Arcadia.

"Nice to see that you're working so hard on your education," Nathan hissed at them with an expression in his eyes that made them wonder whether he was hissing human words at all, then he left the room, calmly but angrily, and went to the Owlery.

To Belle Racine
Beauxbatons
France

My dearest Belle,

I can't express in words how much I miss you. Seems you're the only non-selfish person I've ever met. You didn't answer my last two letters, I can only hope that the teachers intercepted them or that your parents have forbidden you to write to me, so I'm not using Venny to send you this but one of the school owls. Please, if this message reaches you, answer me. Any answer. You don't have to write to me, but please let me know you read this.

I miss you beyond measure. My life is one single confusion and nightmare without you. Whenever I think I meet someone remotely like you, disappointment strikes in with all its force. I need you to tell me that you don't hate me. Please.

I've been accepted to the B-team for the inter-school Quidditch. Without any doubt, you're Captain of the A-team. If my father allows me to stay in the team, we would probably meet at the games... something that I look forward to so much. I can only hope that you don't totally detest the idea of meeting me.

I love you, Belle, no matter what others might tell you about me. If you show this letter to my father, I'm going to be in so much trouble you can't even imagine. I'm utterly at your mercy. You know I'm sorry for what I did and I can only beg you, once more, to forgive me, hoping that this time I'll get an answer, anything, a response. Whether it's yes or no, please tell me. I don't have a right to know, but you'd prove to be the kind and good-hearted person I know you to be.

Sincerely yours, and only yours,

Nathan

To Hades Lagrand
The Ministry of Magic
London

Dear Father,

I'm sure you will be delighted to hear that I have ended this "useless romantic involvement" with Niki, or rather, that she has ended it. Whether you're behind this or not I don't know, and I'm not sure I would want to know. Let's just call this topic closed and no longer a reason for quarrel.

I hope you'll have the decency to congratulate Morticia - she has been picked as Beater on the A-team for the inter-house Quidditch. Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets her schoolwork done. Let me assure you I've never seen a fiercer Beater in all my life; if I were a Bludger, I'd rather hit a wall than her bat.

I also hope you'll have the kindness to allow me as Seeker and Captain on the B-team. Now I can almost hear you. "The B-Team? My son is on the B-team?" Get over it. Maybe if it hadn't been so public that you don't want me to play at all, things would have been different; but things being as they are, I'm surprised I got chosen at all.

If you want me to graduate this year, you won't do anything about it. If you forbid me to play, you can not only forget my graduation this year, but you can be glad if I ever graduate at all. You could also forget the job at the Ministry you're trying to shove on me, knowing I hate administration and talks. It's your choice.

If you want to do me a real favour, then you'll just wait with your answer for a couple of days. I'm really in a specifically bad mood right now. I guess you are, too, now that you're reading this.

Drake asked me to greet you, he's doing as well as he can although teaching still scares him. We haven't heard anything yet from the Ministry about his Apparating-license, could you please be so kind and ask? He wants to visit his family at Christmas and the Ministry can't really expect him to take his broomstick to Alaska, can they?

Nimue is over-excited as usual, but I guess she'll be doing fine in Hufflepuff, although I'd hoped Ravenclaw or at least Gryffindor to the very last moment. Having lost my bets to both you and Morticia, I fear I won't have much money to buy you two Christmas presents this year... I'm sending the money I own you with Venny in this message.

Knowing that you'll ask me with the next owl: yes, I have written to Belle. No, she hasn't written to me for quite a time. That's all I'm going to say about that subject.

Say hi to Mom and the little ones.

See you at Christmas...

Love,

Nathan

Nathan came to dinner with Drake. He seemed calm and composed, but he lacked his usual arrogance. As he sat down next to some Slytherins from his year who grinned and whispered something at him, his face turned very angry for a second, but then he regained control over himself. Drake sat down next to him although he usually sat at the teachers' table. They spoke lowly so that even the other Slytherins couldn't hear.

Suddenly, though, Nathan's own owl Veneficus sailed into the hall and dropped a small red envelope on Nathan's table. Drake's face fell visibly.

Nathan's only went white with unspeakable fury. Calmly and proudly, he took the envelope and opened it, and the Howler burst out. "YOU KNOW QUITE WELL WHAT THIS IS FOR," the voice of Hades Lagrand, Ambassador to the French Ministry of Magic, boomed through the room, "I AM NOT GOING TO HUMILIATE MYSELF BY GOING INTO DETAILS, BUT YOU CAN BE SURE I WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE DETAILS WHEN I COME TO HOGWARTS TOMORROW MORNING!"

After the Howler was finished, Nathan calmly burnedup the envelope with his wand and continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

*********

Morticia elbowed through to the notice board, saw her name as beater on team A and let out a sound that made the glass and the students tremble. Then, gasping, she started to hop around madly, grasping the closest person she knew, and started to chant, "I'm Beater, I'm Beater, I'm Beater!" After some minutes, she calmed down only to stare again at the list. It was only then that she noticed Nathan's name. Her face fell. She sighed. "Uh-oh, trouble ahead..."

About a minute after Nathan's Howler, Morticia happily walked in for dinner, not noticing the sniggers and shocked whispers at the Slytherin table. She sat down and immediately buried her face in the latest edition of Quirks of Quidditch, which bore the title Unbeatable Beaters, and started to read while absent-mindedly stuffing her mouth with food.

Carina walked down the corridor with a spring in her step. She couldn't help being in an improved mood after that sort of.....fun. She guessed that by now the Quidditch team would be up. Well, she could at least look.

However, she was not alone.... As she rounded a corner, she bumped into a figure coming the other way.

"Would you look where you're.....you...."

She blushed, and looked at the floor, though she didn't know why. What *was* it about Piotr? Did he have something to do with her amnesia, as she suspected?

Piotr eyed Carina with barely concealed amusement. "Ah, Carina. Good evening. I trust your Quidditch trials went well?"

He was absolutely, 100%, wall-to-wall charm. In the lowered light of evening, his shades stuck out the top pocket of his robes, exposing his oddly-hued violet eyes to all. He pushed his black hair – still occasionally dropping the odd hair here and there - out of his eyes and gave her a devastatingly sweet smile.

Carina's stomach did several unwanted flip-flops at Piotr's look. He was, quite simply, drop dead gorgeous. She very nearly did drop, but managed to keep enough self control to remain on her feet. She was now *sure* he'd done something to her.

"F-fine thank you Piotr....." she blushed. Finally, common sense seemed to prevail, and she looked up again angrily, fighting against what felt like an internal melt-down.

"What have you done to me?!?!?!" she demanded.

"Why, Carina! I'm hurt that you would suggest such a thing!" Indeed, Piotr's eyes had taken on a slightly offended expression and he ducked his head away from her. "To insinuate that I'd done something to you when indeed I have not..."

He sniffed, a little theatrically, and went to walk away from her – but not before treating her to another devastating smile.

He turned away, smiling to himself. The length of his 'persuasiveness' seemed to be extending. Admittedly, Carina was no longer at his beck and call, but there was...something there. His powers were, indeed, growing.

Carina, still a bit shaky after her meeting with Piotr, and been making her steady progress towards the dining hall and the adjacent corridor. She had finally come to the list. Standing in front of it for a long while, it took several seconds to register.

She'd got in the team. She'd got into the A team.

Walking into the Great Hall in a bit of a daze, she sat down, a large grin working its way onto her face. There was no sign of Arcadia as yet. Pity. She felt the need to tell someone, and there was no one else who she really knew. Sitting down on her own, she piled a few things onto her plate, and started to eat, her eyes looking at the other people having lunch. She half wondered whether anyone would talk to her.

Morticia looked up, noticed her, recognised her as Arcadia's new friend and quickly looked away again with an expression of dislike.

Carina scowled at Morticia in return for the look she herself had received. She put her fork down and swivelled so she was looking at the girl properly, then started to speak in a slow, cold voice.

"You're going to have to get used to me Lagrand. If we're on the same team, you'll have to. Slytherins are supposed to stick together after all."

Morticia raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She smiled. "I thought that was more of a Gryffindor trait, they're the 'Three Musketeers-type. I prefer sticking to people I like, thank you very much."

Arcadia stormed into the room ignoring everyone and slumped down beside Carina. "I'm going to have to kill that...." Then she saw Morticia next to her "...boy"

Nathan looked up at Arcadia's enigmatic entrance, threw a glance to Tish, got up and walked out.

Carina, after shooting Tish a venomous look that promised another 'conversation' later, turned to look at Arcadia, swinging her legs back over the bench.

"From his exit I assume you mean Nathan Lagrand. Why, out of interest?" She grinned sinisterly, and added in a small voice. "And what method?"

**********

After his interesting encounter with Niki in the Charms corridor, then once more in the Owlery, Dylan finally went to dinner. As per usual, his head slightly bowed and his long black hair falling in his eyes, he slunk into his usual spot at the Gryffindor table. It was all very routine, save for the fact that he was smiling.

After changing into clean clothes and making sure he did not look too happy at being chosen for the Quidditch team, Jian made his way downstairs to the Great Hall.

He walked towards the Gryffindor table with more confidence than he ever had since he arrived in Europe. He nodded at housemates who called out their congratulations, then joined the end of the table where most of the Fourth Years sat.

"Good evening," he said, as he sat down.

"How was Quidditch?" he asked Jian as he began to tuck into his dinner. After all, Dylan was 14. That meant food held the top slot in his priorities list.

Yvette looked up at Jian, already halfway finished with her plate. The skinny girl ate just as much as the teenage boys she knew, a fact that she was often teased by her friends about.

"Hello, Jian." She replied pleasantly, setting her glass down. The pink overcoat was hung over the back of her chair, mittens and hat tucked away underneath her pillow. She kept out a wary eye for Professor McGonagall.

Jian nodded to Yvette. "Hello, Miss," he said to her.

"Quidditch was good," he replied to Dylan, trying not to look too enthusiastic or too elated that he was on the school team. "It was only today that I realized how much alike martial arts and the sport are, in some ways."

He noticed that Dylan, too, seemed very happy about something. However, Jian decided it was not within his power to ask why.

He looked at the rich dinner fare contentedly and began to help himself to large portions of food. Midway, there was a distinct tinkle of steel against the table. His sharp eyes immediately traced the source of the sound.

On the table between Yvette, Dylan and himself, a small black-and-silver pendant lay morosely beside the dishes. It looked old, but still shone from continued care. It was a circular yin-and-yang symbol.

Jian automatically let go of everything he was holding and brought his hands up on his neck. The silver chain hung loosely. The pendant had come loose. Now, of all times.

He hoped no one had noticed the pendant.

Jian, however, was not so lucky. Dylan had managed to catch the sound, as faint as it was, and his steel blue eyes caught a good look at the pendant before it was snatched back and covered. "Drop sommat?" he asked cautiously, his gaze pure curiosity. There was nothing malicious about him, merely a natural inquisitiveness.

"No," Jian responded right away. He then swallowed hard and tried not to look at Dylan, whose inquisitive gaze was making him feel very uncomfortable.

"I mean, yes. It is a pendant. An old thing." Jian clenched a fist around the ice-cold ornament and shoved it almost angrily into a pocket of his robes. How could he be so careless? How could he forget to check that the silver chain was still secure?

It was no ordinary yin and yang symbol, that pendant. It was the emblem of the chosen. //His// emblem. It wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone outside Mian-Ju-Tao. And now //this//.

Blessed Buddha.

But he //had// checked the chain right after he changed clothes only within the past hour. It could not have broken so easily...it was strong, solid silver.

But why did the chain break? And why //now//?

Yvette hadn't noticed anything unusual, except for the fact that Jian dropped his fork. Dylan's question made her grin. Drop something? Of course he had! He'd dropped his fork, hadn't he?

"A pendant?" She stared at the fork carefully. Jian had shoved the pendant back into his robes by this time, and so she was most confused. After a momentary pause, she muttered something that sounded like 'whatever floats your boat' and went back to eating.

Dylan glanced at Yvette, then shrugged. "No worries, mate." He'd realised about five seconds after he'd said anything that silence would have been the better part of valour, because he could almost see Jian squirming. He hated people being uncomfortable. "Jus' didn't want y' t' lose wha' e'er 'twas," Dylan explained, turning his attention more to his dinner now and hoping Jian would be at ease again.

Jian heard the girl Yvette mutter something, but he was thankful she did not seem to care. He turned to Dylan. "Thank you for your concern, Dylan," he said to the Welsh boy. "But it is nothing of great importance."

Jian retrieved his fallen fork and spoon and began to half-heartedly push the food around on his plate, in an attempt to eat. Sometime during the pendant's revelation, he had lost his appetite.

//I am careless and foolish and stupid. I do not deserve to be here.//

However, he knew, somewhere deep inside, that the chain had broken and the pendant had fallen for good reason. An omen, perhaps? If there was something Jian knew he had in spades, it was his focus on detail and precision. He wasn't one to let his precious necklace go unchecked.

Eager for a change in topic, he said to Dylan, "Pardon me, Dylan, but I have almost forgotten. I met Nicola during the Quidditch trials this afternoon and she asked me to tell you that she wanted to speak with you. I tried looking for you in the dormitory immediately afterwards but I could not find you."

Dylan grinned, despite his best efforts to the contrary. "I saw Niki earlier, actually. Didn't realise you knew her." Just the mention of her name was enough to get his whole demeanour to lighten dramatically, and when he glanced at Jian, his eyes were the same bright blue that always indicated happiness.

Well, then. Yvette just grinned as she saw Dylan's expression, glad that the boy's previously glum countenance had been cast aside. She settled back into the seat, toying with her fork as she absently looked around the table.

The expression on Dylan's face stirred Jian's curiosity. The mere mention of Nicola had caused such a reaction on the Welsh boy...it was mind-boggling, how a person's name could make an otherwise glum-looking boy appear so //happy//.

"We were waiting for Keeper tryouts this afternoon, and she spoke to me," Jian explained further. "She said she is your friend and that she is glad I will be teaching you martial arts."

Martial arts brought something else to his mind. Jian scanned the Gryffindor table, an unconscious gesture, with his eyes. Something about a certain person's absence from his sight made his insides clench.

"It's sommat like tha'," he said with a nod. "She's really very special, y' know?" Dylan knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. All he could think about was when she understood his words without having to fumble through English...when she understood him. It was enough to make him feel like he could fly. He didn't notice Jian's search of the table, nor his curiosity. It was fairly likely that he would probably answer any questions without thought or reservation. Genuine happiness was almost intoxicating for Dylan. It made such a thing all the more rare.

**********

Anders had left Hogwarts to head back to his untidy little house in Hogsmeade. He unlocked the door and walked in to complete and utter chaos. Wilbur had got restless and shredded half his study papers, leaving a shower of confetti across the living room.

The young wizard stared in disbelief at the mess, and at the kitten, who was sitting, proud as anything on the sofa as if to say 'look at what I did, dad!'

With a groan, Anders started picking up the shredded papers, trying a few spells to get them back together, but they were too far gone to be rescued. As he dumped the stuff into his already overflowing wastebin, he briefly wondered whether he should actually tidy up a little.

The only part of the house that wasn't a bomb site was the kitchen, and that was because all that he ever went in there for was a cup of coffee. He generally ate a meal at the office during the day and didn't bother with dinner, so the cooker and surrounding area was sparkling clean and mess-free.

He looked at it now in comparison the living room and with a huge sigh began to pick up armfuls of books and stack them more or less neatly on top of one another.

It was then that he heard the knock at the door.

Sirius had been unable to resist any longer. He really wanted to see his son's new house. It was an excuse to see Kat again as well. It may only have been a few days since he last saw them both, but it had seemed like ages.

He checked the paper he had in his hand. The address was definitely right. He juggled the large box in his other hand again as he knocked on the door again and waited for the reply.

A rather harassed-looking Anders opened the door, but his face brightened perceptibly at seeing Sirius. "Hi! Er...come on in...and...excuse the mess..." He grinned sheepishly and held the door open for his father.

As he did so, Wilbur darted out between Sirius' legs and made to charge out the door, but Anders lunged for the kitten, narrowly avoiding knocking Sirius over. He grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck and hauled him back inside, ushering Sirius in so he could close the door.

"Welcome to the pigsty," said Anders, a little embarrassed by the fact Sirius had caught him in mid tidyup.

Sirius dodged the cat, carefully balancing the box so as not to drop it. He narrowly managed to avoide dropping it as Anders caught the young ball of fluff.

"I see you finally bought yourself a pet then?"

He moved towards the table to put the box down and as he did so he slipped on something. He could not see what, but the box flew out of his hands. His arms and legs flailed all over the place as he landed in a rather ungainly fashion on the floor.

The box was still in the air, falling rapidly. He grimaced at the thought of it crashing to the floor and vainly reached out to catch it.

"Phew!" He said as the box landed in his outstretched hands. He breathed out deeply as he sat up and pushed the box onto the table.

"That is your house warming present." He grinned at Anders. "And I don't think you'd want to drop it."

Anders smiled back at Sirius, Wilbur held gently but firmly under one arm. "Kat got him for me. I guess she figured a little company wouldn't go amiss. He's a terror. But cute." He set the kitten down and it raced off around the room at top speed.

He turned his attentions to the box, pleased that Sirius had brought a present with him. "For me? Thank you, Sirius - that's really..."

As he physically turned to the table, he caught the box with the sleeve of his robe, knocking it from the table. Quick as a flash, he hauled out his wand and yelled 'Wingardium Leviosa!' at it before it hit the ground. He levitated it gently back down and gingerly opened it.

"Oh, wow, Sirius..." Inside the box was an ornament. But not just any ornament. The beautiful, crystal figurine inside was of a Seeker on a broomstick, with a magically enchanted crystal Snitch that flew around it. The figure bore a suspicious resemblance to Anders, in fact.

He looked up at his father and smiled. "It's incredible. Thank you. Thank you very much."

Carefully, he put it back in the box and wrapped the packing around it again, lifting it to the floor. "As soon as I've cleared a space, I'll put it on display. Don't want Wilbur to knock it over and break it or anything, either."

Sirius beamed. "I am so glad you like it. I had it made specially."

He watched Wilbur as he charged around the room. As he passed by hid feet, Sirius bent and picked him up. His little legs were still trying to run. "Steady, little fella." The kitten looked up and hissed at him.

"Ok..." He put him back on the floor where he continued to charge around excitedly. Turning back to Anders he said, "So, do I get a guided tour?"

Anders ran a hand through his tangled hair and nodded. "Sure. Do you...uh...want a coffee or anything? Only...I'm not sure that I have anything in..."

He looked guilty for a moment. He was a bachelor and all that entailed, which, depending on your viewpoint was either an entirely good or a very bad thing. He gestured vaguely at the little living room and led Sirius through to the stunningly clean and tidy kitchen.

There was a small back yard, enough for Anders to house his motorbike, which was under a tarpaulin. A tiny patch of grass was home to various motorbike parts, also under a tarpaulin and Anders hastily shut the door again. "Mid fix," he explained. "My studies have sort of pulled me off it..."

Upstairs there were two bedrooms and a bathroom, as untidy as the downstairs rooms. "It's not that much," admitted Anders as they both returned downstairs, "but it's mine."

He swept a pile of books and papers off the chair so Sirius could sit down. "So...uh...how about you? How have you been?"

"Not bad for a first house." Sirius was actually reasonably impressed with the place. "I see what you mean about a bit of a mess though... Perhaps you shouldn't try to do so much all at once, Anders."

He sat down carefully in the cleared seat. "A drink of some form would be nice after travelling that way... and er... would it be too much to ask to stay the night?"

Sirius thought about it for a minute. "I could take us out for dinner, or order us a takeaway." He felt a little unsure of himself, as if he had imposed on Anders when he should not have done.

Anders blushed a little. "I'd love for you to stay," he said. "I really would. It would feel...well...like I was part of a family." Hurriedly, he tried to substantiate the comment by adding, "I know you and your wife had me to stay over the summer, and I was really grateful for that, but this is...different." He flushed a little more. "I don't say what I'm thinking very well, do I?"

He got up and went into the kitchen, opening the fridge, which was virtually empty apart from the milk he had bought before coming home. "I have...uh...milk or..." He glanced around the kitchen wildly. "Water. Oh - and there's a bottle of wine somewhere..."

He came back out with the milk bottle, a jug of water and the wine bottle, grinning sheepishly. "I'm not very good at looking after myself," he confessed. "Dinner would be good."

Sirius looked at the abashed Anders. "I was not unlike you in my day," he confessed.

"So, what do you say that number one, we go shopping. Probably calling in for a pint on the way," There was a devilish twinkle in his eyes. "And number two, we go out for a decent meal and some more beer? Sounds like the perfect bachelor life to me..."

Sirius fully intended to pay for everything regardless of whether Anders wanted him to or not. He had the idea of filling up the cupboards and fridge with the more exciting things like beer and pizza rather than being domesticated. He knew there was no point in trying to organised a born again bachelor. Apart from which, Myrriam was much better at that sort of thing.

"Now you have your house keys?" He started to usher the young man out of his own house. "Come on then. Let's go."

Sirius almost pushed Anders out of the front door before he could even protest. Then as he pulled the door behind them he quietly flicked his wand through the door whispering, "Maria Popinia!" as he did so.

The door clicked shut. "Well, Lead on then my son."

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

It was four hours later before the two men returned home, laden down with bags of shopping that, on cursory glance, seemed to contain nothing but pizza, bread, tinned beans and bottles of beer. There may have been a tin of soup in there, but it was entirely possible that it had got there by accident.

Anders fumbled with the door lock before giggling and pointing his wand at the door instead. "Alohomora!" he declared, firmly, and the door unlocked. He giggled again and pushed it open, walking inside.

He almost sobered up the instant he saw what had become of his cesspit. Sirius' tidying spell had been hard at work whilst they had been out eating at a bijou little restaurant in Hogsmeade, and every surface was clean and sparkling.

"This calls for more beer," he cried, putting down his bags and racing into the kitchen where he opened the cupboard to get out a couple of glasses.

Wilbur glared balefully at him from within. It appeared the tidying spell had been a little...enthusiastic.

Sirius surveyed the scene. The old spell had been quite handy in his younger days. He looked around at the shiny surfaces. Following Anders into the kitchen with his pile of shopping bags he noticed the cat in the cupboard.

"Looks like poor Wilbur took quite a polishing!" He laughed at his own joke. The disgruntled looked cat did look remarkably clean and his fur was shining.

"I'll just put this lot in the fridge shall I?" He started to move the pizzas and beer into the fridge. Towards the bottom of the bag he was unpacking he managed to find a bottle of washing up liquid and a sponge.

"I don't remember picking these up. What a good idea." He watched as Anders poured them both a drink.

"Quick game of chess before bed?" He asked, drawing out a chessboard and pieces from one of his pockets.

Anders nodded happily, despite the fact that he hadn't played chess in years, and despite the fact that he had neither done one jot of work that evening, nor did he know where any of his work for that evening had gone in the tidied piles. He set up the chessboard haphazardly, putting pawns in the queen's square and vice versa. The pieces grumbled at him and he laughed back.

Handing Sirius a glass of beer, he proposed a toast. "To my dad. Who can really SHOP!"

Slightly merry he may have been, but he said it in all seriousness, which was really quite touching, as it was the first out loud acknowledgement and acceptance of his relationship with Sirius.