October 10, 2007
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 72
The Eye of Heaven was still spinning away on its weathervane by morning. Snape sat on the roof and began to unroll a packet of instruments. He had a roaring headache from going over the Mayhem Manual the night before, and a sore ear from where Madam Pince had tried to grab it from him and missed. He knelt on the roof and looked at the Eye again.
An Eye was supposed to be a powerful security enchantment. Professor Moody had reinvented the spell on a smaller scale for his own eye. An Eye on the roof would show most of what was going on in Hogwarts if it wasn't for the school's wards. A real Eye would've been useless, which was probably why this one had completely different spells on it.
It wasn't an Eye of Heaven, but it had been made to look like one. And there wasn't a spell Snape recognized on it. It was either Cursed, or enchanted to react like a Cursed item.
After another long moment of study, Snape selected what looked like a set of very dainty copper pliers. He was wearing warded gloves to be safe and had tied his hair back to keep it out of his eyes in the wind. Professor Dormire had offered him a fur-lined hat with earflaps. Snape had refused as politely as he had been able.
There was a series of wires wound around the central piece of the Eye. A tiny line of runes had been engraved on each one from end to end. That much had been done well. It took the Potionsmaster a long search to translate and decide which one to cut. By then, the cold wind was making his nose ache and he was wishing he had brought a hankie.
"How's it going?" Dormire shouted cheerfully from the only window high enough to be in hearing range of the tower top. Snape was prepared to ignore him, but had learned that Dormire was as relentless in questions as he was in perkiness. He would wait exactly a minute and ask again. Louder.
"Slowly," Snape answered. The wind whipped his ponytail against the back of his head and kept his voice from carrying.
"What?" Dormire called.
"Slowly!" Snape shouted this time.
"Ah. Do you need anything?"
"No!"
"Good man. Sing out if you do."
Snape muttered something that Dormire couldn't hear, but he blamed it on the wind and went back to his own business. He had left the hat on the windowsill in case the Potionsmaster changed his mind. Snape did see the hideous thing sitting there. He ignored it, too.
Back to the Eye, he continued cutting the wires and unwinding them. Tiny sparks of light lit through the other pieces as the line of magic was cut off. An inner wire was wound tight in a coil at the very center of the Eye. Snape's fingers were cold and he flexed them inside the gloves.
He began to unwind the wire and heard something pop. There was a spray of glass shards and drops of blood. For a moment, he thought he had been cut, but then realized that the blood was dripping from what had been a tiny vial held in the wires. He fumbled for a bottle of his own to catch some in. The rest of the Eye began to crumble and fell on the tower's shingles with little ringing sounds. The Cursed glow faded out.
"Interesting," he muttered, holding the bottle to the light to squint at the blood. Then a change in the air pressure made his headache throb and he looked around. Were those idiots from across the water tinkering with the wards again? Or, he thought, glaring closer at the Eye, had something just been activated in the device?
A faint commotion from another tower caught his ear over the wind. There was a crackle of golden magic and more voices rose. What now? The Potionsmaster thought without any real curiosity. He had no doubt he would find out before he was finished, so he went back to work. The Eye was almost completely dismantled and he was putting the pieces in separate pockets of the tool roll when a voice called him.
He had been expecting Dormire, but it was Lorelei. He turned to find her just landing on the rooftop next to him. She was out of breath and the cold left a trace of color in her face.
"Have you seen my sister?" she asked. "Did she come this way?"
Snape slid the last piece into a pocket and started putting his tools away. When he spoke, his voice was careful and slow.
"To my knowledge, your sister was Bound in a mirror-snare in one of the hidden towers." He looked up at her. "Has Hogwarts lost another prisoner, Ms. Zephyr?"
"One moment she was there, and the next she wasnt." Lorelei didn't seem terribly upset. Or especially relieved. "They recast the wards to make sure she didn't get away, but there's no sign of her yet." Then, Lorelei's eyes narrowed as she looked past him. He turned to see a dark smudge running toward the castle from the Forest.
"I'll think I'll see what her familiar knows," she said. "Thank you, Professor." She stepped off the roof into thin air and swept away on wings pulled from her dark green cloak. He watched her go, even as another throb went through the magical wards.
If the first round didnt stop the girl, a second won't help, he thought sourly. Still, it was impressive that anyone could escape a mirror-snare. It had to be done with outside help. Perhaps her familiar' had shared a jail-breaking secret or two. Or perhaps, with a powerful sister close at hand, things had fallen into place.
He didn't know the extent of Lorelei's abilities. He knew there was more at work than normal magic. He knew that more of it than she liked came from vampiric influence. Vampires are known for their troubles with mirrors, Snape mused, getting ready to go back inside. Perhaps this mirror had trouble with Lorelei.
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 71
Rosie ran on through the woods like a train. She outpaced Padfoot easily, but he was barely able to keep her in sight. She called out again, making the woods vibrate. She stopped and he slid to a halt a distance away. She looked around, and Sirius braced himself to run if she charged him. She glanced at him, but didn't seem interested. She did seem uncertain, but she gave herself a shake.
Padfoot wondered if he should try to speak to her. He didn't want to fight her. She was much bigger than him and famous for her ferocity. Before he could work up the nerve to say something, she ran off again. He lost her in the snow and had to track her by scent. It wasn't easy with the wind as strong and cold as it was. He was tempted to go back to the cave after awhile of hunting. All that kept him from giving up was the certainty that Rosie was headed back towards Hogwarts.
Then, she nearly ran him over coming back. Raye was with her, bundled up tight against the wind. Rosie's irritation was plain. She didn't want the girl on her back, but it had to be faster than waiting while Raye tried to keep up on foot. With no time to hide, Padfoot had just laid flat. Rosie was too eager to get her errand over with to care, and Raye's head was hooded and bent into the wind.
It was easier to follow after that. Rosie had to go slower with her rider's weight, and more carefully. Padfoot was able to keep up at a trot, staying back and to the side in case one of them were to look over their shoulder. The black wolf lead the way for what had to be miles. Padfoot wondered if they would check his cave and be worried that he wasn't there. Probably not. It would probably be a few days before they had time to check.
The Forest began to clear. They weren't in the Forbidden parts anymore, he realized. Ahead of him, Rosie jumped over a stone fence with a little startled sound from Raye. Across the field, there was a river and a tiny mansion pretending to be a summer cabin. There was a familiar bush of black roses growing in the yard, despite the snow. Padfoot slowed to a stop.
He looked at the cabin and then veered around in a wide circle to get a better look. There was an ornate N in the woodwork over the front door. The Nalicus family was still playing host to the vampires then. It made sense, if Brohm had taken over the youngest Nalicus.
A flutter of movement had him looking into the trees around the cabin. Hooded shapes that made him think of Dementors were perched in the bare branches. They turned to watch as Rosie trotted through the orchard and Padfoot got a glimpse of pale faces and gleaming eyes. Vampires, roosting like elaborately gowned blackbirds as guardians.
All right, Padfoot told himself. I've pushed my luck far enough... Maybe it's time to go back. He remembered the vampire attack leaving the Nalicus estate. It was probably wisest to go home before one of them heard him thinking and came to investigate. Across the field, a square of yellow light appeared as Raye opened the front door and stepped inside. Rosie loped off into the trees and was gone.
On the other hand, what would a vampire want with a dog? And I've seen Ministry 'approved' vampires before. They weren't that scary. That was the part of his brain that wanted to get him killed, he realized.
Remember the escape from the mansion His sensible thoughts repeated. Those weren't tame vampires, and what if they all are that powerful?
He sighed, knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to leave until he had at least one look around. He was a dog after all. Strays wandered around houses all the time. Despite all common sense and better judgement, he had come too far to go home with nothing but a story of a Raye being delivered to an old vacation cottage. He gave himself a little shake, much like Rosie had, and moved at a skulk around the fence.
He came around the rosebush, giving it wide berth. He had to pass under the trees, and pretend not to notice the lurking figures in the branches. He made a big show of sniffing around the trees, and steered around towards a window that more of the yellow light was visible from. There was a thud as something was dropped by one of the vampires in a tree. Padfoot jumped and nearly swore.
It was a book, apparently finished, and discarded. He resisted the urge to look up. He approached the book cautiously. It was an old book, he noticed. It even smelled brittle. The wind blew it open. Padfoot saw the word Gutenberg and the date 1456 as the title page appeared and then was covered. Then the other pages went rustling by in a flutter of tiny print spotted with red and gold illuminations.
He had never been a bookworm, but it did seem a waste to save a book that long just to toss it aside in the snow. What would Hermione say? he thought with a mental smile. Or Madam Pince, which wasn't nearly as funny.
He stepped past the book and made his way towards the window. Nose around, sniff things, he told himself. Just a stray dog, looking for scraps He pretended interest in Rosie's tracks and made his way silently around the corner of the porch.
He was pounced on out of nowhere. A cold hand held his head to the ground with amazing force. He yelped and thrashed, but the vampire held him still. It was a female one, looking no older than Hermione, but wearing a fanged smirk that was brighter than the elaborate jewelry she was hung with.
"What is it?" a shadowy voice called. The female stared hard at Padfoot and he felt something poke at his mind.
"I think..." she said, pale tongue touching her upper lip. "It feels like..." He scrambled to think stray dog thoughts. Hungry! Lost! Get Away! he thought desperately.
"I think it's another werewolf," she said, leaning close to peer into the one eye that she wasn't crushing into the snow. He couldn't believe she could mistake a dog for a wolf, especially after seeing Rosie, but wasn't about to complain.
"Let it go," the other voice sighed.
"They say their blood burns," the female didn't seem to have heard. "That it's sweet as a human's and hot as an animal's..."
"It's bad enough that we lurk in the woods like savages without eating filth like savages." The other vampire dropped to the snow in a pool of draped black velvet. It's voice was now sharp with scorn and disgust. "Leave it be, childe." There was a definite command in the last words, and Padfoot felt the female shiver. She arranged her face into a pout to cover it.
"As you say," she said. She released Padfoot and he squirmed away from her. The cloaked vampire levitated back into the trees, and when it was out of sight, the female lashed out and dug her fingernails savagely into Padfoot's back. He bit back another yelp and ran, kicking over the ancient book as he went. When he looked back, he saw her licking her fingers.
Back to the cave, he thought. But not straight back in case I'm followed. Then find away to get word to Harry and the others where Raye was. Tell Lorelei. She knew vampires better than he did. What had she said before?
Wait til daylight. That's what she said. Fine. That was only going to be a few hours anyway. Long enough to get back, mend his back, and figure out a way to get back into Hogwarts.
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 70
"This is new," Snape said. He took in Sian and Tanner with a strange expression. His usual disdain had a layer of caution underneath it. He knew that Tanner was a werewolf and wasn't taking any chances.
"I had heard there were ghosts working here," Sian said, perkily. She looked him up and down. "I wasn't expecting the drowned undead!"
"Excuse me?"
"I've never seen a person without any color that wasn't already dead." She went on, stepping back to take in the sight, from black hair to black boots.
"Lorelei," Tanner hissed quickly.
"I've never seen more than one person without any color that wasn't already dead." Sian corrected immediately.
"Is that so." Snape's wand lit up in a very Kedavrish green. "I find it hard to believe that you've never seen this color before."
In the middle of their repartee, the werewolves heard a howl. Sian stopped mid-snarkiness and tilted her head. Tanner was already at the nearest window. Snape hadn't heard it.
"What now?" he asked. Tanner was gone in a blink, disappearing down the corridor. Sian looked a little hurt that he'd left without her, but was hard after him before Snape could comment. The Potionsmaster had to hurry after to keep them in sight.
Sian caught up with Tanner in the next tower. He was scanning the grounds below from a balcony. She was prepared to chew him out when she noticed the thestral paddock below.
"Thestrals!" she crowed. "Ooh, there's a pretty one!"
"Meh," Tanner shrugged. "As if horses needed to taste any more leathery." She punched him in the arm, and he grinned. A new thought turned him thoughtful again. "Who did you see die, punkin?"
She was saved from answering by the looming shadow of the Potionsmaster. They had forgotten he was with them until he leaned forward over the railing to peer at another tower higher up. He didn't speak, so the werewolves traded sideways looks behind his back.
"That howl was Rosie," Tanner finally said, looking out over the grounds. "But I don't her from here. Let's see if we can find Raye."
Snape was still staring up over their heads. Moving quickly, he stepped up on the railing and levitated up to the next tower's roof with a rush of wind and the snap of his robes. His cloak and sleeves flapped around him like black wings and he landed easily as a bird on the tiled roof over their heads.
"That was cool," Tanner admitted. He leaned out farther to see.
"Yeah..." Sian was already looking at the thestrals again. "Nothing Esme hasn't done a hundred times though."
"You may be biased," Tanner said. He opened the first door in sight and started down the the stairs on the other side.
"It's possible," she said, jogging to catch up. "Who was that anyway?"
"Potionsmaster. He's been doctoring Lorelei's burn."
"Burn? Is... the sunlight getting to her finally?" Sian's voice was hesitant. Tanner grinned.
"I'm not saying she couldn't use a little sun," he said. "But she got a little too close to the Morthahg and it scorched her." "
Oh good.... N-not that the Morthahg got her... just that she isn't so far gone, that the sun would... you know what I mean!"
"I do. And don't worry. Esme did her job. Lorey's in better shape than she was."
Balanced on the roof, Snape looked at the Eye of Heaven for a long time. He had only seen it because the wind had moved the weathervane just enough for the last glow of sunset to catch on it. He shifted to keep his balance as the wind yanked at him. The thing was hung below a weathervane shaped like a toad with its tongue for the pointer.
The weather vane spun. The Eye didn't. He pointed his wand at it and a red glow lit around the Eye. The device was small and to his professional eye, shoddily done, but it was also working. A telltale vibration went through the wand and he pulled it back carefully. So, it was Cursed.
He leaned in a little closer. He wasn't really worried about falling. He could fly after all. Still, it was hard to look close enough to see the lines of enchantment with his hair flying all around his face and an iron toad swinging in crazy circles over his head. He peered at it, still trying to place was wrong with it, and then he noticed something. It was shaped like an Eye of Heaven, it looked pretty much like a not-too-adept wizard's first try at one, but the enchantment on it had nothing to do with an Eye of Heaven.
Something wasn't right. A spell wreathed the Eye that he had never seen before. He looked over the winter woods from his higher vantage point. The sun had gone down. The thestrals were just darker shapes in the gloom below.
He had dealt with some vampires before, but they had been former wizards or witches, still keeping contact with the magical world, and still obeying most of the rules, if only out of habit. Snape knew that there were more dangerous kinds of leech in the world, those that were powerful enough to have no fear of Muggles or magic. Lorelei's story and the Mayhem Manual had taught him a little more. Enough to be worried.
The Manual could tell him how to remove the Eye as well. The sooner the better, he thought, watching the clouds swirl over head. He looked back at the Eye. There was no telling how long it had been running already. He didn't dare touch it yet. Not until the sun came up anyway.
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 69
Sirius was already outside the gates when he felt the aftershock of magic. It was weak, but it still made the hair on his arms tingle. He looked over his shoulder at Hogwarts to see the new tower, but couldn't really tell which one it was. A heavy fog had moved in, which didn't help. The new tower either blended in too well, was invisible, or had some spell on it that made it seem like it has always been there, even to someone who knew Hogwarts like the back of his hand.
He had reluctantly allowed himself to be hustled off school grounds. Hermione had packed him a bag and he had slipped out in dog form. Once he was out of sight, he turned human again. He passed close enough to the hippogriff paddock to whistle to Buckbeak. Buckbeak was in the stable, but Sirius heard a shrill answer. With a sigh, he started into the trees.
It was cold and dry, so he became a dog again. It was warmer, and easier to run on the snow that way. The snow was crunchy under his paws, and the wind was shrill through the tree tops. He could smell wolves in the distance and after awhile of walking, he saw a small pack of them slinking away in the twilight. Their leader was big and gray and he gave Padfoot a keen look before following his small clan away. Padfoot was glad to see that Rosie wasn't with them before it occurred to him that the reason they had left so quickly was that they had mistaken his black form for hers.
He also passed some little cloven prints that sparkled more than the snow around them. A unicorn had passed through as well. That gave him some hope that the Morthahg was far away. Or at least far away from his cave. He had left in a hurry the night Buckbeak had been hurt, but there hadn't been anything to leave behind anyway.
Some snow had drifted up around the mouth of his cave, but that was fine. It would've blocked the wind from getting inside. There were no fresh footprints in it, but he sniffed the air carefully before going in. It smelled like it always had, so he sighed and trotted in. Once inside he was human again, and cast a light spell. It seemed twice as dreary now that he was alone. He sighed and cast a door spell to keep as much cold out as possible.
There was nothing else to do then, but unpack the bag. At least he was better prepared for camping out here this time. Hermione had wrapped some blankets around a jar of her magical fire, so he cleared off a small place and spooned some of the flames out into it for more warmth.
Next was some enchanted candles that burned in different colors. He didn't know what good that would do him, but it was probably all she had been able to get hold of quickly. There was all kinds of food bundled up too. Dobby had probably helped her with that. There was no other way she would've been able to stuff that much food away on her own. If she had been anyone else, she probably would've gotten Dobby to stow away in the bag for him, he thought with a smile.
He wasn't surprised to see a few books in there as well, though one of them was a Muggle romance novel that raised his eyebrows. The picture on the cover wasn't magical and it didn't move, which was likely for the best since it was indecent enough as it was. He wondered if it was hers and had gotten packed by accident. He wondered what she had been thinking if it hadn't been. The others were less startling. There was a book of poetry by someone he had never heard of, a guide to reading modern Ogham, a wayfarer's cookbook that promised over 300 recipes for things you might find to eat in the wilderness, and another Muggle book called The Count of Monte Cristo. It didn't have barely-dressed people swooning into each other on the cover, so he thought he might give it a look-see later.
Under the books was some extra clothes and a little toiletry bag with a comb, brush, toothbrush, razor, a little mirror, and some cologne in it. Poor Hermione, he thought. She really does try, doesn't she? And what the hell. Sprucing up every day will give me something to do for a little while anyway. He sighed again, looking around the cave. The stone walls might've been made of pure depression for all that they could close in around him. He couldn't believe he was stuck out here again.
Don't think about it yet, he told himself. You just got here. If you start pacing now, you'll be insane by morning. There was some paper and a quill in the bottom of the bag. What, no owl? he thought, trying to cheer himself up. The last thing in the bottom was a small violet bag with the same emblem on it that was on Dumbledore's office. It must be the keyport. He picked it up carefully, trying to quess what it might be through the fabric. It was heavier than it looked and felt solid. Sirius stashed it in a pocket in his sleeve in case he needed it in a hurry.
Then, the bag was empty. He folded it up and set it aside and sat looking into the flames for little while. He almost reached for a book before he decided to save them for later. You were in prison for years, he reminded himself. You know how to pass the time. There's no reason to get bored and crazy now.
Did I ever get out of prison? a more bitter thought asked. It's been years since and I'm still running and hiding and sitting hunched over in dark places wondering what I should do.
This isn't like that, he told the thought. I can do whatever I want. I just decided to take Dumbledore's advice on this one. That's all.
It still stung in his mind though, so Sirius got up and went outside, just because he could. Night was falling fast over the forest and he sank into dog form again. The deepening blues of the winter evening altered as his eyes changed, and a whole world of inaudible sounds and faint scents blew into life. What had been barren and miserable to human senses was glowing with life through a dog's perceptions. There were animals moving through the underbrush in the distance to his left and the smell of the wolves was still on the wind from the right.
Out of curiousity, he sent up a short howling cry and then listened. For a moment, there was only the wind, but then a faint call answered. As little as it was, it made him feel better. He wasn't entirely alone, even though he still wished that Buckbeak, or the children, or Esme, or Lupin, or any friendly face was there to talk to.
He took a short walk into the wind, watching his pawprints be swept away as soon as he lifted his paws. His path took him in a circle around his cave and he was just about to head back into the warmth, when a new cry caught his ears.
It was otherworldly enough to make his hackles bristle, but he trotted in the direction of the sound. The way was blocked by briar bushes, so he crept into the shadows of those. He could hear the sound of movement, of a large form rushing over the snow. He shrank down to keep out of sight as the sound grew closer.
It was Rosie, running hard and low to the ground. Her breath rolled out of her open mouth like steam. He had forgotten how large and menacing she really was. She didn't look to either side though, just charged forward at full speed. Toward Hogwarts, he realized. Last time she had nearly killed Hermione and disappeared with Raye. Maybe she'd been sent back to fetch Raye again. He couldn't warn anyone. He wasn't supposed to go back.
I can follow her, he thought, hurrying after on a little higher ground. I can follow to the edge of the trees. I can tell Hagrid if it looks bad. And if she does come back with Raye, I can see where she takes the girl He had to hurry though. Rosie was fast and the wind would hide her trail. So he sprinted after her.
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 68
Sian and Tanner had dodged Madam Pomfrey and were heading past the Sixth Years Only Sunbather's Club meeting room when the first ward hit. It made them both wince, ears popping as if the hall had suddenly been pressurized.
"That can't be good." Tanner said, giving his head a shake and flexing his jaw to pop his ears back.
"It's a magical backlash," Sian said knowingly. "It happens when a whole lot of magic or a small amount of the really powerful kind hits the environment."
"And how would you know about that?" he asked. She shrugged, but she was grinning.
"Your little brother dared me to open the big box by the window in the main landing at the Zephyr's." Her grin got wider at his horrified look.
"And?"
"A whole lot of magic came out. Every hair on my body was purple for two days, but I didn't know that until I actually got the body back..." She shrugged again, more sheepishly this time. "It took Lillian a whole day to catch all three of me and cram them back in my skin. The first shockwave felt just like that."
"See, that's the bad part about being gone so long," Tanner sighed. "I miss all the good stuff. I'm not purple am I?"
"Memories," Sian agreed. "And no. But, uh, why are those idiots wearing 40s-style swimwear in the middle of winter?"
"Sunbather's Club."
"Indoors?"
"Magical folk like to complicate things. They do look tan, don't they?"
The two werewolves watched the club meeting adjourn and the sixth years head off in various directions. Tanner snapped to attention and stepped back out of sight as Raye appeared in the group. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit, but had a notebook that she was still scribbling in.
"Thank you so much for letting me see the enchanted ceiling," Raye was cooing to one of the older boys. "I know it's supposed to be sixth years only..."
"Well, seeing as it is just for your report on enchanted environments..." he said, obviously pleased at her attention. "And we do have the best. Creating light to see by is one thing. Creating sunlight that plants and skin respond is a whole different matter!"
Tanner's ears had perked up and he was intent on Raye. Sian looked back and forth between them and waited quietly until the group had passed.
"Old girlfriend of yours?" she asked. Tanner managed to chuckle while still looking serious.
"I've threatened her before," he said. "Why do you suppose a thralled, wanna-be vampire hunter would be interested in magical sunshine?"
"To kill vampires with? Indoors or underground, right?" Sian asked.
"But, didn't Esme invent something like that already?"
"Yep. A sun grenade. It's only really effective on young and weak vampires though. You need the real thing to combat a full-power leech."
"And... she's thralled? That's bad, isn't it?"
"Psh. There's enough vampires in the world that I'd say one in every 20 people had at least a little thrall in 'em. That's not the problem. The problem, my little love, is that she's got some of Esme's blood in a little bead around her neck."
"WHAT." Sian's eyes widened and her fists clenched, but the rest of her had frozen in place. "She WHAT?"
"I could've gotten it off her," Tanner added. "But those meddling kids got in the way."
"WHY does she have my cousin's blood in a bottle around her neck?"
"Your FAVORITE cousin," Tanner reminded hr. "I figured it was to open the World's Door." He was enjoying watching her fume. "I have a theory that's how the Morthahg got through the last one."
"So...so..." Sian fists opened into a claw-like pose. "That little...thing! Was behind Esme getting framed??" She took a step that would've evolved into a full stomp after the girl in question if Tanner hadn't grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her up to his nose.
"Oh hardly," he said. He touched his forehead to hers and gave her nothing to look at but his mismatched eyes. "She's a deluded child. But something was behind it. And that something is probably the same something that GAVE the precocious little pumpkin the blood."
"Have you told Victor?" she asked after a moment of fighting down a snarl.
"And when could I have done that, darlin'? Over tea, some sunny afternoon? No."
"Is it...the vampires? Trying to get revenge on Esme?" She squirmed a little, but he hung on to her.
"She killed most of the ones who've crossed her. But it might not be her they're after."
"You mean...?" Sian pulled back again and this time her let her go. "Lorelei?"
"That's one of the possibilities."
"And it's not nearly as unlikely as the excuse one of you is going to give me for being up here," a voice said. They both turned to see Professor Snape standing at the end of the hallway. He almost sounded tired. "Is it?"
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 67
By the time Sirius had reached Dumbledore's office with the children, he was on his way to a funk.
I don't see why I have to leave just because the Ministry is going to be here... They've been in and out the whole time. I've played a good familiar and haven't had any trouble. I'm sick of running and hiding. Sick of waiting for word. Sick of not knowing because I'm not there!
Then, one of the High Judges walked by. The deep blue cloak carried the unmistakable scent of Dementor, and Sirius blanched. In dog form, it got the Judge's attention and the wizard smiled at the children and their dog. While Sirius recovered from that, a new scent replaced it. It was the phoenix-smoke, candy sugar smell that had to Headmaster Dumbledore. He hurried them into his office and made sure the door was closed behind them.
"I'm not sure this is a good time for any of you to out and about," the Headmaster said. He looked keenly at Sirius. "Especially you. There's going to be a special assembly to get all the students out of the way while a powerful ritual is cast in a part of Hogwarts."
"What ritual?"
"I haven't been told," Dumbledore said grimly and that made all of them gulp a little. They were used to Dumbledore knowing everything that was going on in Hogwarts.
"Why here?" Harry asked.
"They seem to be tired of losing criminals under their own noses," sighed Dumbledore. All eyes were on Sirius again, so he shifted to his human self.
"If everyone is going to be out of the way, then there will be no one to see me anyway," he said, a little too hopefully.
"There are wards being set up even now," Dumbledore said. "If you are still inside when the final spells are cast, you won't be able to leave at all. There are four different levels of them," he added when Sirius started to argue. "One for the towers, two for the main building, and one for the grounds."
"Well..." Sirius mind was humming. "What about the lower levels?"
"Wards won't work down there," Dumbledore rubbed his temple. "The Morthahg is too close. If something goes wrong, Sirius, you won't be able to get away."
"I won't be able to get back in either!"
"I can give you a keyport to my office," Dumbledore said. "But you should know that everything that can be done to help Ms. Zephyr is being done. I've delayed things as much as I can, and they'll have a much more difficult time now that the Zephyr patriarch is here."
"How did you know?" Ron asked. Dumbledore made a modest hand-waving gesture.
"What about the Morthahg?" Hermione asked next.
"Only a few people know about it right now," Dumbledore said. He was rummaging in a drawer of his desk. "Fudge has called everyone away from working on the door to help contain Ms. Zephyr. He believes that when she is removed from Hogwarts that the Morthahg will also leave."
"Esme didn't release the thing," Sirius protested. "Ficus did."
"Ficus is dead," Dumbledore's eyebrow rose in a look of owlish severity. "And it is doubtful he ever had any control over it. He can't help them and they're looking for someone who can."
"What's kept it from completely engulfing Hogwarts like it did Elmskill?" Harry asked.
"It keeps getting lost." A trace of humor reappeared on Dumbledore's face. He finally found what he was looking for and pulled out a small velvet bag.
"What??"
"There are secret places all through Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. He pulled out a candy that smelled like chocolate mint and looked like a small snowball. Popping it in his mouth, he offered the bag to the others. Only Ron took one. "The sub-basement the Morthahg is trying to get in through was designed by Rowena Ravenclaw, who besides being an accomplished harmonica-player also had a knack for labyrinths. Even if it dissolves all the magic it comes in contact with, it still has to find its way out."
"But Tanner found his way to it and back!" Hermione said.
"Trueborn werewolves have a knack for not being lost," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "Magic notwithstanding."
"Is he dangerous?" Sirius asked.
"Of course."
There was a knock at the door and Sirius dropped back to Padfoot and plopped grumpily down on the rug. The door opened almost at once and Fudge swept in. Sirius couldn't help but bristle at the sight of him. Fudge looked a little peeved to see the children there, but only gave them a curt nod.
"What should I know about this Zephyr person?" he snapped before Dumbledore could even greet him.
"Which one?" Dumbledore asked mildly.
"Victor, I think," Fudge paced the front of the desk before stopping with his hands on his hips. He was clearly flustered. "Is... is he someone I should've heard of? He has my staff scrambling to accommodate him and I can't place the name."
"I understand he's something of a war hero where he's from." Harry could almost suspect Dumbledore was enjoying this. "Noble family, old money, very politically influential," the Headmaster went on, and Fudge's draw dropped a little.
"Oh..." Fudge said. "Really.."
"Oh, yes."
"And the witch in the tower is-" Fudge pointed randomly. Sirius ears perked at this.
"His granddaughter. Yes."
"Oh dear," Fudge's face couldn't drop any lower and still stay on his shoulders. "This is going to be difficult, isn't it?"
"I imagine so." There was a definite twinkle in Dumbledore's eye now.
"I don't suppose he'll understand the situation." Fudge started pacing again.
"Take care to explain it to him."
"Yes..." Fudge straightened his collar and plunked his hat back on his head. "I AM a diplomat after all..." And then he swept out. Sirius was human again as soon as the door clicked.
"Which tower?" he asked urgently.
"They brought one of their own," Dumbledore said with a very level look, and then offered him another candy.
Blood Ties by Aurea--Chapter 66
Padfoot wasn't paying attention to the conversation until he heard Esme's name.
"I had a letter to send you," Lorelei was saying. "How did you know?"
"The lack of news can tell me as much as the news itself. Tell me what she's done."
"She. . ." Lorelei retreated behind her black glasses again. "She's been hunting vampires." The old man had a gaze that could cut steel so the shades were no defense. "She killed them all, Grandpa. For my cure."
"You're cured?" It wasn't really a question, and Lorelei looked away.
"I'm. . . not the same," she said. "But I'm out of their reach."
Padfoot was waiting for them to get back to Esme when he noticed Harry had crept to a tree and was waving at him. The wolf familiar noticed it too, and was smirking at him. He looked back at the Zephyrs and they were babbling about things he already knew, so he went over to his godson. Harry knelt in the snow to pretend to be petting the black dog.
"The Morthahg's in the basement, and the Ministry is supposed to be moving in," Harry whispered. "We have to get you out of here." Padfoot made a pained sound. He was sick of running away, especially now that he was up to his ears in the situation. He shook his head, making his ears flap.
"You should probably see Dumbledore before you do anything." Hermione said. That much made sense, so he nodded and started off toward the door the elder Zephyr had left open. Apparently he was used to having someone close doors for him. Padfoot looked over his shoulder at the Zephyrs and saw them striding away. Victor was towing Lorelei along by the arm and North was trotting along behind. The white dog looked back at him expectantly. Aren't you coming? the look said. There was no sign of the wolf.
**********
Sian was indoors already, padding through the halls. She had heard all she needed to know. Esme had found Lorelei's cure. I knew it! she said in wolf speak. I knew it was something like that. Hah! No one heard her except for Mrs. Norris, who hissed and ran away. Sian had the same trouble Tanner did searching much-traveled corridors for one particular scent. Her advantage was that nothing smelled quite like Tanner. Even after all the hygiene Madame Pomfrey had forced on him, Tanner still had a distinctive aroma about him.
She tracked the other werewolf over two floors and in a circle that included the kitchen twice. Finally, she spotted him through an infirmary window. He had torn the Lapine glossary out of his copy of Watership Down and was making origami bunnies out of the pages. He looked bored and a little sulky. A grin split Sian's face and she slunk around to get to the hallway on the other side of the room. From there, it was a simple duck and weave to get in through the open door and under the bed when a crowd of people went by to block any sound she might make.
She was under his bed and hadn't been seen yet. The hardest part of this had been not giggling out loud. There was a creak of springs over her head and she froze to be sure he wouldn't know she was there. She crouched a little lower and went creeping as quietly as possible towards the head of the bed. There was room for her to squirm between the bed and the wall. She set her teeth and shape shifted without a whimper. From there, she rose carefully up the wall, like an underbed monster to peer over the headboard.
The bed was a mess, but Tanner was gone. Sian blinked around the room. She hadn't heard him get off the bed and she hadn't seen any feet touch the floor. She narrowed her eyes at the pile of quilts crumpled across the bed. There was a room for a lanky werewolf to sprawl out under them, so she pounced on it. Sure enough, something writhed under her, but before she could yell 'Gotcha!' the quilt erupted over her head and a pair of arms locked around it to cocoon her.
"I knew it!" she squealed. Tanner was giggling as he crushed her in a surprisingly strong hug. She thrashed until he let her go and she was able to throw the quilt off. The two werewolves grinned and then lunged at each other. She slid her hands to cup his face and nuzzled his nose.
"I have been. So. Worried. About you!" she cried. "I missed you so much! Your poor hair! Are you ok? Is Esme ok? I've been having an awful dream about you and Rosie and - "
"I don't want to talk about Rosie," Tanner sighed. He didn't make any effort to pull away from her though. Her eyebrows sank low.
"What did she do?"
". . ."
"I have never known what you see in her. I told you she was trouble. Your mother told you she was trouble. Has it finally gotten through that flea - bitten skull of yours that she is, in fact, trouble??"
His smile was a little wobbly, but he pulled her back into a hug.
"I missed you too," he said. They cuddled for a moment, but then the younger werewolf started bouncing.
"Esme is here then right? You found the cure? I heard her talking to Granch and she - "
"Victor's here?" Tanner suddenly became much more alert. He gently pulled back from Sian, but she caught his arms.
"Something's happening, isn't it?" she asked. "We knew that Elmskill had been evacuated, of course, and that there was a big commotion about the Morthahg being released, and that someone might've used one of the family inventions to do it. And then we heard that Lorelei had been hurt and - "
"The Morthahg's in the basement."
"How'd it get here?"
"Esme's being charged with releasing it and the deaths of various Muggles."
"Wha? But that's - "
"I happen to know that most of those Muggles were vampires, but no one listens to me, because there's a few that think I attacked a girl here."
"But - "
"Annnd there's the small matter of me being out of my mind."
"That one's no surprise. . ."
"They don't have trueborn werewolves here," he lowered his voice to a whisper. "The groundskeeper is the only one who's even heard of them. It's Cursed or nothing."
"That's. . .odd. Are the Cursed so rare that they don't get the chance to, uh, meet?"
"Well, there was definitely a Cursed one here not that long ago. I could smell him. Apparently he carried a lot of chocolate around with him."
"Sounds like my kind of guy. But what are we going to do now?"
"Hopefully with Victor on the scene, Esme's trial will slow down and we can save her."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know!" Frustration whined in Tanner's voice. "I think she's close by. I've hunted with her long enough to have a sort of pack - sense of her, but there's so much magic floating around that I might be picking up something else."
Sian quieted but her eyes became more intense.
"We could find her," she said softly. "We could. . . do something.."
"That's as much a plan as I've had in days!" Tanner's grin came back. "Let's go."
Sirius and Sapphire by TWZRD--Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven: Duets
Time: Early June 1995 and Evening 7/14/95
They had found the old piano on Molly's first day at Grimmauld, while inspecting the attic for unsavory denizens. Sirius had been surprised; he had no memory of anyone in the family playing. When they were all satisfied that it displayed no signs of nefarious enchantments, Remus began to tinker with what he soon pronounced, "the sad remains of a once fine instrument - a thing not unlike myself." (This remark, he delivered with such theatrical pathos that Molly giggled and Sirius chucked a doxy-eaten feather duster at his friend. )
As it turned out, Remus had learned to tune and repair pianos as a fallback way to keep body and soul together. Self employment in a cash only business bypassed legal requirements to announce his illness to potential employers. (He even knew how to tune without magic, and so could take muggle customers, though he usually told them he did his best work without an audience. In this way, he had been able to restore several "unrepairable" instruments to playable condition for grateful muggle owners.) When Remus diagnosed the piano as "mostly fixable," Molly had insisted on levitating it down to the ground floor parlor.
Hermione, who had studied piano for six years before entering Hogwarts, was at it like a moth to a flame, and Remus got quite an earful of how Bach reminded her of Arithmancy, while Mozart was more like blending potions, as he did the tedious restoration on the rotten felts. *
Since there was no door between the piano and the entrance hall, someone renewed an "imperturbubble" around it every day or two, creating a sort of acoustic bubble within which the piano's sound would remain, and so avoid disturbing Mrs. Black's portrait.
"It's a pity we can't have music all through the house," Molly lamented. "It would so brighten the place."
Sirius snorted, "Even dead, Mother still gets her way."
Molly, who played a bit herself, regretted that she and Arthur had never scraped together enough money to give their boys formal lessons. She had briefly hoped that Ron might learn a bit from Hermione, but gave that idea up when less than twenty minutes on the bench together produced an exasperated Hermione, and a pantomime from Ron of screaming and tearing his hair out as he ran down the hall away from her. Ginny proved a bit more willing, and would spend a few minutes at the keyboard every day with whomever had time to show her a thing or two. What pleased Molly most, however, was when Remus would pull out the old show tune books one of his muggle customers had given him. Then everyone would crowd into the piano bubble for a sing along.
The second evening after Sapphire's arrival, when it became evident that Sirius had made no plans to entertain her, (indeed, he very nearly fell asleep in his dinner, and excused himself early from the table), Molly suggested that a little music might be nice. Hermione could only be persuaded to play one solo.
"It will take at least two more weeks of practice before I have anything else to play," Hermione protested, "especially since I'm not allowed to do memory enhancement spells out of school," (Molly saw Sapphire alert to this information, but she didn't interrupt), "but Miss McNiven has such a pretty voice, I think we should sing from Remus' American songbooks. Perhaps she knows some of them?"
Molly, who had not forgotten the encoded vendor's chant, had also heard snatches of songs escape now and then as Sapphire helped in the kitchen. She concurred with Hermione. "That's a wonderful idea! Won't you sing with us?"
Sapphire allowed that her voice was nothing special, ("It'll do I guess,") but when Remus produced his volume of Jerome Kern, she searched the index with obvious anticipation. Her finger stopped on a song called, "Why do I Love You?". Remus smiled and turned to it. As Hermione read the accompaniment, Sapphire's dark soprano twined with Remus' somewhat husky, but not unpleasant tenor. Both sang with obvious feeling, and Molly and the others soon fell silent to listen.
When they had finished, Sapphire said softly, "Daddy and I used to sing that together. 'Showboat' was his favorite musical, I think."
Remus nodded gravely. "It has a story that seems to transcend time and, in this case, even culture."
Sapphire's eyes were tearing, and she sniffed. "I'm sorry! We only lost Daddy less than two years ago. I still get sentimental."
Remus put one arm around her shoulders, and gave her a gentle squeeze. She smiled and dabbed at her eyes. At that moment, Hermione spoke.
"Sirius, won't you join us?"
They all turned to see Sirius standing just inside the edge of the sound bubble. He was holding a goblet full of what Molly recognized as a common sleeping potion -- the same one that Ginny took to keep off bad dreams. Sirius stared vaguely into the midst of them for several seconds before he answered, "I only came to say 'goodnight'. I'm very tired, and my presence would contribute nothing to your enjoyment, I'm sure." Sirius' gaze fell on Sapphire, who took in her breath and bit her lips as though she were thinking of something to day; but immediately he nodded and turned away.
As he exited the bubble, Molly heard Ginny say softly, "Sleep well."
________
Sirius set the potion on his night stand, gathered his pajamas from the foot of the bed and sat down upon the edge of the mattress. Six to eight hours of dreamless sleep were contained in the steaming goblet. Last night, he had hardly slept at all; only a cold shower in the morning and lots of tea had gotten him through the day. Now he sat half in, half out of his night clothes, staring at the goblet. For the moment, he didn't feel like sleeping.
Why had the sight of Remus and Sapphire at the piano made him turn away? It was true, he was tired and not altogether in the mood for levity, but he had fully intended to stay for a song or two before retiring. Those evenings around the piano had, up till now, been the best of all distractions. Was it only because Sapphire was a muggle that it jarred so to watch her insert herself into the community at Grimmauld; or were there aspects of this woman that he had missed during that so long ago courtship?
In those days, Sapphire had been a secret to keep close and think on when his daily existence became too grim. He had understood her as always waiting for him -- an escape from the war, even if only for a few days -- certainly a prize that had to be earned, but his alone for the claiming. Now, she was in the vortex of a veritable mob; discussing recipes with Molly, letting Snivellus poke his overgrown nose into her thoughts, charming Dumbledore, Arthur and Kingslea and weeping on Remus' shoulder...
"You've left your wits with the dementors!" Sirius snarled, kicking his shoes into a corner. It was nothing but insane to imagine Remus letting himself be used like that -- as if someone like Sapphire would play such games. "What's more, even if she were trying to make you jealous," he balled up a sock and hurled it after the shoes, "it just doesn't make a damn bit of difference." He'd been crushing his silk pajama shirt in his palm; now he tried to smooth the damp wrinkles against his chest. He reached for the potion, then paused, remembering a conversation on another sleepless night. "She believed there'd be time for sleep later," he whispered, and smiled sadly. On that night, one sort of "later" had seemed very soon, and been something to believe in. "Well, Granny M, I hope you're having sweet dreams."
@ 1,467 words on 07/17/07
Credits: 'Why Do I Love You?'; Duet from "Show Boat" by Oscar Hammerstein 2nd and Jerome Kern
*Author's Note: I've been asked to explain why Remus didn't use magic to repair this piano quickly. But actually, I did picture him using magic. A muggle felt job might involve replacing all 88 hammer felts (not to mention the damper felts), then pushing needles into the hammer felts and playing each one repeatedly until they are the correct hardness to get an even tone from string to string. That's called "voicing." I figure, even with magic, you have to voice the keys one by one. Then you may play it a few days on and find something needs redoing. Even for wizards, I believe music has infinite capacity for tedious work!
Sirius and Sapphire by TWZRD--Chapter 10
Chapter Ten: Fantastic Beasts
Time: Late Morning 7/14/95
Remus Lupin was grateful to Sirius for providing this sanctuary where he could count on food and medicine being available as soon as he was recovered enough to use it. The morning of July 13th, when he had regained enough of his human sensibilities to use a quill, he had pushed the customary note under the magically sealed door before drinking some sleeping potion. Awaking from that nap, he had found murtlap ointment and a self warming bowl of chicken soup on a tray inside his now unwarded door. He applied the one, ate the other and returned to sleeping. Having the extra day to rest before having to cope with everyday living -- and that took a bit of coping when you were regularly ill and practically unemployable -- was the best sort of gift.
When he awoke on July 14th, he tried to tidy the room a little, but spell work made his head throb just yet. "A hot shower and a shave are what you need," he mumbled to his reflection. "You may feel like something the kneazle dragged in, but you don't have to look it!" He always felt as though the fur that grew outside during transformations must grow inside too, and perhaps, in the dark cave of his brain, it didn't recede quite as quickly as it did from his skin. Fortunately, it would take very little thought to stand under the shower. Having exhausted his powers of concentration with remembering to bring his shaving mug and a change of clothes, Remus trudged stiffly down the hall and reached for the bathroom doorknob. He nearly fell forward as the door swung open. The woman behind it gasped in obvious surprise. He should speak to her, to let her know that he was himself again, and not dangerous, but he couldn't think of her name. Were these transformations taking a toll on his mind as well as his body? He knew everyone who could enter this house. So why did this woman seem unfamiliar? He stood pondering, disoriented, unable to move or speak in the presence of this mystery.
The woman's eyes, though wide with alarm, looked steadily into his. Her fear would not blind her. She would not be repelled. Her eyes reached into his soul, ... and drew out his name.
_____________
"You never told me you had an American girlfriend!" Remus had located Sirius in his room an hour after breakfast. "Or should I say 'fiance? I can't believe you didn't tell me!"
"I never told anyone ... anyone except James and Lily, and only because Lily guessed it."
"Well, that explains the transcontinental apparation license and the secretive trips in the summer months. After Voldemort's attack at Godric's Hollow, we all thought you had been up to no good when you absented yourself for supposed rafting trips you never discussed afterward, and some said the apparation upgrade had been a getaway plan." Remus shook his head. "What fools we were! What could be more normal than a young man slipping off to see his girl from time to time?"
"And what could be more abnormal than that young man having to keep the girl hidden for fear she'd be a casualty of war. We were all paranoid in those days." Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus, then sighed, "And now here she is, and here I am, and there's still no easy answer..., no, I should just send her packing. After all, she did promise not to follow me. But then it appears she isn't safe in the States either. Besides, I feel I owe her something. After all, I made her promise to wait for me, but didn't keep my end of the bargain."
"You're saying you've loved other women since then?" Remus was trying not to seem surprised.
Sirius gave a bitter laugh. "I sure got around in Azkaban! Of course not; you know as well as anyone what my life's been like. No, I promised I'd come back to her. I was sure I would, too, after the war was over."
"For you it's never ended."
"Nor, it seems, for her."
There was a long pause before Remus asked, "Does she know that you're confined to the house here?"
"I'm trying to make her understand that, and that she'd be restricted in her comings and goings if she stayed. Being a muggle, I just don't think she can comprehend how dangerous it could be for her to get mixed up in this war..." Sirius suddenly slammed his fist on the side of a cherry wardrobe. "This is snorkack crap! As soon as she's had a few days to see what the situation is, she'll just have to go back to her muggle life. Do you know she's an important professor at a muggle university? They've even heard of her at colleges here in England. She's made something of herself while I've rotted in Azkaban. I can't imagine why she'd want to hang about in this dungeon." He waved his hand dismissively at the house around.
"And yet, you hope she will." Remus said.
"Don't talk rot."
"Don't be hasty." Remus smiled. "She went through a lot to find you. At least try to get reacquainted. You thought she was something special when you proposed to her, and I suspect you're right. She must still think the same about you."
Sirius only grunted.
"Can I ask you something?" Remus went on.
"You're going to anyway, I think."
"She doesn't know about your dog form, but she called you a stray dog, right?"
Sirius rubbed his temples and squinted. "Her Granny used all kinds of dog allusions when we first met. Sapphire has done the same. I suppose it's just astronomy."
"Are you convinced of that?"
"No, I'm not. She's full of surprises. Always has been. She has an odd way of just knowing what's on your mind. Snape believed she was a legelimense for a moment. That's one reason I didn't know for sure whether she was witch or muggle for a year after I met her. I thought maybe she didn't use a wand when I was looking because she wasn't sure about me either, or else she lacked formal training. She has a way with plants and animals too -- just sees right into the essence of living things."
Remus nodded. "When we met this morning, I was still a little disoriented and I frightened her, but she didn't scream or run. Instead, she did the strangest thing."
"Such as?"
"She named me."
"She ... named you? What, a furry SOB?"
"No, really." Remus wasn't laughing. "I didn't know what the name meant, but I knew it belonged to me as soon as she said it. I think it was her way of accepting me -- of asking me to accept her." Remus paused and went on. "Did you tell her I was a werewolf?"
"No! " Sirius looked startled. "I wouldn't tell her unless you wanted me to, or there was, you know, a situation that absolutely required it."
Remus went on, "I asked Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Molly, and none of them think she could know. But when I was showing her the back garden this morning, I asked her what she had called me. She acted embarrassed, and said she didn't know why she had called me by a Cherokee name, and that she really didn't mean anything by it. I had to press her quite a bit to get the meaning out of her, but when I did, do you know what she called me at first sight?"
Sirius waited for Remus to go on.
"She called me 'Gray Wolf'."
Sirius was silent a long time. "That sounds like Sapphire. Her granny once told me she and her granddaughter 'didn't fit in with regular folk'. At the time, I thought she was telling me that they were witches, but now I think she was just saying that their skills and abilities had made them outsiders among muggles. She could tell I was an outsider, too, though she never asked me why I was different."
"Maybe leaving her muggle life doesn't seem so hard to her, if she doesn't fit in."
"She's got a good job. She's respected in her professional sphere. Why would she want to leave that?"
Remus smiled a little sadly. "A good job is a wonderful thing, but it's not the only thing in life. You and I ought to know. Now, don't you two have a date to meet Buckbeak soon?"
"I'll tell her not to poke her nose into your business." Sirius said.
"How will you explain that order?"
"I'll just tell her you have an illness you don't like to talk about."
"Great," Remus sighed. "Now she can think of all kinds of nasty diseases for me to have."
"OK, I won't bring it up unless she does," Sirius said, " but be warned; she's trained as an herbalist and traditional healer. Those muggle sciences are sort of akin to medicinal potion making -- use a lot of the same stuff we keep on hand for such things. That was another reason I took her for a witch at first. Anyway, I'm just saying she won't sit and watch you looking pale for very long without wanting to improve you."
"I believe you. Molly and I marked off about eight square feet of ground that should be safe for her to tend if she wears some protective clothing, and already she's thought of twenty medicinal or nutritious plants that should grow there and identified another two or three already there that she wants to cultivate. "
"Someone will have to watch her while she's out there."
"We told her you had plenty of time to do that."
"Oh, thanks." Sirius scowled, and Remus shook his head.
"Look man, you didn't throw her out the first day, so you may as well talk to her. It's sort of pointless if she hangs about and you ignore her."
"She's getting a feel for my dismal existence. It should repel her in a few days."
"Maybe your existence could be less dismal if you spent some time talking to the lady."
Sirius gave his friend a dark look.
Remus shrugged. "I don't know why you want to be such a gloomy Gus. If she were my old girlfriend, I wouldn't waste time sitting alone. Just think about it, will you?"
" 'Think', he says. All I do all day is think. It's Azkaban all over."
As Remus opened the door to leave he added, "I hear Buckbeak shuffling about. Get your butt down to the kitchen and take the woman to see the hippogriff. I'll bet none of her muggle girlfriends can top that for a unique date."
____________
"He's magnificent!" Sapphire whispered to Sirius, as she bowed to the hippogriff.
Sirius felt no small satisfaction as the beast bowed back. "I thought you'd like him. Would you like to pet him?"
"Oh, would I!"
"Just keep eye contact and do all those things you do when you meet a strange animal."
"Strange indeed."
"Well, I meant one you haven't met, but for a muggle, I guess we could say a hippogriff is something strange."
"Strange and wonderful," Sapphire said, holding out a hand toward Buckbeak.
"I don't think he'll sniff you. Birds aren't big on smells."
"But he's part horse, too."
"Not the sniffing part."
Buckbeak was turning his head from one side to the other, looking at Sapphire with each glowing eye separately. Finally, he rubbed his beak against the proffered hand. Sapphire drew in her breath at the approach of the enormous predatory head, but she held still.
"Just stroke his neck now. That's it. Good boy, Buckbeak."
Sapphire was gently petting the soft, white neck feathers and running her hand more firmly down the dappled gray withers and back. Buckbeak made a contented noise, somewhere between a whicker and a cluck. Sapphire giggled.
"It is a funny sound, isn't it," Sirius smiled. "I wish I could take you for a ride on him."
"It must be wonderful."
"Yes, and no. The motion takes some getting used to. Sort of a cross between flying on my old motorbike and bouncing around on one of your mules." Sirius paused a moment. "Now that I think of it, it's probably a good thing you made me ride Jack and Blackie. When Buckbeak and I first met, I had to learn to ride him 'on the job' so to speak. It was a matter of both our lives that I be successful."
"Does he mount from the left? And did you?" Sapphire grinned.
"He does indeed, and I did. We dismount that way too -- always on purpose, I might add. Are you proud of me for remembering?"
"More like amazed."
They both laughed, then grew suddenly silent. Sapphire was first to speak again.
"So he's a fugitive too?"
"Yes, though unlike me, he really committed his 'crime'. But there were extenuating circumstances. He's not vicious like they say." Sirius gave the big animal a pat and opened the bucket lid.
"Blech!" Sapphire made a face and stepped back a bit. "I believe you about him not smelling much. That's worse than cat food! Can't he eat oats and hay?"
"He tries to graze a bit, but he can't really chew it. His beak is made to rip flesh. It's a little better when we can get rats. These fish guts are the worst."
Sapphire stared thoughtfully at the horse end of Buckbeak. "I sure miss Blackie. He was a good mule."
"I'm glad he was useful to you."
"'Useful' isn't the word. He saved me, Sirius. I think about that all the time." She dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve, and Sirius conjured a handkerchief.
"Thanks," she continued. "Sorry, it still upsets me."
"I suppose it might."
"You know something, Blackie was like me the way Buckbeak is like you."
"How's that?" Sirius asked.
Blackie wasn't really a magical animal, but he wasn't ... well, he wasn't ordinary either. He knew things mules don't know, like what those dementors would do to me."
"Maybe he just knew you needed protecting."
"Did Jack protect me when you stunned me?"
"He was old and became derelict in his mulish duties."
Sapphire laughed at Sirius' drollness, then continued, "Blackie knew where things were, too. I remember you telling me he had a great sense of direction, and you were right. If I once showed him some patch of useful plants, I could almost just tell him what I wanted and he would head there."
"That was the Thestral in him. They're famous for that."
"But yet he was a mule. He had the usual mule anatomy, with maybe a few marginal oddities, like the pointed teeth, but he didn't vanish or fly or anything. He lived in a world that denied magic, even though he had the genes for it in him. Now Buckbeak, he's completely from this magical world. I mean, he's a physical impossibility; how can a horse body live on an eagle's diet? He's part of the world you opened for me, where a man can vanish into thin air, and pop through locked doors without a key," Sapphire paused, then added, "and when you opened it, I felt that I'd been hunting for that world all my life."
"You don't know very much about my world," Sirius said.
"I know you. I think that's quite enough to get started."
"I was barely twenty-one years old then. It was a lifetime ago."
"And I was three years older and thought you were too young to take seriously, until you persuaded me otherwise. You were put off by my being a muggle for a bit and I was afraid of the magic you could do. You were hidden here where I couldn't possibly find you, yet I did." She smiled at Sirius. "You and I, maybe we're like this hippogriff; maybe we have a knack for the impossible?"
@ 2,694 words, Last Edit 07/16/07