Disclaimer: Yes, I am J.K. Rowling and making loads of money from this thing. ...Wait, what do you mean that was a dream...?
A/N: Here's the next chapter! I thought I'd post it early as a little thank you present for all my wonderful reviewers and those who PM'd me to leave a comment, but I won't be able to update this quickly all the time, sorry! Thanks to all who have reviewed or added this story to their favourites or alerts, and thanks especially to frostykitten for her help with a few problems I had. You should all check out her story 'This Curse to Bear' if you have a chance. Now, enjoy!
Chapter two
At Bella's nod Sirius continued with his story. 'As I was saying, your sister used a very rare form of ancient Fae magic, something which by the laws of nature, she should not have been able to do.' he began, but was swiftly interrupted again by Bella.
'Fae magic?' she queried.
'Seriously cuz, are you ever going to let me finish this?' After another glare from Bella he continued. 'The Fae are a race of magical beings that once lived alongside wizards and muggles. They were the most magic of creatures - taking on whatever form they desired and able to control the elements as they wished, and so they took it upon themselves to protect nature from any threats that may present themselves. For a time, wizards, the Fae and other magical races, including house elves, centaurs and other such creatures, lived together in harmony, lending their magic to muggles as they needed it, and the world prospered. Famine simply did not exist, war and poverty had not yet raised their ugly heads, and all who lived at that time were considered equal. However, there were those who were not content with their lot in life. Some of the most powerful among the wizarding community thought themselves above other races. Soon, they had enslaved some of those they believed were lesser beings. The house elves, who had always been a humble race, willing to help anyone who asked, were soon forced by wizards - and witches too may I add - to obey without question any command given them.
For many years, the Fae stood back and simply watched. They were loath to use violence in this once peaceful world, but as the power of the wizarding community grew, and they moved from their conquer of the house elf race to attempting to do the same with other races; wars broke out among those who had once lived in harmony. With no magic to protect themselves, their families or their homes, muggles were soon forced out of the areas which were most densely populated by the wizarding kind, and were forced to build weapons to defend themselves, thus adding their race to this first war. It pained the Fae to see the destruction of that perfect balance of power which they had spent so long caring for and finally, they decided to intervene. For a year they would withdraw their powers from nature, letting famine sweep across the land. They this would make the wizards stop and think about the devastation their lust for power was causing, and they would put an end to the fighting before they destroyed everything the Fae valued. They began a hibernation of such, hiding themselves away so that they could not be found, some of them deep in the heart of the forests, some in the great rivers which snaked across the land and still others in the powerful gusts of the wind, until all but one of the Fae was gone. This last Fae would be the one to wake them when the year was up, and until then would go to live among the wizarding population and convince them of the error of their ways.
The Fae went to an area which was densely populated with wizarding folk and walked along their streets for a while, listening to their conversations and watching their behaviour. For the most part, they talked mainly of inconsequential things, but occasionally she would come across a group discussing this war they were now part of. Few dared openly oppose it though she got the distinct impression that most did not want this 'power' people talked about if it had to come at a cost of the loss of peace in their world. There were however, a number of power hungry witches and wizards around who were eagerly discussing their next plans for battle. These mainly seemed to involve attacking muggles and forcing them into submission - something no one seemed to think would be too difficult. After all, muggles had no magic to protect themselves with.
The Fae was saddened by this behaviour and decided that she would protect the muggles from the planned attacks of the wizarding community. She ducked out of sight and changed forms, from a human to a small silver bird, then flew away. After just a short while she spotted a muggle gathering. Swooping down, she landed behind a large oak tree and changed back to her humanoid form. She stayed with the muggles and for a few days, all was peaceful. They welcomed her and gave her food and drink, and shared their shelter with her, for though they had no magic of their own; they had learnt to recognise the feel of other magicks and recognised her as a powerful guardian.
To the sorrow of the Fae, this peace was not to last. Early one morning as she was flying over the camp the muggles were staying in, she spotted a large group of people heading their way. The time had come. Returning to the camp, she revealed herself in her true Fae form - taller than an average human with a graceful, willowy body and features that had all the beauty of the forest on a bright, morning. Her dress was the blue of a bluebird's delicate feathers, and flowed and rippled like a river as she moved. Her hair was the colour of the bark on the trees and cascaded down her back in curling ringlets, small flowers dotted through it like jewels. The muggles gathered around her as she called out to them. 'Listen to me, my children,' she called to them. 'There are those who wish to harm you, but I have spent time among you and see that your only wish is for things to return to the way they were - you have done nothing against me or my people. Gather round me and you will be safe. I shall call the wind and the trees to us, and we shall prevail against our enemies.'
Saying this she raised her hands to the sky and began a whispering chant. It was like no language the muggles had heard before but they stood around her, trusting in the strength of the magic radiating from her. The chant slipped into a song and the Fae spread her arms wide, calling to the trees around them. The wind blew a little more strongly, sweeping in a fog so thick that everything around was hidden from view, and when it finally dissipated, a number of strange lumps could be seen towards the edge of the camp. As the muggles moved closer to investigate, they saw that these lumps were in fact, strange cages made from interlocking tree roots, inside which were the groups of the wizards who had wished to harm them. Their wands lay shattered on the ground next to them, and without their weapons of power, the wizards trembled before the Fae.
The Fae spoke in a loud voice which shook the earth, turning the wrath of nature upon these who had so foolishly tried to seize power for themselves. 'You disappoint me children,' she began. 'We gave you a perfect world to live in, and still you desired more. Your actions will cost you dearly.' She paused to glare around at them. 'Your people value their magic more than anything, so this will be the price you must pay for disrupting the peace. From now on, those of you who are gathered here will be stripped of your magical ability. You will return to your people and warn them of the dangers of the path they have begun to journey down. If you do not cease in your attempts to become the ruling force of this world, then the Fae will no longer assist you in caring for nature. Famine and drought will sweep across your lands and you will lose the ability to use the healing magic of the Fae you use to hold off death. Your life spans will decrease from being measured in centuries to being measured in decades.' She paused again, but when she continued it was in a softer voice. 'There is a way to prevent this from happening. If you can once again learn to live together with the other races which inhabit this earth, then the Fae will stay with you and all shall be as it once was.' The Fae raised a hand and the tree roots crept back into the ground freeing their prisoners, then turned and walked back into the camp.
'Sirius...' Bella said with a warning tone to her voice. 'I hope this is going somewhere and isn't just some pointless babble of yours.'
'Don't worry little cuz, I'm getting there,' Sirius said with a smile. 'You need to understand the history of this particular subject to fully understand what happened to you.'
'Well can we hurry it up a little?' Bella grumbled. 'I don't have all day.'
'Actually...' Sirius began with a smirk on his face, 'you do.'
'Well, I want to spend as little time in this place as possible.' Bella snapped back. 'Get on with your story.'
oooOOOooo
Narcissa blinked, and then opened her eyes fully. A little disorientated, she wondered where she was for a fraction of a second, then realised she must have fallen asleep on the sofa. She stood and stretched, then made her way to the darkened guest room where Bella lay. She called a house elf and asked for a cup of tea, then changed her mind and made her way to the kitchens. Enough was enough she thought. Lucius had mistreated these elves for as long as they had served the family, and though Narcissa had always treated them kindly, she felt they had suffered more than enough. Stepping into the kitchens she called for their attention. 'If you wouldn't mind, I would like to talk to you for a while,' she began. She was met with a resounding chorus of 'Yes mistress.' and 'certainly mistress,' as the house elves stopped what they had been doing and turned towards her.
'Thank you,' she said. 'I would like to talk to you all about a matter that has been beyond my control for many years, but thanks to recent events, namely my husband's arrest, I am now able to do something about. I am aware that many of you have been badly hurt by my husband.' Spotting the looks on their faces she continued. 'No, no, do not deny it. I know he has ordered you that you must not speak ill of your masters, but I, as mistress of this house am telling you that this is no longer a rule you must obey.' She smiled at their looks of relief, obviously they had been battling between obeying the order that they must not lie to their masters, and the order she had just rescinded. The conversation would be a whole lot more comfortable now. She continued with her little speech. 'I know that when most of you agreed to start working for this family, you did not expect the punishments to be as harsh as they have turned out to be. You have done much, much more than I could ever have asked of you, and because of this I would like to make you an offer. Those of you who wish to have it; I will grant you your freedom.'
Narcissa's statement was met with a long silence. She began to fidget under the scrutiny of the many eyes upon her. Finally, just as she was about to say something else, a small elf raised her hand. Smiling a small smile of relief, Narcissa nodded to her. 'Yes Dolly?'The little elf's eyes lit up with happiness.
'Mistress knows Dolly's name!' she squeaked with happiness. Narcissa laughed.
'Of course I do! Now, what was it you wanted to ask dear?' The little elf paused and then stared into Narcissa's face with large hopeful eyes.
'Dolly was wondering if Dolly could work for mistress 'Cissa rather than being free. Dolly does not want to work for master Lucius who hurts Dolly, but Dolly is liking mistress 'Cissa and does not want to leave her.'
Narcissa's heart melted at the shy look on the little elf's face. Smiling at her, she replied, 'Of course you can! I would be honoured to have you working for me Dolly!' She picked up the little elf and gave her a hug, sending her into tears of joy.
Setting Dolly down, Narcissa turned to survey the rest of the elves. 'Okay,' she said. 'Which of you wish to be free?' After a small pause, a few of the elves raised their hands. 'Right,' Narcissa said, conjuring a large pile of elf sized clothes. 'Help yourselves!' The elves approached her and, with a little encouraging, picked out a few items of clothing each. They stood whispering to each other and after a moment one stepped forward, obviously having been elected as spokesperson.
'We is wanting to say thank-you to mistress 'Cissa,' he began, but stopped when Narcissa interrupted him. '
Not 'mistress 'Cissa' anymore, Arnold.' she said with a smile. 'Just call me Cissy, okay? In fact,' she continued, turning to the other elves, 'I've never been comfortable with the whole mistress thing. Why don't you all call me 'Cissa or Cissy?' Though they seemed shocked at this act of familiarity, they all gave small nods. 'Great!' Narcissa exclaimed. 'Now, what were you saying Arnold?'
The house elf looked up shyly. 'We house elves wanted to tell ... Cissy... that we is very fond of you too miss, but we has always wanted to be free. If we had to choose masters we would be choosing you miss, but because you is letting us be free...' Arnold trailed off. Narcissa looked at him with that small smile on her face again.
'I understand Arnold,' she told him. 'You simply wish to be able to live with no master, am I right?'
'Yes ...Cissy...' the little house elf smiled.
'Then away you go dears.' With that, the group of freed house elves disapparated with a loud pop and were gone. 'Ok,' Narcissa continued, turning to survey the remaining house elves. 'Are all of you happy to serve the entire Malfoy family? Or would you prefer to serve a single master, such as myself or my son?' she enquired. Narcissa was shocked by the number of elves who raised their hands. This was going to take longer than she had expected.
oooOOOooo
Sirius stared at his cousin for a moment. 'You might not like this next part of the story.' he warned. Bella gave him a pained look. 'I think I can cope. After all, I've probably done worse.' she replied in a small voice. 'Okay,' Sirius replied, 'but you've been warned.'
The Fae decided to spend the remainder of the year with the muggles. While the wizarding community had not attempted to attack them again, she was unsure as to how long this peace would last. In the mean time however, she was determined to help the muggles in any way she could. These people had welcomed her into their community and most longed for the peace they used to have. They did not deserve to suffer through the famine that would soon come, and here the Fae could help. She spent the next months walking through the crops she had helped the muggles plant, using her powers to encourage them to grow strong and tall, then returning to the small village in the evenings. A young couple there had welcomed the Fae into their home, and the two women had quickly become friends. After a while though, the Fae began to miss the quiet of the forest. She took to walking along the edge of the woods for a while each day, and this usually satisfied her enough to let her spend another night in the village. On a few occasions she was accompanied by the young woman who was now expecting her first child and she enjoyed these moments of friendship. She did not have many friends among her own people - the Fae were a rather solitary race, most preferring the company of the wind and the trees than of each other.
It was on one of these occasions when she was walking alone along the edge of the forest, that tragedy befell her. She was so absorbed in the feeling of freedom the forest brought her that she did not notice that the shadows around her had eyes, or that the occasional noises she heard were not those made by animals moving through the forest but by something much more sinister. It was not until she was out of sight of the village that she realised the birds which usually accompanied her on her walks were absent, and the forest was empty of the chirping and scurrying she so loved to hear. Before she had a chance to process this and realise what was happening, she was hit with a silent spell from behind. She fell to the ground, feeling the life already draining from her body. Vaguely aware of shadows moving around her, she concentrated her remaining energy on focusing her healing magic towards the spot where the spell had hit her, knowing even as she did that it wouldn't be enough. She lay for what felt like hours, growing progressively weaker but still fighting. She had almost given up when she heard footsteps running towards her. She opened her eyes to see the woman who had become her friend crouched down beside her, tears in her eyes. Knowing she was not going to live, the Fae placed her hand on the woman's arm and gave her the last gift she had to give. She poured all her magic into the woman and her unborn child. This woman and her female descendants would have the magic of the Fae buried inside of them for the times when they needed it most. It was the last protection the Fae could offer to the muggle community she had come to care for during her short stay with them. With a smile on her lips, the Fae closed her eyes for the final time, knowing she had done all she could.
A/N: So what did you think? Please read and review! (By the way, I am not going to be one of those authors who say 'REVIEW OR I WON'T POST THE NEXT CHAPTER' but I do appreciate any reviews you leave and they inspire me in my writing.)