A/N: Oh, look, a chapter. Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her work on this fic, let's
go...
Chapter 39: Watching from the Shadows.
*****************************Hogwarts***********************************
April 16, 2016
9:25 am
"You think he'll like it?" Harriet asked nervously as she stood in front of a full length mirror looking back at herself. Her image stuck its tongue out at her, and then twirled in place, causing the short split skirt of an emerald green Chinese dress to flutter up, exposing a brief flash of black, before it settled down. A rampant gold lion was imprinted along the right side, with its head resting on her breast and its tail curling around on the back of her skirt, with a mandarin collar pulled up and laced together at the hollow of her throat.
She turned around, fingering the charm on her black jeweled collar nervously and watched as Em and Rain finished their preparations for the Hogsmeade visit. Harriet smoothed the skintight fabric down her sides nervously, before she slipped over to her bed to lace on black boots.
Emilia rolled her eyes out of sight of Harriet, and slipped over to sit next to her, as Rain continued to dig through her trunk for something. Em hugged her sideways and kissed the top of her head, "You're beautiful, Harriet." Em shared a grin with Rain as the third teen finally found the skirt she had lost and slipped it on, fastening it and pulling it down to ride low on her hips. "I'd be more worried that he might jump you in the middle of the High Street."
"Really?" Harriet smiled softly her eyes going slightly vague, she frowned, "But wouldn't all that gravel be uncomfortable, I rather he waited until we could get to the grass...But if he wants to-"
"It was an expression, Harriet," Emilia replied with a laugh, even as she marveled at Rain as the taller girl started to make several objects vanish about her person, even though her skirt was as short as the other two's and her top as tight. "Did I ever tell you that you are paranoid, Rain?"
Rain just stared at her for a moment, "Unless I very much miss my guess, you have your sword in a pocket universe ready to appear at a ward trip, my beloved sister," she retorted, pausing to stick out her tongue as she walked over to sit on Harriet's other side. "Just because I am-cautious," she growled as she laced up her own boots, which like her 'sisters' and unlike what several of the other girls would be wearing today had practical, low heels, "doesn't mean that I'm paranoid."
Emilia nodded, "I was just teasing, you know that."
Rain shrugged and nodded, "You look shaggable, Harriet," she grinned
"Oi," Emilia snorted, "what about me?"
"I've always thought you were, Emilia...but wouldn't Xander get jealous?" Rain's eyes were dancing, and she ducked quickly as Emilia flicked a finger and a half dozen pillows shot from about the room to pummel her gently. Rain laughed as she rolled from the bed stand in front of the other two, and pull them to their feet, "Let's get our boys before they get into trouble."
"We really should," Harriet replied thoughtfully, as she grabbed her wand sheath from her bed in passing and stopped to strap it to her thigh, and smoothed her skirt over the grip, with the rest of the sheath exposed. She tapped it with one emerald-polished nail and it faded away, seemingly blending into her leg as the built-in Disillusionment Charm on the sheath activated. "After all the sooner we leave, the soon we get back. I really don't like to let Sirius go for more than a day or so...He's just so-"
"Let's go," Emilia said quickly, grabbing Harriet's hand in one and Rain's in her other and pulling both of them out of the room before Harriet could explain her brother's...Whatever it was, despite her utter love for both of them, she really did not want to know.
Unfortunately for her, Rain seemed to; "You've only been for what, a week?"
Harriet shrugged as they reached the top of the steps spiraling downward into the Common Room, "Yes...but I miss him so terribly if he's not with me," she muttered, and Em nodded, grabbing Harriet's hand again and pulling her to a stop.
Rain stopped as well, as Emilia nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, "Is it really that bad, Harriet?" she asked softly, and unconsciously Rain nodded, as if answering the question as well. Emilia frowned, and hugged Harriet, kissing her forehead again, before stepping back, "I've been selfish, haven't I?"
Both of the others looked confused.
"I've been sneaking off to curl up next to mine every night...I forgot what it was like not having them there, I've been with Xander almost since that first night."
Rain shuffled her feet; "It's not so bad with me. We can't do any better than line of sight anyway, so as long as I can feel he's alive, I'm...okay, I guess."
Harriet shrugged, "I'm alright, Em," she said quietly, "We just have to get to June and then I can sleep properly again...Though I do find that sleep comes rather nicely after a good few hours of shagging."
Emilia snorted, and Rain guffawed, "Yeah, it really does. Let's go."
The trio slipped down the spiral stairs, dodging to the side once as a pair of pets tore by, the two cats in hot pursuit of a rat the a first year had brought. Emilia frowned at some half-remember tale and shrugged, leading the other two into the Common Room. She just smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear, as she found Xander sitting with his back to her, playing Justin a quick game of chess. She slipped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she rested her chin on his head.
Xander's next move failed as he shuddered and let his eyes close, fighting the urges that his mate's pheromones were calling to him. Damn it, Emilia.
She laughed and moved around in front of his chair, to crawl into his lap. She did not bother to fix her skirt as Justin looked up, his eyes only for Rain.
She bent down in front of him, upsetting the chessboard, and giving Xander a quick shimmy just to annoy Emilia before kissing Justin. Emilia sighed heavily, "Dear, I'd really have to hate to knock you through the wall."
Rain snorted as she dropped onto Justin's lap, "Like you would." She looked back past Emilia, and nodded with her head, causing Emilia to turn as well.
Harriet was nodding slowly as she continually tucked one long red lock behind an ear. She blushed at something, though Sirius never opened his lips, but only continued to look at her, from the several inches height difference he had gained over the year. He slowly reached out to take one hand in hers, Merlin you're beautiful.
It's the dress, Harriet muttered, glancing down.
Sirius shook his head and pulled her forward, wrapping his arm around the small of her back even as she sighed softly. He looked over at the couches and glared the others, until Emilia gave him a small nod and stood, pulling the rest after her.
"We'll save you a carriage, Sirius," Emilia called across the room and he nodded. They left, soon followed by Virginia and Kris, who stood near the entrance hole for a minute before being joined by Lawrence and leaving with a wave that Sirius did not return.
No it's not, and you know it, Sirius retorted, kissing her hair, it was bad again last night, wasn't it? His words were a statement of fact, not a question.
She nodded, Promise me something.
Anything.
I don't want to sleep alone tonight, Sirius, I don't care if we shag or not...but I can control it when you are with me.
Nodding, We'll figure something out...if nothing else use one of the cloaks to come up to my room. He smiled at something; I forgot to tell you, Dobby came by earlier...he asked if it was okay if he put your stuff in my room at home, I told him yes.
He kissed her hair again, "Let's go, Harriet, you know how testy my sister gets when she has to wait."
Harriet nodded as she spun from his arms, intertwining their fingers and leading him to the portrait hole, "Indeed, one would wonder if she was born during Banded Bandicoot mating season, it is quite odd."
Ron sighed mightily as he stepped out of the Twin's Hogsmeade shop, having just stopped by to chat with Fred, as his eyes caught sight of the pair of students standing a few dozen meters away. The taller of the pair, his messy black hair dancing in the slight breeze from the lake, was looking down, his eyes hidden behind round grey lenses that had darkened in the sun. He slowly traced his fingers up and down the spine of his partner, an athletic redhead in a short emerald green dress.
For just a moment, memories of a long-ago time crossed his mind as he remembered another young man with messy black hair holding another redhead. The image slowly passed as subtle differences became apparent. The fall of red hair, that was dancing merrily in the breeze was slightly curled, hanging in very loose ringlets down her back, almost, except for the color, the same as the hair of the witch that followed Ron out of the store and wrapped her arms around his side. Not the ruler straight locks of the girl in his memories.
The stance of the pair was all wrong as well, for all the times that Ron had seen the pair in his memories together, they had never just stood together so peacefully, not snogging, just with her head tucked under his chin, and her face buried contently in his neck. The girl was also taller than the one in his memories, at least good four or five inches so, with the legs to prove it. There was nothing untoward in either student's behavior, their actions perfectly acceptable for Hogsmeade, and actually much less demonstrative than some he might find, but they were utterly intimate all the same. So much so that Ron felt slightly uncomfortable watching the pair.
Ron watched as the girl laughed at something, not moving from her partner's easy embrace, and Ron looked down at his wife as she snuggled against him. He licked his lips and swallowed slightly, "They are sleeping together, aren't they?" he murmured, possibly not loud enough to be even a vibration.
She heard anyway, somehow, "Yes," Luna replied succinctly, "they are."
Ron swallowed, "You shouldn't have let her get that dress."
Luna chuckled quietly, "She looks lovely-"
"Beautiful."
"Quite," Luna agreed as she ran her hand up and down his back, "she loves him, Ronald. He's good for her, and you knew it was going to happen eventually. Honestly, I'm rather amazed that they made it to his birthday." Luna smiled softly as she rested her head under his arm, "She needs him, Ronnie, as much as I need you."
"Why couldn't she have waited until she was thirty?" he half moaned, even as Harriet slowly bent her head back and rose on her toes slightly, to accept a soft kiss.
It broke a breath later and she pulled back, rolling to his side and wrapping both of her arms around his right one, letting him lead her away towards the Three Broomsticks and lunch. Sirius opened the door for her automatically, and followed her through.
Ron sighed once more, "Let's go to Scrivenshaft's, I need more red ink."
"Yes, my King," Luna replied smiling to herself, and pulled him the direction of the stationary store. She did not quite dare to meet his eyes, in fear that she would break out in a chuckle at his expression.
A moment later a rather unremarkable man dressed in nondescript robes and with a face that others forgot a few minutes later stood from where he had been sitting on a bench across from the Three Broomsticks. He put away a copy of the Saturday Prophet and walked down the high street away from the castle. He paused for a beat as he passed Weasleys' Wizarding World, before continuing on, his pace never varying from the moderate one he had started out on. He stopped as he reached a side alley, a block down from WWW, and stepped into it, and knelt down as if to tie a shoe.
A glance of dark eyes to either side, and he slid a wand from his sleeve, and drew a circle in the air with the tip. A shimmering silver puddle appeared, about a foot in diameter and after a moment a soft, dark voice issued from it.
"Speak."
He swallowed at the faint sillbants he heard, "She is away from the protections of the castle, M'Lord. She is only with one other; shall I have my men move in to take her? It would be trivial, she could not resist us."
The voice seemed to pause and consider his words, "No, take no action, the time is not yet right. You are merely to watch them. Take no action."
"Not even if I find her alone?" He froze, as Emilia emerged from the store across from him, alone for the moment. He fingered his wand, but she never turned in his direction, instead picking up her pace as she moved towards Honeydukes. The wizard slipped around the corner just in time to watch her take one leaping step towards Xander and to be caught with easy grace.
He slipped back around the corner. "Only the spawn are here...that and the blood-traitor, We can take them."
"I said no," the voice snarled, and he shook. "Continue with the mission. Have you given our agent the device?"
"Yes, it was disguised as a Weasley's product."
"Excellent," a quiet laugh, "rather ironic...Gather your men and leave, do not engage, the time is too near to risk it with foolish escapades." The circle closed with a faint snap, and the wizard stood, quickly replacing his wand and looking around once more. He took a step backwards and vanished with a faint crack of displaced air.
**************************Seacave******************************
April 20, 2016
1:35 am
Hermione grunted as a drop of nearly black water dripped onto her forehead and ran down into one eye. Reaching up with her unoccupied hand she looked to her right and gave Harry a one-eyed glare in the blue-white light of their wand beams. He shrugged and she sighed, before looking back away from him.
Looking back over her shoulder, she stared at the now, solid, stone wall they had entered through a few minutes before and sighed. She slipped forward to stand at his shoulder and started to slowly pan her wand about the vast, underground chamber.
A soft, greenish glow still remained, casting odd shadows on her face, making her faint frown seem much more severe. Walking to the edge of the brackish water, she glanced to one side, and stared at the faint burn trails still present on the walls at chest height. There's nothing here, Harry, she whispered, looking back to her husband as he knelt next to a small wooden boat, pulled up to the shore of the water. Nothing but misery.
He looked across at the a small island in the water, at a small basin sitting there, and a abandoned chalice sitting on the it of ground at it's feet. I know, he sighed and fell back onto his bum on the small beach. Reaching up, he cupped his hand at his shoulder and a flicker of power later, a head-sized, glowing orb appeared, lighting the dark cavern, or at least their part of it.
I just thought, Harry groaned tiredly, I thought there might have been something, anything...
Harry--
I know, Hermione, Harry picked at the sand, not looking at her, I just want to end this...soon, the kids should be safe enough at Hogwarts, but the clock is running out...Whoever this is, is going to have to come after us directly soon, and I'd rather the kids not be there when they do.
We can hold anyone off at home for a long while, Harry, Hermione said dubiously. Between the wards on lethal, the Twins' new spellcannon, the Redirecting Crystals, and the rest?
Would it stop us, really?
Hermione sighed, Not if we really, really wanted to fight our way in. She walked up behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders, You're right, Harry, they'd be right in it, if we let them...and there are more of them now...And if we were to get attacked, they would never forgive us for keeping them out of it, if we even could.
Harry stood and turned his back at the dark underground lake and walked straight at the wall. He gestured sharply and the wall glowed a green-orange, and then exploded outward as he crushed the blood wards and headed though before the smallest rocks had finished falling. Hermione followed with a faint shrug, any magic in this place was long gone, almost twenty years now.
**************************Hogwarts********************************
5:02 pm
The last of the third years dutifully filled out of Luna's borrowed classroom and she sighed tiredly and hopped up to perch on the edge of the Professor's desk. Despite outward appearances, the thought that she was good enough to fill the indomitable Minerva McGonagall's shoes, was still earth shattering to a girl whose NEWTs had been taken early one Saturday morning at the Ministry.
Looking around for a moment, she played idly with the hem of her skirt, pulling at the brightly colored fabric, watching as a tiny unicorn galloped across her mid-thigh, I need to get Harriet new clothes for the summer, maybe something for her to sleep in...Hermione does keep their house cool...
Her eyes narrowed fractionally as she felt someone stop outside the room, and remain in the hallway, trying to not make a sound. Slowly standing, she slipped back to the floor and silently slipped off her hard soled shoes. Soft grey eyes hardened as the fingers of her right hand curled along her thigh, dragging her skirt up to almost her hip until the well-worn grip of her wand filled her hand.
Luna moved quickly to the door, staying just out of sight of the hallway, before she rolled into it behind her wand in one smooth motion, lowering her body as her weight settled on her thighs, moving quickly and smoothly into the hallway. She sidestepped along the hallway, peeking behind each suit of armor for several long minutes before she slowly lowered her wand with a long, shaking breath.
"Aunt Luna?" a quiet, immature male voice came from behind her, and she turned to find Sirius just rounding the corner into the Transfiguration wing. He moved down the hallway at a half trot, his hand falling to his thigh, but not drawing his wand at something he saw in Luna's face, "You alright?"
"Of course," she replied, shrugging just slightly as her eyes slowly unfocused slightly, relaxing to their normal, dreamy state. "Why wouldn't I be, Sirius, honey?" She swished her hips idly, sending her skirt swirling to each side. "And I thought I said you can call me mum...if you want, that is."
"You seemed to be spooked, A...Mum," Sirius replied, his hand still lingering on the roughened grip of his wand as he slowly reached out to scan the immediate surroundings. Only finding the relatively week magical signatures of a pair of twelve-year-olds a corridor over, he let go of his wand and thrust his hands into the pockets of his uniform trousers, shrugging his shoulders and rocking back on his heels.
"I'm fine, Sirius, I didn't get much sleep last night," she admitted with a smile and started towards the Great Hall, smiling slightly as he fell in at her side automatically. Luna stumbled slightly as a flash of something got past her normal guards and she stopped, and took a breath before continuing on. The visions, like those that she knew her daughter had experienced, was still experiencing, since Christmas were ever more demanding. "I heard from Harriet that you are looking to get a motorcycle like your Dad's," Luna remarked as if nothing had happened, "You do realize that Harriet's hair streaming out behind you two could attract Belgin Razorwings, especially in the summer?" Luna shrugged, "You should really get matching helmets."
"We were going to," Sirius assured her.
"Good, you never know when one might be flying over." Luna glanced down at her wrist, at the silver watch that Hermione had given her when she heard that Luna had become the new Transfiguration teacher. Somewhere amongst the six or so hands, it was difficult to tell how many as at least two were constantly whirring here and there, she seemed to find the time. "I hear that they are having Pheasant today, I'm not sure that is the best dish for this time of year, but we'll see."
Sirius shrugged, and looked down at his feet. Luna stopped and looked back at him, as he continued to look at his feet, his breathing suddenly heavy as a heavy weight settled invisibly on his shoulders. "C...Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, honey," Luna replied softly as she brought the current world back into focus with the aid of years of practice.
"I...I know we're young, and that I'm an idiot for asking this soon-"
"Of course you can, Sirius. But really, it's not like this changes anything," Luna smiled, "Though I might need to change the curtains in the new house...if it ever gets finished," she added in a half grumble under her breath. Her and Ron's new house, currently being built by a combined house elf and wizard crew from one of the Black family construction firm had been supposed to have been completed at the start of this month. But after several delays, most notably the house elf foreman's wife having unexpected triplets, the house had gotten pushed back.
The largish, incomplete rambling structure was set in a small wooded valley about ten miles from the Godric's Hollow house of their best friends, with the stream that fed the lake next to the Godric's house running through Luna's future back yard. Luna had especially picked out the site, as there was little chance of anyone disturbing them-that and there was really no one to tell her that she needed to conform to normal ideas of behavior.
Hermione was due to help her install the transfer portals between the houses this weekend.
"Um, you do know that-"
"You're asking if you can marry Harriet," Luna interrupted, and reached forward, pulling him into a hug. "You already are, more or less, you know that as well as I do, even though you both need to still learn each other better....but that will come. It took me nearly ten years to train Ronald out of most of his bad habits," she murmured, almost too low for him to hear even with his enhancements. She took a step back letting go, and sighed, "Though I will ask that you wait until you graduate to actually get...officially married, I know it's a hardship but the reporters are such a bother...That and there won't really be a proper alignment of the stars until then."
"Um, sure," Sirius replied, gobsmacked, as she laughed and spun from him and started to skip down the hallway.
"Come on, Sirius," Luna called behind her, "It's time for dinner. You wouldn't want to pass out from hunger, it would worry Harriet so...Though that might give her a chance to nurse you back to health..."
He just nodded at her back as she vanished around a corner whistling a jaunty tune from a twenty-year-old Muggle rock song.
**************************Black Manor***********************************
"We have to do this soon," Ginny whispered harshly and tightened a thick blanket around her shoulders, only lessening the shivers coursing through her on a cool early May evening. Draco looked over at her, and flicked his wand at the hearth set in one corner of his home office, bringing a low fire to life. "If we are going to..." She shivered again and coughed loudly.
Draco sighed and stood from behind his desk, a large black onyx one inset with silver dragons inlaid at the corners that he had added to his father's old desk when he had reclaimed the house. He crossed to the small matching couch that his wife was huddled on and knelt on the thick woven rug, one probably older than their parents, in front of her. Reaching up, he stroked her cheek, noting the clamminess of her skin, "You're right, Red, we need to get you well."
"I don't care about me..."
"There is a way, though we may have to expand...just to be safe."
"I won't kill the kids, Draco, I will put my own wand to my head first. They may come after us, probably will, eventually, but I won't do that. Harry, Hermione, at least they have a chance..."
"I think...that we will have to kill Ron and Luna too, Ginny." Draco frowned as a silent tear crawled down one of Ginny's cheeks, and she just nodded, accepting even as she started to shake further despite the sudden warmth filling the room from the fire. "Luna is too...dangerous to leave alive, we can't possibly hide from her forever, and Ron..."
"We are only postponing the inevitable, you know, Draco."
"Not if we do it correctly, I learned more than they think from my father, more than they ever hung on him."
"So how..."
"The twenty third is Anna's birthday," Draco replied quietly, not mentioning, nor needing to to remind either of them of the other events of that day, "Anna and the rest of the kids should be occupied at Hogwarts, Nate asked me about picking up a gift for her in Diagon Alley, he said they were planning a party for her. As head of House Black, Harry, technically needs to be consulted on the wedding preparations, especially since Nate and Anna's wedding is in July. We'll invite him and Hermione over for dinner, have Luna and Ron along...I've done some reading up, we should be too close to Luna to allow her to see our plans in time to save them...and then a day or two later, the Potters and Weasleys will be found dead of unknown causes, just like the three Wizengamot judges that Lucius killed in seventy nine, who were going to vote to convict him."
Ginny nodded, "I will have to do the preparations, you need to be at Hogwarts, we have already moved enough Galleons out of the country, here and there, to hold us for a while." She buried her face in her hands, as soft sobs started to wrack her small body, "This is all my fault, Draky...If I hadn't tried to steal Harry, and then had to run, Snape never would have..."
"And I would have never been with you," he whispered against her hair as he slipped onto the couch next to her and pulled her into his lap, "And you would have never given me such wonderful children. If nothing else we have to stay strong to give them parents...even ones that they may never see again."
A/N: There we go, another one down.