Family Affair
Chapter 9 The Shade of Prongs
It was because of Taiko's prophecy that Mr. Weasley insisted that she join them at Saint Mungo's. And so she piled into the Twins' Escalade. Mr. Weasley nervously sat up front with George and Lee. "Can you boys go a little bit slower?" He begged.
"Slow? What's that?" George asked.
Mr. Weasley looked a little bit green. "As in the speed limit?" He asked.
"Oh, okay, we'd love to go 200 miles an hour."
"That's about a hundred and forty miles too fast." Mr. Weasley pointed out.
"No its not." Fred answered as the engine roared. "It's the limit of this car's speed."
"I always wanted one of these." Taiko's eyes lit up.
They sped out of the driveway, heading due south for London. George turned to Taiko. "Got any CD's you wanna hear?"
"Yeah!" Taiko's eyes lit up. She handed them "Castles in the Sky," by Ian Vahn Dahl, Evanescence, and Avril Lavigne (A/N: spell?).
"Hey you've got some good ones!" Lee exclaimed, as the radio blared to life.
Taiko closed her eyes as they hurtled down the highway, letting the music wash over her, until they made it to London. Then her eyes turned rounder and rounder as they passed the famous landmarks. As they passed Big Ben, it went off, for a moment even blocking out the music! Taiko giggled.
They soon pulled up to the familiar shabby department store. Taiko followed the Weasleys to the display window.
Mr. Weasley leaned against the manikin in the window. "We're here to see Sirius Black." He whispered.
The Maniken nodded and beckoned with a finger. Taiko, curious, followed Harry through the entrance. The waiting room was filled with Witches and Wizards waiting their turns. Some of them were perfectly normal, waiting for somebody. Others were bearing obvious injuries. Bites and cuts, extra ears or limbs, curses that they didn't know how to break were evident on others. Healers in lime green bustled here and there.
"They're rather busy." Taiko commented.
"They usually get a lot of people over the summer holidays." Mr. Weasley told her.
"I can imagine. In Japan they only have a month of summer vacation though, so I wouldn't know." Taiko commented.
"Oh well." Fred sighed. "Their loss!"
Mr. Weasley led them into line. "We're here to meet Mr. Fudge about Sirius Black." He told the witch at the counter.
"Artifact damage." She told them, rather bored.
Taiko followed Mr. Weasley upstairs. She hung back with Harry, looking around. The place was clean, sterile white. Taiko sighed. She hated that color.
Finally they reached a door with a sign that said, "Piper Ward, Healer; Terri Smith, Assistant; Lexi Sedna, Candy Stripe Apprentice: Cho Chang" Fred read.
"Don't we know her?" George asked, blinking.
Harry sweatdropped. "uuuuhhhh... yeah, we know her. Her friend gave us away last year."
"Oh that's right." Fred said, with fake innocence.
Harry smacked his forehead with his hand. "I don't want to hear about Cho, I really, really don't."
"That bad huh?" George asked.
"Yes." Harry winced.
"I hear ya." Fred said, giving Harry a happy clout on the back. "Girls, they're so confusing sometimes."
Taiko blinked, mystified. "Who is this Cho Chang?" She asked.
"My ex-Girlfriend." Harry answered.
"Oh really?" Harry turned around. Cho was standing there, glaring down at him.
"Oh, hi Cho!" Harry said, sweatdropping. She did not look very happy.
"Ex-Girlfriend huh? Who are you playing now? Hermione Granger?"
"That's none of your business!" Harry snarled.
Taiko, however, was very aware of Cho's large, shapely breasts. She could see the cleavage near the collar and her nipples through the tight candy striping uniform. Taiko turned beat red, squeaked, and hid behind George.
"Ah Harry!" Fudge chose that moment to stride towards them.
Cho backed off, but only because the Minister wanted to talk to him. "Yes Mr. Fudge?" Harry asked, forcing a cheerful smile.
"I wanted to ask you, do you know anything about Sirius' return? Anything at all?"
Harry shook his head. "No sir, none."
"With all due respect sir." Fred told him. "Harry here thought that he wouldn't be coming back."
Harry tried very hard to keep the pressing question inside. Then he said. "Sir, you won't be having the Dementors kiss Sirius would you?" Cho had mysteriously disappeared.
"KISS HIM? MERLIN'S BEARD NO!" Fudge looked horrified. "Professor Dumbledore cleared his name for him, when the Unspeakables found him, he needed a healer, not a jail!"
"How is he doing sir?" Taiko asked.
"And who is this?" Fudge asked, blinking in surprise.
"Mr. Fudge, this is Taiko, she had a seeing about Sirius shortly before we walked in the door." Mr. Weasley explained. "Or, we think it was about Sirius."
"Merlin's beard! She looks just like you Mr. Potter." Fudge exclaimed.
"She's Harry's twin." Mr. Weasley said hurriedly. "She was adopted by James' brother so that they would meet each other later."
"Good gods in the heavens!" Fudge exclaimed.
"Taiko, Harry, go inside and check on Sirius." Mr. Weasley ushered them into the room.
Taiko followed her twin into the room. She had never met Sirius, so she felt a little shy. Sirius was lying on a bed, his skin pale. Sweat ran down his face. He was unconscious. Sirius thrashed in pain in his sleep, moaning, "James... no... please... I... ohhh!"
It did not take Taiko long to see the cause of his pain. Two children stood on either side of Sirius' bed. They looked about first year age, but there was nothing first year about the magic they were performing. The first of them was a boy with short, black, very messy hair and hazel colored eyes. The second was a girl with long red hair and fox green eyes. The boy had his eyes closed, screwing them up in concentration. He was making hand signs, or Katas, and chanting, and the girl did the same, following his lead. She however, paused and said, //Please don't give us away!// While the boy ignored her, lest he break his concentration.
Then Taiko realized that not only could Harry not see them, but that both children were floating three inches off the ground. A pair of scythes were leaned against the bedside table. The children seemed solid, but they appeared to blur around the edges, almost as though they were glowing. Ghosts maybe? No, everybody could see ghosts, and judging from Harry's expression as he knelt by Sirius' bedside, he did not see them.
Taiko took off her hat, and pulled up a chair by Sirius' bedside. Harry took Sirius' hand in his, holding the palm to his cheek. "Its alright Sirius, I'm here, Dad isn't, he's dead remember?"
There was no sign that Sirius heard him. Harry's expression was one of utter anguish. But Taiko had not time to ask him about it. At that moment, both children released the spell with a loud... ///HA!///
Sirius writhed one last time, then fell into a deeper, more comfortable sleep. The two children collected their scythes. Who were they? Taiko wondered.
//We are the guardians of death, followers of Lord Enma.// The girl answered. //Follow us not, for we know that you can. Lord Enma has commanded the death of the Dark Wizard commonly known as Voldemort. The Godfather, Sirius, is our servant now. He will be a servant of Death on Earth, as are you, your twin, and the Dragon Boy.//
//And between you, the seer of what is not there, the boy who lived, and the dragon boy, you will conquer him, and bring the Dark Lord to Lord Enma's knees.// The boy said, looking at her with a blank, merciless gaze. //We will be waiting to collect him, for no one, not even a Dark Witch or Wizard, can conquer death.// With that, the two children whirled around, and faded out.
Taiko sat in the chair. But Harry, who had taken Sirius' hand, gasped, dropping it. "Taiko, look..." He gasped.
On the palm of Sirius' right hand, where James Potter had grasped it to lead him to the gate, was a silver marking shaped like a bolt of lightning. On his left, when Taiko looked, was a simple Kanji that read, "Enma." Taiko whispered in total awe.
~later~
"No fucking way." Ron exclaimed as Harry told him about what had happened. Taiko sat quietly, listening.
"Way."
"He kept calling out for your father?" Draco asked.
"Yeah. I'm not sure why, after all, he's dead." Harry shook his head in confusion.
"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Hermione nodded.
"No witch or wizard knows what happens beyond the grave dude." Fred told them. "They look into that stuff in the department of mysteries."
"James was there." Taiko said softly.
"Huh?" Every head swiveled around to look at her.
"I saw him, and a girl that must have been Lilly. They had scythes, and they were working some kind of ritual magic over Sirius." Taiko said softly. "They were shades, I think, because only a seer, an itako, or an onmyoji can see shades."
"How does that differ from ghosts?" Ron asked.
But Draco nodded. "My grandmother can see shades, she was a channeler."
"And before they left, they said something about Sirius being an servant of death on Earth." Taiko shivered. "And that there were three others chosen to do that. They also said something about how we were supposed to go after Lord Voldemort, and that not even he could escape death."
"Will you NOT say that name?" Ron demanded, shivering.
Hermione looked thoughtful. "Um... Ron, how many of us are usually in on an adventure?"
"um... three?" He asked.
"Uh huh, glad you can count." Hermione answered with a nod. "Do you think they meant..."
"No way man! Not me, uht uh! Deatheaters are one thing, but the big kahuna? NO WAY!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione's retort was interrupted by the arrival of a silky feathered black screech owl. It landed on Taiko's head. "SCOOTER!" Taiko exclaimed.
"Who?" Hermione asked, fascinated.
"Belili's owl. She named it Scooter because it likes riding on Belili's moped." Taiko explained.
"Its so cute!" Hermione commented.
"Sleek looking." Draco agreed.
"And it stands out, so you always know who's sending..." Taiko said, opening the letter. "That's why nobody wanted it at Athena Owl Breeders..." Taiko read the letter aloud...
"Dear Taiko,
It took me awhile to write this, my hands are trembling as I write it. I want you to know, that what I'm about to tell you, I'm telling you because I trust you, and I hope you'll still want to be my friend. I'm a... a Lesbian, and I'm dating Rei..." Taiko broke off. "SHIMATTA!" She swore, throwing the letter on the ground.
"Holy fuck that's some bloody heavy shit." Ron commented.
Taiko wasn't listening. Scooter hooted an inquiry. Taiko smiled at him. "It's alright Scooter, I'm just commenting on my stupidity." Taiko said softly as she went inside.
Taiko summoned her quill and a parchment, and began to write.
"Dear Belili,
So much has been going on lately. I had another seeing, and more of those weird dreams. Even worse, my seeing came true. I'm still shaking in my boots.
And I found out why Professor Barona was so insistent. According to Professor Dumbledore, I'm the twin sister of THE Harry Potter. Talk about your bombshells!
I'm not worried about you being a lesbian. And if I weren't leaving, I'd have asked you out. I miss you soooo much! I hope you're happy with Rei though. Maybe I'll see you next year, maybe not.
Love,
Taiko
P.S. The exchange student's name is Ginny Weasley. Keep an eye out for her for me. Thanks o-o!
Taiko attached the letter to Scooter's leg and sent the little owl on his way. But inside, she couldn't help kicking herself.
Chapter 9 The Shade of Prongs
It was because of Taiko's prophecy that Mr. Weasley insisted that she join them at Saint Mungo's. And so she piled into the Twins' Escalade. Mr. Weasley nervously sat up front with George and Lee. "Can you boys go a little bit slower?" He begged.
"Slow? What's that?" George asked.
Mr. Weasley looked a little bit green. "As in the speed limit?" He asked.
"Oh, okay, we'd love to go 200 miles an hour."
"That's about a hundred and forty miles too fast." Mr. Weasley pointed out.
"No its not." Fred answered as the engine roared. "It's the limit of this car's speed."
"I always wanted one of these." Taiko's eyes lit up.
They sped out of the driveway, heading due south for London. George turned to Taiko. "Got any CD's you wanna hear?"
"Yeah!" Taiko's eyes lit up. She handed them "Castles in the Sky," by Ian Vahn Dahl, Evanescence, and Avril Lavigne (A/N: spell?).
"Hey you've got some good ones!" Lee exclaimed, as the radio blared to life.
Taiko closed her eyes as they hurtled down the highway, letting the music wash over her, until they made it to London. Then her eyes turned rounder and rounder as they passed the famous landmarks. As they passed Big Ben, it went off, for a moment even blocking out the music! Taiko giggled.
They soon pulled up to the familiar shabby department store. Taiko followed the Weasleys to the display window.
Mr. Weasley leaned against the manikin in the window. "We're here to see Sirius Black." He whispered.
The Maniken nodded and beckoned with a finger. Taiko, curious, followed Harry through the entrance. The waiting room was filled with Witches and Wizards waiting their turns. Some of them were perfectly normal, waiting for somebody. Others were bearing obvious injuries. Bites and cuts, extra ears or limbs, curses that they didn't know how to break were evident on others. Healers in lime green bustled here and there.
"They're rather busy." Taiko commented.
"They usually get a lot of people over the summer holidays." Mr. Weasley told her.
"I can imagine. In Japan they only have a month of summer vacation though, so I wouldn't know." Taiko commented.
"Oh well." Fred sighed. "Their loss!"
Mr. Weasley led them into line. "We're here to meet Mr. Fudge about Sirius Black." He told the witch at the counter.
"Artifact damage." She told them, rather bored.
Taiko followed Mr. Weasley upstairs. She hung back with Harry, looking around. The place was clean, sterile white. Taiko sighed. She hated that color.
Finally they reached a door with a sign that said, "Piper Ward, Healer; Terri Smith, Assistant; Lexi Sedna, Candy Stripe Apprentice: Cho Chang" Fred read.
"Don't we know her?" George asked, blinking.
Harry sweatdropped. "uuuuhhhh... yeah, we know her. Her friend gave us away last year."
"Oh that's right." Fred said, with fake innocence.
Harry smacked his forehead with his hand. "I don't want to hear about Cho, I really, really don't."
"That bad huh?" George asked.
"Yes." Harry winced.
"I hear ya." Fred said, giving Harry a happy clout on the back. "Girls, they're so confusing sometimes."
Taiko blinked, mystified. "Who is this Cho Chang?" She asked.
"My ex-Girlfriend." Harry answered.
"Oh really?" Harry turned around. Cho was standing there, glaring down at him.
"Oh, hi Cho!" Harry said, sweatdropping. She did not look very happy.
"Ex-Girlfriend huh? Who are you playing now? Hermione Granger?"
"That's none of your business!" Harry snarled.
Taiko, however, was very aware of Cho's large, shapely breasts. She could see the cleavage near the collar and her nipples through the tight candy striping uniform. Taiko turned beat red, squeaked, and hid behind George.
"Ah Harry!" Fudge chose that moment to stride towards them.
Cho backed off, but only because the Minister wanted to talk to him. "Yes Mr. Fudge?" Harry asked, forcing a cheerful smile.
"I wanted to ask you, do you know anything about Sirius' return? Anything at all?"
Harry shook his head. "No sir, none."
"With all due respect sir." Fred told him. "Harry here thought that he wouldn't be coming back."
Harry tried very hard to keep the pressing question inside. Then he said. "Sir, you won't be having the Dementors kiss Sirius would you?" Cho had mysteriously disappeared.
"KISS HIM? MERLIN'S BEARD NO!" Fudge looked horrified. "Professor Dumbledore cleared his name for him, when the Unspeakables found him, he needed a healer, not a jail!"
"How is he doing sir?" Taiko asked.
"And who is this?" Fudge asked, blinking in surprise.
"Mr. Fudge, this is Taiko, she had a seeing about Sirius shortly before we walked in the door." Mr. Weasley explained. "Or, we think it was about Sirius."
"Merlin's beard! She looks just like you Mr. Potter." Fudge exclaimed.
"She's Harry's twin." Mr. Weasley said hurriedly. "She was adopted by James' brother so that they would meet each other later."
"Good gods in the heavens!" Fudge exclaimed.
"Taiko, Harry, go inside and check on Sirius." Mr. Weasley ushered them into the room.
Taiko followed her twin into the room. She had never met Sirius, so she felt a little shy. Sirius was lying on a bed, his skin pale. Sweat ran down his face. He was unconscious. Sirius thrashed in pain in his sleep, moaning, "James... no... please... I... ohhh!"
It did not take Taiko long to see the cause of his pain. Two children stood on either side of Sirius' bed. They looked about first year age, but there was nothing first year about the magic they were performing. The first of them was a boy with short, black, very messy hair and hazel colored eyes. The second was a girl with long red hair and fox green eyes. The boy had his eyes closed, screwing them up in concentration. He was making hand signs, or Katas, and chanting, and the girl did the same, following his lead. She however, paused and said, //Please don't give us away!// While the boy ignored her, lest he break his concentration.
Then Taiko realized that not only could Harry not see them, but that both children were floating three inches off the ground. A pair of scythes were leaned against the bedside table. The children seemed solid, but they appeared to blur around the edges, almost as though they were glowing. Ghosts maybe? No, everybody could see ghosts, and judging from Harry's expression as he knelt by Sirius' bedside, he did not see them.
Taiko took off her hat, and pulled up a chair by Sirius' bedside. Harry took Sirius' hand in his, holding the palm to his cheek. "Its alright Sirius, I'm here, Dad isn't, he's dead remember?"
There was no sign that Sirius heard him. Harry's expression was one of utter anguish. But Taiko had not time to ask him about it. At that moment, both children released the spell with a loud... ///HA!///
Sirius writhed one last time, then fell into a deeper, more comfortable sleep. The two children collected their scythes. Who were they? Taiko wondered.
//We are the guardians of death, followers of Lord Enma.// The girl answered. //Follow us not, for we know that you can. Lord Enma has commanded the death of the Dark Wizard commonly known as Voldemort. The Godfather, Sirius, is our servant now. He will be a servant of Death on Earth, as are you, your twin, and the Dragon Boy.//
//And between you, the seer of what is not there, the boy who lived, and the dragon boy, you will conquer him, and bring the Dark Lord to Lord Enma's knees.// The boy said, looking at her with a blank, merciless gaze. //We will be waiting to collect him, for no one, not even a Dark Witch or Wizard, can conquer death.// With that, the two children whirled around, and faded out.
Taiko sat in the chair. But Harry, who had taken Sirius' hand, gasped, dropping it. "Taiko, look..." He gasped.
On the palm of Sirius' right hand, where James Potter had grasped it to lead him to the gate, was a silver marking shaped like a bolt of lightning. On his left, when Taiko looked, was a simple Kanji that read, "Enma." Taiko whispered in total awe.
~later~
"No fucking way." Ron exclaimed as Harry told him about what had happened. Taiko sat quietly, listening.
"Way."
"He kept calling out for your father?" Draco asked.
"Yeah. I'm not sure why, after all, he's dead." Harry shook his head in confusion.
"Yeah, I was wondering that too." Hermione nodded.
"No witch or wizard knows what happens beyond the grave dude." Fred told them. "They look into that stuff in the department of mysteries."
"James was there." Taiko said softly.
"Huh?" Every head swiveled around to look at her.
"I saw him, and a girl that must have been Lilly. They had scythes, and they were working some kind of ritual magic over Sirius." Taiko said softly. "They were shades, I think, because only a seer, an itako, or an onmyoji can see shades."
"How does that differ from ghosts?" Ron asked.
But Draco nodded. "My grandmother can see shades, she was a channeler."
"And before they left, they said something about Sirius being an servant of death on Earth." Taiko shivered. "And that there were three others chosen to do that. They also said something about how we were supposed to go after Lord Voldemort, and that not even he could escape death."
"Will you NOT say that name?" Ron demanded, shivering.
Hermione looked thoughtful. "Um... Ron, how many of us are usually in on an adventure?"
"um... three?" He asked.
"Uh huh, glad you can count." Hermione answered with a nod. "Do you think they meant..."
"No way man! Not me, uht uh! Deatheaters are one thing, but the big kahuna? NO WAY!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione's retort was interrupted by the arrival of a silky feathered black screech owl. It landed on Taiko's head. "SCOOTER!" Taiko exclaimed.
"Who?" Hermione asked, fascinated.
"Belili's owl. She named it Scooter because it likes riding on Belili's moped." Taiko explained.
"Its so cute!" Hermione commented.
"Sleek looking." Draco agreed.
"And it stands out, so you always know who's sending..." Taiko said, opening the letter. "That's why nobody wanted it at Athena Owl Breeders..." Taiko read the letter aloud...
"Dear Taiko,
It took me awhile to write this, my hands are trembling as I write it. I want you to know, that what I'm about to tell you, I'm telling you because I trust you, and I hope you'll still want to be my friend. I'm a... a Lesbian, and I'm dating Rei..." Taiko broke off. "SHIMATTA!" She swore, throwing the letter on the ground.
"Holy fuck that's some bloody heavy shit." Ron commented.
Taiko wasn't listening. Scooter hooted an inquiry. Taiko smiled at him. "It's alright Scooter, I'm just commenting on my stupidity." Taiko said softly as she went inside.
Taiko summoned her quill and a parchment, and began to write.
"Dear Belili,
So much has been going on lately. I had another seeing, and more of those weird dreams. Even worse, my seeing came true. I'm still shaking in my boots.
And I found out why Professor Barona was so insistent. According to Professor Dumbledore, I'm the twin sister of THE Harry Potter. Talk about your bombshells!
I'm not worried about you being a lesbian. And if I weren't leaving, I'd have asked you out. I miss you soooo much! I hope you're happy with Rei though. Maybe I'll see you next year, maybe not.
Love,
Taiko
P.S. The exchange student's name is Ginny Weasley. Keep an eye out for her for me. Thanks o-o!
Taiko attached the letter to Scooter's leg and sent the little owl on his way. But inside, she couldn't help kicking herself.
