Essence of Mercy
By: Liquid Ice
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Sailor Moon belongs to their respective owners. This story is mine though.
Summary: Usagi Tsukino is the illegitimate child of the late Sirius Black. What else is new? Well, Snape has two people to hate now; Harry and Usagi…Post OotP, tribute to Sirius Black.
*~*~*~*~*~
'We've all had our demons
From the garden of white lies
Dressed them amused them
Pullin' wool over our eyes
Go so far as to love them
To keep from letting them go
All the while they we're killing us
But we couldn't let them show…'
*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Two – Demon in my View
'I don't believe you,' he flatly said, his features lacking disbelief and surprise of the announcement in comparison with the other members of the Order that were present (Molly and Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin were present).
The words came out of his mouth before he can even register the tone of denial in his voice. At another event, the cast, the crew, there might have been a part of him believed that it was true. After all, her eyes…the way it glittered with haunted pain and yet was still able to reserved the innocence that that damnable man managed to keep…they were exactly the same, he couldn't deny it. But at this point, he didn't care; he did not want another child added in his burden. Never again. He had enough to deal with.
Albus Dumbledore chuckled, 'Indeed Severus, indeed. Even at first I find it hard to believe that Ms. Tsukino here is Sirius' daughter but nonetheless, she has provided me sufficient evidence that she really, truly is Sirius's daughter."
Severus promptly darted his eyes to the young teenager sitting beside Dumbledore, who was studying the floor with sudden fascination, her cheeks slightly tinged with pink hues.
'Albus it's impossible,' he stated, emphasizing on the word impossible.
The Headmaster looked at him with amusement, his brow raised, "Oh? Severus I find it hard to believe that you are not prone in believing the impossible. You should have realized by now that nothing is impossible. Why, we have always assumed that no victims of Voldemort are unable to escape from him and yet, Harry has yet to prove us wrong,' at the name Harry, Usagi looked up, 'and not only has he managed to live this long, he has fought Voldemort and escaped alive.'
For the first time in his life, Severus Snape choked on words, unable to find a decent explanation as to how and why the young girl is not Black's daughter.
'But… - '
At any other given situation Remus Lupin would've laughed but had it not been the fact that this was the supposed Sirius' daughter they were talking about…
Sirius's daughter…
Impossible? Yes…yes its impossible…but knowing Sirius, his mind irrevocably told him that Sirius was the sort of person to do such a thing…yet…why was he not informed, given hints that he had a daughter somewhere alive? Did James know? Worst of all, did Peter knew? He shook his head in dismay, no, there was no way that none of them knew…maybe Albus but he wasn't about to go and question that possibility. Knowing Albus Dumbledore, he probably did know but was unsure of its factuality.
There were also her eyes.
They were the exact replica of Sirius.
Unnerving and yet…
From the corner of his eyes, Alastor Moody was shifted and realized that he was attempting to speak despite his surprised of the news the Headmaster informed them.
'Fine,' he gruffly said, 'how do we exactly know that this is really Black's daughter? What proof does she have to show us? Dumbledore, you might have faith in mysterious people but I for one would like to be safe than sorry. For all we know this could be a trick.'
'He's right Albus,' Tonks concurred, 'what proof do you have? And how come we'd had no idea? Why doesn't anybody know? Even Remus wasn't aware that Sirius even had a child.'
The members murmured in agreement. Severus and Remus waited in silence.
Dumbledore slowly trailed his face towards the teenager and pointedly looked at her, who looked up from the interesting floor and nodded at the seemingly silent understanding between the two of them. Usagi buried her hand within the folds of her cloak.
At first, Remus was beginning to have doubts that Usagi is his best friend's daughter but when the light reflected something glittering enclosed in her hand, he waited patiently.
She placed a silver crystal at the center of the table located in the middle of the room.
'This is your evidence?' Severus sneered, 'Well, that explains every – '
'Wait,' she suddenly interrupted raising her eyes to meet the Potions Master, her features blankly stared back at him, defiance and courage present.
So like Gryffindor.
So like Sirius.
The crystal suddenly winked, Remus blinked.
The room shimmered, as if an illusion was cast and was unable to hold it properly, fading, disappearing.
As sudden as the dark room faded, it suddenly transitioned into another – a brighter and refreshing room.
All the members blinked in disbelief. Dumbledore merely looked ecstatic and swiftly examined the room.
'Fascinating,' Dumbledore murmured, 'he used ancient magic…'
Usagi stared at Dumbledore, startled at his declaration.
The room was bright, as if all their life they lived in dull colours, they were suddenly thrown in a palette full of them. Refreshing and serene, exciting and yet overwhelming.
'This is cool,' Tonks uttered briefly, looking around the room as if unable to grasp the obvious before her.
'This is where I was born,' Usagi quietly said, smiling wistfully as she too looked around the room.
Remus absentmindedly rubbed his eyes, someone was – is standing before him. A young man, familiar, but there was an air in him that screamed volumes…they were in contradiction but…happiness, dread, regret, love…
'BLACK?!' Severus Snape gasped.
Sirius…
Sirius Black smiled wistfully, staring longingly back at them.
'Hi, Snape. Even I happen to miss you too,' he retorted. He walked towards Usagi and beamed at her.
'Iamar, you finally got to London. Didn't kill too many people did you?'
Usagi shook her head, grinning, 'Nope. I didn't have to. Shame though.'
Sirius sighed in exasperation, 'Yeah, real shame.'
*~*~*~*~*~
'…No matter what the trouble
We carry round inside
We're never safe from the truth
But in truth we can survive
When this wall of denial
Comes tumbling down
Down to the ground…'
~*~*~*~*~
Sirius stared from one member to the next smiling. He paused longer at Remus and Dumbledore who watched him something akin to sadness and yearning.
'Please sit down,' he said, at these words, an exact numbers of armed chairs appeared in the room, everyone settled themselves except Severus who was still standing.
Sirius grinned at him, 'Sit Snape, trust me, this is going to be one long explanation.'
Usagi sat beside on the chair beside her father and settled comfortably while her father waited for everyone to settle.
'Si - Sirius is it really you?' Molly Weasley asked, her features were pale and clammy.
'Ahh – yes…and no,' he replied blandly, Tonks opened her mouth to ask another question when Sirius placed his hands up for silence, 'Please, before you've got any questions to ask me. Let me explain first. Your questions might be answered somewhere in my explanation or ask me later when I'm finished.' Moody was staring at Sirius, jaw dropped, both eyes focused on him.
They all nodded and waited expectantly. Another chair suddenly materialized as Sirius sat down.
'I guess it's better to start at the one question you guys are having a hard time to believe in,' he said softly, looking at Usagi with pride, 'Usagi – well – her true name is actually Iamar Black, she is my daughter, and her mother is Jordan Summer.'
Dumbledore smiled, 'Yes, Ms. Summer. Gryffindor. Quite the girl she is.'
'Yeah, she's a great girl,' Sirius said, his eyes flitted towards Remus, 'When we realized that Voldemort was after James and Lily and I became their Secret Keeper…everything went wrong…
'Iamar Black was born a month before Harry was born, even though me and Jordan weren't married yet, we did plan to get married soon. We thought we had a lot of time to get everything perfect…but since I told James to switch Secret Keeper to Peter, I never expected things to go badly. I had my suspicions but I still gave Peter the benefit of the doubt…
'The day before the attack on James and Lily I was in this room in London, I didn't want to raise any suspicion or hint that I had a family of my own – and no not even James or Lily knew,' Sirius added as an afterthought sensing the heated question from Remus, 'I couldn't risk it no matter what, I bought two tickets for Iamar and Jordan; two tickets to Japan. The least likely that Voldemort would expect for the two of them to go to and besides, it could complicate his plans in going after them. But before they left I made this.'
Sirius pointed at the crystal on the table, he suddenly frowned, 'I'm Sirius but I'm not. I guess in a way, I'm only a memory, a supposed shadow of my true self – '
'Are you saying that you cast an Elysium spell Black?' Severus said. Sirius nodded.
'You bet I did. It was complicated but once I got going, it was pretty easy, so –'
Severus interrupted shortly, 'What exactly made think of an idea such as this? How was that going to help you?'
A sudden thought struck Remus in the end. Of course! Sirius maybe a mischievous but by all means he wasn't an idiot.
'He wanted to give his daughter a message, an Elysium spell is a very ancient spell. It requires a large proportion of will and power to be able to cast this perfectly,' Dumbledore murmured, his lips quirked in delight, 'ingenious Sirius and very impressive.' Sirius sheepishly grinned.
'So what is an Elysium spell anyways?' Molly Weasley asked. Dumbledore looked at Sirius and gave a nod of approval.
'No one can explain the spell better than Sirius, after all, he is by far one of the very few who are able to cast such a strong and ancient spell,' Dumbledore said.
'An Elysium spell – it's complicated to explain really. In a way, it is sort of like a version of a ghost. But the shadow; the memory, its not real but at the same time you are very real. You are as real as anybody else can be but once again, you aren't the real deal.
'The only problem with this spell is the complication in where to store the memory. If you've got no object – I supposed – to hold the shadow or memory of you. Then it gets chaotic, your body is everywhere and nowhere, your memories are scattered and it's pretty much impossible to fix everything back because your personalities and your body might become dangerous. Without a memory of who you are, you might trigger a repository reaction of dangerous actions and you might also become a danger to yourself. There are a lot of things that could go wrong if there's no specific object to contain it to. The other problem is that it only allows you to be able to use magic every two weeks which gets a little irritating.
'I found this crystal in the forbidden forest when Lupin turned into a werewolf I used it to store me. I updated it 2 years ago, after Harry and Hermione rescued me and a year later after the tournament. The only way that this crystal could be activated and for me to become existent is when I die. And when I do die, the crystal transport itself to my daughter Iamar and only she can activate it.'
Dumbledore beamed at him whom Sirius reciprocated easily, 'Wonderful Sirius, very wise of you. I'm very impressed.'
Tonks scratched her head, 'Man, this going to be hard trying to remember that you really aren't the real Sirius – sorry Sirius.'
He shook his head, 'None taken. I understand what I put myself into but I need to be there with my daughter and Harry.'
'And what exactly are you planning to do while the memory of your moronic self exists, Black?' Severus asked.
Sirius shrugged, 'help of course. What else is there to do? Until Iamar and Harry doesn't need me anymore. I stay here period.'
He turned to Dumbledore, 'which brings me to another question. I would like it if Iamar stays here Albus. I want her to attend Hogwarts.'
Dumbledore intensely scrutinized him, 'you do know, you'll be putting Iamar in danger. Voldemort will definitely take an interest in the next line of the Blacks.'
'I know, but it doesn't matter. I want her to be here where she belongs.'
'What about Jordan? What does she have to say to this?' Remus quietly questioned, suddenly remembering the beautiful smile and laughter that Jordan always carry.
'She's dead.' Usagi answered, 'I've got no family, I lived at my school were I attend, Mugen Academy.'
'I'm sorry,' Remus softly, wincing only for Usagi to shake her head.
'Don't be,' she stated, 'she's…in a good place.' She then turned to Dumbledore, 'So can I stay?'
Dumbledore nodded, 'Of course, I'll be honoured to have you in my school, Iamar.'
Usagi smiled gratefully, 'Thank you, sir. Please call me Usagi. As much as I like my birth name, I'm used to Usagi.'
*~*~*~*~*~
'…Simple things in life
Bring the greatest pleasure
A smile, a kiss
A little baby's laughter
It makes no difference
If we run away in fear
The little things in life hold us so near…'
*~*~*~*~*~
Freedom…
That's what it felt like…
No more pain, no more bittersweet endings…
All it matters was the now…
It doesn't matter if I'm threatened…
I'm not afraid…
I never was…
At least…
I have a family…
A true genuine family once again…
Goodbye mother…
A single tear fell from her cheeks, she whimpered in pain. Closing her eyes she inhaled a deep breath. It was over.
She tilted her head forward, her long golden blond hair tied in a low ponytail.
In her right hand, she held a sword.
No more…
She pulled on her hair tightly, taut so that it was a clean cut. Placing the sword under the massed of golden hair, she deftly cut through it…
*~*~*~*~*~
'…No matter what the trouble
We carry round inside
Never safe from the truth
But in the truth we can survive
When this wall of denial
Come tumblin' down
Yeah this wall of denial
Must tumble down
Down to the ground.'
*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Notes: The lyrics belong to Stevie Ray Vaughan called 'Wall of Denial'. Also thank you to all those who reviews. Lovely. Hopefully I get the same amount response so that I will be further inspired to install Chapter 3 very soon…lets say Sunday? ^^ Thank you Twisted Mirror for pointing out that fact, I thought about it and it actually made more sense (silly me) and I fixed it. I apologize deeply HTchime for spoiling everything. I didn't mean to but nonetheless I did, you don't have to forgive me if you don't want to.
A few things to look out for:
1. Elysium spell – my own creation. There's actually more to the spell than what was explained in this chapter. Further explanation will be eventually found later in the story.
2. I forgot to mention…this is a dark, dark fic and lots of sad plot bunnies will attack. Iamar/Usagi has her own deliberate, tragic story and there will be a lot of reference to OotP. Eventually this will become R rated.
3. I'm going to set up a list of writers who wants to get alerted of new updates of this story. But later on, maybe at Chapter 5 I'll ask again. If anyone is interested make sure you leave your email and pen name in your reviews. I'm telling you, this is not a normal HP/SM fic. Trust me. This is very different.
4. Usagi's animagus form.
5. Harry will be showing up in the next chapter
6. Foreshadowing, there's a lot of this in the next few chapters. Anyone can point out any in this chapter?
7. Draco
8. Luna
9. Where Sailor Moon story fits into this. Oh this if very much a crossover, but it's not what you would expect.
10. Items and whatnot
11. Usagi (observe her carefully)
12. Chapter titles and song lyrics (he he, symbolism and foreshadowing)
That's all! ^^ REVIEW
P.S. if there are any mistakes whatsoever please point it out to me. I'll be glad to fix them.
