Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.
Author: zimagesto
Title: Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R
Chapter 8: When Past Hits Us
Severus heard the knock on the door and smiled to himself as he walked towards it. That would be Amala, of course. It was a very good thing she'd accepted to come, maybe he'd manage to get her to calm down and relax.
He opened the door and smiled at the girl who looked at him nervously.
"Good evening, lovely to see you" he said amusedly.
"Good evening" she said in a way that spoke of distrust and stepped in his room. Severus closed the door and gestured to one of the armchairs in front of the fire.
"Let's sit down," he suggested.
"Let's" she replied and nearly stormed towards one of them and sat down. Severus snorted to himself and sat on the other.
"How are you?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.
"Fine. How are you?" she replied, frowning slightly.
"Oh, fine indeed" he said, stretching. "Please, relax. Make yourself at home"
"Yeah" she replied and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Why are you tense?" he asked, going along with his plan of going straight to the problem. He didn't know exactly what problem it was, but he would solve it.
"Because lately you've been acting like all you want is to get into my pants," she replied.
"You weren't worried about this part of our relationship before" he said.
"It just struck me that you want me and Severus I can't make that step, really. Not now. I don't want to…" she was getting red as she started speaking faster and faster. Severus stopped listening to her and started watching her carefully instead. She was stressed.
"Amala…" he muttered.
"What?" she asked, stopping abruptly.
"Relax. I'm not going to jump on you," he said in a very calming tone. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do"
"Really?" she asked, sarcastically. "That's not how you've been acting, Severus"
"You're scared," he said slowly. "What are you so scared of? I won't hurt you, I swear. I know I've been… demanding lately, but you should know I am perfectly capable of restraining myself…"
"But do you want to?" she asked. "You don't seem to want to"
"Gods" he snorted slightly. "I know how I am, but truly, you cannot believe that I am willing to do you any harm, be it physical or psychical. Why do you have that feeling?"
"I know what men want, I'd just been hoping you wouldn't be demanding it like this. I hoped you'd be different from the majority in this aspect also, as you are in others, but no! You had to be typical male and… why are you laughing?!"
"How many men have you known closely, Amala?" Severus asked. "Truly speaking. What you're saying is what other women have planted into your mind, the public opinion… It could be formulated like this: women are used by men for sex. Always, no exceptions. Is that it? Is that your opinion on the matter?"
"Well…" she started, but he cut her off.
"And women are making a sacrifice for sleeping with men. That true? Really?"
"Well…" she started again, but again, he didn't let her speak.
"A true sacrifice, they don't even enjoy it, the women" he said and sighed slowly. "Is that what you think?"
"Of course not!" Amala said, revolted.
"You're acting like it" Severus said and smiled slowly. "Tell me about your parents"
"What?!" she asked, frowning. "What do they have to do with this?!"
"Probably more than you imagine. What did your mother tell you about relationships, what did your father tell you?"
"Well…" she started and looked at him, waiting for him to interrupt. But, ash he didn't, she continued. " My mum said always be careful, nice guys are one in a million, the others want other things… She kept saying that"
"Bingo" Severus said. "There's your problem. That message sunk in. You probably heard others of the type, and there you go: a lot of stress connected to this subject."
"Yes, but you're acting like a complete… a complete…" she protested.
"Come here" Severus said, stretching out his arms. "And for once, let yourself go, stop worrying. We'll do just what you want us to do. You may do whatever you want. Come here"
Amala stared at him with distrust for a few seconds before getting up slowly and walking really, really, slow.
"You better not…" she muttered and stopped saying anything. It didn't matter, though. He knew what she meant. Not betray her. And he wouldn't.
He waited patiently as she slowly covered the ground between them. She was uncertain, indeed, scared, ready to fight him. Well… she was of age, but she had a lot of problems. He hadn't thought it would be like that, but he'd wait for her to be ready… He'd help her on the way.
He smiled as she reached him and sat down on his lap, but she was still tense. It wasn't the time to scare her further, so he put his arms around her and held her. Slowly, she started relaxing in his arms and she leaned uncertainly against his chest.
"See? I'm not eating you alive," he kidded and she allowed herself to laugh slowly.
They stayed like that for a while and Severus couldn't stop smiling. She was relaxing and she had started trusting him a bit more. After awhile, he dared stretch his neck and plant a soft kiss on her lips.
"You know" he purred slowly "one woman told me once that women get most of the fun…"
"Would that have been Monica?" she asked and she tensed a bit.
"Yes…" he replied with a smirk. "But that's not very relevant right now"
"You're trying to get me to sleep with you," she said with a stern look.
"Well, yes, but that wasn't why I said it" Severus replied. "I said it so you'd relax and get curious"
"And sleep with you" she completed sternly.
"A most wonderful side effect" he smirked.
"Bastard" she muttered and shifted so she'd get off him.
"Hey" he said slowly. "Don't leave. Don't mind my throwing words here and there. And relax. If you're very nervous, laugh. It's a stress releaser, that one"
"Ha, ha" she said and glared at him. "Severus, please, stop trying to force me!"
"I'm not trying to force you" he replied calmly. "Convince you to relax enough to enjoy yourself even if not much over the usual happens, yes, but force you, never"
"So show me," she said. "Show me what you like so much. I for one…"
"There speak your old beliefs" Severus gently spoke. "Relax, Amy. I have absolutely no clue how come this hasn't surfaced earlier, but we'll see what we can do"
She glared at him but didn't reply as he kissed her neck gently. He wouldn't pus it too far… just do what he usually did wit a tinge of something new. Like trying to get her to forget what she believed.
At first, she was reluctant to participate, but soon, as she discovered he was only kissing her, like he did in the past, she started replying, soon getting to her usual enthusiasm when it came to kissing. It was odd indeed that she'd have mental blocks on the further parts. Those parents and friends of hers must have really been very against going far in physical relationships. He'd have to change her thoughts about that.
So, how about a bit of humor?
"Now, get undressed" he said as he broke the kiss.
"What?!" she nearly cried as soon as her brain registered his words.
"Just kidding" he replied with a huge smirk. "Although, if you want to, I don't mind"
"You're crazy," she said, frowning.
"Of course" he replied and moved back to her lips. As soon as she saw he really hadn't meant it –which was soon enough-, she smiled. Good, she was calm and relaxed now. And he would make sure she'd feel that way as much as possible. So, it was only after many minutes that he let his hands start moving on her back and up to her shoulders, then down in a pattern of some kind. And judging by the fact that she hadn't killed him yet, she was enjoying it. He had done that before, but right now he wasn't sure she wouldn't snap at him for nearly no reason.
And after awhile, he slowly pulled at her shirt and got it out of her pants.
"What are you doing?" she asked, staring at him slightly.
"The same thing I'd done until now" he replied and slid his hands under her blouse on her back. "It feels better to have skin on skin than skin on clothes, you know."
After a short moment, she just let it be as it was and returned to her previous occupation…
It wasn't in its place to do more on that night, so, at about one o'clock in the moment, he pointed out the time to her and told her they should sleep. She smiled slightly and replied she'd be going back to her room.
"Why?" he asked amusedly.
"Because I haven't got any pajamas here," she pointed out.
"Aren't your clothes very comfortable? They look so," he asked nearly innocently.
"Yes they are" she replied and sighed slightly. "But I can't possibly sleep here…"
"Why not?"
"The others will think that we… we… um… slept together" she said slowly.
"That's what will happen," he laughed. "We'll sleep… together."
"You know what they'd think," she growled at him. "Don't give me that I'm-so-innocent-it-hurts tone, it really doesn't fit you!"
"But let them think whatever they want" Severus said with a smirk. "After all, the truth will remain the same, no matter what they think"
"Yes, but I don't want trouble" she said.
"You won't have any more trouble than you already have. I guarantee to you that Draco knows you're here and he'll say we did make love. God knows we'd had enough time" he replied, deciding to point out to her that anyway, it was the same thing.
Amala sighed exasperatedly, but nodded and got up from his lap. He got up himself and guided her to the bed. She lied down first and watched him walk elegantly to the other side of the bed and lie down.
"Aren't you going to get into your pajamas?" she asked, eyeing him weirdly. He laughed slightly.
"These are some very elegant pajamas. I know they're silk pants and that the blouse seems elegant… but… anyway, the robe goes down" he said and got the robe indeed off him and she could see that indeed, only the robes and the shoes were what had prevented her from believing he was dressed for going out.
"Nice pajamas" she said and he laughed.
"I know"
He moved towards her and put her arms around her in an embrace.
"Goodnight, love" he muttered towards her and he could feel her smile against his chest.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Long live queen Jane Chase!"
"Long live the queen!"
Jane smiled at her people… and they truly were her people, weren't they? They were clothed in interesting clothes that seemed to be very comfortable and yet very elegant. Maxwell had galloped fast ahead of them, speaking of their coming and apparently, the Fal'sil were excited. It was odd to see them, as nice as they would seem in fairy tales, and yet she could see they were modern somehow, but they were crying their welcomes to her. She felt like a queen all right.
They walked towards the castle that Sybille and the others seemed to know, but she couldn't see from there. Perhaps it was a small castle?
"How far is the castle?" she asked her companions.
"Not far" Sania said with a smile. "You see, the whole city, seen from the distance, seems to be on a hill. It is not. The buildings are built in such a way that the tallest ones are in the middle… and the castle is the tallest of them all. It is an interesting idea… Your castle is great, greater than Hogwarts, but not as full of mysteries. In it live two thousand people and there are guest rooms for one thousand more. It's three times Vatican. Your rooms are great, huge… One whole house could fit in them. You can choose your personal servants as all kings and queens did. Now, you will not be dressed and bathed, but if you desire it, some maidens can assist you."
"What do you mean, assist me?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That means you can gossip while in bath," Varamesh said and the others laughed.
"Close enough to the truth" Sania said. "As a queen, this city is the first thing you will rule. The rest of the country has governors, but you can rule whatever you like. Be careful what you do, though. Oh, and in case of war, you will rule the army, or assign its leaders. You will learn how to fight, you will learn about politics and external affairs. You can also assign ambassadors to any other worlds or countries. Do not offend anybody, that's the first rule."
"You will learn our allies and enemies" Sybille started speaking. "You will learn about our economy, our educational system, immigrating, emigrating, you will negotiate for whatever needs the kingdom might have with other kings, queens, with presidents or ambassadors. You will find that there are worlds we have nearly no contact with…"
"So, I have to take care of everything that's on large scale" Jane said and gulped. "Sounds bad"
"Well, it is bad" Sybille admitted. "But you have a Council with members you are allowed to change, a viceroy and all that. And we will teach you some things, so you're not completely hopeless"
"Thanks. I guess" Jane said.
They stopped speaking as Maxwell came galloping in front of them.
"The Council has been called," he announced. "And your majesty, you are awaited"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Amala woke up and looked up from the black-sheeted bed, seeking for Severus. Of course, he wasn't there. It figured, though, that he didn't need as much sleep as a normal human being. But he could've waited for her!
She got up from the bed and stretched. She could use a shower and a change of clothes.
"Morning, sunshine" she heard and jumped.
"Who's there?" she asked, grabbing the first thing she found in her hand.
"Me" came the reply and Colt jumped on the bed and Amala breathed out and let the pillow she just realized she'd grabbed fall down. "Severus woke up at about five a.m., he doesn't need too much sleep. None of the Snapes ever did, except Harold Clive Snape, but he lived about one hundred years ago and he wasn't your typical Snape."
"So, Severus is a typical Snape?" Amala asked.
"Yes, you could say so" Colt grinned. "A typical Snape who's fallen in love with a very typical pure, innocent beautiful girl."
"I'm not innocent," she said, gritting her teeth.
"Yes you are… Childish, a bit. He doesn't mind, though" the wolf laughed.
"Shut up!" she cried and jumped on him with all her might, trying to take him down.
"Cub, cub… no, don't tickle! Aaaa!" Colt said, laughing nearly as bad as Amala did. "Stop, for the name of the Mooooooooooooooon!"
The howl made Amala cover her ears, so Colt managed to escape her. Amala sighed and rolled her eyes desperately and looked at the playful wolf that was watching her from one and a half meters away.
"Oh, God, Colt, couldn't you choose another way of escaping? I think I'll be hearing that howl forever from now on."
"It worked, didn't it?" he playfully asked her.
"I guess it did" she replied and thought for a while. "Colt, please, if you could tell me something"
"Anything, cub" he replied and lied down.
"Could you tell me about Monica? And how Severus acted with her?" she asked seriously and Colt stared at her a little.
"Did you ask Severus about her?" the wolf asked, although he seemed to know the answer.
"Yes… But he didn't tell me much. Please, Colt, tell me about her. He seems to still be in love with her… he said he still thinks he loves her… a little" Amala begged.
"Cub…" Colt said slowly. "If Severus hasn't said anything, perhaps it's for a good reason, what do you think?"
"But really, I want to know about her, she's a great part of his life, I see… Please, Colt?"
"There's a small problem" Colt said and looked straight at her, seriously. "Do you want to know everything about her because he cares about her and you want to be with him and support him and all that, or because you're jealous and threatened by her?"
"The first one, I swear!" Amala said pleadingly.
"Monica is and was a great part of his life, but you shouldn't feel threatened by her. He loves you and he's very faithful to his friends… even if he doesn't seem to be. Although…" Colt said and stopped abruptly, thinking hard about something.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, come to think of it, it wouldn't threaten your relationship with Severus… but…"
"But what?!" she asked.
"Well… perhaps I shouldn't be telling you this" Colt said and gave her a sheepish smile.
"What shouldn't you tell me? I can bear anything! It's a promise, Colt!" she said, her eyes steely.
"Well… You see… Huh… if Severus still has feelings about her, and she still has feelings for him… then… who knows? They might go back together again," the wolf said coughing slightly.
"How could that not threaten my relationship with him?!" Amala nearly cried. "If he's going back to her, then…"
"Just a theory!" Colt said quickly. "And besides, God knows he'd tell you about it and I think he'd be telling you that the two of you can still be together, despite Monica. And she would accept you being with Severus, so from that side it wouldn't be a problem"
"Double date? What a jerk" Amala said biting her lip.
"Jerk?" Colt laughed. "No, I don't think so. He'd probably treat you even better, trying to make up for the less time he'd have. Don't judge him for it… If you said no, he'd stop going out with Monica… But in your shoes, I wouldn't do it"
"He'd never let me hear the end of it, right?" she sarcastically asked.
"He'd never say a word about it… But he wouldn't be completely happy. He'd still treat you as he does, but he'd be maybe a bit sadder for a while. You'd get your wish… but would you want it to be that way? If you accept, he'd be very happy… But of course, this might never happen. After all, it's only a 5 chance of it happening, or something like that"
"Whatever" Amala said, sighing slowly. "I'm going back to my room"
/-/-/-/-/-/-
Harry was outside the Manor, lying down on a bench. It was a wonderful summer day and his birthday would come soon. Perhaps he'd even get some attention! That would be a first since Hagrid came to visit him…
He heard footsteps nearing and opened his eyes to see Luna next to him.
"Hi, Harry" she said dreamily. "How are you?"
"Uncomfortable" he truthfully replied and got up to sit in a normal position, making Luna giggle.
"Can I sit?" she asked and he nodded. She circled the bench and sat next to him. "Professor Snape has quite a nice house. I think I even spotted some viriats."
"What are viriats?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, they're some really interesting creatures" she replied smiling at him. "They live in really old manors and castles and protect it from intruders. They stay mainly hidden, but when they come out…"
Harry smiled at her. Maybe the creatures were real, maybe they weren't, but either way, it was nice hearing Luna speak about them as if they were definite reality.
"How do they look like?"
"A bit like pixies" she replied frowning a little. "That's why people say they don't exist, that they're just some pixies that seem a bit different… They have more human faces than pixies though and they can be very good friends with the house owner… I know! Let's go ask Professor Snape if he really has them or if I confused something with them!"
"I think he'd rip our heads off if we asked that" Harry said amusedly.
"Maybe, but it's worth it!" she said with a wink. "Come on!"
She jumped up excitedly, shooting Harry a huge grin and grabbing his hand.
"Well, come on!"
Harry laughed as they started to run towards the Manor. Just imagine the look on Snape's face when they'd ask him!
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Severus felt pretty relaxed as he read a potion book in the library. Amala had started to make a bit of progress in relaxing, maybe soon she'd act as she really wanted to, not how she had been told would be right. He had felt her react to him before and he'd felt she was pretty willing to go further, but then he'd collapsed straight into the walls of many, many blocks… and he'd been too pushy, only making the walls thicker.
But now, he was gently removing those walls… Soon, she'd be able to judge more clearly and then…
The door opened and a giggling Luna Lovegood followed by an also giggling Harry Potter came through. He raised an elegant eyebrow and spoke:
"Perhaps, Mister Potter, if you were dating a more typical Ravenclaw, you'd realize that a library is a place of peace and study, not a place to be dragged in by your girlfriend in an attempt to get some privacy"
Potter blushed and let go of his girlfriend's hand. Severus's eyebrow rose even higher. So, new relationship? This could get… interesting.
"Actually, sir, it was you we were seeking" Lovegood said and a smirk crawled up the Slytherin's lips.
"I have no doubt at all, Miss Lovegood," he said in his most sarcastic tone. "Potter, stop thinking about my lover"
Ah, he'd hit home, indeed. He didn't need to be a Legiliment to tell that once again, Harry Potter had asked himself how Amala could possibly go out with him.
"Um… yes, sir" the teen replied and Severus smirked. "So, Miss Lovegood, I can't possibly tell why you were searching for me."
"I wanted to ask you, sir, whether you had viriats in your house?" she asked and smiled at him, having that dreamy look in her eyes she usually had.
"Pray tell, what are viriats?" he asked. The girl always asked of inexistent creatures, objects and whatnot. Everybody knew that. And for the love of God, was she wearing radishes as earrings?
"Guardians of manors and castles" she replied. "They look like pixies with some differences."
Severus dropped his mask for a second in surprise. Yes, he had those. He had no clue what they were called, but they were there for a very long time. Had finally the Dreamer of the Ravenclaws asked about a creature that actually existed?
"Yes, there are some pixie-like creatures in my house that I have read guard the house they live in."
"They're called viriats" Luna replied with a huge smile. "People don't believe in them, they aren't very common and they only appear when they want to appear."
"So I've heard," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Could you tell something more about them?"
"They can befriend the master of the house if they wish to and he's like they'd want him to be. I thought you probably know them very well, sir, you seem like the kind of a house master that befriends them"
"Do I?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yes, sir" Luna replied.
"No, I've never spoken to them" Severus replied. "But if you wish to, you have my permission to speak to them"
"Thank you sir!" she said excitedly, grabbed Potter by the hand and dragged him out of the library. Kids these days, they were nuts... Severus shook his head and tusked slowly as he continued reading his book.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jane felt… intimidated. She had stepped into a room full of all kinds of noble people that were staring at her from around the table. She suddenly felt even smaller than before and could feel everybody's eyes on her. There was not a sound as she entered and gulped noiselessly. Dear God. Was everybody there watching her?! Couldn't they… mind their own business? Not watching her?
She could see the huge throne on one side of the table and she just knew she'd be the one sitting in it, looking terribly small and young and inexperienced. Which she was, by the way!
"Her majesty, queen Jane Chase of all Fal'sil!" Maxwell announced and the quietness was preserved. She'd have rather had tones of applause. Instead, the quietness seemed to deepen as said Maxwell led her to her throne. She felt as if he were her father, taking her to sit for dinner. Hell. It was terrifying. How would she rule a whole kingdom when just a room full of people scared her to hell?
She sat down on her throne feeling awfully scared and tried to look brave and royal while knowing she probably failed miserably. Everybody seemed serious and concerned and she… she was just a kid, for God's sake!
"Queen Chase, these are the members of your Council" Maxwell announced and she smiled to him and nodded slowly. Duh. He'd already said she'd be meeting her Council. However, he hadn't mentioned how serious and old they all were. And how royal.
"Some of us are not in the Council, milord," a woman who Jane immediately didn't like said with a horrible smirk.
"Yes, well…" Maxwell said and smiled with a small blush. "I'm not in the Council, your majesty. Neither are Sania Demonheart or Varamesh or Simnai the elves."
"Sybille, you are in the Council, am I correct?" Jane asked. Somebody she knew had to be in the Council, no? Even if it was the dark witch.
"Yes, I am" she replied and watched the woman with despite in her eyes. Jane started to really like Sybille.
"Also, lord Molnar and lord Kenden are not in the Council" Maxwell said. "Anybody else?"
Nobody said anything and Jane watched Maxwell questioningly.
"Who are the aforementioned lords?" she asked, watching everybody. There seemed to be about fifty people in the room and she couldn't tell whom the two guys were to save her life.
"Pardon the viceroy's son, your majesty" the woman said "he tends to be a true peasant sometimes"
"I do not understand" Jane said narrowing her eyes slowly. "Why would I pardon him? Has he done anything wrong? I for one cannot see anything and… peasant you say? I should be telling you then, milady, that sometimes peasants have more heart and intelligence than nobles. Yes, it is a very good praise for him, I shall remember it"
Oh, good, she was in her kingdom for less than a day, she had met the Council for the first time and… she was already fighting with one of the members. Yep, she was doomed. She looked around to see that Sybille was smiling at her seeming for the first time to really like her and that most of the people were smirking. The woman seemed to be a bit pissed.
"Lord Molnar" Maxwell said and one of the man stood up and bowed a little in front of the young queen "is the ruler of the city of Red Fox. You will find that most of the cities have animal names, your majesty."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, lord Molnar" Jane said smiling at him as queenly as she could. "And lord Kenden?"
"It is I" one man who looked a lot like Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings said and stood up. "I am the ruler of the city of the Dragon, like most of my ancestors."
"You truly look like a king and ruler, lord Ara… Kenden" Jane said and smiled at him too"
"The rest of the people here you will get to know in time" Maxwell said and smiled at her. "It is not the time and place here to tell you all about them, but you will be told shortly. Their paintings are hanged on the walls of a room not far from him for technical reasons"
"Meaning that" the annoying woman spoke up again "the old king was not clever enough to remember us all"
Jane really disliked her.
"There are fifty of you. I think I'll be needing the paintings for a while, no offence to anybody," she said and some people in the room smiled.
"Very well then" the viceroy said –or at least Jane assumed he was the viceroy. He looked a lot like Maxwell and he was sitting right next to her. "Let's inform her majesty of her duties and let us establish a teaching schedule for her."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Come on, Hermione, help me with this balloon, please!" Ron said and Hermione sniggered. She'd somehow found a spell to make balloons blow themselves up. Of course, Ron couldn't use it to save his life. And of course, tomorrow was Harry's birthday and they had to have everything done.
"Really, Ron" she said, rolling her eyes and pointing her wand at the limp balloon. With a quick spell it went big and round. "It's a good thing we started doing this today, I don't want to think what would have happened if we'd started tomorrow"
"Luna would have to distract him all day long tomorrow, that's what," Amala laughed. "You know, perhaps I should be telling Severus we'll be giving Harry a small party tomorrow."
"You didn't tell him?!" Ron asked, his eyes suddenly going large. "What are you nuts?! He'll kill us!"
"No he won't" Draco answered and everybody turned their eyes towards him. "After all, could he resist his lover?"
"Lover?" Amala asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes…" Draco replied evilly. "Haven't you heard? He called you so when he talked to Harry and Luna"
"Did he?" she said, frowning slightly.
"The exact quote was 'Potter, stop thinking about my lover'" Ginny said rolling her eyes at Draco. "He was toying with us a bit"
"So, I'm his lover" Amala said, shaking her head. "Unbelievable"
"Oh, don't get it wrong, Wright. We all think that your relationship is pure and innocent" Draco joked and got hit in the head with a balloon and started laughing even harder.
They all laughed at the two and continued blowing balloons and levitating them near the ceiling in the medium sized room they'd chosen for Harry's birthday. The room was in the old side of the house where they were quite sure Snape wouldn't interrupt anything.
"How about a little music, while we're preparing?" Neville suggested and Hermione smiled at him.
"That'd be a great idea" she said and took out her wand, but somebody was quicker than her. A veni cantus was muttered and a song by the Weird Sisters was put on.
"Dedicated to Hermione Granger" she heard and turned to see a grinning Ron. "'The heaven's goddess' by the Weird Sisters"
She smiled as she listened to the music, which was really nice. Who knew Ron had good taste in music?
"What if Harry comes around here?" Ginny asked. "It really wouldn't do for him finding us now…"
"He's out with Luna, remember?" Hermione said with a smirk. "I wonder how long it'll take for him to figure out that she likes him."
"What? Luna and Harry? Ugh" Draco said, making a grimace. "Weird and weirder"
"Watch it, Draco" Ginny said, whacking him not too gently on the arm. "You're talking about two of my greatest friends here, you know"
"Right" he said, nodding quickly nearly with a terrified look before smirking at her.
"Oh, I'd better go and announce Severus that we're having a mini-party tomorrow" Amala said, levitating her balloon quickly –and smacking it against the ceiling-.
"What if he refuses to let us do it?" Neville asked and Amala smirked.
"I said I was going to announce him we're doing it, not asking him if we could"
With that, she left quickly and the others, except for Neville, sniggered.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jane was in her very comfortable bed, only half sleeping. She'd woken up about fifteen minutes ago, but she hadn't had the heart to get out of bed. She was the queen of the Fal'sil… and she was lazy. Plus, her bed was very comfortable. Very, very comfortable and very, very nice. And she was tired. She'd met half the kingdom the previous day –or at least, it'd seemed like it.
After the abnormally long meeting with the Council, she and Sybille had started getting along much better… and that annoying woman, Cecilia she'd found out her name was, was still very annoying. It had turned out that she was a representative of the lower social classes who had a terrible dislike for nobles and especially royalty. As soon as Jane had found out she could replace the members of the Council, she decided she'd replace her a.s.a.p.
"Your majesty!" she could hear that awfully cheerful voice from the side of her bed and groaned. "Time to wake u-up!"
"Ten more minutes, Isabelle!" she groaned.
"No more minutes, young Mistress, you need to wake up and have a breakfast with some of you advisors"
Jane turned towards the old Isabelle who treated her as if she were a child –which she knew she still was, but…-
"Isabelle, I don't fancy a long, boring breakfast with many boring men!" she said. "My first action as a queen this morning is therefore kicking you out of my rooms, and then lying ten more minutes in bed and then getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, going outside and towards the stables, getting myself a horse and practicing riding. Only then will I go to the kitchens to eat something and then… I'll see"
"Oh, no, little lady" the old woman chirped, much to Jane's annoyance. "You must follow the tradition, no matter how much you may be annoyed"
"I'm going to have a shower" Jane sourly said and added in her mind: 'And later, I'll summon my Basic Council, the most important members of the Council and see what changes I can make'.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"We're finished!" Hermione said, grinning. "And thank God Luna's kept Harry busy, I have no clue how we'd have explained everything to him, like where we disappeared off to. Now we can pretend we were looking for him, but couldn't find him!"
"A very good thing" Ron nodded. "Wouldn't like him to go bananas on us, now would we?"
"Oh, by the way, Amala, how did it go with Snape?" Draco asked.
"It went just fine" she smiled wickedly. "Nothing to worry about from him."
Draco frowned and then smirked at her.
"Is that an 'I-managed-to-put-him-down-on-his-knees-and-proved-my-point' wicked smile, or a 'he-didn't-want-to-accept-at-first-and-I-gave-him-something-in-return' wicked smile?"
"The first" Amala said glaring at him.
"Aw…" he groaned.
"Let's go find Harry!" Neville jumped in before it would turn into a war and everybody agreed full heartily.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Luna and Harry were on the shore of Snape's lake, Luna having thrown some type of bait in the water –some fruits of some flowers they'd have found earlier in the garden- and they were waiting patiently for some other of Luna's perhaps non existent creatures to rise up and eat them. Harry really gave her credit: for somebody who only had maybe 1 of her world real, she was very optimistic and maybe even a bit realistic?
"Well, it seems Professor Snape doesn't have them" she said, wrinkling her nose. "But it doesn't really matter, it's nice to wait for them anyway"
Harry smiled at her as she turned towards him, her eyes sparkling slightly.
"Oh, and Harry?"
"Yes?" he asked amusedly.
"Did I ever tell you how much I liked you?" she asked as if it were the most normal thing to ask in the whole world. Harry suddenly blocked and blinked in surprise.
"Uh…" he managed to get out in reply.
"Because I do" she said and smiled again at him, before turning back to the water. "Hey, look! There are some fish that started eating the fruit! Come and see!"
Without even realizing he did so, Harry got up and walked to the water. Indeed, some wonderfully colored fish were eating the fruits.
"I wonder where they were until now" Luna mused. "Oh, well…"
Harry just stared at her before managing to ask:
"When you say like me, you mean-"
"I'm in love with you" she replied dreamily, still watching the fish. "Hey, look at the big one!"
Harry quit on trying to understand her and looked at the water. Indeed, the big fish was fighting off the others. So… Luna liked him? As in, liked him? Which were the odds?
Apparently big, he knew, but still… What should he do now? Maybe he should ask Hermione for help. And was this 'by the way, I really like you' thing typical female behavior? He frankly didn't think so, but Luna wasn't your typical female either, was she?
"Guys!" he heard and turned to see the others. That was odd, he hadn't seen them all day and it was his birthday.
"Hi!" he said, glaring at them. "Where…"
"Finally, we found you!" Ron said, nearly running. "Luna, where'd you hide him all day?"
"I didn't hide him," she said, frowning. "But why?"
"It's his birthday, that's why!" Draco said with a smirk. "Or… you didn't know?"
"Really?" she asked, turning towards Harry. "Happy birthday, Harry!"
"Now she finds out" Ron rolled his eyes. "Happy birthday, mate"
Harry grinned as all the others wished him a happy birthday. So, that's why Luna had kept him with her all day: she'd had no clue it was his birthday! He just sighed and smiled slightly at Luna. He really couldn't hold it up against her, now could he?
"Come on, mate, we got the house elves to cook you a cake" Ron said and grabbed Harry by the hand, dragging him towards the Manor.
"Really?!" Harry asked, beaming.
After a very quick march across the grounds of the Manor, they entered the building itself and, to Harry's surprise, they started walking through the old part of the house.
"No offence, but where are we going?" Harry asked.
"You'll see!" Amala said, beaming herself.
And, of course, in no time, they ended up in the party room, thing which made Harry nearly fall from his feet.
"Wow…" he muttered, seeing the huge 'happy birthday, Harry!' hanged by the ceiling and the tone of balloons and the snacks on the table and… well… everything. Hermione smiled at him as she put on some music, apparently having a radio with her.
After the first shock the party started warming up and soon Harry found himself enjoying the first birthday part of his life. After awhile, to his even greater surprise, Sirius, Remus, Iris and some others dropped by, wishing him a happy birthday and sinking him in gifts. It was extraordinary, everybody was feeling great, Snape didn't drop by…
Also, at one point in time, he found himself invited to dance by Iris, and then Luna. Then, he found himself invited to sit down and relax as he had involuntarily tested one of Fred and George's products and the twins had to remove his horns –which officially made him a small devil-.
At about midnight, they all gathered around and sang 'happy birthday', even Snape coming in through the door and watching with something in his eyes that truly couldn't be deciphered. Then, they cut the cake and Amala even gave the Potion Master a piece of it, as he bowed his head slightly before saying a quick 'happy birthday, Mr. Potter' and leaving the room with the cake in his hands.
Then, Harry opened his presents, which were a lot of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products and a few books about various topics, socks and t-shirts and tones upon tones of sweets and a very interesting bracelet from Luna.
It was only late at night that they went to bed –and Sirius and the others went back to their home-, and even then, the impermanent residents of Snape Manor insisted in having a pajama party. Where he had the chance to talk to Hermione about something that had been concerning him for many hours.
"Listen, Hermione" Harry said slowly while the others were chatting among each other. "I wanted to ask you something"
"Shoot, Harry" she replied, smiling at him happily, although tiredly.
"Luna has a crush on me," he said in a low tone, watching that everybody was talking with somebody else.
"You figured it out?" Hermione asked, surprised. "I'm amazed by you, Harry. Really"
"Um…" Harry said, suddenly feeling rather like an idiot. "No, I didn't. She told me she did"
"Pardon?" Hermione asked, looking over to Luna with lack of respect in her eyes. "What exactly did she say, Harry?"
"Well, her exact words were…' Did I ever tell you how much I liked you?'" Harry said and Hermione snorted.
"How classy" she said.
"But what do I do?" Harry asked pleadingly. "Please, Hermione, tell me! I have no clue how to act"
"Do you like her?" the bushy haired girl asked with a soft sigh.
"I don't know" Harry replied truthfully. "I guess…"
"Well, then, say something to her" Hermione said, pushing him slightly. "Not now, it's not a good time. But tomorrow or sometime"
"What? What should I say to her?" he pleaded. "Come on, don't let me down!"
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You know Harry… never mind. You're even worse than Ron, you know. If she was your normal girl, I'd say you should say something like how you love the way she looks, how she shines like a star… that sort of things. Then, you could try taking her hand… but she's not a normal girl, so I say anything you do would be alright. Just be yourself, ok?"
"Sure" Harry replied, watching Luna from the corner of his eye. "Thanks for the advice… I guess"
"No problem, Harry" she replied. "Although I didn't give any"
The party lasted well into the night before they went to bed.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"Lord Kenden!" Jane said, seeing the Aragorn-type man in front of her on the corridors.
"Lady Chase" he smiled.
"Please, call me Jane" she said with a beam.
"Very well, milady" he said with a small bow. "Where to at this early hour? Shouldn't you be having breakfast with your advisors?"
"Don't remind me," she muttered. "That's a habit around here that needs to be changed. And why do I need advisors? Isn't the Council more than sufficient?"
"The advisors are there for your persona, they will tell you how to act in society, how to break alliances, how to…" he started saying amusedly, but Jane cut him off.
"I get it, I get it," she said with a small roll of her eyes.
"I consider them useless. My first act as the ruler of Dragon was to dismiss the advisors. Bunch of old coots," he said and Jane grinned.
"Oh, I must do it also. And change Isabelle for someone else who doesn't treat me like a child" Jane said thoughtfully.
"My dear, you are a child," Lord Kenden pointed out playfully.
"Really, milord?" she asked with a not very happy look on her face. "I hadn't realized. But if you like to protect her so much, will send her to you"
"Gods, no!" he laughed. "So, where are you going this time of morning, if not to your breakfast?"
"Out for riding training" Jane laughed. "It's more fun. Then I can go to the kitchens and grab something to eat"
"You're truly my kind of a queen" Lord Kenden stated. "I can see you having a will of your own, a wise judgment and, of course, a lack of respect towards social habits of kings and queens prior to you"
"I'm starting to really like you" Jane smirked. "Would you like to join me for my ride?"
"It's not that I have something better to do" he said with a small shrug. "And I can show you around. My great, great grandparents on my mother's side lived here and I used to come to Eagle's Den a lot"
"Great, great grandparents?" Jane said amazedly "and what'd Eagle's Den?"
Lord Kenden looked at her and gaped before he started laughing so hard that some servants that were walking down the corridors turned to stare at him.
"By the Queen's scepter!" he said and started laughing again, even harder.
"Lord Kenden?" Jane asked "something wrong?"
Finally picking himself up, the man fancied an answer.
"You know, I just realized you were the queen in 'by the queen's scepter,'" he said. "It's an expression used a lot here, 'by the king's scepter' or 'by the queen's scepter', either is alright. So, you don't know what Eagle's Den is?"
"No" she replied with a frown.
"Your majesty, Jane Chase, I give you… the capital of your kingdom, Eagle's Den!"
Jane stared at him gaping as he started laughing again.
"Yes, that's the name of the Fal'silian capital"
"Eagle's Den?" she asked with a frown.
"Yes, your ancestor, king Eagle, the one who married the first Chase built a small village here, meant for his relaxing. Centuries later, there was not even a single house left of the village, but the ones who built the capital decided to call it Eagle's Den in honor of what this place meant for him."
"Nice to know" Jane said nodding slightly. "And… great, great grandparents? Were they still alive when you were a kid?"
"Fal'silian people live to be two hundred" he replied with a smirk. "And there are some who even pass that age. We thought it was because of the air here, but we realized that even if we move to your world, we still have the same lifespan. So, it must have something to do with the elves. And the advanced healing. And the elves again. I have a feeling that even the people in your family live a lot"
"My grandparents died when they were about seventy" Jane said with a sad look. "Although they seemed younger…"
"Not natural causes, right?" Lord Kenden asked.
"Plane crash" she said slowly. "My parents were murdered this year, when they were fifty. And before my grandparents, I have no clue"
"They probably had very long life spans," he said thoughtfully "after all, I think it was in the 13 hundreds that the lifespan around here improved greatly, and then the Chases still ruled Alcara"
"That's this realm, right?" Jane asked and Kenden only managed a 'yes' before laughing again.
Rolling her eyes, Jane walked in Snape-mode (it was one of the first things she'd learnt from the Potion Master) towards the outsides of the castle. Of course, she didn't get too far, seeing as she was barely 12 years old –or she would be in a few days- and was born to be shorter than average. Lord Kenden made just a few steps with his huge legs before gaining in on her.
"You know, you are quite mature for your age" he said admiringly.
"I have to be" she replied simply. "So, which way to the stables again?"
Lord Kenden just chuckled and led her to the stables through the maze that was Jane's castle. Once they were riding on the fields next to the city itself, Kenden spoke to her admiringly:
"You're a born rider, Jane"
"Thanks" she replied with a grin.
"And I can tell you'll be very light when you'll be older, too" he said thoughtfully.
"Thanks, I guess," she said with a frown and he let out a chuckle.
"I mean, if you were just another Fal'silian girl, I'd ask you if you wanted to be one of my scouts" he explained his unusual statement.
"What does a scout do?" she asked, shooting him a glance.
"Scouts are light warriors that travel quickly and are very bright. They're not exactly experts in hand-to-hand combat, since their physic doesn't permit them to stand tall in the middle of a battle, well rooted on their feet and to hit everything within a three-meter radius. But scouts, if well trained, can gallop through a battle, hitting their enemies powerfully. They are like the wind, everywhere. Very valuable warriors, but you couldn't build an army with only scouts."
"I see" Jane said with a small frown. "That means I won't be a real asset in a battle"
"Kings and queens of Fal'sil are always very valuable assets," Lord Kenden said. "They are usually those that fight the best, no matter what their physic might be like. And plus, you are a witch, that's a very valuable thing. If you can become an Animagus, you will be the horror of all your enemies"
"I wish I could become an Animagus…" Jane said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps you will become one. And who knows, maybe a Multimagus…" Lord Kenden started saying but Jane cut him off.
"More than one shape, right? I heard of those, it's said to be dead difficult to become one of them"
"Dead difficult, but not impossible" the man smiled wickedly at her. "And plus, think about it. Registering your shape as a… Flobberworm and becoming a dragon whenever you need it. Nobody would know what hit them"
"Wow" Jane said, very thoughtfully.
"It is worth trying indeed," he said with a smirk. "I should know"
"What?" Jane asked, turning towards him. "You're a wizard? And a Multimagus? Show me!"
"Is that an order, your majesty?" he teased. "Yes, of course I will, I'll show you my two known shapes, the others will remain only for me and a very select few others to know about."
"Like your wife?" Jane teased.
"I'm not married" he said amusedly and stopped his horse, Jane doing the same. "But my lover, she knows. We are as well as married, you know"
Once he got off his horse, lord Kenden turned into a beautiful stallion, making Jane squeal in delight. Then, he turned into a rather small grayish dragon, making her gap.
"Wow!" she said, when he turned back. "Wow! Wow, wow, wow! It's said to be very, very complicated to turn into a magical creature, and a dragon nevertheless!"
"I know" he smiled at her, mounting his horse again. "But you see, the Fal'sil were very powerful in the beginning. Then, when we got here, the bloodlines of the people in the original nomad kingdom mixed up, becoming very powerful. Also, generations upon generations of battles made us very skilled from birth in many things. And the connections with the elven realms were pretty tied up… Meaning that we had access to elfish knowledge of all sorts, not to mention that quite a few of our people had elf lovers. Even if they eventually got married with humans, some elf traits remained in them still… We're now under the protection of elves, Jane, and it is no doubt that because of them and because of the magic in this realm, we are more powerful than your average witch or wizard."
"So, good allies to have" Jane said with a smirk.
"Yes, but we have our battles with other realms" Kenden sighed. "If we didn't have them…"
"You wouldn't be the warriors you are," she said slowly.
"That too" he smiled. "Well, we should be going back to your castle, after all, you have things to do, don't you?"
"Yes, like firing half the Council, hiring others, dismissing the advisors and Isabelle…"
"Good luck" Kenden said with a chuckle. "And don't be too harsh"
"I won't," she laughed before asking, seriously:
"Is the city of Dragon far, lord Kenden?"
"One week of riding a horse, or if you were to gallop continuously, changing horses, it would be two days. Why do you ask?"
"That far, huh?" Jane smiled sadly. "I'd wanted to ask you if you'd like to be my advisor until I got track of tings here, but if you're so far away… why on earth are you laughing again?"
"Because I'm a wizard and I can Apparate," he laughed. "I'm half an hour away, as there are Anti-Apparition wards in both castles. Maybe one day I'll show you the city of Dragon… It is very different from yours"
"I'd love to see it" Jane beamed. "So, will you please be my advisor?"
"I'd love to. That way, there would be somebody competent for the first time on that position"
Jane chuckled and turned her horse towards Eagle's Den.
"Catch me if you can, Kenden!" she cried as she urged her horse to gallop. With a laugh, he started galloping behind her.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Iris lied down next to Sirius, feeling quite sleepy. He, however, was quite alert.
"Love" he muttered and she looked up at him. "Did you see that happy look on Harry's face?"
"Yes, Sirius, I did" she smiled back at him.
"Do you know it's the second party he gets, and the first he got when he was one?"
"I didn't know" she replied, her smile turning sadder.
"I should have been there for him," Sirius said slowly. "I should have never went after Peter, I should have taken care of Harry, should have went to Dumbledore… Damned by my impulsive nature!"
"Shh, Sirius" Iris said, embracing him. "You couldn't have known. You did well, and now it is in the past. We cannot change what already happened"
"Maybe we could" Sirius said and Iris stared at him for a second before realizing what he meant.
"You cannot do such stupid things, Sirius. What happened, happened and now all is well. Sometimes it is better to leave things as they are. If you could, would you change James' and Lily's deaths?"
"I would!" he replied, his eyes sparkling. "How can you ask that?!"
"Because, Sirius" Iris said slowly "if you did change them, it is not for certain Harry would still have parents or that you would be alive. Voldemort died that night, even if it was just temporary. If you would change that… you would destroy everything that was built for the past so many years. Perhaps we'd be conquered. Perhaps both Harry and his parents would be dead. The present is good enough as it is"
"But…" Sirius complained slightly.
"Live the present, love" Iris said. "And do what you can do best. Only if there was only bad about an event, change it. Not if a greater good came out of it."
"But if I were to get one of those time traveling…" Sirius started saying, but Iris cut him off.
"He may not have been happy until now, but he is happy now, isn't he? Leave it, Sirius. All will be good"
"Alright, alright" Sirius sighed and smiled at her. "You know, when Harry finds someone, eventually, I wish it was somebody as nice as you are"
"Really?" Iris snorted.
"Too bad Amala's taken, with that git" Sirius said. "I still don't like it"
"He loves her," Iris pointed out. "And she loves him. Don't worry"
"What if he hurts her? Badly?" Sirius asked with a bit of desperation in his voice. "I mean, he's much older than her, and an ex-Death Eater, and a Slytherin and…"
"He won't hurt her, she's safe with him," Iris said with a small smile. "Trust me. Plus, she's a dragon when she gets mad"
"What if he cheats on her?" Sirius growled.
"No, he won't" Iris laughed. "She had to work so hard to get him to touch her I hardly doubt he'll be cheating on her. Plus, if there will be any cheating, it will be her doing it"
"What?" Sirius asked, startled. "Amala?! No way! She's so much like you, she could never cheat on anybody!"
Iris smiled softly and looked down with concern.
"I cheated on you, Sirius," she said, looking up into his eyes. "Don't judge a book by its cover"
"What?" he asked, frowning.
"I cheated on you," she said again. "It wasn't planned… remember Simnai?"
"Of course I do" Sirius growled. "Him? With him?"
"He's my ex" Iris said slowly. "And well… last time he was here… when he…"
"When you two went for a walk, what you really did was…?" Sirius asked, before turning speechless.
"Sorry" she said slowly. "But listen, Sirius, I love you, I…"
"I don't want to hear this," he said. "I really don't"
With that, he simply got up and left the room.
"Sirius, wait!" Iris cried.
"Don't come after me!" he cried in reply. "I don't want to see you right now"
Iris bowed her head slowly. She would explain, by God she would… And then…
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Voldemort paced around the room, gritting his teeth. Potter would be his. And he would fall lower than Dumbledore thought he could. But how? How would he ever break the boy's defenses? He didn't feel that odd presence that kept him out of the boy's mind anymore, but he felt something else. It was the boy himself blocking him out, remembering how the presence had done it. And of course, the boy was very powerful doing so. Most people were, when it came to self-defense.
But how to break him? The presence was gone and he would be able to kill the boy from inside, but how? How?
The door opened and in came a Death Eater, limping slightly.
"Master, I…"
"What is it, Avery?" Voldemort snapped.
"I found the book you were looking for, the one about mind-intruding," he said shaking slightly.
"And what else happened? You are weak physically now and weren't four hours ago" Voldemort said, his voice icy.
"Another book on the shelf attacked me and I fell from the ladder," Avery said, swallowing difficultly.
"Fool" Voldemort laughed. "Well, bring me the book, Avery, what are you waiting for?!"
"Sire, Pettigrew took it to research something" Avery started.
"Really?" Voldemort asked, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you tell him it was I who needed it?"
"Yes, I did, Master" Avery said, a shiver going though his body "but he took it anyway. I tried to take it back, but couldn't"
"Incompetent fool" Voldemort snorted. "Go find him and tell him to bring it to me"
"Master, please" Avery said sobbing slightly. "Could I go to a healer, I think I broke a few ribs and I'm not good at healing…"
"Find Pettigrew, tell him to bring me the book and then go heal yourself," Voldemort said, nearly spitting in a silent anger at the Death Eater's incompetence. "And get yourself ready, in three days we attack Diagon Alley. It has reached my ears that will be when Potter and that group from last year will go buy their school accessories."
"Yes, sir" Avery said and walked out the door, moaning slightly in pain. A plan was forming inside his anger-filled mind.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
All the members of the Order –and many more- were in Snape's Manor, much to the 'delight' of the owner of said manor. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling as he regarded his ex-spy with almost parental care. Snape couldn't be more pissed. Why couldn't they meet in Black's kennel?! What on Earth could possibly be so important that they would all have to meet in the middle of Snape Manor?
"I would like to announce that we have a new Minister of Magic" Dumbledore announced and everybody who had no access to before Daily Prophet news watched him curiously. All except for Severus who knew who it was and was not pleased. "Our new Minister, elected this morning, after finally managing to gather everybody who would vote, is Arthur Weasley"
There were some cheers here and there and a 'way to go, Dad!' and Severus rolled his eyes. As everybody in the room quieted down, the Potion Master couldn't stop himself from commenting.
"Is that the sole reason why you came to my house with the entire Order today, Albus? Or is there something else we should know about?"
"It is good that you ask, Severus" the Headmaster said, turning towards him. "It is not all."
"Since Arthur's job was free, we took the liberty of proposing you as the next head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department " Iris said, a smirk on her face.
"Ha, ha, Iris" Severus said before glaring at Dumbledore whose eyes were twinkling in amusement. "Well?"
"Actually, the new head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department is Perkins and the new member of the department is a graduate from last year of Hogwarts…" Dumbledore started saying before McGonagall cleared her throat. "Yes, well… The next reason why I have called you today was to inform you that it has reached my ears that Voldemort will attack Diagon Alley in three days' time, when he heard that Harry will be going to buy his school accessories"
"What?!" Arthur Weasley asked, shocked.
Severus raised his head and frowned. So, that was it. And how come Potter would be going to buy his things in three days' time and he didn't know?!
"How do you know?" he asked over the growing voices of the others, who were starting to panic.
"I received a very interesting a letter earlier today" Albus replied. "It was, I am afraid, unsigned, so we cannot thank our informer… But I have reasons to believe the letter is for real. Although, it might be a strategic move from Voldemort"
"What reasons do you have to believe this, Albus?" Sirius asked and, Severus could see, he looked quite worn out. And Iris Rose was somewhat away from him. How funny. They'd always been together before. Come to think of it, she didn't look too well either…
"Harry, do you know when you're going to go buy whatever you need for school?" the Headmaster asked and all eyes turned towards Harry.
"You just said I would be doing it three days from now, but I didn't know before" Harry said and Severus sighed to himself. That news hadn't reached his ears before either.
"Alas, that is why I think the letter is real" Dumbledore said in a slow voice. "Only myself, Minerva and Sirius knew of this arrangement. We talked about it two days before, when Sirius came to Hogwarts, but not before or after."
"It is indeed painful to admit it, but" Severus said and all eyes turned towards him "both Minerva and… Black are beyond doubt not on the other side. If Minerva was on the Dark Lord's side, he would have killed me the first moment he saw me as Barty Crouch. Everybody would have blamed my incapacity to act for it. And even had I been saved, she couldn't have possibly known about it, so she'd had betrayed me. And advised Albus wrongly"
"I am so joyous that you trust me without any proof of it" Minerva said and Severus smirked.
"And as for Black… well, I somehow doubt it would happen, don't you? Considering his past and all"
"So somebody must have overheard" Iris said and Severus smirked at her. Of course. The obvious.
"But who could it be?" Sirius asked. "You know how many Professors are in that castle and you should know that nearly all of them spend their summers in other places than at the castle."
"Yes…" Dumbledore took the word and again all eyes turned towards the old man. "At that time, the only people in the castle were myself, Minerva, Sirius, Firenze, Sybill and Poppy. Hagrid was at his home"
"Well, we take the centaur out" Severus said. "Centaurs are too proud for their own good and they wouldn't serve the Dark Lord. Hagrid is… reliable, indeed, so even if he were there… Yes. Pomfrey and Trelawney, they are the ones that I still wonder about."
"Come on! That old fake, a spy for Voldemort?!" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes. "She can't get her head out of predictions, can she?"
"And Quirrell was just a stuttering fool, wasn't he?" Severus smirked. "One that was chased around by snowballs in winter and who always wore a turban with garlic in it, to protect him from vampires, isn't that right?"
There was silence in the room for a few seconds.
"We should be keeping an eye at Sybill too" Dumbledore said finally and Severus smirked again.
"Good" he said. "Now, is that all, Albus?"
"Yes, it is" the Headmaster said.
"Very well, then. May I suggest that somebody goes to Diagon Alley and gets the things the children need for school and sending them here? No need to take risks. And of course, in three days' time, we could guard the Alley with our lives, hurrah"
Everybody gaped at him as he glared at them.
"I have things to do, call the meeting off, we'll meet tonight. At Black's house, is that fine with you?"
"Yes, it is" Dumbledore replied and Severus stormed out of the room.
"What was that about?" he heard Black's voice behind him as he slammed the door behind him and ran towards a room, closed it behind him and completely lost his composure. The pain from his arm was unbearable. The Dark Lord was calling his servants.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Sania was smiling at Maxwell who was telling him about his day. The corridors of the queen's castle were very comfortable even for just standing in. They were cozy and nice. And two people could chat.
"So, basically, that's it" he finished, his eyes twinkling.
"You have a humor" she said with a nice smile.
"Thank you" he mock-bowed at her as she walked one step closer to him.
"Listen, Max" she said with the nicest smile she could gather. "I was wondering if you were… free sometime?"
"Um…" he said and he suddenly looked a bit troubled.
"Maybe you'd like to go out sometime?" Sania explained. She hoped she wouldn't scare him off… he did seem a bit uncomfortable.
"Um… Yeah" he said with a small smile. "Did I ever mention to you that I am… engaged?"
Engaged?! Engaged?! He was engaged?!
"Whoa" she said. "Um, no, you didn't"
"I am" he said. "I love her, I really do… and um… I'd love to go out with you, as a friend."
"Right" she said and her smile fell, as did her heart. Engaged? Loved her?
"I'm sorry" he said.
"It's ok" she said, looking nervously around the corridor. "How stupid of me, of course. I hope I didn't…"
"Don't worry" he said and smiled at her, a bright smile.
Sania was just about to say that she didn't worry, but a voice called on the corridor through the amplifier on the corner of the corridor:
"Urgent meeting with the Council! Urgent meeting with the Council!"
The two looked at each other half-puzzled, half-afraid and stormed down the corridors, nearly throwing Sybille off her feet.
"Watch we're you're going!" she snapped. "This is not the time for foolishness!"
"Sorry" the two said in the same time and Maxwell added: "What's going on?"
"Apparently" Sybille said, starting to walk really fast, the two following her "there will be an attack upon Diagon Alley in a bit less than three days! The Queen and Council will decide our status in this attack"
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
AN: cliffy! Oh, did you notice that my chapter titles don't seem to have too much to do with the storyline anymore? Hmm… I'll have to fix that. Oh, and by the way, Hogwarts is on the way! Next chapter, that's the stop!
Review replies (And thank you to everybody who reviewed! You guys are the greatest!):
Alcapacien: Thank you!
Inu-kokoro: kick my Severus down there? I'm offended. Even if he did try to get in your pants, still! :::laugh::: But I completely understand! –even if I don't quite agree-. Ok, too much time spent on that theme! And as I can see, you've nearly gotten the love triangle… but… well… let's just say that well… Sania might have a bit of a part here or there… hmm… but don't tell anyone!
Oh, and Happy New Year to you too! I'm late, know, but better late than never, no?
Tsuetsu: Thanks!
GamingGuy84: Well, my friend, you represent basically 1/6 of my fans –lol- and you do have a point. I've nothing against huge age-differences couples –as long as one of them is not a kid, like 12 or 6, because in that case, it's truly sick or one of them being 80 and the other 20, in which case, well… anyway, you get the point-, but I understand that some people do and I said… why not? Sirius must think like that too, and he's close enough to Amala to say something like that too –but wait until you see… no, wait, I'm not going to tell you who's reactions! :-D
marauder #3 : I wish I'd live in Jane's city too, or anywhere in that realm, but alas, I have to live here. I like this world too, so it's not that much of a problem. And, yeah, I love Snape, too… Though right now, he needs to learn patience. Loads of it. Poor fellow ;-)
Soramiko: I'm really, really, really happy that you like writing long reviews :-D And now that my computer is back, I can write again! And I can write a lot! And yes, it was likely that Sirius would be against Severus/Amala. But of course, he now has problems besides that… I'm curious to see what happens next. Lol. To tell the truth, I have the basic ideas of the story in my head, but exactly when/what/where is revealed to me in time, as I write. So, I can say that I am curious to see what else is going on. And hah! I get to find out first!