Viper confronted Fon while they were partnered together for another mission. Jade seemed to fit right into the mismatched group, but it was a bit of a trial and error sort of deal as they quickly began to figure out that while she definitely needed support, she loathed being treated like glass.
Considering the implications that the older Sky that had caged her had originally been conditioning her to become a weapon against a Sky that had deliberately broken his own Flames, they adjusted their behavior accordingly.
"So how did you know to ask which house I was in through the animal that represents them?"
"I'm a potionsmaster, with a minor mastery in battlefield medicine. I could have been a healer but I didn't want to bother taking the oaths that prevent me from healing anyone who needs it, magical or otherwise," said Fon. "I could easily brew a Purging Broth, as I really dislike the idea that Jade could still have some lingering damage being done by the potions they used on her."
Viper blinked.
"How do you know they used potions?"
"Magicals eat through modern and illegal pharmaceuticals very quickly... and from what little you told us I suspect Dumbledore was the one who had her imprisoned. And considering I do bother to keep up with the news from over there, if only through my cousin, I can only assume that she is the missing 'girl-who-lived'," said Fon bluntly.
"...While I appreciate the offer of brewing the potion I've been trying to get my hands on, we need to wait. Right now she's very unstable emotionally and I would prefer she had at least one or two fully bonded Guardians besides myself to act as an anchor before we start fixing all the damage. Just to warn you, she has an alarming amount of basilisk venom and phoenix tears in her bloodstream and it's still being integrated into her core from when she was bitten at twelve."
Fon's eyes widened at that tidbit.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to adjust any potions accordingly," he replied. "What do you mean she's unstable?"
"I suspect her godfather was partially harmonized with her Sky, so losing him tipped her into awakening what's collectively known as Black Battle Rage. I suspect Dumbledore is fully aware of what it was, but not the full implications of it...he likely planned to use her as a weapon he could direct and then dispose of after the fact. Imagine using Cloud Flames to propagate not just your abilities, but your magic and flames as well...then add an increased pain tolerance and an almost instinctive ability to go into Hyper Dying Will mode."
Fon winced at the idea of facing someone like that. They'd be a nightmare to kill off, and heaven help any poor bastard on the wrong end of it.
"Now imagine that she's amplifying all aspects of a Sky Flame, and being able to access all of the six other flames tied into it. All while the harmony factor keeps her from tipping over into Discord, but still able to draw in other flames or tip them into a Rage on her behalf."
"Dear gods..."
"The thing is that the Battle Rage can only last for a set amount of time, usually when all the visible targets within the area are dealt with. After that you crash and crash hard, and come back completely lucid and in control of your emotions. However once it's been awakened you experience an amplified Cloud Rage," said Viper. "There's a damn good reason the Ancient and Noble House of Black is feared, and that's a major part of it."
Fon could understand why, if that sort of gift was in their bloodline.
"And the Sky?"
"That I fully blame on her paternal grandfather's line. There have been no records of Skies in the Black family as far as I recall, but there have been several in the Potters. Which makes it only natural she would awaken as a Sky with strong Cloud secondaries and an almost equally powerful Mist," said Viper.
"Well since potions are currently out, I can at least alleviate some of the pain she must be in. I've noticed her chi has been either blocked off or has been twisted in several areas, and I could easily get it flowing properly without having to put her under."
"It might open up a way for her to trust you as a potential healer," said Viper.
Finishing up their task, Viper waited for them to collect payment before leading Fon to an almost private safe house to broach the subject of healing Jade.
"Fon is a potionmaster and he's agreed to brew anything we need to fix whatever it was that those fools did to you. However we'll need to purge anything in your system first," said Viper bluntly.
He found that Jade responded best to blunt truth, so he would oblige. If he didn't want to tell her anything, he stated so outright and she was polite enough not to ask unless it was relevant to a life or death situation.
He found her a refreshing change of pace and a very willing enabler with his information brokering business. Snakes were so very useful at gathering information and hiding in plain sight with audio and video recorders.
Jade froze at the mention of potions, and for obvious reasons.
"Do I get a choice in the matter?"
"We are going to wait until you're a bit more comfortable with us and have another person bonded to you other than Viper before I begin brewing a Purging Broth. However there is something I can do to alleviate some of the pain I suspect you're in and it does not involve magic of any sorts. Just pressure points and a place to crash while your pathways properly reset themselves," said Fon. "I also have a few healing runes you can verify yourself that can be applied for a general healing session."
Jade seemed to relax slightly at that. She was far too used to having those older than her make all the decisions without even asking her first.
"How long will this take?"
"About twenty minutes for the pressure points to be unblocked, and the runes can be applied and left on over night...however they work best with skin contact," said Fon honestly. "There might be a bit of sharp pain once the points are released, but that's mostly because of all the blockage I've been sensing in your aura."
Jade looked at Viper.
"Do you trust him?"
"Fon is known to be honorable, and if he wanted you dead he has a habit of stating so outright. There's also the fact he could easily become your Storm Guardian and healing the damage done would go a long way to forming a bond. Elements and Guardians require a certain level of trust before harmony is properly achieved between the two," said Viper.
Fon decided to take that assessment as a compliment. Though Viper had hit his personality on the head... he would have given Jade an overt warning that he fully intended to kill her outright before actually going after her, purely because he instinctively recognized a fellow warrior.
"So what exactly would I have to do?" asked Jade.
"Mostly just sit still on a stool while I use a bit of my own chi to unblock the pathways. Once I've done that it should start flowing immediately, but as I said before there might be some pain involved considering it clearly hasn't been flowing correctly for some time and there's a considerable amount of build up," said Fon.
It followed what little she knew of acupuncture, and even she knew that there were certain pressure points that could directly effect the human body.
"...I'll give this pressure point thing a try first," said Jade after careful consideration.
Viper created a stool for her to sit on, and Fon pulled out a few needles from within his robes. They were specially treated ones that allowed the one holding them to channel their aura a bit more precisely and made it easier to hit smaller points.
"I'm going to get started, so you'll feel a slight pinch at first," he warned her. "Try not to flinch."
Jade sat perfectly still, and as he warned there was a slight pinching sensation on her back. Almost like she was being bitten by mosquitoes at several points that started to itch, but she managed to hold still.
"This is the last one, and I'll apply the chi directly once it's in," warned Fon.
The second he did, she felt an immediate difference. From an itch to a strange fire that spread across her body, to an indescribable warmth. There was pain, yes, but she had endured a cruciatus at point blank range from Voldemort and it was nothing compared to that.
The last thing she felt before blacking out was an untold amount of relief pouring over her body, as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She barely registered Fon catching her.
Fon frowned slightly as he removed the needles. He had felt the magical block up being corrected and from the amount she had let loose it had been left untreated for several years. There was also the matter of her core being bound by something that felt like an old spell meant to keep young children from over exerting themselves from accidental magic.
Which was beyond strange, because such a thing should have been removed within the first year of magical education... that spell would have hindered Jade's natural magical growth considerably if it had been left on past her magical majority.
Any competent healer should have noticed it with a basic scan and removed it promptly.
It certainly explained most of the blockage he felt though.
Fon noticed with some amusement that Jade seemed to positively cuddle into his side.
When she was awake, she was highly defensive and clearly expected to be betrayed at any point by those around her. Unfortunate, but highly understandable considering what she went through.
Asleep though... she relied purely on instinct and seemed to know who to trust. Fon had the suspicion she might be more inclined to trust him if her instincts were allowing her to curl into his side while completely out cold.
"She's like an abused tiger cub," commented Viper, when Fon put Jade on the couch with a pillow and blanket. "She might be wounded, but there's still a lot of fight in her. The trick is to get past her defenses long enough that she actually trusts you. From what I understand once you have that, her loyalty is unquestionable... however while she might forgive betrayal she most certainly won't forget it."
Fon hummed in his throat. His cousin had limited information on that tournament that cost her a potential husband, but what little she did impart suggested that Jade's previous potential Storm had been foolish enough to let jealousy overtake three years of friendship.
It did not help that her Lightning, by all accounts, preferred to see the world purely in tones of black and white and was far too reliant on authority figures and the written word to be of any real use.
And while Viper suspected there were a few guardians, the issue would be contacting them and making certain that their bond with her was stronger than any potential bond with the senile goat who caused so much damage.
Jade woke up the next morning feeling far better than she had in a very, very long time. So long in fact she couldn't really place how long it had been.
Fon could tell an immediate difference in her unspoken behavior towards him. There was a definite undercurrent of actual trust now, though she was still very leery of taking his word at face value.
Fon stared at the results in his hand, then his face twitched. Twice.
"That bad?"
"...Would you mind helping me file a sanctions with the ICW?" asked Fon. "I'm afraid it might go over better if they have a relatively recent graduate to complain about the conditions there, since I doubt they would take Jade seriously."
"Bad, then," said Viper.
"Let me put it this way... You said the only healer she had any consistent time with was Madame Pomphrey, correct?" asked Fon. Viper nodded. "This woman is either an idiot or she's completely out of touch with the obvious if she missed even half of this. There are a number of things that would have come up with even a general scan, and no healer worth their oaths would have let it go uncorrected. They'd be kicked out of any legitimate or acceptable circles in a heart beat."
"And if Dumbledore told her to do nothing?"
"Then she would still be kicked out. Healers and those that take the oaths are bound by magic to remain neutral and treat any charge in their care equally, particularly if they're under seventeen. The only reason I never took the oaths is because my position with the Triads would have made it awkward and it would have limited my ability to heal others without magic. My name is still considered relatively respectable among those circles, so if I were to present this evidence it would open up a very nasty inquiry towards the school at the very least. And it would force them to bring in all her previous patients for the past twenty five years, at best to see if she missed anything else."
Viper's face twitched, before an evil grin appeared.
"You write up what you need to file sanctions and have it triple checked so they can't claim we missed something and I'll have the goblins file it as the Steward of the Potter and Black families. This will be on top of the lawsuits I've been filing on her behalf against the so-called 'good guys' for imprisoning her just because she woke up a bloodline ability that is already well documented."
Black Blood Rage might have multiple names and signs, but it was a well documented bloodline ability that sprang up occasionally just like the Metamorphamagi gift. It was just more violent and didn't really require a direct lineage to manifest, just extreme stress and the right conditions to be met.
That Dumbledore openly imprisoned and drugged her in her own home once the gift manifested while she was putting down the very people who killed the previous head of the family would go over very, very badly with the pure bloods.
Though odds are what would really piss the pure bloods off was the way that the Order had been openly abusing the guest access Sirius had given them and had basically treated the townhouse as their little club meeting spot. The memories of Molly bossing the man around like she owned the place was pretty damn telling of the attitude they had, especially since no one dared to tell her off for being rude.
Fon went to work. Jade was well on her way to making a proper bond with him, and he knew that Viper would happily pay for any potion ingredients he needed if it meant getting the head of the family better after she was lead around like a lamb for the slaughter.
Viper knew conditioning when he saw it, and the fact Dumbledore was well on his way to making Jade into a weapon royally pissed him off.
Jade looked at the newspaper article (not the Prophet...too unreliable) and stared.
Sanctions against Hogwarts! Teaching staff questioned for competence!
"What?"
Viper looked far too smug, and Fon just looked vindictive.
"I delivered a copy of the test results to the group that regulates and deals with mediwizards, healers and those who are legally allowed to learn healing magic, with a copy of the memories that clearly show Madame Pomphrey was your primary healer," said Fon.
"Why?"
"Because she is either incompetent or being bribed to look the other way on an alarming number of disturbing health issues. At the very least the fact she missed a basic spell designed to limit accidental magic past your first year after that incident involving the stone brings up whether she is even capable of doing her job in the first place. Those wards would have had a very detrimental effect on your core and magic if they had stayed on past your majority. Never mind the fact you had scurvy more than once, which would have required several potions to correct. A lot of things came up on the most basic of basic scans all healers are required to know to keep their license, and the fact she never treated it means she's going to be in a lot of trouble," explained Viper.
"But Dumbledore..."
"It wouldn't have mattered if Dumbledore told her not to, little willow. Healers are oath bound to be neutral entities and she would have had the power by the school's charter to override him as long as it pertained to a student's health. The fact you were never taken to St. Mungo's after being bitten by the basilisk is going to come back to haunt her badly. She will have her license revoked and will be unable to practice medicine at any acceptable practice and she won't be allowed to open her own. And before you try to defend her, she is an adult and she is old enough to know better," said Fon gently.
Jade slumped...then her mind registered what he called her.
"What did you just call me?"
"Little willow," said Fon smiling.
"Why?"
"Because much like the weeping willow, while you may bow your head from grief and sorrow, you remain strong enough to take what the elements throw at you and stand firm regardless."
Jade blushed at that, which had Viper smirking and Fon smiling.