Nadiera looked around the room, which was very dimly lit. She knew there was someone who could channel in the very next room, though the one she was in was presently empty. It looked like it was a sitting room in a small sort of boarding house. The next room had a door that was slightly open, and a sliver of light came from there, cutting across the sitting room with a sort of ominous quality. Nadiera crawled from the fireplace to the door, but stopped dead when she heard voices.
"You know my husband would have my head if he knew I was here with you like this," a thin, feamle voice breathed. "He'd think I was interfering."
"Narcissa, you know as well as I do that he wouldn't have a thing to say about it. After all, both you and your husband are my servants. You both serve in different ways, that is all." Nadiera held her breath; the sound of that voice chilled her terribly.
"Still, he thinks he is the only one who serves you," Narcissa told him. Nadiera heard a sound follow, one that sounded like she was experiencing something rather painful.
"You belong to me. As does your husband, and soon, your son as well. I look very much forward to the day when I have all the Malfoys in my service, moving toward out mutual goals. Your husband should be proud; he not only can offer his own services, but also that of his beautiful wife and his very powerful son. He shall be most exalted of my followers..."
Whoever this man was, Nadiera thought, he made her blood boil. She heaved herself off the floor, and made her way to the front door. But, out of nowhere, the most horrifying looking man appeared out of thin air. His eyes looked like a serpent's, and glowed red. His complexion was paler than any she'd ever seen, and he stood a head taller than her. He wore a thin robe which hid very little of the rest of his skeletal body. Nadiera's stomach turned as the creature smirked. "Well, it seems that with Wormtail, it's either feast or famine. Last week, I was climbing the walls, and today, I get two in a row..."
"Who is Wormtail, and who are you? Never mind, I don't care who you are, I'm leaving. I'm not very proficient with that bloody Floo Powder..." Nadiera huffed, then went to open the door.
"What is your hurry? You really don't know who I am? Very well, I'll play along with you. I call myself Voldemort. Everyone else calls me either the Dark Lord, or Master..."
"Take your hand off me. I am leaving now," Nadiera told Voldemort quite firmly. He simply laughed coldly and seized her hand more tightly, pulling it away from the doorknob. Nadiera took her free hand and slapped him in the face.
Voldemort slapped her back, and then laughed. "Ah, so you like to have it rough? Very well, I can play that game well; I still have plenty of stamina left..." Nadiera struggled with him, and very nearly broke free of him. He wasn't using the One Power to subdue her, oddly enough. He was only using his own physical strength, which was more than enough, as it turned out. Voldemort managed to reach the neckline of her dress and tear it open. Nadiera gasped as her entire body was pulled toward him in that movement. He laughed as he grasped her breasts with his long, thin fingers...
Not again! was all she could think as she found herself embracing saidar and slamming Voldemort with flows of Air. Gasping with shock and with the force of being driven into the wall with magic, Voldemort could only watch as the woman made strands of magic weave around him. He was sorely tempted to use magic, but he suddenly found that he couldn't!
"You bitch! What have you done to me?" he demanded.
"I'm putting a shield around you. In fact, I think I'll leave you just like that..." Nadiera smiled as she tied the flows of Air and Spirit together, leaving Voldemort spread eagle on the floor of the sitting room. She knew the shield would only be temporary; either one of Voldemort's followers would free him or in time, he'd free himself. But this was certainly enough to keep him from following her as she left. "Let Wormtail free you; he seems to do you so many favors, doesn't he?" Nadiera spat, and left.
She pulled her cloak around herself, as she had to hide the damage that beast had done to her dress. Where was Sirius? When she got ahold of him, she was going to... She shuddered then, and burst out crying. She'd almost been raped! The shock of it was wearing off, and now, she was getting angry. She pushed her way past a pair of surly-looking dwarves and an old hag as she strode down the street.
At the corner, she found it got much lighter and brighter. The late morning sun was basking the bustling town with it glow. She regretted that she had to wear the cloak; it would have been a perfect day to walk without it. With a sigh, she looked around for a black dog wandering the street.
So intent was she on her mission, she failed to notice the tall man walking right into her. She jumped and looked up. A man with a slightly shabby shade hat on his head, and gray eyes to compliment his graying hair looked back down at her. "Forgive me, Madam. I was so intent on my search, I didn't see you." He scanned the busy street and seemed to see something. "Padfoot," the man hissed. Nadiera turned back around at the sound of Padfoot's name.
"Where is he?" she demanded of the stranger.
"Er, you know Padfoot?" the man stammered.
"Where is he?" she repeated. "I was supposed to go with him to..."
"Oh! You're the one he's looking for. He was frantic when he found you didn't follow him."
"Ah...So you are Lupin, I take it?" Nadiera asked.
"Yes," Lupin said shortly. "Let's find the poor beast before he gets into trouble."
Fortunately, Padfoot scampered over to Lupin and Nadiera. She patted him on the head, and his tail was wagging. "Come along, before the dogcatchers see you..." Lupin muttered.
Nadiera realized something suddenly. Why did Sirius run around like a dog all the time? Even at dinner at Hogwart's, he remained in his dog form until everyone left. Was he hiding for some reason? Come to think of it, she could even remember Harry making a fuss about Sirius "being seen." Who was looking for him?
"Um, Lupin? Who are the 'dog catchers?'" Nadiera asked.
Padfoot began barking very loudly, to distract Lupin from answering her question. Nadiera became nervous. What were these men up to? The Red Ajah was right, she decided firmly in her mind. Men simply cannot be trusted to wield the One Power. Even if they do not go completely mad, they are irresponsible, and dangerous. She shuddered when recalling Voldemort's attack. She couldn't get it out of her mind....
When they finally reached Lupin's shabby flat, only then, once the door was shut, did Sirius transform back into his human form.
"Are you cold, Nadiera?" Sirius asked.
"Cold?" she repeated back to him.
"You've got your cloak wrapped around you like you are cold," he pointed out.
"I er, had a bit of a mishap with the Floo Powder," she muttered.
"You certainly must have; I saw you coming from Knockturn Alley," Lupin frowned.
"What happened to you?" Sirius questioned her.
She couldn't lie and say "nothing." So, she instead asked, "What makes you think something happened?"
"Take off your cloak and make yourself at home, Nadiera," Lupin offered. She smiled, but didn't take off her cloak.
"Things happen in Knockturn Alley, Nadiera. Tell me what happened," Sirius insisted.
"I told you, I had a mishap with the Floo Powder. My dress was ripped from the mishap," she said. There, it was the truth, but not all of it, obviously. Aes Sedai cannot lie outright, but they don't necessarily have to tell the truth, either.
"Oh, then you need to go to the dressmaker, Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, to get it repaired. She can fix it for you in a jif, I wager," Lupin told her.
Sirius looked skeptical. "Why didn't you just say so, Nadiera?" he asked.
Nadiera decided it was time to stop Sirius' interrogation before it got out of control. "I want to know what you are hiding from! Why can't you walk around like a normal human being out in public?" she demanded.
Lupin looked sharply at Sirius. "How can she not know?" he asked Sirius. With a sigh, Sirius told Lupin the whole story of Harry's driving lesson, and Nadiera's appearance out of nowhere.
"She knows next to nothing about the wizarding world even though she is a witch. Excuse me, Aes Sedai. My mistake..." Sirius growled at Nadiera's annoyed expression at being called a "witch."
"You didn't answer my question," she frowned.
"Well, turnabout is fair play. You didn't answer my question!" Sirius argued.
Lupin fidgeted as they squabbled. He suspected that something happened that Nadiera didn't want to talk about. He was going to have to tell Sirius in private that he'd have to leave her alone, that she'd tell him at some point if it was important. She needed to know about Sirius Black being wanted by the Dementors for murders that he never committed, though. She would have to know the secret in order to keep it a secret. After she knows the truth, she'd be better off locked away at Hogwart's until she could get back to wherever she came from. She was entirely too dangerous left to roam around wherever she wanted...
"I think," he said over their two voices, "that we had best get started with our shopping. Nadiera? Sirius?" He met their twin glares with aplomb. "I would hate to interrupt your little spat, but we can hash this all out later." Nadiera nodded curtly, and then stood up, pulling the cloak tighter around herself. Sirius sighed and in a blink of an eye, Padfoot returned, lovable as ever. Lupin led the way as they all left his little flat above the apothecary.
Peter Pettigrew returned to the boarding house in Knockturn Alley, and when he opened the front door, he got the shock of his life. The Dark Lord was tied up by strands of glowing power. which was tied at the end like someone would tie a knot at the end of a net to keep oranges inside. He gaped at the sight.
"Don't just stand there!" Voldemort hissed. "Help me out of this thing!"
Peter shook his head very slightly, like someone who was not refusing, but couldn't see how he could help. Could he just untie the magical threads? He took out his wand and probed the threads thoughtfully.
"I could feel that, Wormtail. I think that's how you do it," Voldemort coached him.
"How did this happen my lord?" Peter asked. "Who did this?"
"That wench you sent me!" Voldemort accused.
"I sent no one, Master!" Peter protested.
"Never mind. Just keep working on it." Peter resumed probing the threads. He would use the wand and let the thread stick to it like static cling. In this manner, he was able to begin unravelling the knot. Still, it took almost a half hour for him to completely undo it.
Voldemort clawed his way out of the threads, and they dissolved. For a few seconds, he actually looked grateful to Peter for his help, but then his expression hardened. "Whoever that bitch was, she is going to pay for this humiliation. I never forget someone who crosses me. She will not get away with this..." he vowed. Peter shivered.
Many miles away, Harry Potter jumped up from his sleep. He dreamed about Voldemort again! His scar even felt a bit hot. This was what he got for sleeping late.
He looked around, and remembered that he'd gotten to Ron's house very late last night. That had been a surprise, the instant invitation to the Burrow coming on the heels of his visit to Hogwart's. Not that he was going to complain, mind. But sleeping at odd times made him have odd dreams, ones that seemed so real. And they were always about Voldemort. This time, he remembered that Voldemort had been tied up with magic the same way he's seen Snape tied up. only Snape hadn't been tied up nearly as well. Only one person could have done that; Nadiera! How did she get mixed up with Voldemort?
He sat at the cluttered desk in Ron's room, and took out a sheet of parchment and a quill and ink. He wrote a letter to Sirius; he always wrote letters to Sirius if he had dreams like that, or if his scar hurt. It was a quick note. He had it done in no time, and rolled it up to send with Hedwig as soon as the ink dried.