A Sirius Change

Chapter 7: Trust

Draco was not looking forward to this evening. It had been only two days since he'd been to Azkaban, and his visit with Lucius was troubling him. Why had he been so forthcoming about the ammonite, and what the hell was up with the family heirlooms in the Gringotts vault? He thought that he might just ignore whatever they might be, but in the end, curiosity got the better of him and he went to the vault.

There was a golden quill (from the golden goose, of course). There was a pocket watch that didn't tell time, but told the positions of the North Star and of Venus and Mars. There was a ring, gold, with three stones, but otherwise non-descript. And there was a set of small portrait miniatures. There was one of Narcissa, painted when she was at Hogwarts; she flirted a lot. There were a few of the grandfather he remembered vaguely, in which all he did was stand there and smoke a different cigar in each portrait, and there was another of his maternal grandfather. Draco had never met him. His mother rarely talked about him. Lucius had told him that he had died a horrible bloody death and that it had served him right. Lucius seemed to indicate that his grandfather´s death was a result of who he was, but he would not elaborate. Grandfather Frost had spent most of his adult life in colonial India as an advisor to the Raj. His mother used to tell long stories of the opulence of living there and of the vivid colours and smells and flowers. She also described the natives in such uncomplimentary terms, it made Draco wonder why it took the Indian people so long to throw the intruders out.

Draco had scooped out the vault's contents and took the items immediately to a well known curse-breaker shop in Diagon Alley. He knew Lucius too well to assume these artefacts were just innocent heirlooms. As it turned out, none of the objects had detectable magic applied to them. Still, Draco was a bit spooked.

He was also feeling the strain of keeping the ammonite with him. Sirius had wanted to keep it, but Draco knew better. Sirius needed to take care of business before haring off after Cordelia. But standing between your boss and his very much loved wife was a bit intimidating. It wasn't anything like being threatened; it was his own determination to do the right thing, despite what his boss wanted, which was stressful. His instinct was to give the ammonite over and disavow any responsibility for Sirius using it foolishly. But that was then, this was now and that was not the right way to do this.

So here he was dressing for dinner. He was supposed to meet Ginny at seven. They were going out to dinner with Ginny's second in command, and occasional fiancé, Grant. Grant was now in charge of the Pacific Rim division of Circé and had recently become engaged to someone other than Ginny. Ginny had informed Draco that Grant was in town to discuss Circé finances and Ginny insisted on them meeting. Draco was hoping it wouldn't be a test. Was this Ginny's attempt to get Grant's blessing on their relationship? He hoped not, because Grant would probably disapprove, as did most of Ginny's co-workers. He just wasn't in the mood to be all that charming at this moment.

He threw his cape across his shoulder, ran his hand through his hair and left the flat.

*********

The food had been good. He chose the wine, so of course that was satisfactory, and this Grant character wasn't bad at all. He was easy going, polite, and he really seemed to know publishing from many different angles. Draco knew that this would be a bit of a working dinner, but when the main course had been served and Ginny and Grant were still wrapped up in the updates on financials and circulation, Draco knew any hope for social conversation with Ginny or Grant was futile.

Draco watched Ginny through the appetizer and salad. She positively glowed. He had never seen her so animated, yet knowledgeable about any subject they had discussed to date. Ginny occasionally updated him on her day, when they were together, but this wasn't just Ginny looking enthused about a potential interview, or joyous from really good circulation numbers. This was a give and take that no one could or should interrupt. Ginny and Grant spoke the same language with the same fluency. They both were completely absorbed once the conversation began and Draco knew it could still be going five to ten hours from now if he and Fiona didn't whither and die of boredom first.

"Are they always like this?" Draco asked Fiona with a nod of his head in Ginny and Grant's direction.

Fiona laughed, "Usually it's worse. This is mild. They still actually know we're here, although it might not seem like it."

"I see. So what do you do, Fiona?" Draco reckoned he couldn't sit and just eat; he may as well get to know this woman. If he stayed with Ginny he might be spending a lot of time with Fiona.

"I'm a photographer. I'm generally a photojournalist. I don't go much for people standing still. I like to tell stories with my pictures and if I get just the right scene, with just the right composition, the subjects react and tell their stories."

With that, Draco and Fiona were off discussing photographic art and some of the places Fiona had travelled to get a story. She had spent a considerable amount of time in New Delhi, while growing up, and had been familiar with his mother's family, the Frosts. They had been a very well known family.

By the time dessert had arrived, Draco and Fiona had exhausted all of their conversation and were back watching the two halves of the Circé common brain operate.

"That is amazing," Draco commented.

"Isn't it?" Fiona answered. "You should see them at the office. He anticipates what she wants next and she finishes his sentences. Kind of creepy if you ask me."

"So why didn't they marry?"

"Grant always told me that if they were still together, they would work each other to death. There would never be time off, since they don't seem to know how to avoid the subject of Circé when they´re both in the same room."

"I see. So they were both afraid they would never have a break?"

"That and if Ginny were to marry, whoever was her husband would be entitled to half of Circé. She may be young, but she isn't going to give up control for anyone."

"I see. I don't blame her, actually. Self-preservation was what I was raised on."

"It isn't so much self-preservation as potential lack of trust. She realizes that she is a wealthy witch who has to be very careful about whom she's with. She really is afraid she'll get taken. Someone will marry her for Circé and her money and then shut her out, fire her and dump her. Grant has a 25% share in the company, but Ginny has 60% of the stock. Other small investors, mainly people who advertise regularly in Circé, own the other 15%. Ginny has been very generous with bonuses at Circé, but she maintains control." Fiona was looking at Ginny with respect, but Draco noted no real jealousy in Fiona´s eyes.

"I wasn't aware she was a control freak."

"Well, not about most things. But to her Circé is not 'most things.' I've spent quite a few dinners with these two. Circé is her life, her passion, and she's made it quite successful."

"That she has," Draco commented as he downed the last of his wine.

****************************

Ginny stepped out of the bathroom in one of his old t-shirts. She was brushing her hair. He really did love her hair, the shine, the silkiness as it trailed across his body. That alone made him ready for her. It always smelled slightly of cinnamon as well. "I take it Circé is having some financial issues?" Draco asked.

"Sorry about that. I really hadn't intended to talk business through the whole meal," Ginny said, apologetically as she laid the brush on the dresser and walked towards the bed.

Draco shrugged, "You both looked like you were enjoying it."

"Yeah, about that ... did you get to know Fiona?" Ginny asked as she sat down next to him.

"Oh yes, she's a marvellous girl, truly marvellous," Draco said sarcastically. "She did tell me, however, that this wasn't an atypical dinner with you and Grant. She also pointed out that she wasn't the jealous type. I told her I was."

Ginny's eyebrows rose, "Are you?"

"Yes, I am," he said as he pulled her on top of him, with the covers still separating them.

"My, Mr. Malfoy, but you are happy to see me?" she commented, wiggling around just a bit.

"Always," he murmured, as he slid his hands up the backs of her legs.

"Mmmmmm." Ginny snuggled in closer and rested her head on his chest. "Grant was telling me about the bank in Singapore's threat to call in our operational loan."

"What happens then?" Draco asked as he stroked her hair and lightly kissed the top of her head.

"If we can't pay off the loan, they can take over the Far East division and sell it to the highest bidder, and at the moment we don't have that kind of cash. The fire is pulling a lot of our cash reserves."

"So would a buyer operate it as Circé or would they try to change the name and just use the equipment?"

"They wouldn't even have to change the name. In the Far East, they could continue to call it Circé; they could use our subscribers and distribution system and put out a shitty product. People would end up assuming that Circé was us. I really hate the idea of losing that division."

"So where is the money coming from?" Draco asked, starting to slip her green lace knickers down her hips.

"We haven´t figured that out yet," Ginny said, propping her head on his chest,looking up at him.

"What about your secret stash?"

"What secret stash?" Ginny asked as she began to nuzzle his neck.

"The one you started with from your secret admirer."

Ginny laughed, but pulled her face up. "Investor. Secret investor. No, I'm definitely not using that money. After what you told me yesterday about Avian Peregrine, I'm convinced he was behind the fire and that it's somehow tied into Sloan. And if Sloan was my secret investor, then the fire at Circé may not have been targeted at Sirius. What if Avian wanted to recoup that money by taking over Circé? Nope, I'm not going to let that happen."

"What if it wasn't Peregrine?" Draco asked, caressing her back.

"Didn't you say you and Colin thought Peregrine was behind all the things that had been happening to Sirius?"

"Yes, but I'm talking about your investor. What if it wasn't Peregrine?"

"Of course it was him. Who else could it be? It makes so much sense."

"I know it fits all neat and perfect, but what if it wasn't him?"

"It was and I'm not letting that arsonist take over Circé one piece at a time," Ginny said as she moved in to kiss him.

Draco pulled his head away, "Look, it wasn't Peregrine."

"Then who set the fire?"

"That was probably Peregrine. I'm talking about the investor. The investor wasn't Sloan Peregrine," Draco said emphatically.

"Sure it was. I got a note from him. I bet I could do handwriting analysis, come to think of it. Or I wonder if there is a charm that would tell me who wrote the note. I never thought of that before," Ginny said. Draco could see the light of challenge in her eye.

Draco drew her hair back away from her face. "There is a charm that can tell you, but it wasn't Sloan Peregrine, Ginny. If it wasn't Peregrine's money,would you use it?"

Ginny kissed him. She seemed energized by the prospect of finding out who was behind the fire. "Probably not. I just don't want to play that game with Circé. It's too big a risk,that this mystery investor will want something."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Then I really wouldn't trust him. I'm surprised you wouldn't think the same way, Draco."

Draco pulled away again. "So even if this investor really just wants to see you succeed?"

"No one is that free with money. I knew that going in. I always knew using that money would come back to haunt me, but I want to pick the place and the time. If I use it now they control me."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Use the damn money, Ginny."

"Why?" Ginny sat up, straddling his legs. "What's it to you? Jeez, by the way you're acting, you'd think you were the investor." Ginny looked at him, laughing. The laughter died on her face after a moment, though. She looked hard at him. Draco met her gaze for a long moment, then looked away.

"Holy Merlin, you are, aren't you?" Ginny jumped off the bed, and stood there, running her hand through her hair.

Draco leaned forward in the bed, "Yes. I was your investor. Damn, you're slow, Weasley. Hell, I left that dragon in there with it. You keep it on your desk. I thought you'd figure it out right away."

Draco had to admit Ginny looked stunned.

"Why?" she asked with a very pained sound to her voice.

Draco took a deep breath. "That was when you were seeing Harry. I was still a bad guy, one of Allegra's minions. We were going to use it to hurt Harry. Allegra was extremely obsessed with hurting Harry at that stage. Then you went and did it for her. How the hell were we to know that you'd cheat on Harry? We all assumed that Harry would dump you first. You were supposed to be the victim there. Everyone knew that."

Okay,maybe Ginny was really stunned now. Her previous look of horror was not even close to the expression she was wearing now. Draco realized he hadn't used as much tact as he should have. Damn. He reached across the bed.

"Don't even THINK of touching me now, Malfoy! That's what all this has been all about, hasn't it? You need the money now, so bed Ginny, she'll be dumb enough to trust you! All you had to do was seduce me, and poof,you're back in the black." Ginny was pacing, collecting her things. Draco could see the anger, almost hear her brain jumping to the wrong conclusions. Then it hit. She whirled on him. "I always knew it was something, but I couldn't figure out why you'd be interested in me. Now it's very clear."

Ginny was hurriedly getting dressed. Draco tried to think of some way to deny what she was accusing him of, but he couldn't think of anything that she would believe at this point. He took a deep breath. His knew his anger wouldn't help, but it took everything he had not to grab her and try to make her listen. In order to keep himself from shaking her, he had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaned back against the headboard.

"I don't want your fucking magazine, Ginny. I'm telling you to use the money. I won't try to take anything in return."

"You expect me to believe that? How stupid do you think I am? Yes, I cheated on Harry. I'll own up to that one, but victim and stupid? I'm so glad you hold such a high opinion of me." She was halfway to the door now, muttering that it was all about money.

He couldn't let her go like that. Draco sprang from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. He followed on her heels as she stormed through the flat. She opened the door and Draco lunged to close it. "Damn you,it's not about the money. I'm giving you the damn money. I don't want the money and I don't want the Far East division."

"Tell it to someone who trusts you, Malfoy." With that, she drew her wand and cast a stunning curse.

He heard the door slam shut as he fell to the carpet, with his vision going black and his limbs feeling boneless.

*****************

Three hours later, Draco came to. His head hurt like hell and he felt groggy. He could not believe she had gotten the jump on him. "You´re losing it, Malfoy," he muttered to himself. That was the first time he had ever allowed himself to get stunned. Usually he was prepared, usually he was on guard. He decided that joining the good guys had made him soft. He would not let that happen again.

He knew in the morning he was expected to be at Sirius´ office to set off to try to find Cordelia. He couldn´t just leave things where they stood with Ginny. He whistled for his owl. He waited. She didn´t show up. He called again, her cage was empty. Every once in awhile Bernice, his Eagle Owl, would go out at night and visit her former friends near Malfoy manor. She could be gone for days at a time, and apparently this was one of those times. Draco decided he needed a more dependable owl. But that would have to wait. Telephone would do for now. He hated using the damn telephone, but her fireplace had been disconnected from the network ever since the Circe fire for security reasons. Why on earth Muggles would invent a communication device that wouldn´t allow you to see the other part was beyond him and bothered him no end. His Father had been an expert in saying one thing and implying something else just with his facial expression and body language. Fireplace communication could add much more to the context than by telephone. Words over a wire could be so easily misconstrued.

Draco dialed Ginny´s number. It rang, and rang, and rang. Finally the answering machine picked up. Ginny had gotten it from her dad, after Arthur had taken it apart, examined every piece and put it back together. Draco wasn´t at all sure of the reliability of the reconditioned machine, but he did occasionally leave messages and she usually got them. As the message began to play it was cut off by a gruff "Hullo?"

Draco could hear rustling in the background, and the voice that answered was undeniably male and sounded sleepy. Draco stayed silent.

The sleepy male voice answered again, clearer this time, "Hello?"

In the background he could hear Ginny call out, "Grant? Who´s on the phone at this hour?"

Draco was deciding between saying a lot of sarcastic snarky things, or just keeping quiet.

"I don´t know ... whoever it is isn´t saying," Grant responded to Ginny, hanging up the phone.

"Like that, is it?" Draco mumbled and put down the phone. Well, put down is a bit mild. He actually yanked the phone from the wall and threw it across the flat. He paced for a good half hour after that, half tempted to go over to Ginny´s and curse the balls off Grant. He also considered looking up Fiona and seducing her, but decided there wasn´t enough time for that plan.

"Damn her," he muttered and finally collapsed on the couch.

************************

Sirius paced his office. He was waiting. He hated waiting. He´d done everything that needed to be done, but he had to wait. He had to wait on Draco, no less. He should have just jumped him on the yacht and grabbed the ammonite. He could be where Cordelia was right now. He had argued, cajoled, pleaded, and begged Draco to let him take it, just to keep it safe until the arrangements could be made to go find Cordelia. But the bastard had refused.

Draco had been adamant. He would keep the ammonite until they had a set of security procedures in place and until Sirius had completed his tasks. The thought of his tasks made a shiver ripple down his spine.

"There are things you need to take care of, Sirius," Draco had commented calmly.

"What the hell can be more important than finding Cordelia? We know she´s being held. We know how to get to her. Damn it, let´s just do it."

"No."

"The hell with you, Draco. I´m ordering you to hand over the ammonite."

To this Draco just smiled. "I´ve always enjoyed taking orders from you. And I´ve so often listened, haven´t I?"

Sirius was steaming by then. "Is that it, Malfoy? You want to be in charge? Is this some fucking power game to you?"

"No, actually it´s not. I told you what Lucius said. He said the Animagus never came back. If you insist on being a part of this rescue, which I´m assuming you will be, I´m telling you to go home and take care of things like you aren´t going to come back."

Sirius remembered he had stared at Draco for a long time. He did suddenly understand. Draco had a good point, damn him. He had to provide a place for the kids. He had to assume that neither he nor Cordelia were going to make it back alive. He had a will and they had stipulated guardians for their children, but there were more than a few loose ends he needed to take care of. There were also some people he needed to talk to before he left, Harry and Remus, of course. He needed to visit Gringotts and make provisions to implement his will, and he needed to make sure he could locate Cordelia´s will.

Tasks. Yes, they were all done. He was ready. Damn, Malfoy was late. He looked at his watch. Well, maybe not late. They had agreed to meet up at 9 this morning. It wasn´t quite 8:30. He hadn´t heard Colin come in yet and returned to pacing.

Half an hour later, Colin had arrived and they were going over the plan. If the ammonite worked as a normal Portkey they should be able to transport five to six people at the same time. Sirius and Colin would go. Colin had chosen four of his best guards to accompany them. Sirius and Colin had discussed allowing Draco to go, but had decided against it. Colin was hesitant at Draco´s volatility and inability to take orders. Sirius was just not ready to rely on Draco for his and Cordelia´s life quite yet. They´d only been working together for a few months, and while Draco´s choices so far had been the right ones, Sirius knew he had not been tested. It hadn´t come down to a choice between doing what was right and Draco´s self interest. So far they had corresponded, but on this Draco had no interest in keeping Cordelia alive. So they had decided to exclude him. He was not going to like this even one little bit.

Sirius deeply wished Harry could be the one to go with him. He would have gone with just Harry if he´d had his way about it, but Colin wouldn´t hear of going without proper backup. Besides, Sukesh had made it clear that Harry wasn´t stable enough to go on this type of assignment at this time, maybe once they understood what had happened to him while he was away, but not now.

Sirius had talked to Harry and Hermione over the weekend, and told them the situation and the plan. They had been grim-faced, and tried to talk him out of going. Harry and Hermione had agreed to be Charlie and Ian´s guardians if Sirius and Cordelia didn´t come back, and they had promised that they would allow Kate to be wholly involved in the children´s lives as well. Cordelia´s house in London would be sold and the farm would revert back to Kate. Sirius had kept Harry up very late detailing the contents of their bank accounts and Gringotts vaults. Harry kept reassuring Sirius that they would be back and that all of this would be unnecessary. When Sirius walked away from Bailicroft that night he´d just felt cold. The weather was cold, but this was a cold that penetrated his heart. He´d had it all, he thought to himself. He could be gone by Tuesday. He Apparated to Remus' flat.

"Christ, Sirius, it's 2 AM, don't you need to be home?" Remus had greeted him in a bathrobe, hair tousled, obviously called from sleep.

"You're alone?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, of course. For god's sake come in. Can I get you anything?" Remus asked, voice thick with sleep, as he moved from the doorway and headed towards the kitchen.

"Have you got any good whisky?" Sirius followed, closing the door, and rubbing his eyes.

Remus rummaged around in the cupboards, finally extracting a bottle. "The bottle you gave me for Christmas hasn't yet been opened."

"Good, you saved it for me. Yes, I'd very much like you to open it now, please."

"That good an evening? What the hell happened?"

"I've just been over to Bailicroft. We were talking about wills and custody and where the kids should go to school, all under the assumption that Cordelia and I would be gone soon."

"Well, that's a fun topic. You know that I should come with you. If it has anything to do with werewolves, shouldn't I be there?" Remus had asked, settling the drinks in front of them.

Sirius shook his head, "We don't know anything about this group, except that their Portkeys might be fatal to shapeshifters. If this is a group bent on the destruction of werewolves, I'm certainly not taking you in to be slaughtered. Been there, done that to James and Lily."

Remus shook his head. "You didn't kill James and Lily. What if it's other werewolves? What if having me along can be a bridge to them?"

"I don't want to risk it. I have enough mental instability at the moment to deal with. Harry's not quite right or I'd be taking him. I'm not destroying what's left of my sanity by risking the only man in the world I can wake up in the middle of the night to get a good glass of whisky from, even if I did have to buy you the bottle myself."

"I should go."

"No. Besides, with Harry sidelined the I.D. needs all the expertise it can hang on to. I don´t think Argo would spare you for what is essentially a personal mission."

"It´s not a personal mission. Cordelia is an important member of your office. The I.D. should be involved. They have the manpower and the resources and the research capability to launch a much more successful retrieval," Remus commented.

"Colin and I discussed that with Argo last week. She didn´t have any more information on The Pard than we did and we all agreed that it would be better politically and diplomatically to let Colin and his team take charge of this."

"So I just get left out, eh? I see what kind of mental state you´re in. You need someone with you in case you lose it, Sirius."

"I will. We have a team determined and each and every one of them is capable of taking my place. Hell, I wouldn´t even have to go, except they need my blood for the Portkey. At least that´s what we assumed."

"Why can´t they use my blood? I don´t have a family. I don´t have the responsibility for the peace of the wizarding world resting on my shoulders. Let me do this for you."

"I can´t not go! This is Cordelia! I trust the rest of the team, but I´m not letting any of them go in my place."

"Fine, but what if something happens to you, don´t you think another shapeshifter on the team just might not be a bad idea?"

"Damn it, Remus, just be here when we get back." Sirius took a couple of deep breaths, and a large gulp of whisky, swallowing his anger and fear. "Now tell me about this new woman I've been hearing about."

"Changing the subject?"

"Yes."

Remus stared at Sirius for a long moment. Sirius knew he was deciding whether to insist on going or not. When Remus launched into a description of Diz's charms, Sirius knew his friend had backed down. He breathed a sigh of relief, and poured himself another whisky.

Two hours later they were both saturated and had discussed Harry's mental instability, Hermione's courage, Diz and Cordelia's intellectual and physical charms, Sirius' kids latest achievements, the Quidditch regional finals, Draco's motives, the Pard's plans, politics at the I.D. and in the Deputy Chancellor'soffices, how much Sirius missed Cordelia, Lucius Malfoy, Sloan Peregrine, Avian Peregrine, Mason Randall, the Muggle stock market, and how much Sirius missed Cordelia.

"Do you want me to walk back to the townhouse with you?" Remus asked as Sirius stepped out into the night.

"No, I think I can make it that far."

"Okay, just so you aren´t planning to Apparate," Remus cautioned.

Sirius laughed. "I know better than to do that after half a bottle of whisky."

"You'll get her back. She'll be fine."

"God, Remus, she has to be."

"I know. Good night."

They embraced, and for a moment Sirius felt like he just might break down. But he realized how stupid he would feel asking to blow his running nose on Remus' robe; it looked too nice for that. That brought him back and straightened his spine. He knew that was a silly reason for strengthening his resolve, but it worked. It worked.

"Good night, Remus. Thanks for everything."

"If you really want to thank me, tell me I can help."

"No, stay here and be here when I need you."

Remus smiled. "Good night. Good luck."

"Thanks," Sirius had called back from the base of the steps.

When he reached the townhouse it was way nearly dawn. Charlie and Ian would be awake in just a few hours. He wanted to get them from their beds and cuddle with them, but he knew he might wake them and never get them back to sleep. Instead he lingered in each of their rooms, then he went back into his own room and collapsed on the bed and let himself cry. He hadn´t cried since the night she left, but this was it.

The next morning he made them breakfast and helped Ian eat his. He chattered with Charlie and told them he was going on a trip to meet Mummy and that she would be coming home with him. That made both the kids smile and Ian was very excited about seeing his mum again. He kissed them both fiercely and gave each a very long hug. He felt the burning in his eyes once more, but managed to fight it off. He said goodbye one more time, stepped out into the foyer and Apparated to his office.

*****************

Four days after Cordelia had regained consciousness, Lisette was still her constant companion. The doctors came and went, and they discussed her ever improving condition with her, but still wouldn´t answer any questions about where she was or why she was there. She had been allowed to get up out of bed and she had been allowed to sit in a lovely conservatory, but she never saw any other patients and Lisette was always with her or within hearing.

A physical therapist named Gina had been sent to her to start working with her arm. It was stiff and sore and her range of movement was very limited. Gina and Lisette were close friends and they talked about people and places they were both familiar with. Cordelia was able to pick up a few items of interest, such as the fact that the Lair was busier this week than normal, but no one seemed to be getting hurt; the guards who had hurt her were apparently in very bad trouble for hurting her; Eduardo was straight, but his lover, Frank didn´t know; and Mai had dyed her hair blonde and it was falling out. That was apparently a large tragedy. Whenever she asked them anything, they clammed up and stated the standard line she had been getting since she woke up. "All your questions will be answered as soon as we know something." Then they would go off again in their own conversation.

Cordelia wanted to scream the fortieth time she heard that line, but no one was saying anything of consequence to her and there was nothing she could do to change that. So she exercised her arm, she slept, she rested, she watched old movies, and she read the books Lisette brought her, and the days passed.

********************

Sirius was about to send out a search team to find Draco when the door to his office banged open and Draco walked through, unannounced as always, making Colin jump.

"Damn, Colin, you were slower than normal, getting old?" Draco drawled.

Colin just glared.

"Nice of you to show up, Draco," Sirius said, trying to keep the exasperation from his voice. He was not in a mood to joke around.

"I´m on time," Draco said defensively. "I didn´t sleep well, and my owl was called away. Usually I rely on her to wake me up. But I´m here now with the ammonite. Let´s get on with this."

Sirius reached out his hand for the ammonite. Draco hesitated.

"Give me the ammonite, you´re not going," Sirius said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Oh no, you don´t. My ammonite, I go."

"No. Colin and I don´t think you´d be suitable for this assignment. I will order you if I have to, but don´t make me. Be gracious about this, Draco."

"Like hell I will. I joined this department to help and to learn about how you people do things. I can´t learn to be trusted if you don´t trust me."

Colin chimed in, "That´s the trouble, Malfoy, I don´t trust you. Sirius needs people he can trust on this."

"Fine, go find yourself another Portkey." Draco shrugged.

"Draco. This is why you were not asked to go. You don´t follow orders and I need all the backup I can get. Are you ready to be considered backup, or do you want to run the show? You can´t run the show, Draco, know that I will be in charge here. This is my wife we´re going to get and I need people I can rely on."

"I can do that. You need me, not only for the ammonite. If this Pard is related to the dark arts, and you don´t know that they are not, I know more about that than anyone in this room, even you, Sirius. Don´t you think you might need that, going into an unknown situation? Why the hell did you hire me if not for that?"

Sirius considered this long and hard. "Fine. We add Draco, but we don´t subtract anyone. We don´t know whether this Portkey transports just one or fifty, so what difference will it make to add one more."

Colin gave Sirius a firm, "Yes, sir," but was glaring at Draco the whole time.

Finally Draco handed Sirius the ammonite and the team arranged themselves around Sirius. Since Sirius was the Animagus, they knew he had to hold the ammonite. Sirius took a pocket knife from the table and sliced his left arm. He wiped blood on each person´s hand, then picked up the ammonite. He felt that pull of a Portkey and felt the dizzying nothingness of transport.

Sirius hit the cave wall and fell to the ground. He shook his head and glanced up. He was in a dark tunnel; at first he thought he was alone, then as he sat up he glanced behind him for the others, but saw it was just him and Draco. No one else had made it. This was bad.

***********************

Seven days after Cordelia regained consciousness, she was escorted into a comfortable office. She knew she was still underground somewhere, but she still had no idea where on earth she was. The doctors had informed her that her condition was improving, but she wasn´t quite ready to go home, but she knew it was more than her medical condition keeping her there. Perhaps now she might get some answers, she thought as she dressed.

She had been given casual business clothes that fit like they had been made for her. When she questioned Lisette about that, Lisette had gushed about the clothes warehouse The Pard maintained. She explained that most lycanthropes went through clothes quite a bit faster than normal humans. One of the responsibilities the Pard had taken on was supplying their leopards with a superb selection of quality clothes either free or for minimal fees. Lisette had picked out a pair of beige linen trousers and a sky blue silk blouse that matched Cordelia´s eyes. A pair of light tan suede loafers had been provided, as well as underwear.

The office was formal with just a touch of tropical accoutrements. There was a massive desk and conference table, as well as a set of rattan couches with large cushions arranged with a coffee table between, for more casual conversations. Still there were no windows, and two of the walls were made of the rock she´d seen elsewhere.

A gentleman was seated on one of the rattan couches. He rose when Cordelia and Lisette entered the room. He was tall and slender and had dark skin and bright green eyes. Cordelia noticed that when he smiled his incisors were just a little bit pointed at the ends. Lisette bowed deeply and exited the room, walking backwards.

"Hello, Mrs. Black. My name is Kumar Allesandro." Cordelia reached out to the extended hand. Instead of a handshake, however, Allesandro brought her hand to his lips for a brief, gentle kiss on the knuckles. "I am the Nimir-Raj-Rex of the Pard. I realize you do not understand what that means. You are not familiar with us, our organization, or our structure as of yet, but suffice to say I am in charge here. I have arranged this meeting to answer all your questions and try to reassure you that we mean you no harm at the present time."

"What would you like me to call you, Mr. Allesandro?"

"For now, in this office, you may call me Kumar. However, outside amongst my people I request that you refer to me as The Rex. We have a great many traditions built up over several millennia that we need to conform to outside the privacy of this office."

Cordelia nodded. She was trying to be patient and remember as much about wereanimal diplomacy as she could, but her head hurt and she really just wanted some answers, now.

"May I call you Cordelia, or would you prefer Mrs. Black?"

"Cordelia is fine, but I really would like to go home. I´m sure the doctors in London can monitor whatever injuries I have as well as yours can. "

"I understand your desire to leave us, but you must know where you are and what it means to you. I guess I should start with the basics. You are at The Lair. This is the headquarters of The Pard. The Pard is the organization to which all wereleopards belong. You have only recently heard of us in conjunction with the pipeline project, and so far our efforts at diplomacy have failed. I believe I have been getting some bad information, but that isn´t relevant just now. We are here to provide a safe place for the wereleopards and help them to exist within the outside world. We have no plans to dominate the world, or achieve political or monetary dominance. We just want our people to be safe and have some place they can come when they need a safe haven. This is why our organization is secret. Various wereanimals have suffered from incredible prejudice to the point of near extinction. The British werewolf is an example of this. With no structure, no organization, and no safe haven, the wereanimal is indeed a very dangerous beast. The structure we have in place teaches control above all else. A wereanimal that can learn control and learn when control is not possible is as safe as any human."

"You make it sound so easy."

"No, Miss Cordelia, it is very far from easy."

"This is all simply fascinating, but just exactly why am I here? You could have told me this through diplomatic channels. You did not need to bring me here and then refuse to let me leave. How did I get here and why am I not allowed to leave?"

"Ahhhh, the obvious questions. You are here because you came to us. We had nothing to do with your arrival. In fact, as you´ve probably figured out, your arrival was a complete surprise and quite a shock. For the Deputy Chancellor´s wife to arrive at our doorstep during negotiations seemed too serendipitous to be anything but divine intervention."

"You believe in the divine?"

"Yes I do,Miss Cordelia, yes I do. I think anyone who doesn´t must be too arrogant or blinded to see it. You have only to look at our beautiful mountains to feel the truth in it."

"I would, Mr. Alles ... er ... Kumar, but I have yet to see your mountains in the seven days I´ve been here."

The Rex smiled, "I am truly sorry about that. You are being held so tightly because of who you are and for your own safety."

"So you know who I am and who my husband is, yet I haven´t been allowed to contact him and let him know I´m alive. I would really like to know why I´m feeling more and more like a bargaining tool."

"Your husband has been contacted and informed about your condition, but we have requested he not try to come see you."

"What? Why the hell not?"

"The fewer people that know our location the safer we all are."

"Do you mean if I know about your organization, someone might want to kill me?"

"No. That is not it. It is more personal, Miss Cordelia."

"More personal than someone out to kill me? How could anything be more personal?"

"When you were attacked upon your arrival, you received some very deep wounds to your arm. I got the confirmation this morning from your blood test. You were accidentally infected, and will start manifesting the symptoms of wereleopard lycanthropy in the next few weeks. That is why you have been kept here. We need you to learn the control each neophyte requires so that you are not a threat to your children."

Cordelia sat across from The Rex, utterly speechless for what seemed to be an endless moment. She slowly placed the lemonade, that she had been sipping, onto the table between them. Her hands were shaking too much to hold it. Finally she cleared her throat and laughed. She slowly got up and began to back away towards the door.

"This must be a mistake. I´m a Muggle. I can´t catch magical diseases. I can´t. The test must be wrong. It just is." She reached the door and fumbled for the handle.

"Ms. Cordelia, please." Kumar was advancing with his hands open and outstretched. "Lycanthropy can be contracted by wizard or Muggle. Wizards are more susceptible and generally a scratch such as yours, while deep, would not have affected a Muggle, but it has. You can take consolation in the fact that if a Muggle is infected, they generally become more powerful cats and advance quickly in the Pard's hierarchy."

Cordelia took a deep breath. "A blood test, eh? They have tests for these things?"

"Surprisingly, the Muggle community and medical system still doesn´t believe we exist and so refuses to acknowledge that a test is necessary. Wizard hospitals use it occasionally, but lycanthropy is still looked upon as a curse and something to be feared and mistreated, so not a lot of people use the test. Better to let others guess than have it confirmed in blood in the permanent record."

"Well, yes. Yes." Cordelia could feel herself starting to shake. She had trouble putting thoughts together. She knew she should be thinking through the implications of this, but right now she was trying desperately not to cry or scream or just shut down and refuse to accept this.

Cordelia closed her eyes and tried to breathe. She wasn´t one to be demonstrably upset. Her mother had always condemned those sorts of people as hysterical. She didn´t want to be hysterical, but her stomach felt as if it had been punched hard. If she could breathe, that meant she wasn´t an animal yet, right? She began to rethink the last two days. She´d been feeling quite different since she woke up, but couldn´t pinpoint what was making her feel that way. She had felt a warmth she hadn´t been able to identify; she assumed this was a fever. She knew she was healing faster than normal; this she put down to magic. Finally she was eating her meat a bit more raw lately; she´d assumed this was just the way they cooked things here, and when she sent her steak back, three nights ago, she found she didn´t care for it if it weren´t red in the centre. Cordelia tried to focus. Control, he said. Safe, he said. Not a threat to my children, he said. With that thought she let out a small sob, but quickly breathed through the shock and blinked back the prickling in the corners of her eyes. Clinging to the little shred of practicality, she asked quietly, "Not a threat to my husband?"

"What?"

"You said I wouldn´t be a threat to my children if I learned control, would I still be a threat to my husband?"

"We have learned he is an Animagus wizard. They are immune from lycanthropy."

"Oh."

"They are not, however immune from getting injured if you do not learn control. But since they are already part animal, their Animagusanimal will fight the virus that causes lycanthropy. I would dearly love to talk to your husband about why he chose to become an Animagus, but that is not relevant at the moment."

Cordelia was still taking deep breaths, only half listening. Her mind was awash in questions and absurd sudden thoughts about what this meant to her life. Clearing her head, she tried to arrange her questions.

"So what exactly does this mean to me? I know just a little bit about what it´s like to be a werewolf. Is being a wereleopard like that? Will I change with the full moon? Will I be sick afterward?"

"A lot depends on how powerful you are and the amount of control you have. It also depends on the support structure and the manner in which you change. As I said before, our Muggle leopards are generally stronger and better at control. I think this is because you don´t have other magic interfering, and because you haven´t been raised with the prejudices of the magical community."

"Are you a wizard?"

"Yes, I am, but my predecessor was not, so it makes no difference in our hierarchy."

"Why would my prejudices make a difference?"

"The more you resist the Change, the harder it is on your body. The wizards have been so indoctrinated that werewolves and other wereanimals are of the Dark Arts that they resist for a long time. It tends to block their talents as well."

"What do you mean talents? Do I get some sort of magic as a part of this deal?"

"Not magic, no. It will however concentrate your innate internal power. If you haven´t noticed, wereleopards have greater physical strength than uninfected persons. We also heal faster, as you will have noticed, and some can direct their energy to healing others. You will be evaluated as the time gets closer to your first change to determine just how your particular energy will react to this."

"I´ve been feeling warmer, and I did notice the healing."

"Good, then this is not such a shock to you?"

"Oh, it´s a hell of a shock, but ever since Lisette told me you were all wereleopards, I had begun to wonder, if it could happen to me. Now you sit here and confirm it." Cordelia blew out a deep breath.

This was all seeming surreal. Cordelia found herself asking very absurd questions, such as: what colour a leopard will I be? What if I don´t like eating raw meat? Do wereleopards get along with werewolves?

The Rex had some answers, but he could not answer others. They ended their meeting with the plan to meet again, once she had been evaluated. After this meeting, she had been allowed to go with Lisette to the communal dining area, and to interact with more than just Lisette. She found out Lisette was from New Zealand, and Cordelia met some of Lisette's Pard. She kept very quiet, only speaking when asked. She also found she was still shaking most of the evening. But she hadn´t cried. She felt like if she cried, she would completely fall apart, and she didn´t want to fall apart here amongst strangers. Here, she´d pretend it was okay. Here, she´d go along with this bizarre act. Sure she was going to be a wereleopard. Sure. Why not? Everyone here was. It helped her fit in.

**************************

Sirius and Draco sat looking at one another. Sirius was sore all over and his head was beginning to throb, and it wasn´t all due to the lump on his head. Here he was in some unknown location with only Draco Malfoy as backup. What bloody fun, Sirius thought.

"I guess it´s just us."

"I guess so," Draco mumbled, still apparently recovering from his own tumble into the wall.

"Where the hell are we?"

"In an underground tunnel."

Sirius just looked at him. "Can you stand?"

"I think so. How about you?"

Sirius slowly got to his feet using the wall as an aide. He stretched and shook himself. He was beginning to think more clearly. "This place seems to be deserted."

"An odd strategy at best."

Sirius began to look around. They were at a juncture to five different tunnel systems, all identical in the type of rock and how far you could see. There was a torch lit above them, but no torches to line the remainder of the halls.

"Well, which way?" Draco asked, peering down one of the tunnels.

Sirius closed his eyes and focused on an image of Cordelia. "Since we don´t have anything to go by, this way feels like the right way."

"You´re the boss."

Sirius looked surprised.

Draco smiled, "See, I can follow."

"Why you?" Sirius asked, breaking the silence in which they had walked for ten to fifteen minutes.

"Why not me? Maybe it´s Malfoy blood." Draco looked down at his hands which still had Sirius´ blood staining them. "Well, look at that. Damn him. He knew. He planned this."

Sirius could see the surprise on Draco´s face. "What? Who?"

"That´s why I´m here. Not that I didn´t want to come." Draco shook his head and laughed. "That´s what he was thinking. That I wouldn´t want to come."

"I´d love to be in on your revelations, but if you don´t want to..."

"Lucius. He set me up. This damn ring. It changes colour. When I got it out of the Gringotts vault it was a yellow topaz, now it´s red as garnet. I have no idea what triggers it, but Lucius knew and knew it would work with the ammonite."

"Why didn´t he just tell you what the ring did?"

"He wanted me to come along and he didn´t want me to have the choice about giving it to someone else. Did he know you were an Animagus?"

"Could be. I registered after my trial, so it´s public information. It´s not publicized though. Colin´s orders."

"That guy bugs me. Don´t you think he´s a bit off? Why did you choose him for your security?"

"He saved my life, what better bodyguard is that? He was guarding me before I knew him."

"Yes, I know," Draco said, looking away.

Sirius raised his eyebrow. "I didn´t realize you studied up on my history."

Draco glanced back, "I didn´t. I just knew that part."

"You followed the trial."

"Yeah,something like that."

"His testimony kept me out of Azkaban."

"I know that,too."

"You did follow the trial closely."

Draco shrugged, "Yeah, so what. So did everyone."

"Okay."

They walked another hundred yards and came to another juncture.

"Okay,make your best guess," Draco said, waiting patiently.

"You do it this time," Sirius said.

Draco shook his head. "No. I have no connection to Cordelia. I can´t lead us to her. I don´t really believe you can either, but it´s a bit better than flipping a coin."

"Could you find Ginny?"

Draco gave him a cold stare.

"Jeez, we may be here a long time together and we may die here together. I was just probing a bit to get a feel for whether you could connect with anyone."

"Fine, you want to know. I´ll tell you. I was late because we had a bit of a row. What about? About trust. She, and Colin, and everyone else are so sure that I can´t be trusted, can´t be counted on. What the hell? Do I ever get the chance to show I´ve changed? How many traumatic scars do I have to show the world to get you people to believe I can do this? I may have been brought up to be a Death Eater, but what of free will? What about what that arse Dumbledore would always say, 'It´s our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.' What about that! Of all people, you should know about misinterpretation."

Sirius was taken aback. "Whoa. All I asked was if you felt connected to her."

"Fine, the truth, since nothing else will satisfy any of you. Can you all take a simple none of your business, nooooooooo. Bunch of nosy..."

"Never mind, let´s go this way." Sirius gestured to the left.

"No, you needed the truth, you´ll get the truth. Yes, I was starting to allow myself to feel connected to her. So what does she do? She refuses my gift, throws my motives in my face and goes and sleeps with that fucking editor of hers. She should have married him long ago. It´s so incredibly obvious that he´s as pure as she is ... no dark magic in his family." Draco laughed. "Wonder what his fiancée will think. But then, maybe she´s used to it. You know she fucked him while she was seeing Harry,too."

"Okay, I´m assuming you are talking about Grant, Ginny´s right hand. Wasn´t he in Australia?" Sirius was confused.

"Yes. He and his fiancée, Fiona ... nice girl by the way, maybe I´ll fuck her. They were in town meeting about some financial difficulties the magazine has been having since the fire."

"And this turned into a late night meeting?" Sirius probed.

"After we had a row about me helping out with gold."

"I thought you were cut off?"

Draco sighed, "It´s a long complicated story, but I was the one to give her the money to start Circé to begin with. She still has keys to the vault, I told her to use it. She wouldn´t since she was certain it was Avian Peregrine causing the money trouble, someone wants to buy their Far Eastern operations."

"I take it you hadn´t told her before this that you were the original investor?"

"No. I knew if I told her she would second guess my motivations to be with her."

"And you were right, she did."

"Yes, I was right. She did."

"So then she slept with Grant."

"He was at her loft this morning at 3 am. Not generally a time you go for an innocent visit."

"Maybe they were talking about your money?" Sirius offered.

Draco laughed a cynical laugh, "Right."

"So you have no proof of her sleeping with him?"

"No direct proof, but if she could do it to the great Harry Potter, the love of all her Hogwarts days, it would be easy to do it to me. I´m just the untrustworthy, lying, scheming type, right?"

"Well, you did keep it from her until she was in a corner."

"I was trying to help her!" Draco yelled.

"I know that. If we get out of this I´ll talk to her, but you have to promise not to lie to her about anything."

Draco shook his head, "Trust me, Ginny and I have had this conversation. I´ve told her everything there was about me."

"Except that."

"Except that."

"Is there anything you haven´t told me?" Sirius asked.

"Fuck, why did you have to ask that? Haven´t I suffered enough distrust for one twenty-four hour period?"

"No, coming clean has consequences. We´ll trust you when you face up to those consequences after the secrets come out, or after you volunteer information that you don´t have to and that might hurt you because it´s the right thing to do, not because it´s the time when you can use that secret to your advantage."

"Damn, you´re going against everything I grew up with," Draco laughed.

"I know. That´s why we don´t trust you."

Draco took a deep breath. "Okay. Can you handle a truth?"

"Why not, we have time. We could be wandering through these tunnels for weeks."

"Remember I said I followed your trial?"

"Yeah?"

"I didn´t just follow it. I was a juror. In fact I was the juror that voted to put you back in Azkaban."

Sirius stopped dead. "What?"

"I was juror number seven." Draco stood there with a challenge in his eye. Defiant. Sirius thought he looked like he was waiting to be scorned.

"But that juror was a woman!"

"God, you chaps never heard of glamours?"

"Of course, but...." Sirius took a deep breath. He could feel the anger starting to cloud his thoughts. He knew it wasn´t rational and that what Draco just confessed to was a long time ago, but he felt betrayed all over again. He remembered the irritation he felt at that one juror. Everyone else had believed in his innocence. He´d always wanted to look her up and try harder to convince her. Either that or throttle her. "So you were out to get me?"

"It was Allegra´s big campaign to get to Harry any way she could. I was supposed to get you back in Azkaban, and finance Ginny´s magazine. The idea was that your incarceration would hurt Harry immediately. Then we´d use Circé to hurt Harry later. The plan was after it became successful, The Circle would try to take it over or they would try to get Ginny to do bad things to Harry to hold onto her magazine. How was I supposed to know she´d cheat on him before we got the chance to use her?"

They turned another corridor and before Sirius could respond, they came face to face with three large, muscular men, each with a small arsenal draped over their appendages.

*********************

Two days after the meeting with the Rex, Lisette told her it was time she got to know some of the others. Lisette and Dr. MacGregor had talked a lot about their own experiences as wereleopards and Cordelia was starting to accept it as possibly a reality, although it still felt surreal, like part of a play she was handed a script to. Lisette came to get her and gave her a pair of jeans and a white shirt, with a light blue sweater and a pair of trainers. First they would tour the Lair, then Lisette would introduce her around. They left the medical wing and moved out into the main corridor. There was a large common area that extended three stories up. Surrounding this atrium on each floor were rooms and offices. Cordelia remembered that The Rex´s office was on the third level, although they didn´t head there now. Lisette explained that each region had its own wing. The wings each had a set of rooms and a common area where people could get together and socialize. The main atrium was divided roughly into thirds. One third was a large kitchen facility, another third was the eating area and the final third was couches and more areas to socialize. After the tour, Lisette directed Cordelia over to another small group. She introduced them as some of the members of the London and Edinburgh Pard.

They had come to celebrate the vernal equinox. She learned that the pull of the moon this month was stronger and more of them felt the need to come to the Lair during March, June, September and December. Lisette introduced her and then wandered off to another group. Cordelia wasn´t fooled. She knew she was still being watched, but it was nice to separate a bit. While getting to know Lisette was interesting, not speaking to anyone else was starting to make her feel claustrophobic. As long as she pretended this was real, she could get along.

Cordelia was introduced simply as Cordelia from London. No mention was made of who she was, who she was related to, or how she got here.

"So how were you infected?" asked a shy brown-haired girl.

Cordelia really didn´t like answering this question. "By accident." she said simply.

"Not me," piped up the young man at the end of the couch in leather trousers and a plain white t-shirt. "I thought it would be very cool to become a wereleopard in particular. I was dating Melissa, you remember her..."

Some nodded, some looked blank. "I had her rip my leg up. She thought it was great fun, and here I am."

Cordelia looked confused, "You did this on purpose?"

"Sure, you should see how good I look. I´m a golden leopard. The spots are incredible."

Cordelia just sat there with her mouth hanging open. Maybe this was typical. Maybe this wasn´t anything like what she´d heard about lycanthropy from Remus. "Don´t you worry about being outcast, or hurting someone?"

"Outcast? Look around. Everywhere you see there are wereleopards. It´s the same way on the outside, you´d be surprised how many there are of us. It´s like a great club."

A dark haired man sitting across from the young man in leather scoffed, "Yeah, but the dues are horrendous, to be tied to the moon, compelled to change?" Cordelia was grateful for that remark. It confirmed that she wasn´t completely off the mark.

"You haven´t changed yet, have you?" asked the young man in leather.

"No. I hope to be home soon." Change? She wasn´t really going to change. That happened to these other people. She wasn´t really going to change.

"No! You want to be here with us. We´ll show you," said a plump blonde leaning forward from her perch on a stool.

"How many of the people here are from London?" Cordelia asked, trying to change the subject.

"Twenty, maybe twenty-five, and that´s only about a third of the Pard. Then the Edinburgh Pard is nearly that large. Where are you?"

"I live in London, but have a farm near the village of Arisaig."

"Oh, it´s lovely up there," gushed a blonde with pale eyes. She was sitting very close to the young man in leather.

"Yes, it is. So are all of you magic?"

About half said yes, the more talkative half said no.

"You know Muggles make better wereleopards, don´t you?" said an older man that had just walked up.

"That´s what The Rex said," Cordelia confirmed.

"You´ve met with the Rex?" two girls said simultaneously.

Cordelia was a bit surprised. "Well, yes, doesn´t everyone have a session with him?"

They were suddenly looking at her in a new way.

"You only see the Rex if you are in trouble, you have extraordinary energy, or are someone important. Which are you?"

"Errrr ... none of the above. I came here by accident and he said he wanted to apologize," Cordelia stammered.

"Apologize? The Rex never needs to apologize to any of us. He´s The Rex."

"I assume that means a King of some sort?"

"Ahh,you haven´t had Pard structure 101, have you?

"Ummm, no."

The blonde spoke up again, "Each region has a Pard. The most dominant in each Pard is the Nimir-Ra or Raj for that Pard. Every five years the Nimir-Ra get together and the most powerful of them is given the chance to become The Rex. They are our king for that time period. A Rex can hold as many terms as he has the strength. If someone comes along who is more powerful, he can challenge The Rex when his term is up. If he wins he´s Rex. "

"If he loses...?" Cordelia asked.

"He loses by being killed," said the young man in leather with a small smile on his face.

Cordelia´s eyebrows went up. "How long has the current Rex been in office?"

"About twenty-five years. He´s the most powerful Nimir-Raj I´ve ever felt," said the older gentleman.

"Felt? What do you mean?"

"You didn´t notice anything when you were in the room with him?" asked the blonde.

Cordelia thought a moment, "Come to think of it, my skin prickled a bit, like I was cold, but I wasn´t."

"He must have been controlling himself. Usually he wants you to feel him moving through the Lair. Then there are other times he is so well controlled that you can´t tell him from any regular human," the older gentleman explained.

A quiet, dark haired man had gotten up and moved towards Cordelia, circling around in back of her. She watched him as the rest of the group discussed their Rex in hushed, respectful tones. She listened to the rest, but he had her attention. Finally he made her uncomfortable enough to move slightly away, "What do you want?"

The man reached a hand out, but stopped just above Cordelia´s shoulder. "I want to touch your aura. It´s the most beautiful shade of turquoise I´ve ever seen."

"It is?" Cordelia asked bewildered.

"And it´s very intense. You´re a witch,aren´t you?" asked the man.

"Actually no, I´m not."

The man paused, considering, tilting his head a bit. "That´s odd. Your aura gives off a magical energy, shimmer. It isn´t strong, but it´s there."

Cordelia shook her head, "I´ve been a very mundane Muggle all my life."

"How are you aware of the magical, then?" asked the boy in leather.

"My husband, he´s a wizard."

"Oh! That explains it," exclaimed the dark-haired man. "Yes, that´s what I see. The magic isn´t coming from you. In fact now that you say that, I can see that there´s a green component to your aura. Like it would be a truer blue without that. That must be his. You must have a very active sex life then."

Cordelia´s brows went up. "That is really none of your business."

He waved his hand dismissively, "No, it´s a fact. If you have an intense enough experience your auras merge. Each time you leave a little of your energy with the other. If you share enough, both your auras change to reflect the other. It´s fun to see some elderly couples whose auras have merged so completely that they are the same terribly unique shade. I met a couple a few years ago. They had a brilliant orange aura. I couldn´t tell you which component was which, one of them had originally had a red aura, the other a yellow. After so many years together they were orange through and through."

"And you can see that in me?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, he´s the psychic of the Edinburgh Pard," said the blonde. "He's always read auras, even before he was a were. In fact, he was consulting with our former Nimir-Ra, he mentioned the lovely blue undertones in her aura. Her husband had a red aura as did she. He got between them and got rather cut up. So here he is, one of us. He´s down right handy to have around. Auras can tell you so much."

"I see. So you can see magic in mine?" Cordelia was still sceptical.

"Yes, magic makes them sparkle just a little. Sort of like the shimmer of heat off a pavement on a hot day," commented the man reading her aura.

"You smell like magic too," chimed the brown-haired girl, leaning closer and taking a deep breath.

Cordelia pulled back, "Oh! I´ve never heard that before from any of my magical friends."

"Well, we do have a better sense of smell. If you were part of the traditional wizarding community, you probably wouldn´t have any exposure to weres."

"My husband´s best friend is a werewolf," Cordelia offered.

Eyebrows shot up. "Does he have a pack?"

"Not that I know of. In fact I know he doesn´t,because he comes up to our farm in Arisaig to hunt sometimes on the full moon."

"And you let him?" asked the quiet brunette huddled on a couch.

"Yes, why ever not? He´s just out in the woods. He never comes near the house when he´s in wolf form.

"It´s just that most of the time the reaction to a werewolf in the magical community is to kill them, and ask questions later. You certainly don´t want them part of your family. So you say your husband is friends with this werewolf?"

"Yes. I take it that´s odd. I´m still learning the wizard culture." Cordelia appreciated it was odd, but had never given it much thought. Remus was such a calm, gentle man. She just couldn´t imagine him as a threat.

The young man in leather leaned forward, "Well, werewolves have been hunted to near obscurity in the UK. There aren´t any packs which is why they are dangerous. If each of us were to try to make it on our own without our Pard, the pack, we´d be nearly extinct as well."

"Why does the pack make a difference?" Cordelia asked, confused.

"We´d be dead otherwise. The Pard helps in everything. It helps you understand your energy, what you can do with it, how to channel the Hunger, where you can safely change. We wouldn´t be functional without it. It´s the ultimate support group," the blonde chimed in.

Cordelia thought about this. "Do your families know about this, am I allowed to tell my family?"

"We tell those we can trust. We usually need some sort of cover for nights of the full-moon. It helps to have a few humans who know what you are and where you´ve gone," the older gentleman explained.

Cordelia nodded, still unsure what to do with all this information. "You mentioned energy. What do you mean by that?"

"Have you noticed the warmth?" asked the blonde.

"Yes, yes I have."

"That´s it. The process of changing form requires energy. Your body adapts to supplying that energy and when it´s not being used to fuel the change, it emanates from your body unless you control it," said the older gentleman.

He continued and seemed more like a professor than anything else. "You can also channel that energy into doing things. Some of it is channelled into irregular strength, others channel it into healing. Some channel it into some sort of creativity and some just give it off. If it´s the right time and I haven´t been using my energy for other things, I like to go into a room and release a little. It´s fun, I can wake up a sleepy room in about five minutes."

"Can people tell you´re doing this?"

"Some can, people who are sensitive to energy fields. Brad, our aura reader here, says he can see a flare in my aura when I do that," the older gentleman explained.

"So have you been vetted yet?" asked the brunette.

"Vetted?"

"Yeah, evaluated in terms of strengths and weaknesses and overall position in the local Pard?"

Cordelia was confused again. It was starting to be a constant state. "No, what´s that about?"

"Another alpha and one of the physicians here run some tests on you. It helps them evaluate if you´ll ever be an alpha leopard, and what would be the best thing to channel your excess energy into," explained the brunette.

"I guess that´s soon? I just got the blood test back () four days ago."

"You know doctors ... you can never get an appointment when you need one," joked the older gentleman. "They´ll evaluate you before the first change, you can count on that. They want to know if they´ll need extra guards on you or if they can leave you be. We´ll be with you for the first change, don´t worry."

Cordelia definitely didn´t want to talk about that. "Do you meet here every meal?"

"Yes, the Pards are kind of cliquish. Whenever we´re here at the Lair, we tend to hang around with others from our Pard or the neighbouring ones," said the blonde.

Lisette was lingering, indicating that Cordelia should join her.

Cordelia sighed and got up from her chair. "It looks like my keeper wants me. It was nice talking to all of you."

"We´ll look forward to seeing you again ... your name was Cordelia, right?" asked the older gentleman.

"Yes, that´s right. Cordelia ... thanks."

And she left to join Lisette.

********************

The guards looked startled, not a good thing to do with guards. One was blonde and stood well over 6'3"; he was built like a basketball player, but had muscles on his muscles. Another was a deep rich cocoa colour. His skin gleamed in the torchlight, and the third was Asian. He was shorter than Sirius, but broader. This was about the extent of observations Sirius was able to make as two of the men, the blonde and the Asian, rushed out towards them. Draco had positioned himself against the other wall of the cave. Sirius vaguely registered that these men were wielding what looked like machetes, where he and Draco had only wands.

He managed to yell, "Expelliarmus," but the African guard had a wand out as well and was casting a counter charm. He heard Draco yell, and the blonde staggered and fell. The Asian was on Sirius as he weaved and dodged the sword. He could hear Draco yell, but couldn't tell what he said. The machete dropped, as Draco came charging across the cave. Sirius had his wand out as the Asian turned to Draco. It all happened very slowly, but as Draco charged, the Asian turned, drew another sword from behind him, and drove it into Draco's stomach. Draco's momentum carried him into the sword and all Sirius could do was stare in horror as the Asian drew the sword out. Sirius saw blood spill down the front of Draco's shirt an instant before he was shoved into the ground as his arms were wrenched behind his back.

The Asian shouted a warning about intruders, as Sirius felt the blow to his head.

************

Sirius had obviously passed out as the next thing he knew was he could hear people behind him. He couldn't see, as he had cloth tied around his eyes, and there was a large ball tied into his mouth. His hands were bound and he lay on his stomach on the floor of the cave.

"I can't get the bleeding to stop, here!" shouted a familiar voice.

Another, more soothing voice answered. "You're doing fine. Press as hard as you can into the wound. If you can visualize, do that. Try to direct the warmth you feel in your fingertips into the wound."

"I'm not good at this, shouldn't someone who knows what they're doing heal this guy?"

"You won't get anywhere unless you try."

"But he deserves better than me." The voice sounded panicked.

"No, you have it, and you won't learn to use it unless you try," assured another voice. It was older, and deeper and had a faint Indian accent.

"Shouldn't I start smaller, like paper cuts?"

"I'm right here, if I thought you weren't going to be able to do this, I'd step in. He may be an intruder, but we won't kill him."

"Okay ...okay ... so I'm supposed to just press and picture the wound."

"Picture the hole closing."

"Can't I see his face? Wouldn't that help? It just looks like a corpse here."

"Okay we can do that, but not the blindfold. We can't let him see us until we know who they are. Marshall, remove the hood."

Sirius heard a brief yell. He knew that voice; he knew her mood; he knew she was scared. What he didn't know was why she had her hands holding closed Draco's belly and why these people were making her do this.

"Holy shit, it's Draco," he heard the voice say. "Who's with him?"

They finally rolled him over and she screamed.

"Cordelia, keep hold of the wound, concentrate."

"Lisette! Take the blindfold off and the gag out of his mouth."

"I can't do that. We don't know these people..."

"He's my husband. This guy works for him. Do it now."

"Okay, okay ... Burke, help her out."

"Think about your hands, Cordelia, picture closing the wound."

"Christ, how the hell am I supposed to do that when you've got my rescue team bleeding, bound and gagged?"

"It's turning into your job to save them, isn't it?"

The blindfold was finally removed from Sirius' eyes, and the gag from his mouth.

Sirius blinked a couple of times, still confused about why Cordelia was acting like a nurse. "What the hell are you doing, Cordelia, and why are you helping them?" He nodded towards the strangers crowding the corridor.

"I´m helping one of yours, Sirius and they aren´t a them, now shut up and let me do this." Cordelia added hastily.

Sirius was stunned. These were the people that had held her against her will. "Get these fucking ties off my wrists. What the hell is going on around here?" Sirius demanded.

Burke, the man that had unbound him answered, "This is the medical team. Cordelia is being trained. She has a lot of potential."

"What are you talking about?"

Cordelia cut in, "I'm sorry. We'll talk in a bit, let me try to help Draco at the moment."

Sirius nodded. "Can I get my wrists free here? I´m not the enemy."

"I´m sorry, Mr. Black, we aren´t allowed to unbind you until the medical team is finished. We can´t allow you to interfere."

"Interfere with what?" Sirius was incredulous.

"We must assure the medical team´s safety."

"She´s my wife and he´s my back-up, why the hell would I hurt them?"

"Not them, sir. We know you see us as a hostile group. We do not have authorization to let you act on that."

"Damn right, I see you as a hostile group. I should blast the lot of you into the next hallway."

"Sirius! Stop it! They are not hostile." Cordelia turned to Lisette. "Damn it, unbind him now or I will get the Rex and everyone else in any position of authority to punish all of you."

Lisette nodded and Burke cut Sirius´ wrists free. Sirius rubbed his wrists, slumped against the cave wall, and watched them work on Draco.

The man kneeling next to Cordelia placed his hands on Draco as well. He was murmuring instructions into Cordelia's ear and she closed her eyes. She seemed to be concentrating hard on something.

The bleeding stopped, but the wound was still raw and seeping. Draco looked more pale than usual and was still unconscious. The man kneeling with Cordelia instructed another man to fetch different guards and take the three that had been on duty to the inquisitor´s office. The way he said it indicated that the guards were in deep trouble and that this man grasped who he was and the seriousness of the situation.

Cordelia lifted her hands up off Draco. They were blood-stained to the elbows and she looked exhausted. He wanted to go to her, take her in his arms and just hold her, but he was still bound.

Cordelia whispered to the other gentleman and the binds were cut. Sirius crawled over to her.

"You'll get all bloody."

Sirius smiled and hugged her. "I love you, but why do you know they aren´t hostile?" he asked softly.

She didn't respond. She just held her arms to her sides.

They were both on their knees. Draco had been lifted onto a gurney and was being taken away. Sirius looked down into her eyes. They were filling fast.

He tried to hug her again, but she pulled away.

She looked down at the ground and then back up at him. "Because I might be one of them," she said in a choked whisper.