Alley Up
*****
Finally, finally they were in Diagon Alley. Arianna could not contain her excitement for that fact, even as she maintained her high lady persona. Courtesy of muggle hair dye and a raid in the Evans vault for clothing, she’d adopted a similar outfit and hair color and was quietly celebrating the way Charlie had reacted to seeing her in it again. The lust she could see burning in his eyes gave her hope that his mother’s slap hadn’t tainted any other reaction he may have had when she’d invaded their meeting. And it gave her hope that her thoughts about the redhead were returned.
But as they made their way along the crowded street, she focused on keeping track of her brother and his twins. People were giving them a wide berth, either because of her obvious signs of wealth or the plethora of burly men acting as guards she had at the moment, so it made it hard to track the three. Sirius had crowed for days at her idea to have Bill, Charlie, Graves, and Theseus guarding them, even if he wouldn’t be able to join. He had his wand, an appointment at Gringotts with his cousin, and they couldn’t risk someone seeing through a glamour or Polyjuice, even if Aunt Tina used the Auror level one she had used on Arianna when she went to Hogwarts. Not with the real Mad-Eye and his damn sensitive fake eye back out in the world and probably in search of Harry.
Remus had reported that Dumbledore was in a panic looking for him after a rather impressive pulse of magic, felt the country over, had pushed him to checking on Harry over the summer for the first time in over a decade. The Order was tasked with keeping an eye out for the boy and Arianna was not pleased for that little snag to hit just before they were scheduled to go to Diagon.
She would have protested the guards otherwise. Though they were proving more a hinderance than a help at this point, with the attention they were garnering.
“Boys!” she finally snapped, voice carrying above the crowd even as she tried to contain her worry.
She was not enjoying having her clutchmate so far away when there was so much potential danger around. She was getting better about melding her dragon mind and her human mind since her initial transformation, but there were certain phrases and habits that didn’t translate well. And she’d yet to transform again or had the time to tell anyone who hadn’t been in the room. But Adaya was protesting hotly having Harry too far away. She’d done well while they were picking up the things on Harry’s list, but now he was out of sight.
She did not appreciate when he appeared behind her with a pop, with George attached to his side to perform the Side-Along apparition.
“Menaces!” she snapped, smacking the pair upside the head.
She’d been adamant about not touching them without permission, but the trio had just laughed and said they trusted her not to abuse a blanket permission, even knowing she liked to smack heads when annoyed. They had yet to protest or look like they actually minded so she tried not to think about it.
“Yes, milady? You called?” Fred asked with a smart bow and a face splitting smile.
“We have an appointment with the tailor! Try not to disappear before we arrive?”
They’d agreed on sticking to the story she’d told Molly, with the Twins having run across a wealthy foreign witch who decided to invest. Which Fred and George found entertaining and had decided to embellish with the tale of an instant feeling of siblinghood to explain away how they teased each other. Arianna hadn’t argued because stranger things had been explained by magic. And if their teasing spread the story of her entrance into Wizarding Britain, all the better as she would not be hiding now that she was healed and they had plans. This trip had many purposes, the least of which was getting Harry appropriate clothing and a good chunk of them wands.
“As we’ve told you,”
“oh beautiful Lady Aiaia,”
“We have clothes,” the twins said, slipping into Twinspeak.
“And as I told the pair of you, not clothing appropriate for up and coming businessmen, especially those working with me,” she said airily, taking silent note of the stares they were garnering as their voices rose with their overdramatic teasing.
“What’s wrong with our clothes?” they demanded in unison, eyes sparking with mischief.
“Nothing a trip to Twilfitt and Tatting's won’t solve. You’ll appear less like pranking menaces and more like upstanding gentlemen then. Doesn’t change that you will still be pranking menaces, but this way fewer will suspect,” she pointed out with a smile. “And that boy you’ve dragged along looks in desperate need of new clothing. Growth spurt, young man?”
It was easy to explain away Harry as a friend of her business partners, dragged along for shopping against his will. They’d agreed that they would say Harry had run away and had spent the time between Dumbles’ check at the Dursleys and his arrival at Grimmauld at Gringotts, in the care of the goblins. A tale the goblins had agreed to with pleasure. No one questioned the holders of the gold.
“I’m fine, ma’am,” he muttered softly, easily taking up the persona he’d need for his return to Hogwarts.
“Nonsense,” she said, waving off his hesitance and steering the three to the shop she’d finally spotted. “No use denying a helping hand. You’re a friend of my new partners and I’ll not have you besmirching the business we’re trying to set up by looking like that around them. Why your parents haven’t gotten you new clothing after that growth spurt I’ll never understand.”
“You’re amazing,” George said softly into her ear, easily giving the impression he was explaining about the Potters.
She had to hide her smile behind a thoughtful frown.
“No matter,” she said, as if accepting the news and pushing it aside in favor of the boy in front of her. “I’ll stand by my orders. New clothing. It’s not charity, it’s an investment. If you’re friends with these two, I’m sure you’ll go places.”
And if she managed to get those shamelessly eavesdropping to think of Harry as a person instead of a symbol, all the better. She doubted anyone had ever referred to the Boy Who Lived as the friend of someone more important.
The little bell on the door dinged when she pushed the three through. While they looked around, she went in search of the proprietor. She’d never actually been in the shop, but she could excuse any lack of respect as foreign habits. And Charlie stuck to her side as a deterrent for some of the more adverse reactions. His scars and almost fully dragonhide outfit oozed danger, even if his twinkling eyes and knowing smirk spoke of his gentle heart. The rest of the ‘guards’ stayed outside and kept an eye out as they kept the shop closed to all others. Arianna would leave a hefty tip to the owners in apology for scaring off their customers for the next while.
“Ah, customers,” an elderly man said when she finally found him buried in rows of fabrics. “And what can I do for you today, my dear? I’m afraid we’re not as experienced outfitting such a fine lady as some of the other shops in Diagon, but if you’re set on us, we can work something out,” he rambled as he climbed down from where he was storing an obviously new shipment of cloth.
“Actually, I’m here to outfit a trio of young men in sore need of basically everything,” she said, letting her American accent take over again and smirking when the man startled.
“American?” he asked. “Ah, well, it has been a time since I’ve assisted someone from the States. Let’s take a look at the lads, then. Obviously, this young man isn’t one of them. I’d dare say you’re a dragon handler, sir.”
“Too true,” Charlie said with a smirk, offering his arm to the man to help him the last few steps down the ladder. “Though I’m afraid two of the lads are my unfortunate brothers.”
The man chuckled but followed them out to the main shop where the twins and Harry were waiting nervously. Arianna studied them for a moment before demanding what exactly they’d done now. When they pointed sheepishly to the stack of cloth they’d accidently changed to bright pink, she had to laugh.
“I do apologize for that, Mr?”
“Twilfitt, my dear,” he said with a chuckle. “And think no further on it. We’ve actually been in search of that shade of pink for a while for a client and I’d about given up hope of finding such a fabric, since we did not have the needed dyes ourselves. It’s quite a distinctive color and most respectable suppliers won’t carry it. If anything, I should be thanking you.”
Arianna laughed at that. Then gestured to the trio. “And what of my menaces?”
Twilfitt turned a weathered eye to the three and then spent the next few hours measuring them and having them try on a long line of styles, colors, and fits until he had a good idea of what exactly suited each. The twins were quickly ordered to get used to three-piece suits under their robes, in bold colors that Arianna was amused to find matched their auras. Harry was outfitted in basically everything else. Jumpers, jeans, leather jackets, t-shirts, and warm sweaters found their way to the pile for him, to be added to the underthings and new school robes. With orders in for formal robes for all three.
“I’d also like you to put together full dragonhide armor for all three, much like Charlie and I have, if you are able,” Arianna added once she’d pressed her Ladyship ring to the bill. She hadn’t known that was possible until Ragnok had explained but she intended to use it. It made much more sense than trying to lug around the kind of coin she’d need to in order to spend what she’d just done. At least she’d banished the three to exploring the Alley with two of their guards and strict orders to not wander far, since they had their appointment at Gringotts next. If any of them had caught the final tally, they’d have swooned.
“It is not often we get requests for that service,” Twilfitt commented, eyeing her carefully. “But we do still provide it upon request. Is there a particular reason you are looking to outfit three school-aged young men with such armor?”
“I’d rather be prepared than not and the twins are my partners with a business venture. I’d rather not lose them to a wayward explosion as they experiment or to a stray spell in these dangerous times.”
“You know who he is and believe the young man, then,” the tailor said, still studying her without giving away his own thoughts.
“I’ve seen stranger things and I’ve not been impressed with the Prophet since I arrived in the country. If they’re railing against him, I’m much more likely to put stock in his tale,” she said honestly. This was another purpose for their trip and Twilfitt had fallen into the prompt so easily. If they could sway public opinion away from the lies the Ministry was spouting, it would be worth the risk of being called liars.
“Smart woman,” the man said with a vicious sneer at the window and the people walking past. “Never trust that rag. The older generation remembers when it wasn’t in the Ministry’s pocket, but sadly, it has spouted nothing but lies for years. And if Harry Potter says You-Know-Who is back, many would believe him, in-spite of that waste of ink. I’ll get this order in right away and have our suppliers put an ear out for a steady supply of dragon hide. I have a feeling armor will begin to come back into fashion with you around.”
Arianna smiled at him, eyes twinkling.
“I’d also suggest it be responsibly sourced and not from dragons killed just for their hide,” Charlie warned.
Twilfitt looked affronted and assured them that all the fabrics they used were. So, with their order in and an auto-updating catalogue tucked into Arianna’s bag, they set out to round up their party for the trip to Gringotts and a pair of wandmakers. Arianna was interested to see what exactly Harry ended up with, now that his Holly and phoenix feather was acting up. She suspected the wand had chosen the horcrux, and not her brother, since it had only really started protesting after she’d cleared the dark thing.
When they walked into the bank, the silence was telling.
“My Lady Aiaia,” one of the tellers said, breaking off his conversation with a young witch in favor of greeting her immediately. “Manager Ragnok is just finishing up a meeting. He will meet you shortly.”
“Thank you, Teller Siwaih,” she said, bowing shallowly to the goblin. “We’ll wait here, then.”
She hadn’t missed the pair talking to a goblin farther in, the red head of the man familiar, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to give Molly a chance to make a fool of herself. And plant the seed of doubt in Arthur, if he wasn’t as delusional as his wife. It would have the benefit of allowing them to tell Order members where Harry had been without setting up an elaborate scheme to give the story they’d decided on.
And sure enough, as she ushered the group to a clear space by the doors to the deeper parts of the bank to wait, the elder Weasleys started over, Molly basically storming ahead of her husband and completely ignoring the goblin she’d been speaking with in favor of confronting their group.
“Fred, George!” she snapped, stalking up to the pair only to stop in shock when Bill and Charlie put themselves between the irate woman and the twins once they’d flinched. Arianna suddenly suspected the woman had done more to the twins that they let on and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. Apparently, slapping Charlie was not the first time she’d raised a hand to one of her children.
“Mum,” Bill greeted levelly, crossing him arms and glaring at the woman. Arianna noted he had his wand hiding up his sleeve and had no doubt the curse-breaker could have it drawn and a spell shot off quicker than Molly would be able to blink.
“What are you doing with that Dark witch?” she shouted, uncaring of the attention she was garnering.
“She’s not Dark. Or evil as you really mean,” Fred denied hotly, poking his head around his brother to come to her defense. “She’s our business partner and she does not deserve to be accused of that.”
“You hush, young man. We still have to talk about your punishments for how you’ve been acting this summer. And this ridiculous idea that Harry’s in trouble. Albus has assured me the boy is fine so you really should stop your lies about the muggles he’s staying with.”
“Not lies,” Harry snapped, garnering attention himself from where he was hidden behind Arianna’s robes, despite being taller. He’d hunched enough to be less noticeable.
“Harry!” Arthur exclaimed, rushing over to envelope him in a hug. It said a lot about how Harry felt about the man that he didn’t try to escape it. Arianna really hoped he proved to be a good man, as she would spare Harry any more heartbreak if she could. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been?”
“Staying here,” Harry said, easily slipping into the tale. “I finally ran away from those horrible people and this was the safest place I could think of at the time.”
“And why on earth wouldn’t you come to the Burrow? And what do you mean, horrible people? Your relatives may not be the best, but they loved you enough to take you in. Surely you’re overstating things,” Molly said, brushing off the implied abuse.
“I didn’t want you to send me back,” Harry said, pulling away from Arthur to hide with the twins behind the older Weasley brothers. “I’m never going back there again. I don’t care what anyone says.”
“Nonsense,” Molly denied. “You have to stay there to stay safe. Albus said there were protections there and that the Dursleys were taking good care of you.”
Arianna jumped in before Harry could lose his temper and give away the tale. “If the boy doesn’t want to go and you are not his parent, then I do believe it’s none of your concern,” she said, letting her voice carry and earning the gaze of everyone who had previously been trying to look like they weren’t hanging on every word spoken by the little group.
“Best you stay out of this, bitch,” Molly snapped, going for her wand.
Arianna had to chuckle when a number of goblin guards immediately had weapons pointed at the witch who froze in shock.
“Yes, I do believe that’ll work for you,” she said dryly. “Attacking a woman who’s only offense is preventing you from overstepping your position in regards to a child not your own in a situation you have no input in.”
“Molly,” Arthur said soothingly, eyeing the goblins as he pulled his wife back. “Perhaps we should get back to our business. The boys are obviously fine and Harry’s looking well. We’ll let Albus know and leave it at that.”
Arianna smirked when Molly scowled but relented, allowing her husband to pull her away and back to the Teller they’d left. When he made them go to the back of the line since he was helping a new client, well, she tried not to laugh too hard.
“Lady Aiaia,” one of the guards called, sticking his head out the door once Arianna was done laughing to herself. “Manager Ragnok will see you now.”
She recognized him from their extended stay and greeted the guard warmly as he led them into the bank. Passing the cart the goblins used for traveling to the various vaults, he led them down a corridor lined with sturdy doors that was very familiar. And very well protected. She had a feeling their little group was the first magicals in a very long time that was so familiar with the corridor and she knew they were the first longer allowed to apparate within the Nation.
“Ah, Lady Aiaia, Lord Potter, Messers Weasley, Mister Graves, Mister Scamander,” Ragnok greeted. “I trust you had fun putting that woman in her place again,” he continued with a chuckle.
Arianna grinned with all her teeth. “Oh, immensely. I’m fairly sure they also didn’t recognize Uncles Grey and Theseus. That will be fun to throw in her face later.”
“How did we ever see her as loving?” Charlie bemoaned.
“A mystery for another time, perhaps,” Ragnok said dryly. “Now, to business, as I do have quite a full schedule. I have a room set up for those of you in need of wands and the wandmakers are waiting. Then I shall need Senior Curse-Breaker Weasley and Master Handler Weasley to come with me. We need to set up meetings with our Creature Care team and begin the audit of the vaults accessible at this time. The previous Heads gave the goblins access to all but the Aiaia vaults and I would prefer to begin moving those creatures able as soon as possible. It has long been time to do so and Gringotts has not allowed creatures to be placed in vaults in many centuries, mostly due to the headache Aiaia has become. As much as we appreciate the trust the former lady put in us, two thousand years is a bit long for her vaults to be allowed to breed…”
Arianna dreaded finally seeing the vaults if Ragnok himself was eager to see them finally claimed and cleaned out. It seemed there actually was a limit to the greed of goblins and its name was Aiaia…. But she needed a wand first. Then she could start helping.
“Lead the way, Manager Ragnok,” she said grandly.
Ragnok rolled his eyes but did indeed make his way to the door and, after pressing a hand to the wood, open it and gesture to the room that now showed beyond.
“I shall check on you as soon as I have set Messers Weasley to their task. The team is eager for some assistance, as it has been some time since the number of allowed handlers has been able to care for the number of creatures appropriately. At least the magics of the vault have already acknowledged the change in Head and have allowed a few more to assist. Good luck with the wands.” With that, he all but shoved them through the door and closed it with a sharp snap, Bill and Charlie waving with amusement before disappearing out of sight behind the wood.
“Is it horrible of me to hope this takes hours?” Arianna asked with a whine.
The twins, the right bastards, just laughed.
“Well, if you take as long as I did, it wouldn’t be that far off,” a familiar voice said with a chuckle. Arianna beamed when she saw Ron standing by a desk, playing with a wand and smirking at them.
“Ronnikins!” the twins greeted happily, bounding over to their younger brother and enveloping him in a hug the younger man protested before they’d even touched him.
“So, we are to assume the rest of you need new wands, then?” a gruff voice asked, drawing attention to the wandmakers.
Mykew Gregorovitch and Shikoba Wolfe stood beside a table overflowing with wand boxes and a trunk Arianna suspected held raw ingredients in case they had to make a custom wand for someone. Gregorovitch was the one who’d spoken and Arianna took a moment to study the man. He was very much what she pictured a Russian Cossack would look like. He had a big bushy beard and wore fur-lined robes, even in the English summer. He had lines in his elderly face, but none of them indicated he laughed much. And his dark hair was streaked liberally with grey. Which entertained her as she was fairly sure the man was as old if not older than Uncle Grey. Shikoba Wolfe was his polar opposite, her long hair either grey or white blonde and in flowing gold robes that made it all the worse. She stared at them with eyes that spoke of wisdom and kindness but no patience for stupidity. Arianna instantly liked both of them.
“Well, all but Uncle Grey and Theseus,” she said promptly. “And I do believe Harry will need a different wand, since the one he got from Ollivander has been acting up lately.”
Both wandmakers scowled at the mention of the British wandmaker and Arianna chuckled.
“Let’s get to work then, young Lady,” Gregorovitch said with a grumble. “Wand arm?”
“Ambidextrous with a favor to the right,” she said promptly, making the man scowl harder. “And I tend to do wandless magic as often if not more than I use a wand.”
“Favorite subjects?” Wolfe asked.
“All of them? But I’m gifted with Defense, Alchemy, and Parselmagic.”
That had both raising their eyebrows and staring at her closely. “Am I to assume you are more than you appear, young witch? I had assumed with the claiming of the Circe Aiaia title, but this is surprising as well. I was unaware there were any Parselmouths aside from the Dark Lord, let alone one who could wield Parselmagic,” Gregorovitch said.
“It is a good assumption, but you’ll not get much more out of me for now. Secrets and all,” she said dryly, grateful for once to be away from Sirius and therefore unable to ask for him to add the pair to the Fidelius. She had to get out of the habit of trying to pull everyone in to the thing or it would nullify the need for it.
Gregorovitch grumbled but nodded then the pair proceeded to drill her on a long list of questions relating to her use of magic. When they were done, they conferred for a moment before Wolfe eyed her closely and started pulling boxes off the table for her to try. By the fifth explosion, they were getting annoyed with her and she couldn’t really blame them. She was beginning to think it may just be easier to forego a wand for now and hang the suspicions. She really hated the memory of Dumbledore snapping her wand and burning the pieces when he was burying her…
Then it happened. She was handed a wand and she gave it a careless flick, already fed up. Only for the wand to warm in her hand and transfigure the nearest chair into a beautiful apple tree, blossoms changing to rich red fruit within minutes.
Wolfe gasped in shock.
“Thunderbird feather and cedar,” the woman explained quickly. “The wood is native to Lebanon and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, and is thought to represent purification, protection, incorruptibility, and eternal life. Always in the hands of protectors... Add in the Thunderbird feather, a creature known to be incredibly protective of their habitats and able to call up thunderstorms to enforce their anger, and it’s a volatile combination if ever angered. I’ll have to remember to be wary of seeming a threat to you, young witch, especially since thunderbird feather wands have been known to cast curses on their own when they sense a threat to their wielders,” Wolfe said. “To make matters even more interesting, the Thunderbird that provided the feather for this one was even more protective than most, since he’d been rescued as a young fledgling from traffickers. So I’ve no doubt it will be very protective of you.”
Arianna stared in shock at that, turning to Uncle Grey to find the man just as shocked. She’d have to tell Uncle Newt that the bird had made it to the wild when he’d been released. The magizoologist would be thrilled, since he’d tried to find out many times over the years what had happened to the beast after he’d dispersed the Swooping Evil venom on New York.
“Shall we continue, then?” she asked after a moment, shaking off her surprise and turning to the next.
After a quick explosion about the Weasleys using wands that hadn’t chosen them, they were off on their interrogations again. And so it went, for hours, as they tried the twins and Harry on various combinations of materials. As each person found success, they immediately started testing the new wands with various spells, to note differences and ease of casting.
George finally wound up with a Dogwood and Phoenix feather wand, with Wolfe explaining with a smile that the dogwood was a playful wood and only chose wizards with a chance to be both fun and entertaining but that was also capable of casting even under the most strenuous of situations and would, if used correctly, produce powerful enchantments. She did warn that George would probably never be able to cast wordlessly it but that the Phoenix feather would balance out the wood. As it was one of the rarer cores, she had to explain about the tendency of the wand to take a long time to fully trust an owner, even if they were one of the most versatile. And that they tended to act on their own if needed. Between the wood and the core, Arianna was sure the wand would be casting spells almost as often as the wizard…
Fred ended up with California Redwood and Horned Serpent horn. The wood was apparently drawn to wizards that acted like cats and landed on their feet, with a proclivity to make the right choice and find the galleon in a pile of dragon dung. Not at all how the more violent of the twins was. At all. The core shocked them all, though, since it was sensitive to Parseltongue. It wasn’t required, but it did make the already powerful core exceptionally more so. It also proved protective, with Gregorovitch warning that it may warn him of danger by singing. Still, it tended to do its best work with Parselmagic. Fred just asked her promptly if she’d teach him. She could only promise that she’d try. As far as she knew, it was a skill one had to be born with, but since there were so few Parselmouths, it was possible the knowledge had fallen into obscurity.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, was Harry. Gregorovitch had simply scoffed at the Holly and Phoenix he’d been handed, stating bluntly that Ollivander was an idiot if he thought this wand suited the boy. Then started handing Harry wands almost faster than he could twitch the end to test it. And the combination they settled on was a potentially ruinous paring if anyone found out. Rowan and Rougarou hair. It was thought to be almost impossible to cast dark magic with a Rowan wand, since they were known to create almost unbreakable Defensive charms and could only be wielded by pure-hearted wizards. Rougarou hairs were the exact opposite and Wolfe had to assure Harry multiple times that Rougarou hairs weren’t taken from the type of werewolf he was used to. And that just because they were known for an affinity with Dark magic, that he was not automatically dark. After all, the wood wouldn’t have chosen him if he was. She theorized it was because Harry was purely grey that the wood and core worked together at all. As she explained, they had made it specifically for such a wizard. That the wizard in question was Harry Potter didn’t seem to matter to her at all.
Gregorovitch tried not to preen at the final choices. All of which used cores and woods that Ollivander ignored, with the exception of George’s Phoenix feather.
“No wonder you Brits all are such dreadful wizards,” he grumbled as he set about packing his things. “If you all are buying from that hack exclusively…”
“Would you consent to be available if we need more?” Arianna asked as she sat playing with her new wand. It made her smile to feel the magic flowing so easily through the wood. “I know of at least two others that will be in need of your services. They were both unavailable at the moment, working with the goblins on settling some matters. I’d also like a spare at some point.”
Wolfe and Gregorovitch exchanged a look but agreed to stick around the bank until Romulus, Marlene, and the Prewett twins finished with the Prewett manager. They also agreed to come if needed, should the goblins request their services again.
“After all, gold is gold and you paid a pretty sum to have us make a special trip,” the American wandmaker said with a smile. The Russian only scoffed but nodded.
Arianna pointedly did not look at itemized receipt they’d given her as soon as she’d paid for the wands, ignoring the huffs from the twins at her spending more money on them. She suspected it was actual annoyance and not feigned at this point but she didn’t care. She was rich enough to buy several countries and she would not allow them to spend their hard-earned money on something they needed that she could provide. Even if the amount staggered her a little. And she’d had them include holsters for everyone, including all the adults in their group, though she’d quickly whisked the whole lot away as soon as they were paid for. She’d chosen plain leather ones for everyone, had them charmed to prevent summoning, and another charm added to recall the wand to the holster if it was ever dropped. The Auror level charms had gotten raised eyebrows but neither wandmaker said a word, simply applied the spells and shrank the extra holsters for her. But she had further ideas for them before she could hand them out.
“It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Lady Aiaia,” Gregorovitch said brusquely when he was done packing. “I do hope you enjoy the rest of your day and I look forward to further meetings.”
“Throw in a catalogue of holsters and various other defensive items you may provide and I’ll be sure to call upon you both whenever we or our acquaintances have need of new wands,” she said. Gregorovitch laughed, the first sign he wasn’t a grouchy old man, and easily handed over the requested catalogue.
“Manager Ragnok knows how to get in touch with us,” Wolfe said as she followed her colleague out. “Feel free to write. I’m quite interested to see where this group goes from here.”
“I’m sure it will be memorable,” Arianna promised.
“Of that, there is no question,” Gregorovitch grumbled. Then they were gone and Arianna was left with three pranksters with wands that liked them and no need to worry about underage magic.
She left the room only after she’d fixed the purple skin and orange hair, though she forced the twins out with the blue instead of red hair on their heads. The goblin guards promised they were trying not to laugh but the expressions on the young pranksters was just too funny.
*****
Sirius sat in the meeting room, trying not to twitch or start pacing with nerves. Ragnok had assured him that he was safe here, that the room would nullify any spells his guest could possibly shoot at him, but it didn’t do anything to appease the fears he had about confronting his once favorite cousin. And he needed this to go well. Not only for their hope of a dedicated pair of healers, but for the chance to gain back some lost family. He and Regulus were working on repairing their relationship, but it was hard after so long at odds. Where they’d once been so close, there was now a divide they were finding it hard to cross. If Sirius could get back a piece of the rest of his family, he’d be able to have a bit more hope in succeeding with Regulus before his niece or nephew was born.
So he sat, waiting for the goblins to show Andromeda Tonks to the private meeting room, and tried not to panic.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised it was you,” Andromeda said when she saw who waited for her. “The letter only said Lord Black and I wondered. How did you manage to take the ring with the disownment?”
“Mum only blasted me off the tapestry. Father wouldn’t hear of officially disowning me,” he explained promptly, standing and guiding the woman to a seat before taking his own again.
“And you called a meeting with me for what? To rub it in my face that I was fully disowned?”
“To judge if it would be advantageous or desired to return you to the family,” he said promptly, studying the woman.
He’d gotten better at reading his cousin, but she had gotten better at hiding over the years. And he was out of practice. The penetrating stare he got almost made him squirm and he pulled on his pureblood mentality to deal with the nerves.
“I assume then, that you were unaware of the contract with Dora and therefore didn’t consent to it,” she said bluntly. Sirius grimaced and Andromeda nodded to herself. “Then we have much to discuss, Cousin. If you had, I would have cursed you into next week, Lord Black or not. No one takes that choice away from my Dora.”
Sirius smiled and quickly got down to business. He had agreed to wait to add her into the Fidelius until she’d met with more than half the core group, so there would be little doubt of her allegiance, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make some progress on their other plans. She was livid at the news that he’d gone to Azkaban without a trial and promised to start an inquiry into the matter as soon as she could. The Lords and Ladies of Wizarding Britain were going to have the Ministry in a panic when they learned of that one of their own had slipped through the cracks. Even if his sanity had been questioned by a fair few. Magic had deemed him worthy of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and he should be treated with the respect due the title. To spend so long without even an interrogation would ruin a number of people’s faith in the current justice system.
He also managed to imply that she should be tested without telling her why he thought that. She’d looked at him shrewdly but nodded and agreed to take three of the prepared parchments he just so happened to have on hand. She promised to test her family and get back to him about the results. Then talk turned to her sisters.
“Bella is a lost cause, Cousin,” she said bluntly. “The Black madness has taken her over completely and I would hazard that no matter the spells or compulsions she might have been on at some point, she is truly insane and unsalvageable at this point. She was so even before spending the last decade in Azkaban.”
Sirius nodded with an eyeroll. “I wasn’t holding out much hope for her, but it’s nice to know I’m not the only one unwilling to forgive her any crime. But what of Cissa? She’s with Malfoy and he was Voldemort’s right hand. I know you were meant to marry the ponse but would she hold that against you? Have you spoken with her since the snakeface came back?”
“Sirius,” Andromeda said with a sigh, “I’ve spoken with my little sister quite often. She was thrilled I eloped with my Ted, since she’d cared for Lucius for years. She had always hated me for my arranged marriage to the man but she was beside herself when I told her my plans. When little Draco came around, she was more protective than a nesting dragon and I would not be shocked if she rules that house with an iron fist to keep them safe. If anything, I would think the Dark Lord holds something over Lucius to keep him so loyal. If your fears about spells and potions ring true, I would guess that you should be looking to anyone and everyone before writing a single witch or wizard off based on past deeds.”
Sirius grumbled but had to agree. If he’d learned anything over the last few weeks, it was that he had to bury his prejudice deep. If it had just been Gryffindors affected, he would be more likely to believe it was the Dark Lord potioning them, but Regulus had had his own list of spells on top of the family magic and the only other Slytherin they’d tested was a seasoned spy and Potions Master. Sirius was coming to terms with the idea that he’d have to consider anyone to help them after they were cleared of potions and spells. He just had to look at Remus to see how drastically such things could affect a personality when used over a long period of time. The man was turning into as big a flirt as he himself used to be, though targeted only towards Sirius, not that he minded.
“Take your tests and we’ll talk about reaching out to her, then,” Sirius finally said. “If she’s not in league with Voldemort willingly, we’ll see about getting her and her family out before something horrible happens. I may not like Lucius, but I won’t abandon him to Voldemort’s tender mercies.”
Andromeda nodded and said her farewells. Now all he had to do was wait for her to reach out. Overall, not a horrible meeting.