Disclaimer: The characters that look familiar to you belong to J. K. Rowling. The ones you cannot find in any of her books are mine. I don't intend to make any money out of this. I'm just having some fun.
Plans
"What?" Sirius asked nonplussed. Merlin! He had said the word "what" more times in the last few hours than probably in all of his previous life.
Sandrine smiled again. Sirius noticed she smiled almost all of the time, too.
"Yes, we call her 'Auntie Minnie'."
Now was Sirius' turn to laugh. Oh, Merlin, how he was going to tease the strict Minerva McGonagall about that! That was going to be fun!
"Actually, she is Amanda's grandaunt. Amanda's father was one of her nephews."
"I didn't know Professor McGonagall had any family. While I was at Hogwarts she never left the school, not even during the Christmas Holidays." Sirius was getting curious now.
"As far as I know, the McGonagalls were once a very large family, but they were massacred by Grindewald. I think only Minerva and Amanda's father survived. That's why they were so close. But then Ian McGonagall fell in love with Amanda's mother, an ashanrii, and so he had to choose between his normal life as a wizard or moving to the Ice Castle, where her beloved lived. Amanda's mother was a very important jilguerei..."
"Yes, Edvard told me," Sirius interrupted.
"Oh, ok. So you know she used to live in the Ice Castle, protecting the Princess..."
"Yes, and that's how Amanda and Sha-adi met."
"Right. I see you've paid attention," Sandrine complimented the wizard.
Edvard, who was laying the table now, smiled at this, but didn't comment. Sandrine went on explaining:
"The ashanriis protecting their princesses cannot leave the castle unless they are on a mission. They are supposed to be there all of the time, because the future of the whole caste depends on them doing her job well. I think that Minerva used to visit them quite a lot. She had a special visitors leave and could come in and out of the Castle almost at will. Amanda was very attached to her as a child, and is still. When Miriam Ming died, Amanda and her brother Benjamin went to live with her aunt at Hogwarts. Minerva thought they would be safe there. But when the fuocciris defeated the enemies of the ashanriis, the jilguereis claimed Amanda back, because the ashanriis have their own schools, and Amanda was supposed to attend one of them. In fact, Amanda was destined to become as well a guardian of the Princess, since her mother had been one, an the honour of protecting the Princess is inherited from mother to daughter, but... well, let's say that things were a little complicated back then, and finally, when Amanda finished school, she moved to France and we shared a flat in Paris, where I was living back then."
A sudden idea struck Sirius:
"Wait. Are we in France now?"
"No, we're in Belfast," Sandrine answered in a homesick tone. "We moved here a couple of years ago, because Amanda got a very good job offer from the laboratory where she is still working. They work with pharmaceutical products."
"Amanda works for a muggle firm?" Sirius asked surprised.
"Yes. We all do."
Edvard looked pointedly at her, and Sandrine got the message, so she clarified:
"I mean, Sha-adi, Amanda and myself work for muggles. The guys still have works related to the magical world. Sha-adi has her own kindergarten, she always liked kids. Amanda went to a muggle university and became a chemist. I attended a muggle university as well, and became a nurse. I work at a muggle children hospital now. Then Edvard is a teacher at Beauxbatons."
"Oh, really?" Sirius asked, he found that information very interesting.
"Yes." Edvard confirmed with a smile. "Defence Against the Dark Arts."
"Oh! Isn't the job jinxed at Beauxbatons, then?" Sirius asked half joking.
"Jinxed? Why would it be jinxed?" Edvard laughed.
Sirius shrugged and explained:
"Well, you see, it is supposed to be jinxed at Hogwarts. None of the teachers has lasted more than a year for a while now."
"I see..." Edvard replied thoughtfully. "Then it's definitely not jinxed at Beauxbatons, because I've been working for Madame Maxime for the last twelve years."
"Wow! I must tell Moony that," Sirius said aloud without thinking.
"Moony?" Sandrine asked.
Sirius blanched. Moony was a werewolf, werewolves were the enemies of the dansarines, and Sandrine was a dansarine. He shouldn't have mentioned him.
"Yes." he answered without much enthusiasm. "My best friend. He taught Defence Against the Dark Arts for a year at Hogwarts. That was a couple of years ago."
"Oh, really?" Edvard looked very interested in this information. "Maybe you could introduce us some time. I'd really like to meet him and see what he thinks about the syllabus. As far as I know, the subject is taught very differently at the various magical schools."
"Yes..." - Sirius answered cautiously. If Edvard was a good teacher, and he probably was, it wouldn't take him long to realise that Moony was a werewolf, and Sirius didn't think that would be a good thing, so he tried to find a suitable excuse: "It might be kind of difficult, though. He's working for Dumbledore now, fighting against Voldemort, you know, so he is a lot abroad. I don't even know exactly where. It's secret, you see. I don't even see him much now. But I'll tell him about you whenever I see him."
Sirius smiled a bit at this, trying not to look nervous. He failed miserably though, and Edvard and Sandrine had started thinking that there was something strange going on with this 'Moony guy'. The wizard decided to try and go back to the old subject:
"So, Edvard is a teacher. And what about the other boys I haven't met yet? Your brother and..."
It worked, Edvard and Sandrine forgot about Moony, or so Sirius was hoping. Sandrine went on talking:
"Well, my brother, Michel... well, we call him Mich... but, anyway, he is a healer, but he doesn't really work as such. He always liked research, and so he went on with my father's work. My father was a healer as well, but after some years he decided that he'd like to do some research and, well, after he died, nobody went on with his work, which was a pity, because he had reached some very interesting conclusions. So my brother decided he didn't want to work in a hospital at all, and a couple of years ago, after he finished his training period at St. Mungo's, he rented a small office close to our flat, here in Belfast, and has been going on with my father's work. Not that he has been able to do much so far, because it's really difficult to get volunteers for the research, but he's trying, and I'm sure he'll succeed in the end. Amanda is helping him now and then. And I try to help too whenever I can."
Sirius was going to ask what was Mich's research about, but Sandrine didn't give him time enough and just went on talking:
"Amanda's brother is a healer as well. He works at St. Mungo's, but he still lives with us. And Morten, Edvard's cousin, works for the Norwegian Ministry of Magic, International Magical Cooperation Department. They apparate to go to work."
"Oh, I know a guy..." Sirius was going to tell them about Percy Weasley, maybe he and Morten had met, but didn't have the time, because just then they could hear someone coming in, and a moment afterwards they could see Sha-adi and three boys greet them through the open kitchen door. They all went in and kissed Sandrine's cheek. Then she made the introductions.
Michel Ayres looked exactly like her sister, but he was much taller than her and his hair wasn't so long, just above his shoulders. Morten Bergen had very square features, handsome dark blue eyes and short dark hair. He looked remarkably like Edvard, but Edvard's hair was longer and more brownish. Then Benjamin Ming, Amanda's brother, looked very much like her too, but he had very short hair, and his blue eyes weren't as impressive.
Once the introductions were over, Sandrine sent them all to their rooms so that they could wash themselves a bit before dinner.
"Sirius," she said. "Our family dinners are usually quite informal, but I think it would be better if you just put something else on, you know. Not that Edvard's pyjamas don't suit you, but..."
Sirius turned as red as a chilli pepper. He hadn't even realised that he was wearing still the pyjamas Sandrine had given him the previous night. He hadn't even had a shower nor a shave, and suddenly he was very conscious of his appearance.
"Oh, sorry!" He managed to say. "I was so caught in Edvard's explanations about the ashanriis, and then you came, and... well, time just fled and I didn't even realise I was still on my pyjamas, I mean, Edvard's."
"It's ok, Sirius," Edvard tried to reassure him. "Never mind Sandrine. She can be a bit 'naughty' now and then."
Sandrine put a very innocent face at this. She really looked like a good girl should, with that angel's face of hers.
"The lasagne is ready," Edvard went on saying, "but it will be too hot to eat, so we'd better let it cool a bit. I'll come with you and lend you some of my clothes. I think we have the same size."
With an apologetic look for Sandrine's benefit, Sirius left the kitchen with Edvard, still as red as he had ever been in his life, and more than a bit annoyed at hearing Sandrine's clear laughter from the kitchen.
***
Dinner that evening was the most enjoyable one Sirius had had in a very long time. Being at his parents' house was ok, but he had been alone most of the time, and then, when he had company, not everybody was in the right mood for an agreeable meal. But here, with this people he had just met, he felt strangely comfortable and at home. It was obvious that Sandrine was the head of the house. All the others treated her like an older sister, even Edvard, who was clearly older than her, and Benjamin, who wasn't related to her by blood. The food was excellent, evidently Edvard was a good cook, but the best part of dinner wasn't the food, but the almost palpable family feeling around the table. They all joked and talked about how their respective days had gone, and after a while Sirius felt as if he had known all of them for a very long time. He wished Amanda would have been there, though. He wasn't sure why, but he had the feeling that SHE was the real 'boss', and that Sandrine was just filling her place, as she couldn't be there with them.
Nobody really treated Sirius in a special way. They behaved around him as if he was just a friend who had come over for dinner. They didn't ask him about his death and resurrection, which he was thankful for, and basically left him alone with his thoughts. So Sirius took the opportunity to study them all. He wondered if there might be something more than mere friendship between these handsome boys and beautiful girls, but it didn't seem so. Benjamin and Sha-adi behaved as blood brothers, having being raised as such by Amanda, and Michel and Morten looked as if they thought Sha-adi was their sister as well. Then Edvard and Sandrine were cousins, which supposedly excluded any kind of more carnal interest in each other. Sirius couldn't help but wonder if maybe there would have been something more interesting to see between Edvard and Amanda. A few hours ago, when she left, Sirius didn't think they were a couple, but maybe there was an interest there... Sirius shook his head as the dog he was sometimes and forced himself to move his thoughts in another direction. He was feeling like that old gossip, Mrs. Figg.
After dinner, which ended quite late, Sandrine and Sha-adi took Sirius to the sitting-room with a drink on their hands. The others excused themselves and went to bed. Then the girls finally told him how they had planned to take him back to Hogwarts. Their plan was really simple. Amanda had contacted her aunt Minerva during the day and had told her about Sirius being alive and how Sandrine had saved him. After her aunt managed to assimilate the information and react, Amanda told her she would be taking him to Hogwarts herself, so that they could be sure he REALLY was Sirius Black and not an impostor. That possibility was very remote anyway, since nobody knew Sirius was alive, but still they didn't want to take any chances. Sirius would go with Amanda in his animagus form, because his name hadn't been cleared yet, and as classes hadn't finished yet, they didn't want to risk being seen by any students or teachers who might recognise Sirius. Apparently, the bond created between Sandrine and Sirius allowed her to know some aspects of his previous life, that's how she had known he was an animagus and had come up with the idea.
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just contacted Dumbledore himself and asked him to come here?" Sirius asked after listening to them.
"No," Sha-adi answered immediately. "We have been out of the magical world for too long. We don't want to attract the attention of dark wizards or other ashanriis to ourselves. If someone knew Albus Dumbledore had been in our flat, we might be in trouble. The ashanriis are supposed to remain neutral and let the wizards kill themselves if they want to. Sandrine shouldn't even have rescued you. She could be in trouble too."
Sirius looked at Sandrine then, worry in his face.
"It's ok," Sandrine said. "It's not as if you had asked me to help you. And it's not even as if I had intended to interfere. If this situation is anyone's fault, then it's Bellatrix Lestrange's."
Sirius couldn't agree more with her. Sandrine smiled a lot and seemed always cheerful, but Sirius noticed that any time his cousin's name was mentioned, her face would turn deadly serious, and her eyes would flash in anger. She really hated the woman.
"So, when are we leaving?" He asked.
"In a couple of days. Auntie Minnie is at St. Mungo's now. It seems there was an accident at Hogwarts..." Sandrine started to say, but Sirius, shocked by this information, interrupted her with a note of panic in his voice.
"An accident at Hogwarts? What kind of accident? Has Voldemort attacked the school?"
"No, no, I don't think so," Sandrine tried to calm him. "I don't really know what has happened. Amanda just said that her aunt had had an accident, so I thought maybe one of the students had had problems with a difficult spell or something. If Hogwarts had been attacked, Amanda would have told me, I'm sure of that."
Sirius nodded, but looked very worried all the same. Sha-adi tried to encourage him:
"Oh, don't worry, Sirius, you'll be soon with your friends. You'll see. And meanwhile we can talk about the bond linking you and Sandrine. I think you just received a nice amount of new information in the last hours, maybe we should all go to bed. Try to rest, and we can talk about it tomorrow calmly."
Sirius thought that was an excellent idea. He was feeling very tired anyway, and didn't think his brain could really cope with any more information right now.
Finally in bed, Sirius couldn't sleep. He had been so shocked with his own experiences and had felt so overwhelmed at knowing that the ashanriis really existed that he hadn't given a second thought to the friends he had left in the Department of Mysteries. But now... knowing that Minerva McGonagall was at St. Mungo's, worry was eating him alive. He doubted very much that any student was strong enough to hurt the Transfiguration professor. She had been his teacher too, and he knew the woman was a very powerful witch, Dumbledore's right hand in everything, even inside the Order. But then she hadn't been with them when they had entered the Ministry. Could she have come later, with Dumbledore? Or maybe she had really been hurt at Hogwarts...
His mind wandered to two familiar and beloved faces: Harry and Remus, his godson and his only true friend. What had become of them? Were they hurt? Had someone caught Bellatrix or had she escaped once more? And what about the other members of the Order of the Phoenix? Were they ok? He needed to know, he wanted to know it now, but how... Of course! The Mirror! He had given a part of it to Harry and had kept the other one. Maybe he could contact Harry and see if he was ok.
He got out of bed and searched fretfully for the clothes he was wearing when he had died. Merlin, did that sound strange - 'when he had died'. Sirius shuddered a bit, although it was a very warm night. He found the clothes in a chair on the corner of the bedroom. Nothing in the right pocket, nothing in the left one, nothing in the inside pocket. Strange... He could have sworn that he had had the mirror with him at all times since he had given half of it to Harry. Not that the boy had used it anyway...
He had hoped Harry would remember about it and try to contact him now and then, just to chat a bit, not about Voldemort or other dark subjects, maybe just about quidditch, girls... Of course, Harry was at school and didn't have time. The O.W.L.s required a lot of concentration, and then his scar had been hurting... Still Sirius had to admit that he had been a bit disappointed not to hear from Harry for such a long time. And then, when they had finally met again, he had DIED, and Harry... Oh, Merlin! Harry had lost his parents and now he probably thought he had lost his godfather too! How could he have been so insensible? Instead of worrying about his godson, he had been chatting about ashanriis and mermaids and lasagne! Why hadn't he insisted on returning home immediately? Surely Sandrine would have understood.
Sirius searched again, but the mirror wasn't there. Maybe Sandrine had taken it out of a pocket before washing his robes. Or maybe it had fallen out when he had appeared in her room and was somewhere in a corner, maybe under the bed... Well, there was no way he was going to wake up Sandrine and ask her about the mirror now. He would have to wait until the next day. It was his fault that he had been so thoughtless, and Sandrine needed a good rest after the emotions of the previous night. He had been sleeping the entire day, but she had been working, and was probably very tired.
So Sirius laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, a guilty feeling in his stomach, unable to sleep for hours and hours, just picturing Remus and Harry, then Harry and Remus, and wishing he had thought sooner about them.
*****
Thanks for the reviews!
Thanks a lot to the ones who read and reviewed my story. I hope the rest of you didn't find the ashanriis' story too boring. I really think Chapter 3 was unavoidable, since you are going to need some 'background information' for future chapters. Maybe the first chapters won't be so exciting or action-packed, but I need to let 'slip' some clues for the things that are going to happen when our friends from Hogwarts 'apparate' in the story.
Kady Rilla Wholi: I hadn't planned to explain the reason of the animosity between werewolves and dansarines, but if you want to know, I can try to insert a small explanation in a later chapter, you'll have to wait a bit, though. And you'll have to wait too, to know what Sandrine thinks of Sirius' friendship with Remus, because if I told you now, I would spoil the fun of finding it out later. ;-)
Kabeebalers: Well, now you know why Sirius hadn't thought about Harry before now. I hope you found my explanation reasonable. It's not every day that a person -even a wizard- dies and then comes back to life. The shock would probably make you forget about anything else. And then, for Sirius, being surrounded by ashanriis is comparable to a muggle finding themselves suddenly surrounded by wizards when they thought they only existed in fairytales. Simply too many surprises in a very short time... :D
TaliaAshke: Thanks a lot for your kind words. I don't intend to explain in detail the last war between the ashanriis and their enemies, because then this wouldn't be a Harry-Potter-fanfic any more, but I'll explain some more things related to that in later chapters, that's why I needed to mention it so early in the story. I'm not sure how much I'm gonna explain, though, because I don't know where the story will take me yet. If there's anything you feel I should explain, let me know, and I'll try to blend it somehow with the rest of the story. :-)
