Here's the story I promised you...
“Thanks for letting us stay here, Remus,” Tonks said flirtatiously.
“It’s no problem, just took a lot of sweet talking on my part,” Remus told them amiably.
“Did McGonagall not want us to stay?” Harry asked, his voice listless and distant as it had been since Sirius’ death, sevenfold after Dumbledore was killed.
“Oh, McGonagall had only minor reservations. Jasmine didn’t want you staying,” Remus told them. “Actually, I take that back. Jasmine doesn’t want you here.” He stared pointedly at Tonks.
“What? Why not?” Tonks asked, surprised.
“She doesn’t like you. Don’t take offence,” he added quickly, “she doesn’t like a lot of people. Didn’t even like Dumbledore but she respected him. She always thought, from the day I got my letter and he came to visit, that he was a meddling fool. She’ll still tell you that,” Remus said, eyes distant as though reliving those long lost days.
“Then who does she like?” Harry asked, trying to figure out who the hell Jasmine was, his voice sounding more engaged.
“Umm…well, she liked Sirius, had a crush on him I think, and she adored James, she coddled him and gave him sweets and extra helpings at dinner because she thought he needed to ‘fatten up.’ And she and Lily would go shopping together all the time, and yeah, that’s about it.”
The picture of Jasmine now planted in Harry’s mind was an old or middle-aged, overweight, flour-covered woman. Almost like an older version of Mrs. Weasley.
“Is Jasmine your mother?” Harry asked, thinking of the 60s and 70s with all the hippy girls named after flowers.
“Not by blood, but she’s taken care of me since the day after I was bitten. She’s my Guardian,” Lupin explained to them.
“Guardian-?” Harry started.
“Remmie!”
They all turned to look at the dilapidated cottage just in time for a blonde blur to latch itself onto Remus. Once she was in Remus’ arms she’d stopped moving enough for Harry to see her more clearly. She had waist length, curly blonde hair, a pale, flawless face that resembled porcelain, and big sunglasses. She looked at Remus with worry and despair.
“I was worried that you had been hurt or caught or run off with some woman!” she cried out, burying her face in Remus’ shoulder.
“No you weren’t,” he said with a grin.
She seemed to stop for a moment to think about it. “Yeah, you’re right.” She grinned, her pearly teeth perfectly straight. “Now, where are our guests?”
That seemed to pull Harry out of his daze. He looked over at Tonks to see that she was seething with jealousy. Her now green eyes were glaring at Remus and the woman.
“This is Tonks and Harry,” Remus said, introducing them. “This is Jasmine.”
Jasmine barely spared Tonks a glance before hurrying over to Harry. “Oh, you look just like him. Just as skinny, too, I see. Come in dear, I just finished making some éclairs and brownies.
“You too, Tonks,” she called over her shoulder as she led Harry inside.
Harry was in awe of how such a rundown place could be so…homey. It wasn’t run by magic like the Burrow, but its welcoming air was very similar. Every room was either immaculate or covered in a variety of papers, books, quills, inkpots, and clothes. The smell of chocolate, warm spices, and tea filled the house.
Jasmine was chattering on about various headlines in the newspaper and tid-bits of gossip. Her personality resembled Mrs. Weasley in many ways but his mental image of her had been completely eradicated. As the four of them sat down in the kitchen (which, to Harry, looked like it had just stepped out of one of Aunt Petunia’s Home & Garden magazines), Jasmine turned to Tonks and said bluntly, “You have the air of a magical creature about you. What are you?”
For a moment, Tonks looked like she was going to say something sarcastic but thought better of it. “I’m a Metamorphagus.”
“Really? And Remus mentioned that you were an Auror. It must come in handy,” Jasmine said.
“Yes, it does. But I still get made fun of and manipulated; I’m the butt of a lot of jokes,” Tonks said bitterly.
“I know how you feel. Honestly, you’d think that the magical world would respect me and my power but all they see me as is a pretty and a nice body. Their power is no where near mine. I, the eldest of Nefertiti’s nymphs, am looked down on and laughed at!”
“You’re one of Nefertiti’s nymphs? That makes you centuries older than Merlin!” Harry exclaimed, remembering that one lesson…mainly because Nefertiti and her nymphs were so beautiful. He then remembered a fact that seemed to have stuck around in his mind. “Is that why you wear sunglasses?”
“Alas, yes. My eyes scare people,” she said with a sigh.
“Why? Are they red like Voldemort’s?” Tonks asked.
“No,” Jasmine said. She bowed her head and took off her sunglasses. Her eyes flicked back up to look Tonks dead in the eye.
Tonks gasped. Jasmine’s eyes were pure silver, no pupil except for a thin circle of light green in the area where a pupil should be.
“The green turns black when my charge is in danger and red when I’m in battle or feel threatened,” she told Tonks and Harry.
“Wouldn’t that give you away if you’re trying to hide that sort of information?” Harry asked, remembering his Occulemency lessons with Professor Snape.
“It would if I didn’t know how to disguise them. Once I apply the glamour, the only way to make me remove it, if I’m not willing, is to kill me. Not even the most skilled Legimens could breach my mind or my magic; that’s the way Nefertiti made me,” Jasmine informed them. Meanwhile, Remus was serving tea and éclairs to everyone.
“You don’t need to ask her all of your questions right now; you have all summer,” he commented before his “mother” could go into her memories and lectures.
Jasmine glared at her “son.” “They can ask all the questions they want, Remus,” she said condescendingly. Remus remembered having this exact same conversation with her when James and Sirius were asking her all sorts of questions.
“I didn’t say that they couldn’t ask questions,” Remus said soothingly. “I just said that they didn’t have to ask them all right now.”
“Oh, right,” she said meekly. Then she looked up brightly with as much vigor as before. “But you can still ask me questions! I’m sure you’ll come up with more as the summer goes on.”
“I do have a question,” Harry said. “When I did some extra reading about you and your family, there were several different accounts of how you were born. Some said Nefertiti gave birth to you the same way as humans while others say you just sort of split off from her body, but they all said you were born too early.”
“I don’t believe I’ve heard this story before,” Remus said to his Guardian as he sat down.
“Well, let’s see here,” Jasmine said before pausing in thought. “I was born three months too early, but both types of birth you described were completely wrong. My sisters and I were born from nature. Marina was born from the water of the Nile, Ardora was born from the trunk of the mightiest tree in Egypt, Aerie was born from a cloud, and I myself was born from a thatch of jasmine. Mother placed our essences, which are split off from her aura and spirit, into those different elements. Unfortunately for me, a warm spring came early and my thatch bloomed before it was supposed to which in turn gave birth to me. My mother felt the disturbance and rushed to me. I was almost completely raw magic; I still had three months of incubation to develop my humanity. The other gods gave me thirty days before my magic and immaturity killed me. However, obviously, due to my mother and my own stubbornness I stayed alive…”
Harry looked around himself in awe. He stood outdoors under a clear, bright sky. The air was warm and heavy with the scent of various tropical flowers. Clean, fine sand shifted beneath his feet. A cool breeze blew through the cluster of palm trees surrounding him. He hear soft crying somewhere to his right and turned toward it as though in a dream Soon a strong gale of wind came bursting through the small oasis. A soft shushing sound reached his ears. His spectral form walked through a thick row of trees into another clearing. A beautiful woman with rich bronze skin and long black hair was cradling and stroking an ivory and gold bundle. The form shifted and Harry saw it was a body. He glanced around quickly, noticing that most of the clearing was filled with the delicate white flowers of jasmine. He watched as the dark woman wrapped the body in a swath of crinkled gold cotton. The iridescent fabric wrapped the girl up like a cocoon. The woman he assumed was Nefertiti swept Jasmine up in her arms. Harry followed them out of the oasis and was completely gob-smacked by what lay beyond.
Pyramids, soaring hundreds, no thousands of feet into the air were stretched out along a great valley. Another was being built at the far end; he was in the Valley of the Kings! Suddenly, a small whirlwind ensconced him and the women and a moment later Harry felt his feet touch down on something solid.
He now stood in an airy hallway. There were arched windows that were open to a courtyard on one side of him and a golden sandstone wall on the other. The breeze coming through the arches cooled the red tiles and ruffled the fronds of the potted palms that were placed along the hallway.
Harry followed Nefertiti through a gauzy curtain into a large, exotic bedroom. Nefertiti carefully placed Jasmine down on the red comforter and went into an adjoining room. With the goddess out of the way, he could finally see her clearly. Jasmine lay curled up on the comforter, her skin striking against the scarlet silk. She lay, quivering with occasional bolts of electricity crackling down her arms and fingers. Her crying had stopped and she was now in a deep sleep. Nefertiti glided back into the room with various jars. One he recognized as aloe, another filled with various incenses. She set the jars down on a table and was soon spreading all sorts of creams pulpices, and salves on Jasmine’s milky skin.
Harry looked around in confusion. He was back, sitting in the kitchen chair. He noticed that Tonks looked as confused as he felt.
“Oops, sorry about that,” Jasmine giggled. “That happens whenever I go into my memories; it’s a side-effect of my magic.”
“That was amazing,” Tonks breathed. “It was like you were actually in Ancient Egypt!”
“My magic pulls you into my memories, a bit like a pensive. It’s pretty cool when I’m captured by the enemy and I send them into Ancient Egypt, or Greece, or Japan, or South America. It always gives me a chance to escape. But the time the memory’s over, I’m long gone.” Jasmine was now it fits of giggles.
Remus rolled his eyes. “I will never understand why you find that so funny,” he said with a chuckle.
“Oh, like you never found setting off fireworks in a condensed space, namely the Slytherin common room, amusing?” she asked skeptically.
“On occasion, yes,” Remus said regretfully. Jasmine was about to say something but Remus cut her off. “But! But I didn’t enjoy it as much as James and Sirius.”
“Oh yeah,” the blonde said thoughtfully. “Weren’t most of your boyfriends Slytherins?”
Harry choked on his tea and Tonks fell off her chair.
“Mum! I haven’t told them yet!” Remus cried, helping Tonks off the floor.
“What? Why not? It’s nothing to be ashamed of!” she cried indignantly. “I can’t believe you and Sirius never came out. Did you tell anyone?”
“Dumbledore knew-” Remus started.
“Of course Dumbledore knew!” Jasmine interrupted. “You shagged practically every gay Quidditch player and prefect under the meddling old fool’s roof!”
“Too much information,” Harry coughed. A sudden thought dawned on him. “You never shagged my dad, did you?”
A look of horror crossed Remus’ face. “Harry, never in my life have I heard a suggestion as disgusting as that! And trust me, I’ve heard a lot.”
Jasmine fell off her chair, laughing her head off. “You-and James-together!” she said between chuckles and giggles.
“It’s not funny!” Remus yelled.
“Is that why you wouldn’t go out with me?” Tonks asked quietly.
That sobered Jasmine up. “What are you talking about, girl?” she asked in a deathly quiet voice.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Remus said quietly.
“To hell it’s nothing to worry about! Why didn’t you tell me?” Jasmine hissed, her eyes taking on a dark red hue.
“I don’t have to tell you everything! You’re not my mother!” Remus snapped.
Jasmine froze, looking as though she had been struck. She looked down, blinking rapidly. She nodded wordlessly, picked up her tea cup, and walked out of the room.
“Mum…” Remus called out, a pleading, exasperated tone to his voice. His only response was the sound of a door slamming shut upstairs.
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Remus sighed.
“No, let me,” Harry said, standing up. At Remus’ questioning glance he explained, “Mrs. Weasley and Sirius used to fight over me all the time; you remember. I’ll make her understand your position.”
Harry cautiously went up the stairs. He appeared in a narrow hallway. At first he was scared that he wouldn’t find her room but then he noticed that all the doors, except for two at the end of the hallway, were open. As he went toward them he looked into the open rooms and found a muggle office, a sitting room, a bathroom, and three bedrooms, one of which contained Harry’s trunk.
He knocked on the first closed door.
“What?” a muffled voice sniffled from inside.
“It’s Harry,” he called.
There was shuffling from within and then the door opened. A slightly disheveled Jasmine stood there with tear filled eyes. She opened the door for him to come in before going back to her bed. She buried herself in the big, fluffy down comforter.
“Did he send you up here?” she asked softly.
“No, I came up of my own accord. I’ve sorta been through this a few times,” he responded.
“Really?”
“Yeah, Sirius and Mrs. Weasley would fight over me all the time.”
“What sort of things would they say?”
“Well, their arguments usually started out as something petty which I was soon pulled into and then they would go along the lines of ‘I’m his godfather!’ ‘Well, where have you been all these years, eh?’ ‘You’re not his mother!’ ‘I’m the best he’s got!’ ‘He has me!’ ‘Only when you’re not in prison!’” Harry said, impersonating Sirius and Molly.
Jasmine winced. “That sounds horrible. When would they do it? After you’d gone to bed?”
“Maybe. The times I heard them was at dinner and when we were decontaminating Grimmauld Place,” he said bitterly.
“Cleaning up Grimmauld Place? That’s near impossible; it’s not just the house that’s dirty, it’s the whole magical aura around the house. Malfoy and Riddle Manors are similar. When you use too much dark magic it starts to affect the air around a place; makes everything dark, dirty, no matter how much you wash it. Why do you think Knockturn Alley is so dark? Only some hardcore crystal cleansing could make those places truly habitable,” she said darkly, gesturing for Harry to sit with her. He toed off his shoes and padded over to the bed. The next hour was spent with them just talking about various things: Remus, Hogwarts, Voldemort, and Quidditch among other things. Harry was just starting to get drowsy, the tale Jasmine was spinning was so relaxing when a panicked shriek rang through the house. Jasmine was up in an instant, going into the hall and through the other closed door. She came out a few moments with a small bundle in her arms. She laid back down on the bed, setting the blanket-wrapped bundle next to her. She waved her hand and heavy black-out curtains were drawn across the windows. Another wave and numerous candles flickered to life around the room. A soft knock came at the door, Remus poked his head in.
“Is she alright?” he asked softly, sensing that he was forgiven for his earlier offence.
“Yes, it was just a nightmare,” Jasmine told him.
“She’ll be up in half an hour. Do you want me to heat her up something to eat?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’ll take her hunting tomorrow,” Jasmine sighed.
The bundle rolled over, cuddling against Harry. The blanket shifted, revealing a little girl, barely 4 years old by the look of her. Her face was deathly pale and smooth, reminiscent of a porcelain doll. He smiled softly and stroked her midnight black hair. She shifted softly, nuzzling his thigh.
Harry felt eyes on him. He looked up from the beautiful toddler to see Jasmine watching him. She smiled sadly.
“Watch out with her, she bites,” she whispered. Harry raised an eyebrow, not understanding. “She was turned a few weeks ago. She’s always hungry, not used to her new teeth, and gnawing on everything. She’s gotten so bad that we have to give her a piece of wood, like a rodent.”
“What is she?” he asked.
“A vampire.”
“A vampire?”
“Yes. She’s my newest charge,” she said, gathering the girl in her arms. “My new companion for all eternity.”
“Who turned her?” he whispered, shocked that someone so young was a vampire.
“Some lowly minion of a vampire clan in Russia. He’s been arrested and is going to be executed soon. Now, if only I could get Greyback killed, I’d have nothing to worry about,” Jasmine said, probably to herself.
“Greyback? Doesn’t he work for-”
“Voldemort, yes. He’s the one that bit Remus. I plan on killing him myself,” she said darkly, her eyes turning scarlet at the thought.
Harry was about to comment when the little girl stirred in Jasmine’s arms, yawning widely which showed off her little fangs.
“Hello, Rivka,” Jasmine said with a warm, gentle smile.
“Привет, мать,” the little girl whispered, lisping slightly. (1)
A/N: Ok, that’s all I’ve written so far. Is it good? Should I continue? Should I post it on a community or FFN? Tell me in your comments.
(1) привет, мать-Hello, Mother (it’s Russian for those of you who didn’t read the story)
“It’s no problem, just took a lot of sweet talking on my part,” Remus told them amiably.
“Did McGonagall not want us to stay?” Harry asked, his voice listless and distant as it had been since Sirius’ death, sevenfold after Dumbledore was killed.
“Oh, McGonagall had only minor reservations. Jasmine didn’t want you staying,” Remus told them. “Actually, I take that back. Jasmine doesn’t want you here.” He stared pointedly at Tonks.
“What? Why not?” Tonks asked, surprised.
“She doesn’t like you. Don’t take offence,” he added quickly, “she doesn’t like a lot of people. Didn’t even like Dumbledore but she respected him. She always thought, from the day I got my letter and he came to visit, that he was a meddling fool. She’ll still tell you that,” Remus said, eyes distant as though reliving those long lost days.
“Then who does she like?” Harry asked, trying to figure out who the hell Jasmine was, his voice sounding more engaged.
“Umm…well, she liked Sirius, had a crush on him I think, and she adored James, she coddled him and gave him sweets and extra helpings at dinner because she thought he needed to ‘fatten up.’ And she and Lily would go shopping together all the time, and yeah, that’s about it.”
The picture of Jasmine now planted in Harry’s mind was an old or middle-aged, overweight, flour-covered woman. Almost like an older version of Mrs. Weasley.
“Is Jasmine your mother?” Harry asked, thinking of the 60s and 70s with all the hippy girls named after flowers.
“Not by blood, but she’s taken care of me since the day after I was bitten. She’s my Guardian,” Lupin explained to them.
“Guardian-?” Harry started.
“Remmie!”
They all turned to look at the dilapidated cottage just in time for a blonde blur to latch itself onto Remus. Once she was in Remus’ arms she’d stopped moving enough for Harry to see her more clearly. She had waist length, curly blonde hair, a pale, flawless face that resembled porcelain, and big sunglasses. She looked at Remus with worry and despair.
“I was worried that you had been hurt or caught or run off with some woman!” she cried out, burying her face in Remus’ shoulder.
“No you weren’t,” he said with a grin.
She seemed to stop for a moment to think about it. “Yeah, you’re right.” She grinned, her pearly teeth perfectly straight. “Now, where are our guests?”
That seemed to pull Harry out of his daze. He looked over at Tonks to see that she was seething with jealousy. Her now green eyes were glaring at Remus and the woman.
“This is Tonks and Harry,” Remus said, introducing them. “This is Jasmine.”
Jasmine barely spared Tonks a glance before hurrying over to Harry. “Oh, you look just like him. Just as skinny, too, I see. Come in dear, I just finished making some éclairs and brownies.
“You too, Tonks,” she called over her shoulder as she led Harry inside.
Harry was in awe of how such a rundown place could be so…homey. It wasn’t run by magic like the Burrow, but its welcoming air was very similar. Every room was either immaculate or covered in a variety of papers, books, quills, inkpots, and clothes. The smell of chocolate, warm spices, and tea filled the house.
Jasmine was chattering on about various headlines in the newspaper and tid-bits of gossip. Her personality resembled Mrs. Weasley in many ways but his mental image of her had been completely eradicated. As the four of them sat down in the kitchen (which, to Harry, looked like it had just stepped out of one of Aunt Petunia’s Home & Garden magazines), Jasmine turned to Tonks and said bluntly, “You have the air of a magical creature about you. What are you?”
For a moment, Tonks looked like she was going to say something sarcastic but thought better of it. “I’m a Metamorphagus.”
“Really? And Remus mentioned that you were an Auror. It must come in handy,” Jasmine said.
“Yes, it does. But I still get made fun of and manipulated; I’m the butt of a lot of jokes,” Tonks said bitterly.
“I know how you feel. Honestly, you’d think that the magical world would respect me and my power but all they see me as is a pretty and a nice body. Their power is no where near mine. I, the eldest of Nefertiti’s nymphs, am looked down on and laughed at!”
“You’re one of Nefertiti’s nymphs? That makes you centuries older than Merlin!” Harry exclaimed, remembering that one lesson…mainly because Nefertiti and her nymphs were so beautiful. He then remembered a fact that seemed to have stuck around in his mind. “Is that why you wear sunglasses?”
“Alas, yes. My eyes scare people,” she said with a sigh.
“Why? Are they red like Voldemort’s?” Tonks asked.
“No,” Jasmine said. She bowed her head and took off her sunglasses. Her eyes flicked back up to look Tonks dead in the eye.
Tonks gasped. Jasmine’s eyes were pure silver, no pupil except for a thin circle of light green in the area where a pupil should be.
“The green turns black when my charge is in danger and red when I’m in battle or feel threatened,” she told Tonks and Harry.
“Wouldn’t that give you away if you’re trying to hide that sort of information?” Harry asked, remembering his Occulemency lessons with Professor Snape.
“It would if I didn’t know how to disguise them. Once I apply the glamour, the only way to make me remove it, if I’m not willing, is to kill me. Not even the most skilled Legimens could breach my mind or my magic; that’s the way Nefertiti made me,” Jasmine informed them. Meanwhile, Remus was serving tea and éclairs to everyone.
“You don’t need to ask her all of your questions right now; you have all summer,” he commented before his “mother” could go into her memories and lectures.
Jasmine glared at her “son.” “They can ask all the questions they want, Remus,” she said condescendingly. Remus remembered having this exact same conversation with her when James and Sirius were asking her all sorts of questions.
“I didn’t say that they couldn’t ask questions,” Remus said soothingly. “I just said that they didn’t have to ask them all right now.”
“Oh, right,” she said meekly. Then she looked up brightly with as much vigor as before. “But you can still ask me questions! I’m sure you’ll come up with more as the summer goes on.”
“I do have a question,” Harry said. “When I did some extra reading about you and your family, there were several different accounts of how you were born. Some said Nefertiti gave birth to you the same way as humans while others say you just sort of split off from her body, but they all said you were born too early.”
“I don’t believe I’ve heard this story before,” Remus said to his Guardian as he sat down.
“Well, let’s see here,” Jasmine said before pausing in thought. “I was born three months too early, but both types of birth you described were completely wrong. My sisters and I were born from nature. Marina was born from the water of the Nile, Ardora was born from the trunk of the mightiest tree in Egypt, Aerie was born from a cloud, and I myself was born from a thatch of jasmine. Mother placed our essences, which are split off from her aura and spirit, into those different elements. Unfortunately for me, a warm spring came early and my thatch bloomed before it was supposed to which in turn gave birth to me. My mother felt the disturbance and rushed to me. I was almost completely raw magic; I still had three months of incubation to develop my humanity. The other gods gave me thirty days before my magic and immaturity killed me. However, obviously, due to my mother and my own stubbornness I stayed alive…”
Harry looked around himself in awe. He stood outdoors under a clear, bright sky. The air was warm and heavy with the scent of various tropical flowers. Clean, fine sand shifted beneath his feet. A cool breeze blew through the cluster of palm trees surrounding him. He hear soft crying somewhere to his right and turned toward it as though in a dream Soon a strong gale of wind came bursting through the small oasis. A soft shushing sound reached his ears. His spectral form walked through a thick row of trees into another clearing. A beautiful woman with rich bronze skin and long black hair was cradling and stroking an ivory and gold bundle. The form shifted and Harry saw it was a body. He glanced around quickly, noticing that most of the clearing was filled with the delicate white flowers of jasmine. He watched as the dark woman wrapped the body in a swath of crinkled gold cotton. The iridescent fabric wrapped the girl up like a cocoon. The woman he assumed was Nefertiti swept Jasmine up in her arms. Harry followed them out of the oasis and was completely gob-smacked by what lay beyond.
Pyramids, soaring hundreds, no thousands of feet into the air were stretched out along a great valley. Another was being built at the far end; he was in the Valley of the Kings! Suddenly, a small whirlwind ensconced him and the women and a moment later Harry felt his feet touch down on something solid.
He now stood in an airy hallway. There were arched windows that were open to a courtyard on one side of him and a golden sandstone wall on the other. The breeze coming through the arches cooled the red tiles and ruffled the fronds of the potted palms that were placed along the hallway.
Harry followed Nefertiti through a gauzy curtain into a large, exotic bedroom. Nefertiti carefully placed Jasmine down on the red comforter and went into an adjoining room. With the goddess out of the way, he could finally see her clearly. Jasmine lay curled up on the comforter, her skin striking against the scarlet silk. She lay, quivering with occasional bolts of electricity crackling down her arms and fingers. Her crying had stopped and she was now in a deep sleep. Nefertiti glided back into the room with various jars. One he recognized as aloe, another filled with various incenses. She set the jars down on a table and was soon spreading all sorts of creams pulpices, and salves on Jasmine’s milky skin.
Harry looked around in confusion. He was back, sitting in the kitchen chair. He noticed that Tonks looked as confused as he felt.
“Oops, sorry about that,” Jasmine giggled. “That happens whenever I go into my memories; it’s a side-effect of my magic.”
“That was amazing,” Tonks breathed. “It was like you were actually in Ancient Egypt!”
“My magic pulls you into my memories, a bit like a pensive. It’s pretty cool when I’m captured by the enemy and I send them into Ancient Egypt, or Greece, or Japan, or South America. It always gives me a chance to escape. But the time the memory’s over, I’m long gone.” Jasmine was now it fits of giggles.
Remus rolled his eyes. “I will never understand why you find that so funny,” he said with a chuckle.
“Oh, like you never found setting off fireworks in a condensed space, namely the Slytherin common room, amusing?” she asked skeptically.
“On occasion, yes,” Remus said regretfully. Jasmine was about to say something but Remus cut her off. “But! But I didn’t enjoy it as much as James and Sirius.”
“Oh yeah,” the blonde said thoughtfully. “Weren’t most of your boyfriends Slytherins?”
Harry choked on his tea and Tonks fell off her chair.
“Mum! I haven’t told them yet!” Remus cried, helping Tonks off the floor.
“What? Why not? It’s nothing to be ashamed of!” she cried indignantly. “I can’t believe you and Sirius never came out. Did you tell anyone?”
“Dumbledore knew-” Remus started.
“Of course Dumbledore knew!” Jasmine interrupted. “You shagged practically every gay Quidditch player and prefect under the meddling old fool’s roof!”
“Too much information,” Harry coughed. A sudden thought dawned on him. “You never shagged my dad, did you?”
A look of horror crossed Remus’ face. “Harry, never in my life have I heard a suggestion as disgusting as that! And trust me, I’ve heard a lot.”
Jasmine fell off her chair, laughing her head off. “You-and James-together!” she said between chuckles and giggles.
“It’s not funny!” Remus yelled.
“Is that why you wouldn’t go out with me?” Tonks asked quietly.
That sobered Jasmine up. “What are you talking about, girl?” she asked in a deathly quiet voice.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Remus said quietly.
“To hell it’s nothing to worry about! Why didn’t you tell me?” Jasmine hissed, her eyes taking on a dark red hue.
“I don’t have to tell you everything! You’re not my mother!” Remus snapped.
Jasmine froze, looking as though she had been struck. She looked down, blinking rapidly. She nodded wordlessly, picked up her tea cup, and walked out of the room.
“Mum…” Remus called out, a pleading, exasperated tone to his voice. His only response was the sound of a door slamming shut upstairs.
“I’m going to go talk to her,” Remus sighed.
“No, let me,” Harry said, standing up. At Remus’ questioning glance he explained, “Mrs. Weasley and Sirius used to fight over me all the time; you remember. I’ll make her understand your position.”
Harry cautiously went up the stairs. He appeared in a narrow hallway. At first he was scared that he wouldn’t find her room but then he noticed that all the doors, except for two at the end of the hallway, were open. As he went toward them he looked into the open rooms and found a muggle office, a sitting room, a bathroom, and three bedrooms, one of which contained Harry’s trunk.
He knocked on the first closed door.
“What?” a muffled voice sniffled from inside.
“It’s Harry,” he called.
There was shuffling from within and then the door opened. A slightly disheveled Jasmine stood there with tear filled eyes. She opened the door for him to come in before going back to her bed. She buried herself in the big, fluffy down comforter.
“Did he send you up here?” she asked softly.
“No, I came up of my own accord. I’ve sorta been through this a few times,” he responded.
“Really?”
“Yeah, Sirius and Mrs. Weasley would fight over me all the time.”
“What sort of things would they say?”
“Well, their arguments usually started out as something petty which I was soon pulled into and then they would go along the lines of ‘I’m his godfather!’ ‘Well, where have you been all these years, eh?’ ‘You’re not his mother!’ ‘I’m the best he’s got!’ ‘He has me!’ ‘Only when you’re not in prison!’” Harry said, impersonating Sirius and Molly.
Jasmine winced. “That sounds horrible. When would they do it? After you’d gone to bed?”
“Maybe. The times I heard them was at dinner and when we were decontaminating Grimmauld Place,” he said bitterly.
“Cleaning up Grimmauld Place? That’s near impossible; it’s not just the house that’s dirty, it’s the whole magical aura around the house. Malfoy and Riddle Manors are similar. When you use too much dark magic it starts to affect the air around a place; makes everything dark, dirty, no matter how much you wash it. Why do you think Knockturn Alley is so dark? Only some hardcore crystal cleansing could make those places truly habitable,” she said darkly, gesturing for Harry to sit with her. He toed off his shoes and padded over to the bed. The next hour was spent with them just talking about various things: Remus, Hogwarts, Voldemort, and Quidditch among other things. Harry was just starting to get drowsy, the tale Jasmine was spinning was so relaxing when a panicked shriek rang through the house. Jasmine was up in an instant, going into the hall and through the other closed door. She came out a few moments with a small bundle in her arms. She laid back down on the bed, setting the blanket-wrapped bundle next to her. She waved her hand and heavy black-out curtains were drawn across the windows. Another wave and numerous candles flickered to life around the room. A soft knock came at the door, Remus poked his head in.
“Is she alright?” he asked softly, sensing that he was forgiven for his earlier offence.
“Yes, it was just a nightmare,” Jasmine told him.
“She’ll be up in half an hour. Do you want me to heat her up something to eat?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’ll take her hunting tomorrow,” Jasmine sighed.
The bundle rolled over, cuddling against Harry. The blanket shifted, revealing a little girl, barely 4 years old by the look of her. Her face was deathly pale and smooth, reminiscent of a porcelain doll. He smiled softly and stroked her midnight black hair. She shifted softly, nuzzling his thigh.
Harry felt eyes on him. He looked up from the beautiful toddler to see Jasmine watching him. She smiled sadly.
“Watch out with her, she bites,” she whispered. Harry raised an eyebrow, not understanding. “She was turned a few weeks ago. She’s always hungry, not used to her new teeth, and gnawing on everything. She’s gotten so bad that we have to give her a piece of wood, like a rodent.”
“What is she?” he asked.
“A vampire.”
“A vampire?”
“Yes. She’s my newest charge,” she said, gathering the girl in her arms. “My new companion for all eternity.”
“Who turned her?” he whispered, shocked that someone so young was a vampire.
“Some lowly minion of a vampire clan in Russia. He’s been arrested and is going to be executed soon. Now, if only I could get Greyback killed, I’d have nothing to worry about,” Jasmine said, probably to herself.
“Greyback? Doesn’t he work for-”
“Voldemort, yes. He’s the one that bit Remus. I plan on killing him myself,” she said darkly, her eyes turning scarlet at the thought.
Harry was about to comment when the little girl stirred in Jasmine’s arms, yawning widely which showed off her little fangs.
“Hello, Rivka,” Jasmine said with a warm, gentle smile.
“Привет, мать,” the little girl whispered, lisping slightly. (1)
A/N: Ok, that’s all I’ve written so far. Is it good? Should I continue? Should I post it on a community or FFN? Tell me in your comments.
(1) привет, мать-Hello, Mother (it’s Russian for those of you who didn’t read the story)