Dumbledore introduced Kali and Zasha to Madame Pince later that day and a more Attila the Hun-like woman Zasha had never met. Her eyes had the ability to turn the talkative to stone and her lips pursed so tightly that Zasha was amazed there was anything left of them. She was an excellent librarian, however, and had them working mercilessly all the rest of the day learning her library.
Zasha understood the urgency inherent in the older woman's training, though. It was very apparent that she and Kali would still only have an inkling of how to run this library by the time the new school term had begun and their teacher had left.
Kali herself seemed rather bored with everything that was going on, not really sensing Madame Pince's unforgiving gaze. But Zasha sensed it and found that she actually liked working in the library the more she did it. It was like the bookstore here. There was more to do than simply put out, sell and reorder books and that suited Zasha just fine.
The only problem Zasha could find with it all was that danged snoring. She'd searched the entire library and couldn't find who was doing it. When she'd finally asked about it, Kali had given her a worried look and Madame Pince had told her to go lie down after having some dinner. Zasha wasn't sure if she should be puzzled or grateful for the brief reprieve.
She and Kali wandered down to the Great Hall and ate dinner quietly, still slightly unnerved by the few teachers that remained over the holidays. They in turn seemed to be perfectly content to simply watch the newcomers in relative silence. Zasha took off after dinner and retired to her room to think and read the book, "Hogwarts: A History," that she'd borrowed from the library on her way out. Kali must have been tired herself, as she didn't object and even retreated to her own room, mumbling something about herbs and rosemary.
In her room, Zasha quickly prepared for bed, avoiding the mirror whenever possible, which the mirror seemed to consider quite rude, before climbing atop the soft four poster and curling up against a pillow. The book, though written like any other boring history book, was actually very interesting. Unfortunately, something kept sighing in a very bored fashion.
"Oh," Zasha growled irritably after the fifth sigh and with a glare towards her mirror. "Mirrors are supposed to be silent! Not sighing every five minutes!"
"Well," the mirror exclaimed from behind the towel that now covered it, the blanket from earlier having returned to its proper place on her bed.
Now a chuckling was dancing its way across her brain. "Stop laughing, you!" Zasha was tempted to throw something at the offending object.
"Why would I laugh, you insulting child!"
"I'm not a child," Zasha screamed back at it, lifting a pillow and preparing to throw it. "I'm 28 years old!"
"Calm down..." came a soft, though hoarse voice. "Don't blame the mirror for what I've done, as funny as it is."
The voice stopped Zasha mid-swing, the pillow hitting the bed with a loud THWACK! She looked wildly around the room, her red hair flying as her head twisted this way and that. She backed up against the headboard, her heart pounding in fear at the unseen person in her room. Everything seemed to be in place and Zasha couldn't tell where the voice might be coming from.
"Where are you?"
The voice was silent for a moment, then, "That's a little hard to explain."
"Then start trying!"
A sigh, then, "I'm sort of stuck in you."
"WHAT," Zasha squeaked, her hands immediately beginning to inspect her body.
Another sigh sounded and the voice asked, "Remember your dream last night? Well, it wasn't exactly a dream. And you dragged me out of that place before you woke up."
"Where...was that," Zasha asked, attempting to scramble out of bed and only managing to succeed in entangle her legs with the blanket and so fall out of bed for the second time that day.
She scowled as the voice gave a barking laugh at her predicament before crying out as her book slipped from the bed to bounce off her forehead.
"You know, you are the most klutzy woman I've ever met," the voice said, mirth still evident in its light tone.
"Shut up and answer the question," she told him, sure now that the voice was male. She removed the ravenous blanket and stumbled up and over to uncover the mirror. Ignoring the indignant comments of the abused furniture piece, she searched her face for any signs of another person.
"You're not going to find me in the mirror," sighed the man. "I was in Hades, the land of the dead."
Zasha's eyes opened wide and she fell forward, drawing a frightened squeak from the mirror as it jolted violently and nearly fell from its place on the wall. "DEAD? YOU'RE DEAD?"
"What are you," shrieked the mirror, "crazy? I'm certainly not alive!"
"And I'm not really alive either," said the man sadly. "But I'm not exactly dead at the same time."
"How can you be neither," Zasha whispered, her eyes wide in disbelief and fright.
There was a pause as the mirror tsked at the foolishness of Muggle girls and Zasha attempted to calm her racing heart. The silence lasted a short while until Zasha was wondering if she'd imagined it all. Perhaps she was going crazy... Then, the voice came back.
"It's because of the way it happened. I fell through the Veil of Death. My body is trapped here with my soul."
"Here," repeated Zasha. "Am I..."
"No," sighed the man. "You're not dead. Your dream simply connected us, allowing me to transmit my thoughts to you and your's to me."
"You can read my thoughts?"
"Well, perhaps a little more than that. I can keep track of what's happening with you. Don't worry! I'm not spying on you or anything! I just can't seem to focus on much else besides you."
Zasha allowed herself to slip to floor with a small, ironic laugh, "Not spying on me. I just can't hide anything from you! And why'd I dream about your Hades in the first place."
He sighed, "I don't know. And I have to say that I'm grateful you did. This place is almost as bad as Azkaban. At least there, I had a way to stay sane, here there's nothing."
"Y'know," Zasha told him in a piqued voice. "That'd almost be romantic. Except for the fact you're dead!"
"I told you I'm not dead! And it's not as though I had a choice in the matter! I'd rather be THERE with my godson!"
"You had a godson?"
"Have. And yes, he's probably very upset at having seen me fall into this bloody place."
"Poor boy," Zasha sympathized as she finally stood and moved to climb back into bed. "And do you think you could go back for a little while? I'm going to sleep and I don't sleep with men I don't even know."
"Just sleep," the voice was riddled with annoyance this time. "I won't bother you if I can help it."
Zasha blew out her light, feeling a bit annoyed herself, and curled up against her pillow, praying for sleep.
******************************************************************************
It had been a day since the attack on number 4 Privet Drive. Kingsley Shacklebolt rubbed a hand over his bald head as he surveyed the remaining ruins of what had once been Harry Potter's home. The Death Eaters had swamped the place before any help could arrive and when they finally had, it was only to find Harry's watcher, Marla Hinkle, dead with her wand in hand. It seemed she had gone down fighting a valiant, if hopeless battle. Harry Potter and most of his personal belongings were gone without a trace.
Kingsley sighed, not looking forward to having to pass the news along to Weasley's that the boy was most likely captured and dead. The family, all except for Percy, who was still nursing his wounded pride over having been proved wrong, seemed to have taken Harry in as the seventh Weasley brother. Their reaction to his loss was not going to be pleasant; he imagined it might even be worse than Percy's desertion.
"Still no sign of him, I'm afraid," Tonks's voice floated over to him. He turned to watch the dark haired witch stumble over to him. Her eyes were shadowed with sadness and her normally bright personality seemed dimmed with the grief that weighed them all down.
Kingsley looked back to the battle-scarred building and nodded silently. He listened as Tonks finished making her way over to him. In the silence that followed, he pretended there was something interesting about the scorch marks beneath what was once Harry's window.
"He might still be alive," Tonks said hopefully, not falling for Kingsley's ruse for a second. Kingsley nodded, though the thought did not stir up much hope in him. "I mean, he always survives. He's the Boy-Who-Lived! He always somehow manages to scrape by and turn up somewhere. Ok, so it's not always unscathed, but he is alive. Right? Don't--"
Kingsley turned sharply at the little shriek that accompanied the sudden stop in Tonks' speech. Surprise rolled through him as he found himself staring at Percy Weasley, who held his nose indignantly in the air at being the cause of Tonks' fright.
"Nymphadora Tonks I presume," Percy asked her pompously. She nodded and he continued, "The Minister desires a report on the progress here. He wants you, as one of the investigating and first arriving aurors, to report to him."
"I thought I was in charge of this-" Kingsley began angrily, but Percy cut him off.
"The Minister wants to speak to Miss Tonks," Percy told him. "I'm to escort her there."
Kingsley scowled and turned to share a look with a nervous Tonks. "Will you be ok," she asked him hesitantly. He nodded and she sighed before disapparating. Percy threw a smirk at Kingsley before following with a pop.
Kingsley let out a growl and slammed his fist against the wall behind him. Pain surged through his arm and he bent over in blind agony.
"Of all the blind, stupid..." he said through clenched teeth, blinking back the tears that had sprung into his eyes.
Something seemed to waver in his vision through the tears, drawing his attention from the pain. It seemed to be part of an invisibility cloak, but they'd already found Marla and Harry's invisibility cloaks and neither had been damaged...
He reached out with his good hand and felt the smooth fabric before snatching it up and bringing it closer for better inspection. It was indeed an invisibility cloak, but whose? Unless someone else had been watching the Dursley's last night. Which might answer the question as to how the wards protecting Harry had been broken. If someone from the inside had been here secretly, they might have inadvertently broken the protective spells and allowed for the attack. And if that person had been sent by the ministry, it would also explain why the Minister wanted a report from an admittedly klutzy auror. A seasoned one, such as himself, would be too apt to see through whatever lies and cover ups Fudge could produce.
Rage flared through Kingsley at the thought and he quickly disapparated, determined to report to Dumbledore and, hopefully, exact some revenge on a corrupt Minister.
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Zasha woke the next day feeling slightly annoyed and more than a little tired. Her dreams had been filled with alters, veils, sacrifices and, strangely enough, weddings. A man had also been there. He'd had long, shaggy hair and dark eyes that alternately pleaded with her and laughed at some unknown joke. She'd rather liked him...
"Awake yet," asked the man in a bored tone.
Zasha's annoyance level doubled and she groaned. "I couldn't hide it from you if I tried."
"No, no you couldn't," laughed the man, amusement threading into his voice. "And who were you dreaming about? I'll assume it was a man..."
"What," Zasha asked, her eyes flying open and her voice hissing out as she attempted to not screech. "You've been watching my dreams? How dare you!"
"I didn't," he replied, annoyed. "I only caught your emotions. You seemed to like someone, a lot. And since I don't think you like women..."
"He was just a figment of my imagination, so just stay out of it," Zasha said, standing and moving to get dressed. "And turn your back or whatever, I'm getting dressed."
"I can't see anything anyway," the man told her irritably.
Zasha opened her mouth to retort, but just then the door to her room blew open and Kali came flying in. Zasha watched as the younger woman quickly checked the bed before searching the floor beside the bed.
"Looking for someone," Zasha asked her with a grin. She could hear the man chuckling roughly and her own eyes flashed in amusement as Kali spun around to stare at her in surprise.
"Zash! Don' do that," Kali scolded her smaller elder. "You scared the life outta me!"
Zasha laughed and shook her head, "That doesn't seem hard lately. You've become as skittish as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs!"
"That's a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs," Kali corrected grumpily. "And hurry up and get dressed. It's time for breakfast!"
"I will if you'll get out!"
Zasha shoved a surprised Kali out as barking laughter filled her mind. She sighed as the door closed, sent a silent insult at her still amused companion and dressed as quickly as she could in the robes Dumbledore had had delivered the day before for her and Kali to wear. She looked in the mirror in order to ascertain how she looked, but was disappointed to find that she looked even younger than before in this absurdly loose clothing.
"What's your name," she asked the man in her head before she left her room.
He paused a moment before answering her, "Just call me S."
Zasha snorted, "Right. S. Fine, just don't distract me when we're with people. I may be going insane, but I don't have to advertise it."
She opened the door and forced a smile for Kali as S's barking laughter erupted once more. She scowled as she passed her younger friend and led the way to breakfast, this time managing to find her way without getting lost.
About a dozen others had already gathered at the table and were discussing various topics over their breakfasts. Most of them barely acknowledged it when Kali sat down at the table, but they all stopped and stared as Zasha seated herself. She could feel their eyes on her as she reached for the pitcher of juice and poured herself a glass. But she didn't lift her face to return their stares until after she'd replaced the pitcher.
"Why," said a tall, thin woman with greying hair tucked up into a tight bun in surprise, "You're just a child!"
Anger flashed through Zasha and she clenched her teeth as she replied, "I'm 28 years old already."
A thump sounded as an older man slipped off his seat onto the floor and astonishment made its rounds about the table. "Yeh look 13," exclaimed a startlingly large man as the older man struggled to climb back up on his seat.
"Really," Zasha replied with a forced slight smile, her fingers clenching around her glass in irritation. "I seem to be looking older all the time. Before I know it, I'll have grey in my hair."
"Naw," Kali told her irreverently, reaching for a muffin. "Eleven year old's don't normally have your size chest. Small as it is."
Zasha brought up her closest hand and whacked Kali lightly on the shoulder before her brain could even catch up with her actions. She vaguely heard Kali's indignant sputter and the gasps from around the table, but decided she could blame it on her current insanity. Yeah, it was the man currently guffawing in her head that made her do it.
"Leave my chest outta this," Zasha told her. Kali snickered in response, her eyes glittering in a way that Zasha knew meant mischief. She ignored her younger friend and reached for a croissant and some jam instead.
"How mature..." said the first lady with a look of distaste.
Zasha shrugged, spreading jam on her croissant. "We have our moments."
"Are yeh sisters," asked the giant man.
"No," Kali and Zasha said at the same time. The two looked at each other and blushed before Kali continued, "We just have similar eyes, so everybody seems to think we are."
"I'm Zasha Nox, by the way," Zasha said, her anger finally dying down enough for her to remember her manners.
"We know," said the woman. "Dumbledore told us about you already. I am Minerva McGonagall. I teach Transfiguration and am the Deputy Headmistress."
"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Miss Nox," the giant introduced himself. "I teach Magical Creatures. This here's Professor Flitwick, he teaches Charms."
"You can call me Filius," the little old man who had fallen off his seat before told her.
One by one all the others at the table introduced themselves, though Zasha knew she'd be hard put to actually remember them all from this. Still, she nodded and smiled as best she could with a mouth full of croissant until they had run out of people to introduce. After that she happily listened as Kali took over the conversation from here and silently chewed her food in peace.
"So, you look 13," questioned the voice which seemed by far more sober than she'd yet heard it.
'Problem with that,' she asked him silently, wondering if he would be able to hear her. Apparently, he could.
"No, I just didn't get to see you very well before. Just enough to know you're small."
Zasha snorted into her cereal and continued to eat, ignoring the look of concern that Kali shot her way. Finishing quickly, and silently, she excused herself. She nodded to Kali who said she'd meet her at the library and walked briskly out of the room.
"What are you, afraid of people," S asked her in his gravelly voice.
'Of course," she snap-thought back at him. 'Wouldn't you be if you were having conversations with men in your head?'
He chuckled, but shut up and she finished her trek in relative silence.
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It was almost two hours before Kali showed up at the library and Zasha immediately knew something was wrong. Kali's face was both pale and puffy and red encircling her deep blue eyes. Zasha dropped the books she had been cataloging, startling S out of his snoring and Madame Pince into looking over her piles of books at them.
"Sorry," she called over to Madame Pince as S asked worriedly, "What's happened?"
Zasha shushed him quietly and walked quickly over to her friend. "What happened," she asked Kali worriedly.
Kali gave her a bright smile, "Nothing. I'm fine. Guess it just hit that we're really stuck here."
Zasha nodded her understanding, feeling a bit uneasy with the way the conversation was going, "But there's still some hope. That Dumbledore guy said he was going to try to send us home... And- and, well, we have to go home. My mom can't take care of herself, she needs me."
Strangely, the voice in her head had gone silent and that silence seemed to reverberate more loudly than anything he'd yet said or done. The sinking in her stomach was fast becoming a stone and bile was rising in her throat the longer she waited for Kali's cautious answer.
"I'm sorry," she said so softly that Zasha almost missed it. "If I hadn't insisted we go-"
"No," Zasha cut her off, not wanting to hear it. "It was like any other night and this is like any other trouble we've ever gotten into. We'll get back out of it, somehow." Zasha forced determination into her heart, praying it could replace the hope that was rapidly bleeding away with the minute hand on the clock that ticked silently across the room.
Kali nodded slowly yet Zasha couldn't help noticing that there was no true hope in her eyes, only a helpless struggle to follow Zasha in her faith. The boulder in Zasha's stomach became a mountain and she gulped to keep the panic down.
"I better get to work or Dumbledore might decide we're not worth the effort," Kali said softly, though something of her old enthusiasm seemed to be returning.
Zasha watched Kali go off into her own corner of the library silently before returning to work with a sigh. The cataloging was boring and before long, the comforting snore of S had returned. She smiled softly before she realized what she was doing and the hours she had left to work passed quickly listening to S's snores and concentrating on the books that lay before her.
The volumes were invariably dusty and most were seemingly old, but they were all in good repair. And as soon as Zasha had stacked more than six of them in a finished pile next to her on the floor, they disappeared, leaving her more than enough room to continue. Likewise, every time the pile of books yet to be inventoried and catalogued had shrunk sufficiently, she discovered it to have grown back to its original size. While this was good in that she didn't have to stop to find more books and could finish that much faster, it also meant she would have no breaks save for the hour she and Kali took at noon for lunch.
"Well, it is time for dinner, ladies," Madame Pince announced about six that evening. Zasha looked up and rolled her neck to work out the kink that had taken up residence.
"What," S asked, startled awake at the sudden crack that followed. Zasha blushed, though S couldn't see her and both Kali and Madame Pince were too far away to have heard.
'Dinnertime,' she thought back at him, picking herself up and joining Kali at the door.
"Really," he asked, his voice seemingly perking up. "It's been so long since I had dinner with a beautiful lady."
Zasha averted her face so that Kali couldn't see her blush, not noticing that her friend was lost in her own world as well. 'I thought you couldn't see me.'
"I can't," he replied, "but after all this time with no one who could count as a woman, anyone would look good to me."
'How long have you been there,' Zasha asked curiously, absently jumping off a staircase that had begun to move with her on it and ignoring the insinuation of her being less than pretty.
"Not too long, but it seems like forever," S replied. "And I wasn't really able to get out into common society before anyway."
Zasha snorted, figuring he had been a hermit before he died. 'So you didn't like to go out much, huh?'
She could practically hear the pause before S replied, "I wasn't allowed to."
She blinked, stumbling a bit and drawing a worried glance from Kali before continuing, 'So you were a criminal or something?'
"Or something," he replied sadly. "It made me a very bad godfather, not being able to protect him from the need to stay safe myself. It made my already large tendency towards rashness even worse. That's how I ended up here."
'I'm sorry," Zasha told im truthfully, feeling bad for having thought the worse of her new friend, even if he did live in her head. 'I'm sure your godson understood though.'
"Yes, he was one of the people telling me to stay put in fact. I just need to get back to him and tell him I'm sorry anyway."
Zasha smiled slightly, 'I'm sure he'd just be happy to see you. Is there anyway you can escape?'
"Possibly-"
"What's wrong, Zash," Kali's voice broke into Zasha's silent conversation. "You've been standing there for five minutes."
Zasha jumped as she stared at her friend incredulously. "Oh," she finally said, reality kicking in. "Sorry."
Kali stared worriedly after her friend as Zasha finished making er way in to dinner and claimed them a pair of chairs. She didn't say anything more, though, and had soon joined the table's conversation while Zasha sat and listened, throwing in a sentence or two every now and again. The meal passed companionably, with S even adding in an occasional grumble, causing Zasha's eyes to twinkle as merrily as Dumbledore's ever had. The long time teachers at the table were unnerved by the familiarity of the feature, but soon settled into an easy feel with the two new girls as a result. By the end of the meal, made even longer by the casual conversing, everyone was satisfied both mentally and physically.
Kali followed Zasha into her room that night, her face a mask of nerves. She explored a bit as Zasha changed quickly and finally settled on the bed when her older friend finished brushing her teeth.
"Zasha," Kali asked her hesitantly.
Zasha stilled in her nightly hair grooming regimen, giving Kali her full attention.
"Are you mad at me," Kali's eyes looked fearfully into Zasha's own.
"Why would you think that," Zasha asked in confusion.
"Because you've been so quiet lately. Not to mention so absent minded," Kali replied. "Plus, it's my fault we're here..."
Zasha sighed and hushed S's quiet growl about self-recriminating fools before replying, "I'm not mad at you. Just trying to get used to this, same as you. And it wasn't your fault. No one knows how it happened, but your wanting to go to a new club had nothing to do with it. We were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Kali flushed and looked guiltily down at her feet. "I think it might have been my fault. I was tinkering with a new spell. It's the real reason I was late."
"Spell! What kind of spell," S and Zasha's asked at the same time, double strikes of panic lancing through Zasha's body.
If possible, Kali's flush flushed even deeper, rivaling Zasha's hair, "It was an ointment, supposed to give the wearer the ability to see things they otherwise wouldn't. I couldn't get it to work, so I thought I'd bring it along and see if you could help. You're always good at figuring what's wrong, even if you don't believe in it."
"I've never heard of such an ointment..." S said thoughtfully. "What was in this ointment?"
"What went into making the ointment," Zasha repeated, careful of how she asked. It might be underhanded, but sometimes you have to corner Kali to get a clear answer from her.
"You know," she answered, averting her gaze, "the usual. Herbs, some crystal, some magic words, a whole lot of hope..."
S breathed a sigh of relief, or was that disappointment, Zasha wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure which it was that shot through her as S told her, "It wasn't her. It would take a lot more than that to do it."
Zasha nodded and blinked as her vision was suddenly filled with a crystal that seemed to glow green in the flickering candlelight. She fell back against the wall and glared angrily at Kali, who looked properly abashed at her reaction.
"Sorry, but it works in three parts. You have to spread it on you, then put this on. After that, you chant the spell. I don't know why, but I think it worked. A little too well."
"What was the spell," S asked. Zasha repeated his question to Kali.
"Just a little rhyme. I made it up myself:
Other places do I see
My mind's eye
Is where they be
Until I sigh
And leave to see."
"Cute," Zasha told her, "but I doubt it would have done anything." S agreed, sounding extremely amused.
"Yeah," Kali agreed, looking crest-fallen. "I think I should have put in something about the gods and goddesses. It was the only change I was definitely going to make, just wanted a second opinion on whether or not I need to change anything else."
S groaned in amused annoyance, "Nothing she would have done would have made any difference. There's a lot more to working spells than finding a book of shadows and trying to make something out of what was probably a few haphazard notes on an idea."
"I don't know what else might have been wrong," Kali continued. "I put in all the right ingredients, did everything I was supposed to. The only thing I had to improvise was the words. But maybe it did work. Just a little late is all."
Zasha rolled her eyes, "It wasn't your ointment that did it, Kali. It was just an amazing coincidence, that's all."
"You sure," Kali asked, looking torn between being relieved and disappointed.
"Yes," Zasha said at the exact same time as S. "I'm sure."
Kali nodded a bit sadly before moving to the door, "Well, I'm gonna get ready for bed here. It's strange how tired I am by the end of the day here."
Zasha smiled in agreement, "Yeah, but come back after you're changed. We can read through some of those culture books they gave us together. Maybe they'll be less boring that way and us less sleepy."
Kali nodded and left. Zasha waited until the door was closed before asking S, "What do you think happened?"
"I doubt her spell had anything to do with it. What happened right before you arrived here," S answered her after a moment.
"I was waiting for Kali and some other friends in front of a new club we were going to. She was late and when she finally got there, these men tried to come on to us. They weren't the sort you take home to mother, y'know? So we started backing up, Kali behind me and a light pole behind her. Unfortunately, we bumped into the light pole and the men managed to corner us. Suddenly I felt this pull in my stomach, which might have been fear, but this was like an actual tugging more than that nauseous feeling I usually get when I'm scared, and then I was sitting on top of poor Remus. I'm surprised I didn't hurt him, he's so skinny," Zasha told him quickly. She finished in an annoyed tone as she listened to S's laughter.
"Don't worry about Remus. He's stronger than he looks. And probably enjoyed it more than you would think. It's rare he gets the girls to fall for him these days." S sobered slightly as he said the last, but he still sounded too amused for Zasha's peace of mind.
"How can you be so cruel," she hissed at him. "Remus is a very nice man."
"And very lucky to have been sat on by you, I'm sure," S placated her. "But the fact remains that most women are too stupid to see the good catch he is."
Zasha wasn't certain if she should be placated or not, so she let it drop for another time. "So what do you think happened to us?"
"What," S replied. "Oh. Well, I'm not sure. It was definitely magic that brought you here. Sounds sorta like a port key, but if you're from another dimension like everyone suspects, it couldn't have been. Portkeys bend space, not dimension."
"That's a lot of help," Zasha grumbled, picking up her book from before and settling back against the headboard.
"Well, maybe you could do a little research for me in the library. I'm sure Dumbledore has it covered, but maybe I figure something out now that I know what your friend was up to."
"So you think her spell might have been what we're looking for," Zasha asked in disbelief.
"No," S answered, killing her barely realized hopes before they could gain much of a hold on her heart. "But it may have created something for some other magic that was floating around there that night to react off of. The crystal and herbs, anyway. Her little spell was the stuff nursery rhymes are made of."
"It basically was a nursery rhyme, wasn't it," Zasha said, chuckling. "But she does try hard."
Whatever answer S might have given her was cut off when Kali reentered the room, her own copy of "Hogwarts: A History" under her arms. "How far have you gotten," she asked, climbing into the bed next to Zasha.
"Not far, just the second chapter," she answered the blonde beside her.
Kali snorted, "Farther than me. It's so boring I've only gotten halfway into the first chapter."
Zasha shrugged, "Doesn't matter. We'll finish our respective chapters and then go to bed, sound good?"
Kali nodded and began reading. Zasha smiled and followed suit after a quick apology for the interruption to S.
"I'm only sorry that I've got two young women in a bed together and can't do anything about it."
Zasha hoped desperately that Kali wouldn't notice the bright blush that spread across her face and proceeded to reread the last paragraph. They sat there like that for the next hour before Zasha realized that Kali was no longer turning any pages. In fact, she hadn't for a very long time.
"Kali," she asked glancing over at her. The blonde woman's eyes were shut and her chest rose with her soft sleeping breaths. She looked very peaceful now, but Zasha just knew that if she let the girl stay the night, she'd either hog the covers or turn Zasha into a human teddy bear.
"Kali, wake up," she told her, poking her in the arm. "Time to go to bed. Your own bed, not mine."
Kali mumbled something unintelligible and managed to burrow down into Zasha's covers.
"Come on, Kali! You have to go to your own bed to sleep!"
Kali rolled over and shifted into a more comfortable position.
"It's a lost cause, I think," an amused S told her when she growled in irritation. "I used to have a friend like that, and the only thing that would wake him up was to be drowned in ice water."
"I am not soaking my bed," Zasha exclaimed, drawing another mumble from Kali. She watched the girl, fearing her outburst had awoken her and she'd now be sent off to an insane asylum, but Kali continued to sleep peacefully, curled up against the pillow.
"Fine," Zasha gave in. "She can stay. I don't care, we're both girls anyway. And maybe I won't have Whirlwind Kali in the morning."
She blew out the candles and curled up with her back to Kali. "'Night," she told the snickering S.
"Good night," he told her, still snickering. "And you'll probably still have whirlwind Kali on your hands tomorrow. She'll jusyt get to actually wake you up for once."
Zasha scowled, but remained silent and soon was as fast asleep as Kali.
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~Zasha's dreams were much the same as the night before. He stood there in the dark, but still eerily beautiful clearing. A bright full moon hung in the air above him as a warm breeze blew through, rustling the surrounding trees and blowing his long hair about his face. He smiled warmly at her and she felt her heart soar. She grinned and ran towards him, barely noticing when it all began to change about her.
It was subtle at first. She never seemed to get any nearer to him, though he always held out his arms in welcome. Then the clearing darkened, the moon disappeared and the rustling trees stilled. His hair settled and became ragged. His clothing, before immaculate black robes, like something she'd imagine a Wizard groom wearing, became torn and tattered. His ebony eyes that sparkled welcome became as shadowed as the clearing and his smile changed to hold a note of desperation. Fear struck into her heart as she realized the changes and she skittered to a stop, gasping back a scream.
"Don't be afraid," the man said, his voice familiar, though she couldn't place it. "Help me, please."
For some reason she didn't understand, her heart pulled her toward this stranger and she found her feet slowly drawing her near him. This time she was allowed to approach and the nearer to him she drew, the faster her feet carried her. Finally, she stood before him and stared into his haggard, though kind, face. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words never came.
Behind him had appeared an obsidian alter, a flat bed of rock that sat on a simply designed stand of the same material. A fluttering transparent veil fluttered onto the altar with an unfelt wind that Zasha knew boded no good for her. Fear gripped her heart once more as the wind suddenly became felt and very cold. She looked wildly back at the man but he had turned to watch the veil and she followed his glance back.
Another man, this one cloaked in a cloak that seemed made of the darkness of midnight stepped out from behind the veil and reached one enshrouded hand out to her. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened on a silent terrified scream.
"Don't be afraid, child," the man said in a whispery voice that held none of the evil she had been sure it should. "Come to us. Come to me."~
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Albus Dumbledore stood staring out at the pre-dawn sky from his office window as he listened to Mrs Weasley rage at anyone and everyone and Shacklebolt argue with Snape over how much Tonks could be trusted. Mrs Weasley was acting the part of any distraught parent in her position, making Dumbledore wonder, as he had many times over the years, if Harry wouldn't be better off with the Weasley's rather than his relatives. Or would have been, now.
No! He couldn't think like that. Harry could still be alive; there might yet be time to rescue him and bring him back to safety. There may no longer be any hope that the boy would simply turn up on his own accord, but perhaps Tonks could uncover a lead in her meeting with Fudge.
This whole kidnapping seemed suspicious overall. The intruders had killed the Dursley's and Harry's bodyguard in what looked like two rounds of fighting. Then, by all appearances, they had taken Harry and his luggage to only Heaven knows where. Why would they have done things such as they had if all they intended was to kill the boy? Even if Riddle had something planned for the boy, he wouldn't have taken his things as well. What point would there be in that?
Unless....
"Kingsley," Dumbledore said, turning abruptly. Immediately the room quieted and everyone granted him their full attention. "What was missing from the Department of Mysteries after the battle last June?"
Kingsley blinked, "Not much that can't be accounted for. Some prophecies which were destroyed, a brain, a couple time pieces... The veil was torn, but that might have happened when-"
"Nothing that Voldemort would be interested in?"
Lupin's eyes lit up as he caught on to what Dumbledore was asking, "You mean, something that could make him want to take Harry's things as well as him? Couldn't he have simply wanted to see if Harry still had their prophecy intact?"
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, "I doubt it though. It'd be easier to ransack the trunk and kill Harry at the house if that were the case. None of this situation seems to be Tom's style. Not unless it's some elaborate plan that I can't even begin to comprehend."
McGonagall snorted from her position at the back as Mrs Weasley groaned, "If you can't understand it, then what are we going to do? You're the greatest Wizard since Merlin himself!"
A faint blush brushed Dumbledore's cheeks and is eyes twinkled brightly with embarrassment, "Now, Molly, I wouldn't go so far as to say that." A snort came from Snape's side of the room, giving Dumbledore an idea. Not one of his favorites, but without any leads, they had to take whatever chances presented themselves, no matter how far fetched they happened to be.
"Severus," the tall, scowling man looked up with a faint look of wary curiosity in his black eyes, "Report to Voldemort of Harry's disappearance. Don't let him realize how clueless we are, but use it to find out anything he might know about this." Snape nodded and left the room with a flourish. "Kingsley, Arthur, make some discreet inquiries about the Ministry, see if anyone there knows anything." They both nodded and stood to leave.
"What about the rest of us," Mrs Weasley asked. "I can't just sit and wait while my- while he's missing!"
Mr Weasley walked quickly over to his wife and pulled her into his arms as Dumbledore hid a sad smile behind his beard. "You and the others can listen to the gossip mills at your jobs and your communities. Report anything you hear to me, no matter how insignificant it might seem."
Mrs Weasley nodded, seeming to have deflated now that she had her husband's arms around her. She allowed him to guide her from the room, but even afterwards a depressing silence seemed to suck the light from around those left. Slowly, the others began to make their excuses until Dumbledore was the only one left.
After a few moments in which Dumbledore stood silent vigil over his office door, Fawkes gave a light enquiring trill. Immediately, the air lifted somewhat and the old wizard found the strength to turn and grant the pheonix a small smile.
"Well, Fawkes, think we'll ever find him? Or have we lost our only hope?"
Fawkes gave a sad trill in answer, to which Dumbledore nodded and sighed. He made his way over to his desk and sat down, looking every bit his ninety years. "I'm afraid so, Fawkes. I'm afraid so..."
A/N:
Ok! Been a while since I updated. Thanks to my three reviewers (BigBlackDogStar, cera and melanie) for their encouragement! I haven't been very active in the fanfiction realm lately because of a very busy schedule and being really tired overall. Not to mention I have so many to work on and my own original stuff to boot. Hope no one thinks me dead.
Anyway, the ~'s in the story mean I wanted to use italics, but ff.net never allows me to do italics, bold or anything like that. Anyone else have that prob. I'd love to know how to fix it....
This chapter is a very long one, but I think it came out ok. You'll find out about Harry next chapter, plus more on S and getting this plot moving along. Got some surprises up my sleeves and I think people will enjoy. And I bet all Sirius lovers will be happy with this chapter. Unless, of course, they wanna marry him...
Hopefully I can get the next chapter out faster, but don't count on it. Grad school is hard and has a LOT of writing involved. For example, in my Topics in Writing: Science Fiction class, ONE assignment and only one of my many assignments for that class alone, has me writing five 3000-6000 word stories of publishing quality. First two are due a week from Wednesday. SO, you can see, I'm very busy.
Also, I'd just like to gush for a moment. A year ago, as I was applying for grad schools, I applied to Glasgow University in Scotland. My grandfather was born in Scotland and they had a good Creative Writing Masters program. Never heard back from them until 2 weeks ago. I had been shortlisted and I am now a student there starting October 2004!! Not sure what to do about my current Master's program, but if I can swing it, I'm going!! ::grins happily::
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. There were parts I really enjoyed, like playing off of Zasha's youthful features and Kali's hyper reactions to her new environment. Not to mention writing S. I really wanna get more into him and Zasha next chapter, but watch out, things are pretty nice right now. I plan to shake them up a bit. So, see ya next time!!
::sits vigil for Lycoris, sure Lycoris is just luring her into letting down her guard::