WC: 2,206
A/N: So I get to leave in eight hours or so, and this is your last update for about a week and a half, about. Have fun! :D Don't be mad at me for leaving you hanging a bit. Patience is a virtue. I'm helping you learn it.
OWLS
Thanks Sun that shines for favoriting and following!
Thanks to Jawkins for following and favoriting!
Fruitandnutcase: Good to see you again! You don't need to review every chapter, don't worry! I'm always glad to hear from you, though! Hopefully I'm staying true to my characters in this one! Lots of action and reaction in here! Thanks for reviewing!
Cat: Lucky you! You get another update! I'm glad you're enjoying this! This has a variety of reactions in it. Thanks for reviewing!
thatperfectsomeone: Hey look! More! Thanks for reviewing! Glad to know you're still there. :D
Sun that shines: You're right, I couldn't just leave you like that. Which explains this update. Also, I couldn't lose my competition either, so... but who cares about my motives? You got another chapter! Thanks for thinking it's brilliant. :D For the James/Lena ship, I'm thinking Jena. Lames is, well... lame. As for the faey, well, I can't really tell you. Because that sorta gives away some plot stuff. But I will say this: I don't believe anyone is truly evil or truly good. Everyone's got both. My belief is that it's the side you feed that determines if you are good or bad. Thank you so so much for reviewing! Enjoy!
Now, since I know you guys don't care about anything else... have fun and read on!
Sîrya and Tamaran walked through the streets of the wizarding village, fully cloaked in glamours and stepping lithely around laughing children and bustling people. Her braid swished against her back with a speedy rhythm that matched her heart; it beat a quick mantra of it's time, it's time, it's time through her blood. Her supple boots crunched the snow beneath her, and she scanned the crowds for the girl she knew. The girl she had never met.
Then, Sîrya saw her. Her blonde hair curled loosely from beneath her knit cap, and her nose and cheeks were flushed pink from cold. She was dancing back in the snow, brushing flakes of ice off her gloves as she laughed at the boy in front of her. He was shaking slush off his head with a bemused expression.
"She's beautiful, Sîrya," Tamaran said beside her.
"Aye. She is," Sîrya whispered. She had been watching from afar for years, but this was the first time she would actually meet the girl. The savior. So innocent, so pure. So young.
"Her mother would be proud of her."
Sîrya chuckled softly. "Aye, that she would be. She is. I'm sure she is. You know, my sister had many insane ideas as Queen, but this... this was one of the better ones."
Tamaran snorted. "She looks a bit like you, you know. Or maybe she looks like your sister. The two of you were easily confused."
"I disagree. I think she looks like her father. My sister picked him out, you know. For his dashing looks. Possibly for his availability as well."
Tamaran laughed at that. "She made a fine choice. The girl will make a good Savior."
"Yes. Now... would you like to meet her? She's coming our... way," she finished, as the girl in question slid to a stop right in front of them.
Blue eyes met blue eyes. One gaze, cold and hardened and regal matched the other, soft and paler and wary. Then, Sîrya extended her hand.
"Are you Silena Ashington?"
The elves had shown up. They had talked to Lena. They had talked to Lena. Oh boy... Everything was going to be insane now. James didn't know how many people had seen what had happened. There had been elves, in broad daylight, in the middle of Hogsmeade. While half the castle was in town!
Now, James hurried up the street behind the faey. They were casually strolling along next to Silena, but his gaze seemed to slide off them as soon as it alighted on them. He figured it must be something to do with their magic. They must be using a glamour of some sort. Lena seemed to have no problems at all; she gazed between the two elves like Christmas had come early. They were telling her something, making her laugh, and James felt a knot of jealousy grow in his stomach.
"She's our friend, and our family," he muttered as he hurried to keep up, "Not theirs. They abandoned her. Why do they get to become favorites so quickly?"
He stewed continuously until they reached the castle. Then, he overheard the female elf.
"Silena, dear, why don't you head back to your dormitory to change out of your wet things? Meet us at the Headmaster's office in a quarter hour."
His friend nodded and ran off. The two elves continued towards Professor Longbottom's office, and James followed them, pausing only to settle his invisibility cloak around himself. He was going to find out what was going on.
Silena had cleaned herself up and was waiting outside the door, nerves running through her body. She hadn't quite taken it all in yet.
She had a family.
She was faey.
Her family was faey.
As she stood before the golden eagle, she realized she didn't have a password.
"Erm... how are you, eagle?"
The eagle remained motionless.
"Password? Open sesame? Harry Potter?"
Still as a stone. Lena thought hard.
"Dumbledore?" At this, the eagle opened it's wings to reveal a spiral staircase.
"Wicked!" she whispered as she hurried up the steps. She knocked on the door.
"Enter!"
Inside, Professors Longbottom and McGonagall waited for her, along with Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and the two elves. Lena slowed to a stop when she saw all the adults. All of them had known? And no one had told her?
"Silena. Please, sit," Neville said pleasantly, motioning to a chair between Hermione and Harry's. He himself sat behind his desk with ease, McGonagall in a smaller chair to his right. The two elves leaned silently on the wall behind him, regarding the girl with guarded expressions.
In short, Lena was surrounded.
She took her seat.
"Now, Miss Ashington-"
"Sir, now that we have claimed her, she has right to her faey name. Faeysdaughter," Sîrya interrupted.
"If you would excuse me, Nikerym, but we are in the wizarding world at the moment, and I am a wizard. I shall continue to call her Miss Ashington. As I was saying. It has been my understanding that these two elves confronted you at Hogsmeade?"
"Yes, sir. They did."
"Fine, fine. Who else was with you at the time?"
"Only James. And I was running from him, so he may not've seen. I was weaving in and out of crowds when I slipped on a patch of ice and slid into them. I'm not sure if anyone around us saw anything, though."
"Knowing my son, Silena, James saw. He's probably formulating some sort of plan to figure out what's going on right now."
Sîrya spoke up, casually spinning a small blade between her fingers. "We were under glamour. Did you know your son could percept weaker glamours, Mr. Potter? I'm assuming your son is the black-haired boy outside the door, yes?"
"Excuse me?"
"The boy. He is outside the door. He followed the faeyling upstairs."
Harry opened the door with a wave of his wand, revealing no one. "James Sirius Potter, get in here now."
A huff came from nowhere, and then, all of a sudden, James Potter appeared from thin air.
"How much do you know?" Harry asked, shutting the door behind his son and Summoning another chair.
"Pretty much all of it. I figured out Lena's heritage a few weeks ago. Al and I were hoping she'd make it until holidays so we could take to you."
Lena's blood ran cold. "You knew? For two weeks, James? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It didn't seem like the best idea at the time."
"I'm your bloody best friend! Or had you forgotten that?" she shouted, anger flaring.
"Tell me, then, Brownie, how the hell do you explain to your best friend that she's related to muggle-murdering creatures? That she's not even fully human? I may not believe everything the Prophet is reporting," he said, glancing quickly at the two elves in the corner, "but other people do. I needed to know more before I even thought about telling you."
"You call her Brownie?"
James stopped and stared at the male elf. "Uh... yea. Why?"
"Brownies are cousins of ours. Nicer, smaller cousins. But cousins all the same."
"Your point?"
"Seems like your subconscious was trying to tell you something. You must've known she was different."
"Yea... She's never been normal."
"Hey!" Came an interjection from the subject in question.
"If your subconscious figured it out within weeks of you knowing her, how can we keep this a secret for long? She'll need to be trained, and as the faey magic strengthens in her, it will become more noticeable. How do we expect to keep this secret for long?"
"We can't." Sîrya spoke quietly, but her voice was heard throughout the room. "She'll just have to learn to deal with both sides of the line."
At ten past seven, Silena rushed from the room and raced down the stairs. She had spent hours cooped in that chamber with the adults, discussing when she would train, where she would train, how they would keep it a secret. She had sworn to tell no one but those she absolutely trusted.
Now, she raced towards the Room of Requirement. She hoped Leo wouldn't be mad at her for being late. She hoped he would still be there.
"Brownie!"
Sighing, she turned. "I've got to run, James! Can it wait 'til tomorrow?"
"I know you're going to meet up with Leo right now. But... don't tell him. And don't do anything stupid, alright? Or anything drastic. You've had enough excitement for one day." Lena rolled her eyes.
"I'll be fine, James!"
"Sorry I'm late!"
Leo sighed in relief as his girlfriend burst into the Room. "Good, you're here! I thought you weren't going to make it!" He grinned as he handed her a rose. "Happy anniversary."
She smiled, happy. "Thank you, Leo! And, oh! it's beautiful! And so romantic!" she cried as she glanced around the room. A table for two sat in the middle of a cozy rug, set with china dishes and bathed in candlelight. A dance floor and record player lay just beyond that, and a soft, cushiony sofa sat on the side, completing the image.
"You like it?"
She kissed him, trying to convey all the joy she felt into her lips. "I love it."
Time flew by as they ate, laughed, danced, chatted. Eventually, as all things involving hormonal teenagers are bound to end up, the couple migrated to the couch, lips locked. Their legs tangled together, and Lena felt drunk on the kisses.
"Leo-" she whispered as his hands smoothed their way up.
"Hmm?" He laid down a row of kisses on her neck, his hands working at the buttons of her shirt.
"Leo, are we going to- are we going to do this?"
He leaned back. "Well... do you want to?"
"I-I don't know. I'm not sure I'm ready."
He kissed her lips softly. "You don't have to be. Tell me when to stop and I will. I love you, Len."
"I love you, too. And I want to. But... but there's something I have to tell you, first."
Now he sat completely back, regarding her seriously, despite the fact that neither wore a shirt. "This isn't the moment where you tell me you're seeing some other guy, right?"
Lena laughed. "No, silly! I'd never do that! I just... It's going to be crazy. And a little hard to believe. But I want you to know that this changes nothing about who you are to me, alright? I'm still your Lena."
"Ok, now you're freaking me out a bit, Lena."
"I'm sorry. I'm not really sure how to say this... I'm probably just bollocks-ing this up, aren't I? Well, it's just.. I was late today for a reason. When I was in Hogsmeade today, I ran into someone. Quite literally, actually."
"Who'd you run into, Lena?"
"It was a man, and a woman. And they said they'd been sent by my family. They were part of my family. And they're nice, and wonderful."
"But that's great news, Lena! How did they find you? Are you going to be able to stay with them instead of at that dump of an orphanage?"
Lena laughed. "Actually, they've been watching me my entire life. And yes, I'm going to be staying with them during holidays. It's just, there's one tiny problem. They're elves. Faey."
He jumped off the couch. "What?!"
"I'm only half! My father's a wizard, apparently. I don't know who he is. But I'm going to try and find ou-"
"A faey? Worse yet, a half-faey? Merlin, it's disgusting!"
"Wha-what?"
"I've been dating a half-breed for a year! You're bloody joshing me. No, this can't be happening." He yanked his shirt back on, glaring fiercely at her.
"Leo-"
"No. I can't do this. I'm a Slytherin; it was bad enough I dated a Gryffindor, but someone who isn't even human? It's terrifying. I'll be the laughing stock of Slytherin! And, on top of that, how can I trust you? Elves are devious, and they're no better than savages! Look at what the Prophet's been publishing!"
"That stuff is rubbish and you know it!"
"I can't believe you're half elf."
"Leo! You better not be walking out on me!" she yelled as he stalked to the door.
"Yes! I am walking out on you! You disgust me, and I never want to see you again!" He yelled, then ran out the door.
Shaking, silent with shock and sorrow and anger, Lena sank to the couch.
She had no idea what was to become of her secret now. She thought she could trust him, and he had broken his promise.
See you in two weeks! TTFN!
DFTBA,
~Melody