Chapter 13: Fencing Lessons and Animages
Author's Note: I thought long and hard about this chapter. The story has been non-stop intrigue, I thought it was time for these guys to have a break. It's one of my first attempts at something like this, so be gentle in your review on this chapter please.
The sun peaked over the plains, sending rays high into the sky in shades of red and orange. Sunlight filled Harry's room spilling over his face. Harry fought off the light for a few moments, but the sun eventually won. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes Harry looked around for his glasses and found them folded up on a bed stand. He put his glasses, threw back the covers and got out of bed. Harry padded across the room to the chair in front of the desk, where he had sat his change of clothes the night before. A knocking noise came from his window. Quickly Harry pulled aside the curtains to see a large white owl sitting on a small shelf that extended outside the window.
"Hedwig!" Harry said, opening the window. "How's you get here so fast?" He asked, as the owl hopped into his arm. Harry took and opened the letter Hedwig had in his beak and set the owl down on the desk. Harry adjusted his glasses and began to read.
Harry,
Dumbledore told me where you were and sent me to look after you, I'll be arriving shortly after you get this letter if all goes well. Tell Gene, I'll be coming whether he likes it or not.
I hope Hedwig isn't too put out with the speed enchantment we used. The owl is probably hungry, but I'm sure there's no shortage of field mice there. See you soon!
Love,
Sirius
Harry's heart leapt as he finished the letter. He could spend a Christmas with his family, and away from the Dursleys. The only thing missing were the Weasleys. Slightly disheartened he changed into his clothes and after briefly stopping in the bathroom, he went downstairs to find breakfast already on the table and Gene and Samuel eating.
"I'm sorry." Harry mumbled, a bit embarrassed for being up late.
"Good morning! Pull up a chair." Gene said.
Harry pulled out a chair and sat down. Samuel passed him a plate and gestured at the food.
"Eat 'til it's gone, if Elanus and James don't get any it's their own fault." Samuel said.
Harry smiled and reached for the spoon that was sticking out of a bowl of scrambled eggs. After helping himself to some bacon and sausage Harry began eating.
"I got a letter this morning." Harry said.
"Really? Dumbledore?" Gene asked.
"No, my godfather, Sirius." Harry said slowly.
"What did he have to say?"
"He's coming to visit." Harry said.
"We have a couple more guest rooms." Gene said. "When's he supposed to get here?"
"Sometime this afternoon I think." Harry replied.
"I'll get Maria to straighten the room out while I get my stuff together then." Gene said. "Is he still the rash, blunt young man that he was all those years ago?"
"He's calmed down a bit since his um…"
"His what?"
"Imprisonment in Azkaban. He's still harsh and protective though." Harry said.
Gene nodded. "Any other guests?"
"Not that I know of." Harry said.
"Well, we should get started with practice while it's still cool." Samuel said, as he finished his breakfast. "That way we can clean up before your godfather gets here."
Harry finished his breakfast quickly and after a few minutes Samuel led him outside to a large wooden shed. Samuel unlatched the door and opened it. The shed was one large room inside, in one corner there was some sort of furnace, in another a pile of junk. On one wall though, there were swords, daggers, shields, and suits of medieval clothing hanging. Samuel selected two thin bladed swords with intricate basket hilts and set them on a small table, along with two similarly hilted daggers.
"Come here." Samuel said, motioning to Harry. Harry complied and Samuel looked him over and pulled a white cloth shirt from a hook on the wall and handed it to Harry.
"We'll forgo some of the fancy stuff." Samuel said. "We're going to get you learned."
"Sounds good to me." Harry said as he slipped the shirt over his head. Samuel handed him a leather vest and a heavy canvas sash. Harry worked his way into the vest and wrapped the sash around his waist. Samuel adjusted the sash and clasped it in the back as Harry buttoned up the vest. Samuel put on a similar set of clothing and selected two mesh covered fencing masks and two heavy cloth hoods from the wall.
"Where did all this stuff come from?" Harry asked.
"Dad made almost all of the weapons and the vests himself. Maria did the rest of the clothing clothing, and James and I made some of the armor, and the other stuff. Dad could have made the masks too, but we decided to order them from a fencing supply company." Samuel replied. "We used to do a lot of medieval fairs and such when I was younger."
"Wow." Harry said.
"Ok. Pick a sword up in your right hand, and a dagger in your left." Samuel said. "We call the dagger a 'gauche' and the sword is an epee. They're both blunted at the tip, and quite dull. Not all of them on the wall are for practice though."
Harry picked up the sword and dagger in the appropriate hands. Samuel showed him how to hold them, adjusting Harry's fingers when necessary.
"Alright, now lunge at me." Samuel said. "Right at my heart."
Harry lunged at Samuel, touching Samuel on the chest. Samuel shook his head.
"Put pressure behind it. You'll never do any damage just touching." Samuel said. "Try again."
Harry lunged again, with force and the blade flexed under the pressure. Samuel nodded in approval and pointed at the hood and masks. The two put the head protection on and Samuel showed Harry the correct stance.
"Alright, now keep the epee's tip pointed at my heart, it's a puncturing weapon, so don't try to slash with it. You basically deflect my lunged with the hilt of your sword, that's the hand guard part. The dagger is mainly to defend attacks to the left side of your body, and to give you an extra way to attack. Normally we'd start with just the sword, but this is a crash course. Keep your movements simple, and as minimal as possible. The idea is to deflect my attacks, while trying to score some of your own. Keep the sword pointed at me as much as possible." Samuel explained. "Don't be afraid to lunge, it's unlikely you'll hurt me."
Harry nodded and took his stance and faced as did Samuel. The two circled for a moment, after Samuel swatted Harry on the leg with the flat of his sword. Samuel lunged at Harry, who instinctively tried to use the end of his blade to deflect the blow. The lunge went right on through, and Samuel scored a hit on Harry's chest.
"Hilt." Samuel said. "Lunge."
Harry lunged at Samuel who simply raised his hilt up slightly, deflecting Harry's blow to the side. Grinning, Samuel returned the lunge, and Harry swatted it aside with his dagger reflexively and quickly brought his sword back.
"Good." Samuel said. "You learn quickly.
Samuel and Harry lunged and parried with each other for almost an hour. Samuel explained things every now and then, but Harry caught on quickly.
"How good are you?" Harry asked.
"You really wanna see?" asked Samuel.
Harry nodded. Samuel took his stance across from Harry and the two faced off again. Harry lunged first and in a blur of motion he lost both his weapons and Samuel had the tip of his sword at Harry's throat.
"I'm ok." Samuel said with a grin as he took his mask off.
Harry chuckled and removed his own mask. The sound of clapping hands came from the door, where Maria stood leaning on the doorpost.
"Pick on someone your own size." Maria said, grinning.
"James isn't out here." Samuel said.
"Me then." Maria said as she took a shirt, vest, hood and mask from the wall. Samuel shrugged indifferently
"A girl with a sword." Harry remarked.
"Don't judge a book by it's cover." Maria said as she donned the armour. "I'll even let you pick the weapons, Samuel."
"These are fine, we don't have any tipped two handers." Samuel said.
Maria nodded and took Harry's sword and dagger. Samuel and Maria faced off in the middle of the shed. After a few moments circling each other, Samuel took the initiative. Swords and daggers flew at each other in a flurry of motion for minutes. The two lunged, parried, thrust, and jabbed at each other and finally began to slow. In a matter of moments Maria caught Samuel's sword with her dagger and the sword went sailing across the room. She lunged with her sword and Samuel with his own dagger. They stood with Maria's sword pressed against Samuel's chest, and Samuel's dagger on the floor.
"Tacado." Maria said with a grin on her face. "You've improved a lot since I saw you last. Where did you learn those moves?"
"Your dad, swordmasters in England. I believe the correct phrase is 'Touche'." Samuel said. Maria lowered her sword and laughed. "I'm not French."
"That was amazing!" Harry said. "Where did you learn that?"
"My father is a swordmaster of the old school variety, from Spain, and his father before him. He taught me well." Maria said removing her mask. "He taught Samuel too."
"Wanna try it with a two hander?" Samuel asked.
"I know better." Maria said. "No one's been able to beat you except father with those and only barely once you learned. Besides you're twice my size." She said, winking at Samuel. Maria quickly took off the armour and smiling suggestively at Samuel again, before walking into the house.
"How old is she?" asked Harry.
"Twenty six or twenty seven if that." Samuel said, shaking his head.
"How old are you?" asked Harry.
"Er, twenty two a week before Thanksgiving." Samuel said.
Harry nodded, a grin creeping across his face. "I'm going to do you a favour." Harry said.
Samuel pointed his hand at Harry, who began floating. "Hey put me down." Harry said.
"Don't be sticking your nose into my business." Samuel said, chuckling.
"Alright alright!" Harry said. "Put me down!"
"Hey, while you're up there could you hand me that box up there on the rafters?" Samuel said, turning Harry towards the rafters.
"This o…." Harry was interrupted when he looked down towards Samuel. "Watch Out!"
Samuel turned around to see a huge black dog running straight towards him. Before he could react the dog jumped on him and knocked him over, snarling and biting at his face. Harry screamed as he started to fall, and Samuel turned his head while trying to keep the dog's mouth clamped shut. Harry's fall slowed and Samuel tried in vain to pull the dog off. Harry hit the ground with a thud. After a few moments Samuel managed to get his foot under the dog's belly. Pushing hard, Samuel released the dogs face. The dog was thrown off a few feet but jumped on Samuel too quickly for him to muster any defense. Samuel grabbed the dog's ears one hand and punched the dog in the nose with the other. The dog yelped and attacked at Samuel even harder. Maria screamed from the house door, and Gene and James came running to the shed. James threw himself at the dog, knocking it off of Samuel. Maria helped Samuel up as James wrestled the dog to the floor. Gene ran over and clamped his hand around the dog's throat. Immediately the dog began to change into a more human shape. The shape became distinctly male, with an injured nose, and red ears.
"Sirius?" Gene asked. "What happened?"
"What kind of magic is this? Where's Harry?" asked the man, still held down firmly by the old machinist.
"What's going on?" Maria demanded. "Why did that dog change into a man?"
Maria pulled out a first aid kit from a shelf and pulled off Samuel's shirt. Samuel's chest was riddled with cuts and gouges from Sirius' claws.
Harry stood up rubbed his head, and looked down at Sirius. "I'm ok Sirius he was just playing."
"He had you suspended in the air, you were screaming." Sirius said. Gruffly, trying vainly to pull Gene's hand from his throat.
"You attacked, and seriously injured my son. In doing so you managed to get Harry hurt as well." Gene said simply. "You know here, I could kill you and not be charged. You're an escaped prisoner too, I bet I'd get a medal. Give me one reason why I shouldn't just snap your neck right now?"
"He's my godfather!" Harry cried. "Don't hurt him."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was only playing." Sirius said. "Let me go."
Gene took his hand off Sirius throat. Sirius sat up and rubbed his nose. "You could have really damaged me you know." Sirius said to Samuel.
"If I had knife in my hand, or James hadn't knocked you off of me. You'd be dead." Samuel said simply.
Sirius laughed then looked around at the unamused faces surrounding him. Elanus walked into the shed and saw Sirius.
"He's right, you would be dead." Maria said. Everyone else in the room agreed, and Sirius paled when he saw Elanus.
"You attacked one of the best wizard slayers we have, and lived to tell about it." Elanus said, pointing his wand at Sirius. "I'm impressed. What are you doing here?"
"Dumbledore said I should visit." Sirius said. "Harry's got the letter I sent."
"He told me about it this morning." Gene said.
Elanus stuck his wand in his belt. "I never believed you killed those people anyway, I always figured that rat Peter did it."
"Will someone please explain to me what's going on?" asked Maria.
"It'll take all day." Gene said. "We'll do our best. Have you got Samuel all patched up?"
Samuel sat there, neatly bandaged and still scowling at Sirius. "I'm fine."
Maria helped Samuel to his feet and though Samuel had no problem walking, she wrapped her arm around his waist, put his arm over her shoulder and tried to help him inside the house. Gene reached down and pulled Sirius up with one hand and almost drug him to the house. James, Harry and Elanus followed close behind. Gene threw Sirius on a couch and went into the kitchen and pounded his fist on a table.
"You pissed him off big time." James said, glaring at Sirius. "You're lucky he didn't break your neck, he killed a bull with his bare hands once."
"He was only trying to help me!" Harry said angrily.
James stepped up to Harry and looked him straight in the eye. "Did you know that Texas is quarantined?"
Harry shook his head. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"There's a rabies problem. Out here if a dog or any other animal attacks a person, the animal is by law, supposed to be killed and disposed of. If we had seen what was going on inside the house, dad probably would have shot the dog from the doorstep. It's only by luck he didn't." James said.
"It's alright, Harry. I took the risk, I was scared." Sirius said putting his arm between the two boys. "They're right, it would have been perfectly within their rights to kill me. I should have looked before I leaped. They should turn me into the law right now, but I don't think they will."
"You're right, they'll calm down. Well Maria might not, but dad will." James said. "Samuel doesn't feel any malice towards you, I'd be surprised if he was angry. He's more forgiving then a dog. No offense."
"None taken." Sirius said. Samuel walked into the room, Maria following close behind him. He stood in front of Sirius and extended his hand.
"I find it's better to have friends then enemies, and anyone who'd risk his life for someone else can't be all bad." Samuel said. "I'm not angry, I can't bring myself to be for very long."
Sirius shook Samuel's hand and nodded. "I apologize. I overreacted."
"No apology needed." Samuel said. "Well, not to me anyway, you were right I did have him suspended in mid air. You might want to make it right with dad though, he's extremely protective."
"I understand. I'll do that." Sirius said, starting to stand up. Samuel and James pushed Sirius back on the couch.
"I'd wait a bit, give him a chance to think." Samuel said.
Sirius nodded. "How did you have Harry suspended anyway? You aren't a wizard."
"How did you do it?" asked Maria. "You used to play around with funny stuff, but you never made things fly."
Samuel sighed. "Like this." Maria started to lift off the ground and looked a bit frightened. She started saying something in Spanish and Samuel set her down.
"What was that!" Maria asked, visibly shaken.
"Maria, calm down. Sirius, Elanus, Harry, and James are wizards." Samuel said.
"Not James he's not a devil worshiper!" Maria cried.
"It's not black magic." Samuel said. "It's not magic like we used to think, it's more of an ability, like fencing. You remember when we were younger, and none of the boys in your dad's classes thought you were normal? They thought you were strange because you could beat each and every one of them, including me?"
Maria nodded slowly. "You were different, you had a talent for fencing. You have a God given talent for it, and your father is a sword master trained by his own father, who graduated from one of the best schools in Spain. There wasn't anything wrong with you, you couldn't help it."
"Are you a wizard?" asked Maria.
"No, I'm what used to be known as an Opposite. I just found out in the last few months." Samuel said.
"Where have you been the last five years?" Maria asked.
"I've been in England, training to become what they call a Wizard Slayer." Samuel said gently. "It's overwhelming I know, I didn't believe it to start with."
"He is a werewolf?" asked Maria.
"No that would be Remus, dear woman. I'm an animagus." Sirius replied. "I can turn into a dog. I'm sorry for frightening you."
"It's alright." Maria said. "I'm ok."
"We better not tell Dumbledore about this." Elanus said. "He'd go nuts."
"This is really going to make opening presents tonight awkward." James said.
"It's only Christmas Eve." Harry said.
"We open presents on Christmas Eve, and a small second round Christmas morning." James said.
Gene walked into the room, and Sirius sat back in his seat. "It's alright, I'm ok now." Gene said. "Just don't let it happen again." Gene sat down in his chair and looked around.
"Is anyone else coming?" asked Gene.
"Not that I know of sir." Sirius said.
Gene nodded. "What about those Weasley's, Remus, and Peter?"
"Peter can rot in hell as far as I'm concerned." Sirius said.
"We can invite the rest if you want." Elanus said, interrupting Sirius.
Gene shrugged. "Harry, how about it?"
Harry shrugged and looked down at the floor. "You've done so much already."
"Elanus, send an owl to the Weasleys, and anyone else Harry wants to invite." Gene said. "Quickly."
Elanus nodded. "Yes sir."
"Samuel, you better rest unless you know some kinda magic to cure yourself." Gene said. "Maria, see to what he needs."
"Gladly." Maria said, smiling at Samuel. Samuel shot his father a cold look, then recoiled when his father shot one back.
"James, get Sirius fixed up, and Harry you'll probably want to catch up with Sirius." Gene said. "Sirius, I'm sorry for how I reacted."
"It's alright, sir. I should apologize to you." Sirius said. "I'm sorry, I should have come to the house in human form. I just wanted to be a bit impressive."
Gene nodded. "Apology accepted. Now I think we need a tree and set the presents out. What are you people standing around here for, move!"
Every snapped up and scurried out of the living room. Gene looked around the corner to make sure they were all gone, and sat back in his chair with a newspaper, smiling to himself.
"I haven't lost it." He said.
Samuel sat on his bed, watching Maria pace back and forth across his room, occasionally cursing in Spanish. He started to get up quietly and sneak out of the room but every time he tried Maria told him to sit back down.
"If that dog man touches a hair on your head I swear I'll cut him up to little pieces and feed him to my cat." She said rapidly followed by several other incoherent threats.
Samuel sat there and watched her walk back and forth. He reached for a t-shirt and started to pull it over his head.
"You need to leave that off, I can't replace your bandages with it on." Maria snapped.
"I wasn't bleeding that bad. I had my armour on still remember? He had just clawed through the vest and started to scratch me when James threw him off." Samuel said. "I'll be fine, I doubt I'll even need shots as much as you cleaned the cuts up."
Maria fumed for a few moments longer then threw herself at Samuel. Samuel caught her, genuinely startled. "Samuel I've never been so scared in my life, I thought that thing was going to kill you." She said between sobs.
"It's ok, Maria." Samuel said. "I've been through much worse, believe me. You're right he would have torn me up pretty bad before it was over. I don't think anyone would let that happen though. Especially not Dad, and you know it."
"I know." She sobbed. "I feel so guilty, I just stood there screaming, I froze inside. Can you believe that? I've never hesitated in my life, I should have done something."
"Everyone gets scared, and you did do something. You got James' and Dad's attention. Don't be so hard on yourself." Samuel said, running his fingers through her hair.
"Then I find out you could have blown the dog to bits." Maria said.
"I can't, Elanus maybe." Samuel said. "Probably not, Sirius is pretty strong."
Maria sighed still holding on to Samuel. "I'm acting like a silly little girl."
"You're fine. I was scared too when I first found out." Samuel said.
"I'm so confused." Maria said.
"About what?"
"When I was sixteen I came to this house to cook and clean after your mother died. My mama told me that three men under a roof by themselves wasn't good and the house needed a woman's touch. You were maybe eleven or twelve. You were a little boy I had known most of my life, smart and funny. My father taught you to fence from the time you were five or six just like me. Samuel, you grew up and when you were fifteen or sixteen you went away just as you were becoming interesting. You left for England a boy, and when I heard you were coming back I thought that same boy would be standing here. Instead, in boy's place was a strong, handsome, intelligent man, I didn't know what to think. Then when I saw that dog mauling you I was so scared I'd lose an important part of my life." Maria said.
Samuel sat in silence a few moments, taking it all in. "Maria, I didn't know you felt that way." He said holding her close.
"It's stupid, I know." Maria said.
"No, no it's not stupid. It was a shock to see you standing in the kitchen too. You were always the dorky older girl who beat all the other guys at everything. I came home and a beautiful woman barely older then me." He said. "I didn't know you were only three years older then me."
"How old did you think I was?" Maria asked.
"I know better then that." Samuel said distractedly.
Maria shoved on Samuel's chest then gaped in wide eyed horror as he winced in pain and she realized she'd been snuggled up to his chest the whole time. Blood oozed from one of his wounds and soaked into the bandage. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I'll get you cleaned up again let me get some water." She said as she ran out of the room. Samuel shook his head and touched the wound. The blood flow stopped as soon as he touched it. He lay down on his bed, mentally debating whether or not he should tell her he could probably accelerate the healing.
Meanwhile James cleaned Sirius' bloodied nose in the upstairs bathroom while Harry talked about the happenings at Hogwarts. James finished and washed his hands.
"It's all clean." James said. "If you know a spell to put it back, I'd use it now."
Sirius took his wand from his robes and waved it at himself and chanted a spell. The swelling in his nose went down, and it straightened itself out a bit.
"So there's a spy at Hogwarts." Sirius said. "Tell me why Samuel hasn't captured her yet?"
"He wants to find out who her followers are and what they're up to. A hydra was sent after me the night before we left." Harry said. "We think they're planning an attack on the school."
"I know that. I didn't know about the snake." Sirius said. "I suppose this Samuel has some trick up his sleeve to fend off the attack?"
"He's smarter then you think." James said. "Extremely resourceful and creative too. So is Elanus, you don't think he got his position by being dumb do you?"
Elanus walked into the room, holding a quill in his right hand. "I've got all the letters sent. Uncle Gene's saying it's time to open presents or something like that, If Sirius is all fixed up."
"I think he's ready." James said, wiping his hands dry.
"We've even got some stuff for you, Mr. Black." Elanus said. "Courtesy of the Department. Don't worry, we're not sending you to prison."
"From what I hear, Azkaban isn't much of anything anymore." Sirius remarked.
Elanus grinned. "I thought it was stupid to use dementors anyway. That's not my department though. Come on."
The four hurried downstairs into the living room. They were greeted by a small, decorated Christmas tree that Gene had somehow managed to pull out of the storage room. Underneath it sat several presents both large and small. Samuel walked into the living room a few minutes later carrying an armload of small boxes. Maria followed close behind him, smiling brightly. Samuel carefully placed the boxes under the tree and sat down on the floor away from the tree. Maria sat next to him and slipped her arm under his and put her head on his shoulder. Gene glanced at Samuel, who shrugged and smiled weakly. Harry, Sirius, James and Elanus sat down on the couch. Gene stood up and smiled at the people in his living room.
"This is certainly a larger gathering then we're used to here. Family, new friends, old friends and what have you. In a moment we're going to open presents, but that's not what Christmas is all about." Gene said. "Some say it's the Spirit of Giving, and being with family that gives meaning to Christmas. To others it's a celebration of a celestial event or the onset of winter. I'll tell you right now none of those things have anything to do with the meaning of Christmas, though I suppose they play a small insignificant part. We celebrate Christmas, in honour of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. If that birth never happened none of us would likely be sitting here." Everyone around the room agreed, except Harry and Sirius who were slightly confused, but nodded their heads politely. "Now, if let's see, the guest of honour would pass out the presents. That's you Harry."
Harry stood up and walked to the Christmas tree and picked up presents and started calling names. Soon everyone had an almost equal number of gifts and began opening them. Everyone received a handmade pocket knife from Gene, and small kit to sharpen and clean them. Maria received a box of imported perfumes and a gift certificate for cosmetics and other such things from Samuel, James and Gene. James received a new game, Harry a wide assortment of Quiditch gear, and everyone received candy from Mrs. Weasley. There were a set of strange boxes marked from Fred and George Weasley that everyone received as well. When the boxes were opened they exploded confetti everywhere and there were various novelty items inside. By far the most intriguing gifts were from Elanus. He gave everyone magical gadgets and trinkets of all sorts, and instructions on using them. There were Privacy Disks, Lock Openers, Ice Melters, Self Writing Quills, and several other things handed out. In each of the boxes Samuel gave to the wizards there was a finely crafted wand. Before any of the wizards touched their wands Samuel spoke up.
"Before you touch those, keep in mind they have two magical components inside. They will bond to you, whether you like it or not. Hermione Granger, one of the top students at Hogwarts had difficulty controlling them, as did the Charms Professor. They take a lot of getting used to, and they're extremely powerful." Samuel said.
Sirius grinned and took his wand from the box. The wand glowed brightly for a few moments, and Sirius paled. "This is the strongest wand I've ever seen. It's got to be worth a fortune."
"Master Ollivander himself couldn't accomplish in a lifetime what Samuel has in less then six months." Elanus said, taking his wand from the box. "These are exquisite, Uncle Gene, did you carve the handles?" Gene nodded in response. Elanus waved his wand at a Christmas tree ornament, the ornament began to float off the tree and then started spinning erratically. Elanus began to sweat as he tried to lower the ornament.
"That's what Granger did." Samuel said chuckling at Elanus.
"A little help here." Elanus said, his voice straining. Samuel concentrated on the magic flowing out of the wand. He could see flaws in the spell, he strengthened the spell and Elanus quit shaking. Slowly the ornament drifted back to the tree and took it's place.
"You were right, they are strong." Elanus said.
"I'm going to Ollivander's for some lessons when we get back." Samuel said. "Hopefully I can improve my work a bit. I don't think I'll ever make many one component wands though."
The ornament suddenly exploded and Maria yelped and hid behind Samuel. Sirius quickly put his wand back in the box and shrugged. "Sorry."
Everyone cleaned up wrapping paper and confetti and gathered their new things up. Gene informed them that the best stuff would be under the tree on Christmas morning. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and having fun with their gifts. Elanus showed everyone how to use the stuff he gave them. Maria was impressed with a small device that helped her cooking by making food finish a bit faster, and another that allowed people to walk through solid walls. There was a little wing shaped gadget that when worn would let you fly a few feet off the ground but she was too afraid to try it. Finally night fell and the excited family went to bed. No one slept well from all the excitement that had happened that unusual Christmas Eve. Samuel slipped out the front door to find Sirius staring up at the sky.
"Couldn't sleep?" Samuel asked.
"Not a bit." Sirius said. "How's Harry been? At school I mean? You're the Muggle Studies Professor right?"
"A bit withdrawn, though he's braver then any twelve kids I've met his age." Samuel said. "He's been through a lot. There's the hero worship some people give him, and scorn other show for him. That, and the guilt over that boy that died last year. Harry feels pretty helpless, everyone seems to think he's the only one who can beat Voldemort."
Sirius nodded. "It's a huge responsibility. Those cowards at the Ministry don't help much either."
"I agree, I've seen nothing but cowardice and restrictions on doing anything about it. This whole not saying Voldemort's name is the biggest display of fear I've ever seen." Samuel said. "At least the Department of Mysteries isn't afraid of everything."
"Good leadership, Elanus was always a great guy." Sirius said. "He kept to himself though."
"How could you tell? I hear you, Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew were the most popular students during your time." Samuel said.
"Oh Elanus had his part. He was brilliant, occasionally he'd make us things to use to play pranks with. The only thing was, he never gave us his best stuff, and he never wanted credit for any of it. He was always more concerned with bending, but never breaking the rules." Sirius said with a laugh. "Your family is very interesting."
"How so?" asked Samuel.
"Nobody remembered Gene was Lily's half brother. I did, but I was already chasing Peter down when it actually mattered. You know we thought he was the most clumsy person in the world. He would get curious about something magical and touch it. Half the time it'd fall over, and he'd try to set it back up but it wouldn't ever stay." Sirius said. "Most of the time it was like the magic was just…"
"Sucked right from it?" Samuel finished Sirius' phrase.
"Right. When he touched me, I felt myself changing I couldn't stop it. I tried to change back but couldn't." Sirius said.
"I noticed that too. I think he's like me, an Opposite." Samuel said.
"What's that?" asked Sirius.
"Kind of the opposite of a wizard, but not exactly." Samuel replied. "I can move stuff, manipulate light, transfigure things, strengthen or weaken magic spells, and some other stuff like project thoughts but that's what I'm best at. I do it all without magic. I think dad can negate magic entirely, and probably other things. From what I've read I would have been considered strong in the days before wands. I can't negate magic entirely, or dispel magical items."
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Do you think Gene is stronger then you?" asked Sirius.
"Very much so." Samuel replied. "He's either not aware of it. Elanus told me he'd never been able to use magic within fifty of dad. He could only use it after asking dad's permission, and even then if dad didn't want it to happen, it seemed like it wouldn't. Elanus figured it was some subconscious thing on his part, because dad has such a commanding presence."
"How was he able to use it in the house then?" asked Sirius.
"If I'm right it's either because the wands are just so strong it overpowered dad. It could also be that dad was curious and wanted to see the wands work, since we'd made them." Samuel said. "Of course, he did carve the handles, so it could very well be that since his touch went into making them, they just worked. He didn't carve your wand though, I did."
Sirius nodded. "It's going to be a real treat for Harry tomorrow, he's never had much of a real Christmas. Has he got a girlfriend yet?"
Samuel laughed. "He's working on it. A pretty asian girl named Cho Chang. One day he was really depressed, so the Weasley twins and I staged an 'accident' and she ended up giving Harry his glasses back, and they talked for half an hour. They're planning on seeing each other after the vacation."
"The seeker for Hufflepuff?" Sirius asked. "I've seen her, wow, if there were girls that looked that good when I was in school, I'd have never left. I don't know what to think of her, she doesn't smell right."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, if you were a dog I could explain it perfectly. Humans don't 'hear' smells like dogs do." Sirius replied.
"Well like most girls her age, she's probably got more then a few things going on in her life. I suppose dogs can sense stuff like that."
"Fear, regret, sadness, happiness, joy, anger, and many other emotions have their own smell." Sirius said. "I smell this on a lot of people, but don't know what it is. Probably just weird body chemistry, the other dogs never had a problem with it."
Samuel chuckled and shook his head. "She's a nice girl, really. Harry knows what he likes, I'll tell ya that."
"Could you show me that light bending trick?" Sirius said.
Samuel nodded and gestured at the road in front of them. The shadows on the road seemed to swirl and writhe. A dark shape seemed to rise off the street, blacking out the faint glimmer of the lights from the factories in the distance. The shadow began growing arms and legs, and a crooked slash opened where a mouth would be, as did two narrow slits for eyes. Sirius scooted back staring at the monster.
"What is that?" asked Sirius.
"Just a shadow, it's not really there. I've been working on shaping them for weeks." Samuel said. "See, throw a rock at it."
Sirius picked up a small stone, and threw it at the shadow, the rock flew through and clattered to the road on the other side. Sirius drew his wand and waved it at the shadow and then threw another rock. The rock bounced off, and almost hit Samuel.
"How'd you do that?" asked Samuel.
"Made a wall of air around it." Sirius replied. Samuel rubbed his chin and gestured at the shadow. Immediately the shadows returned to normal. "We better get to bed." Samuel said. "It's late, and I want to be fully alert when all the guests come over."
"Not to mention fully alert when that Maria hangs on you." Sirius said. "She's in love with you I can smell it. You like her too."
Samuel shook his head. "Well no use hiding stuff from a dog, usually observing is my department though. You're right, absolutely right. I'm going to bed." Samuel
Sirius chuckled. "Good night."
Samuel went to bed, and dreamed of Maria. The night was cool, and the air crisp. Outside Sirius sat staring of into the distance. The tall grasses swayed in submission to the cold winter wind that swept over the plains. In the distance the howls of the wild dogs drifted over the expanses. Sirius yawned slightly and slowly walked back into the house to his own bed. Tomorrow would be Christmas, and the solemn night spoke of an exciting day.