Oh my, I decided I would take what I had written and update because it had been so long since I last updated this story and I felt bad. I thought it would be just a small update but then I looked and I had a lot written that I just never got around to posting. So here is a relatively big update. I hope you like it!
Part 8: Of Waiting and Worrying
The first week after exams was probably the worst, we spent our time thinking on every question we hadn't been positive the answer of, and worrying that we had gotten even more wrong then we realized and we were going to fail it all. Without lessons to take our minds of off things, it was hard not to constantly return to the exams. I began reading even more, trying to drown out my worries by continuing to teach myself things we would be learning in the year ahead. I also began reading a large book I found on the school we would be attending called Hogwarts: A History, it was actually quite interesting and succeeded in distracting me from thoughts of my O.W.L. results quite efficiently. Kyrie reused to be parted from my side, and often turned a violent shade of red if I attempted to leave her alone for just a little while. Othin, Shashi's rat, never seemed as content as when he sat on Shashi's head or when she carried him around in her arms.
Exactly a week after the exams, August 27th, Lupin came to our room, my sisters and I sitting in front of the window, watching all the kids and teens flood into Diagon Alley, preparing for the new school year. Five days, I think to myself, not really believing that in five days we would be attending a school for witches and wizards. "Good morning girls."
"'Morning professor," my sisters and I respond in unison, turning from the window. "Professor Dumbledore is here to see you girls." Lupin says, and the three of us immediately stand, and follow him out the door, seeing our two younger siblings were already there, and we follow him down the hall to find Patrick and Professor Dumbledore already seated. "Come in, come in, sit down." says Dumbledore. We complied and waited for Dumbledore to speak. "Now girls, I am sure you are aware that school will be starting in five days time." we nod as he continues, "To resolve any questions you may receive from other students, you are transferring students from America, who attended their first five years in a school in Iceland. Of course Mr. Patrick, and Misses Tavia and Teva will not have to worry about this as Patrick has been attending the school for a number of years and it is the young ones first. And now I must also tell you that your family is moving out of your rooms to a new place to stay for the last days before the beginning of term. Mr. Weasley," Arthur Weasley stepped into the room, "Will be assisting with your move as you will be staying with his family and small number of others. It would be best if you go to pack your belongs now and then meet in the lobby downstairs ready to be off." My siblings and I glance at each other. Moving? I think, five days before school starts? But why? It didn't look as if Dumbledore was going to say anything else so we hurried back to our rooms, and began packing, magic helping to speed things up. Soon we were scouring the room for any forgotten or missed items then we made off down the stairs, our younger siblings not far behind us, our brother once again already downstairs and ready. "How do you get around so fast?" I ask him, curious. He puffs out his chest proudly, "Appeariating."I poke him and he deflates and my sisters and I laugh.
Arthur Weasley steps forward, "Alright, it's looks as if we're already to go. I'll just cast some shrinking spells on your things and we'll be on our way." We watched as our trunks and animal cages shrunk until pocket-sized, then we picked them up and slid them in our pockets. Kyrie jumped up onto my shoulders, and Shashi carried Othin while Dyri sat on Chandria's shoulder, and we walked out onto the street. We glanced about but there were no cars waiting, and Mr. Weasley was already walking off down the street. Lupin came out of the building behind us and ushered as after Arthur Weasley, it seemed we would be walking to our destination, hence the shrinking of our things. "What about Dumbledore?" I hear Chandria ask Lupin behind me as we begin walking.
"He'll meet us there." responds Lupin. We walk for a good forty minutes before Mr. Weasley slows and finally stops, standing on a less than impressive street. Suddenly Dumbledore steps out from behind a building, handing me a slip of paper with words written neatly on it. "Memorize it and pass it on to your siblings." he says and I glance at the paper:
The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found and number 12, Grimmauld Place, London.
I passed the paper to Chandria who was nearest then glance around looking at the house numbers: 9, 10, 11, ...13. I cocked my head to the side and stared, "But professor..." I began then Patrick finished reading the slip of paper and it burst into flame. "Think about what you read on the paper." Dumbledore commands and I comply, and suddenly a black, shabby door rose from the ground between houses 11 and 13, followed by grimy walls and windows, as my siblings and I stood by and gapped.
"Come now, we mustn't stand and gape in the middle of the street, it tends to attract attention," says Mr. Weasley, ushering us into the dirty, dimly-lighted house, a finger placed to his lips symbolizing that we should remain quiet. The nine of us entered the battered door to find ourselves in an equally, if not more, dreadful, depressing hallway. Mr. Weasley lead us out of the hallway and into a kitchen where a pleasant-looking woman with vibrant red hair sat, but not for long. The moment she saw us enter the room she leaped up, a large smile creasing her face. "Girls, I would like you to meet my wife, Molly." says Mr. Weasley. "Oh, Dears! You must be Chandria, Marari, and Shashi, yes, I can tell by your eyes!" she exclaims, sweeping the three of us into a giant hug. "And you two! Tavia and Teva! And Patrick! It is so good to actually see you after all this time, oh you're parents were always so proud of you all, always had something to say..." Molly released us and hugs the rest of our siblings. "Where are the boys, and Ginny? They should come meet the kids!" asks Molly.
"I believe they're all still upstairs," responds her husband.
"Well go and get them!" Molly tells her husband and turns to us as he leaves the room, "Are any of you hungry, would you like something to eat?" We had eaten not long before we came so we weren't really hungry, but my throat was dry and parched. "I wouldn't mind a drink." I say, and Molly bustles about to get one for me, as we all sit around a large wooden table. Suddenly there are two giant CRACK!'s and two identical boys with bright red hair stood before the table.
"OY! Twins and triplets! Now that's something!" said one of the boys.
"Fred! George! What have I told you about unnecessary appearation?!" asks Molly.
"It wasn't unnecessary! We wanted to see and the stairs take too long!" responds the other boy indignantly. "I'm George by the way." he says, holding out his hand for me to shake, as I was nearest.
"And I'm Fred!" says his twin, also holding out his hand to Chandria. Then he notices Patrick, "Oy! Patrick, you're related to this lot? And I thought Ginny had it bad!"I didn't know whether to laugh or be insulted, but I was saved from the decision as just then several more people piled into the room, another red-headed boy who appeared our age, a red-headed girl who appeared slightly younger, a girl with frizzy brown hair, and a boy with messy black hair and green eyes, both who looked our age. The twins pull the two red-heads over saying, "This is our younger bother Ron, and our little sister Ginny."
Ron... I think, then it clicks, "Hey! I know you, you're the one Dumbledore said could explain Quidditch to us!" I say and the boy's ears turn a bright red to match his hair. I resist the urge to laugh, managing to just smile, and he smiles back then pulls the other two kids over, indicating the girl who, before he could say anything, thrusts her hand at me and says, "Hermione Granger, pleasure to meet you." I shake her hand, saying "Marari Yanamari."
"Yanamari..." she says thoughtfully, then snaps her fingers, "Didn't your parents-" she breaks off at the closed and dark looks on my siblings', and my own, faces, and begins apologizing, "Oh, I'm so sorry I wasn't thinking."
"Good job, Hermione," mumbles Ron behind her, elbowing her.
"No, no, it's alright," I say, "It's just, we don't really know what's happening, you know?"
Suddenly the black haired boy says something, I had almost forgotten he was there, he's so quiet. "Yes, I do know." I turn to him and he holds out his hand saying "I'm Harry." he sighs and then says, "Harry Potter."
I shake his hand and say, "Nice to meet you." The whole room seemed to be looking strangely at my sisters and I as if we had missed something big but I couldn't figure it out so I just sat back down at the table, and taking a sip of whatever Mrs. Weasley had gotten for me to drink. The room was completely silent and then Harry sits down at the table next to me and next thing you know the table was full of talking and laughing people. That was weird I think then turn to harry. "Do you play Quidditch?"
"...Yeah." He finally responds as if thinking about it too hard.
"You're not a seeker by and chance are you?"
He looked slightly taken aback, "Yes, why?"
"Well Dumbledore tells me my father was one of the best seekers Hogwarts has ever seen and I wanted to know more about it." Next thing I knew I had forgotten all about worrying over O.W.L. results, my parents, and upcoming school, as Harry explained Quidditch to me, he was so enthused with the sport that he soon stopped being so quiet and was enthusiastically telling me stories about his own experiences as a seeker, causing me to laugh at his gestures and gasp about his injuries.
"And he removed all the bone in your arm? What a moron!" I say after he began telling me about a narcistic DADA teacher who accidentally removed the bones from his arm instead of fixing a break.
"Yeah, and I spent all night in the hospital wing having my bones being regrown."
"Ouch," I say, wincing appreciably. "I'd like to try out for my house team, whichever house I end up in."
Harry grins at me, "So what house do you think you're going to end up in?"
"I don't know, I've been reading about them in Hogwarts: A History-" but then I was cut off by a groan from Ron. "Bloody hell, not another one!" And Hermione looks at me excitedly, "You've read it as well? Have you finished it?"
I turn to her grinning, "Of course, how long could it possibly take to read?"
"That's what I keep telling them," she says, pointing to the guys.
"It is another Hermione!" groans Ron again and Harry elbows him. Hermione and I continued to speak about which books we've read and certain advanced spells we'd attempted, and Ron and Harry soon stopped listening to us babble on and began talking among themselves, probably about Quidditch, and Shashi and Chandria were talking with Ginny, who was head over heals for Othin, and was stroking his violet fur. Suddenly Kyrie leaps onto the table and yowls, a bright, shocking electric blue colour. I glance at her and laugh, "Mrs. Weasley, so don't have any cream by chance do you?"
"Why of course dear," she says and bustles about getting some and pouring it in a curved dish and setting it on the table. Kyrie settles down, contentedly lapping the cream from the dish, her fur sliding into a peacefully, calm indigo colour, her ears going jade every time they twitched. Hermione stares wide-eyed at my cat. I laugh at her expression and pick up Kyrie, who immediately began purring and shifted to a deep violet colour, "This is Valkyrie." I say, petting her fur.
"Can I pet her?" asks Hermione, admiring the colour of her fur.
"Sure, go ahead" Kyrie butts her head against Hermione's hand as she pet her.
"She's so beautiful, I've never seen a cat that changed colours."
"Yeah, she was at the pet store on Diagon Alley and she just sorta found me, and of course I couldn't leave anything as precious as her behind, now could I?" I say, scratching Kyrie's ears. Hermione jumps up from the table, "You should come meet Crookshanks! He's my cat, he's so adorable!" Ron mutters into a cup of pumpkin juice something that sounds suspiciously like "About as adorable as a gnome." and Hermione glares at him before walking out of the room, closely followed by myself. Hermione walks silently through the front hall then up a flight of stairs opening a door where four beds were crammed inside. "This is where you and your identical sisters will be staying, along with me. Your younger sisters will be staying in another room with Ginny, since 7 girls in a room is just too many." She then walks into the room crooning, "Crookshanks! Crookshanks! Come on out, I've got someone to meet you!" suddenly something large, ginger, and furry lands on top of my head.
"Ahh, Hermione? I think I found your cat." Hermione straitens then turns smiling at the large, ginger cat purring on top of my head.
"There you are Crookshanks!" Hermione says, as I watch his tail swish back and forth in front of my nose, his loud purr drowning out all thoughts. Hermione removes him from my head and I can hear again. I scratch him under the chin. "He's awfully charming," I say, as he purrs some more, leaning into my hand.
"I told Ron he's a good cat! But he doesn't understand!" I didn't exactly understand what she was talking about but I could see a long story there so I didn't ask. Then Chandria and Shashi barrel into the room followed closely by Ginny, and they all flop onto beds. "You aren't still talking about books are you?" asks Shashi giving me a 'don't-you-think-you-think-about-them-enough' look. I sigh and say, "Yes, Shashi, your ears are safe from my talk of books, for now."
She sighs, "Good, you make my head hurt."
"So, what did you get for your O.W.L. results?" asks Hermione curiously. My sisters and I all groan. "Come on, they couldn't have been that bad!" Hermione says looking slightly alarmed.
"That's not it," I say shaking my head, "We took them only a week ago, we're still waiting for the results. And you just reminded us of that."
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize- I remember how nervous I was. I got all Outstandings, well, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got an 'Exceeds Expectations' on that one." she looked slightly disappointed in herself but then it was gone and she continued, "I'm sure you did fine! When will you be getting the results?"
"Any day now." I say, the nervousness returning full swing by now. Suddenly there was a knock on our open door, and I lift my head from where I was lying on my back staring up at the ceiling holding Kyrie to my chest and look toward the door seeing my younger sisters standing there. They piled in and flopped on empty spaces on the beds. "Hey." says Tavia seriously in greeting.
"Hey yourself," I respond watching their serious faces from upside down. "What's up?" I ask concerned.
"What's it gonna be like? Magic?"
I almost laughed, I had forgotten that my younger sister's wouldn't really know anything of magic. "Well, have you tried even picking up a book and experimenting?" I ask teasingly, but both of them just look at me with horrified looks on their faces. "Don't worry you're not gonna blow yourselves up trying beginning level one spells!" I glance around, hmmmm, "Here, let's try one." I knock a jar to the ground and it shatters and my younger sisters look at me in shock. "Alright I want you to take your wand and flick it and say 'Repairo' got that?" My sisters nod, staring at the shattered jar. "Alright, Tavia you first." Tavia gulps and pulls out her wand as we all watch interestedly.
"Repairo!" She says, flicking her wand, and the shards jump and clump closer together but don't really reform.
"Good first try, now Teva." Teva pulls out her wand and does the same as Tavia, but her hand was shaking and the flick didn't look so much like a flick, than like a kid with a sparkler and the shards fly across the room, everyone taking cover, hands over heads. I start to laugh.
"Hey, at least you got them to move, Repairo!" and the shards fly back together reforming the jar which I set back on the counter it had been sitting on. Tavia and Teva stare at me in awe, and I smile ruffling Teva's hair saying, "Don't worry, you'll be as good as me someday, you just need some practice."
"That was an excellent repairing charm." says a voice from the doorway and we look up to see a tall black man. Patrick peers around his shoulder grinning at the stunned looks on our faces as we sprawled across the beds. Suddenly another head pops up behind Patrick, one with a wide grin and bubble-gum pink hair. The three step into the room, the bubble-gum haired one waving excitedly.
"Wotcher! It's so nice to finally be meeting all you! And it's nice to see you two again too!" the woman says to Ginny and Hermione.
"TONKS!" the girls say excitedly, happy to see her.
"It's awesome to be seeing you again!" says Hermione, standing. Patrick crashes onto the bed next to me as I roll over so the world is no longer upside-down, and stand.
"'Ello, I'm Marari Yanamari." I say, offering the women my hand to shake, which she does enthusiastically.
"Tonks, call me Tonks," she says, pumping my arm up and down.
"Tonks! Will you do the thing with your nose? Pleeeeease?" asks Ginny and Tonks laughs.
"Alright just give me a second." Tonks closes her eyes and concentrates and her nose shifts until it is large, and hawk-like and Hermione and Ginny laugh, clapping their hands. My eyes widen.
"You're a metamorphmagus!" I exclaim and see the confused looks on my sisters faces out of the corner of my eyes.
"Let me guess, you read about it." I hear Shashi ask me sarcastically.
"It wouldn't hurt you to pick up a book every once in a while you know." I say, turning to her.
"I do read, you just take it to a ridiculous level. Who reads when they're bored, tired, angry, depressed, sick, happy, hyper, you get up in the morning at ungodly hours and read!" Hermione looked like she was about to raise her hand but decided it was best to say nothing. The whole argument blew right past me, we'd had it so many times before. Then the room exploded into laughter, tears close to streaming out of Chandria's, Shashi's, and my eyes from laughing so hard as everyone but our siblings looked at us with concern, worried we'd gone insane. Patrick talks to the two adults,
"They've been arguing like this since before I left home, this is nothing new. And the laughter? Well, I never said they were sane." a pillow came in contact with his face as the last word left his mouth and he pulls it away, to see me innocently watching the ceiling.
"Sanity, or lack there of, tends to run in families," I say carelessly, watching the ceiling, a smirk on my face, but Patrick got the hidden insult.
"I'm NOT insane!"
"Well you are related to us. You're the one who said we weren't sane." Patrick sighs, even when we were little I could twist around his words, I have a manipulative streak in me. I turn back to Tonks, "So you're a metamorphmagus? That's amazing."
"Yeah, your mother was really amazing though, it was like she didn't even have to concentrate and..." she trails off looking at the utter surprise on our faces then slaps her hand over her mouth as Kingsley Shacklebolt sighs and shakes his head. "You all didn't know about that yet did you? Me and my big mouth. Dumbledore's gonna-"
"It is fine, Nymphadora." came a voice from the door, and Tonks winces, "Call me Tonks, please!" Dumbledore steps fully into the room, "It's about time the girls learned more about their parents." He took a seat on a chair that appeared with a wave of his wand. "What is it you would like to know about your parents?" Dumbledore asked kindly, and I sat back down on the bed next to Patrick.
What did we want to know? Where could we possible start? Were they good wizards? Did they pass their exams? Why did they move away from England? Who were they friends with? Were they wizard or muggle born? Did we have grandparents somewhere? With all these questions circling in my head the one that actually came out of my mouth was, "Are we wholly human?" I blushed as everyone stared at me, but Dumbledore just seemed amused and waited for me to explain what I meant. "I-well-what I mean to ask is- the woman at the owl emporium asked us if we were nymphs because of...how the animals were acting." I stopped, unable to make my thought any clearer.
Dumbledore thought for a moment then answered, "It is not uncommon for witches and wizards to have a drop or two of the blood of magical races running through their veins. Blood lines of creatures like nymphs, veela, and even mermaids, the saltwater kind of course, are often found tied into wizarding families. So it is possible you and your siblings could have a drop or two in your blood, not enough for any real effect, just a simple affinity with animals and possibly plants." Dumbledore nodded toward Othin curled up on Shashi's head.
"You...you said our parents were...aurors, what does that mean, really? I mean I understand it's an occupation dedicated to searching out and capturing dark witches and wizards, but how could our parents be connected to the English ministry of magic and still live in America. Wisconsin, no less," Chandria asked.
"Your parents wanted to protect you and your siblings, that's why when your mother Brienna was pregnant with your brother Patrick, they moved away to America in hopes that they wouldn't be found and you would be safe from the dangers of the magical world."
"But why not tell us!" Shashi cut in.
"It was their choice to keep this world a secret from you as long as they could, in hopes to keep you safe from the dangers they faced everyday. When they were needed here, they appeariated. I believe they told you they were going on business trips."
Our parents had gone on 'business trips' a lot, and I had never even given it a second thought. And what about the locked doors in our house that I never questioned, my parents 'office'. They kept me out saying it was delicate and dangerous in there and they didn't want me hurt. The only glances I caught of the room were of glass containers and tubes. My parents were scientists, that's what I thought, and I stayed out of their lab. Now I knew the truth, that it was magic they dealt in, not science.
Dumbledore was still speaking, "Very few knew what continent you lived on, let alone which country. One of your parents friends made the move with your family, they were fellow aurors and hoped to one day have a child of their own. They hoped making the move with your parents would not only alleviate both family's loneliness but also protect their future child from the same danger your parents wished to protect you from." Something about Dumbledore's story struck a chord in my mind.
"Unfortunately, after they had moved back here a couple years ago, the couple was killed in a fight with a dark wizard. He killed 19 of us before one of our aurors caught him with a stunning spell. He rests in azkaban now and for the rest of his life."
"...19?" I asked in a shaky tone.
Dumbledore nodded. "Oh my god, Neria," I breathed, feeling my throat close up.
"Neria? Wasn't that the name of your friend when we were younger?" Chandria asked, tilting her head. "But she moved...away...oh my- Marari, I'm so sorry."
I shook my head, taking a deep breath. I had always known that it had happened even though the papers didn't give the names of the 19 dead. The dream had been too frighteningly real, the only thing different now is that I knew for sure it was true.
Well I really hope you liked it! I'd love to hear what you think of it so please leave a review.
Thanks for taking the time to read!