A Different Kind of Magic
Tom, the keeper at the Leaky Cauldron, frowned as he saw a big black dog streak right through the pub. The dog then dashed up the stairs too quickly for Tom to protest. Tom didn't think it was too strange for the dog to know where it was going--lots of strange sorts paraded through his pub's doors during his time.
The "dog" pushed his way into one of the Leaky Cauldron's rooms. Harry Potter glanced at the door, saw the dog, and turned back to the sleeping woman he'd been watching before the dog came in.
"So, Sirius, did you send the owl? I think Madame Pomfrey's Healing is going to help her a lot better than my feeble pain potions..." Harry sighed.
The dog transformed into a man, and that man looked at the woman in the bed with worry in his eyes. "I sent the owl, and I asked Albus to send Madame Pomfrey here straightaway, but, Harry, how is she? Has she awakened at all?"
"She woke up once," Harry sighed again. "She told me that she wanted a woman 'wisdom' or a 'wise woman' again, and then went on about men channeling, and then passed out again."
Sirius approached the bed quietly, and looked at the woman carefully. She was definitely a witch, even though she wailed that she was an "Eyes" something or other. "Do we even know her name?" he murmured. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Harry shake his head.
"When Madame Pomfrey gets here, you're going to have to leave," Harry fretted.
"Don't worry Harry, I'll be fine. I've been able to keep myself concealed well enough for two years already. I'm a real expert at it now, I daresay," Sirius responded dryly.
"I still don't understand how the Muggles never noticed anything. I was so certain that the police at least would take an interest in an accident where someone got run over," Harry said.
"Well, Harry, let's just say that I have some talent for keeping people as un-interested in me as possible..." Sirius explained. The woman began to stir a bit. Her eyes opened.
"Ugh, what is that awful taste in my mouth?" she muttered. Sirius watched her as she sat up. "Well, it seems as though I'll not be getting rid of you two any time soon." Sirius noticed that her accent wasn't British. "Why are you two staring at me? If you try anything, I'll scream down the entire place!"
Sirius looked aghast, while Harry wondered aloud "What would we possibly try?"
"Two men who can channel, and you don't even know why I'm worried?" she gasped. Harry and Sirius gave her twin blank looks. "I am Nadiera Godesin, Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah," she announced.
"Oh," Harry croaked, not sounding like he had any clue what she was talking about.
So, her name is Nadiera, Sirius thought to himself. "Nadiera, what does that mean? Aes Sedai, I mean?" he asked.
Nadiera looked back up at Siruis. "What is your name?" she asked him.
"I'm Sirius Black, and this is my godson, Harry Potter. I was giving Harry a driving lesson, because his useless guardians won't do it, and...well, you know how the lesson went all too well," he grimaced.
"How could you drive a cart without horses?" Nadiera asked. "With the One Power?" She shifted herself on the bed, and winced. Her hip was dully aching. "I can sense people channeling all over this building. What is this place?"
"It's the Leaky Cauldron," Harry shrugged. "Lots of wizards and witches pass through here to get to Diagon Alley," he grinned.
Nadiera glanced dubiously at the two men who channeled so innocently. They would eventually go mad; that was what happened to men who channeled the One Power, in time. She had obviously had a terrible mishap with that Portal Stone. But, she followed the directions Liandrin gave her to the letter. What had gone wrong?
Suddenly, the tall, rather handsome man she'd been looking at dissolved into, of all things, a black dog. "Listen, Sirius is called Padfoot when he's a dog, okay? Just call him Padfoot," Harry explained in a rush as the flames in the fireplace grew green, and a plump, older woman emerged. Nadiera gasped in astonishment. But she got over it quickly when she saw Madam Pomfrey approaching.
"Oh, thank the Light! A woman who can channel! I need Healing. I have been told by this young man that you are very skilled at the Talent," Nadiera told her.
"Let's just take a look at you, young lady..." Madame Pomfrey said. Nadiera showed her the injured hip, and Harry took a short walk over to Padfoot, who was watching very intently as Madame Pomfrey worked her magic on Nadiera.
"There! Just a bit of rest now, and you'll be right as rain!" Madame Pomfrey announced.
Nadiera stood up, and tried walking. Smiling, she turned back to Madam Pomfrey and said, "I could never have done Healing like this myself. Are you Yellow Ajah? You must be."
"Er, Ajah?" Madame Pomfrey asked.
"Long story, Madame Pomfrey. I bet Professor Dumbledore knows what she's talking about," Harry said.
"Professor Dumbledore..." Nadiera repeated thoughtfully. Then she rounded on Madame Pomfrey. "Is he another man who channels?" she demanded.
"Yeah, he is," Harry answered for Madame Pomfrey.
"And you work side by side with him? Aren't you afraid he will go mad?" Nadiera gasped.
"Oh, he's gone a bit mad a long while ago, but 'tis only the kind that make him endearing, really," Madame Pomfrey answered dreamily. Only a wide grin on Harry's face made Madame Pomfrey snap out of it and clear her throat.
"You mean he doesn't...break things? Melt things? Shoot lightning form his fingers and kill people with it?" Nadiera asked.
"Oh no! Not Albus! He's a gentle old fellow, really!" Madame Pomfrey laughed.
Nadiera's brows furrowed in doubt. "This, I have to see! A man who has channeled for many years who hasn't gone mad!" she told Madame Pomfrey.
"Well, he is at Hogwart's now. Would you like to come to Hogwart's with me?" she offered.
"Yes, where is it?" Nadiera asked as she gathered that small knapsack of hers and stood before Madame Pomfrey.
"Through the fire..." Harry grinned as he rose from his seat. "May I come too, Madame Pomfrey? Please?"
"I'm ceratin that Albus would like to see you, Harry dear. We use Floo Powder to travel by fire," she explained to Nadiera, who looked at the fire with apprehension.
"Watch!" Harry told Nadiera as he took a pinch of Floo Powder from Madame Pomfrey's little pouch and tossed it in the fire. The flames turned green, and Nadiera watched as Harry entered the flames and yelled, "Hogwart's hospital wing!" In a blink, he was gone.
"Now, you try," Madame Pomfrey offered Nadiera. Nadiera thought to herself that it was a good thing for them that she was always the adventurous sort. She took a pinch of the Floo Powder, then asked Madame Pomfrey, "No channeling? No weaving of Fire?" Madame Pomfrey had a blank look on her face. "I suppose not, then," Nadiera sighed. Then she tossed the pinch into the flames, and stepped into them. Marvelling that she wasn't burning to death, she copied Harry and yelled "Hogwart's hospital wing!"
Padfoot watched from a corner as Madame Pomfrey took her leave with the Floo Powder also. As soon as she was gone, Sirius emerged from his dog form, and hurried to the fire before it turned orange again. He tossed his own Floo Powder into the fireplace, stepped in, and yelled, "Professor Dumbledore's office!" After all, he wasn't about to let that Nadeira out of his sight...