~14 Preparations~
Fighting a bunch of sharp teethed creeps amid a cloud of foul smelling potion seemed to uplift Sirius and Andromeda. Standing at the battlefield's doorway I pictured them hunting doxies when they were children. My brother and I used to have a sheep-dog who was always willing to play the part of dragon or wolf and that was all the excitement I'd needed as a girl.
"I'll go to the attic and see if there are any boggarts," I said. No one replied and I left the cousins to their fun.
Upstairs I opened some closets. The first ones were free of boggarts as well as trinkets, but soon enough I saw myself banging invisible walls and crying out in despair. Trick of the mind or not, I stood frozen where I really wanted to run.
Play the part. Play the part.
Sirius shouting downstairs spurred me into action and I unorthodoxly turned the boggart into Mr Banks banging his head against the fire-place. It's sad but every time I see that poor man hurt his head, I giggle.
I checked the rest of the floor and found nothing but dust and neglect. That and Kreacher who was muttering to himself near the staircase. He returned my smile though his expression looked scary from want of usage.
"How do you feel about my cousin being here again?"
"He yells at I," Kreacher said, his head between his fragile shoulders.
"He shouldn't. I will have a word with him Kreacher. He went through a lot though and I hope you can be patient with him."
Kreacher cast me a glance.
"It's strange to suddenly have a master again, isn't it? Your previous master was Regulus, wasn't he?"
Kreacher's eyes turned moist.
"You were fond of him?"
A nod was all the reply I got.
"Can you tell me about him? Sadly after my concussion I haven't remembered anything about him yet."
"Master Regulus was a good master! He likes Kreacher."
"I'm glad for that. And I'm sorry I didn't come and see you in the past years Kreacher."
I felt it had to be said. Narcissa may have forgotten all about the elf of House Black, so had I, until I'd started to think about where Sirius would have to go to after his release. It hadn't been until then that I'd realized something else too.
"Miss Cissy cames to Mistress and Kreacher," Kreacher objected for I'd visited Grimmauld Place to inform him and Walburga that Sirius had been released and that he'd move in with Andromeda for the time being.
"I should have come sooner Kreacher."
The elf looked at me flabbergasted. I needed patience here, even though the horcrux owned by Kreacher might be my ticket home.
OoOoO
On Saturday I had a lot to tell Lucius on my return from Hogwarts. He was waiting for me in the library, freshly showered by the scent of it. I told him about my encounter with Severus, whom I'd finally informed about my theft.
"What did he say about it?"
I deepened my voice: "What are you up to?"
Lucius smiled.
"At least he liked the doxy eggs," I added while cutting some cheese for Lucius and presenting it to him on a cracker.
"Thank you. How was class? Did Draco know his lines?"
"I'm sure he did. He didn't get the chance to voice them though: Lockhart dropped by."
"Not to say 'I told you so', but your believe that Dumbledore would take action was a little naïve my dearest."
It had only been a few days since my demand, but I nodded all the same.
"Obviously. And Lockhart thinks it's payback time. He made a dramatic entrance and he announced that he'd come to offer his services, no bad feelings and all that. He insisted on playing Romeo in his final scene and he woke up Juliet and made the prince name him his successor. It was rather embarrassing."
"So I imagine."
"His performance was inspiring though. You wouldn't happen to know a producer in the entertainment industry would you?"
"As it happens, I know several such people," Lucius said with a twinkle in his eye. He finished his cracker and then said: "Have you told Snape where the eggs originated?"
I nodded. "He asked me whether I'd changed the Black house just like I'd changed The Garden. I told him that Sirius could wave his own wand for domestic tasks."
Lucius laughed. It was a pleasing sound.
OoOoO
Andromeda enthusiastically showed me the clothes Sirius had bought.
"We went to muggle shops. Otherwise people will just stare," she said. She took a shirt, still in its packing, and held it under her cousin's face.
"It looks nice," I said.
"Why don't you put it on Sirius?" Andromeda asked, after a look at the clock. "Show Narcissa how well the colour suits you!"
"She already said it looks nice," Sirius mumbled, but he took the shirt and his shopping bags and went upstairs to get changed.
"I was thinking," Andromeda whispered as soon as he'd left, "to invite you all for a Yule celebration. Lucius and Draco too, what do you think? Or is it too soon for that? You said that Draco was curious after us, didn't you?"
I nodded. "Does Ted know?"
"I'll tell him."
Her expression made me laugh, though I worried about Lucius's response. And though after the publication of the newspaper picture Draco had asked me about his lost relatives, I wasn't sure whether he longed to meet them.
Andromeda once more glanced at the clock. I told her there was still time before I had to leave for my meeting at Theatre Now. Andromeda mentioned that professor Dumbledore had written Sirius to ask him whether he might visit. "Of course I told Sirius that that would be all right. It's just… I last met him in my senior year. And now that I'm a grown woman with an adult daughter…"
"At the cost of a cup of tea and a biscuit you'll feel like a teenager again. Hurrah!"
She grinned and entered another topic until a crack on the stairs announced Sirius' return. Wearing jeans and a fine shirt he bore a striking resemblance to his younger self as immortalized in a photo on Andromeda's piano. Andromeda noticed it too and she seemed giddy with excitement. The doorbell rang and she went to answer it.
"Thank you for suggesting Harry to write to me," Sirius said.
"He's a nice boy, isn't he?" I said though my interaction with the boy who lived was limited.
Sirius smiled genuinely. I'd just told Sirius that his smile hung well on him, when Andromeda entered along with Marian.
Andromeda introduced her fair friend to her good looking cousin.
"Marian spent the last weeks in the Black Forest in Germany," she informed Sirius.
"Really? All alone Miss McMillan?"
"No, Mr Black –"
"Please call me Sirius."
Marian inclined her head. "If you'll call me Marian."
"With pleasure," Sirius said in an annoyingly charming way.
"I own a travel agency and I was researching. My mother accompanied me."
Sirius said it must have been nice and I observed our hostess, who carefully avoided looking at me.
"The two of you met before?" Sirius inquired, gesturing from Marian to me. Andromeda told him that she and Marian had by chance met professor Snape and me at Bergstrom's.
"Did Snape blackmail you into having tea with him?" Sirius asked me. He winked at Marian, who gave him an uncertain smile.
"I'm fond of Severus," I said.
"I went to school with him," Sirius darkly said.
"And he went to school with you," I countered.
Sirius shrugged as if I'd made a redundant remark.
Andromeda told Marian about the Black townhouse and how we were preparing it for Sirius's return. "You like interior decorating, don't you?"
I expected Andromeda to look at me at this point, but she'd continued to address her friend, who nodded in reply. Andromeda told us about the wonders Marian had done with her apartment.
"Maybe you could give me some advice?" Sirius said. "I never liked the house. It is too gloomy and unwelcoming."
Marian hesitatingly said she was willing to help, but she emphasized that she wasn't a professional stylist. Sirius didn't mind however and he invited her to meet again the next morning.
"Tomorrow evening then? I have to go to work first."
Andromeda invited Marian for dinner the next day. I smiled at her and she shifted in her seat as a result. My announcement that I had to leave for my meeting pleased both her and Sirius.
OoOoO
Some of the things I'd come up with regarding altering things was Hogsmeade. On the Wednesday following Lockhart's performance I visited Honeydukes. After buying some sweets and doing some magic I went in search for a bookstore. Tomes and Scrolls had a sign on its door reading 'I'll be right back!' I decided to wait for the shopkeeper to return rather than explore Hogsmeade any further: the number of what baroness Jane might call 'special people' was impressive and somehow I felt down as a result.
"Lady Malfoy. It's a pleasure seeing you here again."
I gasped.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the man who'd startled me said. He smiled and took a key from his pocket. "Please enter, it's warm inside."
I stared at him. Most people inhabiting this world were extra's but sometimes I'd walk into a more or less famous face. Where had I seen this man? Those eyes, that smile? A detective? A costume drama? Suddenly the way he held his head answered my question: he was Jack from the House of Eliott!
"You've been here before, but you might not recall," Jack said just I was complimenting my memory. He extended his hand and when I took it said: "Daniel Hollander, provider of books. How may I help you?"
I explained that someone had told me about a book that made an impact on him and that all he recalled were the author's name and a certain line. "The book must be written before 1920 by one Gruoch. It could be either a first name or a surname."
"I'm afraid that even in my second-hand section I only have a handful of old books. Let me get them for you."
He disappeared between the ceiling high bookcases. I randomly picked up a novel and read it's blurb. My trips to Tahl's and Hyacinth's had taught me that most writers, even those of mixed backgrounds, stuck to the safety of their magical world. The book I held made no exception: it was about a Mexican wizard who had a midlife crisis and used the Floo network to make a journey through Europe, where he fell in love with an Irish witch and grandmother of four, who'd been a widow for a mere three months. 'A great novel about second chances in life and about how important it is to stay true to one's self!' Wizard publishers use the same phrases as muggle publishers, I privately commented and I put the book down, shaking my head at the ease in which I used the term 'muggle'.
"I was about to tell you that that book wasn't your cup of tea," Mr Hollander, who must have seen my gesture, said. He carried three books. "I'm afraid one of the books I found you isn't much better though."
He handed me the novels.
"Gruoch McLaren. I read this one already. And this is -"
"Whispers. First published in 1897. It's about a woman whose sister is named Gruoch. Your friend might have recalled a character's name rather than the writer's name?"
If the 'friend' hadn't been Dumbledore it would have made sense, but I nodded all the same and had a look at the third book.
"This one's by Hakeem Ikande," Mr Hollander said. "Frankly the only reason I brought it is that was published in 1908."
I told him that I wanted to buy Whispers and Mr Hollander volunteered to keep an eye out for the book I was looking for. I asked him that in case he stumbled upon something to have the book sent to Mr Angus McTodd and the bill to me. After the gentleman had left the hospital I'd visited him at home, which happened to be a tiny one-room apartment in a shabby pension in the Diagon Alley district. I'd wanted to offer some sort of help, and it had occurred to me to ask him to write replies to the letters I still received about the animagus spell, but it seemed best to handle my correspondence myself. When I'd asked him if he were willing to read some books for me in search of a certain phrase, he'd been delighted to be of assistance. It had taken an effort to make him accept an allowance for every book he'd read.
"On second thought," I said, "I'll buy Ikande's book too."
OoOoO
"It lives up to its name," Lucius commented the creaking sounds coming from the house we were about to break into.
"I'll enter first Narcissa, to see if it's safe."
He was dressed in shades of black and grey, like a real burglar. It took some effort for him to get through the small opening he'd created. The ease with which he'd removed some boards made me think that we weren't the house's first visitors. After a moment his head re-appeared. "It's quiet in here. Very dusty though, are you sure you want to enter?"
"I am."
Lucius steadied me as I made my way in, but he didn't overdo it. He seemed excited to go hunting for horcruxes, for that's what he thought I'd brought him here for. Frankly I didn't expect to find anything here: I merely wanted to close the tunnel to the willow. To give Lucius something to do, I'd told him that a house near Hogwarts that was 'cursed' might have served as a good place for Voldemort to hide something.
"Shall we start upstairs?"
I agreed and we left the modest kitchen where we'd entered. As we ascended the stairs, the walls started swaying. I stopped moving.
"Are you all right dearest?"
The walls swayed a little more and the top of the staircase seemed to be a destination out of my reach. I felt nauseous. Lucius came down and walked me into a messy room with destroyed furniture. He turned a broken chair into a huge cushion. It hit the floor in a whirl of dust. I sneezed. Lucius helped me sit down.
"Are you feeling better now Narcissa?"
In this room the walls were trembling, which barely was an improvement to what their brothers in the hall had done. Sitting down did help a little, so I nodded.
"You might prefer to wait outside?"
I shook my head.
"I'll go upstairs, shall I?" Lucius shouted to overcome the noises made by the house.
I nodded. Lucius produced a sconce and lit it so I'd have a light. When he'd left I made the sconce go around the room. Doing magic would be one of the things I'd miss, but at least in my world walls behaved themselves. On seeing footprints in the dust at first I thought they were Lucius's and mine, but on second thought there were in the wrong place and of the wrong size and species. I slowly rose to study the strangers' footprints, keeping my eyes on the floor to avoid the crazy walls, who now began to growl too. Or did they? A dog emerged from behind a damaged closet. It bared its teeth at me but I trusted my shield to handle any attacker.
"It's all right dog. You can stay here."
A low growl answered my remark. As if triggered by this hostile behaviour the walls swayed like trees in a storm. I sank to my knees and magically searched for the secret passageway. Its entrance lit up. The dog sneaked up closer.
"Don't push it dog."
The dog bit my skirt. Or so it wanted to do: my shield sent him tumbling backwards. The dog emitted a yelp but through that I thought I heard something else. Something human. I looked behind me to see if Lucius had appeared on the scene. He hadn't. I focused on the dog who'd gotten on all fours again. The hairs on its head moved as if a breeze played with them. Realization dawning on me I took a moment to phrase a spell.
"Harry!" I whispered when my spell proved successful. "Sirius you idiot, you can't meet the boy here."
"Can you see me?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Go back to school," I told him, opening the hatch toward the tunnel. "And you," I told Sirius, "make sure he arrives there safely. Then return here."
"Narcissa? I may have found something," Lucius announced from above, his voice nearing with every word. The walls were calmer now.
"Hurry!" I whispered.
The boy and his four-legged godfather followed my bidding. I closed the hatch and crawled to the cushion.
Lucius entered holding an old bottle. He asked me how I felt.
"I tried to walk around, but sitting proved the wiser idea. What have you found?"
"This brand," Lucius said, showing me the bottle's label, "was taken out of production around the time we married. It could have been left here by Voldemort. Have you brought the fang?"
"No I haven't. If the object protects itself, we'll find out soon enough."
Lucius nodded and placed the object on the floor outside the room. Shielded by the door's frame he pointed his wand at it and it exploded like any decent bottle would.
"It's not a horcrux," he said with regret. "At least the house is quiet now. Would you like to check this floor together?"
And so we did. While Lucius was busy casting destructive spells on suspects such as lone shelves and a single glove, all of which proved innocent, I busied myself by magically producing a note for Sirius which I left near the hatch to the tunnel. I also cast a spell.
Lucius and I were enjoying a game of dominoes and a cup of tea at home when my emerald ring glowed to signal that the passage way from the willow to the shack had been sealed. For all the good that would do.