A/N: Sorry for the long break. On with the story then...


Chapter 9 – Béarra and Iona

Sirius's head whipped around so fast that Anu almost fell off his lap.

"It's good to see you again, my friend," a gentle voice said from under the hood. It reminded Remus of the rustling of leaves in a soft spring breeze. But it sounded unbelievably exhausted, too. "And it's good to see you too, Anduríl."

Remus goggled at the cloaked figure in unmasked curiosity, as did James and Peter and everyone else in the vicinity.

"B-Béarra?" Sirius spluttered in disbelief. The fork he'd been in the process of putting to his mouth fell back onto his plate with a clatter, scattering beans everywhere.

"Oh, pardon me," the stranger said, finally pulling off his hood. "I suppose my appearance had you wondering."

Remus was completely dumbfounded. He had expected an old and wrinkled man under the cloak but instead a young boy appeared from under the hood. He had to be no more than a few years older than Remus himself, maybe 15 or 16. He had rather dark skin and long, sleek hair the life-giving colour of wet earth which shone in the candlelight and fell down beneath his collarbone. His face looked terribly worn out but his eyes twinkled happily as he watched Sirius who had a hard time getting his face back under control.

"Would you mind if I sat down for a moment?" the boy asked politely, his exhaustion thick in his voice. He pointed at the space between Sirius and Peter. They hastily scooted aside, Sirius still looking rather stunned. The boy – Béarra – took off his tattered cloak and threw it carelessly under the table.

Remus gaped.

A girl had appeared on Béarra's shoulders, right where the cloak had been a moment ago. She was tiny, probably not older than two years. She had very fair skin and her long, curly hair was so light that it looked utterly colourless. She was fast asleep. Remus had no idea how she managed to stay on Béarra's back but he understood now why the boy had been hunchbacked before.

Béarra carefully pulled the sleeping girl off his back and cradled her in his arms as he sat down between Peter and Sirius. He looked at her softly and somewhat protectively.

"Is that Iona?" Sirius asked him, looking at the girl too. "Merlin, she's grown!" Béarra nodded slightly and suppressed a yawn. Remus waited for Sirius to introduce the two strangers but he was too busy piling food onto his empty plate and setting it in front of his friend who gave him a grateful smile before tucking in.


Considering the state Béarra and the little girl had been in at the Halloween feast, Sirius had decided to give them a good night's rest before questioning his friend more closely. Professor McGonagall had been so kind to transfigure Sirius's bedside table into a comfortable camp bed big enough for both, the boy and the little girl, and they slept noiselessly through the night and a good part of the next morning. Remus, James and Peter agreed to go down to breakfast to bring some food back for everyone. When they returned to their dormitory however, heavily laden with all sorts of snacks, they found it completely empty. James led the way back down to the common room, fuming with rage. Remus had noticed before that James was rather curious. He could imagine how it made him feel to have a real mystery right under his nose he wasn't allowed to stick said body part into.

Lily Evans sat at a table next to a high arched window that faced the Great Lake, poring over a long role of parchment and her History of Magic textbook. She looked up as she saw them entering the common room and smiled slightly as she noticed James's expression.

"I suppose you're looking for Sirius Black?" she enquired, putting her quill down.

"'s a matter of fact, we are," James answered grumpily.

"You don't happen to know where he went, Lily?" Remus asked hopefully, throwing her an apologetic look.

"Oh, I do. He's down by the lake with that friend of his," she said, pointing at the window next to her.

Peter scuttled over to have a look and nodded vigorously. "He's there alright," he confirmed.

Lily joined them as they hurried down the marble staircase and along the grounds to the shore. They found Sirius sitting on a moss-covered boulder by the Great Lake, watching his friend Béarra who had his back turned on him, standing knee-deep in the dark water. Remus shivered involuntarily at the thought of the temperature the water must have – it was November after all.

"Git," James hissed at Sirius, dropping the food packet he'd been carrying on the ground. Sirius looked up confusedly. "You could have waited for us, couldn't you?" James said in answer to his puzzled expression.

"Waited? Oh, right. Sorry, I totally forgot about you," Sirius said apologetically, turning his gaze back on Béarra. James looked fit to hex him on the spot but Sirius got rescued by Peter.

"So, did you get any answers out of him yet?" he asked curiously, flopping down beside Sirius and helping himself to a large blueberry muffin from his own packet of food.

"No. He's just been standing there like this for ages."

"Sirius," Remus said hesitantly, joining Peter on the ground, "who is he?"

"An old friend of mine," Sirius said thoughtfully, gaze still fixed on the back of his friend. "Well, maybe not so old. I've just met him last spring. My uncle Alphard took me on one of his expeditions. He's really into magical legends and stuff, you know. He's the one I have Anu from," he added as an afterthought.

"Who? Your uncle?" Peter asked.

"No. Him," Sirius said, jerking his head in the direction of Béarra who was still standing in the lake, completely motionless.

"Right, I think you mentioned that," Peter said, offering Sirius a ham sandwich.

"Where is Anu anyway," James asked, still in a rather bad mood.

"She's showing Iona around."

"Iona? Is that the little girl with the white hair? You're saying that the dog is showing the little girl around?" Lily piped up incredulously, gaping at Sirius.

"Why not? She knows the grounds pretty well by now," Sirius shrugged. Lily looked as though she wanted to say something but thought better of it. She merely shook her head.

Béarra finally emerged from the lake, looking very refreshed and smiling slightly. He picked up a pair of boots from where he must have dropped them before and wandered over to them, feet bare.

"Your water is very nice, Sirius. You should come with me next time," he said, nodding his greetings to the small group that had assembled around the boulder Sirius was sitting on. His voice was very soft and melodious and he spoke with the hint of an accent Remus couldn't quite place.

Remus noticed that Béarra's eyes had a very peculiar colour – like very young leaves through which the evening sun shone. He too became aware of his rather strange clothing – even by wizarding standards. Béarra wore a thin jacket with a high collar which was pearly white and delicately fabricated. His boots, which he was still carrying, were made of fair and very soft leather and had a subtle but exceptionally beautiful stitching at the brim. Remus could make out a round earring with a hole in its centre that dangled off Béarra's left ear. But the most unusual of his articles of clothing was a leather belt that very much resembled a tool belt Muggle craftsmen usually wore. It was almost black and the square pouch that hung off it was strapped to Béarra's right thigh. Remus could see all kinds of different items inside: a handful of white feathers, some dry leaves and a few glass phials.

Béarra stretched, yawned and pulled a tiny wooden flute out of his strange belt. He put it to his lips and started to play a strange little tune. Remus listened, transfixed, and soon found himself floating away on the melody that seemed to tell him about the mighty sea, about waves that crushed rhythmically against high, rough cliffs and the breeze that playfully urged them on. He had to blink a few times before he remembered where he was, as something small and soft rushed past his right leg, barking happily.

It was Anu, little white-haired Iona in tow. The dog jumped up at Béarra's leg, wagging her tail madly, dancing on her hind legs. The girl clapped her hands joyfully, pirouetting around the boy and the excited dog. It was very strange, but Anu's outline seemed to flicker and blur along with the rhythm of the tune.

The song ended much too soon for Remus's liking as Béarra put his flute back into his belt-pocket, picked up the little girl and sat down on a weathered log close to Sirius's rock. He stroked Anu's head tenderly and smiled at her before he looked up and faced the small group of people who were all watching him intently.

"I believe Sirius has told you all who I am?" he asked, his eyes alight with amusement.

"Yes," Peter said at exactly the same time as James and Remus vehemently said "No".

Béarra looked at Sirius, an eyebrow raised, grinning broadly. "Then let me do the honour," he said. "My name is Béarra Ó Lir. This," he indicated the white-haired girl on his lap, "is my little sister Iona."

"Your sister?" Lily said incredulously. "But she – I don't mean to be rude or anything, but she looks nothing like you," she blushed at that and bit her lower lip in embarrassment.

Béarra chuckled. "You're very perceptive," he said mockingly. "But you're right. Iona comes more after her mother while I resemble my own mother. At least that's what our father used to say."

"She's your half-sister then?" Peter noted unnecessarily. Béarra merely smiled at him.

"What are you doing here, Béarra?" Sirius asked calmly. He had his gaze fixed on his friend and he wasn't smiling.

"That's rude," Béarra said airily. "Can't I just visit an old friend of mine?"

Remus looked back at Sirius who was still observing his friend closely. A frown had appeared on his face. "Much as I am honoured, I don't believe for one second that this is merely a goodwill visit," he said sharply. "For one thing, I can't see why you brought your baby sister along. What did her mother say to that? Your island is some thousand miles away, Béarra. And how did you get here? Judging by the state you've been in yesterday I'm tempted to say you came by foot…" he paused there because he'd noticed the guilty look that had suddenly crept onto Béarra's face who realised that with a start and instantly rearranged his expression into a more innocent one. "Don't think I'm stupid," Sirius said, his voice icy, eyes glittering dangerously, "because I'm not!"

The silence that followed this statement rang in the air. Remus suddenly felt very uncomfortable under the glare Sirius directed forcefully at Béarra. It was the same look he usually gave Remus when he caught him at a lie.

Béarra appeared not to notice though. He pulled a long, snow-white feather out of his belt-pouch and toyed with it. He ran it through his fingers and tickled Iona under the chin with it. He held out the palm of his hand and let her place the white feather on it.

And then something peculiar happened.

The feather quivered slightly for a moment, as though ruffled by a breeze. Remus felt a soft gust of wind rush past him and Béarra's earring started to whistle. The air seemed to materialize on Béarra's palm, taking on the shape of a tiny dancer. She curtseyed, the tips of her tiny feet barely touching the snowy feather. Some leaves which had fallen off the nearby oak got caught in the whirl of wind and quickly became part of the delicate figure that started to dance very gracefully, accompanied by the soft whistling made by Béarra's earring. After a minute or so the airy ballerina did a last pirouette on Béarra's thumb, curtseyed again and vanished, leaving nothing behind but thin air and a small heap of crumpled leaves.

Remus had to blink yet again to find his way back to the presence. Looking around, he realised that Béarra's magic clearly had had the same effect on everyone else. Even Sirius stared with a blank and almost dreamy expression, his earlier irritation evidently blown away.

"What was that?" Peter asked in amazement.

"That was beautiful, Béarra," Lily remarked, her face shining with delight. "What a wonderful piece of magic. I've never seen anything like it before."

"That's hardly surprising," Béarra said complacently, carefully putting the feather back into his pouch. Iona smiled up at him, snuggling closer to his chest.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked somewhat offend.

"Merely that your magic is very different from ours," Béarra said, smiling back at Iona.

"And how's that."

"It's just different. There's nothing to be offended at. There is no valuation implied, you see," he looked up to meet James's scowl. "Well, what I mean to say is that your magic is rather technical and standardised, don't you think? And that's a good thing," he added hastily. "Our magic is just more…natural. Magic in its purest form has a lot to do with the elements – you know, earth, wind, water and fire."

"Does it? With the elements? I thought magic comes out of the wand. Isn't that why wands are made of all that special wood? Oh, and what about the…the core-thingies…?" Peter spluttered.

"Core…thingies?" Béarra asked confusedly.

"He means the wand cores," James said superiorly. "Those are very magical items which are placed in the heart of each wand. Mine has a dragon heartstring for instance. But there are quite a few others as far as I know."

"Yes, but the wand isn't where the magic comes from," Lily said, pulling out her own wand and examining it closely.

"It's not?"

"No, Peter," Remus said weakly. "The wand merely channels the magic within you. It says so in the first chapter of Magical Theory."

"Remus, only you actually read that book," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"I read it too," Lily said coolly, throwing Remus a small smile.

"Anyway, you can do magic without a wand, only then it's rather erratic and uncontrollable. Like when a child does magic," James explained. Peter looked rather embarrassed and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"I wouldn't know anything about wands or dragon heartstrings," Béarra said, sounding slightly disgusted. "But it's true that magic needs to be channelled in order to be controlled. There are other ways of doing that, however." He reached into his belt-pocket again and pulled out another white feather. "With this," he held the feather up as though it were something sacred, "I can manipulate the air…"

"Yeah, so can I," James cut in lazily, smirking at Béarra but making sure all the while that Sirius was watching him, "I can make the air stink!"

Peter burst out laughing but Sirius merely smiled weakly. Everyone else, especially Lily, looked at James with a mixture of irritation and disgust.

"Just ignore him," Sirius told Béarra calmly, glancing sideways at James.

"You're strange, you know that?" Béarra asked James tentatively.

"Look who's talking," James shot back, glowering.


A/N: So you've met Béarra and Iona. Hope you like 'em 'cause I certainly do. Heaps of chocolate for everyone who can tell me where I might have borrowed there names from (hint for you: it has something to do with geography. Ask Google ;-)