A Summer of Subtle Shifts
Briar arrived at the orphanage and after getting the ring spent a week, as per Sorting Hat orders, resting. She'd get up with the help of her feathery angel and spend the day walking or drawing. Currently it was the last day of her forced rest and she was lying outside flipping through her sketch book and looking at the images she'd draw of her classmates.
The first page was covered in little pictures of all her friends and family sitting in front of the Great Hall, faces covered by the Sorting Hat. The following pages were various pictures of their daily lives. James and Sirius wrestling in their dorm room while Remus watched with an amused smile from behind a book. Lily, Alice, and Marlene huddled in the middle of their dorm on top of blankets and pillows as Lily explained the concept of sleepovers to them. James, Sirius, and Remus with bright purple feathers instead of hair, running from an irate Professor Slughorn who was also covered in feathers. Lily sitting with Severus studying charms together in the Library. . .
She turned to the last page, and smiled at her favorite picture. All the Gryffindor first years as well as Sev were sitting by the lake, relaxing and laughing as James and Sirius jinxed and hexed each other. She was still surprised how well Sev and James and Sirius got along now that Sev wasn't in Slytherin; they were hardly friends, but they weren't trying to humiliate or kill each other.
Briar supposed the truce was a result of Sev attacking, muggle style, a group of Slytherins who'd called Lily a mudblood. The future Marauders happened to be wondering nearby and ran into Lily who'd gone in search of help. When they'd heard what had happened they'd rushed off to help Sev. The fight and resulting detention bonded the four boys. However, James' crush on Lily, which was quickly becoming an obssession, had him jealous of Sev's closeness with her and resulted in a mutual 'I-hate-you-but-respect-you' relationship between the two.
She ran a hand over their smiling faces. Everyone had just gotten out of the last exam and she hadn't been able to resist following after the laughing children. Her eyes scanned the picture resting on a small girl in the far corner, sitting on a rock overlooking the lake and watching the group with a tiny smile on her face. She also hadn't been able to resist adding herself to the picture, a small part of her desperately wishing she could belong to the happy group.
She closed the book with a sigh. There were not as many as she would like and she resolved to get a camera to capture the moments she didn't have time to draw. She rolled over and watched the setting sun paint the sky in color. In a couple of hours she would be back to work.
Sirius Black stared at the wall, then the letter, up at the ceiling, down at the letter, out the window, back at the letter. He sighed and picked up the letter that had arrived the morning after his first night back home and read it again.
Mr. Sirius Black,
I hope this letter finds you well. I know you are not happy to be home for the summer, so I have some advice that I hope will make your stay a little easier.
Spend some time with your brother helping him get ready for school. Your parents should not be able to find fault with that (I hope) and it will allow you to get closer to your brother as I imagine you have grown apart during your year at Hogwarts.
As for dealing with your parents. Be polite and ignore the prejudice. They are far too set in their ways for anything I can do to change them.
I know that is not what you want to hear, but arguing will only make things worse, instead try redirecting conversations to safe, neutral topics, such as questions about what they are working on or their opinions on what classes to take in your third year.
If you feel you must say something against them, say it quietly and politely, presenting it as logically as you can. I know you have a fiery temper and personality, which is what makes you such a wonderful Gryffindor and friend, but it is also why I feel I should caution you. One of my great friends was just like you, preferring to do rather than think, and as such almost never thought of the consequences. It cost him his life, leaving myself and many other to struggle with grief.
Well enough of this unhappy topic. My last piece of advice is to have fun and spend as much time as you can with your friends.
May you find shade in the light and a candle in the dark,
Guardian
P. S. Have you given your brother his pendant?
The words were the same, unchanged no matter how many times he'd read them in the past week. At first he'd been angry and confused, hoping that he'd get another cool trinket and instead he'd gotten advice that didn't seem all that helpful.
He sighed and ran a hand over his dog pendant. As always the action calmed him. Fingering it he came to his decision; he would follow the Guardian's advice, some of it anyway. He didn't trust himself to argue anything without yelling, forget being logical.
He wrote a letter to James begging him to let him come over and then headed over to his brother's room. The Guardian had been right about that, the distance he felt between him and his brother had definitely grown and he didn't like it.
He knocked, smiling when Regulus answered and he saw that he was wearing the necklace Sirius had sent him.
"Yes?" Regulus asked, moonstone fox resting on his chest.
"Hey, little brother, seeing as you'll be coming to Hogwarts with me this year and I, being the awesome and amazing older brother that I am, am here to tell you all about it and answer any questions you might have."
Regulus smiled at him, a small smile, but it was the first he'd given Sirius since he'd left for Hogwarts the previous year. Sirius grinned back, heart lifting, and jerked his head in the direction of his room. Regulus nodded and together they made their way to Sirius' room.
Remus Lupin picked himself up off the basement floor where he'd spent the night and unlocked the door. Footsteps sounded overhead and his father appeared, catching him as he stumbled up the steps.
"Easy, son," he murmured, wrapping him in a cloak and picking him up. Remus let him. "Your mother's got the tea ready and waiting, along with a letter from your friend."
Remus smiled weakly. It had been the first moon of the summer, a rough one too, and he already missed his mysterious friend.
His father placed him gently on the sofa and his mother handed him a cup of tea, running a hand through his hair while he drank. He closed his eyes and let the tea and gentle touch work their magic.
His parents watched him closely as the trembling eased and the lines around his face relaxed.
"Where's my necklace?" he asked once the cup was empty.
"Right here," his mother said, handing it to him with a smile, pleased the tea seemed to work as well as Remus had said it would. "How are you feeling, dear?"
"Better, much better," he smiled and eased himself up. "Where's my letter?"
His father handed it to him and he broke the seal as his parents exchanged happily surprised looks. Their son had never shown so much energy after a transformation and it usually took days before he would show the level of enthusiasm he was giving his letter.
With a soft nod of her head Mrs. Lupin directed her husband to the kitchen, following after she poured her son another cup of tea.
"He looks so happy," she said as she entered the kitchen.
"Yes, I never would have thought we'd find anything that could help with the pains. That we could afford at least," Mr. Lupin buried his face in his hands. "To think a simple muggle tea could do so much. If only I'd. ." His voice trailed off as his wife wrapped her arms around him.
Hearing their son's screams of agony while he changed and seeing him suffer for days before and after was hard on both of them. Mr. Lupin blamed himself, his work in protection against magical creatures making his son a target, while his wife would often lie awake, guilt and regret at not being able to protect her son eating at her. Both had searched high and low for anything that could help their son and were extremely grateful to the young girl that had done so much for their son.*
Back in the drawing room Remus sipped his tea while reading his letter.
Hey Remus,
Sorry I can't be there personally to help you, but hopefully you got my last letter and the recipe for the tea and are drinking it. I can't believe I didn't send it to you at Christmas, I must be an idiot!
Anyway, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you and hoping you're enjoying your summer. Are you planning on visiting your friends? Hope so, they're great boys, even if they are a bit crazy.
You know my friend that helped make your necklace? Well, now that friend is working on something else for you. I don't know when it'll be ready, hopefully soon. My friend also says you should consider telling your friends the truth. They're not stupid and they'll figure it out eventually.
I know you're probably worried and scared, but remember I know and don't care.
It's just some advice I'm passing on, final decision is yours.
Well till next time,
Your friend that knows and doesn't care
Remus sat, sipping his tea while he thought over the letter. Tell his friends? Should he? And what was the thing his friend of his friend was working on? And, more importantly, who is his friend anyway?
He drummed his fingers on the armrest. Maybe, just maybe, he would hint at it and see what James' and Sirius' reactions were. Then, he would, maybe, consider it.
Briar stood back, arms crossed, and frowned at the chart. It was certainly frown worthy, a complicated thing of lists, timetables, diagrams, and maps, but that wasn't why she was frowning. She uncrossed her arms and tapped a finger against two circled numbers.
"3982 and 393," she read. "Not good, not nearly good enough. Let's see, a goal, hmm." She tapped the paper. "500 non – magical and 50 magicals? Yes, that'll be my goal. So that means I need to reach 3482 and 343 by the time school starts again. How to do it?"
She paced the room mumbling. "Normals are ease. No magical defenses at all, the only problem with them is finding them. If only there was a place all the rotten people. . ." Her voice trailed off and she smacked herself on the head. "Duh! Prisons! Why didn't I think of that before? Hmmm. No need to get lazy, plenty of creeps on the loose and those are the dangerous ones. That should be my back up plan, in case I'm behind.
"OK, magical, I'd like to think I could fill my quota with Death Eaters, but finding them will take too long. I could go reaping in Knockturn but there are only so many people there and not all of them are evil. Hmm. . . I may have to abroad. Seraph will like that, he's been pestering me to travel. Hmm, better make that plan B, in case I come up short.
"OK, now that that's decided," she turned back to the chart. "Two Horcruxes down one Hallow in my possession." She sighed, "Three Horcruxes to go and still haven't found a way to destroy the stone."
Oh, she'd destroyed the Horcrux, but the stone itself, the Hallow, refused to be destroyed so easily. She'd tried, many times. She'd tried cursing it, smashing it, dropping it in a vat of basilisk venom, which had proven a pain to figure out had to get it back out; even hitting it with the killing curse. Nothing had done more than create a couple cracks.
Idly she wondered if hitting it with a hammer would work, but dismissed the idea. If a bludgeoning hex hadn't done anything, a hammer certainly wouldn't. Then again, perhaps it couldn't be destroyed with magic?
Briar paused in her pacing and considered the idea. "Worth a shot," she muttered and made a mental note to find a completely non – magical hammer.
She ran a hand over her necklace on which hung several small charms; a black dog, a fox, and a raven. So far they were silent and for that she was happy. She walked to a table on which rested an apothecary case. She opened it, inside were small squares filled with bags of hair instead of medicine. Above each was a description of the person it came from; female on the left, male on the right, with the youngest at the top and the oldest at the bottom.
Briar was picky with her 'donors,' all of them were adult muggles and in good health, ranging from average to athletic. She selected a bag and pulled out a hair. Tonight she, or rather the Guardian, would be a 25 year old male.
Severus Snape couldn't believe his luck. Six weeks into the summer and he hadn't been hit once! A feat he was more than willing to credit to his raven pedant and the Guardian.
He'd received another 'care package' shortly after summer began and while he took the nutrient potions (he was willing to admit he was malnourished) the healing potions had hardly been touched. Those that had been used were the ones he gave his mother, same with the Pepper – Up potions.
Sev wished he could meet his mysterious benefactor, or at least thank him. He also wished he could ask for a pendant for his mother, but since he didn't have an owl he had no way of doing any of those things.
Shrugging his shoulders, he packed up the box, replacing the empty potion vial from the days' nutrient potion. He put on the clothes that had come with them and smiled. It was nice having clothes that not only fit but looked good as well. He tucked the pendant down the front of his shirt and made his way out of the house.
It was still early but his mother was already in the garden. She claimed it was her favorite place, just as he was her favorite person.
"Morning Mum."
"Good morning my little Prince."
Sev smiled at her pet name for him and hugged her, slipping the healing potion into her apron pocket as he did so.
"Are you going to visit Lily today?"
"Yes, in a couple of hours. Would you like some help with the weeding?"
"Only if you want to."
Smiling, Sev started pulling weeds.
Briar, as a silver haired business man, was having a hard time maintaining her semidetached manner as she made her way out of Gringotts. She had handed off the last of the basilisk skin to the goblins, reminding them once again to sell it outside of Britain, in case Voldemort got wind of it and became suspicious. They had been more than happy to comply and had promised a large payday, and to celebrate she was going to follow through with an idea that had struck her awhile ago.
She pushed open the door to Quality Quidditch Supplies and made her way to the counter.
"What broom can you recommend that is safe, reliable, and can endure a great deal of attention from children?"
The man behind the counter lit up like a Christmas tree and Briar mentally groaned. It was the same look that Ron had gotten when she'd asked what was so great about the Chudley Cannons, and one that had preceded a three hour lecture on all things Chudley Cannon.
It was just over an hour and a half later that she left. Honestly the man could, and most likely would, have gone on all night if she hadn't cut him off. Briar breathed a sigh of relief, as she made her way into muggle London. She checked her watch, 19 minutes.
She picked up her pace. She was out of polyjuice potion, and she wanted to get that purely muggle hammer before her disguise wore off. The store was half a block from the Leaky Cauldron and she just made it in and out and into an alley as the last of the polyjuice faded away.
"Un-freaking-believable."
Briar stared down at the shattered remains of the Resurrection Stone and then at the hammer clutched in her hand. She picked up one of the pieces and threw it across the room. It hit the floor with a clatter and stayed there, unmoving. She waited, but nothing happened. It didn't zip back and reunite with the other pieces it didn't catch on fire, and best of all it didn't bring anyone back. She whooped and laughed.
"Success**!" With a happy sigh she collected the bits, placing each piece in its own bag and adding them to the collection resting in the rune circle. They might be useless as a Hallow, but she might be able to use them for something else.
Humming happily, she set about tinkering with her other projects.
"Albus! Albus!" Rolanda Hooch burst into the headmasters office panting. "Albus, you've got to come see this!"
Slightly alarmed and a great deal curious, Albus Dumbledore followed after his flight instructor who was practically bouncing off the walls. He smiled as he watched her, glad for an excuse to get away from all the headache inducing papers. Once they were in her office she dragged him over to her desk on which sat about twenty brooms.
"They arrived this morning," she told him excitedly as she picked one up. "Unmatched stability, unrivaled reliability, the safest and best broom on the market for beginning riders!"
"Indeed, and where did they come from?" Dumbledore asked, watching with amusement as his near fifty year old professor reacted much like a five year old child. "I surely hope you haven't been spending your hard earned money on twenty of the same broom."
"Of course not," she said indignantly. "Though if I had, this is definitely the type I would have gotten. But, and this is the best part, they were donated, look!" She shoved a piece of paper under nose, which he took.
My dear Madam Hooch,
I have heard from a reliable source that you are in need of new brooms. I do hope these are satisfactory.
May you find shade in the light and a candle in the dark,
Guardian
"The Guardian sent them?" Dumbledore was well and truly stunned.
No one noticed the large, barred owl on the perch by the window. No one noticed the spark of laughter in its eyes as it watched the jubilant flight instructor and the slightly flabbergasted headmaster. No one noticed when it took off. No one noticed when it landed in a tree and became a girl. No one noticed as the girl made her way back to an orphanage whistling softly. No one noticed, when later that night, she disappeared.
Author's Notes:
* I don't actually know what Remus's father did as far as work, but this seemed like a good idea considering he probably wouldn't have made many friends with creatures if he was working to protect people against them. As for his mother, well, from what I could piece together I think she died early on, but as to why? I figure guilt and worry probably helped do her in, so now that she doesn't need to worry so much I don't think I'll have her die. Maybe, maybe not, don't know yet.
** I know this sounds a little farfetched but considering magic and science don't get along this seemed like the perfect loophole. That and I thought it was funny that such a powerful magical item could be destroyed by something a simple as a hammer.