Fa A Bhialainn Ann - Chapter 12

By Veralidaine

AUTHOR WARNING: This is so cheesy you could probably spread it on a cracker. No, seriously, this is Cheeze Wiz. This chapter comes out of an aerosol can. The plot kicks in next chapter. I think.

"Flora’s Secret" by Enya, from the album A Day Without Rain

*

Write me when you get this letter.

– Remus

*

Remus –

Me.

*

–Remus

*

Remus –

–Fi

*

–Remus

PS –

Please?

*

Remus –

Beannacht!

– Fi

***

Her feet slid over the wet rocks as she made her way down towards the water. A breeze picked up from the ocean, lifting the long brown waves of hair off her back and sending it streaming out behind her, coppery-red in the early morning light. The ocean was unusually calm this morning, and its stillness was only rippled by the occasional strong gust of wind. Usually Fiona didn’t wake this early, but she only had about a week left in Ireland for the summer holidays before leaving for Hogwarts again, and for seventh year.

Fiona grinned suddenly, thinking of her letters. There’d probably be another one waiting for her when she got back to the house–most likely in Remus’ neat, tiny writing. She’d been owling her friends since she’d arrived in Ireland. Upon entering her room, Snitch was already waiting on her bedpost with a note tied to his leg with that first note from Remus. Fiona, being the rather clueless person she could be at times, wondered vaguely why he had cared to write her so often over the past summer.

She sighed and turned her face towards the heavens. She could tell from the way the breeze was gradually gaining strength, and from the way the clouds blotted out the morning sun, casting the rocky beach in steely grayness, that a storm was on its way–most likely a big one. It had been a warm summer, and now that autumn was coming, storms seemed to be brewing constantly. Everything seemed…cooler…than it had before. Maybe it was that global warming thing the Muggles had recently started talking about that was supposedly mucking up the weather. Or maybe it was Voldemort. Somehow, she liked the idea of the Earth’s poles melting and flooding the entire planet better.

Well, it wasn’t raining yet, at any rate, so she wasn’t about to run for the house. Fiona sat down on a rather large rock, looking out at the one solitary seagull that was soaring over the cliffs on either side of her. She pulled her pennywhistle out of her sundress pocket and, sitting cross-legged, started piping out whatever songs she could think of, just to occupy herself for awhile. Mostly, they were quick-paced little tunes she wasn’t aware of ever really learning, yet she knew them. She supposed it was back from when she’d been seven or eight and hadn’t had a reason to fear her abilities. They had probably taught her those songs, but she wasn’t about to admit it. She did love the pennywhistle, though. Her little brother, Liam, had carved it for her while she’d been away at school, and the little flute was one of her more prized possessions.

Still piping away to her hearts content, Fiona could see the rain, a few miles off on the water, causing a smoky mist to rise off the water. She thought vaguely that she might want to head back to the house before it got closer and soaked her, but she was enjoying the solitude this little alcove provided. It was rather nice, what with the pleasantly rainy-smelling breeze and the heavy fog beginning to spread over the water and the rocks. It was chilly, but it was also beautiful to look at.

After a moment, she stopped playing and dangled her feet off of her rock and into the water, which was rather surprisingly chilly, even for the morning. Well, so much for swimming. She felt a large drop of water on the top of her head and, looking up, noticed that those steely clouds had finally moved overhead. The rain began to pick up, and soon she was soaking wet and that thick fog had spread all around her, creeping gently over the rocks. She stood up and carefully made her way back over the coarse sand and towards the hillside.

Climbing up onto the grassy slope that was the beginning of her family’s property, she hesitated a moment. Oh, she was already wet; why should she run to the house? She’d not simply been out playing in the rain in ages…Not since she was a little girl. Giggling a bit to herself, she spun around a few times in the pouring rain, letting it soak through her thick hair and scatter in droplets from the tangled ends as she twirled around. Though she was perfectly content, it gave her a sort of sadness, knowing that she’d be leaving this in another week. For England. And Hogwarts.

Sighing, she stopped her twirling, turning her face towards the sky, and let the rain fall on her face, smiling softly to herself. She’d manage, somehow. She always did. A breeze picked up from the sea and over the hillside, flapping the now sopping sundress against her legs. This was quite a storm, it was.

She started jogging towards her house but stopped, confused. There was another car there–it looked like a cab, really–parked outside the house on the little dirt road. Somebody with long, coppery hair jogged out from the house, leaned through one of the windows for a moment, and then turned and jogged back, obviously trying not to get soaked in the gale that quiet storm had now worked itself into. Now Fi was thoroughly confused. She hadn’t known they were having company…At least, not today. Shrugging, and wondering vaguely if her Ma would be mad at her for coming into the house, where they had guests, looking slightly (okay, very) bedraggled.

"Fiona!" That was Moreen McLellan’s loud Irish brogue calling from the house. "Fiona, where are yeh?"

"Coming, Ma!" Fi jogged the rest of the way to the house, to the brightly-lit rectangle that was the back door where her mother was waiting, looking slightly disgruntled.

"Honestly, Fiona darlin’, you look like somethin’ the cat dragged in!" Her mother stalked into the kitchen, returning with a dishtowel, which she promptly tossed to Fiona with the unstated instructions to clean herself up. Indeed, what her Ma had said couldn’t be too far off the mark–even the cat was looking at her with distaste.

"Ma? ‘Ave we got company?"

"Aye," her mother said, glancing at her with dark eyes and a carefully masked amusement. "Just arrived on the eight o’clock portkey to Dublin."

"Who’s it, then, Ma?"

Her mother smiled and crossed her arms. "Soon’s you’ve smarted yerself up abit, you can come see. Yer goin’ to want t’ look nice."

Fi sighed exasperatedly and started scrubbing rather viciously at her hair with the towel, trying to dry it out to the point where it was at least presentable. She only succeeded in making it immensely bushy and tangled, though, so she gave up the effort and followed her Ma into the kitchen. "So’m I presentable yet?"

Her mother looked her over, obviously knowing that no matter what she said it would make no difference, and nodded. Curious, Fi tramped her still-soaked bare feet into the living room and stopped, slightly shocked.

Sitting on the sofa were Sapphira, Lily, and James, and next to them was Sirius, who was attempting to steal the reclining chair a very annoyed-looking Remus was currently occupying. James was the first to notice her, as everyone else was either occupied with battling over seats or chatting excitedly (as was the case for Sapphira and Lily).

"Fi! Hullo!"

Fiona waved vaguely back at him as everyone turned to look at her. Remus stood up, and Sirius even forgot to take the seat, which had now been abandoned. Lily and Sapphira were standing as well, and were grinning at her. "Hello, Fi."

Fi finally found her voice. "Hi!" she managed, still confused. "I didn’ know you were going to come visit!"

Lily grabbed her in a hug. "Surprise, then! Sapphira’s been staying at my house for the past few weeks since her Mum had a business trip into London. My Mum and Dad said I could take Sapphira to come visit you for a few days, and then we can take a portkey to London and do our school shopping before catching the Express. Sound good to you?"

"Well, of course! Only…" Fiona glanced at Remus, Sirius, and James, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes, them," Sapphira said, in a somewhat more British-tinged accent than Fi remembered. "Well, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were together for the summer holidays since they live in the same town–Godric’s Hollow, you know.

Their parents were going to send them off to the country or something for the rest of the holidays until school started so they’d be safe from Voldemort. But then my Mum talked to Mrs. Potter and mentioned that we were going to Ireland for the rest of the holidays, and it was arranged that they’d come with us. So we’re all staying at the inn in the village. We just got there, but we simply couldn’t wait to come see you."

"So here we are," Sirius finished.

"Where’s Peter?" Fi asked, just remembering that he wasn’t there.

James sighed. "He stayed at the inn. Didn’t feel like coming. He’s… not fond of storms. Speaking of…" He grinned at her, taking in the sopping, tangled mess that was her hair. "You been swimming without us, Fi?"

Fiona shot him a sarcastic glare. "Aye, yer point?"

Lily giggled. "You’ve got your accent back again, Fi."

"Do I?" Fi asked, honestly unaware of her accent every changing in the first place.

"Yeah, you were starting to sound a bit like Moony there, for awhile." Sirius said, flopping down on the sofa. "And really, we only need one."

Fiona grinned and turned, finally, to get a good look at Remus. And immediately became self-conscious and extremely aware of the bedraggled mess she must look.

He had obviously grown a good few inches over the few months since she’d last seen him, and though he still looked as if he could use a good meal, he was smiling at her in that quiet, Remus way that made Fi go weak in the knees.

"Hullo."

"Hi," Fi said, nervously twirling a matted lock of hair around one finger. "So, uhm… How’ve you been?"

"What, you mean since you last exchanged letters, what, twelve hours ago?" Sapphira muttered, earning herself a glare from Fi and a stifled chuckle from Sirius.

"Fine," Remus said, smiling and shooting Sirius a look.

There was a slight pause, in which there was much staring on Remus and Fiona’s part, much giggling on Sirius and Sapphira’s part, and much "oh, they’re so immature"-ing on Lily’s part, as James watched the whole situation, amused.

"Well," Moreen said, entering with a tray of hot tea and brack, abruptly ending the moment, "It’s near nine o’clock. What’re yeh planning t’do for the rest o’ the day?" She set the tea tray down on the nearest coffee table and grinned at Fi’s current hairdo. "Fiona darlin’, are yeh planning on combin’ out that mess ‘fore going anywhere this afternoon? Might be a good plan, if yeh ask me."

Fi nodded, wanting an excuse to make herself presentable in Remus’ presence, and practically galloped up the stairs to her room. Throwing herself onto the wooden stool next to her dresser, she picked up a comb and began to tear it through her hair, wincing occasionally when she came across a particularly nasty snarl. Once she’d managed to comb her hair out to close to its usual self, she inspected herself in the mirror, noting with annoyance that the ever-inconvenient spitcurls were showing up, thanks to the humidity.

There was a soft knock on the door and her Ma entered, carrying a basketful of laundry and dumping it on her bed.

"Yeh’re excused from chores this week, but only since yeh’ve got guests." She grinned and twirled one of Fi’s curls around her slender finger. "I always did love the way yer hair did this when it got wet…"

"Ma…" Fi said, somewhat embarrassed. "It’s hair…"

Her Ma ruffled her hair, causing her to dive for her comb again. Moreen laughed. "Well, aren’t we concerned with our looks t’day, allanah?"

"What’s that s’posed to mean?" Fi asked, setting down the comb and sighing, looking at her mother through the mirror’s reflection.

"Is that boy in there the one yeh’ve been writin’ to all summer? That… Remus, was ‘t?"

"Yes…" Fi answered carefully.

"’E seems a nice lad, dun’ ‘e?" she replied, folding a pair of Fi’s old jeans and a black shirt and setting it next to her on the dresser.

Fi stared. "Ma…"

"’E’s a handsome sort, in’ ‘e?"

"MA!"

Her mother chuckled, obviously amused at the reaction she’d gotten. "What? Yeh dun think so?"

"That’s not the topic under discussion," Fi said indignantly, earning a smug grin from her Ma.

"Right. Well, I’ve got lots o’ chores t’do for the day as yer not going t’be ‘ere. Go t’ the village for t’day, do some shopping or whatnot. Take them to see the ocean. Dun keep’m cooped in the ‘ouse all the day, though."

"I know, I know…" Fi slid off the stool and grabbed her clothes. Shooing Moreen out of the room, she pulled on her jeans and shirt, and an old pair of muddy boots and, glancing one last time in the mirror, fled down the stairs to where her friends were waiting.

*

"It really is green here," Lily said as they walked along the now rather muddy path to the village. It had finally stopped raining after a rather quiet hour of chatting in the living room and drinking tea. "I mean, I know it’s called the Emerald Isle, but I never really thought…"

"Oh, how cliché," Sapphira interrupted, facing their right. "A rainbow."

Five heads turned, and indeed, there was a rainbow. A bright one, too, just over the next green hill. James grinned.

"Hey, d’you suppose there’s a leprechaun?"

"That’s all a load of horse manure," Fi said delicately, stumbling over a stray rock in the path. "Leipreacháns dun even keep gold, really. They just say they do to trick you into letting them go."

"Oh? Did one tell you?" Sirius asked, not mocking her as he knew that, in this case, it was completely possible.

"Actually, yes," Fi said, turning and starting down the path again.

"Well," Sirius said exasperatedly, "there goes number three on my list of things to do here."

Giggling, Fiona fell back to walk with Sapphira and Lily, letting the boys have the lead, as they were talking about Quidditch, and she was uninterested. "So, how was it, staying together at the Andrews’?"

Lily sighed. "Ah, it was alright, I guess. Petunia was annoying, though…"

"Yer sister?"

"Yeah, her. She’s sixteen now, and she’s got this major inferiority complex. She keeps calling me ‘abnormal.’ It’s really obnoxious." Lily shrugged. "I don’t care, though. I can always turn her into a fruit bat or something should I feel inclined to do so."

Sapphira nodded, pulling her hair back with a silver elastic. "To tell you the truth, we couldn’t help ourselves. We…sorta left her a bit of a gift."

"Oh?" Fi asked, grinning. "What?"

Lily and Sapphira both giggled, but managed to quiet themselves when Sirius looked behind him to see what was funny. He turned back around after a moment, launching into a discussion of the latest Quidditch World Cup with James, while Remus nodded fervently about something they were saying.

"Well," Lily said quietly, eyes ahead, "we found the most amazing thing in Diagon Alley…"

"It’s this really realistic perfume bottle…"

"Yeah, and it’s full of this potion that makes you break spontaneously into the most ridiculous of songs…"

"And she was planning to go on a date with this guy she claims to be in love with that night," Sapphira said, grinning broadly. "How’s that for abnormal?"

"Yeah, really…" Lily laughed. "But, you know, I don’t care what she thinks. I’ve seen this guy she’s going out with, and he’s really unpleasant. He’s really big and tall, and has a huge neck–we’re talking probably a foot in diameter. He thinks I’m abnormal, too," she added, almost proudly.

Fiona grinned, jogging ahead of the boys as they entered the small village. There was a pub down at the end of the main street, and a few shops along either side–a chemist, a clothing store, a bank– only what was necessary for the small Irish village. And that included the pub, naturally.

"So, d’you guys want t’go get something to eat?" Fi asked, heading towards the pub, the others following.

"That’d be good, as I’ve not yet eaten except for that tea and fruitbread your Mum gave us, and it’s about half-past ten, so I could use a bite to eat," Lily said, holding open the door for the others.

The pub was small and rather dark, with scrubbed wooden tables and stools, and a tiled counter. There were a few people sitting at the bar, most being farmers living on plots of land similar to Fi’s family’s, who had just come down to the village for a drink. Though it smelled rather strongly of alcohol and smoke from the rowdy customers they had every night, including the previous, Fiona ignored it (or was perhaps used to it) and seated her group at one of the larger tables. Remus took the seat next to hers, causing her to blush slightly, and then the old barkeep, MacBradaigh, sauntered over, setting down cold glasses of water, and smiled at her. "Ah, Fiona, how are yeh? We’ve not seen yeh much this summer, ‘ave we?"

Fi shook her head, smiling politely. "Nah, I’ve had loads of work t’do at home, and not much time to roam about the village as I please."

"Aye, my Brenna knows the feelin’–she’s been helpin’ out ‘round here since she got out o’ school for the summer. Been a real angel, she ‘as." He smiled fondly while Fiona still kept the polite smile plastered on her face–she wasn’t too fond of Brenna, for many reasons…

"You know," MacBradaigh continued, "She turns seventeen t’day; we’re ‘aving a real party t’night if you lot’d like to join ‘s. The ‘ole pub’ll be full to t’brim with village folk, and y’might enjoy yerselves–we’re puttin’ together a live band and such. Say, Fi darlin’, couldyeh play yer flute tonight, please? We were goin’ t’ have the O’Flaerty lad do it, but ‘e came down with a nasty bout of coughin’ and couldn’ make ‘t."

"I…s’pose," Fi said, purposefully ignoring the looks everyone was giving her.

"Thanks s’much!" MacBradaigh said happily. Then: "Oh! I near forgot–what’ll you lot be ‘avin’ t’eat?"

After placing their orders, and much repeating on the old barkeep’s part due to the fact that half the company couldn’t tell what he was saying through his accent, MacBradaigh left to the back room and everyone turned to Fi. She raised her eyes to the heavens and waited:

"You didn’t say you play flute!"

"I do," Fi said, shrugging and sipping her iced water.

"You never told any of us, though."

"Yes she did," Remus said, but immediately shut up and turned slightly red as Sirius said, "Oh, did she?"

"Look, it’s just a flute. Not a life-altering factor in your visit. Honestly, they’re only being charitable, if you really analyze the situation," Fi said practically, flipping her hair behind her shoulders. "I mean, they all consider me a freak here. They just need a flutist for his darling daughter–oh, hello, Brenna!"

Brenna MacBradaigh had stepped out from behind the bar, carrying the tray with their meals stacked atop it. She gave

Fiona a rather awkwardly long You’re-Not-Supposed-To-Be-Here sort of look and then remembered herself and set the tray down on a nearby table, setting silverware in front of each of them. Fiona rolled her eyes as all three boys immediately stared at the waitress, agape–this was usual. And really, she couldn’t blame them.

Brenna was perfect. That was the short way of stating it. The girl was tall, slim, and always looked perfectly clean and trim–a wonder, as she lived in a farming community where hardly anyone had jeans that didn’t have huge rips in the knees (Fi’s did, at any rate). Her hair was raven-black and in ringlets, and fell over her shoulders in exactly the right way, never out of place. She had clear blue eyes, and skin the same shade as Fi’s, only dusted with freckles.

"Hello…Fiona…" Brenna said cautiously. "What are you doing away from the farm? Didn’t your Da say he was going fishing t’day?"

"I’ve got guests, Brenna," Fi stated, as politely as she could force herself to be towards Brenna MacBradaigh the Perfect. "They wanted t’see the village. Thought we’d stop by the pub and get a bite."

Brenna looked as if this was something simply disgusting to do–at least for Fi–and nodded, plastering on a smile nearly as sickeningly sweet as Fi’s. "Well, that’s lovely. Are yeh going t’ introduce me?"

Fi sighed. She’d seen Brenna eyeing Sirius inconspicuously for the past moment. "Right, this is Remus Lupin, Sirius Black," (Sirius looked positively thrilled to get to shake her hand, and Sapphira was very carefully displaying that she didn’t care) "James Potter, Lily Andrews, and Sapphira Lowell." Everyone looked up as the door opened and a short, blonde boy walked in, looking nervous. "And, unless I’m much mistaken, that’d be Peter Pettigrew."

Peter turned in their direction and a relieved smile spread over his face. "Oh, good, I thought it was you guys I saw go in here. I needed some breakfast." He seated himself next to Sirius and sighed.

"You couldn’t come by yourself?" Fi asked, raising an eyebrow as Brenna gave Peter the same look one would give an annoying seven-year-old.

"Didn’t want to," Peter said, blushing brightly as he sat down next to Sapphira.

Fiona sighed. Apparently, the relationships had somewhat evolved over the summer. Well, for the most part, she thought, glancing at Lily and James. Sirius was scratching the back of his neck and looking bored, Sapphira was discreetly glancing at Sirius, and Peter was practically drooling on the table as he glanced at Sapphira. Well, it would make for an interesting school year, anyway. For now, though, she had to get Brenna to leave. "Well, Brenna, thanks so much for bringing out the food, here’s the money, bye, then."

Brenna nodded, looking quite thoroughly annoyed at having to wait on Fiona, of all people, and left for the back room and kitchen. Fi turned back to her friends and sighed. "Well, I guess I’m stuck going to this thing. You could probably wait at the inn, or maybe the house if you like…"

"Wait, who said we weren’t coming?" James asked, leaning forward over the table. "I mean, we were invited, weren’t we?"

"Well, yes," Fi said tiredly. "But Brenna’s…Well, she’s…She’s unpleasant, sometimes, that one. I never liked her much. However, this is going to be quite a party, so if you’d like to come, I guess I don’t mind." She shrugged. "I mean, there’ll be dancing and such. Nothing out of the ordinary."

She sighed yet again (she seemed to be doing quite a bit of this lately) as they all nodded vigorously, chattering. Yes, parties at Irish pubs could be fun, but not if Brenna was involved. She had a tendency to…Well, the last time Fi had been to one of Brenna’s parties, somehow everyone had been told that she was a "freak" and should be considered dangerous. Though James, Sirius, Remus, Sapphira, and Lily knew what she was, Brenna was bound to find a way to make it sound and seem ten times worse. Fi just hoped they trusted her over Brenna.