Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this...hopefully after the baby's born, I'll have a more normal-ish routine. Wishful thinking, huh? Anyhoo, here goes...

Chapter 28

Isabelle stomped into the dungeon classroom and slammed her bag on the teachers' desk with a loud bang. Hearing the noise, Severus poked his head outside his office.

"Trouble in paradise?" he asked snidely.

"Don't start." She clutched her head in her hands, pacing up and down the classroom. "I just ran into a little setback, that's all."

"What kind of setback?" He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms.

"The kind that's not your business, Severus dear. I need more time."

"Well, I'd say you that have a good five months or so before Sirius figures out that something's going on. Unless you plan to have a sudden weight gain that's concentrated in your midsection."

"You think you're cute, don't you?" She walked towards him threateningly. "Watch it, or--"

"Or, you'll what?" he laughed.

"I warned you not to start with me today. Oh, why do you have to be such a pain?" she said, exasperated because she couldn't stay angry with him. He shrugged.

"Natural charm."

She rolled her eyes as students began to file into the classroom. With a hesitant look on his face, Harry walked up to her before taking his seat.

"Aunt Isabelle?"

"What's up?" she asked, fumbling through her bag for her lesson plans.

"Um, I was just wondering if I could talk to you this afternoon," he said quietly. "In private."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Anything in particular going on?"

"How's four thirty?" Harry hoped that she understood what he was trying to say.

"Perfect." She ruffled his hair. "Better get to your seat before Sev notices you."

"Yeah, good idea." He chucked at the irate look on the Potions master's face before turning to walk back to his desk.

"Kissing up to your nephew so that he takes your side when Black hits the roof?" Severus asked snidely. Isabelle smiled sweetly.

"Sev, I'm not going to surround my baby with negativity. So, if you can't be positive, I'll just have to drown you out."

"What are you talking about?"

"Babies are sensitive. They respond to their outside environments," she said expertly.

"It's a cluster of cells."

"There you go with your negativity again."

"It's not negativity. It's a medical fact."

Isabelle plugged her ears and began to sing. "Papa, I know you're going to be upset. 'Cause I was always your little girl. But you should know by now, I'm not a baby."

"Cute."

"Hmm? Can't hear you," she replied. "You always taught me right from wrong. I need your help, daddy please be strong. I may be young at heart, but I know what I'm saying."

"You're so childish."

"The one you warned me all about. The one you said I could do without. We're in an awful mess, and I don't mean maybe."

Severus forcibly removed her hands from her ears. "Why are you so cheery, anyway?"

"Hormones." She smiled. "They keep me from wanting to lock you and Sirius in the same room for mental amusement. Between the two of you, I'm going insane. That way, y'all can finally have that argument that's been brewing for twenty-two years about who's screwed up the other's life more."

He began to speak, but Isabelle hushed him by putting her index finger on his lips. "Nuh-uh. No negativity about Sirius. He may be a lot of things, but he's still my baby's father. And, you're not going to insult him in front of his own child."

Severus closed his eyes angrily and stomped off to begin class. Isabelle giggled, hearing him mutter something profane under his breath. She sat down at the desk, removed a massive stack of ungraded potions exams, and motioned for Viktor to come over.

"Hey, can you grade these second year exams, please? Here's the answer key," she said, pointing. "You can use the empty classroom across the hall, since you'll probably need to spread them out."

Viktor nodded, trying to hide his displeasure at being given such a menial task, especially since this was Hermione's Potions class. But, he dutifully picked up the stack of exams and exited the room. Severus saw him leave out of the corner of his eye and walked to Isabelle. He raised an eyebrow.

"And what was that?" he asked.

"Giving the teaching assistant something to do," she defended herself. "Look, when I was a teaching assistant at Hogwarts, I actually taught classes. Krum's getting off easy."

"Right," he said sarcastically.

Before he could say another word, a deafening crash echoed through the room. Isabelle looked up as a white cloud mushroomed towards the ceiling.

"What in the--" she whistled, rushing to the back of the classroom. Hermione stood in front of a dripping, cracked cauldron, about to burst into tears.

"Good job," Draco sneered. Isabelle shut him up with a look.

"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered. "I was putting in the lemon peel, and my hand slipped. So, the whole lemon fell in the cauldron."

"That's ok. Everyone's made a cauldron explode sooner or later," Isabelle said soothingly, cleaning up the mess with a flick of her wand.

"Yeah, but not like that." Draco laughed spitefully.

"Worse. Much, much worse." She bit her lip, deciding to take the spotlight off poor Hermione. "Ok, I'll tell you about a couple of my accidents, as long as y'all keep working. Deal?"

"Deal," the class answered eagerly in unison.

"When I went to America, I decided to go to Muggle high school. Their senior year in high school is about the same as seventh year here. Anyway, there's a huge dance at the end of senior year called the prom. It's a huge deal, for more reasons that I can get into during class," she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

The whole class giggled, knowing exactly what she was getting at, especially the ones who also took Muggle Studies class. Isabelle looked around the room. Every set of eyes in the classroom was locked on hers, especially Harry's. She nearly burst out laughing; his do-I-really-want-to-know-this look was identical to James'.

"Well, one of my friends and I were doing a makeover on one of my other friends. She had really mousy brown hair, so we decided to put a few highlights here and there. Everything was going great, until this fabulous Billy Idol video came on MTV, and I totally forgot the highlighting potion was simmering on the stove." All of the girls in the room gasped loudly.

"Oh, no," Lavender Brown breathed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Oh, yes. The entire cauldron exploded, sending burnt potion and tiny copper fragments all over the kitchen. The noise was so loud that we needed Amplifying charms to hear the music at the prom that night. Worse of all, the apartment smelled like sour milk for a week."

"Gross," Seamus whispered.

"Tell me about it," Severus said under his breath.

"Will you tell us another story?" Pansy Parkinson asked as nonchalantly as possible. She didn't want her fellow Slytherins to know that she actually liked Professor Evans.

"Absolutely."

For the rest of the class, Isabelle entertained them with various stories from potions and experiments gone horribly wrong. When class ended, Hermione quietly walked up to her, clutching her books nervously.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem."

Isabelle grinned, knowing she meant both distracting the class and sending Viktor away. The looks Ron shot him were positively murderous. She caught herself right before asking if she and Ron had gotten back together.

If Hermione wants me to know that information, she'd tell me, Isabelle rationalized.

The teenager smiled, and hurried out of the classroom. Witnessing the entire scene, Severus' eyes narrowed suspiciously. When the room emptied, he walked over to Isabelle, who was packing up her bag to head to the Muggle Studies lab.

"You're shameless," he whispered in her ear.

"What do you mean?" she puzzled.

"Buttering up little Gracie for the news that she's going to have a new little brother or sister," he hissed. "Trying to become her mummy, huh?"

That struck a nerve. Isabelle slammed her bag on the desk and whipped around angrily. "I am her mother. I always have been. I always will be."

"Pity she doesn't remember you," he said facetiously. Tears stung her eyes.

"That's low."

"No, low would be stating the simple fact that you're not the woman she wishes was around when she needs motherly advice. And, that you have no place in her heart anymore. She forgot you a long time ago."

Isabelle was struck by the bitter truth of his words, and hurt that he would actually say that to her. Suddenly consumed by rage, she slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Trying not to cry, she grabbed her bag and rushed out of the dungeons. She needed to be alone.

-----

Humming quietly, Isabelle opened her desk drawer and removed a large bag of salt and vinegar potato chips. She eagerly ripped into the bag, trying not to get the chips on her lesson plans for the seminar class tomorrow night. After going over her notes again, she sat back, thoughtfully munching on her snack.

While she felt perfectly justified in smacking the tar out of Severus for his lip, Isabelle knew that his words came out of a good place in his heart. From the first, he didn't want her to suffer. And, holding on to the past affections of a little girl who neither knew her nor cared would only bring her pain. She knew that, but she had to try to reach Hermione any way that she could.

"Some Seer she is," Isabelle mumbled, taking a big swallow of iced tea. "Oops, caffeine's not good for the baby, is it?"

She guiltily swallowed the beverage, pouring the remainder out of the office window. Harry knocked on the partially opened door, pausing as he watched his aunt pouring out her drink.

"Er, hi Aunt Isabelle," he said, giving her a funny look.

"Hey," she replied, smiling brightly. "Chips?"

He wrinkled his nose. "No, thanks. I, um, don't want to spoil my dinner."

"Suit yourself." She shrugged and grabbed another handful out of the bag.

"It is alright if I close the door?" She nodded, and Harry shut the door with a flick of his wand.

"What's up?" Isabelle asked, crawling underneath her desk.

She could've sworn that she stashed a bottle of water around there somewhere. After poking around for a minute, she squealed triumphantly. Harry laughed at the sight of her disheveled head popping over the neat stacks of papers and books. She truly looked like an absent-minded professor.

"Can I cut to the chase?" he asked, an agitated look appearing on his face. Isabelle nodded, puzzled. "You're going to lose your court case, aren't you?"

"Well, I'd say I at least a 50-50 shot, right?" she said bravely.

Harry stood up and started pacing the small office. "Come on, we both know that Remizov bought off the court. You don't have to pretend for me."

"The decision comes out this Saturday, but yeah, I'm expecting to lose." She sighed heavily.

"And, what then? He's going to come after you."

"Why do you think that?"

"He's evil. I know how evil works."

"But, he can't get on Hogwarts grounds, so don't worry about it," she said dismissively.

"Oh, come on!" Harry exclaimed, throwing up his hands. "Aunt Isabelle, let's stop playing games, ok? I know that you're trying to protect me from all of the awful things that you've seen and that have happened to you. But, I've lost family and a friend to Voldemort, too. There's nothing to protect me from. Please let me help you."

"I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't drag you into this," she said firmly, looking into his eyes.

"I'm already involved, and I'm not going anywhere." He crossed his arms resolutely and stared her down.

Lily's eyes stared back at her with every bit of her bravery and resolve. It was eerie. Lily. That's it, she thought excitedly, jumping up from her chair. She ran over to a large shoebox and began rifling through it, tossing the rejected parchments behind her back.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked, amazed at his aunt's energy.

"When I find it, I'll let you know," she answered distractedly, picking up an old, yellowed envelope. She flipped open the parchment, and began reading.

Dear Isabelle, How's it going, little sister? It seems like so long since I've had the time to sit down and write a nice, long letter. But, Harry's taking a nap, so we'll see how far I can get before he wakes up!


She dropped the letter like it was on fire. This was exactly what she wanted to find, but that didn't make it any easier to read Lily's last letter to her. The letter rolled across the rug, landing neatly in front of Harry's shoe. He picked it up and opened it curiously.

"No!" She screamed, snatching it from his grasp roughly. "You can't read that!"

"I'm sorry," he said, wide-eyed, backing up a few steps. "It's just that I saw my mum's handwriting, and--"

Isabelle melted. "Oh, Harry, it's me who should apologize. And, don't worry. Nosiness runs in the family. I could tell you things about Petunia that would make your hair curl."

"No way."

"Remind me of this conversation in a few years, and I'll show you a whole new side of my darling oldest sister," she winked.

"Oh, I will," he said, with a devious grin that made Isabelle proud.

"Like I said, I'm sorry that I ripped the letter away from you like that. It's just that I was kind of a party girl at Hogwarts. And I wouldn't want you to read the letter and think poorly of me." She looked at the ground shyly, lying through her teeth of course.

If Harry or Sirius knew what was really in that letter…Isabelle shuddered at the idea. It would shatter both of them. And, it was her job to take care of them; she promised Regina and Lily that she would.

No one except Isabelle knew that Lily was pregnant when she died, so she took that secret to the grave with her. And Isabelle didn't really see the point in revealing that information now, after all these years. It would only serve to hurt the people she loved most.

Besides, if Sirius found out about Lily, and then learned about their baby, he'd instantly morph into psychotic overprotection mode. Nothing made him more uptight and stressed out than a threat to one of the children. No matter what he thought of her or the baby, Sirius would move heaven and earth to keep any of the children out of danger.

"I'd never think poorly of you," Harry said, jarring her out of her thoughts. He smiled at her so sweetly that she melted again.

How could Petunia be so cruel to such a wonderful kid? Isabelle wondered, shaking her head.

"Thanks," she said, smiling back. "Well, the reason that I wanted to find this letter is that Lily jotted down some charms that she developed shortly before she died. Really clever, but nearly impossible to perform, charms if I remember correctly."

"Charms?" He stared at her blankly.

"Well, if my darling husband decides to throw a party on Hogwarts grounds with a few of his good buddies, then we need to be prepared. But, truthfully I can't see away he could get on grounds."

"Remember last year," Harry said. "Do you think he could set up a portkey somewhere?"

"That's possible. But, that was an inside job, and Voldie doesn't have an inside man this year."

"Voldie?" he laughed.

"Yeah, your dad made that one up. Let's think, here. If my lazy husband wanted to attack us, how would he do it?"

"He can't Apperate on grounds," Harry said thoughtfully. "And a portkey's out, so he probably won't charm his way here. He doesn't know the back entrances through Hogsmeade to get to the castle. What does that leave?"

"Polyjuice potion."

"Huh?"

Isabelle flung herself into a chair. "It's so deceptively simple. Sergei has some of the best chemists on planet earth manufacturing his disgusting designer drugs. Whipping up a simple polyjuice potion would be child's play in comparison."

"Designer drugs?" Harry repeated. She waved her hand dismissively.

"That's another story for another day. I bet Sergei would try to sneak on grounds posing as another person."

"But, Barty Crouch did that last year. Isn't that--"

"Lazy? Cliché? Yup, which is why I'm almost positive that that's what he'll do," Isabelle decided.

And, I'll be ready for him, she thought triumphantly. She looked at Harry thoughtfully, considering whether or not to talk about his Discerner gifts with him. Mummy P began my training at the age of eight, she reasoned, so he's definitely old enough to control the power.

But, I can't do that without consulting Sirius first, she groaned internally. Because he's Harry's guardian, not me, she thought, frowning. If it were up to me, I'd be training him six days a week. However, Sirius worried that if the children used their special magical gifts, they could be exploited like Isabelle was. While she couldn't fault his reasoning, she simply disagreed.

So, I'll just teach him everything else that I can, she thought determinedly. Beginning with the charms. She carefully made the entire letter disappear except for those portions about the charms, and gave it to Harry.

"Can you figure out what we're supposed to do, here?" she asked, watching the look on his face as he deciphered Lily's handwriting. He held the letter like it was a precious, sacred object, which made Isabelle smile. She did the exact same thing with her own mother's letters.

"Well, she says the charm will only work for Discerners. What's that?"

Crap, Isabelle thought, biting her lip. Oh, screw it, she decided. Harry's my nephew, and I'm going to teach him how to use his gift even if Sirius pitches a royal temper tantrum. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

So, she sat him down and gave him the exact same lectures that Mummy P gave her all those years ago. Harry listened, captivated, until she finished.

"But, how do I read people's minds?" he asked practically.

"By doing the exercises that I'm teaching you. You don't have to learn how to be a Discerner if you don't want to. It's a blessing, and a curse."

"I'll do anything that'll help kill Voldie." He shrugged one shoulder casually. "Besides, I'd sure like to be able to read Virginia's mind. I don't know where she's coming from half the time. Would make life a whole lot easier."

"Yeah, and she'd get amazing presents, too," Isabelle joked.

"Hey – is that how you knew exactly what I wanted for Christmas?"

She smiled innocently. "So, what does Lily say to do?"

"To use the Deflecting Charm at the same time your opponent curses you. Wow, that's nearly impossible."

"I told you so," Isabelle said wryly. "Well, Charms wasn't my best subject, so how about we learn this together?"

"You've never learned these?" Harry asked incredulously.

She looked down guiltily. "No, I've always been kind of lazy about it. Potions comes much more easily to me, and there's usually a potion version of every charm."

"True. I never really thought about that before," he said slowly. "Well, the first thing we're supposed to do is to pick an object to deflect the curse into."

Isabelle looked around the room for a minute, finally plucking a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear off her bookshelves. "Sorry, Pooh old boy, you're about to get hexed. What now?"

"When your opponent begins a hex, say Declino, followed by the hex's name. Oh, yeah, you're supposed to point your wand to the object that the hex is supposed to go to. What in the world? Mum's as confusing as my textbook, I swear."

"Thank you. I told her that my entire childhood," she said, feeling vindicated. "It's kind of nice to be able to talk about her with you."

"Yeah, it is." He smiled shyly.

"Ok, I think I get what Lily was trying to explain. Let me set it up, and then we can have some fun."

Isabelle put poor Winnie the Pooh on a short stool in the middle of the room. Then, she asked Harry to stand on one side of the office, and she walked to the opposite side.

"Alright, wands out," she instructed.

"Uh, if I'm going to ever use this on Voldemort, I'm going to have to go wandless," he reminded her.

"Hey, I was trying to go easy on you first, Potter." She shrugged, put her wand down, and rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Bring it on."

"Flip--" he began.

"Declino Flipendo!" Isabelle exclaimed, pointing her index finger towards Pooh. Both watched in amazement as the bear flew off the stool, landing in a wastebasket. They dissolved in laughter.

"Wicked," Harry said in awe.

"No kidding. I never knew Charms could be this much fun. Well, now that we know how this works, why don't I try it on you?"

"Ok," he agreed nervously, trying to concentrate. She fought the urge to turn his hair fuchsia, deciding on a fairly harmless charm instead.

"Mobiliarbus!" she incanted.

She raised Harry a foot in the air and landed him neatly on top of her desk. He jumped off, shaking his head in exasperation.

"That is so much harder than it looks," he told her.

"You'll get it," she said reassuringly. "If you could perform the Patronus Charm in your third year, you'll get this one."

"How'd you hear about that?"

"Remus."

"Gotcha. Well auntie, I'm ready for more," he said, determined to master the charm.

She grinned, and turned his robes into a 1970's polyester leisure suit, truly making him look like James' clone. Harry caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, and grimaced. The sight of him made Isabelle literally roll around on the floor in hysterics.

After fixing his robes, they spent the next hour sending hexes at each other. As they began to get the hang of the charm, their curses became more elaborate and rowdy. Smoke filled the office more than once, causing Isabelle to crack the door open. Suddenly, Sirius burst into the room, wand drawn.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he said, much more angrily than he intended to. "I thought you were being attacked or something."

Apparently I'm not the only person who thinks that Remizov's going to show up, Harry thought ruefully. He watched Sirius stare his aunt down.

"Nope. Just having a little fun," she said evenly.

"What sort of fun?" he asked suspiciously, looking at the now mangled Pooh bear on the stool. Isabelle swallowed nervously.

"I was training Harry," she admitted in Gaelic.

Sirius quietly exploded. "You what?"

"I didn't stutter," she said, drawing herself to her full height.

Harry looked from one to the other, trying to figure out what their conversation was about. It really irritated him when they started speaking in another language. He settled for trying to use his newly found skills to Discern what they were thinking about.

"Isabelle, how could you do this without consulting me first?"

He was more hurt than angry, Harry realized. But, why?

"Because you would've said no. And, I'm tired of asking your permission to help my nephew defend himself."

"He's a child. This is too much responsibility to put on his shoulders."

"Mummy P didn't think it was too much responsibility," Isabelle threw in his face. He flinched.

"And, I had no clue what was going on. If I did, I would've said the exact same thing. Neither one of us had much of a childhood, Belle. Can you blame me for wanting something different for Harry?"

"No, I don't." She sighed.

"Do you want him to end up being exploited by the Ministry, like you did?"

"No."

"There you go. End of story." Sirius crossed his arms.

"Harry's stronger than I am, and smarter, too."

"I sincerely doubt that," he scoffed.

"Fine," she screamed. "He's not a naively trusting person, like I am! When people tell him things, he has the common sense to question whatever they say! Unlike me. I believed that the Ministry could hurt you. I believed that Sergei cared about me. And, I believed every bloody word that you said in Dover."

Harry looked at them disbelievingly. So, they really did have a fling over Easter holidays, he thought. But, something obviously happened, or they wouldn't be at each other's throats.

"And, I believed you," he spat sarcastically.

"This is about Harry, not us. If there ever really was an 'us' in the first place." She was nearly nose-to-nose with Sirius. "I'm going to train him, no matter what you say. He's almost a man, and old enough to make his own choices. And, he chose the training."

"He's a fifteen year old boy," he repeated.

"Sirius, don't do this." She put her hand on his arm.

"Do what? He's my responsibility, and I'll be damned if I let history repeat itself." He looked out of the window, clenching his jaw. "I lost all of you once. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

"Stop it! Stop blaming yourself for everything that happened. Voldemort killed James and Lily; you didn't. Peter tricked all of us. Well, except for Gracie, but that's beside the point. What happened back then isn't your fault, so stop trying to atone for sins that you didn't commit. You couldn't protect us back then, and you can't now. The best that we can do is prepare for the worst. Here, look at this." She shoved Lily's letter in his hand. Sirius scanned the page.

"Is this how she--"

"Yeah. It's the only way to take Voldemort out, Sirius."

"I know that, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it, or approve of what you do."

"Since when do you approve of anything I do?" she asked, trying to mask her hurt feelings. He rolled his eyes.

"I refuse to go there, Belle. Who you do is your own business."

"Oh no, you didn't," she screamed.

A sharp pain seared through her midsection, causing her to gasp loudly. Petrified, she lowered herself to the ground. Her eyes met Harry's, and she knew instantly that he realized exactly what was going on.

"Aunt Isabelle, are you alright?" he asked, grabbing her bottle of water and kneeling beside her. She nodded vigorously.

"Fine. I think Sirius was just leaving," she said, giving him a piercing look. He threw up his hands and stomped out of the room.

"The baby's his, isn't it?" Harry asked quietly, sitting down beside her.

"Yeah."

He put his arm around her. "Well, I'm here for you, even if he's not. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks," she replied gratefully.

"Hey, I have to go meet Ginny for dinner," he said, standing up and giving her a concerned look. "Take care of that cousin of mine, ok?"

She laughed. "Will do."

Angel -- Here's the update! Hope you enjoy...

nastygurl -- Thanks!

SashaBT245 -- Muchas Gracias! (Don't know how to say it in French.) You had better keep writing...

dweem-angel -- Thanks! (I seem to be saying a lot of that, but I sincerely mean it. Love reviews. Looove them.)

mysticXesperanza -- No, this really is Part V. Part IV's unwritten. It's confusing, I know. I'm working up to Part IV. It's incredibly dark, as is Part VI. So, that's one big reason for the discontinuity right now.