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.
Four Birthdays And A Full Moon
Sandrine smiled to herself as she walked back to Yamiko's house after a very well used shopping afternoon. She had told everybody that she had to go to work, but the truth was that the hospital owed her some days, because she had been working extra time during the last weeks. So she had really started her summer holidays a couple of days ago, and had used the time to buy presents and arrange surprises for the lots of birthday parties they would be celebrating this year.
Sandrine loved surprises. Even as a child she had never asked Father Christmas for presents, she preferred the old fat man to bring her whatever he thought would please her, and he usually made the right choice.
In her magical handbag, she had hidden not only Neville's and Harry's presents, but also Edvard's and Sirius', all of them reduced in size and weight. She had even found already something for Amanda, and her birthday wasn't until the end of August. She had also bought lots of sweets and chocolates for everybody, and was trying to decide whether their new friends would prefer a strawberry birthday-cake or a vanilla one when the soft rustle of the rice fields caught her attention. She turned right in a flash, her hands grabbing instinctively her handbag, as if it could protect her from harm. Her green eyes scanned the greenness, but there was nothing. And yet, the shoots had moved, and there was no wind at all.
Slowly, she turned again and started walking a little bit faster, trying not to turn back every few paces, wondering what kind of animal could be lurking so close to an often transited road. Transited, yes, and now completely empty save for herself. And nobody knew she was there, nobody was expecting her, and if something happened to her, nobody would miss her until a couple of days afterwards.
Sandrine closed her eyes for a second, her feet still walking very fast, barely touching the ground, not running yet though. She tried to forget those gruesome thoughts and concentrated instead in the birthday-cakes, trying to calm herself down. Maybe she should bake two cakes, and then everybody would like at least one of them. Yes, that's what she would do.
The noise came again. This time there was no mistaking it. Something or someone was hiding behind the high rice fields, following her, probably waiting for the right place or the right moment to attack her. Sandrine stopped, and looked around: no one in sight. How lucky!
She cleared her throat and steeled herself:
"Who's there?" she shouted.
No one answered, but the leaves moved again, almost in front of her.
"Who's there? Come out! I'm a dansarine, you don't scare me!" Sandrine thought that if there was a tiger or a bear behind those leaves, they wouldn't understand her and wouldn't mind if she was a dansarine or a muggle. But if her hunter would come out, at least she would know how to best defend herself. Should she transform? Into which animal? A phoenix, to fly away? What if the enemy was a dark wizard and blasted her with a wand? She had to be sure. She couldn't make a decision without knowing who or what she was facing.
"Come out, I say!" She shrieked, and regretted it immediately, because in front of her stood the thing that embodied all of her nightmares, and she knew what it wanted.
"I'm not the one you are looking for! I'm not her! Go away! Leave me alone!" She shrieked, and then transformed into a pegasus and flew away as fast as she could.
***
Amanda was working in the library of the Malfoys for a while. Since Severus and her had become lovers, she hadn't had much time for working, and she had to deliver something to her boss soon or she would be in trouble.
She decided it was time for a little break, and went to the kitchen. The house-elves greeted her politely and she smiled at them. They knew she liked making her own tea or coffee now and then, and thus didn't feel sad when they saw her start preparing a teapot. Instead they just went back to their other chores, until the loud crash made them turn.
The young Miss was on her knees, holding her left wrist with her right hand, and the green teapot that had been in the family for centuries was a little mount of cracked china. They hurried to her side.
"Is Miss hurt? Is Miss ill?" A worried elf asked.
Amanda swallowed and tried to sound reassuring. "No, no, I'm fine." She bit her lips and looked at the mess in the floor. "Sorry about the teapot."
"No, no, Miss must not be sorry. Miss must rest."
"I can't. Not now." Amanda said, as she stood resolutely, knowing what she had to do. She ran upstairs to her room, scribbled a fast note for Severus and another one for Narcissa, left both of them in the appropriate places, took a jacket and left the house as an eagle, flying faster than the wind itself.
***
"...so you have to be ready to jump, did you understand me Neville? Neville?" Lupin asked again, and then followed Neville's eyes, that seemed to be glued to a point in the sky.
Everybody looked up for a moment and stared as the beautiful pegasus almost lost balance when landing but managed to stand. Then they all gasped when the flying horse disappeared and a very shaky Sandrine stood in its place. She didn't even notice the people looking at her, but ran into Yamiko's house screaming her friend's name.
"Auntie Sandrine!" Neville cried, and started running after her, but Lupin caught him mid-step.
"Stay here, Neville," he said in a calm firm voice, and then, in a louder tone, added: "Everybody stay here. Harry, take my place and go on with the class. I'll be back in a moment."
Remus walked into the house and went straight to the kitchen, where he knew Yamiko was. He stopped in the doorway. Sandrine was crying in Yamiko's arms. Her friend looked very pale, too, and was caressing her hair, trying to calm her down.
"We'll have to talk with Amanda..." Yamiko started to say, but she hadn't even finished the sentence when Amanda herself appeared beside her.
"What happened?"
Before Yamiko or Sandrine could answer her, there was another interruption as Sha-adi and Samako appeared beside them too, looking worried.
"Sandrine!" Sha-adi exclaimed, and kneeled at her friend's side.
"She's ok," Yamiko finally said. Samako and Amanda let out their breaths, and waited for a better explanation.
"The time has come. Sandrine will have to fulfil her role soon. White Shadow has come to her today."
"But why?" Sha-adi asked, lifting her eyes to Yamiko while still holding Sandrine's hands in hers. "I'm sure there are a lot of dansarines out there that would willingly do it, why must it be her?"
"Sha-adi, you know why. Not everybody can bear the burden of the gift," Yamiko said patiently.
"Exactly!" her sister shouted in anger. "Only those who are born with it are to bear it, and Sandrine wasn't, so there must be a way out of this mess."
Yamiko was going to retaliate, but Amanda made them hush, and they immediately saw why: Remus Lupin was standing in the doorway, listening to everything they were saying.
Lupin had been listening transfixed, not knowing what was going on, but not liking the scene in front of him, and specially not liking Sandrine's tearstained face. Realising the girls' attention was on himself, he stepped forward:
"We saw Sandrine arrive, and I came in to see if she was ok and if I could help in any way."
"Thank you, Remus, you are very kind," Yamiko said, but Remus noticed he wasn't welcome, there was hostility in everybody's eyes, and he was surprised, because he hadn't realised he was doing something wrong.
"And you can be helpful too," Amanda added, trying to smile. "Sandrine has suffered a shock, and she must rest. Please, take her to her room and make her drink this," she said, and gave Remus a small vial full of white liquid that she took off the hem of her robes.
Lupin took the vial as if in a dream, and then took Sandrine in his arms and carried her upstairs. He could feel the stares of the four girls following his steps. Sandrine let him carry her, but didn't look at him nor said a word.
Lupin opened the door to Sandrine's room with his foot and let her lying on her bed. She moved for the first time and tried to dry her tears with her fingers. Lupin conjured up a handkerchief for her and busied himself uncorking the vial.
"Thanks," Sandrine said softly as he handed her the potion, and then swallowed the contents in one gulp. She laid her head again on the pillows and Lupin took her shoes off. She smiled at him, her eyes already sleepy, and signalled to a chair in front of a dressing table.
"Stay with me?" She asked feebly.
Remus nodded and smiled back at her. He moved the chair to the bedside and sat down, taking one of her hands in his.
"Try to get some sleep, I'll watch over you," Lupin said reassuringly.
And while Sandrine slept, Remus Lupin searched in vain in his head for an explanation, wondering who or what 'White Shadow' was.
***
There was a cool breeze coming in through the window, but it was still very hot. Ron's soft snores didn't help Harry sleep, so he finally decided to get outside, maybe back to the roof, where he had talked with Yamiko all those days ago. Maybe he would find her there again and at least would be able to talk to someone.
As Harry stepped onto the gables, he saw there was someone on the edge of the roof. He approached his sleepless friend and took a sit.
"Not able to sleep?" Harry asked.
"No," Neville said shrugging. "I'm not the only one, I see," he added with a smile.
Harry smiled back. "You know what?"
Neville shook his head.
"I've just realised I'm always awake the night of my birthday. I don't know why, but if I remember it right, I'm always awake at midnight." He turned to Neville. "What about you?"
"No," Neville said shaking his head again, "I usually sleep like a log until noon. It's the only day my grandma lets me sleep until late. But today..."
"You are worried about Sandrine?" Harry finished the sentence for him.
"Yes," Neville said sadly, "she is the only person who cares for me that still recognises me. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. I couldn't stand it."
"But she was ok this evening," Harry tried to reassure his friend. "You saw her chatting with Mrs. Weasley and Tonks. And Sirius talked to her too, and he said she looked fine."
"I know. It's just... not knowing what happened this morning. Why did she look so scared?"
Harry didn't answer. Instead, he looked to the stars in the sky, not really trying to read them, just enjoying their beauty.
They remained in silence for a while, until the distant sound of a bell broke the silence of the night.
"One..." Harry started counting.
"Two..." Neville counted with him.
"Three..." Harry felt like a very small child.
"Four..." Neville forgot all of his worries for a moment.
"Five..." They looked at each other and laughed.
"Six..." They laughed again.
"Seven..." Only five left!
"Eight..." They couldn't stop laughing.
"Nein..." Three left!
"Ten..." Harry was glad to have a friend at his side for a change.
"Eleven..." Neville thought he should probably try to stay awake the following year.
"Twelve!" They both laughed once more and then embraced each other.
"Happy Birthday, Harry!"
"Happy Birthday, Neville!"
"Shall we go to the kitchen and have a quick snack to celebrate our birthdays?" Neville suggested.
"Now you are reading my mind," Harry joked. "Let's go."
They went back into the house and down the stairs. Both houses, Black Manor and the Sams' house, were silent and dark, and the boys tiptoed, trying not to wake the others.
In the corridor leading to the Sams' kitchen, Harry thought he heard something, and stopped Neville, who turned surprised.
"Did you hear something?" Harry whispered.
"Yes," Neville replied innocently, "I guess we are not the only ones who enjoy a midnight snack now and then," he said grinning.
Harry relaxed and let go of Neville's arm. He was getting paranoid. Neville was probably right. The house was full of people. It could be anyone. Still, he took his wand, not wanting to take risks.
They walked into the kitchen and Harry realised immediately that there was something wrong. Neville seemed to notice too, because he had stopped abruptly. Harry saw the shadow of a wand raised at them and quickly dived under the kitchen table, taking Neville down with him.
There was a thundering noise and the kitchen was suddenly illuminated in a bright light, serpentines falling to the floor. Harry and Neville looked at each other nonplussed, and then looked in front of them. Lots of familiar faces were looking at them, holding back laughter.
"Happy Birthday!" Everybody shouted.
"Oh, no!" Harry grunted in disbelieve, but he was really happy. Neville was laughing so hard that he couldn't get from under the table and the Weasley twins had to help him.
Tonks whistled, and the other girls followed her lead. Harry's cheeks turned so red that they looked like they would explode any moment. Everybody was dressed in their best robes, whereas Neville and himself were wearing their pyjamas, and Harry's weren't exactly new. At least he didn't have a belly, like Neville. His friend didn't seem to care, though, and was laughing alongside everybody else.
"You'd better get dressed, dear," Yamiko said in a very audible whisper, "I might not be able to hold all of the girls back for long," and she winked at him.
Harry flew from the room, Sirius' barking laughter following him upstairs.
A moment later, he was downstairs again, fully dressed and looking much better, although his hair had refused to stay down. Neville came soon after him, dressed too.
"You!" Harry said, pointing his finger menacingly at Ron, who hid behind Hermione. "I thought you were asleep, and you were faking your snores all of the time!"
"Sorry mate," Fred said, "we couldn't risk you falling asleep and spoiling your own party."
Harry was going to speak again, but Sandrine's voice interrupted him:
"The candles! They have to blow the candles!"
Harry turned around and gaped at the two giant birthday-cakes that were standing on the kitchen table. They looked delicious.
"Remember to make a wish," Hermione told them.
Harry and Neville concentrated for a moment, and at the count of three blew as hard as they could.
Everybody started kissing their cheeks or slapping their backs to congratulate them.
"Lucky you didn't jump onto the table, Harry," George said trying to look serious.
Harry was going to start complaining again about everybody getting around him to pull his leg like that, but once more Sandrine didn't let him finish:
"Strawberry or Vanilla?" She asked with a dish on one hand and a very big knife in the other.
"Er..."
"Right, both it is then," Sandrine decided.
Harry grinned. "Ok, then."
After eating as much cake as they wanted - Sandrine's cakes didn't seem to diminish - Samako turned on a muggle CD player and people started dancing immediately in the centre of the room, while tiny coffee tables and chairs appeared close to the walls.
In a corner of the kitchen, Parvati, Padma, Lavender and Ginny were talking about their hostesses' dresses.
"They seem to have so many clothes," Padma was saying.
"Yes, and jewels too!" Lavender added. "Look at Yamiko's bracelet, isn't it beautiful? It looks like crystal."
"It's not hers," Parvati said, "it's Sandrine's, I saw her wearing it the other day. They probably lend each other every single thing, they must have the same size more or less. And they are very good friends."
"Yes," Ginny said, "they've been friends since they were children, Benjamin told me. His sister Amanda, the girl that came for lunch, is the same age as Sandrine. Yamiko is some years older. Benjamin told me that, when they were children, Yamiko was like their mother, or their teacher more like. But then, with the years, the difference in age isn't so noticeable anymore and they are more like sisters."
"Indeed, nobody would say that Yamiko is older than Sandrine. They must be what, twenty something?" Lavender asked.
Ginny smiled. "More like thirty something."
"What?" Padma and Parvati exclaimed at the same time. "Impossible!"
"Well, Sandrine is not thirty yet, I think, but she is very close. And Yamiko is definitely over thirty. She is ten years older than her sister Samako, and I think Samako is twenty-two or twenty-three, like Sha-adi."
Their gossips were interrupted by Yamiko herself, who came to offer them more drinks and to ask them why they weren't dancing.
"Oh, we were just chatting a bit," Lavender said, and then added. "You look amazing, Yamiko, and your bracelet is very beautiful."
Yamiko looked at her wrist and smiled. "Yes, it's a friendship token," she said, and left the try with the drinks to show them better the jewel. Close up, it didn't look like crystal.
"What is it made of?" Parvati asked. "It looks so fragile."
"Well, it's a magical combination really, like a potion left to dry. It's made of blood, sea water, tears and laughter, and it was solidified with fire."
The four girls looked at Yamiko in awe. That was definitely dark magic. Yamiko looked at each of them and then started laughing. The girls relaxed and laughed too, it was obvious she had been joking. When Yamiko left, Ginny went with her to help her a bit, and Lavender and Padma went back to comment on the robes and the dresses that people wore, but Parvati remained silent, thinking over Yamiko's words: a friendship token made of blood, sea water, tears, laughter and fire. She had read something about that somewhere, but couldn't remember where, and probably never would, because at that moment Yamiko's twin brothers and Benjamin Ming came to take them to the dance floor.
***
The sun was rising in the sky. Most people had already gone to bed, but there were still many of them in the kitchen. In a corner, Sandrine was surrounded by many of the girls who had come for Lupin's classes. They were giggling like mad. Sandrine was telling them about spells and tricks the ashanriis used to seduce men.
"So you could catch the attention of any man you wanted?" Angelina asked amazed.
"Why do you ask?" Ginny asked her in turn. "I thought you were going out with my brother Fred."
Angelina blushed a bit. "Well, I am. But I wish it hadn't taken him so many years to ask me out on a date."
They all laughed.
"Ok, let her talk," Lavender interrupted. "Come on, Sandrine, show us, why don't you?"
"Show you?" Sandrine asked, almost spilling her first cup of coffee of the day.
"Yes, please, please!" The girls chorused.
Sandrine hushed them. "Not so loud!" she told them, "if they are on their guard, I won't be able to do it."
They all remained silent, and started scanning the room for possible victims of their little play.
"So?" Lavender insisted.
"Ok, ok!" Sandrine laughed, "I'm trying to decide who to try it with, I wouldn't like Mr. Fletcher fallen at my feet, you know."
The girls looked at Mundungus Fletcher, who looked very drunk and chose that very moment to burp in a very disgusting way.
"No, not Mundungus," Anastasia conceded.
"What about my father?" Ginny suggested with a wicked grin.
"You are evil!" Sandrine said outraged. "Anyway the charm I was thinking of doesn't affect men who are already in love with someone else."
They all turned to look and Mr. Weasley, chatting amiably with Sirius and Lupin at the other side of the room, and holding his wife's hand under the table.
The girls sighed.
Hermione turned to Sandrine, but she interrupted her: "No, no friends of yours, they are too young, thank you very much."
"Well, there is not much to choose from, is there?" Hannah said. "All there's left is Bill and Charlie Weasley, and by the looks of it, they are not available anymore."
The girls turned to their left to see what she meant. Out of the kitchen window, they could see the oldest Weasley boys chatting with Sha-adi and Samako, or to say the truth, Sha-adi and Samako were chatting, and the boys were looking at them adoringly.
"Oh, well, my brothers have been staying at Sha-adi's flat since Black Manor moved here. My parents didn't want them to stay alone in The Burrow, and it's very tiring to come and go everyday." Ginny explained.
But Sandrine wasn't listening. She wouldn't have considered the Weasleys a good choice anyway. If she was going to flirt with someone, at least let it be someone she found attractive, and that left only two options: Sirius and Professor Lupin. Sandrine wasn't sure about Professor Lupin. She found him very handsome, but she was afraid of hurting his feelings. As a werewolf, he probably hadn't had many love affairs. Sirius, on the other hand, was the typical male that would make many women faint, although the girls were probably too young to realise it. The fact was that Sandrine didn't feel as attracted by Sirius, probably because she had always had a thing for shy guys, and Lupin looked much more her type.
Thus, while the girls around her were trying to guess which of the Weasley brothers was interested in each of the ashanriis, Sandrine decided she would try to catch Sirius' attention. She concentrated on him, looked at him intently, and willed him to look at her, but to no effect.
Sandrine frowned. Was she maybe loosing her touch? No man had been able to resist her so far, with or without the use of the charm. She studied him for a moment, wondering if Sirius could be in love with someone. If he was, maybe he wasn't aware himself, because Sirius wasn't the type to keep his feelings a secret. And then... Sandrine had to cover her mouth with her hands to avoid being seen gaping like that without apparent reason, although there was a reason, and a very good one. Sirius had risen from his chair and had approached Yamiko, who had just come back downstairs after taking her yawning but complaining sons to bed. She looked tired, but she started clearing the kitchen nonetheless. And that's when Sirius had risen, leaving Lupin with the Weasleys, and had gone to help her. There was nothing wrong or suspicious in that, but there was something in the way that Sirius looked at Yamiko, the way he had risen immediately to help her... Sandrine was very willing to bet her head that the infamous Sirius Black was in love with her friend Yamiko.
She smiled to herself, and then concentrated again in her task. Ok, Sirius was out of the question, so there was only Lupin left. Arthur and Molly Weasley were finally going to bed, and Lupin was left alone at their table, drinking some tea and reading something. Sandrine studied him for a moment, and wrestled back a sigh. He was very attractive, very much. She concentrated hard, willing him to look at her. And then he did, and Sandrine's stomach did a back-flip and she blushed. She tried to look in another direction, but she couldn't. Her eyes were locked with Lupin's. He frowned a bit, but then smiled. This time it was Sandrine's heart that reacted and started beating like mad inside her chest. She was sure everybody could hear it too, it sounded like a drum.
Lupin averted his eyes, and Sandrine came out of the trance. She blinked a couple of times and looked back at Lupin. He was talking with Edvard, who, in seeing him alone, had come to sit with him. For a moment both men looked at her, Sandrine averted her eyes, although she knew it was obvious she had been looking at them. She tuned on on what the girls were saying.
"Oh, well, I guess there is no one worthy of trying it, then..." Cho was saying in a disappointed tone. Sandrine only smiled.
***
If anyone had asked him, Harry would have sworn that there was nothing better than having your friends give you a surprise birthday party, but he soon realised how wrong he was. Oh, yes. Because the very next day, he had discovered there was something definitely much much better: preparing a surprise birthday party for a friend of yours.
Sandrine and Yamiko had enrolled him in preparing Sirius and Edvard's party, which would take place only three days afterwards. They had something in their favour: if Sirius or Edvard had thought of a birthday party before, they would have discarded the idea by now. Nobody in their right mind celebrated two birthday parties one after the other. Edvard probably expected some presents. Sirius probably didn't.
And while everybody was busy conspiring behind Edvard's and Sirius' backs, Michel was frantic about the result of his latest alteration to the Wolfsbane Potion. This time, he had made two different batches: one for his cousin Edvard and the other one for Lupin. The next full moon would also add another difficulty to his tests, since it would be the first time that Petit Loup -the name Sandrine had given Edvard in wolf form, which meant Little Wolf- met Moony. Michel was a little bit worried about their reaction to each other. Two male wolfs in the same room might not be a very good idea after all.
The following evening, when the full moon rose in the sky, Michel prayed to all the gods that at least the wolfs wouldn't try to kill each other. Edvard and Lupin had just vanished, and Petit Loup and Moony where standing little by little, weak from the transformation, but deadly all the same. Sandrine, Yamiko and Sirius were standing next to Michel. They were in the backyard of the Sams' house, outside the crystal prison that Michel had conjured up to keep the wolves isolated.
Petit Loup seemed to recover first, and approached Moony to smell him. Moony did the same for a while, and then jumped onto Petit Loup. Outside the cage, the observers gasped, but relaxed again in seeing that Petit Loup and Moony weren't fighting, but playing like two puppies.
"Sirius, if you are ready..." Michel said.
Sirius nodded and transformed into Padfoot, then he went into the cage. Petit Loup waited in a corner, looking the big black dog up and down, but Moony ran to him as happy as a lark.
Yamiko, Sandrine and Michel smiled.
"Well, it seems there is no danger. We'd better get in and make ourselves comfortable. There's nothing we can do now until the sun rises and Edvard and Lupin can tell me if they noticed any difference during the transformation or not. Do you have everything we need?"
The girls nodded. Yamiko transformed into a black panther and took a big bag that had been lying at her feet. She went in and started taking things out of the bag with her mouth: three chessboards, a small red ball, some plastic bones...
Michel was next. He didn't transform at first, but moved about the cage laying dishes with fresh water and food for the wolves, and some plates of cookies for them all. As Petit Loup and Moony could keep their human minds after the transformation, there was no danger at all. Still, it didn't help in the list to tempt the wolves with some human meat, thus, when he finished preparing everything, Michel transformed into a Cocker Spaniel with long soft hair and trotted to where the others where standing, looking at... The Cocker Spaniel stood frozen mid-step and barked his surprise. Trust in Sandrine to surprise them all. There, seating royally in the middle of the cage, there was a beautiful white wolf. Her fur was as white as the moon, and Michel doubted there were real wolves out there that resembled her, but it didn't matter at all. What mattered was that his sister had finally managed to transform into her fourth animal, one that would come in very useful in case they ever ran out of Wolfsbane.
Once she was sure she had everybody's attention, the white wolf stood and paraded for the other animals, as if they were in a fashion show. After giving a couple of slow turns around the cage, she approached the rest and settled herself to the side of one of the chessboards. Petit Loup sat immediately to her right and started licking her ears. The black panther, the Cocker Spaniel and the black dog were playing their own version of football with the red ball. Moony stood uncertain for a moment, wondering if he would be welcomed with the other wolves or not, until the white she-wolf raised her royal head to him and then turned it to her left, as if inviting him to lay down at her other side. That settled it. Moony and Petit Loup started a chess game while Sandrine took the opportunity to bath them both with her big pink tongue. She was like a mother she-wolf with her puppies. She licked their ears, their fur, between their big scary paws... The chess game was a mess. By the second licking, Petit Loup and Moony had completely forgotten what they were doing a moment ago, and relaxed under the loving care of their new companion.
During the night, the six animals played with each other, against each other, or just feasted and rested themselves, and when the morning came, Remus Lupin was happy for the first time that he was what he was, and bid Moony farewell until the next full moon.
***
August the 4th started as a very cloudy day. The clouds matched Sirius' mood perfectly. Since Harry's birthday he hadn't had much sleep, and he wasn't as young as he used to be anymore. He checked the alarm-clock on his bedside table, it pointed to 'Wake up already, I was going to wake you up in two minutes anyway.' Sirius rubbed his tired eyes for a moment, and when he looked again, the clock was pointing at 'Wake up already, I was going to wake you up in one minute anyway.' With a grunt, Sirius turned off the alarm of the clock and got out of bed. In the shower, he wondered if Sandrine had baked a cake for him too. Probably not. Nobody knew it was his birthday anyway. Well, Remus did, but he wasn't the type of friend that cares about those things. Remus was a loyal friend everyday, not one of those that only show up for birthdays.
The morning went as any other morning, what confirmed Sirius' suspicion that nobody knew it was his birthday. This very fact, on the other hand, raised Edvard's suspicion that there was something going on he didn't know about. It wasn't like Sandrine to forget his birthday - or anyone's, for that matter. For this reason, when lunch came and everybody gathered around the kitchen table, Edvard's was more or less ready for the surprises, Sirius wasn't at all.
The first surprise was seeing Amanda again. When she had come some days ago, she had only stayed for a couple of hours. Sirius had been in town then -buying Harry's present-, and hadn't had the chance to see her. Now she was walking up to him with a bright smile on her face. Sirius smiled back, but realised there was something wrong with his feelings there. The last time they had seen each other, Sirius' heart had beaten like a canon, but now, save for the initial surprise, it didn't react at all. Sirius kept inside a sad sigh. Maybe he was getting too old to fall in love. He still liked Amanda a lot, though, and she would always be a dear friend to him.
The second surprise was waiting for them in the kitchen. As Amanda walked there with Sirius in one arm and Edvard in the other, there was an ear-splitting roar of 'Happy Birthday!'
The third surprise was that the kitchen table was laid with the most mouth-watering dishes Sirius could think of.
The fourth surprise was that his chair -well, the chair where he usually sat since they had come to the Sams' place-, was almost cracking under a pyramid of presents that reached the ceiling. And then Sirius noticed that there was a very similar pyramid in Edvard's usual chair.
"Is it your birthday?" Edvard asked first.
"Yes," Sirius said grinning. "Yours too?"
"So it seems," Edvard answered, grinning too.
"That's why I liked you from the very beginning," Sirius joked.
"Me too," Edvard replied laughing.
"Well, I suggest you start opening presents already, dears," Molly Weasley said, "the food is getting cold."
It took them a surprisingly short time to open all the presents. Sirius tried to enjoy the meal, but there was a nasty thought inside of his head. Yamiko had bought him no present. True, he had gotten one from Gao and one from Yi, obviously bought by their mother, but he had expected something more personal from her. They had become good friends after all, or so he liked to think. After opening a mountain of presents, Sirius didn't care at all about the material value of the present, but was a little hurt to see that Yamiko had... what? forgotten? How could she have forgotten when she had bought the presents in her children's name and the party was taking place in her house? Maybe she didn't have time. That was probably it. Maybe she wanted to buy him something, but couldn't do it in time.
When everybody had eaten to bursting, Mrs. Weasley, Samako and Sha-adi started serving coffee and tea. Yamiko and Sandrine had been up all night cooking, and they were exhausted. With tea and coffee came the cake. And what a cake! It was a pyramid too, of cream mixed with lemon and apricot, with mint leaves and chocolate chunks here and there.
"I hope you like it," Amanda said. "It was a miracle it survived the trip from England."
Everybody looked with their mouths agape at the cake, and then at Amanda, and then back at the cake, until finally Luna managed to say "It's amazing!", and a round of approving grunts confirmed her opinion.
Yamiko cleared his throat and stood. "Well, I... Before the boys blow their candles, I want to give them my present. I didn't do it before because it was difficult to place them in the pyramids of presents, and, well... I'm not sure if Sirius and Edvard are going to like them and I didn't want to spoil the lunch for them," she finished, wriggling her hands.
Edvard and Sirius protested, saying that they would like it for sure and telling her she shouldn't have bothered anyway. Sirius felt suddenly much happier, though.
"Ok, Edvard's first," Yamiko said, and ran out of the room. She came back a second later, carrying a big flat square object wrapped in bright green paper. Edvard jumped from his chair eagerly and tore the paper into pieces, then he started laughing until tears fell from his eyes. It was obvious from the form of the object that it was a picture, a very big one, but nobody could see of what or who, until Edvard turned the picture to them, halting it above his head. Most people didn't understand where was the fun. The picture showed a white wolf licking her paws and wagging her tail lazily. It was a beautiful animal, but there was nothing funny about it. And then... the wolf suddenly disappeared and a very composed Sandrine stood in its place, painting her nails.
The people in the kitchen turned to Sandrine, and she wasn't there, in her place, there was the white wolf, looking proudly at them all.
"Do you like it?" Yamiko asked.
"Like it?" Edvard asked still smiling. "I love it. Thank you so much, Yamiko," and he kissed her forehead. He turned again to look at her cousin's portrait, and then added: "You'll have to make a copy for Remus too." The comment was innocent enough, and nobody thought that it was more than that, a mere comment, but Remus and Sandrine's gazes locked once more for a moment until Lupin turned to look at the table, suddenly finding the pattern of the tablecloth very interesting.
"Well, and now it's Sirius' turn," Yamiko said, "and I'm very sorry to tell you this, but you have to come with me to see it."
Nobody seemed to be sorry to leave the table, though, only intrigued. They walked into Black Manor and stood behind Yamiko and Sirius, forming a wide semicircle. Yamiko squeezed Sirius' arm and whispered an encouraging "I hope I understood her right," before pushing him to the moth-beaten curtains that had covered his mother's shrieking portrait before. Only then did Sirius remember that Yamiko had promised to try and restore Mrs. Black's portrait when they had first arrived. With a shaking hand, he reached to part the curtains, which seemed to have been replaced by new ones. He tugged hard, trying to keep his expression blank to avoid hurting Yamiko's feelings, but what he saw made him freeze with his arms still in the air, holding the curtains, as if embracing the portrait.
People started to approach them to have a better look at the painting. One by one, their faces wrinkled in confusion. Who was that?
Only Remus recognised a very young Mrs. Black, smiling at them, honoured by so much expectation, and studying his son with a critical eye. She was the first to speak:
"Oh, dear! Sirius, you look so thin! I bet you are eating chocolate all day and never eat a decent meal in the whole day. How many times do I have to tell you, you must eat properly. If you would only listen to me and find a good wife, a girl from a good family, who would take care of you..."
The voice was unmistakable: that woman had to be Mrs. Black.
"I do eat, Mum, I promise. And I don't need a wife, we've talked it over a thousand times..." And indeed, it felt as if they had talked about it just the other day. It was as if time had stood still. This new Mrs. Black, being younger than the picture she was replacing, hadn't suffered yet the loose of two sons. She was strict, usually cold, and thoroughly addicted to the Dark Arts, but she wasn't as bitter yet, nor as unhappy.
"Well, we'll talk about it another time if you don't mind, Sirius. I was just preparing myself for my siesta. Please, do close the curtains now. Good afternoon everybody," she added looking around, and smiled at Yamiko before the curtains hid her completely from view.
"Well?" Yamiko asked nervously, looking into Sirius' eyes.
"You have no idea how much this means for me, Yamiko," Sirius said honestly.
"Does she resemble your mother?"
"Oh, yes, it's like having her back again, believe me," Sirius said. He hugged her and then planted a resounding kiss on top of her head before letting go.
"Well, I'm sure none of us wants Amanda's cake to go to waste, do we?" Sandrine asked.
That seemed to wake everybody up from their trances, and they happily started to file back to the kitchen. Sirius waited until they had all left, and then opened the curtains covering her mother's portrait ever so slightly.
"What do you want now?" The woman barked.
"Nothing, mum," Sirius said grinning, "I just wanted to know if you still put that green cucumber cream on your face when you go to sleep, and I see you do. Nice dreams."
As he closed the curtains again, Sirius could hear his mother mutter: "Insolent child!"
In the afternoon, almost everybody went outside to play in the backyard. The clouds guaranteed some shelter from the burning summer sun and there was a cool breeze. Samako had turned on the CD player again, but the music wasn't so loud this time. The coffee tables had returned once more, and in a corner of the kitchen, Sandrine, Amanda and Yamiko were getting updated on their latest news. Obviously, Amanda's were the most shocking ones.
"That's wonderful, Amanda!" Sandrine said sincerely, and hugged her.
Amanda turned to look at Yamiko, who was looking pale. She let go of Sandrine and put her hand over Yamiko's.
"I know you can't approve of him because of what he is, Yamiko. You know how I despise Death Eaters too. But he is... I don't know, different. Please, just give him a chance. Wait to judge him until you meet him, that's all I ask of you."
Yamiko licked her lips, trying to hold back the tears. "I know I'm being silly and... and overprotective..." The tears started to run down her cheeks. Sandrine moved to her other side and hugged her. "But I... you..." Yamiko took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "You are like my little girls... and I feel responsible... after all you did..."
Sandrine kissed Yamiko's cheek before interrupting her: "Don't be silly, Miko, that was a long time ago, and you know if we had to, we would do it again. I appreciate your love for us, but you must get used to the idea that we are grownup independent women. And on top of that, we can't choose who we love better than anyone else."
Yamiko dried her tears with her hands, and when she had regained some of her usual self-control, she took Amanda's hand in her right one and Sandrine's in her left one.
"Sorry, but you know this is difficult for me," she said, "I'll need some time to get used to the idea of Amanda going out with a Death Eater, but I will, eventually." She took a deep breath. "If you are happy, then I'm happy for you."
Outside, Sirius was sitting down on a conjured up chair, drinking some butterbeer and chatting amiably with Remus and Edvard when Michel came from the kitchen with a very big smile on his face. Before he could speak, Edvard, who couldn't see his cousin's face, asked:
"What are they doing in there? This is probably going to be the best day of the summer, and they decide to stay indoors. Women!"
"That's what I wanted to ask them," Michel said grinning, "but I decided it was best not to, they were sharing important news."
"What news?" Edvard asked, and Remus and Sirius leaned forward so that Michel didn't need to shout for them to listen, they wanted to hear the gossip first, and then they would decide if it was worth spreading it or not.
"She's got a boyfriend," Michel whispered conspiratorially.
"What!" Edvard exclaimed amused. Sirius' mouth went very dry all of a sudden. Remus had stopped grinning too.
"Who?" Remus asked.
"Oh, I don't know, I couldn't hear it, didn't want to risk being caught eavesdropping," Michel said.
"No, I don't mean the man, I mean which of the girls is supposed to have a boyfriend?" Remus punctuated.
Edvard and Michel looked at Remus for a moment as if he had lost his mind. Sirius, on the other hand, felt like applauding Moony, he had immediately given for granted that it was Yamiko, but it could be Sandrine.
"Amanda, of course," Michel exclaimed outraged. "How could Sandrine or Yamiko find a boyfriend without us knowing it immediately? We live together!"
Remus breathed again, and then turned abruptly to Sirius, but his friend looked, if anything, relieved.
Samako, in a very well chosen moment, came to take the men to dance. Edvard and Michel joined her immediately, but Sirius and Remus excused themselves until they would finish their drinks. In reality, they wanted to talk, or at least Remus did.
"Sirius," he said, "are you ok?"
"Yes, oh yes," Sirius replied.
Remus chose to be blunt about the matter: "I thought you fancied Amanda."
Sirius turned to him amused. "You are worried about my heart being broken?"
"Well..."
"Well, it certainly might be, but not by Amanda," Sirius answered enigmatically.
"You fancy someone else now?" Remus asked, with a mixture of amusement and perplexity.
"A-ha."
"Who?" Remus was completely clueless.
Sirius leaned over to get closer to his friend and whispered: "Yamiko".
Remus shook his head in dismay. "I thought you might have grown out of the Casanova in you, but I see he's back."
"No," Sirius protested, "he is not."
"He is not?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow. "Not even a month ago you were in love with one girl and now you already fancy another?"
"Look, I was obviously wrong," Sirius tried to explain himself. "It had been a long time since I had come near a beautiful woman, and suddenly there I was: back from death and in the middle of a group of beauties. Amanda caught my fancy and I thought it was love, because it had been years since I had felt attracted to a woman, but then I met Yamiko, and I..."
"Yes?" Remus asked, wondering where this would end up.
"Well, if you want to know the truth, I didn't realise I was in love with Yamiko until Michel came here a couple of minutes ago saying 'she is got a boyfriend.' I've always felt comfortable around her, I find her very beautiful, I adore the kids, I like the house... I just never thought it was more than that. I thought it was friendship, Remus, gratefulness for saving us and taking care of us, but when a moment ago I thought I had lost her, I realised how much she means to me."
They both fell silent. Sirius took another sip of his butterbeer, and then turned to Remus.
"What about you?" He asked.
"What?" Remus tried to look clueless.
"Don't give me that look, Moony, I know you too well to let you fool me. I got the shock of my life when I thought Michel was referring to Yamiko, but it was you who asked him for details."
"Just curious," Remus said sulkily.
Sirius bit his tongue for a moment, but the temptation to make fun of Remus was too strong. As if he was changing the subject radically, just talking about the weather, he commented:
"Sandrine makes a beautiful she-wolf. Moony looked positively ecstatic every time she licked his ears."
Remus rolled his eyes, and Sirius started to laugh. Remus shook his head and then started laughing too.
"Do you like her a lot, Moony?" Sirius asked, turning serious again.
"Good question," Remus said, "Moony is definitely mad about that sexy white she-wolf, but Remus Lupin knows he can't have Sandrine Aires."
"Why not?"
"Why not? You ask me why not?" Remus asked exasperated. "Sirius, you know what I am. There is no woman who can fall in love with a werewolf," Sirius was going to protest, but Remus raised his hand to stop him, "and even if there were one, what kind of man would I be if I let her get near me? Do you have an idea of how much she would have to suffer? All the prejudices, all the hate... it would turn to her too, Sirius. People would despise her for being with a werewolf. I can't allow that to happen, ever."
"Remus..."
"No," Remus said a little bit louder than intended, and some people turned to look their way.
"Oh-oh, I feel tension in the air," Amanda said from behind them. She had stepped outside the kitchen just in time to hear Remus' 'no'.
Remus and Sirius looked at each other, but none of them spoke, nor turned to look at her. Amanda wasn't going to give up so easily, though. She was a McGonagall after all.
"I've heard that werewolves and animagus who can turn into dogs make wonderful dance partners," she said with a wicked smile on her pretty face.
When none of the men replied, she decided it was time for some action. She took Sirius' hand and pulled. Sirius', surprised, didn't resist, and found himself standing in front of her.
"I think I'll have this dance with this gentleman," Amanda said playfully, "and then I'll come back for the other one... unless he is otherwise engaged..."
This time both Remus and Lupin turned to look in the direction Amanda was indicating. Yamiko was coming out of the house. She was wearing a thin jacket on top of her dress, and had undone the knot tying her hair, that now hung loose in a shiny black cascade down her back.
Remus looked surreptitiously at Sirius and saw his friend longing to go to her. Even if he preferred blondes, Remus had to admit that Yamiko looked breathtaking. He forgot immediately their little discussion, and decided to help Sirius out, but at the very last moment he changed his mind, and decided to make him suffer a little bit instead.
"It will be a pleasure to dance with you, Amanda," he said while rising, "I'll meet you in the dance-floor for the next song," he added, and then walked up to Yamiko and invited her to dance.
Sirius shot a murdering look at Lupin, but the werewolf just smiled back as he took his partner to the centre of the dancing group. Just then, to make matters worse, a very slow and romantic song started to play, and Lupin was dancing very close to Yamiko, with his hands too low for Sirius' liking.
When Sirius resigned himself to wait the three minutes that the song lasted and turned his attention back to Amanda, he found her smiling knowingly at him.
"I'm not trying to be flattering, but I do think that you would make a lovely couple," she said while Sirius leaded her around.
"I don't know what you mean," Sirius said with as much nerve as he could muster.
"Oh, yes, you do," Amanda insisted, "I mean you and that lovely woman you were looking at just now, who also happens to be like a sister to me... unless you were looking at Lupin, of course," Amanda added mockingly, "he really has a nice rear..."
"Amanda!" Sirius interrupted her, but couldn't help laughing. "Just shut up and dance please," he finally managed.
"Oh, how romantic!" Amanda exclaimed.
"You b..."
"Hush, Sirius! We are surrounded by children!"
Sirius gave up. Amanda was definitely a hard adversary.
***
They would have stayed up all night, but the stormy clouds finally fulfilled their menace, and a hard rain started to fall on their heads. By the time they got into the house, they were all soaked. After the laughter subsided, they realised suddenly how tired they were, and started to go to bed.
Sirius had been checking the wards on the house and was on his way to his room when he spotted Yamiko in front of his mother's portrait, talking to her. He sneaked closer to hear them better.
"...and remember to ground the camomile as best as you can, dear, because that's the trick, you know. My sons have never caught a bad flu in their lives, because I always make them drink a cup of it before going to bed."
"I'll bear it in mind, Mrs. Black, thanks a lot for your advice, good night," Yamiko said, and then closed the curtains that covered the portrait and turned to leave the house.
Sirius stepped in front of her, blocking her way. Yamiko looked startled for a moment.
"Why are you still up?" She asked.
"Checking the wards," Sirius said. "You?"
"I brought some dry towels so that Mrs. Weasley could distribute them, it's not good to go to bed soaked. Your mother kept me for a moment."
"She seems to like you a lot," Sirius said.
"Well, we talked a lot while I painted her, and I think she is grateful because I restored her to her place in your house."
"And in my heart," Sirius added.
Yamiko didn't know what to say to that.
"I don't think I've shown you yet how much it means to me," Sirius said, shaking his head in the portrait's direction.
Yamiko smiled, but her smile froze in place when she looked into Sirius' eyes. They were getting closer, really closer. She felt like rooted to the floor, unable to move or say anything. And then it happened, before she could react, his lips were on hers, and she had closed her eyes, lost in the kiss.
Their hearts were beating like drums in their chests, and if anybody had asked them, they would have sworn that the floor was shaking under their feet. When their faces finally separated, their eyes opened again. They had both had the most amazing feeling, and they couldn't even name it. Sirius smiled first, a little bit shyly, which probably was a first for him. Yamiko smiled back, blushing. They didn't know what to say. Sirius leaned down to kiss her again. Their lips were barely inches away, when the floor shook again. Their smiles faded at once. Yamiko paled, while Sirius straightened, trying to think beyond Yamiko's lips. The floor shook a third time, and now there was no mistaking it.
"Giants!" Yamiko shouted, and ran to the closest window. They were coming from the mountains, and they were closer than she liked it.
"Get the children and everybody else! Follow Sandrine to the shelter and wait for us there, my sister and me will take care of them. Run!"
Sirius stood frozen, until Yamiko jumped out of the window and turned into a magnificent dragon. Not even a second later, Sirius saw another dragon flying beside her. And then he tore his gaze from the window, and ran upstairs shouting like a madman to wake everybody up.
*****
Thanks for the reviews!
Thanks all for reading and reviewing!
I'm awfully sorry that it took me so long to update, and I ask you all for your forgiveness once again. :-(
Believe it or not, the story is coming to an end, only two or three chapters left!
This chapter is dedicated to GNatGirl for pestering me so that I would update the fic. Thanks! I really don't know how long it could have taken me if you hadn't made me realise it had been so long since I updated last. Where has the last month gone?
LyssasPen: I know I probably shouldn't say so, but I like Sandrine a lot too. And isn't she a cute she-wolf? :D
angelwings6117: Thanks a lot! I guess an author puts a little bit of himself or herself in all of his or her characters. It's unavoidable. The trick is to disguise them as much as possible. :D
HermioneGreen: Thanks! I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long. At least it's my longest chapter ever. :-)
HyperCaz: Thanks a lot for your review and for your corrections. I'll go back and correct all of the chapters when I finish the fic. If you spot anything else, please let me know. ;-)
Sabriel: Wait until you see Yamiko in action. Although Sandrine is still cool. :D
Kadi Rilla Wholi: I'm not sure about Bellatrix yet. I might need her for the sequel, so I might rescue her yet. It would be fun killing her a second time. Aren't I bad? :D
Allyrien Chantel de Montreve: Yes, indeed, Sandrine can be very strong when she thinks she is doing the right thing, the question is: is she really doing the right thing? :-)
Iniysa: :D That's the trick, coming up with something you won't be expecting, that's why the tension in the training room finally led to nothing important. ;-) The giants are for real this time, though, I can tell you.
toole: Thanks a lot for your kind review. I hope you'll go on reading this fic, there are only a few chapters left anyway, and then... the sequel. ;-)
Kitty The Black Ice Cat & Doom: Your review made me laugh. :D Thanks! I'm really sorry, because you've probably been waiting longer than usual for this chapter, but at least it's long, isn't it?
Michelle-Black16: Thanks! There is more about Sirius in this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. ;-)
GNatGirl: You are absolutely right about "run" and "ran", I've been more careful in this chapter and I'll correct it in the older ones when I finish the fic. As I said, thanks a lot for your messages. Don't worry, I'm in no way 'fishing for reviews', I was really busy and well, lost track of time. I'll try to finish the fic this month.
Lady Siobhan: Thanks a lot for your review. Physical endurance and team work will be critical in the sequel to this fic.
shadowycat: I have the weird feeling that every time you caught up with this fic I stop updating for a while, in any case, I don't do it on purpose. :D Thanks a lot for your reviews. I think that in times of war people tend to live more day-by-day. Severus and Amanda won't have it easy, but they are both very strong. Nobody is going to know about Sandrine's poisoning Bellatrix, but some characters are going to see Sandrine do something as gruesome as that soon, and not all of them will like it.
