Chapter 61: Chapter 61Summary:Teen drama time!
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 61
Wardmaster Weston had left Jasmine with quite a bit to think over. This was a once in a lifetime offer…magical apprenticeships weren't something someone just turned down. The Marauders of them had been waiting by the exit. Remus was holding Sirius and James back by their clothing as they danced from foot to foot waiting for Jasmine to make her way over to them.
The power from the runes still lingered and Jasmine didn't want to trip any of them. Just in case this was some sort of post interview test.
"How did it go?" Remus asked as he let go of the other boys' cloaks with a shrug, as if holding both Sirius and James back was nothing.
Jasmine gave a small laugh as they straightened themselves with whatever little bit of dignity they could scrape together. "I got the job…if I want it. I have a couple months to make my decision."
Sirius readjusted his tie and frowned. His gaze lingered on the where the wardmaster had been sitting only a moment before. "Why wouldn't you take a guaranteed job for after graduation? Did he say something to you?"
"That's just it. It isn't a job for after graduation. I'd have to take my NEWTs while I interned and then I'd start with a real position once Weston feels I'm ready. The only thing is that the internship doesn't end when school starts. I would have to self-study while I traveled the world with him and his wife," Jasmine explained rubbing the back of her neck.
"You'd need to drop out of school then?" James clarified, pushing his wire glasses up his nose.
Remus let out a frustrated sigh. "It isn't dropping out, Prongs. She isn't going to stop going to school all together. Jazz still needs to take her NEWTs and it is obvious that Weston is going to make sure she does. He isn't likely to let her take over the position he has in mind unless they are very high marks. She just won't be at Hogwarts with us, which would be extremely upsetting, but this is a great opportunity and it would be criminal if we didn't support Jazz in whatever she decides to do," Remus snapped at his two friends, his amber eyes lingering on Sirius, who looked mutinous with his arms crossed, not making eye contact.
She always found it ironic that Sirius had always been considered the most adaptable of the Marauders. Jasmine had always felt that he was the least suited to change out of the three of them. Sirius liked things a certain way and that was it. He could eventually be persuaded to see something differently, but that was only up until a certain point, otherwise he was stubborn as anything.
They walked back to the castle in relative silence. Jasmine was left to her thoughts while Sirius and Remus were having a glaring contest over her head, where they thought she couldn't see them acting like absolute children. James would roll his eyes occasionally and make it a point to look at her, which she would respond in the same way.
It was odd to think that an early apprenticeship would be an option for her. She had never been offered any kind of apprenticeship in her other nine lifetimes and she had been the girl who lived. Though, many, if not all, of the masters that took on apprentices during Harriet's time had been out of the United Kingdom. Not many wanted to stay with a dark lord running rampant, again. It was one of the reason's that Slughorn had disappeared and hidden himself away during the wars and why both Dumbledore and Voldemort wanted Snape so badly.
Voldemort would do just about anything to get his hands on a potion, ward or spellcraft master…well it was more like any person with an accredited magical mastery and a properly functioning body. Nearly all of them had been killed or left the continent, not to return. She hadn't heard of the Weston family in Harriet's time, but then again, they were more than likely dead. The only thing that she knew about them was that they were from a pureblood line. She recognized the name associated with the Black family a couple hundred years ago, but she never really researched them.
She would need to ask Theo and Blaise about them. They would know a bit more on pureblood family trees than she did. There were somethings that they were just born knowing compared her multiple muggle upbringings. Blaise also had extensive knowledge of French and Italian magical houses, which was no doubt, going to be very helpful, if the three of them could be on the same continent for more than two weeks out of the year.
Sirius and Remus continued to argue the entire afternoon, even after Jasmine had kindly told them to knock it off as she went to get some homework done with Lily in the common room. She had a couple months to decide and she was going to weigh the pros and the cons. There was no use fighting about it, this was her decision and hers alone.
"Honestly, you'd think they were never going to see you again," Lily muttered at their favorite table near the fireplace. The two of them were watching the irate Marauders snap at each other over their charm papers.
"To be fair, it is an entire year and my presence seems to brighten their day. Also, Sirius isn't the biggest fan of change. I'm a close friend and he doesn't have too many of those as the Black Heir."
Jasmine fixed a spelling mistake on her paper with a small wave of her wand.
Lily scrunched up her nose at the last comment. "Well, that's stupid. I get that he's upset that you're going to be moving on bigger and better things without him. He should be happy for you. You're going to be traveling all over the world to help a wardmaster and learn everything he has to offer and yet he's complaining that you aren't going to be here to deal with high school drama and help him pick a wife."
Jasmine had to hold back a wince. She had forgotten about that. She'd need to speak to Cassiopeia during their Christmas Party. Cassiopeia probably had a good idea on who Sirius should be paired with, which is more than likely who he was going to avoid like the plague.
That boy treats responsibility like a disease.
"I think he doesn't want me leaving because he's a close friend. The whole picking potential wives thing is something separate. There are already three young women writing back to him. It isn't like there isn't different forms of magic communication devices out there for us to use," Jasmine responded as she fixed another error on her essay.
When Lily didn't respond right away, Jasmine looked over to see her friend staring at James, who had his head in his hands watching his two best mates argue. He looked tired and drawn out, but there was a fond smile on his face when he turned away.
Lily was biting her lower lip, which was something she did before she made a gutsy decision.
"Lily, what-"
Jasmine was interrupted by Lily jumping up from her seat and marching over to James with a determined look on her face. James went from stressed over his friends fighting to positively terrified of the red head in front of him.
They hadn't gotten into too many arguments over the past few months. There hadn't been any hexing and the Marauders, while still causing quite a bit of trouble, stayed out of detention for the most part.
"Can I do something for you, Evans?"
Sirius and Remus had stopped arguing to watch what was about unfold into a potentially worse argument than the one they were having.
Lily's face was turning a bright pink, not her usual angry flaming red. The entire common room had gone quiet. "Yes, you can accompany me to Hogsmeade next weekend. We leave at eleven. Don't be late. You only get one chance," she replied before swiftly making her exit up the stairs to the girl's dorm.
Holy Merlin.
This was actually happening.
A pin could have been dropped in the common room before cheer erupted. James was just sitting on the sofa and staring at the spot Lily had been just a moment before. Remus and Sirius were hugging each other jumping up and down The poor boy was stunned.
"Bloody hell," Sirius breathed, his anger forgotten as he wiggled his eyebrows at Jasmine. Jasmine rolled her eyes, but got up and made her way over to her cousin and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
This seemed to ground him. His stunned silence didn't last long. He jumped up a moment later, ran to the foot of the stairs and shouted, "See you there, Evans!"
She didn't respond, Lily was more than likely dying of embarrassment in their dorm room, but James was hopping around the common room whooping with joy. Sirius and Remus were linked arm and arm doing some kind of jig and the rest of the common room had started gossiping excitedly.
Lily Evans and James Potter actually going out on a date? Jasmine saw a few galleons being exchanged, a few moments later. Sirius had a piece of parchment floating in front of him as he was calling out totals and names. "And the winner of the long-standing bet on when Prongs and Lily would finally go on a date is…. drum roll, Moony," Sirius began as Remus drummed his hands on the coffee table in front of him, "Andrea Gates! You were the closest by about two days, give or take an hour or two. By far the closest guess out of everyone else. I thought they were going to get together sometime next year."
Jasmine nearly choked at that admission. She had altered the timeline again. She had accelerated Lily and James' relationship by an entire year. Jasmine was nervous as to what that would change in the timeline. It would certainly be interesting to see how Lily and James' relationship progressed.
James was off to the side with a dopy smile on his face. She hadn't seen her cousin this happy in months. Jasmine shook her head, collected Lily's papers and books of the tables near the fire and trudged up the stairs to their dorm room. As much as she'd love to celebrate with the rest of Gryffindor, Jasmine would much rather talk to Lily and find out what she was thinking, just approaching James and asking him out of the blue like that.
When she reached the door, it was shut and Jasmine could sense a locking spell with some kind of jinx on the knob. Jasmine kicked the door. "Lils, open up. I have my hands full with your stuff. Hurry before anyone starts demanding details."
The door cracked open a sliver, which was just enough space for Jasmine to nudge it the rest of the way open with her foot before squeezing in and slamming it shut once more. She heard the locking charm click behind her before she turned to see her roommate buried under her covers with her favorite comforter thrown over her head.
Jasmine sat on the edge of her bed. "Do you mind telling me what that was about or do I need to guess?"
Lily groaned and popped her head out, red curls bouncing around her face. "He stopped asking me out last year, so I thought I should I asked him…I don't know. I made a fool of myself, everyone was watching."
Jasmine held back a laugh, it certainly wasn't going to help her with her roommate's more volatile temperament, but it wasn't often that Jasmine got to see Lily so flustered. "James said yes. He's going to go on the date with you. I don't see why you're so concerned that he said no. The bloke has been asking you out on dates for the better part of three years," she replied, patting her friend's leg gently. Her lavender colored blanket shuffling around as she moved.
The rest of Lily slowly appeared out from under the comforter. Her green eyes were wide as she fidgeted with her hands. "I always assumed he didn't actually want to go out with me. I thought he just liked the idea of going out with me. You know, how he just wanted what he couldn't have. When he stopped asking me out, I assumed he'd finally realized that I wasn't going to give into him, but instead, you came along and he grew up and then I missed him asking me out on dates every few days. Merlin, that makes me sound so shallow."
It did, but then again, Lily was only sixteen. She would hopefully have her entire life ahead of her to grow into a mature young woman. "It sounds like you had a crush on him nearly as long as he had a crush on you, but you didn't want to act on your feelings till he decided to become a better person. It's a bit shallow to think that you were too good for him, James is by no means perfect, but he still has feelings. He is also my cousin and as such, if you hurt him, you not only have to deal with Sirius and Remus, but you will be dealing with my wrath."
"I didn't realize that I had a crush on him until I saw him with you. I know that you're related, but it was odd seeing him so friendly with another girl and then I just got really angry at you. Alice had no idea what was wrong with me for the longest time. I think that Marlene knew…she didn't say anything, but she kept giving me these weird looks. I'm glad that I pulled my head out of my arse and got to know you better."
"Well, I'm glad that you didn't stay jealous. I would be missing one of my best friends if you were still angry with me. Not to mention that you would more than likely be making my life miserable with Marlene, who is still obsessed with making the most ridiculous rumors up about me."
Lily wrinkled her nose at the mention of Marlene's gossiping habits. "Marlene has a lot of trouble keeping her mouth shut. Alice and I try to stop her. We really do and I'm sorry that Marlene is getting away with spreading those rumors, but it doesn't help that you are close friends with all three Marauders."
Jasmine let out a long sigh, Marlene's obsession with romance in regard to the Marauders, more specifically Sirius, was going to bite her in the arse eventually. The Black family won't take her meddling lightly. Jasmine let herself grin, imagining what Cassiopeia would do to her. Oh, it would be a glorious demise for her.
Her roommate was fidgeting with her sheets. She felt that she needed to lay some ground rules for Lily. "Regardless of Marlene's innate talent to notice when someone is pining aside, are you going to go through with the date with James? If you break his heart, I will not be responsible for what happens. You might be my best friend, but I will not tolerate you playing around with James' emotions."
Lily bit her lip. "I wasn't expecting a shovel talk from you."
She pulled the blanket out of Lily's hand and gave her a stern glare. "James is basically my brother and I would do just about anything to see my family happy. Monty is too nice to give any kind of shovel talk and Euphemia is too busy. James really likes you, don't mess this up, Lily."
Lily groaned and rolled over on her bed, one green eye peeking out from under a pillow. "I don't plan on messing anything up, Jasmine. I really don't. We've been getting along and when he isn't being a prat, he's not awful to be around."
"As long as you're honestly going to try, I don't think he'll mind all that much. Though the next Hogsmeade trip is the day after my meeting, which you're attending with me. We need to give the Wizengamot, the results of the inheritance potion and truly horrify all the purebloods present."
Lily snorted, red hair splayed around her head, "I hope we make them squirm."
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Fingers crossed for regular updates to this!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 62: Chapter 62Summary:The long awaited Wizengamot meeting...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 62
Naturally, it was pouring the morning of Wizengamot meeting. Lily and Jasmine were in their best robes as they approached the floo in the Headmaster's office. It was bound to be a long afternoon and Jasmine wasn't really looking forward to it. Being questioned by the entire Wizengamot wasn't something she really ever enjoyed. At least she wasn't on trial this time…
Dumbledore would be accompanying them, seeing as he presides over the meetings. Dumbledore was wearing hideous mauve robes, but neither Jasmine nor Lily said anything about how it clashed with not only his hair, but Lily's. Speaking of her roommate, she was wringing out her robes between her hands. Jasmine had her research papers, books and blood samples in her canvas bag, which was situated under her left arm.
Jasmine was shifting from foot to foot as they waited for Dumbledore to prep the floo. Honestly, Lily seemed terrified, her eyes moving around the room, but not really focusing on anything in particular. She had good reason to be afraid, these people had the ability to ruin her future if this isn't successful. There was also the fact that, not only was she going to stand in front of a bunch of stuffy purebloods, but she would be going on her first date with James tomorrow morning. The poor girl was having a stressful start to her weekend.
"Are you girls ready?" The Headmaster asked as the floo roared to life in front of them. With a brief nod from both of them, they stepped through and entered the Ministry, which was just as chaotic as Jasmine remembered it being. She looked around, craning her neck, attempting to see some kind of difference from the future she lived in for nine previous lives. Sadly, at a cursory glance, all she could see was the main atrium, which hadn't changed at all. Though there were a lot more people milling about than she was used to seeing. The population hadn't quite dipped down to the point where the wizarding world would never recover.
"This is amazing," Lily muttered, eyes traveling along the different statues and offices they passed as they made their way to the elevator. Euphemia was supposed to meet them at the court room. Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if she saw Orion and Cassiopeia Black there as well. Augusta Longbottom should also be in attendance.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing the attention of both girls as the moved through the halls. "Now, you two are going to have an eventful afternoon, but be wary. These meetings can be long. We're going over the research you have complied, Ms. Peverell, just know that if the findings aren't as revolutionary as you're claiming, there could be backlash, or if they are as revolutionary as you think they are, you could be the target of this new Dark Lord's attacks."
Jasmine rolled her eyes as her hands tightened around the strap of her bag. "He seems to have targeted the Potter family and has sent a few people to attempt to recruit me to no avail. I don't think making him hate me more would sour our relationship further," she replied with a nonchalant air that had Lily shooting her warning glares.
It wasn't long until they approached a large set of oak doors, three gemstones that were set in the center were glowing a ruby red. Jasmine focused on the door with her rune vision eye and noticed an intricate pattern surrounding the locks. It seemed to be Nordic in origin though it was all interwoven through old Germanic runes as well. They all equaled some king of great lock. More than likely, only the head of the meetings could unlock them.
"Mistress Peverell, it's lovely to see that you've made it safe and sound!" A familiar female voice called over Dumbledore's shoulder, who had just raised his wand to the first gemstone.
The Headmaster stiffened as Cassiopeia Black sashayed her way towards them. Her robes were made of what appeared to be silk and her long tresses of hair were expertly pinned back and out of her blemish free face. Her appearance oozed wealth and she knew it. Dumbledore glared at the dark witch. "Ms. Black, what are you doing here? I wasn't aware that you were going to be in attendance today. I had assumed you would be working in the Department of Mysteries."
Cassiopeia let out a light and airy laugh that had the Headmaster's clench his jaw. "Oh, Albus, you know that I never miss these meetings. Orion has been talking about nothing but the book that Jasmine has so bravely pushed to get published. Now, why don't you head into the chamber and prepare for the meeting. I will stay outside with the girls."
Her grin was nothing short of predatory as Dumbledore bowed out and entered the chamber. Lily's face paled as he left, she had no doubt figured out who they were with. Lily had heard the stories and the fear Cassiopeia Black had been instilled in her, like just about everyone else in Britain.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Madam Black. I hope that you weren't inconvenienced coming here today," Jasmine said in greeting with a neutral expression on her face in comparison to Lily, who was still glancing towards the door nervously.
Cassiopeia cracked a very small smile, "As always, it's a pleasure to speak to you again, as well, Heir Peverell. I've been looking forward to this meeting since you let me read your father's research all those months ago. To think you had that with you for all this time, just waiting to be pushed out into the world. He'd be very proud of you, you brave girl."
Now the end of her sentence seemed a bit condescending. Cassiopeia was a Slytherin to her core and bravery wasn't a characteristic she tried to emulate on any given day. "For some reason I feel as though my bravery isn't something you admire, Madam Black," Jasmine responded rather boldly, and Lily was backing away from the two and leaning against the wall, staying out of the older woman's sight.
Cassiopeia raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "It is an attribute I'm beginning to understand has some redeeming qualities to it. My nephew seems to think it does and he will one day run the most Ancient and Noble House of Black. I also find that you don't use your bravery foolishly. You think before you act and wait till the time is right, a Slytherin trait. I can certainly admire that," she responded, as her eyes traveled along both Jasmine and Lily's attire for the meeting with a critical gaze.
She gave Jasmine a nearly unnoticeable nod and the younger girl let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
The robes were high quality, Jasmine made sure of it with a little bit of help from Narcissa and Bella. Between the three of them, they had found the perfect tailor to suite Jasmine's needs and by extension, Lily.
Her roommate would never know how much Jasmine paid for the robes if she could help it. Two robes were nothing in the vast sea of wealth that an ancient family like the Peverell's had at their disposal. The issue was that Lily liked to pay her back for all the different things that her magical friends get her, and there would be no way for her to do that right now. So, Jasmine made sure Lily didn't get the prices from her and every time she asked, just pushed it off again with something to distract her. Lily needed some well made robes for formal events. If her date with James went well tomorrow, and boy was her cousin planning on making it extra special, then they would more than likely be going to events together. James would want his potential fiancé to be dressed perfectly.
"I like to think that I take the best qualities from all of the houses when it comes to my intelligence. Is there another reason that you chose to speak with me before the meeting, Madam Black?"
There was no way that a Slytherin woman like Cassiopeia would just show up here early to wait with two witches. She was working some kind of angle and Jasmine wasn't sure if she liked it or not yet. Cassiopeia was a force of nature on her best day and a deadly typhoon on her worst. Though, the woman was acting mostly agreeable…which made the hairs on Jasmine's neck stand up.
The doors behind them made a faint humming noise. "Should we be concerned about that?" Lily asked, speaking for the first time since Dumbledore left.
The older woman's piercing gaze left Lily squirming, "No, dear, that's just a warning that we will be able to enter in a few moments. I wouldn't be surprised if more members start to filter in."
"Speaking of filtering, what were your credentials for Sirius' list of potential brides? He gave me, James and Remus a revised list of suitors that you and Lord Black created, but not too many of the women have anything in common other than the fact that they're purebloods and aren't from the United Kingdom. Sirius said you had someone in mind, but he didn't tell us who."
Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow at the question, "My dear, I thought our choice was rather obvious," she replied airily as the chamber doors swung open. The telltale pops and cracks of apparition could be heard throughout the hall. It seemed that the other members were quickly arriving.
"Well, considering that I didn't recognize any of the names on the list, I don't see how it was obvious," Jasmine responded and Cassiopeia's face darkened, lips downturned.
"That brat…if he wasn't the heir…" she heard the older woman grumble before a large crowd of people filtered into the narrow hallway. Augusta Longbottom and Euphemia were among the group. Jasmine gave a small wave to her guardian, who picked up her pace when she saw that Cassiopeia Black was keeping them company.
"Ah, Madam Black, how…kind of you to watch my ward and her friend before their first Wizengamot meeting," Euphemia said in greeting with a strained smile that Cassiopeia ignored in favor of grumbling about Sirius under her breath.
Oh, boy, Sirius was going to hate her for accidently getting his crazy aunt mad at him. And, to be honest, Jasmine isn't even too clear on what Cassiopeia is mad about. Though, she thinks it has something to do with some people Sirius left of the marriage proposal list, which could only mean that his family's top pick was more than likely taken out of the picture and Sirius knew them personally.
They were going to need to have a long talk when they got back to Hogwarts about that. Transparency is rather important when it comes trying to find one of your best friends a bride. Pureblood marriages were, most of the time, lifelong commitments.
Cassiopeia and Euphemia gave a brief nod to each other, neither breaking their stare, daring the other to turn away first. It was like dealing with cats. "Cassie!" A masculine voice barked from behind, causing her to turn away first. Euphemia hid s smirk that reminded Jasmine an awful lot of James. She always forgot how much he looked like his mother until she was out and about with Euphemia. When her guardian wasn't busy solving the wizarding UK's crimes she was a rather animated and clever person to be around.
Orion was striding towards them, arms crossed as his sister hissed something quietly under her breath. "I hope she wasn't causing you any trouble, Lady Potter, Heir Peverell and…" his gaze lingered on Lily, who was doing her best to not shuffle nervously, "I don't believe that we've met before."
At least he was being polite to Lily. He knew that she was here as Jasmine's first English Muggleborn case study. Most purebloods would have scoffed at her, then again, he'd read the research, though her magical blood was diluted, she was related to some kind of pureblood and depending on which could change the political landscape a little bit. If she was from a thought to be dead family, the line would come back to life and thus seats in this very courtroom could change hands. That isn't something that a lot of purebloods are willing to gamble.
"Lily Evans, sir. You must be Heir Sirius' father. You look very similar," she replied politely with a slight dip of her head without ever breaking eye contact with the man. Just like Jasmine had taught her. It wasn't exactly polite, but it showed that Lily was a witch that knew her manners, but was also more than willing to look a wizard in the eye and tell him the facts. It was an important first impression to make.
Orion chuckled, "Yes, I am Sirius' father. Now, let's head inside. I'm sure that you are dying to share your research with us, Heir Peverell."
He motioned towards the entrance with a slightly exaggerated wave of his hand. Jasmine took a deep breath before nodding and making her way inside. Euphemia's hand was on her shoulder as she was led inside the chamber for the first time as a participating member of the voting body.
Many of the seats had already been taken on one side of the chamber or the other. There seemed to be a lack of families assembled in the middle. Which was perfectly fine with her, Jasmine steered Lily to sit next to her in the center of the room, where the small amount of grey families were situated. Both girls sat themselves up straight and Jasmine pulled out some of her research, it was going to be one of the first points brought forward in the meeting.
It only took a few minutes for everyone to arrive and for Dumbledore to single the beginning of the meeting with a flourish of his wand. Jasmine could feel the wards spark to life and anti-eavesdropping runes ignite in the wall around them. It was utterly fascinating to see how they all interacted with one another.
"Now as you all know, we are gathered here today to not only discuss Muggleborn politics and future school practices involving Muggleborns, but also for Lady Peverell's research, which she will be releasing soon to the public. She wanted all of you to know what groundbreaking magical inheritance research her father pioneered in Austria before his tragic death." Dumbledore's voice echoed through the chamber, loud and clear. All eyes fell to Jasmine, who was sitting in the middle of the rows of empty grey family chairs that had been abandoned over the years.
There was a murmuring amongst the crowd as they took her in, her robes, the scars marring her face, her guest sitting next to her. Jasmine stood up, chin high. She wasn't going to let these people intimidate her. "Good morning," she begin, her accent thick as ever, "I've come today to discuss the research that my father spent his entire life proving, that muggleborns are descendants of pureblood families through forgotten squib lines."
The room erupted into chaos as soon as the sentence left her mouth. Dumbledore began to shout to regain some semblance of control over the panicking masses in the room. Jasmine leaned against the wooden chair she was standing in front of, hands braced on the back support.
A haggard looking woman cast a warning shot from her wand that quieted the entire room. Her silky grey hair was pinned up in an expert knot at the top of her head and her robes had to cost more than a year a Hogwarts.
"Ah, Madam Greengrass, please, take the floor."
So, this was Daphne's famed grandmother. The iron lady of the dark leaning grey houses. She had managed to keep the House of Greengrass neutral during the war to come. Artemis Greengrass had taken over the family after her husband died fighting in the war against Grindelwald. This woman had helped raise the ice queen of Slytherin from her death bed. This Lady was a woman to watch and an ally to gain. "Where is the proof, child?" Her voice was much softer than Jasmine had imagined, but it still held and unspoken authority to it.
Jasmine pushed herself away from her chair and moved to her pile of organized notes her father had left for her to parse through. "My father had catalogued sixty-two cases of muggleborns in the areas of Eastern Europe not behind the Iron Curtain. His main thesis in his paper asked the simple question: "What happens to the squib lines? Where does the magic go?" Each case was simple, find the muggleborn to come and take a test at the local Gringotts in the area. Many were hesitant, especially since they were also being asked to ingest bloodline potions, but as you all know, those tests are never wrong. Each case proved that those muggleborns could be traced to a magic line through a squib. It seemed that after a squib is born it takes a generation or two for magic to manifest itself within the bloodline again. My father theorized that the reason that squibs are born is due to over saturation of the same kind of magic, or another more common name for it is inbreeding," Jasmine looked up from her research at that, making eye contact with a bunch of inbred purebloods.
This was going to be a hard sell, but at least she had them listening. "While being a pureblooded magic user is something that many in this country are proud of, it is killing their familial magic. There needs to be a mix of something foreign every now and again to avoid stunting the magical population of the area. Marrying your children to foreign witches and wizards could work, it was what my mother did. Her family had been marrying within Austria for a few too many generations, my aunt was a squib, and thus my mother married an Englishman. I was born magically powerful with familial traits that hadn't been seen in my family for generations on either side."
Jasmine wasn't eve going to mention little Nymphadora Tonks was a metamorphmagus, which was thought to have been a lost talent among the Black family. It just took some diluted muggleborn blood to bring the magical strength back into the family line.
Lady Greengrass cocked her head ever so slightly to the left. "That may sound lovely, but I need something far more concrete than just your word and your dead father's notes."
There quite a few murmurs of agreement amongst the crowd behind her.
That figured.
Jasmine motioned for Lily to stand up. Her roommate stood up proudly, her chin held high as many of the purebloods sneered at her. Lily's mere presence in this room was a capital offence for some. "If you insist on seeing something more, I bring you my good friend, Lily Evans. She is a young muggleborn witch, who is currently attending Hogwarts. She consented to taking a Gringotts lineage potion. As you all know, these potions never lie, they were the same ones my father used to prove his research in Eastern Europe," Jasmine pulled out the Gringotts results from her bag. They had been quite a shock since Jasmine had thought that this line had completely died out.
She supposed that she should have looked into her lineage as Harriet more, but it had never seemed all that important. Not to mention that Harriet never really lived long enough to have the time to look into the older families she was related to.
"According to the records, Lily Evans, through her mother's side is related to the Ravenclaw family. Helena seemed to have had a tryst after she ran away with her mother's diadem." Honestly, it explained why the Bloody Baron killed her. It wasn't over the damn diadem, it was that she wasn't willing to go back with him since she had moved on with a muggle. Though it seemed that the child was a squib and the line had been dormant for quite some time.
Naturally, the room broke out into chaotic shouting after that. Jasmine rolled her eyes and handed Lady Greengrass the letter from Gringotts to let her verify it. Her blue eyes were piercing as she quickly scanned the document with her wand.
The room lowed to a hushed whisper as the older woman placed her wand back down. She turned to her fellow members, "It is valid. Which was proof I was not expecting to hear. With this research it could explain why the magical families within our land have been dying out and proves that muggleborn students don't steal magic, which," she turned towards one of the dark family representatives, "was a preposterous and outlandish claim to begin with regardless."
The same man bolted up from his chair, cheeks slightly flushed, "I think you're crossing a line, Lady Greengrass. Muggleborns have always been a problem in our world, they are a plague and don't belong. The laws we are trying to bring forward-"
"Are outdated, Lord Flint. We as a community should have been aware of this years ago, but we were too blind to see it. I've combed through Lady Peverell's research myself, as has Lord Black. We have found no fault to it, save a few grammatic errors that had been fixed with an editor's delicate hand," Cassiopeia Black interjected, dismissing Lord Flint with a wave of her perfectly manicured hand.
Flint sat himself back down, mouth agape.
"I have to agree with Lady Black," Euphemia began with a sly wink towards Jasmine. "Lady Peverell's research is sound and the more we fight this, the more we risk in our magical future. The time to fear muggleborns has been long over."
There was a small round of applause for that. Lily let out a sigh of relief, but Jasmine knew that this was only the beginning of a much longer fight. Voldemort had a lot of laws he had been trying to set in motion with his lackies. This was just the first step in winning votes against the anti-muggleborn movement that was beginning to take place within the country. It would take time to break Tom's hold on the government, but Jasmine was willing to fight him for it.
Jasmine would push for the complete veto of the laws coming up over the next couple years. She just hoped that her book came out soon enough to sway the votes.
Dumbledore was grinning and Jasmine felt something in the pit of her stomach flop around. Two steps forward with her plans and then it looked like another step back. She didn't need Dumbledore interfering with her work. He had been keeping out of it all year.
She let out a breath, she would worry about that when it came. She'd bask in this minor victory for now.
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Please leave your comments and kudos below!
I'm going to try and post a little bit more often. I make not promises, but I will try.
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 63: Chapter 63Summary:The meeting continues...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 63
The room took nearly twenty minutes to simmer down. Dumbledore had nearly shouted himself hoarse over the whole thing. Accusations were being thrown around the room on who was a supporter of the idea of muggleborns stealing magic and who wasn't. It drew a definite line in the sand for who was more than likely a death eater and who wasn't, which made things a little bit easier for Jasmine, though it seemed like it would put the headmaster in an early grave.
Jasmine heard the word blood traitor being used more than once. Even a few of the light families were accusing each other of betraying their heritage…or even more concerning, their marriage contracts with substantial dowries.
Though, with the Black Family's obvious support, the dark leaning side of the room was in absolute chaos as the hierarchy was thrown completely off balance. It was obvious that the Black Family was in charge with the way Cassiopeia glared at those that dared speak out against her and the in the same vein Orion just had to say a person's name with a slightly scolding tone and they would neatly fall into line.
There was a handful of families that had pushed themselves away as their own little contingent, the Carrows, Goyles, Crabbes, Flints and Rosier families were the most prominent of the members. Rosier in particular seemed to be particularly vocal. There was no doubt more purebloods against this book being published, but these five were the most vocal about the entire thing than anyone else in the room. All of them had been staunch supporters of Voldemort in Harriet's time, if they were still alive or out of Azkaban.
"Regardless of the questionable international research of the late Lord Peverell, I think we will need to further discuss if this book should even be published," Rosier sneered, lips curling in disgust at the mere mention of the book.
Jasmine rolled her eyes before responding. "This meeting was a curtesy to the court. The book is going to be out in stores within the next few weeks. You all got the first look and explanation. It is going to be at local stores whether you want it to or not." She replied, with her arms crossed. Rosier seemed to take that as some kind of personal challenge. Lily gave her a small smile at her response, but didn't say anything. The poor girl seemed terrified.
"Heir Peverell, your little book could very well be blacklisted by sellers if enough purebloods refuse to back its outlandish claims-"
"Rosier, you do not speak for all of us," Orion interjected, his voice carried throughout the room. Everyone went eerily silent.
"I would have thought that the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black wouldn't fall for such ridiculous claims," Rosier responded, his tone was condescending and Jasmine saw a vein in Orion's temple twitch. She wondered if Rosier knew what he was doing by provoking one of the most powerful wizarding families in the country.
Orion took a deep breath, his hands were curling and uncurling on the table in front of him. "Lord Rosier, you speak out of turn. The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black is allied with House Peverell. We looked into what she has presented today. We have extensively double checked her research and find no fault with it. Denying it could very well cause a steep decline in powerful pureblood witches and wizards over the next two decades if we continue down our current path."
Rosier's nostrils flared. "I highly doubt anything will come of this book but further division amongst our people."
Jasmine resisted the urge to scoff. "How would this divide the population further? There is a dark lord out there trying to blame muggleborns with the lack of powerful witches and wizards in Britain. I just presented you with the real reason behind it. Do have your head so far up-"
Dumbledore cleared his throat, interrupting her and took the floor. It was more than likely for the best. "Now, why I know this is a shock for many of you, this meeting brought us all together to discuss what this book was going to cover before it was let out to the general public. You are getting the first look at just a fraction of what Lady Peverell's father had researched. You are the first to hear the theory and the basics and the first to see the results of a muggleborn lineage test on the British Isles for this purpose. I wouldn't be surprised if Muggleborns start to claim out or dying lines as their own. It will be interesting to see how this all progresses in the near future." That twinkle was back in his eyes and Jasmine wished it wasn't.
"I vote to shelf further muggleborn registration acts until we investigate the claims of these books further," a tall elderly man from the back of the light magic section shouted.
"Seconded!" Another voice called from the opposite end of the room to the surprise of many. Jasmine bit her lip and let out a sigh she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Just when she thought that she could relax, the ground underneath her started to shake violently. The room began to rock and tremble, the lamp posts around the room teetered precariously. Jasmine grabbed Lily and hid under the table with her as the adults in the room panicked or did something similar. There was a scream from the left as a loud crash echoed throughout the chamber.
Jasmine poked her head above the table, her hand still on Lily's neck to keep her down in case something decided to crash down from above or something attacked. Though, it didn't seem like anything was attempting to come in, quite the contrary, the doors and ceiling had intricate rune patterns strewn across them, indicating that they were very much locked from the inside.
All eyes turned towards Dumbledore, who was coughing up a storm as the dust began to settle. "What was that, Chief Warlock?"
The Headmaster frowned, pulled his wand out and giving it a wave.
Nothing happened.
And Jasmine took another look at the rune work on the wall…anti-magic and violence runes. This room had trapped them all inside. "It seems that due to some kind of explosion from above, the room's wards tripped from ancient times. It was meant to stop people from attacking each other. We are going to have to get along or we are going to literally die trying. I don't think anything could really get through those wards. Not even house elves could manage it infiltrate the area." Dumbledore explained with a strained jovial smile.
Jasmine wandered over towards the rune etched walls while Dumbledore argued with the panicking masses. The warding work was truly something to behold. The stone walls were covered in them from top to bottom. The runes glowed faintly, and Jasmine's fingers hovered over the runes, mouthing the different ones as she traced the patterns. She didn't want to touch them. Magically imbued wards could be fickle and explosive in nature.
While the Headmaster was a master of transfiguration, ancient runes was never his strongest subject. Jasmine wanted to make sure that these runes were actually placed to create some kind of safe haven and not trap them indefinitely. Ancient Runes was her specialty, she might as well put it to use. Dumbledore always seemed to take them at face value and not read the different ways they were interconnected.
This was where her bad eye was a blessing in disguise. The magic of runes tended to burn brightly in her left eye and made reading them much easier.
It seemed that Rosier was thinking something similar as he made his way over to examine the ancient wards that had trapped them all inside the chamber.
From what Jasmine could deduce, these runes were used to protect the governing body from an inside or outside threat. The runes were always there waiting and ready to stop a forced mortal peril in the courtroom. At least, that's the story that the runes were telling as they spiral up the walls.
"Care to explain what you think you're doing here by yourself, Heir Peverell?" Rosier asked from behind, his larger form looming over her. She turned towards him and wrinkled her nose as she caught a whiff of his breath. She recognized that smell…
Her eyes narrowed as she took in his well-kept robes and slicked back brown locks. It reminded Jasmine of Lucius Malfoy from Harriet's lifetimes. Her eyes also lingered on a flask resting against his hip.
Clever.
"I was taking a look at the runes that are trapping us. I don't see anyone else taking any kind of proactive approach to the situation. Yelling doesn't get anyone very far in a dangerous situation. Now, why are you over here talking to me. You've made your opinion of me very clear today." Her tone was flat and somewhat bored she didn't really feel like entertaining him anymore than she already had today.
His lips curled back into a dangerous sneer. "You may be a political danger and a foreigner attempting to play games you don't understand, but you are still a child and children tend to get injured when dealing with ancient runes they don't have any business being near," he chided with the most condescending tone he could muster.
Her nostrils flared at the insult. Even in this life, Jasmine had been an expert at runes, she didn't know quite as much as Harriet, who had decades on her, but she had been a prodigy who would have recognized these symbols as well.
"My scores in Ancient Runes are perfect, Lord Rosier, out of anyone here, I doubt I'd present any kind of danger to you or anyone here. These runes are here because someone had the intent to murder someone. They then nullify the magic in the room. No one is usually stupid enough to let themselves get homicidal at one of these meetings, which is why the runes had never activated until this day."
He blinked in surprise. If she hadn't been paying attention she might have missed it. "Clever girl. Do the runes say-"
She figured she knew where he was going, "No, they wouldn't say who had the intent to kill, but did you know, that Polyjuice potion leaves a lingering sent in the breath if not brewed by a competent potions master," she said, her voice innocent, but her grin was cocky, all teeth with a knowing smirk.
Rosier's sneer, or should she say, Voldemort's sneer using Rosier's face, returned in full force as he pulled out his wand. Jasmine wasn't worried about that, it was useless at the moment. Honestly, Jasmine could more than likely kill just about everyone in this room with her bare hands. They were all so helpless without their wands.
"You don't say."
She hummed with a smirk spreading along her lips. "I do say. You may want to employ a better potions master. A dark lord trying to win me over and topple the wizarding world shouldn't be caught in such a pathetic manner."
"You're playing a game that you aren't going to win. You don't even know all the pieces on the board. You may be a valuable asset, but you are expendable in the end," he snapped before retreating towards the other dark purebloods that more than likely worshiped the ground his walked on. They would be in for a huge awakening soon. Jasmine couldn't wait to watch Voldemort's entire platform begin to crash and burn in front of his eyes.
She held back a laugh. "Seems like I've taken quite a few of your pawns off the board already and stolen one of your knights," she said to herself with a small smile. Severus had been a larger victory on her part. The Black family was her greatest success so far. Voldemort didn't even know the pieces and players he was losing at a quick and continuous rate with Jasmine becoming a major player on the board game Tom and Dumbledore had been monopolizing for years.
She had to have blindsided the two of them. There hadn't be a major grey family in politics in years.
It was another fifteen minutes before the wards lowered themselves. Whoever was planning murder must have reconsidered since they were allowed to leave. "Rosier" made a quick exit with his little band of followers hot on his heels. Euphemia and Lily were watching her, "I noticed that Lord Rosier seemed to take an interest in you," her guardian commented as she led them back up towards the floo so the two young girls could get back to Hogwarts.
Jasmine let out a small sigh, "Yes, well, with Polyjuice on his breath I doubt that was the real Rosier."
Euphemia straightened, "That wasn't the real Evan Rosier? Are you sure?"
Jasmine shrugged, worrying her lips between her teeth. "I could smell the potion on his breathe and he was drinking from the flask at his hip fairly frequently. I could be wrong, but I doubt it."
"You do know that Lord Rosier could be arrested for allowing someone to impersonate him."
"I have a feeling that you are going to find it very hard to pin anything of the sort on Rosier. I think that was the new dark lord giving everyone a friendly visit. He was more than likely testing out to see if anyone or anything could detect him or his power. He slipped up. I noticed the smell of polyjuice. He obviously doesn't have a potions master in his employ quite yet if I could smell it on his breath."
"You should have said something, Jazz."
"Like what? I didn't have any proof and we were all stuck magicless in a room with each other. While I could take almost anyone in that room with bare hands, I really didn't feel like making myself an enemy of everyone in the room."
~*~
It didn't take long for news to travel to the Marauders about Lily's heritage. They thought it was brilliant.
"Evans is related to the Ravenclaw family? No wonder she's so bloody smart," Sirius grumbled later the next day as she gave both him and Remus a play by play of the previous morning while they waited for James and Lily to get back from their date. Lily had made sure that she looked perfect for their little excursion out to Hogsmeade today. It was rather adorable to watch firsthand how nervous Lily got around James from behind the scenes. She was all shaky hands and stuttering. She dropped her mascara twice while trying to apply it and nearly twisted her ankle when she fell out of her shoes. When she was in front of James, there was no sense of the nervous girl from minutes before. Lily Evans had a great poker face. She would be a force to be reckoned with one day.
Sirius' original plan was to spy on them from under the invisibility cloak, but Jasmine reminded him that Lily threated to break off the date if there were any kind of Marauder shenanigans going on during their time in Hogsmeade. So, instead, Jasmine decided to distract him. The three of them were sitting on the Gryffindor couches. Jasmine had brought her favorite throw blanket from her room down, it was a rainbow fabric and very soft, and she was curled up underneath it. Sirius was leaning against her covered leg and Remus was sitting across from them.
"Is there a reason that we haven't celebrated your birthday yet, Sirius?" Jasmine asked, her fingers playing with a loose seam in the fabric.
The dog animagus barked out a laugh, "Yea, my family wants to celebrate my coming of age when I get back home. There's some super-secret inheritance I need to deal with before I can be a proper wizard in the Black Family. Also, Prongs has had other things on his mind." Sirius pouted towards the end. She knew that he wanted to do something to celebrate his seventeenth.
Jasmine nibbled at her bottom lip. She, James and Remus had managed to get the elves to bake a cake for their friend. They would just need to wait till James showed up.
"Do you think that it's going to end well? I don't know if I can deal with Prongs having a broken heart. I've had a hard enough time listening to all of his pining for the past couple years," he turned to Remus, "Moony, can you imagine Prongs truly broken hearted. We might actually need to kill him just to stop the whining."
"Says the man that whines over everything," Jasmine teased with a nudge of her foot against his back. The Black Heir squirmed with a frown on his face.
"Cut it out. You two know that I'm right. Prongs turns into a moping bitch when Evans is rude to him over anything."
Remus cleared his throat a disapproving glare was thrown Sirius way. "As much as I agree with that statement, I do think that it would be better if we didn't gossip about James or wonder what he's doing on his date. Knowing James, he will share every detail he can when he gets back from Hogsmeade. Right now, we need to focus on our silent spell casting. Jasmine did say she was going to help up with that. We only have a few more days until the practical exam and I would like to get a good grade on that, Padfoot."
Sirius grumbled something that sounded like killjoy under his breath before turning to Jasmine for pointers. "You're both good at verbal spellwork. You need to remember that magic is all about the intent. You don't need words to make what you want to happen come true. It is a lot harder, but it is very doable," she explained as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the book in Remus' hand.
"I want that book. I need it for an essay later and I don't feel like going all the way upstairs to get mine. In my mind with feeling I say the words and feel what they mean. The word means to summon something. To none-verbally summon something you are going to need to think about that spell and then visualize what it does."
She waved her wand silently and summoned the book from Remus' outstretched hand. It easily flew out of his grip and into hers. The werewolf glared at her, but tried to copy her. The book wiggled in her grip, but didn't move past that.
Their study session lasted for another hour before James and Lily came tumbling back into the common room laughing arm and arm with each other. Sirius was nearly vibrating with excitement. Lily grabbed Jasmine's hand and pulled her up the stairs with her, a dreamy smile on her face.
"I have so much to tell you."
Notes:Happy holidays!
I've spent the day making cheese cake cookie cups.
Please leave your comments and kudos below.
I should hopefully be updating again soon.
~SugarPhantom