Prelude to Moondance

Sariyah's eyelids drooped heavily. It was taking too much effort to even lift them up. The haze surrounding her senses was slowly lifting, and she smelled something familiar. Her eyes opened wider, and she realized that the smell was Lily's perfume.

Sariyah's pale green eyes wandered her surroundings. It was pitch black, and she realized that she wasn't in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. The blinds had been pulled shut, but she could see a few rays of moonlight escape through the openings and dance on her blanket.

Lily was sitting in the chair beside her, snoring softly, her head resting in the palm of her hand. She had Muggle clothing on, jeans and a large sweater. Sariyah noticed a large vase of flowers sitting on a desk on her other side, as well as the sleeping figure of Sirius.

She suddenly heard a crack sound. Remus, of the appropriate apparating age, had appeared in the middle of the room.

"Sariyah?" he asked, making his way quietly to her bedside. He kneeled down beside the bed and gently took her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," she replied, still somewhat groggy. "But I do know we're not in Hogwarts."

Remus chuckled. "What gave you that idea?" he asked in a joking tone.

"You can't apparate there. And Madame Pomfrey hasn't kicked you lot out," Sariyah answered, smiling weakly. "Not to mention the bit of room change."

"Still as sharp as a tack," mumbled a bleary-eyed Sirius, who had just awoken. He rubbed his red, blood-shot eyes and joined Remus. "Feel okay?" he asked.

"I don't remember anything after hitting that wall," Sariyah replied.

Remus shot Sirius a look. "You don't remember us taking you here? You were quite awake. Mumbling incoherently, but quite awake," Remus said.

"I don't remember anything. And where exactly is here?" she asked, looking around slowly. "Ow!" she cried as a shooting pain leapt up and down her back.

"Are you alright? Sariyah? I'm going to go get a Healer," Sirius said quickly, and exited the room.

"A Healer?" asked Sariyah. "Are we at Mungo's?"

Remus nodded.

"I was that bad?" she said, green eyes filled with amazement. "I mean, I can still move my arms, and my legs, and most of me..."

"Yes, you were lucky. Flitwick put a Numbing Charm on you so you wouldn't feel any pain and we carted you off to Mungo's. Dumbledore was very upset, he called off the dueling team thing and informed your mum," explained Remus.

"My mum?" asked Sariyah, incredulous. "Did she come to see me?"

Remus nodded. "But only Lily saw here. She said that she was here for about an hour, then she got a call and decided to leave after Healer Meadowes told her that you were going to be fine."

"She didn't even stay to see me awake," growled Sariyah, anger beginning to build up in her again.

Remus placed a gentle hand on her cheek and pushed her hair back softly. "She came Sariyah, that's all that should matter right now, okay? You just need to get some rest."

"What about school? You all are missing it--" Sariyah mumbled.

"Dumbledore's allowing us to leave for the moment," Remus said, standing up. He moved to the window, and peeked through the blinds, where a new moon stood, beckoning to him. "I was in Hogsmeade when I apparated here."

"What? Why were you in Hogsme--"

The door opening cut her off. A tall, yellow-haired Healer came in, followed by Sirius.

"Ms. Khan," she said curtly, blue eyes flashing, "I think it would be better if you laid back down and your friends left while I tell you what's happened in the course of your arrival here." She glared at all of them. Sirius glared back angrily until Lily took his arm and they all exited the room.

"Wait--Remus, stay here, will you?" Sariyah said before he left. He paused, and looked questioningly at the healer, who gave him a slight nod.

"So?" Sariyah asked.

"You're fine, actually. Amazingly, very little happened to you when you hit that wall. We've checked everything, internal and external injuries, organs, everything. Do you feel any pain?"

"A throbbing in my head," Sariyah answered, "and it hurts when I move my head, but other than that, not too much."

"Ms. Khan, with all discretion," started the healer, pausing for a moment to shoot a look at Remus, "I talked to your mother on her way out, to collect some background information. You do know you have Egyptian lineage?"

Sariyah nodded hesitantly. "But what does that have to do with--"

"The Ancient Egyptians, Ms. Khan, if you have not read about them, were very powerful wizards. The remnants of their brilliance and their gifted ability with magic have been passed on through the centuries, even to the most far-reaching descendants. You are descended from the Ancient Egyptian Wizards."
"How? My grandparents weren't wizards on my mother's side. She's not a pureblood," stated Sariyah quizzically.

"Ms. Khan, wizardry does not only come from one generation. In the times before your grandparents, there were wizards in the family. The only thing I can conclude from your sustainment of such minor injuries is that you have the Aegyptus Incantes in you."

"The what?" asked Sariyah, looking at Remus. He shrugged, looking mystified.

"The Aegyptus Incantes is an age-old form of protection...as soon as the man who cast it on his descendant dies, which would have been thousands of years ago in your case, it takes full effect. Your ancestors were war heroes, Ms. Khan, it was very difficult for them to get hurt. The Incantes does begin to wear off generation after generation, and it would seem it is particularly weak in your own case, as you did sustain some injuries," the Healer answered.

"So it's worn off then, since I'm in such a far generation from theirs," Sariyah mused. "Is there anything else about them that I should know? Any more special powers floating around in me?"

"Being gifted beyond your years," said the Healer. "I assume that you've developed the power to Accio some things without a wand?"

Sariyah thought for a moment, and then nodded her head. "Yeah, I have been able to do those things, sometimes. I can't do it all the time, only when I put a lot of thought into it."

"Exactly. That would be about the limit to the Accio powers. You might also find that you end up putting a little more...well...energy or power into some of your spells and charms, and tend to overdo them a bit," continued the Healer.

"That's from the Egyptians too?" asked Sariyah, bewildered, thinking of her rat in Transfiguration.

The Healer nodded. "But the powers are growing weaker, generation by generation. Only the ancients knew the enchantments they cast. Legend says that there was a book written back then, preserved in an ancient tomb, that all of the enchantments were recorded in. There are millions of tombs, many yet undiscovered, and it would be very difficult to locate it."

"Think of how dangerous that would be," Remus spoke, "in the wrong hands, the power to be completely invincible and more powerful than anyone."

The Healer nodded. "Very dangerous indeed. But even if the book was found, it could only be used as a tool to strengthen a descendant only. The enchantments would have no effect on an average wizard."

"Frightening," Sariyah murmured. "My mother knew all of this?"

The Healer nodded. "She knows. It's a legend passed down from generation to generation. I even learned about it in History of Magic when I was your age."
Sariyah smiled sheepishly. "I don't really pay attention in that class."

"That's odd, actually," Remus said. "I've read the whole book, and there's no mention of the Egyptian book or any of the incantations you speak of."

"You have a newer edition. The older editions were edited by very old wizards, and the newer editors must have thought that it would be useless to add a bit of information about a possibly nonexistant book to it," surmised the Healer. "Well Ms. Khan, it seems that is all I have to tell you. Another day in the hospital and you'll be ready to head back to school."

The Healer opened the door leading out to the hallway and Sirius, James, and Lily tumbled in, looking slightly embarassed.

"Er, say, that was a door? I thought it was a...em..." started Sirius, on his knees, blushing red for the first time in his life while looking up at the pretty Healer.

Healer Meadowes only glared at the three, walking around them and out into the hall.

"Did you hear all of that?" asked Remus. The three amigos nodded unabashedly, picking themselves up.

"Remus was right. That book is dangerous...and look at this," James said, holding out The Daily Prophet.

" 'North Africans Bewildered by Empty Tombs'?" asked Sariyah. "But they wouldn't be able to do anything with that book, they don't have any descendants on hand."

Sirius looked down at his feet.

"Sirius?" Sariyah asked immediately. "Why are you looking like that, exactly?"

"Sariyah," he started slowly, "I didn't tell you, but that night at Hogsmeade? When that raid came by? The Death Eater I was taking on...I pulled his mask off."

"Yeah? And?"

"He had your eyes. And an accent. And he was about to curse me but he let me go when I--when I said your name," Sirius finished.

"And you all knew about this?" Sariyah said in a shrill voice, staring at her best friends.

James, Lily and Remus looked shocked, shaking their heads.

"Only I knew. It's my fault for not telling you," Sirius mumbled. "It's important now, though. Please don't be mad, Sariyah..."

"Sirius--I can't..." she sighed. "You should have told me earlier."

"I didn't want you to get more hurt than you already were," he said quickly. "I mean, it's enough that you don't see your dad, but finding out through me that someone you love is a Death Eater...I know what that's like Sariyah. And I didn't want to see you go through it."

"Thank you for your concern, Sirius," Sariyah said in an icy tone. "You should have let me know."

A heavy silence filled the room. All that could be heard was the occasional squeaking of a wheeled tray outside the room, and the opening and shutting of doors.

"How did he look?" asked Sariyah, staring at Sirius, her tone less chilled.

"What?" he asked, looking up.

"My father. How did he look?"

"His eyes are exactly the same color as yours...that gray-green color. And he has your chin. He looks older than he did in that photo you had, more wrinkled," answered Sirius, as best as he could.

"But why would you look down at your feet when I said they needed a descendant?" implored Sariyah.

"I don't know, maybe they want you," answered Sirius. "Or your mom, maybe."

"Yeah right. Me? Go over to their side? Fat chance," Sariyah said confidently.

There was then a quiet knock at the door. Lily stood up and opened it. "Oh," she murmured, moving out of the way. Professor Dumbledore stood at the door, eyes twinkling, holding a box of Chocolate Frogs.

"Good evening," he said kindly, shutting the door. He moved gracefully over to Sariyah's bedside and placed the box of candy on the bedside table, beside the flowers.

"Flowers!" he chuckled. "Bringing color to even the dullest of places. These, it seems, are from--Mister Juniper Smithe."

Sariyah rolled her eyes. "He works in the International Office of Magical Cooperation with my mother, apparantly. I think they're dating," she said, shuddering. "She always writes about him."

"Well. They are nice flowers. And how are you feeling?" asked Dumbledore, taking her hand in his. His hand was cool to the touch, even though the warmth he radiated was overwhelming.

"Better...Professor, the Healer just told me about Aegyptus Incantes," Sariyah started, trying to get straight to the point.

"Yes, I know. I asked her to tell you...your mother did not wish it so, but I felt you needed to know, to protect yourself. You know now what may lie ahead of you, Sariyah. And what you decide ultimately shapes the future of many, no matter how small or insignificant the decision," Dumbledore said. He nodded at her, and the rest of them. "I think I've been fair in giving you all a few days off, but Professor McGonagall will have my head if she doesn't see you at school on Monday. Take care of yourselves."

With a crack, he had disappeared.

"Does he have to be so secretive?" mumbled Sirius. Sariyah let out another small sigh.

"Of course he does," answered Remus in his usual mild tone. "He's the greatest wizard of all time. He's got a lot of weight on those shoulders."