Fianna mewled pitifully, making Draco jump. He blinked at her. "I didn't let him take her. " His voice was deeper, with a strange lilt to it. "She fought, as did I, but he took her anyway."
"What is he talking about?" Cora asked softly.
"Forget-Me-Not Potion, unspecified. So well done that he's remembered bits from his predecessors." Alaster murmured.
"Well then let's ask him…" Cora exclaimed.
"It's not like that. He doesn't remember the past lives when he comes back to himself. It's uncontrolled." Rose explained to her sister and the Headmaster.
"How does it happen?" Dumbledore asked.
"The first time it was Monica's aid that triggered it. He went all the way back that time. We know because he called her Althia. The second time, it was the storm and a memory from this lifetime. That's how we knew about the weather-witch. Now there's this one." Hermione answered.
"But why?" Draco was saying, "He's got to know that once they are bonded, it's impossible to turn them."
"I don't know why," Monica said softly. She looked at Rhia, her violet eyes troubled.
"For some unholy purpose I'm sure," Draco continued. "Some potion or spell that he thinks will defeat us."
"It won't work," Monica said. She was reasonably sure of this, since the Guardians had obviously not been defeated in whatever life Draco was caught up in.
"No. Her love of me is stronger than any attempt he could make to turn her. But he will try. She will be lost, and I shall never have another companion again."
"But a companion is necessary," Monica said, guessing in the dark.
"That may be true for the Heart and the Elementals, and for some of the others, but not me. There will never be another for me." Draco said. He bent his head and was silent.
"A Dannikit!" Ginny exclaimed. She blushed in the silence, but continued, "He's talking about an Agoradan companion. That's why he doesn't have one now."
"If that's true then why doesn't Rhia have one?" Alaster asked.
"We don't know that yet Raine. She's not the one with memories of her ancestors." Cora said with a glance at her sister.
"What the hell?" Draco asked in his normal voice. He looked at the others' expressions. "This is getting bloody annoying." Then he saw the Headmaster and turned into a stunned Malfoy statue. "Hello Sir."
"Young Mister Malfoy. You have no memory of what just transpired?" Dumbledore asked. Draco shook his head. "Interesting." He stroked his beard with one hand and looked at Atlantis.
It was at the crucial moment in its cycle. Lianna had just laid her hands on the Sunstone. The city rippled. "Is that…?" Monica asked.
"Yes." Rhia said. Her voice was hoarse. Harry looked at her. Her gray eyes were wide and focused intently on the painting. Her hands fisted when the Serpent raised his hands to the sky. Draco and Monica watched as the tableau unfolded. Harry reached for Rhia's fisted hand as that telltale light came into her eyes. When he touched her hand, she jumped and looked at him. There was such anger in her stormy eyes that he felt his fingertips sizzle in response. He gripped her hand, trying to calm her and himself. No one seemed to notice, but the hackles of a certain watching canine went up just the same.
"It happened more than 5000 years ago," Alaster said quietly, "but this painting was done so well, it seems the events happen as you watch."
"That was the idea, I'm sure," Rose said, tensely.
So this was the start of it," Draco said. Rose nodded. "I see only the two people. It's obvious who the corresponding person here is for him, but what about her? And where are the rest of the Guardians? If they were supposed to protect the Sunstone, or the Shards or whatever, then why weren't they there then?"
"It wasn't until the next generation that a group we would recognize as the Guardians of the Shards came to be. Lianna's five daughters were the first. They found the rest, when they were forced to scatter the Shards. All were descendants of Atlanteans who had once been Children of the Sun. The Shards had to be separated to hide them, because when three or more are close, they…sing. It's not audible in the normal sense, but those who searched knew how to listen for it." Dumbledore explained.
"So they are singing now?' Monica asked, touching her Shard with a fingertip.
"Oh yes." Alaster said. "That's how I knew you were all here. They rejoice at being together. It's strange I know, but the Sunstone was not a normal magic rock. It wasn't simply a pebble that had been imbued with magic through a spell or a potion. The Sunstone was and is magic. The same way that a person is magic. It's part of their being. They just… are.
"An actual Gathering of the Guardians did not occur until five hundred years later, when the Serpent resurfaced. That was when the Unforgivable curses were finally made unforgivable. They were the Serpent's work. The Guardians were pulled together by their Shards and their allies. They were able to put down the Serpent before he grew too powerful. That was the first, but it wasn't a full gathering. There were only ten Guardians at that confrontation and their powers were not documented, so we don't know who wasn't there." Alaster continued.
"Ahem," Ron said. "I hate to interrupt, but can we maybe talk while we eat? Fianna is hungry, and she has some growing to do."
"Of course, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "Help yourself." Suddenly there was a table piled high with all their favorite foods at the far end of the room. Then the Headmaster was gone and the students dug into the food.
"I hate it when he does that," Cora muttered, walking towards the table.
"Does what?" Alaster asked, handing her a watercress sandwich.
"Just disappears like that. It bothers me." Cora answered, taking a bite. "Mmmm… Watercress is my favorite."
"I know." Alaster said, spreading a bit more mustard on his roast beef sandwich.
Cora paused mid-chew and her blue eyes narrowed. She swallowed her bite and asked. "How do you know?"
Alaster hesitated for a brief second in putting the spreader down. He met her eyes steadily. "How do you think?"
Rose appeared at Cora's elbow. "What are we going to do about Draco?" Belatedly, she noticed their locked gaze and the tension in the air. "Oh. Um… I'll just,"
"What about Draco?" Alaster asked, turning to her.
"Well, If he falls into a memory in the middle of say… Herbology class, someone is bound to notice," Rose said.
"Is Miss Reed in all of his classes?' Cora asked.
"No," Rose answered, "Why?"
"Well it appears that she and Rhia are the ones most able to deal with him when he does Remember." Cora said.
"So it would be advantageous for one or both of them to be in all of his classes!" Alaster exclaimed. "Of course."
"But he's a Slytherin. How are we going to explain the fact that he has a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor with him at all times? He's got the bad boy image that he has to continue if we want to fool his father during the Quidditch Season." Rose said.
"I thought you'd solved the separate houses problem already sister dear." Cora said, smiling.
"At meal times yes," Rose answered, "but I hadn't moved into classes yet."
"Aren't some of them already mixed?" Alaster asked. "Like the Care of Magical Creatures class, and this one of course."
"Well he's got Double Potions and Double CoMC with Gryffindor already… I don't know the others." Rose said. "Hey Draco!"
He and Monica looked up. She had been telling him what had happened in the last Memory. Rose waved him over. With a questioning look in his eyes, he walked around the table towards them, passing all four Weasley's, Neville, and Hermione in the process. Each dannikit he passed touched him in some way, whether with a paw on purpose, or with the seemingly accidental flick of a tail. "What is it?" he asked. Vestan used his shoulder as a stepping stone to Rose's arms.
"We need to know your class schedule, so we can accommodate your new… affinity with the past." Alaster said.
"You mean you need to set up a babysitter for me." Draco said. His eyes started to freeze.
"We were thinking more along the lines of a guide. Monica is our first choice, since she's relatively new and therefore maneuverable." Cora said, " But if you'd rather have to explain the sudden presence of Harry Potter in all of your classes to your father…"
"No. Monica will be fine. Here's my class schedule." He handed her a slip of paper.
"Thank you." Cora said. Draco started to turn away. "One more thing."
"Yes, Professor Jameson?" Draco asked. His eyes were clear, and the Shard on his shirt front glittered to match.
"Since you were the one who didn't read the fine print before taking the potion, I suggest that you be the one to look for a possible antidote or suppressant. Unless you want to be continuously revisiting the past." Cora said. "And Professor Snape cannot know of this."
"I understand Professor." Draco said. "It's my problem, I'll deal with it."
Cora nodded and smiled. "Now go finish your lunch." He went. Once again, each dannikit touched him as he passed.
"Is that normal?" Alaster asked.
"What?" Rose asked, letting Vestan lick cream from her finger.
"What the kits just did." Alaster said. "Is it normal."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Rose said, frowning at him.
"You didn't see it?" Alaster asked. Rose shook her head. "It must be normal, if you didn't notice it."
"What ever it was, watch to see if it happens again and let me know. I'll try to figure it out." Rose said, looking at him with a placating smile. She waved a cream free hand at her sister and went to talk with the little twins.
"Where were we?" Alaster asked, smiling at Cora.
Her smile vanished. "You were about to tell me how you knew what my favorite sandwich was."
"Actually I believe I had just asked you how you thought I knew." Alaster said. Cora frowned at him.
"What do you think they are talking about?" Rhia asked.
"I don't know," Harry answered, "But Professor Jameson doesn't look very happy."
"Probably something to do with the past," Ana said.
"Why do you say that?" Daniel asked.
"Because I seem to remember someone saying that his family's been watching yours for hundreds of years, but the Jamesons have been running from Raines for only the last two hundred," Ana said, "or something like that."
"Something like that happened," Rhia said, "though not quite that way. My family has always run from everyone, not just the Raines. Every time someone got close to our secret, we'd move."
"But Alaster said that you're name hadn't changed." Harry said.
"It hasn't changed, not in essence, but in language." Rhia said. "You wouldn't believe how many different translations there are for the name Jameson. Even 'Jameson' isn't the original. That was Atlantean, and is written in Hermione's book. I don't know it."
"Why do you suppose your name stayed when others were lost?" Ana asked.
"Probably because there were so many of us to pass it on. The Shards have been our reason for existing for thousands of years." Rhia said. "The duty of Guardianship has been ours from the beginning."
"Isn't that true for all the Children of the Sun?" Harry asked.
Rhia smiled at him and for a moment, the expression in her eyes was older than any he had ever seen, then they were clear gray. "Other families got breaks. Centuries when someone else watched over the Shards. That someone else was us. Those breaks happened when a generation went by where no one suitable was born. Then the Guardian would notify a member of my family, and we would take over."
"And how did they notify you?" Daniel asked.
Rhia smiled widely then. "I don't know. We didn't have that problem this time." Ka'lina trilled at her.
"That's good. Considering this is a Gathering." Ana said.
Shortly after that, Hermione stood up. "I have to go. With me here, Dean will have been left alone to direct the Gryffindors after all this happened. He'll be needing help calming everyone while McGonagall talks to Dumbledore."
"I'll go with you," Ron said. "I'm finished anyway."
"There's a curfew until the grounds are pronounced safe, so I'll need to escort you to the Gryffindor Tower." Cora said. She looked at Alaster. "You and I will finish this soon."
"But of course." Alaster said, nodding.
Rose raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Rhia frowned as Fred asked "What about the rest of us? Are we supposed to wait here, or what?"
"I believe some of you should stay here. Draco and Monica have not seen the painting in its entire cycle yet, and Rose, you need to work out a schedule for them, and Rhia anyway. As for the rest of you, stay or go, decide now and let's be on our way." Cora said. She walked out of the conference room and beyond, to the office proper. Alaster followed with a nod.
"Your sister's gone all professory on us Rose." George said.
"She's is our DADA professor after all." Daniel said.
"Perhaps we should go with her," Ana said. "I don't think she'd mind escorting us to our Common Room."
Daniel looked at his sisters. "We're staying," Reggie said.
"We have to learn how to block." Lynne said.
"We'll see you in the Common Room, all right Harry?" Hermione said as she and Ron stood up. Harry nodded. Neville and Ginny went as well.
Fred looked at George. "Best be going."
"I'm staying. I want to talk to Rose a bit." George responded.
Fred blinked. "Oh right. I forgot." He followed the others.
"You might as well go George I'll be a while with the girls." Rose said. "And Draco besides."
"I'll wait." George said. Rose's eyes were a warm gold as they rested on his face.
Rhia looked at Harry. "What are you staying for?"
"I want to talk to you." Harry answered. "Besides, Snuffles is here, and I should probably learn to block with the others, don't you think?"
"That's true," Rhia said, smiling a little. "I might not be able to call you back next time."
"We're leaving." Cora's voice called back to them.
"Okay." Rose answered. She looked at Rhia. "What makes you so sure there will be a next time?" Rose asked curiously.
"There will be." Draco said. "She won't give up that easily."
"Easily?" Lynne asked. "Easily?! Ana had to call up an earthquake to get us free of her, and that was giving up easily!"
Well," Draco said, looking slightly taken aback. "Yes. She'll be stronger after this. More aware of her potential when she's got you. She'll try harder to reach higher. Next time." He paused and looked at Harry. "Next time, she might get you, and then no little tremble will make her let go."
"How do you know?" Monica asked.
"Because I know Desiree. " Draco said. "She lived with us for a time. She was showing off her little whirlwinds all the time." He smiled. "Then she stopped."
"Why?" George asked.
"I told her to of course." Draco said. The icy gleam in his eye warned them not to ask for a more elaborate explanation.
"Why would her getting Harry make it even harder to get us back? Reggie asked, a little nervously.
"Because of who he is." Draco said. "Besides, if she had the power of lightning, she would be extremely dangerous. She's got a bit of a temper."
"Of course she does." Rhia said. "She's an elemental. It's a character trait."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rose asked, her eyes tinged green.
"Exactly." Rhia said. It took a moment but the light slowly dawned and everyone smiled except Rose, though the gold returned to her eyes.
George patted her on the shoulder. "Relax. At least no one mentioned the redheaded temper bit."
"How did you know?" Draco asked.
"Know what?" George asked back.
"That Desiree has red hair," Draco responded.
"You're kidding, right?" Rose asked. Draco shook his head. "Erg. Okay let's get started then. Draco. Monica and Rhia, I want you to get to work on your schedules. I want one or both of you girls in every one of his classes. Everyone else over by the fireplace."
A surprisingly short time later, the students left Dumbledore's office, leaving Sirius curled in front of the fire, watching them go. As the Headmaster had not yet returned, and none of them had any desire to get detention for being out and about during a crisis situation, they went as quietly as they could, first to the Ravenclaw dormitory, where they deposited the twins and Monica. Rose assured the twins for the fifth time in as many minutes that they would be safe for the night now that they had learned to block. Especially if they didn't plan on starting any storms in their bedroom. It was only when they were tapping into their own power that they had been in any way vulnerable. They left a thoughtful Draco at his dormitory with the admonition to act as normal as possible to avoid triggering a Memory. The rest of them made there way to the Gryffindor Tower, Tired from the physical and mental exertions of the day, they stumbled into the Common Room.