Chapter 64: Chapter 64Summary:Back to school!
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 64
It seemed that Jasmine was going to know all the dirty details of Lily and James' date without even needing to ask. Both parties were more than liberal with sharing everything that happened. Lily gave her a play by play right after she got back. The explanation was filled with happy sighs and excited rolling around on the bed. James had managed to set up a rather creative picnic for the two of them. The gushing was rather adorable and it brought a bittersweet smile to Jasmine's face knowing that in another life, this could have been her mother falling in love with her father.
James was still on cloud nine the next morning. Remus and Sirius were exchanging knowing looks with each other over breakfast as James explained the date at great length to anyone within listening distance.
Honestly, she should have been happy for them both. They were together and getting along but, this just sat oddly with Jasmine. She had spent so many lives listening to people talk about her parents love story and to know that they were together an entire year earlier than originally scheduled worried her a little bit. Jasmine didn't mind that James had grown up faster. He was far more mature now than he was a year ago and the general population is only going to profit from the Marauders taking a more vested interest in the future of the wizarding world. It was just so strange to know that she had changed something that had been a constant in her narrative as Harriet for so long.
"It's sickening to watch, isn't it?" Sirius whispered to her at breakfast as James winked at Lily over breakfast. The Black Heir made a gagging motion that had Remus laughing into his morning paper.
"I mean, at least they didn't come back screaming at each other. I wouldn't want to deal with that kind of fall out," Jasmine murmured back as she took a sip of tea.
Sirius shrugged and handed Jasmine a letter he had received with his post. She didn't open it, not sure exactly why he handed her a piece of his personal mail. It had the Black family seal, so it wasn't meant for her eyes. "It seems that I received a letter from my aunt asking why I removed some names from the list of potential suitors. Someone seemed to have spoken with her."
She bit her lip and set the letter down. "Yes, well, we spoke briefly about it. I had no idea that you had watered down the list so significantly and taken off their top candidate."
Sirius stopped cutting up his breakfast and looked up, his grey eyes searching. "Did they tell you who their top pick was?"
She shook her head, as she buttered her toast. "No, there was no mention of names, just that there were women missing from the list. Your secret is still safe. I have a feeling that your aunt will eventually tell me if the meeting with the witch from Japan doesn't got well."
She bit into her breakfast with a crunch as Sirius frowned, "Do you even think that they will respond to us? I get that my father is interested in some kind meeting with them regardless. Their family is known for their information gather techniques, but what would they have to gain by meeting with an English wizarding family…"
Jasmine raised an eyebrow and set her cup down. She felt the answer was rather obvious. "They have the same to gain as you do. They gather plenty of information, but your family barters in secrets just like they do. It would be a win-win situation. Both families would get footholds in other countries with entirely new information webs and it wouldn't come at too steep a cost."
"It would just be the potential cost of their children's happiness."
Always so dramatic.
"I'm told that the head of the family takes his daughter's interest very seriously. She had had many suitors in the past, and none have met her standards. No matter how influential they are, if she says no, he listens. I have a feeling that there is some kind of familial magical gift that makes her choice so important, but that is just my speculation," Jasmine replied, finishing the last bit of her scone.
Sirius mouthed speculation with an accusatory glint in his eyes. His food lay forgotten on his plate. "If you're holding out on me, Peverell…"
"It's just speculation, Sirius. I won't bring anything forward until I have concrete evidence. The same goes for the mystery woman you refuse to name, that your father and aunt picked for you," she warned, and her friend's eyes went wide.
"Jazz, don't look into that. That issue is between me and my father. Shouldn't you be more worried about…I don't know…classes? That internship you keep putting off replying to? World domination?"
Jasmine raised a single unamused eyebrow as she set her toast on her plate. She leaned forward, elbows on the wood table, hands clasped in front of her. Her robes slid down her forearms, exposing pale skin littered with various barely visible scars from years of fighting. Sirius leaned in a little as well, rising to her challenge, though his arm was covered in some kind of jam and what appeared to be potions notes.
"One, we have defense first thing today. I have no worries about my success in that class. Two, that internship that I keep, as you say, putting off, is something I must think very carefully over and weigh my options for. And, three, I have no time for world domination as of right now. Come back in five years and then we'll talk. I need to create my army first," she replied, laying her accent on a thick as she could towards the end, just for an added flare.
The two of them were playfully glaring at each other from across the table. "I wish that you would tell us what you were thinking regarding the internship. I needto know what kind of party to throw you in the common room."
"Are you really that worried if she leaves? That internship is something that comes maybe once in a lifetime. The Gringotts warders are legendary. My parents would actually murder me for turning them down," a seventh year Gryffindor piped up from the left of Remus.
"Well, I suppose I'm unlucky enough that both my parents are dead, and thus the decisions lies with me," Jasmine answered flatly causing the older student to splutter something unintelligible and for Sirius, James and Remus to wheeze with laughter. Jasmine cracked him a smile to show she was kidding and the other student visibly deflated and let out a small chuckle of his own.
"Jazz!" Lily chastised with a light smack to her arm, though it didn't stop that grin that spreading across her face. "That joke was utterly tasteless."
"I've said worse, and it's true. Though, the internship is an honor and I would be an utter fool to reject it. I would be assured a permanent job within the most far reaching, most trusted and established bank system in the wizarding world and ward manufacturers in the world. But, then, I would be missing all of you and a family that I've only just found."
James cleared his throat. "Jazz, we'll always be here for you. You might not have biological parents anymore, but mum will actually hunt you down if you don't take the internship. She's been bragging about it to all her co-workers."
Jasmine blushed at the thought of her aunt boasting about her achievements to the other people in the DMLE. She just hoped that none of this affected James' confidence in his abilities when he went to get a job after Hogwarts. Job hunting sucked when she was the chosen one, she can't imagine what it would be like as a regular pureblood…Merlin, she didn't want to imagine what it would be like for Lily to get a job right out of the gate. She would do when she could to help her friend with whatever connection she makes.
"Well, I guess that's another reason that I should take it. It would hate to disappoint your mother. She's terrifying when angry."
James shrugged, "that's what they pay her to do… scare the shite out of everyone that gets in her way, whether they are employees or criminals."
Sirius slung an arm around James' shoulder, "Even my family isn't in the business of pissing her off and they usually don't care about that kind of stuff."
Now, that was an interesting tidbit of information to store away for later. Euphemia must truly be a force to be reckoned with for the Black to respect her authority, even if they still continuously bend the laws to their needs. At least they know better than to outright break it.
"As much as I love hearing about your mother, Prongs, we need to get to class before Moody has our heads," Remus interjected, pushing himself away from the table and collecting his things for their first class of the day.
~*~
As much as Harriet had enjoyed defense against the dark arts, Jasmine wasn't as much of a fan. She had too many scars from too many fights to really enjoy the thrill of avoiding spell fire from the practice dummies.
Today's class was focused on avoidance and different ways to successfully run from battle. Moody had them paired with dummies of varying levels. The dummies at higher levels would attack frequently and with stronger spells than the ones at lower difficulty settings. Not to mention, that Moody set Jasmine far closer to the dummy to challenge her compared to her classmates. He was trying to make it harder for her to succeed.
Jasmine's was set to one of the highest settings. Moody watched her form from a safe distance. He didn't want to trigger the dummy into attacking him, no matter how funny that would have been.
Jasmine wasn't a fan of running from battle. She preferred to just eliminate the problem. She understood the importance of it, but sometimes you just needed to silence someone that was trying to murder your before they gained enough power to assist in destroying natural magic all throughout Europe and then to the entire world.
Though, Moody didn't know that was what she was going to use her training for, at least not yet. Jasmine hoped to surprise the magical world when she decided to publicly take on Voldemort. Though, with the way that he is pursuing her, it more than likely won't be that surprising that she wants nothing to do with him or his agenda.
She cast another powerful hex at the dummy as she pivoted another step closer to the line.
Maybe her aggression was a bit misplaced, but still, she hated dancing away from the dummy's spells to get closer and closer to the "safe line" that Moody had quite a few meters away. She wasn't entirely sure what the safe line was supposed to signify in real life. It wasn't like in the middle of a battlefield you were suddenly safe. There was a better chance of you getting yourself killed if your only interest in battle was running away from it. Though, considering how young all of them were now, maybe running wasn't the worst thing that could happen. Jasmine wouldn't want Lily or any of the Marauders to get into fights with Death Eaters until they were much more experienced fighters.
Not that war usually gives those kinds of opportunities, but Jasmine could hope for the best.
She ducked out of the way of the final spell before she made it into the safe zone. She let her wand arm drop as the dummy retreated to its starting position. She let out a breath, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. She nearly relaxed until she saw Moody raise his wand behind her and cast a hex in her direction.
She moved her head to the side, the purple spell sailed into the dummy behind her instead. The Auror looked impressed and mildly horrified that he hadn't caught her unaware. "Is there something you needed, Professor? I wasn't aware that you were going to be attacking students as well."
The entire class went silent, a couple students even got disarmed as their dummies "won" a round against them. It seemed that that watching what Jasmine was going to do with the Auror was far more entertaining.
Most of the student body had been afraid of her at one point or another.
Many of them knew her past, or at least a of the life that she lived before she ended up with the Potter family.
Jasmine supposed that they wanted to see what she was going to do with the Auror. There were a couple different options running through her head at the moment.
"Constant vigilance is an important asset to have in any fight. The moment you let your guard down in a fight, you die. Even if you manage to beat one opponent, there is no guarantee that there isn't another enemy waiting."
Jasmine's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. Her wand was idly tapping her forearm. "As much as I agree with that assessment of a battlefield, this is a classroom. I understand that I have more battle experience than most, but attacking me because you think you can catch me off guard is absurd. You're lucky I didn't retaliate, I'm told I have very good reflexes," she warned, her wand lit ever so slightly at the tip.
"Do you really think that you can duel against a seasoned Auror, lass? You might have dueled for years, but you haven't been through basic training against dark magic."
Jasmine's entire life was basic Auror training, but maybe Moody hadn't been a part of the human trafficking case she had been a part of. Amelia Bones had been, but then again, she tended to work special victims cases. Moody was more of a homicide victim kind of guy.
"Do you really want to find out, Professor?" She replied, twirling her wand between her fingers. She saw Sirius and James take a step towards her, as if they were going to stop her, but Moody put his hands up.
"Maybe some other time. Two feet of parchment about defensive spells for anyone that lost to their dummy today. Class dismissed."
The Marauders immediately rushed over to her once Moody walked back into his office, slamming the door with more force than strictly necessary.
James made it to her first, "Are you out of your mind? Did you really challenge a seasoned Auror to a duel?"
Jasmine frowned. "No, I warned him to stop sending surprised jinxes my way or I would retaliate. He then assumed I wanted to challenge him and then he threw a fit and ended class. While I don't want to duel him, I would have to prove my point. I don't think you realize exactly how strict my dueling training was. You saw both my duels last year. I always duel like it's a battlefield. I grew up with it being the only option I had when my Patrons would put us in pit battles. Free-for-all brawls were awful," she hissed, moving away from her cousin and out the door. Surprise attacks by authority figures always set her on edge, more so as Jasmine than as Harriet. It had to do with the way she had been treated in this life in particular.
The Patrons had been monsters when it came to constantly attacking their charges to keep them on their guard, never letting them relax, to attack at a moment's notice. Constant betrayal was normal. Jasmine wanted to be away from the physical danger of it all.
"Jazz! Wait up! Prongs is being an absolute prat, but he was just trying to protect you!" She heard Sirius shout from behind her. He was quickly approaching his messenger bag bouncing with every stride.
She slowed her pace down so he didn't have to run to catch up. "I understand he wants to protect me, but Moody attacked me first. As much as I enjoy his classes, unprovoked attacks against of student are a bit out of line," she replied, as they entered a quiet corridor.
Sirius ran a hand through his hair, "Yea, it wasn't smart of Moody to attack you like that. He knows what you've been through as a faculty member and as an Auror. I think Prongs was just worried about what would have happened to you if Moody agreed to a fight."
Jasmine shrugged with a wry grin on her face. "I probably would have dueled him a fair bit and he would have called it off part way through since I would kick is arse."
Sirius nudged her, "You sound so sure! Euphemia trained him herself, you know."
"I'm aware of who trained him, but I don't think he is aware of who trained me," she replied as she let Sirius guide her to their next class. "Do you not think I could take him?"
Her friend threw an arm around her shoulder, "Jazz, I think it would be a fight to remember, but Moody has been fighting dark wizards for a long time. It's one thing to be forced into tournaments your entire life, but it's another to fight against criminals."
"You do realize that most of those tournaments you're referring were organized by criminals and the rule sets we were going by were barbaric and outdated? Kids died nightly from them."
She wasn't going to say how they died, she could leave that up to Sirius' imagination. Jasmine had been lucky to last as long as she did. There were nights where she nearly died a few times over the years. It was never something to take lightly. These were nothing like the tournament they had attended the year before. They were far darker and far more sinister, but it seemed that no one seemed to really understand that.
Jasmine thought back to the internship forms back in her room and they were beginning to look more and more appealing.
Notes:Sorry for the delay.
I got sick...
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 65: Chapter 65Summary:Time to buy some robes...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 65
Jasmine had always hated shopping for robes. No matter what life it was, finding new clothing was one of her least favorite activities. Going from store to store and trying on different outfits just seemed so pointless when there was a world to save just outside. But, alas, the Black Family Christmas party was quickly approaching and she couldn't show up wearing the same robes as the year prior. Not only would that be lazy, it would just be insulting to her hosts. Jasmine knew that Cassiopeia had no doubt catalogued what everyone had worn the year before and criticized it until the invitations for this year's event were sent.
So, she called in the help of the Black sisters…well she owled Narcissa for recommendations and Bellatrix decided that all three of them needed to go out and shop together on a Hogsmeade weekend. Which lead to the three of them trying on clothes for an entire afternoon. Narcissa was dragging both Jasmine and Bellatrix through stores and making them try on different robe combinations to her satisfaction.
Bellatrix and Jasmine rolled their eyes and let her enjoy herself. With the fear of attacks growing more prevalent, Narcissa hadn't been going out nearly as much as she was used to. The woman preferred traveling with a bodyguard of some sort. Lucius preferred it that way. Bellatrix seemed to do the job well enough when she wasn't working. Jasmine's lack of wardrobe was just an excuse to escape for the day.
While the future Lady Malfoy was trying on a dress robe, or four, Bellatrix struck up a conversation in the stuffy sitting room. The entire place was filled with red plush cushions. Robes were flying in and out of different dressing rooms throughout the area and a seamstress was taking measurements on the other end of the store. Bella was lounging, long legs crossed, drumming her fingers on the stiletto heel of her black dragon hide boot as she waited for her sister to finish.
"Enjoying your sixth-year defense professor? I've heard such interesting things from Uncle Orion," She asked with a wry grin on her face and a small wave of her hand. There was no doubt that the entire Black family new about what had happened in the classroom between her and Moody. Sirius wasn't the best at keeping gossip away from his family.
"He hasn't tried to hex me since I asked if he was attempting to challenge me to a duel, if that's what you're referring to."
Her grin spread and she rested her chin on her hands. "Such a fierce warrior. Scaring those big bad Aurors. You should have followed through with that threat, knocked him around a bit. Light wizards like him are what give the rest of them a bad name. Take Amelia Bones, she's a great light witch, but she doesn't cross into this odd territory of wanting to end all kinds of dark magic," she whined as Narcissa stepped out of the dressing room with four different robes in hand.
"Find one?" Jasmine asked, she had her own pick shrunk in her pocket for later and a second one for the guest she was going to be bringing. She just hoped that her friend would say yes, she hadn't gotten a response yet.
Narcissa sighed. "Yes, I think so. I'm going with the deep blue this year. I don't think that I could stand wearing red and it would just be a little bit too on theme for Yule…"
"Is Lucius coming this year? I haven't seen him in quite a while."
Narcissa frowned, her mood suddenly somber. Bella winced, patting her younger sister on the arm. "That would make two of us. His father is keeping him in France and away from the fighting. With the rising Dark Lord attempting to assassinate Lord Malfoy, he is keeping his Heir away from the violence and having him focus on the French branch of their business. Which, means that Lucius tends to be away from me for weeks at a time."
Jasmine bit her lip, that certainly wasn't what had happened in her other nine timelines. "Is he coming to the party though?"
A small smile played on the blonde's lips, "Yes, he is. We are going to discuss some of our wedding plans to the family while he's in the country. Sometimes I wish that we didn't have to follow certain rules of propriety. I would gladly move to France with him now if I could. I don't fancy all of his war nonsense."
Jasmine didn't care for it either. "I think everyone in this country could do with less war nonsense, Cissy. Though, most of us aren't going to get the choice to run off to a different country," Bella replied with a wave of her hand, "some of us have to take over familial responsibilities since their sisters left her to deal with them alone."
Narcissa flinched at that and Jasmine wondered what she had left for Bella to do on her own. "You told me to accept his proposal, Bella, you don't get to use that against me. Aunt Cassiopeia chose you."
This was getting dangerously close to secrets she shouldn't know. Jasmine cleared her throat and both girls turned to look at her. "Right, so before you divulge family secrets that will get me killed, why don't you tell me about Black family marriage contracts seeing as I'm helping Sirius pick a bride."
Bella clapped her hands, pushing herself up from the seat. "I believe Heir Peverell is correct, these walls have far too many ears for my taste. This is best discussed in private."
The three girls made their way out of the store and into a private room at The Three Broomsticks. Only after copiously warding the entire room did they begin to talk again. The room had been set up to look like some kind of lounge with seating for at least fifteen people, in various plush and wooden chairs surrounding a large table that had enough food to feed the three of them and then some. Jasmine thought it was a bit much, but the Black sisters seemed pleased with the setup.
Bella swung and arm over her shoulders and lowered her head next to Jasmine's, "Look, Jasmine, marriage contracts are something that are on a need to know kind of thing. As much I love that you are helping my cousin, he isn't listening to the family at the moment in regards to who he is eliminating from the pool of potential suitors and until he gets his fluffy head out of his arse, we aren't going to be supporting his choices."
"Then why give a list if you only wanted him to pick one specific witch?"
Narcissa rolled her eyes, lounging in the wooden chair as dignified as one could be. "Because, the witch that Uncle Orion picked has all the qualities that our family is looking for. The other witches only have a quality or two that we're searching for in a new Lady Black."
"So, essentially, this list was just created in case the first witch said no, but Sirius decided to say no for that witch."
Honestly, that sounded like something Sirius would do.
"He's being an idiot about it. He wants to fall in love and marry the woman of his dreams, but is too damn scared to do anything about it," Bella replied with a rather dramatic wave of her wand arm.
Narcissa looked less than impressed with her older sister. "Honestly, Bella, look who's talking, if it wasn't for Jasmine stepping into our lives, mother would have married you off and you wouldn't have ever said anything to the contrary."
Jasmine's ears perked up. As much as she loved talking about Sirius' love life, it tended to get old rather quickly, but Bella's romantic interests… Now, that was an interesting bit of gossip.
The elder Black sister actually blushed, "Cissy, I have no idea what you're talking about. I would have put my foot down with mother eventually."
The blonde scoffed. "Oh? When? She was already drawing up a contract with Lestrange family before Uncle Orion stepped in to stop it. You seemed resigned to your fate."
"I still had a few years!"
"Mum was rushing the contract! You would be married by now!" Narcissa hissed and her sister honestly looked shocked. Narcissa's eyes softened, "You didn't know?"
Bella shook her head in reply. "Oh, Bella…"
"I had only heard rumors she was thinking of marrying me to a pureblood. I hadn't been given names or dates. How was she going to have me agree to the marriage? Was there going to be no courting period?"
Narcissa bit her lip, "I believe the plan was to the dose you with a potion, claim you were with child and rush a marriage. At least that's what mum and Aunt Wulburga had been discussing behind doors they assumed were closed."
A wand was in Bellatrix's hand, her knuckles white around it. "I'll kill her."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "As much as I love homicidal revenge, your mothers have both been cast out of the family. Let them suffer as disinherited witches. Lord Black has already blacklisted them. Killing them would a be mercy."
Bella groaned, her head thunking against the table they were sitting at, picking at a bit of food that was left over from their lunch.
~*~
Christmas was just around the corner and with it came her book release. Quibbler Printing had done an outstanding job of making sure that her book was well advertised, and her guardians were making sure that all of her mail was vetted before it even got to her. There were more than enough howlers and death threats, not to mention mysterious potions that had been found on more than one of the letters. Sirius was fidgeting at lot more these days, with the holidays coming up, he was going to be receiving the Black Family magical inheritances. Naturally, the entire thing has been kept a secret from him and he doesn't know what to expect.
Jasmine could understand the underlying worry. Every time she turned seventeen she received Death's blessing, which wasn't as nice as it sounded and in her second life she had managed to hurt herself to the point she needed to see a healer. Though, Sirius has his father to walk him through it once he gets home. "You're going to be fine, Sirius. It's family magic," Jasmine reminded on their way to their last defense lesson of the term.
Sirius kicked a stray quill on the ground. His shaggy hair falling into his face. "I know, it's just a lot of responsibility. Coming back to the family didn't seem real until now. I know once I take my vows or whatever, that's it. I'm in line to be the next Lord Black when my father either steps down or passes away. I will be expected to marry a woman my family approves of and have at least two male heirs, not to mention take over the family businesses and oversee their research in the department of mysteries…"
His voice nearly cracked towards the end. There was a lot that the Black family took care of in the ministry. Jasmine knew this, James knew this, Remus knew this and, hell, even Lily knew this. It was always more difficult to hear it said out loud. "You know that Reggie is there to help you, Bella is there as well. I doubt that your father is going to step down right away. He will give you time to live your life before he gives you the full burden of the Lordship," she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, in what she hoped was a soothing manner. Sometimes it was hard to tell.
"Speaking of familial inheritances, anything we should know about your birthday? Prongs mentioned that he was going to need to go home for a couple days for his birthday. Apparently, there's a big Potter family secret."
Jasmine let out a sigh, this was something that both James and Sirius had been badgering her about since Sirius' birthday in early November.
"Yes, as I've told you, there is a ritual that will be performed and that's all you get to know about it. It's a family secret," she reiterated for what felt like the twentieth time.
Sirius pouted, but Jasmine wasn't going to let that sway her. She knew that he was playing games. He was a Black after all. The entire family ran on secrets. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the ritual that was going to take place a few weeks' time. Her inheritance was Death's power, and, of course, the ritual was dramatic with a bit of a light show and lots of ambient magic. Or, so she had been told by Theo and Blaise, who had seen her gain her inheritance multiple times over her various lives.
Death certainly had a way of doing things and he always did have a large flare for the dramatic.
"What are you three talking about?" Lily asked, tucking herself under one of James' arms as they made their way up a moving staircase. Her red hair was free today and falling in ringlets around her face.
James grinned, squeezing her left shoulder. "We are talking about inheritances, my dear, Lily. Ancient and Nobles Houses tend to have rituals around the seventeenth birthdays of their heirs where they receive some kind of family magic or learn some darker family secrets. It could also be a bit of both. A lot of older families have some kind or ritual for their children to pass in order to be full adults in the family. Sirius just turned seventeen and his father has told him he will be undergoing the Black family traditional ritual. It's top secret and no one know much about it, save the Black family themselves."
"Yes, but you mentioning that you and Jasmine have one as well? I thought that you were different from traditional wizarding families."
James let out a sigh, running a nervous hand through his hair. It was always difficult explaining family magic to an outsider. Really, this only occurred within old families or those truly connected to the old ways. Jasmine hadn't covered this with Lily since her roommate was never going to need to worry about an familial inheritance. Even though she was related to the Ravenclaw family, her blood was extremely diluted, and she more than likely wouldn't be able to access anything that the family magic had to offer. In a few generations, after the magic the family has grown stronger, it could be a different story. "Family magic isn't something that can really change. Most old magical families, especially the main branches, have struck deals with Deities to boost their powers or to assist them in some higher purpose."
Lily's green eyes widened, a delicate hand going to her mouth. "You strike deals with the devil?"
Jasmine snorted thinking of Death with horns trying to tempt her to do something she really didn't want to for power. "Hardly, think of them as higher conceptual beings. It's no secret that the Peverell family had dealings with Death in the past. There's an entire fairytale about it. There are also powerful seer lines that claim to be gifted by Lady Fate herself," Jasmine explained with cheerful smile on her face, hoping that Lily wouldn't push the whole Death topic. She couldn't really say too much about it, family secrets and all. Theo and Blaise were allowed to know, since they were magically bound to help her.
"That sounds terrifying."
Sirius shrugged, throwing an arm over Jasmine's shoulders. "You hear about it from birth till the moment it happens. It isn't like it's something that your family just springs on you one day. My father has been training me to take over the family the same way that his father trained him. The Black family runs through the patriarchal line and the moment I was born it was decided that I was going to one day take charge of the Black Family. My father will no doubt step down as the head of house within the next fifteen years, so I have to be ready to slowly absorb all of his responsibilities. Prongs needs to do the same thing with his father and Jazzi-pants has the worst end of the deal since she is going to be accepting the entire responsibility of her family all at once."
Jasmine felt a vein in her head throb at that nickname, but resisted the innate urge to punch her friend in the face. "It might seem awful, but I have been preparing myself for the onslaught of paperwork to come. Euphemia and I have been reading through all the different letters that Gringotts has been sending me the past few months to sort estates out and to make sure that the audits are finished before my seventeenth birthday."
Lily wrinkled her nose and pushed the door to the classroom open, only to be grabbed and pulled back by Jasmine to narrowly avoid a hex that was aimed in their general direction. It seemed that Moody was in a mood to play hardball. Though when they walked in, wands raised, Moody was addressing the class…thought they were covered in some kind of orange goop. The room was nearly filled to the brim with bright orange students. Only Severus seemed to have avoided the welcome hex from Moody, aside from the Marauders, Lily and Jasmine.
"Anyone that got hit on the way in gets a zero for the day. Constant vigilance is the key to surviving outside these walls. Ms. Evans wasn't looking where she was going, assuming she was safe. Only by the good will of her friends was she saved from today's hex. Ms. Evans, who was the student that pulled you out of harm's way?"
"Jasmine, sir."
There was a muttered, "figures," from one of the other student s that Jasmine hadn't bothered to learn the name of.
"That is a lesson to all of you. Find people you can trust implicitly with your lives. It isn't often that someone will pull you away from danger without a second thought. Five points to Gryffindor, Ms. Peverell. Now, we will begin discussing severing charms and their practical uses outside of dismembering…"
It was going to be a long afternoon.
Notes:Thank you all so much!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
Hopefully, I'll be able to post next week!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 66: Chapter 66Summary:The winter holidays start a bit frosty...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 66
The train ride back for the holidays was tense. The three Marauders were pointedly not looking at each other in an eerie silence. The only noise in the compartment came from Remus turning pages in his charm book. It was strange to see them so at odds with each other. Their last DADA lesson had nearly ended in a physical fight.
Jasmine had sent in her reply to the internship earlier in the week. She hadn't told anyone what she had decided on, she wasn't quite ready to share with the boys, but they knew that whatever she had picked it was their current attitude that had tipped her hand. Jasmine was going to disappoint someone regardless of what she chose.
Honestly, Moody should have just minded his own damn business.
This nonsense had started off with another random attack during class. Their lovely professor had been attempting to teach them "constant vigilance". For the most part, the Marauders thought that it was a fairly fun game, even if it made everyone paranoid. They sure as hell made fun of it in the common room on more than one occasion as they teasingly hexed each other. Moody hadn't really bothered to shoot spells at Jasmine recently, but she wouldn't put it past him to lure her into a false sense of security.
It wasn't until Moody had the group start to practice with each other that things got heated. Naturally, James and Sirius paired off with each other and would send aggressive spells playfully back and forth. Jasmine had paired herself with Severus. He proved to be quite the talented duelist and she knew from future experience he would continue to a formidable opponent on that front. Usually for assignments like this, she would join Remus, but he had a soft spot for her and she really didn't feel like wiping the floor with him today.
"I heard that you may not be returning to Hogwarts next year," Severus mentioned between spells as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, his long hair tied back and out of his face. It was still straight and long, but cut nicely and in a more agreeable pureblood manner. He was much better groomed now that he lived with his grandfather. Not to mention that his hair wasn't nearly as greasy as it had been. Jasmine figured he was more than likely on a very specific haircare regiment.
"And where did you hear that lovely rumor," Jasmine replied sending a tricky bit of transfiguration near his feet to try and trip him up.
He hopped backwards, avoiding the sudden lack of floor where his feet had just been moments prior. "Regulus," he answered with a shrug. Jasmine flicked her wrist, sending a silent spell his way. He winced and let out a strained hiss as a stinging hex clipped him in the shoulder.
"I haven't made my decision yet, but-"
There was a small exchange of raised voices from her right before a body crashed into her as a spell sailed overhead. She couldn't tell who it was that had pushed her, she hadn't been focusing her vision out that far before she was sprawled out on the ground. By the mop of wavy black hair in her mouth, and the expensive cologne, she assumed it was Sirius. "Padfoot, get off of her!" James snarled, pulling his best mate off of her.
Sirius grabbed James' hand and removed it from his person. "Look, Prongs, I was just trying to make sure she didn't get hit."
Moody must have been throwing spells again, by the smug grin on his face, he definitely caused this mess. He might have actually gotten her that time had Sirius not Gryffindored his way over and shoved her to the ground. Severus was a good enough opponent for her to need to focus most of her attention on him. The conversation had taken the rest of it.
Though, James' reaction to Sirius helping her was a bit off from his usual cheery self. The two of them were glaring at each other as the dog animagus helped her off the ground. Jasmine brushed herself off and turned to look at her professor, who was observing James and Sirius with a critical eye.
The two Marauders sized each other up, the other students moving out of the way. Jasmine wanted to stop them from hurting each other. Their professor sure wasn't going to break them up. Moody just seemed amused by the turn of events. Severus had taken Jasmine's elbow and led her to a seat against the wall. She still felt a bit winded from the fall. "That was rather low of the professor to attack you like that. It wouldn't have felt like a fair win if he had hit you with that stunner."
"No, I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings. Moody noticed I wasn't paying attention to everything in the room."
He tutted, tapping along finger against his crossed forearms, "Peverell, you can't know everything going on in a room at once. Not even Aurors go into a fight without their partner to watch their back. As much as I hate to say this, you were lucky Black was there to help you. Otherwise you might be in the hospital wing from an even harder fall."
Moody's stunners had been known to knock people off their feet and into walls. She had seen them in the future against Death Eaters.
Jasmine's attention turned back to her Gryffindor friends, who were still throwing spells back and forth at each other.
"Why didn't you say something, Padfoot?"
James opened his mouth to say something else before Sirius cut him off. "We aren't going to talk about this here, Prongs," Sirius ground out through gritted teeth as the bell signaled for the end of the lesson.
The two prats hadn't said a word to each other since then…well they had shouted at each other that night, but she hadn't been able to make anything out from the bottom of the boys' staircase. Their door had apparently been spelled with muffling charms. Remus had ended up dozing on the couch by the fire after being locked out.
Which led them to a frosty situation on the train ride back to Kings Cross.
"This is absurd. What the hell is wrong with you two?" Jasmine snapped, drawing the attention of all three Marauders. Remus' cheeks pinked and he bashfully fingered the page he was on.
James ran a hand through his disheveled hair before drumming his fingers against his leg. "Sirius has been lying to us about his marriage contract. His family is pushing for someone else."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. Was that really what all this nonsense was about? "James, we knew that Sirius had removed people from the list. He told us that he removed his family's first pick. This isn't anything new to us."
Her cousin scowled, reminding Jasmine of the way that Euphemia looked when faced with a complicated problem .
"No, but Moody had speculations on who it was," James grumbled, arms crossed as he glared at his best friend who was glaring out the window.
Jasmine pined the bridge of her nose. "James, Moody isn't a member of the Black family. He wouldn't have that knowledge and speculating isn't a guarantee. I have my own theories on who his family wants him to marry, but until Sirius tells me on his own who it is, I'm not going to go digging for answers. You shouldn't either," she replied, pointing an accusatory finger James' way.
Honestly, Jasmine was nearly positive she knew who the first-choice bride was, but she wasn't going to say something until her friend did. It was his life and his marriage.
"Thank you! I've been saying the same thing all week! Moody is just trying to mess with you! I know that you want to know about the potential suitors I took off the list, but I just really don't want to talk about what my family is planning for me. I'm looking into the brides. Jasmine has that nice one from Japan coming over in August."
James lightly punched Sirius on the arm, "just don't string anyone along Pads, no one likes it."
Jasmine had a feeling her cousin meant that for someone in particular and she didn't really want to think about who it could be.
Sirius put James in a friendly headlock, and it seemed that all was forgiven as they roughhoused for the next ten minutes.
"You two fight like a married couple. I'm surprised Sirius' father didn't want you marrying each other," Remus grumbled, as he went back to his book.
The other two boys flushed to their ears at the implication.
"Speaking of marriage, Jazz, what do you plan on doing to secure the Peverell line in the near future?" James asked as he struggled out of Sirius' arms, his glasses askew.
Jasmine felt some heat rush to her face. She hadn't really had the option to ever plan that far into the future in any of her past lives. She had fallen in love once, maybe twice out of her nine other lives. She had never lived long enough to see anything come of them. "Well, there's a war coming, so I believe that will take precedence over anything else, since it is my family's duty to eliminate Dark and Light Lords before they cause too much destruction."
The three of them looked at her like she was insane. She supposed that she might sound like it, with those kind of goals in mind. "Jazz, the entire Peverell family used train their whole lives to fight those Light and Dark Lords. You're only one person and not even out of school," Remus pointed out, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
She sighed, and played with the ends of her hair. "I spent a good portion of my life dueling. I'd say I've gotten in some more than adequate practice. Regardless, it is my family's magical duty to stop Light and Dark Lords. We were almost wiped out by the last Dark Lord. I don't want my family's sacrifice to keep my father alive to be in vain. When all this is over, I will more than likely find someone who sees me as I am and marry them. I need at least one heir and my partner might need to carry on their family name as well," she replied with a shrug as the boys got up off the of the floor.
"Family magic tends to be binding. I doubt that Jasmine could fight the urge to want to stop people that were upsetting the magical balance of a given area," Sirius mentioned with a wave of his hand.
How right he was. Jasmine's 'saving people thing' as Hermione used to put it, was not only magically genetic, but nearly compulsory.
~*~
The holidays started with little fuss, but James seemed to be a nervous wreck as he waited for Sirius to get back to him about the Black Family ritual he had to undertake. This led to her cousin pacing in front of the fire as Jasmine read an ancient runes text that nearly had her yawning. It was nearly eleven at night and while she usually found them rather engaging, the way the author chose to present the information was awful.
There was a loud sigh from her left as James made another full length of the room. Her cousin threw himself into the chair on her blind side. "James, panicking over this can't be healthy. Sirius is going to be fine. It's family magic. Unless both his parents were somehow not Blacks or he was switched at birth, the magic should take. He might just be tired, or he's learning how to use it. It is none of our business as outsiders to his family to even ask him about it. Do you understand?"
There was a grunt from her disgruntled cousin. Jasmine would take that as an affirmation that he had heard her. Whether or not he followed her instructions was another matter entirely. The Potters only had a bit of familial magic pertaining to transfiguration. They didn't pledge themselves to a deity of any kind. She wasn't entire sure about the Black family. It was supposed to be passed down from Patriarch to heir around their seventeenth. That was as much as she ever learned as Harriet.
As far as she knew it was nothing deadly. The Black family had a lot of secrets, many that could get them all killed, but that was the nature of the magic that they thrived on. There was a reason that they all worked deep in the Department of Mysteries.
"I wish you would just be a little more panicked about it. Padfoot is a good friend of yours. Aren't you worried about him?"
Jasmine huffed, closing her book and turning to her cousin, who squirmed under her glare. "I care about Sirius just as much as you do, but pacing around and worrying yourself into an early grave isn't going to help anyone. I have other things to think about and so do you. When he feels up to answering he will," she snapped and James' eyes softened a bit.
"Sorry, Jazz, I didn't mean to make you feel like you don't care about him. It's just, you're so great under pressure. I don't understand it and it aggravates me a little bit."
Well, nine lifetimes tended to put panicking into perspective. Jasmine had learned to compartmentalize that before it got out of hand. Occlumency was also a tremendous help to getting in control of her emotions.
"I'm not overly offended. I tend to be more levelheaded, but you could have also sent a message to Regulus and asked if Sirius was okay."
Her cousin dove for a piece of parchment next to the fireplace. "James, I already sent one to him. Sirius is fine. He's just resting. The magic tired him out. He should be back in his feet in a few days."
She had been slightly surprised to get a quick response from Reggie. He may have actively sought her out once or twice in the past, he wasn't inclined to answer her letters if he felt she was stepping over a line. Though, when had responded about Sirius it was all positive. The ritual had just knocked Sirius around and it made him a bit tired and prone to accidental outbursts of magic. It wasn't unusual for that to happen with familial rituals.
"I just wish he'd respond. Padfoot usually doesn't keep me waiting."
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Monty is pulling you out of classes to do the Potter family ritual. You're probably going to feel like you've been run over by hippogriffs as well. No doubt Sirius will be fretting like a worried lover over you as well when it happens."
The clock struck twelve and James let out a sigh and stood, stretching out his longer frame. "Well, I suppose we should get to sleep. Mum and Dad won't like it if they see either of us out of bed this late," he told her as he ruffled his hair in a meager attempt to get it to lay flat after leaning against the arm of sofa for the past fifteen minutes.
She stood up as well, grabbing her book and tucking it under her arm as they made their way up the grand staircase towards their respective rooms. James' hair was sticking up in odd directions as they parted ways for the evening. Jasmine did not miss the Potter hair at all. It was one of the few things that she preferred with this body.
It didn't take long for her to doze off. The rune text had lulled her to sleep, so at least it was good for something.
She felt her consciousness stir sometime later as she woke up and found herself in an abandoned park. A single streetlight lit above her. She could hear crickets chirping and the rustling of leaves somewhere behind her. It had been a while since Death had spoken to her directly. What a lovely early Christmas present.
A cold thin hand began to card through her hair. "It has been some time since we last spoke."
"It has been. I don't have much in the way of updates. The wizarding world moves slowly. I'm influencing as many people as I can, but I'm only sixteen," she grumbled in response, a pout forming on her lips.
"You still have time. By my estimates, as long as you don't do anything too foolish, you might actually live to see your late twenties. It would be a first for you." She wasn't entirely sure if Death was attempting to joke with her or not.
It wasn't often he brought her good news. Harriet, in any life, had never seen it past her twentieth birthday, and that only happened twice. "It would be nice to get a chance to live and see what it's like to be an actual adult for a change," she mused as their hand stopped moving.
That couldn't be good.
"You have my blessings to procreate if you stop the dark lord of Britain within the next couple years."
And there it is.
Her eyebrows rose and pushed herself up to face Death. "I need your permission for that? I don't remember my sex life being a part of our agreement."
The Deity chuckled, their cliché black robes bouncing up and down with them. "Child, your soul is mine. The Peverell line is mine to do with as I see fit. You weren't ready to create heirs for me to carry on your responsibility to Magic and to me. You are almost ready in this life."
Was this Death's idea of a sick Christmas joke?
"And what, pray tell, would I look for in my ideal partner? Hmm? They will no doubt need to meet some kind of approval from you."
Death's thin lips stretched into an unpracticed smile, showing far more teeth than strictly necessary. "Yes, I will keep a close eye on those I approve of for you. An ideal match will need to know about you and me and all nine lives you've lived. They will need to accept that for what it is. The Peverell name must live on. I demand at least two for this line."
Yes, which meant that she could never change her last name and her heirs would not take their father's name.
"Two…an heir and a spare? Isn't that a little too traditional for you? Harriet and Jasmine were both only children."
Death scoffed, their long fingers tapping their robe covered knee. "Yes, well, look how well that has worked out for me. It is high time that the Peverell family began to expand itself again. The bloodline has gotten too small. You're the only family in Europe serving me right now. I need you to multiply once all the dust settles."
"Why are you telling me this now? I haven't even come into my full powers yet. That won't happen for another eight months."
Death shrugged, his hood obscuring his features. "You, as my master, share some of your humanity with me. A friend of yours is looking for a suitable match. I figured I should tell you your options."
With a sigh she turned to Death. "I have a feeling that children are rather far into the distance at the moment, but I do appreciate that you told me about my options," even though Death shouldn't be controlling her love life.
Notes:School is back in session and I'm already tired.
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~Sugar Phantom