Chapter 49: Chapter 49Summary:Monty's fate...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 49
"What do you mean, you know what happened to dad? This wasn't just a really bad virus that he picked up from one of us?" James snapped, holding one of his father's pale hands tightly between his own tanned ones, not tight enough to bruise, but enough to feel that he was still there and every much alive.
Jasmine worried her lip between her teeth. "How much to you know about bioweapons and potions? They were used in the fighting ring I was a part of to sabotage other fighters before a match." That wasn't necessarily a complete lie. There were a handful or Patrons that would kill other contestants to tip the odds in their favor from time to time. The Chesters didn't associate with them very often, but Jasmine had met a family that wiped out a rival with nothing but a contaminated dishrag.
She hated that she hadn't seen this coming. Voldemort had used these kinds of methods in the past...no…her future?
The entire marriage proposal with the Avery family was a sham from the start. That letter had been a trojan horse, meant to kill everyone from the inside out. If it wasn't for the wards on the door, Jasmine would have ended up getting sick at one point, passing it to Monty, who had a weak immune system and then to Euphemia and possibly James. This was an attempt to end the Potter and Peverell lines once and for all. It would take out a light family and a very powerful grey family. Tom would get his petty revenge and take out Jasmine, it would be a win-win for him.
Euphemia swore, her usual composure nowhere to be found. She must have put the pieces together in the same manner Jasmine had. "How the bloody hell did something like that get into the house?" Then again, maybe she hadn't pieced it all together. Jasmine had been targeted like this as Harriet a few times. Being a celebrity was awful.
She let out a sigh, her hair falling into her face as she started explaining her theory. She brushed it back with a pale, slightly shaking, finger. "The letter this morning from the Avery family had to have carried the virus. It came in through the window, where there were no wards. Monty touched the letter and then never left the house. He didn't move through any of the sterilizing wards placed about. It's my fault he got sick, if I had just been more careful none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry," she looked away, not wanting to meet their eyes. They had only just called her family, now she was telling them that she had nearly killed one of her guardians because she got careless.
She would never forgive herself if something happened to Monty.
Jasmine felt a hand under her chin. She flinched at the contact, but looked up, nonetheless. If she was going to be berated, she was going to need to face that. Euphemia's lips were in a hard line, but her eyes were a soft hazel. There was no bit behind them. She didn't seem angry, just genuinely upset and that worried Jasmine more, if she was being honest. "Jasmine, it isn't your fault. How would you have even known to think about something like that. I don't blame you for what happened. I just wish that we had the letter the Avery's sent you this morning…Though, I do have one request for you, my dear."
Jasmine tilted her head to the side, Euphemia's finger dropping away from her chin. "What is it?"
Jasmine would make it up to her. She owed the woman that much. Euphemia had taken her in after all. Her guardian's eyes hardened, reminding her that this woman ran the DMLE for decades with little to no contention for her position. "Make the Avery family pay."
Jasmine's lips curled back into a rather fierce grin. Oh, she would, without a doubt. Revenge would be sweet.
She placed a scarred hand on Monty's forearm in a silent promise. She had originally planned a slow and painful loss of property for the Avery family, but ripping off the proverbial band-aid might be just that much sweeter.
~*~
The headlines of the daily prophet the next day brought a cruel smile to Jasmine's face: "Avery Family left homeless after all assets seized by Gringotts. More information on page two." She had kept the article on dining room table that morning as trophy. It wasn't all that detailed, since the Prophet hadn't been given an official statement from Jasmine. All they knew was that everything the Avery family had was now gone. It had made Euphemia crack a small smile that morning at breakfast. Her guardian had barely left Monty's side since she got home yesterday. Jasmine was honestly surprised that she had even come to kitchen in the first place, though she was probably checking on both Jasmine and James, who were still shaken up.
It was going to be a long time before James was anything close to alright. He was going to need to see his Mind Healer as soon as possible. His worst fear had almost come true right before his eyes. Sirius was coming over later in the day to see James, and to a lesser extent, Monty, who had become a second father to the Black Heir, which no doubt grated on Orion something fierce.
Monty had woken during the middle of the previous night for about an hour. Euphemia had to explain to him what had happened to him the day before and their running theory on who was behind it. James and Jasmine had been shooed off to bed not long after that.
It wasn't until this morning that he had the strength to talk to both of them, thanking them for getting into the room as quickly as they had. The poor man looked fragile in his bed, his clammy skin still a few shades too pale for anyone's liking, but his fever had broken during the night and the healers thought that he was going to make a full recovery, or as much of one as he ever really make.
Though, when he had heard what Jasmine had done to the Avery family, he laughed himself into a coughing fit. The healers were less than amused with Monty's overzealous sense of humor.
"You actually got the Goblins to go through with taking away all of their property?" James asked quietly over lunch as he took in the title on the Prophet one more time. Euphemia was working from home and had asked them to keep all noise to a minimum. Sirius was do over any minute, which would ruin the peace and quiet they had created this morning.
She nodded, taking a small bite out of the grilled chicken in front of her. "Yes. I was going to slowly absorb the property, in hopes that eventually they could pay it off and have me seem more benevolent, but I grew tired of having them try to kill me and those I care about. Now, they have nothing and we're all that much safer from them. The Goblins were more than happy to help me. They love making witches and wizards miserable. Not to mention that I seem to make them a lot of money, so when I get more money, they make more money."
James swallowed a rather large bit of food before continuing, waving his fork around for emphasis.
"What about the other houses that owe you money?"
Jasmine let out a small laugh. "Gringotts has informed me that two families have already sent in their first round of payments. They don't want to share the same fate as the Avery family."
James frowned as he tapped his fork's flat end against the table. "But, you took everything because they tried to kill dad…"
She shrugged a small grin gracing her lips, pulling at her scar. "But the people that owe me money don't know that. They just saw a family that had been on my bad side, lose everything because they didn't pay up. I'd rather be known as a hard arse when it comes to money than someone who lets things go for far too long. My father did that, and nearly cost the Peverell family everything," she muttered. Jasmine had cared about her father from this life. Both the original Jasmine and herself, after seeing the memories Jasmine held so dear, but he hadn't been a perfect man. Not even close.
James stopped tapping his silverware. Jasmine turned her attention back on him, he was staring at her. "What?" She asked, suddenly worried that she had said something wrong.
"You don't mention your family very often…and usually it isn't in anger," he replied, picking at his food, his glasses slipping down his nose. He looked so much like Monty when he did that.
She let out a long sigh and twirled a bit of loose hair between her fingers. "My father was many things, but he was awful at finances. My mother handled them, but since she was a foreign witch, the Ministry wouldn't let her have access to the Peverell financials until my father went back to England to officially claim them. He let his entire family fortune, with hundreds of years of history, nearly get swallowed up by the Ministry because he was too lazy to do some paperwork."
It was a bit more complicated than that. Jasmine knew that her father had been trying to figure out pureblood bloodlines and how magic was passed down, but there was still something to be said about a man that was bound to Death and willing to let all of that history be sold away to Ministry officials. Jasmine felt bile rise up her throat just thinking about the entire situation the Goblins had laid out for her.
Death was not someone who shared…nor did he appreciate being shared. It was why he had been so vindictive when it came to the Peverell line. It was a love-hate relationship, one that they were going to play for the rest of eternity. Jasmine just hoped that she wouldn't be doing this for much longer. As much as she enjoyed being the Master of Death, she hoped that this was her last life at the helm of this sinking ship. One of her descendants can save the world next time.
Then again, she'd need to have children first and that wouldn't be for a while. Ugh, she bet Death was laughing at her right now. He always thought that it was deliciously mortal of her to think about progeny.
Bastard.
"He left you to pick up the pieces then?"
Jasmine gave a slight nod when a thud came from the entrance hall and Sirius' loud cursing could be heard throughout the house. "It seems that Sirius is here," she laughed as their friend came stumbling into the kitchen, his chest heaving as if he'd run a mile. The dog animagus had gained some color during his three week stay in Greece and it seemed that his shaggy hair had been trimmed to a more acceptable length that Jasmine knew he was going to grow out as soon as they reached Hogwarts.
"I came as soon as I got your message. How's Monty?" Sirius gasped between breaths, grey eyes bouncing between them waiting for an answer.
James gave him a tired shrug, pulling his glasses off and rubbing his eyes with a groan. "He's stable. Mum is pissed and going through the house to make sure that nothing like that ever makes its way into the house again. Jazz figured out-"
Sirius held up a hand, as he plopped himself down in a chair, "Back up, let what in the house? I thought that Monty had just gotten sick. That happens sometimes. I thought that he gets sick from pushing himself too hard…"
Her cousin shook his head, his messy natural bedhead flopping from left to right, "No, we have wards along the doorways and fireplaces to cleanse germs from your body. Jazz got a letter yesterday that dad touched. It seems that it was contaminated with a potion that causes you to contract illnesses. Dad didn't leave the house, so he contracted it quickly. It nearly killed him. Merlin, Sirius, if we had been a couple minutes later, he might not have recovered." James had his head on the table, his fingers curling into the tablecloth in front of him, his knuckles turning an unhealthy shade of white.
Sirius hesitantly went over to James and wrapped and arm around him. James leaned in, resting his head on his friend's shoulder. He'd been a wreck all day yesterday. Hopefully Sirius could start putting him back together again. "Prongs, it will be fine. The Healers say he's going to be right as rain soon," he looked to Jasmine for confirmation and she give a quick nod. The Black heir gave a thumbs up behind James' head.
"Sirius is right, James. Monty is going to be fine. He's a Potter and has survived far worse than this during the last war. He's conscious right now and recovering. The Healers wouldn't lie about that. You mum is checking on him constantly and I've dealt with the family that hurt us," she reassured him, reaching across the table, taking his hand in hers and forcing them to release the tablecloth.
He let out a shuddering sigh, his eyes squeezed shut, mouth a thin line. "I know, I just can't help but worry about him. It's always been the three of us. Then you and Jazz came along, but it would be awful for mum to lose dad. They mean everything to each other. I know if dad dies, mum will follow shortly after and that leaves me without either of them, in charge of the Potter Family."
Jasmine understood his fear. It was obvious that Euphemia and Monty hadn't really trained him to lead the Potter Family yet. Having them leave him alone would be terrible, especially with a war brewing outside.
"You do realize that Jazz and I are here for you. We wouldn't leave you high and dry. We both must know enough about running a family to keep you going until you got your bearings," Sirius soothed, but James shook his head.
"There a lot of stuff about the Potter Family magic I don't know how to use yet. Dad was going to start teaching me this summer. It's just terrifying watching him so lifeless when he was always bouncing off the walls with energy," he admitted, his fingers tightening around Jasmine's as some of his anxiety started to leave him.
"Losing your parents is awful, and it is a pain that never leaves you," Jasmine began, good eye boring into the two young men across from her, "I still miss my parents and my aunt who raised me in their absence. They raised me and were taken far too soon, but war will do that. Tell you dad to teach you some basics of Family magic while he's in bed in a day or so. My father taught me everything he could since I was old enough to understand what being a Peverell meant, but my family is far different from yours and has been hunted for centuries. We need our family history passed down as quickly as possible through the main branches in case something happens."
Both Marauders gaped at her. Was it something she said? "You learned family magic that young? I didn't realize that the Peverell family had that many enemies," Sirius muttered biting his lip since James hadn't let go of his arm yet.
"There's a reason that there are never that many of us in the main branch. It's public knowledge that we're called upon to defeat dark lords and light lords when they get out of hand. In recent years it has been the dark lords that have been rising to power that have targeted my family. They attempted to kill off as much of the family as possible to stop us from standing against them. It would tip the balance of power in their direction. It's what got my father killed and had me delivered to that dueling ring," she explained, feeling the ghostly hand of Death on her shoulder in silent support. It was the Deity's fault that she had been targeted and killed so many times. Her lives had been a never-ending hell of death.
"Your family is mental…" Sirius whispered, Jasmine sent a rather heated glare his way before he held his hands up, "I mean that in the best of ways. I'm glad that your father was prepared for the worst. It helped in the long run. My father is doing the same thing now. Both Regi and I are learning everything we can about our rolls in case something happens to him. He doesn't want any other family member trying to taint Black Family tradition by lying to us."
Jasmine nodded, she hadn't realized that the Black family had a shadow heir. She had always assumed the Regulus was just a spare that never reached his full potential, but it seemed that the Black Family was even more traditional than Jasmine had first assumed.
"Regulus is your shadow then?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. If he couldn't answer, then so be it, but she wanted as many details as he could give her.
The Black Heir nodded and at James' questioning look he sighed, "It's something that most families don't even bother with anymore. My family deals in secrets, a large web of them and that means that I need someone to watch my back at all times. The main family always has at least two children. One to rule the family and one to protect the Lord of the house. I can't go into anything more specific, but that's the general gist of it."
That would explain why the Black family was so off kilter in future. The entire family dynamic was destroyed when Walburga killed Orion, who had never taught his sons about their duty to the family outside of being an heir and the spare. Regulus hadn't been bred for taking over the family. He had been created to protect Sirius. Merlin, that little detail had gotten lost in her past lives and it changed her entire perspective on the Black family.
It's odd when time travel could do…
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhatom
Chapter 50: Chapter 50Summary:Monty's recovery and birthday fun!
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 50
Familial revelations aside, Jasmine continued to live her life as normal, finishing her summer work and helping Monty whenever he asked for anything. Honestly, the entire family was coddling him, but when someone nearly dies, that tends to happen.
It was a little less than a week before her birthday and two away from when she was going to visit Lily. Euphemia had asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she was turning sixteen after all. She was finally going to have some kind of say in public affairs with a proxy as a sole heir. That in itself was a gift enough, but that didn't seem to please her guardian all that much.
Jasmine had never been good at figuring out what she wanted for her birthday, it wasn't that she was being difficult, it was more along the lines of having everything she could want and not having the desire to ask for more. It just seemed so superfluous. Living with the Dursley's over multiple lives had conditioned her to never want for more than she already had and being grateful to her caretakers for just providing shelter for her.
The Potters were far better than that, hell the Chesters were better caretakers than the Dursleys, but some habits and ways of thinking are hard to break.
Even as Jasmine she feared asking Euphemia and Monty for anything, and she knew they weren't going to hit her or lock her in a cupboard without supper for three days, but the inborn fear was still there. She doubted that it was going to go away anytime soon. She had talked to her Mind Healer about it, claiming that the Chesters had done it and, they had reminded her, that she wasn't behaving abnormally and it would take time for her to feel comfortable breaking out of the habits that her abusers had ingrained into her. Jasmine doubted that she would ever truly push past this fear. Not without a lot of prompting first and Euphemia was always pushing Jasmine to ask for something.
The Potters were nothing like the Dursleys. Jasmine knew this and yet…it still took her nine hours to talk herself into asking Euphemia for a gift.
It was later that evening after Euphemia had come home that Jasmine worked up the nerve to ask her guardian for a gift of sorts. Her aunt was resting in the sitting room, quietly reading over a report from work. The fire crackling a few meters from her. She looked so much like James it was crazy. James had his father's build, but he had his mother's aristocratic features, it was especially prevalent in their faces.
Jasmine cleared her throat, no backing down now. Her guardian paused, a pair of gold rimmed reading glasses slid down her nose as she looked up.
"I have a few friends that I met during my time at the dueling tournament that wanted to visit for my birthday, as well as a few friends from school. Would that be alright as a gift?"
Euphemia put her report down gently on the coffee table in front other her. She was quiet for a few moments and Jasmine was worried that she was going to say no. She really needed to see Blaise and Theo. They found something and needed an excuse to come overseas for a few days to help her set some kind of spell up.
Monty had been cleared by the healers, for the most part. He wasn't really allowed to go out into crowded places until they could guarantee that his immune system was back up to its usual lower than average, but still functioning levels. He was starting to crawl the walls.
Jasmine bit her lip as her guardian's face lit up. She clapped her hands, all the exhaustion was suddenly gone from her face. "Just give me the list of people you'd like to come. I'd love to meet your friends!"
Her Aunt was going to regret saying that after she met Blaise and Theo. The two of them could be infuriating at the best of times, especially with Theo silenced. Blaise was no doubt having a field day getting them into constant trouble. Theo's silver tongue was usually what had gotten the duo out of more scrapes than Blaise's considerably more…theatrical methods.
It would be interesting to see how Euphemia deals with a mute wizard. It wasn't often that people in the wizarding world meet someone with permanent disabilities. She was sure that Monty was going to have a field day with the trouble making Slytherin duo, communication issues aside. Theo would make his needs known, even if he has to throw something to get someone's attention.
He had mentioned as much when in a recently shared dream. He claimed that was how he got Blaise's attention more often than not. Said it was easier than expending his magic through the earrings.
Lazy arse.
Jasmine looked down, scuffing her sock clad foot on the floor. "So, it's alright for them to come over? I know with Monty sick and you being busy at work…I didn't want to be a bother."
Euphemia's eyes softened, she put a thin hand on Jasmine's shoulder. "Jasmine, you are just as much welcome to invite people over as James is. Remus and Sirius have been visiting on and off all summer. You are more than welcome to invite people over, even if they are from half way across the world. Magic makes traveling that distance much less of a hassle than it is for muggles and we have more than enough room to accommodate a few extra people. And, don't worry about Monty, he'll enjoy the extra life in the Manor. He's going stir crazy as it is. Seeing new people might perk him up and get him out of my hair for a few days," she replied, with a kind smile that almost broke Jasmine's heart. This woman was too kind. It was a shame that she had never gotten to know her in her past lives.
"Thank you." Neither mentioned the tears in Jasmine's eyes.
~*~
Jasmine was quietly running through her morning workout routine with Ro watching from the comfort of her favorite windowsill over Jasmine's mahogany desk. She felt that she had been getting lax these last few months when it came to constant training and she didn't want another attack on Hogsmeade to catch her unaware. Hell, next time it could be Tom leading the charge against the school.
She needed to be ready to face him. Seeing him at the trial had reminded Jasmine that she needed to keep herself in top form. Her body was already well muscled from years of fighting and practicing forms after she had been released from the ring. Quidditch during the school year helped keep her stamina up, as well as dueling club, but the summer had made her a bit lazy and she could feel herself getting a bit soft around the edges. She was not quite as defined as she was a week ago, so that left her training in her room.
Jasmine didn't fancy training with James or any of the Marauders. They'd tease and, more than likely, go easy on her in any kind of physical fight. They enjoyed challenging her to magical duels to see how they'd improved, but she doubted that any of them, even Sirius, would fight her in hand to hand combat. She'd keep to her shadow boxing. She pivoted, her eyes catching the small collection of letters on her desk, acceptance letters for her party.
It had been interesting sending out invites to her birthday for the first time in ten lives. Jasmine didn't have that many friends, but she was expected to send some to her allies. This wasn't going to be a large party, it was only for people her own age, which was better than a large-scale ball like monstrosity that other purebloods would throw in their children's honor. She had been to quite a few of those over her last couple lives, and they were all awful…well except for the time she and Daphne Greengrass managed to lock Crabbe and Goyle in that cupboard with Lucius Malfoy's most irate peacocks.
That had been an evening to remember for lives to come.
Jasmine highly doubted that many people would want to come. It was last minute, and James lived here, which would scare away more than enough people by itself. Severus didn't seem like the party going type neither Pandora, but the invites went out regardless.
Surprisingly, quite a few people responded that they would come. The Marauders would all be in attendance, as well as Lily and Alice. Pandora was in Greece for the summer, but she sent a small gift and a card. Severus was planning on attending, but he wanted the Marauders on their best behavior. Jasmine made no promises on that front, but Euphemia would be monitoring, so they wouldn't get too out of hand. Regulus was coming along with Sirius, as some sign of good will amongst the Black and Peverell house. Apparently, Sirius didn't count since he spent so much time in Potter Manor as it was.
Mikhail would be arriving at the Manor a few hours early since his parents had business to attend to in London for the week. Theo and Blaise were staying for a week, there was something about international portkeys having odd rules for how often one can travel over international waters. Jasmine didn't mind, it meant that she got to spend time with some of her favorite people, without Death needing to drain her magic dry.
"JAZZ!" A loud voice called from the floor below, breaking her concentration. James wasn't one for subtly. Jasmine moved away from her desk, someone must have arrived. Ro stretched and curled up in a rare patch of sun, it seemed that she would be sitting out this party. She had worked hard this morning, watching Jasmine exercise must have taken a lot of out of the cat. Merlin knew Jasmine was tired, it must have been truly exhausting for the poor feline.
"JAZZ!" A second voice called out, this time Sirius.
Though, he sounded a lot closer than her cousin and it wasn't a moment later her bedroom door was being pounded on. "Jazz! Your friend Mikhail is here and your favorite Marauder in the entire world has arrived as well!"
Jasmine pushed the door open, Sirius was standing there, hair curled, eyes alight, robes pristine. She looked over his shoulder, a confused look on her face. "Where's Remus?"
Sirius held a hand over his heart, her face crumpling in mock despair. "You mean to tell me, that I'm not your favorite Marauder?"
He was ever the drama queen as he wiped away a nonexistent tear. Jasmine nudged him with a grin and a roll of her eyes. "It's nice to see you, Sirius. Is there a reason that James sent you up here instead of coming to get me himself?"
"Mrs. Potter wanted him to talk to your friend. I ran off to get you while Regi worked interference. I called it training for his future role in the house of Black." Which meant to keep Sirius out of the line of fire while he did stupid things, like barge into the bedroom of a known dueling champion, an heir to a powerful family, all without a chaperon.
Daring indeed.
Some would even say foolish.
Jasmine hoped that Sirius had given his younger brother pointers on running interference. There was an art to it, one that Sirius had mastered over the years doing the same thing for the Marauders…to varying degrees of success.
"Well, you found me, escort me to the main hall?" She asked, arm out and Jasmine could have sworn she saw Sirius redden ever so slightly. It wasn't like this was an official event or anything, but it would amuse James, and more than likely, Regulus, who she owed at least a laugh to for dealing with Sirius' schemes this early in the morning.
It wasn't long before they reached the main hall and she nearly squealed when she saw her good friend leaning against the banister talking to Regulus who looked small and shy next to Mikhail, who stood over a head taller than the youngest Black.
Jasmine let go of Sirius who had released her arm and she took the stairs at a rather quick pace to greet her host body's oldest friend.
At the sound of Jasmine's muffled squeaks, both teens turned and Mikhail spread his arms just in time for Jasmine to launch herself at her friend. This was the first time that they were really getting to meet outside of the dueling ring, or a Patron sponsored gathering that spelled misery should someone act out of line.
"Jasmine, it is good to see you. Happy Birthday." he said smoothly in Russian into her hair as he spun her around. A quite strength that not many people realized he had, he was thin as a rail after all. It had been one of his largest advantages during his early duels.
She smiled, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. "A good day indeed. It seems that you've met the children in line to The Ancient and Noble House of Black, Sirius and Regulus, as well as my cousin, James."Mikhail's eyes traveled over her friends, lingering on Regulus, who appeared to want to blend into the background, away from her friend's piercing stare.
"You always did bring me luck," he responded with a sultry smile.
Jasmine held back a snort, Mikhail was always a flirt.
Though, by the way that Regulus' cheeks were heating up, this only spelled trouble, but it wasn't Jasmine's place to say anything. Let them flirt, they had countries between them for most of the year. It wasn't like anything was going to happen.
Euphemia was watching their interaction with a large grin on her face, pointedly staring at their conjoined hands. Jasmine had a feeling that her guardian was hoping for romance, but that wasn't going to happen.
They had always been handsy with one another. It was the way that things were done in the ring and it was always nice to know that whoever you were touching was real. Hallucinogens were frowned upon in the circuit, but they were used often enough to make all the fighters warry. Touching someone and feeling skin contact made sure that everything you were seeing and hearing, no matter how horrible, was real.
Jasmine dragged Mikhail over to Euphemia, who was patently waiting for her introduction. "Aunt Euphemia, this is Mikhail Medvedeva. We've known each other for years," Jasmine explained, to her before turning to her friend and switching to Russian, "Mikhail, this is one of my guardians, Euphemia Potter."
Mikhail picked up Euphemia's hand and brought his lips to the back of it. The vision of pureblood etiquette. "The pleasure is mine, Lady Potter. You home is lovely. I'm sorry that my parents couldn't be here to share in this introduction, but they have prior business engagements in the city," he replied, his English was heavily accented, but understandable. Mikhail had never had the best pronunciation out of the dueling ring contestants, but it had always been passable.
Euphemia's eyes widened, more than likely realizing which family Mikhail was from and what a political connection she now had sitting in her home. "It is a pleasure to finally meet some of Jasmine's friends. She didn't tell me that you were such a well-mannered young man."
Jasmine had to resist at rolling her eyes. Mikhail was a flirt and great manipulator. It was one of the ways he worked his way up to the top of dueling ring. He claimed that he could convince just about anyone to do anything, including the patrons. He had managed to get his to trust him nearly explicitly for a time, till they figured out what he was doing and nearly killed him for the insubordination.
"Mikhail is a charmer, that is for sure," Jasmine muttered, her eyes drifting towards Regulus, who was staring at Mikhail's arse.
Sirius came up from behind and slung his arms around the two of them, separating them. "So, you need to tell us all the embarrassing details you have on Jazz. She has managed to convince a lot of people that she's terrifying and nearly perfect," Sirius stage whispered with a grin that kept growing as Jasmine's ire seemed to become almost a physical manifestation around her.
There was a matching grin on Mikhail's face. Jasmine pointed a finger at her host body's oldest friend. "If you say anything, I will make sure that they find out about Pip."
Mikhail paled, turning an odd shade of pasty grey. Pip was his stuffed niffler he'd had since he was a child. He had a piece of it on him at all times during their time in the ring. He'd managed to keep hidden from the Patrons for years. Jasmine would bet money that he had a new one created when he got home.
"You wouldn't dare," he hissed, and suddenly, Sirius had stepped away from them.
Jasmine let a smiled spread across her face. "I won't if you don't say anything," she replied, her voice dripping like honey.
"Two can play at this game, Jazz."
This was going to be a long afternoon…
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 51: Chapter 51Summary:The party continues!
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 51
All arguing aside, the party progressed rather nicely…for about an hour. Lily, Remus, Alice and Severus managed to have a few civil conversations, most of them revolving around dueling, charms and quidditch, though Lily and Severus were far less engaged when the sports talk began.
Eventually, James and Sirius took over that conversation with as much animated hand movements and exaggerated sounds effects as one could imagine.
The group had moved to one of the smaller living spaces off the kitchen. It was cozy, with two couches and a set of stuffed arm chairs all in varying shades of red and silver. Sirius, Remus and James dove for the sofa on the far right, while Lily and Alice each took an arm chair. The Slytherin's and Mikhail stayed clear on the other side of the room as the sports talk continued. Jasmine was moving from group to group, not wanting to look like she was picking a favorite. Mikhail and Severus were entertaining Regulus with various stories from the dueling tournament. Mikhail's tall tales had Regulus howling with laughter.
Lily was sticking close to Alice as she took in the sight of Potter Manor in all its glory. It was large and spoke volumes of James' wealth. It was obvious to Jasmine that the doe eyed Gryffindor was overwhelmed, so, at least while James was nervously talking about magical sports teams in an attempt to engage Lily in conversation, Alice could distract him with quidditch updates.
Jasmine touched Lily's arm and she jumped at the contact. "Are you alright?" Jasmine asked, perched on the arm of the red head's chair as Sirius mimicked a feint he had seen while he had been traveling this summer with his father. Naturally, he jumped onto James, which led to the two sprawled on top of Remus. The werewolf was not amused crushed between those two morons. A devious grin poked at the corner of Remus' mouth.
Jasmine had an idea of what he was about to do.
He shoved both of them onto the floor, leaving Alice helplessly giggling. The four of them completely distracted from Lily and Jasmine for the time being.
Lily bit her lip and picked at the chair, as her glass of water magically refilled itself on the oak table next to her. "I've read about manors before, but I hadn't actually seen a magical family manor, or a muggle one for that matter. I keep forgetting how different my life is compared to most of my close friends. Marlene talks about her summer villas in Spain and in the Caribbean. Alice said her home is very similar to this…Sirius's family has multiple properties… My parents work modest jobs to support both me and my sister. How are you all going to come to my house next week? It will seem so…muggle. It's the first time that my parents have agreed to let my friends from school visit. I just worry that it won't be what you expect."
Jasmine supposed that it was something that some people tended to worry over. She hadn't needed to worry about money in any life…not really, not after entering Hogwarts. She supposed while she lived at the Dursley's she had felt poor and ashamed of herself quite often, but once she had learned about her family, a sense of pride replaced that. Harriet had always had the Potter fortune to fall back on if something didn't work, though she rarely wanted to waste a penny of a fortune she hadn't earned herself.
"No one thinks any less of you for living in a house without magic. My aunt, who helped raise me for years, was a squib. We didn't have a large house, I lived in a small cottage without magic for years, Lily. Trust me, when I say I have a really good idea about what I'm going to expect from my stay at your house and it isn't going to be anything negative. You worry far too much over what people think."
Her red headed friend grimaced, arms crossed. "My sister says that people's opinions matter when it comes to being a good host and future wife."
Jasmine pretended to gag, that sounded like Petunia. That got a laugh out of Lily. "Your sister needs to get her priorities straight. You should always be happy with yourself first. Everyone else can go and stuff it."
Lily fidgeted in her seat, eyeing James out of the corner of her eye, he was gesturing wildly about some odd trick he and Sirius had been attempting to pull last week on their brooms. Though, his rendition didn't include the crash or cuddling that later ensued when both of them passed out on the couch, but who was Jasmine to judge. Remus was the one with the pictures to prove it and by the smirk on his face, he was about to pull them out as verifiable proof.
Lily worried her lower lip between her teeth, "but there are some people whose opinions could be important to me. I don't want to seem like I don't belong more than I already do."
Jasmine let out a sigh, it was a common issue with muggleborns to force themselves to fit into a certain mold. It never worked. It certainly hadn't help Hermione at all, in any life they lived. "Lily, changing yourself, for anyone, isn't worth it. If this person," Jasmine had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the obvious way the red head was pointedly not staring at her cousin, "wants, or expects, you to be someone other than yourself, they aren't worth the trouble."
Lily was about to respond when Sirius wrapped an arm around Jasmine' shoulders and hauled her off the arm of the chair. "Jazz, enough serious talk, that's my job, Sirius talk…" he snickered at his own joke and Jasmine let out a long sigh before he continued, "it seems that Alice doesn't believe that you can do near fatal feint on your broom. Now, I've bet two galleons that you can…"
Merlin.
"I'm going to go and make sure that Mikhail hasn't accosted your brother, then I'll try not to break my neck, if only so you won't lose any money on an ill placed bet."
One thumbs up later, and Sirius was out of her hair for a few minutes.
So, she made her way over the Slytherin side of the room, it was far quieter and far graver.
For the most part, Severus avoided speaking to James and Sirius and gravitated towards Regulus, who was happy for a buffer against Mikhail.
Her old dueling rival was nothing if not persistent. If Regulus returned Mikhail's affection, it would explain why the poor boy hadn't wanted to be the Heir to the House of Black. The Black family was all about blood and lineage. Regulus would have needed to get married and then have children in order for the line to continue. If he had no interest in women or having children with them…it might explain just a little bit about the urgency to get Sirius back, a young man who had no trouble with women.
Though Severus kept distracting Mikhail by asking him about his dueling forms and where he picked up a few of his tricks.
There was a loud knock from the main hall.
That should be the guests of honor.
As she passed, she got to hear a snippet of Severus' and Mikhail's rather serious discussion. "You should really ask Jasmine most of these questions. She is going to be one fierce woman in a few years, Severus. I've never beaten her before. My forms may be impressive and lean towards aggressive, but hers are far more versatile," she heard Mikhail saying as Jasmine made her way to the front door.
Jasmine gave a nod of her head to Regulus, motioning to follow if he wanted. Mikhail could be a lot to take in at once. The fifteen-year-old leapt at the chance to leave. Her old friend did nothing to hide the fact he looked hurt. Severus only rolled his eyes before continuing their conversation.
The walk to the main foyer wasn't that long, but it was enough time for the young man to regroup. "Mikhail a bit much for you?"
Regulus muttered something under his breath. "Nothing I can't handle. He just doesn't give up."
That was Mikhail, passionate and stubborn to a fault.
"He just knows what he likes, he always has. It's not easy to gain his attention. He must really see potential in you for him to be pursuing you."
Regulus puffed himself up a bit, every bit the pureblood he was supposed to be, "Of course I have potential, I'm a Black. We're born to attract the masses. They're only supposed to look, not pursue."
She hummed as they neared the door. "Well, Mikhail's family is about as well known as yours is in Russia. His family is known for taking what they want, they have for hundreds of years. Though it didn't seem like you didn't enjoy his attention. Mikhail is a nice guy, if you give him a chance."
Regulus' cheeks heated up and he turned away as Jasmine pushed the door open. She was nearly face to face with Blaise's tan fist.
Theo and Blaise, the two dressed in average muggle jeans and shirts with European style wizarding robes lazily thrown on over them. Their hair was long and pulled back and out of their faces, which was the most put together part of the entire ensemble. The two of them looked horrifically out of place in the entrance of a manor.
She had missed these two.
Blaise had a grin on his face that only spelled trouble and Theo was brooding behind him, arms crossed, a firm frown in place. It seemed that his brother might have caused some mischief on the way here. Theo could only put up with Blaise's brand of chaos for so long without strangling him. Jasmine was surprised he hadn't killed him already.
Before Blaise could get a word in Euphemia made her way to the door, she was beaming at the two new comers. Both boys straightened themselves up in the presence of a Lady. She held out a hand. "Ah, it's so nice to finally get to meet you. Jasmine has mentioned the two of you a few times and only with the fondest of compliments."
Blaise took her hand and shook it firmly, "the pleasure is ours. Jasmine has spoken about you many times over the past few months to us. I'd let my brother introduce us, but…" he motioned to his neck and made a chocking noise. Theo pushed him into the nearest wall hard enough for a loud thud to echo. Everyone stopped to stare, not quite knowing what to make of the two of them or how to respond to Blaise's comment. Jasmine knew that their interactions more than likely seemed a little odd. Theo was more than likely talking to Blaise in his head.
Theo walked up to her rather shocked guardian and shook Euphemia's hand. Her eyes went wide for a moment and Jasmine figured that he had greeted her with his unique form of nonverbal communication.
"It's very nice to meet you as well," Euphemia replied with a small smile and nod. Blaise was grumbling as he pushed himself off of the wall.
"You were the one that knocked Sirius out in the dueling tournament!" Lily suddenly blurted out, drawing everyone's attention.
Blaise was suddenly very interested in everyone else in the room, his eyes sweeping over both James and Lily before settling on the red head. "I did. Though, we ended up knocking each other out of the competition. Your friend messed up a spell I was layering and it blew up in both of our faces. From what I understand you got the worst of the explosion, Black. That should teach you to be a bit more careful about mixing spells with foreign magic you don't understand," he said with a bored shrug, his lazy grin returning.
Jasmine caught Theo rolling his eyes. He was holding a small gift in his left hand. It was neatly wrapped with a green bow on top…that figured. Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin.
"We figured we needed to bring something other than a bit of magic that finds horcruxes. That would be difficult to explain to your Aunt. You keep interesting friends. I hadn't realized you were close with Regulus Black as well."
He was signing enthusiastically as he was speaking to her, albeit a bit slower than he would for Blaise. They had been trying to teach her bits and pieces of their personal sign language for a few weeks. Theo thought it could make their communication seem more realistic, but Jasmine was just finding it difficult since they had made most of their signs up. She had no reference for most of what they had created. It was impressive, what they had come up with in such a short amount of time. It was a cross of languages, for objects that had nothing assigned to them, like horcrux, which had elements of the sign they had made for snake and another one for death.
She took the small parcel out of his hands, her fingers brushing his scarred hands, he was covered in them. His throat had long scarred over gashes. "Thank you for the gift. I'm sure I'll like what you got me."
"I'd open it in private. Blaise picked it out and you know how his gifts can be."
Yes, they were either very well thought out and kind gifts that you would never expect, or they were explicit gifts that would make you red to your ears. Either way, Jasmine was not going to be opening gifts in front of people. It would only embarrass the givers. Jasmine was planning on opening them later after everyone had left.
"I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything that I should know about Blaise before I let Sirius and James get him into trouble? Sirius is still out for revenge from the dueling tournament."
Theo bit his lip, there was something then. Blaise seemed to hold more responsibility between the two of them back home. They were supposed to be a part of some kind of magical hierarchy back home. Blaise being the oldest of the two was an heir or some kind.
"We've run into something of a road block, but it isn't a problem that we can't handle. Blaise has figured out a way to solve it, not that I approve…" He signed with a slightly exaggerated flourish at the end. Blaise snorted from behind their left.
"You rarely approve of anything Blaise does."
"I'm right here, you could at least have the decency to look at me when you are signing about me!" He complained as the others watched on confused. A small smile teased its way onto Theo's face as he took in his audience. He had been excited to meet everyone from the past when we weren't pinned against each other on a dueling platform, though they didn't seem to really understand him. No one besides Euphemia had made a move to introduce themselves.
Jasmine tried not to roll her eyes and moved both Blaise and Theo in front of her, moving them into everyone's full view. "Everyone, this is Chatan and Tahatan, most of you have met them, or at least heard of them, but I don't know if you got their names during our time at the tournament."
There was a beat of heavy silence and Jasmine resisted the urge to crawl under the nearest table because no one was saying anything.
Naturally, it was Sirius that broke the tension. "That's how you pronounce their names?" He blurted out with none of the social graces that were expected of an Heir to a Noble and Ancient House. At least Remus had the decency to cuff him on the back of the head. Regulus looked a little put out that he hadn't gotten to do it.
"Can you be more obnoxious, Padfoot?" He hissed as Sirius muttered something mutinously under his breath.
Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose, his fist clenched at his sides. Well, they were in a house full of Gryffindors…they couldn't expect much tact, if any to be present in any conversations.
"Mooney, you don't get it! The announcers at the tournament were awful at pronunciations," Sirius whined, rubbing the back of his head and ducking out of the way of Remus' next smack.
"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus snapped, glaring at Sirius, who was now hiding behind Lily, before stepping forward and extending his hand towards Theo. No one had even attempted to speak to him. They barely even acknowledged him. Jasmine supposed that a handshake is a universal gesture. Remus wouldn't need to speak to get his point across.
Theo grasped the werewolf's hand tightly. In past lives, Theo had been rather close to Remus. Though he was turning out to be a completely different man than the one that they knew from their many different lives.
Theo cocked his head to side, making eye contact with Remus. It took a moment, but the when they made direct skin contact Remus' eyes widened and his arm jerked slightly in Theo's hold. Though, her long-time friend refused to let go of Gryffindor's arm.
The two of them had been kindred spirits, dealing with friends that always took risks instead of playing it safe. It would be interesting to see how Theo would adapt to a slightly less reserved Remus Lupin. While Remus was still the more conservative member of the Marauders, he followed through with many of their more…chaotic plans, if he hadn't come up with them himself.
"It's nice to meet you as well," Remus mumbled, pulling his arm back. Sirius wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder, eyeing Theo's hand suspiciously.
"Mate, he didn't say anything and he didn't move his hands. I know you have really good hearing, but even you can't hear someone's thoughts"
Observant as ever and yet completely wrong in this case.
"Shake his hand, Padfoot. He's working a brilliant bit of magic using different runes and a bit of legilimency to speak directly into your mind when he touches you," He looked towards Theo for confirmation, but only received a shrug, "or something along those lines."
Jasmine bit her lip and wondered if she should be the one to explain the way that Theo's mind magic worked…but Blaise cleared his throat. "It isn't mind magic in the way that you're thinking. It's far older and very specific to our tribe. There isn't a direct English translation for it, but it roughly means "spoken thoughts" and," he gave Theo his best disapproving look, which landed flat considering he wasn't even paying attention to Blaise, who, not one to be ignored, raised his voice, "my brother really shouldn't be using it too much without a focus point, it takes a lot of magic to use it."
That got a head turn from Theo, who marched up to his brother.
There was a quick exchange of hand movements between the two towards the end of the statement. Jasmine had missed the first half of the conversation, but there was an awful lot of cursing. She had a feeling that Theo was going to use his ability whether Blaise approved or not.
"You always did manage to attract an…interesting crowd," Mikhail commented from her left. A smirk gracing his lips as he leaned against the wall. Euphemia and Monty were only watching the chaos unfold as Theo poked Blaise with one hand and wildly gestured with another. James and Sirius might have started to take bets on who was going to start a fight first. That even sparked Severus' interest.
It was going to be a long afternoon.
Notes:I hope you enjoyed.
Please leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom