Erm, well, the second part of this ended up a lot longer than I thought it
would, but I like it, so ha. And it turns out I think most of the recap is
here. Whatever.
Sasina (Sass for short) Chapter 8- Happiness
Sass forced her breathing back to normal and let her pulse slow for a moment before answering Black. "My name is Sasina. I'm following-" Sass had been about to say 'because I saw you ripping up the Fat Lady's portrait', but realized all of a sudden that might not be the smartest thing to say. "I'm following you because I want to know if you really did murder thirteen people in one curse," she said in a rush.
Black chuckled, a surprisingly pleasant one for a murderer. "Well, if you want to know the whole story, come with me. They're going to be searching the whole castle in a moment. Otherwise, I'm going to hex you so you can't go for help until I'm gone- I assure you, I won't kill you."
Sass raised her eyebrows, forgetting he couldn't see her. "The word of a man who is supposed to have been one of Voldemort's best spies?"
"You say his name." She felt Black stiffen. "Well, you'd better come. Just this way." The knife was removed from her throat and placed at her back, nudging her down the third-floor corridor. She sighed, wondering what to do. /Might as well/, she thought. Then she slid down and to the side, evading Black's frantic grab. She sprang up inside his range, between his body and the knife, and twisted it from his hand, spinning away to look at him.
"I am not to be underestimated," she said, looking into Black's eyes. They held awe and respect, and, to her surprise, fear. Fear of her abilities, fear of what she might do- and what that would mean. /He's terrified of going back to Azkaban/, she realized. /I had better set him straight, or he'll do something crazy, I can tell./
She stepped forward and put the knife back in Black's shocked hands. "I am not going to turn you over to Dumbledore or anyone else," she said, " because of the way you laughed back there. Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems like there's something more to the story than you read in the papers, and I want to know what it is. But I won't be held at knifepoint. So lead on." She smiled wryly.
After a moment, what she had said seemed to sink in, and Black moved past her, standing in front of a portrait of a knight standing on a pedestal. Then he turned back to her and said, "Please turn around. If- well, for now I'd rather you didn't know how this works." Sass obliged, figuring she couldn't blame the man.
/But why do I trust him?/ she wondered. /Why didn't I turn him over to Dumbledore? Maybe. because he could have killed me right back there. He's already been found guilty of murder, one more wouldn't make a difference, and after the Fat Lady the whole school already knows that he was in here. But he didn't kill me. And that whole bit about 'if you want to know the whole story.' That's not the answer of a guilty man, that's the answer of an innocent man whose story got confused by the general public. And then,/ she thought, a little ruefully, /there's my insatiable curiosity. I /really/ should have turned back as soon as I saw him. Or when he turned into the dog. Oh well, it looks as though some good may come of this after all./
Sass heard Black say quietly, "Okay, you can turn back around now." She looked back, and saw that a small statue to the right of the portrait had opened wide enough to let them through. /Although if he wasn't so skinny./ she grinned. Being on the run from the government had /enabled/ Black to get into Hogwarts. She slipped into the hole after Black, pulling it shut behind her.
The tunnel started in a sort of stone slide. Sass wedged herself in, allowing Black to get a little ahead. Then she let go, and whooshed down the passage a fair ways before landing, on her feet, in a pitch-black something-or-another. She said "Lumos" at just the same time as Black, and two spheres of light projected from their wands.
They were in a low, dirt-walled passageway that twisted and turned of into the darkness. Black looked at her. "We can talk here." He Transfigured two rocks into comfortable chairs for them to sit in.
"Transfiguration always was one of my best subjects," he said idly as they sat down.
Sass blinked a little in surprise. That statement added to her growing list of proofs that Black was /not/ a murderer, /not/ a madman, and, in fact, completely innocent. She frowned a bit. "So what is the story about the murders?" she asked.
Black looked at her hard then. "You probably won't believe me. The world is so set against me- but I'll tell you anyway."
Sass just waited, knowing he would tell he eventually.
"When I was at school, my best friend was James Potter. There were four of us, really. Me, James, Remus Lupin- he teaches-"
"I know Remus," Sass said. She was slightly impatient, though she usually was. Maybe it was having story time with a convicted murderer.
Black shrugged. "Okay. Well, the fourth member of out little band of Marauders was a boy named Peter Pettigrew. He was one of the 'victims' the murders I am supposed to have committed. Well, we graduated-"
"With the most collective detentions of any four students in the history of the school- I've heard something about the Marauders," Sass added, not sure why.
Black grinned, for a moment erasing the deadened look in his eyes and the wrinkles on his face. She supposed he hadn't had too much to be happy about since his school days. He continued.
"Yes, that is true. We were quite proud of that. Well, Pettigrew wasn't. He never did like getting into mischief as much as us. After school we all remained close, especially James and me." Was it Sass' imagination, or did Black's voice crack a little on the word 'James?' "This was at the height of Voldemort's power. Anyway, one of Dumbledore's spies told him that there was a leak close to Lily and James- Lily was James' wife," he added. Sass nodded, and she realized that Black didn't know that Severus was the spy who had tipped Dumbledore off. She wondered how the ending of Black's story would differ from that of Severus.
"I always thought it was Remus," Black said regretfully. "I know now I was wrong. Anyway, Dumbledore told the Potters they had better go into hiding. They did, for Harry's sake." Again, that momentary break in Black's voice made Sass sure he was telling the truth. "They used the Fidelius Charm- do you know what that is? What year are you in?" His look gave Sass no doubt that he was puzzled on this one. Old, because of her actions. Young, because of her stature. She wondered what to tell him. Old.
"I'm in the third year, same as Harry," she said. "I don't know what the Fidelius Charm is, though." She felt safe in saying that, though as soon as she got back to the school, she'd be researching it thoroughly.
Black nodded, confirming Sass' guess that a third year wouldn't know it. "It's a complicated spell," he said. "Basically, you hide a secret with one person, and unless they tell anyone, the secret is safe. So-"
"You were the person the Potters chose," Sass said.
"Yes, that was the plan," Black said. "But at the last minute, I had an idea. I was worried that Voldemort would come after me, so I told James and Lily to switch. I thought it was a perfect plan. There was no way Voldemort would ever suspect-"
Sass inhaled sharply, understanding in a rush. "Peter Pettigrew," she breathed.
"You're quick," Black said, nodding bitterly.
"Yes. I told them to use Pettigrew. That way I couldn't betray them though torture. Before I had time to tell Dumbledore what we'd done, barely a week after they'd gone into hiding, Voldemort attacked." Black's voice became completely devoid of emotion. "He killed Lily and James, and then Harry defeated him. I was the only one still living who knew. I hunted Pettigrew down. The books say it was the other way around, but it wasn't. When I cornered him in Oxford, he yelled out that I'd betrayed Lily and James to a whole street full of muggles, then blew up the street over his shoulder, bit off his finger, and escaped."
Sass thought for a moment. "Wait a minute," she said finally. "How did he escape? I mean it's not exactly hard to miss a man running down the street."
Black slapped his head. "I forgot. You know that I'm an Animagus." This was a statement, and so Sass didn't bother to nod as he continued. "Well, we all were. You-" he looked at her carefully. "Well, Remus will never forgive me if he finds out I told you, but that hardly matters now. Don't tell anyone, alright?" Sass nodded cautiously.
"Remus is a werewolf." He nodded as understanding dawned on Sass' face. The two times Remus had fallen 'sick' this year- she mentally checked the lunar calendar and saw they were at full moon. Black continued. "We were his best friends, we found out in the third year. Then we swore to Remus we'd become Animagi, so we could be with him in his transformations." He smiled wryly. "The amount of time we spent poring through Advanced Transfiguration books- McGonagall was shocked at how much our grades improved.
"In our fifth year, we managed it. I was a black dog, James was a stag, and Pettigrew- Pettigrew was a /rat/." The vehemence when he said the last word scared Sass. She was pretty sure he hadn't killed all those muggles, by now, but she had no doubt that if he was given a chance, he would kill Pettigrew without a second thought. "But no one knew except for us four. And when Pettigrew ran. James was dead, and Remus didn't know we'd switched Secret Keepers."
"So he escaped in his rat form, and of course no one was going to believe anything you said." Sass just sat there for a while after that, digesting the information, weighing it against things she'd heard and read, and filing it carefully away, placing it in the relevant parts of people's stories. After about five minutes, she looked up at Black again.
"Teach me."
That had to be the last thing he expected her to say. "What?"
"You heard me. I want to learn how to be an Animagus. You started when you were in your third year, and I'm sure it'll come in handy someday. And there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to," she said, raising her chin defiantly. "I bet I'm more attentive in class than you were." /But you're really only a first year/, a small voice in her head said. /McGonagall's told you all what happens to people who aren't prepared to be Animagi./ Sass very firmly told that voice to shut the hell up. She could do it, and no one would stop her.
Black still seemed to be having trouble understanding her. "You want- me- to teach you to become an- Animagus?" He said haltingly.
Sass sighed. She knew her ability to weigh the facts, look at the situation, make a decision, and stand by it, surprised people, but it still annoyed her. Honestly, what did he think she'd been doing for five minutes after he told his story? "Look, if you're expecting to have to prove to me that you really /are/ innocent by repeating your story with different words five times, I don't do that. I make my decisions, and then I stand by them." She smiled a little at the echoing of her earlier thought. "So, I've decided you haven't killed anyone, though you would kill Pettigrew, but he deserves it. I'm not going to turn you in, I won't tell anyone, and I trust you. And I want to learn to be an Animagus. So?" She sat impatiently in her armchair, waiting for his answer.
He thought for a moment. "Well. alright," he said finally. "I'll help you however I can.
"But you had better get back up to the school," he said worriedly, as a scream heralded the first Gryffindor getting to the Fat Lady's ruined portrait. He winced. "That thing with the Fat Lady was a mistake," he said wistfully. "I really didn't mean to. I just got frustrated-" Another scream joined the first. "You'd better go."
Sass nodded, and stood up quickly. Black Transfigured the rocks back, and headed down the tunnel, away from the school. He stopped for a moment, and looked back at her.
"To get into this passage you tap the statue and say 'Dissendium,'" he said. "I'll meet you here in a week." At her nod, he continued down the passage.
Sass hurried to get back up the slide and to the rest of the school, muttering "What a way to spend my birthday." She thought she heard Black stop, but he continued after a moment, so she figured he must just be jumping at any noise. She couldn't blame him.
She continued up the slide. No doubt they would be checking to make sure no one was missing, and she did /not/ want to have to explain where she'd been. At that thought, she scrambled faster up the tunnel.
* * * * *
Sass got back to the corridor outside the common room just in time to be sent to the Great Hall along with all the rest of the Gryffindors. She watched as Dumbledore made an announcement about what had happened, and summoned bright purple sleeping bags from nothing so they could all sleep. She grabbed one and dragged it into a niche in the wall. She knew they wouldn't find Black- it was unlikely any teachers knew about the passage he'd used, and he was long gone even if they did. She could tell that a lot of people were going to be up all night talking, but as she already knew perfectly well what had happened, there was no need to listen to all the stupid rumors. So she forced herself to relax, and go to sleep.
* * * * *
The next morning at breakfast Sass mentally reviewed her schedule. Potions, excellent, she could talk to Severus, then Defense Against the Dark Arts- had someone jinxed her schedule just so that today would be the perfect day to talk to the people she needed to talk to? After Defense she had flying lessons, which she could easily skip, Madam Hooch (the teacher) didn't really care if her students missed class, as long as they were the ones that already were athletic and so didn't need what was really their only exercise at Hogwarts.
But barely into through her meal Sass was interrupted by a wave of disturbance headed her way from the High Table. /What now?/ she thought before seeing it was Severus, with the least sarcastic smile she'd seen him wear in public, ever. He was obviously trying hard to be his usual bat- like self, but was having trouble hiding his delight. He stopped right behind her and she turned to face him.
"What?" she said.
Severus' grin grew even wider, despite his best efforts. "Come with me," he replied. "You'll see. And hurry. We haven't got much time."
Sass obediently stood up and followed Severus to his office. Just outside the door he stopped. "Now, I meant to do this last night, after the feast, but as there was a small- distraction-" Sass noticed his face darkened at the thought of Black, "I'll do it now." Then he stopped trying not to smile, and opened the door.
A large heap of presents sat on his table, their bright wrappings totally out of place in Severus' gloomy office. She turned back to him in shock. "These- they- they're for- for /me/?" she managed to squeak out. Sass had never, ever had a birthday present in her life, not even from Severus. It was too risky- if Kincaid had found out about their friendship, he would have fired Severus.
"That's right! Happy birthday!" Severus said, ushering her to a chair. He conjured up food, as she hadn't gotten to finish breakfast, and so with a piece of toast in one hand, Sass started to open her presents.
She spent the next hour as happy as she'd ever been in her life. Emara had gotten her the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the muggle books Sass had heard her and Mina talking about back in London. Michelle had outdone herself with a beautiful necklace made of silver, trimmed with smoky grey and black stones, with a silver dragon pendant studded with two small red gems, one on the tail, one for the eye. Breathless at the beautiful gift, Sass looked at the note, which said,
/Heya Sass! Hope Hogwarts agrees with you. Emara noticed that you looked like you wanted to read the Lord of the Rings books, so she got you them. But this is really from both of us. You always wondered what we did; well, we make jewelry. This really is one of the better pieces we've made- Emara always said it's the heart that counts in this line of work. I guess she's right. Don't feel guilty, we do this because it's what we love doing, and we love you too. Anyway, Emara made the pendant, and I made chain. We bought the gems in a magic crystal shop (in kind of a Tokyo version of Diagon Alley). The shopkeeper said they would probably help repel curses. That may come in useful someday. Hope you like it!
Michelle and Emara/
Sass felt herself moved to tears by their show of caring. "Here now, none of this," Severus said, fastening the necklace around her neck. "Not on your- well, I guess it isn't your birthday anymore, but don't cry. There're still more presents!"
Sass grinned, wiping away a couple of stray tears. "I'm just so happy," she said, turning back to the pile.
The other Sailor Scouts had sent her one large present, which she had a hell of a time unwrapping. She gave Severus a brief rundown on them as she searched for a way to open the package. Finally she found a small loose string, which she pulled, and the entire thing came undone. And felt her mouth fall open, shocked. Severus was in the same predicament.
There, sitting innocently on the table, was a small, neatly tied stretch of fabric. There was just one thing. Sass was sure it was the material used to make /Invisibility Cloaks/. The material was completely clear- she could only see the scarlet trim. She could see the table through it, and the bottom part of the twine binding it. After a moment of staring, Sass cleared her throat. "That /is/ the makings of an Invisibility Cloak, isn't it?" she said.
"Yes," Severus replied, stunned. "Look- there's a note. Why don't you read it?"
"Okay," Sass said.
Dear Sass,
We all pitched in to buy this, and you're getting a small Christmas present too, just for reference. (By the way, this is Mina.) We've been checking out the magical scene here in Tokyo with Emara and Michelle, and it's been a lot of fun. Oh- have to hand it over now. Later.
Apparently Invisibility Cloaks are really rare in Britain (Amy now :P). That's not true here. You have to really watch out what you say in public places, because chances are there's someone listening. They also don't use wands here. Instead they use stones that they call 'focus points', or 'focuses'- there are all different types, from granite to ruby, and they're always coated with a different type of finish, and they can be different sizes-
Hey Sass! It's Serena Moon-Princess now. Sorry about Amy, she's having a field day with all this new stuff to learn- eurgh! Anyway, since we can get the material *relatively* cheap here, we figured it might come in handy for getting into loads of trouble at your school- thingie. I think someone's sending the instructions for sewing it, or at least I hope-
Sorry. Serena started to babble, so I'll continue here. It's Raye :- ). I did put the instructions in here. You have to be careful sewing these things; apparently until they're done they're completely invisible, except for the trimming they sew on- so if you're not careful you can actually lose it! Cool, huh? I hope you have fun with it! (And don't get caught!) Ok, Lita wants to say something too, as we've all had our say except for her. I'll see you over the holidays.
Hope you're having fun at your school! In case you didn't see Raye's note, this is Lita. This Hogwarts place sounds like a lot of fun- wish I could go (Amy's been telling me about it). Well, enjoy yourself!
Kudos,
Lita Mina
Raye Amy
Serena, moon-princess*
P.S. Sorry about Serena. She's taken to signing *everything* like that. bye! ~ Raye/
Severus laughed softly as Sass finished reading. "Tell me more about them," he said, but then shook his head. "No, it can wait till later. Finish opening!" he ordered her, mock-sternly.
Sass laughed too, and turned back to the unopened presents. There were only four more, now.
One was from Sandra, with a nice homemade card wishing her a happy birthday. The present contained a large box of assorted wizard sweets. Sass grinned, eager to start sampling them when she got a chance.
The next one seemed to be from Remus, and Sass unwrapped it slowly as Severus frowned a bit. Sass wondered what Remus could have afforded to get her. She knew that Remus was short for ready cash, and thanks to Sirius, she also knew it was probably because of his lycanthropy- being a werewolf. The last of the wrappings fell away, and Sass was a little surprised to see a small, golden, roly-poly bird with silver wings sitting calmly in a cage. There was a note as well, which read,
/ Happy birthday, nichka! (that means 'little spark')
I hope you like this present. It is a Golden Snidget, and I had to obtain special permission from the Ministry to go and find one for you. If you read ^Quidditch Through the Ages^, you'll see that they used to be used for Snitches. It will carry your letters for you, though it's not strong enough to carry packages. If you come by my office sometime I'll put a Binding Spell on it for you, so that if something happens so it you'll know, and you can summon it if you want it to carry a letter for you. It already has so many anti-theft and anti-harm charms on it though- I doubt you'll need it.
A warning- Golden Snidgets are very affectionate, and quite sweet, but if you try to harm one, the Ministry's put a little spell on the entire species that makes them vicious if they get hurt. Not that you would ever hurt it, but it would be better to avoid any mistakes with them. That beak can be sharp!
Anyway, I think this little beauty is a female, name her whatever you want. Enjoy, and happy birthday!
-Remus/
"Wow," Sass breathed as she leaned close to inspect the small Snidget. "That is so cool." She opened the small cage and took the Snidget out, putting it on her finger. "I think I'll name her Bright."
Severus looked at Bright. "Is that a Golden Snidget?" he said, his curiosity overcoming his dislike of all things Remus Lupin.
Sass nodded. "Remus got special permission from the ministry so he could get her for me. Isn't she sweet?"
Severus grimaced at the 'sweet' but nodded, seeing her point. "Come on," he said. "You still haven't gotten to my present!"
"Now, now, Severus," Sass said. "It's supposed to be good if your present's opened last." /Oh, and how would you know?/ a small, insidious voice asked. /Not like you've ever been to a birthday party/. Sass hurriedly grabbed Severus' present before he could ask what was wrong, and quickly opened it.
"Oh," Sass said softly as she was once again stunned at a present. "Severus- you shouldn't have. I-"
"Nonsense," he said, pleased that she liked the present. "If I'm to teach you anything, you've got to have the very best. And this is it."
'This' was a perfect storage space and drying rack for plants and other potions ingredients. It was a small, clear box that opened onto eight different areas, all different, depending on what was put there. And it was minimally enchanted, so that the magic didn't interfere with what it contained. Sass was stunned. She had seen Severus' one, it was just like this, but in the back of ^One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi^ she had seen an advertisement for them, and they were way out of her price range. She looked up at Severus, completely amazed.
"Thank you so very, very much," she said feelingly. To her surprise, Severus blushed. She stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
"What?" he said, slightly annoyed.
"You- blushed-" she managed to force out, around her uncontrollable giggles.
Sure enough, Severus started to chuckle too, and soon they were leaning on each other for support, wheezing and out of breath.
Sass looked at him, saw he was looking at her too, and burst into fresh spouts of laughter. Severus joined her, and they weren't able to stop for good until both lay on the floor, exhausted. Severus propped himself up on one elbow.
"Sass?"
"Yeah?" She sat up, leaning against the wall.
"You've still got one more present. Here-" he grabbed his wand, and with a swish and a muttered incantation, the present flew into Sass' lap. "Who's it from?"
Sass inspected the package carefully. "Doesn't say. Oh well, I'll just open it." She did so, revealing a small, completely clear crystal. There was also a note.
/Sass-
Bet you're wondering how I figured out your birthday, huh? I asked your friend, Sandra Woods, when it was. She also helped me get the present. See, she paid for it (un-activated, of course, otherwise it would've been way too expensive), and in return, I promised to do her a few favors to wreak havoc on some people she doesn't like.
Anyway, you probably won't have heard of one of these. Really, it's just glass, but it's designed especially to be a ghost-walker. But it needs a real ghost to activate, and it takes a lot of bother, and it's really hard to pay a ghost, so there aren't very many. But once it's been activated, it can allow you to be like a ghost for a short period of time (so you can walk through walls and things). Isn't that cool? I activated this one for you. The way you work it is to hold it in your right hand (since you're a lefty), and say 'creare fantasma', and it'll make you a ghost for ten seconds. Since I'm not very good at this- sorry- it can only be used twice a day. I hope you like it anyway.
Anyway, come talk to me after lunch on Friday. You get that period free, right?
See you,
Myrtle/
Sass smiled to herself, looking back over the morning, breathlessly happy that so many people cared for her so very much. /I really am quite lucky/, she thought. She stood up and helped Severus to his feet, looking at her watch.
"Dear God!" she said. "It's almost 9:15! You're late for your class! And so am I," she realized.
Severus looked at his watch, as shocked as she. "We'd better hurry," he said. "Yeah, let me get there, then you can come in right after me. They may not make the connection that way. See you!" She jogged out the door. At least Severus' office was in the dungeons, too, and so was near to the Potions room. But she was still going to be late. Sass ran faster.
R
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE? It makes me so happy.
Sasina (Sass for short) Chapter 8- Happiness
Sass forced her breathing back to normal and let her pulse slow for a moment before answering Black. "My name is Sasina. I'm following-" Sass had been about to say 'because I saw you ripping up the Fat Lady's portrait', but realized all of a sudden that might not be the smartest thing to say. "I'm following you because I want to know if you really did murder thirteen people in one curse," she said in a rush.
Black chuckled, a surprisingly pleasant one for a murderer. "Well, if you want to know the whole story, come with me. They're going to be searching the whole castle in a moment. Otherwise, I'm going to hex you so you can't go for help until I'm gone- I assure you, I won't kill you."
Sass raised her eyebrows, forgetting he couldn't see her. "The word of a man who is supposed to have been one of Voldemort's best spies?"
"You say his name." She felt Black stiffen. "Well, you'd better come. Just this way." The knife was removed from her throat and placed at her back, nudging her down the third-floor corridor. She sighed, wondering what to do. /Might as well/, she thought. Then she slid down and to the side, evading Black's frantic grab. She sprang up inside his range, between his body and the knife, and twisted it from his hand, spinning away to look at him.
"I am not to be underestimated," she said, looking into Black's eyes. They held awe and respect, and, to her surprise, fear. Fear of her abilities, fear of what she might do- and what that would mean. /He's terrified of going back to Azkaban/, she realized. /I had better set him straight, or he'll do something crazy, I can tell./
She stepped forward and put the knife back in Black's shocked hands. "I am not going to turn you over to Dumbledore or anyone else," she said, " because of the way you laughed back there. Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems like there's something more to the story than you read in the papers, and I want to know what it is. But I won't be held at knifepoint. So lead on." She smiled wryly.
After a moment, what she had said seemed to sink in, and Black moved past her, standing in front of a portrait of a knight standing on a pedestal. Then he turned back to her and said, "Please turn around. If- well, for now I'd rather you didn't know how this works." Sass obliged, figuring she couldn't blame the man.
/But why do I trust him?/ she wondered. /Why didn't I turn him over to Dumbledore? Maybe. because he could have killed me right back there. He's already been found guilty of murder, one more wouldn't make a difference, and after the Fat Lady the whole school already knows that he was in here. But he didn't kill me. And that whole bit about 'if you want to know the whole story.' That's not the answer of a guilty man, that's the answer of an innocent man whose story got confused by the general public. And then,/ she thought, a little ruefully, /there's my insatiable curiosity. I /really/ should have turned back as soon as I saw him. Or when he turned into the dog. Oh well, it looks as though some good may come of this after all./
Sass heard Black say quietly, "Okay, you can turn back around now." She looked back, and saw that a small statue to the right of the portrait had opened wide enough to let them through. /Although if he wasn't so skinny./ she grinned. Being on the run from the government had /enabled/ Black to get into Hogwarts. She slipped into the hole after Black, pulling it shut behind her.
The tunnel started in a sort of stone slide. Sass wedged herself in, allowing Black to get a little ahead. Then she let go, and whooshed down the passage a fair ways before landing, on her feet, in a pitch-black something-or-another. She said "Lumos" at just the same time as Black, and two spheres of light projected from their wands.
They were in a low, dirt-walled passageway that twisted and turned of into the darkness. Black looked at her. "We can talk here." He Transfigured two rocks into comfortable chairs for them to sit in.
"Transfiguration always was one of my best subjects," he said idly as they sat down.
Sass blinked a little in surprise. That statement added to her growing list of proofs that Black was /not/ a murderer, /not/ a madman, and, in fact, completely innocent. She frowned a bit. "So what is the story about the murders?" she asked.
Black looked at her hard then. "You probably won't believe me. The world is so set against me- but I'll tell you anyway."
Sass just waited, knowing he would tell he eventually.
"When I was at school, my best friend was James Potter. There were four of us, really. Me, James, Remus Lupin- he teaches-"
"I know Remus," Sass said. She was slightly impatient, though she usually was. Maybe it was having story time with a convicted murderer.
Black shrugged. "Okay. Well, the fourth member of out little band of Marauders was a boy named Peter Pettigrew. He was one of the 'victims' the murders I am supposed to have committed. Well, we graduated-"
"With the most collective detentions of any four students in the history of the school- I've heard something about the Marauders," Sass added, not sure why.
Black grinned, for a moment erasing the deadened look in his eyes and the wrinkles on his face. She supposed he hadn't had too much to be happy about since his school days. He continued.
"Yes, that is true. We were quite proud of that. Well, Pettigrew wasn't. He never did like getting into mischief as much as us. After school we all remained close, especially James and me." Was it Sass' imagination, or did Black's voice crack a little on the word 'James?' "This was at the height of Voldemort's power. Anyway, one of Dumbledore's spies told him that there was a leak close to Lily and James- Lily was James' wife," he added. Sass nodded, and she realized that Black didn't know that Severus was the spy who had tipped Dumbledore off. She wondered how the ending of Black's story would differ from that of Severus.
"I always thought it was Remus," Black said regretfully. "I know now I was wrong. Anyway, Dumbledore told the Potters they had better go into hiding. They did, for Harry's sake." Again, that momentary break in Black's voice made Sass sure he was telling the truth. "They used the Fidelius Charm- do you know what that is? What year are you in?" His look gave Sass no doubt that he was puzzled on this one. Old, because of her actions. Young, because of her stature. She wondered what to tell him. Old.
"I'm in the third year, same as Harry," she said. "I don't know what the Fidelius Charm is, though." She felt safe in saying that, though as soon as she got back to the school, she'd be researching it thoroughly.
Black nodded, confirming Sass' guess that a third year wouldn't know it. "It's a complicated spell," he said. "Basically, you hide a secret with one person, and unless they tell anyone, the secret is safe. So-"
"You were the person the Potters chose," Sass said.
"Yes, that was the plan," Black said. "But at the last minute, I had an idea. I was worried that Voldemort would come after me, so I told James and Lily to switch. I thought it was a perfect plan. There was no way Voldemort would ever suspect-"
Sass inhaled sharply, understanding in a rush. "Peter Pettigrew," she breathed.
"You're quick," Black said, nodding bitterly.
"Yes. I told them to use Pettigrew. That way I couldn't betray them though torture. Before I had time to tell Dumbledore what we'd done, barely a week after they'd gone into hiding, Voldemort attacked." Black's voice became completely devoid of emotion. "He killed Lily and James, and then Harry defeated him. I was the only one still living who knew. I hunted Pettigrew down. The books say it was the other way around, but it wasn't. When I cornered him in Oxford, he yelled out that I'd betrayed Lily and James to a whole street full of muggles, then blew up the street over his shoulder, bit off his finger, and escaped."
Sass thought for a moment. "Wait a minute," she said finally. "How did he escape? I mean it's not exactly hard to miss a man running down the street."
Black slapped his head. "I forgot. You know that I'm an Animagus." This was a statement, and so Sass didn't bother to nod as he continued. "Well, we all were. You-" he looked at her carefully. "Well, Remus will never forgive me if he finds out I told you, but that hardly matters now. Don't tell anyone, alright?" Sass nodded cautiously.
"Remus is a werewolf." He nodded as understanding dawned on Sass' face. The two times Remus had fallen 'sick' this year- she mentally checked the lunar calendar and saw they were at full moon. Black continued. "We were his best friends, we found out in the third year. Then we swore to Remus we'd become Animagi, so we could be with him in his transformations." He smiled wryly. "The amount of time we spent poring through Advanced Transfiguration books- McGonagall was shocked at how much our grades improved.
"In our fifth year, we managed it. I was a black dog, James was a stag, and Pettigrew- Pettigrew was a /rat/." The vehemence when he said the last word scared Sass. She was pretty sure he hadn't killed all those muggles, by now, but she had no doubt that if he was given a chance, he would kill Pettigrew without a second thought. "But no one knew except for us four. And when Pettigrew ran. James was dead, and Remus didn't know we'd switched Secret Keepers."
"So he escaped in his rat form, and of course no one was going to believe anything you said." Sass just sat there for a while after that, digesting the information, weighing it against things she'd heard and read, and filing it carefully away, placing it in the relevant parts of people's stories. After about five minutes, she looked up at Black again.
"Teach me."
That had to be the last thing he expected her to say. "What?"
"You heard me. I want to learn how to be an Animagus. You started when you were in your third year, and I'm sure it'll come in handy someday. And there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to," she said, raising her chin defiantly. "I bet I'm more attentive in class than you were." /But you're really only a first year/, a small voice in her head said. /McGonagall's told you all what happens to people who aren't prepared to be Animagi./ Sass very firmly told that voice to shut the hell up. She could do it, and no one would stop her.
Black still seemed to be having trouble understanding her. "You want- me- to teach you to become an- Animagus?" He said haltingly.
Sass sighed. She knew her ability to weigh the facts, look at the situation, make a decision, and stand by it, surprised people, but it still annoyed her. Honestly, what did he think she'd been doing for five minutes after he told his story? "Look, if you're expecting to have to prove to me that you really /are/ innocent by repeating your story with different words five times, I don't do that. I make my decisions, and then I stand by them." She smiled a little at the echoing of her earlier thought. "So, I've decided you haven't killed anyone, though you would kill Pettigrew, but he deserves it. I'm not going to turn you in, I won't tell anyone, and I trust you. And I want to learn to be an Animagus. So?" She sat impatiently in her armchair, waiting for his answer.
He thought for a moment. "Well. alright," he said finally. "I'll help you however I can.
"But you had better get back up to the school," he said worriedly, as a scream heralded the first Gryffindor getting to the Fat Lady's ruined portrait. He winced. "That thing with the Fat Lady was a mistake," he said wistfully. "I really didn't mean to. I just got frustrated-" Another scream joined the first. "You'd better go."
Sass nodded, and stood up quickly. Black Transfigured the rocks back, and headed down the tunnel, away from the school. He stopped for a moment, and looked back at her.
"To get into this passage you tap the statue and say 'Dissendium,'" he said. "I'll meet you here in a week." At her nod, he continued down the passage.
Sass hurried to get back up the slide and to the rest of the school, muttering "What a way to spend my birthday." She thought she heard Black stop, but he continued after a moment, so she figured he must just be jumping at any noise. She couldn't blame him.
She continued up the slide. No doubt they would be checking to make sure no one was missing, and she did /not/ want to have to explain where she'd been. At that thought, she scrambled faster up the tunnel.
* * * * *
Sass got back to the corridor outside the common room just in time to be sent to the Great Hall along with all the rest of the Gryffindors. She watched as Dumbledore made an announcement about what had happened, and summoned bright purple sleeping bags from nothing so they could all sleep. She grabbed one and dragged it into a niche in the wall. She knew they wouldn't find Black- it was unlikely any teachers knew about the passage he'd used, and he was long gone even if they did. She could tell that a lot of people were going to be up all night talking, but as she already knew perfectly well what had happened, there was no need to listen to all the stupid rumors. So she forced herself to relax, and go to sleep.
* * * * *
The next morning at breakfast Sass mentally reviewed her schedule. Potions, excellent, she could talk to Severus, then Defense Against the Dark Arts- had someone jinxed her schedule just so that today would be the perfect day to talk to the people she needed to talk to? After Defense she had flying lessons, which she could easily skip, Madam Hooch (the teacher) didn't really care if her students missed class, as long as they were the ones that already were athletic and so didn't need what was really their only exercise at Hogwarts.
But barely into through her meal Sass was interrupted by a wave of disturbance headed her way from the High Table. /What now?/ she thought before seeing it was Severus, with the least sarcastic smile she'd seen him wear in public, ever. He was obviously trying hard to be his usual bat- like self, but was having trouble hiding his delight. He stopped right behind her and she turned to face him.
"What?" she said.
Severus' grin grew even wider, despite his best efforts. "Come with me," he replied. "You'll see. And hurry. We haven't got much time."
Sass obediently stood up and followed Severus to his office. Just outside the door he stopped. "Now, I meant to do this last night, after the feast, but as there was a small- distraction-" Sass noticed his face darkened at the thought of Black, "I'll do it now." Then he stopped trying not to smile, and opened the door.
A large heap of presents sat on his table, their bright wrappings totally out of place in Severus' gloomy office. She turned back to him in shock. "These- they- they're for- for /me/?" she managed to squeak out. Sass had never, ever had a birthday present in her life, not even from Severus. It was too risky- if Kincaid had found out about their friendship, he would have fired Severus.
"That's right! Happy birthday!" Severus said, ushering her to a chair. He conjured up food, as she hadn't gotten to finish breakfast, and so with a piece of toast in one hand, Sass started to open her presents.
She spent the next hour as happy as she'd ever been in her life. Emara had gotten her the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the muggle books Sass had heard her and Mina talking about back in London. Michelle had outdone herself with a beautiful necklace made of silver, trimmed with smoky grey and black stones, with a silver dragon pendant studded with two small red gems, one on the tail, one for the eye. Breathless at the beautiful gift, Sass looked at the note, which said,
/Heya Sass! Hope Hogwarts agrees with you. Emara noticed that you looked like you wanted to read the Lord of the Rings books, so she got you them. But this is really from both of us. You always wondered what we did; well, we make jewelry. This really is one of the better pieces we've made- Emara always said it's the heart that counts in this line of work. I guess she's right. Don't feel guilty, we do this because it's what we love doing, and we love you too. Anyway, Emara made the pendant, and I made chain. We bought the gems in a magic crystal shop (in kind of a Tokyo version of Diagon Alley). The shopkeeper said they would probably help repel curses. That may come in useful someday. Hope you like it!
Michelle and Emara/
Sass felt herself moved to tears by their show of caring. "Here now, none of this," Severus said, fastening the necklace around her neck. "Not on your- well, I guess it isn't your birthday anymore, but don't cry. There're still more presents!"
Sass grinned, wiping away a couple of stray tears. "I'm just so happy," she said, turning back to the pile.
The other Sailor Scouts had sent her one large present, which she had a hell of a time unwrapping. She gave Severus a brief rundown on them as she searched for a way to open the package. Finally she found a small loose string, which she pulled, and the entire thing came undone. And felt her mouth fall open, shocked. Severus was in the same predicament.
There, sitting innocently on the table, was a small, neatly tied stretch of fabric. There was just one thing. Sass was sure it was the material used to make /Invisibility Cloaks/. The material was completely clear- she could only see the scarlet trim. She could see the table through it, and the bottom part of the twine binding it. After a moment of staring, Sass cleared her throat. "That /is/ the makings of an Invisibility Cloak, isn't it?" she said.
"Yes," Severus replied, stunned. "Look- there's a note. Why don't you read it?"
"Okay," Sass said.
Dear Sass,
We all pitched in to buy this, and you're getting a small Christmas present too, just for reference. (By the way, this is Mina.) We've been checking out the magical scene here in Tokyo with Emara and Michelle, and it's been a lot of fun. Oh- have to hand it over now. Later.
Apparently Invisibility Cloaks are really rare in Britain (Amy now :P). That's not true here. You have to really watch out what you say in public places, because chances are there's someone listening. They also don't use wands here. Instead they use stones that they call 'focus points', or 'focuses'- there are all different types, from granite to ruby, and they're always coated with a different type of finish, and they can be different sizes-
Hey Sass! It's Serena Moon-Princess now. Sorry about Amy, she's having a field day with all this new stuff to learn- eurgh! Anyway, since we can get the material *relatively* cheap here, we figured it might come in handy for getting into loads of trouble at your school- thingie. I think someone's sending the instructions for sewing it, or at least I hope-
Sorry. Serena started to babble, so I'll continue here. It's Raye :- ). I did put the instructions in here. You have to be careful sewing these things; apparently until they're done they're completely invisible, except for the trimming they sew on- so if you're not careful you can actually lose it! Cool, huh? I hope you have fun with it! (And don't get caught!) Ok, Lita wants to say something too, as we've all had our say except for her. I'll see you over the holidays.
Hope you're having fun at your school! In case you didn't see Raye's note, this is Lita. This Hogwarts place sounds like a lot of fun- wish I could go (Amy's been telling me about it). Well, enjoy yourself!
Kudos,
Lita Mina
Raye Amy
Serena, moon-princess*
P.S. Sorry about Serena. She's taken to signing *everything* like that. bye! ~ Raye/
Severus laughed softly as Sass finished reading. "Tell me more about them," he said, but then shook his head. "No, it can wait till later. Finish opening!" he ordered her, mock-sternly.
Sass laughed too, and turned back to the unopened presents. There were only four more, now.
One was from Sandra, with a nice homemade card wishing her a happy birthday. The present contained a large box of assorted wizard sweets. Sass grinned, eager to start sampling them when she got a chance.
The next one seemed to be from Remus, and Sass unwrapped it slowly as Severus frowned a bit. Sass wondered what Remus could have afforded to get her. She knew that Remus was short for ready cash, and thanks to Sirius, she also knew it was probably because of his lycanthropy- being a werewolf. The last of the wrappings fell away, and Sass was a little surprised to see a small, golden, roly-poly bird with silver wings sitting calmly in a cage. There was a note as well, which read,
/ Happy birthday, nichka! (that means 'little spark')
I hope you like this present. It is a Golden Snidget, and I had to obtain special permission from the Ministry to go and find one for you. If you read ^Quidditch Through the Ages^, you'll see that they used to be used for Snitches. It will carry your letters for you, though it's not strong enough to carry packages. If you come by my office sometime I'll put a Binding Spell on it for you, so that if something happens so it you'll know, and you can summon it if you want it to carry a letter for you. It already has so many anti-theft and anti-harm charms on it though- I doubt you'll need it.
A warning- Golden Snidgets are very affectionate, and quite sweet, but if you try to harm one, the Ministry's put a little spell on the entire species that makes them vicious if they get hurt. Not that you would ever hurt it, but it would be better to avoid any mistakes with them. That beak can be sharp!
Anyway, I think this little beauty is a female, name her whatever you want. Enjoy, and happy birthday!
-Remus/
"Wow," Sass breathed as she leaned close to inspect the small Snidget. "That is so cool." She opened the small cage and took the Snidget out, putting it on her finger. "I think I'll name her Bright."
Severus looked at Bright. "Is that a Golden Snidget?" he said, his curiosity overcoming his dislike of all things Remus Lupin.
Sass nodded. "Remus got special permission from the ministry so he could get her for me. Isn't she sweet?"
Severus grimaced at the 'sweet' but nodded, seeing her point. "Come on," he said. "You still haven't gotten to my present!"
"Now, now, Severus," Sass said. "It's supposed to be good if your present's opened last." /Oh, and how would you know?/ a small, insidious voice asked. /Not like you've ever been to a birthday party/. Sass hurriedly grabbed Severus' present before he could ask what was wrong, and quickly opened it.
"Oh," Sass said softly as she was once again stunned at a present. "Severus- you shouldn't have. I-"
"Nonsense," he said, pleased that she liked the present. "If I'm to teach you anything, you've got to have the very best. And this is it."
'This' was a perfect storage space and drying rack for plants and other potions ingredients. It was a small, clear box that opened onto eight different areas, all different, depending on what was put there. And it was minimally enchanted, so that the magic didn't interfere with what it contained. Sass was stunned. She had seen Severus' one, it was just like this, but in the back of ^One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi^ she had seen an advertisement for them, and they were way out of her price range. She looked up at Severus, completely amazed.
"Thank you so very, very much," she said feelingly. To her surprise, Severus blushed. She stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing.
"What?" he said, slightly annoyed.
"You- blushed-" she managed to force out, around her uncontrollable giggles.
Sure enough, Severus started to chuckle too, and soon they were leaning on each other for support, wheezing and out of breath.
Sass looked at him, saw he was looking at her too, and burst into fresh spouts of laughter. Severus joined her, and they weren't able to stop for good until both lay on the floor, exhausted. Severus propped himself up on one elbow.
"Sass?"
"Yeah?" She sat up, leaning against the wall.
"You've still got one more present. Here-" he grabbed his wand, and with a swish and a muttered incantation, the present flew into Sass' lap. "Who's it from?"
Sass inspected the package carefully. "Doesn't say. Oh well, I'll just open it." She did so, revealing a small, completely clear crystal. There was also a note.
/Sass-
Bet you're wondering how I figured out your birthday, huh? I asked your friend, Sandra Woods, when it was. She also helped me get the present. See, she paid for it (un-activated, of course, otherwise it would've been way too expensive), and in return, I promised to do her a few favors to wreak havoc on some people she doesn't like.
Anyway, you probably won't have heard of one of these. Really, it's just glass, but it's designed especially to be a ghost-walker. But it needs a real ghost to activate, and it takes a lot of bother, and it's really hard to pay a ghost, so there aren't very many. But once it's been activated, it can allow you to be like a ghost for a short period of time (so you can walk through walls and things). Isn't that cool? I activated this one for you. The way you work it is to hold it in your right hand (since you're a lefty), and say 'creare fantasma', and it'll make you a ghost for ten seconds. Since I'm not very good at this- sorry- it can only be used twice a day. I hope you like it anyway.
Anyway, come talk to me after lunch on Friday. You get that period free, right?
See you,
Myrtle/
Sass smiled to herself, looking back over the morning, breathlessly happy that so many people cared for her so very much. /I really am quite lucky/, she thought. She stood up and helped Severus to his feet, looking at her watch.
"Dear God!" she said. "It's almost 9:15! You're late for your class! And so am I," she realized.
Severus looked at his watch, as shocked as she. "We'd better hurry," he said. "Yeah, let me get there, then you can come in right after me. They may not make the connection that way. See you!" She jogged out the door. At least Severus' office was in the dungeons, too, and so was near to the Potions room. But she was still going to be late. Sass ran faster.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE? It makes me so happy.