The Greatest Adventure

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my AU universe and the OC who inherit it.

Chapter 1

Where the hell was Saint Claire? Fabian Prewett looked at his watch impatiently. If the bloody greenhorn does not make an appearance in the next twenty-nine seconds, I'm leaving. Fabian had not been fascinated by the news that he would miss the practical lesson that was taking place right now to meet the student arriving in England for the first-ever Project for International Collaboration in Auror Training. He could not say anything, though. Alastor Moody had personally appointed him for the task, so Fabian was standing in the deserted field and waiting for a man who might have just missed his Portkey. Bloody French, you can never rely on them.

"Hello."

Startled, he looked at the girl who had just appeared out of nowhere. She was sixteen or seventeen with a delicate face and red hair that matched Fabian's own. Unlike his blue eyes, hers were dark. The hand that was holding her wand was perfectly manicured. Her other hand was holding something that looked like an old bottle with a broken neck.

"Hello," Fabian said politely, and then frowned. "Can you tell me when Messier Saint Claire is coming? I don't have a whole day."

She raised her eyebrows. "Messier Saint Claire is already here."

"Is he?" Fabian asked bluntly.

"I am Messier Saint Claire," she said.

"You?!"

"I was told that someone of your Ministry would be waiting for me," she said flatly, obviously insulted by the disbelief in his voice. "Can we go now?"

"Ah... yes, of course. I'll take you there by Apparition. Next time, you'll be shown the normal route."

"Okay."

Fabian could not stop throwing secret looks at her. "Excuse me," he asked, "I don't want to sound rude, but just when did you graduate from Beauxbatons?"

Judging by the sudden fury that filled her eyes, he had sounded rude. "Are you an Auror?" she asked, instead of answering.

"No, not yet. I'm still a trainee."

"Good," she muttered, and the next thing he knew, he was growing ears that were as big as an elephant's. "Now, I think you can hear me better," she finally said. "I graduated eight months ago, I was one of the very few people who were chosen for Auror training because my ratings were high enough, and I was the only one chosen for this program for the very same reason. I've become accustomed to dealing with idiotic males who think that just because I am shorter than them and I have teats, I am also inferior to them in brains area. So don't mess with me because if you do, you'll be very, very sorry. Am I clear enough?"

Fabian nodded the best he could under the weight of his new ears. She nodded, too, and reversed the spell. They stood there, looking at each other, and Fabian suddenly grinned. "You must tell me what incantation that was," he said, and she shook her head.

"No. It's my own invention and I'm not giving it to you."

He looked at her, impressed. She must be good, creating such a spell by her own, he thought. "Well, then, would you at least use it on Gid with me watching?" he asked. "Gideon is my brother," he explained. "I am Fabian Prewett."

"Sylvie Saint Claire," she introduced herself.

"Saint Claire, S.," Fabian said. "That was how you were written in the file we received. I just assumed - " He fell silent, realizing that he had not been the only one assuming the wrong sex of their newest trainee. Suddenly, he felt that the missed practical lesson would be worth it. Even for a month of practical lessons, he would not miss the meeting of Sylvie Saint Claire and Alastor Moody.

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Fifteen minutes later...

"You are late, boy!" was Moody's greeting when Fabian entered the Auror Department, leading Sylvie with him. Wrapped in her cloak, with her hat pulled down over her eyes, she was not an interesting sight and Moody paid no attention to her.

"Yes, I've arrived only ten minutes earlier instead of fifteen," Fabian muttered, and the boss of the department shot him a fierce look.

"I heard that."

Fabian knew better than to argue.

"Where is he?" Moody bellowed, looking around to see the expected Frenchman and seeing none.

"Who?" Fabian asked, though he knew what Moody meant - he just couldn't resist.

"Don't play daft with me, lad! Didn't he come? I was against that bloody idea from the very beginning! Cooperation with bloody French, for Merlin's sake, irresponsible as they are - "

"But she did come; she's right here."

"What?"

"Saint Claire," Fabian explained, waving at Sylvie to come forward and waited for a moment, before continuing, "Sylvie Saint Claire."

Dead silence. Fabian kept his face straight and wondered how much time would pass before the old Auror would remember to take a breath.

"SYLVIE!" The world exploded. "You are a girl?"

That was addressed at Sylvie, who nodded defiantly.

"Have you even graduated, wench?" Moody roared.

"Getting a first," Sylvie said, demonstrating patience that she had not shown to Fabian. Well, it was logical; Fabian was just another trainee, while Moody was the boss here.

Moody's lips twitched in anger and his face became furious. Sylvie did not bat an eyelid.

"So, I am supposed to deal with a girl as our new French trainee who is as tall as a short fourteen-year old and who has a name like Saint Claire to top it all? What was your bloody Ministry thinking?" he bellowed.

"They thought you'd like to work with their best trainee," Sylvie said in a calm voice.

"Merlin, you really do have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Moody asked. "And take that ruddy hat off!"

He reached for her head to put his own words in action, and Sylvie felt her blood boiling. Boss or not, there were some things that could not be tolerated. She landed the side of her open palm directly on his wrist with a precise motion, and he dropped his wand. The next moment, Sylvie had her own wand pointed at him. "I think you might have got the concept of this whole enterprise wrong, Auror Moody," she said in a cold voice. "I came here to be trained, not insulted because of things that I cannot change."

Moody threw his head back and burst out laughing. "Merlin, this is a girl!" he bellowed. "Prewett! Why are you standing here, lad? Bring us some Firewhiskey to toast the arrival of our newest trainee."

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Five months later...

"I'll be back a few days after the wedding, Mum, but until then I won't be able to contact you through the fireplace. Don't worry, I'm fine," Sylvie said, wishing to finish the conversation. She had been tired ever since she had come to her lodgings from the Ministry, and her mother had kept her kneeling for too long. "Really, I have everything arranged. Say 'hi' to Dad and Marc from me."

"You can say 'hi' to me in person." Her father had obviously just entered the room. "Hi, Sylvie, how are you?"

Sylvie sighed inwardly and started again her story about the wedding that she was invited to - one of her fellow-trainees was going to get married.

"And what about your marriage?" her father asked. Her mother gave him a warning glare, but he ignored it. "Do you still insist upon this?"

"Yes, I do," Sylvie said sharply. She knew that her parents, although they had let her follow her own dreams to join the Aurors and come to England, were not too happy about her engagement because Walter was a pureblood. Her father, who was interested in Muggle science, supported the opinion that the pureblood marriages produced weakened children with no strength left in their blood, and the Saint Claires themselves were one of the oldest pureblood families in France. "We haven't reached a decision about the date yet, but yes, I fully intend to marry him. He's bought the ring already."

Her mother only sighed. "Take care, Sylvie," she said.

Sylvie suddenly felt guilty for all the trouble she put them through. She always had to do things her way - applying for the most perilous job of all, being accepted for the said job, packing her suitcases and setting out for England without asking them what they thought of the adventure, falling in love and deciding to marry a guy whose family was an object of quite unflattering rumors....

"I'll Owl you as soon as I can," she said. "And, Maman? Papa? I love you both."

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Two days later...

He is an Inferi. That was all Sylvie could think of, and she felt a pang of panic grabbing her heart. Her hand reached for her wand and even after she told herself that there were no Inferi living in Philip Cantrell's family manor, she was not quite sure. It was a really old manor, and the small lake there might contain anything -

Stop it, girl, you are being stupid, she told herself firmly. Philip was one of the brightest young Aurors. Surely he would have known if there were Inferi living in his lake? Still, she started to recite in her mind all the spells that she would need to effectively deal with the creature.

He did not seem to have noticed her. He was sitting on a large stone by the shore, his head thrown back, so the moonlight bathed his bloodless face in glowing, his eyes were closed. Well, that was a plus for her. She crept next to him with her wand ready.

And found out that he was not an Inferi at all. He was a human - a boy her age. Yes, he was quite pale, and yes, he looked like there was no blood in his face, but he was very much human - and very much alive. Quite handsome, too. The illusion of lack of blood came from the contrast between the fair skin and the dark hair, Sylvie realized.

"Now, now," he said, suddenly opening his eyes and looking straight at her, "why are you pointing your wand at me? What did I ever do to you?"

Sylvie was glad that the moonlight was dim enough to hide the blush that she felt creeping up on her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said, "I just thought - "

"What did you think?" he asked.

Normally, she would have been too ashamed to admit what she had thought - it would have been really insulting to the other. But there was something about this guy that made her answer - just because he wanted to know. Has he somehow used the Imperius on me?

"I thought you were an Inferi," she said.

He stared at her and then burst out laughing.

That was too much for Sylvie's already confused mind. She turned around and ran to the house, ignoring the cry of "Wait!" that followed her. She burst into the room that Philip had put her in, threw herself in bed and after a long time fell into a deep sleep in which this time Walter Avery took no place.

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