Sybill Trelawney's POV
Grumbling, I shuffled my cards furiously. Lately, all I got were the same cards over and over again, spelling out a nonsensical row of cards: The High Priestess, the Chariot, and the Hanged Man. Closing my eyes, I pulled out three cards. Be different this time.
Opening my eyes, I saw: The High Priestess, the Chariot, and the Hanged Man.
"I'm not going anywhere," I muttered, frustrated. It was true. I spent my summers at Hogwarts, too, with the rare exception of going down to Hogsmeade for the occasional (may I stress 'occasional') purchase of sherry.
I uncapped a bottle of sherry now (which I had been holding under my arm) and took a swig. Still grumbling, I made my way up the staircase to my loft, sipping at the sherry bottle repeatedly (but delicately, mind you). Kicking the door open, I walked inside. I took another long pull of sherry before I tossed the empty bottle onto a nearby pouf.
Then, with a long sigh, I staggered over to my table. "This deck is broken," I mumbled. "I'll have to ask for a refund…" My voice died away, however, as I remembered that I'd gotten this deck of cards from a store in Hogsmeade that was no longer there. In fact, it had been a long time since the shop had disappeared. There had been a woman shopkeeper, who had brilliant blue eyes with silver flecks in them, and she seemed to float rather than walk. It was her presence that drew me into her store. When I asked her what she sold, she waved her arm grandly around the room and I noticed, for the first time, decks of cards, neatly packaged, sitting on just about every surface of the shop.
"Pick one," she had said, smiling mysteriously. I had picked this one.
The woman had done a reading for me, using this deck. I had initially scoffed at her, for she was a mere shopkeeper and I was a Professor of Divination, but at the end, she said that I could either pay her a Galleon for the deck or else, if I didn't pay her now, I could walk out of the store and take the deck with me for free, but if her prophecies came true, I would have to come back and I would owe her my soul. I remember an icy shiver came over me when she told me that. With a fumbling hand, I paid her the Galleon and then I stumbled out of there, with this new deck clutched at my chest.
"What a fraud," I muttered now. I threw the deck impatiently atop the table. The top cards slide over the tabletop and a few cards bumped up against the crystal ball that I always kept atop the table.
Snorting, I started to turn away, to grab another bottle of sherry, when the crystal ball suddenly seemed to glimmer.
A trick of the light, I thought at once. But it couldn't be, because it was late evening, and the sun had already passed over this side of the room.
I peered more closely at the crystal ball. Then, I gasped loudly. For, even though the cards were face-down on the table, three cards were reflected face-up in the crystal ball: the High Priestess, the Chariot, and the Hanged Man.
Emmeline Vance's POV
Am I wasting my time?
I stared out into the sunset. As I did, my hand fell from my knee to brush against the wooden step I was sitting on – the step of Jasper's front porch.
Hestia and Seth think I'm wasting my time… I gathered my hands together and leaned forward, still staring out into the sunset. They keep saying that I shouldn't hold out hope for a man I slept with once and then who left without a word of explanation for over three months now…
I sighed. Yeah, I'm wasting my time.
I stood up. Maybe he's moved altogether, and that's why all of these letters keep piling up. If he still lives here, he hasn't been home for a long time.
Whatever, I thought, the real reason I came here is because Dumbledore asked me to try to recruit him. So, I'll just have to report that I couldn't find him, and therefore I couldn't recruit him, and that's that. An easy answer, a tidy little ending. Nothing to complain about.
Satisfied with how neatly I'd packaged everything up in my mind, I began to fasten my cloak and step down from the front step when –
"Ms. Vance? Is that you?"
My head snapped up.
"Ah, it is you." Jasper came floating in before me, with a light smile on his face. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
I stared at him. All of the things I had planned to say to him suddenly erased themselves in my mind.
Cocking his head to the side a little, Jasper asked, "What are you doing here?"
Instead of answering, I replied with a question of my own. "Where were you?" The words came out more aggressive than I intended. I sounded angry, even.
Jasper replied quite calmly, "Well, I was on a trip."
"This entire time?"
At this, he paused. "You say, 'the entire time…'" His eyes flickered up to mine. "Have you been coming here often, to see me?"
The way he said those words – "to see me" – irked me to no end. Crossing my arms over my chest, I said, "No, not to see you."
Jasper half-smiled at me. He lifted his eyebrow, as if to say, "Then…?"
"I'm here on business," I said stoutly, refusing to give into his light-heartedness.
"Oh? It sounds quite serious."
"Yes," I confirmed. "We had better talk about it in private."
Jasper nodded. "You're more than welcome to come inside, of course. But do forgive me for the state of the flat."
I snorted. "You haven't been here in over three months. As long as something hasn't died in there, I'll understand."
Jasper stepped up to the door and tapped it to unlock it. As he held the door open for me, he wondered aloud, "And how do you know that I haven't been home in over three months?"
I chose to ignore him as I stepped inside of the apartment.
"Now, what's this 'business' you wish to speak to me about?" Jasper asked me, once he had taken off his cloak and conjured us up two glasses of wine.
All at once, all of the things that I had been mulling over my head for months came back to me, including how he had never told me that he belonged to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and how he had simply disappeared for months after I'd chased Sirius Black all the way to Hogwarts with him.
But, upon seeing him, and realizing that he was treating me with that distant, reserved manner of his (often disguised as humor, but really a distancing mechanism) I realized that I had been building up expectations for him in my own mind, without his consent.
If I've gone and fallen for him – which I have, that's my own damn fault, I realized. Chasing Sirius – that was a mission, and we were partners on that mission. In fact, I was the one who insisted on joining him for the entire journey. He's never given me the slightest hint that he wanted me. Well, except for… Flashes of our night together at the Leaky Cauldron passed through my mind, as did moments from our exhausting chase up the mountainside, particularly when we had fallen asleep together, against the rocks… I shook my head. Those are physical things, though. They could happen to anyone. It doesn't have to mean anything.
"Em?" Jasper said softly.
My heart stopped when he called me that. Yes, call me 'Em,' I thought warmly. Not Ms. Vance. Merlin, I hate being called Ms. Vance.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Jasper asked again.
Right. I put on my most professional demeanor as I informed him, "You are aware that Voldemort has returned. Dumbledore has asked for me to find you and to recruit you."
"Recruit me?"
"Yes. For the Order of the Phoenix. We're an organization that seeks to fight against Voldemort."
Jasper's eyes glimmered, and a complicated expression passed over his face. I frowned slightly and cocked my head at him, trying to read him – but it was impossible.
After a lengthy pause, Jasper said, "Well, perhaps I can apply to be an Auror again."
"This is different," I pressed. "As an Order member, you can fight against Voldemort directly. This is of the utmost importance, since Fudge has currently lost his head and is refusing to believe that Voldemort is back."
Jasper didn't react to my impassioned speech for another long moment. Finally he said, "I hope I won't disappoint you by saying this, Ms. Vance" -
"Em. Call me 'Em,' please."
" – Em. But the truth is, I don't want to fight directly against Voldemort's… followers." Jasper spoke carefully, clearly weighing his words.
"You mean the Death Eaters?" I said quietly.
"Yes, that's right."
Without betraying a hint of emotion or surprise in my demeanor, I asked, "Is that because you're secretly a Selwyn?"
Jasper tried not to give himself away, but I saw how he suddenly gripped the stem of his wine glass. His voice, too, became quite tight, as he asked, "And… how would you know that?"
I reached into my cloak and pulled out an envelope– the letter I had chanced upon three months ago. "This." I dropped it onto the table.
Jasper frowned. He reached across and picked the envelope up.
As he began to draw out the card inside, I explained, "It's addressed to Jasper Selwyn, and it's from Lycian Selwyn, whom I believe is your fath – Jasper? Jasper!"
For Jasper, within seconds of seeing the card inside, had taken off, running out of his apartment without even stopping to grab his cloak.
"Jasper!" I yelled.
But he was gone.
No, I decided in my head. He's not going to just take off on me again. If he says he wants me to leave, that's one thing, but I can't just keep waiting around for him and keep getting left behind.
Grabbing both his and my cloaks, I dashed out of the apartment after him.
"Jasper! Jasper!" My lungs felt like they were going to burst. Jasper was so fast .
Seeing me struggling, Jasper shouted over his shoulder, "Go back!"
"No!" I shouted back. "You can't just send me back!"
"This doesn't have anything to do with you! Go back!"
"All right, fine!" I suddenly burst out. "I waited for you, all right? I wanted to see you, as you said! So can't you – can't you give me five minutes here, damn it?"
Jasper finally stopped. I came to a stop, too, only to find that my vision was saturated with red and a bit… blurry.
"Whoa." Jasper reached out and grabbed my shoulder, as he noticed me swaying slightly.
"I'm – I'm fine," I panted out. The next second, I cursed at him, "Merlin, you run so damn fast, Jasper."
"Listen," Jasper said hurriedly. "I don't wish to come off as rude, but I have to do something, and if I'm any later than I already am, I'm afraid - "
"What? What are you scared of?" I asked. "That letter I gave you – isn't it a wedding invitation? So what about it scares you?"
Jasper sighed. "I don't have time to explain it to you."
"But maybe I can help," I pressed. "Like I did with Sirius Black."
Jasper's eyes met mine and his gaze softened when he remembered our journey in chasing after Sirius Black together. "I appreciate it," he said gently. "But I don't think you can. This is a private matter…" His eyes tightened slightly. "A family matter. Because you're right – I'm a Selwyn." His grip on my shoulder tightened, too, as he murmured, "And you hate pureblood families like mine. I remember what you said in the hospital ward after we caught Sirius Black. You didn't trust him because he came from the House of Black." His hand left my shoulder, as he said, almost wistfully, "Well, I'm a Selwyn. I'm one of them too."
I frowned. "That's not what I was saying. Jasper, are you a supporter of Voldemort?"
"No, definitely not."
"Right." Reaching out, I grabbed his hand, which had slipped off of my shoulder, and held it in mine, as I told him, "Then I don't care. I trust you, Jasper."
Jasper hesitated. "Are you sure about that?"
I nodded firmly.
"All right." Jasper held up the letter. "This wedding invitation is for my little sister's wedding."
"Roslyn is your sister?"
"Yes. And it seems that my father has arranged for her to marry Evan Rosier."
"How do you know it was an arranged marriage?"
"They're all arranged marriages." Jasper's eyes darkened for a moment, before he continued, "But in my sister's case, I know for certain because my father told me so. Only, I didn't think the old man would go through with it. I thought he cared for Rose, for Merlin's sake. He knows Rosier's a thug. To actually sell Rose to the likes of him is disgusting - " He abruptly cut off.
"Jasper?" I'd never seen Jasper so angry before.
"It's my fault."
"What do you mean?"
Jasper let out a long, shuddering breath. "Roslyn set up a risky trade on the black market and the deal fell through. The Selwyn reputation has been sullied, and business isn't very good for us anymore."
"Hang on, business? What business -?"
"We sell information on the black market. And sometimes… we sell bodies."
My eyes widened. "What…?"
"Both to make amends and to patch up our reputation, my father has decided to give Rose away to the Rosier family. Evan Rosier has had his eye on my sister from the moment she turned eighteen." Jasper gritted his teeth and his entire body shuddered with repressed rage. "I will never let that monster get anywhere near my sister." He was gripping my hand so hard that his nails were digging into the back of my hand, but I kept my hand still.
Instead, I said briskly, "Well, then. It seems straightforward to me what we need to do."
Jasper gave me a confused look. "I will go speak with my father and try to make him see sense. But there's nothing for you to be involved with."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "The wedding is in two days, isn't it?"
Jasper nodded slowly.
"You think you can convince your father to pull off a wedding that's set to be held in two days?" I challenged. "Don't you think that if he'd seen sense, he'd have called it off before now?"
"But there's nothing else that I can do except put pressure on my father," Jasper explained. "Roslyn won't come find me of her own accord. I know her, and she's too stubborn for that. My mother won't interfere; she'll be too afraid."
My eyes brightened as I teased him. "Oh, you poor, upstanding gentleman. You've got to broaden your methods, Jasper, and have a little fun now and then."
Jasper looked at me skeptically. "Please don't tell me you're suggesting murder."
I laughed. "No, c'mon, what do you take me for? But you could afford to dream a little bigger."
"Em, you're losing me. What are you suggesting, exactly?"
"Well, you've got a wedding invitation, don't you?"
"Yes…"
"We'll just have a little kidnapping in place of a wedding," I said lightly. "A little kidnapping of the cute bride-to-be. We'll sweep her up off her feet and take her away. Very romantic, don't you think?"
"It would be, up until the point we find ourselves being murdered by the forty Death Eaters in attendance," Jasper said wryly. "And even if we did manage to take away my sister, she'd still be in danger afterwards."
"Well, but you're forgetting my original offer," I said pointedly.
"And what was that? Remind me."
"I told you, we want you in the Order of the Phoenix. The Order specializes in infiltrating and overturning Death Eater events, you know, and if anyone could protect your sister, it would Dumbledore." I looked at him excitedly. "So, how about it? Kill two birds with one stone?"
"You mean, save my sister and join the Order?"
"Yes." I held out my hand. "And we'd be partners again. Partners in anti-crime, though admittedly, that doesn't sound as sexy as partners in crime."
Jasper let out a light chuckle, almost in disbelief at me. But finally, he reached out and took my head. "All right. You've got yourself a deal."
"Great, let's get to Dumbledore as quickly as we can." I held out his cloak to him. "Here, you left this behind."
"Thank you." As Jasper slipped on his cloak, he said to me, "I forgot how energetic you are, Em."
"It's all the pent-up energy from not waiting for you the past three months," I said quickly. "Onwards! C'mon, Jasper, don't dawdle. We've got to save your sister!"
Remus Lupin's POV
I must be honest, I didn't quite understand what I was doing that hot summer afternoon, crouching beside the fancy gate outside of a lavish wedding ceremony.
I understood why Jasper Riley was here – apparently, it was his sister we were attempting to kidnap from this wedding. I also understood why Emmeline Vance was here – she was close to Jasper, at least from what I could recall from fighting the two of them when they were trying to capture Sirius. I understood why Hestia Jones and Seth Meadowes were here – they were friends of Emmeline. But why was Tonks here, and in particular, why in the world was I here?
It had all happened so quickly. Emmeline had raced into the Order and announced a new mission – not strictly an Order mission, but a personal mission - to infiltrate a pureblood wedding ceremony to rescue the reluctant bride-to-be. It had taken a little longer for Emmeline to explain how Jasper Riley was a new Order member and that, in fact, he was a Selwyn. At this point, Emmeline was urging us to commit ourselves because the wedding was quite soon and we needed to put our heads together and figure out this infiltration and rescue. At which point, Tonks elbowed me and whispered excitedly, "Well, we've got to volunteer! Don't we, Remus?"
Jolted out of a semi-stupor, I'd said, "Hm…?"
"Crashing a wedding, Remus! Doesn't that sound exciting? Much better than watch."
"Oh, well…" I had awkwardly rubbed my neck, for I preferred the quieter watch shifts.
But Tonks had already punched her fist in the air excitedly and shouted, "I'm in!"
Feeling I would be somehow letting her down if I didn't, I raised my hand and mumbled, "Well, all right, count me in, too."
And that, I suppose, accounted for why I was stooping down outside of the silver gate of the impressive Selwyn home. The air was heavy with the fragrance of roses, and inside of the gates, over a hundred guests were waiting for the procession to start.
"This hasn't half as exciting as I thought it'd be," Tonks said, making a face at me.
"No," I agreed. "But I've come to learn that that's for the better."
Jasper Riley's POV
"Bloody hell," I cursed under my breath. I was waiting for Roslyn to be completely alone in her room. I was on the balcony just outside of her open window, hiding behind a tall flowerpot. In the bushes below, Emmeline and Hestia were waiting for me.
However, my insipid father would not leave Roslyn alone. He kept impressing to her how important this day was, and how she was going to restore the family honor, and how he was relying on her to go and make a good wife to Rosier, even though it was a pity that her own abilities would be wasted… I sighed heavily. Come on, leave, Father. Leave!
Finally, my father said, "All right. I'll be just outside, Roslyn. Remember, when we hear the orchestra rise from below, you'll come out and I'll walk you up to the altar."
"Yes, Father."
"Missus looks so beautiful!" a bright voice squealed from inside.
Peaky, our house elf, I recognized.
"Peaky, rearrange her train. It's gotten a bit wrinkled," my father ordered. Then, at long last, he left the room.
Unfortunately, I could see that the crowd were all seated and waiting expectantly below, so I knew that I had a mere matter of minutes to pull this off.
"Pst," I whispered fiercely. "Psstttt!"
I heard Roslyn coming closer to the window.
"Rose!"
"Who's - ?"
"Shush! Be quiet, or Father'll come back in."
My sister said hesitantly, "Jasper…?"
"Yes, it's me. Come closer to the window." I pushed aside the huge leaf hiding my face, revealing myself to my sister while still keeping myself hidden from view from the guests in the garden.
Rose rushed over to the window. Peaky, did, too.
"Mas - !"
"Hush, Peaky," I whispered quickly. "Please don't make a sound."
Peaky quickly clapped both her hands over her mouth.
"Jasper, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?" Rose asked me, none-too-agreeably. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared coldly at me.
"Rose, come with me."
"With you?" she scoffed. "I don't think so."
"You can't marry Rosier."
"I have to. Because of what you did. You've messed everything up, Jasper, and I've got to fix it."
"I'm sorry, but I was trying to keep you from getting killed."
Rose's eyes flashed. "Are you trying to play the 'big brother' card now? Well, let me tell you something – you're too late."
"I know, Rose," I said, and my voice dropped into a plea even though I didn't want it to. "And I know you hate me, and I know I've let you down a million times, but this isn't about that."
"Of course it is!"
"Sh… No, it's not. Rose…" I reached out and grasped her arm. "This is about your life. Don't get married to Rosier to please mother and father, and don't get married to him to make me suffer. Because nobody will suffer as much as you will if you go through with this. Please, escape with me."
Rose shook her head and pulled her arm out of my grasp. "I can't…" Her face suddenly shone with fear, fear she had been holding back this entire time, as she whispered, "They'll kill me if I back out of this now."
"I'll protect you," I promised. "We'll protect you."
"Who is 'we'?"
"Dumbledore and his allies."
Rose suddenly looked disgusted. "What? You've allied with those people? You've fallen so low, Jasper."
Rap, rap.
"Rosie!" My father's voice boomed through the door. "It's nearly time!"
"You can insult me more when we're out of here," I said quickly. "Come on, Rose."
"Rosie!" Father called again. "Are you ready? Everyone's waiting for you, my daughter."
Rose stared at me fearfully. "I – I can't disobey him."
Remus Lupin's POV
"Oi, what's that bloke doing over there?" Seth whispered.
Tonks and I lifted our heads.
"Over there," Seth repeated, pointing with his wand.
I looked over, only to see that one of the wedding guests had stood up on their tiptoes and was staring intensely up at the Selwyn House. I followed the guest's line of sight – only to realize that Roslyn was acting strange. She was half-out onto the balcony, but she seemed to be shaking her head and stepping back, almost as if she was in conversation with someone. And then, I realized that, if I looked closely, I could see a hand peeking out from behind the tall flowerpot on the balcony.
Shit, I realized, that's Jasper.
Just then, the guest turned to another guest and began to whisper furiously.
"Bollocks," I said grimly. "Things are about to get interesting."
Tonks' face became quite severe, but I couldn't help except notice how her hair suddenly burst into a sunflower yellow for a moment, as she readied herself for action.
I reached over and twisted the silver ring on my finger. It would alert Emmeline and Hestia that the family guards (and potentially Death Eaters) were on the move.
Jasper Riley's POV
"Jasper!" Emmeline whisper-shouted up to me. "Guards are coming right now! You've got less than ten seconds!"
"Rose," I urged, "this is your life. Forget me, forget our parents, forget the Order. Forget everything. What do you want to do?"
Roslyn was crying. Her make-up ran down her cheeks and she blinked furiously as she tried to make up her mind.
"Guards!" Emmeline and Hestia shouted together.
A second later, two guards burst onto the lawn, just before the balcony. Emmeline and Hestia both leapt forward and began to duel with the guards. They were remarkably quick, both neatly Stunning the guards within a matter of seconds.
However, I knew that the guards were not the real issue – the real issue was that there were about forty Death Eaters in the audience a mere fifty yards away from the House. The guards let out shouts as they fell to ground.
"Rosie! What's going on in there? What's all that noise?" my father yelled through the door.
Seeing both of the guards fall seemed to wake up Rose. Her eyes shimmered with more tears, but she swallowed hard and then croaked out, "Leave. I want to leave with you."
"Good." I held out both my hands to her. She came over to me. I led her to the railing.
"What, I've got to jump?" Roslyn said, more annoyed than afraid.
At that moment, my father shouted angrily, "ROSLYN! I said to come out now!"
"Yeah, you can do it. I've got friends down there, waiting for you," I assured her. Looking down, I called out, "Catch!"
Emmeline and Hestia hurriedly put their arms together and waited for my sister to jump.
"Merlin," my sister cursed, but then, gathering up her wedding dress, she leapt gracefully off of the balcony. Emmeline and Hestia caught her, though I heard Emmeline spit out a mouthful of tulle and silk.
BAM! My father burst into the room, ready to give my sister a proper telling-off. But then, he saw me standing there.
I straightened up. "Hello, Father."
At the same time, I subtly beckoned to Peaky. Peaky very quietly came over to me and, hiding behind my legs, she reached up and held my hand.
"WHERE IS ROSIE? WHERE IS SHE?"
"She's gone, Father. She wanted to stay with you and mother, but you both betrayed her." I squeezed Peaky's hand in mine. "How could you do that to your own daughter? I could understand why you hated me, but Roslyn? All she ever wanted to do was please you…"
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU TRAITOR!" Furious beyond belief, my father lifted his wand and made to curse me. "STUPE - !"
"PEAKY, NOW!" I shouted.
SNAP!
I was turned into a werewolf because my parents agreed to give me up to the werewolves, in order to get into Voldemort's good graces. Voldemort wanted the werewolves to ally with the Death Eaters, and in return, the werewolves demanded payment in the form of fresh victims every month. Half of these victims were kept alive, to grow their werewolf army (and by consequence, Voldemort's army) while the other half died as werewolves feasted on their flesh.
I was so young. I wasn't made aware of the bargain. I was simply sent to the dining hall with orders from my father to entertain "a friend." It was strange how late it was, but my father told me that adults met at late hours, and I was getting to be a fine young man.
Imagine the utter absurdity of how I, as a tiny boy, sat down as primly as I could at the dining table and unfolded the crisp, white napkin before me. I even said, "How do you do?"
The dining table did not last very long, as the werewolf transformed and then broke the table by leaping on top of it to get to me.
After the gruesome debacle was over, where I was turned, but not killed (under Voldemort's strict orders that a pureblood werewolf must be preserved and treated as royalty among the werewolves), I remember lying in a puddle of my own blood, whimpering. My father had come in, only to shout, "Incarcerous!" to bind me up in ropes so that I wouldn't struggle anymore. But I was shocked, hurt, and crying.
After I had called down a little, my parents came in again to heal me, and I remember my mother sobbing and apologizing to me, but it was Peaky, who trotted in at the last, to bandage me up and get me into bed. I whimpered when she tried to move me, so Peaky gently laid her hand on mine and then – SNAP! – she Apparated me straight into bed.
Peaky would do this every full moon, when I was physically destroyed from my werewolf transformation, all the way UP until my uncle Godfrey finally came to visit my parents (and to ask for money to do more research) and seeing me, he asked if I would prefer to travel the world with him.
With my uncle Godfrey, I was able to treat the difficulties of my werewolf condition much more efficiently, and, what was most important was that because he was a Magizoologist, I began to respect and understand magical creatures in a profound and tender way that let me build, little by little, compassion even for the beast within myself. Still, the transformations were difficult before the advent of Wolfsbane Potion, and after my transformations, as I lay there, panting and feeling broken all over, I would miss Peaky's gentle touch and remember how she could Apparate me quickly to bed.
I had once asked Peaky about her ability to Apparate within the Selwyn grounds, for my father had made it impossible for anyone except himself and my mother to Apparate within these grounds (or into these grounds). Peaky had shuffled over and whispered to me, "Me thinks Master forgot about Peaky's ability to Apparate, sir. But Peaky doesn't mind, because Peaky quite likes it. Peaky can do her errands faster, see." Then, her eyes went wide as she considered, "Will young Master tell his Father?"
"No," I'd promised her, smiling at her. "I will never tell, Peaky."
And Peaky had beamed at me.
SNAP!
We landed on the lawn below.
"Peaky, take – nngh!" I grabbed Peaky and dove out of the way as my father shot a hex at me.
Some ways ahead of us, Emmeline called, "Jasper!"
"Go!" I shouted back. "Get Rose out of here!"
Meanwhile, my father bellowed from the balcony, "INTRUDERS! THEY'RE KIDNAPPING MY DAUGHTER! STOP THEM!"
Emmeline Vance's POV
The situation was starting to get out of control. Guests from the wedding were starting to get up and run to the entrance of the roped-off wedding carpet, trying to get closer to the house.
"Damn it," I cursed. We're going to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers any moment now.
The problem was that we couldn't simply Apparate out of this place; we had to physically run out of the grounds without being caught first.
Hestia and I had caught Roslyn and helped her towards the wall that marked the edge of the Selwyn grounds. However, I heard a loud shout. Turning around, I saw that Jasper and a tiny house-elf standing on the lawn where Hestia and I had just caught Roslyn.
Suddenly, a tall, imposing man, whom I recognized as Jasper's father, Lycian, appeared on the balcony and shot down a hex at Jasper. Jasper reacted quickly, diving to the side.
I ran back to Jasper. I knew Hestia would get Roslyn safely out of here.
Lycian shot another hex down at Jasper.
"Protego!" I shouted, and a silver shield went racing forward to protect Jasper.
Gonnngg! The hex bounced off of the shield.
Thankfully, my shield bought Jasper enough time for him to leap onto his feet and start running towards me.
Meanwhile, about fifty yards away, the crowd, who had heard Jasper's father shouting that his daughter was being kidnapped, was now rushing towards the house.
Three figures sprang up from behind the bushes – Remus, Tonks, and Seth – and they shouted together, "Felis Rete!"
A huge magical net, which we had set up beforehand, rose from the ground and tangled the nearest guests, pulling them to the floor. (Jasper was a master of creating ropes and chains and fighting with them.)
Screams and shouts burst out. The crowd behind the initial runners suddenly fell silent. Then… "STUPEFY!" "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" "DIFFINDO!" "LEVICORPUS!" "SECTUMSEMPRA!" A terrifying array of curses shot from the crowd at the three figures.
BOOM! All at once, a huge, thick, smoke plume blossomed before the three figures, obscuring them entirely from view.
"WHERE DID THEY GO?' the crowd roared. "SPREAD OUT, SEARCH FOR THEM!"
Meanwhile, Jasper had raised his wand and cried out, "I'm sorry, Father! Incarcerous!" Ropes appeared out of thin air and caught Jasper's father. With a roar of anger, Lycian fell over onto the floor.
"Jasper, come on!" I urged.
"Right." Jasper hoisted Peaky, who squealed breathlessly, up and tucked her away under his shoulder. Then, we both ran for the wall as quickly as we could.
Hestia, who had successfully gotten Roslyn out, had already blasted a huge hole in the wall. Just before Jasper ducked down, I said, "Wait! What about the others?"
"Here!" Tonks suddenly appeared right behind me. She was running so fast that when she tried to stop, she skidded a good foot in the grass. Breathlessly, she announced, "We're all here!"
Remus and Seth came up behind her, with Remus commenting lightly, despite panting from the run, "Time to go. Shall we?"
With that, all five of us hurriedly ducked down and escaped through the hole in the wall.
It was just as well – there was an entire mob of angry people coming right for us, crushing the entire wedding set-up and even flattening the bushes as they ran towards us, shouting all sorts of names and curses.
After Seth came through, Remus pointed his wand at the hole in the wall and said smartly, "Reparo."
The wall repaired itself so quickly, it took less than a blink, and some hot-headed, unsuspecting guest went crunch right on the other side of it.
We all winced and Remus said in shock, "Er – I didn't intend - "
Just then, a voice on the other side yelled out, "I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT, YOU BLASTED MUDBLOOD-LOVER!"
"Sounds like he's just fine," I said wryly. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
Everyone Apparated all at once, leaving behind the Selwyn residence and making for the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.
Unfortunately, as the Order of the Phoenix headquarters was a secret headquarters, all of us members tried to Apparate on exactly the top step, so as not to be seen by anybody in the street. It was an extra precaution and not totally necessary, but it had become habit to all of us in the Order, so that everyone except Jasper and Peaky ended up piled on top of each other on the top step.
"Ughhhh," I groaned, as I was crushed between Tonks and Seth. "Ow! Will someone kindly get off, please?"
I heard a warm chuckle, and then someone came and pulled me out. I stumbled slightly, and he caught me – Jasper caught me. "Are you all right?" he asked me, still laughing a little at me.
I had half a mind to curse him for making light of my troubles, but instead, (and heaven knows why I did this), I lifted my hand and made a 'thumbs up' sign as I coughed out, "N-Never better."
We entered Grimmauld Place. Tonks was saying cheerily, "Yeah, that smoke bomb was mine! Thought it would come in handy in a crowd situation!"
"Good thinking, Tonks," Seth said, clapping her on the shoulder.
"Yeah? I've got another one, if you want it, Seth. Look here – Oh!" Tonks fumbled with the smoke bomb she had just pulled out of her cloak – and POOF!
It was suddenly pitch black in the hallway.
"What in the world - ?"
"Tonks!"
"Did you just drop it?"
Tonks' sheepish voice floated out from the darkness, as she mumbled, "Sorry…"
We all jostled our way down the dark hallway. But it was only when we tumbled into the kitchen that we realized –
"Where is everybody?" I wondered aloud.
"They're all on a mission."
We turned to see Sirius in the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest. As he came into the kitchen, he asked, "And where were you lot?"
"We were on a mission, too," I replied.
"Really? I didn't hear about it."
"Well, it was a somewhat personal mission," I explained.
"Oh."
"But everyone else is on another mission?" Tonks asked.
Sirius replied, in a rather moody voice, "Yeah, everyone's on a mission but me. I'm still fucking here."
"What was the other mission?" Remus asked.
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know for sure. All I know is that Snivellus came around - "
"Who?" Seth wondered.
"Er – Severus," Remus corrected.
"- And said something about a possible kidnapping attempt on Trelawney."
"Trelawney? The Divination professor?" Hestia frowned. "Why would someone want to kidnap her?"
Sirius snorted. "Beats me. She's the phoniest fraud you've ever seen. But when I asked Snivellus about us, he just made some snide comment about how I didn't need to know, since I'd just be sitting here anyways. I told him that it was so I could pass the information along, but he still didn't tell me anything." He lazily flicked his wand and a whiskey bottle and glass came floating over to him. He downed a shot and then slammed it down on the table, making us all jump. "Git," he muttered darkly.
Just then, a shy, but also disgusted voice said, "Aren't you Sirius Black?"
Sirius lifted his head, to see Roslyn Selwyn still in her wedding dress, though her extravagant attire all looked decidedly worn and torn now.
"Who are you?" Sirius said. "What the hell are you doing in a wedding dress?"
"She's my sister." Jasper stepped forward from the back of the group.
Sirius paused. "Riley? Jasper Riley, is that you?"
"Yes."
I hastily stepped up as well. "Jasper's a member of the Order now."
A complicated expression passed over Sirius' face. But he finally said, "Welcome to the Order."
Jasper nodded, but Roslyn said angrily, "I'm certainly not a part of your stupid Order." She turned to her brother and said, "I can't believe you brought me here, of all places."
"It's the safest place for you, Rose," Jasper said quietly.
"What's the matter with your sister?" Sirius asked, throwing Jasper a confused look. "She talks like she's some stupid pureblood princess."
Jasper replied lightly, "Well, you're not entirely wrong there."
Roslyn shot him a glare, and Jasper quickly amended, "I mean, the 'pureblood princess' part."
"I am not some stupid pureblood princess," Roslyn growled through gritted teeth. "I'm a Selwyn, one of the original Sacred Twenty-Eight, and a direct descendant of - "
"Nobody cares, pureblood princess," Sirius said, rolling his eyes at her. "So pipe down over there." He paused, however, before he said to Jasper, "But then, you're a Selwyn, huh?"
Jasper said quietly, "Afraid so."
"Huh. I thought you were a pureblood, from the very first time I saw you. You have all the signs of a pureblood upbringing," Sirius told him. "But I never would've guessed you were a Selwyn. Your lot is famous even among the purebloods… And not for good things, either."
Jasper remained silent, but Roslyn hissed at Sirius, "Well, what about you? What's the point of turning traitor and becoming a filthy Mudblood-lover when all it's done is land you in your mother's kitchen, huh?"
"Rose," Jasper berated her quietly.
But Sirius only chuckled darkly. "You've got a point there, I won't deny it. But be careful." He lifted his whiskey glass and pointed it at her. "When I get rid of Snivellus, I might just get rid of you, too."
Roslyn started. "Are you threaten - ?"
"Sirius," Remus sighed. "She doesn't know you that well. You shouldn't joke like that - "
"'M not joking, Moony." Sirius stood up, still holding the whiskey bottle. "Anyways, I'm off. Keep me posted if there are any more missions."
Sirius Black's POV
I had just left the kitchen, when I heard footsteps come after me. Then, someone said, "Wait."
I turned to see Jasper standing behind me. I smiled at him wryly, "What do you do with all of your time now, Riley? Now that you're not chasing me."
Jasper gave a grim smile.
"You stayed on my tail so well, I could have sworn you were in love with me," I told him, half-joking and half-cursing at him.
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't have all of the information," Jasper said, very politely.
The bloke was so formal that it annoyed me; on the other hand, I could tell that he was a genuinely decent guy.
So, I grunted, "Never mind. Anyways, about you being a Selwyn – does Raylynx know?"
"No."
I paused. "You never told her?"
"No, it didn't seem… Well, I don't think of myself as a Selwyn, much."
"I see."
"Anyways. Sirius." Jasper looked directly at me. "I wanted to thank you in advance for letting me bring my sister here."
I shrugged. "No need to thank me. It's an Order matter, not my choice. If I had it my way, I'd kick her out as long as she was still spewing that 'pureblood' nonsense."
"Right," Jasper said quickly. "But, you know, she's my little sister." He paused, and he looked at me significantly, as if he was trying to tell me something without words.
Confused, I merely said, "I s'pse so."
Jasper stepped forward. He took my hand and then he pressed something into it. "I know that you, of all people, will understand." Then, he was gone, disappearing back into the kitchen.
Frowning, I lifted up my hand and squinted to see what was in it. My eyes widened. For Jasper had returned to me none other than the official death certificate of Regulus.
Remus Lupin's POV
The younger generation was certainly rowdy. I enjoyed, but couldn't keep up with, the energetic back-and-forth of Tonks and Seth. Slipping away from the table, I called out quietly, "Sirius?" But Sirius wasn't in the kitchen anymore.
Exiting the kitchen, I started to head towards his bedroom, when I noticed a door ajar. A thin sliver of late evening sun was shining through. I poked my head in. There was Sirius, in the room with the tapestry. He was clearly drunk, holding a whiskey bottle in one hand and a small piece of paper in the other.
I quietly opened the door and stepped in.
Sirius lifted his head to look up at me. "Oh… Moony, it's you."
I nodded at the piece of paper. "Bad news?"
Sirius laughed harshly. "No. No news at all. No news for years…"
"Sirius, what - ?"
"It's nothing, Moony. Crouch is dead, and I haven't got any other leads."
I paused. "Is this about Regulus?"
Sirius dropped his head back against the wall and stared up at the tapestry. "You should go away. I'm in a fucking vile mood, but you've got nothing to do with it. Spare yourself."
Instead, I went and sat next to Sirius. "I'd rather take your foulness than the cheerfulness of all those youngins'. They're great and all, but I can't think with all that chatter and excitement all the time."
"It means you're old, Moony," Sirius told me. "Or else you've become just as vile as me."
Dropping my head back against the wall as well, I let out a long breath. "Truth is, I'm always in a vile mood too, these days." I glanced over at Sirius. "I just hide it better than you." It was true, too, as Sirius' moodiness and fury was bleeding out all over him.
Sirius smirked, but his eyes remained tense, and his hand kept clutching at that tiny, shivering piece of paper in his hand.
