taught her daughter?" Molly asked.
"She married late, and had no daughters. She did teach my father some of the traditional ways, and he learned to love the outdoors and woodcraft from her. Matter of fact," Sapphire made a wry face, "his tendency to love the woods has been a sore point in my parents marriage from the get-go."
"How is that?" Arthur asked as Molly deposited another helping on his plate.
"Well, mom was first attracted to my father, so she says, because of his lovely singing voice. They were both in college at the time..."
"Both your parents attended a college?" Arthur asked.
"Arthur, let her finish this story before you start on another topic." Molly whispered.
"Sorry, dear. Please, do go on."
"Well," Sapphire continued, deferring speculation on why her parents' education would be of any interest to a wizard, "I was just going to say that I think she got the wrong impression of dad. He had a good education, and could act as sophisticated as anyone, but his heart was back on the farm. They married pretty quick after he got back from the war, and he had packed home a tent so as to surprise her with a camping trip for their honeymoon."
Hermione, Ginny and Molly all sucked in their breath with a soft whistle.
Sapphire nodded at them. "Poor Mom is a city girl through and through. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing she enjoyed, and I think from there on it was apparent they weren't the most compatible couple. Still, somehow they stuck it out and produced my brother and me."
"How is your brother?" Sirius asked.
The table fell silent. It was the only thing he'd said other than "please pass the butter" and "thank you" since the meal started.
Sapphire looked thoughtful for a moment. "He's not too bad. He joined a support group and made some friends that seem to help him a lot. He likes his current job. He's held it for well over a year now. Even got a raise last month."
"That's good." Sirius disappeared behind his butterbeer mug.
"Thanks for asking."
After another awkward silence of half a minute, Tonks spoke up. "How did you get so many names?"
Sapphire laughed. "It was my father's attempt to settle a fight between my mother and grandmother- with me as the point of contention!"
"Your mother and grandmother were dueling?" Arthur was leaning forward so much that Molly had to pull his robes away from his plate.
"I don't mean a physical fight, though sometimes I think those two were on the verge. When I was born, granny wanted to name me with Cherokee names. She was staking her claim on me as heir for her knowledge. Mom had other ideas, and was going to name me after herself. She never liked granny, as she probably blamed her for her son's rural tendencies. I think granny must have been miffed at not being invited to the birth. After all, she was descended from a long line of traditional mid-wives.
"So, the day after I was born, she showed up at the hospital and just slipped into the nursery and took me outside to see the sun. It was one of those beautifully clear days that we often have back home in late September. In between the tall hospital buildings, that blue sky was probably about all you could see, so when she showed up in my mother's room, she announced to my mom and dad that I had now seen the sun and should be named for my first sights of the natural world. I'm really not sad that my mom didn't agree to call me "Bright Blue Sky". (A chuckle ran around the table here, and Tonks laughed out loud.)
"Anyway, my dad, in a master stroke of diplomacy suggested that my mom could give me my first two names in the tradition of her family - that is, to name the first girl with the mother's given and family names- and granny could add her names, slightly modified, after that. So, you have Mary Douglas Sapphire Skye McNiven. Mom calls me nothing but Mary Douglas and everyone else calls me Sapphire. "
"And you chose to use your grandmother's name?" Tonks asked.
"I also chose to imitate my grandmother's life." Sapphire answered. "It's made a rift between me and mom, but she had Earl to make in her image, and it's given me unique advantages as an ethnobotanist. Hardly any of my colleagues were raised to practice the old cures as I've been. I'm my own primary source. That's why, even though I only have a Master's degree..."
"That's six years of muggle college, isn't it?" Arthur asked.
"Don't interrupt, dear," said Molly gently.
"That's right," Sapphire continued. "Well, anyway, when they add doctoral students to the program at the University, I won't get to sit on the dissertation committees unless I get a doctorate myself. I haven't ruled it out of course-- who knows, I might acctually like being a student again, once I got used to the idea -- but really I don't see the point. I'm not worried about my job though. I'm sure they'll continue to let me teach all the graduates in my summer classes where we go to my cabin and do hands on for two weeks at a time. There's hardly anyone, no matter how many degrees they have, that can teach them what I know about Appalachian Cherokee ethnobotany."
"Professor McNiven, you sound like a very accomplished woman," said Kingsley.
"Thanks. I guess I have my little talents," Sapphire laughed. "But please, just Sapphire."
"Wouldn't you miss your work if you moved to England?" Hermione asked. Immediately, she flushed and most of the company began to study their plates.
"Oh, well..., I could get a job here I think." Sapphire felt her face warming too. Sirius had gone behind his mug again, even though she knew it was empty. "I think I mentioned that I'm supposed to be presenting my papers on comparisons of Appalachian and Scottish highland flora and ethnobotany over at the college here this summer. They seem to be thinking of making me an offer."
"Pudding anyone?" Molly called from the sideboard.
@2614 words, Written12/06
Chapter Three: A Cup of Chamomile in the Kitchen
Time: Afternoon, July 13, 1995
Molly heard voices in the stairwell and looked up from her chopping.
"May I come in? I brought you some reasonably fresh herbs if you want them. The basil part of the song wasn't entirely fiction."
Sapphire stood in the door of the kitchen holding a small paper sack that smelled of basil and thyme. Her neck stretched forward as though her head wanted to come in, but her feet were reluctant. The odd smile on her face was a complication of fears and hopes. Molly thought of how a stray dog smiles when it begs for kindness but prepares to dodge a kick. Reservations began submerging in a flood of sympathy.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she started toward Sapphire. "You must be hungry! You hardly ate any lunch. Do have a seat and I'll fetch you some tea and a biscuit to hold you till dinner."
"Careful!" Sapphire stepped back a bit as Molly neared, gesturing apologetically to her left side where the sheathed blade was folded among her skirt pleats. "This sword..., Sirius doesn't want me to take it off. He seems to think I could be attacked at any moment by... by... well, I'm not sure what. But he insists."
"Oh!" Molly drew back her hand from taking the sack, feeling just as awkward as Sapphire sounded, and instead gestured toward the table and chairs across the room. "Well, it's a wise precaution. Now, you just sit and I'll make you a cup. There's still a little Earl Grey, or maybe you'd prefer some chamomile? Just put that down over there." Molly thought the poor woman must be on her last nerve.
"Chamomile is nice, " Sapphire's smile relaxed briefly, then disappeared as she watched the tea kettle fill itself at the sink and suspend itself over the fire in the hearth. The wary, hopeful smile reappeared as she approached the counter by the sink with the herbs. "You have quite a pile of vegetables here. Since I'm troubling you to get me tea, can't I at least help clean and chop?"
Before Molly could protest, Sapphire had taken a large carrot in her left hand and laid her right on the paring knife that lay beside it. She screamed and jumped back as the knife lunged at the carrot.
"Finite Incantatem!" Molly yelled. The paring knife's handle quivered slightly as it stood on it's blade, impaling the carrot to the chopping board.
"Oh, dear," said Sapphire as she stared in horror at the knife and clasped her hands to her chest. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
Molly narrowly stopped herself from patting Sapphire's arm. "Don't apologize, dear. It's my fault really. I should always 'finite' those touch activated auto chopping spells if I step away from the counter. It could happen to anyone. No, really. It's all my fault."
Sapphire looked unconvinced, and not a little shaken. Her eyes swept the counter. "Maybe I could help wash them? There must be something I can do for you. Is it OK to turn on the water?" Her voice sounded high and small.
"I haven't put any spells on the sink taps," said Molly with a laugh she hoped didn't sound condescending, "but there's no need for you to do anything. Sit down and keep me company; tell me about yourself. 'Accio biscuit tin; accio cup and saucer. '"
Sapphire flinched as a cup and saucer leapt from the sideboard, then watched warily while a large box bumped open the door of a high cabinet and approached the table. Molly captured them and set each beside her. Sapphire's hand reached toward the box, then suspended about four inches short of her goal.
"It's all right, dear. You can open it!" Poor thing, Molly thought. She's afraid to touch anything in the house now. Then another thought came to her. Perhaps it wasn't hunger that had brought Sapphire to this room. "When you're through with your tea, I'll show you around the kitchen. Most of the things here can be manipulated without magic, if you want to go to the trouble." Molly was pleased to see gratitude and relief on the muggle's face. "Accio cream pitcher."
_______________________
Sapphire could see that Molly had reservations about her presence, but the witch's efforts to help her feel comfortable seemed sincere. That was a good sign. Molly was obviously in charge of the daily routine around here, and might give her a chance to fit into it. Perhaps she could even win her over to her cause -- which at the moment seemed to be not getting booted out of the house or killed by some magical mishap. Whatever her own difficulties, it was becoming clearer by the minute that every soul in this house had worries by the bushel basket.
Sirius, who had barely spoken to her since her arrival, was almost unrecognizable by either his haggard appearance or his twitchy outbursts of anger. He had explained that he was imprisoned soon after they parted and was a hunted man now. Well, she had experience with wounded men. She would not give up hope too easily.
She had not naively assumed she would find Sirius pining for her after all these years, had not expected to be embraced like the long lost love of his life. No, it had seemed just as likely that she would find him married and living comfortably with his family - a lost fiance being at best an uncomfortable intrusion. But in their brief, whispered conversation outside the parlor, she had asked him if he loved another now.
"If you can say truthfully that you've pledged your heart to someone else, I'll not bother you further."
He had responded as though the question were hard to understand, an initial look of bewilderment being followed by a grim smile. No, there had been no one else. Yes, she could stay a while if she liked. The answer seemed sincere, if oddly unemotional. She didn't dare ask him if he still loved her. That was a question they would both answer in time.
She had prepared herself for his anger over her breaking her promise not to follow him, and had surely hit the bull's eye there. What she had never expected was to be told that the same war that had taken him from her in their youth was still holding him hostage. Were wizarding wars as long lived as wizards themselves? Even the seemingly insoluble war her brother was sent away to, had been declared officially over and its soldiers finally discharged -- on paper, if not in their souls. Could she give her heart yet again to this man who'd taken the king's shilling as a seemingly permanent contract?
That thought made her shiver, and Molly had responded by pouring her a second cup of tea. (Was she cold in this rather dank kitchen? No, just a bit overwhelmed. Molly's nod conveyed both comprehension and sympathy.) Well, whatever the answer, she was now committed to entertaining that possibility. But for the moment, she would concentrate on how to live in this strange house. Most days are survived one little, common thing at a time. Molly was offering to help her cope with a magical kitchen, and she would make the most of her help.
"It's not what I imagined," Sapphire had said to Molly as she surveyed the unlovely walls of the kitchen. Any natural beauty the stone or wood might possess was being obscured by both it's unfinished state, and ancient accumulations of smoke, grease and general grit.
She had often envisioned fantasy kitchens full of magical wonders, fashioning them rather like the one pictured on boxes of her favorite tea; well ordered and inviting, but strange in a beautiful way, full of fantastically colored dishes and flowers, and with little zips of magical energy enhancing the food. This kitchen was colored like a dungeon and primitive in the extreme. When she'd tried to return the cream to the refrigerator, she had learned that there was no electricity in the house. Worse yet, the ancient ice box was supplied with magical ice. Sapphire had cooked over fire -though on a proper wood burning stove, not this open hearth- and thought it an improvement that the water taps would run irrespective of whether some pump was working or not; but she would never be able to conjure ice from thin air.
Molly, perhaps guessing her thoughts, had looked apologetic. "This kitchen was designed for house elves to work in it. The previous owners of the house hardly turned a finger to cook, I suspect. That's why it's ugly and inconvenient." Molly had gestured at the hearth, apparently showing that she, too, thought a stove would be an improvement.
"And, it needs a better cleaning than I've had time to give it." Here she stabbed her wand toward a rust colored stain on the hearth and shouted, "Scurgify!" loud enough to make Sapphire jump. A little puff of dust rose, but the stain remained otherwise unchanged. Molly shrugged. "Blood of some magical creature, I think. It's magical essence resists standard cleaning spells. I don't know why I didn't think to bring my housekeeping spell books from the Burrow. There must be one among them that will work. Oh, but you should have seen the place two weeks ago! A house this large is usually cleaned by at least two house elves, but the single one it's got doesn't clean anything!"
Thereafter followed a tirade on the house elf that left Sapphire with more questions than answers. When would she meet this elf?
"Oh, no, dear; you want to stay away from Kreacher! He's one of the reasons you shouldn't be alone. There's no knowing what he'd do to an unprotected muggle. Hermione won't like me to say so, but he's mean as a goblin, and daft too."
Sapphire fingered the hilt of the sword and let Molly change the subject. Memories came of Sirius letting slip that his parents had servants. At the time, she had thought less of him for coming from a family that, as she imagined, would think themselves too fine to handle their own cooking and cleaning. It served her right, perhaps, that now she felt almost helpless in the Black's home.
The whole house had been a surprise from the beginning. The idea that she couldn't see it from the outside was odd enough. That she couldn't come and go as she pleased, a difficulty she had never considered. Her plan had been to take a room nearby unless she were invited to stay with Sirius. She'd even thought of declining any such offer until a day or two of reacquainting had passed and then see what seemed good; but as things stood, she had inadvertently invited herself into his home until he should chose to send her away -- perhaps for keeps.
Worse, it didn't seem to be entirely his decision to make. There had been an awkward moment as the resident wizards had discussed where she would sleep. A muggle can't be left alone here, especially at night they had agreed; then they looked at Sirius, who, still scowling over her unexpected return, had only avoided their eyes and begun to flush around his collar. She must have flushed too, as she pondered how to tell a group of strangers that even if she and Sirius might have agreed to share a room fourteen years ago, it was hardly reasonable to expect them to do so tonight.
Bless Hermione! She had seen the problem right away and saved them all from terminal embarrassment by offering to take her into the room with herself and Molly's daughter. The girls had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome there, Ginny clearing a spot on the dressing table for Sapphire's minimal traveling set of cosmetics, and Hermione even offering to show her around the house in her capacity of resident expert at what a muggle needed to know about wizard houses. (Apparently, Hermione's muggle parents had visited her at the Weasley's home recently, and provided her with some interesting tales about muggle encounters with unfamiliar magical appliances.)
But in spite of the seemingly sincere efforts of her three hostesses, Sapphire could hardly help feeling apprehensive. Sirius' behavior was enough cause for that. Hermione, perhaps with the same instinct to help that had made her offer her room, had more than prompted him to promise Sapphire an introduction to the resident Hippogriff "later". Perhaps he would feel more like talking when he'd had a while to get used to her presence? The idea of his acting distant until she gave up and went away without any real closure was too painful to ponder. She had come too far on this path to turn back short of her goal. Somehow, she must show Sirius that she could cope in his world as least as well as he had in hers. Perhaps then, they'd be able to sort out all the loose ends of their lives and find if some of those threads would weave a meaningful pattern.
@2,200 words, Written 7/06; Final Edit 4/28/07
Chapter Two: Ginger
Ginger is traditionally used by the Cherokee for heart medicine,to improve circulation and prevent hypothermia. It's a favorite remedy for nausea among mountain granny women.
When the woman and Sirius reentered the room, both looked agitated. She spoke first. "Sirius, you'd better introduce me to your friends."
He looked impatient, but complied, "This is Sapphire McNiven. She has tracked me across fourteen years and an ocean, and into an unplotable house hidden with a Fidelius Charm and covered with muggle repelling charms. Since I obviously can't keep her out, I guess she'll be staying a while." Sirius delivered the quip without mirth, but everyone else laughed nervously except Sapphire, and also Severus, who appeared ready to crucio both Sirius and the muggle who had bested him with his own spell.
"This is highly irresponsible," Severus addressed Sirius haughtily, while making constant, quick glances at Sapphire. "Having this muggle transported into the house on your whim compromises our security..."
"And what would you have done to her if I hadn't brought her in?" Sirius seemed about to draw his wand again.
Ignoring the question, and with his eyes darting from Sirius to Sapphire, Severus continued, "She seems to be here without Dumbledore's knowledge. Considering your redoubtable reputation as a judge of character, Black, I wouldn't be surprised if she's a spy!"
Sirius, clearly incensed, had opened his mouth for a presumed retort, but was interrupted by Sapphire. "A spy?" she gasped, as she looked from one man to the other, "I don't know what you mean, but I assure you...!"
"There are ways of finding out exactly why she's here, and I say we had best employ one or more," Severus interrupted; again addressing Sirius, but not taking his eyes off Sapphire.
"You leave her alone, you..." Sirius began, but Sapphire interrupted again.
"Sirius, why does he think I'm a spy?"
"Sirius," this time Molly spoke, " this is all very strange. Perhaps Severus is right to say we should be cautious."
"What now?" Sirius growled at her. "Can't I even receive an old acquaintance into my own parlor without your permission! I know who..."
Sapphire interrupted again. "I haven't any idea why I should be spying on any of you, but won't you tell me what do I need to do to put you all at ease?" She addressed this to Molly.
"Look at me!", commanded Severus.
"Don't do it!" snapped Sirius. " He wants to look into your eyes so he can see your thoughts."
"You mean read my mind?" Sapphire's eyes grew even wider. "Can he really do that?"
"It isn't mind read...." started Severus in a bored and patronizing drawl, but Sirius cut him off.
"Yes, he probably can, and he's got no business doing so." He was glaring at Severus so that there was no mistaking what was in his mind.
"A man who reads minds!" Sapphire looked both thoughtful and a little amused. "How fascinating! Suppose I let you read my mind, would you trust me then?" she asked Severus, not quite meeting his gaze, but cutting her eyes sideways at him under partly lowered lashes.
For a second, Severus looked a bit disconcerted; whether at the question or the rather "come hither" affect of her occluded glance was hard to determine, but he answered blandly,"Perhaps."
"Sirius," she asked, turning to him, "What harm could come of it if I let him?"
"Plenty I'm sure!" Sirius said sharply.
"None at all, if she is hiding nothing," Severus countered with equal acridity.
"Tell that to me," she said, now looking straight on at Severus.
"Tell you what?", he sneered, still glaring at Sirius.
"Look me in the eye, please, and tell me you mean well; and also tell me just how much of my mind you intend to peek at," she said in a very controlled voice.
Severus opened his mouth as though to say something else acerbic, but shut it again and locked his eyes with Sapphire's. "I'll know if you give true answers to the questions I ask," he replied finally. "You will not be injured."
Sirius made an incredulous face, but Sapphire squinted at Severus, studying his face for a long moment. Then she looked at Sirius again. "I'm willing to try it, provided he'll promise to be discreet."
"Why are you doing this?" Sirius spat. "He has no right..."
"I obviously need to gain the trust of your companions, and particularly this fellow," she nodded at Severus. " At this point I barely have yours, never mind anyone else's; and I can understand why. And by the way, I still want to know why anyone here would think I'm a spy. One might think I've wandered into something shady. " Here she paused and her eyes moved searchingly from one face to another in turn. The others looked at one another with various degrees of discomfort. Getting no answers, she shrugged and continued, " All in good time, I suppose. Well, someone has to disarm first, so to speak. You will do just as you said and also be discreet?" She addressed this last to Severus, again meeting his eyes.
Severus' sneer dissolved to blankness. "If you intend no harm to us, then you will have nothing to fear", he answered flatly.
"This was your idea," muttered Sirius. Molly was twiddling her wand in both hands, but managed an encouraging smile toward Sapphire.
"Good enough," Sapphire said to Severus. "What do you want to know?"
Severus muttered something under his breath, and narrowed his eyes. His voice softened to an unctuous exhalation . "Why did you come here?" .
Sapphire's eyes widened in surprise as, with a little gasp, she clutched at the sword and stepped back on one foot, but she didn't look away. "I was looking for Sirius," she said firmly.
"Why?", he queried again.
Her eyes strayed to the others in the room for several seconds' silence, then she turned back to him and offered, " That's a rather personal question. Let's say I came because I had a premonition that Sirius was in danger."
"A premonition that he was in danger?" Severus repeated.
"Yes, I believe someone, probably three wizards, came to my summer cabin and tried to find him, perhaps to kill him. I think they almost killed me instead. I'm sure I was stunned at least." Her last statement, she addressed to Sirius.
"We will hear more of this later," Severus said, raising an eyebrow. "There is a great deal more you have not told. But first, explain how you came to know this man."
"Long ago, he visited me at that same summer cabin."
"And were you aware then that he was a wizard?"
"Not at first, but after certain events occurred, yes, he told me as much." Sapphire had turned her head a bit and regarded her questioner out of the sides of her eyes now. She had frowned at the question. Sirius was biting his lower lip.
"What events would those be?", asked Severus stepping towards her a bit, but Sirius interrupted.
"That's none of your damned business!"
"They concern only Sirius and myself, not anyone else," Sapphire answered quickly with a gesture to Sirius not to interfere, Ò but since you promised to be discreet, you may know something of them." Sapphire fell silent, but she and Severus looked a long time at each other. Neither moved, but Molly noticed that Severus' fingers were growing whiter against the black of his wand. Finally Severus drew in his breath, as though he had been holding it, and adopted a bored look.
Sapphire returned a knowing smile. ÒHow lonely must you be to envy such an unlucky pair as we were! I'm betting you don't even approve of that relationship. I feel sad for..."
Severus started, his facade shattered. "I don't..., you impertinent...! Wait, how did you know...?" Then to the rest of the company, "This is no muggle, or else that device has given her access to my thoughts! But, no! Witch or muggle, that's not possible!"
Now Sirius looked startled too, but Sapphire laughed and shook her head.
"It's not the sword," she offered with another smile of condescension. "Just feminine intuition- a rather common gift in a woman of my age and experience. The lady there will probably tell you it's true, won't you honey?" She addressed this last to Molly; who first looked surprised, but almost immediately was suppressing a smile.
"But I'm ...you're ..," a deep breath and Severus face recomposed itself. Pointing his wand at her face, he hissed, ÒThis is no muggle!"
"Don't you dare attack her again! Remember who's house you're in!" Sirius produced his own wand and pointed it at Severus, who peered down his nose at it with a look of contempt, but lowered his own a few degrees. Sirius followed suit, and Sapphire removed one hand from the sword hilt . Molly heard herself exhale.
Then, Sirius laughed. "She's telling the truth when she says it isn't magic, or rather it's not the sort of magic that occlumency will overcome." His expression had softened and he seemed to be seeing something very far away. "I'd almost forgotten," he said quietly; as though speaking to himself. "She'll see right through you when she needs to, and you'd best remember that."
Then Sapphire added more gently,"The only magic here is your own ability to share my mind. I'm only reading your feelings as you do."
Severus, eyes back on Sapphire's, was twitching slightly around the mouth and seemed about to say something, when Sapphire spoke again.
"I see you feel uncomfortable with this exchange. Perhaps when we are better acquainted?" The look she turned full on Severus was a mix of triumph and understanding. He flinched, as though a message had been received without her speaking.
"You are perceptive!," Sapphire laughed at him, than added somewhat coyly. "So rare in a male, too. Usually the information goes only one way and I have to explain everything I'm feeling. This telepathic communication is quite stimulating. Sirius, why did we never communicate this way?" She turned her smile on Sirius as he stood beside her. He promptly scowled and looked uncomfortable.
"We will return to the topic at hand!" Severus snapped.
"Right, sure, " Sapphire said and shrugged, still smiling. "You ask the questions."
"How did you find this house?" he asked.
"I've answered that before, as best I can. I didn't find it. The rapier obviously gravitates to Sirius. I still don't know how I entered this room. I felt as though someone reached out and grabbed the sword. It was pulled in here, and I just hung on for dear life!"
"So it lead you here from your home?" Severus asked.
"I came here to look for Sirius because I remembered he was a native of London. Actually, I began my search in Scotland, where he once told me he went to school. That was handy since my visa says I'm here to study the relationship between plants that grow in the Scottish highlands, and ones that grow on the other half of that range, as it were. The Appalachians, where I live, were once joined to them you know."
"That explains nothing about how you came here." Severus said impatiently.
Sapphire sighed and began in an annoyed manner,"Well first there was a plane, and then a train..."
"What lead you to this house?", Severus interrupted sharply. Sirius began to audibly grind his teeth.
"I told you it was the sword." Sapphire took a deep breathe, as though about to exert herself, and continued, Ò When I am near any wizard it responds with a sort of palpable energy; but the way it felt when I approached this house was different. The odd thing is, for several weeks it felt like I was getting closer going north into Scotland. I was working my way up the Great Glen and studying the flora as I went, feeling all the time that this was the right way. But about the last week in June, something felt different. I couldn't think what was wrong at first. Then on my way to Inverness to get a room for a few nights, suddenly I knew that was the wrong direction. Well, as soon as I could, I got on a train headed south. Almost at once, things felt right again, and when I stepped off at King's Cross, meaning to check in at the college, I knew Sirius must be near. When I arrived outside this place, the rapier was almost humming." Sapphire addressed this remark to Sirius. "Just before I was pulled in, I imagined it pointed like a compass needle. That made me hope perhaps...", but she stopped and looked around at the others, then said no more.
"Let me see that sword," Severus said, swiftly stowing his wand and reaching for the hilt.
"Careful!" Sapphire cried, then "Ow!" she and Severus yelped simultaneously. A loud "pop" like an electrical spark came from the weapon, and Severus drew his hand back and shook it, looking pained and angry. Sirius bared his clenched teeth in a grim sort of grin.
"Don't grab at it!" Sapphire spat. "It repels wizards, don't you see?" With that she drew the blade from it's scabbard again and held it before him. Severus recoiled a step, but then leaned forward and studied it several seconds.
"Toujours pur" he read on the blue steel. Then he looked at Sapphire with a crocodilian grin. "Why, Mr. Black!" he purred, ÒWhat a clever way to ensure a long distance engagement. Add a permanent sticking charm, and you've invented a sort of wizard specific chastity belt."
"Why, you low minded...", Sirius began, clenching his fists.
"That was inappropriate!' Sapphire snapped, and stepped forward, one hand on Sirius arm while the other hand planted the point of rapier on the floor at Severus feet. Severus backed up, narrowing his eyes while putting his wand hand into his sleeve.
"That's enough, all of you!" cried Molly. Then added, "Severus, bridle your tongue!" and to Ron and Hermione, "Perhaps you two should go upstairs."
"Oh, mom, we already know what a .." Ron started, but Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him away saying, "Ron, I think this is turning out to be a private sort of conversation."
Sapphire looked coldly at her interrogator." You promised me to be discreet. You have no requirement to be vulgar." The tension in the room was palpable. No one moved or spoke for several seconds while Sapphire glared at him unblinking. Finally, she shook her head. "It must be difficult."
Severus reddened and clenched his jaw, but only announced, "Well, the muggle - if muggle she is - seems to be telling the truth for the most part. There's more there than she's telling though, and I think it's possible that what she says is being affected by a charm or curse. I will prepare to administer the appropriate potions to allow me to probe for such deceptions. Meanwhile, Dumbledore should be notified immediately. "
Sirius snarled, "You seem very sure of yourself. Have you ever probed for charms in a muggle mind? You wouldn't know where to start with this one. And what guarantee do you give that you won't damage her?"
Sapphire looked apprehensive, as Severus spat back, "Who are you to question my capacity..."
Molly intervened. "Severus, please, you're frightening Miss McNiven. Now I agree with Sirius about the probing, but I do think that Dumbledore should see her. Perhaps he will know better how to tell what's wrong."
"Who's Du..", Sapphire had started, when a great "crack" was heard and a tall, white bearded man in a voluminous purple and silver robe appeared in the room.
Sapphire hopped one way, as if to duck behind Sirius, then almost immediately took a counter step into the open part of the room as though looking for space to swing her blade. Wavering awkwardly between her two options, she gapped at Dumbledore. He looked back with almost as much surprise.
Sirius spoke. "Professor, this is Sapphire McNiven. Sapphire, Professor Albus Dumbledore."
"Well, well, " said Dumbledore. "This is unexpected! Miss McNiven must be the reason for the spectacular collision of three patronuses in my office just now." At this remark, Sirius, Molly and Severus all looked at one another. Dumbledore's whiskers seemed to twitch slightly before he continued with more gravity. "This is most remarkable. How did you get in, young lady? "
"She says the sword I gave her drew her to me," Sirius offered quickly. ÒI summoned her in through the window because she was getting to be rather obvious calling for me in the street."
"I was anything but obvious -- at least to strangers." Sapphire said somewhat distractedly, as she continued to stare at Dumbledore.
"She was caterwauling about dog stars and basil." Severus interjected.
"I think she has a nice voice," snapped Hermione, who, along with Ron, had reappeared with suspicious promptness at the sound of Dumbledore's apparating.
"Did you see the house?" Dumbledore asked Sapphire, quite ignoring the last remarks.
"Well, I don't know really." Sapphire replied, shaking her head. ÒI couldn't make out any door or window where I thought there ought to be one. I touched something like glass, but it didn't look like a window. It's very hard to describe. Then suddenly I was inside. I certainly don't remember anything outside looking like this." She gestured at the open window from which she had entered.
Dumbledore, looking thoughtfully at first Sapphire and then Sirius, said to no one in particular, "I believe we have here a sort of magic that is too often underestimated." Then turning to Sapphire,"May I see that blade?" he asked.
Sapphire looked at Sirius, who said, "Go ahead, but lay it down and let him pick it up.
"I charmed it in 1981 to protect her from wizards," he explained as Dumbledore stooped till his beard brushed the floor and lifted the blade." I knew it deflected spells, but apparently it has acquired the habit of warning her when wizards are near. Also, if anyone - any wizard I mean- touches her while she's holding it, it gives a nasty jolt."
"It deflects spells?" inquired Dumbledore, eyeing Sirius and then the blade again with interest. "Where did you learn that charm?"
"Actually, James originated the spell as part of a game we would play. I would hurl hexes at him and he would beat them off with a charmed beater's club."
"Ah, yes!" said Dumbledore, his eyes squinting at something only he could see. "That would explain the detentions for two broken quidditch lockers and leaving scars on the changing room walls."
"Er, um, probably." Sirius said, looking momentarily sheepish. He continued. "When I tried to think of how she could protect herself in my absence, it just came to me that she had quick reflexes and could learn to use a similar device. So I took my great great uncle's cavalry rapier - imagine if my mother had known it was in the hands of a muggle!- and I devised a similar charm. "
"He made me practice too," Sapphire said, giving Sirius a hard look. "If I've had my legs jinxed gelatinous once, I've suffered it a hundred times. "
"And you got very good at using the sword, didn't you?" said Sirius, looking rather righteous.
"Actually," Sapphire said, "I was pretty out of practice by the time the frightening events of two summers ago occurred, having not had anyone to hurl hexes at me for a dozen years. Racquetball helps, but it isn't the same..."
"That's a muggle sport where they hit inanimate bludgers at one another in a small room," interjected Sirius. Hearing this, Ron's eyes lit with interest, as Molly and Hermione looked rather horrified.
"Um, something like that," Sapphire resumed, looking a bit amused. "As I was saying, I went to the drama coach at the college and got a referral to an expert on handling swords. Of course, I didn't say exactly what I wanted. I think the fellow was a bit concerned about my interest, but I told him I was into S.C.A. reenactments, and he seemed to accept that."
"This is an egregious breech of muggle secrecy statutes! It's obvious ..." began Severus, but Dumbledore interrupted.
"You mention frightening events?" he asked.
Sapphire looked a question at Sirius, who nodded. "I can't remember it all. I think someone tried to alter my memories, but here's what I know. I awoke from a nightmare that it was unnaturally cold and dark and some horrible death angel attacked my mule. I heard at least three people - I believe they were wizards -talking outside my house. They mentioned Sirius," here she threw him another glance, and he nodded again, "They said something about searching for murderers, and Sirius not being there. When they were gone, my mule was sick with something that made him just waste and die in a few days, and the rose..." she stopped and closed her eyes as a shiver ran over her.
"Dementors." interjected Sirius. "It seems as though they kissed the mule."
"An obliviation charm!" Severus murmured. "Poorly done if she remembers that much." He studied Sapphire with a new interest.
Dumbledore spoke to Sapphire. "It seems that you are in danger because of your association with Sirius."
"He told me I would be when last I saw him." she said, turning and looking boldly into Sirius' eyes. "That was why he gave me the sword and warned me not to look for him. However, staying home didn't turn out to be so safe either, did it?"
Dumbledore looked soberly at Sapphire, then at Sirius, who bit his lips and looked at nothing. Turning back to Sapphire, he laid the blade at her feet. As she reached for it, a ginger cat emerged from under a sofa, trotted over and sniffed her hand.
"Hello there!" said Sapphire, remaining stooped to accommodate the animal's investigation. "Don't you have a fine coat on you!" she said as the cat suddenly butted it's broad head hard against her hand. She smiled and stroked it, ending with a good scratch at the tail base. The cat crumpled on her foot. Sapphire laughed. "All cat, aren't you?"
"Actually, it's a half-cat," said Dumbledore, beaming. "Now, what more do we need to see!" he announced, with an expansive gesture to the company at large. Sapphire looked puzzled, and Severus scowled and muttered something, but Sirius' mouth twitched toward a smile while Hermione and Ron exchanged knowing glances.
"Where was I?" Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "Ah, yes, the dementors!" He then addressed Molly. "Please have Arthur arrange for her to relate this occurrence to Mr. Shacklebolt." Molly nodded.
Sirius turned to Sapphire, "Kingsley Shacklebolt's in charge of the British investigation of my escape. He visits the house often and he'll be able to find out if the Ministry requested a search for me at your cabin."
"He's in charge of... your escape? ... doesn't he... how...?", Sapphire pressed a hand to her temple and squinted her eyes as though she had a headache.
"It's a long story. I'll fill you in later." said Sirius, looking at her with obvious concern.
"Oh, my! What a day!" was all she answered.
"And it's not yet noon!" said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. He turned to Severus and added, "She's a bit scarred by obliviation charms, but I don't think she's under an imperious curse. As long as she doesn't try to contact someone outside, I see no danger in her being here." Then he turned to Sirius, "Of course, you are willing to be responsible for her?"
"Ah..., well, yes. Yes, of course.", he answered, seeming surprised by the idea.
"Miss McNiven, " Dumbledore began, but she interrupted.
"Sir, please call me Sapphire."
She and Dumbledore smiled at one another for a moment before he continued, "Sapphire, I must ask you to remain in the house for the time being. If you leave,..."
"Have we learned nothing from past mistakes?" Severus interrupted. "Surely you won't permit Black to compromise security here by harboring this stranger! Furthermore, according to muggle secrecy statutes , which some of us seem to have a blatant disregard for," here Severus sent a sneer in Sirius' direction, " we have an obvious obligation take that jinxed sword from her and obliviate her memory..."
At that, both Sapphire and Sirius reached for sword and wand in turn. There was an indignant "murp" from the cat, as he lost his place on her foot. Sapphire's face drained of color.
"Severus!" cried Dumbledore taking a step between them, "Your concern for security is admirable, but I believe we have enough proof that Sapphire is here in good faith, and it may be that she needs our protection, at least for the moment. Under the circumstances," here he looked thoughtfully at Sirius, "I think this decision is Sirius' to make." Sirius only continued glaring at Severus and did not speak, so Dumbledore resumed his words to the woman. "As I was saying, if you leave, it could endanger you and others for you to attempt to return."
Sapphire thought a moment before enumerating her relevant circumstances. "My visa lets me stay until late August. I've done most of the field research I wanted to. I'm supposed to deliver some papers to the college, but they aren't ready yet; so I don't need to go there right away. But, I hope I won't be a burden on anyone's hospitality?" She looked at Sirius when she said this, but Sirius only stared at her.
Finally it was Molly who answered," I'm sure you're welcome to stay a while. One more for dinner will be no trouble."
"Then it's settled," Dumbledore said to the room at large. " Sirius, I'm sure you perceive that your guest has had a hard journey, so I will leave you and Molly to see to her comfort. And do let me know what Mr. Shacklebolt turns up." He touched his hat and smiled at Sapphire. Then, with a loud pop, he was gone.
@4,244 words; Revised 10/06; Last edit 05/07