A/N: The next couple bits are going to go fast. But… It will slow in the next chapter.
Lots and lots of clues in this one, folks. I'd really like for someone to figure out the ending to this. I don't think it's that hard.
Wands are interesting.
The Scribe's Resurrection
Part Four: Chapter Twenty-FiveHogwarts
Christmas Break of 1991
A new chapter was beginning in her life, Selena thought. Everything else had been sown up. Remus had his new potion. He was doing well, getting his life back. Sort of. Tonks had been accepted into the Auror Academy with a few good words from Selena and Alastor Moody. Selena's life was moving fast. Her daughter had started Hogwarts. And whispers surrounded everything else. Harry Potter, did you hear? The boy who lived. Selena wanted to just collapse and cry. Oh, dear Lily. Oh, dear James. Do you see your boy from where you are? Were your hearts just pounding when the hat said "Gryffindor"? You must be so proud of him, like I am. I'll watch over him for you Lily. I am his unsaid yet understood godmother.
"Selena." Dumbledore had invited her to tea so they could catch up.
"Yes, Albus?"
"I meant to ask you what you saw."
"Hmm?"
"When you acquired the mirror for me." Selena had imported the Mirror of Erised from an unspecified area of the Ministry and given it to Dumbledore.
"What about it?"
"Did you see Sirius?" Selena frowned. She did not want to think about her husband. She thought about him every single night. Her bed was always so cold, even though she had self-warming blankets. The bed wasn't comfortable or cozy like it should've been. And how many times had she woken up in a cold sweat because the dreams she had portrayed Sirius so beautifully then so harshly? He would be wreathed in light, warm and gorgeous- then his eyes would turn bitter and his wits would leave him and he would writhe in pain… Darcy was also in her dreams, too, her body cold and lifeless in Selena's arms. And even Regulus. The dead haunted her so.
Sometimes Selena thought she was going insane. Muffy even told Selena to take a tonic for her mindless mumbling; Muffy did not know that the woman was pretending Sirius was beside her, that he was joking about something or other, and that he was not in Azkaban prison dying. She cursed Sirius for being alive sometimes, sometimes in the night when she had just woken up from one of those wretched dreams. Selena liked to think that she didn't need him to function, but she did. She wanted his face to fade from her mind, for him to stop visiting her in the dark. Oftentimes Alrescha would wake Selena up, saying that it was alright. And in the morning Alrescha would reiterate the story of Selena's agonizing screams for James and Lily and Sirius, and Darcy, and- well, Alrescha would stop then. Because Alrescha knew the truth about her parents, and thinking of Darcy Vega Knox would bring tears to her eyes. She couldn't tell anyone about it except for her mother, and her mother was pained by it, so it was an endless cycle, and-
"Selena?"
"Yes, Albus?" She shook her thoughts out of her head and answered the Headmaster. "Yes and no. Sirius was in it, but that wasn't the only thing I saw. I can't really explain what I saw." She swallowed. "It's funny. I know that things would've gone the same way even if I hadn't been around. That's what I see in the mirror, I guess. On bad days I see myself not even being born. On good days I see myself, dead, with all the people I love in the afterlife. It's a happy place. What do you see?"
"I see my family." Selena nodded, knowing that he would not give further explanation. See, Selena liked to talk, because she so rarely got a chance to speak with someone who thought as deeply as she. Dumbledore liked to listen.
"Family is a beautiful thing," said the woman.
"Indeed." The pair sipped their tea quietly.
"Harry's got his fathers knack for Quidditch."
"He does." They had gone to the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match. An unsaid worrisome thing passed over them. Someone had hexed Harry. Selena had an idea of who it was, but could not tell Dumbledore.
"That snitch he swallowed will definitely come in handy."
"Will it now?" Selena looked at him curiously. She flipped through several things in her mind and then nodded. "I suppose it will." She frowned.
"Harry will grow up before we know it."
"Twenty years ago, almost, I met Sirius and James and Peter. Goodness, has it been that long?"
"Time does fly."
"Hmph. It inches."
"Depending on the point of view. But I suppose it would creep along for you, wouldn't it?" Selena rubbed her crescent moon pendant, nodding her head slowly.
---
"Lee, pass me that will you? Thanks." Fred bit into a Licorice Wand, frowning at his work. "Merlin, History of Magic is awful." He shoved it away with disgust. Alrescha shook her head and kept reading.
"Why don't you ever hang around anyone from your own year?" Lee asked.
"I don't know them." Alrescha cut her eyes at Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins.
"We'll introduce you," said Fred. Clapping his hands together, he hollered for his brother.
"What?" Ron looked exasperated.
"This is Alrescha . Her mum's a professor."
"I already know her. We sit near her in Transfiguration."
"Oh." Ron went away; Fred looked frustrated, like he needed something to do. Alrescha saw this; George had the same look. And Lee kept fiddling with a thread from his robe, waiting for a conversation to initiate. They were bored. Alrescha put a canary cream in her mouth that she had found in her pocket earlier. Within seconds, yellow feathers adorned her skin and she gave a great squawk. The three boys with her laughed.
"Wow. Got anymore of those?"
"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry."
"Nope, but I know a place that's definitely full of food." Alrescha spoke quietly.
"Yes." She smiled.
The four of them furtively snuck out of the Gryffindor common room.
The Great Hall
Friday Evening, February 14, 1992Selena never liked sitting at the table with all of the other professors. She sat between Snape and Dumbledore, which was nice, but she still did not like sitting there. It was probably because she wanted to be young again, sitting where Alrescha was, across from George Weasley but next to Angelina Johnson. Of course, these people would be Sirius and Remus for Selena. Selena turned her mind from that.
The piano up in the Rivieras' quarters was calling to her. She had learned how to play several years before, but it was only recently that she was composing her own songs with lyrics. Usually, she would play and Alrescha would sing.
She spotted a beautiful, brown owl flying toward her. Artemis, she thought. The owl hooted as he dropped a small envelope in her lap.
"Hello," she mumbled, letting Artemis perch on her arm and nibble on her food. She turned the envelope over in her hands. She opened it and almost fainted.
My love, it read, you have a smart owl. I do not know how he came in here unnoticed and unharmed, but Artemis brought me a quill and parchment.
Happy Valentine's Day, Selena. I wish I could be there to whisper that in your ear, but I am not. Maybe one day I will be able to hold you again. I miss you and our daughter so much. Tell her I love her, and I'm so proud she's in Gryffindor! Tell her to try out for the Quidditch team next year! Bring home that cup!
I am surviving. I don't think you'll be able to recognize me if you visit. But don't think that an invitation to see me. I don't want you here.
I love you, I love you. I think of you often, and when I dream it is the only moment of peace I have because it seems like you're so vivid in the visions I have. I love you.
Sirius
P.S. The Boy Who Lived. I have no words to express how I feel.
Selena smiled. He was always bad at letters, preferring to say it in person.
The Great Hall
Thursday, December 17, 1992Parseltongue. Selena's eyes had widened when Alrescha had told her that Harry spoke it. Well, put that on the list of things Voldemort had given The Boy Who Lived. Selena sighed. She shouldn't've rejected Lockhart's request to help him with the Dueling Club. She wanted to see it for herself. But, then again, if she had been there, then Snape wouldn't've prompted Draco Malfoy to produce the snake. Oh well.
Her mind drifted to other things. Like, thank goodness Alrescha wasn't madly in love with Lockhart like the rest of the female students were. Of course, Alrescha had the theory that he was a crock, and Selena was starting to believe her. His books were too great and too many.
Her eyes drifted over to Harry. He was staring at his soup, unmoving. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger exchanged worried glances. Ostracized, obviously. She'd seen someone put a trick snake in his bag at lunch the other day, and she'd given the bugger a detention. Schoolchildren could be so cruel.
Selena frowned as she looked at the Ravenclaw table.
That blonde girl was staring at her again. Luna Lovegood. She kept her wand behind her ear, much like Selena kept it in her hair. Luna wouldn't drop her eyes, and Selena definitely wasn't going to, either. Someone passed in front of them, and the staring contest ended.
---
"You should fan him," said Selena in Professor McGonagall's ear. "I'm pretty sure that'd work."
Minerva McGonagall conjured a large fan and gave it to some Hufflepuff student. He wafted Nearly Headless Nick towards the hospital wing.
Standing where everyone had found him, Harry had hung his head. Selena sighed, and made to walk back to her classroom. From the corner of her mouth, she told him something.
"I know it's not you, Harry." She had heard the strange whispers from the walls. She couldn't decipher them, of course, but she knew the whispers. Selena had been trained in the ways of deep, Dark magic, as well as the mysterious; now whenever she walked the halls, she either walked with her eyes closed or looking at some far-off, fixed spot. Basilisk. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell the Headmaster. And she probably shouldn't, because no one had been seriously hurt yet.
Secrets, secrets.
Ha! Chamber of Secrets. Selena chuckled silently to herself and hobbled on.
---
"Everyone, keep a safe distance! The heir of Slytherin!" Fred giggled as Harry came into the Gryffindor common room. Alrescha went up to Harry, a look of mock fear on her face.
"Ugh! No!" With a stony expression, Alrescha stiffened and held her breath. For effect, she began to fall back; George caught her before she was on the ground.
"Ack! Petrification! Why, milord?!" George and Alrescha burst into chortles too.
"Nice," said Harry, also smiling.
"Everyone's gone mad." The dark-haired girl gasped for air. "I mean, honestly, you as the Heir of Slytherin? Please."
Azkaban Prison
Summer after Alrescha's second year, 1993"Look." Selena glanced at the Daily Prophet that Sirius was showing her. He looked much better, she thought.
"Yes, it's the Weasleys. Alrescha was so sad that she couldn't spend the summer with them."
"No. No, look at this boy's shoulder."
"Ron's shou-" She gasped and started to tremble. "Oh, God. Oh dear God. Dammit. I never, I never saw the rat before now! I always knew of Scabbers, but I never saw him-"
"He's at Hogwarts, Selena." Selena had begun to cry.
"He could kill Harry whenever he felt like it! They sleep in the same room. What am I gonna do?"
"You are going to take Alrescha and go back to Hogwarts early." He had a sense of duty in his voice. His wife gave him a reproachful look.
"Siri- Sirius Orion Black, what are you planning in that stupid head of yours? There's nothing you can do!"
"Yes, there is. But I need you to be back at Hogwarts by July the first."
"Of course. Yes."
"Alright, then." He sighed deeply.
---
Right after her meeting with her husband, Selena found herself inside Ollivander's. "Mrs. Black. I didn't make your wand, but twelve inches, ash, very swishy, unicorn hair. I also notice shards of yew in it. Very curious." He stared at her. Selena smiled and wondered if he knew the story that accompanied her wand. Probably. This man was too intelligent.
"Alrescha Black. More interesting wand than most. Willow, floating, thirteen and a half inches, with a bit of sage in the core. Sirius Black- pity his wand was snapped upon entering Azkaban. Ah, thirteen inches, tough, made from Alder, unicorn hair core. Funny story about your husband's wand."
"What's that?"
"Somehow, I made two that looked exactly the same. From the same unicorn hair, too. Same tree. Same length. Would you like to buy it?"
"I would." He walked to the back of the store and returned with a box. Selena laid down ten galleons on the table.
"Thank you. Tell me if there are any problems."
"I don't think there will be. Thank you, Mr. Ollivander. You are a very brilliant man."
"Wandlore is intricate, and leads to the discoveries of many other things associated with life."
"True. Take care."
"You too."
Hogwarts, 1993
"MUM! MUM, MUM!" Alrescha had gotten the post in the Great Hall. No one was in Hogwarts except for her, Filch, her mother, and Dumbledore. She'd been playing hide and seek with Dash, Flash, and Panache when Artemis decided to deliver the Daily Prophet. Now she was running up the many stairs at full speed. Dumbledore's office, his office.
"MUUUUM!" The damn stairway wasn't going up fast enough.
"What?" Selena slapped the front page down on the desk in front of the Headmaster and her mother.
The headline read: MASS MURDERER SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AZKABAN. Selena pursed her lips.
"Mum."
"I know."
"The Daily Prophet will be here soon, to get your take on what is going on," Dumbledore said simply. "I will vouch for you."
"Professor, we had nothing to do with it," said Alrescha. "Dad did it on his own!"
"He did." Selena nodded. "Our house was probably raided, but Sirius has the good sense not to go there." Fawkes cooed on his perch.
"Not Grandfather's house, right?" No one could enter the Belladonna estate. Selena had meant the house Sirius had bought so long ago.
"No, not his."
"Good. Oh, they mention you and me in here." Alrescha began to read it aloud. "When arrested, Black left behind his wife Selena Nisha Riviera-Black, Master Spellcaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and his daughter Alrescha Polaris Black, a third year at Hogwarts. Their whereabouts are unknown at this time. School's gonna be hell."
"Hmm." Alrescha knew this was a sign to leave. She did. Selena turned to Dumbledore sadly.
"You'll be receiving letters soon, asking for my resignation."
"You always have a job here."
"Thank you, Albus. When will the world know he's innocent?" Dumbledore patted her arm affectionately.
"Remus accepted my offer yesterday." He changed the subject. "He was quite pleased to have a job."
"I'm ecstatic that he's employed. All thanks to Damocles Belby and his Wolfsbane Potion. It's just wonderful."
"Quite. I may need your help with him, though."
"Of course."