New chapter up! And this time, I'm afraid next one will take a little longer to appear (not quite done yet…) sorry ^^"

Thanks to all reviewers, and to

Guest 1: glad you like it :3

Angel897: thank you :)

Master0gre1965: Good guess! And no need to look so far, it's just that Dijon's emblem is an owl. So, since you won a bonus scene, would you rather give me a prompt or let my imagination run wild? Your choice :)

Guest 2: thank you!

Guest 3: I've only got one thing to say to your oh-so helpful review. Don't like it? Don't read it.

Guest 4: …I've actually never thought of that. That could be one hilarious thing xD

Drrakkos: Thanks to you for reviewing :)

Sorrow: Haha, nice try, but its not :) Thanks for reviewing

Thanks to KatHarkness-Katara for beta-ing :)

I don't own Harry Potter or the Avengers (too bad :P). Hope you'll enjoy :) -won't blame you if you don't.


Chap 8

SHIELD, undisclosed location

It had been a week since she had willingly followed Barton to SHIELD, one week of submitting to psychiatric tests and so on, and Natalia was starting to get impatient. She understood their concerns, but it didn't mean she had to like it. Moreover, the faster she gained their trust, the faster she could dismantle the resurfacing Red Room and be done with it. At least, she thought grimly, they weren't holding her in a cell. Her cooperativeness had allowed her a small -she'd call it- quarters. They included a small bed, a desk with a notebook –in case she remembered extra things, Coulson said –and a small shower. It almost felt like she was staying at the hotel, albeit in a tiny room.

The door opened and an unknown female agent walked in. Tall, brunette, steel blue piercing eyes…No-nonsense like, and probably coming for information.

"Agent Maria Hill," she introduced herself. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Natalia raised an eyebrow. Everyone knew she had nothing to do in here. But she recognized the name. That woman was the bitch who was supposed to gather information on her boy, according to Agent Coulson.

"Not at all," she replied sharply. If Hill was bothered with her tone, she didn't let it show.

"I won't be long." Hill added. "Your probation period begins tomorrow. An instructor will come at 0700 and go through procedure for standard evaluation. You won't be sent into the field until for at least a month."

Natalia nearly muttered a 'finally!' but held back and nodded instead.

"I also came to warn you; should you ever show a sign of defection, ever make a wrong move or a move on anyone at SHIELD, I assume you are familiar with the words 'consequences' and 'execution'."

The redhead assassin really wanted to roll her eyes and snort. That she was indeed familiar with.

"If you don't follow SHIELD's rules, we will get hold of your son and keep a close eye on his activities." Natalia narrowed her eyes this time. Maria raised an eyebrow in return. "You made it clear he was the only reason you were ready to defect and he was raised by you. Precautions must be taken. Is that understood?"

The redhead gritted her teeth but nodded again. Hill's eyes hardened.

"I came in to your quarters out of courtesy. You are not mute as far as I know."

Natalia knew what Hill wanted, a verbal acknowledgment, but she wouldn't give in. She agreed to defect and cooperate, not be a show monkey. The agent sighed and pulled out a folded paper from her vest pocket.

"I gave you the stick," she said, "this is your 'carrot'. I wrote to Yakov and this is his answer addressed to you. If you want to reply, as you are on probation, you will have to go through me, but I will make sure it goes to him. Yakov knows."

Natalia suddenly felt color leaving her face. She hadn't given Yasha's first name to them. How had they found him? Was there a wizard among SHIELD? It wouldn't surprise her, come to think of it, but she hadn't expected them to search in that…area. It could be a fake letter, and she'd know the moment she'd read the words. But given SHIELD's reputation and the knowledge of her boy's name, she doubted it.

"Do we have an agreement?" Hill asked putting the letter down on the desk. Natalia's fingers itched to snatch the letter away. She gave the other woman a deep glare and replied as calmly as she could:

"Yes ma'am."

To her surprise, Hill didn't look smug or victorious over her giving in. The agent just pushed the letter in her direction.

"If your son returns from Hogwarts this Christmas," she added, and Natalia held back a shiver. If she had doubts about the extension of their knowledge, they were now gone. "He will lodge with one of our agents, as you will still be on probation. He will be free to visit you. Once you are off probation, you will be able to choose a place of your own for him and you to live. It will be under SHIELD security and your son will be listed into the family watch line of your file. Of course," she added, "everything concerning magic will not be spoken of."

So not all SHIELD knew about magic. Maybe that was the reason why Agent Hill had brought this conversation to her quarters and not in an office. As if reading her thoughts, Hill added:

"Your room is under camera surveillance, no mikes. Your case was brought and validated by the International Wizard Security Council. Since you start your training tomorrow, we need to fill in a few documents. I will leave you thirty minutes to read and eventually reply before that." Pause. "It will be read too, but you must have expected that."

Natalia picked up the letter with as much control she could muster. Hill walked out but the clock had begun ticking. The redhead turned her back to the camera and unfolded the paper.

"Hi mama,

Hog. is expectedly bizarre, but I'll tell you more later. Remember the first thing you ever gave me? And the thing Master P. left me to inherit? I'm still using them.

Hope you're fine.

Yakov R."

As she read the short sentences, Natalia felt a wave of relief. She recognized Yasha's clumsy handwriting and the way he hadn't expressed a lot of things meant he was testing the waters. He wasn't sure he could trust whoever he was sending his messages to, but he hadn't used their special code to send an SOS. The relief was slowly replaced by worry and she stared at the paper with a new founded fear.

They knew. They knew he was at Hogwarts. That could only mean someone on board had connections with wizards. Hill, obviously, since she had spoken the name 'Hogwarts' with familiarity. But who else? She wasn't quite sure about Hill's position, so couldn't assume only the high flyers knew. Was she the only one? Or was she taking advice from someone? The thirty minutes ticked away and soon enough, the female agent walked back in the room. Natalia still had the letter in her hand.

"You are in charge of finding my boy." She said. Hill nodded. "How did you do it? You are not one of them."

Hill narrowed her eyes at her.

"How would you know?"

You don't feel like them.

"Call it instinct," Natalia replied with a shrug. "If you were a witch, I would know."

Hill raised an eyebrow but didn't seem alarmed.

"Interesting," she stated impassively, but Natalia caught the intrigued glint in her eyes. She suddenly hoped that agent Hill wouldn't put her in a room with wizards to confirm her tells. Maybe she should have shut up. "Will you write an answer? I can spare you five minutes before we need to move on."

The redhead glared at her, but tore a page of her notebook and started scribbling. She handed the final product to Hill, who took it and folded it in her breast pocket.

"It will leave today." She assured him. "Follow me."

Natalia did reluctantly. The agent posted outside her door stiffened at the sight of her and followed them to a small room with just a table and two chairs. Hill waited until Natalia sat to pull out papers and a pen.

"If you are entering SHIELD as an agent, we need to fill a new file with your basic information." She warned, setting her mess of papers in place. "If you wish to create a new identity for you and your son, now is the chance to do it."

Hogwarts, outside the castle

Yasha was this close to screaming in frustration. He was walking by the edge of the forest, the walls of the castle having suddenly become too large and tight and smothering. Since Jack Hill's aunt had sent that letter, he couldn't stand still. Having read and reread it many times, he could picture the words without seeing them at all.

"Mr Romanov,

The Black Widow has joined our underground organization and will soon be admitted among our ranks. The deal she made with us included your protection. Don't attempt to send an owl on your own; the only person that can be reached in the area she is contained in is me. Be aware that since she is currently on probation, her mail will be read before being delivered. Don't hesitate to send her a message through Jack, I will personally ensure it reaches her.

Best regards,

Maria Hill."

What the hell was he supposed to think? The words organization, admitted, protection, probation ran around his mind. He had written something anyway and handed it discreetly to Jack in a corridor. If the Hufflepuff had been surprised by the fastness of the reply, he didn't let it show. He took the letter and promised to send it the very same day. That had been two days ago. And now all Yasha could do was wait and wonder if he hadn't made a terrible mistake.

"If you keep pacing like that, you are going to leave a trail in the grass."

So focused in his steps, Yasha hadn't even noticed Perlancott sneaking up on him. His Slytherin classmate looked smug and proud of himself. Yasha glared.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Walking around. Saw you pacing. Got curious. Why, are you up to no good?" Perlancott replied, mimicking their last encounter. Yasha rolled his eyes but stopped walking.

"Again Perlancott, what do you want?"

The boy stopped smirking and looked a bit sheepish.

"Call me Perl. And I came to apologize. I should have come after you when you lost control on that broom," he explained when as Yasha gave him a puzzled stare.

"Oh that? Forget about it," he replied with a little wave. Meeting the Centaurs had been worth it. "What is the real reason why you came by?" This time, it was Perlancott's turn to look surprised. Yasha raised an eyebrow and went on. "Slytherin students avoid me like the plague because I was raised by a muggle. Not you. Why?"

"I…" Perlancott hesitated a moment, then asked: "You good at keeping secrets?"

Yasha nearly huffed –his mom was an assassin and he was secretly an icon to the English wizarding world! –but Perlancott didn't need to know that.

"I found out my real father is a muggle," Perl whispered, glancing around briefly. "I was hoping you could tell me more about the muggle world."

That caught Yasha's attention.

"Don't you come from a Pureblood family? Your mom had an affair with a muggle or what?"

Perlancott's ears flushed red at the bluntness, confirming Yasha's supposition.

"It was an accident," he muttered. "Mom likes studying muggle culture for hobby. She went in to Italy and met some guy there. They're still in contact, like –is that penpats they say?" he shook his head in shame. "My dad can't have kids, and I'm their only heir. I'll become the Head of the family someday, but I still want to know. What's it like, to live in the muggle world?"

"I'm not the one you should ask about this." Yasha said after a moment. "I was raised by muggles but my childhood wasn't…typical. We travelled a lot and I don't have permanent contacts." He paused, and added as an afterthought. "But I could introduce you to Granger. She's one hundred percent muggleborn."

"The Gryffindor girl you hang out with?" Perlancott asked with a frown. "But she's a Gryffindor!"

"And a muggleborn from a decent family. And I'm her…" he hesitated to use the term 'friend', because as Perlancott pointed out, they just 'hung out'. Instead, he said: "And we get along. So there is no reason -"

An owl landed next to Yasha and chipped. The boy's heart gave a start as he saw it was carrying a letter. Two letters, actually. The first one was short and unfamiliar, although he knew right away who was the sender.

"Same deal. Here's your mother's answer. J."

He opened the second eagerly.

"Yasha,

I have been in a bit of troubles lately and when you come back, you will have to go through a few adjustments. I did find a more stable employment though. I am still on probation, as they must have told you, but I will soon be a full-time employee. The good side is you will have a permanent place to live and assistance in case of need. I'm glad to hear you are getting used to school. We'll have to communicate this way for a while, but it'll work out in the end, I promise.

Good to hear Melody and grey eyes are still functional.

Your mother,

Natalia."

A huge grin blossomed on his face. This wasn't a trap, this was truly his mother. He could communicate with her. Suddenly, his fingers itched for his violin.

"Good news?"

Yasha had completely forgotten about Perlancott. He nearly slapped himself for letting his guard down.

"You could say so," he replied, shoving the letters in his pocket. "I'll get going. Granger should be in the library. Just say you come from me and tell her honestly what you want. I'm sure she'll have questions about the wizarding world too."

And with these words, he waved good bye and ran off to find a secluded place to play.

SHIELD base, undisclosed location.

"And how can you be so certain she isn't deceiving you all?"

In spite of facing the Director of SHIELD through a large sized screen, Hill could feel the intensity of his eyes as if he was standing in the same room. She was alone in the conference room, but standing straight as an arrow like a good officer. She had only met Nick Fury once, but one never forgot the imposing aura and the figure of authority he represented.

"I don't think she realized how much feeling she betrayed when I told her the kid wrote the letter. She was ready to pounce on me." Hill said. "Her son is her priority. As long as we keep him secured, she will be loyal to SHIELD. Make her take the tests and then put her on probation, until at least a week or two before Christmas, and send her on a mission right before her son returns from school. With the right timing, we'll be able to supervise his return."

Fury's eyes were firmly locked on her. Hill held his gaze without blinking.

"And how do you plan to keep that boy in check?"

"I have eyes within and outside the school." She replied as a matter of fact. "They will tell me if the boy acts suspiciously."

Fury's eyebrow raised a notch.

"And where exactly is this school?"

"Scotland, sir," Hill didn't add anything more. To give out further information, she needed to consult the IWSC permission list and check if her boss belonged to the muggles who knew. She hadn't had the time yet. Fury sensed her reluctance and narrowed his eyes at her.

"What are you hiding, agent Hill?"

Hill schooled her features in her best neutral expression.

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Agent Hill," he repeated warningly.

"The school is in Scotland. My nephew attends it," she added as a sort of reassurance. "I will write a full report for tomorrow."

And before the Director of SHIELD could reply –and she'd pay hell for this, she knew it, but she couldn't tell more before asking –she cut the communication and walked out of the room.

Hogwarts, Forbidden Forest.

The forest was, in the end, the only place Yasha would consider for practicing out of earshot. He hated with passion that someone would listen to him playing without him knowing. Even Natasha made sure he knew she was there when he played. So after venturing a little into the woods, he pulled out his miniature violin, snapped his fingers and, once back to its original size, tested the cords. The instrument was a beautiful and unique piece, a parting gift from Master Pietor. The Master had been a former violinist himself, but after a damaging incident, he couldn't quite use his hands anymore and had to resign from his profession.

Yasha spared a brief nostalgic thought to for his former master and set the violin to play. He closed his eyes as he started with simple melodies and rhythms to warm up. He hadn't brought any music sheet with him and would have to wait the next holidays to get them back, so in the meantime, he revisited the pieces he already knew. A passage of Vivaldi, some Strauss…he paused after a while, remembering a song he had heard in a music store not so long ago. There was only one soprano voice carrying the same note and same syllable and the background, while mainly strings, was barely present if only for the pauses intermittences. But he figured he could try to play the vocal part for a change. The song was hardly a challenge and would be a change from a hard routine. Or rather, the real challenge would be to keep the note as pure and smooth as he could.

So he played, allowed himself to get lost into the sound of the strings, of his cheek against the wood, the movement of his hands and fingers. His bliss didn't last. A crack, signaling the approach of someone, made him stop immediately. A tall shadow stood nearby, melting with the trees. It barely took a second for Yasha to recognize Hagrid.

"Ye don' need tah stop." The half-giant said. "It t'was beautiful."

His voice was rough but quiet and perhaps in awe. But Yasha sent him a glare, feeling that his privacy had been violated. He returned his violin to a miniature state, placed it back into his pocket and started to head back to the castle.

"Don't ever sneak up on me again!" he threatened with narrowed eyes before leaving. Hagrid looked both crushed and puzzled at his reaction. Maybe Yasha would return later and apologize, but right now he didn't care if he hurt the half-giant's feelings. Interruptions were the one thing he would never, ever tolerate. No matter how much of a snob that made him –Natalia's words, not his –he wouldn't back off that principle.

The Slytherin Common Room was busy when he arrived, so he returned to his bed to retrieve some paper to write an answer to Natalia. Now that he was fairly sure the messages would go through, he wrote a little more:

'Hey mama.

I met centaurs by accident and got out thanks to Melody. Think you can order a cheap violin for Christmas? Classes have started. So far, headmaster's a dick, potion and transfiguration teachers are the most fun. Flying on a broom is awesome. I'll have to buy one and show you.

Hope you're doing fine with your new job.

Love you.

Yakov R.'

He folded the letter and slipped it in his pocket. He'd have to find Jack in the Great Hall, or send him the message via owl. He was vaguely wondering what would be the best means to transport when he felt Perlancott's shadow looming over his back. Again.

"What the fuck do you want, seriously?" Yasha muttered, turning around to glare at the boy. Perlancott merely grinned.

"I'm a pariah now." He said cheerfully. "I've been seen speaking to Hermione, so the Slytherin folks are giving me the cold shoulder."

"And what do I have to do with this?" Pause. "And Hermione? When have you become on first-name basis?"

Perlancott's grin widened.

"She's nice and I like her. I like you too. Shall we be friends?"

"Is that how you got Greengrass and Nott to follow you?" Yasha asked sarcastically. "Or do you adopt a new personality for each person you meet?"

"I'd end up schizophrenic." Perlancott replied with a light shrug. "Truthfully, I'm done. I'm not at home, I don't have to be a nice little heir here or play pretend with other snobs. You," he pointed Yasha with his finger, "are a free spirit and can't care less about what the others think. If a blood feud happens in Slytherin, I want to be on your side."

Yasha felt a headache forming at the boy's enthusiasm.

"A free spirit," he repeated blankly. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Only a total nuthead would dare to play violin to centaurs." Ah well, there went his trust in Hermione. "Oh she didn't spill the beans. I just told her I knew what you did in the woods and she kinda said just enough for me to guess the rest." Correction, he needed to teach Hermione how to lie or recognize manipulative people. "What can I say, I'm just that smart." Fine, maybe he was. "Also it's time to eat dinner. You coming?"

Feeling he'd never be left alone if he started to ignore him, Yasha followed his classmate reluctantly. The common room was chatty as usual, but the boy noted almost immediately that the teachers looked grim. Dumbledore looked lost deep in thoughts and McGonagall's lips were tighter than usual. Moments after Yasha sat down, the headmaster rose and headed in front of the teachers' table.

"Before the banquet begins, I have an announcement to make." The students turned quiet and turned eagerly to hear the news. "A few hours ago, I received a message from the Minister. Early this morning, Sirius Black, until now held in Azkaban, escaped from his cell." Sudden bursts of conversation began, mixing fear and anxiety. Nearly all of the students had heard about the criminal. The headmaster asked for silence before continuing: "The Minister saw fit to send Dementors from Azkaban to guard Hogwarts. They will not interrupt the daily activities but I will ask each and every one of you to be extremely cautious the days to come. Dementors are not known to show mercy, so never given them a reason to attack you."

His eyes seemed to slide towards the Slytherin table and momentarily rest on Yasha –a detail that annoyed him quite a lot.

"Sirius Black was a close partisan of Voldemort," Dumbledore reminded. Most students, and a few teachers, winced at the deliberate use of the name. "Should you know anything, should you see anything, please report to one of your professors."

Yasha narrowed his eyes; if that last remark was aimed at him, Dumbledore could hold his breath. A quick glance at his new "friend" informed him that Perl was nervous about the situation. He couldn't see Granger from his spot and finding Jack Hill among the Hufflepuffs was alike to finding Waldo, but most of the students were upset as well, he realized. Perhaps he would have been worried, had he not known his godfather was innocent. When the food arrived, he was one of the few to happily fill his plate and eat.

"And the freak is enjoying this." Greengrass snarled at him, as he kept to his dinner routine.

"We're in Hogwarts." Yasha said with a shrug. "Dementors –or whatever the hell these things are –are coming. Why should I be worried?"

"You are still the weirdest." Greengrass muttered.

"And yet you're still sitting at in the same place." Yasha pointed out nonchalantly. The girl huffed and got taken into a conversation with her neighbor.

No more incidents happened, aside from the much tensed atmosphere that seemed to hang over the students. Even on the way back to the Common Room, the gloomy mood followed them down the dungeons. No-one followed him to the dorm, so Yasha took his time to add a few words at the end of the letter: 'ps: Sirius Black escaped from prison. Is it that guy? What should I do if I see him?' Now satisfied, he changed into his pyjamas and slipped under the covers. He would snatch an owl and send it to Jack the next day.


The song Yasha was playing is 'Concerto for one voice'. I just love that song xD (especially the covers :3)