The Guardian

Disclaimer, I own none of this, it all belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowlings. I promise to put everything back where I found it.

a/n -I'm sorry this update has been so long in the making. RL has a nasty habit of jumping up and biting you when you least expect it. As always thank you to Charlotte-Stevens lots of love and cheese eggplant lasagna!!!!


Chapter 24
Dinner with the Dursleys

Dinner was anything but appetizing, everything was overcooked and under spiced. Sirius wondered idly if Rhiannon's cooking was spoiling him, then decided he didn't care. He tried to block out the insipid sound of Petunia Dursley's voice by counting the beats of Rhiannon's heart under his. Unfortunately Petunia had been gifted with one of those voices that dug into your brain like a drill through a board, making it impossible to ignore. A few moments ago he had noticed an increase in Rhiannon's heartbeat, he concentrated on the tightening in his chest instead of the beats. The twist of his heart, the boiling heat that coursed through his blood and realized Rhiannon was mad. He listened for a moment to what Petunia was saying and felt a twin rush of anger bolstered by hers. Rhiannon was gripping her glass of water so hard her hands were molted, the water inside was boiling softly as she focused her desire to hex someone into the glass.
“You know, Vernon's sister has a theory. She says it has nothing to do with the father and everything to do with the mother. So just because his father was a lousy drunk it was his mother that made him so... abnormal.” Petunia looked pleased with her sister in law's theory, pressing her thin, dry, lips together like the cat that ate the canary.
“Abnormal?” Rhiannon's voice shook with the anger that she was struggling to keep reigned in. It didn't help that she could feel Sirius' fury, like a large slippery snake coiling in her chest, pushing her to do something about the filth spewing from the womans perpetually pursed mouth, or Harry's pain at being rejected by his mother's family that made her want to wrap him in her arms and block out everything his 'aunt' was saying. Her hand was wrapped tightly around her water glass as she tried to hide the boiling liquid within.
“Oh yes, the boy is just strange. Has a pet owl, reads books about magic and runs around pointing a stick at things.” She dropped her voice to a stage whisper, “Thinks its a wand and he can do magic. He attends this boarding school up north during the school year so things are pretty normal around here then. But when he's home... he brings the strangest people into the neighborhood. The pair he usually runs with, a red head and that girl, hmm something going on between the three of them if you ask me. One girl hanging out with two boys... it's just immoral. Then there was that blonde one that came around a month ago, looked high as a kite she did.”
Sirius growled low in his chest, an unearthly sound that had Petunia jumping and looking towards the open patio door. Vernon was pale and from the way his lips were moving he seemed to be reciting prayers while shaking his head at his wife.
“He doesn't seem abnormal to me.” Rhiannon felt the glass in her hand start to shake.
“Well even a rabid dog is capable of behaving sometimes.”
That was it, the glass shattered, sending a spray of shards and water across the table. Petunia's eyes widened then flew to Harry, an accusation dieing on her lips when Rhiannon spoke quietly.
“Harry, I want you to go upstairs, pack everything that you want to take with you. Release Hedwig, tell her to go to the Burrow.”
Harry scrambled to get up, he'd barely touched his dinner, his face was pale and his eyes were glossy with pain. Rhiannon wondered how long his arm had been broken.
Sirius waited until Harry was upstairs, then turned to his wife, “Is your hand okay?”
“Some shards of glass, thats all.” She held out her hand showing a mess of small cuts and a pool of blood in her palm. Sirius pulled out his wand silently asking permission to heal her hand.
Petunia gasped, her eyes growing wide as he flicked his wand over Rhiannon's hand and the shards of glass pushed themselves out and the small cuts healed instantly. The blood was cleared with a Scourgify as was the glass and water from the table.
“Who are you people?” She demanded looking between the pair, a spark of recognition flashing in her eyes now as she really looked at Sirius.
Rhiannon smirked as she stood up, her hair falling to cover her face as she shoved her glasses up. “I find it interesting that you would comment on one of Harry's friends being on drugs. How's Dudley?”
Petunia blanched, she had purposely avoided talking too much about her son hoping they wouldn't think of him.
“Who broke Harry's arm?” Sirius spoke quietly, his glittering silver eyes following the tip of his wand as he twirled it between his fingers.
“I...I...He fell down the stairs.” She stammered turning her eyes to Vernon noticing for the first time that he wasn't saying anything. “Vernon what is wrong?”
“Vernon can't talk right now.” Rhiannon moved around the table, yanking Petunia's chair back and bracing her hands on the arms, pinning the woman in. “But I can, and I have A LOT to say. That boy,” She motioned to the stairs where Harry had disappeared, “his name is Harry James Potter. His father was James Potter, an excellent Auror or what you would call an Officer. He dedicated his life to protecting our people. Although he acted like an ass often, he was a decent man that drank very little. Harry's mother was Lily Potter... your sister, she was a well respected member of our society. She worked for the government, and loved her family. They both gave their lives to protect their son and our world. If what you say about mothers is true then it applies to you as well, how well have you done with your son? Harry was just as much your son as Dudley, at least thats what we hoped you would treat him as when he was placed here. You were supposed to love him, to care for him as the innocent child that he was. Instead you hurt him. You lied to him and made him grow up way too fast.” She paused her chest heaving with anger and glanced at Sirius who smirked and waved her on.
“There is nothing immoral about the family that Harry has found, that he has pulled together. Brothers and Sisters of the heart that stay with Harry not because they have to but because they want to. They gave him the unconditional love that you, his flesh and blood, denied him. Harry has a family now. People who love him and care for him. He has a home and people that will take care of him.” She shoved away from Petunia, but remained close enough that the other woman stayed in her chair. “He will be treated like a son instead of a burden.”
Petunia hung her head, she didn't like being shamed, especially by someone she didn't know. “That boy didn't deserve to be here. We are a good, normal family and he's nothing but a freak!”
“A FREAK? I'LL SHOW YOU A FREAK.” Rhiannon threw out her hand, palm facing Petunia. Sirius could feel the hex building, magic making the air crackle and lights flash wildly. He moved forward, suddenly worried about what she was going to do. Her palm was starting to glow when a sound drew her attention to the door.
Dudley Dursley stood, framed in the flickering light cast across the back porch. He was tall and solid, with dark wavy hair and a piggish look to his face. Dark bloodshot eyes stared blankly at Rhiannon, at once seeing and looking through the room. Rhiannon couldn't help slipping into those eyes, into the mind beyond it. Images from a lifetime of being taught to hate flashed before her, pain at having to act so selfish and mean to a boy who logic told him was his brother. There were various memories of birthday parties and Christmases, first days of school and holidays. Nothing too recent except one memory. It was fuzzy, like looking through a steamed up mirror. Harry's worried face gazing down at Dudley as he shook on the floor. The house around them was dark, Harry grabbed the larger boy and dragged him up the stairs to a bathroom, and into the shower. The pair stood under the icy water, fully clothed until Dudley stopped shaking and Harry dragged him out and down the hall.
The room came back into focus for Rhiannon, only a second had passed leaving everyone but Sirius ignorant to her pause. She released her breath on a hiss and flung her hand at the kitchen. No child should see their parents being tortured, no matter how vile and loathsome they were.
The spell was a deep red tinged with black that Sirius only vaguely recognized. It was something he'd read of in a book but never actually seen performed. The sounds coming from the kitchen were horrible. Metal rending and glass shattering, even the wooden cabinets groaned and popped. Rhiannon dropped her hand and glared at Petunia. She didn't say anything before moving away from the woman.
“I need to go... away...” She moved to Sirius, “Take Harry home. I'll meet you there.”
“Love, I don't think it's safe for you to be wandering around alone.”
Rhiannon gazed at him a moment, anger still simmering in her eyes, under a layer of tears and something he'd never seen there before, fear.
“I'll be fine. Please.” She waited until he nodded before disappearing.
“Where did she go?” Petunia whined, staring at the spot where Rhiannon had been standing.
“Shut up.” Sirius rolled his eyes and left the room, he couldn't take another moment of the pair and Harry could probably use some help..

Rhiannon went to the only place she could think of. The lights were bright, glinting off the stainless steel tables and appliances, the smell of baking bread hung in the air making the large room seem warmer than it should have.
“You should call before you pop in. What if Carlos and I had been busy?” A woman's soft voice greeted Rhiannon's silent entry.
“Ha, you seal the kitchen when you are 'busy'. I would have sensed it and went out front to wait.”
“What brings you out this way Rhi?” The woman hadn't turned around, or paused in her task.
Rhiannon busied herself for a moment, scrubbing her hands and arms with hot soapy water. When she finished she moved across the room, taking a large ball of dough from a bowl on a large table.
As she kneaded the dough she looked up into the other woman's eyes, eyes that were slightly darker than hers, rimmed in a black that could rival Severus's. The woman before her could answer her questions if anyone could, so Rhiannon asked without pause, “Can a Guardian kill someone?”

Sirius shrunk all of Harry's belongings, shoved them in a book bag and dragged the teen out to his motorcycle.
“Where did Rhiannon go?” Harry asked as they rolled out of the driveway.
“She had an errand to run before she could go home.” Sirius answered, he didn't want to admit he had no idea where she'd gone or when she'd be back. Didn't want to admit that that scared him more than the mess she left of the kitchen.
“She was so mad she blew up the kitchen.” It was a statement not a question but Sirius felt compelled to try an explain her thinking.
“She's grown rather attached to our little family. You are the center of it. When someone is hurting our family they have to understand it wont be allowed.”
“It's nice to know I'm loved so much.”
Sirius stopped, they were sitting across the street blocking traffic. “We all love you Harry, never forget that. Things are going to get rough, and everyone will be under a lot of pressure. So will you. If we don't tell you, just know that we love you.”
“I know Sirius, and I love you guys too.” Harry's emerald eyes sparkled with emotion.
Sirius nodded and stood to start the bike.
“Good, now hold on.”
The ride back to Grimmuald place was quiet. Sirius made sure Harry had everything he would need and all of his things were put into a room before flooing Madam Pomfrey and asking her to heal Harry.
Remus had no idea where Rhiannon had gone, but promised to stay over and keep an eye on Harry and to find Sirius if anything happened. Sirius then apparaited to The Burrow, hoping maybe she'd gone to get the other kids, when she wasn't there he decided to try Hogwarts.
He pictured the apparation point just outside of the gates and hoped Dumbledore was at the school, if anyone could give him an idea of where his wife had disappeared to it would be the headmaster.
What Sirius apparaited into was not the clearing just beyond Hogwarts gates, it wasn't even the fields that led up to the main doors. Sirius looked around surprised as he appeared silently in Dumbledore's office. The elderly wizard looked up from a large leather bound book in surprise.
“Mister Black, so good of you to visit. Where is your lovely wife?”
Sirius opened his mouth, unsure of how he intended to answer but asked instead, “How did you know I was headed here?”
“What ever do you mean dear boy? I didn't know you were planning on visiting, I believed you'd still be with Harry.”
“Harry is at Headquarters. How did you know to drop the wards?”
“I didn't drop the wards, I assumed you came in with Rhiannon, she is the only one that can appairate in and out of Hogwarts when the wards are up.” Dumbledore raised his hands, checking the wards around the school. They were all in place.
“Rhiannon lost her temper at the Dursleys' house. She turned their kitchen inside out, literally, then disappeared. I looked at Headquarters but she's not there, I checked The Burrow and nothing. I thought maybe she would be here or that you might know where she went.” He looked hopeful, Dumbledore always had some kind of an answer.
“I have no idea where she went.” Dumbledore sounded apologetic. “Have you picked up any of Mrs. Black's other powers? Besides the apparaiting into a warded area?”
“I can feel the calls, see what she sees when she uses Legimancy, and I can feel her heart and emotions.”
Dumbledore seemed surprised, “Well that was quick. Her parents, as I understood, didn't do any of that for years and even then her father could only pick up on the major things.”
Sirius shrugged, he didn't have time for Dumbledore's musings unless they applied to where he could find his wife. Dumbledore seemed to realize this and pushed his thoughts to the side, saving them for later.
“I would suggest you think of your lovely wife and find her that way. If your thoughts of me brought you straight here then maybe they will work for her too.” Dumbledore suggested.
Sirius shrugged, it was worth a try. He closed his eyes and thought of Rhiannon. Not just her face but the way her skin felt, the scent of her lotion and soap as it mingled with the earthy scent of her body, the sound of her voice and the way her eyes flickered with the light. He felt the twist and pull of the air around him and knew somehow he would open his eyes and she would be there. He could feel the difference in the room, smell her sweet scent in the air.
The lights were different around him, cold and too bright to be anywhere outside, too steady to be fire or torch light. The smell of baking bread and echo of voices was almost overwhelming when compared to the relative silence of Dumbledore's office.
“Sirius, love, what are you doing here?”
He looked across the tidy room filled with stainless steal appliances and florescent lights to find Rhiannon staring at him, covered in flour and smirking at his confusion. The worry he'd felt when she hadn't been anywhere he'd looked twisted into annoyance. His eyes shone silver in anger, making her cringe.
“I was looking for you. We were worried, you shouldn't have disappeared like that Rhi.”
“Told you the boy would be worried.” Another voice filled the room, it was the tinkling of bells,or the soft keys of a piano, or birds singing, he wasn't sure what it was, but it came from a woman that stood to the side of Rhiannon, her back to him.
“I knew I couldn't stay long.” Rhiannon defended her eyes narrowing at the other woman. Sirius moved across the room, the woman was of average height, and although she was dressed in a baggy t-shirt and black cargo pants he could tell she was curvy and feminine. Her ebony hair was held out of her face with a handkerchief folded in half and tied at the back of her neck. The soft ends just brushed her jaw. When she finally turned to look at him he paused, her eyes had the same opaque quality as Rhiannon's but held a rim of deep black around the very edges of her iris.
“Hello Sirius.” Her full red lips broke into a sunny smile.
“Sirius, this is Isibel.” Rhiannon waved one flour caked hand at her friend.
Sirius bowed slightly, making the woman giggle. There was something about her that made him just a bit weary.
“How did you find me?” Rhiannon asked moving the lump of dough to a pan.
“I thought of you and here I was.” He shrugged, moving closer to her side.
“He's learning quickly.” Izzy rolled her dough carefully, making perfectly shaped rolls.
“Thats why I came here Izzy. Are you going to answer my question or not?” Rhiannon growled, pounding her fist into the ball of dough, her frustration evident.
“You know the rules. Go wash up and I'll think about it.” Izzy moved the pans from the tables to one of the appliances.
“Where's Harry?” Rhiannon asked, drying her hands.
“He's at Grimmuald place. Poppy is healing him and Remus is making sure nothing happens.” Sirius studied his wife, he'd never seen her so twisted up. He could feel her rioting emotions in the pit of his stomach.
“I'm sorry I left without telling you where I was going. I was so mad, I almost ki...” She leaned her head against Sirius's chest, breathing in the spicy scent of him. “Izzy and her husband know more about our culture than anyone in the world. They are the only ones that could help.”
“Help with what Rhi?” his voice made her heart skip and her stomach twist with shame at having run out on him and Harry.
“With...”
Izzy interrupted them, telling the pair to follow her as she went out a door into the bright sunlight.
“Where are we?” Sirius asked shielding his eyes and adjusting his collar in the oppressive heat.
“Houston, Texas.” Rhiannon smirked, her glasses shielding her eyes from the bright sun.
“You lived in this?” Sirius panted, “It's bloody hot!” He'd only just walked out but could already feel sweat pooling in his waist band.
“You get used to it, or you move away.” Izzy led them up a flight of metal stairs and into a cool apartment above the restaurant. “Have a seat, I'll get us some drinks.” She disappeared down a hallway.
“Why did you come here?” Sirius settled onto the large black sofa.
Rhiannon sighed, then paced to the large window overlooking a park. “Izzy and her husband Carlos, they are Guardians. They know more about us than anyone I've ever met.”
“Why didn't you get help from them earlier.”
“Izzy's help comes with a price, it's usually a steep one and I didn't know that we were willing or able to pay it.”
“What changed?”
Rhiannon dropped her head, shame flashing in her eyes she opened her mouth to answer but Izzy beat her to it.
“She almost killed someone today, and it scared her just how easily it would have been to give up everything she has based her life on, everything she believes in and just kill those two nasty little muggles.”
Rhiannon's eyes snapped up, anger flashing in their colorless depths, “If you knew what was going to happen, why would you let me? Why didn't you just tell me this?”
Izzy sat the bottles she carried down, “Sit down child.”
“I'm not a child.” But Rhiannon dropped down next to Sirius anyway. He wrapped his arms around her, wanting to comfort her.
“Compared to me Dumbledore is a child.”
Sirius looked up at that, Izzy didn't look a day over twenty. “I'm nearing 980.” she smirked.
“Yea Right.” He half laughed, there was something about the woman that reminded him of Bellatrix and that made him uncomfortable.
“She is.” Rhiannon looked at him showing that she was serious.
“980? Thats... How?”
“We, my husband Carlos and I are not just any Guardians.” Izzy picked at a loose stitch on her chair. “What do you think happens to a guardian when they die?”
Sirius tightened his hold on Rhiannon's shoulders, he didn't want to think about a world with out her. Then again, he would never know what it was like again.
“We take them to the next life.” Izzy grinned wildly. “We will take the two of you when your time comes. Would you like to know when that will be? How?”
“Thats enough.” Rhiannon snapped, she could feel Sirius twisting himself into knots at Izzy's words. “Are you going to help us or not?”
“Of course I am. But we want something in return.” Sirius caught the 'we' and assumed the absent Carlos was included.
“What? What do you want.” Rhiannon was weary.
Izzy smiled a smile that put Bellatrix to shame and leaned towards them. “We want the halfbreed.”
Rhiannon paused, she truly didn't know who or what Izzy was talking about. “You want what?”
“The halfbreed, the Guardian that isn't a Guardian.”
Sirius understood first, it explained how Lucius knew where Rhiannon was, how Bellatrix could find her. “Bellatrix? Is that who you want.”
“Bellatrix,” she rolled the name around, seeming to delight in the sound of it, “Yes, we want the abomination, she who should not be.”
“Why do you want her?” Rhiannon asked, eying Izzy.
“Because she is an abomination. She is unworthy of the gifts she stole.”
“She's completely insane.” Sirius pointed out, “Like break out the foil hats, the walls are spying on her, she hears voices telling her Voldemort's snake is god. Crazy.”
“Yes, but she's also a danger to Guardians everywhere. She can sense us, even when we are cloaked. She could mean the end of our way of life.”
“But how?” Rhiannon questioned. “How can she sense us? How do you know about it?”
“I am your Guardian, how do you think I know about her? When she stabbed you, you almost died. Granted you were already bound to Sirius but it was new. You hadn't even met him. So as you started to die, your powers started to transfer to her as she was connected to the knife. When you didn't die your powers returned to you completely but left an echo in her. It's a rare occurrence but it has happened before.”
“Can you stop it?” Rhiannon asked.
“Eventually, yes. I can stop her, if you let me.”
Rhiannon sat back thinking, she had sworn to protect every soul under her care. That included the crazy homicidal ones, as little as she liked that part of her duty. But she also had a responsibility to the other Guardians. They couldn't do their jobs if they were in constant danger. She turned her gaze to Sirius, found him watching her intently and felt an echo of his thoughts in her heart. He nodded, offering his opinion.
“Alright. You can have her.” She finally agreed. Izzy held out her hand and waited for Rhiannon to take it. As soon as their palms touched something like an electrical current ran through her body. Rhiannon jerked once then relaxed, she felt lighter, as if something dark and heavy had been removed from her chest.
“Now on to your question. Yes, a Guardian can kill. We can be rather creative in our vengeance. The blood lust within us is almost over-whelming once let loose, so you lose something of yourself when you end a life.” Sirius saw something cloud her eyes, it was red and violent, making him want to pull Rhiannon away from the other woman before it could touch her. But it was gone as quick as it appeared.
“You've killed.” It was a statement not a question, Sirius knew the answer just as he knew Rhiannon was eager to hear the details.
“Often, I was very good at it.”
“What happened?” Rhiannon's voice was soft.
“Carlos, my husband, and I went on a bit of a killing spree. We had the power to judge people, to play at being gods, and we took it. A river of blood flowed where ever we went, only the most innocent were spared. We enjoyed the killing, enjoyed the way men and women alike begged, no matter their station in life, or their country of birth. They all begged for mercy and made promises.”
Rhiannon remembered the look in Petunia Dudley's eyes, the way a prayer had been on her lips as the hex built. There had been a moment of enjoyment with the rush of power. That is what had scared her. Her duties as a Guardian were her life, they were her legacy and had meant everything to her after her parents died.
“How,” she paused, “how did you stop?” She gripped Sirius' hand as her gaze locked with Izzy's.
“They came to us, The Elders. Scared the hell out of us. They passed judgment and gave us ten thousand years as punishment, we will be here for that time before growing any older.” Izzy shrugged as though it didn't mean much but her eyes clouded.
“There is going to be a war. I can not stand by and let my family fight, kill, maybe die and not fight, kill and maybe die along side them.” Rhiannon felt Sirius tense next to her, his fear clenching her heart like a vice. “But I don't want to enjoy killing. I don't want to lose myself, or what I've become. What we have become. ”
Izzy turned her gaze on Sirius, he felt her sifting through his mind but was powerless to stop her. Harry, Remus, Snape all flashed before his eyes. The sound of laughter and feeling of contentment he felt when they had dinner together settled over him. Behind him a door opened, heat poured into the small room and everything rushed back.
“You wont lose yourselves.” Izzy smiled sadly, she reached up and grabbed the hand that was reaching for her without breaking eye contact with Sirius. “You have something we didn't. You have a family to hold you here when it comes time. And that will make all the difference.”
Sirius glance up at the man. He was stood tall and dark, looking like a very tan version of Snape. “The war?” His voice was deep, thick with a Spanish accent.
“Yes.”
“We will be joining them, yes?”
“Yes.”
Carlos nodded, his black hair was cut short, a stubble covered his lower face. When he turned the light glinted off lettering on the back of his shirt. Police was stenciled across his back, it was then that Sirius noticed a holster and handcuffs hanging from the man's belt.
“Atonement must be made for what we did. We've been police officers, doctors, firefighters, anything that we think will save or enrich lives. Nine hundred years is a long time.” Izzy shrugged. “Keep that in mind if you should ever run across Peter.”