Propositions

"Sakhmet," a voice hissed from behind a tree in the park Sakhmet had found to wander in until she could figure out what to do.

She glared at the speaker. It was a blond man in a dark robe. With a metal-tipped cane, he looked like he was used to sneering at anyone and everyone. She walked over to him before asking waspishly, "What?"

"The man I work for sent me to offer you a proposition."

"And?"

"And what?" asked the tall man, not used to being spoken down to. Having someone less than a third of his age speak down to him was almost unbearable. But he had a task to do.

"And who is this man you work for? And what is this proposition you speak of?"

"I work for Lord Voldemort. He would like to offer you the chance to serve in his army."

"First of all, I dislike him for the simple fact that he sent one of his-" She looked Lucius Malfoy up and down before continuing. "-Minions to speak with me. This lord you speak of obviously doesn't know a thing about dealing with people like me. Secondly, I'm going to say no anyway just to piss you off." The man's disgusted expression turned into one of fury. "And lastly-" She grabbed the man's neck, pulling his face down to her level. "I serve no one." At that she released the man and walked away.

"You are a fool," spat the man.

"No more than you are."

Sakhmet didn't break her stride until she arrived at an empty playground. Here she sat in a swing and watched the sunset before returning to the park to curl up in a tree.

And that was where her father found her. After sniffing out her trail, Sirius had followed her tracks hurriedly, almost missing that she had spoken to Malfoy Senior. He returned to his human form when he found her curled up in her tree.

After having her branch shaken by "daddy dearest", Sakhmet had the wonderful joy of falling out of the tree. She promptly spoke of her indignation in words that would make a sailor blush.

However her father just stood there until she was finished. Then he spoke. "So are you coming back? I certainly hope we can find a better place for you to sleep back at my house than a tree."

Exasperated, Sakhmet simply nodded. They walked in silence back to Number 12, Grimmauld Place while Sirius thought over Dumbledore's warning.

"And it probably wouldn't be a great idea to tell her about the prophecy."

"Why on earth not?"

"Well, she might feel like we're using her."

"That's kind of what you're doing."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You actually think I'm in charge of anything?" Sirius laughed cheerily.

"Well, either way you shouldn't tell her just yet. Wait a few months at least."

"Hey, Sakhmet?" the man asked.

"Yeah?"

"I've got a proposition for you."

"Be careful. The last man who said that ended up going back to a beating."

"Oh, you mean Malfoy? What was that about anyway?"

"He wanted me to work for some weirdo. He sounded like a pedophile to me."

"He wouldn't happened to have mentioned Lord Voldemort, would he?"

"Actually he did. Now what was that proposition you mentioned?"

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't joined the dark side yet. "Well, if you stick around, we'll see if we can get you into the year you should be in at Hogwarts."

"Deal." They shook left hands before continuing to walk on.

"By the way, how did you know what Hogwarts is?"

"I heard it from my namesake."

Sirius stopped suddenly. "You spoke to a goddess?"

"Well, technically I had a couple of dreams where she explained stuff to me, but basically yeah. We 'Sakhmets' stick together. Speaking of which, when exactly were you going to tell me about that prophecy?"

"The old fart decreed that I shut my trap. She told you?"

"I guessed from what I've read about her story."

"Ah."