Fa A Bhialainn Ann
Parts 9 & 10
by Veralidaine
Part 9
She closed her eyes again, trying to fight the nagging feeling in her little seal stomach that maybe she
WOULDN'T be able to transform back into herself. 'Don't panic, don't panic...'
Looking to her left, she noticed a orange-ish glow coming from the east. Sunrise. That meant classes
weren't far away. And she was a seal. Frantically, she closed her eyes again, hoping against hope that
she would transform back again. Looking in the water once more, she still saw the little whiskery face
looking right back at her. Yes, now was definitely the time to panic.
Climbing (well, waddling, really) down from the rocks, she landed on the soft grass with a soft sort of
"flump" noise. Great--now her stomach hurt. Unfortunately, seal eyes weren't nearly as good as her
human eyes above water, so it was difficult to make out the face of the person walking a few yards away,
apparently just enjoying the frosty air. She recognized the walk--easy-going and yet cautious--this was
Remus. She tried to yell, but all that came out of her throat was a rather ugly, raspy, barking noise.
It got his attention, though.
Curiously, he walked over to the rocks and briefly looked about for what had made the racket. The human
and GIRL part of Fi wanted her to be embarrassed, but the more sensible part that was unrelated
whatsoever to her giggly side tood control. She waddled out from behind the rocks and Remus stared at
her, confusion very apparent.
She wasn't sure what exactly prompted her to do so--maybe it was just the fact that she was panicking
and beyond real reasoning, but she just kept thinking, 'It's me, Fiona! It's me!' over and over again
inside her mind. Remus, who had been staring at her, still puzzled by the presence of a seal on the
school grounds, put his hand to his forehead, as if suffering from a headache. After shaking his head
for a moment, as if to clear it, he looked down at her incredulously. "Uhm...You're not...?"
She nodded vigorously and his jaw dropped. He quickly closed it. "Why are you...?" She barked once,
sounding appropriately annoyed, and he shook his head. "Well, allright then. I'll assume you're stuck?"
She nodded again. "Well, I want you to think about yourself. Think about what makes you Fi--the HUMAN
Fi. Keep thinking that, over and over. Picture yourself. Do it."
She drowned out his talk and did as he asked. A somewhat foggy perception of herself came into her mind
--Long wavy hair, blue-gray eyes, round face...She felt the familiar transformation, but it was somewhat
more difficult than she remembered. She continued--Born in Dublin, raised in a small cottage out in the
country, the sea, the fae...She didn't even stop herself from thinking of them. They were, after all, a
part of her.
She opened her eyes, raising her human hands to her face. The same somewhat rounded nose met her
fingertips. She let out a sigh of relief at not finding whiskers. She looked up to thank Remus, but
found that he was standing with his back to her, holding his cloak out behind him for her.
"Wha--? OH!" She grabbed the cloak and hid behind the rocks, terribly embarrassed. HOW could she have
forgotten? She hadn't even NOTICED her clothes falling off when she transformed, though. It had seemed
so...natural to her, somehow. "I'm...Uhm...SORRY, Remus, I just..."
"No, it's okay," he said to the tree in front of him. "When I come out of transformations, I have that
problem. The only thing is..." he paused. "Can I turn around now? I can't carry on a conversation with
a tree, you know."
Fi wrapped the cloak tightly about herself, gripping the insides to keep it closed. "Okay."
He turned around, still a bit red in the face, and wouldn't quite make eye contact. "The only thing is,
Fi, that sort of thing only happens to you if you've got that power in your blood."
"What d'you mean?"
"Well," he said slowly, "I was bitten when I was small. The magic in that is in my blood; there's no
cure. It's the same as if I had been born a werewolf, only not quite as strong, I think. If you're an
Animagus, for example, you don't have the magic in your blood, persay...More like you've acquired the
talent and magical maturity to transform. But it's not genetic. It doesn't get passed through
bloodlines."
"So?"
"So," he said impatiently, as if she was missing a very obvious point (which she was), "I wasn't aware
you had the ability to transform. I'd let it go with the business of speaking to fae, but now I'm not
sure what to think."
Fi shrugged. "Well, I just discovered this the other night, when I went out to capture the dog. I got
chased into the lake, and I just..." she shrugged again. "It just happened. I wasn't sure quite what to
think, really. I had a pixy bring me my clothes, and then I called Lily once I'd captured the monster,
and that was it. No one knew. I had to see if I had been hallucinating or something, though. I didn't
know."
He thought for a moment. "Well, was anyone in your family...er...Non-human, in any way?"
Fi sighed. "I dunno, really. My gran is about as far back as I know. She died when my Ma was a little
girl, and started the bloodline of fae-speakers."
"She died?"
"That's what my grandda told Ma. I'm not sure if it's true, really."
Remus paused to think again. After a few moments of silence, he looked up. "D'you suppose you could
write to your mother and ask her about it? I've an idea, but I'm not sure if I'm right. I need more
information to be positive."
Fi shrugged. "I s'pose."
"Well."
"How did you know how to make me human again?" she muttered, hugging the cloak tighter about her.
He sighed. "That's what all Animagis do. I wasn't sure it would work, but I figured there was a good
chance."
"Well, thank you."
He nodded, looking embarrassed. "I guess we ought to get you back to your common room, so you can get...
uhm...dressed." He turned red again and became very interested in a tree across the lake.
Fi half-smiled at this. "Right. I'll leave you to your walk, then."
"No," he muttered, still staring at the tree. "I can come with you, if you like. I know where the
Slytherin commons are, thanks to Sirius.
She shrugged yet again. She seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. "Okay by me."
As they trudged towards the castle in silence, something occurred to her. "How did you understand me?"
Now it was his turn to shrug. "Well, that's part of what puzzles me. You supposedly only talk to fae,
and I'm not a pixy, I assure you. Maybe...Well, if my guess is correct, you can communicate with other
magical creatures. Not just fae. Have you tried, other than with me?"
She sighed. "I've so far given headaches to a centaurette and two mermen. I could understand mermish,
though. And the centaurette now knows who you are, thanks to my thoughts." She ignored the sideways
glance he gave her. "Please don't ask."
He nodded. "Okay, I won't. But you've talked to other magical creatures, correct?"
"Yes."
"Hm..." He fell silent again, thinking.
"Emm...Here's the commons."
"Oh." He snapped out of his thoughts. "Right. I--em--don't need the cloak back immediately. Hang onto it
for a bit, okay?"
She nodded. "Right. Uh...Thanks for walking with me. Oh, and thanks for helping me, back there..."
"Uhm...Sure." He stood nervously for a moment. "Well. I'll see you at dinner, then. Owl your Mother,
would you? Then we can get to the bottom of this."
She smiled. "Absolutely."
***
Clutching the letter firmly in her hand, Fi trudged up the staircase to the library, reading through it
once more as she walked.
Dear Fi,
Ever so glad you're doing well in school. As a matter of fact, I just had a talk with Grandda about
Gran. As it turns out, she didn't die. She left. That's all I could get out of him, I fear. As for my
memory of her, all I can tell you is that a few days before she "died," I asked her why Grandda kept a
sealskin in the attick. Your Uncle Killian and I had been playing in the attic the day before and found
it. Why has all of this suddenly become so urgent?
Love,
Ma
Fiona folded the letter upon entering the library. Madam Pince gave her a slight glare as she passed,
but said nothing. Remus was, as usual, waiting in the back of the library at their usual table, which
was stacked with several thick, musty-looking books.
"What's all this, then?" Fi asked, sitting down opposite him.
"Have a look." He pushed a few towards her and she read their titles: "Magic of Ireland", "Celtic
Legends", and "A Collection of Magical Creatures".
She raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you think I am?"
"Well," he said, "have you gotten your mother's response yet?"
"Oh, yes," she said, pulling out the parchment and unfolding it.
He read through the note quickly. "Hm...Thought so..."
"What?"
He looked up from reading. "Well, if your grandmother left, and didn't necessarily DIE, then there may
be more to my theory than I thought. And the sealskin makes it a dead giveaway."
"And...?" she prompted.
"Look..." he flipped through "Celtic Legends" until he came across the right page and then handed it to
her. She looked down at the page and noticed a large picture of a seal. Like all pictures in the
wizarding world, it moved. This particular one showed the seal slowly transforming into a woman, and
shedding its skin.
"But I don't understand...I don't shed my skin, so why--?"
"Just read."
Obediently, she read the accompanying paragraphs:
Selkes
Perhaps one of the more interesting of magical creatures of Irish origin is the selke. Selkes are said
to be the Irish version of mermaids, though there are several differences. Identical to the normal gray
seals that are common inhabitants of the rocky shore, they come onto the beach and shed their skins to
become women. After spending a day on land as a human, they take their skins and become seals once more.
If a man should find and steal the skin, though, the selke is required by magical law to marry him. Some
time later, however, if the selke should find her skin, she can return to the sea once more.
If a selke has children with a human, the children are half-blooded and have the unusual ability of
speaking to other magical creatures. The skill does take practice, though. As the generations of humans
after the selke continue, the bloodline is passed only through females, leaving decendants abilities
such as fae-speaking, mind-communication between magical creatures, and most rarely of all, the ability
to become a seal.
fiona pushed the book back at Remus, stunned. "You're saying...Gran was a selke?"
He nodded. "It makes sense, doesn't it?"
She didn't say anything, staring at the book. After a moment, she stood up and walked to a window. "What
does it mean, though? I mean...I KNOW I'm a selke now, it makes sense. But...Now what?"
"Well," he said softly, allowing a small smile. "I'd suggest you write your mother and tell her. I'm
sure she'll be quite interested."
Fi nodded again. After a moment: "And this doesn't...scare you or anything? I mean..."
He gave her a curious stare. "What d'you mean by that?"
She shrugged. "Well...It's just..." She glanced up at him. "I'm not human, Remus," she muttered.
"Yes, you are. You're just part selke. You're primarily human." He paused, then added, "Like me."
"But it's different--"
"Look," he said, leaning against the wall next to her. "I'm not in the least afraid of you. Nor would I
abandon you for what you are. You can't help it any more than I can help what I am." He looked bitter
for a moment, but when he glanced back at her all traces of it were gone. "You didn't abandon me for
what I am, so how could I turn around and do that to you?"
She smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."
Smiling, he put his hands in his pockets and stared out the window. After a moment, he cleared his
throat rather nervously. "Emm...There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, right before Christmas. I
couldn't go last time because of...You know...So, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me." He
glanced up at her.
"I'd be delighted," she said, grinning broadly.
He smiled slightly. "Great. Uhm...What d'you want for Christmas, anyway?"
Fi flushed. "Oh! You don't have to worry about that, I--"
"Yes, I do."
She shrugged. "I've not thought about it, really. Uhm..." She trailed off, shrugging again. "What about
YOU?" He was about to protest, but she held up a hand. "If you're getting me something, I refuse to not
get you a gift as well."
He sighed. "Oh, all right. Surprise me."
She smiled. "You do the same for me, then."
He rolled his eyes. "You are quite difficult, you know."
"Yep," she said proudly. "But so are you." She gathered up her books. "Well, thank you for helping me. I
suppose I ought to go write Ma now, so she knows everything."
"Right. D'you still need tutoring? We do have that quiz on the Unforgivable Curses coming up, you know."
"Sure. Emm...After dinner tomorrow, then?"
"Right."
She left him gathering his books and headed for the Slytherin commons, exceptionally happy. She didn't
have any nagging questions tumbling about in her brain anymore, AND she had a date to Hogsmeade, AND
that date was Remus. Yes, Fi decided, setting her books down next to her trunk, life was good.
***
Part 10
***
"That one looks like a dog."
"Sirius, with you, everything looks like a dog."
"Shut up, Prongs."
"No, I rather thought it looked like a dog, myself."
"You always side with him, Annelle."
"Yep."
"What about you, Fi? What d'you think it looks like?"
Fiona sighed. "Uhm...Honestly?...A dog."
"Ha! Told you!"
"Fine, you win."
Fi giggled and sat up out of the snow. "D'you guys have any clue how stupid we look, lying in the snow
like a bunch of idiots, discussing whether a cloud looks like a bunny or a dog?"
"Newsflash, Fi," James muttered, squinting his eyes behind his glasses. "We ARE idiots...Hey, that one
looks like a fish."
"No, it looks like a bird." Apparently, Sirius was in a contradictory mood today.
"It does not..."
Lily laughed loudly. "Does too."
James picked up a handful of snow and threw it at her. "Fine! You side with him too!"
Lily stuck her tongue out, waited until James was busy cloud-gazing again, and promptly dropped a rather
large amount of snow in his face.
"Oi!" he sputtered. "Unfair!"
He got up from the snow and chased her down the hill, towards a nearby field. Annelle sighed. "Wish
they'd stop flirting with each other."
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with flirting," Sirius said defensively.
Everyone stifled a giggle as Lily sneaked up behind James and crammed a large handful of snow down his
back, making him dance around rather stupidly, yelling. Lily then ran wildly across the field as James
raced after her, balling up a massive amount of snow as he ran.
Fi flumped down in the snow between Annelle and Remus, sighing. Though there was about a foot of snow on
the ground, the sky was a perfect blue, and the ice-covered treetops sparkled in the dazzling sunlight.
Life really was perfect. Somewhere, a little part of her mind was being its pessimistic self and telling
her that this wouldn't last--something had to go wrong eventually. Life couldn't be perfect forever.
The other part of her mind, however, was overriding the first, telling her to enjoy the fact that every
part of her life at the time WAS perfect--everything. She had a boyfriend (she blushed even thinking
about it, but it WAS true...), her friends accepted her, even for what she was, and everything seemed
to have calmed down immensely since a month ago. And, hey, it was a beautiful day.
She turned over on her side, causing her wool hat to fall off into the snow. "Say, Remus," she said,
picking up the hat and dusting it off. "You've been awfully quiet."
He shrugged, which looked odd since he had his arms up behind his head. He rolled over onto his stomach.
"I've not got much to say. It's too perfect right now to say anything."
Fi nodded, understanding. "Yep. I know the feeling." She giggled suddenly. "You've got snow all over
your back, you know."
He grinned and stood up, brushing his cloak off. "Well, I'm about soaked. Are we done lying in the snow
like a bunch of dimwits?"
"Well, I'm done lying in the snow, but I rather liked being a dimwit," Sirius said cheerily, standing up
and dusting himself off as well. "Come, you two. Let's go for a butterbeer, shall we?"
"If we can retrieve Romeo and Juliet from that snowdrift over there," Annelle muttered, getting up.
"They've probably got more snow on them than the ground does."
Fi wrinkled her nose. "Hopefully just from snowball fighting."
Remus gave her a "yeah, right" look, and sent Sirius over to get them, offering her a hand up.
***
Fiona and Remus entered the castle with the other students returning from Hogsmeade, cheeks red from the
rather biting wind, but grinning nonetheless. Fiona popped a chocolate frog into her mouth, stepping
into the warmth gladly. Hogsmeade had been a thrill, but it WAS cold outside...
"Well, that was fun," Remus said as they entered the Great Hall.
"That's it?" Fi said in mock disappointment. "'Fun'?"
He grinned and took a chocolate frog from her bag. "Okay, then, it was utterly, delightfully enjoyable.
That good enough?"
She sighed, smiling. "I suppose so."
They stopped just inside the hall and Remus turned to her. "Right. I'll see you later, then?"
"Right," Fi said. "Well..."
"Yeah."
"Mmkay. Well. I'm going to just go over to the Slytherin table then."
"Right." He vaguely pointed over to the Gryffindor table. "Me, too. 'Bye."
"'Bye." She watched him go, then, realizing that she was staring, hurried over to the Slytherin table.
Lily was waiting, ignoring a rather angry-looking Narcissa. When Fi sat down, Lily immediately turned
away from Narcissa and rolled her eyes. Fi grinned. "What's she on about this time?"
"Well," Lily said, "apparently I'm shaming the house, dating a Gryffindor, and should be utterly
humiliated that I should be so close to the chaser of our rival team and house, and it's dishonoring
Salazar Slytherin, the old coot, and about a bazillion other things that I didn't catch."
"Ah, I see." Fi shrugged. "Who cares, really? I mean--"
She was interrupted as Dumbledore stood up from his seat at the staff table. "We are pleased to inform
you that tomorrow afternoon on the return trip of the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross, we will be
receiving a new student. She will be sorted, as is traditional, here at the school. Whatever house she
is in, I hope that the other occupants will make her feel most welcome and help her learn her way around
the school. Thank you." He sat back down again, and dinner proceeded.
"'She'?" Lily muttered, pouring gravy on her potatoes. "Hmm...Wonder what house she'll be in?"
"Probably Gryffindor," Fi mumbled. "Isnt' that where all the exciting people go? No offense, Lily."
Lily pretended to look hurt, but then shrugged. "None taken." She sighed loudly. "You're probably right.
She'll be a Gryffindor. Or a Ravenclaw, possibly. We don't NEED any more Hufflepuffs, though..."
"Well," Fi said, "if she IS a Slytherin, she'll probably be something like this." She jerked her thumb
over her shoulder at Bridgette Olman (A/N: currently dating one John Bullstrode...heh...), who was busy
scaring some Hufflepuff first years by blocking their path and threatening to put them in a headlock.
Lily looked around Fi at Bridgette and nodded. She sighed. "Those poor kids... Shall we, then?"
Fi stood, sighing. "Right."
They walked up behind Bridgette and Fi stood on tiptoe to tap her shoulder. She turned around, looking
about as friendly as an angry troll, and the two Hufflepuffs--a boy and a girl--quickly scurried off
towards their table. Lily, who had Bridgette's attention, gave a rather weak wave and sat back down
again. Fi laughed nervously. "Uhm...Hi..."
Bridgette rolled her eyes, muttering something about "Air-headed Mudbloods," and turned around. Upon
discovering that the two first years had disappeared, she spun back to face Lily and Fi, furious, but
by then they'd sprinted down to the Slytherin commons, giggling.
"You know," Lily muttered as Fi stated the password to the wall ("Serpensortia"), "We never do tell her
off, do we?"
"Nope," Fi said, stepping inside the common room. Every time they saw Bridgette, she was torturing
someone smaller than she. And that qualified a lot of people for torturing. Every time they saw her,
they got up the courage to distract her while her victims escaped, but never quite managed to muster up
the bravery to tell her off for being such a bully. Fi had decided this was part of her ultimate goal
for her remaining time at Hogwarts.
"Well," Lily said, throwing herself into one of the high-backed chairs, "Annelle leaves tomorrow for the
holidays, we get a new student as well, and Bridgette is after our blood. Quite a time ahead, no?"
Fi sighed. "Hey, I'm not complaining."
Lily smirked. "Yes, well. So you got a hundred percent on that Defense test last week?"
"Yep," Fi said, smiling broadly.
"Cool. D'you suppose you could help me study for the next one? I'd ask to come to the library, but I do
believe I'd be intruding."
Fi threw a pillow at Lily, who giggled loudly and threw it back, hitting Fi in the back of the head.
How life could be so perfect, neither one knew. But, of course, good things never last. And neither girl
knew the magnitude of the change that was soon to befall them.
Parts 9 & 10
by Veralidaine
Part 9
She closed her eyes again, trying to fight the nagging feeling in her little seal stomach that maybe she
WOULDN'T be able to transform back into herself. 'Don't panic, don't panic...'
Looking to her left, she noticed a orange-ish glow coming from the east. Sunrise. That meant classes
weren't far away. And she was a seal. Frantically, she closed her eyes again, hoping against hope that
she would transform back again. Looking in the water once more, she still saw the little whiskery face
looking right back at her. Yes, now was definitely the time to panic.
Climbing (well, waddling, really) down from the rocks, she landed on the soft grass with a soft sort of
"flump" noise. Great--now her stomach hurt. Unfortunately, seal eyes weren't nearly as good as her
human eyes above water, so it was difficult to make out the face of the person walking a few yards away,
apparently just enjoying the frosty air. She recognized the walk--easy-going and yet cautious--this was
Remus. She tried to yell, but all that came out of her throat was a rather ugly, raspy, barking noise.
It got his attention, though.
Curiously, he walked over to the rocks and briefly looked about for what had made the racket. The human
and GIRL part of Fi wanted her to be embarrassed, but the more sensible part that was unrelated
whatsoever to her giggly side tood control. She waddled out from behind the rocks and Remus stared at
her, confusion very apparent.
She wasn't sure what exactly prompted her to do so--maybe it was just the fact that she was panicking
and beyond real reasoning, but she just kept thinking, 'It's me, Fiona! It's me!' over and over again
inside her mind. Remus, who had been staring at her, still puzzled by the presence of a seal on the
school grounds, put his hand to his forehead, as if suffering from a headache. After shaking his head
for a moment, as if to clear it, he looked down at her incredulously. "Uhm...You're not...?"
She nodded vigorously and his jaw dropped. He quickly closed it. "Why are you...?" She barked once,
sounding appropriately annoyed, and he shook his head. "Well, allright then. I'll assume you're stuck?"
She nodded again. "Well, I want you to think about yourself. Think about what makes you Fi--the HUMAN
Fi. Keep thinking that, over and over. Picture yourself. Do it."
She drowned out his talk and did as he asked. A somewhat foggy perception of herself came into her mind
--Long wavy hair, blue-gray eyes, round face...She felt the familiar transformation, but it was somewhat
more difficult than she remembered. She continued--Born in Dublin, raised in a small cottage out in the
country, the sea, the fae...She didn't even stop herself from thinking of them. They were, after all, a
part of her.
She opened her eyes, raising her human hands to her face. The same somewhat rounded nose met her
fingertips. She let out a sigh of relief at not finding whiskers. She looked up to thank Remus, but
found that he was standing with his back to her, holding his cloak out behind him for her.
"Wha--? OH!" She grabbed the cloak and hid behind the rocks, terribly embarrassed. HOW could she have
forgotten? She hadn't even NOTICED her clothes falling off when she transformed, though. It had seemed
so...natural to her, somehow. "I'm...Uhm...SORRY, Remus, I just..."
"No, it's okay," he said to the tree in front of him. "When I come out of transformations, I have that
problem. The only thing is..." he paused. "Can I turn around now? I can't carry on a conversation with
a tree, you know."
Fi wrapped the cloak tightly about herself, gripping the insides to keep it closed. "Okay."
He turned around, still a bit red in the face, and wouldn't quite make eye contact. "The only thing is,
Fi, that sort of thing only happens to you if you've got that power in your blood."
"What d'you mean?"
"Well," he said slowly, "I was bitten when I was small. The magic in that is in my blood; there's no
cure. It's the same as if I had been born a werewolf, only not quite as strong, I think. If you're an
Animagus, for example, you don't have the magic in your blood, persay...More like you've acquired the
talent and magical maturity to transform. But it's not genetic. It doesn't get passed through
bloodlines."
"So?"
"So," he said impatiently, as if she was missing a very obvious point (which she was), "I wasn't aware
you had the ability to transform. I'd let it go with the business of speaking to fae, but now I'm not
sure what to think."
Fi shrugged. "Well, I just discovered this the other night, when I went out to capture the dog. I got
chased into the lake, and I just..." she shrugged again. "It just happened. I wasn't sure quite what to
think, really. I had a pixy bring me my clothes, and then I called Lily once I'd captured the monster,
and that was it. No one knew. I had to see if I had been hallucinating or something, though. I didn't
know."
He thought for a moment. "Well, was anyone in your family...er...Non-human, in any way?"
Fi sighed. "I dunno, really. My gran is about as far back as I know. She died when my Ma was a little
girl, and started the bloodline of fae-speakers."
"She died?"
"That's what my grandda told Ma. I'm not sure if it's true, really."
Remus paused to think again. After a few moments of silence, he looked up. "D'you suppose you could
write to your mother and ask her about it? I've an idea, but I'm not sure if I'm right. I need more
information to be positive."
Fi shrugged. "I s'pose."
"Well."
"How did you know how to make me human again?" she muttered, hugging the cloak tighter about her.
He sighed. "That's what all Animagis do. I wasn't sure it would work, but I figured there was a good
chance."
"Well, thank you."
He nodded, looking embarrassed. "I guess we ought to get you back to your common room, so you can get...
uhm...dressed." He turned red again and became very interested in a tree across the lake.
Fi half-smiled at this. "Right. I'll leave you to your walk, then."
"No," he muttered, still staring at the tree. "I can come with you, if you like. I know where the
Slytherin commons are, thanks to Sirius.
She shrugged yet again. She seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. "Okay by me."
As they trudged towards the castle in silence, something occurred to her. "How did you understand me?"
Now it was his turn to shrug. "Well, that's part of what puzzles me. You supposedly only talk to fae,
and I'm not a pixy, I assure you. Maybe...Well, if my guess is correct, you can communicate with other
magical creatures. Not just fae. Have you tried, other than with me?"
She sighed. "I've so far given headaches to a centaurette and two mermen. I could understand mermish,
though. And the centaurette now knows who you are, thanks to my thoughts." She ignored the sideways
glance he gave her. "Please don't ask."
He nodded. "Okay, I won't. But you've talked to other magical creatures, correct?"
"Yes."
"Hm..." He fell silent again, thinking.
"Emm...Here's the commons."
"Oh." He snapped out of his thoughts. "Right. I--em--don't need the cloak back immediately. Hang onto it
for a bit, okay?"
She nodded. "Right. Uh...Thanks for walking with me. Oh, and thanks for helping me, back there..."
"Uhm...Sure." He stood nervously for a moment. "Well. I'll see you at dinner, then. Owl your Mother,
would you? Then we can get to the bottom of this."
She smiled. "Absolutely."
***
Clutching the letter firmly in her hand, Fi trudged up the staircase to the library, reading through it
once more as she walked.
Dear Fi,
Ever so glad you're doing well in school. As a matter of fact, I just had a talk with Grandda about
Gran. As it turns out, she didn't die. She left. That's all I could get out of him, I fear. As for my
memory of her, all I can tell you is that a few days before she "died," I asked her why Grandda kept a
sealskin in the attick. Your Uncle Killian and I had been playing in the attic the day before and found
it. Why has all of this suddenly become so urgent?
Love,
Ma
Fiona folded the letter upon entering the library. Madam Pince gave her a slight glare as she passed,
but said nothing. Remus was, as usual, waiting in the back of the library at their usual table, which
was stacked with several thick, musty-looking books.
"What's all this, then?" Fi asked, sitting down opposite him.
"Have a look." He pushed a few towards her and she read their titles: "Magic of Ireland", "Celtic
Legends", and "A Collection of Magical Creatures".
She raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you think I am?"
"Well," he said, "have you gotten your mother's response yet?"
"Oh, yes," she said, pulling out the parchment and unfolding it.
He read through the note quickly. "Hm...Thought so..."
"What?"
He looked up from reading. "Well, if your grandmother left, and didn't necessarily DIE, then there may
be more to my theory than I thought. And the sealskin makes it a dead giveaway."
"And...?" she prompted.
"Look..." he flipped through "Celtic Legends" until he came across the right page and then handed it to
her. She looked down at the page and noticed a large picture of a seal. Like all pictures in the
wizarding world, it moved. This particular one showed the seal slowly transforming into a woman, and
shedding its skin.
"But I don't understand...I don't shed my skin, so why--?"
"Just read."
Obediently, she read the accompanying paragraphs:
Selkes
Perhaps one of the more interesting of magical creatures of Irish origin is the selke. Selkes are said
to be the Irish version of mermaids, though there are several differences. Identical to the normal gray
seals that are common inhabitants of the rocky shore, they come onto the beach and shed their skins to
become women. After spending a day on land as a human, they take their skins and become seals once more.
If a man should find and steal the skin, though, the selke is required by magical law to marry him. Some
time later, however, if the selke should find her skin, she can return to the sea once more.
If a selke has children with a human, the children are half-blooded and have the unusual ability of
speaking to other magical creatures. The skill does take practice, though. As the generations of humans
after the selke continue, the bloodline is passed only through females, leaving decendants abilities
such as fae-speaking, mind-communication between magical creatures, and most rarely of all, the ability
to become a seal.
fiona pushed the book back at Remus, stunned. "You're saying...Gran was a selke?"
He nodded. "It makes sense, doesn't it?"
She didn't say anything, staring at the book. After a moment, she stood up and walked to a window. "What
does it mean, though? I mean...I KNOW I'm a selke now, it makes sense. But...Now what?"
"Well," he said softly, allowing a small smile. "I'd suggest you write your mother and tell her. I'm
sure she'll be quite interested."
Fi nodded again. After a moment: "And this doesn't...scare you or anything? I mean..."
He gave her a curious stare. "What d'you mean by that?"
She shrugged. "Well...It's just..." She glanced up at him. "I'm not human, Remus," she muttered.
"Yes, you are. You're just part selke. You're primarily human." He paused, then added, "Like me."
"But it's different--"
"Look," he said, leaning against the wall next to her. "I'm not in the least afraid of you. Nor would I
abandon you for what you are. You can't help it any more than I can help what I am." He looked bitter
for a moment, but when he glanced back at her all traces of it were gone. "You didn't abandon me for
what I am, so how could I turn around and do that to you?"
She smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."
Smiling, he put his hands in his pockets and stared out the window. After a moment, he cleared his
throat rather nervously. "Emm...There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, right before Christmas. I
couldn't go last time because of...You know...So, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me." He
glanced up at her.
"I'd be delighted," she said, grinning broadly.
He smiled slightly. "Great. Uhm...What d'you want for Christmas, anyway?"
Fi flushed. "Oh! You don't have to worry about that, I--"
"Yes, I do."
She shrugged. "I've not thought about it, really. Uhm..." She trailed off, shrugging again. "What about
YOU?" He was about to protest, but she held up a hand. "If you're getting me something, I refuse to not
get you a gift as well."
He sighed. "Oh, all right. Surprise me."
She smiled. "You do the same for me, then."
He rolled his eyes. "You are quite difficult, you know."
"Yep," she said proudly. "But so are you." She gathered up her books. "Well, thank you for helping me. I
suppose I ought to go write Ma now, so she knows everything."
"Right. D'you still need tutoring? We do have that quiz on the Unforgivable Curses coming up, you know."
"Sure. Emm...After dinner tomorrow, then?"
"Right."
She left him gathering his books and headed for the Slytherin commons, exceptionally happy. She didn't
have any nagging questions tumbling about in her brain anymore, AND she had a date to Hogsmeade, AND
that date was Remus. Yes, Fi decided, setting her books down next to her trunk, life was good.
***
Part 10
***
"That one looks like a dog."
"Sirius, with you, everything looks like a dog."
"Shut up, Prongs."
"No, I rather thought it looked like a dog, myself."
"You always side with him, Annelle."
"Yep."
"What about you, Fi? What d'you think it looks like?"
Fiona sighed. "Uhm...Honestly?...A dog."
"Ha! Told you!"
"Fine, you win."
Fi giggled and sat up out of the snow. "D'you guys have any clue how stupid we look, lying in the snow
like a bunch of idiots, discussing whether a cloud looks like a bunny or a dog?"
"Newsflash, Fi," James muttered, squinting his eyes behind his glasses. "We ARE idiots...Hey, that one
looks like a fish."
"No, it looks like a bird." Apparently, Sirius was in a contradictory mood today.
"It does not..."
Lily laughed loudly. "Does too."
James picked up a handful of snow and threw it at her. "Fine! You side with him too!"
Lily stuck her tongue out, waited until James was busy cloud-gazing again, and promptly dropped a rather
large amount of snow in his face.
"Oi!" he sputtered. "Unfair!"
He got up from the snow and chased her down the hill, towards a nearby field. Annelle sighed. "Wish
they'd stop flirting with each other."
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with flirting," Sirius said defensively.
Everyone stifled a giggle as Lily sneaked up behind James and crammed a large handful of snow down his
back, making him dance around rather stupidly, yelling. Lily then ran wildly across the field as James
raced after her, balling up a massive amount of snow as he ran.
Fi flumped down in the snow between Annelle and Remus, sighing. Though there was about a foot of snow on
the ground, the sky was a perfect blue, and the ice-covered treetops sparkled in the dazzling sunlight.
Life really was perfect. Somewhere, a little part of her mind was being its pessimistic self and telling
her that this wouldn't last--something had to go wrong eventually. Life couldn't be perfect forever.
The other part of her mind, however, was overriding the first, telling her to enjoy the fact that every
part of her life at the time WAS perfect--everything. She had a boyfriend (she blushed even thinking
about it, but it WAS true...), her friends accepted her, even for what she was, and everything seemed
to have calmed down immensely since a month ago. And, hey, it was a beautiful day.
She turned over on her side, causing her wool hat to fall off into the snow. "Say, Remus," she said,
picking up the hat and dusting it off. "You've been awfully quiet."
He shrugged, which looked odd since he had his arms up behind his head. He rolled over onto his stomach.
"I've not got much to say. It's too perfect right now to say anything."
Fi nodded, understanding. "Yep. I know the feeling." She giggled suddenly. "You've got snow all over
your back, you know."
He grinned and stood up, brushing his cloak off. "Well, I'm about soaked. Are we done lying in the snow
like a bunch of dimwits?"
"Well, I'm done lying in the snow, but I rather liked being a dimwit," Sirius said cheerily, standing up
and dusting himself off as well. "Come, you two. Let's go for a butterbeer, shall we?"
"If we can retrieve Romeo and Juliet from that snowdrift over there," Annelle muttered, getting up.
"They've probably got more snow on them than the ground does."
Fi wrinkled her nose. "Hopefully just from snowball fighting."
Remus gave her a "yeah, right" look, and sent Sirius over to get them, offering her a hand up.
***
Fiona and Remus entered the castle with the other students returning from Hogsmeade, cheeks red from the
rather biting wind, but grinning nonetheless. Fiona popped a chocolate frog into her mouth, stepping
into the warmth gladly. Hogsmeade had been a thrill, but it WAS cold outside...
"Well, that was fun," Remus said as they entered the Great Hall.
"That's it?" Fi said in mock disappointment. "'Fun'?"
He grinned and took a chocolate frog from her bag. "Okay, then, it was utterly, delightfully enjoyable.
That good enough?"
She sighed, smiling. "I suppose so."
They stopped just inside the hall and Remus turned to her. "Right. I'll see you later, then?"
"Right," Fi said. "Well..."
"Yeah."
"Mmkay. Well. I'm going to just go over to the Slytherin table then."
"Right." He vaguely pointed over to the Gryffindor table. "Me, too. 'Bye."
"'Bye." She watched him go, then, realizing that she was staring, hurried over to the Slytherin table.
Lily was waiting, ignoring a rather angry-looking Narcissa. When Fi sat down, Lily immediately turned
away from Narcissa and rolled her eyes. Fi grinned. "What's she on about this time?"
"Well," Lily said, "apparently I'm shaming the house, dating a Gryffindor, and should be utterly
humiliated that I should be so close to the chaser of our rival team and house, and it's dishonoring
Salazar Slytherin, the old coot, and about a bazillion other things that I didn't catch."
"Ah, I see." Fi shrugged. "Who cares, really? I mean--"
She was interrupted as Dumbledore stood up from his seat at the staff table. "We are pleased to inform
you that tomorrow afternoon on the return trip of the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross, we will be
receiving a new student. She will be sorted, as is traditional, here at the school. Whatever house she
is in, I hope that the other occupants will make her feel most welcome and help her learn her way around
the school. Thank you." He sat back down again, and dinner proceeded.
"'She'?" Lily muttered, pouring gravy on her potatoes. "Hmm...Wonder what house she'll be in?"
"Probably Gryffindor," Fi mumbled. "Isnt' that where all the exciting people go? No offense, Lily."
Lily pretended to look hurt, but then shrugged. "None taken." She sighed loudly. "You're probably right.
She'll be a Gryffindor. Or a Ravenclaw, possibly. We don't NEED any more Hufflepuffs, though..."
"Well," Fi said, "if she IS a Slytherin, she'll probably be something like this." She jerked her thumb
over her shoulder at Bridgette Olman (A/N: currently dating one John Bullstrode...heh...), who was busy
scaring some Hufflepuff first years by blocking their path and threatening to put them in a headlock.
Lily looked around Fi at Bridgette and nodded. She sighed. "Those poor kids... Shall we, then?"
Fi stood, sighing. "Right."
They walked up behind Bridgette and Fi stood on tiptoe to tap her shoulder. She turned around, looking
about as friendly as an angry troll, and the two Hufflepuffs--a boy and a girl--quickly scurried off
towards their table. Lily, who had Bridgette's attention, gave a rather weak wave and sat back down
again. Fi laughed nervously. "Uhm...Hi..."
Bridgette rolled her eyes, muttering something about "Air-headed Mudbloods," and turned around. Upon
discovering that the two first years had disappeared, she spun back to face Lily and Fi, furious, but
by then they'd sprinted down to the Slytherin commons, giggling.
"You know," Lily muttered as Fi stated the password to the wall ("Serpensortia"), "We never do tell her
off, do we?"
"Nope," Fi said, stepping inside the common room. Every time they saw Bridgette, she was torturing
someone smaller than she. And that qualified a lot of people for torturing. Every time they saw her,
they got up the courage to distract her while her victims escaped, but never quite managed to muster up
the bravery to tell her off for being such a bully. Fi had decided this was part of her ultimate goal
for her remaining time at Hogwarts.
"Well," Lily said, throwing herself into one of the high-backed chairs, "Annelle leaves tomorrow for the
holidays, we get a new student as well, and Bridgette is after our blood. Quite a time ahead, no?"
Fi sighed. "Hey, I'm not complaining."
Lily smirked. "Yes, well. So you got a hundred percent on that Defense test last week?"
"Yep," Fi said, smiling broadly.
"Cool. D'you suppose you could help me study for the next one? I'd ask to come to the library, but I do
believe I'd be intruding."
Fi threw a pillow at Lily, who giggled loudly and threw it back, hitting Fi in the back of the head.
How life could be so perfect, neither one knew. But, of course, good things never last. And neither girl
knew the magnitude of the change that was soon to befall them.