Disclaimer- While the plot is mine, the characters are not… I'm just playing with them.
A/N= Happy New Year to everyone, although it'd be a better start to the year if this *taps broken hit counter* had actually worked for me more than two days this year...
Also, I can not guarantee when the next chapter goes up, because honestly I do not know. I can tell you now that the next few chapters will involve Harry's past and can't go up until they all are written (I blame placement order for the delay), so if you have a suggestion for any particular memory you want to see in the near future, you should tell me now.
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Chapter 15
"Brilliant!" Ron gasped as they made their first steps into the settlement that was Sifra. The city looked like it had been sculpted out of an old rainforest, or had one grow over the entirety of the city, and even in mid-October looked as green and full of life as if it had been spring. There was not much of a crowd but the people who filled the streets were every size and shape wearing clothes that were popular in both the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds, and even some that wore little or no clothing at all. A vast majority of the population they saw looked human, so the small group of Wizards felt somewhat comfortable in the strange area.
"This place feels almost as if we walking inside a dream," Hermione whispered, awed as touched one of the building walls. "It's warm?"
Fluffy smirked at her before saying, "You think we would use dead wood in the making of our homes and businesses? Everything here was supplied by the Earth as the Fae believe in living with the planet rather than taking from it."
"So everything here, except for the ghosts and stonework, is alive then?" Tonks asked.
"Exactly," Fluffy agreed.
Remus stopped when she ventured to a vendor stand where several wooden stringed and reed instruments sat on display. He carefully looked at the display before his gaze came to rest on an elegantly carved small harp. "All of this is living?"
"I certain hope so," Sirius commented and Tonks promptly turned her head when she heard Hermione's snort. Realizing that her cousin was looking at something else, she cautiously followed his gaze before smacking Sirius and Ron in the back of the head.
"Boys, keep your eyes in your heads," she scolded them. They were ogling up what appeared to be a voluptuous green-skinned woman with long flowing copper hair dressed only in oak leaves posing in front of a merchant's mirror with a scarf of some iridescent fabric.
"Good advice," Fluffy agreed, "as half of the Unseelie and quite a few of the Seelie use seduction to catch their prey. That pretty little nymph you're staring at is a dryad. She won't kill you should you gain her interest but then again, she won't need to."
"What does that mean?" Sirius asked warily, trying to keep his eyes away from the beautiful woman.
"Falling in love with a nymph is like falling under the Imperious," Hermione grimly told him. "Once in her thrall, you'd do anything to get her affections, even to the point where you gladly hurt or kill yourself or someone else if it meant a kiss or two. They are beautiful for a reason."
"Is she also a nymph then?" Tonks asked, turning their attention to a small stone bridge where a pair of lovers watched the gently babbling water below. Lupin promptly gave Fluffy a confused look when he thought he heard the hellhound growl.
"No, that is an Inugami vixen," the Hound stated, eying up the couple.
Hermione then gasped when she got a better look, "Wait, is that Malfoy with her?"
"Is that bad?" Ron asked, trying to find out what the big deal was.
"An Inugami's kiss is similar to that of a Dementor's," Fluffy told them before storming over in that direction. Confused to the hellhound's actions but being knowledgeable of what the Dementors capable of, his human companions followed in hopes that the boy in question was the missing Malfoy scion and could lead them to either Snape or Harry.
It was only as they approached that they got their first look at the Fae Fluffy called an Inugami. She was not tall or any older than the teens but held the same sort of draw that Fleur possessed. Her long black hair was tied up in buns that had escaped into pigtails that hung to her narrow waist. She was dressed in a white sleeveless robe bound shut a long sash-like belt of the same hue that barely reached mid-thigh and socks with toes under a pair of wickers. The sight of the toed socks didn't bother so much as the fact they were on the tiniest feet any of them have ever seen. The final touch to the ensemble were flared sleeves tied mid forearm that hid her hands and fell to mid-waist also of the same shade and material as the robe she wore. Slanted golden eyes met them from a pretty face as she separated from the embrace of the red robed blond that they easily identified as the missing Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin was momentarily confused before his silver eyes spotted them.
"I take it that you're here for Potter?" He chose to address them, sneering, as his girlfriend ducked from view before turning to watch over his shoulder.
"That and to know why you are with her," Fluffy told him, his eyes still locked on the strange girl.
"Mōshinikui Argos-san," She whispered with her words only auditable to Draco, Remus and Fluffy's ears.
Draco proceeded to glare for a moment before he smirked, "Ah, so you're one of them!"
"What is that suppose to mean?" Ron demanded. He hated being left in the dark while his guide and rival were both talking in riddles and ignoring them. A quick glance at his companions also indicated they were no wiser to the situation.
"Oh, that," He told Fluffy, ignoring the hellhound's companions. "From what I understand, the arrival of my mother and me attracted a bit of attention from the Wild Ones. As a favor to Potter, Sayuri agreed to be my bodyguard. I think they're hoping that her presence will make them leave me alone, not that it matters. I know better than to kiss a Fae, especially a pretty one."
Sayuri stated firmly with no hint of accent, "Vixens do not go after other vixens' prey."
Fluffy gave her an amused look before saying, "Ah, I see. You're a myobu." He then chuckled as she beamed at him.
"A what?" Sirius asked, puzzled.
"Myobu are a small group of Inugami that serve as the messengers and guardian spirits of Lord Inari," Fluffy told them.
"Of who?" Ron didn't understand either but Hermione gasped in recognition.
"She a fox spirit?"
"Indeed, although this pup is no more than a two-tail and won't be on active duty until her last tail appears," Fluffy agreed.
"Hermione, who is Inari?" Ron wanted to know.
"In the Shinto and Buddhist religions Inari is the god of agriculture and industry and is the Patron God of foxes," she answered. "The foxes that serve under him are all white with nine tails."
"I take it that your studies into Buddhism led you that far?" Lupin told her amused.
Hermione gave him a sheepish look before stating, "Well, Inari is a principal deity in Buddhism so how could I not?"
"What does any of this have to do with my godson?" Sirius demanded. He had been lost since they arrived and wanted answers.
The two hellhounds looked at each other in shock before Draco gave them all a bemused look. Smirking, he then said the confirmation that Remus was dreading. "What, they didn't tell you? Potter, like these two, are hellhounds."
"What!" Sirius protested as the shock ran over Tonks and him but Ron looked ready to kill. The only thing holding him back was Hermione, who grabbed his arm.
"How do you know Fluffy is a hound?" She demanded.
"I'm not stupid, Granger," Draco coolly told her. "Sayuri said Argos, which I know for a fact is a breed of hellhound. I had the honor of playing Quidditch with the packs several weeks ago, which included two Argos puppies."
Fluffy asked amused, "You taught the packs Quidditch? I take it that the pup was involved in that."
"It is fun," Sayuri defended herself.
"Pup…?" Draco grinned at the comment. "You mean Potter? Naturally. After all, what else is he good at?" Ron growled in anger at the insult and broke free of Hermione's grip. Before he could make it a foot forward, he found himself on his back with Sayuri standing over him, glaring down at him.
"Hey! What was that for?" He demanded, trying to figure out what just happened. He remembered taking a couple steps before falling on his back with his breath knocked out of him.
"You tried attacking my charge," she told him. "Be happy all you were was thrown. I've killed bigger mortals than you for even less."
Her words had him speechless and the laughter he heard from his companions had the red appearing. How did he manage to be bested by a girl that barely stood up to his chin?
"We were originally waiting for Mhen to appear but I suppose we ought to get you situated then." Draco sighed.
"I take it we were expected then?" Fluffy asked, confused.
"Dumbledore sent ahead a notice of your arrival," the Slytherin answered, "but it was Lady Freya that informed us this morning to be on the lookout for you."
Fluffy smiled, "Nothing gets past her."
"Who is this Lady Freya?" Tonks asked.
"A very wise woman that also happens to be a seeress without equal," Fluffy answered.
"And Mhen?" Hermione asked, curious.
Draco answered. "Another of my frequent guards. If you hang out enough with Potter, you will eventually meet the rest of his 'friends'."
"And Harry?" Remus asked, curious.
"If Potter isn't wrapped with up with everything else," Draco snorted, "More than likely."
"Is he participating in the relays then?" Fluffy asked.
"No," Draco informed him. "Lord Arawn said he arrived too late in the year to participate and because Sayuri's too young, she won't be participating either."
"But we can cheer for Mhen and our pack mates," Sayuri agreed.
"Lord Arawn…?" Hermione repeated, started, "He's a Fairy lord of Wales… wait, Harry's a Cŵn Annwn?"
"Cŵn Wybir actually," Fluffy informed them, before staring at Draco. "I take it this batch will be housing with you in that wing then? Which Lord is sponsoring it?"
"Lord Wotan I believe," Draco looked thoughtful at that, "but I wouldn't be surprised if it's only because he's trying to regain Snape's favor. Although if Mother's words are accurate, the real thanks should go to Lady Freya."
"Does that make a difference?" Hermione asked, skeptically.
"Snape's iompróir," Draco answered smirking as Fluffy stood rigid and Lupin gasped at the news.
"What does that have to do anything?" Sirius demanded.
"Padfoot, an iompróir is Fae royalty," Lupin grimly told him. "It also means that Severus probably will be staying in the Faerie Realms once we leave."
"Which also means that if you came to get Potter, you're out of luck because Potter won't leave unless Snape does," Draco told them, smirking.
"And why the bloody hell would he want to stay with Snape when he has us?" Sirius demanded.
"They're asgre," Draco said smugly.
"Ah, so the pup finally captured his mate," Fluffy said, amused when the werewolf at his side rubbed his temples in dismay.
Draco grinned, "Exactly."
Sirius growled but it was Ron that exclaimed, "You filthy lying Slytherin! Just wait until we talk to Harry-"
"Go right ahead then," Draco said dismissively, "See if I care. You should be able to see them both this evening."
"Why can't we see Harry now?" Hermione demanded, angrily.
"He's with Snape," Draco answered. "Lady Freya summoned them this morning and I don't know how long they will be. So, lets all be good little guests and get you all tucked in so you can rant to your gracious hosts later when they are available again."
"Fine…," Sirius growled, not liking the way things were going but unable to do anything.
Fluffy then turned his attention to Sayuri before speaking, "I can trust you to look after these mortals while I pay my respects to the Mistress."
"Hai," She nodded, "We will take them to the wing now so they can unpack."
"Thank you," the large man turned to nod to the others of the group before leaving them to the surreal world that they found themselves to.
Sayuri promptly told them, "Come, follow me. It may be safer if you talk once inside. Many of my kin do not look kindly on mortals."
"The feeling is mutual," Ron grumbled under his breath as they followed the pretty hellhound girl.
cwn
Sayuri led them to a large building that structurally appeared to have been created for several interlocking trees, before leading them into the building. It was only inside that they realized that there was more to the building than just trunks and leafy branches, as they found layers of iridescent silk curtains swaying in the light breezes, irreplaceable tapestries of an older time and exquisite pottery and stone work that anchored and cemented the ensemble into a gorgeous manor home. As Ron and Hermione stared at the finery torn between awe and envy, the Inugami girl momentarily paused to talk to one of the manor servants. Sirius glared at the backs of Sayuri and Draco on the verge of exploding with rage as the little house-elf like creatures scurried off down the hall.
He wanted answers and he wanted them now.
"What is going on here?" Sirius demanded. "What are these things?"
Sayuri looked at him confused as Draco gave him a condescending look while his cousin and best friend both graced him with looks of pity. The blond prat that was his blood through his cousin even had the gall to ask, "Whichever do you mean? Can't you be a little more specific?"
"Ever since we learned that my godson arrived here, I've hearing names attached with no description as to what the bloody hell they are," he growled. "I had enough of that! I demand to know what is going on… NOW!"
Remus sighed as Tonks snickers, ignoring the wide-eyed looks given by Ron and Hermione and the puzzled look of their guide. The fact that the blond Slytherin also failed to hold his tongue under the animagus' rage could only spell trouble for them all.
"You want a history lesson?" Draco remarked. "Didn't Binns teach you anything or was he as boring in your era as he is in ours?" That also earned more snickering from Tonks, and even some from Ron as Hermione protested.
"Fine, were do you want to start?"
That left Sirius frozen in confusion but Hermione was quick to jump in with a question, "Fluffy called Harry a Cŵn Wybir, which I'm presuming is a hellhound, but I've never heard of any other Fae called Cŵn other than the Cŵn Annwn. Are they related?"
Draco grimaced at the question, "His name is Fluffy? Who named the poor sod that?"
Sayuri ignored him to answer, "The Cŵn Annwn was originally all one pack but there are three branches now, each under a separate master. Lord Gwyn's pack is all that's left of the original Cŵn Annwn as Lord Wotan's Cŵn Bendith eu Mannau bear Warg blood and the Cŵn Wybir of Lord Arawn are of greyhound stock."
"Does that make much of a difference?" Hermione asked.
"The wolf blood makes the Mannau the most vicious of the three packs and the greyhound blood makes the Wybir the quickest," Sayuri informed them.
Draco decided to interrupt, "They also look different. They only thing the three have in common are those red ears of theirs."
"Really?" She was interested. "You've seen Harry then? What does he look like then?"
"Which form, Granger?" Draco asked. "The majority of Fae have more than one, and I know for a fact that Potter has at least three of them."
"You're making that up," Ron glared at him.
"Potter is part of a shape shifting species of Fae that only comes into existence when a human child dies before the age of three," Draco told him. "What does that tell you?"
Ron glared as Sirius asked, "And her?"
"I am a fox," Sayuri told him.
Lupin sighed, "Padfoot, the Inugami are a category of their own. As far as I know, they are the only breed of hellhounds that were actually born canines. It was at their death that they gain the ability to take human form."
"What?" Sirius looked at him stunned.
"The Faerie Realms are in the World of the Dead for a reason," Lupin grimly told him. "The creatures we call Fae are in fact ghosts."
"No way!" Ron was shocked.
"Oh, that's why Fluffy dismissed my comment on reincarnation!" Hermione gasped.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"Reincarnation is what Muggles call the process of a soul of a dead person that gains another physical body," she told him, "but if Fae themselves are the strongest and most pure form of a ghost, then reincarnation must just be another way of them taking a physical form."
"No, it's not," Sayuri answered. "What you call reincarnation is what happens when a Fae's body becomes so badly damaged that it must call on the elements to repair itself. We Fae are unable to die, yet at the same time we do not live."
"What does that mean?" Sirius asked.
Lupin sighed, "The Fae are cursed beings. Unlike other ghosts, they are unable to past the gates into the Veil where the other dead reside. All they can do is exist."
"Much too deep for me," Ron said. "So, where are these rooms of ours?"
"This way," Draco sighed, as the others sank into their thoughts as Sayuri led them around a corner and then down one of the corridors. He then proceeded to snicker as Ron finally remarked.
"That pretty girl in front of that mirror at the market was a ghost then?"
"Yes, Ron," Hermione said, "She was."
"You wouldn't be able to do anything anyhow," Lupin told him amused. "Nymphs are spirits of nature that take female form, be it earth, water, air and even fire. Their male counterparts are called fauns. Fluffy called that one in the market a Dryad, which are the spirits of oak trees."
"That makes no sense," Hermione told him. "Wouldn't that make nymphs and fauns elementals then?"
"No, if anything, it would be in reverse actually," Lupin sighed. "You just called the Fae the most powerful form of a ghost, and I doubt there is anyone here that will dispute that. With that course of reasoning in mind, you might as well call an elemental a nymph or faun also… of what we know as magic."
"Then why is this Council a big deal then?" Ron asked as Hermione gasped in understanding. "Ghosts don't affect the Wizarding World much, though they appear there easily enough."
"They affect the Wizarding World more than you realize," Lupin told him. "Every magical being or creature, from wizards and house-elves to centaurs and mandrakes can trace their magic back to the Fae. Without the Fae there is no such thing as magic."
Hermione gasped as Tonks looked around in shock, "Then the Forsaken Realms are the origin of all magic."
"Yes," Lupin said grimly. "And if we lose the support of the Fae, we can kiss the Wizarding World goodbye because in a thousand years, our children will all be Muggles."
"So that's the real reason why more squibs being born each year…," Draco mused.
"What does that mean?" Sirius demanded.
"Talk of genetics from Malfoy?" Hermione gave him a stunned look, before explaining. "He means that we all get certain traits from out parents at birth, but only a tiny fraction of it is what enables us to use magic. So unless something can replenish that particular gene, after a few generation, it completely disappears."
Sirius snorts, "Now that explains the purity mania of the Purebloods. They're just trying to stall the inevitable because they don't want resort to using creature blood."
"Afraid so," Lupin agreed as Sayuri promptly opened a door that led into another corridor.
Once in the corridor she stopped in front of the first door on the left and said, "I am thinking that you wish to share rooms while you are here, so gentlemen in this room and ladies will be in the room across from them. You may also use the other rooms in this wing if you would like, however, do leave some unoccupied if you want different sleeping arrangements. There will be others using this wing."
"Thank you, Sayuri," Lupin nodded to her as Ron opened the door into the room.
He then asked her, "Are you sure these are our rooms and not someone else's?"
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, pushing past him, and then froze at the sight before her.
On the table in the center of the room lay a pensive.
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Notes
Mōshinikui Argos-san= I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Argos (Japanese)
Hai= a Japanese word that symbolizes affirmation that's usually translates as "yes", "okay" or even "right!"
And because I seem to be doing Japanese words this time:
Inugami- dog spirit
Sayuri- small lily
