For Mel, who inspired me to get on and write this.
Fifteen: Bellicose

Kingsley Shacklebolt sighed. He had heard this plea several times before. He looked at the other people in the room, trying to assess how to respond while knowing that he actually had only one choice.

“Minister, please. They are not evil men, they have been manipulated into acting in an evil way.”

Teddy Lupin’s jaw was set, his hands balled into fists. His breath came in short bursts, his anger rising. He had not heard the plea before. The blonde woman sitting in front of them was prematurely aged, her features haggard, the dark circles under her eyes making her look ill. Hermione placed her hand on one of his fists, trying to make his fingers relax. He looked up at her, slightly shocked to see that she was clearly as angry as him. Her hair seemed to crackle with electricity, her expression grave.

“They were always impressionable boys, they were always easily led.”

Kingsley interlaced his fingers, taking a deep breath.

“Madame Eastman, please, stop. Your sons attacked two ministry employees, almost killing them both and endangered the life of a fourteen year old child. Easily led or not, they are a danger not only to the magical community but to the muggle one too. Once they have served their sentence here, we will hand them over to the French Ministry to face charges there too.”

Teddy nodded firmly. In his opinion, the Eastman twins should rot in Azkaban, never seeing the light of day again. He closed his eyes, the image of Amelia on the kitchen floor, half dead, burned inside his eyelids.

“NO! You can’t do that! Blaise, tell them! They can’t do it!” Louhi Eastman seized Blaise Zabini’s hand, her nails piercing the skin. Blaise, still slender, still aloof and still deeply prejudiced against anyone who was not pure-blood, had managed up to that point to not show a flicker of emotion but this physical contact seemed to be the tipping point. “Louhi, please.” Blaise prized her fingers off his hand, scarlet scratches gleaming against his dark skin. “The Minister has made his position clear. Perhaps his position is unduly influenced by the heritage of your sons.”

Teddy gripped the arm of his chair, willing Kingsley to speak, willing Harry and Hermione to speak. He was not to be disappointed.

Kingsley’s expression became closed where before he had been attempting to be understanding. The hairs on the back of Teddy’s neck stood up as a shiver of anticipation ran through him. When he spoke, Kingsley laid his hands out flat on the antique mahogany desk, and spoke with precision. “Mr Zabini, do not presume that I or the Ministry are judging this case on anything but the facts. I will not summarily overturn any sentence handed down by the Wizengamot, to do so would undermine the basis of our community. You were both well aware of my position, of the Ministry’s position on this matter when this consultation was arranged as we have had this discussion before, on more than one occasion. The position of the ministry on this matter has not, will not and cannot change.” He stood up abruptly and strode over to the door. Wrenching it open, he looked at the pair, the haughty black wizard and the ravaged blonde witch “Unless you have definitive proof which will contradict the testimony of dozens of witnesses, the boastful confessions of your sons and the details from their memories, we have nothing further to discuss.” His words were ice cold and final.

Louhi wailed. “They are good boys! They grew up without their father!”

Harry finally spoke. “Madame Eastman, you cannot continue to blame Theodore for this. This is not his doing.” It was true, had Theodore Nott lived to see his sons grow up, he might have raised them to think for themselves rather than to blindly follow the rantings of others.

“That’s right.” Hermione confirmed. “Tyr and Quirrinus must be held accountable for their own actions. There is no other course of action avaliable.”

Anger flashed in Blaise’s eyes. He glared at Hermione. “How dare-” He broke off, perhaps realising that completing his sentence was not advisable. Standing up just as abruptly as Kingsley, he pulled Louhi to her feet. “We’d better leave now Louhi, before you and I are imprisoned for breathing in the wrong direction.”

If it was possible, Louhi paled further at Blaise’s words. This had been her last, most desperate hope. As the last of the blood left her face she looked grey. She launched herself at Kingsley, scrabbling at his robes, face and neck, her nails raising welts on his skin. Her breath came in deep, ragged bursts. “You, you, you... have to let them GO!”

Harry and Teddy had started out of their seats but before they could act, Kingsley seized her by the wrists, pushing her away from him, none too gently, his nostrils flared. She stumbled backwards into Blaise, who caught her. A tense silence stretched in the room, punctuated only by Louhi’s sobs. Glaring at Kingsley and the others, Blaise steered her from the room. Kingsley closed the door quietly and looked at Teddy, blood tricking from a deep scratch that Louhi had managed to inflict under his eye. “That woman...” He sighed, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping away the blood, going to sit back behind his desk. “I never thought that motherly love could be so...” Kingsley, usually so eloquent and never stuck for something to say raised his hands in defeat, unable to complete his sentence.

“From what I’ve seen, watching Amelia,” Teddy said carefully, a sudden lump in his throat at the thought of his own mother, his hair turning a traitorous shade of pink for a few moments before he mastered the emotion, “Motherly love is endless. For Madame Eastman, it has just become... distorted.”

Hermione nodded sagely and Harry gave a derisive snort, but didn’t comment. They all knew that Teddy was being rather kind. Louhi Eastman’s view of her sons was so far removed from the reality of who they were, a person might wonder if she had ever actually met them before, let alone raised them. Silence fell between them again, each of them apparently contemplating the short meeting.

“Do you want me to sort those scratches out boss?” Teddy finally broke the silence, twirling his wand between his fingers.

Kingsley gave a deep, rumbling chuckle. “It’s okay. I think I’ll leave them, remind Cora that I’m still an action hero.”

“Well, that is why she married you.” Harry quipped. The four of them laughed, the tension in the room ebbing away.

*****
Remus was cheating.

“One, two, skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred! COMING READY OR NOT!”

He ran after the others, trying to catch up with them before they found good hiding places. It was easier to find the auburn haired-hiders so he chased after them, trying to grab someone, anyone, before they managed to scrabble up a tree or dive down into a hollow. He was so focused on catching his prey that he didn’t notice the tree root that was sticking up, the tree root the others had all remembered to jump over. He caught his foot in it and fell face first into the dirt, knocking out one of his milk teeth.

“OWWW!”

He lay in the dirt and cried, the shock of hitting the forest floor gripping him. He heard feet behind him and rolled over to see who it was.

“You’re just like your grandmother, do you know that kiddo?” Ron lifted Remus up and the small boy put his head on Ron’s shoulder. Ron rubbed his back and Remus’ sobs subsided.

Ron turned to carry Remus back to Lupin Cottage, shouting over his shoulder; “Come on you lot, tea time!”

The children ran back to the cottage, giggling and whooping as they raced past Ron. Amelia was standing in the kitchen doorway when Ron and Remus arrived there. She ran her hand over Remus’ hair. “My accident prone boy. You need to be careful, what would I do without you?”

Remus blinked. “Don’t be silly! I’m not going no where!”
*****

Hermia sat in an airy muggle cafe reading, her cup long since emptied, the pastry she had bought long since forgotten. She murmured the words she was reading:

“...And with her personage, her tall personage,
Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him.--
And are you grown so high in his esteem
Because I am so dwarfish and so low?
How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;
How low am I? I am not yet so low
But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.”

The waiter placed a a cup of coffee on the table and without looking up she said “Nine, Umm, no, I didn’t order anything. Umm, Ich nicht nichts, danke.”

“I know you didn’t order it Smith.”

Hermia froze. That voice was startlingly familiar. She looked up slowly and realised that it wasn’t a waiter at all.

“What are you doing in Berlin?”

“It’s good to see you too.”

“Seriously Djalili, what are you doing here?”

Ashtad sat down. “The same as you I imagine.”

Hermia’s nostrils flared. “I didn’t-”

“Ask me to sit down? No, but I’ll forgive your slip in manners, just this once.” Ashtad’s eye sparkled with amusement. He was enjoying having surprised her so much. “Jago told me where you were. He seemed to think that you and I needed to clear the air.”

Hermia pursed her lips for a moment. “Did he? Not that it’s any of his concern. How about you, what did you think?”

Ashtad smiled at her. “I think he just wants you to be happy. As for me, I’m confused.”

Hermia folded her arms across her chest. “I’m sure that you are but you’ll have to narrow it down Djalili, I haven’t got all afternoon.”

Ashtad sighed. “Well, that day in the attrium, what happened?”

Heat crept into Hermia’s cheeks, a flattering pink creeping into her cheeks.

“You happened, when you saw her.”

Ashtad frowned. “I happened? What did I do?”

Hermia gulped. “Sometimes, if you have to ask, then you’ll never understand.” She snapped her book closed and stood up, knocking the coffee into Ashtad’s lap accidentally. Ashtad swore violently as the hot liquid made contact with his skin. He tried to subtly siphon the coffee off himself with his wand, which was not easy since every eye was on the two of them. When he looked up, Hermia had gone. He darted out of the cafe, scanning the crowd for her but as he had already found to his cost, Hermia found it very easy to melt away in a crowd. He gripped his hair tightly, as though he might be trying to pull it out. He looked around him, feeling utterly lost.

And then it hit him. “She’s jealous!” He laughed with relief, startling a passerby who stared at him as though he was crazy. “Oh merlin! She’s jealous! She must think... Ha!” A wide grin of triumph spread across Ashtad’s face. “She’s jealous!”





Louhi seems like a lovely name... hmm, but I don't really do that, do I?

Hermia is reading A Midsummer Night's Dream. I know I'm cheesy, but I couldn't resist it!

In German, she says "No, I didn't order anything, thank you"

Just in case anyone missed it:


I need to say a massive thank you to everyone who nominated me for the Golden Goblins. Getting nominated four times, and for both stories feels amazing, I'm so happy.

If you'd like to vote for me, I was nominated for:

Best Orignal Plot, for both Bright Lights and Tempestuous.

Best Conflict, for Teddy Lupin and John Smith

Best Mature Story, for Bright Lights

Thank you so much, I have to admit that it brought more than one happy tear to my eyes to be nominated.

Such a great chapter, dedicated to moi?



I loved the quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream! So far, it has been my favorite of Shakespeare's work! If I'm correct, was that specific quote from one of the times when Benedick was speaking of to Beatrice? Ah, Benedick and Beatrice... Ashtad and Hermia. It all fits.

Blaize Zabini! I can't believe you remembered my minor scene.

The fight and the Blaise scene were completely EPIC; I'm a sucker for cold, cutting sarcasm. Even the part with Remus was heart-warming. But the part that got to me most was Hermia and Ashtad. It was the most simple scene, yet the most powerful in my opinion.

If you hadn't have put down where Hermia was dining, I would have thought that she was speaking Tagalog in the Philippines! I have a Filipino friend that told me that 'danke' means 'thanks' in her language.

Haha Mel I think you're confusing A Midsummer's night Dream with Much Ado About Nothing But I agree Shakespeare's a genius.

And so are you btw, Jools! Loved the chappie, and the Hermia-Ashtad parts are great. Write more!

Oh jeez, yeah. Thanks.

I think I just immediately thought of Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, then ran with the idea and confused the plays.

Excuse my brain farts; I've been sick and my mind is a bit... out of it.

*snuggles Mel's head* They are a bit B&B, aren't they? Not intentionally, but still, they are.

I think genius might be a bit strong ladies!

Okay can take a hint; here's more Hermia and Ashtad.

Sixteen: Circumspect

In the cellar bar in Berlin, Jago surveyed the party, which was now in full swing. He could see Cadence and Jack dancing while Phoenix watched, talking to Ashtad quietly the other end of the bar. The Ashwinders had been wowing the crowd with their new material but now they broke into some of their cover versions.

“If I mattered to you
Then all I would see is indigo
Nothing else I could do
Could ever make you more dear to me and so
Every green every blue
Every red orange and ultramarine
I've seen
Would go Indigo for you...”

Jago grinned, glad that Mack had honoured his promise to play songs that Elspeth loved. He heard Cadence’s peal of laughter above the music and saw Phoenix smiling, watching her. He reflected that whatever their problem had been, they seemed to have worked through it. His eyes searched out Hermia but he couldn’t find her in the throng of Elspeth’s friends who were dancing happily. He took a sip of champagne and turned to see Ashtad making his way through the crowd, to Jago’s end of the long bar.

“Have you seen her?” The ‘her’ in question was obvious to both of them and certainly not the birthday girl.

“This afternoon, in the cafe.” Ashtad didn’t expand on this, pushing his chocolate coloured curls out of his eyes, taking up Jago’s occupation in scanning the room.

“And?” Jago asked excitedly. Surely it can’t have gone wrong again... He thought with a wry smile.

Ashtad couldn’t help but laugh at Jago’s excitement. “She tipped a cup of coffee over me. She’s got her wires crossed about Lalita, I think she’s jealous.”

Jago frowned and disregarded the comment about the coffee. “Who’s Lalita?”
Ashtad still felt rather happy about the fact Hermia was jealous. “Lalita is my sister, but I never got the opportunity to introduce her to Smith because the she did one of her disappearing tricks before I got the chance to.”

It may have been the champagne that had gone to his head but Jago burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. Eventually, he managed to calm himself enough so that he could say, “So basically, our massively intelligent, logical and rational BG jumped to conclusions and completely got the wrong end of the stick?” When Ashtad nodded, wearing a broad, silly smile of his own, Jago broke into another gale of laughter. The two men stood there, laughing and trying to compose themselves for several minutes until Jago managed to pull himself together.

“What are you going to do?”

Ashtad sobered slightly. “Talk to her, hopefully, if I can ever find her. Kelpies have nothing on that girl.” His comment caused Jago to burst out laughing again.

~~~~~~~~~~~

There was nothing quite like a party at the Potters. Ron’s voice could be heard over the music, his slightly off colour joke causing more than just Hermione’s nose to wrinkle. The drinks flowed and in the garden, as the late evening sun set, it seemed to set the sky on fire as though it was oil on water. Happiness seemed to bubble forth from the very stones of the building, that they were simply unable to contain the mirth of revellers. There was, after all, a lot to celebrate, finally. Teddy swung Amelia around, dipped her and kissed her deeply. “Congratulations, Mrs Lupin.” Her long wedding robes were cast with a pink-orange hue as they reflected the sky. Laughter was pulled form her lips as Teddy’s found her throat and peppered it in kisses. “Why thank you Mr Lupin!”

At the end of the lane, unseen by every eye, stood an uninvited guest. He could hear Amelia’s peals of floating towards him on the dusk air as the darkness began to creep in. He gritted his jaw with annoyance as a stray cat came up to him, able to smell him on the air and started to wind around his ankles, purring. There was a flash of green light and the animal fell dead at his feet and he moved away. “You’ll have your time, Mrs Lupin.”
~~~~~~~~~~~

Orange, yellow, green and malachite,

Octarine,light plum and eggshell white,

International Klein Blue, maroon,

Azure, magenta, midnight blue,

Harlequin and heliotrope,

Tea, tan, turquoise, teal and taupe,

Amaranth and Ivory,

Cosmic latte, tangerine.



If I mattered to you


Then all I would see is Indigo...

Hermia danced with Lloyd Harrison as Mackenzie sang out his cover of the old love song. She liked the secluded atmosphere of the cellar bar, it felt so very different to the ballroom at Jago’s place or to The Three Broomsticks. Lloyd pulled her close and she let him, taking in his compact, muscular physique. He looked as though he ought to be an Auror, but he was actually the bass guitarist for the Ashwinders, and had insisted that Hermia dance with him, promising that he had no intention of trying to chat her up. “You are very pretty, but I just want to dance, that’s all.” Now that they were dancing together, Hermia was rather suspicious. She had a prickly feeling on the back of her neck, as though someone was watching her. The fact was that more than one person was watching the pair dance. An attractive girl with long corn-rows sat in the corner, jiggling her slender ankle to the beat. Her rather attractive features were marred by her visible jealousy as Hermia and Lloyd laughed and apparently flirted with each other as they danced. At the bar, the glass of champagne in his hand hardly touched, Ashtad watched the pair dance. Turning to Jago, he wondered aloud, “How long has she known him?”

“Umm, a while.” Jago sipped his drink and said, rather dismissively “They’re just friends. He’s not her type at all.” Ashtad nodded and Jago wondered just how many more bumps in the road there could be. Lloyd kissed Hermia on the cheek and climbed back on stage. Jago saw the tension seeping out of Ashtad, as though he was a sponge full of water which someone had squeezed. On the dance floor, Hermia was now dancing with Jack Mannequin, who had her twirling around and laughing dizzily.

“How goes it with the Auror?” He asked, having to get his lips close to her ear in order to make himself heard. Hermia hit his bicep in response.

“That well eh? You’ll make me lose my bet shortie.”
Hermia blinked at him several times and then turned on her heel and stormed out of the bar.

“Ha! It looks like poor old Jack got on the wrong side of her tonight! Gives you a rest though, eh?” Jago called to Ashtad as Elspeth dragged him on to the dance floor.

Ashtad drained his glass and followed Hermia out into the darkness. He followed her for a little while, quite sure that she had no idea he was there. She crossed the road, wary of the unfamiliar traffic. Eventually she came to an uninhabited bench and sat down, her back to Ashtad. He stood at a distance, watching her.

“Djalili, are you coming to sit down or are you going to follow me all over Germany?” Hermia asked loudly after ten minutes, not turning around to look at him. He gave a sigh. She had known he was there all the time. “Tell me, just how many times did you fail stealth and tracking?” She asked, still not looking at him.

“I didn’t, I haven’t had any fail marks yet.” He informed her proudly. She made a small ‘tuh’ of disgust in the back of her throat, perhaps at his lack of modesty in his accomplishments, or perhaps in the tests for not being stricter. Ashtad ignored it.

“Lalita asked me to say that she’s sorry she didn’t get to meet you. She said to say that she had been looking forward to meeting the only girl her brother has...” but he didn’t get to finish his sentence, to pass on the message, as Hermia had stood up and walked away.

“I DON”T WANT TO HEAR YOUR LIES!” She shouted back at him, feet picking up into a run. He watched her until she was gone, shaking his head in disbelief. “Mental... that girl is... mental!” he murmured, standing up and walking back towards the party, feeling rather lost.

I tried to tie up some loose ends and I don't think it worked but never mind.

The song is Indigo by Tom Milsom who is so talented it should be illegal.

Lloyd Harrison My gallery isn't working right now, I think I might have to delete it and start again

Lovely!

So one question: How do you pronounce Jago's name? I was always confused by that.

Also, I believe I spy a little Jack Mannequin action in there I'm horrid when I'm not dancing something that's choreographed so I loved it.

Keep up the good work, you are such an amazing writer.

Jago = Jay-go, nice and simple. It's from the same root as Jacob and Iago.

I'm glad you liked the Jack Mannequin bit, Hermia wasn't to rude to him

Right, a little instalment coming up; it's short and and ummm not so sweet?

Seventeen:Consternation

Ashtad had made an effort to be anywhere that Hermia wasn’t in the months since the party in Berlin. He would walk out any room she entered, sometimes mid-conversation or even mid-sentence. Elspeth in particular found this deeply irritating.

“Seriously Djalili, it’s like you turn to vapour at the scent of her, let alone at the sight of her!” She told him angrily after he had left her standing alone at the bar of the Three Broomsticks, talking to thin air for the third time that week.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

I don’t want to talk about it; that had become his stock phrase. He was tired of Hermia and her craziness. He was heartily sick of her not believing him, of her jumping to conclusions and looking down her haughty little nose at him and he certainly didn’t want to discuss the liquefying effect she had on his mind. Instead he had thrown himself into his Auror training, studying harder than he ever had in his life. If he was honest, Ashtad had coasted through Hogwarts. He had always been able to put in the bare minimum effort and get great results. He knew that irritated a great many of his peers and professors but he couldn’t help being a little bit complacent, it was just in his nature. He had continued with this attitude when he had entered the ministry, although he had been less able to get away with it.

Teddy had noticed the change in his protege and had received the same answer as everyone else.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Teddy had decided not to push the issue, he didn’t care to be caught between the pair of them. He had however noticed that Ashtad would watch the doorway of any room that he was in. At first Teddy had thought that Ashtad was simply taking his training to heart - ‘Constant Vigilance!’ - but he was soon to realise the truth. Ashtad watched the door hoping that Hermia would walk through it. He would then stare at her, holding his breath like a drowning man, griping tightly onto the bar, the table, his wand... whatever was to hand, all before leaving the room. It was as though those few seconds of staring at her were an inoculation, just enough contact for Ashtad to remind himself that he needed to be far away from Hermia, that there was only confusion and heartache to be found in her company.

Jools. <3

I'm reading, and can't wait for more. It's all beautifully-written.
Keep the awesome chapters coming. <3

Lovely, update soon!

Moving to HS Inactive Fics.

Last updated: Dec 2010.