Chapter 67: Chapter 67Summary:The Black Family Christmas Party begins...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 67
The morning before the annual Black Family Christmas Party, Jasmine and James finally heard from Sirius. He had floo called them sounding tired, but alright after breakfast. "The family magic accepted me, but then I got an unexpected power boost and things have been exploding around me more than usual. I've just about got it under control," he told Jasmine and James excitedly as something popped behind him and shattered. The fire version of Sirius winced as he apologized to whoever he hurt on the other end. Though, there was only manic cackling in the background.
"Will we see you tonight for the party or will be hiding in your room?" James asked with a smirk and Sirius let out a bark like laugh.
"My father would kill me if I missed the party tonight. I wouldn't miss you, Lils, Jasmine and whoever she is bringing as her guest. My aunt is still guessing as to your mystery plus one."
And there was Sirius, fishing for answers once again. He was definitely feeling better. "I'm not telling you either. James doesn't even know who is coming with me this evening. I want it to be such a great surprise that your family will talk about for years."
Sirius' fire face turned downwards at her comment. "You better not be doing something I would do. If I recall, you usually frown on kinds of ideas."
She rolled her eyes and James let out a snort. "I assure you, no one is more qualified to mingle with your family tonight than my plus one. Speaking of plus ones, is Mikhail coming?"
Sirius made a noise resembling some kind of strangled animal. "You mean the young man my brother is infatuated with? Your friend? That Mikhail?" She didn't even need to be in his presence to feel the sarcasm rolling off of him. Sirius hade it very clear that he wasn't the biggest fan of her Russian friend. His obsession with Regulus might have rubbed Sirius the wrong way. "Naturally. My entire family wants to scrutinize him for all he's worth, which I'm told is a considerable amount."
"Does Mikhail know that your family is going to be judging his every move?"
Sirius grinned, it was reminiscent of Bellatrix, slightly mad and proud of it.
"You do realize that Mikhail and I spent a good part of our childhoods being judged and looked at like cattle. Before that he was, and still is, the son of the wealthiest business tycoons in magical Russia."
It was a pain in the arse dealing with Eastern European magical politics at this point in time since most were locked behind the Iron Curtain for all muggle transportation, but magically, Russia never fell. Even in the 90s Russian magical royalty ruled. Anastasia's disappearance was tragic to the muggle people, but the young girl was a witch who ended up ruling her people while the muggle world fell around them. They had to fake her death with the rest of her family, but she had a long tenure as the ruler of magical Russia. Still it made trading tricky since there were so many banned items from one country to another. Certain fabrics couldn't cross border lines because it could be discovered that they were getting rationed items from a non-Soviet area of the world and so on.
Mikhail's family was making a fortune off of this and the desperate need to make sure that the quickly evolving muggle technology kept up with wizarding magic. Their company was a powerhouse and the Black Family was well aware of it. They would never admit it, but they knew.
"Look, Jazz, he hasn't dealt with my aunt."
Jasmine kept hearing these awful rumors about Cassiopeia, but had yet to see any of them actually come to merit something. The woman was nothing but pleasant to Jasmine. Sure, at first she was a bit frosty, but it wasn't anything like she had been warned about.
"I think your aunt's great, Sirius. I don't know why you always use her as some kind of threat."
There was a bit of laughter in the background. It had sounded suspiciously like Bella. Sirius turned around and shooed the person behind him out of the sitting room they were using to talk.
"Jazz, you're the strange one, most people piss themselves even thinking about my Aunt."
To be fair, as Harriet, she had heard some of the things that Cassiopeia had been rumored to have done and nearly threw up. After meeting with the woman for the first time and then talking to her, Jasmine understood where the viciousness came from and why she had to protect her family in the way that she did in the future. Cassiopeia had to cleanse the Black Family after Orion was murdered, but by the time she got around to it Wulburga and Drusilla had damaged the majority of the family beyond repair. The Black Family murders had been legendary amongst the aurors in Harriet's time.
"Is Andy going to be making an appearance?"
Sirius face lit up at the mention of his other cousin. "Yes, Andy has been brought back into the family officially. Her mother is livid, but I'm finally getting to meet Ted and my little cousin Dora. She's three and apparently a riot at parties. The girl is a metamorphmagus."
Jasmine smiled at Sirius' enthusiasm, but that quickly changed to a scowl when she realized that the two boys had started discussing prank ideas using Dora's lovely magical gifts. "You two are awful. Grow up. She's three and going to be scared out of her wits being around so many sneering purebloods. You better behave or so help me, you will be dueling me till your wand arm falls off."
"But that's my favorite arm," Sirius whined, but then began to shout as someone pushed their way into the fireplace.
It was Bella, her long hair was puffed around the edges of the fire, licking lazily around the edges of the wood. "Alright, children, you've been talking long enough. Sirius needs to rest a bit more before the party. We'll see you both tonight."
The connection was cut without any further warning. James leaned back on the floor, a small smile playing at his lips. He turned towards Jasmine, his shoulders relaxed. "It was nice hearing from Padfoot again. I know you told me not to worry, but I still thought that there was something wrong. I'm glad that I wasn't right."
She let out a sigh and put a firm hand on her cousin's shoulder. "You have a big heart, James Potter, but sometimes you worry yourself into a corner. Inheritances can be intense. You'll realize that when you get yours."
As Harriet she had been the last Potter and knew from experience that an inheritance was better experienced with someone who knew what was about to happen to you. The Potter inheritance wasn't as major as the Peverell one. Prepping for that was going to be a small nightmare, since she was an actual direct descendant of the bloodline, Death had a certain way he wanted to the ritual to be structured this time around.
It wasn't going to be fun to explain that to her family. Though, she was debating just not telling them until after it happened.
Her cousin fidgeted for a moment before pushing himself off the floor and turned towards the grandfather clock on the far wall. It was nearly two.
"So, my plus one is Evans, who are your inviting to the party tonight? Are you sure that it's a good idea to keep them a secret?" James asked, expertly chancing the subject at hand.
Jasmine's lips quirked upwards. She had the perfect guest for the evening. "Don't worry your pretty little head. My guest is the perfect person to throw into a den full of Slytherins and politicians."
James groaned and leaned his head against the wall behind him. "Don't remind me about the political talk. Dad has been prepping me all week for this."
~*~
The entire Potter Family was invited to the annual Black Family Christmas Party this year. They hadn't been invited since Dorea Black married into the Potter family nearly sixty years ago. Now that Sirius was good friends with the Potter Family Heir and back in good graces with his family, he was able to get them all invitations. Sadly, due to Monty's health, he wouldn't be attending and Euphemia was going to stay home with the moping Lord Potter. James was going as his proxy, which had him twitchy. James was only just learning the finer points of politics, but Jasmine was going to be there and Sirius wouldn't let him say anything too stupid.
Okay, Jasmine would be there to mitigate any damage Sirius caused, by letting James put his foot in his mouth.
The two of them were near the front parlor's fireplace once more. Each dressed in some of the best tailored robes that money could buy.
It was nearing four thirty when the fireplace roared to life and Lily stepped out in perfectly tailored forest green dress robes. Her mane of red hair was pinned up in an expert bun with an appropriate number of ornamental pins showing. James' mouth was slightly ajar as he took in the sight of his date for the evening. "This isn't too much?" Jasmine had given her explicit instructions on how to dress for the evening, though she supposed it did sound like a lot.
"As long as you did what I said, you will be fine. It is a formal pureblood party. It is always going to feel like too much," Jasmine replied, smoothing out a sleeve on her own violet robes. Narcissa had insisted the color suited her, but Jasmine was still rather dubious. She claimed it had gone well with her grey eye and last year's robes went better with her green. Apparently, Jasmine needed to swap which eye she was going to be basing her outfits off of in the future.
"Where's your plus one, Jazz?" James asked right as the fireplace roared to life again and Petunia stepped out, head held high and proud. Her dress robes fluttering about her as if she was born to wear them. Jasmine was going to make a statement doing this. They were going as friends, she saw Petunia a very grumpy older sibling…but she wanted her once Aunt to be happy and she knew that magic made her happy, so Jasmine would indulge her.
"I just don't get where purebloods have the time to shop for all of this stuff…" Lily grumbled as Euphemia and Monty entered the room. The two looked ready for their quiet evening together in loose fitting robes. Euphemia had only just changed out of her work clothing. She didn't want to appear too intimidating to Lily, who had only just started dating her son.
"So, these are the famed Evans girls," Monty said, leaning against the door frame across from them. Both girls turned to couple in front of them. Lily was looking between James and his parents, her eyes lingering on his father's messy hair and then his mother's mischievous grin.
Lily bit her lip, for once speechless. "I didn't realize that the Potter hair was a hereditary thing."
Euphemia let out a small laugh, a pale hand covered her mouth. "Yes dear, the hair is a familial trait. I had held out hope that James would have my hair, much more manageable. But, from the moment he was born, he had a mop of unruly hair. Just like his father."
Monty pouted, "You know, I thought you liked my hair. You seemed to enjoy it when we were young, always running your hands through it or when we had just gotten engaged-"
James groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Now you've done it. They aren't going to stop teasing each other. Might as well get ready to leave."
Jasmine let out a huffy laugh as she collected a small gift for the Black Family from the House of Peverell and handed another to Lily. "To give for the House of Ravenclaw. You've officially claimed yourself a member of the house. Might as well use that a leverage to shut up those stuffy purebloods. You and your sister belong there. It doesn't matter if you're descended from squibs or not."
Jasmine was nearly positive that Petunia was a squib, most non-magic using descendants from squib lines were usually squibs until a magical child eventually shows back up in the bloodline.
It didn't take long for them to floo to Grimmauld Place. Though, both Evans sisters were stuck to James and Jasmine like glue as they entered. They were greeted by a loud shriek of "Jasmine!" as Bella came barreling into her. The older woman was a bit flushed and smelled of wine. It was fairly early into the night, but dealing with family did tend to drive people to drink just a little bit more excessively than normal.
"Hello, Bella, happy Christmas. It's lovely to see you," Jasmine grunted out, as she attempted to disentangle herself from the mass of curls and silk that made up Bellatrix this evening.
"I see you brought a guest. Introduce me," she demanded with a slightly slur to the end of her words.
She let out a long sigh as she brought both Lily and Petunia forward. "These," Jasmine pointed to her two friends, "are the Evans sisters. Lily is in a courtship with James Potter and Petunia is a close friend of mine. Please be nice."
There wasn't too much protection that she could grant either sister. Lily being with James granted her a bit of leeway she had both the house of Potter and the House of Peverell behind her. Petunia was going to need to fend for herself a bit more.
James pulled Lily away and moved them both across the room where Sirius was waiting with his hands in his pockets leaning against the wall. Jasmine made eye contact with him for a moment, his eyes widened as he looked behind her, but as quickly as the shock appeared on his face it was gone.
Odd.
Bella grip on Jasmine tightened, distracting her from Sirius.
Bella stared at the blond girl in front of her, sizing the eldest Evans sister up. "She cleans up well, but she isn't a witch. You and I both know that, Jasmine. Is there a reason she's here tonight? My family does believe your father's magical theory, but you're stretching the statute of secrecy bringing her here."
Jasmine rolled her eyes, "She's a squib, not a muggle. Not to mention that she will be joining me for my internship. The runemasters and warders needed me to take photos of the different project and I'm awful at photography. Petunia here is fantastic and needs to enhance her portfolio. She gets to travel the world and I get photos taken of the work that the masters and I work on. Mutual benefit is always nice."
It was also very Slytherin, which was something the Black Family valued.
"Not to mention the experience of working in different environments. I've never been out of the United Kingdom before," Petunia added, voice smug.
"Was I speaking to you?" Bella asked sharply, her violet eyes narrowing, enough for Jasmine to know that some of her drunkenness had been an act. Unsurprising, since she was Cassiopeia's favored niece.
Petunia squared herself up to her full height, which was rather close to Bella's. She stuck her nose up ever so slightly in the air. She flicked a nonexistent piece of dust off her pale blue robes. "You were talking about me, so yes. My future is my business, whether it related to magic or not. Whether you like it or not, I will be participating in Jasmine's round the world adventure. I will make a name for myself doing this, you can't stop me."
Bella grinned, sharp and unflinching. "This one will do. Pity about being a squib. I would have loved to see you in Slytherin, your ambition is palpable. Go introduce her to the others, they are in the parlor. No doubt Sirius is already making a mess of things with the other Evans sister…I still need to speak with her."
Poor Lily.
"Should we try and help my sister?" Petunia asked, watching as Bella sashayed her way through the crowd towards the only red head in the room.
Jasmine felt a pair of eyes on her and turned, locking gazes with an exuberant Narcissa. Lucius on her arm, blonde hair cut short, smiling fondly at his wife to be as she forced her way through her family. "I think we're going have to let Lily fend for herself," she replied wryly.
As soon as Narcissa made it in front of them, she moved Lucius to the side and pulled both girls towards her. She examined the clothing they were wearing. "Those robes look fantastic on you, dear. I knew I had picked the right colors. Your friend looks absolutely gorgeous. The blue suites her perfectly."
Narcissa held a hand out for Petunia to shake. "I'm Narcissa Black and" she motioned to Lucius, "This is my fiancé, Lucius Malfoy. It's lovely to meet someone that Jasmine has gone to the trouble of finding clothing for. It isn't every day that I get an owl from a good family friend asking about fashion advice."
She took the offered hand and gave it a small, hesitant, shake. "I'm Petunia Evans, Jasmine wanted to introduce me to a few of her friends before we started to travel around the world together on her internship this summer."
Lucius' face lit up, "I've heard about this famed internship from my father, who heard it from Lord Black. You've decided to take it then? You'd be a fool not to and my family would have to rethink negotiations with you otherwise."
Jasmine had gotten that from a quite a few different allies. All of them seemed to think she would be a complete idiot not to take this job. They would be right, but she wasn't going to tell them that. It shouldn't have nearly taken as long as it had to make her final decision.
With a roll of her eyes and a rather dramatic sigh she replied, "Yes, I'm taking the job. As fun as Hogwarts has been, I think my calling is better suited outside of the classroom. Petunia is going to be the official photographer on the trip. The rune and ward masters I'm traveling with have failing eyesight and I'm blind in one eye, photographing anything would be a disaster. We need someone to help us. Petunia's work is fantastic. I'm lucky to have found her before her career took off."
Her friend blushed a bit. It was odd seeing her react this way when Jasmine knew that in another life she would have just met Vernon while waitressing to attempt to pay for University and eventually give it up to marry him.
Narcissa let out a small chuckle. "I see. I'll have to see how they look, maybe you can take some photos of me and Lucius at our wedding if I like your work enough."
Then the wedding talk began. Instead of it just being Narcissa, Lucius was always joining in the fun. Petunia seemed genuinely interested, so Jasmine was trying valiantly to not look for an escape.
Jasmine felt a large hand settle on her left shoulder and she turned. It was Orion, his robes were perfectly pressed, to show off his broad form. He had a glass of brandy in his hand. "Sorry to intrude, but can I speak to Heir Peverell for a moment?"
Both Lucius and Narcissa bowed their heads slightly. "No, go ahead. We'll keep her friend occupied while you chat."
Jasmine honestly felt a bit nervous as she was being led away from the party and up the stairs towards the Black Family study.
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 68: Chapter 68Summary:And the party continues...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 68
The Black Family's study wasn't much different in this time than when she had seen it as Harriet twenty some years in the future. It was a dark circular room, only lit by the two small lamp lights on the walls behind Orion, who had situated himself behind a large mahogany desk. The wallpaper was a dark purple, the walls were lined with bookshelves that climbed five meters to the ceiling. There was a lone window behind a the desk that was covered in various stacks of paperwork.
Cassiopeia was perched on the side of the desk, a glass of wine in her right hand. She was the picture of high-class ease. "Ms. Peverell, we have some things we need to discuss with you. Please, take a seat."
It wasn't a request and Jasmine moved towards the small leather armchair in front of the desk and sat herself down without fuss. "Is there something wrong?"
She hoped that bringing Petunia hadn't offended anyone. Jasmine had enjoyed pushing the boundaries of perceived propriety for this party. She didn't think that it would have been considered an insult, but she hadn't dealt with the purebloods of this time period before…she could have overstepped.
Orion took a seat across from her in a large padded leather chair. "There is nothing wrong. We just feel that it is in the Black Family's best interest to push Sirius towards marrying a proper witch. We've attempted to speak to him on multiple occasion regarding who we feel is best suited for him. He, being the stubborn fool he is, refuses to listen to rational guidance. So, we decided to push forward without him."
Jasmine leaned back in her seat as Cassiopeia took long drag of her wine. Orion motioned for her to take over. "As my brother was saying, Sirius needs to pick a fiancé within the next few years to continue our family line for the next generation. We know that you've managed to secure a meeting with a future head of a prominent Japanese family, but we wanted to get your personal opinion on our top choice candidate."
The teen bit her lip. She had a feeling that she knew where this was going to end up going. As sneaky as Sirius has been about the entire thing on who his family's top pick was, she had a sinking suspicion she knew who they were going to say that it is.
Jasmine doubted there was any way to keep this secret. "I feel that Sirius wouldn't appreciate you going behind his back for this. Marriage has always seemed like a touchy topic for him. I have a feeling that I know exactly who he eliminated from his list that you so desperately want on it."
Orion raised an eyebrow, pulling out a sheet of paper from one of the many stacks in front of him. "Do you now? You haven't made any effort to persuade him to add the name back on the list. Our families could profit greatly from this. Do you want that opportunity to slip through your fingers because my son is being impulsive and stupid?"
That was one thing to call it.
He slid the paper across the desk towards her. Jasmine let out a small sigh and picked it up, scanning over its contents. It was a rather iron tight marriage contract. Many witches would kill for the opportunity. She placed the piece of paper down and pushed it back towards Orion. "Until Sirius grows up enough to actively seek out a relationship with me past the friendship we have, I won't pursue him in any romantic form. I won't go behind his back and force something on him."
"And here I thought you had more sense than some airheaded noble Gryffindor," Cassiopeia sneered, placing her glass down and pushing herself off the desk to move next to her brother. "This would secure your future, your family name would be protected by the House of Black."
Jasmine cocked her head to the side. "The Peverell family has been around just as long as the Black family. A betrothal between Sirius and myself would be mutually beneficial to our houses. Neither of us would be changing our names and we need to secure multiple heirs to make sure that both lines continue. I can understand Sirius' hesitance in approaching me." He also may only see her as James' weird cousin, which was fine with her.
Both of them looked like they had swallowed something foul. "You wouldn't be formally taking the Black name?"
"In a hypothetical situation where I married Sirius, no, I would not. I have my own family name to uphold. The Peverell family has secrets, you both know this, and they can't be passed on to anyone other than someone from the main Peverell line. I will pass this knowledge to my direct heirs."
She would pass Death off to her poor offspring. Hopefully the deity could bother them for a couple decades and leave her the hell alone before she finally got to die.
Orion ran a hand through his hair, looking startlingly like Sirius. "If my son acts like a Gryffindor and approaches you about this. Will you give it some thought?"
That was a large if. He acted too much like a child for her tastes most of the time. There were rare occasions where he stepped up, but they had been few and far between these past few months and she would rather he grew up before asking her any kind of marriage questions. He wasn't ready for them and neither was she.
"I don't want him to approach me as a Gryffindor or a Slytherin or any kind of Hogwarts house. I want him to approach me as an adult, one that doesn't think in schoolhouse constructs. I hope that you understand that," she replied with a small, respectful, dip of her head. She was on thin ice with them, she could feel it in her bones, but she wasn't going to let them push her into something.
Cassiopeia let out a long sigh, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She put a finger under Jasmine's chin and lifted it. Her grey eyes were hard, but not unyielding. "My dear, we understand. Just know, that we are going to fight for you. You are the best chance for this family and when we've made up our mind, there is no turning back."
Jasmine waited for Cassiopeia to drop her hand before standing and politely leaving the study. She leaned on the far wall outside the room, her left hand pinching the bridge of her nose. "So, anything interesting happen in there?"
Her head snapped down, Sirius was standing a few meters from her, hands behind his back. She had a feeling that he was fidgeting and trying to hide it. "I have a feeling that you can guess what they were talking to me about." She didn't mean for it to come out as scathingly as it did, but she was more than a little annoyed.
He winced. "Want to get some air?"
~*~
Sirius led her to the roof, where they stood in silence peering out into the evening skyline. There was a small well-kept garden growing under their feet, it was odd to see what it had originally looked like before the years of neglect.
"I told them to leave you alone, if you'd believe that."
She did.
"They handed me a marriage contract."
Sirius spluttered. His face turned an odd shade between flustered and flushed with her answer. "They did what!"
She figured he needed a little more clarification. "They handed me a contract that would be between you and me. To secure our future together. I'm the top pick that your removed from your list. They thought it would be better to just go around you."
Sirius' grip on the railing tightened and a low growl escaped his throat. "Of all of the conniving tricks they could have pulled… Please tell me you didn't sign it?"
Jasmine raised an eyebrow at his accusation, and he sagged in relief. "I'm hurt you even asked. I pushed the contract back towards them. I don't know the reasons for you removing me from your list and until you come forward with them, I'm not going to bother looking over a contract you haven't agreed to."
The question of why he removed her hung heavy in the air.
"It's nothing against you. I just don't quite know what love feels like…Prongs knows he's in love with Evans. He's known since the moment he met her that she was going to be the girl for him. Monty says that Euphemia chased him and loved her for it, but they all had seen healthy marriages before that. I don't know what marital love is supposed to look like and whether or not you and I could ever be that compatible. I didn't want to pressure you into something we might not want. Those contracts are tricky to wiggle out of."
Jasmine stared off into the distance, a cold breeze brushed across her face. Had Harriet truly ever fallen in love before? Maybe in her first life, her naïve first life, before her responsibility to Death truly began. She lasted twenty years before being killed in that one, the longest she'd ever lived in any of her lives. Harriet had fancied herself in love with more than one suitor during her time at Hogwarts, but thinking back…Jasmine couldn't say for sure any of it was love. "Your father didn't push me into anything. The choice is up to you whether you wish to pursue something at any given time. Love is complicated, from my limited experience. I know you can grow to love someone, but I know that people who love each other at one given point in time can grow in different directions and move on. My cousin seems to be a special case. He grew into Lily Evans' path. James has a single-minded tenacity that worries me sometimes."
Sirius snorted, moving to stand next to her, his arms hanging over the edge. His cheeks were pink from the winter air. "No marriage contract yet then?"
Jasmine let out a quite huff of a laugh, "No, not yet. I think we both need to grow a bit before we try something like that."
"Thank Merlin. I'm far too young to marry."
"We'll shelf the idea for now. You have a potential fiancé coming next fall to meet you. I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that."
Sirius groaned into his hands. "Is it too late to cancel?"
Jasmine smacked his arm. "Yes, she's arranged the trip. This is a big deal for her family. I won't be at Hogwarts to make sure you behave, but I will be checking in with Remus-"
"You're taking the internship? My Aunt wasn't pulling my leg?"
Jasmine blinked. She had forgotten that she hadn't told Sirius yet. "Yes, it was a recent decision. I will be joining the wardmasters in late August on a trip around the world visiting various shrines and ruins. Petunia is coming as the photographer."
"No wonder you brought her."
"Speaking of, I've left her alone too long. Merlin knows what trouble she's causing down there."
Sirius let out a chuckle. "Last I saw, she was with Mikhail, Regulus and Snape."
Well, that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Jasmine knew that Petunia had unresolved anger issues regarding Severus. That were only so many outcomes that could come of that interaction.
"We should probably head back. Petunia, no matter how highbrow she thinks herself, is fantastic at kicking up a fuss," Jasmine commented as she moved away from the edge and towards the door. Sirius straightened as well, moving a stray piece of hair out of his face. He had to look composed for his family.
Of course, the second they reenter the house and head towards the main sitting room there is the sound of a resounding slap from skin meeting skin.
Jasmine's head snaps to the far wall were Theodore Nott's face is slowly turning red from the imprint of Petunia Evans' hand. "You are foul!" She snapped into the new silent room. Lily had a hand over her mouth and James' shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. Regulus and Mikhail were standing not too far from the action. Mikhail's eyes met hers and he winked. She was going to have words with James later. He was supposed to be watching out for the Evans girls.
"What's going on here?" Jasmine asked, easily making her way through the crowd to get to Petunia as fast as possible. Her friend was flushed to the tip of her ears. Her robes were perfectly in order, but her hands were shaking something awful.
"I hope it bruises!" Petunia hissed, moving towards Jasmine.
Jasmine could sense Mikhail move to stand behind her, silent support. He was always ready for a fight.
"What happened?" Sirius asked again, an authoritative lilt to his voice, reminding everyone that he was one day going to be running this family and this was his house.
James cleared his throat, "He may have propositioned her and when she said to back off, he didn't."
Jasmine was itching to pull her wand out, but knew better than to fly into a blind rage now. Even though it felt fully warranted.
"It wasn't like that! I flirt with everyone! She took it far too seriously."
No, he flirted with women he felt were below his station. Petunia was a squib, so she didn't mean anything, and any perceived virtue Petunia felt she had meant nothing to him. "For some reason, I doubt that, Heir Nott. I want you to apologize to Ms. Evans." Sirius replied, his tone flat.
Theodore looked like he'd been punched. His eyes were darting between Lily and Petunia trying to figure out how they were related in the first place. The two couldn't look more different if they tried. He turned towards Petunia. "I'm terribly sorry if you took offense to my advances, Ms. Evans," he said with, without a doubt, the most condescending tone he could manage. Petunia's blue eye narrowed.
"I accept your mediocre apology. Don't ever proposition me again."
She let out a small huff and turned to talk to his sister. The noise in the room resumed. Jasmine figured that fights here could get fairly disastrous.
Nott's hand was still pressed to his reddening face, but now his other cheek was turning a light pink as well. Was he blushing?
Bloody hell, he better not have a crush on Petunia.
Who was she kidding, knowing her luck, he did and he'd pursue it.
"You know, you make the most interesting friends." Mikhail commented in Russian from behind her. She turned around to see her old friend grinning as he watched Petunia stiffly talk to Lily, James and Sirius.
"I'm glad that they have your approval," she replied in German with a smile tugging at the corner her of lips.
"I forget that English isn't either of your first languages," Regulus said from Mikhail's right. His smaller frame nearly swallowed by his dress robes.
"Our language skills are impressive…do you want to know what we said, Regulus?" Mikhail replied, as he playfully tugged a loose curl of Regulus' hair.
The younger Black brother frowned and moved himself out of Mikhail's direct reach. Her friend wiggled his fingers playfully at Regulus before turning his attention back to Jasmine. "As much as I love watching you flirt…I should get back to my guest. Thank you for looking out for her, even if she didn't give you the chance to do it yourself."
Mikhail shrugged a grin on his face. "I'm always glad to be of help to you and your friends. They're proving to be impressive entertainment."
Jasmine rolled her eyes, patted her friend fleetingly on the shoulder and made her way towards Petunia, Lily, James and Sirius. The poor Gryffindors were truly in the snakes' den here. Sirius didn't seem nearly as on edge as James, but they all seemed nervous.
Petunia glued herself to Jasmine's side as soon as the younger girl was within reach. "How much longer do we need to stay here?" She whispered, only leaning in close enough for it to seem like she was telling Jasmine something important, but far enough away that it didn't seem like she was desperately looking for some kind of escape route.
"For another fifteen to twenty minutes, I reckon. I'm sorry that Nott bothered you. He can be an arse."
The blonde mumbled something under her breath. "He was alright for a little while. It wasn't until he realized I wasn't a pureblood did he really start pushing. Most of the people here seemed to treat me with contempt when they find out I'm not a witch. Is it wrong of me to want to hit them?"
Jasmine let out a small huff of a laugh. "No, it's normal to want to strangle every last one of them. It's what makes their little political word turn, treating people like garbage just seems to make them feel better about themselves in the worst of ways. Not everyone is like that. There are a lot of witches and wizards who act better than that, but it is hard to find people with money in the UK who would fund different projects in the same way that the associates of the Black family do."
"The rich always seem to have the best connections."
Jasmine nodded, "They just have a lot of important investors. It's part of why James is here tonight. His father wants him talking to these people as well. To at least get some kind of feel for what is going to be doing in the coming years. No matter what he says, he is due to take over the family business."
Her cousin was currently speaking to a powerful American tradesman while Lily and Sirius spoke with Severus, Regulus and Mikhail a few feet away.
"I'm assuming that your cousin is making important connections?"
Jasmine nodded. "Just try and stay out of trouble for the rest of the night. This could be important for James."
Petunia huffed, her cheeks puffing out a little bit. "As long as I am not propositioned for the rest of our time here, I don't see why James can't still make some connections."
That didn't sound too promising.
Notes:I hope you enjoyed!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom
Chapter 69: Chapter 69Summary:Christmas...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextChapter 69
The return trip home was quiet and fairly awkward between the four of them. They exited the floo with more grace than Jasmine thought possible since she almost landed face first on the floor. The main parlor lights were dimmed for the evening and the house was very quiet. Monty and Euphemia were nowhere to be seen.
Jasmine wanted an explanation for tonight's rather unprofessional turn of events. She would no doubt be hearing from the Black Family about this for some time. She wasn't sure if it was going to be in teasing or in scathing reprimand. Petunia did her best to avoid talking about her physical outburst, but naturally, James broached the subject with little to no tact. "So, that was a really impressive right hook. I think you almost broke Nott's nose."
There was a certain amount of pride in her cousin's voice and Jasmine had to resist the urge to smack him. She hadn't been there to hear the full exchange between Nott and Petunia, but James should have stepped in before it got to that point.
"Is there a reason that you didn't fight for Petunia's honor, James?"
Her cousin's cheeks pinked at the comment and Lily rolled her eyes. "I was speaking to Malfoy and got distracted. I only noticed that things had gotten out of hand when Petunia raised her voice. I forgot how much a prat Nott can be, sorry."
He honestly didn't sound that sorry…He had so much to learn in regards to dark family politics.
Jasmine let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "James, Lily and Petunia haven't grown up dealing with these kinds of people. Dark magical families can be very spiteful if they feel wronged, you know this. You are their first line of defense to make sure they aren't taken advantage of and to call out people like Nott to make sure that there are no incidents that reflect badly on them."
"It honestly looked like he enjoyed the slap towards the end, if we're trying to see something good come out of this," Lily interjected with a light chuckle. "I think he has a crush on Tuny."
Dear Merlin, Jasmine hadn't been imaging the blush on his face.
Petunia straightened and looked like she was holding back a snarl as she turned on her sister. "I would rather punch him in the face again than allowed him to date me."
James rolled his eyes as he pulled off the tie that went with his robes with a practiced ease. "He'd be courting you, not dating. It isn't like his family would let him court you, but it would more than likely be a drawn-out process and he would have to work at wooing you."
"Would I have any say in this?" Petunia asked, arms crossed, her voice rising an octave as her hair started to fall out of the charmed curls Euphemia had done this afternoon before they left.
"Of course, you would have a say. The wizarding world isn't that antiquated, even though it came seem that way. You would just send a rejection letter and he should back off. If he doesn't, I'll take care of it," Jasmine promised with a dangerous note of finality. Nott wouldn't even know what hit him if he tried to take advantage of Petunia.
"That's good. I know that I don't have many rights in the magical world from what you have told me. It's nice that someone is looking out for me."
Jasmine let out a sigh as she pulled a pin out of her hair, letting her mane of black inky curls tumble down her back.
"Are you four back already? I thought that you would be another hour or so?" Euphemia called from the entry way. She had a crimson dressing robe wrapped tightly around her. Her salt and pepper hair and done up in a loose bun. Her wand was stuck through the center.
Monty was nowhere in sight, which gave Jasmine a fairly good idea on what they might have been up to while the kids were out of the house.
"There was an altercation and we felt after a couple more minutes of mingling, it was best to leave."
Euphemia raised an eyebrow and turned towards her son, "What did you do?"
James gaped, resting a hand on his heart, clearing insulted. "How could you accuse your own son of starting a fight at a fancy pureblood party?"
She tapped her slipped covered foot on the polished wood flooring, waiting. "I know my son, so explain."
Lily held a hand up to her mouth in a failed effort to hide her laughter. "I know it may come as a complete surprise, but James didn't do it," the red head replied as James hid himself behind her. Though he had quite a lot of height on her, so it didn't work nearly as well he would have wanted it to.
Euphemia moved fully into the parlor and sat on nearest sofa and motioned for everyone to join her. It didn't feel like standing was optional, so everyone perched themselves around the plush couch and waited for Euphemia to say something. "Explain."
Oh boy, this must be what it felt like to be a trainee under her after making a huge mistake. Petunia's upper lip was trembling slightly. She didn't deserve to be yelled at for something that really wasn't her fault, even if her response wasn't ideal.
Jasmine spoke up. "From what I understand. Theodore Nott decided it would be a great idea to proposition Petunia in front of all of his peers. After she said no, he continued to harass her. In response she hit him."
Euphemia was silent for a moment before turning to their guest. "He propositioned you and there were witnesses to this?"
She nodded quickly.
"Physically assaulting a wizard like that could get you into trouble, but I think given the circumstances and the public nature of it all, you should be fine legally. I'm sorry that your first party had to end on such a sour note."
Petunia bit her lip. "It wasn't all bad. Most of the people there didn't even realize that I don't have magic. They just assumed I was some foreign witch that Jasmine had brought with her. It was fun."
Euphemia smiled gently, wrapping an arm around the young woman and giving her a gentle squeeze. "I'm glad. Now, let's get you two home to your parents in a timely manner. I have a feeling that you two both want to get home in time for Christmas."
Both Evan's girl's nodded. Lily gave Jasmine and Euphemia a hug and kissed James lightly on the cheek. "See you all soon. Your gifts should have either been delivered or will be delivered before the night is out. Happy Christmas."
Petunia gave everyone a very quick hug before moving to stand next to her sister near the fireplace. "It was nice seeing you all. I can't wait to start working with you in August, Jasmine."
Jasmine nodded as the green flames erupted behind the Evans sisters. It was nice seeing them on a regular basis. Petunia wasn't nearly as bad as she expected her to be, but then again, she hadn't met Vernon yet. Vernon seemed to have sucked all of the fun out of Petunia. She seemed to have an adventurous and rebellious spirit as a teen, which was rather shocking, but Jasmine found that she liked the woman that Petunia Evans was slowly growing into.
There a small smattering of farewells before the girls headed home and then house was quiet once more.
"So, who was supposed to be with the Evans girls when that altercation happened?" Euphemia asked, her hands on her hips as she scowled at the two remaining teens in the room, her left foot tapping impatiently on the hardwood.
James took one look at his mother and bolted out of the room, his dress robes flapping about as he turned a corner. "James Fleamont Potter!"
~*~
Death greeted her on Christmas Eve after went to bed for the evening. He did always love giving her a gift in person…or as close to in person as Death could really get. The Deity loomed over her as she woke in the dream. Death was humming a quiet tune that would make the most seasoned killers squirm as he ran a skeletal hand through her hair.
"It has been some time, my Mistress. Lady Magic has only become stronger with each family you influence. She is quite pleased with you."
Never a friendly visit, always right down to business. Death always had something to tell her, which was fine with her, but sometimes she wished there were a bit more pleasantries involved…
Fate must be pissed that Death is gaining favor with Lady Magic. Jasmine grimaced, she was going to need to watch her back. Fate hated it when Death gained any kind of favor over her chosen. "I'm making sure that powerful magical families make it to the next generation. I'd hope she'd be pleased with me."
It wasn't often that Jasmine made strides in her fight against the destruction of the magical world. At least she was getting confirmation that Lady Magic approved of her progress so far. Death was easy to please, since the deity really didn't have an accurate concept of living magic. The idea that families were being saved from dying meant she was making progress, but just because they aren't dead, doesn't mean they won't join Voldemort.
Lady Magic wanted to balance out the magical world with white, grey and dark magic, something Death doesn't deal in regularly, nor does the deity really care about it. Death more or less dealt with the souls of what magic had touched…souls were like echoes, some louder than others.
Theo and Blaise were souls that burned loudly enough to barter with Death to accompany Harriet through her lives. Death had told her multiple times throughout her many lives that her soul sung to him in a way that he couldn't properly describe, but he claimed it put him at ease. Though, that is what she assumed the Master of Death was contracted to do. She was Death's humanity and in return when she was old enough, she would receive a piece of Death's own abilities in return for her services.
The trade never seemed quite fair to her, but that could be because she was roped into saving the world.
"At least you've made it past your sixteenth birthday. That hasn't' happened in too many of your lives"
No, it hadn't. Harriet had died in various times as a young teen. Harriet died in the Triwizard tournament twice, the department of mysteries once, there was the one time her uncle ran her over when she was twelve, and she died hunting horcruxes three times…out of her nine previous lives, she had managed to get this far in her life cycle five times.
"Granted, you dropped me in the body of a fifteen-year-old, so I've made it a year and a half without getting myself killed."
The Deity grinned, completely unnatural with polished pointed teeth. "Better than a malnourished eleven-year-old stuck at their magic hating relatives' home."
She certainly wasn't going to argue with that. Jasmine might be physically damaged, but internally, she was fit as race a horse. Living as Harriet had always been rough. The Dursley's treatment of her had been abhorrent not only physically, but mentally as well. "Crazy to think that the Patrons had more human decency in some respects than Harriet's family."
Death's fingers were still carding through her hair and they paused for a moment. "Are you ready to assume the head of Peverell family come July?"
"Of course. I've been waiting to do this for nine lives. I've only ever taken the seat by proxy. I've never had children to pass the title onto even what I had it," she rolled her eyes, "I didn't think you wanted to share me with others."
Death let out a dramatic sigh as cold fingers began running a hand through her hair again. "I want to make sure that your family is able to provide services to me for generations to come. You seem to slowly be coming into a position to do that."
In other words, Death didn't want to be alone for millennia after she passes away, so Death wanted her to start thinking about having children.
They sat in silence for a few moments, "Is there anything else that you wanted to tell me?"
"Death was supposed bring us here right away, but it seems that we were ignored…" a familiar voice commented from her left.
Theo.
He looked much the same as he always has. It was odd after seeing his father in school and realizing just how much he took after Nott senior. As always, her Theo's eyes were such a rich warm brown.
She launched herself at her friend and embraced him. "Happy Christmas."
"Not quite Christmas in the US yet, but close enough. Happy Christmas, Harriet," he murmured into her hair.
"Is there room for one more?"
Blaise didn't even wait for a reply before pulling both Harriet and Theo into his arms. It had been far too long since they had seen each other. Nearly five months.
"What have you two been up to?"
Theo shrugged. "Planning out the future. I'll be spending a year traveling learning about healing magic. I'm hoping that I'll be able to run into you during your internship. I'm also planning on locating some dark magical artifacts that Tom left lying around."
That sounded like a solid plan, "Have you secured the diadem?" Theo asked, eyebrow raised.
She cursed, "I knew I was forgetting something. I guess that's my end of term project this year. I might also want to take care of the little basilisk problem in the basement," she muttered as an afterthought, "Speaking of future plans, what are you doing Blaise?"
Theo snickered as Blaise's face pinked. "Well, I may or may not be getting married?" He squeaked out and Theo's snickers moved into full blown laughter. Blaise smacked him upside the head, though it did little to deter his chuckling. "Shut up, you prat."
She raised an eyebrow. Blaise had never really settled down in any of her lifetimes. He had never shown any desire to stick with one person for more than a few weeks. "So, who is the unlucky soul stuck with you?"
Blaise shoved her none too gently, turning away from her. Theo had managed to settle himself enough to explain the situation to her. "He's marrying a young woman from a Mayan tribe. Their magic meshes well with each other, so they were paired up and slated to marry. She's a nice girl, keeps his large head attached to his shoulders and out of the clouds for the most part." Theo replied easily and Blaise wasn't making eye contact with her.
"If it makes you feel any better, the Black family wants me to marry Sirius."
Both boys turned towards her, eyes wide. Theo's mouth was agape. "They want you to marry the heir to their family? What kind of impression did you make when you first met them?"
She pouted and crossed her arms. "I feel like I should be insulted that you think I'm so unappealing and tactless that they couldn't like me."
Blaise worried his lip between his teeth for a moment, before he gave Jasmine a response. "It isn't that you're tactless, it's that for them to be willing to marry their heir to someone who also has a prominent heirship, is more than a little unheard of, especially with the Black family. They live for prestige and gaining notoriety. You must be quite the catch."
She motioned to the world around them, Death literally lounging on a bench behind them pretending not to be there. "Master of Death mean anything to you? The Black family might not know what I can do, but my family name holds weight…and I might have impressed Cassiopeia Black a few months ago and I think she wants to keep me."
Blaise choked and Theo's eyes went wide. "You've impressed Cassiopeia? There were rumors of her ruthless nature being whispered in the department of mysteries twenty years after her death," Theo hissed, fists clenched, his head tilted backwards praying for patience that would never come.
Harriet shrugged, a sheepish smile gracing her lips. "I just didn't back down when she questioned me. I took a "show no fear" approach and it paid off. It also helps that I'm powerful and I'm not afraid to show it."
"As long as they know that you aren't to be manipulated, I don't see a problem with a marriage into the Black family, save for the obvious…"
Yes, the rather large elephant in the room being the fact she was a time traveler. "I honestly can say I that I don't think I ever knew Sirius in the future. Azkaban did something to him…"
Theo grimaced, his father had spent a few months in that cursed prison in more than one lifetime. He touched his unblemished arm that had been broken in various places by a well placed bludgeoning curse from his father in a fit of rage. "Yes, it does tend to do that to people."
"Did you sign any paperwork?" Blaise asked wiggling his eyebrows. "Should we be setting aside a date for a wedding?"
She felt her cheeks heating up and she crossed her arms. "No, we aren't getting married. Merlin, Blaise, we're sixteen. While his family is actively searching to find Sirius a match, we've agreed that if things fall into the correct place and we both grow up some, we'd be willing to revisit the option of an engagement, a long one."
"You have a career to pursue and you want Sirius to grow into himself. It's the oddest thing being so much older, yet trapped in such a young body," Theo mused with a wry grin.
"You act like we're ancient, Theo, we have the added up mental years of a sixty-year-old. We lived nine lives as teenagers. We have no life experience," Blaise complained with a huff, "We've never even made it past twenty-one collectively between us. You always died before that could happen."
Death stood from his bench, his bare feet killing the imagined grass underfoot. "As much as I enjoy listening to the prattling of mortals, I expect more progress to be made between the three of you in the coming year. It is time to begin collecting the abomination's toys. You've taken away key players, now it is time to steal his perversions of immorality."
She nodded, and turned towards her two oldest friends. Theo grabbed her hand, "I'll be visiting soon, and I'll begin the hunt. Blaise will research better means of finding them."
She squeezed his. It was a promise.
Notes:I hope you all enjoyed!
Leave your comments and kudos below!
~SugarPhantom