Jasline was preparing to go into her daily yoga routine when the stranger knocked on the door and introduced himself as Arthur Weasley, someone from the Muggle Department at the Ministry. No wonder he looked familiar. In her brief stint as Sirius's personal healer, she had seen him a couple of times, but they were never formally introduced. Sirius had inherited a large fortune from his Uncle and offered to pay her an attractive salary for becoming his personal healer, meaning she could only work part-time at St Mungo's, but it wasn't the money she was after. She had been good friends with both Sirius and Remus due to their shared love for Muggle music, a fact that she discovered after talking to a reticent Remus in the Prefect's common room in fifth year. But she always felt closer to Sirius. They had first met on the Quidditch pitch in first year. She was a Chaser and later became Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, while Sirius was a Gryffindor Beater. He always made it a point to aim the Bludger at her. There used to be only outright animosity then, but they decided to call a truce when Jasline's other good friend, Lily, fell in love with Sirius's best mate, James. After that, it was only friendly jibes at each other's abilities, and Jasline soon found Sirius to be rather conversational and companionable. Sirius also had an annoying but at times endearing habit of protecting those around him, so it was with much amusement that Jasline always saw spiteful Slytherins flying away from her before she could even whip out her own wand. Sirius was like her older brother, someone she cherished greatly, for she was an only child.
So she readily agreed to be a personal healer, for Jasline knew all too well that her immature "brother" was always getting into trouble, so she didn't mind tagging along Sirius on dangerous missions simply because she wanted to make sure he was safe. And she was quite right, having to sometimes stop Sirius from acting rashly and falling into obvious traps or doing stupid things, like attempting to fight a dragon alone. She had rejected the salary right from the start, taking only one quarter of the amount offered to cover for the lost salary in her original job. But the stupid git ignored her and credited the full sum to her anyway. Just to spite him, she spent most of it acquiring this towering mansion, which she quite regretted since she lived by herself, but Sirius only laughed and said it suited her well. And now he was gone.
Jasline was quite surprised that Sirius had approached her instead of Pettigrew. He never mentioned it, but Jasline suspected Sirius didn't trust Pettigrew as much as his other friends. Either that, or he doubted Pettigrew's aptitude as a wizard. Even when he became James's secret keeper and felt that he was incapable of carrying on that responsibility, the first person he looked for to replace him was Remus. Even though Remus had mysteriously disappeared, and Peter Pettigrew was right there. In the end, Sirius had to give up the search, and contacted Pettigrew instead. That proved to be his downfall.
When Sirius was incarcerated, Jasline never once doubted his innocence. Sure he was rash, sometimes stupid, but he was never disloyal, always willing to throw his life away to protect those that were important to him. Jasline visited him almost everyday, trying to assure him that he would be released soon enough. But the crazed look in his eyes told her that Sirius was no longer himself, he was devoid of hope. He shouted and screamed for her to leave. He didn't want her to see him in such a pitiable state. But Jasline didn't want to leave her close friend behind, to suffer alone within the bleak confines of Azkaban. There were times where she doubted her judgment, unable to believe that Pettigrew, ever the follower, would be able to fool Sirius like that. And then there were the constant open hostilities flying around whenever Sirius's name was mentioned. Even Sirius, in his worse off days, kept declaring that he was a mass murderer. It was with fierce determination that Jasline stayed by his side, only to have her heart broken each time she saw how Sirius's health deteriorated, and the lack of response. He could rave at her for all he wanted, for it was better than the still silence that greeted her from the cell. It was as if his soul had vanished, leaving an empty shell to stare blankly back at her, not even acknowledging her existence.
Yet despite her best efforts, work caught up with her. As the war ensued, more and more patients required her medical care. Her job was equally depressing, as patients hit with the Crucio curse too many times by those debauched death eaters are unlikely to recover again. They would suffer from waking nightmares, face contorted with anguish and fear, unable to break free from the imaginary pain that held them captive. There were also others that suffered severe burns or permanent injuries, that even her healing magic and potions could not cure. Jasline devoted her whole being into her work, praying silently every day that the war would end soon. Lost in the hectic ways of life, Jasline felt guilty for not visiting Sirius, but there was nothing she could do. Sirius slowly drifted out of her life, and she never saw him again, not even when he broke out of prison, nor when he died so suddenly on that fateful day.
And now, Arthur just proclaimed that Sirius was alive and kicking, living in the Burrow along with them. What are the odds? Her heart leaped at the thought that her old friend was back, but her mind resolutely believed that it may all be fake. Well… there's only one way to find out. "Give me some time to pack up some things and we will go, Arthur." She smiled brilliantly at the shy man.
