Irish Wild Card

It was good to be a wizard, Harry thought for the umpteenth time. He listed sideways on the bench to take the pressure off his stomach, which was stuffed with good food and sloshing with pumpkin juice. He stifled a belch - unsuccessfully, as Hermione's sharp glance informed him. It was the beginning of his seventh year at Hogwarts, and he sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, surrounded by his friends. He wondered if he could get Ron to move over so he could lie down, then grinned. Ron would push him right off the bench.

Hermione, of course, had politely eaten a reasonable amount of food. She was very conscious of presenting a good example now that she was Head Girl. She sat with her back straight and her hands folded in her lap. He knew that if he looked under the table, that her legs would be demurely crossed at the ankles.

Harry had enjoyed the Sorting, especially watching the first year students as they filed in, awestruck by the enchanted ceiling and the floating candles that filled the space above their heads. Gryffindor had eleven new students, among them Dean's little sister, Sarah. Nearly Headless Nick was welcoming the first years, and had to keep pushing his head back in place when his enthusiasm tipped it sideways. Sarah stared at him, trying to decide if she was frightened or not. Dean gave her a brotherly tweak of the nose. "Go on, now. It's just Nearly Headless Nick. I told you about him."

"Sir Nicholas if you please," the ghost grumbled. He whirled abruptly and sailed away from the table. His head fell back so that he was looking at them upside down and backward. Sarah's eyes popped and Dean burst out laughing. Sarah hit him.

Harry peeked under the table. Yes, there were the crossed ankles. He nudged Hermione with his foot. She frowned at him before an irrepressible grin spread across her face. "Stop that," she said, or I'll write you up."

"Who, me? Why don't you write up Dean for the way he's teasing his little sister."

Hermione glanced at them. "I don't think so. Sarah is homesick and she was nearly crying earlier. Now she just wants to pound Dean senseless."

"Wouldn't take much pounding," Harry quipped, then jumped and glared at Ron, who had just shot a bony elbow into his ribcage.

"Who is that coming in with Hagrid?" his friend hissed. Harry looked over toward the entrance, in time to see Hagrid wink in their direction. The young woman walking next to him had burnished copper hair that shimmered in the candlelight. She wore jodhpurs and riding boots under her robes. A golden torque circled her throat, glinting with emeralds and sapphires.

"Pretty," Harry admitted, and then looked over at Hermione with a shy smile. "Not as pretty as Hermione, though." Hermione flushed with pleasure and smiled back at him.

"Bah," Ron snorted. "Your love-struck heart has ruined your eyes, Potter. That girl is beautiful." Hermione kicked him under the table, and Ginny punched him hard, making him yelp twice in quick succession. The new girl flicked a brief glance in his direction.

Ginny giggled. "She's noticed you, Ron. I bet she's saying to herself, 'Who is that carrot topped Gryffindor who squeals like a girl?'"

"Did not," snapped Ron.

Dean studied the new girl and shrugged. "She's cute, kind of kittenish. I wouldn't call her beautiful."

"As if you have any taste," Ron snorted. "If you did, you wouldn't be going out with Ginny." He dodged another blow from his sister. "Too much violence at this table," he said gloomily.

"It doesn't matter anyway, because she's going to be in Slytherin," Hermione said. "I can tell by the way she saunters. Anyway, the torque she's wearing is shaped like a snake."

As usual, Hermione was correct. Hagrid pointed to the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy stood, holding a chair ready. All of the other Slytherin girls slid away from them ostentatiously, bringing a smile of pure malice to Draco's face. He bent to whisper something in the new girl's ear, and she threw back her head and laughed. Ron scowled.

"What was all that about?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"I don't know. I don't care," Ron said fervently. "I'll sit with her." Harry pointed out that Draco was already sitting with her and was now wearing his most charming smile.

"Charming like a snake," Ron muttered.

"Well, she obviously likes snakes," Harry said, then relented. "Why don't you ask Hagrid about her when we go to visit him?"

"In that case, I'm not going," Hermione said, still a bit miffed over Ron's insult to her appearance.

"I'm not, either," Ginny said.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Ron demanded of them both.

Harry sat straight up. "Oh, come on, Hermione!"

"I want to visit with Hagrid, not listen to you going on all evening about how beautiful she is," Hermione said coolly. "Besides, I would hate to inflict my ugliness on you since I've already damaged Harry's eyes."

"I never said you were ugly!" Ron protested. "I think you're pretty, just not as pretty as - that is, um - oh, shite, Harry, say something!"

Harry shook his head. "You're on your own, mate. I wouldn't touch this with all the wands in Ollivander's!"

Ron looked helplessly at Hermione. "I want you to come, Hermione. Look here, if you don't tease me about her, I won't talk about her - much."

Hermione pulled a face. "Fine. But I'm going to hold you to that, Ron. We haven't seen Hagrid all summer."

"I'm still not going," Ginny said. "I promised Dean that I'd help Sarah get settled in. And I won't promise to quit teasing Ron. He's my brother, for heavens sake! Anyway, you know that Hagrid is going to have some horrible treat that you'll have to eat to keep from hurting his feelings."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hagrid waved them in with his huge hands. "Come in an' sit down! It's good to be seein' yeh! I thought yeh'd be comin' over tonight, so I baked a special treat." He whipped a cloth off a platter of sickly brown lumps. The trio eyed them warily.

"Chocolate tarts," Hagrid said proudly. "Still warm. Had to finish makin' 'em after I helped the Irish student with her animals."

Hermione found her voice first. "How nice of you, Hagrid!"

Hagrid peered at the tarts a little worriedly. "Well, they dunna look like the picture, but they taste fine. Have one, all of yeh." He held the platter for each of them in turn, his teeth gleaming through his bushy beard.

Hermione took one and held it gingerly, waiting for the boys to be served. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Hagrid," Harry said. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble for us." He bit into a rubbery tart and tried to look enthusiastic.

"Yeah, thanks," Ron echoed, manfully taking a huge bite of his tart. "Mmmmm...."

"No trouble," Hagrid said, looking pleased. "Eat all yeh like."

"Speaking of tarts," Hermione said slyly, "Was that the Irish student who came in with you at supper? Ron has a very strong interest in her."

Ron tried to protest, but his teeth were lodged in the tart and refused to budge. He glared at Hermione and grunted eloquently.

Hagrid shook his head. "Now, why'd yeh say that, Hermione? Siobhan's a nice girl, and it ain't like yeh to be callin' names."

Hermione looked shame-faced, then shrugged. "I'm sorry, but how nice can she be if she's in Slytherin?"

"As to that, it were a near squeak," Hagrid said. "Professor Dumbledore had me bring her up to his office after we'd finished tendin' her horse, and ...."

"She brought a horse?" Hermione interrupted. "That isn't one of Hogwarts' approved animals."

"And a snake. Professor Dumbledore has approved them both fer now. Special circumstances. That pretty critter she wears 'round her neck is a Jeweled Tree Viper. Cliodna is very poisonous, but she's gentle, and Siobhan is a Parselmouth."

"Cliodna?" Hermione said faintly. "That torque is alive?"

"Yeah," said Hagrid. "She's named after an Irish Druidess. See, Professor Dumbledore had to place Siobhan, but he didn't want her havin' to go through the Sortin' with the little'uns. She's seventh year like you lot, yeh see. So she put on the Hat up in Professor Dumbledore's office."

Hagrid took a handful of the little tarts and munched them absentmindedly. "It were strange, no doubt about it. The Hat took a long time to decide, then it kinda squeaked, "'Slytherin?' like it were askin' a question."

"Perhaps she was too old for the Hat to work on her," Hermione suggested.

"It never done that with other foreign students," Hagrid said. "But seein' she's a Parselmouth, and Slytherin was what the Hat said, that's where she went. Her father is friendly-like with Lucius Malfoy." Hagrid's face went grim at this last bit of information. "She ain't nothin' like that little git, Draco, but she seems to like him. Crikey! Ain't no accountin' for tastes, is there?"

"Too bad, Ron," said Hermione, feeling a little sorry for him. Both of the boys sat there glumly. After a moment, Ron tapped his mouth and rolled his eyes.

Hermione looked puzzled. "What?" The boys looked meaningfully at each other, then bared their teeth at her.

Hermione's small nose wrinkled fastidiously. "Ewww! That's disgusting!"

Their teeth were encased in a glossy brown substance. Ron strained to get his mouth open, then shrugged. Harry's bright green eyes sparkled with hilarity. Hermione covered her mouth with both hands, then burst into giggles.

Ron struggled to speak. "Iss aht unnee, eh-i-o-ee!"

Hagrid stood up so quickly that his chair tipped over. "Here, let me get ahold of it," he said. "If I can just get it with my fingertips - hold still now." His enormous knuckle pushed Ron's upper lip and nose skyward, eliciting a struggle and a muffled squawk. A thin whine rose from Hermione's corner, before she gave in and laughed uproariously.

Five minutes later, after having dragged both boys around the hut by their teeth with no visible success, Hagrid straightened up and groaned tragically. "Right. We'll go see Madame Pomfrey."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The three friends sat in the infirmary listening to Madame Pomfrey chastise Hagrid. "Chocolate tarts, my broom!" she scolded. "What did you put in them?"

"Just what was called fer, Poppy," Hagrid said meekly. "Chocolate, eggs, vanilla, milk, um . . . chocolate."

"And?"

"Nothin' else." Hagrid shifted from one big foot to the other. "Well, yeh see, they wouldn't set up, so I didn't think it would hurt to use a wee spell."

"What wee spell?" Madame Pomfrey asked darkly.

Hagrid mumbled something.

"What?" Madame Pomfrey shouted, making all three students jump. "That's a spell for brick mortar!"

"I know that!" Hagrid shouted back. "I found it in a copy of This Old Castle and I thought it would work!"

"And so it would have," the nurse said irritably. "If you wanted to build a wall with their teeth!"

"I just wanted the tarts to be nice for them," Hagrid muttered.

"Oh, my dear," Madame Pomfrey said. "You really must stick to dangerous creatures and leave cooking to the house elves. It's much less dangerous for everyone else! There, don't look so woebegone. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear what you said about the spell, and you just keep your nose clean from here on out!" Her eyes darted to the door. "Siobhan! Are you ill, dear?"

Ron slumped behind Harry, trying not to be seen by the Irish girl. Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. Siobhan looked apologetically at Hagrid, then drew her lips back from the rock hard chocolate covering her teeth. Madame Pomfrey threw her hands up in exasperation. "Oh, really, Rubeus! How many students did you feed these to?"

Hagrid looked so unhappy that Hermione jumped up and laid her hand on his arm. "It's alright, Hagrid. It was just a small mistake, one that anyone could have made."

Madame Pomfrey snorted, then waved Siobhan over to join Ron and Harry. Siobhan, like Harry, seemed more amused than upset and tried to smile at Hagrid as she passed. "Sit down, dear, and show me your teeth," Madame Pomfrey said, and passed Siobhan a bowl. Pointing her wand, she said, "Calculus liquefacio!" Tart filling began pouring out of the girl's mouth, making her cough and choke. Her fair skin reddened with embarrassment. Soon, both Ron and Harry joined her.

Hermione watched the unfortunates with clinical interest. "The spell must condense and contract the mortar to make it stronger. They certainly didn't eat that much. Cheer up, Ron. It's better than slugs, anyway."

Harry gave her a wry look as he spit the last of the treacly mess into his bowl. "Your compassion is stunning, Hermione," he said. Hermione just smiled and gently pushed his glasses back up on his nose.

Siobhan looked questioningly at Hagrid, patting her mouth with a hand towel. "Mortar, Hagrid?" she asked in a soft Irish lilt.

Madame Pomfrey shook her finger at Hagrid. "You could at least have tried them yourself before feeding them to the students!"

"I ate some," Hagrid protested. "They didn't bother me at all!"

"Of course they didn't bother you, you big yeti! A version of that spell is permanent - what if you'd used that one? I don't know what I would have told their parents!" Her voice faltered, and she looked away from Siobhan.

"Mother wouldn't have blamed you, Aunt Poppy," Siobhan said. "Or you, Hagrid. She couldn't cook, either." Hagrid looked torn between relief he had been forgiven, and indignation at the suggestion that he couldn't cook. The Gryffindors looked at each other.

"Aunt Poppy?" Ron blurted out.

Madame Pomfrey smiled at him. "I've known Siobhan since she was born. Her mother became my dear friend when she was a foreign student here. She was in Gryffindor, as I expect Siobhan will be."

Siobhan shook her head unhappily. "That Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin, and all the girls hate me because of Cliodna. No one wants us in the dormitory."

Madame Pomfrey puffed up alarmingly. "Really!" she exploded. "What was that Hat thinking? I'm going to have a talk with Dumbledore!"

"No, please don't!" Siobhan said quickly. "I've already caused the Headmaster no end of trouble by coming late and bringing Brier and Cliodna. I have a nice little room all to myself now, and Hagrid has been ever so helpful." She flashed a smile at Hagrid. "Da was in Slytherin, after all, and Draco has been kind."

Madame Pomfrey's expression soured at Malfoy's name, and Ron's cough sounded suspiciously like 'batshit'." Hermione frowned at him.

"Draco Malfoy is never kind without an ulterior motive," the nurse said gently.

"I know Draco rather well, Aunt Poppy," Siobhan said with an ironic twist of her mouth. "His, um, ulterior motive is quite obvious. Anyway, I can handle him. Please, let me work things out myself?"

Madame Pomfrey studied the girl's face. Siobhan looked back steadily, and the nurse sighed. "I will do so for now. However, I expect you to come to me if there are more serious problems in the future."

Siobhan nodded and kissed her cheek. "Thank you. I expect the worst is over, now. Except for getting my room organized! It's a terrible mess. I'd better go and take care of it."

She turned to the Gryffindors. "I'm Siobhan Brennan. I know you're Harry because of your scar, so you two must be Ron and Hermione. Hagrid has been telling me about you." Her smile was so friendly that the Gryffindors found themselves smiling back. Ron looked rather sloppily besotted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione said.

Siobhan waved and turned to go. "Good night, everyone. Oh, Hagrid, Cliodna is very happy with the sandbox you made her. She says the branch that you chose is perfect."

"Did she now?" Hagrid said, cheering up a bit more. "Good, that's good then. I'll see yeh in the mornin'." After she left, Hagrid explained, "I'm helpin' her with her horse."

"A horse hardly seems like your sort of creature, Rubeus." Madame Pomfrey tapped the bowls briskly with her wand, making the chocolate mortar disappear. "Not nearly dangerous enough."

A gleeful light shone in Hagrid's eyes. "That's because yeh don't know Brier. Very spirited, she is."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Spirited," said Harry, as they sat around the Gryffindor common room later that evening. "Coming from Hagrid, that means the horse is part demon."

Dean chuckled. "Remember the Blast-Ended Skrewts?"

"Too well," Harry laughed.

"I asked Madame Pomfrey about the horse before we left," Ron said. "She said the horse had been so badly mistreated that it was vicious around most people, and Siobhan's father had threatened to put it down."

"That's wrong!" Hermione said hotly. "It wasn't the horse's fault!"

"Her father is a friend of Lucius Malfoy, and you know what that means," Ron said gloomily.

"Death Eater," Harry said quietly. They all shuddered.

"She doesn't seem like the daughter of a Death Eater, does she?" Hermione asked. "She was so friendly, and she was kind to Hagrid. Can you imagine what Draco would have done if he'd had his teeth mortared together by Hagrid's cooking?"

Harry chortled at the image. "He wouldn't have touched the tarts in the first place."

"Exactly," said Hermione. "She's different."

Ginny looked up from where she was patching a tear in Sarah's new robe. Sarah had tripped over her hem whilst preening about the common room in it. The trio had come in to find her crying, with Ginny and Dean doing their best to soothe her. Finally, she had gone to sleep with her head in Ginny's lap.

"Don't trust her, Hermione," Ginny said. She finished the mending with a flourish of her wand, and folded the robe.

"I won't," Hermione said pensively. "But you didn't meet her. She really seems like a nice person."

"She's just more subtle than Draco and his lot, I expect." Ginny smiled down at the sleeping girl, and stroked her cheek. "I like having a little sister."

Ron made a rude noise, and she put her tongue out at him. Hermione murmured, "I wonder what it's like for her to be in Slytherin? I'm sure the Hat made a mistake."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Siobhan finished hanging up her clothing and looked around the room. It was very small, especially with Cliodna's sandbox, but better than sharing a dormitory filled with hostile Slytherins. She went to the sandbox and ran her hands through the enchanted sand. Is it staying at the right temperature, Cliodna?

"Yes," said the snake in tones of bliss. This is much better than sharing space with those less-than-mice. Siobhan grinned. "Less-than-mice" was Cliodna's strongest insult. Bushy-Beard has made a very comfortable home for me, the snake continued. I like him.

Of course you like him, Siobhan said. He adores you and thinks you are beautiful.

Yes, the snake agreed. She coiled up in smug satisfaction.

Siobhan laughed out loud. You are as vain as Draco, a chrói.

White-Hair is considered beautiful?

Siobhan thought for a moment. He looks beautiful indeed, but many people hate him for the way he behaves.

You spent much time with him this summer. He came to you often and it made you happier.

And? Siobhan frowned at the snake, who was being unusually cryptic.

You performed mating rituals with him.

Siobhan grinned. It was true. Draco had grown into a handsome young man, and she liked being able to warm the coldness in his grey eyes. Kissing him was a toe-curling experience. That, and his sardonic sense of humor had made his visits the only bright spots in a depressing and frightening summer. How he had laughed when she arrived at Hogwarts on Brier! She had thrown herself off the horse and into his arms.

Cliodna was silent after that, and Siobhan went to stand by the window. She could see the lake shining in the light of a waning moon, with the stars reflected in the deepest, most shadowed part of it. Now that there was nothing left to occupy her mind, dread began to expand in the pit of her stomach. She had expected her father to come roaring in by now. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that he hadn't.

Although her parents had long ago made plans for her to spend her last year at Hogwarts, her father had refused to let her go. He had been strange ever since her mother's death eight months before. Siobhan took a deep, ragged breath. The grief for her mother was painful enough without her father going mad as well. He had behaved so strangely that living with him had been like being haunted by an eerie, smothering spirit. He could hardly bear to have her out of his sight, yet his sudden and irrational fits of anger drove her away. She would hide from him, only to see him searching desperately, looking so lost and frightened that it tore at her heart. She would go to him and give herself up to his tears of remorse and his apologies. Things would be better for a week or two, then it would begin all over again.

Siobhan sniffed and inelegantly blew her nose on the hem of her nightgown. Her head hurt.

Go to sleep, witch-child, Cliodna said in her quiet susurration. We traveled for three days, and you are very tired. We are all safe here. Here you can rest.

Until Da comes, anyway. I wish I knew when so I could be prepared.

You need not be prepared. The wizard will protect you. And the boy.

Siobhan yawned hugely and slide off the cold stone windowsill. What boy?

White-Hair. He, too, will keep you safe.

Draco? Siobhan was so startled that she laughed aloud. She threw back the blankets and crawled gratefully into her four poster bed. The last three nights had been hard ground and chilly temperatures. Nonsense. I'll be protecting myself from him.

Say what you like, Cliodna said. I can smell it on him.

I think that's lust you smell. Good gods, I can smell it coming off him in waves.

If a snake could shrug, Cliodna would have shrugged. Whatever the reason, he will protect you from your father.

Siobhan put out the lamp and lay staring into the darkness, wondering what her father was doing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kieran Brennan also stared into the darkness, listening to the crash of waves on the strand below. A cool breeze came off the water and into the window, blowing his grey hair into his eyes. He pushed it back and sighed. He knew Siobhan had arrived safely, riding that sorry bit of horseflesh most of the way. A fond smile appeared briefly on his sad, sharply angled face. Oh, she was his daughter alright. Anyone who crossed her was asking for trouble, even her Da.

A voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to the fireplace. "Good evening, Lucius. I spoke with Draco not an hour ago. He performed his part admirably, it seems."

Lucius Malfoy's cold features hovered in the flames. "He wouldn't dare do otherwise. Unlike you, I do not indulge my child."

Kieran laughed softly. "She caught me in a devilishly complicated thorn spell, Malfoy. Took me an hour and a pint of blood to spell my way out of it. She's a cunning creature."

"Fortunately, so is Draco, and he obeys me. At least this time her defiance served a purpose. Your overwrought behavior nearly ruined everything."

"Ah," Kieran said, baring his teeth in something that was not quite a smile. "And have you called on me to critique my child-rearing methods?"

"I want to know if that damned viper is a danger to my son."

"Only if he is a danger to my daughter," the Irishman said lightly. "She is quite tame, and won't attack anyone without cause. Cliodna knows Draco quite well from his visits here this summer."

"Where the hell did she get a Jeweled Tree Viper?"

Kieran poured a glass of whiskey from a decanter on the oak sideboard. He held it up to his nose, breathing in the scent, then turned and mockingly toasted Lucius. "She said she found it in the orchards east of the castle, but that seems unlikely. Then again, Siobhan has unlikely ways."

Malfoy sneered. "You're actually proud of her defiance."

"Oh, yes," Kieran said. "She's growing into a strong woman, and that's good for our purpose. There's something you've never figured out, Lucius. Women are easier to manage when they love you. I frightened her badly this summer, and that must be repaired, but she will come around in the end."

"I don't share your confidence. We must insure that she is bound to Draco."

"Not too soon. It would look suspicious," Kieran said. He tossed back the whiskey in one gulp.

"Agreed. In the meantime, you have work to do at Hogwarts. It's time to play the part of the reluctantly convinced daddy. And you damned well better keep things straight from now on. Our master was not pleased with your weakness."

"I stand corrected." Kieran bowed to the man in the flames, then turned back to the darkness and the sea, a bitter smile creasing his face.