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.

Yamiko's Fear

Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't had a chance yet to comment on what had happened in Bantu's house. Before going into the restaurant -where the others were already waiting-, Yamiko had turned to them and had seriously asked them to never visit Bantu again and not to worry about her words.

It was evening now, and instead of being excited because the rest of Dumbledore's Army was going to join them any moment now, Harry was still thinking in what he had seen in Bantu's crystal ball.

The sound of laughter took Harry out of his musings. The door of Black Manor opened and in came Yamiko and Sandrine, followed by a very amused crowd. Some people were even drying tears of laughter from their smiling faces.

Sandrine sighed exaggeratedly, and then went over to Lupin. "Remus," she said, laying her hand on his arm, "I understand now why you have your doubts about returning to Hogwarts. They are terrible. And I only had to stand a few of them!"

"Yes," Lupin said laughing, "they can be quite insufferable. In fact, my lycanthropy was only an excuse. You have discovered the real reason I'm afraid to go back to Hogwarts. Young wizards and witches can be quite scary if they want to."

Everybody in the room laughed, and then the introductions were made. The newcomers greeted Lupin cheerfully. He had always been one of their favourite teachers. They looked a little bit unsure when they were introduced to Sirius Black, though. Yamiko and Sandrine had warned them that he would be there and had told them he had been wrongly accused, but still it was kind of disturbing meeting the man with whose name their parents had terrorised them when they were children to make them eat all of their food or go to bed. Edvard and Michel smiled politely at them and Mrs. Weasley immediately started hoarding them into the kitchen, where some refreshments were waiting for them.

Once everybody had helped themselves to a drink, people started to divide into groups and conversation filled the room.

Neville approached Sirius first. "I'm glad you are ok Mr. Black," he said timidly, "I saw you fall through the veil. Auntie Sandrine told me everything."

Sirius looked a little bit shocked. "Did she tell everybody what happened?"

"No, just me," Neville explained, "because I knew you had to be dead, so I told her. When she mentioned you, I thought maybe you were an impostor or something, and then she explained what had happened."

Sirius nodded. "Your aunt is a wonderful woman, Neville, you are very lucky."

"I know," Neville replied proudly. "There's no one like Sandrine."

They both turned to her. Sandrine was carrying a big tray loaded with sandwiches, offering some to the people across the room.

"Foie-gras, cheese, salami, chicken, sausage, tuna..." Sandrine said, lowering her tray so that Ginny and Dean could take a sandwich, but they both refused her offer politely, so she moved on to the next group of people.

Ginny and Dean had just greeted each other awkwardly when Sandrine had come to them with the food. When she left, they resumed their interrupted conversation.

"Dean, there is something I have to tell you..." Ginny said looking at the floor.

"Me too," Dean said.

"Oh! You first, then," Ginny offered hopefully. She didn't really know how to tell Dean she was going out with someone else, but she really had to, because Benjamin would be there soon, and Benjamin would probably think it strange if Dean were to be following Ginny around the whole evening. Why did she have to tell Benjamin she didn't have a boyfriend?

"No, no, ladies first," Dean insisted.

"That's chauvinistic, Dean, you first," Ginny tried to convince him.

"No way, you said it first," Dean replied stubbornly.

Ginny sighed. Ok, then, the sooner she told him, the better. "Dean, I've... met someone else..." Ginny said, changing the weight of her small body from one foot to the other nervously.

"Oh!" Dean was speechless.

"I'm sorry, Dean..."

"No, no," Dean said smiling, "I must admit I'm shocked, but that's ok."

"Really?" Ginny was very relieved that he was taking it so well.

"Yeah," Dean said, "in fact... I've met someone else too. That's what I wanted to tell you."

"Oh!" Now it was Ginny's turn to be speechless. "Do I know her?" She asked curiously.

"No, she is a neighbour, a muggle."

"Oh, ok," Ginny said, grinning like mad.

"What about you?" Dean asked. "Do I know him?"

"No, not yet," Ginny said.

"But I will?" He asked.

Ginny nodded. "He is staying here too for the summer. I met him at St. Mungo's, I'm following a training program there to become a healer."

"Cool!" Dean said. "I'm happy for you, you were always saying you wanted to become a healer when you left Hogwarts."

"Yes, it's very exciting, Dean, I..." Before getting carried away by her enthusiasm with the training, Ginny thought she should ask Dean a little favour.

"What?" Dean asked, wondering why she had stopped mid-sentence.

"I have to ask you a favour, Dean," Ginny said, biting her lower lip nervously.

"Sure," Dean said shrugging.

"It's that... Well, I actually have to ask you two favours," Ginny admitted.

"Ok, shoot," Dean said laughing.

"First of all, only Cho, Hermione and you know that I'm going out with this guy, Benjamin."

"No problem, my lips are sealed," Dean promised. "What else?"

"I haven't told Benjamin that I had gone out with other guys before..."

"Right," Dean said, "and so you want me to shut up about our short relationship," he guessed.

Ginny nodded awkwardly.

"No problem, Gin," Dean said, "it's not as if we've been together for that long anyway, is it? What about Michael Corner, though?"

"Oh, well, Cho knows about Benjamin and me, because she is doing the training at St. Mungo's too, and she will try to cope Michael's attention for the evening. They are not together anymore, but Cho thinks she might be able to get him interested in her long enough. I don't think he will have the cheek to come back to me after flirting with her in front of everybody."

Ginny and Dean turned to look at Cho. She was indeed talking with Michael Corner on the other side of the room. She winked at Ginny, and then went back nodding at whatever nonsense the boy was telling her.

Someone else was looking at Cho too. Harry had lost track of the conversation long ago. Most of the members of Dumbledore's Army had congregated around Ron, Hermione and himself, and Ron was telling them how his family had been attacked during the summer and how they had narrowly escaped. Harry knew it all already, so he had been scanning the room, until he had seen Cho talking to Michael Corner. Ginny had told them they weren't together anymore, but it looked as if they might give it another try, because Cho seemed very interested in whatever Michael had to say. Harry felt a pang of jealousy. He wanted to think he was over Cho, but he had to admit it was probably too soon yet. He had fancied her for too long. And she was looking beautiful today in her red mini and her white T-shirt.

Hermione was scanning the room too, she knew already all about the attack on the Burrow. A tall albino girl leaning on the wall alone caught her attention. She had met Anastasia Zucchini in St. Mungo's the night of the Death Eaters' attacks, they had been both working under Professor Snape's supervision, preparing some potions. She refilled her glass with juice and went over to her.

"Hi! Remember me? We met in St. Mungo's," she said.

"Hermione Granger," Anastasia said smiling, "nice to see you again. You were part of that 'Dumbledore's Army' I've heard about?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "are you going to stay with us during the summer?"

Anastasia nodded. "My mother is still in St. Mungo's," Hermione looked worried, so she added: "she is much better now, but the healers want to keep an eye on her for a while. It's good for her too, she's catching up with her hobbies, she has never much time when she is working." Anastasia paused for a moment. "She was very happy when I got Professor Lupin's owl, you know. She couldn't sleep thinking I was alone at home."

"Of course," Hermione said, and tried to lighten the mood of their conversation a bit. "It will be fun, you'll see. Harry and Sirius have been helping Professor Lupin prepare the classes. Harry says it's going to be a kind of duelling club, but a real one, not like the duelling club Lockhart organised years ago. Were you there?"

"Oh, yes," Anastasia said laughing and rolling her eyes, and both girls went on talking about that 'inspiring' session for a while.

Someone else had noticed Anastasia too. Fred and George had been talking to Lee about their new inventions, but George hadn't been listening to them for a while. He had had a crush on Anastasia Zucchini since their third year, but she had soon started to date Flint, and George had never got the chance to say a word to her apart from 'Could you please pass another Bouncing Bulb?' in Herbology, where the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs were together. But now Flint was dead... George looked longingly at Anastasia's face and steeled himself, he would talk to her this time, it was too much to ask that life would throw them together again any time soon. Now they were both out of school and who knows when they would meet again? He had five weeks to get her attention, and George promised himself this time he would.

George turned his attention back to Fred's words when his mother joined Anastasia and Hermione with a jar full of juice, offering to replenish their empty glasses. Mrs. Weasley moved then over to Neville, who was now talking animatedly with Remus Lupin.

"Any more juice?" She offered.

Lupin and Neville thanked her but shook their heads and showed her their butterbeers. Molly left them to their talking.

"I really hope you come back, Professor," Neville was saying, absolutely amazed that he had found the courage to tell his old professor that.

Lupin smiled, remembering what Sandrine had told him about Neville missing his classes. "I probably will," Remus admitted shrugging, "everybody seems to be convinced I should. Who am I to disappoint so many people? But I still have a couple of days to give the Headmaster my answer, and I'm planning to make the most of them. I want to see too how tomorrow's class goes."

"We are starting tomorrow then?" Neville asked gleefully.

"Yes, but it will be a light class, just to test your skills and see what we should practice more," Lupin explained. "Will you be able to be there? Ginny told me you are on the training program at St. Mungo's," he said.

"Yes, but Mrs. Santos decided we could take the rest of the month off, so that we wouldn't miss your first lessons. We'll go on with the training the 1st of August."

"Mmmm! So I have you all at my disposition for a whole week... interesting!" Lupin said lifting his eyebrows before taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"What's so interesting?" Sandrine asked, coming between them to offer them some sandwiches. Neville took two, and so did Lupin.

"Neville just told me I have them all for a whole week. Pity nobody told me before so I could reschedule the classes, but I still have time to do it tonight." Lupin added as an afterthought.

"Mrs. Santos just told me before leaving, I think it was a last minute decision. Nobody thought in telling her we would be attending your classes too." Neville explained guiltily.

"That's ok, Neville, I was joking," Lupin assured him. "But I really think it's a good thing, because we can have double sessions this week, one in the morning and another one in the afternoon. I'll think about it and we can talk it over tomorrow at breakfast."

Neville nodded.

"Beware of Neville this year, Remus," Sandrine said in a mysterious tone. "He's got a new wand now."

Lupin turned to Neville.

"My old wand broke the night we were in the Ministry. Well, it wasn't really mine. It was my father's. Grandma wasn't too happy when I told her I had broken it."

Lupin and Sandrine exchanged understanding glances while Neville was lost in thought, looking at the floor. He then took a huge bite of the two sandwiches he had taken from Sandrine's tray.

"Neville!" Sandrine scolded him. Neville turned a bit red, but then Lupin took a bite of his two sandwiches too.

Sandrine rolled her eyes. "And here was I encouraging you to go back to Hogwarts. Maybe you are a bad influence after all, Professor Lupin," she said, shaking her head in disbelieve.

Neither Neville nor Lupin could answer her, though, because they were still munching their food, trying hard not to choke.

Sandrine sighed. "Any more sandwiches? You might as well take some reserves now I'm here..."

Neville and Lupin looked at the almost full tray and then at each other.

"Poor Sandrine, carrying that heavy tray around the room all of the time," Lupin said with a worried face, "just leave it here, we'll take care of it."

Sandrine looked speechless for a moment, and Neville and Lupin laughed openly at her. She narrowed her eyes and lifted her nose up in the air.

"Very well, but I must warn you there is banana and chocolate cake for dessert," she told them.

Neville's and Lupin's eyes rounded in delight. "Auntie Sandrine's banana and chocolate cake is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life," Neville told Lupin.

"So you think we should leave some sandwiches in the tray?" Lupin asked concerned.

Neville thought for a moment: "Neeee," he finally said, "I'm sure we can finish it all."

Sandrine shook her head again in exasperation and left the tray suspended in mid-air between the two of them before striding purposefully to where Yamiko stood, making some more sandwiches.

***

When the adults had finally gone to bed, Dumbledore's Army reunited again silently in the bedroom that Harry, Ron, and now Neville, shared.

Angelina Johnson was the first to speak. "All right, you've told us all about the attacks during the summer, but what about those ashanriis, eh? You can't imagine our surprise when they told us what they were. We all -or almost all- had heard before about ashanriis, but we had no idea they really existed. How are they? Are they going to help us defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"I think you mean Voldemort," Harry said pointedly, and there was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

"Yes, yes," Angelina said, "Vol... Voldemort," she added with great effort, and then looked around nervously, as if expecting the dark wizard to materialise in the room any moment.

Hermione tried to explain as best as she could what they had learned so far. When she finished, some people looked a little bit lost.

"Let me get this straight," Seamus Finnigan said from Ron's right, "the ashanriis are magical beings, right? They are something in between a normal witch and a fairy." Hermione nodded. "There are different castes of ashanrii, but only three of them are really powerful," Seamus recited, "fuocciris, jilguereis and... and..."

"Dansarines," Neville finished for him, "the three main castes are fuocciris, jilguereis and dansarines. My aunt Sandrine is a dansarine." Neville went on saying.

"That's the blonde one, right?" Dean asked.

"Yes, that's Sandrine," Neville confirmed. "Then the other woman you've met today, Yamiko, she is a fuocciri. The fuocciris are the Guardians of the Fire. Fire is their main weapon, and most of them can turn into dragons, probably because dragons breath fire, I'm not sure."

"And Yamiko has a younger sister then?" Cho asked.

"Yes," Harry replied, "her younger sister is called Samako. They look very much alike, but you'll be able to tell one from the other easily, because Samako, the youngest, has short hair, and she is taller too."

"Hermione mentioned a mermaid too," Parvati said thinking hard.

"Yes, her name is Sha-adi," George explained, "you'll probably meet her soon, she comes and goes quite a bit. She has long green curly hair, and she is very beautiful too. And she is a jilguerei. The jilguereis are the singing ashanriis."

"Right, and you said Sha-adi the mermaid had an older sister, Amanda," Luna said.

"Yes, Amanda is a jilguerei too," Neville said," she has long dark hair and very strange blue eyes. It's as if their hue changed sometimes. Amanda is Professor McGonagall's niece."

"How do you know all that?" Hermione asked a little bit put off. "We haven't met her yet. We know of her only what we have heard from Sirius."

"I've met them all before," Neville explained shrugging.

"What?" Fred asked impressed. "You knew them already?"

"Well, yes," Neville said, "I've stayed sometimes with Aunt Sandrine during the summer. She shares a flat with Amanda, Sha-adi and the boys, and sometimes the Sams, Yamiko and Samako, were there too, on holidays."

"And what about the boys?" Lavender asked. "They look quite good," she said, and all the girls in the room save Hermione started to giggle, to the boys' annoyance.

"Edvard is the oldest one," Ron explained, "he must be around Sirius' age. He is Sandrine's cousin. He is a werewolf too, like Professor Lupin, and he teaches DADA at Beauxbatons."

"Then there is Michel," Harry said, "he is the blonde one. He must be around Percy Weasley's age. He is Sandrine's brother and thus, Edvard's cousin. He is a healer, but he is actually working on researching a cure for lycanthropy."

"Benjamin is helping him," Ginny added. "He is the brother of Amanda and Sha-adi. He works as a healer at St. Mungo's, he is tutoring Neville during the summer too. And he was in my brother Percy's year at Hogwarts, so they are the same age. And although Benjamin is Professor McGonagall's nephew, he was in Slytherin, but he is ok, really."

"Yes, he is," Neville, Cho and Susan Bones said at the same time.

Everybody laughed.

"Shhhh" Harry hushed them. "You are going to wake up everybody."

"And what do the girls do for a living?" Katie Bell asked.

"Sandrine works as a muggle nurse in a muggle children hospital," Hermione said. "Yamiko is a fuocciri teacher in the Fire Castle, but she is on holidays now. Her younger sister, Samako, teaches Egyptology in a muggle university in the USA. Sha-adi has her own kindergarten, and Amanda works in a muggle lab."

"I wonder how they met," Susan Bones said. "I mean, they are from different countries, from different ashanrii castes, they aren't even the same age... It's not as if they could have met at school, is it?"

They all thought for a moment.

"Yamiko told us once that the ashanriis travel a lot around the world. Maybe they met on the beach during the holidays or something," Harry joked, and there was some scattered laughter again.

After a while, Lee Jordan asked what they all wanted to know:

"And what about us? We are here to take Lupin's classes, but... do you have any other plans? Is there anything we could do to help defeat... Voldemort," Lee said, and smiled triumphantly because he had been able to utter the Dark Lord's name.

The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "We haven't really been doing anything," Ron said shrugging. "I mean, we haven't had much time, after being attacked and all that... we've just tried to enjoy our holidays for a change."

"Ok," Luna said, "but now we are here, we can think about something. We are Dumbledore's Army, aren't we? We are not going to sit and wait until Voldemort strikes again."

Harry could feel everybody looking at him, waiting for a reply. "I don't really know what we could do," Harry said shaking his head. "I don't think we are ready to fight on our own yet," he admitted, "I think the best thing we could do is try to learn as much as possible during Lupin's classes and maybe research some hexes on our own. Some healing charms wouldn't come amiss either." He looked at Ginny.

"We could teach you all some healing charms, if you want," Ginny said, "Neville, Susan, Cho and me, we've learned lots in less than a month."

Neville, Susan and Cho nodded to show their agreement.

"That would be perfect," Harry said. "Now I think we should all go to bed. I've been helping Professor Lupin prepare the classes, and I can tell you you're going to need all the rest you can get tonight."

There was an excited murmur around the room. Dumbledore's Army was ready to fight.

***

Although he had been the one to send everybody to bed, Harry couldn't sleep. He had probably eaten too much. He had had trouble finishing the third helping of Sandrine's delicious cake, but he still hoped there would be some left for breakfast. He went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. He thought everybody would be sleeping, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

Through the kitchen's open window, Harry could hear whispering voices in the backyard, and then silence once more. Naturally curious, he tiptoed to the window and leaned over to see who could be outside so late at night. He took a step backwards immediately when his curiosity was sated, Ginny and Benjamin were outside, and it looked like they wouldn't be talking again any time soon, their mouths were quite busy at the moment. Harry shook his head in disbelief. Weren't Ginny and Dean together? Well, it was none of his business anyway, so he'd better just drink the water and go back to bed.

He walked slowly upstairs, with his hands in the pockets of his pyjama, wondering why everybody was so lucky but him. Ron had Hermione, Ginny had Benjamin -and Dean!-, Cho had Michael Corner. Why couldn't he find someone too? Of course, maybe it was better this way. He was going to die soon anyway. There was no way he was going to defeat Voldemort.

When he reached his bedroom, Harry didn't feel like sleeping anymore, so he went on walking until he reached the small trap to go to the roof. Harry opened it and felt the cool air of the night caress his face. He jumped a bit and climbed to the roof. He stepped carefully on the gables and went to sit on the border of the roof with his arms around his bent legs and his chin resting on his knees.

The fields looked quiet, and in the distance he could see the few lights of Samrai, the small village they had visited that morning. What a day! In the morning they had met Bantu, and in the evening Harry had seen Cho again. Maybe Sandrine's cake wasn't responsible after all for his lack of sleep. And since Dumbledore had told him about the prophecy, Harry had been carrying around a heavy responsibility too. He wanted to talk to Sirius and Professor Lupin about it, but he hadn't found the moment. He could have told Ron and Hermione, but he didn't want to worry them even more. Let them be happy for a while. They worried enough about him already.

The gables creaked behind him, and Harry turned around quickly, immediately regretting not having taken his wand with him. When was he going to learn? But it was only one of Yamiko's dragons, looking at him with its head to one side, as if studying him.

The dragon didn't look aggressive. "Good evening," Harry said tentatively. To his surprise, the next moment the dragon had disappeared and Yamiko stood in its place.

"Good morning," Yamiko said smiling. Harry thought she was probably right, it wasn't so dark anymore, the new day was approaching.

Yamiko walked carefully down the roof and sat beside Harry, resting her chin on her bent knees as Harry had done a moment ago. She stared at the tiny lights of the far away village, but didn't say a word.

"I couldn't sleep," Harry finally said, looking at her profile.

Yamiko smiled, still looking at the horizon, and said: "Me neither."

Harry bit his lips nervously. "Is it... is it because of Bantu?" He asked.

"Yes," Yamiko said.

"What was that about... about the Chosen Five and the Greatest Ashanrii of All Times, and...?" Harry didn't dare go on, he wasn't sure if Yamiko knew he, Ron, Hermione and some others were supposed to help the Chosen Five.

Yamiko didn't speak for a while, then she unbent her legs and let them hung out of the roof while she grabbed the gables with her hands. She kept her eyes fixed on the distance, as if looking at Harry was too difficult for her, and then she told Harry a very long, long tale:

"Many years ago, there was a very wise old fuocciri who could predict the future. She is known as the Great Prophetess. All of her predictions have come true through the centuries... save one.

"She prophesised that in the twentieth century, when the Second Wizarding World War started, two of the three most powerful ashanrii castes would fall: the jilguereis and the dansarines, because their Princesses would be killed.

"During the Second Wizarding World War in this century, the first one against Voldemort, the Princess of the dansarines was indeed killed. The dansarines were one of the three most powerful castes of the ashanrii. It was a big blow to all of us to loose them. Because without a Princess, the surviving dansarines won't be able to pass their magic to the future generations. Which means, when the dansarines now alive die, their magic will die with them forever.

"This Prophetess, her name doesn't matter, had predicted too the death of the Princess of the jilguereis. And that was the first of her predictions that hasn't come true, because although the Princess of the jilguereis at the time was killed, she had given birth to a girl some weeks before that, and that baby survived, saving with her the magic of the jilguereis.

"There is another prophecy from this woman, one that says the ashanriis will be erased from the face of the Earth, killed one by one by their enemies, before the Third Wizarding World War of the twentieth century ends. Now that war is about to start, and many people fear our death is imminent. That's the reason nobody wants to take sides, no one wants to anger Voldemort, because they hope he will ignore our people, and we will survive."

Yamiko paused for a moment.

Harry was feeling a knot in his stomach. "What about Bantu?" Harry asked. "What about the Chosen Five?"

Harry thought for a moment that Yamiko hadn't heard him, because she hadn't even blinked at his question, but he was wrong, because she answered him:

"Shortly before the first war against Voldemort began, Bantu came to the Fire Castle and begged to be received by Princess Yokiro's mother, who was the fuocciri Princess back then. My mother, as one of the most important fuocciri soldiers, was always present in the Throne Room when the Princess received visitors. My mother described Bantu to me as an old woman who walked tremulously up to the throne, bowed, and then sat on the floor respectfully, but who spoke with total authority and security, not wavering once in her discourse, her strange colourless eyeballs looking defiantly at them all.

"Bantu told them she had had a vision. She told them the Princess of the dansarines would indeed be killed soon, but the Princess of the jilguereis would survive the war. Nobody believed her at the time, because that contradicted what the Great Prophetess had predicted all those centuries ago, and nobody dared doubt her word, since until then all her prophecies had come true through the centuries.

"But it turned out that Bantu was right. When the war ended, Bantu disappeared as suddenly as she had come into our lives, and nobody heard from her again in a very long time.

"But then, one day, some fifteen years ago, I was walking in Samrai, when I saw an old woman sitting on a corner of the market square with her head bowed. Her clothes were dirty and ragged, and she was begging for food. I took pity on her, and gave her a basket full of food. Then she lifted her head to me, and I saw her eyes, and I knew instantly it was her. Bantu was back.

"She begged me to accompany her to her house, the one you where in, because she said she couldn't carry the basket on her own. I agreed, and followed her, although in my heart I had the feeling I shouldn't do it.

"When we reached her door, she didn't stop, but went inside, so I followed her with the food. I looked around nervously, and then I looked at Bantu again. She was sitting at her table, like yesterday when I found you there, and suddenly she didn't look to me like a poor old woman anymore. I could feel her power, she might be old, but she was still very strong.

"She asked me to sit down and I couldn't reject. It was as if I was hypnotised. And then she told me. She told me that the ashanriis had still a chance to survive. She told me that, when the Third Wizarding World War of the twentieth century started, there would be five ashanriis that would rebel against their Princesses and refuse to remain neutral. Those five women would give their lives to save the one person the Dark Lord most wanted in the world. And then... then the most incredible thing would happen. An ashanrii would be born some time later, and she would be so powerful that while she lived all the ashanriis would leave in peace and darkness wouldn't stand a chance.

"But this powerful ashanrii, though only a baby, would realise that power is nothing without knowledge, and thus she would rescue the five rebels from the death, because only they had been clever enough to realise darkness wouldn't fade away unless they fought it. The five rebels would be her teachers."

Yamiko was silent once more.

"So those five rebels..." Harry said, "they are the Chosen Five, aren't they?"

Yamiko turned to look at him for the first time, and Harry was surprised by the power emanating from her black eyes.

"Yes, they are the Chosen Five."

"And why did Bantu tell you and not the Princess?" Harry asked, but suddenly he didn't need to hear the answer, because he already knew it.

"Wait," he said, "you are one of them, aren't you?"

Yamiko smiled sadly at him, and then turned again to the horizon before going on with her story.

"When Bantu told me all of this, I wondered too why she hadn't gone to the Fire Castle again to talk to the Princess. Why was she telling me?

"And then she took my hand in hers and looked at the lines on it," Yamiko said, taking her left hand from the gables and lifting it to look at it as if seeing the lines there for the first time.

"She said I am one of the Chosen Five. My sister Samako is another one. She didn't know who the other three were, but she knew they are not fuocciris."

"And you are scared because you are both going to die?" Harry asked softly.

"No," Yamiko answered shaking her long black mane, "I'm sorry to know that my younger sister has to die, I'm sorry to know that I'm going to die and my sons will be alone, but I'm not scared of that. If with my life I can save the ashanriis, then my life couldn't end for a better cause. No, that's not the reason.

There was a very long pause, and Harry wondered if Yamiko would ever tell him what she was scared of. What could be worse than knowing your sister and yourself were going to die? Yamiko did indeed tell him:

"I'm scared because of something Bantu told me.

"She told me, the Chosen Five would die, because one of them would fail the others.

"She said I was that one."

Harry didn't know what to say, and before he could speak, Yamiko had gone on:

"I've spent the last fifteen years of my life doing everything I could to avoid that day from coming. The day I would fail my friends, but... everything seems to have been fruitless. Bantu insists I will, in the end, fail them.

"Since the day Bantu spoke to me for the first time, I've avoided her as much as I could. I always bring her food, because I don't want her to die of hunger either, but I've never talked to her again. I even forbade her to speak about this to other people. But you saw yesterday she doesn't respect my orders much."

"Does your sister know?"

"Yes. They all do," Yamiko said.

"They all?" Harry asked puzzled.

Yamiko turned to look at him once more. "Harry," she said, "Bantu doesn't know who the other three Chosen are, but I do. I've known it from the beginning."

Harry's eyes rounded in surprise and sudden understanding. "Sandrine..." he whispered.

Yamiko nodded. "Yes, Harry. Sandrine, Sha-adi, and her sister Amanda. They all will die... because of me."

*****

Thanks for the reviews!

Thanks all for reading and reviewing!

Sorry it took me so long to update this time. :-(

In this chapter I've tried to present again the main ashanriis in the small meeting Dumbledore's Army celebrates in Harry's room. Let me know if it has helped you understand the story or if you still have doubts or questions about my characters. And I hope you understood Yamiko's story about the Chosen Five, because it's very important.

In the following chapter we'll go back once more to Malfoy Manor.

Kadi Rilla Wholi: I can't tell much about Amanda's mother yet, but let's say she fell in love with the wrong man, realised her mistake in time, and tried to correct it, but in doing so, she had to sacrifice herself.

hermionegreen: Amanda wanted to believe at first that Snape was Dumbledore's spy, but at the end she thought she had been wrong, because she realises he wasn't spying on Lucius, but searching for some information to help him, and Caesar and the others behave as if they already knew he was there -which they did. So now she thinks he is a bad guy.

LyssasPen: As you can see, in this chapter we have gone back to Harry & Co. My intention is to alternate chapters between Yamiko's house and Malfoy Manor, until Amanda leaves the Malfoys, but as the rest of the story is not written yet, I can't tell for sure.

Katiekins: I don't think so, but let's see. ;-)

dweem-angel: Sorry, it took me longer to update than usually. I hope the chapter was worth the wait. ;-)

PaigeGirl-nee: Thanks! Here it is. ;-)

shadowycat: Thanks for taking the time to review several chapters at once. Yes, my muse has been hyperproductive lately. :D Thanks for your encouraging words too, I'm really glad you like my story.

BBOO: What makes you think Amanda would make Sirius happy? Be careful with what you wish, you could not like it when it comes true... :D

Lupin: I'm glad you liked this chapter. There will be more fighting soon. You don't expect me to write my age here, do you?! :D You can check my profile, you'll find it there. ;-) And thanks for recommending my fic!

Lily Skylo: I don't think the chapter turned out to be as funny as I had in mind, but there are some funny bits -I hope. ;-)

Mad-Eye Moody: Thanks very much! I hope this chapter helped you to differentiate my girls better. Yamiko is so respected because she belongs to a very ancient fuocciri family. All of her ancestors have been brave warriors and have saved many lives, that's why people are so thankful. She teaches a bit of everything: charms, potions, duelling -not only magically, but also with weapons-, and also muggle subjects, like music, history and so on.

Starfire: Appearances can be deceiving... Let's see what happens in later chapters...

Meher: Thanks! It was really hard to write. I'm glad the effort was worth it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. ;-)