Standing In The Shadows
Part One
Only her eyes were visible in the light from the flickering candle. Her sullen eyes, sometimes glowing red and sometimes human blue. Her body was hidden by the shadows. He had never seen her body, yet he knew every inch of it.
"Sirius," she said, bringing him back to reality. "Tell me. Who am I?"
"A Dementress," he said. "A guardian of the damned. A psychomancer."
"Correct." Her voice was as smooth and indifferent as the sky. "And who are you?"
"I am Sirius Black," he said. "I was wrongly accused of murder."
"Good." She made a note on her clipboard. "We're making progress. This may be the last time you ever have to do this. Do you love me?" There was no change in her speech. Except for the words, it could have been another rote question.
"Yes," he said, savoring the word. "Yes. With all my heart."
"Would you do anything for me?"
"Yes."
"Would you kill for me?"
"Yes."
"Would you die for me?"
"Yes."
There was a pause while she wrote something on her clipboard. "Very good. But tell me this: Why?"
He wasn't sure what to say. She had never asked him this before. "I don't know."
"Take all the time you need." The words were strangely reassuring. "There is no wrong answer."
Finally, he answered, "Because you keep me from insanity. Because I owe you a debt."
"Do you." She put her clipboard down. "And what is that debt?"
"Anything you may ask of me." His voice was calm.
She smiled. He couldn't see it in the dark, but he could sense it. "You say you would do anything."
"Yes," he said, dreading what this would lead up to. "Anything."
"Would you," she began. "If I asked you to, would you kill Harry Potter for me?"
He stared at the floor. "Why," he asked hoarsely, "do you ask me this?"
"Answer the question," she said. "Would you kill Harry Potter for me?"
He buried his face in his hands. "Don't ask me to choose. Please."
"Answer the question." Her voice was maddening.
He looked up at her. "No."
She didn't waver. "Why not?"
"I have taken an oath to protect him. I can't hurt him." Even as he spoke the words, he knew it was a lie. She could make him do anything, and he would be powerless to resist.
There was a snap. She closed the clipboard. "Why did you take the oath? Is that the only reason?"
"He's my last link to James and Lily. I would never forgive myself." He bowed his head.
"So that's the only reason you protect him. He is a manifestation of your dead friends." She was back to the impassive psychomancer, neutral and unfamiliar.
He pounded on his forehead. "Why? Why do you do this to me? You know I'm innocent."
She smiled again. "Very well. I shall never ask you to kill him." She stood up and turned, leaving the room. "You are free to go."
He did not get up.
She stopped in her tracks. "I said you are free to go."
"I'm going to stay here," he said. "Until I die. I can't go back with the Dementors."
"You aren't." Her words fell flat. "You have been successfully rehabilitated. Congratulations."
He looked at her. "I'm free."
She spread her arms. "As free as the sky and the wind." There was a mocking, laughing note in her voice.
"The Dementors…" He stopped. "They'll never let me through."
She glided closer to him. "Allow me."
She lifted up the back of his shirt. He felt her fingers, cool as smoke, drift across his back. "I think that will do the trick." She let the fabric fall, covering any magical sigils she might have traced.
He stood up to face her. "I can't leave you."
She touched his face. "You will never leave me. I will always love you."
He knew it was a lie. He didn't care.
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The woman gazed sullenly at the students. "I suppose none of you know who I am?"
There were blank looks from everyone. Hermione raised her hand. "Now I'm just taking a wild guess here," she said. "But you're the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher?"
The woman smiled. "Sarcasm," she said. "Five points to Gryffindor. Technically, yes."
She was tall, with limp, curly blonde hair and large blue eyes hidden behind glasses. She wore a black turtleneck and black jeans, and a glass ball around her neck in an iron claw. But there was something not quite right about her appearance, as though her form was only a shadow of her true self.
"My name," she said, "is Onyx Orion. Does that mean nothing to you?"
Another collective blank look from the class.
"Good," she said. "It would be most difficult if any of you knew me."
She suddenly seemed to change. "All right. Does anyone know what psychomancy is?"
"That was a truly strange class," Ron remarked, afterwards.
"I don't know about that," Hermione said. "I thought it was interesting."
Harry shrugged. "Right. But I've never heard of someone going inside the minds of an animal. I think she was making it up."
"Actually," Hermione said, "it's possible. There are a few witches that can do it. For some reason, wizards can't. I think it has something to do with animal empathy."
"No," Ron said, "those are only the old-fashioned witches. The kind that live up in the mountains."
"Hermione," Harry said suddenly. "When you asked her that question…did she take away five points?"
Hermione started. "She gave me five points," she said. "For sarcasm. Now that you mention it, I suppose it's a bit odd."
"This is going to be an interesting year," Ron said to himself.
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Madeline lay in the pool, her eyes closed. Her short, curly brown hair drifted around her shoulders. "A lovely day," she murmured to herself.
She mentally monitored the forest around her. This was the Shadow Lady's estate, a vast expanse of luxury in the middle of nowhere. Shadow Lady had been in Azkaban for years, now, for stealing the souls of nine people. She had left Madeline, her adopted daughter, to take care of her vast fortune.
Shadow Lady had found Madeline at age eleven, a cynical, alienated girl stuck in the public school system. She had been the most hated girl in the school. You know her. She's the girl that always twitches when she talks, the one that nobody dares to touch for fear of cooties, the one that pretends to cast spells on people when she's angry at them, the one that sits far away from everyone else at lunch and spends the rest of her time in the library. That was Madeline. She had prayed, one night, her mother downstairs working on a term paper, her father in a bar somewhere. She had pleaded with the world to take her away from this life, that anything else would do. Shadow Lady had heard. She had smote Madeline's enemies and transported her to her villa in a place that had previously only existed inside of Madeline's head. Madeline had paid off her debt long ago. She stayed with Shadow Lady because there was nowhere else to go.
This was Madeline's favorite part of the forest. It was always cloudy here, but warm. She hated sunshine. Often it would rain, a warm wet shower. In the summer it would thunderstorm. Madeline found thunderstorms unbelievably erotic, and would often convince one of the maids to accompany her in a storm-watching. Afterwards, she would either promote or fire them, of course. There was no sense in seducing someone and leaving them with nothing to show for it.
She scanned the area around her. Nothing really. There was an elk munching on some grass, and a nightingale perched near him.
When will she be back? It had been asked many times.
Madeline sighed. "She'll be back when she's back," she said.
I want her to come back. I'm sick of this. Why can't we just pay the debt and get it over with? I never even asked for this.
"But she gave it to you, and aren't you grateful she did." Madeline opened one eye. "We've gone over this a thousand times."
What's he doing now? It was another, a woman.
Madeline concentrated. "He's in his room, studying."
I wish I could see him. My precious little boy. She was wistful.
Madeline propped herself up on her elbows. "Well, I'm sorry, Lily. But it's pretty hard to lug a looking glass all the way out here."
Couldn't you just enchant the water or something for her? He was impatient. I'm sick of her mooning over him all the time. I just want to get this over with.
"For shame, James." Madeline cocked her head and smiled. "He is your only son, and she is your wife. You could be a little more understanding."
I worry about him. Lily sighed. I wish I could talk to him.
Madeline climbed out of the water. "Fine. Wait until it smoothes over, and then I'll enchant it."
She cast a screen spell on the pool. It took very little effort.
The elk plodded over and peered at the pool. He looks like me at that age.
The nightingale joined him. He has my eyes. He's so sweet. She cooed.
Madeline smiled. She had seen this before. It was very common. Two people, bonded to one another by a lifetime of faded love. All too often, the marriage had been a mistake in the first place, and all that was keeping them together was their mutual love for their offspring. Madeline hadn't even had that from her parents. They had been quite glad that she was gone, because they had an excuse to divorce.
She left them gazing into the pool while she walked toward the castle. It was a gloomy and forbidding place from the outside, a misty and dreaming home on the inside.
Marina, one of her favorite maids, met her at the door. "There's been a message from the Shadow Lady herself," she told Madeline.
Madeline raised one eyebrow. "You must be mistaken. She's been in Azkaban for ages and we've had no sign of her. If she would have sent a message, she would have by now."
"Maybe you should read the message," Marina suggested with a resigned sigh.
Madeline followed her to the library, where there was a single scrap of parchment sitting on a table.
She picked up the parchment and scanned it. It was written in her adoptive mother's delicate, flamboyant hand.
Dearest child,
I have fulfilled my mission and have been let out of prison. I will be arriving shortly to resume my duties. You will still be in charge of the estate; however, I will be in charge of all other affairs. I may not be back in person for some time.
In The Shadows
Madeline smiled. "At last."
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