Chapter 13—Prowess (Say Goodbye)
I wish I hadn't seen all of the realness
And all the real people are really not real at all
The more I learn the more I cry
As I say goodbye to the way of life
I thought I had designed for me
Sirius, with his hand placed on her lower back, lead Jessica into the dank kitchen of Grimmauld Place. She looked around shyly, biting her lip, as everyone greeted her kindly.
Sirius sat down across from Remus and pulled Jessica down in the seat next to him. Remus handed Sirius and Jessica a Butterbeer before returning to his own. Sirius took a slow sip while watching Jessica with soft eyes.
Jessica looked at Remus through suspicious eyes, "Hey, don't I know you?" she asked.
"Well, I do believe we met once but—"
"Oh, you're Will's friend, the gay one! Not that there aren't a lot of gay ones."
Sirius spat out the Butterbeer he had been nursing and laughed his usual dog-like laughter.
"No, I'm not gay but, yes, I am Will's friend," Remus said blushing slightly.
"You know you broke his heart," she said with amusement.
"We just had a misunderstanding."
"I was left to pick up the pieces, wipe the tears, and watch the Cher concerts over and over again."
Sirius lounged his arm on the back of Jessica's chair and watched the entire scene with amusement.
"Yes, well," he said clearing his throat, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Are you now?" Jessica asked with dancing eyes.
But Remus' reply was cut off by the arrival of Albus Dumbledore. Jessica's eyes traveled over his apparel and she smiled at his eclectic style.
Dumbledore eyes swept over the present Order members. His crystal blue eyes met the dark brown ones of Jessica and she smiled widely at him, faintly remembering him from the night before (well she mainly remembered the outfit).
The aging wizard cleared his throat before moving to speak.
"I would like to brief everyone on the special circumstances that has brought Miss. Huxtable here to us tonight," he said sweeping his eyes once more over the young woman.
"Last night, or rather in the early morning of today, Jessica and Sirius were attacked by Avery, Nott, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix, four very well known Death Eaters. As you all know Death Eaters are the followers of Voldemort," Dumbledore said, merely for Jessica's benefit.
As Dumbledore talked Jessica's face scrunched into one of confusion. The name Voldemort swirled through her head, making her wonder just who this man was. She couldn't help but think that he couldn't be a very good man. Because what honest and decent person would name their followers Death Eaters? None, she answered for herself.
As Jessica pondered this, another thought popped into her mind. Why did Voldemort send his followers to attack her? Had she done something offensive? Or were they simply after Sirius and she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time?
'But since it was my apartment how could I be in the wrong place?' she questioned herself.
Her mind then shifted to Sirius and how the idea that the Death Eaters may have been after him. This thought did nothing to comfort or ease her. It only made her face fade from one of confusion to one of worry and alarm for both her and Sirius' safety. Her eyes shifted from the wall behind Remus' head and to the ebony haired, grey eyed man beside her.
Sirius watched Jessica's emotion splay across her face. Silently he inched his body closer to hers to give her extra support. Their eyes met and Sirius was taken aback at the abundant amount of worry etched into her eyes.
He moved his arm from the back of her chair to place his hand on her back. He rubbed soothing, concentric circles on the small of her back, while his eyes silently told her to stay calm and not worry, because he would take care of her. He eyes silently told her he would protect her.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, discreetly, breaking the two's eye contact.
"This concludes our meeting tonight. Sirius, if I could see you and Miss. Huxtable for a moment in the library," Dumbledore said making his way for the kitchen door.
Sirius grabbed Jessica's hand and led her in the direction that Dumbledore had just taken. Jessica followed Sirius blindly and soon found herself in the largest home library she had ever seen.
Dumbledore stood in the center of the library, watching as Sirius and Jessica took a seat on the loveseat. His lips twitched into a smile as he watched the Animagus place a protective arm around her waist, drawing her close to him.
"Well Miss. Huxtable, I do not believe we have been formally introduced. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said with flourish while smiling at her.
"Uh…Hog who?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hogwarts, it is a place for magical students to learn how to perform magic correctly."
"Right."
"I am also the founder of a special group called the Order of the Phoenix. The people you have met inside are all apart of this group. The group formed to battle the growing darkness that Voldemort has been spreading."
"Who's Vold-ee-mort?" she asked looking from Dumbledore to Sirius.
"Voldemort is a Dark Wizard who wishes to purge the magical community of all those who do not fit his criteria of worthiness to practice magic. He deems pureblood, which is those who come from to people without any Muggle blood in their system, as worthy."
"What's a Muggle?" she asked with confusion.
"A Muggle is someone who has no magical blood in their veins. Voldemort views these people of being unworthy of life itself." Jessica stiffened at this and Sirius, who had remained silent and inconspicuous, instantly tightened his hold on her waist and pulled her body closer to his.
"He also does not think highly of half-bloods either, people who have a parent who is a Muggle and a parent who has magical abilities." Jessica nodded her head slowly, trying to process all of the information that moved around in her head.
But Dumbledore's voice pulled her from her musings and she noticed with that his voice had become bleaker, a fact that made her worry more.
"Now, my dear, I am sure you are wondering what all of this information has to do with you." Jessica nodded in affirmation.
"Well, it has come to my knowledge a few months ago that Voldemort had plans to use you in his next plow to gain ultimate power."
"But why me? I have no magical capabilities as you put it. I'm just a…a…what did you say it was, a Muggle?" she asked bewildered.
"My dear, you are quite mistaken. You are no mere Muggle. You are actually a powerful witch, one who holds special powers."
"But-"
"Let him explain love," Sirius whispered in her ear, sensing her frustration.
"You my dear are a Sha-adi, an extremely powerful line of people who are on the verge of extinction. The Sha-adi people are broken into three distinct power-lines: Formance, Museance, and Moleculance."
"What?" Jessica asked staring at him as if he had just muttered gibberish. Dumbledore simply chuckled at her startled look.
"Now those who possess the gift of Formance are able to change their appearance at their will and make their image disappear from the human eye, which means they are able to become invisible at will. Those with the gift of Museance have an unsettling talent at dancing and singing."
"So then I must have Museance or whatever because that's what I do, well for fun anyways. I dance and sing. And I've been told that I am scarily good at both." She said with pride in her voice.
"Let me finish," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "And finally those with the gift of Moleculance possess the gift of wielding molecules."
"So which do I possess?" she asked although she was sure she already knew. Jessica was almost certain that she had the gift of Museance.
"You, my dear, possess all three attributes," Dumbledore said with twinkling eyes.
"What? How is that-"
"Jessica you possess all three because you are destined to repopulate and rule the Sha-adi people." Jessica looked at Dumbledore incredulously before her mouth began a tirade.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, since when did this magic thing have me popping out children like a log cabin ride," she asked outraged, "I can just see it now, all those stretch marks and all these kids yelling mommy this and mommy that. I mean I want kids but not a whole populace of children." She cried standing to her feet.
"Love, calm down, Albus isn't asking you to have thirty kids right now; he's just saying that you're going to have children in the future." Sirius said grabbing Jessica's arm and pulling her back onto the couch.
Jessica sat on the couch with Sirius, his arm placed snuggly around her waist once more, with a sour expression on her face.
"So how does all of this involve that Voldemort guy or whatever the hell his name is?" she asked grumpily.
"Well, Jessica, whoever marries you has access to your powers, all of them. This is how Voldemort plans to use you. He plans to marry you to gain your powers. Your powers would make him all-powerful."
Jessica shook her head violently from side to side and looked to Sirius for some form of reassurance. Reassurance that the wizard they spoke about would not get to her and force her into an unstable and unsafe marriage. Sirius pulled the frightened witch further into his embrace and kissed her temple lovingly, telling her he would take care of her.
Dumbledore paused here, wondering if he should continue with his other speculation concerning Voldemort's regards toward the young witch before him.
"It is also my theory that Voldemort wishes for the two of you to repopulate the Sha-adi lineage. So, not only will he have access to your powers, but he will also have an entire populous at his disposal."
Jessica shuddered involuntarily and Sirius gripped her tighter. He sent Dumbledore a warning look, one that said to back off and leave her alone.
"There are only a few more things we need to discuss and then you two may go." Sirius almost growled in frustration when he heard Dumbledore utter those words.
'Let her alone Albus,' he thought angrily.
"Jessica, you can not wield the magic of a wand, that is you can not work a wand." Jessica nodded dully at this. Her eyelids felt heavy and she just wanted to go to her bedroom, lie in her bed, and sleep the rest of the day away.
"It is also imperative that you do not let your magic control you. Do not let the power corrupt you," Dumbledore said gravely making Jessica look at him with confused eyes.
"In the past, rulers of the Sha-adi people let their magic corrupt and control her, for all Sha-adi rulers are female. This corruption has led to the near extinction of the Sha-adi people." Dumbledore stated grimly.
"How?"
"The rulers ended up destroying their people. You see each gift comes with its own qualities and limitations. Formancer's are able to change their appearance and create force fields to protect themselves and others but they are only able to wield an appearance for a particular amount of time. The same goes for the force field.
"Museancer's of course have the gift of dance and song which allows them to seduce and put men into a trance. This can never be switched off, so whether you mean to or not you will always seduce the males watching and only the males. But it does not work on males who are already in love."
"So no matter if I'm just practicing I'll still make these men…uh…want me?" She asked trying to sort everything out in her mind.
"Yes. Now, Moleculancer's can wield molecules, meaning they can destroy them or stop them; think of it as stopping the time of the object. They are also able to bend the molecules of their body, enabling them move from one place from another in a ball of brilliant light. They can never stop time of the entire universe and only with practice will the person be able to control more than one molecular mass at a time.
"And each performance of magic drains the Sha-adi. Therefore, too much magic in one day can kill the Sha-adi. Only with practice and inner-strength can the Sha-adi perform a maximum of magic without destroying herself.
"Many Sha-adi rulers have not only destroyed their people, but they have also destroyed themselves."
"How do they destroy themselves?" Jessica asked wearily.
"It involves the Moleculance magic. The Sha-adi destroys the molecules that make up their own body. She continues to break her body down until all that is left is a fine mist, and the mist explodes into nothingness. She disintegrates herself."
Jessica's eyes widened in fear and shock, the thought of disintegrating herself made her want to go back. Go back to a time when there was no such thing as magic. Go back to a time when the only magic that existed was love, dancing, and singing. She just wanted to go back.
"This is why it is imperative that you learn to control your magic and not vice versa. If you let the magic control you it will end in your demise and demise of all man-kind." Dumbledore said bleakly.
Please REVIEW! Just click the blue-ish button and write some words and hit the blue-ish summit button. It's as easy as 1-2-3. Again I beg you to REVIEW! Chapter 14 is making good progress. Thanks for all of the patience, I appreciate it.
REVIEW!